Be Careful
29: What You Scheme For
By Anne B. Walsh
Draco stopped outside Professor Black's door, caught his breath, and knocked.
"Come in!" the brisk, clear voice called.
Draco let himself in and shut the door behind him. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"
"Yes, Malfoy. Have a seat." Professor Black waved to one of the chairs in front of her desk.
Draco glanced around the office as he sat down. It was decorated with posters from what he suspected were famous musical shows, some of them signed, and with photographs of the Black family. An upright piano stood against one wall, and the window was open to the crisp September breeze.
"I'm neither stupid nor senile, Malfoy," said Professor Black coolly, drawing Draco's eyes back to her. "Nor am I so far removed from my Hogwarts days that I can't tell when I'm being manipulated. You and Abigail between you convinced Jonathan to ‘play’ with that Silencing Charm, didn't you?"
For a split second, Draco considered lying.
Don't be stupid. She's into theatre, she'll spot you in a heartbeat. Besides, they don't look too kindly on lies around here. Tell the truth and you might impress her.
"Yes, Professor."
Professor Black's eyebrows flickered, as though she were both surprised and amused by his answer. "Given your display a few minutes ago, I assume this was to open the role for yourself?"
Draco nodded.
Professor Black leaned forward. "If you had not shown some level of skill in that display, we would not even be having this conversation," she informed him. "This show may have been your friends’ idea, but all theatre at this school falls under my jurisdiction, and I take interference in my bailiwick very seriously indeed. I may not have you in class—it depends on how you do in your placement tests—"
"Placement tests?" Draco couldn't help asking.
"Yes, placement tests. New students, like you, take placement tests to ensure they are enrolled in classes which will challenge them without overwhelming them. Did you pass your Potions O.W.L.?"
"With an E," Draco said with a bit of pride.
"Then we won't be meeting in a professional capacity. Nonetheless, I have the right to give detentions to any student in this castle if they merit it. You have precisely one chance to convince me that you don't." Professor Black pointed to the door. "The wardrobe department is next door to the kitchens, behind the painting of the sewing room. The pincushion is the doorknob. Get yourself into pirate costume and be backstage in fifteen minutes. We will perform a full dress rehearsal, and if you sing one note wrong or put one foot out of place, you will be serving a month of detentions with me."
Draco shot to his feet. "A month?"
"I can make it two if you'd prefer."
Draco was just opening his mouth to tell her exactly what he thought of her sense of fairness and proportion when he recognized the look on Professor Black's face. Equal parts amusement and challenge, it was the same one Meghan had worn as she watched Neville fumble through the Major-General's song at the earliest rehearsals.
She's—she's testing me! She thinks, no, she knows I can do this, and she's testing to see if I'm serious about it!
Instead of the tirade he'd been about to unleash, he bestowed his sweetest smile on Professor Black. "Two months sounds fine, Professor. If I don't do a good job, that is."
"Off with you, then." Professor Black flicked her fingers at him. "Shoo shoo."
Draco shooed, and managed to get most of the way to the sewing room before the fit of guffaws overcame him. Ray and Harry found him leaning on a wall in the entrance hall, still chuckling weakly.
"I'll be fine," he assured them, standing up. "As long as I get this right."
"We'll cover for you if you don't," Ray said, heading through the door to the hallway they needed. "We've done it before. Would you believe, back when we did Phantom…"
Stories about the mishaps and slip-ups which had plagued Hogwarts shows in the past occupied the time the house-elves needed to fit Draco with a costume (Harry and Ray took turns dressing in their own costumes and coming up with new anecdotes) and continued as the three jogged down the lawn towards the outdoor stage by the lake, where the show would take place.
Ginny, her flowered skirt held up to her knees, overtook them on the way. "Neville!" she called, waving a sheet of parchment over her head. "They're done!"
"Great!" Neville accepted the parchment from Ginny and skimmed the lines written on it. "Nice… nice… oh, very nice. She'll love that. Right, right—oy!"
"What? The Potions line?" Ginny smiled innocently. "It's true."
"That doesn't mean you had to put it in," Neville grumbled, returning to his reading. A moment later, he burst out laughing. "I will, too!" he got out between fits. "If they do, I will!"
"What am I missing?" Draco asked.
"It's traditional to add a little something special to every show," Harry said, polishing the ruby-studded hilt of his sword with his tattered sleeve. "Ginny wrote Neville a new verse for his song. It's all about him."
"About the Major-General, or about Neville Longbottom?"
"Yes," said Ray.
"You're so helpful."
Neville groaned aloud. "I should have known," he said, shaking his head. "I should have known you'd get one of their jokes in here."
Ginny struck an angelic pose.
"Come here, wench," Harry growled, scooping her off her feet. "How'd you like to be a Pirate Queen?"
"That sounds like fun. Where do I join?"
"Let's see it," Ray said to Neville as Harry and Ginny disappeared around the corner of the stage.
"Who said you could read it?"
"If we don't and it's that funny, we'll fall apart when you do it on stage."
"And I've got a lot riding on this," Draco added. "Two months of detentions from Professor Black. I think she was joking, but I'd rather not risk it."
