December 18th
Remus' house twinkled with light in the darkness of the Avalon night. Clouds had formed overhead and it had begun to lightly snow but that mattered little to the Harry and his family thanks to their planning. The team of Mr. Mimes that Sirius had hired, each dressed in custom tuxes, performed their routines along the edges of the Remus' property all the way to the shoreline. It was rather interesting and cultured, like some post modern living art exhibit, but also served another purpose: forming a psychic wall around the beach that kept the snow away from everyone that would be attending. The team of Lampents he'd also hired, bred to change their flames to any color one wanted, kept flickering through reds and greens and whites, looking like living Solstice lights, but also used their Flame Body abilities to keep the outdoor area room temperature. He'd had a team of Machokes instant a wooden floor on the beach so that people could easily walk and the caterers had laid out a spread of dishes that were just fancy enough to please the hob nobs while still being delicious for those that cared less about how much food was and more that it was actually edible.
That actually was the theme of the entire party: classy yet down to earth. The food was the most obvious, with a selection of chicken tenders, puff pastries, and hors d'oeuvre that would please all levels of society. The place settings had been carefully gone over to encourage mingling while avoiding having a working joe having to deal with a snob that looked down their noses at them because their outfits weren't custom made. The decorations reflected the season but weren't the tacky Party Store stock that some might have expected from a prankster like Sirius. To entertain the guests Sirius had hired the Trans Sinnohian Orchastra, well known for mixing classical Solstice Music with rock ballads, to play some of their tamer music during the meal and then perform a small concert at the end of the evening… complete with some fireworks to finish everything off and also signal that it was time for everyone to get the hell out of his house (Sirius having never been one for guests overstaying their welcome).
Harry stood with his guardians near the walkway that led around the side of Remus' house and to the back, greeting everyone who came with polite smiles and small chit chat. He was wearing a suit with a deep red vest and matching tie, everything in place save for his wild hair that everyone had pretty much given up trying to tame; Remus had admitted that Harry's mum had at one point actually offered a bounty to the stylist that could get Harry's dad's wild hair to settle down. No one had collected. Still, standing with Remus and Sirius, the former dressed in a traditional suit, Sirius going with a long suit jacket that hung down to his ankles to honor his Johtoian loyalties, the three of them made an attractive threesome. Several of the older women that had come to the party had requested pictures, telling Harry that he looked so handsome and comparing him to his father. Normally he'd have been annoyed at the people who had last seen him when he was a baby acting like old friends but the promises of tales about his parents were enough to have him genuinely smiling.
It was a mix of men and women he'd never met and friends from Hogwarts who brought their families. Elites and 'normies' as Sirius had called them and people he should have known but didn't. A good mix, all around.
There was a crack of teleportation and Neville and his gran stood there, the former wearing a simple suit with a festive novelty tie and a long black wool coat, the later in a fashionable if slightly out of date dress and her forever noticeable stuffed Mandibuzz hat. Neville's Gran walked forward and looked the three of them over before nodding in slight approval.
"Thank-" she began only for Neville to move in front of her.
"Lord Black, Mister Lupin, Lord Potter… thank you for having my grandmother and I over for your party." He shot his gran a smile that was all teeth and a bit of fire. "As the soon to be head of House Longbottom let me say I am honored to renew the bond between my family and yours."
Harry, having already planned this out with Nev to get his gran to finally wake up and realize he wasn't a child anymore, smiled and held out his hand. "Lord Longbottom, I would only ask that in the name of brotherhood you address me as Harry."
"And I would insist on the same," Neville said, the two shaking hands and making what had already been true utterly formal. "Come along, grandmother, let's find our seats." As Neville lead the way around the house Harry saw Nev's gran staring at him with a flicker of emotions. First annoyance, then sadness, and finally pride. Saying quick hellos to the three she hurried after her grandson and Harry had a feeling that, if nothing else, the party had at least made Nev's life a touch earlier.
