A/N
All characters belong to J.K. Rowling
All ideas and excerpts belong to Andrew Lloyd Weber and Gaston Leroux
Hello again~! Hope you enjooooy
Unbetated
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Please, calm down!" The sound of Dumbledore's voice rang out above the commotion of the crowd. The people looked over to the new owner and halted in their footsteps, stopping their panicked state but still exchanging nervous whispers with each other.
"Signor! Signor are you okay?" Fudge rushed over to Draco's side, who was crouched on the floor and shaking. "Filch! Filch! Get him down here! He's the one who's done this."
Voldemort
Harry stared at the spot where Luna had been, the name of the terrorizer of the opera house repeating in his head.
Voldemort Voldemort Voldemort Voldemort Volde—
"Harry! You're as pale as a ghost," a familiar head of bushy hair rushed over to him- well what he thought was bushy hair, his eyesight was rather horrible without his glasses.
"Hermione? Is that you?" Squinting his eyes, Harry could make out the fuzzy figure of his friend.
"Of course it is. Do you know where everyone else went?"
"See, it would be really helpful if I had my glasses."
"Oh yeah!" The whole stage and scenery around them became clearer and finer as Hermione slipped a pair of round, wire glasses onto Harry's nose. "I managed to quickly grab them from the dressing room amidst the chaos." She grinned.
"Thanks 'Mione." Harry smiled. "I really appreciate it."
The two looked over to where the startled and shaking Draco stood. Another man had appeared, he had a bald spot on the top of his head and shoulder length, thin, oily, grey-brown hair.
"Do you really think that Filch did that?" Hermione whispered, glancing over at Harry. The young dancer stiffened, a grim expression on his face.
"I believe that our 'chief of the flies' is innocent," Harry glanced to either side of him and got closer to Hermione to whisper in her ear. "I think it's Volde—" Harry stopped himself from saying the cursed name that everyone in the opera house feared. "I think it's The Phantom Snake." Hermione gasped, the color draining from her face.
"No! It can't be- The Phantom Sn—"
"Shhh, 'Mione," Harry hushed the incredulous girl. "We don't want everyone to start panicking again."
Her cheeks flushed, looking as if she were about to argue but returned to their original pale state once she realized the logic in his statement. Sighing, she muttered, "You're right."
"The Great Hermione Granger, says that I'm right," Harry held his hand to his chest. "Why I am honored."
"Oh shut up," Hermione laughed, playfully punching Harry's arm. "I don't think you're 'not wanting everyone to start panicking' thing is going to last very long," Hermione pointed over to where Filch stood. "He's probably going on about the ghost. He takes great joy in the fear of others." Harry snorted in response.
"Guys!" Cho called out to them, weaving through the crowd with Cedric, Neville and Luna in tow. "Did you hear?"
"What happened?" Hermione asked, curious as usual.
"The Weasleys!" Cho exclaimed. "They're going to be the new patron!"
"How did you find out?" Harry asked, his eyes wide with shock. He couldn't wait to hang out with Ron and have the Golden Trio back together.
Cedric rolled his eyes. "Madame McGonagall just announced it right after our dear, beloved Draco and his groupies stormed out in a huff."
Harry snickered. "Good riddance."
"He had a whole ton of puff sprites around his head," Luna commented in her dreamy tone of voice. No one reacted to her comment, used to her odd commentary.
"It's nice and all that Draco has left but now the new managers are scrambling around trying to find a replacement for the lead," Neville added.
"Oh, right, we never really had a need for an understudy…" Cedric sighed.
The group stood around sullenly. They had put so much work and effort and time into this show, and to have it all go to waste? Harry didn't want to have all those long hours spent tediously learning steps to mean nothing. Especially since he almost had them memorized too— it took him a bit of time to get the steps perfect according to McGonagall's standards.
"Harry can sing," Luna said suddenly, breaking the tense atmosphere.
"Now's not the time for jokes Luna,"Hermione politely chided the girl.
"He really can though," Luna grabbed Harry's arm. "Listen." The four friends watched as Luna dragged Harry over to the new owners probably telling them that he could play the part. They appeared to be a bit hesitant at first but conceded after a little encouragement from McGonagall. Before Harry knew it, he stood in the same place as Draco had before, holding the same scarf that the blonde prat had held just minutes ago. Everyone else milled about appearing to be working on their own tasks but secretly were glancing over to where he stood.
'Great, now I'm the spectacle for the entirety of the Opera house.' Harry could feel his cheeks reddening a bit. 'Let's just get this over with.' However, a thought lingered in the back of his mind.
'Is he watching?'
The piano began to play and the dancer, now supposedly singer, waited stiffly, all his ballet grace and training forgotten. He could feel a nervous, cold sweat gather on his lower back and brow. He wasn't that good at singing— well he really hadn't sung in front of people before. Face to face with them that is. Squashing all negative thoughts about how bad that this could go and trying not to pay attention to the feeling of his stomach eating itself, Harry opened his mouth slightly, letting out his timid, wavering voice.
"Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye." He squeaked out the last word causing McGonagall to slam her staff on the stage. Harry jumped slightly but continued to sing, his voice a tad bit stronger.
"Remember me every so often promise me you'll try."
"This is doing nothing for my nerves, Dumbledore," Dippet muttered to his colleague. Harry winced, his voice dimming a bit.
"Hold on," Dumbledore responded. "It's about to get good."
Harry glanced nervously over to his friends who spurred him on encouraging smiles. With a sudden burst of courage, the blooming singer let the full range and color of his voice explode from his mouth.
"On that day, that not-so-distant day." He looked into the empty audience, the loose ring of people around him disappearing as he began to slowly place the scarf around his shoulders. "When you are far away and free." His vivid green eyes landed on a shadowy figure leaning on the column in box five, he couldn't looked away. "If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me."
The next few hours went by in a blur for Harry. He had been chosen to sing the leading tenor part in the evening show which meant that he had a large amount of cramming to do. His friends congratulated him but he was soon swept away by Snape to go over Hannibal's lines and oh how Snape hated him, he hated the slimy git too so it was a mutual hatred. The man literally drilled the lines into Harry's head, constantly smacking the top of his head with the score whenever he made a mistake or got distracted. When he finally joined everyone else at the rehearsal, Harry noticed that the dancing improved since he left. At least one good thing happened while he was at Snape's tortuous lessons.
Before he knew it, it was only a few minutes till showtime and he found himself nervously pacing in his dressing room. He had locked the door so he wouldn't be disturbed by his friends and could concentrate on settling his nerves.
'What if I mess up?' He thought. 'I'd make a fool of myself that's what.' Shaking his head, Harry tried clearing his thoughts but couldn't help but remember the figure from earlier.
'Was that him?' He sat down cross legged in front of the large full length mirror and stared at his reflection lost in thought.
"Felix felicis." Harry's head whipped around, trying to pinpoint the source of the serpentine whisper.
Looking up, Harry whispered, "Is that you?"
"Harry!" Hermione's voice sounded from outside the door accompanied by a knock, startling the raven haired boy. "Get out here we are about to start!" Scrambling to his feet, Harry rushed over to the door and opened it, taking one last look in his dressing room.
He fell into step with Hermione as they made their way to the stage.
"Now Harry," she began. "No need to feel too anxious, you'll be great! We all hear you sing and you have a fantastic voice." She turned to him, stopping the steady pace she set. "Good luck and break a leg! You have everyone's support!" She hugged him quickly before dashing over to her place.
"Oh,'Mione!" Harry called after the girl. "What does 'felix felicis' mean?"
Said girl shouted back over her shoulder amidst the chaos, "Latin for 'Happy Luck'! Get to you place Harry we are starting!"
Harry bowed, a blissful smile on his face. The show went by fairly smoothly, a few mishaps in the dancing, but good overall. The large audience, which left not a single seat empty, threw bundles of roses onto the stage and applauded him as the curtains closed. He caught a glimpse of a group of familiar red heads causing his smile to grow wider.
"Oh. My. God. Harry!" Cho beamed. "You were absolutely brilliant!"
"You were great, mate," Cedric slapped his back. "Finally joining the singing group, ey? Not as easy as you thought." The taller boy raised a brow.
"Oh, sod off," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.
"You were wonderful Harry," Neville added.
"Quite, he will be pleased," Luna said, handing Harry a rose with a black ribbon tied around it. "You missed one."
"Did you see Harry! The Weasleys are here!" Hermione chirped while pushing Harry toward his dressing room. "Come on! They'll be visiting any minute!" Harry grinned, their little group walking in the direction of his dressing room only to be stopped by McGonagall.
"Not so fast ladies and gentlemen. Some of you need to practice— now!" Cho and Hermione groaned while Neville scuttled back over to the stage. On the other hand, Cedric and Cho shrugged and walked off in the direction of their own dressing rooms. Harry's brow furrowed, he didn't want his friends to miss out on a chance to see their childhood playmates that they hadn't seen in years, so when McGonagall turned around to focus on the dancer, he grabbed Hermione's wrist and quickly dragged her back into his dressing room.
"Oi, Harry, I need to go practice," Hermione complained once they got to his room.
"Come on 'Mione, you? The Protege Hermione Granger needs to practice?" Harry sat on a stool in front of a vanity and started taking off his costume.
"Well that's how I got to where I am now. Practice," Hermione huffed, crossing her arms.
"Well I'm sure missing one practice won't damage the rest of your career." Harry chuckled as Hermione rolled her eyes in defeat. He strode over to the ornate folding screen— which had several articles of clothing strewn over the top of it— and stepped behind it.
Hermione filled the silence by talking about some book that she had recently acquired called, A Tale of Two Cities, Harry droned most of it out, opting to think about when the Weasley were going to arrive as he slipped on his simple, white night robe which hung loosely to the floor around him with loose fitting sleeves that cuffed around his wrists and a small line of buttons that reached to about the middle of his torso. He bent down to put on his plain, velvet, black loafers when he heard a voice.
