Disclaimer: I do not own either Pokémon or Harry Potter. I am just playing around in the sandbox that they left open.

Chapter 7 - Tales and Tails

0o00o0

Black Lake, Hogwarts Grounds - May 27, 1992

"So let me get this straight," Neville broke into the silence that had befallen the group, "Daphne was with Hagrid and Susan all night and nothing interesting happened. While Harry was teamed up with Ron and Fang. They stumble across some bloke dressed in black hunched over a dead Unicorn. Ron and Fang are scared witless and flee, while Harry here decides to become a statue. Hedwig gets knocked out. But Harry's odd luck kicks in and he is saved by Absol. Then after that, this Absol decides to become Harry's familiar?"

"You forgot the spider incident and the running," Harry added. When everyone stared at him he raised his hands in defense, "Hey! There was a lot of running! It's not something I can easily forget."

"Maybe you should start running everyday," Daphne said flatly. Harry, Neville, and Hermione could see the corners of her lips twitch upwards slightly into a smile though. After a second all four burst out laughing.

This felt like heaven to Harry, especially when compared to the hell that the previous night was. Laughing with friends was a luxury that Harry would never take for granted. Classes had ended for the day and instead of studying like they normally would be Harry had drug his friends outside to talk about the previous night's detention. Daphne had asked if they could talk near the lake so she could let Scylla out.

The blue Horsea was currently in the shallows squirting bubbles at Hermione's Eevee familiar. Of all their familiars, Scylla and Lola were the most playful. This had been cause for laughter many times as their Trainers were very serious most of the time. Harry had theorized that Fate and Arceus had chosen the two playful Pokémon to help Daphne and Hermione loosen up. There was more to life than pureblood politics and book studies after all.

While everyone was recovering from the much needed laugh, Harry looked around to see where the other familiars had gotten to. Hedwig was sitting on a branch just above him. She had barely let him out of her sight since she had been healed by Mimi, Pomfrey's Chansey. Trev, the Lazy Larvitar as dubbed by his own Trainer, was curled up on top of a boulder absorbing the sun's rays. The newest addition to the group, Absol, was laying next to Harry with her paws crossed in front of her.

"Not to bring down the mood or anything," Hermione roused Harry from his musings, "but should we discuss what it was that killed the Unicorn and attacked Harry?" Everyone sat in silence as they contemplated their own theories.

"You said Absol mentioned something about a 'past evil', is that right?" Daphne asked eventually.

'Yes, I did,' Absol answered Daphne herself. Harry had found it amusing the first time she had talked to everyone. With the wonders of magic all around them on a daily basis though the group had adjusted to the telepathic Pokémon rather quickly. 'The centaurs have been discussing it for months now. There are a few that want to warn the Headmaster, but the majority are against interfering in the affairs of man.'

"They weren't more specific than that? It would sure help to know what this so called past evil was," Hermione huffed.

'No, they were not,' Absol grumbled. Harry found it amusing that a telepathic voice could actually grumble like that. 'I only found out that much by luck. Firenze was risking his life to share this with me. He was hoping I would deliver the message to Headmaster in his stead.'

"We should do that right away," Hermione said as she made to stand, but Harry grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Hold on Hermione," Harry said as he gently pulled the brown haired witch back down into a sitting position. "I've been thinking about this all day and there is something bothering me about this whole thing. I just can't put my finger on it… tell me, why would someone want to drink Unicorn's blood?"

Hermione blinked at the change of topics. "Well…" Hermione switched to lecture mood instantly, "Various parts of a Unicorn are used in potions and wand crafting. Unicorn Blood specifically is a highly regulated substance by the ICW. It is not outright banned because it is the main ingredient in the Elixir of Life potion used in many wizarding hospitals. If consumed in its pure form, the drinker will gain similar benefits as the Elixir of Life, but will also be cursed. How exactly the person is cursed is not known because there have only been a handful of documented cases in all of history." When she finished she noticed everyone was smiling at her, causing her cheeks to turn red. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"Yes," Harry answered as he patted her hand that he was still holding. "But it's okay because your lecture answered a couple questions I was going to look up later. All I knew was that it was the main ingredient for the Elixir of Life. So you saved me a trip to the library."

Hermione's blush deepened at the praise. She refused to think about the hand that was still holding hers.

