Chapter 3: In and Out


Disclaimer: I do not take Latin, know Latin, or admit to being in anyway fluent to it. If I have made a mistake, please let me know so I can correct it.

EDIT: Minor grammar, continuity and word usage to make the flow easier to read.

"Does he always do this?" Malfoy frantically asks as he held Harry's thrashing form as still as he could. Everyone in the North Wing of Aten ar-Heq-t was awaked by screams only to find Harry in the throes of a nightmare when they followed the echoes to their source. Hermione quickly directed everyone to doing something, Draco moving to Harry's head without prompting; and Ron scowled as Hermione had taken it for granted that he'd do that. Sure, he was being nicer than normal, but the guy was still a git in the Gryffindor's book..

A few minutes later, a younger kid came in leading a rather burly Hufflepuff that he thought was in their Care of Magical Creatures class. He ambled over and held down Harry's kicking, frantically moving legs with seemingly little effort.

Ron didn't know Hufflepuff's were made like that.

The Gryffindor grunted when an elbow hit him in the stomach. He repositioned his hands and put more of his weight behind his hold.

"Only when Voldemort is feeling particularly vindictive," Hermione replied.

"Or he's torturing someone," Ron threw in with a grunt.

The few people that were in the room turned melancholy and Malfoy outright frowned.

"Potter, if you don't wake up fine I'm going to beat you myself!" he indignantly, almost angrily, nearly shouted at the thrashing Gryffindor. "This is no way to start the Christmas Holidays!"

There was a purple bruise already on his shoulder where they had lost control of Harry's limbs and the thrashing Gryffindor had kicked him a good one before the burly Hufflepuff showed up.

Someone suggested someone should get Sirius as a bloodcurdling scream ripped itself from Harry's throat, but the few people that were in the room were too occupied with keeping Harry from hurting himself with a renewed bought of thrashing and fighting to really pay attention. The kid mentioned something about getting Neville and left when he got Hermione's absent nod of approval.


Cloud sighed as he held the thrashing body of one Harry Potter beneath him. For how small the boy was, he sure was strong. The exSoldier grunted as a foot connected sharply with his side. He had managed to fall asleep leaning against the wall some hours after he had settled Harry down, but the boy's thrashing—mainly a punch to his stomach—had awakened him. That had been well over an hour ago, and as the time dragged on, Harry's thrashing seemed to slow before finally stopping.

Finally glad for some down time, the warrior leaned back against the cave wall. The kid was scrawny but, Shiva, he was strong. Feeling the rock still warm, he rubbed an itch on his back—too lazy to do it himself—before stretching his arms above his head and settling down and closing his eyes.

"Quinimmo!"

The sharp statement had Cloud snapping wide awake from his doze.

"Licentia mihi unus!" Harry cried in no language the exSoldier knew.

"Quis operor vos volo me?" Tears were leaking out of his closed eyes. He mumbled something too soft for even his Soldier hearing to pick up.

"Harry," Cloud called.

"Quinimmo!"

"Harry!"

Green eyes opened barely a slit before they closed again. It was enough time, however, for Cloud to see their brilliant glow.

"Well, fuck."

What did you do miles away from civilization with someone who was mako poisoned? Last time he had been in this situation, Zack had been hauling his ass all over Gaia. Cloud sighed and scrubbed at his face with his hands. The kid's fever had come back with a vengeance; probably why the kid was babbling and thrashing. He had only had the chance to check after Harry's seizure had stopped.

"EGO animadverto vos."

Cloud looked up sharply at the statement. He didn't know what it meant, but it was said with such reverence and hope that Cloud wondered if he was actually talking with something. He mumbled more things, for quite a while, before another unintelligibly understandable sentence was spoken.

"Quare mihi?" His voice was pleading now, and so heartbreaking. "Commodo?" A lengthy pause. "Commodo?" he repeated. "Commodo planto Viridis discedo."

