Chapter Four

In Which Ginny's Face Goes Red Fifty Times

Ginny approached the stage tentatively, looking down at her feet, not looking up to face everyone until she was on the stage. As she stood and faced the crowd of students who were gazing up at her, she felt her stomach give an unpleasant lurch.

She noticed that Hermione was giving her an over-enthusiastic and rather awkward thumbs-up, and Ginny gave a small smile in return, trying to come off as confident, but she knew that she was failing miserably.

Then the piano pressed a key.

Ginny gulped. She opened her mouth and sang the note, her voice quavered slightly due to nerves. The piano proceeded to press about twenty keys in turn, all of which Ginny sang in tune, and increasingly clearer voice as she grew more confident. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, although it felt like thousands of butterflies were swirling in her stomach as if their lives depended on it.

Relief flooded over her when she realized that she was done; it had come and gone surprisingly fast (not that she minded one bit).

It's over, she thought, on the verge of giddiness. I don't have to sing any more!

Ginny crossed over to Professor Alston rather happily, expecting to pick up the lines that she was supposed to read.

But the professor didn't give them to her. Ginny delicately raised an eyebrow, and was about to ask for her lines when she was cut off.

"Miss Weasley," she muttered lowly, leaning in to her, "Can you do me a favor?"

Oh God, Ginny thought. This can't be good.

"Alright..." She replied warily.

"Great!" said Professor Alston louder, clapping her hands together suddenly. Ginny jumped slightly in surprise, but if Professor Alston noticed, she didn't seem to care. "I was just wondering if you could sing a bit of a song as well?"

Ginny's eyes went wide. Not in a million years.

"Sure," she said, her voice cracking, looking down. "But...why?"

Professor Alston grinned. "Well, you can carry a tune. I just wanted to see if you are able to do more than that. You don't have to sing a lot more, just sing a few lines of a song," she said reassuringly.

"Professor, trust me, I don't sing," Ginny said hastily, "Please, just take my word for it."

Professor Alston shook her head slightly. "I'll keep that in mind, but I daresay I can spot a good singer when I hear one, and I think that you have a decent voice. Just go back up and do the best you can. No pressure, really, no one will think any the less of you for trying."

Ginny nodded rather jerkily in reply, walking back to the center of the stage, her face already beginning to redden deeply.

What was she supposed to sing? There were so, so many songs to choose from. But would it even matter? It wasn't like it would make a difference in the casting choices. So what, she had a half-decent singing voice? Her acting wasn't up to scratch and her dancing was just plain laughable.

For a few moments Ginny just stared. She stared back at everyone who was looking up at her - some students with curiosity on their faces, some with boredom.

She caught Malfoy's gaze, but then instantly regretted it. He was openly smirking at her, and gave a mocking little salute. Ginny flushed deeper and broke eye contact with him.

She knew she had to start singing sometime. Ginny opened her mouth and sang the first song that popped into her head.

In mid-sentence Ginny realized that she had chosen 'It's Magic!' by Celestina Warbeck, and she had to hold back a grimace. There would be time for pity parties later, at any rate.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. She had sung part of the song. Ginny realized that she had closed her eyes so as to not meet the stares of her fellow classmates. As she peeled her eyelids open with hesitation, she saw everyone looking right at her.

She noticed Draco had stopped smirking. His smirk was replaced with an expression that reminded Ginny ever-so-slightly of a deer caught in the headlights, which was a very unusual expression to see on him.

Oh no, did she really do that badly? What could she possibly have done to make everyone look at her like that? Ginny straightened her robes self-consciously before looking over to her teacher.

Professor Alston gave her a nod, and scribbled something down on the piece of parchment she was holding.

The rest of it was a blur - she read a few surprisingly dull lines from the script, and was done. When Professor Alston said that she could sit back down, Ginny let out a huge breath and she nodded.

Ginny's heart still felt like a hammer beating against the underside of her ribs, and she felt slightly ill as she made her way back to her seat.

She was shaking all over. Stares followed her as she walked, making her extremely aware of the excessive skin that she was showing. 'Stupid Ron' flittered through her mind out of nowhere, and a small scowl took place on her face.

As Ginny sat back down in her seat, she braced for the look of pity that Hermione was going to shoot her way. But it never came.

