A/N: It would really mean a lot if you reviewed this for me. I'm always looking for tips on my writing skills :). I've been toying with this idea for awhile, and I decided to do it. I took the liberty of changing 'the Beast's' personality for the first parts from the original version and the movie. For the town I describe, if any of you have seen "Edward Scissorhands," think that kind of town.
Onwards!
Disclaimer: I don't own 'Beauty and the Beast' or any of the Harry Potter characters. I do own (yay for me!) the details, context, plot changes and time slots. So don't take them! :-P all mine…mwah ha ha ha ha…
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Another day, another life. Norfolk in summer was always a refreshing change from the dismal winter it harbored, and the entire wizarding population situated there welcomed it with open arms. Nestled away by themselves, the wizards and witches who wished to live there openly made themselves a miniature town under a hill. It suited them all fine; those who needed to work in the city could Apparate in whenever they pleased.
Ginny sat on her family's house steps watching the people pass by warily. Although she was now out of Hogwarts and thrust into the world, she always found herself back at her parent's house. It seemed like she could never leave without feeling enormous guilt for doing so. She looked across the street with her head on her arms and grinned when she saw Fred and George yelling spiritedly at a young wizard, who was now skulking away with his hands thrust in his pockets. If she had to make a bet, Ginny would wager that he had just tried to shoplift a prank or two…again. "That Ben Finnegan is nothing but trouble," she muttered fondly, watching the boy walk away. The dirt road created clouds of protest behind him, reminding Ginny of the intense dislike she had for this old fashioned town; Oldham really was a fitting name for it.
All of a sudden the front door behind her burst open, making Ginny fall off the step in surprise. "Dad?"
"This is it Gin!" Arthur yelled excitedly. "I've been invited to Warlocks International! The likes of Dumbledore will be there!" He beamed happily down at her shocked face. Grinning like mad, Ginny leapt up and enveloped her frail father in a huge hug.
"That's fantastic Dad!" Ginny replied enthusiastically. She knew as well as anyone that he had been longing to go to one of those meetings for years. Tucking a piece of flyaway hair behind her ear, she watched with amusement as Molly came out beaming fit to burst.
"Oh I knew you'd get an invite Arthur dear!" Arthur laughed and gave her a kiss. Ginny giggled and then looked across the street, where Fred and George were now looking at them all like they were mad. Ginny motioned with her hands for them to come across, and they obliged.
"What's all the ruckus?" Fred asked cheerfully, while George sniggered.
"'Ruckus'," he laughed. Ginny glared at him and he shut up.
"Dad's going to Warlocks International," she informed him. George's jaw dropped while Fred clapped his father on the back heartily.
"Well done then!" Fred congratulated him.
"Thank you son," Arthur replied, looking for all the world like he had lost fifteen years.
"Will you be bringing back anything for uth then?" piped up a small voice near Ginny's leg. She looked down in alarm and then smiled when she saw her niece Faye tugging on her jeans. Ginny scooped her up and nodded with her head towards the tiny girl.
"Why aren't Ron and Hermione keeping all four eyes on this one? She got all of the twins' genes." Fred and George looked rather pleased at this, but Molly snorted in disapproval.
"Well, I suppose Hermione's at the office again, and Ron…well, he never had his head entirely on his shoulders did he?" Molly remarked, making Ginny laugh.
"I guess," Ginny giggled, kissing Faye on the head. "So you want Grandpa to bring you something back?" Faye nodded, her brown hair bobbing with her head as she did so.
"Yeth pleath!" she said earnestly. Arthur nodded, laughing.
"Of course I'll bring you something back Faye. What do you want?" Faye took a minute to think this over, while Fred and George teased their father about being a 'warlock' ('What a fancy name!').
"I want a neckith!" she exclaimed suddenly.
"A what, sorry?" Molly asked, confused due to the lisp.
"A necklace," Ginny explained.
"Oh! Well of course I can get you a necklace sweetheart," Arthur chuckled, patting Faye on the head lovingly.
"Yay!" Faye yelled as she squirmed out of Ginny's arms and ran down the street. The adults laughed.
"She's an odd one," George commented as he straightened his hat.
"Quite the oddity," his twin agreed.
"And the pot calls the kettle black…" Ginny said mockingly.
"Two pots sister darling, two pots."
"Well I want a flag," Molly interrupted seriously. "A British flag, ours has quite lost its charm." The entire ensemble looked up at the flag in question; it indeed didn't do much but hang limply off a pole on the roof.
"All right Molly," Arthur granted. He turned to Ginny, who was still looking at the pathetic flag. "Do you want anything Gin dear?" Ginny started.
"Me?" She asked.
"No, the bottle of alcohol behind you," Fred replied without a hint of sarcasm. Ginny threw a ball of paper at him, acquired from her notepad, and turned back to her father.
"I umm…well maybe…" she began cautiously.
"Well what?" Arthur asked, clutching the parchment in his hand while waiting for an answer.
"I should very much like a quill," she said quietly. "A really nice, feathery deep colored quill. To write with." Everyone knew Ginny's dreams of becoming an author, or at least a journalist, and were all on the wait to see when she'd pursue it. Unbeknownst to them, she had already applied to five wizarding magazine/newspaper jobs- and had been rejected at every one.
"All right," Arthur complied, smiling at his youngest daughter. She always had a drawn in air about her, like she didn't want anyone to know what was inside the pretty exterior.
