Notes: I managed to get this chapter done today, though it's off to study after this. Thanks to everyone who has been following this story and supporting it with feedback. Particularly I'd like to thank Final Fantasy Fan of Awesome for spreading the love on tumblr. You guys are awesome.

Also, I apologize if your reviews take long to be answered since I will be/ have been busy with my studies.

…

(ARC)

(Chapter 3 reply) To Hay Meadow:

Congratulations, you're the first one to point out that reference *throws confetti* (I love them too btw). Thanks for reviewing!

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Chapter 20: Off and On

Though it was commonly thought that students were the only ones that enjoyed Hogsmeade trips, the truth was far from it. Professors enjoyed the trips just as much. Sure they were mostly there to watch over the unruly students, and perhaps it was sometimes a handful, but deep down Hogsmeade weekends were also the time for them to unwind. It was a break from having to give lectures and correct the countless papers that normally littered their desks, most of them usually presenting grammatical mistakes, misspelling errors, or unintelligible writing. Indeed Hogsmeade weekends were the time where teachers would get together over tea or something a tad bit stronger, and catch up on the newest gossip surrounding a certain colleague. All in all, they usually had a good time.

But this wasn't the case for a certain Transfiguration Master. As it was, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor house, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, and veteran member of the Order of the Phoenix, was having quite a bad day. This was not only because for the last month or so she had to put up with the pink nightmare that the Ministry had set on them, oh no, as much as she wanted to transfigure that woman into an actual toad, she had more pressing matters to take care of.

She exited the Three Broomsticks, glancing at the street full of students all going blissfully about their ways, yet unaware of the danger that was lurking about. She could see several of her lions all going through the many shops that littered the streets. Though she was a strict educator that did not mean she did not care for her students. In fact, her stringent ways were just a sign of her of how much they mattered to her. The exact term, as she believed was correct, was 'tough love'.

She passed Zonko's prank shop, her gaze stern and lips thin as she saw the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan carrying some recently purchased items. Clicking her tongue in disapproval, she carried on, passing the Golden Trio in the way to the bookshop. Well, it was really more like Miss Granger was carrying the other two around. For years she had hoped some of her habits would rub off on the two, but she had been very mistaken. Clearly it was the other two that had rubbed their trouble-prone tendencies on the lass.

McGonagall turned and saw Neville Longbottom and a rather odd Ravenclaw girl talking together. It was quite a surprise that Neville had made such great friends, especially given his timid nature and clumsiness. Normally friendships between students were set during first or second year, and usually between members of the same house. This was why, after years of little progress, she had worried over Frank and Alice's boy. It made her quite relieved to see that Neville had finally found his place and was slowly, but surely, coming out of his shell of isolation. Yes, Minerva McGonagall had been quite surprised by the creation of the new trio. She was particularly surprised because, other than the light color of their hair, the members of this trio didn't seem to have much in common. As a matter of fact, its member couldn't exactly be considered 'common'.

Neville was terribly shy and lacked confidence, even though she had heard from Pomona that his knowledge regarding plants was astounding. As far as she had gathered from Filius, Miss Lovegood was as odd as you could get, which unfortunately meant most of her classmates tended to avoid, or ridicule her. Surprisingly, the girl seemed to take it all in stride, a true example of wisdom that Rowena Ravenclaw was best known for. The last member of the trio, and the one currently missing, was without a doubt the oddest of the lot.

Zidane Tribal had proven to be a lot of things, many of which she had disapproved of. Particularly the 'thief' bit. He had also proven to be quite the skirt chaser and a rebel. Not to mention his tendency to laugh in the face of danger was something that crossed the fine line between bravery and brashness, to the point of putting even Potter to shame. Even so, Zidane Tribal was still one of her lions, and admittedly he had grown on her, much like Potter had. It was this simple fact that had been bothering her throughout the day. Her lion was off facing Death Eaters and Merlin knows what else, while she, and the rest of the Order, had been told to stay put. Though she had never seen it herself, she had been told that the blonde was a formidable fighter. Even then, she couldn't find solace. Human or not, he could still bleed, and he could still be beaten. Though she was not a believer of the 'inner eye' like Sybil, she just couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong.

