Inspired by the challenge set down by Acolyte of the Blood Moon. What if Harry was the reincarnation of a certain green-eyed SOLDIER? Hopefully fast updates, if people like it.
PS, we didn't have any internet until Friday, so I'm sorry this is a little shorter than before. Bonus points if you can figure out which anime I was inspired by in this chapter.
Never a Memory...
Liz was bored as heck as she leaned against the counter. Cheddar was very quiet in late November, when most of the kids were away at school, and the only people who came into the grocery store tended to be the older ladies grabbing an item or two for dinner, oblivious to how dull their idle gossip was about who was sleeping with whom or which wife had just gotten a hair cut or which ever.
Gag her with a spoon.
Liz sighed heavily, poking through a trashy magazine. She couldn't wait to get out of this town, college was looking very attractive right now. The only thing to happen to them was that the parish was to get a new priest soon, and the older residents were looking forward to meeting the man.
Footsteps alerted her to someone approaching the counter, and she straightened up as she placed the magazine to the side. Only for her jaw to drop at the sight of the trio. They were gorgeous! Tall, stately, thinly muscled with piercing eyes. Green and hazel eyes were jewel bright as they emptied baskets onto the counter, eggs and bread and milk and other basic and not so basic items.
The lanky redhead frowned at the bag of shrimp, a look of disgust on his face, the tattoos over his cheekbones moving as he grimaced. "Gen yo, are you sure you need this?" he asked.
The other redhead was more of a fiery auburn shade compared to the firetruck red of his companion, and his hazel eyes rolled as he placed a bottle of cooking oil on the counter. "You'll like it Reno, and if not, Seph and I will eat all of it," he stated in a regal manner.
"At least we got normal things too," Reno grumbled, still not sure about the strange looking crustaceans.
The last man grinned shallowly, and it lit up his face. Liz sighed lightly as she absently scanned and bagged their groceries. "You'll like it Reno, promise," he offered softly. Long silver hair was pulled back in a low tail as he turned to Liz, who was all but drooling as she packed away the last of the food.
"A-are you moving to Cheddar?" Liz managed to stutter out, swiping the credit card that 'Gen' had passed to her.
But to her disappointment, the tallest member just shook his head, silver hair flowing in a metallic stream over his shoulders. "No, we are just passing through," he offered as the trio grabbed all the bags. He offered her a smile as they headed for the door, and Liz could feel the blush spreading over her cheeks. "Have a good day miss."
She took it all back. She loved her job! And now SHE had the fresh gossip!
~~~...~~~...~~~
Disguise Materia was worth not it's weight in gold, but Harry's weight in gold. Without a way to get into the city, they would have been forced to stay hidden in the woods behind their wards, and it would have drove them insane. And they would have run out of fresh food, even with the charms on the red bag keeping everything they had fresh. A body got tired of the same thing over and over.
Hermione, no longer in the guise of her former self, grinned as she inhaled the scent of cooking shrimp over the campfire, the creatures speared through and roasting over the flames. A pot next to the fire was bubbling merrily, the rice coming along nicely, and on a clean flat rock, chopped fresh vegetables were ready to be added to dinner. Thank God she had opened a normal bank account before this adventure, it was proving to be useful. It had been a month since they attacked the Ministry, and the trio were bored, having no luck figuring out were another Horcrux might be. They had narrowed it down to the Inner Circle, so their next target would be stored in a Manor or Gringotts, if they were lucky. But since most of the Estates were Unplottable, it was impossible to find them, let alone the Horcrux in question.
The only clue they had was from Draco. The young man had mentioned last time he had checked in that his Aunt Bellatrix had mentioned offhand that she needed to check on something in her vault. But without any more information, for all they knew, she was growing Ashwinders in there!
Harry sighed as he leaned against the back of his chair, straddling it as he watched Hermione cooking. This was driving them insane, not knowing what to about their enemy. "Any idea on what to do tomorrow?" he asked absently.
"I actually noticed something interesting in the book Du- the Headmaster willed me," Hermione mentioned, stumbling as she remembered that Dumbledore's name had been Tabooed. "I was planning to review it tonight after dinner."
"Wait, you'd be reading something besides LOVELESS?" Ron joked, coming back up to the group with an arm load of wood for the firepit.
An even look of 'not amused.' "Yes Ron, I'll be reading something besides LOVELESS," she uttered, rotating the shrimp absently as she shook her head at the boy. She looked up to Harry after a second, a grin on her lips. "Why don't we go into Cheddar proper tomorrow? Even if only to find a newspaper, or stretch our legs."
"Sounds good to me. And Zack mentioned that he's been 'bear-baiting' the Death Eaters. Going out, tripping a Taboo and then 'indulging himself,' as he so eloquently put it." Harry rolled his eyes at the older SOLDIER, but he noted the sudden interest in his friends. "Under certain conditions, we could try as well."
"We'll talk about that later. For now, dinner's ready."
~~~...~~~...~~~
Back in Disguise the next day, the trio wandered through the small town, talking in the sights, Genesis peeking into windows as they past by the different shops. They had already agreed before that when Disguised they shouldn't use their real names. They had also decided that using their old uniforms stood out too much, ran too much of a risk that anyone who had studied the old Legend might recognize. As such, they were all in khakis and simple shirts, black for Sephiroth, Genesis in a rich blue, and Reno in a red that didn't clash too badly with his hair.
Even trying to keep a low profile, they were just too attractive to stay inconspicuous for long. The various women of Cheddar were giggling at they watched them, talking to one another from behind their hands. Reno just preened, but Seph and Genesis tried to look away, uncomfortable with the attention. Reincarnation of a man who craved attention or not, Genesis was still a woman this time around. And Sephiroth had never liked the attention, in either life.
They took a break in front of the town church, Seph looking through the paper they had bought earlier. Depression seemed to had become an epidemic in the larger cities, a sign that the Dementors were still active, and a small village to the south of Nottingham had been attacked.
Only for them to some to attention as Genesis perked up suddenly, watching someone intently across the square. Following the Commander's gaze, the others went completely focused, a glare in Sephiroth's eyes.
He was hunched over in on himself, with a hat over his eyes and wearing mismatched clothes. But they would forever recognize that face, the weak chin of the man in front of them. As one, the trio rose, quietly stalking the man.
Fudge was alive.