"And here they are, Ladies and Gentlemen..." Lee Jordan's voice echoed through the Great Hall, as behind the large draperies on the stage, Minerva McGonagall found herself on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Lee's reaction- he had been told the "secret" mere seconds earlier, because he, now a professional Quidditch commentator, had seemed to be the ideal presenter for the little show- had been strangely positive, though- but Minerva suspected, that had more been because of the -actually way too short!-skirts than because of anything else. But still.
"... Minnie and the Tabbycats!"
Minerva thought she'd die of an instant heart attack as the curtains were opened- as she stood there, in the goddamn middle of that stage, right between Sera and Ro. Her students, in a large crowd, dressed in their best ball robes, were standing before her.
She felt their curious looks on her and, nervous in a very uncharacteristic manner, shook her long, wavy, still very black mass of hair. Only after a few seconds did Minerva realize that they did not recognize her- nor Sera or Ro. They had all been taught by the three of them for one or more years, and still they were unable to recognize their own teachers in this- yes, perhaps somewhat "unusual attire". And one person, seated in the front row, thought this, apparently, highly amusing.
Oh yes, the Headmaster's beautiful, blue eyes twinkled like they had never twinkled before.
Yet it was only when, all of a sudden, a surprised and almost not believing what it was saying voice- Ronald Weasley's, Minerva suspected!- exclaimed
"Oh bloody hell, it are Hooch, Sinistra and... bloody hell... McGonagall!"
that a strange silence fell over the crowded Great Hall.
It was the last name- her name!- which obviously shocked both the student and teacher body the most. She could have sworn she heard a disgusted snort escape Severus's throat- but all Snapes in the world could not overshadow the enormous applause which broke loose among the crowd after all had somewhat overcome their surprise. It was breathtaking, literally breathtaking as Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and- yes, even Slytherins!- cheered and cheered for their three, shaking teachers, standing nervously yet proudly on that stage. As some daring 7th years started to whistle, Minerva felt a dark red blush creep over her usually so pale cheeks- but when Rolanda murmured "Albus'll get jea-lous, she sent Lee Jordan one of her famous stern gazes, and the boy grinned.
"Yes, I know they're pretty, girls and- especially- guys, but spare your applause for later, cause these three beauties..."
Minerva closed her eyes for a moment and could hardly suppress a nice, good old Quidditch-style "Jordan!"... yet the enormous self-control decades of teaching had earned her did not fail.
"... can sing and dance as well! Here we go, lovely ladies and gorgeous gentlemen, with... "Staying Alive!"
Minerva inhaled deeply as the music started. Until her body, almost automatically, adapted the rhythm of the music and she felt herself move and all of a sudden, sing as well.
"Well you can tell by the way I use my walk,
I'm a wizard's witch, no time to talk!"
The Voice was there, right, nice, and she wasn't even drunk.
"Music loud, and wizards warm,
I've been kicked around, since I was born.
But now it's alright, it's okay, and you can look the other way.
We can try to understand,
the Witch Weekly effect on men!"
It was weird- the strange, almost hypnotic attention of the audience. It was weird, the way Albus- the only one who mattered!- looked at Minerva like he'd never looked at her before. But even that, even that wasn't the weirdest thing of it all.
The weirdest thing was, that Minerva enjoyed it. Minerva enjoyed every single goddamn bloody minute of it, and she didn't even have to look at Ro and Sera to realize that they felt the same.
"Whether you're a wizard or whether you're a muggle, you're staying alive, staying alive!Feel all Hogwarts breaking and everybody's shaking, you're staying alive, staying alive!"
Only as Minerva spoke those two, magical words, "Staying Alive"... only then did she realize that they were more, more than just the absolutely idiotic lyrics of a weird 70's song. They held something, a message, a message for all students, all teachers and perhaps for the whole wizarding world too.
Their world was shaking- everybody was breaking, but they had to stay alive. Voldemort could do as he pleased, but as long as the life force was there, as long as there was still longing to stay alive, evil would not triumph over good.
Never.
"Ah- ah- ah- ah- staying alive! Staying alive! Ah- ah- ah- ah, staying aliiiii-iiiii-iiiiii-iiive!"
The song was over before Minerva realized it- and she felt her cheeks flush even more at the enthusiastic applause of the audience- and the whistling.
One particular whistle did more than all others together, though.
If she had been sitting beside the Headmaster- on her usual place- she would have scolded him- or at least, cleared her throat. Now she was utterly helpless, she could not prevent nor stop his whistling now, and he enjoyed every single bit of her powerlessness. She could read it in his smile.
It was only when the applause had subsided that Lee Jordan, with a broad grin, announced the next song.
"Look at those three cuties- bet you never saw them like this during detention!"
Well, Minerva thought sarcastically, at least thank God for Jordan that he isn't my student anymore!
"But now let's shut up about the business and go on with the pleasure, because here comes our very own Serena Sinistra with "You Can't Hurry Love"!"
As the music started and Minerva quickly switched places with Sera, who now stood in the middle, she couldn't but cast a quick, hidden look at Albus. You can't hurry love.
True, but she'd waited for so long.
"I need love, love, to ease my mind.
I need to find, find someone to call mine, but mama said:
You can't hurry love, no you'll just have to wait,
she said love don't come easy, it's a game of give and take.
You can't hurry love, no you'll just have to wait,
just trust on my good times, no matter how long it takes."
Minerva closed her eyes for a moment as her right hand almost automatically hit the little tambourine she was supposed to shake. No matter how long it takes.
Fifty years. Fifty goddamn years of sheer torture.
You'll just have to wait.
She sighed, and though she knew the next lines by heart, she still marvelled at how wonderfully they described her situation.
"But how many heartaches must I stand,
before I find a love to let me live again?
Right now the only thing that keeps me hangin' on,
is when I feel my strength, yeah, it's almost gone,
I remember mama said..."
It was true. How many years of sheer heartache were there to come for her, before she would forget about Albus and move on with whatever life she had left? Because, even though those blue, bright eyes of him were probably twinkling like never before, she knew that they weren't twinkling out of love. They were twinkling- she was sure of that!- out of good old platonic amusement...