Harry had gotten used to being woken up rather early thanks to his childhood.

Unlike other children though he didn't wake up with a smile and a desire to set off on a grand adventure. The crack of dawn wasn't something to celebrate but a reminder that he had chores to do. That his Aunt and Uncle expected him to be out of bed and working his fingers to bloody stumps. In their twisted minds they thought they were helping him; 'idle hands are Giratina's playthings' his uncle had once told him, showing now with hindsight what a hypocrite his uncle had been to loathe pokemon as he did yet also referred to the Lord of the Reversal World. His aunt and uncle believed that if Harry worked hard enough it would cleanse him of the sins of his mother and father and thus he could become a worthy member of Little Surrey society. It was actually rather amusing, in a dark and twisted sort of way, how wrong they had been. Had the Dursleys only shown him love and respect, just a fraction of what they'd shown Dudley, there was a very good chance he would have wished to remain on Little Surrey when Hagrid came to collect him. But they had abused him, tried to break him… and thus like his mother Harry had fled the first chance he could.

With Hogwarts Harry had kept his habit of waking up early but for different reasons. Sharing a dorm with several other guys had shown him that if you didn't get up early you were either elbowing everyone to get out of the way or walking into the disgusting mess that was the Boys Bathroom. Harry, used to his Aunt Petunia's desire for everything to be spotless and clean, had been horrified the first time he'd seen what the shower looked like after Ron had used it. Honestly he didn't know HOW the red head had left so much film and gunk in the tub but…

Moving in with Remus had done little to help Harry get over his habits, even if Remus and later Sirius were utterly noctowls who preferred to sleep the morning away. In that case it was a way to show Remus how thankful he was for his guardian taking him in and loving him as… well, Harry could say it now in private even if he'd choke on the words if he tried to say them to Remus due to the awkwardness of it all… loving him like a son. And he loved Remus like a father. Thus when his guardian dragged himself into the kitchen that first morning they'd lived together Harry had already prepared breakfast for him. And continued to do so every day of summer and during the holiday breaks. It was a way to just show that he cared.

The year between his 4th and 5th had seen him waking up early once more but rather than chores or messy bathrooms it was now a desire to learn that drove him. How could one have slept when there was a legendary who had lived for thousands of years just a few feet away ready to tell him stories of Merlin as a child or what the world had been like when man still fought with sticks? There were days he was sent to bed early because he was yawning so much due to him waking up just to ask Lugia more.

The summer between 5th and 6th hadn't been so pleasant or kind. Harry had awoken early… very early. And went back to sleep. Only to awaken again.

Screaming and looking at his hands, making sure the blood of the professors wasn't still caked on his fingers.

Therapy was helping with that, getting him to actually sleep without remembering what it had been like for Voldemort's Espeon to control him and force him to kill three people. But still there were days when he woke up and found himself unable to go back to sleep due to the fear that if he shut his eyes he would see their wraiths watching him, wondering why he hadn't been strong enough to save them.

But this morning he was awoken in the oddest manner possible… in that it was so very common: his Head of House shaking him awake.

"Get up kid," Prof. Kurak said, squeezing his shoulder and giving Harry a tussle until he was sure his teeth were going to fall out thanks to the vibrations. "Geez, I knew bois that could sleep through volcanos goin' off and they weren't as dead to the world as you. I thought you were some super soldier or something!"

"Or something," Harry said with a groan, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses; he didn't need them but old habits died hard. "And I don't need to snap awake, at least not here."

"Not smart to think you're safe just cuss we're in Hogwarts."

"That's not why," Harry said…. just as Leon wrapped a vine around the professor's neck. It was loose but it let him know that the Leafeon was ready to spring into action. "My pokemon tend to be over protective," Harry said as Ludwig appeared, flames dancing on his arms as he glowered at the professor.

"… good work, kid," Kurak said with a smirk. "Good work. Hope for you yet." Leon released him and the Head of Gryffindor tossed Harry a shirt. "Get dressed. If ya have old clothes ya don't mind getting messy then wear'em. Meet me down in the common room in ten. No shower or the like… you'll be needing one later anyway." And with that he walked away, leaving Harry to look at Leon and Ludwig before shrugging and moving to the trunk at the foot of his bed and rifling through it to find some old clothing that he wouldn't mind getting stains or rips. Mostly it was stuff he had grown out of that now clung to him like a second skin thanks to the Dynamaxing from the previous spring.

