You sat on Hermione's couch, snuggled up next to her. It was a lazy Christmas break, your head in her lap while she stroked your hair, you happily listening to the fireplace crackle with heat. Wendell, Hermione's father, walked in with his wife, a book of fairytales in his hand. Adele, your cat, had perked up, her tail flicking with welcome. (I'm referencing one of my oneshots~ )
You sighed happily, happy that Hermione hadn't gotten up. "Dad, is that the book of fairytales that you got for me when I was 5?" Wendell nodded, grinning. He sat in his arm chair, Hermione's mother in the other.
"Has your girlfriend ever heard fairytales?" You suddenly say up, alarmed. "Fairies? What about then?" Hermione laughed. "Love, it's a bunch of muggle stories that we tell to our young." You nodded, your nose flaring at Adele, who was seemingly taunting you for being stupid.
"Well, no. I haven't heard any muggle stories... My father, well... all Malfoy's besides me, never took interest in anything involving muggles and what they talk about. We just did our own thing." Wendell, knowing wizard words thanks to Hermione, understood and nodded
"Well then, Ms. Malfoy, it's time you learned a few." You sat up, listening intently. Wendell started with stories such as The Tortoise and the Hare, Jack and the Bean Stalk, and Little Red Riding Hood. When he had finished multiple stories, he looked deeply into both you and Hermione's eyes. "You should notice, there is a moral to all these stories?"
You nodded, humming softly as Hermione kissed your head. Wendell looked a bit grim. "But you realize, not all stories have happy endings. You know what I just read, Cinderella?" You knitted your eyebrows together in confusion. "Well, Ms. Malfoy, that isn't the real ending to the story... the real story is much darker. Now, have you ever heard the story... "The Cat"?"
Your eyes widened. "A queen steals a magic apple from the garden of the Mother of God. The apple grants her a beautiful daughter, but the incensed Mother of God decrees that the daughter will turn into a cat at the age of seventeen, and that the only action that will break the spell is a prince cutting off her head. It's a very interesting story about transformation and powerful women. My mother told me the story."
Wendell nodded. "I see." Wendell was suddenly cheerful, his wife parading back into the den with cookies and hot cocoa. "Anyways, who wants to watch a Christmas movie?" Even Adele looked confused by the sudden change in atmosphere. Moral of the story is... not every fairytale has a happy ending.