Author's Notes: I really don't think I need to let you guys know what I own. Instead, I will remind you to review, as that is the only way I can contact you and give you spoilers and hints!


October 31.

Avalon, like all regions, had their own holidays. Kanto held March 12th as Sighting Day; the last known sighting of the Pokemon Mew said to have taken play in Vermillion City. Burning Day was a solemn day in Johto, though June 9th had quickly gained prominence as Independence Day and saw towns reenact Jack Kenway's battle with Lance Blackthorn to end the Johto/Kanto War. In Kanto the 9th was marked as a day of mourning by some and ignored by most. Sinnoh had its Day of the Clock and Hoenn sang lullabies to Groudan on Slumber Saturday. Of course, one would be remiss to forget Unova's Weather Festival when discussing holidays.

But in Avalon, one of the most important holidays was All Hallows Day. It was said that long ago a great darkness had fallen upon Avalon and all manner of specters and phantoms had filled the skies, snatching up the innocent and dragging them into the stormclouds. After 30 days of senseless terror, Merlin had journeyed into the clouds on the back of a Pigeot and battled against the ghosts. At the stroke of midnight, as October 31st turned to November 1st, there had been an explosion of light and Merlin had cast the ghosts down, transforming the spirits into Pokemon to be caught by those that they had fed upon. Since then, Halloween saw trainers in Avalon stay up and celebrate Merlin's victory against the spooks.

Many from the region, both good and evil, had used October 31st as a day to make grand gestures. Several tournaments saw their final matches occur on that last day of October. Ships would be christened and babies born on that day were said to be blessed with luck. Madmen had attacked their victims on that day, believing that those they killed were no better than Merlin's phantom enemies. Wars had been started and crimes committed by those evil in heart, for they thought that the 31st was when the veil between life and death was thinnest.

It was another event, however, that weighed on Harry Potter's mind as he walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. An event that he hadn't know about until just a few weeks past. 10 years ago, on October 31st at 11:35 pm, Team Nocturne's leader, Lord Voldemort, had attacked a small home on Little Surrey, murdering his father before dying in battle against Lily Potter at the stroke of midnight... though he managed to score the fatal blow that would see her leave this world and have Harry dubbed 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'.

He did his best to hide his feelings as he walked with his friends. Ron was talking a mile a minute, letting them all know what he wanted to eat at the Halloween feast. Hermione was scrolling through her dex, researching some custom Ron had mentioned; she believed it was a relatively new addition to the holiday while Ron boasted it had been around for years. Even Neville was getting into the spirit of things; he wasn't as excited as Ron or Hermione but the smile he wore and the slight spring in his step let everyone know that he was looking forward to the midnight feast.

Harry tried to be excited. He tried to smile and laugh and enjoy himself. But as he stepped into the Great Hall and saw the streamers and balloons that the Clafairies were putting up, all he could imagine was his parents' coffins sitting where the staff table was, dressed up with decorations while students walked by, laughing and loading up their plates with food.

"Harry?" Hermione said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

Harry shook himself out of his misery and forced himself to nod. He had learned well at the Dursleys how to behave and how to act as others wanted him to act. No one wanted to see the tears in his eyes or hear him sniffle over something stupid; that had been drilled in his head since he had been a baby. Tears and pouting lips only invited pain and belittlement. 'I'll give you something to cry about!'... that had been a favorite of his relatives.

Children like him were meant to scurry away rather than draw attention to themselves. To be the focus of anyone's gaze was to invite trouble upon yourself.

Seeing all the excited students mulling about, eating their breakfast and dreaming of the fun to come that night... it left Harry forcing a smile upon his face and mimicking Neville's bouncy steps. He didn't want to draw attention to himself or ruin their fun with his moping.

Even if seeing all the smiling faces was quietly killing him inside.

~MC~MC~MC~

Ron laughed as he slammed his chocolate pokéball against the table, sending little shards of coco goodness flying all over. "Alright!" He exclaimed, popping a piece in his mouth as he pulled out the plastic prize that had been hidden within his treat. He lifted up the small figure, which was shaped like a white flying rodent with a black back, rosy checks, and electric yellow 'wings' between its arms and legs. "An Emolga!"

"What's an Emolga?" Seamus asked.

"Only one of the coolest electric type Pokémon there is!" Ron boasted. "I am so going to catch on!"

Hermione brushed her hand along the table, sending the bits of chocolate from Ron's ball scattering. "Good for you."

"Hey, that's wasting good candy!" Ron complained, trying to snatch up bits of the treat before they ended up on the floor.

