== ZECHARIAH AVERY ==
Perhaps one of the most gifted students of his class, Zechariah Avery left Hogwarts and immediately joined the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable; one of the most secretive and confidential positions in the wizarding world. It was during his short time here that he decided that he wanted something... more for himself. The Statute of Secrecy was one such thing that he did not agree with and was rather vocal about it, even to the point of being fired from his position in the Department of Mysteries and almost being sent to Azkaban as a result.
The fact that his own blood was one of those pureblood supremacist families that considered half-blood wizards to be inferior and muggle-borns to be a blight on the wizarding world did not help matters much either. Much like the rest of his family, he had been sorted into Slytherin as his first year at Hogwarts began. However, he did not agree with or even tolerate the pureblood extremist views of his family which constantly put him at odds with them to the point where he was disowned by them shortly after being fired from the Ministry and told never to return
Now completely isolated and beyond infuriated that the 'intolerance', as he so succinctly put it, of some of the wizarding world was acceptable and went unpunished was something that he did not agree with and to show his displeasure with certain aspects of wizarding law, Avery defied the wizarding community and chose to live amongst and blend in with a muggle community in Yorkshire. It was while there that Zechariah heard about an explorer named James Cook. Having been shunned by the wizarding community for his actions in living with muggle society and yearning for adventure elsewhere, Zechariah was enlisted into the British Royal Navy and was placed under this aging military commander's leadership.
Through conversations with his fellow crewmates, Zechariah learned about different island nations that Captain Cook found himself in ('discovered' as he'd put it, but how do you discover something that already has people who hold rightful claims to it?) such as Tahiti and the Friendly Islands as he called them. To Zechariah's surprise and delight, the captain of the ship H.M.S. had included Zechariah's name on the list of crew members who would be with the captain during the upcoming seafaring expedition that was scheduled to return a Tahitian named Omai to his homeland.
Though he had to keep his magical powers hidden, Zechariah Avery still managed to provide himself with a few concealed comforts whilst aboard, which was more than majority of his fellow crew members could say. The journey enlightened Avery who previously had never ventured outside of Great Britain. The native, almost primitive people he'd met along the way were friendly indeed, welcoming the captain and his crew warmly.
"Captain! Land ahead!" a scout shouted from his perch, which surprised the ship's commander. Peering at his own maps, he looked through the windows of his cabin. Sure enough, there was a mass of land straight ahead of him that appeared nowhere on his own cartographic illustrations. Excitement overcame him as he realized that the land that was announced was a new discovery. He ordered his second mate to set the ship's course to circle the now more than one island that now surrounded them.
Zechariah was amazed. As the ship passed each island in this mysterious new area, he found himself actually reminded of both Tahiti and Tonga where they had just previously visited. Yet, this place was not either of those, that Zechariah was for certain. He also sensed a sort of magical energy beating from one of the nearby islands, but could not pinpoint where it was coming from. He only knew that it existed and he too now found himself rather excited at the prospect of truly discovering a source of magic far outside of Great Britain's realm.
Now all he had to do was find it.
To the utter surprise of the captain and crew, the primitive people of these islands appeared overjoyed and exuberant in their greetings the moment the ship was docked and anchored. Garlands of many fresh and heavily-scented flowers were draped around the necks of both the captain and the crew as they were encouraged to join what appeared to be a festival with many of the island's delicacies available for consumption. Zechariah noted that, though many of the prepared dishes were similar to those of Tahiti and Tonga, there were still noticeable differences in the flavor and texture. The young wizard still thoroughly enjoyed the feast and festivities that they'd been invited to.
The captain was given a prominent place at the festival feast, seated where the guest of honour would normally be. Using his skill of legilimency, Zechariah quickly understood what was happening. Due to the way they'd arrived and how they went about navigating the islands before disembarking, coupled with the way the masts of the ship H.M.S. Resolution appeared, these natives believed the captain to be their festival god Lono to have returned to celebrate with them.
