I do not own the Harry Potter series or Pokémon.
Chapter Twenty: Distractions
Despite all the reassurance she received from both Hermione and the headmaster, Moon couldn't help but worry about Rotom. The pokédex had been taken to some unknown part of the Ministry of Magic, where it was being used as a communication device. It felt strange—knowing that Rotom wasn't safely tucked away in her bag—and Moon found herself distracted by it on more than one occasion.
That was not her only distraction, of course.
Hermione had continued speaking with her, drawing Moon away from her musings, and asking various questions about her life in Alola. Harry had also been curious, once Moon started speaking to him again.
That, of course, meant Ron was invited into the conversations.
It was strange, since he had been the first of the three to speak to her, that he was the one to learn about her life last. The ginger's reaction was no less amusing when she dragged them all into the Come and Go Room to show off her pokémon again.
"They're…" Ron said, both impressed and intimidated, "they're…"
"Amazing?" Moon said. "Astonishing? Gorgeous?"
"Something that Hagrid would like," the redhead said instead. Harry and Hermione laughed in agreement, while Moon huffed. The young champion turned to Lycanroc.
"Well, I certainly think you're gorgeous," she said, scratching the wolf pokémon under his chin gently. Lycanroc whined happily, tilting his head upwards. "Although I might just be biased."
"So, let me get this straight," Ron said, drawing his eyes away from Silvally and focusing on Moon. "You're from a different universe, you have a wizard father from here, and you train magical creatures for a living."
"Sounds about right."
"What did you say your father's name is?" Hermione asked.
"I didn't," Moon replied tersely. "Doesn't really matter—not like he's around all that much."
Deterring Hermione from asking for information about her family wasn't as difficult a challenge as she had feared, but it was a never-ending one. Every few days, the brunette girl would ask a question, drop a hint, or do something to bring the topic up. Moon would halt the conversation, suggesting that the man's absence was the reason she refused to talk about him. If she was lucky, Harry and Ron would ask another question and allow the conversation to continue.
"What's Alola even like?" Ron asked, practically on cue.
"Hot, for starters," Moon said with a laugh. "Much hotter than here. Not counting Mount Lanakila, of course, because the entire place is covered in snow and ice year-round, but this place is still colder than what I'm used to.
"Four major islands make up the region—Melemele, Akala, Ula'ula, and Poni—and every one looks a little different. Melemele is a major tourist destination because of the beaches. Akala has its own resort, but it's mostly known for the jungle and the volcano. Ula'ula is a bit more urbanized, but there's still untouched deserts and two ghost towns. Poni Island is the most rural, and the pokémon there are the toughest you can find. Some areas are off-limits for trainers who haven't proven their strength."
"It sounds awesome," Ron said. "I'd like to run around the country winning fights, not having to get up early for classes…"
"Honestly, Ron, it's probably not that glamourous," Hermione said, eyeing Moon for confirmation.
"It's certainly not for everyone," Moon agreed. "There's a lot of camping involved—I'm not sure how well you'd settle into that sort of lifestyle."
Her hand dropped away from Lycanroc's chin. "Alola used to have a different system called the island challenge, where trainers would go through trials—difficult puzzles or other challenges, usually while getting into pokémon battles—and eventually defeat a powerful pokémon known as a 'Totem Pokémon', which is a larger and stronger variation of a normal pokémon. Trainers had to challenge the Island Kahuna in a Grand Trial and win a battle before they moved on to the next island. After they completed all the trials, they were expected to head to the top of Mount Lanakila, win four successive battles against the Kahunas, before taking the title of Island Challenge Champion.
"Of course, this was being overhauled when I was going through the island challenge," she said cheerfully, stepping closer to Decidueye. "They were trying to start implementing an official league, which is a vastly different system from the island challenge. I was allowed to face the Elite Four because they hadn't set up any gyms yet… and I still managed to win, and no one managed to beat me in an official title match, so I'm still the first and only champion of Alola."
"That's really impressive," Hermione said honestly. Moon nodded, reaching her hand out to scratch Decidueye's bow.
She had skimped on giving out information about what the leagues were really for. It was easy to paint them as the overseers of pokémon trainers and nothing more. Nothing more complicated than people who set up Quidditch games.
Explaining that the leagues were the entirety of the government on top of that would be a tougher sell.
Especially explaining how she, at age eleven, managed to manoeuver her way to the top of said government.
The idea that anyone under the age of seventeen was capable of more than the schoolwork set for them seemed to be a complete impossibility for the magical community in Britain. Moon had been a little miffed when she learned that students were accepted into Hogwarts at the age of eleven, practically a full year after the mandatory schooling in the regions finished. At a time where people were working, training pokémon, or going into higher education, the 'underage' population of Britain was being treated like nine year-olds.