Steeling her glance at the bookshop, the wizened Head of Gryffindor noticed the Golden Trio exit the shop. Though Hermione looked particularly happy with her new purchase, McGonagall couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. She really hoped that those three weren't up to something. If anything, the secretive whispers they were communicating in did nothing to quell her worries.

McGonagall let out a small huff. They just couldn't for once have a normal school year, could they?

Almost as if answering her question, a loud boom resonated across the sleepy town, disrupting the peaceful silence and shaking the ground beneath her feet. In the distance and just above the canopy of evergreens she could clearly see a billowing cloud of smoke. Following the trail of smoke, her eyes landed on the outskirts of town, and her heart nearly stopped.

Her lion was in danger.

Her mind quickly snapped to the present, it having been toned by her many experiences during the war, and she quickly took her wand out. Students and townsfolk alike lined the streets while whispering in hushed tones. Uncertainty was thick in the air, as many shopkeepers and their clientele exited their stores to see what the commotion was about. From the corner of her vision she saw a mop of messy black hair run past her, followed by a blur or red and brown. Quickly connecting the dots, the Transfiguration Master apparated in front of the three teens (knowing that at least one of them would not easily stop), and stopped them dead in their tracks.

"You three! Stay here and wait for one of the other teachers to call you. If I discover that one of you has decided to follow, I will make sure you spend the remainder of your education in Hogwarts with an escort watching over your shoulders. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" McGonagall said, and though it came out more harshly than she originally intended, judging by the wide-eyed looks the three were giving her, it seemed to have the desired effect.

With a twist, the witch disappeared only to reappear once more in front of the Shrieking Shack. Though she knew the fight had taken place somewhere around here, she did not know the exact location. Even if she did, it would be unwise to apparate in the middle of a battlefield.

She followed the great plumes of smoke that were still rising into the air and then turned to look at a certain something on the ground that had caught her attention. Approaching it wearily and with wand outstretched, the cat Animagus closed in until she was close enough to tell what it was. It was then that she gave out a very unbecoming curse. It was the rapidly decomposing corpse of a Dementor, its decapitated head lying only a few feet away. Upon closer inspection, she could see that the ground was-ever-so-slightly frosted over, which only made her reach several realizations. Firstly, there were more Dementors involved with the Death Eaters, last and most importantly, Zidane was in great danger since he did not know how to conjure a Patronus.

With that thought in mind, Minerva McGonagall quickly made her way through the woods, passing trees that had been blasted or burnt, blotches of blood that stained the ground dark, and even the occasional corpse or two, the skeletal masks alluding to their identities as Death Eaters. It was these that McGonagall had the hardest time trying to get over. Though she was no stranger to killing, it was hard to stomach the fact that her lion was so apt at it, even without the use of magic if the corpses were any indication. She really just hoped Molly didn't catch wind of this, though it was not like it didn't affect her either. It really broke her heart to think that the children would sometime in the future have to resort to the same. But really, what kind of conditions had Zidane Tribal come from?

She would have a serious talk with him later.

The witch continued to walk through the crude forest path, her wand at the ready for any possible threats. She heard a rustle of leaves to her right and she quickly turned to face that direction. The moment she caught sight of a black cloak, the words had already left her tongue and the spell was already flying towards her target.

"Protego!" The figure called and deflected her spell, but to her relief, she could recognize the voice.

"Severus!" The witch said and went to meet the Potions Master. After exchanging their codes to verify the man's identity (as to avoid repeating what happened with Moody last year), she quickly moved on with her questions. "What in Merlin's name happened? Has Tribal been captured?"

"No, but I'm afraid things could be much worse." The man said and he brought something from out of the folds of his robes. "The Dark Lord doesn't know a thing yet, but I found this along with the corpse of one of his followers just outside the apparition wards of the manor. As soon as I found this, I apparated here only to discover that he brought in the Dementors here of all things! I did not think he would, not after what happened last time, and especially not in that number."

