Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. It belongs to its respectful owners.
Information on Pokémon obtained from Bulbapedia.
"I see you have finished correcting test papers, Elizabeth," Dumbledore smiled that I'm finally back at the staff table. "I would've thought you'd finish sooner,"
I finished chewing my food and nodded. "Last time, there wasn't a lot of students who knew what my class was about. Now that their parents took it, of course they'd tell them to take it...aargh! It was just plain terrible! If I have to go through that again...I might as well either make a simpler test or just pass everyone,"
Last week was painful for me. Nothing but test correcting and sleep deprivation. Although with Remus' help, I was able to finish correcting tests before last Friday. Friday was my classes' day off anyway, so I slept in all through Friday and the weekend. Basically, I never left the classroom or my bedroom for a whole week except for food pick-up from the kitchen.
"Today is the day..." I smiled happily with no intention of being overheard.
"Today is the day, Elizabeth?" Dumbledore's eyes smiled, hearing the news. "I am excited to see who each student receives as a partner,"
"Yeah. Me too!" My body was full of energy despite it being morning. My excitement had to find a way out of my system: my smile grew wider each time I thought about it, my foot was twitching at a fast rate, and a spark of adrenaline in my body made time feel painfully (literally) slow. It was a torturous moment, but it wasn't as torturous as last week though, that's for sure. Today was the day.
"Elizabeth, should I release you now that breakfast is almost over?" Dumbledore asked, but he already knew the answer when I was already out of my seat.
"Thank you, Dumbledore!"
"Hi, James, hi, Sirius, hi, Remus, hi, Peter, see you in class!" I managed to greet in one second, not wanting to stop in my run. I almost slipped due to inertia, but I managed to recover. I got around the Gryffindor table and opened the doors of the Great Hall large enough for me to get through. For five seconds, I gently closed the doors so they wouldn't shut so loudly, but once that was done, my legs went at full speed towards my classroom. Although I did slow down when it came to the stairs.
"She seems chuffed today, isn't she?" James concluded. "Does that mean we all passed the test?"
Remus shook his head. "Lizy and I finished correcting tests last week, and everyone passed,"
"Yes, Remus, but with her, a delayed reaction is possible," Remus kept shaking his head to James' logic.
"We're back in her class today, right?" Peter asked. Remus nodded.
"If only we could have the whole year off..." James sighed, taking a bite from his plate.
"Although we must be doing something fun today to make her so energetic," Sirius chuckled, remembering how Lizy was so excited in exiting the Great Hall that she almost slipped.
"That's right. Did she mention what we were going to do after the test?" James asked, trying to remember.
"I do not think she did," Remus said. Then a smile formed on his lips when he recalled what he saw that day when he and Lizy talked together for the first time. "But I have a pretty good idea was it is,"
"Really, Remus? Tell us!" James leaned over the table, dying to know.
"I am sorry, James," Remus smiled, apologetically at James. "I do not want to spoil the surprise, and I might be wrong,"
"That's no problem, ol' Remus, mi boy! Go ahead and tell ol' lovable James!" James started using his old man English accent again which only made Remus' refusal to James even easier.
"Don't worry...it's almost time...you guys just wait a little bit longer..." I whispered to a round object wiggling on my desk.
Although my words should have been directed to me since I was in a state of instantaneous combustion. It had already been three minutes since I entered my classroom, and no one in my first class had arrived yet. It made me wonder if Dumbledore was deliberately trying to torture me, or he just forgot (on purpose or on accident) to release the students from the Great Hall.
"Lizy!" I heard someone call for me outside of the classroom. Then a bunch of boys appeared in the entry way whom I recognized right away.
"Aren't you excited, James?" I crossed my arms, amused by James' attitude.
"I should be saying the same thing," James grinned. "What are we going to do today? I can't seem to get it out of Remus!"
"Well...I never told—wait! Have you been torturing Remus?" I questioned him, highlighting the last part James said. I looked at Remus and I saw his clothes somewhat more messy along with his hair. "What did you do to poor Remus?"
"Calm down, Lizy," James put his hands up in defense. "We only tickled him a bit,"
"A bit?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "And we?" I eyed Sirius and Peter.
"We really wanted to know what you were so excited about today, Lizy," Sirius tried to get me wooed over his smile.
"Yes. You just ran out of the Great Hall like mad," Peter pointed out. "We couldn't help but get the answer from Remus,"
"But I never told Remus what we were going to do today..." I sighed, knowing that I never gave away today's secret to Remus, or at least in a direct way.
"Yes, but he has a pretty good idea what it is!"
I stayed silent, not wanting to respond and leak the activity that the class was going to do today. I turned back to the wiggling object on my desk, and continued to stare at it.
"Lizy?"
