He splayed out across the damp grass by the Black Lake. He shifted his focus, glancing at the tree nearby. Several girls sat under it, watching him and giggling. He smirked, bringing his arms to rest behind his head. Several blokes walked by, giving him the usual greetings. He was a popular man after all, of course they would greet him. He gave them the usual smirk and a cocky faculty member joke. Today, he went with Trelawney. Spirits, that woman could provide MONTHS of material. He didn't mind this world so much. Here, he was sort of a big shot. Of course, he was a big shot in his own world but he sort of…wasn't. He was a war hero of course, tales of the Day of Black Sun were legend. Tales of Sozin's Comet were heroic. But the tales usually focused on the amazing bending:

"The man bending the water in a thousand swamp vines."

"The girl with arms made of water, destroying enemies like a liquid demon."

"The Earthbender girl so powerful she could bend the metal from a thousand battle ships. The only bender like her in the world."

"The Banished Prince, whose epic Agni Kai with his own sister had burned the Imperial City to the ground. Those who bore witness said the fire was so blinding it was almost beautiful in it's own cruelly destructive way."

And of course: The Avatar.

So the stories were a little exaggerated but not by much. Still, even though they talked about him sometimes, it wasn't often. Even though they recognized him in the streets, the attention always deferred to the bender. He was big shot…but he wasn't.

"Hey…Wang Fire…" The amused voice of Neville Longbottom said. "Bloody ridiculous name…"

"Oh really, NEVILLE? Is it REDICULOUS? Mr. LONGBOTTOM?" Sokka said dramatically, his eyes closed and lips smirking. He continued to lay stretched out on the soft grass.

"Point taken." Neville said, rolling his eyes in amusement. "Well, can I join you or are you currently disposed at the moment? I know you…somehow…have quite the social schedule."

Sokka's smirk grew. "What can I say, everybody loves Sok…Wang Fire." Sokka's face fell a bit.

Neville sat, gathering his knees, wrapping his arms around them. He stared out at the glittery Black Lake and flinched a bit when the giant squid surfaced and waved at him.

"It's waving at me." Sokka said, his eyes still closed.

Neville took in a deep breath. At the moment he was concentrating on the mid-morning sky. There was a vibrant, sleepy quality to it. Sort of like his own mood.

Sokka quirked an eye open at Neville to see him just staring out at the lake. "Why the long face Longbottom?" Sokka said, a self-satisfied smirk on his face at his ability to turn a phrase.

Neville half smiled. "Don't look so pleased, Hermione came up with THAT one two days ago."

Sokka sighed, "Oh GREAT. So now I KNOW it was a bad joke. I swear, her and Katara should start a "Terrible Sense of Humor Society". They can have annual meetings where they get together and bum everyone out."

Neville snorted. "Well Sokka, it's certainly possible. They seem to have taken a liking to each other."

"Yea…" Sokka said absent-mindedly.

"Wang Fire! Longbottom!" A voice yelled from up the grassy knoll. Sokka and Neville turned to see a Ravenclaw third year whom neither of them had ever spoken to before. "You coming to the pre-season Quidditch party in Ravenclaw?" The boy continued.

Neville and Sokka looked at each other confusedly and shrugged. "Yea, sure!" Sokka yelled back.

"Great!" The boy yelled, suddenly very excited. Something told Neville the boy had not expected them to say yes. "Flameo Hotman!" The third year yelled as he ran off, no doubt to tell his friends.

Sokka and Neville were quiet for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "You realize we're probably going to end up at some lame third year party! WE'LL BE THE TALLEST PEOPLE THERE!" Sokka said through laughter.

"FL-FL-FLAMEO HOTMAN? I can't believe you've got people to start saying that!" Neville said falling over laughing.

Eventually they recovered, both now sprawled out on the grass. Sokka smirked, "Well, might as well throw the kid a bone. He's probably told all his friends by now." Sokka was quiet for a moment. "So…I didn't know you were the popular guy around Hogwarts."

Neville was thoughtful for a moment. "Yea, I didn't know either."

"So…what's up with that? I see the way people look at you. You must be one cool wizard party unagi…" Sokka said, staring up at the morning sky.

Neville chuckled. "Nah. I just killed the snake."

Sokka smirked. "Killed the snake? What's that code for? TELL ME this has something to do with Lavender Brown."

Neville made something of a face. "No, not me. You'll have to ask Ron about that."

Sokka popped himself up on his elbows, looking down on Neville, "Ron got 'The Lavender'?"

"The Lavender?" Neville turned red for a moment. "Sure, they dated briefly in our sixth year, you know, before Hermione of course. But it was always Hermione. Everyone knew that, bloody Lavender knew that…"

Sokka laid back down on the grass. "Wow. Ron's had Lavender AND Hermione."

They were both quiet for a moment before both saying, "He definitely upgraded."

"So Longbottom, what does 'Kill the Snake' mean?" Sokka said, staring back at the sky once more.

"It means, I killed the Snake." Neville said, when Sokka only quirked an eyebrow at him Neville launched into the story. How he had led the revolt of Hogwarts (although his description was more humble), how he did it for his parents and his bad-ass grandmother, how he had stood up to Voldemort and killed his precious snake and thus (though Neville didn't know it) Voldemort's last connection to immortality.

Sokka blew out a low whistle, "Man…and all I did was blow up some Fire Navy War balloons."

Neville looked confused.

"Right…" Sokka then proceeded to tell the story of the final battle of the war, his part in the battle anyway.

Neville stared at him, eyes wide, mouth agape. "That sounds pretty impressive to me!"

"Eh. What you did, in my world, is like the equivalent of cutting off the Firelord's balls." Sokka said.

