"I'm pregnant."

The words are said softly, quietly, barely above a whisper. To Harry it is as if they were more breathed out than spoken. Yet they were also so thunderous they left him shaken. He could tell the others were startled by them too, left stunned by the proclamation. It should have been a happy thing, that announcement. A new life was coming into the world. But for Harry and everyone around him they could only sit there and know that this child's conception would now be forever tainted by darkness.

"Oh mom," Jasmine whispered softly, walking over and giving Clair Kenway a hug, the two breaking down and crying. It wasn't Jasmine who should have first heard her mother declare that she was getting a baby brother or sister.

They had all gathered in the conference room on the Ghost of Olivine, the very same one where Harry, Jack, and Jasmine had hatched their plot to embed Harry in with Voldemort to learn the secrets of Aura and plot the bastard's downface. The first had gone well enough, though harry wished he could do far more with Aura, but the latter?

'To fucking ashes because of Draco Malfoy,' Harry thought bitterly to himself as he looked at Clair and Jasmine comforting each other.

As if he'd read his thoughts Jonas spoke up. "Nocturne was let into Hogwarts by Draco?"

"They were," Harry said. "The blonde ponce bragged about what he did, how he had led an invasion of the school and how he was looking forward to a purge."

"Wonderful," Sirius grumbled. "Another brilliant member of House Black adding to our family's history."

"Don't worry Sirius," Harry said with a bitter smile, "I pruned that part of the family tree for you."

The adults all stared at him as it dawned on them just what he had said.

"Harry…" Remus admonished.

"Don't," he said coldly. "Draco Malfoy was never going to be redeemed. He'd been poisoned by his father's lies since he was born. He was little better than a cult member." He looked down at his hands. "I'm going to regret many things about that day but putting that bastard in the ground won't be one of them."

"There was enough blood that day without you having to add more," Remus said. Harry opened his mouth to complain but Remus held up his hand. "I don't mean you were wrong to do that. I can't judge because I wasn't there in the moment and sometimes… sometimes we are going to have to kill. That is something Dumbledore got wrong during the Civil War. But… I wish it hadn't been you."

"Jack wanted me to remain a child for a bit longer," Harry said. He didn't finish out of respect for the fallen man's family.

"…what do we do now?" Hermione asked softly.

That… was the question.

The Ghost currently had roughly 80 Hogwarts students still with them. They had managed to get nearly double that number aboard but half had chosen to leave when they could, dropped off at an international port 30 nautical miles off the coast of Avalon. Harry had thought all of the students they'd rescued would choose to leave and had been startled that they got nearly half of them demanding to remain on the Ghost until they docked in Kalos, which was the closest friendly region that they could safely enter and they were working to ensure would kill any extradition treaties they might have had with Avalon.

It had been Lavender Brown, of all people, who had informed them of the reason: their families had decided to cut bait.

"We nearly died and half the people that were trying to kill us were, like, people of power," Lavender had complained to Harry when he asked her about it. "My parents were already, like, thinking about it but this is just the push we needed. We're getting out Harry… family roots and all that aren't any good if we're totally dead."

He couldn't argue with that logic. If he didn't have his own personal reasons he'd be doing the same thing. It was damn tempting to just pull up stakes and move to Johto or Kalos or Unova. Prof. Drayden would accept him at his school, same with the other ones. He could just disappear… cut his hair, change his looks, maybe even get a new name. Because Harold Lupin-Black or something like that and become a completely different person. Let others worry about what had happened and deal with the fallout of the Battle of Hogwarts.

'But I can't,' he thought darkly to himself, his false hand making the table crack as he gripped it, 'there is too much blood spilled because of me.'

"Do we know what the reactions around the world have been?" he finally asked.

Neville spoke up before any of the adults could. "Officially or unofficially?"

"I'm going to regret asking this but there are two different answers?"

