Notes: I thought of uploading this earlier, but was unable to due to 's server being down for aprox. 19 hours yesterday. It was pretty funny though; looking at comments from people going through fanfiction withdrawal. Anyways, at least it's back now.

I'll actually be leaving on a week-long vacation tomorrow, so next chapter's probably going to be uploaded later than usual. Just a heads up. As always, thanks for everyone that has been following so far.

(ARC)

To Guest:

Kinda forgot to reply to this in the last chapter, so I'm doing it now.

Glad you liked it, also thanks for reviewing!

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Chapter 52: Lions vs. Eagles

….

"Alright, I know we haven't been playing quite our best and that it's been hard for everyone here, but we can still win the Quidditch Cup." Angelina said encouragingly as the team gathered around her in a semicircle.

It had been weeks since the Weasley Twins had made their miraculous escape, and still, students continued to talk about their courageous feat. In fact, Zidane would occasionally hear students threatening to 'pull a Weasley' as well. The fact that nobody knew of his direct involvement with the prank yet was a blessing. The fact that Aurors had yet to blast into the walls of the castle to apprehend him was even greater. The Weasley Twins had kept their promise, or so it would seem.

He still wondered how Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had reacted to the news, especially Mrs. Weasley. Harry had already told Ron that he was responsible for giving the twins the winning cash from some tournament so they could start up their own business. He doubted that would directly admonish Harry, but at the same time, people in this world had a strange fixation on having their kids get a proper education. He didn't think education was bad, per say, he just believed that there were other ways of making a decent living. The Weasley Twins had already found their calling in life, and they were good. Now they were simply chasing after that dream. They would be a real hit, he knew it.

'I wonder if they flew all the way to the Burrow, or just far enough so that they could Apparate the rest of the way.' Zidane thought to himself, remembering the time he first flew a broom. He was helping the Order take Harry back to Grimmauld Place and nearly had his tail freeze solid on the damn thing.

He had to admit that flying on a broom still felt somewhat uncomfortable to him. It was cool, it really was, it's just he'd rather take an airship or a chocobo.

This of course didn't mean well considering that they were just about to go against Ravenclaw. It was their last apparent chance to win the Quidditch Cup, so needless to say, Angelina hadn't failed to remind them of that at least every five seconds or so.

'Come on Angelina, as if Ron wasn't nervous enough.' Zidane thought. He would have loved to say it, but the team captain was still somewhat mad at him for skipping practice that one time. How women were able to keep tabs on stuff like that for weeks was something that never ceased to amaze him. She'd likely blame him if they lost, too.

The blonde still wasn't sure if they could make it based on the current roster, but either way, one thing was very clear. If they didn't win the cup, things wouldn't fare very well for him.

"Alright team, let's go!" Angelina cried out, snapping him out of his thoughts as everybody began to cheer.

They walked out of the locker rooms and. at the signal, into the Quidditch Pitch. Roars erupted from the crowd as both teams walked to their respective positions, already he could hear chants coming from the stands. The Slytherins in particular seemed very lively.

"-cannot save a single thing, Weasley is our king!" The snake house cried out in unison.

"Don't let them get to you, Ron." Angelina called out to the redhead, noticing his distress.

"Yeah, show them wrong! You can do this!" Zidane added while the rest of the team encouraged the Keeper as well.

Ron only nodded in response, his face rather pale.

On the signal, the team captains shook hands before Madam Hooch, and soon both teams had mounted their brooms.

While he was accustomed to the procedure by now, the sheer number of spectators present was something that never ceased to amaze him.

'I wonder where Harry is. I know I asked Kuja to look out for him, but still, kid's a magnet for trouble.' Zidane thought as he looked over the cheering crowd of Gryffindors.

"Let's hope Gryffindor has improved since their last game against Hufflepuff." Lee Jordan's voice rang through the air. "So, as a reminder, let's go over the current team roster for the lions. Substituting for Fred and George Weasley as Beaters, we have Andrew Kirke and Zidane Tribal, with the position of Seeker previously held by Harry Potter being filled by Ginny Weasley. Our Chasers tonight, and only remaining members of the original team, are Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. Let's give a round of applause for Angelina and Alicia, who will be playing their last game here at Hogwarts. And last but not least, the position of Keeper will be filled by none other than Ron Weasley. Boy, that's a lot of Weasleys. Let's hope he recovers from that embarrassing defeat again Hufflepuff."

