Trinity

Chapter 3

Sarah

Welcome to Southern Cross Academy indeed.

From the outside, the Academy hadn't looked like much. The school building was a two-storey sandstone building with an iron roof, and a wrap-around porch constructed from what looked like red cedar; the front doors were also red cedar, with ornate iron doorhandles. I was so accustomed to studying in an ancient, towering stone castle that my perception of space, not to mention my understanding of magical physics, had become somewhat distorted. I was positive this had to be a joke, and the rational side of me was quite adamant that more than two hundred students, plus the teachers, could never fit into a building of this size.

And as per usual, my rational side was completely wrong.

I sat near the back of the school auditorium with the other Grade Eleven students, doing my best to pay attention to the speech that the school principal was making; it was right after lunch. I'd never heard so many Australian accents in the one room before, and it was rather dizzying to say the very least. The auditorium was located right at the back of the ground floor, next door to the dining hall.

"Welcome back, students, to Southern Cross Academy," Mrs. Heinemann said; she stood on the auditorium stage, behind a lectern that had a flag of what I assumed to be the school crest hanging from the front. Her voice echoed throughout the high-ceilinged hall. "Welcome also to our new Grade Seven students, and to the exchange students who will be spending the next nine-and-a-half months with us. We have one student from Hogwarts School in England, and one student from Amargosa Valley College in the United States joining us this year; please seek them out and introduce yourselves to them as soon as possible.

"Now, as the returning students are almost certainly aware, the annual Quidditch tournament between Southern Cross Academy and Twofold Bay School of Magic is to be held once again this year. To coincide with the Muggle Olympics that will be taking place in late September, and reflecting Southern Cross Academy's win in last year's tournament, the faculties of both schools have decided that this year's tournament will be held here, beginning on September fifteenth and concluding on October first. An exhibition game of Powerball will also be held following the Quidditch tournament. There are some positions available on both the Powerball and the Quidditch teams for all houses, and all interested parties should notify their Head of House.

"We also have a brand-new school vice-captain, who will be assuming the duties of the former vice-captain when classes begin tomorrow morning. Her name is Miriam Kennedy, and she is the first vice-captain to be chosen from Atitjere House in more than half a century. Student council elections will be held next month, and again anyone wishing to nominate a fellow student for a place on the student council should notify their Head of House; the student you wish to nominate must be both in your grade and your House to be eligible for nomination.

"Now, to the Academy rules. Let me stress that the rules are not in place to imprison any student - they are in place to keep the outside world from intruding into the Academy grounds, and for your safety; as I am sure you all noticed during your journey from Alice Springs, we are in the middle of the desert. The most important of the rules is that no student, no matter their grade, is to venture outside of the Academy gates on their own. The only times that any student is permitted to leave the grounds is for the weekend shopping trips to Alice Springs, at the beginning and end of each term, or if they have permission from their parents and the principal to leave. Any student found wandering beyond the gates will be severely dealt with. The Powerball and Quidditch pitches are off-limits except during team practices and tryouts, and during matches, as are the equipment sheds. Swimming in the school lake is to only be done under the supervision of a teacher, or a Grade Twelve student if a teacher is unavailable to supervise, and under no circumstances is any student to swim alone. Again, this is for your safety."

"Hurry up," I heard Inanna stage whisper, and I smothered a giggle. "I want to get up to my dormitory for Merlin's sake..."

"Never truer words were said, Miss Watson!" Mrs. Heinemann said, and the entire auditorium erupted in laughter. "This is as good a time as any to call the Academy Choir up onstage; as with every Opening assembly, they will be performing Raining On The Rock, after which they will lead the rest of us in singing the school song."

Almost as soon as Mrs. Heinemann finished the last announcement, the students sitting in the seats lining the aisles stood up and filed to the front of the auditorium, before ascending the stairs to the stage and forming four orderly rows. Silence blanketed the auditorium for the barest of moments, before a backing track started and the choir began to sing.

"Pastel red to burgundy and spinifex to gold...we've just come out of the Mulga where the plains forever roll...and Albert Namatjira has painted all the scenes...and a shower has changed the lustre of his land...

