Disclaimer: I may have taken awhile, but no I don't own it still.
A/N: Thanks for not giving up on me!
Harry and Friends Meet the Band
The next morning Harry woke up early again, and walked down to the kitchen. He stopped when he heard voices. He walked into the kitchen to see Hermione and Ginny talking with Mrs. Granger.
"So, where do we need to visit?" Hermione asked. He saw that she was still in pajamas and sleepy eyed, so she must have only just gotten up also. Ginny was half asleep at the table with a steaming cup of tea in front of her, staring at the table top, her mouth slightly open. Harry chuckled. She was so not a morning person.
"Well, Mary is my cousin on my mothers side, so your second cousin. I remember that she went to a special school in Chicago, now what was it called? Oh, the Art Institutes of Chicago for media design or something. I think you'd like her, it's been—good morning Harry—years since I've seen her though. I don't think you've ever met her," Mrs. Granger said as she placed a large plate of food in front of each teenager. Harry had poured himself a cup of tea, and refilled Ginny's without her notice.
As he tucked in to his scrambled eggs and kippers, he listened to the girls conversation.
"So, where does Mary live?" asked Hermione.
"Western Wisconsin I believe. I have her telephone number in my address book upstairs." The conversations went on for several more minutes until Ron and Mr. Granger stumbled into the kitchen carried by the smell of bacon, eggs, and kippers.
After breakfast Harry and the teens headed to the shop to open up. When they got there and unlocked the front door, they wandered in and began cleaning. Harry sat at the counter logging what product they should start making first and how many would be needed and what ingredients would be required.
Verity showed up and helped him out. As soon as the others showed up, Harry had several lists ready, and the product room was cleaned out and ready for the few people who would start cooking up the potions and making the actual product.
Verity assigned Lee and Katie to that while she and Angelina worked on calculating how much the rest of the ingredients would cost. Once they were done with that, Harry and Ron were sent off to the Apothecary and the Cauldron shop to get a couple of self-stirring cauldrons.
Verity and Angelina argued that they could very well stir the cauldrons themselves, he didn't need to spend the extra money on special feature cauldrons. He argued that if they were doing several potions at once, they might need the extra help, so they relented. Besides, he had argued, he would get paid back in profit all the money he spent anyways, so what was the big deal? Takes money to make money.
Harry made a side trip to the Post office to send the required documents to Gringotts for his newly hired employees to begin being paid.
When Ron and Harry got back from the quick shopping trip they decided to make a quick run to Privet Drive to double check the cleanliness of the place, and then they all decided to spend the rest of the afternoon looking for the portrait of Remus and Tonks.
After lunch, they searched some more and finally Ron found the portrait on the ceiling of Buckbeak's old room. It wasn't activated yet and the piece of parchment on the back said it required a professional to activate the personality spells on it so Harry decided that they would have that done after they got back from America.
At half past four in the afternoon Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron gathered in the living room at Grimmauld Place and listened to the lectures of what not to do, how to act in another country, and so on.
"Now, Harry, I know your relatives aren't the nicest, but I want you to behave. The last time you saw them, they were running for their lives, and you were leaving for a battle of a lifetime. I know I can trust you to behave." Mrs. Weasley gave a few more warnings before she sat down and Mr. Weasley stood up.
"Now, the time difference for this trip total is roughly five hours. First, you'll arrive in a small room in the Federal building in Washington, D.C. A man there will confirm who you are and ask you where you are headed. All you need to say is Minnesota. He'll hand you a new portkey. This one is a disposable one, keep track of which portkey is which, when you arrive in the next place you can throw it away.
"From D.C. you'll arrive in a place called Station 4. I'm assuming it's a train station, so you'll need to find the person who will be meeting you there. He'll have a packet of paperwork you'll need to look over. It will tell you your family's location, how to get there, and any other instructions Dedalus Diggle left. From there I'm not sure what you'll have to do, since it's up to what Dedalus says.
