Chapter 2 Lessons and Riddles

Ice was trying, really he was but the stupid staff would not corporate with him. The others made it look so simple. He really wished he had been taken younger. Starting over with a staff was hard after working with a wand for a year. Sometimes he missed Hogwarts although he would never tell the other kids that. One thing he didn't miss was the abuse his father would heap on him or the stupid things he would preach about pure blood supremacy. Anyone who saw the children here would know that was a lot of bull. Just look at Silver and Shadow Walker…both muggles and both very powerful. Father said they were two of the most powerful young manges he had ever trained and that was saying something especially when you considered how powerful father was himself. Silver was only 15 and had mastered fire and water elements and Shadow was only 14, the same age as Ice and already made his own staff.

Shadow came into the room and started working with Ice on mastering water elementals. "You tense up when you call them is your main problem Ice. Learn to relax a little and you'll do better."

"Easy for you to say," Ice snarled, "They all come easy for you."

Shadow flashed one of his rare grins. "Did you think it was always that way for me? The first 5 years here were pure hell for me. You have one advantage that I didn't have. You already know you can do magic."

"It would be a lot easier for me if I had my own staff." Ice whined.

"You don't have the skill to make a staff yet Ice. Give yourself some time. After all, it took me 11 years to learn enough to make my staff." Shadow reached into Ice's mind and showed him how to relax then told him to try again.

Ice relaxed slightly then called for the element again and was rewarded with a column of water about 10 feet high. "I did it." he shouted.

"Keep control Ice, father doesn't want you to flood out the hall again. Now directed it to move around the room." The column of water slowly began drifting around the room. "Good, Good, keep it steady Ice" Shadow watched the column till it reached its starting point. "Now release it." The column of water vanished and Shadow gave a satisfied nod. "Well done. Very well done Ice, now thank the element for responding to your call then go tell father how well you did then get some rest

Ice slumped with exhaustion after thanking the element for responding. "Working with them doesn't make you as tired as it does me. Why not?"

I've been working with them a lot longer than you have and I still get tired if I work with them to long, well, except with the shadow elements. Those don't tire me out at all but Father already explained to you that the element we are most connected with will be the easiest one to work with and for me that's shadow and light." Shadow explained. "That's how I got my name after all. Once you get good it will be the same for you with water. That's your primary element."

Later on that evening at dinner Shadow was bragging to anyone else who would listen about how well Ice had done controlling the water elemental. "Give him a few more weeks and he will be well on his way to mastering it then he can start on his next. Father says he'll be able to master water, air and fire when he's done."

"When does he start working on his first form? What did you say it was Father?" asked Blaze.

Father explained to Blaze that he wasn't sure what forms Ice would have but he was fairly sure his water form would be a small water dragon called a Qurillen. "We won't know for sure till he's a bit further along in his training though."

After that talk centered on the forms each of them had for their elementals and what was needed to bring them out and control the changes. It was after all an important part of their training because without their magical forms they could not make their staffs. The three children who had mastered their magical forms and had made their staffs were the center of the conversation, answering questions from the others about finding forms, making staffs, what part of their magical forms were used in their staffs, how long it took to make one and how to find the other elements necessary to make the staff.

Ice asked Shadow how he knew what wood to use in his staff and how he found it. "You don't know for sure till you do find it. Mine sang to me when I was outside flying one day. The gems I made and the caps just felt right." Shadow shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know how to explain it Ice. You just know when you know, when its right." Shadow explained.

Fire nodded her head, "He's right, the wood sings to you when the time is right to make your staff. My wood came from the willow down by the lake and till it was time to make my staff I never felt anything from that tree although we go swimming there all the time."

"Did you make your own gems too?" Ice questioned Fire.

"No, I don't have that skill. Earth isn't one of my elements. Tide made them for me."

"Tide? She's not fully trained yet. How could she make your gems for you?" Ice asked.

"I could make them because I was practicing making gems when she needed them. I may not be finished with my training but I can compress minerals and heat them with fire. Rubies are easy at least for me." Tide told Ice.

"We all work together here to help each other. If you can't make a gem that you need or gather an ingredient that you need for your staff then someone will help you. That's what family does. They help each other Ice." Silver said. "When its time for me to make my staff I'll need help with my gems because I don't have fire as one of my elements at all."

Ice knew that a part of the magical creatures they would master was used in the staffs to personalize them and to make them unusable by any other mange. He also knew that some sort of potion was made to soak the staff in before it was finished but he didn't know how to make the potion or what was even in it although he was very good at potions. One of Martins best. All any of them knew who hadn't made a staff yet was that the potion was a blood potion and it personalized the staff even more. He looked at the three who had made their staffs and sighed. He would master his elements and make his own staff eventually but sometimes it was hard not to be jealous.

When dinner was over the children took off to study before it was time for bed.

Shadow having mastered all of his forms at the tender age of thirteen and completing his staff just a month after his fourteenth birthday was the undeclared leader of the children. The most powerful and the most intelligent of the seven children he was the master of Shadow and Light, Fire, Water, Earth and Air elementals as well as being the best student. His work in potions and transfiguration surpassed his teachers and his skill with sword and knife were second to none. In unarmed combat the only one who stood a chance against him was Father and that was mostly a matter of gaining experience. In his other classes he was either at the top or a close second. By everyone's standards except Shadow's he was special. That was of course a large part of his appeal, the fact that he did not see anything special about himself. He was just one of Fathers children. To the other children Shadow was the leader, the one to live up to. To the rest of the world he was the missing hero. Presumed dead for many years by all except a select few

(Riddle manor)

One of those few was a strange little figure, weak and pain filled. Cared for by his followers and a large reptile this man like thing hated, hated beyond what could be called normal. He hated his half life, he hated muggles, he hated Dumbledore, he hated half bloods, he hated the light and he mostly hated the babe that had reduced him to this state but soon he would be avenged. Soon he would take his rightful place once again and when he did woe to those who had wronged him. Starting with the Potter child and ending with those who refused to acknowledge his rightful supremacy he would be avenged.

The potion was almost finished and tonight he would build a new body. A strong body. One capable of gaining the revenge he lived for and soon after that he would perform the ritual that would allow him to move into that body. When that happened he would begin again to claim his own.

Voldermort would return and when he did he would find and kill that child who had defied him so long ago by not dying when he was supposed to. Whatever the whole prophecy said didn't really matter, what mattered was that there was a prophecy concerning himself and the brat. A prophecy that pointed to danger for himself. Something that Voldermort could not allow, ever.