Disclaimer and Author's Note: Canon characters do not belong to me. All music will be cited in the bottom author’s note. Thanks for reading!
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Rhapsody
Prologue - The Overture
Aristocratic hands played a C major scale to ensure the tonality of the piano. Satisfied by its quality, the hands rubbed together and then poised themselves above the keys in B flat major position. A long, elegant neck rolled to remove itself of the kinks that had settled there. Then, he began to play. The notes rang out clearly and smoothly, capturing the young man’s mood. He felt infinite when he played, like there was no one else in the world. He closed his eyes to the outside and ignored everything but the light touch of his fingers to the keys and the music that settled in the air.
Ginny usually passed by the Room of Requirement without so much as a second glance, now that she had no reason to frequent it. Harry Potter had taken care of the Dark Lord and all was right with the wizarding world, which meant that there was no reason for meetings of the DA. Ginny went back to her quiet life at Hogwarts for her 7th year, and she quite liked it that way. So, it surprised her that she was now taking quick, but stealthy steps toward the door to the room, eavesdropping, as it were, on the person inside.
The music coming from inside was sweet, like the aftertaste of chocolate. After she could take it no longer, she pressed on the door to open it, praying that the door would not squeak and disturb the musician. It didn’t, so Ginny took that as a sign that she could go into the room and watch. She entered softly, but nearly gasped when she saw Draco playing the piano. How could such entrancing music be coming from someone like him? She stepped further into the room, very intrigued, and then walked right up to the piano.
Draco’s eyes were still closed, and his head swayed slightly as he tickled the ivories. In all honesty, Ginny found herself thinking that if she could ignore the fact that it was Malfoy, this could be the single most beautiful moment she had ever witnessed. But, Ginny’s musings came to an end as the piece did – Draco opened his eyes.
He quirked an eyebrow and affected a bored sort of drawl. “Can I help you?” He wasn’t used to being observed, especially in this, his private sanctuary.
Ginny could think of no response, so she chose to retort, only slightly maliciously, “What are you doing here, Malfoy?”
“Playing the piano,” he replied, turning back to the keys. “And, I was promised privacy, so if you don’t mind.” He jerked his head toward the door, before beginning to play again, this time a tune Ginny recognized for it was one of her favorite jazz compositions.
“Gershwin. Nice choice,” she said, as he moved out of the glissando into the opening notes of Rhapsody in Blue. His response was to glare at her and once again nod towards the door. She rolled her eyes and thought, ‘well he certainly hasn’t changed.’ She moved away from the piano, but stopped in the doorway and turned around.
“You’re very good.”
Draco was getting very much into the piece, but her compliment managed to break through the wall of music. He still was not particularly thrilled with being listened to. The Headmaster had promised that he would not be disturbed if he chose to practice his instrument there at Hogwarts. After he had been cast out of the family, Draco had taken up residence at the school and was now assisting wherever his help was needed. The experience had not particularly changed him, as people are hard to change, and he had to work hard to acclimate himself to the idea of helping. And if there was anywhere where he could not pretend, it was in the Room of Requirement with his piano. And now, here was this upstart little Weasley ruining his moment of solitude. But she had complimented him, and he supposed that he should oblige her with a response.
“Thank you.” He hoped this would satisfy her curiosity and she would leave immediately. But, being a Gryffindor or a Weasley, she of course would continue to pester him until she got some real attention.
Ginny walked back up to the piano, this time standing behind him and following his fingers as he played. “How long have you played?”
“Since I was five,” he replied, his affected drawl disappearing as he tried to concentrate on giving Gershwin’s music the attention it deserved. “Now would you mind? I was alone on purpose, Weasel.”
Ginny sighed at his childish name-calling. “I’d have thought we were past all that, Malfoy, but it seems nothing can get past that shell of yours. Enjoy your solitude, you prat.” Ginny walked back over to the door and opened it. She turned around one last time and, finding Draco completely absorbed in the rhapsody, thought, why do I even bother?
She walked out of the room and very nearly slammed the door behind her, but chose not to, if only out of respect for the music.
Ginny loved music and had for as long as she could remember. She would sneak off to the store room where her father kept all his Muggle artifacts and would sit there for hours, playing records and singing along. Her favorite styles were jazz and swing. Secretly, Ginny dreamed of singing in a big band or a jazz ensemble, but knew how impractical such dreams were. She was expected to follow the rest of her family; choose a nice wizarding career – even if it was as silly as Fred and George’s joke shop.
But that didn’t stop her from wishing. So Ginny would cultivate her voice in secret…and it seemed as though she had found another secret musician. She only wished it wasn’t someone as unpleasant as Draco Malfoy.
The last notes of Rhapsody in Blue danced into the air and Draco sighed as they slowly died away. Ginny’s words were all but forgotten, as he began to hum the rhapsody to himself and carefully closed up the piano. He walked reverently to the door, so as to preserve the magic. He opened the door and stepped back into the real world. He only paused for a moment to watch Ginny walk down the hallway.
