Jazz was happy again.  For almost two months she was in a spiral of self-pity, self-loathing and utter apathy.  Now that she had her wand back, however, she felt energized and more like herself again.  And today was a good day to inspire others to join the Hogwarts Players.  Once the booth was set up, she took her seat in the booth and waited excitedly.  She hoped people were interested.  After all, there can be no show with no cast.

The booth (which she set up all by herself) was made up of a two-person table surrounded by painted cardboard, acting as the front of a stage.  Attached to the front sides were six-foot poles with red-velvet drapes dangling on each end (like the curtains of a stage).  In bright gold painted letters were the words "Hogwarts Players" at the top, and "The Spotlight is Yours" at the bottom in smaller font.  Behind the curtain at the top, only visible to anyone behind the booth, was a small light-bulb, acting as a spotlight, focusing on Jazz.  She was rather proud of her display.  On the table were a stack of pamphlets regarding the club, and to her other side was a blank piece of paper for sign-ups.

As the Club Day started, she licked her lips in anticipation, the hand-made confetti cannon resting in her lap.  She was going to use it whenever someone signed up.  Yes, she was that excited.  "Calling all Thespians!" she called to the people filling in the Hall.  "If you're not sure what a Thespian is, come over here and I'll tell you!  Even if you do, come over here anyway!"

Blossom knew what a thespian was.  He was just surprised to hear somebody yelling about them.  It seemed kind of rude.  He wandered over to the booth.  It was decorated like a stage, that much he recognized but what it had to do with thespians he didn't know.  Obviously the girl behind the desk was one but that didn't make her a bad person.  He just didn't know how the thespians were connected with the theatre.

He stood looking at the girl, then at the display, then back at the girl, as he waited for the connection to be made in his head.  Finally the curiosity was too much for him.

"What is it that you do here?" he asked, not entirely sure he was going to enjoy the answer.

Obderedria wandered the Great Hall, looking at the different clubs. The Howler was, well interesting, but maybe she could join something else too with more people her age. She felt her schedule was open enough. There sure had a lot of different booths in the Great Hall--

--the thought turned to horrified curiosity. What about lunch, where they just going to skip it?--

--which was interrupted by the call of "Calling all Thespians!" and the other words that followed. Obderedria fluttered her eyes and saw the Head Girl, who finished talking at a nearby booth.

Obderedria had no idea what a 'thespian' was but she was certain she should know this, the syllables sounded familiar. The sudden remembrance of Heliotrope's clammy grip when she had been so lovey-dovey during Charms class entered her head. Of course, there were a pair of thespians that lived down the hall from her and mum.

"Is that where two w--" She stopped.

THAT WAS NOT WHAT 'THESPIAN' MEANT AT ALL!!

To hide her embarrassment Obderedria grabbed for one of the pamphlets and stuck her nose in it, not actually comprehending the contents. Whatever the club was, she had thought it might be fun if it was attracting younger students, though she felt so silly now for not having the terminology straight in her head.

Winifred definitely knew the meaning of the word THESPIAN. And she likened herself to one. The year before she thought about joining the Hogwarts Players, but had never really had the courage or the want to dedicate herself to the club. This year, though, was supposed to be a good one for the fourth year. She had a new wand, intended to carry on with her tutoring, and thought maybe she could get involved in some clubs to make more friends.

Jazz was the head girl- so Winifred knew of her. "Hello, Jazz!" she greeted enthusiastically. "Hello there, Drea," she said to the younger Hufflepuff girl.

"Do you think I'd be any good with acting?" she asked. "I've always wanted to try. My mum says I should have been a soap star- but I don't really know what that means. I didn't quite understand when she tried to explain it. She said it was something on on the muggle tellybox."

Acting?  What did thespians have do with acting?  Unless Blossom was horribly wrong in his definition and thespian was another name for actors.  But then if that was what a thespian was, what was the other word?

Blossom had seen a great deal of  live theatre.  He was vaguely aware of movies but didn't see the point.  He liked the subtle differences in the performances and the way the actors, the thespians, played differently to different audiences.

"What are you planning on performing?"  Blossom asked.  "Faust is one of my favourites."

Jazz smiled giddily at the people coming over to her booth.  Yes, yell obscene things and have them flock to you.

