Anthony meant to write his parents, he really did. But it seemed that every moment of his time was taken. He woke up around 11. After that, his day was a mixture of writing and practicing with his friends, researching musical styles in the form of late-night concerts, and hanging out on King's Rd talking to different people. Reggie's roommates, Nigel and Davey, were in and out at all hours of the day and night. One time Nigel came home at 4 in the morning, slept all day, then promptly went out again without saying a word to anyone. The flat itself should have felt cramped with 6 people, but they made it work. Their schedules were so varied, it was rare that everyone was there at the same time. The three weeks were gone before Anthony even knew it.

The day of the audition, Bertram had gone out to get food, so Anthony and Mac sat around listening to Nigel boast about different celebrities he had almost encountered.

"I swear I saw David Bowie getting into a cab once," Nigel was saying.

"Lunchtiime!" sang Bertram, grandly entering the room and dropping a couple of bags of chips, a sandwich, some cookies, and a bag of popcorn.

"That's it?" asked Nigel.

"That's what 5 quid gets you, yeah," shot back Bertram.

Mac grabbed a handful of each and started shoving it in his face. Davey came in the room, yawning and stretching. "I replaced the lightbulb in the bedroom with the one in the bathroom. This came for you," he announced, dropping an envelope in Mac's food and grabbing some chips.

"It's from my parents," said Mac around mouthfuls. "They're disappointed and worried, but still love me and hope I come home soon."

"Awww," teased Nigel, "how sweet. Mine told me never to come back," he added matter-of-factly.

"So you have everything ready for today, right?" asked Davey.

"I think so," replied Anthony. "We're doing an original song, which we've been practicing. We have all our equipment tuned."

"It's going to be fine," Mac said.

"Where's Reggie?" asked Bertram. "I thought he'd be here by now."

"He knows how important this is," said Nigel. "I'm sure he'll- what is that! I've never seen anything like it, have you?"

He pointed to the window, where a large owl was perched. The boys could see it was holding 3 envelopes.

"Um, nope," said Bertram. "I'll go see if we can take a closer look."

He quickly grabbed the envelopes, and stuffed them in his pocket while the owl flew away. "Anthony? Mac? I have a few last-minute lyrics changes to run by you."

He ushered them past a confused Nigel and Davey into their room and closed the door.

"It's our Hogwarts letters, innit?" asked Mac.

Bertram nodded and handed them out. There was the list of everything they would need for the next year.

Anthony remembered the rush he'd felt the first time he'd gotten his letter. That feeling was nothing like this one, which sank to the bottom of his stomach like a stone. He looked around. "What do you all think?"

Bertram frowned. "James and Sirius and everyone will be gone next year," he said slowly. "And if it's only going to get worse like you say, I don't think I could take being bullied any more."

"I don't know what I want ta do with my life," Mac said. "If I knew I wanted ta be an Auror or summat like that, it'd be nae question, but I'm havin' a lot of fun with ye lads. The band's the best thing that's happened ta me. I'm no slouch on the guitar now either, I mean I'm no Jeff Beck a course, but if this is goin' ta go somewhere, I'd like ta see it through."

Anthony nodded slowly. "I agree with Bertram. I always liked drumming better than school, it's what I'm good at. I'm going to try to See, give me a minute."

He closed his eyes and tapped on the table, thinking hard about his question: should they go back to Hogwarts?

He saw the same sign as before: "Hogsmeade trips cancelled." A group of students in Slytherin robes strutting down the hallway, laughing. A crying girl being consoled.

"It doesn't look good," he said finally. "It looks like the wizard war is only going to get worse. If we nail this audition, we can make records for the Muggles and maybe find a way to get on the wireless. If we fail, well, I guess we'll have to take it from there."

Everyone nodded their agreement.

Reggie was out the rest of the day. Everyone piled themselves and their gear into Davey's van, which boasted a large picture of the grim reaper playing a guitar, and headed over to The Black Light.

Mr. Gerent met them at the door, wordlessly smoking a cigarette. He watched as the boys anxiously unloaded and set up. He sat down in the front row and folded his arms, waiting.

Anthony looked around at the seats, empty except for Nigel and Davey in the back. He gulped nervously, then looked around at Mac and Bertram. They gave him small, nervous smiles.

"1, 2, 3-"

Just then, Reggie burst through the door. "I'm here! He called out. I'm here. Sorry!"

"This is an audition," growled Mr. Gerent. "Sit down and shut up."

Bertram smiled at Anthony, which gave him renewed vigor. They were going to be ok.

"1, 2, 3, 4.."

They played one of their original songs. It was anger at the state of the world, something needed to be done about it. Each one had a short solo to show off their skills, then came back together in a crescendo. Mac subtly worked in some magical lighting effects, growing brighter and darker. The song stopped suddenly, to convey what would happen if nothing was done.

"This is the world we live in, this is the world we live in, this is the world we…"

A pregnant pause, the boys breathing heavily.

The small crowd was on their feet, cheering and clapping wildly. The venue was small, but well-packed. They'd had a good turnout for their first gig. Nigel, Davey, and Reggie were in the front row, of course, while Mr. Gerent stood backstage, smoking and silently nodding his approval.

"Thank you!" said Anthony. "For our next song, we're going to play a cover. This is the song that got me into drumming."

When the concert was over, Reggie gave Bertram a big hug, then shook hands with the others. "That went great!" he said. "Not that I really expected any different, of course."

A couple of girls came up and asked for their numbers, which Anthony gladly gave.

Mr. Gerent walked over and shook hands with them, then handed out some money. "Your share, as promised," he said. "Good job, lads. I'll be in touch for the next one."

The boys took their share and celebrated with an actual meal. "To success!" Anthony said. "To fame and glory!" said Mac. "To changing hearts and minds," said Bertram.

"Cheers!"