Starflower
Chapter I: Abnormality
Avatars Aang and Azalea walked in silence. Surrounding them was a whole new world. New people, new sights, new sounds… Neither knew how they got there. The roads were black and not made directly of earth.
"I can feel traces of earth in them. It's too scarce of an amount to bend, though," Aang said as he put his hand on the unknown substance. Azalea followed suit, and sure enough, he was right.
"This is so strange. There's hardly any real earth here…" Azalea said quietly, her bright teal eyes darting from one side of the road to another. Every which way, the two young airbenders received many strange looks from the passing pedestrians.
"Maybe they just don't know about the existence of the Air Nomads," Aang whispered to his friend as they continued walking.
"Aang, we defeated the Fire Lord and ended the 100 Years' War. I think everyone knows of our existence," Azalea replied in a shaky voice. Aang's gray eyes narrowed. This world wasn't remotely similar to any of the four elemental nations he was used to. The technology in this new world surpassed even the most advanced fire nation machines, and everyone dressed, looked, and acted so… So abnormal. The animals, too, were very odd. Whilst walking, unfamiliar voiced caught Azalea's ear.
"-you pathetic wimp-"
Who would call anyone something like that? Azalea opened her mouth to speak before Aang solemnly said,
"I heard it too."
The two Avatars curiously followed the rude voices.
"-Why you exist-"
"-Parents obviously didn't love you-"
"-Show you what my knuckle feels like-"
Azalea and Aang ran around a corner to see three fat, mean-looking boys. The chubbiest and meanest looking of them held a skinny boy by the collar of his strange looking top. The thin boy had messy black hair and piercing green eyes covered by circular spectacles. He gave Aang and Azalea a look that screamed 'Help me!'
"Let the boy go," Aang said calmly, stepping next to Azalea. The three boys looked at each other, and then laughed out loud.
"Says who? The scrawny boy in the Halloween clothes?" The meanest kid mocked. Azalea assumed him to be the leader. Aang already didn't like this world- the people were so rude to one another.
"Yes, and I say so too," Azalea added confidently. The three boys laughed again.
"Well, well, well," the leader said, dropping his victim roughly. He fell with a 'thud.' Azalea gave him a sympathetic look, but he got up and smiled weakly.
"Boys, it looks like we've got ourselves some challenges. Tiny little prats, aren't they?" Wearing hideous clothing." All three boys snickered at their leader's assessment.
"As a matter of fact, these are extremely rare pieces of clothing that are antiques of our culture," Aang defended in an annoyed voice.
"Oh, is that so? Well then, I wonder how much I can sell them for once I pummel you two to a pulp!"
The leader threw a punch at Aang, who merely stepped out of the way. He turned and attempted a punch at Azalea, who just as easily stepped to the side. The leader turned again, his fat face red with anger.
"It looks like we've got ourselves some dancers, boys!" he snarled through gritted teeth. "Let's show these two how we deal with dancers!"
The other two boys ran over and threw punches and kicks at the two airbenders, not knowing their true powers. However, the skinny boy the thugs were picking on attempted to assist. He threw a decent-sized rock at the leader's arm. He turned in a fit of uncontrollable fury.
"The two circus freaks may be able to dodge me, but I know you can't!" he yelled, grinning evilly. He reminded Azalea much of Azula, in a strange, terrifying way. The boy tried to run, but the leader caught his bony arm. He then twisted it. The skinny boy yelled in agony and pain. Before the fat bully could do anything else, though, a large gust of wind knocked him off his feet. Beside the injured boy stood Azalea in a defense position.
"Don't you touch him attain," she said, her bright eyes narrowed.
"How dare you stand up to me like that?" the leader said in a deadly whisper.
"I don't want to hurt you, but you mustn't be hurting this boy," she replied confidently.
"You? Hurt me? Haha, you're very cocky for such a tiny girl," the leader mocked.
"And you re obviously a foolish boy with no discipline. You're probably spoiled to death and bored with everything you have. You're ungrateful, unrelenting, and unloved," Azalea shot back. In a weird way, this boy was much worse than Azula. He had no honor, no reasons to fight. Nothing.
"W-what? No! That's not true! My mummy and daddy love me! It's him they hate!" the leader yelled furiously, pointing a chubby finger at the injured boy.
"This boy is probably mistreated by people like you for no reason. Again, I don't want you to hurt him anymore." Azalea stepped forward.
"Well then. Someone has to get hurt. If not the boy, then it must be you!" he screamed. Azalea sighed. Nope… He's more like Azula than she thought.
