Why hello there, thank you so much for the support shown for the first chapter, it was much appreciated, I would be very grateful if you would read this before reading the secnd chapter so it makes sense to you all.
For the auditions, I used outside influences to decide what the students were going to perform. So, when reading about Goyle and Cho's singing audition, I watched Jonathan Antoine and Charlotte Jaconelli performance of The Prayer, for Hermione and Blaise's singing audition, the performance of the song on Glee, yes I do watch Glee sometimes- please don't bully me, gave me the inspiration so I would watch that if you can, and I really really really advise you to watch Melissa and Ade's performance of This Woman's Work, on So you think you can dance, for Hermione and Blaise's dance audition. Melissa and Ade give a performance that is incredibly heartbreaking. Obviously these are just suggestions, so do not feel like you have to watch them, all of the above can be found on Youtube.
Disclaimer- I own nothing, not the characters, just the storyline, and the parts that have been inspired by the shows I watch, are not mine either. I get nothing from this, except a strange enjoyment.
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During the next week, Hermione deliberately kept her distance from the Third Floor and when she had lessons within Malfoy's room, she would pull Blaise to the back of the room away from Malfoy's desk. Unlike the others, the pair of them did not ask Malfoy for any guidance or help with their performance. Her spat with Malfoy made the small blaze of dislike she held for him before bloom into a full blown fire, and she knew she was being foolish, allowing her feelings to get in the way of her education. As their Head, he could help her and Blaise a lot with their auditions, but she didn't think she could stand to even look at the blonde professor, and since Blaise was accepting of her refusal to accept their teachers help, she didn't see any reason to fully question her actions. Blaise's gentle teasing had faded away as the pair of them became locked in their own world of acting, singing and dancing.
There was only one time Malfoy did offer his help, and as much as Hermione hated it, his expertise was needed and albeit grudgingly, gratefully accepted.
"I can't do it," Hermione whispered, digging her nails into her palms. "You'll drop me." The lift that Blaise wanted to try was similar to that in Dirty Dancing, with Hermione being hoisted over Blaise's head and then held there. Hermione's trust not in Blaise, but in herself was very small. The lift was the ending to their dancing audition, but she couldn't help but feel incredibly sick every time Blaise took hold of her waist to hoist her up.
"I won't drop you Hermione, I promise." Blaise said sincerely reaching his arms out to her and Hermione stepped into them, letting her partner comfort her.
"I can't I'm sorry, we need a new ending." Hermione murmured against his skin, pulling away and staring up into Blaise's dark eyes, who watched her worryingly. They needed to finish the dance and changing their planned ending would take a lot of time.
"Try this."
Hermione watched as Draco walked towards the pair of them, indicating to Blaise to let go of his hold of Hermione. She stared in shock as Malfoy ignored her gaze and instead used his authority as a Professor to silence the unspoken refusal for his help.
"Go from here,"
He pushed the two of them into place, and waited whilst the two of them stared at him in confusion and on Hermione's part, anger.
"Well go on then," Malfoy said snidely, gesturing to the two of them who turned towards each other danced the routine up to what they had, Malfoy steadfastly ignoring Hermione's glare the entire time.
"Stop," Draco barked, walking forward. He had stopped the performance just before the run Hermione would do towards Blaise for him to hoist her up into the air. He pulled the two students into the places he wanted them.
"Now Blaise duck down, and you Granger, lift your leg around here." He guided them through, until Hermione's legs were straddled over Blaise's right shoulder, and Blaise gently lifted her up, catching her every time she wobbled and fell off. They spent ten minutes doing this same movement over and over, until Hermione finally had enough and lifted her hands up in defeat.
"It was a good idea," Hermione admitted grudgingly, "But I can't stay upright. Balance isn't my strong point."
"Do it again," Draco commanded and Hermione looked at him, her anger blazing up inside her. It was ridiculous that he was able to invoke such strong emotional reactions from her, with hardly any provocation.
"It won't work Malfoy,"
"That's Professor Malfoy to you. Now try it again,"
Hermione, glaring the entire time, commanded her body into position and spun her left leg around so that Blaise could duck underneath and lift her up whilst she was straddling his shoulder.