Jonas chimed in. "Of course. Officials aren't as dumb as they appear in public. Most of them use the stereotype that they are clueless and don't know what is going on as a kind of shield. The ones that can't are the ones that proved that they are good at their jobs so they have to be competent."

"He's speaking from experience," Tonks said, folding her arms over her chest.

Jonas didn't bother to answer that, instead turning to Shacklebolt. "What are your contacts saying?"

Kingsley wasn't truly one of them. He'd made that clear more than once that he didn't work for Johto or the Sons or anyone else. He wasn't like Tonks, taking a job with them in order to help defeat Voldemort. He was an ally however, fighting his own shadow war against Nocturne and the corruption that was imbedded deep within Avalon and that had earned him a spot at the table.

"The Elite 4 are completely on the backfoot," he said. "Madame Bones looks like a fool for allowing the attack to happen and she could end up losing her job… assuming there are enough gym leaders to call for a vote of no confidence. That honestly might be the only thing that saves her."

"She's been wanting to do more to take down Nocturne," Tonks pointed out. "Her hands have been tied."

"That's… the thing," Kingsley said slowly.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "They aren't admitting it was Nocturne."

Shacklebolt sighed. "The Ghost of Olivine was seen firing on Hogwarts. Most of the witnesses still in the country-"

"Are Nocturne," Jonas finished. "Damn it. Voldemort set a lovely gambit up for us, didn't he?"

"They honestly think you guys went rogue?" Hermione asked.

"We're foreign devils," Jasmine spat, still sitting next to her mother, rubbing her back. Clair was silent looking utterly hollowed out. "Of course we are always going to be seen as the bad guys."

"Little Surrey all over again," Harry muttered.

Luna though shook her head. Harry had a feeling that if it weren't for her being there the entire meeting would have devolved into screaming. She had been mostly silent, glowing softly as she used her Veela powers to tap down on rogue emotions and keep everyone focused. It allowed them to stay on point and not give into the bitterness of the situation.

"This is different, however," she said. "It will take time but we have witnesses. Ones people will listen to. Nocturne was already known to be around after the ministry and we have at minimum 80 some odd students who will state that it was Nocturne Grunts who attacked them. Possibly double that if the ones we let off at the port decide to help us."

Harry nodded at that logic but his mind drifted to that number. Roughly 160 students had been rescued from Hogwarts and escaped on the Ghost or to the Forbidden Islands and taken away by Sons for their safety. But that left another 120 students, give or take, that were unacounted for. He knew that there were a lot of Slytherins in that number who had disappeared along with Ron and Ginny and Harry prayed they'd turn up at some point. The rest however… he had no idea. Maybe they had escaped; there were sightings of Prof. Slate escaping Hogwarts with a small group of students and while they hadn't heard from him there was hope he'd made it out. Maybe they had decided to join Nocturne, as the others had reported that there were students who had decided to quickly reveal their allegiance to Voldemort.

But… and his stomach curdled at the thought… they might also be dead.

"Unofficially?" Harry finally said.

Neville spoke up. "According to Barty the other regions are watching Avalon very closely. They have been worried for a while… now they are terrified. During the Civil War they locked everything down because the last thing they wanted was another Grindlewald… remember he came about because of the Sinnoh Interregional Conflicts and that ballooned into The Great War. And we are still feeling the affect effects of that. Voldemort learned from him… so did Cyrus of Team Galactic. The last thing the International Police want is for Avalon to turn into the tinder box that ignites the world."

"But that doesn't mean they'll step in," Jonas said gruffly. "They were doing the same things with Johto and Kanto during our rebellion…"

Clair finally spoke up, her voice husky. "That was a touch different… they never thought we had a chance and when Jack-" She froze up before dropping her eyes to the table.

"…so what the hell do we do now?" Harry muttered in frustration. "What is our next-"

A buzzer filled the air, cutting him off.

"What was that?" Harry asked in confusion, tensing.

