Harry started to say yes, but Rhia shook her head at him from behind Alaster. "Yeh…no. Well when I first touched them, they got charged or something, but that's it." Luckily, everyone else seemed to have caught on the Rhia's gift was not to be revealed to Alaster Raine. Apparently, he wasn't to know about the newly forming scar on her hand yet either.

Rose turned away from them and back to her fellow Elementals. She held a fireball in one hand. "Now, with elemental magic, the power comes from within yourself. From what you are made of. From what everything is made of. I want each of you to hold a bit of your element in one hand, and we'll see what we can do with it." Ana picked up one of her smaller rocks, Lynne cupped some water in her hand from the tanks and Reggie just looked at Rose.

"Um… Rose… How am I supposed to hold air?" she asked softly.

Rose looked positively flummoxed. She stared at Reggie, in shock. "I… I… I have no idea." Reggie looked crestfallen.

Alaster left Harry concentrating on his rods and walked over to the girls. "What's the problem?"

"You can't see air… How is she supposed to work with it?" Lynne asked, nearly as crestfallen as her sister.

"You silly girl. Close your eyes and [I] feel[/I] it around you. You don't have to see something to know it's there." Alaster said matter-of-factly. "Muggles don't always see magic, but many of them know it exists."

"They aren't supposed to," Ana said. She was rolling her rock around in her palm.

"But they do. Not all the tales of magic that are written, are written by wizards or witches. Many are from muggles, who witness something and don't have their memory wiped, or fancy that they imagine the things they write about, when in fact it's something that could or did happen." Alaster said.

"We're getting off the subject," Rose said briskly. "Now I want each of you to focus on the bit of element you have with you. Reggie just cup your hand and focus on the air there. Focus on it… and tell me what you [I] know[/I] about it."

"What do you mea… oh. Oh my…" Ana said. She was staring at the rock in her palm. "This rock was here before the school was built, attached to a much larger rock. Probably that boulder. It is comprised of quartz, granite, there's even some limestone in it. It hasn't done much since it was broken off the rock when the earth shook…" She stopped and looked at Rose who was smiling. After a moment she turned to Lynne.

Lynne bit her lip and stared at the tiny bit of water cupped in her palm. "None of it leaked out," she said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Reggie asked.

"I mean, none of the water leaked out of my hand while we were talking. It's got the exact same amount in it now as I took out of the tank." Lynne said.

Alaster smiled. "You wanted it in your hand, it stayed in your hand."

Lynne blinked at him. "You mean water does what I want it to do now?"

"Within reason of course. You can now make use of all it's properties if you need to." Alaster explained.

Reggie frowned and closed her eyes, all her attention focused on her hand. After a few moments she opened them again. "I can't tell anything about it. It keeps moving around."

"Tell it to stop then," Alaster said.

She looked at him oddly, and feeling just as silly as he had said she was said, "Stop." All the sudden no one in the clearing could breath. The air was as thick as molasses and they couldn't pull it into their lungs. As everyone's expressions started looking panicky Reggie made a slashing motion with her hand since she couldn't talk, and the air lightened considerably. Everyone took great gulps of the once again breathable air. Reggie started crying. "I'm so sorry…*SOB*I didn't know… I don't…*SOB*I don't want that power…*SOB* I could have killed you all…"

Daniel walked over and he and Lynne put their arms around her. "But you didn't. You made a mistake, and it's done, fixed, no hard feelings. None of us are the worse for wear and no one blames you," Daniel told her softly.

Rose cleared her throat, "I think that's enough for today. Let's head back to the school" She started to the boulder.

Hermione stood up and asked, "If someone saw us come into the Forest, shouldn't we come out of it again?"

"Oh, no one was watching us," Rhia said.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"Because most of them were at lunch, and the few that weren't in the Great Hall were with Cora, pulling extra duties." Rhia said. "Don't worry, we've got it all covered."

