My Time to Shine (Dance Moms/Harry Potter Crossover - Part 1)

Chapter 14: Not The Maddie Show

Mackenzie
February 2, 2016

I am so confused. I invented a spell?! I am an eleven-year-old muggle-born witch who had never set foot in the wizarding world up until a few months ago and I have discovered my own piece of magic. Holy! This is a secret I will take to my grave. I feel much better about the whole thing since I talked to Professor Longbottom. He told me that, to his knowledge, it didn't sound like cheating which I was worried about. He additionally told me, and this is to be kept between us, that since no one else had ever performed this spell, the Ministry of Magic is unlikely to be able to trace it. The first time I performed it, accidentally, there was no owl sent to my immediate location giving me a warning about the illegal use of underage magic. He told me that I will likely be able to keep using it since it went under the radar the first time. No complaints there!

I feel as though my main weakness in dancing is my ability to perform. 'Afectus Memoriae' helps me so much with this, even though I have only used it a couple of times and mostly on my own. It was really interesting what Professor Longbottom said about the qualities of a true Hufflepuff and how that relates to me producing the spell. It makes so much more sense now. My ability to empathize, and put myself in someone else's shoes has never been an issue. The issue has been plugging it into my dancing, which I finally feel I am able to do. This could be what I need to be on the same level as Maddie, and maybe even higher?! I shouldn't ask for too much.

The piece I am performing this weekend is one of Maddie's old solos. She performed it when she was twelve and now I'm doing in an age division one year younger than she did since I'm still eleven. This solo is a very serious one. It is about homeless children having to survive on the streets and the hardship and unfairness they suffer because of this. The song has many accents and upbeat sections, while the performance must be realistic. I have to envision myself as a homeless, suffering child asking for help from strangers and being ignored. It's very moving and Maddie did do a great job performing it in Season 5. I have been rehearsing it well though and I think my spell has helped me. I am actually really excited to compete this weekend, a feeling I haven't felt in ages. 

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Mackenzie approached the Slytherin table before sitting down with the Hufflepuffs to start breakfast on Thursday. "Maddie!" Her sister looked up from her porridge. "Where the heck were you last night?! I looked everywhere for you!" Kenzie had spent the better part of an hour looking for her sister to rehearse the piece. She had checked the Great Hall, Library, Quidditch Pitch, Owlery, Kitchens, and bathrooms, and even stuck her head into some empty classrooms. She had even sat on the cold dungeon floor outside of the Slytherin common room and asked her Slytherin friend Islay to go in and look for her. "You think Abby will be ok with you blowing off rehearsing with me?!"

"I forgot, ok! Geez! Maybe you should learn not to steal things from people. Like, hmm, maybe dances." Maddie's voice was stone cold.

"Wow Maddie, you didn't use to be like this." Kenzie's voice was quiet and she was looking at the floor. There was a silence. Both girls were clearly very angry.

"I don't want to help you Mackenzie because if I do I will get in trouble. You're a mess. You can't take corrections and you don't know how to perform. When Miss Abby sees you she will get mad at me because she will think I did a bad job teaching you when the truth is, it doesn't matter how well I do it, you will still look horrible." Maddie grabbed her book bag and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"You know it's not the Maddie show!! You could think about someone other than yourself for once!" Mackenzie said, but it was no use. Maddie was gone. 

Mackenzie stood there looking at where Maddie had just been. Why did she have to give Mackenzie such a hard time? This always happened. When it was Kenzie's time to shine, Maddie always ripped it from her grasp. She had never done that to Maddie. Why couldn't she see that?

The encounter with her sister that morning hadn't made Mackenzie cry or crumble to bits, it had actually fuelled her to dance the solo with even more intensity. She felt pure adrenaline when she thought of Maddie's face when she performed the dance with as much as or even more vigor and character portrayal than Maddie had. Abby would surely be able to recognize that it wasn't Maddie's hard work, but Mackenzie's. They would see tomorrow at the studio.

"Hey, Scorpius!" Mackenzie ran to catch up to him in the hall before they headed up to Transfiguration together.

"Kenzie, hey! You leaving again this Friday?" Mackenzie could tell he really hated it when she was gone. They had become the best of friends. All of the Hufflepuff first-years were extremely close, of course, but there was something to Scorpius and Mackenzie's friendship that came so easily. He always knew the right thing to say and when.

"Yes, I'm really sorry. And you're super amazing for getting the notes for me when I'm gone! You don't know how much I appreciate it!" she told him.

"Of course I do." He flashed a glimmering smile at her. "You gave me like, twelve chocolate frogs, we're even!" They had taken to collecting the chocolate frog cards recently, a pastime of many young wizards and witches. Mackenzie had been extremely jealous when he had uncovered a Harry Potter card in one she had given him. He would eat toad spawn before trading with her.

"That's true! I can buy your friendship with chocolate frogs, can I?" they laughed.

"You know I will always be there for you," he said in a more serious tone. She smiled at him and they continued on their way to class.