Notes: Not dead, I just finally found a moment to upload this (though I'm actually starting to think nature may have some kind of a grudge against my birthplace -_-). This semester has been far more demanding than I really anticipated, not just for me but for Crystal as well which is why updates have been going at a snail's pace. There's not much we can do about it for now, unfortunately.

Like always thanks to everyone that has been following this story, and special thanks to those who've been dropping off feedback. I really enjoy hearing what you guys think about the story, or even hear about your own ideas for fics or fan-theories. Anyways, I'll cut this short since I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for this particular chapter. There's an omake at the end as well.

…..

Chapter 56: Et tu, Brute?

…..

"I'm serious, I think we should go to the castle and Floo again." Zidane argued, but even he was aware of how weak that argument sounded. Predictably, Harry didn't look very pleased with his answer.

"If you're not going to help, then don't get in the way!" Harry shouted, looking angrier by the second. His heart was already resolved to go to the Ministry, but the blonde just couldn't have that.

"I know, but-" The genome began, but was then cut off by Ginny's surprised cry.

"Hermione!" He heard the redhead call. The brunette was clutching her head in her hands with a look of intense pain. As one, he and the rest of the guys stepped closer, their argument forgotten in favor of seeing what was wrong with their friend. It was then that his eyes landed on the papers on the ground. There were several of them, all looking like they had come out of the same soiled folder. Briefly he wondered if maybe they were at fault, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud shriek.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" The blonde flinched as he heard Hermione's shrill voice reverberate through the canopy of trees.

For a moment he wondered if they were under attack or something, but after having looked up in surprise, the teen froze as he saw the girl glaring specifically at him. There was fear and anger in Hermione's eyes as the brunette drew her wand quickly in his direction with trembling hands. Zidane suddenly felt his blood run cold, his body unable to act. Cyan eyes widening as he realized what was happening.

Hermione knew.

"He's been lying to us the whole time! He's not what he says he is!" The bushy haired girl replied, a small tear escaping down her cheek.

"Hermione, Calm down!" Harry urged the girl as he looked back and forth between the bushy-haired girl and Zidane. The others seemed to be doing the same, confusion written plain on their faces. "Easy, just put your wand down."

Harry's coaxing seemed to work at first; that is, until the bushy haired girl seemingly steeled her resolve and pointed her wand at him again. "Homenum Revelio!"

The spell expanded around her like ripples in a pond, casting a golden aura on each of the group of teens, well, all except one. Zidane froze, feeling the spell wash over him and yet overlook him. The teens seemed to marvel momentary at the golden glow before turning to look at him, shocked expressions on their faces once they realized that something was terribly wrong.

"W-what?" Harry began, seemingly rendered incapable of speech. They all knew what the spell did, yet weren't quite able to come to terms with what it meant.

"Now, hold on." Zidane said, taking a step forward, only to have everyone step back. Taking a look around, the teen's eyes widened as he saw that he was now in the middle of a semi-circle, looks of disbelief and betrayal present on everyone's faces. He couldn't deny the ache in his chest and hollow feeling that overtook him as he saw the expressions on Neville and Luna's faces. It was like a nightmare come to life.

"He's not a student from America. He's just been here to spy on us from the start. Professor Kuja as well. They are both in on it!" Hermione said, and then her eyes widened as she turned to look at Harry. "He was probably trying to stall us, even now."

"Zidane is this true?" Ginny asked, having apparently read the paper that Hermione dropped, her voice shaking just slightly. "Everything was a lie?"

The genome looked over at Neville. There was a disturbingly stony expression on his face.

"I'm sorry-" The blonde began, taking another step towards Ginny, but then his entire world went momentarily black as pain blossomed in his face. Stumbling back from the force, the genome then looked up to see Harry standing in front of him, his breath coming out in short pants while his right hand was curled into a fist. Emerald eyes narrowed dangerously as the teen glared at him.

