Disclaimer: No need to sue me because I don't own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy.
Personal Note: Thank you for all of your support and your reviews! Sorry for taking a long time on updating the story but I have been busy with other things leaving no time to work on my story TT. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 4: Cloud StrifeClimbing the steps of the Leaky Cauldron to the back where the bedrooms were kept, put Harry in a very awkward mood. He felt anxious about meeting someone new, he felt agitated because he was climbing such old, dusty, and creaky steps, but most of all he felt angry. Angry because he was walking to the rooms by force, he was not given the chance to decide if he wanted to come or not. He would have most likely have come but it was the principle of the choice and for that he was angry.
"How much farther?" asked Harry in a very angry and impatient voice.
If Lupin detected the anger in Harry's voice he gave no hint alluding to the fact.
"Not far now," Lupin said in a calm voice "just around the corner and… ah, here we are."
The two of them stopped in front of a plain looking door with the number sixteen written in elegant gold letters. Lupin stretched his arm out to turn the doorknob but before he could grab it the door burst open and in the doorway stood Hermione Granger.
"Harry!" shouted Hermione as she ran towards him; arms spread open ready to embrace Harry with a hug. When she hugged him she was so excited to see him again that she did not notice immediately that Harry was not hugging back. He was just standing like a statue in the hallway with a girl, he knew for five years, giving him a warm and friendly hug. Eventually, Hermione felt the lack of emotion in the greeting and asked them to come inside.
The room was rather small because there were two beds in the already small room. Plus there was a dusty old dresser that if anything were put into the dresser it would eat the object that was placed inside of it. The windows had a tinted yellow shine to them and the drapes were old and moth-eaten.
"Hi Harry," said Ron as he gave a small wave. Ron is a very tall and thin boy for his age and he has flaming red hair just like every member of the Weasley family. Ron, who was sitting on the bed closest to Harry, was wearing an old shirt and pants that didn't match and his shoes looked like several people have worn them.
"Hi." Harry said in a flat tone and giving Ron a very slight nod. Harry walked to the other side of the room and stood in the corner.
"Well," said Lupin while rubbing his hands together "I'll go get the man I want you all to meet." Lupin turned on his heel and walked out the door and down the hall.
For a long time no one said a word. Hermione and Ron looked around the room nervously while Harry stared out the window, although not much could be seen through the window. After what seemed like ages, Hermione cleared her throat.
"Ah… Harry, what did you do over the summer holiday?" asked Hermione in a quiet voice.
"Nothing," Harry said flatly.
"Ah… well, were your Aunt and Uncle glad to see you?" asked Hermione more encouragingly.
"I guess," replied Harry.
"Umm, did you like the book I sent?" asked Hermione.
"Yes," said Harry, while still looking out the window.
"Did you go anywhere?" asked Ron.
"No," stated Harry.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other having a look on their faces that said they had no idea of what to say to Harry to get him to start having a normal conversation with him. Luckily neither had to wait long because there was a knock at the door and Lupin entered the room.
As soon as Lupin entered the room he started talking even though Harry, Ron and Hermione were just recovering from the shock of Lupin entering the room so suddenly.
"And now for the moment we have all been waiting for…" Lupin said excitedly and waving his hands in the air in an animated kind of way. "may I introduce to you Cloud Strife!"
Lupin stepped aside and in the doorway stood the strangest man any of the three of them had ever seen. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all thought the person Lupin would introduce would be a wizard similar to Dumbledore (old with long silver hair, a flowing cloak and a pointy hat, and a manner of wisdom about him). However, the man that stood in the doorway was a young man, maybe 30 years old, and the only thing spiky on him was his spiky blond hair. His clothes were the strangest things anyone had seen (and that's saying a lot coming from wizards). On his left arm and leg, he was wearing something that resembled a black cloak, but on the rest of his body you could see he was wearing black pants and a black sleeveless shirt. He had large black boots and buckles all over his body. But the most interesting item on him was a small, silver lion head on his left shoulder.