"Well, in this world, what you did was like, putting up all the protective enchantments around Hogwarts to protect hundreds of people for as long as you can. Those enchantments saved A LOT of lives." Neville finished thoughtfully.

"So what about it, Longbottom?" Sokka said uncomfortably. "Were you Mr. Party-Guy? You know, before the war?"

Neville laughed. "No. Not really…not at all. I was more of…how do I put it…a pudgy little screw-up."

"Oh, come off it." Sokka snorted. "Quit takin the mickey." He said, in what little, terrible, English slang he had picked up.

Neville rolled his eyes. "Not taking the mickey. I wasn't much of a partier. Now that I think of it, people rarely noticed me. Harry, Seamus, Ron, and Dean were always my mates but other than them, people just saw me as nervous, accident-prone Neville Longbottom." He finished, smiling wistfully.

"So then…it must be nice to be kind of famous? All the attention you must get?" Sokka said quietly. "And rightfully so right? I mean, you helped save the world too." He said, a bit more forcefully.

Neville looked thoughtful for a moment, his eyes briefly darting from the sky to Sokka and back to the sky. "Well…it was at first. I mean, girls were talking to me that I thought didn't even know I was alive. But…it's all an illusion you know?"

Sokka stared at the sky. "An illusion…"

Neville glanced at Sokka again before continuing, "Yea, I mean, when I think about it, there were a lot of people who helped save our world. It's just that…some people's positions are more…obvious than others. There are so many people who deserve to be honored more than I."

Sokka frowned. "Yea…but that doesn't mean you should be ignored either…"

Neville sighed. "I suppose you're right. Still, I'd much rather be seen by those who saw me before. They're the ones whose opinions really matter. Everything else is just an illusion."

Sokka stretched himself out before sitting up lazily. "Yea I guess. Still, it's nice to be seen every once in a while."

Well…"Neville started.

"I'm gonna head up. Get a head start on lunch." Sokka said abruptly.

"Right." Neville said slowly. "Well, when you get a chance, I think we need to talk about what we're going to do about the gang. Things are getting a little mad, don't you think?"

Sokka sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Yea, I guess your right. But what are we supposed to do about it?"

"Well…correct me if I'm wrong, but I always got the impression that you were the guy with the plans." Neville said, smirking up at Sokka.

Sokka grinned. "I have been known to come up with a plan or two...so tell me Longbottom, what are you doing over…what is it? Christaymast holiday?"

"…Christmas. I'll probably visit my parents…" A proud, sad smile crossed Neville's face. "Then, I dunno."

"Ron keeps talking about us all going to this place called "The Burrow". Says his family lives there…although I don't know why a family would live underground…"

Neville laughed. "No mate, it's a house. That's just what they call it."

Sokka looked devious for a moment. "Well…how would you like to make a visit to The Burrow?"

…

Harry and Hermione sat on Harry's bed digesting the revelations they had just discussed. McGonagall was in on this. It could be the only explanation. But why would she not tell them? Why would she hold back information that could help them? Harry looked down at Hermione's toes as they poked out of her dressing gown. Hadn't anyone learned ANYTHING from the past 7 years? Hadn't anyone learned that NOT telling Harry things usually ended in some form of a near death experience for him? Honestly, were these people TRYING to make his life miserably difficult? They always said it was to protect him. To protect his innocence. Well, how LOVELY. Thank GOODNESS they protected his INNOCENCE. His innocence had been SOOOOO helpful to him all these years. Harry snorted bitterly.

"Harry?" Hermione murmured.

Harry looked up at her and smiled. "Sorry. Just thinking about something…silly. You know, how silly Ron and Ginny are being and all…"

"Right." Hermione finished, looking at Harry's fidgeting hands. "Imagine…you and I…together."

Harry chuckled, his gaze returning to Hermione's toes. Him and Hermione. Hermione and Him. Harry and Hermione. Harmione. The thought was ludicrous…outrageous. Of course, Hermione was brilliant, beautiful, calm, non-dramatic, logical, safe. But, really, Hermione? Sure, she possessed the qualities in a woman that Harry could now see himself settling down with. She wasn't one of those girls that were unpredictable, with the exception of the other night and really, Ginny had provoked her. Since the war, she had cut down considerably on her crying fits, except when she was with Ron. Ron, really, had made her cry far too often in the past. The thought made Harry's chest burn with anger and guilt. Harry should have said more to Ron about his behavior, instead of just brushing it off as sexual tension between the two. He should have defended her more. He shouldn't have joined Ron in ganging up against her third year over a Firebolt, she was just trying to protect him. He shouldn't have let Ron make fun of her as much as he did. He shouldn't have allowed Ron to break her heart and run amuck with Lavender sixth year. Hermione was a wonderful, loyal, friend. Hermione…Friend. Why did that word combination sound weird to him all of a sudden?

Hermione sat, watching Harry toying with his sheet. She knew he was deep in thought about something. After spending the better part of a year alone in hiding with him, she could always tell. His face would get this determined look about it and his lips would press into a hard line. There were loads of times where Hermione would want to ask him what he was thinking about. Most particularly, when she had broken his wand. Or on the nights where he would watch her weep over Ron's departure from their campsite, although he didn't know she knew he was watching her. And then there were some nights, when he was on watch, where he would just stare, unmoving. Hermione knew he wasn't in Voldemort's mind; Harry was far more dramatic when he did that. No, he was just staring, thinking. Hermione sometimes ruminated on what fascinating or, more likely, horrifying things were going on in there. Ron wasn't like that at all. Ron just acted. He was never much of a thinker. Not like Harry who, at times, could be meticulously pensive. Hell, it took a piece of Voldemort's soul for Ron to really think on things and even then he just acted. At first, she thought it was just the Horcrux that made him leave…abandon her. Now, she wasn't so sure. Honestly, Hermione had felt AWFUL while wearing that Horcrux, she felt like an ugly, bushy haired, buck-toothed, know-it-all. She felt like Harry and Ron were only friends with her because they pitied her. She felt like Ron really did love Lavender Brown. That he could do much better than her. But then…she snapped out of it. She was able to talk herself out of it. She was rational, she couldn't be easily conquered by illogical hypotheticals, she didn't just react. Harry was the same, that Horcrux was probably killing him-in the figurative and eventually literal sense- but he was still able to think, not just act. But Ron, so easily conquered by his own insecurity, so easily provoked, had walked out on her. So weak. She had given up that weak side of herself the day Bellatrix ripped it from her screams. Over time, she had suppressed the emotional side of herself, with a flare up or two over the last couple weeks. She had suppressed the inexplicable rage. What good did being emotional do? What good did crying do? What good did bickering do? Why couldn't Ron just control himself? Not like Harry, so thoughtful. Harry had always been there, he had never left. Harry was in control.