Or at least, treated as she had been when she was nine.
Moon briefly considered telling the three Gryffindors the truth—that she held a position equal to Minister for Magic—just to see what their reactions would be. She shook her head a moment later; it was a silly idea. Even if they, for some reason, believed her story, she'd be asked more questions than she could answer. If the information slipped to someone else somehow, the chances of her getting a moment of peace would dwindle to nothing.
The meetings between the four of them slowed down as the holidays approached. Moon received a few more letters from Fawley, informing her of his progress but still not calling her back to St Mungo's. It was hard to tell from the letters, but she got the feeling that he was getting worn out from the work.
She herself was getting worn out by the schoolwork assigned to her. Even if she was comfortable with writing a few essays at once and reviewing half a dozen spells, it got tiring after the nth hour of doing so. Not having to attend classes would be a welcomed break.
It was the last day before the holidays that anything of real interest happened. Everyone was excited about the Hogsmeade visit, except her and Harry. Mail that morning proceeded as usual, with last-minute letters being dropped off to the students going home for Christmas. Malfoy got a particularly lengthy letter, presumably from his father judging from how there weren't any gifts to go along with it.
She headed for the Come and Go Room immediately after breakfast, deciding to get some training done early. After sending everyone out and dealing with the initial dog piling, she directed Lycanroc to stand facing her while the other five remained on the sidelines.
"Alright, boy," she said with a lopsided grin, "ready to fight?"
Lycanroc's teeth were bared, and the wolf pokémon lunged at her. Claws swiped near the air around her face. She moved back. Her own hand took an equally ineffective swipe at her sparring partner.
Sparring with pokémon wasn't the safest training method, but Moon found that nothing could ever replace it. It was the easiest way to understand precisely how her pokémon fought, how they dodged, how they faked blows and so on. It created a deeper bond between her and her pokémon.
It also had the side benefit of an adrenaline rush.
It wasn't until she caught Lycanroc in a bear hug that the fight ended. The wolf pokémon licked her ear, leaving behind a trail of saliva.
"Bleh," she muttered, wiping her ear with her hand, "you're ridiculous, you fur ball."
Moon eventually called for the training session to end when she saw her pokémon getting tired. She recalled her pokémon to their pokéballs before changing back into her school clothes. She didn't necessarily have to—it was not a school day, and the uniform wasn't mandatory outside of school hours—but her sparring clothes were covered in sweat, and weren't exactly adequate for winter. In Alola, short shorts and thin skirts had been useful for dealing with the heat. Not the case in Britain.
The Come and Go Room disappeared behind her as she stepped out into the hallway. Moon briefly wondered why Harry hadn't come by, as he wasn't allowed in Hogsmeade either. She shrugged it off, assuming that he was busy eavesdropping on some conversation, and carried on down the corridor.
Hogwarts was a little quieter than it was during the first Hogsmeade visit, as most of the older students who had stayed behind the first time decided to go out shopping for Christmas gifts. Many professors had also left the school for similar reasons. That being said, Moon was not surprised when she heard footsteps coming towards her from around the corner.
She was surprised when she saw Lupin, and nearly crashed into the man because of it.
"I…" she faltered. Damn it, she didn't want to talk to him. "Sorry, professor. I must've not been paying attention."
"That's alright, Moon," Lupin responded. "I must admit, I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going, either."
Moon hoped that that would be the end of the conversation, but just as she took a few steps to continue on her path and hopefully escape to the library, Lupin stopped her.
"Professor Dumbledore told me about your situation a few days into the school year."
She froze. Her initial reaction was to become furious—the man had claimed that he wanted her to speak to Lupin, he had not right to go back on that without telling her—but something in the way the professor spoke kept her from getting angry.
"I can understand what it's like, being separated from everything you knew and found comfort in," he said honestly. "If… if you ever feel like you need to discuss something, my office is free."
Relief hit her like a wave. Dumbledore hadn't told him about their father, or their shared DNA, or anything of the sort. The man had just let him know what all the other teachers knew at that point.
"Thanks, sir," she said, giving a small smile. Lupin nodded before continuing down the hallway.
'That did not go well,' she thought miserably. 'You froze. You were too informal. He has no idea what's going on, so you have to act like you don't know anything—'
She leaned against a wall, forcing herself to take a deep breath, and let it out in a sigh. Controlling her emotions had gotten easier since becoming a champion—especially since she allowed Dawn to fiddle with Mesprit's abilities on her—but Moon was still prone to the same bouts of emotions any person her age was.