"This is all I know about where they are. I believe that they have been living with a younger family of Wizards and Witches for the last year. I'm sure that they will be exited to leave and go back home. The Portkey leaves exactly one week from arrival in D.C. So be ready. Hermione, are you going to be the one who holds onto this, again?" asked Mr. Weasley as he held out a rusty pliers. Hermione nodded as she held out her hand. She took hold of it and set it in her lap.
The four of them had a few bags settled next to them ready to be picked up when they'd be needed. There was only about ten minutes left before they were to depart so everyone started to say their goodbyes.
Hermione tearfully hugged her parents and said her farewells while Ginny and Ron were hugged by their mum. Harry stood back until she was done and she stepped towards him and reached out to hug him also.
"Harry, I want you to take care. Arthur and I love you like one of our own, and I want you to come back here and be happy when this is all done. You deserve it more than anyone. Be good now," she whispered as she relented him from her arms. He smiled at her.
"I'll be back Mrs. Weasley. A stampeding herd of thestrals couldn't keep me away," he said back.
He turned around to see Hermione watching her wrist watch and holding the old pair of pliers in her hand. Ron had both their bags ready and held out Harry's to him. He took it just as Hermione held out the pliers for everyone to touch. They placed a finger on the tool and nodded goodbye one more time before the tell-tale tug at their navels pulled them several thousand miles from home.
They landed with a thud, Harry and Ron falling to the floor in a heap.
As Hermione and Ginny helped the boys to their feet a bored looking man asked them a question.
"You're the Weasley party?"
"Yeah," replied Ron.
"The location you are heading too?" the man asked after a sigh. He hardly looked up from the book he was reading.
"Er, Minnesota," Ron said looking at Hermione to be sure.
"Here's your portkey, enjoy your stay in America," the man said quickly as he handed them an old men's boot. Ron took it and held it out while they all touched it. A second round of the navel tug, and they found themselves in a large black room. It looked like a dingy, back alley club or party room.
The walls were patchy and plaster was falling off in certain places, showing the cement and brick walls underneath. The floors were dirty cement and a black stage covered the entire back wall. Several small tables littered the room, and a gaping windowless window was looking down into the dance area from the room from upstairs though from where the foursome stood they could only see the ceiling.
They found a staircase leading upstairs and followed it.
"I thought we were going to a train Station?" Ginny said when they arrived in a pub. From the looks of it, it wasn't open yet. Above the bar was a large sign that read Station 4.
"Maybe your dad had it wrong," Harry said in return. "Is there anyone here?" he called.
"Yeah?" a man stuck his head out of an office across the room. "Bar's closed. You one of the bands for tonight?"
"Er, no. We're not a band" said Ron with a confused look. The man saw the old boot still in Ron's hand and a look of comprehension dawned on his face.
"Ah! Sorry 'bout that, you're the Weasley group?" He saw their nods and looked back into the office. "Yep, right on time. Sorry, I was really focused in there." He left the office and walked towards them. "My name's John, I run this club, but I'm also a government stooge on the side. They send me details on visitors and I send them on their way from here." He shook each of their hands while he spoke.
"Follow me," said John as he turned. He led them down a hallway past the bathrooms and into a room that he spelled open. They saw a comfy lounge area complete with a large fireplace.
"Here's the packet I'm supposed to give you. It contains all the rules and regulations of staying in Minnesota. Basically, don't expose us or do anything illegal and you should be good. Everything you need to know is in that envelope. I gotta be getting back to work, if you need anything, holler, I'll hear you. Take as long as you need to read through everything before you leave. If you feel like having a good time, this club gets going at about nine every night. Music starts at eight tonight. If you don't need me, then I'll say good bye now. Have a good time in Minnesota." John turned and left the room quickly.
Harry shrugged and sat down on a flat but comfy looking chair and pulled the envelope open. The others sat down also and waited for Harry to start reading.
He pulled out two more envelopes and several forms and documents. He set those aside for later after he saw a letter addressed to him clipped to the smaller envelope. He read it out loud.
