Song: Ladies' Choice
Artist: The Hairspray Cast (mostly Zac Efron)
Pairings: Harry/Ginny, a couple of NextGen/OC
Genre: Humor/Romance
Rating: T
Chapter Summary: Albus loses a bet with James and the Great Hall is amused by the collective efforts of the Weasley/Potter clan
A/N: It is recommended that you listen to the song while reading or at least watch the video so that you can understand what they're doing, despite my horrible description!
Potters Are The Ladies' Choice
"I can't believe I took that bet," Albus muttered under his breath as he approached the Great Hall. He just had to bet that Andy wouldn't have the courage to ask Molly out until next Hogsmeade weekend. He had a good mind to go beat some sense into his cousin's boyfriend – it had taken him four years to get the courage to ask her, so couldn't he wait two more months?
James was beside him, snickering. "Time for the show, little brother."
Albus sighed, but tried to look at the bright side. The Potters and Weasleys were kind of known for doing ridiculous things. Roxanne was always creating trouble and Fred had only just left. James was establishing a reign of his own and Lily often assisted him. Albus himself joined in sometimes, though he tried to stay out of the spotlight – he was embarrassed a bit more easily than his brother and sister. What he was about to do probably wouldn't even be the craziest thing that someone in his family had done… But it was probably one of the most public things.
At least he had partners in humiliation, though they wouldn't be too embarrassed. Wylie, Roxanne's boyfriend, was as fun-loving and crazy as her and was more than willing to be a background singer in Albus's task. He didn't mind the spotlight and was quite looking forward to getting into character. Louis was also going to be a back-up singer, as the boy often idolized James and liked the attention that this would bring him.
Even the girls were going to join in. Roxanne and Dominique, outgoing as they are, were going to be the dancers; Roxanne was particularly interested in the dancing. Even Molly was going to dance, claiming that she was going to show her mischievous side. It didn't show up all that often, but she had picked up a couple of genes from her Uncle George and she really did want to learn these dances – dances from the sixties.
Still, Albus was regretting watching that American Muggle movie a while ago. It had given James far too many ideas.
Albus tugged at his dress shirt and tie uncomfortably. He was surprised to find himself missing his robes, though he knew it was only because having no robe on would make him stand out even more.
Then again, he thought to himself slightly bitterly, singing in front of the doors to the Great Hall while everyone is eating breakfast isn't exactly something that will make me blend in.
He once again reminded himself that some of his cousins were doing this with him as the doors to the hall opened. He glanced around, noticing that in the night, James and some of the others had somehow managed to move the tables slightly outward, leaving a wide aisle in the middle.
Albus only had time for one deep breath before the music started, courtesy of his cousin Rose. She was like her mother and had inherited very few of the pranking genes, but she never passed up a chance to embarrass her cousin and was one of the few who could keep the charm going long enough. At first, she was worried about disturbing breakfast and breaking rules, but James talked to her, and she'd admitted that it would be amusing and it would probably make people smile before class. That had sealed Albus's fate.
Knowing that his brother would make him do something worse if he didn't even try to get into his role, Albus began to snap his fingers, trying to get an easy smile onto his face. It was forced, but at least he was smiling.
"Hey little girl with the cash to burn," Albus sang out, grinning and moving in time to the beat, trying to remember what the boy in the movie had done and not make a fool of himself.
"Do, do, do, do, do," Wylie and Louis chimed in, harmonizing with giant smiles on their faces.
"Well I'm sellin' something you won't return," Albus flashed a smile at his close friend and not-so-secret crush, Magdalena, while Wylie and Louis repeated themselves.
"Hey little girl take me off the shelf. 'Cause it's hard having fun playing with yourself," He tried not to laugh at the words he was saying as he relaxed into his role, seeing the blush and smile on Maggie's face. Her face was almost as red as her hair.
"Bloody hell," James whispered to Rose. "He's actually going through with it. If he does the hips thing, I'll have to join in."
"Once you've browsed through the whole selection, shake those hips in my direction!" Albus sang, trying to look confident and not to feel like a fool as he did a ridiculous move with his hips.
"Ahh, ahh, ahh," Wylie and Louis sang as Albus heard James let out a bark of laughter over the music and tried not to blush.
"A prettier package, you never did see," Albus continued, focusing on his own voice instead of listening to James. "Take me home and then unwrap me. Shop around little darlin' I've got to be…" He trailed off before belting out, "The ladies' choice!"
"Ladies' choice," Wylie and Louis chorused and Albus repeated, "The ladies' choice!"
By this time, Roxanne, Dominique, and Molly had started to dance, doing lots of rhythmic clapping and fancy footwork they'd learned from the movie. A couple of people had picked up on it and were clapping with the girls. Some of the braver boys got up – surprisingly it was a Gryffindor and two Hufflepuffs – and the girls began to try to teach them the moves. Laughing, the boys quickly got into the dance.
Albus took a deep breath and prepared to sing, but was drowned out as James appeared next to him and sang, "Hey little girl lookin' for a sale!"
Wylie and Louis repeated the line as Albus looked on in bewilderment.
Grinning roguishly, James continued, "Test drive this American male."
This time, when Wylie and Louis repeated the line, Albus joined in, smiling a bit more easily now and watching as his brother made a spectacle of himself.
"It's gonna take cash to fill my tank," James grinned at Keegan, his Quidditch teammate and a girl that he found exceedingly attractive. She rolled her eyes but was smiling playfully as well.
"So let's crack open your piggy bank," he winked at her, causing her to scowl, but there was still a twinkle in her eyes. "Hey little girl goin' window shopping, I got something traffic stopping!" James gestured to himself with a wicked grin.
