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-Chapter Three-
-Ice Can Burn-
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At Professor Alston's words, half of the students were obviously ecstatic, and half were obviously distraught.
Ginny was among the distraught.
They expected her to perform in front of everyone? There was no way she was going to do that! She did not like being the center of attention like that, which was another reason why she did not want to be given a new look.
She should have never chosen Muggle Studies as an elective, Ginny decided right then. It was all Hermione's fault anyway, she was the one who suggested taking it in the first place.
"There will be mandatory auditions tomorrow in the Great Hall, promptly after lunch, at one-thirty," spoke Professor Alston loudly.
"The audition will be broken up into three parts: the singing, the acting, and the dancing, which are all critical to any musical. If you - unwisely - decide not to participate for the entire audition, you will automatically fail the class. Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, this is considered your final. Your overall cooperation, participation, and effort for the duration of this project will earn you a passing grade. If you feel that you should be excused from anything concerning this project, please take it up with me privately. That is all."
Ginny would blow the audition. That was what she would have to do. She would purposefully do a terrible job, and hopefully, in turn, be given a miniscule and unimportant role.
On the students' way back into the Great Hall to finish eating, they had each been handed a script of the musical that they would be performing, along with a detailed list of the characters in it, and a list of auditioning tips.
...
Oh Merlin, the audition.
Did she have to audition in front of everybody, or did they each go in one by one? For some reason Ginny had a feeling that it would be the former, even though she did not want it to be.
Currently, Ginny was lying in her bed in the sixth year girl's dormitory. It was late at night and she hadn't been able to get to sleep, so she had lit a candle and proceeded to read over the list of roles.
Milkman/woman: Two speaking lines, no solo dancing or singing.
Hmm, this could work, thought Ginny dully.
Ginny had thought that - because of the numerous amounts of people in the Muggle Studies classes - most of the people would have to be in the chorus and not do any solo work. Sadly, this was not the case. There were many, many roles, enough for almost everybody to have a solo part, whether it be solo acting, dancing, or singing.
I hope I don't get this role, Ginny thought, reading the description for the role of a beggar. Malfoy would have a field day.
This was not going to be fun.
...
Ginny had finally gotten to sleep about an hour later. Because of this, when she woke up, she felt anything but relaxed. It was eight o'clock in the morning, and she had only slept for two measly hours.
Ginny rubbed her eyes, yawned, and sat up, wishing that she didn't have to go to breakfast. She was hungry, but on the other hand, she was extremely tired.
Ginny sat still on the edge of her bed for a moment, her eyes glazing over as she stared at a spot on the floor. It definitely was not healthy to have two hours of sleep.
Screw it, she thought resolutely, flopping back down in bed. I'll just have a big lunch.
It took her mere seconds for her to fall back asleep.
"Ginny..."
Ginny heard a voice swimming around her, which thoroughly annoyed her, as all she wanted was quiet. Who was talking? Moreover, why where they talking? Couldn't they see that she was trying to sleep?
"Ginny..."
She was just so tired. Ginny lifted her hand up vaguely, as if to swat the voice away. All she wanted was some rest.
Ginny felt someone shaking her lightly by the shoulders. She groaned in frustration, and rolled over on her side.
"Ginny, you have to get up. It's one-thirty, you need to get dressed."
One-thirty? For some reason Ginny felt a sense of dread overcome her at those words, and she didn't know why. What's so important about it being one-thirty? Who cares, it doesn't matter, that's neither here nor there...
Ginny suddenly gasped and shot up in bed. Hermione was bent over her slightly, looking worried, grasping her shoulders in mid-shake.
"The audition!" Ginny cried sharply. Hermione let go of Ginny's shoulders as Ginny hurriedly scrambled out of bed.
"I had been trying to wake you for about five minutes already," said Hermione exasperatedly as Ginny ran into the bathroom and grabbed her toothbrush off of the counter. "If we don't leave for the Great Hall soon, we'll be late."
