The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera by Gemma

AN: I have always been a big Phantom fan, but now I'm even more so since the release of the new movie. (which is friggen awesome btw.) I thought this would make a good fan fic. At this point, I don't think this will be a musical, cus it might not fit, but wait and see! BTW, very AU.

Summary: Hermione Granger was orphaned at the tender age of 7 and sent to live at the Paris Opera House. It's there that our story begins, as love, danger, suspense and music fill the night. AU.

Cast:

Hermione Granger- Christing Daae - young gifted Soprano.

Harry Potter- Raoul - young noble who knew Hermione as a child.

Draco Malfoy- The Phantom- disfigured outcast musical genius who lives in the catacombs beneath the opera house.

Molly Weasley- Madame Giry- head of the ballerinas.

Ginerva Weasley- Meg Giry- Molly's daughter and Hermione's best friend.

Fred & George- Managers- the new managers of the Paris Opera House.

Luna Lovegood- La Carlotta- temperamental diva Soprano

(Edit: Sorry for the typo, had to wait until I got to a decent computer before I could fix it. Draco is the Phantom, haven't figured out what I'm going to do with Ron yet… I'll see. For those of you who have expressed concern with this being too word for word from the play, only certain sceens, such as the following will be “verbatum”. I feel that it just works so well. Enjoy!)

Prologue-

It had been many years since he had seen the place. It was in ruins, never repaired after the disaster, debris everywhere as you passed through the once magnificent entryway. He was old and tired, and he knew he was not long for this world. A nurse pushed his wheelchair up the makeshift ramp to the auction. He closed his eyes and swore he heard her magnificent voice filling the rafters of the theatre once more. He sighed and could hear the auctioneer calling for bids. He hoped he wasn't too late.

“20 franks, do I hear 25? 20 franks, going once, going twice, sold! The poster from the production of Hannibal. Your number sir? Thank you.”

He glanced to his right and saw her. She was shrouded in black, much like he. Time had taken its toll on her, but she still looked to have the grace she once possessed. His attention was taken back to the auctioneer as he began again.

“Lot number 665, a paper mache' music box in the shape of a barrel organ with the figure of a monkey dressed in Persian garb playing the symbols. This item was found in the theatre's vaults, still in working order.” The showman began the music box, both notable attendees straightening. “May we start the bidding at 15 franks?”

The woman raised her hand to bid. He motioned to his nurse to go up 5 franks. The woman again bid, making the total now 25 franks. Money was no object, it was who would submit to the other, both having great interest in this item. He bid once more.

“30 franks,” the auctioneer called out. “Do I have 35?” he looked to the woman, who shook her head slightly. “Fine then, 30 franks….going once, going twice. Sold to the Viscount de Chagney! Thank you sir!”

The showman brought the music box to him and set it in his lap. It was exactly how she had always described it. He was amazed that it still played. Just touching it brought back a flood of memories for him. He closed his eyes and relished them until the auctioneer's voice interrupted his thoughts again.

“Item number 666, a chandelier in pieces. For those of you familiar with the Phantom of the Opera, I have been informed that this is the chandelier that plays into the great disaster. Our workmen have repaired it and wired parts of it for the new electric light. Maybe with a little illumination we can scare away the ghosts of the past. Gentlemen…”

The viscount took in a sharp breath as the chandelier lit, bringing with it a flood of memories. He closed his eyes and let it take him back…

(Sorry for the issue with the “cast” list. I really just did that for my own benefit and forgot to fix it before I posted. Then after I fixed it, I realised that I had screwed up and uploaded the unfinished prologue, so here it is finished. It's slightly different because the only verison I had was the unfinished one…. Again, this is a COMBINATION of Phantom and HP, and it will included elements from both, but as it says in the first AN, this is AU. Very AU. I will try to be true to both as much as possible. For those who expressed concern over the casting of Carlotta, at first I considered Cho or Pansy, but I finally decided on Luna, because she's just so much fun. I will probably be updating either tonight or tomorrow. Thank you all for your kind reviews.)

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The Phantom of the Opera by Gemma

Disclaimer: All HP characters belong to JK Rowling while all situations/songs pertaining to the Phantom of the Opera belong to Andrew (originally said Andrea, sorry, that's my first name so my fingers almost refuse to type Andrew correctly…) Lloyd Webber. All other standard disclaimers apply.

AN: Welcome back. Sorry for the upload confusion of the Prologue for those of you who have this alerted. I fixed the 'casting' problem, and you'll be glad to hear that I have found a place for our dear Ickle Ronniekins! Let me clear up a few things expressed in some of the reviews. Yes, this fic is based mainly on the musical the Phantom of the Opera (phantom from now on cus that's just too long to type and you want more story, no? :D ) This is also an H/Hr fic. It is also VERY AU! While this will follow the main story line of phantom and include many of the songs from it, I will also be expanding it and fitting it to the HP universe. Be advised, there will be some lines taken directly from the musical/movie since they are done so well and it's a crime to change the context of them. Many of you commented that the Prologue was very verbatim. That is not how the rest of the story will be. I just thought it best to do the prologue that way. Okay, now I'm done with the insanely long author's note. I will probably be posting this Thursday since I'm in bed writing this on my laptop with no internet connection. Thank you again and enjoy!!!!

