Chapter Twelve: Into The Forest
For the next several days, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville spent most of their time snooping around and keeping an eye on Severus Snape, either with their own eyes or by the Marauder's Map. They weren't sure whether Snape carried his pokédex everywhere, so they made sure to send Hermione to keep a check on Snape on the pretext of asking questions. Needless to say, Snape had gotten a lot sourer towards her, and belittled her for every single action she made.
Hagrid was, for some unknown reason, not seen for many days. Fortunately, Harry was sent a letter on one Friday, asking him to come down to his hut and bring his friends along with him.
"I wonder what he's got to show us," Ron said, stuffing his mouth with bacon.
"He seemed excited enough about it," Harry said. He shook his head. "I hope he hasn't done something that'll get him into trouble." Next to him, Hedwig hooted as if agreeing with him, while Prongs the Deerling paid far more attention to the pokémon food in front of him.
Later that evening, when Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville arrived at Hagrid's hut, they were ushered in with huge anticipation.
"Yeh came righ' on time," Hagrid said quickly with a huge grin on his face, rubbing his hands in excitement.
As soon as they walked in, Harry was met with a huge blast of hot air. "Hagrid," he said, taking off his coat, "why is it so hot in here?" It was as if he was trying to cook them alive.
"I'll tell you in a mo'." Hagrid walked to the back of his cabin and brought out a teapot and a few cups. "Anyone fancy a spot of tea?" he asked.
"No, thank you," Neville stuttered.
Hermione fanned herself in an attempt to cool down. "So, Hagrid, what was the reason you wanted to get us here?"
Hagrid beamed. "Yeh'll love this. C'mere, take a look!" he exclaimed in exhilaration, pointing towards the fire.
"What's th— Hagrid!" Hermione gasped. Intrigued, the others crowded over, and too gasped at what they saw being roasted in the fire.
"Is that…a pokémon egg?!" Ron said, stunned. Neville was at a loss for words.
"Not jus' any egg, mind yeh – it's a dragon egg."
"Are you joking?!" Ron said. "Hagrid, that must've cost you a fortune. A dragon-type pokémon is hard to come by – dragon eggs are even rarer."
"Yeah, I can't believe me luck meself! I was jus' down in the village at the pub, havin' a few firewhiskeys, when I met this bloke who told me that if I beat him in a game of cards, I could have the egg. Said he didn't have the time ter take car of baby pokémon."
That sounded a bit suspicious to Harry. Why would anyone give away a dragon egg to a random stranger instead of selling it in the market for a high price? At the same time, he couldn't think of what anyone would have to gain by giving one away.
At any rate, Hagrid had to be incredibly lucky to get a pokémon egg, especially a dragon's. "Do you know what pokémon it is, Hagrid?"
Hagrid shook his head. "Nah, not knowin' is half the fun. It's goin' ter hatch any minute now, so we'll get to know what breed it is!" he said. "I'm hopin' fer a Bagon, but I'll be happy jus' to own a dragon!"
They crowded around the fire, excited to see the hatching of a baby pokémon. "Any second now…" The waited with baited breath, watching as the egg wriggled and shook as the pokémon inside tried to come out. There was a small bump, and cracks began to spread from the crown of the egg. There were several more bumps against the inside of the egg as whatever inside tried to smash it open, until finally the upper half popped open, and white light escaped.
It was a small creature, with huge, yellow eyes and a rough, scaly blue skin. A huge fin sprouted out of the back of its head, and it looked as if it had no discernible neck. Rows of sharp teeth lined its mouth as it yawned and took its first breath, its red underside covered in glistening amniotic fluid. It was only when Hagrid scooped out the baby shark that Harry and his friends saw the small tail wiggling behind.
"He's beautiful, innit?" Hagrid cooed, wiping the slime off the baby dragon's body. Being the curious person that he was, Harry pulled out his pokédex and scanned the pokémon in front of him.
Gible, the land shark pokémon. It reacts to anything that moves; flies right at it and bites it. Sometimes it injures itself, but it doesn't care too much.
"Gible are awesome!" Ron exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I can't wait for him to evolve into a Garchomp."
"H-Have you thought of a name for him yet, H-Hagrid?" Neville asked timidly, twiddling his thumbs.
"Yeah, I— OWWWW!" Hagrid bellowed, pulling his hand back. The baby Gible had suddenly and without warning clamped down on his hand. Thankfully it had only small teeth, so Gible had only managed to draw blood.
