Dark Puck - Magicbending [My FF.net Account] [Ongoing Fic Post] [Wingless Archangel Studios]
April 21st, 2008
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Magicbending
Title: Magicbending
Authors: Eleanor and Puck
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Crossover
Summary: Haru, Teo, and Zuko are accidentally Portkeyed to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hilarity Ensues.
Warning: Takes place after the Firebending Masters. Includes some of my personal crackship because I refuse to let it go. Ever. To that effect, the events of Just One Night are considered canon to this fic.  Some parts of the story are from necessity lifted directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Neither of us is precisely thrilled about it, but it had to be done. There are several events where the Avatar characters' presence will not interfere with the actual outcome. The point is not to demonstrate to the Potter cast that they are doing it wrong, but to show how the Avatar cast would adapt to this strange new world.

3

 

A bit awkward, the three ‘transfer students’ stood apart from the smaller eleven-year-olds waiting to be called into the Great Hall for the Sorting.  They could hear the whispers and feel the eyes upon them, but pretended not to notice.  They’d known that there would be no help for standing out at this event; they could only hope that integration wouldn’t be too difficult.

At last, they were all called inside by Professor McGonagall; the lowered murmuring in the hall increased as the students took notice of the trio of outsiders.  To Haru’s great relief, McGonagall chose not to comment on them, instead setting down the two items she was carrying — a stool and an incredibly worn hat.

Silence fell, and then a rip near the brim of the hat opened, and the hat began to sing, causing Zuko, Teo, and Haru to jump.

 

In times of old, when I was new,

And Hogwarts barely started,

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted.

 

United by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning

To make the world’s best magic school

And pass along their learning.

 

“Together we will build and teach”

The four good friends decided.

And never did they dream that they

Might some day be divided.

 

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,

 

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there, so I can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

 

Said Slytherin, “We’ll teach just those

Whose ancestry’s purest.”

Said Ravenclaw, “We’ll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest”

 

Said Gryffindor, “We’ll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name.”

Said Hufflepuff, “I’ll teach the lot

And treat them just the same.”

 

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light.

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

 

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning just like him.

 

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

 

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest

and taught them all she knew,

Thus, the Houses and their founders

Maintained friendships firm and true.

 

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

for several happy years,

but then discord crept among us

feeding on our faults and fears.

 

The Houses that, like pillars four

had once held up our school

now turned upon each other and

divided, sought to rule.

 

And for a while it seemed the school

must meet an early end.

what with dueling and with fighting

and the clash of friend on friend.

 

And at last there came a morning

when old Slytherin departed

and though the fighting then died out

he left us quite downhearted.

 

And never since the founders four

were whittled down to three

have the Houses been united

as they once were meant to be.

 

And now the Sorting Hat is here

and you all know the score:

I sort you into Houses

because that is what I’m for.

 

But this year I’ll go further,

listen closely to my song:

though condemned I am to split you

still I worry that it’s wrong,

 

though I must fulfill my duty

and must quarter every year

still I wonder whether sorting

may not bring the end I fear.

 

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

the warning history shows,

for our Hogwarts is in danger

from external, deadly foes

 

and we must unite inside her

or we’ll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you…

let the Sorting now begin.

 

The students broke into stuttered applause punctuated by whispers, and Haru couldn’t exactly blame them.

Zuko felt like banging his head against the wall and shouting “fuck you” to the Powers that Be. However, that would not only be ineffective, it would also draw unwanted attention. So he merely glared silently at the hat.

“That was… ominous…,” Teo said softly, looking a bit uncertain.

Professor McGonagall then called Haru up.  Hiding his reluctance, Haru made his way to the stool and settled down on it, managing not to cringe as the hat was settled over his eyes.  The next thing he knew, a voice was speaking in his head.

“You’re a clever one, there’s no denying it,” that voice — the hat!? — said.  “Something of a prodigy as well, unless I miss my guess.  Self-taught, are you?  Well, I suppose war would account for that.”

What the hell, thought Haru.

“Oh, don’t mind me, I won’t be long.  Oh, but you’re a shadowy one, aren’t you?  Appearance is bright, but under that you’ll do anything to protect your friends.  Add to that a touch of vengeance—”

HEY!

“—and a dash of cunning, and there’s really only one House for you, Haru of the Earth Kingdom.

“SLYTHERIN!” screamed the Hat then, announcing his new affiliation to the school at large.  Stunned by the experience, Haru numbly allowed himself to be directed to the table with green ties.

