A/N: Chap 3 Review Responses are available in my forums here on ff dot net. Thanks for reading.

Chapter Four: Aethers

The staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry gathered in the Headmaster's office for their last meeting before the arrival of the students. Twenty four teachers in their casual summer robes walked into the open office, talking amongst themselves. The headmaster's windows were open for a final summer airing out before classes began, giving the spacious room a fresh, open feel.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Dumbledore said gaily from the head of the staff table. "Please make sure to try the biscuits—they were a gift from my great, great granddaughter."

The staff members gathered and took their seats—Dumbledore on one side of the oval table, McGonagall as Deputy Headmistress on the other. "Professor McGonagall, if you wish to begin?" Dumbledore said when everyone was settled.

"Thank you, Headmaster. Everyone should have their class timetables. Those of you who saw seventh-years graduate will of course be taking on the first-years. Professor Burbage, I know this is your first group of first-years since you began, so I wish to give you a word of caution. Draco Malfoy is in this group."

"Thanks for the warning," the Muggle Studies professor said.

"How went your Muggleborn Orientation?" Professor Quirrell asked. One of only four men at the table, including Dumbledore, Flitwick and Snape, Quirrell was also the youngest and, in the opinion of the witches around the table, the most handsome. "I understand from this morning's paper that there was some excitement at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Yes, what was that about?" Professor Flitwick said.

McGonagall positively glared at Quirrell, who merely smiled and met her gaze squarely. "Mr Potter merely had a strong reaction to the Floo. No one was injured."

Now even Dumbledore was curious. "Minerva, could you perhaps expand on that?"

The Gryffindor head gnawed on her lower lip for a moment before she said, "I am not sure about discussing this in an open meeting, but Pomona pointed out rightly that it would be blindingly obvious if true. Albus, there's a possibility the boy may be an Aether like his mum."

The whole table sat in absolute silence for two ticks of a clock before they erupted in questions. Dumbledore leaned back in his seat and stared at his old friend, who returned his look grimly. Finally, Professor Hooch, sounding offended, said, "How could a boy be an Aether at all? It's a strictly female trait. There's never been a male Aether before!"

"Actually, professor, there a few I can name off the top of my head," Dumbledore said calmly. "Gotta, son of Vortigern and Rowena, was an Aether. His magic was forcibly bound and a veil attached before he was forced into a monastery on the continent. Sir Francis Bacon was reputed to be an Aether. Though it is not well known, Baron William de Slytherin was an aural Aether, as was his mother Rowena Ravenclaw. In fact, both of Ravenclaw's children were Aethers. Guillarme DeBarre of France was a confirmed Aether as well, born the century before me. Sadly, he died at Waterloo, where I had the honor of meeting him in battle."

"Not exactly a noble line of precedents," Hooch said. "But I still don't understand how this could be?"

"Male Aethers are created, not born," Snape said in a low tone that nonetheless carried throughout the room. "Lily had to either do a ritual of transference, or some other method of forcing her powers onto the child. Or possibly the child was a female fetus and she forced a gender change."

Hooch sputtered. "Severus, that's ridiculous! How could any witch…?"

"You forget, my wife, that I knew Lily Potter," he continued softly. "She was the most intelligent, determined and ruthless witch I'd ever met. If she had reason to desire her son be an Aether, then she would do whatever it took to make him an Aether."

"That's dangerously close to anathema," Hooch said with narrowed eyes.

"Lily was never shy about pushing boundaries," McGonagall said. "I remember clearly the Dame of the Griffin Coven coming to this school and setting her straight. But this… it was hard to believe for me as well. However, he could see the magic in my chest, and Pomona's as well. Without any knowledge of the sorting process he identified me as Gryffindor, and Sprout as Hufflepuff. And the way he tried touching…I believe he may be a visual/tactile."

"What was Carlisle?" Flitwick said as an aside to Madam Pomfrey by his side.

"Aural. Magic sounded like music to her."

A rapping of knuckles on wood brought the meeting under control. "We will know for sure upon Mr Potter's entry into Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "Aethers are always overcome by the magic. If he is indeed an Aether, we shall treat him the same as any other Aether we have had in this school. I wish to be clear, my friends, that Mr Potter is not to be treated any different because of his role in the last war, or because of his parentage. Whatever geas Lily Potter may have been under from the covens, she gave her life to save her son and helped destroy a terrible threat to our world, and we owe it to her memory to see him treated fairly. Whatever your thoughts about Lily Potter, you are to treat Harry as his own person. Now, shall we continue?"

