Notes: Last week was pretty intense and with very little sleep in between, though luckily there's only one week left of hell until my summer vacation finally starts. You can all expect more omakes and whatnot once that happens.

Just as with last time you can all just scroll down and skip the review reply. I'd just like to say that I was very happy to see so many of you reply so positively with respect to my response last week. Last week's feedback was also great, so thanks once again to everyone that's been following this story.

I'm surprised only one person mentioned Sauron appearing in the last chapter, though.

….

(ARC)

To Guest:

Well, first and foremost thanks for your reply. I'm not quite sure why you've replied since I already answered your question. Maybe you just wanted to make a point, but whatever the case, I also have a few things to say about your response.

-Your review was not taken as a jab at me since I'm personally not gay, however, there's statistically is a large number of readers who are, which is why I want to keep things respectful.

-Granted the HP doesn't have a universally agreed canon or levels of canon like other series, however many will agree that when it comes to written works, canon is defined by what the author says is canon. It is as Sanitel says; Rowling is the creator or "God" of her works, therefore what she says is "the word of God". When it comes to series with such complex universes, the main works are simply not enough and thus, authors resort to alternate works or spinoffs to expand their already existing universes. At least in my opinion, telling an author that the character she imagined and brought to life isn't this or that sounds pretty silly. Rowling was pretty adamant about making Dumbledore gay, and I personally believe denying that is a bit offensive towards the author. Whether we agree with it or not is another story. We can always change things through means of fanworks if we really feel compelled to. This is probably one of the main reasons fanfiction exists.

-I'd appreciate it if you didn't take my words out of context, or in this case add an incorrect context to my words. I did not say "Yes, many readers did find it funny" to excuse my jokes. In fact, I DO NOT need to excuse anything I decide to put into this fic. As harsh as this may sound, this is something I do for fun and self-improvement, not to appease others. I wrote what I wrote to correct your statement: "Don't make gay incest jokes please it's not funny", since the fact that many readers did find it funny proves otherwise.

-I'm not sure what exactly you're trying to say here. Personally, I don't think homosexuality is an adult topic only and that children should be properly taught these things, however, the mention of labelling gay jokes as adult humor is not my decision. uses a content rating system in which minor suggestive adult themes involves anything that has to do with implied sexual intercourse which in this case would fit your interpretation of what happened at the end of chapter 40.

I hope this clears up a few things.

…..

Chapter 42: Reconciliation

…

…

'Where am I?'

'What happened?'

The first thing he realized was that he was in pain; like a persistent drumming that pulled him from the darkness and drew awareness of himself. The second thing he realized was the link it formed to the body, his body. He felt a twitch, as if his brain were making the connections of what moved where. Small jolts raced through his body, to his fingers and toes, and also down his spine and to the tip of what he realized was his tail.

Zidane groaned loudly as he slowly opened up his eyes, only to be blinded by white.

His head felt like he had been slapped by an Adamantoise, while the rest of his body felt as if it had been run over by a herd of Behemoths. All in all, it was not a pretty combination.

Blinking the bleariness out of his eyes, Zidane slowly became aware of the soft, if not overly crisp, bedsheets under him as well as the strong scent of cleanliness and disinfectant amongst several other foreign smells.

'A hospital?' The blonde asked himself as he attempted to sit up, though the statement didn't ring quite true.

His vision cleared through his pounding headache, allowing him to finally notice the stone walls and large windows that let the streams of light slip through.

'The Hospital Wing.' Zidane thought to himself in recognition.

But just what the hell was he doing here?

Zidane frowned as he realized that his throat was parched. Just how long had he been here? Looking around once more he was happy to find a goblet of water on the bedside table, right next to a small potted plant. A wary part of him warned him about an unknown liquid that could have easily been some weird potion, but at this point he just honestly couldn't bring himself to care. He was just so thirsty.

The blonde frowned as he downed the contents of the goblet. He was getting the feeling that he was forgetting something, but he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. Something was telling him that it was quite urgent as well, but what was it?

