Beauty and the Beast
Loving Draco Malfoy was perhaps the most difficult thing Hermione had ever done, and that was saying quite a bit. Malfoy was prickly and moody, refused to take out the garbage, always hogged the blankets, and refused to admit that he was ever wrong. Ever. He didn't take care of Scorpius's nappies when their son used them and definitely did not even touch the baby food (or the cat food, for that matter). And so, Hermione was quite surprised when, at near two o'clock in the morning, Scorpius walked into their bedroom, proclaiming rather loudly, "Mummy, I can't sleep properly."
Hermione took a deep breath, steeling herself for the next hour of story time and tucking in (it had to be just right, or else Scorpius would never go back to sleep), when Draco pushed back the blankets, rose from the bed and made a gentle shushing noise. Hermione stayed still in her bed, curious as to how it would play out.
"Mummy's sleeping, Scorpius," Draco said softly.
"But I'm having nightmares, and Mummy always makes them go away."
"Well, if you'd like, I'll do Mummy's job this time."
There was a pause, and Hermione imagined Scorpius giving his father a scrutinising look. "Do you know how to tell stories, Father?"
"Of course I know how to tell stories." The scoff was blatant in Draco's voice.
"Mummy always takes away the bad dreams with stories. She's really good at it."
"I'm sure that I can be better," Draco said, and Hermione could barely stop herself from giggling, moving ever-so-slightly to bury her head in her pillow.
"But you never tell stories, Father," Scorpius argued.
"I'll tell you one now, but we've got to be really quiet so we don't wake up Mummy. Come here." There was a rustling of blankets and the bed shifted as Scorpius most likely climbed into Draco's lap.
After that, there was a long pause, followed by Scorpius's loud whisper—"When are you going to start, Father?"
"Right now," Draco said impatiently. "Alright. Er, yes. Once upon a time—"
"You're not doing it right!"
"Then how do you suggest I do it?"
"You've got to use the proper voice. Slower. And softer. Like Mummy."
"Yes, right, how could I have ever been so daft. Alright. Once upon a time—" there was a small pause, as though Draco was waiting for Scorpius's approval. Hermione could not contain her smile. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young woman who lived in a village full of muggles."
"Muggles?"
"Yes, Scorpius, muggles. This girl was very strange indeed, and could talk endlessly, but she was very smart, and read quite a lot. She practically ate books."
"Ew," Scorpius said.
"Well—I say ate… I mean she read a lot of books."
"Oh. Well that doesn't make much sense, Father."
"It's a metaphor."
"What's a metaphor?"
"Scorpius… I'll explain in the morning." Hermione had to try very hard to keep herself from giggling uncontrollably. "Anyway, the important thing is, this girl liked reading books."
"And she was smart. And she talked a lot."
"Yes. A lot. Way too much. She was actually rather annoying."
Scorpius giggled and Hermione rolled her eyes, wondering where this was going.
"One day, her father went on a trip to a fair with only his horse and the clothes on his body. He got very lost. After travelling in the cold, dark woods for miles and becoming very sick, her father came upon a great castle. A beautiful, majestic Manor that was slowly falling apart."
"Why was it falling apart, Father?"
"Because, in it lived a Wizard Prince who was once very handsome. Exceedingly handsome. But the Prince was selfish, and foolish, and made many horrible decisions. He hurt a lot of people. And eventually, those choices caught up with him, and a very powerful witch took away his good looks and turned him into a beast."
"Good. He didn't sound very nice."
Hermione all but stopped breathing, waiting for Draco's reaction.
"No, Scorpius," the blond said, and his voice was so profoundly sad that Hermione nearly rose out of bed to envelope him in a hug. "He was not very nice at all. And so, once he became a beast, he became sad and bitter and refused to take care of the Manor, instead choosing to brood hopelessly in his chamber.
"Anyway, the girl's father, remember him?"
There was a pause, in which Scorpius was most likely nodding.
"He came to this Manor looking for shelter, and when the Beast found him, he cast him in the dungeons, furious that the girl's father would even dare to enter his house."
Scorpius gasped.
"The horse, who had escaped the Manor, raced back to the girl and then led her to the castle. Even though the Manor was dark and spooky and no doubt very dangerous, the girl was determined to save her father and entered the house. Once there, she willingly traded places with her father to save his life."
"Wow. She was really brave!"
"Yes, Scorpius."
"Was she in Gryffindor?"
Hermione smiled as Draco replied, "Most definitely."
"Well, go on!" Scorpius said impatiently.
There was a pause.
"Please, Father?"
"Alright. The Beast and the girl did not like each other very much at all. The girl, as I said, talked too much and was really quite annoying. And she refused to be wrong. And she was stubborn. Merlin, Scorpius, she was so stubborn, it was hard to be around her sometimes."
"Oh. Is she like Cousin Victoire?"
"Cousin Victoire isn't actually your cousin, Scorpius."
"Yes, Father, I know, you tell me that almost every week."
"Er, yes, well… now we're getting off track. Where was I?"
"The girl was like Cousin Victoire."
"Who is not your cousin."
"Who is not my cousin."
