Harry buckled over, hands on his knees, panting in an exhausted manner. Beats of sweat were dripping from the tip of his nose. His arms and legs felt like they were burning with fire. He swallowed with a dry mouth and squinted his eyes shut, standing straight again, pressing his hands into his back. From the other side of the room, someone called over to him.

"Alright there, pup?" Sirius' voice was a mix of concern, amusement and strictness. Harry nodded, while he felt his sides were stinging madly. Then he remembered Sirius couldn't see him.

"Yeah, I." He took another deep breath opening his eyes again. He looked out into the room they had occupied over the past few days. It was a large hall in the rarely used west wing of the castle. Dobby had been overly excited in helping the great Harry Potter in his tournament preparations. He had the room enlarged until it was about the size of the quidditch field and had it filled with boulders, rocks and trees. In the centre was a small hill, on which a red flag was positioned. Next to it stood Sirius together with Remus. Both wizards had drawn their wands, eyes to the outside.

The training plan was simple, Harry was to get to the flag, with nothing but his wand in his hand. Other useful things, like his broom, some potions and more were hidden somewhere in the room. He had tried to summon those but still hadn't gotten to the point where it worked really. Only one time he had been able to summon his Firebolt but when the broom had come flying towards him, it didn't slow down and Harry had a big lump on the forehead, where the handle had knocked him over.

"I think I can go another round." The raven-haired boy called out after a few deep breaths. Sirius nodded and raised his wand again. Harry quickly ducked behind the next bolder, looking around. It was like being on the outside. The ceiling was so high up he could barely even see it, so he could use his broom like he would on the outside. First, they had argued whether the first task would be somewhere on the inside and they should limit his movement space until Remus pointed out they were talking about dragons and no one would keep dragons inside.

Well, no one but Gringotts to be true. Still, it was highly unlikely and Remus had explained to Harry and Sirius Ockham's razor:

The simplest explanations are probably the right one. So they dropped the idea of narrowing his movement space and instead worked with an open field. Still, Harry had learned that the sky wasn't the best place to be since he had no cover and was very visible.

The only thing saving him up there was his seeker skills and they drilled those to no end. In fact, they even called in the twins for this. Both boys had been gleeful, helping the Marauders - their idols - with something and shooting Bludgers at someone was a nice icing on the cake. At other times he would just sit with Sirius and Remus and they worked on reactions. One would shot a flaming spell at him and he was to put out the fire as fast as he could. Then the other would shoot a stunner and Harry would shield again as fast as he could.

But that wasn't all. Harry had spent hours with Hermione in the library. There were about two hundred books on dragons in there, more than enough to read for over three years. Luckily they didn't need to do just that since they knew someone who had read every single one of them.

Most people would guess that the gamekeeper of Hogwarts was someone who read rarely and they would be right. Still, one topic had caught his attention more than anything and that would be dangerous beasts. And few were more dangerous than dragons. So the large half-giant had read all the books and could tell them which ones were deemed useful. Books about the different races and their behaviour were the focal point. That narrowed it down to at least fifty of those, even with this smaller window and Hermione's abnormal reading speed they still had to muster Neville, Susan and Hannah to get through all of it. Even more than before Harry was glad that he had those people around him and there was this voice in the back of his head that would argue that Ron would be a hindrance in this cause. It was a voice Harry didn't really like since it was a petty thought but still it was there, nagging at his thoughts.

In fact, he mostly didn't see his...best friend? Former best friend? Best mate? Ron mostly stuck to Dean and Seamus these days, acting like the Ravenclaws and ignoring Harry. The dark-haired boy felt his heart twist every time they saw each other but still, his pride kept him from taking the first step. Ron was at fault and Harry wouldn't crawl back like a spineless creature.

What maybe hurts, even more, was that Cho wouldn't talk to him at all anymore. Whenever Harry met her in the halls and corridors, she would turn her head, looking away and moving along. It hurt more than Harry would have guessed a broken heart would. Seeing her every day, walking the halls, filled him with bile. He still didn't understand. Well, of course, he understood what happened Cho had chosen her friends over him, but still, his heart wouldn't understand. Even worse was that only a few days after their fight, he saw her laughing with that Japanese guy in the inner courtyards. They had sat there, talking and laughing together, when Harry had rounded the corner, freezing at the sight. He had barely been able to flee into an abandoned classroom before the tears would flow freely. Harry had spent half an hour there cuddling Dawn and trying to find comfort in their bond and love. Luckily no one had seen him, the last thing he wanted was for others to see him in his weak and pathetic state. It had been almost curfew when he finally left the classroom, returning to the Gryffindor common room with hanging shoulders and a quiet Dawn. He had brushed past Hermione ignoring her question and locked himself in his trunk.

