After feeding Hagrid every story in the book as to how the Avatar and his friends seemed to be so close to the mysterious beast in the forest, the gang had returned to the head's suite, exhausted. Harry ran his hands over his face for what felt like the twentieth time.
"So, does someone want to explain what is going on?" Harry said.
"Oh…" Aang started when they heard a tapping on the window. Aang looked out to see Momo sitting on the ledge, his hands full of something. Aang smiled, quickly striding over to open the window.
Harry was apprehensive of the bat thing. It HAD just finished attacking him after all. He looked over to Ron who looked just as suspicious. Momo hopped in, cocking his head at the Golden Trio and Draco. It flew past Aang, landing on the back of the couch closest to where Ron was sitting. Ron quickly shot his gaze back and forth, from Harry to the bat, leaning away from it. Slowly, Momo hopped closer to Ron, eventually jumping up and landing on the table in front of him. Ron jumped back a bit at the animal's forwardness. Momo just looked at him, sticking out his tongue. Ron wasn't sure whether it was mocking him or just being an animal. Hermione smirked. The animal eventually set down what it had in its hands before quickly flying off and hiding behind Aang's head.
Ron inched towards the table. "Oh bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed at what Momo had left for him. Grubs, worms, and flies.
Aang laughed. "Looks like Momo is trying to make amends!" He announced, stroking Momo on the head. The animal squealed in response, as if it was trying to talk.
"Make amends?" Ron yelled. "The damn thing is trying to feed me bugs!"
Hermione smiled at Ron's impetuousness. "Well of course it is, Ron. It's an ANIMAL. That's probably what it eats. What it likes." She concluded logically. "Did you expect a plate of sausages? Some chocolate frogs perhaps?"
"At the very least…" Ron groaned, looking towards the animal trying to convey his thanks without grimacing. Ron pointed his wand at the "offering," trying to float it towards the trash when the animal growled. It flew through the air, grabbing the bugs out of the air and dropping them on Ron's lap. Apparently, Momo was trying to help Ron.
Ron groaned. "What does it expect me to do? Eat the bloody things?"
"Well Weasley, I would imagine this would be quite the feast for you, what with your humble beginnings and all." Draco sneered
"Sod off Malfoy." Ron said as an after thought, staring down at the bugs in his lap with dismay.
"I got it." Aang said, quickly walking over and grabbing the bugs off of Ron's lap, causing Ron to grimace in disgust. Aang walked over, feeding some of it to Momo, while trashing the rest when the animal wasn't looking.
Harry smirked at the whole situation. "So, WHAT just happened then?" He started again when, suddenly, Momo flew across the room and landed in Hermione's bushy brown hair. Hermione squealed at first, before laughing. Apparently, the animal had taken a liking to her. Ron jumped out of his seat, ready to help her when she waived him down, reaching up to attempt to pet the animal that had decided to nest in her head.
Aang laughed raucously. "Appa and Momo have been with me…with US for ages." Aang stated almost through tears from his laughing fit. "Appa is like my best friend. Haven't you ever had a pet that was…well, more than a pet to you?"
Harry's face fell at Aang's words. Hedwig.
Aang seemed to notice Harry's somber look, as he quickly continued. "Yea, Appa and Momo were with us on the Lion Turtle. I guess the light brought them here too…"Aang trailed off.
Just then, an animal jumped up on the couch and slinked towards Hermione, making careful note to step on Ron's groin in the process, causing him to grimace. The animal looked up at Momo, hissing.
Aang eyed the animal, it looked like a…giant cat. With a smooshed face. And it was PISSED.
"Bloody Hell, Devil Cat!" Ron yelled, trying in vain to push the heavy cat off of his…man parts. Crookshanks just swatted at his hands while continuing to hiss at Momo.
"Now, Crookshanks you must play nicely with Momo." Hermione admonished. Crookshanks jumped on the back of the couch, causing Ron to yelp from the pressure of his take off. The cat seemed to give Ron one final smack in the face with his tail, apparently for good measure, before slowly approaching the offending animal.
"Crookshanks…" Hermione trailed off, in what she thought was an authoritative tone.
Ron glared at the cat. "Hermione, since when has that damn thing ever listened to anyone! I swear, I think it's trying to kill me…"
"Ron, that's ridiculous…" Hermione stated shortly.
"Oh REALLY, what about that time he tried to smother me while I was sleeping? Since when do cats just SIT on people's faces? That thing is the bloody devil, it is!" Ron exclaimed. "I just don't understand why you think the sun shines out of that bloody thing's ars…"
"Ronald! Language please! People are going to think your some kind of barbarian!" Hermione said, her eyes in slits. "And for the record, let's not forget who helped Sirius Black get into Hogwarts, helped reveal the truth about Peter Pettigrew!"
