Oh wow…it's been nearly a week. Sorry, I've been a bit busy, and a little down lately.
But I've got chapter 16 written as well, I may or may not publish it tonight.
Many thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87, Sarah Liz B, and Madmad237!
A review would be nice, I've had a pretty crummy last few days and I'm watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix…Sirius… D':
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, ONLY THE CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS A GODDESS.
CHATPER 15
The first two months of term flew by quickly, and before I knew it November had come. The castle was now chilly, and coming out of the dance studio in the evening had made it feel so much colder.
"Agh!" Marlene groaned, as she had exited the studio. Audrey and Sarah watched from inside the warm studio.
"I'm going to assume its cold…" Sarah said, laughing for a moment as Marlene came back into the studio cursing furiously.
Audrey pulled on sweatpants over her dance shorts as the other two did. They finally left the studio, still shivering even though being bundled up.
"I can't wait until it gets warm again." Audrey said, rubbing her hands together and shivering.
"Me neither." said Marlene, pulling her sweatshirt closer to herself.
When Marlene and I returned to the common room that evening, as if on cue, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were the only ones left in the common room.
"What are you gits still doing down here?" Marlene spat, annoyed at them. Sirius and James had decided to turn all of her school notebooks black. She had lost all of her homework.
"Just studying." James cooed, Marlene glared daggers at him.
"I highly doubt that." Audrey said calmly. "I'd say the only one studying is Remus…maybe Peter too, but I can't be certain."
Remus gave Audrey a small smile; she had so much faith in him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius said, looking offended.
"It means you're a moron, Sirius. Audrey is just too nice to say so." Marlene hissed, making her way past the boys and walking up the dormitory staircase.
"What's her problem?" Sirius snorted, after he was sure Marlene was out of earshot.
"I don't know, Sirius." Audrey said, in mock thoughtfulness. "Perhaps it's because you and James turned all of her notebooks black and she lost all of her homework?"
"Perhaps, my dear lady." Sirius replied in an airy voice, stroking his chin. James and Peter were also wearing looks of mock intellectualness.
Audrey sighed, shaking her head and bid them all good night.
Omi, Audrey's tiny owl, sat on her bed with a package tied to her leg hooting excitedly. Audrey laughed.
"Omi! You carried a big package?"
The owl hooted even more and began to fly in tiny circles just over the bed.
"Alright, alright!" Audrey whispered. "Quiet down before you wake everyone else up."
The owl landed on the bed, his chest puffed out. He looked proud as Audrey untied the parcel, she read the small piece of folded parchment tied onto the brown parcel.
I figured you might need this for the competition.
Good luck.
She ripped off the brown paper to find a black bundled object. When she unfurled it, she first thought it was a cloak, and then she saw that it was a strapless black floor length dress.
It was a casual dress, but on the top and waistline it had a triangular beaded pattern.
The note bore no signature and I had no idea who would send me a dress, but whoever the sender was, they were right…I did need something to wear. November flew by just as quickly as September and October, and before I knew it I was slipping on my dress and getting ready for the competition.
Audrey put on a pair of simple earrings, two small chains dangling two tiny brown feathers each. She ruffled her hair a bit, grabbed her shoes and cello then walked downstairs.
It was seven, and everyone was either still at dinner, in their beds, or at the library studying. The common room was deserted, or so Audrey thought…
"Where are you going, Dalio?" James Potter shot up from behind one of the arm chairs. Sirius shot up from the other.
"I have a competition tonight." Audrey said simply, motioning to her cello and then making for the portrait hole.
"Oh really?" Sirius said in a false motherly tone, crossing his arms. "How do we know you're not going to cause trouble?"
"Or go out with a boy!" James said in a womanly voice. Audrey burst into laughter.
"I'm not doing either of those things, mother." Audrey giggled. "I'll be back later tonight."
And with that she climbed through the portrait hole and began to walk to the west wing, barefoot. She had a long way to walk, and didn't feel like wearing her heels just yet.
She was in for quite a surprise when she knocked on the door of Hisoka's guest quarters. She was one of a few music teachers that stayed in the school every so often, but Audrey was sure she stayed there for other reasons as well…such as the Headmaster.
"Ahh, Audrey. I see you're on time." said Hisoka, Audrey gaped.
She had bewitched herself to look sixty years older, and though she looked good for a fake eighty year old woman it was quite a shock to me.
"Hisoka…" Audrey began, staring at her.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, realizing how awkward this was. "I charm myself to look older when I appear in front of muggles. Technically, I'm supposed to be dead, so I pose as my 'daughter' Hisoka Emi."
"Ahhh." Audrey said, understanding. "You are so great to name your 'daughter' after yourself?"
Hisoka giggled. "Yes, it was just easier. My 'granddaughter' will have a different name."
"Alright then." Audrey grinned.
"I see you've found something to wear." Hisoka said, motioning to the dress.
Audrey nodded. "I don't know who sent it to me though…"
"Can you think of no one?" Hisoka asked, a mysterious glint in her eye.
"You?" Audrey asked.
Hisoka shook her head and replied. "Not I."
"Do you know who did then?" Audrey asked.
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Hisoka said, mysteriously. "Let's go, we need to register and you need to warm up."
She extended her arm to Audrey.
"I thought we can't apparate in our out of Hogwarts?"
"I have special privileges." said Hisoka.
They dissapparated to an alleyway in London and began to walk to Wilton's Music Hall, where the competition was being held. She looked at the check-in list, noticing Hisoka had checked off a name that wasn't hers.
"Ayla David"
Hisoka had explained to me quietly that it was safer and easier for me to go under a different alias while performing. At first, I was a little put off by this. I had thought that going out in the real world would let me leave the sheltering that my family had put around me. The sheltering which made me feel suffocated from time to time. I reasoned that it was good to have a stage name; it was a new life…a different life…
After going through the check in process, Audrey quickly visited the lavatory.
She checked herself in the mirror, it wasn't a beauty competition, but she knew the judges were also looking for beauty. It was sad that it wasn't only about the sounds.
"Hello!" said a voice.
Audrey turned to her right, noticing there was another girl her age in the room. She had brilliant violet eyes and long, dark, brown hair.
"Hi…" Audrey replied, trying to sound friendly although she wasn't sure of what to make of the other girl. She was positive she was a muggle and had never met an actual muggle before, or talked to one for more than a second.
"Are you new? I've never seen you at this competition." said the girl, wearing a smile. Her eyes appeared kind, but Audrey sensed something different.
"No, this is my first year." Audrey replied casually. "Is this your first?"
The girl shook her head and replied. "I've been here for the last few years, my name is Angeline Hayes. I'm sure you've heard of me."
Her voice was very airy, and of course I just realized that is how she always spoke. There are two types of airy voices, one is a sophisticated, gentle voice and the other is an arrogant, cruel one. They have two completely distinguishable tones, though many cannot tell right away.
"No, I haven't." Audrey said curtly.
"I've won this competition for the last three years." Angeline said, seeing if that would jog the girl's memory.
"I'm not from around here." Audrey replied.
"Ah yes." Angeline replied, her eyes narrowing for a moment. "I can tell now, you have a slight accent."
Why did everyone always say that?
Because it's true.
"Well, I'm going to go warm up. It was nice meeting you, Angeline." Audrey said, giving the girl a quick glance and then leaving.
Every cellist in the competition had their own private space to warm up, and as I was warming up I had explained to Hisoka what had happened in the lavatory. For the first time, I had noticed a look of annoyance pass over her usually calm features. She didn't say much on the topic until afterwards. When I had finished warming up, we went to stage right and waited. Everyone had to enter stage right and exit stage left, and it had shocked me at the time that there were only twenty of us. We had to play the same selections, which was probably a tad bit redundant by the end of the competition for the judges. As much as I would have loved to hear the others, I tuned them all before my performance out; I didn't want my vision of what I was going to play to be distorted in any way.
As I have told you before, I do not know of time when I am playing. The selections we had to play for the competition totaled to about twenty six minutes, but to me it had only felt like seconds.
A half hour after my performance, were the results.
The top ten out of twenty were called back to the stage around ten thirty, Audrey was surpised to be one of them.
"I don't honestly understand how you're surprised." Hisoka whispered in her ear, pushing her towards the other competitors. Audrey noticed Angeline was among them.
"Third place, goes to Sheldon Washly."
"Second…" The reader paused, a shocked look forming on his features. "Goes to Angeline Hayes, of London."
Audrey heard a few gasps from the other contestants, and even some of the instructors in the room.
I guess they knew who she was…I must have been the only one who didn't.
Audrey watched as Angeline quickly walked up to the platform and accepted her trophy in a confused manner. When she turned away from the reader and the judges, everyone could see her scowl.
"There must have been a mistake." Angeline's teacher whispered to her, just as arrogant as she was.
"First place, Ayla David of St. Petersburg."
Either I had forgotten that I had a stage name, or I was simply in shock…a little of both perhaps.
Audrey strode up to the platform, thanked the reader, and accepted the trophy. After some applause which she really wasn't expecting, Audrey walked back towards the other contestants. Many had told her good job, and right on.
"No one here likes her." Said a girl named Elizabeth, she whispered in a low voice.
"I can see why." Audrey replied, they were packing up their instruments next to each other. "She wasn't very polite in the lavatory when I met her."
"She puts on this act, that she's really sweet and sympathetic. Then she tries to rip your heart out of your body and intimidate you." Elizabeth said quietly, looking around. "Anyway, I've got to catch the train, it was nice meeting you. Hope to see you at the next competition."
"Nice meeting you too." Audrey said.
After Elizabeth had departed, Angeline gave me an icy congratulation and stormed from the building. Hisoka and I returned to the school around eleven thirty, she ushered me into her quarters for a quick word.
"I am very proud of you, Audrey." Hisoka grinned, waving her wand and making herself normal once more.
"Thank you." Audrey bowed to Hisoka, a sign of respect.
"You should get off to bed." Hisoka said, taking down her bun and shaking her hair out. "We'll discuss the competition further in the morning."
Audrey nodded, and bid her a good night.