Chapter 11 ~ Movement
The audience applauded as the black curtain rose. A hush fell over the crowd and all were silent in anticipation. It was dark on the stage until a spotlight beamed down; landing upon a red-haired girl who was frozen centre stage. She wore a beaded gold leotard that shone through the bright light. As the music begun to play, the rest of the stage lit up and the girl snapped into action. There was not a moment's pause as she moved, leaping across the stage with enthusiasm to the rhythm of the jazz music.
Her movements were animated and expressive, and she whirled around the stage with such energy and activity you were worried you would blink and miss something. The routine only intensified as time went on and as her performance finally came to a close, finishing where it began, the audience was in uproar. Applause rolled through the large auditorium like thunder, though it quickly died as the second performance began.
A blonde girl took the stage, walking to the center with intensity. Her outfit was satin red, and she also wore a dark feather headpiece and fishnet tights. She paused just right of the centre and stared into the crowd with big, wide eyes. Tension filled the dark hall as the audience waited for her to begin. As the music began to play the girl didn't miss a beat, tap-dancing on the spot. The click of her shoes echoed throughout the auditorium to the beat of the music, each 'click' falling at the perfect moment.
The audience was captivated and each individual held their breath as she danced around, her movement and pace quickening as her performance continued. Nearing the end of her performance the recorded music jolted for a moment, throwing her off beat. A few seconds passed as she struggled to regain time with the music, clicks falling at odd, irregular moments. It seemed she had only just got back on track when her performance ended, though she held her head high and the audience gave her a loud, though slightly sympathetic applause.
As she walked off the next performance was announced as "Miss Daphne Queenie," and that certainly caught my attention. Sitting up a little straighter I watched as Greengrass walked lithely onto the stage and I almost did a double take. Her hair was down, though half of it was held up by a diamond beret to the side. The majority of her costume was black, however the top left side of her outfit was silver, as well as her sparkling gloves. Her attire revealed the perfect amount of her pale flesh that was only complimented underneath the bright lighting.
As she posed, ready to begin, her expression was solemn and melancholy. A gentle piano melody drifted out through the auditorium and then she began to dance. Her movements were fluid and powerful, as she carried herself delicately around the stage. Her body moved in elegant and emotional expressions. She maneuvered her body artistically as she lifted herself and spun, holding herself elevated in the air, before she landed with finesse.
Vocals began with the piano's melody, and Greengrass displayed the emotion of the song through not only her facial expressions, but through her body. I couldn't help but cock my head to the side slightly as I watched her, enchanted by the effortless grace she portrayed through every twist and turn of her performance. I could not drag my eyes away from her as her contemporary dance continued, and I found myself wondering how I had not noticed she was a dancer before. With the effortless grace and fluidity she constantly portrayed it should have been easy to guess.
As her performance came to a close, the vocals died down. The soft piano melody that had started her performance also ended it, and as she finished she held her final pose for a few moments. Applause once again rung through the auditorium and I smirked gently, joining in. She stayed on stage for a few moments longer, to acknowledge and appreciate the applause, and as she scanned the audience she caught my eye.
I gave her a small smirk, with the hint of a smile on my lips, and gently lifted my hand in a brief wave. She returned a tiny little smile and exited the stage, but not before glancing briefly to someone else in the crowd. I turned my head to the left to see Theodore Nott, only a few rows in front of me. He caught my eye and we both acknowledged each other with a brief nod before the next performance began.
There were a few more solo performances, and then a small break before the duets and trio's began their performances. A quick glance at my program informed me Greengrass would be dancing 5th, and sure enough as the fourth trio left, Greengrass walked back on wearing a lacy white ballerina costume, accompanied by a tan boy. Their dance went by far too quickly for my liking and, far too soon, the next duo was entering the stage. There was another short break after all the trio's and duo's had been completed, and the final dances were the group performances.
I didn't have to wait too long for Greengrass to come back on, wearing another lacy ballerina-type costume, however this time it was of a gentle-ivory colour . Even with 6 other dancers moving beautifully across the stage, my eyes followed her. The rest of the group performances went by very quickly as there was a lot to look at and digest. The end of the group performances were marked by another break, and the break was ended with the award ceremony.
