A/N: I started this story as an exercise because I was writing an original story about an air elemental. Muse issues on that one too. When it rains it pours. I thought I would explore the abilities in a fanfiction story and see if that would help. So far, not so much.

Harry Potter, Air Bender
by Roff

CHAPTER ONE

Harry Potter was a strange child and his aunt and uncle knew it the first time they laid eyes on him. It was early in the morning on the first of November of 1981. Harry's uncle, Vernon Dursley, was heading out the front door to go to work and nearly stepped on 15 month old Harry as he lay in an oblong basket covered in a red with gold trim blanket.

When Vernon's foot bumped the basket, he had to stop and bend forward to see past his enormous belly. Seeing the child in the basket with a note in an envelope sitting on top, he immediately knew his first course of action.

"Petunia?" he called loudly behind him. "You best come quickly," he sounded ominous.

"What is it Vernon?" she asked worriedly as she came out of the kitchen carrying a large toddler, Harry's cousin Dudley, who was a few months older than himself.

Vernon stepped aside and gestured down toward Harry in the basket.

Petunia's mouth opened in shock but no sound came out.

"There's a note," Vernon informed her.

Petunia stood Dudley on the floor in the lounge. He promptly sat down and crawled toward a toy he spotted while his mother approached the child in the basket sitting on their outside front door welcome mat. She noted that the child had wild black hair like her sister's husband.

She approached the child in a slow, cautious manner as if she was afraid it would do something she would regret. When she finally knelt down to examine the child she found that there seemed to be a breeze stirring around him.

She looked up and saw no wind moving anything. The air was very still outside, yet the small child had a small breeze moving his hair gently. She suspected that if the red blanket had not been tucked around him tightly, it would be moving too.

While she was staring at him, his eyes opened and she saw the brightest green eyes she had not seen in a good while. They were the exact same eyes and color as Lily's and their father's. He may take after his father, James, in the hair and face but there was no mistaking the eyes came from his mother and his grandfather too, she was thinking.

Then the breeze moved the fringe off his forehead and she noted a scar above his right eye that looked exactly like a lightning bolt. It was still a bit red like it was a recent injury.

Worried now about what might have happened she picked up the envelope and opened it to read the letter inside. It quickly told her of her sister and brother-in-law's death at the hand of a dark wizard. Somehow her nephew, Harry Potter, was the only one that survived the encounter and since she was his only living relative then Harry had been brought to her to raise in her sister's stead. It also told her that bringing the child into her home would activate some strong magical protections to protect them and Harry from dark wizards.

Petunia quickly picked up the basket and brought the child inside out of the cold. She then explained to Vernon who he was and what happened. He was worried about the boy being a bother since he came from a magical family but Petunia assured him that she had things well under control. He should go to work and let her deal with the new addition to their family.

Vernon started to complain some more after hearing that but when he saw his wife tearing up over the loss of her sister, crying out "I can't believe my sister is dead," he wisely left to get in his car and head to the office.

Petunia sat down heavily on the floor next to her nephew in his basket and cried her eyes out at the loss of her sister, Lily Potter nee Evans. She wanted to be mad at the magical world for killing her sister but she knew that would be counterproductive for raising Harry. She only had to look at him and knew he would be just as magical as his parents.

She wasn't sure about the breeze but figured it was some obscure magical thing she wasn't familiar with. It didn't seem to bother little Harry at all.

When she was crying she noted him turning his head toward her to look at her and he seemed concerned. Her own son, Dudley, stood up carefully on his feet and walked for the first time, with a little bit of wobble, over to his mother and gave her a hug to make her feel better.

She certainly wasn't expecting that and praised him for walking, giving him a big hug and kiss as a reward. He was a little behind on that so was happy he finally did it. She then looked down at Harry and started pulling the blanket out from around him.

Dudley decided to help.

"Dudley, this is your cousin. His name is Harry. Let's help him out of his basket and see if he can walk as well as you. If not then you'll have to be mommy's good boy and help teach him."

