A/N: Hey, guys! I know, it's been a hot minute. Sorry for the hiatus, but I really needed to focus on school and student teaching for a while. I want to get back into writing again, and hopefully I'll be posting a lot more on here in the coming weeks. Anyway, here's my version of Harry Potter meets Shakespeare. I've been on a real Shakespeare kick lately, so I figured, why not? As usual, the characters from the play AND the story do not belong to me. And the lines of dialogue that are spoken by the characters during the play are not mine either. I hope you enjoy!

P.S. - If you have NOT read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, be warned. Major spoilers ahead.

Romeo, O Romeo

The Great Hall of Hogwarts was abuzz with clamor and chatter on that chilly November night. Every young witch and wizard who attended the school, along with its entire faculty, were gathering in the Great Hall for an evening of delicious food, company, and drama; for the first time in nearly four hundred years, the Headmaster of the historic school had finally approved the performance of a play within its walls. Everyone, whether or not they had even seen or witnessed some sort of dramatic performance before, was practically bursting with excitement.

And Hermione Granger was no exception. In fact, the fifth-year could have easily been the most excited out of all her fellow students. Not only was Hermione a self-proclaimed theater nerd inside and out, but the play that was being put on also happened to be one of her all-time favorites: Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

She couldn't count on both of her hands and her feet how many times she had read it as a child; how many times she'd dreamed of being able to perform onstage in the play herself; on how many occasions she would recite the play's most famous lines of dialogue in her room back home, albeit on her own. Her parents had always encouraged her love of drama as well, and she was finding it hard to contain her enthusiasm as she bounded down the corridor outside of the Great Hall.

Hermione stopped outside the doors and peered inside. The long, narrow benches had been bewitched, shrunken, duplicated, and turned to the front of the room, allowing students to sit down and face the area that was doubling as the stage for that night. Goblets filled with juice and trays littered with all manner of different kinds of foods and sweets and pastries sat all along the tabletops, just waiting to be devoured. A wide grin spread across Hermione's face, and she headed into the Great Hall.

As she walked, Hermione spotted Parvati Patil up at the front of the room. "Parvati! Hey!" she exclaimed.

Parvati, who was seated in the very first row, turned and smiled upon seeing her roommate. "Hermione! I saved you a seat!" she said.

Hermione jogged over, plopping down on the bench. "Thanks!" she replied. "Oh, this is going to be amazing. Are you excited, Pav?"

Parvati nodded. "I am. Except, well, I don't really know what this play is about. I've heard of it, but I'm not too familiar with it. How about you?"

"I'm thrilled," Hermione answered, taking a quick sip of juice and twirling her Gryffindor scarf around in her hands. "This is one of my favorite plays of all time. I practically studied it religiously when I was younger. I'm sure I drove my parents crazy."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Parvati said with a smile. She reached down and opened the program that McGonagall had given her at the door. "I can't wait to see it, though. And I can't wait to see Padma in her role as Lady Mon-Monat-uh-"

Hermione smirked. "Montague," she finished. "And Ginny will be amazing as Juliet, I know it."

Parvati traced her finger along the cast list. "Juliet is the main character, right, Hermione?" she asked.

The latter nodded. "One of the main characters," she corrected. "But she's the main female. The other is Romeo. And I have to say, Dean is perfect for the part."

Parvati tapped her chin thoughtfully. "What about Harry's character, Mercury?" she asked. "Or Cormac's? Count Paris? Who names a kid something like that?"

Hermione snorted. "First of all, it's Mercutio," she corrected. "And I can't tell you anymore about the characters, Patil. Otherwise, I'll end up spoiling the whole play for you because I won't be able to quit talking about it."

"Okay, fair enough," replied Parvati, a bit of disappointment evident in her voice. She continued to look up and down the cast list, and Hermione crossed her legs. She was feeling more and more excited as the seconds drew by, and as she scanned the 'stage' for glimpses of the set and the actors, the sight of someone at a podium off to the side, seemingly reviewing something, caught her eye.

"Uh, Parvati?" she said slowly. "Why is Professor Snape standing over there?"

