Notes: Aaaaand we're back from break! Happy 2015 and here's hoping this year's a good one, or better than 2014 at any rate (I've managed to encounter like five shiny pokémon in X and OR so I guess so far so good). On other random irrelevant news I also got myself two carnivorous plants and I'll also be attending the Pokemon Day event here in Santiago, so I guess it'll be pretty interesting.

As always thanks to everyone that has been following this story so far, and also special thanks to those who've been leaving constant feedback. I really enjoy reading what you guys think, not just things concerning this fic, but also what you guys think about HP, FFIX, or just fanfics and tropes in general.

…

Chapter 48: A (Surprisingly) Kind Person

.

"Thank you Professor Umbridge. I would have taken care of the sparklers myself, but I´m afraid I wasn't quite sure whether or not I had the authority." Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice said with a beaming smile as he slammed the door right in the Toad's face.

Zidane let a small grin as he closed his eyes and laid his head on his desk.

"Are you alright? You look tired." Neville said besides him.

"Ron's snoring kept me up last night." The blonde said, though in reality it was more like a partial truth.

He had trouble sleeping last night because of the redhead, but the main reason he was so tired was due to an entirely different thing. After Umbridge discovered the DA, forcing Dumbledore to leave, he promised himself that he'd take his job seriously. He had been tailing Harry these past few days, everywhere other than the bathroom and his lessons with Kuja, of course. He sometimes even kept watch over him while he slept, but only when he heard him move too much, just to be ready in case it was another one of those "nightmares".

Neville of course, had no idea. Neither did Luna for that matter. Since OWLs were coming up, he hardly saw them outside of class. Neville had been putting in a lot of effort into his studies so he spent most of his time buried in books. He had a feeling that his grandmother had some part to play in his sudden change in attitude, whether it was to make her proud of his achievements, or simply reach her high expectations, he didn't know.

Luna too, in a surprising twist, had also taken to hitting the books. He always thought that, being who she was, Luna wouldn't bother with studying. She always seemed more like the kind of person that like to learn by seeing things in the flesh than by reading books. Even so, he learnt that Luna had a dream for the future as well. She wanted to study magical creatures and perhaps one day prove the existence of the creatures that she always spoke of. To do so, she would also have to give these OWLs her best as well.

Zidane found himself uncharacteristically lost in his thoughts once more. He still couldn't quite understand the whole point of OWLs. A set of examinations that determined your future? It all sounded so strange to him. But then again, the whole concept of a school sounded strange to him.

Both Neville and Luna were working hard for their futures. He, on the other hand, already had a future waiting for him. In his mind, he just couldn't help but feel that such a tiny fact created such a big gap between them.

The blonde quickly shook his head. What really mattered now was that with both his friends occupied, he now had the perfect opportunity to fulfill the job he was originally here for.

"Oh. You should try to rest more, you know." Neville said, though after seeing his deadpanned look, the teen gave a tired sigh and switched to another topic. "How long do you reckon it will take Umbridge to get rid of the fireworks?"

"Dunno, I´m just sitting back and enjoying the show." Zidane said honestly.

"I suppose." Neville said looking thoughtful. "I´m just surprised that she didn't do anything about you-know-what."

Zidane nodded. Despite being found out, everyone from the DA was rather surprised at the lack of punishment on Umbridge's behalf. What they didn't know, however, was that the list with everyone's names was currently in his possession. Despite having read the list herself, Umbridge couldn't hand out any punishments as long as there was a lack of hard evidence. Obviously, Zidane wasn't going to tell that to anyone. After all, Harry knew that Umbridge had the list that night, so explaining how he got his hands on it would be dangerous for his cover. Harry already believed that he was being followed, which was true. That didn't mean he was just going to give the teen more reasons to be suspicious, though.

"Well at this point, I don't think there's any need to worry. Umbridge had the chance to punish us, but wasted it." Zidane said thoughtfully. "It just kinda sucks that we won't be able to meet again after this."