Not at all to my surprise, Greengrass won… everything she was in. She won her contemporary solo performance, her duo performance, and her group even won the group performance. The audience seemed to agree with the judge's choice as the applause was deafening. It was about 2pm when I met Greengrass as I was walking out into the hall of the auditorium. She was still in her last costume, and she was with her group celebrating when she spotted me.
The bright smile on her face I had not seen in years expressed her excitement and happiness more than words ever could. As she came up to me she seemed to start to reach out and hug me before she suddenly caught herself. Her smile still bright, she asked me what I thought of it. "Honestly, you were brilliant" I told her. "That was well worth my Saturday morning." I also told her, once again, that I was surprised I had never picked up on the fact she was a dancer, and that it seemed blatantly obvious to me, now.
With a slight blush on her pale cheeks she thanked me and asked if perhaps I would like to go out to coffee with her. I agreed and she dashed off to go get changed and ready. Meanwhile, I admired the marble floors and extravagant chandeliers in the hall. When she reappeared I gave her a small smile before we walked to the nearest café. The café was fairly busy however we were guided to a secluded spot. The first thing we did as we were seated was look over the menu's, though I already knew what I was going to get.
As the waitress that seated us came back around to take our orders, I asked for a regular double espresso, and Greengrass ordered a regular cappuccino and a dark chocolate muffin. "To share" I added to the waitress with a smirk. Greengrass gave a little laugh and playfully added "to share." As the waitress left, Greengrass turned to me and told me she hoped I like chocolate. I playfully replied "Well, I can certainly tell that you do."
I watched her for a few moments before gently licking my lips, and glancing off out the window. There was a long pause and no sound from Greengrass. I continued to stare out the window until she finally gave a small, quiet laugh. As I glanced back to her she looked slightly embarrassed, though the surprised smile on her lips told me that she had found my comment amusing.
The waitress returned fairy shortly with both of the drinks, and the muffin on a little plate. She had placed two forks on the plate beside the muffin, and gave an amused "I'll leave you two to it then~" smirk as she left. Ignoring the sugar packets on the table I took a careful sip of my steaming espresso and sighed gently. Strong and bitter. Just the way I liked my coffee.
It wasn't long before we begun to talk again. I cocked my eyebrow at her and asked "Are you sore yet? Surely it's painful to dance around on wooden flooring." She told me that dancing was always painful and you were always sore… But that it's good. She also told me that it is a dancer's job to make the pain and the strength dancing takes look easy and graceful.
"Do you have any hobbies?" she asked, and I nodded gently. "Quidditch and reading would be the top two…" I told her and she nodded gently. Of course, she had seen me at Quidditch games, and I took a book just about everywhere I went, so there was no confusion as to why she didn't look surprised. "I've just finished such an incredible book..." she told me. "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer... Have you heard of it~?" she asked. "No, I haven't…" I told her, shaking my head slightly in thought. The name 'Perfume' did ring a bell, however.
It didn't seem like a book that I would go out of my way to find, though. 'You shouldn't judge a book by its cover,' they say. Well, no one ever said anything about judging a book for its title. Without giving any details away, Greengrass devoted the next few minutes of her life describing the story and themes of 'Perfume'. Perhaps it was her interesting description, or it might have been the spark in her eyes… Maybe it was the enthusiasm in her tone. Whatever it was, she had me convinced to read it only two minutes in.
The conversation topic moved from favourite books, to favourite colours, to favourite foods, and etcetera. It turns out that we both agreed on black as our favourite colour and, as for favourite food, I said pasta (how very Italian of me) and she told me that she enjoyed fresh sushi. I was quite surprised at this; I hadn't pictured her as a seafood lover. Time passed quickly… One cup of coffee became two, and that became three and so on.
