The Mysterious Traveler
Okay, so sorry about the late update guys! I'm been busy with work and such, so I'm trying to get back to writing this and also Redemption as well.
Thanks a bunch for the reviews! It means a lot to me! :)
Enjoy Chapter 7!
Chapter Seven:
Certain Changes
The group had been flying for days, moving from location to location to find these strange creatures that Aang wished to ride, which irritated Severus. Their main goal was to reach the North Pole, not to go on a Bison-Flyway Trip! There was an irresistible urge to hex the monk for being so childish.
"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka held a map that detailed the Southern Hemisphere of the Four Nations, which also included a series of lines that showed where they have been.
"Well, I know it's near water," Aang replied, piloting Appa as they flew over the open ocean.
Severus rolled his eyes.
"I guess we're getting close then," Sokka replied, sarcastically.
Ignoring him, Aang tried to get Katara's attention by doing some airbending trick with some marbles, only to fail as her attention was towards fixing Sokka's torn pants, replying in a disinterested matter.
Both Severus and Katara glared at Sokka when he went on to a sexist statement about how girls were good at sewing and that guys were better at hunting and fighting. A remark that made them both irritated, causing Katara to throw her brother's half-sowed pants into his face, sarcastically declaring that she was all done. An act that made Severus smile, especially when Sokka desperately began begging her not to stop her progress. While he didn't see it, the Water Tribe girl had noticed his smile from the corner of her eye, which she smiled at in return.
"Relax, Sokka," said Aang. "Where we're going, you won't need any pants."
Severus raised an eyebrow at his choice of words, feeling the bison turn and begin flying for an island in the distance.
Once Appa had settled on the shore of the island, which was mostly covered by melting snow, the three of them got off of the bison and took a look around.
"No offense, Aang, but we need to stop with these animal-joy-rides and start getting on our way to the North Pole," said Sokka. "We've been flying around in the Southern Hemisphere for days and we still haven't even reached the shores of this Earth Kingdom yet."
"I agree," Katara nodded. "We've made three stops in the last two days and haven't even gotten that far. I think we should get more flying done before we make camp for the night. At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring."
"But Appa's tired already. Aren't you, boy?" the Airbender tried to counter them, nudging the large animal, only to receive a small grunt in response. "I said, aren't you, boy?"
Severus rolled his eyes when the bison yawned a little, barely helping the monk's claims.
"Yeah, real convincing," Sokka shook his head. "Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster."
Appa growled.
"Look!" Aang cried out, pointed directly towards the water, just in time as a large sea creature of some kind came flying into the air and disappearing beneath the waves. "That's why we're here... Elephant Koi! And I'm going to ride one! Katara, you gotta watch me!"
All three of them watched as the Airbender disrobed, with the exception of his undergarments, and jump into the freezing water, swimming for the sea creature and managing to catch it, just before it made another leap into the air. He began riding it as it swam around, which impressed and excited Katara. Even Momo began to jump up and down at the sight.
Only Severus and Sokka were unimpressed at the event.
This kid is almost as bad as the Marauders!
Katara soon had to run off to make sure Appa didn't eat something he wasn't supposed to, only to immediately return when both Alex and Severus saw something in the water, swimming directly for Aang and the Elephant Koi. Calling for him to come back, they watched as he fell from the sea creature, only for a giant fin to appear over him, representing the tip of the iceberg that lied beneath the water.
Immediately recognizing that he was in danger, Aang began running on top of the water, using his airbending to carry him to shore. He accidentally crashed right into Sokka, sending the two of them sliding into the snowbank of a tree.
The moment Katara, Severus and Momo reached them, Aang was already putting his robes back on.
"What was that thing?" Katara asked.
The Airbender shrugged the moment he put his clothes back on, "I don't know."
"Well, let's not stick around to find out," Sokka got up, rubbing his hands together to get off the snow. "Time to hit the skies and make our way north."
'Finally', Severus sneered.
Suddenly, hidden figures from the tree branches dropped down to the ground, surrounding them. Dressed in green dresses, including makeup that reminded Severus of the what Chinese muggles use, and also metal fans that shined in the exposure of the sun; they quickly took down each of them in a coordinated attack.