"Maybe if you hadn't smashed it against the table..." Hermione said, grabbing a knife and carefully breaking her own chocolate pokeball open.

"That's part of the fun, though," Ron reasoned, eyeing Hermione's treat. The bushy-haired girl smirked before passing her ball to Neville. "You are so not fun."

"What did you get?" Neville asked, showing Flora the plastic Numbel that had been in his ball.

"Clafairy," Hermione said. "You know, they still haven't answered my letter."

"What letter?" Neville asked, not seeing Ron waving his hands and mouthing 'no!'.

Hermione huffed. "The Clafairy cards that come with the Chocolate Poliwags are printed wrong. They still say that Clafairy is considered a normal type when we know it is a dual Normal/Fairy."

"I never got that," Ron complained. "How can there be a new type. Why not just keep things the way they are?"

"We are learning new things about Pokémon all the time, Ron." Hermione took a sip of berry juice before continuing. "That's the whole point of going off on Pokémon adventures: learning new things about Pokémon. New types and new moves and new evolutions... that why-"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I asked," Ron said dismissively.

"Ooooh," Dean said, seeing how red Hermione's face was getting. "Ron, you never say that to a girl."

Hermione opened her mouth but Ron was saved from her rant by Prof. Dumbeldore tapping his knife against his glass. The students grew quiet as the headmaster began to speak.

"I am happy to welcome you all to our annual Halloween feast. Every year we gather together to celebrate Merlin's victory over the spirits and phantoms that terrorized Avalon." Looking over his moon-rim glasses, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he gazed upon each and every one of his students. "I know that there are many that feel that Halloween has become little more than an excuse to stuff ourselves with candy and stay up past curfew, but I hope every one of you remembers the true meaning on this holiday. When I was..."

"Ron, stop!" Hermione hissed softly, slapping the boy's hand.

"Ow!" Ron whimpered, rubbing his abused fingers.

Hermione gave him no sympathy. "Those are Harry's."

Ron huffed. "He won't mind."

"Maybe, but you aren't going to take his candy until he tells you himself that it is ok."

Ron looked around. "Where is Harry?"

Hermione blinked, realizing that Harry had left an hour ago and hadn't returned. "He said he was going to the bathroom... I wonder what is taking so long?"

"When ya got to go, ya got to go."

Hermione, ignoring Dumbledore's speech, let out another huff and crossed her arms over her chest. "You are disgusting, Ron Weasley!"

"And your-"

"I don't think he's coming back," Neville stated, looking down at Flora. The Bulbasaur had grown quiet, bumping her head against his chest. "This must be killing him, seeing everything like this… today of all days."

"What do you mean?" Ron whispered.

"What is today?"

"Halloween," Hermione said, before her eyes went wide. "Oh... oh no."

"What?"

"Ron... Harry's parents died on Halloween."

"So?"

"So?"Hermione snapped, a bit louder than she intended. When those around her turned towards the friends Hermione quickly lowered her voice. "So? Don't you think that it might be a touch difficult for Harry to see us all celebrating the anniversary of his parents' death?"

"But... but we aren't celebrating that!"

Neville shook his head. "We know that and Harry knows that... up here." Neville tapped his forehead. "But in here?" He tapped his chest. "Here is a different-"

"GOLURKS!"

The students all turned as one, Prof. Dumbledore pausing in the middle of his rambling tale about a Halloween 23 years earlier that involved several beets , a sleepy Paras, and a pair of purple socks. The entire hall watched as Nurse Poppy Joy raced into the hall, her eyes wide with fear. Her cap had flown of her head in her rush to get to the Great Hall and she was panting hard as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"GOLURKS! GOLURKS IN THE SCHOOL!"

"Nurse Joy!" McGonagall called out, trying to get her friend to take a breath and speak in a rational, understandable manner. "What are you talking about? Golurks?"

"Probably a prank," Snape snapped. "Nothing more than shadows and fog..."

Poppy glared at the man. "I know a Golurk when I see it!" She turned to face Dumbledore. "I was heading down to the dungeons to pick up some Burn Heal Prof. Snape had made for me when I spotted them! Two huge brutes lumber towards the stairs-"

Dumbledore's dex let out a piercing ring and the students closest to the staff table clutched their ears as the emergency call filled the air. Dumbledore quickly tugged out his dex and flipped it open. "Prof. Quirrell?"

"Th-there are G-g-g-g-golurks in the school, Albus!" Quirrell yelled, his voice sounding tiny over the dex's speaker. "I have located two near the Ravenclaw dorms! Don't let anyone out of the great hall!"

"There are two more in the dungeons," Dumbledore said.

Quirrell let out a squeak. "Are... are you sure?"

