AN: I own nothing. Wish I did, but...oh, well.
Thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and faves.
I meant to have this up sooner, but, like many of his fans, I've been in a bit of a funk since learning of Alan Rickman's death, and haven't felt much like writing. But, here we go. The next chapter shouldn't be too far off on the horizon.
I know this was supposed to be the ball chapter, but consider it more of a filler.
Enjoy!
"Are you any good at singing?"
Ginny jumped as Hermione barged into her bedroom, making her smear the polish she was putting on her toenails. "Hello to you, too." she said, using her wand to straighten it out.
"Sorry." Hermione said. "Hi, are you any good at singing?" she repeated, sitting in the chair in the corner.
Ginny shrugged. "I dunno. Never tried, really." she said.
"Well...would you try?" Hermione asked.
"What? Right now?" Ginny asked, frowning at her friend.
"If you would." Hermione said.
"Okay, what's going on, Mione?" she asked, finishing up her toes.
Hermione sighed, slumping down in the chair, explaining why she was asking. "So you see, I really need a couple of girls singing behind me, but the only girls I know who sing are on the road." she said.
"Alright, Mione." Ginny sighed. "Just...don't laugh if I suck, okay?"
"You have my word. No laughing." Hermione said, holding up her hand.
Ginny cleared her throat, not looking at Hermione as she began singing quietly. It took Hermione a moment to realize she was singing the Hogwarts song, and doing wonderfully at it, at that. Once she finished, Ginny risked a look at Hermione, only to find her smiling.
"That was great." Hermione said softly, smiling at her friend. Hermione cleared her throat, and blew out a breath. "So, will you do it?" she asked.
"Do wha...oh. Oh!" Ginny exclaimed. "Well, I guess I could." she said.
Hermione let out an uncharacteristic squeal, launching herself at Ginny. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed. After a moment she pulled herself off the laughing girl, standing. "Now, I'll need you to be at this location tomorrow around seven." she said, handing her a piece of paper.
"PM?" Ginny asked, grabbing the paper.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah. We have to start rehearsals." she said. "And, since my performance is supposed to be a surprise, we have to wait until the Ministry is basically empty." she said.
"Okay." Ginny said.
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Hermione said, heading for the door. "Oh, and we'll be rehearsing with the Weird Sisters." she added, closing the door behind her.
"WHAT?" Ginny screeched, jaw hanging open in both shock and surprise.
Ginny entered the ballroom the next night feeling like her stomach was in her throat. She had been convinced now that she must either be extremely fond of her friend, or be completely insane, or a combination of the two.
"Luna? What are you doing here?" she asked, seeing her blonde friend walking just ahead of her.
Luna turned, giving Ginny a smile and a wave. "Hermione asked me to sing with her at the benefit." she said, waiting for Ginny to catch up to her. "Isn't that why you're here?" she asked.
"Well...yeah." she said. "Did she also tell you who we'll be rehearsing with?"
"Yes. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to it." Luna said.
"At least someone is." Ginny muttered, holding her stomach with one hand. "What's that?" she asked, hearing a noise from further down the corridor.
The two girls stopped walking, and listened. After a minute, they resumed walking, realizing the noise was coming from where they were supposed to be. Getting to a set of double doors, Ginny and Luna silently entered, and both girls eyes widened.
There, on stage, sitting in a circle, and just singing, was Hermione and the Weird Sisters. Hermione looked extremely relaxed, and not star struck like Ginny was sure she and Luna looked. The Weird Sisters were playing while Hermione was singing, with Myron Wagtail, the lead singer, singing occasionally with her.
Rock on ancient queen
Follow those who pale in your shadow
Rulers make bad lovers
You better put your kingdom up for sale
Up for sale
Well did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
And is it over now, do you know how
Pickup the pieces and go home.
Well did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
And now tell me
Is it over now, do you know how
Pickup the pieces and go home
Go home
Go home
Pale
Shadow
Of a woman
Pale
Shadow
Of a dragon
Dust woman
Pale
Shadow
Of a woman
Black widow
Pale
Shadow
She's a dragon
Gold dust woman
Woman, woman
"Wow." Ginny breathed. She hadn't realized that the Weird Sisters, any of them, knew muggle songs. But they did, and it was awesome. As she watched, she forgot all about being nervous until she saw Hermione waving toward her and Luna.
