"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." - Joseph Campbell.
This is not a story about Harry Potter. This is a tale of his only daughter, Liliana 'Lily' Minerva Potter the one who was born with the mark of Death. It's about how cruel fate can be to a Potter... No okay not really, it's more or less about a child disliking the responsibility that had been dumped on them at birth and selfishly trying to prevent it from being their "Destiny".
Lily never wanted to be a hero, like her father had been, and he was killed for his efforts. The day he died was the day Lily swore never to risk her life for strangers and abandoned what was left of her family forever like her parents had done to her when they were too selfless. So when she came of age for Hogwarts being the child prodigy she was when it came to Potions... Lily brewed the Draught of Living Death, hid herself away in the destroyed remains of the Chamber of Secrets and drank it. Centuries later when the last of the Magicals wrought war on the Muggles and lost... the still-eleven-year-old was later discovered by Muggle scientists in the ruins of Hogwarts.
They believed her to be in a coma, in a sense she was, but none they could wake her from without the antidote... or so Wizards had believed, Muggles are smarter than any Wizard would care to have admitted. It was a wonder the effects hadn't worn off, after centuries of being in use, by itself. But never has it been said that magic was meant to make sense.
Imagine the surprise she felt when she woke from a sleep she had never intended to wake from, in a world that was clearly dying and not as she had known it. Lily was less than pleased with the turnout of events and what her actions had done to Wizardkind, not that she would ever admit it was her fault in the first place, shoving all the blame onto her long-dead father her resentment for that which had killed him and the rest of her family had risen to new heights... but Lily couldn't help the small stab of guilt that remained at the back of her mind.
When she was released from the Muggle medical ward, Lily had decided to restart her education in the muggle world. With her ambitions to silently study the rest of mankind from the shadows under the guise of becoming a biochemist after years of blood sweat and tears put into her studying... Lily had veered off her personal goal when the Muggle government announced their plan to send people to the Jungle Moon to extract the mineral known as Unobtanium, the key to restoring the Earth to its former glory. Her curiosity had been piqued and so she had inserted herself into the AVATAR programme and successfully scored herself a spot on the next flight off-world with her Alien body double on the ship ahead of her own.
So Lily ten years after the Cryosleep ride to Pandora had all but forgotten who she had been before the programme. On Pandora Lily meets one of her Project buds, Norman Spellman, and Tom Sully's twin brother and ex-marine Jake Sully. It had saddened Lily greatly to hear of her friend's death... Tom had been one of the few Muggles to have gotten through her well put together defences to get to know the "real" Liliana Potter. The other had been a stern older man from the US Marines, she had met in passing at the RDA Earth base, named Miles. They had been extremely hostile when they had been forced to work to get her on a mission when her priorities had yet to be straightened out and had briefly joined Marines before abruptly deciding it wasn't for her. After that mission, Miles and Lily had come to a sort of understanding and it was his prompting that had lead her into the RDA's arms and to her discovery of the Avatar programme, but she like everyone else on Earth had already known about the Unobtainium expedition. Still having completed her University studies and going a few years with the Marines, Lily was accepted into the Programme after passing some sort of test, and qualifying enough to start the five-year-long project. Where she met Tom and Norman... Tom was the serious but funny one while Norm was the goofy geek one couldn't help but love. She hadn't heard from Miles since he had left for Pandora two years into her time with the Avatar Programme, so seeing him again was another shock. Not necessarily a bad shock but not a good one either with how much both of them have changed. To her, he seems even harsher and grumpier than when they had first met when she was still in her early twenties. But to him, she was nothing more than some weak nerd with an Alien clone, compared to the fiery nymph he had known on Earth.
Upon entering the body of her Na'vi Avatar, Lily can feel a strangely familiar pulse of energy she hadn't felt since... since she before she drank that Draught all those years ago... memories spring up unbidden and Lily takes off outside of Hells Gate still in her hospital gown in her Avatar. Her magic seemed to have reawoken within her avatar as well as her human body, preventing her from being pulled from her Avatar, frustrating the scientists back at Hells Gate. Miles gets word of this and feels as if the old Lily was returning and is keen on finding her... he was the only one she had told her full story to. He isn't the first to reach her nor is he the second.
First came the Palulukan or Thanator, which had dragged her off to its tree when she had been knocked unconscious by it's a surprise attack... only it's wasn't really a true Thanator... no it was Pandora's version of the Grim... though this one it seemed had a sense of humour. Which coming from the transmigrated soul of her fathers Godfather, it was reasonably justifiable.
The second was a Na'vi male Hunter named Tsu'tey. The next Omatakaya or chief had been separated from his Hunting party and had seen the Palulukan dragging a Na'vi wearing sky peoples clothes into its tree. Instead of returning to Hometree, Tsu'tey decided upon observing the Dreamwalker and what the Palulukan would do to her... and if he could do anything about it to prevent the invaders from destroying more of his home.
Miles and a search party had left to find Lily but were stopped when Lily emerged from the tree line... on the back of, Miles's heartbeat and breathing had become erratic when his eyes zeroed in on her mount—more specifically the scar on its hind first set of the left legs—then forgot to breathe, a Fucking Thanator. Only when she had dismounted and sent the beast on its way did Miles go to greet her. A newfound respect, or really an unburied, respect had just been multiplied. Only Her.
They had a lot of catching up to do and Miles noticed since coming to this Godforsaken Moon, that she was smiling... something he had never seen her do without it looking forced or pained. She looked so carefree for the first time since he had known her, and Miles wondered not for the first time what had happened when she entered that forest and what had set her off.
