A/N: Just like CJWrites said, I'm updating really quickly right now. Don't expect it to hold for very long, though. This always happens to me. I start a new story, I churn out a bunch of chapters really quickly, then it stops. Just flat-out stops. Until it gets picked up again. By the way, this chapter is a fairly large time-skip. It's after the introductory lesson of Nozawa's class, and is about a week and a half later.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as you liked the others! =)
Chapter Four
You Are Beginning to Damage My Calm
"I hate that little –"
"Harry!" Hermione hissed, cutting him off to keep anyone from hearing him. "Merlin's beard, not where a teacher could hear you!"
"Yeah, well, she deserves it," Harry replied coldly.
"Why don't you take your frustration out on your homework, then?"
"I can't write anything without it bleeding!"
"You can at least study your notes, can't you?"
"Well... yeah, I guess I can do that," He said, finally giving in. With a sigh, he got out his notes on Professor Nozawa's class, and started studying, hissing quietly when the back of his wounded hand brushed against his bag.
"You should report that," Ron said, as he looked at his own notes. He took a moment to rub his eyes. Seems that writing in pure chicken scratch was bad for the eyes, but he did catch Harry shaking his head.
"No, I can't do that, they probably wouldn't believe me..."
"You got me there, mate..."
With that, their table fell into silence as they all studied their extensive notes on the class. It was amazing how many pieces of parchment that single class had taken! There was stuff on single-type Pokémon, basic evolutions, dual-type Pokémon... the list went on and on. They were also required to memorize the names of the legendary ones. They had only spent about fifteen minutes on those, and no matter how many questions were asked about them, the professor only gave them more questions with his vague, no-answer answers. His excuse was that "I know as much about them as you do". Although most students accepted that excuse, since they were, after all, legendary Pokémon – which their book explained to be next-to-impossible to see, let alone find – but there were a few that were skeptical, thinking he was hiding something. The golden trio were among that group... bu that wasn't important as they concentrated on the notes they had taken over the past day or two. A smirk suddenly came to Harry's face as he chuckled lightly. His friends looked at him oddly, to which he reminded them of yesterday. Then they all smirked. That day had been great, when Professor. Nowaza had shown-up both Umbridge and Malfoy, and made it look easy at the same time. He made it seem like he'd encountered their types before, and considering how he gave an air of understanding and power and authority, there was little doubt about such a belief.
"Oh!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, glancing at the time. "We're going to be late to class!"
With a glance at the clock, both boys quickly matched their friend's speed in packing up and racing down the halls to the surprisingly large room that contained everyone's favorite class. For some reason, there was just something incredibly refreshing and happy and wonderful about such a foreign subject; perhaps it helped to have such a well-versed teacher, but nobody knows the real reason. Either way, the trio's musings were cut short as they stepped into the classroom to find it already full and their teacher's back turned as he wrote something on the board, his little AutoComplete feature currently turned off. If he noticed their tardiness, the only thing that showed it was a lazy, casual flick of his wand done behind his back. When the three of them reached their seats, they found a small message there, floating only millimeters from the wood in sparkling gold letters:
You're late, but it's your first time, so it's okay! :D
Just don't do it again, or you'll lose house points. D:
Despite the fact they were out of breath, the three of them managed a smile as they took their seats. Their neighbors also smiled at the rather odd message, but they didn't say a word. A moment later, the letters vanished as Aromi turned around with a smile, put down the capped marker, and stepped aside to reveal the subject. This cause a few faces to contort in confusion. After all, why would the subject be "Today will be fun and full of friendliness! :D"
"I see that some of you are confused," He began, and having explained status problems the day before, some got the reference and groaned at the bad pun. He just smiled a little wider. "Anyway, I'm sure some of you are wondering why the subject is what it is. Before we begin, let's get some quesses as to what it is. Yes, Mr. Weasley? And which of the twins are you?"
"Fred, Professor," Said the twin, surprisingly serious. This subject had held his and his twin's interest enough to bring about this result, so it was no longer a shock to the class.
"Then one moment," Nozawa said as he flicked his wand again. An 'F' appeared above said twin's head, while a 'G' appeared above the other. "The letters will vanish when you leave; now, what were you going to say?"
"Are we going to partner up for a project?"
"Nope," Nozawa replied, his grin becoming just a touch wider. "Anyone else?"
"Sir," Said a young lady as she raised her hand, introducing herself as Luna Lovegood. "Will this be about any future assignment at all?"
"Sorry, that's not it either."
"Uhm, sir," Said a boy timidly. This was Neville Longbottom. "Are we meeting your friends?"
"Yes! Very good! Now, Mr. Longbottom, what thought process led you to that conclusion?"
"Well... the board says there will be 'friendliness'... and earlier in the year you said you'd introduce us to some good friends of yours, so..."
