SS1

"I've got it covered," Harry said firmly, "Frankly, I don't need to be in the Potions tract to gain a Mastery by the time I leave school. My potions studies are progressing rapidly, and if I was in the potions tract I'd probably be bored with the level my classmates were at. This way, I learn something I don't already know, which will be useful to my potions work anyway, and Archie gets to learn Healing too. He's really good, you know.
"Sirius turned surprised eyes to his son, "You've begun already?"
"Yes," Archie said carefully, "Harry and I are about at the same level, actually, because Harry writes me letters with instructions and assignments, and we found copies of the textbooks in the Potter Library. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think I was ungrateful of the teachings I can get at Hogwarts—I'm not. I'm learning a lot at Hogwarts, and I'm glad you insisted I go there. I've made so many friends. This is just extra, so that I can follow my dreams no matter where I am."
  — While they are floating on rafts during Sirius' 33rd birthday party

## Summary

One week and a half after the end of the school year, Sirius celebrates his 33rd birthday with a pool party with Lily, Remus, James, Archie, and Harry. Thanks to the assistance of his friends, Sirius transforms the former potion's lab into an Aruba beach, much to Harry's disappointement. Harry and Archie go to change into swimsuit, and Archie tells Harry to stop looking at herself in mirrors all the time. They talk about the difficulty to keep up the ruse while looking different, and Harry says she's working on it.

They go back to the basement to find all of their family lounging on rafts. The adults ask the children about their birthdays, that they celebrate together, being born only a few days apart. The parents want them to invite some of their friends, but they make excuses to refuse. They also discuss Harry's decision to join the Healing track at AIM and Harry explains that this is the best way to meet Archie's goals, and that she plans to get Potion and Healing Masteries as soon as she out of school. While the Marauders are fighting under water, Lily asks about Harry's learning, and she uses the opportunity to ask to enroll in some "summer courses". As they move away from the pool for birthday cake, Remus uses wandless elemental magic to make their raft into a water propelled boat and Remus explains how he came to learn wandless elemental magic.

After cake, the parental figures and Archie and Harry discuss circumventing the possibility of a Marriage Law passing. James ensures Harry that they don't want her to change or hide who she is, then Archie and Harry agree to have a fake engagement. It will appear loose but seriously intentioned, with a clause of insuitability that would only come into play when they're 17.

The next afternoon, Harry meets Archie in the Potter Library to ask about him tutoring her in Healing. They talk about how weird Harry's magic is (especially regarding her ability to leave and enter other people's magical cores). Harry creates a connexion to Archie's core. Concentrating on it, Archie joins Harry to observe his core, a soft blue mist. Harry asks it to part and they discover Archie's true core, which is a babbling brook. They go to Harry's core to try the same things, but Archie cannot part her core, and instead one of her coils sneaks around from Archie's other side and stings him. Archie heals his hand in his babbling brook.

Harry goes to James to ask if she can take some summer classes for the owl-correspondence school. James, who was working on a new prank, the Barrier Bubble Button, agrees, complimenting her on her potions skill. Archie arrives moments later in the kitchen with Lily and Harry and informs them about an invitation to Draco's Birthday Party on July 15 as well as to celebrate the Malfoy's annual summer party. Over dinner James and Sirius reluctantly allow Archie to go to the party. Harry and Archie persuade the parents speaking about trust and Draco needing to have Archie at his birthday party. Harry then asks to meet Hermione that day too.

Harry and Archie discuss the logistics of the ruse. Harry discusses her idea to blend their appearances and how that will solve the issue of them being caught in a lie if someone takes a picture of them. They start implementing a plan B, in which if Rigel would be a third person. For it to work, Harry plans to become a full time student at the Sphinx Correspondence School and complete all assignments during the summer, then start brewing potions for an apothecary to make money to rent an apartment. Archie also agrees to find a way to try and make some money over the summer. Archie also agrees to learn Occlumency.

