Title: A Mess Not Easily Cleaned

By: KuroSakura-chan

Summary: An experiment of Hojo's blows a rift through the wall separating The Planet and Harry Potter's world. Now he and Voldemort have Vincent, leaving Sephiroth and Cloud & Co. to join the fight against Voldemort.

Category: Final Fantasy VII/Harry Potter

Genre: Romance, drama, angst,

Couples: Sephiroth/Vincent, Tifa/Yuffie, Cloud/Aerith, Zack/Harry,

Warning: Yaoi, 1st Person in Multiple Perspectives, Yuri,

Disclaimer: I own neither Final Fantasy VII nor Harry Potter. Nor do I own the time that passes between updates.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long, guys. For one thing, I seem to have lost my personal copy of the last chapter, so I have to look it up on my cell, and that is always fun, and college life sucks. Oh, I've gone through 7 roommates in two years, if you guys are interested. Eight, if you count the guy who practically lived in my room this last semester. Ah, fun times. Almost never sat in front of my computer with him around. But then summer shows up, and I am officially your slave again. Anyway, chapter. By the way, I know it's not in the perspective I said it'd be in, but I thought about it and realized that that would be jumping the gun and make my life hell when I tried to tie everything together. So, yeah.. Oh, and Genesis' addiction to Loveless? Wonderful, but I don't know it, so he's not likely to quote it. My apologies to people who will give a damn about that, because I know there will be some of you who do.

…

Not Too Late

-Zack-

Why are dungeons always cold, damp, and slimy? It makes them wholly uncomfortable to be in, especially when alone and actually in the dungeons below the regular dungeons. What the hell is with that, too? My understanding of dungeons is that they are the bottommost level of a castle, building, whatever. Then again, Hogwarts is hardly typical.

I sigh, trudging along, the Buster Sword clenched tightly in my hands. I haven't encountered anything, but without anyone to watch my back as Sephiroth has gone missing and the others don't know Genesis, I can't risk not carrying it at the ready. Besides, Genesis and I do not have the best of relationships in the world, despite my being friends with Seph and being the trainee of Angeal, Genesis' best friend from childhood. Normally, I wouldn't dare approach Genesis without Sephiroth with me. Mostly because I hate the guy, but with Dumbledore gone, Seph and I agreed that we had to wake Genesis. And when he didn't show at the doors to the dungeon at the agreed time, I decided I had to do this myself. Seph so owes me.

Then again...It's likely he doesn't even remember that we had agreed to meet and wake Genesis. After what Harry told him, and his raven dropping what I think is the Protomateria in his hand, his mind has been solely on finding Vincent. I've never actually seen the Protomateria before, because it's usually hidden within Vincent's chest, so I can't be absolutely sure of it being the materia Seph has now, but judging by his reaction, I'm fairly certain it is. I do know, however, that without it, he cannot keep control of the demon Chaos. The most dangerous of his inner demons, Chaos is sentient and was a WEAPON that the Planet created to destroy all life. Well, he still is that WEAPON, but it isn't time for him to fulfill his role. From what I've been told, he shouldn't even exist outside of the Lifestream yet, but thanks to Seph's mother, the biological one, not the freaky alien thing, he resides inside of Vincent. I'm not really sure what all that means for the world, or worlds, if Vincent can't control him, but I'm sure no one really wants to find out. Except Hojo, maybe. He's always been a bit fucked in the head, and Cloud told me that he tried to help Seph destroy the world, so it wouldn't be the first time he's done something that's likely to get him killed if it succeeds. Not healthy in the slightest.

It's strange. Sephiroth is one of my closest friends, granted, it doesn't always seem that way, but I believe it's true, yet I know next to nothing about his lover. Vincent is...honestly a mystery. I don't know if he does it consciously,if there's something in his past that makes it an unconscious reflex, or if it's something that he and Sephiroth prefer, but he doesn't talk about himself, or his past. I do remember running into him once, if it can be called that since I just opened the lid of his coffin, in the basement of the Nibelheim Mansion. I mean, I know he's a hell of a lot older than he looks, thanks to experiments done on him by Hojo and Lucrecia, I know he houses four demons, and I know he's trustworthy. I also know he loves Sephiroth and that Sephiroth is hopelessly enthralled by him. I know that he can't really cook, and so he and Seph tend to eat out a lot. I know that he has a morbid sense of humor, when you can get him to talk, and I also know that he's the only person who can pull Sephiroth out of a murderous rage.

