CHAPTER 15:
POSTBELLUM
Harry?! What's wrong?! Jenova yelled through their link.
The troll! It's here! And I'm not sure if I have enough energy to use anything from the Materia! Aerith's getting us somewhere to hide, but this thing's coming after us! Harry yelled back.
"Shit!" Jenova snarled out loud as she flew down the corridors. She closed her eyes, briefly looking through Harry's own. She knew where they were in an instant.
As she changed course, she found McGonagall along the way, and so landed near her. "Professor Calamitas, what are you doing?" she demanded.
"Same thing as you! Troll-hunting! Come on, the others are in danger!" Without any further ado, Jenova grabbed the indignant teacher, and flew down corridors and stairwells, hoping she could get there on time…
As they fled down the corridor, Harry touched his Materia. After the lessons today, he didn't have enough energy to use the Phoenix summon, and many of the Enemy Skills were out.
There was one that could buy them time. He touched the Materia, and yelled, "Matra Magic!" Missiles seemed to blast from Harry, whirling in mid-air, and smacking into the troll. It did little, except to anger the troll.
"Harry!" Aerith called. "Give me the bangle!"
Hurriedly, Harry ripped it off and handed it to his adoptive sister, who hurriedly put it on. She then whirled to face the troll, and yelled, "PANDORA'S BOX!"
The troll howled as high-intensity magic assaulted it. It was naturally resistant to magic, but the onslaught of Pandora's Box badly hurt it. Once the attack was over, however, it was still moving. Bleeding from a dozen different places, but it was still running, and it crashed into Aerith, sending her into a wall with a sickening crack.
Harry stared at Aerith, as the troll stomped towards her prone body. Aerith had been left semi-conscious by the troll's attack, and it picked her up, snarling.
Harry felt a sick feeling in his stomach. It was like the Snow-Woman all over again, or like Sephiroth, swooping down from on high. Aerith was no damsel in distress, but unless he did something, Aerith was going to die.
Suddenly, he felt the by-now familiar feeling of a Limit Break. He held out his hands, palm first, at the troll. "Mother's Fire!" he screamed.
This was the first Limit Break he had ever used, when trying to save Aerith and Elena from the Snow-Woman. Unlike that time, where he was horrified at the death of the Snow-Woman, here, he was merely grimly satisfied as the light from his hands enveloped the troll. With a howl, it began to rot and decay, flesh falling from its bones, and the bones turning to dust.
Another effect of Mother's Fire, Harry had learned that day, was the healing of nearby allies. After being suffused with a golden glow, Aerith got, shakily, to her feet, in time to be tackled by Harry, who didn't say anything. He just wept gently.
"What was that?" Hermione asked, looking at the dusty remains of the troll in horror.
"Harry told me about this," Ron said, staring at the ashes in awe. "It's something called a Limit Break."
Neville just hid his face in his hands and whimpered. He didn't know what was scarier: the recently deceased troll, or Harry and his abilities.
Aerith suddenly felt Harry sag against her. "Harry? Harry?!" She quickly cast a diagnostic charm that Pomfrey had taught her, and realised that, between casting spells and using a Limit Break, he was exhausted, sent into unconsciousness by physical and magical exhaustion.
Jenova chose that moment to turn up, McGonagall in her arms. "What happened?" Jenova demanded.
"Long story," Aerith said. "Get Harry to the Hospital Wing, now! Tell Pomfrey to use an Ether for magical exhaustion!"
Jenova nodded, grabbing the unconscious boy from Aerith, before flying back the way she came. McGonagall turned to Aerith. "What about you, Aerith?" she asked, dropping the formality in her fear for the young woman's safety, not to mention that of Aerith's charges.
"I'm sore all over," Aerith said. "But I'm fine. Professor…what the hell happened?"
It wasn't often that Aerith swore, even when emerging from a life or death situation. McGonagall looked at Aerith, and then at the ashes that used to be the troll, before saying, "I was about to ask you that very thing."
The Potions classroom was not far, and Snape, limping heavily, had come down not long afterwards with Quirrell in tow. The latter took one look at the ashes of the troll, muttered something about not being needed, and scurried off. Snape took Aerith to the Potions classroom, the others in tow.
Aerith used White Wind to heal what Harry's Limit Break didn't. Snape checked her over anyway: he had some small qualifications as a Healer. As he did so, she related the story of what had happened, with the children occasionally clarifying a point.