The next day, Harry arrives to Mulpepper's apothecary and picks up her order of potion ingredients and some floo powder. While there, she asks Tate, the store clerk, about the ad from the Daily Prophet about hiring a potioneer for Serpent's Storeroom. Tate gives Harry directions to the Serpent's Storeroom with a warning to be careful, and gives Harry a letter of recommendation for "that sourpuss Edgar Krait". Krait is extremely doubtful of Harry's comptency, but agrees to a trial run and gives Harry two box of crates and a list of potion and their recipes.

Harry arrives back home and finds her mail from the Sphinx Correspondence School of Magic. She brings it down to the lab to read it and then starts brewing 8 of the 16 potions on Krait's list. Harry brews until midnight, making changes as necessary to the recipes, and then draws up a schedule to do her brewing, her experimentation, and to complete her Correspondence classes in the nine weeks left in the summer. There are 5 units/semester for each of the 6 classes and midterms and finals. She needs to complete 6 research essays by unit, this means that Harry needs to write 60 essays, and take 12 tests in total. She'll complete 6 essays a week, take a week break for the exams, and finish the curriculum in 8 weeks.

The next day, Harry goes to the Serpent's Storeroom. Krait is baffled and thinks someone is playing a joke on him. As Harry leaves with 3 empty crates, she passes Borin and Burke's and is grabbed from behind by a man. Harry kicks him in the groin, and instead of running off, goes to pick up her crates, when she is grabbed again and then is rescued by Leo. The man wields a knife, and Leo casually snaps his wrist. Leo then escorts Harry out of the alley and assumes Harry is a boy and Krait's messenger boy. Leo mentions that he stopped because his magic told him to pay attention. Harry remarks that most people don't treat magic like it's sentient, but Leo tells her that she shouldn't listen to anyone saying that. Harry learns that Leo's father is Malcolm Hurst, the Potion Master who wrote the introduction to Most Potente Potions, and that he made Aldermaster of the Potion Guild. Leo is homeschooled, planning to take the NEWTs next May, relieving Harry who thought he was going to Hogwarts. Leo insists to accompany her to the Serpent's Storeroom at noon the next day, and Harry reluctantly accepts.

Without meaning to, Harry leaves at exactly noon and runs into Leo who takes all 3 crates off her hands. Harry notices that people stare at *her* because she's with *him*. Leo and Krait have a strange interaction. Krait is amused by Leo not knowing the truth about Harry being his new brewer. He gives her 12 new potions to alternate with the original 16. Assuming Leo will continue to walk her, Harry takes four crates. They fall into a pattern over the next few weeks, Harry brewing and the two delivering the potions for Krait on weekdays, Harry concentrating on her experimentation and spending time with her family on the weekends. Harry takes the 15th off for Draco's party, making Leo joke about her "brewer" taking a day off.

On the 15, Harry and Archie take a polyjuice of each other to fool their parents. They go to Diagon where they pick up packages from Tom, the barkeep, then wait for their disguise to wear off on the muggle side, before taking the floo to the Grangers and Malfoys. Harry puts in her grey contacts before arriving. Rigel is escorted by Dobby through the manor home and directed to drop off her present. Upon reaching the gift table, Rigel is accosted by Draco who is vexed that Rigel left the train abruptly without saying goodbye, and who did not respond with a letter confirming attendance. He is happy to see her nonetheless. Harry meets with their friends from their year and Pansy then pretends to be angry with Rigel who gets down on bended knee and proceeds to recite cringe-worthy poetry.

Now that she's here, her friends disperse and proceed to mingle. Draco and Pansy proceed to introduce Rigel to what seems like everyone in the wizarding world for the next half-hour. When the violin plays, Draco excitedly leaves the group to open his presents. Pansy shares that she got him a broomstick servicing kit, and Rigel asks if Pansy would like some water. Rigel seeks refuge from the commotion and the second-hand embarassment of Draco opening her present by exploring the hedges in the Malfoy Garden.

