Notes: I'll leave this note short since I need to wake up early tomorrow and I'll likely be out most of the day. It's been really crazy lately since I've been having a lot of family (and future in-law) over, so I suppose that explains the late updates. Hopefully everything will return to normal after Christmas.

Anyways, thanks for everyone that has been following this story so far!

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Chapter 46: In too Deep

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"WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR? RUN!" Harry bellowed, snapping everyone out of their trance-like states.

All at once the room broke into panic, students quickly running straight for the exit. Zidane cursed as he was nearly dragged in by the current of students. It was at times like these that he hated being so short.

"Zidane!" He heard Neville´s voice call from between the throng of students. The cyan-eyed genome was quick to notice the taller teen and quickly headed straight towards him. Thankfully, Luna was right next to the taller teen.

Grabbing both his friends´ arms, the teen quickly guided them out into the corridor. With the noise everyone was making, it would not be long until Umbridge came to apprehend them. It was already too late for everyone that had run on ahead, but if he could at least save everyone that was left; if he could only just save his friends…

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" The blonde said, looking at Neville´s still surprised face. Whistling loudly to get the attention of everyone still within the earshot, the teen continued. "Everyone split into two groups and head towards the Owlery or the Library. Do not head back to your dormitories alright? Just go there, don´t stand out, don´t look out of breath, and just act natural!"

There were a few confused and scared nods from the students before they too ran off. Hopefully they wouldn´t get caught. There was some time before curfew, so if they could pass it off, there wouldn´t be too much trouble. Ron and Hermione were also gone, giving him the slight hope that they had enough sense to warn the students that ran ahead.

"Come on!" Zidane said forcefully as he ushered Neville and Luna as well. Luna looking to be the calmer of the two.

They ran quickly through the corridors, both teens just barely keeping up with his speed. His keen ears were on the alert for any possible threats. They were close to the library now, all they had to do was move past the corridor near the Trophy Room and they´d be free.

"Reckon they went over here?" A voice called out followed by two sets of steps. Zidane nearly felt his heart stop.

They were getting closer.

Grabbing hold of their wrists, the genome dragged both his friends into the nearby corridor lined with suits of armor. Neville quickly made a move to protest, knowing that the corridor lead to a dead end, but Zidane shushed him instead as the footsteps got louder.

"Did you hear that?" One of the voices said.

"I think it came from over here!" The other said, this one much closer.

Zidane cursed. He didn´t want to have to resort to this, but the way he saw it, he didn´t have much of a choice. He just hoped that Kuja hadn't changed the password.

"Flarestar." Zidane quietly whispered, hoping that it was just loud enough for the magic to work. Double doors were revealed, much to the surprise of the two teens behind him. Well, he supposed that Luna was surprised. It was difficult to tell sometimes.

Before either teen could begin to process what had just happened, Zidane had already dragged them inside and shut the door behind them.

With a sigh of relief, the teen quickly thanked his lucky stars as he heard footsteps just outside the door. There was no way they could follow them inside now.

"Zidane, what is this place?" Neville whispered with uncertainty as he looked around, his eyes pausing for a few brief moments when he caught sight of the white marble angel statues standing guard at each side of the entrance.

"This is-" The blonde began but then paused when his ears caught the sound of a conversation coming from the other side of the door. Though faint, he could still hear pieces of it.

"-there anyone?"

"- no one here."

"-hurry back, they've got Potter-"

Zidane felt his blood freeze when he heard those words. It didn't take a genius to piece the snippets of the conversation together. Umbridge had Harry. He had completely forgotten about the teen in favor of rescuing his friends, and by doing so, he had failed the single mission given to him from the start.

"What are you three doing here?" Another voice called, snapping him out of his thoughts and making him forget about whatever it was that Neville wanted. He never thought he'd actually be happy to hear that voice, but he supposed that this was an emergency.

"Kuja!" Zidane said in relief as he looked at the older genome. Thankfully the man was in a decent state; that is to say, thong-less. "Listen, can these guys hide out here for a while."

"What sort of trouble did you get yourselves into?" The man asked as he looked at the three.

"I´ll explain later, for now I gotta go." The blonde said, pressing his ear to the door to make sure that his pursuers where truly gone.

"Zidane wait, where are you going?" Neville managed to say, still rather shocked by the whole situation.

"I also believe I spoke to you about keeping students in here." Kuja interjected as well. ´What happened?´

"I forgot something back in the Room of Requirement." The blonde lied smoothly, though if he thought about it, he did technically forget Harry back in the room. 'Umbridge has Harry.'

"Are you mad? They´ll find you!" Neville protested, but it was already too late.

"I´ll be fine, don't worry." The blonde insisted, closing the double doors behind him with a ´slam´.

'Now, where could they be?' The teen wondered as he looked around. After making sure that the coast was clear, Zidane cast invisibility over himself. After all, there was no telling if his pursuers had given up just yet.