"Bravissimi," it whispered, elongating the s's. Harry stumbled away from the wall, only one and a half shoes on his feet.
"Did you just hear that?" Harry peered out from behind the dressing screen. Hermione arched an eyebrow in response.
"Hear what? Oh, and where and who exactly has been giving you voice lessons Harry?" Hermione's rapid brain never left a moment for Harry's to process.
Caught off guard, Harry blinked owlishly. "Uh… when I was a child my parent spoke of a being called the 'Angel of Music', and they promised me that they would send the angel to my one day," Harry awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I believe that I have been taking lessons from this angel… I hear his voice when I come in here for his lessons."
"You can't be serious Har—"
"Angel of music! Guide and Guardian! Grant to me your glory! Angel of Music! Hide no longer! Secret and strange angel…" Harry sang softly, Hermione quietly observed, entranced by the boy's voice. He let silene fall between the two of them, contemplating on whether or not to share more with his friend.
"H-he's always watching, you know. Constantly with me even though I can't see him… It frightens me sometimes," Harry suppressed a shiver, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"There's no need to be afraid Harry," Hermione spoke with a hushed voice. "I'm sure it's—"
"Hermione Jean Granger." Both of their heads whipped over to source of the stern voice. Madame McGonagall stood in the doorway, a displeased look on her face. "I thought you knew better than to skip out on practice. You are a dancer, aren't you?" Hermione hung her head at those words and trudged over to the door.
"See you later Harry," she sullenly waved to her friend and left the room.
"Here," McGonagall handed Harry a letter with a red, wax seal. "I was asked to give you it." She then left the room, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts and the letter. He turned the envelope over and broke the seal with his fingers, taking out the piece of parchment.
"Lions… Pranks… Adventures…" A soft smile spread across Harry's lips while his eyes scanned the letter.
"Harry!" Two elbows leaned on both of his shoulder.
"Fred? George?" Harry looked up to see the familiar faces of the redhead twins.
"The one."
"And Only." They two grinned down at him. "Well, Harry seems that you've been promoted," the one on his left said (he still couldn't tell them apart).
"Right you are, George," the one on his right added.
"Oi! Harry, don't forget about us!" the young dance and now singer's gaze fell onto the doorway where two other redheads stood— one girl and another boy about Harry's age.
"Ron! Ginny!" Harry shot to his feet and ran over to his best friend and embraced him. "It's been forever, what five years?"
The freckled faced boy beamed and laughed, "Seems like forever hasn't it, mate?" Elation flowed through Harry's entire being. He had missed his best mate over the many long years that he had stayed in the opera house.
"Hello, Harry," the girl with long, flaming hair shyly smiled.
"Hi, Ginny." He patted her on the shoulder.
"Tonight was a great success with our budding star here," one of the twins announced.
"Not a single refund," the other added.
"Harry!" Ron's eyes brightened. "You will join us for the supper, won't you?"
"Of cour—" The raven paused remember the lesson he had scheduled for tonight. "Sorry, mate, I can't. I've got a lesson." Ron's face fell, he bottom lip protruding a bit.
"You sure you can't miss one lesson?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah."
"How about we come and sneak you out!" One twin jumped up and hooked arms with Ron.
"Sounds like a plan, Fred," George agreed, hooking arms with Ginny.
"Well see you later Harry!" They both said in unison, striding out of the room, their siblings in tow. Those two were absolute troublemakers. They hadn't left any space for Harry to argue or resist their claims.
'Oh well…' Harry thought. 'One lesson won't hurt.'
"Are you going to skip?" A booming voice filled the dressing room. Harry jumped, his eyes darting around the room. "Do you dare defy your Angel!" Harry's eyes widen as his body began to tremble.
"N-no, I wasn't," He stumbled over his words. "Please forgive me my Angel, it was a mere moment of weakness on my part." He bowed his head submissively.
A strong, crisp, deep, baritone voice like golden, rich honey drifted into the room, "Flattering child, you shall know me, see why in shadow I hide!" Harry shuffled to the center of the dressing room wondering where the voice was coming from. "Look at your face in the mirror I am there inside!" The boy slowly turned around to face the full length mirror but instead of seeing his own green eyes staring back at him, he saw dark brown eyes staring at him. Half of the mysterious person's face was covered with a porcelain, white mask while the rest of his body was shrouded in a dark cloaks and atop his head rested a black fedora. Harry was mesmerized by this masked stranger as he walked closer to the mirror.
"I am your angel of music. Come to your angel of music." The mirror's glass slid away. The angel offered his hand to his entranced protege. "I am you angel of music. Come to you angel of music…" Harry took his angel's gloved hand, following him into the mirror as the glass slid back into place.
The Weasleys finally burst into the room, the locked door magically unlocking.
"Harry?" Ginny looked around the room.
"An angel?" Ron's eyes wandered the empty room trying to find his friend.
"Guess he won't be going to dinner then," Fred and George said in unison.
A/N
Did ya like it? I got this chapter out a lost faster than I expected! ^w^ I hope to update soon but school is picking up ,
Well until next time~ :3 3