Disclaimer: Canon characters do not belong to me.
Rhapsody
Chapter Two – Movement in D Minor
“So let me get this straight,” Ginny said to Jordi. “She’s intentionally trying to get detention with Snape?”
“Yup,” Jordi replied seriously. She raised her eyebrows. “I believe she’s gone completely mental.”
Ginny was stunned. Hers and Jordi’s best friend Elizabeth had, over the last few weeks, moved on from Draco, and her newest flavor of the moment was none other than their Potions master. Yes, Professor Severus, greasy-haired, sallow-skinned, long-nosed git, Snape was now the love of her life.
“I am inclined to agree with you. Strongly,” Ginny managed to squeak out. Then she started laughing. “Oh gods, this is unbelievable, Jordi!”
“What is so unbelievable?” asked Elizabeth, coming up behind them and flicking Ginny on the back of the head. “He’s so dark and mysterious. He’s got those long fingers and oh the way his robes billow when he walks. And that voice! It’s like that intensity in the eye of a tornado.”
“How eloquent,” Jordi said. “If it weren’t for the fact that you are describing SNAPE, I might be inclined to agree with you. Harry Potter I understood. George Weasley I understood. Hell, I even understood Draco Malfoy to a point, but Snape? The man’s old enough to have fathered you. Ginny, back me up on this.”
But Ginny had stiffened in her chair. Jordi looked at her strangely and then realized that she had mentioned her brother George. She exchanged a quick glance with Elizabeth who frowned at her. “Oh, Ginny, I’m sorry,” Jordi said quietly.
Ginny shook off her discomfort and an affected smile graced her lips. “It’s fine,” she said. “It’s fine. Er, I have to run to the library for a bit. I’ll be back.”
“You want us to come with you?” Elizabeth asked. Ginny just stood up rather quickly and shook her head sharply. She flashed the girls a smile and left the room.
Once outside the common room, she walked briskly down the hallway and headed for the Room of Requirement. Whenever she needed a moment or two alone, she had gone there because it always gave her what she needed – a large sofa and some paper to tear as she cried. She reached the room and without hesitating opened the door, rushing inside and slamming it behind her. She slid down the door and buried her face in her arms.
Then, as if it were out of a movie or a nightmare, a haunting melody began to play, filling Ginny’s ears with beauty and fear. She looked up, horrified to see Draco playing again. However, this time his eyes weren’t closed. Rather, they were fixed directly on her. Ginny realized that he had been in there and she had disrupted him yet again. He had started playing to get her to notice that someone else was in the room.
“I – I’m sorry Malfoy. I didn’t know anyone wa – was in here,” she said, furiously rubbing her eyes to keep the tears inside. Malfoy would not be allowed to see her cry.
He continued playing his sad song, but said in reply, “Well, someone is. And that someone wishes to be alone.”
Ginny bit down on her lower lip. “Well, this someone needs to be alone as well. Do you think maybe you can come back later? I – I won’t be very l – long,” she said, her words hitching as the tears threatened madly to fall. The combination of melancholy and embarrassment was proving too much for her.
“Weasley, I was here first. Ergo, I get to stay. Go take your sob story somewhere else.”
He glared at her, and that was enough to drive Ginny over the edge. A great white couch appeared in the center of the room with a large stack of old Daily Prophets, and Ginny ran to it, tears streaming down her face. Draco played an ugly chord, startled out of his concentration by her display. He didn’t know what to do. Emotion had always alluded him in times like this. Actually, Draco could not recall a time when something like this had ever happened at all. He absolutely did not know what to do.
Ginny, meanwhile, had settled herself on the couch and was slowly tearing an old gossip column into strips. Her tears were slowing as she concentrated on evenly ripping the page. She took long, deep breaths, and as she tore the last strip, her tears disappeared.
“Weasley, are you okay?” The words sounded foreign to his ears, even as he said them, like he was being presented by a new piece of music. He started to get up from the piano bench, but sat back down quickly. He wanted to remain safely distant.
Ginny turned to him when he asked his strange question. “Yes, of course,” she said, quietly. “I’m just fine.” She gave him the same smile that she had just given her friends moments ago.
“Like I care,” he replied, except it came out awkwardly. He looked at her, and she stood up and walked toward the piano. He seemed to regain his composure then. He cracked his knuckles and then began playing his melancholy song again.
Ginny had reached the side of the piano by the time he began to play again. She listened for a moment, quietly, but then the sadness of the piece caught up with her.
“I think that if you continue playing that song, I may need more paper.” Draco looked at her and smirked. But, he changed his tune. He didn’t know why, but he just did it. The song was ‘I’ve Got the World on a String.’
Ginny smiled, a real smile, and said, “Harold Arlen! Nice choice.”
Draco looked momentarily shocked. “You know Arlen? Nobody knows Arlen,” he said, his voice full of surprise. Then, he shook inwardly trying to rid himself of the idea that he was actually impressed by a Weasley. “I mean, Harold Arlen’s work is brilliant, isn’t it? Not too many people know him by name.”
“I’ve always been saddened by that. I mean, the man wrote the score to ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ and all those great classics, and people attribute it to everyone but Harold Arlen.”