After several other guests arrived that Harry didn't know Daphne Greengrass and her family were the next to aririve. Mr. Greengrass was clearly a touch surprised that he'd been invited, what with him being a dyed in wool Slytherin and Sirius bleeding Gryffindor, but the snarky Lord of Sevii had merely pointed out that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin and that he got along with him just fine. That had thrown Mr. Greengrass for a loop but his wife had pushed him forward, Harry and Daphne sharing a brief look before she took her sister Astoria's hand and guided her around the back of the house. Several more people that Remus and Sirius knew arrived, including one couple with a son that would be starting Hogwarts next year who Harry promised to check up with no matter where he got sorted. That had the kid beaming that he already had someone he could talk to at the school before he even started and the way Remus patted Harry on the shoulder made it clear he was proud of the young man.
"Well well," Amelia Bones said as she walked up to the threesome, looking them all over with a critical eye before tilting her head and taking in the house. She had shoved aside any notion of wearing a dress and instead wore a tasteful pantsuit that made it clear that she was still on the job even when not. "No genitals drawn out with Solstice lights, no nude hula dangers, Mr. Potter isn't drunk... I dare say you are actually throwing a mature party, Sirius."
"Auntie!" Susan said, blushing at her aunt's brash words.
"The nights still young. We'll have the virgin sacrifices at 8:30." Remus clenched his fist, resisting the urge to dope-slap his best friend while Harry merely rolled his eyes.
"I like your dress," Harry told Susan, the girl smiling at the compliment while her eyes conveyed her thanks for him getting things back on track. Unlike her aunt Susan had gone with a long dark blue dress that had fairy lights sewn into the hem. When she shifted her feet right her sparkling shoes sent up a cascade of bright sparking lights. The only one who wasn't impressed was Hedwig, as Harry's Hoothoot had been keeping watch on top of the house and Harry caught sight of his girl changing positions due to the light getting into her eyes.
As Amelia and Susan went to join the other guests Harry begged off to quickly run to the bathroom, Remus warning him to hurry back. Harry nodded but once he was out of both his guardians'' sight he turned the opposite way of the bathroom and instead ducked into the linen closet. There he touched the one accessory Remus and Sirius didn't know about: the tiny communicator in his ear.
"What's your status?"
In Johto, in the Olivine City Gym, Jasmine Kenway wasn't decked to the nines in a fancy dress or dripping with jewels. The Steel Type user wasn't even in her Gym leader outfit. No, the young woman was sitting near the bank of security monitors in the control room of her gym wearing a pair of warm and comfy, if a tad frumpy, flannel pajama bottoms and a solid long sleeve tee that had been worn so much that it was buttery soft to the touch and stretched out in all the right places. The gym was empty for the night save for her and her Pokémon, all of whom were lounging around below her in the gym proper, so Jasmine was sitting in a leather office chair, her bare feet kicked up on the desk next to the computer screens. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and she'd washed the makeup off her face just before the delivery guy had arrived with her Little Nero's Extra Large Meat Lovers Pizza and an order of Silly Bread. The pizza box sat within easy reach, half eaten and needing to be taken to the fridge at some point, while bags of different candies and chips littered the desk between the computer screens and a 2 litter of chilled pop was on the floor.
Jasmine had decided to celebrate the last challenger she'd take for the year (as all the gyms in Johto took a three week break between the Solstice and the New Year) by gorging on all her favorite foods and then seeing just which parts of her butt and hips all the fatty foods ended up depositing themselves in. The monitors had all been rigged to show several different views; not just her gym but around Harry's house and back yard thanks to the hidden cameras her boyfriend had set up the first weekend he'd been back from Hogwarts.
Swirling her breadstick in the small plastic tub of pizza sauce that had come with her order Jasmine smirked as she heard Harry's voice come over the headset she was wearing. She could see him standing in the linen closet, the two of them having arranged that as one of the places he, and the rest of the team, could duck away to communicate with her.
