Hogwarts' Got Talent: Showtime! Locked

Lark had been eager to help out AJ when he mentioned wanting to host a Hogwart's talent show. It took some explaining of what that even really was... never having been to one or hearing of "Got Talent" something or other show on those boxes Muggles watched. Still, the opportunity to decorate and be social outside of class was something she jumped at. Even more so knowing it would help him out anyway she could. Carefully she put the finishing touch on some of the hanging decor and began to fuss with the seating. With the end of the school year coming up she wasn't sure how many events the students would have to attend and her friend hosting this one, Lark wanted to make sure that everything would go perfectly. Hearing a few huffs across the room she peeked head up around one of the rows of chairs she had been shifting over.. and re-shifting... AJ seemed to have been done moving the piano over. As he shot her a thumbs up she returned the gesture before deciding it best to just leave the chairs as is. Hastily she checked the watch hanging around her wrist and waved to AJ. "Almost time!" She chirped excitedly and hurried over to the doorway. She had hand written a ton of programmes to hand out as students and any staff who decided to attend, entered the room. Researching a bit on shows after AJ's initial talk on wanting to host the event Lark had come across mentions of pamphlets being handed out naming off who was cast as who or what the event was about. Mostly she had tons of built up nervous energy and ended up going overboard handwriting tons of copies but... hopefully they were well received and made the event official looking!

As for the decor .....

Lark had been sure to include every house color in various paper-crafted stars hanging from the ceiling. Some swaths of fabric she had managed to offer up chore service in exchange for the use of the material from the castle elves were hung at various heights over the seating, some draped in the doorway, tied back so attendees could enter the room. She had found an old rolled up burgundy carpet that must've been used for theatrical performances in the past and laid it out at the entrance leading towards the seating, apparently "red carpets" were another Muggle... thing? She had also managed to come in earlier to line up all the seating in a slight curve around the main display where the performers would be so that everyone could see, leaving two aisles for people to walk down as they chose their spot. She had also tied bows, so many bows.... her fingers were numb just from tying them all the night before, on the backs of the seats, alternating house colors in hopes people would mingle and not sit in house "sections." There was a small table draped in white fabric off to the side of the room with some water and punch in case of intermission as well as some cookies and brownies she had helped gather from the elves, Lark had basically bartered her life away doing chores and offering her services to them.

The performance area itself was set up with all supplies needed for the students and a partitioned area just before the entrance to the back stage where people could change or get ready before they were performing. A row of chairs off to one side by the partition that led to the backstage area was reserved for anyone of the performers to sit if they so chose to watch and not curb their stage fright in back or sit with friends. Another container of water with cups sat in their section as well for those that needed it and didn't want to venture into the audience to grab some.

Smoothing out her pink skirt, Lark pulled at her jumper and readied herself for people to start entering. She stood off to one side and greeted those that came, offering a programme if they wished to have one. A list of performers, acts, special thanks to Nico and those who helped as well as Hogwarts Professors Helping AJ with the greetings, Lark stayed out of the way and helped anyone who needed it to their seat or backstage area. Any students she already knew she greeted accordingly, hugging those she was close with that didn't mind, or exchanging some quick conversation before they looked for their seats.

After everyone was in, Lark made sure to leave extra programmes on a music stand for those later comers if they chose to take one before heading to the back stage, partitioned area with the performers to help them get ready and que who was next. Watching AJ address the crowd, yes npcs will attend!, She gave him a nudge with her elbow. "Great job!!" She congratulated her friend and then gave a wave to @Nico Shymane as she took her place.

"Thoose Piana playurs head better shoo up ufter meekin' meh move tha'."

Nico looked over at AJ. He was on all fours near the piano he just shoved on stage. The dhampir felt sorry for him, even though she agreed to help him out, her small arms weren't good enough to help out with something so big. In fact,... she was rather impressed by how he even managed to push something so heavy. All by himself.