Afterwards, McGonagall decided to take the children back to Gryffindor Tower: they were shaken up by their ordeal. Of course, the trio of Gryffindor kids extracted a promise to be allowed to see Harry in the morning.
After they left, Snape seemed about to leave, only to have his leg nearly give out from underneath him. Aerith was on him in a flash, helping him keep steady. "Let go of me," Snape hissed.
"No," Aerith replied. "You're hurt."
"I've dealt with worse pain," Snape replied in a bitter tone. "Compared to the Cruciatus Curse, this is nothing."
"Snape…I can heal that. Please, let me."
Snape gave a little snarl, before acceding. He allowed Aerith to gingerly roll up the leg of his trousers beneath the robe. Aerith inhaled sharply at seeing the vicious bite wound. "Looks like a dog's bite," she said.
"This is Fluffy's doing," Snape sneered.
"The Cerberus?" Aerith asked, before casting White Wind at the wound.
Snape winced as the wound began to close, but he nodded. "I knew someone, probably Quirrell, had released that damned troll as a diversion. I went to the third floor corridor, but that damned dog didn't take too kindly to my presence."
"Well, I'm sure it wasn't your sunny personality," Aerith said cheekily.
Snape snorted. "If you were a student, I would have taken points off for that insolence."
"Good thing I am not a student…of Hogwarts, anyway. A Cetra must consider themselves a student of life and the cosmos, though. I was told that once in Cosmo Canyon. Funnily enough, the man who told me that was not a Cetra," Aerith said. "He was a bit like Dumbledore in his way.(1)"
Snape grunted, before trying his leg tentatively. He then walked over to his desk, and sat down. "This is beginning to get out of hand," he said. "Dumbledore wants the Stone to be bait in a trap for the Dark Lord. The additional defences provided by you and Jenova will help, but the Dark Lord, or his agent, is growing bolder. The troll was a spare for the defences around the Stone. While it is possible someone else freed it, I'm almost certain that it was Quirrell. The students are in danger, and none so much as your brother. I fear that this troll incident might only be the beginning of some sort of escalation."
"Escalation? You mean he will become more overt?"
"The Dark Lord was a genius, true, but he was also mercurial and impulsive at times, particularly towards the end," Snape said. "Given what I have read about horcruxes, it may be that the splitting of his soul also damaged his mind. The Death Eaters originally used guerrilla tactics, but towards the end, when I joined, they became far more bold. If the Dark Lord thinks he can get away with something, he would do it. True, the same could be said for any Slytherin, but some also lack the ability to do so under the radar, as the Muggles would put it. The troll wasn't a direct attack on Harry, even though he did end up involved. But I fear that that may change."
"How would he target Harry?"
"There are a lot of ways. Offhand, I'd guess his first Quidditch match: Harry falling to his death in front of hundreds would be a good psychological attack against Magical Britain in general, and Dumbledore in particular. It would be somewhat stupid to do so publicly, true, when there are other methods, but the Dark Lord was about making grand gestures, not subtle ones. Covert, yes, but subtle, no."
"But from what Dumbledore told me, if Voldemort is possessing Quirrell, then nothing less than the sealing array he has on the Mirror will trap him, at least until we deal with the remaining horcruxes. Besides Harry, we've dealt with the Ring, the Locket, and the Diadem. That leaves the Cup and this book." Aerith sighed. "It's Harry I'm worried about most of all. If Voldemort does target Harry…don't get me wrong: I know that in a straight fight, Harry has more of a chance against Voldemort than anyone would think, if they weren't blinded by the legends around him. But Voldemort is more experienced, and completely immoral."
"Indeed," Snape said. "And he will be fixated on destroying Harry. He does not take kindly to defeat. If he ever returns to full strength, he will focus on that goal. Oh, he will do his utmost to infiltrate and take over the Ministry. He still has many potential powerful allies in the Wizengamot, including Lucius Malfoy. Already, Lucius is questioning my loyalties, given my lack of action against Harry for the duel. Which I think is funny, considering he claimed to be under the Imperius Curse while I had to ask Dumbledore to vouch for me. Lucius is also too curious about Materia, and about where Harry had been."
"I've been meaning to ask that," Aerith said, "but it slipped my mind. How did Harry's new name get known? I noticed people responded almost as much as if they called him Harry Potter?"
