Playing the Part
By: Shrk-bait
Chapter 5: Juliet, Anyone?
Stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. -- Martin Luther King Jr.
"Settle, people, settle." Professor Harris screeched, though her high-pitched pleas were drowned out by the giggles of zealous girls hoping to be cast as Juliet and the hysterical moans of those who were trying to squeeze in last-minute rehearsals.
"At this moment, those auditioning for the part of Juliet must be present. Please sign your name on this piece of parchment before you enter the Great Hall. Other parts will be cast later on. The Head Boy and Girl have the schedules for auditioning time and so should your House Prefects. Good luck!" she announced, her voice resounding through the crowded hallway.
There was a mad rush for the piece of parchment, young girls ranging from an adorable 1st year Ravenclaw to even a burly 7th year Slytherin, rushing to get their chance to play the part nearly every girl would ever want – Juliet Capulet.
"Oy, Lily! Are you going to try out or what?" Jessica, one of Lily's Ravenclaw friends called, trying desperately hard not to get trampled.
"I don't know! What if I do horribly and make a complete fool out of myself? What if they see me stumble with the lines and lose all respect for me that they ever had? What if—" Lily rambled on, worriedly clutching her head in between her hands.
Jessica's mouth was opened, poised to respond, but was quickly swept into the crowd of giddy students by a husky Hufflepuff. Lily watched her disappear, forlorn and seriously considering leaving to return to Gryffindor Tower.
"You know what, Evans? You worry too much." A voice analyzed.
What is he doing here? He's certainly not trying out for Juliet, so he shouldn't even be here. Potter probably wants to see me make a complete fool out of myself, she thought cynically. Wonderful.
"What are you doing here, Potter?" Lily spat out maliciously, her voice cold and icy.
"Don't you remember our little conversation? I said I would take up my Head Boy responsibilities. Harris asked me to fill in as a temporary Romeo for the Juliet-hopefuls to audition with. So, voila, here I am, at your service." He explained casually, ignoring Lily's upset expression.
"Great. So now I get to embarrass myself in front of you as well. Maybe this was a stupid idea. I probably won't get the part of Juliet anyway." She said, more to herself than to James.
"You're so pessimistic. Just think of it this way, if you don't think you will get the part, then there really isn't any pressure, now is there? Just try out for the sake of trying out. You don't have to be Juliet, so don't go torturing yourself by thinking that people are going to think any worse of you if you don't become Juliet, because they wouldn't." He stated simply, trying to calm her down.
"I never thought I'd say this, but you're right, Potter. You're absolutely right. Now, the bigger question; why are you being so nice to me? I thought we were having an argument?" she asked suspiciously, worried that his sage advice was just another prank that he was playing on her.
"Well, McGonagall said we needed to get along as Head Boy and Girl, and if I'm to perform my duty as Head Boy, I need to listen to her. That means getting along with you, doesn't it?"
"James Potter! We need to begin auditions! Please get into the Great Hall immediately." Professor Harris' voice boomed over the noisy herd of girls.
"Plus, we can't keep fighting forever, now can we?" he added, his voice faint as he disappeared in to the Great Hall.
Now thatwas odd. James Potter, acting like a decent human being? Now I've seen everything, she thought. Maybe there is hope for him yet.
She quickly looked around, a horrified expression on her face, wondering if there were any mind-readers at Hogwarts. No one could know that she actually considered the thought that Potter, prat of all prats, could possibly change for the better. Never in a million years.
And so, Lily pushed all thoughts of Potter out of her head and trudged warily over to the piece of parchment. It was worn and tattered, probably from the mad struggle over it that had taken place just a few minutes ago. She grabbed a nearby quill and shakily scrawled the name 'Lily Evans' to the lengthy list. Screwing her eyes shut, she made a silent wish and walked into the Great Hall to observe the auditions.
"Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo . . ." the girl droned on, only waving her hands a little for emphasis.
Professor Harris placed the script over her face and dismissed the actress, who immediately burst into tears before shooting the Professor a lethal glance.
