At dinner the next evening, Albus Dumbledore stood up and said that he had an announcement to make. "It is my pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be putting on a production of Macbeth, organized and directed by our very own Head Girl, Hermione Granger," the headmaster said. "Auditions for the play will be next Wednesday, from three thirty to six o'clock in Professor Snape's classroom. No experience is required. Please see Miss Granger or Professor Snape for more details and a practice script. Thank you."
"Professor Snape?" Ron repeated when the headmaster sat down. "Why Professor Snape?"
"He's the asssistant director," Hermione answered.
Harry, who had been taking a drink of water at the time, was so surprised that he snorted, and water came flying out of his nose, showering Parvati Patil and Neville Longbottom, who were sitting across the table from him. "Sorry," Harry said, wiping off his face. He looked at Hermione. "Professor Snape?"
"Yes, Professor Snape!" she said, with more than a little irritation in her voice. "He might not be a very pleasant person, but he is qualified. He was Cassius in Julius Caesar in his fifth year, and I heard him recite one of his lines last night. It was very good." She turned her attention to Parvati and Neville. "Are you two going to try out?"
Parvati shrugged. "Why not?"
Neville turned slightly red. "I can't act," he mumbled.
Parvati nudged him with her elbow. "Come on, Nev. You heard what Professor Dumbledore said. 'No experience is required'. We'll try out together. It'll be fun."
He sighed. "Okay, I'll try."
"That's the spirit," Hermione said, smiling at him. "There's about thirty-five parts, so you're practically guaranteed a spot if you read halfway decent. And I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. It'll be a lot of work, too, but a lot of fun."
~~~
Hermione wasn't the only one that thought so. As she was walking back to the Gryffindor tower after dinner, she was approached by no less than twenty students who were interested in trying out for the play. She said she didn't have any practice scripts with her, but she would put them in the Potions classroom so everyone that was interested could pick one up if and when they had that class.
Speaking of Potions, she thought to herself, I should probably stop by there and discuss a few things with the assistant director. She stopped walking toward the Gryffindor tower and changed her direction to the Potions classroom.
"Going my way, Miss Granger?"
The harsh, cynical voice from behind made her turn around, and she saw Severus Snape walking a few strides behind her. "Professor Snape!" she exclaimed. "Um... yes, actually. I was just thinking about one of the parts."
"Which one?" he asked, in a tone of voice considerably kinder than before. For reasons Hermione could not figure out, Snape always seemed nicer when Shakespeare was concerned. In light of discovering they had some common ground, she figured they just might be able to pull off directing the play together.
"Ross," she answered. "I've gone over the script a few times, and I think it's really suspicious how Ross seems to be everywhere at once, and he always knows when to appear and when to disappear. Like in Act Four, Scene Two, where he visits Lady Macduff, he leaves just before the murderers show up. You'd think he would have seen them and warned Lady Macduff about them or something. And in Act Three, Scene One, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo. But then, in Scene Three, there's three murderers instead of just two, and the third says Macbeth told him to join them. What if the third murderer wasn't just a random hit man? What if he was someone in Macbeth's inner circle, like say..."
"Ross?" Snape finished, catching on to what she was implying.
She nodded.
"You're right. Ross is very suspicious," Snape agreed. "So, do you think we should combine the roles of Ross and the third murderer?"
"If Ross is the third murderer, then I think there's really no other choice."
"Remember, Miss Granger, this is our interpretation of it. Shakespeare left things very open, and there's no telling what he really thought."
"That's true," she said. "Thanks, Professor. Oh, and one more thing. Is it all right if I put the practice scripts in your classroom? That way students that want to try out can just pick up a script when they're done with Potions."
"Very well," Snape said.
Hermione smiled. "Thanks again, Professor. I'll bring them by your room first thing in the morning." She paused, realized what she said, and turned slightly red. "Your classroom, that is."
Snape hadn't even thought about the implications of her statement, but when she corrected it, he, too, was surprised. "Thank you for the clarification, Miss Granger. Good night."
"Good night, Professor," she returned, and headed back toward the Gryffindor tower. She almost couldn't believe it. Did she just have a conversation with Severus Snape without hating him when it was over? And did he actually say good night to her without being sarcastic? It seemed that a little Shakespeare could go a long way.
~~~
Next Wednesday came faster than anyone thought it would, and at three twenty, Hermione arrived in Snape's classroom, only to find that she had been beaten there by about a dozen other students waiting to try out for the play. She saw Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Parvati in there, along with several students from the other houses, and more were coming in by the minute. Everyone had a practice script, and they were rehearsing lines with each other. In a way, it was kind of funny to hear them butcher the lines as they practiced. She would have to make it clear to them that this wasn't just a play, it was poetry.
