Notes: Ah, here it is. I've been waiting so long to get to this part. Countdown's reached 0 and it's finally time.

As always, thanks to everyone that's been following this story and especially those who leave feedback (I love feedback).

Also, I put a small cameo in this chapter, though it's pretty obvious (it comes it a concealed dirty joke). Let's see who get's it.

…..

(T-0)

Chapter 32: Eye of the Storm

Zidane grinned as he walked through the streets completely invisible. He crossed the river and found himself in an odd, wide open space between some old-looking buildings that seemed to surround three glass pyramids. There were two smaller glass pyramids at each side of a bigger one where people were gathering. If the signs around the place were anything to go by, this place was actually a museum.

'Louvre museum.' Zidane thought as he read this sign that was in Gaian, well English.

He followed a path through a rather nice looking garden filled with statues and some large water fountains. It was too bad it was winter, since he knew that this place must look amazing during spring. Maybe he would stop here tomorrow when it was daytime. The museum looked interesting too. Who knew what nifty stuff he would find there?

'Maybe we should put some of these in Alexandria. I'm sure Dagger would love them.' Zidane thought.

After the park-like garden, he came across a wide open space where many cars were currently transiting around in an almost oval shape. At the center was an obelisk flanked by two pretty epic looking fountains. He had no idea what was it with French people and fountains, but he supposed that they did look pretty awesome. The obelisk wasn't all that impressive though, at least compared to the crystal obelisk in Alexandria.

He followed the large road that continued past the 'Place de la Concorde' through more gardens to finally come across a behemoth of a building. It was absolutely massive, maybe as big as Alexandria Castle, though he couldn't be sure. Its roof was made completely out of a framework of glass and at the very top, it had a French flag. There was a similar albeit smaller building across the street that ran from it, which was supposed to be some kind of museum. The place was called 'Le Grand Palais' according to a sign outside. Zidane assumed that translated to something along 'Grand, epic-as-hell Palace'. Admittedly it was a nice change from the cold, stone walls of Hogwarts he'd grown accustomed to.

He continued walking past the building, and towards the main avenue. Even from over here, he could see an illuminated arch in the distance. He was about to walk in that direction, when something else caught his attention. There were some people wearing robes and masks, all headed in a certain direction. After curiously following them for a while, he finally came across a seemingly empty alleyway and then, much to his surprise, the air before him rippled and shifted to reveal a rather magnificent-looking building, complete with a front garden that seemed to irradiate magic.

'Looks like I found the place.' Zidane thought as he saw more people gather, all of them wizards or witches of apparent high social standing.

The thief walked past the garden filled with statues of angelic looking figures, and then up to what appeared to be some kind of bridge that crossed over a moat around the house. Upon leaning over the ledge, he could see some unidentified things swimming under the surface.

'A moat? Seriously? Who the hell is conceited enough to put a moat around their house?' Zidane thought with a shake of his head.

He trailed behind what appeared to be the last group to cross the bridge and past some lion statues that seemed to be guarding it. But the minute he set foot on the other side, he felt the magic in the air crack as if he had just broken through a thin glass, though the sensation only lasted a second. In confusion he looked around, his range of vision somewhat limited because of the domino mask he wore, which only them made him realize that it, along with his entire body, should have been invisible at the moment.

'What the hell?!' Zidane thought as he looked down at himself. Thankfully, the other people didn't seem to notice him or his tail trailing behind him. But hard as he tried, he just couldn't make himself invisible again. 'Is this part of a security system of some sort?'

After walking further, tail wrapped around his waist while hoping to blend in as best as he could, Zidane encountered another problem. Up ahead where the entrance was located, there were two gargoyle statues seemingly guarding the place. Only those with invitations were allowed entry through the large double-doors.

'Somehow I get the feeling that they won't let me in if I tell them I forgot mine.' Zidane thought sarcastically. And he was right since just up ahead some poor bloke apparently did lose his, and no matter what he seemed to say, the stone guards wouldn't let him pass. Even when he tried to forcibly enter, he only got past a few feet before he was dragged outside by a pair of moving suits of armor. 'Well there's more than one way to skin a cat.'

The genome stepped back and walked around the perimeter to check out the place's structure. On the outskirts were the external gardens, which then lead to a moat that surrounded the main estate with bridges connecting at each of the four cardinal points, a large greenhouse-like structure, and an extension of it that seemed to be the auction house, or basically where the expensive stuff was stashed. The whole layout of the place seemed to better suit a cathedral than an actual house, complete with flying buttresses, and perched statues of leering creatures. It almost gave him a feeling of Déjà vu.

