Notes: Happy (late) Valentine's Day and thanks to everyone who's bothered to read so far!
As promised here is chapter 3, and as always, I'll be keeping it to at least a chapter a week. Reviews are VERY welcome (and a huge inspiration for writing...just saying).
If you guys wanna go the extra mile and help someone out, then please head over to my profile (under 'update') and follow the instructions. This will only be valid until the the 16th of February at 23:59 GTM -3.
Chapter 3: It's a Small World After All
...
Zidane sighed in defeat as he finished checking out the section of the library. He had been in this world for two weeks and there was nothing. It was just as he feared. There were no books concerning magic or spells. Those that did were all part of the fiction section of the library, right where the fairy tales were. To be fair he did find some interesting books. Apparently this world had its own version of Lord Avon called William Shakespeare. Two of his plays reminded him so much of 'I Want to Be Your Canary', those were 'Romeo and Juliet': a tragic story of a couple that can't be together because of their feuding families, and 'King Lear': the story of a foolish king who divides his lands between two of his three daughters. Zidane was very surprised with this discovery.
He also read through some other interesting books which were listed under 'classics'. He found he could read and understand them better that a lot of the modern ones, 'Don Quixote', 'Through the Looking Glass', 'Twelfth Night', 'The Iliad', 'The Odyssey'. Those were some of the books he quickly leafed through. He almost burst out laughing when he came across 'Journey to the West', particularly the character called 'the monkey king'. That was probably what most people would call him once he started ruling Alexandria with Dagger. Rusty would probably be the first one to coin the term.
He read modern classics, but not as many since they made references of technologies he did not know about. He learned so much from the History Texts and Encyclopedias though. Usually he wasn't very keen on sitting for so long in libraries but, not only was it necessary now, but it was also very interesting. He instantly found his brain soaking up all this knowledge like a sponge. He still had to admit, what he liked the most is that a lot of the books here had pictures in them.
Yep, he definitely liked the pictures.
But even the pictures did nothing to quell the depression that was threatening to overwhelm him. He was practically at a standstill. He had no resources whatsoever. He couldn't even try to leave Britain since he recently learned that he needed some form of identification to do so. Basically he was breaking the law just by being here. And there really was no solution since he couldn't just walk in a police station (as he learned they were called) and tell the men there that he just magically landed there. They simply wouldn't believe him. He could try to demonstrate he was from another world by doing magic or showing his tail, but that would probably only land him in a cage to be poked and prodded by scientists. At least, that's what many books he skimmed over said.
He knew he wouldn't be considered normal in this world. At least on Gaia he could always blend in with the mix of races that populated each city; he was just a single strange hue hidden in rainbow of colors.
So with a whole week worth of wasted efforts browsing books in a Library and a heavy, homesick heart, Zidane decided it was time to call it a day. It was still midday, but he had been there since the early morning when it opened, so his eyes were tired and kept seeing words everywhere like their image was forever burned into his retinas. He did not want to see another library for a long, long time.
What he really needed at the moment was a very stiff drink. Midday or not, he had more than earned it.
And with that thought in mind, he headed over to find the nearest pub. He was just about to cross the street when he remembered that he was rather unfamiliar with the area past the library. He decided to retrace his steps, but then realized that he was so caught up on the thought of alcohol that he forgot where he came from, or even just how long he had been walking. He took a deep breath and decided to cross the street anyways. He had already checked out of the inn this morning and all his possessions were with him at the moment. It looked like he would be finding a new place to stay tonight.
He walked further until he reached a very large square filled with so many people. Just how many people lived in this place? He saw so many foreigners as well, maybe they were tourists. It made sense since many of them were boarding red double-decker buses. He saw tall people, short people, young people, and old people. Some wore brightly colored shirts while other formal looking suits. There were also some bizarrely dressed people too. He barely caught a glimpse of a teen with spiky brown hair, wearing an outfit with big baggy shorts and even large yellow shoes. Suddenly he was very glad he got new clothes so he didn't stick out like that.
There were lots of locals and many exotic looking foreigners as well. As he walked past a couple of men whose accents sounded exactly like that of the dwarves in Conde Petie, he had to suppress the urge to chuckle and call out 'Rally-ho!'. He had learned those men were from a place to the north called Scotland, and would most likely not take very kindly to his call.
