Summary:

The Hogwarts Youth Symphony Orchestra, led by retired world-renown conductor Albus Dumbledore, is the premier youth orchestra of the city. Thousands audition for a coveted seat and the chance to win the Spring Concerto Competition. The winner is guaranteed admission to any university or conservatory in the country.

Hermione Granger is the lucky and talented violinist chosen to be Concertmaster, but not everyone is happy that a girl from a non-musical family, let alone the local Gryffindor High School, has taken the top spot. Her stand partner, one Draco Lucius Malfoy of Slytherin Preparatory, is particularly furious.

If there's anything you recognize, I don't own it!

The Hogsmeade Center for the Arts was the brightest building in the city the night of the annual Hogwarts Youth Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert. Families of the players, wealthy patrons who were avid fans of all music, younger students who dreamed to play in the orchestra one day, and interested scouts for other orchestras and programs were among the hundreds who streamed into the main concert hall.

Backstage, Hermione peeked through the doors to the stage to see people coming in before weaving through other musicians and empty cases to go back to the practice room. She nearly tripped over someone else's case by the door, but Harry managed to catch her while holding onto his cello. "Careful there, Hermione. Don't want you breaking anything, especially not your violin tonight."

She smoothed her black blouse with a weak chuckle. "Thanks, Harry. There's a lot of people out there. I think it's a full house."

He grinned down at her as she fussed over his crooked tie. "Just more people to see our lovely Concertmaster lead the orchestra."

She managed a weak chuckle as Dumbledore called for everyone to line up by the door. "I'll see you out there, Harry." Everyone made towards the door, Ron and Ginny smiling at her as they led the violas through the rehearsal space, but Hermione carefully sat in her seat and nervously practiced her fingering on her violin. Her fingers were shaking a little due to the cold air conditioning, and she needed to make sure they didn't freeze before going onstage.

"Are you alright, Granger?" Draco asked as he approached her. His jacket was unbuttoned, but every inch of his suit was perfectly pressed, and his hair was perfectly coiffed. She didn't expect anything less of him when it came to his appearances.

"I'm fine," she whispered with a small smile. "Why aren't you lining up with the others? It's almost time."

"I need to grab the music. Can't have our Concertmaster coming in juggling pages," he replied with a wink. He leaned across her to grab their folder, and she could smell his cologne as he moved closer to her than strictly necessary. It helped her relax a tiny fraction. The scent made her think of popcorn and dragons, the cold stone of a balcony against her back in the middle of winter, and lazy but profound conversations on a soft couch in the Malfoy library.

She met his eyes, and he frowned before shifting the folder under his arm and covering her small frozen fingers with his larger warm hand. He squeezed lightly and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles in a way that no one else could see. "It'll be perfect, Hermione. Come out at your cue, and I'll be waiting," he murmured quietly.

Hermione nodded and felt her nerves settle, as he gently squeezed her fingers one more time with a soft smile strictly reserved for her before making his way towards the rest of the orchestra that was beginning to filter out the door.


The ushers at the doors were handing out programs to every person who entered the concert hall. A few people opened them on their way in, while others opened them once they found a seat that suited them. Everyone immediately flipped to see what pieces would be performed that night and, more importantly, who had won the concerto competition this year. It was an opportunity many coveted, and was next to impossible to get after already making it into the notoriously competitive program. More than a few brows were raised at the large blank in the program after the intermission. There was no sign of any concerto winner or even a hint of what instrument would be getting the solo.

Lucius Malfoy was among those who raised an eyebrow. "I still can't believe our own son won't tell us if he won the concerto competition or not. Dumbledore's doing something odd again," he murmured to his wife on his arm.

Tutting, she smiled at him. "Darling, I'm sure the program will be more than adequate. I heard from the Parkinsons that the students aren't allowed to tell anyone who won or what piece is being played. I'm sure it'll be something marvelous if Dumbledore is going to such lengths to keep it under wraps."

Her husband sighed as they looked towards the front for good seats. Narcissa had wanted to take a couple photos of Draco playing. He froze as he saw a pale man sitting in the second row. "What is he doing here?" he hissed.

Narcissa looked to where her husband was glaring and tightened her hand on his arm. More than a few of their acquaintances that usually sat towards the front were also looking for different seats once they saw who was sitting at the front. "Why don't we go to the balcony, darling? I'm sure we'll get a much better view from up there. I do think I see a few familiar faces."

Arthur Weasley was happily chatting to the Grangers as they entered the concert hall. "I think this will be the best concert yet. The concerto competition is always quite exciting, and the winner is always spectacular."