"I know, but with the upcoming OWLs, I doubt we would have been able to meet, regardless of Umbridge finding out." Neville replied. "You'd be the only one able to attend if that were the case."

"Hey, it's not my fault I don't have to take those stupid tests." Zidane said with a shrug.

"What do you do with all that free time, anyways?" Neville said before whispering. "You'd think someone with so much free time wouldn't be as tired."

"Oh yeah, did you hear? It looks like they haven't been able to completely cure Marietta of her spots yet." The blonde said, quickly changing the topic of conversation. "According to Katie, they're a lot less noticeable and they no longer spell 'Sneak', but they are still there."

"I don't think I'll ever want to get on Hermione's bad side." The taller teen said, shivering. "I still think she somewhat deserved it."

The blonde genome raised a brow in question. He'd assumed Neville would be a lot more compassionate.

"I mean, I still think it must be awful for her, but still, it's not in the least bit life threatening. We could have all been in a lot of trouble because of her, as well." Neville said, looking down at his hands. "Gran would have a lot to say to her if she were here as well. You just never betray your friends like that, right?"

"Yeah." Zidane said, swallowing the small lump that formed in his throat.

He wasn't really betraying his friends like Marietta, was he? He just wanted them to be safe, so was it really wrong to keep the truth from them? That couldn't possibly count as betrayal, right?

If that was the case, then why did he feel so guilty?

"Remember that your Charms OWLs will consist of a written examination and a practical section, so do not neglect your studies. As your Professor, I cannot stress enough how important these examinations are for your futures." Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice said amongst the shuffles of students putting their things away upon hearing the bell.

Picking his schoolbag, as well, Zidane made a queue for the door, following the other students and they poured into the corridors for lunch. Mentally, he reminded himself to keep an eye on the Golden Trio and their current location.

"Hey, Zidane!" A voice called, making the teen turn around. Much to his surprise, it was Katie Bell that was now moving towards him.

"What's up?" Zidane asked. He didn't have much contact with Katie, unless it was through Quidditch. That wasn't to say they didn't get along or anything; they were still friends, it was just that they never really talked much asides from his occasional flirting. It was for that reason that her approach somewhat surprised him.

"Hey, do you know where Professor Kuja is?" The girl asked, making Zidane raise a brow in question. The teen blushed. "It's just that Alicia was complaining about this week's class being cancelled, but she didn't want to go ask herself, 'cause you know, it's Professor Kuja. I told her it would be fine, but she's so stubborn, and since you're, you know, his brother, we thought-"

"Woah, okay I get it." Zidane interrupted, feeling slightly disturbed. Basically they didn't want to go see Kuja themselves because they were all crushing on him. It was actually pretty messed up when he thought about it. "I have no idea where he is, though."

"Oh." The teen said before shaking her head. "Well, thanks anyways. I should really go back to studying."

Katie then walked away, leaving a somewhat confused Zidane.

Kuja never spoke about leaving. Heck, he thought that the older genome would stay just to spite Umbridge. Still, it did explain why things had been so quiet lately. Kuja had yet to contact him after their last meeting.

"Why did you call me here?" Zidane asked as he absentmindedly picked up a labeled flask on Kuja's desk and watched the scarlet liquid inside swoosh around. "I mean, if you had anything to say, you could have just told me through that weird mind link thing."

It was late past curfew when the blonde teen got the message to meet Kuja. There was a certain sense of urgency that worried him, however, any attempts to contact Kuja through their link were shot down, not because he was unable to reach through the link, but rather because the older genome was stubbornly keeping up a rather sturdy wall on his end. Though most of the time he'd ignore Kuja's more unreasonable whims, the level of urgency in that initial call made him show up at the man's living quarters fifteen minutes later as per request. However what greeted him then was a calm, and rather collected Kuja who seemed in no rush to tell him what all of this was about.

