Notes: Here's what happened. really considered postponing this week's update, mostly because it's been an emotionally tough weekend. I had to put down my 3 year-old pet hedgehog since he'd gotten worse from a series of medical issues he'd been afflicted by for some time and that had really no solution. I was extremely fond of him (I had him since he was only about two months old) and it was a huge emotional loss, but I digress. The chapter was done so I decided to upload it anyways. Just today I got this review talking about a late update which had me confused (I en had a few choice words because Sunday isn't 'late' and damn these reviewers are getting demmanding) until I checked and realized that THE CHAPTER WAS NEVER UPLOADED (and I'm sure I did upload it, though it explains the lack of reviews). So I'm uploading this now from my phone. So thanks random reviewer (there's your reply though I want to point out that I update when I want/can, but I will say so beforehand or leave a note on my profile page).
Anyways, thanks to everyone who's been following this story so far.
…
Chapter 37: Brotherly Bonds
The entire week was hell for Zidane. Not only did he have to deal with the usual, like Umbridge giving him a hard time, but things seemed to take on a whole new hellish level with Kuja's arrival.
This so called 'brother' of his (and he used the term very loosely) was constantly getting into his head during the day without his permission, even during classes. In fact, most of the time he was getting into arguments with him; arguments he was sure were solely for Kuja's own amusement. It made it very difficult to concentrate most of the time. Sure he wasn't exactly a model student, but these distractions were now getting him into trouble with a few of the teachers, and even some of the students. Angelina in particular was constantly angry at him for spacing out during his extra broom riding lessons.
At least he knew how to communicate back, otherwise he'd be talking to himself all the time. In Gaia he would be considered crazy. Heck, even in this bizarre Wizarding world, hearing voices and talking to yourself weren't considered good things. But even then, sometimes he would slip up and outwardly reply, particularly when things got heated. One time, he got so angry that he accidentally somehow managed to slip into Terran. How he managed it was still beyond him, seeing as he didn't even know he could speak the language, but luckily, nobody was there at the time.
Neville and Luna seemed to notice his strange behavior, as well. Neville constantly asked him if he was alright. He supposed that it was because, even though his wasn't exactly outwardly talking, his facial expressions still gave him away. It wasn't normal for a person to suddenly get angry out of the blue. Zidane usually assured him that he was okay. Mostly because he just couldn't tell him that Kuja was his brother and his current hobby just happened to be screwing with his head to annoy him.
The other individual that didn't seem to give him a break was Hermione. She was more sneaky about it, but to him it was all as clear as day. He was a thief after all. Being sneaky was part of the job description. That's why when he wasn't in class, practice, or eating, he was using his time to avoid Hermione at all costs. He had slipped into the Room of Requirement several times for this, but decided not to fully rely on the place since all of the DA members were aware of it already.
He often used this time to practice magic, or just simply exercise, his tail hidden, of course. He could explain the training as extra practice for the DA, or say it was Beater-training for Quidditch, but he had no way of explaining the tail if someone else saw it. Even if he said he got it in some freak accident with magic, it would still gather too much suspicion.
And it wasn't like the others weren't suspicious as hell at the moment. He supposed that it was his own slip up that caused that. When asked whether he was joining up Kuja's classes, he reluctantly said that he would, mostly because there was no way in hell he was leaving Kuja alone with a class of gullible teenage wizards. The only problem was that he forgot to add the 'professor' bit, and ended up referring to Kuja by his name only. Of course, that alone wouldn't be such a big deal. The real problem was the small run in with Kuja in the Library where the man referred to him as 'Zidane' and not 'Mr. Tribal'. Since it was the Library, there were several students present at the time and unfortunately, as it was known to happen in this school, word travelled fast. By noon there were all sorts of rumors going around about him and Kuja. Some of them really made him want to gag.
'If I ever find whoever made that particular rumor I will trance on them and leave them as nothing more than an ugly stain on a carpet.' Zidane thought angrily. He was NOT in some kind of forbidden affair with Kuja.
'Really? I thought it was quite funny.' Kuja's mocking voice resonated in his mind.
'WILL YOU GET OUT OF MY HEAD?!' Zidane said, doing the mental equivalent of slamming the doors of his mind on Kuja.
Yet after a long and hard week, the weekend finally arrived. On one hand this meant temporary relief from classes, which was always welcome. Unfortunately this also meant that it was time for the first of Kuja's lessons.
