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Chapter Text

Harry smiled as he looked down at the baby in his arms. He looked much like his father and the person holding him. Harry was glad he'd inherited his father's hair-colour, since it had a blue tinge Harry could never hope to possess and reminded him of the blue stone in the locket he'd received from the man. Harry sighed sadly as he gazed out through the window, a tear falling down his cheek.

“Oh, Aaron... I wish you were here.”

Harry Potter, also known by the name Harry Ketchum by everyone outside Pallet (the townspeople knew he used the name, but also knew his real name) had lived a hard life. He'd defeated a Dark Lord at the age of 17 and had thought things would look up for him afterwards. In a way, they had. While there was no war anymore, Harry felt incomplete. His crush on Ginny had faded and she had understood. The media had laid off for a week. His godson was healthy and happy.

Everything else was the problem. He no longer felt even slightly connected to anyone living. He didn't feel like he had a place to call home. Worst of all, he'd been attacked by rogue pureblood-ideal supporters. He'd been lying on the ground, bleeding, when everything went dark. When he once again woke up he was in a forest. There, after saving a strange creature from some unfriendly people, he met him. Sir Aaron, the Aura Guardian living in Cameran castle. It took a while, but eventually... they fell in love. Then Aaron took on an apprentice, a Lucario whom Harry grew fond of. For a while they were happy.

Then the war started. In the end, both of Harry's new family members disappeared and Harry was left alone... bearing Sir Aaron's child. He couldn't stay there, and so he left the castle, stumbling upon a being called Celebi. Celebi brought him to Pallet town a year ago, and already Harry had integrated himself into the community. He was quite popular amongst both genders, but he hadn't taken anyone up on their suggestions of going out with them. He was much too busy with just taking care of himself, and now his child.

As Ash grew older, Harry saw much of Aaron in his son. The boy was brave and had a kind heart. He protected those he deemed in need of it and while the townspeople said he was like Harry, Harry knew these traits were purely Aaron. It was times like those that he missed him the most. What surprised Harry was their son's pain-tolerance. Harry had no idea how, but Ash had somehow acquired Harry's pain-tolerance. This was evidenced by him not even flinching when, on the day he got his starter pokémon, said pokémon attacked him. Nor did he collapse from his pikachu's thunderbolt, powerful as it was. Neither had Harry, but he knew why already.

Harry then smiled softly at his son and kissed his forehead “Good luck, call me when you get to a poke-center, ok?”

Ash smiled and hugged him, leaving pikachu in the middle, but for some reason the rodent didn't shock them “Of course, mom.”

Ash had always called Harry mom and Harry was just fine with that. He had carried Ash, he could identify as the boy's mother. Most people looked at Ash strangely when he did this, but neither member of their little family cared. Harry anticipated Ash would have some trouble with the pikachu, but when Ash called home from Viridian City, Harry was pleasantly surprised that they were okay now.

“Oh Ash, you're in Viridian already? Your father would be so proud, honey.” Harry said, tears in his eyes.

“Thanks mom. Are you proud of me?” Ash asked, looking hopeful.

Harry let his tears fall “Of course I am, I just miss you, that's all. Now, make sure you take care and call me when you know more about Pikachu's status.”

“Sure, mom. Bye.”

After that, Ash called home after every new pokémon he caught and every new gym badge he earned. He even talked about Brock and Misty, though they were never present when Ash called. Harry didn't mind, he knew Ash didn't do it on purpose and he might have inherited Harry's paranoia. Which was good.

Ash never brought his friends home, either. He never even thought about it. Somehow he just felt like he shouldn't and Harry never said anything about it. To be truthful, Harry was glad Ash didn't bring his friends home. Their little family was theirs and theirs alone. They didn't want anyone present for their family time.

Every time Ash came home he had a lot to tell Harry, Harry was most impressed and terrified of the times when he'd met a legendary pokémon. It was extraordinary for one person to see so many and Harry knew his little boy had inherited the Potter luck. It was either extremely bad or extremely good. Once Ash had shared his adventures, Harry would speak of his trips to Cameran Castle, of Ash's father and tell the Legend of the Hero of the Aura. Ash had heard it many times and had never got bored of it. But what Ash didn't know, was that this version only Harry knew, because he had been there.

This was why, a few years later, the boy would be surprised at what other people knew and just how much more Ash was aware of than other people. At twelve years, Ash seemed to be an average boy who wasn't that smart. This was not true. Sure, he might not be the most intelligent person, but he understood emotions much better than the average person and when it came to his family, he was the best he could be. And his family consisted of his “mother” and his pokémon. Professor Oak almost counted, but not quite.

His mother was the prime reason he was adamant on coming to the castle. He knew his mom often traveled here and this year they had planned on meeting there. He also wanted to be named hero of the Aura so that he could make Harry proud. Harry had once let it slip that Ash's father had been called that once, so the boy assumed his father had won the pokémon battle here at least once before he died. He also wanted to go to all the places his mom had talked about, the place where his parents met, where his dad had proposed, those kinds of places. He just wanted to know more about his dad. His mom might not have realized it, but Ash knew next to nothing about his dad, even though his mom had told many stories about him. They were always vague and he never even mentioned his dad's name. The only reason Ash never pried was due to the deep sorrow he could see in his mother's eyes when he spoke of his beloved.

Ash tuned in to his friends' conversation just in time for Brock to tell them that the castle had costumes they could use, grinning, Ash said “I wonder if they have a Hero costume.” well, it sounded like a question, but what he really meant was 'I hope they have a Hero costume.'

From what Ash had managed to get from his mother's absent comments about his father, he'd worn a cape once. This probably meant he'd dressed in the Hero of the Aura costume when he'd won the title and his mom had known him by then. So, he'd surprise his mom by wearing the same clothes. He hoped his mom would like it. When they got to the castle they immediately headed for where the costumes were stored. They split up to get the clothes they wanted. After some searching, Ash spotted something blue and fished out the outfit it belonged to. Sure enough, it was the Aura Guardian outfit of that time and more importantly, a replica of the clothes Sir Aaron had worn.

Grinning, Ash changed clothes in record time and leaped out from between the racks of clothing “I'm a hero! Whadda you guys think?”

Pikachu gave a cry of appreciation while the others only nodded, with Brock smiling at him.

Ash looked at their outfits and snorted when he realized Brock was dressed as a monk “I think your celibacy is questionable, Brock.”

“Hey!” Brock yelled, while the others snickered.

As they left the room, Ash handed Brock something “Hey, Brock? Can you film my battles and send them to mom, the number's in the contact-list.”

The thing he'd handed to Brock was a relatively new x-tranciever. His mom had gotten him it when he'd last been home so that he could call more often and let him know that he was safe. Brock nodded “Sure, but, why?”

Ash could understand the question, this was the first time he'd asked anyone to film his battles after all “Well, from what I've been able to fish out of mom, my dad won this tournament at least once before he died, so it's a surprise. Hopefully, mom will like it.”

Brock nodded. Over the years, he'd often heard things about Ash's mom and though he'd never met her, she sounded like a great parent. He'd do this, since Ash wanted to make his mom happy so much. Brock, if anyone, could understand wanting to make your family happy.