If Umbridge had taken Harry, then chances were, they were no longer in or near the Room of Requirement. In that case, it was more likely that she had taken him to her office.

Zidane ran quickly towards the moving staircase. He would´ve rather used a different route, since there were still students about, but unfortunately he didn´t really have his cloak with him and it was raining outside. If he suddenly appeared, clothes soiled, wet to the bone and shivering from the cold, it would bring about more questions that he wouldn´t be able to answer. Students weren´t allowed to go outside the grounds at this hour and even when invisible, the mud and water would leave an obvious trail. If he got caught, it would only give Umbridge another reason to pick on him.

It was a stupid mistake obviously. He should have brought his pouch with him. He´d left in hurry and forgot it back in the dormitory. The thought of going back to find it did cross his head, but then Neville would ask why he brought it and he couldn´t just say ' because my daggers are in there'. They only needed wands for the DA meetings anyways, so insisting on going back for his pouch would only come off as suspicious.

Well now that he thought about it, saying that he left something in the Room of Requirement was as suspicious as it was a poor excuse.

So much for trying to be smart about it.

'Get you head in the game dammit!' Zidane berated himself. He wouldn't even have to go through this if it weren´t because he let his eyes off his charge.

Stopping right in his tracks, the blonde bit his lip in frustration before turning around and then taking a different corridor. If Umbridge was sure she uncovered some secret organization that she believed wanted to take over the Ministry, and happened to get her stubby little hands on its leader, then she wouldn´t just head to her office. The more logical choice would be to get in touch with the Ministry, get back up, and use this as an opportunity to take care of their biggest threat once and for all; Albus Dumbledore.

'I have to make it there in time.' The blonde said, urging himself to go faster. He wouldn´t be able to enter Dumbledore´s office by himself and even if by some miracle he managed to guess the candy related password, he doubted that he´d just be able to open the door and slip by without alerting anyone.

Guilt began to consume him again. Dumbledore was now in trouble just because he failed to protect Harry. He should have known that the Toad would plan something. Things had been quiet with her ever since the Trelawney incident, after all. He had been so caught up, well, being a regular Hogwarts student to notice. He had let his guard down and these were the consequences.

'Am I getting in too deep?' The teen asked himself. Was he becoming too complacent with how things were that he'd even forgotten about his duties? Had he fooled himself, thinking that this whole student life was the real deal? Was he so readily willing to forget his previous life back in Gaia? He knew that there was really nothing much to do but get the job done and wait until the end of the year, but still. The more he thought about it, the more he came to the sobering realization. He'd been thinking of home much less lately. He was even getting accustomed to seeing just one moon in the sky instead of two.

He had to admit it. Though tough, these past few months had been some of the best in his life. For once he didn´t have to think about survival or even the future that was waiting for him back at Alexandria. He got to experience what going to school was, albeit a magical school. For once he didn't have to worry about all his duties and responsibilities as hero and future king. He could just be a regular teen with regular teen problems, well, assuming that regular teens were also wizards or witches. Teens in this world had so little to worry about; mostly just trivial things. They didn´t have to worry about surviving the winter and plagues, getting mauled by monsters, or even getting thrown into a dungeon with the risk of execution.

It was nothing short of a blessing in his eyes.

But reality had finally come to bite him in the rear. He was no regular student. Hell, he wasn't even an actual wizard. He was merely pretending to be one in order to protect this one very unfortunate teen. He wouldn't even be considered a person by wizard standards. He had the same standing in this world as a monster would in his. He was just lucky to be found by the guys without the torches and pitchforks. He couldn't hold back the small pang of sadness when he thought about what his friends would think of him if all of this came to light. Would they begin to look at him with the same expression they had when seeing Hagrid´s pets in Care of Magical Creatures? Or would they look at him like they looked at Firenze; like some awe-inspiring, yet untouchable creature they were too afraid of to really get to know?

The teen came to a stop when he finally caught sight of a triumphant-looking Umbridge pulling Harry towards a stone gargoyle; the same gargoyle that protected Dumbledore's office. Urging his mind to put aside those saddening thoughts and focus on the task at hand, the teen quickly moved forwards and slipped inside silently after the Toad spoke the password. Once they were brought inside the large office past the large double-doors, the blonde nearly had to bite back a curse. Despite the short notice, it looked like Umbridge had no trouble getting the hunt party together.

Cornelius Fudge was there, and so were Kingsley and this other familiar-looking Auror, both standing guard by the door. There was also another man, this one with familiar red hair, but as far as he could tell, he wasn´t a Weasley he'd met before. He recalled hearing from Bill about their brother Percy, who apparently was working right under Fudge, so chances were that this was the missing Weasley sibling. Dumbledore was there as well, his face serene as he looked on at the calm before the storm.