"Was this your doing then!?" Harry shouted, his wand forgotten as he attempted to have a swing at him once more. Magic alone was not able to quell his anger now. "What have you done with Sirius?!"

Zidane saw the taller teen's fist heading for him and then grabbed it with an iron-like hold, unexpected of someone of his stature.

"Listen to me, I-" Zidane tried to speak, but it was hard enough with the teen struggling from his hold.

"Harry!" Ron called out, seeing his best friend in trouble. "Let him go! Stupefy!"

The jet of red light shot forth from the teen's wand, but Zidane was too busy dealing with Harry to effectively dodge. The spell struck him in the shoulder, making him stumble back and release the teen while everyone looked at him with wide eyes when they realized he had yet to lose consciousness. It was as if the jinx had been the final confirmation that what they were dealing with was anything but human.

The group of teens took a precautionary step backwards while Zidane mentally cursed. The image they had of him until now was now completely destroyed.

Hand currently over the still stinging spot where the jinx had hit him, Zidane opened his mouth to speak, to get those, oh so needed, words right off of his chest. He needed to tell them that he was on their side, that if they left Hogwarts they would all surely be in danger and that more importantly, he was sorry. He was never able to get those words out since what happened next would be forever etched into her memory.

"Petrificus Totalus." Neville's cold voice came from right behind him. Zidane quickly turned around but he was already too late.

The next thing he knew, his body had seemingly locked up, the momentum from his swing making him fall backwards onto the forest ground. He desperately tried to move, but his body just wouldn't cooperate. He even tried to speak, but his brain seemed fully disconnected from the rest of his body. All he could do was watch in surprise as Neville stood before him, a cold uncharacteristic look in his eyes as he stared him down.

"I'm sorry." Neville said ambiguously as he turned around and headed to the rest of the group that was now seemingly rendered speechless from shock. Whether he was sorry for binding him, or sorry for ever becoming his friend, the genome didn't know, nor did he have the time to ponder as the taller teen then spoke once more.

"We should head to the Ministry now, we've wasted enough time." The teen said as he walked off. Snapping out of their stupor, the teens began to stir once more.

"What, you guys figure it's a good idea to just leave him there like that? What if he releases himself like he did back in Umbridge's office?" Ron asked, though the silence that answered him was enough of a clue to make him realize that nobody was in the mood to deal with that right now.

"He hasn't done anything yet, despite everything, so I think we can safely assume he won't be able to." Hermione spoke, stealing small glances at the fallen blonde. "For now, we should think of ways to reach the Ministry."

"I might have an idea." Luna spoke up a bit hesitantly from where she stood silently gazing at him. "Follow me."

Stealing a small final, strangely melancholic, glance in his direction, the silvery haired teen walked off, the rest of the group following behind her.

'STOP! COME BACK! YOU'RE ALL IN DANGER!' Zidane continued to mentally shout, his voice would no doubt be cracking if he were actually able to speak. What he once had considered a silly fear had now become reality; his mind finally coming to a full comprehension of what had just happened.

He had screwed up big time, and now all of their lives were at stake.

…..

Cold wind whipped at their faces as the group readily made their way towards the Ministry of Magic. It had been Luna´s suggestion to travel by Thestral, and by a stroke of luck they had managed to find them without getting into another mess. There had been issues at first seeing as only a few of them could actually see the creatures, but by now everyone had pretty much gotten accustomed to the unsettling sensation of flying an invisible steed.

Looking over to the rest of the group despite the roaring wind, Harry frowned at the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them. Of course, he could understand why nobody would dare speak up. Too much had happened in too little time and the wound was still too fresh.

Hermione had just briefly spoken about what happened, and even now he still felt the poison of betrayal stabbing him through the gut like a basilisk fang. The uneasiness of saving Sirius on time still churning in his stomach and making him feel queasy. More than that, there was a deep-rooted anger that still raged inside of him.

It was all HIS fault.

