By the end of dinnertime on Sunday, Rose had found no one. She had begun with her dorm mates. They were a creative, inventive bunch, and many of them played instruments. She'd discovered, however, that those who played the piano, couldn't also sing, or if they could, they had no desire to perform in front of the whole school. She'd spent a good portion of Sunday tracking down other students from the Frog Choir, either in the Gryffindor dormitories—where she'd gone to similarly ask her cousins for help—or during mealtimes. Many of them had already performed in the last two weeks or had upcoming performances and did not want to take on another responsibility. Her list of options had dwindled rapidly.
She was at her wits' end by Sunday evening and was forced to consider consulting with Professor Babbling about her options. Her hopes dashed, she ate sparingly during dinner. Her gaze roved over the Slytherin table looking for Albus, but he wasn't there. Scorpius Malfoy, however, was. Rose approached him on her way out of the Hall.
"Excuse me, Scorpius, have you seen Albus? I really need to talk to him."
Scorpius glanced at Rose in surprise, startled from his conversation. "Rose, hi. Albus left early for his Astronomy assignment." He took in her wringing hands and no doubt worried expression. "What's the matter?"
Rose sighed noisily and rubbed her forehead. "I'm signed up to perform this week for the Showcase, but my partner was injured in the Quidditch match yesterday." Scorpius' face took on a look of recognition. "I'm hoping Albus can fill in. Or at least knows someone who can help. Can you talk to him for me? Tonight, if you can?"
Scorpius nodded, then considered her for a moment. "Alright. What are you performing?" he asked.
"It's a duet, with piano accompaniment," Rose explained. "The song is called Sing My Song For You. It was part of a Muggle children's show in the late 2000s."
Scorpius blinked curiously. "Do you have the music with you? Or any recording?"
"Yes. Yes, absolutely!" Rose fumbled the sheet music from her bag (she'd had an extra copy, just in case Finn had forgotten to bring his to practice) and handed it over to Scorpius. He flipped through all of the pages. "Do you—Does that mean—can you do it, then?" Rose asked bemusedly.
"No," he cut her off. "No, I—no. But, I can—I'll ask around in the Slytherin common room. Most of us do come from old pureblood families and so have probably been trained in piano or some other instrument. Anything I should mention particularly?"
This was more than Rose had expected, in light of Albus' absence. She was almost afraid to hope for a positive outcome. But, it was already late on Sunday evening, she was feeling a little desperate, and Scorpius had access, and possibly sway, to an entire student population she hadn't enquired over the weekend. "Um..well, it has to be a boy, and he has to sing and play, and read music, obviously." She gestured to the arrangement Scorpius held in his hands. "We're scheduled to perform in three days, so there isn't much time to practice."
Scorpius stared at the arrangement again, flicking his thumb down the collated edges of the pages. His lips tightened. He straightened and then nodded, "Okay, I'll try to find someone tonight. I can't promise I will, though," he cautioned.
"Oh, that's alright, I'm all out of options at the moment," she laughed ruefully. "Thank you. Here is a recording—track 2 is the version in the arrangement." Rose handed over a tape that could be played on the newer versions of the wireless radios found in the wizarding world. There was at least one wireless playing in every common room at all hours of the day and night. (It was unthinkable the world over to ask teenagers to be without their music for a day, let alone ten months of the year at boarding school.) Scorpius stored them both safely in his satchel.
She waved goodbye with another thanks and left the Hall. She wanted to do nothing more this evening than to change into her soft pyjamas and curl up in her fluffy bedding in Ravenclaw Tower. It had been quite a stressful weekend, and she had to visit Professor Babbling's office first thing in the morning. Whether or not Scorpius, or even Rose herself, found an alternative partner, she would have to let the Showcase coordinator know about Finn.
Rose was ready, dressed in her uniform, hair pulled back into a ponytail, bag fully packed, outside of Professor Babbling's office by seven on Monday morning. Although she sometimes enjoyed getting up early to study, relishing the quiet of the morning, this was a little too early for her, especially considering the chill of winters in Scotland. It had been very difficult to leave the warm comfort of her bed and face the week ahead.
She was nervous about what Professor Babbling would have to say to her predicament. Although Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House, was director for the Frog Choir, Professor Babbling coordinated the two Showcases. Her Ancient Runes professor could be contradictory. She was passionate about her field and her calling for teaching and took both quite seriously, but she always encouraged her students to see her outside of class, open to discuss whatever topics they preferred, even those unrelated to Ancient Runes. She did not tolerate interruptions and could talk forever about the evolution of rune-use, but she allowed her older students to direct their own studies, independently and for the class, so that no two years ever had the same curriculum. Rose admired her but also found her quite intimidating.
