As Narcissa finished reading, she looked up to see her granddaughter in law looking quite thoughtful. "So, still just a bunch of stories? If you like, I can provide documented proof of their existence and the court records."
"No, but maybe perhaps. Are you sure that his name was Hyperion?"asked Rose looking annoyed at the mere sound of the name.
"Quite, I was forced to memorize my family tree back to the ninth century as a child. His name was Hyperion, one of the easier to say if you ask me," answered Narcissa.
"And they really loved each other?" asked Rose.
"I'm sure if they didn't, then veritaserum could have proved they didn't," laughed Narcissa. "Yes, I really think they did. He did after all plan to marry her despite not knowing her pureblooded lineage as a White. A White and a Black. I suppose that's a rather nice thought," pondered the grandmother.
"I supposed they might have truly loved each other. They did have seven children, which is a bit much for anyone."
"Your grandmother is quite crazy if you ask me," laughed Narcissa.
"I'm fairly sure that's where my Dad got it," laughed Rose fondly reflecting on her father's nature, which despite anything he did, she still loved him.
"Feeling a bit better?" asked Narcissa, knowing the tears had dried as she read aloud.
"Very much so, and I'm sure you're tired, I hate to have kept you up," replied Rose.
"I'm not tired at all, I do tend to sleep in quite a bit on certain days, and this seems to be an evening I'm loathe to go to sleep. I think I'll sleep the day away tomorrow and stay up until the sun rises. It's never too late to start a good book, and this one I quite like."
"Perhaps you might not mind reading aloud again? I quite enjoyed the last, and I'm not quite ready to face my bed either," replied Rose thinking of the cold empty bed deep in her and Scorpius' part of the manor.
"Which would you like to hear next?" asked Narcissa with a grin.
"I've always been rather partial to Beauty and the Beast."
"Ah, here we are, one of my favorites too!
Arabelle Merchant was the pureblooded daughter of French shipping mogul and inventor Jacques Merchant and his English wife Merida McGowan. The youngest of three daughters, she grew up along the Scottish coast. Her sisters attended Bauxabatons, but due to her mother's failing health, and desire to keep her youngest close to home, the young witch went to Hogwarts. Attending Hogwarts between 1511 and 1518 as a Gryffindor student, she was known for her passion for herbology and charms. After her mother's death in 1517, her father's prominent business slowly began to fail due to his refusal to modernize his fleets. Upon its failure in 1518, the family moved from the coastal city Montrose, Scotland to the remote highlands where Jacques spent his time inventing. He is best known for his invention of omnioculars which restored the family's wealth in 1527. The magical glasses were originally intended for use a sea, but his oldest daughter marketed them toward quidditch with the hopes of getting rich, which worked well for the family.
Accounts by neighbors and friends in the small village claim that the years 1518 and 1519 were difficult ones for the small family. The older daughters, one of which suffered a mental collapse along with that of their fortune when her fiancé ended their engagement, never felt at home in the poor village. A memoir by Jacques claims that Belle held the family together in this time of great need with her resourcefulness, prudence, forbearance, congeniality and courage. Neighbors would also agree to this as without the garden that the youngest Merchant daughter nurtured, it is likely the family would have starved.
In spring of 1520, an owl reached the family that a ship of the family's fleet had been found after being suspected lost at sea. The elder daughters Alaira and Almina requested dresses and jewels as returning gifts from their father, hoping the displays of wealth could turn the eye of a young rich suitor. Much more practical and fearing that the ship did not hold the wealth her sister's seemed to think it promised, Arabelle requested a rose cutting, knowing the value of the flower in potions and perfumes, but also secretly hoping to add its beauty to her gardens.
The ship did hold the promised wealth, but by the time Jacques arrived, it was too late and the majority of the profits had been seized by creditors and former business partners. It was late fall by the time that Jacques journeyed back to the highlands, early enough for a snowstorm. Caught in a blizzard, he would have frozen to death if he hadn't used a clever device he had invented to point him to the nearest wizarding residence. The patent for the compagic was highly profitable after he worked out the bugs in 1530. Arriving at a large castle, Jacques hoped to introduce himself to the resident, but after spending the night in the front parlor, he wrote a quick thank you on a spare piece of parchment and headed out, unwilling to borrow even a handful of floo powder to get home quicker as he could ill afford to repay his host. However, on the way off the property, he couldn't help but notice a hedge of roses blooming despite the early snow that could have killed the beautiful plants. Hoping to make his youngest, sweetest daughter happy, he took a cutting.
"What do you think you are doing!?" came a voice behind him. Turning, Jacques was surprised to find a beast, standing upright and wearing a set of robes, holding a wand, but clearly the most inhumane looking creature he had ever seen.
