trans_9 | Meet-n-Greet

The feeling she got was most definitely correct. Though usually detached from a lot of things going on in the wider scope of things, Luna grasps how unfortunate it is that she exists in a time when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is making such a powerful comeback. Though Hogwarts is the safest place she could be, she somehow feels that being in the process of learning when such things are happening isn't quite the best idea; already knowing it all would be better, as it would give her and everyone else she holds dear a better chance for surviving. Losing one person has taught her that the hole they leave behind hurts, and she is much discinclined to have more holes in her heart.

This idea, the general desire to avoid being hurt again, is universal, so their situations have at least that in common, if not more. Luna muses inwardly that she's very glad Katara spoke to her; finding a kindred spirit in the world always makes her very happy, as it means potential for another friendship. Who knows, if Luna ever makes it home, Katara's likeness might find its way into the mural on her ceiling, as well.

"Another similarity," she murmurs, thinking of the two further years she would have to spend studying to get anywhere near perfect with her own skills. The mention of making up moves brings a smile to her lips, though, and her eyes twinkle. "That sounds like my friend Harry. He escaped from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named with 'expelliarmus', which is quite a bit more than most people can say for themselves. Improvising often takes more skill than simply doing what you're taught, in any case."

Katara wished she knew what Luna was thinking, as she was silent for a little while, but that was OK. Considering the situation, getting lost in thought was more than forgivable, it was necessary. Besides, it hadn't escaped Katara that Luna might be a thinker to begin with, if she came from a house whose best feature was using your brains. She imagined Sokka would like to be in a house like that, he seemed to push on the idea of rationality and logic over everything. Of course, he'd never think quite like Luna, which was fine . It suited her well.

At the mention of a boy named Harry, Katara got the impression he was something of a big deal. OK, now their similarities were getting downright eerie. Still, it was good to be sure.

"Who is Harry? What's he to you?"

Luna's mouth opens partway, eyes fixed on Katara more intently than she has done so far. A small laugh slips out, and she smiles, most definitely amused with the question. Asking who Harry Potter was seems rather... well, ridiculous to her, and she has to remind herself that Katara is from a world where, if they do have a fated savior (as The Daily Prophet has dubbed him), he doesn't come with a lightning scar and tousled black hair.

"Who is Harry... Harry - Harry Potter is The Boy Who Lived, and one of our world's only hopes for coming out alive from the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He's a very talented wizard, but he's very sad, too. His godfather just died, and he already lost his parents to the war. He's a wonderful person," she says, tone filled with a warmth that is typical of Luna these days when she talks about any one of her friends. "He's one of my best friends," she adds, still smiling, wondering if maybe he's made his way onto Stacy, too. That would be nice.

And Katara laughs herself, so amused that what she had thought was true actually was. The two of them really were more similar than they thought. If other people on the ship were like Luna, she had a feeling getting adjusted wouldn't be as hard as she though. She just had to wrap her head around things that seemed impossible on her world.

"In my world, there is someone like that," she said, smiling. "He is the Avatar, and he has the ability to use all four of the elements, as well as being able to use the Avatar state, where the bending ability increases fivefold. As fate happened, I was the one that released the newest Avatar, the last airbender. His name is Aang, and he and I, along with my brother and friends, traveled the world to try and undo the wrongs in our world. Aang is...well, he's someone very special to me. I miss him already. He sounds like he'd get along with your Harry Potter."

She was already wondering what kind of person Harry was. Strange name though.

Katara's laughter has Luna's smile widening, as she has always liked hearing other people express mirth, whether it's at her expense or not. That's one of the reasons that she never particularly minded people stealing her things at school, because it gave them joy, and if it made them happy, she was just as happy to oblige. As long as they gave them back eventually, of course...

"Aang is a very odd name," Luna observes aloud, thinking all the same that yes, he probably would get along with Harry. Most people got along with Harry, actually, permitted that they didn't call him a liar or a prick, and even then there were exceptions. "It's possible to use other elements than water? Things like fire and earth?"

Katara nodded. "Well, only the Avatar can do all four. Everyone else can only just do the one they were born with. That doesn't mean you can't learn something from the other nations, though. I know my friend Zuko learned how to deflect lightning by watching the waterbenders. But there are water, fire, earth and air."

Katara smiled. " I HAVE to know...how are you able to make things appear out of thin air?"

"Hmm... I'd like to see that sometime." Though it wasn't exactly obvious what she's referring to, she means someone deflecting lightning. She has always been a little frightened of lightning, so seeing someone defeat it is something she would enjoy. Not to mention asking them how they did it so she could try making a spell to do the same thing... She blinks. "So each of the elements has a nation? That's interesting."

