Harry Potter and the Order of Moltres

by Mr. Chaos

Book 5 of the Harry Potter: Pokemon Master Series. After the events of the Tournament one thing has become clear to Harry and his friends: War has come to Avalon. But they aren't their parents' children and won't make the same mistakes. The time has come to take the fight to Team Nocturne and Voldemort. The time has come for the Order of Moltres to rise again.

50. The Turn

Harry sat in the conference room, eyes focused on the table, running his finger along the surface, tracing the wood grain patterns. Outside he could hear Madame Bones yelling at… someone… he honestly wasn't for sure. He just knew her and a lot of members of the Elite 4 weren't happy. With him, with Hogwarts, with the Ministry, with themselves. No one was getting out of this debacle clean. Everyone had been dragged into the mud. Everyone had been scarred.

The facts saw to that.

Three Hogwarts professors dead. Only one of the House Heads had managed to survive Voldemort's attack on them. And it was Voldemort… no one could deny that anymore. Not after he'd so brazenly revealed himself in Fudge's office. The Minister had tried to deny it, claim once again that it was just copycats, but the problem with that argument was that the copycats had still killed a lot of people in cold blood. No, there was a problem in Avalon and be it Nocturne or some new group it honestly didn't matter. People were suddenly scared and wanted solutions now. There was little comfort in the idea that it was merely a DIFFERENT group of murderers that was running about.

Harry let out a bitter laugh. It had taken the Ministry itself being invaded to finally get the Wooloos of Avalon to wake up and realize that something needed to be done. Which would have been perfectly fine if it weren't for the fact that in their impatience they now sought quick fixes. Not real fixes, not things that would actually end the threat. No, that would take too much time. They wanted to return to burying their heads in the sand as quickly as possible. They wanted their lives to go back to normal. He'd already seen it in the papers, the special editions about the attacks running with headlines asking what the Ministry was going to do and the editors making suggestions. All of which were utterly pathetic in Harry's view. A curfew in certain areas… the poorer neighborhoods, of course, because the rich and powerful didn't want to be inconvenienced. Stricter punishments for minor offenses, to 'get the scum off the streets'. Outlawing certain video games or tv shows viewed as violent… because even though that had nothing to do with the actual problem why not break one thing while not fixing something else? The only person that had even suggested an idea to deal with Nocturne that he could get behind had been Luna's father.

Though, 'Nuke the entire site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure' wasn't likely to get many votes from the masses.

Whoever had to deal with sifting through the bandaids to decide which one to use to try and repair the gapping stomach wound that was Avalon culture wouldn't be Fudge, however. Or likely anyone directly under him in the Ministry. The man's continued attempts to dismiss the threat of Nocturne hadn't helped him at all when news had broken about the attack on the Ministry. A Vote of No Confidence had been called and even the newsites that were utterly sycophantic to the Fudge Administration had called for the Minister to resign now and let someone else take over. Add in the reports that had been leaked to the press about Umbridge (Harry still didn't know who'd done that but he was kicking himself for not thinking of giving interviews to The Quibbler concerning Ginger) and Fudge would be lucky if he merely got kicked out of office.

Much of the Elite 4 were facing tough questions as well. Madame Bones had been enraged when Harry had explained how he and his friends had managed to get into the Ministry and when the two Aurors that had been on duty that night, Rosen and Guilden, had revealed that there were standing orders to allow Ministry personnel to make 'Ministry Arrests' and bring subjects in for processing WITHOUT contacting Head Aurors the monocle-wearing woman had lost it, bellowing that she would have heads for the utter breech in security and policy. Jasmine had gotten a moment with Barty Crouch Sr. to inform him of what had happened to her father, explaining just WHY the Johto Government had suddenly decided to stop trying to make a deal over the Little Surrey Incident and instead demanded a full trial. That had led him and Bones into a screaming match of their own that had only been stopped when Croaker had demanded answers about missing items in his department… and then had to face the wrath of Bones AND Crouch over having highly dangerous and illegal items sitting out in the Ministry just waiting for an accident to happen.