She'd have felt better if she had someone to talk to. She'd have felt better if Rotom was around to call her a moron. She'd have felt better if she could turn around and vent to anyone, but of course, the halls were empty.
Moon eventually made her way to her room. She leaned against the pillows on her bed, releasing a long breath she couldn't recall taking.
It was confusing; she'd probably feel far more comfortable after telling the truth, but the actual process of gathering enough courage to tell him was far more draining than the result would be worth. It would be preferable in some ways to have Dumbledore tell Lupin, but the man had already told her that she needed to be the one to do it, and not knowing when her half-brother would learn the truth would be another form of torture.
She wanted Lupin to have a good opinion of her, but she got the odd feeling that the man would immediately ignore her if he learned that they were related. It was basically what she was attempting to do, after all.
'Maybe it's a family thing,' she thought sardonically, 'keeping secrets and having low self-esteem.'
She eventually found the strength to pull herself out of bed. She was annoyed with herself for freaking out—over a short conversation in a hallway, of all things—and decided that the best way to deal with herself was to go and have something to eat.
Moon noticed that something was off when she stepped into the Great Hall for dinner that evening. Her eyes went to the Gryffindor table, searching for her three friends and only finding two of them. Ron and Hermione were noticeably concerned, probably about whatever kept Harry from showing up to dinner. She took a step, intending to head toward the Gryffindor table and find out why Harry hadn't been around that day, only to have someone grab her by the wrist. She twisted around to lock eyes with Draco Malfoy. His sharp features were tense, as though he was angry but didn't want it to show.
"We have some things to talk about," he said, indicating the Slytherin table with his head. "And no, it can't wait."
Moon took one last look at the Gryffindor table before she allowed herself to be pulled over to the Slytherins. Draco let her take a seat first on the side facing away from the Gryffindors before sitting on her right. Crabbe and Goyle took the free seats next to them, deterring anyone from trying to listen in on them.
Draco slipped her an expensive-looking envelope with three words written in curly handwriting that only served to cause her more stress:
Champion Moon Blakesley
"I was told to give you this," the blond said. "I would tell you what it is about, but I thought you would prefer to read it yourself."
Moon opened the envelope slowly, careful not to damage it, and pulled out a piece of parchment.
Champion Moon Blakesley, First Champion of the Alola League, Officer of Interregional Cooperation and Diplomacy, Countess of the Sevii Islands,
It is a great honour on behalf of the Malfoy family to invite you to attend the annual Christmas Gala. The Gala is a time for outstanding members of the magical community to congregate and discuss the events of the upcoming year. The Gala will take place on the 24th of December, between the hours of 6 and 12, with cocktails and appetizers at 6, dinner at 7, and dancing and socialising at 8.
I would also like to personally invite you to stay at the family manor for the duration of the Christmas holidays. My son has mentioned you in a number of his letters, namely after you kept him from being mauled by a savage Hippogriff. He has written about how you two have fallen out of each other's favour recently, and has expressed regret for his behaviour. The Christmas holiday will be a perfect opportunity for the two of you to start mending your friendship.
Stories of your plight have managed to reach my ears, and I must express my deepest condolences. Being stranded in an unfamiliar place without any understanding of the society surrounding it must have been dreadful. Rest assured, everything you could possibly need will be provided to you at the manor.
If you choose to stay at the manor over Christmas, my son will travel with you on the Hogwarts Express. We will meet you at King's Cross before travelling to the manor. A guest suite has been prepared for your arrival.
If you choose to stay at Hogwarts for the duration of the break, we wish you well, and we will send you your parcels through the Owl Post.
With regards,
Lucius Malfoy II
'Well, someone's done their research,' Moon thought bitterly. 'The man even managed to get my full title right.'
"So what's your answer?" Draco said. "Are you going or not?"
Moon knew that this invitation wasn't sent as thanks for keeping Draco from being hurt. If the Malfoys had really wanted to thank her for that, they would have done so immediately following the incident, not months later when there just so happened to be an event for her to attend as a guest.
This was, in the truest sense, a political move.
A strange, warm feeling blossomed in her chest. As much as she had been worried about people learning about her title, she couldn't have thought of a better way for it to happen. Being acknowledged, being respected, being treated as a useful human being rather than just a child was something she had been missing for months. That feeling of complete uselessness had been accumulating since August, and had slowly been wearing her down until she felt uncertain about stuff that, months ago, she would have done in a heartbeat.
She would get to be a champion again, even if it was only for the holidays.
Moon looked at Draco with a smile—a smile she hadn't worn in a long time—and nodded.
"When do we leave?"
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