As the first morning light filtered through the strange glass window, Harry woke groaning slightly. He stayed in the same position, without opening his eyes, trying to evaluate how the last three weeks had been. He lay still thinking in his room, which had changed a bit since he first came to stay in Quadril. It was no longer plain and boring. The Hays family had painted the furniture blue and gray, so Harry would feel more comfortable. His weapons, which stayed unused with the exception of his bow, sat in one corner polished and ready. His new clothes, clean and dirty, were tossed carelessly around the room like your average teenagers. Harry was happy to call this place his. He knew that the home belonged to Blaze and Isis, but they made him feel like he belonged.

The teen stretched and yawned as he stumbled out of bed, wincing slightly as his bare feet made contact with the chilled stone. His body wanted him to climb back into the comforting warmth of his sheets and sleep the morning away, but his mind knew this wasn't an option. With his eyes still closed he felt for his glasses. Once his fingers wrapped around the familiar spectacles he placed them on the bridge of his nose. Slowly opening his eyes he saw the first signs of light and groaned, "It can't be legal to feel this bad on such a nice day."

He stretched again feeling the tightness in his shoulders lessen. Blaze had really thrown a lot at him the day before. The fire elemental was really anxious to teach Harry how to use a sword, but still didn't feel the young man was ready. To compensate, he had Harry doing multiple upper body exercises, which left him feeling drained and sore. Harry grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, his normal running attire, and headed towards the bathroom.

He took a longer shower than normal, letting the warm, relaxing water melt away his lingering pain. After being thoroughly cleansed and pruned, he stepped from the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Standing in front of the opaque, steamy mirror, Harry took a casual swipe at its glassy surface to reveal his reflection.

He still had his unusually bright eyes and jet-black hair, but looking closely he could see a few gray amongst the dark mass. What caught his attention were the muscles he seemed to be developing. His chest and arms were more defined, not perfect, but noticeable. He was still thin, still scrawny compared to most, but he had an athletic build. Recently he noticed he was getting stronger, and his endurance was building rapidly. His morning runs extended well past the Guild. He had found more trails and paths making his run more enjoyable, and entertaining. He didn't mind wearing the dampener anymore; he didn't even notice it since he wore it constantly. It was his abdomen was the most prominent. His growing stomach muscles were easily seen on his thin frame. Overall Harry felt a lot better about his appearance. He thought about going back to Hogwarts and not being the skinny little kid anymore. It gave him something to look forward to.

He dressed quickly and stopped in his room to grab his bow and quiver. Isis had him run with the bow almost constantly. She wanted him to be comfortable with it at all times. For the first week or so he felt it was a bother, ruining his rhythm, but he soon became accustomed to it. Everyday after a large percentage of his run he would stop and practice his archery at a small range he found during one of his many after dinner exploring adventures.

After three weeks of being the model citizen, nothing much had changed. He was still stared at, mocked, and insulted, but it wasn't something that bothered him. True it would have been better without the rude gestures, but there wasn't any real harm done. No one had actually done anything physically to him. He would do his best to ignore them and carry on with whatever he was doing and one or more the Hays family would always accompany Harry from one place to another during the day. The only time he was allowed to venture out on his own was the very early mornings. Even then the twins were usually with him, but only when they were up in time.

Harry walked through front door, and stretched briefly. He took off running at a medium jog. He was proud of how far he'd come in three weeks. He was able too keep pace with Blaze and Sam for a short time, but Isis and Bill were still much faster. Harry thought it was unfair to compare his speed to theirs, since neither of them wore a dampener.

It took him a short while to get into the empty market. He liked it best at this time. It looked peaceful, like something out of fairytale. 'Well,' he thought, 'it would still look like a fairytale with all the people, except for the cursing, glares, and rude hand gestures.' After a few more minutes and a lot more panting Harry reached the Guild. He took a moment to catch his breath and then headed back in different direction.

He ran through the woods, jumping over fallen trees, and leaping over tiny brooks. The narrow winding paths increased his agility as well as his stamina. He dodged trees and ducked low branches, while he maintained the same speed. Unknowingly progressing his training faster by making it something he enjoyed.

Harry stopped and rested when he reached the archery range. This had soon become his favorite place in Quadril. It was deep within the woods and hardly anyone knew it existed, according to the twins. He drew his bow, and fired an arrow at the nearest target, which was hidden deep within a brilliantly green valley. He pulled in another arrow and released, it whizzed by the first target and hit the second with a resounding crack.

