MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
by The Goblet

Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: R (NC-17 version linked when scenes are edited)
Parts: 42
Categories: Angst, Drama, Humor, Marauder Era, Romance, Suicidal Themes
Pairings: Lily Evans / James Potter, Remus Lupin / Severus Snape, Rodolphus LeStrange / Peter Pettigrew
Characters: Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore, Arabella Figg, Lord Voldemort, Minerva McGonagall, Rabastan LeStrange, Regulus Black, Sirius Black
Warnings: Character Death (mentioned), Het, Slash, Suicidal Themes
Spoilers: OotP

Summary:
When the graduating class of 1977 return to Hogwarts to attend the annual Hogsmeade Masked Mid-Summer Ball, turmoil and madness ensues when the Black brothers decide to meddle in the love lives of their friends.

Author's Notes:
This story was inspired by William Shakespeare's comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

It is a Potterverse version of Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Some of the speeches may seem extremely familiar (including one which is Shakespearean, but does not come from this play - sing out if you spot it). And some scenes are completely new.

The slash warning is for m/m pairings and intimacy. The het warning is for a background pairing only.

This story was written after I read OotP and visited the Globe Theatre in London where I saw an all-female performance of Much Ado About Nothing.

Completed January 2005.

Beta:
Many, many thanks to Tall Oaks and Mermaid3290

Disclaimer:
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

This story is based on characters and situations created by William Shakespeare. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.


Dramatis Personǽ

Sirius Black
- Auror, Ministry of Magic;
- Junior member of the Order of the Phoenix

Regulus Black
- his brother;
- Death Eater hopeful

Remus John Lupin
- Defence Against the Dark Arts student, Ivory Magical University;
- Junior member of the Order of the Phoenix

James Potter
- Auror, Ministry of Magic;
- Junior member of the Order of the Phoenix

Peter Pettigrew
- Bar Tender, Hog's Head inn;
- Junior member of the Order of the Phoenix

Minerva McGonagall
- Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry;
- Senior member of the Order of the Phoenix

Arabella Figg
- her sister;
- Member of the Order of the Phoenix;
- a squib

Lord Voldemort
- A Dark Lord

Nero Wilkes
- Potions Master;
- Death Eater

Rabastan LeStrange
- Best mate of Regulus Black;
- Death Eater hopeful

Rodolphus LeStrange
- older brother of Rabastan LeStrange;
- Death Eater

Albus Dumbledore
- Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry;
- Leader of the Order of the Phoenix

Aberforth Dumbledore
- his brother;
- Member of the Order of the Phoenix;
- Owner of the Hog's Head inn;
- Member of the Hogsmeade Citizen's Watch

Severus Snape
- Potions apprentice;
- Junior member of the Order of the Phoenix;
- Death Eater hopeful

Lily Evans
- Potions apprentice;
- Junior member of the Order of the Phoenix

Honeyduke, Zonko, Dervish and Banges
- Shopkeepers of Hogsmeade;
- Members of the Hogsmeade Citizen's Watch

Ebenezer Scrivenshaft
- Owner of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop;
- Hogsmeade's Official Record Keeper and Historian


Prologue

Our story opens, this fair night, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, on the eve of the Mid-Summer festivities. Our fair hero and heroine have returned to the castle to celebrate with fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix.

It was the time of a great war: good versus evil: the virtuous and noble versus the wicked and corrupt. Hogwarts School was one of the last Order strongholds left in the Isles. The 1979 summer holidays had just begun. Frightened children had been sent home to face the holidays (and Death Eater attacks) by themselves. In their absence, Hogwarts' doors had been thrown open (figuratively, not literally) to exhausted Order Members so that they could regroup and recover from their battles.

But, back to our heroes: Severus Snape and Lily Evans. A 'pure-blood' and a 'mud-blood'. Our tale opens three days after our heroes have returned to Hogwarts. After graduating two years earlier, both enrolled in a Potions Apprenticeship program run by the Ministry, and (as a result of Albus Dumbledore's tampering) both students had been designated to study under Nero Wilkes, a well known and respected Potions Master. Unknown to the public, however, was Wilkes' obsession with the Dark Arts and subsequent loyalty to the Dark Lord. It was due to one of his… commitments that Lily and Severus had been given a month's holiday. A holiday they intend to begin with a bang - at the annual Hogsmeade Masked Mid-Summer Ball.


tbc...

Feedback very welcome!