Notes: I meant to upload this sooner but I've been a bit preoccupied lately despite having this week of, namely with my pet hedgehog falling sick and needing treatment around the clock. Anyways, thanks to Crystal for always beta-ing the chapters, and thanks to everyone that's been following this story so far. Special thanks for those of you who have been leaving feedback regularly since I really enjoy to hear of you guys, even if it's not related to this fic at all.
…
Chapter 33: Guess Who's Back
Harry gazed up at the cracked ceiling paint of the room he shared with Ron. His eyes lazily tracing the now blurry beams of moonlight that danced around the room as the wind made the trees outside sway. He just couldn't sleep, and it wasn't only because of the redhead's rather loud snores. No, his mind kept going over what happened today.
"Harry, professor Snape is in the kitchen, he'd like a word." Mrs. Weasley called, interruptingthe Wizard's chess match he had been playing with Ron.
"What?!" Harry called out in confusion. What in the world would Snape want with him? Had he done something wrong? He couldn't remember doing anything. Had he perhaps gotten a 'T' on his last assignment? He sure hoped that wasn't the case.
When he pushed open the kitchen door, he was greeted by a rather strange scene. The air was thick with tension as Sirius and Snape sat together at the table, both looking in opposite directions and looking as if this was the last place they'd rather be at the moment. With how much they hated each other, Harry was somewhat surprised that they weren't currently trying to hex each other into oblivion. He supposed it had something to do with the letter that lay open on the table.
"Er…" Harry said, announcing his presence.
Snape turned to look at him, his face stony. "Sit down Potter."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't give orders in my house." Sirius said, looking at the ceiling.
Snape seemed to flush out of anger but didn't retort. Harry assumed that it was safe to sit down next to Sirius and across from the Potions master.
"I was supposed to see you alone Potter…" Snape said, sneer on his mouth. "But Black-"
"I'm his godfather." Sirius nearly growled.
"I'm here on Dumbledore's orders." Snape snapped, his voice in contrast becoming more quiet and dangerous. His face currently told him that he wouldn't be here if he was acting on his own free will. "But by all means stay, Black, I know how you like to feel… involved."
"What was that supposed to mean?!" Sirius growled angrily, getting up from his seat.
"Merely that you must be feeling quite…frustrated by the fact that you can do nothing useful for the Order." Snape said, placing delicate stress over his words. Seeing the flushed look on the dog Animagus's face, Snape sneered in victory and then turned towards Harry.
"The Headmaster has sent me to tell you, Potter, that it is his wish for you to study Occlumency this term." Snape said.
Occlumency, as the man explained, was a branch of obscure magic used to defend the mind against intruders. He didn't understand why he would have to take the classes since they already agreed that he wasn't possessed. But it didn't matter since Dumbledore had already decided it.
He would be receiving private lessons each week, all of them in secret. And to make manners worse, the one in charge would be none other than Snape.
…
"Kuja?!" Zidane cried out in shock, a sense of dreariness washing over him, like he just wanted to faint and let this just be a nightmare. The three wizards just stared at the blonde in confusion. "That can't be. I was there inside the Iifa Tree! You were dead!"
"I was close to it, I admit. However, I managed to get away in the last moment and land myself here. I believe the same thing happened to you." The man said with a shrug before giving the bodies on the ground a distasteful look, and then heading towards the dragon that was now growling at the wizards. "It's alright Sylph, they are our guests."
Zidane just stood there, a part of him still not quite believing what he was seeing. Even as he watched Kuja casually call off his dragon it just seemed to surreal.
"Wait a moment, can any of you tell us what just happened?" Bill asked, slightly angry, though he was mostly confused. "Just who are you?"
"Hmm, I don't think it's quite polite to interrogate someone inside their own home, though I think I'll humor you." Kuja said with a teasing smile. "My name is Kuja, though I also go by the name of Jacques Le'Rouge, and Le Roy. However, you may all know me better as Zidane's older brother."
"WHAT?!" The three wizards asked in shock.
"But you can't- he is-" Tonks sputtered in disbelief.
"Oh, is it really that hard to believe?" Kuja asked, smile playing at his lips. 'Garland did say we were very alike.'
