A/N: I hope you all don't mind me saying, but I'm on a roll here! :D Also, major time-skipping in this chapter. Beware.
Chapter Seventeen
What's Right is What's Left If You Do Everything Else Wrong.
Ever since that time when Harry's mind had been accidentally invaded by Voldemort's and he'd witnessed the attack on Mr. Weasley, he'd been doing everything he could to try to do as Snape said and block his mind. He just didn't understand how! All that bloody git of a professor said was "prepare yourself" and "empty your mind", but how in the world was he supposed to do that?
"Harry?" A voice asked, catching him off-guard and making him snap back to attention. Riolu was looking at him with slight concern. "Are you alright?"
"...Not really," Harry admitted with a sigh to his partner. "I... I just... it's these Occlumency lessons... I don't get it."
"Why don't you do what Professor Nozawa suggested and tell the Headmaster?" Pidgey asked from her trainer's shoulder, her number one favorite perch. "He said he and Espeon could help you."
Harry paused to think about this, before he stood from his seat on his bed. Pidgey squawked slightly before scowling at almost losing her balance and at how the rest of the team chuckled. The Boy-Who-Lived walked downstairs, and found Hermione and Ron studying away the Saturday. The last weekend had been another Capture Weekend.
Ron had gotten a Vulpix during that time, Hermione a Buizel, and Harry a female Nidoran. Malfoy had gotten himself a Houndour. Somehow, both of the Weasley twins had managed to get a Pokémon that enjoyed pranks – Fred a Gastly and George a Misdreavus. The ghost-type Pokémon were thoroughly enjoying helping their new trainers set up pranks and such. Ginny had captured a Silcoon that was soon to evolve, it seems. Neville had added a Paras to his team, having begun with a Ralts. Luna, having started with a Drifloon, had been able to catch a Hoothoot.
"Morning, Harry," Hermione said. Buizel was asleep on the couch in front of the fireplace; the heat was apparently pleasant enough to do so.
"Harry, mate, help me out here," Ron pleaded – but then he noticed the focused look in his friend's eyes. "Harry?"
"I'm going to go talk to the headmaster," Harry said as he reached the last step. The group gathered in the common room – namely, the golden trio and their Pokémon partners – looked at him. "The Occlumency isn't working. Professor Nozawa said that he and Espeon could help if it didn't, so I'm going to see what they've got in mind."
The other two of the group nodded, and with Pidgey the only one going with him – his other Pokémon opted to stay behind – he was soon directed by Dumbledore to visit the young professor. Upon arrival at the classroom, he found that the older trainer was absent. Confused, Harry and Pidgey began to look about, attempting to find the elusive young professor. Soon enough, the flying Pokémon found the team training at the Quidditch field.
Harry and Pidgey were quickly impressed by how Nozawa's team trained so intensely – including the trainer. He was sparring a losing battle with Lucario, the Pokémon doing nothing but trading physical blows with his trainer. However, upon spotting his student, the young man paused in his sparring. Lucario understood, and after dragging Espeon away from her own training – she was practicing her psychic abilities by stopping some tennis balls being shot at her by a magically enhanced machine – they visited the young student.
"Hello, Mr. Potter," Nozawa said, once he caught his breath. "What brings you out here?"
"Well, Professor..." Harry began. "My lessons with Snape haven't been... going well."
"I hear it's a difficult thing to master," The professor nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, Espeon can help you to learn how to protect your mind."
"It's quite simple, really," Espeon began. "Occlumency probably works on the same principle, but psychic-types do it naturally, so it's automatic for me. For you, Harry... hmm... find something to focus on in your head."
"To focus on?" Harry asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. The little Pokémon nodded.
"Just pick some sort of memory or something you like that's going through your head, and focus on absolutely nothing else," Espeon explained gently. Harry once again realized that she was using that motherly tone, almost automatically.
Harry went through his mind, and noticed that the first thing that came to him, was related to where he was sitting – the Quidditch field. So he grabbed that memory of catching his first Snitch – and damn near choking on it – and held fast.
"Got it?" Espeon asked, and once she got a nod, she continued. "This is kinda similar to how the Patronus Charm works. I've heard Occlumency requires one to empty their minds, but this method is different. Anyway, you know how the Patronus Charm acts like a shield between you and a dementor?"
Harry nodded, beginning to understand where this was going.
"So I use what I'm focusing on to make some sort of wall around my mind?" Harry guessed, and was happy when Espeon smiled and nodded.
"That's exactly right," She said. "Now do what you did before again."
The scarred boy immediantly found that memory again.
"This is how it works for my trainer, so it's how I'll explain it to you," She said. "Think of little mental workers turning that memory into an energy or something. Then let them use that to build this great big wall around the inside of your head. Now, you're in charge of this little construction project; make sure there are absolutely no flaws. If you need to draw on another memory or something, do it."
