The Order of the Phoenix and the Love Song
Medley
By: Griselda La Fey
Disclaimer:
(Applies for the whole story) As
usual, J.K. Rowling owns the characters. I’m just borrowing them and will
return them afterwards in their original state (the chess pieces might be a
little hoarse though)
Author’s Notes:
I don’t know were this came from. I hope you will
enjoy it!
Thanks to Althenia McGonagall for beta-reading this
>”<
***
Prologue:
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked around them in wonder
as they were pushed inside the living room of Grimmauld Place. The Order
meeting was just over and the three friends had seen how Professor Dumbledore
and Professor McGonagall had left the house. Then Mrs. Weasley had come and
fetch them, saying that the Order needed to speak with them. And here there were.
The members of the Order looked at them gravely. Remus
Lupin’s usually pleasant face showed barely concealed anger. Good natured
looking Mr. Weasley looked equally upset.
“You have been called downstairs to this meeting of
the Order of the Phoenix”, Alastor Moody began in a slow, dragging voice,
“because we have a special assignment for you”.
“If this is an Order meeting, then why have Professor
Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall already left?” Hermione asked curious.
“Hush’, Moody continued gravely, “this matter concerns
them and therefore they are not to know about it”.
Harry and Ron stared at each other blankly.
“Forty years!” Moody said, his voice raising steadily,
“for forty years they have denied the truth, denied the obvious and denied the
righteous thing!”
“Here here”, the rest of the Order shouted in
agreement.
‘For forty years”, Moody continued, “they have been
driven us insane with their denial. But not anymore! We will not take it any
longer!”
The other members of the Order were nodding in fierce
agreement. Harry, Ron and Hermione began to feel slightly anxious.
“We will ACT!” Moody roared. “And therefore”, he
continued towards the three friends, “we need your help”.
* * *
* * *
Minerva McGonagall made her way to Albus Dumbledore’s
Office. They were about to have their weekly game of Chess. Over the years,
this had grown into a treasured tradition. No matter how busy they were, no
matter what was happening, they would meet for a relaxing game of Chess.
‘Well relaxing’, Mineva snorted inwardly, their games often were very competitive. The
both of them were excellent Chess players. And both of them didn’t like losing.
She knocked on the door of his Office and opened it as
he called out “Come in”. He stood near the window, clearing parchment away from
the table. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. He was wearing deep blue
robes. She’d always thought that he looked good in dark blue. It brought out
the colour of his eyes.
“Minerva, dear, how are you?” he asked warmly, moving
to the fireplace.
She wished he would stop calling her ‘dear’. She
assumed she was dear to him, but only as a friend. Nothing more. She answered
him nevertheless.
“I’m fine. How was your meeting with the school
governors?”
“Just fine”, he answered, busying himself with a
kettle. This too was tradition. Before their game of Chess, they would have a
cup of tea in front of the fireplace. “They weren’t too happy that I appointed
Remus as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher again. They still believe he is
dangerous”.
Minerva shook her head disbelievingly. “After all the
idiots and fouls we’ve had over the years, Remus is the best man for the job”. She
sat down on the couch.
Albus nodded in agreement. “Absolutely”. He poured her
a cup of tea and continued. “Speaking of fouls, the Board wants to press
charges against Dolores Umbridge, for hitting those Stunning spells at you,
without a warning”.
“Do you really feel that is necessary?”, Minerva asked
frowning.
Albus glared at her over the rim of his teacup. “Minerva,
what she did to you was an illegal and cowardly attack”, he said indignantly,
“she could have killed you!”
“But she didn’t”, Minerva replied soothingly. With an
half smile she added, “You won’t get rid of me that easily, Albus Dumbledore!”
Albus reached out and grasped her hand. “She could
have permanently damaged your health, Minerva”, he said soberly, “I won’t let
her get away with it”.