Before Jonas could answer the PA blared to life. "Lord Jonas, Lady Clair… we are being hailed by the Kalos government. They wish us to land in Kiloude City at once."

"Diantha," Jonas said softly before clearing his throat. "All ahead, captain. Take us down." He turned to the others. "Our next step, Harry? This is it."

~MC~MC~MC~

Madame Bones and the rest of the Elite 4 looked upon the images of Hogwarts. Last year it had been several Heads of Houses who'd been stabbed in the heart but now it felt like Amelia was the one who'd taken a knife to the chest.

Hogwarts.

No matter how bad things got in Avalon it was there. When the Famine of 1659 had swept through the region, forcing families to decide if it was wiser to send their grandparents out to die in the cold or leave their newborns to starve in their cribs because there simply wasn't enough food to survive, Hogwarts had remained. An entire generation had been saved thanks to the school and its supply of canned goods; the meals might not have been the best but not a single student had gone hungry and many of the great houses of Avalon could trace their survival to one of their ancestors going to Hogwarts during that year. When Headmaster Polaris Black had barricaded the gates and refused to let any of the students leave during the Summer of 1201 and forced (sometimes via Pokemon) everyone in Le Fay's Landing to enter Hogwarts, abandoning the town, people had thought him mad… until it had been revealed that he had learned of the Hoenn Flu that was spreading along the northern shores. The Flu had a survival rate of only 32% and nearly half the population of Avalon had caught it. Every student at Hogwarts survived. And when the Great War had torn through the entire world Hogwarts had remained a shining beacon on the hill. It was a promise that things could get better again.

And now… it was in ruins.

Onasis was unusually quiet which was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. All he could do was stare at the rubble that had been Hogwart's gate, caved in and crumbled into chunks of stone thanks to the weapons of the Ghost of Olivine. Burnt bodies laid all about though who they had been one couldn't tell due to the damage they had suffered. Half of the Ravenclaw Tower was just… gone… and walls were falling in on themselves.

It was a nightmare.

'This is the thing that lasts forever,' Amelia thought to herself. 'Even if we rebuild Hogwarts, brick by brick, so that it was impossible to tell that it had ever been broken… the memory of Hogwarts shattered like this will stay with the nation forever. History books willshow the pictures off to one and all that studied them. The records of this time willshow just what had happened.' And right there, under the image of the shattered gate and the listing of the dead students that had been taken well before their time… would be her name.

Amelia Bones.

The woman that had let Hogwarts fall under her watch.

"It will be fine, Miss Bones," Albus said, limping over to her.

"Headmaster," she said, hurrying over to assist him. Dumbledore looked absolutely horrible. There were cuts on his face, he was favoring his right leg, and his left hand was blackened with cracked burnt skin just visible under the cuff of his jacket. There was a tiredness to him as well. A weariness. Yet also a determination that she hadn't honestly seen in the man since before the Civil War.

"I'm sorry, Madame Bones," he said, correcting himself. "Sometimes I forget that you are a woman grown and that not delightful and determined Slytherin I once knew."

"That wasn't… you shouldn't be walking about like this!" she lent him her arm, guiding him over to a section of wall that had fallen enough so that one could sit easily. "You should be recovering, headmaster."

"I'm afraid that there isn't much of a hospital wing for me to recover in. Poppy…" he trailed off and Amelia shut her eyes in grief. "Well… she was the only person who has cared for me in decades."

"There are plenty of doctors in Avalon that can see you," Croaker said. "Even Onasis…"

The gruff man didn't argue with that idea, another sign of how bad things were.

"Oh, I couldn't do that," Dumbledore said with a sad little smile. "There are plenty of other people that need your help…" He looked at Amelia. "Have you found Severus? Or Horace?"

"We haven't," Amelia said. "So far you are the only staff member we have found alive."

"A pity," Dumbledore said. "All the more reason I should stay. To make sure that there is someone here when they return, so that we can begin to plan."