Once they had him free Petunia picked Harry up out of the basket and hugged him to her while she still sat on the floor. Harry wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her back.

"You poor dear," she said as they hugged. "I'm your Aunt Petunia, Harry, and I'll be taking care of you from now on."

After they hugged for a while, she turned him and sat him on her lap indicating her son in front of them who had also sat back down. "That's Dudley. He's my son and he's your cousin."

Both boys smiled at each other, although Harry's smile was a bit hesitant. Petunia moved Harry to the floor in front of her and turned him loose, watching to see if he crawled are stood up by himself. However, he didn't move at all. He seemed content to just sit there.

Deciding she needed to know how far along he was, Petunia picked up Harry under his arms from behind and stood up from the floor, helping Harry to stand too. She then let him go on his own to see what he would do.

Harry turned his head and looked up at his aunt behind him before turning back around and looking at his cousin who was standing back up and gaining his balance all over again.

"Can you walk by yourself, Harry?" asked Petunia as she walked over to the toy box in the corner and started pulling out toys for them to play with. She then looked at them. "Come on over and play with the toys," she encouraged them.

Dudley started toddling over a little unsteady but walking nonetheless. Harry watched as Dudley walked over before he walked over too. Petunia was shocked when Harry walked like he'd been doing it all his life. He was steady as a rock and very light on his feet.

She didn't know it then, but that was the second thing indicating what her nephew would be. The first indicator was the constant breeze around him.


When Harry was four he would sometimes entertain Dudley and himself by making a toy zoom around in the air.

When he was eight he had to deal with some bullies at school. Harry would use his air abilities though and they could never catch him or lay a hand on him. One time while he was getting away from them he used the wind to carry him up on the roof of the school building. He then ran to the other side before floating himself down to the ground again.

He just made sure no one saw him when he used his air abilities. He always felt he should keep that a secret from everyone. A lot of that had to do with his parents teaching him to hide his magic and his air talent since he was showing those abilities early. That teaching stuck with him so he naturally knew to do that. He didn't use it in front of his cousin anymore either.

Harry often went off by himself to find a secluded spot to work on his control over air. At night, in his bedroom, he would do smaller things to work on his control more.

When Harry was nine his Uncle Vernon died of a heart attack. It was a difficult time for his Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley but they managed to make it through the ordeal. Vernon was very much obese and his health suffered because of it. He never spent much time with his nephew because he was always wary of magic. However, since his wife treated Harry as well as she did Dudley, he made sure to not make a fuss about his concerns.

One good thing that happened from Vernon's death was the life insurance policy he had taken out with his employer. It was worth over a million pounds once paid out. Vernon made good money and the premiums for the insurance were paid automatically out of his paycheck.

This set up Petunia and the boys quite well financially. In addition, there was no house note to pay. It was a gift from Lily and James Potter when Petunia and Vernon got married. Petunia decided to just raise the two boys for now and maybe start a business for herself when Dudley was older and could manage more on his own.

After he turned ten, Harry started checking out the local library. He researched to find information on air elementals, which were sometimes called air benders. It was all fiction, but the ideas the writers came up with for the person to use their air abilities helped give him ideas of more things to try for himself.

On his eleventh birthday, which was the last day of July in 1991, Harry received his expected letter from Hogwarts. An owl brought it to him and dropped it off. His Aunt Petunia had already told him all about his parents, although more about his mother, and that they used magic so she was sure he would too. Along with that, she made sure he was aware that he would be getting a letter to go to the same magic school his parents attended.

However, they had not heard from anyone at the school regarding taking Harry to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies. That was how his aunt Petunia remembered when Lily was sent her letter from Hogwarts. One of the professors showed up and took the family to that magical shopping area in London.

Petunia had gone with her sister several times after that when she had to get more supplies and new robes during the seven years she attended Hogwarts so it was not a problem for her to remember where the place was located.

After they checked the letter to see if anyone was going to be sent to go with him and explain things, they found nothing, so Petunia spoke up.