"'Harry, The two letters here were the information letters prepared to be sent to your uncle. I asked John to slip this in the packet he was supposed to give you. It's up to you to send the correct letter, obviously the one of your defeat of Voldemort, to your uncle via owl post. Wait two days before going to get them and bringing them home.
Sorry for the inconvenience, you'll have to stay at a hotel for a couple days. Enjoy Minnesota, the Muggles have some amazing entertainment. Hestia.'"
"So this letter from Hestia is attached to the letter you need to send to your uncle? What does that one say?" asked Ginny.
"Lets see…'Dear Mr. Dursley, I am please to inform you that the war is over! Harry Potter and the resistance have defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters. Your stay in America is coming to a close. Once all the residual danger has past, someone will come to bring you home to Surrey.
"This letter is an advance warning for you to get ready to leave; pack your things, quit your jobs, un-enroll your son in school, say your goodbyes, etc. Best wishes, Dedalus Diggle,'" read Harry aloud.
The others thought pensively for a few moments.
"Wait," began Hermione. "Didn't Hestia say something about two letters? What's the other one say?"
"Er, well," Harry shuffled the papers in his lap until he found another envelope, this one slightly heavier than the other one. "This is it. 'Dear Mr. Dursley, I regret to inform you that Harry Potter has died in his attempt to rid the world of the evil of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Even as I write this, I know of your distaste for your nephews world, but it is imperative for you to understand the gravity of the situation. Harry Potter was the worlds only chance for peace from this evil man's tyranny. Our only hope has died.'" Harry paused with wide eyes and looked around. The others were just as stunned as he was and Ron waved at him to continue.
"'Where does that leave us? Well, I will be heading back to London to help fight. The resistance will need all the help it can get.
"You and your family, however, will no longer be able to return to Surrey. It would be too dangerous, though you are welcome to try if you feel you must. Though know this, no witch or wizard will accompany you, and you will not be protected if you return.'" Harry paused and let loose a snort. The others looked at him quizzically.
"I can just imagine Uncle Vernon's face if he had read this. He'd be torn between jumping for joy at my death and enraged at the fact that he couldn't return to his house. I remember last year trying to convince him to leave, he kept changing his mind thinking it was all a ploy to get the house from him. This would have been awesome to see his face when he would have read this," Harry laughed.
"Harry, knock it off, finish reading it!" Ginny poked him in the ribs causing him to jump a little.
"Okay, okay. Ahem, 'Since both you and your wife both have been working,' What? Aunt Petunia? Working? I'd like to see that."
"Harry!" they shouted at him.
"Yeah, yeah. 'Since both you and your wife have been working, you should be able to live a fairly safe life. We've set you up with proper Identification papers and documents to make you citizens of the United States, if you so chose to stay.
"It is recommended that you stay in contact with a magical family so that you can get news of the war. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named isn't stopped by the resistance He will eventually move to conquer the rest of Europe and then move across the pond to America. If you stay in contact with a wizarding family you will know in advance what is happening.
The rest of the forms and documents provided with this letter only need to be signed by you, your wife, and son to be legal. Otherwise they are ready for use. Sorry for you loss, Dedalus Diggle.'" Harry snorted in contempt.
"Yeah, such a big loss I was. Vernon was so happy to see me gone he practically smiled at me before leaving." Harry shoved the letter roughly back into the envelope causing all the papers to collapse to the floor. Ginny set her hand on his arm and he calmed down enough to look up at her. He half smiled at her.
"Sorry, got a little irritated there," he mumbled.
"It's all right Harry, no one expects you to be happy about this whole thing. We just need to get them, and bring them home to Surrey, then you never have to see them again. That is, unless Dudley has a magical child, wouldn't that be justice," Ginny said with a giggle. Suddenly Harry perked up his eyes wide and a smile on his lips.
"I would pay a fortune to see that happen, justice is right," he said with a chuckle.
