A/N: Hi everybody! This is my first story that I'm posting and I want to know what you think about it. It's a next generation James/OC story.

Disclaimer: I only own the OCs.


Open our music book,
that only few can look
and I'll write a song for you
"I'll Write a Song For You"- Earth, Wind, & Fire

Every time I hear those beginning chords, I cringe. It's like a reflex. And when the words start up, that's when my shoulders tense, and by the time the chorus starts, I'm twirling my hair almost aggressively.

I just want you to know
This is my song for you.
And I don't know where you'll go,
And I don't know what you'll do.
But what I know for sure,
Is I will let you down.
So I'll sing to you today,
The things I need to say.

My brothers tell me that I need to get over it. That's easy for them to say; the song isn't about them.

See, once upon a time, a long time ago, my parents met, dated, and married. Less than a year later, my oldest brother Chris entered the world. Four years after that came Corey, and then four years after that, I popped out.

Except at this point, my father the Quidditch playing musician had decided that the 'family life' wasn't for him and went on the road with his band. It's because of him that I don't date Quidditch players and musicians.

The song is titled "The Things I Need to Say" and was written in 15 minutes by my dad in a Motel 6 somewhere in Arizona. This song was his legacy. My father died when I was eight. And while almost no one knows who he is, everyone knows the song.

The only reason I bring up the song is because I can hear it. The receptionist of my mother's future husband has the radio on and is singing quietly as she does her work. I'm waiting patiently, my color-coded binder of plans lying on my lap, for my future step-father to get out of a meeting with his editor.

My mother, romance novelist extraordinaire Betsy Taylor, had come to England sometime last year to promote her new book where she had met the one and only Gilderoy Lockhart, who had only recently been deemed safe for society by St. Mungo's. The two had met and fallen fast into love or lust or whatever. In January, he had proposed and now it was August and the wedding was fast approaching.

My mother was currently sitting at a spa, getting a massage and her nails done, claiming that "all this work on the wedding was too stressful" which I personally, found ironic. You see, my mother has a habit of starting projects and never finishing them. This was not her first wedding. It wasn't even her second or third. This was actually her fifth wedding, including my father.

But years of living with her had shown me exactly what I needed to do with my mother. The minute she announced that she was engaged, to us is when I had gone upstairs and pulled out all the past wedding stuff. My mother liked to pick out the color scheme and her dress, then say that she had too much work going on to do anything else and would I please please please help her out with this one little thing.

Well, this one little thing always turned out to be the entire wedding and years of planning events for my mother had let me know that I needed my color coded binder. It had also told me that I needed to remind the grooms of certain things, which is why I was sitting in the waiting room for Gilderoy.

"Hello, Austin." Gilderoy greets me pleasantly, apparently having sent his editor away. Huh, I hadn't even noticed. "Do come in," He said, ushering me into the office.

He walked around the desk and sat down, gesturing for me to sit down in the seat across from him. "What can I do for you today?"

I opened my binder and flipped through the pages. "I just have a couple of reminders for you. You and the groomsmen have your final fittings tomorrow afternoon at two. You need to be at the church on Saturday afternoon at one and make sure that it is no later than 1:05." I opened my binder and pulled out an orange (used for schedules and timing) sheet of paper to give to him. "It's all written down on here for you." Despite having been deemed acceptable for society, Gilderoy had a habit of forgetting things easily if they weren't written down. Apparently that's to be expected.

Gilderoy smiled his 'charming' smile. According to my mother, it was that exact smile that had won her over. Personally, I didn't see what was so great about it. "Thank you, love." I cringed, but said nothing. "I will be sure to be there, on schedule." He said with another smile, teasing me about my need for organization. I didn't smile back.

"Well," I said. "If you don't need me for anything…" I trailed off.

"No, no." He said. "You go. I know your mother must have plenty of other things for you to do." He stood up and walked me to the door. "You know, Austin, this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship." I didn't respond.

Which, apparently, he took as a cue to open his arms widely and embrace me. I felt my spine stiffen at this but he took no notice as he pulled away and opened the door to the office. "See you later, daughter." He winked.

Kill. Me. Now.


It's nearly 9:00 Saturday morning as I enter my house from getting a manicure and pedicure and I can already hear my mother freaking out.

Her hair is in curlers and she's still wearing her bathrobe. From personal experience, I know that she's still got three hours of getting ready but instead of finishing up like she should be, she's screaming into the phone. "It's supposed to be four Arabians pulling the carriage, not two Palominos!"

