Disclaimer: For the last time, people, I do NOT own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy! So really, you have no legal basis on which to sue me!

Harry: Snappish much?

Let's see you deal with ignorant people who keep trying to use the court system to take your money.

Sirius: But no one's tried that.

It's only a matter of time. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!

Harry: rubs his ear Did you have to do that right in my ear, Cor?

Shrug Probably not, but it does make me feel better.

Sirius: I'll go run for Pomfrey for that bleeding ear then, eh, Harry?

Harry: Eh? I can't hear anything since SOMEONE BELLOWED INTO MY EAR!

Cripes! Geez, Harry, I'm sorry!

Harry: Pulls out Gryffindor's Sword

Meep! runs away

"It stinks down here." Those were the first words Harry uttered when he stood up after he, Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa fell down through the trap door in Corneo's bedroom.

"That would be because we've fallen into a sewer. With sewage," Cloud remarked dryly, pulling Harry to his feet. Tifa was helping Aeris up already. "You okay, kid?"

"Physically speaking? I'm fine. Whether my male pride will be okay remains to be seen," Harry said with wry grin.

Cloud sniggered. "He'll be fine," he told the girls.

"Well, the worst is over," Aeris sighed.

A loud rumbling began shaking the sewer. "Aeris, do me a favor, okay? Never say 'the worst is over' again, alright? You'll just put a jinx on the whole thing," Harry joked.

The quartet had their weapons at the ready, and squeezed together in the cramped space. This made the stench seem worse because all four of them had been splashed with the sewer water when they fell in, so they were drenched in who-knows-what. Before them, a weird, misshapen creature approached them. It was color primarily a dull, scale green, and vaguely humanoid, despite its towering over them in height. Its long arms each had a three-fingered hand, and each hand ended with a big claw. It also sported a long tail with an odd knob on the end.

"That thing's UUUGALEE!" Harry quipped.

"Save the jokes for later," Cloud murmured, running forward and lunging with his big sword, almost severing the creature's leg at the kneecap. He came back, ducking away from the monster's retaliatory swipe. Tifa focused for a minute before unleashing a lightning bolt.

The bolt struck the creature, scoring extra damage because it was standing in sewage water. But then, so were Harry, Tifa, Cloud, and Aeris, but they didn't feel anything, like Harry expected them to. Must be the magic, Harry thought.

Time seemed to slow down as the creature came forward and produced a long, ropy tongue. It slapped at Aeris with it, but Harry's Cover Materia flashed. Nobody saw him move (nor did Harry feel like he moved) but there he was, holding Gryffindor's Sword in a defensive position. The monster's tongue lashed over Harry's shoulders and back. Harry felt a strange burning sensation along the scores on his back as he stepped aside while the monster jumped back.

"Harry!"

That sounded like Aeris... Harry thought. He felt...slow. Everything seemed to be moving quickly, now. Cloud and Tifa were moving faster than they were supposed to. The monster and Aeris both moved with extra speed; even the water flowing around his ankles felt faster than it had. What's going on?

"Healing wind!" Harry noticed the air looked green and blue cycloned around him. Everything resumed moving at normal speed. "You alright, Harry?" Aeris asked.

"I'm fine...what happened? Everything was moving so fast..."

"You've been hit with Slow," the flower girl explained. "Nobody was moving fast, Harry. You were just moving...well...slowly."

"Right. Thanks for the help, Aeris."

"You didn't have to take that hit for me, Harry," the flower girl smiled kindly at him. "Consider it payback."

"Alright." Harry turned back toward the beast, and scowled. "Would anyone mind if I get angry at this thing?"

"No one at all, Harry. Let it out."

Cloud dropped back. "This thing is tough!" he grunted. Despite the complaint, Harry saw a gleam in his eyes, alight with the prospect of a challenging opponent – or it could have just been the Mako Cloud was infused with.

The creature reared back and pounded his floor of the sewer with a bloody fist, causing the whole area to rumble. The resultant shockwave caused the sewage water to rise and up and buffet the quartet into a wall.

"Ugh," Cloud groaned.

"This is horrible!" Tifa complained.

"I'm going to smell for weeks!" Aeris agreed.

Harry looked up at the beast, his eyes (unbeknownst to him) glinting with power. "He's going down." Without thinking about it, Harry swung his sword rather a like how he would use his wand, and shouted the incantation, "Reducto!"

