Notes: I'm uploading this a day earlier than planned, mostly because I got sick and thus had to spend most of the day bedridden (and I wanted to be productive somehow). What's worse is that it looks like I'll have to miss out on this one convention I've been really looking forward to.

Thanks to everyone for such wonderful feedback!

…..

Chapter 14: Calm Before the Storm

Harry found himself sleeping in the next morning, and though he slept more than he usually did, he still woke up earlier than everyone else. Well, everyone except for Zidane. At first Harry blushed and thought he had somehow wound up in the Girl´s Dormitories, since there was blonde with her locks cascading down her back right in front of him. He was about to apologize and leave, when the blonde turned to greet him and Harry realized with some shock that it was just Zidane. Although it was a bit awkward to admit it, the blonde made a pretty girl.

The foreigner blearily tied his hair back in a ponytail and left through the door, leaving Harry around to ponder.

'Is it just me or his hair was a few shades lighter?' Harry shook his head and got dressed, maybe it was just his imagination.

He decided that now was a good opportunity to write his letter to Sirius about his scar. He talked about it yesterday with Ron and Hermione and they had dismissed the idea that the toad was possessed by Voldemort like Quirrell had been. She could still be under the Imperious curse, though. According to what Dumbledore told him, it could be because of what Voldemort was feeling at the moment, so it could have just been an eerie coincidence. Hermione and Ron both insisted that he should go see Dumbledore just like he thought they would. In the end, he just stuck to writing a letter to Sirius.

After a few minutes of thinking of what to write, without explicitly telling what was going on since it could get intercepted, Harry realized just how difficult it must have been for his friends during the summer. After ten minutes or so, he finally dipped his quill in the ink and started writing.

Dear Snuffles,

Hope you're OK, the first week back here has been terrible, I'm really glad it's the weekend.

We've got a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. She is nearly as nice as your mum. We also have this new exchange student, Zidane Tribal, he's caused a bit of trouble, but he's a really decent guy. I'm writing because that thing I wrote to you about last summer happened again when I was doing a detention with Umbridge.

We are all missing our biggest friend, we hope he'll be back soon.

Please write back quickly.

Best,

Harry

Harry reread the letter from the point of view of an outsider and decided it was good enough. He seriously hoped that Sirius would catch the bit about Hagrid. He left the common room and after a friendly suggestion from Nearly-headless Nick, he took the longer, but safer route to the Owlery because of a prank Peeves set up. Once he reached the straw and droppings-covered floors of the Owlery, he searched for Hedwig between the large number of owls perched on the rafters. He finally found the snowy owl perched nearly at the top of the vaulted ceiling.

"There you are. Get down here, I have a letter for you." Harry said and the owl swopped down with a low hoot. Hedwig perched on his shoulder, and Harry handed her his letter so she could clasp it in her beak. "Right, I know this says Snuffles on the outside, but it's for Sirius OK?"

Harry had no idea why he whispered the last part. Hedwig's amber eyes blinked and Harry took it that she understood what he said.

"Safe flight then." The raven-haired teen said, walking over to the window. With a slight pressure on his shoulder, Hedwig took off, her large white wings spreading as she took flight.

Harry watched the snowy owl until she became nothing more than a black speck in the bright morning sky. His gaze then travelled to Hagrid's empty hut and then the swaying treetops of the Forbidden Forest. He savored the fresh air and remembered the promise he made to Angelina about training Ron. Apparently he was talented, but all the same, he could do much better. He continued to watch the soothing movements of the trees, when he saw it. A great reptilian winged horse, like the one's pulling the carriages, with leathery black wings spread wide like a dragon, rising from above the trees and flying in a circle before plunging back down again. The whole thing happened so quickly that Harry wasn't even sure if he really had seen it. In any case, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest.

The door to the Owlery opened from behind him and he nearly jumped. Standing there in the doorway was none other than Cho holding a parcel in her hands.

"Hi." Harry said automatically.

"Hi." Cho answered back.

'Merlin, this is awkward.' Harry thought.

He attempted to say something funny to get rid of the stifling silence, but at the moment he felt like his brain was jammed, and his thoughts were stuck on the winged horse from earlier. He ended up talking lamely about the weather, but somehow their conversation then turned to Quidditch, Ron being the new Keeper, and then Umbridge. Harry felt his chest puff out when Cho said he was brave for standing up to the Toad. Their conversation was soon interrupted by a wheezing and disheveled Filch.