"And it's raining on the Rock...in a beautiful country...and I'm proud to travel this big land...like an Aborigine...and it's raining on the Rock...what an almighty sight to see...and I'm wishing on a postcard that you were here with me...

"Everlasting daisies and a beautiful desert rose...where does their beauty come from, Heaven knows...I could ask the wedge-tail but he's away too high...I wonder if he understands it's wonderful to fly...

"And it's raining on the Rock...in a beautiful country...and I'm proud to travel this big land...like an Aborigine...and it's raining on the Rock...what an almighty sight to see...and I'm wishing on a postcard that you were here with me...

"It cannot be described with a picture...the mesmerising colours of the Olgas...or the grandeur of the Rock...Uluru has power...

"And it's raining on the Rock...in a beautiful country...and I'm proud to travel this big land...like an Aborigine...and it's raining on the Rock...what an almighty sight to see...and I'm wishing on a postcard that you were here with me..."

The last strains of the song echoed around the auditorium, sinking finally into the tapestries lining the walls. Once all was quiet once more, the entire student body stood up, and I listened as my fellow students began to sing the school song.

"'Cause we are one, but we are many...and from all the lands on Earth we come...we share a dream and sing with one voice...I am, you are, we are Australian...

"I came from the Dreamtime, the dusty red soil plain...I am the ancient heart, the keeper of the flame...I stood upon the rocky shore...I watched the tall ships come...for forty thousand years I've been the first Australian...

"I came upon a prison ship, bowed down by iron chains...I cleared the land, endured the lash, I waited for the rains...I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife on a dry and barren run...a convict then a free man, I became Australian...

"I'm the daughter of a digger who sought the motherlode...the girl became a woman on a long and dusty road...I'm a child of the depression but I saw the good times come...I'm a bushie, I'm a battler, I am Australian...

"'Cause we are one, but we are many...and from all the lands on Earth we come...we share a dream and sing with one voice...I am, you are, we are Australian...

"I'm a teller of stories, I'm a singer of songs...I'm Albert Namatjira, and I paint the ghostly gums...I'm Clancy on his horse...I'm Ned Kelly on the run...I'm the one who waltzed Matilda...I am Australian...

"I'm the hot wind from the desert, the black soil of the plain...I'm the mountains and the valleys...I'm the drought and the flooding rain...I'm the rock and I'm the sky...the Kennedy when they run...the spirit of this great, great land...I am Australian...

"'Cause we are one, but we are many...and from all the lands on Earth we come...we share a dream and sing with one voice...I am, you are, we are Australian...'cause we are one, but we are many...and from all the lands on Earth we come...we share a dream and sing with one voice...I am, you are, we are Australian...'cause we are one, but we are many...and from all the lands on Earth we come...we share a dream and sing with one voice...I am, you are, we are Australian...we are Australian..."

We all remained standing even after the song had ended; I suspected that everyone was waiting to be dismissed. I soon became quite aware of every small noise that everyone made - the occasional rustling of robes, shoes squeaking against the floor as someone shifted in place, quiet coughing, almost inaudible muttering. Finally, just as the silence got almost too much to bear, Mrs. Heinemann spoke one last time.

"I'm sure that you are all wanting to go to your dormitories and unpack your things; you are all therefore dismissed. Free time is from now until five o'clock, and dinner is at six."

"It's about bloody time!" Inanna yelled, eliciting yet another wave of laughter. She caught the attention of Artemis, Miriam and Kali, before leading the way out of the auditorium.

"So where are we going exactly?" I asked as Inanna ploughed through the milling crowd that spilled from the auditorium into the corridor outside.

"Upstairs, on the sixth floor," Inanna replied. "We're the highest up for some reason; you'd think that Kalkaringi House would be the highest. Nyapari's in the basement, Tanami's on the fourth floor, and Kalkaringi's on the fifth floor. All our classes are spread between the first, second and third floors. I think we're all taking the same subjects, so we'll show you to each class for the first couple of weeks if you want."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," I said, trying not to sound too grateful. "Just one question - why would Kalkaringi House be up on the sixth floor?"

