Hey, thanx for the reviews!
Yeah, I am a loser and have all 8 seasons of smallville and in the 8th season, this guy named Davis Bloome comes into the story and he's Doomsday. In one of the episodes, called Bride, the last chapter before the credits is called "Beauty and the Beast". One of the last episodes is called "Beast" and that's when I got the idea for this story. It also came from the Hulk, but mainly it was from Smallville. Davis/Doomsday is in love with Chloe Sullivan. Doomsday is a monster that actually kills innocent people, unlike Harry. So Chloe calms him down, as she is the only one that can stop him from turning. Sorry if this spoiled Smallville for you. Haha.
There is a new character introduced in this chapter and yes, you guessed right. It is a child. However, she is very important to Beauty and the Beast aka Harry and Hermione.
Here's chapter 4!
Chapter Four
Protect
Hermione wrote her letter to Harry, telling him that she missed him and wanted to see him again. She wanted to hug him and hold him tight and never let go. She was worried because there had been Beast sightings in Scotland near Hogwarts. She did not want him to get hurt.
She would lay in her bed all day and hug a pillow, worrying about Harry. Her parents got very worried and finally, her mother comfronted her. Charlotte walked into Hermione's room and saw her daughter lying on her bed, hugging a pillow and petting Crookshanks. "Hermione?"
Hermione looked at her mother. "Hey, Mum."
Charlotte sat down on the bed and smiled slightly. "Hermione, you need to get out of this room. It's not healthy to be doing this."
"I'm worried about him. Beast killings have been more frequent, now in Scotland...where Harry is."
Charlotte sighed and stroked her daughter's hair. "Harry's fine. He can take care of himself. He would not get himself killed. He's strong and would live to see you smile."
That made Hermione smile a bit. "See? You're already happier."
"What if Harry gets hurt? I'll blame myself for not stopping him."
"Now that's taking it too far, Hermione! You are not in any way responsible for him leaving! He left to protect you and me and your Dad. Whatever his reason is, it's because he loves you."
"You don't know that," Hermione whispered to her mother.
Harry sat in Dumbledore's office with a grim look on his face. He killed more people now in the past few days and he was scared of himself. "They are getting more frequent, sir. Now, I am changing every night, killing more people. I am beginning to remember everything I did." He seemed very horrified by this.
"So, you haven't found a way to control it?"
"No, sir. No, I haven't. I have tried everything."
"Obviously not everything. You haven't come close?"
Harry thought about this. There was that one time when he thought about Hermione and it almost went away, but he still transformed. "There was one time where I started to control it. I thought of Hermione and how beautiful she was, but...I couldn't hold it for long." He blushed at his confession.
"Ah, I should have known you were attracted to Miss Granger. Yes, Harry, she does soothe people very well. I think we should get her here. She can help you control it," he suggested.
"No!" he protested. "I don't want her getting hurt. She's too special."
"Harry, I know you want to protect her, but you have to try. She can help you."
Harry sighed and said, "I'll think about it."
Harry stood up and said, "Thank you, Professor," and left.
He walked through the hallways with his hands in his pockets. He began to get that urge again.
He woke up on the Hogwarts grounds that night, naked once again. It was raining and he was already soaked to the bone. He had no idea who he killed this time. He had clips and visuals, but nothing that he really remembered. He stood up clumsily and stumbled toward the castle. He was weak, just like the last few times. He had tried to think about Hermione when he began to change, but it did not work. He needed her. He craved for her. He lived for her. But he did not want to give in. He fell to the ground and rolled onto his back in exhaustion. 'Hermione...I need you. I can't go on. Please.' He got onto his knees and panted and then shouted to the heavens. "HERMIONE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as a loud clap of thunder rolled and a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Then, the Beast's voice came out of his throat with a loud roar.
