Notes: It was another long week and I have some tests slowly approaching, but on the plus side I'm going to the "Distant Worlds" FF music concert tomorrow. As always, thanks to Crystal for beta-ing and thanks to those who have followed this fic so far. Feedback is always appreciated so don't be shy.

….

(ARC)

To Guest:

Maaaaybe.

To Guest:

Yeah, sorry about those cliffhangers, but at least I update every week :D

I'd love to update more, but my weekly work load makes that impossible. I'm first and foremost a university student. Thanks for reviewing!

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Chapter 18: Country Roads

Hermione had not bothered Harry about the DADA classes since around a week ago when she first mentioned them. He did not know whether it was because her focus was set on unraveling the mystery that was Zidane, or because she was afraid of having him snap once more. He was still feeling somewhat ashamed of his outburst. It wasn't until he saw his friends' stunned faces that he realized what he had done. A part of him wondered why his temper was set on such a short fuse lately.

Umbridge made sure his detentions were each as excruciatingly exhausting as possible, Harry just assumed it was some form of revenge for the bizarre pranks she had been a victim to. Rumors flew around suggesting who was behind it. While some claimed it was still the twins who somehow fooled Umbridge, others went as far as blaming it on imps or vengeful spirits like Peeves, but because of this, he kept returning to the Common Room each night with fatigue tugging at his limbs. To make matters worse, this was also making him lag behind the others when it came to his school work. One could only do so much homework in those conditions. It was in moments like these that he felt a pang of jealousy towards Zidane, or rather, his carelessness and utter disregard when it came to academic matters.

Speaking of Zidane, Harry had seen very little of him since he healed his hand. In fact, they only seemed to see each other in class and occasionally while eating. Even Neville, who spent more time with the blonde, seemed to lose track of him most of the time. Whenever the blonde was alone, he seemed to have a bored, slightly far-off look, which looked almost of out place on his usually boisterous features. The moment he talked to others or went to other tables to flirt, he was back to his usual self, but there was something that still never seemed quite right.

"Maybe he is just homesick. I mean he really is pretty far away from home isn't he? And besides, if he really is a you-know-what, then I can't imagine he must feel very comfortable with people like Umbridge around." Hermione suggested, whispering the last bit, as she browsed the library for any books about schools overseas. As it turned out, most schools weren't as publicized as Hogwarts.

"I guess you're right." Harry said as he wrote on the parchment that currently contained his essay for Potions.

If there was one thing Harry realized about Zidane, was how little he really knew of him. There was just so much mystery surrounding him. So far Hermione had made it a point that she had found nothing about him, the spell he used, or even much about the school he attended except some basic information. The blonde didn't seem to get much mail either, just an occasional letter or two. It almost made Zidane appear cut off from his family and friends. Unfortunately, this only made his suspicions grow. Well, that and this one incident that happened in Tranfiguration.

McGonagall quickly started the class, making Seamus hand out the mice they would keep on working with to master the vanishing spell. Harry himself had no luck, he was just too tired to fully concentrate on what he was doing. At one point he vanished part of his mouse's tail, making it appear as if it had splinched itself. Ron seemed to have problems as well, but it was normal for the redhead since Transfiguration was never really his forte. Hermione on the other hand vanished her mouse perfectly, so McGonagall made her start practicing with kittens.

"Do I really have to do it?"

Harry turned towards the source of the voice in curiosity, many other students did so as well. Zidane was sitting next to Neville who had just tried (and failed) to vanish his mouse in front of McGonagall. Now the cat Animagus was waiting for Zidane to vanish the mouse, only the blonde seemed adamant against it. Instead, he was lazily petting the white mouse sitting on his desk.

"Mr. Tribal, I'm afraid I don't understand, you didn't seem to mind using the spell before." Professor McGonagall said with a frown.

"Yeah but that was a snail, not her." Zidane said and McGonagall raised a thin eyebrow.

"Her?"

"Yeah, little Freya." Zidane said, pointing at the small mouse now looking up at the teacher with curiosity.

"Are you telling me that you named this mouse?" McGonagall asked in a bit of contained disbelief.

"Yep."

"Mr. Tribal, I'm afraid you will have to perform the spell on something. Otherwise, I cannot mark you." McGonagall said sternly.

"Can't I just try it on something else?" Zidane asked as he picked up the white mouse.

After a long stiff silence, McGonagall just gave a sigh. "All right."

