Chapter Twelve:

(A/N. Hey everyone! I'm not going to thank the reviewers specifically anymore. K? Sorry it just takes too long and I won't be able to update as quick. But I just want to tell that Texan girl that it was just a joke. Like the valley girl saying like A LOT. I mean I say like way too much for my own good. It was supposed to be FUNNY. Plus a lot of my family lives in Texas (Houston and Laredo) so I  really meant no offense. K. Just wanted to make that clear. Right. READ AND REVIEW. By the way, this is the Disney version of the events in Beauty and the Beast. Ok Hope you like the story.)

Hermione froze and looked at the children in disbelief. She knew that story only too well it had been her favorite as a child. Ironically it fitted Draco and Hermione's situation didn't it? Draco stared at the children blankly. Oh course. He didn't know the story.

"Alright." Hermione said hesitantly. Who has the book?" A small girl with curly red hair that reminded Hermione of Ginny handed her a large green book with the letters 'Beauty and the Beast' engraved in gold. Hermione cleared her throat and sat down on the large couch with Draco next to her.

"Once upon a time in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a beautiful castle. Although he had everything his heart desired the prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind." Hermione began glancing at Draco. Did he see the resemblance between himself and the fairytale prince. Ah, yes he did. He had his traditional smirk on his handsome face. "But then, one winter's night an old beggar's woman came to the castle and offered him a single red rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances for beauty was found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize but it was too late. For she had seen that there was no love in his heart and as punishment she transformed him into a hideous beast and put a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form the beast concealed himself in the castle with a magic mirror his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty first year. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell the spell would be broken. If not he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?" She said. She looked up again. The children were sitting up staring at her. She glanced at Draco as she handed him the book. His eyes betrayed pain and longing. He took the large book from her dainty hands.

"In a small town nearby, a young and beautiful maiden lived with her loving father, Maurice, the inventor. While she was very happy, she dreamed of adventures beyond her provincial town. The maiden's name was Belle and all who met her were awed by her beauty but thought her quite odd for she was never seen without a book in hand. Gaston, a arrogant young man who wooed all the woman in town, proposed marriage to Belle. She refused, and Gaston swore revenge. Belle's father left to go to a science fair in a nearby town. He got lost in the forest and was attacked by a pack of snarling wolves. Narrow escaping with his life he stumbled across an old castle. The same one where the enchantress had cast her spell. The servants of the castle welcomed the visitor, but the Beast was furious at the intrusion. He took Maurice and looked him in a cell in the highest tower. The horse Maurice had been riding came lurching back home. Belle got on the horse and ordered it to take her back to her father. Soon she found herself in front of the cold, dark castle. Her father's cries for mercy echoed down the stairs and she rushed up to him and found him pale and sickened. The Beast stormed into the tower where he commands Belle to leave. Belle begged the Beast to free her father but he refused. Finally, in her desperation, she offered to trade places with her father. The Beast relented. Belle was bitter with anger and she decided to run away. The same pack of wolves that had attacked her father soon had her surrounded in the snowy forest. She feared her death but the Beast appeared in the blinding storm and fought off the wolves. The Beast collapsed, exhausted and wounded. Belle tended his wounds and she realized his courage for saving her life. She grew quite happy in the castle but she missed her father horribly. The Beast offered to let her go and Belle took it happily unbeknownst condemning the Beast to his horrible fate as a monster for eternity. He gave her a magic mirror so that she would always remember him. She went back to town only to find Gaston attempting to take Maurice to an asylum for he had told all who would listen about the Beast who had stolen his daughter. Belle revealed that it was true and she held up the magic mirror. It swirled and the Beast who was roaring in anguish for losing Belle, was seen by all. Gaston decided that the Beast was dangerous and he needed to kill it so he locked Belle and her father away, rounded up the townsfolk and headed to the Beast's castle. Belle escaped and ran to the castle. When she got there, the Beast was dying. In the Beast's room, the last petal on the rose trembled, as if ready to fall. Belle pleaded the Beast's unconscious form not to die for she loved him dearly. As she said this, a blue light surrounded the Beast and he was transformed into a handsome prince.  The spell had been broken. The prince and Belle lived happily ever after. The end." Draco finished reading and carefully closed the large book. The children were all smiling dreamily and some had fallen asleep. Draco stared at them, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face. The children clapped and Bon stood up.

"Well done! Thank you very much. You may go." He said. Draco and Hermione walked out. Hermione felt Draco's need for silence and she respected it. They got to their suite and went to their separate rooms. Hermione changed and got into bed. She stared up at the ceiling. She thought about Draco and how his aristocratic face lit up every time he smiled or laughed. Had he changed? She could still picture the sneering Draco she had come to hate in her mind. He had always been so cold and mean, seldom giving any indication of an emotion past hatred. Yet now she had seen a kind side of him. He seemed to be a completely different person. Had Hermione managed what no one else had been able to? Had she melted his bitter exterior? She sighed into her pillow and let pleasant thoughts of the dance lull her into sleep.