Chapter 7 - Mary MacDonald
First year - September
Today, auditions were being held for the Hogwarts Ballet Company. The juniors would audition today, and the seniors would audition tomorrow. Mary had been looking forward to joining the company since Year 5, so she had everything packed in a pink duffle. Her ballet flats, stockings, leotards, her purple half tutu, and some training clothes. Ballet wasn’t gender specific, so it wasn’t surprising when a few boys turned up. It was surprising however, to find Sirius Black stretching at the barre.
“You’re auditioning too?”
Sirius looked at Mary. He looked a little ashamed, looking down at his feet, shrugging as he did so. It wasn’t her intention to make him feel out of place, so she quickly tried to lift his spirits.
“That’s great! We already have a friend. When we both get in, maybe we can get partnered up. I already know you’re amazing. I mean you probably have heaps of training, maybe you can help me.”
Sirius’ face immediately lifted. They spent the rest of their warm up talking about what their favourite ballet was, Mary’s is Sleeping Beauty, Sirius’ is Le Papillon - a french ballet Mary has never heard of before. Once the teacher entered the room everyone made their way to the barre.
“Alright everyone, let’s get started please.”
Mary followed everyone, turning to face the mirror with her right hand on the barre. Sirius stood a little ways behind her, she could see the concentration on his face reflecting through the mirror in front of her. Most of the Third Years wore pointe shoes, the satin covered block was beautiful. Mary could only dream of one day making it to that level.
“Starting in first, demi plie, bringing your arm up into demi seconde. Lower the arm back to bra bas as we straighten the legs. Now lengthen into the grand plie.”
Using her best technique, Mary made sure her turnout was perfect, her ribs were closed and her eyeline was consistent. The warm up moved along fairly quickly, Madame DuBois was strict but gave good advice and was quick to correct mistakes.
“Turn out from the thigh, not the foot. Relax the ankles as you bend, you’ll feel less resistance. Shoulders down. Eyes up, you don’t need to watch yourself in the mirror, present to your audience. Where’s the heel? Present it forward in the tendu devant! Anna, close your ribs, darling.”
As she walked along, Mary saw her shoot an appreciative look towards Sirius. Then as she watched Mary, her eyes wandered freely across her body, taking in the movements.
“Very nice, my dear. Remember to drop that hip in the retiré.”
It wasn’t a lot but the praise boosted her confidence as the auditions continued on. It wasn’t long before they had made their way into the centre. The First and Second Years were given a slightly different variation to that of the Third Years, as they were younger and not en pointe yet. The boys' variation was also altered to showcase their own skills.
The variation would be performed in groups of three. Mary was joined by two other First Years, Casey and Kira, while Sirius was put with another First Year and a Second Year. The one in Second Year seemed nice enough, him and Sirius seemed to be getting along quite well.
While they waited for their turn, Mary, Casey and Kira quietly practised in the corner, going over the eighteen counts as they watched other groups perform. After four groups had their go, Madame DuBois called Mary and her new friends forward. Kira placed herself centre forward, as Casey and Mary positioned themselves slightly behind her on either side.
Starting in classical position, right foot devon en croisé, Mary prepared herself as DuBois counted them in.
“5, 6, 7, 8, &, 1, 2, hold, 3, 4. Fondu, pas de bourrée, glissade... Close in fifth! Releve! Demi, drop those shoulders, Kira. Extend, and double pirouette, hold, passé derrière. Remember to drop that hip Mary. Casey, your second arm is late in the pirouette. Thank you, ladies.”
As the next group made their way into the centre Mary found herself walking over to Sirius, with Casey and Kira by her side.
“Mary you did amazing, I mean that arabesque was stunning. Your control is beautiful.”
She felt herself blush at the compliment but let it slide, choosing instead to bask in the attention she was getting. Normally her parents would insist on her talent, but since neither of them were familiar with ballet, or even dance as a whole, she took it as being their daughter. Of course they thought she was talented, they were biassed.
“I did feel pretty good out there, now we just have to see how well you do, Black.”
“Game on, MacDonald.”