The transfer student had been one of the last people he'd expected to be working for Voldemort. He knew they'd been suspicious of him at first, but after getting to know him, he had convinced himself that there was simply no possible way that Zidane was allied with their enemies. He'd been with them to the DA, he'd helped them keep their secrets. Was this what his parents felt when Wormtail sold them out?

The difference between Wormtail's betrayal, and similarly Marietta's betrayal with the DA, was that deep down he could still imagine those people betraying someone. When he saw Pettigrew in Snape's memories, he still saw the man as capable of stabbing someone in the back. With Zidane it was simply mind boggling. He'd helped everyone escape Umbridge's office in one second and then the next they found out that Zidane didn't even exist. Months of friendship crumbling down in seconds. His mind still raced at the possibilities. What would've happened if they had actually done as he suggested and stayed put? Sirius would have likely died or would have been at least tortured, maybe both.

Another question then formed in his mind. What would happen with the blonde now? Would he be sent to Azkaban? Would he be given the Dementor's kiss like they did to other Death Eaters during the last war? Should he even care about the traitor? The angry voice inside of him continued to tell him that Tribal deserved whatever punishment he would get after this. He couldn't deny that a part of him wanted the traitor to suffer.

Shaking his head, the teen then looked at Neville, who flew with a stony look on his face. He couldn't even begin to imagine what the teen was going through.

"Neville, I'm really so sorry." Hermione said, her voice still shaking slightly.

"It's fine." The teen replied with a tone that indicated that it was anything but fine. "Let's just get this over with."

….

The trip was agonizingly long for Neville. With his friend's betrayal so fresh in his mind, there was really nothing that he wanted more than to be left alone. He was angry; angrier still than that time he heard that Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped from Azkaban. A part of him relished the idea of meeting the awful witch in the Ministry, if only because it would give him an excuse to vent out all of his frustration out on her.

Staring down at his hand, the hand that he had used to petrify the blonde with, the teen felt his blood boil once more. Had he not been a witness to it he would have never imagined that Zidane was capable of such a thing. He wasn't even fully aware when he used the spell to take him down. At the time his mind was such a mess that all he really wanted was for all it to stop. He couldn't even bear the blonde's sight much less hear him trying to spew out whatever he had say, so his hand and mouth moved automatically to stop him. And still, along the anger inside of him there was also a feeling of deep regret. He could still see the surprised wide-eyed look betrayal as he shot down the teen, yet no matter how much he tried to justify his actions the image just wouldn't go away.

He had opened himself up and let Zidane in; something he had never done with another person before. He'd even become stronger just because a part of him wanted to be as strong and outgoing as the blonde. He'd been just a bit envious of the radiance that had always surrounded Zidane, but as it turned out, he had been an idiot from the start.

There had always been signs. Zidane was always so touchy when talking about where he came from. He rarely got any mail, he'd occasionally disappear, and he would always be sneaking out late at night for reasons he had never understood. His history with his brother had always struck him as strange, but he'd never questioned it because it seemed like it was a delicate subject and he'd always just assumed that the blonde would eventually tell him when he was ready to talk.

Looking at Luna, the teen noticed the sad look in her eyes. Most people wouldn't be able to see it, but he'd spent so much time with Luna that he'd learnt to point out the subtle hints. It seemed like Luna was just as affected as he was, only she had always been better at masking her emotions. The Ravenclaw had never really had many friends. Her beliefs and somewhat eccentric quirks had always isolated her from the others. However, when they had been together, they had been free to be whoever they chose to be. Her passion about magical creatures that didn't seem to exist were not dissimilar to his own passion for magical plants, and with Zidane they had both found the courage to share their passions with each other.

Closing his eyes, Neville wondered what would happen now that their trust was broken and their friendship in ruins.

"Everyone, get ready! We're almost there!" Harry's voice cried out despite the rushing wind. Neville could see London's bright lights right below them. He could even make out the streets since he'd traversed them several times when accompanying Gran to the Ministry.