And during all of that knocked out Nocturne Agents were arrested, coroners were called to deal with the dead criminals, and families had been called for the Pride. Jasmine, being an adult, had quickly disappeared… along with all her liberated items, having sent him a message promising she'd come back once her family was on the ground. Ron and Ginny had been picked up by their parents while Neville's grandmother had muttered about not being sure if she should be angry or proud of him. As for Luna she had said that her father was busy and she'd find her own way before… somehow teleporting away. Honestly that had confused everyone and led the Elite 4 to pause in their fighting to wonder how the hell Luna had done that. And Hermione had been picked up by her parents with a promise that she'd check in with Harry later.

That left only him, sitting in a conference room, waiting to see just how pissed Remus and Sirius were going to be.

Because there was no doubt in his mind that they were going to be PISSED.

What made it all the worse was how long it was taking for them to show up. Everyone else had left hours ago but Harry was still in the conference room, an untouched bottle of water sitting near him. While he had been in good spirits during the escape and then the battle once it had truly hit him all that had happened his good mood had plummeted and he'd found himself in the deepest depths of depression-

The door to the conference room swung open and Harry turned only to relax just a touch when he saw it was merely Dumbledore. The Headmaster walked over to him, having taken off his labcoat at some point and thus was only wearing his Alola short sleeve button up and some slacks, the tie-dye socks that adorned his feet occasionally visible as he walked over and pulled out a chair, taking a seat across from the young man.

"You were right and I was wrong," Dumbledore finally said once he was settled. "Did you ever believe that you'd hear me say those words?"

Believe? No, Harry had never thought that. Hoped, fantasized? Of course. But he'd chalked that up to just a dream, like discovering a raincloud that showered one with chocolate or dating a blonde bombshell. 'Well, okay, I got that one but…' He shook his head. No, he'd never thought he'd hear Dumbledore say those words out loud.

"What happened here was my fault, Harry." The young man opened his mouth but his professor silenced him with a raised hand. "No, I don't want to hear whatever protest you are about to make. Yes you rushed here without thinking. Yes, you fell into Voldemort's trap. But let us be clear that it was a trap and one that he would have sprung no matter what you did. Had you not shown up he would have killed us all and made sure you saw the footage, to drive you into despair that you did nothing, all in the hopes that you might do something all the more foolish and reckless. At the very least Harry you tried."

"But I almost killed Fudge… that's what he wanted, wasn't it?"

"Cornelius didn't matter in the grand scheme things, Harry. He honestly never has. This… war-" He chewed on the word as if saying it alone left a vile taste in his mouth, "-has always been about the two of you. Yes, had you killed Fudge, an innocent man, perhaps it would have left you vulnerable to Voldemort's manipulations… but then again perhaps it would not. Who can know the mind of that monster? He could have also possessed any of us, taunted us with our deepest desires." Harry shook his head and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at that. "You think he couldn't? Everyone has desires, Harry. Things they don't want to admit to longing for yet do. And we can not judge who might give in and who might stay strong. I thought Alastor would never fall for Voldemort's tricks… yet he did. And he is lost to us forever." He let out a sigh.

"But if it isn't my fault how can you say it is yours?" Harry asked quietly.

"You already know the answer, Harry… you've thought it, I know you have. What I did in the last war, with the Order of Moltres and trying to find a way for reconciliation… that allowed what happened here this night to occur. Just like with the graveyard… had I done as Jack did Voldemort might never have troubled us again."

Harry though looked away. "I'm beginning to think that Jack might not have the right of it either. I followed his ways and nearly got my friends killed. His way nearly got himself killed."

"Then perhaps you need to find your own way, Harry. One that comes between me and Jack. You don't have to become our heir in lessons and ideology. You can forge your own path." The old man reached out, covering Harry's hand with his own. "Can you ever forgive me, my boy, for being so blind?"

"I… I think so," Harry said with a nod. "After all, I've made my own mistakes… I can forgive you for yours."

"It warms my heart to hear that." And with that Dumbledore went quiet, clearly sensing that the teen had more on his mind.

"Professor? What you did back there… what you said you were…?"

