They stared at the letter, and then at each other. The one with short, spiked hair falling towards eyes covered in glitter eyeshadow said, "This has to be a joke."
"Like she had a sense of humor," said the girl wearing heavy black eyeliner and black leather bands on her wrists. "A pretty voice, sure, but..."
The last member of the trio currently standing over an innocent looking scrap of parchment hummed a bit and toyed with a long strand of dirty blonde hair. "What will we do?"
"Strangle a certain Miss Serenity Galadriel Van Helsing," snarled Ginny, shoving her hands so deep into the pockets of her jeans that her armbands disappeared.
"But it'd be expensive to follow her," Luna said, still twirling her hair. "Besides, I hear that American school she said she's transferring to is full of violent and hostile mutants."
Cho ran her hand irritably through her hair, rearranging the spikes to fall in even messier lines. "The point is, we need someone who can sing the parts that Ginny doesn't have the range for, who can hopefully also keep the beat."
Ginny muttered darkly, "Not like that cow could do anything with the drumsticks besides shove them--" She cut off as both of the other girls eyed her and sighed. "All right, so I never liked her ever since that incident in the Hall."
Cho and Luna discreetly looked away as Ginny leaned her head forward, letting her snarled red hair hide her face as she blushed painfully. It had been bad enough when Malfoy had come over to taunt Ginny, as he usually did, but Serenity's attempts at defending her had been what truly humiliated Ginny beyond all measure. Cho hadn't seen it, of course, but Serenity had been all too willing to describe it at length, mistakenly believing that she had cowed Malfoy with her brilliant comebacks. Finally, when the silence was seeming much too awkward, Cho cleared her throat to speak but was cut off by Luna saying, "We could get a boggart and have it turn into Serenity. Boggarts have lovely singing voices."
"But how would we keep it from changing form in mid-song?" Cho answered with calm logic.
"That's it!" said Ginny excitedly.
The other two turned to look at her, and Luna said, "So you read about boggarts in last month's issue?" just as Cho said, "You want to use a boggart?"
"Of course not," said Ginny, waving a hand dismissively. "But I know precisely who we need to get to join the band."
~~~~~~~~
"No! Absolutely not, no! Just... No!"
"Come on, Hermione, I know you can sing, I've heard you in the shower," said Ginny.
Hermione shook her head emphatically. "Singing in the shower is very different from singing in front of people. Besides, didn't you say I'd need to play the drums? I understand that takes skill, and years of practice, and--"
"Goyle can play drums," interrupted Ginny.
Hermione blinked and looked at her, then picked up steam again to continue, "All right, so I could probably play the drums, but I could never sing in front of people."
Cho and Luna looked at each other behind where Ginny was once again pleading with Hermione while the other girl was shaking her bushy head emphatically. It should be noted that, while Slytherin House gets all the publicity regarding deviousness, Ravenclaws are simply smart enough to avoid the press. With studied nonchalance, Cho said, "I told you she wouldn't do it. Come on, let's just go figure out a way we can do this without you dropping out of school."
Hermione's head snapped around. "Without what?"
Ginny glared at Cho. "You weren't supposed to talk about that in front of anyone."
"I thought it was just in front of your brothers," said Luna with wide eyes. "I mean, except Fred and George, since you'd be following in their footsteps."
"Ginevra Molly Weasley, what are you planning?" said Hermione, bristling with fury.
Ginny shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her chest defiantly. "It doesn't make sense for my parents to pay another year's tuition when I know what I want to do," she said. "If I can't make a go of it with music, Fred and George have a spot for me in their shop."
Hermione's hand flew to clutch her chest and her face went white. "You... You'd leave Hogwarts? Before you had to?"
Luna nodded blithely. "We both will."
"NO!" Hermione bellowed, her voice shaking the windows slightly. "I forbid it! I'll, I'll.. I'll tell your Mum!"
"It will only accelerate the time-table if you do," Ginny said calmly. "Because then I'd just go lodge with Cho and Luna as soon as we get off the Express instead of at the end of the summer."
Hermione looked aghast, but Luna and Cho just nodded. "You know we'd love to have you," said Cho. "We could get in some more serious practice if we're all in one spot, not to mention the fun we could get up to--"
"It'd be so marvelous," chimed in Luna. "Daddy's arranged for an excellent flat for us, with a recording studio and everything."
