Cursed [Dramione/Beauty & The Beast]

Childhood

Dressed in old clothes, Draco and Hermione headed outside after breakfast. They stood in front of the manor, surveying the chaos.

'Where the hell do we start?' Draco whined, his shoulders drooping.

'Ok...I've been looking at it from the windows. I reckon it should be easy to do this systematically, a section at a time,' Hermione said. 'Piece of cake!'

'You and your Gryffindor optimism,' Draco grumbled.

'You and your Slytherin pessimism!' Hermione teased. 'How about we start by following the paths, pulling the weeds, repairing the flagstones, that kind of thing? It might help define the sections better.'

'Your wish is my command, lead on!'

Hermione dropped into a mock curtsy, then marched off down the steps. Draco chuckled and followed her.

'Want to split up?'

'Nah,' he shrugged. 'May as well stick together, we can divide the tasks between us.'

'Sounds good. I'll take this side of the path, you take that one.'

They walked in comfortable silence, each cutting back the growth encroaching onto their side of the path. They took it in turns zapping away weeds sprouting through the cracks.

The path took them on a winding tour of the garden. They followed each offshoot, repairing stones as they went.

One of the smaller paths ended at a paved picnic area with broken furniture. A tall sycamore towered nearby, with an old treehouse nestled in its branches.

'My castle!' Draco cried, his face lighting up.

Ignoring the pain in his arm and back, Draco scampered up into the tree. Hermione admired his agility as he climbed.

'I'm the king of the wooooorld!' He crowed, his face peeking between the leaves.

Hermione laughed, shaking her head. Turning her attention to the garden furniture, she began mending the broken slats on the benches.

'Hey, Granger!' Draco shouted, his feet clomping on the wood. 'Come up here!'

'No way!' She called back, fixing the last piece of furniture. 'The wood's probably all rotten. One of us needs to stay uninjured!'

'C'mon,' he wheedled. 'It's safe, I just finished the repairs! There's even a ladder, look.'

With a brisk shake, he rolled a rope ladder down to Hermione. Hesitating slightly, she stuck her wand through her ponytail and started climbing.

Draco pulled her through the square in the floor, then he settled the trapdoor back in place. He stood with his head bent, avoiding the low roof.

Hermione helped pick up the overturned furniture, feeling huge next to the small table and chairs. She squinted at initials carved into the tree trunk in childish letters. Time had faded them, but she could make out 'DM', 'GG', 'VC' and 'BZ'.

'So you all knew each other before Hogwarts, then?' Hermione asked, tracing the letters with her finger.

'Yup. Our parents' were friends, so we spent a lot of time together. This was our den. So many hours we were up here!'

Glancing higher up the bark, Hermione spotted an old, but slightly fresher carving. It was a large heart, with 'PP & DM 4eva' cut into it.

'From childish hideout to teenage make-out spot, hmm?' She teased, pointing to it.

'Shut up. She made me write that.'

'It's cute,' Hermione laughed, joining him at the makeshift balcony, overlooking the picnic area.

Draco sat with his legs dangling, leaning on the safety rail. Hermione sat cross-legged, slightly back from the edge.

'Why the sad face?' Hermione asked, prodding him.

'Just thinking. Father built this for me, so we'd have a place to play while the adults had some "grown up time". Took me years to realise they were getting us out of the way for their secret Death Eater meetings...'

Draco had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt while they worked. Hermione glanced at his Dark Mark, faded into scars on his pale skin. Draco followed her gaze and tugged his sleeve back down.

'Sorry,' she began, 'I didn't-'

'It's fine.'

An awkward silence settled over them.

'I'm, uh, going to get some more gardening done,' Hermione said at last.

'It's almost lunchtime,' Draco reminded her, glancing up at the sun.

'All the more reason to get moving!'

Hermione heaved herself to her feet, and wandered back to the trap door.

Leaning down, her hand brushed the iron handle. Branches creaked overhead. Curling her fingers around the ring, she tugged it.

Draco whipped around as Hermione screamed.

Long, thin branches were wrapped around her waist. Ivy covered her mouth. The branches pinned her against the trunk. Her eyes were wide, fingers scrabbling against the wood.

Draco grabbed his wand and started shooting spells at the tree.

Hermione closed her eyes as sparks flew around her. The leaves tightened on her face, covering her nose.

'I, Draco Malfoy, master of this place, command you to stop!' Draco bellowed.

Hermione dropped to the floor, gasping.

'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!' Draco was saying. 'I wouldn't have brought you up here if I'd known...'

'It's fine,' she mumbled. 'You warned me against traps. Makes sense there's one here.'

Draco pulled her into a swift hug, feeling her body shaking as he held her.

'Are you hurt?' His face was creased in concern as he checked her face and arms for injuries.

'I'm fine, really,' Hermione said, pulling away. She pushed her sleeve back over the scars on her arm. 'Can you let me out of here, please? I'd like to get back on the ground.'

'Yes, yes, of course!'

Draco opened the trapdoor. With a brave smile, she shakily eased onto the ladder. Draco watched her descent anxiously.

Hermione reached the ground, and staggered away from the tree. Draco rolled up the ladder and closed the door, then swung down through the branches.

'Are you sure you're ok?' Draco hovered over Hermione, who was a heap in the grass.

'I'm fine!' She said, voice muffled. 'I'm just appreciating the solid earth!'

'I had no idea that would happen, I'm so sorry.' Draco said again, flopping down next to her.

'We should have guessed, really. Got to keep his precious son and heir safe from bad influences!'

'Hmm, yes, you are a pretty bad influence. What with your views on equal rights for all witches, wizards and magical creatures...'

'Exactly, can't have you being corrupted!'

Beastly appeared with a sharp crack, making them both jump.

'Lunch is served,' he squeaked, bowing to them both.

'Thank you, Beastly,' Draco smiled. 'We'll be right along.'

'Very good, master.'

Beastly disappeared, and Draco helped Hermione to her feet. She was quite wobbly still, so he wrapped an arm around her waist. Clutching to him, Hermione felt steadier as they walked back to the manor.

*****

A/N: I enjoyed writing this peek into Draco's childhood. What did you think of it? Just in case it's not clear, the initials were for: Draco Malfoy; Gregory Goyle; Vincent Crabbe; Blaise Zabini; Pansy Parkinson. Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments! Much love, Charli