McGonagall took the object from Severus, only to nearly drop it when she realized that it was a somewhat oddly shaped, blood soaked and slightly frosted-over, blade that seemed so unlike anything she'd seen before, that it could only belong to the blonde.

"Come, we must hurry." Snape said with his wand at the ready.

The witch nodded briskly and followed the man deeper into the woods and closer towards the smoking column. They exited a rather thick section of the forest and once they reached a rather large clearing, they got their first look at what had been left by the explosion. Several trees were blackened and even completely uprooted. The stubborn few that had remained standing were now going up in flames of an unusual golden color. These and the burning greeneryon the ground were most likely the reason why the smoke had yet to dissipate.

MgGonagall was about to douse the flames with magic to clear a path, when her eyes caught sight of something else in the distance, something that seemed to be holding the flames at bay with its very presence. Both teachers' gazes wandered towards the figure as they approached, and they eyes widened as they recognized what it was.

It was a Dementor, floating in eerie stillness over the kneeling figure of a certain blonde boy.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Both teachers cried out as silvery animals erupted from their wands to intercept the Dementor. Cat leaped with claws outstretched and doe went in for a tackle. The Dementor, caught completely by surprise, was knocked back into the air where it picked itself up and fled.

Both teachers rushed to the kneeling figure, ignoring the dispersing forms of their Patroni and the other corpses lying on the ground with blood pooling around their forms. When they reached the blonde, McGonagall had had to stifle a gasp, and instead, both her hands found their way to her mouth. Snape on the other hand, let out a low string of curses and swooped down to assess the damage.

The blonde's skin was covered in burns and lacerations, while there was a generous amount of blood that dyed his clothes, skin, and even part of his hair, an eerie crimson. Snape was almost sure that most of it was not his to begin with. He could easily tell without magic that the boy's most grievous injury was the one to his right arm where, under a thick layer of grime and past the remains of a scorched sleeve, he could discern some nasty-looking burns that oozed slightly. Yet what worried him the most at the moment was not a physical wound, but one that no amounts of healing could ever hope to cure. So far, things were not looking very promising.

"Severus is he-?" McGonagall asked, but the Potion's Master just gave a shake of his head.

"You saw how the Dementor behaved just as well as I did. Dementors never give up an opportunity to consume more souls." Snape said as he gave the blonde another glance and prod.

Zidane remained completely unresponsive. Not lying on the ground, but kneeling on it with his back arched slightly and his whole body as motionless as a stone statue. Even his tail lay limp on the dirt like an abandoned length of rope. What disturbed both teachers the most however, was the empty look from dull cyan eyes set in a neutral expression as they stared unblinkingly at the ground.

"Severus, I think Poppy ought to take a look at him." The witch said as she looked at the taller man.

"Alright, but keep in mind that once lost, a soul cannot be regained." The professor said with a stern look that was easily leveled by the Gryffindor Head, before turning around with his robes billowing and leaving off to contact the Order.

McGonagall gave a sigh, before she pulled out her wand and made the necessary preparations to transport the blonde to the castle. Keeping her expression trained she checked the teen over once more despite the maelstrom raging inside of her.

This would not go unpunished.

Her blood boiled as she levitated the teen and immobilized him for transport. She was grateful that the blonde was stable enough to be carefully apparated to the outside of the castle's wards, thus avoiding the crowd that would inevitably form near Hogsmeade. From there, it only took a few minutes to reach the castle gates where help was already waiting.

For once she truly hoped that what she was wrong about what she'd witnessed.

…

Harry clutched at his head as he faintly heard Professor Flitwick call for Hogwarts students to gather in light of the recent explosion. This unfortunately was not dismissed by Hermione.

"Harry, are you okay?" She asked as her eyes seemed to analyze him critically.

"I'm fine, it's just…" Harry paused, thinking about how he was going get his message across without being overheard. "My scar's acting up again. I'll tell you later."

With that he involuntarily rubbed at the tender flesh on his forehead. Whatever had made Voldemort so ecstatic couldn't possibly mean any good. His eyes quickly trailed to the rising column of smoke in the town outskirts, where McGonagall had gone off to investigate. Had this been a Death Eater attack? Didn't the Order say that Voldemort was laying low and biding his time? If so, did that mean that the war was finally upon them?