My older brother, Corey, is trying to calm her down. He looks like he just rolled out of bed, and, knowing Naish, he probably had. His attempts to calm her down are fruitless; she's on DefCon 1 right now.

"Mom," I said. "I got this. I'll get you your Arabians. Go get ready." Corey snorts and Mom looks at me skeptically but starts up the stairs, handing me the phone as she passes.

"Lou," I said. "It's me. I need those horses."

"I know Austin," Lou Biggs, the guy who always provides transportation to my mother's wedding, says. "But I can't get you the four Arabians. One of 'em broke a foot and I ain't got another one." Lou's originally a New Yorker. He's still got the accent even if his transportation companies have him flying all over the world.

I groaned. "All right Lou, let me know what my alternatives are."

40 minutes later, I enter my mother's room. She's sitting at her vanity while her hairdresser teases her hair. As soon as she sees me, Mom stands up and rushes over. "Tell me you fixed it."

"Lou's getting you the Arabians." I tell her. "But it's gonna cost you."

Cost, of course, means nothing to my mother now. A long time ago, money had been tight for us. That had been back before her novels made the best-selling lists. Back when we had lived day by day, paycheck to paycheck of whatever bar Mom worked in, in the tiny apartment with the funny name.

She waved me off, smiling widely, knowing she got what she wanted. I turned and rolled my eyes, walking out of the room to go get ready myself.

At 1:00, the rest of the bridesmaids show up at the house, dresses in hand, so as not to ruin them. At this point in my life, the other bridesmaids and I considered my mother's weddings to be more like reunions. We'd catch up and gossip about all the people who usually came and how they changed until it was time to make the walk we'd made so many times before.

At 1:30, the bridesmaids and I were gathered in the foyer, dressed and ready to go, waiting for my mother. The bridesmaids were wearing a short, one shouldered dress in the cornflower blue that was part of the color scheme my mother had picked out. I, as the maid of honor, was wearing a short, strapless, satin number in the same color.

I watched as my mother descended down the stairs in her long, white, cap-sleeved gown, my breath catching in my throat at how beautiful she looked, as usual. In this dress, she looked at least ten years younger, which was not necessarily a good thing considering how much older her husband was than her, but she looked incredible.

Much chattering occurred as the bridesmaids gushed over my mother and how beautiful she looked, and then again as the three bridesmaids, my mother, and myself loaded into the carriage to take us to the venue, this time being a beautiful gardens.

I reached into my clutch and pulled out my iPhone. 1:40, on the dot.

Right on schedule.


"And finally," the singer of the band was on stage, making a speech, thanking the guests and bride and groom. "a big thanks to the beautiful…" I gagged. The singer, a twenty something sleazy guy named Jesse, had taken every opportunity he'd be given to hit on me all night. Apparently he didn't notice my visual reaction to his compliment because he had continued on without hesitation. "Austin Pacchione, daughter of the bride, for planning this entire ceremony and reception." There was applause as everyone turned to look at me. I smiled politely as I slipped into my seat between Naish and a blonde girl I didn't recognize.

Actually, most of the table was filled with people that I didn't recognize. I knew this would be the case; I had purposely created a table of people I knew I liked or were close to my age.

Corey was looking at me, a questioning look on his face. I nodded and smiled. "Ok, now I will have a drink."

He grinned. "Atta girl." Corey turned in his seat, ignoring the look his girlfriend Tia was giving him, and grabbed a flute of champagne off of the tray of a passing waiter.

"Should she really be drinking?" Tia, Corey's snotty girlfriend, asked. "She's not legal."

But she was ignored by all as I took my champagne from my brother, tilted it back to my mouth, and drained it.

"Easy there Boozy," My oldest brother, Chris, teased me.

"Hey," I protested. "Boozy? I haven't gotten falling over drunk in months. Last time that happened was back in…April!" I said.

"And that might not even count," Chris's wife, Rachel, said. "Because we're still not sure whether or not she was drugged!"

"Yeah," I said in agreement. "And I don't sleep around nearly as much as I used to."

"Well you're practically a saint then, aren't you?" Corey smirked.

"Saint Austin." Chris said. "I like it."

I laughed. "Seriously, guys. I have done nothing but plan this wedding for months. I've dealt with screaming, crying, tantrums, decisions…and that was only from mom."

