I'm doing well for updates aren't I? I'm trying to write loads of the chapters in advance so when my GCSE's get more hectic I can just post the stuff I already wrote anyway on with the story
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Chapter 4 First Rehearsals/ Read through
From the first rehearsal harry could tell this was going to be bad. Dumbledore had told each student involved in the play that they could bring one friend to every rehearsal.
That was a sign that this was not going to be taken seriously. Friends were not to be taken onto the stage or rehearsals. They were unnecessary distractions from work that needed to be done.
The first rehearsal was meant to be a read through, everyone was given scripts and they were meant to highlight their parts as they read through the script. Even this the most simple of tasks in the theatre world failed.
There were protests from everyone about everything. People saw this as pointless and menial task, Draco Malfoy claimed it was house elf work whilst others just wanted to get on stage and sing or act as was 'their calling' as they put it.
It was this that finally caused Harry to break and he collapsed to the floor in laughter.
Everyone immediately stopped and turned to him.
"Do you have something to say harry my boy?" Dumbledore asked in that grandfatherly tone of his.
Oh I have many things to say harry thought, I'm just not sure how many of them are appropriate.
He straightened and looked around; seeing he still had everyone's attention he jumped onto the stage.
"You all want to be where I am now, yes?" he asked. He got nods from everyone
"Well, how are any of you going to ever get onto this stage unless you know your lines? Unless you know exactly when each stage entrance and exit is, when every song is and who speaks every line before or after one of your own. If you know none of these things you will be lost on stage. "
He hoped of the stage and began to pace, the initial read through is crucial, it helps you to see your fellow actors and actresses weaknesses and strengths, helps the director to pick up on the same things. And it helps you remember your lines. You do not want to be onstage and forget a line at the real performance. So you will all start this read-through, now" he yelled this last part and everyone sat down in shock except Dumbledore
"Thank you Harry" he said before turning to the cast. "Alright from the top now"
Even after Harry's pep talk the entire thing was a disaster.
From the very first line nothing was right. People were simply reading the lines. They needed to read between the lines. Try and see what the words were portraying without actually saying. (My drama teacher says this too me all the time) They needed to get into the character become the auctioneer or whoever their parts were.
Not just simply read it in a board monotone voice.
Harry sighed and shook his head from the back where everyone's friends had sat. He pulled his potions homework out of his bag and began researching the uses of root of aconite.
The play was about halfway through when he leaned over to Hermione
"Psst, Hermione" he whispered. She glared at him then raised her eyebrows in question.
"Why can the root of aconite not be used in love potions." She looked at him disgusted
"You're doing homework while your friends are doing a first read through of their play?" she asked half whispering half shouting.
Harry simply shrugged and seeing Hermione wasn't going to tell him the answer he began leafing through his book trying to find a chapter on love potions.
Hermione rolled her eyes in disgusted and continued to listen to the read through with a face of what looked like awe on her face.
Harry chuckled in his head; if she's enraptured now, imagine what she's going to feel later he thought.
Finally the agony was over. They'd finished the read through and Harry presumed that would be all for the night so he began packing away his homework; he only had the conclusion left to do.
Then Dumbledore spoke "Well done everyone that was an amazing first read-through. Now if I could please welcome our helpers who are going to help me put on this musical.
The door swung open and two people stepped in. Harry simply sunk down in his seat trying to be as invisible as possible.
"If we could all please give a warm welcome to Madame Richeston and Madame Heinsoon; these two ladies come from the world renowned BOPDT, Madame Richeston is their choreography and blocking coach whilst Madame Heinsoon is their singing coach.
Harry continued to try to become invisible and luckily no-one noticed but the two teachers. They smiled at each other then ignored harry. They already knew all about his refusal to audition.
"Hello everyone" said Madame Richeston in a voice that harry decided was much too sweet compared to her normal shouting methods.
"I and Madame Heinsoon will be here for the entirety of your practises to make sure you are able to perform this piece to the best of your abilities. This piece as some of you may or may not know has been the BOPDT's running performance every summer and at our annual Christmas gala performance. Therefore I know what I am doing as does Madame Heinsoon and we know much better than you what you should be doing so you will do what we say, when we say it. Does everyone understand?" Madame Richeston finished in a voice that harry decided was much more like the one she used when they were practising in the theatre.
