HP: The Magical Gamer [Chapter 40: Brat!] (Patreon)
Content
Henry woke up early the next day. Having his own room in Slytherin was definitely a promotion from his previous Gryffindor's boys dorms.
After freshening up, he decided to go to the common room. He was surprised to see that Tracey and Daphne were already there, both in a corner, on a satin green sofa. They were ready for the day in their school robes even though there was more than an hour remaining before breakfast would be served in the Great Hall.
The other early risers who were present in the common room had given the duo a wide berth, sitting far away from them. It seemed Daphne's brutal performance last night was still fresh in their minds. He could see the wariness on their faces.
"Good morning, Daphne. Good morning, Tracey." he greeted his new friends, taking a seat beside Daphne. Her sapphire blue eyes glowed with joy as she saw him.
"You are an early riser too. I am on the cusp of declaring you as a perfection created by Magic itself." Daphne smiled, leaning over and trying to muss his hair. Henry instinctively slapped her hand away.
"Don't mess with my hair, Daphne. It took me three minutes of intense combing to style it properly." Henry complained with a scowl, ignoring her exaggerated praise. It was a difficult task to tame his wild hair in the morning and he wouldn't have her waste his effort.
Instead of heeding his warning, Daphne's eyes gleamed with mischief. Her hand creeped towards his head. She wiggled her fingers comically while grinning at him.
"Don't." Henry shot her an unamused look.
Undeterred by his threat, her grin grew wider. Henry internally sighed knowing what was going to happen next. Who was the kid between the two again?
Just as her hand shot forward to touch his hair, Henry grabbed her wrist and yanked her towards him. She yelped, falling face down in his lap. She was caught off guard by his immense strength. Taking advantage of her vulnerable position, Henry removed the band which kept her long blonde hair in a high ponytail. Instantly her hair spilled all around her head.
Daphne placed her hands on his hips and pushed up unsteadily. Her face was hidden in the curtain of blonde mane. She swept it aside and glared at him with narrowed eyes.
"That's how you do it, amateur." Henry smirked triumphantly, taunting her, stretching her green band between his thumb and forefinger.
"You little brat. You will regret waging war against-"
"Children, mama is here. Stop fighting now or get ready to be punished. Henry, give back the band to your sister. Daphne, don't talk to your little brother like that." Tracey stated mockingly, her eyes shining with mirth.
…………
There was a moment of silence, both Henry and Daphne staring at her.
"Okay, mama. But she was the one who started it." Henry chose to play along, tossing the green band to Daphne whose lips were twitching in amusement at their act.
"Yes, I saw that. Daphne, apologise to him. Now!" Tracey ordered sternly. Daphne, who was busy tidying back her hair, just stuck her tongue out, but relented under her steady glare.
"Fine! Momma. I will apologise. Sorry, Henry, I was just messing with your hair. I mean, I was just messing with you. It was all innocent fun." she pouted cutely, patting the bun as she finished doing her hair. Henry initially kept the thought of her high ponytail looking better than the current bun to himself. But he then decided to do something about it.
"There, there. I forgive you." Henry grinned, extending his arm, patting her head and intentionally disheveling her bun. Her hair again fell down all around her face. Hopefully, she would tie her hair in a high ponytail.
"Momma, Henry is bullying me." she whined, shoving him away.
"Henry!" Tracey's admonishment was lost on him as he laughed merrily. Daphne hid a pleased smile at hearing his warm laughter while her fingers again worked on her hair.
She wished he would laugh like that more. It was a sweet and heartwarming sound. Henry grabbed her hand as she began quickly pulling her hair in a bun.
"Ponytail." That was the only thing he said. Daphne arched her brow amusedly, but acceded to his request, deciding to do her hair in a high ponytail. It took a little more time and effort to do it than a bun would have required, but she wasn't complaining seeing Henry's wide pleased smile.
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"How are you faring in Slytherin, Henry? Did the snakes give you any trouble?" Harry asked his younger doppelganger.
Both were sitting face to face in plush chairs in the room of wonder.
After breakfast and getting pampered by Daphne, Henry had been cornered by Harry behind a statue before being taken to the Room of Requirement.
Harry had smiled smugly seeing the bamboozled expression on Henry's face. It was hard to get any childish reaction out of him. The surprised gasp as the younger boy entered the hidden room was music to Harry's ears.
Now they sat, addressing the main point of their conversation.
"An older boy did try. But I got lucky and made some friends who stopped him before he could anger me. You don't need to worry, brother. I can take care of myself. Believe it or not, the only one who is more powerful than me here at Hogwarts is Dumbledore. I can handle everyone else." he half-joked.
Harry just stared at him before nodding slowly. He couldn't refute that. He had been a witness to his powers when Henry killed all the Death Eaters while calmly hovering midair in the chamber of death.
"Fine. Just take care. I can't talk to you in public since it will endanger you in your house. I reckon your housemates won't be elated with us spending time together. It is fine anyway. The less people think you are connected to me, the less you will face fire from the snakes. Though if you are in trouble, you just need to ask, I will come for you, no matter what." Harry promised him with a determined smile.