Harry had to change how he thought of building the wall. Eyes closed, he saw his friends using their skills at magic to help spread his memory out around his mind, protecting it from any outside influences.
"Nod if you've got it."
There was a slow nod. Pidgey was watching from the bench, curious as to how her trainer was doing.
"I'm going to check your barrier," Espeon explained gently. "If I find any holes, I'll help you fill them in. Don't worry, it won't hurt, and I won't look at anything you don't want me to see."
Within seconds, Harry could feel a slight pressure pushing at every tiny spot of his inner wall. Forcing up his focus, he tried to make sure there were no flaws in his mental protection... but the professional psychic found a spot in a place he'd overlooked. Thankfully, she withdrew quickly. Even so, she gently left a little marker in his head where the problem had been.
"Not bad on your first try," She complimented, smiling – not that her pupil could see, his eyes still closed as he concentrated. Espeon giggled at this. "You can open your eyes now."
Harry slowly opened them, and smiled in return to his new teacher's own.
"Alright, so..." Espeon began, gathering her own thoughts. "You noticed the spot I 'marked', right?"
A nod.
"Your wall was complete. It covered your entire mind. The problem was that the spot I found was weak enough for me to slip through. However, you noticed, so that's not a bad thing."
"But I thought the point was to keep someone completely out?" Harry asked, confused.
"That's true," Espeon said, nodding. "But sometimes someone's going to be able to slip through no matter how strong your barriers are. In those cases, simply knowing that you aren't alone in there is good enough. So even if Voldemort learns of your connection and he begins to take advantage, if you at least know that he's in there when he shouldn't be, that is huge."
Harry nodded, before sighing. A sudden wave of exhaustion had washed over him out of nowhere. Espeon laughed politely.
"Mental defense is just as exhausting as physical defense," She said, grinning. "I'm glad you're as trained as you are; in order to train the mind, you have to train the body first. All the training time you've had with your Pokémon has helped."
The Boy-Who-Lived smiled at this. He liked his new mental defense teacher. She continued to help him throughout the morning, all the way until lunch time. Unlike Snape, Espeon was a lot more patient; she understood well how to teach someone who had no clue how to protect their mind. Once it was lunch time, they all stopped, and started to head back up to the castle. On the way, it was learned when the next DA meeting was, and the young professor nodded at this.
"Thanks, professor," Harry said to both Espeon and Nozawa. They smiled and grinned, respectively.
"I remember her teaching me the same thing," Nozawa admitted, as they approached the Great Hall for some well-deserved food.
"She taught you?" Harry asked, surprised at this, as was Pidgey.
"Yup," Espeon nodded.
"It's my style of training, as you kinda saw," The man said calmly. "I always try involve myself in the training. It helps me get an idea of how to help my team get stronger, and it keeps me in shape."
Harry nodded, understanding what the man meant at that, as he joined his friends at their table.
I jumped through all the shades of gray,
No rainbows where my winds blow.
"So how's the new mind lessons?" Ron asked once Harry sat down.
"Espeon is an amazing teacher," Harry said. "A lot better than Snape. She says that I need to practice some more, but since Hermione has Natu, she said he could help."
"Me?" Natu squeaked, surprised. He knew how powerful Espeon was in comparison to him. "I'm not that good!"
"I think that's the point, Natu," Hermione said. "Think about it. If Harry's practicing to protect his mind, if you help him every now and then by checking on how well he's doing, you'll get better too."
Natu and Harry looked at each other. They both nodded at this, Hermione's reasoning quite sound.
My hands still hold the rights to blame,
The high road I still crawl down.
"You going to the meeting today?" Algida asked her trainer, as he continued to work on paperwork.
Nozawa sighed heavily at the reminder. He had so much work to do... he'd given the assignment for every one of his students to remake their training regimes to include their new team members, and he needed to check them all off. Several weeks had passed since the last one, and spring time was arriving in full force.
"I can't," He admitted after a while. He bit his lip lightly. "I can't send a message with an owl to let them know; Umbridge might intercept it."
"Can't you do what the Order does, and send a Patronus message?" Espeon asked.
"No, my Patronus is too obvious," Aromi said, shaking his head. "I mean, it's totally awesome, but I haven't be able to figure out how to do it without making it corpreal."
There was a bit of a silence for a while, then he looked up to Kyashii and Espeon.
"Why don't you two go instead?" Aromi told them. "I have to stay and finish with these papers. You two can go and possibly help Harry and the others. I get the sneaking suspicion that Umbridge isn't far from catching them."
