Hey all, back for the next chapter? I'm quite glad you came back. Sorry I've been gone so so long, there has been...complications... (kicks bloody knife behind couch) But now I am back!
Disclaimer : YES I OWN IT ALL MWAHAHAHA (shot) Ouwch...okay its all JKR...
Dumbledore smiled as all the expressions of anticipation turned to blank confusion, all save Hermione's, which turned to fear. "By that I mean a performance. The older students will get the larger parts, of course." More fear. "And everyone must audition for a grade."
Harry breathed a mental sigh of relief. Good, then the rumor of students comming wasn't true.
Ron turned to Hermione, "You must be bloody joking if you think I'm going to try out for this play..." Hermione turned around sharply, her fearful expression gone. "Of course your going to try out, it's a grade." She stood up and rushed to the Library, where they assumed she was studying.
"Really, though, who studies for this kind of grade?" Ron said as Harry shrugged.
Dumbledore wasn't finished. "Auditions are today in the Great Hall after dinner for Seventh years. The rest will be everyday this week, going down the years. Sixth tomorrow, Fifth the next day, then Fourth and Third are together as well as Second and First are together. You are dismissed."
Ron and Harry rushed out, much like Hermione did, to go find her. They ran until they came to the library, searching around and calling her name softly. Ron was the one who acctually found her. "Hermione?"
A light sniffling sound was heard from a table in the corner. Ron cautiously approached, reaching out a hand and placing it gently on her shoulder. "Hermione?" he whispered again.
"Go away." Her voice broke. She looked up, her face streaked with tears. Ron sat down next to her. "What wrong, 'Mione? You can tell us--" he looked around, "well, me, anything."
Hermione nodded. "I have severe stage fright, I've had it since I performed at my muggle school years ago..." her voice trailed off.
"Don't worry, I hardly know what a stage is! We'll be fine." He waved his wand and her faced dried.
She nodded and hugged him, whispering, "Thank you..." Ron blushed, even though he knew that it was just a friendly hug, and hugged back.
Harry caught up after the hug was broken. " 'Mione, auditions are after dinner tonight." She stood up lightning quick. "I need to go to my room." And with that she was gone.
Harry looked at Ron, who, for once, appeared deep in thought. "Ron, you okay, mate?" His head snapped up. "Yeah, just peachy."
The Golden Trio stared, mouth agape, at the spectacle infront of them. Seventh years were everywhere, dinner being eaten at smaller tables, with assigned seating. There was a large stage where the head table would be. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were all seated together, luckily enough. They started discussing what they would do when papers appeared in front of each of them. Their faces blanched when they noticed they were musical sheets of paper.
"Eh, what the bloody hell are these?" Ron questioned to no one in particular. Hermione rolled her eyes, "Ron, these are sheets of paper...with musical notes on them." Neville jumped in with a shaky voice, "I think we-we're sup-pposed to s-sing them..." He trailed off as the trio stared at each other and Neville just stared at the paper.
"Students, please welcome the directors of our play, and former students." Dumbledore smiled and started to clap.
Ron's jaw hit the floor of the Great Hall, and had he been sitting upside down it would've hit the ceiling.
Fred and George Weasley came out from the curtain overhanging the stage in the middle of the hall, berets on their heads and moustaches markered on their upper lip. The room stood silent for a few moments, then erupted into joyful clapping Ron's voice rang out, "You've got to be blinkin joking!"
Fred and George jumped down, George replying, "Sorry brother dearest, no joke here." Fred took on a phony french accent. "Uh huh ho! But of course, it is we, ze Weasley duo!" They fell together laughing, but Ron clearly did not share in the humor.
Hermione giggled, but turned her eyes to the music, missing Ron's flush. The room fell silent again when Dumbledore raised his hands and the Weasley duo clambered back up onto the stage. "Auditions will run in order of table number, which will appear on your table now." A roulette wheel appeared on their table and started to spin, the numbers one through fifteen on the wheel. Theirs landed on the number four, and their faces palled slightly. The number appeared in glittering numbers above their heads. Across the room they could see Draco sitting with Pansy, his face paler than usual. Above his head floated the number one. Ron and Harry could hardly supress a snigger.
