Notes: Not much to comment. This is a rather short intermission chapter before the Holidays arc begins. As always, thanks to everybody who's been following so far. Special thanks to those who've been constantly sending feedback. I really enjoy getting your messages, though I may take some time to properly answer them.

…..

(T-3)

Chapter 29: The Lion, the Wizard, and the Broom Closet

By the time Zidane finished explaining, it was already early in morning. It was really Umbridge's fault for talking so damn long to talk. It had taken all his willpower to remain in the same room with her for so long (and with some perfectly good weapons within reach) without destroying her. He couldn't exactly leave either, since the door was closed and he doubted that having it suddenly open by itself would be overlooked by the toad.

Though he did tell Dumbledore what happened, he was cautious enough to avoid a few topics. He just briefly mentioned the memory of Bahamut's attack as being something that he did in fact witness for himself. Any mention of seeing the scene from Kuja's point of view, or any mention about his 'brother' was left out, mainly because it wouldn't do any good if he said he was related to a renowned villain, and even just mentioning Kuja would probably lead to the whole 'Angel of Death' talk that he had been trying very hard to avoid.

Thankfully, everything went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as it could go after finding out that Voldemort could easily possess Harry in the future because of his scar, and that somehow, he had been able to tap into that connection as well. This was the most likely reason as to why Harry had somehow seen part of those memories while he had witnessed the teen's vision. The only explanation that Dumbledore could come up with was it had been some form of accidental Legilimency.

'The question as to how I got access to Kuja's memories is still up to debate, though. I mean, I saw them right after reading Kuja's spell book, so maybe it's at fault somehow.' Zidane thought to himself as he released a massive yawn. 'Well, good news is, I can finally move my tail and my back is feeling a lot better. Though I guess I'll have to be careful around Harry from now on. Maybe not avoid him, but at least put some distance in between.'

And speaking of 'avoiding', Hermione had been downright fierce in trying to get the details from him. Since the Weasleys and Harry were gone, the only few capable of telling her exactly what happened were the teens that shared their dormitory. Since Hermione really wasn't as close with Seamus and Dean as she was with him and Neville (they probably insulted her SPEW thing), it was really no surprise that she went after them instead.

Zidane didn't really have a problem at first. He just told Hermione a simple, albeit edited, version of what happened as he did not want her to know of his involvement. He thought she would be content with that, but instead she continued to pester him for details he may or may not have had, but he sure as hell wasn't giving out. During breakfast, between classes, after lunch, the girl just wouldn't give up. She didn't even want to know what happened anymore; she wanted him to shoot a bunch of ideas at her so that she could piece together what happened in some sort of epiphany. Maybe that worked just fine with Harry and Ron, but he didn't plan to become an actor in that particular play.

Zidane just wasn't in the mood for that sort of thing. He had barely slept, and any sleep he did get was from the small naps he took in class. He would have skipped class, but Dumbledore was adamant that he showed up so that the others wouldn't get suspicious of his involvement. Umbridge had been watching him like a hawk today, but thankfully he managed to get out of her class without getting in trouble. Hermione, of course, was waiting outside.

He really wondered how Harry and Ron put up with her.

Neville, in an act of sheer brilliance, managed to excuse himself by saying that he needed to help Professor Sprout fertilize a few plants before the holidays. Zidane could only glare at the teen as he left him alone with the bushy haired girl. Why didn't he think of that?

"I was wondering if you could tell me about Harry's dream. Did he mention what it was about? Does he have them often?" The girl inquired.

'Maybe I should tell her I need to go and see Hagrid. Oh wait, doesn't he have class or something right now? Hermione would probably realize it too.' Zidane thought and then came up with an idea. "Err, listen Hermione, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to go. Mog gets upset if I leave her alone for too long."

"Er, that's alright. Do you want me to come?" The girl asked.

"NO, no, that's fine. We were just going to wrap a few things Christmas presents for some friends and then I was just going to start packing my things." Zidane said. Hermione nodded in understanding and then paused.

"But we aren't leaving until after tomorrow." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, but my things are all over the place and I'd rather not forget anything here." Zidane said sheepishly.

"That makes sense, I suppose. I guess I just got used to having Harry and Ron always pack up the night before in a hurry. I feel like their mother sometimes. Honestly, I wonder how things would be if I weren't there to pick up after them." Hermione said with a small laugh.

"You really do care for them, don't you." Zidane said, his gaze softening. Hermione seemed to blush.

"I do. Ron may be a git sometimes, and Harry can be really pigheaded, but they are still my best friends." Hermione said and then gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry if I pushed you too far today, Neville as well. I guess I just wanted to help them in any way I could. I don't really like being left behind."