Chapter Text

On a train headed for the station two hours away from Cameran Castle sat a raven-haired man with green eyes and a scar upon his forehead. His name was once Harry Potter, but was mostly known as Harry Ketchum. He was reading a book on berries when his x-tranciever made a noise. The man put away his book and fished out the red and gold device. Seeing it was a video message, he opened it.

The video was a little shaky, but showed an arena Harry was somewhat familiar with. It had been built twenty years ago at Cameran Castle and Harry was confused until a very familiar boy ran out on one side, sending his pikachu to battle a breloom. Harry raised a hand to his mouth as his eyes teared up. His little boy was wearing Aaron's clothes. Or a replica, at least. But the similarities were jarring. Once the video ended with Ash being the winner of the match, Harry wiped his tears and smiled sadly.

“Oh, Ash. You have no idea how happy you make me when you pull stunts like this.” he whispered.

Looking outside at the scenery passing him by he estimated that he'd be at the castle in time for the festivities if nothing went wrong. Just as he thought that, the train sharply hit the brakes, causing many of the passengers and some of the luggage go flying. Harry only barely managed to stay in his seat.

“Ugh, now what?” he asked irritably.

Right after he asked that, the intercom crackled to life “Attention all passengers, we, Hutch and Cassidy-”

“It's Butch!”

“Whatever, Bert- of Team Rocket have hijacked this train, if you know what's good for you, you will surrender your pokémon without fight.”

Harry scoffed at this and grabbed a shrunken down poke-ball from his belt, which was hidden under a red coat that came down to his knees “Padfoot, come out to play.” he said as he opened the ball after resizing it.

Out of the poke-ball came a black, slim dog with gray curved horns, gray stripe-like protrusions on his back and neck, gray armband-like protrusions on each paw, a slim tail ending in an arrow, and a red snout and belly.

This was Harry's Houndoom. He'd named him Padfoot since the pokédex entry reminded him of the grim which Sirius could turn into. Well, Sirius hadn't been able to turn into an actual grim, just into a big dog that looked like one. But the point still stood. Once you got past the frightening exterior, the houndoom was loyal to its pack, which consisted of Harry, Ash and all the pokémon they owned. Padfoot considered Harry pack leader and Ash... well, Ash was a pup in his eyes. Padfoot was also perfect to take care of these pests that were making Harry late.

The canine turned to face Harry, the protrusion on his chest glinting as he waited for instructions.

Harry stood up “There are criminals on this train and you are going to help me get rid of them. They are making us late to meet my son.” he said seriously as he started marching towards the front of the train.

Padfoot barked and followed his leader. He knew it upset him when he couldn't see the pup.

It took a while for them to get to the front, since they were in the last cart, but it didn't take that long to take out the low-level Rocket grunts that littered the train and were making their way down the transport. Once Harry had dealt the damage, other trainers stepped up to guard the crooks. Opening the door to the control room, Harry took in the two people threatening the conductor.

When the three turned to face him, he wasted no time attacking “Padfoot, bite the woman!”

Said woman screamed when the houndoom made contact and dropped the gun she'd been holding to the conductor's head. The conductor immediately scrambled away.

Harry took the chance “Now, ember!”

The two Rockets ran around avoiding the tiny bolts of fire before slipping and knocking each other out. Seeing this, Harry made Padfoot stop and return to his side.

Kneeling down beside him, Harry pet the dog “Good job, hopefully we'll be there before midnight.”

After he finished saying that his x-tranciever let out a noise, telling him he had another message. Taking it out he opened the device to see that he had six unopened messages. He hadn't heard it while he'd been taking down the nuisances. Sighing, he started viewing the videos. Each video had Ash winning with pikachu and in the last video pikachu was battling a weavile. A powerful electric attack created an explosion and once the smoke cleared only pikachu was standing. Ash had won. Ash would be named “Hero of the Aura” for the following year.

Harry grinned “My son won the title of Hero of the Aura!” he exclaimed to the conductor, who smiled at the man who'd saved his life.

Even the houndoom wagged his tail to show his opinion of his owner's happiness.

Ash was ecstatic. He'd won! He was going to be named “Hero of the Aura” for the following year! He just hoped his mom was proud of him.

“We did it! We did it!” he yelled, jumping in joy before running towards his first real friend “Pikachu!”

His buddy was running over to him when out of nowhere an aipom appeared and started celebrating with pikachu. Ash stopped before he hit them, confused, before smiling at the two dancing pokémon. Before he could say anything, his opponent walked up and took of the helmet, revealing a tanned woman with long, fluffy brown hair.

“You and pikachu are great partners. My name is Kidd, nice to meet you.” she said while Ash blinked at the unexpected reveal before shrugging it off.

“My name's Ash.”

“And I'm Brock.”

Ash facepalmed when Brock sprung out of nowhere. It didn't take long for Brock to get dragged away by Max and Ash had to hastily catch his x-tranciever which flew out of Brock's grasp. He let out a sigh of relief when he caught it after some fumbling. He cocked his head when it started ringing.

“Yeah?” he answered, keeping an eye on Brock.

“Hi, honey.” came the slightly distorted voice of his single parent.

“Mom! Did you see my battles?” Ash asked, feeling giddy and hopeful.

“Yes, you did very well. I'm so proud of my little guardian.”

“Mooom!”

“But, that's not why I called. I'm sorry, Ash, but the train got delayed by Team Rocket, so I won't be there until tomorrow morning.”

Ash looked down, disheartened. Pikachu noticed this and tugged on his pant leg “Pika pi?”

Ash smiled at his buddy “I get it, mom, I'll get Brock to film the important bits, ok?”

“Okay, love you.”

“Love you too.”

Ash hung up with a sigh before making his way to where the others were, looking down.

Brock, who'd been dragged to the side by his ear by Max, noticed and spoke up “Hey Ash, why the long face? You won!”

May and Max looked at him, wondering about that too. Ash sighed “Team Rocket attacked the train mom's taking and delayed it. Mom won't be here for the party.”

“Team Rocket!” Brock exclaimed.

“Is your mom alright?” May asked.

Ash shook his head “Oh, don't worry 'bout mom, it's Team Rocket you should pity. If they were lucky then they only had to face Mooney. If mom was in a bad mood, though, then Padfoot was their opponent.”

Max blinked “Mooney? Padfoot?”

Ash looked at him “Mooney is mom's mightyena, Padfoot is a houndoom, so you get why you should feel really sorry for any Rocket grunts on that train.”

Brock sweatdropped “Can't argue with that.”

Chapter Text

Holding the staff of Sir Aaron felt like a great honor, though not for the reason most people would feel such, Ash was sure. His father had held it once, that he was certain of. Looking around at the dancing couples Ash felt bored. He couldn't even see his pokémon anymore. Instead he scanned the hall to see if there was a yearbook of some kind there. He finally spotted a thick tome on a pedestal by a portrait of a woman wearing a red dress. She looked familiar. More familiar than the portrait of Sir Aaron Ash had been staring at with his brows furrowed.

“So, Sir Aaron once held this staff... what a weird feeling.” Ash muttered, looking at the crystal “Or maybe... it's because dad held it once...” he continued.

“Why?!”

Ash flinched “There it is again.” he said, looking around.

