DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS
"Hermione Hurry up"
"Hermione, hurry up! We're already late!"
"I'll be right down Ronald; I just need to write a few more ideas down."
Ron laughed to himself… It was always one more note here or one more theory there. But he loved her and completely understood the pressure of writing a book. He laughed at the thought of himself writing a book, but it did happen and his book on Quidditch plays is found in the hands of every serious Quidditch player. Hermione's first book gave an excellent depiction of the battle of Hogwarts and how Voldemort was brought down from power. Harry, with the help of Hermione and Ron, had discovered a shortcut in the animagus process and authored his first book Animagus: A New Beginning; a book that's sure to be in the restricted section of Hogwarts. Now the two of them were helping him again with what might be one of the greatest discoveries of the magical world since the invention of the levitation charm.
"Okay Ron, stop daydreaming and let's go!" said Hermione as she ran out the door. Ron followed at a run to catch up with Hermione and they walked to Harry's together in hushed whispers pondering on what advancements they will make tonight; if tonight will finally be the night where everything comes together.
Ron and Hermione arrived at Harry and Ginny's house and walked up to the front door. As they did so, Hermione took out her wand and pressed it into what looked like an ordinary door bell. As the tip touched the spot, the front door swung open and allowed entry to the two of them. They traveled into the house and walked up the stairs to the library where they found Harry meditating in the center, already starting their activity for the night.
Hermione and Ron quickly joined in the meditation, with the three of them forming a triangle. All three fell into such a deep state of meditation that nothing could bring them out of it. Inside the triangle was a bowl of water, a candle lit with a steady flame, and baking sheet covered in dirt. Each knew why these were located here but at this moment these items seemed completely irrelevant.
Each of the trio opened their eyes at similar times making it look as though the act itself was timed perfectly.
"You figure out which one belongs to you?" Harry asked towards Hermione.
"I'm not so sure but I think I may have. What about you, Ron?"
"Meh. When have I ever been good at this sort of thing?"
"Come on, Ron," said Harry. "Try harder, I felt the warmth of a fire in front of me and then I saw a small bonfire."
"Yup, that makes sense… I felt a flowing coolness then saw a raging river," was Hermione's response to Harry.
"Okay, let me try one more time." Ron closed his eyes and focused real hard. Harry and Hermione could feel the focus he had. After a long period of time, Ron jumped up and shouted in glee, "I think I've got it! The wind picked up and I saw a tornado approach and the wind kept picking up until I couldn't stand it anymore."
"Okay, so now what? Working these last two weeks for that moment will mean nothing if we can't figure out what to do next." Hermione said in anger.
"Well, if we've come this far I'm sure we will be able to figure out the rest" said Ron in a comforting tone.
Harry replied by saying, "I've been thinking about this more and more since we have gotten closer to success and I have a thought that performing this type of magic takes no incantation, just thought, concentration and motivation."
"Okay, well here goes nothing" said Hermione and she took out her wand. She pointed it at the water and tried to feel that same fluid motion that she felt earlier. She allowed it to build up inside of her until she felt as though she would burst and then, with Harry and Ron watching eagerly, began to move her wand. It was a simple motion, just a flick of the wrist which caused the tip of her wand to move upward ever so slightly. While making this small motion, a small bit of water moved up and out of the bowl, floated in midair for a brief moment, and then plopped back into the bowl causing the water to ripple.
Ron gasped in amazement while Harry just beamed with pride towards Hermione.
"I did it!" exclaimed Hermione. "I really did it!"
"It worked! I can't believe it actually worked," said Ron as he kept staring at the bowl of water.
"This could be the next step in wizard education!" said Harry as he slowly contemplated the possibilities that this discovery could have.
"Now wait a minute," said Hermione, "I'm not trying to rain on our parade but just because I managed to take control over a small bit of water for a second does not make this discovery complete. Considering what we have seen over these many years I'm sure that we are not the first to try this and have a small success. If we can really manipulate water as well as the other ancient elements we may have some substantial world stopping news."
"Okay, so let me give this a try," said Ron.
