Although one night, a few weeks after the meeting with Dumbledore, she
could not help waking him.
There were footsteps in the corridor behind her. It seemed that as soon as she turned a corner they got closer and closer. She glanced over here shoulder quickly, but there was no one there. She started to run. Where was everyone? Where was Oliver? Why wasn't he helping her? The corridors were getting longer, they never seemed to end. Her feet were pounding, her breath was getting short, and the footsteps were right behind her now. Then the portrait hole came into view. She nearly cried in relief, raced straight up to it, and threw it open. Feeling the footsteps nearly on her, she slammed it closed behind her. Finally free, she breathed a sigh, and turned to look for Wood. Where was he? She needed him. He was always there when she needed him. Worry started to form a knot in her stomach. Then, suddenly, there came a voice from behind the door. Hoarse and unfamiliar. He knew the password. He was coming in. The portrait door swung open. Within seconds, he was upon her. She crashed to the ground. His hands were on her. They were everywhere. She wasn't strong enough. She was helpless. Where was Oliver?
A piercing scream echoed around the seventh year girls' dorm. Eleanor sat up in her bed, her face contorted in terror, her hands flailing in front of her. Oliver was by her side in an instant, the other girls were all stirring in their beds, and once they realized what had happened, they sat and stared worriedly at their friend. "Elle!" yelled Wood. "Elle? It was just a dream. It's over now. Elle?" His voice lowered to a whisper. He had her by the shoulders, shaking her gently. It took a while for her to register where she was, and for a moment, she started, her eyes unfocused, confused. Then Oliver's brown eyes swam in front of her, their usual expression of worry etched in to their depths. Elle hesitated for a second, and wondered how long it had been since she had seen those beautiful eyes without worry, or concern. It saddened her. Then she realized why he was sitting next to her, shaking her, and the whole horrible dream flashed through her mind. Without moving, she burst into tears, huge sobs racking her small frame. Alarmed, Oliver swept her into his arms, felling her body shaking, and her breathing becoming hard. He glanced up at the other girls, who were watching silently from their beds. A look of helplessness flittered across his features, before promptly being replaced by anger. To the onlookers, they saw a fiercely protective Oliver huddled against the hysterical Elle, Gently rocking her, and stroking her hair. As they watched, Wood got over himself, and his anger slowly ebbed away to pain. He couldn't stand what was happening to the one he loved. He was watching as she was breaking down, completely and utterly helpless. It tore him up inside to see her in so much pain, and not being able to help her in any way. He wasn't fooled like the others when she acted like everything was fine, but he had thought she was improving, just a little bit. But he realized with a start, that she was never going to "get over" this. She was Broken. And he or anyone else couldn't fix her. "Shhhhh." he whispered softly to Elle, who was now gradually quieting down. As she slowly gained control of herself, Elle became aware of the warm strong arms enveloping her. She felt safer than she had ever felt within his embrace. He held her tightly to him long after her sobbing stopped, and her breathing returned to normal. Then when she finally looked up into his eyes, all she could see was his love for her. She could see the relief, the pain, and the helplessness. He was an open book to her. She could see into his soul every time their eyes locked. She knew she couldn't hide anything from him, whether she wanted to or not. which she didn't. "Are you alright?" he asked softly, stroking a piece of hair off her face. She nodded slowly, and snuggled in closer to his warmth. He leant down and kissed her sweetly on the top of her head, and she smiled in spite of herself. The other girls in the room took this as the cue to go back to sleep. or at least pretend to - and the rustling of all the bed covers startled Elle into realizing her and Wood weren't the only living things in the universe at that moment. Which was exactly the way he made her feel every time he opened his mouth. Embarrassed, she gave her friends a small smile. "Sorry for waking you up guys." she apologized - looking around at each of them. The faces that greeted her however, were not what she expected. Angelina was looking at her like she was about to die. The others had looks varying from concern to pain, and Alicia looked downright frightened. If anything, Elle had prepared herself for annoyance and anger. Anything but the looks she received now. It seemed she hadn't hidden her true state of mind from them as effectively as she thought she had. Her face flushed with guilt as she realized how they would have been feeling. If she had known one of them was in pain, and they were obviously lying about it, she would be hurt and upset that they had not trusted their problem with her. She couldn't blame them either. "Don't worry about us, Elle." "Don't apologize Honey, we just want to know if you're alright." "Eleanor. You don't need to be sorry." "We can't imagine what you must be going through." The group rushed to assure her. Elle's face lit up with a true smile, making them all realized how few of them they had actually seen. There was a short period of silence while she just looked at her small group of best friends, and realized how lucky she was that they were so understanding and tolerant. "Thanks so much guys." She started after the pause, "You are all so good to me. I don't deserve it." The group settled back into bed with that, and Wood leant into Elle's ear. "Yes, you do Elle." He whispered so that only she could hear. She leant back into him, relaxing into his arms, softly tracing her fingers across his hand, breathing in his musky scent. And she slowly slipped back to sleep.
