For Play

"Ok everyone," called Cho, "Ginny and I managed to get seven women's costumes and six men's, five of each coming from Farah's Formalwear and the rest coming from Witchy Wares. How did everybody else do?"

There was a general murmuring. "How'd you do that?!" asked Parvati. "That's as many as we need, really!"

"Yeah!" cried out Hannah. "Why did the rest of us do anything anyway?" She pouted.

"Come on, come on." Cho stood up and gestured for everybody to be quiet. "Yes, that was our goal, but this way more extras can be in each of the scenes and transitions will be easier," said Cho. "We really need as many as we can get. How did the rest of you do?"

Everybody eagerly told Cho what they'd accomplished. After calculation, they discovered that they could have eight womens' and mens' costumes and still have extra money left over to go to scenery and props.

"This is great!" Cho exclaimed. "Hannah, Owen, and Jessica, please help me with the programs. Everybody else, Ginny will instruct on how to buy props and put the scenery on stage. It'll be a cinch from here, everybody. The play is in a week, so we'd better hurry! It'll be play time before we know it!" With that, almost everyone swarmed poor Ginny finding out how to put together a set.

***

Five minutes.

"Spirit Circle everyone!" called Cho. Everyone got in a circle and clasped hands. "I expect you to beat 5 seconds!" she told everyone.

Four minutes.

"Ok, everyone, get in a line, facing the door. Put your hands on the shoulders of the person in front of you," Cho called out. "Close your eyes and massage the back of the person in front of you."

Three minutes.

"Everybody, stop massaging and lie down on the floor and just breathe."

Two minutes.

"Alright, everyone, on stage now now now! Good luck!"

One minute.

Ginny breathed deeply, walking out backstage, her palms unbelievably sweaty. Her stage makeup was caked on her face, so nobody could see how pale she was. She tried to stop her rapid breathing and calm down a bit, desperately wishing she hadn't gotten this part, and desperately glad that she wasn't going to have to sing, like was originally the case.

The curtains opened, and Ginny drew in her breath for the last time and pretended that it was just another rehearsal, and that most of the school and many others were watching her right now.

"It is true," she said loudly. "Sir Percy and I are engaged to be wed." She put her arm around Terry and gave her sweetest smile.

Ginny remembered to look properly horrified when she was sentenced to death by Stewart... erm, Chauvelin, and actually had great fun with the elaborate get-away scene they'd planned out.

Ginny flushed as she heard the applause when the first scene was ended.

"You were great!" Terry whispered to Ginny. "Doing OK?" At Ginny's nod, they went back out to begin the second scene, and Ginny found that as long as she ignored the audience she could be quite at home on stage.

Before Ginny could even believe it, the final scene was upon them. She put her hand to her mouth and gasped, eyes wide, as she found out that the Scarlet Pimpernel was none other than her husband, and watched with worried anxiety as she watched Chauvelin and her husband fight.

The scene was over, and the curtains closed. Ginny scrambled to the wings as the curtain opened again, and all of the extras walked out and took their bows, then the smaller characters, various smaller leads, and finally Ginny walked in from one side and met Terry in the middle of the stage, grasping his hand and bowing, then taking her own individual bow after Terry did. At Ginny's gesture, Cho walked on stage, and the cast clapped for her.

Terry gestured, and the three tech witches came out on stage: Hermione, Padma Patil, and Blaise Zabini. Everyone was still applauding as the curtains came down for the final time. "Every member of the cast!" Cho yelled as everyone swarmed to the exit. "I expect you tomorrow at 10 AM to strike the set!"

There were murmurs of "Alright." As everyone scrambled back stage, Ginny felt someone slip something into her hand. She turned quickly and saw Cho right next to her, mouthing, "Read it." Ginny nodded and followed everybody out into the corridor outside the stage.

Audience members were already out there. "Ginny!" The girl heard her mother calling. Ginny turned and saw the red-haired woman run over to her and hug her. "You were amazing!" She presented her daughter with a bouquet of flowers, which Ginny took and sniffed, smiling at their lovely scent.

