Well it looks like I've got at least a couple readers :D haha thanks to Inda and janey-in-a-bottle because I was honestly conflicted by the lack of response but I love writing this story so I'm going to keep doing it. So on with chapter 2...

"Please, please, please!"

"Absolutely not."

"Mum, come on!" Hugo begs.

Hermione shakes her head and looks to her husband for help. "Ron, say something!"

"Er… Listen to your mother Hugo!"

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"Yes and what happens if it doesn't pan out?" Hermione demands. "What will you do then? A wizard with no prospects, who dropped out of school before his 6th year!"

"You know, we never officially finished school." Harry adds casually.

"See? Thank you Uncle Harry!"

Hermione glares at her friend who raises his hands defensively. "I was just pointing out that we didn't finish and we didn't turn out so bad."

"Things were different back then." Ginny sighs. "I agree with Hermione. You boys need to finish school."

James grins and sneers at his younger relatives, "Yea boys, finish school."

"Stuff it." Albus says giving his older brother a shove. "I'm 17 mum, I can do what I want."

"But Albus-"
"No! I've made up my mind." He says determinedly. "This is what I want and you can't make me give it up." For a brief moment everyone is stunned at how much he looks like his father and then Harry breaks the silence.

"He's right Gin." He says with a sigh. "He's an adult now, we can't stand in his way."

"But you are only 15." Hermione points to Hugo. "I will absolutely not let you abandon your studies." Hugo, looking utterly crushed, slumps into his chair.

"I've been doing some thinking," Rose starts, "What if he did both?"

"Don't be daft Rosie," James rolls his eyes, "How would he go to school and tour the world?"

"He wouldn't." She replies simply. James throws his hands up, as if to make his point. "But he could get a tutor to travel with him." Hugo's eyes light up and he jumps to his feet.

"That's perfect! What do you say mum?"

Hermione shakes her head slowly, "I don't know…"

"You can pick the tutor and everything."

"That's not a half bad idea," Harry says thoughtfully. "Albus if we hired you a tutor would you keep up with your studies?" Albus's snort says very clearly what he thinks of that. Harry shrugs. "It was worth a shot."

"I think it's a good compromise." Ron says. Hermione still doesn't look convinced.

"Mum, please? Do you want me to miserable the rest of my life?"

"Of course not!"

"I promise I'll keep up with studies! I'll do whatever the tutor says. I'll do anything! Please, please, please!" Hugo drops to his knees and clings to his mother's legs.

"Oh honestly Hugo, you are so dramatic! Alright fine!" Hermione relents. "I'll let you join this band under one condition."

"Anything!"

"If by the end of this summer your little group doesn't look like it's going to take off, you'll return to Hogwarts in September. And I want proof that this is worth putting school off for: a hit, a tour, something!"

"And if we are taking off…?"

"Then I'll hire you a tutor." Hermione says with a small smile.

"Yes! I love you mum, you're the most amazing woman I've ever known! Honestly, you're brilliant." Hugo squeezes her, babbling with his excitement.

"Great," James groans, "I'll never be able to get away from this family."

Hugo wraps an arm around Albus, pulling their faces close, and smiles innocently. "But look how cute we are!" Everyone laughs, even James, though he does so reluctantly.

"You know I'm a bit surprised that you auditioned." Ginny says. "I didn't know you sang."

"Yes Hugo," Hermione adds thoughtfully. "I've heard James and Albus plenty of times but I can't recall ever hearing you sing."

"Oh I don't sing."

"Er… then why did you audition for a boy band son?" Ron asks.

"I didn't! Well I didn't intentionally. I'm just that good." He grins smugly.

"As I recall it you had to be bartered into the group." Hugo glares at Albus who ignores him and continues. "Gemma didn't want you unless she could have Malfoy."

"Very true." James smirks, "You should thank Malfoy at our meeting next week."

"Malfoy?" Ron asks suspiciously.

"Yea, he's in the group."

"What? How did he manage that?"

Albus shrugs, "I assume the same way we did."

"That slimy little-"

"Ronald!"

"All I'm saying, Hugo, is that you better beat him out for those solos."

"I have a feeling it won't be as easy as that." Hugo says truthfully, "I can't sing and from what I've gathered Malfoy is really good."

"Has two left feet though. Did you see him get eliminated during the dance portion?" James sniggers.

"You boys better be kind to him." Hermione warns, "He worked just as hard as you did, probably more, to make that group and I won't stand for any bullying."

"Yes ma'am," The three boys reply in unison.

"Now help me set the table for dinner. Just because you're big superstars don't mean you don't have to do your chores."

