Something there- Beauty and the Beast

A/N: .I just thought it might be cute. Draco is the beast, Ginny's Belle, Snape is Lumiere, Sinistra is Mrs. Potts, and Dumbledore is Coggsworth. So...here it is!

Ginny's PoV: A long sigh escaped a small, red-headed girl's lips as she stood up from a wooden table in the Hogwarts library. She glanced up at the clock, her emerald eyes widening as she realized if she didn't hurry she would be late to transfiguration class. She hastily gathered the books scattered among the table, shouldered her bag, and swept out into the corridor, where the noise of students laughing, speaking, and yelling filled her ears, a small surprise from the silent library where she had just been.

"Hey, Ginny!" Ron Weasley called down the corridor of the Hogwarts castle, his cloak flapping behind him. Everyone was wearing their cloaks inside these days- in mid-December, it was freezing in the castle. The heat didn't work very well in the classrooms, and they had no fireplaces. No one could figure out why the teachers didn't just conjure some up. "Gin!"

Ginny turned around, trying to shift the weight of her bag without dropping the nine books she was carrying in her skinny arms. Ron caught up to her and took four of the books, leafing through their musty pages while Ginny hurriedly stuffed the others into her bag. Ron glanced up at Ginny, an odd mixture of disgust and confusement upon his face. He held up a book- a red velvet cover with gold scripture.

"Love spells?" He asked, eyebrows raised. Ginny looked at the ground, watching one of her small feet in their hand-me-down shoes making a black trail in the dusty stone. Ron sighed and went on.

" Number one, they're against the rules at Hogwarts, and number two-" He trailed off, looking at Ginny with a new look of curiosity.

"Ginny, are you planning on using a spell on Harry?" His eyes narrowed, as Ginny glared at him.

"No, Ron, I wasn't. I had a crush on Harry four years ago. I'm sixteen now- remember? FIVE YEARS." She snatched the love spells book and the other four, arranging them in her arms, preparing to walk around the corner without dropping them. She quickly gave Ron a sarcastic smile, rolling her eyes behind his back as he turned around, muttering 'boys'. They were so stupid sometimes. She whirled around to head to transfiguration, when suddenly she found her books on the floor, and her arm aching with pain where she had been knocked. She looked up, gasping when she saw a 6'0, very muscular, very blond hottie looking down his nose at her.

Draco Malfoy.

She swallowed, wondering what would happen next. Through her head she wondered if this would be like in all the movies, where suddenly he would lean down after all their years of fighting and just kiss her, and nothing would be wrong, even though they weren't technically allowed to be together, considering their whole Romeo and Juliette sort of roles. She sort of scared herself- she'd never been kissed before, and she would be terrified if Draco kissed her right here in the hallway, with everyone watching, especially if she messed up. Can I mess up? She wondered, then pushed the thoughts out of her mind. But, with a sinking feeling, she realized kissing Draco- and even messing up in the process- would never happen.

He scowled at her down his nose, arms folded across his strong chest, not moving to pick up the books. Ginny sank to the floor quickly, picking up the books, making clattering noises as she dropped them again and again. She could feel her cheeks turning a strawberry red under her freckles, compared to her normally pale complexion.

Suddenly, his face was right next to hers, picking up the love spells book. He straightened up to his full height. So did Ginny, but it wasn't very high. She looked up at the book, carefully avoiding his face. He sneered.

"Love spells, Weasel? Trying to get Potty to notice you?" Ginny's eyes filled with burning tears, but she refused to let them drop to her cheeks. She snatched the book back, tucking it under her arm protectively.

"No, not exactly." She managed, her voice cracking.

Draco bent and retreived the last book from the floor, then bonked it over Ginny's head and handed it to her. Ginny's green eyes filled with tears once more, her hand automatically going up to her head and not taking the book. Draco scowled and dropped it on the floor, a loud clattering sound filling Ginny's ears.

Ginny looked up into his face, expecting to see some sort of cruelness, but all she could see was an expression of astonishment.

"What is it, Malfoy?" She demanded through thick tears, bending to pick up the book. She straightened up.

Draco slowly shook his head. He cleared his throat. "I-I- I didn't mean to hurt you, Ginny. I'm sorry, I really am."

Ginny glanced at him. Did he mean it?

"I'm really sorry." Draco, Ginny noticed, looked terrified of himself. He was looking into Ginny's eyes, worried. So worried.

"Apology accepted." Ginny stiffly replied.

Draco gave a tiny smile, his worried frown dissapearing and he nodded, almost in gratefulness. Without another word, he brushed past Ginny and walked a small number of steps over to the door of his classroom. He waved before turning and walking in.

Ginny looked thoughtful, smiling. There was something odd going on...

