A/N: As far as this chapter goes I will be referring to Harry as James until he returns to Hogwarts or I'll state otherwise. I don't own anything.

Music Magic

Chapter 3

Emporium

It didn't take a lot of convincing to get James to agree to guest star at the Young Prodigies Emporium. Director Warner, Melissa and Mary thought it was a fantastic idea for James to reintroduce himself to the musical world. Preparations were made and meetings were set up for music, costume, interviews and rides.

The last half of practice that day had gone in a whirlwind of activity. Many of the musicians were in charge of workshops and booths and were happily giving James advice in various fields whether he wanted it or not. He hadn't been able to apply to the Emporium when he was younger as it had been harder for him to get away from his relatives for days at a time when he was younger.

As the beginning of the Emporium rolled around, James sat nervously in the back of the Limousine that had been rent out to him for the rest of the week. It wasn't the fact that he was going to be the center of attention but the fact that there was the possibility that someone was going the recognize him.

"You ready?" Mary asked. She was wearing a midnight blue dress that shimmered lightly. This was no small deal. James himself was wearing a new partial suit. Black pants, white dress shirt and a silver-grey tie, that Mary said brought out his eyes. The limo glided to a stop outside of Alexandria Plaza and the flashes of cameras could be seen through the window. This was a red carpet event.

They hurried inside. It was an amazing set up; the entrance hall was the lobby of a high class hotel, complete with several crystal chandeliers. People dressed formally were milling about, greeting each other. Inside the convention hall was another story. The entire hall was filled with booths and chairs all in front of a massive stage.

"Go mingle." said Mary, giving James a push and walking off in the opposite direction. He rolled his eyes at her and wandered down a row of booths. Most of them were instrumental booths; violins, clarinets, flutes, guitars, etc. James recognized many faces as people he had played with before, but none of them took a second glance at him.

He approached the booth that was showcasing pianos, there was a small mob of people gathered around, watching someone play. A jolt of familiarity ran through him as he saw the female pianist's long, curly, not quite bushy, brown hair. She was playing a complicated waltz for the avid listeners, and took a couple of requests. There was a tall blond boy who kept making eyes at the girl, giving off a slightly repulsing aura and kept requesting love songs. After one more call for an encore, she politely declined and left the booth. James turned to go the opposite direction. She must have seen him watching her because she called out to him.

"Wait!" He stopped and turned to her. "I wanted to thank you. Most would have, well… you saw Eugene. So thank you."

"No problem." He started to turn away but she caught his arm.

"Walk with me?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder. Eugene was lurking behind a bass nearby. He nodded and accompanied her. "I'm Hermione Granger by the way, and you are?"

"James. Just James." She looked at him, evaluating his answer, she seemed to accept it.

"Well then, Just James, I got to say that you look remarkably like a certain violin prodigy, who's rumored to show up." James' eyes grew wide. "Don't worry." She winked at him, "I won't tell. Anyways, I'm going off to see a few friends and I'm bringing you with me, so don't try to fight." She left no room for argument.

"But you just met me." James countered, slightly annoyed at being hauled off through the thickening crowd.

"Yes, well. I'm returning the favor. Plus, you seem like the anti-social type…" She trailed off and gave him a look.

"What?" She looked away.

"Nothing. It's just, well, you remind me of someone."

"Enlighten me."

"I have a friend from boarding school. You have the same…charisma, the thing that draws people to you. He is always trying to hide even though he's relatively well known. You're the same." She concluded. "By the way we're here."

They ended up at a table surrounded with other teenagers between the ages of eleven and seventeen, James recognized every single face there.

Katie Bell, Dean Thomas, Colin Creevy from Gryffindor; Rose Zeller, Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw; Hannah Abbot, Tracy Goodlight, Zachary Cooker from Hufflepuff.

They all greeted Hermione warmly. "Hey, Hermione, who's the guy?" Zachary asked.

"Oh, this is James. He saved me from Eugene." She said with venom in her voice and the rest of the group nodded sympathetically. She introduced James to her group of classmates. "I meet them all at Handover's School for the Gifted and Talented. Some of them are in my year and others are from the year above or below. We've all been coming since we were old enough. Rose keeps hoping to run into famous violin players." James smiled at the young brown haired girl holding a viola. They all lapsed into talking about menial things like the teenagers they were, but was most prevalent however, was the topic of the guest musician and the emporium in general. James enjoyed listening to the others, but was slightly worried.

"You're awfully quiet over there." Katie Bell remarked, leaning over to him. He shrugged, "I'm not much of a talker."

"I can tell. I've never seen you here before, any reason?"