"So whoever or whatever attacked you last night," Neville said, "was probably on the verge of death and needed the blood to survive."

"I agree Neville," Daphne broke her silence, "and whatever it was has done it before. When Susan and I were with Hagrid last night he said he found the first dead one back in September. After that, he found another dead every few months until recently. The number of attacks have been increasing to weekly occurrences for the past month."

"That's… that's a lot of Unicorn blood," Hermione whispered in horror.

"It's getting desperate then," Harry concluded.

"Guys, I think we really need to warn somebody about this like Absol and Hermione said," Neville paled. "Think about what else is here, at Hogwarts, that can stop you from dying… even grant eternal life."

The other three stared at him in confusion, though as predictable it was Hermione who figured out what he meant first.

"The STONE!" Hermione gasped out loud, "If this past evil is so desperate it will go after Flamel's Stone eventually."

Harry and Daphne both paled as well. It would not be good for anything described as 'evil' to get their hands on something that granted eternal life.

"But… surely the Headmaster is aware of that possibility," Daphne whispered. "I mean, he supposedly has all those things guarding it."

"Well, thanks to the twins," Neville replied, "we know that after Fluffy is a room filled with Devil's Snare, which is easily dealt with by using fire. After that is a room filled with flying keys. They say you have to find and catch the right one."

"They've tried to get me to go with them to do that," Harry said absently. "They seem to think it was made for a Seeker to be able to do."

"I doubt there is anything harder than that either," Neville continued. "According to the twins, the wards on the doors are basic, but very robust. Someone with enough power could easily bypass the obstacles and just take down the wards."

Hermione stood at this point, "Come on guys. We should go tell someone all this." Hermione looked like she was afraid the monster from last night would pop up suddenly and attack them in the middle of the day light.

Harry sighed and shook his head, "Okay, but I don't know what good it will do." Harry stood and was followed by Daphne and Neville. "Come on Absol, you might as well be with us when we tell our story."

They didn't set off right away since Daphne and Neville had to recall their Pokémon. Hermione and Harry left their familiars out because the Pokémon could keep up with their Trainers on foot (or in the air in Hedwig's case). Hermione was bouncing on the balls of her feet by time they were all set to go. The four took off towards the castle, determined to talk to the first professor they found.

0o0o0

A search of the Great Hall and First Floor Teacher Lounge turned up no one. The four friends then had a quick discussion and settled on looking for Professor McGonagall. Not only would she be the most likely professor to take them seriously, but she would also be in a position to do something about it. A few minutes later found them knocking on the door to her office.

"Enter," came the voice of one of their strictest professors from the other side of the door.

Harry opened the door and ushered the other three in, as well as Hedwig, Lola, and Absol. Once everyone was in he shut the door and looked up to see Professor McGonagall's eyebrow quirked at them. Apparently she hadn't been expecting four first years to walk in.

"What can I help the four of you with?" She asked as she folded her hands on her desk.

Before anyone could respond Lola, cried out in excitement as she bounded over to Professor McGonagall's recently bonded familiar. Caius, the Persian, was currently curled up in his bed near the fireplace. Lola came to a halt right in front of the Classy Cat Pokémon.

"Eevee eev eevee eev eev eevee," the Evolution Pokémon started chattering away as she literally bounced up and down in place. Caius opened one eye to look at the excited little Pokémon.

"Perrrrr-sian," he purred softly before closing his eye again. Just when it seemed that he was going to steadfastly ignore Lola's over exuberance, his tail suddenly lifted in the air and the tip dangled in front of Lola.

"EEVEE!" Lola exclaimed as she tried to catch the tail but failed.

Harry and Neville were not even trying to suppress their laughter as the game continued. Even Daphne allowed a smile to grace her lips. Hermione, however, sighed and shook her head as she turned to face the Transfiguration Professor.

"I'm sorry about Lola, Professor," she stated to her favorite teacher, "I thought she would have gotten this out of her system after last time… I guess if anything it only got worse."

"It is quite alright Miss Granger," there was the smallest quirk of her lips as she watched her familiar play keep away with his tail, "She is still young, so let her play as long as Caius allows it."

"Y-yes, Professor," Hermione stammered in surprise. She had expected the prim and proper Professor to reprimand her for not being able to control her Pokémon. This was the second time in a week that Lola had done this after all.

