Notes: As always thanks for everyone who has added this fic to their lists and reviewed. If you guys have any questions and concerns, then also feel free to comment. Also, since Anonymous Reviews cannot be answered normally, I will answer them in a small section t the start of every chapter in what shall henceforth be known as the Anonymous Review Corner (ARC).

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(ARC)

To "Guest":

My job is done then. By the way, any parties related to the making of this fic will NOT be held accountable over any traumas that may or may not be a direct result of reading this fic ( just so you guys know). Thanks for Reviewing! :D

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Chapter 8: Start of Something New

….

"The red light of Terra shines among us, merge is complete, Gaia is no more."

"Did you honestly think you could escape your fate, my angel?"

Zidane's head was running circles. His friends were all dead, his family was dead, even Kuja was dead, and he had been the one responsible for it. He was now truly alone, his loved ones' blood on his gloved hands.

But how?

Though panic gripped at him, a different part of him attempted to make sense of all of this. It was either that or break down. Through shaky breaths he began to reason. How could Garland be alive, and in this world no less?

Mrs. Weasley was now asleep on the ground, the shock was too much for her so he hit her with a spell. His main priority was to get Garland, for his friends and his lost comrades. He wouldn't forgive the heartless monster. This was all his fault, it just had to be. His hits were powered by fear and anger. He could feel he was on the verge of trance but that didn't matter. Garland had to die.

He was so involved in the fight he didn't notice a figure run past him and move in front of Garland. No, he had to stop him! Garland would kill him! But he couldn't because he suddenly realized that something had grabbed him from behind, using him to tensed further. In his desperation he flailed around and coiled his tail around whoever or whatever it was. Squeezing hard and hearing a pained gasp, he then felt the arms let go of him as if he was on fire. He was going to turn back towards Garland when he heard a crack and suddenly he was back in the drawing room instead of that dark abyss. Looking towards where the sound came from, he saw Remus and a small moon floating in front of him. With a flick of his wand and the word 'riddiculus', the moon disappeared in a crack.

He stood there in complete astonishment, feeling his daggers fall from his grasp and unto the floor with a clatter, and then his knees followed with a thump. Garland was gone. Looking behind him he saw a wheezing Sirius and then a serious looking Moody who was checking Mrs. Weasley and waving his wand over her unconscious form.

"Zidane…are you alright?" Remus asked with a soft voice while approaching him with caution, seeing as how a few pink jolts still ran across his trembling body. "That was a Boggart, it takes the form of our worst fears, what you saw was not real. It's over now."

The blonde didn't answer.

Lupin knelt down next to him and carefully slid his hood off, surprise evident on his face. Zidane's hair was slightly longer and bristled, making it look spiky in certain places, though it was still the same blonde color. His eyes however were what surprised him the most, instead of their strange unique cyan color they were now a bleeding pink, almost red color.

Sirius seemed to regain his breath and joined Lupin, but when he reached the unmoving genome he also looked shocked.

"Bloody hell."

Moody limped over to them then. "I obliviated the memory from her, it should certainly let her sleep easier tonight, she's asleep now anyways. But I have to admit, that's one of the bloodiest worst reactions I've ever seen to a boggart. I should hope the kid's okay after that. How is he Remus."

"I think he's still in shock, but there's more, look." Lupin said letting Moody look at the genome.

"That's not all of it, he nearly broke a few ribs when he squeezed me with his tail, and when I grabbed him I felt like I was getting shocked, I think I got some burns from it too." Sirius said, showing his reddened hands.

"Let me try something." Moody said, pointing his wand at the blonde. The blonde didn't even react to that gesture.. "Rennervate."

The genome's body seemed to twitch, then Zidane closed his eyes and when he opened then again they were focused on the three men before him, but still that same odd color. He was pale and slightly green to the face, almost like he just wanted to throw up. His brow was covered in cold sweat and his skin was cold and clammy. He looked almost like a muggle that had just seen a ghost.

"Zidane, listen to me, that wasn't real. Whoever that man was, he is gone. It was all a trick." Lupin said, gently shaking the boy.

To his and everyone's relief, the boy reacted this time. Zidane closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

"S-so it wasn't real…then is everyone okay?" He said in a shaky voice, and his stomach was doing flips when he thought about the image of his friends' mangled bodies. Slowly, bit by bit he began composing himself.

'It had to be fake, even though it felt so real, Vivi and Kuja… they are already gone. Garland is not coming back. Dagger and the others are fine, and I'm not alone.'

"No, everything was just a clever illusion." Remus assured him once again and Zidane let out a sigh of relief.

