Cinderella
"Cinderella!" A high pitched screech rent the air, and Hermione jumped awake.
"This isn't the Gryffindor dormitory at all." Hermione muttered to herself. She was sleeping on a hey mattress by a fire, in a midsized, antiquated kitchen. She was downright filthy.
"Cinderella!" This time the voice was a little deeper, but still being screeched at the top of whose ever lungs.
"They're screaming for me." Hermione muttered, "This is all Malfoy's fault!" She thought fast, by grabbing an apron and proceeded to find the source of the voices. Hermione walked up a small staircase and onto the ground floor of a beauty French mansion. Everything was immaculate, clean, beautiful and clearly expensive. Hermione gapped at everything she saw around her, and would have been more exploratory but was immediately brought back to the matter at hand.
"Cinderella!" shouted a voice in her ear. She turned around and saw a squat, short older woman at her side. She looked a lot like Prof. Umbridge, but not exactly.
"When we are calling you, you must respond immediately." The woman said tersely. This speech was followed by a smart slap across the face. Hermione then remembered the woman's voice in the Forbidden Forest; "Your tasks will become apparent once I place you where you need to be." She and Malfoy had to survive the horrors and adventures of twelve fairy tales. Hermione thought that this was a nightmare come true. Sure it's fun to read the fairy tales, but to actually live them, that was another matter entirely. Hermione knew about magical creatures, she strongly suspected that these fairy tales would not be for the faint of heart.
"Yes stepmother." Hermione replied bending her head. She wanted nothing more than to slap the woman standing in front of her, but Hermione knew about fairy tales, the original ones didn't hesitate to kill and murder people.
"First, take a bath, you smell horrendous, then fix breakfast, your stepsisters will need you to attend them immediately." With that, her stepmother walked away. Hermione quickly returned to the kitchens, got the bathtub down and washed vigorously. She found clean clothes and quickly dressed. Now she just had to figure out how to use the antiquated kitchen. She thought for a few moments, and then reached for her wand. She couldn't believe her luck! She still had it, but there was a note attached to it.
"Dear Hermione Granger, You are now in your first task. Yes, you can use magic, but just like in the real world, there are rules to using magic during your tasks. It can only be used when you are alone, or with your partner (in this case, Draco Malfoy), which means, that even if you had your wand in front of any of the story character, it would be rendered useless. Magic can only be used when needed for small purposes. In other words, you cannot magic yourself out of these tasks, use magic to fight your enemies, etc. You need to complete your tasks just like the characters of the story.
You and Mr. Malfoy must work together, or you will wander aimlessly between stories, until you two can figure out how to co-operate together. Beware, some of the tales you will live through may be slightly altered. Please pay attention at all times.
Sincerely, The Enchantress of the Forbidden Forest."
Hermione quickly set everything to working in the kitchen using magic, and being grateful for small mercies. While breakfast was cooking, Hermione thought about the letter. She and Malfoy had no choice, they would have to work together.
&&&&&&&&&&
Draco had just read his letter, and groaned. He would have to work with the mudblood. Year seven was supposed to be a breeze, now this!
"When I see Granger at the ball in three days time, she will get an earful from me." He muttered. Draco had just been to visit the king and queen, and they were determine to have him married, and so were holding a ball in his honor, to pick from the women of the kingdom. He knew immediately that he would have to pick Granger, which was clear. He wasn't too sure about which fairy tale he was in however, because fairy tales seemed to be more popular among muggle children than wizarding children.
Draco was dressed as a prince should be dressed, in fitted breeches, which showed off lovely muscled legs to advantage, with top boots, a fine linen shirt and a waist coat. His superfine jacket was hanging in the closet, in case he decided to go out. He didn't want to go out just yet, he wanted to think about how to get out of this fix. So he magicked a book of fairy tales and began to read.
&&&&&&&&&&
Breakfast was a success, and so Hermione was given a list of chores to do. There were other servants, not many, but there were others around the mansion. They were forbidden to talk to or help her, although most of her chores on the long list were completed by other servants. Hermione was grateful for that. She hated looking at the other servants, because they looked at her with such pitying eyes. She found out quickly that they all lived in the various servants' quarters in the attic, and some below the ground floor, next to the kitchen. Hermione knew she would have to show great care in order to hide her wand.
