Chapter 4

A/N: I don't own Avatar or Harry Potter. Due to the fact that my reviewers were really bugging me to get another chapter out, I'm getting this one out abnormally fast. So yeah.

The reinstated Professor Lupin was having a strange day. More strange than usual. Before the new headmistress McGonagall could make her beginning of the year speech, they were interrupted by a loud disturbance. That loud disturbance had apparently been four teenage kids. They had been trying to break in for help and had ended up almost killing themselves.

There were many things that were puzzling about this. First if they really needed to get in they should have sent a distress signal from their wands. The problem with that was, they didn't seem to be wizards or witches. But they could see the castle, so that added to the confusing predicament. They weren't dressed in clothes from this part of the world either. If anything they looked like they belonged in early Chinese times. When they had awaked they didn't have any idea where they were. Or any idea of you-know-who is. This of course was very out of place.

Maybe the charms on the school had been broken or something? No, that didn't make sense. The teachers or at least Hagrid would have noticed. Or maybe they were extraordinary muggles. With powers to see magical things, but they must have some sort of special abilities. One of their members had steam coming out of his earforPete's sake!

The teens were obviously very suspicious so Minerva asked professor Slughorn to bring in a truth potion. He had agreed. They decided that they would use it on what looked like the oldest. The trouble maker who had steam coming out of his ears. He was probably the leader.

Talk about stubborn! Slughorn had tried to get it in him first. He ended up with bleeding fingers and the potion coming right back into his face. Then he had tried it. He got the same thing only he didn't even get the potion in the boy's mouth. Just bitten fingers. Minerva wasn't stupid enough to try it, so she instead got Poppy to try. Poor old nurse, she got her fingers a little burned too. Finally Minerva transformed into a bird and with her talons at his throat forced it down. She'd almost got turned into roast bird but…

Zuko felt the liquid slide down his throat. He didn't really have much of a choice. One of the old ladies had turned into a bird and started pecking at him until he got it down. It wasn't pleasant, within seconds Zuko felt him losing all control of what came out of his mouth. He started to zone out and not even really know there were people in the room. Then he heard them ask: "Who are you and how did you get here?"

Katara was suppressing mass giggles. Not only was one of her least favorite people basically being tortured, but the people who were doing it weren't having a very fun time either. Finally they'd gotten it down his throat. Despite it being Zuko, Katara's curiosity peaked. She was wondering if the truth potion really worked, and if it did, what kind of secrets was Zuko hiding. The headmistress asked the first question.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" Zuko started singing like a bird. It was almost too pathetic to watch. Almost.

"Well, you see I'm the banished prince of the fire nation and I'm running away from my evil little sister with my uncle. She's trying to kill us, and I really don't want to die from her. I don't really know how we got here, I was fighting with the water peasant over there and this pond thingy sucked us up. Then we fought big spiders and evil trees. And now we're here." Katara couldn't believe it. It worked. And Zuko was banished? She didn't know that. Then again there was little she knew about Zuko other than he wanted to capture Aang. The head mistress spoke again.

"Why were you banished and are you allies with these other children?" Zuko hesitated. He was trying to fight the potion, but it was too strong. And after a second's hesitation he spoke.

"When I was 14 my uncle took me into the war chamber where they were planning attacks. One of the generals suggested they send new recruits to battle to sacrifice them. And have another group come up from behind. This was wrong and I stood up and spoke out. It was not my place to speak and I got in real trouble. My father was in the chamber and got very angry, he said that what I did was dishonorable and I would have to fight for my honor. I thought I would be fighting the old general and eagerly excepted. But I was really supposed to fight my father…" Actual tears were starting to form near Zuko's eyes. In his non-scared eye, one stray tear escaped.

"Go on," The man who wasn't fat urged a little unwillingly. Katara and Aang were listening with extreme intensity. This was going to be something big.

"But I wouldn't fight my father. I was his loyal son. I refused. And…and he scared me on my right eye. Then he said that because I didn't fight, I was dishonorable and he banished me to find the Avatar. Who, up until now had been missing for almost a hundred years. The only person who can stop my father is the Avatar. But I just want to go home. And because of what I did in the North Pole, I will probably never get to go home again," Zuko was basically balling now. It hurt to watch. By the looks on the adults face, they regretted digging this far. Katara couldn't believe it. Zuko had a past and a life and a reason to be searching for Aang. And he'd kept this in so long without telling anyone. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he must feel like every day. To know that your own family doesn't care if you live or die, to think that they couldn't care less if you died. It was horrible to even think about. Now Katara looked at Zuko with different eyes. Not eyes of anger and hatred, but of compassion and pity.

Aang was even feeling the same way. He knew Zuko was hiding something. But he never knew what. Why else would he save him from the fire nation? It all made sense now. It was a sad story, with so far, a sad ending.

Even Sokka, who really was awake but was just lying there with his eyes shut, heard Zuko's soap opera story. Even he felt sorry for him. But Zuko was fire nation; unfortunately Sokka could never forget that the fire nation killed to of the most important women in his life.

After they'd finished with Zuko, not fat guy swooshed his stick around Zuko's head, and he instantly fell asleep. The headmistress, whose name they'd yet to hear, turned to Aang. Her face was hard. It sort of sent shivers down Aang and Katara's back. She walked past Sokka, thinking he was still asleep. He did put on a pretty convincing act. Considering he had drool coming from his mouth.

She walked over to Aang. Her face softened a bit.