"Aha!" The old squib cried out, making a nearby owl screech at him in a menacing fashion. "I've had a tip-off that you are intending to place a massive order for Dungbombs!"

"Who told you I was ordering Dungbombs?" Harry asked with his arms crossed. It wasn't unusual for Filch to call out false accusations, what was strange is that someone would purposely make him a target.

"I have my sources. Now hand over whatever it is you're sending."

"I can't, it's gone." Harry said, feeling thankful that he already sent it.

"Gone?" Filch asked, his face becoming the epitome of rage.

"Gone." Harry said calmly.

The old man searched him with his eyes before asking if he was hiding it with him. That was when Cho came to his rescue and told Filch she saw him send it earlier. The old man left in a fit of rage, but not before giving him a small threat.

"You weren't ordering Dungbombs were you?" Cho asked

"No." Harry said.

They walked together out of the Owlery, both still wondering who could have tipped Filch on a false lead. Eventually they both left on separate ways, but not before saying goodbye. Harry walked back to the Great Hall where his friends were waiting. His thoughts, however, were somewhere else entirely.

'She thinks I'm brave.' Harry thought while a smile made its way to his face.

…..

Zidane woke up that morning to a combination of a nightmare followed by a bizarre dream. In the nightmare he dreamt that he was on top of a silver dragon while destroying Alexandria. He was no expert at psychology, but he was sure it had some connection to the little incident last night. The dream that followed was simply weird.

He was in a simple field, nothing special except for a single tree. It was neither day nor night, but a mix of both. In the right side of the field it was day, in the other it was night, and the sun and a blue shining moon were both out, with clouds occasionally rolling past them. He was sitting under the tree watching the sun, moon, and twinkling stars, and next to him, holding his hand, was Dagger. They didn't talk or even openly acknowledge each other, because deep down, they already knew who they were with.

He woke afterwards, just thinking how bizarre it had been. The setting was so illogical and yet it felt so real. Not to mention, usually his dreams of Dagger had a lot more action and DID NOT play out like that. It was so peaceful that it made him regret waking up. The dream awoke the homesickness he kept deep inside of him.

When he finally got dressed after that, he was happy to see that his hair was nearly back to normal, except for the feathers he had to pull out himself and the fact that it was still a few shades lighter in color.

After greeting Harry, and walking out the common room, he decided to go out for a walk. He was worried that all this lack of action would make him rusty. Without a doubt, he needed a place where he could to practice his abilities away from prying eyes. The classrooms were obviously out of question since the amount of noise and the explosions would not go unnoticed. Not to mention, he would have to somehow explain why half of the room would be destroyed.

He finally made it to the school grounds and was met with the chilly September morning air. The day was really quite beautiful, despite the cold. In the distance he could see the trees of the Forbidden Forest rocking gently in the breeze. That was when he got the idea.

'It's away from wandering eyes. Nobody would ever want to enter it anyways. There are supposed to be many unfriendly monsters dwelling inside, and if I do happen to run out of targets, I can still use the trees to practice. It's perfect!' Zidane thought.

The blonde genome walked towards the forest after making sure he made himself fully invisible. The inside of the forest smelled like a mixture of decaying organic matter and strange herbal scents from the many strange plants growing around. He made sure to leave marks on the trees so he could find his way back afterwards. After a few minutes of walking, he ended up in a large clearing.

The clearing had a small stream flowing right through it that most likely lead towards the lake. There were several smaller trees here and there, but the most interesting thing was its current occupants. The first thing they reminded him of was an Amdusias, only more skeletal looking, with only one pair of wings, hornless, and without the mane of spikes. He was about to unsheathe his blades, when he saw a head of dirty blonde hair poke out from behind one of them.

"Luna?" Zidane asked as he noticed the girl that was currently wearing strange glasses and was barefoot. Only after the words escaped his lips did he realize his slip. He was still invisible.

"Oh, hello Zidane. I thought for a moment that you were a Crumple Horned-Snorkack or maybe a Tebo. They can be very sneaky." Luna said with that dreamy tone and without a real hint of surprise. The genome stiffened in surprised at having apparently been spotted. His eyes then quickly landed on those funny glasses Luna wore. Perhaps they had something to do with it. "Would you mind coming out, I can't really see you."

Zidane wrapped his tail around his center and dispelled the invisibility, suddenly feeling relief wash over him as he realized that he hadn't blown his cover just yet. Luna's tone of voice was so neutral at times that it was usually hard to figure out what could expect from her. In any case, she didn't make any mention of his invisibility, so for now there was no problem.

