Karaoke Fever

The students filed into the Great Hall, anxious to eat their supper. Today had been the first day of classes, and so they were bone tired.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron dropped into their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, ready to eat. There was no food on the golden platters.

"Dumbledore better have something important to say...," Ron moaned in hunger.

Dumbledore clinked his spoon against a goblet.

"I have an announcement. Next week, there will be a School-wide Karaoke Contest. Each participant gets extra-credit in the subject of their choice."

Ron whispered to Harry: "He's really gone off his rocker this time."

Professor McGonagall was looking at Dumbledore as if he'd gone mad.

"The winner receives 100 Galleons, and the first runner-up will receive 75 Galleons."

Fred Weasley raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, you may work in groups."

Dumbledore clapped his hands, and food appeared on the tables. Everybody began to eat ferociously.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The students rushed out of the Great Hall, eager to start work on their karaoke competition routines, and to get into groups.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione walked into the Gryffindor common room. Groups of varying sizes were scattered in various areas of the room.

"Hey Ron! Harry! Come join our group!" Seamus shouted across the room. "Me and Dean and Neville have a good idea."

"Come on guys, now it's our chance to make T.H.E. W.I.Z.A.R.D.S. work!" Neville pleaded.

Ron's eyes widened. Finally, T.HE. W.I.Z.A.R.D.S. would have a chance to get a record deal, and, more importantly, a fanbase. This was all he'd dreamed of for months and months. No way could he blow it.

"Yeah, it's our shot to finally be a boy band!" Dean added,

"A boy-band?" Hermione asked with a weird look on her face.

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay."

The five boys started to walk up to their dormitory, leaving Hermione standing alone.

"But what about me?" she whispered to nobody in particular. Then, she grinned.

Hermione had a plan.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Draco Malfoy and his cronies sat huddled in a corner of their dorm room. They just had to beat Harry Potter's performance…to show him up.

Draco also wanted to crush Hermione Granger. How could he let a Gryffindor…much less a Mudblood, beat him?

"Mates, I have the perfect song to do…" Draco said in a dangerously soft voice to the two boys who seemed as if they were nodding off.

At once, they raised their heads and nodded enthusiastically.

"Wuh…what is it?" Crabbe asked.

"Well…it's by some American Muggle pop sensation who pranced about onstage with a snake..."

They leaned in closer while Draco whispered the song title to them. After a minute or so, they grinned.

This song would win it all.

Or so they thought.

*----

Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown sat in a big, poofy red couch on the outskirts of the Gryffindor common room. They had no clue what song to do There were so many...and they wanted to choose something different.

Most of their peers, they thought, would sing cheesy pop songs. Parvati and Lavender wanted to go against their teeny-bopper image. Everybody thought that they were girly-girls, that all they cared about were their fingernails and clothes. Well, that was true, to some extent, but they had somewhat of a rocker-girl edge to them as well.

"How about that Aerosmith song..." Lavender began.

"What's Aerosmith?" Parvati inquired.

"They're an American Muggle rock band whose popularity began in the early 1970's when the band-members were in a drug-induced haze. In the 1980's they sobered up, and are now thought of as one of the best rock-and-roll bands ever."

"Oh...that's a little more than I wanted to know."

"Then, what about…"

Lavender was cut off by the sudden appearance of Hermione Granger.

"Parv, Lav…would you mind if I joined your group?"

Parvati and Lavender looked at each other, than nodded. Maybe Hermione would

think of something good.

Hermione joined them on the couch. She motioned for them to come closer.

"I have the perfect song…it's by my favorite Muggle band."

The two girls shrugged, and Hermione proceeded to hiss the song's title into their ears.