First off, my DISCLAIMER: I own none of this; it all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and the people at Warner Brothers. I really don't even own the plot; I borrowed the idea for Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The only thing I really have made up myself, so far, is Emiliana Black, whom you will meet shortly

This story is loosely based on Disney's Beauty and the Beast. No, it's not going to follow the storyline exactly, but you should be able to pick up the similarities. Such as- Harry is my version of Gaston, without falling into a pig sty after he proposed, and of course, Hermione would be my Belle. It's just too bad I couldn't fit Phillipe in; he's one of my favorites.

I want to thank all of you who reviewed for my first two chapters; I really appreciate all the time and effort you took for me.

PLEASE, PLEASE review!!! Its not hard, it only takes a minute! Feel free to get creative with your criticism. Tell me what I can fix, what you hate, what you love. Just tell me something! I might even update sooner if you encourage me to!

Without further ado,

The Beauty and the Beast

CHAPTER TWO

"Draco!" she choked out, but bit her tongue. "I… I didn't expect you to be here," she lamely covered up her shock.

Hermione choked back words and thoughts of anger and hatred and she stood and crossed the room to him. "It's good to see you again, cousin." She forced herself to put her arms around him in a friendly hug. He hugged her back, and when he did, an odd shock slid down her spine. She let him go, and Narcissa spoke up.

"Draco, dear, come have some tea with us."

"Mother, you know I prefer coffee," Draco said, "and anyways, Father wanted to talk to you about…" he glanced uneasily at Emiliana, "About the current situation."

Narcissa nodded knowingly and stood. "Draco, if you would, please keep your cousin company while I go have a word with your father." She turned to Hermione and smiled, "I shan't be gone long dear, please make yourself at home."

Hermione forced herself to smile back. It made her almost sick to see how these people treated each other compared to the way they treated those with Muggle blood. She sat back in her chair, making sure that she held her tea cup tight so that the slight quiver in her fingers wouldn't show.

Hermione had never gotten along with Draco Malfoy. From the beginning, he had been cruel and sadistic, only because she was born to two Muggle parents. She had learned to ignore him, knowing he had never received half the real love and warmth in his home as she had. In fact, she had felt pity for him in their seventh year, when his father had beaten him, only because he had been second to her in their year.

"So Em, what brings you here?" Draco asked, sitting down and pouring himself a cup of tea. "I thought you were in Austria with… what's his name?"

Hermione forced a look of sorrow upon her face. "Oh, I… I was there. But we broke up just a few days ago, and my good sense told me not to go home. You know my father," she added dryly. "And his name was Alexander… the bastard," she muttered under her breath.

Draco nodded. She knew they hadn't heard from Emiliana in months, because the girl was being tracked, as were all members of suspicious families. Hermione knew that Emiliana was in Austria, probably having the time of her life with a young, rich pureblood wizard by the name of Alexander Kohler. She forced herself to pout a bit. "We had a bad row and all of a sudden I just knew we weren't meant to be, but where was I to go when I left? My father would probably kill me if I walked in the door right now."

My father is in this house, right now! Her mind screamed to her, but she forced herself to lift the tea cup to her mouth and take a fortifying gulp of the sweet liquid.

She smiled what she hoped didn't look like as fake of a smile as it felt. "What have you been doing with yourself, Draco? Two years out of Hogwarts, you should have settled on an occupation by now."

"You know very well what I will be, Em. Continuing the 'family business'," he muttered, his voice suddenly sadistic, "whether I like it or not," he muttered, seemingly an after-thought.

She chose not to comment on this, but swallowed the last of her tea. She set the cup down, and a house elf scurried to refill it.

"No, no more please," she said, feeling pity for the poor creature.

"Are you tired after your journey? I'll take you up to your room, if you like," Draco offered.

"That would be wonderful," Hermione jumped at the chance to get a few moments by herself.

Draco led her up the main stairs and, true to the name of the room, into the East portion of the huge mansion.