'But I can use this to get inside by climbing up the structure and then opening a window.' Zidane realized.

He climbed up the decorated columns until coming up to a balcony, the lack of candle-light on the other side implying that the room was empty and thus making an excellent place to sneak in. Being cautious, Zidane quickly dispelled any magic the handle may have had, but the moment he touched it, a painful jolt ran through his fingers and through his body, making him quickly retract his hand.

'What the? I thought I dispelled it!' Zidane thought in confusion. 'Well my invisibility didn't work either. Is something weakening my magic?'

With a frown, Zidane shrugged off the feeling and took out his dagger. He brought down its pommel on the glass and shattered it, using the new space to slip right through.

'I hope nobody heard that.' Zidane thought, but luckily there were no people in sight and there was plenty of noise coming from downstairs.

He ended up in a dark, red-carpeted corridor with a double door at the end that was slightly ajar. A sliver of light peeked through along with the sound of a party. Zidane walked silently towards the possible exit, but then stopped in confusion when he heard steps that weren't his. In fact, they reminded him of good ole' Rusty a bit.

'Oh shit.' Zidane thought and then turned around in time to see a suit of armor coming at him with a weapon in hand. The teen rushed right out the door, slamming it behind him and using a cane he found in an antique vase nearby to force the doors closed by sliding it through their handles. 'That was too close.'

Zidane gave one last weary glace behind him, before moving on and going through another door. This one led him to a brightly lit room with several people talking amongst themselves in groups. Thankfully, all he got were a few looks before the people deemed him unimportant and went back to their own business.

'Well hello yourselves.' Zidane thought, and then set out to find Le Roy. 'T least it looks like I reached the party. It shouldn't be too hard to find the guy.'

There were people dancing elegantly under the crystal chandeliers on the ceiling. There was a band playing music, all of them donning costumes and masks like everybody else. On the left and right side of the main entrance (the one he had avoided) were two long tables filled with all manners of exquisite looking dishes along with angelic ice sculptures. There were rows lined with many Christmas trees, three on each side and then a very large one in the middle of a grand set of red-carpeted stairs that worked as a sort of 'center piece'. There were also several balconies overlooking the first floor, all of them filled with people.

'But where is he?' Zidane thought in frustration as he looked around to find this party's host.

Perhaps if everyone wasn't wearing masks then maybe it would be easier. But it was then that he remembered that he didn't even know what this guy looked like. The problem was that nobody appeared to be acting as a host. Usually the host was the most self-important person in the room, the center of gravity, if you will. Everything revolved around that person. People would swarm and exchange words with that one individual, before finding another group, and then another person would come, like in a cycle. But it was different here. Nobody was approaching a specific person to shake their hand and tell them what a great party it was, no one.

'Then where is he?' Zidane said, gritting his teeth. It was then that he saw some person look upwards while talking amongst each other in whispers. When his own eyes trailed upwards and saw a congregation of people near the large balcony, he couldn't help but grin. 'Jackpot.'

Making his way swiftly up the stairs, he masked thief was just passing by the large tree when a 'banging' sound caught his attention, the sounds of screams following shortly thereafter. Glancing at the source of the sound, he cursed when he saw the same suit of armor from earlier barging through the door he had come through not five minutes ago, this time with a few friends.

Zidane cursed colorfully, looking back at the balcony and then at the quickly approaching suits of armor who seemed to have found him. He debated going after Le Roy, but in the end decided not to risk it. A series of shouts began to ring out when more and more people caught sight of the weapon-bearing armors. It was then that Zidane decided it was about time he high tailed it out of here

His cover was blown.

He jumped on the stairs and slid quickly down the banister, leaping away towards the exit, and startling more than one person. Behind him, he could hear angry retorts in French, but he was currently more preoccupied with escaping his pursuers to actually care. He tried to make a dash for the entrance, but then rapidly stopped and changed direction when he saw about twelve suits of armor coming in from the large double doors.

He pried a door open, not caring where it led, and ran through it as the loud hollow steps of the suits of armor got closer. He ended up in a hall with a set of stairs that lead downwards. Seeing his pursuers catching up, Zidane didn't hesitate and just followed the only available path. A few rooms rooms over he was greeted with a fork in the road. He could either carry on down the down the hall or take a rather large door to his left. Beecause of the building's layout he decided to keep going down the hall since it was likely a mirror image of the route he had taken to get here. From there, he could probably go up the stairs and get out. If he took the large double door, there was no knowing where it would lead him. His thief instincts told him that it probably led to some valuables, in fact, it was like an inexplicable force beckoned him towards the door, to reach out and grab those handles.