Scorpius arrives early, his excitement getting the better of him. The building he stands in front of isn't much to look at; a small, decrepit place surrounded by magnificent muggle-made skyscrapers. A "For Sale" sign hangs in the dirty window. Scorpius looks around once to make sure no one is watching him before pulling out his wand and unlocking the door. The hinges creak as he pushes it open. Silently he slides inside and shuts the door.

The reception area is immaculate. The floor is whiter than anything Scorpius can remember seeing and the ceiling higher than possible without magic. A witch with thick-rimmed glasses sits behind a desk, scratching furiously at her parchment. On the wall behind her the words "Topper Records" glitter in the artificial light. "Do you have an appointment?" She asks without looking up as Scorpius approaches.

"Yes. I'm here for a meeting-"

"Name?"

Scorpius scowls, he hates being cut off. "Scorpius Malfoy." He make sure to put extra emphasis on the Malfoy, hoping that she picks up on his importance, or at the very least have the decency to be afraid. It' something his father taught him.

"Have a seat Mr. Malfoy," She gestures to a couple of couches to her right. "Ms. Topper will be with you soon." Scorpius nods, despite not having the slightest idea who Ms. Topper is, and heads for the couches.

"I can't believe you made us late." Albus says through gritted teeth.

James shrugs, "It's not like it's the end of the world. It's 5 minutes."

"Hi we're-"
"Oh I know who you are!" The witch behind the desk says excitedly. "Right this way,"

"This is so cool," Hugo whispers as the three of them are ushered into a meeting room. The room is largely empty save a sizeable, round table surrounded by numerous chairs. Seated at two of the chairs are Malfoy and another boy, who abruptly stop talking at the sight of the others.

"Ms. Topper will be in shortly," The secretary says, closing the door behind her and leaving the five very awkward boys alone.

"Er… hey Malfoy. Nice summer?" Albus inwardly cringes at his attempted small talk.

For his part the blonde nods politely and says, "Very nice. And yours?" without skipping a beat.

"Much better now eh?" James says grinning. Everyone chuckles and a bit of the tension lifted.

"I'm Felix, by the way," The other boy says, holding his hand out to shake.

James shakes it with a, "James." Then takes the seat next to Felix. Hugo also introduces himself and shakes the tanned hand.

"Albus," He takes his hand last and as an after thought turns to the blonde boy sitting on Felix's other side. "You know I should probably start calling you Scorpius."

"I think you probably should, Albus." He replies with a friendly, if small, smile.

"You guys know each other from school?" Felix asks.

"Yep." James replies, "Though I reckon we knew more than enough about Draco Malfoy's spawn before school even started. Our father's didn't get along too well." Albus and Hugo nod in agreement. Scorpius blushes a little.

Felix laughs, "Well I'll be the first to admit that I've read my fair share of articles on the two of you." He points to James and Albus, the latter of whom groans.

"The joys of being Harry Potter's children." Albus says shaking his head, "It'll be nice to be in the papers for something else."

"I hear that!"

"You two know each other?" Albus asks, gesturing between Felix and Scorpius.

Scorpius shakes his head, "Just met at auditions."

"I was homeschooled." Felix says with a roll of his eyes. "My parent's are nutters. What about you?" Felix nods in Hugo's direction.

"What about me?"

"You guys know each other from school?"

"Oh no, Hugo here is family." James ruffles his hair affectionately.

Felix turns to Scorpius and says in a loud stage whisper, "Guess it's you and me against the Potters."

"I'm not a Potter!" Hugo says indignantly. Albus smacks the back of his head. "Ow! Not that it's a bad thing!" The redhead adds hastily.

"If we're teaming up I definitely don't wanna get stuck with these two," James points to the squabbling boys.

"Like I'd be on your team anyways," Albus says with a glare.

"Teams?" Gemma asks as she strolls into the room. "For what?"

"Hypothetical teams." Scorpius answers instantly.

"Good word," Hugo nods in approval.

"Thank you."

Gemma studies the boys for a second before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table from them. "At least you're getting along." She shakes her head. "Well you guys ready to get down to business? Yes Hugo?"

"Uh this may be a dumb question but… who is Ms. Topper? We're supposed to wait for her."

Gemma laughs, her perfect teeth sparkling in the light. "I am! My father is Mr. Topper of Topper Records." For the first time Albus notices that Gemma isn't wearing traditional wizarding robes but instead has opted for a pair of form fitting black pants and a strategically torn top, despite the formal atmosphere of the building. It is considered very stylish among the younger generation to forgo the robes and don muggle clothing, not one of the boys at the table wore a robe, but for professional functions robes are generally considered proper. Though with her cotton candy hair Albus doubted that Gemma adhered to most notions of proper.