The boy continued to throw punches at her, but she avoided them easily. Suddenly, he swiped a kick from under her. This took Azalea by surprise, for she was dodging a punch at the same time. She used airbending to blow herself away from the ground during the fall, and landed a good 10 feet away. The leader looked at her in disbelief.
"How…" he started.
Azalea then did simple airbending that knowkced the leader off his feet. He sat up and looked at her with fear in his eyes.
"Wh-who are you?" he trembled, eyes wide.
"Someone you should hope to never deal with again. Be gone!" Azalea glared at him as he scrambled to get up.
"C'mon, boys, let's get outta here!" he yelled to his companions, who followed him.
Azalea sighed to herself. She knew she shouldn't have used her bending, but sooner or later, she'd get tired too. It'd take hours and hours to do so, but it was possible. She walked over to the young boy with the green eyes.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him in a soft voice.
"My arm hurts is all. Thank you, your help saved me a lot. Humph, who knows what else he could have done," he replied, rolling his eyes at the last part.
"Um… Do you have time to talk?" Azalea asked as Aang walked over.
"Yes, I do. Before we do, I'm Harry Potter." The green-eyed boy smiled warmly.
"I'm Azalea," Azalea replied.
"And my name's Aang!" Aang replied, smiling also.
"So… We're in Great Britain, and you go to a school of witchcraft and wizardry?" Aang confirmed as the trio sat in a large park. The ground had lots of earth in it, which was a relief for them. Though earth was the opposite of air, she Azalea used it almost as much as her native element. However, she looked around uncertainly, still a bit shocked and scared. Were all people in this world like that one boy and his friends were? How were they going to get back?
"That's right! Usually, I'm not supposed to tell anyone that, but seeing what you two did back there against Dudley and his gang, I think you know some kind of magic yourselves," Harry replied curiously.
"Magic? Harry, the art of bending isn't magic," Azalea said calmly, smiling lightly at his ludicrous comment.
"Bending?" Harry said with a quizzical look on his face. That look sunk the hopeful hearts of the two avatars, but they continued talking anyway.
"Yes, bending. You see, where we come from there are four nations, each based off an element. The air temples, which are where we're from, the northern and southern water tribes, the earth kingdom, and the fire nation. Each area controls their element. It's a long story about how we do it, we'll explain later," Aang replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Is airbending what you did against Dudley?" Harry asked.
"Yes. Very, very basic, however," Azalea replied truthfully. She once saw a three-year old do the exact same defense as she just did.
"How were you so quick and agile? I'm pretty fast myself, but you two were so… So graceful," Harry was obviously clueless.
"Airbending is all about evading and avoiding," Aang said, moving around like an airbender, "It's about saying behind your opponent. Quick and unseen. It's almost entirely defensive in nature," he finished.
"What about the other elements? What's their fighting style?" Harry questioned excitedly.
"Earth," Azalea started, taking an earthbending stance, "Is the opposite of airbending. It's about facing your opponent head on. No shortcuts, no distractions. Earth is the element of substance. You must be strong, persistent, and enduring, like a rock. It uses neutral jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to attack." Azalea sat back down.
"Water," Aang started, "Is the element of change. It utilizes the balance of positive and negative jing. This turns the waterbender's defense into his offense, using his enemy's power against him. Waterbenders deal with the flow energy." Aang ceased his waterbending stance.
"fire," Azalea continued, "is the element of power." She took a simple firebending stance. "Tis the only element that a user can create by themselves. It uses mostly positive jing, the offensive force, to overcome the enemy. The original motive for firebending was the sun's energy, but recently, its movie has been hate, rage, and anger. True firebending requires patience, discipline, and self-control." Azalea stood.
"What about airbending? Isn't that your own native element?" Harry asked. The two nodded. They assumed airbending stances.
"Air is the element of freedom," Aang started, "The first human airbenders detached themselves from worldly problems and concerns to find peace and freedom. The main key to airbending is flexibility and finding the path of least resistance."
"Airbending," Azalea continued, "Utilizes negative jing, or defensive jing. Though it is a defensive element, it is the most dynamic. Air can be proved fatal, though because e we are pacifistic in nature, such attacks are rarely used."
"Sounds a lot like Buddhism," Harry said quietly.
"What is a Buddhism?" Aang asked curiously. Azalea, too, was inquisitive about the notion. Harry grinned- he finally knew something his two new friends didn't!
"Buddhists are people very similar to you. They do all of that for religious and spiritual reasons. They value the same ideas of pacifism and peace and preservation."
