Auther's Note: If you haven't read the revised versions of Chapters One and Two, I urge you to do so. A few things are changed, and you might get confused. Now, go read Chapters One and Two... dum dum dum dum, dum dum dum dum... OK, now that we've all read Chapters One and two, and can start saying what I was going to say before I said what I said before. Which is: I just wrote this in one day! I did write it before the end of September. Now, enjoy! (or else)

Chapter Three: Just Like Magic

I haven't been in Auditorium Six that many times before. It's small and not in that good of shape. The stage is pretty small, and it only holds five hundred people, so the School hardly ever uses it except for auditions. Still, despite it's small size, Auditorium Six is a nice one. The seats are all dark green and dark wood, and the curtains are entirely gold with green velvet trim. It's really pretty, and oddly comforting.

All the teachers sat in the first row, with a large folding table covered in papers in front of them. It was standard procedure, and I'd done it many times before. I knew what to do.

I climbed on stage and stood in the middle.

"Name and number?" asked Headmaster Spinnet.

"Hermione Granger, forty-seven," I said, referring to the number pinned to the front of my leotard.

"Thank you, Miss Granger," said Headmaster Spinnet. She shuffled a few papers in front of her, and then said, "You may begin."

I walked across the stage to the starting position, and nodded at the pianist to say I'm ready. The first notes rang out, and I began to dance. It wasn't hard, and I wasn't nervous. I'd done this so many times before. My teachers already knew my ability and would place me in a role that they thought suited me. I wasn't worried.

The pianist stopped playing, and I smiled at my teachers. They said nothing. Mr. Oliver climbed onstage with me, and we got in position for the pas de duex, not speaking.

The music began, and we danced. I began to appreciate Mr. Oliver's ability. He was indeed a very good dancer. If I was lucky, next term I would have him as a teacher. But Mr. Oliver only took the best into his pas class.

"Very good, thank you," said Headmaster Spinnet, when the dance was over. Mr. Oliver didn't speak, just nodded, and led me off stage. I left through a side door, leading into the hallway, not back into the studio from which I had come.

I stopped by the changing rooms to pick up my bag, and then continued on my way to the lounge. Nearly all of the forty-six people before me were there, though Lexi and Tara weren't. I didn't mind.

I put fifty p. into the vending machine, and bought a bottle of squash, before settling down on a cushion and taking out a book.

I sat there happily, relaxing and drinking my squash until it was nearly empty. Wishing there was more, I set the bottle down so as to get a sweater, since I was cold. I pulled a purple cardigan from my sport bag, and put it on. Then I picked up my book again, and reached over to take the last sip of squash.

But the bottle wasn't there. Well, there was a bottle of squash in the same place where mine had been, but it was full of squash, not nearly empty. I looked at the person next to me, a level five boy, fully consumed in heartily snogging his level four girlfriend. I didn't want to interrupt, and I some how doubted that it was his squash bottle.

On my other side was a young level one girl fast asleep. It wasn't her squash either. Whose could it be? And where had mine gone? There was no one else near me. It was odd.

I shrugged. Finder's keepers, I thought, and took a sip from the full bottle of squash. It was funny though. I had wished for more squash, and then there it was. Just like magic...

I was interrupted from my musings by the entrance of Lexi, Tara and Shoshana, a level two girl who sometimes spent time with us.

"We thought we'd find you here," said Lexi, as I got up and put my book in my bag.

"And reading, of course," scoffed Tara. I smacked her playfully on the side of her head, and she kicked me gently.

"Hi Hermione," said Shoshana, laughing at Tara and I.

"Hey Shosh," I replied, attempting to pinch Tara, as she slapped my hands away.

"Oh, you guys," Sighed Lexi, "How old are you again? Three? Come on, anyway, we were going to go outside, weren't we?"

"Oh, right," Tara said, repetitively poking me, as I danced away with my tongue out.

"Oh, honestly," Lexi complained. She grabbed Tara's arm, and Shoshana grabbed mine, and they pulled us from the lounge.