Slowly, Harry raised his head, at the same time Hermione seemed to do the same. And then they were looking at each other. There was something reflected in the other's eyes. It looked to be a combination of fear and…something else.

"As if…" Harry whispered, and his voice broke. "I mean…you've…you've never thought of me like that…right?"

She had never really thought about it…until now. "I…have you ever…ever thought of me like that?" Hermione whispered back, her voice trembling.

Harry looked into her eyes. He hadn't. Not until everyone started to make a big deal about the two of them. It was like they were forcing him to consider the possibility… "Well, I suppose the thought has crossed my mind… but I never REALLY thought about it." Harry finished quietly.

Hermione bit her lip. "Me too. It's like they WANT us to. It's like they're all pushing us together or something." Hermione laughed uncomfortably. "The logical part of me almost wants to see what would happen. Like a sort of…experimental condition. Compare it to the control condition…to R-Ron, and see which is more significant…" Ever the logical girl, even her hormones followed the scientific method. Again, she laughed uncomfortably.

She was so rational, she was. Harry was the experiment, Ron was the control. No dramatics, no emotional professions. So calm. So calculated. Harry's eyelids seemed to become a little heavy and for the first time in his life, he saw Hermione's lips. "Just a little experiment. No big deal right? People do it all the time…" Harry trailed off quietly.

"It's what they all want." Hermione whispered more to herself than Harry, and she noticed her voice had become breathy. Her eyes fell briefly, when had Harry developed muscles? "They think we're guilty anyway..."

Harry swallowed hard. Hermione licked her lips. Harry sat up on his bed slowly and reached out a shaking hand. He placed the hand gingerly on Hermione's knee and he gently guided them down from their clutched bended position, until she was sitting Indian-style in front of him. They sat face to face. Hermione's hands sat limply, in her lap. Harry, sat with one hand at his side, the other on Hermione's knee. They continued to sit quietly, just staring, not saying a word. Their breathing turning quick and shallow. And then they both found themselves leaning forward, propelled by nothing in particular. They approached one another, slowly, achingly slowly. Careening towards an act that would no doubt lead to something. As their faces inched closer, their eyes started to flutter closed. Something…

"HARRY POTTER!"

Harry and Hermione snapped away from each other as they heard what sounded like a hundred voices simultaneously screaming Harry's name. Suddenly, the door exploded off the hinge and a massive windstorm blew through the room with terrifying ferocity. Harry felt like he was in a tornado, his hair flying in all directions, his clothes and comforter flapping against him. In one swift motion, Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her behind him as the wind whipped at his face, he was barely able to move, his possessions were flying around the room, he barely missed a picture of Ron and Hermione that flew right past his face. With unbelievable effort, Harry looked around and saw his wand which, thankfully, was caught between the bed post and his curtain. With all his strength, he twisted his body around, one hand wrapped around Hermione, the other reaching for the stuck wand. He grabbed it.

"Protego!" Harry shouted, and suddenly the wind directly around Harry and Hermione died. The room, however, was still caught up in what looked like a hurricane and Harry wondered, with great panic, what Deatheater had somehow breached Hogwarts' defenses to finally do him in.

And then Harry saw him. Aang slowly walked into the room. His eyes and tattoos glowing. His face had a look that Harry could only describe as eerily calm yet seething in rage. Aang was not looking at Harry exactly. He just seemed to be…staring, looking but not seeing. But just then, his head snapped in Harry and Hermione's direction and a burst of fire shot from Aang's nostrils accompanied by a growl that was emanating from deep in Aang's chest. Harry held his wand at the ready. Harry didn't want to hurt Aang, but if it came down to protecting Aang or protecting Hermione…Harry would kill Aang where he stood.

Suddenly, the Hurricane in the room died down, and though his arrows were still glowing, Aang's eye's returned to the stormy grey they usually were.

"What are you doing!" Harry yelled, his wand still at the ready. "Are you mad?"

"You lied." Aang said, and his voice held the eerie calmness of a man who wanted vengeance. Slow, deliberate, vengeance.

Harry felt Hermione flinch.

"About what!" Harry said, his wand trained at Aang's heart.

"You said no one knew who we were! You said we had to hide ourselves! Katara…she suffered…SUFFERED!" Aang eyes briefly lit.

"Are you mad! What are you playing at Aang? No one knows-"

Just then Aang stomped his foot into the ground and made a quick powerful-looking motion with his arm and Harry's desk flew across the room and exploded against the wall.

"LIES!" Aang yelled in what sounded, again, like a hundred different voices.

"Don't make me hurt you Aang!" Harry yelled, horrified. What was he doing? What WAS he?

Just then, Hermione appeared in Harry's eyeline. How had she gotten around him?

"If you want to hurt Harry you will have to go through ME first!" Hermione said, wandless. Pure nerve…pure love, driving her between them.