The teen continued to walk, keeping an eye for a pub, eventually walking into a crowed main street called 'Tottenham Court Road'. After walking a bit more amongst the throngs of people, who would occasionally push and shove him, Zidane decided he had enough. The blonde walked away from the currents of walking people and decided to do something that would go against his nature as a thief and a man. He was going to ask for directions.
"Get off me you wanker!"
"Aww come on, how can you say no to this!"
Zidane turned to look at the bickering pair to his right. It was a local man in a suit with what sounded like a foreigner, most likely an American, based on his accent and how he was dressed as a tourist. Both had blonde hair, but only the foreigner wore glasses. This strangely loud man was currently pushing what he recognized as a hamburger at the other man's face, therefore obscuring it from view.
"I said I don't like your bloody junk food!"
Zidane decided to interrupt the two, since his need for booze was reaching critical limits.
"Excuse me!"
Both men turned to look at him, and Zidane saw the other man's face, noticing that the gentleman had some …particularly large eyebrows., in fact, he as finding it quite difficult to look away.
"Yes, did you need something?" The man asked while looking him over as if trying to place him.
"Uh, yeah!" Zidane snapped out of his stupor. 'Don't look at his eyebrows, don't look at his eyebrows, don't look at his eyebrows.' "Would you happen to know where I might find a good pub?"
The man eyed him weirdly but then pointed to a street. He supposed it must have sounded strange seeing there must have been plenty of pubs around. The American man was next to him slurping loudly from his drink. "You can head over there to get to Charing Cross Road. There are several pubs there to choose from."
"Alright, thanks." Zidane said with a wave and headed over to where the bushy browed man pointed him towards.
"Is he American?" The British man asked. His companion shook his head.
"Nope."
…
Zidane grumbled irritably under his breath, as he exited the pub. This one was the third he tried in the street, and yet none of them would give him what he wanted. One of the men in the place had even tried to flirt with him, earning him a swift punch in the face.
'Who did that drunken scumbag think I was! And what the hell did they mean he wasn't old enough? Why in Alexander's name did he have to be at least 18 to get a drink? He was raised in the streets! His first drink was at the age of 8, probably even earlier!'
That wasn't a lie. Baku would sometimes mix it with their drinks as kids just so they would shut up. Not exactly the best parenting, but having to put up with all of them as kids made Zidane feel sympathy for the old man.
'That poor bastard.'
But never mind that, these people refused to sell him anything. They said he looked to be 15 years of age, and with no form of identification to prove he was actually turning 17, Zidane was screwed. Not that proving his age mattered since he was still under 18. Apparently he was old enough to save the world, but not enough to get a drink.
He had been told often that he didn't look his age. He knew that being a genome was partially responsible. Garland probably wanted his angels to last. He was on the shorter side of average height, which could also be due to his poor nutrition as a child. His eyes were bright and youthful, while his body somewhat skinny, but lean and very fit. He had a young though slightly feminine face, which many women found charming. For that reason, Baku would sometimes make him play the female characters in plays. It was pretty embarrassing, but overall, Zidane sort of grudgingly understood. Better him than Cinna in any case. But that didn't mean he was cool with being taken for a girl, especially when flirting was involved.
Zidane was actually okay with the way he looked, tail and all. But NEVER in his life had his looks stopped him from getting what he wanted like they did now.
He still felt fairly insulted, but despite this he refused to give up. He would get a drink. And with that thought in mind, he continued along the street towards his noble quest.
A few more pubs later and Zidane found himself losing hope. He felt like these people were purposely out to make him miserable in any way they could. He was nearing a couple of book shops, past what looked he vaguely identified as a blue police box from one of the books he read, and was a bit surprised that the amount of people in the street had greatly decreased. He realized it must be a bit past lunch, based on how his stomach grumbled. The blonde took a look at some of the dirtier, more abandoned buildings around him and raised an eyebrow when he saw the dilapidated sign outside one of the buildings.
'The Leaky Cauldron. What a strange name.'
Zidane approached the building. It was very run down, and from what he knew about run down places, they were usually less strict when it came to rules.
'Perfect, maybe I can get something to eat while I'm here.'
Zidane was only a couple of feet away when he completely froze.
'No. Way.'