"How is Harry?" The silvery-haired man said, ignoring his questions as he sat down in front of him, intertwined his fingers and looked straight at him with his lavender orbs.

"I've been keeping watch over him since the incident at Dumbledore's office, in which, by the way, your presence would have been really appreciated." Zidane said, recalling what a disaster it was. "Last I saw him he was in the Common Room. He seemed pretty upset for some reason. Did something happen during the Occu-whatever class?"

"Well, not really." Kuja said, leaning back on his chair. Zidane had the distinct feeling that the older genome was lying to him, but he couldn't quite figure out why Kuja would lie to him about this.

The blonde sighed. He knew he wouldn't be getting anywhere at this rate. Kuja wasn't the type to give in to a little pressure, so he decided to just try to get to the point. It had been a long day and with the fireworks still blasting through the halls, he doubted he'd get much sleep tonight, not to mention he still needed to keep a careful eye over Harry.

"Why don't we get straight to the point?" The thief began, matching Kuja's lavender orbs with his own cyan ones.

"Alright, alright." Kuja said, making himself comfortable. "Anything to drink? Tea, coffee? Maybe something a bit stronger?"

"I think I'll pass. Can we just get this over with quickly?" Zidane said somewhat impatiently.

"Rose!" Kuja called and immediately the well-dressed House Elf appeared with a "bang". "Would you bring me some chamomile tea, please?"

"Right away sir." The house elf said before reappearing a few seconds later with Kuja's request, which strangely enough, included another teacup for the younger genome.

Zidane sighed as he took the offered cup. "This better not be poisoned."

After taking a small sip and flavoring the taste, Kuja finally spoke once more.

"What, pray tell, do you know about planetary rejection?" The silvery-haired man said.

"Well, not much at all. Is this related to Terra's failed assimilation with Gaia?" The blonde asked, unsure of where this was going.

"Well, in a way it is somewhat related." The older man said before putting his teacup down. "What you must realize is that on a large scale, planets behave not all that differently from living beings, and like living beings, they have a way to deal with foreign threats; an immune system if you will. You could say this was one of the reasons that Terra's initial attempt to assimilate Gaia failed."

"What does that have to do with us now?" Zidane asked.

"Well, Earth is a rather old planet, not as old as Terra, but it is a lot older than Gaia and it has a rather strong immune system to show for it. You and I have already felt its effects first hand." Kuja said, looking at Zidane's own befuddled expression.

"Wait so all this time?" Zidane began, thinking about all the times he'd met aggressive resistance to his presence.

"Exactly. The planet has a funny way of defending itself against invaders. It won't actively seek you out, but it will attempt to weaken you through other means like disease. Organisms that are also particularly close to the planet or its crystal will also be quite violent in response. Since coming here, I'm sure you've met resistance of some sort. Remember the inoculation I gave you? It was meant to give you resistance to disease so as to avoid a slow and painful death.

Zidane sat there going through what his brother had just told him. "Wait, so the plants too?"

"Yes, the reason magical plants react so violently in our presence is exactly because of this. They're close to the planet, so they'll do what they can to defend it. However, with organisms capable of higher though it's a bit different. Depending on the organism, they may not attack, that is to say instinct won't guide all of their actions. It'll be entirely up to the organism if they like you or not."

"I suppose that explains a lot." Zidane thought. "But wait. In that case, why is it that we were able to live on Gaia? Aren't our souls technically Terran?"

"Gaia's crystal was able to reject Terra, but with disastrous results. You could say that Gaia's own immune system was never the same afterwards, which is why we can live there and even if we die, our souls will meet the same fate as Gaian souls. Gaia's crystal is unable to discern one from the other, which is why Garland's plan to use Soul Cage to filter out Gaian souls worked, otherwise Terran souls would have been expelled as mist as well." Kuja said before his expression became more serious. "However, this brings up another important point. Earth's crystal is capable of discerning between souls, which is why, and I cannot stress this enough, you must not allow yourself to lose your soul or die while you are still here."