With a swish of her wand, a large white rabbit appeared on the blonde's desk. Zidane set the white mouse on his shoulder and then took out his wand. He muttered the spell and with a swish of his wand, the rabbit was gone. With a nod, McGonagall left to supervise some other student.

"Hey Zidane." Neville said. "Why didn't you vanish your mouse?"

"It's just. Well, I kinda like mice." Zidane said sheepishly with a smile that felt a bit off from his usual ones.

The class bell rung and Zidane plucked the rather calm white mouse off of his shoulder.

"Come on Freya. Let's put you back with Frately."

Harry still didn't know what to think of it, other than a very odd quirk. A part of him argued that what animals the blonde liked had nothing to do with what kind of person he was. A part of him however, swelled with suspicion. Harry knew it was illogical, but he couldn't really help it. After all, mice were really only a small step away from being rats, and he didn't really have much sympathy towards them, especially since it just so happened to be the Animagus form Peter Pettigrew; the man responsible for betraying his parents.

"What a weird bloke." Ron commented. After that incident, Harry noticed that the redhead was particularly suspicious now. Ron in particular had grown to dislike the rodents, and not without good reason. Peter Pettigrew had lived with Ron for more than a decade under the guise of a pet rat named "Scabbers". "Do you think he's a Death Eater?"

"Well, he is pretty suspicious, and I think he is hiding something. But I don't really think liking mice is a sign of being a Death Eater. Besides, he's American, and as far as I know, they are not particularly into the idea of 'blood purity' so he shouldn't have a reason to be one. " Hermione defended.

"Talking about the new exchange?" George asked as he walked in with Fred.

"Why don't you just admit you fancy him? I mean all girls do." Fred suddenly quipped.

"Yeah even Ginny. Ziddy-kins is really giving Corner a run for his money." George said, referring to Ginny's Ravenclaw boyfriend, Michael Corner.

"Wait you too?" Ron asked the red haired girl who was sitting nearby. "What the bloody hell does that guy have that we don't?"

"Just because I think he is attractive doesn't mean I fancy him!" Ginny protested, her face looking like a ripe tomato. "And isn't it obvious? Zidane is gorgeous! I mean his hair…and those eyes…"

"Ginny!" Hermione sputtered.

"Well it's true! I know you've looked at him out at least once right?" Ginny defended herself, and smiled when she saw Hermione blush.

"Well, yes. I do think Zidane is very…hem…charming." Hermione said, trying as best as she could to retain some form of dignity. It wasn't working.

"Hermione!" Ron cried out in shock.

"Don't worry Ronnie-kins."

"You still have a chance. Ziddy-kins already has a girlfriend." Fred and George quipped.

Harry had to laugh at the looks of bloody murder that Ron and Hermione shot the two, both of them for different reasons of course.

…

It was finally Friday and Zidane just couldn't believe how fast these last three weeks had passed. Of course it didn't seem so at the time, History of magic felt eternal and had quickly become synonymous to his 'nap time'. October would soon come knocking at Hogwarts door, and it only made Zidane realize just how long he had been stuck in this place. It had been months since he had seen his family and misfit band of friends. Though he wanted to reject the idea, thinking himself far too strong for such thing, he had to admit that he was hopelessly homesick.

It wasn't the first time that he ever left everyone behind, but back then, he had always been on the move and had some kind of quest that always kept him on his toes. The first time he left home, it was on a quest to find his roots. The thought of finding his origins was what kept him going and he never really dawdled in a place for so long. After that, it was saving the world, where helping Dagger alone was enough motivation, not to mention failure wasn't an option. Again, he never really spent too long in a single place.

But now it was all so dull. Walking through a large castle, away from home, and being greeted by people whose faces he did not recognize, not to mention going to boring classes and having to see the old toad's face every single day was bordering torture. In short; he just hated routines.

Even the girls here wouldn't cut him some slack! He usually wouldn't mind being assaulted by a pack of teenage girls and followed everywhere he went, but at the moment, he just really didn't feel up to it, or anything, really. Girls here were so dull compared to his Dagger. But seeing their approaches only reminded him more of her and how far apart they were. The only moments he ever saw Dagger was during his dreams and many recurring fantasies. But even seeing her in dreams was becoming painful. Every night for the past few weeks he had dreamt of that open field. But with each passing day it was becoming more and more arduous to go there. It was like the dream was mocking him by showing him what he wanted most only to take it from him the following morning.

'Come on Zidane, you gotta pull it together. As soon as this is over, you get to go home with Dagger and the others, and everything will be back as it should be.' Zidane told himself and he felt slightly better.