"Hermione, you could have screamed in my ear to wake me up, it couldn't have been that hard!" Ginny said as best as she could through a mouthful of toothpaste foam.
"Honestly, I tried to, you were sleeping like a log," said Hermione.
Ginny seemed to growl at these words, before proceeding to grab a hairbrush off of the counter as well, and comb out her thick, deep red hair.
When she hurriedly finished, Ginny walked over to her wardrobe to produce another skimpy and rather questionable outfit.
Hermione coughed, smiling when she saw this, and she did not say anything further.
…
Hermione and Ginny made it just on time, slightly out of breath as they scurried into the Great Hall.
All of the other students were already there. There were numerous chairs set out across the hall, taking place of the house tables. There was also a small platform stage set out at the front of the hall, with a grand piano resting atop it.
Professor Alston had just stepped out in front of it, apparently preparing to talk, when Ginny and Hermione had rushed in. They both found vacant chairs, and took a seat next to each other.
All of the other Muggle Studies students had turned to look at them in annoyance, and Professor Alston shot them a stern, rather reprimanding look.
She was holding a rolled up piece of parchment, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable.
I would feel uncomfortable too, if I had to watch people give horrible auditions, Ginny thought, holding back a groan as she felt butterflies starting to gather in her stomach.
"Now, I'm sure that you are all very excited about the auditions!" Professor Alston chirped a little too brightly, flashing everyone a big smile.
Ginny shook her head in disbelief as some of the students cheered. Among these people were Parvati Patil; but then again, that was to be expected; that girl loved all the attention.
"Yes, this whole project should be very fun," the Professor said, surveying all of her students with beady green eyes.
Draco Malfoy was among these students. He was sitting with Blaise, as Blaise was the only other Slytherin in Muggle Studies. Ginny was surprised to see that neither of them looked remotely nervous, or even bored. On the contrary, Blaise was leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, staring up at Professor Alston in rapt concentration. Draco had his arms crossed over his chest, but his mouth was open slightly as he was looking at Professor Alston, seeming to be very interested about the subject at hand.
Ginny couldn't fathom how they - of all people - could possibly enjoy this, when she herself loathed the prospect of performing.
Maybe their eyes are glazed over, and they really are just pretending to be interested, thought Ginny. I can't tell from this distance, anyway.
"You should have looked over the musical's script already. For those of you who did not do this, however - shame on you," Professor Alston said in a berating sort of voice that made a few students giggle.
"Just to summarize the plot, this musical is about the hardships of life, and appreciating what you have. Anthony, the male lead, grew up in a poor family who could barely afford food, let alone anything extra. Despite these setbacks he found himself quite lucky. Rebecca - the female lead - on the other hand, grew up with many material possessions, but had a negative disposition."
Professor Alston paused, and started to pace slowly, rolling the piece of parchment around in her hands anxiously.
"Would anyone like to share his or her views on this? Why did Rebecca and Anthony turn out to be so different from each other?"
Ginny looked at the seat beside her that Hermione occupied, who - for once - seemed to have nothing to say. She was biting her bottom lip, apparently having to think about the question.
Well, it's obvious why they turned out different, thought Ginny, surprised that no one had raised their hand.
No one except Draco Malfoy, that is.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Alston lightly, as all of the students turned to look at him.
Draco looked calm and self-assured, like he did almost all of the time. Ginny found it absolutely infuriating; but then again, she found most everything Malfoy did infuriating.
"Children who are spoiled soon get bored with their toys," said Draco, uncrossing his arms and sitting up straighter in his seat. "After a while, no toy can occupy their attention. They have to find new ways to occupy their attention - including learning about the way the world works, and all the misfortunes that occur in it every day," he said matter-of-factly. Professor Alston raised her eyebrows and stopped pacing.
"I would imagine that Rebecca would have a hard time putting on a happy front when she has known - from a young age - that there are few reasons to be happy," he finished, relaxing into the back of his seat.
