A/N: IMPORTANT FOR THIS CHAPTER
Harry singing = {lyrics}
Kelsi singing = [ lyrics]
Together/Harmony = (lyrics)
Figured that would make life a little easier for those of you who don't know the songs. :)
Btw, you're likely going to hate me by the end of this…sorry.
Harry woke up the morning of the open mic to find Sharpay and Ryan looming over the foot of his bed with maniacal gleams in their eyes. He quickly blinked away the sleepiness still residing in his eyes and mind and shuffled back away from them slightly. Grins spread across their face and Harry knew he was doomed.
Sharpay opened her mouth and confirmed it, "You have twenty minutes. Get up, get ready and meet us in the foyer. You need a new outfit and a hair cut since you are making your first trip onto the stage." With that, her and Ryan both turned and walked haughtily out of his room.
Forgetting he had moved backwards when he sat up, Harry tries to flop back onto his pillow with a groan but his head rams into the headboard instead. Clutching the now sore head and mumbling about his ever-poor luck, he rolls out of bed and moves towards the bathroom. He barely makes it down within the set time limit and is quickly ushered out to the waiting bright pink limo.
While Harry wasn't huge on the obnoxious color of the limo, he had to imagine the workers at the mall and other stores in the area were thankful for it; it gave them a warning from a mile away about the need for an extended lunch break, time to fabricate a story about being deathly ill, or even call in an assassination on one of their less loved family members for a family emergency. Harry chuckled darkly to himself and tried to tune out the banter going back and forth between Ryan and Sharpay about what kind of outfit and hairstyle Harry needed to make a good first impression. Harry shrugged off those thoughts and paid attention to thought behind their actions. He knew that this was their way of showing they cared since it was what made the most sense to them.
By the end of the shopping trip, Harry had to admit that the last few hours, while just short of torture, were very productive and he looked very smart in his new clothes. Ryan and Sharpay definitely knew what they were doing. The part he was worried about however was the upcoming haircut. His mind flashed back to Petunia cutting his hair horribly the night before picture day at the school and then him waking up the next morning with the exact same length as he had before the haircut. He wasn't sure if it was a manifestation of a power similar to Tonks' metamorophmagus abilities or just accidental magic but he hoped it didn't happen again or else he would have to find an amazing cover story to explain the quick regrowth.
The trio made their way into the hair salon and Ryan and Sharpay began flipping through the different magazines for more hairstyle options sometimes stopping on different ones to discuss the pros and cons. There was no one else in the salon so a couple of the hairstylists came over to give their opinion, Harry's favorite was one of the young ladies suggesting keeping the hair length but working it into what she called a 'messy' look since his hair seemed to get close on its own. Ryan and Sharpay had both tried to help with his hair, but Harry had never used any kind of hair styling substance to get his hair to behave and didn't know how to apply it effectively so usually tried to make it stay flat after getting out of the shower.
Harry gets led over to a chair and for the next half hour, the hairstylist who suggested the messy look worked his hair over and showed him how to get the results he wanted. Thankfully by the time the three left the hair salon, Harry didn't have to get his hair cut since Ryan and Sharpay decided it looked fine the length that it was. The positive side to all the action his day had held so far was he only had a couple hours lefts before he and Kelsi got together to work through their song before going to the venue to do a sound check and then sitting back until it was their time to perform.
Ryan and Sharpay passed the remaining time walking Harry through some of their vocal warm-ups. Harry had to fight hard a few times to keep from laughing at them but figured that if they had gotten leading roles so often in musicals, they must be doing something right and that he should listen to their advice. Sharpay was still pouting since she and Ryan had been told that they couldn't hear Harry and Kelsi sing the song until that night.
Harry grabbed the guitar from the corner of the room after Ryan and Sharpay decided he had warmed up enough and walked into the room he and Kelsi were going to meet to practice one more time before they went to the venue. He sat down and started tuning the guitar like Kelsi had shown him and then played through a little bit of the song before he heard the door open again, twisting around he starts to greet Kelsi and is stopped dead in his tracks.