'Stop getting inside my head.' Zidane thought. He hated how Kuja could do that, though he supposed that he could do it too. He just valued other people's privacy.
'Funny thing for a thief to say.' Kuja retorted smugly.
'Get out!' Zidane shot back.
"Well excuse us for not believing you, but it does seem a little farfetched. You don't exactly have a…erm, well..." Lupin said looking between the two males.
"It's the tail isn't it?" Kuja deadpanned. "It's really not all that hard to hide."
"Kuja, can we take this somewhere else." Zidane said, looking at the man warily. 'I need to speak to you in private.'
Kuja narrowed his eyes slightly but then smiled. "Of course, I'll deal with this mess later."
The robed man led them back through the door and past hallways until they reached a room with a lit fireplace and various black leather chairs all around a mahogany coffee table. The injured group sat in the chairs rather awkwardly as Kuja called a house elf that later appeared carrying a tray with several cups of tea.
"Thank you, Rose. Can you see to it that Sylph gets properly fed? I won't have her eating that Death Eater filth again." Kuja said before the house elf gave a bow and left. The three wizards looked at him in disbelief, though Zidane's face remained stony. "Now, what is it that you want to know?"
"Why don't you tell me why the Death Eaters are after you? We can start with that." Zidane said.
"Well, look around you, isn't it obvious?" Kuja asked, a playful smile on his lips as he spread both arms. "In fact, they have been at it for a while now. That's why I decided to set up that security system. Without their magic, they are quite pathetic. And besides, it also helps power up my own house. It's a win-win situation, really."
"Is that why you held that ball yesterday? And speaking of which, if you saw me yesterday, then why didn't you call off your damn suits of armor?!" Zidane asked angrily as he remembered how he had been chased around the place.
"The ball was for pleasure really. I have a reputation to upkeep, after all. The fact that I also gained free magic by bringing several wizards in here had absolutely nothing to do with it." Kuja said with a shrug. "As for why I didn't call off the attack, I just thought it was amusing really. Besides, you did break two of my windows just yesterday, and it's not like that would have actually killed you. You are far too…resilient for that, I'm afraid."
The three wizards looked on in astonishment, as if not believing what they were hearing. Finally, it was Lupin that seemed to piece their thoughts together. "Excuse me, but are you saying you intended for Zidane to get hurt, even though he is your brother?"
"That wouldn't be the worst he has done." Zidane deadpanned.
"You aren't still mad about that, are you? And it's not like that at all." Kuja said. "Besides, I knew that even after that, you would still try to get inside, and I was right, wasn't I?"
"You could have at least called off those water demons!" Zidane said angrily, his tail bristling at the thought.
"You mean the Grindylows or the Kappas? You didn't kill off my Kelpie did you?" Kuja asked and then added. "You do have a tendency to kill my pets."
"Only when you sic them on me!" Zidane said indignantly. "How did you get a dragon anyways? I thought they were illegal!"
"Oh are you talking about Sylph? I found her in my trip to New Zealand, she's an Antipodean Opaleye, quite rare actually. I got the permission as a certified tamer after pulling a few strings, so I am allowed to keep her." Kuja commented offhandedly. "I'm actually quite surprised that you didn't figure out it was me in the first place. My large collection and the dragon should have been more than enough for you to connect the dots."
"Did you think that maybe it was because I thought you were dead?" Zidane replied sarcastically. "How did you even get all this? It hasn't even been a year since that happened!"
"Well, if you do it once, it really isn't all that hard the second time. It wasn't much of a challenge really." Kuja said with a shrug.
"Wait, can you guys go back to what you were saying? About him being dead?" Bill asked in exasperation as the conversation had somehow digress into something else.
"Oh that." Kuja said with a look of distaste. "Like I said, I never really died. I managed to get away in time. I am surprised you actually survived the Iifa Tree going berserk though. I imagine it must have taken a week or so for it to settle."
"It did." Zidane deadpanned again.
"Excuse me, but what is this Iifa Tree that you keep speaking of?" Lupin asked.
Kuja looked as if in thought before answering jovially. "Oh, the Iifa Tree is the divider of souls that went berserk about nine months ago. It was supposed to-"
"It was a giant, evil tree." The thief said, giving Kuja a small look. "I went in looking for Kuja, and found him dying. I thought he did at one point, but then the tree attacked and I barely got out of there myself. In fact, I would've died if our…sister hadn't found me."