Espeon and Kyashii nodded, before leaving the room and quickly finding their way to the Room of Requirement. The rest of the team went back to helping their trainer get through the homework assignments. With the fact that so many people had caught so many Pokémon, the training regimes were getting quite extensive, and took that much longer to read.
"Heh," Aromi suddenly chuckled, catching everyone's attention. He began to explain. "Fred's idea of training is having his team help him set up his pranks."
The team chuckled a bit, before Lucario asked how that worked.
"Apparently, by having Gastly practice her abilities as a ghost and traveling through walls to either place or steal items," Nozawa explained, a smile on his countenance. "And to practice her Hypnosis on anybody that catches her in the act. Minun continues to train his Helping Hand, using it to boost the strength of said Hypnosis or any of Gastly's other necessary moves."
This got a good laugh out of them all. Of course, they laughed even more when Lucario found that George's regime was teamed up with his twin's and did almost the exact same thing. The two brothers had even set it up so that they could have the ghosts practice their pranking against each other. The laughter died down pretty quickly, as the group continued to go through the papers, until Nozawa's head snapped up sharply. Without a single word to the team, he grabbed his wand, threw on his shoes, and raced out of the room, forgetting everything. They all glanced at each other before following.
Oh... what's the price you pay,
For all the ones you try
To save.
"Dumbledore, you have crossed the line," Fudge said, as he slowly paced throughout the room. "First claiming that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, then setting up this little army of yours... and then letting in this ridiculous... things... into your castle?"
Kyashii growled quite menacingly, but she didn't move; the group of Slytherins that Umbridge had recruited were holding wands to them all, and it unnerved and angered her that she couldn't do a thing about it.
"Expelliarmus!" Exclaimed a most familiar voice from behind the door.
In an instant, those holding wands to Kyashii and Espeon lost them to the other side of the room. Just as they flew through the air, the door opened and Nozawa tore through and quickly reached the two Pokémon of his team, completely ignoring everything else.
"Are you two alright?" He asked gently.
Kyashii and Espeon nodded, the latter having explain everything through telepathy already. With a nod, the young professor stood and seemed to finally notice how many wands were pointed at him – every single Slytherin student, along with Fudge and Umbridge. Aromi raised an eyebrow.
"It's almost funny how you all think that will stop us," He commented. "Espeon."
Espeon immediantly went to work. She snatched every single wand in the room with her psychic powers, before putting them all in a pile at the bottom of the stairs that led up to Dumbledore's room, far out of reach. The rest of the team was down there, keeping an eye on them and on anybody that got too curious for what was going on.
"Thank you," Nozawa commented, getting a nod in thanks.
"How dare you!" Umbridge screeched. "You are not needed here! Get out! This is a matter between the headmaster, these fools, and the Minister!"
"Shut up," Came the nigh-on-automatic response. "Your whinny little voice is really getting on my nerves."
"Aromi, my friend," Dumbledore began. "Why is it you are here?"
"Well..." Nozawa began, walking forward to where the DA sign-up sheet was, on the Headmaster's desk. "If you look right here, you'll see why."
Right there, at the very bottom of the list, was the young professor's name.
"So you're involved in Dumbledore's efforts to overthrow me as well?" Fudge began, his paranoia more than blatingly obvious. "To think the dotering old fool brought you all the way from a foreign land just to build up his army."
"Wait, sir," Harry interrupted. "The Professor didn't make it, I did."
"I think not, Harry," Dumbledore said, holding up the list. "The parchment clearly states 'Dumbledore's Army', not 'Potter's Army'."
"And that is why you are to be under arrest," Fudge continued. "Aurors. Get your wands."
With that, several wands flew up into the room, caught by the men around the Minister, as well as his own and Umbridge's. Nozawa was surprised, then realized that they were skilled enough to cast wandless magic. However, Dumbledore also had his out.
"I think not," Dumbledore began to say, standing slowly and putting his wand away in his robes. "If you need help to make your decisions on what next to do, there is a letter upon my desk."
The group of people in the room seemed confused – but Nozawa seemed to nod in understanding.
"Stay safe, Headmaster," he bid to the old man.
"And still, nothing gets by you," Dumbledore chuckled. "Farewell."
With that, Dumbledore's hand shot straight up, Fawkes grabbed it, and they both disappeared in a flash of brilliant light. A couple of minutes of silence passed, before Fudge spoke.
"Well, then," Fudge said. "I suppose that for the safety and better of the school, I shall appoint Professor Umbridge as replacement Headmistress."
"I think not," Aromi said harshly, as he picked up the letter from the desk. "She is unfit for such a position. Besides, you heard the Headmaster; he left instructions in this letter."
"Young man, I am the Minister of Magic," Fudge said quite harshly. "I make the decisions."