Albus fake gagged, grinning at his fellow back-up singers, but James continued belting out lyrics, "Hey little girl on a spending spree, I don't come cheap but the kisses come free!" James blew out a kiss to his audience as Wylie, Louis, and Albus added in a quick, "Do, do."
"On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree; I'm the ladies' choice," He said with a grin.
"Ladies' choice," the back-ups completed dutifully before James repeated, "The ladies' choice," with a surprising amount of conviction in his voice.
Albus grinned at his smirking brother as the drum beat became prominent and the other dancers stepped off to the side to let Roxanne do her thing. The girl was a pretty good dancer and as the solo music began to end, Wylie joined his girlfriend. The two danced through the aisle in quick darts and dashes – the others joined in at the very end.
Albus and James exchanged glances as the back-ups began the dramatic, "Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh!" build-up, silently wondering who would do the last verse. It seemed they both were going to be singing when a loud voice sang out, "WOOOW!"
Turning in shock, the two brothers turned to see none other than their father, Harry Potter, sliding in between them. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he began, "Hey little girl on a spending spree, I don't come cheap but the kisses come free!"
The back-ups regained themselves and James joined them with a, "Do, do!"
Albus noticed that Roxanne was looking distinctly smug as she whirled about with Wylie and realized that she'd told his father about the bet. He'd have to get back at her later. This had the potential to be mortifying.
"On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree, OH!" Harry belted out, getting into the song with a huge smile on his face. His enthusiasm prompted Andy to get up and shyly join Molly on the dance floor. A couple others got up to dance as well.
"Hey little girl, listen to my plea," Harry indeed looked pleadingly towards the other end of the Hall, though his smile was slightly wicked, "I come with a lifetime guarantee. And one day maybe we'll find that baby makes three!"
Albus and James exchanged glances as Harry reached forward with a hand and beckoned with one finger. The hall seemed to turn as one as Ginny Potter appeared in front of the staff table, breaking the Disillusionment charm. Her smirk matched her husband's – she'd clearly been brought for the same purpose.
She began to dance her way across the hall as Harry called out, "It's the ladies' choice! I'm the ladies' choice… The ladies' choice!"
"I'm the ladies' choice!" Harry began, but James cut in, adding, "Choice!" Catching on, Albus quickly tacked on another, "Choice!" before they all chorused, "I'm the ladies' choice!"
By this time, Ginny had made her to the front and Harry gripped her hand before leading them down through the aisle in a whirl of dancing. Albus stirred up his courage and held out his hand to Magdalena with a small grin while raising one eyebrow. She looked like she was about to refuse, but finally put her hand in his and allowed him to lead her through a couple of steps.
Showing no such restraint, James snatched Keegan's hand and bodily yanked her out of her seat. The girl glared for a moment before engaging in a dance off with him as revenge for his treatment.
When the music end, Albus ended up near his father and grinned at him, "What happened to not liking the spotlight, Dad?"
Holding Ginny in his arms still, he waved a hand flippantly and said in an airy voice, "I will sacrifice my hatred of attention in order to embarrass my children, nieces, and nephews."
"I think you just made yourself more famous," James added, also smiling at his father.
Albus just laughed, having had far more fun than he thought he would. Since he hadn't had to do it alone, it was actually pretty entertaining.
The Great Hall was applauding, even most of the staff table. Hagrid was nearly shaking the table with his great guffaws and Minerva McGonagall was giving the Potters and Weasleys an exasperated, but fond glances. She was one of those clapping as well.
In Harry's mind, the greatest part was that all four Houses were clapping, as all four Houses had taken place in the demonstration. He could see Scorpius Malfoy laughing loudly surrounded by some Slytherin friends; Roxanne and Wylie's friends in the house of the snakes were also cheering and whistling. The Gryffindors were the loudest, but then again, that House was known for its exuberant reactions to any situation. The Hufflepuffs were proud of their House for being some of the first to get up and dance and were cheering Molly on. The Ravenclaws were impressed by Dominique's dancing and engaged in polite applause, though some of Dominique's friends were whooping.
Harry had never imagined that when he returned to Hogwarts to teach a couple of lessons, he'd be singing in front of the entire Great Hall – he knew he wasn't the greatest singer – but when Roxanne had sneakily informed him of the bet, he couldn't resist joining in instead of simply observing. He called Ginny and had her Floo to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Hogsmeade, then hurry to the gates, where Minerva had let her in, thinking she was simply visiting her husband. Ginny had greeted him and then gone into the Great Hall Disillusioned, so that the staff and students were not aware that anything unusual was going on.
The Potter and Weasley families were both thankful to Hermione for making them see that Hairspray movie and having them learn a few of the dances. Harry, despite not being a dancer, enjoyed the upbeat dance for this song if he was dancing with his wife. It seemed that his children had had fun as well and the Great Hall had a break in the monotony of school.
All in all, Harry James Potter found the day to be very successful.
Those involved in the show bowed, some shyly, some extravagantly – James and Wylie for example. Harry swept off with his wife to set up for his lessons that day as the rest of the performers sat down to eat and laugh with their friends.
As they all headed to their classes, James slung an arm around Albus's shoulder and said, "You know, I think we taught something to the school today."
Albus raised his eyebrows. "What? That singing in the Great Hall means you're making a spectacle of yourself? That doing something stupid and funny before class makes it more bearable?"
"No," James grinned, his eyes bright. "Hogwarts has witnessed proof of something that is undeniable.
"Potter men are the ladies' choice."