A/N: Another few days, another story posted, and then I get this chapter up. Another chink in the armor for ol'... er, sorry, young Professor Aromi Nozawa. Just watch him work. :)
Chapter Nineteen
You Have Trespassed Upon the Heart of My Friends.
"What should we do...?" Pidgey asked quietly, unsure as she watched their trainer toss and turn again.
There was an oppressive silence for a while, nobody in Harry's team sure of what they should do. At last, Riolu seemed to have an idea.
"I think that we should just wait and see if he's alright," Riolu said. "Stay close by."
The rest of the team nodded, going no farther from their trainer than the edges of the bed. As the young man continued to toss and turn, minutes and seconds seemed to crawl by. The four Pokémon could only hope that he would be alright... until, at last, he bolted upright, drenched in a cold sweat.
"Harry!" Riolu exclaimed, hugging him tightly the moment he woke up. "Are you alright?"
"Sirius..." Harry said, shaking his head. "Sirius is in trouble!"
The team exchanged looks. Another vision.
"What do you think we should do?" Pidgey asked her trainer, gently. Harry bit his lip slightly.
"We need to go save him," He said. "Voldemort has him captured, and they're torturing him for information."
"Let's go see Professor Nozawa," Absol said calmly. "He should be able to help us figure it out."
Harry nodded. In his eyes, they needed to go rescue his godfather – and soon. Very soon. So with that, and with his entire team following, they raced down to where the older trainer was staying. Upon arriving, the young man opened the door, and raised an eyebrow at the expression of panic on his student's face.
"What are you so panicked for, Mr. Potter?" Nozawa said, yawning slightly.
"It's Sirius," Harry said shortly. "He's been captured."
Aromi frowned at this news. A question popped into his mind.
"And how do you know this – in the dead of night, no less?" The professor's brain, though tired, was beginning to click and set the gears in motion.
"I saw it, professor!" Harry exclaimed. Most definitely not panicking. "I saw Voldemort torturing him!"
The professor's frown deepened as he narrowed his eyes slightly. The rest of his team had been woken up by the knock as well, and were now just as awake as he was. After a moment of thinking, he came to a decision.
"Absol and Pidgey, would you fetch Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger?" Nozawa said at last, nodding to his team to get ready. Things were going to get chaotic, he could feel it. "Tell them to meet us in the headmaster's office."
Harry, at first, was pleased he was being listened to... until they reached their destination, that is. The older trainer had everyone, except for Kyashii, in their Pokéballs and on his belt. Once in the office, with his friends there as well, he explained everything he'd seen in his mind, growing more and more anxious to go to the Ministry of Magic and save his godfather. No matter what he said, the professor wouldn't let him leave.
"Relax, Harry," Nozawa said at last, standing up and turning around to the fireplace nearby. "You may use this fireplace to contact Grimmauld Place, but you will not leave this office. Am I clear?"
"But Professor –!" Harry exclaimed, concern overwhelming common sense.
"No, Mr. Potter," Aromi insisted, making it clear that there would be no argument otherwise.
With a sigh, Harry made do with what he was allowed to do. Kneeling at the fireplace, he quickly learned from Kreacher that Sirius was gone and had yet to return, thus causing the boy to panic even further. Rolling his eyes, Aromi pushed the boy to sit down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
"Enough, Mr. Potter," Aromi said seriously. "Either calm down, or I will force-feed you a Calming Drought. Do I make myself clear?"
Finally being threatened with a forced calmness, Harry took as many deep breaths as necessary to relax as much as he dared. Common sense was finally returned, as well, if only a smidgen.
"Now answer a few questions of mine, if you will," The professor said.
"Why should I, professor?" Harry snapped.
"Humor me. Did you set up your mental barriers before you went to sleep?"
Harry was about to snap another response, before he paused. He suddenly realized that, no, he hadn't. As the adrenaline continued to wear off, his logical center continued to regain control.
"Then tell me... how do you know that what you saw was real?"
Harry bit his lip. He had to admit it – he didn't know. Not for certain. But it was so similar to the real version, he couldn't tell if it was or not.
"Professor, I still need to check, just to be sure," Harry said sternly.
Not rudely, just with such conviction that Nozawa got the feeling that dissuading the young man would be difficult, if not impossible. As such, the professor sighed and rubbed his temples for a minute.
