Disclaimer is in chapter 1.

When he got up the next morning, Xander showered and went into his portable office to change, frowning at the two titanium constructs that were still sitting there.

Still there. I wonder if he actually managed to conjure them permanently? Xander wondered, scowling at the impossible material sitting in his 'office'.

NAH.

Harry was good, but he wasn't some kind of God, right?

Still, Xander glared at the material as he buttoned up his robes. He would have to bring this up with Hermione and Wednesday after classes. He didn't know how the material was still there, but it was one mystery Xander really wanted to work out. Permanent conjuration wasn't spectacularly complicated, from what he had learned.

Water was easy enough to do, it was simply a matter of conjuring Hydrogen and letting it combine with Oxygen in the air. Hydrogen was easy to conjure, it being the simplest of elements. The catch was, as you moved up the table of elements, the difficulty in arranging a permanent conjuration increased exponentially.

Granted, Titanium wasn't terribly high up the table, but it was still higher than he'd ever heard anyone managing a permanent conjuration. Most wizards tended to crap out before they got to Oxygen, though there were some cheats available for that particular gas. Honestly, Xander didn't know of many spells that conjured anything higher than Hydrogen, other than a couple intended to let people breath in nasty environments like the Bubble head charm.

Hydrogen was the most common element to be conjured, simply because it was so common. Flame spells, water spells, even a few old levitation spells used it. Xander had read about a guy who floated an entire city on hydrogen filled pockets of wizarding space. He wasn't sure how the math worked on that, to be honest, but it sounded cool.

Wizards hadn't really found much use for conjuring most other elements, aside from Oxygen and, of course, precious metals. Experiments in conjuring Gold were pretty much what led to the generally available information on conjuring. When people learned they couldn't conjure gold they spent a lot of time figuring out what they COULD conjure… which, as it turned out, wasn't much.

The first books on conjuring, of course, didn't mention the elements at all in modern terms. Hydrogen wasn't even a word then, they referred to things like Phlogiston and Aether. Magic was weird that way, it wasn't always wielded by people who understood the universe… just by people who understood the MAGIC of the universe.

Magic tended to make allowances for some ignorance.

Of course, Xander had noted in his reading, it tended to punish some ignorance as well.

He finished getting ready for classes and headed out, locking the door to his 'office' as he went.

Harry was feeling a lot better about his situation, he had to admit. Ok, he was still stuck in this stupid tournament, and the third task was looming in the near future. But he had this feeling like he was finally getting some kind of grip on his life, a life that had been out of his control for so long that even the slightest change in that direction was such a good feeling.

After school was out, he was going to meet with Andromeda and start dealing with the issues of taking official control of his estate back. The Potter and Black resources had long been running on autopilot, and both had bled insane amounts of money with no one to keep up the investments. The Black investments had been a little less badly hit, mostly because the Blacks had put their money into very conservative businesses. What little they had in higher risk items was totally lost, as most of those businesses were entirely gone now.

Most of the Potter investments had survived, though they hadn't ridden out the changing times all that well.

For some reason they'd bought into Commodore and Apple computers, of which Apple was still around but it certainly wasn't much to speak of from what Harry could see. Many of the higher risk investments were the same, unfortunately. Either gone, or not having endured the decade and a half or so since the last time someone handled them properly.

His father had apparently been hands on, and didn't bother to nominate anyone to take over in his stead. That seemed a little… optimistic to the point of foolishness to Harry. Unfortunately, He'd probably never learn what his dad had been thinking.

For the moment there didn't seem to be any immediate danger to losing more off of those investments, but Harry knew that he'd have to get them active again if he wanted to properly manage his legacy.

So his summer was booked pretty solid, just on the whole Regent and Head of House thing alone. Harry planned on doing some magical training as well, however, now that he was fairly confident he could get his wand off the detection grid again.

His school work was getting a little better, though Harry had to admit that it still wasn't anywhere near where it should be, but in his own defense he was pretty busy. So he was pretty upbeat all in all as he headed to class.

Things were looking, if not up, then certainly away from the darkness he always seemed to find himself staring into.

The day dragged on like a snail for Padma.

She was both nervous and nearly giddy as she drudged from one class to the next, barely able to focus. That certainly wasn't a normal state of affairs for the Ravenclaw, but that morning Wednesday had walked up to her calmly and cool and said just three words.

Library. After class.

Others around her had taken it as a threat, but Padma knew it for an invitation. An invitation she'd asked for, and had now received.

Well, she hoped that was what it was. She didn't really think that even Wednesday would invite her to the library just to attack her.

Right?