After that evening Harry threw himself into his training. He demanded more sessions, stayed longer in the library and fought with more vigour. Every waking hour beside classes and homework was filled with his training. It was to the point where even Hermione would look at him with that worried look she had down so well. Hermione tried once talking to Harry about his hard training regime but he just briskly told her he needed to be ready, stopping any further talk about it. In truth, Harry was glad he was so exhausted every evening that he would fall into bed and sleep instantly. During the day he didn't have much time to think about all the stares he was receiving from all the other students, not about Ron's stubborn insistence that he was at fault, not about the way Cho had just pushed him away so she would instantly get to another guy, nor that someone had put his name into the tournament to kill him. He tried his hardest not to think of any of this, so he used the preparations for an escape. The biggest challenge would always be the last few steps up to the dorm room and down into his trunk. He slept in his separate room full time now. It was his refuge and no one was allowed to enter it.

Harry carefully gazed around the corner of his boulder, looking for his two enemies. Sirius and Remus were still standing on the hill, back to back, with the flag between the two. Dawn was sitting on Sirius head which looked kind of funny but was necessary. They trained with her to stay with Sirius so when the task came she wouldn't dive towards him. It was hard on the both of them but necessary and their bond was strong enough now to stay. Yet the small phoenix tended to look in Harry's direction, guided by the same bond. This gave the adults an advantage and therefore they decided Dawn should sit on Sirius' head. The Phoenix gleefully put the long black hair in disarray but Sirius just laughed it off, saying Harry's hair still looked more like a birds nest even without one in it. Quickly Harry pulled his head back since he didn't want the two men to see him. He pulled out his wand and raised it, thinking hard, picturing his broom with every detail he knew of it.

"Accio Firebolt." He whispered, whipping his wand around and pouring his magic into the spell as Flitwick had told them. Nothing happened but he wasn't too worried, even though he felt himself to tense up. The Accio charm made no sound or flash or something, so the only way of knowing was to wait and see if his broom came to him. The black haired boy closed his eyes and listened. A light breeze moved the leaves in the trees and he could hear Sirius and Remus talk to each other quietly. Then a light whistle could be heard and when Harry opened his eyes he could see his Firebolt zooming towards him.

Somewhere behind the boulder, Sirius called out, spotting the broom himself. Harry got ready and stretched out his hand to catch the broom. But the wooden object wouldn't slow down and the boy dodged just in time, avoiding the experience of being knocked out by his own broom. Instead, the expensive gift Sirius had to send him last year crashed into the bolder, dropping down afterwards.

"Damn." Quickly Harry picked it up, looking it over. A few scratches and two twigs were bent out of shape but nothing too bad. It still bugged him to no end that he couldn't control the Accio charm by now. Either the broom wouldn't come or with so much force he couldn't catch it. Still, at least it came, he thought to himself, when he mounted the broom. Problem was, he knew the moment he would rise into the higher sky he would be targeted with stunners. Harry thought for a moment before a wild grin appeared on his face.

Harry pushed himself off the ground and after just a moment already dove down to the ground again. Pulling his broom horizontal, he was only two feet from the ground and started speeding towards the centre at a high speed. Boulders and trees flew by while his feet cut through the blades of grass. Harry twisted and turned, evading obstacles in a breathtaking display of flying skill. It was dangerous if he collided with something probably bones would break. But Harry was dead set, this time, this time he would get the damn flag. Concentrating, even more, he frowned and leaned more closely to his broom. Somewhere in front of him, he could hear a wild call from Dawn, who picked up on his high speed filled race. The trees and stones turned into blurred and Harry had a strange feeling like he was moving in slow motion really. Sirius had told him about this feeling. He had experienced it a few times during the war when spells were flying and every second laster for a lifetime. It was, when adrenalin rushed through the body, sharpening the mind to a superhuman degree. He felt like he could see every leave on every tree, the cracks in the stones, even insects flying through the air. It lasted only for a few seconds yet it felt like an eternity for the boy.

Suddenly he was out of the trees in the open space around the small hill. Bright and sharp the red flag was breezing in the wind. Sirius and Remus turned towards the speeding teen, surprise in their eyes. Dawn spread her wings calling out to her bonded partner who was closing in. Harry leaned even closer, pushing the broom to its maximum. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins and the wind on his skin.

