Chapter 1
Summary: Seven years after the war, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Dramione style. Draco is still a spoiled brat and Hermione is confused and longing for something more than her boring life at the ministry. Non-epilogue compliant.
Author's Note: This is my first time ever writing fiction. I have been pouring over Dramione fanfics for a while, and this story has been swimming in my head. I hope it comes across well. All feedback is great and constructive criticism is very much appreciated. I want to continue to improve my writing as I continue with this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any version of Beauty and the Beast. If I did I would not be testing my writing skills on fanfiction.
Seven years after the end of the war, Draco Malfoy threw himself into the tall green chair – more of a throne really – that headed the dining room table in Malfoy Manner. He smirked at the mess surrounding him.
The night before had been excellent – as usual. Now that he lived alone at Malfoy Manner (three years after the war his father simply vanished, and after Lucius's disappearance his mother had gradually withered away before dying a year later), Draco felt a need to fill the Manner with people as much as possible. The place was huge, more like an ancient castle than a modern mansion, and the constant silence was unnerving. To abate the quiet and creeping loneliness, Draco threw parties at least once a week – huge extravaganzas only attended by the most elite and powerful pure-bloods. Lately, his parties had become less part of the elite social scene and more of a way for Draco and his old Slytherin mates to get drunk and let lose. His company didn't really matter though – he had everything his heart desired, and if he needed anything else, he could simply buy it.
While Draco surveyed his domain, he heard a loud booming knock echo through the manner. That was odd – the front doors had ancient knockers, but no one ever used them. Within a few seconds, a grisly-looking house elf appeared beside him.
"Master Malfoy – there is an old woman at the door asking for you."
Draco rolled his eyes. No matter how long he had lived here, the house elves simply would not comprehend certain facts, like the idea that you sent away crazy old women and did not bother the master about it.
"Why are you bothering me? Send her away." Draco glared at the elf.
"I tried master, but she simply wouldn't leave. She insisted on speaking to the master of the house."
Draco stood up, angry now. "Fine. I will deal with her. But mark my words you will be punished for this stupidity." He marched out of the room, accidentally stepping in a pile of vomit on his way out. "And clean this up!" He swirled on his heal, robes billowing around him.
He threw open the door, the gel in his pale blonde hair almost instantly freezing in place from the blast of cold air. He glared at the cloaked figure in front of him. "Who are you disturbing my rest?"
The figure turned and Draco saw the face of an old woman. She appeared to be wearing rags. She was shivering. "Excuse me sir, but I am looking for a place to stay – it is so very cold. My children are just down the hill – could you give us a place for the night? Your butler said I would need to pay, but all I have is this." She drew a single beautiful red rose from somewhere underneath her rags.
Draco was appalled. How dare she. He knocked the rose from her hand. "Do you have any idea who I am? I am Draco Malfoy the last of a long line of great pure-blood witches and wizards –"
The woman stared at him uncomprehending.
Draco's eyes grew. "You aren't even a witch are you? How the hell did you find this place? You are just a pathetic, weak, ugly little muggle. Get the hell off my property." He started to close the door in her face.
A gnarled hand caught the door, surprisingly strong. He looked at her, shock and disgust crossing his face, as she caught his eye. "Do not be deceived young man – beauty and true strength are found within."
Draco smirked once again. "Is that supposed to be some piece of motherly advice? Go to hell." With that, he slammed the door in her face and started to walk back down the hallway.
Before he got more than ten feet away, both massive doors blew open and Draco was thrown to the ground by the blast of cold wind. He turned his body, blinking as he confronted a massive blinding white light. He pulled his wand from his pocket only to have it thrown from his hand by a force beyond his control.
Draco scooted backwards as fast as he could, but not fast enough. A beautiful woman, she looked almost veela, walked out of the blinding light. The doors slammed shut behind her.
"You stupid, selfish, spoiled, boy." Her voice was beautiful, but held an ancient power Draco could not pinpoint.
Draco coughed and found himself blushing. He slowly scrambled to his feet. "I – um – I'm sorry for the misunderstanding ma'am. Please – you are welcome to stay the night. There are any number of rooms upstairs – you can take your pick."
"Too late Draco. Too late." Her voice was soft and held pity. She looked at him sadly.
The silence dragged on a little too long for comfort. "Too late for what exactly?" Draco fidgeted under her gaze. "You can pick a room and the elves will take care of anything you need – you and your kids too." As she continued to look at him with a sad smile, Draco began to grow nervous. "That is what you want right?"
"You poor cruel boy. I had hoped the rumors were false, but there is truly no love in your heart. It is about time you looked the same on the outside as you do within."
"What are you –" Draco started to respond but was stopped mid-sentence by another blinding white light which eventually faded into blackness.