As she wonders how to answer, Luna twitches her wand, murmuring a charm that Hermione had helped her perfect. A small flock of canaries shoots from the end of her wand, proceeding to flap around the two girls' heads chirruping and tweeting. "For most things there is a charm or a spell, but after a point you learn how to conjure things without anything that specific. An image in your head serves to create it, and -" POOF, there is a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw on the floor beside them. "It's very simple."

Katara nodded. "I heard that Zuko is supposed to be here, he could properly show you. I know waterbending moves, but he's more familiar in how they would apply in that situation." Katara was somewhat certain that was what Luna was referring to, since it was impossible to show her all the bending moves. Aang was the only airbender, and as far as she knew there was no mention of any earthbender on the ship yet. So she was certain Stacy wanted at the least, a firebender and a waterbender. What they would be applied for was anyone's guess.

She watched the canaries with rapt attention. Never mind she'd never seen a species of bird that was ONLY a bird: she used a stick to make them appear! "Wow! Usually it takes a lot of studying to perfect a waterbending move, or at least a very tight situation! Your world is really amazing! Too bad it has its hardships of people trying to hurt others, like mine. What are your enemies after?"

"Zuko... Another odd name," she muses. "I suppose I'll look forward to meeting him if he is indeed somewhere onboard. What element does he control?"

The birds continue to circle and chirrup, seemingly ecstatic to be alive in their odd way. Luna blinks at Katara's question, her eyes fixed on the feathery yellow charm-birds, her eyes darkening slightly. She looks very deep in thought for a few minutes before looking back down at the waterbender, a rather odd expression on her face, something quite close to fear. "Daddy has a hypothesis. There is an old myth about three brothers that, while most people believe it to be nothing more than myth, is actually quite true. The tale focuses on a way to escape death known as the Deathly Hallows. He's only spoken of it to me, this hypothesis, but he believes that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is after the Elder Wand, otherwise known as the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny. It's the ultimate weapon in our world, and while no one can be completely invincible without the other two Hallows, the idea of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named possessing the Elder Wand is more terrifying than the demon himself. There haven't been official inquiries into that line of thought, of course..." She hesitates, and the fear fades from her eyes, replaced by a rather melancholy smile. "Other than the Elder Wand, our enemy is after Harry Potter, but I believe that Harry can overcome He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's power and defeat him. Harry's a very powerful wizard, and if he can't do it, then there's no hope for the rest of us."

Katara chuckled. "I thought the same thing about the name 'Harry. I guess names are something we all have to get used to. He controls fire, and he's very good at it. I've seen him in action, and he's on his way to becoming a bit of a master at it himself."

Katara cupped a bird and listened to Luna, noting the change in the girls' usual dreamy attitude. The story she told made Katara's pulse quicken and her mouth go dry even though she had never met this 'He-who-must-not-be-named.' That was hardly surprising though: if there was one thing Katara was aware of from her world, it was how dangerous people were when they went out of their way to dominate others.

"I wish I could say I could never imagine a wizard like who you're talking about. In my world, the Fire nation is headed by a kind of king called the Firelord, and he's the one who had the Fire nation troops invade our homelands. On a particular day, when a comet shot in the sky, the fire benders are at their strongest, and a hundred years ago they used that power to wipe out all the airbenders. Later, the new firelord wanted to use that power again...to destroy all of the opposition in the Earth Kingdom. He's a very dangerous man, and the father of Zuko, my friend. He came very close to achieving his goal, had Aang not stepped in and stopped him."

Katara smiled at Luna. "But Harry will need his friends too, I know that much. They give him strength, just like we did the Avatar. In that way, we're all just as important."

"I suppose it's all relative. I think your names are strange, you think my names are strange. Though some of the names in my world are fairly peculiar... Nymphadora. Bellatrix. I've always liked the name Bellatrix." No reference to the fact that Bellatrix puts the 'fun' back in 'fundamentalist psycho', nor the way she murdered Harry's godfather. Luna values the brighter things in life, like interesting names and Dirigible Plums. Speaking of Dirigible Plums... "It's too bad there weren't any in my locker... that would have been wonderful." Grumbling stomach aside... "I'm sure firebending is just as interesting as waterbending. Does it look any different? Yours was like a dance, though I suppose all the other forms could be quite fluid, too..."