Fifteen meters. Sirius and Remus pulled themselves from the stupor and raised their wands, lips moving in spells.

Ten meters. Harry dodged to the side when a purple spell missed his shoulder by about a foot distance. Sweat was collecting on his brow only to be pushed off in the airstream.

Five meters. Harry took a hand from his broom, reaching out, ready to get the flag. It was so close, SO Close, just a little bit only a few meters and he would-

Harry felt his broom lurch downwards and tried pulling it back. But he was so close to the ground with such a high speed that even in his adrenaline-filled rush he couldn't react fast enough. Time almost stopped for him when the tip of his broom touched the ground and all he could think right before slamming darkness came over him was:

"Oh-oh."

Sirius screamed in panic when Harry collided with the ground in top speed. The boy crashed hard. Sirius could hear the sound of something breaking and his mind hoped so damn hard that it was the broom and not his godson's bones. The boy rolled in a heap of quidditch robes and grass before his tumble ended and he was just lying still. Sirius mind was blank in panic while ran towards his fallen godson, closely followed by Remus.

"HARRY!" The black-haired man cried running as fast as he could. Still, he wasn't the fastest of the rushing individuals because a small black bird was there before him, landing next to the fallen boy and chirping with a pain-filled sound and pulling on his robes with her beak. Sirius and Remus reached the boy next, sliding on their knees, grabbing the boy. Carefully they rolled him on the back. Harry's glasses were broken and a little blood ran down the side of his face. In panic Sirius shook him, calling again.

"Harry!" Sirius' face was completely pale, all blood had been drained from it. He almost cried in relief when slowly two emerald green eyes opened looking up to in an unfocused way.

"Padfoot." Harry whispered blinking at his godfather. Sirius pulled Harry in a crushing hug.

"Thank Merlin you are okay!" Sirius now felt tears stream down his face. He hugged his godson again, after looking into his eyes for a moment. Harry brought up his arm around him and hugged his godfather back.

"It's okay, Pads...I'm fine." He mumbled into the older man's shoulder. Meanwhile, Remus had put a diagnostic spell on Harry, nodding.

"Some bruises and a sprained ankle but other than that he is fine," Remus said patting on Sirius' shoulder. Harry in a moment was relieved that Gryph wasn't very keen on joining their sessions and stayed in his dorm.

The dark-haired man nodded, before leaning back releasing Harry in the process. Dawn used the gap and jumped on Harry's chest, huddling close to him. Harry's hand found her feather in instinct and cuddled her close. Sirius took a deep breath and let the shock wear off for a moment before he frowned.

"What were you thinking? You could have broken your neck, Harry!" Sirius exclaimed. The older man was slowly regaining a little bit of his bearing and with it came the anger. Harry ducked his head and looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"M'sorry Pads. I just wanted to get to the flag. I wanted to get it right this time."

Sirius shook his head crossing his arms. "Well done with that, young man. You are lucky nothing bad has happened. You could have died in that accident! These training sessions have the purpose to help you get through this not you risking your life. This isn't about getting to the flag Harry. You mother would have kittens if she saw you right now."

Harry tucked his head down, while tears filled his eyes. That last comment had stung close, but Sirius was in a rage and didn't even notice.

"That is it, you are grounded, young man. Outside of classes, you will stay in your common room or dorm room are we clear?"

Harry nodded slowly, his head hanging low.

"I'm sorry Sirius, I...I just wanted to make you proud." The teenager said with a dejected tone huddling Dawn closer to his chest. Sirius frown deepened.

"Me proud? this is-" He was cut off by a hand clamping on his shoulder in a strong grip. Sirius turned and looked into the eyes of his last remaining childhood friend. Remus shook slowly his head.

"That's enough Padfoot." Remus said with a soft but firm voice, one a teacher used when he wanted a student to stop arguing. Then he nodded towards Harry. Sirius looked down again and the anger lifted from his soul when he saw his godson with tears in his eyes and mud across his face, sniffing slightly. Like a curtain, the anger pulled back and left the older man embarrassed and sad that he yelled at his beloved godson. Sirius kneeled down and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. The boy flinched slightly, old baggage from his time with the Dursleys.

"Harry, look at me." Sirius said with a now soft voice. Slowly the boy raised his head and looked into the grey eyes of his godfather. Padfoot smiled.

"You don't have to impress me or make me proud. I was proud the day I first held you and that feeling never changed. You have grown to be such a wonderful young man, despite all the hardships you endured throughout your young life. I think I speak for Prongs and Lils as well when I say you make us proud with every step you walk and every smile you give." Again Harry felt his eyes water and he leaned over hugging his godfather again. For a minute or so he cried into the black robes and all the pushed back anger and sadness of the last couple of days and weeks finally found a vent and he just let it happen. Later he would be embarrassed to cry in front of the two men but right at that moment, he was just glad to know that he was loved and wanted. After a little bit of time, his throat hurt a little and he pulled back, wiping his face with his sleeve. Sirius leaned back but still held him on his shoulder, smiling at his godson in a sad smile.

"I'm sorry Harry, I promised myself I would never yell at you and look at me now. I know you are under a lot of stress right now and all this training, but do you have no idea how much you scared me just now. I would never forgive myself if I would lose you, do you understand?"

Harry nodded again, slowly, not able to look at his godfather. Sirius smiled and rose to his feet, stretching out his hand for Harry. The boy placed Dawn on his shoulder, who would continue to cuddle the side of his head and let his godfather pull him to a stand. Harry brushed off a few specks of dirt and grass, while Remus repaired his glasses with a simple repetition of the first real spell Harry had ever seen, all the way back on the Hogwarts Express in the first year.

"I'm still sorry Sirius. I just want to get this at least one time you know?" Harry asked and Sirius smiled.

"I understand but there is no need. For one the plan still isn't for you to fight a dragon and on the other hand, Dragons are dangerous but by no means as fast as two wizards with wands. We have more range and are quicker than a dragon normally would. Sadly this is the closest we can get to training so we have to keep it this way. I think when the time comes and you really have to do it, there won't be a problem."

Harry nodded slowly, still thinking. Sirius nudged him.

"Look at it from the bright side. Your broom came to you this time." Sirius winked. Harry smiled little, then he turned his head and his face fell. On the ground, broken into three pieces was his Firebolt.

"My broom!" Harry cried out and hurried over, picking up the pieces. A few splinters trickled down, falling to the grass. Sirius and Remus came up to him, looking at the damage. Both knew the answer of the young teen. This broom was beyond repair. Sirius placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"You have learned something today, something my grandfather told me when I was very young and he always said it was the most important lesson he could teach me. When you have your goal in sight, let it not blind you." Sirius then shrugged a little. "Sometimes you have to put everything onto one card, but don't force these situations." He smiled again thinking of the old man he to this day had no idea whether he liked him or hated him. Sirius' feelings for his grandfather were very much mixed. He had prepared him for life more than his father or mother ever did, but he had never really shown him love or compassion. For him, only the family name was what was important and his legacy. Yet his lessons guided the black-haired man to this day.

Harry sighed, lowering the pieces slowly. "I loved this broom." He said with a sad voice, while Dawn almost buried herself in Harry's hair, trying to get closer as physically possible. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"I know, pup. We will buy you a new one. You might need one for the task." Sirius rubbed his back but Harry shook his head.

"It's more than that. This broom. It was the first gift you ever gave me." Harry said looking onto the broken pieces. Sirius' heart warmed at the sentiment and he smiles.

"Oh pup, it's okay. This changes nothing about how I feel to you. And also that wasn't the first gift I ever gave you."

Harry blinked in surprise. "It was not?"

Sirius chuckled ruffling his hair. Remus smiled next to him, watching the two. When he had heard Sirius would pick up Harry's guardianship, he had been a little worried. Yes, he loved the old mutt to death but Sirius had always been reckless and whimsical. Remus had worried he wouldn't have the maturity to raise a child, but seeing the two act with each other, he knew his last worries were placated. Sirius threw his arm around Remus' shoulder, pulling him closer, while he grinned at Harry.

"The day you were born, each of the Marauders gave you a plushy. I gave you a black dog, Moony a fluffy grey wolf, Prongs a stag and...well Peter gave you a rat. Those were the first gifts you ever got."

Harry looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

Sirius again winked at him with a smile. "Oh yes! You wouldn't part from those no matter what. But I can say, the doggy was your favourite, you would always start crying when Lils tried to take it from you. So washing the thing was a nightmare in of itself. I think these were the moments Lils got a few grey hairs." Sirius laughed and Harry smiled, holding this small window to his childhood and parents dearly to his heart.

"What happened to those?" He asked. Sirius frowned.

"I'm not sure. They are probably still in the old house or maybe in some evidence box in the DMLE. Want me to find out?" The tall bearded man looked at the teen, who nodded slowly.

"I would like that." He whispered.

Remus smiled. "I will take care of that, don't you worry."

Sirius smiled at his old friend nodding. "Thanks, Moony." For a moment they all just stood there, not talking, while Harry picked up the last pieces of his broom. Remus conjuncted a bag for him to place them in. Harry had the plan to hang those over his bed since this broom still held much of his heart in it. Then he nodded.

"All right, let's reset."

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean pup?"

Harry pointed around him. "Training." he said. Sirius laughed shaking his head.

"Like your father, not giving up. No Prongslet, I think this is enough for today."

Harry frowned for a moment, then he smirked. "Tired, old man?"

Sirius swatted over his arm with no real force behind it. "You little prat! I have you know I am in my golden years. You are just still wet behind the ears."

All three laughed at the friendly banter, the load on Harry's shoulders lifting.

Sirius looked at his wristwatch. "Actually this is a good point to stop. I for one have some letters I have to respond to. I also know from a good source there is a special class this evening here in Hogwarts am I right?" He grinned at Harry. The raven-haired boy frowned slightly.

"How do you know about that?"

Once again, Sirius winked. "Being on the Hogwarts Board of Governors has its perks."

It was about an hour later, that Harry stepped into a big classroom on the ground level of Hogwarts. About thirty maybe fifty other students were already there. It was a wild mix of every age and house. The only noticeable common ground between the students was that most of them seemed to be half-blood or Muggle-born. The majority of the pureblood students frowned upon learning from a foreigner. Only a few like Daphne and Hannah Abbott were there. The room was large, not as huge as his training room but still quite big for space. No chairs or desks were placed there. Harry glanced around the room and flinched slightly when he saw Cho talking to that Japanese boy again. He thought about turning and leaving noticing a few glares throwing his way, but that moment Hermione waved at him from a corner, where she stood with Neville. Ron was nowhere to be seen. A few of the Japanese students were there as well, notably Akiko, talking to someone behind a pillar. Harry walked briskly through the room, well aware that people were staring at him. Dawn also noticed the looks and chirped, while spreading her wings in an attempt to intimidate. It worked somewhat. The Phoenix wasn't fully grown and was rather cute but no one really knew what the creature born from the fire could really do, so it was anyone's guess.

Harry reached his two friends without anyone stopping him and he smiled in a nod at them.

"Hey there, everything ok with you two?"

Hermione nodded, smiling. "Yes, we have been in the library. Mostly we found only dead ends, but there was a passage on the Chinese fireball that might be interesting for you. I wrote it down for you." Hermione said in a whispering tone, handing him a slip of parchment. Harry nodded in a thankful manner, putting the slip in his pocket. Before Neville could also say something a voice called out from the front.

"All right, quiet down." Her tone was harsh and while it was similar to Professor McGonagall, it lacked the certain warmth in it. It felt like listening to a machine. At the front of the classroom stood one of the Japanese teachers, a woman with a cold-looking face and strictly bound black hair. Her Kimono was golden, with the flower motif of her school on the upper arms. She was thin as a whip and she held herself high and proud.

"My name is Tokugawa Miko. I will be teaching you the concepts and fine arts of elementarism." The woman walked slowly through the gathered students. "There will be rules in this classroom. If you break those rules, you will leave do you understand?"

An agreeing murmur went through the room.

"First, you will address me as Sensei or Tokugawa-san. Secondly no talking during class. Thirdly, you will answer clear and loud. Do you understand?"

Again murmuring came from the room. Tokugawa stopped and turned.

"I asked if you understand."

The room needed a moment then everybody called out. "Yes, Sensei." Even though some butchered the pronunciation. The teacher nodded once returning to the front.

"Elementalism isn't a magical discipline in itself like you learned charms or transfiguration. Also, every one of you has already used it in some way or form. For example. Aquamenti." She said and a stream of water pour out of her wand. With a flick, she stopped it from hitting the floor and made it instead rise and circle around her head.

"Magic has five elements. Those are." She pointed at the swirling water ball. "Suiton or Water."

With a second flick, a ball of fire joined the water sphere in its orbit around the woman's head. The students watched carefully.

"Katon, Fire."

Another flick and a ball of mud came up in the circle. "Doton, the earth element."

Now a wooden ball appeared with leaves growing from the sides. "Mokuton, Wood."

The last swish with her wand let a lump of metal spring into existence.

"Lastly Kouton, Metal."

The spheres continued to rotate around the woman's head while she continued to speak.

"Each spell, whichever you use is made up of these elements. Some are quite obvious like Fumus!" Smoke pore from the wand of the woman. "The basic smoke spell uses a combination of Katon and Mokuton." With a wave of her hand, she banished the smoke again, before it could cloud the entire room. The woman still walked through the rows.

"Every spell, curse and jinx is made up of these. Others call it the colours of magic, the five principles name it whatever you want."

A hand rose from the side. Of course, it was Hermione. The teacher pointed at her.

"What about the not obvious spells, like Accio for example Prof...Sensei?" She asked, blushing a little at her faux pa. Tokugawa nodded slowly.

"Yes, what about those. There is a multitude of associations, concepts and more behind every element. For example, the Accio charm is solely a Katon spell, as it derives from the main negative metal emotion greed."

Harry frowned a little. Metal for greed? Well, people were greedy trying to get gold and silver but still, it felt a little alien. Obviously, he wasn't the only one with a thoughtful face, since Tokugawa raised her hands.

"I know you all now want to ask what the others are and while I could tell you all the different principles behind the five Elements, it would take us days to finish. I will tell you the main positive and negative emotion so you get a certain view on this. For most of you, this isn't as important, only those interested in spell crafting will ever need a deeper knowledge of these principles."

Again she waved her wand and the five balls lined up in front of her and she started pointing.

"Fire, as I said, is Anger but also a passion. Water stands for Lust but symbolises creativity. Earth is tardy and modest. Metal is greedy but also has the quality of reliability and lastly wood is arrogance but also intelligence. Those are the core values of these principles but this is just a small part of it. Every element has hundreds of connections, some easy like the colours Red, blue, brown, grey and green but more complex things like the fact that air is part of the fire element, not its own one, like western societies often think."

The students watched in more or less confusion about this concept. The sensei didn't seem to mind really as she continued to talk.

"As I said the nature of the elements is only for those of you interested in wanting to craft spells. For the others, it is only important to know what the general feeling of each element is, for it can help you in your usage of spells. If you know which elements a spell is made of and you know what the elements feel like it will help you in mastering the spell. I want you all to summon each of the elements, slowly and concentrate on the element at hand. What it feels like coming from your core. What is the sound you have in the ear while you do it, what reactions does your body make? Feel into this."

For a moment everybody stood there uncertain until the first pulled their wands and started casting. For solid ten minutes, the room was filled with the sound of murmuring voices, the sound of the elements being cast. After a minute, Sensei Tokugawa banned two Ravenclaws for whispering and after that, no one spoke to each other. When the time was up, Harry wasn't sure but fire felt, well hot, water soothing, the earth made his feet tingle a little, wood made his fingers feel a little stiff and metal cause a slight buzzing sound in his ears. He would have loved to compare right now, but he didn't want to be thrown out, so he kept quiet, rubbing Dawns belly. Of course, Hermione was finished after only a few minutes while Neville frowned hard and looked somewhat defeated. He held a flower in his hand, staring at it.

Finally, sensai Tokugawa spoke again. "Alright, each of you should be done by now. You should all have felt more or less strong about different elements. The reason for that is that every last one of us has a different affinity to different elements. You will have noticed during your time here at school that some spells are more easily for you than others. Since that is the case, you will have an easier time manipulating your strong elements in the opposite of your weak ones, thus making those spells simpler for you."

Another hand rose from the side. Tokugawa again just nodded to the person. Daphne raised her chin slightly, folding her hands in front of her like she often did. Next to her Tracey was holding a piece of metal still in her hands.

"Is there a way to test the affinity Sensei?"

The woman nodded, folding her hands also. "Very good question, which leads me to my next point. Here in front are pieces of parchment. It is a specially created paper, very sensitive to the elements. Each of you will pick up one of those and point his or her wand into the circle in the middle, casting Lumos. Since it is a neutral spell meaning it uses all the elements equally, it will show with colours your balance, as it is called. Red for Fire, Blue for Water, Yellow for Earth, Grey for Metal and Green for wood."

The students quickly scrambled forward, each getting hold of one of the papers. On the paper, two concentric circles were drawn and Harry placed the tip of his holly wand in the inner circle.

Like many around him, Harry cast the Lumos spell and pushed his magic through his wand into the paper. Like Miss Tokugawa had said, five colours bloomed from the middle, stretching to the edges. With fascination Harry watched them bloom and spread. After a few moments, the colours stopped and Harry looked at the result. The red colour had spread to the edge of the outer ring, closely followed by blue. Wood was somewhere in the middle while Metal and Earth were only about a third through. He lowered his paper and looked around seeing everybody was looking at their own with amazement. The teacher clapped in her hands once, gaining their attention.