Padma shuddered. Dealing with the Addams Clan was a razor's edge at the best of times, she supposed, and Wednesday seemed darker than her father had described them. Which, frankly, was scary.

Scary or not, though, Wednesday Addams was one of five students who were the most powerful influences in Hogwarts. She knew the names by heart, as did most of the purebloods in her year and later.

Draco Malfoy, whose control over Slytherin… while not complete, was still formidable due to the fact that his section of the house also controlled a disproportionate level of money, influence, and real political power.

Harry James Potter, the Boy Who Lived. His fame was influence in itself, but he was also the heir of House Potter… and possibly had links to House Black, if the papers were to be believed. Ironically he was the least of the five, though Padma suspected that he was the most magically potent by far. His practical allergy to his fame had crippled his influence, but it was still there just the same.

Then the three who shouldn't even be on the list, let alone in the top five.

Hermione Jane Granger. Muggle-born. No influence, no power from her family. No wealth as far as anyone could tell. Yet she wielded as much, or more, of Harry's influence than he did and her innate intelligence proved quite clearly that she was going to be a force in the future.

Wednesday Addams. Addams Clan. Wealth, Power, Influence… The clan had all of that, but they rarely, if ever, used it. Despite being an off again, on again, magical family for the better part of the last four thousand years by some accounts, they really showed no desire to interact with the magical world even slightly. And yet, Wednesday had. She ruled Ravenclaw through fear, but it was the TYPE of fear that was truly mind-blowing. No brute force, no cursing… she terrorized the house of intelligence Psychologically!

There was an art there that Padma had to admire.

Finally, Xander Harris. Nobody American. No power, though rumors did suggest he had some wealth, and no influence. Unless you counted the fact that he controlled at least as many wands in Slytherin as Malfoy did. No one was really sure how that had happened, but it didn't appear to be a fluke as he was maintaining that control and gaining ground by all accounts.

It might have seemed too silly to many people, but Padma was really nervous about joining with them. They were just her age, and really hadn't accomplished anything of note, but she felt almost as intimidated at the idea of sitting with them as she would if she were invited to join the Headmaster.

Firmly, she stepped down on that line of thought. It would do her no good, respecting what they had accomplished was one thing, but misguided hero worship for no good reason would NOT be the way to get them to take her seriously. It was just that she felt that… this group, they had a chance to accomplish great things in the future.

She wanted to be a part of that.

As such, Padma had carefully selected some of the basic primers from her family's magic to bring as an entrance fee of sorts. Nothing spectacular, just a good grounding in what her magical background was and how it could be used.

Indian Magic was a mix of Original spells along with both Western and Oriental arts. They weren't known for battle magic, however some of the most powerful healing spells had originated in her family's country, even in her family line.

Padma blushed, thinking about the tantric nature of those spells, but firmly pushed those thoughts away. She had to focus on class, at least partly, after all.

Xander dropped into his customary chair in the library with an audible thud, leaning back with closed eyes as he let out an annoyed breath.

"Hey guys."

"Alexander." Wednesday acknowledged him sedately, not looking up from her book.

"You ok, Xan?"

He shrugged, "annoyed."

"At what?"

"Harry." Xander replied, as if that explained everything.

To Wednesday, it really did.

Hermione, however, was frowning back in short order. "What did you do now?"

"I didn't do anything!" Xander protested, "I'm not the guy violating the laws of magic."

Wednesday looked up, then calmly closed her book. "Explain."

"Uh…"

The three looked up to see Padma standing there, and they nodded to her.

"Hey, welcome." Xander said, "Everything going good?"

"Yes, thank you." She replied, sitting down. "I brought some of my family books."

Hermione's eyes lit up, but she forced herself to refocus on Xander. "First, what do you mean, violate the laws of magic?"

"Indeed, I'm interested as well."

"Who's violating the laws of magic?" Padma asked, eyes wide.

Xander sighed, rolling his eyes, "I'm not sure. Look, it's this new spell I've been working on…"

"You got it working?" Hermione asked, smiling widely. "That's great!"

"Yes and no. Harry can cast it… it's just, the titanium he conjures…" Xander trailed off.

"Yes?" Wednesday prompted.

"I've got two huge chunks of the stuff still in my room from last night." Xander said with a sigh, "I don't know what's going on. It should have vanished when Harry dropped the spell, right? I mean, he's not THAT powerful… right?"

"I highly doubt it." Wednesday said thoughtfully, "Which means something unexpected happened."

"Was it our arithmancy?" Hermione frowned, "We didn't screw up did we?"

"If this is how you screw up, I'd LOVE to see you get things right." Padma said dryly. "You're certain it's conjured?"