Zechariah couldn't help but stare at his captain and commander in confusion. The captain was fair-skinned, did not speak a word of this land's native tongue and didn't seem to question how or why these things were happening. Yet these natives truly believed him to be this god of the festival due to a few coincidences. It made absolutely no sense to him, but then again muggles still confused him quite a bit, so he merely wrote it off as a muggle issue.
It was during this festival that Captain Cook also declared the islands to be the Sandwich Islands, so named after the fourth Earl of Sandwich; the fourth Lord of the Admiralty of the British Royal Navy. This too also confused Avery since he also realized that these natives already had a name for their homeland, which the wizard heard as Ha-vy-ee. He had absolutely no clue what it meant, but he did know one thing: Captain James Cook practically named an area and said he 'discovered' this Ha-vy-ee and the island they found themselves in particular called Cow-eye-ee.
When it came time for the H.M.S. Resolution to prepare to set sail once more, Zechariah still had not succeeded in locating the source of magical energies that he'd sensed when they arrived. He also was in no hurry to return to Great Britain, indeed he wouldn't be the least bit sad if he never actually saw the place again. He had also come to fancy one or two of the native women here. So he did the only sensible thing he could think of:
He hid until both ship and crew were gone.
Once he saw the Resolution disappear off into the horizon, Zechariah continued his search for the mysterious source of magical energies. His drive to succeed was bolstered by the power he'd felt surging from one of the islands that day; he'd never sensed anything like it. That made it even more imperative to him that he find where it was coming from. Such power could only be channeled forward by a wizard or wizards of immense power and ability and he was extremely eager to find out just who possessed such power.
During this time, Zechariah slowly began to learn the language and customs of the people who readily welcomed him as one of their own once it was discovered that he'd chosen to remain behind (though he told no one exactly WHY he chose so), even being welcomed into the royal court of Kamakahelei and serving her as an advisor. He'd also found out in this time that the chain of islands he now called home was called Hawai'i by the natives, meaning 'homeland' in the Polynesian dialect.
During a visit to Kealakekua on O'ahu at the behest of Kaua'i's ruling 'ali'i (chief), Avery discovered with utter dismay that Captain Cook and his crew had in fact returned to the islands after the ship was nearly destroyed in a storm. The wizard found himself watching a rather interesting scene play itself out as the commanding officer of the ship H.M.S. Resolution attempted to kidnap Kalaniopu'u, the ruling chief of the island of O'ahu.
As a kahuna, or priest of one of Hawai'i's many deities, began to chant fervently in their native tongue in an attempt to distract the captain, Zechariah delved into the naval commander's memories and discovered that the Hawaiian people had retaliated against him and his crew, prompting the British captain to abduct the island king in revenge. Making certain that none were paying him any mind, Zecariah levitated one of the heavy rocks of the bay and caused it to drop onto the captain's head, sending him sprawling face-first into the shoreline. The natives immediately pounced, killing both the captain and his remaining crewmates that didn't manage to escape in time.
Fearful that he had been watched while attempting to thwart the captain, Zechariah immediately disapparated back to a remote area of the island of Kaua'i and didn't mention a word of what had happened mere minutes before, only informing the ruling chief that Kalaniopu'u was unable to be found while he was there. Kamakahelei took the words of her foreign advisor without question, much to Avery's relief.
A few days later, a delegate of King Kalaniopu'u arrived on Kaua'i and presented Kamakahelei with a gift; a portion of the bones belonging to Captain Cook, which initially horrified Zechariah. Another member of the royal court then explained the significance behind the delivery when the young wizard inquired about it.
"The captain is Lono-o-ka-Makahiki (Lono of the Makahiki). Kalaniopu'u distributed his bones amongst our highest 'ali'i because it is believed that as a god, these bones would possess much mana," 'Awakea, a fellow advisor to the king, explained, referring to Hawai'i's version of magical power. Himself being a well-taught and thoroughly trained student of wizardry, Zechariah immediately understood. Though he didn't quite believe the Hawaiians were correct in this rather far-fetched assumption, he felt that he had no right to question such things.
And so he did not.