The next morning, Harry woke up and fumbled for his glasses. Looking around, it took him a few minutes to figure out where in Merlin’s name he was. It all came rushing back:  he was in his dad’s home, sleeping in his brother’s bed. For the first time ever, he was staying at his dad’s home.

Harry got out of bed, stretching as he stood up. “Merlin, that feels good,” he murmured as his muscles relieved themselves of the cramps and stiffness from a long night’s sleep. He walked over to the dresser to get some clothes to wear for the day before he went to take his shower. Pulling open the drawers, he pulled out a pair of shorts, a sleeveless, black t-shirt with a picture of a bubbling cauldron on the back, and went to open the underwear and sock drawer. He received a bit of a shock upon opening it, though. He reached in and pulled out a pair of bikini briefs, and said to himself, “There’s no way in hell I am wearing these. Luckily, we each brought back our own clothing from camp, so I have some clean boxers still. I’ll ask Dad later to get William some boxers, or at least some boxer-briefs.”

Harry grabbed a pair of socks (“Good, he wears no-show socks, too!”) and went over to grab a pair of boxers from his trunk. Then, thinking back to the diagram of the house’s layout, he headed toward the bathroom to take his shower and head on to breakfast.

“Good morning, William. How did you sleep last night?” Severus asked his son.

“Good morning, Father. I slept well last night. I really am glad to be home again,” Harry replied.

As the two of them were sitting and eating the breakfast prepared by Blinky, their house-elf, Harry casually mentioned, “Father, you remember I turned eleven at camp this summer?”

“Yes, William, I remember,” Severus said, wondering where this was leading. “Why?”

“I think I am finally old enough to pick out my own clothing,” Harry replied. “For the most part, I like the clothes you get me, but there are a few things I would like to change. For instance, is it absolutely necessary to wear sleeved t-shirts under my dress shirts or at night? I noticed at camp that the majority of boys wore sleeveless a-shirts... ‘wife-beaters’, I think the Muggle term is. And they all wore boxers. I am growing up, Dad, and I would like to switch to adult-type clothing.”

“That is fine, William,” Severus said, relieved that his son wasn’t asking for something like a tattoo or something else outrageous.

Just then, several owls flew in through the hinged “post-door” above the window. All of them except one landed in front of Harry. The loner delivered the USWA Today* to Severus. Harry took the letters off of the owls’ legs and stacked them up before starting to read them. There were acceptance letters to ten different schools, a copy of Quidditch Monthly, and a letter from his brother. He carefully tucked that one in his pocket before reading his other letters. “Father, I received my school letters today,” he said.

“Yes? And where were you accepted to, William?”

“I was accepted to all four American schools, Wickham Academy of Magical Arts in Canada, Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Wellington Institute of Magic in Australia. I know I am refusing Durmstrang and Beauxbatons right out, as well as the Canadian school, because they even said in their letter, ‘You will be the first boy ever accepted to our school, because we desire the fame that comes with being the son of the world’s best Potions Master’. I would like to go to either Great Lakes Institute or Hogwarts, because they both sound like wonderful schools. The Australian school sounds nice, but it is too far away,” Harry finished up.

“It is your choice. Just remember, you need to make a decision in the next couple of days, and send back a reply owl, so you can acquire the proper supplies in time for school to start,” Severus warned him.

“Yes, Father. May I be excused?” Harry asked.

“You may, William. Would you like to help me out this afternoon? I have a large order to fill for St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Boston, and I could use some help preparing ingredients for the potions,” Severus inquired casually. He really didn’t need much help, but wanted to spend as much time as he could with his son before he went off to school for nine months out of the year.

“Sure, Father. What time would you like to start?”

“Dinner is at high noon, as usual. We can get started immediately after.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said, mock saluting his dad before grinning and heading out into the yard.

He walked over to a gazebo near the edge of the yard, and sat down in one of the swings in it. Pulling out the letter, he broke the wax seal with the Evans crest his mother had commissioned. He slid the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it. He began to read the letter his brother had sent him:

Dear Harry,

I made it back to England safely. It is wonderful to finally have met my mother, as I am sure you are happy meeting Father. I asked Mother about Father last night, and she went off on a rant about how he stood up his family and walked out on us and left the country. She nearly slipped a couple of times about there being two of us, but caught herself, and I didn’t call her out on it, if only for the safety of PPT.

I cannot believe you wear those stupid boxers and a-shirts! It is ridiculous looking and uncomfortable in the utmost! I am grateful I brought back my clothing from camp, and at least we both wear the same type of socks.

Mother keeps getting flowers and chocolates delivered to her from some James Potter, whomever he is. I don’t think it is serious, because she continually curses his name every time he sends something. He even had a limousine pick us up at the airport!

I will be on the mirror today (August 15th) at 3pm GMT, so be ready!

Your brother,

William

Harry read through the letter twice. He couldn’t believe that his mother was still holding a grudge against his father, and thought he had abandoned them. Although, Harry did have the benefit of both sides of the story, so he could make a more accurate decision on what to believe. Looking down at his watch, and realized that, with the time change, William would be calling him on the mirror in five minute’s time, so he hurried back to his room and threw up a silencing charm and a spell lock charm, which only allowed him to take down the silencer. He pulled the mirror out of the trunk just as William’s face appeared.

“Brother,” he said warmly.

“Brother,” William replied just as warmly.

“I just finished reading your letter, and barely had time to get up here and cast the silencer before you called,” Harry said.

“I figured as much. When I wrote the letter, I forgot you were 5 hours behind us instead of the other way around, because I was trying to catch you at 8pm your time. Sorry about that,” William said.

“S’alright, Will. I am glad you made it safely into England. I am surprised, though, that Dobby and Blinky didn’t notice anything about our auras being different, or if they did, they didn’t say anything yet.”

“I never thought about that,” William said, horror-struck.

“I plan on talking to Blinky later about it. On another note, though, you better get adjusted to wearing boxers and wife-beaters as your base layer, because I convinced Dad to let us pick out our own clothing from now on, and I am replacing your sleeved undershirts and bikini briefs with them. You honestly had to notice that almost every boy wears them now. Well, except Neville, who wears boxer-briefs, but he was an early starter into puberty, and wanted some extra support down there.”

“I can’t believe you did that! I don’t like boxers! They are uncomfortable and baggy!”

“Oh, grow up already! I have some news, though. Dad is still in love with Mum, and they are still married, although they are legally separated. He never mentioned that there are two of us, nor did he nearly slip or anything, but from what you said about him, and what I have noticed, he is careful with everything he says and does. Now, I have two questions. One:  where do you want to go to school? Your school letters have arrived, and you have been accepted to all the American and Canadian schools, as well as Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Wickham in Australia. Second:  what’s this about James Potter? I know that he had a crush on Mum in school, but obviously, she chose Dad over him.”

“I would like to go to Hogwarts, no matter what Dad says, and by the time school starts, it will hopefully not be a problem. And as I said in the letter, James keeps sending flowers and chocolates over and had a limo waiting for us at the airport. I know nothing more than that right now, but I will try to find out for you, if you would like.”

“Please do. I will write you a letter later this week with a time for the mirrors. Anything special you need from the magical shopping district here?”

“Not that I can think of, no. Need anything from Diagon Alley?”

“No. Talk to you later, then. Love ya, brother.”

“Love ya, brother. Talk to you later.”

The boys signed off the mirrors, and Harry took down the wards before going down to play in the yard for a while.