AN: Mwahahahahaha! I finally finished a short story. This is how the Harry Potter series should have ended, even JKR admits it. Reactions, comments, please?
The Library
She hadn't run from him, she wasn't even a little bit afraid of him.
He felt giddy beside her, and self-conscious. He did take regular baths but his fur was wild, and the rest, well there was nothing to be done about the rest. There were no clothes to fit him properly, his antlers made him unnecessarily taller than he already was, and his face… if a lion could mix with a black wolf, that's what his face looked like.
But she didn't flinch away from him, not even when he was forced to lap milk out of a bowl as she sipped from a mug.
He was finally close enough to her to make out her features; her skin glowed in Lumiere's light, her dark hair haloed around her, and her eyes, rich, rich brown that he longed to look at in daylight.
He shouldn't ask, he shouldn't push, but he needed to know, "How long?" He coughed to clear his throat, "How long were you planning on staying?"
"Until tomorrow."
She watched his shoulders sag and his adorable ears droop. She felt as if she had just kicked a pupped, punted said puppy into a trench and laughed at it as it sunk into the water.
"But now that I've met you, perhaps I'll stay longer, if you want me to that is?"
"As long as you want, forever if you wan-" He seemed to bite his tongue then grunted as his sharp teeth sunk in. "Sorry, I know you wouldn't want that, I just meant that my door will always be open to you."
Belle smiled at him, "Merci."
He was shy and so unsure of himself. Belle had a suspicion he had been a prince when he was human, it seemed the most logical conclusion. But if he had been a prince, he must have been young or not allowed to have many friends.
Of course, she didn't know how much confidence she would have if she had antlers and pointed teeth.
He returned her to her room with a bearing of teeth that she was sure was meant to be a smile.
It was endearing.
And she found herself smiling as stretched out on her sofa. Philippe didn't even stir from his dreams.
He could hardly fall back asleep. He would get to spend at least tomorrow with her.
Belle. Beautiful, beautiful Belle.
She had given him a name, Hairy. And though it wasn't the most dignified name, it was his name. It felt more right than anything had in years.
And as he rose with the sun, the world seemed to be brighter. Looking around him, the only thing that could dim his joy was the servants around him, mute and trapped, and he with no way to help. No memory to even know if there was something he could do for them.
Hopping from rooftop to rooftop he tried to put all his worries aside, today was going to be a good day.
And it began with Belle's smile.
They had breakfast together which Hairy, unfortunately, had to lap out of the bowl. Lucky, Belle didn't give him so much as an odd look. The look she gave him was more calculating as if she were thinking about how food conception worked.
After they had finished, he said, "I have something to show you."
She smiled, and it was like he had seen that smile a thousand times over and with those phantom memories came the sense of home.
Home, a novel concept that he had never felt wondering this baren castle.
"Alright," she said with a grin, taking his outstretched paw without a wink of fear.
He had to shorten his stride for her but finally, they reached the library. They each took one of the ornate handles and throw the doors open as if they had planned it. Light streamed into an enormous room.
Shelves and shelves of books, the only parts of the walls not overtaken by shelves were the windows that stretched to the twenty-foot domed ceiling.
But Hairy didn't care about the wonder of architecture and knowledge that surrounded them, he cared about Belle. And her expression… it outshined the sun.
She didn't let go of his hand as she dragged him across the room to start browsing titles.
Moments later he found himself with an arm full of her choice books, hours later she finally looked up at him to ask a question.
"Um," she started cheeks a bit flushed, "Do you like reading?"
His lips curled and he held up the book he had chosen for himself. Of course, it had already been on the table, the leather of the cover well worn, but the golden design of a dragon still shown bright when it caught the light.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I know that book! My mum used to read it to me."
"I think it's my favorite," Hairy said.
"You know it's a children's book, right?"
He huffed, "It's a good book, I like the adventure, I like the prose, I even enjoy the poetry."
She grinned, "Some of it is silly."
He began to grin back, but hesitated, stopping short of bearing his teeth, "I like the silly ones, life is grim enough without insisting everything be serious."
She held out her hand for the book and he passed it to her, their fingers brushing against each other. He blinked fast, not wanting her to see how much that simple contact meant to him.
Belle began to read, and her voice was spellbinding. The adventure came to life in a way it had never had before. And for the first time in years, he was happy, grateful to be where he was. He could sit by her side and listen to her read for eternity.