She slowly turned in the empty corridor and headed to her next class.

~There's something sweet

And almost kind

But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined~

Ginny's PoV: Ginny was in the library- again- the next day. She sat in a large, squashy armchair, with a reading light turned on over her head and a stack of books on the table beside her: Hogwarts; A History, The Mancers Handbook, Leading a Muggle Life, Fantastic Beasts, Lemon Drops- A Collection of Poems, and The Salem Witch Trials. She appeared to be quite a reader, as she was deeply engrossed in a very thick book lying flat on her lap.

She allowed herself to be torn away from her story when a boy sat down straight across from her, so that their knees were only a foot away from eachother's. She looked straight into his gray eyes, reflecting a sort of friendliness she had never seen in those eyes. Almost a hunger for friendship.

"Hello, Ginny." Draco smiled, a book closed in his hands.

"Hello,Mal- Draco." Ginny smiled back and shut her book. "Fancy seeing you here."

Draco gave a low laugh. "I'm not much of a reader."

"I've noticed." Ginny replied. "I'm in here every day, and I've never seen you."

Draco nodded. "Well, how are you?" He asked, trying to make polite conversation as Ginny opened her book again.

She looked up. She'd never seen this side of him before. "I'm- - fine. And you?"

Draco shrugged. "Alright, I suppose."

Ginny stood up, setting her book down and picking up her backpack. "Well, I'll be seeing you later."

Draco stood up too. "No," He began. "Don't leave." There was a pleading look in his eyes, causing Ginny's knees to weaken as she sat back down in her seat. "I like you." Draco added.

Ginny didn't quite know what that meant. But she stayed anyway. Before she knew it, she blurted out something completely un-expected. "How do I know you really like me? How do I know you just don't want another girl to add to your list?" She crossed her arms, back stiff.

Draco looked hurt, and then quickly recovered. "Well, if that's how you think of me, I might as well leave right now." He began to stand up.

"Draco, no wait! I'm sorry. I truly didn't mean that. Really- I was just- my mouth is faster than my brain. I'm sorry." She touched his hand, realizing how many apologies had been exchanged between them in the past two days. Her hand tingled oddly and she drew it away.

Without a warning, Draco pulled her close into his chest. Ginny knew he must have felt how stiff she was; she immediatly thought he would kiss her, just 'adding to his list'. As soon as she realized it was only a hug, she began to relax, only to realize he was pulling away.

Ginny smiled up at Draco. "I really need to get to my dorm, though. I have a big test to study for." She informed him in a warm tone, then picked up her bag once more and and took a few steps towards the door. She paused, face to face with the wooden door, her hand on the rusty handle, and turned back for a smile, and a wave, and she happily returned both.

And she hadn't even used the love spell yet.

~And now he's dear

And so I'm sure

I wonder why I didn't see it there before~

Every day in the halls there was a smile. He hadn't changed, though. He was still the rude, nasty slytherin boy- but something about the way he acted with Ginny, something she couldn't quite understand, made her like him more and more as the days passed.

They bumped into eachother often. Sometimes Draco would be hanging around the library, sometimes Ginny could be found hanging around the dungeons. Few words were spoken, in case anyone would hear them. A Malfoy and a Weasley having a polite conversation was sure to draw attention.

~*~

Ginny's PoV: "Miss Weasley, please come to my desk." Snape called during her next potions class.

Ginny wasn't worried. She excelled in potions, and oddly, Snape actually showed a tiny bit of liking to her, despite the fact that she was a Gryffindor. She walked up to the large desk with the confidence never seen from a Gryffindor in the dungeons.

"Yes proffesor?" She asked politely as Snape turned to her.

"Miss Weasley, it is no secret that my lesson plan for this class is far to easy for you. I have decided that you shall be moving up and taking the class with the 7th years. Proffessor Flitwick also seems to think you should be moved into a more advanced class. " He droned in a very bored tone. "You begin tommorrow. We have a schedule worked out." He handed her the schedule.

"Thank you, Proffesor." Although he liked her, she knew it was best to say as little as possible around him. She returned to her seat, and with a burst of realization, she saw that she now had two classes with Draco. Then, with a sinking feeling, she realized she'd get lucky to even get near him with her brother in the class.

~*~

Dracos PoV: The next day, as Draco strode into his favorite class, he was startled to see Ginny sitting all alone at the desk in front. She was intent upon her doodling on a small peice of parchment, her ringlets falling around her face, and her nails in her mouth.

He glanced around the room, noticing he was the last one in. There was about half a minute before class began, and all the other seats had been taken. Cursing in his head, he sat down beside Ginny and threw his bag to the ground beside him.