"Anyone impressed you yet?" Hermione asked the assistant director as she walked over to his desk.
"Yes, surprisingly enough," Snape answered, drawing up a chair for her.
"Thanks," she said, and sat down. "Who?"
"Miss Patil reads very well," he replied, "and so does Mr. Potter. He must get it from his parents."
"That's right," Hermione said. "Professor Dumbledore told me that they were Caesar and Calpurnia in Julius Caesar."
"He did, did he?"
She nodded. "He also said he could probably name off the rest of the cast if he tried. Do you think he really remembers it all?"
"I have no doubt. That man doesn't forget anything."
~~~
The next two and a half hours were the longest, most tedious ones of Hermione's life. The students auditioning were sent out into the hall, then instructed to come back inside in groups of two or three to read a selection of their choosing. There were about fifty students trying out, and she was surprised that they managed to listen to each of them in the amount of time that they had. Some people, such as Parvati Patil, Harry Potter, and, to Hermione's surprise, Draco Malfoy, delivered decent performances, but nothing was truly outstanding. So far, none of the students that had read so far seemed adequate for the two lead roles, and Hermione was beginning to wonder if they would ever find their Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
"Thanks, you three," Hermione said to Hannah Abbott, Padma Patil, and Susan Bones when they finished reading one of the witches' scenes. "Good job." It was good, but it wasn't exceptional.
Hannah, Padma, and Susan left the room with instructions from Snape to send the next group in. Hermione looked at Snape and sighed. "I don't know what to do," she said. "They're all right, but I don't think anyone that's read so far can handle the lead roles."
Snape nodded in agreement. "Are you thirsty?"
"Extremely. Why?"
"I was considering making a water run if you think you can handle listening to the next few groups by yourself."
Hermione almost laughed. "Yes, Professor, I think I can handle it, and thank you."
He exited through one of the side doors, and Hermione sighed, leaned back in her chair, and started staring at the ceiling. "You can begin whenever you're ready," she said when she heard the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching her.
"The queen, my lord, is dead."
Hermione recognized the voice. It was Colin Creevey's. He'd already read. What was he doing back again? He must be with someone who hadn't read yet.
"She should have died hereafter," the second voice said. "There would have been time for such a word. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
She couldn't believe her ears. The delivery was perfect. She hadn't heard such an amazing rendition of Shakespeare since hearing Snape recite the selection from Julius Caesar last week. Finally, here was something who was reading it as poetry and not prose. For a moment, she thought it was Snape playing a trick on her, but she knew Snape's voice, and that voice was definitely not Snape's.
Hermione lowered her gaze from the ceiling and fixed it on the boy standing in front of her. "Neville," she said, trying to keep her voice calm in hopes that it would stop her from exploding with excitement, "where on Earth did you get the idea that you couldn't act?"
Neville looked surprised. "It was good?"
She nodded. "Yes, it was very good."
His expression went from surprised to hopeful. "Do you think I'll get a part?"
Hermione laughed. "Yes, I think we can find a place for you," she answered.
As Neville and Colin exited the room, she picked up the cast list and wrote down Neville's name.
~~~
"What is it she does now?" asked Ginny Weasley, reading the part of the doctor in the first scene in Act Five about five minutes after Neville and Colin left. "Look how she rubs her hands."
"It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands," said Megan Jones, who was reading the part of the gentlewoman. "I have known her continue this a quarter of an hour."
"Yes, here's a spot," said Lisa Turpin, this group's Lady Macbeth.
"Hark, she speaks," said Ginny. "I will set down what comes from her to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly."
"Out, damned spot; out, I say," said Lisa. "One, two - why, then, 'tis time to do't..."
Hermione, who was quite impressed with one of the girls' reading skills, took a drink of the water Snape had brought her and exchanged a look with the assistant director. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she whispered as Lisa continued to read.
"Probably," Snape answered, and showed her what he had written down.
She nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking."
"... to have had so much blood in him?" Lisa finished.
"Good job, girls," Hermione said. "Would you be so kind as to send the next group in?"
The next group was Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Terry Boot. They read the second scene in Act One, with Seamus reading the part of Malcolm, Dean reading Captain, and Terry reading King Duncan. Hermione thought Dean read the part of the captain very well, and wrote his name with a question mark next to it down on her paper. When she showed it to Snape, he nodded, and she scribbled out the question mark.
"Thanks, guys," Hermione said when they finished. "Are you the last ones?"
The boys nodded. "Yeah," said Terry.
