I do not own the Harry Potter series or Pokémon.

Epilogue

The skies of Alola hadn't changed over the year she was missing. The stars hung in the same places that Moon remembered them being, even if they were dimmed by the city lights. The familiarity soothed her.

It had been night by the time Dawn and Moon arrived in Alola, in the city of Hau'oli. Moon had rushed outside within seconds, savouring deep breaths of the sea air. She rejected Dawn's offer to walk her home, choosing to head down Route 1 by herself.

She placed her shoes in her bag, walking barefoot along the dirt road in her Hogwarts uniform. Her wand was snugly tucked into her skirt and hidden by her robes. Rotom was still in her bag, sleeping to pass the time.

The trainer's school was deserted, save for the few offices that were still lit by teachers grading papers well into the night. Further down the road was a large house, its own windows shining from the lights inside of it. Moon beamed at the sight and started jogging, and then running, to her home.

She was breathless when she reached the door. She knocked twice, then twice more, and the door opened up. Her mother stood frozen in the threshold for all of three seconds before crushing her in a teary embrace.

"You're back," her mother wept into her hair, "thank the guardians you're back."

Moon coaxed her mother inside the house, and the older woman regained her composure, going into the kitchen to make something to drink. The young champion curled up on the couch, affectionately scratching Meowth's head when he followed her. Her mother handed her a steaming mug of cocoa and sat down beside her, hands wrapped around her own mug and eyes expectant.

As Moon talked about learning magic, about her father's past, and about the chaos that culminated in her finding a dead man and an escaped criminal the previous night, she kept a careful eye on her mother's reactions. She wasn't surprised or shocked by anything Moon was saying, except for the part about the criminal, but even that reaction was dulled by a careful, calculated stare.

"You knew about this already," Moon said. Her mother nodded, taking a long sip from her half-empty mug.

"It would be weird for me to not know," she replied. "I never thought it was Espeon's work that made things float or whatever. Lyall talked about being a wizard before, though he never remembered it."

"What do you mean?" Moon asked.

"Around a month before you were born, Lyall went out with some of his coworkers for the night. He came home, drunk off his ass, and babbling about whatever came to mind. He started on about his life as a wizard, his previous wife and his son. He was freaked that something would happen to you like his first child—that someone would attack you and make your life a living hell."

She took another sip of cocoa. "He woke up the next morning with a hangover and no idea what he said to me. I tried to keep dropping hints over the years that I knew something, but by the time he caught on we were writing up the divorce papers. Should have figured it out after I named you, in my opinion."

Moon stared at her mother, her brow furrowing. "What?"

"Your name," her mother said. "Lyall mentioned his son had some nickname—Moony, I think—so I shortened it and wrote it down as your name." She smirked. "Lyall nearly had a fit, but it was too late to switch by then, so—"

"Wait," Moon said, her face turning pale. "Are you saying you named me after Remus Lupin?"

His new form was… interesting to say the least. Better than wandering from animal to wild animal, leaving behind a trail of bodies. Even though this man was not a wizard, he did not possess the gaping, sucking sensation that came with Muggles. The magic that came along with him wasn't drained or tainted by his new body, nor did it mix like it did with the previous wizard that once hosted him. It just sat there, like water pooling on a flat surface.

It had been easy to overtake the man's physical form, but his mental state was another matter entirely; his thoughts were a howling wind against his own, speaking of what must have been an amalgamations of the best Muggle science and the most profound magic studies, stuff that would only be whispered about in the Department of Mysteries between fellow Unspeakables.

He spoke of souls. Of what power they held. Of how ripping them from people rendered them as incapable, unthinking but manageable beings.

The man had once tried to destroy the very concept of a human soul. Create a new world where morality was unnecessary, memories were pointless, free will was nonexistent and emotions were a thing of the past.

He thought such an ideal was self-destructive. There was nothing to be gained from it, if everyone went around mindlessly surviving. There would be no point in anything after that. Everything would be meaningless.

But he did have one point that made him ponder for days on end.

If souls were such a powerful driving factor…

Well, he'd have to start repairing his.

Fin

That is the end of The Forgone Trial. Or at least, this specific portion of it.

I've technically been writing fanfiction for several years now, but this story was the first one in a long while that I felt was worth posting. I had been writing it for a few months before I put the first chapter up, and at that point I had planned enough of the story that I thought, "Yeah, I'll be able to finish this."

I always wanted to read a story where a new character changed the end result of PoA, but could never find one. There were stories with new characters that followed the canon storyline, and there were stories that deviated from canon but only had the main characters. That desire, coupled with the fact that I had gotten a copy of Pokémon Sun, resulted in the longest story I've written to date.

I am planning on a sequel, but so far I haven't been able to write much. I've deleted starter sentences, starter paragraphs, and even a 1000+ word prologue because nothing felt good enough. I do have an outline and a solid first chapter ready, but I want to have more of the story written out before I begin posting it. No idea when that's going to be.

I am also planning on doing some short one-shots related to The Forgone Trial, such as different POV scenes, silly blooper scenes, etc., although I have no idea when I'd be able to post those either.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It means so much to me, and I hope you've enjoyed reading The Forgone Trial as much as I enjoyed writing it.

-silver rosebud