Cloud sighed and resigned himself to the babbling. At least it wasn't those deranged pop songs Tifa liked. She played them much too loud in Cloud's opinion.

Besides, the lilting words were rather musical in their own sense.


Harry found himself drowning in Green. He shrieked and fought it as it searched and sifted through his person; searching and sifting and destroying only Merlin knew what.

"Stop!" Harry cried. There was a rumbling of dissatisfaction before pain tore itself through his mind. Harry cried out, thrashing in the Green. Turbulence and bubbles danced and drifted away from him. How he wished those kind green eyes were back. A particularly painful jab and him screaming and wincing.

"Leave me alone!"

A shockwave of magic left his person and the Green slid away, content with whatever it had done for the time being.

"Why do you want me?" He called into the Green. There was a rumble, more the feeling of a base beat than actual force. Then again, Harry doubted there was anything physical where he was at the moment. Just when he thought he'd have peace and quiet, the Green struck; ripping into his mind worse than Snape's Legilimens. Claws and teeth tore and ripped things that never should have been touched to begin with, and Harry fought violently with his will and magic to have them not rearranged to the Green's liking.

When he thought that he couldn't take the Green anymore, a soft scent reached his senses; flowers, the earth after it rained.

Living things.

He cautiously opened his eyes, expecting to see nothing but the swirling green and foam, but there was a shape amidst its dance.

"I see you," Harry called out. He didn't think it ended up being more than a whisper at best, but suddenly the dark spots that he thought had been eyes gained detail; the green eyes from before. He lost all strength and started to fall…

Arms caught him.

"Oh Harry," a distinctly feminine voice cooed.

"Why me?" Harry finally asked. "It always seems to be me."

"You're destined for great things," the girl told him, petting his hair. It felt nice, so soothing…

"Please?" Harry croaked after a while.

"Please what?" the girl asked giving the Gryffindor the distinct impression of a confused expression and tilted head.

"Please," Harry continued, his strength fading fast. Sheer stubborn will kept him going at this point. "Please make the Green go away."

He could taste the sadsorryforgiveme rolling off the girl holding him up. "The…Green…isn't my battle to fight," she finally told him. "You're in the Lifestream, Harry."

For some reason, that didn't sound good.

"This is where the souls of the Planet come to rest after their lives are lived. You, Storm Child, need to choose whether to live or perish as all weather must."

"I don't want to stay in the Green," Harry whigned. "It's mean."

Laughter bubbled up about him and sounded like happiness personified as the girl laughed. "I think you'll make it," she finally said after her laughter died down. "You're too stubborn to submit and the Green can't find much else to fix in you."

"Fix?" Harry breathed. Merlin, he was so tired…

"You had darkness leaching off of you."

"Hmmm."

And Harry was asleep.

He floated for a while in the Green; verdant hues swimming and playing with his person. He didn't have to worry about grades, about Voldemort or Death Eaters, about him being a danger to his friends. Harry could do whatever he pleased.

Harry was free.


Cloud was stirring a pot of stew as calm pervaded the outside of the cave. The exSoldier had considered tying Harry to his bike and booking it back to Edge, but he wasn't sure how long the eye of the storm would last. The second half of storms were always more dangerous than the first half; they learned that in primary school with thunder snows back in Nibelheim. Glancing at his stew, then at the mouth of the cave, he stood up, dusted off his knees, and went to the mouth of the cave to see what the sky was up to.

He was surprisingly unsurprised at the blue sky and fluffy clouds that passed on a rather pleasant breeze. Cloud had no doubt that whatever kids were in the area would be outside jumping in puddles. His gaze followed the trail of clouds and revealed a black, angry horizon. The exSoldier was astonished at the amount of lightning shooting through and about the stormy clouds. Sighing, he left the cave to see about fixing something to cover the entrance. The second half of the storm promised to be more vicious than the first.

Eyeing a tree nearby and some large boulders, Cloud went to work.