Teleporting down Kurak handed him, of all things, a purple bagel. "Taro Bagel. Traditional Alolan breakfast for those on the go. Come on kid, we have some work to do." With that Kurak motioned for him to follow and Harry, after a moment, shrugged and followed after his professor, munching and the surprisingly good pastry. When they got outside Harry saw just how dark it truly was, with it not even close to sunrise yet. His Pokemon all looked at him but he shrugged, following after Kurak who led him out to the Gauntlet field, well away from the school. "Alright, this should do."

"Just so you know if you do try and kill me Hedwig is ready to fire a Steel Wing at your spine."

Kurak huffed at that. "Kid, if I wanted to kill you I'd snap your neck while you slept."

"…fair point, except Nocturne tends to be stupid and make things overly complex."

"All evil teams do," Prof. Kawa said, emerging from the shadows of the stands. It was in that moment that Harry realized neither of his professors were wearing their lab coats; Kurak had on a simple black tee and some jeans while Kawa was wearing a tank top and a bandana on her head. "Always make things far too complicated."

"Not all teams," Kurak pointed out.

That caused the history professor to smirk. "Yeah but can you really call those teams evil? General narcissism isn't really all that evil, is it?"

"True that," Kurak said before turning to Harry, his face falling. "Listen kid, I'm sure Dumbledore is going to call you into his office in the morning to tell you the news and then demand you… I don't know, fucking meditate or something, but I figured it would be better to do things my way. He's old and stupid and the like." Kurak shrugged. "Better to just say it: Nocturne attack Little Hangleton a few hours ago."

Harry went still.

"Harry?" Leon asked softly.

"Give'em a moment, okay?" Kawa said, arms crossed over her chest as she watched Harry process just what he'd been told. He grit his teeth and took several deep breaths, struggling with the news that Nocturne had once more attacked and killed innocent people while he remained at Hogwarts, unable to do anything to stop them.

Finally Harry let out a long breath. "Okay… I'm good."

"…yeah, that's fucking bullshit," Kawa said.

"Uh… what?"

"You ain't fucking good," the foul mouthed professor told him. "You were just told your mortal enemies just attacked a village and leveled it. People are dead. If you are doing good after hearing that then you are far more damaged than we thought."

"I get it," Kurak said. "All the adults tell ya that feeling angry is bad and wrong and you need to be this calm little stone in the sea, taking all the waves pounding into you without blinking an eye. And that is bullshit and we all know it." He smirked and waved his hand towards the end of the field. Currently there were no obstacles or walls set up… allowing Harry to see the dummy that had been set up with a crudely drawn face on it and a sign hung round its neck that said, "I'm Lord Vodelmort". "Let me tell ya how to REALLY relieve stress." He tapped on Harry's right hand. "I hear that thing has a blaster in it?"

"Uh… yeah but-"

"Show me."

Harry, put completely off by how his professors were behaving, ended up raising his hand and allowing the false skin to flow away, revealing the metal that made up his right hand and the small blaster in his palm. Kurak and Kawa nodded in approval before Kurak physically grabbed his shoulders and twisted him towards the dummy.

"Waste him."

"Pardon?"

"Waste him."

"I don't-"

"WASTE THAT BITCH LIKE HE AIN'T NO THANG!" Kurak roared and Harry fired a beam at the dummy, tearing its head off. "Good!" Kurak said before pulling out a remote and pressing a button. The field shifted and the damn nanobots popped out though it was only a few of them and they all moved towards the dummy, repairing it. "Again."

Harry looked at his professor. "I don't think this is constructive-"

Kurak tossed out a Pokeball, sending out a Vikavolt. The buzzing blue bug charged up its pincers and Kurak suddenly screamed, "FUCK YOU DAD! FUCK YOU AND ALL YOUR FUCKING SHIT AND YOUR BITCH ASS VICTIMS SYNDROME YOU FUCKING CUNT! THUNDERBOLT!" Vikavolt fired off a blast that left the dummy a crispy ruin and Kurak turned and smiled at Harry. Much to the teen's surprise he seemed… calmer. More relaxed. Like some great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Sometimes it's far better not to bottle it all up."

