"Pigwig, use Fire Punch!"

Ron's Emboar bellowed and swung at the Throh that had gotten in his and Ginny's way. The lumbering fighting type grunted as it was hit before it came at Ron's Pokemon with some heavy swings that Ron wasn't sure were actually Pokemon attacks at all; could a basic punch be even considered an attack?

Pigwig bellowed as he got clipped on the chin and Ron shook his head, getting his mind back in the fight.

"You should have run, traitor!" Marcus Flint said from under his mask. "We would have still killed you but then at least you'd have had a chance!"

"Why are you here, Flint?" Ginny called out as her Pachirisu scurried about the walls, throwing thunderbolts at the Throh to keep it from advancing any closer. Even with two-against-one it was still a tought fight and if the Weasleys were honest with themselves… they weren't winning. Merely holding Flint and his Pokemon at bay. But the extra years of training and experience were helping Flint and his Throh slowly push the advantage. "You didn't have to repeat AGAIN did you?"

Flint growled at that and Ron could picture the bastard under his mask, sticking out his large crooked teeth in an annoyed sneer. "I am here to ensure that Hogwarts is made pure! We're going to at last purge it of all the unworthy and the traitorous!"

"So basically anyone that doesn't worship at Voldemort's feet like you do?" Ron asked while signaling for Pigwig to begin using some Thunder Punches to really mix things up. He didn't verbalize that though, choosing instead to talk; wanted to keep Flint talking, brooding and bellyaching about his enemies. "Anyone with a bit of free thinking must be the enemy right?"

"Anyone that scoffs at tradition!" Flint snarled, taking a step towards Ron only for Pachirisu to fire a bolt of lightning at him, forcing him to leap back. "You fucking whore!"

"Oh, how very original," Ginny said dryly, rolling her eyes. "Next are you going to call me a cunt and get my virtue a flutter?" She let out a mock gasp. "The mean masked man called me a curse word! Oh, however will I go on?" Ginny just sneered at him. "You're pathetic, Flint. Always have been, always will be."

"I am of the master race. You could have stood with us if you hadn't sided with the weak and the inferior."

"The master race is just a bunch of inbred morons who think they are the only ones that deserve to have Pokemon. They want everyone else bowing and scraping so they can feel good about the fact that they have the tiniest of penises." Ginny just shook her head. "Well guess what, Flinty? You're nothing. You've always been nothing. Even at Hogwarts you were below average… that's why you had to repeat your 7th year. For fuck's sake an Aipom could graduate! An Aipom who'd gotten hit by a Mudsdale and had brain damage!"

Flint growled from behind his mask, once more moving to advance on Ginny. "This region… it used to be something special! I've heard about it from my father and my grandfather all my life. There was culture and meaning to our lives. But then everything was chipped away in the name of 'progress'. Those uppity pathetic little bastards who want what never belonged to them because of their jealous and their greed. Avalon belongs to those who first claimed it and settled! We put our blood and sweat and tears into building it up into something grand and now they want to just swoop in and take it afterdoing nothing?! No… no. I'm not a traitor like you! I-"

"Did nothing!" Ron bellowed, cutting Flint off. "You didn't build Avalon! Your father didn't build Avalon! Or your grandfather!"

"Shut your moth!"

But Ron continued on. "And my parents didn't either! The people that did are long dead and we've been lucky to benefit from their work! Some of us though have fought to continue building ourselves and Avalon, to make ourselves better and as such it!"

"This is the most articulate I've ever heard you," Ginny muttered.

"But you, Flint?" Ron scoffed. "God I look at you and I see what I could have become if my friends hadn't driven me to be better. You're a leech. You just want everything without doing a damn thing. Or what little you do is so meaningless it doesn't even matter."

"You-"

"I'm not FINISHED!" Ron roared. "You call me a traitor? I'm not the one siding with Avalon's greatest enemy! Your ancestors are looking down at you right now and shaking their head in disgust that you are carrying on their family name!" He laughed. "You… you don't even get it yet, do you? Voldemort doesn't give a damn about your revolution or your desire to get things back to the way they once were! He's USING YOU! Using the entire Old Blood movement. For fuck's sake he doesn't even bring it up when he appears! He only wants Harry! He wants his fucking body because he wants to have a new vessel. And then he'll rule… and he'll do that by killing anyone he wants and absorbing their souls. He doesn't care how pure your bloodline is… Voldemort CLAIMS ALL."

