A/N: This story is based off of the musical (mostly the songs) Kiss Me, Kate, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, which is in turn based on The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare.
Anti-Litigation Charm: All characters, settings, etc belong to J.K. Rowling. Anything else recognizable belongs to either Porter or Shakespeare. Only the plot is my own.
Another op'nin', another show
In Philly, Boston or Baltimo',
A chance for stage folks to say hello,
Another op'nin' of another show.
It was the beginning of a new school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although it had been a scarce four months since the Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall wanted to school to begin on 1 September just as it normally would in order to maintain some semblance of normality. She thought that after such a traumatic event, the students and staff of Hogwarts would find comfort in the tradition and routine of the school year.
Another job that you hope, at last,
Will make your future forget your past,
Another pain where the ulcers grow,
Another op'nin' of another show.
It was going to be a difficult school year. At one time, Hogwarts had served as the bastion of knowledge, enlightenment, and safety for Wizarding Great Britain. Now, however, it was merely a place of painful reminders, violence and fear, for the majority of the students. For many of them, it reminded them of being tortured by teachers and classmates, fearing being dragged out of class or the dormitories to be leverage to force family members to cooperate with the corrupt Ministry. For others, it was a reminder of how they had caved to the rule of the Carrow siblings, perpetrating those acts against their classmates.
Both Headmistress McGonagall and Minister Shacklebolt agreed, however, that no matter difficult, with proper support, it would be more beneficial to the community to reopen Hogwarts as soon as possible. Like an infected wound, it would heal better and more rapidly if wound was lanced and the infection removed rather than left to fester and putrify. Attendance was no longer compulsory, however, so anyone who did not feel comfortable returning was not required to do so. Despite concerns, this year would also have a record enrollment. All of the students would be repeating the previous year of school, as Muggleborns had not been allowed to attend and many of the students who had attended were forced to take refuge in the Room of Requirement midway through the school year.
Four weeks, you rehearse and rehearse,
Three weeks and it couldn't be worse,
One week, will it ever be right?
Then out o' the hat, it's that big first night!
Making the castle fit for inhabitation was a massive project that required the time, effort, and money of much of wizarding community. Of course, all of the staff and house elves of Hogwarts worked full time on repairs. The Order of the Phoenix, family of the attending students and the population of Hogsmeade also contributed their labor and magic when possible. And after the war crimes trials, Hogwarts had another source of assistance as well.
The Death Eaters and active Voldemort supporters, in a sense of wicked revenge, contributed the most to the restoration of Wizarding Great Britain. It was agreed that the best way to prevent such an occurrence again was to demonstrate the direct negative consequences of their actions. All lower level Death Eaters and active, willing Voldemort supporters were sentenced to manual labor on the restoration of either Hogwarts or Diagon Alley in proportion with their crimes. Upper level Death Eaters and the financial supporters of Voldemort were also fined in proportion to their crimes and the wealth they possessed.
Fortunately, with Kingsley Shacklebolt as the Minister for Magic, the war reparations were determined objectively rather than punitively, with coercion taken into account. Because his work for and interaction the Prime Minister, Kingsley was very familiar with the history of Muggle Europe, and knew that the harsh measures inflicted on the losers of World War I in the Treaty of Versailles only served to create a larger conflict twenty years later in World War II.
Therefore, all sentences and reparations were kept within reason. Repayment was made in the form of gold only, no property or heirlooms were confiscated from the pureblooded supporters of the Dark Lord. Their children were only required to participate in a Muggle Studies and counseling course before being allowed to return to Hogwarts.
The overture is about to start,
You cross your fingers and hold your heart,
It's curtain time and away we go!
Another op'nin',
Just another op'nin' of another show.
Another op'nin', another show
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were playing two a side Quidditch in the yard in back of the Burrow the evening of August 31st.
"I am so excited to be going back to Hogwarts!" Hermione said as she struggled to catch the quaffle and maintain her seat on her broom.
"I just bet you are. You always were a bit mental," said Ron jokingly as he took the quaffle from Hermione. "And accepting the Head Girl position as well. Don't you want a chance to relax this year?"
"Nah," chimed in Harry. "I'm afraid that this year will be deadly dull. With no Voldemort to worry about, or escaped felons, or sadistic teachers to deal with, I think we will be bored out of our minds."
"How come we are going to Hogwarts anyway?" asked Ron. "I mean, I know why Hermione wants to go back, but why didn't you want to take Gawain Robards up on his offer to enter the Auror training program even without our N.E.W.T.S."
Harry's eyes darted to where Ginny sat, hovering on her broomstick, then quickly away again.
"Because, Ron," replied Harry, "For once in my life, I want to have a normal school year with my friends. Between my cousin Dudley and my occasional outbreaks of magic, my primary schooling wouldn't be considered normal, and I have been faced with challenges every year since entering Hogwarts. Being bored actually sounds rather appealing."
Hermione didn't miss the glance that Harry sent Ginny, though she chose not to mention it.
Little did they know that this year would be anything but normal or boring.
A/N: I know that it is a little dry at the beginning, but please bear with me. I wanted to give enough background to provide a solid foundation for the rest of the story.
Please review with your ideas/comments/constructive criticism. Let me know if you think I should continue the story.
Thank you! FluffyPurpleBunny