“Yes!” Draco was growing more passionate by the moment. Ginny could see that music really incensed him. She made a small mental note that they had more in common than just talent.
The song ended and Draco struck up another – another Arlen song. This one was a gorgeous torch song called ‘Stormy Weather’. Ginny’s eyes closed and before she could stop herself, she was singing along. She had a rich, jazzy alto voice that perfectly complimented the words and mood of the song.
Don’t know why
There’s no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain’t together
Been rainin’ all the time
Draco looked up at the red-haired girl with honest to goodness wonder in his eyes. Her voice was like musical gold. He couldn’t find where all the power came from in her tiny body. For him, the end of the song came much too quickly, so he smoothly segued into one of his favorite Rodgers and Hart songs. If she knows Arlen, she’ll certainly know Rodgers and Hart, he reasoned in his head.
Ginny opened her eyes and just watched Draco for a moment. His hands seemed to float over the keys, gently kissing them to produce clear ringing notes. When he looked up, she noticed irritation in his eyes, which she took to mean he was angry that she had sung. She started to walk away.
“Don’t stop singing. I’m not playing for my health, you know,” he said, teasingly. He brought the song around to the top of the phrase again and nodded for her to begin, assuming she knew the words. She did.
Falling in love with love is falling for make-believe
Falling in love with love is playing the fool
Caring too much is such a juvenile fancy
Learning to trust is just for children in school
I fell in love with love one night when the moon was full
I was unwise, with eyes unable to see
I fell in love with love everlasting
But love fell out with me
Draco played the last few chords as Ginny’s last note hung in the air. A moment passed as the music finally died out, and Ginny was the one to break the silence.
“So, you like jazz?” she asked, tracing a little circle absently on the piano.
“I do,” he answered. He watched her hand for a moment and then looked up at her. “You’re pretty good.”
Ginny was shocked. Was that…a compliment? She chose not to make a scene about it, however, and simply said, “Thank you. And you’re not so bad yourself.”
Draco smirked and raised a hand airily. “One does what one can,” he said, and then his persona returned. “Hadn’t you better be moving along? It is way past your bedtime, little girl.”
Way to ruin a perfectly nice moment, Malfoy, she thought. She walked towards the door and just as she was leaving, she heard the pounding sounds of Beethoven’s 5th. A smile played at her lips. What a contrast – just like him.
When he was sure that she was truly gone, Draco tore his eyes away from the keys. That was interesting, he thought. A Weasley with talent.
----
A/N: I've Got the World on a String and Stormy Weather belong to Harold Arlen. Falling in Love with Love belongs to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
“So let me get this straight,” Ginny said to Jordi. “She’s intentionally trying to get detention with Snape?”
“Yup,” Jordi replied seriously. She raised her eyebrows. “I believe she’s gone completely mental.”
Ginny was stunned. Hers and Jordi’s best friend Elizabeth had, over the last few weeks, moved on from Draco, and her newest flavor of the moment was none other than their Potions master. Yes, Professor Severus, greasy-haired, sallow-skinned, long-nosed git, Snape was now the love of her life.
“I am inclined to agree with you. Strongly,” Ginny managed to squeak out. Then she started laughing. “Oh gods, this is unbelievable, Jordi!”
“What is so unbelievable?” asked Elizabeth, coming up behind them and flicking Ginny on the back of the head. “He’s so dark and mysterious. He’s got those long fingers and oh the way his robes billow when he walks. And that voice! It’s like that intensity in the eye of a tornado.”
“How eloquent,” Jordi said. “If it weren’t for the fact that you are describing SNAPE, I might be inclined to agree with you. Harry Potter I understood. George Weasley I understood. Hell, I even understood Draco Malfoy to a point, but Snape? The man’s old enough to have fathered you. Ginny, back me up on this.”
But Ginny had stiffened in her chair. Jordi looked at her strangely and then realized that she had mentioned her brother George. She exchanged a quick glance with Elizabeth who frowned at her. “Oh, Ginny, I’m sorry,” Jordi said quietly.
Ginny shook off her discomfort and an affected smile graced her lips. “It’s fine,” she said. “It’s fine. Er, I have to run to the library for a bit. I’ll be back.”
“You want us to come with you?” Elizabeth asked. Ginny just stood up rather quickly and shook her head sharply. She flashed the girls a smile and left the room.
Once outside the common room, she walked briskly down the hallway and headed for the Room of Requirement. Whenever she needed a moment or two alone, she had gone there because it always gave her what she needed – a large sofa and some paper to tear as she cried. She reached the room and without hesitating opened the door, rushing inside and slamming it behind her. She slid down the door and buried her face in her arms.
Then, as if it were out of a movie or a nightmare, a haunting melody began to play, filling Ginny’s ears with beauty and fear. She looked up, horrified to see Draco playing again. However, this time his eyes weren’t closed. Rather, they were fixed directly on her. Ginny realized that he had been in there and she had disrupted him yet again. He had started playing to get her to notice that someone else was in the room.
“I – I’m sorry Malfoy. I didn’t know anyone wa – was in here,” she said, furiously rubbing her eyes to keep the tears inside. Malfoy would not be allowed to see her cry.