"Hagrid, do you need help?" Neville asked in concern.
"Yeah, jus' get me a couple o' Band-Aids from the top drawer, will yeh?" Hagrid said, wincing. Nevertheless, he smiled down upon the Gible, who was licking herself clean. "Heya, Gible. I didn't mean ter scare yeh. My name is Hagrid. I'm your friend."
The Gible cocked her head, her big doe-shaped eyes melting everyone's hearts.
"Tell yeh what, how about I give yeh a name?" Hagrid said. Gible laughed, but it was more of a whiny grunt. "How about…Norberta. Tha's a good name. Whaddya think?" Gible seemed to consider it for a second before smiling and leaping into Hagrid's arms, where she snuggled against his large overcoat.
"Alright! Norberta it is." Hagrid chuckled.
They spent a few hours mingling with the newly dubbed Norberta. It seemed that baby pokémon needed a lot of care and comfort, and needed to be constantly watched – which was why while Hagrid had gone to the back of his cabin to prepare a bath for Norberta, it had been up to the four Gryffindors to keep an eye on her and make sure the Gible didn't wander out of the cabin. Ron had tried to keep her in one place by holding her with his hands, but he gave up on that idea after frowning at the rashes on his arms due to Norberta's rough skin.
"Thank yeh," Hagrid told them once Norberta had gone back to sleep, the Gible curled up as she covered herself in several blankets. "If it weren't fer yeh lot—"
He was suddenly interrupted by a rap on the windows. Everyone turned around to see someone – a student – peering through the window in an unceremonious manner. They barely had time to recognize the person as he turned away and ran, but managed to get a fleeting glimpse of unmistakable dirty blond hair.
"Malfoy," Harry said. He looked at the clock, and paled as he saw that it was already half past eleven – they'd spent more than needed at Hagrid's cabin. "We're late!"
"Yeh need ter go," Hagrid urged quickly. "Malfoy might report yeh ter one of the prefessers for breakin' curfew."
"We're going to be expelled," Hermione moaned, following Harry and Ron out of the cabin. Neville was shuddering in fear at her words.
"Shut up, you're scaring Neville," Ron snapped. Cyndaquil was keeping him warm in his arms. "At the most, Snape'll dock some points. I don't fancy seeing him in the middle of the night," he grumbled. Then his face lit up, all of a sudden, and he turned to Harry, exclaiming, "Harry, we can use Prongs! Let him— oomph!"
Any words that would've come out of his mouth died there as he bumped into the school caretaker, Argus Filch. Next to him, his scruffy Purrloin Mrs Norris hissed menacingly as she gracefully leapt up onto Filch's shoulders. With the flashlight in his gnarly hands, the Gryffindors gulped the second they saw the light eerily bounce of his sadistic smile, giving him a frightening look.
"Well, well, well," Filch muttered, still grinning, "what do we have here?"
XxXxX
"Students out of bed!" Professor McGonagall said, smacking her work table with a roll of newspaper. "What were you thinking?"
Neville, Harry, Hermione and Ron looked down ashamedly. Next to them, Draco smirked in satisfaction at humiliating the four Gryffindors, while Filch looked expectantly at McGonagall to bring out some punishment.
"I can't believe this," McGonagall muttered. "Fifty points will be taken for each of you."
"Fifty?!" Ron exclaimed.
"That will tell you not to break curfew ever again," McGonagall said. "And the five of you will spend a weeks detentions with Hagrid."
Draco's smirk wavered. "I'm sorry, Professor," he said smoothly, "but for a moment I thought I heard you say the five—"
"You heard correct, Mr Malfoy," McGonagall said. "You too have broken curfew. As a result, you have cost yourself a deduction of fifty points and a week's worth of detention with our groundskeeper."
"That's bullshit," Draco snarled. "When my father hears about this—"
"Another fifty points for misconduct and threatening a teacher," McGonagall cut in. "Do you have anything else to add?" Thankfully, Malfoy kept his mouth shut.
"Ma'am, if I may," Filch said suddenly, "these students deserve a good lashing, that'll ought to teach them not to—"
"That's enough, Argus." McGonagall said. "You may go."
Filch left, muttering and scowling. Mrs Norris hissed at Ron before scurrying behind her master.
"Return to your dormitories at once. Do not let me see you out of bed again," she warned.