The three males looked in fascination as Zidane's bristled hair return to normal, even appearing to go back to its normal length. The occasional jolts of electricity stopped running and crackling through his body, and when Zidane finally opened his eyes, they were back to that strange blue-green color if his.

'Oh thank Eidolons!'

"Are you sure you are okay? You really had us worried there." Sirius said,still unsure of what just happened. "I mean, your eyes were pink just seconds ago and you nearly roasted me when I tried to hold you back from the old bloke, what was that about anyways?"

Remus looked at Sirius and gave him a reprimanding look. Asking something like that after experiencing such trauma was not the brightest move. Moody on the other hand didn't seem to care, but given his blunt personality, it wasn't unexpected. "Yes, we would like to know, but if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. We won't force you."

"I don't know, I think we all deserve an explanation, Tribal." Moody spoke, crossing his arms.

Zidane gave the man a look, before slowly getting up. "I 'd rather not talk about this if you don't mind. It's a bit of a touchy subject for me."

"Don't particularly care it it's a sob story, what I'd like to know is whether this could prove dangerous later on." Moody said, signally to all of him.

The teen sighed.

"It's …something of a special ability of mine which is triggered by strong emotions. It'll be fine, it's happened before." Zidane said before looking at Sirius. "I'm sorry for hurting you, though. Let me at least take care of that."

The others nodded with the explanation, though Moody's eye seemed to inspect every square inch of Zidane. Sirius showed him his hands, and after a few quick cures, the slightly burnt skin peeled off to reveal new unmarred skin underneath.

"I think it would be best for you to sleep here tonight. We can wake you up when morning comes to go King's Cross." Lupin said, and Zidane who was both physically and mentally exhausted didn't find the energy to protest.

The blonde pulled his hood on, and after explaining what he did to Mrs. Weasley, she was levitated up to her room while he was led to one of the guest rooms where he found his new trunk. Moody helped pack his clothes and school supplies, while everything else stayed with him in his pouch. After bidding everyone a good night, he locked the door behind him and plopped on the bed with a tired sigh.

His mind was still going over what had just taken place. He still had no idea what really happened back there, not the Boggart part, that he understood. What he still didn't get was why his trance was different. He was able to trance just fine back in Diagon Alley, but this trance seemed almost as if it were incomplete. It certainly was less powerful.

Could it be because at that time he'd been afraid? Emotions did fuel trance, so it certainly would make sense if fear was added into the equation. Rolling around on his bed, the teen just decided to leave the mystery for another day. He was far to tired to dwell on any of this, and he had a big day tomorrow.

Outside in the hall, he could hear Lupin's steps as he headed over to the room Harry shared with Ron. The Werewolf had assured him that he would have a talk with Harry.

…

Harry did not sleep well last night. Even though his talk with Lupin helped alleviate the sense of horror that he felt after seeing that Boggart, his dreams were filled to the brim with nightmares. He dreamt of his parents who wove in and out of his dream without speaking. He dreamt of Mrs. Weasley crying over Kreacher's body while Ron and Hermione stood at the sidelines wearing crowns on their head. He also dreamt of the dark corridor again, at the end of it stood Marcus, who pulled down his hood to reveal the eerie, old, heartless man, and then threw that dead, brunette girl at his feet.

Next morning he woke up to a prickling scar and a call from Ron telling him to hurry up and get dressed. Indeed that morning was riddled with chaos. Mrs. Weasley who looked fine despite what happened yesterday, was absolutely ballistic, calling for them to take their trunks downstairs and hurry up or risk missing the train.

When Fred and George charmed their trunks to hazardously fly downstairs, they almost hit Ginny and would have knocked her down two flights of stairs had it not been for Marcus who dashed in and got her out of the way in time. Harry didn't stay and instead headed to another room, since the Boggart was still fresh in his memory and he just couldn't face the hooded man today. He could still hear Mrs. Weasley's shrieks perfectly, though.

"-COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS-"

Hermione handed Hedwig over to him while she held on to a struggling Crookshanks. After shoving his snowy owl unceremoniously into her cage, and after waiting for the last member of his guard to show up, everyone, including Sirius in his huge dog form and excluding Moody and Marcus who took care of taking their luggage, left to King's Cross.

Once there, they waited for the coast to be clear before slowly sinking through the wall between platforms nine and ten. After getting through the barrier they were greeted by crowded platform and the magnificent scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts Express. Harry inhaled the familiar smell and his spirit seemed to soar. He was really going back.

"I hope they make it in time." Said a nervous sounding Mrs. Weasley to a disguised Tonks, though Harry was hardly listening.