'It's not like this headache is helping.' The blonde thought to himself gruffly. 'Come on, what's the last thing you remember?'

He had a regular breakfast as usual; only that it wasn't really all that regular. There was something that was going to happen that day. He also flirted with that cute sixth year Hufflepuff, but he was sure that that wasn't really it. Flirting was a normal part of his daily routine, but then, just what had happened? Was it maybe a prank he pulled to torment the Toad? That didn't sound right. He was sure he hadn't pulled one for a while, not after Angelina asked him to…

'Oh crap, the Quidditch match.' Zidane thought as he slapped himself in the face. Everything was coming back to him.

They were supposed to be going against Hufflepuff. In fact, Angelina had them training quite arduously for weeks. Unfortunately, such training didn´t help when some members of the team (he wasn´t gonna give any names), couldn´t hit a bludger if their lives depended on it. After all, how was one supposed to sharpen abilities that weren't quite there to begin with?

Zidane blew the bangs out of his face gruffly. His mind was replaying the events that got him here.

The match started and Ginny quickly flew off to search for anything resembling a small golden glimmer, while Angelina and the girls quickly soared towards the Quaffle. Following their lead, Zidane quickly followed so he could watch their backs, one hand gripping tightly at the broom´s shaft while the other clutched Fred´s borrowed club-like beater's bat.

About ten minutes had passed and Zidane was ready to call it quits. Hufflepuff had already managed to score four times, and though he hated to admit it, Ron was directly to blame for at least two of those scores. He wasn't quite sure about the other two seeing as he was too busy dodging players and hitting bludgers away from his teammates to really pay attention. Not like paying attention to the game was easy already, considering the sounds coming from the stands, particularly the Slytherins and their 'Weasley is our king' chant.

"HUFFLEPUFF SCORES YET AGAIN!" The genome heard and cursed as he looked towards the Weasley goalkeeper.

It was the damn song getting to him, that he was sure of. Ron already had some manner of stage fright or so to speak of, but just hearing this "WEASLEY IS OUR KING" chant really demolished any form of self-confidence he could muster up. He sympathized, he really did, since he experienced it himself when he first started participating in the plays that Tantalus set up. Still, Zidane did believe in the concept of taking one for the team, so a part of him still felt rather irritated by the sight of the redhead being rendered useless by the song. They were just words really. It wasn´t like they were throwing bloody knives at him. Sticks and stones and all of that.

"Get your head in the game, Weasley!" Zidane shouted after Ron let yet another shot go unguarded.

Two minutes later and Kirke had actually managed to hit Angelina in the face with his bat, leaving the usually flawless chaser at less than half of her usual capacity. Without their captain´s lead, Alicia and Katie couldn´t quite coordinate their attacks, which at this point meant sure defeat unless Ginny found that snitch, and fast.

Ginny had momentarily found the snitch once, but hesitated since it was close to her opponent´s knee. He had already seen the snitch a few times, and he wondered what rules Quidditch had regarding other players catching it instead of the seeker. He was quite tempted to go and catch the damn thing himself. He was really starting to regret it. He really should have signed up as seeker instead, or maybe switch with Ginny. Actually, for Ginny's sake it was best that he became a beater, since his position required a lot more strength. He wasn't saying Ginny was weak, he had seen her duel and thus he would never dream of such a thing. All he was saying is that he'd rather it be him at one of the receiving ends of one of those bludgers.

It's not like his build was adequate either. But even if his height left a lot to be desired, he was still deceptively strong and had a mean hand-eye coordination. Despite this, he was certain he would make a much better seeker. He had great eyesight, even in the dark he could still distinguish individual movements, no matter how small or fast, more importantly, he was a thief and treasure hunter so his brain was already somewhat preprogrammed to notice small shiny things.

But no, he just had to get roped up into becoming a beater, watching as his team basically tore itself apart in front of hundreds of spectators.

Then again, he had to admit that his game could also use some improvement as well.

