No More Gazing Across the Wasted Years (Imogen)

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Calliope had made her decision; as much as she'd always dreamed to be a Disney princess, when she got the personalized letter from Andrew Lloyd Weber's estate asking her to come perform for Phantom in the West End had been too much to turn down. She wished that the Time Turners still existed; then she could feasibly do both roles! However, Time Turners did not reverse the strain live singing had on her voice, and she could possibly pull an Ariel and lose it. Plus, the contract also gave her a month in Paris to perform the role in French; who could turn that sort of opportunity down? When she was still at Hogwarts, her parents had sent her the original Phantom of the Opera novel by Gaston leRoux; now she'd be performing as Christine in the famed Opera Garnier for a whole month. It was everything she could have ever asked for and more.

She needed to get used to the vocals of Christine Daae again; when she played Fantine the previous summer, she had only had one really big solo number that she needed to prepare her high octave vocals for. Christine however sang high with every song; her range had to be far more vast. She wandered around the castle and to her surprise the Staff Room was empty. It had great acoustics so Calliope was pleased. She drank some more warm water and honey, and tapped the record player. The first musical notes of her favorite song from the musical, 'Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' came floating out. She closed her eyes, and began to sing, not even realizing when someone came in to the staff room.


Singing Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again in both French AND English <-- ACTUAL CHILLS


@imogen

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Taking walks through Hogwarts was one of Imogen’s favorite pastimes. She hadn’t been out of the castle for long, but Hogwarts always seemed to be changing, and she wanted to be up to date with every nook and cranny, so that when it was her turn to patrol she could do her best to make sure she found any and all rulebreakers. She was doing a circuit around the main floor of the castle, though she was fairly certain she had discovered all that there was to discover, now that she knew that the staff lounge lay behind one of the many doors forbidden to students. Right as she was walking by the entrance to the staff lounge, though, Imogen stopped. Someone was singing, and it was – enchanting. Without thinking, Imogen turned to the staff door and stepped in, closing the door softly behind her as she saw that the source of the voice was another professor. Imogen waited for the song to end before speaking. “You have a beautiful voice.” Imogen had never been one for singing, but if she had such a beautiful voice, she would probably enjoy it much more.

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Calliope opened her eyes to find one of her fellow teachers had joined her in the staff room. A fellow Hufflepuff alumni too; Imogen Zhu. Callie had been several years ahead of Imogen in school but she did remember her, though under a different name.  None of that really mattered to Callie; what mattered was feeling comfortable in your own skin, and she hoped Imogen was at that place now. "Imogen, hello!" she said warmly.  "Thank you, it's from 'Phantom of the Opera'.  I have just signed a contract that will have me as the lead for the summer in both London and Paris," she told her, sounding very excited.  And why shouldn't she sound excited?  This was the opportunity many would kill for in the theatre world.  Sometimes, she did really miss doing this full time.  Then she thought of her students, wanting to learn about the Muggle world whether they were purebloods or even Muggleborns like herself.  Neville had also given her the very important responsibility of Head of Hufflepuff this year, which she took very seriously.  "Do you sing at all?" she asked Imogen curiously.  She didn't know much about her, which was a shame.  Fellow Hufflepuffs must stick together, that's what she always thought.


@imogen

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Callie seemed to be the definition of a Hufflepuff, at least from her greeting. Imogen could do this; she had dealt with bubbly Hufflepuffs before. Callie explained what she was singing a song from Phantom of the Opera, and Imogen nodded. She was vaguely familiar with West End shows from her mother’s Muggle culture, but she had always embraced the magical side of things more, given her Metamorphmagus abilities. “London and Paris. That’s very exciting.” Imogen agreed. She wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as Callie was, which probably made sense, given that Imogen didn’t know what this contract entailed, other than singing and going to the two cities that had been named. “I’m assuming you’ve performed before.” Imogen guessed, given that Callie was not only being asked to perform as the lead, but also in several cities. That wasn’t something that they let amateurs do. The other professor asked Imogen if she sang, and the younger professor shook her head. “I don’t. My voice is –” Different? It had taken Imogen quite a while to figure out how to change the shape of her vocal chords so that she could speak like a girl as well as look like one, so she hadn’t want to chance anything like singing. Imogen decided not to finish her sentence.