"Positive, Poppy spotted them. I will go with Minerva and Filius to deal with them and send Pomona and Severus to you-"

"No!" Quirrell cried out, the sounds of battle ringing over the speaker. "You are going to need all the help you can get taking down the last two! I managed to surprise one and take it down quickly but… but this second one is proving quite the challenge. I will make it but it would be a waste to send aid!" The students were all shocked; who knew Quirrell could go three words without stuttering?

Albus nodded, turning off the dex. "Poppy, you and Pomona stay here and guard the children. Severus, Filius, Minerva, come we me. Rolanda, find Hagrid; we might need his strength." Dumbledore looked at the children, a smile no longer on his lips but a caring glow shining around him like a halo. "Students, I ask you all to stay here. Golurks are not to be taken lightly and wandering about will only injure yourselves and your teachers. Please, enjoy your meals and do not worry. Prefects, keep your fellow students here."

"How did Golurks get in here?" Hermione asked in confusion as the professors rushed out of the hall. "The school's security systems should have alerted the headmaster if one wandered close to the school."

Ron didn't answer, as he was more concerned with trying to get his brother Percy's attention. The Gryffindor prefect ignored him, focusing all his attention on the twins, as he feared that Fred and George would use the attack as an excuse to go out and have some adventures.

"Ron, what's wrong?" Neville asked.

"Harry's not here," Ron reminded them. "He's still wandering around the castle."

"Maybe he went to the dorm," Neville reasoned.

"No... no, I know he isn't. He's in danger and my git of a brother won't come over here!"

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, scandalized. The boy was already on his feet, any worries about Hermione and her dislike of his cursing driven from his brain at the thought that his best friend might be walking the halls, only to bump into a Golurk that would reduce him to pudding. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find Harry and warn him."

"Are you insane?" Hermione screeched, chasing after Ron and ignoring the stares she was getting as she hurried after him. "You can't go out there!"

"Harry is out there-"

"And you being dead won't help any," Hermione snapped.

Neville trotted over to them, Flora looking about in confusion. They moved to a quiet corner, the rest of the students all gathering around the front table as they listened in for updates on the battle. "Ron, Hermione, why don't we-"

"He'd go after you,." Ron snarled.

"...what?"

"If you were the one out there, with a Golurk rumbling about, I know Harry would rush to your rescue. He would risk anything if a friend was in trouble and I am not about to do anything less than the same for him. Come on Neville."

"Wait, what?" Neville squeaked. Ron grabbed his arm and dragged him away, the boy looking back at Hermione with wide eyes, wondering how he had found himself in this situation.

Hermione watched the two sneak out of the Great Hall and was suddenly of two minds: part of her, the part that followed the rules and respected authority with a passion, screamed to go to Nurse Joy or one of the prefects and let them know what Ron was doing. It was the right thing to do, the proper thing to do...

Then the part of her that had longed for friends and who realized that her desire to tattle would cost her Ron and Neville... and perhaps Harry as well... rose up and told her in no uncertain terms that she had been placed in Gryffindor for a reason and she better suck it up and stop worrying about what might happen in the future and focus on the here-and-now.

"Wait up!" Hermione hissed, glancing around one final time before she hurried to catch up with the boys.

~MC~MC~MC~

Harry slowly trudged back to the Gryffindor tower, rubbing his face with his arm. He'd tried to make it, he truly had. He'd sat next to Ron and forced himself to smile as his friend yammered away about the Tor City Tauros. But as more students had piled into the Great Hall and the noise level had grown, the boy had found it hard to breath. They were eating candy and laughing and enjoying things he himself had never gotten to enjoy in all of his 11 years in the world because his parents had been killed by a madman on this very night... and he didn't want to make a scene and ruin the fun for them.

So he'd made an excuse and darted out of the hall. He'd then spent the next half an hour wandering around, trying to collect himself and steady his nerves. But nothing he did worked and finally he was forced to admit that he simply wasn't going to be able to enjoy the party and he would better serve himself and his classmates by returning to his dorm and sleeping until Halloween was done and gone. He would just claim he had a stomach ache if pressed.

The first thing that hinted at things not being right was the steady booms that echoed down the hallway. The boy frowned, forehead furrowed and eyes squinting through his thick-rimmed glasses as he tried to figure out what was making the noise. The hall seemed darker than he remembered and the shadows had grown blacker and thicker. It was as if someone had suddenly thrown a thick blanket over the hall, blocking out all light.

