Chapter 5: Phonecalls and Bandages


A/N: Shorter chapter. I tried posting this days ago, and it was posted on the homepage days ago, but I kept getting an error that was apparently recently fixed.

EDIT: Some scenes were rounded out. I'm not surprised, after going through and editing, that some reviewers commented that this chapter was confusing. Major continuity issues fixed, and the flow of the chapter should be better.


Message received at 09:37 hours Tuesday August 12th.

"Vincent, come by the bar. There's someone I want you to meet…..it's not Yuffie."

End of Message.


Silhouettes of birds played in the sky; one significantly larger than the other. Harry was on his back in the field enjoying the sun that hadn't been seen in nigh on a week or more. There was another Gryffindor with him in the field watching the birds, but that wasn't anything new. Since the last fiasco with Voldemort, however, a member of The Resistance was with him at all times; he still coughed occasionally and his hand ached from the altercation. Absently rubbing his hand, Harry watched as another bird, larger than the smallest one but smaller than the largest joined the playing in the sky.

"I love watching the birds," his companion said. "Reminds me a bit of home."

Harry nodded, green eyes riveted to the wheeling shapes in the sky. Then a song, voice really, did Harry recognize when one of the larger birds started singing.

"That's Fawkes," Harry stated. He was so content where he was that the surprise of seeing the famous phoenix wherever he was was more a pleasant surprise than the shock it should have been. Another voice, a deeper, more robust song, filled the air and Harry realized it was the largest bird; another phoenix.

"Fawkes seems to be okay with Vuurveleigje," his companion commented, a smile in his voice. "you'll have a job to do to help the Firefly get home."

"I always have a job to do for someone," Harry scathingly replied.

"Sometimes helping others," the Gryffindor slowly began, "is the only way we can help ourselves regardless of the outcome."

Harry sighed, more exasperated than angry.

His companion sighed as well. "Dammit I'm totally out of practice with these things." Harry snickered at his friend's frustration; listening as the grass rustled as he ran his hand through his hair. He muttered something that sounded like 'speaking without talking' but Harry wasn't too sure as his attention was elsewhere.

The blue, blue sky was overcome with clouds; slate coloured growling clouds that promised retribution to the land they lorded over.

"Make sure you're prepared for Weather, Storm Child," his friend advised, laughter, jokes and frustration gone. "Destruction comes from where you least expect it, and simple things like water, when given enough pressure, can cause more damage than anything Seas and Oceans can throw."

Startled, Harry glanced over at his companion, and saw, not a student in Hogwarts robes, but a large black wolf…

Harry gasped and sat up, wide awake.

Disappointment flared sharp in him when he realized that he wasn't in the field at Hogwarts, but in a bed, in an increasingly familiar room. Harry looked around, breathing calming, familiarizing himself with everything.

The door opened and Cloud entered. Harry tried to act like nothing was wrong, but from what he'd heard from the other children, Cloud didn't miss much. Sure enough, blue eyes narrowed and glowed a bit more brightly as they examined his person.

"Nightmare?"

Harry shrugged.

Cloud didn't pursue it further, but he did make his way to the bed where Harry was. "I noticed when you came back from your adventure this morning the splint on your wrist was skewed. I'm going to try to Heal your hand now that you've worked some of the Mako out of your system."

Harry wasn't too sure about this procedure. He warily watched Cloud, his eyes softly glowing green in apprehension, as the exSoldier carefully unwrapped the bandages he had so carefully bound Harry's wrist in two days ago in the cave. Sure enough, the familiar pain of something broken screamed down the Gryffindor's nerves and when the bandages were finally off, his wrist was an ugly black and purple mess ringed in blue-green and yellow.

"That curse really did a number," Harry muttered as he tried to wiggle his fingers. Sharp, agonizing pain had his movements limited to pathetic twitches, and a strange look from Cloud. A sharp slice of pain had him stopping his meager attempts at movement.

Cloud's attention went back to the hand he was gingerly holding and gently prodding. "You probably shouldn't have done that."

"I'm told that a l-" And Harry screamed as Cloud reset two bones in his hand and Healed it.

Harry was in too much shock and pain to truly comprehend what Cloud had done at first, but when he felt the foreign magic enter his system, Harry nearly went into a seizure. Crooning, familiar music ran through the back of his head.

Blackness streaked across his vision, and in those brief moments, Harry thought he saw eyes, but then he blinked and concerned blue eyes were staring intently into his own.

Cloud nodded, seemingly satisfied with something.