Harry felt a small smile pull upon his lips as he fired his last arrow. He really enjoyed archery. So far it was the only part of his training he truly cherished. It wasn't the fact it was a weapon, or some destructive urge. It was the control and concentration that drew him in. He liked knowing that the slightest movement could change the path of his arrow. The tiniest miscalculation would cause him to miss. He liked that it was difficult for most, and he was naturally skilled in the art. It was something that was his own; it was the same way he felt about flying, but on a lesser scale.

Harry swung his bow across his back and walked towards the targets. He needed to collect his arrows so he could return home. Walking a little slowly as he took in his surroundings, Harry reached the first target. He pulled out the three bulls-eye hits and carefully placed the arrows in the quiver. As he finished gathering the last of his arrows he heard a very familiar sound break the tranquil silence of the archery range. Harry knew that sound, he'd become very accustomed to it. Every day he heard it, every time he let an arrow go, he heard that familiar twang.

Harry looked up just in time to see an arrow heading toward his left shoulder. As his eyes widened and his pulse quickened, he felt the world slow. The arrow seemed almost suspended in air. He slowly turned, as its deadly tip glinted in the morning sun. It's perfectly crafted tail feathers ruffled slightly as it sped towards its target. Time returned to normal as Harry made a grab for the arrow. With lightening fast reflexes his right hand darted forward and grabbed the arrow as it pierced his shoulder.

He screamed in pain as he felt the metal tip hit bone. He slowed the arrow enough from doing permanent damage, but not enough to stop it completely. With his hand shaking slightly he slowly removed the arrow. Even though it caused more pain, there was less chance of further injury. After removing the arrow he scrambled behind the nearest tree. He knew who ever fired it couldn't have done it by accident. They had been too close, and air elementals were notorious for their perfect aim.

Harry looked at his left shoulder to inspect the wound. Brilliantly red blood slowly flowed from the inch long laceration traveling down his arm and dripping to the forest floor. Using the bloody arrow, he cut a temporary bandage from the bottom of his T-shirt. He lightly laid the fabric against his skin and nearly screamed as he placed enough pressure to stop the bleeding. He tied a strong knot to keep it in place as he examined his surroundings in search of who has shot at him.

His green eyes scanned the forest landscape to see a group of five teens. They looked slightly older than Harry, maybe by a couple years. Three were earth elementals, and two were air. Only one had his bow in hand. He had an arrow lightly drawn and the bow faced down. It was a position for firing quickly.

Harry still held on to the idea that people are fundamentally good, that a group of teenagers wouldn't just hunt someone down for something so petty as prejudice, but Harry wasn't stupid. He pulled some branches around him and hid beneath the foliage. He felt so stupid that he left his wand in his room. He always left it now. He didn't want to accidentally use magic and endanger himself further, but it didn't seem to help now. He slowed his breathing, trying to regain his composure and gather his wits.

Harry listened closely as he buried himself further.

"Are you sure you hit him?" asked the unarmed air elemental.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Said the one holding the weapon, "I never miss." He proclaimed arrogantly. 'Now that's a Malfoy statement if I've ever heard one.' Harry thought.

"Then where's the blood?" Accused the first air elemental, as if he'd found the missing piece of evidence. "A shot like that, at this range would have shattered his shoulder. You were going for that weren't you? There would be blood everywhere, especially with a wound that deep."

Now Harry was angry, these 'boys' intended to harm him. He knew the shot was deliberate, but he hoped, no, he prayed for the decency of man that he was wrong. After coming face to face with Voldemort he knew how bad a person could go, but this was heart wrenching. He did nothing to these people; he didn't even know their names, but they didn't care about him. He meant nothing. They were taught from birth that Wizards are subhuman, they were less than nothing, they were worthless, and definitely unfit to walk the earth. That's what this Elemental culture screamed. The very fiber of hatred was deeply woven into every aspect of their world, and Harry was sick of it. He knew he had to do something. They'd find him eventually, and he'd be damned if they found him hiding like a coward.

The first thing he did was remove the dampener. Carefully he placed it in his pocket, and slowly rose to full height. His left arm trembled with pain, as his body told him to let it drop, but he had no choice. He removed his bow and drew an arrow. Slowly, and silently pulling back on the string. He fought through the pain and stepped from behind the tree. Twenty yards ahead the group of boys stood, hatred oozing from their souls.

