Author's Note: I am beginning this chapter doing something I don't like doing. I don't want to come off as egotistical or seem like I am trying to get attention or, God forbid, this is an attempt to get reviews. It isn't that. This is… someone who is very sad and suffering from an aching heart reaching out to others.
My mother, last May, was diagnosed with leukemia. She got a bone marrow transplant in September and seemed to be on the mend. The doctors were shocked at how well she was doing and she looked to be regaining her strength and returning to normal.
And then, about a month ago, she began to suffer from red, itchy eyes. Then a cough that left her shaking. So she was taken to the hospital and they began to work to help her. Now… now she is on a ventilator, heavily sedated… and the doctors don't know what is wrong with her. They only know her lungs are inflamed. Some think it might be graft vs. host. Others a weird infection. She isn't getting worse but she isn't getting better and the fear is that her organs will begin to shut down. If that happens… I'll lose my mom.
I ask this of each of you: if I have brought you enjoyment, laughter, smiles, excitement, and entertainment, please take this moment to repay me… by praying for my mom. Pray that she gets well and that my family doesn't lose her. At this point… I will take any help and hope I can get.
Again, I apologize for starting this chapter this way. I am not looking for attention. I just… don't know what else to do. This is a tale I cannot control, can not affect the ending… and it has me scared.
Thank you for listening and I pray that, in time, I can delete this message and proclaim her well. Thank you again.
~MC~MC~MC~
"So, how awkward is this going to be for ya?" Ron asked, nudging Harry's shoulder with his own.
"Depends on how Remus is feeling," Harry said as he walked towards the Pokémon Battles classroom, Ron and Neville on either side of him. Flora, for once, was in her Pokéball as Neville had decided that he needed to get her used to traveling that way. It had been alright for her to remain out of her ball when she had been a Bulbasaur and thus small enough to be held in Neville's arms but her new bulk as an Ivysaur gave her a much larger footprint. It would only get worse when she reached her final form; Venasaurs were not meant to roam around halls of Hogwarts. When Neville graduated Flora would spend most of her days either at the Lucian City Gym or holding court at Longbottom Manor, ruling over the other Bulbasaurs and Ivysaurs that were raised by the family. But for now Flora needed to get around cramped quarters and a Pokéball was the best way to go.
"What?" Neville asked. "You mean like if Remus treats you all coldly and stuff because he doesn't want to come off as giving you preferential treatment?"
Harry shook his head. "I'm more scared of him showing slides of my baby pictures to the entire class and calling me Pronglet." Ron laughed at that while Neville merely smiled. Harry, for his part, was just glad that he was able to have a conversation with his friends without feeling like a total liar.
It had been two days since he had met his godfather for the first time and Harry felt as if they were in the longest 48 hours of his life. When he'd returned to the train Remus had instantly been on him, questioning him and making sure that he was okay. Harry had kept all his answers as short as possible and wrapped as much of the truth as he could around his lies. He'd learned well watching Dudley get away with everything and anything that lies rolled off the tongue easier if they started with truth and were covered with it as well. He told Remus that the Lord of Sevii had met with him and they had discussed several things. The Lord, according to Harry, was investigating some rumors he'd heard about attempts to reform Team Nocturne and how there were some prisoners offering information in exchange for having time commuted off their sentences. The Lord, according to Harry, wanted to see if some of the information the prisoners had given up was genuine and since pieces of it pertained to himself, the Lord had decided that it was best just to go right to Harry himself.
It was hard for Harry to tell if Remus believed him or if he was merely keeping quiet, waiting for Harry to decide when he could confide in him. It hurt the boy to be caught in the middle of Sirius and Remus but he hoped that in the end all the lies and secrets would be wiped away and everything would work out in the end.