Zidane had only seen the Minister of Magic a few times since his arrival here. Usually he´d spot the short man in the newspaper, but whatever the case, just seeing the bowler hat-wearing wizard and thinking about all the crap that was happening because of him, made him want to punch his face in. Even now the Minister had thus smug looking expression on his face. He probably thought he looked so powerful, barging into Dumbledore's office while flanked by some of the best Aurors out there.

Of course, there were a several things that he had probably forgotten. First of all, Dumbledore could probably overpower him, Umbridge, and his precious Aurors without much thought. He likely hadn't yet, simply because of the political repercussions, and because he´d only be giving Fudge more fuel for the fire. Secondly; one of his Aurors was actually working for the Order. Thirdly; Fudge had overlooked his presence and he´d been able to take Aurors down before without much problems, meaning that he´d still be able to fight if things went wrong. Fourth and final; Dumbledore had already foreseen as much. As guilty as he still felt for failing at his duty, the old man had already known that something like this would happen sooner or later. Unless he was wrong, the old coot likely saw this as but a minor inconvenience in the larger scale of things.

"Here is the Potter boy. It was Malfoy´s son the one that caught him." The toad said, looking particularly smug as she dragged Harry towards the front.

"Ah yes, I will have to tell Lucius later." Fudge said, triumphant grin still on his face. "Now, do you know why you are here, Mr. Potter?"

Zidane saw both fear and defiance in the teen´s emerald-colored eyes. He could only hope that Harry wouldn't say anything stupid or incriminating. He could already tell that Harry was biting back the urge to retort with a 'yes'.

Briefly, he wondered if maybe it was time for him to intervene.

A small movement from Dumbledore's direction snapped him out of his thoughts. The old wizard was shaking his head slightly while staring at the space right over Harry's shoulder; eerily close to where he was currently standing. It was hard to tell if the gesture was directed towards the teen, or himself. Knowing the old wizard, both were very possible, so in this case, he decided to stay put and wait.

Though the tiny and almost imperceptible movement clearly went unnoticed by the Ministry lot, it looked like Harry did see it.

"Y-no." The messy-haired teen replied. He was a terrible liar, but assuming that Fudge was an idiot, then this could still work.

"No school rules, Ministry decrees, perhaps?" Fudge insisted, looking more furious by the second as Harry continued to deny all charges. He had to admit that it was amusing to see the Minister lose his temper like that.

"Not that I am aware of." Harry said with a shrug.

"Are you telling me its news to you that an illegal student organization has been discovered in this school?" Fudge asked, voice trembling with barely contained anger.

"Yes, it is." The teen said, mustering a rather unconvincing look of surprise on his face.

"I think it would be make better progress if we fetch our informant, wouldn´t we, Minister?" Umbridge quipped from beside him.

"Yes, yes, by all means." Fudge said, nodding somewhat enthusiastically as he gave Dumbledore a malicious look. "There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?"

"Nothing at all, Cornelius." Dumbledore said, face grave as he inclined his head.

Zidane mentally scoffed. It looked like Fudge still wouldn´t forget the whole trial thing and just let bygones be bygones. What worried him the most was the identity of the witness. Could it be that there was a mole within the DA?

Minutes passed by and nobody would even acknowledge each other. It was awkward to say the least. And finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened. Though the girl hid her face in her hands, Zidane recognized her easily enough. It was none other than Cho's curly-haired friend, Marietta.

"Don't be scared dear, don't be frightened. It's quite alright now. You did the right thing to come to us. The Minister is very pleased, and he'll tell your mother as well." Umbridge said in a tone that she clearly believed to be comforting. Leading the girl to the front before everyone, the Toad continued to coo. "Marietta's mother, Minister, is Madam Edgecombe from the Department of Magical Transportation, Floo Network office. She's been helping us monitor the fires."

"Like mother like daughter, eh?" Fudge said in glee. "Well, come on now, don't be shy, let's hear what you've got to-GALLOPING GARGOYLES!"

The Minister jumped back in shock, making Marietta once again hide her face by pulling up the neck of her robe. It didn´t matter though, since everyone had seen her horribly disfigured face. Purple postules had somehow sprouted across her nose and cheeks to form the word 'SNEAK'. The damage was so great that there were actually more pimples than face visible.

'So that's what Hermione had planned.' Zidane thought, now being infinitely grateful that he decided not to blabber about the secret group. At the same time he couldn't help but feel a wave of anger rise in him as he continued to look at the spectacle before him.

She sold them out to the toad!

After everything they worked for; after everything they experienced together, she had betrayed them? And for what? A pat on the head from Fudge?

Even HE had kept quiet about the DA and he wasn't even a real student.