"Zidane, you alright?" Neville asked as he put some roast beef on his plate. The blonde could see the honest worry in his eyes. "You have been moping a lot lately, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired that's all. No need to worry." The blonde assured the boy with a smile, before he too put some food on his plate. He didn't want to go to bed hungry. Tomorrow would be Saturday and he sure as hell was going to take advantage of it. His main objective was to find a new place to train since he got the feeling he was no longer welcome in the Forbidden Forest.

'Maybe I should also approach Harry and the others more. I don't doubt that they are suspicious of me. I should also look into some new ways of tormenting Umbridge. I feel like I haven't given her hell in a while. We don't want her getting cocky now do we? Now that I think about it, I have way too many Dead Peppers in my bag, maybe if I-'

Zidane was in the middle of that thought when he felt another presence in his mind. As soon as that happened, he began to see flashes of random memories flood his vision. It was like every memory he had was a bird and with their cage now open, they were all rushing to fly out as a flock. He saw the dark streets of Treno, and then Odin's destruction of Cleyra. He saw the Plant Spiders rush out of the Evil Forest as it became prettified, and also the large battle between Alexander and Bahamut. The final thing he saw was the blue light of Gaia followed by bright red and the cold gaze of his creator, Garland.

The moment he saw the heartless man's face he felt a surge of anger run through him that was enough to snap his out of his stupor and latch onto the alien presence that had so rudely invaded the privacy of his innermost mind.

'You again?!' Zidane nearly growled. And he immediately directed his glared towards the teacher's table where a certain greasy haired Potions master was currently looking at him with an expression of something akin to barely contained fascination.

The moment cyan met black, Zidane saw the man's eyes widen and felt the alien presence in his mind try to wiggle desperately under his iron grip, but Zidane refused to budge. Suddenly their roles had been reversed and Snape knew it. He had been caught and his own mind was now at the mercy of the blonde. Said blonde was looking at him with an almost predatory grin, like a cat holding a small mouse by the tail.

Zidane could shut the man out, kick him out of his head, clamp down on his emotions, and just let him go his merry way. It would be an easy thing to do. But that didn't change the fact that he had just taken him by surprise and mind raped him for no apparent reason, other than curiosity and because he thought he could get away with it. It actually made him feel insulted. Oh no, this guy was going to pay. And maybe it would teach him a lesson about respecting people's privacy.

'You wanted to see my memories? Fine. I'll gladly show you my memories.'

…..

Neville was really starting to worry about his friend. He had started acting weird sometime ago, almost as if depressed. That's when he had decided to muster up the courage and ask him what was wrong. On hindsight, he really should have realized that Zidane was homesick. He would be too if he was in some other country away from his friends and family.

But that didn't explain what was happening now. After dismissing his worries and insisting that he was fine, Zidane had entered a state of eerie silence. His face had a look of someone who was deep in thought as his eyes stared, unblinkingly at the teacher's table. It was somewhat unnerving. About halfway through his trance, a wicked grin forced itself on his face, which Neville found very strange since he couldn't see what was so funny to begin with. If anything it was quite unnerving, though he would never tell the blonde directly, or course.

"Zidane are you okay?" Neville said, shaking the boy's shoulders and snapping him out of his trance, the grin was still present though.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, just thinking." Zidane said with a laugh as he gave the teacher's table another glance. Neville followed the gaze in confusion, but he was then distracted by Zidane. "How about we head back to the Common Room, I was meaning to ask you how to play Exploding Snap.

"Er…okay, sure let's go." Neville said as he followed Zidane out of the Great Hall. 'I wonder why Professor Snape looked so pale, well paler. Maybe he is coming down with something. With the change of seasons and everything…'

….

Snape was practically growling once he got back to his personal quarters near the dungeons. His experience during dinner had been nothing short of humiliating. He'd been trapped for what felt like hours seeing what could only be described as an absolute waste of memory space, just absolutely mundane and sometimes bordering-illogical memories playing over and over again, in spite of his best efforts to leave. It painfully reminded him of his youth when Potter and his band of merry friends used to pick on him. He had thought himself far too experienced to be falling for such tricks again, he was after all, an experienced Potions Master and a really damn decent spy, as well. But clearly, he had been mistaken, and oh how he hated to be wrong.

After his pseudo torture session with the blonde demon, he had nearly fallen face first into his plate, earning several 'looks' from his colleagues. He didn't know what was worse, that he had been bested by a mere monkey, or that a part of him insisted that it was really all his fault to begin with.