And what is so confusing is that we're all here, helping Sephiroth try to find Vincent and bring him home, even though we don't know much about him. I mean, I know more about him than most of the others, and that isn't saying much. Granted, even if I didn't even know his name, I'd still be here with Seph, but that's because Seph is my friend. The others...I can't figure out what their reasons for being here are. I mean, the Turks had wanted to come, but they have Rufus to care for and Cloud wouldn't let them. Reno had mentioned once that once a Turk, always a Turk. So I guess that answers one question about Vincent's past. But out of the others, only Cid's presence makes sense. He is firmly Vincent's friend, and wouldn't hear about not being able to help try to rescue him. Aerith is compassion incarnate, so that's probably her reasoning, and the other three probably just followed because she said she was coming, and that was all there was to it. It's almost like the only two people really here for Vincent are Seph and Cid, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I...I guess I just feel like we aren't here for the right reason. The others, at the very least, should know more about Vincent. I don't know if I would have ever realized how little I know about him if he hadn't been snatched, but now that I do realize it, I want to fix it. It isn't like me to ignore getting to know someone, especially someone who's so close to one of my friends. I just hope that he's in a condition to talk to me after we save him.

I slow down as I reach a door sitting slightly ajar. It's actually the only door I've seen...Everything else has been bars for cells, and that hasn't been for quite a few yards. I pause before the door, stepping forward slightly to nudge the door with my foot. It moves a little, then pushes back against my foot. I sigh, knowing that I'm not going to like whatever I see beyond this door, but knowing I have to go anyway. I take a breath, noticing the slight taste of blood in the air, and lean my shoulder into the door to shove it in. Whatever was pushing it back is shoved back with the force of my push, and the doorway widens. The blood scent hits me strongly, and it's immediately obvious as to why. There are bodies in black robes strewn across the floor, and even one or two on a bed lying in the center of the room. Genesis is nowhere to be seen, and I feel a brief flit of panic. Just because it looks like the Death Eaters lost this round doesn't mean that they actually did. It's possible they merely sacrificed these to wear him down and catch him. From everything that I've heard about the Death Eaters, it sounds like something they would do.

I step into the room, still holding the Buster Sword ready. I know better than to let down my guard, simply because it appears that I have nothing to worry about. It doesn't appear that any of the Death Eaters are moving, and knowing Genesis, they probably aren't alive any longer. He likely didn't even give them a chance, which, I know, is the best way for him to survive them. I glance around the room, taking in every inch of it. It's rather barren, with the bed being the only piece of furniture in it. There is another door, barely perceptible, on the door opposite the one I came in. It looks like it's just a part of the stone wall. My guess is that Genesis has gone through it, and if so, he likely broke whatever ward was probably on it to keep it from notice. Because this place lives on magic, and it would be stranger for there to not have been a ward than if there were.

Once I'm certain that I know every inch of the room, I slowly walk up to the bed, still looking around the room. There is only one body lying on the bed, and it looks like he died in surprise. He was probably the one who tried to wake Genesis. There is a piece of parchment lying next to the body, and I gingerly pick it up. I don't know how to check for curses on objects, so I'm risking a lot by doing this. Nothing happens as I pick it up, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I really don't need to be cursed when no one knows where I am. Taking one last glance around the room, I look down on the parchment.

Sephiroth-

I will not quote what you hate so very much, so I shall make this quick. I know you're here because Dumbledore, the old bastard, if you don't recall his name, left me a message to wake me if he were to die. Found a lover, have you? Never thought you'd manage that one. I would lend you a hand if I thought we could stay in the same place without trying to kill each other, or if I could stand to be around the puppy. Anyway, if you're wondering, I'll be fine. I know my way around this world quite well, and there's no way I'll ever work with Hojo. Do kill the fucker for me, all right?

-Genesis

I frown at being mentioned as the puppy again. It's been ages since anyone has used that nickname for me. Angeal coined it, and it died with him, other than one time where Sephiroth mentioned that it fit me well for my enthusiasm and energy. But, I think he never used it because he knew how I felt after having to kill Angeal, and he could understand that pain. Not that he killed Angeal, but because Angeal was his friend, and he sent me to deal with his and Genesis' defection to avoid having to kill his friends. I'm not sure if I've forgiven him for that yet or not, but the past is past.