"Well," she purred, setting her food aside and adjusting her stretched out pajama top, "I'm just sitting here in a pair silk panties and a bra that are both two sizes too small. I could barely get my bottoms up my past my firm, round, heart-shaped ass and this bra is so tight that I think I'm about to pop right out of it!" She reached down and scratched her leg.
"...I know you aren't wearing any of that, Jasmine."
"Oh, you want me to take it all off?" she cooed. "Might happen no matter what! I keep leaning over to paint the nails on my long, smooth, silky feet but every time I get close to running my fingers along my creaming soles I feel my tinnie-tiny panties just riiiiippppp…"
"Ignoring the fact that you hate underwear like that," Harry groused, looking up at the camera, "why do you keep acting like I have a foot fetish?"
"I'm not acting... I'm just wearing you down until you admit the truth and we can then have some real fun." She spotted a bag of chips and grabbed it with her toes and tossed it into her waiting hands. "They are sooooo talented..."
"You two do realize we're all on the line, right?" Hermione complained.
"And that only makes it hotter," Jasmine said with a growl... before grunting as she tried to open her chips.
"Are all Kenways sexual fiends?" Neville said dryly, Jasmine turning a camera to see him sitting at a table next to Daphne, his gran and her parents off to the side chatting.
"We aren't fiends!" Jasmine gasped with mock shock. "We are as pure as virginal snow."
"Bullshit!" came ten voices.
Justin cut in. "You are on the line talking about humping Potter with your toes and getting off on us all listening."
"And we've all heard about what your parents do... and who they both invite into the bedroom."
Jasmine did scowl at that. Not because of the comment... mostly because it was true. It wasn't even a secret that her da and mum were bisexual and both enjoyed bringing men and women into the bedroom on occasion to spice things up. Despite how they'd tried to handle things when she'd been at home you could only soundproof a room so much against screams of passion. That didn't mean she liked being reminded that her parents not only still had sex but because of her desire to wait till Harry was old enough were getting more than her.
"Yeah yeah yeah get back to the bra popping off and your creamy feet," Daphne said, Jasmine snorting when she saw Neville jerk his head in her direction. Acting like she was still having small talk the Slytherin smiled and whispered, "What? You never heard the rumors about me and Tracy? Her's are also VERY talented..."
"You… Tracy…Those aren't rumors?!" Ron declared as he came on.
"If anything they are too PG," Daphne said before glancing towards where the camera was. "Now Jasmine, about you stripping and flexing your feet-"
"Guys, enough!" Harry snapped, shooting a death glare at the camera even as Jasmine munched on some chips. "What is everyone's status?"
"About 10 minutes till arrival," Luna said, her mic filled with rumbles and an engine. "assuming daddy doesn't ask the driver if they can shrink us down like Ms. Frizzle. Which I admit would be rather fun… was that in the plans, Justin?"
"I'm pretty sure they weren't."
"We're teleporting in pretty quick," Ginny said. "Ron delayed as best he could."
"Actually that wasn't delaying that was legitimate arguing with mum," Ron said. "I'll tell you when I see you. Something we can actually discuss in public."
"Okay, then Ron I want you to hang back then," Jasmine said, yanking her feet off the desk and rolling up to work the keyboard. There was time for fun and games and there was time to focus on the mission. In a crisp, militaristic tone Jasmine began to snap off directions. "Ginny, I'll begin working on the trace as soon as they are gone, you focus on blocking any calls for rides. Let them go to other buses."
"I got the program ready. I just need Justin to pass along the flashdrive."
"You'll get it," Justin said. "I'll be there in 15."
"Susan, you think you'll be able to keep your aunt at the party?" Jasmine asked as she pulled up another screen while snagging another handful of chips.
"Will you promise to stop talking about your breast and feet?"
"...I can not abide by those terms." Jasmine snickered before adding in a more understanding voice, "I'll mute your end until you are needed."
"Thank you," the shy Hufflepuff said before taking a deep breath. With the camera Jasmine found her by the appetizers. "And yes, I'm sure I can keep her here."