Zidane turned and saw the small army approach. A reddish glow emanated from under their empty helms, which was something he hadn't noticed until now and only made them all the more creepy. The teen cast the door one final look, before shaking his head and continuing down the hall. What good would that do if he was still caught and possibly killed by the moving suits of armor?

Just as he predicted, the hall led him upstairs. What he didn't predict was that there would be more walking tin cans waiting for him at the end of the corridor, the moonlight coming from outside bathing the scene in an eerie light. Looking out the window and at his only other option, Zidane quickly braced himself and jumped out, covering his face with both arms as shards of glass tore at them. The sudden cold air outside greeted his face before there was a loud splash and he found himself plunged in freezing, cold water.

Zidane winced at the feeling of cold needles prickling at his lungs, and desperately made his way up. His head managed to break through the surface. Once he saw a way out of the moat, he swam in that direction, his eyes catching hold of a strange red glow nearby.

But before he could even begin to imagine what that thing could be for, he was startled out of his thoughts when he saw the water around him stir He only had a fraction of a second to react, before a creature seemed to jumped right out of the surface and towards him. Though he put up both arms to shield his face, the thing somehow managed to get a grip around his neck with what appeared to be unnaturally long fingers. The teen fought as the creature tried to strangle him, and at one point he was sure that he managed to snap a couple of it's fingers, however the creature soon retaliated by biting his arm. Luckily, he managed to slam it against a stone wall to get it off.

When he got a good look at it, he realized that it was a nasty pale green, with sharp green teeth, long fingers, and what appeared to be horns on its head. It resembled something like a water imp.

Zidane checked the bleeding bite on his arm and cursed. 'It better not be venomous.'

Looking at his possible exit just a few feet away in the form of a ladder, Zidane swam quickly in that direction, however, before he could make it, he was pulled underwater by a group of the watery demons that managed to grab him by the ankles.

Having had enough of them, Zidane opened his eyes underwater and unsheathed his daggers. Though his speed was affected greatly, it was still more than enough to hack and slash at the little demons. More of them seemed to approach in a swarm, and since his lungs were starting to sting from the cold and lack of oxygen, the genome deemed it best to retreat towards the ladder. Holding his dagger held between his teeth, the thief used both hands to climb up. Even so, many creatures clung to his legs and tail, trying to climb higher or just settling with delivering painful bites to his appendages. Once on land, Zidane made quick work of them before leaving, so that nothing else could get the chance to attack him next.

After a long and cold, not to mention painful, trek back to the Delacour's, Zidane wearily climbed back up the window that was kept open for his convenience and dragged his soaked and bloody body towards the bathroom. There were slight stirs coming from the room's occupants, who had apparently been sleeping, but at this point he didn't really care if he woke them up.

"Hmm? Zidane?" A bleary voice asked through the darkness, before seemingly jerking up and waking up the other person in the room.

"Zidane?" Another voice asked, this time he was sure it was Lupin's. There was a small murmur before a small light, coming from the tip of someone's wand no doubt, pierced the darkness and made his eyes sting. This was followed by a small cry of fright and the sound of the wand falling. Either he really looked that bad, or the person had just been frightened by the light being reflected off of his eyes. Maybe it was both, but he just hoped it was the latter.

"Jeez, do you have to make it so bright?" Zidane whispered harshly.

"Where the hell have you been?" Bill asked angrily. There was the sound of more shuffling before the entire room lit up, effectively blinding the blonde temporarily. "Why are you soaking wet? Do you have any idea how cold it is outside?"

"Is that blood?" Lupin asked wearily as he looked at the blonde more closely.

Zidane blinked several times to get accustomed to the light, and when he finally did, he took a good look at himself and realized that he really was in a sorry state. Apparently, water wasn't the only thing he was dripping. His clothes bore several tears and blood stains, particularly in the arms and legs, though there were a few on his face and some on his tail. To top it off, he was shivering slightly from the cold.

"Looks like you have some serious explaining to do." Remus continued, looking at him with that serious look of his.

"Can it wait until after I take a shower?" Zidane asked, and when only silence answered him, he just took it as a yes and marched up to the bathroom.

He peeled off his bloodied and soiled clothes off of him, thankful that they seem to have taken the worst of the damage, and then took a long cleansing shower. After cleaning off all the grime and blood, and removing the tiny shards of glass still stuck on him, Zidane used just enough magic to close his most serious wounds, before putting on a clean pair of boxers and a white T-shirt. After that, he joined the others in the room, towel draped over his long unbound hair and tail still dripping slightly behind him.

"Alright, now start talking." Bill demanded.

Zidane just gave a sigh and sat cross legged over his bed before telling them all that happened tonight.

