Radio killed the TV-star

Summer was nearly over and well, Gus was not looking forward to it. Another summer gone, and soon the weather would get drab and miserable again. He liked the heat and the summer sun and spending time in Italy on the beach. Not that he was there now, unfortunately. He was working, and not the part of his job that he actually enjoyed. If he could only write music and perform that would much have his preference. But no, he'd had to do an interview, much to his dismay, and was now seated in the lounge of the wizard wireless headquarters, munching on an apple. He wasn't really in a rush to get anywhere, luckily, so he had some time to socialize. Besides, he'd heard that the wireless producers were working with some students with an interest in music so of course he'd gotten curious. Never hurt to meet potential new coworkers, right?

James had been hesitant to walk into the wireless headquarters despite signing up for the program they got going on. Every move he made somehow always ended up in the tabloids. The fact he was standing in front of the door tapping his foot was probably being written as he thunk; it was exhausting being the Potter heir. No matter what, all eyes were on him.

He spent more moment deliberating.

What would be the better headline?

Potter heir spotted at Wizarding Wireless Headquarters or perhaps Uh oh! James Potter is a no-show!

The answer was obvious. Finally, he entered the building grasping firmly and protectively onto his guitar case as the receptionist pointed him to the lounge. James tried to play it cool, but all of his nervousness decided to show itself within his eyes. It twinkled as if a thin film holding back a dam-full of tears was ready to burst. Nonetheless, James forced a smile on his face as he found himself in the same room as a certain bloke who was arguably just as famous as he was at Hogwarts: Gus.

That made him feel slightly better. Besides being someone who might understand, he made for some great eye candy. "Aye," James greeted with a wave. "Uh, so am I interviewing you or are you interviewing me? Are we both bein' interviewed?"

He didn't pay attention to details of today's appointment? He knew an interview of some kind was involved, but did it include Gus?

@Auguste Benito Cavani

Okay, the kid was hilarious. Not to mention that Gus had the feeling he was somewhat well known. He quite enjoyed reading whatever the tabloids wrote about himself and he wouldn't be surprised if the poor kid also ended up in them, as his face seemed oddly familiar. Gus chuckled slightly as he grabbed yet another apple and tossed it at the kid. It wasn't easy to grow up famous and even if that wasn't quite the case for Gus as his father had ensured their privacy after the death of his wife and Gus' mother, he'd known a thing or two about social graces. Fashion empires.

Gus shrugged. "Just had my interview, but decided to stick around. They mentioned a program to help new talent and all that. Not entirely sure what the plan is, but I do love sticking my nose into that sort of a thing." Though he himself wasn't exactly actively involved. He'd be the worst mentor a young celeb could have with his habit of getting himself in trouble. A lot of trouble too. Though perhaps if the young man grew up famous he wasn't as prone to ruin as the anonymous poor youngsters dreaming of fame.

Leaning back and lounging casually he ran his eyes over the young lad. "So are you like, famous already? I have this feeling I've seen you in the tabloids. I read them as entertainment, I must confess. Always fun to see how wild my reputation gets. I'm the worst example if you need a mentor of course, but I do enjoy jamming." There, offer on the table. Would at least give him something to do whenever he was in the UK for work for whatever reason. Plus, it never hurt to have more contacts in the music world, even if there was no promise the young man would end up in music.

Nodding, James scratched his head as his brain finally processed what the receptionist had told him.

"Er, yeah, I'm here for that new talent program?" he said as he found himself a seat in the lounge where a proper conversation could carry on. James sat the guitar case between his legs and adjusted himself in the chair until he was comfortable.

For a moment there, James had genuinely wondered if one of the most famous blokes currently in Hogsmeade somehow didn't recognize him. Apparently the famous from birth scent was still quite strong; he had never been able to shake it off in any meaningful way since his conception. "I had little choice in being known. I was born that way..."

Now the headlines were going to be Famous singer Gus and Potter heir spotted together and it was likely to end up completely twisted. Urgh!

He tapped the arm of the chair to distract himself from those thoughts.