Their quest came to a decided halt when her stomach growled to be noticed.
He laughed, standing, held out his paw to her. She reached for it without hesitation, allowing him to help her to feet.
It meant more to him than she knew. She meant more to him than he thought he could even comprehend.
She was a familiar stranger, and what she thought of him mattered.
When they sat down after getting food from the kitchens, Belle asked, "Where does the food come from?"
He shrugged, "Magic, I suppose. This entire castle is cursed and everyone in it. The kitchen staff are now the pots and stoves, they manage somehow. Even the forks and the napkins were people once."
She squeaked and nearly dropped her fork, she caught it and gently placed it on the table.
"That's awful," she said and looked on the edge of tears.
"Don't be afraid, they're servants, they like guests. There isn't anything else they can do here but sit cabinets and collect dust."
She glared at him, "No one would choose to be a fork."
His voice was only a bit bitter when he said, "Some would say that none would choose to be cursed."
Belle took in a long breath, then she picked up her soup like he had to, drinking from it like an oversized cup.
Hairy refrained from telling her the bowls were people too.
Belle was comfortable around Hairy, he was kind. Sometimes he seemed so familiar that when she closed her eyes she saw flashes of a young man with glasses, with the same raven hair -limited to the top of his head, and the same emerald green eyes. But of course, she couldn't have ever met him when he was human, he was a prince after all, a king if he didn't have a father. But still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him, nor could she put aside how deeply she cared for him.
She pitied him too, and everyone in this castle, herself excluded. And the next day she pressed her questions in the library, "So you really have no idea who cursed you?"
"Nope," he said, eyes looking up to the ceiling as if he were trying to pull back the veil of his forgotten memory, "I know it was a witch, and that is all I know."
"If it was a curse, there has to be a way to break it."
He looked at her ruefully, "I wouldn't know where to start, Belle."
She smiled and flung out her arms toward all the hundreds and thousands of books around them, "I do."
Considering how small the library was where she had grown up, she was amazed at her own ability to navigate this enormous one.
Day after they searched for answers, and day after day, she and Hairy fell into a more familiar pattern.
One day, Hairy slammed shut another useless textbook, some potion book that could change person's appearance to look like another person's appearance as long as you had one of the other person's hairs. Belle had already looked at that book she knew, though oddly, it had been in the unread pile.
Hairy looked despondent like they would never find a way to break the curse.
"What do you like to do in your free time?" she asked suddenly, "I mean aside from read."
He snorted, "Reading isn't what I spent most of my time doing before you came along."
"Alright," she challenged, shutting the book she had been reading. She had no intention of giving up, but she wanted to chase the hopelessness from his eyes. "What does the king of the palace do on his own?"
He looked at her for a long moment, "Do you trust me?"
"Yes," she said with a certainty that almost scared her, almost.
"Then I'll show you."
They stood and she headed for the doors, she stopped when she realized he wasn't headed out of the library.
"Hairy?" she question.
He turned, giving her that half smile of his, "Doors are overrated." And he swung open one of the windows behind him, the other hand he held out to her.
Feeling her heart fluttering in her chest, she went to him. She hadn't realized how big he was until he wrapped his arm under her, lifting her up at the thighs. She wrapped her arms instinctively around his neck. The smell of him was soothing, and she only half strangled him when he leaped out the window.
She gasped as he climbed effortlessly up the castle's exterior.
Hairy tried not to be too pleased with himself as Belle clung to him. The day was reaching its end and he would be able to show her the sunset from the tallest tower as the castle and land changed colors. Show her the one part of his world that was truly beautiful, the sky.
When he had reached the ledge to see the sun kiss the mountains, he tried to set her on her feet, but she wouldn't allow it, curling her fingers into his fur.
So he sat down with her in his lap, "Look up, Belle, you're safe, I promise."
She looked up at him, and his heart nearly stopped in his chest, in her rich brown eyes, the honeyed sunlight illuminating the side of her face, he saw only trust on her face.
Trust, and something… something more.
She turned her gaze outward, and this time her gasp was not of fear but awe. The landscape and sky were thrown into dramatic hues, and they sat above it all, a part of the sunlight and growing shadows.
