I was up bright and early on the first day in September. We would be departing hours before the Hogwarts express typically left the station. The portkey was set to leave at 9 am, and we were warned multiple times that if we missed the activation, there wouldn't be another.

Even though I had been packed for the last week, I gave my bedroom one last look to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. We had moved back into the house a few days ago, and I hadn't quite gotten everything organized yet.

A shiny glint caught my eye, and I swore once I realized what it was. It was the necklace I had enchanted for Jessica. I had finished it a few days ago and meant to send it to her. But, the move back home distracted me, and it slipped my mind.

When I first made plans to visit Uagadou, it was done with several things in mind. First, I wanted to become an animagus. When I was younger, I thought about doing it in secret. Just like James, Serius and Peter did when they were at school. Then I read everything that had the potential to go wrong with the spell, and I couldn't believe how reckless stupid the Marauders had been.

A tiny mistake could have transformed them into monstrous creatures. So, I decided to go to the one place that had seemingly perfected the process, Uagadou. Almost all their graduates were animagi, and there weren't any rumblings coming from the school that indicated they were having to lock up any of their students for becoming mad half-transformed creatures.

I had also decided to go to Uagadou this year for another glaring reason. This year there would be a giant snake slithering through the bowels of Hogwarts. Since I planned to leave the Basilisk to Harry, I decided it would be an excellent time to get out of dodge. Not wanting to risk my closest friends, I had convinced them to join me.

Of course, things have changed since I first made those plans. I was now leaving my girlfriend vulnerable.

So, I spent the summer debating my plans. I must have changed my mind half a dozen times. A simple warning to Dumbledore would fix the issue. I even thought about intercepting Voldemort's Journal that Lucius planted on Ginny Weasley. Without that journal, the Chamber of Secrets would stay sealed, and I wouldn't have to worry about anything.

I'm not going to lie. I was also a little tempted to steal the journal for study. I had never come across a living journal like the book described and was curious about the spells Voldemort used in its creation.

But, in the end, I decided to do nothing. This year was another important milestone in Harry's development. Not only would he face a young Voldemort, but he would also face a massive Basilisk. These confrontations would forge Harry into someone who could face-off with Voldemort when he returned.

Or at least, that's what I told myself so that I could sleep at night.

I turned my attention back to the necklace I designed to protect Jessica. It was fairly simple, a silver chain that held a small sapphire. However, what was really important about it were the two subtle charms I had added to the necklace.

The first subtle encouraged the wearer not to remove the necklace. The second and more critical charm wrapped the wearer in an almost skin-tight invisible bubble. The bubble only had one purpose, it would protect Jessica from dying if she accidentally came across the Basilisk later this year.

There only needed to be a slight barrier between Basilisk and its victim for its curse not to work. So while it wouldn't stop Jessica from being petrified, it would stop her from dying if she made eye contact with the Basilisk.

After wrapping the necklace up, I decided to add a letter whose contents were marked for Jessica's eyes only. She should get the package first thing tomorrow.

Speaking of packages, I decided to head off Mum's traditional Happy Birthday Letter to me. Yesterday, I found a suspicious letter in her office with my name on it. A quick inspection confirmed this was the singing letter she planned to send to me. It didn't take much effort to swap the letter leaving me wondering why I never thought about this before. Now she gets to believe she sent her embarrassing letter whereas I don't have to worry about it when it arrives.

With everything in my room sorted out, I brought everything downstairs, eager to leave. But, unfortunately, the rest of my family wasn't as ready to leave. The twins were moping and dragging their feet getting ready to go. I swear, they got like this every year. It was like they believed I wouldn't leave if they could delay me from going to school.

Normally, this wasn't a big deal. Mum would always get them ready to leave on time. But this year, she seemed to be silently encouraging them.

When Mum first found out I volunteered for the Student Exchange Program, she was beyond excited, thinking that I would go to Beauxbatons. However, when she learned I was planning on going to a school on the other side of the equator, she became far less enthused.

It wasn't until I finally put my foot down and threatened to leave on my own for her to stop indulging the twins.