Miles away, Hermione Jane Granger woke up to someone yelling her name. She checked the clock. It was two thirty-four in the morning. 'Maybe it was just a dream' she thought, but questioned herself. 'Did that sound like Harry? Was that Harry? He could be in trouble.' She shook her head. 'I'll go see him tomorrow.' She rolled back over and fell back to sleep. A book laid on her bed, several feet away from her. If anyone else was in the room, they would see that Ms. Hermione Granger's latest book was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Harry stood up and slipped in the mud, falling back on all fours, crying. He was all alone. By himself. Deserted. Abandoned. He felt like when the Dursleys had left him to starve for four days as they went on a small vacation and forgot about him. He had been locked in his cupboard weak, starving, and thirsty. He had been only five years old. He felt unloved. Unheard. Vulnerable. He did not like what the Beast did to him. Made him feel weak and exhausted.
He cried out his best friend's name three more times. He thought...that if he called for her enough, she would come to him. But she did not. Instead, McGonagall found him two hours later, passed out. She levitated him in and laid him on his bed in the Head Boy's dormitory. She made him more suitable by putting pajama pants on him and putting a Drying spell on him.
She left him to rest more and then went write a letter to an old Wizarding family.
Harry woke up feeling amazing. He had a theory. When the Beast calmed down enough, Harry became human again and passed out. When he awoke after awhile, he was weak and scared and exhausted and wanted to die. When fell back asleep and woke up, he felt like a new man. Like he could conquer the world. A hero.
But he was no hero. He killed people. He couldn't control it.
He sat up in the bed and looked around. Wasn't he outside in the rain last night? How did he get here?
He smelled horrible, though, like sweat and grime, like all of the other times. So, he got out of bed and took a shower and changed into clean clothes.
He was bored, like always, so he just walked the halls and corridors of his school. He found a hole in the wall near the Entrance Hall where he had blasted through the afternoon before. He was destroying the world, bit by bit.
"Mr. Potter..." he heard behind him. He turned around and smiled slightly at his Head of House.
"Hello, Professor," he responded looking back at the hole.
"Admiring your handiwork?"
"I can't believe I did this. It's nothing compared to what I've done. But this is something I love. It's a part of what I love. I damaged my home," he said sadly.
"Don't blame yourself, Harry," she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't control it. I have invited the Weaselys here for a while to help you calm down."
Harry's head whipped to look at her. His smile faded, showing a concerned and worried frown. "No, I'll hurt them, too."
"Harry, you have to let them try. If you won't let Hermione, then the Weaselys."
"No, I'd rather be caged than hurt any of them," he said strongly. Then he had an idea. "That's it-cage me! Put me in a cage! With the strongest spells you know. If you won't kill me, then contain me."
"Absolutely not, Mr. Potter," she refused. "You may not want it this way, but it's what's going to happen."
"I'm turning more frequent now. I'm afraid it's becoming permanent and I will no longer be human and be the Beast until I die. You need to cage me before I hurt anyone else!" he told her.
"No, Mr. Potter, I will not. It's for your own good. Caging the Beast will not solve the problem. Miss Granger will. Or the Weaselys." She walked away without another word.
The Beast inside the seventeen year old roared, shaking the halls of Hogwarts.
It was fighting to come out. This was the second transformation he had in less than a day. He was scared he was turning into the Beast permanently. No longer human.
His clothes ripped off of him and he roared loudly, angry. His body fully changed into the Beast.
The Beast hid out in the Forbidden Forest, letting out its anger on the trees and acromatulas. It stayed there until nightfall. This was the longest the Beast had ever been the Beast. It was really angry. It wanted to kill. Not just acromatulas. It wanted to smell the worst part of human flesh. It wanted to hear the horrible screams of the ones who made others scream. It wanted to kill. It wanted to protect.
It roared again and began to run. It ran. It ran out of the Forest, knocking down trees that stood in its path.
Hermione looked around as she heard a terrifying roar. She was up in the Head Girl's dormitory. She had been told that Harry was out for a walk and would be coming back soon, so she was waiting for him. She walked to the window and looked outside. What she saw shocked her. It was a monstrous creature. It had thick, black, rocky skin and blood-red eyes. It was about seven feet tall and had spikes on its face. She realized she was looking at the Beast.