"Nice dog Harry!" called a tall boy with dreadlocks that Harry recognized as Lee Jordan, Fred and George's partner in crime.

"Oh, there he is!" Mrs. Weasley said with relief as she spotted Moody who was hauling a trolley with everyone's trunks. Marcus was nowhere to be seen and Harry felt somewhat grateful for that. He had not told anyone about what he had seen last night, and in all honesty he wasn't really sure he wanted to, not if it meant revisiting the memory. Though he had nothing remotely resembling a friendship with Marcus, it didn't feel right to speak about the man's worst fears with other people, whatever that thing he saw yesterday was. His own mind seemed to go over what happened, but he couldn't even bring words to describe what he saw.

He shook his head and took his things from Moody, who grumbled about reporting Sturgis who had now failed to show up twice for an assignment. He then proceeded to say his goodbyes to everyone.

"Well, look after yourselves. You too, Harry, be careful." Lupin said clapping him in the back and giving him his best 'keep out of trouble' look.

"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled." Moody warned. "Be careful what you put in writing, and of course always remember; CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

"Quick, quick!" Mrs. Weasley led them over to where students were starting to board. "Write, be good, and if you forget anything, we'll send it over later, now hurry!"

When it was Sirius's time to say goodbye the large dog reared up on his hind legs and placed his paws on his shoulder, before Harry was pushed away.

"For heaven's sake, act more like a dog Sirius!" The Weasley matron hissed.

"See you!" Harry called from the train window and saw Sirius running after the train with his tail wagging, before disappearing after the train rounded a bend.

….

Zidane waved at everyone who was standing on the platform from a window inside the train. He left with Moody earlier, getting all his instructions on the way. If anything of urgency happened, he was supposed to either go find Dumbledore in his office, talk with one of the teachers who were also inside the Order, or use owls or floo if it came to that. Most importantly he had to keep his relationship with the Order a secret.

When he arrived he would be sorted into one of the four houses (when Zidane asked how he would be able to watch Harry from a different house, Moody just said Dumbledore had a good feeling about him) and from there he would have to try and befriend Harry. While in school, he was going to be posing as an exchange student from America, more specifically the first exchange student in Hogwarts for several hundred years. This would allow him to avoid doing any OWLS, though he still had to do assignments. He said Order-involved teachers would go easy on him, but he couldn't expect the same from the others, especially the new DADA teacher.

'The curtain raises and another act begins. I have to admit it does feel great to finally take that hood off.'

Zidane grabbed his things, and seeing how most compartments he saw were full of people, he just headed to the back of the train. There he was surprised to find the round faced boy from the book shop. He had a trunk in one hand, and somehow managed to carry a toad and an ugly looking plant that looked like a cactus, if catci were an ugly gray, had nasty pustules instead of needles, and pulsated in a foreboding matter. The boy was fiddling in front of the last compartment as if trying to muster the bravery to enter. He peeked inside and saw it was mostly empty except for a girl whose face was hidden behind an upside-down magazine.

Zidane rolled his eyes. "Hey, are you going to enter or not?"

"Oh Sorry! I-I don't really want to bother…" The boy, 'Neville' if he remembered correctly, said blushing. Now he really reminded him of Vivi.

"Hey, it's cool. I'm sure she won't mind." Zidane said, practically dragging the teen inside with him. He was far too shy for his own good.

"Excuse me, would it be okay if me and my friend sat here, would you?" The genome said, putting on his best smile.

Next to him, Neville rather surprise, probably because how he was treated by a person he didn't even know.

The girl brought down her magazine and nodded her head, revealing none other than the weird girl he met at the bookshop. This was just too much of a coincidence. Her eyes and expression were as dreamy as ever as she spoke to him. "I see the Nargles left you alone. I'm glad you decided to come to Hogwarts this year."

"Thanks." Zidane said lifting his and Neville's trunk into the luggage rack, much to Neville's shock. He was a bit surprised that the girl was able to recognize him without the cloak. "I'm glad to be here too, but I honestly didn't expect to see you guys again."

Neville looked at the strange blonde in confusion. Zidane saw the boys look and gave a crooked grin. "Aw, come on! Don't tell me you don't recognize me."

The round faced boy just looked at him like he was crazy. The blonde chuckled at his expression. "I'll give you a hint; you don't need a reason to help people."

When he said this, the boy's face lit up in recognition. "You! You're that guy who stood up for me in Flourish and Blotts!"

"Bingo, the name's Zidane Tribal." The genome said with a grin, as he shook both their hands.