Getting inside the Ministry was easier than any of them had expected. After getting off the Thestrals in an alley, they used the visitor's entrance to go inside, his own badge reading "Neville Longbottom, Rescue Mission". He'd been to the Ministry several times before, but he had never seen the place as desolate as he had now. The fact that they didn't even have a guard on duty, despite the entrance still being open, only managed to send shivers down his spine. There was this ominous feeling in the air that told him that something was wrong.

They passed by the large fountain and then past the golden gates to the lift. Without hesitating, Harry pressed the button and together they rode the noisy contraption to the ninth floor where the Department of Mysteries was.

"Department of Mysteries." A female voice said as the golden grids swung apart noisily.

The tension was almost palpable in the air as they stepped out of the lift.

"Over here!" Harry then spoke, leading them through a long, dark corridor that ended with an ominous black door, their echoing footsteps creating a stark contrast with the surrounding silence.

Neville gulped, his hands sweating as they stopped in front of a surprisingly plain, black door. The gravity of what they were about to do had suddenly crashed upon them. Beyond this point there was no telling what would happen. If they were going to turn back, this would be the moment to do so.

"Alright, let's go." Harry took a deep breath and said this, before grasping the handle and turning it.

….

'Oh, come on!' Zidane thought to himself as he once again tried desperately to move. Above him the moon was already shining its dim light over him.

Night had already fallen, making the chances of him being found by someone slim at best. Luckily he wasn't that close to the forest, because at this point the last thing he needed was to become some predator's main course.

Struggling against the magic once more, Zidane tried to force his limbs to move, but to no avail. He had already been at this for hours and all he could manage was to move his eyes.

His mind continued to wander towards the group of teens and what was currently happening to them. They had been gone for a while, and though he didn't know what they were planning to use to get there, he was at least sure that they didn't use Floo or broomsticks since they didn't head back to the castle after petrifying him.

'Dammit, why did this have to happen?' They didn't even give him a chance to explain. His mind kept going over what took place a little over an hour ago as if cruelly taunting him.

He shouldn't have kept the truth from them, he realized. Though judging from their reaction he wondered if that would've done any difference. Choosing his words more carefully wouldn't have done any difference either, since they didn't even let him speak. He had so desperately tried to tell them that he was with the Order, but in his urgency he had failed to see Neville's attack coming. With a sense of sadness he wondered if maybe he should have taken them all down instead of trying to talk to them. He'd much rather have them all hate him than have them all dead because of something he could've stopped.

Whatever the case, he needed to get out of this fast. Sirius's kidnapping was far too suspicious. With each passing moment he was becoming more and more convinced that it was a trap to get Harry out of Hogwarts, especially now that Dumbledore was gone. If it was indeed a trap, then he doubted it was just going to be a couple of Death Eaters, especially if they were drawing Harry to the Ministry. Despite never having been there, he knew that what the Order guarded was in the Department of Mysteries. This couldn't have been a coincidence. Yet that wasn't really what bothered him the most. The Ministry was far too important of a place to normally waltz in. There were probably guards present, not to mention that the Order should have someone on duty at the entrance. It didn't make sense to risk being exposed, seeing Voldemort was still trying to rebuild his army and showing up in the Ministry would be a huge risk. Why act now? Either Voldemort had a surefire way to avoid discovery in case his plan failed, or he set the stage in the Ministry purposely knowing he would be found out and his real objective was something greater than all they had anticipated.

If he was right and Voldemort was really ready to strike, then he needed to contact the Order as soon as possible.

'COME ON!' Zidane thought in frustration. His struggle had yet to reward him with results. He needed to try something else, otherwise he was never going to make it. 'Come on, think!'

Magic didn't work, he had tried using dispel, but he couldn't even get the magic out. Struggling clearly didn't work since he'd been at it for over an hour with no such luck.

He needed to get help, but with his mouth unable to call for help and it being already dark, there was little hope in that too. If he could simply move and find help he wouldn't even be in this mess to begin with.

'Maybe I don't have to move.' The teen realized.

