A/N: I never understood the robes thing in the potion classroom, I'm glad some of you guys never did either. Especially considering what type of robes Severus wore. Victorian forearm length cuffs anyone? Anyway, I'm hoping you like this New Year treat, I worked hard to get all of these chapters done.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I just trot them out. As a fanfiction, and a basic habit of being curious, I wonder what exactly goes on behind the scenes and what could have happened if… Well, you'll find out.

Warning: Dumbledore isn't necessarily EVIL in this (Big evil, not little evil) however he is highly unscrupulous and manipulative. Weasley bashing may happen, and Granger bashing… It depends on what happens when I introduce them and if I feel nice about their characters, I make no promises on them. Good Snape however. Don't know if that should be a warning in all actuality.

Rating: K+ to T

"abcde…" – general conversation

"abdce"-Speaking a foreign language (Italian, French, Spanish, etc with the exception of Parseltongue)

Abcde- Thoughts

$abdce$- Parseltongue

A Rational Child

Chapter 5: Redheads, Trains, and General Mayhem

Harry stepped out of the wand shop a grand total of four hundred and eighty-nine galleons poorer. Twenty-five hundred pounds gone just like that! It was considerably cheaper than he had expected, the gemstone being worth so much as it was, however the black haired youth couldn't help but feel his wallet squeal a bit in protest at the expenditure. That may have been his now that he thought about it.

"Would you be amendable to stopping and having our evening meal?" Severus asked after they strode around for a few minutes absently window shopping. They'd retrieved most items, the only ones left being the cauldrons, which Severus wanted to get specially ordered, the telescope, and a few other odds and ends.

"Yes, shall we try that curry house we saw in the international quadrant?" Harry suggested. That section of market had been quite large and diverse and they'd passed through it on their way to the wand shop from their earlier sectors. This building looked to be straight off of the South Indian peninsula and the air thick with spice. A waitress in a rather pretty floral cotton saari saw them to a small table before leaving them with a menu. Neither one noticed the startled expression of a long haired red head seated two tables down who had just been seated as well.

Glancing it over, Harry couldn't make up his mind. Taking a quick peek at Severus it looked like the Potion Master was at a loss too. Opening his mouth suggest them buying a few and sharing he was cut off before a word could come out.

"Professor Snape?" A surprised and confused voice said. Both dark haired figures glanced up from their menus at their unexpected conversation partner. The Hogwarts Professor tried to place the student and immediately a name came to the forefront.

"Mr. Weasley," Severus said as he saw the familiar red hair and bright blue eyes and the name clicked into place.

"It's good to see you sir," the now twenty-one year old man said awkwardly.

"You as well, Mr. Weasley," Severus said trying to offer a socially acceptable smile. He mostly succeeded allowing the redhead to relax. The man was much less terrifying outside of the potion classroom and Hogwarts. His companion seemed to make him relax as well. "Whatever are you doing in Egypt?" The darkly garbed man asked in curiosity.

"I work for Gringotts as an Apprentice Cursebreaker, I'm going through my Mastery in about a year." Weasley said proudly. "And please call me Bill," he said as an afterthought.

"Severus then," the Potion Master said with a smirk when his former student was startled. A slight clearing of the throat reminded both of them of the Potion Master's companion. Bill took in the long black hair carefully combed and done back in a French braid that ended slightly below his collar, the sharp, almond shaped green eyes behind slim silver frames. The pale skin of the young lad seated suggested an indoor life style and Bill could see the calluses on his fingers similar to his brother Percy's suggesting he wrote often and was quite studious.

"Ah," Severus said, "Bill, this is Harry Potter, Harry this is William Weasley." The red head's mouth dropped open slightly for a split second before he shut it and then took the boy's hand. The brief look of irritation that passed through the boy's eyes showed that he caught Bill's reaction and the eldest Weasley son stomped down the tirade of questions that arose and said briefly, "It's nice to me meet you." The slight look of approval relieved him, as well as, the firm squeeze as they shook hands.