Kawa had, at that point, sent out a Toxapex and was coldly commanding it to fire on a new dummy, grumbling under her breath about… someone named Mina… as her Toxapex fired its barbs at the dummy.

"Her sister… they don't get along," Kurak told Harry quietly before hitting a button on the remote causing more dummies to pop out. "You can't bottle things up. But you don't want to hurt the people you care for. Believe me… that is just a bad idea." He reached up and touched his left eye before stopping himself and shaking his head. "So we use these dummies to release our aggression and cut lose."

He turned and began to bark orders at his Vikavolt and Harry sound found himself joining in, silently at first but soon yelling curses and insults about Voldemort at the dummy. Leon and Hedwig quickly joined in, Ludwig fretting behind them but making no move to stop them as the group began to tear apart dummy after dummy, so fast that the nanobots could barely keep up. But none of them carried… it just felt so GOOD to get all that rage and anger out of his body!

When they were finally all spent every one of Harry's Pokemon had been given a chance to blast the targets and he'd honestly learned that his team could get rather creative when it came to long range destruction. Leon hadn't merely been satisfied with throwing Razor Leaf attacks and instead created a variant of Rock Smash by grabbing chunks of earth with his vines and hurling them at the dummies. Bulma and Ludwig had tagteamed with fire attacks that lit up the night. Firebolt and Orion and decided to compete against each other when it was their turns and the steam created from their joint attacks had lingered for 10 minutes. Dobby just tore them apart at the seams and then used the left over pieces to beat the new ones into bits. Sid and Vegeta got into their own completion while Hedwig would zoom in and fire potshots whenever someone wasn't looking. Even Zygarde was willing to attack the dummies, remembering while how Voldemort had forced him to attack the innocent. His Thousand Arrows attack alone took out a good chunk of the field and ensured that the nanobots would be busy for a while.

Finally Harry was panting and spent, Kawa and Kurak taking seats in the viewing stands.

"Yeah… I needed that," Harry admitted.

"Thought you might," Kurak said with a smirk. "Does ya no good to keep all that shit bottled in. Sometimes you need to unload so you can function like a human being again. Bottling it up… that leads to stupid decisions-OW!" He rubbed the back of his head and glared at Kawa. "And what was that for?"

"You weren't going to equate me and the boys as a stupid decision, were you? Doing something rash because of anger?"

"Of course not!" Kurak complained. "You and all the kids are the best, you know that. Not happy how it ended and we made a ton of mistakes but never a stupid decision to make our family."

Harry watched the two professors bicker, utterly confused.

"I think we are missing something here," Leon stated, causing the two professors to remember that Harry and his Pokemon were still there.

Kurak rubbed the back of his head though this time it had nothing to do with any head injury. "Yeah… sorry 'bout that."

"Who were you two before you came to Avalon?" Harry asked.

"The kind of people parents all over feared their children becoming," Kawa said with a proud smirk. "We busted skulls and thumbed our noses at the establishment and their out of touch ways. Had a pretty fun run of it for a time."

"But things change and so did we. Though…" Kurak shrugged, "you can do all you can to change a man but the thug will still be there." He pushed up and got to his feet, Kawa following. "Speaking off, I think we need to move on to the other part of our stress relieving night. Come on!" He motioned for Harry to follow and after a moment he quietly recalled all but Leon and Hedwig and followed after his Head of House and the History professor.

"How did you two become professors if you were running around with a gang?" Harry asked.

"You think Avalon's the only place that is big into Forgive and Forget? Yeah, Dumbledore's way is shit when it comes to terrorists but it was good for us that Alola could look beyond us being dumb kids and actually let us try and be better." Kurak rolled his shoulders, working out some kinks. "Some people held it against us for a bit, had to deal with so 'I told you so's, but everyone pretty much forgot and were just happy we were back in the fold."

