Disclaimer: This little bugger is doubly--triply important today...I don't own "Where is Your Heart" by Kelly Clarkson (thus the "by Kelly Clarkson" bit). I didn't write Mary, Did You Know, and Henry VIII can keep bloody Greensleeves. If I were J.K. Rowling, I would be sitting in a mansion, not on a second-hand chair that's already been broken like twice...You get the picture.
Chapter 12: Christmas Carols
Ginny rushed through countless halls, forgetting to think of the rooms so that the door appeared. All of a sudden, she skidded to a halt.
She saw the elaborate grand piano in the corner of the huge room—this was where the ball was to be held! She gasped, smiled, and rushed over to it.
"Do you play?" a quiet male voice came. Ginny spun around to face Remus, who was smiling a little nervously at her.
"I've been taking lessons for ten years now," she smiled. The mask covered her eyes when her face scrunched in the smile. "Oh, bugger this mask—I'm not wearing one—not yet at least!" she exclaimed, as she pulled off the offending article of clothing.
"I agree," Remus said dryly, one eyebrow hopping up. "Well, care to play something for me, then?" Ginny smirked at him.
"I don't know," she hedged slyly. "You play anything?"
"Maybe I do," he said amiably. "Tell you tonight, okay?"
"Fine. I'll play you something tonight," she countered.
"Deal," they chorused. Remus smiled at Ginny, who blushed and smiled back.
"You look great!" Remus complimented her.
"Oh! So do you!" she said, finally taking in the formal outfit he was wearing—amusing in its own right, he'd chosen to wear a blue-green shirt. "How did you know?"
"Know what?" the lycanthrope asked.
"What color to wear?"
"Lucky guess," he blushed, picking at his shirt a little shyly. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere getting ready?"
"Putting back my clothes," she explained with an unnecessary gesture at her armful of clothing.
"Ah." Remus jammed his hands in his pockets and strolled off. "Later, Ginny—what say you we meet in the entrance hall at eight?" he called back when he reached the doorway. She smiled at her date.
"Great!" she agreed. "See you there!" She then remembered what it was she had to do to open up her room and smacked herself on the forehead. "Merlin, I'm stupid." She concentrated on her room and pulled open the door that materialized in the wall.
She deposited her clothes on her bed and ran back to Eileen's room, somehow managing not to get lost. She banged twice on the door and pushed it open.
"Good, Ginny, you're back," Eileen said. "What happened to your mask?"
"Put it on later," she waved her off.
"Well, good, because it's seven-forty-five and Hermione just informed me that she doesn't know how to dance."
"Crisis!" Ginny exclaimed. "What did you do fourth year?"
"Oh, I just—well, I—Viktor didn't know much about dancing either," she defended herself.
Ginny looked at Eileen as she picked up her wand. The older girl nodded. Ginny flicked the wand and a soft waltz started to play. "Okay, Hermione, to waltz—the beat is one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three." Hermione began to pick up on the waltz. As soon as she wasn't stepping on Eileen's feet, the music would change—until Hermione could dance with the best of them. Or at least not the worst.
"Okay, Hermione, now let's go," Ginny said anxiously.
"Fine, fine, Remus is waiting, I know, I know," Hermione and Lily said together.
"Sorry, I just don't want to be late—"
"Good idea, maybe you two will finally get together!" Eileen exclaimed. "You are so right for each other, and you balance out each other's worst natures!"
"I suppose you're a matchmaker," Ginny grumbled. Eileen nodded matter-of-factly. "Didn't you know?" she said mock-seriously.
"Ginny, shut up and go meet your boyfriend," Hermione teased. Ginny scowled at her, grabbed her arm, and dragged her out the door as well.
"Don't even say you're not attracted to Sirius," she muttered. "Because I know it's a lie. I've seen the way you smile at him, Hermione."
"Fine, be that way. Do you think Frank and Alice will come?"
"Most definitely," Lily confirmed. "Alice is a dancing fiend, and Frank will want to come if Alice is going."
"Good," Ginny said gratefully. "Eileen, do you know if it would be possible for Remus and I to do a little bit of music at the ball?"
"I'm sure nobody would mind," Eileen said, prodding a few stray hairs pack under her red veil.
"I've been playing the piano since six, and Remus wanted to hear me earlier. I told him to wait. He said he'd tell me if and what he played at the ball. I have a suspicion it's piano, for some reason."
"Sounds fine," Eileen said. "I think Mum might have asked the church pianist to play; she usually does. Helen Churchman's a piano genius."
"Oh, good, maybe we can talk music," Ginny said thankfully.
"We're here," Lily said unexpectedly. "Look, Ginny, there's Remus, go meet him, he looks rather anxious, standing all alone there."
"Fine," Ginny said, "but not until you go to James." Lily shot a look at her. The younger girl's chin jutted out stubbornly. She would not take no for an answer.
"Fine," Lily huffed and walked over to James. She turned and gave Ginny a 'your turn' look. Ginny shrugged and walked over to Remus.
"So nice to see you again," he quipped, giving her a tentative hug. She hugged him back, albeit a little sheepishly, as she blushed.