"Fine. Remember, even though certain traits and emotions are connected to the elements, that doesn't mean those are your defining characters. You can have a strong connection to Katon and still be the most peaceful person in the world. It says nothing about your temper or person. Now you will have time to exchange balances, I'm sure you are rather interested."

Most students started to talk with each other showing off their charts. Harry stared out for a moment, then he saw Cho giggling at something that Japanese guy said to her and felt his stomach lurch a little. He quickly turned around, looking away, while he tried his hardest pressing that feeling of bile and anger down. The bitterness still filled his being and his ever-vigilant familiar noticed his distress chirping sadly as she rubbed her beak over his cheek. Hermione quickly made her way over to Harry.

"What does your balance look like?" She asked, leaning over in curiosity. Harry turned his chart showing it to her. Hermione almost plucked it out of his hand restraining herself barely.

"That looks good. I'm not surprised by your affinity to fire, with Dawn and everything." She pointed shortly at the bird. Harry grinned, nodding and brushing over Dawn's tummy with his index finger.

"And you?" Harry asked trying to gaze on Hermione's chart. She blushed, holding it to her chest. Harry frowned. "Come on I showed you mine."

With a sigh, Hermione turned the paper turning even redder when Harry gaped at the paper. Every colour was equally spread to the edges of the outer ring, forming a coloured ring.

"You have an affinity to everything?" Harry watched in amazement. Hermione quickly turned her paper but before she could do so a delicate hand plucked the chart from her fingers. Tokugawa stood behind the bushy-haired girl, making her jump slightly. The tall thin woman nodded slowly to herself, while she looked at the parchment, apparently seeing more than just colours.

"You can call yourself lucky. Such an equal affinity and such a strong one as it is is rare. You are maybe the third I have ever seen and we do these tests with every student that joins our school. You might consider spell crafting for yourself." She said handing the chart back. She then turned to Harry. Her cold eyes unblinking and waited for a moment. Harry felt a little uncomfortable and turned to show his chart. Tokugawas eyes looked over it.

"That is a normal chart. Nothing out of the ordinary. A lot of fighting spells work in the Fire and well as Water. Defence and Fighting charms should come easy to you, while I think transfiguration and certain parts of charms will be difficult, with your lack of Metal Affinity." Harry was somewhat relieved that his chart was nothing special. Every piece of normality he would take. To his surprise after handing back the chart, Sensai Tokugawa stood straight and then bowed. Not sure what to do he returned the bow.

The woman walked on. What the hell had that been the teacher hadn't bowed to anyone else. His eyes followed the woman as she walked on, stopping near Neville. The boy stared at the floor, the chart held in his hand. Harry was certain there was anger written onto it or maybe sadness?

"Chart." Tokugawa said, stretching out her hand. To Harrys and Hermione's surprise, Neville shook his head. The boy rarely spoke back to someone, even more so to a teacher. Tokugawa frowned.

"Hand me your chart. I can promise you, there is nothing on there I haven't seen before." For a moment, Neville still didn't move, then he handed the chart over. Tokugawa glanced at it, then her mouth slowly dropped open in surprise. Her eyes darted over the balance, before turning to Neville.

"Did you tamper with this boy?" She asked in a stern and almost accusing manner. Neville still stared at the ground shaking his head. Sensai Tokugawa walked back to the front, picking one of the parchments from the stack and returned to Neville. She thrusts it towards him. "Repeat." She demanded, with a no-nonsense voice.

For a moment it looked like Neville would not comply, but then he snatched it from the sensai's hand and murmured an almost unheard Lumos. From their point of view, Harry and Hermione could see what happened and it looked quite different. While on their charts the colours stayed their parts of the parchment, as a circle cut into five segments, the green on Neville's chart spilt over, causing almost the entire ring to be green with only small specks of the other colours close to the centre. He handed the chart again to their teacher. The Japanese woman looked at it again, still frowning. Then she lowered her hand, looking intently at Neville, who still stared at the floor.

"This is." The tall woman said slowly. "I have never seen a chart like this."

Neville glared at her. "Yeah, I'm almost a Squib I know." He spat out, surprisingly hostile for the well-tempered boy. To his surprise, the Japanese teacher shook her head.

"No, not that, your affinity to the Mokuton. This is the strongest affinity I have seen in all my years as a teacher. Normally the colours stay in their frame but your affinity is so strong it overtakes all the other colours. This is amazing. Would you please follow me this is something Nobunaga-sensai would love to see."

Neville glanced over to Hermione and Harry, who nodded at him in an encouraging way and then the boy himself nodded, still feeling off but also confused. The brown-haired boy followed the teacher, when she walked to the front of the class, lingering close by."