"Sounds bloody brill," said Ginny, breaking into a smile. "And it's not like I wouldn't be over at all hours this summer anyway. Yeah, let's do it."
"All right!" shrieked Hermione. "I'll do it, but you have to swear that you'll finish school, both of you. And you can't move out of the Burrow and leave me alone with Ron and Harry and nothing but talk of quidditch all summer."
Cho stuck her hand out and shook Hermione's firmly. "Agreed."
Ginny's smile was a bit sly as she said, "All right, then, let's go."
"Go where?" asked Hermione, even as she was being dragged to her feet and had her wand shoved into her hands.
"To go practice," said Ginny as the other two girls disappeared amidst the library stacks they'd found Hermione buried in. "We need to figure out how much work you need."
Hermione's mouth opened and closed before she said, "Oh, bugger," in resigned tones and allowed Ginny to drag her away.
They finally arrived in a fair-sized room with tiered seating and acoustic tiles, where Cho and Luna already sat on the small podium at the front, warming up with their instruments. "Um, Ginny? I thought you said this was a rock band."
"It is," said Ginny blithely, picking up a bright red electric guitar from a stand next to where Cho sat.
"She's holding a sodding oboe," said Hermione, gesturing towards Luna, who just blinked innocently at her. "The cello I could somewhat understand," she continued, and Cho graciously saluted her with the bow. "After all, it's not that different a way to carry a bass line, and Jimmy Page proved that a bow could be used for great rock and roll, but really, an oboe??"
Ginny simply nodded and turned back to tuning her guitar. "You wouldn't believe what she can do with that oboe."
Cho, who had been flexing her fingers before picking up her bow once more, said, "Cherry Lips."
Hermione looked at her with a confused expression, but Ginny just nodded and Luna brought her horn to her lips. They launched into the song, Cho's bow-work making the bass line pop and Ginny singing archly while batting her eyelashes and tossing her hair in the parts between choruses, when she would focus on her guitar. The main melody, however, was bouncy and somewhat electronic sounding, and completely carried by Luna's oboe.
The song drew to a close and the three girls put down their instruments and looked expectantly at Hermione. She blew out a breath and said, "I can't believe what she can do with that oboe." This led to a chorus of giggles, after which Cho said, "All right then, girly, pull up a chair and a drum kit and let's get started."
"Are you sure you actually need me? You guys sounded fantastic," said Hermione, still lingering a distance away from the other girls.
"Whoever heard of a rock band without a drummer?" said Luna, adjusting her reed.
"And I can't concentrate on vocals if the guitar part's complicated, plus I don't have that big a range in the high notes," Ginny added.
Hermione still looked hesitant, but Cho had stood up, doing something complicated with her wand to a spot behind where their chairs were set up. A section of floor shimmered and a full snare kit seemed to float up through it. "We’ve all got storage space here," said Cho. "This used to be Serenity's, but it's yours now. I'll show you how to open it afterwards, and then you can reset it to only open to you if you like."
"Th- thank you," said Hermione, gingerly seating herself behind the drums and folding her hands in her lap. "It's certainly, um, here."
"Hogwarts used to have a band," said Luna. "And a choir."
Hermione looked bright. "Oh, how lovely! I wonder why they don't any longer."
"I understand it involves Fred and George Weasley, a bassoon and a set of tubular bells, although Professor Flitwick goes very grey whenever it's mentioned, so no one I know had the exact details," said Cho, waving her wand at the floor once more and scowling when nothing happened. "Stupid cow must've taken the sticks," she muttered.
Ginny shrugged. "They were only first years. Youthful high spirits."
"He still limps on cold days," said Luna. "And winces at the sight of a glockenspiel."
Ginny simply shrugged again, and Hermione fidgeted until Cho handed her a pair of drumsticks she'd transfigured from a pair of sticks pulled from Luna's hair. "These should do for now, although real ones will sound better."
Hermione took a deep breath and thought about the drum solos that she and her father would flail along to when she was younger, listening to his long playing records from bands like Cream and Yes, or the wonder of drumming virtuosity that was "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". She closed her eyes and thought, "I can do this," then took the sticks in a firm grip and starting beating on the drums with verve and enthusiasm.
She finally stopped and looked at the others, her hair falling in her eyes and her face flushed from the exertion. Cho sucked in a breath and said, "That was, um..."
"It was certainly very, er, active," said Ginny.