The spell shot from the tip of Gryffindor's Sword and crashed into the monster's upper torso. The curse immediately shred the creature apart, almost completely obliterating its head. The dead body rocked for a moment, then crashed to the ground at Harry's feet.

"That was incredible!" Aeris gasped. "Where did you learn that?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Actually, it's one of thousands of spells people from my homeland are capable of casting."

"Why haven't you used your magic before if everyone from your home can do it, kid?" Cloud asked.

Harry blinked. "I'm not sure; at home, everyone uses wands to focus their magic into their chosen spell. Though, under extreme stress or with lot of training and practice, one doesn't need a wand to cast spells. We generally refer to that as accidental magic when done by kids before they go to school, and wand less magic when intentionally cast by graduated members of our society."

"It still worked here. Perhaps it's your Limit Break?" Tifa wondered aloud.

It was Harry's turn to ask questions. "'Limit Break'?" he repeated. "What's that?"

Cloud took over explaining. "Basically, you just get really pissed off, which is usually from taking too much damage. It gives you a sort of energy boost, which is immediately used in a super-powerful move or attack." He looked as though he was recalling something. "You've seen me use mine before; the one where I jumped up and slammed my Buster Sword straight down, remember? When we fought that Air Buster in front of the No. 5 Reactor?" Harry nodded. "That was my Limit Break. Though people have more than one, they have to learn them by using the ones they have. Most people only reach the second tier, though, of the four that are said to exist. Everyone starts on the first tier, and by using the Breaks there and defeating enemies (almost always monsters), they eventually move up to the second and third tier."

"What about the fourth tier you mentioned?" Harry asked.

Cloud thought for a moment. "I'm not sure if the fourth level really exists; it's said to contain legendary moves that are completely devastating to those they are used on. Taking that as truth, then they can't be learned the normal way; you may need some kind of magical item, or a complete and thorough mastery of the Limit Breaks of the first three tiers first, or something."

"I understand." Harry stretched and tucked his sword into his cloak. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Yeah. If we don't hurry, Sector 7 will be crushed!" Tifa exclaimed. The quartet set off through the sewers, only wading into through the water flowing along the bottom when there wasn't any other choice. Harry also noticed a Yellow Materia orb glowing dully near a dead end of one of the passageways. He scooped it up and examined it.

"What's this one?" he wondered, half-aloud and half to himself.

"Hrm..." Aeris took a closer look. "It looks like a Steal Materia."

"Let's see it, then," Harry mused, gripping it a bit tighter. As before with the Cover material, it flashed and, as before, the knowledge of what it did came to his mind.

Steal...an ability to steal items and gil from monsters and enemies. To help facilitate this, the user's dexterity is increased moderately. At first, only items can be stolen, but eventually, with experience, gil can be swiped as well. Physical damage can be dealt simultaneously with a Steal attempt at higher levels.

"Well?" Cloud asked.

"Aeris was right: This is a Steal Materia. It's not as bright as your Materia, though. It's not even as bright as the Cover Materia I found in Aeris' flower garden," Harry announced, "and the Cover isn't very bright at all."

"They must be newly-born Materia, then," Cloud remarked. "New Materia have the dullest glint in them. As they are equipped, though, they respond to the experiences of the user and grow, getting brighter as it does so. When fully grown, or 'mastered,' as it is called, it is bright enough to be used as a beacon in dark areas (though they're rarely used for that). They also split into two; one stays as a fully-grown master Materia, while the other is a new-born without any experience whatsoever. But they are the same Materia, at least in terms of what they do."

Harry's head was spinning; all this lecturing on Limit Breaks and Materia (which was added to what he had been told before) was a lot to take in, and he said so. "I think it will sink in over the next couple of days, though."

"Probably," Tifa agreed. They began walking toward a ladder Aeris had seen at the other end. Harry slid the yellow Materia into the other slot on his gauntlet; the boost in that graceful feeling he had earlier was noticeably larger than the one from the Cover Materia. He could also feel the knowledge of thieving arts creep into his mind past his (rather rudimentary) Occlumency shields. He now knew how, exactly, to steal items from monsters, though logic reminded him that he couldn't possibly exceed every time, and that he may be leaving himself open to attack when making a Steal attempt. He privately wondered how monsters were capable of getting items anyway, and how they might carry them without such things as pockets or bags.