Those that signed up for the class were told to stay behind in the Great Hall once breakfast was over. He saw many fifth year students from the DA there, including the Golden Trio, and both Neville and Luna. He was actually surprised to see people from Slytherin too, Malfoy and his two gorillas amongst them, as well as Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise Zabini. The others he did not recognize by name. He doubted they simply showed up in order to do well in their OWLs. It was probably Kuja's rather Slytherin-esque character that called to them, like some kind of instinctive call of nature that told them to flock together. Either that or they knew of his important position and were really trying to get in his good graces. He knew enough about the game of power to know what was going on.
But the icing on the cake was currently standing to the side, clipboard in hand. It seemed like Umbridge was up and ready to inspect the class, even on its first day. It didn't really surprise him. Kuja had made an enemy of Umbridge the moment he set foot in the school. And since Umbridge couldn't get Kuja in trouble legally, or risk an international incident, she was obviously going to find another way to screw him over, in this case by proving that he was incapable of teaching.
'Either way, this is going to be good.' Zidane thought to himself as he settled right next to a rather nervous-looking Neville. If Umbridge won, Kuja would be forced to stop teaching. If Kuja won, Umbridge would be humiliated in front of all four houses. It was a win-win situation.
But if everything was in his favor, then why did he still feel so uneasy about this?
"Welcome everyone to the first lesson of OWL preparation." Kuja said as he gracefully walked in through the large double doors. He walked past Umbridge, not even giving a glance in her direction before speaking out to the students. "I am Professor L'Rouge, though you may all call me Professor Kuja, or sir. Before we begin I have two announcements to make. Firstly, I am afraid that due to the size of this class and some last minute additions, we had to find another classroom to accommodate us. Unfortunately, this means we will not have the classroom ready until next week. (Umbridge shook her head and made a little note on her clipboard), but worry not, for this is actually a great opportunity for us to have a rather special class. Secondly, before we actually begin, I must ask that anyone participating in this class to sign a copy of this paper. Now, before I give them out, are there any questions?"
It was actually Malfoy who asked first, not even bothering to raise his hand. "What are the papers for?"
The Toad seemed to instantly perk up.
"Oh, glad you asked." Kuja said, giving a charming smile. "As the child with the blonde hair, and many of you must be wondering, these are all waivers that you must sign, saying that you will all follow my instructions to the letter to avoid any sort of accident. In case of any unfortunate accident or injury, whether physical or psychological, resulting as a direct result of disobeying my instructions, I will not be held responsible."
"Wait, that's unfair!" A Ravenclaw boy said from amongst the group.
"None of you were forced to take this class. If you do not agree with the conditions I have set down for it, then you are welcome to leave." Kuja said, not faltering one bit.
'You knew something like this would happen.' Zidane stated, mentally calling out to Kuja.
Kuja's lips turned upward in the slightest smirk as he silently replied. 'I like to cover all my bases.'
Six students did not sign their sheets and left; two of them from Hufflepuff, another one from Ravenclaw, and three Slytherins. He supposed that the latter were smart enough to realize that Kuja likely had a reason for forcing this onto them. He was surprised by the amount of Hufflepuffs that had decided to stay, though they were not really much of a large group to begin with. Most had probably decided to band together and gain strength in numbers for the class. The Ravenclaws on the other hand had probably never heard of the saying about curiosity killing the cat, either that, or they insisted that satisfaction would bring it back. The cat had obviously never met Kuja.
The Gryffindors all probably thought of themselves as too brave to cower at anything that their teacher could pit them up against. Zidane just shook his head at how wrong they were. Turning to the side, he saw Neville looking rather pale as Luna tried to comfort him. Unfortunately, it seemed like she was making things worse by letting Neville's imagination run wild with things that could happen in the class. To make things even worse, those fears weren't really all that impossible considering that Kuja was the one teaching. Either way, he was going to be the one to draw the line if Kuja started acting up. Protecting the others was the sole reason he actually signed up for this class anyways.
"Alright. Now that you are all finished, please follow me." Kuja said as he retrieved all the papers with a single wave of his hand and instantly made them disappear.
He left through the large doors and led them outside to a spot that was usually only reserved for Care of Magical Creatures. Thankfully, it was only slightly chilly today and the sun was out, which was quite rare considering that they were in the middle of winter. Zidane immediately took a spot near the back of the crowd, despite Neville's insistence, in hopes that it would somehow keep the silver haired genome from focusing his attention on him.