Dumbledore smiled and raising his hand which after a moment was engulfed in aura flames. "I am an Aura Knight, Harry… the last Aura Knight. Once my Order traveled throughout the regions, doing good for all that needed us. Not just fighting… oh no, not just fighting. Aura Knights were not merely brawlers who swung their fists about and rushed into battle." Dumbledore looked up, his eyes getting misty as he spoke. "When I was boy, squire to an Aura Knight, learning their ways… oh we did so very much more than fight. Aura allows you to not just unleash the power of your soul but understand how to heal the wounds found in the souls of others."

"Souls can have wounds?"

"Oh yes," Dumbledore said with a slightly amused yet also oddly sad smile. "They can. When a people are oppressed their souls hurt just as much as their bodies. They lose hope. When someone is lost and frightened it isn't their minds or their limbs that hurt… it is the soul. You know this Harry… you've seen it. You've seen what happens when a soul is damaged."

"Ginger," Harry whispered.

"That poor girl. Another failure of mine…"

"Umbridge did that," Harry said firmly.

"She did. But I failed to see it. When I was a squire me and Sir Nathan traveled through many regions and did so much to help the world and those that lived in it. We encountered the sick that were too weak to last long enough for the medicine to work and gave them the seconds they needed to continue on. Found crops and willed them to grow so they might feed hundreds. Met with lovers who feuded and screamed and taught them how to care for one another again. This was the mission of the Aura Knights for countless centuries… until the War. Until Grindlewald.

"He had wanted to be one of us. People thought he waged the war purely because he wanted power. They didn't realize it was a particular power he sought. But to be an Aura Knight…" Dumbledore's hand lost the glow of the blue ethereal flames, "…one must have a soul that seeks to help others. Our power can not be used for personal gain. No… it can only be used in the pursuit of aiding humanity. For by healing the souls of others we heal our own." He smiled at that before letting out a long weary sigh. "But Grindlewald… he suffered greatly in his life, and very early too. Lost so very much at such a young age. To the point Harry that he would have looked upon your life with the Dursely's and longed for it. An Aura Knight found him and convinced him to rise back up, to stand, to not give up." The old man licked his lips. "I sometimes wonder, after all the evil he did, if the world would not have been better off had that Knight turned left instead of right. But what is… is. Gellert felt the power of the Aura Knights and longed to be one of us. But not to heal the world… but to heal himself. And when it became clear that he could not he used the power to kill."

"So… so did you. You attacked Voldemort."

"But not out of malice. To protect you, and your friends. And that makes all the difference. Gellert couldn't bring himself to care about even one other person. He only saw how to help himself, to deal with his own pain. He was cast out before he could learn all we had to teach but that did not stop him. His war… the Great War… was all about finding some power to rival the Aura Knights. A darker power. One that could be selfish and cruel. Every battle, every conquered city… all of it part of a great sweeping search for a power that could rival the Aura Knights without the restraints that held them back." He shook his head in grief. "So many of my brothers died trying to stop him. Nearly as many that died during his attempts to learn how to master what fell powers he did discover without the restrictions placed upon us all. All gone… except me."

"Is that why you stopped fighting?" Harry asked. "Why you became a pacifist?" He paused and then grimaced as he replayed what he'd just said. "I'm sorry, that came out-"

The Headmaster held up his hand. "Wrong? Perhaps to some but in this case I have come to agree with you." The old man dropped his hand and his head, shoulders slumping a bit. "An Aura Knight can see the soul of a person, understand what makes them strong and what makes them weak. But this gift is also our greatest curse because we can see when a soul dies, Harry. To watch as it slowly leaves the body, an empty husk all that remains, while it in turn dissipates like mist in the morning sun. After the war with Grindlewald… I had seen so many friends die in that war. Seen the very thing that truly made them unique fade into nothingness. I can only hope there is an afterlife, Harry, because if those were their final moments then…" He paused, struggling to find the right words and nothing coming to mind. He finally just admitted defeat and continued on. "That is why I decided with Nocturne to try and save all I could. Because even an evil soul… is a soul. One that was not born evil. They were once young and innocent and full of hope and potential and every time I see a life end… all of that disappears.