Aang's face softened and his stance slackened immediately.

Just then Katara burst into the room. She was coming from the library, she had been looking up something called a "Cheering Charm." Everyone was so angry…she thought a little magic could help. When she entered the suite and heard Aang and his past lives scream 'LIES.' She knew then and there that something horrible was happening. She bolted up the stairs to find Harry's room in shambles, Hermione standing in between Harry and Aang.

"Aang!" She yelled and grabbed his wrist. Aang's face turned to her sharply and as soon as he saw those ocean blue eyes, he faltered. Tears falling down his face, he moved to embrace her.

"I couldn't protect you…he knew all this time…he let them hurt you. Why can't I protect you?" Aang said, his face now buried in the crook of Katara's neck.

"What?" Katara looked up at Hermione, who looked horrified. She looked at Harry and saw his wand trained at the both of them. "Harry?"

"Don't look at me! He came in here and tried to kill me!" Harry yelled. He had now realized maybe this whole thing was a terrible idea. He had hoped this thought would never cross his mind but: maybe Malfoy was right.

Katara wrapped her arms around Aang, swinging their position so that Harry's wand was trained at her. Harry dropped his wand immediately.

Hermione stepped forward. "Aang…seems to believe we're lying…about people knowing about your world." She said quietly, watching as Katara and Aang embraced, suddenly she turned red. Her eyes darted to Harry and then back to the couple.

"You ARE lying!" Aang yelled. "Luna! She…she told me YOUR people knew about us AGES ago! You forced us to hide ourselves! Who we really are! Katara…Katara…they HATE her here! They…they do horrible things to her! And…and…I couldn't do ANYTHING ABOUT IT! I can never do ANYTHING! People just keep getting hurt because of ME!" Aang lashed out.

"What? What do you mean?" Hermione said. "What about Luna?"

"Luna's grandfather, of course!" Aang yelled. "Don't play dumb! He was telling your people about our world 50 years ago! And yet, HARRY insisted we stay secret! They've been treating Katara like TRASH! And all this time she could have defended herself? I COULD HAVE DEFENDED HER!" Aang yelled.

Katara was shocked. The obvious reason being the news about Luna's grandfather but the more subtle reason was that she had no idea how much her being bullied was bothering Aang. Sure, the girls were mean to her, were always playing pranks on her, it did trouble her sometimes but…she had no idea how hard Aang was taking the idea of her being bullied, how much he had been blaming himself.

Katara looked at the ground, feeling confused and somewhat guilty.

Katara had been brushing it off for the most part, sometimes she would break down quietly about it but only in rare instances of really mean spells, like when Milicent Bulstrode charmed the back of her skirt to look like…well, like she was having woman problems all over her robes. She had done a good job of hiding it from the Potter crew of course. She'd told Hermione she had sat in something, no big deal. But really, the girls started calling her 'Soiled Sapphire.' They were all in on it and were able to keep Hermione, Ginny, and Luna out of the loop about their actions. It was all so maliciously organized. In any case, for the most part she could deal with it all just fine, but she now knew that her breakdowns about it to Aang were affecting him much more than she had expected.

"Oh Aang…It's not your fault!" She whispered in a tone only Aang could hear. She turned to hug him again, his tears stained her neck. She had no idea…

Hermione's mouth fell open. "Oh my…" She whispered. Aang looked up abruptly and stared daggers into her.

Hermione stood, a bit dumbfounded. "Aang, we've…we've only just found out a-about Luna's grandfather. I'm afraid the wizarding world didn't put much stock in Luna's grandfather's word... even if what he was saying was, really and unequivocally, the truth." Hermione walked over and bent down beneath an upturned table to fetch what looked to Aang like some papers. Hermione made her way back to Aang, flipped the pages, and read the journal article title and authors that she and Harry were just discussing.

"Aluitious Lovegood…Minerva McGonagall?" Aang said, still looking angry, this explained nothing.

Hermione sighed and launched into the story of Aluitious Lovegood. How he preached ideas the wizarding world, apparently, didn't find acceptable. The quirkiness of the Lovegood family. Their "joke" status in the eyes of the wizarding world. How they often said crazy things. How people never believed anything they said. How this would explain why no one would have believed Aluitious Lovegood even if he did know about the existence of their world and thus why no one, including Harry, Hermione, and the rest had ever heard of their world until now. How Hermione and Harry had only just discovered the Lovegood connection only moments ago.

"People just accept it…" Harry said weakly in the background. "We don't take it seriously mate…"

Aang looked confused, so much to take in. "But she…she said he had been to my world. Had seen the Airbenders…the thing is…she brought up something else, something about my culture that I've never told anyone. It's nothing mind blowing or anything. Just this stupid little thing that really only an airbender would know about."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow. The pieces were starting to fall into place.

"How would her grandfather have known? How would her grandfather have seen our world?" Aang said, looking at the floor in desperate confusion.

Hermione looked at Harry, "I don't know Aang but…I think Aluitious Lovegood may have made the greatest discovery in contemporary wizarding history. Really, in ALL history. I just…I just need to know for sure." Hermione finished mysteriously. She looked down at the Journal of Trans-Dimensional Magic. "Harry, we really must go and see McGonagall!"

Harry looked at her incredulously. "He just tried to blow me out the window! Are we not going to address that?"

Aang had the decency to look pitiful. "I-I'm sorry. I thought you had lied. I guess, when it comes to Katara…I just…I just... lose it." Aang said quietly, staring down at the floor. "Sometimes…love can change everything about you, even if only for a moment."

He looked up at Katara and she smiled in a watery manner.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a moment. Brown eyes saw green eyes. Then they immediately looked at the floor.