Parvati glanced over and furrowed her brow in confusion. "I have no idea. Maybe he helped put the whole thing together?"

"I don't know," replied Hermione. "He doesn't really strike me as the 'drama type'. But he looks like he's getting ready to do something. Preparing, or rehearsing, or-"

"Hello, Granger. Patil. Mind if I join you?"

The sharp voice came out of nowhere, and made Hermione jump in surprise. She had been so focused on figuring out why Snape was even present, let alone up by the stage, that she hadn't noticed Draco Malfoy sauntering up right next to her. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione snapped.

The blonde Slytherin raised an eyebrow. "I'd have thought it would be obvious. There's an empty seat right next to you, Granger, and the rest of the room is full. You do the math," he hissed.

Hermione exchanged a look with Parvati, and finally sighed. "Have a seat," she mumbled.

Satisfied, Draco sat down next to the bushy-haired Gryffindor. "Granger, you really are too kind," he snickered, his cold voice dripping with sarcasm. "So, what did I miss?"

Parvati glanced over from the other side of Hermione. "We were just talking about Professor Snape," she answered. "And why he looks like he's participating in the student play."

To Hermione's surprise, Draco smiled. And it didn't seem to be a harsh, stony smile, like the ones she was used to seeing from him...it seemed real, like he was genuinely amused. "Oh, I can answer that one."

"Really?" questioned Hermione, suddenly very curious about what he had to say.

Draco nodded. "Yeah. It started a couple of weeks ago. Do you remember that exam we had in Potions, the one with all the essay questions and diagrams that we had to write out?"

Parvati flinched, looking disgusted. "I remember. It was vile. Worst exam I've ever taken in my life."

Hermione bit her lip to hide her smile. She'd gotten near-perfect marks on that exam, and she hadn't thought it was all that difficult. But she wasn't about to say that out loud.

"I agree," Draco continued, bringing Hermione out of her thoughts. "But the day right before that, I had walked past McGonagall's office, and Snape was complaining to her about how Longbottom didn't seem to be trying hard enough, and how he was sure that Longbottom would not pass the exam. Long story short, McGonagall bet him that he would pass the exam, and Snape took the bet without a second thought."

"So, what did Neville get on the exam?" asked Hermione.

Draco smirked. "The third highest grade in the class, as a matter of fact," he replied. "Apparently, McGonagall's been tutoring him on and off for weeks, and Snape had no idea."

Parvati pursed her lips. "See, this is exactly why you never make a bet with McGonagall," she said, shaking her head. "But what does this have to do with the play?"

"I'm getting there," Draco said curtly. "Apparently, someone in the play dropped out, and McGonagall needed a last-minute replacement. And she bet Snape that if Longbottom passed the Potions exam, he would have to step in and do it. He didn't take her seriously, and now he's in the play. I think he's narrating it or something. And he hates the theater."

"Serves him right!" Hermione laughed, eliciting another smile from Draco.

Parvati giggled right along with her, and turned around to grab a piece of pumpkin pie before the show started. As Hermione tapped her feet anxiously and stared up at the stage, Draco took the opportunity to look at her for a moment. He had never seen her so excited in the time he had known her so far, and he actually thought it was kind of cute. But as soon as that thought entered his mind, he silently scolded himself. No, Draco! What are you thinking? She hates you. You hate her. End of story. Get with the real world. He shook his head and folded his hands together, turning away from Hermione and focusing on a long, thin crack on the floor.

At long last, the lights of the Great Hall began to dim. The clamor hushed almost immediately, and Professor McGonagall stepped up in front of the student body. "Welcome, welcome, students and staff!" she said loudly. "I hope that you all enjoy the generous meal provided for you tonight. May I remind you that, for the sake of our actors, we ask you not to disturb the performance for any reason. If you must leave, please be respectful of those onstage and those in the audience who are trying to watch and listen. And now, it is my great pleasure to present...William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet!"

The Great Hall was filled with applause, and Draco nudged Hermione. "Granger, what's the play even about?" he asked. "I've never heard of it before."

"I can't tell you that, Malfoy," she replied. "Just watch, and you'll find out."