The next day the great hall was busing when Wood and Elle entered. They Looked around for the cause of all the excitement, and noticed a rather large gathering around the school notice board. With a quick look of interest at each other, they both made their way towards it. Once they made their way through the considerable crowd, Elle caught sight of a shiny gold notice that hadn't been there the day before. And by the way the students around her were acting, it seemed to be the centre of everyone's attention. She pushed up closer to it, and started to read.
Auditions for a School Musical will be held tomorrow in the Transfiguration classroom at Lunch time.
The Creative Director, Professor McGonagall will be looking for a Lead Cast of Ten, and a Chorus of Twenty.
Audition Sheets can be picked up from the classroom from now until the try outs.
The Play that is to be performed is a Muggle Classic - Romeo and Juliet.
Eleanor stared at the message long after she finished reading. Surprise washed over her, but excitement was soon rushing through her veins. Romeo and Juliet was one of her favorite Muggle plays. She had dreamt about being Juliet since she was six years old.
Hurriedly, she made her way back through the crowd to Oliver, who had stayed at the back, happy to hear the message from Elle. When he saw the happiness on her face, he wondered what could have caused such a reaction from her. When she came up to him and breathlessly explained, he looked at her in confusion. "What's Romeo and Juliet?" he asked. Elle looked at him quizzically, as if to determine whether or not he was serious. When she realized he was not feigning ignorance, she laughed out loud. "It's only the most well known Play on the Planet!" she exclaimed. "Oh. Ok then. Are you going to try out?" He asked, eager to change the subject and take the attention off his ignorance. "No, I don't think so. I wouldn't be good enough. I haven't been to acting classes since I started going to Wizard School. I used to go before I found out I was a witch." "Elle. if I had a mirror right now, I would hold in front of your face until you realized that you looked the happiest I've seen you in a long while until just a second ago. if just looking at a poster for this play makes you this excited, just imagine how good for you it would be if you got a part? It would help you get your mind off. Other. things." Elle looked up at Oliver, who had absentmindedly slipped an arm around her waist. She smiled inwardly at his logic, but doubts were still flying around her head. "I'd be too scared." she whined. "Well then I'll go with you!" Resolved Wood, determined now that he had to force Elle to do something that would help her even a little bit. And without waiting for her answer, he grasped her hand tightly, and practically dragged her all the way up to the Transfiguration classroom, where a pile of Audition sheets sat waiting on a table.
Classes that day seemed to fly past at an amazing speed. Elle's mind was completely off topic, focused instead on the upcoming auditions. Oliver had organized for them to rehearse the scene for the try outs that night after dinner. Professor McGonagall had chosen the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet. One of Elle's very favorites. She was feeling a mixture of excitement and fear as the hour when they were to practice drew nearer. She barley ate a bite at Dinner, and when Oliver got up and whispered "Lets go." In her ear, she felt butterflies in her stomach like never before. "Geez, if this is how nervous I am about rehearsing, I'll be an absolute wreak for the auditions, let alone if I get a part." she thought sternly to herself. But seeing the expectant look on Wood's Face, she got up, and allowed him to lead her to an old classroom.
