Chapter One

Rain began to fall through the bright green canopy as two women hiked along a barely used trail far below. The woman in the lead, who had fiery hair, trudged determinedly through the mud, watching only the trail ahead of her. In contrast, her companion followed the fiery haired woman as if she were wandering through the greenery rather than hiking through it. The second woman's curious brown eyes darted all around, examining the gigantic tropical trees and plants, as if she was trying to take in all of her surroundings at once.

Spotting a reptilian creature gliding through the branches above, the second woman rushed forward to catch up with her companion. Her bushy brown hair, which swelled in the humidity, bounced as she walked.

She tapped the her companion on the shoulder, "Ginny, look! It's a swooping evil!" she said excitedly, pointing out the creature, "You know, their venom has obilivatory qualities and-"

"Brilliant, Hermione, but we really need to hurry up," Ginny had looked up at the reptilian glider for a moment, but was now checking her gold watch, which was spotted with planets and stars. "At this rate, we won't be able to make it back to base camp before dark. I told you that we needed to leave the pyramid by four."

"I know, but the enchantments we found today needed to be examined or they may have faded before we come back tomorrow." Hermione said. She looked up at the small scraps of sky that they could see through the rainforest canopy. The sky was already becoming dark, helped along by the rain clouds. "We're not going to make it, we should find somewhere to make camp here."

Ginny groaned, looking up at the sky as well. "But they were going to make a roast tonight, and I am already hungry." Ginny complained lightly. "Can we at least try to apparate back?"

Hermione laughed briefly, "You sound like Ron." She had said the words without thinking, and as a result, her mind was suddenly flooded with anger and sadness. Ginny's face had gone from one of frustration to one of pity.

"Hermione, we should-"Ginny started, concerned.

"And you know we can't apparate back to camp," Hermione stammered, cutting Ginny off, "The magic in this area is unpredictable, it is too much of a risk. We'll make camp somewhere near here, and I have some food in my bag that we can heat up with a fire."

"Herm-"Ginny started again, still looking concerned.

"Don't." Hermione said strongly, "I am not ready to talk about it. Come on, let's find some flat ground." Hermione turned away and stepped off the path.

It was quite dark and rain was falling hard enough to find its way through dense layers of branches, vines, and leaves above when they had finally found enough flat ground for two bedrolls and a small fire. They had not spoken to each other while they searched, and the air was still stiff between them.

Hermione pulled her wand from the pocket of her shorts and pointed it towards the air at the perimeter of their small camp. "Protego Maxima," She muttered, continuing with other spells of protection, including one to keep the rain off their spot.

As Hermione casted her spells, Ginny rummaged through a her satchel, her arm disappearing into the magically expanded bag. She soon pulled out two small bedrolls, then dried the ground of their camp with her wand and rolled them out.

"I'll go find some wood to burn, I don't like the taste of food cooked on magic fire. Do you want to send a message to base camp so they don't freak out?" Ginny said, disappearing into the underbrush, her wandlight held ahead of her.

Hermione sent a patronus to base camp, explaining that they were safe and that they were not trapped by one of the many curses they had already found within the pyramids. She then sat down on her bedroll, taking off her satchel. She took out her canteen, taking a swig and then pouring some water onto her hand. She rubbed the water against her face, then wiped away the water, sweat, and dirt with her shirt.

Suddenly, as Hermione held her shirt to her face, a scream erupted from the darkness. Hermione shot up from where she sat, scanning the darkness and raising her wand. Another scream, it was definitely Ginny. Without hesitation, Hermione barrelled into the darkness, toward the noise.

"Lumos." She said breathlessly, not stopping as light revealed the forest in front of her. Her boots slipped and slid in the mud as she descended down a slope, swerving to dodge trees and bunches of vines. Another scream pierced through the air, and Hermione turned slightly to follow. Ginny was screaming something, but Hermione could not understand what she was saying.

Hermione staggered as she splashed into the small stream at the bottom of the slope, she steadied herself against a boulder in the middle of the stream and scanned the trees all around her. A scream, Hermione could hear anger in the sound. She splashed through the stream, vaulting over a fallen tree. The slope on either side of the stream became steeper and turned to rock as Hermione found herself approaching a ravine. The next scream echoed against the stone, signaling that Ginny was in the ravine somewhere.

Hermione's heart hammered as she sloshed through the stream, and into the ravine. Her eyes darted around as she ran, sweat running down her brow

"GET OFF OF ME, YOU FILTHY SON OF A-" Ginny's echoing scream was cut off by a loud cracking sound like rocks being thrown together.

Hermione felt tears start to well in her eyes as she ran, a sob caught in her throat. She had asked Ginny to come with her as her auror for this expedition, it was her fault if anything happened to her. Hermione stopped, bracing herself against the wall of the ravine. She took a deep breath. No, she could not fall apart right now, she needed to save Ginny. The air was silent as Hermione continued through the ravine, scanning the stone walls on either side of her. The lack of screams made Hermione feel wary.

Soon her wand light fell upon an opening in the rock, slightly hidden by vines grew down the wall. Hermione looked down the ravine, then into the cave. The rock noise that had cut off Ginny's last scream pushed her to search that cave, and so she ducked into the opening.

Water dripped down the walls as Hermione walked through boulders and rock formations. The cave was small, and her wand light soon fell on the the tall back wall of the cave. The wall was smooth, except for a line of carvings at her eye level. She reached up and touched the carvings, they were runes.

She racked her brain as she examined the runes, then read out loud, "Give sanctuary." As soon as the words left her lips, the carvings began to glow bright blue, as if a light within the rock was shining through. Hermione stepped back in shock as a crack began to travel up the wall, forming a large door frame, with the line of runes in the middle. A rumble echoed through the cave as the stone fractured. Cracks covered the door as carvings of vines and flowers began to appear on the door, as if they were being drawn by an invisible hand.

Soon Hermione finds herself standing in front of a door within the stone wall, complete with stone handle pulling itself away from the wall. The same blue glow of the runes seeps through the cracks at the doors edges. Hermione stares up at the door in awe before reality comes back to her. Ginny needed her help, and so, Hermione immediately pushed open the heavy door that had not been there a few moments before.

...

Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading this! Although, now that the story is actually kind of starting, there are a few things that I would like to say...1. this is an eventual Dramione fic, if you haven't really caught onto that yet. 2. This story is meant to be fun for me, so I have not edited this very thoroughly, I apologize for any grammar errors that have slipped past.(feel free to point them out to me in a review/message if it is really bugging you and I will correct it.) 3. This is a Beauty and the Beast adaption story, so it will blatantly reference the disney movie (old and new!), along with take themes from other adaptions like Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses books (I love Rhys and suggest that series to any Dramione/Harry Potter fan.)

Also, how do you guys feel about this third person POV? My usual POV is first person and so I am a little iffy about this. Although, I felt third person was more loyal to the books. Feel free to send me a message/comment/review with any comments/criticisms/suggestions!

Thanks, Nat