This is an idea that I have been entertaining for quite some time. I know that stories with a similar premise have been written so I will try to keep this as original as I can. No plagiarism intended. I do not own either Legend of Korra or Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino own Legend of Korra.
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Tears in her eyes, the red-haired woman swiftly, anxiously, drew the circles, checking her notes to make sure they were perfect in shape and proportion, down to the smallest, most intricate character. The circle completed, the woman took a silver knife and cut herself, a small stream of blood flowing from her palm. With careful, graceful ease, she dropped the blood along the circle, chanting a spell in Old Norse and Gaelic, the language of her ancestors. Once the spell was finished, the circles began glowing a dull red, showing they were active and ready for their intended use.
Her work done, Lily Potter nee Evans walked over to the crib where her young son, Harry, looked up with bright green eyes, so very much like her own, curiosity and childish innocence staring back at her. The knowledge of what was about to happen brought new tears to her eyes as she looked back and wondered how it all came to this.
She saw that it all began with him: Voldemort, or any of the aliases that people used out of fear. Like Lily and her husband, he was supremely intelligent and gifted with magic. However, underneath lie a heart consumed with a lust for power. Using fear, charisma, and the predominant ideology of Britain, Voldemort began a campaign of terror across the island nation, leaving many dead or worse in his wake. To stop him, two forces rose to the challenge: the Order of the Phoenix, led by their old school teacher Albus Dumbledore, and the Ministry of Magic. Diligently the two forces fought back, setting Voldemort's plans back by years, but even so they took heavy losses, and the war bogged down to a stalemate.
Desperate for an edge, Lily and James threw themselves into research with a zeal to rival Bellatrix Lestrange's, research which would now prove instrumental to Harry's survival as Voldemort himself was fast approaching. Voldemort, perhaps out of bitter rage at their impertinent resistance and constant defeats at their hands, had taken a personal interest in wiping out their family. Having been warned of this, Lily and James went into hiding, using the Fidelius charm, with Sirius Black as the Secret-Keeper...or so everyone was led to believe. In actuality, on Black's insistence, they had secretly switched to Peter Pettigrew, believing that he would be below suspicion of holding such vital information. Unfortunately for them, Peter Pettigrew was a spy, working for Voldemort, and had sold out their location to his maniacal master.
Upon hearing that Voldemort was coming, and had crossed onto their property, James yelled "He's here! He's coming! Make the circles! I'll try to hold him off!" and he ran for his wand. Lily nodded grimly, and set about making the circles, shouts and explosions from the living room ringing in her ears.
Below, James fought bravely, sending curses racing towards Voldemort, but all just bounced away off a shield Voldemort casually, silently cast. Seeing this, James paused, giving Voldemort the chance to attack, but James ducked behind a couch, Quidditch reflexes saving his life. Seeing that head-on attacks were useless, James banished the couch toward Voldemort, who tried but failed to stop its momentum, and was flown back. Using the distraction, James transfigured the couch into a pack of dire wolves, larger and stronger than regular wolves, and directed them to attack. Clamping their jaws down on Voldemort's arms and legs, they drew blood and cracked bones in his left arm. Roaring in rage and pain, Voldemort breathed fire, causing one to let go, allowing Voldemort to cast "Avada Kedavra!", killing it instantly. Seeing their comrade die, the other wolves hesitated, and Voldemort transfigured them into a single large snake. "Kill him!" Voldemort hissed in Parseltongue, directing the snake against James.
