Author's Notes:

We have finals coming up and a bunch of scary tests…shudders so we will try our best to update as soon as possible!!! Thanx!

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Chapter 1: Practice Makes Perfect

Hermione had to go to practice…not some stupid quidditch practice like Hogwarts boys went to…to improve their abs or actually develop biceps (like Neville, for instance). Hah. He needed to go to quidditch practice. But no, she didn't need to go to any sports-related activity.

No, siree. She had to go to drama practice. Magical drama practice. This was for some play that was going to be performed right before the winter holidays. Or some stupid play which was stupidly going to be performed before the stupid winter holidays! Hermione thought.

Dumbledore thought of a "genius" way to promote interhouse unity and improve his students' view on muggles all in one act. He wanted to make his 7 th and 6th year students perform a Hogwarts interpretation of the muggle teenage favorite, High School Musical.

Ha. Genius idea, her foot. It was all a ploy. A conspiracy to torture her, because Dumbledore knew that she hated going in front of people.

A cheesy muggle musical…and magical doofuses playing it out…my headmaster has officially lost his marbles…he knows it, I know it, and so does every muggle-born that knows about this play…argghh! This was the stupidest thing the Headmaster of Hogwarts has ever done…why me!?

This is so not going to work. Hermione thought as she walked through the vast corridors of the Malfoy Manor, seriously, what was Dumbledore thinking!? Obviously, nothing…. Muggle-borns in Hogwarts might-- no, they will laugh their stockings off when they see us magical losers performing this…uuggh!

Hermione went to auditions, only because she was forced to by Ginny. The red-head managed to drag her brother and boyfriend, Harry, as well. Those two started going out over the summer. Much to Hermione's surprise, Malfoy showed up to the auditions, which resulted in the four Gryffindors snickering at random times. She even surprised herself when she heard herself singing in front of the judges…she could actually sing!

Harry and Ron volunteered for some role behind the scenes. The judge, with her butterfly specs, thought better to not hear them sing, and gave them the roles of lighting managers. Ginny was infuriated at this, because the prospect of her and Harry getting the lead roles were now squashed. She even tried to prove that Harry could sing. This was a failed venture from the start, and it was no surprise when the judge refused to give Harry the lead role.

Since the play would be performed on the quidditch pitch, with all of the stands squished to face one side of the field, Harry and Ron had to fly around and redirect the lights above.

Pansy Parkinson, who kept on boasting about her singing lessons during her childhood, was to play the supporting actress (Sharpay… What kind of name is that!? she said), which came as a shock to almost everyone in the room, because no one knew that the screechy blond actually had a good voice when she felt like using it.

She co-starred with Blaise Zabini, which worked out really well because those two were, and still are, going out. He played the role of Ryan, which was Sharpay's equally bitchy brother. They got a little put out when the judge said there wouldn't be any snogging with Pansy on set, but smirked when she murmured something about "…off set…teenagers…."

Draco Malfoy stole the show during auditions, which left all the girls with their mouths hanging open. So, naturally, he got the part of Troy Bolton, the athletic jock. He accepted his role with a smirk, saying his "well-thought-out acceptance speech."

"Well, since I'm the best at quidditch here, it's no surprise I got this role. The quidditch jock is supposed to get the part of the singing jock. Ha. It's moral code, if you ask me. Things always work out the way I want them to…life's good."

Gosh, that cocky bastard seriously has something up his ass, doesn't he? Hermione thought.

Ginny got the part of Taylor, which was supposed to be the main actresses' BFF. Theodore Nott got the part of Chad, and was supposed to play Malfoy's best friend, even though they barely talked to each other.

Hermione was called last…she awaited her role to be announced…and she got the lead actress' role as Gabriella! She was completely ecstatic, but sobered immediately after the judge told her she would have to kiss Malfoy. Shitness…

Hermione was thinking about this entire scenario while she turned a corner to go through yet another hall. However, she knew there would be no rehearsals of the kissing scene because the judge told it was to be an "extra special moment".

Bullshit…plain bullshit…she thought to herself. The only "special" moments she had with him were when they would have a session of streaming cuss words for the whole cast to hear. And the "extra special" ones would be when she actually got to use her wand. Oh, baby. That's when things would really get interesting.