It was the cold, mostly. The way it permeated through his protective clothing and chilled him to the bone, made it nearly impossible to concentrate on what was going on in the rest of the field. And even if he was getting better from his cold, he had yet to make a full recovery. The longer he had to fly out in the merciless cold, the worse his beater skills seemed to get. Even if he was actively swinging the small club-like bat around, he simply found it impossible to bring heat to his small frame. At one point he thought about using a small fire spell for some warmth, but quickly dashed the idea, seeing as he was currently riding a piece of very flammable wood. He wasn't sure if they charmed broomsticks against fire, but he wasn't really keen on finding out.

He felt like he was in the Ice Caves again before he had to confront the Black Waltz No.1; his body was slowing down from the cold and he could feel it. His concentration was slowly waning, making it more difficult to keep up with everyone's quickly shifting positions. It almost felt like he was watching the game from an outsider's perspective rather than his own. After taking a quick glance towards Ginny, Zidane mentally cursed. She was still searching for the snitch and at this rate, he wouldn't be able to concentrate long enough for the game to end.

A movement from the corner of his eye made him quickly bring his bat up to eye level before he quickly swung the heavy equipment and hit the incoming iron ball with a resounding 'clack'; his arm actually stinging a bit from the force. He had to admit that after a couple of close calls, he had actually developed a bit of respect towards the Weasley twins's beater skills. It sure wasn't as easy as it looked.

And man, those things were hard.

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned to see a rather livid looking Angelina whose left cheek was now turning an angry purple from when Kirke accidentally clobbered her. She wassaying something to him, though no voice seemed to accompany the rapid movement of her lips. Too tired to reply, the blonde simply nodded, only then realizing that he was shivering quite violently.

Getting the hint, the genome lurched forward on his broom to once again take part of the game, his mind partially wondering for how long he had stood hovering over the same spot in the field like an idiot. Obviously it was long enough for Angelina to notice.

'I need to do something about this.' Zidane thought with a sigh as he shifted slightly in his broom so as to avoid falling off. He didn't dare use his tail since he would rather avoid having it freeze to his broom.

"AND IT LOOKS LIKE ANGELINA'S GOT THE QUAFFLE!" The blonde heard as he quickly bat away another bludger towards the opposing team.

Angelina and the girls suddenly switched positions into what he recognized as that offensive maneuver that he'd seen during practice. It was a desperate move brought on by desperate measures. Following along, Zidane quickly zoomed after them in this all-out attack, his job being to protect the chasers and stop the other team from advancing.

He blocked a bludger intended for Katie, and then sent it right back to the opposing team, forcing the chasers led by their captain, Zacharias Smith, to break formation in order to dodge the heavy iron ball. Smith however, wasn't as lucky and had the ball graze his arm. This made the blonde smirk, seeing as the Hufflepuff had it coming. He was indirectly the reason the whole school now knew that he was Kuja's brother.

Another bludger came at him, shooting from the left, which forced him to duck. Something was very wrong here. After all, the game used two bludgers, and there were supposed to be exactly two beaters per team, so in that case…

'Where the hell is Kirke?' Zidane thought frantically, cursing as he found himself singlehandedly trying to defend against the whole Hufflepuff team, plus two bludgers.

Looking around, Zidane finally got his answer when looking towards the ground. He had ignored the commentator's announcements, or rather, Lee Jordan's quips in order to focus on the game, so he had apparently missed seeing his teammate fall off his broom.

'You have got to be kidding me.' The genome thought, shaking his head as he saw the teen get back up. Apparently he was unharmed. 'No wait, he's cradling his wrist so he might have broken it or something.'

How he was planning to hit bludgers with an injury like that was beyond him.

A sound alerted him that Gryffindor had actually managed to score now, but he knew it wouldn't be nearly enough unless they managed to get the snitch.