The snake struck, but missed as James dodged at the last moment. Transfiguring a plate from the living room table into a knife, he struck the snake, puncturing its lung and causing immense pain. With that James transfigured it into a flock of birds that flew off into the door, temporarily blinding Voldemort. Seeing him distracted, James sent a stunner but missed. Voldemort retaliated with the Killing Curse, but James dodged yet again, ducking behind a chair. Voldemort anticipated that and transfigured the table into another snake, a viper, that reared its head and bit hard on James' shoulder, venom pumping into him. James, screamed in pain as Voldemort cackled in glee, seeing his enemy in agony. With the laughter, James' mind cleared enough and he stabbed the viper with the knife from the first snake, piercing its brain, and skewering himself in the shoulder. Working fast, James transfigured the snake and knife into a sword, a Roman gladius, and began attacking Voldemort. Voldemort sidestepped but James swung again, piercing Voldemort's stomach, but missed the vital organs and vessels. Voldemort staggered back and James swung again, cutting Voldemort's right arm.
Although James inflicted considerable damage, the viper's venom began to take its toll, causing his arms to burn in pain and his hands to swell, and blood began flowing incessantly from his wounds. As his vision began to blur, James stumbled and fell to his knees. Basking in his enemy's vulnerability, Voldemort healed his broken bones and he walked over to James.
"You've fought well James" he said, false praise and condescension abundant in his voice. "You could have been one of my lieutenants, no, my generals. We could have transformed the world into a paradise, beautiful, eternal, pure.". His eyes turned cold and hard. "But alas you chose Dumbledore's side, the weak side. Any last words?" he asked as he raised his wand.
James looked up and yelled "Merlin curse you!" and with desperate fury lunged at Voldemort, tackling him and throwing him to the floor. James on top, he pummeled the Dark Lord, breaking skin and blackening an eye, but his strength seeped away until Voldemort pushed him off.
Looking at his enemy, Voldemort yelled "Crucio!" and James writhed on the floor in agony, screaming to high Heaven. After about a minute of this, Voldemort yelled "Avada Kedrava!" and with a flash of green, James collapsed dead, bleeding and broken.
But though James lost the fight, his death was not in vain, for Lily had just finished the circles and went back to the crib. Blood dripping from her hand and tears from her eyes, she lifted her son, wrapping him up in a blanket charmed to provide the optimum temperature regardless of the external environment. Kissing him on the forehead, Lily placed an amulet, showing a bifurcated triangle containing a circle.
"Our final and greatest treasure only for you." she said, though Harry made no indication that he understood. "I love you Harry. Never doubt that" she continued, new tears streaming down her cheeks. Harry, sensing his mother's distress, began fussing, to which Lily responded with a little lullaby, lulling him to sleep. Her son asleep, Lily knelt down near the circle and activated it. White and red light began pulsing around the child, then arcing toward the ceiling, blinding the room in a whirlpool of colors. Then, just as James' agonizing screams died down, the colors dissipated, leaving Lily alone, tear-stained but strangely smiling.
Down below, Voldemort cleaned himself off, healed his remaining wounds, as far as the Light-natured magic would allow him to, and walked up the stairs, determined to end the Potter family once and for all. His quest for their extinction was not just his humiliation from their constant resistance and successes at thwarting his schemes. In May the previous year, his faithful servant Severus Snape had returned bearing news of a prophecy, foretelling of a child that would be his downfall. Infuriated that a mere child would have such a power, Voldemort sought to terminate this child and thus secure himself for all time. After reviewing the prophecy, he concluded that it referred to Harry Potter; who else but the spawn of his most frustrating enemies would have the power to stop him. Upon reaching this conclusion, Severus made a most curious request: spare Lily's life. Voldemort was taken aback at said request, but he acquiesced out of gratitude for Severus' long and dutiful service.
As he climbed the stairs, Voldemort smirked, knowing there was no chance for the brat to escape. His servant, Peter Pettigrew, not only sold him the location of the Potters, but also the layout of the house and had installed anti-Apparition and Portkey suppression wards all around the house. In one of his more brilliant ideas, the rat set them up so they would only activate upon Voldemort's arrival, giving the occupants no chance of escaping by magic. His servants in the Ministry also "accidentally" disabled the Floo network, cutting off that escape route as well. With this preparation, Voldemort knew the brat could not run, and being barely a toddler, he very well could not fight back. 'Yes!' he thought. 'THIS is my final triumph!' as he made his way upstairs and to the nursery.