"Now then," McGonagall turned to face the four first years, "what brings you four to my office in such a panic. When you first came in I thought you had seen the bogeyman judging by the looks on your faces."

"I think Harry might have, in a way," Hermione said before diving into their story. She told the Professor what Harry had seen last night, Absol's warning from the Centaurs, and their suspicions about the Stone. She didn't mention knowing about Fluffy and the first two rooms after him. That would lead to questions no one felt like answering. Admitting they knew that the Philosopher's Stone was in Hogwarts seemed like pushing their luck already.

"Just to make sure I understand," Mcgonagall said after a moment of silence. "Mr. Potter here saw someone or something drinking Unicorn's Blood last night from a freshly killed Unicorn, which you failed to mention to me when I picked you up from Hagrid's." Harry had enough sense to look a bit ashamed at that. "The Centaurs are concerned about some Past Evil but don't have anything more specific than that to say. And the four of you are concerned that this is connected to a certain Stone that is currently here in the Castle."

Harry, Hermione, and Neville nodded while Daphne remained motionless. All four of them remained silent, awaiting the Professor's judgement of their assessment of the situation.

"I think I will ignore how you four found out about the Philosopher's Stone. I am very found of our current Keeper of Keys, not to mention I don't want the hassle of searching for a new one." The four first years breathed out a sigh of relief, "As for the rest of your story… I find it hard to ignore the conclusions you have come to. I for one don't believe in coincidences."

The four started smiling, but Professor McGonagall's next statement stopped them from celebrating that an adult believed them.

"However," she continued, "I assure you the Stone is well protected. I, along with several others, have ensured of that. Not to mention the Headmaster himself has added his own measures. It cannot be any more protected even if it were in Gringotts."

"But Professor," Harry spoke up for the first time, "there must be something more that can be done to protect it."

"Hmm," the Deputy Headmistress hummed as she eyed the four first years in front of her. After a long moment she realized they were not going to back down. Whatever Mr. Potter had seen the previous night during his detention (the detention she had assigned him she reminded herself) must have really had an impact on the young lad. "If you feel so strongly about this Mr. Potter… I will bring it up with the Headmaster and let him make a decision on how to proceed.

"But Prof-" Harry was cut off by Hermione before he could finish.

"Thank you Professor," she said hurriedly, "That's all we ask."

0o0o0

Minerva rubbed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. Her four favorite first years had just left her office. Of course, she would never admit to having favorites. Severus would never let her live it down if he ever found out that not only did she have favorites but at least one of them was one of his Snakes. It was humiliating enough that for the past several years she had lost their annual bet of who would win the House Cup. She didn't need him holding this over her as well.

"Perrr-sian," Caius purred from his bed.

"You're right," Minerva grumbled as she opened her eyes. "I am getting off track. I really don't want to talk Albus about this again."

Minerva had promised her favorite students that she would talk to the Headmaster about their concerns. Sadly, it wouldn't be the first time she talked to Albus about that infernal Stone. Why he insisted on keeping it here in the castle was beyond her. This was a school, not a security vault! Then there was the question of why Flamel had even gone along with this. Surely the stone would be just as safe, if not safer, with its creator than here.

However, it irked Minerva to admit that over the years Albus had benn proven right more often than not. In fact she couldn't think of a time when he had been wrong. That was the only reason why she hadn't put her foot down about keeping the Stone here. Even though she respected him and his decision, that didn't mean she couldn't voice her opinion on the matter.

"Now that I know there are students that know the Stone is here, maybe I can make him see reason," she said with little conviction as she stood.

"Persian?" Caius raised his head for the first time since he laid down that evening.

"No, I don't think he will change his mind," she replied as she bent down to pat his head. "But maybe he will add some more security to the area. That's probably the best I can hope for."

"Perr," Caius purred as he leaned into her hand.

"I had better get this over with," she straightened after grabbing a pinch of floo powder. The flames turned green as she tossed the powder into the fireplace and stated the Headmaster's office as her destination. "I'm getting too old for this," she sighed as she stepped into the fireplace.

0o0o0

"Nothing's going to change is it?" Hermione said suddenly.