"It's alright. I guess I would have done the same for my friends. I like that." Zidane said with a flirtatious grin that made Hermione blush. "And once you see them both, you can get their sides of the story too. I'm sure they'll tell you even if you don't ask them."

Hermione seemed to regain her composure as she thought over his words. The genome looked at her questioningly as the girl seemed to scrunch her brow in thought. Just before Zidane could open his mouth to ask what was wrong, the girl's expression turned into one of realization and she beamed at him as if just figuring something out.

"That's brilliant!" Hermione said as she practically tackled him with a hug. "Thank you so much! I'll go cancel my plans with my parents."

The girl quickly rushed down the hall in the same direction as the Common Room, leaving Zidane standing therein stupor.

'Ooookay…glad to be of help?' Zidane thought to himself, before he too headed off to find Mog.

It took him hours to finally finish all the preparations, even with Mog's help. He had finally chosen and wrapped all the presents, making sure to label them correctly, and to sort them out accordingly based on whether Mog was taking them back to Gaia or not. They had already planned it so that Mog would leave tomorrow night before everyone left, so that she still had enough time to make it in time for Christmas.

They finished their preparations just in time for dinner that evening. Neville had reappeared looking very apologetic. Hermione had apparently just owled her parents to cancel her skiing trip (whatever that was), though she had yet to tell them where she was planning on going instead since she was still leaving Hogwarts for the Holidays. Zidane didn't really care since he already had a good idea of where she was going. Just before leaving Dumbledore's office, the man had mentioned that St. Mungo's was in London, and so, if Hermione was meeting up with Harry and Ron, then she would most likely head to Grimmauld Place since it was also located in the Brittish capital.

'So apparently we are heading towards the same place.' Zidane thought. Because of these 'unforeseen circumstances', the trip to France was postponed until after Christmas. Until then, Zidane would be staying at Grimmauld Place as 'Marcus Crescent'. He'd been looking forward to the trip, but it was nowhere as important as Mr. Weasley's wellbeing. France could wait just a bit longer.

Since Mog was leaving soon, they decided to spend that night out in the ground playing in the snow, just the two of them. Zidane had already given Mog her gift, a warm purplish red scarf that was quite perfect for this occasion. The blonde was already wearing the scarf that Mrs. Weasley gave him, which added with his thick thief gloves and school winter cloak, made a very warm genome. He didn't even bother leaving his tail out since he already learned from his past mistakes.

"Kupo!" Mog said, before hitting him in the face it a snowball. For something so small, she could sure pack a punch.

Zidane dodged the next attack and then threw a ball of his own, which managed to knock the moogle out of the sky and into a pile of snow, the only thing sticking out being the golden pompom on her head.

"Got ya!" Zidane said with a smirk.

"What's this? Playing with your giant rat, are you?" A mocking voice called from behind them.

Turning around, the teen saw none other than Malfoy sneering at him. It was odd though, to see the pale prick without seeing his two trained gorillas behind him. He was actually more surprised that he had managed to sneak up on them both. It was probably because they were so caught up having fun that they forgot about everything else.

"Kupopo!" Mog seemed to reply indignantly at being called a rat. Zidane just shook his head, making the angry moogle calm down.

"She's a moogle, Malfoy, though I don't suppose you would know anything about that." Zidane said, hoping that if he turned to head back to the castle, then Malfoy would hopefully leave them alone.

"You know something Tribal? There's something about you that really pisses me off." Malfoy said, slowly approaching the blonde.

"You'll find that the feeling is mutual." Zidane said, cocky grin already on his face.

"Always going around like you own the place. I heard that you're one of the new Gryffindor beaters, too. Can't tell if that's an improvement or not. At least the Weasleys were blood-traitors and not mudbloods. Or maybe you are worse, maybe your mother really was a Kneazle, making you a half-breed." Malfoy said mockingly.

"Kupo!" Mog called angrily, Zidane just shook his head again.

"Let's go Mog, we've got better things to do than waste our time with him." The thief said, not even looking at Malfoy.

"You know, I was thinking that I ought to punish you." Malfoy said, sneering down at him.

"What for? It's still not time for curfew." Zidane said, but then grinned and smiled a cocky smile. "Unless it's for my devilishly handsome looks, and in that case, I'm guilty as charged."

Malfoy looked at him, scowling in disgust. "It may not be a big deal overseas, but you'll find that blood purity is important here. Someone may not have explained it to you, but I think it's about time you knew your place. I think fifteen points ought to do it."

"Oooh, scary. You're docking points." Zidane said raising both hands for effect. "Easy Malfoy, or I might just piss myself out of fright. Here I thought you would sic your gorillas on me. Where are they anyways? You didn't dock points off of them and scare them to death, did you? They're supposed to be endangered, you know."

"Shut up. How dare you mock me." Malfoy said threateningly as he pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at him.