Hours later and a covering for the mouth of the cave, Cloud ran into shelter just as the skies opened up and a deluge rent loose that immediately soaked the already sodden ground. Shaking out his hair, the exSoldier shook out his gloves before wringing them out for good measure and placing them on a rock near the fire.

He glanced at Harry, the boy still sleeping as he had been earlier. Cloud narrowed his eyes and examined him a second time. Harry wasn't as still as he had been before.

"Perhaps he's coming out of it," Cloud softly murmured as he ladled stew into a bowl and began to eat.

As Cloud was wondering what he could do with what was left over, Harry moaned and rolled over, startling the blond something awful. After realizing he was in a fighting stance, Cloud relaxed and made his way over to his sick companion.

Cloud gently rolled Harry over, and was surprised to find Harry's eyes open. Open was probably a stretch but they weren't closed anymore. The boy blinked lazily, and squinted upon opening his eyes again. He muttered something and winced.

"Harry?" Cloud asked gently. "You all right?"

"It's too bright," Harry finally managed. As it was, Cloud knew the only reason he heard the boy was because of his enhancements. And it really wasn't that bright at all in the cave.

However, the fire was pretty close to the boy.

Cloud didn't really need it, and he supposed that if Harry did get cold he could sit under the blankets and warm him up, so the exSoldier went and grabbed the wet dirt he'd shoved in a bucket and dumped it on the fire.

It hissed angrily as it sputtered and died. Cloud heard Harry sigh in relief.

"Thanks," he rasped out. Cloud watched as he licked dry lips before asking if the storm was over yet.

"The eye just finished passing," Cloud murmured. He'd have to tell Tifa to be quiet and set Harry up in his personal room; it was the furthest away from the hustle and bustle of the bar. Watching Harry try and settle without any real success, Cloud wondered if he needed to eat or sit or something.

"You hungry?" the exSoldier finally asked. "I have some leftover stew from dinner."

Harry thought about it for a bit before deciding his stomach was settled enough to eat. "I suppose I'll have a little."

Cloud nodded while spooning some into his dish and passing it over to Harry who, when he smelled it, realized how famished he truly was.

He inhaled it, probably a bit too fast.

His stomach promptly rebelled and it all came back up.

"Oh gross," Harry complained as his stomach clenched in agitation. Another bowl was handed to him with the instructions to eat it more slowly and a chastising look from Cloud. As he went for a bite, he noticed less meat and fibrous vegetables in this bowl, and more potatoes.

Slowly chewing, Harry realized Cloud's suggestion—really common sense he should have used to begin with—made for a calmer reception of his food.

"So what do you do?" Harry asked.

"Come again?"

"What do you do?" Harry repeated. "You're an adult; you have a job?"

"I make deliveries," Cloud finally replied. He gave Harry an odd look before asking, "And you?"

Harry couldn't know that his eyes darkened and glowed fiercely as he replied. "I'm supposed to kill someone," before he turned his attention back to his food.

Cloud, taken aback by the hostile attitude, asked, "You're a kid, though; what about your parents?"

"He killed them," Was all Harry said.

Cloud got the distinct feeling Harry didn't want to talk about it anymore. The exSoldier watched Harry out of the corner of his eye as he cleaned up dinner. The youth seemed to be surreptitiously looking on his person for something that, as the kid got a bit more panicked, couldn't seem to find. Cloud wondered if it was the sword that he found with the kid. A particular grope the kid did to one of his pockets produced a pained grimace.

Harry stopped his increasingly frantic search for his wand when a sharp, agonizing fire shot up his hand. Holding the appendage up to his face, an ugly black bruise was along the back of it. It felt strangely loose. His hand was throbbing with increasing pain as he held it up.

Before he knew it, Cloud was there examining his hand. Gingerly supporting it, the blond carefully felt about the bruise; blatantly avoiding the middle.

"You might have broken it," Cloud said. "With your fever, I don't want to use a Materia if the illness is Mako induced; it'll just make you catatonic again instead of sleeping."

