Notes: Not much to comment this time around, except that it looks like the countdown will soon reach 0. What he countdown is for, you ask? Stick around and find out.

As always, thanks for all the support this fic has gotten. I really love getting your messages. Also, since last chapter, this is so far the LONGEST story I've written (over 210K words ). When did I even write all this? Just... wow.

….

(ARC)

To Guest: Considering Madeen spent so long with Eiko, it's not that surprising. She is a bit eccentric compared to the other Eidolons, but that's what I really like about her. Thanks for reviewing!

…

(T-2)

Chapter 30: Hark the Herald Genome Sings

The first day of the holidays had finally arrived, and the students were eagerly getting ready to board the train while others were saying goodbye to their friends. There was a cheery mood in the air, and apparently, it was contagious. Zidane was ready with all his important possessions contained in his travelling pouch. He had opted to leave his trunk with Dobby for when he got back, since there was really no point in taking it with him. It couldn't be left in the dorms either, since there were still students staying. If he left it in Grimmauld Place, there was always the chance that the Golden Trio or one of the Weasley siblings would find it. Basically, he would be taking it to the train like everybody else just for show, but once they arrived at King's Cross, Dobby would take it back by apparation

Mog had already left yesterday night; her departure temporarily lighting up the sky with a holy-like white light while the ground had trembled at her power. There were a few people who had witnessed it, but thankfully most had passed it off as a weird dream, or a strange phenomenon like the sudden storm they had experienced a few weeks prior.

Many were still laughing from what they had seen this morning. Umbridge had angrily made her way towards the Great Hall, sporting green tinged skin and various warts on her face, making her already-great resemblance to a toad simply uncanny now. To top it off, she had a sign stuck to the back of her cardigan wishing everyone a happy holiday. She had apparently not noticed it until after she had left the hall, being alerted to its existence through the various snickers from students. When she did notice, she left out a screech of fury, but it was already too late since most of the students were already making their way towards the carriages to head towards the station.

Zidane just laughed. The wart thing came as a stroke of genius when he came across a kit for growing them at Zonko's. As for the green dye, it would fade in about a week, but it had proven to be impossible to remove through magical means.

'Merry Christmas you awful toad, and a Happy New Years to you, too.' Zidane thought with a crooked grin as he boarded the train.

The train ride was overall a bit boring, though he did play Exploding Snap with Neville and Luna, and after a bit of coaxing, Hermione, as well.

When they finally arrived, it was early in the evening. He said goodbye to Neville, Luna and Hermione, and disappeared into the crowd. Once he was sure he was not being followed, he found a bathroom and quickly put on his cloak, replaced his shoes with long boots, and put on his thick thief gloves. He was sure that only a handful of people had seen him wearing those, and none of them would likely remember such a trivial thing. He also covered the lower half of his face just in case. Once that was done, 'Marcus' quickly made his way over to the platform entrance once more, where all sorts of odd witches and wizards were picking up their children. The other people in the station paid them no mind, apparently used to this sort of spectacle. Thankfully, the throngs of oddly dressed people made it the perfect hiding spot, and Marcus weaved through the crowd lithely like a shadow.

He saw Luna leave with an odd, long-haired, slightly cross-eyed man wearing a bright sunflower outfit and what looked like sandals. Zidane raised a brow at the man's appearance, but he guessed that was Luna's father. Suddenly everything made sense. He then saw Neville leave as well. He was accompanied by a rather grouchy-looking old lady, quite tall and thin for her age, who carried a bright red handbag and what looked like a stuffed vulture hanging precariously on the hat over her head. The woman actually looked quite intimidating and the thief knew better than to underestimate her.

'So THAT'S Neville's grandmother.' Zidane thought in realization. 'Eidolons that was scary.'

His gaze finally turned towards a certain bushy haired girl. She was already dragging her trunk over towards the exit. She was most likely going to take a cab or something, but since they were heading in the same direction, he thought it would be best to tag along. It was already getting dark and there was really no need for Hermione to go alone, especially to the kind of neighborhood where Grimmauld Place was located. Besides, Moody was supposed to go and pick him up anyways.

Slipping through the smaller crowd, Marcus slipped quietly towards the exit where Hermione was. He almost shook his head at how easy it would have been to intercept her had he been a Death Eater. In her attempt to get away from the crowd, the girl had accidentally isolated herself, making a kidnapping, magical or not, all the easier.

Marcus finally walked up to the girl, his steps silent as he gently prodded her in the shoulder. The girl nearly jumped in the air, startled, before reaching for her pocket where her wand was likely hidden. Once she saw who it was, she looked more relieved but she still looked at him warily, as if waiting for some kind of confirmation from the silent wizard. At least she was smart enough to not let her guard down around some stranger, especially a cloaked one.

