Notes: Happy late Canada Day and 4th of July to all you Canadian and US readers. I'm also quite happy that my semester practically over, meaning it's finally time for a well-deserved rest. To celebrate I included a small surprise at the end.
Also I got a review mentioning how Zidane seems really weak compared to how he should be at endgame FFIX. Since this isn't the first time that topic has come across, I'm adding a list of reasons here so I redirect all future concern here instead of writing each and every reason again every time I get a review.
...
Reasons why Zidane seems weaker than he really is:
-He isn't physically weak, it's just his spells and energy-based attacks that are weak on Earth, since in my head-canon any attack that uses MP does use magic though it isn't considered a proper spell because magic is more like a discipline than an ability in Gaia (Just like knowing how to cook doesn't make you a chef, using attacks that need MP doesn't make you a mage).
-Zidane's MP based attacks and spells are far weaker on Earth than in Gaia due to another phenomenon that will be more important later on (and is mentioned right after this). Basically, there is a synergic effect when a mage/wizards casts that makes the power of their spell not only depend on their own magic, but also their surrounding magic levels available. Zidane has a high magic potential, but very little control over it because he was never really taught magic, so his spells were all unstable (Like lighting a candle with a flamethrower as opposed to using a match). Earth has less magic available, so Zidane's attacks are far weaker, but at the same time it serves as a sort of training wheel for him to learn to use proper magic. Likewise, if a wizard went to Gaia their magic would become far more powerful.
-There is an important phenomenon at work that is related to the planet crystals. Basically, younger planets with younger crystals have more magic than older planets with older crystals. So Gaia which is younger than Earth and Terra has more magic and there, everyone has the potential to use magic, but few ever do because it's considered a discipline (exception being monsters, Black Mages, and Summoners which have a natural knack for it). Earth has far less magic so only a select few can access it (magical creatures, Witches/Wizards) and strength-wise their spells aren't as strong, but that allowed them to develop spells for actions that require more finesse instead of just combat. Terra had the least magic, but because it was a really old planet, it was advanced technologically-wise to the point that their concept of science was fused with the concept of magic which allowed them to survive by taking over younger planets.
-Zidane is also weaker because equipment-wise, he only has his two mage-mashers (plus his crappy first dagger in his bag) and practically no form of light armor to protect him.
-Combat –wise he's at a disadvantage since he attacks mostly at close range with lightning-fast attacks, but wizards are mostly ranged fighters, so they have better chances of intercepting Zidane before he actually attacks. Also, wizards can cast spells faster than mages can, at the cost of using weaker spells in comparison. Zidane is also used to fighting slower and larger enemies like monsters (at least most FFIX enemies are large and relatively slower).
-Furthermore, Zidane is a team player, rather than a powerhouse, at least that's what most of his stats show. Unless you consider his "thievery" attack whose strength can potentially reach the damage limit, most of his other skills and abilities are mostly used for support, well, except for trance, but that's another story. The reason Zidane may seem so careless when fighting is due to him being used to getting full party support during a fight, whether it be with Tantalus, or Dagger and the others.
...
There, I think that about sums it up. If you guys have any questions you can review or PM me. As always, thanks for the support.
….
MOTA Chapter 23: Pyrrhic Victory
When Harry woke up the next morning he was quite surprised to see Zidane moving about like nothing was wrong. Apparently so was everyone else that had been witness to yesterday's little incident. Though yesterday's DA meeting was a complete success, it had been a close call. Hermione had drawn up a new set of precautions when practicing spells, and she also planned to book several tomes on healing magic and first aid techniques just in case. Not that Zidane appeared to be in need of it.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked the blonde, just as Neville left the dormitory.
"Yeah, I've had worse anyways, and besides, it's nothing a little magic can't cure right?" Zidane said with a small wink. It was then that Harry remembered how the blonde had magically healed his hand after Umbridge's detention, saying that he used to get hurt a lot too. It was a bit of a secret that he had kept from Ron and Hermione.
"R-right." Harry said with a nod. 'I suppose that explains it.'