Instantly the armed air elemental drew his arrow, ready to fire. He looked at Harry and saw a perfect stance. 'He can handle a bow, and well,' he thought surprised, but he didn't show it.

Harry spoke in a deathly calm, ice cold tone, "Let me leave." Those three words hung in the air laced with hidden threats.

At first there was no real reaction. The opposing group stood still, their faces betraying nothing. The silence was frustrating, even the birds had stopped chirping. Harry knew he had to do something. He had to leave; he had to get a way. 'This is not where I want to be,' he thought, 'it's five on one, and I haven't been trained. I can't win this.'

So he said again, "Let me leave." This raised some type of reaction from the group. The largest earth elemental spoke first, as his is dark beady eyes darted towards Harry's injured shoulder.

"He can't fire the bow Cise, disable his other arm." He sneered without emotion, without fear.

The air elemental 'Cise,' fired without hesitation. The arrow sped towards Harry's right shoulder and he had less than a moment to react. His emerald eyes locked on to the dangerous projectile and Harry fired. The two arrows collided mid-flight. Harry's arrow snapped the other elementals in half, and let its sharp tip fall harmlessly to the forest floor, where it stuck embedded in the dirt.

Everyone froze. The shot was beyond probable; it wasn't even considered possible. The archery the group had just witnessed was something of legend, and they knew it. The prejudice teens seemed to suddenly be made of stone, each of their eyes upon the broken arrow lying in the dirt. Even Harry was momentarily stunned, but he quickly regained his senses.

Harry knew his odds were low if he stayed to gawk at a shattered arrow. So he did something he wouldn't normally do; he ran. His legs carrying faster than he ever dreamt possible. Without the dampener he flew through the forest, around trees, under branches, over brooks and large rocks. He ran as if his life depended on it.

As he neared the village Harry heard, and felt something he'd never forget. A loud cracking, popping, and groaning filled the air. The earth shook and trembled as Harry looked behind him, the forest was splitting as a fissure formed and sped towards him. It was small at first but as it gained on Harry it grew, throwing plants, trees, and earth in all directions to get to the wizard. The outnumbered teen increased his speed, pushing himself well beyond his known limits. He could only imagine himself looking a blur as he passed the many trees, but the fissure was still gaining and fast. The growing crevice ripped a hole beneath Harry's feet. As his right foot sunk into the earth he slammed face first into the forest floor. The last thing Harry remembered before darkness enveloped him was the familiar copper taste of blood consuming his senses.

Not long after Harry was brought back to consciousness by the sound of his own painful screams, and the sadistic laughter of teenage elementals. His green eyes snapped open as he tried to find his bearings. His glasses had been cracked and battered making it difficult to see. His blurry gaze fell upon an earth elemental, who looked proud, as if he'd caught his first fish. Harry found it disturbing to have someone look at him as if he was their prey. The earth elemental stopped smirking at Harry momentarily and looked towards the boy who had fired the arrow. "Here he is Cise ask him."

"How'd you hit the arrow?" he spat. "I'm the best archer around here, that's why they call me Precise, I don't miss, and I wouldn't have missed that shot," he confessed. "No one could hit that under any circumstances. Was it your corrupt from of Magic?" He shouted as his anger rose. Just the thought of someone being better made his stomach churn, but this was worse. Harry was a wizard, less than human, scum, and he was beaten by that. He needed to know the boy cheated, he had to know.

Harry looked towards him, his eyes only showing pain. "It wasn't magic."

The earth elemental growled, "Liar!" As the earth began to close. Harry felt the severe pressure threatening to crush his leg as he closed his eyes and bit his lip trying not to scream. The pain was intense but bearable. "Tell us the truth!" He thundered as the earth trembled. The other boys laughed as Harry's eyes watered involuntarily.

Harry looked up at him and nearly whispered, "I am." He knew answering honestly would have consequences, but saying he used magic would have been worse.

The elemental yelled something incoherent and the fissure began to close. This was torture for Harry. He didn't know what to do; there was nothing he could consciously do. These elementals were stronger and actually trained to control their elements, Harry was trapped.