"I won't," Draco said, then added quietly, "let you see…" Unfortunately, McGonagall picked up on that and docked thirty points for backtalk, leaving Draco in a fit as he walked back to the Slytherin common room.
XxXxX
The next week was torture to Harry. As soon as Gryffindor had learnt of their recent misadventures, his life had turned upside down.
He'd gone from being the Quidditch hero to the Gryffindor pariah. Gryffindors gave him the cold shoulder, some even going as far as to taunt the him and push him around. Hermione, Ron and Neville were also treated the same way, but at a lesser extent, because they weren't as well-known as Harry.
He only found solace during his detentions with Hagrid, during which he could be himself and enjoy with his giant friend. Draco was (fortunately) given the dirtier work, allowing Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville to talk to Hagrid and spend time with Norberta.
In any case, Harry didn't pay much attention to the rest if the castle. Exams were nearly upon them, and Harry and his friends spent almost every living moment revising and ignoring the taunts and glares that were directed their way for losing Gryffindor two hundred points. Neville was still perturbed, but the presence of Turtwig would calm him down within seconds.
On Sunday night, Harry trudged down the grand staircase with Ron, Hermione and Neville by his side. It was the last day of detention with Hagrid for their little escapade at night. At least I'll have more time to study now, Harry mused. Although I'd rather spend time with Hagrid than bear the looks the other Gryffs give me, detention or not…
Next to him, Neville quivered. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that he was scared of the dark – after all, Neville was scared of almost everything.
"What do you think Hagrid's got for us?" Ron asked in an attempt to dissolve the silence.
"I just hope it's nothing d-dangerous," Neville said, looking down.
"Of course it won't be," Hermione reassured. "Hagrid wouldn't take us to the Forbidden Forest or something. Professor McGonagall would be furious!"
How wrong she was.
They arrived at the foot of the staircase in another fifteen minutes, then walked across the corridors to reach the gate of the castle. Standing at the gate was none other than Filch, their escort to Hagrid's cabin, and Draco, who was his surly and haughty self.
"You're late," Draco said shortly. Ron scowled.
"Yeah, we weren't looking forward to see your stupid face, Malfoy," Ron muttered back.
"Come on, you," Filch growled in a gruff voice. Mrs Norris meowed as she followed her trainer to Hagrid's cabin.
The quietness of the ground added to the eeriness. Next to them, Neville yelped at the sound of twigs snapping under his feet. The only thing stopping Draco from laughing openly was the fact that he was outnumbered four to one. Harry wondered what their last detention was going to be. It had to be something horrible, or else Filch and his Purrloin wouldn't have been in such a gleeful mood.
Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's cabin. As they came closer, they could hear the front door opening, then slammed shut. A large flashlight flickered in the distance and a series of excited barks sounded, presumably Fang's.
"Is that yeh, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."
Hagrid came striding out of the darkness, Fang the Houndoom at his heels. He was carrying a large crossbow for some reason, a quiver of arrows hanging over his shoulders. Five of them had pokéballs for tips.
"I bin waitin' fer half an hour already," Hagrid complained. "All right, Harry?"
"I wouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," Filch said coldly. "They're here to be punished, after all."
Hagrid frowned at the grisly old man. "Tha's none o' yer business, Filch. Yer job was ter bring them ter me, plain and simple. Yeh've done yer bit; I'll take it from here."
Filch scowled. Harry was pleased to see the caretaker being brought down a peg or two. He sniffed haughtily and called for Mrs Norris and started back to the castle, but not before saying, "Have fun in the Forest!"
As soon as he was out of sight Draco whipped around and looked at Hagrid demandingly. "What did he mean, 'have fun in the Forest'?" Draco said, a slight note of worry in his voice.
"Yeh'll be goin' inter the Forbidden Forest with me, 'course," Hagrid said, and Neville moaned a little. "Din' Prefesser McGonagall, or Filch, tell yeh lot?"
"She bloody well did not!" Ron exclaimed, looking as scared as the others.
"I'm not going into that forest," Draco said firmly, although Harry was pleased to hear his voice quiver in panic and fright.
"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid grunted.
"B-But it's dangerous out there, Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed. "You've told us about the Vespiqueen – what about the Nidorina and Nidorino I've heard about!"
Hagrid dismissed her concerns with a wave of his massive hand. "Ah, they won't hurt yeh one bit. Besides, Fang and the rest of me pokémon will be there tomorrow protect yeh, aren't I right?" Fang yipped eagerly in response.
Draco harrumphed. "My father will hear about this," he threatened.