Ron and Hermione both stared open mouthed at Cloud but Harry hardly even turned around.
"Right then, I'll leave you four to the introductions." said Lupin closing the door behind him as he left the room.
"Uh… M-My name is Hermione Granger and this is…" said Hermione in a nervous voice.
"I'm Ron Weasley!" shouted Ron in a slightly more high and excited voice than he would normally use.
Cloud said nothing but instead turned towards Harry's direction and started to walk to him. His boots thudded on the wooden floor with each step; Harry was not in the mood for talking and was wishing Cloud would talk to Ron or whatever.
"Are you Harry?" asked Cloud in a deep and suave voice.
Harry didn't answer Cloud's question in words but instead mumbled and grumbled something that could determined as 'Hey, so what?'.
"Well, I've been assigned to protect Harry Potter while attending Hogwarts," said Cloud in a cool voice.
For some reason this angered Harry beyond anything he ever felt in his entire life. This stranger whom he had never seen in his life is acting like he's so much better than Harry Potter, who had to endure through events that normal people would have never even dreamed of.
"WHO ARE YOU TO TRY AND SAY YOU CAN PROTECT ME! I HAVE SEEN THINGS YOU COULD NEVER DREAM OF IN YOUR ENTIER LIFE! AND NOW DUMBLEDORE THINKS I NEED HELP DEFENDING MYSELF FROM LORD VOLDEMORT!!" yelled Harry so loudly that the dust in the room seemed to shake and he was going red in the face.
Hermione gave a small twitch. It's quite natural to still have a little fear of the darkest wizard to ever live after all, but Ron however nearly fell off the bed he was sitting on. But Cloud hardly even twitched a muscle; one could even assume Cloud did not know who exactly Lord Voldemort was.
"That's what Lupin said, so that's who I will protect you from." said Cloud without losing his cool.
Wow, thought Hermione. Most people she knew would either be intimidated by Harry's rage, or lose their tempers and start yelling back. But this man was different, he kept an even tone and stayed cool and collected just like Dumbledore. Harry, seeing the similarity between Cloud and Dumbledore, became more enraged but decided to try and have a civilized conversation.
"What makes you so special that you can protect me from Voldemort?" asked Harry trying not to show his anger even though he was talking through gritted teeth and his hands were clenched in fists of rage.
"I have experience as a bodyguard and I used to work in SOLDIER for Shinra Company," stated Cloud.
"Fine! Whatever!" shouted Harry and he turned to face the window.
"What's SOLDIER and Shinra Company?" asked Ron.
Cloud turned his attention towards Ron and said, "Shinra Company is a company that wanted to tap into the Lifestream, which is the planet's energy source, and convert the energy into a useable form, which is called Mako. Now, using the Lifestream slowly kills the planet, so Shinra Company was actually hurting the people. SOLDIER was created to protect the company from rebel groups that opposed the use of Mako. The members in SOLDIER are soldiers that have been exposed to Mako and have superhuman strength and reflexes."
"WOW!" said Ron with his eyes bulging and mouth hanging open.
"I have never read anything about SOLDIER or this Shinra Company in any book." said Hermione looking at Cloud with suspicion "Are you sure you didn't make that up just to entertain us?"
Before Cloud could reply, Ron shook his head and sighed loudly.
"Hermione, Hermione, when will you learn that not all facts come from books," Ron said while waving his hand in the air as if he knew more than anyone in the room. Hermione gave Ron an angry scowl but Ron ignored it and continued to talk. "Besides, why would something that cool be made up?"
What a strange group of people, thought Cloud. The one named Hermione would only believe something if it could be proven in books, but the one named Ron was the exact opposite, he would believe anything he was told. And the boy named Harry seemed to be a spoiled brat with mood swings. This was going to be the worst job he ever had to do in his life.
Ending Note: I meant to have the chapter go on longer but I got lazy so I'll continue the meeting with Cloud in the next chapter. P Please read and review.
