Chapter 1: Introducing
"I am proud to present Hogwarts' first strings duo!" Dumbledore announced softly to the Great Hall.
Out stepped two robed and masked figures from their place in front of Dumbledore's chair. Theirs robes were marked with crossed bows, and underneath it, a violin.
They conjured seats and music stands, being careful not to damage the instruments in the cases beside them.
They carefully unpacked, and set their bows on the strings.
A soft melody drifted from the instrument as their talented, calloused fingers glided across the strings.
The Muggleborn students began to recognize the beginning strains of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. The music was soft, yet beautiful, portraying a side of the song no one had ever heard.
That song soon ended, and Beethoven's Fur Elise began. Everyone calmed down, and was soothed by the floating music, including the snarky old Potions Master, and strict old Professor McGonagall.
Almost as soon as it began, it felt, the heartfelt music ended.
The clapping started out slow, and gradually got louder and louder, as everyone in the Great Hall came out of the stupor that the beautiful music had put them in.
Professor Dumbledore looked at the two musicians, as if to ask, "May I?"
They slightly bowed their head, and Dumbledore took that to be a yes.
He cleared his throat, and everyone turned their attention to him.
"Would you like to know who are musicians are?" He asked, "Then you can ask them questions."
There were shouts of "Yes!" coming from every seat in the Great Hall, including the Slytherin, and Head Tables.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the duo pulled back their hoods. The one one the right's wavy brown hair cascaded down her back to her hips. The other one's hair stopped at his waist.
They gently pulled off the silver masks they wore, and everyone gasped.
It was Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.
As if to prove it, everyone looked over at the Gryffindor table, finally realising that two seats were empty.
The ones where Harry and Hermione usually sat.
The first question asked was, "How long have you been playing?"
Harry answered first, "I've been playing for almost twelve years, starting five years before I entered Hogwarts. At the pirmary school I went to, I was held after school, so that the music teacher there could tutor me in private. When we tried it in class, I had a real knack for the cello."
Then Hermione replied, "I have been playing for almost twelve years, also. My parents got me my first violin, as something to distract me from my books."
Everyone chuckled at that.
"Is that all you can play?" Ron asked.
Hermione blushed, and then said, "No. Harry taught me to play cello, and I taught him to play violin. We both learned how to play the viola, the clarinet, the oboe, the flute, the sax, the drums, the harmonica, the guitar, the pan pipes, the bass, the French horn, and the trumpet."
Albus Dumbledore stared shell shocked at them.
"Demonstration?" Harry coughed.
Hermione inclined her head, and took out her wand, as Harry took out his.
Each instrument aappeared in front of them. Gently, Harry picked up the bass, as Hermione picked up the viola.
The melodies flowed from the instruments, each instrument changing as the songs changed. The music finally came to and end. There wasn't a dry eye in the house, not even Snape's.
They bowed, and not caring to take off the black robes and hoods, sat down carefully at the Gryffindor table. They silently banished the instruments, making sure to banish them directly into Voldemort's lair, on his head, much to Voldemort's surprise. The bass then managed to crush his skull, where the corpse appeared beside a grinning Harry and Hermione.
The school's chatter began again.
Aiming their wands at the dead Dark Lord, Harry and Hermione cut him to pieces, and then set the pieces on fire, after completing a complex soul vanishing charm.
Voldemort was gone, the Wizarding World was happy, and some of the saddest people had found their solice in a simple place.
The beauty of music, the joy of seeing the bow fly across the string, the air flow into the waiting instrument.
They had found the heart of it all.