Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Pokémon. The only thing I do own is the story idea.

"Talk"

'Think'

"Telepathy"

AN: This one took awhile to right for the same reason last chapter did. I had a dozen ways that it could have gone and couldn't decide on which. :/ Thank you so much for the reviews/follows/and Fav's! At any rate, the long awaited Zoroark meets Harry chapter! I really hope you guys like it. I feel like I hyped it up far too much. .

Chapter 5

Harry couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, couldn't even blink. His heart hammered a million miles an hour in his throat as he took in the strange beast before him. It was tall, though perhaps somewhat shorter than himself and vaguely bipedal. Its claws were coated crimson, either from blood or natural design, and its eyes were lined in a similar colored fur, hinting perhaps more at natural design for the claws, rather than some unfortunate animal's demise. Sharp teeth showed when it opened its maw, and it was close, very close to Harry. He was pretty sure that if he wanted to, and he didn't, he could reach out and brush his fingers against the creature's fur…probably right before it ripped his face off.

The sticks in Harry's hand clattered together as the creature stepped even closer, a soft guttural growl echoing from deep within its thin chest as it sniffed him, its nose mere inches from his own. Harry couldn't help but squeak, though later he would deny that such a girlish sound ever escaped from his lips, and wondered where Ron was. Another growl sent the sticks in his hand to clatter to the ground as instinct flared inside of him. He ran, or tried to at any rate, his feet feeling heavy and decidedly not his as he tripped over an exposed root and went down. His wrist flared with pain, but he scrambled back up to his feet, his body twisting to look behind him, where he was sure the beast was and…it wasn't. It wasn't there.

He made to run again, his thoughts on getting back to the Weasley's, telling them about the beast inside the woods, before a heavy weight slammed against him and he fell once more against the forest floor, his breath escaping his lungs in a sudden "Oof!"

The beast loomed over him as he wiggled onto his back, his heart once more pumping painfully in his chest. Its bright blue eyes looked at him, seemingly weighing him and finding something amiss. It leaned closer, muzzle touching his throat and Harry whimpered, his mind flashing to those sharp teeth he had seen mere moments before. This was it. He was going to die, alone in the forest, mauled by some strange creature that even his books hadn't told him about and without even getting to see his first authentic Quidditich match and…it sniffed him. The beast had pressed its muzzle to his throat and sniffed him.

'Do I smell weird?' Harry couldn't help but think as he stayed very still. Maybe it was like a T-Rex and could only sight him and it was confused? He didn't know, but he prayed for some sort of distraction so he could wiggle free and run off.

"Zorua?" Oh joy, he was going mad to. He was hearing voices! Saying random words that didn't make a lick of sense!

"Zorua…you are…I have found you." The voice said again, once more the words going directly into his head rather than being spoken. Maybe when he had fallen he had hit his head…and was dead…or dying…beating eaten or something.

"Calm yourself little one. I will not harm you. You are not dead, dying or being mauled. I would never harm you," the voice said as the beast moved off of him, sitting on its haunches as it continued to study him.

"That's….you…that's you speaking? In my head? How?" Harry asked, his heart calming quickly despite the fact that he really wanted to run. There was just something about the creature that…that he knew he could trust, at least a little bit.

The beast smiled, though the look was more scary than anything else, "Telepathy, my little Zorua. Now I must ask you a question. How did you get here? You were so far away before…"

"I don't know what you mean, not really," Harry said as he sat up, rubbing his palms together as he eyed the dirt stains on his pants and the scraps on his hands. "I…uh…came here with some friends and their family. What…what are you, exactly?"

The beast tilted its head, blinking slightly as it took in his words, "I am Zoroark, not beast or creature. I am a Pokémon, though many of our kind are long gone now," it said as it sighed, its shoulder slumping a little. It seemed to perk up again though, glancing at him with eyes filled with some sort emotion, "And you are Zorua. You sent for me, woke me from slumber. Woke us from slumber. Your energy was far reaching. It is…good to have finally found you."