"So you're saying that you managed to get in, but were then chased out by a small army of moving suits of armor, and then jumped out of a closed window only to get attacked by a group of Grindylows that lived in that moat?" Lupin asked in disbelief.

"Is that what they are called?" Zidane asked.

"Based on your description and those very noticeable bite marks on your tail, then yes, they were probably Grindylows." Lupin said.

"Well then, what are we supposed to do now? The bloke will probably know that we are after him. He will expect another attack and be prepared this time. Heck, he might leave the country before morning breaks." Bill said.

"Actually, I disagree." Zidane said thoughtfully. "That's what any other person would do, but I don't think this is the same situation."

"What do you mean?" Lupin asked.

"Well, I don't think he will be going anywhere." Zidane said. "He knows that I failed, and possibly knows that I'm injured. Since he pretty much built that place like a fortress, he'll really think that there's no way anybody would ever manage to get through, at least not once he fixes the small flaw that allowed me to get in. Everything in that house pointed me to an egotistical person. I mean, he's even got a moat! That's why I think he will get cocky. I've seen it tons of times before, trust me."

"Alright, but then the next problem is how will we get inside." Bill said. "You said that Le Roy would fix whatever flaw you slipped past. How are we going to enter if our only option is out of the picture? You said that magic seemed to fail within the Estate too. It will especially affect us wizards."

"Ah." Zidane said with a cocky grin. "I think I found another way in. I didn't really realize it until now. If all goes well, then you won't have to worry about the little magic issue either. And besides, now we know what we are up against so we'll find bloke and whatever it is he's hiding in that estate behind those double-doors. I'm sure of it."

"You're still insisting on going past those doors?" Lupin asked.

"Thief instincts have yet to fail me. There's definitely something interesting there. Besides, aren't you guys curious too? You like rare artifacts too since you work as a curse breaker at Gringotts, don't you Bill. And Lupin, you used to be a Marauder in the good ol' days, so where's your sense of adventure?"

Both men let out a deflated sigh each.

"So when do we move out? After-tomorrow?" Lupin asked, and the blonde shook his head.

"No, I think we should do it tomorrow, or well, later today." Zidane said.

"But your injuries-" Bill began, but was interrupted by the teen.

"I can heal them up once I wake up and I'm rested." The blonde said with a shrug. "Now if you excuse me, I'd like to get as much sleep as I can so goodnight."

…

Next morning they found themselves explaining what happened last night to Tonks over brunch. This was mostly because they each ended up waking up at noon, when an exasperated Tonks came knocking (or more like banging) at their door when she noticed that her 'team mates' weren't coming down to eat breakfast any time soon. Thankfully, it all turned out rather well.

Since the Delacours were all out, and they really didn't want to impose since it was their fault they had missed breakfast, they ended up eating in a café not far from the street that Zidane had explored yesterday.

"Ah, foreigners!" A blonde, wavy-haired waiter said as he approached their table. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy, and I will be your waiter today. What would you like to eat?"

Zidane raised a brow at the strange man, but passed it off and began looking over the menu. He was originally going to try something local, but that thought quickly went out the window when he saw that they served actual frog legs. He didn't care how tasty they were. Because of his past experiences watching Quina eat, he knew he wouldn't be able to stomach it. Instead he settled for steak and one of those cheese assortments that seemed to be so popular here.

"Oh, are you doing some touring?" The waiter said as he came with their plates. Zidane wasn't so sure why this guy was being so friendly, but if he had to take a guess, he'd say it had something to do with the flirting glances he seemed to direct at Tonks. "I highly recommend going through the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It is as we say, 'La plus belle avenue du monde'."

"Err, thanks, we will." Tonks said with a smile. Zidane nearly rolled his eyes at the waiter. Yep, he was definitely acting that way because of Tonks.

"Since you are also in Paris, it would be a shame to not see the Eiffel Tower. During this time of the year, it is quite… exhilarating to climb to the top." The waiter said with a wink. Needless to say, once they finished their meal, they decided to get as far away from that place as possible. Zidane didn't like the looks that the man was sending him either.

They did do a lot of touring afterwards. Fleur joined them after brunch and led them through some sites. At some point during the tour, she ended up leaving with Bill, the two lovebirds leaving them behind for some alone time. He almost felt sorry for Remus, who had taken the role of responsible adults over both him, and Tonks. Though after a while, it became clear that Remus was enjoying himself too.

He actually escaped from under his watchful eye for a moment, just to see what would happen once the two of them were left on their own. He wasn't disappointed when he saw something of a spark between them.

