Romeo, Romeo…

Harry wasn't looking forward to Thursday, no matter how excited Seamus was about rehearsal. It was just another opportunity to make a fool of himself. Even with Hermione's help, Harry could barely memorize any of his lines, forget delivery. Trelawney and Binns hadn't chosen any understudies. It was a magic school after all, and most any illness or reason to not perform could be taken care of in short order.

He kept his mind off the play by finishing homework on Tuesday night, much to Hermione's pride and Ron's bemusement. It was the first time since he'd come to Hogwarts that Harry had completed his homework more than a day in advance. Wednesday was quidditch practice. Harry half-hoped he'd fall off his broom and wake up on Friday morning, but no such luck. Thursday arrived with Harry in good health.

Seamus was bouncing off the walls, even managing to annoy McGonagall, who sent him on an extended errand to the greenhouse to get him out of the way. Snape simply took away house points, a malicious smirk growing on his face with every one. When the professor turned to the Slytherin side of the room to ask a question about unicorn hair, Hermione surreptitiously cast a silencing spell on Seamus. Fifty points were enough to lose in one class period. She refused to release him until the start of rehearsals later that day.

That evening found Harry in the classroom reserved for rehearsals, thankful he hadn't been late. Enough people were going to be staring at him as it was without his helping them. Professor Binns was already in the room when he'd arrived and the chairs had been arranged into two circles, an outer one and an inner one. Binns directed each student to a chair as they came in.

By the time Trelawney arrived, the chairs were full and Hermione had led the stage crew to the room next door to work on props and costumes. Harry fidgeted nervously with his script as he looked around the room. Lisa Turpin, a Ravenclaw in his year, sat next to him on his left, flipping through the script. Harry would bet a year's supply of chocolate frogs that she'd already memorized it cover to cover.

A closer inspection of the first circle was interrupted when he looked up to find Malfoy directly across from him, smirking at Harry's discomfort. Harry glared back but the effect was hardly what he'd wanted. Malfoy's smirk just grew bigger. Trelawney clapped her hands, calling the rehearsal to order and the conversations and muttered recitations died away.

"Today, we will be reading through Act One. The best place to start is the beginning so, the chorus, if you please," she said waving a hand towards a group of people in the outer circle. Harry turned in his chair to watch as the kids read their lines, more than a few stumbling over the words. It made him feel better, knowing that he wasn't the only one who couldn't act. Turning, he settled back in his seat and followed along the script, listening as Sampson and Gregory read and smiled at Seamus when the two began a fight with the Capulet servants. Justin Finch-Fletchly, on Seamus' left, spoke up, reading Benvolio's part.

A cold voice drew Harry's attention from his script and his eyes met with Malfoy's as the boy recited, without so much as a glance at his own script, "What, art thou drawn among the heartless hinds? Turn thee Benvolio, look upon thy death."

The shifting and slight sounds of students trying to get comfortable that had previously been background noise dropped away as everyone in the room froze to stare at Malfoy. Justin stammered a bit, finally getting out Benvolio's response, and Harry felt bad for him, unlucky enough to have to respond to such cold fury. His sympathy faded away though as Malfoy continued, never moving his gaze from Harry. "What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, as I hate Hell, all Montagues, and thee."

Chills ran down Harry's back and he fought the urge to shiver. It felt like every bit of that same hatred was being directed at him. He looked away, not wanting to see Malfoy's eyes boring into his anymore, and saw a nod and looks of smugness pass between Binns and Trelawney. They deserved the right, Harry conceded. They couldn't have picked a more perfect Tybalt.

The readings continued, with Harry trying and failing to follow along. He could still feel Malfoy's gaze burning at him and refused to give the boy the pleasure of acknowledging it. He didn't even notice when it came time for him to read Romeo. Seamus' sharp elbow in his side forced him to sit up right. "Is the day so young?" he blurted, louder than necessary. Seamus rolled his eyes. Harry was just proud he'd gotten that line out.

The reading continued though, and Harry's lack of acting skill soon became obvious. He couldn't say a line without stumbling over one word, or mispronouncing another. Even following along with the script, he needed Seamus' elbow in his side to remind him to speak. Then he made the mistake of looking up at Malfoy. A pained expression crossed the blond's face every time Harry spoke, which only made Harry mess up more.

Finally, Trelawney put them all out of their misery when she announced an early end to the rehearsal. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Seamus patted his back sympathetically as chairs scraped and students rose to leave. Conversations picked up and Harry imagined that they were all talking about him. He sighed and put his chin on his hand as he waited for the other students to leave, studying the cracks in the stone floor despondently.

He didn't even bother to look up when a pair of feet stopped in his line of vision. It didn't take a genius to know that Malfoy was possibly the only kid in Hogwarts, and definitely the only one in the play, who had enough money and the desire to buy such elaborately stitched dragon leather boots. So it came as no surprise when the blond wizard's dry voice spoke to him. "You weren't kidding when you said you sucked," he paused. "Not that it's a shock, but I do hate that I lost Romeo to you, or rather, to your name."

Anger bloomed in his chest of course, matching the flush that rose to his cheeks, but Harry knew the other boy was right. He couldn't say anything back. Seamus jumped up though, more that willing to defend his friend. "It's not like he wanted the role, ya know!" he cried. "Besides, he'll make a better Romeo than you'd ever be. You have to have a heart to play a lover."

Though it made him smile to hear Seamus rooting for him, Harry could just imagine the look Malfoy was giving the sandy-haired Gryffindor, like a bug stuck to the bottom of his expensive boots. "Yes, and you have to have skill to be an actor," Malfoy drawled. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter, sharing a room with this one. Sounds like he has a bit of a crush on you."

Malfoy spun and walked away just a Harry jumped up and grabbed Seamus' arm. His friend's face was a brilliant shade of red and he was sputtering angrily, only curses managing to make it past his lips whole. Malfoy had already left the room by the time Seamus calmed down. He spun to face Harry, red blotches still on his cheeks. "Harry, you know I wouldn't rape you, right?" he demanded. Harry nodded, dropping his friend's arm when it became obvious that he wouldn't run the Slytherin down. Seamus dropped into his chair and crossed his arms, exhaling a furious puff of air. "Besides, everyone knows I've got my cap set for Dean," he added, and Harry rolled his eyes.

A/N: Okay that's all. Thanks for reading and special thanks to Amellie, brionyjae, BladeMaxwell-GoddessofDeath, and Howl To The Moon for reviewing the last chapter. Bye for now!