"So, how awkward is this going to be for you?" Ron wondered, nudging Harry's shoulder carefully so as not to unseat Robin.
"Depends on how Remus is feeling." The Potter replied, reaching up to smooth Hedwig's feathers.
"What?" Neville voiced, one hand petting the curve of the green-pink-white Egg as Mulan cooed over the other in Nasrin's arms. "You mean like if Remus treats you all coldly and stuff because he doesn't want to come off as giving you preferential treatment?"
"He should be more concerned about a baby picture slideshow." Nasrin stated, Ariel giggling behind a flipper.
"And being called Pronglet." Harry agreed, startling a laugh from Ron.
After two days of dodging questions, it was nice to have everyone settle back into something resembling normal, even if someone was missing.
"I wonder why Hermione is sitting there." Neville pointed out as they entered the Battle classroom, finding said bushy-haired girl sitting in the so-called 'slacker section' of the back row.
This seemed to have thrown off Lavender and Parvati, as if they expected their dormmate to suddenly be a Weasley Twin prank, but Nasrin was somewhat comforted by Hermione being nose-to-screen with her Pokedex.
"This is very weird." Harry agreed as the quartet split, Neville joining Hermione while Ron shared a desk with Dean and Nasrin settled her Eggs on a third between them with Harry.
"Maybe us giving her the cold shoulder made her brain snap, and she's now become a crazy stalker killer who'll hunt us down one by one and kill us in our dreams while wearing a hideous sweater!"
Ron's eyes widened as he realized what had happened.
"By Merlin, I think Luna and I swapped souls there for a moment!"
"I don't know, I would have pictured Jason instead of Freddy." Nasrin mused as Mulan was joined in flashes of light by Ludwig and Snow to fuss over the Eggs.
"So, what do you think Remus-I mean, Professor Lupin-will teach us?" Neville prompted.
"Not sure." Harry and Nasrin answered, Hedwig and Robin settling to chirp away while Ariel just rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
"He wouldn't even give me a hint, as he felt that it would ruin the surprise."
"Even if he gave you every answer, it wouldn't help you, Potter." Draco laughed as he strolled past with Crabbe and Goyle. "Certain people in this world are meant to rise up, while the rest stay in the filth."
That Sharpedo smile fell across Nasrin's face, matching the dark little tilt of Harry's.
"I've always felt the same way."
"Watch yourself, Potter." The Malfoy snapped back, sensing the insult. "You insulted the honor of the Malfoy Family, and a Malfoy always repays his debts."
"I thought the Lannisters always repaid their debts?" Ron voiced, earning a giggle from Nasrin. "Oh Merlin, I did it again!"
"We'll get Luna and perform an exorcism later." Harry assured as Nasrin pinned the Malfoy with a sharp glance.
"Careful, Draco. Winter is coming."
With that, she pointedly ignored him to cuddle Mulan, pleased at the fruitless rage that simmered through Draco as Harry followed her example.
Remus entered the room then, forcing the Slytherin to retreat with a scowl as the professor removed his lab coat to drape it over a chair.
"Good afternoon, class! Now then, welcome to Year Three Battle Class. During your First Year, you learned all about the basics of battling. Last year, you…were supposed to learn about elemental typing and the various weaknesses and strengths."
Most of the class squirmed, knowing now that Lockhart's shenanigans had set them at a severe disadvantage now that a competent professor was back, though Harry and Nasrin were calm.
Pearl had been appalled by the lack of actual teaching and taken the summer to drill said knowledge into them through a series of mock battles and simulations.
Those that had not studied ahead, like Hermione, or been given special tutors, like Draco, were in for a rough time.
Remus casually unbuttoned his cuffs, rolling up the sleeves, and set to work like a natural.
"This year, we're going to learn about another aspect of battling that can greatly affect the outcome of your battles. Abilities."
Clicking a button on his desk, the board flickered before showing several cartoony drawings of various Pokemon, like a Mankey touching a Pikachu and falling over, paralyzed.
