A.N.: My inserts don't like me, so I'm trying to put it back up.

Chapter 5

"So where are we going again?"

"I told you sweetie, we're going to the Ministry Branch to get you registered."

"And how far away is it?"

"Much too far to walk, you don't know how to fly a broom yet, and I can't stand riding in cars."

"So you pulled out a carpet?"

Cameron stood over the old square rug she had unrolled minutes earlier, impatiently smoothing out wrinkles. She answered her nephews' questions with much more patience. "This isn't just any old carpet, Harry. This is a magic carpet."

Swallowing his reply (it doesn't look like a magic carpet) Harry doubted that, magic or not, it would be able to hold a pillow, much less two people. There were worn spots in several places, a suspicious rust colored stain near the back, and three of the edges were charred from fire. Seeing his expression, Cameron laughed.

"It's better than it looks. This carpet has been in the family for years—a gift from the previous Pegasus. The enchantments on it that allow it to fly will hold up long after the rug itself is gone." She paused at the confused look that overtook his face. "Is something wrong, sweetie?"

"Pegasus?"

Blue eyes twinkled at him. "It looks like I'm going to be answering a good many questions on this flight."

Twenty minutes later, with the cottage locked up and Harry sitting in Cameron's lap (there was no way he was going to trust that rug, no matter what she said), they were up in the air, the carpet carrying them to the Ministry Branch in the west.

"Okay, sweetie," and Harry started because he could hear her so clearly over the wind rushing around them, "We're going to be up here for a while, and you looked like you had a lot of questions. Which one do you want to start with?"

He didn't even think about order. "Who is Pegasus?"

"Pegasus is the title given to the most powerful wind user alive. With that title comes a lot of responsibility. Especially in making sure that other wind users don't do anything bad with their power. Now, her title may be Pegasus, but her real name is Bayo. She is a very kind lady who has complete mastery over the air and wind. If she wanted to, she could send out a breeze gentle enough to push toy ships across a pond, or call up wind storms strong enough to tear up trees and toss them over mountains. There are nine other Mages with similar titles."

"Like the Phoenix- and you! That man yesterday called you 'Lady Hydra'!"

Oh, her nephew was just too cute! "Yes, Phoenix has power over fire. And yes, that man did. I am the Hydra because I have the same kind of power over water. Your mother was supposed to be the next Centaur, who has power over time. That one's very difficult to achieve, since time is so complicated."

Harry paused a moment to process that. "So, since you're so powerful, doesn't that mean you can do anything?"

"No, sweetie, it doesn't. Having this much power means that I am the person least able to do as I please. If I lose control, or worse, turn bad, I could hurt or kill thousands of innocent people, maybe more. When I get mad, rain falls, rivers overflow, and the oceans swallow ships. I'd much rather use my power to help others. As I hope you will use your power, once we figure out what it is."

"Oh. And we can do that at the Ministry?"

"Yup. We'll also get you registered so that if you need help from them, they can find you easily."

"Okay." A pressing question shoved its way to the front. "You said that Uncle Vernon couldn't get here. Why not? Are we really so far away?"

"We are. We're in another dimension." At his blank look, she realized that he was a little too young to understand time/space travel, and sought to make an easy to understand explanation. "You know how when you stand in front of a mirror, and everything looks the same?" he nodded. "And how, when you move an arm, your reflection copies you?" another nod. "But even though it's copying you, it doesn't move the same arm. You may move your right arm—your reflection will move its left. Your reflection is just like you, but also completely different. When we went from Surry to here, we crossed from one side of the mirror to another. Dursley doesn't know how to get to this side of the mirror, so he can't get to us here. Does that make any sense?"

"I guess. Is that why I was stuck with the Dursleys, instead of with you? Because no one could get here?"

"Yes, sweetie, and I am so sorry for that. Lily had gone to that side a while ago, and fell in love with your dad. While she was there, some bad people were making a lot of trouble here, and I was needed to help stop them. When all was said and done, years had passed since I last spoke to my sister, and I went to find her. I had no idea she had-"

Harry waited patiently for Cameron to gather her composure, realizing that this was a sensitive topic for the moment. He cast around for another question. "Why wasn't I supposed to open the door after you left yesterday?"

"Because the forest near the cottage is an enchanted forest, but with no nice creatures living among the trees. Almost everything there will try to hurt you, or worse, eat you. And since there are spells of protection around our home, which they cannot cross, they will try to lure you outside where you aren't safe. There is a small village on the outskirts of the forest that relies on me and a few others to protect them from danger."

"Do they have titles too?"

"No, they're regular Mages. Two who use wood, one who uses lightening, and one who uses metal. They are very talented, and have worked together for several years now. I'll introduce you to them later."

"Okay."

The Ministry Branch was a very important looking building on the edge of a cliff overlooking an ocean. White marble statues littered the open field leading to the building itself. Harry would have stopped to stare if Cameron hadn't had a good hold of his hand.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later, sweetie, and goodness knows this won't be the last time you'll come here."

The inside looked like a museum. Small clusters of people talking softly, or walking by in groups or alone. And so much stuff! Tapestries hung at regular intervals from the ceiling and walls. Marble pedestals lined the walls, each with some odd artifact resting upon it.