Blasting the door down, he saw Lily kneeling in front of the crib where her son lay. 'Pity, such a waste of talent and beauty.' he thought as Lily picked herself up and drew her wand. Silently, casually Voldemort disarmed her, Lily's wand clattering in the corner.
"Move aside and you'll live." he commanded, pointing his wand at her throat.
"No" she responded, her jaw quivering yet her voice steady.
"Move aside NOW!" he repeated, more forcefully this time.
"No!" she replied.
Exasperated, Voldemort swished his wand and levitated her off the floor, and with a flick, sent her flying to the side. That task completed, he went to the crib, looked inside...
…and saw nothing. No child. No blanket. Just the pillow and the mattress. Clearly it was inhabited but where was the child?! Furious at the impossible scene he just found, he turned to Lily and roared "Where is he?!".
Picking herself up, she replied "Beyond your reach!".
"Legilimens!" he yelled, seeking to find her son's location in her mind, only to run into some of the strongest Occlumency shields he had ever encountered, so strong he staggered back from the encounter. Drawing himself to his fullest height, eyes flashing in rage and wounded pride, he yelled "Where! Is! Your! Son!". When Lily refused to talk, he raised his wand and yelled "Crucio!" and Lily collapsed to the floor, shrieking and writhing in agony. Lifting the spell, he roared "Tell me! Tell ME!".
Lily, still reeling from the pain, crawled toward the nursery door, prompting Voldemort to sidestep her and with the Leg-Locker curse, robbed her of her mobility. Even so, Lily refused to quit, and Voldemort cast 'Levicorpus', suspending Lily upside-down and cutting off all chance of escape. Holding her up, Voldemort yelled "WHERE! IS! YOUR! SON?!".
Lily looked and, seeing Voldemort standing on the circle, smiled, infuriating him even further, and said "Once more unto the breach dear friends.".
One second later, the nursery filled up with a blinding white light. Amidst screams and flashes of light, a massive shockwave burst forth, shattering the nursery window and collapsing the roof above it.
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An hour or so later, Sirius Black flew to the Potter house, anxious with worry, having heard disturbing news from Dumbledore. 'Please be all right' he begged as he made his way into the house through the open door. Upon entry, he stiffened and paled as he saw James' broken, bloodied body on the floor. With desperate haste, he ran up the stairs, hoping, praying against all odds that the worst had not happened.
Upon his ascent, he saw the nursery door blasted open and with great trepidation, he entered and saw what could only be described as a war zone. There was a blackened circle on the floor, the floorboards smoking from intense heat, the nearby crib singed. Looking around, he saw the windows blown out from the inside, the furniture thrown to the far side, and then he saw her...Lily, dead and broken like a rag doll against the near wall, eyes open but seeing nothing, blood and cerebral fluid flowing down.
Seeing her, Sirius began frantically looking for Harry, scrutinizing the room with a terrier's intensity. After a frantic five minutes, he realized that the boy was nowhere in the nursery. Grasping at straws, he cast "Infans revelare" but the wand failed to indicate a direction or even a lifesign. His last hope dashed, Sirius threw his head back and bawled out to the sky like a dog.
So caught up in his grief, he failed to notice the heavy footsteps approaching him from the stairs. Even when a large hand landed on his back, Sirius failed to was not until a booming voice called out "Sirius what's wrong? What happened here?".
Sirius looked up, his eyes stained with tears, as he saw Rubeus Hagrid, the gentle giant groundskeeper from Hogwarts. "They're...gone." he choked out.
"Yeh don' mean..." Hagrid stuttered, disbelieving his ears. Sirius only nodded fractionally, and Hagrid cried out, clutching Sirius tight in a back-breaking hug...literally.
"Hagrid...I can't...breathe!" he sputtered as his face began losing color. Hagrid, seeing this, dropped the poor man to the floor, Sirius landing right on his tailbone.