"You think I'm going to be moved by your lies?"

Ron scoffed. "Fuck no. I just needed to give Daphne time to get behind you."

Flint startled at that only to freeze up… literally. Daphne's Valliluxe had fired an ice beam at him the moment Ron had mentioned her, coating Marcus Flint completely in an icy shell. He stood there, completely still, as Pigwig finally delivered a blow to the Throh and knocked it out cold.

"By Arceus woman what took you so long?!" Ron asked, walking up to her. The Ice Queen of Slytherin merely stared him down but Ron was quick to notice that Daphne wasn't her normal prim and perfect self. Her hair was a mess, there was dirt and grime on her face, and dark red stains dotted her shirt and pants. Behind Daphne was a crowd of Firsties, looking about nervously, biting their lips and wringing their hands together.

"Had to deal with this lot," Daphne growled in frustration. Ron frowned at that only for Daph to state, "most of the upper classmen decided with Nocturne here that they needed to prove they were worthy. I caught them gathering up the little ones and deciding who they were going to 'sacrifice'."

"…fuck," Ginny muttered.

"Our thoughts exactly," Theo Nott said, emerging from around a corner. "Those of us with a fucking brain didn't like that and we decided to clean house."

Now Ginny and Ron could see the rest of the 6th Year Slytherins and they were all in rough shape. Crabbe was carrying Tracey who had spines of… something, Ron and Ginny weren't sure… embedded in her leg. Goyle sported a black eye while Blaise was carrying the leg of a broken chair that was splattered with blood… and other bits. Millie held the hands of two Firsties and was murmuring to them while a few 5th and 4th years made up the rear, ushering in the Second and Third year Slytherins.

"Slughorn?" Ginny asked.

"Was at a meeting with Dumbledore," Blaise said. "That's the only reason our former housemates got so bold."

The entire hallway trembled and some of the youngest students cried out in fright.

"We need to get the fuck out of here," Ron stated. "Harry sent us to get you out."

Daphne though shook her head when Ron turned to head back the way they'd come. "No good. I checked the Prefect Detector in the Common Room… Lashley and McIntyre were upstairs when this started and they've already begun to circle back this way."

"The what now?" Ron said.

"Prefect Detectors. Tracks where the Prefects are using a GPS in their badges." Daphne shot him a dry look. "What? You expected us to be like Gryffindors and just RISK running into them when we snuck out?"

"…I am ashamed that I never thought of that," Ginny muttered just as Hogwarts began to shake again.

"Then which was do we go?" Ron asked. "Because unless the Common Room has another way out…"

"Not unless you want to go through the lake," Theo said. "But we have another path. At best we can hide out there until we figure out where we're going."

Ron and Ginny shared a look. "Our only option," Ginny sighed before turning on her dex. "Hey Harry?"

Static.

"Shit," she muttered. "We're too deep and someone must have taken out the signal boosters."

"Have to catch up with him later," Tracey said. "We need to go. Theo?"

"Right." Theo began to lead the Slytherins back but Ron caught Daphne by the arm.

"What?"

"Crabbe and Goyle?"

Before Daphne could answer Goyle spoke up. "Under Voldemort my da amounted to nothing. Just fucking canon fodder. Me? It will be even worse. These bastards… they don't care about us. They just want corpses." He shrugged. "I want to live."

"…I've heard worse reasons," Ron admitted. "But you betray us and I will end you." That caused Goyle to merely smirk and nod before he joined the others, leaving only Ginny, Blaise, Daphne, and Ron himself. "We should block off this path."

"Right," Daphne said as Hogwarts shuddered. "Though… we might want to do it on the run."

"One thing though," Blaise said… before swinging his chair leg at Flint's frozen form, causing it to topple and shatter on the stone ground.

"FUCK!" Ron shouted, leaping back as bits of Flint slid past him.

Blaise merely scoffed. "One less witness."

Ginny and Ron looked at each other before shaking their heads and following after the other Slytherins, leaving only Marcus Flint's shattered corpse behind.

~MC~MC~MC~

"We have to get to the students!" Percy said, looking about wildly. He had been with the other faculty when the alarms had begun screaming all around them and a look out the window had shown him that this was no drill. No, it was his worst nightmare given form.