"Auntie?" Harry tugged on her hand, and when she looked at him, he pointed to the nearest artifact, a large crown missing some jewels.

"That crown used to belong to a Mundane king several hundred years ago. It was a gift from a metal user when the king offered him shelter from a terrible storm. This building, as well as all the other Ministry buildings, serve as resting places for artifacts and tools created by Mages. Everything on display has a story attached, and everything has some form of magic in it. Like this crown. Supposedly, if you wear it no one will be able to target you with a weapon. Of course, it requires all the original jewels to function correctly."

"Cameron! Darling!"

"Kalinda!" Cameron embraced a stunningly beautiful woman of Indian descent, her vibrant green sari emphasizing her light brown skin. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I am the one who will help you register your nephew. Is this the little one?"

"Yes, this is my Harry." The boy felt his heart fill with warmth at his aunt's words. No one had ever called him 'their Harry' before. "Harry, this is Kalinda. She has been a very good friend of mine for a very long time now."

Kalinda smiled gently at him, causing Harry to blush and look away. "Nice to meet you," he mumbled.

"Such a sweet boy." Cooed the woman, delighted with his manners. "I hope you are a light user."

"Now now," teased Cameron as the small group began walking. "You shouldn't jinx yourself like that. He'll never be able to use light if you keep wishing out loud."

"Hmph." Kalinda stuck her nose into the air, teasing her friend right back. "I suppose you believe him to be a water user."

"There is one in every generation of Tempest for the past seven hundred years, my dear Kalinda."

"Your memory is poor if you have forgotten that all of those water users were women. Harry is most certainly not a woman."

"Water chooses equally from both genders, whereas light greatly prefers women. Only a handful of light users in history have ever been men."

"That means nothing! He still has a chance of using light!"

"A small chance."

"Still a chance."

"Very small."

"Arguing again, ladies?"

"Rowan!" both women exclaimed, turning to a very tall and lean man not much older than Cameron. The way he was smiling at the women made Harry think that he was up to making mischief. Apparently, they thought so too.

"What are you up to now, brat?" asked Kalinda, planting her hands on her hips. He only smiled wider at her.

"Up to, my dear lady-?" Cameron's snort cut him off.

"Rowan-" A scream of outrage cut her off.

"Ah, I believe that is my cue to leave. Good day, ladies." And he bolted for the exit, smiling all the way. Moments later a very angry man appeared, sheets of paper sticking to him in odd places and smelling strongly of tree sap. He didn't say anything, and neither did Kalinda. She simply pointed the man to the exit where Rowan made his escape. The man nodded and stomped away.

Cameron smiled. "Have you noticed Rowan restricting his pranks for those who haven't converted to the new computer system?"

"I have. He so detests the waste of trees. Oh well, onwards and upwards!"

Kalinda led the group up a flight of stairs and down a very quiet hallway. One unremarkable door later and Harry thought he was in a fairytale again. Glass jars filled with peculiar and somewhat random substances completely covered two walls, and a large workstation underneath long cabinets took up the third.

At the station, Kalinda pulled down a thick glass bowl with runes etched carefully all over the outside. Then a glass jar with pale grey powder and a plastic spoon. Three scoops went into the bowl, and the jar with spoon was put away. A small blade was handed to Cameron.

"Harry, sweetie, this is the hard part. This bowl is unbreakable, made to contain raw power. The powder is one half of the catalyst that will tell us what your power is. The other half it needs is your blood."

"Blood?"

"Yes, sweetie. Not a lot, mind you, just three drops."

"Will it hurt?"

"Not at all."

Harry thought about this. He didn't want to get hurt. Even a little blood hurt, as he remembered when he skinned his knees on the playground after Dudley pushed him. But his auntie promised it wouldn't hurt, and they needed his blood to know what power he had. Most importantly, to him at least, he didn't want to disappoint his auntie.

"Okay." He held out his hand and shut his eyes, unable to watch the act itself. Warm hands held his small one for several seconds, then Cameron told him it was okay to look. Uncertain, he opened his eyes and saw blood on the blade. He looked at his hand, but there were no marks and definitely no pain. Puzzled, he looked at his auntie, and she felt a pang in her heart. He really thought I was going to hurt him.

"Oh sweetie, this blade has runes in it as well. Three to take away the pain and three to heal cut back up. All ritual blades come standard like this. I keep forgetting you don't know these things. But here—you'll want to watch this."

She took the blade and tapped it over the bowl, shaking three drops loose. At the third drop a quiet whispering echoed through room, and the grey powder began to darken. It also started to fill the bowl, slowly at first, then with increasing speed. The bowl was vibrating against the table, getting violent when the almost black substance reached the lip and did not pass. A sudden jump had all three moving away from the table, when a second threatened to tip it off the table. Cracks began to appear in the sides, and with a shriek of strained glass the bowl shattered, sending what seemed to be pound after pound of dark substance off the table and across the floor.

"Goodness!" cried Kalinda at the break, and Cameron picked up Harry as dark matter swept past their feet and approached their knees. When the bowl appeared empty, both women looked at each other, with utter shock.

"Earth."