"I'll take you on Saturday, Harry. I remember where it's at."

"Thanks, Aunt Petunia. I'm glad you know how to get there."

"We'll get everything on your list and have you all sorted before the day is done, Harry," she assured him. "Of course, you'll have to hold my hand and I'll have to hold Dudley's when we get near the pub," she explained because she knew an eleven year old thought themselves too big to hold hands with a grown up. "We won't be able to see it at all since it's hidden from people with no magic. Your mother used to grab my hand or arm every time we got close to it," she told him, remembering.

"I can't wait to see it!" he said excitedly.

"It's pretty unique. I'll give you that," she said smiling at his enthusiasm.


Harry was shocked when a goblin at the bank showed him the vault his parents left him. His Aunt Petunia told him she was sure they had left him money for his schooling, but he was amazed at how much was in there. His aunt declined going down to the vault with him as she remembered the one time she went with Lily and vowed never ever to do that again. She also insisted Dudley stay with her.

After he experienced it, Harry didn't understand why she didn't want to join him. He thought the super-fast ride in the mine car was a whole lot of fun.

He was able to get everything on his list and purchase several extra books that he thought might be good to read. He also got his wand from the strange man in Ollivander's. That took a while. His aunt and cousin bought him a snowy white owl for him while he was being fitted for his wand. She wanted him to send letters to them while he was away so they could stay in touch and he could tell them how things were going at his new school.

When September first came around Harry was taken to King's Cross to catch the train to Hogwarts. They had already dropped Dudley off at his school that morning. His aunt showed him where the entrance was then had him watch some other magicals pass through the wall as if it wasn't there.

With a little encouragement from his aunt he hugged her goodbye and pushed his trolly through with himself right behind it. His owl Hedwig was perched on top in her cage. Harry had closed his eyes, afraid he was going to run into the wall instead of going through it but he didn't crash as he feared.

He came out the other side and immediately spotted a bright red engine sitting on some tracks. It wasn't a new train though, it was from an era long past. Although it looked freshly painted and brand new. It had quite a few cars attached to the back of it and steam was coming out from under the engine. It was appropriately named the "Hogwarts Express."

Many people were there and they were all dressed differently than the world he just left. Of course, he saw the same while he was in Diagon Alley. Kids of all ages were milling about, saying goodbye to their parents and getting on the train with their trunks and assorted pets.

Harry decided to wear a cap that covered his hair and scar. He found out how famous he was during his Diagon Alley trip. He didn't want all that attention so covered up two of his most noticeable features. Apparently, his hair was the same color, which was black, and stuck up easily just like his dad's did along with many other male potters in his ancestry. His scar was the one Voldemort gave him. Both were well known in the magical world so he covered them both up.

His eyes were a bright green like his mother's, also very noticeable, so he was wearing dark shades to help with that.

Most of the younger kids were getting help from older ones or working together to get their trunks up the stairs and onto the train. Harry simply used his air element to lift the trunk up while he held onto the handle, making it look like he was lifting it all by himself.

He looked around until he found a compartment that was empty. Once inside, he floated his trunk up above him to the rack where it was supposed to go to get it out of the way. He made sure no one was looking into the compartment before he did that.

Grabbing a comic book that was folded up and stuffed in his back pocket, he sat down and began to read. The comic book was about a hero that used all the elements to do amazing things. Harry was only really interested in the feats he did with air but some of the other elements were interesting too.

He had received a lot of good ideas from this particular hero. He had been following him and reading each edition that was sold since he discovered him. His allowance easily paid for the comic books. He was starting to see a lot of repetition though in the latest editions instead of new ways to use air, so Harry was thinking this may be the last one he buys.

Of course, it would be difficult to buy one while at Hogwarts anyway. He would just have to find something else to give him ideas. He had a lot he wanted to try and see if he can make them work but many of the ones he found in books and the comics he was not able to do, at least not yet. He hoped he could find a good place at Hogwarts to work on his air bending in private.

