DISCLAIMER: So one day, I had this idea to make a story about wizards in the modern world. However, I fell asleep and the evil withc, JK Rowling, came and stole the idea, obliviating me in the process. I only now remember because... well, I don't own HP. :(


The Destroyer

Elementals


Twelve months into training...

Harry was progressing very fast and Genkou was most definitely impressed. Whatever challenges Harry faced and whenever it became difficult, he would strive and work harder until he got it, usually a few days later.

Harry was learning how to incorporate a lot of the things he had learned previously into one. Such as transfiguring an object into something then charming it and using it as a weapon or an ally. He had begun fighting with large groups of enemies now and Genkou had to magically expand the already large training hall to accomodate the changes.

Genkou was also teaching him the other fighting styles that he knew that Harry did not know yet. Though he knew he could also revert to other styles, he still wanted to know as much as he could. He also was being taught Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, and some Hapkido.

Of course, all of this was coupled with his magical training, which took precedence over the physical for the time being.

"Concentrate Harry," Genkou said. A large rock stood in the middle of the training hall, having been conjured by Genkou. "I want you to transfigure this rock into something, animate it, and then fight it," he instructed.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement and concentrated. The hardest element to transfigure was earth, or in this case stone, and so it required more concentration and power than usual. However, if he mastered this, than almost anywhere he could transfigure something to aid him in any way possible. He needed to practice a lot harder and a lot more though, since it took a lot of time to get used to it so that it would take less time to actually do it.

He made a quick motion with his wand and the stone trembled as its surface suddenly rippled. It slowly changed into a stone statue of a rhino, which he then animated and it came to life, its eyes flaring a little as it did so before they returned to its normal dark gray stone color.

The rhino snorted as it took a step forward, eyeing Harry. It was at least ten feet tall, much bigger than Harry would have liked, but he was calm and concentrated. He knew he could beat it.

It charged, suddenly, and Harry leapt into the air, the horn of the rhino nearly impaling him but he had judged correctly. He landed on top of its head and with a few bombarda spells pointed at his feet the rhino collapsed, sending him flying into the air. He hit the ground with his shoulder, rolled, and ended on his feet.

A quick motion with his wand and the rhino was repaired, though still unmoving. He then transfigured it into a real rhino this time. It took a lot of effort, since stone was one of the harder things to transfigure into a living thing. However, he succeeded and the rhino snorted for real this time. It rose up on its legs and considered its surroundings.

"Well done, apprentice. Well done," said Genkou, visibly smiling as he made a circular motion with his wand and the rhino disappeared with a glow and a pop.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him and Genkou just shrugged, though he had a knowing smile.

Unknown to Harry, a certain rhino suddenly appeared in the Forbidden Forest.


Ministry of Magic

Grant reread the list of personnel he had. They had three-hundred and twenty-seven Aurors on hand. Forty-three of which were Hitwizards. He also had thirty researchers and information gatherers, in effect somewhat like secretaries. They were the biggest department after all.

A wave of his wand made a chute appear from the ceiling. He carefully tucked the list into a folder and then put it into the chute.

"Minister's Office, Priority One," he said and the chute sucked up the folder and sent it to the Minister. It then disappeared back up into the ceiling.

He looked down at the information in his hands and read through it. The Death Eaters looked to be planning several attacks within the next week. Some of them on prominent pureblooded families who had not sided with Voldemort. Some on Ministry safehouses and outposts, and a few others on small muggle towns.

He grabbed the orb on his desk and told his secretary to call in all senior aurors for an emergency meeting. He'd have to act fast if he was to prevent the Death Eaters from succeeding.

Twenty minutes later, he had finished reading the information given to him and sure enough, his orb glowed and the voice of his secretary came from it. The senior aurors were ready in meeting room 4.

Thanking his secretary, he grabbed the folder with all the information and left his office, greeting his secretary as he headed for the meeting.