Sokka was taken out first, then Katara, followed by Aang, and finally Momo, who was tied up in a small bag.
Severus quickly brought up his arms and readied his hands, performing a stance that he was taught to do in DADA, only without his wand. He cursed himself for not bringing his wand with him, feeling defenseless without it. Although he knew his wandless skills were terrible, he put aside all doubts to concentrate on what he needed to do.
Choosing a stunning spell, Severus targeted one of the attackers closest to him and put forth all of his concentration into the spell. But the moment he felt it leave his body and out of his hand, he watched in disappointment as his spell only pushed the intended target backward and fall to the ground.
The girl gasped at him with wide eyes.
Feeling his body become weak and tired from the attempt, he barely felt the metal fan strike the side of his head or his body hitting the ground. Before things went dark and silent, the last thing he heard was Sokka's voice.
"Or we could stay awhile."
He was surrounded by darkness, left alone in a world without light to show him the way. He was saved from panic by a series of dreams. One in particular that played out in full detail.
He watched as a six-year-old boy hid in the corner of the living room as his parents argued, their shadows overshadowing him and the wall his back was up against. Tears ran down his cheeks, struggling to keep his sobbing low so his drunken father didn't hear him. He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face in between his chest and legs.
A woman and a man went at it like they always did, yelling at each other until eventually resorting to throwing things against the walls. Shattering personal items until Tobias brought his hand up and struck his wife on her cheek, making her fall to the ground. Worried for the safety of his mother, the boy rose from his hiding spot and ran towards his father, grabbing ahold of his arm before he could get to his knees and start punching her.
He watched as the man's attention immediately turned towards the boy. His eyes looking directly into his, sending a chill throughout his entire body. He saw anger, disgust and absolute hatred. All staring right back at him.
Before he knew it, the man grabbed ahold of the boy by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the air, crashing against the floor of the living room. Still aching from the pain, he felt he man's hand grab the boy by the shoulder and flip him onto his side. He didn't even have time to cry out as his fist struck him in the face, making the boy's head bounce off the floor.
The man repeated the process again.
And again.
And again.
Resulting in a pool of blood that circled around the boy's upper body, his nose left almost shattered. Before losing consciousness, a single tear fell from his eye and traveled down his cheek, falling into the blood-stained floor, disappearing into a pool of red.
And then he was back in the dark void again, with a bright light coming to life right behind, blinding him as he turned around.
Feeling the breeze of cold air against his face, Severus slowly began to open his eyes, using his Occlumency walls to push the dream far from his mind. Once he got better control of his senses, he found himself in a bed, blankets covering him. There was a candle of light on a table next to him, including a cup of water. Leaning up, he rubbed the side of his head and sighed.
"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake," came the voice of the Water Tribe girl, who was sitting in a chair across from him. "I was beginning to worry that you would never wake up."
Severus looked at her and then turned his attention towards the window, seeing that the sun was beginning to set in the distance.
"Where are we?" he asked.
Katara rose from her seat and took the cup from the table, handing it to him.
Taking the cup, he began to drink from it. Taking pleasure in the feeling of the cool water rushing down his throat.
"We're in a small village of the Kyoshi Island, which was actually what we've been on this whole time," she answered, looking at him with worry. "The girls who attacked us are the protectors of this island, known as the Kyoshi Warriors. After taking us prisoner, they released us the moment Aang revealed himself to be the Avatar since the island was named after one of his previous lives, Avatar Kyoshi."
Severus nodded as he sat the cup back down on the table, processing the information.
"Suki was worried that she had hit you too hard when you didn't wake up the previous night-"
"Wait, previous night?!" Severus' eyes lit up. "You mean I've been out for more than twenty-four hours?"
Katara nodded, "It had me and the others worried. When you didn't wake up, everyone began to think that Suki may have struck you the wrong way."
"Suki?"
She was surprised by his ability to switch the focus of the conversation so quickly, "Suki is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors... and also the one who attacked you. But in her defense, you did attack her friend."
"They attacked first!" he got up and approached the window, breathing in the cool air.
"Anyway, Aang is enjoying his popularity right now, and Sokka is currently trying to get over his wounded ego."
He raised an eyebrow.
