This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokemon, which belong to the Pokemon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.
I thank both Rowling and the Pokemon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.
Consciousness came slowly for Harry. He felt numb, his whole body feeling heavy as light filtered through his eyelids. His sense of hearing came next, though there was little to hear. There was an odd rustle here and there, not like the sounds of the forest but rather more like how his dorm would sound on a Saturday morning.
In fact, as his mind started to shift into gear, he recognised he couldn't possibly be in the forest any more. It was too warm and he felt a mattress beneath his back, thin sheets covering him in what he recognised as a bed. How did he get here?
He moaned as he tried to move, his arms and legs not responding to his brain's commands, and he heard a quick bustle of noise at his complaint, along with the sharp click of heels across a stone floor. His eyes blinked open.
"Awake are you?"
He was in the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey was standing over him, a grim look on her face.
"Don't speak," she said sharply as Harry opened his mouth. "You need rest. Here, drink." She offered him a small cup of water, which he laboriously accepted and tipped the cool liquid down his throat. It was a welcome relief.
He finished the cup under Pomfrey's watchful eye before passing it back to her, making to pull himself upright in the bed. From the expression on Madam Pomfrey's face she didn't agree with him moving but she nonetheless moved a pillow to prop up his back before quickly refilling his cup. Harry took another sip.
"What happened?" he asked. Now that he was sitting up he could see he wasn't alone in the Hospital Wing. Ron was lying directly across from him, looking pale but awake, his arm tightly bandaged in the professional manner of Madam Pomfrey. Hermione was in the bed beside him, awake also, but looking exhausted.
"The Dusknoir," Madam Pomfrey told him, her lips pursed. "I don't know what they were thinking, attacking children on school grounds. Dusknoir's Hypnosis is a lot more dangerous than any regular attack. It has the ability to cause serious lasting harm if not treated."
Harry blinked. His mind was still foggy, his memories jumbled and he struggled to remember just how he had managed to find himself in the Hospital Wing. He remembered Hagrid's, and finding Scabbers, then the Mightyena attacking and then the shack and then…
"Sirius," he gasped but attention was drawn away from his revelation by the sudden opening of the Hospital Wing doors. In strode Albus Dumbledore, white beard and hair flowing out behind him impressively, such a presence that it took Harry a moment to realise he was not alone.
"Harry, you're awake," Dumbledore greeted as he approached them.
"Excellent," agreed the other man. Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Pokémon, had accompanied Dumbledore into the Hospital Wing, looking incredibly short next to the much taller trainer, even with his lime green bowler hat perched on his head.
Harry had met Cornelius Fudge just once before, and he had to admit he hadn't been very impressed with the leader of Pokémon Britain. Back then Fudge had been down at Hogwarts to have Hagrid arrested for opening the Chamber of Secrets, bowing to pressure from the public after yet another attack. The only thing he had going for him was that he'd been thoroughly opposed to the removal of Dumbledore as Headmaster.
"I take it he's all well?" Fudge said earnestly, looking to Madam Pomfrey. The matron pursed her lips.
"There appears to be no lasting damage," she ground out, evidently not pleased with the man before her. "But it was a very near miss. You need to keep a tighter leash on those Dusknoir, Minister, or there'll be trouble."
"They caught Black, didn't they," Fudge defended.
"At what cost!" Pomfrey argued angrily.
Fudge blustered. "Well… under the circumstances…" he stuttered. "No one was harmed."
Madam Pomfrey seemed to swell with anger but Dumbledore raised a hand for silence and immediately she acquiesced.
"The Minister and I will be having words about the behaviour of the Dusknoir here tonight," he assured her steadily. "But I think we should all focus on the fact that there was no lasting damage done rather than create conflict."
Fudge seemed reassured by these words, standing up straighter, while Madam Pomfrey didn't look happy.
"Rather I would like to take the opportunity to help clear up some confusion surrounding the events of tonight," Dumbledore continued. "I imagine you might be struggling to remember much of tonight's events," Dumbledore said, turning to address Harry, Ron and Hermione. "And given your place in this situation I feel you have the right to know what is happening."
"Are you quite sure about this Dumbledore?" Fudge said, looking impatient. Clearly they'd been discussing this before they'd come in. "They are just children."
"And are involved in this as much as anyone," Dumbledore reiterated. "If you do not feel that this is worth your time then, by all means, leave."
Fudge looked uncertain, clearly wanting to take up Dumbledore's offer but also aware of how it would look to the people occupying the Hospital Wing. "Very well," he said eventually. "I should go fetch the Dusknoir. There's no point in delaying."
"Quite," Dumbledore agreed as Fudge tipped his cap to the occupants of the room before briskly striding away. The door closed behind him with a sharp click.
"Professor, what's happening?" Harry asked as soon as the Minister had left the room. Ron and Hermione, too, were sitting up, eagerly anticipating what Dumbledore had to say. Dumbledore, however, held up his hand.
"I understand you are eager to hear what has happened but I ask that you remain calm," he said firmly. "You have all been under a lot of stress tonight, even without the added effects of the Dusknoir."
Harry, Ron and Hermione each sat back in their beds to the approving look of Madam Pomfrey standing over them.
"Poppy, would you mind giving us a few minutes?" Dumbledore asked politely. Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips.
"Alright," she acquiesced. "But five minutes only, then I expect these students to rest."
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed before Madam Pomfrey left them, walking over to her office and closing the door with a snap.
"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said quickly the moment Madam Pomfrey was out the room but again Dumbledore held out a hand to stop him.