In the following weeks the DA continued to meet regularly. So far everyone was able to perform the Disarming spell, the Impediment jinx, and the Reductor curse. He had been particularly proud of the fact that even Neville managed to perform them, though he had a feeling that Zidane had been helping him practice. He was still amazed by how quickly the blonde had progressed. His Reductor curse had been so powerful it reduced a book shelf into dust (much to Hermione's chagrin).
Yet the best part was the smug feeling that now accompanied him. He actually found himself tolerating Umbridge's sickly sweet smiles and boring lectures, since in his eyes, the toad-like woman wasn't all that menacing anymore. It had already been three weeks since the DA was formed and the woman had yet to become suspicious of them. And since he was no longer taking the woman with as much seriousness, he had also stopped getting in trouble, and by extension, having to take detentions with her. Even though the woman probably thought she had finally crushed his rebellious tendencies.
Another huge progress was Hermione's new way to contact the DA members with the new dates and times for the meetings. It was very suspicious for the Hogwarts houses to intermix, so obviously they were more than a few raised brows when DA members from one house would approach members of other houses to tell them about the new meeting times. Luckily, Hermione was quite a genius and found a way to avoid direct contact with other members outside of the DA meetings. Everyone was now given a fake galleon whose serial number would be magically altered to show the time and date of every meeting. All Harry had to do was change his own galleon with his wand, and because of the NEWT level protean charm Hermione set up, every other galleon would change as well, growing hot to alert their owner of the change. It was simple and yet brilliant since nobody would likely suspect a piece of Wizarding currency.
A few weeks before their first Quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, the meetings had been put to a complete stop, not that it wasn't already hard enough to gather everyone since the DA just so happened to have captains and players of three of the four Hogwarts houses teams as members. Scheduling meeting when all three teams had practice for the season had been a complete nightmare. Angelina was already badgering everyone in the team to get as much practice as they possibly could.
That was another change that had overtaken Hogwarts with the advent of Quidditch season. It was as if a blanket of tension had fallen over the four houses. With the coming of the Gryffindor and Slytherin match, tensions between the two rival houses had grown exponentially, even though they were already high to begin with. Students were jinxing each other out of class and in the hallways. Gryffindor team players found themselves targets of various malicious Slytherins who wanted nothing more than to increase their chances for winning the cup.
What was more amazing was how this heavy tension also seemed to reach the adults. Even the teachers were not immune. Snape would turn a blind eye to these several incidents, one in which Alicia Spinnet was sent to the Hospital Wing with rapidly growing eyebrows, despite there being at least fourteen witnesses to the act. Much to his surprise even McGonagall had joined the fray. She had given them no homework on the week before the match so that they could get in more practice to beat the snakes.
"I've become accustomed to seeing the Quidditch Cup in my study, and I really don't want to hand it over to Professor Snape, so use the extra time to practice won't you?" The Animagus said, and had Harry not been standing in front of her with Ron, he wouldn't have believed his ears.
Snape seemed to counter by booking the Quidditch pitch so often, that it became nearly impossible for the Gryffindor team to practice. It was the kind of under-handed tricks he would expect from, well, a Slytherin.
Yet what worried him the most at the moment was Ron. While he was used to getting slandered by others, and being a subject of talk, Ron just wasn't used to that sort of attention. Just the other day he saw a pale and almost green-looking Ron appear in the Great Hall after apparently being threatened by a Slytherin who promised him a one way trip to the Hospital Wing. After years of this, Harry had become quite adept at taking it all in stride, Ron not so much. And it worried the teen, since he had no idea how that would affect the redhead's performance. Even his attempts at easing Ron's worries seemed to backfire.
"You'll be fine! Remember how you blocked that shot in practice, by kicking it with your foot while hanging from your broom? That was brilliant!" Harry said, clapping his friend on the back.
"That was an accident! I had fallen from my broom and when I tried to get back on it, I accidentally kicked the ball away." Ron admitted and Harry mentally winced.
"Well if you pull more mistakes like that the cup will be ours." Harry attempted to comfort his friend, but failed.