"You're back," was all he said.

Harry just choked back another scream as Cloud did something else to his hand and that foreign magic swamped his limb. He could feel his bones fusing back together.

When Harry could finally think and breathe past the pain, he gave Cloud a dark look Voldemort would have been jealous over. "Blood and ashes! What in Merlin were you doing?"

Cloud gave him a strange look, and there was something distinctly not-Cloud that flashed through his eyes when Harry swore. Green eyes narrowed, and the curiosity that wasn't Cloud's came back.

"I told you I was going to Heal you," Cloud said. "If you tell someone you're going to set a broken bone, the person always flinches and they go through more pain than they have to.

"And who's Merlin?"

That's when Harry knew he was fucked. How does one explain something that they've always intrinsically had? Instinctually knew was there and unknowingly constantly utilized?

Taking a calming breath, Harry started with how he learned about how magic was real on his eleventh birthday, a generalization of the world of wizards, and explaining as best he could about Merlin and all his feats of magic leaving out anything the Gryffindor didn't think the blond needed to know.

The basics were more than what most people could understand.


The light danced about him; fire and foam, air and water, sky and earth. His magical channels were damaged, not enough to incapacitate him, but it would be painful to cast magic. Whatever the Green had done to him, despite how painful it was, it had carved larger, slightly different, channels through him and the ones he had had before were practically nonexistent and very bruised.

No wonder I'm in so much pain, Harry absently thought.

Grabbing a tangled angry ball of magic, Harry carefully loosed it and unwound it before setting it to dance and flow down and through and around his Core. In a way, Harry thought the light was reminiscent of the Green before he remembered the Green was mean and went back to his task.

He hadn't meditated in several days, and was going to do so after their dancing dinner. Draco was going to show him a technique that would help to exercise his Core and increase his magical capacity.

'Not that you need it, Potter,' Draco had breezily said with a haughty air about him. Harry had just stared. Both boys had dissolved into laughter a moment later.

Enough reminiscing, Harry chastened himself. This needs to get done.

Going to another tangle of magic and cursing the actions of the Green, Harry got back to work straightening the magic and letting it flow smoothly through his person to and from his magical core.


Cloud was in the kitchen making hot cocoa, something he wasn't particularly fond of but craved every now and then. He and his mother hadn't had the money to buy the powdered confection from the traders as often as the rest of the town did, so Cloud, unlike Tifa and most of the rest of Nibelheim, hadn't acquired a taste for the bittersweet drink.

He blamed Zack.

He had sought refuge in the kitchen after he had Healed Harry's hand; the boy's almost violent reaction to magic a curiosity to Cloud and his parts-different from Vincent and his Parts. At least his parts were more feelings and thoughts and Zack had nominated himself as King or something. Vincent was constantly arguing with himself and the waves it caused sometimes...well...hurt for lack of a better word.

He was aware of Tifa entering the kitchen, but these days no one really made his hackles stand up.

"Cloud."

Immense willpower was used not to flinch. That tone of voice alone could thaw Hel if She let Tifa near Her domain.

"Tifa," he calmly responded as he turned around and sipped his warm drink. He got an odd look from Tifa, the princess of Nibelheim probably wondering why he was drinking said hot cocoa that was probably hers, but his hope for a tangent was crushed when her confusion ran away and was replaced with determination.

Here it comes...Zack mimicked an announcer voice.

"How come you haven't set Harry up with the rest of the boys in the orphanage?"

And there it goes! Zack finished.

Cloud just sipped his drink a minute and let Tifa stand there. The bar wasn't due to open for a good hour or more yet, and business wouldn't pick up for a good hour or more after that. "Tifa," Cloud finally began. "Just how old do you think Harry is?"

"He looks about thirteen or so," Tifa replied. "I figured I could bunk him with Denzel since he has bunkbeds in his room-"

"That he shares pretty regularly with Ken, or Jeremy. Jayden, Senni, Daisuke, Luke." He sipped his cocoa again and raised an eyebrow. "Do I need to continue?"

"He could always room with Geoff I suppose, but he's a bit young..." Tifa wondered.

Cloud scowled. "Harry's sixteen."

Tifa stared. "Harry can't be sixteen," she finally responded. Cloud just stared and sipped more of his drink. "Sixteen? Really?"

"He's the oldest boy here," Cloud replied.

"He can't bunk with you," Tifa adamantly responded.