As Blaise lifted up, Draco grabbed onto Hermione's hand and held it up for her. Hermione stared at their interlocked hands and squeezed Draco's fingers tightly as she felt herself begin to wobble.
"Hold it there Blaise,"
Blaise stood deathly still while Hermione struggled with her posture to stay upright on Blaise's shoulder. After a lot of practise and extreme glaring at Draco's hands as he supported her, the lift went down well, and Blaise and Hermione had it perfected.
"Thank you sir," Blaise said nodding his head in gratification, Draco nodded in reply his eyes flickering to Hermione before he quickly walked off without another word, leaving Hermione to stare at her tingly hand.
Soon enough the auditions rolled around and Hermione wrung her hands together pacing outside the Great Hall where the couples were performing for Malfoy and whichever judge he had bought in to help him.
"Hermione baby, I'm heading outside to wait with the others. I'll get nervous if I stay here," Blaise whispered to her and Hermione nodded vaguely, continuing her pacing outside the door.
"Don't worry, you'll do great Hermione," Harry smiled, patting her shoulder as he walked past Blaise to stand next to her and Hermione smiled weakly back.
"Thanks Harry, you too," she replied, wincing at how breathless and nervous she sounded. The two of them turned to watch as Gregory Goyle and Cho Chang walked past them and stopped dead outside the Great Hall doors.
"I can't," Goyle whispered, his chest rising and falling with nerves. Cho placed one hand on his arm, smiling gently up at him, her silky black hair falling down her back.
"You can. Here with you, every step of the way," she replied and Hermione watched in interest as Goyle smiled down at her, putting his arm around her waist in comfort.
Cho twisted to look at the pair and smiled awkwardly when she met Harry's eyes.
"Hi Harry," she murmured.
"Hi Cho," he replied and Hermione pressed her lips together to stop a laugh bursting from her lips. The awkward teenage romance of Harry and Cho had lasted a total of one week, and only now, practically a year later, could the two of them look at each other without blushing fiercely.
Goyle held the door open for Cho and gently lead her in, his hand on the small of her back.
"It's like beauty and the beast isn't it,"
Hermione turned around and gasped happily, a large smile blooming across her face as she recognised the owner of the voice.
"Ron!" she squealed and threw herself into his arms, closing her eyes as he held her tight.
"Shh," he reminded her as he and Harry hugged in a manly way.
"We weren't expecting you," Hermione whispered, still clutching on to Ron's arm. He was here, and like Harry he had grown. His hair was cut short again and his frame was slightly bulkier than she remembered. He smiled down at her, and she felt the little butterflies in her stomach whizz around excitedly. She felt happiness bloom inside her, she was in the place she loved most, with her two best friends, and for one short moment, the auditions were forgotten.
"I got bored at home. I'll have to audition separately but I can still watch the two of you perform. Speaking of which, what is this I hear about you going with Zabini?" Ron frowned looking down at her and Hermione dropped his arm, rolling her eyes at Ron's confused expression.
"Oh don't you start," she muttered, walking towards the Great Hall door, thinking back to the way Goyle had looked down at Cho. "I want to see this,"
She slipped inside and stood in the shadows, grinning as her two friends came to stand next to her. The Hall had been transformed into a performing area, with the benches pushed to the side, and a large empty space that was the only area of the Hall properly lighted, leaving everything else drowned in darkness.
"When you're ready," Hermione heard Malfoy say, and her lip curled in dislike at the mere sound of his voice.
Hat, the Sorting teacher, pressed play for the music and settled down in his chair watching in interest.
Hermione watched as Goyle began to sing a few, before realising he was too early and looking to Cho for guidance. She smiled gently at him, and nodded for them both to begin.
And whatever Hermione had been expecting it was not that.
Goyle and Cho's voices rang clearly through the air, the operatic nature of the voices creating a stunningly beautiful melody. Hermione watched as Goyle changed from an awkward, heavy looking boy to someone who was clearly lost in their own world, commanding his voice to harmonise and power through the room.