"I suppose I should explain a little bit before we get started." Gemma sits back in her chair, deciding best how to approach the subject. "Well you've all heard of Topper Records; we are the premiere recording studio of the wizarding world. For 30 years now we've been on the cutting edge of modern music. In truth we do much more than just music these days. Since my father created the charm that allows electricity to work in heavily magical places we've branched out into not only radio but television."

"Thank Merlin for that!" James cheers, "I can't imagine a world without television." Albus has to agree. His favorite show features a witch, Viola Appleby, who can turn anything, and he means anything, she finds into a feast fit for a king.

"We don't own a television. Father says it's another attempt to make us all muggle."

James turns to Scorpius, aghast. "You poor, poor child."

The pale boy shrugs, "You can't really miss it if you've never had it."

"Yes well if you boys like television then you'll love the new stuff we're working on." Gemma smiles conspiratorially, "I'm sure you all know what a computer is. Well there's this thing the muggles have called the 'internet' and if my father's team can make it work for us… well everything is going to change! But, alas, I'm getting ahead of myself. Where was I?" She clicks her nails together, "Ah yes! So why are you all here? Well the more my father begins to invest his time and galleons into his new endeavors the more apparent it is becoming that Topper Records is going to need a new leader. That leader is going to be me."

"Really? That's amazing!" Hugo says excitedly, "Congratulations."

Scorpius eyes her a bit suspiciously, "You still haven't said why we're here. And aren't you kind of young to be running a multi-million galleon operation?" Albus is surprised at the tone Scorpius takes. Not only is the boy normally so soft-spoken but he's being rude to the woman who fought for him to be in the group in the first place.

But Gemma just smiles fondly, "I knew I was going to like you. My father agrees, Scorpius, that 26 years old is much too young to run this company. But you five are going to prove him wrong. If I can make you this company's best selling artists then the company is mine."

"And if you can't?" Albus asks uncertainly.

"Then we're all out of job." She says frankly.

"Well then no pressure huh?" James grins. Albus has to resist the urge to hit him; luckily he's well practiced. How like James to make this a joke, the boy never took anything seriously.

Gemma looks at Albus earnestly, much to the boy's discomfort, "If you guys are half as good as I know you can be, then we'll be just fine." A knock sounds on the door and Mila comes into the room, a thin briefcase in hand.

"You ready for me?"

"Ah yes, come in Mila. Boys this is Mila March, she'll be your personal stylist."

"You boys need an image. That is where I come in." Mila says, placing her briefcase on the table and pulling out sketches. She hands each boy a sketch, Albus getting his last. The sketch is a perfect likeness of Albus but much, much better dressed. The sketch-Albus has on well-fitted jeans, a black shirt, and a gray blazer. His hair is arranged in a very stylish mess, as opposed to the usual chaotic one he wears, and his glasses are nowhere to be found.

"What is this?" James asks staring in confusion at his own sketch.

Mila smiles, "It's your casual look." Albus frowns. A blazer? That's hardly casual.

"Woah!" Felix is leaning over Scorpius's shoulder and suddenly bursts into laughter.

Scorpius bites his lip, "Is it that bad?"

Sketch-Scorpius looks… well very pretty. He's wearing skinny jeans, a grey and blue striped shirt, and a black cardigan. He also has a gray scarf and a saggy beanie. Scorpius doesn't think its bad, much different than the way he normally dresses but not in a bad way. Or at least he hadn't thought so until Felix laughed. "It's the beanie isn't it?" Scorpius asks suddenly self-conscious. The way the hat sits on sketch-Scorpius gives the blonde a sheet of shiny bangs swooping across his forehead, just skimming his eyes (which look suspiciously like they have make-up on).

Felix looks at him guiltily and shakes his head, "No way man. It's not bad, it just… surprised me."

"Lemme see," James demands, reaching across the table to snatching the sketch. The Potter boys and Hugo study it for a minute.

"I like it." Albus finally says.

"That hair is really girl-" Scorpius doesn't miss the elbow Albus shoves into Hugo's side, "I-I mean… dude they've got James in a v-neck."

James, who was now looking at Felix's sketch, glares. "Yea what's with that?" He turns to Mila. "How come Felix gets a leather jacket and I'm stuck with this? Is this a vest?" He demands, gesturing to his own sketch.

"The jacket is part of his look. Felix is edgy."

Felix smirks, "I'm the bad boy, nice."

"What's that make me?" James asks.

