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Chapter 19: Secrets Revealed

"Lilly?" James asked. The edges of his vision grew blurry as the quidditch pitch rose up to meet him.

"James? Ja-ames? Oh, open your eyes, you great prat. I know you're awake!"

James opened his eyes to see Lilly looking amusedly down at him.

"You had to milk it, didn't you?" she asked jokingly.

"I had the strangest dream . . ."

"I'm afraid it wasn't a dream, Jimmy Jim-Jim." Gretchen said.

James looked up to see the girls, Sirius, and Remus clustered around the fire of the Head Common Room.

"Anyone care to explain?" Remus asked quietly, looking pointedly at Tabitha.

Sirius nodded, staring at Gretchen like she was about to kill him.

"Well, I guess we should start from the beginning." Lilly sighed.

"When I was a child, I had a strange passion for fire. Dad said it was just my hair calling to colour brother, but something about the flames drew me to them."

"As a child, my family said around all the time. Living on the coast, everyone had a boat. I would spend hours at the bow of the ship, the wind in my face. I love the feeling to this day." Tabitha added quietly.

"My mother has this garden. To me, it was my jungle. I would run about for hours, but no matter how long and deep I went into the forest, I always found my way home. It was my sanctuary" reminisced Gretchen.

"Winter was and is my favorite season. I love sliding across the frozen pond in our yard; I never feared its breaking." Alice said dreamily.

"Then, in the beginning of fifth year, something strange happened. We were all fighting with one another, a rare occurrence, granted. I was so angry; I could almost feel myself heating up. Then, I looked down, and my hair was aflame, but it wasn't hurting me. The floor began to shake, the wind blew and the bed froze solid. Being the fifteen year old witches that we were, we were scared half to death, and immediately ran to Dumbledore. He trained us, taught us to control our powers. He said it was rare that we were all already friends."

"Well, that explains a little, but not everything. What was that on the pitch?" Frank inquired from the door.

"Since the beginning of time, certain forces have protected mankind from evil. Every age, four children are born with the power of the elements. These powers awaken at fifteen, and are used to fight great evils, for justice." Tabitha said.

"Elements?" James questioned.

"Yes, we're-"

"Fire" Lilly smiled.

"Ice" Alice shrugged.

"Earth" Gretchen winked, and Sirius blushed.

"And wind." Finished Tabitha.

Understanding dawned in Remus' eyes. Tabitha shook her head, nodded to Sirius and James, put a finger to her lips, and smiled mischievously. He remained silent, and grinned slightly, nodding once.

"That picture you saw, on the first day of school? It was he day we finished training. We were so happy, so proud.-"

"So sweaty." Gretchen interrupted.

"Thanks, Gretch." Finished Lilly, grimacing lightly.

"So . . . you can control the elements." James said slowly, still in shock..

"Yep. That's our big secret."

"No offense, Lillo." Sirius said lightly, "But ours is cooler."

Everyone chuckled, and settled in for a night of laughter, chess, and Exploding Snap.

James stared into the flames, digesting this revelation about his favorite, and now deadly, redhead.