"You shouldn't worry so much. The more you panic the worse off you'll be, because it will make you more likely to screw up." Zidane said from his seat in front of the two, before taking a zip of pumpkin juice. "Though considering what Harry said, maybe you will want to panic more…"
"You know that's not really helping." Hermione said as she joined the conversation. Next to the blonde, Neville agreed.
"Hmm, you're right." The foreigner thought while scrunching his brows in thought. "In that case I suggest you just ignore everything else. Just think about not letting anything get past your hoops, and if you can ignore what everyone else is shouting then you'll be just fine."
"That's actually some good advice." Neville said with surprise.
"Yeah, but it might not work if you get knocked out by a bludger." One of the twins said as they approached.
"You'll end up in the Hospital Wing fast if you don't pay attention to the game." The other one said.
"Good point." Zidane admitted.
"You're all not helping!" Ron said with a hint of irritation. "What are you all doing here anyways?"
Eventually the day of the match finally came, and the tension in the air became almost tangible. He tried to get Ron to eat something, though the redhead made it almost seem as if he were having his last meal. He was pale and sweaty, looking not much better than the time he had accidentally made himself throw up slugs after an incident with his backfiring wand. It had all been made ten times worse with the jeering Slytherins, and the ridiculous pins they had all taken to wearing, all of them saying 'Weasley is our King'. Thankfully, with Hermione's advice, he had managed to herd Ron all the way to the changing rooms without him seeing the pins, but he knew it was all a matter of time.
'Somehow I can't help feel like something bad is going to happen.' Harry thought to himself as he started changing into his red and gold Quidditch robes.
…..
"These matches aren't always like this are they?" Zidane asked Hermione, raising his voice so that she could hear him over the crowd.
"Not really, they took it too far this time." Hermione said with a huge scowl directed at the Slytherin stands where they had just finished the second verse of their 'Weasely is our King' chant.
"How is anyone supposed to play like this?" Neville asked as he pressed his hands to his ears as the noise became almost unbearable.
"They're not. That's the whole point." Zidane said as he mimicked his friend and covered his ears since they were a bit more sensitive. His actions were rendered useless when Luna's rather ridiculous lion head hat let out a tremendous roar that left his ears ringing.
"Sorry." The blonde girl said rather vacantly, though coming from Luna it was quite expected.
"Why would they do that?" Neville asked in anger, though it was hard to distinguish his tone over the cacophony of sounds.
"They are trying to make Ron screw up." Zidane shouted while trying to plug his fingers in his ears. He was quite thankful when Hermione gave him a pair of earmuffs after seeing his discomfort. Not only would it help block out the sound, but it would hopefully warm his ears which felt like they would fall off any second now because of the cold. This was like the Festival of the Hunt, only worse since, at least there, most people took to the higher levels and only a few brave onlookers would watch from their roofs or high balconies scattered throughout the district, in other words, not nearly enough to make as much racket. "Thanks!"
"Don't mention it." Hermione nearly shouted so her message could be heard over the sound of Slytherin's cheers as they scored once more. Gryffindor was already losing by 30 points. "I hope Harry finds the snitch soon."
"That's right even if we are losing now, we can still win if Harry catches the Snitch." Neville called out. "But it looks like none of the two have sighted it yet."
Zidane paused as he tried to remember the rules of this game. If he remembered correctly, the Snitch was the tiny golden ball that had to be caught by one of the Seekers, in this case Harry and Malfoy. Capturing the Snitch ended the game, and granted the team that caught it 150 points. Kind of unfair if they asked him, but he supposed it would help immensely in this situation. Ron was playing horribly, but he didn't blame him, especially not with the silly song that the Slytherins were all shouting. He knew Ron was just feeling awful at the moment just hearing the offensive lyrics. Even though Lee attempted to overcome the noise with his commentary, it would still break through.
Zidane had half a mind to silence them all with magic, but he knew he lacked the power for a spell of that magnitude.
WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING
HE CANNOT BLOCK A SINGLE RING
THAT'S WHY SLYTHERINS ALL SING
WEASLEY IS OUR KING
The genome grit his teeth and forced himself to calm down, lest he start expelling sparks like when he did during trance. Next to him he saw Hermione attempt the same, though in her case her hair almost seemed to frizzle with static anger. In the air, he could see Harry fly around in search of the illusive golden ball, while Ron hovered between the three rings, looking more like he would faint at any second than block the hoops. The Slytherin tactic was obviously working.