A long hallway wound through the house, and finally, Draco stopped before a set of double doors. He opened the right one, and held it open for her. She walked through the doorway, and began to take in her surroundings.

"Dinner is in an hour," Draco told her, "I hope that will give you enough time to settle in and unpack your things."

"Yes, that should be fine," Hermione forced a smile. When Draco was gone, she walked over to the king sized bed and flopped down, going over her strategy in her head. Getting in had been easy, now would come the hard part. Keeping up the charade and finding her father.

Patience is a virtue, Hermione reminded herself as she rolled off the bed and began to unpack her new clothes.

"Oh, blast," Hermione muttered to herself as she wove her way through hallways, trying to find her way down to dinner. She had been wandering for a full five minutes, trying to remember how to get back to the main staircase.

"Oh, Em," Draco came out of a room just ahead of her, "Good, you're going to be on time for once. You know how mother is when her food is going cold."

"Um… yes, I tend to run late sometimes, don't I?"

"I'll say. Remember last time you visited, you were late to lunch, and mother made the whole family wait? It was over an hour before you showed up; you were riding that blasted horse you like so much."

A HORSE?! Hermione gulped. "I remember all too well, Draco."

"Maybe we could go for a ride tomorrow. Sebastian has been wanting to go for a good gallop," Draco raised an eyebrow at the expression on her face, "Unless, you don't like horses anymore…"

"Oh, no, I'd love to go riding," Hermione tried to recover, a fear rising in her stomach "It's just been so long, I'm afraid I'll be too out of shape to ride very well."

"It's set then. We'll go out after breakfast tomorrow. I'll meet you at the stables at 8:30."

Hermione gulped. She hadn't ridden a horse since she was 10, when she took a few lessons at her private school. From what she could remember, she wasn't very good.

But she couldn't dwell on it, as Draco was just opening the door into the dining hall. The Malfoys obviously didn't know the meaning of a casual meal, and Hermione was glad she had taken time to clean up her appearance.

"Emiliana, how nice to see you," Lucius Malfoy sat at the head of the long table. Hermione wasn't sure what to do, but when Lucius rose, she walked over to him, and he welcomed her with a fatherly hug.

She returned the hug stiffly, and gave the aging man a forced smile. He and Draco both waited until she had taken seat at the last remaining spot at the table before seating themselves.

The conversation at dinner was mostly beyond what Hermione could reasonably comprehend, but Lucius questioned her rather extensively on her supposed relationship with Alexander Kohler, and she stuck to the story that had gotten her through so far.

She was so happy when the house elf finally cleared her plate after dessert, that she could have kissed to rugged little creature. At last, Lucius pushed back from the table, and stood.

"Emiliana, we will have no one calling this evening, and I trust you will be tired from your trip, so you may retire now if you wish. Draco, we have matters to attend to. Meet me in my office in 10 minutes, after you escort Emiliana back to her suite." Lucius abruptly left the room, leaving Hermione wondering if he always ordered his own family around like that. She shook her head and followed Draco out of the dining hall.

The next morning, Hermione forced herself out of bed at 7:30. Upon looking in the mirror, her hair had started to curl into its natural form, and was more of an auburn shade than blonde. She refreshed all the concealing charms, as well and transfigured her hair back to the platinum blonde that she rather disliked.

By 8:00, she had finished the breakfast the house elves has brought her and holding a pair of breeches and tall black riding boots that the elves has also brought for her with a feeling of dread. She put them on, as well as a thick red sweater, and gathered her riding crop and helmet. With a final glance around the suite, she made her was downstairs, and out the door to the stable.

"Ah, Em, there you are," Draco came up behind her, handing over the reins to a gorgeous bay horse. Hermione forced a smile and with her heart pounding, she led the horse outside, hoping the ant-falling and the super stick spells she had cast on her breeches and boots would work.

Okay, that's all for now folks! Sorry about the shortness of the chapter, and the plot WILL get more complex soon, I promise.

Next Chapter: We will get Draco's perspective on everything, the elder Malfoys make an announcement, and Hermione rides a horse.

PLEASE REVIEW!