"Er.."Harry said, a little flustered. "Well…Aang, I've got to tell you. This-" Harry gestured around his demolished room to make a point, " –cannot happen again. I didn't know you could do this kind of damage." Harry really didn't know and that scared the Merlin out of him. Aang was still a kid in Harry's eyes. He knew Aang was the Avatar but he didn't REALLY know what that entailed. But now? Harry realized that THIS moment was when he truly knew the kind of power this kid had. It was not superficial things like cool tricks on the Quidditch field that indicated what power was, more often than not, it was much graver things that illustrated true strength. Harry realized that Aang had the kind of power that could not only save hundreds of lives but also snuff out just as many.

"Aang…this is something…we can't pretend this didn't happen. If you lose control…" Harry didn't know what to say. Was it safe to let Aang stay here? Suddenly, Katara snorted abruptly.

"Harry, I know this looks bad, but the fights you guys have are just as bad." Katara said. "Hermione blew up the Common Room, you and Ron blew up the Great Hall. And you all did it based on misunderstandings. Now, I do agree that this is bad…but don't act like Aang is the only person here that has over-reacted THIS week. Everyone in this world is going CRAZY."

Harry was quiet for a moment. Damn, she had him there.

"Look, if you want me to leave, I'll leave but the others shouldn't be punished because of me. Let them stay until you figure this whole thing out." Aang said quietly.

For some reason, Hermione snapped. "Don't be silly!" Hermione said immediately. She was blood red. "Everyone will stay put. We all just…we have to be careful. We can't keep blowing everything up! We're too wound up! WE'RE GOING BARKING!" Hermione's proclamation was quickly turning into a panicky, shrill, screech. Misunderstandings, misunderstandings, she was so tired of misunderstandings! Why was everything going so mad? Why was she feeling so out of control? Where was the answer? There was always an answer! She needed to be in control. She needed to be ready. She was shaking now. Quickly, she scolded herself for getting so emotional. For letting everything get so out of control.

Harry ran over to Hermione and held her as she shook. "Jesus Hermione, calm down. We'll think of something…" Hermione looked up at Harry for a moment, and for that moment they were locked in one of those awkward, longing gazes. They snapped away from each other.

Aang and Katara quirked eyebrows at them, then smirked at each other.

"Uh…right. She's right, Aang. I suppose, your blow-up was a lot better than mine or Hermione's. Still, next time…we should all try talking. We can't keep letting our emotions get the best of us." Harry concluded. Really, it was true. Aang's blow-up had been far more reserved than any of the rest of them. No one got hurt in his. Although Harry hated to admit it, they were all too powerful now. They were too dangerous to be so dramatic. Harry hated dramatics. Still…he would be keeping a much closer eye on Aang from now on.

Hermione, having calmed down rapidly, looked at Katara sadly. "I'm so sorry Katara. I had no idea you were being bullied…Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Katara looked at her feet. "Well…I didn't want anyone to worry. You're really helping us a lot, you know. I've seen you sit in the library for hours, trying to help us. Even though you have so much else to do."

Hermione's eyes were getting glassy. No, she thought. No weakness. "Katara! You musn't feel guilty about that. I…I LIKE doing that kind of stuff." Hermione said calmly, in an attempt to alleviate Katara's anxiety. "You must believe us when we say we want to get you home. We do."

"I know…"Katara said quietly.

"Right." Hermione said, the wheels in her mind moving once again. " First, we'll get dressed then we must speak to McGonagall, then Luna. I just know they both could provide us with some much needed information."

Hermione stood to her full height and walked resolutely out of the room. Harry watched her go, thinking all the while how attractive it could be to do things properly, and Hermione Granger always did things properly.

…

Harry, Hermione, Aang, and Katara arrived at the Head Suite later that afternoon. Harry was about to utter the password when the sound of footsteps echoed against the hall behind him. Harry whirled around to see Ron, Ginny, Sokka, and Toph approaching. Upon seeing Harry's face, Ron's eyes turned to slits. Ginny did the same to Hermione, and though Hermione hesitated for a moment, she too, glared at Ginny just as hard.

"What are you doing here?" Harry muttered, danger in his tone.

"What's it to you Potter?" Ron muttered back.

Harry ignored him. "Fire flakes."

The gargoyle in front of the Head's office sprang to life and the revolving cylinder staircase emerged. The Avatar gang stared at it transfixed for a moment. Eventually, they all crammed into the staircase. The staircase had always seemed large to Harry, but today it seemed laughably cramped. He wasn't sure if it was the number of people that made it so, or the absence of the larger than life Dumbledore at the end of it. It was awkwardly quiet for a moment, and Harry was perfectly happy to continue staring at the Avatar gang who seemed to be enthralled with the staircase, when Ginny uttered: "Well, I suppose you and Hermione would know all about being somewhere nice and cozy huh?"

Harry was about to open his mouth to retort when Hermione laughed.

"Oh very clever. Tell me, do you think your pitiful comments are more insulting to us or you? Stop embarrassing yourself."

"Don't you talk to my sister like that! Who do you think you are?" Ron said, rounding on her.

"Who do YOU think YOU are, Weasley?" Harry said, stepping protectively in front of Hermione.

"Oh I forgot, no one is allowed to speak when the great Harry Potter opens his fat mouth." Ron hissed.

"Whatever Ronald, it would seem to me that you can't help but let silly nonsense come flying out of your mouth all the time." Hermione hissed back.

"If you don't shut it, I'll make PLENTY of things come flying out of your mouth." Ginny retorted heatedly, her hand gripping on her wand.

"Come on guys…" Aang said weakly in the background.

