Disclaimer: Eu n'e3o possuo o Potter ou o Final Fantasy de Harry.
Harry: Is that Spanish?
Close. It's actually a dialect of Portuguese. It's Brazilian.
Sirius: Hehe.
Harry: shiver That was creepy, Sirius. What's wrong with you now?
Sirius: There isn't anything wrong with me, Harry. Why ever would you think that?
That was a creepy laugh, Sirius. Could have almost passed for Snape, that.
Sirius: shudders Snivellus! It's been a long time since I pranked him. Where's Moony? He points at Harry You can stand in for Prongs, even if you can't transform into a stag. Cor, you can be the fourth person.
You mean, I can stand in for Wormtail?
Sirius: blanches Well, no...I know you're better than that rat.
True dat. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Siri.
Sirius: Now to find Moony. He's brilliant at laying out plans. Heads for the fireplace to floo-call Remus
Harry: Would this be a good point to run away, Cor?
Probably. Cor and Harry flee.
Sirius: turns to ask where the floo powder is Hey! Where are you going? GUYS! Chases after them.
The screen was completely black, save for where some words appeared. "I don't get it," Ginny said. "We want to see if Harry's okay; why is it showing us Cloud's thoughts?"
"Cloud must be the lead character," Hermione reasoned. "Therefore, most of the story will revolve around him."
"Are all stories like that?" Ron asked.
"Mostly," Remus replied. "Most plays do not, however, revolve around a single character, though. Shakespeare is particularly known for following the activities of several characters simultaneously."
"The picture's back!" Tonks called. "Harry...he's okay!"
"That's a relief," came several people, almost perfectly synchronized.
"Oh! He moved!" the pretty brunette said. Harry, somehow, miraculously managed to land without any major injury (though he was sure his back was bruised; it was already very stiff). Apparently, the roof of the church they were now in had broken his fall and, being in poor condition, collapsed under the impact. He and Cloud landed on a small flower garden. Cloud was still unconscious, but stirring.
"I really am sorry about dropping in on you like that, Miss," Harry apologized once more.
"Don't worry about it," she replied, smiling kindly at him. "It's not as though you could have helped it. That explosion up on the plate sounded pretty big."
Harry shrugged. "It really wasn't as big as it should have been. We had planned on bringing down the entire Reactor, but Shinra had disarmed our bomb and blew up the walkway we were on as we attempted to escape." He paused for a moment. "At least, that's what I think. I'm not as good as drawing out logical conclusions at my friend Hermione is." He grinned. "If she heard me say that, she'd blush and stammer about 'more important things.'"
Harry was sure that Barret would not have summed up their mission to a complete stranger, but something about this girl seemed...off. Harry was by no means an expert despite the numerous encounters he'd had with intelligent creatures that were not even human; nor was he even completely sure, but she just didn't seem...completely human. She didn't come across as an evil or cruel person, but rather, as a kind and nurturing soul.
Cloud moaned again, stirring a bit more. The woman turned back to him. "Hello, hello?" The spiky-haired blonde moved a bit more. "Hello, hello!" the flower girl called again. Cloud finally opened his shining blue eyes and sat up. The girl stood up and stepped back to give him a bit of room.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Where are we?" Cloud questioned.
"This is a church in the Sector 5 slums," she answered. "You two suddenly fell on top of me. You really gave me quite a scare."
"I said I was sorry," Harry reminded her. "And you did tell me not to worry about it."
"We came crashing down...?" Cloud looked confused for a moment before looking up at what used to be a one-piece roof. Way up, they could just barely make out a broken metal walkway and the orange glow of flames.
"You weren't out for very long, Cloud," Harry told him. "Maybe a few minutes or so."
"The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall," the girl observed. "You're lucky."
"I wouldn't call falling fifty meters to smash through the roof of an old church 'lucky,'" Harry quipped, smiling to remove the sarcasm. She had helped them after they fell through her roof, after all.
"Flower bed...is this yours?" Cloud asked, gesturing to the flowers as he climbed to his feet. He dusted off his clothes. "Sorry about that."
The young woman smiled gently at him. "It's all right. The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place. They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar at all...But for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here." She glanced around at the walls of the old building. "I love it here."
