Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Assignment 1.

Class: Wandlore

Task 1: Write about a character perceived as "lacking" in something as having a big personality.

Also written for:

The Insane House Challenge, Prompt 1: (Character) Sirius Black. 365 prompts challenge, 49: Class - Dance/Performing Arts

Word Count: 901

Remus swung open the door to the theater, waving good-bye to James and Peter. He and Sirius were taking drama as their elective this year. James couldn't because that would mean giving up his precious sports club, and Peter was taking study hall. Taking the class meant giving up robotics, but he already knew the basics of programming anyway. He'd been told by a lot of the people to join, and that the group needed his energy.

Remus set his book bag down with a thud that accounted for the many textbooks it contained. Sirius was already sitting in his self-proclaimed chair, next to Remus' own. About half the class was already there, chatting in the first two rows of seats.

They'd just finished the first quarter one act show, and were anxiously awaiting the announcement of what the second quarter show would be. There were a lot of rumors, even one saying it would be a horror. Remus had pointed out several times that wouldn't happen: the sets would be hard to design, and the lights in the theater weren't very good.

"Do you know what the next play is?" Sirius asked, twisting in his seat to face Alice, who sat behind them. Frank Longbottom was sitting next to her, his arm around her shoulders.

"No, but I hope it's funny," she told them.

"I hope there's more than two leads," Lily said. "Funny or not, I'd like more than one line."

"That wouldn't be too bad," Remus agreed.

"Take your seats, everyone," boomed Professor Slughorn as he entered the theater. "We've got a few things to do today."

Everyone quickly scrambled back to the cushioned chairs, waiting for him to announce the quarter's play. Marlene McKinnon, who was almost always late, rushed into class and sta next to Lily. Though he didn't know for sure, Remus suspected her last class was across the campus.

"First, I need your opinion. Would you like a short play that we'd perform at the end of the quarter, or a musical that we'd rehearse for two quarters? Let's take a quick vote."

Remus thought. He didn't like singing much, and it certainly wouldn't be good if Sirius had to sing, but musicals seemed fun to do. They'd already done a play, and the whole point of the class was to expand their knowledge of the performing arts. So when Slughorn called for those in favour of a musical, Remus raised his hand.

"Alright, that's a pretty even split," Slughorn said, assessing the vote. "But there's a few more for musical, so I'll start looking into that more."

There were both groans and whoops as he said that, complete with Frank punching the air in delight.

"Today's activity is improv. I'm passing around the hat now, so draw a number." While they played several improv games, the most common one was the Top Hat Game. A top hat would be filled slips of paper, each numbered and enough for each person in the class. The numbers indicated the order they went onstage, and person one was given a prompt.

The top hat, an old prop that had been found backstage, was passed down the line of students, who each drew a slip of paper. Remus took his and passed the hat to Sirius, then opened the fold. He got number one, so it would be his job to start the scene.

"Alright, number one, go onstage," Slughorn instructed. "Your prompt is something spooky, because tomorrow's Halloween."

Remus walked over to the stairs and climbed up them, then crept to center stage.

"When I was younger, maybe five years old," he began, lowering his voice, "there was an old man who lived here, who told stories of a werewolf, lurking the streets of our town. I never believed him, and my parents told me not to."

"But he was right, of course," Lily said, stepping on stage with him. "Sometimes, I said I could hear the howls on nights with a full moon, but my parents always convinced me it was just the wind."

Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Marlene ready to enter the scene. Trusting Lily to carry on narrating, he knelt so he was standing on his knees.

"Mum, I think I hear the werewolf!" he said, pointing out an imaginary window. As he'd hoped, Marlene walked over to him and began talking.

The story continued, ending only after Lily had delivered the line "The end," at which point, many more characters had been added. Playing the young boy, Remus snuck out of his house and into the woods with friends to hunt the werewolf. They ran into several strange creatures, the weirdest of which, a talking dog who transformed into a human, was played by Sirius. Remus and his friends were then cornered by a pack of werewolves, and Remus was bit in the neck, but survived to become a werewolf. The main werewolf was played by Frank, who did an excellent job as always.

"Well, that was exciting," Sirius commented as they left the theater.

"Definitely one of our better improvs," Remus agreed. "Will you walk a little faster? I'd like to get to lunch before our break ends."