"We're about to have dinner," Harry said. "Would you care to join us?" His eyes flickered to Severus in a momentary question to see if it was alright and was given a slight head tilt of agreement. The redhead glanced uncertainly at his former professor before nodding and taking a seat. The waitress bustled over with a pad and asked them if they were ready for drinks.

"Bottle water?" Harry asked. The waitress blinked before glancing at the other two in askance.

"You don't have to worry about pathogens or foreign minerals," Severus said not looking up from his own menu, "the drinks here are magically maintained and automatically alter to suit your body's nutritional chemistry. It is the same with food."

"Mango juice then with a side glass of water and a small bowl of sliced lemon," Harry ordered. The waitress marked it down and glanced at the cursebreaker her stance shifting to a more flirtatious manner.

"One of your sweet lassi's and a glass of water as well," Bill said. He knew he would need the cooling yogurt drink by the first bite. As much as he liked Indian food, it was often hotter than his tongue could handle.

"I'll have your house specialty tea and a glass of mango juice as well." Severus said glancing up at her. She wrote it out and then asked about their dinner choices.

"Come back in a few minutes," Harry said dismissing her. The waitress left after a quick bat of her eyes at Bill and a rather bad attempt of trailing her fingers flirtatiously through her hair.

"Maybe you should have turned down our offer," Harry said absently as he skimmed over the lamb offerings. The Weasley boy glanced at him in surprise.

"What?" He asked rather dumbly.

"It'd be easier for her to flirt with you if you were by yourself." Severus replied.

"It is rather cute though how red you're getting." Harry replied as the young man sputtered. The potion master smirked at him.

"Indeed."

The meal was quite delicious. They'd ordered a number of different things, a platter of mixed samosas, a plate of naans and chutneys, four different curries, a dish of mixed tandoori, and a sweet dessert made from milk and honey. Harry scooped a large spoonful of the chicken tikka masala onto his plate, covering part of the biryani rice. A piece of fluffy garlic naan was torn and half handed to him by Bill who looked more focused on the goat vindaloo than was probably healthy, especially since it looked like the tall redhead was prepared to propose. Severus, on the other hand, seemed to be overly partial to the shrimp korma and Harry mentally gave half of his portion to the dour figure before getting a spoonful of the aloo matar paneer.

"What curses do you run into the most?" Harry asked as the food was finally dished out and they'd all gotten a bit into their stomachs. Bill chewed a bit of the lamb and vegetable samosa before answering.

"It is usually a curse of disorientation or disinterest. Something that pushes your attention away or makes you forgetful," Bill said before taking a bite of some chicken tandoori.

"That's quite dangerous," Severus said between two sips of his tea.

"Yes, when I was still in my first year an older apprentice happened to trigger a rather insidious one. It made him forget to do a full check on a hallway and ended up tripping one of the defenses. He ended up nearly dying from poisoned needles that were spat out from all directions. Ended up in the hospital for four months," Bill said with all seriousness.

"How did you end up in this field anyway? How did you know you wanted to be a cursebreaker?" Harry asked.

"I stumbled across a book with the descriptions of the different jobs available during my third year and skimmed through what was available due to the classes I was taking. I had chosen Ancient Runes as an elective and it was a mandatory prerequisite for the job that grabbed and held my attention. By the end of the first semester of third year I had dropped Muggle Studies and signed up for Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy. I graduated with nine OWLs and nine NEWTs respectfully." The man said proudly. Harry glanced in question at Severus who stopped to think it over.

"OWLs are similar to graduation exams for the high school level, while NEWTs are similar to earning an Associate Degree. The higher number of both, however, suggested he graduated with honors, especially since he took higher level courses." Severus said after shuffling the thoughts and comparisons around.

"Oh," Harry said after a moment of mulling it over, "I know twelve different languages and speak them fluently, before I was accepted into Hogwarts I was planning on taking placement exams that would allow me entrance into university early." Bill glanced at his former professor who stared gawking at the first year before coming to his senses and explaining to the confused redhead.

"Skipping Hogwarts and going straight for a mastery." Severus said. "What would you have majored in?" He asked turning back to Harry who was cleaning off his plate.