The room was nearly full, save for one empty seat left for him. There were twenty senior aurors, the fewest in history. In fact, this was also the smallest Auror count in history as well, showing that Voldemort had cut into the Ministry deep.

In a flash of light from his wand, matching folders appeared before the twenty senior aurors. They looked at him, questions in their eyes, but waited for him to explain as they opened the folders.

"We have received information that the Death Eaters are planning several attacks within the next week. The one attack they are sure of the date is on safehouse eighteen," he began, "It will be on July 28th, presumably at night. Our task is to be ready for them and, hopefully, set a trap for them so that we can gather information from any captured Death Eaters. I am saying this now, if left with no other choice you are authorized to kill, but if you have the chance to capture Death Eaters take that chance. We cannot afford to be left in the dark, trying to find a match and a candle."

They nodded as they continued reading, flipping through the pages in the folder.

"The other planned attacks are on safehouses six, eleven, and thirty-one. They are also planning an attack on the Weasley family, Longbottom family, and the Harven family. Further, they are starting plans on attacking the Ministry itself. We will prepare for that when the time comes, but first let us deal with the current attacks," he paused and pointed at one of the senior aurors.

"Tamara, take your team and beef up security in safehouse eighteen. You have much of the attack plan already in your hands and so you can formulate a way to trap any Death Eaters as well as repel the attack," she nodded at him, stood, and left the room.

"What about the other safehouses?" asked one of the senior aurors.

"We will increase security quietly and also have campers nearby just in case," Grant replied. Campers was the term for Aurors who were to stay near an area and camp out somewhere where they cannot be seen and, in case something happens, they come in to help.

The senior auror nodded and volunteered to take his team and camp near safehouse six. Grant acknowledged that and appointed two others to the two other safehouses. He then asked three more senior aurors to take their teams to each of the pureblooded families and camp nearby.

"I want the rest of you to keep your teams on full alert and ready to go in case something goes unexpectedly. Finns, I want you to find out what you can about the attacks. Actually, I want all of you to dig deep, try and find any information. Remember not to make too much of a ripple about it, else they find out we're on to them. Let's get this done people," he finished.

The sound of multiple chairs being pushed back and murmurs of conversation erupted as they all filed out of the meeting room. Grant stayed behind, his expression one of contemplation as he decided on the next course of action. The Ministry had to go on the offensive somehow...


Back at Genkou's Residence, fifteen months into training...

Harry cleared his mind and set about building up some more of his defenses. He already had quite an array of mental defenses and his full occlumency shields were nearly impenetrable, but Genkou could still get through after a long struggle. Harry decided that Voldemort was also much more powerful than Genkou so he still built up his defenses and practiced everyday.

Genkou looked at him directly in the eye, his eyes then began to twinkle. He felt a slight mental presence probing his defense.

"Impressive," said Genkou, before he suddenly unleashed a heavy blow on Harry's defenses. He hammered on it, but it held as Harry concentrated hard on fighting back. Without warning, his eyes flared a bright emerald green and suddenly Genkou's presence was thrown back into his own mind as Harry countered his legilimency attack.

He was somewhere in the mountains, dueling with someone. Someone that, Harry decided, was Genkou's master. They were dueling and they were going so fast it was as if someone fast forwarded a movie.

Suddenly, the scene disappeared and instead he was with a beautiful woman. She had long black hair that went to her waist and intelligent amber eyes. She was in his arms, smiling contently, and he also felt the happiness that Genkou had felt at that moment.

It suddenly disappeared again, to be replaced by a memory of an explosion. A defeaning bang, fire everywhere. Suddenly, a dark-hooded figure came. Crimson eyes flashing.

Genkou was too stunned from the explosion that he could not react fast enough. A green bolt of light headed for him, but then a body jumped in the way and his heart fell. He knew who it was. In a sudden rush, rage and anger welled up in him as well as pain and loss.

Harry watched as Genkou dueled someone who he knew must have been Voldemort. They dueled for what seemed hours, before finally Genkou landed a spell on Voldemort that made him hiss and fly into the air.