"How is she anyways?" Kuja asked.
"I'm surprised you care." Zidane commented.
"I am a bit curious really. I never really got the chance to get close to her." Kuja said thoughtfully.
"She's living in the Black Mage Village with the other genomes we managed to get out. They are doing quite well, actually."
"Them?" Kuja said with a scoff. "I never expected them to be anything more than the soul-less vessels they-"
"Kuja!" Zidane snapped, looking nervously at the looks that the wizards were giving them.
"Wait, I thought you said you were a genome." Lupin said, giving him a sharp look.
"We are, but it's complicated." Zidane replied looking down. "As far as genomes go, Kuja and I are kind of special."
Kuja looked at his brother and let out a laugh. "Special is an understatement."
"What do you mean by that?" Bill asked suspiciously.
"Tell me, what do you really know about genomes?" Kuja asked, leaning back while settling one leg over the other.
"Well not much besides the fact that you and Zidane are genomes and that they apparently have tails." Tonks replied with a shrug. "Not that we've seen it ourselves."
"Why are you still hiding yours anyways?" Zidane asked. "I never understood why you didn't just cut it off if you disliked it so much."
"Well dearest brother, maybe if you tried it out sometime you'd realize that it grows back, quite painfully actually." Kuja replied with a bitter tone of voice.
"Oh." Zidane said, suddenly feeling very awkward.
"Can we please get back to the topic at hand?" Bill asked. "Why did you ask us about what we knew about your kind?"
'So you haven't told them? How unexpected of you.' Kuja thought, gazing lazily at the look Zidane was giving him before laughing merrily. "Oh, no reason at all. All you need to know is that as far as genomes go, the others aren't exactly what you would call 'social butterflies'. You could say they just weren't…made that way."
The three wizards looked at the silver-haired man with small frowns on their faces, as if trying to solve the giant puzzle they had found themselves in. Kuja simply ran a hand through his hair to get it out of the way, his pale fingers brushing past the lavender-tipped feathers on the front.
"Now, I believe I have some questions of my own." The older genome said, eyes half-lidded as he intertwined his fingers over his lap. "What exactly brings you here on this fine night?"
"Why don't you take a guess?" Zidane asked with a smirk, this seemed to only humor the silvery-haired genome.
"Well, judging by the fact that you actually recognized those men as Death Eaters, I'd say that you somehow got caught up in the whole Voldy Moldy conflict in Britain, not surprising really, the fact that your companions are also British only strengthens that theory. But considering that you all arrived just now, and not before when the Death Eaters first appeared, not to mention your rather disappointing lack of numbers, leads me to believe that you weren't expecting their group to be so large. Basically this group of four was only a safety measure." Kuja began, his smile only growing as he saw the looks on the wizard's faces. "The fact that you tried to break into my house can only mean that you are really after something inside of it. Since you came with your group, I doubt it was just for money, since it would go against their 'morals'. You are here for some kind of power you lack or at least some information. A way back to Gaia, perhaps?"
"You really enjoy hearing yourself talk, don't you?" The younger genome head resting lazily over a gloved hand.
"That may be true." Kuja said dramatically. "But I'm afraid I don't have what you came here for."
"So you have no idea how to get back?" Zidane asked, raising a brow. "That is strange. I thought you would have figured it out by now."
"Well technically you could always just repeat what you did, but doing it would only take you to some other random world. The chances of actually ending up in Gaia are minimal. Even if you did, you could end up just about anywhere. Perhaps in the middle of Mount Gulug, or right under the sea." Kuja started. "And for your information, I did do some research on it. Only thing was that once I was half-way done, I realized that I didn't want to go back to that retched planet."
"Why wouldn't you want to go home?" Tonks asked, curiosity taking hold of her.
"Gaia isn't my-" Kuja began but them stopped when he saw the look Zidane was sending him. "I just don't have anything worth going back for." 'Not to mention that they'd probably execute me the moment I set foot there.'
'Oh right.' Zidane thought. He wasn't looking forward to explaining this to Dagger.
"But, what about your family? You mentioned having a sister, and Zidane is part of your family, isn't he?" Bill asked, the concept of not having a warm family being nonexistent.