The blonde rolled his eyes at the ensuing round of 'Boos'. He would have to step up his game too, since his flying until now had been pretty crappy. In his defense, it was hard to fly when you were soaked to the bone and nearly frozen. He was too worried about staying airborne and not having his tail freeze solid than the actual game. Thankfully, the weather was pleasant, if not a little breezy. Things would be different this time, he could feel it.

"-Both Seekers are waiting for the Snitch to be released, and the Snitch is out!" Lee Jordan continued to speak after going over the Ravenclaw team positions. Zidane was actually surprised to hear that Cho Chang was the team's Seeker. "-Bludgers are out as well, now the Chasers are after the Quaffle!"

The genome snapped out of his thoughts. It looked like it was time to get serious.

Zidane zipped towards the Chasers, knowing that it was almost surely were the Bludgers were headed. Surely enough, there was a Bludger headed towards Katie, so he quickly dived in the way and knocked the thing away towards a Ravenclaw Chaser, Bradley- something if he recalled correctly. The Bludger managed to shoot straight past him and graze his broom, forcing the Chaser to move away.

"What a shot, ladies and gentlemen! That's quite a swing coming from what's got to be the shortest Beater in school history. Ravenclaw should not underestimate that swing!" Lee announced. Zidane felt tempted to send a Bludger flying in his direction. So maybe he was below average in height for his age, but was it necessary to rub it in? "Roger Davies has the Quaffle and he shoots! Ravenclaw Scores!"

'Shit.' Zidane cursed as the 'Weasley is our King' cheer intensified. Ron had just let a shot through.

"Ron, just focus on the game and nothing else." He heard Ginny shout out as she flew by.

Minutes passed by painfully and Ravenclaw scored twice more. In all that time, Gryffindor just barely managed to slip a shot past their Keeper, meaning that the score was now a 30-10 in favor of Ravenclaw. Zidane managed to keep the Bludgers off his team members, but just barely. There was this really close call when Ginny nearly got hit with a stray Bludger that Kirke accidentally knocked towards her. Needless to say, losing your Seeker during a Quidditch match due to friendly fire was the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot during a race.

"Come on, we can still win this! Come on. Let's do it like we practiced it!" Angelina called out, Quaffle in hand as the Chasers assumed their positions. Zidane too, quickly followed after knowing full well what their strategy entailed.

The opposing team would close in to stop the all-out attack, so the Beaters would be charged with taking them out then. That was the plan, at least. In practice it was a lot more difficult considering that shooting down an opponent with a Bludger was easier when your team members weren't mixed in and when your aim wasn't crap. He was actually surprised Angelina even suggested this plan now, considering that Kirke was a bigger danger to himself and his teammates than any Ravenclaw out there could ever hope to be.

She really must be desperate then.

Zidane quickly zoomed in and intercepted one of the Bludgers, sending it straight towards Bradley and managing to hit him in the arm. Internally he winced at the teen's cry. His arm would be likely fractured.

Quidditch could be truly brutal at times, really. It was a good thing that magic could easily mend those injuries. Well, most of them.

Back home, people didn't willingly play sports like that unless fighting monsters was involved. Mostly because getting medical help wasn't exactly easy. White Mages were few and far between, and buying potions usually didn't come cheap. Jousting used to be reserved for a small group of elite knights and was currently banned. Coliseum fights were still a thing in Treno, but everyone agreed that you'd have to be out of your right mind to participate (of course, that never stopped him). It was the same story for the Festival of the Hunt in Lindblum. And with the mist disappearing, the number of monsters roaming Gaia had decreased too, so eventually those 'sports' would stop existing altogether.

"Heads up!" Zidane called as he batted another Bludger away. This one sailed past Angelina as she dodged and it hit the Ravenclaw Chaser behind her on the shoulder. Boy, that had to hurt.

"Angelina scores! That's 20 points to Grffyndor, but can they keep this up?" Lee Jordan continued.