"They're air signs - closest to the sky," Kali replied. "That's why Nyapari House is down in the basement; they're closer to the earth that way. Tanami House faces east and west, so they're looking at the sun rising and setting, depending on the time of day - that's fire. And as for us, we get to look at the lake. Plus there's a great big waterfall and an even bigger lake out the back of the property, somewhere near the Quidditch pitch."

"Ah, I see." Well, I didn't really, but I didn't want to be seen as completely ignorant.

As we climbed up flight upon flight of stairs, I listened to the other girls talking amongst themselves (though they would often point out small details as we passed by classroom doorways, portraits and tapestries), and I felt a stab of envy. I had never been lucky enough to get on with the girls in my year at Hogwarts - the girls with whom I shared a dormitory in Ravenclaw Tower considered me strange at best, and despite my best efforts at conversation I'd never managed to get them to say more than two words to me at a time. The only people who had ever spoken to me for more than a few minutes at a time were Natalie MacDonald, a Gryffindor, Laura Madley, a Hufflepuff, and my ex-boyfriend, Draco Malfoy. So generally, I had been rather lonely at Hogwarts. Hopefully things would be different here - if I didn't end up becoming friends with my roommates, I at least had my brother to talk to if I got a little lonely.

Our journey ended on the sixth floor, at an ornately framed portrait of a blonde woman wearing a dark blue silk gown, sitting at an old-fashioned writing desk. She smiled warmly down at us as we came to a stop. "Good afternoon girls," she said. "Welcome back; it's lovely to see some familiar faces."

"Good afternoon Madam Linsley," Miriam said politely.

"Hey, wait up!" We turned to see the rest of the Grade Elevens sprinting up the stairs toward us, and Kali laughed when Ares tripped over the hem of his robes and went sprawling on the wooden floor.

"Idiot," Kali said before turning back to the portrait. "Kata Tjuta," she said confidently, and stepped back to allow the portrait to swing outwards, revealing an arched doorway.

"'Kata Tjuta'?" I asked as I followed Kali through the doorway.

"It's the name of a local national park," she answered as she led the way through the common room and up a flight of wooden stairs. "We're at the very top, by the way." I let out a soft groan, and she chuckled. "Trust me, you'll get used to it soon enough. We all did; it's a good way to get some exercise."

At the very top of the winding spiral stairs was a landing and a wooden door; it had a brass doorplate affixed to it, reading 'Grade Eleven'. An ordinary Muggle whiteboard had been stuck to the door above the doorplate, with four names written on it. Kali stopped a few feet from the door and fished in the pocket of her robes, coming up with a Muggle marker pen - this she handed to me. "Make your mark," she said, gesturing to the whiteboard.

I stepped forward and uncapped the marker, then wrote my name underneath the four already marked there. "So that makes me part of the gang, then?"

"Indeed it does," Miriam confirmed as Kali took her marker back. "Well ladies, who wants to do the honours?"

"I will," Inanna said. She pulled her wand from her sleeve and tapped the doorknob thrice. "Alohomora." The door swung inwards, and she led the way into the dormitory.

I had to shake my head in amazement. Forget wondering how hundreds of teenagers could fit into a two-storey building, now I was wondering who had the bright idea of disguising a castle as - what had Miriam called it? - a country homestead. I figured we had a tower dormitory - the room was circular, with the walls painted a light blue and a floor made of polished pale-coloured wood; a large blue shagpile rug covered the floor. Dark blue curtains hung at each of the windows. Five bunk beds were spaced evenly around the room, each bed high up on the wall with a ladder to allow its owner to climb up, with a desk and chair underneath. A wooden wardrobe was at the foot of each bed; I spotted my dark blue trunk sitting in front of the wardrobe that was clear across the room.

"Home sweet home," Kali said happily as she set about unpacking. I nodded my agreement and followed her lead.

* * *

Taylor

"So, Taylor..."