"But now I see that I was wrong. That in trying to save those lost to darkness I only condemned far more to the same fate. You might believe that obvious but it was easy for me to forget. The ones they killed… it hurt but I didn't witness their ends. But Nocturne? Every life I might take is another I would have to see with my own eyes. To know the damage I had done. War… war makes a man old far before his time, Harry. And I am a very old man who wanted to put down his saber and shield."

"But you were the last Aura Knight," Harry said.

"I was. I am."

"Why then didn't you teach others how to perform the Art?"

Dumbledore looked away. "Because I remembered that it was the power of Aura that drove Gellert to such extremes. He wasn't even fully trained, Harry. That's the worst of it. It was the promise that such power existed that made he do such horrible things. And I feared that if the Aura Knights that taught me could not see the danger in Gellert… how could I, their lesser, hope to do better? It seemed like such ripe arrogance to go and find a squire of my own, to teach them the Art. No… I decided that the secrets of the Aura Knights would die with me, so that they could never see another Grindlewald rise up again." He let out a weak chuckle, one that wasn't born of humor. "Perhaps it is offensive to say this to you, my boy, of all the people in the world, but sometimes I wonder if humanity wouldn't be better off if the Arts had all disappeared. Magnus, Speakers, the Aura Knights, Veela… let them all fade from memory."

"…no," Harry said, not sternly but with a firmness all the same. "Do not blame the Arts for what men do with them. The Arts are… beautiful. They allow us to connect with Pokemon in a way that goes beyond the mere trainer bond. And no evil that is done in their name could ever eclipse that."

"I have come to see that you are right in that," Dumbledore stated. He sat back up, his back straighter and the weariness that had infected him before shunted away as he rallied. "But I can't do that anymore. I can't sit back and allow others to suffer. I remember once more my oaths as an Aura Knight… and I will strive to make up for the mistakes I have made these many years." He reached out and patted Harry's hand again. "And, if you will allow me, my boy, I would like to help you."

"I would be very grateful for that," Harry whispered. "Professor… do you think… I have what it takes to be an Aura Knight?"

The old man smiled. "I do." He looked to the door. "I think we still have a bit of time before Sirius and Remus arrive. Hold out your hands. No, palms up. Yes, like that." Dumbledore held out his own hands, palms down, hovering them an inch above Harry's. "Now, the first step. Feel the life that flows through your veins. The blood. And then move beyond that, to the will that makes the blood not merely move… but sing. Feel it… sense it…"

~MC~MC~MC~

It wasn't just Remus and Sirius that were waiting for him.

"Hello Harry," Jack rasped.

Harry had been brought to another conference room to find everyone waiting for him. His guardians and The Pack, along with a quiet Jasmine, were gathered in the room, watching him as he took a seat. Jonas was leaning against a wall, facing the doorway, while Remus was pacing about looking like he wasn't sure if he wanted to strangle Harry or hug him. Sirius was unusually quiet while the rest of the Pack was harder to read, their faces neutral. Harry looked at Jack last and held back a wince; the man shouldn't have been out of the hospital. His face was thin, haggard, and eyes sunken in and it looked like it was causing him great distress just to sit in the chair. The scarring from the noose remained on his neck and Harry knew that Clair had been pressing hard for the doctors to remove any sign of his trauma which meant that Jack had left the hospital against orders to be there.

"Hello Jack," he greeted quietly.

"I would ask you what happened but Jasmine already let me know. Not just with yesterday, but all school year. How you have been acting on your own, refusing to give us information, running your own operations behind our back." His voice was more worn that usual, like there was gravel caught in his throat. "Did you imagine I would be pleased?"

"I did what needed to be done," Harry said firmly.

"I thought we'd already agreed on what needed to be done," Jack asked; it was clear that it had been agreed by all those involved that he would take the lead in this. "I don't remember us discussing you waging a secret war without our input. In fact," he shifted and grimaced in pain, "I believe that we made it clear that you were to serve as a distraction. Nothing more."

