Winter slowly turned to spring, and Hogwarts' professors worked to steer their students towards more complex, thought-provoking assignments as time went on.
Professor McGonagall taught them about Poke Puffs, experimenting with flavors and textures to find which ones that their Pokemon loved, which Neville and Nasrin excelled at.
Professor Flitwick had them creating Triggering Poke Balls, which only activated when certain requirements were met, and Ron had created an elite version, the Camo Ball, before that first lesson was done.
Harry and Nasrin received perfect scores in Professor Sprout's class-wide scavenger hunt with Hedwig and Mulan, locating five Diglett she had let loose, their Gauntlet training a great advantage when paired with their Speaking and burgeoning Pokemagnus abilities.
Hagrid had been so happy when all five Third Years dropped Professor Trelawney's class in favor of his, and Nasrin flourished in each demonstration, creating intricate combinations between her Pokemon that were as powerful as they were beautiful.
Harry had learned to brush off Professor Snape's snide comments and improve in Potions class, taking Remus' insight into the Head of Slytherin's extremely authoritarian style into account to keep from becoming upset.
As always, Remus' class was a delight.
After having a Voldemort-possessed Quirrell and Lockhart, the entire class appreciated having a professor that not only knew his way around a battle, but could make the material interesting, allowing his students to have fun while also retaining important information.
After an autumn spent teaching them all about Abilities, the Battle Professor had spent the winter on how to counter them, with their last assignment being to neutralize or turn an assigned Weather Ability on the user.
Neville started strong, with Flora's rare Chlorophyll Ability giving her the capability to turn the dummy's Drought into a source of extra energy that gave her bursts of speed, and Remus applauded, using them as an example of how Abilities could have trainers teach their Pokemon moves they might not otherwise consider, like Sunny Day.
Pansy had gone next, suggesting a Lanturn to counter her dummy's Drizzle before admitting not owning the Pokemon, earning a pass but no points.
Parvati's Jynx happily accepted her dummy's Snow Warning, being an Ice-type, while Crabbe had responded to the same Ability by having his Sawk punch the hail away, earning a shake of the head from Remus.
Draco used his Boldore to survive Sand Stream, though he fumed silently when Remus noted that if the Rock-type had the Sand Force Ability, he would have grown stronger as well.
When Hermione stepped up, everyone had been expecting some complex demonstration-
Ariel laughed when Kirlia held up her Moon Mirror as a focal point against the Drought's searing sun to set the dummy on fire.
"Well done, Miss Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor!"
Hermione flushed as she accepted the praise, the class applauding as she returned to her seat, sharing a thumb's up with Harry and Nasrin while Reuniclus cleaned up the mess and set up another dummy.
"Miss Universe, you're next."
Scooping Mulan up into her arms, Nasrin shared a quick smile with Harry before trotting to face the dummy with Ariel swaying on her shoulders, focused.
"You were assigned to counter the Snow Warning Ability. Reuniclus?"
The Psychic-type created a protective barrier around the class, and Remus nodded.
"Alright, you may begin."
With a smile, the half-Gem tipped her head as Ariel jumped down to face the hail, confusing her classmates.
Everyone was aware that Snow was an Ice-type like Jynx, so why would she…?
A low, haunting song filled the air, like fog over ocean waves, the pitch rising slowly with each note as the students watched, amazed when the hail began to swirl out of the established patterns into intricate braids and twists.
From melancholy to hopeful, the melody seemed to incline this snowstorm to dance rather than rage, more and more hailstones spinning about in elaborate patterns that dazzled the eye.
One last, triumphant note, Ariel rose on her tail and stopped the storm in its tracks, every shard of ice glinting with rainbows like tiny prisms before flying at the dummy with unerring accuracy.
The indicator light flipped to red, and Reuniclus lowered the barriers so Remus could step forward, surprised.
"Ariel's Ability is Liquid Voice." Nasrin explained with a shrug, smiling as her starter preened. "While Brionne can already manipulate water with their voices, this Ability means all her sound-based moves become Water-type. Since ice is just frozen water, we worked on figuring out the right tones to control it."