Minerva held her breath. These moments were the
hardest. When he looked at her almost almost as if he loved her. She squeezed
his hand reassuringly. “I am fine now, Albus, really I am. There is so much
going on now. The Order, the war against Voldemort”, she still found it
difficult to say his name, “Hogwarts, the students, there are so many things we
have to care for. Don’t bother with Dolores Umbridge, she isn’t worth the time
or the energy”.
Albus still hadn’t let go of her hand. “Minerva”, he
began, looking intently at her. Soon he lost himself in her green eyes. The air
became heavy with anticipation. Eventually Minerva looked away and broke the
mood. “Shall we start on the game?” she asked, in a slightly unsteady voice.
They made their way to the table. Soon they felt back
in their comfortable bantering and chatting. Albus moved his pawn and Minerva
stared intently at the board. She was determined to win this game. Suddenly she
noticed the pawn Albus had just moved stood on the edge of the board, almost
falling off. She reached out to move it back, but instead of the feeling the pawn,
she felt her fingers brush against Albus’ hand. Quickly, she pulled her hand
back and blushed slightly. She looked at Albus and smiled softly, holding his
gaze for a long moment.
Then she heard a scream from below.
Startled she looked down at the Chess board. All the
Chess pieces were looking up at them and the black King shook his tiny fist at
them. “I’ve had it”, he yelled angrily, “we will not take this anymore”. As if
it was a command, the other pieces sat down on the board with a determined look
on their faces.
Mineva looked bewildered at Albus. “What’s going on
here?”
“This my dear is a sit- in”, one of the white Bishops
told her.
“What?” Minerva asked in disbelief. She tried to rise
from her chair but discovered she couldn’t. It was as if she was glued to her
chair.
‘Could you please explain why all of a sudden you are
striking?” Albus asked pleasantly.
One of the black Knights stood up. “Forty years!” he
roared, “for forty years we have watched you, watching each other when you
thought the other wasn’t watching. We’ve watched you joking and flirting, we’ve
exchanged glances with the portraits on the wall, it’s so obvious”.
Albus and Minerva looked at him dumbstruck. The Knight
continued to rant, “You are the greatest wizard of our time”, he glared at
Albus, “and you don’t even notice”.
“Wait a minute”, Minerva began, but then the Knight
turned to her. “And don’t even get me started on you, young lady! You probably
are the most powerful witch of our time, but you are to shy to face your
feelings about him!”
Minerva felt the blood drain from her face. The black
Knight was pushed away by the White King. “Listen”, he began soothingly, “I
know that this might be difficult for you, so we took the liberty to help you
out”
“Excuse me!” Albus who had been staring at Minerva for
the past minute finally snapped out of his trance. But the King rambled on.
“Sit down, relax and listen to the advice we have for you!”
He clapped his hands and all the pieces moved to the
side of the board. “Hey, you are ruining my strategy”, Minerva protested.
Suddenly the room went dark. From out of nowhere a
pink spotlight fell on the board and four Bishops moved to the middle. The
white Bishop stepped in front and suddenly the air was filled with soft music
and the Bishop began to sing:
Wishing and hoping
and thinking and praying
Planning and
dreaming,
Each night of his
charms
That won’t get him
into your arms
So if your looking
for a love
That you can share
All you got to do is
hold him and kiss him
And love him and
show him that you care
The other three bishops did a matching dance
routine, singing the chorus in a
counterpart.
Show him that you
care, just for him
Do the things that
he likes to do.
Wear your hair, just
for him
The Bishop pulled a tiny wand from her robes and
pointed it at Minerva. She muttered an incantation and Minerva felt her bun
disappear. Her hair felt freely around her face. Blushing furiously, she didn’t
dare to look at Albus. The bishop continued singing.
Cause you won’t get
him
Hoping and praying
Wishing and hoping
Planning and dreaming
His kisses will start
That won’t get you into his heart
So if your thinking how great true love is
All you got to do is hold him and kiss him
And squeeze him and love him
Just do it and after you do,
You will be his.
After the four Bishops had ended their song, the other
pieces applauded loudly. Minerva only wished the ground would open.