Perhaps it was because of his own circumstances that her actions seemed all the more despicable. He had grown up in a family tied by loyalty and friendship rather than blood. In time that family soon came to encompass his entire circle of friends. He could trust them to guard his back and they would trust him with theirs in turn. Without that kind of trust, they would have all perished in the war.

The fact that this girl had just spat in the faces of the entire DA and betrayed that trust made his ire rise. And still, he couldn't begin to imagine what Harry was feeling at the moment. He had been their founder and teacher.

'She got what was coming to her.' Zidane decided silently. He would usually think differently when it came to a lady's looks, but this girl was no lady. Handing them over to the Toad meant that this girl had been willing to put all of them, even her best friend, through an even worse fate than a bit of facial scarring.

"Never mind the purple spots dear. Just tell the Minister what you saw." Umbridge said. After only getting a series of wails in return, the High-Inquisitor's mood quickly turned sour. "Oh very well, you silly girl, I'll tell him."

Zidane listened intently as the toad explained what happened. They knew about the Room of Requirement and tonight's meeting, but thankfully, Hermione's hex managed to work its magic before any more information could be leaked. Furthermore, even after some questioning on Fudge's behalf, it still looked like Marietta wouldn't give any names.

'Either it's a side-effect of the hex, or she's just too afraid to speak and risk the magic's effects to worsen.' Zidane surmised. It was still a risky situation. If Marietta opened her mouth again, they´d all be in some deep trouble.

"Isn't there a counter-jinx for this?" Fudge asked impatiently at the still wailing girl.

"I have not managed to find one." Umbridge admitted grudgingly and Zidane could have sworn he saw the Harry's lips curve upwards just slightly.

"I can take up the story from here, however." The toad insisted. "You may recall the report I sent back in October, explicitly stating that Potter had met a number of students in the Hog's Head at Hogsmeade."

"And what is your evidence for that?" McGonagall interjected.

"I have a testimony from Willy Widdershins, who was present at the time. Though heavily bandaged, his sense of hearing was working quite fine." Umbridge said smugly and Zidane cursed his luck.

He had been present and in disguise that day. He had seen Mundungus in the witch costume and had even kind of suspected that guy with the bandaged face, but since he was sure he wasn't a Death Eater, he'd just left him alone. He'd been looking for dark wizards trying to attack Harry, not Ministry moles.

What's worse, according to what Umbridge was saying, it looked like the man had heard exactly what the meeting was for; the creation of a group to practice spells deemed too dangerous by the ministry. In short, the man had heard EVERYTHING and there was no way they could deny what happened. They were in some hot waters now.

'You better have an ace up your sleeve for this, old man.' Zidane thought to himself as the Minister continued to make a mockery of their situation.

Surprisingly enough, Dumbledore looked perfectly serene.

"Cornelius, I do not deny, nor does Harry, that he was in the Hog's Head that day, nor that he was trying to recruit students to a defense against the dark arts group." Dumbledore began. "I do, however, have to point out that Dolores is quite wrong to suggest that such a group was illegal at the time. If you would recall, the decree that banned such societies was not put into effect until two days after the aforementioned meeting, therefore meaning that Harry was not breaking any rules at all in the Hog's Head."

The effect was instant. Fudge remained emotionless, his jaw hanging open. The toad was completely taken aback as well. Even Percy Weasley looked like he had just been bitch-slapped in the face.

Even so, it was the toad that recovered first. "But even if the first meeting was not illegal, every meeting that followed afterwards most certainly were once the decree came into effect-"

"Well they certainly would be." Dumbledore interrupted calmly, fingers interlocked as he looked at the High-Inquisitor. "If they had continued, of course. You do have evidence that those meeting continued, don't you?"

'So it all comes back to Marietta.' The blonde cursed. She could either save them or damn them at this point.

Zidane caught a glimpse of a small look exchanged between the Headmaster and Kinglsey, and raised a single brow in question. The tall dark wizard then whispered something, far too quietly for any of them to catch. Not that anybody else really noticed, seeing as they were distracted by the Headmaster's words. There was a sudden surge of magic in the air and Zidane caught sight of Kingsley casting a spell, just out of the corner of his eye, which hit Marietta.

'Looks like he's got just about everything covered.' Zidane thought with a smirk and not a small amount of relief.

"Evidence?" Umbridge repeated, with that grotesque wide toad-like smile of hers. "Have you forgotten what Miss Edgecombe is here for, Dumbledore?"

"Oh, is that so? I was under the impression that she was only here tonight to report a single meeting; that which took place in the Hog's Head during October." Dumbledore said, raising his eyebrows.

"Miss Edgecombe, can you tell how long these meetings have gone on. Have they happened regularly for the past six months? You can simply nod or shake your head, I assure you the spots will not get worse." Umbridge said encouragingly, though she was only answered with silence. "Just nod or shake your head, dear."

