Chapter 124, I Sing The Songs That Make The Whole World Feel
"How do you use it," Regulus asked Mag.
"The bardic ability, that is," he clarified.
They'd just played So Afraid by Fleetwood Mac for the fourth time, and it was finally perfect.
She blinked, lowering her fiddle to peer over at him in perplexed confusion.
"Use it? What do you mean?"
"Well you say I am a bard, so how do I...well use it? How do you use it?"
She shrugged.
"I was just using it."
"Well obviously," Regulus said."But if I wanted to use it more often...you know for something to do that I actually care about. I don't do enough, and I know it. I once had dreams and aspirations, but none of those are really applicable anymore if they ever were and I need to be doing something."
Mag gave a pleased smile.
"Oh! Well that's nice if you're wanting to do more...Wonderful really. Especially as you've chosen to give music a larger role in things. Bards make people feel, so that's the sort of magic you're working with, and trust me you can do a lot with feelings.
Practice is a big part of learning to use your bardic gift to its fullest. If you want to take it professional, my grand parents actually tour. They get paid to play in various places around the world. Do you think you'd want to do that? You're definitely good enough."
Regulus paused to take in that possibility.
"I've never considered anything like that but it could be interesting," he said slowly.
"A new experience, certainly and with my particular circumstances, a change is good."
"I can ask my grand parents how they go about booking places to play, if you'd like," Mag said and Regulus nodded, giving her a grateful smile.
"Yes, that would be brilliant, thanks."
"Of course if you end up touring, Severus and I shall definitely have to come and see you," she said eagerly.
"You could always share the bill," Regulus invited.
"We do seem to amplify one another's abilities, so it would make for a great show. I assume any two bards would do that, but you're the only one I know."
Mag nodded.
"Yes any two would, but I do feel that you and I make a particularly good team. Our voices and instruments blend very well, and we have a natural instinct for improving the song in a way that suits what the other is doing."
Regulus nodded.
"Very true," he said.
"I wouldn't like to interfere with your teaching job, so we could always apparate from gig to gig rather than traveling on the road. Kreacher could take us...and he and Severus could even sing sometimes. They both have great voices, even if they aren't bards," Regulus said, his enthusiasm growing the more he considered the possibility.
Severus's tenor was astonishingly musical and Kreacher's raw vocals were comparable to that Brian Johnson bloke from the Australian rock band AC/DC when you could get him to really let go and give it his all.
Mag nodded. When she spoke, her words reflected Regulus's own thoughts to an astonishing degree.
"I love hearing Severus sing, though it embarrasses him to no end for me to say so."
She chuckled.
"Kreacher may not be a bard, but he certainly has a raw power in his voice that deserves to be heard. It certainly has its own magic. Even Severus has commented on that fact more than once. It just seems to be a matter of convincing him to let go and let it out."
Regulus nodded, because of course he agreed on all of her points, but would Kreacher? And would Severus actually be willing to participate in performances? He wasn't exactly the sort to put himself out there. Kreacher had let go at a few parties, dancing drunkenly on a table while belting out whatever song was on his mind at the time, but when sober he was far more reserved.
"Perhaps I'm jumping into all this too fast," Regulus said.
But then again hadn't he once sprung eagerly into those aspects of life that made him feel alive?
"I don't think so," Mag said.
"You've been playing for ages, so I definitely think you're more than ready to perform. I'm sure that Kreacher will be happy you've found there is something you wish to do."
For his part, Regulus wasn't so sure.
"He and Severus don't really enjoy our singing," he pointed out, already beginning to feel his good mood waning.
"That isn't entirely true," Mag said.
"They only dislike our sadder songs. Kreacher gets happy tears in his eyes every time you sing the Search is Over to him, and you know it. And he really seems to like Call Me and Heaven, and all the love songs, really."
Regulus nodded, realizing that was true.
"Severus likes it when I sing anything that isn't sad as well," Mag continued.
"We can't sing only the happy songs, though," Regulus said.
"The others have just as much power, and leaving them out would make a performance too one sided.
"That's true," Mag agreed.
"We'll make a set list with a good balance. We can watch the audience reactions for which songs go over best and try to include more similar ones."
Regulus nodded. That sounded good.
"I'll even write my grand parents tonight," Mag said with an excited, girlish smile.
"They will be so pleased that I'm actually ready to play to larger audiences. After I had such a negative reaction when playing in the Slytherin common room at Hogwarts, I suppose I lost interest."
Regulus felt his brows shooting up in startled surprise at that revelation.