Angelina, Alicia, and Katie once again assumed their offensive positions, encouraged by their small win. He personally didn't think it would be such a good idea to try the same trick, seeing as their opponents already knew what to expect, but it was already too late to do anything about it, other than go back there and try his best to defend. Kirke was close by now, so chances were that he wouldn't be the only target. Smith had apparently switched part of the team's focus on taking him out.

Zidane now had most of the opposing team within his line of sight, except for the Keeper that continued to guard his hoop. A bludger was sent his way and he redirected it towards one of the opposing chasers, though unfortunately, it wasn't enough to prevent the player from stealing the quaffle. Another bludger came towards him, but this time he was forced to dodge instead, allowing the small cannonball-like object to shoot past him before probably swerving around and aiming at another player like bludgers were supposed to do.

Something wasn't right though. That was the first thing he thought to himself as he saw Ginny stop in her tracks to look at a spot right behind him. He could see her brow was furrowed in thought despite the distance between them. Suddenly he saw her brown eyes seemingly widen in alarm.

"KIRKE STOP!"

There was a loud 'clack' and Zidane just barely had enough time to turn his head sideways and catch Kirke out of the corner of his eye, beater's club held high in the wrong, though currently uninjured hand. A large shadow shot towards him, too late for him to do anything but widen his eyes, before there was blinding pain and then darkness consumed him.

Zidane winced as he recalled what happened, the seriousness of his injury now making itself known. He slowly reached for the side of his head and surely enough, there was a bandage covering it. Someone had also undone his hair tie, letting his blonde locks fall freely over his shoulders.

A sound snapped him out of his thoughts, or rather, a series of sounds. After focusing on them despite his headache, he came to realize that they were actually several voices that seemed to be arguing.

"I'm afraid you can´t see Mr. Tribal at the moment. He has yet to wake up and needs all the rest he can get." One of the voices said. It took him a while to recognize it, but when he did, he realized that it was none other than Madam Pomfrey.

´I must´ve gotten hit harder than I thought.´ Zidane thought to himself before a mischievous smile made its way to his face. "Yeah, you know. Some of us are actually trying to get some sleep over here."

There were a few tense moments of silence before cheers erupted from the people outside, running steps indicating that the matron's words had gone unheard.

In a matter of seconds he was surrounded by the red and gold of his Gryffindor peers, and well, Luna. He was surprised to see most of the team there, as well as the golden trio, his roommates and even, to his great shock, Neville.

"Well, look who decided to come back to life." One of the twins said, at this point he didn't really care which one.

"I believe that'll be 5 sickles." The other twin told Lee, who reluctantly handed over the silver coins. Zidane's brow rose in response.

"You guys made a bet about my wellbeing?" The recovering blonde asked.

"Nope." The other twin answered gleefully, before the other butt in. "We were betting on whether or not you looked like a girl with your hair down. Lee thought you didn't, but we know better."

"Besides, that bet would've expired weeks ago since nobody expected that it would take you a whole month to wake up." The other twin said, making Zidane's heart nearly stop.

"WHAT?" The genome called out, nearly jumping out of the bed before a wave of nausea, along with several pairs of hands, forced him to back down again.

"Ouch, hey!" The same twin said as Ginny shoved an elbow into his gut. "It was just a joke, it hasn't even been a whole day. Still, you gave us all a fright there, mate. We really thought you were a goner."

"Anyone wanna fill me in?" Zidane asked.

"Well you know what happened right?" Ginny asked, uncertain on how she should tackle this particular subject.

"Besides Kirke smashing my head with a bludger?" The genome deadpanned.

"He tried batting with his uninjured hand and though he hit it, he wasn't really aiming. I mean, that's what happens when you don't bat with the hand you are generally accustomed to. I tried to stop him, but…" Ginny said, sounding rather downcast.

"It's okay, I guess I just wasn't expecting getting hit by one of our own." Zidane said as he gently prodded at the bandages.

"So how are you feeling?" Angelina asked, her face filled with worry, and surprisingly enough, guilt. The other girls also seemed to look at him in a similar way, even Hermione, which was weird since he was still having problems facing her after the whole fiasco with Kuja.