"Oh yes, Hermione! That was LOVELY! I just LOVED getting my leg broken, almost getting eaten by a werewolf! Please tell me you and that bloody cat have another WONDERFUL surprise like that for my birthday? How will I get MAIMED then? Perhaps Crookshanks can just gauge my eyes out, maybe take a bloody crap in the sockets! CANT WAIT!" Ron was immediately regretful of those last sentences, upon remembering that Toph was blind.
Hermione seemed to pick up on his guilt, as she smiled smugly. "Well done, Ronald. Once again, you've outdone yourself in the 'class' department." She finished shortly.
"They fight a lot." Zuko whispered to Draco simply.
Draco shrugged. "She must be great in the sack or something." He whispered absentmindedly back to Zuko. "She would have to be…" He continued thoughtfully, Zuko rolled his eyes and blushed a bit at Draco's insinuation.
Just then Momo took off from Hermione's head, Crookshanks chasing after him vigorously. "CROOKSHANKS!" Hermione exclaimed, groaning apologetically at Aang.
Aang laughed. "Don't worry about it. Momo is very…clever when it comes to evading." He said, watching as Momo took off out the window, leaving an irritated Crookshanks in his wake.
Ron smirked. "Toooold you." He teased, a smug look on his face.
"Oh! Shut it Ronald! Hermione exclaimed, glaring at him. Ron always thought she was so cute when she was proven wrong. He smiled.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Well, as…random as that was. I guess we will just let the centaurs and Hagrid work on him until we can get back down to help Appa…" He trailed off.
"I will be seeing him everyday he is in there." Aang stated, crossing his arms in defiance. The seriousness of his tone was a bit unsettling. "With or without you."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Er…sure Aang whatever you want." He finished uncertainly, even after the all the commotion Aang had caused upon finding the animal, Harry still seemed to underestimate his bond with it. Then it hit him.
"Why were you glowing?" Harry blurted out, half trying to ease the tension, half trying to quell his curiosity.
"Oh…" Aang started, not sure how to continue. "It's the avatar state. I use it when I need to summon tremendous power…usually… the avatar state makes my tattoos glow, my eyes as well."
"Sooo, you needed to summon… 'tremendous power' for something?" Harry replied, worried.
"Well that's just it." Aang replied, "I don't know why it hit me. The way it used to work was that it was triggered by an extreme emotional state…before I learned to control it."
"Well, that's it isn't it?" Hermione interjected, surprised when everyone just looked at her in a confused manner. "Well…your tattoos start glowing and immediately after, you find Appa and Momo….you say he is more than a pet to you…"
Aang interrupted, "Yes, but the state isn't usually triggered until AFTER I see something that makes me emotional."
Hermione was pensive for a moment. "Well, maybe the Avatar state works differently here." She said thoughtfully, "Like a warning system or something, like Harry's scar used to do."
"Sorry? Harry's Scar?" Katara interjected.
Harry arched an eyebrow, absentmindedly running his hand along his forehead, across the scar that seemed to be a dead symbol of a tumultuous era. "Yea…my scar used to hurt whenever danger was near. Used to burn."
Zuko raised his eyebrow. "Burn…like a warning system." He mumbled.
"But…but how can the function of something just…CHANGE." Ron said, confused as always.
Hermione didn't have an answer for him. It was just a theory after all. "I don't know, but personally, I'm not so sure if it's changing so much as we're just discovering a new function for it…to be sure I would have to go to the…"
"Library." Harry, Ron, and Draco interjected. Causing Hermione to glare at them.
She continued, "And even then, I doubt we will find anything. Why would there be information on the happenings of another world in our library…" Hermione trailed off.
Katara stood for a moment. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to try…I'll go with you! Maybe I could help. Sokka, you've always been good at investigating things…" She finished casually, trying to recruit more people.
Sokka perked up upon hearing his name, "Sokka's good at what now?" Apparently, either Sokka was lost in thought or not paying attention.
Katara rolled her eyes, let the bullshit commence, "Yes, Sokka, you have always been…GREAT at solving mysteries. Like in the town of Chen, or at the Northern Air Temple. You could be of great assistance!" She said, really laying it on thick.
Sokka rubbed his chin, slowly pulling something out of his pocket and putting it in his mouth. As he puffed on it, bubbles flew out. Katara rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe he was still carrying around that dragon pipe.
"Yes… I have been known to solve a mystery or two…"Sokka mumbled in a somewhat inflated manner. "TO THE LIBRARY!"
Hermione laughed. "Not right now Sokka, as it is we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow. First day of classes and all." Hermione's face lit up at her own statement.
Ron smiled. "Yes, my Hermione LOVES school." He neglected to mention that he, in turn, loved that about her.
Hermione smirked at him, "Problem, Ronald?"
"No dear." He replied. No, he didn't have a problem with it at all.
Harry was thoughtful. "You keep saying 'before you could control the avatar state'. Could you not always control it? What happened when you couldn't control it?" He asked, thinking about the story of Ariana Dumbledore.