I looked over from putting a clean set of robes away in my wardrobe, pushing my hair behind my ears as I did so. Valerian stood a few feet away, a sly sort of smirk on his face.

"What do you want?" I asked, irritated. "And stop saying my name like that."

"Yes, your name - it's a strange name for a wizard, wouldn't you say?"

"It's a family name," I lied. My full name was Taylor Fletcher Chambers - my middle name was one of the many family names that had been handed down since the sixteen-hundreds at the very least, while my mother had always told me that my first name was her maiden name. Of course, they'd changed their story quite fast once I'd told them I knew I was adopted. I cocked an eyebrow then, remembering what the origin of Valerian's name was. "What about your name? Isn't it the name of a flower?"

I knew I'd touched a nerve when Valerian scowled and stalked off. Chuckling quietly to myself, I knelt back down on the floor and pulled my cleats out from underneath a pile of T-shirts. My favourite shirt, a San Diego Strikers player's shirt, sat on top of the pile; it had my own surname on the back, and had been a Christmas present from my team-mates, who were convinced that come the end of June 2001 I'd be on the first-grade team like a shot. I only hoped that the team selectors felt the same way, because it was them I was going to have to impress. I ditched my robes, pulled off my uniform shirt and dropped it on top of my robes, and pulled on my Strikers shirt.

"I think you're going to fit in nicely, Taylor." I turned again to see Seth standing behind me. "You're the first person to put Valerian in his place - he won't be bothering you again, I don't think."

"Well, that's good to hear," I replied with a smile, one that Seth returned. I found a clean pair of jeans and changed into them, before continuing with my unpacking.

"Oh, and not to get into semantics, but valerian is a herb, not a flower."

"Ah." I nodded. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

When I had finished unpacking, I closed and locked my trunk, upended it, and stowed it next to my wardrobe. I had surprised myself and unpacked in record time, and I still had more than an hour of free time left. Though what I was going to spend that hour doing, I really didn't know.

One look out of the windows toward the back of the school property, and I had my answer.

Less than ten minutes later, I had swapped my jeans for board shorts and my Strikers shirt for one of my many band T-shirts, laced my sneakers onto my feet and draped my beach towel around my neck, and was walking as quickly as possible downstairs and through the corridors until I reached the school's back entrance; it was down a narrow corridor between the dining hall and the auditorium. Ares had pointed it out to me on our way to lunch. And as I stepped out onto the back porch, it dawned on me pretty quickly that I hadn't been the only one who thought going for an afternoon swim sounded like a good idea.

Not that having the whole school out in force was going to stop me. I had one advantage that most of them had no hope of ever possessing.

I found a spot at least fifty feet from the lake's edge and dropped my towel on the grass; it was followed swiftly by my T-shirt and sneakers. It was quite a nice day outside - warm and sunny, with a light breeze. Absolutely perfect. I allowed myself a sly smirk and checked that my watch was in fact waterproof. The last watch I'd owned had literally exploded in my face the last time I'd gone diving (I'd accidentally dived a little too deep for my watch to handle), so for Christmas I had asked my parents for a proper diving watch - Muggle, of course. There were just some things that the wizarding world hadn't yet mastered, and the creation of a waterproof wristwatch just happened to be one of them. The Impervius charm only went so far.

There is one thing I have never managed to overcome, even after five-and-a-half years of being trained in the 'proper' use of my powers, and that's the reflex action of holding my breath whenever I stick my head underwater. Not that I let it bother me, but it does tend to get rather annoying.

After watching everyone else for a little while, I walked toward the lake's edge and into the surprisingly warm water, treading water when my toes left the stony bottom. And considering my height, that was a fair way in. I took one last look around before closing my eyes and allowing myself to sink below the surface.

It was an entirely different world when I opened my eyes again. Sunlight filtered down into the lake, banishing shadows. After gazing around in wonder for what felt like ages, I decided my time would be better served exploring, and I struck out for the bottom of the lake.

When I finally resurfaced about half an hour later, the first thing I saw was the crowd that had gathered on the nearest bank. Right at the front was the vice-principal, Mrs. Richards.