Kelsi stood just inside the doorframe with a bashful look on her face as she watched Harry's eyes trail over her quickly with a look of amazement on his face, "Wow. You look absolutely stunning!" Harry breathed out, and she did, her hair gently curled and resting on one shoulder. She was wearing a sleeveless, deep green blouse that had black accents and designs running across it with a pair of black jeans on. She blushed lightly with a shy smile on her face, "You don't look half bad yourself, Harry." She moved into the room and took a seat next to Harry, "Are you ready? Nervous any?" She asked softly.
Harry leaned back into the couch the pair of them were sitting on and picked at the guitar strings lightly, "Not really," he replied, "I mean of course there is some nervousness there, but it is bearable I guess. It's like a heightened level of anticipation and desire to pull this off, but we have practiced enough that I feel confident about it." Harry glanced over at the clock on the wall and rocked forward and onto his feet. Sliding the guitar around to rest on his back, he reached out both hands to Kelsi and helped her up off the couch and then held the door to the room open as they walked to the room that held the sage they would be playing on later in the evening. The two of them conversed quickly with the man who was running the soundboard for the night and went through their song while the sound tech adjusted the levels for them.
The sound check and run through went smoothly and Harry and Kelsi walked off the stage together once they finished up so that they could go meet their family and friends that had been able to come. Ryan and Sharpay had apparently been able to get a scheduled slot during the night and had also dressed up and came in wearing enormous smiles with their parents following shortly afterwards. Harry's friends arrived next, with Kevin, Macy and Kelsi's parents being dragged in by the hands holding onto their children's' hands. Kevin and Macy tackle/hugged their sister before attacking their second target of the night, Harry, which caused Hermione and Ginny to coo at the sight, which was mimicked mockingly by Ron before he received a couple slaps to the back of his head. Harry chuckled in response to the actions around him as he returned the hugs from the two kids that he had been able to enjoy being around and playing with when he visited Kelsi.
Harry was greatly enjoying the evening so far, the displays of different vocal and musical art forms was amazing to him. The magical world didn't really have very many people involved in making art like this. The most art he had really seen from wizards and witches were magical paintings of people that they spelled to life. Many people sang or played instruments, which he was expecting, but more than a few times, people stood up and did poetry, or spoken word as many people called it. Ryan and Sharpay did a wonderful rendition of "Don't Stop Believing" and received much applause at the end of their performance. Harry looked around the room they were sitting in as a young man made his way up to the stage with a small piece of paper and started talking into the mic. There were a large number of people crammed into the dining area, a few people sitting at the bar near the kitchen area and even more in the seating section near the stage. Harry's mind focused back on the guy on the stage, trying to not get nervous now, as the young man performed a spoken word.
Kelsi reached over and squeezed his hand as the applause was given at the end of the young man's performance and nodded towards the stage when he looked at her, signaling they were to go up soon to do their performance. Harry swallowed unsurely and glanced around the room again. Kelsi stood up and pulled him over to the side where she could whisper to him on their walk up there. "Don't worry about it Harry, I know you probably weren't expecting quite this many people to be here tonight. But you have your friends and family here for you to support you and cheer you on. They would be proud of you doing this even if you didn't sing well but since you do, they will get to enjoy it also." She said with a playful grin set on her lips and Harry gave a light chuckle.
"I know I shouldn't be worried. I've had many more people than tis watching me before, but it is still a little unnerving." Harry replied softly, looking at the ground.
Kelsi squeezed his hand again before letting it go slowly, "Take a few slow, deep breaths and tense and loosen some of your muscles to slow your heart rate and let out some of the excess adrenaline your body is creating right now. People who usually suffer from stage fright have a heightened level of adrenaline running through their body and their heart speeds up because their mind starts worrying about so many things that might go wrong. We have practiced this song to where it is about as perfect as we can get it and you can probably sing it in your sleep now. You don't have anything to worry about. Besides, I'm up there with you so let's just have fun with it. Okay?" Kelsi asked as they reached the foot of the stage.
Harry nodded and took her advice, subtly clenching and opening his hands while he took in a few deep breaths. He applied some of his occlumency training and worked to bring his mind to an area of peace. He smiled at Kelsi and mouthed a 'thank you' to her as he picked up the guitar and slipped the strap over his head. Moving over to the mic, he glanced one more time at Kelsi as she started to talk, "Good evening everyone! It is good to see you all back here again this year. For those of you who haven't been here before, I'm Kelsi Nielson and this is my friend Harry Potter. It's his first time here also," she went to continue but people clapped and a few shouted a welcome, resulting in a blush and nod of acknowledgement from Harry. Kelsi laughed lightly at his response and then continued, "Tonight we are going to sing a song for you called Barton Hollow by the Civil Wars, hope you enjoy it." She nodded at Harry and he counted them off.