"I… uh, well…" Xander blinked, "What else could it be?"

"Summoned?" Padma suggested, "Either from nearby stores, or perhaps the earth itself?"

"Huh. Didn't think of that. Still pretty damned impressive." Xander said thoughtfully. "You think maybe I should rejigger the spell a little, have Harry try to create gold?"

Padma rolled her eyes, "If he pulls that off try for the elixir of life next."

Wednesday sniggered.

Xander and Hermione stared at her in shock for a moment, then broke down into barely muffled giggles themselves as Wednesday blushed EVER so slightly and glared determinedly at the table in front of her.

"I'll keep that in mind," Xander gasped between giggles. "And just from me, Pad? Anyone who can make Wens lose control like that is welcome at this table anytime."

It was Padma's turn to blush at Xander's comment while Wednesday redirected her glare from the table to Xander himself, who just laughed it off in a way that awed Padma, who had seen Wednesday tear through her house like tissue paper.

"Ok, seriously," Xander said after another smile at Wednesday's glare, "This is an issue. I need to know if the spell is doing this, or is Harry just pulling a Potter?"

"Pulling a Potter?" Padma asked, one brow arched elegantly.

"You know, blocking a killing curse with his forehead, pulling a sword out of a hat to kill a Basilisk, that kind of thing…" Xander explained.

"Ah. Pulling a Potter. I'll have to remember that one." Padma smirked, "May I see your Arithmancy notes?"

Xander nodded, sliding them across. "Sure have at them."

She was mildly surprised he had offered them up so easily, the Arithmancy equations behind any proprietary spell were generally held as tightly kept secrets. If this one was in fact resulting in permanently conjured titanium, the notes would be worth… the phrase 'their weight in gold' was actually so minute a comparison that the idea was ludicrous actually.

Still, she carefully turned the note book over and began to pore carefully through the notes as Hermione motioned to her books.

"May I?"

Padma waved casually, nodding, and Hermione had soon appropriated the small pack of preparatory books.

"Hmm… This one seems to be about ritual magic…" Hermione blinked in surprise, "I thought that was dark…"

"Only in Britain and a few like-minded Western European nations," Padma replied absently as she perused the notes, "Though the idea is gaining traction internationally, much to the ire of many traditionalist families."

"Indeed." Wednesday nodded, "Rituals are neither light nor dark, inherently. They are magic."

"They are easier to abuse than most, however." Padma said, splitting a sliver of attention off from the notes to follow the conversation, "Rite based magic often calls on external powers, and few of those are truly 'benevolent'. Combine that with the fact that even squibs can channel rites, and the entire branch of magic is hotly debated at the highest levels."

"Oh." Hermione frowned, almost pouted in fact, before sliding the book away.

Wednesday casually slid it to her own seat and flipped it open, beginning to read.

Xander, for his part, broke out a tin of pencils and an artists tablet as he got down to sketching out a design.

"What are you working on?" Hermione asked him, noting that the design didn't seem particularly magical.

"TV Remote." He muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"TV remote." He repeated, looking up, "I love Wills, I really do, but I'm SO sick of chick flicks it's not funny."

"Again, please." Wednesday said, the words coming from her as if being dragged by rusty pliers, "with enough details so that we might have some small chance at comprehension."

Xander blinked, then frowned, "I didn't tell you guys? I made a TV a few days ago, but it's tied to my cable box back home, and Willow has the bloody remote."

"You made a TV." Hermione said flatly.

"Yeah…"

"How?"

"A couple mirrors, the Protean, and a bigscreen back home…"

Hermione blinked. "Oh. Actually that makes a lot of sense."

Padma, her attention now broken entirely, looked up in confusion. "What's a TV?"

The other three looked at each other, then back at her in a long moment of nearly stunned silence.

"Purebloods." Wednesday shook her head.

"Yow," Xander winced, "Wait… don't you take Muggle Whatever it is as an elective?"

"Muggle studies, yes I do… why?"

Wednesday and Xander stared at Hermione, who shrugged, "I dropped that class for a reason, remember? Professor Charity seems quite interested in Muggles, but her knowledge tends to be wildly variable… some of it is really quite out of date, and honestly in one class you can only learn so much."

"I guess." Xander blinked, "Alright, I guess I know what we're doing Friday nights then?"

"Huh?"

"Movie night." Xander grinned, "I'll check with the elves and see if we can get popcorn…"

He immediately grumbled, "They won't even get me Seven Up now, though, so we'll have to make do with juice."

"Seven Up doesn't have caffeine…" Hermione blinked, surprised.

