Trinity

Chapter 4

Sarah

Bright sunlight was streaming in through the dormitory windows when I awoke the next morning. I was pretty sure that my roommates were still asleep; I could hear one of them snoring loudly, the sound echoing off of the stone walls.

It all began today. Today was my first official day as a student at Southern Cross Academy, and I could already tell that things were going to be different. The major difference was that I was able to use my powers in full view of my fellow students, rather than keeping them hidden. That was one definite upside. Not to mention that the teachers seemed a lot more laidback.

I rolled onto my side and fumbled around for my watch, finally locating it down near my knees. Its face read half-past six. Just as I buckled it securely around my left wrist, an alarm clock started ringing, setting off a chorus of muffled groans.

"It's too fuckin' early..." I heard Kali moan as I sat up and tried to wake up a little. It didn't take me long, and I had climbed down my ladder to the dormitory floor before any of my roommates had emerged from beneath their blankets. I pulled my slippers on, grabbed a clean set of school robes and my uniform from my wardrobe, and headed off to take a shower with a towel draped around my neck, deciding that my socks and shoes could wait for when I was otherwise fully dressed.

I had just pulled on my robes, and was drying my hair when Kali stumbled into the girls' bathroom, followed closely by Miriam and Artemis. Inanna wandered in seconds later. "Good morning," I said cheerfully. All four of them remained silent, hanging their robes and uniforms up on hooks on the wall that ran the length of the bathroom; it served to separate the shower cubicles from the toilets. And I could have sworn that Inanna shot me a dirty look right as she stepped into one of the shower cubicles.

Well, so much for that. I sighed quietly and headed back upstairs.

The dining hall was almost deserted when I walked in and headed straight for the Atitjere table. The hall was set up almost like the Great Hall at Hogwarts - four long tables, one per house, with a fifth table, which I guessed to be the staff table, at the furthest end from the door. The Atitjere table was on the far left as I walked in. I spotted Taylor sitting on his own - it was hard to miss him; out of all the boys at the Academy, his hair was the longest - and quickened my pace. He looked up and smiled as I sat down on the bench beside him.

"Nice day today," he said.

I nodded my agreement as I helped myself to some toast. "You might want to watch out for the girls," I said as I buttered and spread blackberry jam on each piece, "I don't think they like getting up so early."

"They don't," Ares said as he sat down on Taylor's other side. "Artemis hates it most of all. You'd think they'd be used to it by now, but I guess not."

"So what time does school actually start?" I asked.

"Five past nine, but we have to have our dormitories inspected before we head off to class. Plus we have to get our timetables from Mrs. Chatham."

The hall slowly filled over the course of the next thirty minutes. I had just filled a bowl with fresh fruit salad, topped off with vanilla yogurt, when my roommates made their grand entrance, led by Miriam. The four of them walked single-file down the aisle between the Atitjere and Kalkaringi tables, looking as if they owned the floor they walked on, the sound of their footsteps on the dark hardwood floor echoing off of the stone walls and high ceiling.

"Please tell me they're not putting on their 'aristocracy' act again," I heard Seth say to Alexei; the two of them were sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"Yep," Alexei confirmed. "That's precisely what they're doing."

"Good morning everyone," Miriam said as she sat down next to me, hitching her robes up slightly before she parked herself on the bench.

"All cheerful now, I see," I said as I mixed the yogurt in with the fruit salad.

"Of course." She smiled and picked up two pieces of toast.

"You do know that everyone's going to be laughing behind your back all day, right?" Alexei said to her. "That act doesn't fool anyone."

Miriam shrugged as she finished buttering her toast. She clicked her fingers at a nearby jar of marmalade, and it flew into her hand. "What can I say, it's the first day - I may as well make an entrance."

"'Make an entrance'," Seth repeated in amusement, shaking his head and chuckling. "You're insane, Miz." He looked up towards the ceiling. "Hey, the mail's here."