"Except we weren't," Kawa said.

"We weren't," Kurak echoed. "See kid… there is something interesting about changing the world… some people try to do it with a sledge hammer from the outside, busting through. Other people… they figure out it's far easier to be like a virus, worming your way through and doing your business on the inside. That's what the two of us did. Become professors, say we want to teach the kids of Alola… and then begin getting them to ask the same questions we did. Because one person asking a question? That's a rebel. An entire generation? That's a shift. An evolution. And Alola is evolving now. Avalon too, if we get enough time to actually plant some seeds."

They continued on in silence after that and Harry couldn't help but wonder if he could do that. Could he work within the system to change it? He had wanted to become a gym leader but now he honestly wasn't for sure if that was something he wanted or if he'd merely globbed onto that because his father had been a gym leader. It was a danger Harry had become aware of recently: living his life based on what his parents had done rather than what he wanted. He complained about people like McGonagall only seeing him as his mother and father yet how could they not when he did shit like that? Blindly deciding on the path his entire life would take based solely on what James and Lily Potter had done?

'I have no idea what I want to do,' he thought to himself glumly. 'I haven't been given that chance… or allowed myself that chance. I'm so focused on Nocturne and Voldemort I really never considered what my life would be like when they were gone and I could just… live.' He sighed. 'I'm fighting to exist but I have no idea what that existence will be like when that bastard is finally gone.'

He was pulled from his thoughts when Kurak reached into a bush and pulled out a duffle bag, giving it a rattle before continuing on towards one of the great stone walls of Howarts.

"This is a good one," Kawa said, reaching out and touching the stone. "Not too porous so it won't suck up the paint but it also won't slide right off."

"Always were good at finding the best canvases," Kurak said with a grin before dropping the duffle with a clang. Harry leaned over and blinked at the sight of two dozen cans of spray paint. He looked back at his professors but they were eying up the wall and he opened his bag to find more cans.

"Uh… seriously?" he said, already cottoning onto what the two were planning.

"Seriously," Kurak said with a casual shrug. "You were destructive now it's time to be constructive."

"By tagging Hogwarts?"

"By creating a work of art that helps bring this old castle into the modern age," Kawa said, pulling out a can of purple spray paint and giving it a shake. Kurak pulled out three black and white bandanas and tossed one to Harry and another to Kawa before he affixed the first around his nose and mouth, grabbing his own can of bright pink spray paint and shaking it as well. Harry looked at the bandana, finding his had the image of a skull on it. "The first step in working out your anger is to burn the rage off. Let the fires go hot and fast so you can get all that mess that's in your soul melted away into nothing."

"Then," Kurak said, Kawa moving to begin spray painting a wide arc on the wall, "you do something constructive. Something creative. Something that forces your mind to take those emotions and turn them into something positive. Something beautiful. Some people write. Others sculpt. We paint." He wiggled his can before moving down away from Kawa who was already making great progress with her work in just a few moments; Harry could see the clear crisp lines coming together to create an abstract blob. "In our own way."

"Uh huh," Harry could only say as his Head of House began to tag the western face of Hogwarts. "And when people see this?"

"Oh, there will be fits. But most don't walk by this wall and if you look there really isn't anything interesting out here. Might take weeks for someone to finally notice what we did. And yeah, Dumbledore will probably demand ol' Hagrid get out the pressure washer and blast the face of the building and clean all this off. It will disappear. But you know what? In a few weeks we'll be good. Have moved on. And this will have served its purpose. And until then we'll know there is something secret only we know about on the walls." Kurak shook his can again and began to apply the pink on the wall. "Alright, so first thing you want to do is decide what you want up here. Start simple since this is your first time. And don't use your real name. Use a nickname or better yet just a random word. Something that can't be traced back to you but that is important to you all the same."

"…you really doing this?" Leon asked.

"Do it," Hedwig hissed, landing next to him, and he could tell the Noctowl was grinning even if that was impossible with her beak. "Come on… when will you have another chance?"

Harry nodded at that, looking at the blank space of wall that the two had given to him, thinking over just what he might want to put there. They offered no other suggestions, no other ideas, but Harry got the sense that what he should spray on there should be at once personal while also sending a message. Something important. Something powerful. Something he held true…

And all at once he knew exactly what to do.

