Beauty and the Beast: Hogwarts Edition
Chapter Two- Christmas Break
By Kalison A.
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Disclaimer- I only own what my mind comes up with.
A/N- I will take this opportunity to mention that this is a mystery. I will not be revealing the identity of the Beast until I feel ready no matter what you ask. Harry and Ron will not be playing much of a part in this story.
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Hermione had returned the next night to bandage the poor Beast's wound. She had not found a spell that could heal wounds as serious as his. So she used the Muggle approach, and received mostly harsh words for her troubles. The ill-mannered Beast then ordered her from his tower, after making her renew her vow.
She now only thinks of him now and then, thinking of how she could improve his manners and the horrible condition of his dusty, mangy tower.
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She had recently over heard Professor McGonagall inform the rest of the staff that a young Gryffindor had gone missing. She had promptly owled Harry, who had accepted Mrs. Weasley's offer to come over during the break, while Hermione had politely and regretfully declined, to ask if she could borrow the Marauder's map, and had received, both a reply and the map the next day, Christmas Eve.
So, here she was, preparing herself for the trek up to the last tower, the last known inch of the castle that she had not yet searched. She was currently hesitating at the bottom the stair, thoughts running around her head, so at first, she didn't heard the sound drifting down the stair. she caught the noise, and realized that it was the sound of muffles sobbing, she lightly dashed up the stairs, paused in the big room momentarily, and went through the hallway of the left most of the five doors. She reached a door, behind which the poor Gryffindor was crying and pulled on the handle of the door, to discover that it was locked and that her quiet cries of Alohamora couldn't even unlock it.
She lightly rapped on the door, and whispered, "Are you the missing Gryffindor?"
The sobbing sound stopped and a reply was uttered, "What do you care? Who are you?"
"I care because I am of Gryffindor, and Gryffindor's should stick together. I am also the Head Girl, which makes me responsible for missing and misbehaving student, that and it has been bothering the-"
She was interrupted mid-sentence by the angry Beast, who had come to check on his prisoner, and to deliver food. He had set the tray down, before thundering, "I thought that I told you to stay away from here! Why have you returned?"
"I have been searching the castle from dungeon to tower for the missing student of the house of Godric Gryffindor. I heard-"
"You heard the child cry, so you hurried up the stairs, for you thought that the scoundrel was being hurt, and therefore you felt responsible and came to help him. You are instructed to LEAVE my tower NOW, and NEVER return or tell anyone about me, this tower's secret, or of the location of this boy! GO!" He shouted, causing the child of Egyptian descent to swoon.
Hermione replied, headstrong, to him, "I shall not leave ,and ,if I ,can will take this poor Gryffindor's place, if you will release the kid, and I shall remain here, in your tower, until you see fit to let me go."
"You, you would take his place?"
"Yes."
"Very well then," He said as Hermione's quaking knees gave out and she fell to the ground. He picked up the first year and placed him, on the cold, stone, bare floor outside of the locked tower.
He came back up the stairs to find Hermione on the floor no longer; she was sitting on the bench in the prison room.
"Come with me."
"Why?"
"Do you want to stay in the tower?"
"No."
"Then come."
He lead her across the hall, for it was not a big room, but a corridor, at the end of which she, could see the middle, forbidden room, glowing with a soft light. He took her to a room, across the hall from his own quarters, and called for a house elf to bring her stuff up and place it in there as she rushed in, anxious to be alone, in the room with its empty portrait. He told her that the room, with its huge bed and beautiful window hangings was now hers. He told her that she was expected to join him for dinner that next evening, leaving no room for argument, and slamming the door shut.
She threw herself on to the bed and cried herself to sleep.
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Nobody really noticed that Hermione was nowhere to be found, for a couple of reasons, such as there was a ton of snow out side, and although a pack of wolves had been sighted, they where having snowball fights as Hermione sadly watched from her art glass windows. It was also Christmas so nearly everyone was in high spirits. There was a feast and present opening, and only one person realized that she hadn't been seen all day as they drifted off into their regular nightmares.