Cloud paused and really looked at Tifa. Despite how she came off, the brunette wasn't stupid. Everyone had their moments, some more so than others, but Tifa was intelligent. Most of the time, Zack quipped and Cloud ignored. She was relaxed, or at least that's what she wanted people to think. Her posture was a little too controlled, too perfect; no one but him or someone equally enhanced-or Turk-could possibly see through her.

"You're scared," he said and Tifa scowled. Cloud frowned. "I'm right; what are you scared of?"

"He's different," Tifa finally admitted. "I don't know what it is, but he feels...different. Dangerous but not. I don't know! He just puts me on edge."

Cloud canted his head, trying to figure her out.

Shouldn't do that, Spike, Zack warned. Makes you look feral and she's testy.

"Don't do that!" Tifa snapped.

"Do what?" Cloud inquired, canting his head in the other direction.

Spike…

"I'm opening the bar," Tifa said, walking away from him.

"You can't leave in the middle of a conversation," Cloud acidly retorted, ignoring whatever was going on in Zack's Court. "I listen to you talk about everything and anything and now you can't listen to me? Isn't this what you wanted? Me talking?"

"It's like you're playing favourites!" Tifa responded, equally scathing in tone. "What will the other children, all of whom look up to you like you're Ramuh or something, say when Harry shares your room and you barely give them the time of day?"

"Should I quit my delivery job then?" Cloud seethed. "Most if not all of my income goes to your orphanage and I watch the kids whenever I'm not off who knows where on Gaia supporting them!"

"No!"

"What then?" Cloud continued. "What do you want me to do, Tifa? Board Harry with the younger kids who only want to play Soldiers and Monsters, draw with crayons, and swordfight with sticks?"

Tifa picked up the skillet that had been started for dinner and swung it at Cloud; hot oil and sautéed vegetables flying all over the kitchen. Cloud calmly lifted his arm and the pan warped and bent around it. He set his cocoa down, half of which had spilled, and pulled the skillet off his arm. The burns were already healing and what little bruising there was disappeared before Tifa noticed it.

Blue eyes looked up; Tifa looked horrified.

"I think it's time to open the bar," Cloud said as he made his way towards the stairs, what was left of his hot cocoa in his hand. "I'm going to balance my ledgers."

Tifa watched him go. Sighing, knowing she let her temper get the best of her, she trudged into the back to get the various dishes ready that'd be cooked for the bar tonight.


Message received at 12:37 hours Wednesday August 13th.

"Cloud! This is Princess Yuffie! Betcha couldn't guess! Anyway, I was out wandering around and found something strange out in the Grasslands that I wanted you to look at. I'm on my way to the bar! See you soon~!"

End of Message.


Something cut through the light and Harry's concentration deviated, taking in another glowing agitated shape in the distance. The lights were like his, but not; and it made Harry curious.

Laying what he was doing in a rather deep trench, he focused more on that other light. He waded through his own tangled mess of magic; soothing it and directing it as he went, stumbling slightly when a particularly viciously angry ball collided with his self, what was tangible wherever he was. Harry embraced it; mumbled nonsense to it as he stroked it and calmed it and untangled the light. When it was calm and flowing Harry placed it down in the trench it had wrenched itself out of.

The light was right next to him.

Harry touched it...

pictures and sound

hot and cold

people he knew but Harry knew he'd never seen before

"It's mating season for the dragons,"a woman with blonde hair and familiar blue eyes said. "Be careful picking the raspberries."

Smiling purple eyes and messy black hair.

moonlight personified in a flowing cascade-green eyes similar to his looked over the shoulder before turning back and continuing on their way.

Laughing green eyes framed in brown curls looked at him, and it was like Harry was seeing double vision

"What kind of pie would you like Cloud?"

"What kind of pie would you like Zack?"

both images asked at the same time, questions echoing around in his head.

Immense pressure grew as more and more images and sound-

Black leather and sword fights

Save the Planet

Mother-not mother-JenovaMother

Kill!Destroy-Save!Planet

- flew around and through Harry's head before it grew too much.

Harry called on his magic, not noticing how fast it responded, and wrenched himself into his animagus form before retreating into the cat's mind to save himself.

Cloud blinked dumbly, eyes focused on nothing as images of fantastic myth and horrible abuse flitted through his mind, Zack blessedly quiet watching it all with him. Some of it was familiar from Harry's explanation of magic from his world.

"Freak?" Zack questioningly echoed as a thin horsey woman chased a young Harry with a rolling pin for daring to grab some scraps of pie dough.