As the dhampir put down some of the props the candidates would use - an easel for painting - Nico could swear she felt a pair of eyes burning into her back. When looking over to AJ, he had turned away , watching as Lark continued decorating. Nico blinked and shrugged. Must've been her imagination. She was happy to be here though. To be of help. The redhead had to admit, Lark had an excellent taste for decorating. Everything looked so cozy and welcoming. Festive aswell. Everytime their eyes would meet, Nico would nod and smile at her - letting her know that she liked what she did with the place.

Fetching a broom, she swept the stage clean. The last thing she wanted was for anyones shoes to get dirty - or who knows - fall over some dust. The stage was important. It was the artists frame. It had to be perfect. 'Whew. All done.' She rest her hand on her hip, double checking the floor and decorations. This'll do. And just in time too. The first students who came to watch the show had already entered the room.

Quickly, she put the broom aside and zoomed out to the backstage area. After a little while, she returned. Her outfit was different and fit for her performance. Blue was the colour she loved to wear and this time she added a touch of black. Even though this wasn't anything official, Nico didn't get many opportunities to share her singing voice with an audience.

Outfit:

Reducio

As soon as the audience settled down, AJ hopped onto stage. His thick accent was quite astounding. While others might've found it annoying, Nico thought it sounded beautiful. Like a different colour. It had its own charm. The dhampir took a deep breath as he eventually called out her name.

'Mess Nehco Shaymane!'

Her long hair rest upon her shoulders, gliding between the black feathers surrounding her porcelain white coloured neck. Picking up an old machine, called a phonograph, she placed it on a small table next to her. She didn't say anything. Carefully, she stepped to the phonograph next to her and let the sound of a guitar play. As it echoed pleasantly through the room, Nico softly cleared her throat, and began:

Listen to this while reading ~

'... Thought to myself ''I'm okey. I don't feel a thing"...
...But in the end, there's a drag weighing down on me...
...Running on ahead again, you seemed to escape,
every step, never touching down...
...Couldn't do a thing but stare without a sound...'

Facing the crowd, she carefully rest her hands next to her body, her gaze looking at the end of the red carpet as if singing for someone specific, standing there. Her feathers lightly glistening in the light.

'...Guided away, you walk to a train... while I'm standing left behind...
...Dashing off instead, I reach out ahead but can't make it through the room in time...'

Slightly tilting her head, she would lift her hand, reaching ever so slightly towards the imaginative person.

'...Eyes getting wet...
Don't be upset, but my heart really wants to cry...
... ''Don't go away yet''
You're moving onto far and beyond
While I'm standing left behind...'

Turning her gaze down to the ground infront of her, near the first row of the audience, she moved her hands to her chest, her fingers gently digging in the black feathery collar.

'...Night running low and leaves me alone,
dissolving you from my mind...
Eyes getting wet, don't be upset
but my heart really wants to cry
..."Don't go away yet"...'

As the instrumentals filled the air, postponing the next verses, Nico would casually gaze at the other students. Sitting there and watching her. It felt surreal. But magical. Not like the spells they learned here, no. It was something entirely different.

'... Festival abating now I'm waiting for reality...
...Yes, in the end, every night is the same old thing...'

As she continued, she'd look up, her ice blue eyes looking seemingly even lighter in colour. Her hands slightly clenching into fists holding onto her feathers.

'...Breaking through it all, you were bright, standing tall...
How could I only see this now?...
Couldn't do a thing but stare without a sound...'

Dropping her hands down onto her elbows, she'd avert her gaze, closing her eyes.

'...The clock moving on, it drags me along..
with feet buried in the ground...
...Road going home is dark and alone but I'll make it out alive somehow...
... Flicks in the night ...
...A lamp giving light...
...My long shadow left behind...'

Her gaze snapped back to face the crowd. Her hands clenching tigher over her elbows.

'..I'm..on my own, aren't I?..'

She gently started to sway her body to the rythm. Her eyes closed. Her hands rolling down onto the edge of her skirt.

'..You're moving on, to far and beyond...
...While I'm standing left behind...
Night blurring out without any doubt,
again it'll fill my mind...'

She opened them again, looking down at the floor near the audience again, a few tears welling up in her eyes.

