Stepping through the vanishing cabinet, I arrived on Uncle John’s boat. Knowing that everyone was probably waiting for me upstairs, I made my way through the ship.

 When I got to the top deck, I found Aunt Nefret quickly speaking with an African witch I didn't recognize. When they saw me arrive, Aunt Nefret whispered something to the witch, who nodded, turned into a graceful black heron, and flew off. Once she had exited the boundary of the spell that prevented apparition, she disappeared with a loud crack.

 As I watched her fly off, I couldn't help but imagine wistfully what my animagus would be. I should try to make sure to master the patronus spell this year, to find out what my animal form was. If it was something stupid like a bug, I might not even bother.

 It was slightly annoying that Professor McGonagall refused to teach anyone how to become an animagus until the sixth year. I know that there were risks to the spell, but I was willing to take them.

 Aunt Nefret smiled when she saw my expression and asked knowingly, "Wishing you had an animagus form?"

 Grumpily, I explained, "Professor McGonagall, our transfiguration professor refuses to teach anyone to become an animagus until the 6th year."

 Aunt Nefret nodded and said, "I'm sure that she merely has your safety in mind. Although your sixth year seems a little excessive, then again, there are only seven registered animaguses in Europe. So she probably doesn't have much experience teaching students the spell and wants to make sure that you stay safe. There are no do-overs in the animagus spell; if something goes wrong, it's permanent."

 Seeing how I wasn't convinced, she hesitantly added, "You know, Uagadou has a student exchange program for students in their fourth year. It last for six months, I think you would find it interesting, and most of our students become animaguses in the third and fourth year."

 Hearing about an opportunity to visit the oldest magical institution in the world made my eyes widen. "That's a great idea," I replied.

 The only thing that sucked was I would have to wait two more years, but at least I still have a lot I need to accomplish that will keep me busy.

 While we were talking, Uncle John appeared suddenly back onto the boat, holding a glass jar. Knowing that you couldn't apparate on the ship, I asked curiously, "Is that a port-key?

 Uncle John nodded and said, "I never leave the ship without one; one never knows when they may need a quick exit. And what's nice about them is that they can penetrate protective enchantments, if you set them up beforehand."

 I mentally added yet another thing I wanted to learn about, at this rate, I will never finish my list.

 Taking a seat at the table, Uncle John leaned forward and said, "So, tell me all about your first year at Hogwarts. And make sure to include all the vampire business I heard about."

 When I got to the part of my feud with Micheal, I thought I saw my uncle's eye twitch. I paused to give him a chance to respond, but he motioned for me to continue. In the end, he let me finish the entire story without interrupting once.

 When I finished speaking, Uncle John sighed heavily and said, "You know Alex, ever since you were little, you have been way ahead of the curve. Your parents and I have always known you were going to be a great wizard, and being able to break a ward at your age only reinforces that."

 Looking at me with a worried gaze, he continued, "I'm not going to lecture you. But, let me give you some advice that I wish I had gotten at your age. Your problem right now is your pride; you've let your abilities go to your head. I have seen many strong wizards brought low by their pride, and if you're not careful, your enemies will use that against you."

 My ears turned red; I knew he was right, but it was still embarrassing to have my flaws pointed out to me.

 Sensing my embarrassment, he changed the subject and said, "So, tell me about this mask."

 I slid over the article describing Micheal's freakout. When my uncle read it, he laughed maliciously and said, "Oh, I bet his father is furious."

Looking me in the eye, he said, "Considering that you practically taunted him, unless this Micheal is an idiot, he is probably aware that it was you who did it."

I shrugged, and said, "My friends and I can handle Micheal and his idiotic lackeys. The only thing I am slightly wary of is pushing him so far that his grandfather gets involved."

Uncle John snorted and explained, "You are assuming that their family is close. From what I know, Delvin is a complete disappointment to his father. There is a reason why he isn't involved in his father's syndicate. Delcan's true heir is his daughter. And while he hasn't entirely written off his grandson, the last thing Micheal or his father would do is go and complain to Declan that a first-year wizard got the better of him. Hell, he would probably be happy someone was challenging him, and he would expect Micheal to crush you with his own strength."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Hearing about their strange family dynamic surprised me. I knew that this meant that Micheal would probably be desperate in his desire to put me in my place this year.

Mentally I sneered, I wasn't afraid of Micheal, the best chance he had to deal with me had been in my first year. I was learning more and more every day, and soon, I would surpass him in every way.

As we continued talking, eventually, I brought up the reason why I was here. "Uncle John," I said, "I need a favor, I'm looking to get my hands on a bearded mushroom."

Uncle John held up a hand and said, "Your father sent word over a week ago, and I've already found a seller that we can trust."

Eager, I asked, "Where."