Hermione's face was flush, and her eyes wide, and she was looking like she had just found a Galleon on the ground.

"That was amazing, Ginny," said Hermione, beaming up at her. "I didn't know that you sang!"

Ginny brushed this comment off as she got comfortable in her seat.

"That's because I don't sing, Herm," Ginny said, sounding annoyed. "I sing in the shower. I sing along with The Weird Sisters when they come on the W.W.N. Beyond that, however, I rarely utter a note," she said, dismissively. "Trust me, it is no loss to the world."

Hermione's eyes were practically popping out of her head at Ginny's words. "But Gin -"

"No, I don't want you to try and make me feel better," snapped Ginny.

Hermione just shook her head in disbelief, turning back to watch the auditions. She knew it was hopeless to try and convince Ginny that she was a marvelous singer.

At least this part is nearly over, Ginny thought. Then we all get to dance, and that will be that.

There were only a few audition's after Ginny's - including Blaise Zabini's - but that was to be expected, not many students had last names that began with X, Y, or Z.

When it came to an end, Professor Alston announced that everyone may mingle and relax for a half hour before they would start the dance portion.

She clapped her hands, and instantly a long table with snacks and refreshments appeared toward the back of the Great Hall with a 'pop'.

There was a mad dash of students getting out of their seats and sprinting towards the food.

Ginny's stomach was on the verge of growling, and she scrambled out of her seat along with everyone else, grabbed Hermione's arm, and tugged her along as well.

Hermione gave a small noise of defiance, but Ginny ignored her.

"Ginny, how will we be able to dance if our stomachs are sagging to the ground with food?" Hermione groaned, stumbling behind Ginny as her arm continued to be yanked along.

"That's no concern of mine," replied Ginny simply. "I have the dancing skills of a decomposing grapefruit."

Hermione sighed as they approached the table. Ginny was practically elbowing her way through everyone, trying to grab food. It was a few seconds before Ginny realized Hermione had broken free of her grasp.

Is it too much to ask if I could get a bloody chicken leg? Ginny fumed, shoving a person nearby away.

Ginny looked up at the person (it wasn't that she had any intention of apologizing, she just was curious to see who it was) and pursed her lips.

Maybe those elves should whip us up some snake, she thought sardonically as her eyes met Draco Malfoy's cool gray ones.

"Well, are you going to apologize for letting your germ-ridden Weasley flesh touch mine?" he asked, ignoring the mess of hungry and rather violent students that flocked around him, trying to reach food.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "First off, you are too bloody old to care about cooties, be mature for once. Secondly, you know very well that there is no way that I will ever apologize to you; I don't know why you even bother."

Draco's expression did not change. "You don't even know how old I am," he said smugly, promptly backhanding a third year in order to grab a biscuit. "You can't say that I'm too old to care, when you don't even know my age. Besides, it is your obligation to apologize to me, especially since you are a Weasley." He gave her a smug sneer.

"Malfoy, you turned seventeen on June fifth," said Ginny impatiently. "Now move your ferret-y arse so I can grab a damn apricot."

For a split second Draco just blinked at her, which left her just enough time to shove past him and grab the opposing fruit.

"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?" Draco snapped, grabbing the wrist that was holding the apricot.

People were starting to ignore the food table and look at the chaos forming around Ginny and Draco. 2

"Get your hands off me," said Ginny calmly, staring him straight into his eyes threateningly, "Or I will remove them for you."

Draco smirked, looking down for a second before meeting her gaze again. "Apologize, and I'll let you go," he said, a little bit too innocently to be taken seriously.

"Let me go, and I'll apologize," snapped Ginny, tossing her deep red hair over her shoulder and glaring at him.

Draco pretended to think about this for a moment, before saying, "No, I think that I liked my way better. Let's try that, shall we?" His eyes were wide as he looked at her, amused to see how pissed off she was.

Ginny stared at him for a second, her teeth gritted in anger, and she swiftly kneed him in the groin.

Malfoy instantly let her go, doubling over and kneeling against the tile of the Great Hall, gasping in pain. There were choruses of snickers at this, and everyone was now shoving each other to see what was going on, not to get food.