"Harry what else was in that envelope?" Hermione asked quietly. He pulled the pile of papers back onto his lap and set aside the contents of the envelope of his death. Obviously that one was trash now. He pulled Hestia's note forward and noticed another piece of paper in the bottom of the envelope. Pulling it out he saw his own name at the top. He read it to the others out loud again.
"'Dear Harry, I am the Secret Keeper for your family's location. Your family is located at 734 Perry Lane Middleton, Minnesota. The Floo will only work to bring you to Middleton. Precautions put forward do not allow travel directly into refugees homes. But the Floo will only allow you and your three friends. State firmly into the Floo, Middleton Magics and you'll arrive in a small shop. From there you will walk to your family's home. Any local can give directions to Perry Lane.
"Harry, I know you don't like praise rained down on you, so I'll leave it at this. I don't know how to thank you enough. You are the bravest man I know. Thank you and I hope we meet again someday. Dedalus,'" Harry finished quietly.
The others let Harry think for several minutes without saying anything. Dedalus' note had affected Harry in a way that no others had. Here was a man who had agreed to take Vernon Dursley into hiding, and didn't break a sweat about it calling Harry brave. The irony wasn't lost on Harry. Ron, muttering about being thirsty, broke Harry out of his reverie.
He began looking through the rest of the paperwork and took note of several documents with the Dursley's photographs on them, Driver's License's, Passports, Visa's, and then Birth Certificates and Citizen documentation's for all three. All of them had different names and birth dates on them. He laughed loudly when he saw that Dudley's name would have been Harold.
"Looks like we're going to need an owl," Ron said.
"Yeah, I wonder if John could tell us how to get to a Post office and a hotel," Harry said. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then John was walking through the door carrying a tray of drinks. Ron's eyes lit up.
"I heard someone say they were thirsty so I brought a few drinks, on the house. Did I hear you say you needed and owl? I got one you could use. Sylvester!" he called over his shoulder. A large black and white spotted owl flew into the room a few seconds later after drinks had been passed around.
"What do you mean you heard someone ask for a drink? All I did was say I was thirsty and I said it really quietly," Ron pondered. John laughed.
"I have a spell on this room to let me know if the Floo is used, or if someone needs me I hear them ask for something or my name being said. It's convenient since this is the only magical entrance in nine square blocks with an open Floo," the older man stated. He handed the owl to Harry as he spoke.
"Er, thanks for letting us borrow him. He's just going to Middleton, Minnesota and back to drop off a letter to let my relatives know someone's coming to get them soon. Then we also need to get to a hotel. Muggle or Magical it doesn't really matter," Harry said as he tied the correct letter to Sylvester's leg. Once the letter was tied on firmly the owl took off clipping John's head with its wings.
"Well, a hotel, hmm. I guess for a bunch a teens the Marriott or Hilton isn't necessary. A Days Inn would suffice I think. There aren't many magical hotels around here. Most of the magical folk in the U.S. can blend in with the non-magic folk pretty well so there isn't much call for magical hotels or many shopping centers. Only the most magical things like Owl Posts, Apothecaries, Wand shops, and the like are hidden.
"Minnesota's a fairly large state, not too large and not too small, so we have two magical areas. One is here near the Twin Cities and the other is up near Duluth called the Duluth District for Magic. You'll be wanting the Wabasha Wizarding Caves, here in the Cities, it's also the larger of the two," John stated. He stood up and walked to a bookcase and pulled down a large yellow phone book and flipped to the center.
"Here ya go, Holiday Inn. Here's the phone number and a phone. I'll let you make the reservations. I gotta check on some stuff up front and I think my band just arrived. See ya," John left the room in a trot ad shut the door behind him.
Harry looked at Hermione and smiled a pleading smile. She didn't know what he was doing until he glanced at the phone book.
"Do I have to do everything Muggle around here?" she asked in a huff as she pulled the hefty book towards her. He smiled sheepishly and handed her the phone.