The flower girl knelt down and began tending to a bruised-looking flower. "So, we meet again." When Cloud didn't answer, she looked up at him, somewhat sadly. "Don't you remember me?"
Cloud looked thoughtful before recognition crossed his face. "Yeah, I remember...you were selling flowers in the slums."
The girl clasped her hands, smiling a bright, million watt smile. "Oh, I'm so happy! Thanks for buying the flowers!"
Harry tilted his head at Cloud. "You? Bought flowers? I didn't see you give anyone at the bar any flowers."
"That's because you were in the basement when I gave them to Tifa, kid," Cloud rebuked.
"Say...do you have any Materia?" the girl suddenly cut in.
Cloud turned to her and nodded. "Yes, some. Nowadays, you can find Materia anywhere."
The girl nodded in agreement. "But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing."
"...'good for nothing'?" Cloud repeated. "You probably just don't know how to use it."
"No, I do...it just doesn't do anything," she answered. "I feel safe just by having it. It was my mother's..."
Harry could relate to that. He always felt safe when he had his father's Invisibility Cloak with him, whether he was wearing it or not.
The girl looked skyward. "Say, I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it?"
"I don't mind," Harry replied. Cloud shrugged.
"Wait here. I've got to check on my flowers. It'll just be a minute," she grinned at them before straightening the bent stems of several flowers. "Oh!" She stood up again. "I nearly forgot. We don't know each other's names, do we?" She looked at Cloud and Harry. "My name is Aeris, the flower girl. Nice to meet you."
Harry went first. "I'm Harry, boy-hero of a civil war in my homeland and part-time Quidditch player. I'd like to play professionally someday, though."
"The name's Cloud," the spiky blonde next to him spoke up. "Me? I do a little bit of everything..."
"Oh...a jack-of-all-trades," Aeris mused.
"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "I do whatever's needed." The flower girl began to giggle. "What's so funny? What are you laughing at?" Cloud demanded, indignant.
"Sorry, I just..." Aeris began, but Harry cut her off.
"We've got company..." Indeed, standing in the front of the church, just inside the double-doors, stood a man with dark red hair and a pair of shades on his forehead. He was dressed in a smart, very dark-blue suit. He stood, watching them.
"Oh, sorry," Aeris added. "Bad timing on my part..." Cloud began moving forward toward the figure in the doorway. "Cloud! Don't let it get to you!" Aeris called to him.
The mercenary looked back and shrugged casually. "Say, Cloud. Have you ever been a bodyguard?" Aeris asked. Cloud gave her an incredulous look (Harry wasn't far off, either). "You DO do everything, right?"
Cloud smoothed his hair. "Yeah, that's right."
"Then get me out of here. Take me home," Aeris requested.
"Ok, I'll do it...but it'll cost you," Cloud agreed.
"What about AV...your prior agreements, Cloud?" Harry asked.
"I can get back to them once this job is done," the merc replied.
"Well then, let's see...How about if I go out with you once?" Aeris offered. Cloud thought it over for a minute, then gave an affirmative nod.
Hold up...Cloud just agreed to be this girl's bodyguard...for one date? I don't get it... Harry thought, perplexed. Cloud turned toward the person in the doorway.
"I don't know who you are, but..."
"You don't know me...?" the red-haired man asked, mocking.
Cloud's shoulders stiffened, then relaxed. "Oh yeah...I know you. That uniform..."
It was at this point that three Shinra guards rushed into the church and gathered into formation behind the red-haired man. "Hey, sis, this one's a little weird," one of them sneered.
"Shut up! You Shinra spy!" Cloud growled.
"Reno! Want him taken out?" another guard asked, addressing the red-haired spy.
"I haven't decided yet," came the reply.
"Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers!" Aeris protested, dragging Harry and Cloud toward a door in the back of the church. "The exit is back there," she whispered to them. The three left through the door. Harry turned and closed it, briefly searching for some kind of lock before turning a small knob above the handle counter-clockwise.
"That should buy a few seconds," Harry reasoned. He turned and followed Cloud and Aeris. The sight before his eyes made him stop and wonder.