'Now this looks familiar…it must run in the family.' Zidane thought as he remembered his fight with Malfoy senior. "Listen, I don't know what the hell your problem is, but I'm blaming your upbringing. Seriously, keep this up and you'll end up in a really tight spot one day and daddy won't be there to help you."

"Mind your own bloody business." Malfoy said through gritted teeth.

Zidane just gave a sigh and turned towards Mog. "I guess there's no use arguing with someone who won't listen."

"Kupo." Mog seemed to say in agreement. This only seemed to anger Malfoy further.

"Shut up you bloody rat." Malfoy said, flicking his wand and making a white jet of light shoot out of it.

"Mog!" Zidane cried out, but the hex had already hit the moogle right in the chest.

The genome was about to rush in to check on the moogle when he was stopped dead in his tracks by a sudden spike of magic in the air, one he was quite familiar with. Malfoy apparently felt it too, since he flinched and began backing away in fear.

"Shit." The blonde hero said, his fears confirmed as he saw the moogle begin to glow.

"W-what's going on?" Malfoy said, his voice hitching as he saw the spectacle. He was about to run away, but was stopped by a massive roar and a jet of white blinding light shooting past him and hitting the stone wall behind him, shattering it into pieces.

Slowly turning back to the spot where the creature was not just five seconds ago, he was shocked to see the display of light dissipate, and instead find a massive winged lion standing there on its powerful hind legs while stretching the claws on its 'hands'. Two very long tan-colored bangs seemed to fall over its front, billowing from the winds the creature created when it flapped its dragon-like wings.

"MADEEN!" Zidane cried out, now in panic. He wasn't worried about the Eidolon herself, but for the blonde Slytherin that was now at the powerful creature's mercy.

The angered Eidolon advanced on the Slytherin blonde, making Malfoy fall back on the ground as he attempted to get away. Madeen reared her head back, her two fists just starting to glow. Malfoy watched the Eidolon with pure fear in his eyes, his entire body shaking violently as he saw the lion thrust her head forwards in his direction and open her maw to let out a massive roar. All Malfoy could see from his angle were the two rows of razor sharp teeth just inches away from his face.

Predictably, the boy's jaw went slack and was then followed by the rest of his body as Malfoy passed out on the ground.

"Madeen, that's enough." Zidane said, and the Eidolon straightened herself up and then reverted to her moogle form in another display of blinding white light. Zidane just shook his head in an exasperated manner and then asked. "Are you happy now? For a moment you really scared me, you know?"

"Kupo." Mog affirmed.

"Come on, let's get the hell out of here before anyone comes looking for answers. Let me just fix the wall…" Zidane said as he cast a repairing charm, 'reparo', and then saw Malfoy's body on the floor. "Dammit we're gonna have take him back. If we are lucky we can get him to believe it was all a dream."

"Kupo?" Mog asked.

"Wait, I think I still have that flask of Draught of Peace from potions class. Maybe if we give it to sleeping beauty here, he'll buy it. We're going to sneak him back inside the Slytherin dorms though. Here, you get the legs while I grab him by the arms and no 'accidentally' dropping him, okay?" Zidane said with a sigh.

"Kupopo?" The moogle questioned as she nudged the genome.

"I'm not upset. You actually got him really good. I was meaning to do it myself for a while now." The blonde said, ruffling the creature's head.

Since it was still not time for curfew and students were still about, they were forced to hide out in a broom closet until the hallways were empty. Malfoy only woke up once during the whole ordeal, but Zidane quickly put him to sleep with a spell, which was the more merciful alternative since Mog wanted to knock him out with the genome's new Beater club. Once the halls were empty, they cast an invisibility spell and headed towards the dungeons where the Slytherin Common Room was.

Since Malfoy was taller than Zidane, carrying the pompous blonde had been harder and trickier than he had expected. Had they been visible to the world, he had no doubts that they would have looked ridiculous. Once outside of the Common Room entrance, they were forced to wait for one of the prefects to return from their rounds, so they could open the way. Thankfully, it didn't take long for that to happen since Pansy Parkinson soon appeared around the corner, looking quite angry as she muttered things about Draco not meeting up with her for some snogging.

'Oh. Well that explains why the gorillas were absent.' Zidane thought as the girl said 'purge' and a passage behind the wall was revealed.

He was led to a large room with a low-ceiling. It had a rather grand atmosphere, but unlike the warm welcoming feeling that the Gryffindor Common Room gave, this room was quite 'cold'. Everything was decorated in the green and silver splendor of Slytherin with an obvious snake motif. Asides from that, he could see various skulls decorating the place, and dark-wooden cupboards as well. The lighting inside the room also seemed to have a greenish tinge to it, though he supposed this was because the entire room was rather close to the dark lake outside. It probably went right under it.

