"He was one of us."

Harry watched as some of the greatest trainers in the modern age all stood together in the conference room, quiet in their mourning.

He felt like an intruder. This was the Pack. They had known each other for nearly two decades. Had fought and loved and lived and experienced the world together. And now they were broken, a piece missing, and they didn't know what to do. And Harry was there, the interloper who didn't deserve to stand amongst them but was a part of their ritual all the same.

The coward who had gotten their Alpha killed.

The young man knew he wasn't the only one feeling lost and wishing he could disappear. Jasmine seemed to flicker between brooding and fits of rage and maniac energy. After their love making (if one could truly call it that considering the damage they had caused and the violence of the coupling) she had lost herself in her thoughts and Harry had known there was little he could do to help her so he'd stepped back and allowed her to grieve. Even now she was tense and he knew that she was debating rushing into her mother's arms and weeping or demanding they march on Avalon and burn every man, woman, and child there.

Fleur and Gabrielle were there too, trying and failing to maintain their composure. Gabrielle was having the worst of it, resorting to burying her face against Luna's shoulder and sobbing as the Mistress of Veela tried to help her deal with the grief that permeated the air. But Harry could tell that Fleur was struggling too and when the mask broken for her there would be no repairing it.

"No matter what title they tossed onto him… he was Pack," Diantha stated. "That is what we must remember. They will say he belongs to the ages… he belongs to us. Even now he's in the afterlife, scouting and preparing for when we join him… and the hunt can begin again."

Cynthia nodded at that, her face hard. "And we owe it to him to meet him with the news that he was avenged." She clenched her hand into a fist. "What is the plan Lance? What is our move?"

"…"

Lance was clearly struggling, squeezing his eyes shut. Clair grabbed his hand but that didn't offer him any comfort at all.

"Maybe we should listen to him one more time," he finally said. "Maybe we should do as he did to Kanto's League. Blow it all up and make clear we have won before we leave them forever. Glass the entire damn region."

"No."

Harry was startled by that and more so when he realized HE was the one that had spoken the words.

"Harry?" Jonas said softly.

"Jack… wasn't a butcher. He wasn't the monster they made him out to be. He killed because he had to and even then it was always his final resort. We… won't be doing right by him if we just attack Avalon."

Jasmine shot him a dark look. "You better not suggest we let this stand."

"Never," he said back fiercely. "But we need to be like him."We've been acting like ourselves… its time we became like him."

"And how is that?" Clair whispered. She'd been whispering ever since her husband had died.

"By fighting as heroes, not monsters." Harry took a deep breath, calming his nerves. "We're in this situation because I allowed my hate to guide me. But Jack never truly hated Kanto, did he? He didn't fight for revenge. He fought to free Johto. Even after everything that happened he wasn't fighting because he was out for blood… he did it to fulfill a promise to a scared little girl."

Jasmine turned away from him, shoulders falling.

"That's the difference. His battles came about because he loved something, not because he hated it. We have to do the same thing."

"And how do we do that, 'arry?" Fleur asked, her Kalosian accent even thicker than normal due to her fight to remain composed.

"By rallying the people," Harry said. "I know," he admitted, holding up his hand, "I can't believe that I'm the one saying this either. But it's the truth. If we want to defeat Voldemort we have to save Avalon. And that means all of Avalon. That means getting its citizens to finally throw off Nocturne. Not just take out a few figureheads and move on. Actually fight back."

Leon shook his head at that, reminding everyone it wasn't just humans in the room. "And how to do propose that? Dumbledore couldn't do it."

"Dumbledore didn't want to try," Harry argued. "He gave up and accepted a broken peace as the best he could get. I'm not going to do the same thing." He nodded to himself, chewing on the inside of his cheek in thought. "People… need something dramatic to shake themselves out of their apathy. And Avalon has been stuck in this rut for a very long time. They've fallen asleep and we need to wake them up, get them to see that the world has changed and they can change their region as well. Voldemort was able to rally so many because he was willing to be a beacon they all rallied around. With him now as Dumbledore he's going to try the same thing. We can't let that happen. We… we need to wake Avalon up."

