Avatar: A Harry Potter Story

Diagon City

Book One: Air

I woke up to my scar burning. I sat up abruptly and clutched my forehead, muttering curses under my breath. The lightning shape scar pulsed with pain, casting bright white lights behind my eyes.

Once it stopped, I let out a long sigh of relief and lay back against the dumpster I'd fallen asleep against. Across from me, Ron and Hermione were still asleep, Hermione laying comfortably on his healing chest. Ever since meeting the two, I'd wondered if they were a couple. It they were, they didn't mention it.

I let my hand rest on my scar, thinking about how I'd gotten it. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had always told me my parents had died in a car crash, that I was the only survivor. My only souvenir from the accident was my scar. Sometimes when I thought about it, I wished my only souvenir had been my parents' lives. Now that Ron had told me that every Avatar had a scar like mine, it didn't feel as important.

It also opened up more questions about where I came from. I doubted other random teenage boys from the Over World with scars were told about the elements, and then told that they could apparently wield all four. Had my parents been from here? Were they benders or non-benders, Muggles as Hermione and Ron called them? Had I been born here? If so, how'd I end up in the normal world? If my mother were from here, did that mean Aunt Petunia was too? Had she known about the Other World this entire time?

I wondered how different my life would be if they'd lived. I'd probably only see my aunt and uncle at family gatherings. My father could help me with school projects and ruffle my hair every other day. My mother could teach me everything in the books she read. She could explain all the footnotes she wrote in the small photo album I'd appeared at the Dursley's with...

I frowned, coming to a realization.

No, I thought. Dread suddenly burned in my chest, my scar ached and I stood up kicking the dumpster. Tears spilled from my eyes, off of my chin and into my dirty black hoody.

"Of all the things!" I screamed, furiously raking my hands through my hair as I paced the alleyway, anger bubbling in my blood.

"No," I whimpered. Leaning my burning for head against the cold brick wall, I let my tears fall freely and with no interruption.

Of all the things that could've been stolen from me, why did it have to be the album? The last remembrance I had of my parents, gone. All that was left to remember them by was... me.

I kicked weakly at the wall, sniffing. I opened my eyes to wipe them and something caught my eye. A fire escape on the opposite side of the alley that I hadn't noticed before. Wiping my eyes again, I pulled my hood on and began to climb.

Halfway up the fire escape, it began to rain softly. The rain didn't bother me and I didn't let it stop me. By the time I reached the roof of what I guessed was an apartment building, I was drenched. The roof wasn't much. The ground was covered in gravel, flower boxes lined the edges. There was an old bench behind me looking about ready to collapse.

I looked up, wiped my glasses and eyes dry and gasped.

I had greatly underestimated how enormous this place was.

Calling it a city was an understatement. Diagon City from what I could see was about the exact same size as a megalopolis. It seemed the building I stood on was at the very edge of the city for before me stood what looked like thousands of skyscrapers so tall they shot through the clouds. Beneath them, massive buildings were squashed together. Some areas looked highly developed, like Tokyo in the Over World. Others looked like where I stood, simple English settlements.

It seemed like everywhere you looked, a different part of the city would show itself. Every part of it looked like a different place from the Over World. An enormous mixture of every city ever created. If someone had ever tried to explore its entirety, I imagined it would take several years...

Against the dark blue sky, the lights of the city glittered like stars, even through the dense fog surrounding the peak of the skyscrapers. The brightness was distorted in the rain, like I was looking at it through a car window on a rainy day.

A felt a tear slip past my lashes and didn't even bother wiping it away. Diagon City was beautiful and chaotic and loud. But I felt I didn't want to be anywhere else. Yes, I was still extremely upset about loosing my photo album and yes, I was terrified of whatever my life would throw at me next and yep, every time I thought about being the Avatar I felt faint and my scar burned but somehow all I could do was smile.

Somehow, staring up at the city, I'd never felt so close to my parents. I could feel the ghosts of warmth around me and I felt happier. Like even in death, my parents were still there for me.

. . .

I didn't know how long I'd stayed on the roof, practically becoming a human waterfall. When a hand fell gently on my shoulder I cursed so loudly the sound of my own voice didn't even sound familiar after staying silent for so long.

It was Hermione, smiling softly as the rain matted her curly brown hair to her face. Behind her, Ron was sprawled on the bench I thought looked extremely unsterdy. Apparently, it's structue was perfectly fine for it didn't break when Ron stood up to join us.

"H-how long have I been out here?" I asked, yelling slightly. The rain had began to pour more heavily since I'd gotten here. I bet if I whispered I wouldn't even hear myself. Hermione's eyes fluttered, dew drops gathering on her lashes. "About two hours. Ron and I have been here for twenty minutes."

At that, I reeled. I'd been staring at the city landscape for two hours ? It was probably nearly midnight. Yet I only felt like I'd been here for five minutes.

"You'll get a cold, mate. We need to find some place to stay," Ron said, grasping my shoulder briefly. He looked much better than he had earlier. The colour had returned to his face and he was wearing his shirt again, though it was bloodstained. He gave me a brotherly smile and I smiled back, nodding.

I hadn't a clue where we'd spend the night. Three adolescent teens drenched by the rain. One with an odd scar who was apparently the Avatar. One with a magical bag and one with blood turning his pale yellow air nomad shirt orange. That might've raised a few eyebrows.

Nevertheless, Ron Hermione and I climbed back down the fire escape once I'd glanced back at the magnificent view of Diagon City one last time.

When we made it to the ground, I turned to ask Hermione and Ron where we were headed when sirens interrupted me. Loud and blaring. Sharing startling looks, we emerged from the alleyway. A dozen people in what looks like grey armor were racing down the street and stopped abruptly in front of us with their backs so us. One pointed at the line of apartment and storefront buildings on the opposite side of the road and yelled into a microphone, "Yield, Night Crawler! You're surrounded!"

I gaped. "I-I know that name," I muttered loudly and Ron and Hermione stared at me incredulously. "What do you mean?" Ron asked, shouting above the rain. I blinked, wiped my glasses and stared at the roof of the building opposite ours. Standing at its edge was a ninja in a dark green bodysuit with a thick yellow belt. Everything but their eyes covered.

A lump formed in my throat.

"It's Pansy..."