"A deal is a deal, Malfoy," Ginny said, no trace of amusement on her face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you have such a pathetic, empty and meaningless life that you are forced to mock and harass other people to occupy your time. I'm sorry for the people who have to deal with you day after day, when I'm sure that they could be doing something more productive, like watching the grass grow," she spat, her face the color of a rutabaga.

Professor Alston was walking over to the crowd now, noticing chaos, but Ginny didn't care.

Ginny's face softened slightly, although her hand was so tightly wrapped around the apricot that now it was a mere glob of inedible fruit.

"But most of all, I feel sorry for you," she said quietly, not caring that he was on all fours and looking humiliated. "Because I think that you know what I'm saying is true."

There was a pause when everyone was completely silent, and Hermione's head bobbed through the crowd, trying to make eye contact with her, but Ginny did not look up. She continued staring at Malfoy, who hadn't moved or said anything.

Professor Alston pushed her way through the crowd (which was a huge feat for such a tiny woman) and glanced at Draco, before turning towards Ginny.

"Ms. Weasley, would you care to explain this?" she said briskly, not seeming to care at all that Draco was in pain.

"Not really, Professor," Ginny muttered in reply, "He assaulted me, and refused to let go of my arm. Thus, Malfoy is now on the floor in pain. I did it in self-defense, so I do not expect to be punished for my actions. You can do the math, I'm sure?"

With that, Ginny shoved her way back to her seat, not caring that she was being stared at even more than when she was on stage, not caring that she had significantly ruined her apricot, and not caring that Malfoy would indeed be out for revenge later on.

Maybe I should make up with Ron, thought Ginny. That way, he can beat the crap out of Malfoy for me.

When Hermione sat down next to Ginny, their break was drawing to a close. The students were all walking considerably slower due to the enormous amounts of food in their stomachs, and they continued to shoot sideways glances at Malfoy and Ginny.

Thankfully Hermione didn't comment about the fiasco, but Ginny knew that she was probably going to tell Harry and Ron about it later.

Professor Alston had been standing on the front of the stage for a few minutes now, telling them to wrap it up, and finally she continued on.

"All of you are nice and full, I'd assume," spoke Professor Alston, her blond ringlets bouncing back and forth as she paced around the stage.

"It is now time to move on to the dancing portion of the audition. Now, as I have told you before, the routine I will be teaching you is short, and simple. Once all of you have learned this routine, I will have you split up into groups, and you will perform on the stage for me. Any questions?" She asked, her eyes scanning the students for raised hands, but there were none. "Alright then, stand up everyone," she said briskly.

Everyone grumpily complied, especially Malfoy, although his walking abilities were improving steadily.

With a flick of her wand, Professor Alston had removed all of the chairs from the Great Hall. There was room to dance now.

Professor Alston led them through the warm up.

I am dying, thought Ginny as beads of sweat ran down her face, neck, and onto her chest, where they pooled underneath her camisole. This is insane, how can anyone do this?

Professor Alston then ran through the routine step-by-step, which Ginny thought was harder than it should have been. When Professor Alston put it to music and sped up the tempo, however, it became ten times as hard for Ginny.

Once Professor Alston was sure that everyone knew the routine, she spoke again.

"Now, I want everyone to split up into groups of five. If there are people left, it doesn't matter, it doesn't have to be exact."

They all split up into groups of five. Hermione and Ginny joined a group of three young Hufflepuff girls, looking around. Ginny spotted Draco, who was paired up with Blaise. Anger boiled inside her at the sight. Do they think that they are above being in the same group as other houses? Have they no shameBut Ginny knew the answer to that, so she forced herself not to think more about it.

When everyone had gotten into groups, Professor Alston continued. "Now, one member from each group, come up to the stage. I will hand you a number, and this will determine which order you will go in to perform."

Hermione left to collect the number and came back a minute later, with a piece of parchment in her hand that bore the number 'eight' across it in bright blue ink.

Well, that's not too bad, Ginny reasoned. There are about twenty groups, we'll be in the middle of the fray.

Much too soon for Ginny's liking, Professor Alston started to call groups up to perform. "Group One, please come up to the stage."

And so it began. It was a bit tedious to Ginny, even though the routines were relatively short. She snapped out of her stupor when Group Seven was called up.

It's not like I'll be alone, dancing by myself, Ginny thought, trying to see the positive in what she was about to do. She wasn't going to have to do anything solo like she had done previously.