Kuja scoffed. "Family? Let's just put in this way, shall we? Due to a little 'accident', Zidane was raised in the streets by thieves, and even then, he still had a more loving family than I did."
'Accident? You friggin dumped me on Gaia.' Zidane replied, mentally scoffing. Even then, he realized that Kuja was right. Had he been raised by Garland, he would have probably ended up destroying the Gaia he knew and loved.
The three wizards looked very surprised at the revelation, but before they could apologize, Zidane spoke again.
"You can still have a family, you know. I already found one that I need to get back to." He said and then paused. "You could be a part of it too if you wanted it."
"Ha, I don't need your pity. Besides, your 'canary' would sooner burn me at the stake than welcome me." Kuja said with a humorless laugh.
"I dunno, you'd be surprised. I mean, we still kind of owe you for getting us out that one time. Just think about it okay?" Zidane said before getting up. "I kind of like the sound of 'uncle Kuja'."
The wizards and the blonde genome thanked Kuja, before excusing themselves and proceeding to make their way out of the expansive house. Thankfully, the room Kuja had taken them to was not all that far away from the main entrance. This time, the armors stayed right where they were supposed to, too. They were just about to leave the main hall, when they heard a set of elegant footsteps behind them and stopped.
"Hold on." Kuja called to them calmly as he slowly approached them. He held out a pale, and well manicured, hand out to them that began to glow in a white greenish light.
The three wizards looked on in shock, at the green light they had come to associate with the killing curse, and reached out for their wands rather awkwardly because of their wounds. Much to their surprise, the light enveloped around them rather soothingly, before taking away the pain of their injuries and leaving.
"That way you won't go leaving bloodstains all over the place. Now get out of my house." The silver haired man said before turning away. 'Come alone tomorrow and we can talk properly then.'
Zidane merely grinned.
….
"Hey Remus." Bill said, making the werewolf turn around from where he stood, looking out into the city.
"How's your arm?" Lupin asked as he sat down comfortably on the bed.
"A lot better than I thought it would be after getting hit by a curse." Bill said as he rotated the arm experimentally in its socket. Though after finishing, the redhead turned to look at the werewolf with a more serious expression. "Actually, I wanted to ask you if you had seen Zidane anywhere."
"Oh, he said that he was going on a bus tour today or something of that sort. He left quite early, too." The werewolf said thoughtfully.
"But you don't believe him." The redhead said.
Remus just sighed, before looking at Bill right in the eyes. "So you don't think he has been acting strange since we got back last night?"
"I never said that." Bill said. "I was actually going to talk to you about that. Do you plan on mentioning it in your report?"
"I will, even if it runs out to be nothing." Lupin said tiredly. "I don't expect you to understand, but the last time I dismissed a change like that was almost 14 years ago when Pettigrew betrayed us. I'm not taking any chances this time. I have a gut feeling he probably went back to that mansion."
"You think Zidane would betray the Order?" Bill asked, shocked.
"Well, we can never really know for sure." The werewolf said sadly. "There's obviously something that he is keeping from us. I've been thinking about it, there're just too many gaps in his story; too many things we don't know about him. And that man…the moment I saw him…the wolf feared him…it told me to get away as fast as I could."
"You can't be serious. That bad?" Bill asked in surprise.
"Yes, and I think Zidane knows this as well. When that man appeared, even though he was mostly surprised by his appearance, he didn't once put his weapons away. It was as if he was ready to get attacked by this man any second." Remus said. "And judging by what he said, this is not the first time, even though Zidane claimed to have tried rescuing him. Now tell me, what kind of brother would attack his sibling like that?"
"You're right. Fred and George may love doing their pranks, but that is all they have ever been; pranks. They wouldn't go that far. It was the same with me n' Charlie." Bill said thoughtfully. "But they did say they were raised separately. I imagine they didn't meet on very good terms. Yet what bothers me the most is what that man said, about a giant 'divider of souls' tree, and about those other genomes and being 'special'."