The earth wanted to close, it wanted to join, and Harry's leg wasn't going to stop it. The pain intensified as the earth seemed to heal. The many cracks and small fissures began to close until only the hole around Harry's leg was left. The earth elemental looked down at Harry one more time and smiled. Not something cheerful, not kind, and most definitely not friendly. It was sick and sadistic. Something a madman would flash his latest victim before their dying breath.

The crack widened, just barely, releasing some of the pressure. Harry didn't relax, he knew something horrible was coming, but whatever it was he wouldn't show fear. The earth elemental held his hands open with his palms towards the forest floor and sneered, "I hope you don't need that leg." He quickly curled his hands into a fist and slammed them together. The earth responded in the same. Harry groaned as he felt his fibula snap. As the earth continued to close, threatening to amputate Harry's leg and instinct took over.

As his bones broke Harry saw blue. Bright blue flames rolled off his body to the forest floor, melting the earth around him. He didn't feel the heat; he didn't feel anything besides his right leg throbbing. Harry looked to the teens that were now afraid; they weren't finding this fun anymore. He closed his eyes and pulled himself free with a primal scream. He stood slowly putting all his weight on his left leg. The blue flames intensified around him, rippling from his shoulders towards the low-lying green foliage below. He turned his emerald gaze towards the boys, who took one look at the blue inferno, and ran. Harry sank to a knee as the flames faded. He maneuvered towards the nearest tree and rested against it. His thoughts were consumed with what had transpired. He had no idea what happened. It was as if he didn't do anything, it was just a way out and his body found it.

After a few minutes Harry grabbed a fallen branch, which he used as a cane and made his way towards the market. His progress was slow, but that was to be expected. The pain in his leg was bearable if he held it above the ground. Nearly all his weight was focused on the branch that he found. Harry limped down the dirt path; avoiding the small obstacles with difficulty, and nearly rejoiced as his makeshift cane hit the cobble stone path.

After Harry's jog, archery practice, and his run in with the thugs, it was now mid morning. Elementals were running from shop to shop, gathering this and that. They hurried along so the rest of their day was open to more meaningful tasks besides getting bread. Harry tried to move quickly through the crowd, trying to go unseen. Even though he stayed out of the main crowds and kept his head down he was noticed. At first it was just a few odd glances, then a mumbled word here and there. It soon escalated to full sentences and almost joyous expressions. Harry felt disgusted. He didn't actually know how bad he looked, but it couldn't be good, and these people were happy. Happy to see him in pain, to see him injured, to see him looking so frail. 'I hate these people,' Harry thought bitterly as he caught his reflection in a shop window.

His messy hair was covered with a mixture of dirt and leaves, making it worse than normal. His glasses were ruined and had cut his cheek as they shattered against his skin. A thin trail of crimson blood stood out drastically against his abnormally pale completion as it ran down his face towards his chin. The field dressed wound on his shoulder was bleeding through the bandage, but it was holding. He couldn't see his leg in the glass, but decided he didn't want to look. He knew it was bad, but he thought seeing it would make it hurt worse.

As Harry continued back to the house he tried to ignore the constant taunts and muttered sentences.

"Looks like the filth got what he deserved…"

"I was thinking about doing that for…"

"What a disgrace, look at the state of him…"

The taunts hurt worse than Harry's physical pain, but none so much as the small girl he'd seen on his first day. She turned to him and made brief eye contact, then muttered, "Wizard waste," as she looked towards her mother, who smiled encouragingly.

His emotions pressed him to spill tears, but he refused. He fought against every taunt, every glare. He tried to think of something good that could come from this, but there was nothing. His thoughts dropped to despair as a passing elemental spat at his feet. His eyes threatened to tear again, but he squashed it. He wouldn't cry in front of them. He wouldn't give him that satisfaction. At this point he was feeling grateful that no one had physically hurt him further. 'It wouldn't be hard,' he thought sadly, 'to finish me off right now. I am defenseless and no one here would stop them.'

He continued walking with his head down, fighting the tears that would soon come. He looked at the last shop, which happened to be the clothing store, made brief eye contact with Notus and limped on. His heart nearly broke as she let him pass without even an encouraging glance. Her face was expressionless, cold. She was the only citizen of Quadril that was truly kind to him besides the Hays family, and now she did nothing for him. She didn't even ask if he was all right. 'She's just another one of them,' he thought as his feet touched the forest path. It was sure to be the start of a very difficult walk for someone limping and bleeding.