"Quickly everyone, single file!" Professor Sprout called over the crowed. "Prefects will please accompany their houses back to Hogwarts. You will be asked to wait at the gates for further instructions."

Hermione and Ron quickly took control of the crowd of Gryffindors, taking particular care of the younger third year students who were new to the Hogsmeade trips. Harry on the other hand balled his hands into fists at the thought of being utterly useless in this situation. McGonagall had clearly told them to keep out of trouble, yet Harry found it hard to resist the temptation to take matters into his own hands. In the end, after seeing his friends ushering the students to safety, he decided that he would leave it to the adults... just this once.

On the plus side, this little incident would hopefully convince the others that self defense classes would come in handy in the future.

"Harry!" A voice called and soon Harry found himself in front of Hogwarts' gates facing one very exasperated-looking Neville.

"Neville, what's wrong?" Harry asked, his brows furrowed as he realized that something was missing and had been missing for quite some time now.

"It's Zidane, I can't find him!" Neville said and then Harry realized just what was missing. It really had been too quiet. "We got separated earlier when he said he wanted to check something out. Since we didn't see him again, I just thought we'd find him amongst the crowd, but he's not here. I mean, what if he got caught up in that explosion? What if he went inside the Shrieking Shack only to get trapped there? What if he is injured somewhere in the forest?!"

"Neville just calm down!" Harry told the boy who was on the verge of hyperventilating. Said teen gave a large gulp of air, but then managed to settle. "Did you check with the professors? I'll ask Ron and Hermione, you try to check if anyone from the other houses have seen him."

The teens split to accomplish their tasks, but in the end, neither Ron nor Hermione had seen the blonde. The teachers hadn't been much of a help either. It was almost like he had vanished into thin air. Harry made it his own personal goal to check the Marauder's map as soon as he got the chance.

As for the explosion that rocked Hogsmeade, it origins were still a complete mystery. The teachers that had ushered them back to the castle remained silent. Umbridge, on the other hand, insisted that the explosion was the result of a prank-gone-wrong and thus not worth the attention, or at least, that's what the Ministry had determined it to be, before reassuring concerned parents that everything was fine. However, not many had been satisfied with the answers. Surely enough, the lack of a probable explanation was also subject to rumors. Theories about what happened that day ranged from plausible to completely absurd. His personal favorite was Luna's own theory that it was a result of the rare breeding event among Crumple Horned Snorkacks that only happened once every few hundred years.

And yet, the mystery still remained.

…

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do" Madam Pomfrey said sadly as she lowered her wand from where she had been checking the blonde's eyes for a response to stimuli. Unfortunately, there had yet to be a reaction, and she was afraid to admit that this was a text book example of what, as healers had been taught, a Dementor's kiss victim looked like.

Unfortunately, even a lowly healer's apprentice knew that there was no cure for having your soul taken.

"Is there any family that should be contacted?" The medi-witch asked sadly, almost as if already what the answer was. Professor McGonagall shook her head.

"I'm afraid he has no family that we are aware of, Poppy." The Animagus said.

"First that Diggory boy, and now this. What in Merlin's name is going to happen next?" Madam Pomfrey said as she got up and pulled onto the hospital curtains to conceal the bed-ridden blonde. Just then, the Hospital Wing's doors opened and through it came none other than Dumbledore, Snape, a certain paranoid ex-Auror, and surprisingly also Shacklebolt. For once, the wizened Headmaster had a serious look on his face.

"Albus-" McGonagall said in shock at the sight of Shacklebolt. His presence could only mean that it was something Ministry related.

"I'm afraid the Minister has already denied the true nature of what occurred here today. Already he's passing this off as a minor accident, basically a prank." Shacklebolt said solemnly.

"Denied? DENIED! A boy has lost his soul today and the Minister is just going to pretend it never happened?" Madam Pomfrey said with fury.

"So it's true then. The lil' monkey lost his soul." Moody said, ignoring the pointed look from the medi-witch while his blue eye swerved towards the occupant in the bed concealed by white curtains.