Harry looked up from his History of Magic essay and blinked at the brown haired witch. Neville, Hermione, and Harry were currently in the Gryffindor common room. The trio had claimed a table in an out of the way corner to finish up their homework.

"I doubt it," Neville answered without looking up from his History of Magic book. "The Goblins are too proud of a race and the current Wizengamot is too full of conservative Purebloods for any progress to be made."

"What?" Hermione looked at Neville like he was crazy, then she seemed to realize that they weren't privy to her thoughts. "I wasn't talking about our homework."

"That's gotta be a first," Harry said with a grin. Neville looked up at this point intrigued by this turn of conversation.

"Shush you," Hermione glared at the raven haired boy. Her smile took all the heat out of the look though. "I was talking about the protections around you know what."

"Not to repeat Neville's first answer, but… I doubt it," Harry set his quill down. "Professor McGonagall seemed to believe that it was protected enough as it is."

"Maybe we should have told her that we know what the first three rooms are," Neville suggested.

"I don't think even she would overlook how we came about that knowledge," Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want to get the Twins in do that enough on their own."

"There has to be something else we can do," Hermione said thoughtfully. "What if we talked to the Headmaster directly?"

"I don't think that will help," Harry leaned back in his chair. "The adults think they have everything under control. Why would they listen to a bunch of kids?"

"What if we kept an eye on the door?" Neville asked.

"We can't watch it all the time," Hermione pointed out. "We have classes to attend and that's not even mentioning curfew."

"We have my dad's cloak so curfew isn't an issue," Harry reminded her.

"Even then," Hermione went on doubtfully, "there is only three of us. There's no way we can work out a schedule that will keep people from being suspicious."

"I'm sure Daphne would help," Harry stated confidently. "I bet Susan and Hannah would help as well. Then there's Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Katie, and Cho." Harry blinked after listing off their other friends. He turned to Neville with wide eyes, "I just realized… You're the only other guy in our group of friends, mate."

Neville laughed at this, "Took you long enough to notice, Harry."

"Well… I suppose there is another, but he can never be seen with us… for now," Harry was still shocked at this realization.

"Even if we trusted that many people with this information," Hermione tried to get them back on track. "I still don't think it will work. Anyone going after… it… would likely check the entire area for other people. Your cloak is good Harry, but it doesn't hide you from detection spells like that."

'Maybe you can use us,' Absol's voice spoke directly into their heads.

Harry looked down at his side and saw the Guardian Pokémon staring up at him.

"What do you mean Absol?" Harry asked for the trio.

'I mean, you could use your familiars to spy on this corridor,' Absol clarified. 'From what I understand, there aren't any spells that can detect Pokémon yet. We also have the advantage of not worrying about classes or curfews.'

"That," Hermione said slowly into the silence that had befallen the group, "that could work. Even if one of them are seen, they would be dismissed as irrelevant by almost anyone willing to go after… the thing. We would just need to make sure to come up with a schedule that is random enough that anyone paying attention to the corridor won't suspect that our Pokémon are watching it as well."

"Not all our friends have Pokémon though," Harry inserted when Hermione paused to take a breath.

"But enough do," Hermione waved the concern off. "Scylla couldn't help of course. But Susan has Marie and Hannah has Tryf. A Ledyba and an Oddish shouldn't be that suspicious. So that's six Pokémon we can use on a rotation…" she trailed off as she began coming up with a plan.

Harry and Neville turned to each other with matching smiles. They both knew the look that Hermione was now wearing. By time they went to bed she would have came up with a color coded schedule for the remainder of the year.

"So while Hermione is lost to us," Neville began, "I've been meaning to ask you what you are going to name Absol."

Harry tilted his head in thought at the question, "With everything going on the past 24 hours I hadn't given it much thought." He turned to his newest familiar, "Do you have any preferences? It is your name after all."

Absol tilted her head in the same manner as her trainer as she thought about the question. After a few moments she seemed to shrug as she replied, 'Now that you ask… I would prefer not to go on being called Absol. Other than that, I will leave it up to you.'

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. When he was met with silence he figured it was the same as last night, she was determined to leave the final decision up to him. Harry closed his eyes and thought for a bit. It wasn't long before his eyes snapped back open and he was grinning.

"Angel," Harry said as he looked back down her, "Because you saved me last night, just like a Guardian Angel."