He huffed, and went silent as a light appeared over Professor Snape, who began to speak in a loud, dramatic voice. "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean."

As he continued with his monologue, Hermione became entranced. She'd thought it was silly for Professor Snape to narrate the story, but it was clear that his deep, drawling tone was nearly perfect for it.

"The fearful passage of their death-marked love, and the continuance of their parents' rage," Snape went on. "Which, but their children's end nought could remove is now the two hours' traffic of our stage. The which if you with patient ears attend, what here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend." He suddenly went silent and stepped back from the podium, and the front stage of the Great Hall lit up, followed by gasps from the students in the audience. Michael Corner, Roger Davies, Terry Boot and Adrian Pucey made their way onto the stage, dressed like soldiers. They spoke intensely to one another, before being joined onstage by Seamus Finnigan, who played the character of Benvolio, as well as Blaise Zabini, in the role of Tybalt.

Draco watched his fellow students with a mixture of confusion and fascination. He didn't understand a lot of the old English that was being spoken, but he could feel the emotions and conflicts of the characters very easily. He kept watching Blaise in particular, who was generally not a very angry person in real life, but it almost scared Draco to see his friend so furious; so much so, that he almost forgot it was simply acting.

As more and more people kept joining the scene, Hermione leaned over to Parvati. "Padma's dress is beautiful," she whispered. "Looks like silk."

"It is pretty," Parvati replied softly. "She told me that in their rehearsals, Justin kept trying to fix it for her, and she got really annoyed with him over it."

Hermione covered her mouth to suppress a laugh, and focused in on the play once more. As the scenes kept changing, she began to mouth the words ever-so-slightly as the actors spoke them, particularly when Dean's Romeo and Ginny's Juliet appeared onstage. It was during the Capulet ball scene, a few scenes later, when Draco finally noticed what Hermione was doing. "Oi, Granger," he whispered, pointing to her mouth. "The bloody hell is that?"

She covered her mouth in embarassment. "Oops. You saw that, huh?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's sort of hard not to."

"Sorry, Malfoy," she mumbled. "I've never seen the play performed in full. And I practically have it memorized."

Her words caught Draco's attention. "Seriously? Then why didn't you audition, Granger?" he asked quietly.

She silently shrugged, and turned back to the stage, watching the interactions that were happening between Romeo, Juliet, and Paris, the latter of whom Hermione recognized as Cormac McLaggen. She snickered at the prospect of Ginny having to be in such close proximity with Cormac, a boy that neither of them would willingly go near with a ten-foot-pole on any other day.

As the ball scene ended, Hermione glanced over at Draco, who seemed quite confused. She nudged him. "Everything okay?" she whispered.

"Love at first sight? Granger, you've got to be kidding me," came his quiet response.

Hermione smiled to herself. Oh boy, if he's confused now, he'd best wait until the end, she thought humorously.

The next scene started, and Hermione instantly recognized it as the famous balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet professed their love for one another. Hermione poked Parvati in the arm as Neville Longbottom appeared on stage, apparently completely immersed in the role of Friar Lawrence. "He looks like he's having the time of his life!" she said softly.

"You bet he is," replied Parvati. "Padma says that he always showed up to rehearsal early. I always thought it was because he was so excited, but now I think it has something to do with Snape. The whole reason Snape had to be involved in the first place was because of Neville."

"Never thought Neville would be the one to rub something in someone's face," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Especially Snape's, of all people."

Parvati sniggered, and watched in amusement as Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet onstage. Hermione noticed that Draco looked even more confused than before, but at the same time, he still seemed completely entranced.

The play went on for a while, and Hermione caught herself mouthing the actors' lines four different times, to her own amusement. Parvati noticed once, and playfully elbowed Hermione in the ribs for it. Eventually, the scene of Romeo's battle with Paris began, and for the first time during the entire production, Draco looked genuinely concerned. Although he had snickered when Harry's Mercutio had been slain, the demise of Blaise's Tybalt had hit him pretty hard, and he seemed terrified to see any other character meet their end, even though he knew it wasn't real.