"Headmaster, perhaps you should leave that to us," Amelia stated. "We can watch over Hogwarts and make sure it is protected until you return."

Dumbledore though shook his head. "Oh, I can't ask you to do that! You have so much to do! The Nocturne Agents you captured… they must be processed." He paused. "Have you… talked with them yet?"

"We have not, Headmaster. It's going to be a very complicated task."

"Made all the worse by what Jack Kenway admitted to me," Dumbledore said.

"What do you mean?"

"He has… well, you remember those strange wire items his daughter used at the Grand Trainer Tournament?"

"Charlottes," Amelia stated. She had looked into purchasing some for the Aurors as they looked to be perfect restraints for dealing with criminals both captured and attempting to flee. She might not like the way the Johtoians dealt with their foes but that didn't mean she wasn't open to taking their ideas and applying them to her own forces.

"Ah yes, those. Well, it seems he created something rather similar… and sinister." He shook his head sadly. "Devices that could be thrown at a person, latching onto them, and then be detonated with a simple triggering device. While Nocturne did sadly attack us it seems that the Kenways also used Avalonians in their move to be a third front in this battle." He let out a weary sigh. "We must make sure we free them… if only to ensure that they do not pose a risk to the rest of us."

"Of course," Amelia said at once. "We'll look into it."

Dumbledore smiled at that and Amelia motioned from the others to follow her in looking at the devices, hoping to sort through those that were actual Nocturne Agents and who had been forced to attack Hogwarts under threat of death, turning into traitors by the Johtoians. It was a terrible, horrible, disgusting ting that had happened to those men and women. Forced to fight… for…

Amelia stopped.

'The Civil War,' she thought to herself. Her mind traveled back to the trials after the Potters had died and Voldemort had been destroyed. She remembered Lucius Malfoy claiming he had been forced by Voldemort's Espeon to aid Nocturne against his will. That he had been his excuse and it had eaten Amelia up as she had watched him cry Krookidile tears, begging for forgiveness. The only time Lucius Malfoy had every teared up. Not when he was accused of murdering children. Not when he'd been charged with destruction of property. No… only when he'd been confronted with prison and told his terrible tale…

Amelia quietly broken away from the group, making it look like she was checking on a corpse, and pulled out her dex and cursing herself for turning off notifications because there was text waiting for her.

'Tonks,' she thought to herself. Even though it was just a number the first line of the text, gibberish to anyone else, was in fact Nymphodora's code. Every auror had one in case they were forced to use a burner phone.

DUMBLEDORE IS VOLDEMORT'S CURRENT HOST

A heavy hand fell onto Amelia's shoulder and while she didn't jump, her training making it that she didn't leap in fright like a child, she did grit her teeth at letting the Headmaster creep up on her.

"We must keep with the rest of the group, I think," he said politely, keeping his hand on her shoulder as she slowly stood up. "We must discuss what we will do to rescue Mr. Potter. It is rather clear that he had one of those remote bombs attached to him. It is the only reason he would turn on me." Dumbledore smiled as he ran his hand down her arm, to her wrist… "And there are many other things we will need to discuss… changes that Avalon will need to make… so it is the type of region your dear niece will be proud to grow up in…"

~MC~MC~MC~

As Dumbledore led Amelia Bones away neither of them realized they were being watched.

The Chandelure would have been considered mature for most Pokémon species but as a Ghost Type he was still a child amongst his kind. But a mature and steady child, one not prone to jokes which was needed in that moment. Much like his son the Chandelure known as Bach was quiet, determined, and most importantly loyal to his trainer. Thus he remained utterly still and quiet until his trainer reached up and touched one of his iron arms, giving it two taps. Bach turned and began to walk away, following after his trainer as they made their way towards a small boat house on the very edge of the island.