The whole trip on the Knight Bus, I sat fuming in silence. I could barely take my eyes off the clock that was inching its way to 9. If I missed the portkey, I was going to be pissed.

When I wasn't looking at the clock and mentally gagging whether we would make it in time for the Portkey's activation, I was shooting lasers eyes at Mum. Usually, I didn't mind her overprotective antics. They were often from a place of love, but this was going too far. Maybe it was time to stop indulging her.

Thankfully, we made it to the King's Crossing with a few minutes to spare. Not waiting for my family, I stacked my stuff on a trolly and took off running. I didn't even slow down at the brick wall that led to platform 9 ¾.

Platform 9 ¾ was a strange sight. We were so early the platform was deserted, and the Hogwarts Express was nowhere to be seen.

The only people on site were Martha Goldvein, Grandma's friend on the Board of Governors. As well as Cedric, Anna, and Alicia along with their families.

Martha shot a slight frown towards me and showed me her watch.

"Glad you finally decided to join us, Mr. Fawley. Another couple of minutes, and the portkey would have left you behind."

Upon hearing Martha's rebuke, I narrowed my eyes and gave Mum an accusing look as she exited the portal.

Even though I was still annoyed with her, most of my anger had faded now that I had arrived on time. Knowing that time was of the essence, I gave my family a quick goodbye hug before moving my trunk next to my friends.

Having traveled by portkey before, Athena leaped onto her favorite spot and wrapped her tail around my throat protectively.

For the first time, I was impressed when I saw the portkey. Unfortunately, wizards had a bad habit of grabbing whatever was convenient and turning whatever random item they grabbed into a portkey. So whoever made this one put some thought into its design.

The portkey was a waist-high metal stand with a large metal ring on top. It allowed for someone to easily have one hand on the ring and the other on any belongings.

At 9 o'clock sharp, the portkey vibrated, and I felt like a hook had grabbed me by the navel. As I was torn from space and time, I absently wondered if this was what a fish felt like when it years yanked from water.

Everything blurred into a kaleidoscope of blurring colors, and just when I couldn't take it anymore, I popped back into reality and was slammed onto the ground.

I shut my eyes, trying to ignore the sensation of spinning like a top. However, even with my eyes shut, I still felt like I was spinning.

Once I felt the sensation fade, I opened my eyes to see where we landed. What greeted me was a surprise.

For some reason, whenever I pictured Uagadou, I thought it would be on a mountain that was dry, dusty, and perhaps in the middle of a desert. It was probably because the only part of Africa I had been in was Eygpt.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, I was greeted by a large body of water that seemed to have streams and rivers flowing from it.

Giant rocky mountains stretched into the sky, dominating the landscape. Flowing down and around them was a mist that invoked a sense of mystery.

Far from my expectations, the mountains were far from barren. Instead, they were partly covered in a green landscape. Green wasn't the only unexpected color on the mountains. A few were so high the mountain tops were covered in a blanket of icy white snow.

"Wow," Cedric muttered as he looked around in appreciation.

Anna, Alicia, and I let out similar murmurs of agreement. The mountains were stunning and left me with a primal desire to climb the tallest one.

"Ahem."

Startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat, we all turned to find someone silently sitting on a large rock.

My friend and I exchanged looks, silently debating whether this was the person who was supposed to meet us.

Answering our unspoken question, the man sitting on the rock stood up. He was a large, barrel-chested man with massive arms and stood several inches past six feet. Dark ebony skin contrasted sharply with his broad white smile. Other than small strands of grey hairs that peppered his hair, the wizard looked like he was in the prime of his life.

After brushing something off from his fine orange robes with geometric patterns colored in a deep blue, the unknown wizard spread his arms and greeted us in perfectly spoken English.

"Welcome, my young friends from Hogwarts. Hodari is pleased you chose to visit Uagadou, not many who use the exchange program do."

Before we could say anything, Hodari continued, "Now come, introduce yourselves to Hodari."