"Harry..." was the first thing that came out of her mouth. "Harry's out there! It could hurt him!" She turned and ran out of the room, down the stairs, out the common room, and through the halls of Hogwarts. Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasely met up with her. "Harry's out there!"
"What?" Ron asked confused.
"Harry's out walking! He could be hurt from that thing!" she ran to the Entrance Hall. The Weaselys hot on her heels, trying to stop her from her suicide mission. Right when she got to the big, oak doors, Ron had grabbed her around the waist. "NO! HARRY! GET OFF OF ME, RON! LET ME GO!"
"It'll kill you!" he yelled back.
"I don't care! I have to find Harry!"
Ginny began to hyperventilate. Her mother had to slap her across the face to get her to breathe right. "Mum, what if Harry's going to get hurt?"
"We won't worry about that right now, okay?" Mrs. Weasely said in that sickly sweet voice.
Hermione got really angry and elbowed Ron in the gut. Hard. Ron let her go to hold his stomach in pain. Hermione ran out of the doors, narrowly missing a Stun curse shot by Mrs. Weasely. Then, she did something that had not been done since before Dumbledore died. She Apparated away from Hogwarts.
She ended up in Hogsmeade. She figured he might be here. "Harry!" she called. "Harry!" Tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks. "HARRY!"
"Help me!" she heard from a little ways down the street and in an alley. It sounded like a little girl's voice. Curious, she took out her wand and ran over to answer the call. She gasped as she saw a little girl being choked to death by a man in black. The girl looked to be about five years old. She had brown hair and hazel eyes that were beginning to lose their life. Hermione realized she didn't have much time to save the little girl. "Flipendo!" she yelled and the man flew off of her. Hermione ran to the little girl and knelt down next to her. "Hey, shh, it's okay. It's okay. You're fine." The little girl wrapped her arms around Hermione's neck, who held her back.
She didn't hear the man get up and shout, "Crucio!" Hermione heard it at the last minute. She shielded the little girl with her body and took the curse. She screamed in pain as the Torture Curse took its affect on her. "No!" the little girl cried.
"Crucio!" he shouted again.
Hermione let out a blood-curdling scream. She wanted it to end. She wanted to be dead and not have to feel this torture. Before he could put her under the Curse again, they heard a roar. The three of them all looked to the beginning of the alley. The Beast stood there...and it was angry. He roared again and the little girl covered her ears and whimpered. Hermione stood up shakily and the little girl followed. Hermione took the less of the two evils and put the little girl behind her, towards the assaultant, who grabbed her as bait to get away.
The little girl screamed as she was lifted into the air. "Here, take her! Not me!" He levitated the girl and hurled her to the Beast, who caught her. Hermione froze and wanted to lift her wand and shoot a spell, but she was frozen in her tracks. The little girl screamed as she looked into the red eyes of the Beast. The Beast looked at her and set her down gently. Then, it ran toward the assaultant and began to do what it came to do.
Hermione rushed to the little girl and put her face into her stomach, shielding her from the horrors of what was happening. Covering her eyes from seeing flesh being peeled from bone, limbs being ripped from body, and blood being splattered everywhere. The Beast left it so that the man was almost unrecognizable.
When it was done, the Beast looked roared loudly to the sky.
Hermione panted as it looked at her. However, she did not see a thirst for blood or murder in its face. She saw a power. The Beast walked toward them and stopped several feet in front of them.
The little girl turned from Hermione's stomach to the Beast. When she saw that it was not going to hurt her, she ran to it and hugged it as best she could. "You...saved...us, sir. Thank you."
The Beast froze, scared. It just tapped her on the back once. Then, it looked at Hermione and walked toward her. She did not back away. She did not cower. She was not afraid. She gasped as the Beast lightly brushed her cheek with its rocky finger. The Beast caressed its Beauty's cheek.
