Chapter 52, Gotta Take Chances

"What's that?" Hydra nodded at a large bag that James held. It was so large that it filled her friend's arms!

"They're euphoric cakes," James replied happily. "Single serve individual squares! Aberforth is stocking them for dessert. It should make him sell a ton more drinks. The better people feel the more they want to drink... Probably. Anyway, he will pay me if they sell."

Hydra frowned. "Make him pay you now!" She protested.

James shrugged. "It's alright. I know they will sell, so I'm not worried about it. He'll pay me for these and beg for more."

His complacent tone made Hydra smile. He should be confident. She was proud of him. "Not to mention you'll have the opportunity to impress Slytherin." She had told James about meeting Salazar because he was in their circle and was party to all her secrets. He would be about enough to see Slytherin for himself. She was sure that Ariana wouldn't mind her saying something to someone in their trusted friends group. No one got into that group who could not keep a secret, after all.

"I didn't even think of that," James said, drawing out each word in his dawning excitement. His eyes were eager and bright as he glanced around, clearly hoping for a glimpse of the famed founder, but Slytherin was no where in sight. "Here, have a free cake!" He extended the bag, and Hydra reluctantly shook her head. "I can't risk my voice. I always have to be careful of what I eat before performing," she explained.

"Did you see how many people are out there," James asked, a hint of awe in his tone. Hydra turned from where they stood together at the bar to survey the rest of the room. It was then that her heart dropped into her feet. Three minutes before, the room had been half full and now it was packed! Packed as in there were no empty seats which left people standing, and people were still pushing through the door. She let out a small sound that was half terror half awe before reaching into the bag of cakes that James was still extending to her. Each small square was wrapped in waxed paper, and Hydra lifted one carefully in shaking fingers.

"Thanks. It smells very good." And it did, though she couldn't quite place what the heavenly scent put her in mind of. Childhood happiness spent among the elves of her own kitchen perhaps? She drew in a deep sniff, holding the cake close to her face before finally giving up on placing what it put her in mind of, and taking a bite.

"Dark chocolate, vanilla, coconut, a hint of peanut butter and well being," James said with a satisfied grin. "Is it good?"

Hydra nodded vigorously, because her mouth was full of heavenly fluffy cake topped by a delightfully thick glaze. It really was just a hint of peanut butter, but that hint tantalized the tongue, and left one wanting for more. Sighing in resignation, she reached for another.

"Ah, gonna get out of control with happiness, are you?" James chuckled. "I'd stop after the second one, or you may just start screaming with glee instead of singing!"

Hydra laughed. "Would that really happen?"

"Probably," James replied sagely.

Only distracted by her friend for a moment, Hydra's eyes wandered back to the room overflowing with people and her stomach gave a terrified lurch. "I may start screaming with fear now!" There were goblins, elves, and people. More goblins and elves than she had expected to see, most dressed as Aurors or in Gringotts bank suits.

Even the four Grimmauld elves were there with her parents. The Lestranges had come, but they'd gone back out with Ballan to help get him drunk as promised. They'd brought Lyra and their elf, Harold. He wore his black robe and plague doctor mask that fit in so well with the Lestrange family's raven esthetic. The two stood talking with Regulus and Kreacher. Hydra was going to be performing in front of the elves she'd grown up around as well as strangers who had walked away from a life of enslavement to work as Aurors at the Ministry or as Bankers at Gringotts. "I am terrified," she managed to James. Her voice came out high and constricted with panic.

"But aren't you happy too?" James asked a little worriedly.

"Oddly I am!" she marveled. "How weird."

"Not weird at all." He insisted. "My cake is working."

Nodding, Hydra hastily ate the second small, delightful square, feeling the knot in her stomach ease as she did. "It will be fine," she assured herself and James nodded.

"Bloody right it will be." She smiled, suddenly giving him a quick hug. "I'm so glad you didn't find yourself too busy to socialize now that we're out of school," she said.

"I never would," James insisted. "And you knew I'd be here tonight, even if I hadn't decided to turn the opportunity into a business venture!"

Hydra chuckled, her attention drawn to the door where someone tall was jostling goblins and wizards out of his way. "It's Guillermo," she called happily.

"Yeah, he said he was bringing his whole family," James said. From the muffled sound of his voice, he was talking with a full mouth again. Hydra glanced incredulously over to see him polishing off a square of his own cake.

"You brought that to sell!"

"It's okay. If I eat my own stuff, it proves I stand behind it," he assured.

"But Aberforth didn't see you eating it," she pointed out, struggling not to laugh at the ridiculousness of their current conversation.