We settled outside under a large weeping willow, leaning against the trunk or laying on the grass. We talked and laughed, speculating who would get which part, and who we thought would get into the Academy. After a while we fell into a drowsy silence, thinking or just being.

At half four the cars began to arrive, with the mums and dads to pick up their kids. Because it was Audition day, we got out early.

My mum pulled up, and I shouted a good bye to Lexi and Shoshana and Tara as I got into the car.

I was going over to my best friend's house. Her name was Holly, and we used to go to school together, back when I went to normal school, and only took ballet classes at the local dance school three times a week. She used to dance, Holly, but only took for about six months before deciding that football was more her thing. Still, she understands how much I love ballet.

We pulled up outside Holly's house at a quarter after four, and I jumped from the car. Holly opened the front door before I was even halfway up the front walk.

"Holly!" I cried.

"Mya!" she shrieked, and we ran and hugged each other. It had been at least a month since we had seen each other last.

We went into her house, and to her room, and heard her mum talk to my mum.

Hours later we were lying in her living room, watching a movie we had seen at least a thousand times before, and drinking cranberry juice by the gallon. We weren't really paying attention to the screen. We were talking and laughing and having a good time.

And then it happened again.

I was lying on my stomach in front of the TV, and decided I wanted more cranberry juice.

"I'm gonna fetch some more cranberry juice, all right, Hol?" I asked. She looked at me strangely.

"Why? We both have full glasses," she said. I stared at her, and started to disagree, when I looked at my glass. It was full of red juice, when just a minute ago it had been empty. I closed my eyes hard, and opened them again. I still had a full glass.

"What's wrong?" asked Holly.

"N…nothing," I answered, "I could swear that my glass was empty, but I guess I was wrong."

"Yeah…"

And then our favorite part in the movie came on, and we forgot all about the juice, laughing at the actors.

I slept over at Holly's house, and was picked up by my mum at around half ten the next morning. After about ten minutes of driving, I noticed that we weren't going to our house.

"Mum, where are we going?" I asked. She smiled.

"Oh, you'll see. Sit back and relax, Hon, it's not that short of a drive."

I was happy to oblige, and leaned back into the seat, feeling my self falling into a doze.

Hours—or was it minutes?—later I was woken by my mum shaking me.

"Come one, come on, Mya. We're here! Your father's waiting."

That woke me up. My parents weren't divorced, but my dad lived in London because of his job, and traveled on business trips to places like America or Australia a lot, so I didn't get to see him that often.

I jumped out of the car, and ran to my father. He'd let go of me and given me a peck on nose before I'd noticed that we were at the seashore. I ran laughing down to the waves, but it was too cold to go in.

Instead, my parents and I had a picnic on the beach, and then, when it got late, and the sky darkened, my dad lit a bonfire, and we sat around it talking and eating biscuits. I fell asleep in my father's lap, and when I woke up, it was morning, I was in my own bed, and my father was gone.

I spent the next day reading and baking and walking in the woods. I went to bed early, and woke up the next morning refreshed and energetic.

Mum drove me to school, and dropped me off in front of the main building. Tara and Lexi weren't there yet. I spotted Shoshana, but she was with some other friends, so I pulled out one of the books that I always carried around with me. I walked over to a bench to sit down, but someone's dance bag and book bag were sitting on it. I gently put them on the concrete, and sat down.

Five or so minutes later, I felt a shadow fall over me. I looked up. The girl standing in front of me was in level four. I forgot her name, but I knew she was obnoxious and rude. Sure enough…

"Er, excuse me," she said, her tone conveying no politeness at all, "Did you move my stuff?"

"Oh, yes, because there wasn't anywhere else to sit," I explained.

"And so you just put my stuff on the ground?" she asked, in a tone of utter disbelief.

"Well, you see, there wasn't anywhere else to put them," I said politely.

"Bloody idiot," I heard her say, before she walked away.

I remembered her name: Lauren Jane Wallman. I remembered people saying not to get on the wrong side of "LJ" as they called her. Well, she could do nothing to me. Nothing at all.