"Safe now," was all it said before it left.
Hermione stood frozen still after it was gone. Why did it not attack her or the little girl? Why did it save her? For a week now, she was told it was a Beast! A monster! Could not be stopped or controlled by anything. But it was gentle, at least to damsels in distress. It was a hero!
It turned out that the little girl's parents were killed by man who tried to kill her. He had wanted money, but she had screamed, so he tried to kill her as well. Her name was Annabella Gryphon. She was taken to Hogwarts as refugee. She was nestled in Hermione's arms with her face buried in her neck as the older girl walked back to Hogwarts. Annabella had fallen asleep a few minutes ago and Hermione figured she would have a hard time waking her up. "Hermione!" came Mrs. Weasely's loud and shrill voice running up to her. "Hermione!"
"Shh!" Hermione hissed at her as Annabella started to stir. "She's sleeping!"
"Oh, the poor dear..." Mrs. Weasely said. "Here, give her to me." She reached out for the little girl, but Hermione recoiled, holding her tighter against her chest. "No, it's okay. I think I'll take care of her. She's fine. She doesn't trust anyone but me."
Hermione continued to walk past her and past Ginny and past Ron. "Did you find Harry?" the female redhead asked.
The brunette turned around. "No, but we met up with the Beast."
"The Beast?" Ron asked. "Are you okay? And who is she?"
"The Beast is not a murderer. He's killed people, but only the ones with records. The ones who are bad and should be in prison. The Beast saved us tonight. This is Annabella Gryphon. She's orphaned. The Beast and I saved her," she told him before turning and walking away.
"S-saved you? The Beast is a monster! It could have hurt you!" he countered as she walked away.
She turned back around, "It could have...but it didn't."
"Mama...?" Annabella asked as Hermione laid her in her bed and covered her with the bedclothes. The five year old opened her eyes and looked up at Hermione. "Mama...is that you? I'm afraid."
Hermione had to smile, but still, a soft, lone tear escaped her eye. "No, I'm sorry. I'm not your Mama." She hated breaking the little girl's heart, but she would find out soon enough that Hermione was not her Mama and that she was dead. "I'm Hermione, remember? I saved you."
Annabella nodded and turned on her side and beginning to cry. Hermione laid in the bed with her. "Shh, it's okay. You're not alone. I'm here. I'll take care of you, if you'd like."
She nodded slowly. Hermione looked around and found what she was looking for. "Here." She gave her a teddy bear. "This is mine, but I don't mind letting you borrow it." It was a ratty, old, brown teddy bear with one eye left and some strings hanging down from it. Still, Annabella smiled a bit at it. "What's his name?"
"Henry."
"Henry..." she repeated and yawned.
"Here, why don't you get some sleep? You had a long day," Hermione suggested tucking her in.
"Are you going to leave me?" Annabella asked with scared, widened eyes.
"No, of course not. I promise, not until you fall asleep. Okay?"
She nodded and closed her eyes with Henry under her arm. Crookshanks leapt up onto the bed and curled up next to Annabella, who opened her eyes to see what it was. "This is Crookshanks. Don't worry, he's nice. Go to sleep."
Annabella stroked the cat's fur for a bit before she fell asleep. Hermione just sat against the headboard, running her hands through the little girl's hair and hummed a sweet tune. She could not imagine what this little girl was going through. She lost her parents and was almost choked to death. Then, she saw a terrifying Beast that saved her.
Suddenly, Hermione heard a noise coming from the Head Common Room. She got curious and left the bed, making sure Annabella was asleep. She walked outside her room and cautiously crept down the stairs to see what it was. She brandished her wand, ready to defend herself and her new charge. She walked into the Common Room, but saw nothing. Confused she turned around to go back upstairs, but then heard the door to the Head Boy's dorm open.
There stood Harry in a simple pair of pajama pants, looking tired and worn out. "Harry!" She rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck.