Marcus held both hands up in a sign for her to calm down, before slowly reaching towards his waist with one hand while the other remained up. Hermione watched the action wearily, but thankfully she let him continue. Marcus rummaged around through his travel pack before retrieving just what he was looking for, hopefully once she saw this, Hermione would be convinced. Slowly pulling his hand back out to show he didn't mean any harm, Marcus took out a one of his phoenix downs, the fuzzy red and gold feather held between his gloved thumb and index fingers.

Hermione seemed to visibly relax once she saw this, assuming that he had been sent by Dumbledore or something, and that this was one of Fawkes's feathers. Phoenixes were not that common in this world apparently. Zidane quickly took her trolley and made the motion meant for her to follow him. Crookshanks seemed to purr from inside his cage at the sight of the hooded blonde.

It didn't take long to find Moody. The grizzled old wizard was waiting rather impatiently, looking quite paranoid amongst the large group of people. His electric blue eye was currently hidden under a bowler hat, though the various nasty scars and butchered nose were all clearly visible. He initially held them at wand point, demanding to prove their identities, when Zidane practically blurred behind him and unsheathed his dagger against his side. Nobody else but Hermione could see the gesture for what it really was. Anybody else would've thought it was some kind of embrace. For a moment the bushy haired girl looked on in horror as she caught sight of the glint of metal against the Ex-Auror's side. Yet much to her increased shock, the grizzled wizard just let out a laugh.

"Never fail to crack me up do ya? That's proof enough. No damn self-respecting wizard would ever be caught attacking with that thing." The man said, but Zidane still didn't sheath his dagger. This just made the man grin further. "Ah, very good. Constant vigilance! See that Granger? Just because I know it's him, doesn't mean I'm me. The password is 'Chocobo' though I have no bloody clue what that's supposed to mean."

Marcus nodded and sheathed his blade, returning to the side of a rather pale-looking Hermione. Once Moody had confirmed Hermione's identity, they used side-long apparition to head to Grimmauld Place, Zidane making sure to grab tightly onto Hermione's stuff.

They rang on the doorbell once Number Twelve became visible, and were quickly greeted by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione headed off to find her friends while Zidane walked with Mrs. Weasley towards the kitchen. Once there, the hooded teen was greeted by Sirius, who decided it would be funny to pounce on him in his dog form. Upstairs, he could already hear the trio talking to each other, Harry apparently in an apologetic tone of voice.

…

Harry couldn't help but feel relieved after the conversation with his friends. None of them were angry or afraid of him. In fact, they logically shot down the fears that had settled in his heart the past few days. Ginny, having been possessed by Tom Riddle's diary, assured him that he was fine as long as he wasn't experiencing fatigue, blackouts, and lapses in memory. Ron assured him that he was sleeping in bed when it all happened, so he couldn't have physically done it. When he suggested apparition, Hermione just looked at them in exasperation.

"One day…one day you two will finally read 'Hogwarts: a History' and you'll understand that you can't apparate inside of Hogwarts." The bushy-haired girl said.

The rest of the day was spent putting up Christmas decorations, which made the place almost unrecognizable. Even the more morbid decorations inside the house were given a Christmas twist. The troll leg stand was covered in colorful wreaths, while the mounted house-elf heads were each given a long white beard and a Christmas hat. They had even put up a Christmas tree that stood beautifully, obscuring the Black family tree from view, all courtesy of Mundungus. Sirius too acted increasingly more jolly, as he was often found singing carols around the house. The mood seemed contagious, too, making the whole place seem merrier. In fact, he was listening to Sirius sing the second verse of 'God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs' when he caught sight of Marcus hanging several garlands around the place, hammer in hand as he drove the nails right through the wreaths. Apparently, even the silent wizard was getting into the Christmas spirit, even though he did appear to be hitting the garlands with more than force than necessary. He was surprised the most by the almost unnatural balance that the man had as he stood on a rather unstable rickety-step ladder to reach the higher places. Not once did he wobble, and even when Mrs. Weasley went to ask for his help in the kitchen, the wizard just jumped off like it was nothing.

Dinner that night was rather friendly too. It was filled with joyous laugher and stories from 'back in the old days'. Even Marcus seemed to be enjoying himself, though it was admittedly hard to tell since that hood obscured his entire face, and he didn't really join in the conversation. As a matter of fact, Harry wasn't sure if he had ever heard the wizard speak, at least not with them around since, if he were a mute, the adults would have likely told them.