". . . Deny thy father and refuse thy name . . . um . . . what was my line again?" another girl asked timidly.
She was bashful and nervous; it was easy to see that. Lily felt a pang of sympathy for her, as she watched the Professor wave her hand nonchalantly, motioning for the girl to leave.
Oh God, Lily thought. What if that is me? What if I can't remember anything or I mess up? I'll be the laughing stock of Hogwarts!
She zoned out, picturing herself trudging through the Charms corridor while students mercilessly chucked objects at her, seeing who could hit her head the most times.
". . . For if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet." Jessica recited.
Jessica had learnt all her lines, studied them meticulously, but she lacked the spirit that Professor Harris needed to find. There had to be one student, one leading lady that could bring the loving, tender essence of Juliet to Shakespeare's words.
The next student was gorgeous, her long golden locks and trim waist perfect to play the part of a beautiful maiden. Too bad she couldn't act. All her movements, all her words were forced, with no real emotion behind them. She seemed to dance so well, but Lily realized that James was wincing at every step, meaning that she obviously couldn't.
Lily stared blankly at the stage, which was currently empty. Suddenly, she heard someone call her name. Looking around, she saw Professor Harris beckon for her to perform.
The world had gone suddenly quiet, only the accelerated rate of her heart and heavy breathing ringing in her head. She nodded, as if she understood, and shakily rose from her seat. Steadying herself, she walked over to the stage, dreading the thought of actually reaching it.
Then, she remembered what James had said about how it wouldn't matter. How, even if she didn't get it, no one would think any less of her. Strangely, she believed it. She wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline pumping through her veins, faintness from lack of oxygen, or if he was actually being sincere, but for some unknown reason she believed him.
And it was probably one of the first times she truly did.
So following the advice of someone who she had never really liked nor trusted, she let everything go. All the insecurities she had, all the fear of rejection she felt. She decided. When she reached that stage and got up on that platform, she would no longer be Lily Evans, but the one and only, Juliet.
James Potter was not having a good time.
When Professor Harris had asked him to stand in as Romeo, he thought it would be relatively easy. Reading a couple of lines, watching the beautiful women of Hogwarts recite Shakespeare, but no. He had to dance with them and actually act like Romeo.
"One two three . . . one two three . . . one two three . . ." she muttered worriedly to herself, while staring down at her feet.
"What are you doing?" James whispered back, staring at her as if she was crazy.
"SHHH! I'm trying to dance! You're distracting me!" she hissed, looking up at him for only a second before gluing her eyes to her moving feet.
A few of the others weren't much better. In fact, they could possibly be deemed worse.
One incredibly beautiful blonde had danced with him, the girl that he was unlikely to forget. Only, the reason why he was unlikely to forget her was due to the throbbing pain in his toes. From anyone else's point of view, she moved confidently, staring into James eyes as she danced. To James, she was an evil-woman, who pretended to know how to dance, but was actually blindly stepping upon his tender feet.
"You can spare my feet and look down, you know." James informed her, wincing as she once again smashed his toe.
"NO! If I look down, the Professor will know that I can't dance. And that will ruin my chances to play Juliet." She snapped back, glaring at him with icy blue eyes.
"Yes, but I know you can't dance, and my feet know as well." He replied, voice dripping with cockiness.
"Just shut your yap and dance. Stop wincing so much, or she'll notice!"
"I don't know if you know this or not, but it's rather hard not to cringe when one's toes are being trampled on by a girl wearing incredibly pointy, not to mention heavy, heels."
"You are not going to ruin my chances to be Juliet, James Potter. You may seem so charming when you're strutting down the halls, but now that I've met you, I find you obviously are not. I will become Juliet, if it's the last thing I do."
"You're right. I really am not that charming. Ask Evans, she'll tell you that right off the bat. You can join the group of girls that absolutely despise me. As for you becoming Juliet, well if you do, I fear for the one playing Romeo." He retorted, as he released her.