Chapter One: Overture/Hannibal (Yes the chapters WILL be named after the track titles)

The din of rehearsal filled Hermione Granger's ears as she stretched out on the bar. A member of the ballet company of the Paris Opera House, she had been living there for the past eleven years of her life. Normally, this would have been a great accomplishment, but the circumstances of her stay at the theater were far from great. The daughter of a famous violinist, she had been orphaned at the age of 7 and brought here to live by a friend of the family, Madame Molly Weasley. Madame Weasley also happened to be the head of the dance company for the theater and realized Hermione's talent not long after. Now Hermione was one of the best ballerinas in the company, along side Ginny Weasley, Molly's daughter.

A loud screech drew her head up, and she realized that it was just Luna Lovegood, `supreme diva' of the opera. Hermione rolled her eyes at Luna's outburst and turned to Ginny, who was giggling madly. Madame Weasley strode over to them and shushed them, all the while smirking.

Hermione glanced around to see what had caused this outburst from Luna. It was then that she saw Neville Longbottom and Madame Weasley's twin sons Fred and George standing at the front of the stage. There was also a tall man with handsome black hair standing behind the twins, but she could not get a good look at his face. I wonder what's going on, she mused. The three women made their way to the front of the crowd that had gathered around the manager and his guests.

Neville raised his hand to silence the crowd. “I have it on good authority that some of you have been spreading rumors about me leaving to pursue other interests. Well, I'd like to say right now that you have all been exceedingly correct. As of today, I am no longer the owner and manager of the Paris Opera House.” He paused as a collective gasp rose from the company, Luna included, although it was more of a squeak. “I have been offered a position at my alum teaching my passion, plants, and I have decided to take it. For those of you concerned with the new ownership, I bid you to welcome our new managers and their patron!” Neville stepped aside clapping, allowing Fred, George and the handsome man to step forward.

Fred was the first to address the crowd. “Due to our recent success in the joke shop trade, we have decided to broaden our business ventures.” George picked up as soon as his brother had ceased. “We would like you all to meet our patron, the Viscount de Chagney!”

Hermione gasped as the tall man stepped forward. He had a face she knew well. Then again, so did most of the company. Many knew him as a noble, but there were a select few here who knew of his other accomplishments, for you see, the Viscount was also one of the most powerful wizards in the world.

Oh yes, Hermione knew about wizards. While not of wizarding blood herself, Madame Weasley was a witch and all her children were magical. Hermione had learned all of her magic from them, not being allowed to attend the wizarding school herself due to her lack of magical parentage. She was what they referred to as a “Muggle-born”, a Muggle being a non-magical person. The former manager and owner of the opera house was also a wizard, and had attended school with the Weasley children.

Hermione also knew much about the viscount, or as she liked to call him Harry. They had grown up together, their parents being good friends. They had shared stories and laughs and been childhood sweet hearts. When her father passed away and she was sent to live here she lost contact with him. He had grown into a very handsome young man in the eleven years it had been since their parting. He was tall, at least 6'4” with piercing green eyes and a tousle of black hair that refused to stay in any manner of hairstyle.

She was yanked from her thoughts by Harry's deep melodic voice addressing the company.

“I'd just like to say that I am proud and happy to be associated with such a well renowned company as this, and I look forward to all your future productions. My parents loved the arts and gave me a great appreciation for the theater. Thank you.” Harry bowed slightly and walked off the stage, passing Hermione briefly. She sighed when he did not even give her a second glance.

Ginny noticed her friend's mood. “What's wrong `Mione?”

Hermione sighed again and leaned back against the bar. “Harry and I were friends when we were young. I knew he wouldn't recognize me though.” Hermione looked extremely crestfallen at this.

Ginny patted her shoulders. “It will be alright, he's the twins patron now and remember how I told you Ron just started that new job?” she smiled as she said this.

Hermione shot a quizzical glance at her best friend. “Yes, but what does it have to do with Harry?”

Ginny smiled. “Everything, Mione. He's working as Harry's assistant!”

Hermione was speechless. Maybe things would turn out all right after all. She continued to stretch and was again distracted by Luna's diva rantings.

“…. NO! I will not work for WEASLEYS! NEVER!” Luna screeched and began to storm off of the stage. Fred and George looked to Neville, who threw up his hands in exasperation.

“Grovel, grovel like you've never groveled before.” He said before slapping the twins on the back and making his exit.

Fred and George exchanged looks and ran after Luna, offering raises and gifts to get her to come back. She finally relented and offered to sing an aria from the current production of Hannibal as a welcome gift.

More to show of how `wonderful' she is. Thought Hermione. She cringed as Luna over-exaggerated the beautiful aria. Her teacher would never approve of this.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, a loud squeal could be heard emanating from Luna as a scrim came loose and nearly hit her.

Luna stood up with a semblance of dignity, brushing off her gown and readjusting her headpiece. “That is it! NO MORE!!!! For the past three years things like this have been happening, and until you stop them, I will NOT SING!” This time she stormed off the stage for good, leaving two very bewildered and upset Weasleys.

(AN: That's it for the first chapter. Chapter 3: Think of Me should be posted within the next few days. Have to catch up on my homework first. Gotta love college and working full time! Also, if anyone is interested in being this story's beta, please email me at the address listed in my profile or IM me at AsukaDaisy. (AIM). As you can already tell, I am going into more detail than the musical, which will keep this long. It will also help tie the story in with HP better. Keep with me, I already have the ending written in my head, and it's not what you'd expect! ;-) And thank you again for all of your wonderful reviews. I will try to respond to all of them individually using the author response function. Go check now, I've done quite a few already! )

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