"Malicious forces are a constant, though it really is a shame that there's such ambiguity about the battle between what we call 'good and evil'. The Firelord probably saw himself as quite justified in his actions, just as much so as Aang did in his. No one can say whose philosophy is correct, therefore there will always be new genocides, whether it's a powerful dark wizard persecuting Muggles and Muggle-borns or a Firebender trying to crush a resistance. This war that Stacy is enlisting us to fight in might even be wrong by our own principles, though Stacy obviously sees it as justifiable." Though no one has said anything about a war, Luna tends to draw her own conclusions, and after all, why else would someone gather such a group of people who all seemed to have powerful skills in some form of combat or another?

Katara's smile is returned with a glowing one of Luna's own. "Friends are the one universal thing, I think. Everyone needs friends." One of the witch's own personal philosophies, bred of the close ties she made in the last year of resisting the reign of the Hogwarts High Inquisitor and trying to save Sirius Black.

Katara nodded. "Those are pretty out there names, but you're right. Bellatrix is a pretty interesting name too, although it makes me think of a poisonous plant for some reason." It really did sound like one for some reason.

"Aren't any what?" Katara asked? She couldn't hear Luna's thoughts, so she got an incomplete thought spoken aloud she couldn't begin to interpret. "But yes, firebending is different. While our movements are fluid and like dancing, firebending is quick and precise, with very sharp movement. Its enough to take somebody's eye out, to get close to a firebender."

Katara remembered how Aang had burned her initially in his first foray at firebending by accident. It was also the same day she discovered she could heal with water too. But she wouldn't allow any defending of the Firelord, and her face showed it. "Aang's mission is to protect the people of our world and restore balance. Firelord Ozai's was to set the earth nation on fire and make people fear him! If you had seen him on the day of Sozin's comment, his maliciousness would be unmistakable. The only justifying he needs is crushing others to serve his own selfish principals. There isn't anything good about upsetting the balance of a world and people's homes and lives and families just you could reign supreme. That's just...evil!"

Katara took a breath. She hated sounding so angry at Luna, but the war was a sore spot...she'd lost her mother, Jet and almost lost Aang because of it.

"But I do agree with you about THIS war. We have no idea who's right or who's wrong, and I want to get to the bottom of it before I do anything. I don;t turn my back on people who need me, and that includes people on this ship, but if we're being manipulated, I want no part in it."

Katara nodded. "Yeah. We all leaned on each other when we needed to, and kicked each others butt when we had to. That just comes with being balanced, I guess."

"Yes, well, the woman herself is a bit of a poisonous plant, so it's to be expected," she says simply, not sounding fazed by the insult she gave. After all, Bellatrix well deserved it, and though Luna was fairly incapable of holding a grudge or being angry at anyone, the fact remained that the insane Death Eater had made one of her best friends badger his house ghost about the Afterlife, which wasn't anything Luna would ever expect him to go into. It made her a bit worried, actually, that powerful urge to see his deceased relatives again, because there was a certain Stone out there that would help if he ever found it, and the thought of Harry meddling with things like the Stone of Resurrection gave her chills.

Her thoughts having drifted again, her return to the present is greeted with a small shower of red sparks from the end of her wand, Luna's equivalent of a twitch. "Dirigible Plums," she says, intending the short explanation to be highly specific, though if she had thought about it a bit, it would have made quite a bit of sense that Katara (and most anyone else) would have no clue what a Dirigible Plum is. "... I had a professor who lost an eye. He was a fake, though. I wonder if it had anything to do with fire..."

Luna listens to the rant thoughtfully, realizing belatedly that of course Katara would be rubbed backwards by her comments; she had lost her mother and, from the sound of things, her childhood to the war being fought. It would be nigh on impossible for anyone to be objective when the situation stood thus, and after all, everyone didn't spend as much time thinking about things as Luna herself did. "I'm sorry, Katara. I didn't mean anything like that. I think he's wrong for doing what he's doing; subjecting people to your own will isn't right by any means," she says simply, eyes kind and intent. Her tone shifts slightly as she speaks, going from mellow and detached to soothing and warm, and though there isn't much by way of an expression on her face, it is obvious that she means to comfort.

"Oh, I see," Katara said. "I knew a girl like that too, but her name is Azula. She's got to be the most vicious, sadistic person I know, five times more than Zuko was when he was bad. I was lucky to defeat her that day when the comet came. I think woman can sometimes be more vicious than men when they're that evil."

Katara listened about the fake professor and was once again mystified. She was really going to have to sit down with Luna and get a detailed explanation of all the things she'd seen and all the people she met. That included the Dirigible Plums.

Katara sighed. "I know you didn't mean anything. It's just a very sore subject for me still. There were plenty of times where we were almost killed, and one time Aang nearly was when he and I were fighting. I've never been able to forgive myself for not stopping it. But yeah, some people just mean to hurt others, and if I had to make a choice, I'd do it all over again to save the ones I care about."