I looked up as well, and saw a flock of owls swooping into the hall, veering off in different directions in search of their intended recipients. One, a regal-looking eagle owl, swooped down low along the table and landed in front of my plate; it stuck out its left leg to allow me to untie the roll of parchment that had been bound there with a silver cord. It took off again as soon as I'd relieved it of its missive.

I recognised the neat, looping handwriting the moment I had unfurled the scroll enough to read the first part of what I supposed was a letter.

Dearest Sarah,

I trust that this letter finds you well, and that you have arrived safely at the Academy. Draco sends his regards, as always - he left this morning for Egypt, and has assured me that he will write to you as soon as possible.

I am sure you recall how delighted I was to hear that you had been chosen to participate in Hogwarts' first student exchange. It is a tribute to the school's administration that they selected the most worthy student - you are a credit to your house and to your family. You would have made a fine addition to Slytherin House.

Do owl me soon and let me know how you are getting on.

Yours most sincerely,

Narcissa Malfoy

I smiled wryly as I rolled the parchment up again and tucked it into a pocket, remembering my Sorting - I had argued vociferously with that damned Hat, telling it that I wanted to be in Slytherin. And if I couldn't be in Slytherin, then I was out the door, never again to darken the hallowed halls of the age-old castle. But I'd eventually relented, and had allowed the Hat to place me in Ravenclaw. Sometimes I wondered if it had been wise to back off, considering how out of place I felt in my own House. But I'd come to realise that my quirks made me who I was, and who was I to deny that?

I followed the girls back upstairs to our dormitory after breakfast; we needed to get everything straightened up before inspection, and I set about making my bed and shoving my hastily folded pyjamas under my pillow almost as soon as we entered. A sharp knock sounded at the door just as I picked up a pair of socks and tossed them into my wardrobe. Miriam, being the closest to the door, opened it and quickly stepped back in her place.

"Good morning girls," Mrs. Chatham said as she entered the dormitory. She began walking counter-clockwise around the room, stopping by each bed in turn and handing each of my roommates a roll of parchment before moving on. I was third in line. After giving my bed and desk a cursory once-over, she handed me one of the remaining scrolls and gave me a quick smile, before moving off to check over Artemis' little space.

I unfurled the scroll and gave it a quick once-over; it was my timetable for the year. I ran my finger down the column for today, a Tuesday, and found that I had a double of Defence Against the Dark Arts first off. It was my favourite subject, even if it wasn't my best. That 'honour' went to Charms.

Once Mrs. Chatham had left, Kali darted over to where I stood and checked out my timetable. "Oh good, we've got Defence together," she said happily. "I was worried that I'd be by myself!"

"They're not taking it this year?" I asked, referring to our roommates.

"Nope. They never really liked it. I, on the other hand, love it."

"So do I. It's not my best subject, but I do well enough at it."

"Well you lot, let's make a move," Inanna said. "I want to stake out a good spot in the library." The five of us picked up our backpacks and headed for the door; Kali locked it securely behind us and stowed her wand in her pocket.

When the bell rang at five past nine to signal the commencement of the day's classes, Kali and I bade Miriam, Inanna and Artemis farewell and headed off to Defence Against the Dark Arts, joining our fellow Grade Elevens outside a classroom on the third floor. Most of the class was made up of students from Nyapari and Tanami - I counted only two from Kalkaringi, along with Seth, Kali and Ares from my own House.

The door opened moments after Kali and I had taken our places in line, and the teacher, a woman whom I guessed to be in her mid-thirties, stepped out into the corridor; her name, if I remembered it correctly, was Mrs. O'Shea. She wore dark blue robes, and her dark blonde hair was twisted up in a knot on the back of her head, held in place with a pair of chopsticks.

"Everyone inside, and we can get started," she said, and we filed into the classroom. There was a mad rush to claim seats; I ended up with a seat in the second row, Kali just across the aisle to my right. The teacher entered the classroom, closing the door behind her, and walked to the front of the room. She stood there with her hands behind her back for a short while before speaking.

"I see plenty of familiar faces, and it's wonderful to have you all back for the new year. And I am sure you are all aware of what you have got yourselves in for. That said, let me give you fair warning - I have high expectations of my DEVIL students, and anyone who consistently performs below my expectations will be asked to leave. You will be given one chance, and one chance only, to prove that you are able to handle the workload.