Zidane grit his teeth. Frankly, he didn't think that strategy would work again. Besides, it would be impossible to win the game just by playing on the offensive. The Ravenclaw team had proven that they were quite capable at defense, and after the last tactic, they would likely start targeting the Beaters.

"Roger Davies has the Quaffle now. He passes it to Bradley!" The Gryffindor announced, making Zidane curse. They were far too close to the goalposts. To make matters worse, Ron looked like he was frozen in place.

The genome zoomed forwards to try and intercept the attack, but was delayed when a Ravenclaw Beater sent a Bludger in his direction, after apparently deeming him too much of a threat to their plan. Given the loud cries from the crowd, there was no way Ron would hear him in time. If only he had some way to give him a little push.

'Oh wait.' The genome realized before concentrating. If he could connect to Ron and convey that feeling of urgency, then maybe, just maybe, he could get the redhead to snap out of it. 'RON MOVE!'

As if suddenly hit by a thunder-spell, Ron suddenly sprung into action, flying towards the lower right hoop just as the Quaffle was sent flying towards it. With an outstretched hand, he managed to grab the ball to his chest, half his body leaning off the broom. He had to admit, it was one hell of a catch. It looked like even the crowd suddenly quieted down as they watched the redhead intercept the Quaffle.

"Weasley's got the Quaffle!" Lee's voice resonated through the field while Ron seemed to look at the ball as if he couldn't quite believe it himself. It looked like the Slytherins couldn't either, seeing as they stopped with their 'Weasley is our King' chant. "Who would've thought? Weasley's got the Quaffle!"

"Ron, come on!" Angelina called out, making the redhead snap out of his thoughts and pass the Quaffle to the Gryffindor Chasers.

"Right, sorry." The redhead said sheepishly. He looked infinitely better than he did just minutes ago.

"Zidane, watch our backs, we're going in again. Kirke, you try to take down their Seeker." Angelina ordered as she began to pass the Quaffle around with Katie and Alicia. The Ravenclaw team remained in their portion of the field, as if unsure of what to expect. It looked like the winds had finally turned in their favor.

"Aye, captain." The genome said with a mock salute before flying higher into the air so he could get a good vantage point.

The Bludgers were currently closer to the Ravenclaw 'side' of the field. One was currently flying by one of the hoops while the other was making a U-turn back towards the field after Cho Chang managed to dodge it.

On Angelina's signal, their attack had begun. Unfortunately, the Ravenclaw Team was ready for them this time. Zidane quickly noticed that something was wrong when they maintained their positions rather than go after the Gryffindor Chasers. It was almost as if they were waiting for the Chasers to come towards them.

'Oh crap!' The blonde genome realized once he remembered that the Bludgers were currently in their side of the field. The reason they didn't want their Chasers to move in was because they wanted a clear shot.

Zidane flew quickly down, looking at both Ravenclaw Beaters in hopes of seeing through their plan. He was almost half way to Angelina and the other two Chasers when he suddenly noticed that the Beaters weren't looking in their direction. They were obviously keeping track of where both Bludgers flew, but it wasn't the Chasers they kept looking at.

'They're looking at…Ginny!' The blonde realized with wide eyes. Said redhead was too concentrated on finding the smallest glimmer of gold to focus on the rest of the game. Making a sharp turn in the air, the blonde headed towards the youngest Weasley sibling, leaving behind a few startled Chasers. There was no time to explain, however, since Ginny was currently flying high in circles over where most of the Ravenclaw team was.

The teen cursed as he saw the Ravenclaw Beater close in on a Bludger and send it flying towards Ginny's back. Mrs. Weasley would skin him alive if he let anything happen to her daughter. Pushing his broom to the limit, he attempted to close in on the remaining distance.

"Ginny, heads up!" Zidane called as he swung his bat and hit the fast Bludger with a swing that made even his arm hurt from the back-lash. The heavy iron ball was shot back with a resounding 'thwack', actually managing to crash a hole into the Slytherin Stands nearby. Ginny gave him a smile and a thumbs-up before flying away.