"Thanks, Hermione. It's been years since I used a telephone," he replied as she dialed the number. She shook her head in exasperation.
"Hello?…My name's Hermione Granger, I'll be needing a room for two nights…Two beds…No…Er, cash?…Uh huh…Okay…" She pulled the phone away from her ear and covered the mouthpiece. "Harry, since we don't have a credit card, it'll cost us upfront, for both nights and a security deposit we'll get back after we check out. All right?" He nodded and she went back to the phone.
"Yeah that's alright…. Mhmm… No problem…Yes…Yes…No…Yeah that's fine…Um, four of us…Oldest? 20…" She listened for several moments nodding to herself. "Okay, that sounds great…$400? Okay…Yep…What time is check in?… Okay we'll be there in a little bit. Thanks!" She hung up the phone and turned and saw the three staring at her.
"Well, the room for two nights for four people is $200, but the extra $200 is for the damage deposit. We'll get that back when we leave, it's just so that if we damage anything, or use the Pay Per View they still get their money. Oh, and Harry, you're going to have to create a fake Driver's license for yourself as a twenty year old so we have a legal adult in the room. I figured you could use one of the Dursley ones, just change the picture and date of birth on it." Harry stared at her while she rambled on.
Soon the four were ready to leave. They had decided to take a taxi to the hotel, and then later to the Wabasha Caves for a visit. So they left the room and wandered out to the front to wait for the taxi to get there.
As they wandered up to the front of the club they heard a loud boom and clatter of metal and they all ran forward. As they rounded the corner they heard yelling.
"What the hell, Monster? If that drum is damaged, I swear to Jeebus your gonna get you ass kicked!" shouted someone from the stage.
"It's fine Jason, jeez! Keep your pants on," shouted someone next to the pile of drum at the bottom of the stairs. Harry and Ron shared a glance and wandered towards the stairs, the girls followed.
At the bottom of the stairs was the weirdest looking person they had ever seen. His hair was every color of the rainbow and spiked out like he'd been struck by lightening. He was wearing very tight, form-fitting red pants, two black studded belts, neither for the purpose of holding up his pants, and black army boots. A black shirt that said Rancid on it was partially covered by a black vest, which had silver studs covering the entire area over the shoulders to a third of the way down the back. Patches and safety pins covered any area that didn't have studs on it.
The man's face was the most peculiar. He had a ring coming from the inside and center of his nose, and two piercings on each side of his bottom lip. They wondered if this was the man called Monster, the name was very fitting.
He was bending over a pile of red metal drums, pulling parts out at random shaking his head.
As Harry and the others were coming down the stairs, another boy came from the stage at a trot.
"Well, what's the damage look like?" he asked. The pierced guy stood and held out a metal rod.
"I think the only part that's even slightly broke is this rod, and it's not bad. Should last the night, and we can fix it tomorrow at Jason's house. Hey," he said when he noticed Harry and the gang.
"Hello," Harry said. The others nodded to the men.
"Who are you guys? The headliners?" asked the guy they assumed was named Monster.
"No, we're just visiting John. We're actually just waiting for our taxi to get here, and thought we'd come down and see what's going on," replied Harry as he stepped forward. "I'm Harry, this is Ron, Ginny, and Hermione." He shook the men's hands as a few more band members wandered over.
"Cool, I'm Monster, this is Kyle, Jason, Mason, and Jeremy. And that loser over there is Harley, the band's big sister, and our photographer." A woman was wandering over with a fairly expensive looking camera.
"Jeez, thanks Monster, I can just feel the love," she replied sarcastically. She shook hands with Harry and his friends. "He calls me the band's big sister, but really I only own one of them. I'm the responsible adult today," she said while making finger quotes when she said adult.
"You guys got anything to do tonight? You should come to our show," said Jason. "Tickets are only seven bucks presale. It's going to be awesome."
Harry looked at the others and they shrugged.
"Okay, why not. When does it start?" he asked. The band members faces all lit up.
