"Now, we need a princess, a lady….," Dumbledore stroke his beard while thinking, "we need a maiden, frail and innocent, an entity so beautiful and-"
The door of his office opened with force and Hermione Granger entered, disheveled, with a scared expression, and once all the eyes settled on her she blushed a brilliant red …'What in Merlin's name is happening here..?'
"Brilliant!" shouted Dumbledore dragging her from the doorway to the middle of the room. She was completely exposed now, and everyone was watching her as if it was the first time they were seeing her. She felt so naked in front of these stares that seemed to judge her entire existence.
"Perfect! We have the perfect pair!" concluded Dumbledore, patting Hermione on the shoulder.
Only one pair of eyes didn't seem to judge her so harsh. It was Professor Snape's. His cold eyes seemed to pity her. After huffing tiredly and clearing his throat he addressed a question to the girl in the spotlight.
"Miss Granger..." he drawled, "what, pray tell, happened, that is worth knocking the Headmaster's door down?" he questioned her, trying to chase away that stray thought about him and Miss Granger in the lead roles, on a stage. What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?
"Um, Professor, I mean.. .Professors, Harry had an accident at Quidditch training and I was looking for Madame Pomfrey, and I didn't find her and…" glancing at the people gathered there, she tried to stay concentrated on the matter at hand, but the closed air made her dizzy, "…and.. a friend of mine told me that you came here, Madame Pomfrey…and…and then..I came here …and..that's all, Professor" she whispered, lowering her eyes to the floor, feeling choked by the weight of all the punishing glares she received.
"I see." Snape nodded, ready to speak to Madame Pomfrey, who jumped excitedly from her chair, ready to get out of this awful room. But Dumbledore had other plans. He silenced them all with a gesture.
"Let's review our play," he started, "Severus, you are the vampire prince who fell in love with Emily," he turned to Hermione, " that's you Miss Granger," he continued, "Now Emily, obviously, she is a mortal that fell in love with you, Severus.."
Hermione froze when she heard that, feeling all the blood rush into her cheeks, swaying slightly, as if she would faint right now, while trying to control her traitorous breathing.
"…Minerva is Severus' mother.." McGonagall glared at Dumbledore, probably imagining a way to murder him in his sleep.
"…Rolanda, Filius, you will be Miss Granger's parents. The rest of you will be in the background. It will be wonderful, you'll see..." he watched as the other teachers sent him fake smiles, glad that they won't be seen by the whole world, glad that they won't be in the lead roles, like…Severus, or poor Miss Granger…everyone pitied them.
And for the second time in a day, the door to the office was slammed and Harry Potter, smelling of sweat and full of Band-Aids on his face made his presence known. He looked perplexed , like he couldn't remember why he came here.
"Harry..?" Dumbledore spoke up, "Are you here with us, my boy?"
Harry gazed at Dumbledore, then opened his mouth, probably because he wanted to say something, but then closed it again, deciding otherwise. He looked like a fish, gaping like that. But finally he remembered the mechanism of talking and said "Oh yeah, I wanted to let Hermione know that I don't need Madame Pomfrey anymore…I treated myself…but…what's going on in here?" He looked around at the people who gathered there.
"My dear Harry," Dumbledore started with a proud voice, "here is where the magic is born! The magic of the show! We are planning a play, "The Sleeping Beauty", and…"
"I want a part!" Harry said, without hesitation.
Dumbledore was dumbfounded.
"Excuse me?" he raised an eyebrow at Harry, trying to make sense of his words.
"I want a part," Harry repeated, "I want to have a part in your play, sir! I want to be famous! I always dreamed of being a great actor!" he smiled, his eyes shining enthusiastically.
"Harry, but…we already selected the cast….you.." Dumbledore stammered.
" I don't care. I want a part in this play, give me anything! I'll prove you how good I am at acting!" Harry said determined.
"Fine," Dumbledore agreed, a little exasperated, because Harry's arrival complicated the situation at hand, "I'll see what I can find for you, my boy….Perhaps I shall make you a servant…or…Severus' brother!" he smiled, pointing toward Snape, who had a murderous stare, a stare of a truly angry Death Eater.
Harry gulped, trying to lessen the knot in his throat when he met Snape's eyes, and moved his gaze toward Hermione, who was white as sheet.
"I accept…" murmured Harry, a little unsure.
This gave Dumbledore a bit of satisfaction, for he thought to himself 'You'll see, you little bugger, if you mess with my deal and I don't get the money you'll suffer'
"Excellent! It's settled then. Tonight, you will get the script, and we will see each other tomorrow at the rehearsals," he said, turning his back on his audience, and heading toward the door of his office, but stopping right before opening his door. "One more thing, the show is this Friday, so you should get to work right away!" he settled the matter slamming the door behind him.
Meanwhile in his office a whirlwind of curses and complains swirled around the two teenagers. Harry was still wondering if he made the right choice accepting Dumbledore's offer. Hermione sat quickly on a nearby chiar feeling like the sky was crashing down onto. While the professors exited the room in a hurry, making the dust fill the air like a mystical fog she felt the exhaustion of the past hour wash over her, and the small, uncomfortable chair seemed to lull her into a deep sleep.