"Well, it's not like I plan on dying here." Zidane retorted.

"I'm not sure if you quite comprehend the severity of this. If you were to die on Gaia, I'm sure everyone would mourn you, and be sad and everything, just boo hoo and whatever, but your soul will still make it to the crystal and then continue on its merry way into whatever afterlife it is that you want to believe exists, and your merry band of misfits will eventually follow too. However, if you were to die here, chances are that your soul will be digested into smaller tinier pieces and you'll be slowly consumed by the planet. No tearful reunions, no afterlife, no nothing."

Zidane was left speechless for a few seconds, the gravity of everything now really making itself known. "Eidolons Kuja, couldn't you have told me that shit before, like maybe sometime shortly after your dragon tried to kill me?! I don't know but it seems REALLY FUCKING IMPORTANT!"

"Honestly, the thought of not telling you did cross my mind." Kuja said, taking another sip of his tea. "I simply forgot to tell you afterwards. Oh well, better late than never."

"I honestly can't believe you." Zidane said, looking on in disbeliefas he saw the man nonchalantly pour himself more tea from a silver kettle. The man simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

The teen was still upset about Kuja withholding that sort of information from him. After all, it seemed kind of like an important thing to know. It was only afterwards, late at night when he was going over the information in his head that he realized that the same still applied to Kuja. Up until they met in this world, Kuja had never apparently searched for a way to get back to Gaia. He assumed that he didn't want to because he'd made a life for himself on Earth, however, if what Kuja said was true, then that meant that all of this time, all he'd really been doing was patiently waiting for his own oblivion. Had he given up on life or a chance of redemption?

The teen shook his head. He really didn't want to think of that this moment.

Zidane closed his eyes, his mind in deep concentration as he searched deep down for that troublesome link with his so called brother. To his surprise it wasn't there, or maybe it was, but severely weakened. Perhaps Kuja was so far away that communication between them proved to be impossible.

For a moment he felt a rising sense of worry for the older male. After all, what could have possibly forced Kuja to forego his pride in front of the Toad and temporarily leave the castle? Was it because of the Ministry? Could it have been Voldemort and his followers instead? It made no sense.

'Calm down Zidane. Kuja is a grown man. He can take care of himself. Hell, it's the other side that should be worried.' Zidane reassured himself.

If Kuja had really left the castle, then there was no way he could contact him. They were too far apart for their telepathic link thing, Owls were being monitored, and he had no idea where he was so floo was out of the question. Not to mention that the chimneys were being watched too.

'Maybe he left some clues in his quarters. He wouldn't leave anything in his office after all. Too close to the Toad's reach. She probably doesn't even know where his quarters are.' Zidane thought to himself as he made up his mind.

The blonde genome quickly made his way through the throngs of students towards the hall where Kuja's quarters were. Since it was so close to the library, the Inquisitorial Squad would likely overlook him, due to the many students that now gathered in order to study for the dreaded OWLs. The blonde slipped through the crowds using his smaller size to its fullest advantage. The hardest part was slipping past everyone without being noticed, but it looked like years of thieving in the streets of Lindblum had finally paid off.

After finally finding the entrance to Kuja´s quarters and speaking the password, the double doors once again appeared, much to his relief. The inside of the room was just as he remembered it; grand and expensive-looking, with bits and pieces that seemed to belong to an art museum or an auction house rather than a teacher's living quarters. But then again, this was Kuja he was talking about, and after seeing the man's Desert Palace and his Parisian House, he couldn't say that his room's décor surprised him all that much.

Cutting to the chase, the teen quickly walked to the older man's large ornate desk where orderly stacks of paper were. He was somewhat surprised at the neatness the whole room displayed. Kuja never struck him as the type of guy that cleaned his own messes.

Looking around through the papers, the teen saw what appeared to be letters, reports on business transactions, and then several diagrams that he just couldn't make heads or tails of. Other than that, there didn't seem to be anything there that would explain why his so called brother would leave.