The white King moved to the front again. “Now, please
turn your attention to the Rooks and Pawns. Feeling as if the bottom had just
dropped out of her stomach, Minerva watched as a white Rook and a black rook
moved to the front and the other Rooks and pawns gathered around them. A
thumping music started and the spotlights turned red, yellow and green.
The black Rook started to sing:
I got chills
They are multiplying
Cause the power
You’re supplying
Is electrifying
Then the white Rook took over
You better shape up
Cause I need a man
And my heart is set
on you
You better shape up
You better
understand
To my heart I must
be truth.
Then the other pawns and Rooks broke into a weird
fifties dance routine, singing loudly
You’re the one that
I want
Oh oh oh
The one that I want
Oh oh
Honey, the one that
I want
Oh oh, the one I
need
Oh yes indeed.
The enthusiastic singing and dancing continued and
Minerva stole a glance at Albus. He was snorting into his beard. Minerva
couldn’t help herself. This was so hilarious. Despite herself she began to
giggle. By the time the song had ended, tears of laughter were running over her
cheeks. “That was wonderful”, she told the Rooks and Pawns. The other pieces
glared at them.
“That’s the best you could do?” the white King asked
disbelievingly.
“Hey, it’s GREASE!” one of the Rooks shot back
indignantly.
“Yes, but it’s not romantic!” the King said
exasperated. The other pieces groaned in agreement. The black King moved to the
front, muttering, Jeez, man, I'm surrounded by amateurs! You want something
done, you've got to do it yourself. First, we got to create the mood”.
He too pulled out a small wand and flicked it. All of
a sudden Albus and Minerva were surrounded by tree leaves. The silver light of
full moon hung above them. Soft tones filled the air. Then the black Knight
started to sing:
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her
And you don't know why
But you're dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl
‘Boy
is he right’, Albus thought. ‘I would like to kiss her so much. But I’m afraid
I won’t get much further then trying before she pushes me away and ends our
friendship’.
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she wants you too
There is one way to ask her
It don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl
‘Could
it be possible?’ Albus wondered. ‘Could she feel the same? What if I just tried
Lean forward and kiss her I can’t. I can’t take the risk of
losing her’.
Sha la la la la la
My oh my
Look like the boy too shy
Ain't gonna kiss the girl
Sha la la la la la
Ain't that sad?
Ain't it a shame?
Too bad, he gonna miss the girl
‘I
don’t want to miss her. What if she feels the same but is, like me, too scared
to express those feelings?” I came very close to losing her last year. What if
she really dies and I have never told her how I felt? I won’t be able to live
with that thought.
Now's your moment
Floating in a blue lagoon
Boy you better do it soon
No time will be better
She don't say a word
And she won't say a word
Until you kiss the girl
‘This
is the perfect atmosphere. She looks wonderful with her hair down. I want to
know what it feels like I want to know how it feels to have her
in my arms But what if she doesn’t feel the same?’
Sha la la la la la
Don't be scared
You got the mood prepared
Go on and kiss the girl
Sha la la la la la
Don't stop now
Don't try to hide it how
You want to kiss the girl
Sha la la la la la
Float along
And listen to the song
The song say kiss the girl
Sha la la la la
The music play
Do what the music say
You got to kiss the girl
You've got to kiss the girl
‘Do
it. Do it now’, Albus urged himself on. “Don’t be such a coward man! You’ve
defeated Grindlewald for Merlin’s sake. Just kiss her’.
You wanna kiss the girl
You've gotta kiss the girl
Go on and kiss the girl
‘I
can’t. I can’t take the risk. The risk of losing her. I rather have the
certainty of her friendship then a chance on her love’.
The
black Knight had ended his song. It remained deadly quiet. The other chess
pieces didn’t cheer or applaud. They simply stood there, watching the wizard
and witch above them.