And that meant trouble.

"Good afternoon Mr. Chambers," Mrs. Richards said once I'd managed to drag myself out of the water.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Richards," I replied, blinking water out of my eyes and feeling vaguely like I was going to throw up. "Am I...am I in trouble?"

"I have no authority over that, being that I am not your Head of House, nor am I the school principal." She turned around to face the crowd behind her. "All of you, back to what you were doing; you have half an hour of free time left, so I'd suggest you don't waste it. Go on, off you go." Grumbling, the crowd dispersed, and Mrs. Richards turned to face me again, this time smiling kindly. "You're not in trouble, Taylor," she assured me. "But Mrs. Heinemann and your Head of House would like to see you, in Mrs. Heinemann's office." She looked me over and gave me a wry smile. "It would be best if you had a shower and put on some dry clothes first, though."

"It's to do with what just happened, isn't it?"

"That's not for me to say."

Of course it wasn't. But instead of arguing, I merely nodded and headed off to pick up my discarded T-shirt, sneakers and towel, squeezing the water from my hair as I walked. I pulled my shirt back on, towel-dried my hair as best I could and scooped up my sneakers, not bothering with putting them on. If I couldn't handle walking barefoot across the grounds and up six flights of stairs, then there was something seriously wrong with me.

One long, warm shower later, my rat tail rebraided, and dressed in a clean set of robes, I headed back downstairs and knocked on Mrs. Heinemann's office door, stepping back so that the door didn't swing out and smack me in the face. I'd already broken my nose once, and I had no desire to repeat the experience.

"Come in," I heard Mrs. Heinemann call from behind the door. I opened the door and stepped into the office. She looked up from where she sat behind an imposing wooden desk and smiled. "Ah, Mr. Chambers, there you are. Please take a seat." She indicated one of the two wooden chairs that had been placed in front of the desk. I walked over, hitched my robes up a little and sat down in the right-hand chair. "Your Head of House will be here momentarily, but first I'd like to discuss with you what just happened outside."

"Oh," I said flatly.

"Yes," Mrs. Heinemann said. "Now, I have your transcripts from Amargosa Valley College here, and also your official records from the United States Magical Congress; as I'm sure you are well aware, you were registered at the Department of Elemental Magic soon after your sixth birthday by your adoptive parents-"

"Actually, I didn't know that," I said. What else had my parents never told me? "Would I be able to take a look, if that's not too much trouble?"

"I don't see why not." She picked up a plain manila folder and handed it across the desk. "But please be careful."

I nodded and took the folder from her, and set it down on my side of the desk. The first thing I saw upon opening the folder was what looked like a birth certificate.

* * *

United States Magical Congress

Department of Elemental Magic

Certificate of Registration

Full name: Taylor Fletcher Chambers

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: March 14 1983

Date of Registration: March 28 1989

Age at Registration: 6 years 2 weeks

Residence: 1738 Harborside Pl., San Diego, California

Registered by: Susan and Wayne Chambers (parents)

Element: Water

Elemental abilities: Water, telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, time, lightning and speech

Special notes: Is able to breathe underwater

Please note that it is a requirement of United States wizarding law for elementals resident in the United States to be registered.

Violation of this law is punishable by a 15,000 Galleon fine, or three years in prison.

* * *

I raised an eyebrow. "Compulsory registration?" I asked.

"The American magical community is rather suspicious of those who...deviate from what is generally accepted," Mrs. Heinemann explained as I handed the folder back. "A form of racism, and rather archaic if I may say so. The Australian Ministry doesn't require registration, however, which says a lot about how they see the two different forms of magic."

I nodded. In my once-weekly training sessions with the other elementals at Amargosa, we were warned repeatedly by our instructors not to inform non-elementals of our abilities, though it had never been explained why we were meant to keep it to ourselves. Now that I knew why, I made a mental note to confront them about it when I returned to school next January.

"Now, to your studies," Mrs. Heinemann said to change the subject. "Your current transcript says that you are studying History of Magic, Charms, Transfiguration, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, with excellent marks in all your subjects. Do you wish to continue studying them here?"