"The lady's man." Mila replies as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I take it I'm funny?" Hugo asks, examining his paper. Scorpius wonders what could possibly be on Hugo's sketch to make him assume that but never gets a chance to see as Mila continues.

"You're quirky and Scorpius is the sweet, introverted one."

Scorpius bristles slightly at that, annoyed at the part he's been cast, until Albus hands back his sketch with a genuine smile, "That's perfect."

"I know," Mila gushes. "I can't wait to get my hands on that hair." Scorpius fingers his slicked back do nervously.

"So what's Albus? The annoying git?" James jokes.

Mila and Gemma share a look then Gemma sighs and turns to Albus. "Honestly we don't know what to do with you. You're a bit more… complicated."

"But don't worry," Mila says quickly, "We'll think of something and until then you'll still look fabulous."

"My picture doesn't have glasses."

"No, we think contacts will suit you more. Especially when you have to dance." Scorpius tries to picture Albus without glasses but his imagination fails him, finally he just turns to the dark-haired boy and asks, "Can I see?" Albus looks somewhat reluctant but, perhaps remembering he's seen Scorpius's, nods and hands over the sketch anyways. Scorpius has to clench his jaw to keep it from dropping it in surprise. Sketch-Albus looks good. Like really good. Embarrassment floods him; it's one thing to find Albus attractive from afar but now they're in a band together. They would (hopefully, the traitorous part of Scorpius's mind adds) be spending a lot of time together and any thoughts that weren't purely friendly would need to be suppressed. "It looks nice." He says, avoiding eye contact as he hands the sketch back.

"Do we really need to work on a look first?" Albus asks. "Shouldn't we be focusing on the music?"

Gemma waves a hand, "We already have a plethora of songs available. Right now we need to focus on your physical appearance." She points to Albus and James, "You two are frequently photographed and we can't have you representing the group like… well that." She gestures to their simple t-shirt and jeans combo.

"So what, we're just supposed to get rid of all our clothes?"

"Yes precisely." Mila nods. "You'll be receiving a package containing your new wardrobe. Effective tomorrow you are to wear only the clothes provided to you by us."

"At least while you're in public." Gemma adds. "Understood?" The boys all nod. Scorpius notices that Albus still doesn't look pleased but has nodded nonetheless. "So we need to talk rehearsals. I thinking we'll do vocal meetings twice a week and dance lessons once. After you've perfected the three songs we have, we'll pick the best, release a single, and go from there. I want the single out by the Christmas season." Scorpius did the math. That gave them about five months. Seems like plenty of time.

"Er…" James, Albus, and Hugo exchange uneasy looks.

"It that a problem?" Gemma asks slowly, probably dreading the answer.

"Well…" Hugo looks to James and Albus but neither come to his rescue. "My mum…"

Albus finally takes pity on his cousin, "Merlin Hugo." He turns to face Gemma, "His mum is insisting on proof that this group is worth him skipping school for. If we don't have a single or something out before September Hugo has to go back to Hogwarts." Hugo drops his head, looking intently at his hands. Scorpius sees Gemma deflate a little bit.

"That only gives us two months."

"I know." Hugo says miserably, "I'm so sorry. I'll understand if you want to replace me."

The room is quiet for a while. From the horrified look on his face, Scorpius gets the feeling that Hugo hadn't expected her to honestly consider the suggestion. Gemma finally shakes her head, a maniacal smile spreading across her face. "No we won't be doing that Hugo."

"I don't like that look," Felix says apprehensively.

"You'll need to clear your schedules for the rest of the summer." Gemma says. "We'll need all the time we can use."

"Done." Hugo says. James and Albus also quickly agree.

Felix nods, "Can do."

Traditionally Scorpius spends a portion of his summers in France with his grandmother but he figures she'd forgive him. And plus it isn't like he can't visit. "Yea, I'm in."

"Oh good," Gemma smiles, "Please be packed by tomorrow evening."

The boys all look at each other, perplexed. "I'm sorry. Packed?" Felix asks.

"Yes, you'll all be moving into one of my father's building downtown. That way I'll always know where you are, you'll be close to the rehearsal spaces, and you'll be able to bond."

Mila smiles brightly and pats her friend on the shoulder, "What a brilliant idea Gemma!"

"B-but…" Scorpius falters, unsure how to express himself. From the looks on the other boys' faces they aren't thrilled with the arrangement either.

Nobody says anything for a long while until Albus, his face full of determination, squeaks out a "Whatever it takes yeah?" Scorpius almost laughs. Sometimes Albus looks so much like the pictures of his father.

"That's the spirit!" Gemma waves her wand and a stack of papers so high that it's beginning to lean appears on the table. "Now we have just a bit of paperwork to do…"

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