They were ushered to bed early that night, not only because it would be Christmas tomorrow, but also because they would be heading off to St. Mungo's again to visit Mr. Weasley. Harry didn't have much of a problem, his lack of sleep had officially caught up to him, and he pretty much lost consciousness out the moment his head touched the pillow. His sleep was peacefully dreamless that night.

When Harry did wake up the next morning, he found a bunch of Christmas presents at the foot of his bed. At that point, he berated himself for even thinking about running away.

"Good haul this year." Ron commented through his pile of torn wrapping paper. "Thanks for the broom compass, it's excellent. Beats Hermione's, she got me a homework planner."

Harry looked through his own pile and realized that she had gotten him one too. It was just like any dairy except that it would say things like 'Do it today or later you'll pay!' whenever someone opened it. Sirius and Lupin got him a bunch of great illustrated books for defense that he eagerly looked through. These would come very useful for the DA meetings. Hagrid got him a furry fanged purse that nearly took his finger off. He supposed that it was supposed to be an anti-theft device, but he didn't see how he was supposed to retrieve anything without fear for his own digits. Tonks got him a small flying model of his own Firebolt, and though Harry enjoyed it, it made him miss the real thing. He got some candy from Ron and the typical jumper from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that never failed to bring a smile to his face, along with some mince pies. He had also gotten a present from Dobby. It was a rather dreadful painting that he suspected that the house elf had done by himself. It was labeled 'Harry Potter'.

The twins soon made their entrance, but were quick to tell them to avoid going downstairs. Apparently Mrs. Weasley was upset because Percy had returned her hand-knit jumper. He had also made no effort to know about Mr. Weasley's wellbeing. Lupin was now trying to comfort her.

They waited for a bit before heading downstairs. They could hear the many inhabitants of the house calling 'Merry Christmas' out to each other. When they reached the foot of the stairs, they met up with Hermione.

"Thanks for the book Harry." Hermione said happily. "I've been wanting 'New Theory of Numerology' for ages! And that perfume's really unusual Ron."

"No problem." Ron said and then pointed at the neatly wrapped present that the girl carried. "What is that anyways?"

The girl explained that it was for Kreacher, and assured them that is was just a quilt and not clothes, since that would set the elf free, and unfortunately, Kreacher knew too much about the Order. Just as they were going to head to the kitchen to drop it off, the trio was stopped by a figure that suddenly stood in their way. They almost jumped back, completely startled by the sudden appearance, but then relaxed considerably when they realized it was Marcus. Hermione still seemed considerably tense in the wizard's presence, and who wouldn't after she told them what happened in the station. Ron too was unnerved by the wizard, but it wasn't something that had changed since their first meeting. Harry had to agree though; the man was quite 'unsettling' in a way he couldn't quite describe. It was slightly amusing to see Ron cringe back though, since the redhead towered over the smaller, mysterious individual.

Marcus didn't seem to notice their discomfort, and if he did, then he didn't show it. Instead he just approached the trio on silent steps and then withdrew three packages from under his cloak. The trio just stood frozen as the wizard handed each of them one. Once he did, he stood back, and only then could Harry find his voice.

"Err, thanks…" Harry said, mostly in surprise. He exchanged glances with his friends, and he was about to apologize to the wizard for not giving him anything in return, but when he turned to look at the cloaked figure, he was already gone.

"How the bloody hell does he keep doing that?!" Ron cried out in exasperation, but then turned to look at the carefully wrapped package in his hands. "Do you think it's safe?"

"He's a member of the Order." Hermione said, as if a little unsure himself.

"Yeah and he apparently also carries blades around with him too. Not even Moody does that." Ron countered.

Harry just looked at the two, and with a shrug, he opened his own package first. He was surprised to find a leather bag inside along with a small note.

This protect ring was found inside a great mountain. I no longer have any need for it, so I would like you to have it. It will halve the elements and protect you as best as it can. Use it so that you may protect those around you in return. I hope it will serve you well.

Good Luck.

Frowning at the contents of the note, Harry then opened the small pouch and retrieved the ring inside. It was a silver band, looking rather well worn over the years with complex little runes making some rather beautiful patterns over its surface. Along with the red encrusted gem, Harry was surprised this piece wasn't in some kind of museum.

"Blimey." Ron said in awe as he looked at the ring. Looking down at his own package, he quickly tore it open. Inside there was a similar pouch with a note.

A Rosetta ring from friendly creature in a hostile islan. I hope it will help you in your future endeavors, for I have no further use for it. It will help protect you in battle and as long as you wear it, fire will be your ally. Remember to keep you friends close.

Good Luck.