Sure enough, Cormac's Paris was killed shortly after, and Dean's Romeo drank the poison sold to him by the apothecary, who had been played surprisingly well by Colin Creevey. And when Ginny's Juliet took a dagger to her chest in response to finding Romeo dead, Draco laced his hands together so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Hermione was a bit surprised to see such an intense reaction from him, but turned back to the stage without thinking too much into it. After a few minutes, Ernie's Prince of Verona uttered the infamous last words of the play, "For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

The lights cut out, and the Great Hall erupted in applause. Hermione joyfully stood up along with her classmates as the lights came back on, and the cast stood before them and bowed. "Hermione, that was wonderful!" Parvati exclaimed. "A little depressing, and kind of hard to understand, but I loved it!"

Hermione grinned. "I loved it, too!" she said. "It's always been my favorite play. I'm so glad I finally got to see it performed."

After several ear-shattering moments of screaming and applause, McGonagall once again made her way to the stage. "Thank you for attending our production! I hope to see all of you tomorrow at breakfast. Now, off to your dormitories. Quickly, now!"

The chatter arose once again, and everyone began to spill out of the Great Hall. Parvati motioned for Hermione to come back to the Gryffindor dormitory to celebrate with the rest of their House, but a sight caught her eye. "Pav, I'll be right there," she replied. "You go on ahead."

Parvati shrugged, and skipped away, following the rest of her classmates.

Hermione turned around, and her gaze fell on Draco, who was still sitting down on the bench, seeming lost in thought. "Malfoy? Is everything alright?" she asked worriedly.

He looked up. "Yeah, Granger. Just thinking."

"About what?" pried Hermione.

Draco shrugged. "The play. I don't really understand why it had to end the way it did," he admitted sheepishly.

Hermione chuckled. "One thing you have to realize about Shakespeare, Malfoy, is that he loved to write tragedies," she said. "Think about it. In Antony and Cleopatra, both of the title characters die. In Macbeth, the title character and his wife commit many crimes, and they both end up dead. In Hamlet, the main character is poisoned and dies. In Titus Andronicus, the-"

"No," Draco interrupted. "I mean, why they had to die. What was the point of it?"

Hermione stopped. "I guess I've never thought about that before," she said slowly. "Maybe to show the importance of emotional maturity, or to show that rash decision-making is never a good idea."

Draco stood up. "I guess you're right. But I still don't believe in that love-at-first-sight nonsense," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's like they were under the effects of a love potion or something. Shot by Cupid's arrow. There's no way in hell it couldn't have been real love. Just infatuation."

"It's also a play, Malfoy," Hermione reminded him as she began to head toward the doors of the Great Hall. "Fiction. Not real. Just for entertainment."

He scoffed and followed her. "That's some depressing entertainment."

Hermione nodded. "It's a pretty common theme in a lot of those Shakespearean tragedies," she said. "Hence the 'tragedy' bit."

"This Shakespeare guy sounds like a total lunatic," muttered Draco. "Did he really believe in the stuff that he was writing, do you suppose?"

"I couldn't tell you," Hermione answered, feeling the breeze hit her as she stepped out of the Great Hall. "He lived hundreds of years ago, so I can't exactly ask him."

Draco traced his fingers along the wall as he walked. "I know that, Granger," he grumbled. "All I know is I could never see myself in any of those characters' positions."

Hermione stopped. "What's that supposed to mean, Malfoy?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know," he replied. "Falling in love at that age, for one thing. The absurdity! And not even real love, at that. More like puppy love."

A snicker emanated from Hermione's lips. "You know the characters aren't much younger than we are, right?" she asked, trying to hide an amused smile.

"So what?" Draco shot back. "Imagine if you were in Juliet's positiion. Could you see yourself swooning on a balcony or somewhere and saying, 'Romeo, O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?' at your age? Obsessing over some boy you hardly know?"

"Probably not," Hermione admitted. "Could you see yourself marrying your childhood lover in a secret wedding ceremony at your age?"

Draco shook his head. "No way. But I could definitely see you doing it."

Hermione crossed her arms. "Thanks for that, you prat. You make me sound shallow and naive," she muttered.

