AN: this will be the last summer chapter, I wanted to show some of Harry's Progress and that his friends would be coming over. next chapter will be a week before school starts.

Since the muse seems to be staying with me on this one i will now ask that if any one wants to Beta for this story send me a PM and we can talk

Chapter 4: Friends and Transmutations

It had been a week since the end of the school year and the start of his Apprenticeship and if Harry had learned one thing it was this; Runes where annoying and Ophion was even more of a taskmaster than the Flamels even with Nick's insistence that he do physical exercise every morning before breakfast and every evening dinner. His schedule while not packed was still pretty rigorous. Every morning he would wake up with the sun and do a few laps around the house with Nick and Perenelle and then Nick would teach him martial arts on the front lawn. After that there was breakfast and then learning what Perenelle called Practical Magic, which could be anything from house cleaning spells to low level battle magic. After lunch Edward would teach him history, magical and muggle, Runes, and science until three and then Harry would work with Ophion for two hours learning to read parcel tongue but he refused to allow him to perform any of the spells. He said he needed to "shed his skin a few more times before he delved into messing with someone else's body."

Today though Harry was excited because he would be performing his first transmutation. Nicholas had been drilling elements and element detection into his head all week along with the first three laws. Harry now sat in the lab while Perenelle and Nicholas stood in front of a black board and Ophion was wrapped around Harry's arm.

"Today is your first test Harry. Recite for me the first three Laws of Alchemy and explain them." Nicholas said calmly.

"The first Law of Alchemy is Equivalent exchange; nothing can be gained without something of equal value being lost. This ties into the second and third law. The second law being that of Conservation of mass, if you are to transmute one cube exactly four by four by four and one pound in weight I would only be able to rearrange the molecules with that amount of material in ways that stay within that set of dimensions" Harry took a breath before continuing, "The Third Law of Alchemy is the Law of Natural Providence stating that the atoms the object is made of cannot be changed only the molecules and only within the limits of that which the atoms allow." Harry finished with a smile.

Nicholas nodded, "Good now describe the process by which an alchemist and transmutation circle works together to achieve the goal."

"Comprehension, Destruction and Reconstruction, the Alchemist uses mind magic to scan what he is about to transmute and understand it's physical properties then using the circle and runes there in the alchemist awakens and sends natural energy through the array deconstructing and reconstructing the atoms of the object into the desired shape." Harry responded calmly.

Nicholas nodded and held out a piece of chalk and a cube of wood, "create for me a simple toy any shape you wish with the transmutation circle I showed you yesterday afternoon."

Harry nodded and took the chalk and cube of wood and drew out the array on the table under the block of wood, a circle with two triangles and the elemental symbols on the pinnacles with the water and earth symbols larger than the others symbolizing wood. Harry took a calming breath and fixed the desired shape he wanted the toy to take in his mind, taking into account how much matter he had to work with he placed his hand on the array and let the magic flow through him and connect with the magic of the array, a show of magical discharge and the block of wood was no longer a simple cube but now it was a small statue of Hedwig, her wings spread wide ready to take flight.

Nick and Perenelle stepped forward to inspect the creation before them. After a moment Nick stood and clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder with a smile, "Wonderful work lad, now try it again on the stone table."

Harry nodded and again drew the circle this time with only the symbol for earth taking prominence. He thought of what he wanted to make and nodded to himself before clapping his hands down on the circle another show of sparks and in a small bowl now created in the table a small figurine of Ophion appeared. The snake slithered up and hissed out :my eyes are not that angry: indignantly.

Harry chuckled and hissed back :you are always glaring my friend deal with it:

Perenelle stepped forward this time to inspect and nodded with a smile, "Very good Harry. you seem to be a natural at this."

Nicholas nodded, "Next week you will be doing a much larger transmutation on something a bit harder, sand. For now let's look at a different branch of alchemy than we have previously explored." He said taking out a piece of chalk and drawing a strange transmutation circle on the board where fire was the only symbol along with a salamander underneath the triangle array. The triangles themselves were also more complex than Harry had seen; two larger triangles encompassed nine other triangles. "Can you tell me what this transmutation circle would be used for?"