"We will begin this term by learning how to cast non-verbal spells. Who among you can tell me the advantage of non-verbal spells?"

Oh, I knew that one. I stuck my hand up, and Mrs. O'Shea immediately looked at me. "Yes, Miss..."

"Abernathy, ma'am."

"Miss Abernathy?"

"The other person doesn't have any warning about the spell you are about to cast, and that gives you a split-second advantage."

Mrs. O'Shea nodded. "Correct, Miss Abernathy. As Miss Abernathy said, those who are able to cast non-verbal spells have something of an advantage over their enemies. But it does take a great deal of concentration to do so, along with the ability to resist the temptation to cast the spell aloud.

"I would like you now all to pair off. One of each pair is to attempt jinxing their partner without speaking; the other is to attempt to repel the jinx, also without speaking. Don't worry if you can't get it right the first time; you have the whole of this double period to practice. You may begin."

There was another mad rush, this time to find a partner, and I found myself paired off with a girl from Nyapari House. "I'm Zoë Bryant," she said. "Do you want to go first, or should I?"

"You can go first," I said. Zoë nodded and stepped back a little, pointed her wand at me, and sent a jet of yellow light in my general direction. I raised my wand and cast a silent Shield Charm, sending the jet of light off in the opposite direction; it sank into the wall with a hiss.

My turn. I cast a silent Tripping Jinx at Zoë, who copied my earlier actions and cast a Shield Charm of her own; I jumped out of the way before my own jinx could hit me in the knees.

"Well done Miss Bryant!" Mrs. O'Shea exclaimed. "And Miss Abernathy, most impressive."

Zoë and I grinned and gave one another resounding high-fives. This exchange thing was working out better than I'd hoped it would.

* * *

Taylor

I've always loved History class. It's the perfect opportunity to learn how time has morphed the world we live in, and how not to repeat past mistakes. Unlike my classmates, I've never viewed it as the 'perfect' opportunity to nap, do my homework or map out Quidditch strategies.

"This year, we will be covering the second rise of Lord Voldemort, and in turn the events and subsequent aftermath of the Second Wizarding War." Mr. Miller, the History of Magic teacher, said as he paced across the front of the room, just in front of the chalkboard. "Each of you will also be required to undertake a major project over the course of this year, to be presented to me in November; you will each also be required to present your chosen topic as a lecture to the class. I will distribute an assignment sheet to each of you at the end of this lesson, which will detail the requirements of the project. It will constitute sixty percent of your final DEVIL mark in this subject for this year."

A wave of murmuring swept through the class, and Mr. Miller cracked a grin. "It isn't as bad as it sounds - as long as you actually do the work, you'll almost certainly be guaranteed the marks.

"As we learned in Fourth Term last year, the first rise of Lord Voldemort was a turbulent period in our history, particularly in Great Britain and on the European continent, though the rest of the world was not by any means immune. The Australian and New Zealand Ministries of Magic combined their Auror contingencies in 1975, forming the Australia New Zealand Auror Corps, or the ANZACs, and these Aurors were sent to England to assist in the battle against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The United States and Canadian Ministries also committed a portion of their combined Auror forces to the war effort.

"The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the British Ministry, Bartemius Crouch, who had already given the British Aurors carte blanche to use whatever methods they deemed necessary against Lord Voldemort's forces, endowed the international Aurors with the same authority. Oftentimes, the methods employed by these Aurors were not all that different from those used by the Death Eaters, and included use of the Cruciatus Curse.

"In October 1981, the war came to a somewhat abrupt end. Who here can tell us how the war ended?" A girl in the first row of seats stuck her hand up. "Miss Arden?"

"Lord Voldemort cast the Killing Curse on Harry Potter, and it rebounded and killed Lord Voldemort."