"I was thinking one of the sciences, perhaps an engineering, nothing in premedical or animal husbandry though." Harry answered. "Physics would have been interesting, though I have a rather dab hand at chemistry and calculus. Perhaps a double major would have been my best option with a few minors… It's not like I'm all that unfocused a person."

"You could earn a mastery?" Bill asked shocked and ended up getting a mystified look.

"Not in anything magical yet," Harry said with a grumpy sigh, "give me a few years of research and I'll get back to you on it." Bill merely stared at the boy before turning away and going back to his food. The Boy-Who-Lived was turning out to be much more than he had ever guessed or suspected.

The rest of the meal, luckily for Bill, turned to other subjects and the red haired man enjoyed the frank and heated discussions with the two. He was even able to shrug off the smirk and knowing glances he received from Harry and Severus when the waitress came back six times before giving them the check and a slip of parchment with her floo address. Although he had to hide a groan when Harry commented on how difficult it must be to sway that much without falling down. It was something the older wizard had marveled at as well.

"If she had gone to Hogwarts, I have no doubt that in her later years she would be the sole reason many a male student would have lost their house points," Severus commented as they left. Bill had groaned at that as well, though this time audibly.

"You may lose points for fraternizing with another while at Hogwarts?" Harry asked curiously. The Potion Master nodded.

"I once walked in on a group of six fourth year Hufflepuffs," the man started and Bill instantly clapped his hands over his ears.

"So don't want to hear this." The man said jokingly. The professor merely sniffed and then smirked at his former student who instantly felt a knot of dread enter his stomach.

"Perhaps you would prefer the story of when I came across you and Miss Loft in that empty classroom during your sixth year?" The man said dryly. "I do admire your flexibility, Bill." The red head looked like he wanted to be swallowed into a hole and not come out for hours. He glanced at Harry in silent entreaty for help but only got a curious appraising look as the younger wizard studied his physique.

"How flexible was it, Severus? Is he double-jointed perhaps?" the boy asked curiously. The potion master snickered and the curse breaker was wondering if he should apparate away before this got any worse. The boy final just smiled and patted his back before asking Severus a rather complex question on using potions to create smog or a smokescreen in battle. This launched a long discussion on the different preparation methods and how stable it would be depending on the bottles and the proper utilization in battle.

"Are you looking forward to Hogwarts Harry," Bill asked as the conversation ended with them agreeing a form of potion that was reactant to certain conditions and preplaced on a battle field would be the most successful in a long ranged fight or siege, while bottles that would shatter on command would do well in fights. The duo paused in surprise at the question before exchanging one of their glances.

"I won't be attending Hogwarts, Bill," Harry said almost gently. The blue eyed man paused as shock reverberated through him.

"What?!" He exclaimed. "Not going to Hogwarts?! Why?!"

"Because I will be attending MAGIC at Alexandria instead," Harry replied. He paused to glance over a series of wares, briefly touching the scarfs in appraisal. He rattled off a question in Arabic to the saleswoman who replied back making them frown. Bill tried to formulate a better response and question while they bargained over the price, the woman making grand gestures while the young boy merely shook his head and complained back. They were going so fast that Bill had a hard time following and he'd lived with the speakers for a long time. When the boy finally finished his purchase, Bill finally just said.

"What's wrong with Hogwarts?"

"I hate to say it Bill, but it's not the best place for a student. There are many other choices that are much more beneficial for a person's future," Harry answered. Severus nodded a touch, surprising him. Then again, the Potion Master had exacting standards. Bill didn't quite understand why so he merely shrugged. He'd had a little difficulty getting a job outside of the school, but then who didn't experience a little trouble being a first year graduate with no prior work experience?

Walking with them, Bill couldn't help but compare how different the boy was to his younger brothers and feel a bit of regret that he wouldn't be going to school with them.

