Chapter 5:
Kristin crumbled to the floor, fighting back tears. She wasn't going to give this monster the satisfaction of seeing her cry. It surprised her when she saw his dark paw, offering to help her up. She pushed it by with her elbow and picked herself up. "I guess you want me to go into that cell now, right?" she asked, making sure he could pick up all the hatred in her words.
"I will show you to your room," he said, knocking Kristin off guard. She gazed up at him in shock. The Beast seemed to have read her eyes. "Or do you really want to spend the rest of your life here in the North Tower?" he asked, amused.
Kristin crossed her arms, upset even more. "I'll take the room, thank you very much," she asked. "Sir," she spat out as an afterthought. The Beast led her out of the room and into the main body of the castle.
"Hogwarts is your home now," he said. "You can go anywhere you wish—except for the dungeons." Kristin looked around the castle in awe. "Did you hear what I said?" the Beast growled at her.
"Wha? Oh, yeah. Hogwarts—that's what this place is called?—is my home now. I can go wherever my little heart desires," Kristin responded, coldly.
"Except the dungeon!" the Beast added, upset she hadn't heard that vital piece of information.
Kristin gave him a look that read "Why would anyone want to go there?" But the question she voiced was: "What's in there?"
"It's just forbidden," the Beast said firmly. "Here's your new room. I hope you like it." He watched as Kristin walked in to the room. "And there's one more thing. You will join me for dinner tonight." After he said this, Kristin slammed the door in his face. "That wasn't a request!" he yelled at the closed door, then stomped off into the darkness of the hallways.
It was after she felt that the Beast was no longer behind her door that Kristin finally broke down and cried. She cried for as long as it took for her to run out of tears. When she could cry no more, she got up and plopped down on the bed. She stayed there for sometime, having fallen asleep for a while.
She woke up, feeling more depressed when she realized it hadn't been some bizarre dream. She gazed around her dank room, realizing it was done beautifully in red and gold, with lions seemingly everywhere. The sheets on her bed where of fine linen and velvet, intricately decorated. If she it weren't for the fact she didn't want to be there, she would love to be in this room.
At that point, a knock came on the door. "If you're the Beast, GO AWAY! If not, come in," Kristin said. She watched as the door opened and a teapot hopped in, followed by a little teacup. She gasped as the two stopped in front of her. "How are you two possible?"
"Many reasons, dear, but you're not in the mood to hear them, I can tell," the teapot said. "I'm Mrs. Weasley and this is my son, Billy. Here, have a cup of hot tea. It will do you good." She urged her son along to their new guest. "We all think you're very brave for agreeing to do this," Mrs. Weasley said softly, watching Kristin drink her tea.
"I'll second that!" came an operatic voice in the room. Kristin turned to see her dresser begin to hobble across the room, smiling at her. "Good evening, dear," the object said, "I'm Madame Femme-Gras. I will be dressing you." The dresser gave a chuckle.
"Mrs. Weasley, Remus is looking for you," said a napkin, walking into the room. "He's panicking about the Master's dinner. Hello, dear," she said, resting in front of Kristin.
Mrs. Weasley called Billy back. "Thank you, Harmony dear. Come on you two, we'll leave her in your care Madame Femme-Gras," the teapot said, hopping out of the room. "See you in a bit, Kristin."
The door closed and Madame Femme-Gras turned to Kristin. "So," she began and then rested against the bed. "What shall we dress you in?" she asked, rummaging through her drawers. She seemed to have found what she thought was the perfect dress, a green dress with a velvet bodice and a taffeta skirt. "How about this?"
"It's beautiful," Kristin said, admiring the dress. "But I'm afraid I can't wear it. You see, I'm not going to the dinner."
The dresser gasped. "You are kidding!" She looked over Kristin's serious face. "You are not. But the Master said you were to join him! He'll be furious if you don't go!"
"I don't care how he'll react. I am not going, and that is that," Kristin said. "Though it is a lovely dress," she added, once again feeling the material.
"Green is the Master's favorite color. You wear and it will make a wonderful impression on him," Madame Femme Gras cajoled. "You know you want to try it and the delicious meal Mrs. Weasley has cooked up."
"I don't want to make an impression on the Master, and I am not going to the dinner, no matter how delicious Mrs. Weasley's cooking is," Kristin argued, plopping down on the bed. Madame Femme Gras just sighed, realizing this woman wasn't going to budge on her position.
The Beast paced his parlor, waiting for his guest to come down for dinner. "Where is she?" he asked, growing impatient. "What could possibly taking her so long?" He continued paing.
"I know this trying you, but Master, please give her some time," Mrs. Weasley pleaded. "She's lost so much today—her way of life, her freedom, her father." The Beast kept pacing.
James decided to venture a few words. "Master, have you considered that this may be the one who will finally break the spell and set us free?" he asked. The Beast turned and growled at his servant.
"No, I haven't thought of that," the Beast responded, sarcastically. "Of course it's crossed my mind! It's been plaguing me the minute I saw her up in that tower! But how could she? She's beautiful and I'm—well, you know what I am—how is it going to work between us?" He plopped down on his chair. "You think I should tell her my real name?" he asked thoughtfully.
"Severus?" James asked, biting back some laughter. "I think you've scared the poor girl enough. She doesn't need to hear your name." He then thought about it before. "Though judging by her character, I would think she wouldn't be surprised that is your name."
