Debut
With four hands piled on top of each other, faint cheers coming from the audience above, James takes a deep breath and shouts the soon to be infamous Marauders chant.
“I solemnly swear,”
“I am up to no good!” his members shoot back.
Jittery, sweaty, and all dolled up, the group runs up to the side of the stage, ready for their big entrance. The crowd's cheers grow louder and louder as (G)LAMM finishes their song onstage.
Debuting two groups in one day is a risky move for an entertainment company, Dumbledore, the CEO of Gryffindor Entertainment said that the mass of fans they've worked hard gathering on socials and events for both groups made the audience even more packed and excited than it normally would be for a debut performance.
James does his pre show rituals—shaking each hand and foot eight times, jumping up and down ten, and trilling his lips for twenty seconds. Then, and only then, does he look through the curtains at all the people he's about to perform in front of. Strong, sturdy hands grab his shoulders from behind him.
“Are you ready for this?” Remus asks him. He definitely waited until after James’ rituals before approaching him on purpose. He's just that nice, James thinks to himself. He turns and faces his bandmate.
“I was born ready.”
Remus smiles and stalks over to a zoned-out Sirius before slapping his butt and running away.
“Ayah!” Sirius whisper-yells, “respect your elders!”
Remus blows a kiss in Sirius’ direction and looks towards center stage.
“They're almost done,” his demeanor shifting from playful to stone cold serious.
“Already??”
The three boys look back at their fourth member, who has been quietly pacing for the past minute at least.
“Can't they play another song? I don't feel ready!”
“They don't have another song, Peter,” Sirius says, rolling his eyes, “at least not yet.”
“Come on Pete,” James smiles and him on the shoulder, “we're gonna be awesome!”
And with that, the four girls’ song ends, the audience cheers loudly, and (G)LAMM take their bows before running offstage.
Lily is off first and hugs Remus tight.
“Oh my god,” she says, “I think I might pass out.”
“You did great, Lils,” James says, “you all did.”
“Good luck, Lovies,” Alice says, squeezing Peter's shoulder in hopes to make him a little less green, “you'll do great.”
James takes in Mary by the stairs, comforting Marlene about some unnoticeable mistake she made, and prays to whoever out there that his boys wouldn't crack under the pressure.
“And now, singing their debut song, Hidden Map, give it up for The Marauders!” The emcee shouts. The four boys get in their positions and James is quaking from both excitement and nerves as he hears the crowd (which they will eventually realize is actually pretty small) erupt in applause.
This is it, James thinks, this is the beginning of everything.