"I wasn't going to let Nocturne get away with their crimes just because I was scared of facing them."

"So instead you made things even worse."

Harry glowered at that. "I was acting on intel, Jack."

"Intel that had already nearly gotten me killed!" the Father of Johto snapped. Jasmine winced at that little declaration. "Did you not think that your source was feeding you information just to get you to the Ministry?"

"He was right about Stan," Harry countered.

"Baiting, Harry, baiting." Jack looked over at Dumbledore. "What are you teaching the children at your school if they don't understand such basic concepts?" He shook his head in disgust, turning his attention back to Harry before Dumbledore could responds. "In my father's Safari Zones one must bring in the Pokemon with bait. Earn their trust before they attempt to catch the Pokemon in a Safari Ball. You can't just begin chucking balls at them and expect them to happily walk into a capture. You need to lure them in. That's what your source did!"

"I did what I thought was right."

"And what you thought nearly got you killed!" Jack roared before sagging back into his chair, coughing violently. He pressed a hankie to his lips, taking several wheezing breaths before continuing, though Harry held back a wince when he saw the hankie was dotted with specks of blood. "You are a child, Harry. You might have been forced to grow up faster than most kids but you are still a child. You aren't all knowing."

"I know more than you realize," Harry said in frustration, snapping at his mentor. "You are so obsessed with keeping me on the sidelines, letting me be a 'normal kid' having a normal education and a normal life. Newsflash, Jack! I wasn't normal the moment I was born! My parents were fighting in a war! They were killed because my bloodline is connected to Salazar Slytherin and the lost king AZ. My mum and dad were killed and I was left in the care of abusive fundamentalists! And when I finally got away from them every year at Hogwarts my life is threatened! So stop acting like I am normal!"

"And stop acting like your experience means you know everything!" Jack snarled. "Because you don't Harry… you have no clue. You haven't led men into battle, you haven't seen the horrors of war… even being a Speaker and a Magnus you aren't a master of either Art. Not yet." Jack jabbed his finger at the boy. "You have this delusion that you are going to be able to rush out and defeat Voldemort all on your own when that isn't the case!"

"It is me!" Harry roared, leaping up from his chair to the surprise of the others. "It has always been me! And you can be as deluded as you wish in thinking otherwise but you can't keep me from this fight."

"I'm not trying to keep you from the fight-"

"That is exactly what you are doing!"

"Damn it Harry I'm trying to keep you alive! Something you struggle with far too much! You said it yourself: every year you find yourself in a life or death situation. Well answer me this: who is the idiot that keeps putting himself in those situations!" He began to tick off the points. "First year you go to a place you were told you shouldn't and end up fighting Voldemort. Second year instead of finding a teacher or contacting Remus about Luna disappearing you decide to run off on your own and nearly get blown up and then killed by Zygarde. Third year you go to the Shrieking Shack, once more on your own. Fourth year is the only one I can give a pass to… though you did decide to actually compete in the tournament."

"You told me to!" Harry exclaimed.

Jack merely continued on. "And now you decide to get arrested, give an Undersecretary brain damage, attack aurors, and almost kill the Minister of Avalon because you wanted to play hero!"

"I want to stop Voldemort! Something you don't seem to want to do!" Harry charged. "You spend all your time coming up with plans and backup plans and backups to the backups! You don't actually do anything at all! My friends and I are the ones that got Stan arrested-"

"When we had a plan that would have not only had him captured but singing to us. Instead you got him handed over to the aurors and their corrupted members silenced him. Ruining everything."

"I didn't know that would happen!"

Jack narrowed his eyes. "That is the damn point. We are all trying to stop Voldemort-"

"And no one asked you to!" Harry charged. "Avalon doesn't want you here, the government has forbidden you from being here, and if it weren't for Speaking I wouldn't want you involved either when you don't give a damn."

The Father of Johto leapt from his chair. "I nearly died for you, you ungrateful little-"

"ENOUGH!" Jasmine shouted, drawing attention to her. "This… this is getting us no where." She looked to her father and said in a cool voice. "I think you need to leave, da."

"I need to leave?"

"You do."

