At exactly 7:00, I met Rory, Cedric, and Luna in the theatre. There were dozens of other kids there, and among them were Evie and William-Head-Boy-Of-Ravenclaw. However, they acted as if they'd never met before, which was a surprise. She swore up and down that they were just close friends, but I wasn't born last night. I walked over to sit with my friends.
"Hey," Rory said. "You ready for this?"
"Abso-bloody-lutely not," I say. And it was true, too. I didn't know what to expect, and I was sure I'd make myself look like a dunce in front of the whole school (not to mention Luna). Professor Burbage stood on the stage and clapped her hands to get our attention.
"Good evening, people. As I'm sure you already aware, your participation in this production will earn you extra credit in my class. Professor Flitwick is my assistant director and will be helping with the staging and costumes," she said, gesturing to Professor Flitwick in the audience. He waved at us.
"Now," she continued, "everyone who auditions is guaranteed a role in the ensemble. The ensemble will make up the choir, party and funeral guests, townspeople, Montagues, and Capulets." She started passing out packets of paper with lines written in them. They were written all strange, with "thee" and "thou" everywhere. How am I supposed to read this? I thought. Rory looked over at me and shook his head.
"I've got no idea what's going on in these scenes," he chuckles, almost like he was answering a question I never asked out loud.
"Do you think they really talked like this at that time? Everything they say sounds so poetic," Luna says dreamily to nobody in particular.
"Probably not," Cedric piped up. "I can't imagine that nobody ever said anything embarrassing back then." It was funny to imagine Romeo and Juliet in a more awkward and probably more realistic way.
I read lines for Juliet and the nurse, and I stood in for a few scenes as Lady Capulet. Evie read for Lady Capulet too, and she was okay. No better or worse than anyone else, though. Rory and Cedric did the dueling scene between Tybalt and Mercutio, using invisible swords. At one point Rory pointed his imaginary sword at Cedric as if he was holding a wand and yelled "stupefy!". Cedric dramatically fell over, and even Professor Burbage laughed at them like the rest of us.
But overall, auditioning wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. It was the same feeling I had about getting my flu vaccine in the muggle hospital every year. It was terrifying right up until the moment it had to be done, but it came and went in an instant. And when it was over, I sat and thought to myself wow, maybe I just made a big deal out of nothing. Professor Burbage got our attention again, standing on the stage with a roll of parchment in her hand.
"Has everyone gone?" she asked, looking out at us. We collectively nod our heads.
"Perfect," she muttered, scribbling something down. "I'll go make my final decisions, and when I come back I'll read off the cast list." She walked off the stage and out of the theatre, and the murmurs of excitement began.
"Y/n's got Juliet in the bag," Rory says to Cedric, pointing his thumb at me. I sigh.
"Come on, guys," I groan. "There's no way I'm getting Juliet. There are about 20 other girls they could give it to. Why me?"
"Because you were good," Rory said. "They'd be stupid to put you in the ensemble." I can feel my face getting red.
"I agree," Luna says from across them both. "You'd make a perfect Juliet. And even if you don't get it, that doesn't mean you weren't good."
"No, it just means I wasn't as good as the girl who did get Juliet," I answer. Luna looks over at Cedric with a mischievous smile.
"Five galleons she gets the part," she offers.
"My father told me never to make bets I know I'll lose, but you've got a deal," he replied. They shake on it. I lean over and stare at them.
"Are you two really making wagers on me?" I ask, exasperated.
"No, I practically just gave her five galleons," Cedric said. "Now hush, she's coming back." Professor Burbage walks up on the stage and smiles.
"Thank you all again for auditioning," she began. "Each of you showed tremendous courage by coming here tonight and putting yourself out there, and I'm proud of you. Choosing just one of you per role was extremely difficult. However, I trust that the people I've chosen will take this production seriously and won't engage in behavior that constitutes their removal from the cast. Do not make me regret that trust. Now, for the cast list." Whispers of anticipation spread around the room like wildfire.
"Romeo Montague...Rory Campbell." Cedric and Luna cheered, and Rory was smiling the biggest I'd ever seen. The rest of the kids in the auditorium clapped. Holy Merlin, she was about to read who got Juliet. I held my breath and screwed my eyes shut.
"Juliet Capulet...Y/n Loesser." For a moment, I was sure I misheard her. But when I opened my eyes to see Rory, Cedric, and Luna looking at me with pride and excitement, I knew there was no mistake and I finally exhale with relief. I see Cedric drop five galleons into Luna's hand, and she puts them in her pocket with a smug grin on her face. A few rows behind us I can practically hear Evie rolling her eyes. Burbage continues reading the list.
"Mercutio...Cedric Diggory." He laughs triumphantly and we all congratulate him. So far, the cast list was turning out exactly how we all wished it would. She read some more names that I didn't know. Tybalt, Benvolio, Friar Lawrence, and Lady and Lord Montague
"Nurse, Luna Lovegood." Luna smiles at us, proud of herself. We cheer for her, and I catch myself staring. She's so cute when she smiles like that, the voice in my head says. I tell it to shut up.
"Lady Capulet, Evelina Loesser." I heard Evie squeal with happiness, and we all turn around to look at her. She's sitting next to William-Head-Boy-Of-Ravenclaw, and she's excitedly shaking his arm. Evie looks at me and smiles, the first time I'd seen her really smile in Gods know how long.
"And Lord Capulet, William Piggott." Everyone claps for him but he nods his head, unimpressed. Burbage looks up from the parchment to look out at all of us.
"Congratulations," she said with a smile. "I look forward to working with you all. Our first rehearsal will be two weeks from tomorrow at one. If you have any questions, you'll find the full rehearsal schedule in my classroom tomorrow morning. You are dismissed, sleep well and have a good weekend!" We flood out of the theatre and I walk with Luna and Rory back up to our rooms. For most of the way up, we're silent.
"I know we're all thinking about how awkward it'll be when the both of you have to act like lovers, but will you at least talk?" Luna says. Rory and I stop to stare at her, and I can feel my face heating up once again.
"Well, it's not any less awkward now that you've said it out loud," Rory told her. She just shrugs and we keep walking. It took us ten minutes to get through the door because the bloody knocker decided to give us very poorly worded riddles, and once I arrived at my room I changed into my pajamas and went straight to bed. I wanted to sleep, but my brain wouldn't shut off. Luna's face ran through my head over and over again, like a broken vinyl record skips and repeats the same few words. I shut my eyes and tried to ignore it, but it would be several more hours before I drifted off into a dark, dreamless sleep.
Dear Reader,
OVER 350 READS??? WHAT THE HECK??? Thank you all so much for reading, as always! I know I say that it means the world to me like, every single chapter, but I mean it. For the next chapter I'm gonna incorporate the Flying Weasly-mobile (as I like to call it) (because of course the twins are up to some sketchy sh*t, literally when are they not) and something HUGE is about to happen. I don't wanna give too much away, so...until next time!
XOXO
Frankie :)
YOU ARE READING
Looney (Luna Lovegood x Fem Reader)
Fanfiction"How could my love for her be wrong? Sure, it was odd to some people, but it was love just the same." Since your first day at Hogwarts, there have been rumors about that strange Lovegood girl who wears mismatched clothes and talks about creatures th...
