Creativity Month - Actor!AU

Writing Club - Days of the Month - Int. Forests Day - Write a story set in a forest.

"The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream is as follows," Mrs. Roth announced, peering over her spectacles. "Oberon is..."

"Do you think you'll get to be Lysander?" Harry whispered to Neville, who looked a little peaky.

Neville nodded silently, brushing a sheen of sweat off of his forehead.

"...and Lysander is Neville Longbottom..."

"Good job," Harry whispered, nudging him. "You need to go on stage."

He gave his friend a light shove and Neville stumbled awkwardly out onto the stage, flushing as people snickered.

"...and Hermia is Cho Chang..."

Neville's skin suddenly felt hot as Cho smiled prettily and gracefully made her way to the stage, her long ebony hair swishing and her hands folded in front of her.

"Hi Neville," she greeted, and butterflies exploded in his stomach.

"H-Hi, Cho," he mumbled.

To say he fancied Cho was simultaneously an overstatement and an understatement. She made him feel...things. Things he couldn't put a name to, but he could describe vividly.

Fancying Cho was like running a marathon, or flying at the speed of light. It was also slow and passionate, like dancing in the rain without a care in the world.

Cho was very, very pretty. She had waist-long sleek black hair that shone in the light and gorgeous eyes that were like quicksand: they sucked you in without any warning. She was the envy of all the girls, made boys swarm to her like flies.

Cho Chang was, to sum it up, hypnotizing.

And Neville was going to star beside her.

His stomach lurched unpleasantly.

They were shooting the forest scene today. He was in hair and makeup, but his jaw dropped when he saw her, as did everyone else's.

Hermia was supposed to be pretty, but Cho put her to shame.

Her hair was styled in elaborate ringlets and framed her smooth cheeks. She was clad in a modest A-line dress that was a rich shade of cream. Her matching heels padded against the grass.

(It also didn't help that her dazzling smile struck them all into speechlessness, and poor Neville almost tripped over air.)

In other words, she looked like Aphrodite herself.

Neville's stomach knotted and he licked his lips apprehensively.

This was going to be a long rehearsal.

360 words