They shook hands, a playful glare painted on their faces. Casey took it upon herself to introduce Kira and her to Sirius and Marcus, because Mary forgot. She only felt a little bit bad, since Sirius had initiated the conversation before any introductions could be made. The girls helped give feedback to the boys before it was their turn, and watched them as they joined another boy in the centre.
Sirius and Marcus placed themselves at the front, sharing the centre. They were both incredible dancers but they had differences that set them apart. With Sirius his moves were bold, full of force and personality. Marcus was extremely classical, using perfect technique to perform the movement almost exactly like Madame DuBois had instructed, with just a pinch of masculine essence.
“Wow, that was spectacular. I mean really. Well done you two.”
Casey congratulated them. Kira had wide eyes as she stared at Marcus, Mary thought she might have a crush. After DuBois had finished watching everyone she told them all to look out for the company list, which would be hung up on the door by next week. Unfortunately at the end of the school year, when the big production would be performed, most of them would be in the ensemble. A few luckier ones will have a small character role, as they were only juniors.
However, throughout the year the company held junior and senior showcases. Students have the opportunity for solo, duo, or small group performances. Rumour had it that if you were chosen for a solo performance in the senior showcase, then you would be a lead or close to, in the end of year production. Mary hoped she would be chosen for a solo in the showcase, even if she couldn’t get a lead due to her age, she was bound to have some sort of role to show off her skills as a ballerina.
Slipping on a pair of loose shorts and shirt over her leotard, Mary and Kira talked quietly as Casey and Marcus cooled down together. Sirius was on his own, packing up his bag neatly, making sure things returned to the right place. When Casey and Marcus finished up they all headed over to Sirius and made their way into the Great Hall for some lunch.
Walking in they found almost half their grade missing. Most of them are probably still trying out for whatever it is that interests them. Marlene spotted them first and quickly beckoned them over to their usual spot. It was only her dormmates seated at the table as of right now, so there was plenty of space for her ballet friends to also take a seat. Lily and Marlene had full plates of sandwiches stacked high. Eliana just had a bowl of chips in front of her, which Sirius was currently stealing from.
“Oi! There’s literally chips right in front of you, these are mine.”
“Calm down, Lupin, they’re only chips.”
“My chips.”
She fixed him with a cold stare, but Sirius just gave her a warm smile back. Happy to disturb the peace, as always, and stole another chip. Eliana tossed her hands up with an exaggerated eye roll. Mary could tell she was trying not to let it affect her, but she was failing. As soon as Sirius reached over again she slapped his hand away and proceeded to pinch his ear. Much to the amusement of the rest of the table, listening as his voice got higher and higher the more he said the word ‘sorry’.
“So, Sirius, Mary, who are your new friends?”
She’d forgotten to introduce them again. Terrible friend she was. Lily had asked the question but Marlene also looked interested, and Eliana had even let go of poor Sirius’ ear.
“Well this is Kira, she’s a Hufflepuff First Year,” she pointed to the dark haired girl beside her, “and this is Casey, Gryffindor First Year” she added, now directing her finger to the blonde, “and Marcus, Ravenclaw Second Year.”
Finished pointing at her new friends, her other friends were quick to start conversations with them. They found out that Kira’s parents were Korean, but she had been born in Lisburn, even though she lives in Sussex. Apparently her father needed to attend an important business meeting in Belfast, but because her mother was pregnant he didn’t want there to be a chance he missed her birth. So her parents were staying with some friends for that week in Lisburn.
“Why didn’t they stay in a hotel in Belfast?” Sirius asked, while trying and failing to sneak a chip off Eliana’s plate.
“My father had only just launched his business idea, that’s what the meeting was about. So they couldn't afford it at that time. Plus it was just easier to stay with my mum’s friends.”
Marcus and Marlene, like Mary, didn’t understand why they couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel. It was hard to keep the confused looks off their faces. While Lily and Eliana gave her a sympathetic look, like they understood the struggle. Mary would need to ask about that later, and figure out how to do it without seeming rude. Sirius had a neutral look, nodding along like he was in a business meeting. It was times like these when Mary even remembered who he was. Not just the loud kid in her class that got detention for disturbing other students, but the heir to a Viscount title, for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black no matter.