"Good point. You never can tell, with her." Neville handed Ray the parchment. "I need that back when you're done, so I can get it memorized in time."
"Right." Ray flicked his eyes rapidly back and forth along the lines, snickering every so often, then passed the parchment to Draco. "Knock yourself out."
Draco began to read the twelve lines, written freehand across the parchment in Ginny's looping script. By the end of the fourth line, he was chuckling, and the sixth made him snort.
Some things never change.
The eighth line made him laugh aloud; the tenth puzzled him a bit, but he decided there must be an inside joke he hadn't heard about yet.
There usually is, around here. I'll catch up eventually.
"Looks like fun," he said, giving Neville back the parchment. "So, where do I enter the first time?"
"Stage left," Ray said, swinging himself up onto the back of the stage without bothering to use the stairs. "That's during the overture. You're fighting with Frederic—that's me—"
"Right."
"No, left."
"Shut up."
They'd run through an abbreviated version of Samuel's blocking, the movements he was required to make on the stage, to the end of the first act by the time Professor Black appeared in front of the stage. "Five minutes," she called clearly, her voice echoing through the stage and the wings to either side. "The call is five minutes!"
"Five minutes, thank you!" Draco called back with Ray and the rest of the actors nearby, blessing the curiosity that had led him backstage in his spirit form on a number of occasions.
I may actually pull this off—and wouldn't that be a change for the better? Succeeding in one of my ambitious and insane plans, rather than failing?
Besides, even if he failed at this, the worst he'd get would be detentions, not the public humiliation of getting hexed into oblivion by a compartment full of his peers.
No, just the public humiliation of screwing up a show they obviously all care about.
However, there was a simple solution to his problems.
Don't screw up in the first place.
I shouldn't in any case. I know the music, I know the part, and they'll cover for me if I step a little out of line. Draco smiled in the direction of Abby, who was giggling with three or four of the other daughters, her wreath of blue flowers askew on her head. That's what so nice about doing this with friends.
Besides, just remember what Professor Black's been telling them—us—all along—
"One final reminder," Professor Black shouted from the front row of seats, over the sound of the orchestra tuning up. "The easiest way to look stupid on stage is to—"
"Hold back!" the cast bellowed in return.
Which sounds backwards, but it's true.
It had been easy, even for Draco's inexperienced eyes, to pick out the veteran actors among the cast. They spoke and sang out boldly, moved with their entire bodies, owned the moments when it was their turn to shine. The students who had been in fewer shows, or none at all before this, had to be coaxed out of their shells, pushed and harried into giving it their all.
And they were the ones who stood out, the ones who looked bad. They were trying to play it safe, and you can't do that on stage. You have to go all out, or nothing.
Draco grinned. I think I've been waiting my entire life for this.
He jumped down from the rocks where he'd been sitting and went to find Ray. They had a whole act still to cover.
Cecilia Black hurried through the gates of Hogwarts, her heart speeding with more than just the exertion of her half-run.
He is here. My Draco is here. I will see him, hold him, hear his voice again in just a few minutes.
"Black, Cecilia," she said to the girl at the wooden ticket booth sitting beside the gate.
"One moment, Healer." The girl flicked through her box of tickets, then pulled out a small envelope. "Here you are. Seats D-7 and D-8. Enjoy the show."
"Thank you." Cecy made her way to the stage area, smiling as she passed the brightly colored tent which served the performers for dressing and preparation.
We must have tradition. Even when it is not a room, it is green.
She rounded the corner of the stage and glanced over the audience. Most of the students seemed to have taken up their peers’ invitation for a night of entertainment, and a great many parents were also in attendance—
"Cecy!" Danger called from a seat near the front, waving. "Over here!"
Remus stood up to allow Cecy to pass, pressing her hand as she did. "A busy summer," he said, sitting down again in seat D-5. "Here's hoping the fall will be a bit more relaxing."
"Indeed." Cecy embraced Danger briefly before taking her own seat. "Have either of you seen Draco? Do you know if he is here yet?"
Remus sighed. "I'm sorry, Cecy," he said gently. "He couldn't stay to watch the show. He sent his love, though."
Cecy nodded, biting back her disappointment. He has two lives, not just one, and they both depend on his survival in the more dangerous of them. If he had to return to keep himself safe, I will not begrudge him that.
She noticed Danger's eyes flash blue, and wondered idly what her friends were discussing in their silent fashion.
That was cruel of you.
It's perfectly truthful. And he did ask if it could be a surprise for her.
I know. It's just… oh, never mind. If she can forgive him, and you, then I have no right to judge.
The Beauvois settled back into their seats to await the opening strains of the overture.
"She's here," Abby whispered, peering out through the crack in the curtains. "She's here, Draco, she's here!"
"Way to make me less nervous, brat." Draco flicked Abby's wreath out of position again. "Get out of here, make room for the pirates."
Abby hugged him before she skipped away.
"Don't be nervous," Hermione said, straightening her patched skirt. "You'll do fine. You did great at the dress rehearsal this morning."
"Yeah, well, you know what they say. Bad dress rehearsal, good performance. So wouldn't that mean—"
"No."
"But if it's—"
"No."
"Would you just let me—"
"No."