"I'm afraid the Minister is willing to turn a blind eye. He's even gone as far as keeping this incident contained from the media. Tomorrow morning it will be like nothing ever happened." Shacklebolt said.

"But surely he can't deny that there is a boy right here with his soul missing. Even if he has no family, won't the boy's guardians want to know? I'm sure the American wizard community will want to know why one of their wizards has suddenly gone missing." Madam Pomfrey continued to rant.

"I'm afraid he can, especially once he realizes that by all rights, this boy does not technically exist." Dumbledore said sadly which gained a look of surprise from the mediwitch.

"You mean this boy…?" Dumbledore nodded.

"You could say he was a long way from home." The wizard said.

"See, I knew we shouldn't have accepted this!" Snape snapped at the old Headmaster, surprising the other wizards and witches. "But you just had to be an old fool and place your trust on some brat not even a fifth of your age, hoping that everything would work out just fine, like always! Sometimes I really do wonder if you have not gone senile like everyone suggests!"

"Severus!" Minerva called out.

Severus may not have been fond of the teen, but again, this had nothing to do with getting along or not. They never should have let an outsider fight their conflict for them, only to leave him to his devices. As leader, Dumbledore should have never allowed for this to happen.

"Do not interrupt me, Minerva. You and I both know what this old fool has done is wrong, yet stood there idly and let him get away with it! A teen lost his soul today and his blood is now on our hands, you can't deny-"

"Hey will you keep it down there?" Called a tired and raspy voice that was soon followed by the sound of shuffling. The Potions Master stopped dead in his tracks. Everyone's eyes widened like saucers as they stared, jaws slack, at the bed behind curtains. "You're too damn loud. Or better yet, get me something to eat cause I'm starving!"

"Impossible." Snape said, his voice trembling just slightly. Madam Pomfrey quickly rushed towards the bed and nearly tore the curtains aside. There, laying on the bed with his hair a wild mess of tangles and an expression on his face suggesting he had just woken up from a bad hangover, was none other than Zidane Tribal.

"Oww, my arm hurts like a bitch. Did I pass out in the Bandersnatch stables again?" The blonde said groggily, his eyes still somewhat unfocused as he slowly got up.

Ignoring the boy's foul language and semi-awake ramblings, Madam Pomfrey rushed to his side and with a lumos, she once again checked to see if the boy's pupil contracted accordingly. This time not only did she receive a physical response, but also a very rude verbal one.

"GAH, did someone forget to turn off the damn sun? What the hell was that for!?" The boy said angrily and this time the words were accompanied by the angry swishing of his tail.

While the group watched the blonde boy in shock, a certain Headmaster was quietly chuckling to himself as Moody said something and the boy gave the ex-Auror a very rude hand gesture.

Regardless, it looked like Zidane Tribal had a few more surprises up his sleeve.

….

When Harry finally reached the common room later with Ron and Hermione, he discussed what had happened earlier with his scar, seeing as the Common Room was mostly deserted now that everyone was at dinner in the Great Hall. Both Ron and Hermione stayed quiet after he told them about what he had felt. Hermione however told him that he should not delve too deeply into it and that he should leave things to the Order. Despite this, they still agreed to send Sirius a letter asking about what happened earlier in the village. If anyone was willing to keep them informed, it was his godfather.

"Well that just leaves us with one other mystery." Hermione said with a sigh.

"And what's that?" Ron asked grumpily as he realized that he was missing dinner for this.

"Zidane's whereabouts." Hermione answered like it was obvious. "Come on Ron, we were the ones that had to make sure everyone was there! We both know that Zidane wasn't amongst the students even though he was with Neville and Luna during the meeting!"

"Well I guess there's only one way to know where he is…or isn't." Harry added at the end before making his way to the dorms with Ron and Hermione following behind. He walked up to his trunk and searched for the worn-out piece of parchment that was secretly the Marauder's Map and one of his father's legacies. One he found it, he taped it once with his wand and said the magic words. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Blotches of ink appeared on the parchment and they quickly morphed into a detailed map of Hogwarts filled with little dots labeled with names. Spreading the map on his bed, the trio set out to find a peculiar name amongst the hundreds that filled the castle.