Minerva
felt glad it was so dark in the room. She felt like her face was on fire. Albus
was staring at her. He had been staring at her during the entire song and she
had been unable to do anything except stare back. A flicker of hope shoot
through her. Could he possibly return her feelings? But when he looked away at
the end of the song her hopes faded. ‘He’s just completely and utterly
embarrassed’, she thought sadly.
After
a moment of silence the white and black Queen moved to the middle. The tree
leaves disappeared and a single, golden spotlight appeared on the board. Then the white Queen started to sing:
I´m scaredso afraid
to show I carewill he think me weakIf I tremble when I speak
Oooh - what ifthere´s another one
he´s thinking ofmaybe he´s in loveI´d feel like a foolLife can be so cruelI
don´t know what to do
‘I feel exactly the same’, Minerva realised. ‘What if
he doesn’t love me back? What if he’s in love with somebody else? What should I
do? How can I let him know?’
Then the black Queen started the sing. Her voice sounded different, more
mature. Like she was older
I´ve been thereWith
my heart out in my handbut what you must understandYou can´t let the chanceTo
love him pass you by Tell himTell him that the sun and moonrise in his
eyesreach out to himand whispertender words so soft and sweethold him close to feel his heart beatlove will be the
gift you give yourself
‘I can’t tell him’, Minerva thought shocked. ‘I can’t
jeopardise everything we have together. But I want to hold him feel his
heartbeat if only life was this simple’
Touch himwith the
gentleness you feel inside
your love can´t be
denied
the truth will set
you free
you´ll have what´s
meant to be
all in time you’ll
see
I love him
(Then show him)
of that much I can
be sure
(Hold him close to
you)
I don´t think I
could endure
If I let him walk
away
When I have so much
to say
Love is light that
surely glows
in the hearts of
those who know
it´s a steady flame
that grows
feed the fire with
all the passion you can show
tonight love will assume its place
this memory time cannot
erase
your faith will lead
love where it has to go
Never let him go
‘I don’t make
it without him. I need him. I need his love and I need to love him. I don’t
want to let him go’.
The chess pieced moved back to their start positions
and the room turned very quiet. The golden spotlight disappeared and soon the
room was softly illuminated again. Minerva felt that she was no longer glued to
her chair and able to move again. Hesitantly she looked at Albus. “Well” she
said eventually.
“Well indeed”, he agreed.
Minerva stood up, unable to endure his stare any
longer and moved to the window.
Meanwhile Albus’ mind was reeling. What had happened
here tonight? The hint of the chess pieces was impossible to miss. But still,
did he dare to take the risk? Then the statement of the black Knight at the
beginning of the evening flashed through his mind. He glanced at the woman near
the window. She was nervously biting her lips, her hands clenched into tight
fists. He made his decision. He stood next to her and placed his hand on her
arm. He felt her tense at his touch.
“Was he right? The black Knight I mean” he asked
softly.
“About what?” Her voice was just above a whisper.
“Do you have feelings for me?” He half dreaded, half
anticipated the answer.
For a second she debated her answer, considered the
option of making a joke and get out of his office.
If she didn’t do it now, she would never found the
courage again.
“He was right”, she admitted. “I do have feelings for
you I love you”.
He didn’t even blink. He just continued to stare at
her, his face expressionless. ‘Now I’ve done it’, she thought sadly, closing
her eyes. Inwardly she braced herself for his speech. That it was impossible,
that it wasn’t right. That there was the school and the Order to think about,
that she was too young basically, that he didn’t love her in return.
“Things will never be the same again”. Did she just
say that out loud?
“No, they won’t”, he agreed
She opened her eyes and discovered that his face was
only an inch away from hers. She staggered backwards, but he reached out and
placed his hands loosely on her waist, pulling her back to him.
“They will never be the same again”, he whispered in a
soft, tender voice, she had never heard him use before. Slowly his arms slipped
further around her waist, drawing her even closer to him. His face moved closer
and closer towards hers their lips almost touching’.
When an almighty cheer made them jump backwards in
total shock. The chess pieces were clapping and cheering frantically. But when
they saw how they had interrupted they felt silent.
