Lily, from Shiz
By: Aaliyah-Charity
A/N: Hey! Couldn't sleep so thought I'd go ahead and do another chapter! I keep imagining Audrey like the Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors.' I hope that's not bad.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns 'Harry Potter'
Chapter 7: Eden Fae
Audrey walked out of the Hufflepuff tower with her old, battered case in tow, her euphonium safely inside it. She had had that euphonium since she was ten years old, when she had started playing. Her parents had died at that age, right before she was admitted into Shiz. She looked exactly like her mother, but she had her father's eyes. Her mother was one-fourths of a witch, and her father was a squib. They died from a car accident in the muggle world where a train collided with them and dragged them for three miles as they became pieces of the people they were. Luckily Audrey did not have to go to an orphanage, for the wonderful Shiz had an all year program so she would never have to be homeless.
And then the fire happened.
Audrey couldn't stop thinking about it, and no matter how cool Emmylene was, Audrey knew she couldn't stop thinking about Shiz. She wondered on how Eden Fae thought about all this. Was she really as heartless as everyone said?
Audrey didn't have to wait long to see.
Since the fire, Audrey tended to walk with her head down. Whether it was mourning from the fire, or just the self-doubt she carried, she didn't know. The bad thing about it was that she would often bump into people. One day she would bump into the wrong person who would not be very forgiving.
And so it happened that very moment.
As Audrey walked down the hall with her head down, she did collide with another person. She apologized quickly and rushed up to her feet to make sure her case was okay, and then to the person she knocked down to make sure they were all right.
"I'm so sorry," Audrey apologized, meaning every letter in the words.
"You idiot," the other voice snapped at her, almost jerking tears out of Audrey's eyes.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking," she said, clutching her case and wanting very much to disappear.
"You're that other Shiz girl, right?!" yelled the other girl. She was blonde with attractive eyes and a very personal flare. She would've been very pretty if it hadn't been for the bad attitude she hovered around her.
"Yes, I'm Audrey," she said, looking down.
"Let me tell you one thing," she sneered at the cowering girl, "I'm glad that everyone died, okay? Everyone deserved to die that did. And if you're anything like that perfect Emmylene, I'll kill you. She's the most annoying girl I've ever met." Jealousy shone throughout her voice. It was covered in her anger, but her jealousy shone like a little light. Anyone could've missed it though, for her animosity was at large.
"Shiz was the most worthless school ever. I hated it, and I hate you. Stay away from me," she glared at the girl for a moment before moving on.
Audrey sat there with such a shock for a long time that she didn't notice a voice calling to her to stand up. She looked up to see a red headed boy with a shiny, almost blinding badge with an air of self- importance.
"I'm Head Boy, Percy Weasley, and I must ask you to hurry along," he said, looking down at her.
"Um...yes sir," she said quickly getting up and running with her case. She hoped she wasn't late. The case in her hand swung back and forth as she tried to find the band room. It was an isolated classroom with room to spare. It was a beautiful sight, but it was nothing compared to the program she had at Shiz. An entire castle was dedicated to the band program there, not just a small room.
The other students were assembling their instruments as she did the same with hers. Audrey's was an old Intermediate model that had its share of dents and scratches. The gold plate that gave it its color made it look very old, and she wished very hard that it was a gleaming silver with bright gold valves, but she knew she would never be able to afford such a beauty. Audrey wasn't even quite sure if it existed.
"Audrey!" a cheerful voice called from behind her. Audrey turned around from her name being called and saw Professor Sprout smiling widely.
"My dear," she said, "Would you care to meet your section?"
"Um...well....why sure," she said, standing up with her euphonium closed tightly in her hands. The teacher went and brought out a tall boy from among a crowd of laughing teenagers. He had a look of hardness on his face and he didn't look pleased to see Audrey at all.
"So I have a little girl in my section," he looked annoyed, and turned to Professor Sprout, "Why did you bring me to her?"
"You need to know whom you will be playing with!" she scolded, "and what if she wanted to challenge you?"
"Yeah, right," he said, bored, and glared at the other euphonium player with hatred, "She wouldn't ever challenge me."
"Well, introduce yourselves!" the teacher directed them.
"Mitchell Payne Flint," he said plainly, not pleased.
"I...I'm Audrey Lillian Menzel," she said politely, and they forged a handshake. Mitchell made sure that it hurt with his bone crushing strength. He was a Slytherin with an overwhelming height of six foot two, and a skinny physique with muscles hanging off of him like a tight fitting coat. His teeth shone brilliantly like diamonds, but it wasn't pleasant, for he was baring them at her like he wanted to bite her.