"Why are you barefooted? It's kinda cold out." Zidane said, trying to play it as casually as he could.

"Oh, all of my shoes have mysteriously disappeared. I think it's the Snargles." Luna said, adding the last bit in a whisper.

The teen chuckled. "So what are these creatures?"

"These are Thestrals, many people avoid them because of how they look, but they are very gentle creatures, really. They are very misunderstood." Luna said as she took a piece of raw meat from a bag and threw it over to a Thestral that ate it eagerly. "Only those that have seen death can see them. For me it was my mum. She was a brilliant witch, but she liked to experiment."

Zidane frowned at the girl's words, but then petted the Thestral that approached him with curious, milky-white eyes. Deep down he could detect a hint of sadness and acceptance in Luna's words. A sudden thought occurred to him; he didn't even remember whose death he'd first witnessed. He'd seen o many people die that he couldn't even recall the first.

Another two Thestrals approached him and nudged him slightly as if begging for his attention.

"They seemed to like you. I heard they like dancing during Hallows Eve." Luna said.

"Who would have thought?" Zidane said with a grim smile as he petted and scratched the skeleton horses behind the ears. They seemed to like that a lot, based on the crooning sounds they made.

Luna handed him some raw meat to feed them and after a while it turned into a bizarre game of fetch. He dangled the meat in front of the Thestrals and saw how they followed it keenly with their eyes. Then he would throw it far and the winged creatures galloped away to catch it like large bizarre dogs. He even tried throwing one piece of meat high into the air, making the Thestral that followed it open its wings and fly into the air to catch the treat, before circling around and descending.

It wasn't until the meat ran out that Zidane realized just how long they had spent playing with the Thestrals.

"Hey Luna, we should get back if we want to get there before breakfast is over."

…..

Harry sighed as he curled up in bed. Saturday had been pretty disappointing. The Daily Prophet now knew that Sirius was in London. He had a distinct feeling that Lucius Malfoy was the one that tipped the newspaper off. Also, Sturgis Podmore, one of the Order's members, had been caught trespassing in the Ministry. Quidditch practice afterwards was simply terrible. Ron's performance being affected by the crowds of Slytherins that turned up, seemingly for the sole purpose of mocking them. In the end they had to forcibly end practice when Katie swallowed one of the twin's Blood Blisterpods, which worsened the nosebleed she got when Ron accidentally hit her with a Quaffle.

Sunday wasn't any better. Most of their time was spent either in the Common Room or in the library. This was because they (as in Harry and Ron) had put off all the work they had planned doing yesterday. Hermione had stubbornly refused to help them so far, but Harry held to the hope that she would eventually budge. Indeed, he was regretting his decision to play some Quidditch with Ron yesterday before practice…well almost.

"Hey Zidane, shouldn't you be doing your homework?" Hermione asked the blonde that was now lazily reading a book on one of the couches near the fire.

"Nah, it's okay." He said dismissively while looking up from his book. "I decided to catch up to my reading anyways."

"What's that you are reading?" Hermione asked as she leaned closer to see the book.

"Eh, nothing really, just a something light." Zidane said.

Upon closer inspection Harry saw that the blonde's text looked quite old and even a bit scorched on the edges, there were a few symbols on the cover, but Harry could make neither heads nor tails of it. To his great surprise, it looked like Hermione couldn't either.

"What language is that?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well you probably wouldn't have heard of it. It's quite rare." Zidane said, and he left it at that. Hermione was about to ask some more, but they were called over by Ron who wanted to get some lunch. When they turned around once more, the blonde was gone.

"That was odd." Harry said while Hermione just looked thoughtful.

…

Zidane once more curled comfortably in the couch nearest to the fire. He had been caught in quite a tight spot earlier. All because he got careless and read his Terran spellbook in front of Hermione of all people. Most people would just pass it off as some foreign language, but obviously the bushy-haired girl would get curious. It was mostly his fault, because to him reading Terran was as easy as reading Gaian, therefore he sometimes forgot what language he was reading. He knew the answer he gave was vague and would probably come and bite him in the rear later, but it was all he could really think of at the moment. He even got lucky. Had it not been for Ron's intervention, he wouldn't have been able to make his getaway.

But now everyone was downstairs eating lunch and he finally had a few minutes to himself in the empty Common Room. He could go eat later if he felt hungry. After all, he had a pretty big (and late) breakfast, so he could skip on lunch altogether. With a content sigh, he stretched over on the couch in a very cat like manner.