"I wonder why Hermione is sitting there," Neville said as they entered the classroom and spotted the bushy-haired girl. Instead of sitting in her normal spot, namely the table near the front of the class that had the best view of the board and the professor's desk, Hermione had chosen to sit in the far back, in the 'slacker section' as she'd once called it. Parvati and Lavender seemed just as surprised that Hermione had chosen to sit behind them; they kept looking at her as if they were waiting for a Weasley Twins prank to suddenly fire off. The only thing that kept all the students from wondering if Hermione had been replaced by her evil duplicate was the fact that she still had her nose pressed against her dex, scanning through the course pages while the rest of her classmates talked and gossiped.
"This is very weird," Harry said.
"Maybe us giving her the cold shoulder made her brain snap and she's now become a crazy stalker killer who will hunt us down one by one and kill us in our dreams while wearing a hideous sweater!" When Harry and Neville merely stared at Ron the red head's eyes went wide. "By Merlin, I think Luna and I swapped souls there for a moment!"
~MC~MC~MC~
"Luna... Luna!" Ginny exclaimed, shaking her friend. The little blondes eyes had rolled into the back of her head, leaving only her whites visible, and she was rocking back and forth, muttering about how the Tor Town Tauros' would finally win the championship.
~MC~MC~MC~
The boys took their seats, with Neville joining Hermione while Ron and Harry shared a table next to theirs. Hermione merely smiled at Neville before going back to her dex. In front of them Lavender and Parvati continued to gab on, though it was clear that having Hermione actually sitting behind them was throwing the girls off.
"So, what do you think Remus... I mean Prof. Lupin... will teach us?"
"Not sure," Harry said. "He wouldn't even give me a hint, as he felt that it would ruin the surprise."
"Even if he gave you every answer it wouldn't help you, Potter," Draco said with a laugh as he strolled past them, Crabbe and Goyle in their ever present positions as his bookends. "Certain people in this world are meant to rise up while the rest stay in the filth."
"I've always felt the same way," Harry said with a dark little smile. There was no need to finish his thought, as it was clear to everyone just what Harry was hinting at.
"Watch yourself, Potter," Draco snapped. "You insulted the honor of the Malfoy family and a Malfoy always repays his debts."
"I thought the Lannister's always repaid their debts?" Ron said before looking at Harry with wide eyes. "Oh Merlin, I did it again!"
"We'll get Luna and perform an exorcism later," Harry stated, turning his attention away from a fuming Draco. Harry could practically hear the blond's teeth grinding and in that moment Harry discovered that of all the things he could do to him... being ignored was the best way to counter Draco.
The 'Prince of Slytherin' opened his mouth, ready to fire off another insult, but quickly changed his mind when he saw Remus enter. Instead Draco merely scowled impotently at Harry before marching over and taking his seat.
"Good afternoon, class!" Remus said happily, removing his lab coat and draping it over his chair. "Now then, welcome to Year Three of Battle Class. During your first year you learned all about the basics of battling. Last year you... were supposed to learn about elemental typing and the various weaknesses and strengths." Remus scowled slightly and much of the class squirmed at that. It had been fun to have Lockhart giving them easy As and telling them wild adventures (even if all of them had happened to other people and the showboat had stolen them all for himself). But now that they were a year older and dealing with a professor who clearly knew what he was doing the class realized that they might be in trouble. Oh, there were a few that would do ok; Hermione had known all about typing before even stepping into the classroom, Draco had private tutors that made sure he was already ahead of his classmates, and Harry had spent the summer getting caught up by Remus. But for the likes of Dean and Seamus and Pansy and Crabbe they were in for a world of hurt and knew it. They knew the basics, like the fire-grass-water cycle, but how steel types did against poison?
Remus casually reached down and unbuttoned his cuffs before rolling up his sleeves past the elbows. The rest of the class was surprised by how casual Remus was but Harry knew all too well that such actions were all part of Remus' charm. He was a natural teacher and Harry knew that had it not been for the depression and survivor's guilt he'd felt during the war Remus would have become a professor at Hogwarts. Harry grinned and leaned forward a bit, excited to see what Remus was going to be showing them.
