AN- No I don't own the characters

This story was inspired by Beauty and the Beast!

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Chapter 4

Groaning, Draco slowly opened his eyes and saw the night sky staring back at him.

Merlin, what just happened?

"There you are!"

Draco turned around and sneered, "What are you doing here, Granger?"

Hermione smiled up at him and brought her bag down to the ground. "Where were you, Dragon?"

Draco blinked once.

What?

He looked down and felt as if a heavy weight dropped inside his stomach. He hadn't stopped transforming into this hideous dragon. He looked at Hermione and sneered with annoyance, "Get the hell out of my sight, Granger."

Hermione sighed, "I was looking for you last night, Dragon. You really worried me."

Draco watched as she plastered that annoying smile on her face again. He wanted so badly to raise his hands - actually claws - and smack that right out of her face. He watched in confusion as she hesitantly held up her hands and extended them towards her as if to make sure he knew she meant no harm.

Of course he knows she means no harm.

Stupid girl.

Stupid Granger and her stupid habit to care for Magical Creature's Rights.

When her soft hand touched one of his scales, he snapped. He immediately stood up and shouted at her. "What the hell is wrong with you?Go back inside the castle and leave me alone!"

He saw the frightened expression on her face as she hurriedly backed away from him.

Good.

He glared at her even more until a flicker of anger had shown on her face. To his surprise, Hermione held up her wand and pointed it right at him. What the -

"Don't you roar at me Dragon." Hermione snapped, scolding him in a creepy McGonagall way. ''I'm trying to help you, here!"

Draco groaned. He nearly forgot that the Mudblood couldn't even understand a word he's saying. Giving up, he dropped to the ground with a loud thud and placed his head on the ground with aggravation.

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Hermione sighed as she saw the demeanor of the dragon change into a lazier manner. She tried her best to stop the rapid beating of her heart when the dragon had roared at her in a threatening way. Even though she had put on a brave face, she was still shaking.

But for some reason, she knew the creature wouldn't harm her. She can't explain it, but something about this dragon intrigued her. Sighing, she tucked her wand back inside her robes and turned to fully face the dragon.

She slowly took a step forward to see the creature's reactions. The dragon just continued to stare at her with its piercing eyes, but hadn't moved an inch. Thinking it was safe, she moved towards the dragon again until she was standing in front of its face.

Merlin, she hadn't been this close to a dragon before. She studied its sharp gray eyes and its pale, scaly complexion.

"I don't think I've seen a beautiful white dragon before." Hermione murmured, lifting her hands to touch the side of the dragon's face.

It had a rough scaly texture, but Merlin, it was beautiful. He was a beautiful creature. The light from the moon gave the creature a glowing look, making it look more angelic than scary.

The dragon lifted its head a little and let out a deep breath, causing smoke to come out of its nostrils. Hermione coughed as the smoke hit her face and took a few steps back away from the creature as she feverishly waved her hand to clear the smoke around her.

The dragon grunted and dropped its head to the ground again.

Laughing, Hermione stayed at her spot and sat down. "You're a funny little thing, aren't you?"

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Little? The Mudblood thought he was a funny little thing?

Merlin, he guessed all those times reading in the middle of the night while under the covers did damage to her eye sight.

"What are you even doing here, Granger?" He then asked again tiredly.

He knew she couldn't understand him, but he was still annoyed as to why he had to endure her presence when he just wanted to be alone and figure out why he was still under this bloody curse.

He turned his head to stare at her. She was drawing shapes on the dirt with her finger and looked up when she heard him speak.

"I wish I knew what you're trying to tell me, Dragon." She mumbled, "It would be so much easier."

"Then go away and do your little research in the library." Draco snapped in annoyance.

Hermione glared at him, "It would really calm me down if you stopped roaring or growling at me every five seconds, you know. I'm trying to protect you."

Draco scoffed, "Protect me from what?"

"Don't forget the centaurs that caught you." Hermione continued on, "If it weren't for me, who knows what would have happened."

Draco groaned softly. "Nuisance."

"Maybe I should get help." Hermione muttered, more like to herself. She snapped her fingers and grinned, "That's it! Merlin, I don't know why I haven't thought of this before! Dragon, I'm going to find a way to make this easier on us! That way, it would be easy for me to watch over you, too."

Draco snarled, "I don't need anyone to watch over me, you filthy Mudblood! I'm not a bloody dragon! I'm Draco Malfoy! Stop treating me as if I'm part of your Magical Creature charity case because I'm not!"