"Correct. On Halloween night in 1981, acting on a tip-off from one of his Death Eaters, a man by the name of Peter Pettigrew, Lord Voldemort travelled to the village of Godric's Hollow, where the Potter family was living. He cast the Curse on James Potter first, followed by his wife Lily. As Lily died, she invoked an ancient protection over the couple's son, Harry. Who can tell us what this protection signified?" Another girl, who was sitting across the aisle from me, stuck her hand up. "Yes, Miss Kernaghan?"

"It meant that Lord Voldemort was unable to harm Harry Potter, so long as he was in the care of his family."

Mr. Miller nodded. "Very good, Miss Kernaghan. Harry was placed into the care of his mother's sister and her family mere days after the attack on Godric's Hollow, thereby sealing the protection charm over young Harry.

"Not long after the events of Halloween night, Sirius Black confronted Peter Pettigrew in a Muggle street. With his wand behind his back, Pettigrew shouted out for all to hear that Black had betrayed the Potters, cut off one of his fingers and blasted the street apart with a well-placed Blasting Curse, before transforming into his Animagus form, that of a common rat, and disappearing into the sewers below with the other rats. Black was immediately arrested and sent directly to Azkaban, without the benefit of a trial. He was later exonerated of all charges.

"And this now brings us to the events of the mid to late 1990s, which we will begin covering in our next lesson." Mr. Miller went to his desk and picked up a pile of scrolls. "I am now going to hand out the assignment sheets for your project; you will have the opportunity to ask questions afterwards." He began walking the aisles, handing out a scroll to each of my fellow students. I unrolled mine as soon as it was given to me and began to read.

* * *

DEVIL History of Magic

Grade Eleven Major Project

Weighting: 60%

You are required to research one area of magical history, and to submit your findings in essay form, along with any pictures and/or diagrams, and a full bibliography. An oral presentation is also required of you. The oral presentation should be no less than five minutes and no longer than fifteen minutes.

Your subject choice must be discussed with me before you are able to commence working on your project, as no two students may write their essays about the same subject. Therefore you are advised to have one or more backup choices, in the event that you are not permitted to research your chosen topic.

The project is due on November third, to be delivered to my office no later than five o'clock in the evening. Oral presentations will begin on the sixth.

* * *

Merlin, he's asking a lot, I thought as I rolled the parchment back up.

After the lesson ended, I headed upstairs to the school Owlery; I had a couple of letters that I needed to write - one to my parents, and the other to my sister Elissa. I had made a promise to them that I would write the first chance I had, and I had never been one to break a vow I made. I found a clear spot near a window, looking out over the lake, and sat down with my backpack at my feet; I found a couple of spare pieces of parchment, my inkbottle and my eagle-feather quill down in the bottom of my backpack, and started writing the first letter.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Just writing to let you know that I made it to school in one piece. Classes started today, and I start my training next Monday afternoon after school. I've also got my first assignment, a yearlong project for History of Magic. I think I have a pretty good idea of what I want to research, but I need to clear it with my teacher first. I'm not sure when Powerball tryouts are happening, but I'm definitely going to try and get on the House team. I'll let you know either way what happens with that.

I've also made a few new friends - I mostly hang out with a couple of the guys in my dormitory, but there's a couple of girls that I've taken somewhat of a liking to. I doubt much will come of it, though somehow that doesn't really bother me.

I'd better finish here - I'm not entirely sure how long morning break is, and I'll need some extra time to find my way to my next class. I'll write again soon.

Taylor

I set my quill down on the floor and cast a Drying Charm on the parchment. Once the ink was completely dry, I put the letter down next to my quill and picked up the second sheet. After thinking about what exactly I wanted to say to my sister, I took up my quill once more and started writing.

Hey Lissie,

How's my favourite little sister? Hope everything's going okay at school - if those girls are still bothering you, let me know, all right? A nasty hex just might be the only way to deal with them, and I know some pretty good ones.

I'll bet you wish you were here right now - the weather is absolutely perfect. The school is right in the middle of the desert, but you wouldn't know it. I'll have to dig my camera out and take some photos for you, so that you can see what I mean.

Anyway, I need to go find my next class, so I'm off. Talk to you soon sis.