The staircase came to a stop at the head's office door. Harry looked around abruptly, as if forgetting where he was in the first place. The door stood directly in front of the staircase. It was situated in a dimly lit hallway. Harry could just make out another door further down the hall that Harry could only assume must be the entrance to the Head's personal accommodations as Harry knew most of the staff resided at Hogwarts.

They were all silent but tense as they entered the hallway. "Still don't know why you're here…" Harry said. "Following me, are you?"

"Please." Ron hissed scathingly. "I've come to tell McGonagall the truth about what happened in the Great Hall. I suppose you've been too busy…" Ron trailed off with a fleeting, angry, slightly hurt look at Hermione.

Hermione swallowed hard, "Bloody ridiculous…" She muttered.

Harry glared at Ron for his insinuation, "If you're going to insult me, I suggest you look at ME instead of Hermione."

"I can look at anyone I bloody well want. " Ron replied.

Aang and the gang looked at the row unfolding and Aang found himself not able to figure out how to quell it. He was terrified now that his emotions would get out of control and the whole situation would get out of hand. He couldn't allow another blow up like the one in Harry's dorm room, or the common room, or the Great Hall…

"Professor, everything is going to plan. I have arranged the appointments and I will begin clinics at the end of the week." A voice from within the Head's office said rather mechanically. There was a melodic ringing to the voice that caused Team Avapotter to turn around abruptly, their bickering dying in it's melody.

"And what of Draco and Zuko. How has their progress been?" The worried voice of McGonagall said.

There was silence for a moment, "They have been…improving." The voice said back.

"Well? Improving how? What have you been talking about? What have you discovered?" McGonagall fired off one question after the other.

"I cannot discuss that with you." The voice replied.

"Excuse me? I am the head of this school." McGonagall retorted, her voice rising a bit.

"And a rather insightful one at that. Still, Professor, I cannot reveal to you what happens in my sessions. It would be the highest violation of my ethical code to break the confidentiality of my clients. I know you are a woman of high moral values and I daresay you would agree that keeping the trust and confidence of my clients' most personal experiences would be of the highest priority." The voice concluded.

There was a long silence for a moment, and Harry wondered whether McGonagall was going to let him have it.

"Very well, you are absolutely right Clarence. Proceed as you think is best." There was a heavy sigh at the end of McGonogall's words. It would seem to Harry that she very much wanted to know if Draco and Zuko were alright, but understood that she could not interfere with…whatever they were doing.

Actually, what are they doing? Harry's brow furrowed at the odd nature of their conversation when he heard Hermione whisper, "They said Zuko…"

"Wha-" Harry was cut off when the door to the Head's suite opened and a tall, handsome, almost eerily statuesque man stood in front of them. They all jumped a bit at the sight of him and yet the man seemed to look as if he were expecting them.

"Good afternoon." The man said, his face curling into an off-putting smile. Harry couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something very strange about his smile.

"I suppose you are here to see Headmistress McGonagall. I wonder… if I may have a bit of a word with you all afterwards?" The man said as if he had been talking to them for ages instead of just a few seconds.

"I…what?" Harry replied.

"Excellent." The man said. "I'll see you all soon." The man then strode away from them and into the staircase, giving them all another strange smile as the staircase descended.

They all stared off at him for a moment when McGonagall said, "Well? In, all of you."

They all walked into the suite. The Avatar gang all surveyed the circular room. The contraptions around the wall all hummed and popped. The room was dimly lit and stoic, yet majestic in an odd way. Sokka looked up and flinched at a portrait that nodded to him politely.

"I'll never get used to the portraits." Sokka whispered.

McGonagall flicked her wand and several hard chairs appeared. Sokka, Katara, and Aang all flinched at the sight of their sudden appearance. Eventually, they all sat and McGonagall surveyed them all toweringly before taking a seat behind the great mahogany desk. "So. Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, Mr. and Ms. Weasley…and friends. What can I do for you? Please be brief, I have rather a lot to be attending to at the moment."

"I…we wanted to tell you about what really happened in The Great Hall…when we all...went a little mad." Ron muttered.

"A little mad? Is that how you would describe it Mr. Weasley? A little mad?"

"Well…no." Ron replied.

"What he means to say Headmistress-" Harry cut in, causing Ron to glare at him. " Is that it wasn't Draco's fault."

"Nor the other boy as well, I presume?" McGonagall said.

"No, headmistress." Ron said.

McGonagall was quiet for a moment and fixed them all with a penetrating gaze. "Well of course not." She said conclusively.

"Er…I…what?" Harry babbled.

"Well, of course not. Do you think I would really blame either of them entirely? Children rarely seem to understand the magnitude and causes of events. One person cannot possibly be responsible for each and every action of hundreds of people. One can inspire action on the part of others…yes. But Draco has never seemed like the type who could single-handedly and intentionally cause pandemonium."

"You said Zuko." Hermione cut in suddenly.

"Excuse me Ms. Granger?" McGonagall said, looking scandalized.

"Forgive me Headmistress, but we sort of…overheard your conversation with the man in your office. You said Zuko. But how do you know his name? We never said their names. We just told you where we found them, about their abilities, and that we didn't know how to get them home as of yet." Hermione said, scrutinizing McGonagall.

McGonagall looked slightly flustered, and Hermione knew in an instant that McGonagall was running over excuses to give them. She knew that McGonagall knew that she shouldn't have known his name.

McGonagall gave a hard sigh. "Very good Ms. Granger. I assume you have other questions for me? I know I told you to come to me if you had any questions. Surely, you did not just come here to tell me about the Great Hall debacle." McGonagall looked formidable upon mentioning the Great Hall explosion and Team Avapotter shifted slightly in their respective chairs. "I rather expected you to come to me sooner."

"So…so then…you ALREADY knew they were here?" Hermione questioned. Ron turned to Harry and Hermione and looked at them incredulously.