Harry nodded his head slowly, pulling himself up to his feet and dusting himself off as he thought about the…Pokémon's words. He had no idea what it was talking about, but felt it best to play along…you know, before it decided he made a better snack than a conversation partner.

"You do not believe me," the Zoroark said, its tone soft and regretful, "I thought something like this could happen, considering your form is…different. You must have stayed transformed for so long, you've forgotten…but no matter. What I speak is the truth, little Zorua. You are a Pokémon, like myself. Please…come with me. I can keep you safe and happy. You could meet others of our kind."

"I can't," Harry replied lightly as he moved to pick up the sticks, his movements slow, but sure. He wanted something in his hands to fight with, just in case, and considering he was underage, a stick was better than a wand. He didn't want to be expelled just yet, or ever really. "I…look, it was nice talking to you, really it was, but I gotta get back to the others. I gotta go home with them. You're…you're a nice Zoroark, or whatever, and I…I mean, I have to go now."

"You can't! You can't leave me! I…I searched for so long. Why won't you see the truth, little Zorua!"

"I'm not that….whatever! I'm not a Zorua! I'm a human...a….a wizard! I…I'm not what you think I am," Harry said sharply in reply as he back stepped away from the frazzled Pokémon, his hands clenching the sticks almost painfully in his grasp. As the Zoroark stepped forward, Harry once more stepped back, his face set in a determined glare that seemed to wilt the animal before him into a depressed air.

"But you are…" it said gently, she really. Now that Harry bothered to notice, the tone of voice was distinctly female and he felt a small pang of shame for calling it an it for so long. "If only I could make you see reason. Even your fur shows that you are what I say. The red tips are distinctive of a Zorua and it does not smell fake. You are a Zorua, little one. Please, try and remember."

Unconsciously, Harry ran a finger through his hair, remembering the crimson tips that had sprouted a few weeks into his animagus practice. The color had stayed despite his best efforts and he even liked it, or had liked it. Now it had gotten him into trouble with an animal that seemed bound in determined to make Harry believe what it said about him being a…Zorua or whatever. "That's from something else," he replied evenly, his breathing harsh in his ears.

The Zoroark growled darkly, shaking her head at the child before her. She had wondered about the human form it currently took, had thought several reasons behind it, but now…now she was concerned. Perhaps the child had been pretending for so long, he no longer knew what he was anymore. As for the human tongue it spoke, any intelligent Pokémon could manage the words with enough practice. She remembered a meowth from her younger years who spoke the language fluently enough.

She once more stepped forward, her tone more pleading than before, "Little one," she said gently, but as she stepped forward, the child stepped back. The sight of it caused an ache in her chest, a horrible feeling when she imagined such a meeting to be filled with such joy.

"I…I'm sorry for…waking you up, or whatever, but I gotta go," Harry once more replied, his tone edging toward pleading as he stepped back again.

"Please, Little one. If you stay I can show you the truth," Zoroark stated, trying again to gain the little one's trust.

"-Ry!"

A shout distracted them, causing Harry's head to twist to the north, a look of relief on his face.

"Harry! Where'd you get to?" Ron yelled and Harry looked back at the Zoroark, his shoulders sagging a bit as he noted that it was distracted by the voice and rather…torn on action. It looked like it wanted to bolt, but that it also wanted to stay and speak with him some more.

"Harry?!"

Harry glanced at the Pokémon, bit his lip, before shaking his head quickly, "I'm sorry!" he said gently as he hefted the sticks a bit and took off, leaving the Pokémon behind as he raced over to where Ron's voice was. The Pokémon didn't follow, but the aching cry that he heard made his heart constrict painfully. He felt sorry for it, really, but he was pretty sure he wasn't what it thought he was anyway.

"Here Ron! Sorry, I…uh, fell down an embankment, had a bit of trouble getting back up it," Harry lied as he spotted his red-headed friend. Despite his earlier notion to run back and tell them about the beast, something now told him to stay silent about it. Having lived so long due to trusting his instincts, Harry obeyed that little something in him. As for Ron, the boy simply looked relieved at his appearance.

