Draco's Dreams
an excerpt

Unfortunately, just as Draco was getting comfortable, his mother returned—followed by a small group of girls. Draco couldn’t help but laugh—or at least, as good as he could in this form—at the look on their faces. They looked as though they thought he was going to eat them, rather than that they were going to kiss him. He shook his head. But it did give him an idea.

Narcissa was telling the girls that there was nothing to worry about, that he was still prince Draco and that he would not eat them. Draco decided to give them a look at his new form, and see what kind of—awe—it could inspire. He stood up to his full height, stretching his neck out and towering over the others. There were a few shrieks of horror from the girls, but for now, Draco ignored them. He swished his tail a few times, banging it into the tree he knew was behind him, and then, for good measure, he gave his wings a few flaps—just to get out the kinks, of course.

The shrieks turned to screams at the thumping, and when his wings spread, one of the girls fainted, and another took to her heels, running for the safety of the castle. If Draco had been able, he’d have smirked. Still, there were four left. That was too bad.

And worse, his mother looked furious. Draco pulled back, a bit ashamed. Remus was right. She was just trying to help him. But really, did she need to marry him off to do it?

She came across the lawn to where he was sitting, then glared at him. “Do you truly want to be a dragon for the rest of your life, Draco?” He shook his head. “Then please allow me to do what I can to help you,” she said, her eyes slightly narrowed. He nodded, then watched as she moved back across to the girls.

All he could do now was hope that none of them would be successful.

At the queen’s insistence, the remaining girls lined up on the lawn a few feet from Draco. It made him feel ridiculous. Like he was being put on display. The only thing that kept him from trying to scare them off again was Harry’s hand smoothing over his scales and occasionally running a hand up to scratch at that spot on his head.

The queen urged the first girl forward, and Draco had to restrain himself almost as much as it looked like the girl was trying to do to keep from running the other direction. She leaned in, her eyes squeezed tight, and…nothing. He could barely even feel the touch on his scales. He looked down at her, then over at his mother and shook his head. It hadn’t been bad. Just…nothing, really.

This process was repeated with the second and third girls, with no discernable effect. As the last remaining girl approached, Draco couldn’t help but give a sigh, which resulted in another cloud of smoke that enveloped the girl, and with a shriek, she hurried after the girls who had already failed and left.

The queen was not pleased at that. “Draco! I thought I was clear.”

Draco shook his head. He hadn’t meant to upset the last one. He’d just been so frustrated by the whole process that he’d reacted naturally.