Harry turned and walked out of the room.

"And I know where to start."

~MC~MC~MC~

"It is for the best, my dear," Voldemort assured Bellatrix, smiling even as his insane admin tried to think of some justification that would let her run about, free to murder and maim as much as she wanted. "Illusions must be kept. The world thinks I am Albus Dumbledore and the Headmaster can't be seen standing shoulder to shoulder with you. When you can prove that you can act as if the Leader of the Light has freed you from your delusions and you are now on the side of good… then you can remain free."

"I can do that!" Bellatrix said, bobbing her head up and down rapidly. "I can do that! And then you and I can find little Harry and raise him as our child!"

Voldemort shut his eyes. Harry was his vessel, not his heir, but Bellatrix seemed to forget that a lot… along with other things. Sometimes she cursed the Longbottom boy and other times was convinced she'd birthed him.

"You are to remain here," Voldemort said firmly before shutting the door and locking it, using some Aura to seal it so even if she Magnused into her Ghost Form she couldn't escape.

"If you honestly believe that sack of crazy will ever be able to act sane and rational then I'm gonna see if the fuckin' Johtoians will hire me," Fenrir growled. He was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest, wearing the same mud-stained leather clothes he'd donned for the battle to take Hogwarts.

Voldemort shot him an annoyed look. "I'm not a fool, Greyback. Same as you. Do not threaten things you know you won't do; we both know the Johtoians would slit your throat the first chance they could. They will not forget that your beasts attacked Kenway's child and with him dead they will be far more protective of her."

"I don't know… I have enough secrets that I could buy my freedom." He smiled, his sharpened teeth gleaming in the torch light of the hall; Hogwarts didn't have any power and as such they'd been reduced to lighting the halls with firelight in order to move around.

"You don't know nearly as much as you think you do," Voldemort told him as he began to walk off, not bothering to see if the brute would follow; Fenrir knew what was good for him and that included making sure he didn't lose track of the man paying him his fees. "You aren't Nocturne so I share very little with you."

"Of course you fucking don't," Fenrir grunted. "And I don't give a shit. I'm here because you pay the best."

"And I will only pay so long as you do as you told."

"I'll do as I wish and if that means our goals align so be it."

Voldemort let out a laugh at that. "I have lived for thousands of years and will live for thousands more. And yet I doubt I have met a man quite like you, Fenrir. I will enjoy consuming your soul."

"Have to catch me first," the mercenary commented.

They were in an odd little arrangement. Voldemort needed Fenrir Greyback because he didn't have many Admins left he could rely upon. And Fenrir needed him because despite his talk he was the only one that could pay him. But neither liked each other. In fact the two didn't get along at all. Greyback was an arrogant beast who thought that he had an ounce of control in their game. And he knew that Greyback thought him an obsessive fool; the man had said as much to Voldemort's face. Their alliance would end with Greyback dead and the question purely was when that would happen.

"Lestrange is a liability," Fenrir pointed out and Voldemort hid a smirk; the man had clearly decided the time for jokes was over and now was the part of their conversation where they actually discussed business.

'Good,' Voldemort thought to himself, stroking Dumbledore's beard and wondering if he could finally cut the damn thing off. 'As interesting as it is to have someone to verbally spar with it grows more and more tempting to just eat him right now. His soul must be a spicy dish.'

Out loud the spirit stated, "I know how to control her."

"For now," Greyback said. "But the woman is in love with you."

"Which makes her the perfect weapon."

"Except you don't understand love, do you?" Fenrir pointed out. "It's just an emotion we pesky humans have that at most salts the meat."

"Crudely put but accurate."

"Love is a dangerous thing though. It makes people do the impossible. Kanto fell because Kenway loved a sad little girl."