'Okay, maybe I overdid it.' Zidane thought as he saw the hole, but then snapped out of his thoughts when the cheers coming from the stands were suddenly also filled with some cries. 'What?'

It was then that he felt it, a powerful forced that slammed into his middle with a 'crack'. Zidane suddenly saw black as a wave of vertigo hit him. He was falling, but he couldn't fall. Not now. He couldn't breathe either. The wind had been knocked out of his lungs by the unforgiving force. He took a sharp breath like a fish out of the water, but it only seemed to set his chest ablaze with white, hot pain.

Zidane struggled to open his eyes, his vision swam, forming a mess of light and colors. It was then that he became aware of the awful cacophony of sounds surrounding him and the annoying pounding in his ears. In fact, he felt rather lightheaded and a part of him felt like throwing up his breakfast.

The blonde blinked his eyes into focus and then quickly noticed something else. Specifically that the ground was blue and filled with clouds.

'Wait, what?' Zidane thought to himself with a frown, before widening his eyes in realization.

He was upside down.

'But I was falling, wasn't I?' The genome thought shaking his head. It was so hard to focus with so much noise. At least it explained why he felt so strange, his blood was rushing towards his head. Looking up, the teen then saw his broom suspended in midair. The reason he'd stopped falling was actually because he still had his left leg dangling over the shaft of his broom, and his invisible tail still wrapped around said shaft like an emergency lifeline.

Zidane sighed in relief. In times like this he really loved having that prehensile tail of his.

"And, it looks like he's alright, folks." Lee's loud voice called, making him wince. Yeah, if by alright, he meant hanging upside down by his leg, and tail. He was just thankful that his leg was visibly keeping him from falling, otherwise, he'd have to explain why he was seemingly floating upside down in midair.

'Still better than falling to my death.' The teen thought as he looked down, or rather, up, to see the long fall.

"Zidane!" Angelina called with worry. Looking towards the Chasers, the genome was quick to notice that they were in some trouble themselves. The Ravenclaw team was upon them. He realized then, he'd clearly just been another target after being deemed a threat. He failed to notice the second Bludger because he was too worried about Ginny.

"I'm fine, you guys go ahead." The genome called out before wincing. His chest hurt horribly. Still, he could get out of this himself. It was nothing compared to some of the more serious injuries he had to endure.

Gryffindor had lost the Quaffle during the last attack. They needed to get it back.

"Rogers is headed towards the goal posts!" Lee's voice announced.

'Ron!' Zidane thought, though much to his surprise, the redhead was already ready to block the shot.

"Weasley blocks again!" Lee said as Ron passed the Quaffle to the Chasers. The crowed had gone wild. "He's like a completely different player!"

The blonde smiled. He knew that all Ron needed was a push.

"Gryffindor has the Quaffle, but how will Tribal get out of his predicament?" Lee's voice called out again.

'That's right. I gotta get back up.' Zidane thought. If he bent over then he might be able to reach his broom with his hands.

Only, it didn't go as smoothly as he planned.

'Ah crap, bad idea!' The teen cursed as the pain in his chest suddenly made itself very vocal. Breathing still hurt a lot, actually, so maybe his injury was a lot more extensive than he thought. 'Did I break a rib or something?'

Well he did just take a Bludger to the gut. There was a reason Beaters were usually well-built guys. They had tougher bodies to withstand stronger hits.

Zidane gritted his teeth as he tried to ignore the pain. He couldn't stay like this, he had to get back on his broom because: 1) He was a sitting duck, and 2) The blood was still rushing to his head, making him feel more light-headed by the second.

He was faintly aware of something happening because of the cheers and Lee's excited voice, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

'Okay plan B.' The blonde thought as he wrapped his other leg around the broom's shaft, making it look like he was riding the broom rather awkwardly, but upside-down. .

"What is Tribal doing?" He heard Lee call out, eliciting a response from the crowd.

All eyes were on him now.

The blonde took a deep and painful breath before beginning to move side to side like a pendulum. Gods he must have looked ridiculous, but it was the only way he could think of to get back on that damn piece of enchanted cleaning equipment.