"Fine," Nozawa finally conceeded. "I will let you go, on several conditions."
Harry nodded, paying attention.
"If, for any reason, it even remotely seems like it would be a trap," Nozawa said. "You are to run away."
"What!" Harry exclaimed at this. "But that's cowardly!"
"No, it's not," The young man said, shaking his head. "It takes a brave man to go into danger; it takes an even braver man to know when to back down. Cowards are the ones who do the easy thing, because it will be the most likely way to survive."
"He's right, Harry," Hermione cut in.
"Thank you, Ms. Granger," Nozawa said, before continuing. "Anyway, other conditions. You must return your team to their Pokéballs and take them with you. Even if you told them to stay, I'm sure they'd find a way to follow you anyway, so might as well just bring them with you."
Harry looked to Riolu, whom was nodding at this. Sighing, the boy-who-lived agreed to this one.
"Third, take some friends from DA with you. I'm sure they'd just force you to take them as well."
Hermione and Ron nodded at this as well.
"Finally... I'll meet you there."
Imagine the confusion on the students' faces.
"What, you think I'd let my students walk into danger like idiots?"
The trio blushed at this, considering the fact that they, even Hermione, sometimes acted kinda stupid. So with that, the golden trio were dismissed to get ready for an adventure.
This is the clock upon the wall,
This is the story of us all.
This is the first sound of a newborn child,
Before he starts to crawl.
By the time Harry and his friends had gathered and were ready, a team consisting of everyone with Pokémon in their Pokéballs, they had left through the use of the invisible creatures that only Harry and Luna seemed capable of seeing – Thestrals. After quite a ride, they landed before the phone booth that Harry had used to get into the Ministry the past summer for his hearing. Very quickly, they were admitted into the hidden place, where they soon found their way through to the place known as the Department of Mysteries. Upon entry, the room spun round and round, the doors looking identical to the one they'd used to get in. After quite a bit of trial and error, the group found themselves in a place holding thousands upon thousands of little crystal balls.
"Where are we?" Ron asked, looking about, wand at the ready just like everyone else.
"This is where I saw Sirius being tortured..." Harry said quietly, cautiously walking ahead.
"What are they?" Neville asked, just as prepared.
"Harry," Luna called from ahead. "This one's got your name on it."
Frowning, the scarred boy walked over to where his friend was, his team of six following closely. Noticing that, indeed, that orb had his name on it, but as he reached for it, something seemed off.
"Harry, wait," Hermione said sharply, making her friend freeze in his tracks. He recognized that warning tone, and his gut said to listen to it. "Before you take it, let's set up some barriers."
Harry paused to think, before nodding. It would be a good idea to do that. So for the next few minutes, the group of them set to work carefully setting up either barriers that would render them invisible, traps that would slow people other than them down, or just generally alert them to someone else's presence. Then he picked it up, and in an instant, those alarms went off.
"Don't move," Harry whispered sharply to his friends, as several dark pillars appeared and zoomed down to floor level, where people appeared. "Death Eaters."
There were various nods as said enemies appeared. The Boy-Who-Lived swore quite colorfully in his mind as he realized how much of a trap this was. The few people that had appeared approached, dispelling the protective enchantments almost too easily.
"Now, then, Potter," Said a cold, far-too-familiar voice. The voice of one Lucius Malfoy. "Hand over the prophecy if you know what's good for you."
"When I say so, run," Harry whispered to his friends. They all nodded ever so slightly.
"Oh," Began a female, clearly-insane voice as another person slowly trotted up to them. "Wittle itty bitty Potter twinks he can outwun us."
Then, in a whirlwind of motion and emotions, lots of things happened. First, Neville, recognizing the new person as Bellatrix Lestrange, had gone after her to avenge his parents. The ones she had driven to insanity with the Cruciatus Curse. Second... well, things were just insane at the moment. As they ran from the room of crystal balls, something else happened.
"What the –!" Harry exclaimed, as an umbrella was thrown just barely above his head, as he and friends ducked instinctively.
"Engorgio!" Called a familiar voice. The already large umbrella grew in size by a factor of about three.
It stopped several curses and hexes from reaching the students, as Hermione recognized the perpetrator.
"Professor!" She exclaimed, watching as he nodded to them only slightly before turning and signaling for them to follow him out.
