"You did what?!" Lily exclaimed looking at Martin. Moria stared at him as well, her expression surprise as Martin shrugged, drinking his coffee.
"You told us that you needed something to talk about for your project. Well we have the annual talent contest here in two weeks. There isn't a lot of people this year with the fact that so many people are gone with their own jobs. So I signed you up. You're welcome to drop out though. It's not mandatory. It's just an option." Martin suggested.
"That seems cool." James responded and Sirius nodded grinning. Moria kept her gaze down on her plate, shifting around her egg that she had been eating. Remus, Lily, Alice and Frank however shook their heads.
"No thank you…sorry." Alice said smiling apologetically. Martin laughed.
"So we have two, I'm assuming?" He questioned. James and Sirius looked at each other and grinned mischievously.
"Oh we're bloody entering. Moria? What about you?" James asked and the Prescott clan looked at each other. Knowing her she would probably say no. She hadn't done anything involving talent displays in years. Moria was silent for several seconds then swallowed.
"….Sure…." she said softly. James and Sirius whooped while the Prescott's looked at her in shock. Moria kept her gaze trained on the table as James and Sirius began discussing what they were going to do.
Moria sat at the beach watching the sun beginning the set. Tonight was the night. She gulped staring at the ocean that now looked like a lake of fire.
"Mom….Dad….please be with me." She said softly and then stood up, brushing the sand off of the back of her legs, still looking nervous out to sea. She glanced at the makeshift tent that the locals had made for the talent show. Shoving her hands into her pockets she made her way back to her home.
"Bloody hell...are my ears bleeding?" Alice hissed out as they sat down listening to some local girl attempt to sing a version of Nine Million Bicycles.
"Not yet." Frank replied coughing slightly. "But it's pretty close." This girl had come right after Sirius and James who had decided to do a comedy skit. It had been hilarious and light-hearted and everybody had enjoyed it, even Lily who had begrudgingly laughed at their antics. Now they were stuck with a girl who obviously thought she was the best was belching out the notes. Sadly she was tone-deaf and had no rhythm. James and Sirius cringed and acted like they were dying. For once Lily made no attempt to protect the girl as she was too busy cringing at the shrieks that were coming out of the woman's mouth. Soon after the girl ended and skipped off, the audience being polite clapped slightly. Several minutes of silence.
"Who's next?" Lily whispered out to Remus. He flipped through the directory.
"Moria apparently. She's last." He stated. As soon as he finished they heard an introductory clap and looked up as Moria walked out onto stage. She was clearly nervous as she faced the crowd. Soon after a slow tune from a stereo system began to play. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Hear me
Hear me
You gotta be out there
You gotta be somewhere
Wherever you are
I'm waiting
'Cause there are these nights when
I sing myself to sleep
And I'm hopin' my dreams
Bring you close to me
Are you listening?"
She opened her eyes and stared at the crowd as she finished the world listening, and took a deep breath.
"Hear me
I'm cryin' out
I'm ready now
Turn my world upside down
Find me
I'm lost inside the crowd
It's getting loud
I need you to see
I'm screaming for you to please
Hear me
Hear me
Hear me
Can you hear me?
Hear me"
She allowed her voice to drop and fade slightly. The group looked at her shocked. They had never…NEVER…heard her sing. Her voice was low and soft and seemed to draw the crowd in.
"I used to be scared of
Letting someone in
But it gets so lonely
Being on my own
No one to talk to
And no one to hold me
I'm not always strong
Oh, I need you here
Are you listening?
Hear me
I'm cryin' out
I'm ready now
Turn my world upside down
Find me
I'm lost inside the crowd
It's getting loud
I need you to see
I'm screaming for you to please
Hear me"
She closed her eyes again scrunching them tight, apparently getting close to the climax of the song. She rested her head slightly to the side.
"I'm restless and wild
I fall, but I try
I need someone to understand
Can you hear me?
I'm lost in my thoughts
And baby I've fought
For all that I've got
Can you hear me?"
She raised her hand to her chest lifting her head a bit more now, allowing more air to enter her lungs.
"Hear me
I'm cryin' out
I'm ready now
Turn my world upside down
Find me
I'm lost inside the crowd
It's getting loud
I need you to see
I'm screaming for you to please
Hear me
Hear me
Hear me
Hear me
Can you hear me?
Hear me
Hear me
Hear me
Can you hear me?
Oh, oh, oh, oh..."
Her voice began to drop and then began to fade away, the song now at its end.