"Amazing job, Miss Universe." Remus praised. "Just like Mister Longbottom, you showed an understanding of your Pokemon and her Ability that helped fully counter the dummy's Snow Warning. Twenty points to Gryffindor!"
Flushed with pride and Mulan yipping in success, Nasrin scooped Ariel back up onto her shoulder while skipping back up to Harry.
"Alright, next up is Mister Potter."
With a quick kiss on the cheek, Harry grabbed his jacket and tugged it on as he hurried down.
"Alright, Mister Potter, you were assigned to counteract the Sand Stream Ability. Reuniclus?"
Once the barriers were in place, Harry pulled out two Poke Balls.
"Hedwig, Firebolt, I choose you!"
The Hoothoot and Cyndaquil let out twin cries, ready.
"Alright, just like we practiced."
"Hey!" Draco shouted, leaping up to point an accusing finger. "Potter should get an F! He's not following instructions."
"He hasn't even started yet." Nasrin pointed out, Mulan growling in annoyance.
"He summoned two Pokemon!" The Prince of Slytherin retorted, smug. "That's a clear violation of the assignment, and thus an F!"
"Where does it say you can't use two Pokemon?" Luna wondered from Harry's vacated seat.
"Miss Lovegood, what are you doing here?" Remus wondered as everyone turned to stare.
"Professor Snape let me go early! He said he was tired of me breaking the laws of physics! He gave me a note!"
Accepting the slip of paper, Remus read it over and shook his head.
"I can't believe this is actually legitimate."
"Neither can I." Luna agreed. "Now, can Mister Maco Dralfoy answer my question?"
"In the instructions for the assignment, of course." Draco sniffed indignantly.
"I don't remember reading that." Hermione voiced, and others began to murmur while pulling up said instructions, skimming through. "I don't see anything."
"Miss Granger is right, Mister Dralfoy-Malfoy!"
Remus rubbed at his face while Nasrin and Luna giggled.
"I never said in the instructions that you could only use one Pokemon. All of you, save Mister Potter, merely assumed that since most official Pokemon battles are one-on-one, I would expect the same here. However, I'm not teaching you official battle techniques. In this class, you're learning how to fight and how to win, and sometimes that will mean commanding more than one Pokemon."
Draco slowly sat down, trying to maintain his dignity, as Ariel blew a raspberry.
"Mister Potter, you may proceed."
"Alright then." Harry responded, turning to his Pokemon. "Firebolt, use Flamethrower!"
The class was surprised when the stream of fire did not reach the dummy, catching Draco half-out of his chair.
"Hedwig, use Gust!"
With a flap of her wings, the Hoothoot released a gush of wind that had the sand swirling back towards the dummy, until the Sand Stream Ability ended and the indicator light flicked to red.
"Stop!"
Nasrin smiled as their classmates sat in confused silence, connecting the dots as Mulan smiled wolfishly.
"What happened?" Neville wondered.
"What was that?"
"He knocked it out, but he never hit it with an attack…"
A raised hand from Remus quieted them, and he stepped up to the dummy once Reuniclus dropped the barriers, poking the surface and hissing in surprise.
"Mister Potter…Thirty points to Gryffindor!"
"Thank you, professor." Harry replied, grinning.
"But what did he do?" Daphne asked.
Pulling out a pair of tweezers, Remus began to probe one of the many holes now perforating the dummy, turning to his audience once he pulled something free.
"Do you know what happens when you superheat sand?" He wondered, revealing a tiny, clear object. "Glass."
"I realized that with two Fire-types and two Flying-types, I should focus on how those two types could work together." Harry explained. "Firebolt's Flamethrower turned the grains of sand into bits of glass, while Hedwig's Gust sent them flying back at my opponent."
"A perfect combination of attacks." The Battle Professor agreed.
"I've been paying attention during Hagrid's class, professor."
"And it shows. Well done."
As Harry returned to his shared desk, Remus turned to address the class.