Unable to help myself, I shot a questioning look to my friends. Was this guy Hodari? Why was he referring to himself in the third person? With the clarity in which he spoke English, I was assuming he was doing it on purpose.

In the end, I shrugged it off. Plenty of wizards had eccentric habits.

After we all introduced ourselves, Hodari clapped his hands then gestured with one arm out towards the unknown body of water, "Now that we are all friends, let me be the first to welcome you to Uagadou."

I looked around the impressive landscape but failed to see anything. My friends showed similar looks of bewilderment.

Unsure of what we were supposed to be seeing, Alicia asked, "Is the school invisible?".

Hodari laughed for a moment. "No, my young friends."

He reached out and pointed upwards and across the lake. "Uagadou is there."

My eyes turned in the direction that Hodari was pointing at. Across the lake was a tall pointed mountain whose lower half was entirely concealed by a thick mist, giving off the impression that the top half of the mountain was floating in midair.

"Is the school on top of the mountain?" I asked.

Hodari grinned, showing us a proud pearly smile.

"Uagadou is the mountain," he declared.

As I looked at the size of the mountain, I had a feeling it was going to make Hogwarts look like a quaint little school.

Feeling a little defensive about Hogwarts, I changed the subject, "How do your students arrive?"

"It varies," Hodari replied. "One thing to keep in mind is that there are many magical civilizations in Africa. And while we are all on one continent, we are far from united. When Kiama Atieno founded Uagadou well over a thousand years ago, he envisioned a school of magic where magical folks from all over Africa could come together and forge bonds and learn from one another."

Curious about the lands of her ancestors, Alicia asked, "Just how many groups are there?"

"Hmm." Hodari intoned as he thought about all the different magical cultures.

"Well, first we have our brethren along the northern coast, the Heka. They are a proud bunch, descendent from wizards who built ancient empires. But, for the past few centuries, they've chafed under the regulations brought on by the International Statute of Secrecy."

"Neighboring the Heke to the south are the tribes of the endless sand. Constantly on the move, the sand folk rarely stay in one place for long. They are secretive and protective of the desert's many secrets. They claim to be guardians of ancient magical secrets that the sands of the Sahara have swallowed."

"Along the eastern coast, the Mchawi have developed a love for the oceans and the depths within. They spend as much time beneath the seas as on land. Some of the things they've claimed to see are hard to believe."

"Unlike the Mchawi on the east coast, those on the west coast are far more interested in what's on land rather than the sea. So they've taken it upon themselves to create giant magical preserves where magical creatures can still roam free."

"That brings us to the magical denizens of the rainforest. Deeply steeped in tradition, they practice ancient forms of magic that many feel are too dangerous and unstable. They are a highly insular group of folks who absolutely refuse to have any dealings with Kawaidas."

Seeing the puzzlement on our faces, Hodari clarified, "I believe you call them Muggles."

Having explained what Kawaida were, Hodari continued, "Finally, we have the folk from the south. Famous for producing some of the best alchemists in the world. Uagadou graduates who specialize in alchemy will almost all end up spending some time in South Africa honing their skills or gathering rare ingredients.

"Well, that's about it. Of course, you may meet a few folks not affiliated with any of them. But they are few and far between."

As Hodari continued his impromptu history lesson on Uagadou, I was only half paying attention. I started mentally calculating just how many students attended Uagadou.

Hogwarts typically had 800 to 1000 students. When I compared the size of the British Isles to Africa and factored in the size of the mountain that was Uagadou, my mind started giving me some impressive numbers. That was even factoring in that Africa had a few lesser-known schools, plus there would always be some families who chose to educate their children at home.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, my predictions about the number of students proved to be slightly off.

In small groups, students began showing up. I noticed a few emerging from a familiar-looking archway that was cleverly hidden between two large rocks. When I was younger, Uncle John took me through a pair of archways located in Egypt.

While that mode of transport was familiar, other students showed up in shocking ways. Some rode in on giant birds with shockingly bright colors—everything from red and blues to green and yellow. No two birds were the same.