Tsu'tey returned to Hometree later than he had anticipated having not realised how late it had gotten while stalking... observing the Sky-person and the Palulukan. For the rest of the next few days, all that was on his mind was the entrancing Dreamwalker and her Palulukan for there was no doubt in his mind that the pair had bonded.
Lily thanked Eywa for finally opening her eyes, and for returning a piece of her past to her, even if it was too late to save Wizardkind it wasn't too late to help both the Muggles and the Na'vi get what they needed... Sirius was just how she had imagined hed be from the stories her father had told her and her brothers as children. A crude old perverted wizard stuck in the alien equivalent of his animagus thanks to the Veil of Death and her apparent "Servants" help. Not that she had ever believed in her destiny, she wasn't fully against it now that she understood why it was her... apparently she has done everything They had expected of her and then some.
Jake and Grace are some of the last to hear about Lily's return. Parker seemed to enjoy rubbing that in Augustines face for no particular reason. Then the next day... Jake follows in Lily's footsteps only he doesn't get nearly as far as she did unaided by magic. Ney'teri pokes fun at Tsu'tey's clouded mind... not that he noticed or cared, once again lost in the memory of the Dreamwalker and the Palulukan. Wondering when he would see them again.
Trudy volunteers to take them to the Hallelujah mountains and the Colonel, Miles Quaritch or just Miles to Lily, opts to take the place of the ill marine that was meant to go with them. Sirius follows his great God child's scent taking them all the way to the floating death traps... where he would have opted for a different route usually but chose instead to wait for an operating moment to leap...
A week earlier has Sirius chasing around Jake much to Liliana's bemusement. Sirius once again follows Lily back to Hells Gate, and can faintly hear the Palulukan growling in the back of his mind when he spots Miles Quaritch trailing behind Lily like a dog... though it didn't appear either had noticed.
Lily gets to work on meeting with the clan leaders through Eywa. Calling upon Sirius the Palulukan when needed to strike fear into the hearts of the ignorant, warning them of what may come. Spending some much needed time whipping her body back into shape before leaving for the Mountains with Grace, Norm, Jake and the pilot Trudy... and any others who might end up coming along. Watching Miles with a wearing eye when he thought he didn't notice him watching her... starting at her before he finally decided upon asking her to join him in his scorpion helicopter thing for sightseeing purposes... where they would be completely alone seeing as both could pilot the air crafts. Awkwardness fades into familiarity and they speak of safe subjects... which Lily found unlike the Miles she knew and... err knew once, he was being extremely out of character.
Parker Selfridge is getting antsy and Miles is turning. It had taken him some time but Miles knows that what he is feeling for Lily is very real... and would be very disastrous if exposed. Which is exactly what Parker is threatening to do.
Tsu'tey finally gets to meet with the Sky people though it isn't the one he had wanted to meet. But his worries are for nought because not even a day later The Palulukan comes to Hometree with the Dreamwalker on its back... but She isn't here for him no she came for the shxwang and to speak with the shaman Mo'at.
War is brewing but Lily is unsure of how to prevent it... luckily for her, that is just what Jake is for... though not before he makes a right royal mess of everything. Tsu'tey is the charming Na'vi male Sirius has been telling her about and she is not impressed when her first meeting with the warrior turns out to be more like a boy stumbling over his feet as if he were a lost puppy.
Though Tsu'tey makes up for it on the journeys for Jake to complete his trials to prove himself. Lily doesn't know if Death and the Fates were punishing her or laughing at her, or both, when she bonds with her own ikran... that acts far too much like a mother hen for Lily's liking
Miles plays along with Parker's game trying to find an out as he does so... but the only one he can see that is not an option he's willing to take, which is telling Liliana how he feels.
Sirius is getting annoyed with all these men falling for his great God Daughter. He knows she's a beauty with a fiery temper... but he's not sure how she hasn't noticed the attention she gets... even that whimp Selfridge drools after her. They're being overly obvious about it too, without themselves knowing that they're doing it. Trudy and Norm snog and more up in the HMs (hah!) going on about the obvious sexual tension building in the close nit circle Liliana keeps, and her seemingly obliviousness. Only to Lily, it isn't that simple, she isn't willing to let herself love anyone or anything after spending so many years hating anything to remotely do with love... and the fact that her destiny wouldn't Allow for such things anyway, to her it is better to not know what she was missing then to have known and to never be allowed to have that ever again what with her upcoming role of Reaper of Death. Unwilling to put anyone through such horrific pain just for her. She didn't want to watch anyone she... cared about dying while she lived on...
She knew how they felt but she didn't want to encourage them, to give them some sort of sick false hope, before cruelly ripping it away. She wouldn't do that to her friends... couldn't but yet...
Miles was getting restless and Augustine wouldn't shut her trap about her hippie crap... Miles froze mid-step when he spotted Lily talking to Selfridge a pleasant smile on her face one that was mirrored on Parkers who was leaning down to press a kiss to her knuckles... who even does that... he watched on and felt his heart freeze when her face reddened then it shattered as everything seemed to go in slow motion as she leant up to kiss the slimy bastards cheek only for him to turn last second... Miles didn't stick around. So he never saw her push Parker away with a disgusted look twist her otherworldly features, he never heard the satisfying sound of her slapping Selfridge... and he didn't see her betrayed look of broken hurt as she stared after him. He was too... empty?
Lily sat with Tsu'tey in the high branches of the native flora watching as the Angtsìk, Hammerhead Titanothere, danced below.