They watched the sun fall behind the mountains, watched the stars appear from the vast blue dome above them.
Though no words passed between them that evening, Hairy realized something vital as Belle fell asleep in his arms.
He loved her.
Gaston had been searching for his betrothed for weeks. No sign of her, no word from anyone who might have seen her. He might have assumed she was dead, eaten by wolves, but his gut told him she was still alive.
And his gut, as it always was, was correct. Because that afternoon he saw a monster crawling up the side of a castle with his bride to be in his claws.
Gaston didn't stay to see if the thing threw her to her death or not. He rode his horse back to the village as fast as could to summon the men of their village.
Whether it was to save Belle or avenge her, the Beast of the castle would die tomorrow.
Belle woke on her bed, with Phillipe nickering at her.
She smiled up her giant horse and stretched, taking in the morning light.
Something had changed between her and Hairy last night. She wasn't sure exactly what, but she rose for the day with new purpose.
Perhaps, she had found where she truly belonged, and she had never belonged anywhere in her life.
Belle did not know why she felt this way, why she felt as if she had known Hairy her entire life, or why now she felt something more for him, but she knew that last night was the first she could remember without a whisper of a nightmare.
"Do you dance?" she asked him abruptly after they finished their late breakfast.
He blinked at her, trying to pull the memory of dancing across a dance floor. Two images appeared to him, a tall boy with bright orange hair dancing with a tall woman in emerald green robes, and then a second image of a girl, who looked like a much younger Belle, standing at the head of a staircase looking beautiful. He nodded, "I think so."
"Does this castle have a ballroom?"
He grinned, "You've already seen the ballroom. Did you forget which wing it was in?"
She blushed, "No, I just- Do you want to dance with me?"
His heart fluttered, and not trusting his words, he nodded.
Belle led the way, because she hadn't forgotten for a moment were the large ornate room was.
Sunlight poured in through the large windows, glinting off the polished floors and the gold on the walls. They went to the center of the room.
She curtsied to him in her country dress, and he bowed to her in his antlered monstrous form. But despite what one could say about country dresses or cursed beastmen, she was the most beautiful woman in the realm and she made him feel like a man.
Music began to swell around them. The musicians -now instruments, playing their souls out, and they danced in the daylight.
They danced and danced, and when the music turned to more folk than classical, they made fools of themselves, dancing and twirling, until they were breathless and laughing. Laughed as she stepped on his paws and he lifted her off her feet. They were carefree and happy, and the world was made new around them.
It was magic between them, and though they paused for a drink of water, they didn't dare depart for dinner. They danced slowly as the sun set, candles flickered to life around them. And nothing, nothing in the world could ruin this moment between them.
Except, perhaps, for a flaming rock smashing through one of the windows.
Hairy expected her to scream, but she didn't, and it seemed as if they had done it a million times before because they both dropped low to floor, and edged around the wall to get a better look out the window.
These windows looked over the entrance to the castle grounds, which gave them a splendid view of the mob with pitchforks and torches headed toward them.
Hairy growled, "What do they want? No one ever comes here, why now?"
He heard her gulp, "It's my village, they're here because of me. Hairy, I am so sor-"
He gripped her arms, not hard but firmly, "You listen to me, Hermione Jane Granger, you are the best thing to ever happen to me. I would be dead without you and I wouldn't trade you for all the world."
She frowned up at him, "Who is Hermione Jane Granger?"
More windows shattered, and he shielded her with his body.
Taking her hand in his paw, he pulled her into a run toward the hall. Finding a window on the other side of the castle. Without being asked, Belle climbed onto his back as he scaled the walls.
Sounds of fighting broke out in the castle, and Hairy was pretty sure the silverware and tapestries had just declared war on the villagers.
They reached one of the top balconies and Belle stood on her own feet looking at him oddly.
"Hairy," she said, "Before you join the fight, I just want to tell you that I-"
Hairy didn't get to hear her finish that sentence or have time to think through why he had called her by a different name because a man with a crossbow launched an arrow into his shoulder from feet away.
Hairy spun around to face his assailant with a roar, and he growled, "How do you get up here?" How had this stranger chosen this balcony out of the hundreds to be on?
"Worry not, Belle, my wife, I've come to save you from this horrid beast," the cleft-chined man said.
