Arcane Calendar 40 years, Potter Family private demiplane.
James·Potter was sitting on a retro red velvet armchair, holding a communication Crystal in his hand so hard that his knuckles turned white.
Ever since his wife Lily Resurrection was killed five years ago, the former Gryffindor man of the hour has been living with a deep sense of disconnection and frustration.
He thought that rebirth meant a second chance and reliving the warmth of family and the bonds of friendship.
But reality gave him a loud slap in the face.
The world has changed. It has become beyond recognition.
"Damn Skynet! Damn virtual projection!" James threw the communication Crystal on the table and scratched the messy hair irritably, "Why can't we use an owl to send letters like before? That's what a wizard should be like!"
In this Arcane Empire, owl mail has been eliminated and relegated to the history museum. It has been replaced by retinal projection, quantum communication and holographic conferences. For an "old antique" like James whose thinking is still stuck twenty years ago, learning these new technologies is simply more uncomfortable than letting him challenge Voldemort.
Not only the lifestyle, but also the people have changed.
Peter Pettigrew's betrayal has been confirmed. Although that despicable rat is dead, the pain left behind is still there.
Remus·Lupin, that friend who once had low self-esteem because of his Werewolf identity, has now not only been cured of lycanthropy, but has also become Hogwarts's respected professor. He is busy writing papers and tutoring graduate students every day, and has no time to drink with him and reminisce about the past.
As for Sirius Black Blake...
James looked at the starry sky outside the window, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes.
That restless guy joined Imperial Interstellar Navy and is now a deep space scout. I heard that he will soon be sent to the edge of Milky Way Galaxy to explore those unknown alien civilizations.
"A few light years away..." James sighed. Although current communication technology can communicate across galaxies, it is a battlefield. Facing unknown space monsters and Void storms, can Sirius Black really come back alive?
But he couldn't dissuade him. Gryffindor had the desire for adventure flowing in his blood. Sirius Black was destined to belong to the sea of stars, not to retire in this peaceful greenhouse.
But what makes James feel suffocated the most is his family.
Harry has grown up and become an excellent Arcanist with a family of his own. James has missed every step of his son's growth. Although he is very grateful that Harry can grow up safely, the man who fills the role of father is his most hated mortal enemy--
Severus·Snape.
That greasy Snivellus actually became the godfather of Harry? And he also trained Harry into an elite like a strict father?
This is simply the biggest humiliation to James.
At the time of Resurrection, James was so angry that he roped in Sirius Black and Lupin, trying to teach Snape a lesson and get back to where he was before.
The result was a catastrophic fiasco.
That duel couldn't even be called a duel, but a one-sided beating.
Snape back then might still be suppressed by them three to one, but now Snape is Potions, the master of the Empire, a member of the core cabinet, and Archmage who is at the peak of Third Tier (about to break through Fourth Tier).
And what about James? A level 0 apprentice who just Resurrection and is not even fully adapted to the first Limiter.
Snape didn't even pull out his wand, and just used a few Wandless Magic's arcane shields and Gravity Charm to press the former "Three Predators" to the ground and rub them.
If it weren't for Lily's sake, Snape would definitely let them stay at St. Mungo's Hospital for half a year.
"I'm not willing to..."
James clenched his fists.
From then on, he worked hard and practiced hard. With the accumulation of Lily resources, it took him five years to finally break through the second Limiter and become a Second Tier Arcanist.
This speed is already considered a genius in the eyes of ordinary people. But the problem is that this requires not only magic power, but also knowledge.
The magic system (arcana) of the new era has extremely high requirements for theoretical knowledge. If you want to be promoted to Third Tier, you must have a strong soul to control the magic, and the strength of the soul often comes from in-depth analysis and research of the rules.
Unfortunately, James, like Harry, is a typical combatant. Is it okay to let him fight, but let him go to the Library to chew on those obscure <Higher-Dimensional Rune Analysis> or <Magical Fluid Mechanics>?
That simply killed him.
So, he got stuck at Second Tier.
And Snape? That bastard is already impacting Fourth Tier, and is even preparing for the future Fifth Tier Demigod road.
