Chapter Text
The Potter house was loud again.
Not the angry kind of loud, more the running feet, clattering toys, someone’s shouting about pancakes kind. The kind of loud that made the walls feel too small for Harry and his thoughts too hard to hear.
From the kitchen the twins, his half-sisters, were wailing about syrup. Or maybe they were singing about syrup. It was hard to tell.
Harry sat cross-legged on the living room rug, the game board in front of him already set up. Little wizard tokens floated slightly above the enchanted path. He even picked the green one, because green was for Slytherin, and that always made him feel a bit closer to his dad during times like these.
He waited.
“Mum?” he called.
From the kitchen came the unmistakable sound of a glass breaking, followed by toddler wailing and Mum’s panicked, “It’s okay! No blood! James, grab a flannel!”
Harry sighed and flicked his game piece along the board. It spun a little in the air and fell off the side.
So much for Magical Quests and Cauldron Duels. Not much of a duel when you were the only one playing.
He stood up, wandered to the doorway, and leaned on the frame.
“Mum?”, he called again.
His Mum looked up from where she was wiping jam off one twin’s nose while the other tried to climb her back. Her hair was in a messy knot, and her eyes looked like she’d been awake since before the sun.
“Harry, sweetie, can it wait just a bit?” she asked, breathless. “I promise I’ll play later, I just-”
“Can I brew a potion instead?” he asked quickly, before she could offer another apology.
That made her pause. She blinked.
“I mean… just something easy. I’ll use the training cauldron. I won’t touch the boomroot or anything.”
She hesitated, her lips pursing in a way that made Harry worry she’d say no. She always worried about him getting hurt in the lab, even though she used to be top of her class in Potions, just like Dad.
He really missed his Dad.
“Please?”
She looked toward the twins, then back at him. “Alright. But lock the door, Harry. I don’t want the twins anywhere near it. And no heating spells unless you’re absolutely sure about the measurements.”
Harry grinned. “Yes, Mum!”
The lab smelled like dried thyme and old parchment. Harry liked that. It smelled more like his dad’s house than anything else here.
He lit the small blue flame under the cauldron and set out his ingredients, humming to himself. The instructions were in his own handwriting, one of the first things Dad had taught him: Copy it. Understand it. Then brew it.
He added the crushed belladonna, careful with the pinch. Then came the honeywater. The potion turned a soft lavender.
He could almost hear Dad in the back of his mind: What does belladonna interact poorly with? What counteracts too much honeywater?
With that thought came another. Harry knew his dad wouldn’t have let him do this alone.
He’d have made Harry recite the properties of every ingredient twice before adding a thing. But he wasn’t here. And if Harry had to be stuck in a house where no one had time for him, he might as well enjoy the one thing that made it bearable.
He smiled to himself. Almost done.
Then-
BANG BANG BANG.
“Harryyyyyy!” came the sing-song yell of one of the twins.
He was sure it was Daisy, the elder one, she had a slightly deeper voice than Susan.
“What are you doooing in there?”, this time the voice belonged to Susan.
“Go away!” he called. “Mum said you’re not allowed in!”
More banging. Tiny fists against wood.
Giggling.
“I said no!” Harry yelled.
He really wanted his alone time to be without any disturbances.
And then-crack.
A sudden burst of accidental magic hit the door. The lock snapped open. The door slammed back against the wall, and two red-headed whirlwinds tumbled in.
“NO-!”
Harry flinched.
His elbow bumped the cauldron.
The lavender potion wobbled, and tipped.
Everything happened too fast: a splash, a squeal, a startled cry, and one of the twins went still, blinking up at him, now completely purple and starting to sprout small, wriggling leaves from their ears.
Harry stared. Then he dropped the ladle.
“Oh no.”
“Harry!” he heard his Mum shouting, tearing down the hallway toward the lab.
James was right behind her, still holding a half-made sandwich.
They skidded into the open doorway.
Harry stood frozen, eyes wide with horror.
One twin, Daisy, was staring up at him with purple skin, trembling lower lip, and a thick sprig of mint growing from one ear.
The other twin burst into tears at the sight.
“Oh Merlin,” his Mum gasped, rushing forward and scooping up Daisy.
“I didn’t mean to!” Harry blurted. “They- they opened the door! I told them no!”
James bent over the spilled cauldron. “Is that… mint?”
“I was brewing a mild Calming Draft,” Harry whispered, voice breaking. “I didn’t think…I was almost done-”
“You locked the door, didn’t you?” His Mum interrupted, already running diagnostics with her wand, her voice tight with panic.
“Yes! They broke it!” Harry insisted. “I didn’t want them in here! Mum, I promised I’d be careful!”
James gently lifted the wailing twin and cradled them in one arm, looking thoroughly out of his depth. “Okay, okay, let’s all just breathe. Lily? What do we do?”
Gladly, his mum quickly got to work and uttered a soft spell, her wand tip glowing a gentle blue as it passed over the purple skin. The leaves wiggled a bit but didn’t seem to be growing. Daisy gave a tiny hiccup and rubbed her eyes.
“Well?” James asked, still holding the other twin like she might explode.
Harry’s mum sighed. “No real harm done. The potion was low-strength and most of it hit her clothes. The color should fade in a few hours. And the… mint…” She hesitated, then gave the sprig a quick tap with her wand. It wilted and fell off. “Sorted.”
Harry let out a breath so shaky it rattled.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, hugging himself. “I didn’t want to hurt her. I just wanted- I was bored. You were busy.”
His mum’s shoulders dropped. She set Daisy down, who tottered toward James with a purple giggle.
“I know,” she said softly, kneeling down to brush Harry’s fringe from his face. “And I shouldn’t have said yes, not with the twins awake. You’re not in trouble. It was an accident.”
Harry didn’t answer.
She leaned in and kissed his forehead. “But no more potions without me or your dad. Deal?”
Harry nodded solemnly.