The Marauders – Try Outs
Tomorrow! I'm freaking out and I have until tomorrow! Might as well stick around and see what the competition is like.
Obviously some of the other girls didn't follow Lily's train of thought and left.
She was a little frightened that somebody had picked the same song she did, but she hadn't come across any so far. Some of the girls sang unaccompanied, others brought an instrument of their own to play, like Lily. Many cast flirtatious winks and giggles at the Marauders.
Lily shook her head, wondering just how great her chances were at becoming a singer for their group. She certainly wouldn't get in wearing what she was now… A simple black dress with almost no decorations except for a silver chain bracelet her parents had given her the year before they died. She needed to be a bit more eccentric, but still retaining her own image. Her eyes skimmed across the girls trying out, most of them were preps and came in wearing their pink and baby blue shirts and hip hugger jeans. She wondered for a fleeting moment if the Marauders were purebloods or muggleborn.
"That was… Very nice." Lily had to bite her lip from laughing as James tried to not insult the girl that had just finished singing. "Now for the rest of you lovely ladies, you'll just have to come back tomorrow. Be here at eight." And with that he went to cleaning up the room.
Lily practically sprinted out of the room and ran up to the Head dormitories. She wondered why she never saw James, but she figured this past week had been busy for all of them and she would have plenty of time to get to know him, whether she got into the band or not. She threw open her closet door and yanked open a few drawers, trying to find something better for tomorrow. She smiled at her selection, and decided to go to bed. She had a very busy day ahead of her.
&%&%&%&
"Lillian Evans!"
She sat up with a start, not knowing what was going on.
"It is Sunday! You have to take a shower, get dressed and eat breakfast and then go to try outs!"
"Jeez, Ara. Scare the living crap out of your best friend why don't you? And how the hell did you get into the Head Girl bedroom? I never gave you the password!"
"Oh, that… Well… Gotta run!"
"You better run, Figg!"
Nonetheless Lily got up and took a nice hot shower to wake up to. As she wiped off the steam off the vanity mirror she hear a knock at the entrance to James' bedroom. "Hello? Tell me when you get out, I need to use the shower."
Lily smiled, "I'll be out in a sec." She grabbed her hair supplies and yelled, "Its all yours" as she shut her door.
She took her towel off and put some black cotton panties and a matching bra on and then decided to do her hair. She twisted the different layers into sections and, with magic, held them there in strange corkscrew designs. She then slipped on some hunter green pants that had a giant rip on one leg and were three sizes too big. She put a camouflage belt on so she wouldn't fall out of them while singing. That would be a nightmare. She then put on a black shirt that hugged to her chest but had cuts in it, like a lion had clawed at it, on the stomach and back. One of the sleeves was slightly torn off and you could see her bra though it, but she didn't mind. Her makeup was a little darker than usual, but not gothic. She made sure her eyes were highly accented with her eye liner though. She was about to walk out the door when she remembered that she needed her shoes and dear Ol' Faithful. She pulled on some old beat up black shoes that had lost their shoe strings long ago. The only thing keeping them from flying off her feet was duct tape. She grabbed her guitar and headed out the door, towards the Great Hall.
"Sorry Ara, can't talk, got to run. Try outs start in-" She glanced at her watch and almost choked on her toast "Five minute! Tell you later how it goes."
Ara was smiling at the nervousness of her best friend, "Hey Lils! You look great!"
"Thanks, Ara!" She yelled from the doors.
&%&%&%&
Lily ran into the try out room, breathless. She was about ten minutes late, but nobody seemed to care. She was listening to a girl sing a very good version of "Goodbye Earl" when she started worrying about how good today's batch was. Yesterday's were horrible, but today they seemed a bit better. This worried Lily to no end.
"Evans, Lily?" Lily looked up to see Sirius reading her name.
She stood up slowly, not shy but nervous.
Sirius broke out in a grin. "Red!"
Lily smirked, still making her way up to the stage, "Black!"
Remus let a laugh out at this.
She was now on the stage, taking Ol' Faithful out and tuned him. So as to take the pressure off, she read James' shirt – How can I miss you, if you won't go away? – and smiled. "Nice shirt."
James raised an eyebrow. This must have been the first time in two days he had seen somebody so calm on stage. "Ditto."
Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, remembering how very clearly everyone could see her bra.