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Hermione jumped up slightly from the dragon's constant roar. "Stop it!"

To her surprise, the dragon stopped roaring and just continued to glare at her, breathing heavily as puffs of smoke appeared from his nostrils.

"Do you want people to know you're here?" Hermione asked, "Because if you do, then fine! Roar away!"

The dragon continued to stare at her menacingly. She noticed the way the dragon's sharp nails were scratching the surface of the dirt as if it was her own flesh, but decided to ignore it.

Giving the dragon another warning look, she sighed. "You've got quite a temper there." She reached forward to caress the side of the dragon's head.

The dragon stared at her and let out a gust of air, blowing her hair back. Hermione laughed and tried to flatten her hair as he continued to watch her with its piercing eyes.

"I should go," Hermione murmured, continuing to stroke his scaly skin. "I shouldn't even be out since its past curfew. I really do hope you stay put so you don't put yourself in danger again. Can you do that for me, Dragon? Will you wait for me?"

She could have sworn the dragon rolled its eyes.

Smiling, she took a few steps back and grabbed her bag from the floor. "Good night, Dragon."

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"You look horrible." Blaise said bluntly, as a tired Draco slumped in front of him in the Slytherin table.

"Good morning to you too Blaise.'' Draco snapped sarcastically, loading his plate with spoonful of mashed potatoes and corn.

"Where were you last night, Draco?" Pansy asked.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Out."

"Out where?" She pressed on, placing one of her hand on his shoulder. "We barely spend any time together anymore, Draco. I miss you."

Draco sighed in annoyance. Is it too much to ask for some peace and quiet? All he wanted to do was eat and probably catch some sleep since it's the weekend.

"He's been busy, Pansy." Blaise answered for him. "Leave him alone, will you?"

Pansy shot him a look, but finally left Draco alone. Once she left, Draco quickly glanced at his friend and gave him a thankful nod.

Blaise nodded back but leaned slightly towards him so only he could here, "Don't think I'm going to let you get away with it, Draco. You need to tell me what's going on."

Draco glared at him before muttering, "Later."

His friend seemed pleased with the answer and went back to enjoy his breakfast. Draco continued to glare at his friend before shifting his gaze back at his food.

"Can her hair get any bigger?" Astoria snickered beside Pansy.

Pansy screeched a laugh, "Someone needs to show that Mudblood what a hairbrush is for."

Draco looked up to see the object of their insults and saw Hermione just coming in with her hair bushy as usual and her arms filled with books. But what he found odd was the dark bags under her eyes as if she hasn't had any sleep at all.

Like him.

Memories of last night came crashing down as he frowned.

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"What's with all this?" Ron asked, gesturing towards Hermione's large bag and the pile of books she slammed on the table.

Harry grabbed one of the books from the pile, "This is heavy - 'The History of Dragons and Everything You Need To Know About Them.' Wait, I don't remember Hagrid assigning us to read this."

Hermione rolled her eyes impatiently as she grabbed the book from his hands, "He didn't. I just realized I don't know much about dragons, so why not learn about them on my own, right?"

"Why the sudden interest in dragons?" Ron grimaced, as he watched Hermione pack some of her books back to her bag. "You could have asked my brother Charlie-

"Ronald," Hermione scoffed, "I think one learns better by reading and doing research on their own than depend on others knowledge."

"Speak for yourself." Ron muttered, shaking his head.

"Honestly, though." Hermione continued, "Don't you think dragons are just fascinating creatures?"

"From what I experienced, no." Harry chuckled.

"You and Hagrid should have a talk." Ron snickered, "I'm sure you both could go for hours about how lovely dragons are."

Hermione felt her annoyance towards the boy increasing, but ignored it. She grabbed a few toasts from the table and began to spread the butter before she heard her name.

"Granger!"

She looked up in confusion and turned around to see who called her.

"Granger!"

Her eyes scanned the Slytherin table and narrowed towards Pansy and Astoria, who were waving their arms in exaggeration to get her attention.

She raised an eyebrow at them, waiting for them to tell her whatever they needed to say.

"How's that storybook of yours, Granger?" Pansy cackled, "The one Draco destroyed! Are you still crying about it?"

The chatter in the halls started to decrease slowly.

"Of course she is!" Astoria screeched, "Look at her eyes! She's been bawling her eyes out, that's why they're all dark and pink!"

