Chapter Two: It's Something…
"Quick, Padfoot, Wormtail, how many muggle songs do you know?" James said, reaching their carriage again.
"Uhh, none?" tried Sirius.
"I know one band, they're called the cockroaches, or the beetles, or something," tried Wormtail.
"The Beatles?" said Remus.
"What's the difference?" asked James.
"The Beatles spelled their name with an "A". But for all we know, she loves an American band. What we need to do is find all the songs that came out in or before 1970," said Remus.
"Why?" asked Peter, unwrapping a Cauldron Cake.
"Because that's when we were five years old," said James.
"Hey! Let's go carriage to carriage and ask all the muggle borns about bands before year in question!" cried Sirius.
"Actually, that's not a bad idea."
o0O0o
James approached into the carriage that Lily and her friends were sitting in. He waited until she had vacated to the girls' loo and stepped in.
"James," Mira and Rita greeted him. "Can we help you?"
"Yes- tell me the song that makes Lily's knees go weak."
"Why?"
"Because then I get to go out with her!"
"We know about the bet," said Mira coolly.
"And we'd be willing to help you," said Rita.
"For a price."
James' mind raced. "Uhh, how 'bout my broomstick?"
"You're gonna have to do better than that."
"My soul?"
"Actually, I think we already own that…," said Mira.
Rita pulled out a large muggle binder labeled "M-P" that held several hundred bits of parchment and flipped through quickly, "Potter… Potter…. Yep," she showed him a sheet of paper that simply said "James Potter's soul" with his signature.
"Hey, where did you get that!"
"After you gave it to Mr. Black, we bought it off him for a chocolate frog and three sugar quills.
"That bastard. I'm worth at least four. How about my first born?"
"That'll have to do, Lily will be back soon."
They signed a bit of parchment promising James firstborn child to the care and protection of Rita and Mira. The girls filed it away in a second binder, labeled "future children," then looked up.
"Her favorite song is 'Something,' written by George Harrison," said Rita.
"Something written by George Harrison! Who the hell is George Harrison! You said you'd tell me!" James asked, growing extremely frantic.
"Go, she'll be coming back!"
And with that, they threw him into the corridor, just in time for Lily to make her way back down the corridor. James nipped around a corner and ran back to his carriage.
"I got a list of bands," said Remus, holding a very long roll of parchment.
"I got a few, too, but Moony has most of the ones that I have," Sirius admitted.
"I got some more sweets," said Peter, turning pink.
James hit him over the head. "I got the name of the singer," James said, "even though I bargained my first born for the name of the song!"
"You bargained your firstborn for a song?" Sirius asked.
"Well, they already had my soul!" James said, giving Sirius a very meaningful look. He turned an amusing shade of red.
"Who is it, so we can start searching?" asked Remus, impatiently.
"Someone called George Harrison."
o0O0o
It was an hour before the train reached Hogwarts. James, being desperate and distraught over the loss of his firstborn for naught, was wandering through the train, calling out, "Has anyone here ever heard of George Harrison?... George Harrison! HAS ANYONE HEARD OF A MAN CALLED GEORGE HARRISON!"
A third year Ravenclaw popped her head out of her compartment. "What about George Harrison?"
"Do you know anything about him?"
"Naturally. He's the best. Why do you need to know?"
"Quick, tell me all the songs he ever wrote."
"You'd better come inside." He did and they sat down. "Now, do you mean with the Beatles, or his solo career?"
"All I know is it was written in or before 1970."
"Okay, that narrows it down a lot, thank Heavens. The first song he ever wrote is called 'Don't Bother Me,' which actually has a funny story behind it-"
"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but we've only an hour before we reach the school."
"Oh, well, do you just want his most popular songs?"
"Uhh, his most popular love songs."
"That really narrows it down. Okay, first, 'I Need You,' 'Love You To,' 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps,' 'Here Comes The Sun,' 'If I Needed Someone,' and last, but certainly not least, 'Something'."
"You mean there's a song called 'Something'?" he asked, feeling the red of embarrassment spread across his face.
"Yes, of course. It's quite lovely."
"Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! I don't even know your name."
"It's Kate. And you, of course, are the famous James Potter."
James shrugged, sheepishly. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Invite me to the wedding."
James looked at her, bewildered. How could she have known about the bet?
"Hogwarts rumors," she said, before turning back to her friends.
James got up, but reaching the door, he turned around quickly, "Wait!"
She turned to him, "No, that's by John Lennon," she said, exasperated.
"No, I mean, do you have the album?"
"Oh, yes. She rummaged around in her trunk, pulling out a large, but skinny package. "It's number two."
"Thanks."