"Good! Five points to Gryffindor!" Nozawa said happily. With his smile still there, he waved his wand again, and suddenly every desk had a paper. "Now, all of you must sign these papers, and they must be turned in before I can introduce you to my friends."
"Sir," Hermione began, raising her hand, and continuing when the man nodded to her. "Are these liability release forms?"
"Why yes, they are," Suddenly he became a bit more serious, the smile becoming a ghost. "I will explain why. It is to ensure that nobody here holds myself or my friends responsible for anything that happens here. You must treat my friends with the same amount of respect you treat me; insulting them may result in a trip to the infirmary that may last more than a day. Hence the reason you are to sign these release forms; my friends and I will not be held responsible for any immature acts everyone here may be prone to. Keep in mind that this is not a magical contract; however, it is a legal document. Failure to sign these forms here and now will result in you being transferred to another class and with no chance of returning. I will not be taking any chances."
"Er... so we have to sign it now?" Asked one student.
"Yes, and you only have five minutes to decide. While you do that, I'm going to be in my office; there should be absolutely no talking."
As Aromi neared his door, he could almost feel Malfoy's mouth open.
"That includes you, Malfoy," he said before closing the door to his room. A silencing charm activated instantly, keeping all inside noise from escaping, but the outside noise was allowed in so he could still monitor his students. There, in his room waiting for him, was his team. "Alright, you guys ready?"
There was a chorus of various different Pokémon sounds. To any by-stander, it was just a cacophany of noises; to Aromi, being so deeply connected with them, he understood at as a unanimous 'Yes'. One, however, remained silent. She wasn't supposed to be seen by the students. Yet. He gave her an apologetic look, to which she just shrugged as he returned the others to their Pokéballs. With that, he stepped out of his office and closed the door again.
"Three minutes left," He said, practically singing. "If you've signed, bring it up here~!"
A sudden flurry of movement, and when there was a mere thirty seconds left, the final paper was turned in. He took a couple of minutes to look through them by hand, then did another quick glance at them to double-check.
"Good, you've all signed," he began, clearly very giddy about... something. He kept it under control, though. Barely. As he pulled out a regular Pokéball. "Quick review before we go on. What is this, and why does it work at Hogwarts?"
"Sir!" Ginny said, raising her hand and continuing when signaled to. "It's a standard Pokéball, and it works here because it is one of few electronics that the charms of Hogwarts allows to work. Dumbledore made it that way."
"Good!" Aromi said, as he pulled out another one. "What type is this?"
"A Great Ball, Professor," Ron.
"Correct, and this one?"
"Isn't that an Ultra Ball?" Luna.
"Yes it is," Nozawa said, then turning to the board as he shrank the Pokéballs to their traveling size. The students, having seen it before, weren't as shocked as they were that first time; but this was a new one that he was drawing, that he had only explained in passing. "And this last one, which is just as rare as a Legendary Pokémon? And tell what its special property is, besides the coloring."
"Sir, isn't that a Master Ball? Doesn't it basically guarantee a capture?"
"Well done, all of you," Professor Nozawa said, as he turned to the class, marker down and all Pokéballs out and ready to be opened. "Alright, so are you all ready to meet my friends? And do you all agree to treat them with the same respect you treat me with?"
"Yes, Professor," answered the majority of the class. Minus a few.
"That wasn't everyone; those of you that agreed, thank you. Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle, Ms. Parvati, you signed the papers. So are you going to agree to these instructions or not?"
After a few moments, the four agreed to do as instructed, albeit reluctantly.
"Excellent! Now, one more thing. No matter what these friends of mine look like, they are just as much your professor as I am. In other words, we are all your teachers. Does that make sense?"
This time, the entire class gave confirmation. Then, with a grin, Aromi enlargened the Pokéballs in his hand and opened them. The class had seen an open, empty Pokéball before; but never before had they seen one actually releasing a Pokémon! This reason was what got some in the back to stand up as the majority of them held their breath to see what would appear. A moment later, standing in those spots, were five completely different, obviously powerful, Pokémon.
"Alright," Aromi said, smiling to his team. His Espeon jumped onto his desk, and turned to sit and calmly watch the class. "I will introduce you all to one of them; the other four will be your duty to figure out, and we'll get to that in a second. When you do it, follow my example. The one on the desk is an Espeon, and she is a psychic type.
"That's how you are to introduce these other four. Girls, you will do this one, and this one. Boys, you will do the other two. You have three minutes. Go!"
With that, a flurry of movement as textbooks were removed. During this, Aromi went over to his desk, and leaned against it. The entire time, he was conversing with Espeon through telepathy, while the other four waited patiently. Once time was up, he took center stage again.
"Alright, girls, what'd you find for this one?" He began, gesturing to the large bird standing there patiently and calmly. Some hands went up, and he picked one of the Slytherin girls, Ms. Janie.