"This is not over!" he yelled before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.

Then all became blurred as Harry was violently wrenched away from Genkou's mind with a sudden ferocity that stunned Harry. He reeled, back in his own self, and looked at Genkou.

He was sweating, his eyes glowing, and his breathing ragged. He seemed to be in a far away place from the look in his eyes and so Harry waited.

It took a minute or two before Harry noticed that he was back.

"I am sorry, master. It was my fault, I apologize profu-" but was cut off from a gesture from Genkou.

"The fault was mine alone. I should not have let you seen those, but I could not... I..." but words failed him for the first time that Harry had known him. "It had happened so fast and I am... I am old, Harry. Old and dying, I can feel it... but not yet, no. I still have time. Enough time to accompany you for a few more memories," he replied with a sad smile.

Harry didn't know what to say so remained silent. After a moment, Genkou looked at one of the large windows of the training room.

"She was... she was my wife, Harry. Her name was Megumi. She was so very smart... so beautiful..." he trailed off, his eyes going off to some far away place. But then he shook his head, eyes blinking as he laughed bitterly. "But she's gone now, because of that arsehole Voldemort. Oh, I vowed that day, Harry, that I would do everything in my power to bring him down, to destroy him, and that is why you are here."

Harry nodded numbly, the memories and emotions from Genkou still in his head. An unshed tear started to form and he looked away so that Genkou would not see. They had both lost their loved ones to that monster. Both of them vowed to fight him and destroy him. They weren't that much different from each other, except there was only one who could truly end it. That was Harry.

"He will die, master. I will not fail," he said with a confident voice, though deep inside he questioned whether he could really do it. Voldemort was far older than him and far more powerful, but then again he was... catching up, in a way.

Genkou looked at him, wiping errant tears away from his cheeks and eyes. He smile tugged at his lips as he replied, "I know you won't, Harry. I know..."

It took another ten minutes to get themselves together before Genkou spoke again, breaking the silence. "I think we are done for today. We shall continue tomorrow, but I daresay you have gotten extremely adept at occlumency. Perhaps legilimency will be next on the agenda," he hinted before walking away.

Harry stood and walked over to the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He could sense the sadness eminating from his mentor, but he did not know what to say or do, so he decided to let him pass it on his own. He looked out the window, but saw nothing as his thoughts were elsewhere. He was thinking of his friends and how he would do anything to protect them.

So much depended on him. So many lives, so many futures. He sighed, feeling very old all of a sudden. He knew he was no longer a child, his innocence had been stripped from him long ago. But there was always that hope, that maybe it was all a bad dream and he would wake up and live a normal life. He chuckled at that foolish thought. Clearing his mind, he walked out of the room and headed for the library once more. He had more than a thousand books full of knowledge to go through still. Time was not on his side, not even with the spell.


16 months into training...

"You have already mastered silent casting, apprentice. You have learned all that I have to teach you of charms, of transfigurations, of duelling, and so much more. Yet there are still other things that you do not yet know, nor understand. We are running out of time and I do not believe I can cast the spell again anytime soon," his master paused then, looking very old all of a sudden, "As you may have noticed, my power has diminished since the last time I cast the spell. Proof that I am indeed nearing my end, but I still have time with me yet. Enough, hopefully, to impart to you the knowledge you need to have to defeat the bastard." He did not have to explain who that was.

Harry listened intently, his eyes focused and his mind whirring, ready to take in whatever there was left to teach him.

"For the next two months, I will teach you wandless magic. It will be difficult, and perhaps you might not even learn it, but we must try. I will also teach you how to conjure, for it is extremely useful. Then we shall move on to your animagus forms. I will impart to you my knowledge on potions as well, and hopefully you will become adept at it. I suggest also that you study languages during this period, for after which we I will teach you something that will take all your focus and concentration, as well as your power and strength," he continued.

Harry nodded. He knew that whatever that was, it had something to do with whatever Genkou saw in the parchment all those months ago.

