The (Hogwarts) Voice!

Hermione became indispensable that weekend. Thanks to her superior knowledge of trendy muggle music, Harry was caught up to some good prospects for Auditions. One stood out that had a very, very attractive meaning behind it, but it was unfortunately sung by a muggle actress. He wasn\'t sure if he\'d be able to turn it into something that sounded like him... they worked late into the night, finding an abandoned room to practice transferring the scales to his clear tenor. They had it almost worked out by Sunday, not even taking any time to work on the possible other songs he\'d need to sing should he make it passed the first round. He was confident in the other two song choices to not spend any time away from perfecting Rumors.



Monday morning dawned early for Harry, and despite being desperately tired from the night before, he made his way down to breakfast in time to catch some toast before having to rush off to classes. He hummed his songs under his breath, determined to not even miss a single beat of either.



Dinner that night, Harry couldn\'t manage to force down more than a few bites of roast and potatoes, the delectable food turning to ash in his mouth. He sighed and stood up, giving his apologies to his mates and receiving warm claps on his back and shoulders in good luck. He grabbed a quick drink before turning and striding to the teachers room, where they were given to prepare. Anyone, that is to say practically everyone in the Great Hall, that looked would say Harry looked determined and not a bit nervous. Oh boy were they wrong.



*~*~*



They all gathered in the room, ten minutes to Showtime. Harry ditched his robes for his carefully chosen outfit he hid under it. A bottle green shirt, ripped from the front hem almost all the way up to the neck, falling open to reveal a chiseled midsection thanks to long hours of Quidditch. His hair was disheveled, as always, and he exchanged his frames for contacts. The pants he chose were like his ringed denims, only this time in black, second skin leather with rings placed in strategic locations, bare skin peeking through. His ensemble left very little to the imagination...



A head poked in the door and announced that they were summoned to the stage that had been set up where the staff table usually sat. Taking a deep breath, Harry walked out, ignoring the heated stare he got from the blonde Slytherin and the hungry gaze from the redhead Gryffindor. It was time to be himself.



The contestants lined up along the wall, Harry first in line. Remotely, he heard Slughorn reciting the rules, then heard his name being called. Harry gripped his wand and headed to the stairs. Polite applause and scandalous whispers accompanied his journey to center stage, the students noticing his barely-there wardrobe. Harry flicked his wand without further prompting. It was time to get this done. After the first bar of the music filtered in, he flicked his wand again to charm it to broadcast.



"Saturday steppin\' into the club

The music makes me wanna tell the DJ

Turn It Up

I feel the energy all around

And my body can\'t stop moving to the sound..."



Harry breathed the words into his wand with a sensual moan, eyes searching and finding bright browns of Hermione. She had a proud and delighted smile on her face. If anything, that spurred him on. He twisted and rolled his upper body in a sensual slide, the next verse flowing out of his mouth like liquid orgasm.



"But I can tell that you\'re watching me

And you\'re probably gonna like what you didn\'t see.."



He echoed into the wand, glad Hermione had showed him how to vibrate his voice. At the second line of the verse, he trailed a hand down the  edge of his torn shirt, drawing attention to a slight buldge in his sinfully tight pants. He distinctly heard swoons from the students and from one standing along the wall. He ignored it and sang on.



"Well I just need a little space to breathe

Can you please respect my privacy?



Why can\'t you just let me

Do the things I wanna do

I just wanna be me

I don\'t understand why

Would you wanna bring me down

I\'m only having fun

I\'m gonna live my life

(but not the way you want me to)"



Harry was glad to hear the backup on his last line, but he knew that even without it, he had the room riveted. The meaning of the lyrics were sinking in slowly over the visual appeal he gave the onlookers. It took just a glance to the side of the room to know he also held the blonde\'s attention too. And for some reason, it made him smile into the next verse, striding across stage with his hips slinking to the beat, unaware that many seats weren\'t dry and many pants were becoming uncomfortably tight.



"I\'m tired of rumors starting

I\'m sick of being followed

I\'m tired of people lying

Saying what they want about me

Why can\'t they back up off me

Why can\'t they let me live

I\'m gonna do it my way

Take this for just what it is"



Harry crooned, eyes flicking back to the wall again, unerringly finding burning grey orbs. He threaded his fingers through his just-shagged look, but instead of looking distressed or confused like normal, he somehow made it look enticing and sensual. The music faded away, the contestants only given a certain amount of time. The hall was deadly silent before it burst into shocked applause. Harry tipped his head back, jerking his chin to the room in acknowledgement before departing the stage. He took a spot at the back of the line behind Draco. Pansy was up and he decided to ignore her audition after the first few lines. He knew the song, and it was crap coming out in her nasal whine.



"I hate the world today.

You\'re so good to me I know but I can\'t change.

I tried to tell you but you look at me like maybe I\'m an angel underneath,

Innocent and sweet."



Draco decided to ignore Pansy as well, despite the fact she was singing to Draco and not the room. He turned and stared hard at the brunette.



"Who the hell are you?" He hissed, leaning in close so Seamus didn\'t hear him.



"The same person I\'ve always been, just free." Harry replied in a low murmur, an eyebrow perked in nonchalance.



"There\'s no way in hell you\'ve always been that bloody erotic, Potter." Draco swore with conviction.



"Did you just accuse me of being erotic, Malfoy?" Harry asked, a very Slytherin knowing smirk crossing his features. "My my, didn\'t know you swung that way, pureblood..." He breathed, leaning back into the blonde and running a light finger down his pale arm teasingly. Draco blanched then snatched his arm away.