Next, Professor McGonagall called Teo up.

Compared to Haru, Teo’s experience with the hat was rather short: “There’s only one place for a clever lad like you, Teo-Who-Flies.

“RAVENCLAW!”

The boy eagerly bounced over to the blue table, and now it was Zuko’s turn.

The prince’s experience was likewise short, but no less uncomfortable for the young man. “It’s nice when you’re easy to place.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Zuko slid out of the hat and headed over to the red table, settling himself alone at the far end.

Unperturbed, McGonagall continued on to the first-years.  “Abercrombie, Euan!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

After long last, it was over, and the professor collected stool and hat and left with them.

The old man at the centre of the high table — presumably the Headmaster — then stood up. “To our newcomers,” he said, “welcome! To our old hands — welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!”

Then food appeared on the tables, out of nowhere.

Only the strictest self-control kept Haru from jumping; he could already hear his new Housemates whispering to each other about him and he’d rather not add fuel to that particular blaze.  Instead he applied himself steadily to his food, keeping one eye on Teo and another on Zuko.

The youngest of them, at least, seemed to be fitting into his new House well, chattering happily away with a slightly older girl with unusually light hair — though perhaps here that colour wasn’t so unusual, one of his own Housemates had hair that was almost white.

Zuko, on the other hand, was not mixing with his Housemates — whether by his choice or theirs was unclear from this distance. Though, knowing him, it was more likely the former. 

Finally, the students were replete, and the ancient man who was presumably the Headmaster stood up again.  The noise level dropped again in response.  “Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast,” he declared, “I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices.  Our new students ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds—”  Haru coughed slightly. “— and a few of our older students ought to know that by now too.”

“Bet you five galleons Potter’s back out there by the end of the week,” one of the boys down the table muttered at the white-haired one.

“Make it ten,” he replied, sounding bored.

Did nobody in this school have normal names?

“Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can now be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch’s office door.”

Haru couldn’t help but snort quietly.  “Killjoy much?” he muttered.

“Wonder what he added this year,” the first boy from earlier muttered.

“We have had two changes in staffing this year,” the venerable one went on, apparently oblivious to the whisperings.  “We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

There was a round of polite but unenthusiastic applause, during which Haru looked at the teacher who had assigned the theoretical book.  He got an overwhelming impression of pinkness not dissimilar from Ty Lee, but unlike the friendly acrobat, this pinkness somehow managed to stifle and offend.  Perhaps this was due to the fact that the shade Umbridge wore was more commonly attributed to seven-year-old girls.

“Ugh, what is she wearing?” a girl sitting next to the white-haired boy snorted.

“Looks like a unicorn barfed on it,” another student agreed.

The old man continued, “Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on—”

He stopped then, looking over at the pink woman.  It took Haru a moment to realise she’d stood up.  She cleared her throat with an annoying ‘hem, hem’ sound, making it clear she intended to make a speech.

The headmaster stared at her for a brief moment, then sat down, yielding the floor to her.

Judging by the expressions on the rest of the staff’s faces, this was far from usual — or welcome.

A break from tradition, then.  Haru turned his full attention to the woman as his eyes narrowed.

“Thank you, Headmaster,” she said, in a voice as painfully sweet as her sweater was pink, “for those kind words of welcome.” She cleared her throat again, gave a pointy smile at the student body, and resumed, “Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!”

Haru’s jaw dropped open.  She could not possibly be serious.

“Oh my God,” whispered yet another of his new Housemates.  “What does she think we are?  Six?”

“I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I’m sure we’ll be very good friends!” Apparently, she was.

“Friends,” whispered an older student, making the word sound like a threat.  Suuuure.”

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat again, and continued, now sounding decidedly less airy and more like she was reading a well-rehearsed recitation. “The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and loved by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.” Here she paused to bow to the rest of the staff table.

“…what.”

That simple sentence, uttered by yet another Housemate, summed up Haru’s feelings succinctly.

She cleared her throat yet again, and pressed on. “Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, an that is as it should be, for without progress there would be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress’s sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…”

Few people were listening anymore, judging by the faint buzz of chatter that had filled the hall.

Haru, however, was.  That part about discouraging progress for progress’ sake… he didn’t like it.  She spoke of balance, which was only proper, but something was off about the way she spoke of it.

“…because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited.” At last, she was done. She sat, and the headmaster (followed somewhat grudgingly by the rest of the staff) applauded.