'Perfect time for a nap.' Zidane thought. After another bizarre dream, he woke up feeling like he barely slept at all. 'But I can finally compensate now...'

Zidane curled up and felt his consciousness slipping. His invisible tail was now swaying gently over the ledge of the couch. There were no sounds except for the 'cracks' emanating from the fireplace, which seemed to increase in frequency and make his tail twitch in irritation. Now that he thought about it, it was really getting annoying. When he heard the burning logs and ashy remains shift in the fireplace, Zidane finally snapped his eyes open.

"Hey, can't you see I'm trying to sleep!?" Zidane nearly yelled. It was silly to shout at the fireplace, but it was robbing him of precious napping time. To his surprise the moment he saw the fireplace, he could have sworn he saw a face there, a very familiar face too. Then a second later, it was gone.

"Sirius?" The genome asked.

The fire seemed to shift again, and after a few seconds, the blonde could clearly see Sirius's flaming visage in the fire.

"Zidane? Oh thank heavens. I thought you were a girl."

"Hey!" Said teen said giving a huff of indignation.

Sirius gave a bark-like laughter. "Sorry mate, but it's true. How have you been?"

"Well, you know me." The blonde said with a lazy grin.

"Yes, I can imagine." Sirius said.

"Why are you here anyways? Isn't it dangerous? Well, more importantly, how the hell is it that your face is in the fire? Don't they have you on a leash back in HQ?" Zidane said and he poked at the logs with a nearby fireplace poker.

"Hey, quit that!" Sirius said, and the blonde stopped. "Well, I'm still technically at Grimmauld Place, only I'm using Floo Powder to appear in the fire by only sticking my head. As for why I am here, Harry sent me an owl and I decided to check up on him."

"He did? Well, more importantly, is this really a good idea? You do know that the Daily Prophet knows you are in London, right?" Zidane asked and Sirius looked surprised.

"Well, I was hoping to keep it short, at least before Lupin gets back." The ex-convict said with a shrug.

"Hoping the missus doesn't find out? Your hide, not mine." The blonde gave a small chukle as he shrugged. "What did Harry ask you about?"

"His scar is hurting again, he said it happened during a detention with this Umbridge woman. How horribly is she treating you guys anyways? I'd except she would have something against you in particular. That nasty woman just hates anything that looks remotely different than the normal."

Zidane rolled his eyes and then proceeded to tell Sirius about Umbridge. He also mentioned what happened in detention and what he did with the Blood Quills, but not before making Sirius swear that he wouldn't mention any of it to Harry. Sirius on the other hand, told him about what was going on in HQ. Apparently they were having huge problems on the Giant front, and now Podmore had been caught. Zidane heard a series of footsteps approaching and cut the conversation short.

"Someone's coming." Zidane said and he turned towards Sirius. "Don't worry, leave the toad to me. And if you wanna catch Harry, then I suggest coming around midnight. They'll probably stay up late since they have work to finish. Say hi to the others for me, bye!"

Against the aAnimagi's protests, the genome took the fire poker again, pretending to arrange the logs as the portrait swung open and Sirius's face disappeared once more.

….

Harry angrily corrected his Astronomy essay on Jupiter's moons. It was now past midnight and he was having problems concentrating on his work. If he had to pinpoint his problem, it would most likely be traced to the piece of paper that was now nothing more than a pile of ask sitting in the fireplace.

He couldn't even believe that Percy thought he was violent and unbalanced. Sure, the redhead had been his least favorite amongst Ron's siblings, but the redhead had known him since first year. They had shared the same roof on some occasions, heck, they even shared the same tent during the Quidditch World Cup. And now Percy had sent a letter advising Ron to cut ties with him, Dumbledore, and even his parents. Saying that Dumbledore was losing his marbles and that they were all on some misguided road to self destruction.

'Anyone willing to call Umbridge a 'delightful woman' must be the ones losing their marbles.' Harry thought with a scoff. What worried him the most was the announcement that Percy said would be published tomorrow in the Daily Prophet; anything good for the Ministry, would likely be bad for him.

"Oh, give them here." Hermione said with a huff. "I'll look over them and correct them."

'Oh thank Merlin!'

Harry thought as he rubbed his tired eyes and handed his parchment over with a yawn. "Thanks a million Hermione."

The clock continued to tick as Harry absentmindedly scratched Crookshanks behind the ear. The only sound in the Common Room now was the quick and precise scratches of Hermione's quill.