"Could you please cooperate? This won't hurt you at all, and you won't remember what happened when you wake up," Aang of course didn't want this to happen, and he for sure didn't want to forget. He at least wanted to know if he said something stupid. But he would do it anyway. Taking the small vile he drank the rest; at least they couldn't use it on Sokka, and Katara. Instantly he felt his mind going to mush. And after that he didn't remember.

"What, if any kinds of powers do you three have?" She asked.

"Well, Katara's a waterbender. She can control water. Zuko's a firebender. He has power over fire. I'm the Avatar I have power over all four elements, fire, earth, water, and air, but so far I only know air and water bending." Aang answered in a not himself way.

"Who are your traveling companions?"

"The rock in one of your beds is Sokka. He doesn't have any bending powers, but if being thickheaded is a power he'd be the best at it. Except maybe the late admiral Zhao, but that's another story. And over there with the tiny waist and beautiful hair is Katara. She's a water bender, and man do I have the hots for her. But then again who couldn't? She's perfection in a body." Of course through this Katara's face went from its normal tan complexion to bright red. "I'm so lucky to have her as teacher. We once even kissed; it was the signal greatest moment in my little 12 year old life. Her lips were soft and sweet." At this Sokka couldn't pretend anymore. He jumped up onto of Aang and started chocking him.

"That's my sister! You low life little perv! You think the fire lord's scary? You don't know scary!" Sokka screamed. He was just about to cram his fist into Aang's face when Katara's hands stopped him. And the fact that soon after that, he was levitating in midair about three feet above Aang, who really didn't have any idea what was happening. Sokka was still in mid air and being flown to his bed, but he was still swinging his fists trying to clock Aang.

"That is quit enough young man," The headmistress warned, putting him back in bed forcefully. "Now, we are going to talk about what we are going to do about this. We should be back soon." She said leaving.

The nurse/doctor like woman still stayed.

"Are you hungry Sokka?" she asked.

"He's always hungry," Katara mocked. Sokka shot Katara a dirty look as the woman brought over some soup. Instantly Sokka started going on some really long rant while still trying to eat. Most would find this amusing.

"How could you have kissed him? He's like my best friend! Was, that is!" SLURP

"Well, it got us out of that cave," Katara defended.

"Do have any idea how it feels to find out about this now? I can't even begin slurp to describe it! Do you feel the same way about him!"

"Is that any of your business?"

"I'm slurp making it my business! Now answer the question!" He ordered.

"I don't know," she answered.

"HE'S 12 YEARS OLD KATARA! THAT'S TWO YEARS YOUNGER THANN YOU! SLURP DON'T YOU EVEN TRY TO TELL ME THAT'S NOT AKWARD! SLURP!"

"I know that! But think of how he'll look when he hits puberty," she sighed partly going off into la la land she liked what she saw.

"Oh no you don't Katara! Think of how that'll feel for me!"

"Why is everything about you?" she snarled.

"Should have seen this, I mean the necklace thing! But when I said that I was only kidding! How he blushed when you helped him with water bending! Slurp"Katara was mostly still blushing but she was also rather mad with her brother.

"So you can go around kissing any girl and it's fine but I can't kiss one?"

"What are you talking about!"

"Um duh! Aang told me he saw you kiss Suki. Plus you kissed Yue like 10 times!" Sokka's face turned a bright red. He'd been caught. Now his only really good argument was gone.

The nurse came into the room and took Sokka's now empty bowl.

"I know it's not much of my business, but I think you should let your sister live her own life. She's not a little girl anymore," she said. Sokka didn't like the situation so he slumped in his bed with his arms crossed pouting.

On the other side of the room Zuko stirred from his sleep. His head hurt. He also didn't remember anything, except that he'd taken some kind of truth potion, and he couldn't recall what he said. He shot up, whipping his head around. The three adults that had come in with the potion were gone and the Avatar was asleep, and the water tribe peasant was awake. Great, as if he didn't have enough problems. The two awake turned to face him. The girl's eyes didn't show hate and disgust. While the boy's seemed to be angry, but not at him. They seemed to go thru him. He knew he's said something bad.

"How are you feeling?" the girl asked.

"Why do you care?" he answered. Taken back a little she continued.

"We heard what happened. I'm sorry. I can't even begin to imagine what that must feel like every day," Zuko felt his stomach lurch into his throat. They knew, some of his least favorite people in the world knew about why he was searching for the Avatar.

He was just about to turn his back to them and try to fall asleep when the water tribe peasant said "Don't try to change the subject Katara!"

"Sokka get over it! I'm a big girl now!" Despite Zuko's resentment his curiosity won the battle in his head, and he turned to see what the siblings were fighting about.

"You kissed Aang! And Aang has liked you since forever! Doesn't that bother in the slightest?" He practically yelled at Katara.

"And this is a surprise because?" Zuko asked. Even he could tell the Avatar liked the water tribe peasant girl. The fact that her own brother couldn't see that was a little sad. Sokka shot him a very dirty and mean look. Zuko didn't like it. "You want to fight peasant?"

"Maybe I do," Sokka answered.

"Fine, I could use a light work out," Both the boys tried getting out of bed, only to fall on their faces. Apparently their legs had fallen asleep. Katara burst out laughing, earning her dirty looks from Zuko and Sokka. Before they could get up to kill each other, the door opened and the other three people from before walked in. The woman was carrying a very old a scruffy looking pointed hat.

a/n: I'm hopping this one was long enough for you people! I think it was pretty good. And if you've read my "The mudmen and goblins have mated" story then you'll notice that Zuko goes under the exact same rant like thingy under Holly's mesmur, but since it came from my own story I can do that! YAY! SO I hope you guys like this chapter it's longer! And yeah I'll try to get the next chapter our soon! BYE!