"Dumbledore gave the Daily Prophet a press release, which they blew out of all proportion. They reported the actual press release quite truthfully, for once, but it caused a stir. The story was that Harry ran away from home early this year, and was found by you. You belonged to an isolated group of mages in America who live in harmony with Muggles. Obviously, he had to leave some details out, and modify others, but some people are smelling the artifice."
"Why America?"
"Your accent, along with that of Jenova's, sounds American(2)," Snape pointed out. "Though your cat toy sounds Scottish."
Aerith shrugged. "I think my mother spoke like she had what you'd think of as a British accent," she mused. "My birth mother, I mean. But I grew up in Midgar, in the Shinra labs, and then in the slums." She sighed. "But you're right. Sooner or later, some if not all of the secret will emerge. And Harry, myself, and Jenova will be viewed with envy. How close is Lucius Malfoy to the truth?"
"Not very," Snape admitted. "But he is suspicious, and canny. What's more, he has the ear of the Minister. Fudge is a weak dunderhead, more concerned about power and image than with governing properly, and he's willing to accept…'donations' to worthy causes in exchange for favours."
"Bribes," Aerith said disgustedly.
"I believe Lucius prefers to think of it as good business," Snape said wryly(3). "I am sure that Rufus Shinra operated in a similar manner."
"I think that was more his father's style," Aerith said, remembering the rotund would-be king of the world, President Shinra. As unpleasant and nasty as Rufus had been, his father was even worse. Rufus tended to be colder and more impersonal, whereas President Shinra tended to hide his evil behind joviality. But when Aerith and the others had tumbled into the Lifestream during Ultima Weapon's attack on Mideel, she had seen many of Rufus' memories, including his mother's brutal murder at the hands of Rufus' father.
And Rufus had stood with them as they fought Sephiroth. And he was reforming Shinra into something better than it was.
"Do you think any of the Malfoys can be brought out from Voldemort's shadow?"
Snape seemed surprised by the question, but he considered it. "Lucius is too far gone in that regard. He still has the Dark Mark, and he still follows the blood purity rhetoric. Narcissa, his wife, is like Jenova, rather haughty, but she cares about Draco and family. She follows many of Voldemort's doctrines, but she isn't a Death Eater, and if it was completely to her advantage, she'd switch sides. Draco's still young, and still impressionable. Unfortunately, his father has left such an impression on him. The best I can do without it getting back to Lucius is to steer Draco subtly. I am his godfather after all. And even that may not be enough." Snape looked so tired, and even old, then, far more than his years suggested. "I fear his life ambition is to become a Death Eater. And I may not be able to stop that."
Dumbledore paced his office angrily. Damn you, Tom! he snarled within his head. You had Quirrell unleash that troll on the school. It may not have been a targeted attack against Harry, but you knew it could have hurt the children! Damn you to the depths of Perdition, Tom!
Fawkes, sensing the fury in his friend, sang a song. Dumbledore, for a moment, resisted the soothing tones of the phoenix's song. But Fawkes was older than he, and would probably outlive him. Nobody knew if, when, and how phoenixes truly died. And Fawkes' song finally weaved its magic on Dumbledore.
"Thank you, old friend," Dumbledore said, walking over to Fawkes. "But…tonight seems like yet another mistake to add to the litany. Another blot on the ledger. Am I doing the right thing? Am I going about this the right way?"
Fawkes gave a trill that Dumbledore knew (from long experience) meant something along the lines of, I'm your counsellor and friend, not your advisor.
"I know, I know," Dumbledore said quietly, before going back to his desk and taking another sherbet lemon. "But in trying to trap a tiger," he mused, more to himself than anything else, "have I left it to roam free in a paddock of lambs?"
The silence was almost an answer to himself, and a damning one. He could only hope that Voldemort was lured into the trap long before any further disaster could occur.
CHAPTER 15 ANNOTATIONS:
The troll attack and its aftermath, with Aerith and Snape having a heart-to-heart. And Dumbledore struggling with his doubts.
Now, in case any of you are wondering about Dumbledore, my take on him is that he is a fundamentally decent, but flawed man. He's somewhat ineffectual at times, and believes that his way is the best. And he finds himself torn between doing what he believes is right, and what will be expedient. Remember, this is a guy who is afraid of his own power after that whole lover's spat with Grindlewald. But, and this is a major point I want to make, he is still a good guy. If anything, previous events are making him a little better than in canon. He hoards knowledge less, unless it is vital to keep it away from Voldemort's ears, and he trusts his allies more with information.