"And Kenway is dead."

"As is Lily Potter and love-"

Voldemort twisted around, Dumbeldore's stolen aura and his own ghostly energy bursting from his flesh. "Do NOT mention that witch around me again!" Fenrir smirked at that and Voldemort mentally cursed; the bastard had gotten a reaction out of him and now saw that as some sort of victory against him. So the Spiritomb calmed himself and continued walking. "And Bellatrix loves me and it will make her do the impossible."

"She loves her vision of you," Fenrir pointed out. "Just like she loved Frank Longbottom. And you know how that got twisted. You take over the Potter boy that she's been trained to see as an enemy and what happens then?"

"I kill her and set about making a new Bellatrix. A better one." Voldemort shrugged. "The Kenway girl… she reminds me of the Bellatrix from the very beginning of the War. She feels grief, pain… I can use that to make her mine."

Fenrir merely shook his head. The man was a fool if he thought he could twist Kenway's daughter into a new Bellatrix. That girl… one father died and the second started a war just for her. People didn't forget that kind of love. They remembered it, clung to it… if she became Bellatrix it would be for the sole purpose of hunting them all down. Greyback already had plans to kill her to ensure she didn't get to kill him first. "Before you focus on making new Admins you need to fix the ones you fucking have so I don't have to do all the work."

Voldemort nodded at that, in agreement with the mercenary on that point. 'Regulus is loyal… but that is a curse as well as a gift. He doesn't think on his own anymore he just wants me to give him orders. Bellatrix is too mad of a dog. Lucius…' He scoffed. 'He is a disappointment.' When it had been learned that Draco had died Lucius had become quiet and withdrawn, rarely speaking up during meetings. It was annoying that his financial backer was doing so little to further his goals and Voldemort wondered if it might not be time to cut him-

"My… my lord!" a panting Agent gasped, running up to him. "It's… its playing. All over. Every channel."

"What are you talking about?" Voldemort demanded.

"The holocasters… they've… they've been hacked. The same message. On every single one of them in Avalon!"

Voldemort frowned, coming to a stop. They were on one of the balconies that looked down on a tall atrium in Hogwarts, one of the few sections of the school that was still livable. He nodded to Greyback who pulled out his own dex and turned on the holocaster. But rather than a small image or a life size projection instead they were greeted by a massive holographic image of Harry James Potter, standing three stories tall and seemingly staring right into their souls.

"I've been running all my life," Harry said, his voice low but firm. "For 15 years." His image flickered and Voldemort saw the burned out remains of his childhood home in Godric's Hollow, then the ruins of Little Surrey, and finally Hogwarts itself. "It didn't matter that all I wanted was peace… the world seemed determine to make me a warrior. But now has come to time to honor those that have died in my name."

The images changed again. It took a moment for Voldemort to realize that Harry was showing every single person who had sacrificed themselves to see him survive. Peter Petigrew. Lily Potter. James Potter. Jack Kenway. And as they appeared each whispered Harry's name.

"All of Avalon… all the world… will see its fate decided by what happens on one single day. The day YOU, Voldemort, have been fearing all your life."

Harry appeared again, his eyes hard as stone.

"The day I stop running."

He paused.

"Tick tock."

And with that… the holocast began to play the message over again.

~Several Weeks Earlier~

~The Day After The Fall Of Hogwarts~

"Anything?" Ron asked, walking up to Ginny.

"Nothing," she said with a sigh, turning off her dex. "And I don't want to keep doing this because honestly I'm worried about battery life."

"We have more than one dex," he said. He sat down on a rock and looked out at the dark water that was rushing pas them, the underground river moving from Black Lake to… well, Ron didn't know. Honestly he wasn't for sure if it was coming to or from Black Lake. He just knew there was water, it was safe to drink, and there was a lot of it.

And it was far too dangerous to try and use it to escape.