'...Eyes getting wet, don't be upset...
... but my heart really wants to cry..
...''Don't go away yet''...
...Eyes getting wet, don't be upset...
...but my heart really wants to cry...
...''Don't go away yet"...'

Softly sniffling, she gently placed her arms over one another and wiped her tears away before they could ruin her make-up.

'..Don't go away yet...'
'Don't go.. a..way yet..'

And with that, as the music stopped, the young dhampir bowed lightly, flashing the crowd a warm smile. 'Thank you.'

Shy and swift, she'd pick up the phonograph and place it in the back of the performance area. Did she overdo it? Was it... too much? Too emotional? Eh.. nothing she could change about it now. Still getting over her nerves, Nico sat down on a chair near the performance area, picking up one of the containers with water. She quietly sipped it, her voice really needed the rest now. Curiously, Nico checked the list of candidates. Who was next? Tapdancing... That's unique. And exciting. Leaning back in her chair, she'd quietly watch the next performance.

AJ watched the beginning of the first performance with bated breath. He hadn't really met Nico before today, he had most certainly never heard her sing. Yet a few moments into her performance and he swiftly realised all his concern had been for naught. She had a voice that was incredibly beautiful.

He and many other audience members watched and listened practically entranced by her tones. He could see tears welling up in the eyes of some students and frankly he couldn't blame them. It seemed even Nico herself was getting emotional up on stage. At first he worried that she was getting nervous or something along those lines, but soon he realised that she was just getting into the performance, or at least he hoped it was just that.

Eventually her song reached its conclusion and the Gryffindor applauded loudly, hoping that the audience would follow suit. He stood up from his seat to meet Nico as she descended from the stage. "Tip-top wurek. Beautufful voice." He whispered to her, patting her on the back gently as she went to get some water.

He quickly hopped back on stage to keep things moving. "Wull wasn' tha jus' brullian' foolks?" He asked the crowd with a big grin plastered on his face. "Wull next up wu've go' somethun' teh luft oor spuruts!" He took out his list, ready to announce the next participant. "@Breana Oliveire please come un up teh tha stage!" He invited the short young girl up, inviting the crowd to clap and motivate her.

"Toonigh' Breunna's gonnae show us some Tup-Duncin' an' I fer wun cannae wai' teh see wha' she's goh. Teek ut awee Breunna!" He stepped off the stage, having gotten any equipment the dancer needed placed close by as he took his seat again and had a drink of water.

"Okay... Okay, you got this, Breana..."She thought, encouraging herself as she was waiting nearby in the performance area, sitting on the chairs at the partition between it and backstage. When she signed up for the Talent Show, she didn't realize that the order they'd go for is the order of which student signed up... Which made Breana step up in the second slot. She didn't think much of it, so she had her parents owl her the outfit she used in her dance recital, planning on doing the same routine she did on it as well. Well, most of the same routine. That's what is making her nervous in the first place, considering that it'd be something she'd never tried before, but it would be really fun if she pulled it off well.

She took a peek at the one already performing, her stomach turning sideways as she saw how great and beautiful the senior was with her singing. "It's gonna be fine, Breana..." She muttered to herself. Breana jumped up in surprise as she heard the emcee, AJ, speaking again through his microphone-wand. She doesn't fully understand him through his thick accent, but at least she can pick up what he is saying... some of the time.

She stood up, adjusting her suspenders and smoothing out her pants. She then grabbed her props and, with a final adjustment of her hat, she walked up to the stage after AJ introduced her to the audience. She had a chair in one hand and a newspaper prop in the other that had a headline that just has a funny-looking mugshot of her, hoping it will set the comedic tone of her tap dancing. She turned the crank of the phonograph, making sure it's her song before letting it play. Hi y'all listen to the link if you want some audio aid!



She started it off by sitting down on the chair, reading the newspaper. Her face scrunched in comedic disgust as she stood up, pseudo-reading the paper. Then she rolls it up into a thick stick, doing some of her decent tap dancing before chucking the newspaper off-screen in time with the music.