With every swing Zidane felt himself rising higher and higher. Then, when he figured it was enough, the teen gave one final swing, feeling a bit disoriented as the ground and the sky returned to their rightful places. Lowering his body closer to the broom, the teen managed to grab the wooden shaft in his hand, his chest protesting at the sudden movement. The broom moved forwards in a dive, due to the sudden shift of weight, but it was necessary seeing as he'd otherwise just turn again due to the remaining force. Quickly leaning backwards, the teen managed to point his broom tip upwards and rise again, eliciting a round of cheers from the crowed.

"Tribal is back in the game folks!" Lee announced. "But can he keep up with his injuries?"

Zidane rolled his eyes.

Flying around more slowly around the pitch, he watched Ron block another shot from a Ravenclaw Chaser whose name escaped him. Kid was a natural, and now that he knew he could do it, there was nothing stopping him.

Not only that, but Gryffindor actually managed to score again. They were tied now. They could win this.

Prodding slowly at his chest, Zidane winced as he checked his injuries. There was going to be a lot of black and blue in the morning, but for now, what worried him the most were the two likely-fractured ribs on his right side, just above his gut. He had to admit though, had he not been used to such physical beatings, then he'd probably be on his way to the Hospital Wing just about now.

Zidane pressed his hand to his chest just as the crowd cheered once more. Since their attention was focused on the Quaffle, then nobody would notice what he was about to do. Wands weren't allowed on the field, but then again, he could use healing spells just fine without a wand. He wasn't even planning on doing anything fancy, just a small cure spell to allow him to properly breathe. Besides, he could conceal the glow of the spell under his Quiditch robes.

The feeling of warm healing magic on his skin felt like heaven. The soothing touch reminded him of when Garnet patched him up after battle. He would have loved to stay that way forever, but this was no time for nostalgia.

He had a game to win.

Flying toward the chasers, Zidane quickly grabbed Fred's borrowed Beater's bat, being quite grateful that the object had a wrist strap attached to its handle. Having to fly down and search for the bat would have really been a spectacular waste of time.

After unlatching the strap, the teen then strapped in on again, only this time on his left arm. The advantage of his twin dagger fighting style was that he was as dexterous with his right hand as he was with his left. Swinging the bat with his left hand would be the same, and this way, it wouldn't be as painful.

"Angelina!" The cyan-eyed teen called out, as he flew besides the captain. He then batted away a Bludger that was swerving dangerously close to her.

"Zidane, are you okay?" The girl asked in concern. After all, she was the captain, but more importantly, a Quidditch player with years of experience. She likely knew what getting hit by a Bludger should look like. "You shouldn't be moving around after that!"

"I'm fine, how are you guys keeping up?" Zidane asked.

"Katie's hurt, and Alicia too after Bradley blatched her, so we can't keep this up for much longer. Luckily Kirke's been kept busy. He actually managed to hit Roger Davies by mistake." Upon seeing the blonde's lost look, the girl clarified. "He was trying to hit Cho. They are in similar conditions, so I think they will try to end it quickly. Their Beaters have been focusing on Ginny lately."

"Okay, so we have to finish this quick then, too. I'll go clear the way for Ginny. Oh, and Angelina?" The dark skinned girl turn to look at the blonde as she flew. "What the hell does 'blatched' mean?"

The teen rolled her eyes. "Just go!"

Zidane flew higher and, just as Angelina said, Ginny was facing quite a bit of trouble. One of the Ravenclaw Beaters was on her tail, while the other would occasionally send Bludgers towards his fellow Beater just so he could shoot them at Ginny. If the tactic didn't harm her, there was still the matter that it would be impossible for her to chase after the Snitch if these guys kept getting in the way. It was a smart tactic. He had to give them that, at least. Though, it was not a surprise coming from the house known for its collective brainpower.

"Ginny, I'll take care of these guys, go find the Snitch." Zidane called as he swung his bat and sent a Bludger shooting straight back toward the Beater who was then forced to dodge. The teen winced, that swing hurt more than he expected it to.

Ginny gave a nod before zooming off, the other Beater still hot on her tail. Zidane wouldn't allow it though, and quickly flew towards him. For a moment it would seem that the blonde would purposely crash into the Beater, but then in the last possible second, the teen accelerated even further, cutting off the taller Ravenclaw who was already slowing down, fully expecting a collision.