~~Firebird~~

~~Firebird~~

"First years! First years to me, please!" The speaker was a young woman with luminescent brown eyes and blonde hair streaked with brown, who wore robes lined with red and gold, and a lion crest badge that said HG over her left breast. "First year families to me, please!"

Slowly, the first years and their parents made their way through the crush of students and families until they stood in front of the girl. "Good morning," she said loudly. "My name is Elfaba Damples, I'm Head Girl for Hogwarts, and I will be the chaperone for your children today. First years will be seated in this last car. Before the kids are seated, I would like all first year boys here to my left, please."

From his position in the back, Edwin Granger watched with interest as thirteen boys broke away from their families to gather next to the older witch. "Thank you, thank you," she said, looking appraisingly at the boys. "Very nice batch we have here, don't we? Alright, my lads, in you go. Please move to the very back of the car and store your trunks in the overhead bins. Form a line, one at a time, please. Very good, thank you."

The boys finally disappeared into the train before Elfaba turned to face the remainder. "Okay, girls now. I want you girls to take the very first seats you come to. And I mean the very first seats. We can worry about re-arranging once we're moving. Go on then, form a line. Very good, very good."

Twenty seven girls boarded in a single line. When all the first years were inside, Damples turned to smile at the parents. "I'll take good care of them and make sure to keep them separated."

"I should say so," said a tall, imposing witch with blonde hair and a monocle of all things. "That was Harry Potter I saw board with boys, was it not?"

Elfaba smiled. "Yes, Madam Bones."

"What's the fuss over the Potter boy?"

Edwin looked, but did not spot the person who asked until he felt his wife touch his shoulder and point. It was Deanna Thomas's mother. The reaction to her question, though, made his stomach clench. Many of the witches (since there were no fathers at all) simply stared flatly at the dark-skinned woman. It was the first woman with the monocle who finally answered.

"Mr Potter is the only person to ever survive the Killing Curse," Madam Bones explained while looking intently at the Muggle parents. "In so doing, he destroyed the Dark Lord who had brought the Ministry to the point of collapse. He is known as the Boy Who Lived."

"I see," Mrs Thomas said, trying to hide her own confusion. "That wasn't explained in Orientation. Thank you for explaining."

"Not at all, dear," the woman said. "Ladies, I must return to the Ministry. Good day."

The witch spun about and disappeared with a pop, and slowly the other witches also began to disburse, until only the Muggleborn parents remained. Ms Thomas saw the Grangers and smiled wanly. "I suppose I should be grateful they only despise me because I'm a Muggle. A step up than because of my skin, wouldn't you say?"

"It doesn't feel like a step up," Calliope said. "I feel the need for a strong cuppa. Care to join us?"

The other woman blinked at them a moment before grinning. "That sounds marvellous."

~~Firebird~~

~~Firebird~~

"So you're Harry Potter."

The boy had white-blonde hair and deep, dark-blue eyes that took the glow the others had and made it somehow sinister. His skin was so pale, Harry could see his veins. His magic, though—that light in his chest that every witch-born had—felt cold and somewhat slimy in him. In fact, the two other boys sitting on the bench with him felt the same, although to a lesser extent. Despite being desperate to make new friends, Harry found himself disliking the boy almost at first glance. "That's right."

"I'm Draco Malfoy. This is Nott and Crabbe. You'll soon find some wizards are better than others—I can help you find out which."

"Sit down ya cad," a boy with a heavy Scots accent said. "Everybody knows yer da is a bloomin' Death Eater!"

"You watch your tongue, you slime!" Draco shouted, rising to his feet as he did so.

"Enough, boys," Elfaba said as she walked toward them from the girl's side of the car.

Malfoy looked up and sneered at her. "And a stinking halfblood as Head Girl. My father was right, Dumbledore is insane."