Once inside, Oliver handed Elle the sheet of dialogue they were to rehearse. "You're going to have to help me out with this." He started, looking a bit embarrassed. "I've never done anything like this before." Glancing down at the first few lines on the page, his forehead crinkled with confusion. "Why are they speaking funny?" Elle laughed out loud at the bewilderment spread across his features. "It's called Shakespearian language. He wrote all of his plays like that. I think it's beautiful." Wood watched as Elle sighed, and seemed caught up in an imaginary dream world for a few seconds. He was amazed at how much this play was affecting her moods. She seemed so much brighter. Bubbly. The Elle he remembered from the beginning of the year. She came back to earth when she caught the bemused smile playing across his lips. "What's so funny?" she asked, mock angry. "You," he answered softly, wrapping his free hand around her slim waist, and stepping up to her. "Oh. Ok then." She whispered back. They were now so close she could hear his gentle breathing. Elle draped her hands around his neck, and kissed him softly on the lips. Allowing the audition sheet to flutter slowly to the floor, Wood wrapped both his arms around Eleanor's small body, and held her tightly, deepening the kiss. His whole world had gone soft and fuzzy. He could smell her silky hair. Feel her soft skin. She was running her hands through his hair. They were on his face. She was everywhere. He was drowning in her. And he never wanted it to stop. "Ahem?" came a stern voice from the doorway. Professor McGonagall was standing there, with her hands on her hips, her mouth pulled into a tight frown. Wood and Elle sprang apart like lightning. Both blushing furiously, they rushed to explain themselves. "Uh. we were just... Um." began Oliver. The professor looked at him expectantly. "Yes Master Wood?" she sounded slightly amused, although her face was no less stern. "We were." his voice trailed off. "Practicing, Professor. For the play." Elle blurted quickly. She bent down and hurriedly grabbed the discarded audition sheet, holding it up for McGonagall to see. The professor looked from the sheet to the deeply blushing students, not able to make eye contact. If they had been looking at her instead of their shoes, they would have seen the smallest of smiles playing across her face before she continued. "Well I think you better start doing more practicing and less..." she paused for a second. "Practicing. But I must warn you to ask permission before using classrooms for your rehearsals in the future." "Yes Professor." Chimed Elle and Wood in unison. And with that, she left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. The two looked at each other in amazement. "Can you believe our luck?" asked Wood. "She didn't even take any points off Gryffindor!" "Yeah." began Elle, but she was now looking thoughtful. He looked at her, confused. "What?" "I think the teachers are letting me off easier than usual. It seems like they're scared of me or something. like I'll have a breakdown if one of them yells at me or something. It's weird." She looked troubled. "What's wrong with that? It's great! You could get away with anything!" But Elle seemed unable to see the funny side of things. "I'm not some delicate little flower. I won't break if some one yells at me. Why can't they just treat me like normal? I hate that I'm different now. I just want everything to go back to the way it was before!" She was working herself up into what promised to be quite a tantrum. But Oliver stopped her by silently placing an arm on her shoulder. "Elle, you can't blame people for acting like that around you. They probably feel really awkward around you, but it can't be helped. They are just worried about you, like I am - and they need time to get over it. Just like you do. It time, everything will go back to normal. Just like it was before. you'll see." He finished, looking deep into her startling green eyes. "How does he always do that?" Elle wondered silently to herself, before smiling gratefully at him. "Ok, Ok I'm just being stupid, and getting worked up about nothing." She punched at him playfully, and jumped out of his reach when he tried to grab at her. "Anyway," started Oliver, trying to get back on track, "We better actually start rehearsing, or we won't get any sleep tonight. Where should we start?" Elle looked down at the sheet in her hand. "Um. well the beginnings always a good place." She said sarcastically. And they both started reading. After a moment, Elle interrupted. Why don't we just read through it out loud for a start, the try to learn the lines off by heart? It's not that long. and we'll look really impressive if we can do it by heart for the audition tomorrow." Wood looked numbly at her, mumbled a barely comprehensible ok, and prepared himself to read it out loud. He really wasn't in his element here. He preferred the physical more than the Literal. And the language seemed hard enough to read, let alone act out by heart. But he was willing to do anything on the face of the earth to help Elle, so he screwed up his pride, and began reading. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." Elle studied him thoughtfully. He was getting the emphasis in the wrong places, and he seemed to have trouble with the line breaks, but other than that, he was getting the gist of it fairly quickly. She smiled to herself, noting how cute he looked when he was embarrassed, and totally off guard. Realizing he was looking at her expectantly, she read out her first line.