"I'll find you if you want," Ron offered. "We can chat and hang out since I'm just on watch duty in a few and you have nothing till the end."
"Thank you!" Susan said with relief, Jasmine muting her line to the girl.
"You can keep talking like that to me," Daphne said, Neville turning and bringing his fist to his mouth, pretending to cough. "Oh, and feel free to say your popping out because you're growing bigger... swelling and reaching the ceiling-"
"You're into growth play too!" Jasmine said, excited.
"Soooo much! Tracy and I-"
"FOCUS!" Harry snapped thought Jasmine did notice him reach down and adjust "himself".
"I'll send you my Skype handle," Daphne purred.
"This is going to be a very uncomfortable party," Neville muttered.
Luna giggled. "Not for me! I'm taking notes! Oh, and we're about five minutes away."
"Teleporting in now." Ginny said.
"See you in a few, mate."
The others confirmed they'd be arriving shortly or would hold their positions and Harry straighten his tie before heading towards the door.
"Ooooohhhh Harry!" Jasmine said with a guttural moan, muting everyone but him. She began to make cries of passion… even as she sorted through the empty bags around her for something new to chow down on.
"Jasmine, I swear you will pay for this."
"I'm counting on it!" she said brightly before tilting the bag of chips up and letting the crumbs spill into her mouth.
Joining up once more with Remus and Sirius Harry did his best not to stare at the mobile teleport pad that they'd had installed just off the driveway. Brought in officially to offer another option for families who didn't want to deal with multiple teleports by their Pokémon the unspoken and actual reason was that without the telport port the Weasleys wouldn't have been able to attend. Arthur was an old-fashion Gym Leader who didn't believe in going against type (in this case Normal) and thus there weren't any psychic types that could bring the family in. And traveling all the way from Tor Town to Remus' house would have been out of the question. Thus knowing that Harry would want his entire Pride to attend Sirius had been more then happy to rent the teleport pad.
There was a sizzle of electricity and Harry heard Hedwig curse as she zipped away from her perch as the energy built and the pad flared to light, bringing with it the entire Weasley Family. Harry turned and ginned-
-and then found himself debating if he'd get in trouble for laughing.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stepped towards them looking like they'd leapt from a 19th century woodcarving. Arthur had on black trousers with laceless boots and a dark red and white vest that would have looked better as a throw pillow on a grandmother's couch. Bursting out of the vest's neckline like a frightened Meowth caught in a tight hug was the frilliest shirt Harry had ever seen, with ruffles so large and numerous a person could lose their car keys in it. A comedically large bowtie was wrapped around his neck and to top off the entire outfit was a long brown jacket with embroidered flowers upon it and salmon-colored ruffle cuffs.
Mrs. Weasley was wearing a dress that seemed to be the source of Mr. Weasley's ruffles, for the entire thing was just an avalanche wavey fabric. Over this was a long red frock coat that had bows running all along its surface, the mother of which was wrapped around her throat like an alien parasite. And finally there was the large bonnet, towering near a foot off the top of her head.
"Remus, Sirius," Mr. Weasley said with a grin. "Thank you for inviting us!"
"You're... more than welcome," Remus said, choking on the words and he did his best to keep his eyes locked on the Weasley's and not their clothing. Sirius was rubbing his face, clearly wishing he had his Lord of Sevii mask to hide his smile. Fred and George hurried by before their mother could stop them, their snickers making it clear they had decided that it was better for them to flee and take a lashing for that than to break down laughing and get it all the worse. Ginny, wearing a much more modern dress (though a parade float would be modest compared to their outfits), walked over and smiled at Harry.
"Yeah... those caused some issues before we left," she murmured as Harry noticed Ron keeping his distance from them.
"What happened? And I guess I should ask first... what the hell are those things?"
"Mum decided while we were at Hogwarts to get into researching the Weasley family history. You know, what old dead guy first bought the clock in the hallway that doesn't work, who fought in what meaningless battle, that sort of thing. She discovered that those outfits are the traditional Weasley Gym Solstice outfits and she convinced dad that they should bring back to tradition."