"I-I'm Neville Longbottom, and um thanks again for what happened back there." Neville said softly and the blonde genome just gave a shrug.

"I'm Luna Lovegood, though most people call me Looney Lovegood because I'm strange, but I don't really mind." The strange girl said, not even looking away from her magazine, despite the handshake. The teen thought it was odd, but just brushed it off.

"Well, it's nice to meet you guys." Zidane said, finally settling down next to the window, and being mindful that his tail was out of the way. As he sat down, a sense of tiredness filled him, his lack of sleep last night had apparently caught up to him.

…

Harry trudged with Ginny to find a seat. Fred and George went to sit with Lee, while Ron and Hermione had to go to the prefect's compartment. Most if not all of the compartments were full, and those that were not, he still avoided because of the pointing and whispering of their occupants when they saw him. They were likely because of what the Daily Prophet was saying about him. In the end they reached the last compartment of the train. In it he could see his fellow Gryffindor 5th year, Neville, an odd girl that Ginny recognized as 'Looney Lovegood', a Ravenclaw in the same year as her, and finally an even stranger looking blonde that looked about their age but he was sure he had never seen before.

"Excuse me, would it be okay if we sat here?"Ginny asked and they went inside once Neville and Luna nodded. The third boy looked like he was asleep.

Harry ended up sitting right in front of Luna, sandwiched right between Neville and the strange blonde boy who was leaning his head against the window with his long bangs covering his face. Ginny ended up sitting right next to Luna.

"Hi Harry, hi Ginny." Neville greeted. They returned the greeting, and Harry found himself regretting his seating choice as Luna started at him intently, which made him notice that she hardly blinked at all.

"You're Harry Potter." She said in a dreamy voice. It was a fact, not a question, and Harry was surprised that she didn't have the typical amazed look most people got when meeting him.

"I know I am." Harry said, causing Neville to start chuckling.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Luna."

"Same here." The blonde next to him said as he stirred from his slumber and turned to him and Ginny with a sleepy grin. "Zidane Tribal, nice to meet both of you. Though I don't think I got your name, miss…"

"Ginny, Ginny Weasley." The redhead said blushing, which made some foreign feeling stir inside Harry.

"I don't think I've ever seen you before, but you look too old to be a first year." Harry said suspiciously, feeling some unexplained hostility towards the stranger.

The blonde turned to fully look at him and smiled. "You're right. I'm actually here for my 5th year. Thing is, I'm a foreign exchange student."

Now that he had a perfect look at the stranger he realized that he looked…strange, not bad strange, but just different, and for once he could see why Ginny was blushing earlier. The teen had a very handsome face that looked just a tad bit effeminate. He had long blonde hair, of an almost unnatural shade of gold, held back in a ponytail with long bangs that escaped on the front, and healthy slightly-tanned skin. But the most amazing thing was his eyes. They were happy and full of mischief, but of a strange blue-green color that was nearly a piercing cyan, and which he had never seen before.

Maybe he's part Veela like Fleur…

After a visit from the food trolley, the compartment was filled with all sorts of sweets. Harry decided to get some extra Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and Cauldron Cakes for when Hermione and Ron decided to show up. Everyone else got something too, and much to his amusement, Zidane seemed keen to avoid Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Chocolate Frogs at all costs. Though he understood that maybe he had gotten a particularly nasty flavored bean in the past, he simply couldn't understand his aversion for Chocolate Frogs.

"Hey, guess what I got for my birthday!" Neville said, interrupting his thoughts. When he took a guess and said 'Remembrall', like the one he got in first year, Neville shook his head and brought out the ugliest plant he had ever seen in his life, and that included Mandrakes.

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia. It's really, really rare. I don't even think they have this in Hogwart's greenhouses. Wait until Professor Sprout sees this. My Great Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I want to see if I can breed from it." Neville said proudly, and held it out for Zidane to see.

"Er, no thanks Neville, really. Herbology isn't really my thing. In fact, plant life seems to hate me for some reason." Zidane said, actually leaning away from the ugly plant as if it would try to strike him at any minute. Another odd quirk of the new foreign exchange student.

"Does it –er- do anything?" Harry asked uncertain.

Neville's face lit up in excitement. "Loads of things! They actually have an awesome defense mechanism. Here, hold Trevor for me, I'll show you."

Harry did as told and held the toad while Neville took a quill out of his bag and closed in on the plant, eyes squinting, and tongue between teeth. Luna lowered the magazine so see what Neville was doing, while Zidane and Ginny inched forwards. Neville gave the plant a sharp prod with the quill, and dark green jets of a slimy and foul smelling substance flew out of every boil. The compartment was practically covered in the stuff. Luna was able to shield herself with the magazine, and Ginny with her arms, so they were not fully covered in the stuff like Harry and Neville were. Zidane managed to get out untouched by dodging behind Harry in the last minute and using him as a meat shield.

