Ok, wow. That was some hiatus, eh? It had started out as a small case of writer's block, and then I found out I was pregnant a couple of months ago, and the rest is history. I had this chapter mostly written out months ago, but just finally found the drive and desire to polish it up and post it. Sorry for the wait!
October, part 1
Hermione slowly walked the corridor toward the Head Dorms after breakfast on October 1st, feeling rather nervous. She had signed up the evening before for the competition, and she had had ample time to regret her decision. 'Oh, knock it off, Hermione,' she thought to herself. 'Honestly, what's the worst that could happen?' She knew she wasn't that bad of a singer, she just wasn't sure if she was good enough to win, and that bothered her. She hated when she wasn't really good at something, and she didn't feel she had adequate skill for this.
Her thoughts drifted to her Head partner. Malfoy had been rather scarce over the past month, and when they did meet for Head duties or in class, he had been rather subdued. He also wasn't hanging around his Slytherin friends much – preferring to hang out in the Head common room or his bedroom. That was disturbing, thought Hermione. Having Malfoy act out of character like that was like hell freezing over or pigs flying – it just didn't happen (even in the wizarding world). On the other hand, she thought, not having to keep your guard up whenever he was around was kind of nice.
As Hermione entered the Head Dorms, she was pulled up short by an interesting sight. Malfoy was sitting on the sofa, with a guitar on his lap, strumming a tune and singing quietly. She closed the door and leaned back against it, listening, not wanting to disturb him.
He had a great voice, she conceded to herself. Good range, with a slight growl that most women would just love. She shifted against the door, and at the slight movement, Malfoy looked up and noticed her standing there. Hermione was surprised at the look on his face – with no smirk on his face or coldness in his eyes, he was actually not bad to look at. Quite passable, really. The unguarded look was gone in an instant, however, and the coldness returned to his eyes as he returned her gaze. "Problem, Granger?"
"Not at all," she replied as she placed her book bag on a chair. She began to climb the stairs to her room, but turned halfway up. "You…you're pretty good," she said hesitantly. "Are you auditioning?"
"That must have been hard for you to do. Complimenting me, I mean." He didn't take his eyes off the guitar as he spoke.
"You have no idea, Malfoy," she said dryly.
A soft snort was his reply. As she continued up the stairs, he said "Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I am auditioning," he stated.
Hermione rolled her eyes and went up to her room without further comment.
As he continued strumming his guitar, Draco stared at the fire, his gaze unfocused. He really was shocked that Granger had offered him a compliment. Of course, he knew he was good – how could he be otherwise? – but to have one of the Golden Trio admit it was surprising.
How long had she been standing there? He rarely allowed others to hear him sing. It was an escape for him, something personal, somewhere to go when he needed to placate the various needs within him 'How people would laugh if they knew I needed something to escape to,' he thought grimly. He worked hard to maintain the façade that his life was perfect. It wasn't hard in earlier years, but now…
Draco supposed that he shouldn't have been playing in their common room if he didn't want Granger hearing him, but oddly, he found that he hadn't minded playing in front of her. 'Now where did THAT come from?' he asked himself. His mind shied away from answering that question – it would have involved exploring certain avenues of thought that he just wasn't up for at the moment. Sighing, he turned his attention back to the guitar and began singing softly again.
"Does anyone know where Professor Snape is?" asked Professor McGonagall. She pursed her lips and frowned. She was in the antechamber next to the Great Hall with her fellow judge, Professor Flitwick, and was waiting for the last member of the judging trio to arrive. Nearly Headless Nick was also there, as he would be organizing the flow of the auditions.
At their negative replies, McGonagall sighed in exasperation. Flitwick grinned and said "I'd be surprised if he did show up. He was really not happy when the Headmaster chose him to be a judge."
McGonagall smiled back. "Do you know, I thought he was going to hex Albus for a moment? I've never seen him go so pale, and for Severus, that's saying something!"