After emptying the contents of the leather pouch, Ron showed the ring to the others. It was silver as well, though the design was slightly different and there were more runes and writing than on Harry's ring. There was a small topaz at its center too.

"What did you get 'Mione?" Ron asked as he looked at the girl with excitement.

Pursing her lips slightly, the girl carefully removed the paper before folding it neatly and putting it away in her pocket. She held a note and a pouch too, though her pouch was made out of a velvety material and it was different in size. Opening her note, Hermione read silently, while the two males looked over her shoulder.

A ribbon from a forgotten island. Wind and Water will be your allies as long as you wear this. What else it can do, I will leave it up to you to figure out. Never judge a book by its cover. There is always more than meets the eye.

Good Luck.

"A ribbon?" Ron asked in disbelief. "What good is that?

"Well there's obviously a lot more to it, Ronald." Hermione said as she opened the pouch and pulled out the ribbon with marvel. It was an odd soft peach golden color that took on different hues depending on the light. She could see many odd yet beautiful patterns on the obviously high quality handmade job. The texture was extremely smooth and velvety too.

"So do you think it's safe to put them on?" Harry asked as he looked at his ring.

Hermione looked a bit torn, but then shook her head. "Let's just make sure they aren't cursed or jinxed. I want to take a closer look at them too."

The two males seemed to deflate, but they could understand where Hermione was coming from. It was a bit too good to be true.

….

Zidane ate lunch outside for once, taking that opportunity to go over his plans for the next couple of days. He would be joining the group headed over to St. Mungo's to visit Mr. Weasley and see if there was anything he could do about the snake venom that was stopping his wound from closing. Afterwards, he was supposed to meet with Bill and Remus, who would then be accompanying him to France via Portkey. Apparently, the chances of splicing are quite high when intercontinental apparition is involved. Side-long intercontinental apparition was out of the question. Though he was assured that both Britain and France were located in Europe, geographically it was still risky.

Bill was the best choice in this mission since he wasn't involved with guard duty and he had been to France before because of his relationship with Fleur. Remus had volunteered afterwards out of concern for the genome. Because of Umbridge, werewolves like him were unable to find any jobs, so there really wasn't much that Remus could do in Britain, anyways. Tonks apparently wanted to join in the fun too, but since she was still working at the Ministry, she'd have to check first. Therefore, there was a huge chance that she would meet up with them afterwards. Kingsley was Head Auror, and therefore Tonk's boss, which made things much easier. He had already reluctantly agreed that going on a four-man team would be safer.

Once the plan was all set, they headed back to the hospital, where they would meet up with the others who were coming in by car; one that had been 'borrowed' by Mundungus and magically enlarged so that everyone could fit inside comfortably.

Zidane, on the other hand, was led by Tonks to a red-bricked and rather dilapidated apartment store called 'Purge and Dowse, Ltd'. He knew this was the spot once he noticed the small trickle of oddly dressed people heading there, even though the place looked closed or at least under renovation. Surely enough, there was a small sign on the outside confirming his suspicions. Tonks on the other hand, just walked towards the store front and began to talk to the rather ugly mannequin in the display. Zidane cringed at its eyelashes, which were falling off, and the green nylon pinafore dress that it was modeling. That thing was more than enough to give a child nightmares.

"Wotcher, we're here to see Arthur Weasley." Tonks said, and after a few minutes the dummy nodded slightly and beckoned them with a jointed finger. Zidane was thoroughly creeped-out at this point, so he just followed Tonks quickly through the glass.

For a moment he felt as if he had walked right through water, but surprisingly he was not wet. The next thing he saw was what he supposed was St . Mungo's reception. According to Tonks, there were fewer people here today, but it was still quite a sight. Though a great majority of these people looked perfectly normal, there were others that looked better suited for a circus. There was a blue man in the corner, and just a few feet away there was a boy with smoke coming out of his nose. There was also a small girl covered in fur who kept barking, and just a few feet away there was a man with a daisy sprouting from the top of his head. They joined a short queue, and it was then that Zidane noticed a bunch of witches and wizards going around in lime-colored robes with little clipboards in their hands. They had a sort of symbol etched on their robes, which he supposed belonged to the hospital; a wand crossed with a bone. Zidane assumed they were the doctors, or white mages. He was partially right, though Tonks told him that they were called Healers or Mediwizards.

"Hello, we're here to see Arthur Weasley. I was wondering if you saw another group arrive before us." Tonks asked.

"Yes, they arrived here not five minutes ago. Ward's on the first floor, second door on the right." The receptionist said, and then turned to look at Zidane with a hint of distrust. "He will have to take off that hood though."