"Yes, Zidane did mention it once, now that I think about it. Under veritaserum, he described genomes are being 'empty vessels'. Now his 'brother' appears and calls them soul-less, even though he claims that both of them are special." Lupin said. "I hate to say it but the more I think about it, the more these 'genomes' are starting to sound like dark creatures. Though, I'm not exactly in the position to start pointing fingers. Then there's also the matter of what happened during the fight. Before that man appeared, I am sure Zidane was about to do something. There was a great power in the air. I get the feeling that he was going to unleash something as a last resort."
"Wait, Harry mentioned a giant tree in his vision didn't he?" Bill interrupted, his brows knit together in concentration. "You don't think he was talking about the same tree Zidane mentioned, 'Iifa' was it?"
"It certainly does seem too unlikely for it to be a mere coincidence." Lupin said thoughtfully. "Hopefully, Dumbledore has a clue of what is going on."
"If anyone does, it will probably be him." Bill said. "There is so much uncertainty at the moment. Even with Harry. What will happen in the future, I wonder."
"Hey Bill, think you could call Tonks?" Lupin said as he got up. "She has a small picture of Phineas we can use to report in."
….
"So let's cut the crap Kuja." Zidane said, sitting down with his arms crossed over his chest. "Garland said you didn't have long to live. How are you alive anyways?"
"Well Garland did say I would die, but he never really said exactly when." Kuja said with a shrug as he poured himself some tea and sat down on the leather chair of his study. "Even 'soon' could easily mean a hundred years for Garland. He had been alive for much too long."
"Almost makes that outburst of yours look like a tantrum doesn't it?" Zidane asked with a smirk, and Kuja just gave an indignant huff. "You've changed, though. You would've blown my head off with an 'ultima' spell had I said that a year ago."
"Oh, so is that what you would rather have me do?" Kuja asked with a smirk. "I'd be thankful if I were you. Especially now that I am willing to help you get back to that wretched place you call home."
"It's gonna be a bitch explaining this to Dagger." Zidane whined.
"She still hasn't gotten over that?" Kuja asked in disbelief.
"Hey, you killed her mother AND destroyed her kingdom using the Eidolons you forcibly extracted from her. It didn't help that you were also responsible for the destruction of Madain Sari that killed her real parents. I'd be more than just a bit pissed off too." Zidane said with a shake of his head.
"Well I suppose you're right." Kuja said as he waved his hand in dismissal, walked towards the table, and picked up a piece of parchment and an envelope. After snapping his fingers, a house elf appeared before him, bowing low to the ground while wearing a rather fancy looking maid uniform. Zidane recognized the elf from yesterday. "Rose, would you be a dear and have this sent to Fenrir Greyback? Be sure to send one of the falcons to drop it off. Heavens know they will need to make a quick getaway."
The house elf seemed to pale at the mention of the name but otherwise nodded. "Yes sir, right away!"
"Fenrir? Who the hell is that?" Zidane asked with a raised eyebrow at the name of one of Eiko's Eidolons.
"Oh, nasty fellow. You probably know him as the leader of the mangy mutts from yesterday. He is mostly known for his savagery and his, well I guess you could call it a hobby, of infecting others, especially children." Kuja replied, before sitting down across from the blonde. "They left such a mess too."
"Wait him? What are you doing sending a letter to those guys? You aren't planning to join Voldemort are you? Jeez Kuja, you never struck me as the 'blood supremacist' type of guy." Zidane said with a smirk.
"Moi? Join them? Ha, as if!" The silver-haired man said, returning his smirk with one of his own. "I just wanted to remind them to keep off my property and to know whether they want their trash back for proper burial… before they start stinking up the place, that is. I do have a heart, you know?"
"You do?" Zidane asked with a laugh. A part of him decided that Kuja wasn't apparently as bad as he thought, or rather, as bad as he had been in the past.
Maybe he could actually trust Kuja this time around.
"Oh dear brother, how you wound me so." Kuja replied dramatically.
"Anyways, I should head back before the others get suspicious." The blonde said. "Just contact me, or Dumbledore when you're ready. Actually, don't contact me after getting back to Hogwarts. The ministry issued toad will be watching."
"Oh don't worry. I'm sure I will be able to reach you just fine." Kuja said with a rather disquieting chuckle.
"Okay…bye, and thanks, I guess." Zidane said, frowning a bit before getting up and leaving through the door. Before he made it out, he could have sworn he heard some dark chuckles in the room that made the hairs on the tip of his tail rise on edge. He was just going to pretend he didn't hear that. He was also going to ignore that sinking feeling in his stomach while he was at it.
