46 Chapter 46: Two weeks later

Sunday, July 29, 1976.

Severus had returned again this weekend to the Manor Prince in New York with Hermione who was preparing exhaustively to take all the OWLs exams that the Ministry of Magic required for Hogwarts entrance.

Severus' weeks in the SCoP program hadn't changed at all, he followed the same routine, while in the dueling classes he ended up dueling 7 more times with Ethan, but neither of them managed to get the victory.

Both parties always ended up exhausted and when this happened they decided to postpone the duel since neither of them wanted to beat the other by endurance but wanted to win by skill.

Ethan on the one hand had proven to be far above Severus in terms of magical power and mastery at present and Severus proved to be far above him in terms of knowledge and creativity when it came to using spells in a duel.

Knowing this, Severus had set out to find a way to increase his magical power somehow other than just with years and practice.

He knew that if he waited a year he was likely to reach Ethan's level of magical power and mastery, but he wanted something faster.

Not only did he start the extra dueling classes with Professor Hale, but he also had to participate in the study group with Gwen, Freyja, Ethan, and Sasaki.

Yes, Sasaki also ended up joining the group on his own, much to the surprise of Ethan and Severus.

Sasaki was definitely a genius in many things, but there was still a lot he needed to learn about brewing potions and he admitted that he joined the study group to learn from Severus.

And the strangest thing was that he had become very good friends with Freyja in these two weeks, unlike with Ethan, Freyja had formed a very good relationship with the dark, cold and quiet Sasaki.

She was the only one in the group who managed to get him to talk to her at all times.

Not even Severus was able to connect so well with Sasaki even though their interests in the Dark Arts were very similar.

It was now 15:00 pm and Severus had already finished with most of the paperwork that came with the creation of Prince Industries and the production of his potion "Coactus Verumorphe".

He got up and went to get something to drink, then he would rest and clear his head for a while.

That's when he saw Hermione surrounded by books studying like crazy without stopping for a second.

She had been like that since Friday, Severus still didn't understand why she came to the USA if she spent all day studying, it was a waste of time to come from Britain to the USA to do what she can do there.

'Oh, right, because of the nightmares, I always forget about that' Severus remembered.

He was already so used to automatically doing the magic that helped her sleep every night, that he had forgotten that she actually depended on his magic because she had to stop taking the 'Dreamless' potion for at least twice a week for it not to lose the effect it had.

'Those damn nightmares, if only I knew of some potion to remedy that problem everything would be simpler' Severus thought but shook his head, he didn't have time for that now, he already had a lot of things and it's not like he wasted time helping her with her nightmares either, as the magic kept itself while they slept he didn't have to do anything too complicated.

"You know Hermione, basically, you already know everything you need to pass the ordinary level exams and that's good enough to have the OWL level and get into Hogwarts, I don't think that continuing to read will help you at all" commented Severus as he passed by Hermione.

"You're wrong Severus, there are a lot of things I have to go over and there's only so much time I have to do it, every second counts if I want to get extraordinary in every subject" Hermione answered him as if it was obvious.

"Having all extraordinary is really that necessary, isn't an OWL enough for you?"

"Severus, didn't you get extraordinary in every subject except Transfigurations?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with you?"

"I can't aim any lower than that, besides, O.W.L.s are very important, they affect the jobs one can apply for and everything" Hermione assured firmly and went back to studying without wasting any more time.

'Yes, it's these moments that I'm happily thinking that at least I didn't worry about those things, well, only in the first year when in Hogwarts we had flying I was a bit obsessed with the idea of learning, but unfortunately, I had no talent for that at all, something I always envied watching Potter fly so skillfully in Quidditch matches' thought Severus as he remembered why he missed all the Quidditch matches that weren't his house's.

"Fine, but don't stress Hermione, it doesn't do you any good to study so hard without a good rest."

"Yes, I know, sorry Severus, it's just that with the problems we had with the ministry I'd rather be prepared for anything."