'Maybe I should raid his room. Though I don't even wanna know what I might find in there.' Zidane thought with a sigh, before stopping as he heard a sudden movement nearby.

The teen's eyes widened in surprise, there shouldn't be anybody else in here, after all. Could the intruder be an enemy?

With those thoughts swirling in his head, the teen slowly withdrew his daggers from his travel bag. He never left without it now. Not after his mistake forced Dumbledore out of the school.

Inching silently towards the source of the sound, Zidane braced himself for whatever foe awaited him around the corner. Judging by the sound, it was probably a single person. He or she appeared to be inside Kuja's room.

"Freeze!" Zidane called out, dashing quickly towards his target, blades ready to deflect any incoming attack. That is, until he saw the culprit and nearly fell on his face.

What awaited him inside the room was none other than a house elf; a female house elf that promptly began to scream at the sight of him.

"Shhhhh!" Zidane called out urgently, his eyes pleading for the small creature to stop. The whole school could probably hear, unless there was some kind of spell surrounding the place. "Shhh, it's fine, I'm sorry. I don't mean any harm, see?"

The teen quickly put away his daggers, and held both hands in the air, wearing what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. Luckily, the house elf seemed to stop her screams and instead looked at him nervously.

"Ah, you're Kuja's house elf right? Rose was it?" Zidane asked, recognizing the small well-dressed house elf. Luckily his words seemed to ease the small creature slightly. Taking his cue, the teen decided to go on. "It's okay, I was just worried 'cause I heard Kuja left. I just came here to try and figure out why."

"You are Master's brother, yes? Rose remembers you, Master Zidane." The small female said with a sniffle.

"That's right. Though just Zidane is fine." The blonde said. He wasn't sure if he liked being called "Master". He was glad that they had gotten over that misunderstanding, though. She looked calm, at least.

"Master Kuja is away for business since Dolores Umbridge is overlooking all communications. He told Rose he'd be back in a few days." The house elf said.

Zidane gave a sigh of relief. He thought it was something serious, but it appeared to be more of a business thing. Kuja was a businessman after all, so having the Toad monitor the owls and chimneys couldn't be very good for business at all.

"What are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking? I thought Hogwarts house elves cleaned the teacher's quarters." The genome asked with curiosity.

"Oh how rude of Rose!" The small house elf said, her high pitched voice going even higher than what he thought possible. She was almost in hysterics, to be precise. After meeting Dobby, he was starting to believe that it was a house elf thing. "Rose hasn't offered Master anything to drink! Would Master Zidane like some tea, or coffee perhaps?"

"Some coffee would be fine." Zidane said somewhat hesitantly. If this house elf was anything like the ones he knew, then refusing a drink would be taken as a personal failure of some sort.

"Please have a seat, your drink will be ready shortly." Rose said as she moved towards the small kitchenette Kuja had near his office and proceeded to make his drink. Zidane couldn't help but notice that this particular house elf had much better English than Dobby or the other house elves he'd seen, even if it had a slight French accent. He supposed that Kuja must have had a hand in that.

"House elves here won't clean Master's quarters. The elves, they are afraid of Master Kuja's and Master Zidane's kind. Master Kuja won't let anyone else clean his room other than Rose, so she came from Paris to serve Master Kuja." The petite house elf said, sounding quite proud of herself.

Zidane nodded in understanding. He supposed that Kuja wouldn't trust just anyone to go through his stuff.

"How did you end up serving Kuja? I mean, we're not precisely wizards, and up until now almost every house elf we've met hasn't been all that nice to us." The genome asked. To be more precise, just about every house elf other than Dobby and Rose had avoided him like the plague.

"Rose was released by old master. Being released is a house elf's biggest shame. They were very hard times for Rose, but then Master Kuja took Rose in. She wouldn't have been accepted in any other wizard household." The small creature said. "Rose didn't want to at first, but Master Kuja taught Rose many things. In the end she decided to serve Master Kuja, even though he is not human. This made Rose an even bigger outcast, but she doesn't care. Master Kuja has been very kind to Rose."

