This story is a gift for the wonderful Anna Druvez. It started as a drabble until I had the idea of developing it into a proper oneshot. One that I've promised her a long time ago. Sorry, hun! I was gonna wait until the 13th to publish it, but then I was like "Fuck it!", and now we have this. I really hope the wait was worth it!

Please, make note that I haven't played FF VII. All my knowledge comes from fics, the wiki, and discussions about the plot and characters.

This story has no beta. Any and all mistakes are my own.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Final Fantasy belong to their respective creators. I make no money out of this.

Wolf and Raven

Zack sat quietly, munching on the food that had been given to him. On the other side of the little camp stood his savior, Amaranta 'call me Amara' Gainsborough – or Amaranta Faremis, as she had presented herself that one time (earning a strange reaction from Sephiroth). He could feel the weight of her emerald green eyes on him as she stood there observing him, head tilted to the side, blacker than black hair cascading down her back. He would, from time to time, throw some glances her way before returning his eyes to his food. His mind was still processing what had happened to him earlier.

He had hidden Cloud and faced an army of Shin-Ra's infantrymen. He had cut through their ranks, the Mako in his system making him stronger, faster and more resilient than they could ever hope to be. But for every soldier he had killed, two more appeared in their place. Eventually, the sheer number of enemies and the several wounds inflicted on him had been too much, and he had fallen. He had laid there on the floor, unable to get up again. Then an infantryman had entered his field of vision and shot him, making sure he would never rise again.

After they had left, Cloud had crawled from his hideout to him. Zack had felt so much relief and joy at the sight of the blond finally awake and somewhat coherent, even though he had been dying at the moment. He could have cried. Instead he had given the overwhelmed blond his sword and made him his living legacy, entrusting him his hopes and dreams, just as Angeal had once done to him.

Then he had lied there. As he waited for death to come, he reflected on how Aerith could fear the sky when her sister loved it so much. And he had to agree with the raven that it was certainly liberating. "You'll never fear it once you learn how to fly," Amara's voice, filled with longing, had sounded in his ears. He had, then, longed for wings.

Zack had been about to grab Angeal's hand when someone shouted his name and collided with him.

Opening unfocused eyes, it had taken him a while to recognize the dark figure looming over him. "A-Amy?" Viridian eyes turned from his chest to his eyes and she had given him a soft smile before concentrating on his chest again. Were her eyes glowing? Since when did they glow? Had she been injected with Mako as well? "What… what's happened? What are you doing?"

"Hush, Zack," she had ordered in a soft voice. He had opened his mouth to protest, but before any sound exited him, she had put a hand on his cheek and leaned over him, looking straight into his eyes. "Everything is going to be okay." She had willed him to believe, determination shining in her eyes. And believe her he had done, his body relaxing under her. For his action, he had been rewarded a most beautiful smile and he could feel the crush that he had chained away and pushed to the very back corners of his mind breaking free from its restraints and coming back to the forefront with a vengeance.

Satisfied that he wouldn't do anything rash, she had leaned back and returned to whatever it was she had been doing. With a start, he had realized that she was healing him. He could feel the bullets leaving his body and the wounds closing. Strangely, there had been no pain, just a warm and soothing sensation running through his whole body. Yeah, his crush on the raven was most definitely back.

-.-.-.-

Amaranta stared at Zack while he ate. It had startled her… to be able to fully feel him so suddenly after four years. Wherever they had been keeping him, there had been something interfering with the capability Death had granted her to sense people. Honestly, the only reason she had not lost hope was because of the few short times his presence had registered in her mind. But, for the life of her, she had never been able to grab a hold of the feeling long enough to find him. Those had been four frustrating years.

She tilted her head while observing him. Now that she could finally sense him, she could tell that his presence resembled Sephiroth more than it used to, like Genesis and Angeal.

She took in his appearance. He hadn't changed much. He certainly hadn't aged much. Though she was able to see some faint scars that looked like they were made with a small knife. She would bet the Black family fortune that she no longer had that they were made with a scalpel. So, he had been abducted by the Science Department and been injected with the Calamity's cells (though he had proven quite resistant to her influence, as she could see no change in him). She hummed. It certainly explained the interference. It didn't surprise her as much as it should. That is not to say that she wasn't infuriated. She was. But after listening to Aerith speaking about what she and their mother, Ifalna, had gone through – and invading the company's system – she was not surprised that they would kidnap their own members and transform them in lab rats.

But still, nothing could have prepared her for the sight that awaited her when she had finally found him... Zack had lied there, at the edge of the cliffs, in a pool of blood. His blood. Body riddled with bullet wounds. Her vision had shifted then, of its own accord, and she could see his soul. It was still there, though an arm was outstretched as if reaching for something. No, not something. Someone. Angeal had been reaching down from the Lifestream, ready to grab Zack's hand.

She had felt the panic bubble inside of her at the sight and had done the first thing that had come to her mind: with a shout of "Zack!", she had leaped at him, colliding with his soul and pushing it back inside his body, which had lurched beneath her when he had taken in a pained breath.

She had almost been too late.

-.-.-.-

The sound of a PHS ringing brought them out of their gloomy thoughts. After phishing it out from one of her pockets, Amaranta looked at the screen. Aerith.

"Hello."