"Thanks," Ginny blushed, though through her heavy makeup you couldn't tell.

"Ginny!" called Ron, with Harry close behind him. "I had no idea you were that bloody good!"

"Ron!" exclaimed Molly Weasley angrily. "Don't you swear like that! Is that always the way you speak when I'm not around!" She turned back to Ginny and smiled. "You really were very good," she told her daughter. She kissed her daughter's forehead. "I have to get home now, but you have fun with your parties, alright? You've earned it!" Ginny was enveloped in a hug one more time, then her mother disappeared into the crowd.

"You were very good, Ginny," Harry told her.

"Just throw chocolate," she told him, putting her nose in the air and looking arrogant. Then she suddenly turned back into her normal Ginny self and grinned at him.

"Wow, you really are a bloody good actress," Ron repeated. "So, yeah, um, here." He gave her a box of Honeydukes chocolate.

"Ron! Thank you!" she squealed, hugging her brother. "I'll be back in a minute, ok?"

"Well, we're having a party in the common room because of the party, and of course you have to go," Harry told her. "Other members of the cast are welcome to come too, of course..." he trailed off. "So ask them, ok? Especially Cho," he finally got out.

Ginny shook her head and laughed. "Alright, Harry," she said.

Slipping into a corner where nobody could see her, Ginny opened up her hand, which had been clenched for all that time, and opened up Cho's note. It read: "Meet me a 11 o'clock right outside of the Prefect's bathrooms. I have something I need to give you. -Cho."

Ginny smiled and walked back into the crowd, finding her bag and slipping the note into it. She was quickly surrounded by a crowd of congratulators, and the shy girl cringed as she obligingly signed all of the programs that were shoved into her face. She admittedly did crack a smile at all of the "I couldn't believe that was you, you were so different! It was so amazing!"s that she got.

When the crowd finally died down, Ginny checked her watch. It was only 10 o'clock so she picked up her bag and made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room where she knew a party mostly in her honor was being held.

"Ginny!" Colin called. "Come on over! I need to take your picture with Terry!"

Ginny rolled her eyes but made her way over to Colin, mostly because he was right next to the food. Ginny picked up a chip and dipped it in onion stuff, taking a bite and putting her arm around Terry. Colin looked delighted as he took their picture, murmuring, "The two stars of the show!"

Terry laughed and looked down at Ginny, smiling and brushing hair from her face. Colin snapped another picture.

"What are you doing?" asked Ginny, pulling away.

"Just playing the part," Terry told her. "You know, make us look like the married couple, for the camera." He gestured to Colin.

"Oh... Ok," said Ginny. "I'm going to go talk to everyone else. For the first time I think they actually may want me to be around," she gave Colin a meaningful Look then went off to wander around the party, smiling and thanking various people as they gave her congratulations. She kept looking at her watch, waiting for 10:45 to roll around so that she could leave and go see Cho.

Harry came over to her. "Cho couldn't make it, then?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, sorry, I didn't get to ask her."

"You didn't?" Harry looked hurt. "Why not?"

"By the time I could get out of the crowd, she was gone," Ginny told him. "Sorry, I did try."

Harry nodded sadly. "Alright, then."

Ginny edged away from the older boy. "Yeah, well, Harry, I gotta go now, I... promised Cho that I'd meet her somewhere, we have something to talk about."

Harry seemed to perk up. "I'm going with you, then."

Ginny started, worried. "No... Cho said to come alone. It's something private. Sorry, I'll tell her you want her to come back to the party though, OK?" Before Harry could press the issue Ginny was across the room and going through the portrait.

Her boots made a slight tapping against the stone floor, and she ran swiftly around the corner and down the stairs. She prefects' bathroom was right ahead, and she broke into a smile when she could see that Cho was already waiting there.

"Cho!" she whispered. "Hey, I'm here."

