Two for One

Chapter 46: Scheduling

Tom and Gellert's schedules are rather tight in Hogwarts.

In the morning they review any separate economical endeavours. It's mostly gotten big enough that they're managing people rather than stock like when they were young. Far from hunting down and reselling rare books at a higher price or reinventing future discoveries, past even the basic outsourcing of mass production to price others out of the market.

The boys have moved on now, they have better, bigger things to do that are more than just fast money in hand because they have monetary backing -that doesn't come from the Unspeakable and thus string-free- to care about longer plans, more refined and complex endeavours, to sit their resources in shares and to reinvest in themselves because if you want something done right you do it yourself.

Some of their money is nebulous assets in the form of patents, some physical properties over the globe, but most liquidated and being shuffled around as millions in galleons, dollars, yuan, euro – you can't have power without knowledge, but knowledge is nothing without money.

Credence comes past Slytherin and Gryffindor to collect them for breakfast then they make their way to separate classes, absolutely useless time spent sitting through it all, though the two boys do try to organise it so they review mail and write correspondences during classes along with completing any assignments and homework – often handing it in before the class even ends.

They duck out during breaks in their timetable and mealtimes to eat together in the room of requirement (because the librarian won't let them in with food) while Tom and Gellert do their actual further studies in various masteries.

Normally, Credence runs the mail up to the owlery and does his homework under their supervision. If needed, Credence runs around fetching them books from the library so they can just write down the titles as references for their assignments without actually bothering to read anything. He also gets them snacks and even full meals if they skip any to duck out and catch an important conference or meeting.

After classes Gellert and Tom disappear with portkeys to go back to their research labs, and eat dinner there over discussion of combined economical endeavours, while Credence practices using his ash for spells in an empty classroom and doesn't bother pretending he needs to eat.

All three arrive just in time for a mirror call with Harry before curfew, then bedtime where Tom and Gellert review any scientific papers and edit their reports.

Tom and Gellert are being constrained by the six hours needed for classes, especially when they've just kicked off some larger projects now that they're back into it after the short break they took with Harry in mind.

They're much more used to being able to slip out of the house at any time and being able to go to the Unspeakable (or even Albus) if they need extra supplies or a reference – being at Hogwarts is smothering them.

Two months in and they're burning out mentally, just so tired and bored in classes, frustrated and annoyed with other students getting in their way wanting to be friendly, going through assignments while spacing out thinking about their research.

Tom gets an assignment back with an Exceeded Expectation instead of an Outstanding like always and nearly throws a fit because the charms professor marked him down only because his ideas were 'interesting but not yet feasible and thus not applicable to the essay'.

Tom is literally working at the cutting edge of the magical transport field - what he put in that essay is ten years out of date and still the professor had the gall to mark Tom down!

Tom needs to call Harry on the mirror to calm himself before he does something he'll need an alibi for.

"Come home tonight," Harry soothes. "The snakes have missed you. I'll make dinner while you boys play war in the backyard."

"I don't need to," Tom grumbles, still pacing in an empty classroom shattered around him because he had to let off some steam, the mirror in hand.

"I'd like it if you did anyway," Harry offers.

Tom stops and frowns. "Fine. Only because the snakes miss me."

"Of course," Harry agrees easily. "You need me to open the floo or should I send the fourth child to bring you through the shadows?"

"We can sneak through the floo," Tom allows. "I want pasta."

"Pasta it is," Harry says with a smile.