"Start with the border," Kurak informed him. "That will let you determine the size. Worst thing you can do is work in a limited space and suddenly find you don't have enough room because you overjudged. Just take a breath, figure out the size, and then begin spraying on your border."

Harry nodded, selecting a cyan spray can. He thought about Gryffindor colors but realized that would be too spot on. Better to go with colors no one would associate with him; ones that were bold and popped but no one would see and go, "Yeah, that's Harry Potter leaving a message!"

It took about 2 hours, the sun beginning to just peak up over the horizon before Harry stepped away, admiring what the three of them had done.

Kawa had gone for bold purples, blacks, and greens, creating a massive TOXIC on the wall that was designed to look like it was dripping green sludge with a 'puddle' painted at the very of bottom of the wall even. Kurak, for his part, had done three words, OPEN YOUR MIND, but stacked them on top of each other and in different sizes so the bone white letters looked like a skull surrounded by neon pink.

In comparison Harry's was rather bad looking but for a first timer he had to admit he'd done an okay job. His colors ran together in a few spots and the lines weren't as crisp as his professors but still, the cyan border and yellow letters within certainly caught the eye.

As did what they spelled.

JUSTICE?

Kurak laid a hand on his shoulder while Kawa gathered up the cans and shoved them back in the duffle bag. "Now then, the last part." He lightly guided Harry away from the wall before plopping down on the grass, motioning for the teen to join him. Kawa sat beside them after a few moments and the three stared at their work. "Talk, kid."

He didn't need to ask what Kurak wanted him to discuss. He knew at once what the other man was getting at. And unlike so many other times he didn't feel any anger at someone trying to get him to speak his mind. Nor did he think that this was some trick or scheme.

No… Harry just opened his mouth and began to speak.

"I'm tired of… everything. Not just of Nocturne and Voldemort and how they can't just go find some abandoned island to take over and bugger each other in the ass while pretending they are some cultural elitists. And not just Avalon either because dear lord I have never met a region that is so determined to make themselves unpityable when facing a terrorist threat. But… I'm tired of everything. Of pretending that I'm okay when all I want to do is break down sobbing. Of staying silent when all I want to do is scream. Of… my life.

"And its not just faking that I'm tired of. I'm tired of feeling the way I do. My friends think I don't realize how much of a pain it is to be around me. How it just grates on everyone to deal with my whining and bitching and mood swings. That it isn't a chore to be… me."

He slammed his hand down against the ground and for the first time that night realized he'd never made the synthetic skin return. He'd left his hand metal for all to see. And as he stared at it he was suddenly struck with the question of why he even bothered to try and hide it. He supposed it was because it was a reminder of one of the worst nights of his life but honestly it wasn't like his damn brain would let him forget. And when he did… the pain when he remembered what he'd lost, how he'd never be whole again and even with his right hand now being just as good as his… no, even better than his flesh and blood one… god, that just always burned him deep within his soul. It made him shake and tremble as he remembered the blade and the fire and just how utterly helpless he'd felt in that moment.

"I'm tired of being me," Harry finally whispered. "I'm sick of feeling bad. Of being depressed. Angry too. Its tiring to be angry all the time. I look at other people and see them happy and just blissfully living their lives and I hate them for it yet at the same time all I want to do is just be them. Because being naïve and stupid has to be better than being me, right?"

Harry leaned back and looked at the heavy clouds that hung overhead. They were going from deep blacks and blues and purples to lighter shades. A bit of pink beginning to appear thanks to the rising sun. Beautiful, really, even with how cold it was. He hadn't noticed how chilly it had gotten when they were outside, even if this was a rare time when Hogwarts wasn't blanketed in snow during November. One final 'False Summer' he supposed. Except it wasn't even that anymore because it was cold and glancing at his professors he saw they'd pulled coats out from somewhere and were now bundled up. He turned back to the sky, his breath warm in the cold air, forming clouds as he spoke. He remembered hearing some old man in Little Surrey claim that every time you breathed on a cold day it was a bit of your soul you were seeing, drifting away. And when there was none left that's when you died.