When I saw some begin to appear in the water, I wasn't too surprised. Having traveled on Uncle John's ship, the ancient underwater paths were familiar to me.

While some arrived in small ships only capable of carrying a few, others arrived by more exotic means. They came on the backs of giant sea turtles or the insides of enormous fish that opened their mouths and spat out their passengers before slipping away.

Creatures from the air and sea weren't the only methods of travel. A little past noon, a convoy of camels arrived. But they weren't your typical camels. Each camel teleported 100 feet with each step. Even after they had arrived, they seemed unable to stop teleporting as they blinked a step to their right or left before appearing back in their original spot.

While I was generally impressed with all the exotic means of travel, I saw one that screamed of danger.

When I saw a crack in space appear, the small lizard part of my brain screamed that what was happening wasn't normal. A few minutes after it appeared, there was a sound that chilled my blood. It sounded like space itself was tearing itself apart. Finally, the crack expanded, opening up a whole. Craning my neck, all I could see was a blank white fog teaming with shadowy figures.

I'm not going to lie. I almost drew my wand right then and there. Something about that portal rubbed me the wrong way. The only thing that stopped me was that nobody else was reacting. A few seconds later, the shadowy figures began emerging. When I realized what I was seeing, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The shadowy figures were only students.

Dangling off each student were small bones with mysterious symbols carved into them. From where I stood, I could feel pulses of the magical power wafting off them. My instincts told me that the bones were packed with protective enchantments. Which begged the question, why did they need them? Was there something in that mysterious fog? And why in Merlin's name would they choose to travel in such a seemingly dangerous way.

Before I could continue that train of thought, a familiar voice shouted my name.

"Alex."

Turning, I saw my cousin with long dark hair and golden skin waving me down. His robes were like everyone else, orange, with stripes of deep purple. Draped across his shoulders was a blue sash or scarf of some sort. As I compared it to the other students, I noticed some had the same type while others had different colors. Seeing how everyone who had on a similar sash appeared to be of a similar age, I guessed they had something to do with what year they were in. This year, Omar would be starting in his fifth year.

"Omar," I greeted him with a brief hug. "I didn't see your Dad's ship."

Omar rolled his deep amber eyes. "Please," he said, "You think I let him take me anywhere. Last time he dropped me off, he had his ship blasting pirate sea shanties."

Omar pointed a lazy thumb in the direction that he came from. "I stayed at Giddu's house last night and took one of the archways to get here."

Next to me, Hodari boomed, "Omar, Hodari had no idea that you were related to young Alexander. This is wonderful news."

Speaking through my teeth, I whispered to Omar, "Is it normal to speak in the third person around here?"

Omar grinned back, "No, we all find Hodari weird as well."

As the day wore on, students kept arriving—more and more each hour. There were thousands of them. Everyone seemed content to wait as the day passed. Some swam in the lake. Others conjured chairs and positioned them under some shade. As for my friends and me, we hung out with my cousin asking him all sorts of questions about Uagadou.

Finally, as the sun started slipping down beneath the horizon, Hodari stood up and made his way to the lake. Turning his back to the water, he shouted, "Alright. Alright. Hodari doesn't want to be here all night. You all know what to do."

In unison, thousands of students started pushing to get closer to the lake. Then, a loud rumble began developing as people started chanting, clapping their hands, and stomping their feet as if they were all listening to a song they could hear.

My eyes widened as I felt a large pulse of magic surge through the crowd. They were performing some sort of mass spell in unison.

Omar smiled at my expression and nudged me. "Just wait until you see what happens next."

I felt the magic continue to rise. I tried to puzzle it out as everyone continued. From what I could tell, the spell required a specific number of people to do different things. The spell was like an orchestra that required many different people to work in unison. I couldn't help but remember what Hodari said about the founder of Uagadou wanting to bring people together. I guess the first step to gaining access to the school needs a spell of cooperation.

After a few minutes, I felt whatever spell they were doing finally activated. Over the lake, a shimmering bridge appeared. The path to Uagadou was open.