"Do I even want to know where she bought those?"
"Found them in a trunk, actually," Ginny said as Ron continued to loiter near the pad. Only Harry noticed him take out a shrunken pokeball and roll it between his fingers.
Harry cocked an eyebrow as he watched Ginny's parents continue to chat with Remus and Sirius. "What, next to a possessed doll and a cursed book made of human flesh?"
"Wouldn't be surprised," Ginny snorted. There was a honking of a horn and Harry turned to see what they'd all been waiting for come rolling up to Remus' house.
The Knight's Bus.
Ron chose that moment to walk towards them, lazily flicking out his hand and sending the Pokeball flying through the air. It was only because Harry was keeping an eye out for it that he saw it, as against the darkness of that winter night it would have been impossible for a casual observer to see the orb slice through the air and thunk against the side of the Knight's Bus, the MagnoBall activating the moment it hit. Normally designed to be used against fast steel types the special pokeball had a tiny electric magnet at its poles that could stay charged for nearly 10 hours. While small they were also highly powerful and it was take a mighty man, or Pokémon, to remove the ball once attached.
Harry was counted on that.
That done Ron ambled up to Harry and clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey mate!"
Harry, knowing they had to keep things casual and loose and not let on about their plot, merely looked Ron up and down. "Not dressed as a ventriloquist dummy?"
Ron, who was wearing a basic suit, let out a groan. "Just barely."
When Harry cocked an eyebrow Ginny said, "That's what was delaying us."
"They wanted you to wear… something like that?" He nodded in the direction of Ron's parents.
His friend let out a scoff. "It has to do with me suddenly being in line for the Weasley Family Gym."
The Tor Town gym had been suffering from a crisis of succession ever since Harry's fourth year. Passed from parent to eldest child, as was tradition for not just it but almost every gym in the world, the Weasley Family Gym by all rights should have gone to Ron's eldest brother, Bill. But he hadn't wanted to be saddled with the gym and figured that with so many siblings around it wouldn't matter if he decided to go work for the Josephs Family and their banks. But then Charlie had left right after graduating from Hogwarts to work at the Charizard Valley; his parents had thought it would just be a quick summer thing but soon it'd become clear that the young man who liked wearing punk clothes and have Charizard-tooth earrings wasn't coming back to set up shop in a quiet little town.
After that things looked to have been settled with Percy. He was a natural fit, studious and intelligent. Yes, a bit bland in Harry's opinion and far too concerned with what others thought of him in terms of being professional, but still a strong choice. Percy had been pleased to take on the role as heir apparent and worked hard to be ready to begin truly working as the next gym leader. But during his last 2 years at Hogwarts Percy had purely by accident got a taste for teaching. The firsties had gravitated to him during the Heir of Slytherin and Lord of Sevii events and seeing how the young children looked up to him and sought his guidance had struck something deep in him. Harry knew that the twins and Ron and Ginny had never truly looked up to Percy, seeing him more as a tattletale that ruined their fun and tried to act far more grown than he was. The new students at Hogwarts had given him the hero worship he'd never realized he desired and that had caused a massive shift in the fates.
Percy had shocked the Weasley family by announcing after he had graduated from Hogwarts that he was going to go to university and become a Pokémon Professor, which his goal being to eventually teach at Hogwarts. Ron had told him that his mother had tried all she could to convince Percy otherwise, from sweet words to roaring rages, but Percy had stood firm and in the end Mr. Weasley had accepted and wished him luck.
Which had led to the next disaster in the family.
Harry hadn't known until after the Grand Trainer Tournament about the scism that had developed within the Weasley Household. How could he when the players involved had done all they could to hide it from the outside world? By all appearances things had been rather normal with them at Hogwarts during Harry's fourth year but upon reflection he understood both reasons why he had missed the clues. First he had been dealing with the Tournament itself and his friends had admitted that during the 4th year they had tried to handle their own issues on their own, not wanting to burden him with personal problems that might affect him in the competition. Hermione's grandmother had died shortly after the First Task. Neville had argued with his gran about her continued heavy-handed treatment of him. Luna had found a magic portal that took her to a land where everyone was a pony and she'd become an alicorn princess after discovering her long lost sister Celeatia (Harry was 80% sure Luna was just joking). And then there were the Weasleys.