In the hedge maze, Rigel overhears Professor Snape and another man talking about her. Rigel stops to listen for a couple of minutes, before Snape snares her hand and forces her out of her hiding corner. To her horror the other person is Tom Riddle. Rigel feels pressured into a debt, and immediately repays it by spending a couple of minutes answering his questions honnestly, mainly about her ability to cure the sleeping sickness and her ability to not be recognized thanks to her aura. After her answering time is over, they come back to the front lawn.

Draco rescues Rigel and brings her to his parents, saying that he loves the potion she made him, a modified Weightless Draught that can make someone fly. The Malfoys introduce her to more people, this time giving her a great deal of knowledge about people she wished she hadn't known. They eventually spend some time with two Elders from the Wizengamot, Mr. Ogden and Madamn Marchbanks, when Rigel notices something off with Ogden's punch. She tries to step in, but he smells it and is entranced by the Nimue's Breath and completely determined to drink his punch. Rigel attempts to wrest it away, and Mr. Parkinson steps in to help contain Mr. Odgen, and Pansy holds the drink while Rigel retrieves a knife and pours her own blood into the drink. The effects upon Odgen ends immediately, and the situation is explained to all. The drink was laced with nightshade. Pansy explains Rigel's hyper-vigilance when it comes to drinks and assassination attempts. Odgen realizes he owes his life to Rigel and claims a life debt, then Madam Marchbanks claims her own life debt if Rigel refuses to take Odgen's. After they both leave, Rigel requests that adults not share her involvement with saving Mr. Odgen's life, or with obtaining another life debt. She insists to handle her volontarily spilled blood and then leaves the party, saying goodbye to Draco and Pansy.

## Characters (by order of appearance)

* Sirius Black
* Harriett Potter & Rigel Black
* Arcturus Black
* Remus Lupin
* James Potter
* Lily Potter
* Sirius' snakes
* Caleb Tate
* Edgar Krait
* Drunkard (Man who attacks Harry in the Lower Alleys)
* Leo Hurst
* Dobby
* Draco Malfoy
* Blaise Zabini
* Pansy Parkinson
* Millicent Bulstrode
* Theodore Nott
* Vincent Crabbe
* Gregory Goyle
* Blaise's mother
* Theodore's father
* Millicent's parents
* Tom Riddle
* Severus Snape
* Narcissa Malfoy
* Lucius Malfoy
* Cassius Parkison
* Rose Parkinson
* Tiberius Ogden
* Griselda Marchbanks

## Settings

### 12 Grimmauld Place

* Black Family Potions Lab aka Black Family Underground Tropical Getaway (basement)
* Archie's room
* Dining room
* Black Library
* Black courtyard

### Godric's Hollow

* Potter Library
* James' study
* Dining room
* Potion Lab

### Mental planes

* Archie's core
* Harry's core

### The Alleys

* Leaking Cauldron
* Diagon Alley
* Mulpepper's Apothecary
* Knockturn Alley
* Serpent's Storeroom

### Malfoy Manor

* Reception room (with the floo)
* The Gardens
* Gazebo
* The Hedge Maze

## Potions

* Snowhit Draught
* Agnes' Ageless Agent
* Befuddlement Draught
* Blood-Replenishing Potion
* Calming Draught
* Deflating Draught
* Dreamless Sleep Potion
* Forgetfulness Potion
* Gasnik's Gastric Solution
* Hair-Growth Potion
* Invigoration Draught
* Mind-Sharpening Potion
* Numbing Potion
* Pepper-up Potion
* Shrinking Solution
* Telbert's Tincture
* Westfield's Wart Remover
* Polyjuice Potion
* Weightless Draught (spelled wrongly draft)
* Modified Weightless Draught (spelled wrongly draft)

## See also

* Magical Theory
* Magical Core
* The Marriage Law
* Sphinx Correspondance School of Magic
* Shaped Imbuing