Aang and Azalea smiled.
"I'd like to meet a Buddhist someday," Aang said happily, imagining the idea. Azalea nodded in agreement. There was a long pause before Aang, out of the blue, said,
"Can you show us some of your magic?"
Harry smiled sadly.
"Unfortunately, not yet. Students aren't allowed in the summer. I could take you to my friends' house, though. Their parents are wizards and witches of age. I'm sure they'd be delighted to see your, um, bending too!" he replied excitedly.
"Great! We can take Appa there!" Aang replied cheerfully, jumping nearly a story in the air.
"Um, is that normal? To jump that high?" Harry whispered to Azalea as Aang floated down.
"Oh, yes. You don't want to catch an airbender with a cold, though- that's not a pretty sight…" she replied, smiling. Harry chuckled.
"Okay, well, that means I have to get my stuff from my house. My Aunt and Uncle's house, actually," Harry said gloomily once Aang returned to him and Azalea. Before either bender could ask about his parents, he began walking.
"Wow, this is way cooler than a broom!" Harry exclaimed as the trio rode Appa above the clouds. The sky was a bright blue, and the sun was just reaching its peak. Evidently, Harry's aunt and uncle were gone for the afternoon, and Dudley had gone to one of his friend's house, so Harry was safe while collecting all of his things. Azalea and Aang had watched in amazement as he grabbed things called 'books', his 'wand', his robes, his broom, some very strange looking money, and his gorgeous snowy white own, whose name was Hedwig. She and Appa got along well. Momo, however, was another story.
"I've never ridden a broom, but I have something similar. It's called a glider," Aang replied excitedly.
"A glider?" The Chosen One asked curiously.
Azalea took control of Appa as Aang grabbed his glider and jumped off the great bison. Harry gasped in horror, but then laughed as Aang came flying up, waving. As Aang continued to impress Harry, Azalea continued to think.
How did we get here?
Where are we really?
How do we get back?
The incident didn't completely settle in with her just yet. Something wasn't right about this place, besides everything that had just happened. Something was off with herself and Aang. They threatened people with violence, even though it was very minor. They used bending as an unnecessary attack. Something wasn't clicking.
"Azalea!" she suddenly heard her lifetime friend say, "You've gotta see this view!"
She smiled weakly, partially glad that Aang could distract her so easily. She grabbed her own glider while saying to Appa,
"Just keep going where you're going. You're doing great, Boy." Appa yawned appreciatively. She then jumped off of him. The wind caught her and the glider, and instantly, she soared through the sky. Below her was a sea of green grass with the occasional tree. The air was light and moisture free. There were a few clouds scattered across the heavens, which she took advantage of and flew through.
Wow, out of the city already? Was I thinking for that long?
The view was truly magnificent. Maybe this place isn't so bad after all…
"We're almost there!" Azalea heard Harry call from Appa's back. She nodded and guided herself back up to Appa's saddle. She jumped off and caught her glider.
"Who are these friends of yours?" Aang asked inquiringly.
"
Well, it's one of my friend's family. He has six other siblings. There's Bill, who's the oldest. He works in a bank. Charlie, though I'm not sure if he'll be there. He works with dragons"-
"-Dragons?" Aang and Azalea asked suddenly. They looked at each other with confused looks.
"Yeah, dragons… Anyway, there's Percy- be careful with him, he's kinda snarky, if ya know what I mean. Then there are the twins, Fred and George. No one can really tell them apart, not even their own mother. Haha, anyway, Ron's my best friend, and then there's Ginny, the youngest. And their parents are so kind," Harry explained. Before either of the airbenders could say anything, Harry shouted,
"Rooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!"
Suddenly, as if on cue, a big group of redheads and a curly brown haired girl came running out of a tall, run down looking house. Aang lowered Appa to the ground before Harry jumped out and ran to his friends. There were many,
"I missed you's!"
"How are you, Harrys?"
"What the bloody hell is thats?"
"I think we should just wait here," Azalea said, sitting against the wall of Appa's saddle.
"I agree. They're already freaked about Appa… Do you think Harry will"-
"Hey, Aang, Azalea, c'mon! They wanna meet you!"
"-tell them about us." Aang sighed, but smiled broadly.
"Best we don't use bending yet," he whispered as they carefully slid down Appa's tail. Azalea nodded. As soon as they turned, Azalea saw nine smiling redheads and a smiling brown haired girl. They weren't taking, though. Just…smiling. Aang walked over to Harry to tell him to not tell his friends that Aang and Azalea were benders. Then, he faced the crowd.