"Just think how great it will be when she doesn't suck any more!" was Luna's contribution.
"Like she had a sense of humor," said the girl wearing heavy black eyeliner and black leather bands on her wrists. "A pretty voice, sure, but..."
The last member of the trio currently standing over an innocent looking scrap of parchment hummed a bit and toyed with a long strand of dirty blonde hair. "What will we do?"
"Strangle a certain Miss Serenity Galadriel Van Helsing," snarled Ginny, shoving her hands so deep into the pockets of her jeans that her armbands disappeared.
"But it'd be expensive to follow her," Luna said, still twirling her hair. "Besides, I hear that American school she said she's transferring to is full of violent and hostile mutants."
Cho ran her hand irritably through her hair, rearranging the spikes to fall in even messier lines. "The point is, we need someone who can sing the parts that Ginny doesn't have the range for, who can hopefully also keep the beat."
Ginny muttered darkly, "Not like that cow could do anything with the drumsticks besides shove them--" She cut off as both of the other girls eyed her and sighed. "All right, so I never liked her ever since that incident in the Hall."
Cho and Luna discreetly looked away as Ginny leaned her head forward, letting her snarled red hair hide her face as she blushed painfully. It had been bad enough when Malfoy had come over to taunt Ginny, as he usually did, but Serenity's attempts at defending her had been what truly humiliated Ginny beyond all measure. Cho hadn't seen it, of course, but Serenity had been all too willing to describe it at length, mistakenly believing that she had cowed Malfoy with her brilliant comebacks. Finally, when the silence was seeming much too awkward, Cho cleared her throat to speak but was cut off by Luna saying, "We could get a boggart and have it turn into Serenity. Boggarts have lovely singing voices."
"But how would we keep it from changing form in mid-song?" Cho answered with calm logic.
"That's it!" said Ginny excitedly.
The other two turned to look at her, and Luna said, "So you read about boggarts in last month's issue?" just as Cho said, "You want to use a boggart?"
"Of course not," said Ginny, waving a hand dismissively. "But I know precisely who we need to get to join the band."
~~~~~~~~
"No! Absolutely not, no! Just... No!"
"Come on, Hermione, I know you can sing, I've heard you in the shower," said Ginny.
Hermione shook her head emphatically. "Singing in the shower is very different from singing in front of people. Besides, didn't you say I'd need to play the drums? I understand that takes skill, and years of practice, and--"
"Goyle can play drums," interrupted Ginny.
Hermione blinked and looked at her, then picked up steam again to continue, "All right, so I could probably play the drums, but I could never sing in front of people."
Cho and Luna looked at each other behind where Ginny was once again pleading with Hermione while the other girl was shaking her bushy head emphatically. It should be noted that, while Slytherin House gets all the publicity regarding deviousness, Ravenclaws are simply smart enough to avoid the press. With studied nonchalance, Cho said, "I told you she wouldn't do it. Come on, let's just go figure out a way we can do this without you dropping out of school."
Hermione's head snapped around. "Without what?"
Ginny glared at Cho. "You weren't supposed to talk about that in front of anyone."
"I thought it was just in front of your brothers," said Luna with wide eyes. "I mean, except Fred and George, since you'd be following in their footsteps."
"Ginevra Molly Weasley, what are you planning?" said Hermione, bristling with fury.
Ginny shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her chest defiantly. "It doesn't make sense for my parents to pay another year's tuition when I know what I want to do," she said. "If I can't make a go of it with music, Fred and George have a spot for me in their shop."
Hermione's hand flew to clutch her chest and her face went white. "You... You'd leave Hogwarts? Before you had to?"
Luna nodded blithely. "We both will."
"NO!" Hermione bellowed, her voice shaking the windows slightly. "I forbid it! I'll, I'll.. I'll tell your Mum!"
"It will only accelerate the time-table if you do," Ginny said calmly. "Because then I'd just go lodge with Cho and Luna as soon as we get off the Express instead of at the end of the summer."
Hermione looked aghast, but Luna and Cho just nodded. "You know we'd love to have you," said Cho. "We could get in some more serious practice if we're all in one spot, not to mention the fun we could get up to--"
"It'd be so marvelous," chimed in Luna. "Daddy's arranged for an excellent flat for us, with a recording studio and everything."
"Sounds bloody brill," said Ginny, breaking into a smile. "And it's not like I wouldn't be over at all hours this summer anyway. Yeah, let's do it."