"You, the girl with the bushy hair." Kuja said as he noticed that Hermione was raising her hand. Many Slytherins snickered when they heard the description. "You obviously have a question."
"It's Hermione Granger, sir, and excuse me Professor, but what exactly are we supposed to do today? Are we going over some sort of creature?" Hermione asked, looking around in confusion.
"Well, Miss Granger, is it?" Kuja asked, and after getting affirmation he continued. "You are absolutely correct. Today will be a joint lesson that includes various topics from many of your subjects, all joined together by one creature that is sure to show up in your OWLs. I actually thought this would be a good opportunity for you all to see the real deal, and I was convinced after getting a few requests. Today class, our subject is dragons."
Zidane's eyes widened as those words left Kuja's mouth. There were several gasps amongst the group of students, many looking a bit awed or scared. 'You didn't…are you insane?!'
Kuja just smiled deviously, before bringing up his fingers to his mouth and giving out a long drawn whistle. After a few moments, a loud roar answered him, before a blur of shining white appeared over the canopy of trees in the Forbidden Forest, and then flew over to where they currently were. Many students screamed, though most of them stepped back. The only ones that didn't seemed to move at all were him, Kuja, Harry and Umbridge, who was already standing at the back of the class to begin with. Her clipboard was on the ground as she clutched her rather small wand in her ring covered hands.
"Everyone, this is Sylph." Kuja said calmly as the large pearly dragon flapped 'her' wings to land right beside him, her actions sending a strong gust of wind all around. "Sylph dislikes loud, high-pitched sounds, so I would appreciate it if you could hold your screams until the end of the class."
"Professor Kuja!" Umbridge called out with a shriek, making him and Kuja wince while Sylph just growled. "Of all the irresponsible things! Sending a dragon out on a group of students with no sort of safety whatsoever! The Ministry and the Hogwarts Board of Governors will hear of this!"
"I was under the impression that you would be inspecting this class, not rudely interrupting it." Kuja said with a rather dramatic sigh. "And to quell your concerns, would you kindly walk…say fifteen paces to the front? I would highly appreciate it."
Umbridge narrowed her black beady eyes, before walking up to the front. Zidane just mentally laughed at how easily she was baited. She wouldn't dare deny the request by saying that she was afraid of the dragon. That would mean showing weakness. Yet the moment her short toad legs reached the fifteenth brisk step, her entire pink-clad body seemed to collide face-first on an invisible barrier, before falling ungracefully on her rear.
"As you can see, High Inquisitor, I already did have a barrier set up. That you would think I place such little care in the wellbeing of my precious students just wounds me." Kuja said dramatically as he placed one hand over his heart.
There were a few snickers coming from the students, though most of them still seemed kind of shocked by the new development. He was sure that many were just holding their breath as they saw the two authority figures clash headon. Zidane, on the other hand, just watched with fascination as Umbridge's face turned from an angry trance pink to a Dead Pepper red color.
"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!" Umbridge called out as a spell left her wand and then hit the invisible barrier before her, creating a large explosion. When the smoke cleared up, she was more than shocked to see Kuja smirking rather smugly and completely unharmed from the other side of the invisible and still-standing barrier.
"You will find that this barrier is more than capable of withstanding any attack from Sylph. If it wasn't able to, it would defeat the purpose of having a barrier to begin with, so none of you have anything to worry about. In fact, what you just did Professor Umbridge, was quite dangerous and could have put my students in danger. Had I not been behind this barrier, I could have been injured as well." Kuja said, before putting on a rather sad look on his face and shaking his head. "Pity, I thought a Ministry approved official should have been well aware of this. To use such inelegant force so recklessly…I would rather appreciate it if you stopped causing such mayhem in this class."
Umbridge just stared at him, her mouth opening and closing, speechlessly, like a fish out of water. After a few more seconds of trying to find her voice and failing, the pink clad woman just gave Kuja a hateful and furious glare before turning around and leaving, her defeat quite evident to anyone watching.
'You are such a bastard, a brilliant and flamboyant bastard, but a bastard nonetheless.' Zidane said, shaking his head.
'Coming from you, I will take that as a compliment.' Kuja replied as he waved at the retreating figure of Umbridge, before turning to the still shocked students. "Alright, now that she's gone, we can really lift the curtain on this new act. Now who can tell me exactly what breed of dragon Sylph is?"