He didn't know why he thought of that. Maybe there was no reason at all for that memory to suddenly come bubbling up. Maybe no reason at all.

"Jack once told me that he was helping me because he wanted me to have a chance to actually have a childhood. To grow up before I had to take on this burden. I thought he was insane because Voldemort was targeting me already so there was no chance I could have a normal childhood. But now that I'm older I see how right he was. God… I was a fucking fool."

"That's how it is with everyone when they were young," Kurak said with a soft sigh. "No one isn't an asshole when they're a teenager, thinking they know everything and that no one has lived their lives quite like they have. But kid… we've all made the same mistakes. All felt like you have."

"And does it get better?"

"It does," Kurak stated. "When you decide to get out of your own way and find your happiness." He suddenly stopped and looked up, Harry following his gaze as the clouds broke up and it began to snow upon them. "Never get tired of that," the professor said before looking back once more at Harry. "So… feel better?"

"I do, honestly," Harry admitted.

"Good. Let's get the fuck inside."

"…one moment," Harry said looking around. The snow was coming down hard now, already coating the ground, and he was sure by the time they all trapsed into Hogwarts proper a true blizzard would be on hand and they'd be buried. A lot of snow…

Harry smirked.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Anyone seen Harry?" Ron asked as he sat down for breakfast next to Hermione. "He wasn't in his bed when I woke up."

"Probably needed some alone time," Neville said. "You hear the news?"

"Little Hangleton?" Ron asked. "Yeah. That's… that's going to make things fun."

"Be nice," Hermione said sternly. "We have to be there for Harry no matter what."

"Oh yes," Draco said with a scoff as he walked by. "Be there for Potter as he bitches and moans about how terrible it is that something that doesn't even affect him happened. Who cares if some old geezers died… none of you knew them!"

"That's such a lovely thing to say, Draco," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes. "Really shows that under that slimy shell of yours you still have the heart of a bastard."

"Hey," Draco said with an arrogant smirk, "at least I'm not like Potter, off in a corner weeping because some fools that didn't know better died. Booo hoo hoo! Those poor-"

Draco went silent as the snowball hit him right in the chest.

He slowly looked down at the dripping slush, staring at it as if he were trying to figure out just what had happened, touching the wet spot on his shirt before looking up… just in time for Harry, who was standing in the doorway to the Great Hall, to hurl another one at him.

"Hey Draco," Harry said with a smirk. "Mind moving? I was aiming for Seamus."

Seamus snickered at that. "Nice one, Harry-"

The snowball struck him in the shoulder, it so sudden it nearly caused him to spin out of his chair.

"Seriously, Draco, for once I'm not trying to hit you so please get out of the way."

"No one commands me, Potter! I'll get in the way as much as I want!"

At the Head Table Snape held his head in his hands while Slughorn just stared at him wondering how the hell Draco had ended up in the house of CUNNING.

Harry shrugged. "Okay." He reached into the bag that had formerly held the spray paint and pulled out a melty snowball, weighing it before hurling it right at Dracon, the blond sputtering as it nailed him in the chest.

"How dare you!" he shouted.

"Everyone heard him ask for it, right? Not at fault!"

Draco grit his teeth and moved to stomp forward… only for Harry to take several steps back. Not out of fear… even Draco couldn't lie his way into making it seem like that. No… it was a needed retreat.

"So first snow of the year, fine powder… and in case you needed more of a reason to be annoyed at me-" Orion chose that moment to suddenly leap out from behind Harry and throw out several more snowballs at random students, causing them to screech and squawk in protest. "Come and get me!"

And with that he ran, it only taking a few moments before half of Gryffindor gave chase; some to nail him the other half to join his side. The Hufflepuffs were next, laughing like the children they were, and at that point those that remained were giving chase as well.

Within three minutes only the professors remained at breakfast while outside they heard the laughter and whoops of joy from the entire student body as they engaged in the biggest snowball fight Hogwarts had seen in generations.

"That was… unexpected," Percy said just as Kurak and Kawa walked by, yawning and giving cheerful waves before making their way to their rooms.