"He's not here." Harry commented in disbelief as he checked the map over again and again.

"There!" Ron pointed to a section of the map.

"Did you find him?" Hermione asked as she inspected the section Ron pointed to. It was the Hospital Wing.

"No, but look at this." Ron said. Both teens look closer to see what was so interesting. "Don't you see? Moody and Kingsley are there, so are Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Pomfrey. Doesn't it seem fishy to you?"

"What could they be doing in the Hospital Wing?" Harry questioned out loud.

"Do you think they were hurt? If they were meeting it would make more sense to use the Headmaster's Office." Hermione reasoned.

"But why come all the way out here?"

"Well, they probably didn't come all the way out here. It wouldn't make sense to." Hermione said, biting her lower lip as she began considering the possibilities. "The explosion at Hogsmeade today, do you think they are here because of it?"

"It would make sense since it's close, but blimey, that would mean…" Ron began, shocked by the implications.

"It would mean that what happened today really did have something to do with Voldemort." Harry finished, the three teens looking at each other with unease.

…..

Zidane was pretty much thanking his (few) lucky stars that Madam Pomfrey let him go. More than luck, it was really because Dumbledore insisted that in these cases, returning to a sense of 'normalcy' was the best cure.

'Normalcy.' Zidane thought, scoffing at the word. That word was pretty much the antithesis of his whole being, but if it helped him get out of that infernal white prison, who was he to complain?

In the end, the medi-witch agreed, but not without conditions. He was supposed to come back there tomorrow and the day afterwards to see how his wounds were healing. He was also given something for his huge headache and a little pick-me-up to replenish the energy he lost during the fight. She also insisted in healing the small wounds he had suffered, which were gone in an instant, and made him feel the slightest bit grateful. At least the others wouldn't ask questions now. He also had his right arm treated with a special (foul smelling) ointment and wrapped in bandages, and though it hindered his mobility just slightly, at least the other students wouldn't be able to see it under his robes and gloves.

And last but not least came the most annoying task of them all; cleaning himself up. Thankfully everything went a lot smoother when using magic. That layer of grime and blood would have taken hours to wash off the normal way, and without magic, he doubted that his clothes would have ever been the same again. Even Madam Pomfrey was amazed by the amount of blood he had been practically bathed in, but when he told her that most (if not all) of it was not his, he could have sworn he could hear a pin drop from the silence that ensued. In the end it was Moody who broke the silence when he started chuckling (much to everyone's horror) and approached to give him a good pat on the back. Apparently the crazy old bastard found it funny. Madam Pomfrey admittedly did not, and soon Moody and the other visitors were politely kicked out of the Hospital Wing.

So now with his body clean, his clothes mended and his wounds taken care of, Zidane decided to tackle his next order of business; food. With his invisible tail wagging at the thought of a nice tasty meal, he practically skipped towards the Great Hall. The delicious smells drawing him like a moth to the flame.

'Still, I can't help but wonder about just what the hell happened back there.' The teen thought, as he recalled what happened.

He had woken up in that Hospital Wing bed, feeling like a freaking Zaghnol had run him over. According to those present, he should have been dead, or rather, his soul should have been taken by a Dementor. Of course, he was quite positive that his soul was still currently firmly attached to him. He also couldn't recall very well what happened other than feeling 'off' and then likely passing out when the Dementor got near him. The only possibility he could think of was that the Dementor left him alone after passing out, which quite frankly, seemed like a terribly uncharacteristic thing for a Dementor to do. There was also this feeling he got. It felt so much like what happened to him at Pandemonium. Back then Garland said he'd be turned back into an empty vessel, as well. He still managed to recover from that, so apparently Garland never took his soul. Could it be that he actually couldn't take his soul?

'Maybe the same happened now, like maybe it's some kind of fail-safe, or something.' Zidane thought, though he was still unsure about it himself. 'I still cut it way to close, I should probably try to find a way to effectively kill those things. Dagger'll kill me when she finds out.'