Breana then started tap dancing around the chair, giving a few clean turns and directing the audience's attention to the chair. She scratched her head, a visible and obviously intentional look of confusion on her. Then her face perked up, and she took out her wand from the back of her shir. With some quick wand movement and the words, "Tarantallegra!" The chair wobbled before starting to dance in the rhythm of the music. She laughed, dancing along to the chair, internally grateful that the spell worked for her favor.

She then tap danced to one end of the stage, the other end occupied by the dancing chair. Breana held out her hand, telling the chair to stop which it thankfully complied to. She started doing a few moves of her own, then gesturing back at the chair, challenging it with her moves. The chair happily accepted the challenge, copying Breana's moves and extending one of its legs back to her, directing the audience to her next challenge. Breana then started doing some slapping into her dance, and snapping her fingers at the end. Of course, the chair copied Breana, but instead of snapping its fingers (because of course the chair didn't have any), the chair did a flip, which ended in a loud and almost comedic thud.

With a cute huff, she pulled up her pants, walking over to the side of the stage where the chair is, and then quickly and expertly slid her way through the stage, using the heel of her shoe. The chair, already having fun with the challenges, slid as well, but unfortunately it slid too far, slowly spinning and slid off-screen. She winced, hoping the chair didn't crash into anything, as she continued her routine. Breana started lip-syncing to the singer, continuously tap-dancing. Thankfully, the chair came back, unscathed, following Breana's lead as they dance in a line. The two started dancing away off-screen as the singer ended on a strong note.

When the song goes into its kazoo solo, Breana and the chair swiftly rushed back, bowing down and trying to battle each other's way into being the one in front in a comedic fashion. And with that the song ends, with Breana now properly bowing to the audience. Unfortunately, that still leaves her with the dancing chair. "E-erhm..." She looked over to Lark and AJ, with an uneasy look on her face. "A little help on this one, p-please...?" She heaved, the dance routine making her exhausted. She quickly went away from the stage, the chair continuously tap dancing in glee.

AJ was a little bit slow to react at first, almost as if everyone was waiting for him to do something but he had been busy with other stuff in his life. Which of course was not the case, but was interesting to consider.

Breana's performance had certainly been exciting to watch. AJ knew what tap-dancing was but had never been to see it performed life. Though it was obvious from the looks of excitement and surprise that a lot of the Witches and Wizards in the audience had never seen such a thing before. That was good, the boy had wanted this to be a night of new experiences.

Breana's performance had gone down well indeed, with resounding applause throughout the crowd (NPCs.) Through the cacophony of sound however it took a few moments for people to notice that the chair was still happily tip-tapping away to the tunes on display.

AJ silently cursed himself for not paying more attention in charms class, he hadn't a clue how to stop a chair from dancing. He looked to Lark, his friend had always had a knack for charms. He silently urged for her assistance as he shut off the music and assisted Breana with restraining the furniture. "Ehm, I don' sappoose uskin' ut neecely wull help?" He offered as a half-joking suggestion, the chair still desperate to express its need for dance.

Eventually the issue was resolved however, and despite a small hiccup. The performances could continue. "Reeght, sorreh abou' tha' folks. Than' yeh uver soo much teh Breunna. Wha' en ameezun' purfermance!" He congratulated the dancer with a grin and gestured for the crowd to give her another round of applause.

"Now thus nex' one holds eh bet uf nustalgia fer meh personelleh. So please wulcome Lavunia Clooven teh tha steege fer som' Moggle Mujick." He once again gestured for the audience to clap as he returned to his seat.

"Now thus nex' one holds eh bet uf nustalgia fer meh personelleh. So please wulcome Lavunia Clooven teh tha steege fer som' Moggle Mujick." Lavinia was ready. She was going to show off all of her muggle magic tricks that she learned when she thought she was a squib and went to muggle school. But the host seemed very nervous you could not understand what he was saying at all, it was like his brain didn’t match up with his words. Nevertheless, Lavinia, with no stage fright, walked on to the stage to start her performance.