"Yes," I said immediately. There was no way I'd be able to jump ahead to my final year when I got back to America, but it didn't bother me - as long as the two curriculums weren't all that different, I'd be able to fly through the rest of my junior year. I allowed myself a small smile at the mere thought.

"Excellent. I shall inform your teachers that you will be joining their classes tomorrow morning." She set the folder aside. "Now, Taylor, about what took place approximately half an hour ago. It seems that some of the other students saw you go underwater, but not being aware of the extension of your water power they became rather alarmed when you had not surfaced after a few minutes."

"They thought I'd drowned?"

"Yes. And they quickly informed Mrs. Richards, who subsequently notified me. Now, you are not in any trouble - we don't punish students for making use of their powers. But I would ask you to exercise great caution in the use of your powers, to ensure that something like this does not happen again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am, understood."

A knock sounded at the office door, and I shifted around in my seat. "Yes, come in," Mrs. Heinemann said, and the door opened; in walked who I assumed was the Head of Atitjere House. "Taylor, this is Mrs. Chatham, your Head of House. Lillian, this is Taylor Chambers, one of our two exchange students."

Mrs. Chatham nodded as she sat down in the vacant seat. "Pleasure to meet you at last, Taylor; we've all heard a lot about you." I felt myself blush, and she chuckled softly. "It's all positive, let me assure you." She straightened her robes. "Have you been taking part in training at Amargosa Valley?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, once a week."

"Group or individual?"

"Group." I shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't very good, if I may say so."

"I see. Well, we also offer training here at the Academy; it takes place every weekday afternoon after school, and also on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Normally training here is done in groups of up to six students, depending on demand, but if we consider a student to have great potential, we'll sometimes choose to offer individual training."

I immediately saw where this was going. "You want me to go into training on my own?"

"Yes, precisely. We have an instructor lined up already; all you have to do is give your consent."

"Do I have to do it?"

"No, of course not. But it would be a shame to see such great potential go to waste."

I sat back in my chair and considered it. I had had to train myself in the use of the extension of my water power, and it hadn't exactly been productive. I tended to restrict its use to when I went surfing, and when I was working at an aquarium close to my home in San Diego. But if I actually had someone experienced to oversee my training sessions, the possibilities were limitless.

"I'll do it," I agreed. "When do I start?"

* * *

Miriam

Dinner that evening, as it always was on the first day, was a madhouse. And that's putting it lightly.

I reached for the platter of kebabs as I listened to the conversation between my roommates. They were discussing what they planned to do after leaving school, with talk of boyfriends sprinkled liberally over the top. And right now, Sarah was being quizzed.

"I don't have a boyfriend at the moment," she said. "But my ex-boyfriend and I are still friends."

"What's his name?" Kali asked. Her dinner - shepherd's pie, roast pumpkin, peas and baby carrots - sat forgotten; if she wasn't careful it would end up stone motherless cold.

"Draco Malfoy," Sarah replied as she twirled spaghetti around her fork.

"I've heard of him!" Inanna said, barely keeping her voice to a respectable level. Her dinner, like Kali's, sat forgotten before her. "Didn't he almost kill Dumbledore?"

"Yes," Sarah said. "But he ended up getting talked out of it in the end, or so the rumours said at the time."

"Rumours are bullshit," I interjected as I pulled a chunk of chicken off of my kebab and popped it in my mouth. "There's a rumour going around that the Australian Minister of Magic had some sort of part in my adoption, but I don't believe a word of it."

"Oh, don't be so cynical Miz," Artemis said. "So tell us about Draco; is he hot?" she asked, turning back to Sarah.

"I wouldn't say he was hot," Sarah said. "He's an aristocrat, let's just leave it at that." Her mouth twisted into a wry smile. "We never would have gone out if not for the fact that we had one thing in common."

"What's that?" Kali asked.