"Miss Granger, Miss Universe and Mister Potter have demonstrated that you should always think outside the box when it comes to battling. Too many trainers just fire off attack after attack without thinking about strategy. Furthermore, Mister Potter has shown us that what we learn from one professor is not limited to a single classroom. By combining Battle Techniques with Coordinator Skills, Mister Potter managed to create a cunning trap that turned the Sand Stream Ability against its user. In light of this, I think I'll end class early-"
Cheers rose from the students.
"-So that those of you that have not gone yet may consider what you saw today and reconsider your presentation. Furthermore, anyone who went today who wishes to redo their presentation may do so next time. Now then, class dismissed!"
"So, what if I had a Fire-type melt the hail and turn it into raindrops?"
"You don't have a Fire-type to do that, or a Water-type that would benefit." Neville answered, studying Puck's flower.
"Why don't you just stick with Cubchoo going out?" Ginny wondered, distracted from her Poke Ball homework.
"I can't." Ron grumbled, glaring at Harry and Nasrin where they were curled up together on an armchair. "Someone had to show off, and now I need to try and come up with something dazzling."
"Don't ever say dazzling again." The female Weasley ordered, Rapunzel nodding in agreement from where she was playing with Duchess.
"Why not?"
"Sounds weird when you say it. No different than Hermione cursing, or Luna saying something sane and rational."
"But if you take away my wit, then I'm just a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist."
"Exactly."
"Ron, don't say it like that!" Hermione insisted. "Harry did a great job in class, and is forcing us to go beyond the self-imposed limits we set for ourselves. We should be excited about this challenge."
"But I like my self-imposed limits! We're really close! Next year, we're going to visit every Gauntlet Stadium in the region!"
"You'll never get ahead if you keep up that attitude! Life's about pushing yourself further, learning more and conquering goals before moving to the next one."
"Life's about having fun and enjoying yourself."
"You're both wrong." Luna voiced. "The meaning of life is forty-two."
An alert pinged from Harry's Pokedex, and Nasrin went very still when the Marauder's App flashed one simple sentence back at them.
SCABBERS FOUND.
After all those months of waiting, of biding their time with training and studies, the day had finally come.
Standing with single-minded purpose, he handed the Pokedex over to Hermione in silent explanation while Nasrin recalled their brood, heading to the teleporter with Ariel on her shoulders and Mulan tucked into the crook of one arm.
In the Third Year girl's dormitory, the half-Gem pulled on her jacket and hiking boots before grabbing Rose Quartz's sword and scabbard, slinging them on as she headed back down in time with Harry.
"See, even Harry and Nazz are ready to go!" Ron claimed, earning slow blinks in return.
"Go where?"
"After Scabbers!"
"We're not going after Scabbers." They answered, and Ron stared.
"But, it's Scabbers! I have to get him back! Dad will kill me if I don't! And mum will resurrect me, then kill me again!"
"We're going to get Scabbers, but not without help." Harry replied, retaking his Pokedex from Hermione.
"If Scabbers is here, then the Nocturne agent is with him, and we're going to need backup." Nasrin explained.
"We're going to get Hagrid. You and Neville go find Professor Dumbledore."
"Good idea!" Ginny agreed quickly. "Professor Dumbledore defeated hundreds of Nocturne agents during the war with his Pokemon! This fake will be a piece of cake for him."
"Right!" Luna added. "And Ginny and I will find Bronn and Tyrion so we can rally the forces! A Lovegood always repays her debts."
"If you think Mister Bronn can help…" Ron voiced.
"Yes, yes he can!" Hermione assured. "Come on, we need to go!"
Ron and Neville nodded, racing out, while Harry and Nasrin led the others in the opposite direction.
"We aren't really going to find Bronn, are we?" Luna voiced.
"No." Harry agreed. "I contacted Sirius and Tonks."
"They're going to join us, and we're going to catch that traitor once and for all."
The half-Veela smiled, beginning to sing as they raced out into the dark.
"And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that Lord of Castamere…But now the rains weep o'er his halls, with no one there to hear…"