“Bugger, too early”, the black Knight muttered.
“Aaaaah!” came a frustrated groan from the portraits
on the wall. Phineas was shaking his fist, looking furiously. “Can you believe
those idiots?” he roared. “Just when there about to kiss, those fools ruin it
by cheering!”
“Well, thanks to us they were about the kiss”, the
white Queen snapped back angrily. “You’ve watched them for years and done
nothing about it”.
The chess pieces and portraits continued to rant at
each other. Since the both of them had wands, the scene quickly turned nasty.
Albus grasped Minerva’s hand and pulled her with him.
He guided her to the door leading to his personal quarters. Once inside he
closed the door behind them. He turned around and cupped her cheek, caressing
her face lovingly.
“Have I already told you that I love you too?” he
asked smiling.
“You didn’t get the chance”, Minerva answered, moving
her hands over his chest.
He looked at her seriously. “I love you Minerva
McGonagall and I have for a very long time”.
Sliding an arm around her he pulled her against him
once again, tilting her head up with his other hand. It was finally going to
happen. He was finally, finally going to kiss her. Closing his eyes he touched
his lips against hers.
And was interrupted by a loud cry.
“That’s Fawkes, isnt’t it?” Minerva muttered against
his lips.
“Ignore him”, he answered softly, capturing her mouth
in a passionate, long overdue kiss while Fawkes soared above them, hooting
happily.
“I just wonder about one thing”, Minerva said a whole
while later.
“What’s that my dear?” Albus asked, running his hand
through her hair.
“Who has played this trick on us?’
---------------------------------------------
Much later Albus and Minerva sat on the couch of his
living room, comfortably snuggled up against each other.
“I love you Minerva”, Albus told her for the thousands
time that evening, kissing her deeply.
“Mmmm”, Minerva sighed, wrapping her arms tighter
around his neck. “Oh Phineas”.
It remained silent for a few moments. Then he
muttered, “It’s Albus, dearest”.
Minerva snorted into his beard. “I know that. It’s just that Phineas is watching
us from that portrait”.
“Oh”, Albus replied relieved, wondering how Phineas
managed to enter the portrait of his grandmother. He pulled out his wand and
maciged a curtain in front of the portrait, blocking the old headmaster’s view.
Then he turned his attention back to the woman in his arms.
***
“Bugger” Phineas muttered, moving back to his portrait
in Grimmauld’s Place. Since it was Friday evening, the house was pretty full. Remus
Lupin, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Nymphodora Tonks and Severus Snape gathered
around the portrait.
“Well?” Molly asked impatiently.
“The information the ‘troublesome trio’ (he received a
snort from Severus for that) was correct. They had a game of chess tonight and
our plan worked. They’re now in his living room, kissing each other senseless”.
“Thank you for that mental image, Phineas”, Tonks said
dryly.
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Molly exclaimed, positively
beaming.
“Did you see how the chess pieces act?” Arthur asked
curiously.
“I did”, Phineas nodded. “Severus did a good job on
bewitching them. How did you do it anyway?” he asked the Potions master.
“It was not that difficult actually”, Snape replied. “It
was like the chess pieces wanted to help. All I had to do really was teach them
the songs”.
“You picked the songs?” Remus asked incredulously.
“Then it’s official now”, Phineas muttered darkly. “That
man has without a doubt the worst musical taste ever”.
Snape choose to ignore that comment. He followed the
others to the kitchen, toasting on the success of the Order.
I really, really enjoy feedback. Really!
Additional disclaimer:
‘Whisin’ and hopin’ and dreamin’ and praying’ comes
from the soundtrack album from the movie ‘My Best Friends Wedding’
“You’re the One that I Want’ comes from the soundtrack
album from the movie ‘Grease’.
‘Kiss the Girl’ comes from the soundtrack album of
Walt Disney’s movie ‘The Little Mermaind’.
‘Tell him’ belongs to Celine Dion and Barbra
Streisand.
I don’t owe this songs, just using them to get my
favourite couple together ;-D