"Within this period I will also teach you what I know of Arithmancy, for you will need it. You can learn about runes on your own as well as languages, for that is easy enough from the library. But know that this will be far more intense than ever before... are you ready?"

Harry grinned, "Are you?" he replied.


"Wandless magic, Harry, will, at the beginning, take tremendous concentration. Then the more you do it, the more it will come easier to you. In essence, the more you practice, the easier it will be. The hardest part about wandless magic is that your body has become so used to using a wand that it may take time before you may do anything. You might be able to even move something slightly as your magic will look for a focusing point," his mentor explained.

"However, if you focus your mind into using your hand as a focus point, then it will come easier. Eventually, you will only need to move a part of your body and it will happen. A true master, such as Godric and Salazar, need only move their fingers a tiny bit to cast a spell. Some say they merely looked at their opponents and they fell instantly before spells, but that may just be legend," said an amused Genkou, his eyes twinkling. The memory a month earlier already forgotten or pushed deep into the back of his mind.

Genkou, with a little concentration, levitated a rock off of the table that sat between the two of them. He let it fall, softly, back onto the table.

"We will start of simply first. Think of the levitation charm, how it feels like, and then will your magic to cast it. Remember to use your hand as a focus and to concentrate," said his mentor.

Harry held his hand out and reached into his magic. His eyes glowed briefly, but then nothing happened. Shaking his head, he cleared his mind and then told himself what he wanted to do. He thought of the levitation charm, of how it felt like when he casted it. He thought of what it was supposed to do, and in a moment, as if something within him clicked, he reached into his magic and cast the spell.

His emerald eyes glowed as he focused his magic from his hand. He felt his magic flow out of his hand and suddenly the rock levitated. It wobbled in mid-air as it rose, higher and higher, until it hit the ceiling. It was then that Harry tried to bring it down, but about halfway it fell of its own accord as Harry's hand dropped.

He looked a little tired from that, having had to concentrate hard to make it happen.

Genkou smiled, "It will get easier, apprentice. It always does," he assured him.

However, Harry thought he was just mad.

"Try again," came the command and Harry did so.

They did that for two days, until finally Harry, with a mere thought, could levitate the rock around the room. He could even adjust the speed at which it moved around the room and at one point he accidentally broke through one of the windows.

Without even thinking, he had repaired the window silently and without a wand, as Genkou's eyes widened slightly before he masked the surprise.

"Excellent. We can move on..." Genkou began.


Ministry of Magic

Minister Bones was reading the personnel reports that had been sent to her. She cursed when she read the personnel count for the MLE. Apparently this was the lowest number of Aurors in the Ministry in its entire history. Proof that Voldemort had done considerable damage to the Wizarding World of Britain. She continued reading and had come to a decision on an important matter when the chute popped from above once more, startling her.

Shaking her head, she waited patiently as the chute deposited a few letters onto her desk. It went back up into the ceiling and disappeared as she picked one of them up. Emblazoned on the envelope was an eagle over a coat of arms, above which was written United States Ministry of Magic.

She quickly tore it open and began to read.

Dearest Amelia,

Forgive me, but the council (which was like the Congress of the USMM) has decided against involving ourselves with the war. Voldemort has yet to strike at us directly and we have confirmed that none of his Death Eaters have arrived within the country. Of course, that cannot be for sure, but I deeply regret the decision they came to. I am sorry, Amelia, but I have tried to convince them and some have already called me to step down if I continue on.

However, off the record, I think I may be able to help. I have contacted an old friend of ours. You do remember Arcturus?

Amelia grimaced at that. Arcturus had been her lover before she had met Edgar, who she married later on. He was a few years older than she, but was a formidable wizard and last she had heard, he had his own group much like the Order. It was like he was a wizarding godfather of sorts.

He told me this, and I quote: "If Amelia asks me, I shall come."

He will help, I assure you. Contact me when you can.