For a moment, Hermione's gaze flickered to Draco but he kept his eyes down as if he wasn't listening.

"Mudblood, can you not hear us?" Pansy called out, "We're talking to you!"

Harry turned Hermione around, "Ignore them, Hermione. Just ignore them."

"I'll be happy to hex them for you if you like." Ron muttered, giving the laughing Slytherins a dark look.

"Forget it." Hermione mumbled. With all the madness happening with the dragon, her mind nearly forgot about the book Draco destroyed. If her grandmother was here with her, she knew exactly what she would tell her.

'Don't give them the satisfaction of your pain. Keep your head up. That's it, Hermione.'

She never realized how much she misses her grandmother until now.

Before her eyes began to water, she quickly gathered her things and stood up. "See you both later."

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Draco pretended as if he didn't hear Pansy and Astoria throwing insults at the Mudblood. For some reason, a heavy feeling had sunk on his chest when they mentioned that book she had kept.

"You alright, mate?" Blaise asked, frowning with concern as he noticed his friend being quiet.

Draco looked up and forced a smirk, "Brilliant."

He couldn't help but glance at the Gryffindor table and saw Hermione standing up with her eyes to the floor. Sensing as if she could feel his gaze, she shot a look at his direction.

For a second their eyes locked.

That was enough to see the hurt and tiredness in her eyes before she quickly replaced it with a hatred expression towards him and looked away.

Does she hate him that much? Well if she ever found out who the dragon was, she shouldn't be! Without thinking, he stood up as well.

"Where you going?" He heard Blaise asked.

"Bathroom." He lied, heading towards the direction Hermione went.

He made sure he silenced his footsteps as he followed her towards the library. Of so predictable. With his eyes rolling, he hid behind a bookshelf as he watched Hermione gently place her bag and books on the table. He was about to show himself but froze when he heard a sob.

Coming from her.

Draco felt stuck. He didn't want to act as if he cared for the Mudblood, because he didn't of course. But he also didn't want to sound like an arsehole again. Not when she can be the only one who can help him with his situation.

He didn't realize how loud his frustrated sigh was until he heard Hermione gasp.

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"What are you doing here?" Hermione whispered furiously, wiping the wetness from her face.

Draco's eyes widened slightly before his lips curved into that nasty smirk she always hated.

"Just wondering why a Mudblood like you is sitting by herself here." He walked up to her table and pulled out a seat far from her before sitting down on it. "Where are your two bodyguards, Granger? Are they already tired of your presence, as well?"

Hermione felt the angered blood rushing to her face but pushed it down to remain calm. "Sod off, Malfoy."

Draco tutted, "That's not nice to say to your superiors, Granger. Show some respect."

Hermione wanted to scream. All she wanted was to stay in a quiet place so she can reminisce about her grandmother and continue on to research more about dragons.

What the bloody hell does he want now? Why can't he just leave her alone in peace for just a day, at least!

"Please leave." Hermione mumbled the frustration breaking.

"No." Draco smirked, "No, I will not leave."

Hermione shot up, her eyes already watering with tears. "Then I'll leave."

Draco gracefully got up as well and followed her, "Then I'll just follow you."

Hermione mindlessly dropped her books and bag, before whirling around to face him. "What do you want?"

Draco took a step back from her as if he was frightened or startled by the angered aura she released towards him. Good. Maybe then he can leave her alone.

"I said, what do you want?" Hermione repeated in a furious quiet tone.

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Draco swallowed hard.

Merlin, this was harder than he thought. Especially with that dangerous flicker of hate in her eyes, it's making him feel as if she'll Avada him right then and there on the spot.

"I need your help." Draco said strongly.

Hermione blinked. "My help?"

"Yes, Granger. I need your help." Draco repeated impatiently.

"Wait," Hermione let out a disbelief laugh. "You're asking me for help?"

If she wasn't a woman, he would have slapped her. "Are you bloody deaf, Mudblood? Do you have to repeat everything I say in order to understand things?"

He regretted the insult right after it came out of his mouth. But he's not going to apologize. He will never apologize to her.

"What do you need my help for?" Hermione asked coldly.

Draco shoved his hands in his pockets. Merlin, he never thought asking for help would be this damn hard. He knows he's not ready to tell her that he's the dragon, but he doesn't know how to ask for help without revealing anything to her.

How can he explain it to her?

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Review = update! =)

Thank you to the awesome Jucy Sam for being a cool beta!