As if on cue, there was a huge banging on the door, and the butler went to answer. He came back with a letter in hand. It was the invitation to the ball. Hermione hid by the door of the drawing room in order to hear what was being said.
"Oh mother, it's by royal decree that we are to attend! The prince is so handsome, with his blond silvery hair." Said her stepsister, Millicent. Hermione was ready to scream when she saw that one of her step sisters was none other than Millicent Bulstrode. The other was Pansy Parkinson. Hermione figured that familiar faces would turn up during the tasks.
"Trust Malfoy to become the prince." Hermione muttered.
"Madame, the invitation says that all young ladies of the kingdom should be there, will Lady Hermione be able to attend?" Duhaime the butler asked. Hermione thought she would die, she quickly scuttled away from the door, and it was a good thing, because her stepmother came scurrying around the corner to see if she were listening. Hermione had hidden herself behind a tapestry.
"Cinderella will not be attending, the ball is for eligible young women, not servant girls!" was the reply.
"Lady Hermione is not a servant girl, and if the king knew you treated the daughter of a marquis this way, you would dearly regret it." Duhaime replied.
"She is a servant of this house, and she will not attend!" was the reply. Was it her imagination, or did her stepmother sound a little frightened. Hermione just knew that Duhaime would be dismissed, but strangely enough he wasn't. When he walked out of the drawing room, Hermione ran up to him once he was out of sight and earshot of her step family.
"Why didn't she dismiss you?" Hermione asked.
"Because I know too much." Was the reply, and with a gleam in his eye, Duhaime turned and went about his duties.
&&&&&&&
Draco was not having any more luck than Hermione. He quickly found out that being royalty was not too far removed from his own family life. It was a life of duty, he quickly found out that he was actually being blessed to have the opportunity to pick his own wife, even it her knew he had to pick Granger.
Draco studied the stories, and figured he was living the story about the Little Cinder Girl. When he figured out what was going on, he barked with laughter at the thought of Granger being covered in ashes and soot, and waiting on a wicked stepmother with her undesirable daughters.
His day was filled with tutoring, lessons, and hunting. How boring! He wanted nothing more than to find Potty and Weasel to torment them, but it would be a long time before he returned to Hogwarts.
&&&&&&&&&
The next day for Hermione dawned beautiful, but inside the mansion, her name was being called morning, noon and night to perform the simplest, and often the most humiliating tasks.
Pansy had called her into her room to change the chamber pot, when Hermione went to change it, it was immaculately clean. Hermione then looked at Pansy questioningly.
"Ooops! I guess I forgot to go." With that, Pansy grabbed the chamber pot from Hermione, sat it on the floor, and squatted over it. Hermione was horrified!
"Now, empty my chamber pot and bring me a new one." Pansy said awfully.
Nothing could have prepared Hermione for the on going indignities that they had in store for her. Millencent demanded to have Hermione bathe her. This was worst than the chamber pot episode, but nothing was worse, than when Hermione was called in to remove her stepmother's rags. The nasty old woman didn't even try to cover them up, they lay there bloody, and a few looked freshly soiled.
When evening arrived, her stepmother and stepsisters went out into society, and Hermione finally had some peace. The ball was in one day's time, she could hold on until then. She found herself wishing to and hoping to go, to escape the unpleasant women that lived here. She wanted this story to be over, and perhaps the next one would find Malfoy in a less favorable position.
&&&&&&&&&&
"Father, what if I refuse to marry?" Draco asked the king during supper.
"Oh, you will marry, there is no question. If you don't find a bride tomorrow night at the ball, I will find one for you, and make no mistake, the wedding will happen the following day if I have to find her. I'm not getting any younger, and you need to grow up and be prepared to rule! All of France will be relying on you once I am gone. You have had enough time to play and laugh, now you will pay for all the time spent being a boy, it's time for you to become a man." The king replied. He didn't even look kindly or loving. The queen just sat there quietly, not even thinking to object. She was basically a mindless chattel.
The Ball couldn't get here fast enough.