'This must be what Sirius felt like; when he was suddenly accused of being a mass murder and rejected by his friends.' Harry thought as he watched the fire dance. He could almost see Sirius's face looking at him from the fire. 'Wait a moment…'"Sirius!" Harry cried out getting both Ron and Hermione's attention. Noticing his loud voice, he toned it down to a near whisper. "What are you doing here?!"

"Answering your letter of course." Sirius said.

At the mention of a letter, both Hermione and Ron looked at Harry with accusing looks. "What letter? And what if someone saw you Sirius?! It's too dangerous!"

"You sound like Molly, but don't worry. I may have been seen once…by a short girl." Sirius said with a chuckle as if laughing at some private joke. "Besides, it's the only way I could come up with for answering your letter without resorting to a code, and codes are breakable."

Hermione turned angrily towards Harry this time. "You didn't tell us that you wrote to Sirius!"

"I forgot!" Harry said defensively, which was completely true. His mind had been too preoccupied with Cho, Quidditch, and those skeletal horses. "Don't look at me like that Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there, Sirius?"

"No, it was very good." Sirius said smiling. "Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed. Now, about you scar."

"What about-?" Ron began, but Hermione shushed him to let Sirius talk.

"Well, I know it can't be fun having it hurt, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. It kept happening last year, didn't it?"

"Yeah, Dumbledore said it was because Voldemort was feeling powerful emotions." Harry said, ignoring his two friends wince at the evil wizard's name.

"Well, now that he is back it's bound to hurt more often."

"So you don't think it had to do with Umbridge at all?" Harry asked.

"I doubt it, I know her by reputation and I'm sure she is no Death Eater."

"She is foul enough to be one." Harry said darkly.

"Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. You should have heard what Marcus and Remus told me about her." Sirius said.

"They know her?" The trio asked. Harry just remembered the Toad's rambling about half-breeds being dangerous. If that was how Lupin knew her then how did Marcus fit in that picture?

"Well, Moony doesn't personally, Marcus has had to deal with her before. The woman drafted an anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that makes it impossible for Moony to get a job." Sirius said.

Harry remembered how much shabbier Lupin had been looking these days and his hatred for the woman intensified.

"What's she got against werewolves?" Hermione said angrily.

"Afraid of them I suspect. Apparently, she loathes part-humans; she campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year, too." Sirius said.

"Yeah she has been simply awful to Zidane, the exchange student, just because he looks a tad bit… different." Hermione said with a small blush.

"Different? You'd think the guy was a bloody male Veela or something, just looking at the way girls gawk at him, even some of the guys!" Ron cried out.

"Ron! There is no such thing as a male Veela. Besides, Zidane is a very nice person, even if he does like getting into trouble." Hermione said.

"Yeah, because you fancy him." Ron said making Hermione flush red. But before she could manage a retort, Sirius stepped in.

"So, what are Umbridge's lessons like?" Sirius asked clearly still amused by the bickering pair. "Is she training you to kill all half-breeds?"

"She isn't even letting us use magic at all!" Harry said.

"All we do is read that stupid textbook." Ron said.

"Figures, rumor is Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat." Sirius said.

"Trained in combat? What does he think we are doing here, building some sort of wizard army?" Harry asked incredulously.

"That's exactly what he thinks you're doing. Or rather, that's what he is afraid Dumbledore is doing; building an army to take on the Ministry of Magic." Sirius said.

After a pause, Ron was the first to speak. "That's the most stupid thing I have ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood comes out with."

Sirius then proceeded to tell them how Fudge was becoming more paranoid by the day. Umbridge being the new DADA teacher was just a set up so they wouldn't learn offensive magic to help Dumbledore take over the Ministry. After asking Sirius if he knew what would be announced tomorrow in the Daily Prophet, the Animagus admitted that he had no idea. Despite living in the Order Headquarters, Sirius was quite cut off from everyone else. At the moment his only (reluctant) company was Kreacher. When asked about Hagrid, Sirius admitted that he should have been back, but got separated from Madam Maxime on their way back. The ex-convict then reassured them that the large man was tough and could take care of himself.

"When's your next Hogsmeade weekend anyways? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at the station didn't we? I thought I could-"

"NO!" The trio cried out very loudly.

"Sirius didn't you read the Daily Prophet?" Hermione said with anxiety.

"Yeah, and Malfoy hinted at that too. I think his father recognized you on the platform." Harry said.

"All right, all right, I get the point." Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "I just thought you'd like to get together."

"I would, it's just that I don't want you chucked back in Azkaban!" Harry said.