Hagrid scoffed. "Yeh tell him, Malfoy. Like I care." Malfoy scowled.
"Now, listen carefully, 'cause what we're about ter do is dangerous an' I don' wanna be takin' any risks here," Hagrid told them as he led them to the edge of the forest. "Firs' of all, let out yeh pokémon."
Everybody nodded. There were flashes of light as the five first-years released their pokémon out in the darkness. Hedwig immediately took to the skies before the Rowlet landed firmly on Harry's shoulder. Her pupils seemed to dilate significantly until her irises almost became nothing.
"Hey, girl," Harry greeted, brushing her soft feathers with his knuckles. Next to him, Harry saw Neville cradle Turtwig protectively, as if someone was about to hurt the two of them. Inkay nuzzled against Hermione's cheeks and Ron's Cyndaquil was perched on his shoulder (apparently, Ron seemed to assume that Scabbers would be of no help). A few feet away from them, Draco's exotic Ekans coiled up around his neck loosely and rested there, although it kept one yellow eye open and glaring.
Hagrid himself released another pokémon of his own. He took out one of the pokéball arrows and plucked the capture device off – it seemed like there was a Magnet attached to the head of the arrow that kept the pokéball firmly stuck to the arrow. With a wide grin, Hagrid tossed the pokéball in the air and out came a rather large Ariados who Harry recognized as Aragog.
Aragog quickly scuttled up Hagrid back and wrapped its spindly legs around his torso. Hagrid didn't seem to care as the Ariados acted like a backpack. Frankly, Harry was creeped out by the sight, but said nothing. Instead, he and the rest followed Hagrid down an anfractuous path until they halted at a puddle of purplish-red liquid.
"Alright now, listen up," Hagrid said. "We've got somethin' of a situation here in the forest. Fer the past couple o' weeks I've bin getting reports of Ivysaur and Bulbasaur bein' attacked. Yeh see this reddish stuff? Tha's Ivysaur blood – no, don't touch that!" he added quickly, forcing Draco to pull his hand back. "Don' touch the stuff without gloves on – Ivysaur blood's slightly poisonous, an' I don' want anyone dyin' in here."
Hagrid sighed. "Anyway, tha's the third time this week tha' a Ivysaur's bin attacked here. I found one dead last week – it's bud was cut off an' it had several lacerations across its body. They're pretty rare in the forest, so wee need ter search the place thoroughly. We might have ter put it out of its misery if it's bud's missing," Hagrid said sadly.
"This is madness," Ron said, shaking his head. Cyndaquil chirped in agreement.
"Why did it have its bud sliced off, Hagrid?" Hermione asked meekly.
Hagrid scowled. "I dunno. But whatever did this is goin' ta pay. The Forest is a peaceful place, and I don' want anythin' disrupting the harmony here."
"What if the thing that's hurting the Ivysaur catches up to us first?" Draco stuttered fearfully.
"Trust me, nothin' will hurt yeh as long as my pokémon and I are here," Hagrid reassured. "Anyway, we've got ter split up. And don' stray from the path. I don' want none of yeh ter get lost in the Forest, especially so late at night."
"I get to get with one of your pokémon," Draco said quickly. Hagrid snorted.
"Whatever, Malfoy," he muttered. "So, Hermione, Ron an' I'll go together, an' Malfoy, Neville, Harry an' Fang will go another way. Now, if anybody finds the Ivysaur, send me a signal from yer pokédex an' I'll come ta get yeh. Neville, I assume yer gran must've taught yeh how to care for grass-type pokémon and basic first-aid?" Neville nodded as he accepted a first aid kit from Hagrid. "Good. Do that if it's hurt too bad, or try to capture it. Yer pokéballs will keep it in stasis—"
"Alright, alright, we get it," Draco said impatiently. Hagrid scowled.
"Very well – let's go."
The Forest was dark and quiet as they walked, save for the sounds of Hoothoot chirping and clicking their beaks from above. Turtwig had wrapped a vine around Neville's wrist, as if a dog leading its blind master along a walk. Draco was almost nuzzling Fang, so close he was to the Houndoom. If it wasn't for the presence of Fang, whose long canines and ivory horns gleamed in the bright moonlight, Harry and the rest would've easily pissed themselves.
At one point in time, a quartet of Beedrill stumbled upon them as they buzzed through the cool air. Neville had screamed in fear, while Draco and Harry were doing their best not to stare at the long, pointy stingers for arms. The territorial bugs had exchanged a single look before advancing menacingly onto their prey.