"What do you mean an outcast? Are you saying that serving someone other than a wizard is looked down upon by house elves?" Zidane asked, brows furrowed as he took a sip of his coffee.

Helping someone who had lost their path in life and give them a new purpose; it was strange to hear that Kuja was capable of such kindness, but the more he thought of it, the more possible it seemed. Kuja had lost his path in life, as well. He had been transported to this strange world without any set goal. Was it so strange to believe that he might have felt something akin to sympathy when he found Rose, another lost soul?

"House elves must only serve human wizards. They cannot wear clothes and must never receive payment." The small house elf said. "Master Kuja is not human, so he convinced Rose to dress well and receive payment for her services."

"Kuja pays you then?" The blonde asked, just then realizing that Rose was also pretty well dressed for a house elf. All other house elves he'd seen had pretty much been wearing old dirtied rags, or pillow cases and whatnot. Rose was the first he'd seen wearing a proper uniform. Dobby had worn clothes too, but in a rather awkward way, as if not knowing that you weren't supposed to stack woolen hats on your head like that.

"Yes, since we do not share a normal contract. The other house elves don't like it. They say it is insulting. Rose didn't want to at first, but Master Kuja showed Rose that it is good." Rose said with a nod. "But Rose is happy. She is free, but she works, so she is happy."

"That's good." Zidane said with a nod. "You know, there's this other house elf here in Hogwarts named Dobby. He's a bit like you; gets paid and everything. He's the only other house elf that's been nice to me. So you know, at least you're not the only free house elf out there."

"Rose didn't know. She hasn't talked with house elves here. They are not very kind, so Rose has avoided them." The house elf said, before smiling. "But I will look for this Dobby."

Zidane nodded. If there was anything he knew, it was that it's always good to find someone like you. The world seems less like a lonely place that way. He still remembered what it was like when he spent years searching for another person like him; a clue to find his home. In the end he didn't even find the genomes until later in the war. By then, he had already figured out that his home was with Tantalus.

"Anyways, I think I should be going." The cyan-eyed genome said as he got up. He had been away for too long now, and he needed to keep an eye on Harry as well. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Rose is happy to be of service." The petite house elf said with a bow.

The teen left the room and wandered through the corridors again in search of his charge. On the way, he thought of this new unseen side of his so called brother. Kuja had changed, there was no doubt there, but only now was he actually seeing just how deeply the change had been. It must have been difficult for Kuja. He'd been sent to another world nearly on the brink of death, while his entire figurative world had crumbled to pieces. How must it have felt to be sent to another strange and unforgiving world with the knowledge that you would die, and yet have nobody by your side? For a man that had once thought himself to be immortal, it must have been very traumatic. All the wealth and power Kuja amassed suddenly meant nothing in the face of death. It was no wonder he had gone mad and destroyed Terra after Garland told him that. Was that why he had decided to stay on Earth? Had he looked back on his own trail of destruction and realized what he had done? Did he actually feel remorse and decided to stare at oblivion in the face as a way to repent?

'There's still a lot I can't figure out. Still, I'm glad he's changed.' Zidane thought with a smile. 'Kuja is a kind man, only he doesn't know how to express that kindness sometimes.'

…

To be continued…

…

A/N: Before I end this chapter here's an omake which I dedicate to False Mirror (because I also like the friendship Bill had going on with Zidane and I just want to point out that there are important things happening outside of Hogwarts, too). I'll probably start adding more omakes/requests in the next chapters. Of course the orders might be a bit messed up since I'll try to make them fit as best as they can with the story.

…..

OMAKE: The Forgotten Gift

Bill Weasley yawned, his back stiff from sitting at his desk all morning. Putting back his quill into his inkwell, the older redhead then stretched his arms and spine, stopping once he felt it give an oddly satisfying "pop". He missed his work out in the field as a Curse Breaker. There was something so exciting and fulfilling about exploring old tombs and encountering old dangerous artifacts. Just thinking about those days made him feel an intense sense of longing.