The sound grew louder and Harry's steps became less frequent. Something was coming towards him, something big. The boy turned, heart thudding in his chest as he raced back the way he'd come-

"Harry!" Ron called out, turning a corner and nearly slamming into him. "Mate, where have you been? There are Golurks in the school! We need to get back to the Great Hall... they could be anywhere."

"I have a theory," Hermione whispered, a shaky hand lifting up to point behind Harry and Ron.

The two turned and felt their stomachs drop. Emerging from the shadows was a Golurk, towering over the first years. Its body was composed of cracking blue clay that was held together by thick copper bands. In spots where the gashes were deeper purplish-black smoke oozed out like miasma, filling the air around it with even more shadows. It turned its hollow, glowing eyes towards the students and they could hear the clicking of its limbs as it took another step forward.

"Go...lurk..." it moaned.

"...I vote on running," Neville said.

"Second," Hermione exclaimed, turning on her heels and darting away from the massive Pokémon. Ron and Harry joined their friends, their footfalls ringing in the empty hallway as the raced away from the massive Pokémon.

"LURK!"

"DOWN!" Ron shouted, yanking Harry by the arm and forcing him to belly up to the floor just as a Night Shade attack raced over their heads. The Shade blast struck an arcway 10 feet from them, sending it and part of the ceiling crashing down and blocking off their path.

"Go...lurk..." the Pokémon moaned once more.

"Any ideas?" Harry asked nervously, leaping to his feet and backing away from the Pokémon.

"We'll have to battle it," Ron said, taking out his pokéball. "Scabbers!" The rat Pokemon looked about, giving Ron a sour look, only to freeze up when it heard Golurk's bellow. "Scabbers, you can either fight it or let it kill us!" Ron shouted.

Gnashing his teeth together, Scabbers seemed to consider this option, only to let out a yelp when a dark orb fired from Golurk's hand and struck him in the chest.

"Scabbers?" Ron asked in confusion, seeing his Pokémon was ok. "How..."

"That was a Shadow Ball," Hermione stated. "Normal type Pokemon are immune to Ghost movies."

Ron grinned. "Alright! Scabbers, Bite!"

"Ron, wait!" Hermione shouted, but it was too late. Scabbers, deciding that it would be better to attack then to stand there and let himself be injured or worse, darted forward, his buck teeth gleaming as he leapt in the air to deliver his attack...

...only to be caught by the massive Pokémon and slammed into a wall.

"It is also a Ground type," Hermione said, watching as Scabbers fainted from the single blow. "That means it can still perform physical attacks."

"Now you tell me!" Ron complained, calling back Scabbers. "What do we do?"

Hermione shook her head. "Ralts is no good; she's a Psychic type and Golurk's Shadow Ball will knock her out in one hit!"

Harry nodded, pressing his back to the wall as Golurk slowly began to approach them once more. "Eevee might be able to do something but one hit like that and he will be down."

Neville looked down at Flora, stroking her head. "Flora should be able to hurt it; Grass types are strong against ground types. Still… I don't think she'd survive a punch like that."

"Well, whatever you can do do it now!" Ron shouted, half sitting on the rubble in his attempt to get further away from the approaching Golurk. It held up its hands again and began to charge up another Shadow Ball. "I'd rather try something than nothing."

Harry watched the Golurk as it powered up its attack, his brain racing with possibilities. "I have an idea! Neville, you focus on attack it! Hermione, send out Ralts."

"But she's weak against Ghost types!" Hermione reminded him.

"Trust me," Harry said with a smile, sending out Eevee. "Just have Ralts distract it, ok?"

Hermione chewed on her lip, not wanting to put her Pokémon in danger but realizing their options were sorely limited. She tossed out her ball, sending her partner out. "Alright. Ralts, Confusion!"

The little white and green Pokémon nodded, holding out her arms and sending out the psychic waves. The Golurk slowly turned towards her as it was hit, stumbling slightly before lifting its hand up and gathering dark energy for the Shadow Ball attack.

"Eevee, intercept!"

Eevee leapt in front of Ralts, his tail twitching as he pushed Hermione's Pokémon away. The Shadow Ball struck him and Eevee remained standing, looking to all as if nothing had happened.

"Perfect!" Harry said with a grin. "Neville, have Flora do quick attacks and then get out of the way! Hermione, have Ralts keep Golurk's attention on her. The Shadow Balls don't hurt Eevee since he is a normal type, so he can block for you both." The group fanned out, forming a half circle around Golurk. "Ron, keep an eye out and let us know if you see it doing anything funny."

"Right!" Ron shouted.

"Flora, Leech Seed!" Neville called out. The Bulbasaur nodded, firing off the little seedlings. They easily latched onto Golurk's clay body and dug their roots in deep, sucking out its life energy and sending it to Ralts, Eevee and Flora. "Now Wine Whip!"