Neville gasped and tried to get the slime out of his eyes. He apologized and assured them that stinksap was not poisonous, but that didn't really bring Harry's spirits up because in that exact moment the door to their compartment slid open to reveal his school crush, a Ravenclaw in his same year by the name of Cho Chang. She was very pretty, with long shiny black hair, and had been his crush since last year.

"Oh… hello Harry. Um…bad time?" The girl said with a grimace as she looked over the room and the stinksap-covered occupants. Though the second she looked over a clean Zidane, her cheeks seemed to gain a blush. "Um, well just thought I'd say hello…bye then."

The girl left in a hurry and Harry wanted nothing more than for the earth to swallow him. He just couldn't be sitting with a cool group of people telling a joke when she walked in. No, he just had to be covered in stinksap and holding a toad. And what's worse, he could clearly see that she was ogling at a stinksap-free Zidane. And what was worse, she BLUSHED.

Harry couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy towards the foreign exchange student. He knew it was stupid really, the boy had really done nothing to deserve it. A quick scourgify from Ginny later and everything was just like before, minus Harry's injured pride. Ron and Hermione came in afterwards, and after seeing the new faces, introductions took place. While Hermione was ecstatic to have a foreign student amongst them, Ron seemed to eye the blonde oddly.

"Isn't it great? According to 'Hogwarts a History' there haven't been any exchange students here in centuries. I'm so glad Dumbledore decided to reinstate ties with other magical communities, especially those outside of Europe. I have so many questions!" Hermione said to the blonde.

"Wow, easy there. Can the questions wait? I'm still tired from a bit of jetlag and I was hoping to get some shuteye in the ride to school." Zidane said with a smile

"Oh, of course, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said as a blush spread across her face.

Zidane settled once again against the window closing his eyes and soon his breathing evened out and his bangs fell over his face, slightly obscuring it. The golden trio began their own conversation after a while, and soon it hit the topic of the new house prefects. The new Hufflepuff prefects were Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot. Ravenclaw's new prefects were Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil, the last being Ron's reluctant date to the Yule ball last year.

"And guess who is a Slytherin prefect." Ron said with his eyes closed as he took a bite of out a Chocolate Frog.

"Malfoy." Harry almost spat. Of course it had to be him, his year simply wouldn't be complete without its dosage of arrogant prats, and Malfoy always seemed to fill the quota quite nicely.

"And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson. How she got to be a prefect when she is thicker than a concussed troll…"

The conversation then took an abrupt turn when he asked Luna to take a look at her magazine, 'The Quibbler'. It was…interesting, and though it was bizarre and hugely inaccurate, it was still good for laughs, especially that article about Sirius being a misunderstood singing sensation. Hermione just reacted like…well Hermione and said the magazine was full of rubbish. Which wasn't very smart of her since it appeared that Luna's father was the editor. After that, things just went downhill when the sliding door opened to reveal none other than a smug Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"What do you want?" Harry almost growled out.

"Manners Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention. You see, I , unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments." The Slytherin drawled with his pale blonde hair and pointed features so much like his father's.

"Yeah, but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone." Harry replied, trying to keep his temper in check.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville laughed.

Malfoy's lips curled in a snarl. "How does it feel to be second best to Weasley, Potter?"

"Shut up!" Hermione said sharply. Harry just kept glaring at Malfoy and ignored the feeling that something brushed against his leg as the blonde besides him began to stir.

"I seem to have touched a nerve. Well you just watch yourself, Potter, because I will be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line." Malfoy said smirking and then his gaze turned towards the blonde. "I see the rumors on the train were right, so there is a new foreign exchange student coming to Hogwarts."

Harry just glared at the smug pale blonde after recovering from his shock. They knew about Sirius. But what Malfoy said next almost made him choke.

"Come now miss, you don't need to share a compartment with this filth, you are welcome to join us in our compartment." Malfoy said with a charming smile as he extended his hand towards Zidane in what had to be a 'gentlemanly' way.

Harry gaped at Malfoy, and then his gaze turned towards the other blonde who, to his surprise, was slowly getting up and heading towards a smirking Malfoy. His bangs were still obscuring his expression, while his ponytail now fell over his shoulder. Harry then had to admit that at that moment Zidane did look like a very pretty girl.

