Hey guys, make sure you check this story out in the '7 before 7' challenge forums and give it a high rating! Or a low one, if you want to, but you won't get any pumpkin pie. :) The story can be found here:
http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=24005
Ficlet Challenge #4: The first kiss (fluff).
Although this is challenge number four, it is the first of the series 'Hogwarts Drama Co.' chronologically. I encourage the readers to read this one first, as some of the more descriptive details (such as the theater) in the series are only written in this fic. Enjoy!
---------------
Once Upon a December
For the first time in over a decade, Great Britain was celebrating.
It had been two in the morning when a long, gruesome battle on the outskirts of London had finally come to an end...and from the smoke and ashes emerged Harry Potter, victorious, holding the wand of the defeated Voldemort.
By the time Harry regained consciousness at St. Mungo's, the parties had already started. Every wizarding household in the Isles was celebrating, with even greater fervor than when Voldemort had been supposed dead nearly sixteen years prior.
When Harry woke, only Hermione was at his side. Ron was lying in a bed next door, still unconscious, while the rest of the world celebrated.
No words were said. A lone tear fell from Hermione's cheek as they embraced, before the healers came rushing in to make sure he was alright.
A week later, the parties had died down, and the school year continued on. It was still December, and the students still needed to learn.
It was a cold night that found Harry standing alone on top of the Astronomy Tower, staring at the spot where he had seen Dumbledore die. The sound of the door to the terrace opening didn't startle him...he had been half expecting it.
"Harry?" asked Hermione softly.
"Hey," he replied. "Why are you up here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she said, walking over to him.
"Too much commotion for me."
"Still?" she asked. "The parties have died down, you know."
"Doesn't stop people from bothering me with questions about how it all happened."
"You can't blame them," she shrugged. "I still wonder myself how you managed it."
"It was because you and Ron were with me, you know that," he smiled, as a light snow began to fall.
"I suppose," nodded Hermione.
"It just seems so weird," sighed Harry, sitting with his back against the rampart. "I know I said I wanted to be an auror...but after this, I'm not so sure anymore."
"You can be whatever you want to be," replied Hermione. "And you know your friends will support you no matter what you do."
"Can I be honest?"
"Of course," said Hermione, sitting down next to him.
"I...I've always had an interest in theater."
"You mean the stage?" asked Hermione, curiously.
"Yeah," he replied. "It seems so...I don't know, eloquent."
"I confess to being a bit surprised," said Hermione, "but I think it's wonderful."
"I wonder if we could get a drama company started here," he replied. "I'd definitely like to try it out before making any career decisions."
"I'm sure McGonagal would approve," nodded Hermione. "And I would definitely be a part of it."
"That's good to hear," he smiled. "I'll go speak with her first thing in the morning."
"Good," replied Hermione, shivering.
"Here," said Harry, offering her his jacket.
"You'll freeze," she protested.
"I'll be f-fine," replied Harry, teeth chattering.
"We'll share it," smiled Hermione, snuggling up against him.
"Do you...do you think they're celebrating?" asked Harry pensively after a moment.
"Who?"
"My parents...Sirius...Dumbledore...all of them."
"If your father and Sirius have any say, they'll be celebrating until the end of the world."
"I think so too," smiled Harry.
"They would be so proud of you," said Hermione softly. "I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you," replied Harry, squeezing her shoulders.
"Harry?"
"Hmm?"
"I...um..."
"What is it?" he smiled. The way she way looking up at him hesitantly, slightly biting on her lower lip made his heart swell. Harry wasn't sure when it had happened, but he had definitely fallen for his female best friend sometime during the search for the horcruxes. The way she was looking at him at that moment made him wonder if she didn't feel the same.
"It's bloody freezing," she said looking away. "Do you mind if we go inside?"
"Not at all," he said, slightly disappointed.
"Thanks," smiled Hermione, and they walked back inside and down the stairs in a comfortable silence.
=====
The next day...
"Professor?" asked Harry timidly, knocking on the door to the Headmistress' office.
"Come in."
Harry entered to find McGonagal at her desk, gazing passively at the fire.
"Hello, Harry," she said warmly. "What can I do for you?"
"I...I have a request," he confessed.
"Yes?"
"I know that in the past I said I wanted to be an auror, but lately I've been feeling that...that..."
"That you've had enough evil villains for a lifetime?" she finished, with a small smile.
"Yeah," said Harry, running a hand through his already messy hair. "I was wondering...would it be possible to start a drama company here at Hogwarts?"