…..
Harry sighed as he fed Buckbeak a large mouse. Things at Grimmauld Place had certainly calmed down now that Christmas was over. Everything seemed to slowly return to its gloomy monotony, including Sirius, who had once again taken to locking himself up in his old room or spend hours with Buckbeak.
If anything, there was a slight feeling of impending dread in the house, especially coming from its temporary occupants that would be heading back to Hogwarts in less than a week. OWLs would soon be upon them, along with countless piles of work, and to make manners worse, the Toad would likely be there waiting to implement some new cruel and unusual Ministry Decrees. Sure the DA had been a massive relief from all that tension, but with their examinations coming, all that stress would surely affect them. Then there was the unresolved matter with Cho. He was hoping he would get enough time to think about it and deal with it later, but his procrastination had reached its limit. He knew he would have no choice but to make his move once they arrived at Hogwarts, if not, at their next DA meeting, where she'd surely be expecting him. Finally, there were the new Occlumency classes that he would be taking with Snape.
In fact, those classes were worrying him the most. He could barely stand Potions with Snape and now he was supposed to have him teaching private lessons to him? Why couldn't he have the lessons with Dumbledore if the old wizard was so adamant about him taking them? Hermione also insisted that he take those classes. Even so, he already knew that Snape would make things impossible for him. Just like the Dursleys, he would probably just go on about talking ill about his father. He could see it now. Nothing good ever happened when he and Snape got together in a room for long periods of time. That was just one of the many facts of life.
Sirius had actually given him a wrapped present for him to use if Snape was giving him trouble, but Harry simply put it away. He had already made up his mind, and he would not be using whatever it was in case it put his godfather in danger. Sirius was still wanted by most of the world, magical or not. He was still being blamed for the Death Eater attacks that the Ministry was still denying, including the recent one in Hogsmeade.
'No, I will definitely go to those Occlumency lessons. I already made up my mind. If not for myself, I will do it for the safety of my friends.' Harry thought as he stroked Buckbeak's soft feathers.
…..
Albus Dumbledore was a man with many responsibilities. Such was expected from someone as known and powerful as he was, even though he really did not like the attention. Had he liked being in the spotlight so much, he would have agreed to the position of Minister of Magic ages ago.
He had just heard the last of Remus's report directly from Phineas, and even he had to admit that he was more than just shocked to hear about what happened. Voldemort was after L'Rouge, though the man had proven to be quite a power in his own right and had been able to keep the Death Eaters at bay for longer than he could have imagined. But most shockingly of all was the revelation that the powerful and young wizard was none of than Zidane's long lost brother. One he apparently harbored a rocky relationship with, which was something that he could personally relate to.
Still, he was worried about what Remus told him. Zidane had been acting rather strangely after they left. There were far too many secrets behind that boy, secrets that, although not necessarily related to anything of this world, were still quite worrying. It certainly didn't help that he was already a very inquisitive person on his own. Even at his old age, curiosity was still a powerful force that drove him to do what he did best. He didn't discover the twelve uses of dragon blood simply because he fancied becoming famous.
'I am almost sure that Harry's other 'dream' was because of Zidane. I am quite certain that the first was actually a vision, but after hearing what Remus had to report and adding to that the pieces of information that Zidane told me, I am sure that a brief connection was made between Harry and Zidane that night, which lead to Harry's second dream. The boy may not realize it yet, but he is a very skilled Occlumens, and therefore, quite possibly a skilled Legilimence as well.' Dumbledore thought. 'But if that's the case, then the whole 'point of view' of the memory brings up a whole new set of concerns.'
Though highly improbable, it was quite possible that Zidane accidentally tapped into that power of his and made a two-way connection with Harry where an exchange of information occurred. It was improbable, because Legilimence required a great deal of mental discipline and years of practice to learn to interpret the various complex layers that made up the mind. That is, of course, if Zidane was just any ordinary wizard. But the fact remained that Zidane was hardly a normal wizard, not even truly human in fact. Perhaps his own species shared this outstanding ability, which would explain why he didn't seem surprised about having someone else speak to him through such means.