And so they went back to the school, through the boulder that was somehow linked with their classroom, Daniel and Lynne still calming Reggie down. It seemed to be working. She wasn't sobbing anymore. When they were all through, dannikits, tools and all, Rose turned to what now looked like a small door into the clearing and said, "Practice made perfect." The opening disappeared. After putting everything back where it came from, they all crowded around the door. Rose squinted at the door. "Wait I think someone is on the other side." She peeked through and hurriedly pulled her head back into the room.

She turned back to the others. "I think we're in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" George asked as he moved through the others to stand beside Rose.

"The Potions Master kind," Rose said.

"Then we'll just wait until he leaves," Hermione said. "He can't stand out there forever."

"That would be fine," Rose said. "Except that she saw me."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"The woman he met the other day is back again. She saw me." Rose said softly.

"That woman can't be back again. She told him not to summon her until next week," Monica said.

"What?" Rhia asked.

"You weren't with us when we saw Snape meeting her, so how do you know who we're talking about?" Harry asked.

"More importantly, how do you know she told him not to summon her until next week?" Ana asked.

"We heard her tell him so." Draco said. He was tense, once again waiting for accusations or glares that never came. "Monica's first day. I gather that was the second of such meetings… and this is the third. One that wasn't supposed to happen."

"I wish we could hear what they are saying," Daniel said.

"Like if they're trying to find a way in here to grab Rose," George said.

"They can't get in, the window is only open to people who are supposed to be here, remember?" Rhia said.

"Then could someone please explain why we are in trouble? If she can't get in and neither can he, then what is the problem?" Lynne asked. She still had an arm around Reggie and both of their dannikits were perched on her shoulders.

"If you would all be quiet for a second, we could find out if there is a problem at all!" Alaster snapped. He moved George away from the window/doorway, touch his wand to the corner and whispered something. Suddenly they could hear what was being said out in the hallway.

[I] "I don't care if we're fifteen thousand feet up in the air. I want you to lean out that window. I'm not trying to kill you Severus. I just want you to check something for me before we say another word."

"But Madame…" Snape's voice faded, before he sniveled, "I see nothing out of the ordinary My Lady. Merely students wandering on the grounds."

"Hmmm… come back in here. You summoned me here. I'd appreciate it if you would tell me why you disobeyed the orders. I wasn't supposed to meet you again until next week."

"He has come."

"What? Who has come?"

"Raine is here. That idiot Jameson woman has insisted he become her assistant."

"Which… idiot Jameson are we talking about here?" The woman's voice was even huskier than usual, as if she were suppressing strong emotion.

"The oldest. The one Dumbledore gave my job to. Cora."

"I see. This is important information Severus. Thank you." There was a pause. "However, that does not mean that you can continue to summon me anytime you wish. I do have other duties you know. If you try to do so before the scheduled time next week I shall be very angry with you."

"But My Lady, you said that my information was important."

"It is. Which is the only reason that you have not already felt my wrath. Good day Severus."

Silence for a time, then, "Wretched woman. See if I tell her anything again. Snapping at me as if I were a child…" His voice faded, as if he were walking away. [/I]

~

Back in the classroom, Alaster pulled his wand from the window/ doorway and turned to stare at the others. "I know that woman," he said softly. His hazel eyes were strange. They were shocked and disbelieving and confused and… something else that was indiscernible.

"Who is she?" Rose asked.

"Someone… I did not expect to be here." Alaster said.

"Well now she knows that you are here," Rhia said.

"And we know that Snape is giving her information about us." Harry said angrily. The lightning rods in his hands gave a warning sizzle and Hermione took a quick step away from him, towards Ron.

"Conveniently, right outside our classroom too." Ron said.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. She saw me. I'm sure of it. Though…" Rose trailed off.

"What?" George asked.

"It was odd. I knew she saw me, but in that split second, I couldn't see her. I have absolutely no idea what she looks like. How is it that I know she saw me, if I didn't see her face?" Rose asked the room at large.