"It's okay, I've been in worse spots before so it's no big deal." The blonde said dismissively. "Though, what happened with the game?"

Instantly everyone else seemed to deflate, which only confirmed his suspicions.

"We lost 240 to 230, though Ginny was the one to capture the snitch." Katie replied, a sullen look on her face.

"You should have seen Summerby's face when Ginny caught it right under his nose, though." Alicia said with a small laugh.

"We can still catch up though, with some luck, and if we can beat Ravenclaw." Angelina said, and he couldn't help but notice Ron cleary grimacing at the idea.

"So, does anyone know what happened to my stuff?" Zidane asked. It worried him since, for starters, he was currently wearing the sweatpants and a t-shirt he wore to sleep, meaning someone changed his clothes, meaning his travel pouch was no longer with him, which of course meant that he had neither his daggers or his wand there with him. At this point it somewhat worried him that someone had seen his tail or something, but considering the fact that he wasn't locked up in a cage or something, then he guessed that whoever changed his clothes already knew about his little secret.

There was also the matter of his Quidditch uniform, his borrowed club and his broomstick. He had paid a lot for that broom, mind you.

"I think Professor L' Rouge has them." Ginny suddenly spoke. "He was the one that brought you over in the first place."

"You were lucky your broom didn't end up like Harry's last one though." One of the twins said, patting the Boy-Who-Lived on the back playfully.

"It's not my fault that tree has to be so bloody mental." Harry said with a shake of his head.

"It was really weird. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen Professor Kuja look that upset before." Hermione said, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Upset? Upset?! He looked like he wanted to kill some poor bloke." Ron said, his face becoming somewhat pale at the thought.

Zidane let out a somewhat nervous laugh. "I guess he can be prone to overreacting sometimes."

Mentally however, he couldn't help but panic a bit. Kuja could have very well slaughtered each and everyone in this castle had he been his past self. It still came off as a bit of a surprise that he had seemingly cared about him so much.

"Anyways, I really think we should let Zidane rest for a bit. It's already surprising that he's up after getting injured like that. Madam Pomfrey was right, he needs his rest." Hermione said, speaking up for once as a suborn mothering sort of look overtook her features. He had seen enough of that look from Mrs. Weasley to know that he wasn't being given much of an option anyways.

There were sounds of protests and everyone said their goodbyes and left, Angelina actually stopping to apologize.

"It was my duty as Captain to watch out for the team, and I still forced you to play, even though I knew you weren't really feeling well, so I'm sorry." The girl said, though Zidane quickly stopped her. He hated seeing women look sad, after all.

"Get well soon for us, okay?" Hermione said somewhat awkwardly while he waved Ron goodbye, and received a silent sympathetic look from Harry, who had likely experienced this more than once before.

In the end, all those that were left were Luna and Neville, the latter having stood in the back of the group all this time, while the former had apparently spent it tracing figures into the air around her.

"Zidane, I-" Neville began, but the blonde soon interrupted.

"It's okay." The blonde said, his usual playfulness gone.

"No it's not." The round faced boy snapped. "I shouldn't have pushed you away like that when you were trying to help. I should've just shut up and listened. I shouldn't have punched you. And worst of all, I shouldn't have spent all these weeks ignoring you and pretending to still be mad."

"Hey, it was my fault too. I shouldn't have called you a dumbass. I punched you back as well. I knew what your parents meant to you and I still said those things. I shouldn't have been so tactless." Zidane said, shaking his head.

"I still should have apologized first. When I saw you get hit by that bludger in the head and then fall off your broom, I thought that I'd never see you again. Our fight seemed so dumb at that moment I wished I could take everything back. People die from hits like that." The teen said, sobering up. "We went down to the pitch and that's when Professor Kuja showed up. I think he was the one that stopped you from falling. Then he left without a word and we got worried. McGonagall barely let us come after you, though it didn't do much good. Professor Kuja wouldn't even let Madam Pomfrey near you. Everyone was really worried."