"Who says you're not?" Draco sniggered. "Prove me wrong, Granger. I bet you'd let anything and everything happen right under your nose and not think twice about it." And before she even had a chance to speak, he had snatched her scarf from around her neck and taken off running down the corridor.

"Malfoy!" Hermione shouted. "Come on, give it back, you leech!" She groaned angrily and sprinted after her blonde nemesis, panting the whole way. "Malfoy, knock it off!"

He didn't answer her, and kept on running for what seemed to Hermione like an eternity and a half.

By the time he finally slowed to a stop outside the Gryffindor common room, Hermione's legs were shaking and she was struggling to catch her breath. "I'm going to strangle you with that scarf, Ferret," she growled. "Now, give it here."

"Over my dead body," Draco teased.

"That can be arranged," muttered Hermione. She reached for her scarf, but Draco yanked it away and out of her reach. "Oh, come on!"

Draco only laughed.

An infuriated Hermione stared him down with daggers, and before she knew what she was doing...she pushed him.

Her actions seemed to surprise Draco. "Oh really, know-it-all? Getting physical now, are you?" he sneered, holding the scarf high above his head.

Hermione crossed her arms, seeming equally befuddled by her own actions. "Malfoy, if you don't give me that godforsaken scarf, I swear-"

Her words cut off as she saw an opening, and without hesitation, the brave Gryffindor went for it. She jumped up and grabbed a bit of the scarf that was hanging down behind Draco's shoulder. However, the momentum propelled her forward, and she slammed into Draco's chest. Her actions took him by surprise and knocked him completely off-balance, sending him careening to the floor. He groaned as his back made impact with the hard stone, and Hermione fell down on top of him; resolute and unyielding, she was still grabbing for the scarf, determined to get it back.

"Merlin's beard, Granger!" Draco exclaimed. "You really don't give up, do you?"

A triumphant smile appeared on Hermione's face as she snatched the scarf away, gripping it in her own hand at last. "No, Malfoy, I don't. Got a problem with that?" she demanded, staring down at him expectantly.

Draco laughed. "Not one bit." He looked up at her for a few seconds, and noticed a unique glint in her eyes that he had never really seen before. And in the moment, he didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he didn't really give himself time to even comprehend it, either; Draco impulsively leaned up and kissed her.

To say that Draco's actions took Hermione completely by surprise would be the understatement of the millenium. She squeaked softly, not realizing what was happening, before finally letting her eyes fall shut and kissing him back. It was a very gentle kiss, and it ended much too soon for either of their tastes. Against her better judgement, Hermione was the first to pull away, separating her lips from Draco's.

She dazedly stared down at him once more, and finally asked, "Malfoy? Why did you do that?"

Draco seemed just as taken aback by his actions as she did. "I don't know," he said quietly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Oi! 'Mione!"

The sudden voice from down the corridor made both Draco's and Hermione's hearts nearly jump out of their chests, and Hermione scrambled off of her adversary awkwardly. The sight of a very confused Neville Longbottom came into her view, and she stood up. "Neville! Hey!"

He smiled uncomfortably. "Hey, Hermione. What's going on?"

Draco stumbled to his feet quite ungraciously, and Hermione spoke. "Oh, well, he stole my scarf away from me, and I was trying to get it back."

"What she said," Draco added, his voice noticeably cracking.

Neville looked at them like they had completely gone mad. "If you say so. 'Mione, weren't you going to come back to the Tower and celebrate with us?"

Hermione winced. "Bloody hell, I forgot! Yes, thanks for reminding me, Neville." She turned to Draco, who was trying to dust himself off. "I guess I'll see you later, Malfoy. Glad you enjoyed the play!"

And she nervously took off with Neville, leaving a very astonished Draco in her wake.

A/N: Aaaah! This one was so much fun to write. I loved imagining our favorite characters in a Shakespeare role, and now I want to see it even more. Obviously, it was just for fun, but regardless, I hope you all enjoyed it! Feel free to PM me or leave a review. Until next time, happy reading!

-BlackthornUnicorn98