James paused to consider as a proper former Ravenclaw does. "This is true. You could tell him you saw me eat it, though. Beats having a drink, but I can't tell Aberforth that because you know, he wouldn't like that considering he sells drinks and all."

Hydra nodded. "What happens if one does both?"

James considered, then grinned. "Let's find out."

"Hey," Guillermo called exuberantly as he struggled to approach through the tight throng. "It feels like ages since we've all hung together, but it's only been what? A month or so?"

"People get busy with life," James said somberly, the corners of his lips twitching. Guillermo snickered. "Here, have a cake," James encouraged. "You can tell Aberforth how awesome it is."

"Cool." Guillermo reached into the bag and took one of the little heavenly cake squares. "What's this batch do?"

"It's euphoric," James said. "Hydra and I are gonna mix it with a drink as an experiment."

"Sounds very Ravenclaw of you," Guillermo said approvingly. "I'm in." The three headed up to the bar together where James presented the bag of cakes to Aberforth before they ordered their drinks. "Let's all get cinnamon Firewhisky," Guillermo suggested.

"Sounds delicious," Hydra said. "You have good taste."

"I know," Guillermo said modestly and James laughed. When they all had their drinks in hand, Guillermo raised his glass. "To James. Our little entrepreneur! So proud of you for starting the magical food thing so soon after graduation! I took a year to screw around first, quite literally."

Hydra made a face, picturing Guillermo shagging half the witches in Europe while on his travels over the past year. She was grinning when she clinked her glass to James's, though. "I am so proud of you," she said. "Guillermo is right. You wasted no time, and that is amazing!" "Ah thanks," James said, grinning while managing to look embarrassed at the same time. "But Hydra, you already had your band even before graduation, so you got started even sooner."

"Perhaps, but I had three other people helping me," Hydra said.

"This is true," Guillermo agreed. "Still, you're both making me feel useless for not getting my book shop going yet." He sighed. "Perhaps I'm afraid of failure," he admitted, then downed half of his glass of cinnamon Firewhisky.

"You can't fail," James insisted. "If you hit any hitches, we'll find a way to help."

"Yes," Hydra agreed. "With us on your team, you're sure to succeed." She grinned, suddenly feeling sentimental and extremely fortunate. "We've all got such a great support system. I love you guys." Impulsively she drained her Firewhisky and placed her glass on the bar, freeing her hands so that she could slip an arm around each, giving them a quick hug. "Ravenclaws unite!"

"Ravenclaws!" James yelled.

Guillermo laughed. "You two lightweights are already drunk."

"It's actually the combo of my Euphoric cake with the drink," James observed thoughtfully. He grinned. "I like it."

"Me too,"Hydra agreed fervently. "It should definitely go a long way toward preventing hangovers if one needs to drink less to have the same experience." Their Ravenclaw geek out fest was interrupted when Greybo called to Hydra from the stage where the rest of the band was busy setting up.

"We're ready!"

For a few minutes, Hydra had forgotten to be terrified. "You're gonna do great," Guillermo said, squeezing her shoulder. "Come on, James. Let's go stand near the stage so we can get the full effect." Hydra smiled a thanks at her friends. Drawing in a deep steadying breath, she headed on suddenly shaky legs toward the stage, glancing around for Ballan as she did.

If he wasn't here yet, they could just arrange the set list to perform Don't Stop Believing later on in the show. According to the current set list, it was supposed to be the third song, so there was still time for him to show up without the band having to make adjustments. Either way, the band was flexible enough to roll with it. Mag's fiddle began the first tension filled notes of the opening song, Chances, as Hydra stepped up onto the stage. Glimmer's drums followed with a near ecstatic beat and it was on.

The show was on! It was really happening! Hydra couldn't decide if she felt overly calm or frozen in stark terror. She only had a little piano work in this song and it wasn't at the beginning, so she had time to settle herself without having to rush. The song was an eighties lesser known single by a Swedish band called Roxette. Mag was singing lead on this one with Greybo as backing vocals.

Hydra had wanted Mag to open, because this band wasn't just about elves and goblins. It was about everyone. Wizards and witches were just as important to this movement as anyone else. It was the band's goal to keep things even so that it would not appear as a political statement of dominant parties switching places, because that was not what equality and working together was all about. As she crossed the stage, Mag began to sing, and Hydra was glad that the witch was going first for an entirely different reason. She was good. The song was charged, and electric, its fast beat getting everyone to move even if there was hardly any room in the packed Hog's Head.

"Take on me Like the river will lead the water to the sea Take on me, take your chances on me!" As Mag sang, she stood and walked to the edge of the stage standing in front of Severus, who stood watching her with a riveted intense expression on his face. Mag's bow tore across the gleaming mahogany fiddle she held across her body as the song's tension built.

