Purging the Pain

Chapter 4: Confrontations

Disclaimer: Don't own FF7 or HP. This is my first story. Read and review

Tseng watched as Ophelie left. He hoped that she would find the something in the Nibelheim. After all, that was where priority experiments were conducted. His first visit to the area was due to an accidental discovery that led to his second reason for visiting. He couldn't decide which visit was more unpleasant, the former or the latter. The professor there had an uncanny ability to make the most pleasant situations turn into nightmares. He turned his attention to the man whose focus seems to be on him.

He wanted to trudge on the subject of the man's mental state, but that seems too delicate at the moment. He decided to humor the man about his statement of 'getting hit by a bludger and falling out of his broom'. He sat down on the chair near the bed and began the interrogation.

"You said your name was Draco Malfoy?" Tseng asked

"Yeah. Why?" the man asked

"No reason, just confirming your statement. You said you fell off your broom?" Tseng continued

"Yes" Draco replied, his suspicions about Tseng's questions gave dawn to nature of the interrogation

"And I assume that you were in the air while you were on the broom?" Tseng asked

Draco sighed I was right. He's a muggle then replied "I have a feeling that you wouldn't believe me even if told you the truth"

He then looked at Tseng and answered "I'm a wizard"

Silenced enveloped them as Tseng processed the answer. He analyzed again the figure on the bed and thought He may have a reason for keeping his identity a secret but of all the excuses he could give, he decides to give the most ludicrous one

They continued to analyze each other. The blond man on the bed glared at the brunette at the chair as if daring him to call him a lunatic. However, the brunette kept a cool expression while meeting his glare. This made the blond change his look from one of challenge to a look of mild curiosity.

"You don't seem shocked" Draco said as he fiddled with a lock of his hair before flicking it.

Tseng gave him an amused look before replying "Yes. Well, even if your reasoning is absurd we do have magic here and there. You could say that we had our fair share of strange encounters. Flying brooms could be plausible here but I have never heard of it"

Draco nodded his head in understanding. He then returned his attention to Tseng and gave him a questioning look. Tseng gave him a nod to signal that he was free to ask.

"That girl" Draco began "she has…unique eyes"

Tseng silently agreed Yes she does and I'm not sure if she knows why

Draco was about to ask another question before he was interrupted by a phone call. He looked Tseng as the man walked out of the room. This must be a very strange dream

Tseng went into the kitchen to answer the call. He wasn't surprised to hear Ophelie's voice accompanied with the roar of the helicopter's engine.

"Sir, I'll be there in a few minutes"

"Understood. I trust you have found the information we need"

"Yes sir, that and more" Ophelie growled out

"Any problems?" Tseng asked in concern She seems to revert to sir when there's something wrong Tseng thought

"Not really. Are the others there?"

"Not at the moment"

"Good, because I have a few questions I that have to be answered" Ophelie replied before signing off.

A few minutes later, the front door of Healin Lodge opened and a somewhat irritated Ophelie trudged through. She went in search of Tseng before checking the condition of 'Rufus'. She found him in the kitchen, leaning on the counter while sipping coffee. She threw some files on the table then glared at him with such intensity.

The folders were stamped with a bright red 'CLASSIFIED'. Tseng put down his mug of coffee before approaching the table to check the contents of the folders.

Ophelie had her hands clenched at both sides. She nodded towards the files then growled "Explain"

Tseng closed one of the folders and met her gaze.

"It's whatever it says it is" Tseng replied bluntly

"That's not what I meant" Ophelie said, looking down at the files angrily

Tseng circled the table to meet Ophelie. He placed one of his hands on her shoulder which forced her to meet his eyes. She met them with an accusing gaze. Tseng sighed and removed his hand from her shoulder.

"What do you remember?" from your past Tseng mentally added

Ophelie sat down on one of the chairs before replying "Not much" aside from the creepy professor and the labs…and the kid with blond hair. She mused

Tseng sat on the chair across her. He opened one of the files that showed a picture of the insides of a cave. There were runes littered on the walls and blood splattered on the floor.