Not even bothering to knock Severus Snape instead gave a soft click of his tongue and waited a minute before whistling one more time. Then, and only then, did the door open and he slipped inside. A single Granbull was waiting, tucking in the corner, but Severus knew that it wasn't merely the two of them. Thus he allowed Bach to remove his Invisibly Cloak from him but remained still, waiting… until finally a trap door opened and Severus slipped down, leaving Grandbull and Bach behind to stand watch.

"Hagrid," Severus said as he climbed down the ladder and landed on the dusty dry earth below, "I will never be happier that you are an alcoholic."

The groundkeeper blushed at that before blustering. "Oh, it's not like that at all, Severus! I just like to have me hobbies, you know? And you know Prof. Dumbledore wouldn't like me doing all this here near Hogwarts."

"No, I imagine running an illegal brewery would be frowned upon if the headmaster ever found out," Severus said as he looked around the large cavern. They were standing on a wooden platform that, despite what one would have thought about Hagrid, had been rather well crafted. Solid without hardly a squeak to be heard as one walked across it to the ramp that led down into the depth of the cavern. The entire main chamber of the cavern was probably half the size of the Great Hall, which was more than enough for the staff gathered there. Giant wooden casks were lined up along the walls, containing the whiskey that Hagrid had been apparently brewing for the last two decades right under everyone's noses.

"Well, I hope he doesn't find out," hagrid said nervously before blinking. "Oh… well I suppose he'll never find out now, will he?" The massive man dropped his head at that and Severus could only nod.

"Yes, he won't. So we must hope Voldemort never discovers this place… or us."

"Luckily for us there will be little need for us to actually leave here until it is safe to do so," Horace said as Snape and Hagrid walked down the ramp towards them. Prof. Vector was seated at a table, playing solitaire with a set of overly large playing cards Hagrid had, and Hagrid's Druddigon, Norbert, was looking at the gathered staff with a nervous energy, clearly not used to so many people being down here. Two younger people, a man and a woman wearing the colors and gear of Team Skull, were lounging off to the side, eyeing the casks rather longingly and Severus made a mental note that they'd need to make sure that they didn't begin sneaking drinks. "This is a wonderful little bolthole, Rubeus!"

The large man blushed all the more at that. "I… well, it seemed like a nice enough place when I found it…"

"It is a wonderful place!" Horace said excitedly, holding his arms out wide. Severus had never seen the man so very energetic before; he was used to him being pleasant and helpful but Horace was practically bouncing off the walls with giddiness. "This water here-" he pointed to a small pond that came up to one of the walls, which Hagrid had tapped for his distilleries, "-it doesn't stop at the wall. There is a tunnel under the surface and my Huntail was able to confirm it reached the lake itself. That means fish which means food. There is also edible fresh water seaweed… we'll be able to stay quite healthy and full. Hagrid has gathered enough firewood that we'll be able to have hot water for bathing for at least 4 months, possibly more, and if we send out Pokemon to the other islands they can bring back drift wood for drying. It is dry in here and the air is fresh… and look at this!" He rushed over to a corner of the cavern. "This stone here… there was a cave in. I believe if we are careful we could begin digging through it… Severus, I believe that this might be part of the Chamber of the Unown!"

"If that is the case then they might be able to help us."

"And even if it isn't we can settle in quite well!"

"For as long as we need too," Prof. Vector stated.

"Meh," one of the Team Skull member said. "We've hunkered down in worst places before. This is actually real nice compared to some of the shitholes!"

"That is good because I fear we'll have trouble reaching the outside world," Severus said. "I think Voldemort is setting up Dex Interceptors to keep messages from getting in or out. I saw some of his Grunts putting up towers that would serve that purpose."

Hagrid shook his head. "I can't believe the headmaster is Voldemort."

"He is," Severus said. "And that means that we are trapped here until help arrives. Trying to sneak away, even with Bach hiding us… I fear that won't work." He settled into a chair and closed his eyes. "We are trapped… and now all we can do is wait."