The Moonlight Noon Chateau
By Hippy
Gypsy
Disclaimer: Yes! I'm back again! And guess what? I just became rich enough and I bought the rights from JK Rowling, so Harry Potter is now officially mine!!! Bwahahaha!! I'M KIDDING! I wish Harry Potter was mine, but he belongs to the fabulous JK Rowling, who I adore and I wouldn't dream of stealing the rights from her. The Moonlight Noon characters are property of me, got that? No one can take them, although I was thinking of putting Sammy up for auction… [Sammy gulps and goes pale] Kidding Sammy. I'm keeping you too! For those of you who are reading my fic "Summer 1994," this has nothing to do with that fic. Min's an actress in both of them, okay? Cool. By the way, read "Summer 1994"!!! So that's the disclaimer. No song in this chapter I think, so I can't get the words wrong, except for that small part of "Sparkling Diamonds", which belongs to Moulin Rouge…so read on! Yays!
Trelawney come through the door with a quizzical look on her face. "I'm here," she said in a rather normal, and yet concerned voice. "What's going on?"
Minerva
shrugged her shoulders. "No clue. Dumbledore just said for the four of us to
meet here. Said there's trouble."
"The Dark
Lord…" she whispered in a misty voice.
"Quite
possibly."
Trelawney,
McGonagall, Hagrid, and Snape all shivered. Severus gently grabbed his upper arm. He could've sworn it had been burning through his nightmare. But he tried not to think about it now. If Dumbledore had something important to
tell them, he wanted full attention.
"I wonder
if 'e's killed again," Hagrid said.
Minerva
shook her head. "I pray that's not
true."
Just then
the door opened and Dumbledore stepped in. "Oh good, you're all on time." He softly shut the door behind him and took a seat behind his desk. His face looked very sober.
"What's
happened Headmaster?" Snape asked becoming more anxious.
Dumbledore
sighed. "I've located Voldemort's
whereabouts."
The room
slightly brightened. "That's
good…right?" Trelawney said with a slight smile.
"Partially," Dumbledore
replied. He looked at Minerva and his
eyes became full of concern. "Minerva,
you may take this a little hard."
Minerva went
pale. "W-What? What is it? Did someone I know die? I
mean…where is he?"
"He's in
France at the moment…just outside of Paris to be exact…"
Her mouth
dropped. "Oh God! You can't mean…"
Dumbledore
nodded softly. "He's at the Moonlight
Noon Chateau."
Minerva sat
back in her seat and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh god no…oh god no…please no…"
"I'm afraid
it gets worse Minerva."
"Please
tell me no one is dead Albus…please…" Severus had never seen her so shaken up before. He was beginning to go pale himself.
"No
Minerva. No one is dead. But…tell me…you know everyone there don't
you?"
"Of
course," she replied calming down a bit.
"Who's the
owner?"
"Antonio
Safrin. Opened it up when I was
16. One of the smartest men I've ever
known. Why? What's happened to Antonio?"
"Well, it
seems for the past few months Antonio was having some financial problems and
the Moonlight Noon was in threat of closing."
"What? Are you serious?" She looked more shocked than ever.
"Very
serious. Antonio was forced to sign a
partnership agreement in order to keep it open, and unfortunately…"
"OH
GOD! YOU CAN'T MEAN…"
Dumbledore
nodded. "Lord Voldemort now owns half
of the Moonlight Noon Chateau."
"WHAT?!!" Minerva was on her feet and raging with
anger. She looked ready to kill. "THIS CAN'T BE TRUE! IT CAN'T BE THE SAME MOONLIGHT NOON!"
Dumbledore
remained calm and in his seat. "I'm
afraid it is Minerva, but…"
"I've got
to go back to Paris," she began as Dumbledore raised his hand, "And yes, I know
You-Know-Who will kill me, but I can't let him take over the place where I grew
up!"
"Actually
Minerva you won't be going alone. That's why I've called everyone here." He now had everyone's attention. "The five of us are going to Paris…tonight. I know it's short notice, but it has to do with someone close to
us, and we have to keep close watch on Voldemort." Everyone flinched. "I
want to leave at seven or so. That way
we can get rooms at an inn and see if Voldemort shows up." They flinched again, except Dumbledore, who
looked over at Minerva. "The Moonlight
Noon will be open tonight, won't it?"
"It's a
Saturday night, Albus," she replied. "The place will be packed."
"Good. In that case I suggest we all prepare and rest
up. At seven tonight, we'll meet in
Hogsmeade and apparate in Paris."
Minerva
rose and left the room in a rush. Trelawney, Snape, and Hagrid followed her. At the second hallway, Sybill caught her arm.
"Minerva, I
don't understand. What's the Moonlight
Noon?"
"I'd have
figured with you future seeing and fortune telling, you would most certainly
know what the Moonlight Noon Chateau is," Minerva replied tartly.
Trelawney
decided to ignore the jibe at her profession and crossed her arms. Snape and Hagrid stared at her.
"Alright. When I was a girl, I was raised in Scotland
and came to Hogwarts for school, but my family spent the summer in Paris. When I was sixteen, my father's friend,
Antonio Safrin, opened up the Moonlight Noon Chateau, a nightclub. But it's not the usual nightclub you
understand. It's had a lighter side to
it ever since the day it opened. Everyone from teenagers to the eldest adults go there for a dance or
two. Both men and women perform there,
compose music, dance, sing, perform plays, musicals…it's a center for the arts
more then anything. Well, the day it
opened, my whole family attended and I fell in love with it at once. The sounds, the colors, the tastes…the whole
atmosphere had me enchanted. After
graduation, it wasn't a surprise to find me there every Friday night dancing
and singing. Soon after, I had
discovered my talent as an actress. And
that's where I met Robert." She stopped
for moment at the memory of her dead husband. "That's where I met Robert. I learned
quickly, passed the test, performed the Marmalade, and earned my name and
trademark. I was set. But three years later, Albus sent me an owl
requesting me to be the new Transfiguration teacher. So I took it and left the Moonlight Noon behind, and during the
summer holidays, I continued my acting career at the Camalotte Opera House."
They were
silent for a moment, then Trelawney asked, "When was the last time you were
back?"
"Ten years
ago," Minerva replied a little downheartedly. "And now I'm only going back because of the tragedy. That's pathetic of me."
Hagrid put his hand on her shoulder. "Well don't think of it as a tragedy like that! Nothings even happened yet!"
Minerva
suddenly smiled. "You're right
Hagrid. You're absolutely right! Tonight, I'm going home!" She ran down the hall, turned at the end,
and opened her arms wide. "Tonight,
Diva shall rise again!" she exclaimed. With that she left them singing to herself.
"A kiss on the hand may be quite continental,
but diamonds are a girls best friend…"
Hagrid
looked at Trelawney. "Who's Diva?"
"And what
was that about marmalade, names and trademarks?" Snape added.
"I don't
know," she replied, "but tonight we'll probably find out. I suggest we all find our best dress robes."
With that,
they all split up.
Note from the Hippy Gypsy: That's it for Chapter 2! Next chapter, PARIS! Wahoo! I've always wanted to go there, but sadly, I
have no life here in some distant part of the United States which I'm not gonna
tell you because I don't want people stalking me! Hehehe…before you ask, yes, I'm nuts. So thank you to those who have read this far. I really appreciate it, because I've worked
very hard to get here. [begins to sob
at the podium] I'd like to thank the
academy…sorry. My craziness again. But stay tuned peoples! Chapter 3 shall be up very soon methinks. But PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!! AND PLEASE NO FLAMES!!