"Hagrid, where is Dumbledore?" Sirius asked as he picked himself up.
"He'll be here soon." Hagrid answered. "I was sent early 'cause he was so busy fightin' the Death Eaters. Remember?"
Sirius nodded as he remembered the reason the Order and the Ministry were absent from this fight: the Death Eaters had hit Diagon Alley, forcing them to fight there. Looking back he realized it was a distraction so Voldemort could attack the Potters.
Evidently, it worked all too well.
Furious, Sirius picked himself up and said "Hagrid, I gotta check on something. You watch things here." and he descended the stairs.
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Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore, realizing the attack on the Alley was a diversion, and having sent Hagrid and Black after the Potters, went to the Longbottom's residence with Remus Lupin. What he found horrified him: Alice and Frank lying in a pool of saliva, their eyes dull, blank, staring off into oblivion, their minds vacuous but their hearts still beating. Making his way to the nursery where Neville lay, he found the poor boy in his cot with a small, crooked V-shaped scar across his forehead. He returned and reported the boy's condition to the while Remus said "The Longbottoms are alive but totally unresponsive. Hopefully the Healers can help." Nodding, Dumbledore pulled out a small mirror and said "Hagrid". The mirror's surface rippled, then darkened, then lightened again, showing the face of the distraught groundskeeper.
"Rubeus, what's happened?" Dumbledore asked.
"They're...gone," Hagrid blubbered, fat tears streaming down his face, "and Sirius went out a bit ago. No idea where."
Shocked, Dumbledore repeated the message to Remus. The werewolf seemed to age ten or fifteen years in that one moment and he collapsed from despair. "No time to lose." Dumbledore said. "We must find Sirius," and that seemed to energize Remus out of his stupor.
'Black, you'll pay!' he fumed as he left for the Potter house, Dumbledore remaining behind to make more calls.
Apparating back to the battlefield, Remus gave a quick report on the Longbottoms. "Alive but in need of help. Get more Aurors. We're going after Black." Only a moment later, he received news of a massive magical explosion, and Apparated with the Auror team to find a massive crater in the street, so deep he could smell sewage seeping out, making him gag. The houses nearby had their windows broken and some had even caught fire. In the center of the crater was a single human finger, and along the periphery sat Sirius Black, laughing maniacally. Appalled by Black's breakdown, Remus watched as the Aurors shackled him and took him off to Azkaban. Only then did Remus break down and cry, howling like a wolf that had lost its pack.
Back at the Longbottoms, Dumbledore tried to piece together what had happened that night. Given what he knew of the prophecy pertaining to Voldemort, he could only conclude that the maniac attacked the Longbottoms, defeated Alice and Frank, apparently causing mental damage in the process, and then tried to kill Neville. But something stopped him. Somehow the boy survived with only a scar as evidence of their showdown. With this scenario in mind, he concluded that the Longbottoms' sacrifice, their determination not to give in, imbued their son with the protection of love, an ancient power Voldemort had no comprehension of, given its abhorrence to a being of his nature. As for the Potters, he figured that they were overwhelmed by a team of Death Eaters and destroyed in the explosion. With a heavy heart, he watched over Neville and waited for the Healers and Augusta Longbottom to arrive.
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Senna and Tonraq walked out from a successful meeting with the Southern Water chief and were heading back home to where Korra was sleeping under the watchful eye of her aunt, Senna's sister, Halla. Suddenly, the Spirit Lights, a beautiful, display of vibrant color, danced before them for the first time since the Hundred Years War. Stopping in their tracks, bewildered by the sudden reappearance, a faint sound, like a baby crying, drifted toward them. Alarmed, they looked to their hut, but the sound was coming from the direction away from the village. Waterbending the snow, they skated in the direction of the sound. As it got louder, they slowed and found a toddler, wrapped in a small blanket in the snow.