They were in a large, three-story room. However, what appeared to be a missile (Harry could clearly see the word 'Shinra' on the side) had fallen through the roof, crashing through it and all three floors before coming to a dead stop in the basement. This left the entirety of all three levels nearly demolished; only stable bits and pieces of the floors remained, tacked to the wall, and there were still holes in what remained.
"Come on! This way!" Cloud beckoned them. He hopped over a gap in the walkway to a set of stairs along the wall and climbed up them. Aeris followed, barely making it to the bottom of the stairs as well. Harry took a running leap; his foot came down half-on, half-off the platform, causing it to collapse under his weight. His momentum carried him forward, and he fell to safety on the bottom step, unhurt.
"There isn't any time to be fooling around, kid," Cloud admonished, snickering.
"Well, sorry I'm not as in great shape as you, Cloud," Harry shot back, standing up. "I've not been doing this sort of thing for very long, you know!"
"That," Cloud smirked, "is obvious."
A Slytherin, he'd be. The three of them arrived at the second floor and approached a gap. Cloud jumped across, but Aeris didn't follow him.
"There they are, over there!"
"They're here," Harry observed.
"Cloud...That one!" Aeris cried.
The purple-clad mercenary nodded. "I know...Looks like they aren't going to let us go."
"What should we do?" the flower girl asked.
"Well, we can't let them catch us, can they?" Harry replied. "Then, there's only one thing left." Harry jumped the gap, passing by Aeris and landing next to Cloud.
"Aeris! This way!" Cloud beckoned to her. The flower girl shook her head. "All right, I'll hold them off."
"Right. Make sure they don't get through!" Aeris nodded.
"The Ancient is getting away! Attack! Attack! Attack!" In response, the three blue-clad guards drew their rifles and began peppering the area around Aeris with gunfire. She fell to the ground to avoid the bullets, but the floor collapsed, sending Aeris tumbling down the length of the Shinra missile. She hit the basement floor and stood up, unhurt.
"Aeris!" Cloud and Harry cried out.
"Think we killed 'em? They shouldn't have put up a fight, I say!" Reno chuckled.
"Cloud! Help!" Aeris called.
"Damn!" the merc swore.
"What's that...?" Harry asked, pointing up to the rafters. There, perched on the intersections of support beams, were four big barrels.
"I see...Harry, help me push those barrels down on the Shinra!" Cloud ordered. Harry moved up to the rafters. "Aeris, just hold on!" He joined the wizard near the first barrel.
"If we drop this one, we should knock out that guard in front of Aeris," Harry reasoned.
"Okay. On three, then...one...two...three!" Both men pushed the barrel, toppling it over. They watched (from perches equally precarious to the barrels) as their makeshift cannonball fell, spinning, and landed squarely on one Shinra guard's head.
"Bull's eye!" Harry shouted.
"We're not done, yet!" Aeris was now at the bottom of a set of stairs, with the second guard at the top. "Push that one!" Harry complied, knocking over the barrel in the far corner. It landed behind the soldier as he ran toward the flower girl, who dodged away. Before the guard could turn and give chase, the barrel rolled down the steps and bowled over him. He was down for the count.
Aeris ran up the steps and jumped across to the next set. She was at the top when the final guard pointed his rifle at her. "Stop right there!" he ordered. Unfortunately for him, he didn't expect a barrel to drop from above, landing on the stairs in front of Aeris, and rolling down to knock him off into the basement.
"Thanks, Cloud, Harry," Aeris called up as she jumped another hole and climbed up to meet them in the rafters.
"Aeris, this way," Cloud beckoned, jumping up through the hole in the roof to the outside. Harry allowed Aeris to go first, smirking down at the fuming Reno, then escaped after them.
Harry: I have to admit, dropping barrels like that was a lot of fun. It's a lot like Donkey Kong.
Sirius: Hmph!
Harry: Jealous, Sirius?
Sirius:...No.
Yes you are. Look, I'll set up dummy targets that look like Snape and Pettigrew, and you can drop barrels on them from above. How does that sound?
Sirius:...
Harry: Oh, don't mind him.
I don't. Though sometimes it is difficult to do so.
Harry: True, dat.
Sirius: Oi!