The voice had asked that the first time he'd taken hold of the staff. He had a slightly bad feeling about it, especially after his mom had told him about how Aura users used crystals as conductors for their powers and Aura in general. It seemed crystals reacted differently to Aura than any other mineral did. Or perhaps it was a certain type of crystal. Ash wasn't sure and Harry hadn't been much more educated on the subject.

The music stopped and Ash turned his head to look at Queen Aileen as she descended the small bit of stairs leading to her throne on the second level of the platform. She came to a stop on the first level of the platform, the level he himself was sitting on, and spoke to the guests.

“We end this celebration for the night. Now, the Hero will see you off.”

The old woman who'd been keeping an eye on Ash for the entire party whispered “Strike the Hero's pose.”

Ash looked at the painting and copied the stance, wondering if he looked anything like his dad at the moment. As the fireworks were set off, Ash smiled, but wished his mom was there to see this.

“Why?!” came the voice again and this time Ash looked up at the staff and saw that a pinprick of light had appeared in the crystal.

The staff then started to shake in his hands, making Ash grab it with both hands. He was positive. There was something inside the staff and it had spoken.

“What's going on?” the elderly woman asked.

“There's something inside here!” Ash yelled as he tried to control the movement of the staff, finally just slamming the end of it on the floor to keep it somewhat still as the light grew to an almost blinding level.

Soon something burst from the crystal and the sudden surge of Aura sent Ash to the ground. He'd never felt an Aura signature that strong and it took him by surprise. Looking up he saw the light land and take a form before solidifying into a pokémon. It was a pokémon he recognized without the help of a pokédex. It was a lucario. And if Ash had to take a guess it was the lucario that belonged to Sir Aaron. The question was, what the heck had it been doing inside the staff?

The lucario didn't open its eyes and instead of even standing from its crouched position it just lifted its head and let the four black appendages on its head rise and vibrate, telling Ash that it was sensing the room rather than looking. He wondered what would happen and was shocked when the lucario turned abruptly in his direction.

“Sir Aaron!” came the telepathic exclamation as the lucario leaped from its previous spot to in front of Ash “Why did you abandon the castle?!”

Ash looked up at the Aura Pokémon with a weary expression from his place on the floor, where he'd fallen after the strange reaction from the staff, and said weakly “I just got here.”

The lucario stopped, took a step back and slowly struggled to open its eyes. After some straining, Ash was looking into a pair of red eyes. The owner of those eyes startled when he saw Ash, before looking around the hall. He then sprinted out the open doors and into the darkness.

Ash ran over to the queen and the old woman, staring after the pokémon he'd only heard stories about, and not even that many. He blinked as he gripped the staff.

“Was that...” he trailed off.

“Lucario.” the old lady finished and confirmed.

“He was the pokémon said to have been the partner of Sir Aaron.” the queen said.

Ash nodded, leaned the staff against the seat he'd vacated and went to follow the pokémon “I know that.” he said lowly, knowing no one would hear.

Lucario looked up to the sky at the fireworks, feeling confused. Is this Cameran Castle? he wondered, since the place if not the people, seemed familiar. He ran through an ivy-covered tunnel and to the doors that led to their quarters. The rooms he'd shared with Sir Aaron and Lady Black. Remembering the day Sir Aaron had brought him here, he opened the double doors.

But what he found wasn't the bed he'd been given, nor the door leading to Sir Aaron and Lady Black's chambers. Instead on the far wall hung a portrait of the three of them, the one Lady Black had insisted on getting made. There were other paintings on the walls and cabinets and showcases holding things he recognized, such as Lady Black's diary and notebooks.

“What... is this...” he weakly asked, standing at the bottom of the portrait, Lady Black's kind eyes gazing lifelessly out at the room.

He didn't understand...

“Lucario.” came a gentle voice from behind him.

Lucario turned around and spotted a familiar figure in the dimness of the room “Lady Leen!” the pokémon exclaimed joyously.

Right after he said that the room was illuminated and the woman spoke “I am not Queen Leen. Leen was my ancestor. My name is Aileen.” she explained as she walked closer.

She came to a stop as he was processing this and pulled him into a gentle hug, still a little out of it, he looked up at her as she continued “You've been asleep for a very long time.”

“Been... asleep?” he asked.

“A lot of time has passed.” she explained.

Lucario backed up, hitting a display case “But... just yesterday this was our room.” the Aura pokémon was confused and distressed, nothing made sense.

Lady Lee- Aileen spoke up again “To you it might be yesterday, but to us these are ancient events. This room was dedicated to the three of you, at the request of Lady Black before she left.”

Lucario paused “She... left? Why?” it didn't make sense, the woman had been ready to protect the castle in any way she could, why would she leave?

Queen Aileen shook her head “Our history says the Lady left on a rainy day, clad according to her name and was never seen again. No one knows why she left, only that she asked the Queen to preserve what was left of her family. Thus this room was dedicated to the three of you.”

Ash frowned as he listened to Lucario and the Queen. They had all moved tot he throne room for some reason Ash wasn't privy to, probably Royal shenanigans, as his mom would call it. Both of their stories were different from what his mom had told him. At first he couldn't figure our why, but then he realized that it was because only one person could have known what his mom had told him. Lady Black. The same Lady Black who had left for unknown reasons. Well, unknown to everyone but Ash and Harry. Ash had spotted the family rings on the lady's fingers. The same rings that his mom wore.

Ash cleared his expression as Queen Aileen offered Lucario a place at the castle and stepped closer “My name's Ash, who did you mistake me for?” he asked, wanting to make sure.

Lucario confirmed his suspicions by looking at the portrait “Sir Aaron... why would you mistake me for him?” Ash asked, blinking.

“Your Aura is the exact same as Sir Aaron's.” was Lucario's response.

Before anyone could say anything else, Max ran in with most of the pokémon “Ash! It's horrible!”

“What happened?” Ash asked the boy, who seemed panicked.

“There was a Mew-”

“Oh, what a lucky boy to have seen Mew, it is said that happiness shall come to anyone who sees it.” the old lady interrupted, sounding happy.

“That's not it!” Max yelled.

“Then what?” May asked, almost condescending.

“Mew took Pikachu and Meowth.” Max explained.

“What?!” Ash yelped, paling.

“Mew did?” Lucario asked, stepping out from behind Ash.

Max spazzed “...pokémon?”

“This is Lucario. He was trapped in Sir Aaron's staff for hundreds of years, he was released a few minutes ago.” Brock explained.

Max spazzed some more “No waaaaay!”

May then looked at her brother “Are you sure you saw Mew? Maybe you mistook it for some other pokémon.”

Ash looked at her strangely “There's only one pokémon that looks like Mew and you would never be able to mistake the two for each other. May, seriously, think before you speak. Also, even if it was a Ditto, it would still not be able to fly without knowing psychic, which would make it glow.” Ash deadpanned.

Then again, May wouldn't know about Mewtwo, so she could be excused for that one. But the Ditto point still stood.

May blushed, huffed and looked away from them all. That's when Kidd made her appearance, supporting Max by telling them how she'd seen Mew turn into a Pidgeot and fly away with Meowth and Pikachu.

“Where could Mew be taking them, and why?” Ash asked, not understanding the motive behind what the legendary was doing.

“It's probably playing. Mew often comes to the castle to make mischief and play. Toys often disappear and are never seen again.” the old woman said, looking at the portrait which depicted Mew and what Ash assumed was the Tree of World's Origin.