Sarah grinned. "We both hated Harry Potter. Draco hated him because Potter was a Gryffindor, and Draco was in Slytherin; the members of the two houses had a general hatred of one another. And I hated him because I thought he was a spoiled brat. Always getting out of scrapes, having the rules bent to suit his purposes...it wasn't fair on any of the rest of us."

"Why'd you break up?" Artemis asked.

"He took me aside before...it happened, said it was getting too dangerous for the two of us to be together." I guessed she was referring to the murder of her old headmaster by the hand of one of her former teachers. "He took off soon after that, and I didn't hear from him again until a couple of months after the war ended. We're considering giving it another shot once I get back to England."

"Well, I hope it all works out for you," Artemis said. "Kali, for Circe's sake, eat your dinner before it goes cold."

"That's what warming charms are for, Artemis," Kali said, sounding condescending. She pulled her wand from inside her sleeve and tapped her plate, muttering to herself. "And stop treating me like a child."

"If you would act like a sixteen-year-old, I wouldn't have to," Artemis shot back. She stabbed a sausage with her fork and sawed it in half with her knife. "Pass the sauce, please."

"So what are you lot doing this year?" Kali asked as she speared a carrot on the tines of her fork. "Subjects, I mean."

"Potions, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Astronomy and Transfiguration," Sarah replied.

"Looking to be an Auror?" Inanna asked.

"Yep. Though it remains to be seen if I go through with it."

"I'm doing History Of Magic, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions and Divination," I said. "Mostly for something to do; I looked into early qualification for the Sydney Swifts, but they won't accept anyone younger than eighteen for entry into first grade. So I thought I may as well come back and get my CAME. Fact that I got elected vice-captain helps as well."

"CAME?" Sarah asked.

"Certificate of Advanced Magical Education," Kali clarified. "The Grade Ten certificate is the CGME - the Certificate of General Magical Education - and we can leave after getting that; it's the minimum qualification required by the Ministry. But most employers these days require applicants to have finished school and have their CAME, so unless we're planning to go into the family business, or we want to play Powerball or Quidditch for a living, most of us continue on to Grade Twelve."

"What if you want to get a job in the Muggle world?"

"Our certificates are charmed - magical employers see our CGME or our CAME, Muggle employers see nothing more than a normal, everyday Muggle certificate; what it looks like depends entirely on what state of Australia we live in. It's a tad complicated, but nobody's complained so far."

"Nobody that you know of," I said darkly.

"Oh don't be so damn negative, Miriam," Inanna said. "Try being positive for once in your life. It's not all that difficult, you know."

"And I suppose you'd know, would you?" I asked acidly as I dropped the wooden skewer from my kebab onto my plate. I pulled a jug of orange juice toward me - I had never liked pumpkin juice much - and poured myself a glass. "I'll have you know, Kali, that my mother complains about it fairly often; she doesn't see why we don't just get two certificates when we graduate."

"It's a waste of paper," Kali reminded me. "And anyway, what if you got the two mixed up? It doesn't matter that the Muggles know we exist, no Muggle employer is going to take you seriously if you have the wrong certificate with you at an interview."

"Who says I'm even going to get a job in their world?"

"You might have to eventually."

"Not if I have any say in it."

Dinner was followed swiftly by dessert - innumerable flavours of ice cream and frozen yogurt, cheesecakes, pavlovas, pancakes, pies, fruit salad...and that was just the half of the table I was sitting at. There was bound to be much more up at the other end. I reached for the strawberry cheesecake that sat just within reach and lifted a slice onto my plate, adding to it a piece of lemon meringue pie and a generous helping of frozen apricot yogurt. Upon spotting a sticky date pudding, I levitated a thick slice onto my plate, nudging the slice of cheesecake aside with my spoon as I did so.

"Got quite enough there, have you?"

I looked to my left, just in time to see Taylor sitting down beside me. He nodded to my full plate, and I grinned. "Quite enough," I confirmed. "Where've you been?"

"Just got done finalising everything for my training," he replied. He reached for the blueberry Danish and set a piece on his plate. "Hopefully it won't conflict with Powerball, if I get on the team that is."