"Really? Wow, I didn't think that would work. Doors open at seven tonight, you want to buy your tickets right now?" Jason asked quickly. Harry agreed and he followed him to the stage and bought four tickets. As soon as he was done paying Jason the money, it had taken a minute since he was unfamiliar with the U.S. currency, Hermione called him saying the taxi was there. Harry turned to leave.
"Our band's name is X-Isle, thanks for buying the tickets!" Jason shouted after him. Harry waved and was out the door.
Ron was helping the driver load the bags into the trunk and the girls were sitting in the back with their purses on their laps waiting. Ron got in back and Harry rode up front with the driver.
Arriving at the hotel was uneventful until Harry realized that he hadn't fixed the ID for his face and fake age. After they had all gotten their luggage out of the taxi, Harry excused himself to the bathroom and waited for it to empty.
He locked the door and did the necessary magic quickly. He marveled at the fake ID he'd just created for a moment before placing it in his wallet and exiting the restroom. He walked up to the desk with Hermione and they signed and paid for the room quickly, and they all walked up to the fifth floor and found their room.
"Well, its two o'clock, what should we do until seven?" Ron asked. Ginny yawned loudly in response.
"Well, I guess that answers that. We should take a nap, jet lag will…tire us out really fast tonight since we didn't take naps in London," Hermione said slowly, pausing to yawn also. She giggled when she noticed Harry and Ron both stifle yawns and fail.
Four hours later, a restful afternoon was over and the four groggy teens were slowly waking up.
"Well, that was nice," Ron mumbled with his face full of Hermione's hair. Harry chuckled from across the room.
"Ginny, Ginny…time to wake up, Gin," he murmured in her ear. She groaned and rolled over. She pulled her arms up over her head and pulled the pillow over her face. This movement caused her shirt to pull up around her waist and expose her stomach. Harry grinned and evil grin at Ron and Hermione, who stifled their giggles. Harry raised his hands and wiggled his fingers before attacking her sides. She burst out laughing and squealing loudly as she twisted and squirmed. Harry was laughing and so were Ron and Hermione across the room.
"Stop, please! I'm awake, I promise! Stop, please, I have to pee!" Ginny squealed. Hermione shook her head and stood up. Harry stopped and let Ginny stand up. As soon as she was upright she ran for the bathroom, pushing Hermione out of the way. They all laughed and started getting ready.
They decided to stop and get fast food on the way to the club, so they dressed and prepared to leave.
"Harry can I see that fake ID of yours?" Hermione asked suddenly. He shrugged and pulled out his wallet.
"May I ask why?" he asked as he handed it to her.
"Sure, do you remember that conversation with Mr. Weasley at Grimmauld Place a couple weeks ago? Drinking age here is different than England. I'm going to make a few more fake ID's just in case for the rest of us. Not to drink," she added at Ron's hopeful look. "It's just in case there's an age limit at the club." Harry nodded and watched her copy the ID's then fix the pictures, names, and birth dates.
She handed them all their respective ID's and it was time to go. They wandered down to the lobby of the hotel and out the doors. They decided to walk to the McDonald's they saw down the street for dinner.
Harry ordered a Big Mac for him and Ron, while Hermione ordered Chicken Nuggets for herself and a Quarter Pounder for Ginny. They sat at the tables and Harry and Hermione chuckled and were amused by Ron and Ginny's first experience with fast food.
Ron swallowed his burger in a few bites then wanted to get another, before Harry pointed out the large fry and drink he had to finish. Ginny ate a few bite of her burger before declaring that she couldn't finish the grease ball and gave the rest to Ron. She ate her fry's and stole half of Harry's before he offered to buy her something else if she was still hungry. When they were finished they headed outside to find a taxi and headed back to Station 4.
When the taxi pulled up to the front of the club, they saw the band sitting out front on the patio furniture. Harry paid for the taxi while the others walked over.