Nobody seemed to move, and for a moment Zidane thought they would have to be taken to the Hospital Wing. Well, until Hermione slowly raised her hand, that is.
"Yes Miss Granger." Kuja encouraged, and almost like a chain reaction, the others seemed to react to his voice and look at the bushy haired girl.
Hermione shied a bit from all the attention, but answered. "He is an Antipodean Opaleye. You can tell by the pearly scales and the pupil-less iridescent eyes. They are considered to be one of the most beautiful dragons in the world, as well as one of the least violent."
"Five points to Gryffindor!" Kuja said. "I had heard of you from other teachers, and I must say I am not disappointed. There are a few things I would like to say though. Firstly, Sylph is actually a female. And secondly, although Opaleyes are considered as some of the least violent dragons, that description is also misleading. They are still dragons, and as such they must be dealt with a great deal of care and also respect. In fact, the only reason Sylph is not currently gnawing on all of your remains is because she is my familiar. Any other dragon, even one used to human contact from a reserve, would not be as docile."
"Excuse me sir?" A Ravenclaw girl asked. "How exactly did you manage to get a dragon to become your familiar?"
"Well, the most important thing about familiars that you must know is that they are not at all like pets. They are far smarter, and to them, being considered a pet is insulting. They are more like guardians and life-time companions than just animals you like to feed and play with. Unlike a pet, a relationship with a familiar is built on trust, respect, and mutual understanding. I cannot force Sylph to do as I say, but she will accept what I tell her only because she agrees to it. In exchange for all this though, a familiar will go to great lengths for you, even if it means death." Kuja explained, and surprisingly everyone listened with rapt interest. "As to how Sylph became my familiar, the first thing you must all know is that to make such a bond, respect from the creature is needed. This greatly varies depending on the creature and their particular personality. With owls for example, just by saving them or showing kindness you may get their respect. Other animals prefer talent or wisdom. Dragons are a whole different story, though. The one and only thing that they respect is power. As you can imagine, this display, in front of one of the magical world's most powerful creatures is not as easy as it sounds, a duel of sorts is required."
Many of the students were now looking at him in awe, 'a duel of sorts' implicitly meaning beating the dragon to submission and gaining its respect. Zidane supposed that for people in this world defeating a dragon singlehandedly was a big deal, even if it didn't involve killing it. He himself had slayed several Ironites, Red Dragons, and Shell Dragons in his past adventure, so he didn't see it as such a big deal. It was difficult, yes, but not really impossible. And though the feat probably seemed impossible to these guys, Zidane knew for a fact that Kuja probably defeated Sylph in the blink of an eye. Though physically weak, Kuja's magic, even now, was ridiculously strong.
Kuja went on to talk about the many types of dragons out there, and the important uses dragons had, including the 12 uses of dragon blood that apparently Dumbledore came up with (and was an OWL favorite question). He also talked about the parts of dragons that were used in other branches of magic like Potions, or Herbology in the case of dragon dung. All in all, Zidane was actually impressed by how much Kuja seemed to know about this world and how the others seemed to listen. Even he found himself listening to the lecture. It wasn't really the content itself, but the way it was delivered. In the same way he had a way with people; Kuja had a way with words. He could manipulate and twist them around to make even the ugliest thing sound beautiful, and the most boring thing sound interesting. Kuja truly had a silver tongue to match his hair.
Halfway through the lesson and Zidane could see that he already had a great number of these teens in the palm of his hand. Even those that outwardly didn't like Kuja, had to at least admit that the man knew what he was teaching. Those that weren't interested in his teachings, at least held some form of admiration for being able to outwit Umbridge so easily. At least that was the case of a certain Weasley redhead that was standing next to Harry. Even Neville was absorbed by the lesson, even if it had nothing to do with Herbology. It looked like in his first lesson, Kuja had already made a great impression, and if he was correct, then Kuja was already planning on ways to 'conquer' all the other years as well.
Zidane actually felt his respect for the man grow, even if just a tiny bit.
That's why it was such a shame when Kuja just had to go ahead and ruin it.
"Alright, now I want to demonstrate the characteristics that Sylph's unique Opaleye flames have, but I will need a volunteer come up here to help me set up the targets while I run this over with Sylph." Kuja said, and almost instantly, all of the student's faces went pale. "How about you, Zidane?"
The younger genome mentally cursed as he accidentally found himself in the spotlight.