The first chord in the song was rough and dirty sounding, just like it was in the original while Harry and Kelsi's voices blended together in harmony beautifully. As Harry moved into playing the main riff for the song people started clapping and Harry and Kelsi began to sing the song.
{I'm a dead man walking here
But that's the least of all my fears}
(Ooh, underneath the water)
{It's not Alabama clay
That gives my trembling hands away}
(Ooh, please forgive me father)
(Ain't going back to Barton Hollow
Devil gonna follow me e'er I go
Won't do me no good washing in the river
Can't no preacher man save my soul)
{Did that full moon force my hand?
Or that un marked hundred grand?}
(Ooh, underneath the water
Ooh, please forgive me father)
(Ain't going back to Barton Hollow
Devil gonna follow me e'er I go
Won't do me no good washing in the river
Can't no preacher man save my soul)
[Miles and miles in my bare feet
Still can't lay me down to sleep
If I die before I wake
I know the Lord my soul won't] (take)
{I'm a dead man walking
I'm a dead man walking}
(Keep walking and running and running for miles
Keep walking and running and running for miles
Keep walking and running and running for miles, Oh)
(Ain't going back to Barton Hollow
Devil gonna follow me e'er I go
Won't do me no good washing in the river
Can't no preacher man save my soul)
The people sitting in the building erupted into applause and cheers as the last word was held out and ended. Harry's face took on a huge smile as he let out a huge breath in relief and happiness. He looked over at Kelsi and saw her beaming back at him. He gave a half laugh before looking back at the people in the seats and the two of them gave a small bow. As Harry moved to set his guitar down and follow Kelsi off the stage, a person from the audience called out, "Do another one!" which was followed by more cheers shortly after. Harry looked back at Kelsi and she shrugged in acceptance and another smile crept across his face as he thought of the perfect song to play.
His fingers began to move across the strings again and Kelsi's face lit up in a blush as she recognized the song from the guitar intro. Harry's smile grew soft as he looked at her a moment longer before turning to sing into the microphone.
{I've got this friend, I don't think you know him
He's not much for words, he's hidden his heart away
Oh, I've got this friend, a loveless romantic
All that he really wants is someone to want him back}
He turned to look at Kelsi as he kept singing and just watched her for a few moments as she raised her microphone to join in with him on harmony.
(Oh, if the right one came
If the right one came along
Oh, if the right one came along)
Kelsi found his eyes with hers as she began to sing her part back, hoping this meant what she thought it did. She had started noticing it, the fact that she was falling for him, the first few times he had come to the house and gladly took the time to play with her little brother and sister.
[I've got this friend, I don't think you know her
She sings a simple song that sounds a lot like his
I've got this friend holding onto her heart
Like it's a little secret, like it's all she's got to give]
Subconsciously Kelsi began moving closer to Harry as they continued to sing, getting lost in his eyes, forgetting all the other people who were watching them.
(Oh, if the right one came
If the right one came along
Oh, if the right one came along)
As Harry shifted playing styles to go to the bridge, Kelsi was brought back to where they were and blushed though she kept right on singing with Harry as he led in.
{It'd be such a shame} [If they never meet]
{She sounds lovely,} [He sounds right out of a dream]
{If only,} [If only,]
(If only)
In the original song, the silence only lasted for a couple seconds, but as Harry and Kelsi caught each other's eyes again, they paused a bit longer. The audience waited with baited breath as Harry finally sucked in some air and Kelsi followed his lead to start singing again.
(Oh,)
Harry plucked the chords as the song has them written but his mind had moved past the song completely, now mostly singing on autopilot. The look in Kelsi's eyes while she was singing with him pretty much confirmed his thoughts, and hopes. Seeing the side of Kelsi he had been able to see while at her house and outside of school where she was more confident, if only by a little bit, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile, and enjoying her personality really drove home his attraction to her.