'Neville was right, their best hope is to find the Snitch.' Zidane thought and quickly proceeded to scan the field for the illusive glint of gold. He had to admit that were it not for his years as a thief and high rank as a treasure hunter, he would have never noticed the glint of gold hovering near the ground on the Slytherin side of the pitch. He had a long history of hunting for shiny things, after all. "Hey look, I found it."
"Found what?"Neville asked in curiosity, Hermione seemed to turn towards him as well.
"The Snitch." Zidane said simply and pointed towards the spot where the golden ball hovered.
"WHAT?!" Both teens said and turned to look at where he was pointing. Surely enough, Harry seemed to notice it too because he quickly dived towards the spot.
"How can you even see it?" Neville asked as he squinted his eyes in the ball's direction.
"That's amazing." Hermione said. Around them, the whole stand burst into cheers as Harry beat Malfoy to the snitch, making Gryffindor win. "Have you played as a Seeker before?"
Zidane just laughed sheepishly as the loud cries of victory were mixed with the roars of Luna's hat. "Not really, I guess I'm just good at noticing small details, that's all."
The cries of victory however, quickly turned into cries of alarm and protest, making the two teens snap to attention.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked.
"Goyle just hit Harry with a Bludger!" Neville said in alarm.
"What! That lousy-!" Hermione shouted in anger.
The genome nodded in agreement. To hit a player after the game already finished was nothing short of despicable.
"It looks like he's alright, though." Zidane said with relief. "Madam Hooch is already talking to Goyle, but…oh crap."
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"Look over there. It looks like a fight might just break out." The genome replied as he pointed towards a forming crowd of red robes on one side and green on the other. "Come on."
The group hurried out of the stands and closer to the playing field where they could clearly see Harry and the twins in an argument with a very bitter Malfoy. He couldn't hear very well what exactly they were saying, but the fact that Harry was currently holding George back meant that it couldn't possibly be any good.
…..
"But you like the Weasleys don't you Potter? Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles, even the Weasley's hovel smells OK." Malfoy said with a sneer.
Harry tried as hard as he could to keep himself from pummeling him while still holding George back. Next to him it took the combined effort of Angelina, Alicia and Katie to stop Fred from leaping at an openly laughing Malfoy and reducing the git to a bloody pulp. Though on second thought, that would very well be an improvement.
"Or perhaps you remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it-"
Harry wasn't even aware the he released George. In fact the following seconds were nothing but a blur. All he could recall was the girl's shouts and the sudden urge to make Malfoy experience as much pain as possible. His hand didn't even twitch towards his pocket for his wand. No, because that would take too long and the git needed to suffer now.
The next thing he became aware of was being knocked backwards by an impedimenta spell, Malfoy lying on the ground, whimpering with a bloody nose, and George sporting a busted lip while his twin was frantically trying to get to him despite his restraints. Coming rapidly toward them was none other than Madam Hooch, her broom lay hastily discarded to the side while her wand was drawn and pointed at them.
"What do you think you're doing?! I've never seen behavior like it! Back up to the castle, both of you, and straight to your Head of House's office! GO NOW!" Madam Hooch bellowed.
The two teens glumly made their way to McGonagall's office, though before they could reach the door, they were called on from behind by a very livid Deputy Headmistress. Just as McGonagall ushered then inside her office, she ripped the red and golden scarf from her neck and discarded it on the floor, before turning towards them.
"Well?" She said, her lips pressed thinly in barely contained rage. "I have never seen such a disgraceful exhibition. Two on one! Explain yourselves!"
"Malfoy provoked us." Harry said stiffly.
"Provoked you?" The Head of Gryffindor shouted, while slamming her fist so hard on the desk that her tin of biscuits fell and burst open on the floor. "He had just lost hadn't he? Of course he wanted to provoke you! But what on earth can he have said that justifies what you two-"
"He insulted my parents and Harry's mother." George snarled.
