The first day of school dawned sooner than Ginny would have liked. She had tossed and turned all night and she had no idea how much actual sleep she had gotten before she was woken by her mother. She rushed downstairs and was given breakfast, glad she already had her things packed last night. Her father was taking her on his way to work and her mother dropped a kiss on her head as she headed out the door.

The ride into the city was quiet as the Ford rolled on. Her father must have picked up on how nervous she was, going to her first day of both her public-school life and her first mission for the magical community. Not so nervous though, that she blinked and found the car parked at the school, her father gently shaking her shoulder.

"Time to go, Ginny. Be careful. We don't know if this magician is a good sort or about to go to the bad. If you get in trouble, you run to the corner, over there."

She followed her father's finger to a certain spot. "Lord Alderscroft has people he trusts always observing that spot. If you feel in danger, or when the new mage is ready, go to that spot and they will extract you from Stonewalls."

Ginny smiled, she liked that there was an out if needed. However, she thought of her new friend Harry. She had no interest in leaving him behind, even though they barely knew each other.

"Wish me luck, Daddy." She smiled at him. He planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Good luck, Ginny."

She headed into the school.

*Hinny-Elemental-Masters*

Harry was waiting near the doors. He figured this would be the best place to be waiting when Ginny arrived. He never had friends at school before. He was that weird kid that lived with his aunt and uncle. Before his uncle had forced Dudley to change, Dudley had stood by his side. Harry still missed that Dudley, who was more like a brother. Speaking of Dudley, Harry saw him join up with Piers and their other friends. Then, his attention was pulled elsewhere as Ginny came in.

She was wearing pale red shorts and a modest tee-shirt in the same red. Her red hair shone with the reflected light of the sun for a moment as she came inside. Her brown eyes latched on to him and he saw her smile even more widely before she hurried to him.

"Good morning, Harry." She beamed at him.

"Good morning, Ginny." He could not help but beam back. "Did you enjoy the rest of your vacation?"

She smiled. "Actually, I'm excited for school. How about you?"

Harry blushed. Truthfully, he had only looked forward to the school year as an excuse to see her, not that he could tell her that without sounding creepy. Then again, there was that connection between them again. It was like only Ginny could truly understand him.

"I don't miss the classes or the work." He mused. "However, I can get into coming to school for certain people." His eyes firmly on her as he said this.

"Oh, some people, eh? You're such a charmer, Harry. Mind if I ask your last name?"

"Potter." Harry said. "Though my relatives hate it for some reason. What's yours?"

She gave him a grin. "Weasley. I'm the youngest. I have six older brothers."

Harry shuddered. He hoped he would never get on the bad side of said brothers.

"Wow, must be crowded in your home."

"It's not too bad." Ginny and Harry started walking to their assigned home room. "Charle and Bill have moved out, so that helps."

Harry nodded as they reached the room and sat down. Harry was surprised Ginny was in the same class as him, but then again, he would not have put it past his uncle to lie on the admittance forms and force him to be in a year lower than Dudley. Then the teacher swept into the room, taking Harry's attention from the woes of his life. The teacher wore all black, had greasy hair, and a hooked nose. He looked like someone had held something foul under that beak like nose for the last hour. There was something about the man that made Harry double check his shields. While he was doing so, the man began to talk.

"Good morning, children. My name is Professor Snape. I am a professor of chemistry at the local university. I am here to substitute for the normal chemistry teacher this year and I will also be serving as your homeroom teacher. Be warned, I do not tolerate mistakes when it comes to chemicals. I understand you are children, but these substances are dangerous. We will go over this more during your chemistry classes."

Harry shuddered, there was something dark about the man's tone. The man looked around before his eyes locked on Harry. He found it hard to read the emotions swirling in those eyes. Surprise? Excitement? Hatred? Harry was not sure. He had seen hatred often enough in Uncle Vernon's eyes to know what it looked like.

"What is your name?" Snape asked him.

"Harry, sir. Harry Potter."

The look that he got at this made his blood run colder. "Potter. I once knew a young man by the same last name. Hopefully, you do not share his taste for trouble, or this is going to be a very short time together. I will see you expelled if you cause problems, do I make myself clear?"

Beside him, Harry could sense Ginny's temper rising. "Sir, you're being unfair! He hasn't done anything to make your judge him, yet."

The man raised an eyebrow but seemed to concede the point. "Very well, I suppose that is true. I shall reserve judgement, Potter. But I will be watching you very closely. Now, go to your first class."

Harry and Ginny left the room, heading for the math classroom with the other students. Harry wondered if she was having as many misgivings as the girl beside him was.

*Hinny-Elemental-Masters*

Snape sat back, allowing himself a moment of victory before the class would arrive. He had found Potter's child. He would be able to deliver to his Master the power of Air. And then, his Master would be unstoppable and able to wield all four elementals without equal. He grinned as he pulled out a black book. Now to figure out a way past Lily's defenses.

*Hinny-Elemental-Masters*

During Lunch, Harry and Ginny sat out looking at the sky. Harry had only eaten half his sandwich before giving the other half to Ginny. The way she wolfed down the ham so quickly, he figured she was used to having brothers trying to take food from her plate. Harry leaned back, his eyes locking to a cloud.

"Hey, Harry?" Ginny asked. He sat up and saw her eyes were also looking at the cloud.

"Yeah, Ginny?"

"Do you ever wish you were a cloud, floating through the breeze?"

Harry smiled. "Only every day. I wish I could fly. Free of the ground. Free of the Dursley's. Free to find the place I can finally call home."

His friend turned to look at him, and just for a moment, he saw fire in her eyes. Literally.

"It's you, isn't it?" Ginny said quietly. "Of course it's you. The instant connection. I should have gotten it right away."

Harry blinked in confusion. "What is me?"

"You're the Air Mage I was sent to find." Ginny stated, sending icy cold down his veins.

A/N: And what a place to stop for July. I hope your enjoying your summer so far. We will be picking up right here where we left off next month in August. As usual, please consider checking out my other works on this site. You can check out my original works at the links below. You can also check out my streaming twitch channel and my Youtube as well. I'm really close to getting affiliate. See you in August!

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