= Wands High =

Chapter 47 - 23 May 1998, Saturday

- And then you just slightly place your fingers against the neck, without really applying much pressure. See?

- No, silly, I don't see anything, your hand is not transparent – Hermione said, before leaning even further over his shoulder. – There, now show me again, please.

- If I could only see through all that hair that fell over my face, perhaps I would.

- You brought this on yourself, mister. Now. Again.

- It's good to see that someone has finally managed to get Moodystrings' geese in line, don't you think? – Orianna muttered to Jessie, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

- Hey, I didn't even know the guy a month ago – the Beauxbatons girl protested, but smiled just the same.

- Very funny, Firethorne; See? Basically you barely touch the strings and it comes out somewhat... harpesk.

He reached for the girl's hand, grabbing her wrist and placing her fingers where his had been a moment ago, then he ran his guitar pick across the strings. The sound that the instrument produced wasn't nearly as clean as the one from before, however.

- You sure you are doing it right, Professor? – Hermione said, turning her head to face him, her eyes shining with amusement.

- It's because your fingers are too soft, that's all. A couple of weeks of practicing should fix that right up, though, do not worry your pretty little heard.

Daynen had to bend his neck backwards in order to follow Hermione, who had now shifted and was standing up straight behind his playing chair, arms on her hips and a frown on her face.

- Too much? – he dared say.

- If a month ago someone had told me that a boy would use words like "pretty little head" to address me and I wouldn't break his nose over it afterwards, I would have swatted them on the head with the nearest book.

- You could swat me, if you like – Daynen suggested, presenting his most convincing smile of innocence.

Hermione did stare at him a while longer, lips pursed and face all serious, before finally reaching for both his ears and pulling them gently upwards.

- Really? That's all he gets? – Orianna said while observing the couple's playful gestures. – I would have jammed that guitar of his right up-... Hey, dude, you okay?

Chris, who was the recipient of those last few words, did not immediately respond, despite initially lifting his head to look at the girl.

- Someone is still sleeping, eh? – Orianna smirked, but her expression changed immediately once she approached the boy and got close enough to him to see his face. – Man, you are as pale as a ghost!

- I'm... I'm fine – Chris said finally, though his voice sounded raspy and drained, as if he had spent days without water. – I just... got a really bad feeling all of a sudden. I'm okay. It's probably the lack of sleep or something.

- You sure? Well, in any case, nothing a little jam practice couldn't fix, am I right?

The middle Slade nodded, be it somewhat reluctantly.

As the other members of their respective bands soon took their places and positions, both the nausea and the sweating slowly pulled away from him. The strange feeling of dread however, never really went away.

He tried to shake it off by immersing himself in the music as usual. At least the challenge provided enough of a distraction, and a fun one at that. And of course Tyler's idea, though cool, complicated the whole thing even more, pushing him to really try and concentrate on the composition.