"Hi Ginny," Cho whispered back. "Come on." She beckoned, and Ginny followed Cho down a narrow corridor and into a small room. Cho ushered Ginny into the room, turned on the light, and closed the door.

"Why all the secrecy?" asked Ginny, looking down and wiping off a dusty chair before sitting on it.

"Oh... no reason," said Cho. "Just that it's after-hours and while we have permission to go to the common rooms to party, we can't go anywhere but straight back to our own towers."

Ginny nodded, looking around the small room. She studied Cho and noticed that the girl seemed really nervous. That was strange, Cho was almost never nervous. "So, um," said Ginny, "why are we here?"

"Oh, yeah," Cho reached into a pocket in her robe and pulled out a small box. "Here, I, well," Cho shoved it into her friend's hands, "wanted to give you this, you know, as a sort of, well, congratulations present I guess."

OK, that sealed it. Cho wasn't just nervous; she was downright panicked! Ginny looked down at the tiny box, wondering what could be in it that would make her graceful, composed friend so flustered. She toyed with asking Cho if anything was wrong, but she knew already what the answer would be, so she snapped the box opened.

Inside was a beautiful necklace, a thin silver chain holding a Celtic knot with a beautiful emerald in the middle. Ginny lifted it up, her eyes wide and staring at it in wonder. "Wow... Cho, this is... this is amazing. You shouldn't have spent this much on me."

"It's nothing..." said Cho. "You deserve it. Here, can I put it on you?"

At Ginny's nod, Cho went around behind Ginny and took the necklace, clasping it at the back of Ginny's neck and taking her friend's shoulders, spinning the younger girl around so she could look.

"Wow... you look really beautiful with that on," Cho breathed.

Ginny smiled. "Thank you, Cho," she said quietly. She looked down and picked up the charm to examine it. On the back, she saw something engraved and leaned in to read it. "Love forever, Ginny ~Cho"

"Ginny," Cho whispered. "I..."

"Yes Cho?" asked Ginny, looking up from the necklace at the almond-eyed girl before her.

"I..." the older girl whispered, and then leaned in to kiss Ginny on the lips.

Ginny was startled for a moment, but it felt so nice, warm and tender and so perfect... She began to respond.

What is going on?! Ginny's eyes went wide and she pushed Cho away. "What... what..." she stuttered, her face white as she looked wide-eyed at the girl who had just kissed her.

"I'm sorry Ginny, I didn't mean to!" cried Cho, but it was too late. Ginny was backing up and was soon running away at a sprint, wildly winding her way through the school corridors. She heard Cho's footsteps behind her and her calling that she was sorry, could they please talk, but Ginny just sped up. Finally, panting, she was at the painting. "Sir Percy, Sir Percy," she hurriedly let out. The painting had chosen the name in honor of the school play.

"Come on in, dear," the painting swung open and Ginny ran inside.

Everybody was bewildered when the heroine of the day, main character in the play, came running across her common room, wailing and gasping for air as she made her way up the stairwell to the fifth year dormitory. She ran across the room and flung herself onto her bed.

What was going on? She had no idea how she was supposed to feel. Cho's kiss had felt so, so good... but that was wrong, wasn't it?? She wasn't supposed to like it, she wasn't supposed to feel like that was she should have felt when she kissed a guy, like Terry on stage or Neville or Colin, but didn't.

"Ginny?" Hermione was in the doorway. "What's going on? Your brother wanted me to come up here to check and see if you're alright."

"Go away, Hermione," Ginny sobbed, turning face down and burying her head in the pillow. "Just go away."

"Did Cho say something to you?" asked Hermione. "If--"

"Please Hermione," Ginny's quiet voice was pleading, "Just leave me alone."

Ginny closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep, not caring whether or not her bushy-haired house mate was still in the room.

Hermione just stared at Ginny for a while, nodding slowly. She turned and left the dorm, heading downstairs to convince Harry and Ron that she had no idea what was going on.