Belle finds herself at Hogwarts

"Papa!" cried Belle as she sat up straight out of bed, breathing hard.

She'd had quite the nightmare last night. She'd dreamed that her father had been imprisoned by a terrifying Beast in a castle near her town that she'd never even been aware of. And then she'd been chased by wolves and almost eaten.

She shivered at the recollection.

Taking comfort that it had all been a dream, she looked around, expecting to see her well-loved bedroom.

Yet, as she took in her surroundings, Belle realized that she didn't recognize a single thing. It certainly was not her room back in the cottage she shared with her father. It wasn't even the room she'd been led to by the Beast after she'd offered to switch places with her father.

Papa had been captured by a Beast in his castle! she recalled. I couldn't allow him to stay there.

The more she thought about what had happened, the more she realized that she hadn't been dreaming. The memories were too vivid. The details too strange.

She couldn't have dreamed up the dinnertime performance given by the household furniture or the terror she felt when she stood up to the Beast. She didn't think she could have even possibly imagined the Beast.

But where was she now? Where was the kindly wardrobe who'd offered her a dressing gown to sleep in? Yes, a wardrobe had offered her clothes. It seemed that talking furniture and household objects were the norm at the Beast's castle.

Belle looked down at herself. She wasn't wearing a nightgown. She wore some kind of long shirt and…pants? She'd never worn pants in her life. Only men wore pants. And yet, she was wearing some kind of soft pants that had a striped pattern.

Belle tried to take in her surroundings. She seemed to be in a circular room with four other beds lining the walls around hers. There were a few doors on one side of the room. Each bed had a desk and wardrobe next to it. At the end of each bed was a trunk. She hoped the wardrobe next to her bed was hers. That trivial detail made her let out a small laugh under her breath.

What does it matter if the wardrobe is mine or not? she thought. Where am I? How did I get here? Where's Papa? Is he doing all right?

Belle recalled the events right before she'd fallen asleep. The talking candelabra and clock had given her a tour of the castle, but warned her not to go to the West Wing. It's forbidden, she remembered them saying. Yet, something had pulled her there and a recklessness took over her. Then had been discovered by the Beast himself, who drove her out of the castle and straight into the path of wolves. Then he'd rescued her from the wolves, getting a serious injury himself. She'd nursed his wounds and had seen a different side of him. One that seemed almost…human. She'd fallen asleep thinking that her time in the castle might not be so bad after all.

And now…this? What was this? Belle felt at a loss and wholly perplexed.

As Belle continued ruminating over her situation, the door burst open and she saw a flash of red darting across the room. A young woman with fiery locks raced over to Belle looking her dead in the eye. "Hermione! What are you still doing in bed? Breakfast is almost over and we have Potions this morning."

Potions? Hermione? Belle was at a loss. More than that, this young woman was speaking to her in English. Ever since her father and Belle had left Paris, she hadn't heard any English from anyone aside her papa. Belle's mama had been an Englishwoman that her papa had met while traveling. Belle's mama loved France and had decided to come back and live with him in Paris. They had Belle soon after and Belle grew up speaking both French and English. Many different travelers came to Paris and Belle often spent time around English speakers because they always seemed to find their way to their apartment in town. But after her mama passed away and they moved to rural France, Belle hardly ever heard any English. Sometimes she and Papa would speak it, but she could tell it saddened him. Belle read any English books she could get her hands on to keep up with the language.

The young woman seemed to be expecting a response from her. Belle said in what she hoped was passable English, "I'm…sorry?"

The young woman narrowed her eyes and looked at her closer. "In all the seven years that I've known you, you've never been late for a class. You've never missed breakfast either. What's up?"

Belle had no idea what to say. She was really scared. She was in a new place after being imprisoned in a new place. It didn't seem like she was even in the same country anymore. Was the Beast still here? Was she even in the same castle? She didn't know what to think or do. She didn't know if this young woman was friend or foe.

Belle looked at the young woman. She seemed to be more concerned than angry. Belle didn't get a malicious sense from her like she did from the three girls who followed Gaston around back home. Gaston! Could it only be yesterday that he'd asked her to marry him? What a day she'd had. She'd been shocked and disgusted at his proposal. There's no way she could be with someone as brainless as him.

Belle shook herself a little and made a decision. "To tell the truth, I have no idea where I am," she said, finding it hard to get the words out right.

The young woman looked at Belle closer. "You sound different. Say something again." She seemed to realize how that sounded. "Please," the young woman added.

"I have no idea where I am," Belle repeated. "I went to bed somewhere else last night and woke up here, in this place."

"You went to bed somewhere else? And now you're here?" the young woman looked puzzled. "Also, your voice has almost a different accent to it. I thought I was imagining things the first time you spoke. You sound faintly like Fleur…" The young woman looked thoughtful. "Would you mind telling me more about what you remember?"

Belle considered whether she should trust this person. Then she realized that she didn't have any other options.

"I live in a small village in France. My papa is an inventor and he got lost on the way to a trade show. I learned that he'd been imprisoned by a Beast in an enchanted castle. I traded places with him. I fell asleep in my room in that castle and woke up…here, it seems." Belle paused. "I don't even know where here is."

An orange cat jumped up on the bed, purring. Belle started a little at the sudden appearance, which caught the cat's attention. He stopped purring and narrowed his eyes at Belle. Then he hissed at her.

"Crookshanks! What are you–?" The young woman's face lost all color. "She did it then," she said with horror. "She actually did it."