"There's a spot the Order is meeting us, keep up," He said shortly. Then he stopped and turned. "Go. I'll be there in a moment."
As he said this, the umbrella was quickly being destroyed, but it had bought them all the seconds necessary to give them time to escape. Shoving his arm into his side bag, expanded and enlightened to fit all of the random junk he'd grabbed that he thought could have a use with magic at their back. Such as a quill with the pen pointed at the target.
"Engorgio!" Nozawa cast the same spell, causing the sharp feather to grow exponentially.
Someone on the other side of the umbrella, as holes appeared in it, grunted from being stabbed by a big, flying quill. In that moment, the professor followed his students out. From there, he found his way to where they had ended up – a great, big room. Full of stones and what seemed to be an arch filled with some odd film-like stuff.
"Riolu, help me out!" He could hear as he approached. Seems like the Pokémon were getting involved now, as spells were also being cast.
"Everyone!" Nozawa ordered, letting out his entire team, except for one. He would save her power for later, when needed. "Jump right into the fight, guys, and don't get too badly hurt."
With that, the group of them dived into the fight, and in an instant, the trainer found himself doing a one-on-one with a Death Eater. He'd played upon his pride in an instant, telling him that only a coward would resort to Unforgivables. In response, the fighter had gotten frustrated and fallen exactly for Aromi's trap. By continuously playing on the man's pride, not once did he cast any of the Unforgivable Curses.
"Im—" Began the Death Eater, before stopping and shaking his head, grinding his teeth. "Stupify!"
"Protego!" Nozawa countered, keeping his mind connected to Espeon as best he could. "Incarcerous!"
Chains immediantly appeared and tied the Death Eater up. Just as Nozawa was about to incapacitate the man, his eyes widened and he turned suddenly to Espeon. There, he saw as Sirius, Harry, and Espeon had been fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. There, the witch had cast the torture spell upon the Pokémon... and as a result, even though the creature took all the pain, the memories that sprung up to the forefront of her mind were shared. With the entire team. Something happened to Aromi's emotional armor in that moment. He turned to his original opponent, nothing less than pure rage upon his face.
"I don't have time to waste dealing with a weakling like you," He hissed harshly. "Stupify."
The Death Eater was unconscious in an instant, but Nozawa was gone before that, and intercepting Bellatrix's second cast of Crucio on Espeon, her cackling stopping as he did so.
"Protego Maxima!" He exclaimed, stopping the attack in its tracks, before ending his dash in front of Espeon and the other two, protectively. "Oh, I hope you understand what hell you've just brought upon yourself... you son of a bitch!"
Bellatrix cackled with a wicked smile on her countenance.
"Oh, does the mudblood professor think he can take me?" She taunted. Nozawa's smirk was dark enough to make her falter for a second.
"Oh, I don't think that," He said, releasing his final Pokémon. "I know so. Kyashii, take care of Espeon... that spell caused those memories to come up. Harry, Sirius, everyone else, go kick some butt... I'm gonna beat this fiend to something resembling a bloody pulp."
Bellatrix cackled again, as her fellow Death Eater nearby was taken over by Sirius and Algida. It took Lucario to drag Harry to another fight, or away to watch.
"What do you think you can do to me, mudblood?" She cackled.
"Show you what happens when you do something like that," Nozawa hissed. Lucario recognized this rage as one that gave his trainer an aura resembling that like hellfire. "You, Bellatrix Lestrange, have trespassed upon the heart of my friends and family. I suggest you prepare yourself."
"How are you gonna get revenge, wittle professor?" Bellatrix mocked, only slightly intimidated. She was just that insane. "You don't even know that many spells."
"Oh, no, I don't," He admitted. "But the ones I do know, I can cast faster than you can keep up."
"Then let's see you do it!"
As the conversation was going on, there was a short pause as Kyashii told her trainer to avenge Espeon for making her relive those painful memories – and Nozawa swore he would. A few seconds passed as even some of the other fights, with experienced Order and Death Eaters, were interested in how much damage this young man could do.
"Avada –" Bellatrix began, planning to kill the man instantly.
"Reducto!" Nozawa interrupted, aiming directly at the woman's feet. The rock there was blown apart just in time for her to trip up and cancel the incantation. As she was falling, he was casting another spell. "Expelliarmus! Incarcerous! Silencio!"