Whatever Malfoy expected was not what happened next. Zidane retracted his fist slightly and then punched Malfoy right in the face. His bangs fell away from his face and Harry then saw that his eyes were practically glowing with fury, and it almost reminded him of those animal documentaries on big cats he had watched occasionally on TV.

…..

"I'M A GUY, YOU PRICK!" Zidane called out as he punched the male square in the jaw. Everyone else in the compartment looked in shock. He was soooo pissed off right now. He didn't just wake him up. He woke him up while he was dreaming about Dagger, a gorgeous bikini-clad Dagger. And the reason? He had the gall to wake him up just to flirt with him, thinking he was a girl.

"What the bloody hell?!" Malfoy cried out wide-eyed as he finally recovered from the hit, a bruise was already starting to form where he was hit. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind Malfoy in complete confusion as if not knowing what to do.

"I'll tell you what the bloody hell! I was trying to sleep, you bastard!" Zidane shot back. "And you should know I am not into guys!"

"H-how dare you?! Don't you have any idea who I am? I am Draco Malfoy! And it was that bloody long hair that made me think you were a damn girl!" The blonde teen said defensively though he was still blushing profusely.

"I know who you are, I just don't care, and if you have a thing against long hair, then take it up to your girly old man!" Zidane shot back before shoving the Malfoy heir out the door and slamming the sliding door in his face.

"HOW DARE YOU!? I WILL DEDUCT POINTS FOR THIS!" A furious, red, and disheveled Malfoy shouted from outside.

"I HAVEN'T BEEN SORTED YET, YOU DUMBASS!" Zidane shouted through the window, then slammed that too and flopped back down to his seat next to the window. Everyone else in the compartment, minus Luna, looked at him in awe. "What?"

"That so bloody brilliant!" Ron said in a tone of admiration.

"But you really shouldn't have done that! That could get you in some serious trouble later, not to mention Malfoy will be after you from now on." Hermione admonished him.

"Oh come off it 'Mione. Ron's right, it was amazing." Harry defended, though a look of curiosity crossed his features. "How do you know Malfoy's father?"

"I met him when I went to Diagon Alley to get my materials, he just wouldn't shut up. Like father, like son."

….

They were nearing their destination, though it was hard to tell from the moonless darkness outside the rain streaked windows. Crookshanks jumped from where Hermione was trying to get him back inside his cage, and settled on Zidane's lap.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said. Crookshanks usually avoided strangers.

"Nah, it's okay." The blonde assured her, and proceeded to scratch the cat behind the ear and eliciting a loud round of purrs.

They all got their black school robes from their trunks, and put them on. Hermione and Ron put their prefect badges on and then left to go supervise the rest of the students, leaving Harry in charge of Pig and Crookshanks.

"I can take that owl if you want." Luna said, and Harry thanked her and handed her Pig, just as Neville put Trevor in his pocket.

"And I guess I can take Crookshanks." The blonde exchange student said sheepishly, though the cat had become so attached to the blonde, Harry didn't really see how he was going to peel him off Zidane.

"Alright, thanks mate." Harry said and just pulled Hedwig's cage closer to him.

The five of them left the train and were greeted to the scent of fresh pines. Harry expected to hear Hagrid's familiar call for the first years to come with him, but instead he heard the brisk female call of Proffessor Grubbly-Plank.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"I don't know but we'd better get out of the way, we're blocking the door." Ginny said.

"Do you know where you have to go?" Neville asked Zidane who was still petting the large ginger cat.

"They told me to head with the first years. So I'll guess I'll see you guys later then." Zidane said with a grin as he walked over to the prominently chinned witch that was Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"We'd better head over to the carriages then." Ginny said.

Harry just nodded, his mind too preoccupied with finding Hermione and Ron, and finding out about Hagrid's disappearance. When they reached the station where the horse-less carriages were, Harry was just shocked to see that they were not horse-less as they usually were. Instead there were large creatures pulling them. They were like skeletal horses with black hides that clung to their bony frames; they had dragon-like heads and tails, with milky white eyes that seemed to pierce though his soul, and great leathery bat-like wings. In Harry's own opinion ,the creatures looked like something right out of a nightmare.

"Hey Harry, where's Pig?" Ron said as he walked with Hermione.

"Luna has him." Harry said as he noticed Draco pushing away some second-years just a short distance away, the bruise on his cheek very prominent against his pale complexion.

"Malfoy is being absolutely foul. I swear I am going to report him. He's only had that badge for three minutes and he is using it to bully people worse than ever…Where's Crookshanks?" Hermione asked as if suddenly realizing that her cat was gone.