"Hi!" she greeted them as they approached, pleased to see one of them pick up a pamphlet immediately, and questions being asked about the club.  "I'm so glad you asked," she said happily, scooting to the edge of her chair.  "Here at Hogwarts Players we plan to make great productions.  Namely, musicals.  The production in question is up for deliberation.  At the first meeting we'll talk it out, throw out ideas and make a production we all want to do, not something forced upon you.  That way we'll all enjoy the process."

She looked at Winifred excitedly and nodded.  "Of course you would!  I think what your mom said is accurate, and it can be good for musical theatre.  I'd love it if you'd join.  You'd make a great addition." she said sincerely, then looked at the others.  "All of you would.  It doesn't matter what experience you have or what your talents are."  Jazz wanted to encourage everyone to join.  She believed everyone had the potential and everyone made a difference.

Dessa heard the calls for the Hogwarts Players as she wandered into the Great Hall, and immediately perked up. Acting was one of Dessa's favorite things. She'd been in countless plays, and her father took her to see a play for her birthday every year, sometimes even in the USA for a Broadway show. Dessa She hurried over to the booth, which already had a sizable crowd gathered around it, including--oh great--Blossom.

She positioned herself as far away from him as she could, despite the fact that he was the only person around the booth that she actually knew, and waved at the girl behind the display. If she remembered correctly, she was Jazz, the Head Girl.

"Would I have to sing?"  Blossom asked, cautiously.  He hadn't had a lot of chance to sing.   He suspected that his voice would sound like a cross between a cat whose tail had just been stepped on and a frog with laryngitis.  "I think I might like to try acting but I'm not sure if I can sing.  Does it have to be a musical?"

He was liking the idea of acting more and more.  The singing?  Not so much.

"Musical Theater?" Winifred asked, smiling broadly. That sounded exciting! "I'd be good at projecting my voice! I'm very loud." An understatement sometimes. When Jazz said she'd love it if Winifred would join, she giggled. Jazz sounded like she meant it, and even though there were a bunch of first years hanging about now, she was sure that there would be some older years.

MAYBE SHE WOULD GET TO KISS A CUTE BOY IN A PRODUCTION! "I'd love to join!" Winifred exclaimed. "I think it would be a lot of fun and help me make some friends outside of my house and year." Most notably friends who were older and maybe from other schools.

"Do you have a sign up sheet?" Winifred asked. "And any idea when the first meeting is? I'll have to write it down or I'll forget it." She might even forget it then. Her mother had gotten her a planner, though, in the hopes her daughter would keep up with assignments and important dates. So early in the year Winifred was still eager to use it, but in a few months... well, who knew.

The Hufflepuff was overly enthusiastic, practically gushing.  The Hogwarts Players would be needing a touch of class and that would require the involvement of a Pureblood.  Whatever his initial opinion, Blossom quickly talked himself into joining the club.  "Are you sure it has to be a musical?" he asked, picking up the quill to sign up.  "I don't know how to sing."

Dessa hadn't said much so far, but it seemed that a Hufflepuff girl (and Blossom, although his comments were far less enthusiastic) were making up for that. "I think it'd be fun to do a musical." she interjected. "You can learn how to sing Blossom, it isn't so hard."

Musicals were her favorite, like the Broadway shows her father took her to see.

Blossom looked over at Dessa.  Well, it looked like Dessa but she was actually being civil to him.  He looked at her suspiciously.  "Do you know how to sing?" he asked her, his tone carefully neutral.  He was still not entirely certain that he was dealing with the real Dessa.

Dessa rolled her eyes impatiently. She really wanted to do a musical, and if it meant tying Blossom down and teaching him to sing, it would be worth it.

Still, it took every ounce of her energy to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she replied, "Yes. It's not rocket science."

"Well, of course it isn't,"  Blossom replied.  "It's singing."  Now he was certain he was dealing with the real Dessa.  "If it was rocket silence, we wouldn't hear anything."

"And you think I'm the one who can't listen. Was that joke, Rose? Was that supposed to be funny?" she scoffed. "All I'm trying to say is that you could learn to sing if you wanted to. Even someone as hopeless as you should still be able to at least carry a tune."