"Super. Thanks again." The boys left, and Hermione looked at Snape. "Let's get casting."
~~~
A/N: What do you think it? Is it good? Is it worth continuing? Let me know, and fear not, all you AD/MM-ers, they're coming. ^_^
"Professor Snape?" Ron repeated when the headmaster sat down. "Why Professor Snape?"
"He's the asssistant director," Hermione answered.
Harry, who had been taking a drink of water at the time, was so surprised that he snorted, and water came flying out of his nose, showering Parvati Patil and Neville Longbottom, who were sitting across the table from him. "Sorry," Harry said, wiping off his face. He looked at Hermione. "Professor Snape?"
"Yes, Professor Snape!" she said, with more than a little irritation in her voice. "He might not be a very pleasant person, but he is qualified. He was Cassius in Julius Caesar in his fifth year, and I heard him recite one of his lines last night. It was very good." She turned her attention to Parvati and Neville. "Are you two going to try out?"
Parvati shrugged. "Why not?"
Neville turned slightly red. "I can't act," he mumbled.
Parvati nudged him with her elbow. "Come on, Nev. You heard what Professor Dumbledore said. 'No experience is required'. We'll try out together. It'll be fun."
He sighed. "Okay, I'll try."
"That's the spirit," Hermione said, smiling at him. "There's about thirty-five parts, so you're practically guaranteed a spot if you read halfway decent. And I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. It'll be a lot of work, too, but a lot of fun."
~~~
Hermione wasn't the only one that thought so. As she was walking back to the Gryffindor tower after dinner, she was approached by no less than twenty students who were interested in trying out for the play. She said she didn't have any practice scripts with her, but she would put them in the Potions classroom so everyone that was interested could pick one up if and when they had that class.
Speaking of Potions, she thought to herself, I should probably stop by there and discuss a few things with the assistant director. She stopped walking toward the Gryffindor tower and changed her direction to the Potions classroom.
"Going my way, Miss Granger?"
The harsh, cynical voice from behind made her turn around, and she saw Severus Snape walking a few strides behind her. "Professor Snape!" she exclaimed. "Um... yes, actually. I was just thinking about one of the parts."
"Which one?" he asked, in a tone of voice considerably kinder than before. For reasons Hermione could not figure out, Snape always seemed nicer when Shakespeare was concerned. In light of discovering they had some common ground, she figured they just might be able to pull off directing the play together.
"Ross," she answered. "I've gone over the script a few times, and I think it's really suspicious how Ross seems to be everywhere at once, and he always knows when to appear and when to disappear. Like in Act Four, Scene Two, where he visits Lady Macduff, he leaves just before the murderers show up. You'd think he would have seen them and warned Lady Macduff about them or something. And in Act Three, Scene One, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo. But then, in Scene Three, there's three murderers instead of just two, and the third says Macbeth told him to join them. What if the third murderer wasn't just a random hit man? What if he was someone in Macbeth's inner circle, like say..."
"Ross?" Snape finished, catching on to what she was implying.
She nodded.
"You're right. Ross is very suspicious," Snape agreed. "So, do you think we should combine the roles of Ross and the third murderer?"
"If Ross is the third murderer, then I think there's really no other choice."
"Remember, Miss Granger, this is our interpretation of it. Shakespeare left things very open, and there's no telling what he really thought."
"That's true," she said. "Thanks, Professor. Oh, and one more thing. Is it all right if I put the practice scripts in your classroom? That way students that want to try out can just pick up a script when they're done with Potions."
"Very well," Snape said.
Hermione smiled. "Thanks again, Professor. I'll bring them by your room first thing in the morning." She paused, realized what she said, and turned slightly red. "Your classroom, that is."
Snape hadn't even thought about the implications of her statement, but when she corrected it, he, too, was surprised. "Thank you for the clarification, Miss Granger. Good night."
"Good night, Professor," she returned, and headed back toward the Gryffindor tower. She almost couldn't believe it. Did she just have a conversation with Severus Snape without hating him when it was over? And did he actually say good night to her without being sarcastic? It seemed that a little Shakespeare could go a long way.
~~~
Next Wednesday came faster than anyone thought it would, and at three twenty, Hermione arrived in Snape's classroom, only to find that she had been beaten there by about a dozen other students waiting to try out for the play. She saw Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Parvati in there, along with several students from the other houses, and more were coming in by the minute. Everyone had a practice script, and they were rehearsing lines with each other. In a way, it was kind of funny to hear them butcher the lines as they practiced. She would have to make it clear to them that this wasn't just a play, it was poetry.
"Anyone impressed you yet?" Hermione asked the assistant director as she walked over to his desk.