"Zidane has him. Crookshanks wouldn't let go of him."

"And where is the bloke anyways?" Ron asked.

"He is going with the first-years." Harry said still gazing at the skeletal horses.

"Oh I hope he is okay, most cats don't like water." Hermione said in a worried fashion, it was custom for the first years to cross the lake on boats to get to the castle. "Well, we should hurry up and meet Zidane then. What house do you think he will be sorted in? Oh I hope it's not Slytherin."

"Don't tell me you are falling for the guy 'Mione." Ron said with a laugh while Hermione blushed.

"Of course not, he may be quite good looking, but more importantly he seems like a good person, and Crookshanks trusts him too." Hermione defended herself.

"Quite good looking?" Ginny said scoffing and Hermione glared at her.

"Let's just find a carriage." Hermione said with a sigh and left with Ginny.

"What do you reckon those horses are?" Harry asked.

"What horses?"

"The ones pulling the carriages!"

"They are pulling themselves like always." Ron answered eyeing him oddly.

Then it hit him, Ron couldn't see them. Luna skipped over to them and handed Ron his owl. When they reached the carriages, Ron got in and he was about to too, when Luna suddenly called him from behind.

"It's all right. You're not going mad or anything. I can see them too. Don't worry, you are just as sane as I am." Luna said in a dreamy voice before getting in the carriage.

Felling a shiver run down his spine, Harry followed. That wasn't reassuring at all.

….

"First years this way! Wait, you're not a first year."

Zidane approached the woman. "I was told to come over here, I'm the new exchange student."

"Zidane Tribal?" The sharp looking witch said, eyeing him critically. The blonde nodded. "Right this way then, hurry up."

The genome got in the boat with the strict looking witch, while all the other smaller students boarded the other boats in groups of four per boat. The air was cold and many first-years started shivering, Zidane however was glad that he had dressed warmly for the occasion. Crookshanks seemed glad as well, and had taken to hiding in the warmest depths of his clothes, purring contently at the warmth. At one point a kid leaned in too far to look at the water, and fell in. Tentacles emerged from the water and for a moment Zidane thought they were being attacked by a Gigan Octopus, but then remembered what he heard about the friendly giant squid that lived in the lake. Surely enough, the tentacle unfolded to reveal the shivering first year that was then lowered gently into the boat.

The boat ride went without a hitch after that. And had Zidane not seen the amazing view of Hogwarts at night, he would have probably been as impressed as the kids around him. The only real difference is that he had never seen the view from the lake before. When they finally disembarked, after being led past a thick curtain of ivy and into an underground harbor that seemed to run deep into the cliff face under the castle, they were led past many stairs and finally stopped before a set of large wooden doors which Zidane recognized as the entrance to the Grand Hall. There they were greeted by the stern looking witch that was Professor McGonagall. After feeling Crookshanks wiggle from his grasp, he settled the ginger cat on the floor, and said cat meowed before heading off, possibly to get some food. The blonde knew the cat was very smart so he wasn't all that concerned.

Professor Grubbly-Plank left through the doors, leaving Professor McGonagall in charge. She began to explain to the new comers how Hogwarts worked and how they would soon be sorted into one of four houses that would be like their families during their stay. Zidane stopped paying attention after a while, McGonagall's speech becoming white noise to his ears. He was already told of this so he saw no reason to listen. It was already annoying enough to hear the hushed whispers that came from the first-years that were, no doubt, talking about him. They likely wanted to know what he was doing here. Personally, he wanted to know the same thing.

Eventually, McGonagall stopped her speech and turned on her heel, ordering everyone to be quiet and to follow her in a single file. The large oaken double doors opened wide, for dramatic purposes no doubt, and the first years followed the stern witch, their faces filled with amazement, hesitation, and even fear. Zidane simply walked at the very back, his gait confident and yet relaxed, as he took in the sight of the filled Great Hall, the decorations, the feast, and last but definitely not least, Hogwarts' female population. Not that he could help it, it was a natural part of his nature. Though he had to admit that the hall did look amazing, he had seen it several times, but it was practically empty back then.

'Well, this is going to be fun.' Zidane thought with a devious smirk.

…..

After a bit of an argument regarding Hagrid's whereabouts and his teaching capabilities, Harry and the others parted from Luna and finally found themselves seating comfortably in the Gryffindor table of the Great Hall. Well, as comfortable as he could be since he was sure he had heard at least half of Hogwarts' student population gossiping about him on his way in. As to confirm their suspicions, Hagrid was not on the staff table either. Instead, Harry was shocked to find the Toad-like witch from his hearing sitting there, clad in a fluffy pink cardigan and with a pink Alice bow on her head.