"I can see that mate, bad luck there. At least nothing ripped and you got a decent amount of kindling too, so let's head back. Forest got a bit creepy and Dad's probably aching for that fire about now," Ron said as he hefted his own load of sticks. There were more than what Harry carried, but that didn't matter. Between the two of them, it was more than enough…hopefully. "Don't know about you, but I could go for a cuppa myself. Bit of a long morning, yeah?"

Harry hmed in reply, his mind on the beast he had left behind. It had seemed so sad.

"Mate?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, cup of tea sounds nice, really. Could wake me up a bit," he replied evenly, a small grin on his face as they left the forest behind them and headed back to camp.

By the time the Quidditch match started, everyone's money bags were considerably lighter than before and their pockets bursting with trinkets from small stands littered about the campground. They had to go through a big of the forest to get to the stands, which made Harry a little twitchy, wondering if the Zoroark would pop out again, but it didn't and he relaxed a little, before making the arduous climb up the steps to the top seats.

"Seats about a hundred thousand," Mr. Weasley said excitedly as he spotted the awed looks on his children's faces, as well as Harry's and Hermione's. "At any rate, just keep moving up, we'll be at our seats soon."

They climbed up some more, the velvet carpet squishy and soft beneath their feet as they reached the box seats and filed down them. Harry took a seat between Hermione and Ron, Charlie next and so on and so forth, before gazing about the stadium, a wide grin splitting his face as he made his omnioculars record a man several yards below them pick his nose again and again. It was childish, but immensely hilarious, though his actions caused Hermione to roll her eyes at him a bit.

A quick glance about the area showed a diminutive House Elf, who introduced herself as Winky only after Harry called her Dobby by accident, cowering in a seat close to the edge. She was apparently terrified of heights to an insane degree, but ordered by her Master to remain up in the box, to save his seat for him.

"So that's a house-elf," Ron commented lightly as he shook his head a bit at the things strange mutterings, "Weird things. Was Dobby like that?"

"Weirder," Harry replied with a wry grin as he fiddled with the replay knob on the side of his omnioculars, chuckling as he watched the man from before, who had picked his nose; smear the evidence on the seat next to him. Still the thought of the house-elf behind him, and Dobby from before, made him a bit wary. On principal, he found it difficult to take house elves at face value and shifted his robes closer around himself, his wand laying a bit on his lap as a just in case precaution.

Hermione, meanwhile, was riffling through a program, velvet covered much like the carpets and decorated with gold tassels, "They're going to show the mascots before the match. That sounds interesting; I wonder what the teams brought with them!" she exclaimed eagerly as she skimmed through the rest.

"Oh, that's always worth watching," Charlie said with a grin, "The National Teams bring creatures from their native lands, you know, and the Bulgarians have some…interesting creatures," he added, causing Bill to snort a little and grin at his brother.

"I agree, very interesting creatures," He agreed as he sat back in his seat.

The box they were sitting in filled gradually around them over the course of a half hour, causing Mr. Weasley to shake hands with those he knew and for Percy to continuously jump out of his seat to and do the same, making him look a bit like a fool. It was only after bowing a bit too low, and shattering his glasses against the floor, did he take his seat and keep it, too embarrassed to continue to meet and greet with those in such high political power after such a display of, well, idiocy.

The only downside had been the Malfoys sitting behind them. They had arrived, some harsh words were said and a fight only narrowly avoided thanks to Mr. Fudge and Bagman popping up to get things underway. Everyone took their seats and, with a grin, Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and uttered, "Sonorus!" When he spoke, his voice was magnified by quite a lot, becoming his own human microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World up!"

The first mascot's to show were Charlie and Bill's favorite, supposedly, Veela. At first, Harry was quite confused at first as a multitude of woman, beautiful and ethereal woman came out onto the field and started to dance. As they did so, people around him went a bit mad, climbing on the edge of their seats or over one another.