"Yeah, really bad ones," The young professor said, rolling his eyes. "You suck at your job. Honestly, cowering in fear from an old man? Pathetic."
"How dare you insult the Minister!" Umbridge screeched, turning to the Aurors. "Aurors, take care of this fiend!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Espeon said harshly, eyes glowing warningly. "Hurt our trainer..."
"...And you have no idea what kind of hell will rain down on you," Kyashii finished coldly. The Aurors paused at the way the two gave their threats with such confidence.
"Why don't we all just take a deep breath, and let's open this letter and read it?" Aromi suggested calmly. With that, he opened the parchment, and began to read outloud. "Hmm... 'I realize that my time at Hogwarts, for now, has come to an end. In my stead, I require someone that I trust to take my position as Headmaster for the greater good of this magnificent school. In my place, I request for'..."
Aormi froze upon the name that was written in the letter. It didn't make any sense at all. Harry, freed from being held by Malfoy, stepped forward and gently took the letter.
"It says..." Harry began, looking to the young professor with a slight awe. "That the only one he trusts enough with this position right now, is you, Professor."
Normally, Professor McGonnagal would have done it; however, an... incident some weeks ago had left her in need of remaining in St. Mungo's to recuperate. Thus the reason for Dumbledore to appoint someone else – and in this case, it was Nozawa.
C'mon, Espeon told her trainer gently. You can do it. You've taught these kids all year; you've dealt with us for eight years. You can do this.
"This is an outrage!" Fudge exclaimed, having snatched the letter forcefully and read it. "I will not stand by and allow a foreigner that knows nothing of our laws to take control of this school!"
"Well... that's too bad," Nozawa said, before taking a deep breath. This was quite the shocker. "Sometimes, Fudge, things happen that even the head politician can't do anything about. So suck it up and deal with it, because remember, this letter was made before the Headmaster left – which therefore means his statement still holds power."
Fudge was furious at this; he motioned to the Aurors to stun the young man all the way to St. Mungo's. What happened next he didn't expect. The men that were his Aurors were suddenly either completely unconscious, or had been hit by one very powerful Thunderbolt attack and knocked to the floor, twitching madly and unable to get up from the intense pain. Espeon and Kyashii looked absolutely furious. There was a momentary silence.
"They warned you," Nozawa said unforgivingly. Another deep breath, before he spoke again. "Now take your Aurors, and get out. And take Umbridge with you."
"You... you can't do this!" Umbridge exclaimed.
"Shut up," Aromi hissed, his voice cold, freezing almost everyone in the room. "If the Headmaster wishes me to replace him, if only for the time being, then so be it – and I will not tolerate a child abuser in these walls. Get. Out."
"And do it before we make you," Kyashii warned, her fur crackling readily with electricity.
Both Umbridge and Fudge were outraged; their wands snapped up, ready to go – but they soon vanished as they were both hit by two very quickly fired Disarming Charms and then taken away by a couple of Summoning Charms.
"Leave," Nozawa began threateningly. "And I'll snap your wands."
"Er... Professor?" Ron said slowly. "Don't you mean 'or I'll snap your wands'?"
"Depends on how quickly they listen."
As the two watched, the young professor held Umbridge's wand above his knee, slowly bending it, clearly ready to snap it in two. With that, the two, with faces flush red from anger, fled the scene. Without a moment of hesitation, Aromi proceeded to snap both wands.
"What the – I thought you said maybe!" Harry exclaimed.
"Don't tell me your complaining, Mr. Potter," Nozawa said. "Think about it; she's caused a lot of trouble for this place, and only because she thought that having a wand and being an adult gave her the right to do so. By removing the wand factor, she becomes weak and powerless, and the same is said for the Minister – and without either of them being hurt."
Harry had to pause at this. The explanation made sense. It was a lot better to simply remove one's ability to use a wand, if only until they get a replacement, than to physically harm them. With that, everyone except the DA members were dismissed, and Nozawa's team came up to meet him. By the time the students and their Pokémon went to bed, many things had been decided.
First, it was decided that all teachers capable of teaching would continue to do so. Second, someone needed to fill the spot of Defense Against the Dark Arts, while someone else substituted for McGonnagal in her absence. Nozawa's team would be teaching the Care of Strange Creatures class in his stead, since they knew the lesson plan already. Finally, it was soon found that many things would be changing for the rest of the year with this sudden change of control.
Credits: Quote spoken by Robin Williams. Song lyrics from "Light of the Day/Dark of the Night" by the amazing Shaun Barrowes.
A/N: Well, at least Umbridge is gone. That's a good thing, right? Oh, wait... she's supposed to become afraid of centaurs, right? Hmm. I suppose I could somehow fit that in. :D Anyway... review, review, review!