"It has only been within the last century that scientists realized that all Pokemon have at least one Ability. It took that long because many Abilities were assumed merely to be quirks of the Pokemon species. For example, Slaking."
The next slide showed said Normal-type punching a Camerupt while his trainer cheered, with another image where the trainer was less happy about Slaking being fast asleep on the battlefield.
"They have an Ability called Slaking Off that causes them to swing between bouts of extreme battle frenzy and utter slothfulness. It was only when scientists began to experiment with the Pokemon Audino and her move Simple Beam, and attempted to artificially create it that it was realized that this wasn't by choice, but a part of their genetics. Slaking might not want to become lazy after an attack, but their natural will causes them to do so. By understanding the Abilities of our Pokemon, we can better prepare for battles. Some Abilities are quite obvious and are quickly seen. Any Pokemon that effects the weather, for instance. Others are quite subtle, and a person might not ever even use the Ability. Alright, who can tell me of an Ability their Pokemon has?"
Harry and Nasrin shared a glance when Hermione did not immediately raise her hand, confused.
"Yes, Mister Malfoy."
"My Servine has the Overgrowth Ability, which makes it much stronger when using Grass-type moves."
"Very good, ten points to Slytherin. Now, how about a Gryffindor? Yes, Miss Universe."
"My Rockruff has the Ability Own Tempo, which prevents him from being confused in battle."
"Good, good! Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, some of you might not know your Pokemons' Abilities, and that's okay. Your homework will be to compose a list of the Abilities of each of your Pokemon and what they do. You'll also want to begin thinking about how these Abilities can help you, as we'll be focusing on that in the upcoming days."
Remus smiled as he waited for everyone to mark the homework in their Pokedexes before continuing.
"Now, for the rest of this class period, we're going to get a demonstration of a Pokemon Ability and how it can affect your battle."
A snap of the fingers, and Mooney hopped up onto his desk, preening under all the attention.
"Now, most Zorua have the special Ability known as Illusion, which allows them to take on the appearance of a Pokemon in the opponent's party. However, Mooney here, as he's from the rarer Avalon strain, has a different Ability."
Pausing for dramatic effect, Remus suppressed a smile at Mulan's annoyed huff.
"His Ability is known as Mind Games, but would probably be better described as an upgraded version of Illusion. You see, rather than taking a form based on a Pokemon your trainer owns, Mooney creates the illusion that he's become something that the opponent fears or becomes cautious around. This unnerves Pokemon and trainers, and allows Zorua to either escape or attack. Over the next two days, we're going to have each of you encounter Mooney's Ability so you understand it better and learn how to work through it."
Ariel hummed low, uneasy, as the professor tapped his chin in thought.
"Now, I think that we should mix things up a bit and start in the back of the class and work our way forward. Miss Granger, you can start."
Hermione smiled as she made her way up, clearly pleased, and Nasrin wondered how she had known.
"Alright, now it's important, Miss Granger, that you remember that, no matter how realistic Mooney's illusion is, it isn't real. You have to fight through it and see things for how they really are. If I think it's taking you too long, I'll break the illusion myself."
"I'm ready." Hermione assured with a nod.
Mooney jumped down, but it was not a Zorua that landed on the floor.
Nasrin felt her heart jump with foreign horror as a great Dragon towered over them, shark-like head lowered and fangs bared.
The whole class was frozen in place, but Hermione was pressed back against the professor's desk with ragged breaths and pinprick pupils, terrified and frozen and it's going to eat me-
"Stop!" The pinkette shouted, and the creature seemed to shatter like glass to reveal Mooney.
"It's okay." Remus hushed, trying to ease Hermione out of her panic attack. "It wasn't real."
"I thought I could handle it." She mumbled, shaken, and Nasrin felt the suffocating fear ease. "Should have stuck with the original."
"Miss Granger, do you at least know the name of that Pokemon?"
"Garchomp." She managed to force out, louder.