"Sit down, okay? When everyone arrives, I'll tell you what we're going to do today," Behind me, I sensed that the four of them were taking their seats, but the weird thing was, I didn't hear any talking. I looked behind me, and saw them staring at me with crossed arms. Well...James and Sirius were.
"What are you doing?" I asked, even more bewildered by their actions.
"We'll wait patiently until you tell us what we're doing today," Sirius informed me, smirking.
"So you're staying silent...staring at me...until then...?" I tried to somehow piece all that together.
"Don't worry. You'll cave in. No one can resist the stares of the smashingly charming James Potter and the devilishly handsome Sirius Black!" James declared with the utmost confidence.
"..." I had no comment.
"Oh, Evans!" James jumped up from his seat, seeing a group of girls enter the classroom.
I thought for a moment, staring at Lily Evans who was another of my students for the first class of the day. I think there's one more person that can resist you, Mr. Potter...
"I guess you're all alone, Sirius," I snickered, watching James starting a conversation with the girls. Lily, though, was trying to avoid his presence and head to her usual seat followed by another student, Mary MacDonald.
Sirius sighed, resting his head on his hand. "That bloke...he's still a softy to her..."
"Lily Evans?"
"Yes," He nodded. "He's been interested in her since first year,"
"But she never gives him the time of day," Peter laughed.
"I figured," I shrugged, remembering how Lily was annoyed with James when he asked if I was an ignoramus of a veela on the first day of class.
"I don't even think he knows he likes her," Sirius shook his head.
I went back to my desk, and laid my head down on the cold wood. My hand took the wiggling object off my desk to hide it from the students. It seemed that my burst of energy was subsiding. I was no longer feel like my organs could jump out through my skin. After a couple of minutes, I looked up from my desks. Everyone was already at their seats and observing me.
"Oh, everyone's already here?" I stood up from my desk, surprised that I was just idling without noticing that class should've started.
"Sorry, Lizy, we would've waken you, but you just looked so adorable looking out at nothing,"
"Shut it, James," I got around my desk. I took in a huge breathe and my face brightened. "Welcome back, everyone! I hope you all had a nice break last week from this class. Good news: everyone passed the test on Friday!"
Smiles were induced, and I continued on. "There were some minor mistakes, but they weren't too bad for me to fail any of you. So, congratulations, everybody!
"Now...today is the day! I'm so excited!" I clapped. "And if you're wondering what today is, then let me explain since I have to anyway. Today...you're all going to receive your own Pokémon!"
Now the excitement was building up in the classroom.
"Each of you is going to take care of one Pokémon of your own. You're going to care for it just as you learned how to in our lessons. I will provide any materials you need to take care of your Pokémon, but remember, not all Pokémon need the same exact things. You will have to use a Pokédex, which I will provide all of you, to research what food, what living conditions, and whatever your individual Pokémon needs. Your grade depends on how good you take care of them, and I won't let you go if you abuse your Pokémon!
"It makes sense to start off with Pokémon egg, but I decided to do this a little backwards. All if you will start with a Pokémon in its first stage, if it's an evolving Pokémon. You will take care of it for basically, the whole year and whether or not you get to keep it depends on what the teachers decide depending on the observations they make on you and your Pokémon. You will bring your Pokémon to classes with you and they will be with you at all times whether in your Poké Ball or out in the open, depending on what your Pokémon prefers. It is your job to discipline your Pokémon, but if your Pokémon isn't that easy to control, I will help you.
"Then whenever I think each of you is ready, I'll bring to you a Pokémon egg which you will take care of along with your current Pokémon. You shall do whatever is required to make sure the egg is kept safely, and it should hatch before the end of the school year depending on the egg and your care.
"The Pokémon you will receive today will not only be your friend, but also your partner. You will teach your Pokémon how to fight, and we shall conduct battles in class to see how you're doing. There are different kinds of Pokémon battles we will be doing, so I expect you to train and know how to use your Pokémon to the fullest in battles.
"So, how we're gonna do this..." I revealed to everyone, the round object in my hand. "So does everyone know what this is? You better, or I'll throw you in the Hogwarts Lake..."
"It's a Poké Ball," A first-year raised his hand.
"Correct!" I smiled. "Now as you can see, it's wiggling right now in my hand. Which means there's a Pokémon inside, and it kinda wants to get out. But...there really isn't any Pokémon inside it. The thing is, every single Pokémon existing is connected to this Poké Ball.
"Now, this isn't a normal Poké Ball," I explained, holding the half white, half red orb. "Even though it looks like one. It's a special Poké Ball that I use to help choose your partners. Each of you will take a turn at holding this Poké Ball. It was start to wiggle more than it is right now when you hold it. Wait a couple of moments, and the Poké Ball will release a Pokémon that will be your chosen partner. Your partner is chosen based on your personality or special circumstances about you.
"So..." I said, completing the explanation.
"Who's first?"