There was a pause and Sirius just looked at Harry, a crease forming between his eyes. "You are less like your father than I thought… James would've loved the risk. Anyways, I'd better get going, I can hear Kreacher down the stairs. I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?"

With a tiny pop, Sirius was gone, while Harry was left with a few pangs of hurt in his chest from Sirius's words. He wasn't his father, he knew that, but it still hurt. He was so used to being told that he was so much like his father, well except for his eyes, those were his mum's. His father was still like a role-model for him. It made him proud to know that he made seeker like his dad, and that he was brave like him, too. But Sirius's words had been a bit harsh, like he was telling him he was not up to standards.

'Maybe it is like Hermione said. Maybe he is losing it in that house. He did sound a bit…bitter.'

…

Little did the unsuspecting trio know that the entire scene had been watched carefully from the shadows. Even as the trio headed upstairs to their respective dormitories after grabbing their things and bidding each other goodnight, they did not notice the shadows shift and the Common Room window open silently. Indeed, their entire exchange with Sirius had been carefully watched by a certain invisible blonde thief.

'Sirius did take it a bit too far. I know he wants to get out of that house, but it really is too dangerous. It's not letting him think clearly either. He is starting to lash out at others as well.' Zidane mused, though he really couldn't blame the guy. He would have risked escaping the house ages ago if their roles were switched. 'Maybe I should get him something. Now that I think about it, maybe I should write to Bill too…'

The blonde jumped from turret to turret, illuminated only by the faint moonlight. The night wind was chilly, but the blonde knew that it would probably get worse in a month or so. Just like the students enjoyed their last warm afternoon before winter, Zidane was going to enjoy this as well. Once winter struck, he would not be able to try such stunts on account of the cold and the ice.

He didn't really like the cold much, even as a kid. Sure normal kids liked playing blissfully in the snow, but when you were raised in the streets, winter was a harsh season of cruel biting cold and sickness. They would often spend months preparing for it by gathering enough food and warm clothing to survive through it. Yep, winter was one of those seasons he just wished would pass quietly and without bothering everyone else.

'I'll have to get some thicker clothes, too. I heard this place gets colder than Lindblum.'

He doubted he would even leave the castle with such weather conditions.

After a few more leaps and a long climb up the Astronomy Tower, Zidane decided it was time to get his plan in action. Yes, there was one more reason he was sneaking around tonight. You see, unlike the Golden Trio and Sirius, he did know what was going to be announced tomorrow in the Daily Prophet. And he didn't like it one bit. That's why he was going to go and express his disappointment in the only satisfying way he could think of. With a great big leap he landed on a roof, entered through a nearby window, and headed over to the Great Hall.

It all started after his chat with Sirius. Since the students arrived from lunch, sleeping on the couch became anything but attainable. That's why he finally decided to head up the dormitory if he ever hoped to get some sleep. He took his boots off and after closing the curtains around his four-poster bed, he happily sunk into the warm cushiony depths of his bed. His eyelids felt like lead and soon he felt his body go limp. Finally, the sweet embrace of sleep was upon him.

Alas, it was never meant to be.

Zidane heard an irritating sound somewhere in his subconscious, but ignored it, his mind was entirely elsewhere. Well, specifically, his mind was once again in the large open field. This time he felt a small tug, accompanied by an even more irritating noise. Zidane turned in his bed, hoping that the noise would go away. If anything, it got much worse. Only when he heard a loud 'crack' and felt something land on his tail, did he wake up with a startled gasp. Unfortunately, since the curtains were drawn (and even with his superior vision), he was only able to see a small silhouette and a pair of glowing green eyes. Thinking the worst, he tried to stand up and fight, but only got himself tangled in a mess of bed sheets and curtains. With an undignified yelp, he fell from the bed, bringing everything else down with him, and landed painfully on his tail. He looked up to his bed, and now, with a clear view of his assailant, did he realize that it was only a house-elf. Only this one was covered in an assortment of colorful garments.

'Well now I know where Hermione's hats keep going.' Zidane though as he stood up.

"Dobby is sorry to startle Mr. Tribal! Is Mr. Tribal okay? Oh, Dobby is a bad house elf!" The small creature said in a squeaky voice and nearly in tears.

"No, it's fine really. You can just call me Zidane, alright?" The blonde said trying to calm the small elf tiredly as he untangled himself from the mass of fabric. "So what brings you here?"

The small elf stopped and looked at him with awe. "Mr. Tri-Zidane is so kind to Dobby, just like Harry Potter! Dobby is honored to meet great wizard like Zidane!"