"Ron!" Hermione grouched as she grabbed the back of his robes just before the boy decided that jumping from the box like one would off a springboard was a good idea. An awkward moment passed for Harry, as he wondered why the Veela hadn't had any effect on him, while the men around him, even Malfoy, acted as though their brains stopped working correctly. Still, no one had seemed to have noticed and he had acted a bit spacey enough he assumed, amused at everyone else's reactions, that no one would question his reactions, or lack thereof.

The music stopped though and the veela quit their dancing to line up near the edge of the field. The Irish were next, and while a little less impressive than the veela, leprechauns were interesting to watch as well. Although one leprechaun seemed to enjoy going in circles, rather than followed the set design as the whole lot of them made shapes in the sky with their glittering lanterns, showering gold upon the people beneath them.

Ron gleefully shunted a pile of gold onto Harry, "There, for the omnioculars. Now you have to get me a present," He stated with a grin. Harry eyed the gold dubiously, but accepted it all the same. He didn't want to start a tiff with Ron now, though anyone could see that the gold was fake…or could they? A glance behind him showed that even Malfoy had pocketed the gold. It did look real, right down to the mint, but there was just something…off about it, like it was an illusion. Shaking his head, Harry decided he'd ask later and pocketed the gold before Ron caught him studying it overly much.

The mascots done with their little pre-game show, the board was wiped clean and replaced with Bulgaria: 0 Ireland: 0 and bagman shouted out the names of each team member. A quick promise for a clean game and the balls were released, the players moving quickly as the game commenced.

The game itself was fast-paced and brutal, in comparison to the games Harry himself played back at school. Even the snitch was faster, zooming around the pitch with reckless abandon, hovering over players and audience members alike. He winced as Lynch slammed into the field with a dull thud, though he got up a few minutes later, dripping blood but determined to play. 'My kind of player,' Harry thought with a grin, remembering his own match with the dementors, and an earlier one with a cursed broom curtsey of the first of many Dark Arts Professor's out to kill him.

An interesting moment happened with the veela a part of the way through the game and Harry couldn't help but laugh as all the beautiful women turned into bird like creatures, throwing fire from the palms of their hands. Mr. Weasley nodded his head and said, "That children, is why you never go for looks alone!" and laughing they all returned to the game, though the veela were kicked off the field for their actions, the leprechauns close behind due to antagonizing the lot of them.

The game ended with a mind blowing finish, both seekers injured, Krum surly and pouting through thick dribbles of blood, with Bulgaria at one hundred and sixty points and Ireland at one hundred and seventy, though Krum had gotten the snitch. "Wow, I guess the twins were right," He mused to Ron, who nodded absently; too busy cheering the winning team on, even though his favorite player had lost.

After Ireland had left the box, winning cup in hand to do another lap of honor, Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, "Quietus," before clearing his throat and massaging his throat. "They'll be talking about that for years," He said hoarsely, "A rather unexpected twist, now then how much do I owe you?" he asked as Fred and George scrambled over the seats and looked expectantly at Bagman, hands outstretched.

They left the stadium last, following a hoard of other people as Mr. Weasley chastised his son's gently about gambling and warned them to not let their mother know. Harry watched, grinning happily, as leprechauns shot overhead, filling the sky with small motes of glittering light. When they reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping and, given the general noise around them, Mr. Weasley allowed everyone to have a cup of cocoa before bed, though before long everyone was arguing about who did best in the match. It was only one Ginny fell asleep, knocking over her hot chocolate did Mr. Weasley demand that every head to bed. They could speak more about the match in the morning.

Going over to where Ron and he had claimed a bunk bed, Harry clambered up onto the top bunk and lay staring at the ceiling of the tent, watching the occasional glowing lantern of the leprechauns go past. He kept picturing the game in his head, how he'd have played, if he would have been up to snuff, which was a big resounding no. He was confident in his abilities for school, but the Quidditch players on the field before…they were in another league together.

Yawning, he turned on his side, his body relaxing to the mattress as he fell asleep…and promptly awoke to screams.