With Harry again watching anxiously for Ron to manipulate the earth in front of him, Hermione used her wand to summon a pad, quill and ink from a nearby desk and proceeded to take some notes down. Ron tried to once again feel the approach of a ravaging Tornado. As with Hermione, he tried to build up the feeling and when he felt as though he could, he pointed his wand outward and swung it around his head and stopped this movement when the wand was pointing towards the candle. The flame remained lit as Ron lowered his wand in defeat.
"Of course I can't do it," said a disappointed Ron.
"Well, don't give up," replied Harry. "Focus with me and we can try together."
Harry and Ron again closed their eyes just like earlier. They each tried to feel what they thought was their element. Harry envisioned the burning bonfire in front of him as Ron imagined the Tornado right on top of him. In Harry's minds eye, the fire began to become intense and engulf even more of the area around him. The tornado was now right on top of Ron, or at least the Tornado that Ron created in his head; the wind was swirling all around him and he felt as though it would pick him up a send him flying away. The heat became too much for Harry as he felt as though he would burn alive. He quickly opened his eyes as he pulled out his wand and made a quick jab at the candle but did not pull back his wand. The flame quickly increased in intensity and melted half the candle.
While Harry kept his wand on the steadily increasing fire, Ron had enough of the "wind" trying to push him upward and into the sky. He finally opened his eyes, and without noticing the scene in front of him, made the same motion as he did earlier. Bringing his wand around his head and, with his arm fully extended, stopped the motion so that his wand pointed to the almost out-of-control flame that Harry and Hermione were shielding themselves from. A great wind picked up from no where, extinguishing the flame, while pushing his friends back until they each hit their backs on the wall.
"Oh my…" But Ron's sentence was cut off by Hermione tackling him in happiness.
"You did it Ron!" said Hermione giving him a really deep and intimate kiss as a reward.
"So did Harry. Did you see the flame he had going?" said Ron, trying not to take all the credit.
"We really have discovered the elemental ability, haven't we?" asked Harry. With the nods of both his friends he continued, "Ron and I both successfully manipulated an element, is that substantial evidence?"
"I should say so," replied Hermione in an excited but slightly put out tone.
"Aww, Hermione, don't be sad. Harry and I just got lucky before you figured out the true strength of your element. You were the first to successfully manipulate water, and with that, any element at all. We have come so far and we still have so much more potential that we can unlock." Ron consoled.
"That is true. We can even begin writing this all down. Depending on what we have yet to discover, we can get a book out by the end of the summer." Hermione replied, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.
"That's only two months away! How fast do you write?!" said a shocked Harry.
"Oh, I'm not worried about that. You know me. Besides, I'm not the only one writing this book."
"That's true, but still, how fast do you expect me to write?" asked Ron.
"You'll be fine," said Hermione. "Now, let's figure out a title for this book so we can get the word out there!"
"I'm not sure if wizards are ready for all this information, but still, a title would be nice," said Harry.
As they were discussing possible book titles, the trio made their way down to the kitchen to grab a much deserved snack. They said goodnight to each other after making the title "Manipulating the elements: The next generation of Magic."
Harry checked in on Ginny, who was now in their bed reading all about famous healers and their discoveries. Training to become a healer seemed to be very strenuous on her, and yet she enjoyed it. He kissed her gently on the cheek and said, "I'm going to go work some more, so I don't know when I'll be in bed."
She put down her book for a moment and kissed him softly on the lips. "Don't work too hard, I've been missing you these last couple of nights," she said with a wink.
"Yea, I've missed you too bookworm," he said jokingly. "We're getting close Gin, and it's really exciting. I'll be back soon."
"Okay, I'll probably be up still," was all she said as she resumed reading.
Harry left their room and walked down the hall to the library. There, he set up many more candles to practice with. He sat down and began to think on how to easily take control of fire. After saying "Incendio" a few times, he was off to work.
After Ron and Hermione returned home, they exchanged a quick kiss before each took their place in separate rooms to practice. Ron went into his study, set up a book here, a candle there, and even managed to set up a pinwheel upright. Meanwhile, Hermione filled the bath tub with water and began to take a bath, making sure to take her wand with her to practice. As each member of the trio practiced on their own, their skills quickly grew and each member had something new to show each other when they returned the following day.