The tension in the air was nearly palpable as they waited for Marietta's response. Her pulled up robes covered everything under her strangely vacant eyes as if just covering herself could somehow hide her from existence like an invisibility cloak. Even so, it looked like all eyes were on her at the moment.

Then, much to everyone´s amazement, the girl shook her head.

Umbridge quickly looked at the Minister and then at the curly-haired girl.

"I don't think you understood the question, dear. I'm asking if you've gone to these meeting the past few months." The Toad said, and yet again, the girl shook her head.

"What do you mean by shaking your head, dear?" The pink-clad woman said, her patience running thin.

The blonde genome smirked. Whatever Kingsley did, it obviously did the trick.

"Usually when a person shakes their head, it means 'no'. Unless she is using some form of sign-language unknown to us, then I would have thought her meaning was quite clear." McGonagall said sternly, making the blonde have to stop himself from laughing. Umbridge's reaction was priceless.

"There have been no meetings the past few months, isn't that so Miss Edgecombe?" Dumbledore asked.

Marietta nodded.

"B-but, there was a meeting tonight!" The toad said furiously. "In the Room of Requirement, you said Potter was your leader! Why are you shaking your head you silly girl!?"

Umbridge grabbed the girl roughly by the shoulders before shaking her hard. A split second later, Dumbledore was on his feet, his wand raised, his face once calm was now stormy. Zidane too found himself gripping his wand tightly by the handle, his muscles tense in alert. Whether it was because of Umbridge's actions or the ominous magic that had suddenly gathered because of Dumbledore's response, he did not know.

"I cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores." Dumbledore said, for once his expression looking truly dark.

Kingsley then spoke to calm the toad, which thankfully seemed to work. It wasn't because he thought that the toad didn't deserve it. She deserved every bit of anger thrown at her. Rather, it was because he just didn't think it would be very wise to anger Dumbledore. He was crazy, manipulative, and maybe more than just a bit senile, but there was no denying that Albus Dumbledore was a powerful wizard.

"Y-you're right Shacklebolt, I-I forgot myself." Umbridge said, still shaken up. Marietta herself seemed oblivious of what just happened.

"Dolores, about the meeting we know happened tonight." The Minister said as if trying to settle something once and for all.

"Y-yes, well…" Umbridge began, trying to compose herself. The blonde thief cursed. It looked like they had one more ace under their sleeve.

Just like he suspected, the toad had already known about their meeting tonight and had prepared beforehand to use that same meeting as means to capture all of them. Those Slytherin students that had attempted to hunt them down like animals were none other than a group Umbridge gathered herself: the Inquisitorial Squad.

Then, much to his horror, the wicked toad pulled out the single piece of evidence that was needed for them to lose the case: a certain list they signed at the Hog's Head, the one signed by all the members of the DA.

'Dammit.' Zidane cursed. He should´ve gone and grabbed that thing before escaping the Room of Requirement. It was his own fault for being so careless. Turning to look at the headmaster, he was surprise to see that Dumbledore was looking straight at him, despite the invisibility that continued to cover him.

Sometimes he wondered if the old man's eyes were magical, just like Moody's.

'It's alright.'

Zidane's eyes widened as the message resonated within his mind. He wasn't sure if Dumbledore said it, or it was simply what he understood from that look.

"BY THUNDER!" Fudge cried out after inspecting the list. "See what they've named themselves? Dumbledore's Army!"

Dumbledore reached for the list, his face expressionless as he read through it. For a moment he seemed unable to speak. Then, to everyone's shock, he looked up, a smile adorning his face.

'No!' The blonde's eyes widened, a terrible feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

"Well, the game is up." The old wizard said. "Would you like a written confession from me, Cornelius, or will a statement before these witnesses suffice?"

Fear and confusion adorned the faces of those in the room. Looking at Harry, Zidane realized that the teen was still desperately trying to figure things out. Kingsley and McGonagall shared a look, both of them realizing just what exactly was about to happen.

"Statement?" Cornelius asked, his voice trembling just slightly. "Wha-I don't."

"Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius." The old wizard clarified, still smiling as he waved the parchment with the names in front of Fudge's face. "Not Potter's Army. Dumbledore's Army."

Understanding suddenly dawned on the Minister's face along with shock and terror. The man stepped back, his cloak nearly set ablaze from the fireplace behind him.

"Y-you?" Fudge whispered.

"That's right." Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"You organized this?" The Minister asked again in shock.

"I did." Dumbledore admitted. His tone was so calm it was surreal.

"You recruited these students for-for your army?" Fudge said, eyes still wide with fear of his paranoid thoughts coming to reality.

"Tonight was supposed to be our first meeting." The old wizard replied with the same nonchalance of someone simply chatting over some tea. "I realize now that it was a mistake to invite Miss Edgecombe."

"Then you have been plotting against me!" Fudge yelled, his fear turning into anger.