"Ralts, Confusion!"

"Harry, to your right!"

"I see it, Ron! Eevee, intercept the Shadow Ball and fire off one of your own!"

The Golurk bellowed in frustration. Flora was chipping away at its life energy, weakening it with her attacks. Whenever the Golurk tried to focus in on the Bulbasaur, Ralts or Eevee would attack and force it to deal with them. Eevee was using its superior speed to intercept every Shadow Ball Golurk sent out, allowing the other two Pokémon to focus on attacking.

The ghostly golem raised its hands in frustration.

"GO..."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Everyone, move-"

"...LURK!"

The clay Pokémon slammed its fists down, causing the floor to buckle and tremble under the sheer force. Flora and Ralts cried out as they were hit, the earthquake knocking them out. Eevee struggled to stay on his feet, but he too finally gave in and fell to the ground with a sigh.

"Eevee!" Harry cried out, rushing forward and lifting up his Pokémon. "Eevee!"

"Go...lurk!" the golem said, raising its fist to strike the boy.

"Harry, run!" Ron screamed.

"Harry!" Neville and Hermione shouted.

Harry could only stand there, frozen, as the Golurk's fist prepared to strike him down…

"Poison Jab!"

Harry blinked in confusion as a long black and purple form slid around Golurk's body, forcing its limbs tight to its sides. The Pokémon was huge, nearly 9 feet long, with a sharp head and dark, cunning eyes. It's forked tongue shot out of its mouth and it let out a hiss as it drove its bladed tail into the Golurk's back.

"SEVIPER!" the Pokémon hissed as Prof. Snape hurried towards them, grabbing Hermione and easily carrying her away from the ghost Pokémon.

"Bisharp, use Night Slash!" McGonagall shouted as she darted forward, her hand grabbing Ron by the collar of his jacket and tugging him away. The children watched as their head of house's metal Pokémon raced forward, bringing its arm blades down on Golurk's forearm and causing the ghost Pokémon to bellow in pain. "Aerial Ace!" Using the strike to build momentum, Bisharp flipped into the air and dove back down, striking the Golurk in the head.

"Come on, Mr. Longbottom!" Prof. Sprout said, grabbing the boy who was still cradling his fainted Bulbasaur and hauling him away. "Vileplume, use Energy Ball!" The little blue Pokémon with a huge red flower on its head nodded, gathering its energy in the form of a glistening green orb that bounced on its petals. It focused and sent the attack out, Seviper leaping away as the attack struck, leaving Golurk wobbling, several of the metal bands that held it together breaking off.

Flitwick glared at the Golurk, angered that students had been threatened by it. "Bronzong, Flash Cannon!" A bell-like Pokémon appeared to Neville's right and began to glow before it unleashed a blast of white light at the stunned Golurk. The giant Pokémon waved its hand about, trying to regain its sight.

Harry found his view blocked by a strange Pokémon; its body was purple, with thin limbs and an overly large head. But what was most shocking was that when it turned to look at him to ensure he was alright instead of having eyes the Pokémon had a pair of diamonds in its sockets.

"Sableye, use Shadow Claw!" Dumbledore shouted, making his appearance. The strange Pokemon raced forward, its claws gleaming as it slashed the air. Dark energy appeared before it, hovering in front of Golurk before racing into it and sending the ground/ghost type slamming to the floor, out cold.

Harry panted, staring at the fallen form even as he heard Snape shouting at them for being so stupid and McGonagall demanded an explanation. Harry merely stared at them for a moment before promptly passing out.


Review Comments:

-Hydragion and the other almost legendaries are being saved for later on. I want them to be something special. I will only say that two Pokemon Characters will appear with the almosts, two Harry Potter Characters have almosts, and two characters mentioned in this chapter will have almosts (though i won't say if any of them overlap in those categories...)

-I am always opened to Pokemon suggestions. Obviously I can't be a fan of every Pokemon and every witch/wizard, so help is always welcomed.

-One of the things I want to do with this is... well, improve upon things Rowlings did. The fact that the traps were easy has already been addressed in my notes for these chapters and this story will have a better explaination.

-Yes, the ghost comment was an ode to Myrtle and the other ghosts. Since they won't be appearing in this story I wanted to do an homage to them.

-When I set this in the Pokemon World, technology instantly became important. It also helps solve the issue of just replacing spells with Pokemon.

-Yes, Eevee will evolve and I know the evolution. No, I won't tell you guys quite yet. If I had to wager, I'd say he will evolve in Book 4 latest, Book 2 earliest.