'You bastard, you're doing this on purpose!' Zidane accused. "No, that's alright Kuja, why don't you ask someone else."
He mentally cursed as he realized that he had just called the older genome by his first name.
'Why, I am offended. I was only doing this since you seem to be the only one not actually afraid of coming up here. It would really put the others at ease if you did.' Kuja replied, feigning hurt in his voice, though on the outside a smile was plastered on his face. "Oh, but I insist, besides you are already well acquainted with Sylph, aren't you?"
"Excuse me professor, I have a question, but it's not about the lesson." A Hufflepuff boy asked, raising his hand. Zidane vaguely remembered him from the DA meetings, but he couldn't quite remember the boy's name.
"Nonsense, just go ahead and ask. Asking questions about the world around you is a marvelous thing." Kuja said, raising both arms in a dramatic display.
"Alright." The boy said as he warily eyed Kuja's rather flamboyant reaction. Zidane then remembered his name was Zacharias Smooth, or something like that. Smell, Smile, Smirnoff? Nah, that wasn't right. It had an 'I' in it, he was sure of it. "Why does he get to call you by your first name?"
Surely the question came off as rude, but judging by the curious looks from everyone else, they were pretty much wondering the same thing.
"And your name is…?" Kuja asked.
"Zacharias Smith." The boy replied, and Zidane mentally 'ooh'ed. He would remember that name so he could later beat the living crap out of him. Seriously, he was sort of expecting Hermione to ask something like this, not him. He supposed that she was just being polite, unlike a certain Hufflepuff before him.
"Well Mr. Smith. That is because it would be rather awkward to call him 'Mr. Tribal' considering our relationship." Kuja said with a small smile. He was not put off by the question at all. In fact, he actually seemed to enjoy it.
'Kuja.' Zidane said in warning.
Many of the female students began to blush fiercely in what was probably remembrance of that particularly nasty rumor going around about him and Kuja. Right beside him, Neville was looking at him in worry since he had quite the scowl on his face at the moment. Luna was looking off into space as usual, which really wasn't surprising. Harry looked rather surprised, while Ron had this look of confusion on his face, almost as if he were trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It was funny how this expression almost seemed like his default reaction to anything, really. Hermione on the other hand, was completely and totally focused on what Kuja had to say, almost as if the man was just casually giving out infinite wisdom and the meaning of life itself. Had it not been for the situation at hand, he would have actually found it funny.
"I'm actually surprised not many of you have figured it out." Kuja continued with a dramatic shrug just for effect. "It's really not that difficult."
'Kuja, don't you dare!' Zidane mentally hissed at him.
'Dare to do what? I have no idea what you are going on about.' Kuja replied calmly.
'Kuja this isn't funny!' Zidane called out again, but began panicking slightly when he realized that the man was either shutting him out or just plainly ignoring him. 'KUJA!'
"After all, isn't it awkward to use such a formal language on your own baby brother?" Kuja said with a smug smile as he looked at everyone's shocked faces.
Zidane could have sworn one could hear a pin drop with the resulting silence. He was not normally the type of guy to get easily embarrassed (Rusty did say he was shameless), but in truth, this had to be one of the most embarrassing moments of his life, even more than that one time he had to play the princess in one of Tantalus's plays. For the moment he wished for nothing more than for the earth to swallow him up, or alternatively, for Odin to swoop down from the skies and finish him.
Hermione's face had been seemingly stuck with her mouth forming an 'O'. Harry's bright emerald colored eyes were wide in disbelief as he sputtered in shock. Ron was doing quite the impersonation of a goldfish that would have been quite funny had the circumstances been different. Neville on the other hand was slack-jawed and looked as if his heart had momentarily stopped. Luna…well she was looking a bit more alert, almost as if she had known this, or at least suspected it, which actually brought on a lot more questions than he currently needed. Hell, even the Slytherins had a positively disturbed look on their faces. It was almost as if they had just seen Snape and McGonagall making out.
"You damn bastard." Zidane growled out, this time not even caring that the others heard.
…..
That very evening, Harry finally programmed the next DA meeting for Sunday. It was sudden, yes, but he did have a very good reason. Well, several ones, actually. For starters, he had just about everyone in the DA coming up to him to ask him when the next meeting would be. At this point he really just decided to give them what they wanted. Secondly, he really needed something to distract him from the now constant annoying pain from his scar. Ever since that first lesson with Snape, the thing just hadn't stopped stinging. A meeting with the DA would be the perfect opportunity to take his mind off of it. The third, and possibly the strangest reason, was the request he got from Neville after lunch.