"They didn't like your singing? How could that be?"
She chuckled.
"It was the students in first through third year if I remember properly. They sent one of the other older students to complain to Severus. It wasn't my voice they minded. It was the lyrics. Apparently Bedlam Boys is a very scary song."
"You're not serious," Regulus laughed.
"Slytherins were frightened of a fun little song about insanity?"
She nodded.
"Of course I didn't get into trouble with Severus or lose my place as Prefect or anything. He was very kind about it, but I didn't play in the common room anymore after that and it just sort of dampened the urge to share with strangers. I was a seventh year and after that I just got busy with life and never thought of it again."
"Well I am sorry that happened to you," Regulus said, meaning it.
She smiled.
"Thanks. They'll all be wishing they were nicer to me once I'm a world famous bard."
Regulus chuckled.
"So there!"
Mag smiled back.
"Exactly."
Regulus drew in a deep breath, fortified by the conversation.
"Shall we go talk to Kreacher and Severus now, then?"
Mag stood, nodding as she bent to replace her fiddle in its case.
"They're probably with Albus, which is a good thing, as he'll be supportive.
She led the way to Albus and Bera's private chambers. They were located very close to those she shared with Severus. She knocked lightly before pushing the door open. It wasn't fully closed so Regulus assumed Albus was expecting them.
"Come in, come in," Albus called happily.
"We've been having a wonderful chat! How was your music session?"
"Wonderful, actually," Mag said, opening the door and leading the way inside.
"Regulus has decided to..."
She stopped, turning to Regulus with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. You tell it."
Regulus was unable not to smile back.
"Well everyone knows that I've had a harder time than Kreacher finding my footing in life after everything. He creates enchanted items with Blaise and Gellert as well as writing the most brilliantly mind bending horror stories one could ever read.
Meanwhile I haven't been able to muster an interest for much when it comes to my own endeavors. It hit me tonight, though. Music is the only thing I've felt strongly about other than Kreacher after...everything, so it's what I am going to dedicate far more time to."
"That's wonderful," Albus said.
"Why don't you start by playing here? We're having a dance in two weeks and we have no live entertainment. The students were going to try using those C.D contraptions, only it didn't work out so well last time. There was a horrible melting incident that...well never mind... Needless to say, live entertainment would be preferred.
"I completely forgot about the dance," Mag said.
"That would be brilliant. It would make a great first time performance venue. You've already taught here once, so you're a bit more at ease here than somewhere you've never been before, right?"
Regulus nodded.
"Thank you for helping Severus with the class, by the way," Albus said.
"I already thanked Kreacher earlier. We very much enjoy having guest speakers. They truly enrich the lessons we are trying to convey, especially in the electives."
"It was fun, and we were glad to do it," Regulus said warmly.
"So you'll play the dance," Albus asked and Regulus nodded.
"I'd love to...I'd love it even more if Mag would perform with me."
Mag nodded.
"Of course. It'll be fun."
Regulus smiled, turning to Kreacher and Severus.
"And if the two of you would sing a few songs as well, it would make for a truly well rounded performance."
Severus gave an embarrassed chuckle.
"I don't think so, but thank you for the offer. I'm sure I'll be far too sober to get up in front of anyone and sing."
The offer was out there for Regulus to reapply again at a later date if he and Mag played more places.
"Kreacher," he asked, turning to the elf hopefully.
"I'd love to hear you sing In The Air Tonight...or anything you wanted to sing, really," he added hastily, but Kreacher shook his head.
"Kreacher prefers to listen to Master Regulus."
Smart enough not to push, Regulus gave a disappointed nod.
"Well hopefully one day you'll change your mind."
"Perhaps," Kreacher murmured vaguely.
"Is there a theme for this dance," Regulus asked Albus.
"Yes," Albus said, an amused twinkle in his eyes.
"Halloween."
Regulus blinked, realizing that he had gotten quite poor at keeping up with the date. When one was a vampire years mattered less and time took on a different meaning. This made it less relevant, which made the months and years blend into one another.
Before he had Kreacher with him again, each day was painful, so time was slow, but with the elf at his side once more, he'd begun to feel about time the way other vampires did. It hardly seemed to matter, but the holidays could certainly sneak up on him.
"Well with it being Halloween we will definitely have a need for a few frightening songs on our set list," he said, turning to Mag with an amused smile.
"This means you shall absolutely have to sing Bedlam Boys! We can heal the past trauma with a bigger and better redo!"
Mag laughed.
"I am ready!"