Aang looked around apprehensively at the Avatar gang. Not sure if he should answer.
Katara did instead. "Well…he sort of…destroyedeverythinginhispath." She blurted out quickly.
Harry's eyebrows almost went into the back of his head. He swallowed. "And…how long have you been able to control it?" He asked cautiously.
Aang looked at the floor. "About a year maybe…" He trailed off.
Harry looked at Ron, who returned his worried gaze. Well, one thing was for sure. The new and most important rule, while Aang was around? Never piss off the Avatar.
…
Zuko woke up in the middle of the night, willing himself to focus his eyes at the dying fire in front of him. Zuko couldn't sleep with the curtains drawn. One never knew what lurked just outside of them. He rolled to the side and was surprised to see Draco, standing, pointing that stick thing at his bed and muttering something. Zuko stayed stock still, not sure if making his presence known would make it look like he had been watching Draco all this time. Like a stalker. Quietly, Draco walked over to his bathroom and clicked the door closed. From outside, Zuko could hear water rushing. Was he…washing himself? In the middle of the night? Zuko thought it rather odd…rather suspicious. Slowly, Zuko crept up to the bathroom door, pressing his ear against it. Sure, he felt like a bit of a pervert, but he had to know if the Draco kid was up to something. Then he heard something that immediately made him feel uncomfortable. Sniffling, weeping. Was he…crying? Why would he be crying? Aren't people usually excited about the first day of school? Well, sure, Zuko HIMSELF had never been that excited about going to school. Mostly because his father made him feel like a failure all the time. But he never CRIED about it. He was broken out of his thoughts by banging. Draco was banging on the wall. His sobs getting louder. Zuko stumbled backwards, horrified. He did NOT want to be standing out in the open like this when Draco got out. There was NO WAY he was going to COMFORT the boy. He wasn't ready to do that with ANYONE. Let alone a relative stranger. Quickly, he hopped back into his bed just as the water stopped. He listened as Draco exited the bath. Zuko pretended to be asleep, only opening his eyes by mere millimeters to observe him. Suddenly, Draco turned towards him, and although Zuko couldn't tell, he could have sworn the boy was looking at him, studying him. Zuko played it off as best he could, even pretending to let out a fake snore. Eventually, Draco turned away from him, crawling back beyond the curtains of his own bed and out of sight.
Zuko turned on his back, the blanket bunching around his shirtless abdomen. So the boy…cried at night? Zuko cringed at the thought of it. It wasn't as if Zuko had never cried before. He remembered the night when he begged Uncle's forgiveness, he almost fell apart at the sight of Uncle's back turned to him. But Zuko had a reason to cry, to be emotional. It would seem that THIS boy just woke up in the night…crying. It was odd, uncomfortable. Zuko closed his eyes, trying to brush off the event and will himself back to sleep, when it hit him. Of course! Zuko thought. It was so obvious to him now. Tomorrow was the first day of school. The first day when Draco would have to be forced to be around a bunch of students who, essentially, hated him. Before now, Draco could hide in his room…or Potter's suite- dammit, now he was calling him Potter too- and be essentially safe from ridicule. Zuko sighed softly, contemplating the story of Draco's past. He supposed Draco was just nervous, Zuko supposed he was lucky in comparison. He had managed to recognize his mistake and change sides before it was too late. Zuko returned a hero, for all intensive purposes. Draco, well he had not been so lucky. Draco was forced to err on the side of wrong because his family's life depended on it. Zuko had no one's life to fear for but his own. Zuko shook his head, trying to shake off his realization. He figured once the students calmed down, things would be better for Draco. No more uncomfortable night cries. Yes, Draco was just nervous, that was all.
…
Ron sat up in his bed in the early morning hours of the new day. He had woken up early, on his own, once again contemplating what the day had in store for him. Ron had never really wanted to return to Hogwarts. He wanted to go straight into the Auror program, figuring that they would have to accept him, seeing as how he had more than proven his worth at the Battle of Hogwarts. Indeed, Kingsley had invited Harry, Ron and Hermione to begin Auror training immediately. Hermione, however, had refused. Saying she had no interest in becoming an Auror, deciding that she wanted to finish her education and go in a different direction. Ron couldn't fathom leaving Hermione so soon, not after they had finally gotten together. Hermione insisted that he do what he felt was right for him. That, even though she would miss him terribly and worry about him constantly, she didn't want him to resent her for hindering his own dreams. Ron had decided that he could wait another year to become an Auror, Hermione WAS his dream. He desperately wanted one year with her to himself, before going off on the three year arse kicking that was Auror training. Harry had decided to join them. He never said why, but Ron suspected it was a bit of separation anxiety mixed with not wanting to miss the experience of being a senior at Hogwarts, a place that meant a great deal to Harry. They had all been together so long, Ron didn't think Harry was quite ready to pull away. Hell, Ron wasn't ready to pull away. He didn't want to enter the program with Harry a whole year ahead of him, he wanted Harry by his side as they experienced the tribulations of training. Ron was secretly grateful of Harry's decision, although he would never admit it. Ron was shook out of his contemplation by movement outside his curtains. He looked at the watch his mother had given him. 7:00 am. Breakfast would begin in an hour. He popped his head out to see Sokka, sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes, and a smaller figure (probably Toph) walking into the bathroom. Ron was surprised at how easily they woke up so early. Ron was surprised that he HIMSELF had woken up so early. He threw his curtains open.