"Yes, surprisingly enough," Snape answered, drawing up a chair for her.
"Thanks," she said, and sat down. "Who?"
"Miss Patil reads very well," he replied, "and so does Mr. Potter. He must get it from his parents."
"That's right," Hermione said. "Professor Dumbledore told me that they were Caesar and Calpurnia in Julius Caesar."
"He did, did he?"
She nodded. "He also said he could probably name off the rest of the cast if he tried. Do you think he really remembers it all?"
"I have no doubt. That man doesn't forget anything."
~~~
The next two and a half hours were the longest, most tedious ones of Hermione's life. The students auditioning were sent out into the hall, then instructed to come back inside in groups of two or three to read a selection of their choosing. There were about fifty students trying out, and she was surprised that they managed to listen to each of them in the amount of time that they had. Some people, such as Parvati Patil, Harry Potter, and, to Hermione's surprise, Draco Malfoy, delivered decent performances, but nothing was truly outstanding. So far, none of the students that had read so far seemed adequate for the two lead roles, and Hermione was beginning to wonder if they would ever find their Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
"Thanks, you three," Hermione said to Hannah Abbott, Padma Patil, and Susan Bones when they finished reading one of the witches' scenes. "Good job." It was good, but it wasn't exceptional.
Hannah, Padma, and Susan left the room with instructions from Snape to send the next group in. Hermione looked at Snape and sighed. "I don't know what to do," she said. "They're all right, but I don't think anyone that's read so far can handle the lead roles."
Snape nodded in agreement. "Are you thirsty?"
"Extremely. Why?"
"I was considering making a water run if you think you can handle listening to the next few groups by yourself."
Hermione almost laughed. "Yes, Professor, I think I can handle it, and thank you."
He exited through one of the side doors, and Hermione sighed, leaned back in her chair, and started staring at the ceiling. "You can begin whenever you're ready," she said when she heard the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching her.
"The queen, my lord, is dead."
Hermione recognized the voice. It was Colin Creevey's. He'd already read. What was he doing back again? He must be with someone who hadn't read yet.
"She should have died hereafter," the second voice said. "There would have been time for such a word. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time, and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
She couldn't believe her ears. The delivery was perfect. She hadn't heard such an amazing rendition of Shakespeare since hearing Snape recite the selection from Julius Caesar last week. Finally, here was something who was reading it as poetry and not prose. For a moment, she thought it was Snape playing a trick on her, but she knew Snape's voice, and that voice was definitely not Snape's.
Hermione lowered her gaze from the ceiling and fixed it on the boy standing in front of her. "Neville," she said, trying to keep her voice calm in hopes that it would stop her from exploding with excitement, "where on Earth did you get the idea that you couldn't act?"
Neville looked surprised. "It was good?"
She nodded. "Yes, it was very good."
His expression went from surprised to hopeful. "Do you think I'll get a part?"
Hermione laughed. "Yes, I think we can find a place for you," she answered.
As Neville and Colin exited the room, she picked up the cast list and wrote down Neville's name.
~~~
"What is it she does now?" asked Ginny Weasley, reading the part of the doctor in the first scene in Act Five about five minutes after Neville and Colin left. "Look how she rubs her hands."
"It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands," said Megan Jones, who was reading the part of the gentlewoman. "I have known her continue this a quarter of an hour."
"Yes, here's a spot," said Lisa Turpin, this group's Lady Macbeth.
"Hark, she speaks," said Ginny. "I will set down what comes from her to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly."
"Out, damned spot; out, I say," said Lisa. "One, two - why, then, 'tis time to do't..."
Hermione, who was quite impressed with one of the girls' reading skills, took a drink of the water Snape had brought her and exchanged a look with the assistant director. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she whispered as Lisa continued to read.
"Probably," Snape answered, and showed her what he had written down.
She nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking."
"... to have had so much blood in him?" Lisa finished.
"Good job, girls," Hermione said. "Would you be so kind as to send the next group in?"
The next group was Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Terry Boot. They read the second scene in Act One, with Seamus reading the part of Malcolm, Dean reading Captain, and Terry reading King Duncan. Hermione thought Dean read the part of the captain very well, and wrote his name with a question mark next to it down on her paper. When she showed it to Snape, he nodded, and she scribbled out the question mark.
"Thanks, guys," Hermione said when they finished. "Are you the last ones?"
The boys nodded. "Yeah," said Terry.
"Super. Thanks again." The boys left, and Hermione looked at Snape. "Let's get casting."
~~~
A/N: What do you think it? Is it good? Is it worth continuing? Let me know, and fear not, all you AD/MM-ers, they're coming. ^_^