"Hey! You actually showed up. Mason didn't think you would," said Kyle. Mason reached over and punched him in the arm. The dull thud made Ginny and Hermione wince.
"I didn't say that, I just said they probably only bought the tickets cuz they felt bad. Pity tickets," Mason said.
"Why would we do that?" asked Ron.
"'Cuz you didn't want to say no to us and hurt our itty bitty feelings. Happens all the time," replied Jeremy.
"Ha, you guys don't have feelings, herpes maybe, not feelings," said Harley as she wandered out of the club.
"Awe come on, Harley. That wasn't very nice, only Monster has herpes," replied Jason with a smirk. Monster reached over to punch Jason's arm, but Jason shifted at the last moment and he punched the metal table, hard.
"Ow! Son of bitch," he yelled after jumping up from his chair and prancing around shaking his fist.
"Yoink!" Harley said as she sat in his chair.
"Come on!" he said loudly when he noticed his chair had been taken.
"You vacated, and didn't oink your spot so it was free," she said smugly. Harry, Ron, and the girls shared a confused glance.
"Er, did you just say 'didn't oink your spot'?" asked Hermione. Everyone laughed loudly making the Londoners blush.
"Yeah, it's just an expression someone said one day and it stuck. It means he didn't claim the spot as his, so it was up for grabs," Jeremy said with a smile. Monster grumbled under his breath for a moment before smiling. He walked over to the table and climbed up into the surface and sat crossed legged.
"Best spot in the house," he said smugly, with a glance at Harley. Just then a man from inside the club stuck his head outside.
"X-Isle? Your up for sound check in a minute," he said before disappearing inside again.
"Looks like you have to vacate your spot again, Monster," Harley said with a laugh. The guys all laughed and stood up to go inside. Harley stayed sitting and gestured to Harry and his friends to sit.
"Music doesn't start for another half hour. Might as well stay out here, in the fresh air for as long as we can. It gets kinda stuffy in there after a while," she said. Harry and the others nodded awkwardly.
"So," began Ron slowly. "You're a photographer?" he asked.
"Kind of. I'm the only person they know with a decent camera that'll also do this for free," replied Harley. "Plus I get to go to shows for free also, since they buy my ticket in exchange for pictures."
"So they seem like a boisterous bunch," said Ginny with a smirk. Harley laughed hysterically.
"Boisterous is a good way of putting it. I like the term insane, crazy works also. You should see them on the party bus," replied Harley waving her fingers in circles around the sides of her head, mimicking craziness. They all chuckled.
"So, where from England are you guys from, if I may ask?" said Harley.
"London," said Hermione at the same time Ron and Ginny said, "Ottery St. Catchpole." Harry chuckled.
"We're kind of from all over. I was raised in Surrey, but we all went to the same private school in Scotland," he said.
"Harley!" came a shout from behind them. She looked over and smiled while she waved.
"Hey, come on over. The guys are inside doing sound check. This is my sister Jessie, and her fiancé Karson. Guys this is Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. They met the band earlier today and bought tickets." Introductions made and hands shook. "Do you guys know who else is coming?" Harley asked her sister.
"Well, Mandy might be coming, if she can get off work and a babysitter. I think some of dad's side of the family…" the sisters chatted for a while about who was still coming and who wasn't which gave Harry time to chat with Ron and the girls.
After a few minutes another group of people showed up, and shared greetings to the sisters before heading inside to "Get their drink on." Several more minutes went by while the sisters talked about work and school, before a head poked out the door and shouted that music was starting.
The seven of them stood up and wandered inside. Hermione's plan for the fake ID's was a good one, since they were technically underage they needed the ID's to get in. A tense moment for Hermione passed and they were inside just as the music was starting. Harley wandered off with her huge camera snapping pictures the whole time.
Hermione led the group to a table up front that was empty and had four chairs while Harry wandered to the bar and ordered four soda's. He got to the table just as Kyle introduced the song.