While reading his comic, he heard his door slide open so he looked up to see a slightly chubby boy with brown hair standing there. He held a large toad in his hand.

"D-Do you mind if I j-join you?" he asked timidly.

"No, not at all. Come on in," Harry said standing. "There's plenty of room. Here, let me help you with your trunk. I see you need to hang on to your toad. He looks like he wants to escape."

"This is Trevor. He always wants to escape. Oh, my trunk his heavy!" he quickly said when he saw Harry grab it to put it up.

He was shocked when the boy easily lifted it up by himself and stored it away in the rack. He didn't notice Harry using the air to help him.

Once he had the trunk situated, Harry took off his sunglasses and hat then turned to the new boy.

"Hi! I'm Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you," he said holding out his hand to shake.

The boy shook his hand and asked in shock, "Are you really?"

"Yes! Quite sure of it actually."

"Sorry. My name is Neville Longbottom. Our families have been quite close for many generations. In fact, my parents were friends with your parents. They all went to Hogwarts at the same time. "

"Wow! I seem to learn something new every day," Harry told him, "but I think that's a good thing. Thanks for letting me know."

"Sure. By the way, your mother was named as my godmother and my mum was named as yours."

"Interesting, though I'm very sorry you lost your godmother, Neville."

"Yes, but she was your mother so I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thanks, but I don't really remember them. Believe me, I've tried but I was only 15 months old so no luck there. Do you think I could meet your mother some time?" He asked but saw a strange look come over Neville's face. "Well, I'm assuming your parents weren't killed like mine. They weren't were they?" he asked worriedly. He then added quickly, "I'm sorry but no one's told me anything about my godmother."

"No, both my parents are still alive and I'd be happy to let you meet them, Harry. It's just… well… it's difficult to talk about," he said hesitantly.

"Take your time, Neville. You don't have to speak of it if you don't want to, but since you told me your mum is my godmother then I would like to know what happened to them. It's important to me."

"You have a right to know, Harry. You see, after your parents were killed by You-Know-Who and he was defeated, some of his followers came to my house a few days later. They attacked my parents and tortured them so much that they lost their minds. They live at St. Mungos in the permanent spell damage ward. I think my mum recognizes me some, especially since my grandmother takes us to go visit them on a regular basis. My father though seems to be worse off. He never indicates he recognizes me or his own mother for that matter."

"I'm so sorry, Neville. You know, in a way, what happened to your parents is much worse than what happened to mine, especially for you."

"I still like seeing them and spending a little time with them. I know they can't be the parents I want them to be, but it's not their fault."

"Neville, I'm going to tell you something that my aunt has assured me of on several occasions. Although I can't remember my parents, she assures me that they loved me with all their heart. If they could still be here to take care of me then they would be. Your parents, I'm positive, felt the same way about you before they were hurt and in their own way they still love you dearly. I'm sure of that."

"Thanks, Harry," he said quietly.

"Aunt Petunia is my mum's sister but she doesn't have any magic. My aunt and cousin that I live with are both mundanes. No magic whatsoever, but they gave a me a good home. My aunt especially made sure I was loved and assured me that my parents did the same when they were alive. She even told me that they were likely watching over me all the time simply because they love me so much."

"Since I'll be in school now, my grandmother and I will have to go visit my parents during the Christmas break and again during summer. You're welcome to go with us any time, Harry."

"I'll do that. Thanks, Neville."

"So, let me change the subject. What house do you think you'll be in, Harry?"

"I don't really know. I don't know enough about the houses so I'm not sure. I know you get sorted into one of them but no one told me how it's done or what the houses are like. Do you know which house you'll likely be joining?"

"Both yours and my parents were in Gryffindor and I would like to be in Gryffindor too, but it's the house of the bold, the brave, the daring, the chivalrous. Most likely I'll be put in Hufflepuff," he said dejectedly.

"What's Hufflepuff?" asked Harry.

"It's the house of the loyal, patient, just, and hardworking. They also stick together somewhat like a pack, I understand."