They met up at a small café at sundown, where they enjoyed some crêpes before heading back. Once at the manor, Zidane drew up a makeshift map of the estate, and explained exactly what the plan was. He made sure to plan out various exit routes in case of emergency. The others weren't exactly happy to hear that he would be going in first, but Zidane finally convinced them after explaining that, out of all of them, he managed the best without magic and he had the highest chance of escaping. He also had the most experience at breaking into other people's houses, but they didn't need to know that.

Once it was dark out, and streets once again alive, the group of four left the Delacour estate, Bill saying goodbye to Fleur with a rather passionate kiss. Zidane led the group through the streets in the same route he had done the night before, only this time he was fully healed and prepared for whatever would come their way tonight.

Something would definitely happen tonight, he could just feel it.

Once they neared the alley, the teen made everyone magically vanish from sight, before making their way into the magical pocket that contained the large house. Everything was like the night before, minus the inviting façade held up for yesterday's guests.

"Follow my footsteps." Zidane whispered, and heard the others follow after him as he approached the part of the moat he had fallen in last night. "Lupin, I'm going down there, I need you to watch my back. Bill and Tonks, I need you to watch this closely."

Zidane lowered himself into the cold water to avoid causing a great splash. Just when Zidane was halfway through to the other side, he hit the barrier that rendered him visible again, noticing how it seemed to absorb the magic right out of him like a parasite. And just like last time, the water stirred and the demonic things, Grindylows according to Lupin, attacked him, but thankfully he made a quick work of them.

He was just swimming under one of the four bridges that crossed over the moat, when he saw the red glow again. This time he managed to locate its source to a concealed empty chamber-like space right under the bridge where it connected to the land, or more specifically, to a red glowing orb that stood on top of a stone pedestal. Zidane experimentally tried to cast a vanishing spell, and then a 'dispel' at the pedestal, but instead the red stone seemed to absorb the magic onto itself.

'So I was right.' Zidane thought with a grin. He pulled out the stone with a bit of effort and then swam back to where the others were waiting. Once there, he held the orb in front of them all, making the invisibility instantly wear off. This only made the smugness of his expression increase.

"What is that?" Tonks asked wearily as she looked at the malevolent red glow that emanated from it.

"This is the reason magic isn't working, and also the reason as to why I am right." Zidane replied. After asking Bill to use an easy spell like lumos, and making everyone see that the redhead wasn't able to, he grabbed the orb and threw it at the ground, making it shatter into a million tiny pieces. Ignoring everyone's shock, he asked Bill to try again, and this time he succeeded. "It's basically sucking the magic right out of the air and using it to power the place. If we get rid of all of them, then we won't have to worry about security catching us."

"But how many more are there, and how did you even figure this out?" Tonks asked.

"I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like this. Lupin said, thoughtfully examining the shards.

"Well it's actually cause I can kind of feel the magic in the air, dunno how to explain it though. That's how I was able to find the way into Diagon Alley when I first came to Britain." Zidane said with a shrug. "I think the old man can do it too. As to how many there are left, I am almost positive that there are three left; one for each bridge. That's what's holding the barrier in place."

"So we have to take down the others too." Bill said thoughtfully.

"That's right, now head's up." Zidane said, and threw one of his sheathed daggers into the air for the redhead to catch. "Take this in case you guys get into trouble. We'll cover more ground if we split into teams; you and Tonks can take the left, while Lupin and I take the right. That way one of you can get the orb while the other takes care of the Grindylows. We'll meet up at the fourth and last bridge."

The team soon split up, and just like Zidane had said, there were three spheres hidden under the bridges; none of them too difficult to take care of. In fact, Zidane had to admit that it was somehow disappointing. Once they were all taken care of, the group headed towards the house.

Since they could use magic again, it took almost no effort to get one of the windows open and sneak through. They walked around until encountering one of the halls that Zidane recognized from his last visit. From there, his feet almost seemed to move on their own accord. With every step he took, his heartbeat seemed to accelerate. He knew he was getting closer to those enticing double-doors.

At last, the group came across the large ornate doors, and Zidane didn't hesitate to pry them open. The game of hot and cold was now coming to an end. A darkened room was before him, but in various magically lit display cases, many odd and some dangerous looking artifacts greeted them.

"This- this is an original cursed Egyptian sarcophagus." Bill said in wonder as he looked at a certain display.

"And this looks like a genuine Lethifold's shroud." Lupin said in amazement as he looked at another display.

"Look at all this, it's like a museum in here!" Tonks said in amazement.

"There's even an Easter Island head." Lupin commented.