"And for that," Chris reached over to another passing waiter holding alcohol and grabbed a shot. "you deserve a drunken night." We clinked glasses together and knocked them back, laughing as we placed them back on the table.

"Wow," Teddy Lupin, who I now considered somewhat of a brother, shook his head at me. "Don't go driving anywhere tonight." He laughed.

Teddy Lupin had met my brother Chris when Chris first moved here to start up the European branch of . The thing about muggle things is that they always become popular in the Wizarding world, years later. Whether that be songs, clothes, or electronics. The computer and internet had only become available in the last 10 years.

Obviously, wizards couldn't go around selling their old but gently used cauldrons on ebay with all the muggle stuff. That's where Chris came in. He created WizBay to auction off Wizarding items.

Anyway, Chris had moved to London to launch the European headquarters of WizBay. He and Teddy Lupin met when Chris moved into the apartment across the hall. The two had become fast friends, as had Rachel and Teddy's girlfriend, Victoire, who were sitting right next to each other, laughing loudly, at my antics and my brothers, Teddy included.

"Teddy," The blonde next to me said. "Just because you are a horrible drunk driver doesn't mean the rest of us are."

"Yeah," The dark, messy haired boy next to her said. "I'm a great drunk driver."

"Dom, James," Teddy said. "You, as the oldest of the family in Hogwarts, should be setting a good example for the younger ones." He gestured to the two red haired young teens next to him, one male and one female. "So shut up and talk to Austin. She'll be starting Hogwarts in September with you. Seventh year, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I should be in sixth year, technically, because of how you do school. But we do our schooling differently, so I'll be in seventh year this year."

"So you get to finish school a year before you thought you would?" The boy Teddy called 'James' asked. I nodded. "Awesome!" He said.

I laughed. "Yeah, it's all right. I only had to leave the only school and place I've ever known to do it."

He pondered that for a couple of seconds. "Yeah, all right. I'll give you that one…" He trailed off. "Sorry, I forget your name."

"Austin." I told him. "Austin Pacchione."

"Austin." James nodded. "Well, Austin, my name is James Potter and this," He gestured to the blonde sitting between us. "is my cousin Dominique Weasley."

"DON'T call me Dominique." The blonde girl said. "It's just Dom."

"Dom it is." I said.

Dom turned to Teddy. "I like her. Where have you been hiding her?"

"Across the pond." Teddy said laughing.

And this was the point where my night made a turn. Jesse (who shall be better known as the Sleazy Singer when I tell this story in the future) announced that the band would be taking a break, put on some good, teenage dance music, and made a straight beeline for our table.

"Hello Miss Austin," He greeted. James, Teddy, Chris, and Corey all snorted into their drinks. I bit back a laugh. Dom, however, was not so…polite…and laughed out loud.

"Hi Jesse," I said, politely.

"So, how about you take a walk with me and help me find the bar." Jesse raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Sure," I nodded. The table gaped at me. "It's straight ahead and to your left." Everyone laughed.

"Come on," He said. "I was thinking you'd come with me."

"Well you thought wrong," I said, taking a sip of the elf-made wine someone had just poured me.

"I'm a musician." He said.

"I don't date musicians." I said.

"What?" Jesse asked, pretending to be shocked. "You don't date musicians? But girls love musicians. After all, every girl wants a song written about them."

"Not this girl." Chris and Corey exchanged looks.

"Well, I play Quidditch too." Jesse said.

Christ, did this guy ever give up. "Is that supposed to impress me?"

"It generally does, yes." Jesse said. "Usually gets me a date, gives me a chance to really woo her."

Woo? Really, now. "Well I don't date Quidditch players either."

He opened his mouth to speak, but Dom cut him off. "Just don't bother. She obviously doesn't want you here." She pointed toward the bar. "Buh bye." Jesse turned a walked toward the bar, clearly sulking as he did so.

"Thank you," I said to her, holding up my glass to toast her.

"Cheers," She grinned, clinking hers against mine. As we did so, Britney Spears' "Radar" came out of the speakers. Now, Britney Spears happens to be among the many muggle music stars that I adore.

"I love this song," I announced and found that I was not the only one saying that. Dom had said the same thing, at the same time.

"Dance?" She questioned.

"Dance." I confirmed and we stood to make our way to the dance floor.

As we did so, we heard Teddy say, "Looks like you'll have a new friend this school year, James."


A/N: So, did you like it so far?