"Indeed I did Ms. Granger. Have you found what I left for you?" McGonagall said.

Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out The Journal of Trans-Dimensional Magic. Katara gasped a bit.

McGonagall looked like she wanted to smile but it didn't cross her face for an instant. She pulled open her desk and pulled out the book she had been reading during their first meeting.

Hermione looked slightly crestfallen and confused. "I…I thought this was-"

"The same?" McGonagall questioned. "No doubt you know what a journal is and therefore you know that they are published-"

"-in volumes." Hermione interrupted. "And issues."

"Exactly, so then you know that there would be MORE than one issue of The Journal of Trans-Dimensional Magic. THIS-" McGonagall jerked the book in her hand. "Is volume 1, issue 1.

Hermione looked down at the journal in her hand, scanning the sub-title. How could she not have noticed? "Volume 2, Issue 3." She whispered.

"Hang on…how did you know that they were already here?" Harry interrupted.

McGonagall was quiet for a moment. "Mr. Potter, I believe you have already been learning, from a certain teacher, how to forsee events?"

"Trewlawney?" Ron said suddenly.

Harry looked as if he had been struck. "Firenze." He said quietly. "Firenze taught us that there were certain ways to forsee events coming, fifth year. At the time, I mostly had no idea what he was talking about…he was so vague. The position of the stars can predict big events of the future." Harry looked deeply pensive. "The light of the stars can sometimes guide one through the darkest of nights…so too with time." He mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

Aang seemed to nod knowingly.

Harry continued, "Firenze…he was giving us a clue, that day when we found Appa. I've been thinking about what he said in the forest for ages, only…with the events of the last couple days, I totally forgot. He…Firenze told McGonagall."

"Very good Mr. Potter." McGonagall said quietly. "I have been expecting their arrival for quite some time. I wasn't sure if it would happen because…"

"The stars aren't definitive." Hermione whispered.

"Exactly." McGonagall replied.

"But! Headmistress!" Aang interrupted. "I'm Aang by the way…but I guess you know that. Headmistress, who is Aluitious Lovegood?" The conversation had convinced Aang she would know. She knew about their arrival, surely she would know about this Lovegood guy. Lovegood had lived among his people. Who was he?

McGonagall sighed slightly and, for the first time, looked guilty. "You've read about him then? In the article?"

"No, not exactly. Luna told me." Aang said quietly. "She said he had studied the Airbenders, she knew something about my people, something I had never told anyone." Aang looked at the Avatar gang apologetically. "She knew something about how we made our clothes."

McGonagall smiled at Aang. The Potter gang looked surprised, McGonagall smiled? "Avatar Aang. It is a great honor to meet you." McGonagall said quietly.

"Likewise, Headmistress." Aang replied truthfully.

"I wonder if I could answer your question with a story?" McGonagall said, in a voice that was oddly soft for her.

Aang nodded to her cautiously. Harry looked at McGonagall like he had never met her before. Her behavior was so strange. McGonagall was never the story telling type. She was concise, to the point.

And so McGonagall began:

"Aluitious Lovegood was an accomplished man, in my day." McGonagall looked guiltily at her interlocked hands. "I had just finished Hogwarts and had read about him extensively. He was brilliant. Published everywhere, you understand. My mentor, Albus Dumbledore, had always spoke very highly of him."

Harry looked up briefly at the portrait of Dumbledore, even as all the other headmasters and headmistresses were watching the exchange raptly, he was dozing. It would seem that nothing about Dumbledore went with the norm.

McGonagall continued. "So…when I received an invitation to study with him…I was extremely excited. It was a great honor, an amazing opportunity. He taught me... amazing things. Things I had never even thought could begin to be possible. He changed the way I thought. I had never realized how…narrow-minded I could be." McGonagall gave a quick look at Hermione. "Ravenclaws are often so brilliant because they can see past the ordinary…the accepted."

"Then, in the course of my study, he started to talk of expanding knowledge. Expanding it…BEYOND the boundaries of the world we knew. I thought he was speaking philosophically. I didn't realize until later that he was speaking in terms of gathering knowledge from OTHER worlds. I was skeptical of course, I blame the Gryffindor in me." She laughed a bit at that and Team Avapotter flinched.

"Still, I followed him. He started speaking of discoveries made in the muggle world. He kept talking about Muggles' amazing feats in a subject he called 'Astro-Physics.' Again, I was skeptical, I had no idea about Muggle discoveries. At the time, muggle science was not of any concern in learned magical disciplines, I suppose it still isn't. Still, I thought he was brilliant so I followed him thinking that the muggle world must have been the OTHER world he had been referring to. He then started to integrate muggle Astro-Physics into magical theory and he started to publicly endorse doing so... with this journal, which he created, mimicking muggle style journals." She gestured towards the book in her hand. "That's when things became…unpleasant for him. THAT'S when politics started to intrude on furthering knowledge.

McGonagall slumped in her chair a bit and Hermione thought, for a moment, that McGonagall would burst into tears. Hermione quickly scoffed at the thought.

McGonagall continued, "He started to adamantly argue that it could only help the magical world if we integrated muggle knowledge with our own. In doing so, we would expand our knowledge. We could look beyond the accepted and grasp the extraordinary. Of course, the Ministry of Magic was livid. To them, it sounded like he was saying that Muggles were more clever than us. It sounded like he was suggesting we should flout the International Statute of Secrecy. The ministry couldn't have that. So they started to discredit him…much like they tried to do Mr. Potter and Dumbledore only a couple of years ago."

"I am ashamed to say that I started to worry about my career, I was young. Dumbledore was more than happy to take meetings with him but no other magical theorist would go near him. NO ONE could discredit Dumbledore, they didn't even try." McGonagall laughed abruptly, "Say what you will about the incompetence of Fudge, the man DID come close to discrediting Dumbledore, and as despicable as it was, the feat itself was…impressive."