"Give it up, mate," Ray advised, tucking in a loose end of his sash. "I never win with her, so I don't think you'll have much luck."
"Never win on the other side, either," Draco muttered, but the words didn't have nearly the force they should have. Sheer, unthinking terror tended to do that.
Gods of theatre, if you're listening, please don't let me screw this up!
At last, the lights went down over the improvised stage area, and the small orchestra began to play the lively music of the overture. As it swelled into a louder theme, the pirates made their first appearance, swords clashing and shouts of "Ha!" and "Take that!" echoing about the stage. Cecy smiled as Ray backed into view, parrying the fierce thrusts and slashes of—
She sat up in shock as the face under the green bandanna became visible.
"Ha-ha!" shouted Draco, disarming Ray and snatching his sword. He swaggered towards the audience, holding up both swords in triumph, then whooped in surprise and leapt into the air as Ray planted a boot in his bottom. "Arrgh!" he growled at the pirate apprentice, who yelped and ran for his life, Draco chasing him with both swords flailing.
Cecy turned her head to look at Remus. He met her gaze serenely, but as she continued to hold his eyes, a trace of nervousness began to creep into them.
As well it should. Cecy gave him a sweet smile and turned back to watch the action on the stage, where Hermione was now dumping a full teapot over Harry's head. My revenge may not be swift, but it is very, very thorough.
But revenge would come later. For now, she simply needed to enjoy this wonderful treat of a show.
And think of how loudly I shall cheer when my son takes his bow.
The show made its way through the torturous twists and turns of its so-called plot, coming at last to the Major-General's song. Neville deftly wove through the verses the audience was expecting, then held up his hands for silence as the orchestra played the little vamps that marked time.
Am I making it up, or are they going faster than they did? Draco surreptitiously patted out the beat on the rock behind him with the arm that wasn't holding Abby prisoner. Not making it up. They've been going a little faster every verse.
Neville coughed once or twice and launched into the words Ginny had written for him.
"I know my Magic History, I'm gifted in Herbology,
"(The sort of thing a Muggle would most likely call biology),
"I understand Transfiguration theory, making bread of mouse,
"Though when I try, I drive insane the Gryffindors’ dear Head of House…"
The audience laughed, none louder than Professor McGonagall herself. Neville bowed to her, then continued.
"In Charms I can excel by bending all the rules of time and space,
"In Potions I'm a huge disaster looking for a happ'ning place…"
All eyes swiveled to Professor Snape, who had taken a seat far off to one side. He looked up at the stage and lifted one eyebrow, his all-purpose gesture for Yes, and?
Neville shrugged and returned to his patter.
"A rune I'll read that's barely seen, a dagger or a cup this long…"
He measured with his fingers, then leaned down to glare at the musicians.
"And hex the crazy orchestra who keep on speeding up this song!"
The audience howled, half-obscuring the chorus's repetition of the line and only calming down when Neville began to sing alone again.
"For our audience is patient, but their patience now is gone with it,
"And they are likely thinking that it's time that we ‘GET ON WITH IT!’"
The last four words were shrieked in a high-pitched tone, and drew the biggest laugh yet.
Definitely some inside joke I don't get. Draco made a mental note to ask Ray later.
Neville waited out the laughter, then finished the song at top speed.
"But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
"I am the very model of a modern Major-General!"
The rest of the cast echoed him, getting their tongues tangled up with the words, but as the audience was already applauding and cheering, it didn't matter.
And I'm up…
Draco came forward, Abby twisting in his grasp, as Neville demanded to know what was going on. "Permit me, I'll explain in two words," he said, holding up two fingers. "We propose…" He paused, frowning, and looked at his fingers, then brightened and held them up higher. "To marry…" Another frown, and then another idea struck him—he held the fingers pointing down. "Your daughters."
The audience's laughter sent a thrill straight through Draco.
It's official. I love this.
The pirates had been redeemed, the final song was finished, the cast was taking their bows. Draco walked forward with Abby and Meghan, who had played the other daughter with singing lines, and bowed from his place between them to the cheers and applause of the audience.
Are they—
He glanced out as he straightened.
Yes, they are.
The people in the rows of seats in front of him had begun to stand up.
I guess they really liked it.
Then he spotted blonde hair and a slim figure four rows back, and the rest of the crowd disappeared. Harry and Hermione, Ray and Luna, took their bows, the entire cast bowed together, but the moments blurred together for Draco. Nothing mattered until the music stopped and he was free to follow the other pirates off the front of the stage, free to run into the audience as they were doing, free to weave between seats and dodge those who wanted to congratulate him. He had his objective firmly in mind.
Mum.
He jumped over one last seat, and she was there, hugging him tight and laughing. "You did so well," she said, kissing the top of his head. "So well, for your first time!"
"I didn't want to disappoint you," Draco said, freeing an arm for a second to hitch his sword out of the way.
"You have never disappointed me." Mum smiled at him, pulling back just enough to let him see her face. "I am proud of you. Well done."
"Thanks." Draco grinned back at her. "It was fun."
And I don't think I'll ever have trouble casting a Patronus again.
Bring on the year. I'm ready for anything.