"Lena! It's not what it looks like! Really!" Ron answered back, in a less eager tone.
Harry and Ginny watched on the couch as they practiced. Hermione was surprisingly good, but Harry couldn't help to notice Ron's stammering and choppy sentences.
They were the last four people in the Common Room; everyone else gone up to bed. Harry looked out the window into the darkness, scattered with tiny stars. He looked sadly up into them. They reminded him of his parents.
He didn't notice Ginny watching him, until she poked him in the stomach. "Harry…are you okay? You seem a little off," she said, sounding concerned.
"Yeah," said Harry. "I'm fine." And he resumed watching Hermione and Ron practice.
"Today's auditions," said Hermione, tucking her script in her book bag. "Are you guys ready?"
Ron and Harry nodded. Ron was signing up for backstage crew, and Harry was auditioning for Barry, who was a smaller role than Sean, but had about ten lines. And, Hermione was auditioning for Lena.
As they sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, Ginny, who sat across from them grinned. "Are you guys ready for auditions?"
"Yep," said Hermione, "Totally ready. Are you auditioning?"
"Are you kidding? If we get to skip the whole day of school, then, yeah!" said Ginny, giggling. "I'm going to audition for Sarah, you know, Lena's friend."
Hermione squirmed in her seat. "Ooh, this is going to be so much fun! Even thought I really don't want to miss Ancient Runes today. Oh, well."
Ginny poked at the flyer. "We need to be at the Room of Requirement in ten minutes. I gotta jet. Bye!" She picked up her bag, waved, and then rushed out of the Great Hall.
"We should leave, too," said Hermione, as nearly a fourth of the school got up and hurried off to the Room of Requirement.
"Yes, we should!" said Ron, and the three of them followed the crowd out the doors, and to the Room of Requirement.
As they entered, Harry noticed that the room was transformed into a giant theatre, with a stage with mikes and a desk, where Professor LaLlama sat.
"Please sit anywhere in the audience! I'll hand out pieces of paper, and you can fill out who you are auditioning for—actor or stage crew." Professor LaLlama boomed, and it was obvious he used the Sonorus charm.
"C'mon," Hermione said, and the three of them sat in the second row, with Luna and Ginny sitting behind them.
To Harry's surprise, the door opened again, and in came Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. They smirked at Harry, and then went to sit in the back of the room.
"What are they doing here?" Harry grumbled, his good mood fading away.
"Just ignore them, Harry," Hermione muttered, "There's no way any of them could get into the play—they're just not talented."
Harry chuckled at Hermione's nasty remark, and pushed his worries at the back of his head.
Harry looked down at the piece of paper Professor LaLlama handed out in confusion. Experience? Harry had no experience of acting at all. So, he just scribbled down some random stuff, and peeked over at Hermione's paper, to see her writing a list as long as her Arithmancy essay.
Harry, surprised, read down her list..
- Juicy Juice commercial, 5
- Guest Starring on shows, 3-12
- Young Cosette, Lest Miserables, on Broadway 8
- Baby June, Gypsy, on Broadway, 9
- Josephine, History Play, School Production, 9
- Millie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, School Production, 10
- Belle, BatB, Childrens Productions, 12
- Mother, Ragtime, Teens Productions, 13
- Belle, BatB, Teens Productions, 13
- Christine, Phantom of the Opera, Teens Productions, 14
- Sarah Brown, Guys and Dolls, Teens Productions, 14
- Roxie, Chicago, Teens Productions, 15
Hermione finished her long list, and looked up, noticing Harry gaping silently at her. "What?"
"Nothing," said Harry, still looking down at her list. "I just never knew you were an actress."
Hermione nodded knowingly. "I know. I kept it a secret."
"Why?" said Ron, as he snatched Hermione's parchment from her grip, and read her list. "You were on Broadway?�" He opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything, like a goldfish waiting for food.
"So?" Hermione snapped, and pulling her paper away from Ron, a bit irritated. "See, that's why I kept it a secret from you guys! So you'll actually treat me like a normal person! Not a movie star."
It suddenly hit Harry. As he looked at his friend, he realized she had been treated like some star who needs protection, and all she ever wanted was for people to treat her like everyone else.