Belle said with such disdain that even Hairy winced, "The only beast here, Gaston, is you. But perhaps 'beast' is too strong a term, you're more cowardly, like a rodent."
"This beast has bewitched you, once he's dead, you and I will marry and you will bear me many, many sons." He gave her such a suggestive look that Hairy punched him.
He didn't land the blow, but he did manage to send the crossbow skittering to the ground. The arrow in his shoulder hurt but it was bearable, until the man, grabbed it and twisted it as he yanked it out.
Hairy roared, and scrambled back from the pain. Gaston pulled a knife from his boot and went at Hairy in a blind rage.
Belle, meanwhile, had snuck up behind Gaston and retrieved the crossbow.
Her aim was true, and an arrow pierced Gaston's heart from the back. Hairy throw the dying man over the ledge.
Belle and Hairy looked at one another in a stunned silence, stunned not because of their disbelief in killing another person but at how easy it had been, how familiar it had been, and at how well they worked together.
Neither knew how long they stood there, but eventually, two villagers found them.
"Belle!" the woman screamed, running toward her. The woman flung her arms around her daughter, sobbing.
The man approached more warily, but he threw his torch to the ground when he saw that Hairy was making no move to attack them. The father wrapped his arms around both his wife and daughter.
"We were so worried," her mother said.
Belle hugged them both before pulling away, she held her hand out for Hairy. "Mum, Dad," she began as his paw touched her hand, "This is the man I love."
His breath caught in his chest as raw and wild magic swirled around them. Where they touched, golden light spilled up his arm leaving pale skin behind.
For moment Hermione and Harry stared at one another. A woman in her prime, a man in his glory. They had aged, they had grown, and they knew why they mattered to one another.
"I love you, too," Harry said.
And then the stars fell from the sky, blinding streaks of blue fire and midnight shadows swirling around them.
The realm collapsing between the pages of a book, the curse broken, and every memory returned.
Harry fell into the side of his desk in his small apartment in London.
An owl hooted at him, looking at him as if he were a madman. Adjusting his glasses, he reached for the letter the owl had tied to his leg.
His hands, not his paws, were shaking.
Had it been real?
The letter was from Headmistress McGonagall, informing him of Hermione entering Hogwarts with her parents.
He didn't think before apparating, whether the years that passed in the cursed book were real or no, he found he had the power to apparate into the very walls of Hogwarts itself.
"Hermione!" he yelled into the library.
"There is no yelling in the library!" Madam Pince snarled from behind him.
He ignored her, running toward the restricted section.
"There is no running in the library either, Mr. Potter!"
He had just reached the stacks when Hermione emerged, her parents, both smiling with tears in their eyes behind her.
She flung herself into his arms and he held her as if he might crush her. She was younger, they both were, but he loved her just the same, and she was as beautiful now as she had ever been.
Pulling back, Harry waved to her parents, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger."
They smiled and her dad said, "Hello, Mr. Potter, you treat my girl right or you will be facing worse than a mob of angry villagers."
Harry grinned, "Yes, Sir."
Mrs. Granger smiled at him gently, "I believe you are the most dangerous person to ever enter my daughter's life."
Harry's heart fell, and Hermione hugged him again.
"And without you, I don't think my daughter would ever have found such happiness," Mrs. Granger finished.
Mr. Granger looped his arm with his wife's, "Now, I'd like to explore more of this Hogwarts I've learned so much about. I must say, I will be happy to return to a life dentistry than that of a farmer."
Mrs. Granger gave a happy sigh, "Hot showers."
"Air conditioning," Mr. Granger said in turn.
They left, giving Harry and Hermione a moment of privacy as they charmed Madam Pince into guiding them around.
Hermione looked up at him, "Harry, I love you."
"Harry?" he asked, "Or Hairy?"
She smacked his chest, and he laughed, "I love you, too. I've always loved you, I just didn't know I was in love with you until we-"
"Had some time apart, time to grow up a little, away from the chaos and grief of war," she offered.
He nodded, and then he bent the knee, "Hermione Jane Granger, will you marry me?"
She smiled, the light in her brown eyes was full of intelligence and the boldness that had gotten her sorted into Gryffindor. "Yes, Harry James Potter, I will marry you."
His smile was heartbreaking, not the half smiles she had seen when he was a beast, but a joyous smile of a man being granted his heart's dearest desire.