Harry looked mutinous.

McGonagall caught Harry's sneer and smiled ever so slightly. She continued, "In any case they vehemently went after him. I kept hearing talk, whispers about his sanity and worried that people would extend their opinions to me, even though I still thought he was brilliant. Suddenly, Lovegood had disappeared from the public scene for a while, but...few people knew that he had also disappeared from the magical world entirely. I hadn't seen him in ages. The Ministry thought they had finally silenced him. Then he came back, he was very excited about a discovery he had made. He published an article…talking about how he had discovered another world, using muggle science and magical theory. It was then that I realized that when he said 'OTHER' world he did not JUST mean the muggle world. I was extremely wary at that point, I'm ashamed to say I had let the whispers about his sanity, engineered by the ministry, into my head."

Ron quickly looked around, to see if anyone else looked as uncomfortable as he felt. Hermione- Ron blinked hard when he saw her- seemed to be rapt in attention. Harry looked confused. Katara, however, looked empathetic.

McGonagall took a deep breath and continued.

"The Ministry was enraged and, I suspect, afraid. They leaned on all magical texts, they worked to discredit and blackball him…and they succeeded. And though Dumbledore never came out against him, everyone else did and I am ashamed to say I left his study out of fear for my career and went to work for the Ministry and eventually Hogwarts." McGonagall sighed hard once again.

"After his death, I…I resolved that I would never let my own fear get in the way of my beliefs. I always believed he was brilliant…and I let him down when it counted. In the beginning, I published articles with him in his journal but I balked when the pressure to out him had become too great. Still, I have never stopped believing that he was brilliant, rivaled only by Dumbledore. So, when they tried to do the same thing to Harry and Dumbledore, I stood with them. I will never forget the consequences of faltering on your beliefs."

McGonagall looked lost for a moment. Harry was about to say something but Katara spoke first.

"You were young Headmistress. Your values are still intact. You have done so much good. I have learned about all the things you have done, in the short time I have been here, and I believe…that you are probably one of the bravest women I have ever met."

Harry couldn't have said it better himself. He looked at Katara with extreme thankfulness.

Aang was focused on one part of the story. He wasn't sure of all the details, but he knew one part would explain the question he so direly wanted answered. "So…when he disappeared, from the magical world, do you…do you think it was because he was, truly, in my world?" He finished quietly.

"I do believe so, Avatar Aang." McGonagall answered.

"So…Headmistress, you think Mr. Lovegood REALLY discovered another world?" Hermione repeated quietly, as if waiting for absolute confirmation.

"I do, Ms. Granger." McGonagall said, looking at her intensely.

"But…how?" Hermione asked.

"I think you might find some answers in the journals, Ms. Granger." McGonagall replied.

"But why not just tell us!" Harry burst out. Why could NO ONE in this world just give a straight answer?

McGonagall got up from her desk and swept across the room, handing a flabbergasted Hermione Volume 1, Issue 1, of The Journal of Trans-Dimensional Magic, before striding towards the door. She turned and stared at them, "Mr. Potter, I was not meant to solve this puzzle." She looked at them all and there was a rare softness in her features, "This is a kind of magic that cannot be solved through conventional means. I'm afraid that I am not skilled with magic this pervasive… magic this subtle. It is one of my greatest weaknesses, as I have since learned from Aluitious. YOU will have to solve this. Together. Perhaps, on the way, you will solve some other problems as well and that, I think, is the key." With that, McGonagall swept out of the suite.

Harry had never seen her be so mysterious, she sounded like Dumbledore. They all sat quietly for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. Harry seemed to realize that they were all waiting for an answer that would not just appear out of thin air. He sighed and rose from his chair. The others seemed to be shaken out of their thoughts by his movement, and soon followed suit.

Just as they were about to reach the exit to McGonagall's office, the eerily statuesque man entered. They all froze at his sudden reappearance.

"Well then, may I have that word now?" The man said in an unsettlingly calm voice. Nothing about his statement came out as a request.

They all just stared at him.

"This will be brief. I know you have all been sent an owl about your appointments with me. Ah, but where are my manners, my name is Clarence Clavicula, Healer. Anyway, I know you all have separate times but I think it might be rather prudent if you all began your sessions with me in a group as opposed to individual sessions, yes?" Clavicula concluded smiling. Harry thought that Clavicula didn't seem to glean the fact that none of them seemed to be following his train of thought in the slightest.

"So! I will see you all the 20th of November right after dinner, right before holiday." Clavicula said, smiling that damn smile.

"Wha-" Harry started.

"Excellent." Clavicula said brusquely. "I will see you all there. Of course, failure to attend will result in severe consequences. Good day."

With that Clavicula walked out of the room, leaving Team Avapotter flummoxed.

Author's Note. Hey kids! As always, this took forever. Work has been a killer. This chapter is a bit longer than the rest so I hope you will accept that as my apology. So! McGonagall huh? Whoa. And of course, Harry and Hermione- what is going on with THAT. I imagine some of the shippers are going to hate me. All I have to say is, I believe in canon compliance. Stuff is going down and life is happening. I decided that my note would go along with the mysteriousness of the chapter. Shoutouts to Shadow Wasserson who gave me an EXCELLENT review and all those who took time to review I love, love, love, reviews but as always they are not required nor will I do some douchey thing like hold chapters hostage for them (that is so petty). Thanks to all who have story alerted and faved. Thanks to Kate for Beta'ing this for me. So what do you think? Where shall we go from here? Super pumped and kind of afraid. Interesting side note- As I'm writing this, the lady next door just yelled out "THAT WAS SO WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS!" I wonder what THAT'S about. Later kids.