Bewildered, Senna swiftly picked the toddler up and began rocking back and forth, calming the child almost instantly. Gently, Senna wrapped the toddler in her fur coat, making sure no part of the child was left exposed. "Someone left a child here Tonraq" she said, bewildering and infuriating her husband.
Quickly, Tonraq looked over the snow but to his surprise found no tracks, no disturbance, no indication that anyone had gone through here. It had seemed like the child was dropped from the sky. Their confusion was quickly replaced by worry as they looked over the toddler and raced back home.
Upon entering their hut, Halla looked up. "Welcome-" she began but cut herself off when she saw Senna clutching a toddler in her shawl. "Who do you have there?" she asked, her eyes wide with confusion.
"I don't know." Senna said as she laid the toddler out on the table. "We found him in the snow, like someone left him there, but there were no tracks leading to or from him." she explained as she undressed him, looking over his general health. The mystery deepened as she saw no signs of advanced hypothermia or malnutrition, like he had been left mere moments before they found him, but how could someone abandon a child and move so fast so as not to be caught without leaving a trail.
"Well all else considered, he's pretty healthy" she said as she dressed him up in warmer clothes. "But what do we do with him?" she asked.
"Let's keep him here for now." Tonraq said. "Then we can go to the chief and discuss it."
"That's sounds like a good idea." Halla agreed. "It's late and we could all use some rest." and she set up a makeshift bed in the hut.
Nodding, Senna and Tonraq took the toddler and placed him between them on their bed, alongside their daughter Korra. Senna, humming a lullaby, soon drifted off to sleep along with their newest arrival.
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The next morning, Senna woke up and found Korra and a second toddler under the blankets. 'So it wasn't just a dream.' she thought as she pulled up and looked them over. Seeing them still asleep, she went into the kitchen and made some breakfast, stewed sea prunes with tea and seaweed noodles. A few minutes later she heard fussing, and went back to the bedroom to find Tonraq changing one of the children, Korra it seemed like. With practiced ease, she turned to the boy and began to change him too, allowing her to get a good look at their newest addition. He had jet-black hair and fair skin, like Fire Nation nobility, but his eyes were what really caught her: bright green, like the Foggy Swamp tribe. Those bright green eyes looked back, watching her with intent curiosity. Looking further, she noticed a small pendant with a strange mark upon it: an equilateral triangle, with a circle contained within it, and a vertical line bifurcating both. 'Is this a memento from his parents?' she wondered as she continued her task. 'Have to show this to Tonraq when I get the chance.'
After changing him, Senna handed him to Tonraq while she ran to check on breakfast. Thankfully, nothing was burned and everything came out perfectly. After laying out breakfast, she brought the two children and began to feed them, listening as Tonraq and Halla, seated for breakfast talked over the plan for the day.
"I'll head over to the chief soon after breakfast." Tonraq said.
"Do you think it might be necessary to bring the boy with us?" Senna asked.
"No it should be all right." Tonraq responded. "All we need to do is give him a brief description and an explanation of what happened last night."
"If it's alright with you then, I'd like to stay and look after them." Senna said. "Korra can be a little rowdy and I want to be here in case things get too rough."
"Sounds like a good idea." Tonraq said as he got up and picked up his coat and boots. "I'll see you later then." and he left the hut. As he made his way to the complex, he thought about the options. 'Most likely, he'll try to find the boy's parents.' he thought as he passed by the early vendors. 'Failing that, he'll probably allow us to adopt him. Hopefully, we can blood-adopt him.' he mused, nearing the complex. Entering the complex, he greeted the chief with a friendly bow. "Good morning sir." he said.
"Good morning, Tonraq." the chief, Vallik, responded. "How are Senna and Korra?" he asked.
"They are well. How is Ka'qi?" Tonraq replied.
"She is well, considering she's six months along." Vallik answered, sighing with exasperation.
"Speaking of children, Senna and I have another." Tonraq said, catching Vallik off-guard momentarily.
"How...how...?" he stuttered.