"A drama company?" repeated McGonagal, eyebrows arched.
"Yeah...there's something about theater that's always intrigued me and I was wondering if we could get something together...for everyone in the school, of course."
"It would cost a good deal of money," said the headmistress, steepling her fingers.
"That's not a problem for me -"
"I know, but if you want this to be for everyone, then you can't fund performances completely out of your own pocket," said McGonagal. "It would look bad...especially if you ended up as the lead in a performance."
"I'd prefer directing, but that aside I think I could get sponsors," said Harry thoughtfully. "And them give them adverts in the programs when we performed."
"That is a good idea," nodded McGonagal. "I will discuss this with the Board of Governors and let you know when a decision has been reached."
"Thank you very much," smiled Harry, and he left the office.
Reaching the landing below, he found Hermione and Ron waiting for him, along with a few other students Harry had seen before.
"What's all this?" he asked, the stone gargoyle sliding into place behind him.
"It sort of...got out that you were starting a drama company," said Ron sheepishly. "All these people want to be part of it."
"Really?" asked Harry, looking over the crowd. "Wow."
"I told you it was a good idea," smiled Hermione.
"Well, McGonagal said she would meet with the Governors and she'll let us know," said Harry. "If it makes anyone feel better, she thinks it's a good idea too."
"Potter?" said a voice from behind him. Harry turned around to see McGonagal emerging from behind the gargoyle.
"Yes, Professor?"
"I can say, with certainty, that the decision reached by the Governors was one of the fastest ever."
"And?" asked Ron after a moment of silence.
"Hogwarts Drama Company has officially been created, with yourself as the President."
A cheer went up from the group assembled, and a huge smile broke out on Harry's face.
"You will, of course, have to delegate positions to people such as Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and the like, but I'm sure you can handle that."
"Of course," nodded Harry. "Thank you very much, Professor, you wont regret this."
"I know I wont," she smiled. "The one stipulation is that the productions to be performed will be a joint decision between myself, the Governors, and you, Harry.
"Fine by me," he nodded.
"Then, good luck." smiled McGonagal, as she turned around and headed back up to her office.
"Alright everyone!" called out Harry, calming people down. "The first thing I need all of you to do is put up signup sheets in your house's common rooms. The first meeting will be in two days in the Room of Requirement. Anyone who doesn't know how to get in, see me beforehand."
Everyone immediately hurried off, leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing there alone.
"So do either of you guys want to be Vice President?" asked Harry.
"We should probably let everyone vote at the first meeting," said Hermione. "But I wouldn't mind being Secretary."
"I can handle Treasurer," shrugged Ron. "But yeah, we should let everyone vote."
"We'll do that, then," he nodded. "Well, come on, we have a meeting to plan for."
=====
Two days later found Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking towards the Room of Requirement, paperwork in hand.
"From what I've been hearing, there's been an enormous response," said Hermione.
"Well, we'll find out in a minute," said Harry, as they reached the door.
They entered to find a grand theater waiting for them. Rows upon rows of velvet lined seats led up to an orchestra pit and massive stage with a gorgeous red curtain. Above their heads were several balconies, and to the sides were private boxes. A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a gentle glow over the house.
"Wow," said Harry in awe.
"Do you like it?" asked Ernie MacMillan, coming up to him. "I was the first one here so I made it like this...what do you think?"
"It's amazing," said Ron.
"I agree...great work Ernie."
"Thank you, Harry, and on behalf of everyone here I'd like to thank you for starting this company."
"Speaking of which, who's here?"
It was then Harry noticed that at least the first four rows of seats on the floor were filled with students...a good hundred students.
"Cor..." said Ron as they walked to the front. "Look at all this."
"I know," whispered Harry. "A bit unreal."
"You should say something," nudged Hermione. "They're all looking at you."
"Er...right," said Harry, clearing his throat. "Everyone, welcome to the first meeting of the Hogwarts Drama Company." There was applause at this. "The first order of business will be to elect the officers, which will be done by a nomination followed by a vote. Firstly, Vice President."
"I nominate myself," called Ernie MacMillan from the back.
"Seconded," replied Hannah Abbot.
"In favor?" called Harry. Almost everyone's hand went up, and no one objected vocally.
"That makes that easy," said Harry, writing Ernie's name his clipboard. "Hermione has nominated herself for Secretary, does anyone object?"
Nothing was said, and Hermione's name joined Ernie's on the parchment.
"Ron for Treasurer?"