It was a good thing they didn't crash too, since that would be considered a foul.

The blonde then followed the redheaded Seeker, looked around just as Ginny did. Luckily Cho hadn't found the Snitch yet, either. The Ravenclaw Seeker was searching in slow circles over the field like a buzzard circling over a possible meal. Only the Seeker was allowed to capture the Golden Snitch and end the game, but that didn't mean that he wasn't allowed to search for it as well. It also didn't mean that he wasn't allowed to give Ginny a small push in the right direction. He did have better eyesight than her, and in his current injured state, he was more useful to the team this way.

'I spy, with my little eye something gold and shiny.' Zidane thought as he looked around. It was particularly hard to find anything over the Gryffindor stand because they were covered in red and gold. He ignored Lee's words as they echoed over the pitch, being vaguely aware that Ravenclaw had the Quaffle now and they were ruthlessly trying to shoot past Ron."

The crowd cheered and Lee's voice became even louder. "Ravenclaw scores!"

'Crap, where's that Snitch?' The genome thought to himself, squinting his eyes over the field.

It was then that he noticed a sudden glint of gold coming from over the Ravenclaw hoops, only noticeable because the sun had just peeked from behind a few large clouds.

"Ginny!" the blonde called out, the redhead was easily able to hear given that they were only about fifteen feet apart. Pointing toward the hoops, the redhead frowned before flying closer and then squinting. After a few seconds her eyes went wide. She had seen it too.

"Davies has the Quaffle again! Will Ron be able to block it this time?" Lee Jordan said, excitement running through his voice.

Zidane saw Cho move out of the corner of his eyes, as if noticing that Ginny had clearly seen something. Wasting no time, the blonde went after the raven-haired girl, only stopping when he heard a familiar heavy 'zoom' getting closer.

'Not this time.' Zidane thought to himself as he turned and hit the incoming Bludger as hard as he could, in the direction that Cho was flying towards. Hearing the nearby 'thwack' of his bat, Cho looked at him and then at the Bludger, and gave a sharp turn to avoid it. Zidane smiled despite the pain that swinging that bat caused him. There was no way that Cho could catch up now.

The crowd cheered with excitement, making the blonde turn to look at the Gryffindor goal posts. Davis was closing in, making Zidane bite his lower lip in anticipation. Ron could do it, he just needed to focus.

The Ravenclaw Chaser then threw the ball towards the lower left hoop, making Ron fumble, obviously not expecting that to be where Roger Davies would try to score through. Zidane cursed as he saw Ron fumble, for a moment looking like he was about to fall from his broom. But then, something incredible happened; the broom's tail, lowered by the sudden movement, blocked the Quaffle, sending the ball falling down before it was caught by Katie Bell.

Ron had blocked the shot.

The crowd grew wild, red and gold banners waving in the air madly as the students cheered. So loud were the cheers, that Lee's voice was completely drowned and he even nearly missed the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle signaling the end of the game.

"Ginny Weasley has the Snitch, earning her team 150 points! The score is now 180-60 with Gryffindor as victor!" Lee's voice tried to call out over the noise, but if anything, the cheers seemed to become even louder. "GRYFFINDOR WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"

Zidane smiled while at the same time letting the sense of relief wash over him. An infectious sort of happiness overcame him as he flew down to meet the others and saw their ecstatic faces. Ginny had a bright smile on her face, the Golden Snitch still held in her grasp. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were all cheering loudly, hands held together in a circle as they jumped up and down. Angelina looked close to tears. Kirke was patting Ron in the back, talking animatedly at the redhead whose face seemed to suggest that he still couldn't believe they had just won.

The loud cheers from the crow suddenly seemed to melt into something else. Altogether the students began to chant as one, and for a moment Zidane thought it was the 'Weasley is our King' chant, but then he noticed the different lyrics.

Weasley is our King,

Weasley is our King,

He didn't let the Quaffle in

Weasley is our King.

Weasley can save anything,

He never leaves a single ring,

That's why Gryffindors all sing:

Weasley is our King.

With a crooked grin on his face, the genome walked over to the redhead and clapped him on the back.