Tonks exchanged glances with the hooded blonde, but then turned back to the receptionist with a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, but would it be okay if he kept it on? He had quite the nasty case of Dragon Pox as a kid and he is very conscious of his appearance. Then there was that curse that he took to the face. Healers haven't really been able to fix that, either."

The witch gave them a critical look, but then sighed, giving him a pitying look. "All right, go on ahead."

Tonks beamed at the woman and Zidane gave a thankful nod of his head before heading off to find the others. The hospital itself was decorated for the occasion as well. There were red and gold glowing crystals floating in the air made to look like Christmas baubles. There was holly hanging all over the place, with magical icicles shining at every corner. There were also several decorated Christmas trees, each toppled with a golden star and some magical snow.

It didn't take long to find the room. It had a sign on the outside saying: 'Dangerous' Dai Llewellyn Ward: Serious Bites. The reason it didn't take so long was that they saw Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny leave quickly out the door. Even from the other side of the hall, they could hear Mrs. Weasley's shouts.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S THE GENERAL IDEA!?" The Weasley matriarch shouted.

All of them seemed to cringe at the tone.

"Wotcher guys, what was that about?" Tonks asked and Zidane had to restrain his own curiosity, or at least stop it from actually showing. The teens greeted her with a smile, though they did send 'Marcus' a few nervous glances.

"Well, dad's bite wasn't closing so this one healer tried a different 'Muggle' approach. And dad agreed to get 'stitches', you know him and his love for all things Muggle. Quite loony, actually." Ginny said.

"So do Muggles really sow their skin back together like that?" Ron asked, looking quite green.

"Well, yes but that's only when the wound won't close, otherwise. It's really not that bad Ronald." Hermione said.

"Well, I think we'll just slip in to see Arthur now." Tonks said with a small cringe when she heard Mrs. Weasley shout again. "We'll see you later."

The duo walked past the group and towards the door just as the teens started walking in the opposite direction. Tonks knocked on the door before entering. Zidane was just about to follow her inside when he was stopped when he heard Harry calling his 'name' behind him, Ron and Hermione standing by his side.

"We just wanted to thank you for the gifts. They were really nice." Harry said with an uncertain look on his face, like he wasn't sure if he had made the right decision to talk to him like this.

Zidane had to hand it to him though. He knew the teens were slightly uneasy around him, it was actually part of his disguise, but Harry had enough courage to confront him regardless of the fear, and thank him. The genome couldn't talk for risk of getting discovered, so instead, he just nodded and raised an arm as if to wave, before heading inside the room and shutting the door behind him.

When he entered the room, he saw that somehow, Tonks had managed to placate Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley lay on the bed on the far end of the ward next to a small, narrow window. There were only two other patients in the room; a woman with a heavily bandaged leg, and a sickly looking man that had the face of someone who had just been told that his life was over. Zidane got a strange vibe from that man, similar to the one he got from Lupin. Maybe he was bitten by a werewolf too.

"Ah, it's great to see you!" Mr. Weasley said as he propped himself up on the bed. "I must say that I loved your present very much. I haven't been able to put the book down. It's so fascinating!"

"Glad you liked it. Those mince pies were delicious." Zidane said with a grin. He had found out about Mr. Weasley's love for Muggle things, and he just so happened to find the perfect book for him;'The Way Things Work' . "I also have another present for you that might just help with your healing problem."

Rummaging through his back, he pulled out a vial with Remedy in it. He could always just give the man an antidote, but he wasn't exactly sure if the wound wouldn't close for another reason, so he thought it was best to tackle all possibilities with a Remedy. If it could heal you from a Worm Hydra's venom and a Malboro's bad breath, then he saw no reason as to why it wouldn't take care of a minor snake bite.

"Are you sure it's safe to drink?" Arthur asked, taking the vial. Zidane just nodded. Mrs. Weasley looked like she wanted to protest as she saw her husband uncork the vial, but the teen quickly interrupted her.

"It's either this or the stitches." Zidane said, and this was more than enough for Mrs. Weasley to quiet down. "It does have this lingering taste, but it's much better than anything Madam Pomfrey's poured down my throat so far."

Mr. Weasley gulped down the contents, smacking his lips slightly at the odd taste it left behind. He sat in silence for a few seconds, and once Mrs. Weasley was sure that her husband wouldn't spontaneously combust, she approached his side and put a hand to his forehead.

"How do you feel, dear?" The woman asked.

"Actually, I feel much better. The burning stopped." Mr. Weasley said in surprise.

"It should cancel the effects of the poison. There should be no problems for it to heal now. I can heal it right now if you want, I'm not an expert, but it shouldn't be too hard to close the wound." Zidane offered, but Mr. Weasley just shook his head.