"Hey, Amy." Aerith's worried voice was heard. "Is everything okay?" Apparently, SOLDIERs' sense of hearing was better than she gave them credit for, for Zack had started at the sound of her sister's voice and was now looking at her with a mix of disbelief and hope on his face.

"Everything's fine, Ri," she answered. She saw Zack raising a brow at the nickname. She just winked at him.

"Are you sure? There was a disruption on the Lifestream," Aerith said. Wait, what? Amaranta frowned. Zack had confusion marring his face.

"A disruption?"

"Yeah. I also felt you, so I wondered if you knew what happened." Zack saw Amy's eyes widening as realization dawned on her. He frowned. What the hell was going on? What did Aerith mean when she said she felt Amara?

"Oh. Well… you see…" she seemed to be at a loss of words. Suddenly, her eyes locked with his and a mischievous glint entered them, making him wary. He still remembered the pranks she used to play on Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal, before the shit had hit the fan. "I found this puppy in the Midgar Wasteland…" she trailed off. Zack felt his jaw drop. She was calling him a puppy. Again. After four years she was still calling him that. Really? Would he never get rid of this moniker? And why a puppy? He was a wolf, not a dog! Angeal had been the dog!

"A… puppy?" He heard Aerith's confused voice. He buried his face in his hands and groaned. He just knew she was cackling inside.

"Mhm…" Pause. "Very cute." He started, his head shooting up to look at her. His mind coming up with various ways to refute the word cute being used to describe him, even as he felt heat creeping up his cheeks. "With black fur and beautiful blue eyes." He sputtered, looking at her wide-eyed. She thought his eyes were beautiful? He was suddenly very aware of his heart thumping in his ribcage. Damn her!

Amaranta sighed, and the humor she was feeling died out, being replaced by sadness. She stared into the distance. "He was shot and was about to die." From the corner of her eye, she saw Zack flinching at the reminder, the pain of bullets piercing his flesh, no doubt, still fresh on his mind.

It had been painful to see him ready to die. He reminded her so much of Teddy – Harry's little wolf. And for her, who had stood by Death on the other side of the Veil – where Harry had become quite apathetic – for eons before being reincarnated, strong emotions could become overwhelming. That was why, when confronted with a dying Zack, she had acted without thought for the consequences, too busy making sure he would not pass on. She had been so focused she had completely ignored a surprised Angeal.

She would never let someone precious to her die if she could do something about it, no matter what.

Zack saw the tears gathering in her eyes and his heart gave a painful lurch. "You know I have a soft spot for canines. I couldn't have possibly let him die," she spoke quietly, one tear spilling, and her voice came out so full of pain… he found himself putting his dinner aside and moving. When he was within reaching distance, he took her free hand in one of his, raising the other to wipe her tear away. His eyes caught hers and he smiled softly at her, telling her without words that he was fine. Thanks to you.

The feel of a hand slipping into hers brought out of her morose thoughts, and she was startled to realize she was crying. Warmth filled her at the SOLDIER's gesture, and his unspoken words were loud and clear to her. With fondness curling in her chest, she squeezed his hand and watched him as he returned it and let go, returning to his rock and his food.

"Oh. Is he alright? Do you need any help?" Zack heard Aerith ask. Amara laughed, and he was glad that none of the previous sadness colored the sound. He was quite proud of himself for being able to chase it away.

"He's alright, Ri. I healed him just fine. He's up and about now. No doubt ready to cause some mischief." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he grinned. Aerith's laughter could be heard.

"That's good to know." Pause. "When are you coming back?" That question took Amaranta by surprise. She despised Midgar, and Aerith knew that. One would think that she would be used to death and despair by now, would they not? But that had never been her problem with that city. When she had been Harry, she had been unable to look at the suffering of the people and stand by (had been raised to think like that, in fact). And now, as Amaranta, she looked at the people who lived on the upper plate with no worries, as if their whole lifestyles were not built on the lives and dreams of those they subjugated, and she felt nothing but disgust.

Added to that was the fact her senses were constantly bombarded by the cries of the Planet. Sworn to Death or not, she had still been born a Cetra in this life.

"Soon," she finally answered after a moment of hesitation. She may have detested the place, but her sister lived in there, and if being there was what it took to keep Aerith safe...

Zack saw her perking up after a while. He tilted his head, wondering what she would say now. "So…" she trailed off. Aerith hummed. Zack found himself the focus of, once again, very mischievous green eyes. "Can we keep him?" He jumped to his feet at that question, eyes wide, even as embarrassment flooded through him. The food splattering on the ground.

"What?" Came the strangled sound out of his mouth. What kind of question was that? He felt the heat on his face again.

"Sure." He shot a betrayed look at the PHS in the raven's hand. He knew it was silly, but damn it, Aerith's voice sounded way too chirpy for his tastes. He looked at Amara. She seemed mighty pleased with herself; the smile on her face was nothing short of wicked. It only grew bigger once she realized he was blushing.

"Great! Thank you, Ri!" And she finished the call. She put her phone back in her pocket and stared at him, that damned smile still on her lips (if it got any bigger, it would split her face in two). He refused to meet her gaze, looking at anywhere but her.

"So…" she started. His gaze flicked to her before going back to the landscape around them. He didn't say anything and it seemed that she was not expecting him to, because she continued on. "It seems that I get to keep you and take you home with me, puppy."