Ch. 3

Banished

Zuko entered the courtyard with apprehension, yet he couldn't bring himself to regret the action that had brought him here in the first place. As he walked towards the pavilion where the Agni Kai would be held, he held his breathing steady as he had been practicing in his early meditations. There was no point in losing his calm to the nerves that itched in the back of his mind where they had been trapped trapped barriers constructed from the accumulation of unyielding thoughts that he had spent hours each morning adding to.

There was already a crowd gathered when he arrived, but the old general he had insulted had not yet appeared. Zuko hesitated in the entry way for a few moments. The crowd continued to grow as he watched, and he saw Azula sit down beside Iroh. His father had yet to appear. Deep down, a part of Zuko wondered what would happen if he lost. Would Ozai be furious? Or worse, would he not even care?

A pang shot through the young prince's heart and he violently shoved the emotion away. Of course his father would care. He would beat the general, and Ozai would be proud of him. Maybe even as proud of him as he was of Azula. Zuko's lip turned up in a slight smile at the thought. Maybe his father would even invite him to future war councils, and he could take the place of the general.

At the sound of a gong, Zuko walked to take his place at the far side of the stage. With his back turned to his opponent, he hardened his expression into one of firm resolve and dropped into a low crouch. He had meant what he said. He was not afraid to face the general, and he would leave this Agni Kai as the victor. When the gong rang again, Zuko rose to his feet and turned to face his opponent.

It took only a second to register what was wrong with the picture he saw. It felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. A cold sweat broke out across his brow, although the afternoon was far from cool, and the will to fight left his limbs. Where once adrenaline had coursed through his veins now it seemed liquid ice flowed. Zuko couldn't move. He couldn't- wouldn't- fight his father.

When Ozai strode towards him, Zuko stood his ground, desperately trying to figure out of this mess. He knew he didn't stand a chance against the fire lord. "Please, Father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn." Zuko begged, praying his father would show mercy.

Ozai, however, would not back down. He was a cruel man, and he resented his son for the weakness he showed. A prince of the Fire Nation should face his adversaries, not try to cower and gain their mercy. It was disgraceful. "You will fight for your honor," he growled, clenching his fists as he advanced on Zuko.

Zuko dropped to his knees in a low bow. "I meant you no disrespect- I am your loyal son!" He pleaded desperately.

"You will rise and fight, prince Zuko." Ozai stood before him now.

"I won't fight you." Zuko steeled his last nerve and met his father's eyes, hoping that the man would relent. He knew it was true. He loved his father, and while he knew that Ozai didn't love him as he did Azula, a small part of him refused to let go of the hope that one day he might be loved equally so.

"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." In that instant, Zuko's heart sank. He knew he had messed up by refusing to fight his father, but he had hoped the man would see where he was coming from. It seemed, however, that Fire Lord Ozai was more concerned with keeping up his appearance than he was with forgiving his family.

When the hand descended towards his face, Zuko expected a slap. He resigned himself to the imminent pain, and gritting his teeth, promised that he would not give Ozai the pleasure of hearing him scream. However, his resolve failed as soon as the flaming hand came into contact with his eye and was held there- oh Agni it hurts!

A scream tore itself from his throat, and the smell of burning flesh was suffocating. Zuko thought he might have thrown up, had he been able to. Instead, he fell to the ground in a numb horror, barely registering it when his father walked away, or when Iroh kneeled beside him and pulled him up into his arms.

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Harry was startled awake when the door to Zuko's chambers was thrown open and a slough of people streamed in. He had been dozing on the edge of the hearth, warmed by the fire that crackled merrily inside and dove for cover among the flames before he had registered his body's movement.

For a moment he panicked, the smell of burning flesh seemed to sear his tongue and he thrashed desperately to escape the flames, but when it registered in his mind that he didn't actually feel like he was burning and in fact the fire around him was a pleasant warmth, Harry settled down and took the time to take in the commotion that now surrounded Zuko's bed.

Flicking his tongue out, Harry was almost instantly bombarded again with the stench of burned flesh. For now that he no longer was no longer blinded by panic his tongue picked up the distinction between the smells. Instinctively, he knew that first, it was not him who was burned (although in part that could be attributed to the fact that he didn't feel any pain) and second, he could tell that Zuko was the one afflicted. He was no longer burning, that much was clear to Harry even without the use of his sense of smell which, he belatedly realised had become his most dominant sense ever since he'd become a snake. But the damage was extensive, and he could only wonder what had happened.