The genome's eyes widened in realization. He wasn't imagining it. There it was, floating in the air all around him. He could feel the magic. Its humming was like familiar music to his ears, not like the eerie buzz of a spell about to be unleashed, but more like a comforting white noise, barely noticeable, but still there. He then felt a smile tug on his lips. He found the magic, like a needle hidden amongst a haystack, he did it! There was a chance he would meet people like the ones that attacked him, but even that was better than nothing. He had finally found a honest-to-Eidolons lead.
Zidane opened the door to the establishment and was greeted by a scene like those he was more familiar with. A dingy, dark pub with its occupants talking in hushed voices. Run down tables here and there, with sparsely decorated stone walls. Candles lit the room unlike the modern electric lights he had seen in this world so far. Were it not for the oddly dressed individuals, and the lack of any other races, he would have thought he was back home.
The moment he opened the door, silence seemed to reign as the people inside stopped talking to look at the new arrival. Zidane was already used to such reactions so he just ignored the odd looks he got, closed the door behind him, and then walked over to the bar, not failing to noticed that a lot of these people where holding sticks. He was then greeted by the barkeep, a very bald, toothless man. He looked kind and sorta reminded him a bit of Bobo, the barkeep in Lindblum, you know, except for the whole bald and toothless bit.
"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron, I'm Tom Mr…"
Zidane was about to reply, but then though it was probably a bad idea to give out his name. At least that's the kind of thing Freya would tell him. That, and to stop flirting.
"Marcus, Marcus Crescent." Zidane said as he shook the man's hand. 'Freya is going to kill me if she finds out I used her last name. Marcus wouldn't mind, I could always say I just got it from 'I Want to Be Your Canary'.'
"So what can I do for you? Food, lodging, anything?" The man said and Zidane then noticed that he too had a stick like everybody else here.
"Actually, both. And I could also use a drink or two." Zidane said trying to look as natural as possible.
"Let me see…here, room 9 is available. That would be five sickles the night, meals included."
Zidane paused, his search for a drink completely forgotten. 'Sickles? Is that some kind of currency?' "I'm sorry I only have British pounds with me."
"You'll need to exchange your muggle money at Gringotts then. Do you want me to show you the way to Diagon Alley?" The toothless man said.
"Sure, it would really help. Thanks." Zidane said, but inside the questions kept coming. 'Muggle? Gringotts? Diagon Alley?'
"Alright, come this way." Tom said, motioning him to follow him through this door at the back of the pub.
Zidane expected a lot of things. What he didn't expect however, was to be lead to a tiny courtyard in front of a brick wall. Zidane could only stare blankly at the wall and wonder if the barkeep was missing more than just his hair and teeth. Like perhaps his sanity.
"This is how you do it; you take out your wand, and tap the bricks in this order." Tom said while taking out his stick and taping the bricks above a trash can, three up and two across."
'So the sticks are called wands then.'
At first he thought the man before him was just messing with him, but then after tapping the bricks, he was left slack jawed when the bricks started shifting to form a large archway. Beyond the archway was a street filled with people dressed in brightly colored robe/dress things. There were a series of shops at each side of the street, which greatly reminded him of Alexandria, except this place was absolutely buzzing with magic.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley." Tom said before excusing himself and leaving him to his devices.
Zidane stepped slowly into the street and was a bit surprised at the bricks positioned themselves back. With a shrug, he decided to go find this 'Gringotts' place. He passed many shops, as well as stands, and many peddlers, looking at their signs to see if he'd found the place, but to no avail. He really should have asked Tom what the place looked like. But it didn't matter. He was actually quite interested by the many shops. It seemed like all the magic he hadn't seen since getting here was all gathered in this one street. He passed a shop selling cauldrons, and an apothecary that sold all sorts or herbs and animal body parts. There was a shop that sold 'Quidditch supplies', and while Zidane had no idea what those words meant, he was surprised to see broomsticks, gloves, and clubs on the display. He was even more surprised to see that the pictures that were hung up moved. It showed many men in uniform-like robes flying in the brooms and playing what looked like a game around three hoops.
'That is so cool.'
While the men looked pretty ridiculous flying on brooms of all things, Zidane admitted that flying without the need of an airship was pretty awesome, even better than flying on Choco. Though having a stick jammed in your nether regions for extended periods of time had to be uncomfortable.