"Shhh," Cloud admonished. More and more images of Harry at what was soon labeled his Aunt and Uncle's home on his mother's side flew through Cloud's mind before images of a castle and magic flitted through.

"Yer a wizard, 'Arry," a large, giant of a man in an equally large trench-coat informed an 11 year old Harry Potter.

More and more images and they abruptly stopped when the yowl of a cat had Cloud blinking.

Glancing down on the bed was the large cat with squarish spots. His hand was resting on the cat's head where he had rested it on Harry's to check to see if the kid's fever had gotten worse, better, or stayed the same. He slowly removed his hand as the cat circled on the bed. Feline eyes turned to him after it got comfy and Cloud's heart nearly stopped with how similar they looked to another pair of green eyes he knew.

The cat bared impressive fangs and hissed; magic clearly flowing about the cat as if it were a Summons. Cloud held his hand out to be sniffed, but the animal crouched down more and growled more viciously.

Whispering started in Cloud's head, and the exSoldier didn't notice it at first as it happened often enough to be ignored for Zack to deal with, so he didn't get bored, but after a time of trying to calm the cat and not antagonize it into attacking, Cloud realized that it wasn't nonsense, but one word

neshshu...neshshu...neshshu...neshshu...

"Neshshu?" Cloud sounded out the word.

The cat immediately stopped and gave him a curious look; eyes still feral.

"Neshshu?" Cloud queried again. "Is that your name?"

Something feral in the feline's eyes slowly melted away to something Cloud vaguely recognized.

The cat sneezed, and in the light, Cloud caught a bit of grey fur that resembled the lightning bolt scar Harry had on his forehead.

"Harry?" Cloud softly inquired.

Neshshu, softly floated through Cloud's mind. It's safer this way.

Cloud glanced over the cat on his bed. "What kind of cat are you?"

Borneo Clouded Leopard, Harry as Neshshu replied. Although I also look quite similar to certain species of magical cat called a Nundu...my animagus form is young, however, so I might gain Nundu abilities as I grow up; who knows?

Cloud thought it was very odd to see a cat shrug. He had no idea what a Nundu was, and he had the vague feeling that he didn't want to know what one was. He flinched as Zack poked him, and he was aware of Neshshu narrowing his eyes.

"You know what they say about cats," the memory voice of his Mother said echoing through the recesses of his mind from where he had buried the memory."They live on two planes; the one we exist on and the one where the spirits walk. "

Cloud shook his head, loosing yet another memory of a much larger black cat.

"What's the black one called?"

Kam-t, was the prompt reply. You don't want to meethimunless you have to. He comes off as angry all the time.

"Shoot first ask questions later?" The Zack voice asked through Cloud's mouth before he could help himself.

Something like that.

Cloud nodded, keeping to himself the images he had seen. He didn't want to bring up the memories that cast the shadows he could now recognize in Harry's green eyes. He wanted to bring them up, Shiva he wanted to help the boy. Something in him, some feral protective part of him, knew that it was too soon.

"I don't suppose you'll be Harry anytime soon?" Cloud asked and blinked a few times as a few pyreflies wrapped around the cat and then Harry was sitting there. He stretched and yawned.

Cloud reached out and placed his hand on the boy's forehead; covering that famous scar. He frowned as Harry blinked surprised eyes at him.

"You still have a fever."

"No surprise."

"Lay down and rest," Cloud advised. "I'm going to be working at my desk. Ask if you need something."

"Sure."

And Harry laid down to sleep and Cloud went to work.


Message received at 20:58 hours Wednesday August13th.

"Vincent, I've called Cloud to tell him this as well. I'm getting strange readings from the Midgar area and I've had some fluctuations off the Goblin Islands and a few places where there are documented flocks of wild Chocobos. I haven't been able to pinpoint anything, but keep your guard up. I have a bad feeling about this."

End of Message.


Eyes watched the horizon, stretching arms that hadn't been used in much too long. A breeze picked up and played with soft hair that was much stronger than it looked.

"It won't be too much longer now."

In a large room of Aten ar-Heq-t, grey eyes snapped to the sky as Rehkit screamed. The exotic falcon dove and wheeled in the sky, battling something unseen to Draco's eyes. Then, in an explosion of fire, the largest phoenix the Malfoy Scion had ever seen exploded into existence.

Rehkit screamed again.

The phoenix cried out, nearly bringing Draco to his knees.

Something somewhere was very, very wrong.


posted 31March2011: Edited 8December2014