Sokka looked over at Ron lazily. "Hey Ron. How'd ya sleep?" He asked through his own sleepiness.
Ron smiled. "Fine, I suppose. You? I see you and Toph don't need any help getting up, yea?"
Sokka chuckled. "No, I guess not. Not with the kind of schedule we used to have to keep…"
"Oh? And what was that?" Ron asked casually, stretching his long legs over the edge of the bed.
"The 'get up or die' schedule." Sokka finished, chuckling as he stretched himself out.
Ron looked at him for a moment. Yes, he supposed he knew how that felt. He changed the subject. "So, you looking forward to classes today?"
Sokka smirked. Did he ever look forward to anything that could be construed as school? "I guess. Not really a 'go to school' kind of guy, if you get my drift."
Ron laughed. "Yea, I know exactly how that is." He walked over to his trunk, throwing out two of his school uniforms. He pointed his wand at it, trying to shorten one to an acceptable length for Sokka. He walked over to his fireplace, throwing some floo powder in. "Ginny!" He yelled. There was a pause for moment before Ginny responded.
"Whaaaaaat!" She said, the sleep still evident in her voice.
"You have an extra uniform?" He asked, blushing as he heard snickering from what he could only assume were the other girls in the room. How would he explain that?
Ginny seemed to solve that problem for him. "Oh yes, Hermione said she would pick them up from you…" She paused, probably wondering how scandalous that sounded. "Tell her I'm sorry I couldn't drop them off last night."
Ron smiled at his sister's quick thinking. "Yea..er, no problem. Just drop them off here before you head to breakfast." With that he pulled his head out of the floo. "Looks like I'll have to alter Toph's too. I might have a future in the seamstress business…"
Sokka arched his eyebrow at Ron. "Yea, I don't know about that one buddy." He answered, gesturing at the too high hems on his "altered pants," his ankles exposed.
Ron grinned a toothy smile. "Right, well take em off then. We'll try again…"
…
Harry sat in the Great Hall. A worried expression on his face. It was 8:15am, and neither Ron nor Draco had yet to arrive with their party. Ernie McMillian strided over to Harry, sitting down across from him.
"Hello there, Kuzon!" McMillian exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. Harry looked at him and then over to Aang, who smiled warmly at McMillian. Harry returned his attention back to the door. What was with this guy and Aang?
"Hello Ernie." Aang replied. "What's going on with you?"
"I researched meditation in the library the other day! It's interesting stuff. Really deep! I would love to talk to you about it!" Ernie pressed.
Harry didn't have the heart to tell McMillian to sod off, as his mind was preoccupied at the moment. He engaged him, hoping this conversation would take his mind off of his worrying. "Oh yea, Ernie? Thinking about taking it up then?" He exclaimed, in what may have sounded a little too overly excited.
McMillian didn't notice. "Dunno!" He said, "I think it looks cool. 'Spose to relieve stress and all that. The book I read says it's really hard…"
Harry wasn't listening, he was looking through McMillian, nodding and making noises at various times to give the illusion that he was listening. Where the hell were they? Breakfast would be over in about 45 minutes.
"Yes, many of the great monks could meditate for four days…" Harry heard Aang say in the background. When suddenly Harry perked up, seeing Ron enter the great hall with his gang.
"Oh, thank you, Jesus H. Christ!" Harry exclaimed, flying out of his seat. Causing Aang and Ernie to look over at him curiously. "Er…thank you for meditation. Yes, I am…so happy about that…" He said, slowly sitting down again.
Ron, Sokka, and Toph made their way through the crowd, sitting down next to Harry. "Hey mate." Ron said casually, looking around the table for something to stuff his face with, Sokka did the same.
"Where have you been!" Harry whispered feverishly.
"Mate…breakfast just started 15 minutes ago…" Ron finished, looking at Harry like he had a blast ended skrewt coming out of his mouth.
"Well…" Harry struggled, "Well… I would think you would be EARLY. Today is an important day, Ron!"
"Why, you becoming a woman today?" Ron finished, Sokka had rubbed off on him too much. "You sound like Hermione." He finished quietly, a grin on his face. He hoped to Merlin Hermione hadn't heard that.