Your big brother,

Taylor

Once I'd dried the ink on the second letter, I folded both pieces of parchment and dropped my quill and inkbottle back into my backpack. I stood up, wincing at the ache in both of my knees, and stared up into the rafters, where hundreds of owls sat waiting, feathers rustling softly and eyes glittering in the sunlight. I needed an owl that could handle not only a trans-Pacific journey, but could also fly from California to Nevada, and come back to the Academy in one piece. As if in answer to my unspoken question, one of the owls flew down from its perch and landed on my shoulder; it stuck its right leg out.

"You up to a long flight?" I asked it; it hooted in reply, sounding affirmative, and I nodded. "Great." I dug around in my pockets and found a couple of pieces of string, and tied my parents' letter to its right leg. "Can you take this one to San Diego, California?" I asked, and the owl gave another affirmative hoot. "And this one..." I bound the letter to Elissa to its left leg. "To Amargosa Valley College in Nevada. Think you can find that all right?" It gave a third hoot, and I smiled. "Off you go then."

As I watched the owl fly out of the window, I sighed, wishing I could have brought my own owl with me to the Academy, and at the same time wishing that I'd thought to ask my parents to send my owl back with their letter. I dusted myself off and picked up my backpack, slinging it over my right shoulder, and headed back downstairs.

The lesson between morning break and lunch - a double of Ancient Runes - passed by rather quickly, and I soon found myself sitting at the Atitjere table with my housemates.

"What are you doing for your History of Magic project?" I asked Miriam, who was studiously dissecting a chicken, tomato and salad sandwich, grimacing as she extracted the lettuce and deposited it on her plate. My own lunch, a ham and tomato sandwich, sat uneaten before me.

"None of your business," she replied. She pulled another face at the contents of her sandwich and pulled her wand out of her sleeve; pointing it at her sandwich, she said, "Evanesco mayonnaise." The mayonnaise vanished, and Miriam then proceeded to pile slices of cheese on top of the tomato. "Much better." She put her sandwich back together picked it up, eyeing me. "You'll probably nick my idea."

"I already have my topic, thank you very much," I shot back. "C'mon, what're you doing?"

"The history of Powerball. You?"

"Elemental history, so long as nobody else steals it first." I looked up at the staff table, and then at my watch. "In fact, I think I'm going to go get Mr. Miller's advice on it right now, so that I can get started on it tonight." I picked up my sandwich and my backpack, and headed out of the dining hall.

I found Mr. Miller's office, which was right next to the History of Magic classroom, and knocked on the door. "Come in!" I heard Mr. Miller call through the thick wood. I opened the door, and the teacher looked up from his desk. "Ah, hello Mr. Chambers; what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about the topic I'd like to research for my project."

"Yes, of course; come in and take a seat." I did as asked, sitting down in the wooden chair that had been placed in front of Mr. Miller's desk. Mr. Miller leaned forward and rested his forearms on the desktop, clasping his hands and interlocking his fingers. "Now, tell me - what topic was it that you'd like to research?"

"Elemental history."

Mr. Miller sat back in his seat. "I see. May I ask why?"

"Well...there's a whole lot of information about ordinary witches and wizards, but almost none about elementals. I thought it might be beneficial to the elemental community to know more about their own history, especially in the case of the current generation, so that they can pass that knowledge on down the line." I paused. "You know, nosce te ipsum. Know thyself." Having said my little piece, I stuck my right hand inside one of my pockets and crossed my fingers.

Mr. Miller remained silent, studying me for some time, and it wasn't long before I began feeling like I was a bug under his magnifying glass. "Well, Mr. Chambers, I have to say that I'm impressed. In all my years of teaching History of Magic, no student at this school has ever expressed an interest in researching elemental history."

"So I can go ahead and start working on my project?"

"Yes. And I will be very interested to see what you're able to come up with."

I gave a quiet sigh of relief. "Thanks, Mr. Miller," I said.

"You're welcome, Taylor."

