Another battle was waged before their group even got back to the Gryffindor common room, when Professor McGonagall had insisted that Luna, as a Ravenclaw, return to the House she was sorted into.

Neville and Ginny had refused to allow this, and Hillevi had put her prosthetic down at that moment, swearing that the girl would never step foot in Ravenclaw tower again so long as she had a say in the matter.

It was Hermione, who had been conversing quietly with Dexter, that found a solution to their problem in an old rule that said a student could switch Houses if a relative or future relative was in that House and their guardian agreed.

A quick note to Luna's father, and she was a Gryffindor.

Hillevi looked over her friends, quiet in the face of what had happened and the gossip of the upperclassmen, as Dexter chirped and buzzed in his research of Honor Battles, Sneasel, and Mienfoo.

"Alright, I have no idea what happened." Harry admitted. "One of you mind cluing me in?"

"I second that." Hillevi agreed, raising her hand slightly.

"What's got you confused, mate?" Ron wondered.

"I'd like to know what I got signed up for that could result in me losing Eevee!"

"Well, I admit it would be bloody annoying, but I don't see why it would be that big of a deal."

Both stared at the Weasley incredulously, Cloudjumper screeching in affront.

"Ron! Eevee's my friend! It is a big deal to lose him forever!"

"Lose him for-Oh!"

Hermione sat up, typing rapidly on her Pokedex.

"Yes, of course! I keep forgetting that you know so little about Avalon customs. I just sent you both a guide so you can read up on it. Something that just gives the pointers."

Dexter PINGED as the pdf arrived, opening it for Hillevi to see, and the Valhallan stared incredulously.

"A hundred and fifty-seven pages?"

"What, too short?" Hermione wondered. "I did find one that goes into more detail about the bowing technique…"

"Leave it to you, Hermione, to make something like a Pokemon battle dull." Ron cut in. "Look mate, I'll break it down real simple. In Avalon, there are families. Many of them are just that, families. Mum, dad, so on. Occasionally, though, one of them goes and does something important. Defeats an army, find a new Pokemon, so on and so forth. They do that, and they get honored by the House of Trainers. Sometimes it's just a medal, other times they get some reward, but if they did something really special, they get a title."

"Like Hillevi." James spoke up from his spot leaning on the couch, scanning the room. "Except for a whole family."

"They become a Noble Family." Ron agreed.

"It's a holdover from the days of Merlin and the Founders." Hermione explained.

"Take my family." Neville started, seeing the confusion that lingered. "We got the title of Noble because my ancestor, Finnegan Longbottom, managed to cut a route through the Knight Forest and open easier trade routes between southern and northern Avalon."

"Okay, so what did the Potters do?" Harry wondered. "I've heard of us referred to as the Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

"No one knows." Hermione admitted begrudgingly, the mystery likely eating at her. "The Potters have always been Ancient and Noble, at least according to the history books."

"Alright, back to my point." Ron voiced, waving the thought off. "There are then the Ancient Families. They get that title when the family holds a position of some kind for at least four generations. Around half the Gym Leaders in Avalon are from Ancient Families. The Longbottoms, the Potters, the Weasleys…"

"It used to be all of them were." Hermione informed them. "But then the War happened, and a lot of families were lost. The Black family is either dead or imprisoned, for example."

"It's the same on Valhalla, actually." Hillevi noted, running a hand down Cloudjumper's cool feathers as Dexter floated around her head. "My family founded Valhalla hundreds of years ago, and have been High Chieftain since then. No other family has gotten the title of Ancient because none last long enough as Chief of anywhere."

"Okay, this interesting, but I'd like to get to the part about me giving up Eevee." Harry reminded the group.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Neville apologized. "I should have consulted you first, and let you know what was going on."

"Nev, I get it. If I was betrothed or whatever you and Luna are, I'd have reacted the same way. But now I'd like some straight answers."

"In the last one hundred years, there have been three major wars. The most recent was the Johto-Kanto Warm which was fought between the Sons of Johto, led by Jack Kenway, and the armies of Kanto, led by Lance Blackthorn and Hirosama Koga."

Hermione tapped a couple buttons on Dexter's screen, earning a giggle as she activated the hologram function to show the image of a bold-looking young man giving a speech.

"The first war, and the largest, was started by Team Manifest, led by the Hoenn terrorist Grindelwald. He preached that all regions should be united under one flag."

"He wanted to rule the bloody world." Ron translated.

"He was defeated by the headmaster." Hermione continued, another poke-and-giggle changing the image to that of a tall, handsome-looking man with shaggy brown hair and cold eyes. "The second you know about. Avalon League Champion Tom Riddle, otherwise known as-"

"Voldemort." Harry finished on a whisper.

Dexter shivered at the title, shutting the image off and rushing to Hillevi for comfort as Hermione coughed.

"Right. The thing is, Harry, two hundred years ago, there had been in Avalon thirty wars in just fifteen years."

"What? Why?" Harry stammered.

"You had a lot of different families, each one with their own loyal followers, constantly butting heads over the smallest and silliest things." Hermione explained with a sigh. "Honor is a huge part of Avalon's history, and Ancient and Noble Families don't like it when they feel that other people aren't showing them the respect they deserve. Then one day, the House of Trainers hit upon a brilliant idea. They created Honor Battles, which allowed families to settle their differences with Pokemon in controlled battles rather than in bloody wars."

"So like Honor Duels." Hillevi voiced, brow furrowing. "Kinda. With less blood. And dying. I guess."

"Okay, great." Harry agreed, eyeing the Valhallan for a moment. "So what exactly is an Honor Battle?"

"Just what it sounds like, Harry." Ron replied. "Two trainers, one of whom if from at least a Noble or Ancient House, battle each other with their Pokemon. The entire thing is arranged by neutral third parties, in this case our Head of House and Professor Flitwick, and done in front of a group of witnesses to make sure everything is fair. There are agreed upon terms-"

"Like me losing Eevee forever?"

"Harry, do you think I'd ever risk Flora, or Eevee?" Neville wondered.

"Well, no…"

"To surrender a Pokemon is symbolic." James voiced, apparently tired of how long it was taking to answer the question. "All about showing how merciful the person is when they give them back."

"Huh?"

"Again, it's all about honor." Hermione elaborated. "By giving up your Pokemon and needing your opponent to give it back, you are surrendering to them and their whims. It's a way to show they're better than you. You won't lose Eevee, just have to deal with some embarrassment if Chang and Edgecombe win and they make a big show if handing back Eevee to show how magnanimous they are. There's no way any of the professors would let them, or us, keep any Pokemon."

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?!" Both Harry and Hillevi shouted, frustrated.

James gave a slow blink before straightening, Sting leaning over to whisper something in his ear.

"Come on. Gonna show you something."

Sensing what was going on, Hillevi nodded, her and Hermione dragging Ron along so Neville and Harry could speak in private.

After all, they had a lot to talk about.