"That Pokémon is a Pidgeot, isn't it? And it's part-flying, part-normal?"
"Good work," Nozawa said, before quickly writing down her species' name and nickname. "She likes to be called Sara. Now what about the second?"
"Sir, isn't that one a Luxray, an electric-type?"
The Professor affirmed this answer, and then wrote down her nickname as 'Kyashii'. They moved on to the ones the boys had looked up, and learned that the Lucario was named... Lucario. While the Empoleon preferred 'Rikku'. Then the man turned to his class again.
"Don't forget, you are to refer to these five as your Professors, just as you do with me," Aromi reminded his students calmly.
A sudden noise from Kyashii cut him short, and he paused to listen to her. Not a single student understood, but he seemed to. "Okay, who?"
Another few moments. Then a gentle smile."
"Ms. Granger, please come forward," He said. Said student hesitated, but he was adamant. "C'mon, don't be shy."
Swallowing her shyness, Hermione stood and stepped forward. When she was close enough, Kyashii gave a knowing smile, causing the girl's eyes to show confusion. The Luxray just nuzzled her hand; Hermione smiled as her feeling timid left as she started to gently pet the creature like she would Crookshanks. Her reward was a purring and pleased Pokémon.
"Now, Professor, what is with this favoritism?" Malfoy suddenly sneered, making Aromi laugh.
"I didn't do anything," He said. Kyashii spoke to him quickly before he said anything else. "All I did was relay the message. She wants me to tell you that she specifically asked for Ms. Granger. I had nothing to do with it."
"How can a –"
"Mr. Malfoy," Aromi said, suddenly becoming serious. "If you wish to remain unharmed, I would suggest that you not say another word." Then he smiled again. "Although, there is a way for you to understand some of these guys. Lucario?"
A moment or two of silence passed before the Pokémon sighed and turned to the class. After surveying it for a moment, he went over to Ginny. And did something to bring a lot of students' jaws crashing to the floor.
Hello, milady, Said a strong, confident voice to the class. What would your name be?
"Uhm... Ginny," Said the girl, trying to be confident. A moment later, her bravery took over and she spoke a little more confidently. "I'm Ginny Weasley."
Are the other redheads perhaps your siblings?
"Yes, they are... this is telepathy, isn't it?" Lucario immediantly gave a soft smile. He liked this girl.
Yes, it is, He said, speaking to her privately.
For another few minutes, they spoke quietly, with Lucario eventually heading back to the front but keeping their telepathy connection strong. Aromi opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when Espeon suddenly went to the floor, moved quickly, and leapt up to the space right in front of none other than Harry Potter. She took a moment to lay down and calmly size him up in silence, before saying hello herself. The two of them began to converse silently as well, but what Harry didn't know, was that Nozawa was alerted of something by the psychic-type. Nobody noticed though, because he kept a straight face.
"Alright, class, that's all the time we have for today!" Aromi said as the sound for a class change rang through the school. "You are all dismissed. Except for Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. You two must stay."
The two boys exchanged glances as the Pokémon took up various seats in the classroom, Espeon going back to her original spot on her trainer's desk. Which was where he now was. Once the room was empty, he motioned them forward. The minute Harry was in reach, the professor held out his hand expectantly.
"Give me your hand, Mr. Potter," He said. Several syllables from Espeon later, he spoke again. "I just need to confirm it, so calm down."
With a huff, the Pokémon sat down and waited.
Go on, give him your hand, Espeon told Harry with her mind.
You noticed? He asked, as he finally gave up and showed his hand. Nozawa gently took hold of it and looked at it carefully, frowning.
"Yes, she noticed," He said. "And I'm glad she did..."
This is Umbitch's work, isn't it? Espeon asked her trainer curtly, privately. His lips almost formed a smirk at the new nickname. Almost.
No doubt about it, but just to be sure... "Hold still a moment, Mr. Potter."
With a wave of Aromi's wand, a small, pink whisp came off the boy's hand. The man's frown deepened. Then with a sigh he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, before pocketing the paper. He stood and headed towards the door.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, come with me, and yes, Espeon, you may come," Nozawa said. At this, the pink-furred feline beamed and quickly caught up, as did the boys.
"Sir, we have Divination class to get to," Ron said. Not that I want to go that much...
"Then you'll be missing some of it. Don't worry, I'll give you two a pass so your tardiness will be excused."
"Sir, why are we missing some of it?" Harry asked.
Professor Nozawa didn't answer; rather, he merely continued leading the boys through the hallways, his trusty Pokémon at his side the entire time...
Credits: No songs to give credit to this time.
A/N: Mwa ha ha! How's that for a cliffhanger? Anyway, tell me what you think of how Aromi approached this class. Other than that, reviews are well-loved! :)