"Good. Five points to Gryffindor. Go take your seat."
Draco scoffed before the bushy-haired girl had even reached her chair, earning sharp looks from Robin and Hedwig.
"Of course the frightened little Skitty gets points." He stage-whispered, nowhere near as quiet as he believed. "If it weren't for the generosity of professors, they would never get any points! And a Garchomp? How pathetic. Leave it to someone of her ilk to be frightened by a Pokemon rather than control and dominate it!"
Remus raised a brow at that, and Harry squirmed, remembering all those times he had been faced with that same expression.
"Well, Mister Malfoy, by all means, give it a try."
Draco made his way down with a cocky swagger, obviously believing there would be no challenge in this, and Snow scoffed, one ear twitching back at Ludwig's excited little squeak.
This time, Mooney did not become a Pokemon.
"Draco, you are such a disappointment." Lucius Malfoy said, looking over the Prince of Slytherin with a critical eye as the boy stumbled back in surprise. "You are a Malfoy, the most noble House in all of Avalon, and yet you continue to disgrace our family's name. You aren't smart enough or quick enough or powerful enough."
Nasrin released a slow breath at the dread and horror and growing panic starting to make waves in her gut, a low coo from Mulan giving her something to focus on.
"We are supposed to be leaders among men, but you could not lead Magikarp to water! Perhaps it is time to talk to your mother about producing a new heir-"
"No!" Draco screamed, falling to his knees in despair. "Please, father, I-"
The illusion fading brought him up short, and Remus watched silently as the blonde scowled and stalked back to his desk, embarrassed at the snickers rising from Gryffindor.
"Now, as I was going to say after Miss Granger's failed attempt…" The Battle Professor continued, calm. "Do not be surprised if you fail this first time. Shaking off a Pokemon Ability takes great determination and will be something that must be learned. Once you learn to shake off Mooney's Ability, you'll find yourself better enabled to deal with other, weaker Abilities. The same holds true for your Pokemon. The stronger your bond, the better chance they'll have of breaking through an Ability or status condition."
With that, Remus began to call up students from each House in turns.
Neville went next, and trembled at the Snape that Mooney transformed into, while Pansy cowered before a purple-scaled Charizard that roared loud enough to actually rattle the windows.
"Miss Universe."
Leaving her Pokemon and Eggs safe with Harry, said half-Gem carefully walked down and breathed evenly with each step, expression blank.
Whatever Mooney became, she could handle it.
The Zorua shimmered, Ability activating, and her heart tore.
Because there was blood and shards of Gems staining the floor, still chests and glassy eyes-
"No…" Nasrin gasped out, lungs squeezing and knees weak as her Gem flickered with wild pink light. "No, no, you can't be dead, don't be dead-"
A painful keen escaped her then, tears nearly blinding.
"I'm sorry, I failed, I'm so sorry-"
A warm body barreled into her then, familiar and solid and alive, and the class was blinded by pink light as Harin fell back with a sob as all their Pokemon broke free to circle around.
Ariel wrapped around their neck, humming low, as Togetic and Meeko clung to their hair with matching whines, deeply troubled by Ludwig's agitated circuits and Snow's insistent nosing around for injuries.
Robin and Hedwig fluttered overhead, feathers ruffled, while Melody hugged their foot with a sniffle and Mulan clambered into Harin's lap, ear-sensors trembling as Eevee and Rapunzel joined her, Dobby fussing quietly while he tried to keep a highly-agitated Pongo from Biting anyone who came too close for the Rockruff's comfort.
I'm right here, it's okay, we're here, everything's fine, I'm here-
Offering a water bottle, Remus sat by them in the now-empty classroom as the Fusion settled.
"Are you alright?"
Dobby cooed wordlessly at their jerky nod, petting down wild dark-pink curls as he opened the bottle and offered it to his trainer, and Remus rocked back on his heels with a sigh.
What did you say to someone whose greatest fear was losing everything they loved?