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." After a slight pause, during which he was looking at her, amazed at how well she handled the Shakespearian language and the lines seemed to flow off her tongue like music, Oliver continued. "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" "Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." "O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." Oliver finished, and moved in to kiss Eleanor sweetly on the lips. She smiled and blushed before continuing. "Then have my lips the sin that they have took." "Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again." And Oliver kissed her again. "I really like this play, you know." He said, smiling, as they broke apart, both breathless. "Do you think you can learn all of that by tomorrow?" Elle asked. "For you? Anything." He answered softly. "Actually you, know, I don't think I did that last bit right. I think I need to try it again." "Which last bit?" asked Elle, mock innocent. Oliver just laughed and captured her lips with his again. And they stayed locked in each others arms for quite some time.
By the time they made their way back to the Common Room, it was 1 in the morning. They had gone through the scene quite a few times, and Oliver was starting to get his head around the language. With a lot of help from Elle with the proper pronunciation, he had nearly mastered his small part. They parted at the stairs to the bedrooms with a goodnight kiss, and a promise of meeting up for breakfast in the morning to run through their lines again before the audition at Lunch. "Sweet Dreams, Elle." Said Oliver softly, only letting go of her hand as she walked to far away to reach. She flashed him one of her dazzling smiles before turning the corner, and disappearing from sight. Humming softly to himself, Wood made his way to his own room, and flopped down on his bed without bothering to change his clothes. He didn't feel like doing anything but lie down and think about the beautiful girl that he had just left. The girl everyone wanted and only he go to be with her. He was absolutely crazy about her, and amazingly enough she seemed to feel the same way towards him. She was finally looking happier. Life was back to normal, and he could not be more delighted. Smiling dumbly to himself, he closed his eyes, and fell straight into beautiful dreams of the girl he loved. Across the room, two of Oliver's roommates were sitting up in their beds. Wood hadn't noticed they were still awake when he had entered the room. They smiled as they watched him flop on his bed and fall straight asleep. When Oliver let out a loud contented sigh, they both sniggered, and looked at each other knowingly. "He's completely gone, that one." Sighed Toby. "Lost in the Abyss, never to return." agreed Sam. "It's pathetic really. All this over Eleanor Ross." They both paused, and looked at each other again. "Lucky B*stard." Toby spoke both their minds.
And his two friends settled into their beds again, and were soon fast asleep. Across the room, however, someone else was still awake. "Not for much longer." they said bitterly. Oliver, his face peaceful and relaxed with sleep, heard nothing.
Elle's eyes fluttered open the next morning, and she wondered briefly why everything was so bright. She looked around and saw that every bed in the room was empty. Suddenly wide awake, she glanced at her watch, and realized she was running extremely late. Swearing under her breath, she rushed around trying to get ready as quickly as possible. "Why didn't anyone wake me?" she wondered to herself. Then all of a sudden, she realized that no one ever usually needed to wake her. It seemed like it had been forever since she had slept the whole night through. She was usually up and dressed before any of the others. With a jolt, she understood. She hadn't had any nightmares last night. Smiling broadly, she finished getting ready, and made her way down to the common room. There, she found Oliver waiting for her with a plate of toast and a glass of orange juice in his hands. "Angelina told me you were still sleeping." He explained. "She said that she couldn't remember the last time you slept through the night, so they couldn't bear to wake you." "I can't remember the last time either..." Elle admitted, gratefully taking a piece of toast off the plate. The two sat down in some huge armchairs in front of the fire, enjoying the unusually deserted common room. They ate breakfast together, and went through their lines as promised. Oliver had used his free time that morning to well and truly memorize his lines, and impressed Elle considerably with his handle of the language. "You're getting so much better!" she gushed. "There's no way they won't give you a part!" "Yeah, we'll see. but you're definitely going to be Juliet. You are amazing. They'd be daft if they didn't pick you." Oliver assured, causing Elle to blush deeply. Just then the bell for the first lesson rang, and they both headed out the portrait door, the two of them starting to feel a bit nervous. The auditions were in just a couple of hours. And the morning seemed to be flying by so fast. An hour an a half to go. then 45 minutes left. then suddenly, as if the morning had not even happened, it was 5 minutes to go. Elle and Wood joined the considerable crowd milling around the Transfiguration classroom.