Gregory Johnson
Minister of Magic
USMM

Amelia nodded, she had expected as much. The Americans had done so before, when they needed their help. They had sent a small team of thirty Aurors to help, all of whom died before Voldemort was finally defeated by Potter. They had proven invaluable though as they turned the tide. Eventually they fell before Voldemort and his Inner Circle, who had deemed them a danger to his plans.

After the deaths, the Americans withdrew from the conflict and decided not to aid Britain again. She had hoped it would be different this time, that they would finally see, but it was not to be.

She continued to open letters from the other Ministers, who this time, promised to send some sort of aid. However, they formally regretted that they could not get fully involved in the conflict. Sighing, she began to write a reply to each of them and to one other, in particular.

Dearest Arcturus...


Somewhere in England

"It is done," said the gray clad figure. A hint of armor shone in the pale moonlight before it disappeared beneath the gray robes.

The other figure was clad in dark green robes with yellow patterns on it.

Both of their hoods were up, obscuring their faces, though one could tell they were men just by their voices.

"Will he come?" asked the green-robed figure. He had his hands behind his back while the other had his arms crossed over his chest.

They both looked at the moon and then at the horizon, where an inkling of light started to appear.

"He must," was all the gray clad figure said.


Sixteen months and two weeks into training...

Harry felt tired as he drank some of the juice he recently conjured. He sighed as he lay down on the couch for a while, his body aching. He had fought with fifteen opponents simultaneously earlier in the morning and it had taken a lot from him.

He had won, of course, but he had gotten caught with a bone-breaking curse that had slowed him down for a bit. He had winced at the pain, instantly blocked it, and took care of the remaining two opponents before he finally mended the broken bone. He thanked Genkou for teaching him how to do so earlier on.

Hedwig hooted at him in greeted and flew over, landing on the backrest of the couch. Harry sat up and began to stroke her feathers as she hooted at him again, her large yellow eyes blinking and staring at his emerald ones.

"You think I can do it, Hedwig?" he asked the only companion he had while at the Dursleys for so many months, "Will I make it?" he whispered softly.

She hooted optimistically and he smiled. It was as if they could understand each other. Or perhaps... it was his beastmaster trying to come out. "Perhaps..." he said to no one in particular as Hedwig looked at him with a... confused look?

Shaking his head, he took a long swig of the juice, downing it and then banished the glass wandlessly. He could do the easy stuff without a wand, levitation, stunners, shields, but the more complex spells and charms still escaped him. Genkou said it just took time.

He picked up the book that he was reading before he took a break and flipped to the page that he was on. It was a potions book titled, Practical Potions, which contained a lot of household potions and such. There was, however, a section on healing potions and energy potions. He had already covered that section though and was back to the boring household ones, but he could not leave any stone unturned.

So he continued reading about a potion that would clean off even dragon dung from your floor, not that you should have any dragons around anyway. Another potion could be used to quickly grow vegetables in your garden, if you were that sort. There was another potion that would make all your dishes stain-resistant if you immersed them in the potion for a day.

A few minutes later, he closed the book and picked up another one. Potions the Ministry Doesn't Want you to Know. Interesting, he thought to himself as he began to read. Sure enough, there were a few 'dark' potions, such one that would make the drinker vomit blood until he had none left. Another potion would send the drinker to sleep indefinitely until you gave them the antidote. There was another potion that would increase aggression in someone and, if overdosed, could make them go insane in that they would attack anything and anyone.

There was one potion, however, that caught his eye. He read the section twice.

Godwin's Potion of Power

A dangerous potion long ago banned by the Ministry. However, I will tell you how to make it and what its effects are anyway. This potion, if brewed correctly, will increase your magical power by at least a third. I say at least because it depends on the magical power you already have, the purity of the ingredients used, and the skill of the potion maker.

The main reason why it is a forbidden potion is because it is extremely difficult to get correctly. The ingredients themselves are also difficult to get a hand on, half of which are Class A Non-Tradeable materials while the other half are just extremely rare. Furthermore, if you do not get the potion to within a certain threshold, as soon as you drink it you will die.