"My daughter loves plants, and it was the one thing she asked I bring home for her. Her sisters asked for jewels and dresses, but I can ill afford them. This… I thought I could give her… she is the sweetest of my daughters and would be the most grateful for the small bloom."
"I let you stay last night, but I cannot abide you stealing my roses," claimed the beast, clearly angry and looking ready to devour the man.
"I meant no harm!" protested Jacques. "I would pay you if I could!"
"Money means little to me, but… perhaps…"
"Anything! I swear upon my word as a wizard! Name your price!" exclaimed the terrified Jacques.
"Done, I shall have your daughter to come live with me here," said the beast with an inhumane smirk.
"No!" protested Jacques. "Not Belle!"
"Any of your daughters will do, but unless one of them agrees to come here within the next fortnight, you shall perish for violation of a wizard's oath!"
Miserably, Jacques returned home, and sure enough, Belle loved her roses, while her sisters scoffed at them and bemoaned that there were not jewels or dresses. It was not until the night before the due date that Jacques was forced to reveal the nature of the deal he had made with the beast in exchange for the roses which Belle had happily planted. A parcel of floo powder arrived by owl, and Belle was lucky enough to intercept it from her father.
"What is this? Floo Powder!?"
"That must be worth a fortune!" exclaimed Alaira, knowing that floo powder was practically worth its weight in gold.
"But why is someone sending you floo powder, papa?" asked Belle. And the story came tumbling out. However, Jacques was firm that he would rather die than have one of his daughters go to live with that beast.
"No papa! You can't die," protested Almina. "It's Belle's fault! She should go, for it is she who asked for the disastrous roses!"
"No! I will not have any of you three leave me. I plan to die here at home tomorrow night surrounded by my three loving daughters who mean the world to me."
"That's good and well for you papa, but I think not," answered Belle defiantly. "I love you all, and I would do anything to protect this family," she said courageously before turning to throw the floo powder in the lit fireplace behind her. "Ross Manor!" she said reading out the only words of the letter.
Arriving, Belle immediately regretted her decision to leave home without anything but the clothes on her back and her wand. A change of clothes and a few possessions might have been useful.
"You came," was the surprised comment from the dark corner upon her arrival.
"Well of course, I couldn't very well let my father die!" Belle spat irritably.
"I would have released him from his vow," came the gruff voice.
"A likely story, now I'm stuck here with nothing but my wand! I could have at least packed my Hogwarts trunk," she said, stalking in front of the fire.
"Ah, so you went to Hogwarts? Your father seemed French so I expected a Bauxabatons graduate. May I implore as to which house?"
"My sisters went off to France, but my mum got her way with me. I was in Gryffindor."
The shadow scoffed. "That explains things, rushing off into the unknown with nothing but your wand. Sounds like a Gryffindor."
"Making death threats on poor old innocent men and entrapping innocent young maidens in your manor. You must be a slytherin!"
"I like your spirit. But, as I said, I would have released him from the vow, and he was hardly innocent."
"Hmph! So where's the dungeon?"
"Why would you want to go there?"
"I'd like to sleep, so wherever you're planning to keep me…"
"A house elf will show you to your room, I'd hardly keep you in a dungeon. Can't stand the places!"
"You're sure you're a Slytherin?"
"I never said I was."
The next morning, Belle awoke to find herself in a room she barely remembered being shown to by a small house elf. There was a tray with breakfast and a selection of beautiful gowns and robes laid out for her selection, each with a set of matching jewels. After she had eaten, she ventured out of her room cautiously.
"I wondered when you would emerge," came the voice from the shadows. "I've been waiting a while.
"Yes, well I was quite tired last night. Why am I here?"
"I'm very lonely. My only companions these past five years since my mother's passing have been house elves. I had hoped…. It was foolish, you should go home."
"I think I rather like it here, yes, I think… without my sisters' nagging, I may be able to get something done for once. Besides, by now the oath is binding. It has been a fortnight since the morning you encountered my father. I think I shall have to stay now."
"I could release you!"
"But you don't want to and therefore the magic might not work. I took magical theory. So I shall stay as long as you do require me and will not make things difficult for you. You clearly need me more than my sisters. My father can learn to live without me."
"It's surprising you weren't a hufflepuff," came the disgruntled reply.
"It was considered. But I think I was in the right house," she said. "I haven't even seen your face, yet I agree to stay. My father said it was truly terrifying."
"But I am," said the shadow stepping into the light with a wolfish grin. It took everything for the Gryffindor to stand her ground and look upon the disfigured creature in front of her.
"What…" began Belle before changing her mind. "What do you say we go for a stroll in the gardens. It's one of the last nice weeks of the year before the Highland chill truly sets in for good. And my father said you have beautiful gardens."