"So Kuja healed me then. That must've been some white magic." The cyan-eyed blonde said absentmindedly before looking at Neville's confused face and realizing that he had let out a minor slip of the tongue. "I mean, healer's magic. Kuja is actually a pretty decent healer."

"I'm just glad you're okay." The round-faced teen said.

The blonde smirked. "You couldn't get rid of me if you wanted to."

"So then, friends?" Neville asked, his hand extended shyly as if to seal the deal.

The cyan-eyed teen let out a lighthearted laugh. "You got it."

"It's great to see you two talking to each other again." Luna said as she approached them and wrapped an arm around each of them "The Nargles were becoming quite unbearable."

Zidane chuckled once again as he gave in to the group hug. 'Good ol' Luna.'

"I believe that's quite enough for Mr. Tribal. You are in serious need of rest." Madam Pomfrey said as she appeared with a tray held in both hands; food and a goblet with dreamless sleep potion if he wasn't mistaken. "You two had better go back, or you'll miss supper."

"Can't I go too? It's so boring here!" The blonde whined.

"Perhaps if you took better care of yourself, you wouldn't be in these situations, Mr. Tribal." The matron said with a stern gaze.

"Well we really should get going. We'll come back and see you tomorrow." Neville said as he headed towards the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Luna said as she pulled out a rolled up copy of what appeared to be a magazine of some sort. "It's the latest issue. It's a shame that we weren't able to up the Crumple-horned Snorkack article, but it's been very well received so far. Daddy even had to reprint."

The genome raised a brow as he looked at the cover of the magazine he had received. And how could he not, when a moving picture of Harry greeted his face.

"HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN."

'Interesting…' Zidane thought, a mischievous smirk appearing once more on his face, for surely Umbridge would definitely not like this. 'Interesting indeed.'

….

"Bode would have never taken it, Master…Bode would have known he could not….undoubtedly that's why he fought so hard against Lucius Malfoy's Imperius Curse…" The pockmarked man before him said, the expression of absolute fear on his face only highlighted by the light of the flickering candles nearby.

"You have done well to tell me this. Countless months I've wasted on fruitless schemes, but no matter now. You have Lord Voldemort's gratitude Rookwood." He praised, his voice cold yet deceptively dangerous, like a snake eared up to strike at any moment.

"Yes my Lord." The cowering man before him gasped, his voice hoarse with relief.

"I will need all the information you can give me." He spoke again, long white fingers gripping at the back of the dark velvet chair before him.

"Of course, my Lord." Rookwood said once more with a deep bow.

"Very well… you may go. Send Avery to me." He said, turning to look at the other side of the poorly lit room.

He barely even paid any mind to the other man as he scurried backwards and disappeared through the door. His attention was completely spent on the single pedestal occupying the room, or rather the glowing red orb that sat upon it.

"We begin anew; this time greater than ever before." The man said, looking at the blood red sphere with what could only be described as a twisted sense of glee. "With your knowledge it won't be long until my army is complete; an army of which this world has never seen."

Gazing longingly at the object, even in the poor light his reflection could be seen. A white skeletal-like face gazed back at him with a two slit-like nostrils and red eyes that made his resemblance to a snake almost uncanny.

"NOOOOOO!" Harry cried out.

The Boy-Who-Lived flailed around madly, his heart beating wildly in his chest while searing pain made him unable to think. There were bindings entangling his limbs and restricting his movements which instantly made his fear turn into full-blown panic. He had no idea where he was or what was going on, all he worried about was that he´d see that awful skeletal face staring at him from the shadows, its bloody red eyes burning right into his soul.

"Will you stop acting like a maniac so I can get you out of here?!" Ron's voice called out to him as he felt his bindings being pulled away.

Opening his eyes he caught the sight of his friend in the moonlight, his 'bindings' now appearing to be the hangings of his four-poster bed. The room was thankfully empty except for the redhead who had apparently been getting ready for bed as well.