Remus had been appointed by the Beast, Severus, to go fetch Kristin for dinner. Now, he returned to the room nervous and trembling. His master glared down at the poor clock, waiting for him to announce the dinner guest. Remus took a deep breath and said, "I have a message from the girl—"
"Oh, Remus, for crying out, she has a name!" James called out. "I believe it's Kristin."
"Fine. Kristin says she just—well, she needs—she's not coming to dinner," Remus finally squeaked out.
It took just a beat before Severus yelled out "What!" before preceding to burst out of the room. He climbed the wall to the upstairs, too angry to be bothered with the actual steps. He seemed to reach Kristin's room faster than it took to blink, attempting to knock the door down. "I told you to come to dinner!" he roared.
"And I sent the message down that I wasn't hungry!" came the muffled reply. This upset the Beast even more and he was finally able to wrench the door open. He stomped into the room, stopping right in front of Kristin's bed. "How dare you!" she admonished, which he ignored.
"You and I are going to dinner right now!" Severus yelled at his guest. She just gave him a death glare, never blinking it seemed. "I said, right now!"
"You, sir, are a bully. Plain and simple," Kristin said, leaving the entire staff that had assembled into her room (Madame Femme Gras, Remus, James, Mrs. Weasley, Billy, Lily, and Harmony) open mouthed with shock. No one had ever spoken to their master like that, not even the motherly disciplining Mrs. Weasley. How would he react to such a statement delivered in such a tone?
Not well, apparently. "I am not a bully!" he told her, beyond anger. "All I want you to do is come down and eat with me!" As he said this last statement, he stomped his foot, reminding Kristin of the temper tantrums she saw the little children in her village throw when they don't get their way. Despite her resentment, she found herself giggling uncontrollably at the image of a tiny beast crying over the fact he never received a piece of candy.
"What are you laughing at?" the Beast asked, more surprised at her reaction rather than upset. He would never have thought her to start laughing while he was yelling at her. It seemed to ruin the atmosphere of the room his foul mood had originally created.
Kristin stopped giggling to reply. "Your actions reminded me of some of the small children in my village—when they throw tantrums because their mothers won't give them their candy," she said. But then her mood changed considerably. "Though I guess no one ever denied you anything."
That was the final straw it seemed. "Fine," the Beast said in an cold voice, "if you feel you are destined to be the first to deny me something, then you can just stay in this room and starve." He turned, his cloak swishing as he left. The door closed after all his servants processed out after him. "If she refuses to eat with me, she doesn't eat at all," he instructed them, much to Mrs. Weasley's protesting. He snorted and retreated to the dungeon.
Severus quickly grabbed up his enchanted mirror, and demanded to see Kristin. The mirror glowed an eerie green color before showing the girl. "Now come on, the Master isn't all that bad. You have to get to know him, melt him a little," Madame Femme Gras was saying. Kristin snorted. "The way that man—sorry, creature's—temper changes, it's either melting him or cooling him down!" she said, eliciting a laugh from the wardrobe. "But I don't plan on getting on knowing him. As far as I'm concerned, if I never see him again, I can die happy."
He placed the mirror down, not wanting to see anymore. "I should've known. Why fool myself?" he asked himself, looking around his room.
"Because there's always hope," Mrs. Weasley said, hopping into the dungeon. "I hope it doesn't bother you, sir, but I thought you might like something to eat since dinner was unexpectedly canceled."
Severus smiled. He really could never bring himself to order around Mrs. Weasley and yell at her. Ever since his mother died, it was Mrs. Weasley who tried to raise him properly, but his father decided it was just right to leave his son alone and order his castle staff to give the lad everything the boy wished. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. But I'm afraid you're wrong."
"About dinner?" the teapot asked, pouring him some hot water for tea.
"Mrs. Weasley," Severus said. "I meant about hope. We have so little time. Look, the rose is beginning to wilt." He motioned to the glowing rose that lit up his room. "There is no way she'll love me by the time the last petal falls."
"Nonsense," Mrs. Weasley said, bustling around the cart and uncovering different plates of food.
"I didn't exactly get off on the right foot with her," Severus said. "And first impression is everything."
Mrs. Weasley stopped moving and transfixed her master with a consoling gaze. "So maybe imprisoning her father wasn't the best way to get things started, but perhaps if you improve your temper, she'll come around," she advised. "You can win her with that charm I'm sure you inherited from your father."
"My father had charm?" Severus asked, surprised. That didn't sound like the man who had ignored him upon his mother's death.
"How do you think he got your mother? He just didn't know how to respond to children. But as for Kristin, just act like the gentleman your mother would want you to be," Mrs. Weasley said. "Good night, sir."
"Good night," Severus responded, deep in thought. He watched her leave before calling out, "Mrs. Weasley!" When she turned to face him, he thanked her. She smiled and finally left the room, leaving him to his own thoughts.
He sat down, and began to eat the dinner Mrs. Weasley had so kindly brought him. He hadn't realized it until he took the first bite, but Severus was hungry. Ravenous, even. He then wondered if Kristin had had anything to eat before coming to rescue her father. His thoughts turned to his own absent father and he briefly wondered if he would ever be brave enough to do the same thing had his own father been locked up.
Finally, the words of Mrs. Weasley echoed through his brain. "Be a gentleman," he repeated to himself. He glanced over his meal and thought of a way to possibly redeem himself in the eyes of his new guest. "Be a gentleman. Well, Mother, I'll be the gentleman you were just beginning to raise," he said, addressing the only intact picture in the castle—the one of his mother on her wedding day. He then went down into the castle kitchens, searching for some food.