"That's alright, I'm sure the Healers can manage. And besides, they might be suspicious if they suddenly see it heal so suddenly." Mr. Weasley said, whispering the last part. "Thank you."

Mrs. Weasley came and gave him one of her famous bone-crushing hugs before speaking. "You've already done more than enough, and I'm not sure how we will ever repay you."

Zidane fervently denied the idea that they owed him anything, but after much coaxing from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, he ended up settling for some more mince pies and home-baked sweets.

Once a Healer arrived to change the bandages, the thief quickly left the couple in their rather endearing moment, and went to find the tearoom. He wandered around the floors, constantly ignoring the cries from the rather annoying portraits who tried to convince him that he was suffering from some sort of life-threatening illness that made him hate sunlight. He was just going through the third floor when disaster struck.

Since it was the 'Potions and Plant Poisoning Floor', the place was filled with people suffering from backfiring potion incidents and others that had been apparently mauled by plants. After seeing those people, Zidane pretty much lost hope on this planet's vegetation. He tried to pass by that section rather quickly, and because of his haste, he didn't quite notice the trainee Healer carrying a rather heavy looking cauldron that obscured his vision. The trainee didn't see him either, and the next thing he knew, they had collided against each other, the man's cauldron flying out of his hands and hazardously spilling its contents all over the place, and specifically over Zidane.

Most of the golden hued slime ended up covering Zidane's cloak, though some of it ended up hitting the upper left side of his face, and in his eye, which he found extremely gross.

"Oh Merlin, I am so sorry!" The trainee Healer said, his mousy brown eyes looking in concern. "Are you alright, sir?"

"I'm fine." Zidane said as he got up and then grimaced as he saw his slime covered cloak and gloves. He quickly pulled the hood down since it was dripping. "Ugh, what is this stuff?"

"Invigoration Drought mixed with Girding Potion. It increases your endurance and boosts your energy. It's really just an experiment." The Healer said, but then quickly amended himself. "But it's completely safe! In fact, your eye should return to normal in just a few hours…I think. It's never really happened before…"

"My eye…?" Zidane repeated in confusion, but then cursed and headed to the nearest bathroom, leaving a rather startled Healer behind. After nearly ripping the door apart to enter, he looked at himself in the mirror and cursed colorfully as he saw that his left eye, the one that had been covered by the potion, was not its regular cyan color, but a bleeding trance-pink. "Shit."

He removed his wand and tried to use 'evanesco' on the potion covering his cloak, but it didn't seem to work. It was then that he carefully removed both slimy gloves and then his cloak, putting them aside so that he could deal with them later. Just as he began stuffing them into a separate bag inside his pouch, he cursed once more when a glob of potion landed on the back of his right hand, making bright pink fur sprout.

'Just like in trance.' Zidane thought as he washed it off in the sink and then pulled out two white gloves to replace his soiled thief gloves. Thankfully it concealed the fur quite nicely. 'It increases your endurance and boosts your energy, at least that's what the guy said. Could it be that it's actually inducing trance?'

With a sigh, the blonde left and headed upstairs to the tearoom. Maybe his eye would return to normal by the time he had to meet the others later. That way he wouldn't have to answer to any uncomfortable questions. Colliding with a Healer and getting a cauldron dumped on you for not paying attention was already embarrassing enough. This was definitely the last time he ever came to a magical hospital.

'They had better have booze.' Zidane thought angrily as he headed to the fifth floor. Only when he was on the fourth floor did he remember that they probably wouldn't have that in a hospital. 'DAMMIT!'

"Zidane?" A voice called out to him and the blonde froze. It was Hermione.

'Shit, I totally forgot about them. Well it's too late now.' Zidane said, mentally hitting himself. "Hey guys!"

The blonde approached the trio and Ginny; Fred and George being suspiciously absent. In their stead was a rather creepy looking man wearing lilac robes, with wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a rather wide vacant smile that showed shiny white teeth.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in France. And what happened to your eye?" Hermione asked. The other three teens seemed to look at his reddish pink-colored eye as well.

"Oh that. Well it's a long story, but the thing is, I had this allergic reaction to this potion and this happened." Zidane lied, congratulating himself at making it believable. "Healer said that it would wear off soon, so it looks like I'll still be able to travel."

"That's kind of neat. I really like the color." Ginny said and the genome smiled.

"So aren't you going to introduce us?" The blonde said jokingly while hoping to quickly change the subject.

"Oh right, Zidane, this is our former DADA professor, Gilderoy Lockhart." Hermione said. "He taught us during our second year, until he had that unfortunate accident that made him lose his memories."