"It's been what, fifteen minutes?" she replied dryly. "I almost got lost."
"Did you?" he asked, pretending to be interested in her commonplace statement. Everyone got lost in the Potters' Mansion. "Not that it would be anything new—"
"Remus!" she exclaimed, shoving him playfully.
"Sorry, couldn't resist," he said with a mischievous smile. Ginny couldn't help but smile back. Remus laughed. "You have a nice smile," he told Ginny, who just blushed all over again. She cursed her red hair.
"So do you," she replied. "And I asked Eileen, and she said I could play something at the ball."
""If I want to hear, I can't dance whenever you decide to play," said Remus with a smile. He waved her off when she started saying he should dance with someone else when she did so. "Like I said, I want to listen mostly."
"Oh," she said, then planted her mask on her face. "I promised Eileen I'd wear it," she lied. She just didn't want to take the chance that her mother and father (and possibly siblings) would come here—it was the biggest British wizarding celebration of Christmas, she'd heard—and see her for the Weasley she truly was.
"Sure," he said dubiously. "Anyway, come on, we're going into the ballroom—you see Mrs. Potter talking? If we were listening, we would hear her tell us to head to the ballroom down the hall a ways. Oh, look, here comes Frank."
"With Alice," Ginny observed. "You forgot Alice."
"Right, Alice," Remus said hastily. "You want to go catch up with them?"
"Sure," Ginny smiled. "But we can't be very late—I don't know when this pianist will give me time to play."
"Oh, come on, Ginny, she'll probably want to wait until she's all tired out and needs a break."
"Right."
Ginny and Remus still hadn't worked up the nerve to dance hours later, both of them more of the wallflower type. It was ten by now, and couples were dancing all over the floor—even James and Lily, which had made Ginny giggle and Remus smile. Sirius and Hermione seemed to be having a few feelings for each other as they danced slowly to the pianist, Helen Churchman's music—a flute, a violin, and occasionally a guitar accompanied her.
Frank and Alice dropped by after the song was finished.
"Ginny, you look positively wonderful in that dress!" Alice gushed. Frank and Remus were having a detailed discussion about NEWTs and whether they were as difficult as they sounded. Ginny smiled at the slightly plump blonde, who was wearing an airy confection of pink-and-pale-blue chiffon that fit her look perfectly. Her mask, a soft pink one, gave the elfin girl an air of royal mystery. She was the perfect fairy queen if there ever was one.
"You look great too, Alice," Ginny said honestly. "Have you seen Lynn anywhere?" she asked innocently. She'd seen Lynn and Harry dancing earlier, and wanted to know if Alice had noticed it at all.
"Yes, why?" Alice asked.
"Just wondering if she was ever going to drop by and say hello to her roommate—if she cares to, that is," Ginny said lightly.
"Well, I'll tell her you asked—and get out on the floor, Ginny!" Alice commanded the petite redhead, who ducked her head.
"Soon, I suppose," Ginny said, slightly embarrassed.
Alice dragged Frank away to greet a friend of her mother's, throwing a look that clearly said, "You need to dance!" over her shoulder at Ginny. Ginny shrugged noncommittally.
"And now," Helen Churchman announced into the magical microphone, "Miss Ginny Weasley is going to play for us." A silence swept over the room. Ginny paled noticeably. Remus grinned mischievously and pushed the girl toward the stage with the instruments. Helen smiled at the girl and gestured to the piano bench.
"Ten years of lessons, eh?" she asked, one pianist to another. Ginny shivered a little, but she didn't see.
"More or less," Ginny blushed, looking at the impeccably white piano keys of the black grand. "You really don't mind?"
"Not at all. I was getting tired, anyhow." The middle-aged woman left the stage, joining a man who appeared to be her husband as she shot an expectant look at Ginny.
Ginny gulped and ran her long, slender fingers over the ivory keys. She placed both hands in familiar positions and played the introduction to her favorite Christmas carol tentatively. As she reached the actual song, she did as she had all those years ago before Hogwarts, and added her voice to the piano. (Italics are songs)
"Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Would someday walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has come to make you new?
This child that you delivered
Will soon deliver you."
People had started to dance by now. Remus was smiling at the girl at the piano. She smiled back tentatively.
"Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Will calm a storm with his Hand?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod?
When you kissed your little baby.
Then you've kissed the face of God."
The people seemed happy with her playing. They were dancing slowly with each other. She took a deep breath.
"The blind will see,
The deaf will hear,
The dead will live again,
The lame will leap,
The dumb will speak,
The praises of the Lamb!" Ginny shot a worried look toward Remus. He smiled at her encouragingly. She circled back to her music.
"Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy
Will, one day, rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Is Heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
Is the great…
The Great I am!" Her voice rose on the last note, as she held it, her soprano warming the room as her hands played the end of the music. She sighed with relief when it was over.
The whole room started clapping as Ginny stood up to leave the stage, blushing bright red under her mask.
Helen Churchman walked over and pushed her back onto the bench. "Keep playing—and singing," she commanded. "They like you!"
