Chapter 9: Talent Show!
*****
Tonight was the night! In a few hours, the Halloween feast would begin, to be followed by Hogwart's first ever student talent show. Everyone, except maybe some of the Slytherins, was looking forward to it.
While some of the students participating were starting to suffer from a mild case of the nerves, most were simply excited and ready to get things started. Alinora had spent most of the day, when not forced to be doing something else, making last minute updates to the night's plan of action.
They'd gotten Dean Thomas, a fifth year from Gryffindor, to design the programs for the show using the Masquerade theme they'd agreed upon. The programs were later charmed so that they would announce the acts as they came up, but wouldn't reveal anyone's name until the final act was complete and the results were ready to be announced. Alinora was quite happy to not have had to handle that particular piece of magic- Professor Flitwick had been assigned that detail.
*****
After dinner ended the students were dismissed for an hour so that the Great Hall could be set up. Once the room was empty of students, other than Alinora, the staff went to work. The four large house tables were stacked against the wall and small table and chair groupings appeared to replace them. The head table, where the staff normally sat, was removed and transfigured into a curtained stage. Some of the rooms that opened from behind the stage area had been converted into dressing rooms and areas where you could warm up before going on stage.
The physical transformations weren't the only preparations that needed to be done. Numerous spells had been devised that would help disguise the various participants while they performed, making it just a little bit more difficult for them to be recognized beneath their masks. Another spell blanketed the room and was used to keep the audience from paying too much attention to who was or wasn't sitting around them at any given time.
Other spells would be used during the actual performances to provide things such as background music or lighting, but those details were completely Alinora's responsibility as stage director. If for some reason she couldn't handle it Professor Flitwick was prepared to take over, but, as things had gone well in the dry run, he wasn't expecting any problems.
As Flitwick performed the last bits of magic needed to decorate the hall, the students who were performing began to make their way into the back rooms to begin getting ready.
It's almost show time… Alinora thought as she too made her way backstage to prepare.
*****
The Great Hall was dimly lit as there were only a couple hundred floating candles lit that evening, instead of the normal impressive amounts. The hall was almost filled with students representing each of the four houses at Hogwarts and staff members, scattered throughout the room, there to enjoy the show. The stage was dark, curtains drawn and you could hear the whispering voices of the students who were excitedly discussing who and what they were expecting to see- and just when would it be starting anyway?!?
Finally the talking in the audience started to die away as everyone slowly turned to look towards the stage with the feeling that something was about to happen.
As the last voice fell silent a single light illuminated a female figure standing before the curtained stage. She was dressed in a floor length, emerald green medieval styled gown, low cut in front, slightly off the shoulders with flared, trailing sleeves. Her long auburn hair was curled into ringlets that were piled on top of her head then cascaded down her back and over her shoulder. She was holding a green butterfly shaped mask up to her face as she stared calmly out at the crowd, a small smile on her lips, as she waited for the whispering that had started at her appearance to stop.
"Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade…
Masquerade!
Hide your face
So the world will
Never find you!
Masquerade!
Seething shadows,
Breathing lies…
Masquerade!
You can fool
Any friend who
Ever knew you!"[1]
As suddenly as she'd begun singing, Alinora stopped. From behind her mask she smiled mischievously at the crowd in front of her. She stepped forward slightly, the illuminating light following her, and addressed her intently listening audience.
"Tonight is Halloween; a time of wearing masks and costumes and a time of both tricks and treats. As tradition demands, we will provide all of these for you tonight, as you are our guests at this Masquerade." Alinora swept a low curtsey to the audience before continuing.
"Music is a form of magic that has the power to touch everyone. It can transform you more than any spell, if you let it. Those you see tonight have let music touch them and they will share some of the magic they've learned from it with you. I hope you will be brave enough to let it transform you as well- let it show you parts of yourself, and of your friends, that you may have never seen. As you enjoy what's in store, think on this- How well do you really know those around you? Can you guess who it is behind the masks you see?
"I'm sure there are those among you that, looking at me now, feel certain you know who I am behind the mask I'm wearing. But maybe you should not be so quick to judge and a bit more willing to wait to see what develops since tonight is a time of music, a time of magic, and many surprising things will be revealed to those willing to accept them."
With that she lowered her mask to reveal yet another fantastically decorated mask that appeared to have been painted directly onto her skin. Her smile swept over the audience as she sunk into yet another low curtsey before stepping back through the curtains shadowing the stage and disappearing.
The curtains soon opened again to reveal the first masked performer.
[1] Lyrics from The Phantom of the Opera, Masquerade