To answer Ash's question of “where”, they were taken to a balcony with a direct view of the Tree where Mew resided. It was also the same balcony from which Sir Aaron had departed, though none of them knew that.

“Mew lives there.” the Queen said, causing Ash to briefly glance at her.

“Alright, I'm leaving.” Ash said, turning to do just that.

“Ash, Mew can turn into any pokémon, you'll never be able to find it.” Aileen said as everyone looked at him.

Ash stopped and turned to face them, a determined expression on his face “I don't need to find Mew, I only need to find Pikachu.”

Lucario eyed the boy. He was strange by his standards and, from what he was sensing, by everyone else's standards, too. The dark-skinned one seemed resigned, as if he was used to this sort of behavior. He was the only person who wasn't surprised even a little. They must have been acquainted for a while for him know the boy so well. He turned to the queen when she requested his help. Since he could sense Aura, she wanted him to help Ash in finding Mew and hopefully Pikachu too. Due to it being his duty, he agreed.

Chapter Text

Ash sighed as he put on his cap. Kidd, who'd been revealed to be Kidd Summers, had offered to come with them and Ash wasn't sure what to make of her. She seemed nice and had an inquisitive mind, but Ash just didn't know if they could trust her. He was on his way to the ballroom again when his x-tranciever started ringing. He dug it out of his pocket, hoping it was his mom.

Lucario had went back to the ballroom, hoping that something familiar would ease his mind. As luck would have it though he wasn't alone for long. He could hear an odd noise coming from outside and could tell it was getting closer. Soon, though, the noise ended and was instead replaced by a voice.

“Hi, mom.”

It was the boy! The boy with Sir Aaron's Aura-signature. Thinking quickly, Lucario jumped up and balanced on the open door, out of sight. The boy walked in, wearing clothes different from the Aura Guardian uniform, talking into some device in his hand.

“I should ask you that. I know you can take care of yourself, but this is Team Rocket we're talking about here!”

The boy sounded upset. Had something happened to his mother?

“Those three are nothing, everyone else in that organization seem oddly competent! You didn't get hurt, right?”

Ah. So, the boy's mother had had an encounter with unsavory people. He wondered why the boy was so upset though.

“No, it's fine. Even if I would've liked you to be here, it's not the end of the world. It's not as if I haven't been delayed by Rockets before.”

Now it made sense. From what he'd been able to understand, being named “Hero of the Aura” for a year at the festivities was a great honour, the boy would've wanted his mother to be there for such a big occasion, but she had been delayed by this “Team Rocket”, not only making her late but also causing her son to worry for her well-being.

The boy suddenly looked embarrassed “Yeah, um... well, y'see...” Lucario raised an eyeridge when the boy then suddenly exclaimed “It's not my fault! Sir Aaron's staff reacted to my Aura and set free his Lucario and then Mew took Pikachu and I-” the boy's breath suddenly hitched and he slumped “and I... I'm scared... that I'll never see him again...” he said, his voice getting fainter and fainter “mom? What do I do?”

By now, Lucario had jumped down and silently landed behind the boy, who'd sat down on the first stairs that led to the lower platform of the two.

This time, Lucario could hear the voice coming from the device, the boy's mother sighed and started speaking, voice a lot less clear than when he'd used crystals to communicate with Sir Aaron- no, he should not think about that now.

“Ash, honey, I know it feels hopeless, but just slow down and breathe. In and out. In, and out.”

The boy complied to his mother's request and Lucario sat there silently as the boy's mother continued “Good. Now, focus on my voice, we don't want a repeat of the incident now so we?”

Ash breathed deeply before he spoke again “Yeah... that would be bad.” he chuckled before growing somber “I... I wish dad was here.”

There was a sigh from the other end “I know, honey. I wish he was here too. He would be able to train you properly, all I know is how to keep your emotions from making your Aura explode.”

The boy curled up and Lucario could tell he was listening attentively “Was he good? At controlling his Aura?”

A chuckle “Oh, you have no idea... he once took out a group of ten in one sweep. It was how we met, actually. I woke up in the forest just outside Cameran Castle and was attacked by a group of goons. They took me by surprise, and I had no pokémon back then, so I was quickly overwhelmed. Then, out of the trees burst the wanker, wearing that silly cape and took 'em all out! He didn't even look at their prone forms and instead picked me up and ran to the castle. I remember wondering if I'd hit my head and was dreaming. Of course, I had in fact hit my head and woke up in the infirmary with the idiot asleep in a chair beside my cot. He hadn't left since he'd brought me in.”

The boy was obviously enraptured by the story and Lucario wondered what had happened to the boy's father to make him like this, desperate for any information about his sire. He was snapped out of his musings by the child ending the communication “Bye, mom. Love you lots.”

The boy's mother answered gently “Bye, Ash. Love you always.”

The boy folded the device and put it in his pocket before standing up and going to a book situated on a pedestal by a portrait of Lady Black. The boy looked at the portrait for a second before lifting the glass case shielding the book. As he turned the pages, Lucario crept closer. The book seemed to be one used to record previous victors of the title the boy had received for the year and Lucario wondered what the boy was searching for.

“What are you looking for?” he eventually asked.

The boy answered absently, probably not registering who had asked the question “A picture of my dad. From what I've managed to gather from mom, he won the “Hero” title at least once while wearing the old Aura Guardian uniform- dammit,” he ended up muttering “this thing only goes back ten years.” he said as he closed the book and bent to pick up the glass cover.

After he'd put it back he blinked and turned to look at Lucario, startling and taking a step back “Gah! When did you get here?!”

Lucario raised an eyeridge “I was here before you.”

Ash blinked “Oh. Wait, that means you heard my phone call with mom.” the boy groaned.

“Is that what the device is called?” Lucario asked tentatively, trying to act civil with the child who, somehow, shared Sir Aaron's aura-signature, it wasn't his fault that Sir Aaron betrayed him.

The boy shook his head “Officially, it's an x-tranciever, but technically it's just a smaller version of a phone, so I guess you could call it that.” he then looked at Lucario solemnly “Thanks, by the way, for helping me find Pikachu.”

Lucario eyed him “Are you that pikachu's master?”

Ash pulled a face “Umm... no. We're partners, friends, whatever you may call it, but if I ever start considering myself my pokémon's master then there will be something very wrong with me.” he said, shuddering “And mom would beat me up until I'd start seeing sense.”

Lucario blinked, choosing to ignore the last part and instead inquired “Friend?”

The boy shrugged “Yea, I'm friends with all my pokémon, they're my family. That's why I need to find Pikachu, because he's family. Nothing in this world will ever be more important than family.”

Lucario cocked his head “That is... a sound philosophy.”

Ash nodded “It's what mom always says, and mom is always right about these things.” he said, before he slumped a little “That's actually why I wanted to win the tournament. I wanted to make mom happy. Dad died before I was born and, well, I can tell that mom misses him. I thought this would be a nice surprise, though I can't really compare myself to him since I've only ever seen one teeny-tiny picture of him and that yearbook doesn't go back enough to have dad's picture in it.” he explained as he sighed.

Lucario wasn't sure what to say next, so instead he just turned and started walking out “You should rest, we're leaving early tomorrow.”