Katara rolled her eyes, almost chuckling, "He's upset that a couple of girls had managed to take him... prisoner. He's already embarrassed himself today when he tried to beat Suki during one of her training exercises with her warriors."
Severus sneered, "Your brother is a real sexist."
Katara laughed, "Yeah, he is."
She paused, something Severus took notice of.
"Um, Alex, there's something that I need to tell you. It's going to sound weird, but then again, you're all about weird, so maybe you might understand it."
He frowned, "Okay..."
The Water Tribe girl took a small deep breathe, "While you were... asleep, I've noticed something about your... body."
Severus raised an eyebrow at her again, "What about my body?"
She then pushed her hair back, despite that it was already behind her ear, acting shy, "Well, it's just that... your nose used to be crooked. But now, it's straight and at a normal size. Also, your hair has lost its oily style now. And... there's more."
"Like what?" he felt the need to look himself in a mirror to see if what she was saying was true.
"I've noticed that you don't eat a lot and that your body is a little too thin," she stopped herself, feeling nervous and shy about what she was going to say next. "I helped the medicine lady take off your robes last night, so I could wash them. That was when I noticed your body had changed. Your muscles are growing and you're gaining the proper fat your body needs. Even the scars seem to be fading, though not much. I've never seen anything like it."
Struggling to keep himself from running out of the room and find a mirror or pot of water to see his reflection, Severus leaned back against the sheets and stared up at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what she was telling him. It was driving him crazy with all of the questions that kept piling up.
He noticed the clothes he was currently wearing for the first time, taking a liking to the style that the Kyoshi Islanders had. He slowly rose from his bed and sat at the edge.
"Alex?" Katara noticed how he deep in thought he was. "I know that we haven't known each other that well, but I'm worried about you. With the things that you can do, your body healing itself, and also the fact that you barely talk about... well... anything... I don't know how to help you."
Severus's eyes closed as he remembered a very familiar voice once said something similar, 'Let me help you, Sev. Let me in.'
He shook his head, "There's nothing you can do... Just leave me alone."
"But you can talk to me," she pressed, quickly walking forward to take his hand, which he immediately removed from her reach, glaring at her. "Alex, please! I heard you talking in your sleep, and while I didn't understand everything you've said, I know enough that things are not so great back your home. You also kept mentioning your... parents."
Anger rose quickly within as he clutched both of his hands. He wanted to yell at her, to tell her not to get in his business. That he needed no help from anyone! Especially from-
'I don't need help from filthy little mudbloods like her!'
Tears threatened to break from his eyelids as he turned away from her, feeling himself on the verge of losing control.
"Katara!" he brought up his Occlumency walls to clear his mind, making his tone emotionless. "Just leave! Now!"
Katara lowered her head and quickly ran out of the room, the curtains swishing around as she left.
Once he knew she was gone, Severus fell to his knees and stared into space, sorting through his emotions and keeping them deep within. After a long while, he sighed and got up, lying back down on the bed as he blew out the candle. Despite that there was still light outside, he could feel a desire for rest from his body and mind.
Closing his eyes, Severus asleep, despite knowing what dreams awaited him.
Katara entered the room that she was sharing with Aang and Sokka, both of whom immediately took notice of her presence.
"How is he?" Aang asked.
Katara sighed, "Well, he's alright... physically..."
"What do you mean?" Sokka frowned.
Katara rubbed the side of her arm and sat down on a small bed.
"He was having nightmares, saying random words and moaning in pain. Ugh, guys, I don't know what to do or how to help him! Every time I try to get close, he pushes me away."
"Katara, we can't help him if he doesn't want us to," said Sokka. "And besides, don't use your excuses to try and pry at his private life."
Katara glared at him before resuming a sad expression again, "It's part of the reason, I'll admit, but even then I truly do want to help him. I can see this... pain... inside his eyes. He barely smiles. He barely enjoys anything. And he always keeps his emotions under lock and key, except when his anger is involved. It makes me wonder what kind of life he has lived that would result to... this."
Aang nodded, "I understand what you mean, Katara. But Sokka is right. We can't help him if he won't let us."
"Yeah, just give it time, sis."
Although doubtful, Katara nodded and lied back onto the bed, slowly falling asleep as her mind continued to wonder about Alexander Prince and what secrets he was keeping from her. Afterall, she always did had a love a good mystery.