(Oh, if the right one came
If the right one came along
Oh, [I've got this friend]
If the right one came
If the right one came along
Oh, [I've got this friend]
If the right one came along)
The building could have been burning down, but neither of the two singers who were being cheered for very loudly by the audience would have noticed it. They were lost in each other's eyes, relishing in the realization of the unspoken acknowledgement of their mutual attraction. Harry broke the eye lock first as he turned to bow once more, in tandem with Kelsi, before the two of them made their way off the stage; much closer than when they had walked on, which is saying quite a bit. The pair made their way back to their seats and were congratulated and told they did a wonderful job by those they passed and were welcomed back to their table with hand shakes, hugs, pats on the back and to the sound of much jumbled talking from the excitement of the table's occupants.
The pair of performers that had just gotten back to the table waved them all down and told them to be quiet as the next person of the night was already getting ready to start their performance. Harry and Kelsi sniggered at the behaviors of their friends and family as they settled back into two chairs placed close to each other.
After another hour, the open mic night came to a close and as people began filing out of the building, they stopped by the table to tell Harry, Kelsi and the Evans twins that they did a good job. Harry and Kelsi returned those sentiments to the ones who presented a talent and spoke with the people there a little while longer as they waited for the majority of the people to leave. Harry and Kelsi then moved up to the stage to grab ther things and thank the sound tech and MC for allowing them to play and getting the open mic night set up. The MC walked over to Harry and Kelsi and pulled them to the side for a few moments.
"Hey you two, you guys did outstanding tonight. Kelsi, I know I have offered this to you a few times, but I would love it if you both would come every once in a while to do some light, live music some evenings just to change things up, you won't have to sing if you don't want to, just bring your guitar and Kelsi, you can play our piano. I think my normal customers would enjoy it and it will set a great atmosphere. I would be willing to pay you both $50 a night for just a couple hours, say seven to nine on a few evenings."
Harry looked over at Kelsi and she scoffed at him lightly, "Don't look at me, you are the one who always seems to have a ton of homework that you have to do. Most of my evenings are free and I don't have any trouble keeping up with my work." She said with a mocking air to her voice. Harry chuckled lightly at her words and looked back at the MC, "I think we would love to sir, just let us know what days you are looking at and we will have some songs lined up to play. Just till we get a feel for it though, could we keep it to one or two nights a week maximum? Just until we get a feel for how you want it."
The MC nodded his agreement and smiled widely, "Great! I'll get in contact with you two when I'm ready for you to start it up. It will probably be mid to late January though before I can get it set up. Thanks you two and great job again tonight it sounded wonderful!" He said before moving off to start cleaning up the mess from everyone who had come to listen and eat.
Harry offered his arm to Kelsi as they made their way to the rooms they had gotten ready in, changing into more comfortable clothes and then meeting back up in the hall. Before they got back out to the area their group was waiting on them at, Harry pulled Kelsi to a stop, "I had fun tonight Kelsi." He said softly as he looked at her, a soft smile graced her lips as she nodded in response, "Yeah, I did to. Thanks for singing with me tonight, Harry. You did really good."
Harry smiled at the praise, "I would hope so, my teacher did a marvelous job walking me through things to make sure I got better, I would hope I didn't let her down tonight." He said jokingly. Kelsi shook her head quickly, "No, I think it is safe to say she is very proud and you did far better than she could have hoped for." She replied with a knowing smile.
Harry steeled himself and gathered up his courage, "Listen Kelsi, there was a reason I picked that second song tonight, and I was wondering if—"
A soft pop interrupted him as a voiced called out, "Great Mr. Harry Potter sirs! Dobby has found something you must see!" A small voice squeaked as Kelsi mimicked the noise before fainting dead away. Harry was able to catch her before she dropped to the ground and laid her gently on the ground while Harry muttered to himself. 'Great, I was kind of hoping to put this conversation off for a while longer… What the heck am I going to do now?"
.
.
.
A/N: A big thanks to all who have reviewed, especially CrazedScribe who caught a mistake on the topic of homeschooling in the fic, I made a subtle change to fix that through ch8. Glad I was able to get this chapter up a little sooner than last time. Don't hate me for the cliffy too much please. Happy reading until the next update! :)