Sirius' laughter echoed through the speakers, and Nasrin rolled her eyes as Harry glared at his godfather through his Pokedex screen, distinctly unamused.
With the troubling thought that Remus might be out to kill Sirius on top of Pongo's prolonged disappearance, neither was feeling particularly cheery this Winter Solstice morning.
"Are you done yet?" The Potter deadpanned.
"Yeah…Yeah, I think so." Sirius gasped out, taking a deep breath. "…Nope, I was wrong!"
Nasrin turned down the volume, not wanting anyone to catch her in the Third Year boy's dormitory at this moment, as the Lord of Sevii preceded to continue laughing his butt off.
"Sirius!"
"Okay, okay, I'm good. I can be serious." He assured, a huge grin on his face. "Get it? 'Serious'?"
"We get it." They echoed, unamused.
"I don't think you do! You see-"
"We. Get. It."
"Party poopers. No cake for you." Sirius chided, glancing skyward with a lingering smile. "I still can't believe you think Remus is out to kill me."
"We can't believe you aren't considering it might be true!" Harry retorted.
"You're the one that's hiding yourself from him!"
"Not because I don't trust him, pups! Far from it. Remus is a true friend. If it had been him instead of Peter that night, he'd have given his life for mine."
Sirius paused then, considering.
"Or not. Remus was always smarter than all of us, so I suppose he would have come up with a plan that actually worked…Maybe something involving robots."
"Sirius, we heard him-"
"When you were bonded with your Pokemon for the first time-congrats again by the way, knew you could do it, ignore what I said about the cake, we'll get an ice cream one when we next see each other-, you were bonded for the first time and several tens of feet away from him and Snape."
"Yes, Snape!" Nasrin agreed.
"The professor that hates all things Gryffindor and has never said a kind word to me?"
"Maybe Remus isn't the traitor, but Snape could be."
"He could be feeding Remus bad information, trying to throw him off the scent and focus on you!"
"Again, trust me on this. You misheard them, or aren't getting the whole story here." Sirius assured.
"Why are you so sure Snape isn't a part of this?" Harry wondered, frustrated.
"Listen, after this is all settled, you and I will sit down and talk, and I swear I'll explain exactly what's going on. For now, though, I need you to trust me. Snape isn't our enemy, and Remus certainly isn't. You need to stop worrying, okay?"
"Fine." They muttered, clearly displeased.
"Come on, none of that!" Sirius teased. "It's Winter Solstice, and you two shouldn't be up in your room sulking. Sulking is for ugly people, and I'll have you know neither of your parents were ugly, nor did they make ugly babies. You should be downstairs-"
"Sulking?" They interjected.
"-Opening presents. I mean it."
Nasrin's eyes narrowed, suspicious of his grin.
"What have you done?"
"Never you mind, just get going! I can't spend all day bugging you, especially when I have my own holidays to enjoy."
An explosion echoed through the speakers, and Sirius whipped around.
"Damn it, Jack, you promised to wait for me before you blew up the ham!"
The screen went dark, and Nasrin sighed as Duchess toddled over, giggling with each step.
"Might as well."
With both her youngest Pokemon in tow, the Third Years took the teleporter down into the common room where Remus waited with Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Hermione and Luna to start opening presents.
The giant was in red flannel footsie pajamas, Snubbull in his lap, while a much-grown Norbert tried to eat a coaster and Steelbeak napped next to Tiny, Luna and all her Pokemon perched on the Snorlax's belly.
Said blonde was happily instructing Hermione in placing a tree skirt around an aluminum pole, adjusting a red-and-white-fur-trimmed hat on Luna Junior's head.
"So, why are you decorating a pole?" Remus wondered from an easy chair, amused.
"Because it's tradition!"
"And what tradition is that, Miss Lovegood?" Professor McGonagall wondered as she wheeled in a cart full of breakfast foods, her Purrloin Southpaw on her heels.
"The tradition of Festivus!"
"I can't wait for the Feats of Strength." Nasrin voiced as she and Harry released their brood.
Eevee only had a moment to linger on the absence of his best friend before Ariel bopped his nose, herding him towards the couch while Rapunzel helped Duchess skip in a straight line and Khan trundled along with Mulan on his back, Robin and Hedwig landing on Harry's shoulders once the boy had hugged Remus in greeting.
Snow and Ludwig happily crowded everyone together around their trainers, Togetic landing on Nasrin's ringlets with Meeko while Dobby scooped up Melody, already smiling as the Jigglypuff waved her little arms.
Pulling Eevee onto her lap, Nasrin scratched right where he liked as everyone settled, a mix-matched group coming together to open and exchange presents.
"Oh, how utterly delightful." Professor McGonagall voiced, running a hand over the leather-bound journal in her hands, antique pens sitting safely amid the pages. "Thank you, all three of you."
Hagrid could only sniffle over his gargantuan Number One Groundskeeper mug, claiming the Poke Flute and Cleanse Tag he had gotten the Third Years hardly compared, but Nasrin managed to reassure him.
Hermione teared up when she received a book on Avalon history from the pair, though Harry glared at Remus when they received books on Pokemagnus training in return, since the professor had claimed they were out of print.
Luna had, as usual, been a total surprise.
Gathering photographs from The Quibbler archives and professors, she had Hagrid help fashion a pair of albums, one featuring James and Lily Potter while the other had Samson and Cammi Universe, chronicling their school years and marriages.
Both nearly crushed the half-Veela in a hug, and were glad she appreciated their gifts to her, four sets of interchangeable earrings, a mood-necklace, and Silph Scope Glasses that went well with the red fedora Hermione had gotten her.
Remus marveled over the collapsible bag he had gotten, the stylized M in the leather saved on a memory stick as an official logo of the Marauders that he could place anywhere, while Harry got a touch misty-eyed over the collapsible bicycle he received in return while Nasrin looked over the various packets of seeds with amazement, almost feeling a sleepy pulse of life in her fingertips.
Rachel had sent a new slew of graphic crop tops and shirts, Tammy a case of capsules and seals for Coordinating and a new Poffin recipe, Danny a book on Pokemon strength-training, Heather a pair of beautiful wall-scrolls that depicted Fire-types and Fairy-types respectively, and knitted mittens and caps from Cammi in warm yarn that fit perfectly.
"Well, I must say that this was quite enjoyable." Professor McGonagall voiced, stroking Southpaw lazily.
"Have to agree with that, Min!" Hagrid replied, wiping his mouth with a massive handkerchief Hermione had gifted him.
"But it's not over yet!" Luna claimed, sliding off Tiny to wade through the torn wrapping paper to retrieve a small box with a large note attached. "I spotted this while I was looking for Waldo, the crafty bugger! It's for you, Harry."
"Who's it from?" Remus wondered as the boy accepted and opened the envelope.
"It says it's from the Lord of Sevii." Nasrin answered after a moment, mirroring Harry's annoyance at Sirius for not keeping to their agreement on exchanging presents at a later date.
"My word." Professor McGonagall gasped.
"Blimey!" Hagrid yelped.
"Shazam!" Luna cried, glancing up with a pout when nothing happened.
"Try 'by the power of Grayskull'." Nasrin advised, eyes never leaving the note.
"Nah, that never works…"
Harry cleared his throat, waiting for silence before beginning to read.
"Dear Mister Potter. I realized that our first meeting was not fair to you, and I must have caused you quite a fright. For that, I apologize. I have thought long and hard-"
Both resisted the urge to roll their eyes imagining Sirius snicker over that.
"-About how I might make amends, and it is only within the last few days that I came to an answer. A great injustice was done to you, Mister Potter, and while I can never undo all that was done that night, there is a small thing I can offer to help ease your pain. As you may know, I was installed by the Father of Johto. I told him of your plight, and he agreed that it was wrong…"
"Harry?" Remus worried, moving to join them when the boy froze. "You're shaking!"
"It was wrong that you do not have a Potter Family Pokemon to call your own." Nasrin choked out, and Harry tossed aside the paper towards Professor McGonagall as he tore open the box to reveal a red-and-gold Poke Ball within.
Their Pokemon fell quiet as he pulled it free, and Nasrin squeezed his hand before Harry pressed the release button.
In a flash of red light, everyone stared at the little Cyndaquil on his lap, who happily leaned into his new trainer with a happy chirp.
"Bloody hell." Hagrid whispered, Luna smiling as a tear slid down her cheek.
"Oh, Harry…"
"This is Firebolt." Professor McGonagall continued to read as Melody reached out to pat said Fire-type's face. "Use him well, Mister Potter. Use him in the name of justice. Yours truly, the Lord of Sevii."
Nasrin gently ran a hand over Firebolt's head, smiling when the Cyndaquil snuffled at her as Snow and Ludwig began to hover around, fussing over how Harry was holding the new baby.
While Togetic and Meeko quietly observed the new arrival, knowing better than to pull anything with such a youngster, Rapunzel helped Bounsweet up to say hello, Khan snuffling the new youngest in turn with Mulan reaching around to pat the Fire-type's back.
"This…This is amazing." Professor McGonagall voiced, a hand pressed to her mouth. "Oh, Harry…"
But when Harry glanced at Remus, his smile dimmed, and Ariel tensed along Nasrin's shoulders at the pensive expression on the man's face.
"Remus?"
"Sorry, just thinking." He replied, thoughtful. "This is a bit much."
"It is!" Hermione nearly shouted, surprising everyone. "I mean, this is an amazing gift, and you must make sure you let the Lord of Sevii know that you're thankful for it. I mean, the Lord of Sevii is a powerful man who does Avalon a great service by holding the Team Nocturne agents and grunts in his prison. If Harry didn't express his gratitude properly, the Lord might take offense and…Well, I don't want any of those prisoners anywhere near Avalon."
"That's true." Remus admitted. "But-"
"And then there's the whole issue with the Father of Johto!" Hermione cut in quickly, and Nasrin glanced between them, following the undercurrent. "I mean, Jack Kenway isn't known for being the most calm or level-headed person! If you were to do something stupid, like return Firebolt and say you couldn't accept him, Mister Kenway might see it as a slap in the face, and the next thing we know, Luna and I are leading an army against invading Johto forces."
"Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers!" Luna declared, holding her cane up as a sword while Luna Junior joined in posing. "For all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, men of the West!"
"Exactly!" Hermione agreed. "Thank you, Luna! I think the only thing you can do is accept Firebolt and make it known that you are thankful, lest we start some international incidents."
After a moment, Remus shook his head in defeat.
"Yes, yes, you're right."
The doubts faded when he turned to see Harry hugging Firebolt so close, Nasrin angled to intercept while Snow eyed him with misting fur.
"I'll have to pull up my notes on raising Cyndaquil so you can be prepared."
"Thank you, Remus." They replied, tension fading.
"Well, I suddenly feel drained." Professor McGonagall stated, standing. "I think I need a cup of tea."
"I'll have a cuppa myself." The Battle Professor agreed, following her towards the cart while Hagrid and Luna fell into easy conversation.
"Hermione…" Harry started softly. "I don't know how you knew…"
"I don't know what you're-"
Both held up a hand to quiet her.
"When you're ready to tell us what your secret is, we'll be ready." Nasrin assured before they sandwiched her in a hug.
"Thank you."