Hermione smiled as Cho's eyes flickered back to Goyle a proud grin on her face as she carefully set the pace, her voice lilting through and complimenting Goyle's in the perfect way. Whereas Goyle's voice, was in a league of its own, Cho was the backbone, she was the skeleton for him, she kept him together. He wouldn't be stood there without her. And it was heartbreakingly beautiful. There was more to that pair than people realised, and Goyle's devotion to Cho was clear from the way his eyes flickered shut in contentment when she sang separately from him, her voice singing tinkling through the air.
Hermione, Ron and Harry slipped out of the door as the performance came to an end and stood in awe of what they had just seen and heard.
"She is his strength," Hermione murmured and the other two nodded in agreement as they made their way out of the front doors, Ron still shaking his head in disbelief.
The day passed slowly with couples disappearing in to perform, Hermione and Blaise were last with Harry and Luna performing just before them. Hermione was waiting to be called, her nerves bubbling throughout her body, and she tapped her foot impatiently as Blaise stood pacing. Ron had gone in with Harry to watch at the back of the hall and had decided to stay there to wait and watch Hermione's.
"Hermione Granger and Blaise Zabini," Hat called through and Blaise walked over to Hermione and pulled her off the step she had been sitting on.
"Time to go my beauty."
The two of them made their way forward and Hermione strode through the doors purposefully, onto the staging area, turning and staring at the black silhouette of Draco, feeling as Blaise stood beside her, his shoulder brushing hers in companionship. She could barely see anything, the Hall was completely black aside from the stage she was stood on, and she felt uneasy staring vulnerably into the darkness.
"This is Ollivander, he's the judge that'll be helping me." Malfoy said, ruining the silence.
Hermione stared in shock at the darkened figure of the one of the most famous casting directors of all time. How Malfoy had managed to persuade him to come and help, Hermione had no idea. She turned to Blaise to see him wide eyed in disbelief. It was an honour to have him here but if anything, it fuelled Hermione's nerves even more.
"You're topic was what again?" Draco asked out of the darkness and Hermione licked her lips, shaking her head slightly to bring herself back to the moment.
"Urm, Family." She replied shakily, glancing up at Blaise who was looking directly ahead of him.
"And the song you will perform for us today?" Draco replied, jotting answers down on his sheet.
"It's modern. Somebody I used to know, by Gotye,"
"That is considered to be a love song, is it not?" Ollivander asked quietly and Hermione nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, yes technically it is. But we wanted to put a spin on it. And so to give you like a back story, we were wondering if we could do a tiny bit of performing in front of it. Just so it makes sense to you? "
"Ollivander?" Draco asked turning to the second judge
"Seems fine by me, just do not expect that to come as part of your acting mark,"
Both Blaise and Hermione shook their head, before turning to each other. Hermione blinked slowly and that was their cue to start performing. Slowly, she shifted, her stance changing. She was not Hermione anymore, she was in character. And right now, Blaise was the only person in the world.
"So you're back?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking slightly, as she stared at Blaise in undisguised disgust.
"I'm back." Blaise replied quietly and Hermione snorted in disbelief turning away from him.
"So what? Mum died and you pissed off and now you're back? For what? Money? Cos if you think for one moment, I will give you anything you can turn around and walk away right now," Hermione spat out, her back to Blaise.
"Oh my God." Blaise cried out angrily walking out into the audience, past Draco and Ollivander. "That's not why I'm here Hermione, Christ, I'm not the selfish prick you're trying to make me out to be,"
"You cut me out Blaise. You refused me calls and you didn't once try to help me with dad. I was on my own, you are no brother of mine." Hermione replied blankly, her voice monotone
She turned and nodded to Hat who started the music.
Looking out towards where she assumed Blaise to be in the darkness she started to sing. Her voice wasn't bad, not brilliant but nothing disastrous, she could work with it.
"Now and then I think of when we were together,"
"Like when you said you felt so happy you could die,"
She held out her arms to Blaise who stepped forward into the light and continued on with the song, his voice replacing hers.
"So when we found that we could not make sense,"
"Well you said that we will would still be friends,"
"But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over,"
Hermione gritted her jaw angrily, her character taking over completely as she stared at Blaise in anger for leaving her, and her family. For not being the brother she had needed him to be. She opened her mouth and replied to him as the music swelled to its peak.
"But you didn't have to cut me off!"
"Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing,"
"And I don't even need your love," Hermione sang angrily, lifting out her hands as Blaise stared at his little sister in sad surprise.