"You bloody wish, you poof." Draco hissed at little too forcefully. Even to his own ears it sounded fake.



"Keep denying yourself, Malfoy. I\'m sure someone will believe it one day..." Harry sighed, glancing up to the stage to see the Slytherin girl exit amid scattered applause. Seamus was up next, singing some sentimental piece that sounded western.



"They say mother earth is breathing,

With each wave that finds the shore.

Her soul rises in the evening,

\'For to open Twilight\'s door.

Her eyes are the stars in heaven,

Watching o\'er us all the while,

And her heart it is in Ireland,

Deep within the emerald isle..."



Harry decided that while Seamus could hold the range, there wasn\'t much emotion behind the voice and quickly tuned him out as well. Harry reached over and ran his finger over the blonde arm again, eliciting a disgruntled growl and a sharp elbow to the ribs. He grabbed the arm and spun the Slytherin towards him, flicking his eyes lower.



"I can see right through it, Malfoy. It\'s not like it isn\'t...hard..." He said with a firm stare. Draco swallowed audibly but made no move to take his arm back or refute the observation. Finally he found his voice and sneered.



"Even if I was, it wouldn\'t be for you!" He spat. He almost regretted the statement when the green gems narrowed dangerously. Applause brought the two young men back to their surroundings with plenty of blinking and a few throat clearing noises. Blaise was up next, and Harry knew his song as well.



"Am I more than you bargained for yet

I\'ve been dying to tell you anything you want to hear

Cause that\'s just who I am this week

Lie in the grass, next to the mausoleum

I\'m just a notch in your bedpost

But you\'re just a line in a song."



Blaise had a good voice. Well controlled and fitted to the style of song he chose. Harry deemed it worthy of not ignoring but his eyes kept flitting back to Draco\'s turned head, his hands itching to reach up and tug a blonde strand. He gave into the impulse and was rewarded with the Slytherin whirling around to glare heatedly. Harry just returned it with a satisfied smirk, throwing Draco\'s glare into a stunned stare. Harry was pleased with his newfound confidence, and even more pleased that he could turn it around to annoy his long time rival. Ginny was called to the stage and Harry spared her a glance. Her voice rang out clear and sweet, showing promise if she pursued it.



"I\'m nothing special, in fact, I\'m a bit of a bore.

When I tell a joke, you\'ve probably heard it before.

But I have a talent, a wonderful thing...

Cause everyone listens when I start to sing..

I\'m so grateful in fact.

All I want is to sing it out loud..."



Harry felt slightly bad for letting her down this summer. But it couldn\'t be helped. He was who he was, and he wouldn\'t hide it anymore. Not even to spare feelings. He huffed irritated, Draco in front of him shifting slightly. \'Well. If he wanted to assume that huff was for him, let him. Such a closet case!\' Harry thought, staring after the former Death Eater as his name was called and he made his way forward.



The crowd crowd gasped as Draco took his robes off, emerging in nothing but white wool pants that clung to every inch of his lean frame. No shirt, and the expanse of pale skin was marred only by the scars on his chest. Harry had enough remorse in him to finch slightly at what his curse did to Draco. The Mark on his left forearm was faded to a dusty grey but even more gasps and angry grumbles were heard. Nobody missed the sign of Draco\'s allegiance. Draco stood center stage, letting the music wash over the room in its punk glory before the most alluring voice drifted to his ears. He groaned softly. Again, he knew the song. And it resonated within him.



"I\'m tired of being what you want me to be

Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface

Don\'t know what you\'re expecting of me

Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)

Every step that I take is another mistake to you

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)"



Harry had to steady himself against the wall, jaw clenching tightly. Draco didn\'t have to move or dance. His voice did it all. And the magical backups were brilliant. Harry sat transfixed. And he couldn\'t even move a muscle once those angry silver eyes latched onto him.



"I\'ve become so numb, I can\'t feel you there

Become so tired, so much more aware

I\'m becoming this, all I want to do

Is be more like me and be less like you!"



Draco screamed, in a perfect imitation of the album. The album Harry actually bought this summer, in fact. He took a deep breath and tilted his head back, raking his eyes over the pale half nude body with an obviousness that was noticed by the young Heir. Draco crooned out the next verse, his backups giving the tune an eerie quality that was addicting to listen to.



"Can\'t you see that you\'re smothering me,

Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control?

\'Cause everything that you thought I would be

Has fallen apart right in front of you.

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)

Every step that I take is another mistake to you.

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)

And every second I waste is more than I can take."



Draco closed his eyes to the world, letting the song take over. He despised muggles and filthy blood, but at least they get their angst right.



" I\'ve become so numb, I can\'t feel you there,

Become so tired, so much more aware

I\'m becoming this, all I want to do

Is be more like me and be less like you.



And I know

I may end up failing too.

But I know

You were just like me with someone disappointed in you."



He concluded, his time up. The melody drifted into silence and he left the stage before the first burst of furious applause was heard. He grabbed his robe and walked along the line intending to sweep right passed the infuriating Gryffindor. Harry wasn\'t going to let him, it seemed. A hand shot out and grabbed the bare arm and held him firm. Green eyes bore into with an intensity that momentarily shocked the grey eyed man. He blinked and raised a silent questioning brow.



"Tonight. Staff room after curfew. We need to talk." Was all Harry said, his tone low and heated. Draco merely inclined his aristocratic head then gave a short, clipped nod before slipping free and headed out the doors.