"I don't care what he said!" McGonagall shouted in response. "What you must understand is the gravity of what you have just done-"
"Hem hem." A sickly sweet voice interrupted, making Harry clench his fist in anger.
'Oh please not her, anyone but her.' Harry thought to himself as his fears were proven to be correct. Oh how he was wishing for the woman to be rendered mute again by that one prank.
"May I help Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge said in that annoying tone of hers as McGonagall's face became red with anger.
"Help, what do you mean help?" The Head of House asked with a constricted voice. The toad like woman only gave one of her fake smiles.
Harry could only stomach his anger as the woman insisted that such an act of violence deserved more than just a week's worth detention, and that such an incident would have never happened if the Gryffindor team hadn't been reformed. A small spark of hope appeared when McGonagall told the witch that in the end, the decision lay in her hands as their Head of House, but this tiny spark of hope was promptly crushed when another sugary sweet smile appeared on the Toad's face instead. His whole being was filled with dread as the woman told them that now, thanks to a certain Minister of Magic, she now had supreme authority over all punishments and the power to take away privileges as she saw fit.
"So…" The woman said, looking very much like a toad that had just captured a particularly tasty morsel. "I really think I will have to ban these two from playing Quidditch ever again."
…
"You wanted to see me Professor?" Zidane asked as he opened the door to McGonagall's office.
It was already past lunch so naturally news of Harry and the twin's Quidditch ban already travelled through the entire castle. There was a tense and angry air all throughout Gryffindor House at the moment, despite their victory over Slytherin. To most it didn't even feel like a victory. The correct term, Zidane supposed, was a pyrrhic victory, or a victory with too great of a cost. Gryffindor team had just lost their Seeker and two Beaters.
Many people thought that the punishment was wholly unfair, especially considering that one of the twins didn't lay a finger on Malfoy. Zidane agreed wholeheartedly. He believed it was just the tactic of a bitter toad-like witch to get her revenge over Harry and the rest of Gryffindor while still displaying her newly acquired power for the entire school to see.
"Yes, I'm glad you had the sense to come here on time." The woman said as she let him in and then closed the door behind him. It was then that she took her wand and proceeded to mutter several charms under her breath, while directing her spells towards the walls of the room.
"Order business then." Zidane commented, and the witch gave a brisk nod. It took no genius to tell that she was still upset about what happened earlier today, so for his and everybody's sake, Zidane decided to avoid pushing her buttons this time or risk being turned into a chair or some form of lower invertebrate.
"Correct. I would have called you to the Headmaster's office, but I'm afraid Albus has been busy dealing with the new Ministry decrees." The woman said before offering him a seat and then sitting down herself. "Since this small meeting is just to report, he entrusted me to do it alone. We are thinking about setting these up randomly every week to keep in touch."
"So I'm basically going to be telling you what's been going on?" Zidane asked.
"I am also going to be updating you with our situation outside of school now that it has been made painfully clear that Dolores is monitoring the mail and chimneys. Bill has stopped sending you letters, correct?"
"Yeah, for quite a while now. I suppose he thought it would be odd for me to be receiving letters from him. It sucks, but I guess it can't be helped if the Ministry is nosing around." Zidane said and McGonagall nodded.
"Can you tell me how the trio has been doing? Outside of class, I mean." McGonagall asked, giving him a knowing look. Zidane quickly understood, and translated the question to 'How is the DA doing?'. He had no idea if Hermione's jinx would still activate if the other person already knew about the club, so using general answers that didn't directly reveal the existence of the DA was key.
"They're doing alright, making some good progress. Umbridge has no idea so far, so no worries for now." Zidane said waving a hand in dismissal.
"That's good to hear. But there is something that Albus told me to tell you." McGonagall said before giving him a serious look. "In the event that this group gets discovered, he doesn't want you to interfere. He says everything has already been planned ahead. Your mission is to stick with Harry and avoid discovery at all costs."
"What? What do you mean it's all planned? Just what is he planning?" Zidane asked in alarm.
McGonagall just have him a minute hint of a smile. "I ask myself that every day, Mr. Tribal, but the fact remains; the truth about yourself and the Order's existence must remain a secret above all else. Am I absolutely clear?"