Dumbledore waved his wand towards a room off the side of the stage no one had noticed before. "This room is completely soundproof, so you can sing your audition privately. Once you finish you will return to the common room. You will have time to prepare...now." Humming suddenly was heard all around the room. Hermione pulled out a book, studied it for a moment, then pointed her wand at the music sheet. "Melicus Lascivio," she whispered, and suddenly her paper began playing the song written on it, which was "Believe." (A/n yes, the spell really is latin, no, the song is American, Josh Groban, my hero...) Ron attempted the same, mispronouncing it. He started turning his paper around and around, looking at it oddly. "I can't make head or tail of this song, what does it say?"
Hermione sighed, taking the paper from his hands. "Ron, you turned it into Portugese." She didn't sound all that surprised. She fixed it then repeated the play spell, handing the melodious paper back to Ron. "Oh..." he mumbled, listening carefully.
Approximately half an hour later, Dumbledore cast a silencing spell, since all the music was becomming unbearable. "First table, please cast the roulette charm again." The roulette started spinning, a light above Pansy's head. This time it numbered one to four. Pansy was number three, and when Draco spinned it, he was number four. As they lined in order with the other two Slytherins at their table, Ron supressed making a rude hand gesture towards Draco. They took turns in the room, Pansy going in confident and comming out minutes later shaking like a chilli dog. Draco followed suit.
The tables continued until they got to table four, where Ron was up first. Then Harry, Hermione, and Neville. Ron smiled at his fellow red and golds and walked into the room pale as Nearly Headless Nick. After he sang, he came out smiling. Hermione stuffed something skin colored and long in her poket and smiled. Ron gave her a quizzical glance, then jogged up to the common room to wait for his friends in icy nervousness. Harry went in and sang, suprising himself. Hermione was in a little longer, but Neville came out fairly quickly, his face flushed as he rushed to the common room.
They sat and talked for a few hours (we'll spare you the details) before retiring to their beds, anticipation crawling and biting at their dreams. They awoke early with the others who tried out, way too early for breakfast. The four at table four sat together by the morning fire as the snow cascaded against the window. They talked about their auditions.
"I don't know, guys, I know I messed up on measure twelve." Hermione bit her nails nervously.
Ron huffed, "Hermione, I don't know what a measure is! I'm sure you did fine, as always." He crossed his arms. Hermione giggled silently, holding a book infront of her face.
Harry was staring into the fire. "Ron, isn't your sister auditioning tonight?" Ron nodded. They stayed silent until breakfast.
The next few days passed uneventful except for the younger auditions. The day after the last auditions the students ran down to the Great Hall excitedly, the room buzzing nervously.
Dumbledore stood and the room fell silent.
"I know how much you have all been anticipating this, and so..." The entire room held their breath. "Let us eat!"
The room angrily began to eat as conversation came back slowly. After the meal, though they could hardly eat due to nerves, Dumbledore stood once again, the conversation subsiding.
"Now, I know what you have really been anticipating, and now...the cast!" He aimed his wand at a blank wall and a large bullitin board appeared with small white sheets of paper. "First to go to it...Ravenclaw!"
The Blue clad students stood and filed in line, looking at the papers. As they walked back they shot various glances at the red and green shining tables, and towards Luna, who just smiled and waved at them. The trio gave glances at each other as Hufflepuff repeated the sequence.
As Slytherin went up and came back, Draco was shaking. "But how??" He could be heard saying to Pansy, who was patting his back comfortingly. Ron sniggered before they walked up to the board. They were in the back, but as the trio plus neville walked up, they parted like the Red (and gold) Sea. Ron's breath caught in his throat in a moment.
"Ron, Hermione, you got the leads!"