As she walked on stage people just looked disappointed, disappointed that she had decided to do muggle magic not magic that she had learned in school. It she would show them that any type of magic is cool. ”Would anyone like to volunteer to be my assistant”First she asked for volunteer to help her with her performance and called on the only one with her hand raised, a girl with blond hair. As the girl walked up Lavinia realized she had never seen her before and once she was on-stage Lavinia kindly asked her name. “What is your name?” ”Lark Flaer” the girl responded. Lavinia thought that she looked nice and told herself that she would try to get out more around Hogwarts. “Thank you for volunteering Lark, and before we start my name is Lavinia Cloven and I will be preforming some muggle magic. Here is my wand.” Lavinia held up her wand.”And I will be giving it to you Lark to make sure that I do not use it. Also I am only a second year and have no idea how to do wandless magic.”

“For my only trick I shall be using half a deck of cards and I have a prediction that I have written which I shall give to Lark.” Lavinia held up the deck of cards and handed her hopefully correct prediction to Lark. “Now Lark I will hand you the deck and I would like you to think of a muggle clock. The type that tells the muggles what time it is. Now think of an hour 1 to 12 such as 8 o-clock and without telling me what the hour was can you take that many cards off the deck.” Lavinia paused for a moment to allow Lark to preform this task before she continued to talk. “Now I will lay the cards into a clock starting with 12 o-clock than here we have 11 o-clock and so on.” Lavinia places the cards counter-clockwise way to form a clock. “So now that we have our clock could you Lark please tell us what you hour was.” “Seven” Lark said. ”Okay, I am going to see what card hour 7 would be.” Lavinia counted the hours and asked. “Lark could you please reveal to us what card hour seven is.” Lark flipped over the card so lightly you would not have know someone touched it. “It is the Queen of diamonds.” Lark said. “Now Lark could you please read out loud what the prediction I gave you said.” Lavinia asked Lark. “The prediction says ‘You will choose a red card’ and this card is red.” “Okay, okay. I know that that is not that ground breaking but Lark all of the cards in your hand are black right?” Lark turns over her cards “These are all black” She says. Lavinia then turn over the cards that remained after making the clock. “These are all black too.” Lavinia revealed one-by-one the other cards in the clock. “All of these are black too. There was only one red card. You chose it and I predicted you would.” Lavinia said. For the first time in her performance she took a look at the audience. They all had looks of amazement on their faces.

“I am so sorry that I cannot do more but I am out of time so before we part I would like to thank Allister-Jameson for hosting and Lark Flaer for being my assistant, by the way Lark can I have my wand back, and I would like to thank our audience for believing that muggle magic is not as cool as wizard and witch magic. So thank you all and enjoy the rest of the show. When you look back on it remember that Lavinia Cloven was the diamond sparking queen of the show.

Reducio

I have talked to Lark and she told me that it is okay if I speak for her also this trick actually does work and the audience is all NPCs.

Lavinia's act was interesting, and would probably be exciting and new to all the purebloods or other such Witches and Wizards whom had never gotten a chance to experience the muggle world. Such a trick performed completely free of a wand would likely at the very least intrigue them. Yet whilst it was well executed it was a trick AJ had seen before, and he had hoped for more, perhaps next time?

He gave Lark a mischievous wink as she finished her role as lovely assistant to the magician. He returned his attention to the stage as Lavinia finished up, wincing slightly as she used his full name instead of his preferred nickname. He presumed she must've been in one of his first classes when his name was called and had heard it then. He took to the stage once she had departed, glad there was no chair performing street magic to wrangle, as he introduced the next star.

"Than' yoo Lavunia! Us qui'e nustulgic fer meh seein' those trecks ageen. Oh an' eh jus' AJ's feen." He said in a friendly tone, not scolding her for using the wrong name, just hopefully correcting her for the future. "Noo aye mehself am lookin' ferwerd trimundously teh thus nuxt purfermance. Ef curse eh has nothen' teh do weth tha encrudibly huvvy Piano yers truleh hud teh lug up tha steers." He phrased it as a joke, hoping to get a small giggle out of the crowd, but the slight ache in his arms reminded him that there was nothing funny about what he had gone through...

Ok, perhaps it was a little funny...