Accounts state that the potion, if not brewed correctly, could melt your insides out or could make your magic unstable and essentially make you explode. For this you will need the following ingredients:

Acromantula Venom (At least three drops, no more than five)
Dried Basilisk Venom (A whole fang infused with venom would be better)
Twelve gargoyle wings (Dark Gargoyles, preferably - no more, no less)
Hungarian Horntail Blood (At least five drops, no more than eight)
Runespoor Eggs (At least three, no more than five)
Re'em Blood (Six drops exactly)
Devil's Snare Juice (Ten drops will suffice)
One sunstone
User's blood (One drop will suffice)

Harry reread the ingredients again. Some of them he knew where to get while the others. Hell, he didn't have a clue. 'Perhaps knockturn alley...' he thought as he looked at the list again. 'Or maybe Genkou has some... I doubt it, but still...' he thought to himself as he took a mental image of the page. He also made sure to bookmark it with a wave of his hand and then continued on reading. He would ask Genkou about it later.

Three hours later, he closed a book titled Arithmancy: A Guide to its Secrets, stood up and stretched. His stomach grumbled slightly and he decided to go fix himself a snack. Hedwig had gone earlier, off to somewhere he didn't know. He could feel her presence close-by though and made a mental note to check up on where she was going later. He went into the kitchen, because he was not allowed to eat anywhere else in the house for some reason, and conjured himself some food.

Wizards had been taught for centuries that food could not be conjured, but in fact it could be. This is why house elves are so valuable, because they were the ones who knew the secret to conjuring food. However, one wizard who treated his elves very kindly and nicely long ago eventually got it out of them and thus passed down the information. That wizard was Genkou's ancestor and his mentor said that only few in the world knew how to conjure food.

Most wizards just quickly grew their own food or had house elves do it for them. Some even do it the hard way by transfiguring things into animals before killing them and then eating them. Harry shivered at that thought and pushed it away.

Harry felt the presence of his mentor in the room and he smiled. He could also sense the disillusionment charm on him, though it was very very faint.

"Yes, master?" he asked without looking behind him as he continued eating.

"Just checking on you, really," said Genkou with amusement in his voice. "You could sense me, couldn't you?"

Harry nodded as he continued to eat.

"Well, we should continue. You only have one week left before we have to move on to the next big thing," he said, sighing.

Harry sped up and finished his food within the next minute before banishing everything and cleaning the place with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, before I forget, oh mentor of mine," at this Genkou grinned, "Do you happen to know how to brew Godwin's Potion of Power?" he asked.

At the look on his face, Harry knew he knew. Genkou looked troubled for a moment and then looked back at Harry, "Why do you ask?"

Harry stood then and turned to face his master, "Because I'm going to need as much power as I can get to face Voldemort. He has years of experience on me and probably a lot more power than me right now."

"We shall see..." Genkou conceded after a while.

Harry nodded. He had to make it. What was so wrong about it anyway? Well, besides the chance of dying that is...


Soon enough the week ended. Harry had done a lot of potions, learned more about Arithmancy, and could finally conjure nearly anything he wanted. Even wandlessly, though that had taken a bit more effort than normal.

Genkou motioned for Harry to follow him as they finished their morning physical training. Harry had then sparred with a few opponents before quickly showering and then coming back downstairs to train again.

He then motioned for Harry to follow him as they walked outside, to the backyard.

Raising an eyebrow, Harry followed him outside for the first time.

"Aren't we leaving the spell area?" he asked, suddenly halting as Genkou kept walking on.

Turning around, Genkou shook his head, "I gave it more power so as to expand the area of effect. That was why I had collapsed afterwards," he said, though that wasn't really the only reason why.

Harry shrugged and followed him until they were a good distance away from the house. A littile impressed at the increase in size of the area of effect for such a powerful spell, Harry walked up to him and looked at his mentor curiously. He still did not know much about him, but then again they didn't really have time to share such things. Not yet, anyway.