"My mother loved her plants," said the beast, taking a few steps allowing her to follow him.
It did not take long for the friendship between the young girl and the beast to grow, for he truly was a kindhearted soul lonely for companionship. Belle soon came to enjoy spending what would normally be a cold winter inside the beautiful greenhouse that he claimed had been his mother's pride and joy. Her beast would bring along books and often served as a quiet companion during the day before they would dine together in the evening and retire to the library.
It was on one such day that her trek between the greenhouse and the dining room found her lost due to her musings on the proper care of mandrakes. She found herself lost in a long gallery of portraits, most containing auburn haired men and women with green eyes, many wearing a green tartan that she recognized as the plaid that her companion often wore.
"What are you doing here?" came the beast's low growl, startling her as she paused to observe the portrait of a young man wearing a headboy badge on his Hogwarts robes embellished with blue and bronze accents.
"I… I was just making my way to dinner, no need to be rude!" she replied, taking a last glance at the handsome young man with laughing dark green eyes and auburn hair.
"Clearly we need to make you a map," he answered, offering his arm.
It wasn't until nearly spring when she had been there for more than six months when she finally mustered up the courage to ask the beast his history, as he was rather close mouthed about his past. They were in the library and he was furiously taking notes over a potions book, something he did with great difficulty due to his unwieldy hands.
"If I didn't know better, I would say you were a Ravenclaw back in the day," she said after observing him try to take down as much as possible onto his parchment.
"I was," he said looking up rather startled.
"But… I thought you said…"
"You said… I simply chose not to correct you…"
"Not that it matters I guess…" she replied. "I… I've been meaning to ask… you can't have always been…"
"Been what? Such a terrible note taker?" he said looking with disgust at his handwriting.
"No, a beast…"
"Ah… yes… that would be true," he said with some finality, but she pried further.
"How did you come to be the way you are?"
"My ambition exceeded my knowledge…"
"How very slytherin-like of you!"
"It was considered, but I think I was in the right house," answered the beast with what she had come to recognize as his smile.
"Do… what happened?"
"I have developed the most wonderful of potions, but unfortunately, I have also discovered its greatest flaw."
"What do you mean? That this is side effects from a potion experiment gone horribly wrong!" exclaimed Belle.
"Precisely, I have spent the past six years as this horrible creature because I failed to consider some essential elements to the potion I had developed."
"Tell me about this potion."
"I've decided to call it Polyjuice potion, after my mother who was Polly, which can also mean great sorrow. This potion has brought me great sorrow. My potion can also allow a person to take on multiple appearances, hence Poly."
"What do you mean?"
"With my potion, and the hair of whoever you choose, you can become them. By simply drinking the potion with the addition of a person's hair, it is possible to take on an entire new appearance. The possibilities are endless, although I think the best use would be for undercover work by the law!"
"What went wrong?"
"It's not meant for animal transformations, and I was clearly too ambitious."
"WHAT!? Oh, goodness! But surely, there's a potion that can reverse…"
"Not that I've been able to develop this far."
"Well then, two minds are better than one. I'll help you!"
"You aren't serious!"
"Of course I am, and since I have no desire to look at that ugly visage for the rest of my days, we had better succeed," replied Belle happily.
"I'm not sure much can be done, but I shall ever thank you for trying, Belle," replied the beast.
"You're welcome, Bea…. It seems rather silly to call you Beast. What is your real name?"
"Lord Bardolph Ross, at your service Miss Merchant," he said rising.
"You were headboy my first year! I… That was your portrait!"
"You've caught me, but I must retire, for I'm rather tired from this lovely conversation. You can laugh at my folly when I've departed," he answered sounding irritated.
"But, Be-ardolph!" she said reaching for him. "How can we make progress if we do not start tonight! I'll take notes, you dictate. I think your research will go faster this way."
Together, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw pair eventually did develop a cure for misuse of polyjuice potion with animal hair. It took over a year to complete, but in 1522, both Polyjuice potion and it's antidote for incorrect cross species use which takes nearly a week to work were patented. The antidote is referred to as Roselle Reformation potion and one of the key ingredients is rose hips. Lord Bardolph Ross and Arabelle Merchant were married in Spring 1922, shortly before the potion was first demonstrated at the ministry of magic. Her father and sisters were in attendance, although the innovation of omnioculars had not yet made them rich. Lord and Lady Ross went on to have eight children, and the Ross Rose Gardens and Ross Manor are still considered among the most beautiful Gardens in England. Notable descendants include Minerva Ross and Minerva McGonagall.
Some of the upcoming fairy tales are a little more obscure... we will see if you know the next one... Most probably won't! Any guesses for obscure tales? Thanks again for reading and reviewing!
E.A.