'I honestly cannot see how this could possibly get worse.' Severus thought with dripping venom. It was then that he felt white hot knives rip through his arm. His dark mark was burning. Voldemort was calling. 'Figures he would call on a Friday night.'

With a sigh of frustration, the man grabbed his cloak and headed out the door. He walked out into the grounds and then towards Hogsmeade where the anti-apparition wards did not work. With a 'crack' and a pull of his navel, he was off.

He reappeared afterwards at their current hideout. After what happened in June they were wise enough to leave the old Marvolo house. For now, all their meetings were to take place in Malfoy Manor, thoughof course, the Order was already aware of this.

"Oh Severus, you're here!" Narcissa Malfoy greeted once he was allowed entry by one of the house elves. "Have you found a remedy for my poor husband?"

"I'm afraid not Narcissa." Severus told the pale blonde woman.

"If I ever find the filth that dared curse my husband, I'll…" The woman seethed, before turning to face the greasy Potions Master. "Would you care for some tea, Severus?"

"No, thank you. Now tell me, have the others arrived at the meeting yet?" The man replied, Lucius Malfoy, Head of one of Wizarding Britain's most ancient pureblood families had been reduced to a Squib, so he supposed her rage was understandable.

"Some of them, yes. I shall lead you to them, then." The woman said and Severus was led through a series of narrow maze like corridors, until heading to one of the lower levels. After opening a secret passage, they were led through cold stone corridor until they ended in a large candle-lit room. The décor was rather lacking except for a large throne-like chair a fireplace, and an onyx pedestal whose current exhibit was hidden under a black mantle. Seated at the chair was none other than the Dark Lord himself, his long green snake familiar, Nagini, coiled around his neck, and his servant Wormtail cowering by his side. Before him were a group of Death Eaters, most likely in the middle of a report.

"My Lord, all is going well in the Giant front. If all goes according to plan, the giants will be joining us before the end of the month." One of the Death Eaters said while bowing low.

"Good then I trust the plan will not fail. Otherwise, I will be very…displeased." The pale red-eyed man said while stroking Nagini the dangerous undertone in his voice made everyone shiver.

"Y-yes, my lord." The Death Eater said with a stutter, he knew very well what would happen to him should he fail.

"Very well, dismissed." Voldemort said and the Death Eaters bowing before him had to make a huge effort to avoid running away in fear.

Severus took this as a signal to start. He walked to the center of the room, right in from of the snake-like man and bowed low to him as was custom. "My Lord."

"Ah, Severus. So glad you could join us." The red-eyed, evil wizard said as he lazily held his wand in his hand.

"You wished to speak to me, my Lord?" Severus asked.

"Yes, I wanted to hear your report."

"Yes, my Lord." Severus complied putting on his best poker face and indifferent tone. The things he did for Lily…

He began telling the snake-like man about Umbridge, the Ministry interference, Dumbledore, and above all else, Harry Potter. At the end, Voldemort just sat there with an expression that was a mixture of pensiveness and boredom. After a few very silent moments the pale man spoke.

" Tell me Severus, have you found a cure for Lucius's condition? I'm afraid I have very little use for a follower that cannot do magic and we've already talked about inducting Draco into our ranks."

"No my Lord, I'm afraid I haven't been able to find a cure for his condition." Severus said and when he saw the angry scowl that formed on the dark wizard's pale face, and the way his slit nostrils began to flare slightly, he quickly added. "But, I believe I have found the culprit who cursed him in the first place. I should think he holds the answers."

For now Voldemort needed him so it wasn't likely he'd be killed just yet, but still, this wasn't the type of information he could withhold and Dumbledore had already given him the permission to divulge it. What Dumbledore was thinking, however, was beyond him.

"How is it that you know who the culprit is, when we have found nothing on the man?" Voldemort asked, his tone once again taking on that dangerous tone.

"He is posing as an exchange student and was recently sorted into Gryffindor. But the boy isn't what he appears to be. It was easy to see through his disguise, my lord." Severus said and Voldemort gave a cruel smile.

"Interesting. What else do you know? Tell me." Voldemort said almost impatiently and then his smile widened. "Or better yet, show me. Legilimens!"

Severus felt a sharp pain in his temple and his vision was obstructed by several images, all containing a certain blonde haired boy in school robes. The images then switched and he once again witnessed the images he got from his mind earlier at dinner. Meanwhile Severus didn't dare to throw the man out of his mind, all he could do was hide as many vital memories as he could. Another sharp surge of pain later, and Severus found himself back on the gloomy dungeon-like room, drenched in cold sweat. In front of him Voldemort was looking at him with a very pleased smile.