There were footsteps in the corridor behind her. It seemed that as soon as she turned a corner they got closer and closer. She glanced over here shoulder quickly, but there was no one there. She started to run. Where was everyone? Where was Oliver? Why wasn't he helping her? The corridors were getting longer, they never seemed to end. Her feet were pounding, her breath was getting short, and the footsteps were right behind her now. Then the portrait hole came into view. She nearly cried in relief, raced straight up to it, and threw it open. Feeling the footsteps nearly on her, she slammed it closed behind her. Finally free, she breathed a sigh, and turned to look for Wood. Where was he? She needed him. He was always there when she needed him. Worry started to form a knot in her stomach. Then, suddenly, there came a voice from behind the door. Hoarse and unfamiliar. He knew the password. He was coming in. The portrait door swung open. Within seconds, he was upon her. She crashed to the ground. His hands were on her. They were everywhere. She wasn't strong enough. She was helpless. Where was Oliver?
A piercing scream echoed around the seventh year girls' dorm. Eleanor sat up in her bed, her face contorted in terror, her hands flailing in front of her. Oliver was by her side in an instant, the other girls were all stirring in their beds, and once they realized what had happened, they sat and stared worriedly at their friend. "Elle!" yelled Wood. "Elle? It was just a dream. It's over now. Elle?" His voice lowered to a whisper. He had her by the shoulders, shaking her gently. It took a while for her to register where she was, and for a moment, she started, her eyes unfocused, confused. Then Oliver's brown eyes swam in front of her, their usual expression of worry etched in to their depths. Elle hesitated for a second, and wondered how long it had been since she had seen those beautiful eyes without worry, or concern. It saddened her. Then she realized why he was sitting next to her, shaking her, and the whole horrible dream flashed through her mind. Without moving, she burst into tears, huge sobs racking her small frame. Alarmed, Oliver swept her into his arms, felling her body shaking, and her breathing becoming hard. He glanced up at the other girls, who were watching silently from their beds. A look of helplessness flittered across his features, before promptly being replaced by anger. To the onlookers, they saw a fiercely protective Oliver huddled against the hysterical Elle, Gently rocking her, and stroking her hair. As they watched, Wood got over himself, and his anger slowly ebbed away to pain. He couldn't stand what was happening to the one he loved. He was watching as she was breaking down, completely and utterly helpless. It tore him up inside to see her in so much pain, and not being able to help her in any way. He wasn't fooled like the others when she acted like everything was fine, but he had thought she was improving, just a little bit. But he realized with a start, that she was never going to "get over" this. She was Broken. And he or anyone else couldn't fix her. "Shhhhh." he whispered softly to Elle, who was now gradually quieting down. As she slowly gained control of herself, Elle became aware of the warm strong arms enveloping her. She felt safer than she had ever felt within his embrace. He held her tightly to him long after her sobbing stopped, and her breathing returned to normal. Then when she finally looked up into his eyes, all she could see was his love for her. She could see the relief, the pain, and the helplessness. He was an open book to her. She could see into his soul every time their eyes locked. She knew she couldn't hide anything from him, whether she wanted to or not. which she didn't. "Are you alright?" he asked softly, stroking a piece of hair off her face. She nodded slowly, and snuggled in closer to his warmth. He leant down and kissed her sweetly on the top of her head, and she smiled in spite of herself. The other girls in the room took this as the cue to go back to sleep. or at least pretend to - and the rustling of all the bed covers startled Elle into realizing her and Wood weren't the only living things in the universe at that moment. Which was exactly the way he made her feel every time he opened his mouth. Embarrassed, she gave her friends a small smile. "Sorry for waking you up guys." she apologized - looking around at each of them. The faces that greeted her however, were not what she expected. Angelina was looking at her like she was about to die. The others had looks varying from concern to pain, and Alicia looked downright frightened. If anything, Elle had prepared herself for annoyance and anger. Anything but the looks she received now. It seemed she hadn't hidden her true state of mind from them as effectively as she thought she had. Her face flushed with guilt as she realized how they would have been feeling. If she had known one of them was in pain, and they were obviously lying about it, she would be hurt and upset that they had not trusted their problem with her. She couldn't blame them either. "Don't worry about us, Elle." "Don't apologize Honey, we just want to know if you're alright." "Eleanor. You don't need to be sorry." "We can't imagine what you must be going through." The group rushed to assure her. Elle's face lit up with a true smile, making them all realized how few of them they had actually seen. There was a short period of silence while she just looked at her small group of best friends, and realized how lucky she was that they were so understanding and tolerant. "Thanks so much guys." She started after the pause, "You are all so good to me. I don't deserve it." The group settled back into bed with that, and Wood leant into Elle's ear. "Yes, you do Elle." He whispered so that only she could hear. She leant back into him, relaxing into his arms, softly tracing her fingers across his hand, breathing in his musky scent. And she slowly slipped back to sleep.