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Calliope smiled warmly. “It is exciting; I have to brush up on my French since the part of the tour in Paris is sung in French. But my mother is fluent in French so she taught us the language quite well,” she told Imogen. She’d never sung in French before surprisingly; it’d be a brand new experience, something at almost thirty years old Calliope did not think she’d get to experience. “I have, it was my job before I came here two years ago. Now I just perform limited engagements over the summer holiday. Sometimes I miss my life as a full-time performer, but I also love teaching,” she said. There was also the added bonus of being able to see Calex whenever she wanted; something that was becoming more and more of a frequent occurrence.

Callie leaned her head to one side, frowning slightly. “Your voice is? What, different? Those are the best kinds of voices though,” she declared. She crossed over to her bag and pulled out some sheet music. “Have you ever sung before? Do you know if you’d say you’re an alto, soprano, bass, tenor?” she asked, going into her teacher mode. She had helped many students in the frog choir find their ranges; she could certainly help Imogen too. Of course, only if Imogen wanted the assistance.

@imogen

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Imogen nodded when Callie said that she had to brush up on her French before trying to sing in the language. “Perhaps one of the Beauxbatons students would be willing to help you practice?” It would be mutually beneficial – Callie would get to practice French with a native speaker, and the student would get to meet one of the Hogwarts teachers and feel more at home at Hogwarts. Her eyes widened slightly when Callie said that performing was her job before she came to Hogwarts. “I don’t mean to pry, but is there a reason you decided to come to Hogwarts?” Imogen could understand wanting to teach, but there must have been some sort of push to do it. The push for Imogen was a desire for change, not that changing places seemed to have changed much. She was beginning to realize that if she wanted her life, she was going to have to change more than just location, which didn’t sound like fun. Necessary, but not fun.

“It’s just…manufactured, I guess you could say. I changed my vocal cords.” Imogen said, feeling slightly bolder now that Callie said what Imogen had already been thinking. “I sang tenor when I was a child. But like I said, I’ve changed my vocal cords since then. I’d imagine I’m a soprano now.” That was her best guess, but Imogen wouldn’t be surprised if she was an alto, either.

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“Perhaps, a lot of the students seem rather preoccupied with their studies...or themselves,” Calliope said with a small chuckle. She hadn’t had much interaction with the French students; the pale blue robed students were usually in the Great Hall or the Beauxbatons students, bu of course some of them had been seen sneaking around in the towers and higher up in the castle. She smiled at Imogen’s next question; it was one she fielded plenty of times, but she completely understood why - it was a perfectly logical question. “I’d always had an internal conflict between teaching and performing. I was told when I graduated I was too young to teach, so I decided to go into performing. I always told Caroline - the head nurse, she’s my best friend - if the Muggle Studies position opens up to come find me. And a few years ago, it did and she did. Performing is my hobby and a passion of mine, but teaching, molding the minds of young students? It doesn’t compare.”

Calliope listened to Imogen as she explained how her vocal cords were changed from tenor to soprano. “Well then, let’s find out for sure,” she said, straightening up. She pulled out a small harmonica. “Try to match your pitch to the notes,” she instructed, looking at the woman expectantly.

@imogen

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Imogen chuckled. She couldn’t disagree with the fact that a lot of the Beauxbatons students seemed rather self-absorbed, and it certainly didn’t help that their Champion seemed to have that quality in common with the rest of them. “There must be at least one who’d be willing, though.” Imogen suggested. It seemed impossible that in an entire delegation there wouldn’t be one student willing to spare some extra time. “Or, a Hogwarts student who speaks French.” It was possible to have a French parent and an English parent and still end up at Hogwarts, after all. Callie explained that performing was her hobby and teaching was her passion, and Imogen nodded. “I sometimes wonder why I came here at all.” She had been looking for something new, but in hindsight, it seemed silly to leave the life she had behind for an adventure, especially considering she wasn’t exactly the adventurous type. It was good for her to branch out beyond her comfort zone, but the catalyst that had caused that was still a mystery to Imogen.