I tuck the note into a pocket to give to Seph when I find him. It strikes me that Genesis didn't quote Loveless, and that's strange, although I've never read something he's written before. But, he always quotes it when speaking, so I guess I just assumed that it would carry over to his writing as well. Then again...He did mention that he wouldn't quote what Sephiroth hated, so my guess is that out of respect for his friend, and probably aware of the murderous rage that Sephiroth is standing on the edge of, he didn't do it. And that makes me wonder if his excuse of being unable to be around Sephiroth was just to keep Sephiroth from regretting having me as a friend.

I shake my head, clearing it. I've never understood Genesis, so even attempting to fathom his mind right now, or rather, when he wrote the note, is just going to give me a headache. I walk back to the door, pausing outside of it to close it behind me. The bodies can stay there and rot. No one will find them down here, and the smell isn't likely to be able to reach the upper levels. Besides, these men have probably tortured and killed innocent people. As far as I'm concerned, they don't deserve proper funerals.

I'm sure one day, when the Turks, Seph, and I die, someone will say the same thing. Especially Seph and the Turks. I doubt the things that SOLDIER and the Turks have done will ever be forgotten, let alone forgiven, by the world, and perhaps that's for the best. There's nothing that can be done to atone for our sins. Nothing.

The trip back to the surface is a lot quicker than the trip down. I know where I'm going this time, and I'm not watching every step. After seeing the state of Genesis' room, I'm fairly certain there's nothing down here. At least, nothing that would be willing to step out of the shadows and test its luck against another sword-wielding man. Seeing what Genesis can do to a person is enough to leave traumatic scars on even the most jaded person.

I step back into the upper-halls of Hogwarts, and descend into chaos. Granted, judging by the people I currently see, this chaos is not likely spread across the entire school. Hermione and Ron, both standing and motioning wildly at Aerith and Cid, see me and rush over. I stare at them in surprise and confusion, especially when McGonagall follows them quickly. Silence descends on the hall as those gathered realize I'm here, and I'm starting to feel very uncomfortable.

"Have you seen Harry, Zack?" Hermione asks breathlessly. I shake my head wordlessly, and she buries her face in her hands. Ron wraps an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. McGonagall sighs.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy are missing, as well as your companion Sephiroth." She explains, and I'm starting to see why everyone is in a panic.

"Let me guess. Malfoy works for Voldemort." I say, and Ron nods brusquely. "Well. That answers a lot, actually. If Seph knew, and I'm sure he did, he's probably gone to Malfoy to get to Voldemort, and therefore, Vincent."

"It's possible that the Malfoy Manor is where Voldemort's holed up." Lupin ventures, leaning against a wall near Cid.

"Right. OK, we need a force to head there, now. If Harry has gone with Sephiroth, then there's a chance he's in danger." Cloud says, stepping up. As much as it pleases me to see the willingness to lead that he's showing, I'm going to have to stop it.

"Cloud." The blond turns to me. "I'll handle this. No offense meant, but commanding a force of seven or eight people is nothing like commanding an army." He scowls, but Aerith sets a hand on his arm, and he merely nods. "All right. McGonagall. I don't want to involve the students any more than I have to, but we're going to need more than just a few teachers and my friends to mount an assault. No doubt this place is heavily guarded against attack, so we'll need only the best." McGonagall's face pales, but she nods and looks to Ron and Hermione. The two nod and dash off, no doubt heading for those we can use. I look around the assorted group members. "All right...Some will have to stay here, in case of an attack. The students can't be left defenseless. McGonagall, I want you, Tifa, and the rest of the teachers to stay here. Lupin, Hagrid, you two are the exceptions. You'll be more useful on the field than here on protection. Cloud, Cid, Yuffie, you three are on fighting detail. Aerith, you and whatever students you've found prevalent in healing, will be accompanying us and setting up a point we can retreat to and heal." I see a few faces twisted in distaste from my orders, but there aren't any complaints. Other than my own, of course. I really, really wish that the Turks were here. Or Sephiroth or even Genesis. We could use the help.

Ron and Hermione return with some 20 or so students, and I turn my attention to dividing them amongst group leaders. Small, easily maneuvered groups with a few guards for Aerith's group. This battle is likely a losing one, but perhaps we can hold out long enough for Seph to save Vincent.

A/N: Yikes, ne? OK, for real this time, Harry next chapter.