"He's definitely got a bit of everything in here. That writing over there is definitely Babylonian, that one over there looks Chinese. There's also some Celtic and Scandinavian things." Bill said as he walked around in fascination. Just as he walked towards the corner, past a statue of what appeared to be a Hindu deity, Bill called them over. "Look, it seems to continue in the next room."

Zidane who had been desperately looking around the room, seemed to perk up and then head towards the red head. The next door was locked, and even after using 'Alohomora', the door didn't budge.

"Let me try." Zidane said, and then took out some lock-picking tools.

The three adults looked on as the genome worked the lock, some of them looking on in interest while others simply shook their heads. In Bill's case, it was a bit of both. There was a small 'click' and the door opened slightly. Even in the lack of light, they could still see the smug look on Zidane's face.

The next room they encountered looked like nothing they expected. Instead of finding a smaller room of the same design, they seemed to encounter a large spacious room that almost looked like the inside of a cathedral, only lined with book-filled shelves. It was made of what appeared to be white marble with various designs in a black onyx-like stone. Even the path leading up to the middle of the room was covered in a red carpet, with stairs leading up to a raised platform where an altar would normally be found. Only instead of an altar, there was a large table with various leather-bound tomes. Behind that table, there was what appeared to be a throne, as if it were an old throne room that was repurposed as a study of some kind, only ridiculously spacious.

There were three massive stained glass windows, and various crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The room itself seemed to have various terraces on a second floor. On the terrace just below the middle stained glass window, were three statues; two angels facing each other at each end, and strangely enough, a sleeping dragon in the middle.

"This is amazing." Lupin said as he looked around. "Who would've thought we would find something like this in here?"

"And check these books out." Bill said as he approached the table. "What language is this? I can't make it out."

"Really? Let me see!" Tonks said and walked up towards the redhead.

Zidane followed as well, and once he got a look at the books, he froze. "That can't be right."

"What do you mean? Are you saying you can actually read this?" Bill asked.

Zidane just stayed silent before giving a small nervous nod. On the inside, his mind was doing flips. 'How could this Le Roy guy get a hold of this? This-this is Terran!'

Seeing the look on the blonde's face, Bill was about to ask what was wrong when a series of cracks resonated through the air. The three wizards quickly pulled out their wands, just in time for several jets of light to come flying at them.

"Protego!" The wizards called out and deflected the spells, Zidane on the other hand, simply dodged and blocked them with his daggers.

When they finally looked up at their attackers, they saw none other than eight hooded men wearing skull-like masks. There were another six of them, wearing rather shaggy looking clothes and fierce-looking expressions. Zidane saw Lupin tense next to him, and after closely looking at the savage-looking men, he realized that they were all werewolves.

One of the Death Eaters, most likely the leader, walked towards them with a mocking laugh.

"I must really thank you four. Without your help, we may have never found a way into this place. Our master was starting to get impatient, too." The man said.

"What does Voldemort want here anyways?" Zidane asked, ignoring the few gasps and flinches that resulted from saying the dark wizard's name.

"Why should we tell any of you filth?" One of the Death Eaters spat. "It's not like any of you will live to tell."

"Don't be too sure of that." Zidane said with a smirk and then crouched low with his dagger ready for a fight. One of the Death Eaters seemed to see this and stepped back.

"Y-you! You're the one we were told to bring back, you're that monster!" The Death Eater said in fright. This remark only appeared to make the wild-looking men snort in laughter. Apparently he'd have to teach them about underestimating him.

"Shut up you twat, do you realize how well the Dark Lord will reward us if we bring him back as well?" A harsh sounding Death Eater reprimanded. There were shouts of agreement from the other Death Eaters, along of cries of 'Let's get him!'.

Various nasty looking curses were shot at them once more, and the group of four was forced to parry. When it came to magical skill, Zidane realized that they had the upper hand. Unfortunately, their foes also had greater numbers and werewolves, which were at least three times sturdier than a regular wizard. Zidane was sure that they could pack in quite a punch as well, and were more likely to go for physical attacks rather than magical. In that case, they were at a serious disadvantage.

"Guys, you deal with the Death Eaters and I'll deal with the flea bags." Zidane said, dashing away and taking with him the pack of angry werewolves that apparently didn't take kindly to his nickname for them.

If they said something in protest, Zidane didn't hear them because the dark wizards soon began another barrage of attacks, giving his teammates no time to talk back, and instead forcing them to concentrate on the attacking wizards that clearly out-numbered them. Zidane too, began focusing more on his own fight, while still trying to keep tabs on his teammates and the stray spells that were now flying everywhere. Thankfully, those tended to work in their favor and knock out a few distracted dark wizards.