He rose, sweeping her into his arms, and kissed her among the stacks.
It was their first kiss, and it was everything it was meant to be, sweet and passionate. A kiss filled with a lifetime of trust and admiration, a brush of lips searing and caring. They were each other's other half, the person they could not go on without.
They would live happily ever after.
Epilogue
"I still can't believe this is happening," Ginny Weasley growled as she slouched in her chair at her family's table.
Fleur laughed, "I cannot believe she dated your brother. Viktor and I knew from their fourth year they would end up together."
Bill squeezed his wife's leg under the table as his mother turned a violent gaze on them. "This isn't what should have happened. They don't belong together, it should be my daughter up there."
Ron was staring numbly up at the head table set amongst the grass and flowers, at Hermione who glowed in her white dress, her wild hair looking more beautiful than ever with white flowers woven amongst the curls. She looked like a queen, and Ron's shy, stubborn, and often gloomy best friend stood as confidently as a king. He held his head high and looked- truly happy.
Ron should have been Harry's best man, but he had lost it when Hermione had told him that they were breaking up so she could marry Harry.
Though to be fair, he acted better than Ginny and his mum had. They had nearly gone on a witch hunt after Hermione.
Neville had received the honor of being Harry's best man, and Luna had been Hermione's maid of honor.
The wedding had been in the backyard of Potter Manor. The house was in bad shape, but the land was beautiful and sickeningly perfect for a summer wedding.
"Molly dear, it's alright, be happy for them. Harry and Hermione are good for each other," Arthur coaxed.
Molly grimaced, and turned her bitter expression into one of sorrow, "He was going to be our son. Don't you care?"
George snorted, and stood to his feet, "Don't you get it, Mum, Harry and Hermione will always be family, they don't need to marry into the family for that to be true." He walked away to another table to greet some old friends.
Ginny wiped at the tears on her cheeks, "It was supposed to be me."
Ron looked up at the table again and knew that it wasn't supposed to be him. He had deserted them more than once, let Hermione down time after time, and when the last test had come, to choose her happiness and Harry's happiness over his own, he had cursed them, failed them.
That's why he was sitting here at a distant table rather than at his friends' sides.
Hagrid, Minerva, Pomona, and Filius were overjoyed at Hermione and Harry's wedding. Having near raised the two, they knew of no one better for them.
Hagrid was a tearful mess, but he was glad that his tears were for a happy occasion. Even Minerva was teary-eyed.
Pomona and Filius were filled with joyous laughter, feeling in their bones that the future was in good hands, that what followed after this would be bright.
Unsurprisingly, Sybil Trelawney was not invited to the wedding. But as the witch gazed into the future in a drunken haze back at her tower in Hogwarts, she saw three beautiful descents, the first named Athena Lily Potter, the second Jane Luna Potter, and the third Sirius James Potter. Along with Teddy Lupin, the four Potter children would grow up wild, intelligent, and happy.
Hermione would become the Minister of Magic until her youngest son entered Hogwarts. That year, Hermione would retire and become the new Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts and Head of Gryffindor House as her husband Harry, re-entered the workforce as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Quidditch coach.
It was a good thing they returned to Hogwarts when they would too, as Sirius and Jane Potter would have been the doom of the Wizarding World had they not focused so very hard in school in finding ways to prank their parents. Both choose to become Aurors after graduating and put their incredible talents toward constructive avenues.
Teddy Lupin would become a potions master who discovered the cure to lycanthropy and would become Head of the Department of Magical Creatures in the Ministry, furthering the work his stepmother had begun.
As for Athena Potter, well, she was rather incredible, inheriting the best from both her parents.
It was, indeed, a bright future that Sybil witnessed in her crystal ball, and subsequently forgot as she dozed off.
"So I was thinking for my wedding present," Hermione Jane Potter mused as they sat at the head table of their wedding reception, "I want a library."
Harry laughed, "Let me guess, you want a ballroom too?"
She grinned, taking his hand in hers, "I bet with some magic I could create a castle out of our Manor."
"Of that, I have no doubt, and yes, for your wedding present, and for the rest of your life, I'll buy you as many books as you like."
She leaned into him, and he bent to kiss her lips, "I love you, my Harry."
They kissed and it was the love between them that made it magical.
"And I love you, my beautiful Hermione."
Fin