Harry rolled his eyes at him, about to tear him a new one when he saw Draco walk into the Great Hall, trailed by Zuko, covered in…something.
Draco sat down, and though he was covered somewhat in slime, he had a…satisfied look on his face.
"What happened to you, Malfoy?" Ron said, smirking.
Malfoy sneered back. "Well Weeeaaasley, if you must know. It would seem that the pranks started a little early this year."
Ron looked around, amused. "What pranks? You seem to be the only one covered in goo."
Zuko smirked, "You should see the other guy." He finished, Zuko was mysteriously clean.
"Sorry?" Harry said.
Draco grinned, waving his wand to erase all traces of the goo. Harry arched an eyebrow. When had Malfoy become so good at cleansing spells?
"Well, Potter, let's just say whoever did it, wasn't so great with spells, cloak set on fire as soon as he did it. Must have screwed up the incantation…" Draco trailed off, sticking a fork in his eggs.
Harry shrugged, he supposed there were bigger things to worry about. Aang and McMillian were still deep in discussion, apparently talking about the pros and cons of form in meditation, when Harry noticed Luna float into the hall. Harry gestured for her to come over, to which she willingly obliged.
"Hello Harry." She said upon arrival, she turned towards Draco. "Oh Draco, that was just dreadful what they did to you in the hall. Not very nice at all, I suppose. Probably driven mad by Larconinnies. They make you do the craziest things…"
Draco looked into Luna's big eyes. "Sure..Larconinnies." He said weakly, immediately turning back to his eggs. "Doesn't matter anyway, bloke set himself on fire." He trailed off.
Luna smiled. "No. I don't think so." She finished mysteriously.
Draco looked up at her again. "Yes, he did. I saw it myself." He said, trying to control his tone.
"No. I'm afraid your just a bit mistaken." She replied, smiling at him before taking a quick seat next to Hermione.
He sighed. Draco just accepted it. You just gotta accept it.
…
They all walked through the corridors to the Dungeons for NEWT potions with Professor Slughorn. As non-chalantly as they could, they gathered in a corner near the classroom door.
"Ok." Harry began. "Potions shouldn't be too difficult. All they have to do is put in the right ingredients and stir. If any incantations are necessary, we'll handle that part. I'll try to distract Slughorn as much as I can, should any magic need to be used." Harry finished in a very business-like tone.
Hermione continued. "I've looked over the syllabus, we'll be drafting Solomon's Concoction today, it doesn't necessitate the use of spell work, mostly just mixing and measuring. We should be alright." She finished, a pleased look on her face.
Sokka started softly, "Alright gang, let's get in there and make it happen. Roll up our sleeves, round the ponybears, and kick the mooselion before it get's too big. WE CAN DO THIS, HANDS IN TEAM AVATAR AND TEAM POTTER! TEAM AVAPOTTER! LET'S DO THIS!" He finished almost yelling, a manic look in his eye, causing the other students to look over in alarmed interest.
"…Wow." Toph said, for the first time his stupidity had rendered her speechless.
"Er…let's go I guess." Harry finished, this was going to be a disaster.
They walked into the classroom, Harry, Hermione, Aang, Katara, and Ginny at one table; Ron, Sokka, Toph, Draco, Zuko and Luna at the adjacent table. Ron groaned at not being able to be at a table with Hermione, she was amazing at potions. How did he get saddled with TWO people while everyone else got one.
Professor Slughorn entered the classroom jovially, winking at the two tables occupied by Team Avapotter and friends. Soon, his general smile was less certain as he eyed the newcomers. How many students had returned to Hogwarts after the war? He started to look down at his class list when Harry caught wind and interrupted, "So Professor! What will we be brewing today?" He asked manically, "I've always loved your potions ideas!"
Slughorn smiled, instantly forgetting what he was doing. "Harry, my boy, I enjoy teaching you as much as you enjoy learning! I hope to see you at the gathering in my quarters in several weeks!" He looked around the classroom, quickly revising his statement. "The exclusive gathering, of course."
"Oh certainly, Professor." Harry replied, earning him several glares from other students. Harry smiled awkwardly before immediately looking down at his potion's book.
"Right." Slughorn began. "Today, we will be brewing Soloman's Concoction, a devilishly tricky potion with several complicated properties." Slughorn flicked his wand, causing a deluge of writing to appear on the chalkboard. Hermione immediately whipped out her paper and quill, covertly handing some to Katara, and started feverishly writing down notes. Katara raised an eyebrow at her enthusiasm, smiling, she began to do the same.
"Can anyone tell me the purposes of Solomon's Concoction?" Slughorn asked, smirking at the overly enthusiastic hand raising of Hermione Granger. "Yes, Ms. Granger."
"Well, sir, it has several purported uses, mostly by Healers. Healers use it in resolving paralysis, it can also be construed as a more powerful form of dittany if mixed correctly, but it is also very dangerous, should one prepare it incorrectly, it could cause severe burns and in some cases death."