Turning to face his snake familiar, Voldemort spoke in a soft cold tone. "Nagini, please go find Greyback and bring him here. I believe I have a job for him."

Standing up the man walked slowly towards the dark pedestal in the room, before standing right in front of it and staring at covered object in contemplation. "As for you, Severus, you have pleased your master very much. I expect you to continue your work, and find that cure soon."

"My lord, I don't mean to intrude. But surely you are not going to try and kidnap the boy from Hogwarts? It is difficult to infiltrate the castle and such a stunt will clearly gather unwanted attention!" Severus said as the large snake slithered away.

"Of course I won't. Albus would be on me as soon as I set foot in that castle. No, we will wait for the right moment to strike. After all, good things come to those who wait." Voldemort said with a sinister smile that sent shivers down his spine.

"Now tell me my faithful servant." Voldemort said as he stood up and walked up to him. "When is the next Hogsmeade weekend?"

…..

In a castle far, far away, a certain young queen found herself gazing at the twin moons and stars. Deep down she hoped that her love was looking at them too, wherever he was. Doing the only thing she could think of, she began to sing. It was a soft angelic melody, one that had endured and lived on with her for all these years despite the fact that, for the longest time, she had forgotten where she learned it. And after everything that happened, that one special song had turned into their song. She hoped that wherever he was, he could somehow hear her too.

'Zidane, where are you?' Garnet thought with frustration.

It had been months since the incident at the courtyard. Though most of the rubble had been cleared, there were no traces of the blonde thief. It was as if he had disappeared from the face of Gaia. Now, Garnet wasn't dumb, she knew that an explosion like that was more than enough to kill a person. She knew Zidane could have died amidst the chaos, like so many other people had suggested. But it didn't seem right to her, not only because his remains had yet to be found. Zidane just couldn't die, and especially not from something like that.

Surprisingly, Steiner and Beatrix agreed with her. They too didn't believe Zidane would fall so easily. And so far, they had both helped her ward off the many nobles who had come to give her their condolences. Or as Zidane would so bluntly put it, 'the rich bastards that wanted to score with her while he was away'. Oh how she missed him.

Shortly after his disappearance, Garnet had immediately organized a search party to look for Zidane. Logic told her that if he was alive, but not in Alexandria, then he had to be somewhere else. For all she knew he could've been practicing that teleporting spell that Kuja used once. She really hoped not, because Eidolons knew where he might have ended up, but she couldn't discard that possibility and it was better than death by a long shot.

For an entire month the search went on. Tantalus, Regent Cid, and Eiko targeted Lindlum and its surrounding areas. Freya and Sir Frately, along with Prince Puck and several grateful Burmecians were taking care of rainy lands close to Burmecia and the deserts of Cleyra. Amarant, who was apparently now in a relationship with Lani, offered to help by checking on any rumors going around Treno. They even reached the Black Mage Village where they told Mikoto, Zidane's 'sister', what happened. All in all she wasn't very concerned about it. She only said that if Zidane were to die, she would know. Garnet had no idea what she meant, but just accepted it as a 'genome thing', Mikoto, cryptic as she was ,wouldn't care to indulge her anyways. The genome otherwise agreed to contact the dwarves and see if they knew anything. Even the Moogles volunteered to help, which had been a great relief considering their numerous whereabouts. Ever since the Mognet fiasco they had been very grateful to Zidane. The moogles living in Madain Sari had been looking after being contacted by Eiko, as well.

But after a whole month without any success, they were left with no other choice but calling off the search. At the moment they simply couldn't afford a long expedition to the Forgotten Continent or the Lost Continent, because currently the only airships that could fly without mist were the Hilda Garde 3 and The Invincible whose whereabouts were still unknown. Lindblum and Alexandria were still under reconstruction after the war. Burmecia on the other hand, was nearly destroyed and needed all the help it could get. Nobody could afford to search for Zidane any longer. The Alexandrian nobles also thought she was wasting her time

They did not think it was 'in Alexandria's best interest' for her to forget her duties and chase after a man that she had no evidence to prove he was still alive. In reality, all they wanted was for her to forget about Zidane and marry some other noble. While she would never marry another man, she knew she had to be careful. If she failed to do her duties because she was off looking for Zidane, the lords and noblemen would likely say she was currently unfit to rule and attempt to overthrow her. It was a bit of an unlikely scenario considering that the nobles were a minority as far as numbers went and the people were still very fond of her, but then again, so were they with Queen Brahne and she started the war. She was positive that no one wanted to repeat that. Alexandaria's political foundations had clearly been shaken by the war and she knew it wasn't wise to upset them even more, unless she wanted to face an uprising.