With a reluctant sigh, Zidane spoke. "Alright, I understand, but I do have one condition. I'm not asking you to fully agree, just hear me out and think about it."
McGonagall raised a single brown in question, but the nodded. "Alright."
"I'd like to help out more outside of school. Maybe partake in a short mission with the others every once in a while, maybe during the Christmas holidays if you really need me here. I just feel that if I stay too long here, I'll go insane."
McgGonagall's gaze softened and after some consideration, the witch nodded. "Alright, I'll tell the others, and we'll give it some thought. There is something I needed to tell you as well."
This time it was Zidane's turn to raise a brow in question.
"Albus has informed me about a possible lead in getting you home. He attained this information from a contact in France."
"France? You mean that country south from the British Isles right?" Zidane questioned and McGonagall gave him an odd look, before nodding in what was probably realization that he likely didn't have the same knowledge about geography that they did.
"Madam Maxime is the headmistress of Beauxbatons, the Wizarding School there, and she was also doing some work for us in the Giant front, alongside our gamekeeper. She mentioned the existence of a rather odd collection that may have the answers. She has promised to look into it since she apparently knows its proprietor." The woman said, and then took out a small piece of sealed parchment. "And that reminds me, the other reason I called you here today, is that the Order has received news that our Gamekeeper Hagrid should be returning soon. As to when exactly that may be, I'm afraid I have no answers since communication has been quite strained lately. Hagrid is also a member of the Order, so I thought you would do well to present yourself. I'm afraid we cannot do a proper introduction because it would no doubt attract the attention of a certain toady witch. This parchment contains all the information he needs to know, though make sure to burn the note after reading it."
"Awesome." Zidane asked, though he wondered why the name 'Hagrid' sounded so familiar. "So is that all?"
"Yes, for now." McGonagall said before giving him the date and time of their next possible meeting and then sending him on his way.
Taking his leave, Zidane swiftly left through the door.
…
"I'm going to bed. Maybe this is all just a bad dream." Angelina said as she left the Common Room followed by Alicia and Katie. Above them, the stolen Quidditch Snitch still zoomed around the room. Harry didn't mean to steal it of course, it was purely unintentional, since only when he left McGonagall's office earlier did he realize he was still clutching it in his hand.
Slowly more people glumly left the room, Fred and George glowering at anyone who happened to be in their way. The only people left were Harry and Hermione. Ron, strangely enough, had gone missing since the end of the match, and though Harry knew he was probably upset, he hoped he returned soon since he would catch his death of a cold at this rate.
"Do you think he is avoiding us?" Hermione asked.
Harry wasn't sure. He assumed that the teen was upset, but he also knew that, with Ron, it was better to give him a wide berth in these situations. The redhead did have a rather ill temper, and it was best to give him some time to think and calm down. Coming after Ron would only get them caught in the crossfire, and he was pretty sure that with his own foul mood, the two would end up fighting.
Both teens turned around when they heard the telltale sound of someone coming in through the Fat Lady's portrait. To their surprise, it was a very pale and partially snow covered Ron. On a closer look they could see that his lips were partially blue and that he was shivering just slightly. When the red head saw them both, he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"Walking." Ron mumbled. It was then that Harry realized that Ron was still in his Quidditch gear.
"You look frozen." Hermione reprimanded and forcefully made Ron sit closer to the warm fire. Even so, the redhead seemed to inch further away from him.
"I'm sorry." Ron said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them.
"Sorry for what?" Harry asked.
"Thinking that I can play Quidditch. I'm going to resign first thing in the morning." Ron said.
"You can't do that. If you resign, Gryffindor team will only have three players." Harry said and when he saw Ron's questioning gaze, he explained. "I've been given a lifetime ban. So have Fred and George."
"WHAT!?" Ron asked, shocked.
Hermione was the one to fill him in the details, since Harry just couldn't bear to talk about it. When she finished, one would have thought that she had just given Ron a death sentence. Somehow he looked even paler than he did when he had just arrived.
"This is all my fault." Ron said.
"You didn't make me punch Malfoy." Harry countered.
"If I wasn't such a lousy player." Ron continued. Harry just shook his head while Hermione walked over to the window.