"Come on in, girls." Hermione yelled, standing up from the chair she was sitting in. "Myron, Heathcote, boys...these are two of my best friends, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley." she said.
"Hello there." Heathcote smiled.
"Well, come on up and we'll get started." Myron said, waving them up. "Still the same, Hermione?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah. You boys remember how it goes, right?" she asked in a teasing voice, smiling at them.
Heathcote snorted, as did the rest of the band. "No problem, Granger." he said, smirking at her.
"Oh, wait a second. Ginny, Luna, you coming up or what?" Hermione asked.
"Uh...y...yeah." Ginny stammered, forcing her feet to move forward as she and Luna walked up the small set of stairs to the stage.
"One more second, guys." Hermione said. Grabbing a couple of pieces of paper off a small table to the side, she joined Ginny and Luna. "Okay, girls. Here, where the red marks are, is where you'll come in. We'll go over it a couple of times, so don't worry." she said.
"Al...alright." Ginny stammered again, trying to keep her eyes off the band. "Is that song you were just singing the one we're doing?"
"Oh, no." Hermione said, waving her hand. "We were just killing time until you two got here."
"Okay." Ginny whispered.
Hermione could feel the nervousness rolling off of Ginny. Leaning in, she whispered, "Just focus on the song, and you'll be fine, Gin. Pretend they aren't...them, as well."
Ginny nodded, willing her hands to stop shaking. "I'm trying, Hermione, but it's not easy." she said. "I mean, that's Myron Wagtail over there." she added, glancing at the man.
"I know. You should have seen me yesterday." Hermione said. "It gets easier, believe me." she added, patting Ginny on the arm. "How are you doing, Luna? Nervous?"
Luna dragged her gaze from the ceiling, giving Hermione a smile. "I'm fine." she said.
"Well, okay then." Hermione said after she realized Luna wasn't going to add anything. "Let's get started."
Three hours, and what seemed like a hundred replays later, Hermione decided to call it a night.
"Alright, alright." she said. "I think it's time to quit for now."
"Yeah, that's probably best. Don't want to go hoarse before the show." Myron nodded. "Meet back here tomorrow? Same time?" he asked.
Hermione nodded, grabbing her bag. "Sounds good." she said. "Gin, Luna, you coming?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Right behind you, Mione." Ginny said tiredly, stretching as she stood.
"See you tomorrow, girls." Heathcote said. "Bye, Mione." he said, smirking as she rolled her eyes at him.
"See you." she said, waving over her shoulder as she walked out.
Once the three were in the corridor, Ginny walked a bit faster to catch up to her friend. "So, Mione...what's up with you and the Weird Sisters?" she asked.
"What?"
"Well...you seemed friendly with Heathcote and Myron, so..." she said, trailing off.
"Dear gods, no." Hermione snorted, giving Ginny a look. "It turns out, that as big a fan of theirs I am, it's the same with them toward me. You know, the whole 'Golden Trio' thing. The first time we rehearsed together, Heathcote couldn't say more than two words to me without stammering like an idiot, so, we took some time and just talked." she said as they navigated their way through the Ministry.
"Really?" Luna asked.
Hermione nodded. "Really. They're normal wizards, just like I'm a normal witch." she said. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked as the three stopped in front of the floos.
"Same time, right?" Ginny asked.
"You bet." she said. "See you." she waved, stepping into the floo and disappearing.
"You ready, Luna? I wanna get out of here. The Ministry's creepy this time of night." she said, turning to her friend.
"How are rehearsals going, Hermione?" Harry asked as the two sat at the Leaky Cauldron the next day, having lunch.
Hermione wiped her mouth with her napkin before answering. "Pretty good. I think it'll get better when Ginny stops being so nervous around the boys, though." she said.
Harry snorted. "She's star struck, huh?"
"You could say that." she nodded. "She couldn't say a word in front of Myron, and I could barely hear her when she was singing."
"Sorry, love." he said, taking a drink. "Maybe you should rehearse when the band's not around." he suggested, earning a look from Hermione.
"I need the band, Harry." she said. "But, I think you just gave me an idea." she added, staring off into the distance.
Entering the ballroom that night, Hermione quickly made her way toward where Myron and the others were setting up. "Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked, pulling him to one side. She explained her idea...or, Harry's idea, rather...and got his opinion.
