Kitty: (sighs) Next chappie!
Noa: About time! What took you so long?
Kitty: School...and making sure everyone read it.
Yugi: You've been really busy, haven't you, Kitten?
Kitty: Aye!...I mean, yeah. Literary Magazine, Debate Team, Drama Club...and of course, my regular crap.
Atem: So this chapter is the next part of the Yule Ball?
Kitty: Yeah...doesn't progress the story as much as the last chapter was or next chapter will be, but you need a bit of a break from all this serious stuff.
Yugi: (nods in agreement) R&R, all!
Chapter Twenty:
Proposals and Performances
The silence between Cedric and her was starting to bother Diana. At first, she reminded herself dancing was supposed to be about the atmosphere…finally she decided to speak, but before she could, Cedric did.
"I know what you're thinking," he muttered, "Why did I ask you to the Yule Ball if everyone's saying Cho and I are dating?"
Diana blinked at his accuracy, and after a moment, she repeated, "'Everyone's saying?'"
Cedric sighed, looking sad. "Cho and I have been friends since we were kids…both of our dads are in the Ministry, so we've always known each other. We used to play all the time, you know, drawing and playing house and stuff…and…I don't know…maybe Cho actually thought I liked her like that…but I never have. I couldn't ever see her anything other than a friend. I didn't want to hurt her…but I already liked someone else and I couldn't tell her how I felt because everyone thought I was dating Cho…it was like a heavy weight on my back…I just couldn't take it anymore. I told Cho I didn't feel for her that way…and she was really hurt…I felt awful…but I also felt kind of free…I can now tell the girl I like how I feel about her."
Their eyes locked, gray on sky blue. Diana had never realized until then how deep Cedric's eyes were…it would be very easy for someone to fall and stare into them forever…
"I feel bad that I had to break Cho's heart to do so…but I had to tell you, Dare. I've always seen you around and thought you were a wonderful person, but…I never thought you were as wonderful as you are until I met you. I finally noticed how brave, loyal, funny and kind you are. You're really a beautiful person, Dare…that's why I asked you…so I could tell you how I felt about you. You don't have to feel the same way about me, I just…I couldn't keep it to myself anymore."
Diana stared. She never would've guessed Cedric asked her so he could proclaim love for her.
/What can I say?.../ she asked herself, /Do I feel the same way? Of course not! I'm not in love…/
"Ow!"
Diana looked down to see she'd fallen on top of Cedric.
"Oops…sorry," she apologized, rolling off him, standing up and offering him a hand, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, blushing slightly as he took her hand and pulled himself up, "Are you?"
"I've fallen on a lot more uncomfortable things than you," Diana joshed, grinning, "Don't worry about it."
Cedric smiled at Atem, before looking at Diana and adding, "So you don't…I mean…"
"I don't hold the badges or what those girls said against you," Diana assured, holding a hand up as if she were a witness vowing to tell the truth in court, "Because I know you'd love a chance to throw both the badges and the girls into the Lake for the Giant Squid to deal with."
Cedric smiled broadly. "Thanks."
Cedric straightened up and handed the book to her. "Here."
"Uh…thanks."
Diana took it from him. Their fingers touched for just a second, but she felt an odd shot of electricity flood her at the contact. Ignoring it, she put the book in her bag and smiled slightly at Cedric.
"Hey! Dare!"
Diana looked back at Cedric, who had gathered up his bag and had joined her in the doorway.
"Will you go to the ball with me?" he asked quickly.
Diana didn't know what she had expected him to say, but the word "Yeah," seemed to just fall from her lips without checking with her brain for any arguments.
"Great," Cedric sounded relieved, "Well, I better go…see you there!"
/…Am I?.../
"Dare?"
Diana fazed out of her thoughts to see the waltz had ended and Cedric was looking at her in concern.
"Um…sorry," she murmured, "I just…"
"Got caught up in your thoughts," Cedric supplied, trying not to look sad, "Don't worry about it…it's okay."