"Very good Ms. Granger, and what should a properly brewed standard Concoction look like? He asked, already knowing who would raise their hand. "Yes, Ms. Granger?"
"A proper standard Solomon's concoction should be platinum, with a slightly metallic fringe."
"Very good Ms. Granger. Now the reason this potion is so tricky to make is because it is hard to distinguish between the colors…" Slughorn went off on his lecture. Sokka slumped next to Ron, rolling his eyes.
"Psst, Ron!" Sokka whispered.
"Hmm?" Ron responded, barely paying attention.
"Your teacher…he looks like a walrusseal with a handle-bar moustache." Sokka finished, causing Micheal Corner to snort and chuckle at the adjacent table.
"I'm sorry Mr. Corner?" Slughorn said. "Do you find something particularly funny about a 12 year old girl losing her arm in a botched Concoction mix-up?"
Micheal paled at this. "N…No Sir. Of course not…" He replied looking down and fiddling with the potions ingredients on the table.
Slughorn arched an eyebrow. "I should hope not, however, I know that you suffered a great deal at the hands of the Carrows. So…I will let this one slide. It is good to see you laughing again, my dear boy."
Micheal looked confused. "Er…it's…good to laugh…sir?"
Slughorn smiled. "I should hope to see you at my gathering as well, yes?"
"Ah…of course sir." Micheal looked over to Sokka and smiled, apparently in thanks, Sokka grinned in response.
Ron almost laughed. "Please, Sokka, don't act like your responsible for Corner getting an invitation to the Slug Club…" He whispered.
Sokka looked confused. "The What? Well anyway, I do what I can. Just wait, everyone is gonna love Sokka."
And so the brewing commenced. The concoction itself was difficult as hell to brew. With a lot of precise measurements, number and direction of turns, flame adjustments. Katara was sweating, a look of panic in her eyes as she mixed her concoction desperately. Aang looked as if he was more interested in sniffing the snail he was supposed to be de-shelling. Ron was reading instructions softly to Toph, who seemed to be following along, while Sokka was trying to figure out how to turn his flame on. Ron rolled his eyes, tapping the cauldron with his wand. For the first time, Ron felt smart. Helping two people with their potions (although Toph didn't seem to need much help) was something that Ron had never done. Luna helped the way Luna always helps, chattering about the uses of snail shells in curing Gingivitis. Harry was smirking down at his new copy of the potions text, missing his old 'half blood prince' text that was no doubt destroyed in the Room of Requirement. He frowned sadly down at the book.
"Alright, time's up!" Slughorn announced, walking around the classroom inspecting various cauldrons. "I think you missed the eye of Newt, Mr. Fletchly….Oh, almost had it there Ms. Abbot…Hmm, one more turn and that would have blown up right in your face Mr. Boot…" Eventually, he made his way to Harry's table. "Ah, Harry, I see you and Miss Granger were close, nice Platinum color…although your metallic fringe isn't quite there yet…I don't think this potion would KILL anyone, maybe just a second degree burn…." He knodded at Katara's potion before swiftly moving on to Aang. "Hmm…well, I guess you can try to do better on the next round…" He walked over to Ron's table, looking into Sokka's cauldron, his eyes widened, "I want that brew destroyed immediately…." He said, slowly backing away. Eventually, he came around the table to one cauldron in particular, he smiled widely. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have found today's winner! 'Tis a perfect draft of Soloman's Concoction!" He announced excitedly. "I think I have found a natural at potions brewing! Harry, you should take note from this student, your performance seems to have laxed since sixth year, although I suppose you have excellent reasons." Slughorn revised hastily. He looked back at the winning student, "I should hope to see you at my gathering!"
"Sure thing…er, sir!" Toph announced, grinning. Harry's jaw dropped.
…
Eventually, they all left potions, walking briskly through the corridors. Toph with a smug grin on her face.
"Wow Toph…how did you become so good at… Potions?" Hermione asked not sure how to finish the sentence.
"Oh, you'd be surprised how many things you get good at when your parents don't let you go anywhere or do anything for 12 years." Toph answered quite casually. Hermione frowned sadly, reminded of Harry.
Toph continued, "It's just a matter of concentration, mixing stuff, paying attention to what your doing. Not having one of your senses makes you keenly aware of what is going on around you, of what your doing." She said. "I can also FEEL when the mixture changes, I can feel what the book tells YOU to see, to look for."
"Wow, Toph, that's…pretty cool." Sokka conceded, perhaps for the only and last time.
"Yea, I know Sokka. Slughorn really HATED your brew, huh? I could feel his heart racing when he looked at it." Toph said through laughter. Sokka groaned.
…
The rest of the day went off fairly well, except for an unfortunate mishap in Transfiguration when Ginny, covertly aiming for Toph's goblet, ended up turning Hannah Abbot's goblet into a squid. Ginny hated transfiguration.