Aboard his ship, Prince Zuko was preparing for supper with his Uncle Iroh, waiting for his cook to show up with their meal.
After his duel with Commander Zhao, the Fire Prince was more determined than ever to capture the Avatar, and also his mysterious friend... Alexander Prince! But any effort was wasted, as the two of them were hard to track. Making Zuko believe that his two targets were professionals at evasive maneuvering.
Finally, the cook arrived with their meal, along with important news that he had heard from the harbor they had docked at.
"Sir, I've been told that the Avatar is currently on Kyoshi Island," he reported, setting the food down on the table.
Zuko immediately pushed himself up from his seat, "The Avatar is on Kyoshi Island?! Uncle, ready the rhinos! If the Avatar is on the island, then that means that Alexander is there as well! And they're not getting away from me this time!"
"Are you going to finish that?" Iroh pointed down towards the seafood, which was still steaming hot from the ovens.
Zuko turned around as he was about to exit the dining room and grabbed his plate, "I was going to save it for later!"
Iroh frowned, crossing his arms under his chest.
Severus stood alongside a small creek, looking directly into the still settled water. Getting a clear and closer look at himself at the reflection of the surface, he was relieved that the changes Katara spoke of were nothing major. His nose was indeed no longer crooked, his hair was no longer oily and his facial structure seemed to have a more appeal nature.
Lifting his reformed Hogwarts robes, he analyzed his stomach and upper chest. Noting that he was slowly gaining some weight and muscle, no longer having a skinny look to him, despite how little he had eaten in the last few days of arriving in this world. It gave him a good outline, even the muscles that developed have helped with providing a nice look to him. He also couldn't help but notice some early stages of abs forming as well.
But what shocked him the most was that any trace of his old wounds was slowly fading, though they were clearly still visible.
While he was happy that the changes were working to his advantage, there was a part of him that wondered how this was possible. He never heard of magic working on a level like this before, even Accidental Magic didn't work like this, and he was way beyond that now.
Sensing the presence of someone approaching him, Severus dropped his robes and readied his hands within the cover of his sleeves, getting his feet in a stance. He immediately wished he had his wand with him, angry that he was so stupid to never have gone to get it from Appa's saddle. Slowly turning, he came face to face with a girl who was dressed in the Kyoshi Warrior outfit and makeup.
"Uh, hi," her voice betraying signs of being nervous.
Severus studied her, prepared to fight if he had to, though he doubted it.
"Um, look, I just wanted to see that you were okay, and also to say sorry about the other day..."
Severus's eyes narrowed, "You're Suki."
Suki blushed, "You're... you're not angry about that... are you?"
He showed no emotion, though he did feel a little angry, "No, why would I?! It isn't like you ambushed me!."
The Kyoshi Warrior glared at him, "You attacked my friend!"
"You struck first!"
Suki sighed, "Look, I didn't come to argue who attacked first!"
"Then why are you here?!" he snapped.
"To ask how you did that the other day?"
Severus sneered, "Magic."
Suki remained silent for a moment before bursting into laughter.
He sneered and glared at her, "I'm not laughing."
She calmed herself down, "You are a bold one. I'll respect your privacy... for now. But just because you're with the Avatar doesn't mean I trust you."
He watched as she hurried away, disappearing into the trees. Sighing, Severus turned his attention back to the water and took another look at himself.
Remembering how weak his wandless magic skills currently were, he quickly came to the conclusion that he needed to start training himself in the ways of magic once again. Except for this time, he was forced to do so without a professor or a mentor to guide him. This time, he was going to have to do it all on his own.
Finding a small, remote area, one that would be fit for training, Severus disrobed. Only keeping the bottom part on, which was only one layer that covered everything from his hips to his ankles, forced to tie up the loose ends that would slow him down.
Beginning with the basics, he slowly began performing low-level magic with his hands, working his way up from the bottom. Although frustrated that he had to start all over again, he was content that because of his knowledge and experience from the last five years of learning at Hogwarts, he would be able to progress much faster.
For the next several hours, he kept going at it, feeling the sweat rolling down his chest, shoulders, and face. He felt his muscles beginning to ache, his body being drained of energy. Although he felt the need to call it quits, he forced himself through it, motivated by the frustrated with himself and the situation he was in.