"That's right." Dumbledore admitted cheerfully.

"No!" Harry shouted, his mind just catching up to the events at hand. "No, Professor Dumbledore!"

The genome silently cursed. His mind was still going around in circles. Dumbledore would be found guilty at this point and leave Hogwarts. He'd been ready for this scenario for a while now, as a matter of fact, since right from the beginning. At the same time, could he really just allow him to go through with this? He still couldn't help but feel that part of this was his fault. He's been the irresponsible one that let Umbridge find them and abandon Harry. Not to mention he'd left evidence behind. He should have known better.

He had a decision to make. Should he fight for Dumbledore to stay? Should he allow the old man to become a fugitive? Should he make himself known and attack in order to bring attention to himself? If he attacked now, there was no doubt he'd become the enemy of the entire wizarding world. There was no guarantee that Dumbledore would go free after that, either.

"Be quiet Harry, or I'm afraid I will have to ask you to leave my office." Dumbledore said calmly.

Zidane bit his lip. There was also the manner of Harry. If he did anything, then he'd have to leave the teen unsupervised. Dumbledore had been counting on him to protect Harry should things get ugly. It was the whole basis for their agreement.

It was the whole reason Dumbledore was sticking his neck out for Harry. He clearly thought that Harry's safety was more important than his own.

"Yes, shut up Potter!" Fudge barked out, still ogling at Dumbledore like he had just bagged himself a shiny new trophy. "Well, well, well. I came here tonight expecting to expel Potter and instead-"

"You get to arrest me." Dumbledore said. "Like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, isn't it?"

The genome felt beads of sweat roll down the side of his forehead. If he wanted to act, he'd have to do it now that Fudge was busy talking with the estranged Weasley sibling and not paying attention.

Still, he hesitated.

Aside from his wand, he was weaponless, and though he wasn't really all that bad with jinxes and hexes, he still preferred the comforting weight of his daggers. He just wasn't sure if he could take down two Aurors, plus Fudge, the Toad, and of course, the prodigal son.

With a frustrated sigh, he decided to let things take their own course.

"Duplicate your notes Weasley and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once, if we send a fast owl, we might make the morning edition!" The Minister said, Percy Weasley nodding before dashing out of the room. "You will now be escorted back to the Ministry where you will be formally charged, and then sent to Azkaban to await trial."

"Ah yes." Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Yes, I thought we might hit this little snag."

Zidane instantly perked up.

"Snag?" Fudge asked, still looking very much like a kid on Christmas morning. "I see no snag, Dumbledore."

"Well its only that you seem to be laboring under the delusion that I'm going to - what is the phrase?- come quietly." Dumbledore said, his face suddenly becoming more serious. "I have no intentions of going to Azkaban, Cornelius."

Umbridge looked taken back while the Minister simply looked like he had just been slapped in the face. The room was left in complete silence, the tension near tangible. Zidane's hand gripped his wand more tightly.

'You crazy old man.' The genome thought, grinning despite the bead of sweat that rolled down his face.

"So you intend to take on Dawlish, Shacklebolt, Dolores, and myself singlehandedly, do you, Dumbledore?" Fudge's said, his voice quavering with barely contained fury.

"Merlin's beard, no." Dumbledore replied. "Not unless you are foolish enough to force me to."

"Enough of this rubbish." The angered Minister called out. "Dawlish, Shacklebolt, after him."

The two Aurors stepped forwards, wands brandished, but Dumbledore was much faster. A silvery flash soon enveloped the room, throwing it into complete chaos. The floor trembled and Fawkes screeches were mixed in to the sound of screams coming from the portraits. The magic that saturated the air stirred, forcing the genome into action. After all, if this was going to turn into a wizard's duel, he'd much rather watch it from the sidelines than right from the middle of it.

With a strong push, he managed to shove Harry down as a stray spell sailed over their heads. The Boy-Who-Lived struggled against him, making it awkward because of his overall smaller build. It would be even more awkward when Harry looked up to see that there was no one there to push him down, but then again, this wasn't really the time to think about that yet; Harry's safety came first. Squinting to the side, he was glad to see that McGonagall had taken care of protecting Marietta. Getting hit with a stray spell was still a dangerous affair, he wouldn't go as far as wish that on anybody, traitor or not.

The genome squinted through the light again. He could just barely make out Dumbledore dueling the two Aurors. Thankfully, Shacklebolt was quick on the uptake and had left himself open on purpose. After taking care of Shacklebolt, Dawlish would be easy enough to dispatch. He'd know because he recognized him as one of the Aurors that he fought with when he first arrived in this world. If he could take him on without any problems then it would be a walk in the park for the old wizard.