"You'll get on the team," I said. "Dominic'd be crazy not to take you on." Taylor had shown me a couple of articles from The Chronicle, the United States elementals' newspaper, during the train journey from Adelaide to Alice Springs, particularly those about the team he played for. But I knew only too well that it was going to take a lot more than just a bunch of newspaper articles to impress the captain of the Atitjere Powerball team, Dominic Hayes, who was in the grade above me - I had had to put on one hell of a performance to get him to put me on the team as a sweeper, with the admonition that I had just one chance to prove myself; I had more than proved myself, and had remained a fixture on the House team since Grade Nine. "And if Dominic won't take you on after your tryout, I'll hex him so badly he won't be able to sit down for a month of Sundays."

Taylor let out a snort of laughter. "You'd better be careful he doesn't hear you say that."

"Oh, he knows what's coming to him if he crosses me," I said, raising my voice for Dominic's benefit. I glanced out of the corner of my eye in his direction only to see that he was giving me the finger, and I chuckled quietly.

After the remains of dessert had been cleared away - I saved a couple of profiteroles for later on - and we had all been dismissed, I wandered upstairs to Atitjere Tower, humming to myself as I walked. I could have quite easily gone to the library, but just about everyone in the school would be heading there, besides which I wanted to practice my crystal ball gazing in case I had Divination the next day. And I did my best gazing in peace and quiet.

I arrived at the portrait that disguised the entrance to Atitjere Tower, gave the password and entered the common room, which was deserted. Smiling, I crossed the common room and sprinted up the girls' staircase, taking the stairs two at a time until I reached the door at the very top of the tower - my home away from home.

I'd already unpacked my crystal ball that afternoon, but I hadn't taken it from its case; it sat on my desk, ready and waiting, the fading sunlight streaming in through the windows causing it to glitter through the silk scarf I always wrapped it in. I sat down at my desk and set the scarf to one side. "All right, let's see what you've got for me," I murmured as a swirling mist filled the sphere.

The scene that unfolded as the mist cleared was of a dark city street. Seven robed figures, three of them cradling bundles of what looked like blankets, stood near an alley; four of them had their wands out, the tips glowing blue in the darkness, and one of them looked as if they were chanting something.

I frowned. Glowing wand-tips, and a chant...that was something in Mr. Barnes' area of expertise. I made a mental note to ask him about that in Charms class the next opportunity I had.

The scene faded, and three more robed figures appeared, their backs to me - they were clad in dark green robes trimmed with blue, and all three had long blonde hair; one had a long, thin plait straggling down their back. And as I continued watching, all three turned around, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

Sarah on the left. Taylor in the middle. And - for some very strange reason - me on the right. As I continued to watch, a woman with blonde hair pulled back into a long plait, and a dark-haired man stepped up behind Sarah, Taylor and I. We almost looked like a family.

"Mum?" I whispered. "Dad?"

A door slammed somewhere in the Tower, and I started in surprise; my concentration broken, the crystal ball reverted to its usual state, and I sighed. If only I'd had a camera...

I draped the silk scarf back over my crystal ball and stood up. Being that it was only half-past seven, and the sun was still out, it was nowhere near time to go to bed - that wasn't for another three-and-a-half hours. One of the good things about being in the senior school was that bedtime was a full half-hour later than the junior students, though we were supposed to be in our dormitories when the junior students went to bed. So I did what I normally did around this time of day - I wandered back downstairs to the common room to see what everyone else was up to.

"What're you doing?" I asked Kali as I sat down on one of the lounges next to her. She had her History of Magic textbook open on her lap. "You're not studying already are you?"

"If Mr. Miller decides to land us with a quiz in our first lesson, I want to be ready for him," she answered without looking up.

"You don't even know if we'll have History of Magic tomorrow."

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared, Mizzi. I for one don't feel like disappointing him, seeing as I got an O in my History of Magic SNAKE."

"Fair enough."

I settled back in my spot on the lounge and propped my feet up on the nearby coffee table. Another year had begun, and as I rested my head on the back of the lounge and stared up at the ceiling, something told me that this year was bound to be just as exciting as the last.