"Congrats, man. What does it feel like to be Gryffindor's new hero?" Zidane asked, though Ron still looked shell-shocked.

"Zidane!" Angelina called as she ran towards him. "Come on, we have to get you to the Hospital Wing."

"And ruin the moment? Come on! Can we at least get the cup first?" The blonde pleaded. He knew he sounded childish, but he didn't care. He couldn't ruin the moment.

The teen looked at him, hands on her hips. For a moment he thought she would deny his request, but then Angelina spoke. "Fine, but you get one look at the trophy and you're off to see Madam Pomfrey. You shouldn't even be up after that kind of hit."

"What can I say, I guess I'm just lucky." The teen replied with a shrug.

Angelina rolled her eyes before looking at Ron. "You played a great game out there Ron, we all did today. When you first came to the team, I was hesitant, but now I know this team has found itself a great Keeper."

The entire team clapped and cheered in agreement, Zidane doing it with a bit more difficulty due to his injuries.

Ron's face went white from shock to an intense red of embarrassment in a matter of seconds.

"Come on, let's go get that cup!" The blonde called and everyone cheered.

They met Madam Hooch in the pitch along with McGonagall and Umbridge looking as displeased as ever. Her presence did nothing to ruin his mood, if anything her discomfort was actually quite welcome. Despite having banned Gryffindor's Seeker and Beaters, the team still managed to pull through and achieve victory.

'In your face you horrible toad.' Zidane thought looking quite smug. McGonagall had the same exact expression on her face.

The whole 'ceremony' consisted of them getting the cup, and then promptly being told to get out by Umbridge. It didn't dampen anyone's mood, though. Almost all of Gryffindor house was outside the Quidditch Pitch waiting for them, banners still held high and still chanting.

Zidane grinned at the warm welcome, only to wince as Seamus came and gave a congratulatory clap on the back that made his chest cry out in agony. Neville was there too, fussing over him and asking him if he was okay. Surprisingly, Luna was there too, in fact, she was probably the only Ravenclaw in school partying with the Gryffindors. Of course, nobody minded her seeing as most recognized her as the strange girl that sat with them at Gryffindor table during almost every meal.

"Zidane, Hopital Wing, NOW!" Angelina commanded, and Zidane just gave her a cheeky grin.

"Alright, I'm going." The genome said in surrender, only stopping to watch in amusement as Ron was picked up by the crowd. Zidane was glad they didn't try that on him. Who knew if they might accidentally grab his tail if they did?

"We'll come with you." Neville said, while Luna nodded.

The cyan-eyed teen paused for a moment before shrugging. Madam Pomfrey would know to be discreet, anyways. "Sure."

The trio walked away from the crowed of cheering students and back inside the giant stone structure that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With every step, Zidane became a bit more hesitant. Madam Pomfrey did threaten to strap him to one of the beds if he got wounded again. But maybe if he could convince her that it was Quidditch…

"Are you sure you're okay? I still can't believe you got hit by a Bludger. We all thought you'd fall from your broom for sure." Neville said with a shake of his head.

"Umbridge looked disappointed when you didn't fall." Luna commented.

"Really?" Neville asked, brows raised in surprise. Luna nodded.

"I always knew she was pure evil." The genome said with a laugh.

"Hey Zidane!" Ginny called as she caught up to them. Looking at him, the girl continued in a lower voice. "I just wanted to thank you today. I wouldn't have caught that snitch if you hadn't-"

"Hey, we're a team." The blonde replied sheepishly. "We're supposed to help and support each other, right."

"I guess." Ginny blushed, her ears becoming slightly red. "Anyways, I'll see you later. Don't give Madam Pomfrey too much trouble."

"But trouble is my middle name." The teen replied smoothly with a crooked grin.

The redhead just rolled her eyes in amusement before leaving.

'Aww, wasn't that just precious?' A voice suddenly called inside his head. Much to his surprise, it was Kuja. Zidane quickly continued walking despite his short pause, Neville just eyeing him strangely before shrugging.

'Why don't you ever warn me first?' Zidane thought in frustration.

'It's more fun this way.' The older genome said, before adding. 'Congratulations on winning by the way.'