"Has someone been attacked again?" The redhead asked, his face looking even paler in the moonlight. "Is it Dad? Is it that snake?"

"No, nobody's been attacked…Avery's getting punished, though. I mean, he gave Voldemort the wrong information, but he's on the right track now that Rookwood is helping him. There was this red orb…he said he would start building an army." Harry said frantically as Ron's ever growing pallor drew a sharper contrast against his freckles.

"What are you talking about?" The redhead asked, his voice shaking slightly. "D'you mean you just saw You-Know-Who?"

Harry swallowed hard, the scar on his forehead still burning. He looked down at his hands as if in fear of them suddenly turning into the bony-white appendages he'd seen in his 'dream'. "I was You-Know-Who. He was with Rookwood; one of the Death Eaters that escaped from Azkaban. He said that Bode couldn't have removed something. He was under the Imperius curse. Malfoy's dad put him up to it."

"You think they were talking about the weapon?" Ron asked, his voice just barely a whisper.

"I think so, but there's more." The emerald-eyed teen said, closing his eyes as if to remember. "There was an orb; it was red and on some kind of pedestal. Voldemort was talking to it. He seemed almost happy about it. He said he could build an army now."

"Bloody hell, do you think maybe it was the weapon? Do you think it can make armies?" Ron asked in fear and a hint of awe.

"That's the thing. I-I'm not sure it was the weapon." Harry said, shaking his head. The feeling he had gotten from Voldemort; it was that of twisted happiness, there was no doubt about it. But at the same time it just didn't feel right. It wasn't a feeling of victory linked to having acquired something after longing for it for so long; it was more like pleasure at having uncovered some kind of hidden treasure. Whatever the case, if it could help build armies then it couldn't be good.

"You have to tell someone about it." The freckled teen before him said after Harry explained.

Harry weighted his options. On one hand, this was very valuable information. Voldemort had quite possibly managed to snag the weapon under the Order of the Phoenix's nose, and if he hadn't yet, there was a very good chance he would try sooner than they had anticipated now that he had Rookwood. There was also that orb. There was something definitely wrong and eerie about it. On the other hand, perhaps the Order already knew about this. He wouldn't know since they never told him anything. Dumbledore was still actively ignoring him, so he probably wouldn't even care to listen. Considering the possibility that Snape was actually spying for the Order, then there was also the possibility that they already knew this piece of information. Most importantly; he shouldn't even be having these visions. He wouldn't have seen any of this if he hadn't already learned Occlumency like he was supposed to have been learning since Mr. Weasley's attack.

"I haven't got to tell anyone." Harry decided, and by 'anyone', he meant Dumbledore. Ron frowned, but before he could speak, his response was cut short by the sounds of footsteps approaching.

Harry quickly closed the hangings and dropped down on his bed just as Dean and Seamus came in. Seamus had only just stopped thinking he was a nutter, and quite frankly, he didn't want to return to that.

He heard Ron's bed creak as the redhead lied down, along with the sounds of his two other roommates as they got ready for bed. Neville was probably still down in the Common Room and it would probably be a day or two before Zidane was released from the Hospital Wing.

…

"I believe you wanted to see me." Kuja's silky smooth voice spoke as he faced the wizened old wizard before him.

"Ah yes, Professor Kuja, have a seat." Dumbledore spoke as a squashy armchair appeared before him. "Lemon drop?"

The older genome eyed the offered candy in distaste, instead opting to sit down. A few feet away, Fawkes watched the man with caution from his perch, his beady black eyes looking on with distrust.

"Just Kuja will do. I'm not much of a professor anyways, as surely you know." Kuja said as his eyes made contact with the scarlet bird's, both individuals staring each other down unflinchingly.

"Ah yes, I suppose that is true." Dumbledore said, blue eyes glinting through his half-moon spectacles. "So, how is young Harry doing in his Occlumency lessons?"

"He has potential. Not much patience though. I wouldn't really be able to tell since we have yet to properly start our lessons." The man said, crossing his legs as he lay back on the chair. "But of course, you already know all this from Severus. Why did you call me here tonight, old man? I really would appreciate it if we could cut to the chase already."