The chattering voices from the Great Hall grew in strength as the blonde reached the large double doors that served as entrance. Nobody seemed to notice his arrival. With his silent steps and almost subconscious habit of blending in, it was only to be expected. He sat down at an empty spot at Gryffindor table, and quickly reached out for some roasted chicken leg. Only after taking a huge bite of it and reaching out for some mashed potatoes did he realize that Neville was right next to him and that said boy had an air of worry around him.

"Hey Neville, what's up?" Zidane asked casually as the boy took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

The boy turned to look at him, and when he did, he nearly choked. His eyes widened as if he had just seen a ghost. Well, not the Hogwarts type of ghost.

"Zidane!" Neville sputtered , shock taking over his features before a look of anger replaced it. "Where have you been?! Do you have any idea how long I've been going around looking for you?! Nobody saw you come back and I thought you were injured or worse!"

The genome brought both his hands up in a defensive gesture. Quite frankly, he hadn't been expecting this sort of reaction from Neville. Heck, he didn't even think someone would be this worried about him. Suspicious yes, but worried?

Definitely not.

The way Neville said it almost reminded him of a parent scolding a child. As embarrassing as it was, he had to admit that he had been on the receiving end of such a scolding before, surprisingly most of the time they came from a child. Eiko could be quite ruthless when it came to scolding others. Even Amarant didn't stand a chance against her.

"Errr, sorry about that." Zidane said sheepishly. "It's just that this little issue about my stay here at Hogwarts came up, so I had to go sort things out or risk getting kicked out because of some major screwup."

"Oh." Neville said, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed for overreacting like that. "So everything's fine now right? Did the Department of International Magical Cooperation give you any troubles?"

Zidane blinked as he realized that Neville just filled the blanks in for him and smiled. "Nope, no trouble at all. So where's Luna?"

"Oh yeah, she left a bit ago. She told me she was going to go Snargle-watching, but not before…" Neville said and suddenly blushed.

"Not before what?" Zidane pressed with a smirk.

"Not before telling me to calm down and stop worrying since you were fine." Neville finished, and Zidane raised an eyebrow. "She said that Crumple Horned Snorkacks tend to avoid people while mating."

The thief didn't know how to respond to that.

"But now I'm really glad to see that you're alright." Neville admitted, his ears starting to turn into an interesting shade of red. "I-I really consider you a great friend you know. You, and Luna as well."

This time it was Zidane's turn to look surprised.

"We are friends, right?" Neville asked a bit more nervously.

The foreigner just chuckled. "Of course we are. I just thought it would be obvious."

Neville returned his smile and Zidane couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his chest. It didn't take long to realize that it was guilt. Would Neville want to remain friends when he found out the truth about him?

Friends don't lie to each other.

'I haven't lied, but then why does it still hurt?'

Friends don't keep secrets from one another.

'Guilty as charged. But what would he think once he discovers what I am? A thief, a swindler, a kidnapper, a fighter, a warrior, a killer, a shameless skirt chaser, a genome, a weapon of mass destruction, a so called 'Angel of Death'...what would he think then?'

"Oh, hey guys! Where've you been? Dinner's almost over." Neville said, and Zidane was snapped out of his thoughts, only to see the Golden Trio arrive and take a seat at the table. Said Trio stared at him in surprise.

"O-oh, I see you found him. That's great!" Hermione said, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Yeah it turns out he wasn't even at Hogsmeade." Neville said, and the trio turned to look at the blonde for an explanation.

"I just had to deal with an issue about my stay here. I already solved it and everything, but I almost missed dinner." Zidane said.

"Did you just arrive, just now?" Hermione questioned, giving him the distinct impression that this was more of an interrogation than a friendly question. The other two-thirds of the trio were listening intently, as well.

"Er, yeah, I did, actually" The teen answered, hoping that it was the right answer. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason in particular." The girl answered.

'Yeah right.' The genome mentally scoffed. For being such a smart girl, she sure was a bad liar. 'But hopefully this got them to back off.'

….