The next day the great hall was busing when Wood and Elle entered. They Looked around for the cause of all the excitement, and noticed a rather large gathering around the school notice board. With a quick look of interest at each other, they both made their way towards it. Once they made their way through the considerable crowd, Elle caught sight of a shiny gold notice that hadn't been there the day before. And by the way the students around her were acting, it seemed to be the centre of everyone's attention. She pushed up closer to it, and started to read.
Auditions for a School Musical will be held tomorrow in the Transfiguration classroom at Lunch time.
The Creative Director, Professor McGonagall will be looking for a Lead Cast of Ten, and a Chorus of Twenty.
Audition Sheets can be picked up from the classroom from now until the try outs.
The Play that is to be performed is a Muggle Classic - Romeo and Juliet.
Eleanor stared at the message long after she finished reading. Surprise washed over her, but excitement was soon rushing through her veins. Romeo and Juliet was one of her favorite Muggle plays. She had dreamt about being Juliet since she was six years old.
Hurriedly, she made her way back through the crowd to Oliver, who had stayed at the back, happy to hear the message from Elle. When he saw the happiness on her face, he wondered what could have caused such a reaction from her. When she came up to him and breathlessly explained, he looked at her in confusion. "What's Romeo and Juliet?" he asked. Elle looked at him quizzically, as if to determine whether or not he was serious. When she realized he was not feigning ignorance, she laughed out loud. "It's only the most well known Play on the Planet!" she exclaimed. "Oh. Ok then. Are you going to try out?" He asked, eager to change the subject and take the attention off his ignorance. "No, I don't think so. I wouldn't be good enough. I haven't been to acting classes since I started going to Wizard School. I used to go before I found out I was a witch." "Elle. if I had a mirror right now, I would hold in front of your face until you realized that you looked the happiest I've seen you in a long while until just a second ago. if just looking at a poster for this play makes you this excited, just imagine how good for you it would be if you got a part? It would help you get your mind off. Other. things." Elle looked up at Oliver, who had absentmindedly slipped an arm around her waist. She smiled inwardly at his logic, but doubts were still flying around her head. "I'd be too scared." she whined. "Well then I'll go with you!" Resolved Wood, determined now that he had to force Elle to do something that would help her even a little bit. And without waiting for her answer, he grasped her hand tightly, and practically dragged her all the way up to the Transfiguration classroom, where a pile of Audition sheets sat waiting on a table.
Classes that day seemed to fly past at an amazing speed. Elle's mind was completely off topic, focused instead on the upcoming auditions. Oliver had organized for them to rehearse the scene for the try outs that night after dinner. Professor McGonagall had chosen the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet. One of Elle's very favorites. She was feeling a mixture of excitement and fear as the hour when they were to practice drew nearer. She barley ate a bite at Dinner, and when Oliver got up and whispered "Lets go." In her ear, she felt butterflies in her stomach like never before. "Geez, if this is how nervous I am about rehearsing, I'll be an absolute wreak for the auditions, let alone if I get a part." she thought sternly to herself. But seeing the expectant look on Wood's Face, she got up, and allowed him to lead her to an old classroom.