Unfortunately, things ended rather badly for the Beedrill. Fang ended one with a Flamethrower before Harry could even blink, before leaping into the air and sinking his large teeth into the other. While the Houndoom wrestled with the Beedrill on the ground, its two other comrades who were still conscious buzzed towards Harry, Draco and Neville, and their pokémon quickly rose to action. Hedwig quickly created illusory copies of herself and the two Beedrill were soon surrounded by a dozen Rowlet. Neville's Turtwig, taking advantage of their momentary surprise, unleashed his two vines and wrapped them around the Beedrill, snapping their arms to the side. With the bugs restrained, Ekans and the real Hedwig quickly took care of the menacing bees.
"Good work, Ekans," Draco said, petting the purple snake. "I shall tell my father how you protected me from those stupid bugs."
Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't even bother correcting Draco and telling him that it was, in fact, Fang who did all the work.
"Fang, I think that's enough," Harry said, his face scrunched up in disgust as he tried not to look at the twisted and mangled form of the Beedrill Fang was stomping on. Thankfully, the Houndoom immediately let up and they continued down the winding path of the Forbidden Forest.
"I guess the Forbidden Forest isn't so b-bad, after all," Neville muttered.
"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't pissed your pants yet, Squib," Draco said nastily.
Harry scowled. He didn't know what squib meant, but since it came from Draco's mouth it sure wasn't anything good. "What's your problem, Malfoy? Are you that much of a little shit that you have to belittle others to make yourself feel good?" he snarled.
Draco bristled – Harry's words seemed to have struck a nerve. "Shut up, Potter, no one asked for your opinion," he hissed. "Besides, Longbottom is a Squib. Ain't that right, Squibby?" he added, smirking in Neville's direction. Turtwig glared.
Harry looked ready to pop a blood vessel, but, before he could throw a punch at Draco, there was a yip from Fang. Harry whipped around and looked at the Houndoom quizzically. "What's wrong, Fang?" Harry asked.
Much to everyone's shock, Fang ran off.
"H-Hey!" Harry said, breaking off into a run. Behind him, Draco and Neville began to follow, too scared to be alone in the secluded spot. Neville's whimpers and cries of fear reaffirmed that notion as they continued to keep up with Fang, who was almost out of view.
By the time Harry and the rest caught up to Fang, they were all out of breath. It took a moment or two for his breathing to return to normal, and his harsh, quick breaths turned into soft, easy ones at he leaned on a great oak tree at the edge of a clearing. He felt a weight on his shoulder and he whipped around, frightened, only to be relieved by the sight of Hedwig digging her talons through the cloth of his jacket. A second later, Neville stumbled into him and grabbed onto his arms to stabilise himself, while Draco was standing a foot away and…why was his face so unnaturally pale?
Harry's eyes turned from Draco's face to where the boy's eyes were staring at. Bile rose up his throat as he stared at the sickening sight playing out in front of him.
Laying on the clearing, their bodies mangled, were two innocent Ivysaur, their eyes glassy in death. Pale blood gushed out of their wounds, staining the grass of the clearing. Their forest scales would've been beautiful under the moonlight if it wasn't for the blood tainting their skin. The green fronds of the Ivysaur were shredded and torn, while the half-blooming buds on the backs had been shredded angrily.
But what truly caught Harry's attention was not the dead forms of the Ivysaur. Hiding behind the corpses, like a coward, was a crouching figure hooded in black. Its arms cradled an Ivysaur bud, half-torn. But the petals around it had been ripped off the base, cast on the ground, and the only thing that was unharmed was the core of the bud, a single glowing pod the size of an ostrich egg.
Neville whimpered. The hooded figure's head snapped up, hearing the small noise. As it slowly rose to its full height, Harry felt his heart thud against his sternum, as if trying to break free.
"AAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!"
Draco let out a terrible scream and bolted, only for his foot to trip over a tree root and crash face-first into the hard bark of a wood. The was a crack as his nose broke, blood spurting out of his nostrils, but Harry didn't pay attention to him. His eyes were locked onto the hooded figure, who suddenly levitated in the air, black miasma swirling around it in streams as it cradled the glowing Ivysaur pod protectively.
Behind Harry, Neville moaned. Harry grimaced as he felt Neville's fingers dig harshly into his arms.