Wagging his eyebrows, Uncle John said, "How do you feel about popping over to Shanghai for a bit."

After a quick trip through the ancient water-ways, soon, the ship was near the coast of China. When we arrived, it was dark out, allowing us to fly in on broomsticks.

When we arrived, we hailed a cab, and my uncle gave the cabbie a destination. As we made our way through the city, we ended up stopping what looked like a run-down pawnshop.

When we went inside, Uncle John greeted an older Chinese man with a nod and motioned for me to follow as he walked to the back. As my uncle approached the back, he pulled his wand and drew a glowing Chinese character upon the wall.

The character seemed to sink into the wall, revealing a door to another shop. Inside was an older Chinese woman with a gruesome scar running down her cheek, sitting behind a glass counter.

Looking around, the shop reminded me of Burgin and Burkes. There was an assortment of random things scattered throughout the shop. Figuring that some of the objects were probably cursed, I made sure not to touch anything.

Uncle John said something to the lady in Chinese and made a motion towards me. The lady looked at me and replied in English, "John, its been too long since you've visited my shop. Who is this youngster."

Uncle John put his hand on my shoulder and explained, "This is my nephew, Alexander."

Motioning towards the scarred lady, he said, "Alex, this is Yu Yan. She is an old... friend."

Curious, I asked, "How do you know her?"

"You remember when I told you that I threw myself into dueling. Well, Yu Yan handled my introduction to a dueling master named Fei Hong, who I trained with for about a year."

Impressed, I gave the women another look. I had just assumed she was a shopkeeper. I needed to keep in mind that appearances can be deceiving, a smiling old lady could be just as dangerous as anyone.

On my second glance, I noticed that she had a familiar-looking ring on one of her fingers. The ring had a silver spear etched into it, I racked my memory, trying to remember where I had seen the other ring. After a moment, I remember the wizard from the dueling tournament in South America. I had noticed that he had on a ring with a silver spear on it while he was explaining the rules for dueling.

While I was trying to figure out their connection, Yu Yan grinned toothily at Uncle John and said, "Master Fei Hong, misses you. He always said you were one of his most entertaining students."

Uncle John slightly reddened and quickly changed the subject, "We're here because I need a bearded mushroom."

Yu Yan wagged her finger and sincerely replied, "Johnny, you know should know that the ministry restricts the sales of class three magic creature."

Yu Yan and my Uncle glared at each other in silence. For a moment, I thought that they were going to draw on each other, then they both grinned at each other and laughed.

"Hold on; I think I have one in the back." Yu Yan said as she turned and went to the back of her store when she came back out, she was carrying a dark clay pot filled with dirt.

When she set the pot in front of me, I looked at it in suspicion. Without mastering occlumency, there was no way to tell if anything was there.

I pulled out my wand and hesitantly ran it over the pot. It was a little unnerving as I watched my ivory-colored wand pass-through without being stopped. The bearded mushroom was actively replacing my thoughts, convincing me that nothing was there.

That is unless Yu Yan was trying to rip us off by selling us a pot filled with dirt and acting like there was something there, knowing that unless we had mastered occlumency, we wouldn't be able to tell.

But, considering that my uncle trusts her, I imagine that she wouldn't try and rip us off. Looking up, I asked, "How much."

Yu Yan flicked her eyes towards my ivory-colored wand and said, "Well, for you, my young friend. I will give you the friends and family discount of 100 galleons."

I glanced at Uncle John to see is that was acceptable, and he nodded his head in acceptance. I pulled out the funds that I had brought with me in preparation. Once I had given her the money, my uncle and Yu Yan discussed some matters in Chinese.

Seeing how they were busy talking, I started looking around the story, in the far corner, I found several large strange-looking swords. The designs were strange, and they were too big to have ever been used for sword fighting.

Curious, I grabbed one and took it to the front and asked, "What is this used for."

When Yu Yun saw what I had, she smiled and said, "That is known as a flying sword. It's what many magical families use to fly around on."

"What about broomsticks?" I asked.

 She snorted and said, "Normally, the only people who use broomstick here are those who play quidditch. Otherwise, our community prefers these; we've been using them for thousands of years."

Warning me, Uncle John said, "Those are banned in Europe."

I smiled at him, and sly said, "I guess it's a good thing I have an uncle who lives in the middle of the ocean." 

Even though I wouldn't be able to fly the sword back home, I still ended up purchasing it. One does not simply find a flying sword and leave it behind.

On our way out of the store, Yu Yan gave me a small smile and said, "Farewell, young Alexander, I'm sure we will meet someday again."

By the time I made it home, I was exhausted, I took pot containing the mushroom up to my room, and tried some more meditation. Without meaning to, I fell asleep and dreamed of bearded mushrooms chasing me through the sky on flying swords.