He continued playing his sad song, but said in reply, “Well, someone is. And that someone wishes to be alone.”
Ginny bit down on her lower lip. “Well, this someone needs to be alone as well. Do you think maybe you can come back later? I – I won’t be very l – long,” she said, her words hitching as the tears threatened madly to fall. The combination of melancholy and embarrassment was proving too much for her.
“Weasley, I was here first. Ergo, I get to stay. Go take your sob story somewhere else.”
He glared at her, and that was enough to drive Ginny over the edge. A great white couch appeared in the center of the room with a large stack of old Daily Prophets, and Ginny ran to it, tears streaming down her face. Draco played an ugly chord, startled out of his concentration by her display. He didn’t know what to do. Emotion had always alluded him in times like this. Actually, Draco could not recall a time when something like this had ever happened at all. He absolutely did not know what to do.
Ginny, meanwhile, had settled herself on the couch and was slowly tearing an old gossip column into strips. Her tears were slowing as she concentrated on evenly ripping the page. She took long, deep breaths, and as she tore the last strip, her tears disappeared.
“Weasley, are you okay?” The words sounded foreign to his ears, even as he said them, like he was being presented by a new piece of music. He started to get up from the piano bench, but sat back down quickly. He wanted to remain safely distant.
Ginny turned to him when he asked his strange question. “Yes, of course,” she said, quietly. “I’m just fine.” She gave him the same smile that she had just given her friends moments ago.
“Like I care,” he replied, except it came out awkwardly. He looked at her, and she stood up and walked toward the piano. He seemed to regain his composure then. He cracked his knuckles and then began playing his melancholy song again.
Ginny had reached the side of the piano by the time he began to play again. She listened for a moment, quietly, but then the sadness of the piece caught up with her.
“I think that if you continue playing that song, I may need more paper.” Draco looked at her and smirked. But, he changed his tune. He didn’t know why, but he just did it. The song was ‘I’ve Got the World on a String.’
Ginny smiled, a real smile, and said, “Harold Arlen! Nice choice.”
Draco looked momentarily shocked. “You know Arlen? Nobody knows Arlen,” he said, his voice full of surprise. Then, he shook inwardly trying to rid himself of the idea that he was actually impressed by a Weasley. “I mean, Harold Arlen’s work is brilliant, isn’t it? Not too many people know him by name.”
“I’ve always been saddened by that. I mean, the man wrote the score to ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ and all those great classics, and people attribute it to everyone but Harold Arlen.”
“Yes!” Draco was growing more passionate by the moment. Ginny could see that music really incensed him. She made a small mental note that they had more in common than just talent.
The song ended and Draco struck up another – another Arlen song. This one was a gorgeous torch song called ‘Stormy Weather’. Ginny’s eyes closed and before she could stop herself, she was singing along. She had a rich, jazzy alto voice that perfectly complimented the words and mood of the song.
Don’t know why
There’s no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain’t together
Been rainin’ all the time
Draco looked up at the red-haired girl with honest to goodness wonder in his eyes. Her voice was like musical gold. He couldn’t find where all the power came from in her tiny body. For him, the end of the song came much too quickly, so he smoothly segued into one of his favorite Rodgers and Hart songs. If she knows Arlen, she’ll certainly know Rodgers and Hart, he reasoned in his head.
Ginny opened her eyes and just watched Draco for a moment. His hands seemed to float over the keys, gently kissing them to produce clear ringing notes. When he looked up, she noticed irritation in his eyes, which she took to mean he was angry that she had sung. She started to walk away.
“Don’t stop singing. I’m not playing for my health, you know,” he said, teasingly. He brought the song around to the top of the phrase again and nodded for her to begin, assuming she knew the words. She did.
Falling in love with love is falling for make-believe
Falling in love with love is playing the fool
Caring too much is such a juvenile fancy
Learning to trust is just for children in school
I fell in love with love one night when the moon was full
I was unwise, with eyes unable to see
I fell in love with love everlasting
But love fell out with me
Draco played the last few chords as Ginny’s last note hung in the air. A moment passed as the music finally died out, and Ginny was the one to break the silence.
“So, you like jazz?” she asked, tracing a little circle absently on the piano.
“I do,” he answered. He watched her hand for a moment and then looked up at her. “You’re pretty good.”
Ginny was shocked. Was that…a compliment? She chose not to make a scene about it, however, and simply said, “Thank you. And you’re not so bad yourself.”
Draco smirked and raised a hand airily. “One does what one can,” he said, and then his persona returned. “Hadn’t you better be moving along? It is way past your bedtime, little girl.”
Way to ruin a perfectly nice moment, Malfoy, she thought. She walked towards the door and just as she was leaving, she heard the pounding sounds of Beethoven’s 5th. A smile played at her lips. What a contrast – just like him.
When he was sure that she was truly gone, Draco tore his eyes away from the keys. That was interesting, he thought. A Weasley with talent.
----
A/N: I've Got the World on a String and Stormy Weather belong to Harold Arlen. Falling in Love with Love belongs to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
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