Harry watched as Cloud went over to his motorcycle and pulled out a first aid kit, rummaging around in it until he came back with what looked like a small white board and an ace bandage. He poured some water over the board and rubbed it in before molding the material to Harry's wrist and then affixed it there by wrapping the bandage around it.

"That should help support it until we get back," Cloud said, settling against the wall near Harry if the kid should need him.

"Thanks," Harry said as moved his hand about, completely unable to bend his wrist. The crude brace significantly decreased the pain.

They sat in what silence they had, the storm raging outside vicious and roaring with its thunder and lightning. Several loud claps of thunder and nearby lightning strikes had Harry wincing and hiding under his blankets from the noise.

"Why is it so loud?" He whinged. Cloud came over from his position against the wall and gathered Harry close, vaguely remembering someone else doing it to him; something about a heartbeat and noise pollution. He laid Harry's head on his chest so the youth could hear his heartbeat while his other hand covered his exposed hear.

Harry sighed. It didn't take the youth long before he went limp, fast asleep.

"I see ya found yerself another one."

Cloud spun around with a piece of his sword at the ready, setting Harry down and guarding him, to see none other than Reno fiddling with his lighter. Green eyes glowed dimly in the half light from what valiant embers still glowed. Sighing and giving up lighting his cigarette, the redhead stuck the damp lighter back in his pocket and threw the cigarette out of the cave.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud asked, probably a little more harshly than necessary.

"Thought I'd make my way back ta Midgar while I could," the Turk started as he moved closer to the fire pit. It still emanated heat, and Cloud discovered Reno was soaking wet.

Dripping in fact. His ponytail was plastered to the back of his jacket while damp spikes valiantly tried to stand on end. A few succeeded.

"'Cept the second half a th' storm hit and I started lookin fer shelter. Saw this place and figured what the Hel, eh?" He gave Cloud a mischievous grin. "Wasn' expectin' you though."

"What are you doing this far south?" Cloud asked again.

Reno's grin turned downright devious. "Ya really wanna know?"

Cloud blinked, and settled Harry back in the nest of blankets he was in previously to go over and dig through his bag. Reno watched curiously for a few moments before a towel landed on his face.

"Dry off while I find my extra clothes," Cloud said as he went back to digging. It was dark and he did wear black…

"Didn'a know ya cared!" Reno gushed as he started stripping and drying himself.

"Wouldn't want Rufus to make me join ShinRa to replace your death if you got sick," Cloud dryly replied.

Reno laughed, and it turned into an indignant "Oi!" when clothes were thrown yet again in his face. The Turk grumbled as he changed into them while Cloud hung his clothes over the fire pit and coaxed the embers back into a semblance of life to dry them.

"So who's tha kid?" Reno asked again. Cloud looked up to see a toothpick in his mouth and him still toweling his hair.

"Harry Potter," Cloud finally replied.

"Hmm," Reno hummed thoughtfully. "Sounds like a Grasslands name, or sumthin' from the Corel area."

If only you knew, Cloud replied. The exSoldier had half a mind to tell Reno just how he found Harry, but something in him, the Zack voice that occasionally spoke common sense, was warning him.

Spike, I know you like the guy, but something's off; he's business right now.

Cloud hummed back to acknowledge the voice, and this seemed to appease it as it went quiet and allowed the blond to think more clearly.

"You tired?" Cloud glanced at Reno through his peripheral vision and noted he was tense in his relaxed posture of someone who's been too long without sleep.

"Beat," came the prompt reply with a wan smile.

"I slept last night, you might as well bed down with him," Cloud said, poking the fire and nodding in Harry's direction.

"I don't do jailbait," Reno jested with a smirk and a dark look in his eyes. Cloud gave him a Look while Reno snickered and made his way to the pile of blankets. Pulling them back and sliding in, Reno was genuinely surprised. "He's warm."

"Mako poisoning," Cloud said offhandedly as if it were no big deal.