Impressed with the ability to perform wandless magic, he began to imagine what he would be able to do when he would become more experienced and powerful. Which also brought up questions of how this was possible and what awakened his new powers.
Suddenly, there was a loud roar in the distance, making him stop. Turning towards the direction it came from, he saw dark smoke in the distance and instantly knew that something was wrong. Rushing to redress, he made his way back towards the village.
Once arriving, he hid behind the cover of a building, poking his head out to see what was going on.
"Come out, Avatar!" an angry voice demanded. "Including you too, Alexander Prince! Both of you can't hide from me forever!"
At the entrance of the village, the Fire Prince Zuko and a few of his men were riding large rhinos, fully armored and ready for a fight. When no one answered his call, the Prince ordered his men to search the village, beginning their entry of settlement.
Looking up at the rooftops, Severus saw the Kyoshi Warriors silently stalking their attackers from above, admiring their tactics and intelligence to be so stealthy. He watched as the Warriors began their attack, taking out the Fire Nation soldiers from the top of their rhinos, making their way towards the leader in the back.
Suki made the first strike against Zuko, but was hit by the tail of the rhino, sending her sliding across the snow. Seeing she was defenseless, the Fire Prince sent a fireball at her, only to be deflected by Sokka's metal fan, who was dressed in the same outfit as the Warriors were wearing, which made Severus sneer.
One of the Warriors took down Zuko from his rhino, allowing for Suki and Sokka to join, boxing him in.
Seeing that some of the Fire Nation soldiers were getting back up, Severus abandoned his hiding spot and immediately began shooting spells at them from his fists, focusing on the low-level spells. One by one, each soldier went down, never missing a target, although he knew the effects of his magic would wear off, due to his inexperience of wandless magic.
Something caught his attention as he took down the last soldier and turned to find that Zuko had taken out Sokka, Suki, and the other Kyoshi Warrior. Their eyes met, staring each other down.
"Alexander!" Zuko spat at him, getting into a stance.
Severus narrowed his eyebrows at him, getting into a stance as well.
"Hey, over here!" came a voice from the side of Zuko, who turned to find the Aang just a couple of feet away.
Zuko sighed, "Finally!"
Sending a series of fireballs towards him, which the Airbender dodged and jumped into the air, using the air to quickly glide next to him.
Seeing his chance, Severus made his strike against the Fire Prince, only for him to dodge it as he battled the Airbender as well. He was caught off guard as the Prince grabbed a spear from the ground and threw it towards him. Although managing to dodge it, he felt the steel cut into his flesh, blood rolling down his arm as he attempted to cover it with his other hand. But he had very little time to tend to his wound as the Fire Nation soldiers began to get back up, forcing him to turn his attention towards them.
Feeling tired and drained, he managed to put some of them back down before he heard a loud cry from behind, turning to see Zuko being airbended into the wooden wall of a building and Aang taking off on his glider.
Gee, no worries for the guy with the bleeding arm! Just leave him behind!
He was quickly brought out of his thoughts as Zuko rose from the debris and smoke of the building he was sent through, turning his angry gaze towards him. Engulfing his hands with flames, he ran at him, dodging every spell he sent his way.
Severus was impressed and terrified of his speed and agility.
Just as they were finally within a couple of feet of each other, the two of them fought. Magic against fire. Dodging attack after attack. Although Severus was a little fast, Zuko was much faster and much more experienced in the ways of combat. It made him realize just how lucky he was back during their first encounter on the ship a few days ago. He saw that he was truly outmatched by the Firebender.
Seeing his opening and Zuko blasted him in the chest with a fireball. And Severus felt the burning heat against his skin and fell against the ground. His body felt more tired and drained than ever. His robes were burnt, red marks that formed small holes. There was even a red scar on his chest.
Zuko stared down on him with victory in his eyes, "My father will welcome me back once I present you and the Avatar to him! Guards, take him away!"
Two of the Fire Nation soldiers walked forward and took him by the shoulders, beginning to drag him back to the ship.
