Chapter SEVENTEEN

A Relaxing Third Year

…

Harrison and Sirius were having a blast in the states. The two houses they were visiting, were both large with 6 bedroom and 7 bathrooms on roughly 10 acres of land. Both needing a bit of work to them, The New York House, just needed a few changes made, to suit Harrisons needs and taste, whereas the California house needed a facelift and a handful of small renovations. It is having been empty for more than a decade; some of the decor seemed to be straight out of the 70s and made them both laugh and cringe at the same time.

While they were still in New York, Sirius had made the decision to extend their time there by another week, since he could see how much his son loved it and having just spent a month on a beach in Madagascar only 6 months earlier, they weren't too upset about missing any more time in the California sun.

One of Harrison's favorite daily routines was going on self-made tours of the city. His dad had gifted him with a wrist cuff as an early birthday gift, that was spelled with tracking and protection charms. With it and making it a rule that Harrison always carried his mirror on him, allowed the teenager to freely roam the city without a chaperone.

He had run the paths of Central Park numerous times, gone shopping in the shops along his travels - of which were made by just picking a random direction and walking to see where it took him, and even made a stop at a gym that taught different types of martial arts.

After watching for a while one day, Harrison made a point to speak to the instructor to learn all he could before finally make the decision to look for a private tutor when he got back home. While he had been taking lessons in kickboxing for more than a year now, he figured knowing different styles would be beneficial to him in the future. He knew his dad had also been mentioning about taking lessons himself and thought the man might be interested in joining him this year.

One of the things Harrison loved about New York was that the city was constantly bustling with thousands of people walking about, doing their own thing, and Harrison found it refreshing!

He was however thankful that while he was only 13, his height, aristocratic features and his maturity gave off the impression he was around 16 or 17 instead, so was able to go about his day freely without anyone questioning him.

On one occasion Harrison and Sirius had decided to dress up a bit and grab a meal at one of the more high-end restaurants. Not one of those over-the-top fancy places where you had to wear a three-piece suit, but still one that it was expected to at least dress in nice shirt and slacks, to dine at.

It was a Friday evening, and there was slight breeze in the air, so Harrison had dawned his sleek leather jacket to wear over his emerald-green button down, paired with his black slacks and shiny black shoes.

He was just pulling the jacket on as they exited the Restaurant after eating and was talking a mile a minute to his dad about an article, he had read the other day about robotics, and what they could potentially be used for in the future.

Unknown to him, as he was going on and on about tentative plans, he thought he could put into place once his company was more established and he got his degree, -unintentionally going into such detail that highlighted just how intelligent he truly was -a young man not much older than he himself was, had paused while exiting his car to watch and listen as the Two walked further down the street until finally the boys voice could no longer be heard.

He didn't know who the two were, though he could tell they weren't from around the area just from their accents. But his interest had been peeked. So, as he finally stepped away from the car, allowing his driver to finally shut the door, Tony Stark vowed to keep an ear out for any Companies from the UK, that might begin to make waves into the field of Robotics.

HPSBHP

The rest of their holiday had come and gone. Harrison having kept up his daily running that he had started in New York, while they spent 2 weeks in California -this time taking his runs on their private beach- and then proceeded to run around the outer edge of the quidditch pitch every morning when they got home.

He liked how energized he was becoming, with waking early in the morning, going for his run, before showering and dressing for the day, before he went down and ate brunch with his father, then moving into whatever task he had set for the day. Which usually was a mix of reading and learning anything he could get his hands on in both Muggle Science, and Wizarding Theory in all fields, Attending Martial Arts Classes with his private tutors, Flying on the Pitch, Visiting his friends or sitting in the Library or the office for his Lordship Lessons with his dad.

Now that he was getting closer to taking up the Potter Lordship, his dad was starting to focus more and more on the serious side of things. Having made sure his sons Etiquette, dancing, and mannerisms were up to par, they could now spend the next couple years going over his responsibilities with the Potter accounts, business dealings and investments, as well as anything to do with the Wizenegmont.

So, every day he would find himself sat at a desk with his dad for a couple of hours, while they went over everything important. While Sirius still held proxy until Harrison's 15th birthday, he was beginning to let his son make his own decisions going forward, with only giving advice or vetoing something when he thought it was needed.
Explaining his reasoning so he understood where he might have gone wrong.
It was a system that worked as it allowed Harrison to learn and grow in confidence with his ability to be a good Lord, while not allowing him to make any major mistakes, as Sirius would step in beforehand.

HPSBHP

It was now September and once again Harrison was back at school, working hard on his studies. He was determined to finish up fifth year and move into 6th before the spring term started so he could confidently take his OWLS in June and move on to graduate from both his muggle schooling and Hogwarts within a year of each other.

