Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy. Don't make me sic Padfoot on you!

Sirius (as Padfoot): Grr!

Harry: That was pathetic, Padfoot. I could do better as a human.

Sirius (human again): Let's see you do it, then!

Harry: roars

Sirius: scampers

Meep. Alright, change of plans...

Disclaimer V2.0: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy. Don't make me sic Harry on you!

Harry: looks pleased with himself


"MAR--LE--NE!!"

Barret's pained cry was the first noise Harry's brain registered as it clambered back towards consciousness. The next sound was Barret crying out, "Biggs! Wedge! Jesse!" When Harry looked up, he groggily discovered that they had landed in the park of Sector 6...just outside the gate to Sector 7. Speaking of which...

The gate was completely blocked up with rubble and debris, all the way to the top of the gate and beyond.

Sector 7 hadn't been crushed, or destroyed...It had been completely obilerated...

Barret stood at the foot of the destruction. He began to punch the nearest piece of rubble repeatedly. "GOD DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!" He stopped smashing his fist and gun-arm into the pile, and his shoulders began to hitch with sobbing. "What the hell's it for? ARGHHH!"

"Hey, Barret!" "Barret!" Cloud and Tifa's shouts fell on deaf ears, as Barret roared once more.

Harry slowly climbed to his feet. He picked his way around the various pieces of debris that now dotted the park and stood slightly behind the three AVALANCHE members. "Hey..."

"Barret, stop...please stop, Barret," Tifa wept.

"URGGHHH!" Barret raised his gun-arm and opened fire on the pile of rubble. The bullets glanced off, leaving several smoking dents (and even a few holes in some cases). After several minutes of constant gunfire, Barret stopped and fell to his knees, punching the ground. "God damn...Marlene..."

Harry turned to Tifa. "Did Aeris make it out with Marlene...?"

The bartender shook her head. "I don't know..."

"They must have...There was plenty of time for them to escape...wasn't there?" Cloud asked.

Barret looked up. "Could she...Is Marlene still okay?" He looked hopeful.

Harry nodded. "I think so." Barret stood up. "I think Aeris would have taken her to her mother's home."

"R, really!?" Harry nodded. "But..."

"Biggs...Wedge...Jesse...All three of them were in the pillar." Harry bowed his head. He felt the kindlings of hatred for the Shinra began to form. Killing innocent bystanders and causing such wanton destruction was deplorable enough in itself, but...

But the Shinra had literally crushed three of Harry's comrades, all of whom were becoming good friends with Harry, and were close friends of Barret and Tifa already.

It was this darker, more vengeful side of Harry that had carried Harry through the final battle with the being known as Voldemort; it was this cold-heartedness that had given him the strength to cast the final curse as Tom, stripped of his Dark-Rituals and extra power, lay gasping for breath at his feet. The curse that ended the war.

The curse that had taken the lives of his parents and many others besides. Avada Kedavra...

"Think I don't know that!?" Barret demanded. He turned away for a second. "But we...all of us...we fought...together. I don't wanna think of them dead!"

"And all the other people in Sector 7," Tifa added.

"This is all screwed up!" Barret bellowed. "They destroyed an entire village just to get to us! They killed so many people..."

"...are you saying it's our fault?" Tifa asked. "Because AVALANCHE was here? Innocent people lost their lives because of us!?"

"No, Tifa! That ain't it! Hell no! It ain't us! It's the damn Shinra! It's never been nobody but the Shinra!" Barret roared, whipping around to face her. "They're evil and destroyin' our planet just to...build their power and line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill this planet!"

Harry nodded. "Right. Our fight won't be over until the Shinra are...removed from power."

Tifa shook her head. "I don't know..."

"What don't you know? You don't believe me?" Barret asked.

"It's not that. I'm not sure about me...my feelings..." Tifa replied, trailing off.

Barret turned to Cloud who, Harry noticed, had his back turned to them and his arms crossed, thinking. "An' wha' abou' you?"

"..." Cloud didn't respond; instead, he uncrossed his arms and left the park, heading toward Sector 5.

"Yo!" Barret turned to Harry and Tifa. "Where's he think he's goin'?"

Harry had a pretty good guess. "Aeris..."

"Oh yeah, that girl. What's up wit' her?"

"I don't really know," Tifa admitted. "But, she's the one I left Marlene with."

"Damn, Marlene!" Barret made to run after Cloud, but stopped and looked at Tifa and Harry. "There ain't no turnin' back now, you two." He turned and chased after the blonde-haired merc.

"There rarely is," Harry said softly, following at a more sedate pace. Tifa walked silently after him.


On the screen, the character called 'Cloud' was walking along the broken highway alone. Someone called his name; he stopped and turned around. Barret, Tifa, and Harry appeared from the top of the screen.

"Take me to Marlene!" the big black man demanded; the blue box his words appeared in denounced him as 'Barret.'

"No manners at all," Ron muttered. He was promptly thwacked by Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks all at once. "Ow!"

"You prat! He's worried sick about his daughter!" Ginny whacked him on the back of the head for good measure.

"Geroff!"

'Tifa' was talking to 'Cloud.' "You're going to help Aeris?"

'Cloud' nodded. "Yeah...but before that, there's something I want to know."

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"What's that?" 'Tifa' asked.

Ron shivered. "Is it just me, or is that a little creepy?"

"It's just you, Ron," Tonks cracked.

"Thanks, Tonks, that really means a lot," Ron shot back dryly. Tonks merely smirked.

"It's about the Ancients." 'Cloud' had taken a step forward. The screen flashed white for a second before going competely black. The words, 'In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!' After they faded, the screen goes white again, then fades back into view on 'Cloud,' 'Tifa,' 'Barret,' and Harry.

'Cloud' looked down. "Sephiroth...?" He collapsed to his knees.

'Barret' and Harry reach forward and help the blonde back onto his feet. "Are you alright there, mate?" Harry asked.

"Pull it together, man!" 'Barret' barked.

"Seriously, though, what's wrong with that bloke?" Ron wondered aloud, gesturing toward the blonde-haired 'Cloud.' "He's loony!"


Cloud: I resent being called loony.

Ron calls most people some variation of 'loony' or 'mad.' So don't get worked up about it.

Harry: In Hermione's case, Ron calls her 'barking mad' or 'raving mad' or 'off her rocker' about once every several hours or so.

Sirius: That's because Ronnie's in love with her.

Harry: Not that he'd ever admit it.

Hey...am I the only one wondering how the hell Cloud got in here?

Sirius and Harry: Yup.

Cloud: Heh...You might have noticed if you weren't playing Smash Bros. Brawl so much...

Hey! That's an awesome game!