It had been extremely tough swallow that reality, but the end she still had a duty toward her people as queen and towards the people of Gaia as one of their champions. Even though the official search was off, everyone had yet to give up. Occasionally, they would all send letters with small updates. She, like everyone else, just wanted to know that wherever he was, he was safe. If he really was safe then it was only a matter of time until he managed to return, in what would probably be a very flashy entrance.

Still…sometimes it was hard to even stay hopeful.

There were many nights; nights like these were she found it hard to remain optimistic. It sometimes got so bad that a part of her feared that she would once again lose her voice; that Zidane would never return and that she would never get over it; that maybe while she was laying comfortable in a warm bed, Zidane was struggling for his life somewhere, cold, or possibly exhausted, maybe even dead already, while she did nothing to help him. She would often wake up, her sweat cold and her breathing shallow. Those nights she would find comfort in the gifts Zidane had given her, be they small accessories he'd picked up from Eidolons-knew-where, or strange artifacts or contraptions he'd bought 'because they looked cool' and given to her as an apology or sometimes on a whim. Though Steiner had suggested she throw them away, Garnet could never do such a thing since they brought up so many important memories for her. She was glad she'd decided to keep them since they had now become somewhat of a safety blanket for her in the intimacy of her chamber.

Then the dreams began.

They were all the same, but at the same time, they were like nothing she had experienced before. Almost every night she would 'wake' up in a large field that went on as far as the eye could see. In the middle of it was a large lush tree. The sky had two separate shades, one as bright as day and the other as black as night. In reality, it was more like half of the sky was in daylight while in the other half was in nighttime. As a result, a bright sun was always shining next to a single white moon, unlike Gaia's. It was a really beautiful place, but what made it all the more better was that Zidane was always there for her, even if he was just silently holding her hand.

It felt so real.

That's why when the dreams stopped one night her heart was gripped by fear as if it were some awful premonition. All she could think of was what could have happened to Zidane, which on hindsight was a strange thing to ask since he was nothing more than a dream.

After that one odd night the dreams returned. Every night they would hold each other and talk, each enjoying the other's company. Garnet could hardly wait for each day to pass so she could be together with Zidane again, even if he was just a dream. Sometimes, she even thought about resorting to sleeping weed to stay for a bit longer. After a while though, she realized just how cruel those dreams were. She was given what she wanted most, only to have it ripped from her again in the morning when she awoke alone in bed. And just like the sun and the moon could only be together in the dream, it seemed like the same applied for them. Like this, they could never really be. The dreams were almost maddening, but she didn't know how to stop them either.

And yet every time his cyan colored eyes met hers, she felt complete. She just couldn't find the courage to push him away, dream or not.

Which brought her to her current dilemma.

"Zidane." She greeted like she always did, from her seat under the lonely tree.

"Dagger." The blonde said with a smile. Garnet frowned slightly. Despite his being a capable actor, she knew the blonde and that smile seemed a bit strained, even if he hid it very well. Now that thought about it, his entire posture seemed weary and his normally swishing tail was still and just barely held up so it wouldn't touch the ground, instead of playfully curved.

"Zidane, are you alright?" She asked. She really had no idea why she was worrying so much for someone who wasn't real. But then the answer was obvious enough; it was Zidane.

The blonde had a look of surprise, but then just gave a small laugh. "Nothing's wrong! I mean, why would you think there's something wrong, Dag?"

Garnet just crossed her arms and raised a single thin eyebrow. Deep down, she was a bit surprised by the sudden turn. Zidane quickly seemed to get the message: she wasn't buying it.

"Want to try again?" Garnet said with her arms still crossed.

Zidane gave a nervous chuckle, but after seeing that Garnet did not find it funny, he just gave a tired sigh and plopped himself on the ground beside her, his familiar scent instantly soothing her.

"It's just…well. How should I say this?" Zidane said, and Garnet could clearly see how conflicted the blonde was. "Well, I just wish this was more than just a dream."

Both of her brows shot up in surprise, her chocolate colored eyes wide. It was just so surprising to have a dream tell her that. Zidane must have misunderstood her, because the next thing he did was bring both his hands up in self defense, his tail swishing nervously behind him.

