Were getting sidetracked, the headmaster said. The test. Shall we begin?

After what hed just heard, Oliver didnt feel as though he was in the best frame of mind for a test. But he nodded. It was time to find out what he really was.

The headmaster waved his hand in front of his face. Suddenly, a white orb materialized, floating just in front of his nose. It emitted a soft, warm glow.

Whoa, Oliver murmured in appreciation.

Shes beautiful, isnt she? the headmaster said. We call this a pearl.

Oliver looked at him curiously. A pearl?

Professor Amethyst moved his hands so that the pearl danced and swayed in time to his movements. Shes a brand new world. A parallel dimension. Formed by a diversion in the fabric of the universe. Not yet complete. An infant.

Whoa, Oliver repeated again.

Shes extremely fragile, the headmaster continued, the light from the baby dimension reflected in his pupils. So much potential. So many possibilities.

Suddenly, Professor Amethyst threw the orb upward. Unlike the ball in switchit that traveled in a normal trajectory, the orb just kept going, flying off quickly.

NO! Oliver cried instinctively, reaching for it.

Butterfingers, the headmaster said. Youd best catch her before she smashes. Id hate for all that potential to be destroyed.

Oliver caught on quickly. This was the test. Whatever he did to save the infant world would in some way reveal his specialism.

He leapt upward, surprised to find that gravity had loosened its hold on him. Using his arms to propel himself, he was able to swim through the air. Professor Amethyst sat watching from the couch, shrinking into the distance as Oliver swam on.

He could just make out the light of the pearl in the distance. But around him everything grew quiet. The silence was almost tangible. And soon it was joined by an almost suffocating darkness.

Oliver felt his heartbeat begin to quicken. The light of the orb was growing fainter as it disappeared into the vacuum that had suddenly opened around him. He was moving too slowly to reach it. No matter how hard he pumped his arms and legs, he couldnt get enough speed up to gain on it. But there was a yearning feeling in his chest, like a calling. It was overwhelmingly strong, a force compelling him to save the infant world.

There was only one thing for it. He would have to summon his powers.

Oliver gave himself one more propulsion forward with his arms. As he soared upward he took a deep breath to steady himself and closed his eyes.

At first it was too difficult for Oliver to slip into the strange half-awake, half-asleep state within which he could summon his powers. But then, as though calling to him from somewhere far away, he felt the call of the pearl. Felt, not heard, for it was like a deep yearning feeling that took hold of every fiber of his being.