Jean Granger nodded as she looked around the vast room. "I always forget how big this room is."

Her husband chuckled next to her. "We've only been here twice before, my dear. But, I'm excited to see Hermione play. I wonder if she'll be playing the solo today."

Arthur shrugged as he looked at the program. "They're not telling anyone this year. It's all rather odd. But, Hermione's already Concertmaster and she's so talented."

Jean blushed. "I don't know where she got it from. Neither of us have ever picked up an instrument before."

Richard grinned. "Our girl's a genius, Jean. Now, should we sit at the front this time?"

"Actually, I think we should go sit in the balcony," murmured Molly to her husband, as she directed his focus to the man sitting in a row just ahead of them. A few people were seated around him, but familiar faces were giving him wide berth.

Jean and Richard looked and saw a pale, bald man with paper white skin sitting in the middle of the third row from the front. He was in a crisp black suit as if he was going to be playing on stage or conducting instead of Dumbledore. They couldn't see his face, but there were a few scars crawling down his neck before disappearing under his collar.

"What is Riddle doing here?" Arthur muttered, before he ushered the others to the side. "I think Molly's right; the balcony would be better."

"Who's Riddle?" asked Jean as she allowed herself to be herded up a flight of stairs. Her husband shrugged next to her. Maybe he was a musician too? There were so many famous people in the room they didn't recognize because they were some of the few parents who didn't have an inkling about the music industry, unlike their companions for the evening.

Molly shook her head with a shaky smile. "Don't worry about him. We can explain later. Much later. We better take our seats because they'll be coming out soon."

They ran into Sirius Black, Harry's relatively recently freed godfather, and their friends Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall.

"Hello Arthur, did you see the evil lord down there as well?" Sirius drawled as his fist clenched around the crumpled program. Remus shook his head and ushered them along because they were starting to block the stairwell.

"Jean, Richard, I'm sure you're looking forward to the performance tonight," said McGonagall as she shook the hands of her star pupil's parents.

"Oh, we're very excited, Minerva. I'm glad we ran into you. Hermione said something about skipping a lesson because of her final exams. Can she make it up with you after everything is over?"

"Of course. Ah, how about these seats? I think we'll be able to see everything from here."

They found seats in the balcony, and Molly began to explain a little bit more about the pieces in the program. Arthur watched as the orchestra filtered onstage to take their seats and begin practicing a little bit. He frowned as a pale hand at the front of the audience held up the program and began to count the students.

Lucius Malfoy was also frowning at the sight, but relaxed when he saw his son take his seat and warm up a bit. The lights in the audience began to dim, and the hall and orchestra quieted. A door opened to stage right and a pretty brunette strode across the stage and bowed to applause. It was the Granger girl.

A couple near them began to whisper. "Richard, should we be taking a picture now?" He turned to see a couple unfamiliar faces sitting next to the Weasleys and a few other known faces in the music circle. There was Narcissa's cousin, the frail cello teacher, and Minerva McGonagall of course. Arthur met his eyes and jerked his head towards the front of the audience with a confused expression. Lucius could only shake his head with a grimace. Who knew what Tom Riddle was doing here?

The Granger girl straightened after a short second and stepped up onto the podium. She nodded to the eldest Greengrass, who began to play the A for the the winds and then the other sections of the orchestra. The Concertmaster also tuned her instrument with the violins and nodded before sitting down next to Draco. He noticed his son shoot a smirk at his stand partner and internally groaned. He really did need to talk to Draco about professionalism, especially during a concert. Also, didn't Dumbledore impose a ban on stand partner relationships after last year's fiasco? He turned to ask Narcissa if their son was really dating that Granger girl, but she was already tapping his lips with a finger with a fond smile and forced him to look towards the stage.

The hall lay in stillness for a few moments before Dumbledore strode out with his long beard and uniquely shaped baton to thunderous applause.

Welcome! This is the beginning of the last chapter of this story, and the next chapter will be where everything starts. I loved playing in my youth and high school symphony orchestra, although I wasn't nearly as talented as our main characters. The setting is pretty timeless, but the music choices later on in the story forces this to be a modern AU. Some of my own experiences/orchestra incidents are written in, so I'd love to hear about anyone else's musical experiences! I hope you enjoy :)

Music recommendation for this chapter (because it's a story about music): Cambridge, 1963 by Jóhann Jóhannsson from the soundtrack to The Theory of Everything. For reference it's played during the opening scene of the film!