If he could mentally reach anybody in the castle, then that would be more than enough. Nobody from the Order was presently at the castle, but even a student could help at this point. Concentrating hard, the blonde reached deep into his mind for any link he could grab a hold of. After a few minutes of trying, he gave a sigh of frustration. The castle was too far away for this sort of link to work and apparently so was any other intelligent life in the Forbidden Forest. If it were with Kuja the connection would've probably worked, but the older man still wasn't back from whatever he did when he left the castle, so he couldn't really rely on the former villain.

Trying again, the blonde reached the same frustrating results, as if his mind were trying to grasp air. There was simply no one out there. For once he truly found himself alone, and with each second that passed, more pressing was the urgency to save his friends.

He was running out of time and there was nothing he could do.

'THIS IS BULLSHIT!' Zidane mentally called, his eyes closing frustration.

How was he supposed to guard them with he couldn't even move?

They could be dead.

Right.

This.

Moment.

'How very optimistic of you.' A lacy voice filled with sarcasm suddenly called.

Zidane's eyes shot open. Above him the moon suddenly darkened. A winged silhouette surrounded by a dazzling glow suddenly descended upon him, the wind suddenly picking up as a large figure slowly descended.

'W-What? Kuja?' The blonde thought tentatively as if wondering if his desperation had somehow caused him to hallucinate this encounter.

The silhouette, which he now recognized as belonging to Sylph, touched the ground just a few feet from him, her opalescent scales glowing bright under the moonlight. Her rider too touched the ground and walked towards him, the silvery-lilac hair and pale face being a clear giveaway of the subject's identity.

"I got your call." Kuja said nonchalantly as he knelt down and put his hand right over him. He was once again wearing that strange wardrobe reminiscent of the one he wore on Gaia. At this point he frankly didn't care, though. He never thought he'd be so happy to see Kuja.

The man whispered something under his breath, and suddenly, Zidane felt himself able to move again. Without wasting any time the teen shot up, nearly colliding with Kuja in the process. There was simply no time to waste.

"I have to get to the Ministry right away. Harry and the others are walking right up to a trap." Zidane told the older male as he quickly explained what happened. "Do you think you could go warn the Order?"

"This is worse than I thought…" Kuja muttered out loud, giving Zidane the impression that he was wasn't really talking to him.

"What are you talking about?" The blonde asked. "Do you know something about this? Kuja!"

"I'll go, though I don't think my presence will be very welcome. For now, if you do want to save those brats, you should hurry." The man just sighed before turning around and heading for his steed. The dragon stretched her large wings as her rider took his seat on her back. Before the creature took flight though, the man turned to Zidane one last time.

"Oh and Zidane." The man said, his tone becoming unusually serious. "If I were you I would prepare for just about anything."

With that, the man took to the skies and soon disappeared, leaving Zidane little time to question his words. After all, there was no time to think, he needed to get to the Ministry now.

'Geez, what the hell was that supposed to mean, Kuja?' Zidane thought to himself angrily as he sprinted at full speed towards the castle. He somewhat expected a sarcastic retort from the older genome, but only silence answered him. Kuja must have been out of range.

The teen ran a hand through his messy hair. Since he had no idea how to apparate, and since flying over to London would take too long, Zidane knew that Floo was his best choice now. Umbridge's fire should still be operational, at least he dearly hoped it would be.

Zidane smashed through a nearby window to enter the castle, seeing as the door to the Great Hall would be closed at this hour. The classrooms on this floor were mostly empty at this time so he doubted that anyone would actually be close enough to spot him. Running out the door, the teen made his way through the stone corridors, hearing the occasional laughs and chatter coming from students heading back from the Great Hall. At one point he accidentally ran into a group of sixth year Huffflepuffs, and though he normally would have stopped to apologize, there was far too much urgency now.