Once the Fire Prince had turned his back, Severus moaned as he used what was left of his strength to break free from his captors and simultaneously cast two spells at the same time, hitting them both. Quickly forcing himself up, he ran, dodging attacks from Zuko, who cried out in frustration. Thankfully, the Kyoshi Warriors had the attention of the soldiers now, allowing him to rush to safety.
Feeling himself begin to lose consciousness again, he quickly found Appa after turning a corner, making his way towards the bison as Aang, Katara and Sokka urged him to get on. Even Momo was jumping up and down, seemingly trying to encourage him to hurry up as well.
The moment he had climbed up the tail of the creature and fell to his side on the saddle, Aang cried out 'Yip Yip!' and they were suddenly in the sky, flying away.
He felt Katara rush to his side, eyes filled with worry, "He's bleeding!"
"Look after him, there's something I need to do," said Aang as he dived off the head of the bison, which shocked the Slytherin for a moment.
"Aang, what are you doing?!" Katara cried out, rushing over towards the edge of the saddle, along with Sokka and Momo.
Beginning to lose consciousness again, Severus thought he heard a loud roar in the distance, and saw the Airbender climb back onto the saddle a few moments later.
"I know, I know, that was stupid and dangerous," said Aang.
"Yes, it was," Katara smiled and embraced him, which earned a triumphant smile from the Airbender.
Severus felt his eyes close and his hearing beginning to become muffled, the voices getting quieter with each passing second.
"Um, guys?" he heard Sokka say. "Look."
"No way!" Aang exclaimed, sounding amazed and shocked at the same time.
"How is this even possible?" Katara gasped.
"Um, hello! Mystery boy of weirdness!"
"Sokka's right, we've seen weirder from him."
"But that still doesn't answer our questions about him. Who is he? What is he? Where does he come? And... why won't... he... tell... us...?"
Severus's hearing gave out and he fell right back to unconsciousness again, feeling as if the surface of the saddle fell out from under him and was falling through a never-ending darkness. He could hear voices and glimpse images, knowing fully well what nightmares were coming for him.
Alright, so there's something I wish to get out of the way (although I may have stated this before), I will be skipping or altering episodes from the show in the near future. I don't wish for this to be a retelling of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (although it may seem like it), but rather an emotional journey for Severus. Yes, we will get scenes with Zuko and other characters as well, but the main focus will be Severus. This story is about him during the events of the tv series and also how his influence changes a few things, including his rise to becoming a better person.
Also, I'm going to be adding in new plot elements and stories, ones that I feel remain truthful to the main cannon of the series.
And another thing, I highly recommend those who don't know about the tv show to go watch it before reading on, even for those who may need to be refreshed in the story and characters. The reason being is because I will be relying heavily on the tv show, and I mean 'heavily'. Some certain scenes won't be in the story, because if they were, then they would be seen as just retellings. And also, I'm not as good as the creators are, so I'm relying on the knowledge and memory of the fans to know what happens and what has been changed. I know that sounds lazy, but then again, this is a 'crossover section' on 'fanficiton', so it's expected of others to know about the source material.
Message to 'Suzululu4moe': 'Nice to see that you've joined in reading this fanfic as well. I hope you're enjoying 'Redemption'. But anyway, thank you for the reviews that you've left. As the question about Lily that you asked, I can't say anything right now, or else I risk spoiling the story. So, sorry.'
Message to 'Guest': (Alright, not sure if you're the same 'Guest' as before or some new person, but on with the message) - I deeply apologize for my portrayal of Zuko in Chapter 4, it was not my intention of making him appear weak or stupid. While this excuse may not convince you of how Severus managed to trick him, the scene was supposed to represent that Severus could be smart and that Zuko can have his anger problems (since this is back when he was younger and at the start of the series), a way to form a rivalry between the two. And yes, you are right about Severus's description, but that's what was supposed to throw Zuko off guard a little bit, giving him the element of surprise. And yes, you are right that Zuko would have burnt him alive for what he said, on that I will give you. In all honesty, it was just supposed to be a badass moment for Severus. But I hope this chapter helped make up for that. Once again, I apologize, it wasn't my intention to portray Zuko in the light you saw him in (as he is one of my favorite characters too).
Okay, well, I'm heading to bed now. Hope you guys enjoyed reading, and I'll see you in Chapter 8! ;)