"I got talked into it."

"AH!" The two then lapsed into silence.

The day wore on and soon it was time for the symphony to warm up and practice before the concert. James sat on the apron of the yet to be occupied stage, his violin in his lap. He was reflecting on where his life was taking him now. He could never go back to being Harry Potter now in the Muggle world, something that he realized he was quite happy about. That meant that after he graduated he had somewhere to go, a job to do. Without having to rely on the pesky Ministry in order to have a job. Granted being an Auror was still his dream job but that was it, just a dream. He had enough of bigotry and the scapegoating and the people clambering to get to him. All for something he didn't do.

He'd seen that he muggles were less boisterous when it came to celebrities and the abuse in the news was also less. He was more likely to live a quiet life playing and touring then living in the Wizarding world with a ministerial job. A mix of magic and muggle, maybe he'd bring Hermione in on his secret. That would be perfect.

Unbeknownst to him, a small boy had wondered into the stage area and was watching him.

"Hello?" he finally said, breaking James out of his thoughts. James looked up to see him standing next to him. A boy about nine years old with a mop of curly black hair that bounced as he plopped himself down next to James and looked up at him with large honey colored orbs.

"I'm Darren!"

James was slightly shocked, but introduced himself none the less.

"I'm James."

"You looked lonely so I came so you wouldn't be so lonely." The boy, Darren, smiled widely. "You play violin? That's totally awesome!"

James smiled at that. "Yes, since I was four. What do you play?"

The younger boy's face lit up. "I play the piano and the guitar and the ukulele, it's like a mini guitar, so cool, and the drums and I can sing and I can act. I wanna be an actor when I grow up. My mom says that I can be whatever I want if I put my mind to it. She's the greatest! But she won't let me learn to play to violin or the cello until I'm in fifth grade. Do you play anything else?"

The innocence of the younger boy was astounding and James wished he could remember the time he was so care free, but it wasn't meant to be.

"I've been trying to learn the piano, but it hasn't been going so well."

"I can teach you and you can teach me to play the violin." The boy looked up at James with wide eyes while gripping the edge of the apron and swinging his legs.

"I wish it were that easy."

"I'm a quick study. That's what my piano teachers says. Please."

James sighed, "Fine. One quick lesson, just one."

The boy nodded vigorously, his curls falling into his face. James showed him how to hold the violin and bow and where to but his fingers. The violin was a little large for younger boy but that didn't seem to dissuade him. An hour later, the sounds of 'Mozart's Melody' could be heard. It wasn't the scratchy sound most beginners had but it sounded more like and intermediate player had been playing it. Darren stood there on stage playing the violin, his tongue poking out slightly in concentration and his eyes glued to the finger board. He drew to a finish and bowed dramatically. James clapped politely.

"Very good."

"That was so awesome! You're really cool!"

"Thank you."

Darren handed James back his violin with a toothy grin. "No, thank you. See you're happy now!"

A serious look passed over the young face, "You're not alone, 'cause you're here with me." Young golden, hazel eyes locked into older, silvery, emerald orbs.

James smiled at him again, before he realized the young boy had indeed captured his heart.

"I know it's important to gather contacts as a musician." James said as he took a piece of blank staff paper from his pocket and scribbled something down. "Here is my number, if you are ever in England again and need recommendations. Also once you are old enough send me a CD of your works and I can find you a company, if you don't like any of the offers you are getting and I can sponsor you. I hate to see such young talent go to waste on such a clever and genius boy as you."

James handed him the slip of paper.

James Evans

Violinist

(20) xxxx xxxx

He had wished someone had done that for him and now he had the opportunity to do it for someone else.

Darren looked at the sheet of paper before folding it up and putting it in his pocket. "Thanks!" he said cheerfully.

"You are very welcome. I have to go but you take care of yourself." The young boy nodded, gave him another smile and a wave.

"Thank you." James added, before slipping out the door. That was the first and last time either of them would see each other.

A/N: Also, sorry for the late up date, Quidditch Practice and studying for a placement test in a language I haven't taken in a year and a half has been cutting my time in half. Finally, I don't own Harry Potter, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Alexandria Plaza or anything you recognize from the real world. Also I brought in a guest star, he's kind of easy to guess if you know who I'm talking about. I won't use his last name because technically you aren't supposed to use real people but this brain wave wouldn't leave me alone and I've already worked it in to the rest of the story. So, HA! Don't forget to Read and Review, please!

Music used in Ch. 3:

Piano:

Chopin's "Minute Waltz"

Violin:

Mozart's "Mozart's Melody" (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)