The entire hall had been buzzing with noise as word travelled of what happened during the new professor's lesson. Even he had to admit that the lesson was on par with one of Lupin's, though the surprise at the end had been completely uncalled for. Since it was Hogwarts they were talking about, just about everyone, including Filch's cat, now knew that Zidane was Professor Kuja's younger brother.
Though it had come as an extremely shocking revelation, now that he thought about it, it did explain why the man had looked so familiar. If you took away the silver hair and feathers, the purplish blue eyes, the ton of makeup, and the air of superiority, you could clearly see the similar facial structure, and even the similar short, but lean build. It was the kind of thing that just screamed 'brothers!'. It seemed so blatantly obvious now that he noticed it.
"I still can't bloody believe it." Ron said, still in a bit of shock.
"I'm still curious about it all, but…I do feel rather guilty." Hermione said with a sigh. She had been the one that wanted the mystery cracked the most. And even though it wasn't really her fault that it happened, she still felt somewhat responsible.
Harry agreed. The entire hall was talking about him none too discreetly behind his back, and he knew just how bad that really felt, since he had been in that same spot several times before. Predictably, Zidane hadn't shown up since the lesson, not even to eat. Not a single soul had seen him either, which was quite an accomplishment, really. Either he had barricaded himself in the Room of Requirement or in one of the secret passages, or he somehow had a way to turn invisible. An invisibility cloak, perhaps?
"Hey, are you coming, mate? Those essays aren't going to write themselves you know." Ron said as he got up and followed Hermione out of the hall. He was just leaving the hall himself when he was stopped by a rather concerned looking Neville.
"Listen Harry, can we talk?" The teen asked.
"Sure." Harry replied. "What is it, Neville?"
"Well, actually I was kind of wondering if you could set up a DA meeting soon." Neville said, whispering the last bit.
"We would have to talk about that. Usually we set the dates with at least three days of anticipation…" Harry said, but after looking at Neville's face, reconsidered. "The others have been asking for a meeting though, so it might just work. Listen…is there any particular reason you are asking? I mean…is everything alright?"
Neville looked at him before giving a sigh and running a hand through his hair. "Well, it's Zidane. We haven't exactly been able to find him, but that's no surprise really. He's bloody invisible when he wants to be and he does run off occasionally. We were sort of hoping that he would return when he got hungry like he always does. Unfortunately, he's been hanging out with Fred and George lately, so he might just know the way to the kitchens. Luna's out looking for him though. She says she just has to follow his trail of Wrackspurts… or was it Nargles? I really don't know. I was just hoping that this would distract him from…well, everyone."
Harry nodded in comprehension (while ignoring the fact that Neville´s words made Zidane sound more like a stray cat than a human being), having felt the exact same way several times before. Besides, Zidane was still his friend, and he did still feel a bit indebted to the blonde for helping him out with Umbridge, and well, just supporting him and believing in him.
"Alright, I'll talk to Ron and Hermione about it." Harry said, and Neville gave him a smile in appreciation.
Harry looked up from his nearly finished essay for Transfiguration, to look at the Common Room's clock. There were fifteen minutes left until the designated time, which gave him more than enough time to finish his work and then head to the Room of Requirement early so they could prepare everything for the lesson.
"Harry, are you done? We were going to head over now." Hermione said as she and Ron walked besides him. Harry held up his finished essay, emerald eyes scanning for any mistake. Once he was pleased with the result, he put his things away and followed his friends out of the Common Room and out of the Seventh Floor.
They were just about to turn the corner when a voice called out to them. Turning around, Harry saw both Neville and Luna walking toward them.
"Aren't you two a bit early?" Ron asked. "There's still some time left before the meeting."
"We know, it's just that we couldn't really find Zidane." Neville said. "We thought that maybe he'd be here."
"Yes, Zidane does like seem like the type to do that." Luna said with a nod, before turning to look at the door curiously. "That's strange. The Wrackspurts have fled."
Almost as if on cue, the entire hall seemed to rumble, as if shaken by an unseen force, the epicenter of it being right across the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.
"You don't think…" Ron began.
"Come on!" Harry urged before running over to the front of the tapestry and walking over the spot three times. When the door appeared, he rushed over it to pry it open, as much as he tried it just wouldn't bloody open. "Why won't it open?"
