Chapter One
Part Two
Establishing the Rules

Draco closed his eyes and sat Indian-style in the center of the room while Harry sat nervously in one far corner. Draco breathed in deeply, forcing himself to relax, and his mind to clear.

Usually it took years of training to gain the ability to fully clear your mind, but Draco was a very special type of person; one with way too much time on their hands.

He then filled his mind with the idea of openness, asking any and all deities, spirits, or demons to grant him some sort of power, or at least a conversation. He told anyone listening that he was ready for any trial they wanted to put him through, any test they wanted him to take.

This sounds simple, when put into words, but it is without a doubt one of the most difficult things for a human to do. He was putting his fate into the hands of a power, and one that had no use for him. He had no way of knowing whether or not they’d accept, or even if they’d respond.

But respond they did. Perhaps not in the way he had hoped…

Harry watched in horror as a sudden gust picked up, quickly swirling into a mini-tornado surrounding Draco and sending jagged rocks across his skin and slicing through his clothes, rocks that had appeared just as suddenly as the wind. And then the floor beneath him began to waver as if with enormous heat, and rain of ice water fell upon his open cuts.

And Draco screamed. Harry screamed along with him, horrified that he was being hurt, that he could do nothing to stop it. Shining, dancing colored lights had joined in with the tornado, emitting light chiming sounds that echoed around the nearly-empty room.

And then suddenly it all stopped. The wind and rain and rocks and heat disappeared, leaving only the dancing, chiming colored lights. Draco slumped over, oozing exhaustion and pain. Harry felt hot, wet lines streak his face and vaguely realized that he was crying. He crawled over to Draco and tugged them both into standing positions, quickly checking over Draco’s body to make sure that there were no vital injuries.

Draco felt fine, however, and lightly pushed Harry back to watch the dancing lights. Their chimes…sounded a bit like arguing voices.

Then one of the odd lights—a pink one—suddenly zoomed into Harry’s ear, stopping all chiming.

Harry's eyes grew wide and his whole posture changed—his shoulders lifted and his hip cocked to one side as a distinctly feline grin curled his lips. He stepped towards Draco, his hand held out to shake, and Draco was strongly reminded of the subtle strength of a politician’s secretary.

“Hello, Mr. Malfoy, my name is Terressa Marr, and I’m the selected representative for the elemental spirits. Seeing as you have survived our collective initial wraith, we are obligated to inform you of the rules and conditions that apply to your access and use of our energy.”

Draco quickly realized that Harry was not crazy, merely possessed by a luminescent pink spirit, and shook her—his—hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Marr. Tell me, will I be approached by spirits often?”

Ms. Marr—in Harry’s body—gave him a dazzling smile. “Oh my, nothing fazes you, does it? You will not be approached unless you call on one of us.”

“And will the one I call simply possess whomever is near me?”

“Well, no—you see, dear, this Mr. Potter lad is rather open to possessions and, in addition to that, he was the first one we channeled through, so…I’m pretty sure that the only way we’ll be able to speak with you is if this boy here is near you.”

“I’ll have to keep him close then, won’t I.”

The expression on Harry’s face didn’t change, but the cheeks grew bright pink. “Oh my, the thoughts this one is having…”

Draco blinked. “He can hear us?”

“Oh yes, he’s completely aware of what is going on…and also of the fact that I know his every thought.” Harry’s face grew redder and Ms. Marr made him grin evilly.

Draco’s face went slightly pink at the possibility of just what Ms. Marr might talking about. He cleared his throat nervously. “Uhm, you mentioned rules and conditions?”

“Ah, yes.” Ms. Marr seemed to go back into business mode, losing the grin and crossing her arms. “There aren’t too many for you to remember, so it shouldn’t be hard for such a smart puppy like yourself. Rule number one; don’t call on an elemental spirit in it’s hostile environment. Example; no summoning a water spirit in the desert. Rule number two; no using us for personal gain. Rule number three; no killing. Conditions that apply proceed as follows. If you are not polite when requesting our aid, you shall not receive it. Each individual spirit can only handle so much, so don’t try us beyond our means. Also, don’t tell anyone about us—besides Mr. Potter, of course, as he already knows. Half the test of worthiness is figuring out how to say hello.” Ms. Marr clapped Harry’s hands with finality. “Well, that’s that! So, unless you have any questions, I’ll just be going…”

“No. No questions.”

“Grand. Toodle-loo!” Ms. Marr waggled her fingers at Draco before the pink light exited out of Harry’s ear.

Draco watched calmly as the lights faded away, knowing that they would be back if he were to ever call them.