He moved on past a shop called 'Eeylops Owl Emporium'. Why one would want a pet owl was, once again, beyond him. The whole owl thing reminded him of the Black Mage Village, where you had to follow the path deep into the forest where even owls didn't go.
He also passed by a stationary shop, a quill shop, a shop that sold some crazy magical instruments, a bookshop called 'Flourish and Blotts' (which he would make sure to check out later), a shop that sold the weird robes everyone was wearing , known as 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions', and also, surprisingly, an ice cream shop. It didn't tseem to be a magical ice cream shop either, just a regular looking ice cream shop. When Zidane saw the shop's name, he had to roll his eyes.
''Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor'. What it is with these people and ridiculously long shop names?'
He continued looking at the odd shop displays, wondering if one of these shops was the famous 'Gringotts', when he suddenly saw a huge building looming past the robe shop. It was made of what looked to be white marble, and had slightly crooked pillars in the entrance. It somewhat reminded him of some high class mansion he had broken into, minus the crooked pillars. It gave him a pretty good feeling otherwise. He walked a bit closer and this time noticed the golden inscription above the entrance, carved into the marble.
'Gringotts Bank' Zidane read, a smirk forming on his face. 'Bingo.'
He walked up the entrance noticing two sets of doors, one of them gold and the other one silver. He also saw a long inscription that was really more of a warning than anything.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Zidane's smirk only got bigger. It was almost as if the warning was directly aimed at him. He actually had to make the effort of keeping his tail wrapped around him, instead of happy wagging like it desperately wanted to. More than a warning, the genome saw it as a dare, a challenge. Zidane quickly shook his head, trying his hardest to resist the urge of stealing. He had just gotten here, he had no idea what defenses they had, and more importantly, he still had a lot more to see. He couldn't afford to risk getting caught, at least not now…maybe later.
The blonde genome walked inside the large reception. It was pretty luxurious looking, complete with oak desks and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Walking around the place were possibly some of the ugliest beings he had ever seen. Well, in all honestly he had seen worse. But that didn't make the creatures before him look any more appealing.
"First time seeing a Goblin I take it. Can I help you with something?"
Zidane turned towards the source of the voice. It was a tall red head with long hair pulled into a ponytail like his. He was wearing some very particular clothes, including rough leather boots and an earring with a fang on it, which Zidane thought looked pretty cool.
'Wait, those are goblins? They have goblins here? They look so different from the ones on Gaia.' Zidane thought but then realized the man had asked him a question. "Actually, do you know where I can exchange some British pounds, into…what they use here."
"Ah, you're a foreign wizard right? Name's Bill Weasley." Bill said as he offered his hand to shake.
'So these people called themselves wizards.'"Yep, Marcus Crescent, nice to meet you." Zidane said, shaking his hand. He decided he liked this guy, he kinda reminded him of Blank.
"Right then, follow me."
Zidane followed the tall man, right to a stall with one of those goblins sitting at the counter.
"Here we are. Ragnok, Mr. Crescent would like his muggle money exchanged."
Zidane exchanged all the 'muggle' money he had into 'wizarding' currency. Bill was nice enough to explain to him how it all worked.
"There are three coins, the gold ones called 'galleons', the silver ones 'sickles', and the bronze ones 'knuts'. It's twenty-nine knuts to a sickle and seventeen sickles to a galleon."
Zidane also asked a bit about 'Wizarding Britain', which he learned was governed by the ministry, with the prime minister at its head. Apparently there were some problems going on. He didn't understand it much, but according to Bill, there was an incident in June that ended with the death of a student at some school, and the claims of the return of an evil wizard. The current prime minister (what kind of name is Fudge?) denied those claims and insisted that all was well. But like all politics, the rabbit hole ran far deeper. Fudge was most likely trying to avoid any instability, in case of any political competitors. But if this evil wizard really was back, then this magical society was screwed.
Zidane thanked Bill and left the bank. He bought an ice cream at the ice cream parlor and decided he might as well explore. This wizarding community seemed to use spells for everything, not just combat. Which was useful, but he then learned most wizards needed a 'wand' (stick) to cast these spells, and without them they were pretty much useless.
'So that's why the man wanted his stick so badly.' Zidane thought back to the fight he had with one on the roof, and came to a conclusion. 'They depend way too much on magic.'
Zidane spent the rest of the day looking at the odd and sometimes comical things he found in shops. He particularly liked a joke shop he found by the name of 'Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop'. He also passed by a pet shop called 'Magical Menagerie', mostly from curiosity at the odd animals they sold. Zidane ended up buying the local newspaper, called the Daily Prophet, mostly to get a hang on what was going on in this secret little society. He passed a wand shop, whose sign was old and peeling so he didn't quite get the name, but he didn't enter since the place looked pretty abandoned from the outside at least.
The teen also passed by this alternate little street called 'Knockturn Alley' which was every definition of dark and creepy. He only spared a quick glance at some of the sometimes gruesome things on display before deciding it was best to leave.
Since he kept getting weird looks from some of the wizards around him, he decided to pass by that Madame Malkin's shop. He REFUSED to get a dress, but thought he should at least get a travelling cloak. Possibly a black one like the one he wore for the play before being reunited with Dagger.
"But are you sure you don't want a nice turquoise robe? It would match beautifully with your eyes." Said Madam Malkin, the squat overly friendly woman who ran the shop.
"Yes I'm sure, just a cloak will do. Thank you." Zidane said while trying his best charming grin to get the woman to back off. It worked.
"All right, there are some charms we can add to the cloak for a small fee, would you like to see them?"
"Sure." Zidane smiled.
He quickly browsed through the add-ons, slightly impressed. They could apparently make it impermeable and even fit for colder weather. He was a bit upset that they didn't have a charm to make it 'blood proof' since blood stains were a bitch to get rid of.
He left the shop, paying a galleon and four sickles for the cloak whose hood was now hiding the upper portion of his face. With a scarf on, he could probably go full incognito. He looked at his money pouch and frowned. He was running low on funds, and now he barely enough to pay the inn.
Before heading back to the pub, Zidane decided to check out the bookshop he saw earlier. 'Flourish and Blotts'. It was a pretty large shop filled with people, with stairs that led to a second floor. The walls themselves were bookshelves lined with books of all colors and sizes. The whole bookshop was littered with random piles of books, making the place look a bit cluttered, yet welcoming at the same time. Behind the oak counter, Zidane was a bit surprised to see a cage. He was even more surprised to see that it was filled with books. Books that were snapping at the bars and growling at anyone that got close enough.
'The hell?'
Zidane continued browsing around. He wasn't really looking for anything specific, unless they happened to have a book about teleporting to different worlds. He paused when he read the name of one of the books.
'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Miranda Goshawk.'
Zidane took the book and began to leaf through it. It contained a bunch of spells, ranging from odd, to quite useful, to completely useless. Still very interesting though. He was very tempted to buy it, but then remembered he barely had enough for the inn. He'd have to use his 'talents' to get more money soon.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a hand slowly reaching to grab something just inches away from his partially concealed face. He stepped back and blinked in confusion.
'What the-?'
The blonde then turned towards the hand's owner and furrowed his eyebrows at the odd sight. It was a girl; a long-dirty-blonde haired girl, with silvery-gray eyes, faint eyebrows, and a dreamy far-off look. She was quite pretty, but not really his type. She was wearing by far the weirdest getup he had seen yet. She was wearing a pink summer dress with flowers on it, but that wasn't the weird part. The weird part was her choice in accessories, in her case, a necklace made of corks, and earrings that appeared to be small radishes.
"I'm sorry. I saw your expression and thought you may have wrackspurts buzzing around your head. They like getting in your ears and making your brain go all fuzzy." The girl said in a dreamy tone that suggested she wasn't really there.
"Uh okay, thanks…I guess." Zidane said, not really knowing how to respond. This was probably the weirdest girl he had ever met and he was sure his charms would be useless.
He put the book back and decided to walk towards the door. Only, the girl seemed to follow him like a shadow.
"Have you been close to mistletoe? You have quite the infestation of Wrackspurts."
"Not as far as I know." Zidane replied. This girl was odd, but unique in her own way. He liked that.
Zidane was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a round-faced blonde teen get shoved out of the way by a man who just entered the shop. The boy gave a sigh and bent over to pick the books he dropped. Zidane quickly went to help, the strange girl following suit as well.
"Are you alright?" The genome asked the shy looking teen as he handed him his books which he just noticed were all on plants.
"Y-yeah I'm fine. Thanks." The boy replied with a sort gratitude that could only come from someone who usually didn't get much help.
He also seemed a bit nervous talking to him, but it was probably because he was a total stranger wearing a black travelling cloak. Zidane paused for a bit. The somewhat shy attitude, nervous stutter, and the way the boy was fiddling with the books reminded him so much of Vivi. Granted this guy was taller than him, but personality-wise they seemed similar. Therefore, even though they just met, he could already feel some fondness for the guy.
"You know, you really shouldn't let people just walk over you like that."
Zidane said in a good natured way. The genome then looked around the shop to find the man who shoved the shy boy. When Zidane identified him, he could already feel a scowl form on his face. He was a pale man, with pale blonde hair, cold grey eyes, and pointed features. He walked around with a cane that had a snake head as pommel, his gait having the distinct characteristics of that of a rich noble. His whole being just shouted 'I'm better than thou'.
He had just finished paying for some book and was now heading back.
'Excellent'
Zidane walked towards the man, his pace mixing in perfectly with the others. He pretended to look at a point in the distance and when he was close enough, he tripped the man making him tumble ungracefully to the floor. Needless to say the man was furious as he was disheveled.
"Watch where you're going you filthy scum!"
"Maybe you should too. You had no problems shoving that boy on the way in, and you didn't even apologize." Zidane said with an even tone, he had been called far worse before.
"How dare you talk to me like that! Do you know who I am?"
The teen just looked at the man with a bored expression. "No, and I don't particularly care, either."
"I am Lucius Malfoy, member of one of the most noble, pureblooded families in the wizarding world!" The man spat back as he rose from the ground. Zidane was somewhat reminded of a spitting cobra.
"That's strange. You'd think that someone so rich could afford better manners."
The angered man quickly unsheathed his cane, revealing a hidden 'wand' inside. He saw the man's killer intent clearly in his eyes, so he decided to discreetly get a spell ready. Zidane felt the air around him buzz with magic and readied himself to dodge whatever was going to come his way. The man was just about to open his mouth to cast, when the store clerk bustled through the crowed to see cobra man pointing the stick at him., all while Zidane still stood looking deceptively calm and wand-less.
"You sir, please put your wand away or take it outside!" The clerk called out.
"Pray we don't meet again, filth!" The blonde noble sneered but put his stick back into his walking stick, and then left the shop in a big show, just as the crowed began to disperse.
"That was bloody amazing!" The teen said. "Thank you, nobody has ever done something like that for me."
"Well like I always say, you don't need a reason to help people." Zidane said with an uplifting tone. The teen seemed to think over his words as if tasting them.
"NEVILLE! Where are you, you forgetful boy!"
The teen, 'Neville' apparently, turned at the shrill old voice and blushed.
"Sorry, that's my grandmother. I'd better get going. I hope we'll see each other again though." Neville, said, shifting the books in his arms before leaving the bookshop in a hurry.
Zidane was left with the odd girl who was waving in goodbye.
"What you did for him was very nice." The girl said.
"It was the right thing to do."
"Hmmm, anyways, I should really get going too. Those Gulping Plimpies aren't going to fish themselves. It was very nice meeting you, I hope we see each other at Hogwarts."
And with that, the girl left the shop, skipping merrily like she was in a field of flowers.
'Gulping Plimpies? Hogwarts? What was that girl talking about?'
Zidane smiled though, maybe they would meet again. It really had been enjoyable, especially looking at Malfoy's angry face. What he probably liked most was the little souvenir that he got from their encounter.
'To the victor goes the spoils. Let's see what spoils the victor got this time.'
Zidane withdrew from his cloak a green velvet bag he snagged from the blonde man as he tumbled down. He felt some magic emit from the bag, and knowing that it was probably charmed in case it was stolen, Zidane cast a quick dispel and was happy to see that the magic on the bag had left. He opened the bag, and smiled as he saw at least forty or more golden coins greet him.
'Hehehe, sucker.'
With that, he took the spell book he found earlier, its following volumes, and some other interesting books for good measure. He put up a smile as he approached the counter, and paid using his newly acquired gold.
Once out of sight, he put his books in his small item bag next to his other books, and decided it was now time to head back to the pub. The sky was already darkening and his stomach seemed to remember its forgotten hunger. He walked leisurely towards the wall that separated this world from the non-magical, and once he reached it, he realized he had just a bit of a problem. He didn't have a wand.
He stood around waiting for someone else to come by to open the wall, but it was fruitless. He was already thinking about climbing the damn thing when he noticed an enormous shadow loom over him.
"What'cha wait'n out 'ere for?"
Zidane turned quickly to face the deep heavy-accented voice that addressed him. Behind him he saw what had to be the biggest man he had ever seen. He was five time as wide as a regular man and twice as tall, with a scraggly black beard and hair that covered a great part of his face, except for nose, cheeks, and black eyes that glinted like beetles. And although anyone would feel at least a bit intimidated by a man of such stature, Zidane wasn't. He could see a hidden gentleness, beneath a gruff exterior. And if he had to be perfectly honest, the man reminded him of a larger, but not by much, version of Baku, his foster father.
"I wanted to head back to the Leaky Cauldron, but I don't have a wand with me. So I'm kinda stuck." Perhaps admitting that he didn't have a wand was a bad idea, but something told him that in this case it wouldn't be much of an issue.
"Well 'lemme help yeh out then. I'm Rubeus Hagrid by ther way"
"Marcus Crescent." Zidane said, pulling off his hood, and shaking the man's gigantic hands.
Much to his surprise, the giant man took out a pink umbrella (of all things) and tapped the wall, making it part for them. They both headed back to the pub, and Zidane found that, while it was a bit hard to understand the man, he was very kind and open towards him. He almost felt bad for giving him a false name.
Almost.
After all, he still had his own safety to think about.
He asked Hagrid if he would like having dinner together, which surprised the man, but he happily agreed. He told him this was because most people felt intimidated by him. The only ones that didn't were many of his friends and colleagues at the school he taught, as well as many of the students he had become close to. The teen was surprised to learn that this 'Hogwarts' was a school; the same school Hagrid apaprently taught at. When he asked about it, the giant man was quite surprised that he didn't know about it. He even said he thought Zidane was a student attending this year. As it would seem, it was odd to see foreign wizards his age travelling to Britain for any other reason. Hagrid then started a full blown lecture on Hogwarts and everything that had to do with it. Zidane felt a bit impressed and even thought about visiting the place if he ever got the chance.
The conversation then took a turn when Zidane asked what Hagrid taught at Hogwarts. Apparently the man just loved magical creatures of all sorts. Especially the dangerous ones, based on the endearing way he described his giant spider, his three headed dog, the baby dragon he once had as a pet, and the Blast-ended Skrewts he had bred into being. While Zidane didn't share his love of monsters, he did shared his experience with Choco (mentioning only vaguely what he was), and how close they bonded.
The conversation then continued over some drinks after dinner, reluctantly provided by Tom. Needless to say, the genome was happy to finally get his hands on some alcohol. At first Tom was reluctant, because of his apparent age. Tom even asked Hagrid if he was a student at Hogwarts, to which the giant man simply answered the truth.
"Firs' time I've met im. He ain't a student, that I'm sure of."
Hagrid had also been very hesitant to drink with him for the same reason.
"Aww come on Hagrid, I may look young, but I'm old enough to drink where I come from. I'm an experienced drinker, hell I'll even pay for the drinks."
After much insistence, and persuasion from his part, Hagrid finally gave in. Tom did as well, though it wouldn't matter since he was technically accompanied by an adult. And if both older men had been forced to admit it, young 'Marcus' had grown on them despite the short time they had known him. And he had kept true to his word too. He really was an experienced drinker. That is, until he convinced them to let him try some of the stronger drinks and Tom brought out the firewhisky.
Zidane quickly found he liked it, even though it made his throat feel like it was on fire and not like just any other strong drink, either. No, this one was special.
It was definitely some of the good stuff.
The conversation mingled in with laughter as they told each other hilarious stories of their adventures or everyday life. The night was fun, and accident free, except for one close call when Zidane was nearly smashed into the bar when a red-faced laughing Hagrid patted him heartily on the back after a particularly funny joke. Zidane was sure he was going to wake up next morning with a large palm shaped bruise and a giant hangover. But despite that, it was the best fun he'd had since arriving in this place. He had quickly become friends and drinking buddies with Hagrid, and he really wished he could do it again sometime.
"Well, it's gettin late and I have ter get goin. It's been mighty fine getting te know ya, give me a holler if ye ever come ta Hogwarts."
Zidane gave a small pout and a sigh but accepted.
"Nice meeting you too Hagrid. Let's do it again sometime. Oh, and good luck with that journey of yours. Especially with your lady friend." Zidane finished with a suggestive wag of his eyebrows.
Hagrid burst into booming laughter..
"Will do. Goodnight." And with a wave of his large hand, the man was off.
Zidane finished the last of his drink, before bidding Tom goodnight, and tumbling his way to his room. He didn't even bother to look around the furnished room. He only got as far as stripping down to his boxers before dropping dead on the bed from exhaustion.
…
That same night Hagrid made his way over to the place he agreed to pick up the portkey that would take him to Beauxbatons to meet up with Madam Maxime. Though he was reluctant to drink with the blonde, cyan-eyed boy at first, Hagrid had to admit he had a great time. There was something about that boy though. It was odd to see boys like that travelling alone without a parent or guardian, and Hagrid did not ask because it might have been a sore subject. But still, there was something else about Marcus. When they first met, the boy looked a bit surprised at his appearance, but didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated, which was odd. He would know, since he always saw the awed and sometimes terrified faces of first years that arrived at the castle every year. No, this kid was something entirely different.
Though it would sound rather like an insult to anyone else, the boy reminded him a bit of some of the creatures he had met in the Forbidden Forest. He looked perfectly human, that was true, but his eyes had this intellect and fierceness that he had only seen in creatures like hippogriffs or manticores. Perhaps the boy was a halfling like him? Probably part veela based on his looks.
"Hagrid."
Hagrid turned to see none other than Kingsley Shacklebolt coming up to meet him.
"Great ter see ya Kingsley, but wasn't Lupin meetin with me?"
"I decided to come myself. I have a few questions actually, since you know so much about magical creatures."
"Well sure, whatcha need ter know?"
Shacklebolt sigh and proceeded to tell Hagrid what happened that night.
"Proudfoot is still in St. Mungo's. They can't figure out how to help him regain his vision. They don't even know what kind of hex or dark curse was used. I've just checked in with the databases at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for anything that looks like what Dawlish saw, but there are no matches. He claimed he saw a creature that was rather humanoid in form, but tailed. Whatever it did to Proudfoot, it did it wand-lessly, and effortlessly, meaning that it would rank at least XXXX. I came here tonight because I wanted to know if you had any ideas since our experts seemed to be stumped."
Hagrid thought over the information and was simply fascinated by whatever it might have been that easily took down two aurors. The ranking Kingsley gave them would be correct. XXXX creatures were considered dangerous, and to be handled with knowledge and skill. XXXXX creatures were extremely dangerous and known for killing wizards, besides being impossible to train, though they were usually the most interesting by his standards.
"I 'ave no clue, but my guess is yer creature may be a hybrid. It's strange it knows dark magic though." Hagrid replied.
"I thought it would turn out into something like this. I already informed Dumbledore and the Order, we are mostly worried that it's a new creature bred for serving under You-Know-Who's new army. We are trying to see if we can capture it to find out more."
Hagrid nodded, he was pretty interested in this new occurrence as well. But for now, he had another mission to complete. Taking the portkey, a bent spoon, from Shacklebolt, Hagrid said his farewells and waited. Not long after that he felt the familiar pull behind his navel, followed by the sensation he was being pushed down a tiny tube.
To be continued...
...
A/N: Let's play a game of 'who finds the most cameo appearances'! :D Also, i had to do a bit of research for this chapter. I just hope I got it right...
Just so you know, Zidane didn't actually read all those books. he just skimmed over them, maybe read some interesting passage off some page, and then discarded them once his attention span was overwhelmed.
Zidane will also now be going by 'Marcos Crescent' seeing as even HE is cautious enough to know that using his real name isn't the brightest of ideas.
Also, for those of you who haven't played FFIX, Choco is this chobo whose also part of this large sidequest. By the end of the quest Choco becomes a gold chocobo and is able to fly on the world map.
Anyways, till next time!