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A/N: Rhapsody In Blue belongs to George Gershwin.
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Aristocratic hands played a C major scale to ensure the tonality of the piano. Satisfied by its quality, the hands rubbed together and then poised themselves above the keys in B flat major position. A long, elegant neck rolled to remove itself of the kinks that had settled there. Then, he began to play. The notes rang out clearly and smoothly, capturing the young man’s mood. He felt infinite when he played, like there was no one else in the world. He closed his eyes to the outside and ignored everything but the light touch of his fingers to the keys and the music that settled in the air.
Ginny usually passed by the Room of Requirement without so much as a second glance, now that she had no reason to frequent it. Harry Potter had taken care of the Dark Lord and all was right with the wizarding world, which meant that there was no reason for meetings of the DA. Ginny went back to her quiet life at Hogwarts for her 7th year, and she quite liked it that way. So, it surprised her that she was now taking quick, but stealthy steps toward the door to the room, eavesdropping, as it were, on the person inside.
The music coming from inside was sweet, like the aftertaste of chocolate. After she could take it no longer, she pressed on the door to open it, praying that the door would not squeak and disturb the musician. It didn’t, so Ginny took that as a sign that she could go into the room and watch. She entered softly, but nearly gasped when she saw Draco playing the piano. How could such entrancing music be coming from someone like him? She stepped further into the room, very intrigued, and then walked right up to the piano.
Draco’s eyes were still closed, and his head swayed slightly as he tickled the ivories. In all honesty, Ginny found herself thinking that if she could ignore the fact that it was Malfoy, this could be the single most beautiful moment she had ever witnessed. But, Ginny’s musings came to an end as the piece did – Draco opened his eyes.
He quirked an eyebrow and affected a bored sort of drawl. “Can I help you?” He wasn’t used to being observed, especially in this, his private sanctuary.
Ginny could think of no response, so she chose to retort, only slightly maliciously, “What are you doing here, Malfoy?”
“Playing the piano,” he replied, turning back to the keys. “And, I was promised privacy, so if you don’t mind.” He jerked his head toward the door, before beginning to play again, this time a tune Ginny recognized for it was one of her favorite jazz compositions.
“Gershwin. Nice choice,” she said, as he moved out of the glissando into the opening notes of Rhapsody in Blue. His response was to glare at her and once again nod towards the door. She rolled her eyes and thought, ‘well he certainly hasn’t changed.’ She moved away from the piano, but stopped in the doorway and turned around.
“You’re very good.”
Draco was getting very much into the piece, but her compliment managed to break through the wall of music. He still was not particularly thrilled with being listened to. The Headmaster had promised that he would not be disturbed if he chose to practice his instrument there at Hogwarts. After he had been cast out of the family, Draco had taken up residence at the school and was now assisting wherever his help was needed. The experience had not particularly changed him, as people are hard to change, and he had to work hard to acclimate himself to the idea of helping. And if there was anywhere where he could not pretend, it was in the Room of Requirement with his piano. And now, here was this upstart little Weasley ruining his moment of solitude. But she had complimented him, and he supposed that he should oblige her with a response.
“Thank you.” He hoped this would satisfy her curiosity and she would leave immediately. But, being a Gryffindor or a Weasley, she of course would continue to pester him until she got some real attention.
Ginny walked back up to the piano, this time standing behind him and following his fingers as he played. “How long have you played?”
“Since I was five,” he replied, his affected drawl disappearing as he tried to concentrate on giving Gershwin’s music the attention it deserved. “Now would you mind? I was alone on purpose, Weasel.”
Ginny sighed at his childish name-calling. “I’d have thought we were past all that, Malfoy, but it seems nothing can get past that shell of yours. Enjoy your solitude, you prat.” Ginny walked back over to the door and opened it. She turned around one last time and, finding Draco completely absorbed in the rhapsody, thought, why do I even bother?
She walked out of the room and very nearly slammed the door behind her, but chose not to, if only out of respect for the music.
Ginny loved music and had for as long as she could remember. She would sneak off to the store room where her father kept all his Muggle artifacts and would sit there for hours, playing records and singing along. Her favorite styles were jazz and swing. Secretly, Ginny dreamed of singing in a big band or a jazz ensemble, but knew how impractical such dreams were. She was expected to follow the rest of her family; choose a nice wizarding career – even if it was as silly as Fred and George’s joke shop.
But that didn’t stop her from wishing. So Ginny would cultivate her voice in secret…and it seemed as though she had found another secret musician. She only wished it wasn’t someone as unpleasant as Draco Malfoy.
The last notes of Rhapsody in Blue danced into the air and Draco sighed as they slowly died away. Ginny’s words were all but forgotten, as he began to hum the rhapsody to himself and carefully closed up the piano. He walked reverently to the door, so as to preserve the magic. He opened the door and stepped back into the real world. He only paused for a moment to watch Ginny walk down the hallway.
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A/N: Rhapsody In Blue belongs to George Gershwin.
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