"We found him last night, apparently abandoned in the snow." Tonraq answered, his eyes growing hard. "But we found no tracks leading to or from him. And the snow didn't exhibit disturbances indicating someone was using fire or air to travel."
Anger and confusion flicked across Vallik's face as he processed the story Tonraq told him. "What does he look like?" Vallik asked.
"He has raven-black hair, fair skin, and bright green eyes." Tonraq answered.
"Green?" Vallik asked, bewildered at such a color.
"Yes sir. Given his appearance I would wager he has Fire Nation ancestry." Tonraq added.
After a moment of thought, Vallik said "Well under circumstances like these, we tell the people about the child and offer 30 days for them to come forth with information regarding their parents. If we fail to find their parents within that time frame, or the parents are unable, or unwilling, to care for them, the child is put up for adoption."
"Who is to lead the investigation sir?" Tonraq asked.
"I think you and ten of our best will do for now. Meet up after lunch and we'll go over the details." Vallik answered. "And if you want, you can hold on to him for the time being. And if all else fails, you can adopt him yourself." he added.
"Thank you sir. Have a good day." Tonraq said, bowing as he left the complex.
As he made his way back, he pondered over the mystery of the boy's appearance. 'No tracks, and no sign of firebending or waterbending, and the only airbender I know of is in Republic City.' he mused. 'And Tenzin would never abandon a child, no matter what.' As he entered the hut, his musings were brought to an abrupt end as he saw Senna, Korra and the boy playing together, the toddlers chasing one another in a impromptu game of tag. The boy, younger than Korra, was not as steady and soon fell to the floor, to which Korra responded by falling to all fours, like a fire ferret. Slowly she moved toward the boy, who righted himself on all fours and they began play wrestling. Korra won easily due to her weight advantage. Then they got up and started all over again.
Smiling, Tonraq walked to his wife and said "Looks like they're getting along just fine."
Senna nodded and replied "Yeah, Korra really likes him. He was a little shy but he warmed up quickly enough." Looking to her husband, she asked "How did your meeting with the chief go?".
"It went well." Tonraq answered. "We're organizing an investigation for the boy's parents, and I'll be leading it. If all else fails, we can adopt him.".
Senna briefly nodded then raised her eyebrows and asked "By the way, what are we gonna call him? For the time being anyway.".
"Hmmm... I don't know." Tonraq replied, forehead furrowed in thought. "Well he looks like a firebender." he mused. "Zodeh? Zaro? Roki?" he suggested, earning looks of disbelief from his wife, and even the kids.
"Z doesn't seem to be the right starting sound." Senna said. "Roki has the right start, but not the right finish. How about Rezeng?" and at that everyone cringed. "Ranka?"
"Getting closer. How about an R and K sound combination?" Tonraq answered. "Rukha?".
"Sounds better." Senna said, then inspiration flashed across her face. "I've got it: Ryuukhan!"
"Sounds perfect! What do you think?" Tonraq said, glancing at the toddlers.
Korra began jumping up and down, shouting "Yeah! Ryuukhan! Ryuukhan!".
The boy smiled widely and nodded his head while clapping as though in applause.
"OK. For now, you are Ryuukhan." Tonraq said as he leaned down and picked the toddler up, mutual joy upon their faces.
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Author's Notes: I know I haven't been writing for a while. School got in the way, and I kept having doubts about my abilities. Anyway, this idea has been knocking around in my head for a while and I wanted to do my take on it. I know this plot of having Harry be raised by someone else has been used by virtually every franchise imaginable. This story was in part inspired by Tale of Two Avatars, written by DragoCygnusthefifth.
As for the names, I got Ryuukhan from a combination of Ryuu, meaning dragon in Japanese, and Khan, meaning leader in Mongolian, and I thought it sounded cool. Vallik I made up, and Halla, and the rest I got from a website: #.V1dHk5ErLIU.
I've also been working on a mega-project regarding conlangs for the Avatarverse, basically one for each nation as well as some linguistic history behind each.