"I've been trying to not end up in the tabloids for reputation reasons, so I don't need your help there." James licked his lips. Gus was good looking, but he couldn't ever be wholly attracted to or even think of dating another famous person. He wanted a quieter life. "But jamming? I'd love to jam!"

@Auguste Benito Cavani

Ah new talent that was surely going to have an easier time to get noticed, even if he likely had to work twice as hard to prove himself due to fame from birth. Back home, Gus also came from a family that was well known. While it had been an advantage in actually starting music as a career it had never been his actual first choice when it came to a career. Funny how life sometimes threw all ones plans out the window.

Gus chuckled slightly at the remark about not needing help getting in tabloids with a certain reputation. "Far smarter choice than mine. They were going to write shit about me regardless, so I just gave them things I didn't mind them writing. If they think they have the filth and the story they're not nearly as likely to keep digging or make their own narrative." He said with a playful little wink. It was, in his not entirely humble opinion, just an artistic form of misdirection. As long as they had a story they wouldn't feel as much of an urge to make up all sorts of insane rumours just to make sure he couldn't have saintly reputation that didn't sell as well. Besides, as a rockstar he hardly needed a squeaky clean reputation anyway.

"Tell me about your music. Instrument of choice? Genre? Do you want to write or perform or both?" Gus had considered writing and not actually taking to the stage but well, fame offered an easy distraction and his songs were far too personal for him to ever be able to sell them to another soul. They wouldn't get them right either, or not to his mind. It'd change shape into something that would suit them, rather than what he wanted it to be. So there really had only been one option. If he was going to ever make music his career, he'd have to be the one on stage with his songs.

Merlin, how James wished he had Gus' confidence to not be bothered buy what the press published. It was probably different in the position of a rock star. Rock stars could afford to be messy or subvert expectations. He, on the other hand, had been pressured from birth to live up to his father and his namesakes in some form. So, he mostly stuck to pranks after quitting quidditch as then-new thoughts weren't conductive to being an amazing seeker.

In a way, he sort of resented inheriting natural quidditch talent through both of his parents. It didn't feel earned unlike the musicianship he had been working on honing for the past few years. His cheeks paled as if he was going to be sick; oh the nerves. James always felt as if he was about sink down into the deep when his thoughts focused too much on Potter heir life. When Gus asked him about his music, those worries were allayed somewhat.

"I play the guitar," he began, clearing his throat, "I'm self-taught." James gripped the chair's arm. "I write my own songs. I, er, don't think I could consider myself a performer, yeah? I don't really perform, no..."

@Auguste Benito Cavani

Gus grinned broadly as the young man mentioned being self taught. "Ah, the hallmark of true investment! Though there's others too. I suppose I'd be selling my own passions short if I pretended it was only in case of being self taught." He admitted with a chuckle. He'd had plenty of lessons from his mother when it came to the piano and plenty of tutors for the guitar once he'd figured out the basics of that.

He tilted his head slightly as the man stumbled through his words a bit. "Do you even want to be a performer, or is it more about the music?" He asked, both sincere and curious. He'd never aimed to become a performer himself. He'd sort of rolled into that part nearly by accident. Or well, more by external forces but that was a different and far more loaded matter. His primary reason for music had never been fame or fortune. It had been about connection and love. Being on stage in front of a sea of people was absolutely addictive to him though, and at this point he couldn't imagine giving it up for anything. Not everybody had that though, and it was possible the young man just wanted to enjoy his music by himself. Very respectable to Gus, and something he most certainly could still relate to. Plenty of what he considered his best songs never got released because he simply didn't want to share them with the world. They were his, pieces of his soul he didn't want to lay out for the world to pick apart. Though he suspected that if he died they'd all be compiled into an album regardless of his wishes. Too much money to be made after all.

"My family ain't exactly musical. I didn't want my business gettin' in the papers, so self-taught, was, er, the way to go..."

James didn't know how much longer this could go on without being clocked. Gus knew he was familiar but didn't seem to know exactly who he was. The rest of the building was full of people who'd definitely recognize him by auburn hairs alone. That inevitability made it difficult to fully enjoy this perfectly normal conversation.

"It's more 'bout the music... I'd, er, like to perform, but I dunno if I could handle the attention..."

@Auguste Benito Cavani