Harry watched as the Head Girl paled a moment before her face took on a stony countenance. "I am head girl because I am the best of my class, just like Sarah Hattersly was last year, and Charlene Weasley before that. There has not been a Slytherin head boy or girl in over fifty years where eight Gryffindors have served in the past decade. And while you might say that's because of Headmaster Dumbledore, in fact it is because there has not been a Slytherin in that time frame to even make the top five list, much less top of the class."

"That's because a Malfoy hasn't been in school since that time," Draco said pompously.

"So your father didn't go to Hogwarts?" Harry asked with feigned innocence.

"Of course he did," Draco snarled.

"Was he in the top five in his class then?" That was the Scot asking. Behind him, a red-headed boy snickered.

"How should I know?" Draco demanded.

"You just sounded like you would know," Harry said with a shrug.

"What about you, Potter?" Harry looked at the next bench and found himself facing Kevin Entwhistle, the only other male Muggle-raised, though in fact he was a half-blood if Harry remembered correctly. "Was your Dad head boy?"

"Actually, both his parents were head students," Elfaba said, a trifle smugly. "We don't always have a head boy because of student size, but I remember seeing both James Potter and Lily Evans listed as head students for their year." She looked at Draco and said, "It so happens that Lucius Malfoy was 18th in his year. I looked. Now, are we done with this discussion? It's a long trip up, and we have a lot to go over."

"Fine," Malfoy said sulkily. He sank into his seat and Harry sat as well, relieved it was over.

"Thank you," Elfaba said as she walked to the center of the train and brandished her wand. The seats at the front of the train somehow spun about, until the girls were facing her opposite the boys. "Okay, listen up. I'm here to tell you about what you can expect for your first year, and hopefully help everyone make the transition. First things first—you'll be sorted."

The red-headed boy raised his hand. "Is it true we have to wrestle a troll?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to say," Elfaba said with a sad smile, "you will have to wrestle a troll. But fortunately for the rest of you," she said, brightening, "you will just have to put on a magic hat."

The red head dropped his hand and started muttering about his siblings being prats. "I'm teasing," Elfaba said. "You must be Charlene's little brother Ron. It's just a hat, I promise. The hat is enchanted to sense your magic and sort you according to your natural magical inclination. Now, show of hands—how many of you are aware of the elemental aspects of magic?"

Harry noticed Hermione raise her hand eagerly. "Yes, Ms Granger?"

"Witches and wizards have natural inclinations to magics oriented in one of the four classical elements. Slytherin is aligned with Water; Hufflepuff with Earth; Ravenclaw with Air; and Gryffindor with Fire."

"Very good," Elfaba said. Hermione beamed.

"Right out of the book," Malfoy said with a sneer.

"And you wish to add something, Mr Malfoy?"

"The leanings are a load of hogwash," the boy said with an arrogant drawl. "I can perform fire spells just as easily as I can conjure water. It doesn't take magic to stick a plant in the ground, and spirits forbid we actually be able to read without being a Ravenclaw. It's just another means for the school to try to keep the good students down and the bad students up."

"That's not true!" Harry said.

Malfoy sneered. "And what would you know about it, Potter? Word is you were raised by filthy Muggles."

"Well, yes, they were filthy," Harry allowed, thinking of Dudley. "But the magic elemental part is true."

"And how would you know that, Mr Potter?" Elfaba asked, though with a smile as if she already knew the answer.

Harry blushed, realizing he had backed himself into a corner and the whole car was looking at him. "Professor McGonagall said so," he finally said.

Malfoy snorted. "Which means nothing! You're nothing but an attention-seeking cad, Potter, the son of a two-bit whore who managed to poach a wizard above her station, but was too selfish to share him or follow custom. You're lucky the whole lot of you weren't proscribed by the covens."

"That is enough, Malfoy!" Elfaba snapped.

"Fine!" Harry finally said through gritted teeth. "I bet you fifty galleons I can tell you where anyone in this train will be sorted, right now!"

Malfoy stopped and stared. "You don't have the kind of money!"

"It's all I have, but I have it," Harry snapped back. "Do you?"

The blond boy scoffed. "I'm a Malfoy. I have more money than you'll ever see."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem covering the bet, then, should it? Pick any student in this car I can see. We'll give our money to Elfaba and let her hold it until after the sorting. Winner takes all."