What a load of dragon dung, thought Ginny. Only Malfoy could pull that out of nowhere. Negative git.
"So, what you are saying, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Alston slowly, "Is that Rebecca's innocence of reality was taken away at an early age?"
Everyone looked to Malfoy as he gave a deep nod.
"Very well, an interesting theory," said Professor Alston rather loudly. "Does anyone else have something that they would like to add?"
There was a slight pause.
"That's ridiculous," Ginny blurted out, not realizing she had said it out loud until everyone turned to look at her.
Professor Alston raised her eyebrow again, looking at Ginny oddly. "Well, go on then, tell us why you feel that way," she said.
Ginny blushed, but her expression did not falter.
"I don't think that's why Rebecca would be negative," said Ginny, shooting a very peeved glance at Malfoy. "Really. Anthony appreciates what he has, because he has so little. He realizes that his life could be worse. Rebecca, however, does not appreciate what she has, because she has never known anything different," Ginny stated as if it was as plain as day. "It's just the way it works, if you are handed everything you want on a silver platter then you don't appreciate it."
Professor Alston nodded approvingly right before Draco retorted from across the other side of the room.
"And you, Weasley, have had first hand experience of having many material possessions, so you would know what it's like," Draco said, looking over at her, innocently wide-eyed.
Ginny did not expect Draco to make this comment, even though she probably should have expected it. Her face purpled and shot him a lethal look.
"That is enough, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Alston sharply. Malfoy then muttered, "Didn't think so," just loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Professor Alston ignored him.
"I think that's enough discussion, let's get straight onto the auditions, shall we?" she said on a brighter note.
"Each of you will sing a scale of notes on the piano, and, if you wish, a song. After that, you will be given a few lines to read from the script. When all of you have done this, we will take a break and proceed to the dancing portion. I will teach all of you a short routine, and then I will split you into groups of five to perform for me."
Ginny closed her eyes and looked down, trying to count to ten to calm herself. But instead of the numbers ringing through her head, all she could hear was her own mind screaming 'No!' over and over again.
Ginny did not open her eyes for a few seconds, but she could feel Hermione shaking nervously beside her.
Why, oh why, couldn't we have written an essay for our final? Ginny thought miserably.
"I will go through your names alphabetically," said Professor Alston said, raising her voice to quiet the nervous and excited murmur throughout the students. "When I call your name, come up to the stage. When a piano note plays, try your best to sing that note on key. After that, I will hand you a piece of parchment, and I want you to cold-read the lines for me. When you are done, step down from the stage."
Ginny glanced nervously at the enchanted piano sitting menacingly atop the small stage.
"Any questions?" the Professor continued, unrolling her parchment. "None? Alright then, let's get started."
It was a long process, and it seemed even longer to Ginny as she sat there. She wished that she could have done her audition first, that way she wouldn't have to worry about what she was going to do and actually enjoy watching the other people audition. She was going to be one of the very last people auditioning.
Joy.
Well, at least Zabini is going after me, Ginny thought dully, looking over at him.
He had dark brown hair, light skin and sharp blue eyes, an interesting contrast to the person he was sitting next to.
Stupid Malfoy.
When Hermione's name was called, Ginny gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Hermione was visibly nervous as she approached the stage to sing.
As she stepped atop the stage, the enchanted piano ran through a scale of twenty keys. There wasn't anything special about Hermione's voice, but she seemed to be able to carry a tune, at least.
Hermione chose not so sing a song, and instead skipped right to reading the lines.
She didn't read the lines with any real emotion in her voice. Rather, it sounded dull, like she was reading straight from a dictionary. Although this was to be expected, the performing arts weren't exactly a strong point of Hermione's.
Ginny breathed out a sigh of relief as Hermione finished and proceeded to walk back to her seat; the audition could have gone much worse.
Ginny gave Hermione a smile as she sat back down next to her. "Good job," she whispered, leaning over to Hermione.