"But you treat me like a stranger and I feel so rough,"
"No you didn't have to stoop so low,"
"Have your friends collect your records and then change your number,"
"Guess that I don't need that though, now you're just somebody that you used to know!"
The music lulled between them as Blaise came to stand at the other side of the stage as Hermione looked out at the audience angrily.
Hermione turned her head and looked at Blaise quietly before singing more softly, continuing the story with her words.
"Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over,"
"But had me believing it was always something that I'd done,"
She turned to face Blaise directly, audience forgotten, just her screaming out her feelings at being abandoned by the one person who meant the world to her.
"But I don't wanna live that way,"
"Reading into every word you say,"
She watched as Blaise walked towards her and her singing got louder as he approached.
"You said that you could let it go and I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know!"
Blaise sang the chorus again, his pain becoming evident as the two of them squared of off, Hermione echoing certain lines until the end of the song when she walked right up to him and stared him off as they both sang the last line.
"Now you're just somebody that I used to know."
Hermione looked up at Blaise breathing heavily, her nostrils flared as he stared down at her in regret and sadness.
For a moment the Hall was completely silent as they both took time to get out of character and stared at each other in complete awe. They had both got so lost in their performance, almost truly believing it to be real. They had done the best they could.
They both nodded towards where Draco and Ollivander where sat, then grabbed hold of each others hands and walked silently out of the Hall.
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"That was good." Ollivander said simply and Draco nodded. It was the nicest thing Ollivander had said all day, save for Goyle's performance.
His memory played it for him again, the way Granger had lost herself completely, the part of abandoned sister shone through so obviously, her anger and hurt directed at Blaise so clear. Her voice danced through his head, how angry and beautiful she had made the song during the second verse.
He shook his head and looked at the old wizard.
"Day 2 tomorrow," he murmured and stood up, his legs stretching from having sat down all day.
"I don't often say this, but those kids did you proud today. Be sad, it won't make this easy."
Draco smirked and looked back at the stage, the days auditions flickering through his head.
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Draco shifted in his seat and yawned, clicking his fingers to relieve the ache they had from scribbling down various notes after he watched performance after performance of his student's work. Goyle had once again surprised him with the Waltz he had performed with Cho, holding her to him with such tender, gentle hands that even Ollivander had softened slightly at the care Goyle had shown as he had spun Cho round, and the trust the young girl so obviously had, a relaxed smile on her face as she glided around the floor.
Luna and Potter had almost been disastrous, Luna obviously adding her own quirky aspects to the quickstep the two of them had performed whilst Potter stared down at the floor, desperate to not fall over his own feet.
And now the audition that he had been waiting for and dreading at the same time was about to commence. He stiffened his back as Granger walked to the stage followed by Blaise. Ollivander squinted at the pair of them, the clogs in his head whirring with interest at the sight of their costumes.
Hermione was wearing a silk vest, that split open to reveal her stomach, a sight that Draco was pointedly ignoring, and a pair of short white shorts. But the most interesting and illuminating piece of clothing, was the bandana on her head, that held away any sight of the curly mess she called hair. Hermione glanced nervously at Blaise who was wearing an unbuttoned white top, contrasting with his dark skin, and white trousers.
"Would you like time before you perform, to illuminate us with the story?" Ollivander asked, his tone amused and slightly mocking. Granger breathed deeply before nodding.
"Of course you may," Ollivander replied gesturing for them to begin.
Blaise took a deep breath before turning and walking away from Granger mumbling as he went. "No, no, no, that's impossible. That is a sick joke Hermione, no no. That's not… No."
"Blaise!" Hermione screamed suddenly, interrupting his mutterings, her voice slicing through the room and bringing with it a huge amount of tension.
"I have cancer. I'm not lying."
"No…"Blaise trailed off, glancing at Hat who cued the music.
And then Draco watched in silence.
Because it was without a doubt one of the most heartbreaking dances he had ever seen. It was Hermione broken down with pain and anger, her steps sharp and precise, but yet somehow so fragile. It was Blaise having to be her keeper, catching her every time she collapsed, holding Hermione to him, yet knowing that his little sister was going to die.