Yes, Severus had had to talk to the British Ministry of Magic after the news came out that he was the new Lord of the Prince family.

And as expected, they didn't take kindly in Britain to Severus not announcing to them that he was the current heir and Lord of the Prince Family.

But they could not do much about it either.

They even asked Severus for a good batch of the new potion that could help werewolves, but Severus had already promised to deliver the first batch to the US Magicongress, so they would have to wait for the next batch to be ready.

But just because they couldn't do anything to him, didn't mean they couldn't play a trick on Hermione who was now part of the Prince.

"I understand, but I wouldn't worry so much about the Ministry, even though they are angry, in these moments it doesn't suit them to make enemies like the Princes, their situation with the Dark Lord has their hands tied."

"I know, but I'm still nervous."

"How about if I give them a warning so they don't try to alter your exam notes, I can even ask them to raise them in case...?"

"Severus!" glared Hermione at him angrily.

"I was only joking..."

"I hope so," Hermione said more calmly.

" Although that would certainly work" Severus jokingly clarified only for Hermione to flip one of the pillows off the couch she was sitting on studying.

"Severus Prince, blackmailing is wrong."

"I never said blackmail, I said give a warning, very different."

"No, it isn't!"

"They're different words for a reason, Hermione."

"With both, you're cheating!"

"Well, suit yourself, it's not my test after all."

"You..., what do you mean by that, if it was your exam would you do it?"

Severus just gave her a smile and without answering her he turned away and went to get his drink.

"Severus!"

Severus still didn't answer her.

'Well, never mind, he's just joking anyway, I'm sure he wouldn't... or maybe he would, no, no, he just wants to distract me, come on Hermione, concentrate on what's important' Hermione said to herself when she saw that Severus wasn't going to answer her.

After a few minutes had passed, Severus passed by Hermione again and saw that she was still studying, she didn't even bother to look at him when he passed by.

And since Severus had already rested enough, he turned his attention back to his remaining paperwork.

In the two weeks that had passed, Severus had been very busy.

The potion production at the Prince's Factory was going quite fast, all the potioneers working there were very capable of brewing potions to the letter.

So once Severus explained to them what they had to do and how they had to do it, it didn't take them long to succeed in brewing the potion correctly, so mass production was already in progress.

As for Prince Industries, things were going very well.

Severus was already getting a good sum of money from it.

And a week ago, Apple Prince introduced the Apple II, which is only a week after being on the market became a success, making them earn a huge amount of money every day.

But for some reason, Severus felt that something else was still missing to reach the success that the Apple II should have.

It was then that Severus decided to use Occlumency to remember to improve what he might be missing.

And he finally discovered what Apple II was missing to be even more successful than it was.

Severus now knew what he needed to propel it to another level.

What he needed was Software with a spreadsheet application available for the Apple II computer, this would turn the Apple II which is now considered just a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool.

The Apple II would go from being a hobbyist's toy to a highly desirable financial tool that would be sold in droves all over the world and not just to those interested.

It was something quite simple, but Severus had not remembered it until he looked it up through the Occlusion.

The application Severus was looking for was the well-known VisiCalc, but at present, it did not yet exist, he only knew about it because he had heard of it in his former life as a Benedict and knew that this was what was missing from the Apple II.

Severus needed to create a VisiCalc now, he could not and would not wait a few years for others to create it.

For that reason, he discussed the whole idea with Jobs, from how it should work to how it would be implemented, and hoped that he would hire skilled people to take over the creation of the application he intended for the Apple II to use.

Luckily it seemed that Jobs was very interested in this idea that he told him, obviously Severus told him the basics that he could remember with Occlumency, Jobs would have to take care of making it happen.

And so it was that Prince Industries created a new sector dedicated to Software, for the creation of the new VisiCalc of this time.

Prince Industries also had a lot of profits from the copper mine and smelters they had acquired some time ago.