'Thanks.' The blonde replied. Neville and Lune were now too busy talking to each other to notice his uncharacteristic silence. 'How did it go with Harry?'

'Oh, just fine. They just returned from visiting Hagrid's brutish younger brother and being almost attacked by a herd of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.' The silvery haired man said casually.

Zidane stopped, his eyes wide.

'THEY WHAT?!'

To be continued…

..

A/N: "Blatching" is apparently a Quidditch thing where a player flies with the intention to collide with another player. I had no idea it had a word for it before writing this. It was highly informative.

Anyways, short omake ahead. Let's play another round of spot the references!

*shink*

*shink*

*shink*

Zidane yawned as he slid his blade along the whetstone once more. With a few more slides, he inspected the sharpened edge of his Mage Masher before setting it down and picking up the other blade. Setting the dull edge against the surface of the whetstone, he continued with the dull task once more.

*shink*

*shink*

"Must you really do that here?" Kuja's voice suddenly called out from where he sat, legs crossed, on a high-backed armchair in front of that strange orb invention of his.

Zidane blinked at him before looking back at his work.

He was currently in Kuja's living quarters, sitting on the man's couch with his tools littering the man's coffee table.

"Well, it's not like I can do it in front of Harry, now can I?" The teen replied, not taking his eyes away from the dagger in front of him.

Truth be told, he normally did maintenance over at the Room of Requirements, though with many of the corridors still being swamps and his current tolerance level being so low lately, he'd decided that Kuja's quarters were the next best thing. A small vindictive part of him also wanted revenge on Kuja for his disregard of Harry and Hermione's safety during his Quidditch match. He realized it was a petty thing to do, but he was too tired, so being passive aggressive would simply have to do.

"Well, I'm trying to start a conversation and I can't with that incessant noise." The man retorted while Zidane just raised a brow in surprise.

"What, you actually managed to fix that thing?" The blonde said, remembering the time that weird flaming eye showed up.

"I've mostly worked it out. I still occasionally get interference, but it's been overall an interesting experience." The man said, giving the orb a few taps before the crystal's center became clear and the face of a man showed up. He had wild, blonde hair and wore makeup, though most surprising were his mismatched eyes and eccentric outfit.

"Well, if it isn't his Majesty the Goblin King." Kuja suddenly said, tone surprisingly pleasant as he greeted the strange man.

Zidane rolled his eyes before he focused on his work once more. For some reason it did not surprise him that this man was Kuja's acquaintance. Rather, these two seemed like birds of a feather.

"You're not still upset about that Sarah girl, are you Jareth?" The older genome said, though the man's voice was a bit harder for him to hear from where he sat, which was saying a lot since he had pretty good hearing.

"I told you to forget about her. I mean, you did her a favor by taking that baby off of her hands without asking for anything in return. That's what she wanted in the first place. But what does she do in return? She breaks into your home and treats you like a villain. I mean, I'm not sure what you'd want with an infant since they are pretty useless, but if she was so willing to give it up, then it was probably better off in your hands anyways." Kuja continued. "Yes, it was very ungrateful of her."

Zidane shook his head and went back to work. He did not want to know.

"Hold on, I seem to be getting some interference. I can't hear you." The man said right before the teen heard the dull sound of crystal being tapped against.

"I QUEEN BERYL-" A female voice suddenly bellowed, startling Zidane and making him turn around in time to see the image of a woman with curly, crimson hair and pointy ears flash on the inside of the orb right before a disgruntled Kuja gave it another quick tap and the image disappeared.

"Queen?" Kuja scoffed to himself as he absently fumbled with the orb once more. "Not with that hair, you're not."

"Does that kind of thing happen very often?" Zidane asked, slightly disturbed.

"Well, it's a lot less frequent now." The silver-haired man commented with a shrug. "One time I ended up with an old man with a pipe and a strange red and white hat. He left after muttering something about fish cakes though. I didn't really encounter him again after that."

"Huh." The teen commented.

"Oh, there we go!" Kuja said as the man from before showed up on the orb once more. "Sorry about that. Now, as I was saying…"

Zidane rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face.

..