"Do you remember that?" Tseng slid the folder to her and pointed at the picture

Ophelie stared at it and replied "No"

Tseng opened another folder. It showed an amber glowing round orb.

"How about that?" He slid the folder to her

Ophelie looked at the picture then retrieved something from her pocket. It was the same object shown in the picture. She passed it to Tseng

"That's it right?" she asked "It was next to the folder"

Tseng nodded before returning the orb to her and replied "Materia. The only kind we have no information about"

He stared at her for a long time and waited for her question that he was sure would come. Ophelie bit her lip and said "So all this time…" she looked at Tseng then continued "…the reason I was able to save you in the Temple of Ancients…is because I am monster". She turned to leave but Tseng took hold of her sleeve. She stared at him and bit her lip. He wasn't disgusted as her. He was staring at her in a brotherly manner.

"You're not a monster" Tseng said "You're just special"

Ophelie looked at him and slightly smiled "Yeah. You said the same thing the blond twerp from before"

Tseng froze Blond twerp? She doesn't mean…but he's the only kid there.

Ophelie felt something wrong with Tseng, but he assured her that he was alright. He gestured to the files.

"What about the information that we need?" he asked

"That was the most significant I could find, aside from the Cetra" Ophelie replied "There's also a theory about the materia"

Tseng nodded his head for her to continue.

"The professor believed it allowed the user to access the Lifestream. Though he couldn't test it because he never had anyone to experiment on, his theory seems acceptable." He wouldn't dare to test it on Sephiroth. Most likely he wouldn't test it on me. Ophelie thought.

Tseng pondered the information. He read some of the abstracts of the files on the table. He then arranged them on the table. Ophelie mused on how efficient he was in clearing the table. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard an engine of a car outside.

Tseng and Ophelie stared at each other. However, Tseng had a more calculating gaze. He picked up the files and went to his room, Ophelie following close by. While storing the files in one of the drawers, he briefed Ophelie on her new mission.

"Test out the materia" Tseng began as he slipped the files in one of the drawers. When he heard the front door open, he quickly grabbed a bag under his bed and thrust it to Ophelie.

"Your equipment is in there and other things that I think might be useful" He glanced at the door before turning back to Ophelie.

"If they ask why you're in a Turk uniform-"

"-my clothes fell on a mud hole out back while I was doing the laundry" Ophelie finished

Tseng smiled and placed his hand on her head. Ophelie was short. Smaller than Elena, she was a head shorter than Tseng, not to mention she looked like a teenager. She looked up to Tseng and smiled tightly.

"I know. I can't tell them" she said as she turned to leave

"Someday, when this is all over" Tseng replied, following her out the bedroom.

She met a redhead on her way out of Healin Lodge. He accompanied by a tall bald man and blond woman.

"Hi Reno, Rude Elena" she stopped and greeted them.

"Hey babe" the red head named Reno replied as he tossed her one of his winning smiles. The bald man and the blond woman smiled at her.

"Not staying for dinner?" Elena, the blond woman asked while the bald man – Rude – cocked his head and adjusted his shades.

"Sorry, can't. Tseng asked me to do some paper work" Ophelie replied.

She bid them good night and made her way to the garage. She placed her bag on one of the compartments of her custom-made bike. Unlike the other Turks that had black sedans, she had a bike. The said bike was monstrous, similar to that of another blond she was acquainted with. She started the engine and made her way to another shelter she found at the outskirts of Midgar, or what was left of Midgar.

After putting away her bike, she entered the shelter and settled herself on the makeshift bed. She rummaged through her bag for the copy she made of the files and browsed through it. While reading the research, she took out the material in her pocket with her left hand, her right hand turning the pages on the reports. She abandoned the report and examined the material, feeling that there were carvings on the surface.

Unfortunately, she didn't notice that she had a paper cut on her index finger, nor did she notice that said paper cut is currently leaving traces of blood on the carvings of the material. It was too late when she finally realized what happened. As her blood seeped into the carvings, the material shimmered and turned crimson.

Tseng is so going to shoot me. Were her last thoughts before falling unconscious.