"I mean, not that I don't enjoy this dream. I really do and it's been great, but…" Zidane said as if trying to find the right words. "I just wish you could be there when I woke up too, and I could be in Alexandria with you instead of waking up in the dorms with a bunch of other guys. I mean the guys are cool and everything, but…I really miss you."

The moment he said that, Garnet's eyes widened and she let out a small gasp.

'Wait, what did he mean by 'dorms'?' Garnet thought and she shook her head. She could find out later.

Could it be?

"Zidane." Garnet called and she saw the blonde look up at her. "What did you mean by dream?"

"Huh, well you know, the stuff that happens when you are asleep. Gods things must be really bad if I'm actually explaining this to a figment of my stressed-out mind." Zidane muttered the last to himself, and though Garnet heard it clearly, she just ignored it.

"That's not what I meant." Garnet interrupted. "You mean you're really not a dream?"

The thief looked a bit surprised at first and then confused. "No, I'm not. Are you?"

"No, I'm not. I-I thought this was a dream too." Garnet said and she felt her voice cracking slightly and her vision blurring as tears threatened to break out in the corners of her eyes.

"D-Dag?" Zidane asked his cyan eyes wide with realization.

To be continued…

…..

A/N: BOOM plot development. Let's see how many of you can guess what just happened (and how).

Plant Spiders are mantis-like monsters in Evil Forest. The Mognet fiasco refers to the side-quest where you have to find the 'Superslick' item to get Mognet Central up and running again. I'm also adding this omake that was actually part of the chapter that I decided didn't quite fit well enough but still relevant to the plot. It makes reference to my favorite FFIX minigame. Anyways, see you guys next week!

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OMAKE (but not really)

Severus Snape was having a bad week from the beginning. Things were bad enough when the Dark Lord returned, and then trying to convince everyone (including himself) that the old headmaster was definitely not going senile. And now, now he had to clean after the monkey. He did not trust him and he could not see what possessed the old man to do so either. He insisted that they should have just dissected the blonde and get him out of their hair, not invite him to join the group.

No, Severus did not trust the creature that had left an uproar in the wake of his arrival. They knew too little about him. And he was dangerous, dangerous enough to kill several Death Eaters and even Dementors, blowing up part of a street in the process. After seeing what the boy could do, Severus had no doubts that he was responsible for Lucius's current condition. He had been called by Narcissa to attempt to brew a potion to help, but so far he had come up empty handed.

Unfortunately, the one Death Eater that managed to escape was both heavily injured and shell shocked, muttering lunatic ravings about pink devils. As a result gathering any such memories by intrusive methods like Legilimency, would likely leave permanent mental scarring that they simply could not afford. Needless to say, the Dark Lord had not been happy after that, not happy at all, but it still had, nonetheless piqued the man's interest.

'That boy is no boy at all, and not even a monkey. He's a true blooded monster. No doubt that oaf Hagrid would simply love him.' Severus thought with his trademark sneer.

The potions master looked at house tables before him, passing over the red and gold one, sneer increasing as they landed on Potter senior's spawn, and then moving on to a mop of sunny blonde hair. Tribal was currently picking at his food distractedly while Longbottom looked worriedly at the monkey. When he saw the blonde start talking to Longbotton, Severus knew that a window of opportunity had just opened. The blonde monkey was distracted ,and better yet, unprepared for a small peak into his head.

'Legilimens.'

The Great Hall vanished before his eyes and was replaced by a myriad of images that to most people wouldn't make a lick of sense. But unlike most people, Severus was an experienced Legilimens and therefore knew the inner workings of the mind. Though this mind's layout was different to was he was accustomed to, he quickly regained his bearings and found what he was looking for. He felt the blonde's mind shift, and it was then that Severus knew that he had been spotted. With no time to waste, the Potions mMaster delved deeper in the blonde's mind to unearth the various memories within. He would try to get as much as he could before he was forced out.

Severus quirked a figurative eyebrow at the sight that met him. It was a dark, yet heavily illuminated city with walls that resembled a medieval castle. Even though it was nighttime, the city was very much alive. There were people walking around in expensive Victorian styled clothes while many more shady looking characters were practically dressed in rags. He couldn't help but notice how strange many of these 'people' looked. He could have sword he saw a man with four arms, as well as creatures that looked more animal than human.