* * *

Miriam

After the last bell of the day rang at the end of Potions class, I packed up my cauldron and books, zipped my backpack up, and hightailed it from the classroom up to my dormitory. I had my first meeting with Mrs. Richards, Mrs. Heinemann and the new school captain at half past three, and it wouldn't do to be late.

I dumped my cauldron and books on my desk and threw my backpack up onto my bed, making a mental note to hang it from its hook on my wardrobe door before I went to sleep. "I'm late, I'm late," I muttered as I pulled my brush through my hair, wincing as the bristles hit a particularly stubborn knot. Deciding that I could do my hair as I made my way through the labyrinthine corridors, I turned tail and bolted for the stairs.

Mrs. Heinemann, Mrs. Richards and a dark-haired girl I guessed to be the school captain were seated around one of the larger tables in the library when I entered. They looked up as I sat down in the only vacant seat and tried to catch my breath. Mrs. Richards wore a faintly disapproving expression. "Sorry I'm late," I panted.

"That's quite all right, Miss Kennedy," Mrs. Heinemann said. "You'll have met Dhara before, of course."

Dhara. I had been racking my brain all summer trying to think of her name. "Yeah, we've met," I replied.

"Excellent." Mrs. Heinemann nodded, obviously satisfied with my answer. "You'll have some time to better acquaint yourselves later, but right now we have some business to attend to."

The 'business' that Mrs. Heinemann spoke of turned out to be nothing more than the details of the student council elections, along with those of the subsequent induction of the new council. It was decided that the elections would be held on the tenth of February, with the induction to take place on the seventeenth.

After the meeting ended, I decided against joining the other students out in the grounds, choosing instead to head upstairs. I wanted to get a start on my History of Magic project - I had been to see Mr. Miller just before the end of lunch, and had gotten his approval to research the history of Powerball. I had most of the books I needed, but I would need to start haunting the library if I wanted to do a decent job on my essay.

Kali was sitting on one of the lounges in the Atitjere common room, with what I guessed to be the newest issue of Playwitch spread out over her lap. This month's centrefold was of a completely naked Kyle Metcalfe, the sweeper from the Melbourne Demons Powerball team, a regulation Muggle soccer ball the only thing hiding his 'crown jewels' from view. Kali had her wand in hand and was prodding the picture insistently, trying to force Kyle to drop the ball.

"I thought they didn't sell that magazine to under-eighteens," I said as I sat down beside her.

"They don't," Kali replied without looking up. "I filched it from the Grade Twelve girls' dormitory. Sirena Barland told me how to get in there yesterday arvo."

"Oh?"

"Yep." She flicked her gaze toward me. "And don't even try weaselling it out of me, Sirena swore me to secrecy."

"I wasn't even going to try!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Kali gave the photograph of Kyle one last firmly insistent prod, and let out a cheer of triumph as Kyle tossed the ball over his shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Kali shot to her feet and sprinted toward the girls' stairs, disappearing up the stairwell two steps at a time.

I had to laugh. Kali was quite literally obsessed with Kyle Metcalfe, and while her obsession hadn't escalated to stalking just yet, she had gone to each and every Melbourne Demons game during the summer break between Grade Nine and Grade Ten, and her room at home was plastered with posters of the team.

I Summoned my Powerball books, my notebook, my inkbottle and my magpie-feather quill from my dormitory and made myself comfortable. Trawling my way through almost a century's worth of Australian Powerball history was going to take me quite a while.

I felt someone sit down on the lounge beside me, and I looked up. It was Taylor, and he had the 'feathered' end of a Sugar Quill in his mouth. Judging from the pale green hue of the spun sugar, it was apple-flavoured. "You missed dinner," he explained around the Quill. "It's almost seven-thirty."

"I did?" I asked, and immediately heard my stomach growl. Taylor let out a chuckle and handed me an intact Quill, this one strawberry-flavoured by the look of it. "Thanks," I said gratefully before sticking it in my mouth. "Where'd you get it?"

"My girlfriend gave me a whole box of 'em for Christmas."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Sure I do. Her name's Natalie; she's in the grade below me at Amargosa. Lives in Georgia. She's an elemental as well; an earth elemental to be exact."

