the climb ((one-shot))

This is it. This is the most important day of James' life at this very point. His hands were nervously clenched into a fist slightly sweating as he made his way into the building of the record label.

Going to the receptionist's desk, he said to the lady working there, "I'm here for an appointment."

"Name?" she asked looking up at James not impressed by who he was.

"Potter."

"Go up to the third floor. Third door to the right."

"Thank you, ma'am." He gave a sheepish smile and waved as he made his way to the elevator to get to the third floor.

Finding himself alone in the elevator, James whistled to the tune of the Celestina Warbeck song being used as muzak.

To say James was nervous would be an understatement.

The bell ringed and the doors of the elevator opened. It was time.

He made his way to the office of the record label's executive with the back-up cassette in hand and his guitar case he had forgotten to grab before making a brief stop at Wizbucks.

James opened the door and entered the board room quietly having not expected to see so many investors and all sorts of business people. This felt far more pressuring than the Ministry Ball performance, but he had to keep it together,

He needed to be free from expectations he didn't want. This could end them.

He took the free seat and slid the cassette tape across the table. "Here's the demos in case the 45 didn't arrive in the owl post. I also brought my guitar in case you all wanted more of a impromptu showcase."

It's a good thing they weren't expecting him to be very formal due to his generation.

Watching them whisper to each other, he felt totally out of the dark. Were all meetings to possibly sign a new act like this? James saw as the man put the cassette tape in the docking station.

"Am I correct that this cassette contains the tracks, according to the sleeve, 'I Am A Clown' and 'Rainmaker' on Side A while Side B has 'Point Me In The Direction of Albuquerque' and 'Roller Coaster?'" the man asked before turning the player on.

"You sure are!" James nodded at the man giving him a small smile. Time to hope they'll like what they hear.

Music began escaping from the cassette for everyone in the vicinity of the meeting room to hear.



All he could hear was whispers, so he decided to break a bit of the ice by saying, "I promise it gets less depressive."

There came a tad bit of a chuckle. It was easy to tell they were much too focused on the music.

James had nothing left to do but keep hoping for the best.

Then came "Rainmaker" which seemed to have immediately drawn their attention at the first note. Was this a good sign? He had no clue, but he hoped Side B would really be the one that would get him signed. He was most proud of "Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque" if he had to choose.



He honestly never would've thought that trying to get signed to a label could be so quiet. The silence was deafening, and he had no possible clue on whether or not it was a good thing in his case.

"Before we switch to the next side, I just want to say that I'm most proud of 'Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque' as a vocalist and lyricist."



For whatever reason, this ended up being the song that made people accidentally stumble into the meeting room. Although, to him, it was a small sign, it felt incredibly validating as a musician.

James could always hear some of the investors, at parts, sing along to the chorus. Guess he might really have what it takes to make it in the industry with the proper support.

Finally, "Roller Coaster" began playing. It was the most poppy song out of the sampler James had put together for the executives to hear. It was also a song James put together not that long ago as he had the composition drafted for a while; it didn't take him until recently to find the words to tie it all together,



Following the end of the tape, all James could hear was silence and some murmurs as they all discussed with some going to the side trying to determine his worth.

Out of nowhere, the CEO walked in after listening from outside the door and walked over to James with all the paperwork in hand. With James' family name and his competence as a singer, the CEO figured big money can be made.

"How would you like to sign with the finest of all record labels in the wizarding world?"

This is it. He made it.

"I'd be honored to."