"Hi!" he started happily, "Well, we met Harry here not too long ago; he's a friend of ours now."
A fairly plump lady with a warm smile approached the two Air Nomads.
"A friend of Harry's is a friend of the Weasley's. Please, join us for lunch," she replied kindly. They two bowed to her.
"It'd be an honor. Thank you," Azalea said as they followed Harry inside. They heard her say,
"Well, I wish my kids would treat me like that… Take a hint, you fools," and chuckled quietly. As Aang and Azalea walked past the family members, they got different reactions. The eldest boys, Charlie and Bill, smiled warmly, like their mother. Then was Percy, who nodded stiffly, but didn't smile. Azalea nodded back politely. The twins smiled at Aang, then winked at Azalea, who immediately blushed. Ginny smiled weakly and waved. The two waved back as they walked past a mere gaping Ron. Aang couldn't help but snicker, and Azalea lightly pushed her friend.
"Can I get you something to drink, dears?" Mrs. Weasley asked as they sat at a long table. The inside of the house was a bit cramped and a little musty, but it felt very much like a home. What really surprised Aang and Azalea were all the household items acting on their own. There were dishes washing and drying themselves, a dust cloth dusting the furniture itself, and pots and pans of food stirred and cooked themselves.
"Just water, please," they requested in unison.
"So, Aang, Azalea… Where are you from?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking at the two with an odd expression.
"Somewhere far away," Aang replied quietly, taking a sip of his water. He looked at Azalea with a look that said'I have no idea what to say.'
"Tibet," Harry said suddenly, "They're monks, but study an ancient type of Asian magic."
"I see… You'll have to tell me all about Tibetan culture, I've never gotten the chance to study it,: Mr. Weasley said excitedly.
"Uh… Sure…" Aang replied quietly, smiling awkwardly. Thankfully, Ron broke the silence by saying,
"Are you siblings?"
Azalea smiled. "No we aren't, just lifelong friends."
Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley then brought dinner and set it on the table.
"Wow, mum, this is so much!"
"It smells great!"
"Pass the potatoes!"
There was indeed a lot of food, but to Azalea's and Aang's discomfort, it was mostly meat.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Weasley… This feast you've made is extremely nice and generous, but do you have any fruit or vegetables or nuts? It's against our culture to eat meat. We're vegetarians, you see," Azalea explained, "I'm sorry," she added quickly. However, Mrs. Weasley nodded.
"Not, it is I who should be sorry. I should have asked. When I saw you and your robes, I though you may have been Buddhists, but I wasn't sure. Again, I apologize," she said, smiling sadly. She got up and collected some fruits and nuts for the Air Nomads to eat. They thanked her graciously before eating.
During lunch, Aang and Azalea learned a little more about Harry's and his friends' world. About magic, about Hogwarts [their school], about the Dark Lord Voldemort [only Harry would say his name, for some reason]. It was all very fascinating, and Aang and Azalea had many questions to ask. Witches and wizards? Who know? While talking, however, the busy haired girl, Hermione, eyed them carefully. Azalea watched her out of the corner of her eye. Did she not trust them? Think they were enemies? She kept looking at them, then down at a book.
"Those are some wicked tattoos!" one of the twins said, eyeing Aang's and Azalea's blue arrow tattoos.
"Oh, thank you…" Aang replied quietly, smiling weakly.
Suddenly, Hermione gasped. Everyone went quiet and looked at her oddly.
"You're air nomads!" she said excitedly.
Aang's and Azalea's eyes narrowed as everyone else but Harry asked "What?"
They stood up. "How did you know?" Aang asked cautiously.
"Well, I was reading a book about ancient witchcraft, and I saw a strange symbol representing air. I was really confused at the time, but seeing it on your, um, necklace, it all makes sense now. You do know magic! Are you both airbenders?" She was quite excited and enthusiastic about her new knowledge. However, the excitement died down a little when Azalea stood.
"Bending isn't magic," she started, doing basic airbending moves. "It is an ancient art that unifies a person and his or her nation. There is neither wand-waving nor potion brewing. It is the energy within yourself connecting with the energy in the environment around you. It is who you are." Azalea sat while the room applauded for her amateur performance.
"So… According to the chart in the book, the previous current avatar should have been born an air nomad. Do you know them at all?" Hermione asked in a rush. Azalea looked at Aang, and with their eyes, made a decision. They nodded. Azalea airbent a swirl of wind, then earthbent a decent sized rock. Aang gracefully froze his drink in mid-air, then melt it via firebending. All eyes were wide in disbelief.