"There's obviously magic at work here," Daniel said. Everyone looked at him. He managed to hold his face straight for a moment longer before grinning.

Everyone smiled then, except for Alaster. He was looking out the real window to the courtyard, his eyes thoughtful. "This complicates things," he murmured.

"What does it complicate?" Reggie asked. She still had tearstains on her cheeks, but her eyes were angry. "I don't like that you're not telling us anything. You still haven't told us how you came to be here. How you got the gash of yours or how you knew to come here in the first place. You say you are here to help us with our gifts; that you know more about them than we do; that you are a teacher. Well I just don't see it. All you did today was gush over the daggers that I still don't understand, and go into convulsions of joy at the sight of some of our aids. You really haven't been any help at all. In fact you actually told me to stop the air! If you know so much our gifts, how come you didn't know that would happen? If your family has been training to teach the Guardians for centuries, how come you didn't know a way for me to do that without nearly killing every one? What exactly, do you know how to do? Because it seems to me you don't really know anything!"

Everyone was staring at her. Her hands were fisted at her sides as she glared at the obviously startled Alaster. Lynne was frowning, looking back and forth between her twin and him. Daniel was looking stonily at Alaster, waiting for his reply. Everyone else was clearly surprised at the small girl's outburst, but as what she had said registered, they too waited for his reply.

Alaster swallowed hard, then cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should sit down," he suggested. When no one moved he added, "this could take a while." No one spoke as they took their seats. There was no chair for Alaster, but he didn't seem to mind. He moved to stand in the center of the circle of chairs. The dannikits had all taken up residence in the laps of their companions, but none of them were whirring. It was as if they too were waiting for his reply.

Alaster faced Reggie. "What I have told you is the truth, but what you have said is also true. I have no practical knowledge of your gifts. Most of what I know is speculation on the part of my family members over the years, or theories of my own. I came here because I followed the Jamesons closely. When three of the five sisters are headed in the same direction, I take notice. There had also been signs, warnings in the past few months that the Gathering was going to happen soon. The Gathering of the Guardians. This has only happened twice in the thousands of years since the Shattering of the Sunstone. The movements of the Serpent were getting more dangerous. Three months ago, when he came once again to his full strength, I knew that I must find you all, because the first thing he would do, was go after the Shards."

"Then why didn't you go after the Shards as well, instead of their Guardians? You had three months," Harry interrupted.

"The Shards were well hidden, while you all were not. If the Serpent came here, where the most powerful of you were known to be… It was unthinkable." Alaster actually shuddered.

"He's been here before. Several times." Harry said. Rhia put her hand on his arm. Thankfully, he'd put away the lightning rods. He glanced at her then back at Alaster. "He is Voldemort, is he not?"

"Is that the name he goes by this time? Yes. That is him. You say he's been here before?" Alaster looked puzzled.

"You must not read the papers Raine. Harry Potter… the Boy-Who-Lived… He defeated Voldemort fourteen years ago as a baby… then again his first year here, then again second year, and again third in one form or another. He watched as Voldemort was reborn to his full strength last year," Rhia said coldly. "So yes he most certainly has been here before!"

Alaster stared at her, then turned his stunned gaze to Harry. "Oh dear."

Before he could start gushing over Harry, or getting them side-tracked, Reggie cleared her throat. "You were saying Alaster?"

With an obvious effort, Alaster pulled himself back to the topic at hand. "Yes… well… I followed Cora and Rose here. I stayed in Hogsmeade for a day before I decided to come to the school. I didn't want anyone to know I was coming here, until I arrived, so I went through the Forest."

"That wasn't very smart," Fred said.

"None of the creatures bothered me until yesterday morning, when I ran into a rather large black dog there at the edge of the Forest. He tried to stop me from coming here."

"Did you hurt it?" Hermione asked sharply, seeing that Harry was too startled to ask.