She looked up for a slight moment, but did not smile. A frown held on her face as she drew harder.

Draco understood. She was playing her role, so he began his aswell. They didn't exchange another look or smile.

"Take out your books, everyone." Snape's voice rang through the room. Everyone pulled out their books, quills and parchments. He went on with the lesson for the next hour, boring the class practically to tears.

Draco felt her eyes on him, but he wouldn't look at her. No one could know that they had ever even spoken to one another. Ginny would get in trouble with her family, he would get in trouble with his. It couldn't work. The scowl remained on his face, and he knew her gaze had dropped back to her cauldron.

Slowly, so that it wouldn't attract attention, Draco slid his hand over and placed it on top of hers. It was a sign that he was only playing the game, and he knew Ginny understood it well.

He couldn't help himself- he allowed his eyes to travel to hers. She was giving him a look that meant more than understanding, before she let her hand out from under his.



~She glanced this way

I thought I saw

And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw

No it can't be, I'll just ignore

But then again she's never looked at me that way before~

~*~

Ginny's PoV: A few hours later, Ginny slid into her assigned seat in Charms class. Looking over at the name tag on her other side was a girl's name she didn't know. Ginny sighed, turned around, and saw that Malfoy sat smiling right behind her. She smiled and turned around quickly.

After half the class was done, Ginny looked down to see a levitating note just above her desk. She glanced over at Classica, her desk partner, but she was deep into her spell. Ginny grabbed the note and read it under her desk.

Ginny, Flitwick isn't the most observant in the world, is he? This is such a distracting class no one will notice if we write notes. Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to hang out tonight on the quidditch pitch? I doubt anyone will be there later. Draco

Ginny wrote back that she'd meet him there at 10, adding that she'd love writing notes all year.

~New and a bit alarming

Who'd have ever thought that this could be?

True that he's no Prince Charming

But there's something in him that I simply didn't see ~

Snape's PoV: The next morning in potions class, Malfoy was late again and sat with Weasley. The proffesor noticed how tired they looked, remembering seeing them on the quidditch pitch late the night before when he was awake grading papers.

Watching closely, Snape noticed a few notes going back and forth, some smiles and looks. He didn't say a word, considering they were both his favorites.



~Lumiere: Well, who'd have thought?~

Proff. Sinistra's PoV: Halfway through the lesson, Proffesor Sinistra walked in to ask Snape about a magnifying device he had loaned her, the two being pretty good friends. However, at the first desk she noticed the unlikely pair sitting together and whispering happily. After a moment, she continued up to the desk.

"Severus- did you assign seats?" She asked quietly.

"No, I did not. I assume your curious about Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley?" He smirked.

She nodded.

"Well, I find it quite funny really. They seem to have taken a liking to eachother, whispering and everything, but I don't choose to say anything. It doesn't disrupt their studies, and they're both very good students of mine."

Proffessor Sinistra laughed lowly before continuing with her original question.

~ Mrs. Potts: Well, bless my soul~

Teacher's PoV: After the day had passed, the staff room was filled with a few teachers chatting and having their afternoon coffee. Snape was by the window with Sinistra, discussing Weasley and Malfoy once more. Flitwick, Binns, Hagrid, McGonagall and Tonks, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher were all sitting in armchairs around the table. Dumbledore was drifting between the two groups, having a bit of spare time.

Dumbledore happened to overhear the conversation over Draco and Ginny and laughed loudly, causing Sinistra and Snape to look around in surprise.

"Sorry, sorry. That's just a bit- unexpected, shall we say." Dumbledore said, quickly joining in on the coversation.

~ Coggsworth: Well, who'd have known?~

~Mrs Potts: Well, who indeed?~

"Well, I suppose we really should have expected something like this happening sometime." Snape muttered.

"Yes, I agree. They're like- like Romeo and Juliette!" Sinitra exclaimed, in a dreamy sort of voice, and a look to match. "We should have fixed them up long ago, Severus."

He gave her a funny look.

~Lumiere: And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?~

~Mrs Potts: It's so peculiar. Wait and see.~

~Lumiere and Cogsworth: We'll wait and see.

~All three: A few days more.There may be something there that wasn't there before.~

~Cogsworth: Perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before~

Proff. Sinistra's PoV: A few days later, Sinitra looked out of her window before going to sleep and saw straight into a window in her astronomy tower. There sat two figures, one holding the other around the waist, the other cupping the boy's cheeks in her hands as he kissed her.

The proffessor smiled slightly and remembered her days in the astronomy tower with that dark-haired boy and their secret relationship before drifting off to sleep. (A/N: I dunno if I made that obvious enuff- SNAPE!!!!!)

~Mrs Potts: There may be something there that wasn't there before.~