Reno was curious, confused and a bit alarmed, but still curious nonetheless at Cloud's blasé attitude of the situation. "Why ain't'cha takin' 'im ta Mideel then? Or a 'ospital?"

"Not necessary," Cloud returned, noting Reno's voice was more slurred and accented with his exhaustion. "He woke up shortly before you arrived, ate something, and fell back asleep." He looked at the Turk. "I don't see cause for alarm."

"Then s'pose I see none either."

It didn't take long after Cloud ignored all Reno's baits and taunts for the redhead to settle down and pass out. Like he had admitted himself, the Turk was exhausted. Harry snuggled close to Reno in his sleep; either for the comfort of another body or the cool in contrast to his own temperature Cloud wasn't sure.

Thunder shrieked overhead, and the blond knew that even if he did need to sleep, he probably wouldn't be able to. There was something about storms that always made it impossible for him to sleep, kept him awake; alert, alive, observant. He wanted nothing more than to observe the destruction the gods wreaked across the mortal realms.

Something inside him was delighted with the destruction; wanted to run wild with it and take part in it. Cloud wondered if, indeed, this was a good thing.


Harry woke up to drool running down his forehead and a decidedly damp spot on his head. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, the teen tried to move but found his limbs rather akin to lead filled rubber and rather hard to move. He finally gave up his struggle in the name of self preservation when the drool was dangerously close to running into his eye.

"Oh gross," Harry complained as he lifted his hand to wipe it away, thought better of it, and grabbed the blanket to do so.

"Sorry," a familiar voice apologized. "I forgot he drooled."

Harry blinked as the blanket was removed from his weak grasp and he was slowly extricated from his sleeping companion's grasp. The Gryffindor groaned and shut his eyes as evil light assaulted them. A damp cloth ran over his forehead and rubbed at his hair. Remembering his scar, Harry struggled as best as he could.

"Stop it," that familiar voice chided again. "You're only being difficult."

"'S'not like it'll help much," Harry muttered back white he tried to push Cloud's attention away from cleaning his person. Merlin, the guy was persistent.

He pushed Cloud away with every intention of getting up and going to sit by the fire, he was a bit cold, but after a few tries, Harry had barely managed to sit up. Panting and frustrated, the youth glared angrily at Cloud and complained, "Why's this so hard?"

"You have mako poisoning."

Harry blinked at that; then frowned. "What in bloody hell is mako poisoning?"

Cloud blinked, cocking his head in confusion. "You don't know what Mako poisoning is?"

"What's Mako to begin with?" Harry queried, still a bit angry but getting more curious. "Is it a bug or something…?"

Cloud just gave him a strange look before remembering that Mako could do funny things to your head. He of all people should know that. He explained that it was condensed Lifestream, and at the perplexed look he got from Harry, in turn explained that the Lifestream was the blood of the Planet; when creatures great and small, people and plants died, their essence—their soul—returned to the Lifestream. Cloud's explanation made Harry think of a similar brief conversation and green, green eyes.

"Can they leave it as well?" Harry asked, interested in this theory of death and life.

Cloud just shrugged. Personally, he'd never seen it happen, but the Zack voice in his head…sometimes it made him wonder.

Harry's and Cloud's attention snapped to Reno as he shouted and rolled over in his sleep, mumbling things neither could understand. Harry didn't have the energy to be as concerned as he thought he should be, and Cloud knew Reno for long enough to know everyone had demons and nightmares that haunted them.

"I suppose we should get back before Tifa worries," Cloud murmured barely loud enough for Harry to hear. "The storm has passed."

Harry watched as Cloud mumbled more things to himself in a language he didn't understand before he ambled over to the fire and grabbed a piece of charcoal. Smirking, he started to write, and Harry laughed tired, low chuckles at the accompanying diagrams.