"You try telling THEM that."

Hermione shook her head, "Sugar is bad for you anyway."

"Hello? Have you TASTED Pumpkin Juice?"

Hermione sighed, he had a point but she hated to admit to it.

"Anyway," Xander shrugged, "I'll set it up. Any movie requests? Comedy, Sword and Sorcery? Hey, I could put on Excalibur… be kinda fun to watch Merlin in action while at Hogwarts."

"As long as it's not The Sword in the Stone," Hermione replied dryly, "If your average wizard saw that they'd string us up for making fun of Merlin."

"Or think he's a great role model," Xander countered.

"Please."

"Dumbledore." Xander countered.

Hermione hesitated, then winced, "Point."

Padma frowned, glancing at Wednesday, "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?"

"I do," Wednesday nodded, "and I wish I didn't. I also wish they were wrong. I do, however, and they aren't."

"Oh." Padma answered, not really any better off than before she'd asked honestly.

Xander chuckled, "So, movie night ok with everyone?"

Wednesday shrugged and nodded. She could read quietly while the others watched, so she didn't mind. "Acceptable.

Hermione nodded, "Sounds like fun. Can I invite Harry and Ron?"

Xander shrugged, "Sure. How about you, Pad?"

Padma shrugged as well, she didn't have any plans so why not? "Sure."

"Cool. I score some snacks and get a couple DVDs lined up," Xander said checking his watch. "I'll call tonight and get Wills or Uncle Rory to buy or rent something good."

"By whose standards?" Wednesday asked dryly, clearly smirking.

"Quiet you, or it'll be care bears and my little pony for you."

Wednesday shot him a look, but didn't press. For one, she didn't want to know. For another, Xander was stubborn enough that he might just make good on his threat… and those names sounded… truly dreadful.

The four shifted their attention back to their current projects, conversation dying down as they worked, until Padma looked up from the notes she was reading.

"I can't be sure, since I've just skimmed these, but there doesn't seem to be anything in here to explain what you say happened." She said hesitantly.

Xander shook his head, "So Harry probably pulled a Potter."

"It seems so, the question is where did he pull it from, I suppose." She answered, with a trace of a smile.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Xander shook his head, "Harry's about as predictable as lotto numbers when magic is involved."

"I would suggest getting him to try conjuring elemental forms on his own," Padma said, "See if the same thing happens."

"A sound suggestion," Wednesday agreed, "Eliminate variables, as possible."

"We can do that," Hermione said, sounding eager. "I've wanted to practice conjuration…"

"Cool, you run Harry through a few trials then, Herms." Xander said, "I'm going to tear the spell apart and double check the numbers. Just don't overwork him, the third task is coming up."

Hermione nodded, "Right. So, start with conjuring titanium then?"

"Yeah, if he can do that, work him up the table toward gold." Xander suggested.

"You don't actually believe he can conjure gold, do you?" Padma asked tentatively.

"Nah. I don't think he can conjure titanium," Xander said, "Not really. I think we're missing something… but even if he can, gold is… staggeringly more difficult."

Padma nodded, feeling more than a little relieved actually. Potter as a powerful wizard was one thing, a comforting thing actually… Potter as a demi God capable of doing things even Merlin hadn't managed in MYTH… well, not so much.

"Knowing Harry he wasn't able to wrap his head around the word 'conjuring' and he summoned the stuff from a military jet or something." Xander muttered, rolling his eyes. "If so, let's hope they find it missing before some poor pilot gets his legs blown off because his armor isn't where it's supposed to be."

Wednesday snorted again, nodding in agreement, "That sounds very much like Potter."

Padma could see Hermione stiffen, looking very much like she wanted to defend her friend's honor, then sigh in defeat.

"That actually sounds entirely too much like Harry," Hermione said finally, shaking her head.

Padma frowned, "What is this titanium anyway? I'm not familiar with this element."

"Ok, I'm bringing in my table of the elements next time," Xander said, glancing at her. "The non-magical version is WAY more complete. Titanium is the twenty second element by weight, it's a metal that's twenty two times heavier than hydrogen."

Padma whistled almost silently. That WAS impressive.

She was also looking forward to seeing the muggle table of elements as well, "Is the magical table that bad?"

Xander shrugged, "Eh. It's missing a ton of elements, but a lot of them are muggle made, so that's forgivable. It has several that the non-magical table is missing as well, though. On the whole, the non-magical table IS far more complete, but neither is perfect. I think that they only add non-magical elements to the magical tables when someone discovers a magical use for them."

Padma nodded in understanding. Now she was really curious.