Draco watched as Hermione flew towards Blaise, banging against his chest in anger at her disease, Blaise stood still and silent as Hermione hit him over and over, desperately begging for another way out. Then catching her, when she needed him to hold her up.
Blaise stopped being Blaise, he was instead the strong rock during the storm, the brother determined to never let his sister fall. Granger flew and jumped into his arms, showing no hesitation holding complete trust that he would catch her, the trust between the pair was so powerfully beautiful that Draco had to look away for one moment, for his composure.
He watched as they performed the lift he had shown them perfectly, Hermione keeping her back arched and straight as Blaise walked away carrying her tall and strong. Being the brother she needed him to be.
Their moves were precise and well rehearsed and so full of emotion that Draco's cold heart felt swollen from it all.
As Blaise helped Granger down, Draco watched as she wiped away the tears that had fallen during her performance. Blaise held her to him for one moment, like in their performance giving her his strength before the pair of them walked down the stairs, Hermione looking back and locking eyes with Draco for just one moment, before the door shut behind them.
"That has to be shown," Ollivander spoke after a long silent pause. "I don't care when and I don't care how, but that has to be shown. What we just witnessed was a performance of stupendous power."
"I won't put them through extra work or stress. The Final Performance means the world to them, after this performance is done, then you can pester them all you like but not before. That was their audition and we need to judge them on it." Draco replied instantly, frowning inwardly at the way he had jumped to protect the two students instead of just letting them deal with the hard work that performing was always going to be.
"It was marvellous. One of the most honest performances I've ever seen."
Draco thought back to the way Granger had clutched her stomach and held her hand out into the audience turning away with a pained expression, as if she was saying, enough now. Enough pain.
"Yes, it was." Draco agreed.
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The school was alive with talk about Blaise and Hermione's performance, and as the pair in question walked through the halls, Blaise soaked up the attention, smiling at the girls and nodding at the guys, whilst Hermione kept her head ducked down and refused to answer any questions about it from anyone who wasn't one of her close friends.
It hadn't helped that two hours after their dance audition, their performance had been shown in every common room and on the big screen in the dining hall during dinner, leaving Hermione to blush furiously and glare with every bit of energy she had at Draco, who stared blankly back at her, a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite place.
She walked outside after breakfast, she had a free period and no work at all to be getting on with, so she decided to go for a walk down to the lake that shimmered next to the school, the sunlight hitting the waters. It was rumoured that a great beast lived inside its water, which put people off of swimming too far out during summer time, but that didn't stop Hermione from slipping off her shoes and socks, letting her toes wiggle in the grass. Harry and Ron were off somewhere, Harry helping Ron prepare for his audition, Hermione would have offered to help but Ron was acting annoyed around her and she couldn't deal with his dramatics. She glanced up at the bright sky and smiled softly at the sight of the moon, sitting calmly in the sky, even though it was not meant to be there. The moon smiled down and she smiled back.
"And it's you are whatever a moon had always meant," she murmured tilting her head up to the sky and the moon.
"And whatever a sun will always sing is you,"
Hermione turned around in surprise and saw Malfoy stood behind her as he looked up at the sky, his hands in his pockets and the deep blue shirt he was wearing made him look almost angelic. Hermione scowled at her thinking.
"Malfoy?"
He cocked an eyebrow at her use of his name, her blatant disregard of the rules. "You know Granger, most teachers tell me that you are the biggest stickler for rules, and here you are, not referring to me in the proper manner,"
Hermione blinked up at him and shrugged. "You use my last name, why can't I use yours?"
"That's not how it works,"
"Well, that's foolish. You show me no respect so why should I show you any?"
"Oh God, you're one of those 'respect is a two way street' people," Draco drawled, boredom seeping through into his tone and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"If you're just going to be rude, I think you should go,"
"When are you going to get it Granger?" Draco asked sharply, looking down at her angrily. "You don't get to talk to me that way,"
"So report me," she challenged, surprising herself with her bluntness, her rudeness, just her entire manner when Malfoy was around. What the Hell was he doing to her?
"And miss your witty comebacks? How would I survive?" He replied mockingly and Hermione rolled her eyes and turned around back to the water, dipping her bare feet into the cold water, and ignoring Malfoy entirely.