"I don't know…" Ginny said uncertainly. "Fine," she agreed. She put her hands to the piano once more. She smiled slightly. She knew what to play next.
The opening bars were slightly melancholy as Ginny slowly pressed the keys, closing her eyes in memory of the Burrow.
The melody was upon her. She opened her mouth, eyes still closed, head uplifted, as the song came from her.
"What child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary." Ginny's eyes searched for Remus. No luck. Where was that boy? He hadn't left his seat, had he?
"Why lies he in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here,
The silent word is pleading.
Nail, spear, shall pierce him through.
The Cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail, the Word made flesh,
The babe, the son of Mary." Remus slid onto the bench next to her, his hands adding a harmonious deep bass part.
"So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh," Remus's melodious baritone voice joined her pure soprano as she began the last verse.
"Come peasant, king to own Him." Remus was not looking at the piano, but directly at her. Ginny then noticed that she herself was staring right back into Remus's gold-flecked blue eyes, which were a little sad as they kept singing. She blushed.
"The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him."
Remus smiled at Ginny, who smiled back shyly. Then the pair turned most of their attention back to the piano. However, their gaze did not leave each other's.
"Raise, raise the song on high!
The Virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born!
The babe, the son of Mary." Ginny smiled at Remus as the couple finished the song together. When the last note was played, Ginny's head found Remus's shoulder. He jerked slightly in surprise, then smiled at the redhead who was using him as a pillow. She met his eyes squarely with a wink. He winked back at her, then cocked an eyebrow as thunderous applause rang through the ballroom, coupled with shouts of "Bravo! Sing again!"
"You could have said you played piano," Ginny said, mock-grumpily.
"I preferred to startle you," Remus said honestly. "What did you think?"
"You two could go on tour," Helen Churchman said as she appeared behind them. "Get up there in front of the microphone. I'm going to play a song, and you need to pick up on the vocals for me."
"Of course," the teenagers chorused.
"It won't necessarily be a Christmas song," she warned. "Do either of you keep up with contemporary music?
"Yes," they chorused. "Oldies," Ginny whispered to Remus, making him chuckle. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said quietly. "Shut up so Mrs. Churchman can get us started." Helen Churchman had been watching them, eyebrows raised.
"I'm going to do Ginny first—a single, all right?" Mrs. Churchman played the opening bars to a song, lilting and slow. I don't know this song, Ginny panicked. I've never even heard this song before. But something in the music told her to start singing. "Ohh, ohh, oh, oh,
I don't believe in the smile that you leave," she sang—but she wasn't looking at her audience. She was looking at Remus. He was watching her with wide eyes. She wondered if he'd ever heard the song—but no, he couldn't have…She hadn't even…
"When you walk away and say goodbye.
Well, I don't expect the world to move underneath me
But for God's sake, could you try?
I know that you're true to me,
You're always there, you say you care,
I know that you want to be mine." Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Remus transfigure a chair into a drumset. Two instruments! He jumped in with just the right beat at just the right time, making Ginny stare at him in wonder. Maybe he had heard it before, or maybe he was musician that played by ear.
"Where is your heart?
'Cause I don't really feel you.
Where is your heart?
What I really want is to believe you!
Is it so hard to give me what I need?
I want your heart to bleed,
That's all I'm asking for. Ohh…
Where is your heart?
I don't understand,
Your love is so cold.
It's always me who's reaching out
For your hand
And I've always dreamed
That love would be effortless," Ginny sang sadly, looking out at the dancing crowd once more, focusing on her friends: Frank and Alice, James and Lily, Hermione and Sirius, and—Lynn and Harry? She smiled. If they hadn't come, they would be much different people. She liked the person she'd become here.
"Like a petal falling to the ground,
A dreamer followin' his dream.
Where is your heart?
'Cause I don't really feel you.
Where is your heart?
What I really want is to believe you!
Is it so hard to give me what I need?
I want your heart to bleed,
That's all I'm asking for. Ooh,
Where is your heart?
It seems so much is left unsaid," Ginny looked straight at Remus, a forlorn smile on her face. He seemed oblivious, just watching her, a faraway look in his eyes.
But you can say anything,
Oh, anytime you need!
Baby, it's just you, and me. Oh yeah.
I know that you're true to me,
You're always there, you say you care,
I know that you want to be mine.
Where is your heart?
'Cause I don't really feel you.
Where is your heart?
What I really want is to believe you!
Is it so hard to give me what I need?
I want your heart to bleed,
That's all I'm asking for. Oh yeah!
Where is your heart?
'Cause I don't really feel you.
Where is your heart?
What I really want is to believe you!
Is it so hard to give me what I need?
I want your heart to bleed,
That's all I'm asking for.
Where is your heart?
Where is your heart? Ohh.
Where is your heart?
Where is your heart?" Ginny finished with a trembling note, looking straight at Remus. He winked encouragingly at her.
The crowd broke out clapping.
A/N: I love music, and I wrote this while listening to my Kelly Clarkson CD over and over again. That was pre-Ipod.
Enjoy, flames are welcome to burn bacon, and tell me what you honestly think.
Thanks!
LysPotter