He'd sent his Gyarados out to try and see if the river was a way to escape the caverns he, his sister, and the Slytherins found themselves in but his Pokemon had returned half a day later with a sad shake of his head. Though Ron didn't speak to Pokemon (and by Arceus did he wish they had a speaker with them) he was able to get, thanks to the Unown, that the way was too long and deep for a human to hold their breath. Meaning they were stuck.

'The Unown,' he thought to himself, looking up at the floating Letter Pokemon that hung about them all even now. It had been pure luck that they'd fallen through the floor when Hogwarts had taken some sort of nasty shock, he wasn't sure what it had been, and stumbled upon a crumbling wall that had hid a passageway. Between that and being crushed to death Ron and Ginny had decided to lead the Slytherins down the passage and eventually found the Unown, which had guided them to a rather familiar spot: The Chamber of the Unown.

At first it had been a comfort. Harry had brought a lot of stuff down there and the Unown were able to… well, Ginny said it wasn't quite duplicating the objects but whatever it was it helped them not shiver through the night. One blanket had become several dozen. Same with pillows. They'd been able to start a fire and the Unown had brought them fish and some seaweed and one of the Slythrins, a second year named Timmons, had grown up on the coast and shown them how to make dinner. Timmons was now one of the most popular Slytherins in their House.

But as time had gone on the group had realized that what they'd thought was a chance to relax and rest after their escape was now an extended stay. The passage they'd taken had collapsed and the way Harry could go through could only be opened by Slytherin's Heir… who wasn't there at the moment. And the river was a bust as well.

Meaning that Ron and Ginny found themselves with little over half of House Slytherin trapped in Salazar Slytherin's secret temple to the Unown.

"I know we have more than one," Ginny said, breaking Ron from his thoughts, "but only mine has all the stuff we need to send an encoded message to Harry. If Nocturne gets a message-"

"I know, I know. That's why we took all the dexes." The Slytherins hadn't been happy about that but Daphne and, of all people, Goyle had been firm that they had no choice, giving them to the Unown to protect. "Crabbe is trying to figure out if we can dig our way out but it's going to take time to do it safely."

Ginny nodded, shoulders slumped. "I hate being down there while our friends are fighting. I want to be there with them."

"We'll see them again," Ron told his sister, placing his hand on her should. "I promise-"

"Huuuuuh. Huuuuuh."

The Weasleys froze, bodies stiff as they heard the heavy breathing sound.

"…careful," Ginny said, slowly reaching down and unclipping a Pokeball.

Ron just nodded.

"Huuuh. Huuuuuh."

It was getting closer.

"It sounds like an animal."

"Yeah. One I've never heard before." Ginny began to look around. "Do you see it?"

"No. But I think it's in the river." Ron began to move back. "Let's-"

"There!" Ginny cried out and to Ron's frustration she rushed INTO the steadily moving water, fighting the current. Ron growled, giving chase… only to freeze when he saw the wheezing bulk of Dumbledore's FUCKING MOLTRES lying in the waters, its eyes glazed over.

"Ginny!" he shouted, sending out his Emolga. "Get back-"

"Ron, help me!" she called out but it wasn't out of terror that she said those words. Though… they weren't happy either. Ron grunted and pressed into the river, seeing in the darkness that Ginny had grabbed something near the Moltres and was pulling it to shore. "We have to get him out of the water… he's hurt. Real bad."

"Whose-" Ron froze as he saw just who Ginny was dragging onto the shore and he instantly stopped protesting and moved to help her.

The man was a wreck. His body was covered in burns, and the parts that weren't were cut or bruised. One shoulder had been broken and his legs were twisted awkwardly. It was a miracle he was alive.

But… he was alive.

And so Ron and Ginny pulled the broken body of Jack Kenway to the Chamber, the Unown watching above.

End of Book 6

HARRY POTTER WILL RETURN IN "HARRY POTTER AND THE HOUR OF LEGENDS"