The dim glare of dull light posts brought Harry from his reverie; they now stood in what might as well been called a graveyard for train cars. Cloud turned to Aeris. "Aeris, I got you mixed up in all this..."

"Don't tell me to go home!" the flower girl cut him off.

Tifa looked around. "Let's see...If we can get past the trains that are lit up, we should be able to get out of here and reach Sector 7."

"Okay. Keep an eye out for ghosts and such; they don't call this place the Train Graveyard for nothing, you know," Cloud warned. They set off, climbing onto a broken, rusting train car and picking their way across. They hopped to a nearby one, and dropped down to the ground next to it, making their way north. They walked down the interior of a short series of train cars still connected, and came out facing something that was part-horse, part-chariot, and all-monster.

"Lovely," Cloud muttered. He jumped back to avoid a lunge and pulled out his sword. He ran in and struck, leaving a large gash in the horse's flank. Aeris glowed for a moment before she cast Fire. The flame spell wrapped around the demon-knight part for a second before disappearing, leaving scorch marks on its plate armor. Tifa focused and cast a spell, as well, throwing a small thunderbolt at the humanoid. The armor, comprised of metal, made an excellent conduit for the electricity, so naturally, the monster was greatly affected.

Harry glanced down at his gauntlet, looking at the yellow Materia. Might as well try it out, he thought. His choice made, he ran in and thrust his empty left hand forward – and it phased through the horse's hide as he swiped, his hand clasping on something. He ducked back and found himself holding a small bottle labeled 'Hi-Potion.'

"Not bad, kid. That'll come in handy," Cloud remarked.

Harry pocketed the bottle for later use, and dodged away as the horse-knight creature lunged at him. Cloud took the opportunity to slash at the equine half of the beast, severing the left foreleg (well, left when looking at it from the front). Harry followed up and thrust Gryffindor's Sword forward. It shined brilliantly for a moment as it pierced the hide of the demon, and a sizzling sound was heard before Harry pulled free and jumped back.

"What was that?" Tifa asked, casting Thunder again.

"The special ability of my sword, I guess," Harry replied. "It seems extra effective against demons and such." He glanced at the bartender, then turned his attention back to the battle. "Here it comes again!"

Harry's warning came too late, though. Harry was brushed aside with the demon's lance (he landed on the hard a few feet away, hard) and could only watch as the lance left a large cut on Tifa's shoulder, who had tried to dance away. Harry supposed she was partly successful, since she would otherwise have been impaled through her heart. Tifa's eyes narrowed in anger as the blood began to ooze from the wound.

"Ha!" She glowed for a second, orange this time (casting magic caught her in a greenish glow) then dashed forward, striking the horse repeatedly with her fists and feet, ending with a back somersault kick that knocked the entire beast onto its side. Cloud leapt forward and hacked through the armor on the demon-knight, finishing it off. The monster flashed red and disappeared, leaving behind a pile of coins, a Potion, and what looked like a small, red grenade.

I'm never making her angry again, Harry thought, tossing a spare Potion toward the bartender-slash-martial artist. Tifa nodded her thanks as she poured the medicinal liquid onto her shoulder, watching it heal completely (and without scarring) in a couple of seconds. Aeris divvied up the gil between the four of them (somehow the money had come out divisible by four, leaving each of them with exactly the same amount).

"We don't have too much further to go now," Tifa declared. She motioned toward what might as well have been a small mountain of train cars. "The town is just on the other side of that wreckage."

"Let's hurry. We don't know how long it'll take Shinra to destroy the pillar, and we'll probably need all the time we can get," Harry reasoned.

"You're right, kid. Let's hurry."

And hurry they did.

Sirius: So, are you going to write Yuffie into the story?

Yuffie: Yeah, are you? I mean, no one can resist my charm and wit!

Meh. Unlikely. I've already written a vast majority of the game; reworking it all just to bring Yuffie in would be a lot of extra work that I have neither the time nor the inclination to do.

Harry: Thank Merlin. Priscilla's bad enough to be around.

Priscilla: I resent that! But that's okay, I love you anyway, Harry!

Harry: Bugger. See what I mean?

Yuffie: scowl Stupid brat.

Priscilla: Old hag!

Yuffie: Who're you callin' old!?

Sirius: whispering to Cor and Harry Shall we leave?

Yes. Definitely.

Harry: I hope you won't lose too many readers from this.

Eh...