"You don't mind that I use my guitar, do you?" She addressed all of them.
"Nope, whatever makes you feel more comfortable." Responded Remus. "First, can you tell us what the song is that you picked out and who it is sung by?"
"It's called 'I Hope You Dance' and its sung by Lee Ann Womack"
Remus raised an eyebrow, and nodded his head, signaling her to start.
Confidently, she started to strum the tune on Ol' Faithful.
"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed"
The four boys looked at her in awe. They had never seen a person so entranced in their music.
"I hope you still feel small, when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith the fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance"
Her voice was strong and powerful but didn't overwhelm. It was almost angelic.
"I hope you dance....
I hope you dance...."
James leaned over to Sirius and whispered, "Nice set of lungs."
Sirius shushed him.
"I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin'
Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'"
Lily forgot she was in front of people. Her soul was being shown to the world, but she didn't care. As long as she was happy, she didn't care.
"Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance"
Sirius smiled at the girl on stage. She was like hope. Telling them not to give up. She wasn't the best singer in the world, and he realized this, but the way she just… Opened up… It was rare.
"I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance"
Lily had to make up for the missing chorus by playing some extra chords on Ol' Faithful. Her fingers flew over the strings, a mind of their own.
"I hope you still feel small, when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance"
James was shocked when he met Lily's eyes. There was nothing but happiness and peace in her eyes. He was captivated by her eyes. Why hadn't he ever seen her before? How could she be Head Girl and him not notice her for even this week? It seemed impossible.
"Dance...
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance"
She let the last note linger, but muted it before it could become strained. She raised her head, looked into the boys' eyes, and smiled. "Was that good?"
The boys all gawked at her. Good?
Remus held her eyes, "That was wonderful." She blushed lightly. "Now I don't know about these lumps," he pointed to his friends, "But I can't wait to hear the one you wrote."
"Well… I hope you like it. Ara helped, so I can't have all the credit. It's called 'Skateboarder Scars'."
She took a deep breath and started to play a violent tune, contrasting to the gentleness of her first song.
"The foolish speak lots, and I've got lots to say
The babble goes on, it could last all day
Cause I'm just a girl with a simple guitar
Got nonsense in my brain, and skateboarder scars"
Her fingers flew as a few more violent cords were played. She wasn't dancing, but her entire body was moving in time to the music.
"What can you do when you feel so empty?
Can you close your eyes and feign it gone?
Can you live with a hole deep in your soul?
Can you find it all in this simple song?
"Looking at the stars yesterday, and I thought of you
Of the things you made, and the things you do
Thinking there was more to see than guitars and baggy jeans
Thinking life was more than all of what it seems"
Her voice was even harsh as she sang, and it showed the emotion of the song.
"What can you do when you feel so empty?
Can you close your eyes and feign it gone?
Can you live with a hole deep in your soul?
Can you find it all in this simple song?"
Remus was amazed at how the song just made him want to comfort her. The words, the way she sang and played them… It all merged together to make her seem surreal.
"Thinking there was more to see than guitars and baggy jeans
Thinking life was more than all of what it seems
"What can you do when you feel so empty?
Can you close your eyes and feign it gone?
Can you live with a hole deep in your soul?
Can you find it all in this simple song?"
The cords continues for a few more beats, even though she had finished singing, and then she muted it quickly. She looked up with an almost apologetic look in her eyes. "I know it was short-"
"Don't apologize." Practically everybody looked at James. "It was good, especially when you only had a week to write it."
She smiled softly, "Thanks." There was a silence, but it wasn't really uncomfortable. "Well, I better pack up and get out of your way."
As she was putting her beloved guitar back the three boys looked at each other. They had found their new vocalist. To their great disappointment, they had to listed to the rest of the singers of the day before they could officially post the results.
They watched as the fiery haired girl walked her way to the door slowly. As they heard the door close softly behind her, they could hear her start to run down the hall.
Remus smiled and leaned in to talk to his friends softly, "Probably running off to tell her friends of how she thinks she did." The other two smiled, he was probably right.
A/N: So, how'd you like it? "Skateboarder Scars" was written by my dear friend Jenn, so I take absolutely no credit for it whatsoever. If you would like to be E-Mailed when I update, please tell me in a review and I'll be sure to add you to my list. Please be sure to review, I read every single one of them, and really inspire me to write more.