Zidane had never really fought a werewolf before, at least not like this. If there was one thing he learned from their fighting style, was that they attacked with the synchrony of a pack of Fangs, the magical capabilities of a trained mage, and the fury of a pissed-off Zaghnol. In short, they were tougher than he expected.

They didn't really go hard on him at first. No, he was sure that they just messing around. That is, until he stabbed and actually managed to kill one of their own. This wasn't easy, since they had quite the endurance. After that, the five remaining werewolves didn't hold back and began a barrage of attacks that forced him back. Two of them would shoot curses at him, forcing him to dodge, while another two larger ones would come in for a series of melee attacks. Their leader, a large vicious-looking man with matted gray hair and whiskers, then dove in, trying to tear at him with magic and if not, his long yellowish claw-like nails.

At one point, he had to do a full back-flip while using a pillar behind him as leverage to jump again and propel himself towards the second floor of the room. This gave him just enough time to take out his wand and shoot a few spells from the balcony towards the wizards that were currently overwhelming Bill. Tonks and Lupin had already been separated from him and were now in a back-to-back formation while attacking and shielding simultaneously.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a few 'cracks' in the air behind him. It was a surprise attack from two cocky werewolves who thought they could catch him while his back was turned. Zidane spun around and slashed one across the eyes, effectively blinding him, and then stabbed the other one through the stomach before back flipping as another curse struck the space where he stood not two seconds ago.

"Are you scared little kitten?" The 'alpha' werewolf said mockingly as he dove in with a hard punch. Zidane jumped back just out of reach before dashing to the side to dodge two jets of light coming his way. "Is that why you keep running away? Is the kitten scared?"

Zidane just smirked. "I'm not scared. You guys just stink so badly that I can't stand within five feet of you."

The alpha let out an angry animalistic roar before lunging at the blonde. The genome was forced to dodge another strike from a nearby werewolf, and because of this, the 'Alpha' managed to pin him to a wall while his nails dug painfully into his skin. The genome made sure not to show that he was in pain, though.

"So tell me, what are you mutts after anyways?" Zidane asked with a slight grimace as the werewolf heard the derogative name and sank his claws in further.

Seeing his prey's discomfort, the werewolf let out a laugh and then removed one hand, bringing the blood covered nails to his mouth and licking the liquid slowly as if savoring the taste.

"Le Roy has something our Lord wants; a large amount of power, knowledge, and influence that could be used to his advantage. What he wants, he shall get." The werewolf said and then turned to look at him with savagery in his eyes. "Though I don't see how this matter to you, since in just a few seconds you will cease to exist."

"Oh, is that so?" Zidane asked with a smirk. Before the werewolf could react, the genome had already kicked the werewolf away with both legs, and then slashed the man across the chest, delivering a deep, painful wound that made the man let out a pained howl. Zidane followed quickly and the stabbed the two startled werewolves behind the 'alpha' right through their chests, before the spells from one of the two remaining werewolves forced him to jump to the side, another curse managing to graze his arm. Zidane staggered as he felt his arm burn painfully, but unfortunately, this let the 'Alpha' come at him and get a firm grip around his neck.

"You little piece of-!" The werewolf growled at him, strengthening his grip and then slamming him painfully against the side of one of the surrounding statues. By the looks of things, Zidane thought that it was probably the sleeping dragon.

Only something wasn't quite right. As far as he knew, the stone beneath him wasn't supposed to rise and fall slowly. Looking at the statue's head, Zidane's eyes widened when he saw a lid open revealing a pupil-less, multicolored eye.

'Oh shit.'

The not-statue dragon seemed to look at him and the werewolf, before a look of annoyance crossed its features and it began to awake, rearing its head back in preparation to attack. The 'alpha' hadn't noticed something was off until he saw the white 'stone' move slightly. Even then it was too late as the dragon's slender snout opened, revealing two rows of dagger-like teeth, and a jet of vivid red flames shot out, scorching the leader and making him let go of the blonde's throat. Knowing better than to stick around, Zidane jumped off the ledge of the balcony and onto one of the hanging chandeliers.

The two other werewolves, too shocked by what was happening, didn't have enough time to run as the dragon turned its sights on them and then released another jet of fire that scorched them alive. The 'alpha' tried to hit the dragon with a curse, but it only ended up pissing it off further and making it rake its claws across his chest and send the Alpha flying off the balcony onto the first floor.

The pearly white dragon then let out a roar that shook the very ground beneath them, before looking down at the many terrified wizards that had stopped their fights in awe and fear of what was going on. Seeing the intruders, the dragon let out another roar before leaping down while using its wings to glide towards its victims.