"This year we are going to learn about another aspect of battling that can greatly affect the outcome of your battles: Abilities." Remus clicked a button on his desk and the board behind him flickered before showing several cutie, cartoony drawings of different Pokémon. One image depicted a Mankey touching a Pikachu. An arrow pointed to the next picture, which showed a smiling Pikachu and a clearly distressed Mankey surrounded by lightning bolts. "It has only been within the last century that scientists realized that all Pokémon have at least one ability. It took that long because many abilities were assumed merely to be quirks of the Pokémon species. For example, Slaking."
Remus clicked to another slide, this one showing a Slaking punching a Camrupt and the Slaking's trainer cheering him on. The next image had the trainer not so happy as he was staring at a sleeping Slaking. "They have an ability called Slaking Off that causes them to swing between bouts of extreme battle frenzy and utter slothfulness. It was only when scientists began to experiment with the Pokémon Audino and her move Simple Beam and attempted to artificially create it that it was realized that this wasn't by choice but a part of their genetics. Slaking might not want to become lazy after an attack but their natural will causes them to do so.
"By understanding the abilities of our Pokémon we can better prepare for battles. Some abilities are quite obvious and are quickly seen; any Pokémon that affects the weather, for instance. Others are quite subtle and a person might not ever even use the ability." Remus clapped his hands together. "Alright, who can tell me of an ability their Pokémon has?"
Hermione, to Harry's shock, did not raise her hand but instead chose to simply sit there and let others have a chance to shine. Ron glanced over at Harry and it was clear he was just as surprised by this turn of events as Harry was.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy."
"My Servine has the Overgrowth ability, which makes it much stronger when using grass type moves."
"Very good, 10 points to Slytherin. Now, how about a Gryffindor? Yes, Mr. Longbottom."
"My Flabebe has the Flower Veil Ability."
Remus nodded. "Good, good! Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, some of you might not know your Pokémon's' abilities and that is ok. Your homework will be to compose a list of the abilities of each of your Pokémon and what they do. You'll also want to begin thinking about how these abilities can help you as we will be focusing on that in the upcoming days." Remus smiled, letting his students note their homework assignment in their dexs before continuing. "Now, for the rest of this class period we are going to get a demonstration of a Pokémon ability and how it can affect your battle."
Remus snapped his figures and his Zorua, Mooney, leapt up onto his desk. It was clear from the way the little fox Pokémon held himself that he enjoyed being the center of attention. Those students who'd never seen Remus' Zorua up close leaned forward a bit, wanting to get a better look at the dark-type. Mooney, for his part, merely trotted up and down the desk, nose high in the hair as he gave a strut that would make any supermodel jealous.
"Now, most Zorua's have the special ability known as Illusion, which allows them to take on the appearance of a Pokémon in the opponent's party. However, Mooney here, as he is from the rarer Avalon strain, has a different ability." Remus paused for a moment for dramatic effect before continuing. "His ability is known as Mind Games but would probably be better described as an upgraded version of Illusion. You see, rather than taking a form based on a Pokémon your trainer owns, Mooney created the illusion that he has become something that the opponent fears or becomes cautious around. This unnerves Pokémon and trainers and allows Zorua to either escape or attack. Over the next two days we are going to have each of you encounter Zorua's ability so you understand it better and learn how to work through it."
Remus tapped his chin. "Now, I think that we should mix things up a bit and start in the back of the class and work our way forward. Miss Granger, you can start."
Hermione smiled and happily made her way towards the front of the class. Harry and Ron glanced at each other and both mentally wondered how Hermione had known that Remus would go through the class that way; there wasn't a doubt in either of their minds that Hermione had somehow known and that was the reason she had chosen to not sit up front.
"Alright now it is important Miss Granger that you remember that, no matter how realistic Mooney's illusion is, it isn't real. You have to fight through it and see things for how they really are. If I think it is taking you too long I will break the illusion myself."