***

When Ophelie finally came through, the first thing she saw was an old man wearing strange clothes hovering over her. Guided by instincts, she reached in her jacket and pulled out a 45mm and pointed it at the old man's forehead. She was disturbed that the old man remained calm and looked slightly curious at the gun pointed at his head.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her unoccupied hand propping her from the floor.

The old man replied in a calm voice "Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry"

She raised an eyebrow, Wizard equals broom

"Do you happen to use brooms for flying" she asked, getting up and fixing her suit but not lowering her gun

To say that Dumbledore was stunned was an understatement. When he gave the idea of magic to muggles, they usually reply with the 'Prove it' or 'Mental'. He pushed the gun away from his head and replied "Yes we do. However, I'm not fond of using it as transportation. They normally use it for Quidditch"

Ophelie digested the information before storing her gun at her suit's inner breast pocket of her jacket. She then realized that she was still holding on to the material and quickly pocketed it. This had not gone unnoticed by the professor. She then stared at the Dumbledore.

Dumbledore reached in his robes and pulled out his stick. He noticed that the girl's index finger was twitching. He raised his hand in surrender and said "Not to worry, I was just going to get you a chair". He then waved his wand and a cushioned chair appeared. He then watched as the girl approached the chair with caution. When the girl was settled, he then went back to his desk and took a seat.

"I assume that you appeared here from somewhere that isn't familiar with magic?" he asked

"Not really" the girl replied, her index finder stopped twitching

Dumbledore waited for further explanation before realizing that he wouldn't get one. Getting up from the chair, he went to the girl.

"How about you stay here for the mean time?" he suggested, after casting Legimens on her.

"Thank you for the offer. I hope that I am not imposing" she replied reluctantly

"Not at all. But we do need to get you sorted, as you will be staying as a student" Albus replied. The girl gave him a confused look to which he chuckled.

"Not to worry" he assured her "Come down early to the Great Hall tomorrow. I'll have someone fetch you". He then called out 'Dobby' and a scruffy looking elf appeared. He then instructed the elf to lead the girl to one of the spare rooms in the castle. He was again surprised when the girl cocked an eyebrow to the appearance of the house elf.

Before the girl reached the door he said "I believe you haven't told me your name yet…Miss" he smiled gently

The girl stopped and replied "Ophelie. Ophelie Marcia"

"Then Ophelie, I suggest you come up with a story why you arrived late for school" he then dismissed her.

She was led to the third floor of the castle, they seem to cross the hall three or four times before she noticed a door. The elf led her to the room. It was similar to one of the rooms in Healin Lodge.

She turned to the elf "Thank you…um…"

The elf grinned at her "You are most welcome kind miss. Dobby is fortunate to have met another kind person such as kind miss" he then bowed to her and took his leave.

Ophelie settled herself on the bed. If what the old man said about brooms is correct then Rufus should probably be here.

She took of her jacket and placed her gun under her pillow. Then she unlaced her boots and placed them at the foot of her bed. With that, she got under the covers and slept.

***

Ophelie was woken up by sharp knocks to the door. She quickly got dressed and opened the door. She was met by an intimidating man in black robes. She met his gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" Ophelie said

The man pursed his lips and replied "I am Professor Serverus Snape. You must be Ophelie Marcia"

"Yes" she replied, unfazed by slight animosity she detected

Snape then thrust a package to her. She looked at him in question. Snape sighed.

"These are school robes. Get changed" he ordered

Ophelie gave him a curt nod and shut the door. She again took her jacket off then proceeded to open the package.

You have got to be kidding me

She lifted one of the articles of using her index and thumb as if they were contaminated. She placed it on the bed then proceeded to untie her boots.

Even Reno couldn't get me to wear a skirt.

She sighed and got dressed. She folded her clothes and went out the door. She was again met by the man who held out a paper bag. She took it and placed her clothes inside. She was then led to a series of winding stair cases and halls full of moving portraits. She schooled her face into indifference since she notice that the man was staring at her. She was slightly amused when the man pursed his lips.

Probably expected to see me with my mouth hanging open. Sorry to disappoint.

After a few minutes, they arrived to a set of large doors. She was instructed by the man to wait until her name was called.

Oh the suspense is killing me She thought sarcastically as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt.