Notes: Here's chapter 4, it's the longest so far. Head's up because, like I said earlier, there will be swearing in this fic. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed or added me to their lists.
Reviews, of course, are always welcome.
Chapter 4: When in Rome...
...
Zidane woke up the next day at noon with a Hagrid-sized hangover. He winced as the light in the room burned through his eye-lids and forced him to sink his face directly into his lumpy pillow. After a few minutes of uselessly trying to convince himself of going back to sleep, he realized it was a hopeless case.
He winced as got up; the daylight blinding him as slowly stretched his limbs. Feeling that something wasn't quite right, he looked down and noticed that his tail was hanging pathetically and without any feeling. Realizing he must have slept on it last night, the teen further regretted his decision to get up. He was waiting for the blood to circulated back to his tail, when he heard a knock at the door. He blinked at the door, wishing for whoever it was to go away, but after a few seconds there was another knock.
'Dammit.' "I'm coming!" Zidane croaked out.
He put on his pants from yesterday and sweatshirt on too. He didn't care much, he knew he probably looked like shit anyways. He barely remembered to hide his tail before grabbing the doorknob and opening the door.
"Good morning, I had a feeling you'd want your breakfast up today. I'm surprised you can actually stand up after yesterday."
The blonde greeted Tom before allowing the man to enter the room with his food. He was also kind enough to bring some tea to nurse his hangover. After innkeeper left, Zidane made some effort to eat something and then left small cart in the hallway as instructed. Once he felt better, he got up and decided to get dressed for the new day. It was then that he remembered the books he bought yesterday.
It was while leafing through a bit from 'The Standard Book of Spells Grade 2' that Zidane was struck with sudden inspiration. The book taught of ways to power up spells, and in some cases make them last longer. And while he didn't have a wand, he thought it would apply just the same to any of his spells. And so he turned to his books from Gaia and decided that it might actually work.
If he could power up a vanishing spell to make it last longer, while focusing his spell on a single part of his body, he could just make his tail invisible rather than having to hide it under his clothes or around his waist. It would certainly be a relief, since hiding it was as uncomfortable as it was annoying.
After crossing his fingers and hoping that the entire place wouldn't blow up, the teen gave a sigh of relief when he realized that it worked. Well, the first time he made his left arm vanish, but the second time he got it right. He stretched his tail out and waved it around, curling it experimentally. He would have to be careful and gauge how long the spell would work for, and more than that, he would have to be careful with people accidentally stepping on it, or brushing past it. Though invisible, it was still very much tangible.
After getting all his things, the blonde left his room, ate lunch, and checked out of the Leaky Cauldron after saying goodbye to Tom. He did this because, as Hagrid said, it was strange for someone like him to travel alone and stay for too long in one place. That, and there was a chance that rich guy he stole from yesterday would come looking for him. He didn't strike people as a native, and if that same guy was looking for him, then it would be obvious for a foreigner to be staying here, the only magical lodging he had seen around. Besides, he did steal quite a bit from him, even though the arrogant bastard deserved it.
Zidane spent the rest of the day learning (and making occasional thefts, but mostly learning) about the strange hidden society that was Magical Britain. He learned more about the current events, which made him realize just how big of mess he was in, and more about what these people knew as common knowledge. If he was going to be staying here and blend in, then he really needed to know these things.
Muggles were non-magical people. Male magical people were called wizards while females were called witches. Magical people born from Muggles were called 'muggle-borns'. Non magical people born from magical families were called 'Squibs'. Being called a Squib was also apparently an insult. There was also a sort of obsession with blood. People from old wealthy wizard families who didn't marry Muggles were considered to have 'purer blood' and called themselves 'pure-blood'. Basically they were the rich pompous nobles of this place. Those that were not pure-blood were called 'mud-bloods' or 'dirty bloods', which was just as insulting as it sounded. Those that came from 'pure-blooded' families but married Muggles or mud-bloods were called 'blood traitors'. It really all sounded like bullshit to Zidane, but hey, it was part of their culture.
Another thing Zidane realized was just the amount of power the government had over these people, even when it came to the press. It was so obviously controlled by the ministry it was sad. If the ministry was going to try using media censorship, they could at least try to be a little more discreet. He really felt bad for this Potter kid though. The way the newspaper attacked a boy, a boy that was still in school and apparently saved them all as a baby no less, it was like a massive stab in the back. Even if the kid happened to be lying, which he highly doubted, the minister's main concern should still be the safety of his people. That was what a true ruler was supposed to work hard for, like Dagger did, and like he would one day too.
Running a hand through his bangs, Zidane wondered just what kind of mess he was getting himself into.
…
Ron Weasley was a lanky, tall, redheaded boy like all in his family, with blue eyes, and light-colored, but freckled skin. Like many, he was born at the height of the last wizarding war, but unlike many, he was the sixth son amongst seven children. His parents, Arthur and Molly Weasley were kind, hard working people, albeit a bit poor when it came to material wealth.
He didn't really mind though, sure he usually got hand-me-downs, and last year's dress robes were ghastly( a little bit of coin wouldn't hurt either), but he could honestly say he say he felt privileged. He had two great friends, loving family, and quite some free time in the Burrow until the school year started.
That's why he was a bit surprised when he and the rest of his siblings were called down to a 'family meeting'.
Arthur Weasly sat on the large, somewhat abused couch in the living room with a hand around his wife, Molly's shoulders, who sat next to him. He was a balding redhead who worked at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, and had something of an unorthodox fascination with all things Muggle. Molly Weasley was a plump woman, who had more than enough motherly love for all the family and friends. She had made it her personal mission to adopt his best mate, Harry right into the family of redheads. Surely if the world had at least a dozen more of her, there would be no unwanted children in the world.
Everyone else was there, well asides from some of his older brothers. Bill was at work in his desk job at Gringotts, Charlie was still in Romania working with dragons, while Percy, Percy had abandoned the family after getting promoted, which was quite an emotional blow to his parents. Mentioning the bloke in front of them had become a bit of an unspoken taboo in the house.
Otherwise, they were all there. Ginevra 'Ginny' Weasley, his youngest sibling and only sister, was there sitting on another couch. As the youngest and only girl amongst six older brothers, Ginny had grown up to be quite tough for someone her age. His older identical twin brothers, Fred and George, were standing next to each other after startling him when they apparated. Now that they were of age and could do magic outside of school, they were simply unleashed, apparating and disapparating randomly to get anywhere, and charming things left and right for pranks or just because they could. But right now, George was looking a bit pale, which led him to believe that they were, once again, working on their new Skiving Snackboxes. Judging by the way George was swaying occasionally, it was probably the 'Fainting Fancies'.
"Well kids, I know you're probably wondering why your mother and I called you all here." Mr. Weasley said.
"Your'e bloody joking!"
"Don't tell us we're having another baby brother?!"
"Yeah, we had enough with ickle Ronnie to begin with." The twins ranted.
"BOYS!" Mr. Weasley interrupted, his ears slightly red. "We are not having another baby!"
"What your father is trying to say is that, for safety purposes, we will be spending the rest of the summer away from the Burrow." Mrs Weasley added.
"That's mad! Where else would we stay?" Ron asked.
His parents then explained to them about their involvement in the Order of the Phoenix and how they would be staying at the old Black family mansion, which was currently the Order's headquarters. By the end of the explanation, Ron felt a bit dazzled as he went upstairs to pack his things. When he saw his tiny Scops owl Pigwidgeon, 'Pig' for short, on the window sill, he thought about mailing his friends of the recent events. But then, he remembered. He had promised Dumbledore that he wouldn't tell any of these things to Harry.
Well he was going to be bloody pissed off.
…..
The sun had now disappeared beyond the horizon leaving the streets dark and the stores closed. The only thing illuminating the streets were the magically lit lampposts and the single white moon in the sky. It really made Zidane miss the different colored lights of the twin moons, after all, he had practically grown up with them.
Zidane smiled as he looked at the newspaper paper he clutched in his hands. On the front page of the morning paper, beneath an article titled 'DUMBLEDORE DAFT OR DANGEROUS?', was another article titled 'MASSIVE THIEVINGS IN DIAGON ALLEY'. Zidane read the article with a great amount of amusement.
Members of the wizarding community have found themselves shouting in outrage at the increase of reported thefts. According to data gathered from last Thursday, the amounts of thefts have simply skyrocketed in the last several days, this of course, taking into account the large influx of tourists this time of the year. But these thefts have not been limited to civilians only, for shop owners have also reported cases of missing stock and vandalism to their respective shops.
'It is my professional belief that these thefts have been performed by a single individual, or at the very least, a very organized group, based on how the criminal abruptly began raiding the small shops. Diagon Alley has always been subjected to the occasional pickpocket, but never has criminal activity reached such heights. We are not talking about just simple swipe of a purse, many if not most of the shops in Diagon Alley are subjected to powerful and complex security charms that were easily disabled by the thief without anybody's notice. This would lead many to belief that said criminal is a powerful and experienced witch or wizard.' Said the retired Auror, Rufus Scrimgeour.
Shop owners and civilians alike have called for the ministry to intervene. Fudge recently just announced his decision to post Aurors to guard the street after repeated protests on his original plan to station Dementors like he did two years ago in response to mass-murder Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Coincidentally, many citizens have pinned the thefts on the notorious mass murderer, who according to authorities, was seen in Tibet.
'This 'phantom thief' as many have begun to call him is nothing more than a petty criminal.' Said Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. When asked to give a message to the thief, he answered: 'You can try to hide, but rest assured we will find you, and when we do, we'll have a nice cell in Azkaban ready.'
Until then, the Auror Department would like to ask all citizens to share any additional information they may have concerning the thief.
Zidane actually began to laugh. The article didn't mention that he had only stolen from a couple of shops where the owners had been particularly nasty. All of the thefts were actually directed at the pompous purebloods, they were all painfully easy to recognize. In any case, his real goal was to piss off that Fudge guy (though he did amass a small fortune in the process). With the threat of a criminal on the loose, he would be forced to get his head out of his ass and answer to the people's call. And now with the Aurors arriving tomorrow, he knew the people would get at least some protection.
But the whole thing was just hilarious. They thought they could catch him? They though he was some kind of big and powerful wizard? He didn't expect making it to the front page so quickly. They must have really been desperate for news if they decided to cover this. It was likely that Fudge was trying to drive everyone one away from any news regarding that Dark Wizard. They even called him a 'Phantom Thief'! It was just too good. He should actually thank that Rufus guy, now that the people had that bizarre image of him, they would never expect someone like him to be the real culprit. It would make things so much easier for him.
He'd probably have to watch out for these Aurors from now on though, but well, what could you do? Any other thief would probably attempt to lay low during times like this, but Zidane wasn't just any thief. Besides, it wasn't about the loot. This was about sending a message.
The genome leapt through the roofs of the houses, this would be his last night without having to worry about Aurors, and he sure as hell was going to enjoy this simple pleasure. So far he had been sleeping in abandoned buildings, which wasn't really all that bad. He had to change his hiding spot though, since he was nearly spotted the night before.
Seeing as it was getting late, Zidane decided it was time to find a place to sleep. He decided to risk it with this shop he had encountered several times but he never entered since the place looked empty. He guessed by its dilapidated state that it must have been abandoned.
'There it is! 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C.'. Doesn't look like he's cleaned since then too.'
Zidane walked around the shop to reach the back door. He cast a quick dispel to take out any protective spells on the door. Then he proceeded to pick the lock the old fashioned way. Inside it looked just as abandoned as the outside. He walked past what looked like a small workshop that had pieces of wood and strange long objects in jars and then to some stairs that led to the upper floor. He continued until he reached the actual shop. There was an oak counter and the whole room was dusty. The walls themselves were shelves filled to the brim of long rectangular boxes. The boxes themselves didn't seem to follow any specific arrangement, and looked quite cluttered. He assumed that those were wands, but thought it was weird that an abandoned shop would still contain its merchandise.
'Unless…oh crap.'
The blonde was just about to leave the shop and head back from whence he came, having realized his mistake, when he heard the sound of footsteps on cobblestone, and then heard the sound of glass shattering. He thought it was the owner at first, but then realized that someone was trying to get INSIDE the shop. Zidane quickly ducked behind the counter, hood on, and blending perfectly with the shadows around him. He heard the sound of footsteps on broken glass and decided to take out his daggers just in case. Just as he did that, a faint light came from the door he used to enter the shop. Footsteps accompanied the light into the shop and Zidane saw an old man in his nightclothes enter with a wand in one hand and a lantern in the other.
The man had messy silvery hair, and wore large glasses that magnified his moon-like pale eyes. The man's eyes seemed to land on him for a moment, before turning to the person who had just broken into the shop.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"I come with orders from my master. As for what he wants, you should probably have an idea by now." Replied the man whose voice sounded irritatingly familiar.
"I'm afraid I won't be coming to meet your master, Death Eater." The old man said.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Incarcerous!"
Zidane's eyes widened as he saw ropes shoot out and tie around the old man before he could even defend himself. The blonde felt anger course through him as he saw the old man cry out in pain and fall to the ground like an animal being captured by a net. In the blink of an eye, the teen dashed over and cut the ropes with his dagger.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Zidane shouted at the other man who he could now see was wearing a skull mask and a black robe with a pointed hood. The man looked surprised at first, but then composed himself.
"That would be none of your business! Stupefy!"
Zidane dodged the jet of red light and then tried to close in to deliver a blow to the masked man. The masked man called out another spell, and this time, he could only block it with his dagger. It was then that the genome had an idea. He backed away and continued to dodge and block each spell the man called, as he readied his own spell.
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?" Zidane said as he unleashed his own spell which the man had not seen coming because of his lack of a wand.
The man stumbled dumbly but then got back on his feet and raised his wand to strike. He opened his mouth to call his next spell, but nothing happened. Zidane, feeling proud that his ´silence´ spell worked, closed in and punched the masked man in the face. Said man fell out into the street outside clutching at his faceas fragments of his skull-like mask fell on the ground.
When the man removed his hand, the teen saw the bruised and slightly cut face of the blonde man from the bookshop. Zidane was about to finish the guy off, when there was a loud 'crack' and the man was gone. Instead of following after, the blonde gave an angry sigh as his tail stopped thrashing angrily and went back inside the shop to see how the old man was. He wouldn't be able to follow after, and besides, the old man's life was more important.
Zidane soon learned that this man was Ollivander, the owner of the shop, which apparently was still running and not abandoned like he originally thought. He was very grateful and gave him a general explanation of what that man was and what he wanted from him. Zidane sheepishly explained to him what he was doing inside the shop, and was thankful to see that Ollivander was not upset, since his action had possibly saved his life tonight. Maybe he was a bit insulted since the teen had originally thought his shop was abandoned. Still, it was strange how those silver eyes seemed to be able to see through him. It made him feel like even if he told a lie, the man would know instantly.
The old man also expressed his interest in his 'wandless magic', saying he had seen few old powerful wizards that could do that. But the biggest surprise came when Ollivander offered to fit him with a wand as a way to repay him. He said that any self-respecting wizard should have one, and that he was honestly curious as to what wand would accept him. Zidane had the feeling that, more than a way to repay him, it was mostly to quell the man's curiosity.
"Of course, it would be best to do it tomorrow." Ollivander said with a yawn.
"What about the glass?"
"Oh yes, dear me I almost forgot." Ollivander said, and with a quick 'reparo' the glass was as good as new. The old man then took his lantern and made his way out of the shop and up the stairs. "Well aren't you coming? You don't honestly want to sleep on the floor do you?"
Zidane just shrugged and followed the man.
'Geez if he can repair a window so easily why can't he just as easily clean the place?'
With a silent laugh the teen just passed it off as one of those wizard 'things'.
….
The following morning, Hermione Granger woke up in her quite normal Muggle house to the sound of something pecking at her window. Blearily she got up, minding her ginger cat, Crookshanks, only to see a tiny owl with a quite larger letter tied to its foot on the other side of the glass. Hermione opened the window and the tiny owl she recognized as Pig flew in and extended its tiny foot with the letter towards her.
Hermione Granger was a single child, and daughter of a pair of accomplished dentists. Though she was born from non-magical parents, for some strange twist of destiny (though Hermione would scoff at the thought of a predetermined fate) she was born magical. Since the age of eleven when she first gained the knowledge of being a witch, she had attended Hogwarts, made friends, took part in sometimes dangerous adventures, and also ranked top of her class. Her parents had taken it all surprisingly well too. They were proud of their little girl no matter what.
'What could Ron want? Out of the three, he is the one that writes the least.'
Hermione took the letter from the owl's leg and quickly read over the chicken scratch that was Ron's writing.
'Really, he should at least try to improve his handwriting.'
When she finished reading the letter, the two other occupants of the room, Pig and Crookshanks, could feel the excitement bubbling from the girl. Said girl quickly left out the door and went to find her parents.
"Mom, Dad, Ron's family just invited me to spend the summer with them. Can I go?"
After seeing the imploring face on their daughter's face, how could they say no? The Weasleys were a kind bunch, a bit weird, but good nonetheless. Hermione ran back to her room to write back an answer. She did not really lie to her parents, but she didn't say the truth either. They weren't spending the holidays at the Burrow. Instead, they were going to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. But if she told her parents about that, she would have to explain You-Know-Who's return and then they might not let her go back to Hogwarts.
'Oh, but wait until Harry hears!' Hermione thought, but then remembered and winced. 'Harry will be absolutely livid when he finds out.'
…
Back in Diagon Alley, Zidane was starting to question Ollivander's sanity. After breakfast and a long shower, they temporarily closed shop in order to have some privacy while Zidane was getting fitted for a wand. It was understandable when he asked for his wand arm and then proceeded to measure his right arm, but when floating tape-measure started measuring the length of his eyebrows and other random things like the space between his eyes, Zidane was tempted to ask the man if he should pull his pants down, so he could measure 'that' too. Because you know, with magic you never really knew.
Then came the second step in which he would try seemingly random wands handed to him by Ollivander, while the man would call off their length, wood, and whatever was inside it. When he took the wand and swished it, one of two things happened: part of Ollivander's shop would be violently destroyed, or the wand itself would get destroyed. In one case, he only touched the wand and it burned him, in another the wand flew out of his hand and lodged itself deep in the wall.
"Eleven inches, ash, with a dragon heartstring core."
Zidane grabbed the wand, but it violently burst into flame.
"Ten and a half inches, wholly, with a unicorn hair core.'
Zidane grabbed that one and when it didn't explode, he gave it a swish. Large slash marks appeared on the floor along with a horrible inhuman shriek, which made the genome quickly drop the stick.
He had to admit, what unsettled him the most about his current situation was that Ollivander didn't seem pissed that he was destroying his shop, or even the fact that he nearly killed him in one try. No, with each passing wand the guy seemed to get more excited. Right now he looked positively giddy, and it was really starting to freak him out. Maybe the guy was a little too into his job.
'What the hell.'
"Eight and three-quarter inches, vine wood, with a Phoenix Feather core."
Zidane took the wand and felt warmth emanate from around him as a light began to shine down on him. Ollivander looked at the scene with a satisfaction. It finally appeared the wand made a match, that is, until balls of fire began raining down on the blonde.
"Nope, that's positively not it." Ollivander said, and a slightly scorched Zidane just rolled his eyes.
'No shit genius.'
"Well I'm afraid I don't know what else to do. None of the wands will accept you. The last wand was the closest we came to success, but it clearly won't accept you as its master. If I must say so myself Mr. Crescent, I've never seen anyone get such reactions from a wand. It's simply astounding!"
"What do you mean accept me?" The teen asked, still a bit freaked out since the old man was looking at him like he was made of orichalmcum or something.
"That's because it's the wand that chooses the wizard, not the other way around. Most wizards can use another wand than their own, but it just doesn't work the same as the one that chose them. The results are often time disastrous like you just saw." Ollivander finished by waving his hands at the utter chaos that now was the shop.
"So wands are actually alive?" Zidane asked in wonder.
"Not really alive, they are quasi-sentient. It's very hard to explain really. Usually the wand's wood and core are related to a wizard's qualities. With that last wand for example; I thought the phoenix feather would fit you the most, dragon heartstring is far too temperamental, while unicorn is much too passive. Vine Wood represents an inner journey, and it seemed right too, for its flexibility. But it was as if the ingredients themselves rejected you, even though the combination was right. So strange, this is the first time I've seen this happen."
"Any idea why?" Zidane asked, maybe it was because he wasn't technically human.
"Well, I can only assume. I've heard of something similar happening decades ago with an Asian wizard with a British-made wand. They think that it has to do with the foreignness of the ingredients. Different ingredients are used around the world to fit the wizards native to that place. Unicorns are not found in South America for example, and that's why most people there don't react well with the core, they are simply fitted better for other cores from creatures that live there. I believe that could be the reason, but it's odd that you were totally rejected."
"Wait, so you are telling me that if we used materials from where I am from, then the wand might accept me?" Zidane asked, trying to ignore the 'reject' comment.
"Yes that might work. You aren't suggesting you have the materials here right?" Ollivander asked in amazement and a bit of excitement.
"Yep, I believe I do. Would you be willing to make me a wand?" The teen asked. Apparently, he said the magic words. Ollivander was simply ecstatic and motioned him towards the small workshop in the back.
He wasn't even sure if he actually needed a wand or not. He could do magic perfectly fine without one. Still, if he was going to spend any more time in this world, having a wand would clearly help him blend in better with these people. Wands were what separated a wizard from any other individual or even creature, and honestly from what he'd heard so far, he sure as hell didn't want to be identified as a none-wizard.
"I have to be quite honest to you. I haven't had a real challenge in years, around four years actually. In fact, work had become quite boring. Kids these days are so easy to sort out. I was actually thinking of retiring, but this challenge has rekindled the flame inside me. This will be my best work yet!"
Once he set the pouch down, he began to look for a particular object.
'Where is it…aha!'
Much to Ollivander's surprise, he took out a large chunk of wood that was splintered at both ends. The chunk was actually quite large, probably big enough to make a decent sized jewelry box. The wood was a deep greenish brown in the inside, while the exposed parts had turned a pale greenish gray color. Part of the chunk, however, appeared stained with old dried blood.
It's was wood from the Iifa Tree.
"What kind of wood is this? I've never seen anything like it. Wait… is this what I think it is?" Ollivander asked as he began to carefully examine the stained wood.
"Yeah, it's part of a tree that attacked me once. It was called the Iifa Tree. As you can see, that piece still has a bit of my blood on it." 'More like 'nearly killed me', fucking demon tree. If this doesn't accept me then nothing will.'
Zidane remembered how the tree practically impaled him with one of its root. When Mikoto found him, she had to destroy part of the root that was pinning him down to get him out, and then once he was in the village, she dislodged the piece from his abdomen. That was quite possibly the worst injury he had ever gotten. He had been bedridden for nearly a month afterwards. Mikoto then gave him the piece of wood as a souvenir because of her probable dark sense of humor, or more likely a reminder for him to avoid doing more stupid things again.
'Good thing that worked.'
"Amazing, and to think there are more trees like the Whomping Willow out there. But the wood has tasted your blood, it might bond with you better." Ollivander said wonder.
'Wait, Whomping Willow? Oh hell no, you mean there's more here!?'
"And what do you plan to use as core?" Ollivander asked, just as Zidane was entering a panicked state.
'Oh right.'
Zidane once again searched into his bag, and this time pulled out a single beautiful iridescent golden feather. It was a Phoenix Pinion. He handed the feather to Ollivander, who took it gently with his two hands as if it was something holy and worthy of respect.
"This is a Phoenix feather, but none like I've ever seen." Ollivander said twirling the feather in the light and watching as the reflected light wreathed the feather like flames.
Zidane nodded. "Specifically it's a Phoenix pinion, much rarer than the phoenix downs that are sold in shops where I'm from."
"Amazing, I have only ever used Phoenix tail feathers, but this single feather puts most of them to shame. Pray tell Mr. Crescent, where exactly are you from? I can't say I have ever seen ingredients like this."
The teen stiffened, but decided to at least give a truthful answer, the man was making him a wand, and the way his moon-like eyes were inspecting him was really unsettling. "Well, all I can say is that I'm a long way from home. But if you like the pinions, I have a couple more I can give you."
Ollivander looked at him for a moment, but then sighed and smiled. "I'm sorry to hear you can't tell me, but I would like to buy some feathers from you."
Zidane chuckled, but then convinced the man to take about twenty of them for free. It didn´t matter since he already had a ridiculous amount of them from his journey anyways. He insisted that it was for the wands he ruined and the damages to the shop. Afterwards, the old man got to work. The noted that he was really into his project as he didn't even reopen the shop or clean up the mess he made with the wands. He hardly even saw the man, who had locked himself in his workshop and didn't even seem to leave for food. Zidane only saw him when he came by to give him some cinnamon rolls and coffee he bought, since he was worried that the old man would work himself to death.
The cyan eyed teen did go out into the streets during this time. He took advantage of the moment to catch a glance at the Aurors stationed there. The only real problem he saw was that these men stood out too much. He thought it was far more efficient to have them undercover. He wondered briefly if they would have night duties as well. He had the distinct feeling he hadn't seen the last of those so called Death Eaters.
During this time, he also got his first taste of wizard sweets. Most of them were quite unappealing. Cauldron Cakes were okay, and so were Liquorice Wands. Chocolate Frogs reminded him of Quina. He knew it was a charm, but every time he saw the frogs leap away for their lives, it brought gruesome images of the Qu eating the frogs. Other sweets just sounded disgusting, Blood Pops for example. He also feared he would never get over that Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean that tasted of sewage. Why would anyone even invent such a thing?!
In two days, Ollivander had the wand finished. He proudly claimed that most wandmakers took a week at least.
"Let's see Gregorovitch beat this!" Ollivander said with a smile.
The old man brought the new wand and even Zidane had to admit it. It was simply beautiful. The wand itself was the same pale greenish-gray color, but far lighter and with a bluish hint too. The handle itself was a carved vine that circled the wand, the groves in between made to fit his fingers perfectly and for better grip. The vine had the same original pale greenish-gray color that the wood had, but with bluish hints as well, and it branched off after the handle ended, forming root-like designs that grew smaller and finally ended about midway through the wand. Zidane was also surprised to see a round moonstone resting at the wand's pommel.
"Nine and a half inches, made with the blood bound wood of the Iifa Tree, and a Pheonix Pinion at its core. Quite flexible, though I can't say what to expect from it." Ollivander said with a smile.
This was it; the moment of truth.
The blonde slowly gripped the wand, feeling smoothness of the wood, and resting his fingers on its grooves. The minute his fingers touched the wood, he felt a connection from somewhere deep inside him. Jolts of electricity ran up his arm in a pleasant way and soon surrounded his entire body in a way that was exactly like he felt during trance. The whole shop seemed to darken, as he practically began to glow at the same time, and when he looked up he saw the ghostly glowing figures of two moons, one blue and the other red, and all the same, a haunting melody echoed through his ears. The two moons and the glow surrounding him then vanished into dozens of white feathers that disappeared once they touched the ground.
The shop fell into a complete silence that was then broken by the round of claps that came from Ollivander.
"Well done! Now this is probably one of the most unconventional wands I've made. As you noticed before, this wand has a moonstone, normally stones aren't put in wands, but I decided to go out of the normal and put it there for luck. This is a real masterpiece, so promise me you'll take care of it Mr. Crescent."
"Don't worry I will. But firstly, I'd prefer it if you called me Zidane." The teen said with a smile. Ollivander seemed to look at him for a moment before smiling once more.
"You really are full of surprises, aren't you 'Zidane'?"
The blonde just laughed. 'You have no idea.'
…
Back in Little Whinging, Harry had just thrown away two boxes of Honeydukes chocolates. The reason for that? He was angry, and angry people were not known to make rational decisions. Today, July 31st was his birthday, and just like every year, he was forced to spend it in this miserable place. Only this time he was at least hoping to get some news from his friends. Something, no, anything would have helped. He had spent the last weeks sneaking from outside the window to listen to the news and he had even been scavenging newspapers from trashcans! But there was nothing, zero, zit, nada.
All he had gotten so far were messages like this:
We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously…We've been told not to say anything important in case our letters go astray…We're quite busy, but we can't give you the details here… There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you.
How was that supposed to help? They didn't even say when! Could these letters get any more ambiguous? Did everyone forget about him already? Why were they keeping him in the dark?
'I have the right to know!' Harry seethed, anger boiling in his veins.
Later that night, he would regret throwing away those chocolates after Aunt Petunia gave him a wilted salad for dinner.
…..
That same night, Zidane found himself on his way back to the shop. He had bought a few more books with things he could try out with his new wand since spells here seemed to depend a lot on wand movement. He also bought a holster for it that he put on his belt right next to the one for his daggers. He was nearing the shop when he noticed something strange. The lights in the lampposts were out, making the vacated street look dark and menacing. When he saw that the door to the shop was slightly ajar, he suddenly had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He practically dashed to the door, daggers drawn, but the moment he got there he froze. There were five men in masks with their wands drawn and three things in the room as well, though further away from those men. They were humanoid in form but they floated over the floor, with tattered black cloaks covering their otherwise bony forms. What little he could see under was all gray rotten flesh. Suddenly he felt the temperature of the room plummet, taking away all the heat and happiness as well. His eyes travelled towards the figure that was tied and surrounded by the creatures. It was Ollivander. He was shivering violently and as pale as a sheet, small cuts marring his face, and blood oozing from where the ropes were so tight they were cutting into his skin.
"OLLIVANDER!" Zidane cried out.
The old man lifted his face slightly, but his silvery eyes were dull and unfocused, and his breathing came in irregular gasps.
"Ah what do we have here. Does blondie want to play the hero?" One of them laughed, the others seemed to follow.
"YOU BASTARDS, LET HIM GO!" Zidane growled in an almost feral way. From here he could see that Ollivander finally passed out.
He made a dash at the men, but the Death Eaters already had their wands out and ready. The five men shot at him, Zidane dodged three hits and blocked the fourth, but he wasn't expecting the surprised hit from the last of the Death Eater whose red spell hit him square in the chest and made him fall to his knees.
"You must be slipping Nott, it did not knock him out." One of the men said and the others, minus Nott, laughed too.
"But he is quite the slippery one isn't he? Incarcerous!"
Zidane winced as ropes shot out of the man's wand and wrapped around his arms, neck, and torso, effectively binding him in place. Without use of his arms, Zidane was unable to use his daggers. Instead, he gritted his teeth in concentration and tried to cast magic, but he simply couldn't. Zidane only realized then that it was because of the hooded things that he was losing his concentration. They were floated closer to him, and he felt cold sweat run down the side of his face, and saw his breath become visible in front of him. The hairs on his neck and tail bristled as the creatures continued to approach, and he began to remember the worst moment of his life all the while the men's cruel laughter taunted him.
"I say we let him get the kiss." One of the men proposed and the others began to laugh and cheer in a way that made him feel sick.
He didn't know what they meant by kiss, all he knew was that he would not like it.
One of the hooded creatures came closer than the rest and by then, Zidane knew nothing but despair. He barely registered as the creature pulled at its hood revealing nothing but decaying flesh and a hole where the mouth should be. The other two creatures held him in place, their clammy gray hands grabbing the sides of his face, making him want to throw up.
He felt like he did in Pandemonium, the first time he met Garland and he passed out, later waking up on that throne. In his mind he kept hearing the sounds of people screaming as cities were obliterated and the anguished cries of his friends. And at the very center of it, he heard Garland.
'You have the power, the position, and the motive to do it. Become my angel of death!'
"Shut up!"
'Foolishness... The body becomes a vessel, which greets a new soul...'
"SHUT UP!"
The moment those words left his raw throat, Zidane felt something inside him just snap. There were cries of surprised as a white glow enveloped him, knocking away the creatures who gave a rattling hiss. The death eaters tried shoot spells at the white light, but it did nothing. And when the light died down, there were curses and gasps coming from the five men. Fierce jolts of electricity surrounded the now glowing boy. His blonde hair had gotten slightly longer, and stood up in places like the fur of an agitated animal, but its biggest change was that instead of blonde, it was now a bright pink. His clothes had disappeared and were replaced with patches of bristled fur, with the same color of his hair. A long pink bristled tail now thrashed angrily behind the genome, visible for the entire world to see. His previously wild cyan eyes were now the color of bleeding pink.
Zidane had entered trance.
"Oi, he's just a pink monkey, let's get him!" One of the men said and others followed.
The teen felt the anger radiate in him like waves. Behind him he could see the hoodied creatures trying to get closer to him while Ollivander lay on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Stupefy!" One of the men called and Zidane blurred as he dodged the spell.
The former blonde got in front of Ollivander in a protective stance and then gathered the energy around him, unleashing it in a devastating 'Free Energy' attack. The windows of the shop were shattered and the men and creatures were blown away outside into the streets. Zidane followed closely, his superb speed giving him the appearance of thunder. He drove his dagger deep into the man who called him a monkey, and when he once again felt the biting cold, he swung his blade and decapitated one of the creatures that had floated towards him. For some reason the creature's cold was as bad as before. He winced as he felt a spell hit him in the back, but rather than hurting him like the caster intended, it just made him angrier.
He then used Stellar Circle 5, calling forth a large swirling vortex of energy that drew in and obliterated another one of the creatures while he just used his dagger to cleave the last creature in half. Turning to the remaining four hooded men, Zidane could practically smell their fear. One of them, either the bravest or most stupid, cast a spell that sent a green jet of light towards him, but the tranced genome easily dodged it. The other's followed like sheep, but he deflected them with his daggers. When he felt the magic in the air stir, and heard a 'crack' in the air, where the four, now three men stood, he decided it was time to end it.
Zidane jumped back and gathered large amounts of energy. It radiated around him making his body look like a miniature sun in this darkness, and as fast as it came, he released it, a wave of fire that hit his targets in a large explosion that charred wood, blackened stone, and shattered the windows of the surrounding buildings, also taking part of the street with him. In epicenter of it all were the blackened and unrecognizable remains of the hooded men, while the remains of the dead-like creatures where completely incinerated, leaving behind only ashes.
Such was the power of 'Tidal Flame'.
The teen slumped to the ground as he felt the power of trance leave him and his features return to normal. Suddenly he began to feel the physical drain of his attacks as well as the attacks that managed to hit him. He managed to drag his shivering body back to the shop, his daggers hanging in his almost limp grip, while blood dripped slightly from where the rough rope dug into his skin. They were superficial wounds, not that dangerous and it didn't matter to him much. He needed to see if Ollivander was okay. He took out of his travelling pouch a Hi-potion and drank it, feeling part of his energy return and his pain numb.
He quickened his pace and brought out another potion for the old man. Once at his side, he lifted his head, uncorked the potion so as to feed it to the unconscious man, making sure it went through his esophagus and not his wind pipe. He dearly hoped it would undo whatever the hooded men and creatures did.
Zidane finished giving him the potion, but then tensed as he felt the magic in the air shift. There were numerous 'cracks' around him, and suddenly he saw four people around him with their wands drawn and pointing at him. He could see one of them was dark skinned and tall, one of them looked quite scruffy and tired, then there was a girl with purple hair and heavily scarred man, with an odd swirling blue eye that looked like he had a fight with a behemoth and lost.
"Stand back and put your wand were we can see it!" Said a surprisingly familiar deep voice.
"If you want Ollivander, you can just forget it." Zidane snapped back in almost a growl.
"Kingsley, he is just a boy. I don't think he is with them." One of the men said with a tired but kind tone. Zidane looked him over. There was something strange about him. His body was practically shooting warnings like it did when he fought monsters.
"I wouldn't be so sure Remus, this kid isn't even human." A gruff voiced disfigured man said.
Zidane stiffened, he was sure his tail was invisible at the moment, and even then he still had his cloak on. How could this man know?
"Nice tail." The gruff man continued and the teen just noticed then how piece of his nose was missing, and he seemed to have a fake leg.
"Nice eye." Zidane retorted, noticing how said electric blue eye twirled around in its socket. 'His eye must be magical.'
'Remus' and the purple haired woman were taken aback, while the dark-skinned man, 'Kingsley', seemed to hide his shock better, but gave him a onceover and then seemed to notice his two daggers, the empty vial in his hand, and Ollivander whose opened mouth had drips of something running down his lips.
"What's in the vial you gave him? Answer now!" 'Kingsley' boomed at him.
"Not unless you tell me what you want with him first!" Zidane growled back.
He recognized 'Kingsley' from the first night he got here. He knew they would probably attack him when they got the information they wanted. Even though he claimed to be an 'Auror' that night, he was suspicious. None of the Aurors showed up to help when the hoodied men and creatures showed up. How was he supposed to trust that these guys weren't allied to them?
"STEP AWAY!" The gruff man shouted having obviously lost his patience.
"NEVER!" Zidane shouted back. He was too weak to fight, but he wasn't going to abandon the old man.
"Stupefy!" The man called and a red jet of light shot out of his wand. Zidane dodged the hit, but only just barely.
"Immobulus!" 'Kinsley called, but the genome managed to deflect it with his dagger and send it back to the caster who jumped to the side to dodge.
"Expelliarmus!" 'Remus' called and Zidane tried to block, but instead it send his daggers flying out of his grasp.
He saw the gruff man send another spell so he was unable to get his daggers and was forced to dodge. He crouched low to the ground and then pounced at the same man, using his body weight to slam unto the man and knock him back, while using the man's body to cushion the fall. For extra measure, he punched the man on his heavily scarred face, like he would in a street brawl, but then he was sent flying back when the woman hit him with a spell. He ended up hitting the back of his head painfully against the wall, and slowly he saw his vision start to darken. He saw the four people start closing in on him, including the man he punched who seemed to need some help getting up.
'Dammit! I can't let them beat me. I can't let it end like this.'
Zidane swore as he felt his consciousness slipping. He had to do something, anything. So he brought up his right hand, making the advancing figures freeze. He called on his strongest attack outside of trance, 'thievery'. And even though he was so weak, golden light gathered in his hand and then shot itself outwards at the figures, who swore loudly and said something like 'protego' as the explosion took them. The last thing he saw before passing out was the dancing golden flames of his attack.
To be continued...
...
A/N: Zidane's finally formally made contact with the Order in this one, though it wasn't much of a good first impression. As for why he is mass-robbing Diagon Alley, he sees it more as raising awareness. Though this whole problem has nothing to do with him, the teen still feels somewhat compelled to help.
By the way, Orichalcum is a rare ore that in many games is used to create strong, late-game, weapons.
I didn't really like the idea of Zidane getting a wand at first, but then I realized it was necesary for this fic. I like the irony in the fact that his wand is now made of the very thing that tried to kill him. Zidane's attacks are legit, though I modified a few a bit to fit the story more (in the game when you use thievery this chest manifests itself in the battlefield and then opens up to shoot the golden rays of light, but I thought it would look too comical in this situation). His attack 'Grand Lethal' is actually his strongest attack during trance, but he doesn't use it because he wants to defeat his enemies, not level the entire street. Death Eaters have partial control of the Dementors in this fic, since Voldemort has already started forming his army. In my head canon, trance can be triggered by strong emotions like anger and happiness, which do help slightly against the Dementor effects. Dementors still look pretty physically flimsy, so I don't think it would be tough to kill them with weapons once you get past their cold, happiness sucking abilities. Since wizards have the patronus spell and are mostly wimps when it comes to physical skill, I don't wager many of them would try to straight out stab them.
Anyways, I may go on a trip next weekend, so I might have Crystal update on my behalf if I'm not able to.
Reviews are always welcome.