"Hermione!" he hugged her back tightly. "What are you doing here?"
She let him go and said, "I was worried about you. You just left unexpectedly. I just wanted to know if you were okay. And I wanted to stay with you. I didn't want you to leave."
He nodded and sighed.
"I saw the Beast."
Harry acted like he was surprised. "What? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think everyone was just misunderstood about him. He sav-"
He cut her off. "'It'. It's not a 'he'. It's an 'it'," he corrected her slightly angrily.
"Fine. It saved me," Hermione said.
Harry looked at her pretending to be intrigued and confused. "It did? How?"
She proceeded to tell her best friend the Beast's heroic tale of how he had saved her and Annabella.
"So, you are taking care of her?" he asked.
"Yes, she's upstairs asleep. She told the Beast 'thank you' for saving her," she smiled. "Harry, the Beast is this ugly, gruesome, scary monster on the outside. But on the inside..." She shook her head disbelievingly. "It's very beautiful."
"It is a monster," he spat back.
"No, it's not, Harry," she protested. "It saved my life! It didn't have to, but it did."
He didn't want to argue with her. He would lose anyway, so he just let it go and said, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Hermione."
"Goodnight, Harry," was her reply and she kissed him on the forehead. Harry smiled and went back up the stairs to sleep.
The next night, the Beast appeared again. Hermione had been worried about Harry as he did not show up for dinner. She tried to go outside to look for him, but the Weaselys followed her again. "Hermione, come on inside. Don't worry about Harry. He can take care of himself," Ron complained grabbing her hand and trying to pull her back inside.
"No, Ron! Let me go!"
"Don't worry about him!"
"Let go of me, Ron!"
Suddenly, they jumped at a monstrous roar. They looked at the source of the noise, shaking. Hermione smiled as she saw her two-time rescuer. The Beast.
"No touch Hermy. Let go," it said.
Ron immediately let go and he and his sister and his mother stared in horror at the Beast. It decided to scare them off to be alone with its Beauty. So it roared again, right in Ron's face, who almost had a heart attack. The three Weaselys ran back inside the castle, leaving the Beauty with the Beast. Hermione tried not to laugh, but failed. She turned to the Beast amused. "I wondered when I would see you again."
The Beast just stood there looking at her. "Are you okay?" she asked it.
"Beast fine," it responded. "Hermione safe."
She was confused. She only met this Beast last night and never told it her name. "How do you know my name?"
The Beast looked as if it was nervous. "Beast go now." It ran away as fast as it could to a secluded spot to transform back into its human form.
The Beast realized one thing:
Hermione, its Beauty, could calm it down.
TBC...
Well, there's chapter 4.
Yes, I know if you read my other stories, you are probably sick of me putting children in my stories. But Annabella is very important. She is one of the few people who think that Beast is a good creature. I struggled with trying to find a name for her. I wanted it to be a combination of "beauty" and "beast". I knew "Bella" is I think, Italian, for beautiful. So I looked on to find a name that was a beast and found interestingly enough, Gryphon. Realizing that I could in NO way put these two names together, I chose for Gryphon to be her last name and stuck an "Anna" in front of "Bella" as I did not want to confuse myself with Bella Swan. Haha.
Annabella Gryphon is an important character. She is the reason the Beauty and the Beast meet. This, however, does NOT mean they are going to adopt her. I have no idea if I'm going to do that.
I tried looking for a name that meant "truth", but all of the names were like, unpronouncable, so I decided to go with a combo of "beauty" and "beast". Because Annabella does represent truth. You'll see.
Oh, also, I named Hermione's teddy bear actually after Harry. "Harry" is a nickname for "Henry". I found that out thru Prince Harry of England, haha. That's his real name. Well, teddy bears protect little children from monsters and the dark. I'm sure you can make the connection between Henry and Harry.
Next chapter: Annabella bonds with Harry.
Anyway, pleez review!
DREWHHR