However, she easily mistook him for some nice guy that really cared about her on scene. His eyes always had a pretty…sympathetic look in them…they looked ethereal, those silver orbs. But when the director yelled, "CUT!!!" Malfoy put that mask of indifference back on his face in a second, accompanied by a smirk. She immediately lost all hope of him ever being decent. But she had to admit; he was a really good actor.

The reason every practice was held at Malfoy Manor was because Dumbledore couldn't let students into Hogwarts and make them take a train back home every practice. Malfoy told him, without hesitation, that he had a huge ballroom with lots of room that they could all use. Dumbledore, being the cheery old self he is, agreed it was for the best. Hermione tried to walk faster throughout the manor, careful to not make too much clatter, for it echoed loudly against the white marble floors.

But even though she was walking so fast she was almost sprinting, she couldn't help but notice that the marble floors were a beautiful swan-white color. The hallway she was walking through was arbitrarily covered with truly amazing watercolor paintings. She almost thought about staying a while longer just to study the pictures, but decided against it.

She was already late. She was practically running by the time she rounded the corner, but she saw something that made her stop. It was a whole line of portraits of the Malfoy heir from a bajillion years ago to that day.

Holy crap! she thought to herself. These people look exactly the same!

Sure enough, every single Malfoy male had the straight, white-blond hair, the same arrogant look, and the grey, stormy eyes, although here and there, there would be someone with blue eyes, but they would be so light, that it was easy to mistake them for grey. It was the most disturbing thing that Hermione had ever seen, as if each generation was a clone of the first.

Maybe they only marry to cover it up…haha. Hermione thought. The thought alone gave her the chills, and she hurried down the corridor once again, this time, her thoughts on Draco Malfoy.

She still couldn't imagine that Draco Malfoy, of all people sane and alive, had a good voice, a decent voice that didn't kill her ears and could actually sing songs that were bearable. It was totally unbelievable. Un-frickin-believable. He was, according to the judge, "The best male vocalist I'd heard in years!"

Hermione had wanted to punch that woman. She could almost see Malfoy's head bloating as he said those words. She imagined it swelling to such great heights, it would lift him up. And he would fly away. Forever.

But back to her point. His voice was surprisingly marvelous.

But he was still an arrogant jerk. A huge, egoistic, blown-up, fat-headed, conceited bastard is more like it… she added in her head. In real life, unlike the play, Malfoy was best friends with Zabini, or just shared the same passion to terrorize her. After every practice, she would pack up her things on a chair and head out. But sometimes, she would have the most unwanted pleasure of hearing all of the blown-out-of-proportion insults they could muster.

They would constantly talk about her blood and how she should be feeling lucky she ever set foot in a noble pureblood family's household.

However, now that she thought about it, rushing through another room, she never heard Zabini instigate a comment or come up with his own insults. He was, to put it nicely, a dumbass. There were no words to describe him in nicer terms than that.

It was always Malfoy and his uselessly enlarged brain that came up with something to say, while Zabini just agreed or simply added to Malfoy's heartfelt sentiments. Therefore, Hermione started to point her insults more toward him more so than Zabini. But she couldn't think about all that any longer because she was finally at the ballroom. She burst through the two doors and stared into the many eyes staring right back at her.

She looked around nervously as she scuttled to a spot next to Ginny, Harry, and Ron, trying hard not to be seen. Why did she have to be so conspicuous? She mumbled a quick greeting to the three before she heard a voice speack.

"How nice of you to join us." came a scathing voice from the other side of the room.

She turned around to see a tall blond-haired boy walking tantalizingly slow. His long strides defined his elegant posture, but revealed the conceit within. He finally reached her and bent down low so that his lips barely brushed against her soft cheek. His breath could be felt against her skin. Hermione unconsciously shuddered.

"We didn't mind waiting for you at all." His voice whispered, dripping with sarcasm, but Hermione pretended not to notice and put up her confident Gryffindor façade.

"Oh, how nice of you to wait for me, Malfoy." She replied wittily. "I didn't know you cared."

Everyone in the room knew that the War of Words and Spells between these two officially began...once more.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

AS WE STATED IN THE BEGINNING…

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