"Pleasure's all mine, Dobby." Zidane said, in his mind he was picturing how the elf knew Harry with great amusement. He extended his hand, which Dobby took shyly. "Though, I'm not sure about the great wizard part. I can't even be called a real wizard, can I?"

There was no point hiding it, most creatures he'd met so far could tell he wasn't human with just one look. Ironically, it was the humans, the one race that thought themselves better, that couldn't tell the difference. Dobby seemed to look sheepish after Zidane made the declaration.

"Dobby knows Zidane not human, his being is feeling different than others, more powerful. Dobby was actually nervous to come see Zidane, thinking he could be like mean creatures old master knew. But Mr. Zidane is nice to Dobby!" Dobby said with happiness. "Oh, Dobby must fix mess."

With a snap of his fingers, the bed was done and the curtains fixed. The blonde felt a smile tug at his lips. This certainly was one unique little house elf. It reminded him a bit of himself. While Dobby was an oddball amongst house elves, Zidane was an oddball amongst genomes. The only other genomes built with souls or 'different' like himself were Kuja and Mikoto, his 'siblings'. Even then, Mikoto had this passive demeanor much like the others, while Kuja… well Kuja wasn't exactly around anymore.

"Oh, Dobby forgot!" Dobby said startling him out of his thoughts. "Dobby was asked by Dumbledore sir, to take Zidane to his office."

"Dumbledore?" Zidane asked. 'That's weird, why would he want to talk now? He's ignored me just fine since the start of the semester.'

"Yes, please be taking Dobby's hand Zidane Tribal." The house elf said extending his small hand.

The moment Zidane's hand made contact with the elf's he felt a pull at his naval, and with a crack, they were both gone from the dormitories. The pair of oddballs reappeared once more in front of a statue of a gargoyle; the entrance to the Headmaster's Office.

"Chocolate Frogs." Dobby said and the ugly gargoyle jumped aside, letting both pass.

'Somehow I am not surprised.' Zidane thought in reaction to the odd password.

They stepped into the winding staircase that transported them to a large set of doors before Dumbledore's office. With a small knock, both were told to come in by the kindly old man.

"Ah, there you are! I was afraid you had gotten side tracked." The old man said, calling them forwards.

The genome and the house elf approached the headmaster's desk, and from the golden perch beside it, Fawkes trilled a happy melody. Zidane responded by gently caressing the bird's bright fiery feathers. After thanking Dobby for bringing the teen over, Dumbledore dismissed the house elf, who left with a small wave and a 'pop'.

"Come have a seat! Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore offered as he took one of the yellow treats from the dish and popped it in his mouth.

"No thanks, I had a bit of a …bad experience with some candy the other day." Zidane said as he sat down in front of the Headmaster.

"The twins I take it?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't think those Canary Creams were meant for anything other than humans." The blonde said with a small chuckle. Seriously, he was just glad that it had worn off rather quickly. Dumbledore chuckled. "But, I am more curious as to why you brought me here. Is something wrong?"

"Well, unfortunately yes, there is an ulterior reason as to why I called you here. But first, how has your first week been? How is Harry doing?" Dumbledore asked and Zidane could see true worry in the old man's face.

"I could say it's been all sugar and rainbows, but I'd be lying. To put it bluntly, that old toad has been nothing but a thorn in everyone's side. But, you probably already know that from just the rumors. Most students hate her, which could be an advantage, but based on the fact that most people dislike her and she's still here, I can guess that your hands are tied in this matter, right?" Zidane asked and Dumbledore gave a sad nod. Personally, he also wanted to know what the old man was thinking when he let things become this bad, but then again, he really didn't know much about schools or how they were run. For all he knew torturing students could have been a common practice in other school and not just Hogwarts.

"I'm afraid that as long as Cornelius is blinded by fear, that horrid woman will stay. Furthermore, anything that Umbridge does will be fully backed by the Minister, even if she uses any means possible, the Minister has full censorship of the media. That's why I was so worried when I heard that Harry would be serving detention with her. I was worried for you, as well as some of our staff. I know where the woman stands when it come to 'half-breeds'… such an ugly way to refer to someone." Dumbledore said with a shake of his head.

Zidane just dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"I can deal with anything she throws at me. But you were right about the woman's detentions." Zidane said and then explained just what Umbridge was having them do. The blonde also told Dumbledore how Harry was doing, his problems, worries, and the blonde's personal views about the teen. "So yeah, I guess that's why she didn't mind using those torture quills. Like I said, I am doing what I can to take care of Harry, but I don't want to smother him with my presence either, since he's not a little kid that needs babysitting. Overall, I think it's working quite nicely."