Honestly, he still didn't understand the boy. But, he had to admit that the resolve he possessed was admirable. This one, at least, would not betray his partner... he hoped.

The next morning dawned dark and foggy. Ash hadn't managed to see his mom and was feeling a little depressed about it as he sat quietly in the backseat of Kidd's car. The ride was bumpy, but Ash had been through worse riding Sirius with his mom.

“How is Lucario able to navigate through this fog?”

Ash was the one to answer, having heard a lot of stories about his dad's lucario “He's using Aura-Sight to navigate.”

“Aura-Sight? What's that?” May asked.

“And what's Aura?”

Ash rolled his eyes “Aura-Sight is the ability to see Aura or to see using Aura. Aura is the energy in everything living and it's also what gives pokémon their abilities, even if only the Riolu evolution line can really access Aura in its pure form. People who can use Aura were called Aura Guardians if they were trained, but nowadays aura users are rare.” after another bump, Ash continued “Sir Aaron is like a Patron Saint to Aura users and was the strongest recorded Aura Guardian.”

“Wait, that lucario said you had the same Aura as Sir Aaron, does that mean you can use Aura?” May asked.

Ash opened his mouth, but slammed it back shut as they hit a very big bump, almost causing him to hit his head on the roof of the car and bite his tongue “Yes and no. If I had a teacher, I could probably use it more than I do now. At the moment however, I just have an easier time understanding pokémon. My Aura is constantly... leaking, so I can sort of feel my surroundings, I guess, and connect with my pokémon. Just pokémon, since they're more receptive to Aura than humans.” after a pause, Ash continued “At least, that's how mom explained it to me. Mom can't teach me about Aura, since mom doesn't have it, but if dad was alive I'd know more.”

“What happened to your dad, Ash?” Max asked.

“Max!”

“What?”

Ash didn't answer and instead looked outside at the foggy landscape. Honestly, Ash had no idea what actually happened to his dad. All he knew was that his mom had felt him fade through the Aura Bond they shared. Ash would have liked to create a bond between him and his mother, but he had no one to teach him. It would've been comforting to always know whether or not his mom was okay and he knew his mom would also feel better knowing how he was between phone calls.

He also knew that his mom often had nightmares about the death of his dad. He could often hear Harry crying and had once peeked into his mom's room and seen him cuddling with all his pokémon, sobbing. It had made it all the more important for Ash to be the best there ever had been and ever would be, so that his mother never had to worry about his safety or that something would happen to him, like it had happened to dad. He didn't want to make mom worry.

Chapter Text

They stopped in an open area with a big rock somewhat to the side. There were red berries growing on the side of said boulder and Lucario immediately went there as the others began setting up temporary camp. Ash headed over to Lucario, wanting to talk to him alone. He climbed to sit on the rock, overlooking the stunning surroundings.

Lucario didn't react to him until he started speaking “You know, it's funny.”

“What is?” Lucario asked, glancing at him.

Ash spoke again, glad to have the canine pokémon's attention “I came here so that I could find out more about my dad, but instead I find out more about an ancestor I didn't know I had...” he trailed off as he fished out the rings attached to a chain around his neck, making them clink together.

Lucario's eyes widened as he turned to get a better look “Those are-!”

“The Potter and Black heir rings, the ones you saw were the Head of House rings... I never knew why mom always told such a detailed story about Lady Black and Sir Aaron, especially since today I've heard a completely different version of the legend than what my mom always told me...” Ash trailed off before tucking the tings back under his shirt. After a moment he turned his head to look at Lucario “You wanted to know, right? What happened to Lady Black?”

Lucario nodded, wanting to know what had happened to the kind woman.

Ash looked into the distance “After Sir Aaron flew off on a pidgeot, Lady Black was soon to follow. She rode her arcanine towards the Tree of the World's Beginning, all the while cursing her husband.”

Lucario smiled, it sounded like the Lady, alright. He remembered many times when she resorted to very unladylike cussing to get his Master to obey her.

“Halfway there, a green energy started flowing from the tree and washed over the land. Arcanine came to a stop and the Lady hopped off, thinking that there was no need to go further since she could feel her husband in the energy.” Ash continued, smiling. His smile then dropped as he said the next sentence “She then collapsed in pain.”

Lucario jerked at that, his eyes widening as he realized what had to have happened.

“As you probably know, it was traditional for Aura Guardians to forge an Aura Bond with their spouse after marriage. It was used to put the pair at ease about the condition of the other in order for Aura Guardians to be able to focus on their missions and for them to know if something was wrong while they were away. Unfortunately, this meant Lady Black felt Sir Aaron dying through the bond, leaving behind an empty feeling that would bother her for the rest of her life.” Ash continued, pausing “As if that wasn't enough, after returning to the Castle, the healers examined her for any ill effects caused by the bond breaking and discovered that she was pregnant.”

Lucario was feeling off-kilter. The Lady... had been with child.

“Devastated, Lady Black left Cameran Castle, knowing she'd never be able to raise her child there with her family gone. She also knew people would look down on her for being a single mother, no matter who her husband had been. I don't know where she went, but she never did return to the Castle.”

Lucario turned away from the boy, not sure what to make of this new information. He'd assumed that Sir Aaron had abandoned the castle, but if this story was true, he had died at the tree and somehow saved the kingdom. But that didn't explain why his Master had sealed him inside the staff.

“Mom used to tell me this story after I had an accident with my own aura, but no matter what, I could never get a story about dad. I guess I can see why, something similar had to have happened on the day dad died.” Ash said, looking down “Mom hides it, but sometimes I wake up and find mom crying in the middle of the pokémon that live in the house, so I know mom and dad had to have had an aura bond... and that it snapped when he died. I'm surprised it didn't result in a miscarriage, for either Lady Black or mom.”

Lucario looked down “I... I had no idea the lady was with child... if she was unaware of the fact that I had been sealed away, then she must have thought she'd lost the both of us...”

Ash glanced at him before looking at the scenery again “Yeah...”

The Aura pokémon looked at the raven-head “You are my master's legacy, as such, I feel obligated to guide you in the use of your powers. You mentioned an incident?”

Ash grimaced “Yeah, my then ex-friend, Gary Oak, left me in the woods near Route 1 and I got lost. In the crying fit that followed, I leveled about five trees and scared off all the pokémon. Thankfully, Godric found me and brought mom to calm me down.”

Lucario raised an eyeridge “Godric?”

Ash blinked “He's a braviary. They're pokémon the size of pidgeot, but much more colourful. I'm sure you'll meet him once mom gets here.”

“You sound sure that she'll arrive soon.”

Ash shrugged “It's mom. And knowing mom, either Sirius or Godric is gonna be used as transportation. Possibly both.”

“And Sirius is?”

“Mom's arcanine. He's great to play with and one of mom's most powerful pokémon, and I think he's also mom's first pokémon. He was also basically my babysitter when I was really young.”

Lucario's eyeridge, which he'd only just lowered rose again at the explanation “You and your mother have a unique relationship with pokémon.”

Ash nodded “I've noticed. I catch more than I probably should, but mom takes care of them so they don't get lonely. Meanwhile, mom's pokémon were probably the only safety net available after dad passed and they helped raise me as much as a pokémon can raise a human. I miss 'em, but at least I know mom will always be safe so long as they're coming along wherever.” he ended, gesturing vaguely towards the world in general.