"Harry, what I am about to tell you will... shock you. Perhaps extremely so," he paused as if contemplating how best to tell him.

He felt nervous, was there something wrong with him now? Did something happen when his magic was released?

"What is it?" he finally blurted out, unable to keep in his curiosity any longer.

"Harry, did you know that... the Founders were elementals?" he asked out of the blue, his brown eyes watching the sky.

Harry shook his head, he didn't really know much about the founders.

"Hm, you haven't read up on them yet have you? I suggest you go read up on history and maybe some social customs and such as well. After all, you will be turning 17 and thus becoming a legal adult. This will give you control of House Potter, which I believe is the eleventh oldest family in England," said Genkou with an air of knowledge.

Harry hadn't known any of that and made a mental note to check.

"Are you also aware that... Voldemort, is an elemental?" he asked.

Again, Harry shook his head, becoming more surprised by the second.

"He is, yes. He hasn't mastered it yet, which is why he hasn't used it, because to truly master the elements you must be trained by someone who is an elemental already. There are so few of them today, that I know of that is. I know there are two in South America, four in the United States, three in Asia, and five in Africa. In Europe, there are three, well... four. Voldemort, is one," he paused.

"Dumbledore is another," Harry's eyes widened at this, he had never known, "I am one," said Genkou, further shocking Harry. He hadn't expected him to be.

"And finally, the last of the four I know, is you."


Somewhere in Russia...

Voldemort eyed the town closely, his magically enhanced slit pupils allowing him to see extremely well. He saw a few drunken wizards crash outside of a pub. A few lights from spells and some shouting and laughing echoed through the forest surrounding the town, but no one other than Voldemort could hear them.

He looked at the parchment in his hands again. It said that another map lay beneath the town, buried. This map was the true map that led to what he sought.

He had, at first, thought of obliterating the town, but then there was also the chance of hitting the map and destroying it. He would have to seek out it with his magic, though he also knew that there would be some kind of protection around it. So there was only one way to do it.

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared with a slight puffing sound over the town. He glided into the center of the small town and landed softly, his robes settling around him. In one swift motion he drew his wand and did a complicated series of patterns with it. He hissed something and then enchanted burrowing snakes escaped from his wand.

One, two, six, eight, twenty, thirty. He eventually created fifty of them, all of which hissed at him in reverence.

"Fiiiind the maaaap... sssssssshow meee where it issssss.." he hissed at them in parseltongue.

They acknowledged him and began to burrow into the ground. It would take them a while to find it and his eyes suddenly flicked up as one of the drunken wizards approached him, wand raised. He challenged him in Russian, though Voldemort had no clue what he said. His eyes glowed a crimson red as a smile played across his lips.


Back at Genkou's Residence

Harry stood stunned beyond comprehension. His mind had frozen and his eyes stayed wide. His jaw opened of its own accord as his heart seemed to have skipped a beat.

"E-E-Excuse me?" he said, as if he had heard wrong.

Amused, Gekou repeated what he had said.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked again, finally regaining some movement and control over his body. His mind began to work properly again as he processed the information.

"The tests do not lie, Harry. But the strength of your elemental powers may vary... There is no true test for that other than to try using them. I, for one, am not as strong as... say, Dumbledore is. But I am stronger in elements than Voldemort, right now that is. After all, I was trained by an elemental and so was Dumbledore. Riddle was not," he explained and then seemed wince at what he had just said.

"How do you know his... real name?" Harry asked, eyes narrowing a little. Not that he didn't trust him, but he didn't know anyone beyond the Order and his friends that knew of Voldemort's true name.

Genkou shook his head, "I want you to trust me, Harry. I will tell you once this is all over, but right now we must concentrate on your training. Is that understood?" he said in a hard voice, his eyes guarded.

Harry nodded, though he didn't really understand why he couldn't just tell him then and there. It wasn't like he was going to think about it too much... well, maybe.