"Okey, wull weethoot unny meer gasbaggin' frem meh please ullow meh teh entroduce @Serena Bowen teh tha steege." The crowd gave some polite applause as the Pianist (hopefully) made her way up. The Piano was already in place for her because AJ sure as hell wasn't moving it again tonight.

The MC took his seat again, happy there was finally a name on the list he could pronounce properly.

After giving a round of applause for Lavinia’s magic trick, Serena took a deep breath in. It was finally her turn. She awkwardly laughed at AJ’s joke about the piano. She didn’t mean to cause anyone any trouble. Honestly, before he said anything, the first-year thought that a professor had moved it in place.

Serena then snapped out of her thoughts as AJ introduced her. Right, showtime. She straightened up and headed towards the stage. Keeping her head held high, she walked over to the piano. Serena adjusted the piano bench to make sure that she was the proper distance away from the instrument. Sitting down, she made sure to move the skirt of her long-sleeved dark green lolita dress so that she wasn’t sitting on it.

A thought popped into her head. Should she say something before playing? At her typical recitals, Serena would just begin playing, but this wasn’t a typical recital setting. No, there were programs, right? If anyone had any questions, they could always ask her afterward, right? It was then that the pianist realized that she was just…sitting there. Well, that was a bit embarrassing.

Shaking her head and throwing all her worries to the wind, she began playing.Listen to this while reading! As the opening notes sounded on the piano, Serena’s lips curled into a small smile. It was times like this that she was reminded of why she loved playing in the first place. Creating beautiful music for other people to hear. Bringing a sense of escape from their reality for a little while. She couldn’t get enough of it.

This particular song reminded her of the past winter holidays when her Aunt Elizabeth took her to a Muggle theater to go see Frozen 2. Serena had absolutely adored the first one growing up, and she was excited to spend some time with her favorite aunt. (Yes, she was her only aunt, but details…details…) Serena became just as enchanted with the sequel as the first one. The first-year was always astounded with how Muggles could create such incredible films without any magic at all!

But what Serena loved the most was the music. The first thing she said to her aunt after the film was over was ‘Can I please, please, please learn how to play that?’

Her aunt had laughed and said she’d try and find some sheet music for her. And so that was how Serena had begun learning how to play “Show Yourself” on the piano. In fact, the Hufflepuff had just finished learning how to play it when she saw the flyers for the talent show. She decided that it must have been fate and signed up for it immediately.

Back to the present moment, Serena continued to pour her whole soul into the piece. She shut her eyes, letting the music flow over her, confident that her fingers would know where to go. As Serena hit the final chord, she opened her eyes. Standing up, she did a brief curtsey.

Rising up, she said a quick“Thank you” before exiting the stage, making her way to a seat in the audience to watch the rest of the show. She glanced down at the program. Elena Jangleton…playing the violin! Serena had always loved the sound of the violin. She sat back in her seat, waiting for the next performance.

AJ listened along and was taken in by the music along with the crowd. He hadn't seen the film the piece was taken from, but that didn't matter. What mattered is that Serena played it beautifully. It seemed the crowd agreed with him, some feet were even tapping in the crowds. It was a performance that made it worth lugging a heavy Piano up to the room...well...almost.

The performance was inspiring to say the least, it made the Gryffindor wonder how anyone even managed to play the Piano, it took so much deft finger work and seemed incredibly hard to keep track of, but maybe it just seemed that way to the untrained eye, perhaps it just flowed. Like when he played his Bagpipes, more often than not he wouldn't have a piece ready. He would just let the music occur.

He was snapped out of these thoughts by the conclusion of her performance, and of course he clapped along with the audience, giving the girl a nod and a smile as she departed the stage and he took her place.

"Absooluteleh astoondin' Serena, than' yoo so much fer tha'" He nodded and opened his list so that he could announce the next performer. "Tha' tulent here jus' bloows meh awee semteems." He gave a general compliment to the crowd and the performers before moving on with his announcement.

"Alreegt soo nuxt us Elena Jungletun. Keepun' teh tha musical seed uf thengs. Please cem en up an' show us sem Violun!" He gave her a polite clap as she made her way to the stage and he made his way back to his seat.

@Elena Jangleton