Hermione stood up and moved her rip her paper in half. Her mouth was turned down in a slight frown, and her eyes started to water. "Maybe it was wrong to go to these auditions."
Just before she was about to tear the paper in pieces, Ron's hand shot up and pulled them down, causing the paper to flutter to the floor. "No way, Hermione! You'll get the lead for sure."
"Yeah, besides, you act because you like it. Not, because you get to be famous," Harry added. "C'mon, Hermione. Stay."
Ron made his eyes big and watery, like a puppy-dog's. Hermione grinned. "Fine. I'll do it, but it's because that face makes me laugh." She sat down, and Ron and Harry slapped hands.
"Now, class, when people come up here and audition, I expect you all to give your full attention. Then, clap politely when they're done," said Professor LaLlama, summoning the papers. He looked straight at Malfoy and his gang when he said "politely".
Malfoy smirked, leaned forward and flicked Harry in the back of his head. Harry spun around, only to see Malfoy looking the other way. Ron turned to see what was going on, and flipped him off.
"Ron!" Hermione said, disapprovingly, and kicked Ron's foot. "Don't do that when a teacher's looking!"
Professor LaLlama was looking down at the applications and didn't see Ron. "Well, let's start out with...Lavvie Brown."
Lavender, who was sitting a couple rows in front of them with Parvati and Padma, burst into hysterical giggles and made her way up to center stage with her script for Lena.
"Oh, Sean, nothing can break us apart. Whatever happens, I'll always be with you in your heart."
Harry thought Lavender was pretty good, but Hermione snorted. "Oh, please. That's so fake."
Ron looked at Lavender on the stage. "What's wrong with her acting?"
"She puts no heart into it," Hermione whispered to them. "It's empty; they're just words. You don't feel them."
"Okay," Ron said, rolling his eyes. But, Harry nodded. Hermione was an experienced actress, she knew how to do these kinds of things. He suddenly wished he had practiced his lines more.
Lavender finished, and everybody applauded. Next up was a fourth-year Hufflepuff girl named Jenny Bower who auditioned for a girl named Chessie.
The auditions grew time-consuming and dull, and in the end, Harry and Ron ended up conjuring a piece of paper and a pen for playing hangman. Hermione on the other hand, stayed alert and kept her eyes on the stage the whole time.
Just as Harry added an arm when Ron guessed "Q", Hermione stood up, passed them, and strode up to the stage comfortably.
"Let's watch," Ron whispered to Harry and he nodded in agreement, waving his wand to make the paper and quill disappear in a flash of smoke.
Hermione stood there, directly center-stage, closing her eyes, and turning her head to the ground. There was whispering in the audience, wondering what she was doing. Snickering behind them told Harry and Ron that Malfoy was making fun of Hermione, as if he was absolutely sure she was going to be horrible.
"Look at that Mudblood, totally clueless up there," Malfoy said in his usual bored tone. "This is going to be priceless."
Ron's hand curled into a fist, and his face showed resistance of turning around and jumping on top of Malfoy, sinking his fist into his stomach--
And out of no where, Hermione began. She started out slowly, in a distinct and unHermione-like voice. As she moved on, she grew more loud and expressive. Harry was shocked--Hermione actually became Lena. She felt the character's feelings and she acted them out.
There was no longer any laughter behind them. Malfoy and his gang grew absolutely quiet, obviously astounded by Hermione's spectacular audition.
Hermione finished with a slow fading out word, and then, closed her eyes. When she opened them she was Hermione again. The crowd was still silent.
And then finally, it hit the whole audience at one about what just happened before them. And they were on their feet. They clapped. They whistled. They patted her on the back in congratulations, and rustled her hair as she made her way back to her seat, blushing.
Hermione sat down, trying to look modest, but it was a bit hard when the audience would practically mob her if Professor LaLlama didn't blurt out his astonishingly loud whistle.
"That was excellent, Miss Granger!" Professor LaLlama cried out excitedly. Just by his voice Harry could tell he was already sketching out Hermione's "Lena" costumes in his mind. "I could tell everyone enjoyed it."
But not everyone. Ron couldn't help looking around to see how the Slytherins reacted, and Hermione and Harry followed his suit. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson scowled at them, apparently speechless. Not one insult escaped from their mouth.