Draco awoke, unsure if it was a few days or a few minutes later. His head was pounding and his whole
body felt as if he had just been run through a sledgehammer. He put a hand over his eyes and realized that something wasn't right. His hand felt furry. He slowly lifted his hand away from his face and rather than seeing his normal flawless skin saw a dark brown fur. What the hell? His eyes traveled up his arms and he found himself scurrying into a standing position as he stared down at himself. He appeared to be covered in thick fur. His fingers ended in claws. He started to scream but instead of hearing his voice he heard a massive roar.
He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, rotating from two legs to four. After running in endless circles trying to escape himself, he ended up in his mother's old bedroom in the highest room of the tallest tower. He saw the back of the beautiful woman before him. He fell to his knees.
"What the hell have you done to me?"
She turned. "Ah Draco. About time for you to wake-up. You seem to have gotten your power of speech back remarkably fast as well, though your voice is much deeper. That will make this easier I hope."
Draco stared at her uncomprehendingly. She sighed and pointed to her left. There was a full-length mirror in the corner. He slowly moved towards it, finally stopping to stare at himself in the mirror. After quite a bit of silence he spoke in a rather calm voice. "I look like a wolf on its hind legs wearing pants."
He heard a tinkling laughter behind him. "That is a rather apt description. I didn't want to go full werewolf on you – they are quite ugly, even for what you have done. And the last time I did this I aimed for more of a bear, but he ended up being seven feet tall poor fellow – I think that alone made the girl take a bit longer to adjust. I figured I would give you more of a chance with the wooing and all. You should be grateful."
He turned around, his face suddenly contorted with fur and rage. "Change me back or so help me I'll –" He stopped, his hand – or would it be better to call it a paw? – had been groping in his pocket for his wand to find it empty.
The woman laughed again. "Oh no Draco, it is not that easy. No magic for you until you have lifted the spell. And don't expect any visitors either – your home has been made Unplottable and no one can Apparate in or out. You are stuck here."
He blinked. No escape? He immediately tried to Apparate and nothing happened. Without thinking, he threw himself at the woman, unconsciously baring his teeth and lengthening his claws. He didn't get more than a few feet before running straight into an invisible wall. Relentlessly, he continued to attempt to attack her until he finally collapsed from exhaustion.
"Are you done yet?" She sounded bored and slightly annoyed.
He finally sat up and looked at her. "Fine, I'll play your dumb little game. How do I break the spell?"
She smiled. "Now we are getting somewhere." She turned to reveal a glass case with a single red rose – the same rose he had thrown from her hand when she came to the door.
"This is an enchanted rose. It will bloom for a single year, during which you must learn to love another and earn her love in return. If you have not done this by the time the last petal falls, you will be doomed to remain a beast for all time. At that time, your house will return to its normal location so that everyone can see you for who truly are – a monster."
He attempted to laugh, but the noise sounded more like a choked cough. "So I just have to wait out a year and then someone can fix this. Sounds good to me."
For the first time her face grew hard. "Do not doubt my magic boy. I have existed much longer than you or anyone in your precious pure-blood line. I come from a time when everyone could wield magic – there was no petty distinction between wizard and muggle. No one can undo this spell. You will learn to love – or you will remain a beast for all time."
She turned and appeared to be about to leave when Draco's voice – now frightened – called to her. "Wait – I don't understand. If it is impossible to find this place and I cannot leave, then how will anyone ever find me? I can't even see the rest of the world. You cannot make this entirely hopeless – you have to be fair!"
She slowly shook her head at him, but her face softened. "There have been times in your life Draco Malfoy where you have been anything but fair. Regardless, I promise to give you a chance. There is a mirror beside the rose. By looking into it you can see whoever you wish. A person will find this place if she is truly lost and confused as to what she is looking for. I promise that someone will stumble this way. She will be unable to find her way out of the forest surrounding the castle unless you willingly let her go during the year of your imprisonment. If she has seen this mansion before, she will not remember it. She will not know who you truly are. You will be unable to tell her you are under a curse of course or what her part to play is. You must learn to love her on your own, and she must find the beauty in you and love you in return. You will be provided for during the year. Your servants chose to stay with you, though you will be unable to see them. I will be watching you Draco. You have the beauty inside of you – you just have never let it out." She turned and vanished in thin air.
Draco sat slowly on his mother's old bed, finally alone. He was tempted to search for his wand, but saw no reason to. He did not doubt the enchantress. She was obviously extremely powerful. He was just at a loss as to what to do next.
He slowly sat up and caught a glimpse at his reflection in the long mirror. He was covered in hair, with a wolfish head, sharp pointed teeth and claws on his hands and feet. He was wearing pants that he hoped were enchanted to stay cleaned, as he had no idea how to get them on or off between his claws and the fact that he was a bit larger than his normal size. He attempted to smile at himself and was greeted by a horrible contortion that made him look worse than before. With a savage roar he threw himself at the mirror and it shattered into bits. He tore through the castle, tearing apart things at random.
As the next two weeks dragged on and the enchantress's words seemed to be reinforced he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love …. a beast?