I do not own the Harry Potter series or Pokémon.
Chapter Thirteen: Room and Bored
The news of Snape in drag spread like wildfire, and by Saturday morning Moon couldn't walk five steps in any direction without having someone attempt to talk to her about it. It had become overwhelming, and she had chosen to seclude herself over the weekend. The letter from St Mungo's wouldn't be arriving for another week at least, and she wasn't in any position to enter the common rooms. The only places in the school she could have some semblance of privacy were the library—which would have been fine if Madam Pince wasn't constantly breathing down the back of every student to walk within three feet of one of the books—and her room.
She had scribbled out a summary of Boggarts in well under an hour, and her tea leaves weren't giving off any new information other than the skull disappearing. Her arm was healing slowly but steadily, and she would hopefully be able to remove the sling within the week. Her other homework disappeared in a flash, and she was left without anything to do.
And it's only noon.
Moon drummed her fingers against the table. She could take her chances in the library and look for some light reading material, or she could head over to Professor Vector or Professor Babbling to do some extra work with their respective subjects, or she could attempt to break into one of the common rooms…
'All terrible ideas, really,' she thought sourly. They weren't awful ideas, but nothing appealed to her at this point. All she really wanted to do was play with her pokémon. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough space in her room, and the classrooms were too cluttered to work. She couldn't venture far enough outside due to the Dementors. Anywhere that was safe from those creatures was too exposed. Moon didn't want people bearing down on her, asking questions they had no right to be asking.
"Miss Moon?"
She flinched at the sound of the squeaky voice. She hadn't even heard Pippi enter her room.
"Yes, Pippi?"
"Are you done with lunch?" the house elf asked. Moon hadn't shown up for breakfast that morning, and Pippi had taken it to mean that she didn't want to be in the Great Hall that day. The house elf had brought over a plate of sandwiches earlier, all of which had been eaten.
"Yes," Moon smiled. "Thanks for that."
Pippi had gotten used to Moon's gratitude (or at least, didn't burst into tears every time the student said thank you), and merely nodded.
"Anything else Miss Moon needs?"
"What I really need is a large room that no one can walk into," she laughed. "I don't think you—"
"Why not the Come and Go Room?"
"The… what?"
"It's a secret room!" Pippi chirped. "No student or teacher's seen it twice, since no one's known what to do."
"Do you know how to get in?"
"All the house elves know!"
"But… let me guess, no one's asked you."
"No one!"
"Alright," Moon said, running her hand through her hair. "Where's this Come and Go Room?"
"Across from Barney Barmy and his trolls," Pippi whispered excitedly, even though they were alone. "Walk past the space three times with what you need in your head."
"That's all?" Moon whispered back. Pippi nodded vigorously.
"Pippi needs to get back to the kitchens," the house elf said. "Pippi hopes you can find the room, Miss Moon!"
Pippi vanished, leaving Moon in the room alone. The girl gathered up her books and her bag, and left her room.
Barnabas the Barmy was a loon in the truest sense, and everyone knew it. He was so famous that he got several paintings of his exploits made. The most famous scene depicted Barnabas attempting to teach trolls ballet. Such a painting was hung on the seventh floor of Hogwarts in the left corridor. Moon hadn't taken the time to stop and stare at it, but it wasn't exactly a painting that was easy to miss.
Moon went to the wall opposite the portrait. It wasn't anything special—no doors or portraits hiding entrances to other rooms. She turned on her heel and began to pace.
I need a space to train with my pokémon in secret.
I need a space to train with my pokémon in secret.
I need a space to train with my pokémon in secret.
She had pinched her eyes shut. She didn't want to be disappointed when the door didn't appear. She didn't want to be mad at Pippi for misleading her.
Moon opened her eyes.
The door stood there proudly, practically daring her to deny that it had appeared. Moon blinked, and then broke into a wide grin. She pushed to door open hastily and let it swing shut behind her.
The room was spacious, and was made out of a rocky terrain, much like Poni Island. Training dummies stuck up around the place. Tufts of grass sprouted around the rock pillars, and thick ivy clung to the walls. Towards the back, the grass got thicker and thicker, turning into a grassy plain. A sturdy oak tree stood at the far edge of the room, with its branches climbing up towards the ceiling.
It was perfect.
Moon slipped her hand into her bag and pulled out the six pokéballs.
"Decidueye! Magnezone! Lycanroc! Ninetales! Kommo-o! Silvally!"
Light burst out from the capsules, and six pokémon appeared before her. Immediately, Lycanroc bounded over to his trainer. His tuft of white fur flopped over his red eyes, and the wolf pokémon slid the last few feet and crashed against Moon. The teenager braced herself and managed to keep both of them upright.
"Missed me, have you?" she cooed. A wet tongue collided with her nose. "Okay! Okay! I've missed you, too…"
The familiar sensation of Silvally clamping its jaw around her head took her attention next. She reached up to scratch the tall pokémon underneath its chin, which prompted Lycanroc to whine. Moon scratched the wolf pokémon's chin with her other hand, until she felt Ninetales prodding her shoulder with her head.
"I never realized how clingy you guys are," Moon laughed. Lycanroc responded by nuzzling her neck. "Ah! Okay—I take it back!"
Decidueye pecked playfully at her hand, Magnezone floated around her and made her hair stand on its end, and Kommo-o rested its head on her shoulder. Moon sighed in fake exasperation.
"We're not going to get any training get done today, are we?"
The resounding clucks, growls, and beeps confirmed her suspicions.
Although most of the students divided the days of the week by what classes they had on each particular day, Moon had started her own schedule. She couldn't sneak off to the Come and Go Room whenever she pleased, and she didn't want to attract attention to the room's existence. She ended up heading to the room for training on Monday and Wednesday after classes had finished. She had managed to coax her pokémon out of impromptu cuddling sessions and had gotten some training done during the week. Moon would have headed over to the Room on Friday, but she was distracted by a letter.
It had arrived in the flurry of the morning owls that came every day. It fluttered into her lap, and she had stared at it for a good thirty seconds, not breathing, before she picked it up.
"Is that from your parents?" Ron asked.
"No," she said hoarsely. She slashed the letter open with a table knife and pulled out the parchment.
Dear Miss Blakesley,
A trial group designed to test the effects of Nihilego venom on werewolves has been assembled. Healer Fawley will be sent to collect you tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. We ask that you bring Nihilego with you so we may obtain samples. You will be given a visitor's card upon arrival. If you are willing to fill out the required forms, you will be upgraded to a consultant's pass.
The letter went on for another few paragraphs, stating what she could not bring into the hospital, how the consultant's pass would be necessary later on, and how her contribution was appreciated. Hermione leaned towards her, and Moon folded the letter as quickly as possible.
"What's that about?" the brunette asked, sounding slightly wounded.
"The werewolf I fought."
Hermione paused, her fork dangling an inch from her mouth. "You're starting this rubbish again?"
"Who said it was rubbish?" Moon asked flatly. She passed the letter over to the bookworm as evidence. Hermione almost choked on her eggs as her eyes scanned over the letter.
"This… what…?"
"I took a trip to Hogsmeade the Saturday before school started," Moon explained. "Some werewolf tried to attack me. It didn't end well for him."
"What is a Nihilego?" Ron asked, having read the letter over Hermione's shoulder.
"A type of magical creature that I brought along with me."
"What's it like?" Hermione asked, highly intrigued.
"It's a cross between a squid and a jellyfish, except it floats in the air. Its venom had some… side effects."
"Like what?"
"Not sure if I'm allowed to talk about it," Moon said quickly, taking one last bite of breakfast. She took the letter back and rushed out of the room, not even sparing a glance at the head table. She already knew Dumbledore would be smiling, gently goading her to talk to Lupin. She would have none of it.
It was her choice whether to tell him or not, wasn't it?
Short chapter this week, but we finally get to see Moon's pokémon! And the Room of Requirement, albeit by a different name. And Fawley comes back (sorta). Next week is St Mungo's.
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