"Well, what a good turnout! We're X-Isle and we are happy to be here tonight! This first song is called The Other Side, enjoy!" he finished as the music started with a keyboard solo of Pachbell's Canon played by Jeremy, soon guitar joined in and then drums.
"Goodbye,
I really cannot stay
I wish that I could say
How much you mean to me.
Goodbye,
I have to go away.
I'll be back someday,
When we can both be free.
Goodbye,
Until we meet again
We'll have to wait till then
When the battle's won.
Goodbye,
If I could start again
I'd be with you my friend
Before our love is changed.
Dear friend,
They're keeping me too long,
But my love for you is still strong.
Though I miss you so-oh.
It's you,
That I wanna see.
Will you marry me,
When I come home?
Now you're walking down the isle
There's no doubt in your smile.
Now it's just me and you
Until you say I do-oo-oo."
The music faded out softly and the applause rang though the building.
"Harry, this was a good idea. I like this music," Hermione said loudly over the music. For a half an hour they listened to several good songs, once they saw others doing it they also got up and danced by the stage with several other people.
An hour after the band started they introduced the last song.
"Well, our time has nearly come to an and we only have one song left. Can you guess which one?" Kyle asked the audience. Several girls in front of the stage, including Harley, screamed Scooby Doo! Hermione burst out laughing while the others looked confused. The band picked up a fast paced beat and all five, plus about fifteen people in the crowd, started singing.
"Scooby Dooby-Doo,
Where are you?
We've got some work
To do now!"
Several beats later the short, funny song ended and the crowds were clapping loudly. The band all stood and bowed before turning and removing their equipment off the stage and helping the next band set up their equipment.
Harry and Ron waved to the girls to follow and they wandered outside for some fresh air.
"That was fun. But it's only eight thirty. I'm not tired after that nap earlier. What should we do?" asked Ron.
"I don't know, we don't really have anything else to do tonight," replied Harry.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," said Jason from behind them. "I'm having a bonfire at my house if you want to come. It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere, but we have a lot of fun. The whole band will be there plus a bunch of friends. Kyle's bringing a new couch for us to sit on so we're probably going to burn the older one."
"You're going to burn a couch? Why?" asked Ginny.
"Oh, well, we kind of recycle them first. When someone decides to get rid of a couch, they bring it to our field instead of the junkyard. We leave them outside by the fire pit for a few months until their too old and moldy then we toss them onto the fire. Last week someone sat on the older one and got stung by a hornet, so we know there's a nest in there. No one will sit on it now, so it burns tonight whether we get a new one or not. You want to come? We have a party bus going up to our place with a bunch of people," Jason said. He saw their looks of hesitation and chuckled.
"I'll let you think about it. We have to load the bus right now, so that gives you about fifteen minutes to decide. Okay?" he said as he turned and headed back inside.
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny deliberated for several minutes. Harry and Ron were all for a party. Ginny was neutral, a party sounded fine but it didn't matter if they went or not. Hermione was hesitant only because they didn't know these guys personally and the couch burning part sounded dangerous.
"Awe, Hermione, they said they do it all the time. Besides, we can always just Apparate away if it gets too rowdy," Ginny said convincing the older girl. Harry and Ron wandered inside to find Jason and tell him they'd come.
A/N: Again, thanks for not giving up on me! Well, I have been working my butt off on this story and I think my writers block might be over. I've been writing outlines like crazy and coming up with a few awesome Brainstorms. Like one I could actually hear the click of the light switch when the light turned on above my head! Tell me what you think of the band, I know them personally (though I changed names for the sake of my sanity) and I was asked to put them in here. It gives something for Harry and co. to do for a night, and my friends get a kick out of it. The band X-Isle is real, the music is copywrited, and they are on Myspace. They've got some good music. And they do play the Scooby-Doo song. The party bus is also real, same with the couch burnings. Tell me what you think cause this was really weird writing this chapter and the next couple. I was seriously thinking about leaving it out but my sister read it and told me I should leave it. If I get bad reviews, I'll re-write it. So please review!