"That was way too close." Harry muttered to himself as he finished writing his letter to Sirius.

Zidane had almost found out that they had been spying on him, unless of course, he knew that already and he was just playing dumb. With Zidane you really never knew. Hermione sure thought something was fishy. Even though they had all agreed that the blonde's alibi was pretty solid.

'Maybe it's just some paranoia left over from last year. With Professor Moody ending up being a Death Eater in disguise, who can really blame us?' Harry thought.

To be perfectly honest, Harry did not feel very happy with how things had been going with the blonde. He felt as though at some point, they had crossed the very fine line between being curious and being obnoxiously nosy. As mysterious as Zidane sometimes was, he was pretty damn sure he was no Death Eater. The mere thought of him bowing down to Voldemort was laughable. In fact, even the werewolf theory seemed more plausible at this point.

'All that is really going to have to end.' Harry mused.

They had written down their names, and not just them and Zidane, but all those other students from the other houses too. The moment their quills touched that piece of parchment, they had made a compromise. Together they would form a club to learn DADA right under Umbridge's nose. But to do that, they would need to set aside their differences and trust one another. Without that trust their group would simply fall apart.

'I really hope this works out.' Harry thought as he walked into the dormitory and started changing into his pajamas. Ron was already out, and surprisingly, so was Zidane judging by the closed hangings of his four poster bed. 'Though he was looking pretty tired at dinner. I guess taking care of paperwork must really be exhausting.'

Harry was about to move aside his own bedsheets when he felt a searing pain emanate from his scar. He almost cried out, but at the last moment he grit his teeth together and hissed from the burning sensation, his hand automatically clamping down on his scar. He let out a small cry of pain as the feeling intensified, and before he even knew it, his knees greeted the floor, and his left hand had nearly ripped off his bed's hangings.

When the pain finally lifted itself from his scar, Harry got up on shaky feet while phantom spasms ran through his body. Neither Ron nor Zidane had woken up from the noise, and for once Harry felt quite grateful.

He didn't want to explain to either of them that Voldemort was furious.

….

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU COULDN'T CAPTURE HIM?!" The Dark Lord snapped as his follower cowered at his feet.

"My Lord, I'm afraid our retrieval party was unsuccessful." The Death Eater said.

"Well, where are they now? Why aren't they the ones informing me of this? Do they think their Lord is daft?" Voldemort snapped, his voice dripping with venom.

"M-my Lord, they are all dead." The Death Eater said, his voice shaking in fear.

Voldemort blood red eyes widened and his slitted nostrils flared in unspoken fury. They had ruined the perfect chance of bringing the boy to him. Such an opportunity would not present itself again. It was already risky to draw attention to himself the first time, and now a second chance would only crush all the effort he had put into hiding. He could simply not afford to come out into the open now, not when he had yet to hear news from the Giant front, and at least not until he had raised an army powerful enough.

"CRUCIO!"

The man before him feel to his knees, his agonizing shouts echoing in the stone chamber

"Take him away!" The Dark Lord ordered, his word absolute. The broken man was taken away, and with a wave of his hand everyone was dismissed, as well.

The man turned around, his long black robes billowing behind him. His eyes landed on the dark pedestal in the room. Though soft fabric still covered the object, a faint, unearthly red light began to see ominously from underneath.

It had taken some time to prepare, but already the pieces had been set. He needed only to wait for the results. He may have failed today but he would not easily accept defeat.

The wheels were set; his plan was already in motion.

"Soon…"

To be continued...

….

A/N: So, wasn't sure what the plural of Patronus is. If anyone wants to clarify, go for it.

Both Bandersnatches and Zaghnols are FFIX enemies, the former are actually fought alongside Alexandrian soldiers so my guess is that they are actually bred as attack-dogs(?).

As for those who wonder how Zidane survived getting his soul sucked out, it's through the same mechanism he used to recover from whatever Garland did to him in Pandemonium. My guess is that when his soul is in danger of getting damaged or forcibly removed, his body reacts by shutting down and closing off all accesses (thus appearing dead/soul-less), then rebooting (yes, sort of like a blue screen of death).

See you guys next week!