Harry Potter paced about his room, stress high, palms sweating, angrily muttering to himself. Everything had been going so well, as well as they could at least, up until his 'sisters' had come down the first morning of break.
It wasn't as if he had never seen a girl in pajamas before it was just that Hermione usually dressed very conservatively no matter what age she had been. Hell, maybe it was just Hogwarts itself that made the difference.
Either way though he had almost choked when the two girls entered the kitchen, Amy drowsy and still half-asleep, Harriet not much better. Because their choice in sleep clothing was… well very short and what he would consider borderline 'inappropriate'.
Who wore shorts that only went down mid thigh in the morning!?
Their hair was messy, clothing haphazardly worn. It was all the skin the were showing though, and a few moments later the boy-who-lived realized he had been staring and promptly turned his attention to something else.
Still though, he couldn't burn the image from his mind, because they were, God help him, attractive.
They shouldn't be, he knew they shouldn't be. Being attracted to what was essentially two versions of himself was bad enough, something he thought only a Malfoy could pull off, but they were eleven.
Sure, he was, physically, but not mentally. Mentally he was probably sixteen…ish. Time shenanigans always hurt his head and Hermione's own manipulations his third-year still made him a bit confused. Regardless he knew that they should be cute, he should see them as that adorable little kid who needed protection and looking after.
Instead here he was, pacing about his room, cursing at himself because his pseudo sisters wore clothing that covered very little in the mornings.
****
"Can we go flying?" Amy practically begged, eyes darting between her two parents as if encouraging one to say yes. Lily glanced over towards her husband, who seemed to be hiding a grin of his own, before letting out a sigh and waving them off.
A cheer echoed through the house as the two bolted for the back yard, followed a bit slower by the two raven-haired children and the older woman. Once outside Harry took in the property that they owned. It must have been Magically enhanced, because the lush green grass seemed to stretch on forever with only a dotting of trees and other plant life.
A small wooden shed lay a few meters away, and James Potter had already pulled a few brooms out, handing one to his redhaired daughter who immediately mounted and took to the skies. He approached the others seconds later, and his other daughter took another, albeit with a bit less excitement.
Harry, more on instinct than anything else, took the last offered, before watching the man take off into the air himself.
"James always wanted to play Quidditch," the man's wife explained from next to the boy, "but Hogwarts is rather strict about that sort of thing and not very welcoming to wizards who try."
He merely nodded, thoughts drifting back to his first week at school, both in his own world and this one.
"But he played anyway, didn't he?"
The question brought Lily's attention onto her 'son'. "Yes, he did, mostly with just him and Sirius. They were so excited when they managed to get a full game together, even if it wasn't official."
Harry nodded, "A friend from school, Ron Weasley, he wants to be able to fly and play Quidditch one day. I'm glad it might be possible."
"What about you? Did you ever play?"
Her words forced him to think back through his own years. There had been one game in fifth year, but before that? Fourth was mostly spent worrying about the tournament which really left third. "Not in a long time." He finally answered.
"You should go up with them then, play a bit while it is convenient and easy."
He knew there was still the option of him playing at Hogwarts. He would be skilled enough, but it depended too much on others. Assuming his House would even let him on the team, it then depended on the team captain allowing it and considering the attitudes of the older students he had his doubts.
Sitting on the object he began drifting upwards, his eyes closed as he felt the wind on his face, the sunshine on his skin. He had missed this, the weightless feeling and freedom that came with flying. He climbed up alone, higher than the other three who were passing a quaffle between them.
Up there, high above the world, nothing seemed to bother him. There were no looming threats, no stress about school, no concerns about secrecy or privacy. Up there he wasn't being followed by an obsessed professor, wasn't being relied upon to solve everyone's problems, didn't need to worry about what the future held.
He was just Harry, plain old ordinary, Magical Harry.
His eyes opened, gazing out into the clear skies that stretched on in every direction. He could distantly hear the excitement from the family below, a family that he was both a part of, and separate from. A family that he might never fit in with.
Was it temporary? Were they only sheltering him until he was old enough to move on, fulfilling some vague obligation because of his appearance?
He didn't want to think about that, didn't want to think about anything.
And so, he didn't, instead he leaned forward and dropped.
____________________
Read 30 Advance Chapters on-
patr*on.com/rary01