Haru did not.  The words she spoke were great, but the undercurrent to them… he would need time to decipher that speech, as well as more knowledge of the culture.

And the old man was rising again.  “Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating,” he said, bowing to her.  “Now as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held…”

“Illuminating like an eclipse,” Haru growled softly.

A few moments later, the old man finished giving out his start-of-term notices and dismissed them all to go to bed.

As Haru rose with the rest of his House, he tried to catch Zuko’s eye across the Hall.

He succeeded, and the other boy arched his eyebrow.

Meet me after lights-out,’ Haru mouthed at him.

Zuko nodded once, then followed his housemates upstairs.

The older bender did the same, though his lot headed downstairs towards the dungeons.  Amusing.  The ‘evil’ House is lodged in the place most cultures seem to consider a prison, Haru thought.

An hour later, Zuko was waiting for him just outside the room the three of them had stayed in over the summer.  “So, what’d you make of Professor Pink’s speech?” Haru said without preamble.

“Apart from the fact that she needs to go back to propaganda school?” he asked, dryly.

“Yeah, that’s about what I got from it too.”  Haru sighed.  “I learned that my House doesn’t like being talked down to.”

“A girl in my House thinks it means that the Ministry is taking over the school. Judging by her tone and the way her friends’ reacted, this isn’t normal here.”

“Government interference.  Why, I wonder.”

“I couldn’t say.”

“Me either.  But this, combined with the theoretical book?  Something’s going down behind the scenes.”

“Definitely.”

Haru frowned. “The girl in your House — did she comment on the discouraging of progress for progress’ sake?”

“That was one of the quotes she used as evidence.”

“And it sounds similar to something a soldier in my village said once,” Haru said quietly.  “Anti-Fire Nation propaganda.  He didn’t really last long — we were still occupied at the time.”

Zuko nodded, not looking at him. “I don’t like this.”

“I don’t either.  What’s the situation with your inter-House politics?”

“Divided. This fifth-year kid, Harry Potter, was something like their standard-bearer up until this past summer. Now half the House thinks he’s insane.”

Potter.  The white-haired kid had mentioned a Potter.  “Do you know why?”

“I didn’t ask for the details. But the fifth-years’ room is next to the seventh-years, and he and one of his year-mates had a shouting match about it. Apparently, something happened last summer, to a kid named Cedric, and the newspaper is saying that both Potter and the headmaster are lying about the details.”

“…I think we need to find out what those details were,” Haru said.

“Definitely,” Zuko agreed.

“Also, watch out for my House,” Haru warned.  “A lot of these kids are nasty pieces of work — spoiled brats who think they own the world.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Sounds like three quarters of the kids I grew up around.”

“Granted,” Haru said.  “The current master of the House is a fifth-year named Draco Malfoy.”  He put a slight emphasis on current.

“Is that good or bad?”

“Can’t tell yet,” the older bender said.  “I’m not the topic of interest right now.”

Zuko nodded. “Right, then.”

“He won’t ever be too much of a danger,” Haru said with a small smile.

Zuko arched his eyebrow. “How can you be sure?”

“Because I could arrange an overthrow and get someone else as master of the House easy.”

“Are you going to?”

Haru waved a hand.  “Not unless provoked.”

Zuko shrugged. “If you say so.”

“Anything else?”

“Nothing I can think of right now.”

“Right.  Same time tomorrow night?”  He made no mention of their morning exercise — that was a completely separate event that happened no matter what.

He nodded. “Same place?”

“Yeah.”

“See you then, then,” Zuko said, then stood up to wander for a while until he felt like going to bed.

Haru shook his head and snuck off back to his dorm, taking care not to be caught. 

 

Current Location: my dad's chair
Current Mood: bored
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Comments
 
[User Picture]
From:[info]tigerkat24
Date:April 21st, 2008 07:52 pm (UTC)
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Oh, Haru. <333 And TEO! <33333333333 So much love. Betcha Teo finds out more faster than both of them.
Also, "It's nice when you're easy." *snigger*
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From:[info]bearlyhapnin
Date:May 1st, 2008 06:42 am (UTC)
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hehehe... would LOVE the idea of Haru staging an overthrow of Draco. I wonder how their houses will react when they discover that Haru and Zuko have been meeting.

From:(Anonymous)
Date:July 14th, 2009 09:53 am (UTC)

Edsgarcr

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