Everyone nodded and Dumbledore continued smiling like the senile old cote he was.
"O.K. Then" Madame Heinsoon yelled "Everyone up." Madame Heinsoon was actually a muggle whilst Madame Richeston was a witch so Madame Richeston waved her wand a conjured a piano.
"Everyone around the piano, I want main parts at the front then lesser parts then the chorus, chop chop!"
Everyone rushed to do as she ordered and Madame Richeston took a seat behind the piano.
"Right everyone is going to copy me ok?" Madame Heinsoon announced.
She sang a low scale, not to low for the girls and not to high for the boys. Of course since they were doing an opera they all needed to have good vocal ranges but that could be worked on later. Vocal control was needed now.
Many of the friends who were watching had made their way over to the piano and were watching the group that to the untrained ear were singing in perfect harmony.
However to Harry's trained ear it was a caterwaul of noise that had him wincing he looked to both madams and almost laughed at the looks of forced enjoyment on their faces.
He pulled out his transfiguration book and flipped through a couple of pages before he found what he wanted. He broke a corner off his piece of parchment and pointed his wand at it murmuring a spell. It silently expanded into a wooden desk and harry began working ignoring the singing.
It eventually got so loud that harry sighed and waved his wand in a circle around his head. A blissful bubble of silence surrounded him and he smiled before going back to his homework.
It was about two hours later when the first rehearsal was finally finished and harry was able to dismantle his silencing charm. Ron looked like he was about to come towards him but harry simply waved him over to where Hermione, who seemed to have gotten over her disappointment, and Ginny were standing.
He walked over and to a nearby wall as the three of them began to walk out with Ginny giving a worried glance at Harry over her shoulder. Harry simply smiled reassuringly and turned to his tutors who were talking with Dumbledore.
Seeing that he was waiting in the shadows his tutors quickly wrapped things up with Dumbledore arranging times for rehearsals. Apparently rehearsals would occur every Saturday morning for 5 hours and every Tuesday and Thursday evening for 3 hours.
Dumbledore had protested that the practises were too long to which harry had snorted quietly and mumbled to himself
"Tell that to my muscles after an 8 hour full rehearsal"
Finally Dumbledore left and his two tutors turned to him.
"Surprise?" they said in unison.
Harry glared then stood up straight coming away from the wall he had been leaning against.
"Is there anything specific you wanted to tell me?" He asked. One thing he had forgotten to tell Ginny was the fact that all of the members of BOPDT knew his real identity and knew all about his double trick. In fact many of them had helped in the tutoring of harry and continued to every summer.
"Oh not really" replied Madame Heinsoon
"Just that here are expected to be some very special guests at our Christmas gala this year!" continued Madame Richeston. Harry smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.
"Now, have you been practising?" Madame Heinsoon asked.
Harry gave them a look that clearly said who do you take me for? Before walking over to the piano that was still in the room. He sat down and began to play the few bars which would have been Christine's part slowly getting into the role. Then his lines came and he transformed
...Damn you
You little prying Pandora
You little demon
Is this what you wanted to see?
Curse you, you little lying Delilah
You little viper
Now you cannot ever be free
Damn you, curse you...
Here he sounded almost sad before becoming slightly angry again
Stranger than you dreamt it
Can you even dare to look, or bear to think of me this loathsome gargoyle
Who burns in hell, but secretly yearns for heaven
Secretly, secretly...
Oh Christine...
Fear can turn to love
You'll learn to see, to find the man behind the monster
Here his voice turned almost self-pitying as if he was the phantom, hating what he really was.
This repulsive carcass
Who seems a beast but secretly dreams of beauty
Secretly, secretly...
Oh, Christine...
He turned back to his two tutors to find them crying at the end of his performance.
"Do you think I've practiced enough?" he asked
"That song never fails to make me cry," Madame Heinsoon sniffled
Madame Richeston smiled "If you can do that in 2 and a half months time, just like that. You will be perfect" she said
"When am I not perfect?" harry asked smiling cockily before laughing along with his tutors.
HE hugged them goodbye and left.
"I am more shocked every time I hear him" Madame Heinsoon whispered
"Me too" Madame Richeston replied.
They smiled at each other and left to return to the theatre and inform the rest of the troupe of the practise.