When Group Eight was called, they climbed up to the stage, Ginny with a look of detached hopelessness crossing her face.

The piano began to play the fast beat. For the whole duration of the song, Ginny never once had her timing right. She was either too fast or too slow - and, try as she might, every movement came off as sloppy and rough.

The piano's music came to a close as Ginny stumbled. She felt her face heating up, but she didn't care. At least the dancing was over.

Ginny felt like she was going to fall over with dizziness. Dancers must have a real screwed-up vertigo, she thought bitterly as she descended from the stage.

She promptly sat down on the floor along with everyone else; Professor Alston hadn't put the chairs back in their place yet. Ginny must have fallen into a light sleep, because the next thing she knew, Hermione was nudging her hard in the ribs.

"Gin, Malfoy and Zabini are up, they're about to perform," she said in a rather loud whisper, nodding towards the stage.

Ginny's eyes darted to the stage as she felt an excited spark in her stomach. They will be terrible, they will be terrible, Ginny's mind chanted in a singsong voice. There's no way that Malfoy can dance half-way decent even if he tried, he's just been kneed in the nuts!

Blaise and Draco had climbed onto the stage and took their places on it accordingly. Draco and Blaise both looked very, very bored. Ginny already had a sudden urge to scream. They need to be nervous! Ginny's mind screamed. It's not fair! They should be shaking and sweating and begging Professor Alston to let them take a rain check!

The music started playing.

Almost instantly, Ginny's mouth fell open, and she forgot all about her previous thoughts. There was only one thought in her mind.

They are brilliant.

Draco and Blaise moved gracefully across the stage floor, turning and moving at the right times effortlessly, like they had been dancing all of their lives. Ginny knew that this was preposterous, however. A Malfoy taking dancing lessons? That would be a cold day in hell.

Suddenly, Ginny mentally started chanting. 'Trip, trip, trip, trip….'

Ginny noticed vaguely that Draco's face was contorted in (very mild) concentration. She gulped suddenly, feeling her face redden out of nowhere, but was unable to draw her eyes away from him. Back and forth, spinning and jumping, striding around -

And it was over.

Ginny blinked a few times before she realized that they were done dancing. Her breathing was a bit shallow, and Hermione looked over at her with a curious expression on her face.

"I wonder how they know how to dance like that," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I doubt that it's natural, they must have had some amount of practice."

Ginny gaped at her. "Really? I don't think that a Slytherin would take dancing lessons, 'Mione. I just can't imagine Malfoy in tights, taking instruction from another person. It's just not how he operates."

The image of a tight-clad Draco popped into her mind briefly, and she shook her head.

Hermione said, "Dunno. We may never know, for that matter. The fact that he dances well doesn't really surprise me, to be honest. Malfoy isn't like a normal wizard. He has to be good at everything, he's nothing short of obsessive. Att least he's not good at Quidditch," she chuckled.

Ginny snorted. "Yeah, especially placed up against Harry," she said offhandedly.

The rest of the auditions were a blur to Ginny. When they ended, Professor Alston took her place at the head of the stage.

"Good job, everyone," she spoke, sounding a bit out of breath, "The casting list will be posted tomorrow, after dinner - in the mean time, everyone continue looking over your scripts and start to familiarize yourselves with the characters. Unfortunately, dinner is approaching fast, so I cannot divulge much more information right now. Good luck to you all, and I will see you next class."

Ginny collapsed on her bed a half hour later. She hadn't stayed to eat dinner, she just asked Hermione to bring something up for her to eat later. Right now she wanted to rest, and put the auditions in the back of her mind, along with her anger.

The thoughts of Draco moving across the stage were the last thoughts she had before she fell into a light sleep.

Next Chapter: Malfoy. Ginny. Prefect's Bathroom. Need I say more? Oh, fine. The casting list, and Ginny talks to Prof. Alston.

A/N: You know how I said that I would write something that would move the plot along? Well, sorry, that's next chapter, I didn't realise this would get so long. I am SO SORRY this took so long, I just completely forgot about it and I didn't think much time had gone by at all! I can't believe it! THIS IS ROUGHLY WRITTEN AND I HATE IT.

I'd like to thank all reviewers. Reviewers will have good lives forever.