"No, it's not," Diana dissented seriously, "Cedric…about what you said…"
But she didn't get to finish for, right then, Dumbledore's voice echoed through the Great Hall, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my esteemed pleasure to introduce our entertainment for this evening…all the way from Domino, Japan, please present your fondest welcomes to Kara Rozene!"
Kara appeared the stage wearing a bright orange dress with a single petal-like sleeve and flashy amber earrings. Diana's friends whooped loudly at the sight of her, and Artemis's Heir was glad to see that even though Snape and the Slytherin students didn't show much respect to the Muggle singer, Kara seemed to have a fan-base at both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
"Hello, Hogwarts!" Kara said into a microphone, waving at the crowd, "I'm so flattered to be here…but unfortunately," her voice put on a melancholy tone, "This occasion is not just that of celebration…something very important has died recently…do you know what that is, my friends?"
There was a silence. Karkaroff looked at Dumbledore skeptically, but Dumbledore paid no attention.
"Acceptance!" Kara shouted, stamping her foot to prove her point, "When was the last time you remember going somewhere and not having people look at you and make judgments? When was the last time that you remember our leaders talking of peace as if it wasn't an impossible dream? I know I sound like a hippie here…but when was the last time you felt love and respect for every little thing on this green earth?"
Some Beauxbatons girls yelled approval. Even Viktor Krum nodded in agreement next to Hermione.
Kara sighed deeply, before she brought her microphone closer to her mouth and started to sing,
"Dearly
beloved,
We
gather here to say our goodbyes…"
Diana's mouth dropped open. /She did not…she is not singing…/
Off-stage, two male voices sang a deep, church-like "Dies irae, dies illa…" and Kara continued,
"Here
she lies:
No one knew her worth,
The late great daughter of Mother Earth…
On this night,
when we celebrate the birth
In that little town of Bethlehem,
We
raise our glass…
You
bet your ASS, to…"
Maxime and Karkaroff looked scandalized; Dumbledore beamed in delight; several people laughed.
A black-haired woman dressed in a long sleeved, high-necked blue kimono adorned with a silver dragon appeared on the stage with a microphone and sang in harmony with Kara a proclamation of "La Vie Boheme!"
"That's my Crystal!" yelled Seto, "That's my Melisanne!"
Melisanne bowed respectfully, smiling, as Kara's Durmstrang fan club whistled in approval. A chanting of "La Vie Boheme!" started as more people came onto the stage; Kitty in a black tank top and flowing red skirt, Joey in a collared green shirt and black pants, Mai in a purple tube-top and leather skirt, Serenity in a pale pink dress and Joey's friend Tristan dressed in a blue shirt under a brown suit.
"GO NEKO-CHAN!" whooped Yugi, "GO JOEY-KUN!"
"To
days of inspiration," Kara sang positively,
"Playing
hooky, making something out of nothing!
The need to express, to
communicate,
To going against the grain,
Going insane…going mad!
To loving
tension, no pension,
To more than one dimension,
To starving
for attention,
Hating convention, hating pretension!
Not to
mention, of course,
Hating dear old mom and dad!
To riding
your bike midday past the three-piece suits,
To fruits, to no
absolutes,
To Absolute, to choice, to the Village Voice,
To
any passing fad!"
Kara wrapped her arms around Kitty and Joey, who nodded in agreement as she sang,
"To
being an 'us,' for once,
Instead
of a 'them!'"
The crowd laughed as the three pointed toward the teachers at the staff table and put their hands to their mouths in mock horror, before repeating their main declaration of "La Vie Boheme!"
Rock music blasted around the room, and it only stopped when Joey cleared his throat and glared at Tristan, who had been flirting with Serenity.
"Hey mister," he snapped in rhythm, "She's my sister!"
Kara had taken out a pad of paper and started writing on it like a waiter taking orders at a restaurant and singing out her list,
"So
that's five miso soup,
Four
seaweed salad,
Three soy burger dinner,
Two
tofu dog platter,
And one pasta with meatless balls!"