"Hear me
Hear me
Hear me"
The tune ended and she glanced up at the crowd who were now in shock. Quickly she bowed and then left the stage. After a few short seconds of silence, people began to clap loudly. The teens were just staring at the empty stage and then scurried away, entering the back of the theater. After a few minutes of searching, they found her sitting on the back of the stage. Alice and Lily tackled her.
"Moria, when did you learn to sing like that?!" Lily exclaimed and Moria blinked then laughed softly.
"My parents were both singers." Moria stated jokingly pointing at her throat. "It's in the genes." She finished laughing as Alice hugged her again.
The house was filled with laughter and chatting. Apparently after the talent show everyone in the town would go to the Prescott house for some food and drink. It was then that Sirius noticed that Moria wasn't in the group of partiers. He somehow managed to escape without the others and exited. He shook slightly, the cooler air hitting him. He glanced out into the field and spotted Moria resting on the side of the bank. She glanced up when he approached her and grinned.
"And here I thought you would be the center of the party." She stated and he shrugged.
"I normally am wingman for James and he is completely capable to handle himself right now. Besides, it's not really a party if one of the group is missing." He replied. She laughed softly.
"I needed some time to think." She responded. He looked at her, and she looked at the sky.
"About?"
"A lot of things. It's been years since I sang. At least in front of a crowd. There were a lot of things I stopped when my parents were killed. Singing was one of them. I never had a reason to. But I can't keep hiding in the past…doing that I guess is the step in the right direction." She said. He sat down next to her looking at her. She blushed slightly, thankful that it was dark now.
"You know…I'm rather shocked that you haven't gotten a bloke at Hogwarts." He said and she finally laughed.
"Right. Who would want to date the 'ice-queen of Hogwarts'?" she joked. "Name one."
"I would." He said without thinking and she blinked and looked at him in shock. He then realized what he said and abruptly stood his face a deep red, which even in the dark was noticeable. She stood up as well her face registering shock.
"I…I…" he began to stutter and back up about ready to run. She quickly grabbed his sleeve.
"Did you mean that?" she asked. He looked at her confused.
"Mean what?"
"Don't play stupid arse, did you really mean that?" She snapped, her face now noticeably red. Curiously he stopped trying to escape and looked at her. They were silent, just staring at each other, the faded sounds of the music echoing to the beach. Suddenly Sirius pulled her to him and kissed her.
He felt her stiffen in his grip, then her relax relenting to the kiss. He moved away, breathing heavily unable to look at her eyes.
"Bloody hell…sorry…" he whispered out.
"Shut up. Just shut up." She breathed and kissed him gripping his jacket. He blinked in shock then like she had done before, returned the kiss. Seconds passed before they broke apart. She looked up at him and smiled slightly and he couldn't help but laugh.
"Bloody hell we'll never hear the end of this." She said smiling as she rested her head on his chest. He frowned slightly, glancing at the top of her head. Their friends were the least of his worries. He didn't care if his family hated the idea of him having a muggle-born witch for a girlfriend…but he worried about their actions towards her. They already annoyed and bullied Moria. If they found out about them…there would be no end to the harassment aimed at Moria and would most likely worsen.
"Then let's not tell anyone." He murmured and she looked at him in confusion.
"You know things between purebloods and muggle-born witches and wizards are getting hostile. I know that our friends could care less. And I don't really care about my family, but it would kill me to see you being harassed by them."
"They already do." She refuted looking at him skeptically. He pushed a bang behind her ear.
"They'll harass you worse to get to me. This is my family." He said. She sighed and glanced at the house, then back at him. She kissed him lightly then nodded.
"Alright. But right after the 7th year we tell everyone else." She compromised and he grinned.
"Sure thing. Shall we?" he asked with a bit of amusement in his voice, extending his hand to her. She laughed and together they returned back to the house.
Bellatrix sat in the parlor of her family's mansion waiting expectedly for the visitor that was coming. She didn't know where Andromeda was, but Narcissa was sitting in a cushioned chair nearby. She looked up when they heard their house-elf answer the door. She heard a loud hiss as their mother shooed away the annoying creature. Hurriedly she stood up and smoothed out her dress and hurried out to the loft above the front door.
It was then she saw him and watched as her mother curtsied low to the man in front of her.
"Welcome Lord Voldemort."
So I obviously didn't make that song...and since I don't have any song writing skills, I just used Hear Me by Kelly Clarkson