Zidane avoided the throngs of Slytherins and then skillfully made his way up the dormitory stairs. He made sure to wait for someone to go up first and then confirm that it was indeed headed towards the boy's dormitories. He didn't feel like repeating that one incident where he had the misfortune of discovering that the stairs to the girl's dormitories turned into a slide when a male such as himself, tried to cross them.

Once he found the room where Malfoy slept, which wasn't all that hard since the occupants of every room were written on their door, he proceeded to enter the empty room and unceremoniously dump Malfoy on the bed that Mog pointed out. He supposed that she could smell his scent all over it, and that was more than enough for him. He positioned his body so it would look like he had fallen asleep and then removed his shoes to make it more believable. Afterwards, he just closed the hangings around his bed because there was no way in hell he would change Malfoy out of his uniform. Once all of this was done, Zidane dispelled the invisibility over the pompous teen and then left.

"You do realize that with Malfoy seeing you, we're going to have to change our plans." Zidane said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Mog just looked down like a scolded child. "We're going to have to get you out of here before he wakes up. Even if he does think it was a dream, it would be best if you were long gone by then."

"Kupopo?" Mog asked.

"We can get you to the pitch by dawn. But for now, there's still this prank I'm dying to try. I want to have everything ready before we leave." Zidane said with a grin as he headed off to scheme.

…..

"Course he is worried. The boy is seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake and Merlin knows where else. Obviously Potter doesn't know what that means, but if You-Know-Who is possessing him…"

Harry pressed his back against the wall as he remembered the words he had heard Moody say yesterday through the Extendable Ears. For once he wished he had never taken the twins up on their eavesdropping offer. The visit to St. Mungo's had gone so well up until that point.

The Boy-Who-Lived retreated back into the study where nobody would likely bother him. The others already knew about what was said, since they had been present when Moody spoke. He had seen their shocked faces back then, and for their own sake, he had stayed far from them since they returned from St. Mungo's. The dirty feeling of being tainted returned once more, though this time Sirius wasn't there to tell him how his vision had saved Mr. Weasley and whatnot. No, he had decided to stay away from normal people. He didn't deserve their company. He could get possessed any moment, his emerald eyes turning into crimson with slits as pupils, and then kill Ron and the others in their sleep. He wasn't even safe in Hogwarts anymore. How did he know that he wouldn't just lose it one night and end up killing his dorm mates?

His thoughts went back to what Sirius had told them before school started. The Order was keeping guard over a weapon; something that Voldemort didn't have the first time. Were they actually talking about him? Was he the so called weapon?

In that case, was that why Voldemort was trying to get to him? Was that why the Death Eaters had attacked near Hogsmeade? Were they really trying to retrieve him? Was that why they were attacking the people he knew? Because Voldemort was getting a clear view of who he was with at all times? Panic shot through him as he thought about that possibility.

'That means that he is getting a clear view of Headquarters now! He knows where Grimmauld Place is!' Harry raced up to his room and began packing away his few possessions. He would be doing everyone a favor by leaving.

"Running away are we?" a voice interrupted him. Looking around, he was greeted by Phineas, the bearded wizard from the portrait in Dumbledore's office.

"I'm not." Harry countered as he began a small fight with the infuriating former Hogwarts Headmaster, who had implied that he was trying to save his own neck and escape his problems.

"Oh, so you're being noble." The man said as he stroked his pointy beard. Harry just ignored the man and reached for the doorknob. He was stopped when he heard what the man said. "I have a message from Dumbledore. He wants you to stay where you are."

Harry let his hand drop to his side as frustration began to overwhelm him. For some reason, Dumbledore's message only seemed to anger him. The old man wouldn't talk to him. The only times he had were back when he got that letter, expelling him from Hogwarts, and now. Both times they were orders telling him to stay put and not do anything stupid.

"Did it ever occur to you, my poor puffed-up popinjay, that there might be an excellent reason why the Headmaster of Hogwarts is not confiding every tiny detail of his plans to you?" Phineas said again and Harry gritted his teeth in anger. "Now if you excuse me, I have better things to do than listen to an adolescent agonizing…good day to you."

"Fine, go then!" Harry bellowed at the now-empty frame. "And tell Dumbledore thanks for nothing!"

With a huff, Harry turned around and headed back to his room.

To be continued….

…..

A/N: This was really just as excuse to put Madeen's Eidolon form since it would be a shame not to. Madeen is so cool, and along with Bahamut, she's probably my favorite FFIX summon. This chapter is also for those of you who were wondering when Malfoy was going to get what was coming to him. Personally, I don't hate his character since a lot of his behavior is due to his upbringing and he does develop later in the series, but then again, being raised to become a bit of a prick doesn't really justify how he treats others, so he's still getting what's coming to him. You simply DO NOT mess with Madeeen.