Eventually, the last class was upon them, while Toph left to accompany Harry, Hermione and the rest to Magical creatures, Ron, Sokka, Draco, and Zuko went to Muggle studies. Ron and Draco were the last two people who wanted to be stuck with each other, without a buffer, in a class. Ron was, apparently, obligated to sit with Malfoy as much as Harry was. He sighed.
Sokka and Zuko weren't enemies but they certainly weren't best friends. Sokka like to rib Zuko sometimes about his seriousness, Zuko like to…growl at Sokka in response. Their relationship was pretty much one of mutual friends. Still, Sokka could stand Zuko just fine, and Zuko could tolerate Sokka's immaturity. It wasn't anywhere near as uncomfortable as Draco and Ron.
They walked into the classroom uncomfortably. Sitting next to each other, shifting in their seats. Zacharias Smith strode in, glaring at Ron and Draco. Draco glared back, Zacharias and his band of nimrods had been responsible for the goo prank. Draco smiled as he eyed the burned hems of Smith's robes. Zacharias stopped for a moment, eyebrow raised. "What are YOU doing in Muggle Studies. Last time I checked, you and your disgusting family HATED muggles."
"Piss off Zacharias." Draco said abruptly, his voice shaking a little. Everyone in the class seemed to turn around to witness the little altercation.
"Don't think you can make anyone forget about your treachery by pretending to be interested in muggle culture NOW, Malfoy." Smith concluded, a sneer on his face.
"Last I heard Smith, YOU weren't exactly HEROIC in your behavior at the Battle of Hogwarts." Draco said, matching Smith's sneer.
Zacharias looked irate. "How DARE you speak of that battle, you…"Zacharias trailed off as his eyes flew wide in terror, in realization. Zuko had leaned back in his chair, glaring menacingly at Smith, he snapped his finger and sparks flew out of them, his glare turning into an evil grin, making his scar look twice as menacing.
"Er…I…" With that Smith just took off, walking quickly across the room, taking the seat farthest from the gang. Slowly, the class went back to their pre-class chattering. Draco, Ron, and Sokka all looked over to Zuko, who was sitting casually in his chair, arms crossed, staring off at the front of the class.
Ron laughed. "Wow Draco, Smith seems to be kind of…scared of you. Must be off his rocker." Ron finished thoughtfully, "Although I have to admit, I hate that pompous wart. He's almost as much of an arse as you."
"Yes, he is a bit of a self-righteous little moron." Draco concluded. "He's almost as dumb as you."
Ron smirked. "So…why ARE you taking this class anyway?" He asked, somewhat carefully.
Draco frowned. "Mother made me…" He trailed off. But of course, that wasn't the real reason. Partially, he did it to honor Charity Burbage's memory, having been there to see her murdered. But he also had another reason, after the war, the Malfoys knew better than to be seen in public wizarding places. Diagon Alley, The Ministry, Godric's Hollow, Ottery St. Catchpole and the like. Knowing nothing else, he spent all of his time in the manor initially. Draco couldn't stand being cooped up in the manor. It was starting to get to him. At first, he would wander the enormous mansion, and somehow, always end up at the drawing room door. He had never been able to bring himself to step inside of it, overwhelmed by the memory of Granger's…Hermione's screams. His mother was so distraught she spent most of her time locked in the master bedroom. Draco had to get away from her too, from her anguish. It was slowly killing him. So he would spend his evenings in muggle London. Mostly, he would just wander around. To his surprise, no one glared at him out there, no one spit at him. No one shot curses at him. It was…nice to be anonymous. He would sit in muggle coffee shops, finally figuring out what a cappacino was (which took him ages) and working his way through understanding all of the menu. It was…fun. How he missed fun. At one point, a muggle girl approached him. He supposed she was attractive, she engaged him, and they had a somewhat awkward conversation about some muggle game…what was it? Foot-face? She declared that his lack of knowledge about sports just made him even more cute, and she gave him her 'number'. Whatever the hell that was. He promised he would call her. He never went back to that coffee shop again. Draco was interested about the muggle world from that point on, realizing that everything he had been taught about muggles was…inaccurate. They seemed like perfectly nice people, intelligent people. He resolved that he would take muggle studies, educate himself about them. Maybe find out what a 'frappacino' was.
"Malfoy? MALFOY?" Ron yelled.
"What?" Draco said back.
"I said since when has your mum ever been pro-muggle studies." Ron asked.
"Since The Dark Lord made it abundantly clear that he didn't give a damn about wizarding blood, only power." Draco blurted out, he immediately admonished himself for saying that.
"What…what do you mean?" Ron asked.