Ramuh had only spoken briefly about the type of magic found in the world of Gaia, and the many species that populated it. He was quite surprised to find out that so many humanoid species could live peacefully with one another without the discrimination that could be found in this world. According to him, conflicts did occur, but they weren't really a matter of race, but rather beliefs and loyalties.
"Ah, it's a shame he had to leave. I would have greatly enjoyed learning more of their fascinating world." Dumbledore said, petting Fawkes, who trilled happily at the attention. That is, until there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." Albus called with a bit of curiosity. Dolores was away at the ministry, and he really wasn't expecting anyone.
McGonagall came in, looking as stern as ever. Behind her, walking calmly and with quite the confident gait was a young aristocratic man, or at least he assumed he was a man, one that he had never before seen in his life. He had long silvery hair with lilac tipped feathers adorning the top of his head. He wore exquisite looking robes of fine silk, and Dumbledore couldn't help but notice the long manicured nails and the makeup over a rather pale complexion. He was not very tall at all, but even so, the manner he carried himself suggested someone with a lot of power and influence.
Still, he couldn't help feeling like there was something very familiar about the man before him, perhaps his facial structure or the rather exotic aura about him.
"Headmaster, this man wishes to speak to you. He was actually quite insistent." McGonagall said, giving the man a few looks that were promptly ignored.
"Ah, please sit. Care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered and the man just declined the candy before gracefully taking a seat. Dumbledore couldn't help but notice the way Fawkes flew away the moment the man approached. In fact, the phoenix just looked at the man with suspicion in his beady eyes all the way from his perch. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly at the display, deciding that he would be very careful with this young man, and continued. "Well I believe formal introductions are in place."
"Oh yes, how terribly rude of me. I came here in regard of your letter, and of course, the little visit I received a little while ago." The man said a sly look in his blue, almost grayish-purple, eyes. What a strange color. However it was those words that struck him the most. It couldn't be, could it? "My name is Jaques Le'Rouge, though if I am correct and you have already been informed, then you must already know of my real name being Kuja and of my relation to Zidane."
"Yes, I was just briefed, actually. I'm Albus Dumbledore as you may already know, and this is Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor and current Transfiguration professor. I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you." Dumbledore said, doing well to hide his surprise. Deep down, the cogs in his mind were already turning. This man could be a great asset to the Order in both power and information. He could also be the one to answer all his questions.
"Excuse me, but what exactly is your relationship to Zidane?" McGonagall asked, her shock a lot more evident.
The man let out a rather theatrical laugher, as if finding her comment the funniest thing in the world. McGonagall actually looked a bit bothered by the unnecessary drama; the man had actually just wiped an imaginary tear off his face. "Well, it just so happens that I am Zidane's dear older brother."
The expression on the Deputy Headmistress's face that moment could only be described as priceless.
"Minerva, would you mind me having a private conversation with this remarkable young man? Besides, I do know you are quite busy with your own work. I wouldn't want to keep you here any longer than necessary." Dumbledore said, and with a stern though still very shocked nod, the Animagus excused herself before leaving through the door. She understood the hidden message. She was to prepare the Order for a meeting as soon as he was done.
"So, Mr. Le'Rouge, or would you prefer Mr. Kuja? What exactly brings you here to Hogwarts today?" Dumbledore said, twinkle present in his eyes.
"Legilimence won't work on me, Headmaster, or have you not realized that before with Zidane?" Kuja said with an elegant smirk.
"It was worth a try, wasn't it?" Dumbledore said with a small smile. "But let's get back to business. I must say I didn't expect any contact so soon, if any at all. Unless of course, you are really here for something only I can give."
"Well to tell you the truth, I really just wanted to get this small scene out of the way as soon as possible. Though you are correct, I am here on business." Kuja said, crossing his legs before tapping his lap with his impeccably manicured nails. "I have what you might call, a business proposition. One that could benefit the both of us if all goes according to plan."
Dumbledore raised a brow in question, his curiosity piqued. "And what would this proposition consist of?"
The corners of Kuja's lips just turned upward in a devious smirk.
…
To be continued…
…
A/N: The sass is strong in this chapter. Also, there's lots of references to FFIX events, so I'm not even going to bother writing them all down. If you have any questions you're all welcome to ask