a/n: okay, yes, whoever guessed it, this story title is from the Queen song. :o) and as my sister pointed out, I didn't do a disclaimer for this story. So just suffice it to say that I don't own Harry Potter in the slightest and hopefully that'll cover it for this whole story. Okay? Don't own it. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Somebody to Love
When the balcony doors closed again Hermione turned back to George and couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expression on his face. She didn't think he had blinked since Ginny had come out.
She nudged his leg with the toe of her stiletto and laughed again. "Earth to George."
He snapped out of it and said, "Hermione?"
She grinned. "Yes."
"As in Hermione Granger, my little brother's best friend?"
"Yes, but it's Jaya now, Jaya Hunter."
He nodded, still apparently in shock, then visibly shook himself out of it. "You look great. No, scratch that. You look absolutely amazing."
She grinned and winked at him. "You don't look so bad yourself there, Sparky."
He shook his head again in bewilderment then something she and Ginny had said finally clicked. "You mean Jaya Hunter as in the international movie actress and one of the pioneers in wizarding films and entertainment? That Jaya Hunter?"
She nodded, her eyes twinkling again. "Yep. Right now I'm doing both Muggle and wizarding films. It's fantastic, really fun actually."
"So why the name change?"
"Hermione Granger was too much of a mouthful. Americans had a terrible time pronouncing it. So my publicist came up with Jaya Hunter, a derivative of my middle name combined with my mother's maiden name."
"Wow. That's really cool."
"I think so. It has some not-so-great aspects, but overall I really enjoy it."
"Not-so-great aspects?"
She nodded. "Difficult directors, shoots running overtime, wicked high heels," she smiled and flicked a toe to indicate her stiletto heels. After a pause, she added in a slightly sadder tone. "It also can get a mite lonely."
"How so?"
She shrugged. "You never really know if people are attracted to you or to your fame. Lots of guys get jealous if I have to kiss another man on screen. That kind of thing."
He nodded. "I see."
"Yeah." She looked out over the dark gardens below. "To tell you the truth, I actually kind of envy Ginny and Draco what they have. And Harry and Ron and their wives."
"I know what you mean. Fred just got married a few months back too. Now I'm in the apartment by myself. It's… strange. We went from both being single twins to one of us being married and the other… well anyway, it's going to take some getting used to I guess."
"Who did he get married to?" Hermione asked.
"Katie Bell. They're living in an apartment off Diagon Alley."
She nodded. "Well, if you ever need anyone to talk to I'm here. We lonely single people have to stick together."
He sent her a warm, appreciative smile. "Maybe we should rejoin the party now."
She sighed. "I suppose so. And it is starting to cool off a bit out here." She slid down off the railing and George followed suit then they stepped back through the double doors to the sound of raucous applause. Ginny and Draco were standing on the stage at the front of the room looking very pleased about the effect of their announcement. Wondering what was going on, Hermione was about to ask George what they missed when she saw Harry and Ron making a beeline for them with decidedly evil grins on their faces.
She took a step back toward the balcony doors. "On second thought maybe I'll just go back outside."
Harry and Ron grabbed her arms and dragged her back inside.
"Oh no you don't, Hermione." Harry said still grinning at her. "Draco and Ginny have just announced that we're doing karaoke and you have to stay for the fun."
"Yeah," Ron chipped in. "Apparently Dad got a karaoke machine to run on magic so we want to try it out."
"So?" Hermione tried as they dragged her closer to the stage. "I can watch from back there."
"No," Harry answered. "We had a group meeting and we decided that as our resident entertainer you should sing the first song."
"You what?"
Ron nodded as they continued "escorting" her to the stage. "Oh yes. Besides, Hermione, you sang in that last movie you did."
"But that was in a studio," she hissed. "This is on stage in front of hundreds of people!"
"So? You'll do great. Come on." Harry said, coming to a stop at the foot of the stairs leading up onto the stage.
She glared at both of them and pulled her arms free. "Fine. I'll sing your bloody stupid karaoke, but only because you won't leave me alone until I do."
"That's the spirit," Ron said with a grin. Then he yelled up to the two on the stage, "Oy, Gin, she said she'll do it."
Ginny grinned down at the other woman who was currently sending her death glares then turned back to the audience. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, our very own Jaya Hunter will be singing for us."
The crowd all cheered as Hermione made her way up on stage and Draco and Ginny moved off. Quickly flipping through the list of songs she decided on one near the bottom of the list. If they're going to force me to sing at least it'll be a song that I like.
Punching in the appropriate keys on the machine she picked up the microphone and moved to the center of the stage. "Okay, this song goes out to Harry, Ron, and Ginny, all of whom I will be promptly killing afterwards so I hope nobody's too attached to them."
A ripple of laughter swept over the audience then faded as she started singing in a sweet, strong voice.
"Can anybody find me… somebody to… love."
Piano music started up and she started to get a bit more into it. "Each morning I get up I die a little, can barely stand on my feet. Take a look in the mirror and cry, Lord what you're doing to me. I have spent all my years believing you, but I just can't get no relief! Lord, somebody, somebody—can anybody find me somebody to love?"
George watched her from his place by the balcony doors and smiled. She looked like a natural up there and appeared to be having fun in spite of herself. She caught his eye from across the room and winked at him without missing a beat. He blinked in surprise for a second then smiled back.
She kept singing, very much playing to the audience. "Oh every day I try and I try and I try. But everybody wants to put me down. They say I'm going crazy. They say I got a lot of water in my brain. Got no common sense, I got nobody left to believe. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!"
George surveyed the rest of the crowd to see people's reactions and could tell they were absolutely loving it. In fact, several guys appeared to be drooling. For some reason this annoyed him slightly so he turned back to the woman on the stage.
"Got no feel, I got no rhythm. I just keep losing my beat. I'm okay, I'm all right. Ain't gonna face no defeat. I just gotta get out of this prison cell, one day I'm gonna be free! Lord, find me somebody to love. Can anybody find me… somebody to love?"
The final chords of the song faded out and Hermione struck an ending pose. The entire room filled with uproarious applause and she took a bow. She handed off the microphone to Ginny then made her way back through the crowd, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling, signing the scraps of paper some people were thrusting at her as she went.
"Okay, that was fun," she admitted to George when she reached him again.
He grinned at her. "You were brilliant."
She gave him a cheeky grin in return. "Thanks, Sparky." Then her grin turned decidedly more evil. "Though I do think retribution is in order. Care to join me on the balcony again?"
He nodded, quite intrigued, and followed her outside as another song started.
Once the doors were closed she turned to him. "I feel the need to get even with Harry, Ron, and Ginny and I could use the services of a master prankster. Are you game?"
He shot her a mischievous grin. "I'm always game for pranking. What did you have in mind?"