This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.
I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.
The Gryffindors partied hard. Winning the Quidditch Cup would never get old and this year especially the members of Gryffindor House took vindictive pleasure in getting one up on their hated Slytherin rivals and on Umbridge. It only felt just that they would win after she banned their veteran Beaters.
But the celebrations had to come to an end, especially for Harry, Ron and Hermione. Classes finished the very next week and they were given just one week more to fully prepare themselves for their exams.
As they had been reminded at almost every turn the APEs were far more important than any exam they had ever sat before. They studied Hyper Potions, and Quick Balls, and Stat Modifiers and Mega Evolution until they were blue in the face. And then they studied some more.
They looked up everything. Anything they'd been taught, anything that had been even mentioned was fair game for the APEs and it was that that led Harry, Ron and Hermione down to Hagrid's hut.
"The Monster Book of Monsters says Beautifly really like irises," Hermione said, a concentrated expression on her face as she leaned over her copy of said textbook. "But when we were in class you pointed out that they don't like daffodils. Why is that?" Hagrid shrugged.
"Dunno," he said.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked anxiously. "I mean, it must have something to do with the pollen, right? Something to do with the texture?" But Hagrid was shaking his head.
"Sorry Hermione, I can't help yeh with that," he told her sadly.
"But you must know," Hermione insisted, her expression strained. "You must."
"Sorry, but I really don't," Hagrid told her. "We don't know everythin' about Pokémon. We barely know anythin', in my opinion. That's what's so brilliant if yeh ask me. So much to learn, so much to see."
"But," Hermione started.
"Lay off it, Hermione," said Ron. He was lying flat out on his back on Hagrid's bed, Fang the Mightyena lying next to him having thoroughly licked his face clean. "No one knows, okay. They can't ask if even they don't know the answer."
"But I thought you wanted to find out?" Hermione asked, sounding both surprised and disappointed. "You were all for asking Hagrid."
"Anything to get out of the castle," Ron told her, not even bothering to lift his head to look at her. "I'm exhausted. I've done so much studying I can't even think straight."
"Yeh know, I think Ron's got the righ' idea," Hagrid said approvingly. "The lot of yeh are so wound up, yeh could really use a break."
Harry agreed and, like Ron, he had been happy to come visit Hagrid for precisely that reason. It was late, the sky was starting to get dark outside, and they couldn't stay for long. Still, it was peaceful in Hagrid's cabin. The fire crackled merrily, warming up the whole place, and Harry felt himself relax as he sat at Hagrid's table, absentmindedly stroking Norbert's thick outer shell. All was quiet.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Now who would tha' be?" Hagrid wondered, standing up from his place by the fire. "Are yeh expecting anyone?" Harry shook his head.
Hagrid straightened up and walked towards the door as whoever was on the other side knocked again, clearly impatient. Hagrid frowned and pulled the door open.
"Professor?" Hagrid sounded surprised, and not pleasantly so. "What are yeh doing here? Who are this lot?" Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a worried look.
"Please, Mr Hagrid, this is no time for questions," Professor Umbridge's voice spoke. "These men are here from the Ministry, and as for why I'm here that would be important Ministry business, Mr Hagrid."
That did not sound good. Standing up, not knowing what good it would do but not wanting to leave Hagrid standing there alone, Harry walked up next to him.
They had good reason to be worried. Professor Umbridge, short and squat, was accompanied by half a dozen men in very familiar uniforms, with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Auror Dawlish at the front.
"Potter?!" Umbridge gasped. "Just what are you doing here?"
"We had a question for Professor Hagrid," Harry replied evenly. Ron and Hermione had appeared behind him, looking worried.
"Detention, Mr Potter," Umbridge snapped. "You should not be here."
"Now, hang on," Hagrid interjected. "What's wrong with 'em being here? It's not even curfew yet." Umbridge gave Hagrid a cold look.
"It soon will be," she said icily. "Potter, Granger, Weasley, up to the castle now."
"Hang on," Ron interjected. "Aren't you at least going to tell us what's going on?" Umbridge pursed her lips and glared, before straightening up.
"Very well, then," she said, turning back to Hagrid. "Rubeus Hagrid, you are under arrest for wilfully aiding the fugitive Albus Dumbledore. You will accompany these aurors to the Ministry where you will be kept in a holding cell until arrangements can be made to transport you to Azkaban."
"What?!" Ron spluttered. Hermione gasped. Hagrid went pale. "You can't be serious."
"Why not, Mr Weasley?" Umbridge asked superiorly.
"You can't do this," Hermione told her. "Hagrid hasn't done anything. You have no proof."
"Proof enough to bring him in for questioning," Umbridge interrupted. "Mr Dawlish, if you please." Auror Dawlish stepped forward, a pair of handcuffs in his hands.