"Ew," said someone not on stage who Diana realized was Malfoy. He obviously didn't know the song: Diana decided he must've been trying to insult the performance.
Joey took it in stride, though, and looked right at him as he sang, "It tastes the same…if you close your eyes!" making the crowd laugh and Malfoy scowl, annoyed at being used in the performance.
"And 13 orders of fries," Kara finished writing on her pad and looked up, "Is that it here?"
"WINE AND BEER!" the others replied in a loud chorus.
Kitty and Melisanne came forward and clinked their two bottles of butterbeer together as they sang,
"To
hand-crafted beers made in local breweries,
To yoga, to yogurt,
To
rice and beans and cheese,
To leather, to dildos, to curry
vindaloo!
To huevos rancheros,
And
Maya Angelou!"
Mai and Kara exchanged a high-five as they chanted,
"Emotion, devotion,
To causing a commotion,
Creation, vacation…"
"Mucho masturbation!" interjected Joey, making all the teachers but Dumbledore choke on their drinks.
"Compassion,
to fashion," sang Mai and Kara,
"To
passion, when it's new!
To
Sontag, to Sondheim,
To
anything taboo!"
"Ginsberg,
Dylan, Cunningham and Cage!" chanted Tristan and Joey,
"Lenny
Bruce…Langston Hughes!
To the stage!
To Uta, to Buddha…
Pablo
Neruda, too!"
Joey did a cartwheel over to Kitty sitting on the edge of the stage, and their voices harmonized for
"Why
Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow
To
blow off Auntie Em!
La
Vie Boheme!"
Kara handed her microphone to Ginny, and Ginny went to Gabrielle, Mokuba, Fleur and Roger Davies.
"Sisters?" Ginny asked, grinning at Fleur and Gabrielle.
"We're close!" Gabrielle laughed, obviously knowing the song.
Mokuba took the mike from Ginny and leapt onto Seto's back. Seto wheezed in surprise at his little brother glomping him, but contented Mokuba by proclaiming with him, "Brothers!"
The singers on stage all grouped together to chant in unison,
"Bisexuals,
trisexuals,
Homo
sapiens, carcinogens,
Hallucinogens,
men…
Pee
Wee Herman!
German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein,
Antonioni,
Bertolucci, Kurosawa…
Carmina
Burana!
To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy!
Vaclav
Havel! The Sex Pistols, 8BC!
To no shame, never playing the Fame
Game…
To
marijuana!
To
sodomy: it's between God and me!
To S & M!
La
Vie Boheme!"
"Your friend Kara is really talented," Cedric whispered to Diana as the performance continued.
Artemis's Heir looked at him seriously. "Cedric, please…I need to talk to you…about you and me. I…I feel like I should explain myself…why I feel the way I do."
Cedric looked around at the crowd and then whispered, "How about we go out to the gardens? Away from all this noise."
Diana nodded in assent, before taking Cedric's hand and following him out the backdoor of the Great Hall outside into the cold Hogwarts gardens.
Kitty: (singing) VIVA LA VIE BOHEME!
Yugi: Awesome song choice, Kitten.
Kitty: (grins) I know who else will like it! (runs out of the room suddenly)
Atem and Noa: (look confused)
Yugi: (sighs) Kitty's got a new obsession...
Kitty: (drags in Ed and Al from Fullmetal Alchemist)
Ed: Huh? What the hell...?
Al: Brother, where are we?
Kitty: You're in my room. I'm Kitty.
Al: Nice to meet you-
Ed: Don't talk to her, Al. (looks at Kitty suspiciously) Why are we here?
Kitty: (thinks for a moment) ...Because I think you and Al are awesome.
Ed: What?
Kitty: I think you and your brother are hot.
Ed: ...Really?
Kitty: Yeah.
Ed: (grins proudly)
Atem: Kitty obviously has a liking of short people.
Ed: (being held back by Al) WHO'S SO SHORT YOU NEED A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO SEE HIM?
Atem: (blinks) ...I never said that...
Kitty: (sighs) NEVER insult Ed-chan's height. (to audience) R&R!