Lucario nodded contemplatively. It was obvious the boy loved his mother very much and that both family members loved their pokémon very much and trusted them too. It made him wonder how they trained. From what he'd understood, those in this time with pokémon usually had them do battle, which meant they had to be trained. Did they do it in a similar way as sir Aaron trained him? Or in some other way? Perhaps he would get to witness it.

Chapter Text

Harry stood on top of the roof of one of the towers, binoculars pointed towards the Tree of World's beginning. It had been a while since he'd actively stared at it. But today was much different than the previous visits he'd made. This wasn't about memories. This was about his son. His son that kept getting into trouble and world-changing events. His son who had inherited the Potter Luck. His son... who had brought back Lucario, whom Harry had thought he'd lost along with his husband.

Harry pursed his lips as he tucked away the binoculars, before sitting down and burying his head in his arms, which were crossed over his knees. He didn't know what to do. On one hand, he wanted to see Lucario again, on the other, he didn't really want to explain the circumstances behind his time travel or why he'd never told Ash about it. Then again, with all the things his son had pulled, he would probably just roll with it after the initial shock. With a sigh, the wizard stood up and called out Godric. He should start making his way after the company.

They'd stopped at a hot spring Ash had remembered his mom talking about and everyone was thankful for it. Lucario was more dubious about relaxing, but didn't protest much.

“I'm surprised your mom would have mentioned this place, though.” Brock commented off-handedly after a while.

Ash got a melancholy sort of look on his face “I think... I think mom used to come here with dad a lot. Mom always gets this... really faraway look when this place comes up.”

The mood dropped slightly at that and soon enough they were exiting the steaming water. Which was, of course, when Ash tripped over a strange, crystal-looking object. This caused it to open and cast a sort of mirage over the area, causing everyone to stop and look around in confusion. All except Lucario, who knew what the object was.

“I don't know, what do you think?”

They turned towards the voice and came face-to-face with the see-through image of a couple sitting in the water, their faces somewhat obscured by the steam, real and past.

“If it's a girl? Lily Luna, I guess. Lily Luna Potter.”

Ash sucked in a breath at the surname, slowly starting to realize just what he was seeing, while the others were still left in the dark.

“And if it's a boy?”

The conversation made no sense to most listening, but Ash had a sinking suspicion what they were witnessing.

“I'd like to use my father's name... but it's not just up to me, luv. What do you think?”

“Hmm...” there was a brief pause “I think... Ash. Yes, Ash is a good name, don't you think?”

“Ash...”

Slowly but surely, it started to dawn on Brock what they were seeing and, looking at Ash's face, he knew he was right.

Baby names. The couple in the mirage were discussing baby names. More specifically, Ash's parents were discussing baby names.

“But that's quite far off in the future. We're in no hurry.”

“Always good to be prepared, luv. You never know...”

The Time Flower stopped glowing and their surroundings faded back to normal, causing Ash to choke out “So, dad named me. That's nice to know.” his voice ended up sounding more like a sob at the end.

He couldn't have expected it to hurt so much, to finally catch a glance of what his mom had lost. Not able to completely process the myriad of emotions, Ash ran off, ignoring the calls for his name.

He was starting to understand why mom didn't talk about him.

The others gave him space, which Ash didn't really want, at least until he had changed clothes, at which point Brock brought him in a one-armed hug and didn't let go. The young trainer appreciated it and he supposed Brock would be sympathetic, what with his own family problems. Sometimes Ash wondered if mom hadn't tried filling the void with pokémon. A part of Ash wondered if he was doing the same, only he wasn't trying to fill the void in himself, but the void in his mother. Mom thrived when taking care of others, people and pokémon alike. He was sure the man had looked happier ever since Ash had started catching over the 6-per-team mark, because that's when his pokémon started showing up at the ranch. The man was very maternal. But he could also be scary, if Charizard was anything to go by. It had only taken one trip to the ranch to curb Charizard's more violent outbursts towards Ash, even if the lizard had not listened to him until that fateful night when Ash had rubbed his hands raw in order to thaw the frozen pokémon.

He hoped Harry would catch up soon. He really needed to talk to him now. Maybe it was time to try and get some closure. Even Ash could understand that clinging to the past for this long was not healthy... but what could he do? How could he help mom... if mom wouldn't let him?

Lucario let the child be comforted by his male friend as he thought about the scene they had witnessed. The voices of the boy's parents sounded so similar to his Master and the Lady Black, it was difficult not to become lost in his memories of the two together.

He was especially reminded of the many times Sir Aaron forgot their lunch and the Lady had to trudge to wherever they were that day, huffing that his Master should know better and that she was not his mother. Yet, no matter how many times the man forgot, and the Aura Pokémon had suspected he did it intentionally, his wife never failed to bring them sustenance. He was sure the Lady had raised their child well, wherever she had went after the battle. She had to have, for their descendant to be like this.

Lucario gazed at the boy with the appearance and Aura of his Master and the heart of the Lady Black and wondered if the child's mother would allow him to stay and watch over him. Even if he was still unsure whether or not Sir Aaron had abandoned his duties or not, he himself would do his duty towards what remained of the man's family.

There was nothing holding him to the castle, anymore.

Chapter Text

The memories were haunting him.

Well, they'd been haunting him for over a decade now, but as the mountain drew closer, they got worse. Which was why he'd asked Godric to land and Harry himself was currently hugging his knees, his face buried in his thighs. His chest ached, but not from the cold air as one might think. He remembered all too well the searing pain as the aura link between him and Aaron shattered. He often felt phantom pains, as if the link was still there, but the wizard knew that was just wistful thinking on his part.

Aaron was dead.

He wasn't coming back.

And now their son was heading to his husband's final resting place, forcing Harry to face the fact that he was a coward. He'd never even went to fetch the body for a funeral. He was weak. And now he feared he'd find nothing but bones... or worse, a second corpse. It's not like it should be dangerous... but with Ash's luck? Harry was afraid. He was also afraid his own luck would only worsen any situation that might arise, but he was also afraid if he didn't go... he couldn't bear the thought.

And if... if Lucario- if it truly was Lucario that his son had freed from Aaron's staff... then it would mean he'd left him behind. It wasn't like he could have known, but the fact still stood... he'd never even glanced at it after Aaron's death. He'd left it at the castle when he'd walked away, searching for an escape. An escape Celebi had granted him.

It was Celebi who had dropped him in Pallet Town, right on the doorstep of Samuel Oak. The man had been touched by Celebi, Harry could tell that much, which would explain why he'd been dropped there and then.

(Later, after some of the things Ash had gotten into, Harry wondered if Celebi hadn't known about that, too.)

Sighing, he stood back up and patted Godric's wing “Thanks, Godric, let's go make sure my wayward chick didn't get into something bigger than what he can handle.”

The large bird trilled as his trainer hopped onto his back, beating his wings until they were off the ground and making their way towards the tree-looking mountain.

They'd made it all the way to the last spot Lucario had seen his Master. The feeling he was experiencing was not pleasant in the least. His feelings towards his master were muddled by distaste and confusion. The conflicting information he had wasn't making things easier either.The part of him that had grown close to Sir Aaron rebelled against the part that had been hurt by their last encounter. Rationality versus emotion. And then the time flower opened, playing the scene once again for all to see.

