Draco Malfoy was in heaven. Yes, that was a good way to put it. He was at Oxford in The Shakespeare Academy for Young Actors. It was a very, very little known fact that he was a fantastic actor. In fact, only his family and his godfather Severus knew. It was an even littler known fact that he loved Shakespeare. There was just something about the language….the old English. He was fascinated by it. It was his dream to play Romeo or one of the other numerous male leads in a Shakespeare production. Finally, his dream may come true here because in a few short hours he would be auditioning for the part of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. And he was bloody well prepared for it.

He looked around the room at the competition. The boys there seemed to be only interested in one thing, girls. He snorted at the thought and began to rehearse his monologue. It was from Hamlet, the soliloquy where Hamlet talks about his father. It was his favorite. Maybe it was because he admired a man that so greatly respected his father. Respect was something definitely lacking for his father. In fact, if the truth was to be told, he loathed and despised his father. He looked up from the book and saw a girl with pretty auburn hair sitting across from him. She was intently reading her book and seemed as though she was deep in memorization.

He wondered what she was reading but decided that it was probably her audition piece. He decided that he wanted to look over his one last time before his audition. As he was getting himself comfortable, a rather flamboyant looking man called for everyone's attention. "Hello! Hello everyone! Hi, my name is Roger! And I'm the director for this years production. If you didn't know already it's going to be Romeo and Juliet. I'm so very excited for this year! As you all know, you have another audition today to decide what part you'll be playing. I'm going to be calling on you guys in random order and you'll perform in front of everyone here. So I hope you're all prepared! Let's see…..first up is….Kimberly…Kimberly Luchs! If you could please come up and begin! Thanks!" And with that Mr. Flamboyant, a.k.a. Roger, went to the back of the room and the auditions began. Draco wasn't very impressed with anyone all that much.

He thought that they were mediocre at best. They all had the exact same scenes picked out to audition with. He didn't see how any of them possibly had gotten in, until the director called out for a Bridget Granger. He was shocked at the last name, but figured it was probably just a coincidence. After all, there were a lot of Grangers in England. He was prepared for another boring dull scene but instead of the same old thing, she did something completely different.

She walked up on the stage. Draco was amazed at how the stage lighting made the blonde highlights stand out in her hair. It almost looked as though she was an angel.

"And what piece will you be doing for us dear?" Roger asked as he smiled up at her.

"I'll be doing Ophelia's monologue from Hamlet." She said confidently she paused for a minute then began and Draco found that she was staring right at him, as if to compare him with Hamlet, the tragic prince. "O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!
The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword;
The expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,

The observed of all observers, quite, quite down!
And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,
That suck'd the honey of his music vows,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,
Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh
That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see."

When Bridget was done, Draco was in shock. She was fantastic. He just knew that she was going to be Juliet. And he damn well wanted to be her Romeo for reasons that he wasn't quite sure of, other than that was his dream. Finally, it was his turn. He got up and acted his heart out.

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause: there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life;

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,

The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,

The insolence of office and the spurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscover'd country from whose bourn

No traveller returns, puzzles the will

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,

And enterprises of great pith and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry,

And lose the name of action.--Soft you now!

The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons

Be all my sins remember'd.

As he said the last bit of his monologue, he gazed at Bridget and found her staring right back at him. It caused a small shiver up and down his spine. He slowly walked back to his seat wondering what exactly was going on. Roger stood up and said "Thank you for your time everyone! You were all simply great! Tomorrow I'll have the list up of your characters and everything! Everyone have a great day! Toodles!" And with that the audition was over and now it would only be 24 hours before Draco would know if his dream had come true or not. 24 short hours.