"Now, the first thing we must learn is which of the elements you are strongest at. All elementals can control all of the four basic elements, which are fire, wind, water, and earth. I say basic because there are three other elements, light, dark, and energy. These are the more complex elements and will be something I will go over later on," he explained.

Harry sucked it all in as his mind went into overdrive, his ears picking up everything and his mind taking it all down and understanding it. He was truly interested now, especially if it was something that he might be better at than Voldemort. It could be used to his advantage.

"Now, from what I know Dumbledore's strongest element is water while his weakest is earth, which is one of the hardest to control but also a bit more powerful than the others." Shaking his head, as if distracted, he continued, "Now, my strongest element is wind, which is the easiest to manipulate and control, but packs quite a punch," he demonstrated by enlarging a small rock into an elephant-sized boulder.

With a concentrated look, his eyes glowed as his wand made a few motions. Harry felt the wind spiraling towards his wand, as if he was sucking it into it, and then without warning let loose his magic. Harry saw the ball of wind that he had fired at the boulder and with a loud bang it impacted onto the boulder. When the dust cleared, the boulder was no longer there, replaced by a hundred smaller rocks.

Harry looked in wonder at that and then looked over at his mentor, who smiled at his expression.

"There are other uses for wind too," he said and with a wave of his wand, Harry suddenly flew into the air as a gust of wind so strong blew him off his feet. He instantly rolled in midair and then landed with a thud on his feet, crouching down as he did so to help lessen the impact.

"Then if you're in a really tight spot, you could do this," he said as Harry came close once more, his muscles a little tense as he expected another attack.

His mentor made some complicated gestures and muttered something under his breath, which Harry vaguely heard as "Rediturboni" and suddenly the wind picked up immensely. Dark clouds formed overhead and then made a circular motion over them. The clouds then began to spiral downwards, as if someone up there had flushed a toilet and Harry gulped.

A small tornado, about the size of a small house touched down on the ground before them. He looked at Genkou, who remained smiling as he cancelled the spell. The sky cleared and the tornado disappated, not before leaving large muddy and brown patches in the once completely green field.

His mentor was panting slightly from that and he looked over at Harry with a frown all of a sudden, "I used to make it bigger than that... and much faster... don't ever get old Harry!" he said jokingly though Harry could tell that he did miss his early years terribly.

"Now, let us begin. First, you need to concentrate on the element you want to manipulate. Since air is the most abundant and the easiest to control and manipulate, then we shall start with that. It is also the one I am most familiar with and so will be able to teach you the most of," he added.

"Okay, so concentrate on what element I want to control? You mean think of air and then just do something?" Harry asked, a little confused.

Genkou shook his head, "I want you to feel the element. Be one with it. Imagine just clearing your mind and letting air just fill it up. Let it flow over you, enter you, and be you. Eventually you will cast elements with a thought, but as I said, its hard in the beginning but it gets easier as time goes on," he told him, "Which is why experience is important in elements."

Harry nodded and cleared his mind. He thought of nothing but air. No, he was air. He let his magic capture the air around him and become familiar with it. He eased his body as he, minutes later, tried to become one with the air. Tried because he began to think that he wasn't going to make it, which screwed up his concentration.

Genkou just smiled and told him to try again.

An hour later, he managed to make a slight breeze move some plants and had even managed, for about two seconds, to lift a rock with the wind.

Harry couldn't believe it. He was an elemental.

But then he frowned. Voldemort and Dumbledore were elementals too though.

That would be a problem.

He told Genkou this and he nodded, "It would be problematic. Godric and Salazar fought once... they fought for months... ever wonder why Africa is mostly desert now but other parts of it are suddenly full of jungle and water?" he asked.

The question didn't need to be answered as Harry looked at him with wide eyes and a little bit of fear gnawed at him.


Author's Notes: I WILL BE GONE FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS. Sorry guys, but I'm off and going out of town tonight. I won't be back writing until about the 26th of August or so. I hope you will not forget this story. Once again, reviews are appreciated!!

NEXT CHAPTER: Training Ends