Harry started to get nervous when Absol continued to stare at him without responding. "You don't like it? Well there is also-" He cut off when a paw landed on his leg.

'It's perfect Harry,' the newly dubbed Angel said with a quiver in her telepathic voice. 'I would be honored to be named Angel.'

"Angel it is then," Harry laid a hand on the paw on his lap. Hedwig swooped down out of nowhere and landed on top of his hand as well.

"Pidg!"

"Hedwig likes it as well," Harry said with a smile.

"Well then," Neville said from the other side of the table, "Welcome to Gryffindor, Angel!"

0o0o0

Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts - June 4, 1992

"You really need to fly there? On a broom?"

"Yes," Albus responded from behind his steepled hands. "They require me at the Ministry to review a new Law about Dark Artifacts. Lord Malfoy and his alliance seem to think it creates some loophole about being able to search any Pureblood's home. He was… not very polite when he requested my presence. So I figure he can wait while an old man indulges in a bit of nostalgia." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling like mad by time he finished.

Minerva stared at the Headmaster in disbelief, while the man next to her seemed to silently contemplate the matter.

"I trust that the Deputy Headmistress and my Chief of Defense can handle things while I am away?" Albus asked the two people standing before him.

"Of course we can," Minerva replied, "I just don't understand why you can't just wait and Floo to the Ministry late."

"Ah," Albus smiled now, "While that would accomplish the same goal, it would not be nearly as much fun for me."

This earned him an eyeroll from the Scot. But she remained silent, apparently Minerva had decided not to pursue the topic any longer.

"Any other questions Minerva?" Albus asked while still smiling. When she shook her head he turned to the second person in the room. "What about you? You have been awful quiet on the matter."

"J- just one q- question, Headma- master," Professor Quirrell responded after a moment. "H- how long w- will you be go- gone?"

Albus forced himself not to flinch at the stammering Professor. The man may be intelligent, but it was hard to listen to him speak. "I am unsure," he answered after making sure the Defense Professor was done. "I imagine Lord Malfoy will drag the affair late into the night to retaliate against my tardiness."

"You are qu- quite co- correct I am s- sure," the man said as he bowed his head.

After making sure a few details were clarified the two Professors finally left Albus's office. The two continued to talk about what needed to be covered during the Headmaster's absence as they walked away.

"With the way those two are carrying on you would think this was the first time I've ever left the grounds," Albus shook his head after they had left.

'It is the first time you have made yourself deliberately unreachable,' Sylvia the Slowking said as she stepped forward from her position at the back of the office.

"It is the only way to make sure I am not disturbed," Albus responded to his female familiar.

'So you still insist on going through with your plan?' Zephyr the Xatu asked from his motionless vigil behind Dumbledore's position.

"Yes," Albus sighed. "We have been through this before… I need to ensure no one has been meddling in Harry's affairs. It's taken me over five months to clear enough time to visit the Dursley's residence."

'Three jobs is too much for one old man,' Zephyr snarked.

'Allow me to Teleport you there,' Sylvia interjected to save her fellow Pokémon, 'It will be quicker and undetectable if anyone were to be monitoring the area. Plus I don't have to leave the Hogwarts Wards thanks to our bond.'

"Mmm," Dumbledore contemplated as he popped a Lemon Drop into his mouth, after ensuring it was indeed a Lemon Drop. "That will be acceptable… Thank you Sylvia."

Albus stood with a flourish and walked around the desk to the Royal Pokémon. A moment later the two have vanished into thin air.

'Now I need to make sure the four Guardians are aware of the current situation,' Zephyr thought to himself before stretching out his senses to search for the four Pokémon in question.

0o0o0

Gryffindor Common Room - June 4, 1992

"Guys!" Neville yelled as he rushed up to Harry and Hermione who were reading on the couch. Their finals had just ended that day so the duo were enjoying their late evening by doing some leisure reading. Being a first year had its advantages. While the rest of the school was worried about their upcoming finals, the first years were able to take the final month easy. Somehow, even though it was just after curfew they were the only ones in the common room currently.

Neville had to snap his fingers in front of both their faces to get their attention. "Guys! You won't believe what I just heard McGonagall and Quirrell discussing!"