"I'm the best low brass player here, got it? My older brother is the captain of the Quidditch team, Marcus Flint, and I'm used to getting the best, so don't even think of challenging me, unless you want to be desperately embarrassed," his words stung. He went over to a gleaming case and produced from it a shiny professional model without one single dent on it. The gold on it looked as if it was made from brand new galleons, and the valves sparkled like crazy.
Audrey looked to her feet, deeply ashamed of the rusty instrument she kept in her hands. How could she compare to a billowing boy such as him, with an instrument like that? She started to turn around, but he spoke again.
"No, I think I'll just let you embarrass yourself," he laughed and called Professor Sprout over. Audrey was completely silent as Professor Sprout beamed from the challenge. Apparently there hadn't been a challenge in years. Emmylene and Eden Fae didn't have to worry about challenges, since the other players in their section all forfeited, unusual for instruments with usually competitive people.
"Exactly what are the procedures here?" she asked, curious. The challenging process at Shiz was very complex, and she couldn't see herself getting through it there.
"Okay, well, let's see....it's been such a long time! Well, you must complete your scales in under ten minutes, made for the slow players, you know," she smiled, then continued, "and you will play a prepared piece of your choice. If you have accompaniment, we have the PlayBox that will feed it back as you play."
The PlayBox was a big ugly brown box with two slits in it. You put in music for it to play, and the music would craw out of it back to you. While useful, the box was revolting. The older it got, the more ugly but more dependable it became. You would think that for a wizard invention it would be more presentable, but it had yet to be improved upon. Soloists from all over the magic world used it to practice, so as not to be distracted by other players until rehearsals.
"You will also be tested on sight reading. Since you both are advanced from the rest of the band, it will be at a higher level," she smiled.
"Make it the hardest you can find, old lady," Mitchell smirked to her. Professor Sprout looked annoyed, but moved on.
"I'll do what I can," she rolled her eyes, "And to make it most interesting, it will be during dinner."
Audrey's face lost color as Mitch's face gained some.
"Great, I'll be able to embarrass you without having to do much," he said, "and everyone will see you cry. Perfect."
"That will be enough, Mr. Flint!" Professor Sprout said sharply, "You will have five days to prepare. Meanwhile, you will not be permitted to play with the rest of the band. All of your preparation must be done on your own. I might be able to assist you, but it must be urgent. During class, you can practice in those two soundproof practice rooms. It is charmed so that no one can disturb you, see you, or hear you."
She walked away after that statement, and Mitch smiled maliciously at Audrey as he turned back to his friends and made them all laugh at her. She slipped into a practice room and slipped her head into her hands after carefully putting her euphonium onto her equally old euphonium stand.
'What am I going to do?' she thought to herself.
She thought of the method books and sheet music she had in her trunk. She would look there later on that night and try to find a suitable solo. To face her peers would kill her, especially if she had nothing to play. She thought of Jimmy, the principal euphonium (for you non-band geeks, that means first chair, meaning you are the best at your instrument) at Shiz. He was strong and resilient, not mean and cold, like this Mitchell. Jimmy was tough on her, but it was for her own good. He was in the top band, and she in the middle band, so they didn't converse much, but in wizard marching band, he was her section leader, and for every scale you didn't know, you would have to run a mile, do one hundred pushups, and serve a week's worth of detention. Needless to say, all forty-nine scales were memorized quickly.
Along with the thoughts of the challenge that would occur in five days, she had to also overcome the looks of the school as she passed them in the halls and at dinner that night. News had spread like wildfire of her ordeal in Potions, and everyone feasted not only on the food, but also on the rumors.
The same boy in glasses who attempted to defend her at the Gryffindor stared at her once more, and she felt oddly strange. From the same table, the popular girl from Shiz had smiled encouragingly at her, but from the next table, the Slytherin table, were two different looks. Two faces, brothers who looked alike, smirked at her as if knowing her fate, and a blonde who looked angrier, if possible, at Audrey.
Audrey looked pained, and looked down at her food, wondering why Eden Fae hated her so much. She smiled meekly at her friends, who intelligently didn't question her former adventure with Professor Snape, and ate as peacefully as she could.
A/N: Well, I hope you liked it! Sorry if my invention and band information confused you! I'm minimizing the band thing as much as I can, but what can one trombonist do? It'll serve a purpose, I promise! Review please! They keep me going, whilst lack of reviews deflate me like balloon in the winter. Haha, love ya!