"N-Neville, send out Trevor," Harry stuttered as he reached for Prongs' pokéball. As grim as the situation was, Harry needed all of his allies if he wanted a chance to make it out alive.
Unfortunately, Neville was rooted to the spot, frozen in fear. Harry cursed. "Prongs, go!"
There was a flash of light as the Deerling burst out of the pokéball. The sight of Prongs snapped Neville out of his reverie, and his shaking hands reached for the second pokéball on his belt.
Prongs nickered in anger, and the hooded figure hissed in response. At that exact moment, Neville released Trevor, the Palpitoad croaking as it registered its surroundings. A split-second later, there was a hiss as Draco's Ekans moved forward to protect its master.
"Hedwig, Leafage! Prongs, use Leech Seed!" Harry cried out. A round of sharp leaves escaped Hedwig's wings, while Prongs opened his mouth to spit a battery of brown, parasitic seeds.
Neville tightened his fists. "Turtwig, Vine Whip, and Trevor, use Water Pulse!"
Two thick vines flicked out from Turtwig's earthen shell while Trevor prepared a pulsating orb of water in front of his slightly opened mouth. A second later there was a small burst of energy as the Water Pulse was blasted at the menacing figure hovering in the air. Fang too snarled and opened his jaws before spitting a gout of flames.
The hooded figure hissed. Two arms of black, ghostly energy sprouted from the sides of its head, then prepared an immense blob of shadowy energy before launching it forward. The Shadow Ball collided with the Water Pulse and Flame Burst, resulting in a shockwave of energy and an explosion. Harry shielded himself with his arms, but the only thing that rained down upon him was water from Trevor's recent attack and a little heat from Fang's Flame Burst.
Harry shivered as he was drenched by the cold water. He looked up, gasping as he saw the figure prepare another Shadow Ball with its ghostly arms. Harry ducked to the ground, and shouted desperately, "Use Astonish, Hedwig!"
The Rowlet hooted before flying high; she smacked her wings, producing a pulse of shadowy energy that raced towards the levitating creature. It was struck by the ghost attack, and the half-prepared Shadow Ball diffused and vanished, while the ghostly arms shrunk back into the side of its head and it fell to the ground on all fours. It groaned, then yelled angrily as the Ivysaur pod rolled out of the folds of its clothes.
It had been levitating at a great height, so Harry wasn't surprised that it had been incapacitated upon landing on the ground. However, the mysterious creature recovered quickly from its fall and grabbed at the glowing orb like its life depended on it. The hooded figure rose from the ground, doubled over, and snarled angrily at Harry and made to move at him, but it was interrupted by the shuffling of leaves and a familiar voice.
HARRY! Ha— what's that?" Hagrid said as he made himself known. Next to him, Hermione and Ron gasped as they joined the groundskeeper. Apparently Draco had sent the signal for help, what with his pokédex clutched in his blood-stained hands.
The hooded creature, knowing that it was outnumbered, took a step back. "Stay right there!" Hagrid commanded.
"Hedwig, use Leafage!" Harry cried out as the hooded figure broke into a run.
Harry felt his heart sink as the being took a gigantic leap and disappeared from the clearing; but a split-second before it made its escape, Harry was proud to see a single bladed leaf sink into its right arm. A gasp of pain sounded, but the agony was not enough to stop the creature in its tracks, and it vanished.
Hagrid yelled and ran off to search for the attacker, while Hermione slammed into Harry and enveloped him in a hug that lasted a few seconds. "Harry!" she cried. "Are you alright?!"
"What the hell was that, mate?" Ron asked, his voice laced with worry.
"I don't know," Harry replied, his heart racing. "But whatever it was, it was dangerous. It k-killed two Ivysaur."
"Can someone help me?!" Draco interrupted impatiently. "I've broken a nose!"
"Wait a second," Hermione said, sighing.
"You're actually helping him?!" Ron exclaimed, shocked. Hermione scowled.
"Friend or not, he needs help," Hermione said before heading off in Draco's direction. Ron scoffed.
"I'll go help her," Ron told Harry with a roll of his eyes. Harry nodded.
He looked at his pokémon. They looked relatively unharmed, but from the look in their eyes he knew they were just as afraid as he had been. He petted Hedwig soothingly and ran his fingers through Prongs' fur. "That was crazy, wasn't it?" he asked rhetorically. Hedwig chirped in agreement, and Prongs head-butted lightly in the stomach.