"I'm ready," Hermione said with a nod.
Mooney nodded and leapt down from the table; but it wasn't a Zorua that landed on the floor in front of Hermione. Instead, to the shock of the class, what rose up was a massive, 7-foot tall purplish monster that was a cross between a dragon and a shark. The creature took a step forward, teeth the length of Hermione's fingers bared as the creature took a quick step forward, startling everyone with its speed. It seemed so strange to have a monster so big be so quick on its feet.
Hermione's eyes went to pinpricks and she pressed herself against Remus' desk, body trembling in horror. Her breath was ragged and came out in short bursts that made her chest rapidly rise and fall. Of course, none of the rest of the class was faring any better; all of them were staring at the land shark with horror-filed eyes.
"Enough," Remus said and the creature seemed to shatter like ice, revealed Mooney standing before them all. "It's ok," Remus said, placing his hand on Hermione's should and trying not to wince at the way she flinched at his touch. "It wasn't real."
"Thought I could do it. Should have stuck with the original," Hermione mumbled to herself. Harry wasn't sure what she meant by that but didn't have time to ponder that thought as his attention was drawn back to Remus.
"Miss Granger, do you at least know the name of that Pokémon."
She mutely nodded before finding her voice. "Garchomp."
"Good. Five points to Gryffindor. Go take your seat."
Draco let out a scoff and said in a voice that he thought was low enough to keep Remus from hearing, but clearly wasn't, "Of course the little frightened Skitty gets points... if it weren't for the generosity of professors they would never get any points!" Draco turned to his hangers-on and sneered. "And a Garchomp? How pathetic. Leave it to someone of her ilk to be frightened by a Pokémon rather than control and dominate it!"
Remus merely raised an eyebrow and Harry found himself squirming. He knew that look well and even if it weren't directed at him it made him shiver just a touch. Remus never yelled or screamed, nor would he give someone the silent treatment or a cold shoulder. No, Remus' favorite tactic was to use your own hubris against you and leave you twitching and flailing. In order to build up Harry's muscle mass and get him to the level a boy his age should be at Remus had pushed for him to begin running and working out. Early on Harry had complained about not wanting to spend his time jogging about and Remus' response had been to duct tape him to a chair and leave him facing a bare wall for 3 hours.
Harry had never complained again about going on a nice jog and working off his excess energy.
Moving to the side, Remus waved towards Mooney, a smile on his lips but his eyes as hard as diamonds. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, by all means, give it a try." The blond Slytherin nodded and strolled up front, his gait full of cocky swagger and attitude. It was clear to Harry that Draco thought this an easy test and one he would beat with ease. The boy never considered for a moment that he might find it a challenge. Harry and Ron shared a look before leaning forward, wanting to see just what Pokémon Mooney became.
But instead of a Lucario or an Aerodactyl or some other Pokémon Mooney took on a shape that was familiar to all the students.
"Draco, you are such a disappointment," Mooney said in Lucius Malfoy's voice. Draco's eyes instantly went wide and he took a step back as the illusion that wore his father's face took a step forward, his thin lips purses together as he looked the boy over with a critical eye. "You are a Malfoy, the most noble house in all of Avalon and yet you continue to disgrace our family's name. You aren't smart enough or quick enough or powerful enough." 'Lucius' gripped his cane in both hands till his knuckles were white. "We are supposed to be leaders among men but you couldn't lead Magikarps to water! Perhaps it is time to talk to your mother about producing a new heir-"
"No!" Draco screamed, falling to his knees. "Please father, I..." his words trailed off as Mooney's illusion faded away. Remus merely stood there, silent, as the blond scowled, realizing he'd made a fool of himself in front of the entire class. He stalked back to his desk, ignoring the sniggers coming from the Gryffindors.