She threw him a hateful glance and huffily walked off the stage. Yes, his feet would be smarting for a while.
Will this day never end? Who's next, a hippogriff or a banshee? Dunno how much more of this I can take, he thought, groaning.
"Lily Evans! You're turn next." Professor Harris called. "You okay? You don't look so good, Miss Evans."
James watched Lily steady herself and nod, though her mind seemed to be somewhere else.
So Evans is next. God, I hope she can act. Actually, I'd much rather she knows how to dance, he thought to himself as Lily approached.
"Read off lines first, Miss Evans." Professor Harris demanded, hoping that she wouldn't be as horrible as some of the others.
Lily nodded understandingly and took a deep breath. This was it. The moment she had been dreading. She stared deep into James' bright hazel orbs, which were unexpectedly comforting. He nodded reassuringly and smiled warmly, which threw her off. He had never been nice before.
Pushing all her thoughts aside, she placed herself in the mindset of Juliet. Not as Lily Evans, who despised the mere thought of the man on stage, standing across from her, but as Juliet, who was deeply in love with him.
"Oh Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name . . ." she began.
She continued reciting her lines. No one stopped her yet, though she wasn't exactly sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.
". . . Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself." She finished.
The room was silent.
Oh God! Why is everyone so quiet? Did I really do that badly? Someone just tell me to get off the stage and be done with it.
"James! You're line!" Professor Harris muttered, still fazed from Lily's performance.
James shook his head and closed his mouth, which had been hanging open from sheer surprise. He never expected Lily, of all people, to be such a perfect Juliet.
"W-what? Oh, right. Um . . . I take thee at thy word: call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo." He said, regaining his composure.
"What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night so stumblest on my counsel?" Lily continued, still shaken by the eerie silence a few moments ago.
More silence ensued. And it made Lily tremble, right down to her bones.
"That's enough for reading. Now, please dance together, as if Juliet were dancing with Romeo. Cue music!" Professor Harris instructed, waving her wand.
Faint music played and Lily awkwardly approached James. She curtsied deep and he bowed, taking her hand. A pleasant shock of energy spread throughout her body as their fingertips touched, but she quickly brushed it off.
She's a great dancer, he observed. The best I've seen, in fact. It's strange that I'm actually dancing with Evans, without being hexed.
She looked straight at him, yet still managed to float across the stage, never missing a beat. Despite their attendance at Hogwarts balls and having danced with many different people, they were both hesitant to admit that between them was a hint of chemistry – at least on the dance floor.
"Nervous, Evans?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to end their streak of civil conversation.
"Of course not. Why would you think that? Is it my entire body shaking or the fact that my knees are about to buckle and give way?" she muttered sardonically.
"Neither, actually. It's in your eyes that I can see your fear. Barely. I must admit, you hide it well. But you know what they say. Eyes are windows to the soul." He whispered wisely, never missing a beat.
"Humph. That's absurd. You can't tell what a person is thinking from their eyes, Potter." She rationalized.
James just smirked, one again making the weak music the only sound in the room and leaving both students with their thoughts.
Usually dances were awkward, never knowing where to place one's hands and resisting temptation to stare at one's feet all day. For Lily and James, there were no issues. No uncomfortable silences, no flushed faces or attempts at half-hearted conversation. It was almost as if they had danced before – a thousand times before.
I guess what all the girls say is true. Potter is an incredibly good dancer, she admitted, but only to herself. Too bad he's still a git.
"That will be all, Miss Evans. Thank you." Professor Harris' voice cut in, stopping the music with a flick of her wand.
Lily smiled weakly and quickly ran out the door, anxious to meet her friends. James watched her leave, suddenly feeling oddly alone.
"So, Mr. Potter, what do you think about our selections for Juliet?" Professor Harris asked him.
"Well, Professor, if I may be bold enough to say, I think you and I both know who would be the perfect Juliet." James murmured, his eyes still lingering upon the Great Hall's doors, where Lily had just left.
"That's exactly what I was thinking." She agreed quietly, following his gaze.