"Right. Yes. And the Beast… and the Beast was not very nice either. He was rude and hated muggles and was very good at insulting people. He was at times just as stubborn as the girl and loved to taunt her, especially with the idea of her sick, alone father."
"That's really mean."
"Yes. It is. But the Beast eventually realised something very important. This girl was the key to breaking the curse that had turned him into a Beast. You see, if he was able to find a person to fall in love with him by his twenty first birthday—he was twenty at the time—he would become human again. And so, he was now determined to win her over."
"But he was so mean to her before!"
"Yes, but the Beast was very used to getting what he wanted. He was very spoilt, and believed that he could get anything he wanted with the snap of his fingers. He threw great gifts at her, jewels and dresses and the like, though, the girl was not easily swayed. She was stubborn, remember? And the Beast had been nothing but cruel to her before.
"However, one day, the girl tried to escape into the woods. And the Beast, realising that he was about to lose his last chance at being human, raced after her. Before he could reach her, though, the girl was attacked by the wolves and the Beast, determined not to lose that last chance, saved her life and nearly died.
"Now, the girl could have very well up and left. The horrible Beast would have died, and she would have been free to return to the village. But instead, the girl helped the Beast to return to the Manor and healed all his wounds."
"Wow," Scoprius said, a little breathlessly. "I don't know if I could do that."
"She was a very special sort of girl," Draco said quietly, and Hermione had to try very hard to rein in her tears.
"After that, the Beast learned to be kinder, because she made him want to be kinder. Her very presence began to smooth out the rough edges in the Beast's heart, because she was all that he wasn't—selfless, noble, kind-hearted, compassionate. She had sacrificed herself for her father. She had saved his life when she could have saved her own. And, ever-so-slowly, the Beast fell in love with the girl."
"Did he turn human then?"
"No, Scorpius. Remember, the Beast had to be loved in order to turn human. He was getting closer, though. He ate meals with her, read with her, rebuilt the Manor with her, and then one day, he gave her the massive library of the Manor, and the expression on her face when she caught sight of the hundreds of thousands of books made the Beast fall in love with her all over again."
Hermione pressed her face into the pillow, the tears falling freely now onto the fabric.
"Eventually, the Beast got to the point where he loved the girl so much, he could not bear for her to be away from her father. So he released her, allowing her to leave the Manor forever to be with her father. He realised that her happiness was much more important to him than becoming human again.
"Three days later, the girl did not return. The Beast receded back into his old ways of moping and brooding as his twenty-first birthday drew closer, though he knew nothing mattered now that the girl was finally back with her father. On the fourth day, a mob appeared at the Manor from the girl's village. They had discovered the Beast's existence and demanded that he be killed."
Scorpius gasped loudly.
"They stormed the Manor and searched everywhere for the Beast, who had seen them from his bedroom window. He let them enter and did not go out to fight them, no longer caring whether he lived or died now that the girl had left. But just as the lead villager found him and stabbed the Beast in the heart, the girl entered the Beast's chambers. She had come back for him, and fought through the villagers throughout the Manor."
Scorpius held his breath with anticipation, as did Hermione, though she knew how it was going to end.
"The Beast, suddenly invigorated from the return of the girl, threw the lead villager away from him while the girl rushed to his side. Desperate, the Beast withdrew his wand and thrust it at the girl, despite knowing that she was muggle. But somehow, the girl knew exactly what to do with it. She whirled around and Stunned the villager. And when she turned back, the Beast could only stare at her with complete adoration and love.
"In his last breaths, with the girl's tears falling against his face, he confessed that he loved her. And then she leaned down and kissed him."
Scorpius gasped again, and Hermione smiled into her pillow, despite her tears.
"Suddenly, the Beast began to transform. The fur and snout disappeared, replaced by human hair and a human face. His paws turned to hands and feet, and his tail receded. The Beast was shocked—it meant that the girl finally loved him in return."
Draco's voice became gradually quieter as he continued. "Together, they calmed the villagers and convinced them that no Beast lived inside—only a forgotten Prince. They repaired the Manor and invited everyone to their wedding. And then they lived in the Manor, with friends and the girl's father, happily ever after. The end," he whispered.
There was a long pause, and Hermione did not know whether to laugh or cry. She was saved from choosing when Scorpius said, "Father, that was the best story I've ever heard in my entire life."
Hermione silently chuckled while Draco laughed aloud. "Of course it was. Now, come on, let's get you to bed."
"Alright, Father. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Hermione listened as Draco guided Scoprius back to his room, the two bickering the whole way about why they even called Cousin Victoire "Cousin Victoire", until fifteen minutes had passed and Draco finally returned to their bedroom.
The blond snuck almost silently under the blankets, curled away from Hermione, and she could not help but slide forward and wrap her arms around Draco's waist. He stiffened, and Hermione tightened her hold, placing a gentle kiss on the back of Draco's neck.
"Thank you," she whispered, and he relaxed before turning around to echo her embrace.
Loving Draco Malfoy was perhaps the most difficult thing Hermione had ever done. But it was worth it. Merlin, it was worth it.