The second thing that had prevented Harry from seeing the divisions growing within the family was that the one side had been completely absent at Hogwarts.
He'd learned shortly before everyone had broken off for training that the Weasleys had held a family meeting after the holidays to discuss the family Gym. Fred and George had been their normal selves, cracking jokes and acting up, but had lost their smiles when Mr. Weasley had informed them that he was placing them at the very end of the succession. Due to the very antics they had been going through at the start of the meeting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had decided that they were unfit to run the gym. Mrs. Weasley had stated they would have turned it into a farce and a disgrace, handing out badges that exploded or stained the trainers' hands. That Pokémon battles would take forever because the two would create foolish rules purely for a laugh. That they wouldn't take a lick of it seriously. So they were out and Ron was now the Heir.
The twins had hid it well but Ginny had quietly informed Harry that they had been struck hard by the news. While it was their own fault in her opinion it was the way the news had been delivered, so forceful and direct, that had shaken them… and then left them angry. For them comedy was everything and it felt like their parents were choosing to exile them purely to keep face. They'd also been angry with Ron for not only instantly fighting for them to be put back in charge. Apparently during the Tournament Ron had suffered some rather harsh pranking by the two and it had only stopped when Neville and Luna had rallied the rest of Gryffindor House to tell the twins in no uncertain terms to get their heads out of their own asses and leave Ron alone.
Harry hadn't been happy about any of that and it was only because things were apparently settled and now in a cold war state that he hadn't had his own words with Fred and George.
The twins had turned their anger towards their parents and Ron in turn had been just as angry. Suddenly he'd gone from being able to choose his own path to being expected to behave in a certain way for a career he didn't even want.
"I'm a shit trainer when it comes to battles," Ron had told him when he'd laid out all his frustrations. "Formal ones anyway. All the 'do this, can't do that, bow like this, gesture like that'. I am getting a team to go into business making Pokeballs, not run a gym!"
Ron had been trapped and apparently Sirius' party had become another pratfall.
"They said because I am the heir I should wear the 'official' heir holiday outfit. It matches dad's. I told them no, that I wasn't going to look like a deranged clown or one of those Time Lords that Luna keeps claiming Prof. Crouch is. Mum thought she was clever by never getting me a new suit, so that all my clothing would be too small, but she didn't realize I've been selling Pokeballs at Hogwarts for a nice little profit and could afford to buy one." He tugged at the suit he was wearing; it was off the rack and probably would have made the Malfoys gasp in horror if they had to wear it but it looked good to Harry. "We fought the moment I came down wearing it. Mum probably won't speak to me for the rest of the holiday. So a long few weeks for me."
"Speaking of long what is taking Luna?" Ginny asked, glancing at the Night's Bus. The plan was for Luna to take the Knight's Bus, the only one of their friends who was odd enough to decide that the Bus made a perfect limo to take her to the event, Ron would toss the pokeball onto it, and then once it left they could begin Part 2. But the bus was still sitting there and the doors hadn't opened.
Harry reached up and touched his comm. "Jasmine? What's going on?"
His girlfriend was serious this time, no cracking jokes as she said, "Luna said things just got complicated but to roll with it… that it might work in our favor."
Before Harry could press her more the doors opened and Luna stepped out wearing a pale pink dress, black stockings, and a furry pink coat and matching pink glasses. Her father, dressed in a suit that looked like a Muppet factory had exploded and he'd turned their fused remains to make into clothes, joined her a second later.
And just before the bus pulled away Stan Shunpike stepped out, wearing a suit himself and clutching an invitation.
"Okay…" Harry said quietly, "things have definitely gotten more complicated."