Not only has the gap not narrowed, but it has grown wider like a rift valley.
On the other side of the living room, Lily·Potter was sitting on the sofa, looking at the top-secret documents about "Akashic Project" in his hands, frowning.
She also has her troubles.
As a core member of Illuminati, she holds the top secrets of the Empire. And James is just an ordinary Second Tier citizen with a very low security clearance level.
This means that most of the work Lily handles every day, the pressure she faces, and her plans for the future cannot be shared with her husband.
The lack of a common language is slowly tearing this marriage apart.
"Lily, what are you going to eat tonight?" James tried to find something to talk about.
"Whatever." Lily didn't even raise his head, "I'm still checking the experimental data sent by Snape."
Hearing that name, James's face twitched.
Of course, Lily knows that her husband cares. But she has no choice. In the future interstellar expedition, she and Snape are the core technical backbones. They are destined to fight side by side, and may even leave the earth together for hundreds of years.
When the time comes, what will James do? Will he stay on earth and become a househusband?
Can this kind of marriage where the woman is strong and the man is weak and is accompanied by a long-term long-distance relationship really be maintained?
Lily suddenly remembered the conversation she had with Molly·Weasley while drinking tea a few days ago.
At that time, she confided her troubles to Molly, and Molly said something shocking:
"Dear, why are you doing multiple-choice questions?"
*"The current Empire law has been revised. In order to encourage the inheritance of excellent genes, especially for high-level Arcanist... polygamy is not only legal, but even encouraged."
"Since you can't let go of James's feelings, and you can't live without Snape's career support, why don't you... have both?"
At that time Lily almost spit out the black tea in his mouth.
This idea was too crazy for a Old Era woman like her. But the scary thing was that once the seed was planted, it took root and sprouted in her heart.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
No one opened the door because the person who came had the highest authority in this demiplane.
The door opened automatically, and a figure wearing a black gold-rimmed mage's robe walked in.
Severus·Snape.
He is no longer the gloomy and greasy Potions Professor he used to be.
Now, his hair is meticulously taken care of, and his body exudes a faint fragrance of herbs. He wears a badge on his chest symbolizing his identity as "Potions Grandmaster" and "Tower Master". His whole person exudes a confident, majestic and profound aura.
That is the calmness that belongs to the top elites of the Empire.
"Lily."
Snape ignored James sitting next to him and walked straight to Lily, even showing a rare smile.
"I have made new breakthroughs regarding the seminar papers. Especially in terms of the catalyst of 'Dragon Blood and Soul Fusion'. Are you interested in co-signing it?"
This is a huge honor. With Snape's current academic status, his paper is definitely a Empire S-level achievement.
Lily's eyes lit up and he was about to agree.
"Wait!"
James stood up suddenly and stood between the two of them, like a lion whose territory had been violated, "Snape! If you want to find someone to cooperate, why don't you ask me? I am also a member of this family!"
The air suddenly became quiet.
Snape stopped, lowered his head slightly, and looked at James with his iconic, empty and cold black eyes.
That look is not Wrath, not Envy, or even hatred.
But ignore it.
It's like being a Nobel Prize winner, watching a primary school student rolling in the mud asking to participate in a discussion of quantum mechanics.
"Potter."
Snape's voice was as smooth as silk, but with a biting chill, "This paper involves the core algorithm of Fourth Tier's soul science and the bloodline map of high-dimensional creatures."
"Excuse me, can you understand even one of the formulas?"
"I..." James blushed and held it in for a long time, unable to say a word. He really couldn't understand.
"If there's nothing else, please get out of the way."
Snape gently waved his sleeves, and an invisible soft force pushed James back to the sofa, "Don't waste your time, adults."
After saying that, he turned to look at Lily, his eyes instantly softened. "Shall we go to the study to talk?"
Lily looked at her husband who was slumped on the sofa with a look of humiliation and unwillingness, and then looked at the talented Snape in front of him who could resonate with him at the soul level.
The balance deep in her heart began to swing violently.
Maybe, Molly's suggestion... is not completely unfeasible?