When Reno woke up in the late afternoon, the first thing he was aware of was that he was alone when he had the distinct impression of going to bed not alone. He was also quite warm despite the fact that he knew he never let his apartment get this warm. Curious, Reno sat up, and nearly shouted at the sleeping bandersnatch that was at the foot of his blankets. Carefully easing out from under them, the Turk was about to make a run for it when he saw writing on the wall. Glancing at it, Reno also found that it wasn't in the common speech either, but Old Nibel.

The picture really was a work of art.

"Per'aps if I can catch ya, mayhap we could try that," Reno spoke to the wall. Snickering, the Turk slunk out of the cave to make his way back to Midgar. Hopefully he'd be able to catch a chocobo or something to make the trip a bit shorter.


Harry gawked at the massive buildings that sculpted the impressive skyline of Midgar and Edge. London didn't have buildings this tall, and he'd never been to Gloucester or Cardiff to see if there was anything this tall there.

The lack of bays and water, however led Harry to believe that he wasn't in England anymore.

Cloud's bike grumbled along, much quieter from its roaring speeds he'd pushed it to across the deadlands, and Harry's hair was messier than usually from the blistering winds. He understood now how Cloud's hair was the controlled mess it was.

The blond turned left and headed down an off ramp from the highway. The buildings in this area were shorter than the ones previously, and when Harry mentioned that, Cloud informed him that they were in Edge; a town that had cropped up alongside Midgar after Meteor had hit.

"Most of that city's destroyed anyway," Cloud had finished, and Harry was still at a loss for much of what wasn't said in Cloud's explanations.

They stopped in front of one building that said Seventh Heaven in big letters out front, before Cloud turned down a narrow alley and into a back yard of sorts. He shut his bike off before getting off, Harry quickly followed, and walked his bike into a shed. Locking that up, he motioned for Harry to follow him as he entered a back door. Hearing loud shouting, Cloud frowned and made his through the kitchen and to the front of the building. Harry followed him through the kitchen door.

"Get out now," A cold female voice demanded.

"Swee'hart," An obviously drunken male voice returned. "Ya dunno wha'yer missin!"

"And I don't care to find out," she returned as she filled a pint and shoved it down the bar to the waiting hand. "If you don't leave, I'll make you leave."

Cloud and Harry had entered the front of what Harry now understood was a bar, just as a rather voluptuous dark haired woman grabbed a man by the face, leapt over the bar, and proceeded to drag him to the door and thrown him out. "I don't want to see you till next week, Marcus!" She shouted out the front door before turning around. Anger rapidly drained from lovely brown eyes as they lit up in happiness as she spied Harry and Cloud.

"Cloud! You're back!" She happily called before jogging over and giving both of them a hug. "You must be Harry."

"Yes Ma'am," Harry carefully replied. He didn't want to get on her bad side seeing as she literally just dragged and threw someone out of her establishment.

"Call me Tifa," The brunette responded. "Cloud can show you to a room upstairs; you look beat, sweetie."

"I'm not a sweetie," Harry scoffed before following Cloud returning the way they came to go up a flight of stairs he'd missed on their way to the front.

"You can bunk in my room for now," Cloud said. "I've been away for a while and don't know which rooms are or aren't occupied at the moment, or if you want to bunk with someone else."

"Fair enough," Harry replied. Harry was used to dorm rooms, and it wasn't like when he had a room to himself, it was a spectacular space of personal affects.

He was settled into Cloud's bed with extra blankets as the blond sat at his desk and was going through various papers.

"Cloud?" Harry finally asked. He made an enquiring noise that Harry took as a go to continue. "Why'd Tifa call me sweetie?"

Cloud stopped what he was doing and turned to Harry, gracing the boy with an odd look. "She was mothering you," he finally said.

"Oh." Harry was quiet for a moment more before scowling and saying, "I'm sixteen; I haven't had a mother and don't need one now."

Rolling over, the Gryffindor decided sleep was what was needed and proceeded to ignore all the noises he heard and went to sleep.


Posted 15October 2010: Edited 7December2014