"Bugger off Malfoy," she said quietly, not really caring if he heard or not.
She heard his laugh, and cursed her stomach for flipping over at the noise. "Better watch yourself Granger, remember who's in the position of authority here,"
"Yeah, God knows how that happened," she muttered, swirling her feet around in the water and she practically heard Malfoy scoff.
"I'm the best,"
She turned around to see him walk away back up to the castle and huge amounts of relief at the distance from him seeped through her body.
"By the way Granger," he shouted back and she turned her head to look at him as he continued to walk backwards, his gaze locked so firmly on hers that she forgot how to breathe.
"Good performance yesterday," he called out, turning away and continuing to walk casually back up to the castle.
Hermione looked at the water in shock for a few moments, then without trying to stop it at all, allowed a huge grin to split across her face.
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Good performance yesterday? What the hell was that?
Draco rubbed a hand across his face as he walked up the stairs to make his way back to the Great Hall to prepare for the next round of auditions. One, he had quoted i carry your heart with her, possibly one of the most romantic poems written. Two he had actually stopped and had a conversation with her, and three he had actually stopped what he was doing and had a complete conversation with a student! Not just any student, her! He had bantered and she had matched him, he had watched the wind blow the curls away from her face and noticed how brown and deep her eyes were and then to top it all off, he had paid her a compliment, not a snarky back handed compliment, an actual genuine compliment!
What the hell was happening?
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Ron sat moodily outside with the pairs waiting for their final audition, his thoughts flickering back to the performance he had seen. There was no doubt that Hermione and Blaise had great chemistry and trust, with the way she had happily jumped into his arms, no look of doubt or fear, just the emotions she was portraying as that character. And normally that would bother him, ever since the Interhouse competition when Blaise and Hermione had been put together their relationship had irritated him. What with Blaise being, handsome, intelligent, Italian, arrogant, and able to draw brilliant acting and emotions out of Hermione almost effortlessly, Ron found himself pretty much despising the dark skinned boy. But it was not that actual performance this time round that had got on his nerves.
What bothered him was the way Hermione's eyes had hardly ever left the teachers table, flickering back there every once in a while to look at their blonde haired teacher, whilst she answered the bombarding questions she had received about her dance with Blaise. She had been so riled up that Professor Malfoy had shown their audition without asking her and Blaise first, and Ron had only seen her so upset about something one other time. When she had caught him kissing Lavender Brown last year. It didn't make any sense, since Ron had returned Hermione and Malfoy hadn't spoken or even looked at each other hardly at all, but every time they did it was like they had a long and painful history between the pair of them, and Ron didn't like it at all. Especially not the way, Hermione had barely stopped talking about him for the entire night.
But what confused and angered him even more, was the fact that Malfoy's gaze hardly ever strayed from Hermione either.
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Pansy watched with a huge amount of dislike as Blaise effortlessly made Granger giggle and smile as the pair waited outside the school to be called in for their acting audition. The whole school was ablaze with Team Blaise and Hermione, and in all honesty it made her sick. Hermione Granger, Golden Girl. Greatest Actress of her generation. But most importantly of all, man stealer.
Blaise had been hers. Her partner, her almost boyfriend, hers. And then with the Interhouse Performance and Granger and Blaise had just hit it off, with Blaise turning into a disgusting drooling puppy, who fawned over every word Granger said. And what angered Pansy more was that she couldn't know if it was genuine or just Blaise being Blaise, he performed his devotion to her stealthily, never revealing just how enamoured with Granger he actually was, leaving everyone questioning always the relationship between him and Granger. Her eyes flickered to the Weasel who was sat on the steps, watching the pair with a confused and thoughtful expression on his face. She rolled her eyes, a weasel being thoughtful? How wrong.
She turned and looked at her reflection in the compact mirror she was holding up, she scrunched up her hair and pouted her lips. You win some, you lose some. And in losing Blaise, she had a gained a very very attractive new teacher, with sparkling grey eyes. Pansy knew that she had finally grown into her looks, and with her natural charm she would have this new teacher, she was completely sure of it. Draco Malfoy wouldn't stand a chance. She snapped her compact shut and looked up at the school.