"All right!" shrieked Hermione. "I'll do it, but you have to swear that you'll finish school, both of you. And you can't move out of the Burrow and leave me alone with Ron and Harry and nothing but talk of quidditch all summer."
Cho stuck her hand out and shook Hermione's firmly. "Agreed."
Ginny's smile was a bit sly as she said, "All right, then, let's go."
"Go where?" asked Hermione, even as she was being dragged to her feet and had her wand shoved into her hands.
"To go practice," said Ginny as the other two girls disappeared amidst the library stacks they'd found Hermione buried in. "We need to figure out how much work you need."
Hermione's mouth opened and closed before she said, "Oh, bugger," in resigned tones and allowed Ginny to drag her away.
They finally arrived in a fair-sized room with tiered seating and acoustic tiles, where Cho and Luna already sat on the small podium at the front, warming up with their instruments. "Um, Ginny? I thought you said this was a rock band."
"It is," said Ginny blithely, picking up a bright red electric guitar from a stand next to where Cho sat.
"She's holding a sodding oboe," said Hermione, gesturing towards Luna, who just blinked innocently at her. "The cello I could somewhat understand," she continued, and Cho graciously saluted her with the bow. "After all, it's not that different a way to carry a bass line, and Jimmy Page proved that a bow could be used for great rock and roll, but really, an oboe??"
Ginny simply nodded and turned back to tuning her guitar. "You wouldn't believe what she can do with that oboe."
Cho, who had been flexing her fingers before picking up her bow once more, said, "Cherry Lips."
Hermione looked at her with a confused expression, but Ginny just nodded and Luna brought her horn to her lips. They launched into the song, Cho's bow-work making the bass line pop and Ginny singing archly while batting her eyelashes and tossing her hair in the parts between choruses, when she would focus on her guitar. The main melody, however, was bouncy and somewhat electronic sounding, and completely carried by Luna's oboe.
The song drew to a close and the three girls put down their instruments and looked expectantly at Hermione. She blew out a breath and said, "I can't believe what she can do with that oboe." This led to a chorus of giggles, after which Cho said, "All right then, girly, pull up a chair and a drum kit and let's get started."
"Are you sure you actually need me? You guys sounded fantastic," said Hermione, still lingering a distance away from the other girls.
"Whoever heard of a rock band without a drummer?" said Luna, adjusting her reed.
"And I can't concentrate on vocals if the guitar part's complicated, plus I don't have that big a range in the high notes," Ginny added.
Hermione still looked hesitant, but Cho had stood up, doing something complicated with her wand to a spot behind where their chairs were set up. A section of floor shimmered and a full snare kit seemed to float up through it. "We’ve all got storage space here," said Cho. "This used to be Serenity's, but it's yours now. I'll show you how to open it afterwards, and then you can reset it to only open to you if you like."
"Th- thank you," said Hermione, gingerly seating herself behind the drums and folding her hands in her lap. "It's certainly, um, here."
"Hogwarts used to have a band," said Luna. "And a choir."
Hermione looked bright. "Oh, how lovely! I wonder why they don't any longer."
"I understand it involves Fred and George Weasley, a bassoon and a set of tubular bells, although Professor Flitwick goes very grey whenever it's mentioned, so no one I know had the exact details," said Cho, waving her wand at the floor once more and scowling when nothing happened. "Stupid cow must've taken the sticks," she muttered.
Ginny shrugged. "They were only first years. Youthful high spirits."
"He still limps on cold days," said Luna. "And winces at the sight of a glockenspiel."
Ginny simply shrugged again, and Hermione fidgeted until Cho handed her a pair of drumsticks she'd transfigured from a pair of sticks pulled from Luna's hair. "These should do for now, although real ones will sound better."
Hermione took a deep breath and thought about the drum solos that she and her father would flail along to when she was younger, listening to his long playing records from bands like Cream and Yes, or the wonder of drumming virtuosity that was "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". She closed her eyes and thought, "I can do this," then took the sticks in a firm grip and starting beating on the drums with verve and enthusiasm.
She finally stopped and looked at the others, her hair falling in her eyes and her face flushed from the exertion. Cho sucked in a breath and said, "That was, um..."
"It was certainly very, er, active," said Ginny.
"Just think how great it will be when she doesn't suck any more!" was Luna's contribution.
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