The wizard let out a sigh that seemingly made him look older and more tired than just seconds ago. "It seems that it won't be long until the Ministry once again interferes with Hogwarts."

"And how, pray tell, would that be any different from those delightful decrees that horrid toad woman has been showing up with these past months?" Kuja asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I believe that this time Cornelius' goal is to get me to permanently step down as headmaster. All he needs now is a good enough excuse." Dumbledore explained, a tired look marring his features. "Have you seen the latest issue of the Quibbler?"

"Who hasn't at this point?" The man before him said with a scoff. "Though to be perfectly honest, I would have never paid the magazine any mind had it not been because of that toad banning it in the first place. Once that happened, everyone was willing to ignore the rest of the dubious content just to see what the whole commotion about it was. I must say, even I was the slightest bit impressed. I just never expected those three to come up with something like this."

The old wizard smiled warmly, his eyes twinkling through his half-moon spectacles. "Yes, they truly are full of surprises, aren't they? But as brilliant as their strategy was, I'm afraid it was not without consequences. It seems the Minister of Magic has taken it as a direct insult; an attempt to rouse panic amongst the wizarding community and tarnish his name. His desire to see me off is now greater than ever."

"That is quite unfortunate, but how exactly does this concern me?" The silvery haired man asked, uninterested as he checked his manicured nails.

"I was hoping that if the time came when I was unable to act, and the Order, or rather, Harry needed you, that maybe you would assist us; your brother as well of course." Dumbledore said. "My time in Hogwarts grows short, I'm afraid. And when I'm no longer here to watch over young Harry, there's a possibility that Voldemort will seize the chance to come after him. When that happens, I fear we will need all the help we can get."

Kuja looked at the man, his lavender orbs coldly analyzing the wizard before him. After a few long seconds, he let out a small chuckle. "You are barking up the wrong tree, I'm afraid. If you want a hero to help you win your war, then Zidane is your best bet. I however, have no reason to help any of you. Our deal was that you'd allow my stay here in exchange of information, be it about your war or how to get Zidane home. As it stands, I'm not even part of your little order; I have no part in this little play."

"You wouldn't help even if it meant preventing the loss of countless lives?" The wizard asked, his blue eyes seemingly piercing right through him.

"I have little interest in what happens to this world or its inhabitants." The man replied casually with a shrug.

"What of your brother? Would you still sit idly knowing that his life may be in peril?" Dumbledore asked, his tone hardening as he spoke.

The pale man stayed silent for a moment, but then after seemingly making up his mind, he let out a small laugh. "How much did Zidane tell you about our family? About genomes?"

"I'm afraid it was not much other than saying they were 'Terra's empty vessels'. The few words he said still bring about more questions than answers. I had hoped you might be able to bring some light into this matter." Dumbledore spoke.

"If that is all you know then I'm afraid this conversation is over." The pale man said as he stood up. "I have no plans to help any of you, but I have no plans of joining Voldemort, either. Zidane is your best bet in this situation. He's too honorable to go against your deal and too much of a kind-hearted fool to simply leave, anyways. Simply tell your order to stop being as mistrustful, and everything should turn out fine."

"I harbor no distrust towards Mr. Tribal." Dumbledore insisted. "But Molly would have my head if I allowed him in the frontlines. I see no reason to place him in constant danger. Voldemort seems to have his eye out for your brother, as well. Keeping him here is also for his own protection. I would also prefer to have him here so that he may watch over Harry for me."

"I don't particularly care for your motives." Kuja said as he turned to leave, pausing on at the door for a moment. "Just a word of warning; nobody likes being treated like a pawn, even if it is for your so-called greater good."

With a loud slam, the man was gone.

…

To be continued…

….

A/N: Any questions or comments just PM me or review. Feedback is always appreciated.

Well, I'll just go get some shut-eye and brace myself for next week. See you all then!