Thanks to all my reviewers
- -00- -
Jess never wrote James back, deeming his note unworthy of a reply. Really, what a stupid thing to do, asking her to tell Lily he was good in bed, as if that would make her like him. And the way that he signed it (The) James Potter, it was so impossibly arrogant that she was unsure as to whether or not he was serious.
All through dinner, James kept sending fleeting glances her way.
"She never wrote me back, you know."
"Yes, Prongs, we know. Tell us one more fucking time, please," Sirius said. It wasn't often that James and Sirius didn't get along, but James was being a prat.
"Hey guys, I was thinking that maybe we could practice tonight? Seeing as we don't have too much homework?" Remus interrupted.
"Say, Moony, is your set at the castle yet?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, all I have to do is summon it, thanks to that spell Prongs cast." Because of the difficulty of moving a drum set from place to place each time they practiced the muggle way, James had found a spell to make it could disapparate from Remus' room and apparate where ever it was they were practicing, usually James' house.
"Alright, let's make it at 7:30, that way we can get any work that needs to be done finished up," Sirius suggested. Everyone agreed to the idea.
James was the first to get up. He wanted to do some thinking. Jess had never written him back, even though after Potions they'd had Transfiguration and Charms together. Perhaps he had been to forward. Yeah, that sounded right. Or maybe, just maybe, everyone was right about him. Maybe he was as arrogant as everyone said, as bigheaded as everyone suggested. He paid no attention to where he was walking, but his feet seemed to take him to Gryffindor Tower anyways. He said the password (flobber worm) and walked through the portrait.
Jess was sitting by the fire. She heard the portrait open and looked towards it. Upon seeing James come inside, she made to walk over to him.
"Oh, fuck off Jess," James groaned. He continued to walk up to his dormitory.
His reaction bothered Jess. They had never gotten along perfectly, one of the reasons for their breaking up, but he had never flat out told her to 'fuck off'. She knew that she should have written back to him, there was no telling what he would do. James was known to act before thinking about what he was doing.
- - 00 - -
James pulled out his guitar. It was beautiful. A 1958 Les Paul Plain Top Custom Guitar, in heritage cherry sunburst. It featured a one-piece mahogany neck with a twenty-two-fret rosewood fingerboard, shining trapezoid inlays. It had two Burstbucker pickups, providing clear, precise, and beautiful sound. Robby Krieger, Jim Morrison, John Densmore, and Ray Manzerek had all signed it when James had won a muggle contest to meet The Doors. The signatures were under a spell so that they would never fade or smudge. He cherished it like it was his own flesh and blood. James allowed no one to touch it, not even Sirius.
He began polishing it, treating it like it was made of glass. He began thinking about Lily. Should he just give up on her? Part of him wanted to. Was it really worth chasing her like this? Maybe he only wanted her so much because she was the forbidden fruit. He had to get a second opinion. He looked at the clock. Quarter past seven already? Time flies. He began to tune up his strings. Then came a sound check. He magically magnified the sound of his guitar, rather than using an amp. James could also magically change the sound, distortion among other things.
Sirius and Remus walked up next. Sirius set about magically moving all of the furniture aside, while Remus dug out his drumsticks and summoned his drum set. By the time his set arrived, Peter had come upstairs. He set up his keyboard and began warming up. Sirius took out his bass and set up his microphone.
"What do you guys want to play first?" Peter asked.
"Break on through," James answered, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Remus and Sirius agreed. It was a masterpiece of a song.
First Remus came in on drums, playing a bossa nova type beat on the symbol and clicking the stick on the edge of the snare drum. They went through two measures of this when Sirius came in with the verse bass line. The bass line came played twice alone with the drums before the guitar came in. Peter emphasized the bass line on his organ. Sirius came in singing the hypnotic verse.
"You know the day destroys the night,
Night divides the day."
He screamed the next part into the microphone.
"Tried to run,
Tried to hide,
Break on through to the other sideBreak on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side, yeah."
Everyone was getting into the music. Sirius began singing again.
"Chased our pleasures here,
Dug our treasures there."
Then he screamed again.
"Do you recall,
The time we cried?
Break on through to the other sideBreak on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side, now."
After the second rendition of the chorus, Peter took his organ solo. After a few measures Sirius came in, improvising.
"Fat cat, top hat, thinks he's an aristocrat.
Fat cat, top hat, thinks he's an aristocrat.
Fat cat, top hat, thinks he's an aristocrat."
Then Sirius screamed out the written part.
"Every-body, loves my baby.
Every-body, loves my baby.
'Cause she gets high!
She gets high!
She gets high!
She gets high!
She gets high!
Yeah."
They switched back to the verse rhythm. Sirius sang the next line.
"I found an island in your arms,
Country in your eyes."
Then he screamed again.
"Arms that chain us!
Eyes that lie!
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through, oh yeah!"
James moved up the neck of the guitar, playing the next riff in the song.
"Made the scene,
Week to week,
Day to day,
Hour to hour!
The gate is straight,
Deep and wide!
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through!
Yeah,
Yeah,
Yeah,
Yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Everyone had goosebumps. That was, by far, the best they had ever played the song.
"That was bloody brilliant, Sirius. Where'd you come up with that 'Fat Cat' thing?" James asked, amazed.
"I don't know, I must've heard it somewhere."
"We were all connecting, you know, like all on the same vibe. I don't think that's happened to us before," Remus said.
"Yeah, man, it was nuts," Sirius replied.
"Alright, one more song. James, you start us off, we'll join in."
James started playing the power chord introduction to The Who's 'My Generation.' It had a punky sort of riff to it. Sirius came in with the lyrics of timeless teen angst and confusion, with James singing background
"P-people try to put us d-d-down,
(Talkin' 'bout my generation.)
Just because we g-g-g-get around,
(Talkin' 'bout my generation.)
Things we do seem awful c-c-c-cold,
(Talkin' 'bout my generation.)"
Sirius screamed out the next line.
"I hope I die before I get old.
(Talkin' bout my generation.)
It's my generation, my generation.
My generation, my generation babay.
Why don't you all f-f-fade away,
(talkin' 'bout my generation.)
And don't try to dig what we all s-s-say,
(talkin' 'bout my generation.)
I'm not tryin' to cause a big sensation,
(talkin' 'bout my generation.)
Just talkin' 'bout my generation.
Talkin' bout my generation, talkin' 'bout my generation, talkin' 'bout my generation…"
It was at this point in the song that they realized there was a crowd outside their dormroom.
"Oh, Jesus Peter, don't tell me you forgot to put the silencing charm on the door." Sirius moaned.
"Uhh, I won't tell you then."
--00--
DISCLAIMER: BREAK ON THROUGH (TO THE OTHER SIDE) IS COPYRIGHTED TO THE DOORS AND ELEKTRA RECORDS.
MY GENERATION IS COPYRIGHTED TO THE WHO
I DON'T OWN ANYTHING
