Twins: A Different Life

Stupidly Advanced Magic and Dark Arts

When Lily went in to wake her son on Saturday morning, she was surprised to find him in a meditative trance at the centre of his bed. She thought it was unusual for him to meditate so well at such a young age; Rosalie had struggled with it despite Lily's efforts to teach her. This was also why she held little hope for teaching Rosalie Occlumency.

Lily wondered if Harry had any mental shields in place. When she was younger, she had instinctively built some of her own without realizing what they were. Only when Severus explained everything to her did she understand what she had achieved.

She quietly left the room, feeling it was best to leave him as he was. Lily knew that Harry didn't want to be there, and she had tried to convince James to let him be. She suggested that he might eventually come around if they left him to his own devices and offered silent support. While she understood that the likelihood of that happening was slim, it seemed a better option than what James was currently doing.

Harry realized his mother was in the room, but he appreciated her giving him space. He wanted to finish his testing without any interruptions. Only after he had been through every part of his mind did he rise and go down to breakfast. He discovered that, unfortunately, breakfast was not going to be served in the Great Hall.

The food was delicious, clearly prepared in the Hogwarts kitchens, and Harry was more than happy to eat in silence. He murmured his thanks to Lily for breakfast, knowing she would be the only one to remember him, before retreating to his room to study his creation.

He was confident in his knowledge and certain that the potion was flawless, but brewing in front of a new audience added some pressure. He visualized himself making the potion from memory, carefully recalling every step he took during the brewing process and focusing on the details.

Before long, Harry heard the call for lunch and smiled slightly; he knew he would be escaping soon.

"Rosie has extra training this afternoon. I would invite you to join, but it's an advanced level, so you probably wouldn't understand," James said, his tone almost sympathetic.

Harry raised an eyebrow, stifling his amusement at the comment. However, it gave him the perfect excuse to disappear for the entire afternoon, and he intended to take it.

"I'll be on my way so I don't confuse my average-sized brain with the advanced training," Harry said, his voice lined with Sarcasm that went way over James' head.

He got to his feet and left, slipping through all of his shortcuts to get him back to the dungeons as quickly as humanly possible. He walked into the common room and released a sigh of utter relief, dropping down on the leather sofa next to Draco with as much grace as an elephant, smiling slightly.

"What has you so happy? I'd have thought you would have been angry because of the Potters." Draco inquired.

"Oh, I am, but my happiness at seeing green again is overriding that, " he answered, making the blond look at him in confusion.

"What?"

"I have literally never seen so much red and gold in one room." He said seriously, "It was everywhere."

"That bad?"

"I honestly think there would be less red and gold in the Gryffindor common room. It was so bright that I was starting to worry I might become colour-blind and see nothing but red and gold from now on." Draco snorted at Harry's dramatics and shook his head as Harry laughed.

"Don't stay here too long if you want to see Uncle Sev, anyway."

"Right, I should get going now. After, I will hide out here for a bit longer before torturing myself by going back." Harry waved at Draco and slipped through the portrait that led to Professor Snape's office, being told to enter when he knocked.