By: Aaliyah-Charity
A/N: Hey! Couldn't sleep so thought I'd go ahead and do another chapter! I keep imagining Audrey like the Audrey in 'Little Shop of Horrors.' I hope that's not bad.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns 'Harry Potter'
Chapter 7: Eden Fae
Audrey walked out of the Hufflepuff tower with her old, battered case in tow, her euphonium safely inside it. She had had that euphonium since she was ten years old, when she had started playing. Her parents had died at that age, right before she was admitted into Shiz. She looked exactly like her mother, but she had her father's eyes. Her mother was one-fourths of a witch, and her father was a squib. They died from a car accident in the muggle world where a train collided with them and dragged them for three miles as they became pieces of the people they were. Luckily Audrey did not have to go to an orphanage, for the wonderful Shiz had an all year program so she would never have to be homeless.
And then the fire happened.
Audrey couldn't stop thinking about it, and no matter how cool Emmylene was, Audrey knew she couldn't stop thinking about Shiz. She wondered on how Eden Fae thought about all this. Was she really as heartless as everyone said?
Audrey didn't have to wait long to see.
Since the fire, Audrey tended to walk with her head down. Whether it was mourning from the fire, or just the self-doubt she carried, she didn't know. The bad thing about it was that she would often bump into people. One day she would bump into the wrong person who would not be very forgiving.
And so it happened that very moment.
As Audrey walked down the hall with her head down, she did collide with another person. She apologized quickly and rushed up to her feet to make sure her case was okay, and then to the person she knocked down to make sure they were all right.
"I'm so sorry," Audrey apologized, meaning every letter in the words.
"You idiot," the other voice snapped at her, almost jerking tears out of Audrey's eyes.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking," she said, clutching her case and wanting very much to disappear.
"You're that other Shiz girl, right?!" yelled the other girl. She was blonde with attractive eyes and a very personal flare. She would've been very pretty if it hadn't been for the bad attitude she hovered around her.
"Yes, I'm Audrey," she said, looking down.
"Let me tell you one thing," she sneered at the cowering girl, "I'm glad that everyone died, okay? Everyone deserved to die that did. And if you're anything like that perfect Emmylene, I'll kill you. She's the most annoying girl I've ever met." Jealousy shone throughout her voice. It was covered in her anger, but her jealousy shone like a little light. Anyone could've missed it though, for her animosity was at large.
"Shiz was the most worthless school ever. I hated it, and I hate you. Stay away from me," she glared at the girl for a moment before moving on.
Audrey sat there with such a shock for a long time that she didn't notice a voice calling to her to stand up. She looked up to see a red headed boy with a shiny, almost blinding badge with an air of self- importance.
"I'm Head Boy, Percy Weasley, and I must ask you to hurry along," he said, looking down at her.
"Um...yes sir," she said quickly getting up and running with her case. She hoped she wasn't late. The case in her hand swung back and forth as she tried to find the band room. It was an isolated classroom with room to spare. It was a beautiful sight, but it was nothing compared to the program she had at Shiz. An entire castle was dedicated to the band program there, not just a small room.
The other students were assembling their instruments as she did the same with hers. Audrey's was an old Intermediate model that had its share of dents and scratches. The gold plate that gave it its color made it look very old, and she wished very hard that it was a gleaming silver with bright gold valves, but she knew she would never be able to afford such a beauty. Audrey wasn't even quite sure if it existed.
"Audrey!" a cheerful voice called from behind her. Audrey turned around from her name being called and saw Professor Sprout smiling widely.
"My dear," she said, "Would you care to meet your section?"
"Um...well....why sure," she said, standing up with her euphonium closed tightly in her hands. The teacher went and brought out a tall boy from among a crowd of laughing teenagers. He had a look of hardness on his face and he didn't look pleased to see Audrey at all.
"So I have a little girl in my section," he looked annoyed, and turned to Professor Sprout, "Why did you bring me to her?"
"You need to know whom you will be playing with!" she scolded, "and what if she wanted to challenge you?"
"Yeah, right," he said, bored, and glared at the other euphonium player with hatred, "She wouldn't ever challenge me."
"Well, introduce yourselves!" the teacher directed them.
"Mitchell Payne Flint," he said plainly, not pleased.
"I...I'm Audrey Lillian Menzel," she said politely, and they forged a handshake. Mitchell made sure that it hurt with his bone crushing strength. He was a Slytherin with an overwhelming height of six foot two, and a skinny physique with muscles hanging off of him like a tight fitting coat. His teeth shone brilliantly like diamonds, but it wasn't pleasant, for he was baring them at her like he wanted to bite her.