"It's got nothing to do with that." Harry insisted.
"It was that song that wound me up." Ron admonished himself.
"It would have wound anyone up." Harry said with a roll of his eyes.
"Guys." Hermione said calling them over.
"This is the worst I've ever felt in my life." Ron said.
"Join the club." Harry said bitterly.
"GUYS!" Hermione snapped as she saw that she was being ignored, the two males seemed to snap to attention.
"What?" They both asked.
"Hagrid's back, look!" Hermione said. Both teens swapped glances and almost instantly broad smiles appeared across their faces. Both rushed towards the windows and surely, they saw a warmth orange glow inside the little cabin near the edge of the forest., smoke now slowly rising from its chimney.
To be continued…
….
A/N: That's it for now, but I'll probably update a bit earlier next time, so possibly on Friday. No promises though.
Before I leave, here's a small omake to celebrate the fact that the semester is over.
…..
OMAKE
After a long day of classes that seemed to drag on forever and work that had to be completed, Harry could honestly say he was happy to see the vibrant reds and golds of the Gryffindor Common Room. Even better was the thought of a magically warmed and fluffed bed that waited for him up the flight of stairs to the boy´s dormitories. All his wistful longing was cut short the moment he stepped into the room and was greeted with the sight of his arguing roommates.
"I'm telling ya, we have to do something about this!" Seamus shouted from his spot next to his bed.
"Do what? We don't even know who's responsible!" Dean replied.
Not wanting to stay out of the loop, and thankful that things between him and Seamus had cooled down considerably, Harry spoke. "What are you talking about?"
Looking at his best friend, it was Ron the one that answered. "What it's about? It's about Hermione's bloody beast leaving cat hair all over the place!"
"Cat hair?" Harry muttered and looked around, following Ron's wild hand gestures. Surely enough, there was hair all over the floor and the on the beds, and now that Harry thought about it, he recalled seeing all over the place for weeks now. He had seen Crookshanks shed fur before, but was he really sneaking into the boy's dormitories for that purpose only?
"Ron, I-I don't think it's Crookshanks', the hairs are a lighter color, see?" Neville said as he picked up one of the offending hairs. Harry walked over towards the boy to get a good look, then picked up a hair from the floor to compare. The boy was right, the hair wasn't the same ginger color as Crookshanks' fur, but a light, tan color.
"Ron, Neville's right, I don't think it was Crookshanks either." Harry said.
"So maybe some other Gryffindor's cat is sneaking into the room?" Dean suggested.
"I don't care if it was a bloody Slytherin's cat, the stuff is everywhere and its making me itch like mad!" Seamus cried out pulling at his own hair for emphasis.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Neville asked timidly.
Dean seemed to give a deflated sigh, before reaching for his wand and banishing as much of the hair on his bed as he could. "Well we can try and use magic, but other than that, what can we do?"
Everyone seemed to give a defeated sigh before taking out their own wands and following Dean's example.
"Well, on the plus side, the weather is getting colder, and I heard cats only shed in when it's hot." Neville piped up from where he had finished cleaning off the hair and was now putting on his pajamas.
"Not true mate, my Aunt had a cat and the bloody beast would shed all year long." Ron said and whatever hopes they had left were crushed by the redhead's words.
"Whatever, goodnight." Seamus said clad in his pajamas as he pulled the covers over him before pulling at his bed's curtains.
The others mimicked the boy, and said their goodnights as well. Ron, being closest to the nightstand, was the one that turned off the lights. With the room bathed in darkness and the warmth from the heater still rolling off in pleasant waves, it didn't take long for the tired teens to fall into a deep slumber and for the room to be filled with the sound of soft snores.
But it was in their haste and exhaustion that the teens forgot about the empty, unoccupied bed, and its owner.
"Looks like they already went ahead without me." Zidane muttered quietly under his breath as the opened the door gently, letting in a ray of light from the hall outside. With silent steps he made his way to his bed and closed the curtain behind him, his gloved hand scratching irritably at his lower back.
He hated it when he started shedding.
…..
That's it for now, see you guys again, hopefully on Friday if all goes right.