In the span of two seconds, three different spells were cast, successfully. First, Bellatrix's wand went flying straight up into the air. Second, chains shot out and tightened up and bound her arms to her sides tightly. Finally, her vocal chords stopped working.
"You don't have time to be impressed, bitch," Nozawa hissed harshly. He pointed his wand at the one still falling through the air. "Accio!"
In the moment that Bellatrix's released wand was summoned, the man put his own in his back pocket and, without pause once he caught the summoned one, he snapped said wand over his knee.
"Inhuman people like you don't deserve the privileged use of a wand," He told her as he tossed the pieces aside and grabbed his own again. "Let me show you how a real fight goes. Carpe Retractum!"
A powerful, golden band shot out and wrapped around Bellatrix's waist, before being tugged upon and causing her to be pulled straight towards him, pulled up from where she'd crashed into the ground. His knee was waiting for her arrival, thereby running right in to her stomach.
"Look out!" Lucario called from behind, safely stopping another Death Eater from hitting the young trainer.
"Thanks," Nozawa replied before getting back to work.
As the older trainer continued to pummel Bellatrix, well and truly showing those that even though his rage had given him a sort of tunnel vision – which very nearly got him killed – crossing his path was a poor idea. When she finally was left on the ground, a bloody nose and several bruises on her, he stopped with the physical beating. During that time, three times had his friends had to save his back from being stabbed. The silence spell had long since worn off.
"What're you gonna do, mudblood?" Bellatrix taunted, voice weak as she lay there, the chains having been reinforced several times. "Are you gonna kill me?"
Nozawa remained silent for a moment, before smirking darkly.
"Hell no, that'd be too good for you," Nozawa said harshly. "I've got one better."
"Then let's see it, mudblood!"
"Fine, then... Obliviate."
With a twist of the wrist and a glowing wand, rather than take his revenge by killing the damn Death Eater, he instead completely and utterly eradicated her mind of all the memories she ever had. With the help of his team and the rest of the Order, the Death Eaters soon retreated, taking Bellatrix with them. Soon enough, the students and the professor were taken back to Hogwarts while the Order went to Grimmauld place, hoping to reconvene and plan for other things.
During the battle, Dumbledore had appeared just as Voldemort had, shortly followed by the Aurors and the Minister finding out the truth of the situation at last. After quite a bit of talking in Dumbledore's office, the students returned to their beds, only to find that the next day was Saturday and that there were no classes. Thankfully, of course. The first thing the golden trio – and a couple of others – did was visit Professor Nozawa. Upon arrival to his class, they found him inside his office/bedroom, keeping a close eye on Espeon. Said psychic-type was whimpering slightly as he petted her gently, quietly. The entire team was there as well, quietly supporting her as well. Lucario gently alerted his trainer to whom was there, and Nozawa sighed and nodded, coming out. He didn't bother closing the door yet.
"What's up, guys?" Aromi said to them, recognizing the trio along with the twins and Neville.
"We... we were wondering..." Neville began. His parents having been tortured in the same way by the same person, he was truly worried.
"If Espeon was alright?" Aromi asked gently. The group nodded.
Aromi looked over his shoulder and watched Espeon for a moment, thinking. Deciding.
"Kyashii, would you take care of her?" He asked the Luxray gently, whom nodded and quickly slid right up next to Espeon.
The little Pokémon curled up against the bigger one, whimpering and crying into the blue-and-black fur of the Luxray. Nozawa sighed as he turned to the students, Lucario slipping out. He smirked to the other one who rubbed their head sheepishly. Harry's Riolu had, in the midst of the fighting the day before, evolved.
"Alright, you may as well take some seats," Aromi said, starting slowly and gently. "This story may take a while to get through."
The students looked at each other, before grabbing some chairs and sitting, Pokémon as well. They listened intently as the professor began to explain...
Credits: The song lyrics are from "Pictures of You" by "The Last Goodnight." The quote is from "Yu-Gi-Oh", spoken by Yami Yugi. I thought it fit here, as you saw. :D
A/N: Well, the emotional part is coming for the next chapter. I wonder if you can wonder what kind of hells I'm going to show that Espeon went through in Nozawa's early Pokémon Trainer career. I want to see how many of you will cry as a result (or at least tear up :D). Anyway, review on this chapter, please! ^-^