Draco rolled his eyes, noticing that not only Ron, but Sokka and Zuko were staring at him. He sighed, He was in it now… "Look Weasley, I know it's difficult for you to keep up, but try to follow me. My parents cared about wizarding blood, The Dark Lord cared about power. The Dark Lord didn't care if you were pure-blood, half-blood, or mud….muggle-born. He would kill you as soon as look at you if he thought you stood in his way. My family realized that The Dark Lord didn't necessarily believe the same things we did…or thought we did… if he cared about blood he wouldn't kill pure-bloods or half-bloods. He just…played on our prejudices to gather a following. He manipulated us." Draco blurted out, relieved and horrified at the same time. He composed himself, "So while I may be better than people like YOU, I've decided to base that judgement on things OTHER than blood…" Draco slumped down in his chair, his eyes in slits, staring off at the front of the class.
Ron looked at him for a bit. Then, to Draco's surprise, he laughed. Draco glared harder at the front of the classroom. Ron spoke, "Merlin Malfoy, took you long enough!"
"Excuse me?" Draco said, still not looking at Ron.
"Malfoy, you really are thick. There is a saying, 'First they came for the muggle-borns, and I didn't say anything because I wasn't a muggle-born, then they came for the half-bloods, and I didn't say anything because I wasn't a half-blood, then they came for me, and there was no one left to say anything for me.'"
Draco arched an eyebrow, "Who said that?"
"My dad actually, I think it was originally a muggle saying that he altered a bit. Anyway, people like Voldemort." Draco winced at the name. Ron continued, "People like Voldemort don't care about ANYONE, and think their better than EVERYONE. Much like you think er…thought you were better than others. The problem with this is, people who think they are better than EVERYONE will eventually come for those they think are below them. Thus, while you think your better than some, and see no problem with them being destroyed, Voldemort thinks he's better than you, and sees no problem with destroying you. And when that happens, who would be left to speak for you?" Ron finished impressively, if not somewhat in a rambling manner.
"Yea, but people can change Weasley." Zuko murmmerd, dammit now he was calling him Weasley too.
"What was that?" Ron said.
"Just because you might have thought you were better than some, doesn't mean you will always think that. Doesn't mean you're a stupid person for not realizing it as quickly as others. Doesn't mean you think people should die for being 'supposedly' inferior to you."
"I wasn't saying…" Ron started but was cut off.
"Yea, but in sitting here explaining this whole thing to Draco, you are basing your speech on the assumption that Draco doesn't already know this…" Zuko finished.
Sokka interjected. "Yea, but YOU don't know if he knows this." He said to Zuko. "It's difficult to know whether someone has TRULY changed. Really UNDERSTANDS the ramifications of their actions." He concluded, sounding wiser than he had ever sounded in his life.
"Well, he's HERE isn't he? He's TRYING to make the effort! If he wasn't TRULY sorry, then why even bother showing up? Why not just sit in his house and live out the rest of his days?" Zuko shot back agitated.
Ron and Draco looked at each other, confused. "Oi! Malfoy, what's going on?" Ron whispered to Draco.
"I have no idea, Weasley." Draco whispered back. Both looking clearly alarmed at the argument before them that was starting to draw the attention of others.
"Well, MAYBE, if the guy hadn't tried to KILL him all these years, MAYBE he wouldn't be so hesitant to fully TRUST him!" Sokka said, shifting in his chair.
"Oh well that's just GREAT, isn't it? Here Draco is, thinking that Weasley had began to trust him this WHOLE time, when really he was only PRETENDING to trust him, nevermind that Draco has DONE NOTHING to him since he made his MISTAKE." Zuko shot back.
"Um…what are you guys talking about…" Ron trailed off.
Just then, Professor Devry, Burbages replacement stepped in. "Excuse me class! If you don't mind, I would like to get started now."
Sokka and Zuko glared at the teacher before turning away from each other, arms crossed.
"Right." Devry began, "Now today class, we will discuss electronficity."
Ron and Draco just looked at each other for a moment, and for the first time ever, they felt like they were on the same page.
Author's Note. Hey kids! So, this is an extra long chapter. Hope you likey. Notice how I put Zuko sleeping shirtless, that one was for the ladies. Toph being good at potions? Who knew! Poor Draco, just can't seem to get himself together. I hoped you like the last little bit in Muggle studies. I had been planning that for a while. And what is going on with Sokka and Zuko? Did anyone catch that? Shoutouts to my regulars, and GirlWaterShaman- if you draw that pic of Katara in a sundress I want to see it! Epickerthanyou- I totally didn't catch the mustache man at first! Lmao! Soooo, let me know what you think! You can leave a review if you like. If you dont I will KEEL YOU! Sike, I'm only a LITTLE crazy. I might just injure you. Haha. But seriously though, questions, comments, suggestions, challenges, I am open to it. Next up, Harry is in troubleeeeee! We will find out why! Might be out for a bit, I have my thesis defense powerpoint slides to prepare, but I think I have been a fairly quick updater compared to some! Peace out!