After the shopping trip, Harry spent most of the rest of his time until school started studying and learning about his new school. Apparently, it had been around for roughly five thousand years, or the Muggle beginnings of a combined Egypt. The magical version on the country, or should he say countries, were still divided and both had a long standing rivalry with one another. If what he read from Wizarding Kings and other Nobilities, was correct he would be starting school the same time as both heirs to the different countries thrones. Both of whom, to Harry consternation, would be attending the same school as he. Grumbling at the idea of the upcoming arguments he would most likely suffer through, the black haired youth pushed aside the thought and reread the book both he and Severus had bought copies of. It was still a fascinating read even if he had memorized it. Finally, August 30th came and he departed via cab to the train station. From there he took a train to a nearby port city. Entering a smaller magical alley called Neptune's Way, he boarded the school boat with little difficulty. However, that didn't mean he didn't wish about an hour in that he'd taken the international portkey option.

Cursing his fit of whimsy, Harry attempted to the fullest and best of his extent to ignore the bickering of two of the older students. The twins Caltha* and Cliantha** Zabini were probably the most irritating females he'd had the misfortune of spending more than an hour with. Even worse than Aunt Marge or Aunt Petunia, at fourteen the girls didn't seem to find a single thing to agree on, discuss without fighting, or not including boys and marriage. Feeling his hand twitch slightly, the eleven year old wondered if there was anywhere on this blasted ship that they wouldn't so happen to walk in and start gabbing away. In the past thirty minutes the boy had moved eight times, even to the boys' barracks where he shared a bunk with an older male student in his fourth year by the name Marks who refused to reveal his first name. Considering the names he'd encountered belonging to other wizards he wouldn't be surprised if the first name was so atrocious that the boy was practically desperate to be called something else. Closing his book with a snap, the emerald eyed youth finally buckled and got up to leave for the ninth time.

This time, however, it caught the twins' attention and they instantly focused on him. "Oooh, look at this little cutie," Caltha squealed grabbing Harry up as he moved past to escape the small library he'd sequestered himself away in. Harry was instantly crushed against the ample bosom of the girl as she looked him over.

"No fair, Caltha! Share!" Cliantha pouted, yanking Harry away and hugging him to coo over as well. "He's almost as cute as little Blaisey!" Harry could only surmise that 'Blaisey' as they so genially put it, was their little brother and felt an instant spurt of pity for the other boy.

"Isn't he?" Caltha said as she stroked his hair. He'd put it into a tight braid before pining it to the back of his head. "I just love his hair!"

"His eyes are too cute as well!" Her twin exclaimed. "Why, I never thought glasses could be fashionable but on him it makes him look like a tiny, sweet faced adult!" Harry, quite frankly, was appalled, as the girls passed him back and forth for the next twenty minutes exclaiming over his adorableness. Personally, he couldn't help but wonder if there was any way to get away from them without being rude or losing his mind.

Lunch was finally announced at the girls let him go. He barely had time to sigh in relief when they grabbed him and dragged him away. Luckily, for Harry at least, there was only two empty spots next to each other which made the girls argue over who would sit next to who allowing him to escape. Finding a seat next to Marks, Harry folded his napkin over his lap. The meal was a rich soup filled with pork and potatoes. A crisp salad was served with it as well as crunchy bread that was followed by some delicious pot roast. There was a strange drink called butterbeer that the boy enjoyed after taking a sip. As dinner was wrapping up, Harry made sure to leave before the girls and with Marks who noted his desperation and helped him sneak away.

"The Zabini twins giving you a hard time?" The brunet boy asked in sympathy and nearly laughed at the exaggerated nods. "Well, you can hang out with me until we get to school, that should keep you out of trouble." Harry smiled brilliantly before laying back on his bed. The older boy chuckled and sat at the desk chair before saying. "I never got your full name, just your first," Marks said.

"Potter," Harry replied. "Harry Potter." The older boy stared at him in silent surprise before shaking it off. The boy hadn't acted stuck up or arrogant, like he'd expect from someone famous, in fact, Harry was quite bookish and intellectual. He reminded the older boy a bit of himself when he first went to school, except much, much smarter.

"Nice to meet you," he said simply. Chatting, and hiding, the two grew much closer. By the time they reached the school on the morning of September 1st, the two were close enough to be brothers.

A/N:

*Caltha means golden flower.

*Cliantha means glory flower.

PS - if anyone is curious about the Indian food, feel free to PM me about them. I didn't want to go into a long discourse about them since I wrote that when I had cravings for it. Thinking about it now, I still do…