Professor Babbling's door was open that morning, the professor herself marking papers at her desk. A cup of tea wafted steam at the corner of the table, and a wireless quietly played Christmastime instrumentals. Rose knocked on the door and walked inside at her Professor's invitation to sit in front of the desk .
Professor Babbling looked up at her, setting her quill aside. "Ms. Weasley, good morning. What can I do for you?"
"Good morning, Professor. I'm here to talk to you about my Showcase performance on Wednesday. Uh, you see, I'm supposed to sing a duet, but my partner was injured at the Quidditch match on Saturday, and Madame Pomfrey insists on keeping him in the Hospital Wing until at least tomorrow. I don't think we're at all ready, and I don't know what to do, I feel like I've tried everything..."
"Your partner?" Professor Babbling nudged her specs up as she reached for her files.
She perused for a moment, nodding to herself just as Rose said, "Yes, Finn Kavanagh. He's also a fifth-year."
"Yes, I see. That's unfortunate. What have you tried so far?"
Rose rambled anxiously about her frustrations with finding a replacement for Finn over the weekend. She even mentioned their reduced practice time because of Finn's obligations to the Hufflepuff team. Professor Babbling sympathized then explained that if Rose couldn't find a replacement by the end of the day tomorrow, she'd have to forfeit her spot in the program.
Rose nodded glumly and tried not to hold it against her Ancient Runes professor as she moped down to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was still mostly empty, and Rose took the inactivity to rest her head on her arms, dejected. Her dreams were about to come to nothing. How had it come to this? In a more logical part of her mind, she knew that it wasn't the end of the world. It was only a single performance; neither the song nor her singing of it would impact anyone but herself. She could even perform it next year. She'd already been a part of the Showcase by performing with the Frog Choir last Friday. Without the pressure of the Showcase, she could enjoy this final week of school before going home for the holidays. She'd already completed most of her assignments for this week on Saturday.
But she'd been looking forward to the Showcase. This year, she'd wanted to take on the challenge of an individual performance in front of a large audience. It had been years since she'd even tried, her self-consciousness holding her back even as she longed for the recognition, imagined the sense of accomplishment. She'd planned for and hung her hopes on the Showcase even before the start of term. She'd talked it up excitedly with her parents, her friends, even her cousins. And now all that talk would be for nothing...
Rose heard tiny clicking noises a short distance from her, then felt a slight tugging on her hair. She raised her head to find a tiny owl flapping excitedly at her. Pigsy (Pigwidgeon the Second) was as excitable and clumsy as the First had been, but her father loved him just as much, no matter how much he grumbled about the disastrous landings. In his beak was a letter that Rose accepted. By this time, breakfast had appeared. Rose set aside a plate with a couple of bacon strips for Pigsy and spread marmalade on toast for herself before opening the letter.
It was a combined effort by both of her parents, as usual. Her mother's affectionate nagging and her father's warm enthusiasm reminded her not to forget anything in the castle that she'd need over the holidays and told her that they'd both meet her and her brother at King's Cross in a week. They each added a post-script wishing her well for her upcoming performance, letting her know they'd ordered the recording to listen to over Christmas at the Burrow. Rose grimaced, appalled, and put her head in her hands. On the one hand, forfeiting her program slot meant she could happily avoid the embarrassment of her entire extended family replaying her performance, with added commentary. On the other hand, she wasn't sure she could handle their disappointment on top of her own should she not be able to sing for the Showcase.
Rose lost whatever appetite she'd had and left for the soothing dimness of the Potions classroom as the Great Hall began to fill. Forty-five minutes later, the classroom was nearly full with Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Rose noticed Finn wasn't there. A fellow Ravenclaw student tapped her shoulder and handed her a note before heading towards his seat at the back of the classroom. The note itself was folded in half. The penmanship—one she didn't recognize—was a mixture of slanted half-cursive.
Rose—
Couldn't find you at breakfast. Think I know someone who can help you with your Showcase piece.
If available today, go to the music wing after classes end. If not, will talk at dinner.
—Scorpius Malfoy
Rose reread the note before stashing it in her bag. She couldn't believe Scorpius had found someone! She was well aware it had been a tall order. Her heart lifted even as she tried to control the relief in order not to get carried away. There was still a full day of classes to be had and no guarantee that this person would be a good match, but at this point, she was willing to try almost anything. Rose turned to face the front, preparing a new parchment for note-taking as her potions professor ambled into the room.