“Leave this place!”

“Huh?”

“I have abandoned the castle- I am never returning to the castle!”

“Please wait!”

It hurt, to watch the encounter from the outside... but he was able to look at it more objectively now, with the ability to see his master's body-language. The man was acting strange, that much the Aura pokémon could admit.

He may have also lost his composure at the mirage enough that he started attacking the past herd of attacking pokémon. Before he could do any permanent damage, however, the air was pierced by a rather familiar sound.

Shaking his head at the sharp whistle, Lucario was faced with the overlapping vision of Lady black and the child of her blood, snapping “Snap out of it!”

The vision cleared and he was left with the child standing in front of him, expression very similar to the lady's whenever she'd found it necessary to break apart his and Sir Aaron's spars. Taking in a deep breath, Lucario shared these thoughts out loud.

“You truly are... of Lady Black's lineage...”

The boy looked confused for a moment, before seeming to realize what he was speaking of, laughing and scratching his head “Ah, actually, I learned that from mom, it's a reflex by now.”

Lucario hummed, already knowing that the boy's mother was the one connecting him and Lady Black. He wondered exactly how many generations apart they were, if it had been hundreds of years since the war.

“Come on, we're almost there.”

Lucario looked towards their destination, knowing the boy was right. Their quest would soon be over and Lucario... Lucario would have to decide what to do next. Looking at the boy, he felt it wouldn't be that hard of a decision to make after all.

He'd make an Aura Guardian of the boy yet. With his mother's permission, of course.

He did not want to face Lady Black's wrath, no matter how watered down it would be by now.

It was a good thing for Lucario that he'd already decided this. For Lady Black's wrath would have been the exact same it had been the last time he witnessed it.

Chapter Text

He didn't want to go inside. Harry gazed at the tree-like mountain that was his husband's final resting place.

He really didn't want to go inside.

Godric nudged him, cooing in concern that didn't really abate from getting scritches under his chin.

He knew he was being a coward. He'd been loitering more than making his way over, even though his son was making his way there.

The wizard sighed and moved to mount the giant bird when suddenly the blue aura crystals started shining green. Green eyes locked onto the phenomenon as their owner paled, having seen this once before already.

“No... Ash!”

Harry scrambled onto his Braviary's back, who wasted no time in taking to the skies, sensing his human's distress.

I will not lose my son to this!

Only, the scene changed from green to red, which meant whatever had been done had gone wrong, and if it had gone wrong-

Then Ash was going to try and fix it.

And there was no telling what it was going to take!

“C'mon, there's got to be a way in... there's-” the wizard cut himself off, searching for his wand.

He had an idea.

“Expecto Patronum!”

Prongs leapt from the tip of the Elderwand and wasted no time in leading the way. The Patronus was a rather versatile spell, once you had time to study it. Harry had realized that it had to have the capability to find people, if you could send messages with it. So that's what he cast it to do.

Prongs would find Ash.

Hopefully before it was too late.

~

Ash looked at the snippet of the past as it played out, realizing with dread what it meant. Sir Aaron had come to the Tree, alone, to give up his life. And for Mew to bring them here-

They needed to repeat what had happened, only-

Ash didn't know how to control his Aura, and he doubted Lucario would be enough on his own. Swallowing, he grabbed Aaron's gloves from where they had been discarded, while Lucario struggled to give Mew enough Aura to save the Tree.

I'm sorry, mom. The raven-haired boy thought, tugging the gloves on and concentrating on the feel of the energy inside him.

He had to do this, otherwise-

Otherwise...

“Ash, no! If you do this-!” Kidd yelled, noticing what he was doing.

“I know! But if I don't do this, the Tree will be destroyed!” the trainer yelled, shaking as he slowly formed a sphere of Aura.

“Ash...” Lucario sounded shocked, but didn't wait for long before trying, once again, to transfer enough Aura for Mew to save the Tree.

Slowly, painfully, the two of them managed to create a big enough sphere, but holding it- well-

It was soon obvious why Sir Aaron had died. Mew needed too much Aura for any one person to safely output, and just as Lucario was planning to shove Ash out of the way so that at least he would survive-

A distant call of a pokemon from above.

Ash, Lucario and Kidd all looked up at the sound and were greeted with the sight of a white, wispy figure galloping into the cavern from the tunnel Mew had used in the vision of the past.

Ash recognized it. Of course he did. He'd seen his mother create it often enough. It had been his nightlight, growing up.

“Prongs? Then-”

Before he could vocalize his realization, the Patronus lunged into the Aura, causing the sphere to brighten and expand well over the needed girth. And then...

A pulse of green washed over them all, causing Ash to stop channeling Aura in surprise and fall on the floor, winded.

Lucario managed to stay standing, but he wasn't really doing much better, but they were alright, they were fine...

“Ash!”

Said boy looked up to see a wall of colour, which he realized was just Godric, but Godric couldn't talk-

Oh.

“Mom!” the boy barely had time to scramble up before he was assaulted by the tightest hug he'd received in a while.

His mother smelled of frost, meaning he'd been flying for a while. The long, black coat was wind-proof and warm, and rough against Ash's face. Mom had also braided his hair, by the feel of it. Mom buried a hand in Ash's hair, causing the boy to let his eyes fall shut, knowing by that simple action just what kind of state his mom's mind was in. He was touchy-feely on a normal day, but being squished against his front and with a hand deep in his hair, cupping his scalp?

Yeah, mom needed this.

Lucario stared.

And stared.

And stared.

He stared at the scene in front of him, not able to even blink.

The person who had come riding on a pokemon reminiscent of a Pigeot, black clothes and hair and eyes of emerald-

And a scar in the middle of their forehead.

A lightning bolt obscured by bangs, but the exact same shape as-

As-

He'd heard the whispers of how the lady would never wed, what with a face scarred such as hers, such a jagged, ugly thing. Yes, he'd heard them whisper. He'd seen the lady curl in on herself, she too having heard them.

He'd seen Sir Aaron put those worries to rest.

He'd seen that scar, and yet-

He could swear he was looking at a man.

Then-

Why-

“I'm sorry. You don't have to do this.”

Lucario breathed deeply as he suddenly remembered an overheard conversation between his Master and the Lady.

“Yes I do. I look the part, and, this way, your reputation does not suffer. I'll be fine, as long as I have you, I can live with it. So long as you are with me, I do not mind quite so much.”

Having a male lover, especially while staying in the castle- yes, Lucario could see it now.

Could see why Lord Black would have sacrificed his gender for Sir Aaron.

He had known about the magic, of course, and the magic was the only explanation as to how such a coupling could have resulted in a child-

But it explained why Lord Black had not stayed, though how, exactly, the man had accomplished arriving in a different time entirely- that was a question in and of itself.

He did not think Ash had been lying to him, therefore-

The child did not know. His Master's child did not know, for his mother was still mourning.

Chapter Text

Harry had realized it quickly. Not only Aaron's attraction to him, that had been painfully obvious though he'd never believed in “love at first sight” nor had he thought he'd take his mother's role in his final relationship. Not in the way that he'd disliked Aaron and thus rebuffed all advances, but that he'd be the receiver of an enthusiastic man's affections.