Nocturne had come.

"By Arceus," Prof. Slate whispered, joining Percy by the window, watching as the black-robed terrorists swarmed about the school. They weren't moving with any true purpose that either of them could see… in fact it appeared to Percy that they just wanted to hurt whoever they could. Adults, children… it didn't matter. Students who had been caught outside were fleeing. In the distance he saw Hagrid's massive form fighting back against a squad of the masked bastards even as he motioned for students to get into a boat and shove off. And there were bodies… too many bodies.

"They've blocked teleporting," Slughorn fretted, moving to the phones only to find the lines dead. "Cut the direct lines even.

"Professor Dumbledore, what-" he turned only to see the headmaster's chair empty. "Where did he go?"

"Left as soon as the alarms went off," Slate stated. "I imagine he is looking into things."

"We need to help out students!" Percy said.

"We will," Prof. Snape said with a whip-crack tone. "But you need to get out of here."

"Me? What-"

"Do you having a flying type?" Snape asked, cutting him off.

"I… yes, a Pigeot. My dad-"

"Send it out, we'll cover for you."

"What are talking about?" Percy demanded.

"We can't hold them off," Snape said shaking his head. "We can only delay them. We're too few. And when we fall they WILL kill the rest of the student body. You're the youngest, Percy, the fastest. Get to La Fey's Landing or even further out and contact the Aurors. We need help, Weasley."

Percy opened his mouth to argue but Slughorn moved forward, forcing a phone into his hand. "Third contact in the speed dial. Tell them 'Sluggy Sends His Hate'. That will let them know I sent you." The young man swallowed and nodded before Snape sent out his Seviper, having it shatter the window.

With a run Percy leapt out, sending out his Pigeot even as the Nocturne Agents turned their attention onto him, firing at his fleeing form.

He prayed he'd make contact in time.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Neville, what can we do to help?" Seamus asked, flinching when an explosion happened to their left. He glanced over and let out a sigh of relief that no one was hurt.

"Keep everyone from bugging me so I can focus," Neville growled as he chanced a peak over the heavy wooden long table they'd toppled to form a barricade. Three Nocturne Grunts were having their trio of Swalots fire off Sludge bombs at the trapped students; half to try and hurt them with the acidic poison and half to drive them from the cobbled together fortress of tables and chairs the Gryffindors had been forced to make in the Great Hall.

Neville had managed to get the Gryffindors that had been up in the tower to follow him with little fuss; a few had wondered what the hell was going on when he'd begun barking orders at them but the shaking of the castle and the sounds of screams had convinced them to go with his commands. The flight down the stairs into the main body of Hogwarts had been a kaleidoscope of madness at it seemed that when the castle wasn't trembling and threatening to collapse they were plagued by Nocturne Agents who were looking to win approval of Voldemort by killing as many innocents as they could.

After the third body they'd passed, mutilated by fire and other damage, Neville had commanded his group to stop checking pulses.

They'd been within sight of the doors when the three Grunts had spotted them and forced Neville to lead his group into the Great Hall, where a few Ravenclaws who had come rushing out of the library from a study session joined them. They'd tried to locked the doors but the pounding had made it clear that they weren't going to be able to keep the invaders out and it was a better use of their time to create barricades they could hide behind.

Now Neville had about 23 frightened students who didn't know what to do and he was trying to concentrate!

'Moves basic. Little originality,' he thought as all of the Battle Lord skills he'd learned from Barty came into play. Time was slowing down for him, allowing a second to stretch on for a minute so he might focus on the room and all that were there, quickly assessing his options. Ghosting through his mind's eyes were all his Pokemon, Neville watching their phantom images race about as he tried to figure out who would help them get out of this mess. "Flora… too slow.' He watched as she managed to take out two of the Swalots only for the third to attack the ground below her, causing it to cave in and send her falling down into the lower levels; she'd survive but would be out of the fight and leave them dealing with a crumbling structure. 'Sam… same problem.' His Abomasnow tried to lash out with icicle attacks but only managed to drive back one Swalot before the other two were him him. 'Trevor… too slow!' Neville shook his head, the ghostly images disappearing. 'Need to get some faster grass types.'