There was something about the way Hermione said it that made Zidane highly doubt that is was as simple as an accident. The teen decided it that was better not to press for answers.

"Oh Gilderoy, you've got visitors! How lovely, and on Christmas day too!" A motherly-looking Healer said as she saw the group. "Do you know, he never gets any visitors, poor lamb, and I can't think why, he's such a sweetie, aren't you?"

"We're doing autographs!" Lockhart said happily as he gave another glittering smile. Zidane felt the need to put as much distance between him and that person as possible. "They want loads of them, won't take no for an answer! I just hope we've got enough photographs."

"Oh, just look." The Healer said.

Somehow, they were all dragged inside the ward to visit this odd narcissist, the motherly Healer talking about how he must have gotten out and how he was a bit of a danger to himself. These wards were a lot more personalized than the one Mr. Weasly was in. The Healer explained that this was because this ward housed victims of permanent spell damage. Though the damage was permanent, patients could apparently improve. The Healer explained that Lockhart was already regaining a sense of himself before leaving. And if that was true, then Zidane didn't even want to imagine how the guy used to be before. Briefly, he wondered who would win the biggest narcissist award, Lockhart or Kuja? At least Kuja could honestly brag over the fact that he nearly destroyed two worlds.

"Alright so who wants an autograph first? How about you, miss with the long blonde hair." Lockhart said and everyone in the room froze, looking on in shock. Luckily, Ron and Harry managed to hold Zidane back before he could land a punch on the blond man's face.

"Oh, Mrs. Longbottom, are you leaving already?" Zidane heard and then froze, his fist still in the air. 'Longbottom? Neville?'

Zidane turned around, looking at the old woman now walking down the aisle between two beds. There was no mistaking that red handbag and the stuffed vulture. That was definitely Neville's grandmother. Behind the woman, he could already see the round-faced boy walking closer to them.

'They must be visiting his parents.' The thief realized. He really hadn't thought about that.

"Hey Neville, it's us!" Ron called out and Zidane felt the need to punch the redhead. Neville hadn't been ready to reveal this to the others. As far as he knew, Harry was the only one aware of Neville's parents. "Have you seen? Lockhart's here! Who've you been visiting?"

Neville looked as if he'd rather be anywhere but here, and instead, avoided eye contact.

"Friend of yours, Neville dear?" The tall woman said graciously, bearing down upon them. "Ah yes, I know who you all are. Neville speaks most highly of you."

The woman extended a claw like hand and shook Harry's hand with a firm grip. "Er, thanks."

"And you two are clearly Weasleys." The old woman said as she looked at Ron and Ginny. "Yes, I know your parents, not well, of course, but fine people indeed….you must be Hermione Granger?"

Hermione looked a bit surprised, but nodded.

"Yes, Neville's told me all about you. Helped him out of a few sticky spots, haven't you? He's a good boy." The woman said giving Neville a sternly appraising look. It was then that she finally caught sight of the blonde genome. "Oh and you must be Zidane Tribal. Neville has spoken very highly of you. He considers you a great friend, did you know?"

"I think the same of him." Zidane replied with a smile, his back straight as he spoke to the older woman. Said woman seemed to study him for a moment before looking away, though not in displeasure. Glancing to the side, the genome noticed that Neville had stopped looking at the ground and was now looking at him, or well, his eye, so the thief gave him a small wink at which point Neville realized he had been caught staring and looked away, looking quite embarrassed. He didn't blame Neville, though; it was a pretty eye-catching color, no pun intended.

"Yes, but it's a shame he didn't inherit his father's talent." The witch told him, jerking her head in the direction of the two beds at the end of the ward.

'Ouch.' Zidane thought as he heard the woman's words. Unfortunately what Ron said next made him want to desperately stomp down on his foot. Judging by Harry's expression, he wanted to as well.

"What? Is that your dad down the end, Neville?" The red head said. Unfortunately, this one comment was the straw that broke the camel's back. Neville's grandmother began telling them the story of Neville's parents, reprimanding the boy for feeling ashamed. By the time she finished, Zidane wasn't surprised to see the shocked and slightly pitying looks from the others. Minus Harry that is, since he already knew.

"I'm not ashamed." Neville said very faintly.

"Well, you've got a funny way of showing it. You should be proud, Neville, proud!" The old woman said.

Neville's mother then made an appearance, moving shyly towards her son, her hair white and wispy, while her face looked thin and worn. Zidane thought she must have looked quite pretty in her days. She made timid motions towards Neville and then handed him what looked like a bubble gum wrapper, before tottering back up the ward.