"What is it Neville?" Harry asked noticing the panic on his friends face finally. "Did they find out about our watch over you know what?"

"No," Neville shook his head, "I was asking McGonagall something about the final we had today. As I was leaving Professor Quirrell came in. Normally I would have tried to leave as quick as possible since it was almost curfew, but as I was closing the door I heard Quirrell ask McGonagall something that made me freeze."

"What was it Neville?" Hermione asked with a hint of disapproval in her voice. She didn't think it was very polite to eavesdrop on a couple Professors, but not so much that she didn't want to know what he had heard.

"Quirrell asked who they would contact in case of an emergency while Headmaster Dumbledore was unreachable for the evening," Neville looked at them expectantly. When neither seemed to understand he added, "Don't you get it? The Headmaster is gone for the rest of night…" This time it was Harry who picked up where Neville was going with this.

"Which means," Harry said quietly, "whoever is going after the Stone will try tonight."

"But the protections are still there," Hermione argued half heartedly, "They should still be enough, right?"

"If I were trying to steal the Stone… I would do it when the most powerful wizard since Merlin wasn't around," Harry countered. "It will happen tonight. Which Pokémon is on watch tonight?"

"Trev is," Neville answered immediately.

"Good, he should be able to at least slow down whoever tries to enter Fluffy's room," Harry said with a nod as he pulled out his Pokédex. "Daphne," he said to call up the blonde Slytherin. "Hey Daph, no time to explain. We think our Mystery Person will make his move tonight."

"Okay," Daphne answered with a nod. "I'll meet you there." The mirror screen went black as she hung up on him.

"Hedwig," Harry looked up to the top of a nearby bookshelf where his first familiar was perched, "Go on ahead and help Trev if you can. But don't put yourself in danger." Harry didn't want to make the same mistake he did with the troll by not sending her on ahead of him.

"Pidgey," she agreed before taking flight. A moment later she vanished out an open window.

"Alright, let's go guys," Harry said as he stood.

"Where are you going?"

Harry groaned out loud at the sound of the voice. He really didn't want to deal with this right now. "No where Ron," Harry answered as he turned to face the redhead.

"Right," Ron said unconvinced, "That explains why you guys are in a hurry and you just sent Hedwig off… not to mention the Snake saying she would meet you somewhere."

"That Snake has a name," Harry growled out.

"Now's not the time for this Harry," Hermione said as she tugged on his arm. "We need to hurry."

"I'm coming too," Ron said. "This has to do with what we saw in the Forbidden Forest, right? I want to help."

Harry blinked in surprise, his anger for Daphne's sake dulled by the redhead's conviction to help. "Really? When you saw the thing in the woods you ran off screaming like a little girl."

"Yeah, well…" Ron shifted his weight uncomfortably, "I need to prove to myself that I am a Gryffindor. How can I call myself a Lion after that, eh?"

Harry stared at him for a moment indecisiveness evident on his face. Ron may be wanting to join them for the wrong reasons, but he was technically already involved. Plus he had been eavesdropping on their conversation, and Harry wasn't sure what all Ron had heard already. Apparently he had stretched Hermione's patience a little too thin because she drew her wand and pointed it at the youngest male Weasley.

"For goodness sakes Harry! Either I put him in a full body bind, or he goes with us," she said to Harry. "Either way decide now."

"Fine he can come," Harry relented. "But if he slows us down in any way you have my permission to put him in that full body bind." He turned to his second familiar, "Alright Angel, we need you to make sure the corridors are clear in front of us as we go."

'Will do,' she responded so all four could hear her. Angel then leaped over to the Portrait Hole and nudged it open to peer outside. 'All clear here. I will go on ahead,' she projected to the four of them.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Neville said from halfway to the Gryffindor Entrance. He was tired of waiting so he had already started moving on.

"Hermione, fill Ron in on the way. He deserves to know what he is getting himself into," Harry said as they all started running for the door.

I just hope we aren't too late, he thought to himself.

0o00o0

AN: Apparently the choice of Absol for Harry's second Pokémon was well received by everyone. I think it fits… Though changing the classification of Absol from Disaster to Guardian came from Draynuy while we were discussing this story last month. So while that wasn't my idea, I loved it enough to incorporate into the story. I tip my hat to the wonderful Draynuy for that.

As always, thanks for reading!