He reached towards his belt and pulled out a simple Pokeball; no one would have thought anything of it. It was just a standard, run of the mill, ordinary Pokeball. That was the entire point though. The International Police didn't go for fancy Pokeballs as that would clue people in that they were using something special and different. Fools like Team Rocket's admins used Ultra Balls. True spies wanted to be ignored.

"Tomoe…" he whispered, coming out of Battle Sight and tapping the indictator light on the Pokeball 4 times. "Terry," he said to the Ravenclaw that had joined them during their escape, "Hit my shoulder."

"What?"

"I'm going to yell at you when you do. Hit me."

"I-"

"Do it!" Neville hissed.

Terry slammed into Neville and he rolled the Pokeball along the floor. "NO! Damn it Terry!" he shouted. "What did you do?"

"I… I didn't-" Terry said, utterly befuddled by Neville's worlds while his face wore a smile as he waved for him to keep talking; for a Ravenclaw he was kind of slow on the uptake.

It didn't matter though what else he had to say as at that moment the three Nocturne Agents stepped forward, chuckling and calling off their attacks as they stared down at the Pokeball. "Aw, did the little baby lose their Pokemon?" one asked, stopping the ball with his boot and pressing down on it. "What little guy do you have in here, huh? Something fluffy and sweet?"

"Do they think we're 3?" Seamus muttered but Neville didn't say a word, merely watching as the indicator light flashed one… twice…

The Grunt with his foot on the Pokeball cried out as it suddenly burst open and a Shrifty launched herself free, spinning her bladed hands about and severing the Grunt's leg off just below the knee. He went down screaming, clutching at the stump, the other two Nocturne Agents staring in shock at what had happened only for Neville's Pokemon to lash out at them as well, using a Leaf Blade to gut one Agent while the other one stumbled back in fear.

"Wait… wait!" he cried, waving his hands about… only for his pleas to turn into screams of agony as said hands went flying in opposite directions. The Swalots turned to try and take out the attack only for Neville to finally send out Flora, the Venasaur attacking with a Solar Ray to blast two of them and force the third to try and dart away. But Neville's starter roared and sent out her Vine Whips, not so much catching the Pokemon but causing it to back right into Neville's Shrifty who cut it deep, causing it to fall to the ground before retreating to its Pokeball; the other two Swalots did the same.

Neville stood up and recalled his Pokemon before motioning for the others to follow. "Come on!" he shouted, the teens not waiting for another command. Instead they followed Neville out of the Great Hall, turning and racing out the Main Gate…

…and staring at Fenrir Greyback and an entire battalion of Nocturne Fighters, Prof Kurak lying motionless at his feet.

~MC~MC~MC~

Harry dove out of the window, Leon using his vines to grab onto his trainer just as Hedwig dove down to merge with him. The result was a Mega Evolved Noctowl pulling the LEafeon free of Hogwarts and into the sky, the two of them spinning before banking right back towards the school only now aiming for the roof. The merged Trainer and Pokemon separated in time to find Dumbledore panting, a hand pressed to his chest before making a chopping motion with his hand, sending a disc of Aura Energy right at his foe.

Jack Kenway easily leapt out of the way.

"So… it's come to this," Harry said as he took in the scene before him. "What the hell is this? I know there was something off about you for a while, Jack."

"The only one that was off was you, Harry," Jack said. "You haven't been thinking straight for a while now… letting that poor girl get to you so that you made sloppy mistakes. Ones I've had to spend the last year cleaning up."

"Don't try and make it sound like you've been anything to me," Harry shot back. "You only did what was best for yourself, no one else. That's how it's always been, Jack."

"You don't know anything about it," the Father of Johto warned.

"Harry, you must be careful, my boy," Dumbledore warned. "He is a deadly foe."

"I know, Headmaster… more so now than ever." Harry narrowed his eyes. "Isn't that right… Voldemort?"

Jack just glowered at him. "You've truly gone insane if you think I'm that bastard."

The two of them began to circle one another, the sounds of the battles below them distant echos that spoke of pain; no matter what happened this day would be marked as a dark one and that killed Harry. But he couldn't stop and mourn all that was being lost. Not with his true enemy there on the roof.

"Oh really? So it's just convenient that you show up when Nocturne attacks Hogwarts?" Harry scoffed. "Please."