This seemed to give the tired looking man some relief.

"Well I'm not sure if you've been told, but we lost contact with Hagrid after his mission with the giants turned for the worst. We are doing all we can to find him, but I have faith in Hagrid and I know he is alright. It's been very difficult these last few days, especially after the news about Sirius being seen and Sturgis's arrest during guard duty. Honestly we still don't know what happened to him, since we haven't been able to make contact. I'm afraid things will be much harder from now on. That is one of the reasons I called you." Dumbledore said, his face serious.

"This is about the so-called surprise Harry and the others have been talking about, isn't it? Harry got a message from Percy Weasley." Zidane asked, his face serious as well.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he smiled sadly. "Correct, my boy. You certainly are full of surprises. I'm afraid that from tomorrow, things will be very different in Hogwarts. Here, I believe this will clear things up."

Dumbledore waved his wand and a piece of parchment appeared from under the mess that was the headmaster's desk. Zidane took the parchment and read it.

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM

DOLORES UMBR1DGE APPOINTED

FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR

"What the hell?" Zidane asked out loud.

"Those are tomorrow's headlines, I've just been informed of it. The decision was just reached a few hours ago. From tomorrow, Umbridge will have the power to evaluate and dismiss teachers and other faculty members. She will also set up new 'Ministry Educational Decrees' or rules. You no doubt realize just the severity of such a situation. This could eventually mean my removal from the school." Dumbledore said and Zidane nodded gravely. He understood perfectly.

'Zidane:4 Umbridge:2'

"Good. I wanted not only to warn you before hand, but I also wanted to ask a favor of you."

Zidane felt like rolling his eyes. This man could be as manipulative as Garland. The only difference was that this guy wasn't fixated on overtaking a planet. He only wanted to protect his people, which the blonde understood all too well.

"Alright, shoot." Zidane said and Dumbledore smiled.

"I would like to ask you to take care of the school, its teachers, and the students should anything happen to me. I would like to ask of you, Zidane Tribal, to become my trump card." Dumbledore said.

The genome thought about it and in the end grudgingly accepted. He did put several conditions of his own, though, like for example, he would not be forced out of Hogwarts to fight on other battlefields. He wasn't stupid, he didn't accept just to become a living weapon. He'd seen more than enough battles to last him a life time.

There were several other small ones too, mostly to better accommodate him. According to Dumbledore, he still had no definite method of sending him back. So until then, he was going to make sure his stay was comfortable. The old man had several theories, but so far none were infallible or even remotely safe. Dumbledore still had no idea if Gaia was even in the same physical space, or in another dimension altogether, so he'd been calling favors and exchanging letters with other specialists. Zidane didn't feel all that rushed though. Even if they found a way to send him back, he still promised to stay for the rest of the school year.

'Though this year is promising to be hell.' Zidane thought, his mind still going over what Dumbledore told him. 'But that doesn't mean I will make it easy for the Toad.'

When Zidane slipped into the Great Hall, it was completely dark and empty, eerily so. But that made things so much easier for him. From under his cloak he got out the materials he was going to use, and quickly got to work. His work was swift and silent and after getting through the most difficult parts, the rest was a piece of cake. He didn't even need his wand for any of it, just some ingenuity, hunting experience, observational skills, and some strong vanishing spells so the surprise wouldn't be ruined.

'Aaaand…there!' Zidane thought as he put his finishing touches on his little gift. 'Oh, she is going to love this.'

Quickly gathering his supplies, the blonde made his way out of the Great hall, but not before making sure that his spells had enough energy to last. He easily avoided Filch and Mrs. Norris. Even the paintings didn't stir as Zidane walked past them. He got out the window and backtracked to Gryffindor tower while inhaling the fresh breeze from the cold moonlit night. After entering from the slightly opened window from the now-empty Common Room, he made his way to the boy's dorms where he happily sank under the warm covers of his bed. After a few more minutes later, he was greeted by a familiar wide field with a single tree in it.

'Dagger.'

To be continued...

…

A/N: Like the title says, this is mostly a filler chapter for what's to come. Several hints were dropped already.

An Ambdusias is a winged/horned horse monster and also a small boss in FFIX, thus explaining why Zidane was reaching for his daggers at first. He got on the boats when he first came to Hogwarts with the other first years, so he didn't get a chance to see them until now.

See you guys next week!