A jet of red light came towards both Harry and himself, making him whip out his wand and block it. After searching for the source of the hostile spell, he caught sight of Umbridge; the witch having apparently gone for a rather underhanded attempt to get to Dumbledore by getting Harry. Of course, she never expected that he was there to level the playing field. A stunner right to the middle was enough to take care of that nuisance. Of course, he couldn't help but feel a certain smugness as he saw the woman fly backwards and hit the desk, sending up a cloud of dust in the process.

Unfortunately, it did not change the fact that his cover was now blown. If Harry thought something wasn't quite right before, then he was absolutely sure about it now. After all, offensive spells didn't simply materialize like that on their own. He had to bite back a curse as he saw the teen' s fingers grabbing at the air in front of him, his hand slowly reaching out in his direction.

'Shit!' Zidane cursed, slowly inching backwards while trying to not make a sound. His tail touched the shelf behind him, meaning he had just ran out of space to hide in. To make matters worse, the dust that now floated around the study had most likely just outlined his silhouette. Harry owned an invisibility cloak, surely he knew how to spot someone by those signs.

"Is everyone alright?" Dumbledore's called out as the dust cleared. Zidane had to thank his lucky stars as he saw the taller teen retract his arm like a kid been caught with his hand inside a cookie jar.

"Yes." McGonagall said, dragging both Harry and Marietta with her, but not before sending a small meaningful look in his direction.

"They will wake up very soon, and without a doubt, it will be best if they don't know we had time to communicate, so for now just act like they were simply knocked to the ground." The old wizard said.

"Professor Dumbledore." Harry began, sending a furtive glance at his direction, before looking at the older wizard. There was a clear sense of guilt in those words, and Zidane could bet a thousand gils that it was because he felt responsible for what was going on at the moment. The funny thing was that he was feeling the exact same way.

"Listen to me, Harry. You must continue to practice Occlumency, do you understand me? Practice every night before sleeping so that you can close your mind off to any bad dreams. You'll understand why soon enough, but for now, promise me that you will close off your mind." Dumbledore began with urgency. "Minerva, I'm leaving the school in your hands."

The old man took hold of Harry's wrist and at that moment, Zidane felt the hair on the back of his neck and tail bristle as a tremendous amount of bloodlust suddenly began to emanate from the Boy-Who-Lived. Bringing up his wand in front of him in reflex, the blonde's eyes widened as he realized that it was the exact same feeling he got before Harry was taken to Grimmauld Place last Christmas on account of Mr. Weasley being attacked.

He had no time to act on it, however. Dawlish began to stir from where he'd fallen, making Fawkes let out a cry to signal their departure. With a last meaningful look and smile in his direction, Albus Dumbledore grabbed hold of the phoenix's tail feather and then disappeared in a brilliant flash of fire.

"WHERE IS HE?" Fudge shouted in fury as he picked himself up from the ground.

Zidane suddenly decided that it would be wise to leave the scene of the crime as well. After all, he had already risked too much of his cover. If he left now, he could still make things right. Besides, McGonagall could take care of Harry for now.

The blonde silently made his way towards the door, the wood creaking slightly as it opened, but thankfully the Minister's tantrum was the perfect distraction. His eyes lingered on a piece of forgotten parchment on the floor, before he decided to carefully snatch it and slip it under his school robes. He dearly hoped that Umbridge hadn't copied the list of DA members from the parchment yet.

"You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts, but you cannot deny, he's got style." Zidane heard Phineas Nigellus's voice call from his portrait as the blonde slowly descended the flight of stairs on the way out.

The cyan-eyed genome ran a hand through his hair as he let out a long sigh. Without Dumbledore here, things were about to get a lot more difficult. Not just for him, but for the entire school as well.

…

To be continued…

….

A/N: Here's the omake I promised. See you guys next week!

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Active Time Event: What Awaits the Criminal

The large double doors were opened as Garnet walked into the large room, her long dress flowing gracefully behind her, and at each side her most-trusted knights, Steiner and Beatrix. In front of her lay a large round table, its occupants already chatting amiably with each other.

Looking about, she realized that almost everyone had luckily made it, well, asides from Zidane of course. In fact, he was partially the reason she called for this meeting in the first place. Freya and Frately were currently chatting with Blank. Eiko was currently pestering an irate-looking Amarant, while Quina was stuffing his/her face, with what exactly she wasn't sure. Normally these meetings were officially limited to the 7 remaining champions that helped bring peace, but of course, she trusted Beatrix with her life, and Fratley and Blank were all honored guests. She knew she could trust them to keep a secret.

"Presenting her Royal Majesty, Queen Garnet Til-Alexandros XVII." Steiner called out from besides her.

"Steiner." Dagger internally sighed as she heard those words.

She had told Steiner that formalities weren't necessary for this occasion. This was, after all, a gathering amongst friends. Well, an emergency gathering, but a gathering amongst friends nonetheless. Rank had no place here, which is exactly why she had insisted on using a round table for these meetings.