So, he made sure to keep a strict schedule- though allowed room for quidditch and spending time with his friends. Becoming increasingly closer to both Neville and Blaise, respectively. He had learned a lot over the last couple years about his friends. Blaise in particular he knew would be going to university himself when he graduated, as he wanted to become a Lawyer, that could legally work in both the magical and muggle worlds. Knowing that at least one of his friends would have a foot in both worlds, had made Harrison drawn more towards the boy than the others, as they would both gain experiences the others would not.

As the year, progressed and the months passed, Harrison found himself quickly loosing himself to day-to-day life.

Each morning he got up at 530am, put on his workout gear, and ran a few laps around the pitch before he would make his back to his dorm for a quick shower and change.
Then after breakfast, depending on the day, he would either go to his first class, or spend his free period in the library working on one of his self-study classes or his muggle schooling, before moving onto the rest of his day, of classes, studying, and either quidditch or spending time with his friends, only to repeat it the following day. Weekends he dedicated to relaxing with his friends, before his dad would come and retrieve him before dinner for his weekly Martial Arts class.

On the odd weekend, those who were third year and above would find themselves venturing through the gates and into the small village of Hogsmeade, for a reprieve from the castle walls, and the constant studying.
This was where Harrison would spend the next couple of years roaming the streets and shops.

Mostly Harrison went with his friends, but a few times he would ask a fellow student to go as a date.

His first experience there, he had taken fourth year Hufflepuff Felix Johnson, where after having lunch at the three broomsticks and buying the older boy an assortment of his favorite sweets from honey dukes, Harrison found himself hidden in an alley between two of the shops, lips locked with the slightly shorter boy.

Needless to say, Harrison had walked back to the castle with a slight smirk on his face, and an extra confident spring in his stride. His next two dates - with third years Padma Patil, and Zachariah Smith respectively, were just as enjoyable, and enlightening.

HPSBHP

One day in late November, Harrison was sat outside with his muggle textbooks studying, when he hears a pair of feet approaching. Looking up, he raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the red headed twins that now stood before him and waited.

"We want to thank you for what you did for our sister." The one of the left started.

"We were told you are the reason she was brought to Madam Pomfrey."

" Who figured out the possession, so thanks mate!"

Harrison smirked in amusement at their constant use of speaking back and forth.

"Don't mention it." He told them still smirking. "Is there something else I can do for you gentlemen?"

As if taking the question as invitation to join him, they immediately dropped down in front of him and introduced themselves as 'Gred and Forge' before they started asking him question after question. It was a surreal experience to say the least, but after more than an hour of talking with the two trouble making twins, Harrison felt that it was the start of an interesting friendship!

HPSBHP

Months had passed, Yule had come and gone, where Harrison for the first time had taken a date to the Balls he had attended and spent the rest of the holiday with his dad and Remus -of whom after almost three years he was finally beginning to come around too, the man having spent every chance he could apologizing and trying to make it up to both himself and his dad- just enjoying the break

It was now late spring, and almost time for Harrison to take his final Muggle exams and graduate. Over the last few months, his dad had been getting increasingly more and more secretive. Harrison could tell something was going on, but when he asked, the only answer he would get was, next year was going to be an exciting year.

Another thing to make note of, was that over the course of the year, Dumbledore had been gone more and more. From what his dad had gathered, the man was in search of something that once belonged to Voldemort but wouldn't say exactly what. Just that if he was right, then they would be one step closer to getting rid of the man completely.

Now as May approached and thus time for his exams, Harrison had Stowed himself away in his dorm, sat at his desk studying and doing make up tests for each of his classes, determined to come out on top.

He wanted to guarantee that he had his pick of Universities when it came time to attend. With no more muggle schoolwork to focus on next year, he had complete faith that he would be able to move along his Magical education, so his plans to graduate by the end of fifth year would be a complete possibility.

HPSBHP

Before he knew it, Harrison was being picked up by his dad on the third weekend in May to write his exams.

It was a busy, mildly stressful four days of being held inside one of the buildings the school district held all exams for the students who were homeschooled.

Harrison sat for hours each day, writing out detailed essays, and answering multipoint questions, or performing experiments depending on the class. Each night coming home exhausted, and after a quick meal would crash onto his bed and pass out immediately.

Although it was long and exhausting, when he finished up his final exam, Harrison had walked out of the building confidently knowing that he had done his best. He was proud of the hard work he had put in over the last four years.

Now, it was back to the castle once more to finish up his third year of roaming the building and wait for June where he would then sit with the fifth-year students to write his OWLs.

HPSBHP

Unknown to the residents of Hogwarts-staff and student alike- one person had been listening as the staff discussed in secret the plans for next term.

With the knowledge that the residents of the school would be increasing with the introduction of two more schools, and members of the Ministry in attendance, the man had made the decision that his time had come to finally leave.

So as soon as the train stopped, he would sneak away from his companions and venture on his own for the first time in 13 years.

On the last day of term unnoticed by the students that were exiting the train and happily greeting their families, a certain rat, snuck out of the youngest Weasley boys' pocket while he was distracted by his overbearing mother, and quickly scurried into the sewers.