Beauty and the Beast

Blackout

Published: 21. November, 2021

The Beast looked down at the sleeping witch, his black eyes narrowed.
"And you're sure?", he growled.

"Yes", said the teapot determinedly. "She said your name. She even knew Sirius' and that I used to be her professor."

Both watched the young woman as a thick silence settled between them. The wardrobe in the room was asleep, her faint snores sounding from the corner.

"Will she remember, Severus?", Minerva broke the silence.

The Beast fisted his hands, his claws boring themselves into his palms. The glimmer of hope he had felt, when hearing that Granger had remembered, started to fade.
"No", he said, grating his teeth. "The curse will not allow it."

"Miss Granger is strong. She shouldn't have been able to remember us in the first place. But she did", said Albus quietly.

The Beast whirled around and strode out of the room.
"What good does that do us?", he snarled. "Once the last petal falls, we are stuck here for eternity. And there's nothing Granger can do about it."
The door swung shut behind him.

Albus and Minerva traded a glance.

"You remember when we had the idea that Miss Granger and Severus could be a good...match?", said the cookie jar.

Minerva scowled.
"I'm still not completely on board with that."

A smile spread over Albus' face.
"I think it is a splendid idea. Miss Granger and Severus have always been very alike in their thinking. Once they got to know each other more, I suspect they could become...friends. And with time, maybe..."
His voice trailed off.

"Albus", Minerva sighed. "We cannot force them to- fall in love. It has to happen on their own."

"There must be a reason Miss Granger arrived at Hogwarts", said Albus firmly.

"That was an accident. She shouldn't have gone through the shield in the first place."

The cookie jar shook his head.
"I don't believe in accidents."

****

Orange and ginger. That scent lingered in his nose and would not fade. Growling angrily, the Beast swiped his hand across the wall of his chambers, adding a set of deep scratches to the ones that already decorated the mutilated walls.

He felt furious. His limbs trembled in anger and a deep rumble vibrated in his chest, ready to explode out as a roar.

Why couldn't the fucking fairy just drop the curse?

Why did Miss Granger even remember some things, but not everything? Was that a way of the fairy to mock him, letting him hope that Granger would remember just until she forgot everything again?

And why- why had he actually hoped for her to remember?

A snarl escaped his lips and the Beast whirled around, slamming his fist into the next object. It was a shelf and it cracked in two instantly. Pieces of wood and splinters clattered onto the cold floor.

Not bothering to pick it up, the Beast swept into the adjacent room, his tail flicking behind him.

There it was.

The fucking summer rose.

It's glow had grown weaker since most of the petals had fallen off. The deep red and purple color of the rose had faded slightly, yet it was still brimming with power.

The Beast stepped closer, his black eyes fixed on the rose.

If only Miss Granger had never come. He had grown so accustomed to their conversations every few days, daring to hope that she might remember more with each passing week. But what good did it do to hope? All it brought was disappointment and pain.