"I understand you've got a lot to say, Harry, but first I want you to listen," he told him softly. "There's a lot you need to know before you can think about moving forward." He paused for a moment as though to test that they would remain quiet, before continuing.
"Sirius Black has been captured and is currently being held in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor." Dumbledore quickly held up his hand as Harry made to interject. "At this moment Minister Fudge is arranging for a team of aurors, accompanied by the Azkaban Dusknoir, to transport him to the Ministry, where he will be sent through the veil."
Harry couldn't hold back any longer.
"But they can't!" he exclaimed. "Sirius is innocent!"
"It's true Professor," Hermione agreed. "It wasn't Sirius who killed all those people and betrayed Harry's parents, it was Peter Pettigrew."
"He faked his death," Ron added. "Used some experimental serum to turn himself into a Rattata."
"He transformed back while we were running from the Dusknoir."
"He's the reason Sirius has been breaking into the castle."
Dumbledore held up his hand once more, quelling the outpouring of explanations from the three students and silencing them at once.
"I know," he said simply. Harry, Ron and Hermione gasped.
"You know?" Harry repeated. "How?"
"Before coming to visit you I spoke with Mr Black myself and he told me much the same story," Dumbledore explained. "I also spoke with Professor Lupin, who by the way is doing fine at the moment, and he corroborated. While it is possible that Sirius, with the help of his old friend, is attempting to fool me, the word of the three of you puts no doubt in my mind."
"So what are you going to do?" Ron asked eagerly.
"Nothing," Dumbledore said simply. The room went silent.
"Nothing?!" It was Hermione who broke the silence, her face betraying her shock at Dumbledore's words.
"There is no evidence of Sirius's innocence," Dumbledore explained. "Only with Peter, in human form, can we hope to clear Sirius's name. Other than that a life on the run is his only alternative."
"It's still better than death," Ron argued fiercely.
"Maybe," Dumbledore commented. "But it is too late now. Minister Fudge will no doubt be on his way to fetch Sirius right this minute, and once the aurors have him there will be little chance of him escaping."
Hope extinguished in Harry's heart as he heard Dumbledore's words. It couldn't be true. Not after all this time, now that he'd finally learned the truth about his parents deaths and the one responsible for it all. It couldn't be.
"What we need," Dumbledore said slowly, the three students turning to look at him as he straightened up. "Is more time." And, bizarrely, Dumbledore started to unbutton his coat.
"Be!" A flash of green flew out from Dumbledore's chest, dashing across the near empty Hospital Wing and zooming around the room gleefully. Hermione gasped.
"Is that…?" she whispered, a hand held to her mouth.
"Celebi," Dumbledore called, addressing the figure that was doing circles above them. The creature, a Pokémon it seemed, responded to the call and flew down towards them, hovering in the centre of the trio of beds occupied by Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Harry darted his hand into his pocket, rummaging around fruitlessly for what he was looking for. He was brought short by movement in the corner of his eye as Professor Dumbledore handed him his Pokédex.
"Celebi, The Time Travel Pokémon. This Pokémon wanders across time. Grass and trees flourish in the forests in which it has appeared."
"Oh," Hermione gasped, her eyes wide.
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. Harry was lost.
"I don't get it," Ron spoke up, looking in confusion from Celebi, still floating in front of him, to Dumbledore, whose eyes held a mysterious twinkle, to Hermione, who was gazing blankly forward with a look of revelation on her face.
"Incredible," Hermione breathed, looking at Celebi who tilted its head at her inspection.
"What?" Ron asked, frustration in his voice.
"As part of my efforts to secure the school after Lord Voldemort's attempts of the last two years I went searching the forest for powerful Pokémon who would be willing to defend against intrusion," Dumbledore explained, smiling at the small floating Pokémon. "Celebi was among a number who offered their assistance if they were needed, and it so happens that Celebi's particular skills are exactly what we need now."
"Celebi can travel in time," Hermione clarified. "That means that it can take us back and we can stop Sirius from getting captured." Ron's eyes went wide.
"So, what are we waiting for?" He asked, pulling his feet from under his covers and standing up. He quickly fell back against the bed, his face pale.
"I think it would be best if you remained here," Dumbledore told him, gently helping him back onto the bed. Ron protested. "Your health and wellbeing is my first priority, and you need to rest."
"He's right," Harry told Ron, getting out of bed and grateful that he was able to take his own weight. "Don't worry Ron, Hermione and I can do this. Right, Hermione?"
"Right," Hermione said quickly, hurrying out of bed so that she too was standing. Ron swallowed.
"Ok," he admitted, the words looking like they were forced from his mouth. "Okay, I'll stay. But you should keep an eye out for Arcanine. I dropped him when Mightyena attacked so you should be able to find him." Harry and Hermione nodded their agreement.
"Are we all ready?" Dumbledore asked, looking to Harry and Hermione. They nodded. "Okay, Celebi, whenever you're ready."
Celebi let out a joyful cry and flew through the air above their heads. It started to circle above them, moving faster and faster, and as it did so a soft wind picked up in the Hospital Wing. A portal opened above them, filled with mysterious green lights and Celebi dropped down out of its flight path, the portal having gained enough energy to maintain itself, flying down to hover by Harry and Hermione's shoulders. They turned to look at Celebi, who turned in turn to look up into the portal, and then, in a flash of light, they were gone.
A/N: And that's it for this chapter. Just a short one before we jump back into the action. I'd just like to take the opportunity to remind people to vote in the poll on my profile if they haven't already done so and to thank those who have already. There's been a great response and I look forward to the results which will be finalised at the end of this story.
Until next time.