"That doesn't sound too bad. Loyal, patient, just, and hardworking are very good qualities to have, but if you really want to be in Gryffindor then I don't see why you can't be."

"I'm not bold or brave or even daring."

"Maybe not now. Who knows what you'll be like in a few years? You never know when that confidence you need is going to kick in and make everyone sit up and notice. Plus, whatever they do or use to sort us would have to be something that can see what we can become. We're only eleven right now and I doubt any eleven year old is already who they're going to be."

"You sound really smart, Harry. You could end up in Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw is for the nerds?" Harry asked.

"I don't know what a nerd is but Ravenclaw house values intelligence, learning, wisdom, and wit," he quoted from memory.

"Definitely sounds suspiciously like nerds, which are typically smart people who like to learn and make themselves smarter."

"Then I guess Ravenclaws are nerds as you suggested."

"What's the last house?" asked Harry. "I know there's four of them."

"Slytherin. They tend to be cunning, ambitious, and resourceful, perhaps even clever."

"Reminds me of politicians, especially the ambitious part," replied Harry. "What happens if you show traits from all four houses? How then would you be sorted?"

"I'm not really sure but they must have some way of getting you sorted no matter how many traits you have."

"I suppose they would. They might even take in consideration where the student wants to go. Do you think that's possible, Neville?"

"Maybe. It would be nice if we had some input to where we get sorted."

They continued to talk and get to know each other for a good while. Finally, the conversation trailed off as they busied themselves with reading.

Harry noticed Trevor the toad was trying to make a run for it when the trolley lady with snacks to sell came by and opened the door to ask if they wanted anything. Neville wasn't aware of what his toad's intentions were. He was focused on picking out what he wanted to snack on.

Harry used his wind element to keep Trevor from escaping. He tried to hop forward out the door but was pushed back instead by a wind blocking his path. When he kept at it Harry changed tactics and lifted him barely off the floor with a current of wind so he couldn't get any traction.

Neville got what he wanted, so Harry told him, "You'd better put Trevor up. He's trying to escape on us."

Neville rolled his eyes and put down his snacks on the seat so he would have his hands free. Before Neville started looking for him, Harry turned Trevor around to face the other direction and moved him further into the compartment close to Neville's feet so it looked like he hopped that way. The trolley hid his actions from the trolley lady.

Harry did all this while looking over the products for sell. He decided to try the chocolate frogs and a cauldron cake. He passed on the Licorice Wands, Pumpkin Pastries, Every Flavor Beans, and Droobles Best Blowing Gum. Maybe he'd try them another time, he thought to himself.

While they ate their snacks, Harry put his cap and glasses back on, explaining to Neville how he doesn't care for his fame at all. Neville nodded in understanding.

It was a good thing because a first year with white slicked back hair, followed by two bigger boys, came by looking for Harry Potter. He opened the sliding door and looked in on them. He glanced briefly at Harry but turned to Neville before asking a question.

"Longbottom, do you know where Harry Potter is?" he asked. "He should be on the train but I haven't been able to find him."

Neville just shook his head, not saying anything.

The boy rolled his eyes. "I don't know why I expected you to know anything, Longbottom." He then left just as abruptly as he arrived.

"Who was that git, Neville?"

"That was Draco Malfoy. His family is very rich and he has the misguided belief of thinking he's better than everyone else."

"Oh, he's one of those, eh? Well, thanks for not revealing who I am."

"No problem, Harry. Anytime. We god-brothers have to stick together."

Harry smiled at his new friend.


Both boys ended up in Gryffindor. The hat did say Harry could go into any house but he already saw Malfoy go into Slytherin and he didn't care for his attitude. He also wasn't fond of politicians and the house attributes reminded him of them.

Neville was sorted into Gryffindor just like he wanted so Harry requested it too, especially since he knew that was where his parents were sorted when they were at Hogwarts.

They ended up rooming with three other boys who were nice enough. There was Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas. They got to know each other a bit at the opening feast and in their shared dorm before it was time to go to sleep. Classes started the next day since they arrived on a Sunday.