Snape is evolving much more. I'd like to think that he is becoming a more decent man, albeit gradually. He doesn't show it as much to Harry, and even to the others, he is probably not unlike Avon from Blake's 7: snide, a brutal pragmatist, and openly disdainful of optimists and those who don't meet his standards. But Snape does care, and more than Avon (as much as I like Avon, he's frankly a prick, especially towards the end of Blake's 7).
The Mother's Fire Limit Break makes its return! Yay!
Now, review-answering time. One of the first is one that was on Harry Potter and the Cetra Heritage. SuperVegitoFAN pointed out some things about Umbridge, as well as the sad irony that Christopher Lee, the man who I thought would make an excellent Diamond Weapon, has passed. A shame.
Shadoweater666 pointed out that the whole language of flowers thing was NOT a fan theory, but Rowling putting it in deliberately. I'm not completely convinced he was trying to build a bridge with Harry, because given what happens, it seems like a token gesture more than anything else. Here, Snape is perhaps a little better than in canon, and reaches out more. And Harry, knowing more about Snape and the man's history with his mother, tries to reciprocate. It's difficult to see whether they will have a truly positive relationship, but Snape and Harry are certainly on far better terms than in canon, and Snape takes on something of a mentor relationship, something that Arsenoe de Blassenville's The Best Revenge inspired me to do. Snape is still a prick, though. Just less of one.
Klaw117: Look up Wikipedia regarding the language of flowers. As for Cedric, well…bugger. Then again, a lot of fanfics put students into years they shouldn't canonically be in. Chalk this down to artistic licence. Or maybe Cedric was able to advance a year in DADA, and is with the fourth years. I dunno.
Ddragon21: Harry will be less of a slacker than he is in canon (though History will be an exception), and he will probably be able to get Ron to raise his game. Ron has enough intelligence to be able to win a good chess game, so there's something in there. They're not going to be geniuses by any means, but Harry is already good at putting things together: even now, he is suspicious about the Cerberus and its link to what we know is the Philosopher's Stone.
And last, but by no means least, Zane Tribal Tyne Alexandros has effusively reviewed my story, though I am sorry to put him to inconvenience. Firstly, Ron might learn a weapon, though what that is, I don't know. Ron and Hermione will have to use weapons during my version of Advent Children, after all. I'm glad you liked the wand choices for Jenova and Aerith, as well as my backstory for Luna.
As for Harry using Legilimency in such a manner, I don't think he would want to cross such a line. Only if he was desperate would he do such a thing. That being said, he would learn how to defend himself from such an insidious attack.
Yes, Neville will be developed further. I think he gets a boost early on from Harry helping him more. He'll be one of those coming to the Planet during the holidays, and I think he'll get a particular boost from Cloud and the shade of Zack. Aerith's also a good role model: she's quiet and gentle, but she also hides steel.
As for Filch, well, I told Zane in a PM that he hit on what I was already planning to do. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Filch will be getting a Materia or two. In fact, I might actually expand on his backstory: I'm unaware of what fanon is around him, so I'll be making stuff up based on what little there is in canon.
Jenova will be teaching assistant for DADA at least until the end of the second year. She might end up being forced out of Hogwarts, though, if her true nature is exposed, rather like Lupin.
Thanks for your thoughts on Jenova's 'death' while handling the Ring, as well as my 'happy' theme for Dumbledore. You'll notice that I have re-introduced his theme (along with other characters' themes) back in Chapter 11: remember that Dumbledore has two themes, one for his more frivolous self, and the other for his darker, more pensive side.
1. It may not be clear, but Aerith is referring to Bugenhagen. This conversation doesn't actually take place in the game, but there's no reason to say that it didn't, off-screen.
2. The first time I brought up the fact that most, if not all, of the voice actors for the English language version of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts use an American accent (well, they are American. Duh). Aerith has some knowledge of Earth's geography and politics thanks to Sirius and Harry (particularly the former).
3. A similar exchange occurs between Solid Snake and Kenneth Baker in Metal Gear Solid. As much as I like The Twin Snakes (despite, and sometimes because of, the OTT action sequences), I do prefer some of the dialogue from the original version of the game, and that is why I used a variation of Baker's dialogue from the original version of Metal Gear Solid. I also think that some of the delivery didn't work out on some lines in the new version.
No soundtrack suggestions for this chapter.