And she was pretty. Having escaped the threat of 'long and lanky', Ginny instead was petite like her mum, but thinner. Half the men in Oldham loved to watch her go from house to house, greeting people as was her daily routine, but none could capture her interest. It wasn't for lack of trying, however.
"Thank you Dad." She pecked him on the cheek and left her brothers and parents chatting on the porch behind her as she sauntered down the front steps. Sliding her sunglasses over her eyes, she walked down the road to see if anything interesting was going on.
She ignored a couple catcalls from the teenage boys on vacation from school ('Ben Finnegan and Doyle Thomas, I'll tell your parents see if I don't!' 'Oh, but miss-!') and stopped at her favorite shop: Flourish and Blotts, Extended. Breathing in happily, she pushed open the door and grinned at the sound of the tinkling bell.
--
Every mirror in his house was cracked. No, not cracked- more like smashed into tiny pieces that wouldn't resemble a mirror even if you bothered to put the pieces together again. It all disgusted him. The masses of fur were all over his arms, his legs…and other places if you want to get specific. He growled and sat in a chair by the fireplace; for some reason, his manor was always frigid cold. Snow didn't fall gently outside his windows, but it pelted down like it was its mission to keep the ground frosty white at all costs. He tried to sigh, but it came out like a rusty snarl. Utterly enraged, he picked up a vase nearby and threw it at the wall with all his strength; when you're a Beast, that's quite a lot of strength. However, to his further fury, it stopped right before hitting the wall.
"Now Mr. Malfoy, you know that smashing vases won't help a whit," the cheery voice chided him. Draco growled.
"I don't bloody care woman, how many times do I have to tell you?" A stout gray haired ghost floated into the room clicking her tongue in irritation.
"Let's not get frustrated," she said wearily, floating the vase back to its proper place.
"Ghosts shouldn't be able to do magic," he muttered resentfully. The ghost laughed.
"And you should? Come now, you can't say you didn't deserve what the old witch did to you!" Draco roared with anger and tried to rush his giggling servant, passing ineffectually through her. He shivered.
"Damn you," he exclaimed, settling back down into his chair.
"And you," she replied, not worried at all. "Now, I decided to do your laundry so that's in the laundry room. The books have been sorted yet again, and the cook wants to know what you want for dinner." No response. "I need an answer Mr. Malfoy!" Draco put his head in his paws miserably.
"Tell him to crème brulee his ass," he mumbled.
"Lobster it is sir," the ghost replied smartly, drifting out of the room and having the door slam behind her in the gust of wind. Draco looked out the window at the howling wind and snow and clenched his fists. That damned hag!
--
"I'll miss you," Ginny said, kissing her father on the cheek. Molly dabbed at her eyes.
"Two months really is much too long," she said sadly, receiving a kiss from her departing husband. He winked merrily at her, handing her a handkerchief.
"It'll be over before you know it…Ron, George, is it ready to go?" George ducked his head out of the now crumbling at the seams green Ford Anglia (bought after the disappearance of the turquoise Ford Anglia back in Ginny's school days) and nodded.
"Yessir!" Ron ducked his own head out and grinned roguishly.
"Gods Dad, you pack like 'Mione!" Arthur laughed and opened the car door.
"I doubt it- your Hermione is very sensible. Maybe I pack like Ginny here…" Ginny blushed and swatted him away.
"Go to your convention then," she urged. Arthur smiled at her as he closed the door and rolled down the window.
"Remember, I'm coming back with that quill!" Ginny grinned and nodded.
"Yessir!" she replied, imitating George.
"Neckith, neckith!" Faye cried out while biting her father's (Ron's that is) hand. Ron grimaced and wiped it clean of the spittle.
"Urgh Faye…Dad, I reckon if you don't come back with that necklace she'll tear the house down!" he warned. Arthur smiled.
"I'll bring her a pretty necklace, don't you worry love," he said to Faye. She smiled happily and waved her pudgy hand at him.
"Bye bye Grandpa!" she screamed, making everyone wince.
"Goodbye Arthur!" Molly shrieked after the departing car. Arthur's hand stuck out the sunroof and waved as he drove down the main road. Ginny watched it go, shading her eyes from the sun, and sighed when the dust proved too powerful to see through.
"At least he's getting out of this stupid town," she muttered, low enough so that no one could hear her.
"I do hope he'll have a good time," Molly sniffed, putting away the handkerchief.
--2 MONTHS LATER—
The snow showed no sign of letting up as Arthur plowed through it with the Anglia. "Why doesn't this thing have four peeled knive?" he exclaimed angrily, trying to see through the overwhelming white swirls of snow, thinking of the Muggle 'four wheeled drive'. It was the oddest thing- snow in late August. "How far away from home am I anyway?" he said to himself, frowning. The area he was in wasn't on the map he held, which mildly worried him. Different dimensions were not common in the wizarding world, and neither were Dark areas made Unplottable by Death Eaters.
Suddenly through the snow he saw a patch of black. Relived to the very bones, Arthur stopped the car and strained his eyes to see. In one sweep of the wind, the snow was out of his way for a good two seconds: enough to see.
There stood a manor perched prominently on a hill; it glared at the small car forebodingly. It was dark and dank, with broken windows and almost hidden due to the depths of snow that had piled up on all sides. Arthur, trying to ignore the state of the place, pulled over his car and proceeded to try and work his way towards the front door.
--
"What is that little man trying to do?" Draco muttered, pulling a curtain back with a single claw.
(Update in the Process)