Harry watched on as Zuko's uncle went about ordering a team of three people to hold the prince down on his bed. At first, Harry wondered why Zuko needed to be held down in the first place- the boy was unconscious for crying out loud- but he was quickly enlightened as to why when a woman carrying a pot of something that smelled absolutely dreadful entered the room and went to work spreading a paste of some thick brown goop that would have made Madame Pomfrey green with envy on the left side of the prince's face. Instantly, the boy awoke and began thrashing. The holders clenched their jaws and held on tight to flailing limbs, and Harry was ready to admit that Zuko could put up a hell of a fight when his uncle was forced to grab onto one of his legs when it broke free from the burly man who had been tasked with both legs' hold.

The woman finished her task quickly and went about wrapping Zuko's face in gauze before giving the boy what was apparently a sedative judging by the way he gave up struggling and fell limply to the bed. As she left, taking the three holders with her, Harry had to wonder why she hadn't just given the prince the sedative in the first place. Surely it would have saved them all from bodily harm? He wasn't sure if anyone had left unscathed- the prince had proven that he could be vicious.

Now, with only the prince's uncle left in the room, Harry slithered out of the flames to get a closer look. Still a bit ungainly in his new body, it took him several attempts before he managed to properly twine himself around one of the bedposts so that he could leverage himself up it and onto the bed. The old man noticed him at this point, but made no move to stop him and only watched in curiosity as he made for Zuko's prone form.

Only, Harry noticed in irritation, He wasn't getting any closer to the prince despite all the wiggling his snake body was doing. He hissed in irritation. The damned silk sheets were preventing him from creating the friction necessary for proper movement! The prince's uncle watched with fascination and then humor as he was unable to move, and Harry was certain that if Zuko hadn't been so wounded, he would have laughed out loud. For this, Harry spared him the death glare he self righteously thought the man deserved for finding humor in his struggles.

When the infuriating older man took pity on him and lifted him to lie on Zuko's chest, Harry had half the mind to bite him out of sheer mortification. Begrudgingly, he coiled up, surprised at how much heat was emanating from the prince. Did he have a fever? Harry tasted Zuko's scent. He didn't smell of sickness- just of burnt flesh, the herbs the healer had used and pain. Maybe he was naturally super-heated as a side effect of his fire bending? In the few days he had spent in Zuko's room, Harry had picked up a few pieces here and there about firebenders, and knew now that that was what this world (for he was quite certain at this point that he had left his own) called the ability to summon and control fire on command. If he were to guess, he'd say that it was likely that there were people who could bend the other elements in similar ways.

One thing that had stood out in the passing conversations he'd overheard was that fire bender's fire came from their stomachs, which would explain why it felt like Zuko was burning up. If it was nothing to be worried about, he decided he could afford to absorb the excess heat the prince produced without feeling too guilty about it. While the fire was a pleasant warmth, being surrounded by flames was not quite as cozy as lying on a furnace that felt as though it was fueled by the very sun.

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Seated in a chair adjacent to the bed, Iroh watched with curiosity as the snake he and his nephew had found earlier that afternoon seemed to content itself by coiling up on the unconscious boy's chest. Zuko had often displayed a soft spot for animals, and it had been a delight to see the way the prince's eyes lit up with wonder upon finding the snake in his fireplace.

Iroh's amber eyes darkened. He hated to see what had become of his family, and that his brother would treat his own son this way only served to fuel his anger. My brother is a fool to not see he has lost. It is a shame that Ursa is no longer here- I fear what will become of the prince now if he should stay, although I don't for a second doubt that man's conviction to see him banished. He thought sadly. Zuko deserves better than he can offer, though I fear for when he learns of his banishment and terms of redemption. The avatar has not been seen in a hundred years- surely his mind will recognize the true meaning of his task, even if his heart does not. Ozai, brother, you are cruel indeed.

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Well, that's all for now folks. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter- it was rather brief, and for that I apologize. I tried not to rush it, and then later tried to expand it, but I wrote the majority of it while my dog lay dying beside me so it has been bittersweet to come back to in order to finish. The conversation between Ozai and Zuko is taken directly from the cartoon, but the rest of the dialogue is my own.

There won't be a romance in this story, as Zuko and Harry's relationship will be a bromance of sorts leaning towards brotherly and Harry will adopt Iroh as an uncle or father figure.

Thank you for reading, and especially to those who have favorited and followed this story. Please leave a review!