But the great thing about having their own copper mine and smelter were that they didn't have to buy the copper needed for the Apple II.

Copper was indispensable for the Apple II as it was used for the generation and distribution of electricity as it is an excellent conductor of that energy.

Copper became the resource most used by Apple Prince, as it is the most common raw material in the manufacture of telephone cables, and the development of new technologies to increase the efficiency of data transmission also positions this material as an important option for the development of broadband connectivity.

To give you an idea, a computer can carry more than 2 kilos of copper, starting with the tiny microprocessors that make them work, whose most advanced models incorporate this metal in their structure.

And Apple Prince prefers to use copper because it is more efficient in conducting electricity and lasts longer than other materials.

An hour later, Severus had to go to Boston Harbor to catch the ship that would take him to SWI where he would return to the routine of the SCoP program.

So he packed all his things and then went to greet Hermione.

Again he found Hermione still surrounded by books and studying nonstop on the couch.

Not wanting to keep insisting, he simply said goodbye and went to the port on his own.

The next day he went to class as usual, but at dinner that day there was a new article in the newspaper.

"Look Prince, it seems that you don't have to wait anymore, they just published the list of spells allowed for the USA dueling competition of the 14th" Gwen who was next to him, showed him the news in the newspaper.

"Good, now with Ethan we will know what to focus on in our classes" replied Severus when he saw the news.

"I'm sure you're going to win Sev," said Freyja with a smile and total confidence in Severus.

'I still can't get used to someone calling me that again' thought Severus, Freyja had started calling him Sev already a week ago, and even though he didn't really mind her calling him that, it still felt strange to him.

"Thank you, Freyja, but don't forget there are several tough competitors."

"Mmmm, yes, but you still have a good chance of winning, and as far as I can see they are just pretty basic spells, nothing very interesting, I thought this time they were going to allow the odd high-level spell," Gwen said frustrated as she leaned her head on Severus' shoulder who was reading the spells on the list.

"But Gwen, if they allowed high-level spells it could be very dangerous for the duelists" commented Freyja confused as to why her friend would want there to be those kinds of spells.

"It's not as dangerous as you think Freyja, in these kinds of competitions the judges are very careful that no one is in great danger" Gwen clarified to him as she took advantage of her comfortable potion on Severus' shoulder to start caressing his long straight black hair.

"Gwen is right, the judges would intervene if they see that the duelist is going to be badly hurt with a spell, besides the high-level spells they usually allow are not very dangerous" Severus added without bothering to say anything to Gwen who was clinging to him.

Freyja just nodded, still doubtful but reassured to know that there wouldn't be that kind of spell in the competition Severus would be going to anyway.

"By the way Prince, you didn't think to cut your hair, you already have it almost as long as I do" Gwen joked as she continued comfortably on his shoulder and caressing Severus' hair.

"It wasn't in my priorities to get a haircut "

"Severus looks good no matter what" Freyja affirmed quickly.

"Well, I was just saying, I like him either way too," said Gwen joking coquettishly.

After that, the three continued to chat quietly about various topics.

The only noticeable thing was how close Gwen and Severus seemed to be at all times.

Although Freyja didn't understand those things and didn't care about them either, the rest of the people did have their doubts.

Severus and Gwen had become very close lately, the biggest evidence of which was that now despite the coquettishly teasing she was doing to Severus, he didn't answer her back or walk away with some excuse, but simply rolled his eyes and let her.

And Gwen obviously took advantage of this to cling to him.

Ethan even asked the two of them once if they were dating, to which Gwen replied, "That's between me and Prince, Sparky."

While Severus just ignored whenever Ethan insisted he to tell him.

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Hello.

Now it's your turn to decide what had been discussed before.

Whether or not you want a haircut on Severus.

{Then vote on the paragraph of each option}

-Have him cut his hair.

-Let him stay as he currently is.

-Have him change his hairstyle.