"…fine," Jack said, hissing out the word like it was a curse. He nodded and the Pack surrounded him, Lance helping him to the door, his body shaking from the strain of the argument. "You want to throw your lives away? So be it." And with that the six members of the Pack left the room.

Harry let out a weary sigh and looked over at his girlfriend, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder. "Thanks Jas-"

She knocked his hand away.

"Harry… no." She shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I can't… not right now." She swallowed. "I think… I need some time away from everyone. You… my da… everyone. I need to… figure out who I really am. And if this path is the one I want to be on." She paused, biting her lip. "And if I can stand watching you or da throw your lives away without a care for what those who love you may think."

"Jasmine…" Harry said softly but she merely smiled sadly and walked out the door. "Damn it," Harry said, slumping down in his chair once more, head thumping down on the table. In the span of a few minutes he'd alienated the entire Pack including the man that could teach him everything about Speaking AND made his girlfriend bugger off. And that was assuming she was even his girlfriend anymore. In a word Harry was not in a good place.

Remus and Sirius walked over to him, Harry not bothering to lift his head up to stare at them. No, he merely could heard their footfalls and knew they were staring at him.

"…I have nothing to say," Remus said softly and that utterly killed Harry right there. He wanted a chance to explain, to let Remus know just what had happened and why as screwed up as everything seemed it wasn't as bad as it appeared… but Remus' tone made it clear now wasn't the time. It would have been so much better if the man had screamed and raged and bellowed. Instead he merely tuned and walked towards the door. "We'll be outside when you're ready to go home."

"…damn it." He repeated again as the door clicked shut.

"My boy," Dumbledore said, startling Harry slightly. He hadn't realized that the Headmaster had remained in the room. Though he supposed that made sense. "I am sure everything will work out. You mustn't get down on your self. Remus and Sirius love you… even when they are angry know they love you. In fact that is why their anger is so great. As for the Kenways…" he sighed, "I don't agree with them, Harry. I won't hide that. But I know that you care for them and thus I hope that you will be able to repair your friendship with them."

"Yeah," Harry said. "I just need some time."

~MC~MC~MC~

ONE YEAR LATER…

The winds were blowing hard, nearly sweeping Harry off the roof.

It was only his prosthetic hand and the agility he'd gained thanks to his most recent Long Talk that allowed him to keep his footing. He looked up, eyes narrowed and lips curled back in a snarl as he lifted his left hand and ignited it in Aura Flames. Launching himself forward he thrust out his glowing hand to dissipate the attack that had been heading towards Firebolt, allowing the Potter Family Pokémon to return his focus back on the Braviary that was currently giving him so much trouble.

There was a small explosion to his left and he turned to see a chunk of the roof crumble and fall, smashing down into Hogwart's Great Hall below. "And you alright, Professor?"

Dumbledore, using Aura to leap about the battlefield the top of Hogwarts had become, nodded as he came to a stop. "I am Harry! But I fear we are running out of time!"

"We need to stall a bit longer, get the students out of here!" Harry shouted over a Hyper Beam that struck the Ravenclaw tower, bisecting it. He spared a moment to watch as the stonework shifted before it began to slide and topple and he prayed that Hermione had managed to get everyone out in time. 'We've already lost Ron and Ginny,' he thought grimly, 'we can't lose anyone else.'

A warcry made him remember to focus on the battle and Harry dodged a blow before swinging around with an Aura-charged fist that caught the older man in the stomach, sending him toppling down near the edge of the building. Harry was on him within a second, his left hand wrapping around the man's throat while he used his right to tear off his hood.

"Harry!" Dumbledore called out. "If we take him now then all of this will end!"

"We aren't taking him," Harry said coldly. "After all… you always said you'd never be captured, didn't you Jack?"

Jack stared up at Harry and sneered. "I did. So you have a choice, Harry… are you ready to make it?"

"Then there is no choice at all," the teen said, the skin on his right hand peeling away and he charged the blaster in his prosthetic. "Its time to finish it."

He fired.

~MC~MC~MC~

Harry Potter will return in "Harry Potter and The Last Aura Knight"