"Bill ar yoo redy?" There was a knock to his door as Fleur came in, her silvery hair, currently pulled in a bun, glittered with the light coming from outside the dingy window.

"Right love, I was just finishing up." Bill said as he got up and began getting his things. "You go on ahead, I'll meet you outside."

Though he missed the old days, he couldn't deny that his current way of life was not without his benefits. He saw Fleur everyday now that she also held a job to better her English. His job was also closer to his family, which was something he'd come to miss when living alone in a completely foreign land.

Well to be perfectly honest, there was another huge reason he decided to get a desk job here in London.

"Weasley! Did you finish the paperwork for the renewal of the key for the Alderton vault? " A gruff voice called to him. Looking down, he saw Gornuk, a goblin, and currently his supervisor.

"Yessir. It'll be on your desk by tomorrow morning." Bill said as they all made their way through Gringotts' main lobby.

The biggest reason he had changed jobs was that he could help the Order of the Phoenix. Personally, he didn't think that the Goblins could be rallied to a specific side. They disliked the Ministry just like most other non-wizard species and it was a well-known fact that Goblins had been after the secrets of wandlore for centuries, however, Goblins didn't care for conflicts amongst wizards. Even if it came to it, they were far too clever to join a side for only just gold.

'Even so, there's been a lot of unease amongst goblins lately.' Bill thought as he eyed the crowds of wizards and goblins alike that moved about. He couldn't pass it off as an isolated incident.

"Look at them." Gornuk suddenly said with a hint of disdain as he motioned at some of the wizards currently being escorted back from the vaults. Bill didn't know their names, but he was sure that they were from an old pureblood family, more than that, he was positive that they were suspected supporters of Voldemort. "This is the third time they've come to withdraw this week, and they're not the first ones either. At this rate, they will bleed us dry!"

"Seems kind of odd. The Montagues withdrew yesterday, didn't they?" Bill said, playing along. He could see now why the goblins seemed so uneasy. Gold was being taken from them, and though it was never technically theirs, goblins did very much think otherwise.

"And the Malfoys!" The goblin exclaimed. "Rats! All of them! Fleeing before the storm and taking all our gold with them!"

"Let's hope that's not the case." Bill said, though it was also to himself as he bid goodbye to the older goblin. He'd have to remember to report this later since whatever it meant, it couldn't be a good thing.

As he headed out the large double doors, he glanced at the potential Death Eaters one more time, velvety sacks of gold now hanging from their waists. Internally he let out a small chuckle. Should Zidane have been there, those men would have lost their hefty loot before even setting foot outside.

'Zidane.' The young adult thought, the name making him frown slightly. He had been unable to contact the strange teen since Paris, and he was more than a little upset when he heard what happened with the Order.

He disliked that the blonde would keep secrets from them, he couldn't deny that, however he didn't agree with how the rest of the Order had decided to tackle that problem. He supposed he should have expected something like that since Moody was the one that had taken charge of that matter.

Working in Gringotts with Goblins and travelling abroad made him become painfully aware of how unfairly non-wizards were being treated in their society. Even Fleur, who was only a quarter Veela, was still subject of discrimination and even harassment, though she had long since learnt to deal with men who wouldn't just take "no" for an answer. Coming from another world and suddenly subjected to that sort of, well, alienation obviously didn't make for a very pleasant experience. Zidane had every right to be upset, even if that cross-dressing brother of his was a bloody powerful dark wizard.

'Wish that bloated toad wasn't going through the mail, otherwise I could still owl the bloke.' Bill thought with a sigh. If so, he could have at least cleared things up. Now that he actually remembered, he had yet to give Zidane his Christmas present because things had been so hectic with both the Death Eater attack and the tailed blonde's strange brother. He'd decided on getting him a proper holster for his wand given how likely the teen would be needing it, yet now he didn't really have any means to give it to him, a least not until the term ended.