"I'm the best low brass player here, got it? My older brother is the captain of the Quidditch team, Marcus Flint, and I'm used to getting the best, so don't even think of challenging me, unless you want to be desperately embarrassed," his words stung. He went over to a gleaming case and produced from it a shiny professional model without one single dent on it. The gold on it looked as if it was made from brand new galleons, and the valves sparkled like crazy.
Audrey looked to her feet, deeply ashamed of the rusty instrument she kept in her hands. How could she compare to a billowing boy such as him, with an instrument like that? She started to turn around, but he spoke again.
"No, I think I'll just let you embarrass yourself," he laughed and called Professor Sprout over. Audrey was completely silent as Professor Sprout beamed from the challenge. Apparently there hadn't been a challenge in years. Emmylene and Eden Fae didn't have to worry about challenges, since the other players in their section all forfeited, unusual for instruments with usually competitive people.
"Exactly what are the procedures here?" she asked, curious. The challenging process at Shiz was very complex, and she couldn't see herself getting through it there.
"Okay, well, let's see....it's been such a long time! Well, you must complete your scales in under ten minutes, made for the slow players, you know," she smiled, then continued, "and you will play a prepared piece of your choice. If you have accompaniment, we have the PlayBox that will feed it back as you play."
The PlayBox was a big ugly brown box with two slits in it. You put in music for it to play, and the music would craw out of it back to you. While useful, the box was revolting. The older it got, the more ugly but more dependable it became. You would think that for a wizard invention it would be more presentable, but it had yet to be improved upon. Soloists from all over the magic world used it to practice, so as not to be distracted by other players until rehearsals.
"You will also be tested on sight reading. Since you both are advanced from the rest of the band, it will be at a higher level," she smiled.
"Make it the hardest you can find, old lady," Mitchell smirked to her. Professor Sprout looked annoyed, but moved on.
"I'll do what I can," she rolled her eyes, "And to make it most interesting, it will be during dinner."
Audrey's face lost color as Mitch's face gained some.
"Great, I'll be able to embarrass you without having to do much," he said, "and everyone will see you cry. Perfect."
"That will be enough, Mr. Flint!" Professor Sprout said sharply, "You will have five days to prepare. Meanwhile, you will not be permitted to play with the rest of the band. All of your preparation must be done on your own. I might be able to assist you, but it must be urgent. During class, you can practice in those two soundproof practice rooms. It is charmed so that no one can disturb you, see you, or hear you."
She walked away after that statement, and Mitch smiled maliciously at Audrey as he turned back to his friends and made them all laugh at her. She slipped into a practice room and slipped her head into her hands after carefully putting her euphonium onto her equally old euphonium stand.
'What am I going to do?' she thought to herself.
She thought of the method books and sheet music she had in her trunk. She would look there later on that night and try to find a suitable solo. To face her peers would kill her, especially if she had nothing to play. She thought of Jimmy, the principal euphonium (for you non-band geeks, that means first chair, meaning you are the best at your instrument) at Shiz. He was strong and resilient, not mean and cold, like this Mitchell. Jimmy was tough on her, but it was for her own good. He was in the top band, and she in the middle band, so they didn't converse much, but in wizard marching band, he was her section leader, and for every scale you didn't know, you would have to run a mile, do one hundred pushups, and serve a week's worth of detention. Needless to say, all forty-nine scales were memorized quickly.
Along with the thoughts of the challenge that would occur in five days, she had to also overcome the looks of the school as she passed them in the halls and at dinner that night. News had spread like wildfire of her ordeal in Potions, and everyone feasted not only on the food, but also on the rumors.
The same boy in glasses who attempted to defend her at the Gryffindor stared at her once more, and she felt oddly strange. From the same table, the popular girl from Shiz had smiled encouragingly at her, but from the next table, the Slytherin table, were two different looks. Two faces, brothers who looked alike, smirked at her as if knowing her fate, and a blonde who looked angrier, if possible, at Audrey.
Audrey looked pained, and looked down at her food, wondering why Eden Fae hated her so much. She smiled meekly at her friends, who intelligently didn't question her former adventure with Professor Snape, and ate as peacefully as she could.
A/N: Well, I hope you liked it! Sorry if my invention and band information confused you! I'm minimizing the band thing as much as I can, but what can one trombonist do? It'll serve a purpose, I promise! Review please! They keep me going, whilst lack of reviews deflate me like balloon in the winter. Haha, love ya!