No, what he'd realized was that wherever he'd ended up, they were in medieval times and thus, had medieval values. The rest of the court at least, Queen Leen had rather modern values and perhaps if Aaron had never met him, they would have been in a different relationship. As it was, The Queen was Aaron's closest friend, even if being so close platonically as members of the opposite sex was something the rest of the court found impossible and gossip was running away with their supposed relationship. It didn't fully eclipse the rumors, true as they were, about Aaron's “less savory” inclinations.

It wasn't that the man was ashamed, it was just that the rumors made his job that much harder, which was a problem since it also affected the Queen's image negatively.

There were few places where the three of them could ever speak without fear of eavesdroppers, which meant that they often reconvened in Leen's chambers, which was where the most unsavory rumors came from. The Queen? Alone in her chambers? With two men? Scandalous!

Honestly, even Harry became exasperated after a while, which led to the final solution. Green didn't really suit Leen's complexion, which was the reason a gown of such colour was set to the side to be disposed of.

“I'm not sure what to do, m'lady.” the Aura Guardian sighed “I fear my reputation will soon be beyond salvaging, yet I cannot bear the thought-”

“I would never ask for you to abandon your happiness since your duty already robs you of much else. But though you have been discreet, you also cannot live a lie your entire life.” the Queen soothed, also looking troubled.

Harry, meanwhile had approached the dress, cocked his head, then picked it up by the shoulders “The problem, currently, is the supposed existence of a male lover.” he said as the idea formed.

The sitting duo turned to look at him, possibly to ask him where he was going with the train of thought, then paused at the sight before them.

Harry had turned around and draped the dress on his front, holding one of the sleeves straight with his arm while holding the dress up across his chest, causing the very top of it to droop sadly. It drove the point home, however.

“We just need to eliminate the notion of a male lover.”

Aaron scrambled from the couch, looking troubled “Harry, I would never ask that of you-”

“I don't mind... or, well... I... I do not mind doing this for you.” green eyes looked down before he shook his head and looked at the Aura Guardian again “If it means I can be with you I will pretend to be a woman for the rest of my life. If that is what it takes.”

Leen quite generously gifted him the dress and thus, “Lady Holly Jasmina Black” was born. The story fed to the court was that “she” had dressed as a man to escape unnoticed the people who had murdered “her” family and had been terrified to let anyone know “her” secret. Sir Aaron had found out the day he'd rescued “her” and had told the Queen. Of course, the man had also fallen in love but he couldn't just meet her without an escort, that would be improper, so the gracious Queen Leen had acted as such since no one had yet known of “Holly's” identity, which was why all three of them spent so much time in her personal chambers.

The Court ate it up and the rumors died down to a much less scandalous gossip about Sir Aaron's possible fiancée.

Of course, then the talk began to circulate about Lady Black's appearance and how it was a good thing Sir Aaron had settled for her scarred face.

It... hurt more than Harry'd like to admit, but he persevered.

Things became trickier after Aaron took on Lucario as his apprentice, but by then the two of them were married, which helped. A lot.

Some days, Harry missed the months before he first picked up that first green dress, but he knew there was no other option if he wanted to be openly married to the man he loved. Perhaps, had he arrived later and had Aaron just been born into a more modern time...

But no matter. He'd take what he could get.

Until suddenly, he no longer had it.

~

“Harry?”

Said man, still in drag, stared blankly into the air in front of him, the tea in front of him had grown cold long ago, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

His husband was gone.

Lucario was nowhere to be found, and-

He was pregnant.

Aaron was dead and he would never get to hold their child-

He couldn't stay.

He couldn't stay.

He-

“I have to leave.”

It took him a moment to realize he had spoken, but he didn't take it back.

“Leave? Harry, what are you saying, what about your child?”

“It is precisely why I must leave.”

Yes. For their child. And-

For their child.

“You know as well as I how I will be mocked and pitied for not remarrying. But I cannot. I will not. I will never love as I love Aaron and I will not subject my child to growing up fatherless is an environment that will look down upon them for that fact.”

Leen looked down, knowing he was right, but not liking it one bit “Where will you go?”

Harry looked at his stone-cold tea as he pondered, recalling some things he had heard from travelers.

“I will travel to find the Voice of the Forest.”

“You will be lost forever-!”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps I will be lost in time. From what I understand, Celebi is the cause of the legend. With any luck, it will deposit me far into the future. Somewhere... somewhen, when society has gone forward enough where a single mother is not subject to as much scrutiny as here and now.”

Leen gazed at him before sighing deeply “I cannot stop you, nor can I change your mind... is there nothing I can do for you?”

The Wizard looked at her for a while, before relenting “I guess you could turn our chambers into a mausoleum. With any luck, it will still be standing in the future, but perhaps the years in-between will dull the pain.”

“It will be so.”

The disguised man smiled sadly one last time before standing up and leaving not just the Queen's chambers, but the castle itself. He stopped by their chambers one last time, to just stand there and survey the rooms. There were some things he could not bear to leave behind, and others which he either didn't need or couldn't bear touching. A few knickknacks Aaron had gifted him. A locket with a small picture of the two of them, with a lock of each of their hair intertwined inside and an Aura crystal embedded in the lid. A scarf and blanket Lucario secretly loved but would never admit-

A soft pair of boots, too tiny for anything other than a baby.

Harry may have clenched the things in his hand much tighter than was necessary. Aaron had bought them with a sheepish smile not long after they'd discussed hypothetical baby names. He hadn't even known back then-

Deep breath.

He packed the baby boots away, spared one last glance around the chambers, and changed into travel clothes.

After laying the dress on top of their bed, giving it one last gentle touch, Harry turned around and left the Castle far behind him. Sirius must have sensed something in the past few days because the faithful Arcanine was waiting for him at the gates. Harry refused to acknowledge the tear's soaking the orange fur as the large canine raced further and further away from the castle which had been his home for five years.

~

He was already showing by the time he made it to Celebi's forest. It took him a few days of calling the pokemon's name, but eventually, the green fairy popped out of the woodwork and met with him.

Maybe it was in an agreeable mood or maybe he just looked pathetic enough, but it didn't take much for it to touch him with a trill and take him and his pokemon away.

The sight of Professor Oak's lab had been a relief because it looked modern enough for him to be several hundred years away from when he'd been moments ago. The Professor had been surprised, but not too so at the sight of the Legendary Pokemon. No, it was Harry that earned more shock.

Harry wore a skirt for the rest of the pregnancy and let everyone believe he was transsexual afterward. It was easier than explaining to everyone that he had magic. Because he had learned that magic was accepted as something that existed even if it was extremely rare for anyone to have it. He guessed it was a product of pokemon, Psychics, and Aura being normal phenomena.

He named their son Ash. Lucario's favorite blanket became their son's baby blanket and the booties were worn by the child until they no longer fit, at which point they were hung on the wall, where they stayed even after so many years. Sirius was an ever-watchful, ever-faithful companion and a trustworthy babysitter when needed.

Oak had given him a Trainer License upon arrival, along with a Pokeball for Sirius and Padfoot, who had joined their traveling duo, making it a trio, very shortly before arriving at the forest. Said license came in handy as slowly but surely he expanded his “team”, so to speak. All of them were caught during his pregnancy and the following three years, so Ash didn't really remember a time without them, but Harry did.