His appearance must have been a mess at that point. He had long since lost his robe during his struggle with Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad, leaving him wearing his boots, his pants, and a white T-shirt under his hooded top. His hair was a mess from lying on the forest floor for so long and so were his clothes. Moreover, Kuja's spell to undo the petrification spell had also undone the invisibility spell on his tail, meaning that the furry appendage was now hastily wrapped around his waist for the entire world to see. Of course, at this point that was the last thing Zidane cared about.

"Hey Zidane!" He heard someone call from a nearby corridor. It was Dean, whose expression suddenly changed into one of confusion when he saw his current state.

"Sorry Dean, not now!" Zidane called out as he sprinted past the other teen, his body more resembling a yellow and blue flash at this point.

Propelling himself up the changing stairs, the teen ignored the shouts and protests of the several portraits that littered the walls. He wouldn't stop for Filch, much less a group of paintings. He wasn't about to wait for the stairs to reposition themselves, so jumping was really his only choice.

When he finally reached his destination, he didn't even bother picking the door's lock; a good kick was all he needed to slam the door open. Filch must have locked the place up, since he doubted that that Umbridge had escaped so easily from the centaurs. The room was still a bit of a mess, but at least most of the broken china and debris had been swept from the floor. Wasting no time, the teen ran up to the magically kept fireplace and grabbed a handful of silvery Floo powder from a flowery vase nearby. Emerald flames flared up as he threw the powder into the fire.

Stepping in without hesitation, Zidane spoke in a clear voice. "Ministry of Magic!"

...

To be continued...

…

A/N: I'll have you know I was very tempted to put the "Umm watcha say" sound effect when Neville petrified Zidane (I nearly made it the chapter title). Yes, I am regretting it.

Ok next up is the omake. Originally it was going to be much shorter and just sort of serve to give a bit of background info, primarily to the ongoing mystery with Kuja, however it took another turn when I realized it would be more fun to focus on Bill. I just really enjoy writing (read torturing) this guy.

Anyways see you guys next time! (whenever that may be)

…

Omake: Trouble Comes in Pairs

"Bill, your brozers are ére!"

Bill Weasley blinked from where he sat at his desk, dozens of documents he'd been reading over strewn hazardously over its wooden surface.

"Come again, love?" The redhead asked once more as he settled his quill in its inkwell and made his way out of the study of their modest flat. He'd apparently been too busy going over some documents from work to realize that someone was apparently at their door.

"Les jumeaux. How do yoo say?" Fleur paused as if trying to find the right word in English. "...tweens!"

Bill paused, a frown forming on his brow as his brain worked to put together the pieces of what Fleur had just said. However once the entryway came into full view, he was finally able to understand as he saw the silvery haired woman opening the door for their two unexpected guests. Standing there as bold as brass were his younger siblings. Their appearances were somewhat disheveled, not from anything that seemed too urgent, rather from a distinct lack of grooming and an abundance of unsupervised freedom. There were boxes in their hands, with various messy stacks of parchments and several miscellaneous items precariously dangling off the ends.

"'ello Bill!" Fred said.

"And future sis in law." George spoke this time. He could tell the two of them apart, after all, he was a twin too. He knew the game.

"Lovely place you've got here." The other twin continued.

"Pleeze come in." Fleur welcomed, though Bill felt a wave of dread wash over his already prevalent confusion.

"Don't mind if we do." The twins both said.

By the time he could even comprehend what was happening, he was already following after the troublemakers back into the study and quickly pushing the inkwell on his desk to the side with his wand before the twins knocked it over his documents.

Finally, Bill managed to find the words.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" The elder sibling asked. "Why aren't the both of you at school?"

"Well, the thing is we've had a bit of an epiphany regarding our formal education." Fred began.

"That is, we don't really need it."

"We gave it a shot, but you know, things don't always work out."

"Especially not with the Toad around."

"Dreadful woman."

"We decided on cutting right to the chase and opening our business as originally planned." The twins spoke in turns.

"You two are bloody joking." Bill said, feeling a headache coming on.

"This seems like a good spot." With a slam the twins dropped the boxes on his desk, papers spilling over it and mixing with his own documents.