For a moment, Hydra was nearly as riveted as Severus, momentarily forgetting herself and becoming lost in the music. With a slight start, she recalled herself and the fact that she was a part of this amazing band. It was nearly time for her piano bit to come in, so she hurried over to her spinet. Hydra finally spotted Ballan as she settled onto her stool. He stood against the wall to the right of the stage with the three Lestranges.

They all had pleasant enough expressions, which made Hydra assume that all four were drunk. The Lestranges drinking while watching Ballan hunt was likely story worthy, and she was almost sad that she'd missed it. She'd wanted to catch up with James more, though, and she wasn't certain that she could watch a vampire hunting even if it was only a bad wizard or Muggle that said vampire ended. Ballan did not tend to discriminate, though. It just wasn't his way.

The song reached the instrumental bridge bit where her piano had to come in, so Hydra had to stop thinking about death and vampires to focus on the music. Finally she was free to devote all of her attention to just that. With Ballan close, she would not have to worry about getting him on stage when it was time for their song. As she played, she smiled and met his gaze, wanting him to know she'd noticed him there.

He returned her smile with what she could only call a fond one in return. The Lestranges must have gotten him really drunk, she thought with a chuckle. Bellatrix grabbed Rodolphus and began moving to the music as much as possible in the crowded conditions. Ballan and Rabastan stood stoically by, neither seeming inclined to even sway to the beat. Rabastan's gaze darted nervously about as he muttered something to Ballan who only gave a brief response.

When Mag's song ended, the room nearly shook with whoops and applause! The next song was Greybo's, a fun to play bouncy reggae number about music. She'd expected her nervousness to surge again as it ended, because she and Ballan were up next, but an odd excited calm settled over her instead. It was certainly due to James's Euphoric cakes! It had to be!

"I would like to introduce a special guest for this next song," she called out. "He's the best bravest elf I've ever known, and he's come a long way as have we all! Together it is our hope to encourage each and every one of you to never stop believing in possibilities for yourselves and for anything you want!" To her relief, Ballan approached the stage as she spoke, and when she began to play the opening chords of the song, he was standing at her side. The lyrics came out effortlessly as she and Ballan had their back and forth before their voices began soaring together.

She turned to look into his eyes, singing to him. He leaned into her in response, placing a hand on her shoulder as she played with the rest of the band. Though she wondered how the audience was responding to their song, she couldn't take her eyes away from Ballan. It was still so thrilling that he was actually here with her, and that she'd actually gotten him to sing! It felt exhilarating and right performing with him, powerful and amazing!

They sounded wonderful together if she did say so herself. As Mag's fiddle solo began, Hydra's piano keeping a steady rhythm along with Greybo's guitar and Glimmer's drums, Ballan's gaze moved over the audience. He seemed to be sweeping the bar with his eyes, studying each person or perhaps searching for something. Though she was curious, Hydra could not give it her full concentration while caught up in the music.

Later after the show, when they were somewhere quiet where they could talk, she would ask him about that. Mag's fiddle hit a crescendo, providing the cue for her and Ballan to begin singing the chorus again. As the song concluded, he grinned and threw his arms into the air. "To elf freedom, and to the humans and goblins who stand with us!" he called out to the roaring crowd. Everyone was on their feet, and Hydra noticed so many elves present, even more than she'd noticed before.

Now that the song had gone off without a hitch, she was elated, so oddly more calm in her mind. Rather than going back into the crowd, Ballan plopped down onto the floor beside Hydra's piano stool as Greybo started the next song. It was a toe tapper about the joys of ingesting Merlin's Cap mushrooms.

Hydra only had a few simple cords to play to pull her weight in this particular tune, so it gave her time to look around. When she glanced toward her parents, her attention was caught by all four of the elves who worked at #12 Grimmauld. Stormy stood with a huge proud grin on his face, and when he saw her looking, he lifted a hand to wave enthusiastically. Ripper was more reserved, but did give her a small grin. Jazz and Piper were busy dancing to the music.

Piper danced alone but Jazz was twirling some elf girl who wore Auror robes as well as he could in such a crowd. This likely meant toes were being stepped on, Hydra thought with a chuckle. If the crowd was going to be this big from now on, they'd have to find a larger place to play. Of course they would still play at the Hog's Head as well, considering it had given them their start not to mention a place to practice before their start, but the more places they played, the more people they would reach. Idly she wondered if the Forbidden Forest might be an option. It was plenty big enough for dancing, after all. Those denizens who called it home may respond well to music, if it didn't annoy them to a dangerous level instead. Perhaps it would be a scholarly Ravenclaw worthy venture to find out.