"Why on earth did he choose Severus to judge, anyway? It's not like he has any interest in the competition. Why, Madame Pomfrey was all too happy to step in and…" Professor Flitwick trailed off as the door to the chamber opened and revealed a severely unhappy Snape.
"Ah, Severus. Do come in and have a seat. The judging will commence shortly," Minerva said briskly, striding over to the judges table. It was a large wooden one, sitting on a dais, with three comfortable padded chairs behind it. Mentally steeling himself for the trials ahead, Snape squared his shoulders and walked over the table. Seating himself, he shot a glare at Dumbledore, who had just walked in.
Dumbledore, however, was unfazed by his Potions teacher's ire. "Excellent. You're all here. Sir Nicholas, send the students in, groups of 5 at a time. Now," he continued, looking at the teachers sitting on the dais, "we need 8 finalists. I'm sure you'll have no problems picking out some fine young talents over the next few days! Enjoy yourselves!" He waved his hand as he walked out of the room.
Snape sighed. It was going to be a long couple of days.
The first 5 students filed in slowly, herded by a beaming Nick. They lined up in front of the table, looking like they were facing their executions. Professor Flitwick smiled encouragingly at them, but one look at Snape's face was enough to make most of the student's take a step back.
"When we call your name, please step forward and begin singing your chosen piece," stated Professor McGonagall. She gestured to the girl on the left. "You may begin."
On the evening of the third day of auditions, their enthusiasm for judging (well, Flitwick's and McGonagall's enthusiasm, anyway) was waning. They had experienced the entire spectrum of talent, including:
- Luna Lovegood's spacey version of "The Unicorn Song". As she mumbled the lyrics with an absentminded air and a soft, breathy voice, Flitwick had put his head down on the desk and left it there for the duration of the audition. Minerva had surreptitiously patted him on the back in sympathy. Snape had contented himself with just rolling his eyes.
- Pansy Parkinson's rather…dramatic operatic performance. Snape grimaced as she butchered her way through a piece none of them could identify. Flitwick winced noticeably as she attempted the higher notes, and even McGonagall couldn't keep a blank face – the corner of her left eye began twitching when Pansy tried (and failed) to hold a high "C" note for about 20 seconds. They were left speechless at the end of the performance – a response that Pansy took to be, as she put it, "overwhelmed with awe". "Couldn't have put it better myself," snapped McGonagall. Flitwick had actually guffawed at that point, leaving Pansy to glare at the judges and then leave in tears.
- Colin Creevey's rousing rendition of "I'm Too Sexy". Snape had actually stood up at this point and started to leave. He would have succeeded if Minerva hadn't grabbed the back of his robes. The sight of tiny Colin trying to be "sexy" had overloaded his brain, and he felt a desire, nay a desperate need to open a bottle of fire whiskey and try to drink the sight of Colin's bumping and grinding (and stripping...oh Merlin, the stripping!) out of his mind. Surprisingly, Professor Flitwick had seemed to actually enjoy the performance.
There were good auditions as well. Vincent Crabbe's crooning of "Moon River" had made all three judges gape with astonishment – who knew the Slytherin could sing so well? He could barely talk with any coherency. Ginny Weasley had shown a powerhouse voice with her audition – she sang "I Will Always Love You". Sweet Hannah Abbott showed a groovy, jazzy side to her when she performed her version of "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart".
Still, the bad auditions outnumbered the good – by a huge margin. Professor Flitwick was finding it harder and harder to find encouraging and supportive words. Snape had become more and more reticent as the night wore on, finally resorting to arched eyebrows and quiet snorts to show his disdain for the participants. At last, Professor McGonagall called for a break.
"Since when did tone-deafness become epidemic?" she demanded, throwing her hands up in the air.
They were beginning to despair of ever finding eight good talents to participate in the competition, until the final group was marched in. In this final group were Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger.
Two of the other three students offered mediocre performances; the third merely burst into tears at the sight of Snape's scowl, and fled the audition room before she could perform her piece.