Once inside, Oliver handed Elle the sheet of dialogue they were to rehearse. "You're going to have to help me out with this." He started, looking a bit embarrassed. "I've never done anything like this before." Glancing down at the first few lines on the page, his forehead crinkled with confusion. "Why are they speaking funny?" Elle laughed out loud at the bewilderment spread across his features. "It's called Shakespearian language. He wrote all of his plays like that. I think it's beautiful." Wood watched as Elle sighed, and seemed caught up in an imaginary dream world for a few seconds. He was amazed at how much this play was affecting her moods. She seemed so much brighter. Bubbly. The Elle he remembered from the beginning of the year. She came back to earth when she caught the bemused smile playing across his lips. "What's so funny?" she asked, mock angry. "You," he answered softly, wrapping his free hand around her slim waist, and stepping up to her. "Oh. Ok then." She whispered back. They were now so close she could hear his gentle breathing. Elle draped her hands around his neck, and kissed him softly on the lips. Allowing the audition sheet to flutter slowly to the floor, Wood wrapped both his arms around Eleanor's small body, and held her tightly, deepening the kiss. His whole world had gone soft and fuzzy. He could smell her silky hair. Feel her soft skin. She was running her hands through his hair. They were on his face. She was everywhere. He was drowning in her. And he never wanted it to stop. "Ahem?" came a stern voice from the doorway. Professor McGonagall was standing there, with her hands on her hips, her mouth pulled into a tight frown. Wood and Elle sprang apart like lightning. Both blushing furiously, they rushed to explain themselves. "Uh. we were just... Um." began Oliver. The professor looked at him expectantly. "Yes Master Wood?" she sounded slightly amused, although her face was no less stern. "We were." his voice trailed off. "Practicing, Professor. For the play." Elle blurted quickly. She bent down and hurriedly grabbed the discarded audition sheet, holding it up for McGonagall to see. The professor looked from the sheet to the deeply blushing students, not able to make eye contact. If they had been looking at her instead of their shoes, they would have seen the smallest of smiles playing across her face before she continued. "Well I think you better start doing more practicing and less..." she paused for a second. "Practicing. But I must warn you to ask permission before using classrooms for your rehearsals in the future." "Yes Professor." Chimed Elle and Wood in unison. And with that, she left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. The two looked at each other in amazement. "Can you believe our luck?" asked Wood. "She didn't even take any points off Gryffindor!" "Yeah." began Elle, but she was now looking thoughtful. He looked at her, confused. "What?" "I think the teachers are letting me off easier than usual. It seems like they're scared of me or something. like I'll have a breakdown if one of them yells at me or something. It's weird." She looked troubled. "What's wrong with that? It's great! You could get away with anything!" But Elle seemed unable to see the funny side of things. "I'm not some delicate little flower. I won't break if some one yells at me. Why can't they just treat me like normal? I hate that I'm different now. I just want everything to go back to the way it was before!" She was working herself up into what promised to be quite a tantrum. But Oliver stopped her by silently placing an arm on her shoulder. "Elle, you can't blame people for acting like that around you. They probably feel really awkward around you, but it can't be helped. They are just worried about you, like I am - and they need time to get over it. Just like you do. It time, everything will go back to normal. Just like it was before. you'll see." He finished, looking deep into her startling green eyes. "How does he always do that?" Elle wondered silently to herself, before smiling gratefully at him. "Ok, Ok I'm just being stupid, and getting worked up about nothing." She punched at him playfully, and jumped out of his reach when he tried to grab at her. "Anyway," started Oliver, trying to get back on track, "We better actually start rehearsing, or we won't get any sleep tonight. Where should we start?" Elle looked down at the sheet in her hand. "Um. well the beginnings always a good place." She said sarcastically. And they both started reading. After a moment, Elle interrupted. Why don't we just read through it out loud for a start, the try to learn the lines off by heart? It's not that long. and we'll look really impressive if we can do it by heart for the audition tomorrow." Wood looked numbly at her, mumbled a barely comprehensible ok, and prepared himself to read it out loud. He really wasn't in his element here. He preferred the physical more than the Literal. And the language seemed hard enough to read, let alone act out by heart. But he was willing to do anything on the face of the earth to help Elle, so he screwed up his pride, and began reading. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." Elle studied him thoughtfully. He was getting the emphasis in the wrong places, and he seemed to have trouble with the line breaks, but other than that, he was getting the gist of it fairly quickly. She smiled to herself, noting how cute he looked when he was embarrassed, and totally off guard. Realizing he was looking at her expectantly, she read out her first line.