"I agree. Women can be very, very mean." Like the ones who laughed at her earrings, told her hair looked like a cobweb, told her she should date Neville Longbottom so that both of them could get off the market and go away forever. And then there were all of the Bellatrix Lestranges and Azulas in the world, which were ten times as bad, but also ten times less common.

Luna would be happy to oblige, Katara, though there aren't any guarantees that she won't go off on too many tangents for any of it to make sense. Dirigible Plums are just the start of it.

"War is hard for everyone involved, and it puts strain on even the closest of relationships. But if you can look back on everything you've done and feel... well, if not proud, at least satisfied with your actions, then it's a lot more than most people can say for themselves. I'm sure you'll still do plenty of good things, too, whether you're trapped here or not." She hesitates, wondering she should voice her thoughts or not, wondering if it will get Katara's hopes up too much. She figures, though, that if Katara is as smart as she seems, she will have thought of the possibility already, so it won't be anything new to her. "And anyway, if Aang is as powerful as he sounds, and you and Zuko were of interest to Stacy, I'm sure that he'll show up eventually if he's not already here. If we are at war, she'll want all the help she can get, and the Avatar sounds like someone we would want on our side." She smiles.

"Yeah, I know," Katara said. "I have a friend named Toph who's short and blind, even though she's an airbender and can 'see' better than most people. One time I took her to a spa and we were made up and everything...and then these girls passed by and made fun of her pretty badly. I'm glad we made them get wet and fall in the river, but it still hurt Toph."

Katara gave her back a smile. "I thought that too. It seemed silly that we would be brought here and they would leave Aang. The Avatar is far too much of an asset if someone were fighting a war." She hated talking about Aang like he was just some toy to be used, but she figured she had to get into the mind of someone trying to start a war.

Katara smiled. "I'm glad I met you Luna. We're a lot more alike that I thought. Different too, but similar."

That really didn't make sense. Darn.

"I know how that feels," she says, her tone bordering on... snarky? exasperated? Something like that. "That sounds like it would have been fun, though, feminine cruelty aside. I wish I had been there, if only to see a little part of your world. It sounds so beautiful." War or no, that's exactly what Luna feels it must be like to an outsider like her; a world that's so based on the elements, the things that make up the entire world, someplace so focused on the essentials is a concept that she revels in, cherishes, longs to see. Waterbending, firebending, earthbending... airbending... It's so much more magical than magic. At the thought, she smiles, watching the somewhat calmer canaries as a few settle in Katara's hair, the other two hopping around on the floor between them. Yes, it's a lot more magical, she thinks, holding her hand out for one of them to hop onto.

Bird cupped in her palm, she raises it to eye level, head tilted to the side as she runs her fingers over its silky feathers, a rather fascinated look on her face. "Well then, we'll just have to keep our wands lit and be patient, won't we?"

Her eyes shift over the bird's head, beaming as she lowers her hand slightly. The words may have been convoluted to Katara, but Luna knows exactly what she's saying. "Kindred spirits are always a pleasure to discover," she says by way of reciprocation. Yes, Katara will most definitely be added to the mural on her ceiling. Maybe she'll paint over Ron's, just to make room...

"I don't think anyone should be excluded from those kind of experiences," Katara said after thinking a moment. "But the truth is, the moments aren't that because they're in my world, they happen because they're meaningful. I'm very blown away by your ability in magic, Luna, and I think its really an interesting thing to learn. I don't see why everyone wouldn't want to try and become a witch. I mean, if they're anything like you,, they'll appreciate what they know, and how their abilities are linked to their state of being."

Katara paused. "My friend Aang made a friend a hundred years ago named Bumi. He met him with me years later, and the man was to most people strange. He not only was a very strong earthbender, he masterminded his own capture so he could regain his city all by himself. The best abilities come from those who know how to be different. That's what I think, and its why I think you'll be an amazing witch."

Katara nodded. "Yes. I hope I'll see him soon."

Katara smiled. She knew what she;d been trying to say to Luna but was afraid she thought her strange for phrasing it so oddly. That she understood made Katara realize this was a girl she would defend to death. In her world, that meant a lot.

One of the canaries cheeps, and Luna doesn't reply for a long time. "Meaningful," she finally murmurs. "That's a very good word." "And anyway, everyone simply can't try to become a witch. If you aren't born with magic, then you aren't born with it. It's very sad, all of the Muggles in the world not appreciating the beauty of it, persecuting the few of us they find, struggling along on their own without anything to aid them besides their own two hands and wits. There are people, too, born to perfectly capable wizarding parents who don't have even the slightest flicker of magic about them. We call them Squibs, and I think it would be very sad to be one. To grow up in the wizarding world and not be able to do even the simplest summoning spell. It's a bit of a shame that so many of my classmates don't appreciate what they have in their hands. It's a whole world of anything."