"It's that Umbridge woman!" Harry called out.

"Who?"

"She was at my hearing, she works for Fudge!"

"Nice cardigan." Ron said smirking. That was far too much pink for a person to wear at once.

"She works for Fudge! What on earth is she doing here then?"

"Dunno…"

"No." Hermione said with her eyes narrowing as she looked at the staff table. "No, surely not…"

Harry didn't understand what was going on in Hermione's head but his thoughts quickly snapped to the present when he saw Grubbly-Plank enter the Great Hall and walk all the way to the staff table where she sat down. A few moments later and the doors of the Great Hall swung open and in came Professor McGonagall carrying a stool and the heavily patched wizard's hat that was the Sorting Hat. Behind her followed several pale first years that looked around the room in fear and awe. It really made Harry wonder what he looked like when he crossed those doors the first time, but his thoughts snapped back to the blonde exchange student. Where was he?

Ron nudged him in the ribs and then pointed at the very back. There he was, walking in such a relaxed and confident way that contrasted sharply with the shorter first-years in front of him and made him stand out more. And surely enough a wave of whispers drowned the Great Hall as more onlookers noticed the strange male amongst the younger new arrivals. But the blonde seemed largely unaffected by all the whispers, if anything it seemed to freak out the first years.

"Bloody hell, did you see how the girls are looking at him? You don't think he is part Veela do you?" Ron asked. Harry looked at the other tables and indeed, many of the girls had an almost hungry look on their faces as Zidane passed by them. It was a bit like what happened with Fleur last year, only in a smaller scale and with their roles reversed.

McGonagall silenced most of the whispers with a well placed glare that swept across the four tables, allowing the new arrivals to calmly line up in front of the staff table and face the students as McGonagall settled the stool and hat in front of them and stood back.

The rip near the hat's brim opened up to form a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song.

In times of old, when I was new,
And Hogwarts barely started,
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted.

United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.

"Together we will build and teach"
The four good friends decided.
And never did they dream that they
Might some day be divided.

For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,

So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there, so I can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry's purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name."
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot
And treat them just the same."

These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light.
For each of the four founders had
A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning just like him.

And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest
and taught them all she knew,
Thus, the houses and their founders
Maintained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony
for several happy years,
but then discord crept among us
feeding on our faults and fears.

The Houses that, like pillars four
had once held up our school
now turned upon each other and
divided, sought to rule.

And for a while it seemed the school
must meet an early end.

what with dueling and with fighting
and the clash of friend on friend.

And at last there came a morning
when old Slytherin departed
and though the fighting then died out
he left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four
were whittled down to three
have the Houses been united
as they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here
and you all know the score:
I sort you into Houses
because that is what I'm for.

But this year I'll go further,
listen closely to my song:
though condemned I am to split you
still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfill my duty
and must quarter every year
still I wonder whether sorting
may not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
the warning history shows,
for our Hogwarts is in danger
from external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her
or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you...
let the Sorting now begin.

The hat once again fell silent, and applause broke out though it was punctured with muttering and whispers. Never in the time he had been here had the Sorting Hat given a warning. According to Nearly Headless Nick, the hat did very rarely as it felt itself honor-bound to give advice whenever it felt it was needed. After another well placed look from McGonagall, the Great Hall was silenced and the sorting began.

"Abercrombie, Euan." The stern witch read.

A small terrified-looking boy stepped up, put on the large hat that was only prevented from falling to his shoulder, by boy's very prominent ears.

"Gryffindor!"

Slowly the line of first years began to diminish, finally ending with Zeller Rose, who went to Hufflepuff. Now the only one left was Zidane who stood right next to Professor McGonagall. Whispers broke out again, but before they could fully grab hold of the hall, Dumbledore rose from his throne-like chair.

"To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands, welcome back! As you can see we have a new addition this year. He has come all the way from Salem Witches Institute in the United States to stay with us as part of a study-abroad program. He too will be sorted into a house, and join our fifth years where I hope he will be given a warm Hogwarts welcome! Now, Professor McGonagall, if you please."

The stern witch turned to the students and lowered her eyes to the piece of parchment before her.

"Zidane Tribal."

…

To be continued….

…..

A/N: Boom, cliffie (I am a horrible person, and I apologize). Chapter was becoming too long, so I decided it would be a nice place to stop. I also debated about adding the entire Sorting Hat song, but in this case it was important as foreshadowing, and it didn't really feel complete without it so in the end it stayed. As always, feedback is very welcome. See you guys next week!