A cry for help caught his attention. Frowning, Harry turned and noticed Neville crouching low next to the couple of deceased Ivysaur. Feeling a pang of pain, Harry recalled his pokémon before running off to kneel beside Neville.
"No, no, no, no, no," Neville was muttering as he checked for a pulse. His shaking hands were all over the place, soaked in Ivysaur blood while Turtwig and Trevor looked on with looks of pity.
"Neville!" Harry exclaimed as his friend tried to stop the bleeding. "Your hands – you'll get poisoned!"
"I d-don't c-c-care!" Neville cried, placing pressure on the wound, as if believing it would save the Ivysaur. "Madam Pomfrey can fix them, but the Ivysaur need immediate attention, and—"
"Neville, they're dead," Harry said softly. Neville ignored him and ransacked his first aid kid for potions. There was a hiss as he sprayed the wounds of the two Ivysaur with a max potion. Slowly, but steadily, the wounds began to sew themselves up, but barely.
There was shrieked from the other end – presumably Hermione had set Draco's nose in place, but Harry ignored that.
"I-I can f-f-feel a p-pulse," Neville stuttered, shocked as he stared at the Ivysaur with the barely intact bud. "I need to save it – quick, g-give me a pokéball!"
"Er, wait a sec…"
A few seconds later a shiny new pokéball appeared in Harry's hand, which was handed over to Neville. The boy forcefully tapped the pokéball against the Ivysaur – there was a second of wait, as if the pokéball was deciding whether the pokémon was alive or dead, before it was sucked into the ball as a beam of red energy. There wasn't even a single twitch before the capture device clicked.
Neville gasped and slackened. "We…did it," he said.
Harry smiled. Then he noticed Neville's hands, which were slowly turning blue as the toxins in the Ivysaur blood permeated through his skin, and he frowned. "Neville, your hands…"
Neville frowned. "I…I think we…need to go to Madam Pomfrey," he wheezed, before dropping dead.
XxXxX
I am so, SO sorry for not updating sooner! I know I promised with the quick updates, but my days passed by so quickly that I didn't even realize, what with meeting up with friends I hadn't seen in so long, trying not to worry about results, yadda, yadda, yadda…
In any case, here is the twelfth chapter for this story. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I swear that the next one will be up much sooner. I promise.
The previous poll results are out: Yungoos and Alolan Meowth led the poll with votes of five each. Thank you for taking the time to vote!
There will also be a poll put up concerning the saved Ivysaur. Should it remain with Neville, or should it released back into the wild? Let me know your thoughts, either in a PM, review, or in the poll itself.
Review responses:
AngelFaux: Nice to see you update,and Hermione's scepticism is actually in character I'm looking forward to her seeing a mythical pokemon. And I just hope Dumbledore doesn't try to destroy the Jewel because if the movie was anything to go by Arceus would not like that
-Thank you! I think Ron would be quite please to see Hermione meet a mythical pokémon and have her beliefs shattered; as much as I adore Hermione, I have to say that her refusal to believe in myths, legends, etcetera are annoying. As far as the Jewel of Life, isn't it unbreakable? If not, Dumbledore will give it another fate. No one wants to anger Arceus now, do we?
Guest (Chapter 12): Nice chapter! You know I always felt sorry for Ron and Percy they seem to be the most picked on by Fred and George. Ron also gets passed over by his parents or that's what it seems like anyway I mean come on how hard is it to remember that he doesn't like maroon! One of the reasons why he gets jealous easily is because he has no confidence or self esteem and I don't blame him after all he constantly gets passed over by his other siblings either because they are doing something important or in Fred and George's case causing trouble or in Ginny's case just being the only girl thier parents have and he even has to compete with Harry for thier attention. I know it's not Harry's fault and Ron knows it too but it's really gotta sting when your best friend seemingly gets more attention from his parents then he does. Sorry went on a little rant there. Anyway I vote for Alolan Meowth and Venipede. You know I wonder if Lily left her old Pokedex somewhere? Harry gets a lot of things from James but he never really got anything from his mother.
-Don't worry, Ron will have his moment to shine sooner or later in the story. Rest assured it's going to be something grandiose that everyone will remember! Harry will also get something of Lily's in this series. I find her to be overshadowed by James, so I will give her the attention she deserves.
I think this wraps up the chapter. If you're new here, don't forget to add this to your favourites or follow list if you enjoyed it! Leave a review if you'd like to tell me your thoughts on this chapter. And, as always, have a good one!