'Well there's nothing to be done about that.' The eldest Weasley sibling thought before beginning to look around. 'Now where is Fleur?'

As he turned around he accidentally bumped into someone, his eyes immediately drawn to the person's long, silvery hair that almost seemed to glow under the light, lacking only the golden hue that he'd come to associate with Veelas.

He was about to apologize to the young miss when he suddenly paused, his mind coming to a complete halt as he did a double take. Eyes widening slightly when he recognized the person he had just so casually run into. He supposed the saying was true; speak of the devil and all that.

"Well well well, if it isn't Phil Weasley." His silky voice said, half narrowed lilac eyes meeting him.

"It's Bill." The eldest Weasley sibling clarified, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Zidane's brother or not, this man didn't quite rub him the right way, not to mention he wasn't about to forget what happened back in Paris.

"William, then." The man, or rather, Kuja, said with a pleasant smile.

"Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?" Bill cut to the chase.

"Well, I'm allowed to stretch my wings every once in a while, wouldn't you agree?" Kuja asked with feigned innocence. "Besides, the atmosphere at Hogwarts has become quite unpleasant as of late, what with the current amphibian infestation and all."

"Bill, who iz this?" Fleur's voice made him turn to the side, just in time to see the French girl appear.

"Oh, this is-" Bill began but was interrupted by the silver-haired man.

"Ah, forgive me mademoiselle for keeping your boyfriend from you. My name is Jacques L'Rouge, though please, Kuja is just fine. And who might such a lovely lady be?" The man said, offering his hand in gretting. Fleur, on the other hand, seemed to genuinely flush while consciously straightening her robes and straightening her posture. She clearly recognized the name, and didn't expect such a meeting, especially not while they were out on a lunch break in their work robes.

"Je suis Fleur Delacour." The young woman slipped into French, her beauty amplified by her radiant smile. Bill decided then that he didn't particularly like having Zidane's strange brother talking to Fleur.

"J'ai beaucoup entendu parler de vous." Kuja replied in smooth French. "I must thank you for housing my brother during the holidays. I hope he was no trouble."

"Not, at all. He iz, as you say, delightful." Fleur said. "Moisseur L'Rouge, won't you join us for lunch?"

Bill paused, in his mind he dearly hoped Zidane's brother would reject the offer. He didn't exactly hate him, but saying that he liked him seemed like too far of a stretch. Rather, the man seemed like a troublesome person to deal with; his personality being far too Slytherin-like for his tastes. In other words, just as his previously-thought-dormant, inner Gryffindor told him, this man wasn't to be easily trusted.

"Perhaps on another occasion. I'm afraid I have some business that urgently needs my attention." The man said, his silky voice unwavering as he reached into his robes to check what appeared to be a pocket watch. "Yes, it seems like I'm already late, so I must say goodbye."

A sudden thought then occurred to Bill as he saw the man excuse himself and then disappear into the sea of brightly colored robes that walked the street. If what this man said was true, then he'd be going back to Hogwarts. This may then very well be his only chance to get his present to Zidane before the semester ended.

"Wait!" Bill called out, running slightly to catch up to the shorter man. As luck would have it he was able to catch sight of silvery hair amongst the crowd as the man stopped to look at him once more. "You're going back to Hogwarts right? Do you think you could give Zidane a present from me and tell him I'm sorry for what happened?"

He saw a small mocking smile appear on the man's painted lips. "He's not angry, you know? He should, but he's not, that forgiving fool."

The silver-haired man turned around and once again began walking away, but not before lazily waving at him as he retreated into the crowd.

"I'll be here tomorrow, same time, same place. I'll give him your present."

Bill looked at Kuja's retreating figure in a seemingly new perspective. In his mind he thought that perhaps this man was not as bad as he had previously envisioned.

…