Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 4: The Beast

It was Blaise Zabini. The once great and intelligent Slytherin now was the owner of a rundown castle and all alone except for his elves, but he still looked terrifying. "You have my word." She whispered.

"Done." He swept past her.

Hermione collapsed on the ground and began to cry into her hands.

He unlocked the door and dragged her father out of the cell.

"Wait!" she called after him. But it was too late. The beast, she decided that's what she would call him, had already dragged her father down and out of the castle.

Down with her father:

"Please spare my daughter. She's never done anything wrong!" Mr. Granger yelled.

"She's no longer your concern!" the beast yelled at him.

Zabini gripped the man harder and, with a loud crack, he disapparated.

Back with Hermione:

She heard the loud crack and knew the beast had taken her father away. A few minutes later she heard another earsplitting crack, and knew he had returned.

The young beast drug his feet up the stone stairs to where Hermione was still sitting.

"Master," a small house elf name Dolan whispered.

"What?" his master's voice was dangerously low.

"I was just wondering, sir, but since the girl will be with us for quite some time... do you think that you could give her a more suitable quarters?" Dolan squeaked.

"You insolent little..." the beast muttered a curse and the poor elf shrieked in pain. He began climbing up the stairs.

His shadow filled the cell. Tears were streaming down her face. "You didn't let me say goodbye. I'll be stuck here forever. I'll never get to see him again!" she jumped up and began punching him. He didn't even flinch; instead he pushed her back down onto the ground.

"I'll show you to your room," he moved out of the room but when she didn't move at all he asked, "You want to stay in the tower?"

"No," she cowered away from him.

"Then follow me," he strode away from her and down the stairwell. He waved his wand and the corridor was illuminated. She looked all around and saw that she was surrounded by scary looking statues of gargoyles and dragons.

The whole time they walked tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Dolan tugged on the beast's cloak. "Master, say something."

"Um... I hope you like it here."

"That'll be difficult considering that I'm a prisoner." She whispered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Well, this is your home now so you can go anywhere you want except for the East Wing."

"What's in the east..."

"It's forbidden!" He shouted. Dolan and Hermione cowered away from the terrifying thing in front of them.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to her room.

"My servants will attend to you if you need anything." He rumbled.

Dolan whispered. "Invite her to dinner, master."

"And you will come down for dinner. That's an order!" He shut her door harder than necessary.

She gasped and ran over to the bed which she then collapsed on, crying.

If she had looked up she would've seen the snow falling down outside her window. Which it hadn't snowed near this castle for many, many years.