Harry thought for a moment going back through all of his lessons and nodded, "transmuting gasses and condensing them to create whips of fire or explosions?" Harry said after a moments thought.

Nicholas raised an eyebrow, "Explain your reasoning."

"The first clue is the symbol for fire, now this could hold any meaning from simple energy transmutation to outright creating fore but the nine triangle formation lends the next clue. The nine triangles represent the nine most present elements in the air at any given time. And finally we have the salamander at the bottom of the triangle, salamanders in the magical world have long since been creatures of fire and explosions."

"Wow I stared at this circle for months on end and didn't get what it could all mean you just deduced it in less than a minute, Roy would be proud." Nicholas said after a moment of stunned silence.

Harry smiled broadly until Nick through an erasure at his head, "Don't let it get to your head kid, theory and practical application are totally different concepts. Now let us begin to break down the elements found in the air around us." With that the two of them where lost in a lecture of math and higher chemistry for the foreseeable future. Perenelle decided she would go prepare Harry's surprise for latter and dissaperated.

.o0o.

A few hours later Harry sat in the library with a bowl of chips and a copy of Edward Abott's Flatland. He had seen it one day while perusing the library. It wasn't something he would have usually picked up but the way Ophion had described the plot to him made him pick it up and now he finally had the free time to read it. Ophion was sitting on the back of his winged chair reading along with him.

: aren't you done with that page yet? I finished it ages ago.: the snake complained.

: There is a second copy around here somewhere you know.: Harry replied.

:No hands child, don't be rude.: the snake hissed back flicking his tongue out to swipe at the page Harry was still reading turning it and proving he didn't need hands anyway.

Harry jumped at the chuckle behind him and turned to see Nicholas standing there, "From the look on your face I would say the two of you are arguing?"

Harry just gave a derisive grunt, "So what's up Master?"

"Told you once I tell you again, call me Nick, no need to be so formal in our own home, and come on Nelly has a surprise for you down stairs." Nick said snatching the book ignoring the indignant hiss from the snake and setting it on the table beside the chair Harry was sitting in.

Harry jumped up and as had become his habit held out his hand for Ophion to climb up. They went down stairs and Harry was almost bowled over by a bushy ball of brown hair.

"Ho Hermione." Harry said excited to see his friend, he looked over her head and spotted Ron and smiled "Hey Ron!"his smile faltered a bit when he noticed Ron staring at his shoulder and that he was a bit more pale than usual.

"Wu-what's that Harry?" Ron asked pointing to Harry.

Hermione looked up and noticed Ophion as well and skittered back, "Why is there a snake on your shoulder?" she asked.

Harry smiled and said, "This is Ophion, he's a friend of mine. It turns out I can speak parsel tongue."

"Really what's it like?" "Grah Evil!" Hermione and Ron said at the same time. Ron scrabbled back while Hermione surged forward to interrogate Harry.

Nick raised an eyebrow at Ron and said, "And what makes you think that your friend" he put emphises on the word, "is evil just because he can speak to snakes?"

Ron looked at Nick as if he had grown a second head, "Well anyone who can speak to snakes is evil, Salazar Slytherin and Voldemort both spoke it." he said as if that closed the matter.

Nick sighed and said crossly, "Parsel tongue and parsel magic have been around long before your wayward school founder and that bastard, in ancient Greece Parsel speakers where attendants in the temple of Apollo and Hermes, healers and warriors. Magic in and of itself is not evil Mr. Weasley it is how we use that magic and the choices we make that are for good or for evil. Remember that boy."

Ron gulped and nodded his head vigerously, "So how did you find out you could speak to snakes Harry?" Ron asked nervously stepping forward.

"I came across Ophion during my first exam when I got here on this island in the middle of the lake at the top of the mountain." Harry said, "but come on I want to show you what I did this morning," he said excitedly then looked to Nick, "Can I show them the lab Nick?"

"Sure just don't mess with any of the arrays. Dinner will be in an hour."