Neville looked at the teens before him with a defiant expression, as if challenging them to laugh at him, but nobody did. Zidane personally would never dream of such a thing.

"Well, we'd better get back." Neville's grandmother said, before telling Neville to get rid of the wrapper. The genome smiled faintly when he saw the boy slip it in his pocket while the woman wasn't looking.

Once the door closed behind them, an uncomfortable silence reigned.

"I never knew." Hermione said, looking quite tearful.

"Nor did I." Ron said rather hoarsely.

"Nor me." Ginny said and all teens turned to Harry and Zidane.

"I did." Harry confessed. "Dumbledore told me, but I promised I wouldn't tell anybody. That's why Bellatrix Lestrange was put away in Azkaban. She used the Cruciatus Curse on Neville's parents until they lost their minds."

"I knew too." Zidane confessed as well. "Neville told me right after we made up from that fight we had. That's why he tried to pummel Malfoy."

There a few more moments of awkward silence before Zidane came up with an idea. Hopefully this would make Neville cheer up.

"Listen, I really should get going, I just remembered something. It was nice seeing you guys." Zidane said, and after receiving various 'goodbye's and 'take care's, Zidane bolted out of the ward, despite the various protests from Healers and paintings, and then ran to catch up to Neville and his grandmother. She was quite fast for an old lady.

He finally caught up to them as they neared the first floor. Thankfully, they stopped the moment they heard him coming.

"Excuse me." Zidane said as he neared Neville's grandmother. He might as well be polite. "I'm afraid I forgot to tell Neville something. Would it be alright if I could talk to him for just five minutes?"

The woman looked at him, as if sizing him, and nodded, as if liking what she found.

"Thank you." The blonde said with a small bow of his head.

Taking Neville's wrist, he dragged the boy over to a secluded area where they could talk.

"What was that about?" Neville asked. "And shouldn't you be in France? What happened to your eye? Are you okay?"

Zidane just rolled his eyes.

"I had a little incident with a potion, that's why my eye is like this. It should wear out soon according to that Healer. I'm still leaving for France, though. I just wanted to say goodbye, and well, Merry Christmas." Zidane said, pulling out his wrapped gift. The surprised look on his friend's face was priceless.

"M-Merry Christmas to you, too. I don't have anything for you at the moment, I was planning to give you your gift once we were back in Hogwarts since you were going away for the holidays, I'm sorry." Neville said as he received the package.

"Nah, it's alright." Zidane said dismissively, and then grinned. "Come on, aren't you gonna open it?"

The teen smiled and then carefully began to remove the wrapping paper. Once he was done, he pulled out the two pouches from the inside. Raising a brow at the foreign blonde, Neville peeked inside both pouches and his eyes widened.

"Seeds?" Neville asked.

"Seeds." Zidane confirmed. "I tried getting you a plant, but they all started hissing at me, and well, you know. I thought this was the safer option."

"What are they each for?" Neville asked in curiosity. He had never seen any like these before.

"Ah, that's the magic of it. Try as you might, I doubt you will ever find seeds like these." Zidane said with a rather smug look on his face. "And best of all, they don't bite, or hiss, or spit acid at you. Though, if I were you, I wouldn't eat the fruit that come out of these seeds. It's insanely spicy. These ones are okay though. You can pickle them, and though they smell horrible, they are tasty as hell."

"T-thanks." Neville said.

"You don't like them?" Zidane asked, cocking his head to the side.

"No, They're great! I'm gonna plant them as soon as I get back." Neville said. "I just really wasn't expecting it. Thanks."

Zidane grinned, and both teens headed back to where Neville's grandmother waited. When they saw the woman, she was rummaging through her purse, but stopped when she saw the teens approach. A thin eyebrow rose slightly when she saw the package that her grandson was clutching.

"Thank you very much, ma'am." Zidane said with a charming smile.

The old woman nodded in acknowledgement. "It's alright, dear."

"I guess we'll see each other once the holidays are over, Nev." The genome said before saying goodbye to the duo. "It was a pleasure to meet you. Merry Christmas."

Zidane turned around and decided to go look for the others. It was about time he headed back.

To be continued…

…..

A/N: So for now Zidane's gaian presents to the gang are as follows: Harry gets a Protect Ring, Ron gets a Rosetta Ring, Hermione gets a Ribbon, and Neville gets Dead Pepper and Gyshal Green seeds. The accessories, of course, are weaker on Earth but still somewhat useful. Zidane still gives them the items because he knows the trio is bound to get into trouble more than anyone else, so he's not going to rain down end-game items over every HP character out there.

Alright, this is it for now. I should get back to studying. See you guys next week!