"Prepare yourself Hogwarts," she murmured, "For the greatest most forbidden romance story is about to be written,"
Pansy smiled happily and took a deep breath, for if she couldn't have Blaise then she would definitely have Draco. End of.
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Luna could feel something in the air, she wasn't sure what it was but it was almost suffocating. She looked around at the group of people she was sat with and shook her head, smiling softly at their ignorance to the new aura of emotion that had entered their little group. She looked down from her step and saw Harry murmuring his lines to himself over and over as the sun shone down on the students waiting for their auditions, she smiled a little as her partner continued to practise. She liked Harry, he was nice.
She turned and caught a glimpse of Hermione who was talking to Blaise about something and Luna smiled happily as the realisation hit her.
Something was going to happen, something big and exciting and new, and Hermione was going to be right in the middle of it.
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"Ready?" she asked Blaise, looking at her partner who nodded his head, rolling his shoulders around.
"Sure my beauty,"
She smiled easily at him and walked confidently down the aisle to the performance stage. She was in her element here. She could do dramatics. She could do acting.
"Ready?" Draco asked as she and Blaise stood together on the stage, she turned to look at Blaise who nodded down at her.
"We're ready," she replied.
And so their performance began.
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"You know it's true," Hermione whispered as Blaise sat on the floor, staring blankly out into the audience.
"It can't be,"
Hermione sat down next to him, and swallowed nervously, taking a deep breath.
"You knew since the very first time you heard,"
Blaise turned to look at her.
"I'm going to die Blaise."
She watched as Blaise tightened his fists and looked out into the audience, a sick nervous feeling uncurling in her stomach.
"I don't know you," Blaise murmured sadly. "I left before we ever had a chance to be a proper family."
Hermione nodded in reply. "I know,"
"I ran away. I couldn't deal with it. But I knew you'd be able to. I knew you'd hate me, but I thought id cause you more pain if I stayed."
"You were the person I loved more than anything in the world, you would never have caused me pain."
"I made a mistake."
"Yes."
"Forgive me?"
"I did the day you left."
It was silent as Blaise stood up and hoisted Hermione up, wrapping his arm around his sister protectively as he looked out into the audience.
"I don't know you," Blaise repeated and Hermione smiled softly. "Not anymore, but I'd love to be able to say I did."
"Then let's get to know each other," Hermione grinned and Blaise nodded, before Hermione looked away sadly, her eyes finding the outline of Mafloys head and shoulders.
"I'm not going to go through with the operations Blaise," Hermione said quietly and Blaise nodded, a tear sliding down his cheek.
"I didn't expect you to,"
"Never much of a fighter me," Hermione giggled, her breath hitching as hers eyes filled with tears. "I'd rather just enjoy what I have,"
"Just make the most of it," Blaise replied.
"Exactly,"
"So, shall we just try for now?" Blaise asked, looking down at his little sister, a small smile on his lips.
"Let's try for now," Hermione agreed, more tears spilling down her cheeks.
They both turned to the audience and bowed, then moved off the stage and out of the Hall door.
Hermione looked round at Blaise and smiled happily, her cheeks turning cold as the air hit them the minute they walked out the door.
"We did it!" She smiled and Blaise nodded chuckling.
"We did it,"
XXXXXXXXX
"Well that was unexpected," Ollivander commented, turning to Draco as Hat turned all of the lights on leaving Draco to wince in pain at the sudden change in brightness.
"You were expecting them to go full out?" Draco asked in reply, shifting in his seat.
"I was expecting the screaming and crying and death. You weren't?" Ollivander asked sceptically and Draco shook his head.
"No," he answered with complete sincerity, That's not Granger's style."
"And you know what is?" Ollivander asked quietly, his facial expression giving nothing away.
"She's my student, I know what she's like, she goes for subtle rather than obvious," Draco said rather sharply, images of Granger storming into his office, her anger and dislike so unhidden and obvious, that even a Troll would have been able to understand how she was feeling.
"She's definitely not subtle with her feelings, not one to hide away her emotions,"
"Tell me about it," Draco thought, Granger's intense eyes staring at him hatefully.
"So, shall we get to work?"Ollivander asked, and Draco settled back in his chair, preparing to decide the most important roles his students would ever play in their lives.