The next thing Severus knew, he was in a gigantic tree in the middle of a harsh desert. There seemed to be a small city in the tree, only it was burning, and he could see some form sort of craft flying in the sky, as well. He saw rodent like creatures scurry as they were attacked by some other creatures with pointy hats whose only visible facial features were their bright glowing eyes. It was absolute chaos. And just went he thought things couldn't possibly get worse, the sky above darkened with some hellish light and Severus saw a sight made his blood run cold. Galloping on a monstrous steed of six legs, an armored figure swooped down from the stormy heavens, sword in hand, and with one fell swoop everything was instantly annihilated.

The scene switched again and this time it was a dark sinister forest. For a moment Severus thought he was in the Forbidden Forest, but then he noticed some key differences. This forest felt a lot more crowded. A group surrounded him and they were all running for their lives. It only took him a few seconds to realize why. Crawling from the decomposed underbrush came a swarm of green mantis-like creatures with red flower-like protrusions on their heads. Behind tm, Severus looked on with some morbid fascination at how the forest itself was rapidly turning into stone. He then caught sight of a strange redhead getting caught by the creatures and then several thorny vines close off the exit before turning into stone as well.

The scene switched again and this time Severus found himself watching a fight between what he could only describe as two insanely powerful monsters, all of this taking place in the middle of a partially destroyed town and by the light of two colored moons. One of the creatures a massive dark colored dragon with cruel horns and massive clawed wings which was flying above the place as the terrified people scurried beneath it like insignificant ants. The other was an even bigger creature that looked more like a mix between a Muggle machine and a fortress; gigantic white feathered wings sprouted from its back as it stood protectively over a castle that was dwarfed in comparison. The dragon shot giant blasts of what looked like magic, but it didn't seem to be any match for the giant construct's beams that exploded all around the dragon, despite its best efforts to dodge.

The scene changed once more despite his desire to learn more about the o powerful beings. What he got instead was a bizarre flash of blue that quickly switched to blood red, and it was then that Severus was greeted by what was arguably the most frightening man he had ever laid eyes on. The man was deathly pale with black eyes that bore right into his soul. He had a bald head and a long beard, like Dumbledore, but unlike the old headmaster, this man wore a grim black armor with a cape. But the most shocking thing was red light pulsing like a heart within a semi-open black ribcage. Despite knowing that it was a memory, Severus could not help but shiver as he was filled with a primal form of fear. This man could not be human. Who was he and how did the monkey know him?

Unfortunately for him, those questions would not be answered. His invasion was suddenly cut short by the wave of intense hatred that radiated from the blonde. Knowing that it was time to leave, the man struggled out of the memory, but obviously it wasn't fast enough for the next thing he knew, he was completely paralyzed. As much as he attempted to struggle, he could not move or even try to pull himself out of the blonde's dangerous mind. If felt as if there was a huge pressure crushing him from all sides, and preventing his fruitless, panic-induced struggle. The irrationality hit him at once. Occlumency didn't work this. A mind could be shielded, but it couldn't grab another consciousness against his will, yet here he was. Fear gripped him. He had been caught red-handed and was now at the mercy of this monster in teen's clothing.

'You wanted to see my memories? Fine. I'll gladly show you my memories.'

When Severus heard the voice vertebrate through his head, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread fill him. Neither Legilimency nor Occlumency could communicate words like this. Just what was this? What was the monkey going to do to him?

His answer came soon enough when his vision switched once more and he found himself in someplace else entirely. At first he was confused, what could possibly make this place bad enough to be considered a punishment? With the bright skies and lush green surroundings… and also, what in heaven's name was the blonde monkey riding?

Seconds ticked into minutes, and minutes soon became hours, or at least that's what it felt like. Inside a person's mind, time was a very unreliable thing. Severus could not move, and all his attempts to leave had failed. He couldn't even look away from the scene that he was being forced to watch. Silently he cursed the monkey with all his might. It was that underhanded trickery he should have expected as Head of Slytherin. He promised himself he would never again underestimate the unholy monster that called himself Zidane Tribal.

'Kweh.'

His fragile sanity was now quickly threatening to snap, he could hardly deal with the blonde's onslaught.

'Kweh!?'

The Avada Kedavra curse was looking quite merciful at the moment.

'Kwehhh!?'

Surely this had to be considered some form of torture.

'Kwehhh!?'

Even the Cruciatus Curse didn't last as long.

'K-KWEHHH!'

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE STOP IT! Why in Merlin's name is that bird banging its head on the ground?"

'Come on Choco, let's check out the next treasure.'

'Kweew!'