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." After a slight pause, during which he was looking at her, amazed at how well she handled the Shakespearian language and the lines seemed to flow off her tongue like music, Oliver continued. "Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" "Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." "O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." Oliver finished, and moved in to kiss Eleanor sweetly on the lips. She smiled and blushed before continuing. "Then have my lips the sin that they have took." "Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again." And Oliver kissed her again. "I really like this play, you know." He said, smiling, as they broke apart, both breathless. "Do you think you can learn all of that by tomorrow?" Elle asked. "For you? Anything." He answered softly. "Actually you, know, I don't think I did that last bit right. I think I need to try it again." "Which last bit?" asked Elle, mock innocent. Oliver just laughed and captured her lips with his again. And they stayed locked in each others arms for quite some time.
By the time they made their way back to the Common Room, it was 1 in the morning. They had gone through the scene quite a few times, and Oliver was starting to get his head around the language. With a lot of help from Elle with the proper pronunciation, he had nearly mastered his small part. They parted at the stairs to the bedrooms with a goodnight kiss, and a promise of meeting up for breakfast in the morning to run through their lines again before the audition at Lunch. "Sweet Dreams, Elle." Said Oliver softly, only letting go of her hand as she walked to far away to reach. She flashed him one of her dazzling smiles before turning the corner, and disappearing from sight. Humming softly to himself, Wood made his way to his own room, and flopped down on his bed without bothering to change his clothes. He didn't feel like doing anything but lie down and think about the beautiful girl that he had just left. The girl everyone wanted and only he go to be with her. He was absolutely crazy about her, and amazingly enough she seemed to feel the same way towards him. She was finally looking happier. Life was back to normal, and he could not be more delighted. Smiling dumbly to himself, he closed his eyes, and fell straight into beautiful dreams of the girl he loved. Across the room, two of Oliver's roommates were sitting up in their beds. Wood hadn't noticed they were still awake when he had entered the room. They smiled as they watched him flop on his bed and fall straight asleep. When Oliver let out a loud contented sigh, they both sniggered, and looked at each other knowingly. "He's completely gone, that one." Sighed Toby. "Lost in the Abyss, never to return." agreed Sam. "It's pathetic really. All this over Eleanor Ross." They both paused, and looked at each other again. "Lucky B*stard." Toby spoke both their minds.
And his two friends settled into their beds again, and were soon fast asleep. Across the room, however, someone else was still awake. "Not for much longer." they said bitterly. Oliver, his face peaceful and relaxed with sleep, heard nothing.
Elle's eyes fluttered open the next morning, and she wondered briefly why everything was so bright. She looked around and saw that every bed in the room was empty. Suddenly wide awake, she glanced at her watch, and realized she was running extremely late. Swearing under her breath, she rushed around trying to get ready as quickly as possible. "Why didn't anyone wake me?" she wondered to herself. Then all of a sudden, she realized that no one ever usually needed to wake her. It seemed like it had been forever since she had slept the whole night through. She was usually up and dressed before any of the others. With a jolt, she understood. She hadn't had any nightmares last night. Smiling broadly, she finished getting ready, and made her way down to the common room. There, she found Oliver waiting for her with a plate of toast and a glass of orange juice in his hands. "Angelina told me you were still sleeping." He explained. "She said that she couldn't remember the last time you slept through the night, so they couldn't bear to wake you." "I can't remember the last time either..." Elle admitted, gratefully taking a piece of toast off the plate. The two sat down in some huge armchairs in front of the fire, enjoying the unusually deserted common room. They ate breakfast together, and went through their lines as promised. Oliver had used his free time that morning to well and truly memorize his lines, and impressed Elle considerably with his handle of the language. "You're getting so much better!" she gushed. "There's no way they won't give you a part!" "Yeah, we'll see. but you're definitely going to be Juliet. You are amazing. They'd be daft if they didn't pick you." Oliver assured, causing Elle to blush deeply. Just then the bell for the first lesson rang, and they both headed out the portrait door, the two of them starting to feel a bit nervous. The auditions were in just a couple of hours. And the morning seemed to be flying by so fast. An hour an a half to go. then 45 minutes left. then suddenly, as if the morning had not even happened, it was 5 minutes to go. Elle and Wood joined the considerable crowd milling around the Transfiguration classroom.