"What are you even doing here? Does mum know?" Bill asked with concern.

"Did we ever mention you are our favorite brother?" George asked, his words laced with sugar.

"Well, also Charlie, but he's in Albania, which is a bit out of our reach at the moment." Fred clarified.

"You know, me 'n Charlie gave mum a lot of trouble back in our day, but this…this is a whole other level. Do you know how hard mum and dad have worked for us to go to school?" The ponytailed Weasley began but was cut off by the twins.

"Well we are planning to pay them back once we've gathered a decent enough sum from our business." Fred spoke.

"Well, once our investments pay off." George quipped.

"We've already bought a shop in Diagon Alley and got someone to provide all the raw materials we'll need." Fred began, listing off things.

"We should actually be up and running in April." George added confidently.

Bill just stared at his two younger siblings. "You know what, I don't even want to know."

"So, can we stay?" George asked.

"We've actually been staying at the shop for some time, but it still needs renovations." Fred said, making Bill wonder just how long they had been away from Hogwarts.

"The bathroom is a mess and so is the kitchen." George continued.

"No hot water." Fred added.

"Well I can't throw you two into the streets, now can I? I'll go tell Fleur." Bill sighed. It seemed like his life was going to become a bit more difficult. When he started living with Fleur this wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting.

The older male was about to turn around and head out to speak with his fiancé, but then stopped when Fred spoke once more.

"Are you telling mum?"

"I think mum has enough on her plate to deal with, you know with the Order and all. Best tell her when things settle." The redhead replied.

"You really are our favorite brother." George said this time.

"Well, just try to not make a mess, and pick up after yourselves." Bill began, walking over back to the desk and picking up the sheets of paper that had fallen off one of the boxes. Upon closer inspection, the man paused. "What's this?"

"Our business partner recommended that we try patenting our inventions in case of theft."

"He gave us a copy so we could get an idea of the format." The twins spoke.

Bill took a close look at the document and froze. It was a patent for a product described as spherical and portable. The device could somehow store magic, and was apparently somehow capable of using the magic stored in it to accomplish a set of instructions, not all dissimilar to a spell. Though Bill found the ambiguous use of the word "instructions" ominous, after all, he could easily think of several dozens of ways this could be used for evil, that did not compare to how he felt when he got a good look at the man behind it all, 'Jacques L'Rouge'.

"Bloody hell, this bloke is a blooming Dark Wizard and Zidane's barmy if he thinks he can make me think otherwise." Bill cursed, bringing a hand to his temple as he felt his headache worsen. Just what the hell was that man thinking by creating something like that? Did he actually release something like that into the world? Now that he thought about it, he did recall those spheres that seemed to form part of the security system for Kuja's Parisian mansion. Could those have been it?

Finally looking up after taking a deep breath, the older male suddenly found himself under the intense scrutiny of two identical faces. It was then that he realized his mistake.

"Hey." Fred suddenly said, his voice suddenly lacking that mischievous tone of his.

"How do you know Zidane?" George added in very much the same way.

Bill looked on in silence, not quite sure what he could say to repair the damage he had already caused.

"You said 'Dark Wizard'…" Fred began.

"Were you referring to Professor Kuja?" George said, eyes narrowed.

"Come on, tell us!" Both the twins spoke in unison.

"You're not part of the Order, I can't." Bill began, hoping he could reason with the twins.

"So it IS Order-related." George surmised, making Bill want to slap himself in the face.

The elder Weasley sibling evaluated his options before realizing that he'd likely be unable to hit both twins with a memory charm simultaneously, so instead he decided to turn tail and quickly try to make his way out of the room.

"Oh no you don't!" Both twins suddenly called out.

Bill suddenly found himself on the floor, rope tying his arms to his middle and rendering any attempts for him to move, useless. He supposed then that maybe it wouldn't be that big of a deal if he told the twins about Zidane, of course, a heavily edited version of what he knew that excluded the fact that he had a tail.

….