"I must insist on at least giving you a fitting presentation." The armor-clad knight insisted.

"I can't say I disagree, your Majesty." Beatrix added.

"DAGGER!" A voice called before she was enveloped in a hug. "What happened? Did you hear from Zidane?"

Dagger's smile somewhat slipped as she recalled her last meeting with the blonde, a meeting that was rudely interrupted. In fact, it was that exactly the reason she called for everyone to meet her here. She thought, long and hard about how to confront the issue of Kuja's return, and for some time she even considered just keeping it to herself, however, she knew that sooner or later this would come back and bite her in the rear, so after a lot of debate, she decided that it would be best to at least let the other champions know. Rather, she felt they deserved to know given their past dealings with silver-haired man.

"Did something happen to Zidane?" Freya asked, quickly noticing her reaction.

"No, well not exactly. He's fine as far as I could tell, however, he came across, well, a bit of a surprise. That's part of the reason I've called you all here today." Garnet answered, not quite sure how to word their current dilemma.

"Did he find tasties?" Quina quipped, his/her interests clear.

"Or maybe something cool and powerful." Eiko suggested, her own interests now piqued.

"Why should we care? If monkey boy came across something over there, how is that our problem?" Amarant spoke, his words straight to the point.

"Her Majesty wouldn't have gathered all of us here if that were the case." Steiner shot back.

"Perhaps it would be for the best to finish listening to the story before we jump to any conclusions." Freya spoke up, before giving Garnet a curt nod.

Dagger sighed. It looked like she would have to get straight to the point.

"The reason I called you here is because what Zidane came across is something that does affect us all." Garnet began. "Remember when he went back to rescue Kuja at the Iifa Tree?"

"Well yes, but how does that have anything to do with this?"

"Yeah, I mean, the entire tree went berserk. We found Zidane all banged up after the tree settled, but we all just assumed Kuja was crushed under the roots." Blank said, trying to understand how any of this was relevant. "In the end we never even found a body."

"Well, about that…" Garnet began and suddenly the entire room went silent. Clearly everyone could see where she was getting at.

"You can't be serious." Amarant said in disbelief.

"I was surprised as well, but it seems Kuja was able to somehow escape to the other world before the Iifa Tree could claim him." Dagger answered, looking around at the many faces still looking at her as if she had just sprung a second head. "Zidane seems to have run into him during some kind of mission. I was able to talk to Kuja directly as well."

"Gods." Frately spoke up, his words summing up what everyone was likely thinking.

"Where is he now then? Is Zidane with him?" Blank spoke up with urgency.

"Kuja seems to be staying at the same castle Zidane is currently at." Dagger said. "According to Zidane he is now helping him return."

"Surely he's plotting something or the like." Steiner declared. "Forgive me if I don't believe the man is simply doing it for charity."

"You spoke to him directly, right. What's your take on this, Dagger?" Eiko asked.

Garnet took a moment to think upon what she had seen during that shocking meeting. Certainly it had not been what she had been expecting.

"The Kuja met was somehow different to the one we saw during the war. He seemed calmer, saner, and somewhat subdued. When he spoke, he not once asked for forgiveness. At first I thought it was partially due to his own prideful self, however now I think he must have realized just how ridiculous the notion must have been considering just how deeply he wronged us." Garnet said, half lost in thought. Shaking her head she then concluded in a determined voice. "I honestly believe that Kuja means us no harm and that he'll be true to his word."

"Well, if that is what you truly believe then I support this notion as well." Steiner said. "I don't trust this man, but I do trust her Majesty's judgment."

"Yeah, and if he tries anything funny we can all just take him down!" Eiko said, pumping her fist up in the air.

"We cook him into yummies!" Quina added.

"That's nice and all, but I don't think at this point that is the real problem here." Amarant added, making Eiko pout angrily at him.

"I'm afraid he's right. Assuming that the man does keep his word and return here with Zidane. What do we do with him after that?" Freya began, making everyone quiet down once more. "He may have saved us once, but that does not make up for all of his past transgressions."

She was right. What would happen once all of this was over? Given the gravity of what Kuja did, there was no way he could go about the rest of his life as if nothing happened. He was a criminal, repentant or not. He'd killed countless people and caused so much destruction. People had been executed over less.

"So in the end even if Zidane's rescue had been successful back then, Kuja would have still been sent to the gallows." Blank said with a shake of his head.

"It's true. Even if we were to defend Kuja and somehow stop him from being executed, I doubt the other world leaders would agree to quietly go along with that. In the worst case scenario it could spark another war, doubtlessly it would bring conflict. We are still slowly recovering from the last war. Conflict is what we need the least." Garnet added and everyone seemed to agree.

Garnet rubbed the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache come along. No matter what she came up with, the outcome was the same. At this point it seemed it would have been easier for Kuja to have stayed dead.

….