A smile, another cheep. "Are you calling me strange?" Her tone is joking, eyes full of mirth, as Luna knows damn well that she's one of the wonkier twigs in the broomstick. "Thank you," she adds, twirling a piece of hair around a finger. "Though I think it would be better to say that the best abilities come from those who know how to be themselves."

Katara nodded. "Its like that in my world too: you have to be born with the abilities, or you just don't have them. You can be helpful in other ways too though. My brother has no bending abilities like me, and he usually just looked at it as freaky magic at first. For him, being the boy in the family while dad was gone meant he had to take care of me to the best of his ability, and he did. Eventually, he found someone to teach him how to fight better with a sword, and he was very good at figuring things out and being the level head in the group. In a way, him not having bending ability made him think more with his head, and that has helped us a lot in the long run."

Katara smiled sheepishly. "Not strange, different. But I think its something to be proud of. And I agree with you: people who are themselves are the strongest people I know."

Katara paused. "What is Polyjuice potion?"

"Did Stacy pick him up, too? Oh... you probably don't know yet... Though I did meet someone who was wearing clothes similar to yours earlier. He had a very pretty boomerang. I've never seen a boomerang in real life, and this one was such a nice shade of blue..." She pauses. "What's your brother's name?" Though it's none of her business, she does rather want to know; their names are all so interesting. That, and she may well have met him earlier, if Sir Boomerang's clothes and hair color are any indication.

"It is something to be proud of, isn't it? Individual thought processes and all."

"Polyjuice potion... It... Well, it allows you to turn into another person for a short period of time. From what I hear, it's quite uncomfortable, and you only get an hour out of a single dose. Supposedly tastes horrid, too."

"Actually, Stacy did," Katara replied, and then listened to the rest of what Luna was saying. "Oh, that's him all right. His name is Sokka. If you called his boomerang pretty, I'm guessing that either confused or bothered him. Sokka has this weird obsession with being a 'man's man' and sometimes it makes him forget that I can waterbend him to oblivion if he thinks I can't do something because I'm a girl!"

Katara huffed here, looking annoyed, than cleared her throat. "But other than that, my brother's a really nice person, and in time I think he'll be able to adjust to this place. He just really needs to step outside the bx where everything is simple and logical just because."

Katara nodded. She was sure Luna was that kind of person: she didn't feel sorry for herself because she was different, she just allowed herself to BE. Katara thought Luna was brave to do it.

She made a face upon the explanation of Polyjuice Potion was though. "Ugh, turn into another person? That doesn't sound pleasant. I mean, changing you around to begin with is probably pretty uncomfortable, right?"

"Oh, well, that's good." She smiles detachedly. "Yes, he was rather confused by my observation. I had to explain myself, which I suppose was rather strange."

Katara's huffy moment has a giggle coming from Luna. "Siblings are designed to be annoying, you know. I do wish I had one. And anyway, he was rather nice."

"Oh, it isn't pleasant at all. People normally use it for forms of espionage, anyway. My Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher last year turned out to be using it for the entire year. He was actually an escaped convict from Azkaban out to turn Harry over to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It was quite a shock." Though, really, she doesn't sound shocked at all. It seems that it takes a bit more than the memory of the story of Barty Crouch Jr. to upset her cool.

"Well, he just sees himself in a certain way. That changed a lot from how he used to be. It was his girlfriend that helped with that. Her name is Suki, and she's a Kyoshi warrior." She could get into who they are and what they do, but that was a long story, and would just go on too long.

Katara nodded vigorously. "Oh believe me, it can get a lot worse when he's the only companion besides someone you just recently connected with. I can say its been annoying, but I've also seen Sokka grow a lot. I guess when you're about to get captured or possibly killed, you can still count on your sibling to have your back."

And was really the only reason she wouldn't mind how protective he'd be later on. She would make sure he was never in danger either. The same applied to Mai and Zuko.

Where was he anyway?

"WOW," Katara said, but remembered something all too similar: the day of the black sun. The attack that started out so well: ruined when they attempted to take the Fire Nation by surprise. Azula kidnapped Suki and donned the disguise of a Kyoshi warrior and learned of the attack. Katara couldn't imagine the danger of a potion that would make you looka nd sound like someone else.

"I can't see that kind of potion as a good thing," Katara said. "He have some pretty twisted people in our world."

Meet-n-Greet

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