"No!" Harry shouted and he pushed himself out in front of Hagrid, glaring at the auror. Dawlish stopped.
"Get out of the way, Mr Potter," Umbridge said shrilly. "Unless you want to be seen as aiding a criminal."
"You can't arrest Hagrid," Harry denied. "I won't let you." A large hand fell on his shoulder and Harry looked up at Hagrid's bushily bearded face.
"It's alright, Harry," he said softly before turning his attention to Dawlish. "I'll come quietly," he announced. "Just leave the kids out of it."
"Hagrid, no," Hermione moaned. He couldn't leave.
Hagrid sighed. "Don't worry about me," he told them. "I'll be fine. Now, you lot study hard. Focus on yer exams, not me, alright." And he stepped out from behind Harry and walked into the chilly night air.
"Alright, let's get on with it," he said loudly. The aurors moved to surround him, standing in formation, and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute," Umbridge stopped them short. "The handcuffs, Mr Dawlish." The aurors shared a look.
"Ma'am," Kingsley said, his voice smooth despite the obvious tension. "He's coming quietly, there's no need…"
"Handcuffs, Mr Dawlish," Umbridge repeated, ignoring Kingsley's words. Dawlish hesitated for a brief moment before he walked forward. Hagrid held out his wrists, lip trembling.
"Shelgon!"
Just as Auror Dawlish clicked the handcuffs into place Norbert appeared in the doorway and charged past a startled Harry, Ron and Hermione to slam straight into Dawlish's chest. As one the other five aurors, including Kingsley, let out their Pokémon.
"Don't hurt him!" Hagrid cried, rushing forward faster than any of the five Machamp that had appeared to stand protectively over Shelgon. "Don't hurt 'im!"
"Restrain him!" Umbridge commanded and one of the Machamp moved forward to do just that. Hermione shrieked as the Machamp smacked Hagrid over the back of the head and he crumpled to the ground.
"You bastards!" Ron cried out in outrage, even reaching for the Pokéballs on his belt. "You dirty, lousy -"
"Ron!" Hermione cried out. She needn't have bothered as Ron fell silent the moment he spotted what she had seen.
Norbert was glowing. He was letting out grunts and huffs, stamping his feet angrily against the ground and as he did so the light grew brighter. Soon it completely obscured his form and he started to grow larger and larger, the aurors and their Machamp backing away with worried expressions as Norbert just continued to grow. Four feet extended to the ground below, two enormous wings spread out on either side, and Norbert roared as the light burst and he stood there, his head towering high above them, his eyes narrowed.
"Look out!" One of the aurors shouted and it was a good thing they did for a moment later fire sprang from Norbert's mouth, the newly evolved Salamence burning the ground where the aurors stood with hateful vengeance. The Machamp tried to fight back, throwing themselves forward in an attempt to subdue the enormous dragon type Pokémon, but Norbert shrugged them off with ease.
Stopping his attacks briefly, Norbert bent down to Hagrid's prone form at his feet and in a moment lifted him from the ground and tossed him onto his back. Norbert roared again, another blast of fire burning at the Machamp that dared to come too close, before he lifted himself into the air with one flap of his powerful wings and flew off towards the castle gates.
A loud barking sounded and Ron nearly fell over as Fang shot past him and out the door, haring after Hagrid. One of the Machamp spotted him, however, and launched himself forward, pinning the Mightyena to the ground with the strength of his many arms.
Harry could not stand by and let Fang suffer. "Charizard, go!"
Harry's starter Pokémon emerged before Fang and the Machamp holding him automatically released his grip in the face of the much bigger threat. Fang, seeing his opportunity, sprinted off, following after his trainer's unresponsive form atop the mighty Salamence, and soon he disappeared into the darkness.
"Potter." Umbridge was furious, her face white. She held up a finger, pointing it accusingly even though no words would come. Then she snapped. "Aurors, arrest him!"
"What?!" Ron gaped. The aurors, too, did not look too sure. They shared glances before Kingsley stepped forward.
"Ma'am, we do not have the authority to arrest a minor," he said simply.
"Then confiscate his Pokémon," Umbridge snapped, glaring at Charizard. It was quite a sight to see, the short, squat Professor Umbridge, dressed all in pink, glaring up at the large, fierce looking fire and flying type. Again the aurors hesitated.
"We also do not have the authority to separate a Pokémon from its trainer," Kingsley informed her. "Not unless the Pokémon has shown clear signs of dangerous and/or aggressive behaviour. Charizard has done neither, yet." Harry got the message.
"Charizard, return." The aurors and their Machamp noticeably relaxed once Charizard was returned to his Pokéball. Umbridge did not look amused.