Sensai Tokugawa turned to the rest. "I have to cut this short. Bring your balances to the next session, we will talk about those next time. Dewa, mata raishû."

The students watched her leave followed by a slouching Neville, not sure whether they learned something today or not but still, confusion was spread widely. Harry stood there, absentmindedly rubbing Dawn's belly. The phoenix cooed and flapped her wings once, before rubbing her small head against Harry's hair. She was doing this a lot since they had left the training room and a worrying feeling was very vibrant through their bond. From somewhere Susan Bones appeared, her blue hair shining in the lights over their head. She wore her uniform in a sloppy yet cool looking way, which reminded Harry of the way he had seen Sirius wear his on pictures. Her eyes were looking over where the teacher and Neville had left.

"Hey, guys. What was that about?" She asked, the two friends, her own parchment folded in her hand. Hermione shrugged, explaining to the girl, what she had seen on Neville's balance and what It might mean. Then they started sharing their balances with each other, Susan proudly showing off her Water affinity, saying that it was probably due to her blue hair in a joking way.

Harry glanced at his own parchment, wondering what this would mean for him and what others would look like. How would Sirius chart look like? What colours would his parents display? Or maybe Dumbledores?

Or...Toms?

AN

Done. This chapter was really weird, it poured out of me with no real plan. It also is used to set up a few things for later. Damn, I say that quite often. Either way here are the first seats are planted for a pairing for later. You will see. Other things also will be later.

I first wanted to do a class also with the Germans but I couldn't decide what to do or how to do it so I skipped it for now. There will be one later. Maybe next chapter maybe even later. Either runesmithing or dueling, maybe both.

I hoped you liked the training session, that is what I would do if I had to train for fighting a dragon not knowing what I really had to do. Also, I tried to put Dawn a little on the backburner, for now, I think I established their relationship quite well by now. It is still there and is important but I don't need her reaction to every single mood of Harry at the moment. Still, Dawn is my little star for this story and I'm so glad I had this idea.

The other class is confusing, but it was planned that way. The goal was to have a totally alien concept of magic there and even trying to teach it will only go so far. The plan is that the Japanese look onto magic totally different, more esoterical than with structures. It's more about the feel and the flow of energy than clear incantations. Therefore I wanted it only semi-understandable.

Okay, charts. I didn't want Harry to have something out of the ordinary. I kind of dislike the idea of super Harry, who is the next coming of Merlin, or a secret assassin, carries daggers around and so on. For me I want Harry to be a teenager with nothing special really about him. Okay, he has a Phoenix and he is rich but not magically special if you know what I mean. Also, I dislike this strange setup that people tend to have Harry run every morning and is super fit and sporty. For me, that isn't Harry. Harry is fit but only in the flying sense. That is his favourite sport and the way he stays healthy for me. So flying yes but he will not train and suddenly grow and be super fast or anything.

Coming to two other charts. Hermione first. This is my explanation for her being so good. Yes, she is very intelligent, maybe the most intelligent character in this story, but that alone wouldn't explain her getting spells at the first try. She is a real prodigy. She is the true outstanding talent in this story. That doesn't mean things come easy to her, she is still very studious.

Neville was a sudden decision. I might explain it in the story, but still, I will do it here too. He is a very rare type, where one colour of magic overtook almost his entire core. This led him to be in tune with nature and therefore being a good herbology guy but at the same time destroyed all his other magic ways really. This will probably not come into play really and all but still, I wanted to have this explains why he is such a one hit wonder.

Tokugawa is a character I had to come up with rather quickly because I didn't want Nobunaga to teach really. He should stay the weird old man really. She represents the stiff emotionless restrained idea of Japan really. Formal and to the point. Of course, those of you with a certain interest in Japanese history will know what name the third Japanese teacher has.

Small side note, she bowed to Dawn, not to Harry, but he didn't know that.

Elementalism is more meant as a different explanation of the same world so to speak. This will not unlock hidden powers or something. It's mostly things they knew already Harry being good at Defence, Neville being good at Herbology, Hermione being a genius. This is nothing new really just a different look at it. If you want to know Dumbledores chart would probably be like Hermione's only with his colours covering the entire parchment, not just the ring.

Of course, the entire style of the Elementalism, with the names and the paper comes from Naruto, where Chakra is determinant in the same way. Only did I use the Japanese Elements instead of the European.

What do you think? Do you like this idea or is it too confusing? Also what do you think other charts would look like?

What I can promise, next Chapter is the beginning of the task.