Neville just rushed past him and began banging on the door. "Zidane! Are you in there?! ZIDANE!"
There was a moment of silence as everyone seemed to hold their breaths. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they heard the small 'click' of the door unlocking. Before they all even registered doing it, they were already at the other side, jaws slack as they surveyed the damage the room had taken.
Rather than the room they always used, this one was barren of any unnecessary decoration. The only things present with the rather sad remains of what once were several manikins they typically used for practice. The only difference was that none of them were in one piece. Many had been torn, shredded, and apparently burned beyond recognition. Even the once old and gray walls were sporting several scorch marks and spider cracks, the pillars that used to stand throughout the room had been reduced to rubble. And in the middle of it all was a rather tired and disheveled looking Zidane. He was bent over and panting, and for a moment he could have sworn he saw something like pink static crackling around him, but after blinking, it was gone. The air itself was rather heavy, almost like when he had his own accidental bouts of magic.
Yet Zidane eyes were wide, cyan shining brilliantly with an expression similar to one of a child being caught with his hand in a tin of biscuits. Harry then noticed the many scrapes on the teen's exposed skin. Several parts of his pants, shirt, and hoodie were either torn or scorched. The only things that managed to survive unscathed were his boots, and his ever-present gloves.
"Uh…hi?" Zidane said rather sheepishly as he looked at everyone. Everyone just stared back.
"Where the hell have you been?! We haven't even seen you since yesterday!" Neville said. "We looked just about everywhere for you, and now we just come here and find you like this?! What in Merlin's name even happened here?! It looks like looks like you had a fight with a Blast-Ended Skrewt!"
"Geez, I was going to see you guys at the DA meeting. I just wanted to lay low for a while, maybe get some time to myself." Zidane said, bringing up both hands in surrender.
"Lay low?! We were almost going to check the Forbidden Forest for you! And what was with the explosions?! What even happened here?!" Neville continued in a rant that was painfully familiar to one of Mrs. Weasley. At least Ron seemed to think so, considering his current expression.
"Well, there was some time until the meeting, so I thought I'd get some practice in to unwind a bit." Zidane said and then grimaced as he looked down. "Not really a good idea when you're this pissed off, apparently. Most of my spells ended up exploding."
"Well, they do say emotional turmoil can affect a wizard or witch's performance." Hermione commented, before she gave Zidane a rather guilty look. "I'm sorry. It was rather thoughtless of me-"
"It's alright. I'm not mad or anything… well at least not at you guys." Zidane said as he ran a hand through his long bangs, eyes looking at the damaged room critically. "It's not your fault that Kuja had to go on and blab it out to the whole damn world."
"So it's true?" Ron asked, just before Hermione rammed her elbow to his side. "Owww, what the bloody hell 'Mione?!"
"Unfortunately, yeah." Zidane said with a sigh. "I'd tell you all about it now, but I'd rather get out of here before the others arrive and start wondering who the hell let Sylph inside."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, though Harry could see that she was rather excited at the prospect of finally getting an explanation.
"Yeah, I'd rather have you guys hear the truth, than listen to those messed up rumors going around." Zidane said with a slight shudder as the group left the partially destroyed room, only to walk over the spot outside three times to summon the door again, and going through it. This time the room that greeted them was their usual DA meeting room, complete with large squishy cushions.
Luna was kind enough to magically mend the blonde's tattered clothes. Afterwards, the group of listeners took seats on the soft cushions. Zidane didn't sit on a cushion like the others. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the floor, the entire group forming a semi-circle around him.
"Well, where do I begin?" Zidane wondered out loud as he lazily tapped his index finger on his cheek as he leaned his head over on his arm. "Well, for starters, Kuja and I are technically brothers, but we were never really close. I met the guy more than a year ago, but I've known him for less. I had no idea we were actually related when we met, and when we came face to face with one another the first time, it wasn't on very good terms."
"How is it that you never even knew about it? How did you find out anyways? What do you mean by not meeting him under very good circumstances?" Hermione asked, not missing the slightest detail as always.
"Well, I never really knew about him since I was adopted at an early age. Nobody really knew anything about my earlier life at all. I happened to find out when I unknowingly met my own father, who actually knew that I was really his son." Zidane said, almost spitting out the word from the amount of disgust it seemed to bring him. "And let me tell you, the guy was a real asshole. He was the one that told me that Kuja was my brother. I already knew him by then. By bad circumstances, what I meant was…well it's complicated, but the point was that we had a fight. Hell, I hated the guy. You could say he rubbed me the wrong way since the moment we first laid eyes on each other, so it was more than a bit shocking to learn that we were brothers."