Malfoy pursed his lips, and then grinned. "Okay, Potter. I'll take that bet." He reached up to the overhead bin and pulled down his trunk. Harry did the same, and quickly found the purse that held the coins he obtained at the bank from the foul-mouthed Goblins there.

Malfoy also pulled out a purse and counted out fifty coins. Harry didn't bother to count since fifty was all he had. Both boys walked to the bemused head girl and handed her their money. "I didn't agree to this, boys," she said. "I might just run off and have a fun time in Hogsmeade."

"No you won't," Harry said, not as a threat, but as a statement of faith. He turned to Malfoy. "Any student I can actually see."

Smirking, Malfoy walked over to the girls, looking over each one until his eyes rested on a startlingly beautiful blonde girl with bright blue eyes. With Malfoy's back to Harry, he couldn't see the other boy's face as he pointed at her. "This one. What house is she going to be in?"

He stepped aside and Harry got a better look at her. She smiled brightly at him, sitting upright and waving a little. Inside her chest, though, her magic was as cold and wet as Malfoy's.

"Slytherin," Harry said without hesitation.

The girl slumped and frowned. Malfoy sputtered. "Bollocks! You must have heard them talking."

"When?" Harry said. "I came in with the Muggleborns."

"You're lying!"

"Fine, pick another!"

"Alright!" Malfoy said. He marched right over to a round-faced boy who visibly shied away from the blond's pointing finger. "Him, Longbottom!"

"Gryffindor," Harry said, though less surely.

"Hah, you're just guessing!"

"No, he could go to Hufflepuff too, but there's more fire in his magic than earth, so I think he'll be in Gryffindor."

Malfoy stared at him, jaws gaping. "What do you think you are, Potter, a bloody Aether?"

Elfaba jingled their money in her hand. "As a matter of fact, Mr Malfoy, that's exactly what he is, at least, that's the current theory. And if that's true, he just out Slytherined a Slytherin, now didn't he?"

"There are no such things as male Aethers!" Malfoy said.

"Well, there's a good chance that Mr Potter will prove that statement quite false," Elfaba said with a wide smile.

Behind her, Deanna Thomas raised a hand. "What's an Aether?"

"Well, it goes back to the elemental leanings of magic, Ms Granger," Elfaba said. "There is Earth, Water, Fire and Air. But there is also the fifth element, if you will, which in magic is called Aether. Some Aethers have been known to hear magic—they could tell who was a Gryffindor or a Slytherin by the music of the magic. Others had such acuity of touch that they could feel magic. From what Professor McGonagall told me, Harry can see and feel magic."

"Er, yeah," Harry said softly.

"We actually have an Aether teaching at Hogwarts," Elfaba said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Sybil Trelawney. The last Aether to graduate was Mary Carlisle, Class of '84. However, I understand we may have a second Aether starting next year. Who can tell me about Aethers?"

Once again, Hermione's hand shot up. "Sorry, dear, let's let someone else answer," Elfaba said.

Hermione dropped her arm with a look of disappointment. Beside her, a petite Asian girl who looked two years too young to be eleven raised her hand. "Yes, Su Li, isn't it?"

"Aethers are more attuned to magics of the spirit," the girl said with a nod. "They are commonly prophets, priests, seers, adepts at mind and soul magic, and for some, death magic. My Nana was an Aether."

"Very good." Elfaba looked back at Malfoy. "Like Mr Malfoy pointed out, having an elemental inclination does not actually prevent you from using magic from a different element. If that were true, we would have to teach each house separately. But the sorting is not just a ruse. You are sorted based on where best your magic will thrive. Sorry to pick on you, Mr Potter, but Aethers are rare and interesting, and male ones even more so, so you might as well get used to it. If nothing else, though, you'll have fifty extra galleons to spend at the commissary this year."

"He cheated!" Malfoy said.

"He proved you wrong," Elfaba replied smugly. "And he hasn't won the bet yet. Mr Longbottom could end up being sorted to Ravenclaw, though of course I wouldn't bet on it.

Now, let's talk about your first day of class, and what you can expect. All of the 7-year core subjects have two professors each. Who you get will be your professor, following you up each year, until you finish that subject, so there are many professors that you will never actually have…"

sp

Author's Note: Very special thanks to Teufel1987, JR and Miles for beta reading. They were kind enough (and masochistic enough) to agree to beta read yet another of my fics.