Callie pulled out a small harmonica, and Imogen’s hair turned bright white with surprise. It shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was, especially since the harmonica was an easy instrument to carry around, but it took Imogen a moment to calm back down and listen to the notes that the harmonica was playing. She hummed along to the changing notes softly, glancing nervously at Callie as she did so.

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Calliope nodded in agreement. “You’re probably right; I shall ask their Headmistress, perhaps she would have a better idea of who would be willing to help,” she told her. The Beauxbatons head had of course hand picked each and every one of the students that had come for the Triwizard Tournament, and they would know best. “That’s also a good point, I’m sure several students here speak both French and English - I know one of the Hufflepuffs mother was the former Beauxbatons Headmistress, so he likely speaks some French, I’d hope,” she said with a chuckle.

Calliope could tell Imogen was a little nervous; it wasn’t hard when her hair went from dark brown to white in surprise. “You’re a Metamorphmagi?” she asked interestedly; she’d never met one before, and Transfiguration had never been her strong point in school. So she had had ot reply upon her Muggle salon when she ever deigned to change her hair color. As she blew into the harmonica, Imogen hummed along the with the notes. “Good,” she said, nodding in approval. “Let’s here you annunciate now,” she instructed, then cleared her own throat. “Ahhhhh,” she sang, then gestured for Imogen to match her pitch.

@imogen

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Imogen nodded when Callie suggested that the Beauxbatons headmistress would probably have a better idea of who would be able to help her with her French. “If I’m not mistaken, the Hogwarts Champion is friends with a Beauxbatons boy.” Imogen offered. She thought that maybe they were more than freidns, but as a professor, it would be wrong to engage in that kind of speculation. But if Callie knew Anna Weasley, she could perhaps ask the girl if her friend (maybe boyfriend) would be willing to work on the project. Then again, if Callie was right and there were Hogwarts students who were multilingual, that might be easier than getting a Beauxbatons student who was only tangentially familiar with the Muggle Studies professor to agree to it.

When Callie asked if she was a Metamorphmagus, Imogen nodded, and allowed color to seep back into her hair. She had assumed that everyone in the school knew that, but since she mostly kept her hair brunette for classes, perhaps not everyone had seen her with her more colorful styles. “That’s how I changed my vocal cords.” She clarified, since that appeared not to have been understood. Callie told Im to enunciate, and when Callie sang again, Imogen opened her mouth. “Ahh.” She hadn’t thought much about matching the pitch, but it sounded right to her ears.

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Calliope watched as Imogen’s hair color began to seep back in; hopefully that meant she felt less scared. “That’s pretty amazing if you allow me to say so,” she said with a smile. She sang out the notes for Imogen to match and was impressed to hear that she could match pitch quite well. “I knew it, you definitely have a talent. You should showcase it more - I’m the leader of the Frog Choir, so if you ever want to come sing with the students, we’d absolutely love to have you,” she told her, the smile on her face widening.

She looked down at her watch and gasped. “Oh goodness, I have class in fifteen minutes. But, please I implore you to think about coming to a choir practice. I’m sure the students would love it!” she told her. She gave her fellow Hufflpuff alumni a smile and a quick wave before gathering up her things and dashing out of the teachers lounge. Luckily her classroom was on the first floor so she didn’t have to travel so far, but she did like to be early in order to prepare.

@imogen

feel free to do one more, otherwise END THREAD

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Imogen was stunned when Callie declared that she had a natural talent for singing. She wasn’t really used to being naturally talented – everything that she was good at she had gotten good at through hard work, except for the whole Metamorphmagus bit. When the invitation to drop in on one of the Frog Choir rehearsals came, Imogen nodded numbly. She would definitely think about that, but right now she was just so overwhelmed by everything that it would probably be for the better if she just took some time to herself to figure out what she was going to do with this new-found skill.

Callie said that she had class in fifteen minutes, and Imogen checked her own watch. Her next class didn’t begin for a half hour yet, but it wouldn’t be bad for her to depart for her classroom now, either. Imogen nodded again when Callie repeated her imploring of Imogen to drop in on the Frog Choir, offering the other Hufflepuff a smile before she departed.

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(le end)