"A lot of people are suddenly showing up, " Jack said with a sneer. "That doesn't make them that ghost."

"But you are the best candidate for him, aren't you?" Harry said, flexing his hand. "The war criminal so desperate to prove that he's a good man… in reality really just the very bastard himself."

"I warned you about hiding yourself away, Harry. It messes with your head."

"I haven't been away. I've been learning Aura… so I can defeat you."

"I'm not Voldemort," Jack warned him. "And you will regret it if you attack me now."

"We'll see about that," Harry said before leaping forward, Jack leaping away just enough so that he could grab onto Harry's arm and swing him to the right. Harry caught himself and charged again, letting his mask slip as he snarled, speed tripling as he darted forward.

To his utter rage and frustration Jack still dodged him without having to unleash his full Speaker abilities.

"Careful Harry!" Dumbledore called out as Harry began to swing and punch at Jack, the Father of Johto easily ducking and weaving away from his blows. "He is far more skilled than you!

"More experience," Harry snarled, "but limited!" And with that he brought his hand up and fired, Jack just managing to dodge the blast from Harry's false hand though it did nick his coat.

The Johtoian looked down and growled at that. "That one was a gift," he snapped before going on the offensive. Now Harry had to duck and weave as Jack began to swing kicks and punches his way, pressing Harry closer and closer to the edge of the roof. To the teen's surprise it seemed with every attempted strike Jack was growing faster, the misses becoming near misses and then glancing blows until he delivered a solid chop to Harry's shoulder that brought the boy to his knees. "Now you are going to listen to me!" Jack snarled, fisting his hand in Harry's hair and forcing the teen to look up at him. "I… am… not… Voldemort-"

Suddenly Harry was falling back, nearly toppling from the roof only for Leon to fire off Vine Whips that caught him. The reason for that was that Jack had been slammed back, he himself nearly falling off the roof as Dumbledore held up a hand glowing with Aura.

"No…" the old man said sternly. "Not you. That much is clear, Kenway. You wouldn't give in… you're too hardened for the likes of Voldemort. But I wonder… is everyone in your family as steadfast as you? One who would convince you to attack like this… out of love for them." The Headmaster walked over to Harry, one hand still held up to ward against a potential attack from Jack, and helped him to his feet. "There are others though… young ones." Harry slowly looked up at Dumbledore in surprise. "I've thought about it… and what better what to get to Mr. Potter… than through young woman filled with guilt over starting a war and destroying her father's soul? I wonder… what would Jasmine give up to make that right-"

Jack threw his head back and roared, releasing a Speaker pulse as his mask shattered. Harry was doing little better, trembling as the thought that Jasmine was Voldemort, that she had been playing him for weeks… months… maybe years…

"Azog," Jack growled, throwing out a miniaturized teleporter and bringing out his starter.

"Fawkes," Dumbledore said, quickly sending out his Moltres.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Zygarde," he said, sending out the Beast of Slytherin. "Attack."

The three titans raced forward, the roof cracking under their assault as they collided.

Their trainers raced forward, Dumbledore summoning Aura, Harry merging with Hedwig, and Jack going full speaker, and joined the fray.

~MC~MC~MC~

"I want you to know," Luna said as her eyes glowed, waves of Veela energy coming out of her that caused the Nocturne Agents that had been trying to swarm her and the Hufflepuffs to fall to their knees and scream in terror, "that I want a reward after this is over. I have been very good not make a reference… and there are so many!"

One Agent who'd managed to get his wits about him tried to rush her but his rage and hatred for her was like a spotlight, allowing Luna to snap her head in his direction, holding out her hand and causing him to stop as dread the likes of which mere mortals should have never felt filled him. Slowly, ever so slowly, Luna rotated her hand before clenching it into a fist, the moment she did so the man's mind breaking under the fear onslaught.

"The Vader Hallway fight, for one," Luna commented. "Or Luke if you want me to be the hero though I guess that would make you guys Grogu."

"…are we supposed to be following this?" Hannah Abbot said only for Susan to shush her because honestly even with the bond Susan had formed with The Pride during 5th year she didn't want Luna's attention on either of them.

