[Discontinued] When Shadows Collide, The Game Begins

Chapter Seven

Harry woke up at 6 on the dot. Even though school didn't start for nearly two hours, he got up immediately and got changed into his uniform. It took him a while to figure out how to tie his tie, but once he did he ran out of his room and into the kitchen. John and Sherlock weren't up so he ran into Sherlock's room. The last thing he expected to see was both of them fully dressed tangled in each other's arms on top of the duvet. He didn't think too much about it and instead woke them by yelling rather loudly.

"Wh-what?" said John. 

"I've got school today!" exclaimed Harry. Both men sat straight up. They looked at each other, slightly confused. Then they groaned and rubbed their heads. 

"I had way too much to drink last night," said John. Sherlock nodded in agreement. They both stood up, struggling to keep their balance as the hangover set in. 

"Well, we should get ready then," said Sherlock.

"Okay," said John. He kissed Sherlock on the cheek and left the room. Sherlock stood there, dumbstruck for a few seconds, then he came back to his senses and told Harry to get himself some breakfast. Harry obliged happily, thinking about the interesting people he was going to meet today. As he reached the kitchen, he saw there was a box of Coco Pops on the bench. There was a note attached. 

Good luck with your first day. I thought you might need some extra energy.

- Mrs Hudson.

Harry smiled. He wasn't allowed chocolate cereal very often because it was bad for him, so he poured himself a massive bowl. It almost overflowed when he added milk. After carefully transferring the bowl to the table, he ate it all as fast as he could, making sure that he didn't get drops of milk on his uniform. Once he was done, he washed his bowl and grabbed his backpack. Inside was a couple of exercise books, a pencil case, and a Nancy Drew book. Harry loved the young detective and all of her books. Upon reading the first one, he had begged Sherlock and John to buy him the rest. They gave in eventually and he had been reading at least one a week.

"Hurry up!" Called Harry as he sat in the hallway. Sherlock and John weren't ready yet and he was getting worried. The last thing he wanted to be was late on the first day. Finally, Sherlock and John emerged from their rooms. They both took some paracetamol then John made Harry his lunch. The left at 7:00, leaving half an hour to complete the six-minute walk to St Mary's Bryanston Square Primary School. It took all of Harry's self-control to not sprint ahead of John and Sherlock. Instead, he held Sherlock's hand and walked beside them.

"Hey, Dad, is John going to be my other dad?" He asked. Both men went bright red.

"I don't know. You'll have an answer in a few months," Sherlock replied. He and John looked at each other then quickly looked away. The rest of the walk was in silence, no-one really feeling the need to talk. 

They arrived outside of the gates a few minutes later. The school hadn't actually opened yet, so they waited around for someone from the school to come. Several more sets of parents arrived, all with their own toddlers. Several people congratulated them on raising a child. Sherlock and Harry held back laughs as John tried to explain that he wasn't actually Harry's dad, but he could no longer use the argument that he wasn't gay, or that he and Sherlock weren't together, as both of those things had been proven false. 

Finally, the gates opened and the new parents were lead to one of the school assembly halls. There were around a hundred chairs set up with some space left on the floor for the kids to sit. The seats were quickly filled up. Harry was one of the first children to sit at the front of the hall. The others took a long time to separate from their parents. There was quite a bit of crying. Harry sighed and began to deduct the children and parents around them. The couple closest to him had a large white dog and a black cat. Neither of them wanted to be there. A child sitting a few metres away was extremely spoiled and very overweight. The blond mop of hair was very familiar, then it dawned on Harry. He scanned the crowd, his face filled with fear, but he couldn't see the Dursleys. He looked back at the child and saw that it wasn't Dudley, just some other kid. Harry relaxed. He was safe.

Once the crowd had settled down the Headmistress stepped on stage.

"Welcome, new students and their parents. Here at St Mary's Bryanston Primary School, we believe in hard work, integrity, courage, curiosity, and compassion." The lady droned on and on, Harry zoned out after doing a quick deduction. She was in her late thirties, with two, no three, young children and a golden retriever. She was having an affair with . . . Harry looked around the room . . . the deputy headmaster. Harry stifled a yawn and decided this would be the perfect time to work on his Mind Palace. At the moment it was just an unfurnished 221b, but that didn't have enough rooms, so he was redesigning it to better fit his purpose. 

Harry was so engrossed in his work, he didn't notice that the assembly had ended until all the kids around him began to stand up. He quickly followed suit. The parents were told to go home and to pick up the kids at three or twelve depending on whether they were doing a full day or a half-day. Harry saw that all the other kids were being led out of the hall and made a quick decision. He sprinted through the crowd of adults and ran into John and Sherlock.

"See you later Dad, John," he said while hugging them. Then he sprinted back to meet up with the other kids. They were led into a large, colourful classroom and the day began.