"But, what about your mother? And your father, too? Surely he tried to mend things." Hermione said.
"I don't exactly have a mother either. For all I know she passed away years ago. My father is dead as well. Even if he was alive, I don't think he would have done anything. Not really. Kuja hated the guy, maybe a lot more than I did. " Zidane replied, saying the word father like it was basilisk poison.
"I'm sorry." Hermione said, looking rather ashamed as she heard the story.
"It's alright. I already came to terms with everything. It's not like I was close to them anyways. I do have a home to get back to, even though I'm not related to them by blood. That´s really all I need." Zidane said. Harry could understand just fine. He also felt as if the Weasleys were his adoptive family. Sirius and Lupin were also part of it. They were like his crazy uncles. Ron and all his siblings, along with Hermione; they were like his brothers and sisters.
He was just surprised that there was someone else who could relate. He and Zidane were more alike than he had thought.
"I guess what pissed me off the most was that Kuja just waltzed in here to turn my life upside down without even telling me. I shouldn't have mentioned that I was attending Hogwarts when we accidentally met over the holidays." Zidane said with a sigh.
"So is that what you meant when you said you had an unpleasant encounter during your trip?" Neville asked.
"You got that right." Zidane said. "Sometimes I just feel that he came here just to spite me."
"Maybe that's not true." Hermione said, catching his eye. "I mean, sure he seems rather rough around the edges, but why would he go through all that trouble just to annoy someone. Maybe he is just here to bond with you. You know, getting closer to you in order to restore the severed ties you both had."
"I think Hermione's right. He may be a bit odd and he does have a lot of Nargles, but he doesn't seem like a bad person." Luna said. "It makes me wish I had a big brother."
Zidane seemed to scoff at the idea at first, but then he became unusually silent, almost as if he were really thinking that possibility over, as ridiculous as it may have sounded to him at first. "Hmm…maybe…I guess I'll have to wait and see."
The first of the DA members entered the room at that moment, which officially ended the conversation and made everyone remember that it was actually time for the meeting to start.
They reviewed the many spells they learned before Christmas break, before moving to more complicated charms like those used for shielding. If everything went well, then they would eventually move on to the Patronus charm. He had every bit of faith that if any group of people could manage to actually create a Patronus, then it would be the DA.
To his relief, he saw that Zidane was once more acting normally, in fact, he looked rather relieved. It was likely from finally getting that off his chest. Even though many would still whisper to each other while glancing in his direction, the blonde seemed content to ignore them.
Harry was glad for that.
Zidane was very unique. He was the type of person that was intent on helping those that most needed it, without any apparent reason behind it. If someone needed help, his automatic response was to give it. The world really would be a better place with more people like him. He had helped him out even after just meeting him, as if knowing just what the problem was and how to solve it. It was really rather amazing now that he thought about it. His carefree and 'go wherever the wind takes me' attitude was one that many people like Hermione would find simply irritating due to his utter disregard for school and authorities. Many times he had wished to be so seemingly free from responsibilities like the blonde was, only to realize that Zidane likely had his own problems too. He just didn't share them with anyone.
This incident had just confirmed it. Zidane wasn't some enlightened being untouched by strife; he was just a teen with troubles that weren't any less serious than his own and those of his friend's, maybe even more so. Zidane wasn't as simple and predictable as everyone thought he was. Unlike what Hermione thought, he wasn't a book that could be read. He was complex, and with many layers. Like Moody's old trunk, he had several compartments, one inside of the other, each filled with surprises and enigmas that nobody would have ever imagined were contained in that rather short package.
Still, he was happy that Zidane had shared this with them. It gave him a broader view of who the blonde was, almost as if part of the mask that covered his face had fallen away to give him a clearer view of what really lay behind all those dismissive smiles, and that skirt chasing attitude that made many think of him as immature.
Zidane had just given them a glimpse of what lay behind the mask by telling them about his family, and he personally knew how hard it was to talk about things like that. Very few people actually knew what life for the Boy-Who-Lived had been before Hogwarts, back when he used to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs.
Maybe he'd one day share it with Zidane as well. It only seemed fair that way. Doing so might also even help distract him from his near constant migraines.
To be continued…
…..