"Are you sure he'll know what to do with the money once he gets it?" said a snide voice from the back. Harry squinted and his jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sitting quite nonchalantly in the fifth row of seats.
"Is this a joke?" asked Harry, brow furrowing.
"Not at all, scarhead," laughed Malfoy. "After the escape act the three of us pulled over last summer, we agreed that acting would be the perfect way to utilize our talents while slacking through the rest of the school year."
Harry glanced at Hermione, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
"I hope you don't plan on slacking through this," said Harry. "We're going to be taking this seriously."
"As will we," said Malfoy, waving his hand dismissively. "And I don't have a problem with Weasley being Treasurer, I was just having a go at him."
"...alright," nodded Harry, making the notation on his sheet. "As for the other positions, like director, costume designer, and makeup artist, we'll be assigning those individually for each production."
"So what are we performing first?" asked one of the younger students.
"Actually...I don't know," shrugged Harry. "The condition of the company being formed was that the production decisions would be decided jointly between myself, McGonagal, and the Governors."
A collective groan came from the group.
"But!" exclaimed Harry, quieting everyone down. "That does not mean we can't make suggestions."
"Robin Hood!" one of the fourth years yelled.
"That's so cliche," sighed a fifth year girl. "Let's do The Sound of Music!"
"...pardon?" asked Harry.
"It's a muggle musical," she replied cheerily.
"I'll remember that," said Harry, writing it down. "Any others?"
Over the next half hour they discussed ideas for the first production, debating and joking with each other as the meeting progressed. Finally, after about forty-five minutes, Harry called an end to it.
"Alright everyone," he said as they began to file out the tiny door at the back of the theater. "Next meeting is same time in two days. Hopefully we'll know what we're doing by then."
"I'm going to go walk Luna back to Ravenclaw," said Ron hoping down off the stage. "I'll catch up with you guys later."
"Bye Ronald," smiled Hermione, as he bounded up the aisle after the blond.
"Heh...just the two of us now," smiled Harry as the last students filtered out.
"That certainly went very well," she said, stretching. "Everyone is so enthusiastic."
"I just hope it stays like that," replied Harry, getting up on the stage and walking around. "Look," he said pointing up, "there's even a catwalk for the lighting crew."
"There are some wonderful spells we'll be able to use that will make it much better than a muggle production," said Hermione, joining him. "Wizard theater isn't all that popular, but it's still around."
"I hope this works out," said Harry with a tinge of nervousness.
"It'll be fine," smiled Hermione, standing near him.
"You didn't suggest anything today," he stated after a moment.
"No," laughed Hermione.
"There isn't anything you'd like to perform?" he asked.
"Well," blushed Hermione. "I've always been partial to the old Disney movies."
"Disney?" asked Harry.
"Don't tell me you've never heard of them?" said Hermione, looking at him squarely. Harry shrugged. "They're wonderful."
"Tell me," he smiled.
"They're all fairy tales, mind you," she said hesitantly. "But there's this one I love about a Russian princess who gets separated from her aunt - her only family - when she's very young because of the revolution in the early 1900's."
"And?"
"She ends up meeting the boy who helped her escape...she doesn't know it, of course, and he takes her to Paris to find her aunt."
"Do they find her?" asked Harry, looking at Hermione softly.
"They do...but in the end she runs away with the boy to elope."
"Sounds romantic," said Harry softly, not noticing he was moving closer to her.
"It is...but I don't know...I would love to be the lead but I couldn't imagine having to kiss someone on stage."
"What if it was someone you trusted?" asked Harry boldly. She looked up at him slowly.
"If it was someone I trusted..."
"Yeah."
"Maybe...if the moment was right."
"How about now?" he whispered.
"Harry..."
His lips met hers softly, and for the longest time, Harry felt as if there was nothing more perfect in the world. When they finally broke apart, Hermione looked up at him, a glossy expression on her face.
"I hate to break it to you," smiled Harry. "But you just kissed someone on stage."
"We didn't have an audience," replied Hermione, smiling back.
"How very right you are," nodded Harry. "We should practice for when we do have one."
"That sounds wonderful," grinned Hermione as their lips met again.
Unbeknownst to them, a lone figure was sitting in the topmost balcony, high above, watching with an amused expression on her face.
"Anastasia," muttered McGonagal, leafing through a stack of parchment. "That would definitely be an interesting choice."
And without another word she left, leaving Harry and Hermione grinning like idiots at each other.
---------------
And there it is!
Stay tuned for the next one, it'll be out soon unless you can weasel it out of me sooner!