When it was Malfoy's turn, he stepped forward and began to sing in a low voice:
No one knows what it's likeTo be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
No one knows what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies
But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never freeAt this point, Professor Snape held up a hand and said, "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy." Without further comment, Malfoy stepped back into line. The three judges exchanged glances, very impressed with Malfoy's voice.
"Miss Granger, please step forward," Professor McGonagall gestured to Hermione. For a moment, Hermione just looked at the judges while she fought the butterflies that seemed to take up residence in her stomach. It was only when Professor Snape let loose an exasperated sigh that she collected herself and began to sing.
For you
There'll be no crying
For you
The sun will be shining
Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
And the songbirds keeps singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
Here she paused, uncertain whether to continue or not. The judges were reacting differently: Professor Flitwick had tears in his eyes and his hands clasped to his chest, Professor McGonagall had closed her eyes and was smiling beatifically, and even Professor Snape had leaned forward in his seat and was watching Hermione intently. Draco was gazing at her, his face inscrutable. At Sir Nicholas' hurried gesture, she continued.
To you
I would give the world
To you
I'd never be cold
Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
And the songbirds keep singing
That they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
Like never before
Like never before
Here Hermione trailed off, having reached the end of the song. She took a deep breath and stepped back.
Professor McGonagall recovered first. Clearing her throat, she smiled at Hermione. "Well done, Miss Granger. I believe that we're unanimous – Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy will be the last 2of our final 8 performers. Thank you for auditioning." At her dismissal, the students turned and left the antechamber.
Once Hermione was back in the Great Hall, she looked for her friends, who were waiting anxiously for her to come out. At her delighted grin, she was swarmed by everyone trying to congratulate her at once. Ginny hugged her friend, saying, "I'm so happy you made it through! Merlin, Hermione, wasn't that the most excruciating thing? I was soooo nervous!" She laughed and tossed her hair over one shoulder as Harry and Ron walked over. "I heard Pansy's performance left a great deal to be desired. Word has it that she almost blew out the judges eardrums!"
Hermione chuckled. "I can imagine. Yes, I was nervous too, but it all seemed to melt away once I started singing. I think I did OK though."
Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Obviously! Good work," he said smiling at her. "I knew you would blow them away," Ron added.
"Thanks guys. Now I just want to sit for a moment and get control of my legs again – they're still a bit shaky!" As she moved towards the Gryffindor table, she glanced to her right – and her eyes collided with Malfoy's, who was still staring at her with that unreadable expression. As she let her gaze linger a moment longer, a faint smile appeared on his lips, and he inclined his head to her – just a fraction of an inch – in salute. Hermione looked away, unsure as to what just happened. Had Malfoy actually complimented her?
Sitting down, she let the chatter of her classmates flow over her. She was so glad that was over with. When she had first signed up for the audition, she told herself it didn't matter if she made the final 8. Now she realized that she did mind – she had really wanted to be in the finals.
Draco kept an eye on Hermione as the judges came out of the antechamber and made the official announcement of who the 8 finalists would be. Along with himself and Granger,the Weasel'ssister, Crabbe(Crabbe?That was a shocker), Hannah Abbott, a fourth year he didn't know, Megan something-or-other, Blaise Zabini, and fifth year MarcusClarkewere also part of the final 8.He watched as Granger's eyes sparkled as she laughed at something the Weasley girl had said, and her cheeks were tinged with pink. She really was not a bad looking girl, he thought. He'd never admit it out loud, but her performance had astonished him. He would never have thought that a voice so rich and warm would have come from her prim and proper form. 'She belongs in the final 8, no mistake there,' he thought. 'It'll be interesting to compete against her.'
God, I'm sure that this chapter sucks, so don't be afraid to let me know! Hermione is singing "Songbird" by Eva Cassidy - I strongly recommend you download this song - she has an amazing voice, and it's a wonderful, romantic song to listen to. That was the tone I was trying to go for with Hermione - something wistful and romantic, something people wouldn't expect from her. Draco's song, was of course, "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Bizkit - a fitting, if somewhat cliche song choice for him.