"If it's going to help, sure." he agreed.
"Great. I'm really going to owe you one." she said before he went to tell the band what was going on. Checking her watch, she bit her lip anxiously as she noted it was almost time for Ginny and Luna to arrive, and hoped this plan worked.
"Hello, Hermione."
Spinning around, Hermione smiled as she gave a wave. "Hi, Luna. Ginny not with you?" she asked, seeing her red haired friend nowhere in sight.
"She is. She just stopped to use the loo." Luna said, staring over Hermione's shoulder at the band. "Good idea having them wear glamour charms." she said, making Hermione's eyes widen.
"Luna," she started in a whisper, "how do you know that?" she asked.
"Their auras." she said simply, shrugging. "I won't tell Ginny, though. I know she was nervous, and you're trying to help her."
Hermione let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, Luna." she smiled. "Hey, Gin." she said, seeing her finally enter the room.
Ginny looked around nervously, only relaxing once she didn't see the Weird Sisters in sight. "Hi, Hermione." she said. "Uh...where..."
"Oh, something came up and they couldn't make it, so we're rehearsing with these guys." Hermione said, crossing her fingers that Ginny bought her lie.
"Really?" Ginny asked, eyeing Hermione.
"Yes, really." Hermione said, going on the defense, hoping she dropped the subject. "Let's just get started, shall we?" she asked, turning and giving a little smirk.
"Alright." Ginny agreed, suddenly much more relaxed.
"Great." Hermione said as they took their places. "Here are your copies of the song. Remember, the places indicated in red are where you sing."
"I remember, Hermione." Luna said.
"Yeah, so do I." Ginny nodded.
"Well...okay then." Hermione said. "Hit it, boys." she said to the band, getting that feeling when they started playing the familiar notes.
Another three hours later, Hermione was ready to call it a night. She was exhausted, and beyond ready to just fall into her bed and sleep. But, before she could do that, there was something else she had to do. She had decided to tell Ginny the truth.
"Uh, Gin, hang on a minute." Hermione called as she and Luna were getting ready to leave.
"What is it?" Ginny asked, turning back to Hermione as Luna kept walking, going on home.
"I need to come clean about something." Hermione said. "The Weird Sisters didn't cancel. The truth is..."
"Well, I don't see them here, Mione, so I think they did." Ginny interrupted.
Hermione sighed, turning toward the band. "Take them off, please." she said.
Ginny tilted her head as she narrowed her eyes in confusion, wondering what her friend was talking about. Her eyes widened as, one by one, the wizards of the band were surrounded by a shimmer, revealing their true selves.
"Wha..."
"You were so nervous about performing in front of them, and I had to do something, so...I asked them to wear a glamour for the night." Hermione said, nervously twisting her fingers as she explained herself to Ginny.
"But...I don't..." Ginny stammered.
"Well, Harry and I had lunch today, and he asked about rehearsals. So, when I told him that you were a bit shy about singing in front of the boys, he suggested I find someone else, but I said I needed them, which I sort of do, and it just makes sense to rehearse together since they'll be the band playing with me, so..."
"Hermione, stop." Ginny said, holding up her hand. "I understand." she said.
"You do?"
"Yeah. I managed to be a normal person in front of the Weird Sisters because of you, even if I didn't know it was them at the time." she said, smiling. Giving Hermione a hug, she said, "This is one of the reasons why you're my best friend, Mione."
"So you're not upset?" Hermione asked.
"Of course not." Ginny said. "Besides," she said, straightening up, "I was able to sing in front of Myron Wagtail, so how can I be mad at you?"
Hermione gave a little laugh. "Good." she said. "Alright, I don't know about you, but I'm bushed. Let's call it a night, huh?"
"Best idea I've heard in a while." Ginny laughed, looping her arm through Hermione's as they began to walk.
"Goodnight, guys." Hermione said, waving over her shoulder to the band as she and Ginny walked out.
Once the two were gone, Myron turned to the rest of the band and shrugged. "Girls are crazy." he said.
Review please.
I don't know what the Weird Sisters would be like, but there you go. Also, I know Ginny's a bit OOC in this, but put yourself in her place. I for one know I couldn't sing in front of Adele. I'd probably throw up instead. Trust me. I did good just to tell Bill Engvall my name the one time I met him.
Til next time!
XOXO - Onyx Obsidian