"Dawlish?" She snapped, turning to the auror. Dawlish took his time to respond.
"Auror Shacklebolt is correct," he replied, his tone of voice giving no indication as to whether he was happy about this or not. "We have no grounds to discipline Mr Potter in any way." That was not what Umbridge wanted to hear.
"Fine," she said angrily. "I suppose I'll just have to take this up with the Minister myself. You can leave, there is no reason for you to be here any longer." And she marched away, up to the castle.
"You should be returning to the castle, too," Kingsley told them, his voice even. "It is late."
"We will, sir," Hermione answered breathlessly. "We just need to get our stuff first." Kingsley nodded.
"Then be quick," he told them. "We must search Mr Hagrid's cabin for any information that may lead to his whereabouts, or those of Albus Dumbledore." It was as clear of a hint as you could get and Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried inside, closing the door behind them.
"Bloody hell," Ron swore. "What on earth…?"
"Not now," Harry hissed. "We can talk up at the castle." He moved further into the cabin and as he did so a soft scuttling sound could be heard from the corner.
"Oh, Aragog," Hermione moaned. "I'm so sorry." But this wasn't the time.
"Hermione, you take Aragog," Harry instructed, throwing over the Ariados's Pokéball. The other two Pokéballs for Fang and Norbert quickly found their way into Harry's bag.
They were packed up just in time as, no sooner had Hermione returned Aragog and attached his Pokéball to her belt, the door opened.
They left without comment, bags hoisted over their shoulders and silently praying that nobody would stop them. They didn't and they were able to make it to the Entrance Hall, the journey seeming to take longer than normal, before stopping to plan their next move.
That led them straight to Professor McGonagall's office.
The stern Physiology Professor did not speak as they told her their tale, her eyes boring into them with an unreadable expression until they were finished, silencing falling upon the room. McGonagall took a moment to reply.
"Thank you for telling me this," she said eventually. "The story you have just told me is … deeply troubling. I must make arrangements."
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked.
"Well, Mr Potter, first order of business is to find a qualified instructor capable of overseeing the Pokémon Care examinations," Professor McGonagall told him. "Fortunately I know precisely the person we need. Wilhelmina hasn't taught for a while but I am sure she'd agree to help out on a short term basis as a favour to an old friend."
"On the other hand getting Professor Hagrid out of trouble won't be so easy," she admitted. "I'll be making an official complaint to the Ministry about the appalling manner in which this arrest has been carried out. But in the meantime the best course of action is for Hagrid to remain on the run. At least it seems he has some strong allies to support him." That was a relief.
"And for you Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger, you should all focus on keeping your heads down. There are only a couple of weeks left before the end of term. Do not antagonise Delores Umbridge into doing something we'll all regret."
A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.
To Aoi Usa: I promise Angelina was taking the game very seriously. The problem is that Ravenclaw were too and they are a very good team while Gryffindor were essentially playing with a man down. Angelina wasn't having a go at Harry because she was trying to blame in, she was having a go at him to fire him up since she knew that he was their only hope of winning.
To PhoenixLordess: Don't worry, your review wasn't too harsh at all. I simply wanted to make my thoughts on Meganium clear so everyone knew I wasn't hating on the Pokémon.
To WarsOfShadows: First the thing about Daphne is that Harry kissed her, not the other way around. Of course Daphne could have pushed him away but the truth is she was caught by surprise and, despite what she says, she didn't exactly object to the kiss. She does like Harry, just not like that. What's more she's very confused with her feelings for Seamus considering that everything she knew about him beforehand seems contradictory to her liking him. That's why she reacted so violently when Harry tried to talk to her.
As for Dumbledore the truth (which I haven't explicitly stated) is that he was looking for an excuse to leave. His ability to resist Voldemort is really hampered while he is stuck under Umbridge's watch so he took advantage of the opportunity to free himself to do more, whilst also covering for Marietta (as he does truly care for her). Knowing what we know of how things went down at the end of Harry's fifth year that doesn't seem smart but Dumbledore has no reason to believe there is any danger to Harry at Hogwarts, especially since Harry doesn't have any mental connection to Voldemort to be wary about.
I hope that has cleared up any questions any of you have had but if there is anything else please let me know.
Thanks to those who answered the question of the day from the last chapter. It seems like there is a general interest in Quidditch (with a few people saying they'd play Keeper) but many of you seem to have the same problem with heights as I have.
You've also given me some more interesting potential questions of the day but again I'm going to go for something a lot more in line with this chapter.
QOTD: What is your favourite Dragon type Pokémon?
For me it is Garchomp. It is such a ferocious looking Pokémon, it is just incredible.
So what do you think? Who is your favourite Dragon type? Let me know in the reviews.