I sucked hard on my Quill, and a burst of flavour exploded in my mouth. I suppose it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that Taylor had a girlfriend, albeit one tens of thousands of kilometres away - almost every girl at the Academy, no matter their house, had taken some sort of a liking to him. Even I had, and I'd only known him for a few days. Among other things, he was intelligent and down-to-earth, not to mention very good looking. Any girl who managed to snag him was very lucky indeed.

"How long have you been at that?" Taylor asked, having taken his Quill out of his mouth. He picked up the thick leather-bound volume that I'd discarded more than an hour ago and placed it in his lap, turning it over; the embossed title on the cover read History of Powerball in the Commonwealth of Australia - 1901-1999. I'd gotten it for the Christmas just past.

I looked at my watch - the time read 19:30, or in other words seven-thirty - and counted back. "At least three hours," I confessed. I stuck my bookmark in the book I was currently making notes from and put it on the coffee table, and stretched. "I need a break."

"I thought as much." He stood up and headed towards the boys' stairs, disappearing up them; he returned a few minutes later carrying a fluid, silvery bundle. If I wasn't very much mistaken, that was an Invisibility Cloak. "Come on, I want to show you something; we'll have to go outside though."

"But we aren't allowed outside after dinner," I said. "If I get busted breaking the rules..."

"Oh, don't be so fucking chicken. I'll share this with you if you're so worried about being caught." He held up his Invisibility Cloak.

I scowled at him, shifted into my favourite form, that of a sleek black cat, and looked up at him. He sighed, tossed his Cloak over his shoulders and head, and headed for the Tower exit.

Down in the grounds, I returned to my usual form and sat on the shore of the lake. "So what did you want to show me?" I asked.

Taylor tossed me his Cloak. "Put that on to start with." I threw him another scowl and did as I was told. "How long can you hold your breath for?"

"A couple of minutes, why?"

"Because you have to stick your head underwater to be able to see what I want to show you. It's nothing dangerous, don't worry; I've been doing it since I was little and I'm perfectly all right." He stripped down to his board shorts and walked into the lake, treading water when he reached a certain depth. "I'll give you a thumbs-up when I'm ready." I nodded, and he ducked underwater. About ten seconds later, his hand appeared above the surface of the water, and he gave me a thumbs-up.

Well, here goes nothing, I thought. I lay down on my stomach, inched close to the water, took a deep breath and stuck my head underwater.

"You ready?" he mouthed; he was just over a metre away, slowly treading water in an attempt to keep himself from sinking any further. I nodded, and he gave me a very cheeky grin.

And then, to my complete amazement, he took a breath.

"How the hell can you do that?" I asked him when we were both out of the water and sitting on the grass a few metres from the water's edge. "I've never seen anyone breathe water before."

He shrugged and continued to dry his hair, having conjured up a thick blue towel. "It's an extension of my water power," he explained. "It's pretty rare, so I'm not surprised you've never seen it. I've been doing it all my life." He undid his rat-tail and began replaiting it. "Tell me - have you ever seen The Abyss?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's one of my favourite movies."

"You know the scene where they've got the rat breathing that pink stuff?" he asked, and I nodded again. "That's sort of like what I can do - it's called liquid breathing. I looked it up on the Internet a couple of years ago." He finished replaiting his rat-tail and wound a rubber band around the end. "I've got something else to show you as well."

"Oh?"

"Yep." He gave me another grin. "Anata no ketsu wa kusa da oyobi ore wa shibakariki da."

"What?"

He chuckled. "It's Japanese. Means 'your ass is grass, and I'm the lawnmower'."

"You speak Japanese?"

"I speak every language there is." He started counting off. "Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Croatian, Danish, Finnish, French, Irish Gaelic, German, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Maltese, Maori, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Ukrainian, Welsh...and even that only just scratches the surface. I even speak Aramaic and Latin."

I shook my head in amazement. "I learn so much about you every day, Taylor Chambers."

He stood up and offered me his right hand. "Miriam, my dear," he said as he helped me to stand up, "you are going to be learning about me for a long time yet."