It was well pass 5 o'clock when we finally left the café. Greengrass and I then parted ways. She had gone home for the weekend and had an 'after party' with her dancing group to attend, and I went back to Hogwarts. I spent the rest of the weekend searching for a copy of Perfume. I had no great luck and I decided I would just ask to borrow a copy from Greengrass. I assumed she would own a copy, seeing as she spoke so highly of it.
Exams finished that Friday and most of the students flocked out of the school to get on the Hogwarts Express to go home for Christmas. I, however, was staying at the school for just a few more weeks due to Slughorn's Christmas Party on Christmas day. Fortunately, only Greengrass, Nott and Malfoy had decided to stay as well. Greengrass, for Slughorn's Party, and I wasn't sure about the other two. Nor did I care. It was a lot more peaceful at night, at least, without Crabbe and Goyle's synchronized snoring.
I decided that I would go home nearing New Years and then I would be home for my birthday on the 3rd. On one particular night, nearing Christmas, I was seated in the Common Room with Greengrass. She was stretching her legs on a cushion by the fire, and I was reading (of course). It was just us in the Common Room, perhaps due to the lack of students on campus, or perhaps due to the time.
It was about midnight when I arrived, sat down, and began to read. She seemed surprised to see me, though I wasn't sure why. We spoke a little. It turned out that she had dancing practice on that particular day, hence why she was stretching her legs. "You look beautiful by the fire" I told her as we sat. I was just being honest, to be fair, however she blushed and was quiet for a very long time. "Oh, thank you…" she finally said.
"Where did that come from?" she asked. "…My eyes, my brain, my mouth… My thoughts" I told her, playfully. She looked away smiling. "Smart arse" she said, and I had to agree. I turned back to my book to hear her gentle laughter. At one point of the night (or, morning, to be correct) I decided to go sit on the cushions next to her, closer to the fire. "Do you mind?" I asked as I seated myself beside her. She glanced up at me and smirked gently. "Of course not" she said. "Wanted to see the beauty up close?" she added, playfully.
I smirked back at her, glancing back to my book. "Yes, something like that~" There was a few minutes pause, then. Despite being close to the fire, she wasn't very warm. Using this as an excuse I slowly lifted my arm up and put it gently around her, before I continued reading. She then paused, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her look over at me and raise her eyebrows in surprise. I didn't say anything and she smiled a little to herself.
Over the next few hours she gradually and carefully leaned into me, finally resting her head on my shoulder. I finished my book and glanced at the time. 2:30 am. I slowly put my book down, staying fairly still so Greengrass would be comfortable. She seemed to notice I had put my book down as she then sleepily asked me what the book was about. She asked a few questions, however it was obvious that she was beginning to drift off. As she went quiet, obviously asleep, I watched the flames. I couldn't help but glance to her and watch her for a minute. There's no easy way for me to say it but… She was adorable.
From what I've heard, most people look extremely peaceful as they sleep. Greengrass was an exception, however. Although her pale face seemed relaxed, there was a very slight disturbance in her sharp, flawless features and her eyebrows were furrowed ever so slightly. I thought perhaps she wasn't comfortable enough, and I moved my arm down to her waist, slowly and carefully, so it wasn't so restrictive of her head and neck.
She made a soft, sleepy noise in her slumber and I knew I had done well. She roused after another 10 minutes, snuggling her face against my shoulder for a few moments before she caught herself and sat up straight, turning red. "I'm sorry" she apologised, but I shook my head with a small smile. She smiled back, sleepily and joked about how she should probably go to bed. I smirked just a little at that.
"Perhaps" I told her. She sighed gently and stayed where she was, my arm still around her waist, before she finally stood up. I stood up too, a lot slower than her. I didn't quite have the agility of a dancer… All I had was long legs and one of them didn't even work properly. As we stood there, next to the fire, I looked down at her and she looked up at me. There was a pause as we locked eyes.
She licked her lips and then she ever-so-slowly inched forward towards my lips. She paused, waiting for me to move too. I was cautious, however I leaned down slowly. As I guessed, as soon as I moved forward she smirked and turned away, murmuring a teasing "Goodnight" as she left. I couldn't help but laugh a little as she went.