"I could have also done a Pied Piper bit," Luna said snapping her head towards a door. Her Marowak, Luna Jr., noticed what her mistress was doing and instantly rushed forward, shattering the door and sending shards of wood into the Nocturne Agent that had been trying to hide behind there in hopes of getting behind Luna and her Puffs to pick them off. The Agent screamed, clawing at her arms and chest where the wood had been driven, only for Luna to smirk and instill in her deep lust… for a suit of armor that the Agent instantly began to grind against, driving the wood bits deeper into her body, leaving trails of blood on the decorative plate armor. "Danced with a flute and everything as I led them out of here."

"Arceus," a 7th year whispered in shock.

"Makes you wonder what she'd do to those Claws that tormented her," another said.

"Considering the lead one is dead?" Luna asked conversationally. "Not-" she paused, ducking just as a Scyther leapt from around the corner and tried to hack off her head. Luna rolled back and Luna Jr. leapt into action, battling the new foe while Luna focused on checking for more Nocturne Agents. "We'll talk later." She reached up and tapped the ear piece that she'd thrown on when Harry's emergency broadcast had come over her dex. "Anyone read me?"

"We do," Ginny said, her voice coming scratchy and trembling over the earpiece but not out of fear or anything of the like. Rather it was the reception that was distorting her words. "We had to take… way. Noc… onted us but…. To…"

"You're breaking up," Luna said.

"…old…. Fix it…" There was a shrill burst of static. "That any better?"

"Much," Luna said. "I have the Hufflepuffs and we're heading out the back. Going to get on boats and get out of here. You guys?"

"We're taking some tunnels. We think we can-"

"GINNY!" Ron suddenly cried out… just as all of Hogwarts began to shake and tremble like a giant had taken hold of it and attempt to rip it free from its foundation.

"Ron? Ginny?" Luna asked.

The line was dead.

Luna squeezed her eyes shut and forced the fear she suddenly felt to be shunted away. She could deal with it later… she needed to focus. To survive.

"Come on," she said to the Puffs as she led them through another set of halls, past a storage room and to a non-descript door. "Alright, as soon as we are out we break for the water. Anyone with flying types should get on them but stay low to the water. Everyone else either get a Pokemon that knows swim or rush the boats. But no one gets left behind." She only glanced back once to make sure the Puffs understood before she threw open the door-

-and stared at Jasmine Kenway who was standing there.

~MC~MC~MC~

Hermione gasped, pressing her hand to her stomach.

"You okay?" a Ravenclaw asked and Hermione looked back at him and nodded.

"Perfectly fine," she lied.

"This way!" Hermione shouted, turning right at the juncture. She knew that they needed to get out as Hogwarts seemed to be crumbling all around them. The castle hadn't been built to have multiple Pokemon battles fought within it and the constant barrage of attacks was causing the entire structure to shake and tremble. They had to get out and quickly. Hermione was angling them towards a side exit that she knew of that the Gauntlet players used to get to the Gauntlet Arena; Harry had told her about it and she really hoped-

She jerked to a stop, staring down at her stomach… and the heavy chunk of wood that had just been driven through it, so hard it was scraping against her spine.

"Well well well," Bellatrix Lestrange cooed, reaching out with her free hand to lift Hermione's chin up so she had no choice but stare into the eyes of the madwoman. "What did mommy find sneaking out past their bedtime?"

Hermione coughed up a bit of blood even as she heard the Ravenclaws scream and run before grabbing onto Bellatrix's head and focusing, sending a blast of psychic energy right into the woman's damaged gray matter. Bellatrix screamed and pushed away and that gave Hermione time to grab a Pokeball and send out Celebi. Above her the Ravenclaw Tower quaked violently, stone scraping on stone as mortar was torn apart. The lights flickered and went dead and Hermione knew even without the wound she was doomed; the tower was fall on the structure she was in within moments.

"I know… that we decided…"

Celebi merely cooed sadly, eyes glowing as she rerun time backwards, her murmurs turning to cries of pain as her ability tore at her very soul…

"Take the next left," Hermione said, forcing herself not to look at the right path. She hadn't used the Time Turner ability in years, not since she'd nearly burned it out to save Luna and Neville and Ron from Regulus Black. And this had only given her a few minutes at most.

But it was enough.

She touched Celebi's Pokeball, praying her friend was okay… and that saving her own life hadn't damned anyone else.