Detention Club -- Little Red Ridinghood

Detention Club - Little Red Ridinghood

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Chapter 3:

Let's Play!

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"The Detention Club presents: Little Red Ridinghood," announced the poster on the door of the Great Hall. There were two figures in the picture - Lily, in her appropriately red clothes, and Remus in his wolf suit, lurking behind a tree. "Starring: Little Red Ridinghood - Lily Evans; Mother - Sirius Black; Wolf - Remus Lupin; Grandma - Severus Snape ; Woodcutter - James Potter. Set design and dressing - Peter Pettigrew. Production - Lucius Malfoy. All students required present."

Of course, the poster certainly did tempt people to watch the play. If not for anything else, everyone wanted to see Sirius as the mother and Snape as the grandmother of the heroine. However, the last ones to enter the hall were a couple of students dragged inside by Filch.

Lucius glanced at their audience from the side of the temporary stage placed where usually was the Head table. As everyone seemed to be ready, he gave a slight nod to Peter, who waved his wand. The curtains were opened, revealing the rather believable sight of a forest, a little path leading through it, and a little cottage on both ends of the forest.

Stepping to his place in the right end of the stage, the young Potions Assistant glanced yet again at his audience. With a self-satisfied smirk he noticed many adoring glances given to him by the female students. After all, he was young, wealthy, from a respectable family, and fairly attractive in the deep blue robes he favoured nowadays. A pity that he preferred males. So, of course some boys were eyeing him just as approvingly, but not anyone who held any interest to him. No one was handsome enough not to look bad with him, usual-looking enough not to overshine him, brave enough to face his family, and insane enough to even consider a long-term relationship with a Slytherin at this point. And a long-term relationship was exactly what he had in mind. One-night stands weren't appropriate for Malfoys.

Well, time to get to work. People were already waiting for him to do something.

"So, once upon a time, there was a little girl called Little Red Ridinghood," Lucius started his so-called difficult task of the storyteller, his voice strengthened by a quiet Sonorius to carry over the whole Great Hall. Lily stepped on the stage, the redness of her clothes well matching the flames of her hair. "She was called this because of the ridinghood her Grandma had made for her because she liked her so much." Lily gave her most pleasant smile to everyone, trying to look as cute and good-girly as possible. Most of the teachers looked approving, while some of the students - and, Lucius noticed, even the Headmaster - were already struggling against the irresistible urge to yawn.

"One fine morning, Little Red Ridinghood's mother called her."

"Oh, my little dear!" squealed Sirius, stepping out of the cottage near Lily. Lucius had to give him credit - he didn't hex any of the people either bursting into laughter or whistling approvingly when they saw his "female" appearance. Well, Peter had done very good work, that he had to admit - if there hadn't been the list of the actors, no one would have recognized the boy.

"Yes, Mother?" asked Lily pleasantly, walking over to her "mother." Cocking her head to one side, she seemed to be eagerly waiting for some orders.

"Your grandmother is sick. Could you please take this basket and get it to her? There's some food for her to eat."

"Of course, Mother!" agreed Lily immediately. "I've been looking forward for a little walk in the forest, it's such a fine weather today."

"But do not talk to strangers," warned Sirius her then, raising a finger to emphatize his words. "And don't step aside from the path. That'll only do bad to you."

"I won't, Mother!" promised the girl in a way not a real child ever would. Well, there were reasons why this was a fairy tale.

Deciding that their victims - the majority of the students, and Dumbledore - had already suffered enough, Lucius gave a silent mark to Peter. It was about the time to put their plan into action, despite the fact that the play had hardly even started.

"And so, Little Red Ridinghood went to walk in the forest," he said, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible. It would not do to let it to anyone that something was out of ordinary - other than the fact that Sirius Black and Severus Snape were more or less voluntarily wearing women's clothes.

Suddenly, one of the trees swifted a bit. Before Lily even noticed this, she'd walked right against it. This wasn't enough to knock her off - the trees were almost wholly illusions - but a quickly whispered, "Stupefy!" from Severus behind the curtains was certainly enough. So, to all audience, it appeared as if she'd ran against a tree and knocked herself unconscious.

"Ahem... I'm sorry, but our Little Red Ridinghood seems to be slightly injured," said Lucius cheerfully as he levitated Lily away from the stage. "Therefore, we're going to put another person to the role. Hopefully, this won't affect the running of the play." Of course it wouldn't. They'd practiced the play many times enough without Lily for it to run even better than with her.

Lucius exchanged a slight glance with Dumbledore, and caught a hint of a twinkle in the Headmaster's eye. He'd promised the man that he wouldn't be bored while watching the play, and he sure as hell would keep the promise.

A wave of the wand from Peter closed the curtains, and a rapid fussing started. With a quick charm Sirius made Lily lose her clothing - of course, Lucius kept sure that every single boy was facing away from her, even the obvious gays - and another brought her usual clothes back to her. Then, Peter started to quickly change his clothes. In less than five minutes, all needed adjustments to their appearances and the set desing were done.

With a slight smirk, Lucius allowed the curtains to be opened again. It was time to get to serious work.