Out of the eight cloaked death eaters that had arrived, only six were currently standing, with various wounds inflicted upon them. Out of those six, only four remained when two of the dark wizards took one glance at the dragon and then disapparated as fast as they could, just like the 'alpha' did once he regained consciousness. Seeing its prey escaping, the dragon growled and leaped at the nearest Death Eater, crushing him beneath its weight before sharp claws tore him like a ragdoll and fire burned him to a crisp. Zidane had to cover his nose when the sickening smell of burnt flesh reached his nostrils.

Once his target was no longer a threat (and not even a proper target anymore), the dragon looked up and turned its pupil-less gaze to the three tired wizards standing side by side and flanked on both side by the remaining cloaked Death Eaters. Whatever hope Zidane had that the three could defend themselves against the angered reptile was crushed when he saw just how tired they all were. Tonks was barely conscious as she leaned on a battered and bleeding Lupin. Bill on the other hand, was clutching his wand arm, his hand barely able to grasp his wand, while a nasty looking cut continued to bleed through his side. There was just no way they would be able to defend themselves.

The dragon reared its head back, opening his mouth once again. When Zidane saw this, he did the only possible thing he could think off and jumped down from the chandelier, slamming his daggers down on the dragon's head. Since it was a dragon, his daggers weren't able to pierce through its pearly scales, but it did managed to slam the dragon's jaws closed. The angry reptile thrashed around, forcing Zidane to hang onto the long slender horns on its head almost as if he were riding a bucking Behemoth. The dragon roared angrily, standing up on its hind legs and shooting flames into the air before slamming its front legs down on the ground and using the momentum to force the genome to let go. The thief felt himself shoot straight through the air before slamming against a pillar, spider cracks forming on the stone's surface as Zidane crumpled down on a heap, the wind completely blown out of his system and more than a few of his ribs broken.

"Zidane!" His teammates cried out in panic. The blonde pulled himself slowly off of the floor, his hands reaching into his bag for an Elixir. Even after drinking it, he could still feel his body threatening to collapse under him.

The dragon walked closer to the wizards, its forked tongue sliding in and out of its mouth as if tasting the air like a snake. The two Death Eaters shook out of fear, their wands held unsteadily in their hands while pointing at the large winged reptile. The dragon just ignored them and continued approaching. Zidane limped slowly towards his friends in order to protect them. They only seemed to look at him in shock as he limped up to the front, despite his various wounds.

Zidane wasn't going to give up yet, he still had one more ace up his sleeve.

The genome called forth the energy from the deepest pits of his being, his wounds enabling him to recall the outpour of emotions, and the looks of his injured friends only helping to intensify them. Pink and red sparks of electricity began to race across his body as the atmosphere grew heavy. The dragon seemed to see this, and once it realized that something big was coming, it roared and reared back on its hind legs once more. The sudden movement however, made two of the Death Eaters snap out of their fear induced stupors, before they both brought up their shaking wands up and each called forth a curse, the tips of their wands just starting to glow an eerie green.

"Avada Ked-"

But before they could complete the curse, the double doors at the entrance were slammed open, and much to everyone's shock, two orbs of white light shot out of them and towards the two Death Eaters, striking them each directly on the chest before exploding and sending them flying into opposite walls, their bodies smashing against the stone with a sickening crunch.

The three remaining wizards just looked on in shock at what had just happened, but none of them more shocked than Zidane, who recognized the attack from just about anywhere.

"N-No way." The teen said, cyan eyes wide with shock as he turned to look at the doorway where a figure now stood, the sparks of electricity that had been racing through his body now gone.

Slow, graceful footsteps echoed across the now silent room. The white dragon, at the sight of the figure, had seemingly calmed down and fallen back on all fours. The three wizards, not understanding what had just happened, just looked on in disbelief.

"What do we have here?" The figure said, his voice elegant and velvet-smooth, yet covered in an almost mocking tone.

"You?!" Zidane said, looking on, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Zidane, what are you talking about?" Lupin asked, his eyes, wary and unnerved by the look on the genome's face, while he held his wand up, pointing at the stranger. Bill and Tonks seemed to exchange wary glances, too, as they copied Lupin's actions.

The stranger didn't seem to mind. Instead, he walked leisurely towards them, long lavender robes flowing gracefully around him, before brushing away the silvery hair out of his eyes with a pale hand. A teasing look rested on his painted lips.

'Well, well, well, if it isn't my dear brother.'

..

To be continued…

…

A/N: Didn't see that coming, did ya? Just kidding, there were clues everywhere. Some of you actually guessed this was going to happen. Well, here you go.

I should probably flee before you guys come at me because of the cliffhanger.

See you guys next week and make sure to leave some feedback on the way out :D