“What is your father’s business?” He asked again, swirling his drink in his right hand before taking a sip.
Mary felt as though she was at one of her mother’s dinner parties. The way Sirius was presenting himself, and the topic of conversation in addition to that was a tad unsettling.
“He’s the CEO of Volten Renewal Energy Development.” Kira replied excitedly, obviously proud of her father’s accomplishment.
The two of them talked a little while longer about the company, because of course Sirius already knew the man. He had met him in person at one of his parent’s galas a few years back. Surprisingly, Marlene also knew the company, apparently her grandfather is an investor, with £500 worth of shares. No one at the table exactly understood what that meant, Sirius pretended to but Mary knew he had no clue.
Casey talked fondly about her younger sister, she was three years younger than them so it was unlikely that they would meet her before she came to Hogwarts. Casey also rambled on about her love for ballet, something Mary easily conversed with her about. They had both heard about the Hogwarts Ballet Company long before joining the school, and had packed full bags.
Lily was interrogating Marcus about the Second Year curriculum, trying to prepare herself for the following year, even though they hadn’t even gotten through a month yet. Marcus humoured her for the most part, willingly sharing all that they had currently learnt. Then he moved back to First Year content, promising her that if she wanted help, he was always happy to give her some advice.
Mary thought this could cause some problems. Marcus obviously likes Lily, but Kira obviously likes Marcus. If Lily liked Marcus too, then maybe Kira should move on. But Mary has no way of telling, because at this moment Lily just seems excited about the school work, not the boy. Maybe it was time to bust out her Cupid love matching abilities.
_ _ _
Sitting in their usual spots around the fire, Lily, Sirius, Marlene, Eliana and Mary were chatting amongst themselves eagerly awaiting the arrival of the other boys. After lunch was over they had said goodbye to Kira and Marcus before returning to the common room, where Casey had bid her farewell to join her own group of friends.
After half an hour or so Peter and Remus joined them in the space saying James was taking a quick shower. The seven of them were eagerly trading stories about their experiences today. Marlene apparently made an ‘enemy’ with a Slytherin named Dorcas, after being paired for some drills.
“She talked to me as if I was a child. We’re the same age. She didn’t even bother asking me any questions about myself, just assumed she knew all the answers. I suppose, depending on who her parents are, she might know of me, but she doesn't know me. You know?”
“No...”
Everybody responded in unison. Shaking their heads to further emphasise the point. James had made his way back into the common room during the middle of Marlene’s rant and he was evidently the most confused. They focused on Rugby for a little while longer, now that James was also contributing to the day’s events. He had managed to tackle someone twice his weight into the mud, and was fairly confident it had earned him some lick of respect among the other boys.
Looking around the room she noticed some of the others had also registered it. The fact that their future king was one of their close friends. As they all sat together around the fire, sharing the ups and downs from previous try-outs and auditions.
The conversation had started to drift off, but Lily was quick to pick it up again, asking both Sirius and Mary about how Ballet had been for them. There was an initial shock amongst the boys as they picked up on Sirius’ name. However, he did not shy away, excitedly telling them how well he did and about the new friends they had made. Mary piped in to offer her own little contribution but thought Sirius needed to have this moment with the boys. It wasn’t everyday you found mates who didn’t care about the fact Ballet was considered a ‘feminine’ sport. They were genuinely happy for him, and Mary couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.
It was quite a significant shift in their whole group dynamic. No one was holding back, happy to be accepted by these people surrounding them. Sirius and Mary even performed the variation for them, they all clapped and cheered loudly. Not one person laughed at them. It was refreshing, and Mary could physically see the weight that lifted from Sirius’ shoulders.
His smile was that bit wider, his laugh that much louder. She was happy for him, and happy to have found such great friends in such a short amount of time. Here within these walls they would make the best of the years to come. Growing up, creating memories. She was excited for it all.