Harry Potter and the Heir of Slytherin

Cherished Best Friend

Harry Potter barely managed to stifle a yawn as he sat in a seat next to Mrs. Crawft while they both watched Lisa's dance lessons.

The effects of the potion he'd consumed this morning had worn off, and while he did not suffer from any kind of crash, without the energy from the pepperup potion to keep him going, he was close to running on empty.

I'm gonna need to go back to the drawing board, Harry determined. I need to find a way to increase the potency of the potion--no, increasing the potency would merely give me more energy. What I need to do is find a way to increase the duration the potion lasts. That means decreasing the initial efficiency first, to increase the duration of the potions effects, and then increasing the potency afterward so it gives me sustainable energy throughout the day.

It was just a little over eight hours since he'd had breakfast with Selene. Nicolas and Perennelle had found them a few minutes after they'd finished eating and whisked them away, him to the alchemy lab where he began working on his next transmutation circle, and Selene to Paris after Perennelle had mentioned something about the girl needing more clothes.

It was understandable, really, seeing as the only pair Selene possessed were the ones Harry found her in. Even though he had fixed them and washed the blood off (magic was dead useful for that), one pair of clothes was not enough for someone to wear while staying on an undetermined extended visit.

Still, did they really have to buy so much? The last Harry saw of them before using the time turner was both women carrying what looked like an entire department stores worth of clothing.

Well, he guessed that with the Philosopher's Stone, they could afford it. It wasn't like money was an issue for the Flamels.

"Are you alright, Harry?"

Startled, Harry blinked several times as he realized he'd been nodding off again. He turned his head to look over at Mrs. Crawft, who was staring at him with worry.

"I'm fine," Harry replied almost reflexively.

"You look tired," she countered. Harry grimaced.

"I didn't sleep that well last night."

He hated lying, especially to her. If there was one person Harry disliked lying to almost as much as Lisa, it was her mother. She had always been so kind to him that keeping things from her made him feel like he was doing her a great injustice.

But what else could he do? It wasn't like he could tell her that the reason he was tired was because he'd been using a time turner to go back in time eight hours each day, thereby ensuring that the normal five hours of sleep he usually got was no longer enough. That certainly wouldn't go over well. She'd either think he was being unusually imaginative or had gone crazy.

"You didn't have to come if you were tired," Mrs. Crawft said gently, as only a mother could. "I'm sure Lisa would have understood if you stayed home to get some sleep. It isn't like this is a dance recital or anything."

"I made her a promise," Harry told her stubbornly. "I told her that I would come to watch her practice."

Mrs. Crawft sighed, shook her head, then smiled.

"You are the most stubborn child I have ever met," she declared, partly in mirth and partly in worry. Harry grunted, feeling more annoyed that she had called him a child than anything else. "Still, what's done is done, and Lisa's session is just about finished, so I guess there's no point arguing over it."

Indeed, the dance class was close to concluding. Harry could see Lisa and the other girls in her class finishing their practice with some stretches.

The dance class was much like Master Wei's Dao, only without the sparring mat, weapons, and various scrolls. There was also the fact that all of the people in this class were girls, while most of the students attending his martial arts instructor's classes were boys. Only two girls attended martial arts classes; Katrina and a quiet girl from the middle-east named Fei Long.

The age range for the girls in this class was also a bit more varied. Harry could see ages ranging from girls around Lisa's age and younger, to full grown women. Master Wei's class was much more structured when it came to age. Most of the older students had a higher belt, unless they were new, so the older ones attended classes that happened later in the day.

As the dance class finally came to an end, Lisa said goodbye to her friends, who giggled as they said something that made her blush a fierce red while giving Harry discreet looks. With a small huff of what sounded like frustrated, or maybe embarrassment, Lisa walked over to the him and her mother.

"So, what did you guys think?" she asked both of them, though her attention was mostly focused on Harry. Her mother looked amused.

"You did well," Harry complimented, his posture straightening from the slouch it had been in since the start of her class before she could notice. "I can tell you've been practicing a lot, and you've gotten much better than when you started."

"Ah!" Lisa gave a small gasp, her face turning to hide the irrefutable redness of her cheeks--not that it did much good. "T-Thank you," she mumbled, looking down at her dance shoes.

Had Harry not been so tired, he would have snickered a bit at how cute she was being. No matter how many times he committed it to memory, watching his best friend get embarrassed over a simple compliment never ceased to amuse him.

For someone who is usually so loud and confident, she doesn't take compliments very well.

"Come on, you two," Mrs. Crawft stood up from her seat, prompting Harry to do the same. "Let's head back home."

Less than fifteen minutes later, the three of them were in the car as it drove down the street.

Harry found himself once more nodding off as he looked out the window, watching buildings, people and street lamps go by. His eyes were becoming increasingly heavy, and his mind felt strangely fuzzy, like it was being filled with static or some other form of electromagnetic interference that blocked or otherwise hampered his ability to process thoughts logically.

"Harry," Lisa's concerned voice caused him to jerk awake just as he had been about to fall asleep. Blinking, his tired eyes traveled over to Lisa, who looked very worried about him. "Are you ok?"

"Just not sleeping well is all," Harry offered the girl a tired smile. She just frowned at him.

"You should get some rest," she told him firmly. "It will take about half an hour to home. Why don't you get some sleep before then? I'll wake you up when we get home."

Harry opened his mouth to offer a protest, but all that came out was a very prominent yawn. As if a dam had suddenly burst inside of him, the drowsiness Harry felt increased until his body felt too heavy to move. His body soon betrayed him, as did his mind. His eyes began shutting without his permission, is mind grew more and more dim as if a fog was covering it, and his muscles relaxed to the point where he started to slump over.

A familiar scent hit him as his nose buried itself in soft strands of what he absently recognized as hair. Vanilla. He would know that scent anywhere. Even before his jaguar enhanced sense of smell came to be, Harry had known this smell. He had come to associate it with comfort and friendship, maybe even family.

The last thing he felt before sleep took it him was the feeling of an arm sliding around his back and the familiar warmth of his friend as she let him rest against her.

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Chapters kind of short, I know. Because fan fiction is a hobby and nothing more, I don't write for it very often. Still, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As always, thank you for reading.