"Now, as I was going to say after Miss Granger's failed attempt... do not be surprised if you fail this first time. Shaking off a Pokémon Ability takes great determination and will be something that must be learned. Once you learn to shake of Mooney's ability you will find yourself better enabled you to deal with over, weaker abilities. The same holds true for your Pokémon: the stronger your bond the better chance they'll have of breaking through an ability or status condition."
Remus continued on, making small comments as he ran through the class. For Neville Mooney took on the form of Snape and though the boy trembled at the sight several Gryffindors snickered at the over-the-top performance 'Snape' gave. Remus decided that he didn't want to leave any table half done and had Pansy go next; for her Mooney became a shiny Charizard. Ron's was expected: a Galvantula that resembled Aragog.
Harry swallowed as he was called on. The walk up to the front of the class made him feel like a condemned man approached the gallows and even though he'd lived with Mooney for two summers now the trickster fox Pokémon suddenly looked all the more sinister watching him approach. While several of the students were still stifling giggles and thinking the entire exercise was like a thrill park ride with simulated scares, Harry knew that what he was about to experience wouldn't feel like a roller coaster or tilts-a-whirl.
Mooney's image shimmered slightly as he created the illusion and Harry blinked in confusion as the Pokémon became a double of Remus. It was the duplicate's words that confirmed just why Mooney had chosen that form.
"That's the form Mooney took?" 'Remus' declared. "Why would he... unless... no... Harry, how could you? How could you hide this from me? How? I... I trusted you! I let you into my house and you go behind my back-"
It was Harry's worst fear: Remus discovering the truth.
"Enough!" Remus snapped, Mooney instantly shattering the illusion. The little fox Pokémon ambled over to Harry's shaking form and whimpered, clearly trying to apologize. The boy managed a watery smile but it was clear his heart wasn't into it. "Alright, I think that is enough for today. For homework I want you to write down the ability of one of you Pokémon, what that ability does and one example of how you might use that ability to your advantage during a battle." The students gathered up their things but as Harry turned towards the door he found Remus moving to block his path. "Just a moment, Mr. Potter."
To harry it seemed to take forever for the rest of the class to leave. On one hand he was thankful for that, as it delayed the conversation Remus clearly wanted to have but Harry wished to avoid like a bad skin rash. On the other hand he found the waiting to be torture and wished silently that time would speed up and he could just find out what Remus had to tell him. He forced himself not to fidget or squirm, knowing that such little twitches would only let Remus know quicker how uncomfortable Harry truly was.
"Harry," Remus said, nearly causing the boy to jump as he was pulled out of his fearful musings. Motioning for him to sit down, Remus sat on one of the tables and sighed. "Listen, I get that this whole situation is a teen's worst nightmare. Merlin knows if my father had been a teacher as Hogwarts... I'd probably have avoided James and Sirius all together. I got in enough trouble with the things my father found out about... the things that remain secrets?" Remus shuddered slightly at the thought and Harry found himself smiling. "The point is that I know you are going to get up to things that I might not want you too... but I don't want you to think that if I find out you've been sneaking out after curfew or eating too many donuts at breakfast that I'll treat you any different than if I'd found out via Prof. McGonagall. Just because I am a teacher doesn't mean that I will teach guardian stuff like Prof. Snape would."
Harry let out a sigh of relief and quickly thanked Remus. He counted his blessings that Remus thought all Harry was worried about was being caught for a prank or for breaking the rules.
But even though he felt relief that his secret had been found out a seed of dread remained deep within him. He couldn't keep everything hidden forever and all he could do was pray that when everything was revealed that Remus would keep his word.
~MC~MC~MC~
Author's Note: I debated on the cutaway to Luna but decided it was just too funny not to include.
Mind Games is an upgrade of Illusion. In game it would cause Zorua to unnerve the opponent, decreasing that Pokémon's accuracy and making running away 100% achievable.
I know that Hermione's boggart is believed to be failure but I decided to give her something more solid to be scared of. Why she is frightened by Garchomps will be dealt with.