"Thanks," she whispered back, getting comfortable in her seat and letting out a huge breath. "I couldn't stand being up there on stage, it was nerve-wracking," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I'm so glad that it's over."
"Way to make me feel better," said Ginny with a smile. Hermione grinned as well, and muttered, "Sorry."
"It's okay," Ginny muttered back. "I don't think I can get any more nervous, anyway. Plus, it's not over at all; we still have to do the dance part after this."
Hermione groaned, "Merlin, I forgot all about that." She rubbed her fingers over her temples and sighed.
Ginny wished that she herself had forgotten about it. She was dreading it, and as she looked up at some poor person on the stage who's voice kept cracking as they sang, she realized that that could be her.
It probably would be, soon.
She watched, one by one, as the students went up and auditioned, the quality ranging from literally terrifying, to really good. There weren't any really amazing auditions yet; but a few of them impressed Ginny. Colin Creevey, for example - he was an exceptional actor, he read his lines extremely well.
Ginny was looking forward to seeing Malfoy make a fool of himself so much that when his name was called, Ginny gave a slight squeak. Hermione looked over at Ginny with a raised eyebrow, and was obviously chewing on her tongue to prevent from laughing.
Malfoy looked rather bored as he got up and approached the stage, walking past her. He was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and pants. Ginny gaped at him; she could not believe that Malfoy wasn't scorching, as she was in a teeny little skirt, and she was feeling overheated.
Malfoy sang the piano scale very well, which made Ginny glare. This isn't how it's supposed to work, she thought, frustrated, he's supposed to go up there and do an awful job!
Well, Ginny thought, he gets to make a fool out of himself either way when he recites his lines. The lines that the men got to read were always lines that expressed love and affection, something that she knew Draco Malfoy did not have. No one is that good of an actor.
Draco studied his lines for a few seconds, then looked up to say them to everyone. He spoke softly. "We are like night and day, you and I. I know that and I except that. But does that make it wrong for me to feel the way I feel about you? It doesn't change anything. I know that times are rough, and I wish that I could say that it will get better, but it won't."
Draco was looking around the Great Hall, surveying everyone. He looked down at the piece of parchment every other line, but his movements were slow and discreet, and did not draw away from his audition.
"All I can say is that I love you, and hopefully that is enough for you," he continued.
He caught Ginny's eyes, but Ginny did not look away. Instead, she sat up straight in her seat, crossed her arms, and kept the eye contact, daring him on.
"I love you."
When Draco spoke these words, she became uncomfortable and fidgety. She broke eye contact, tucked a piece of hair behind ear, and looked down abruptly.
Hermione noticed Ginny's restlessness and whispered, "You okay?"
Ginny looked back at Hermione, whispering, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a bit unnerving to hear Malfoy say the word 'love.'"
Hermione nodded and turned back to look at the stage, where Professor Alston was whispering something in Draco's ear. Draco smirked at whatever she was saying, and then they broke away. Malfoy started to walk back to his seat as Professor Alston called the next name on her list.
As Draco walked closer to where she was seated, Ginny grew more and more restless. Don't let him talk to me, please just let him go back to his seat.
But Draco did not walk past her and into his own seat, as he should have done. On the contrary, he knelt down so that his lips where right against her ear.
Ginny froze, wanting badly to shove him off of her and onto the floor, but he had already whispered into her ear.
"Break a leg, Weaselette."
She glared, her face reddening, but did not reply as he turned away from her and walked back towards his seat, smirking.
Nearly an hour later, her name was called.
She could still feel his hot breath against her ear.
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Next Chapter: The rest of the auditions, the cast list, and Ginny is given instructions by Professor Alston that she not only loathes with a passion, but will help move the D/G plot along. .
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A/N: My new beta reader isn't easy to get ahold of. I finally gave up, so just to let you know these chapters are not beta read, and that's why it took me a while to post this. Thankie!
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