CLOUDY DAYS FOR HARRY POTTER

CHAPTER 2:

AERITH

The next morning, Tifa handed Harry a hat and sunglasses, and a jacket. It might help in disguising him if Shinra was on the lookout for him still. Harry was grateful to the bar-owner. Despite the awkward and volatile situation from yesterday, Tifa had been somewhat helpful. Hell, it was still awkward, and yet, she was helping him out. Cloud's memories of her were of being relatively distant, but a decent girl, but she had blossomed into a fine young woman with a finer heart.

They had an early breakfast at Seventh Heaven, before setting out for the Sector 5 Slums. Harry had already seen the dusty, dried-up soil and all the junk lying around as they ventured forth, cutting through Wall Market, a notorious part of the slums for its criminal activity. By the time they got to Evergreen Park, however, the near-silence they had been in was finally broken by Harry. "So, how did you survive the Nibelheim Massacre?" Harry asked. "Cloud and Zack's memories show you were grievously wounded."

"…Long story short, my mentor Zangan found me and got me to a doctor. He must have just narrowly avoided the clean-up crew who got you two," Tifa said. "I hope Zack took as many of those bastards with him as he could."

"Oh, the battle went on for a long time, he must've," Harry said. "I could hear it, but I couldn't get my body to work until just after it finished. Mako Poisoning really did a number on me."

"…And on Cloud," Tifa said quietly. "I…He was a friend, but a distant one, and…he was so lonely. My father didn't help matters, and neither did I, to be honest. The Strifes weren't exactly outcasts, but they weren't exactly welcome in Nibelheim. If he'd shown his face at Nibelheim when Sephiroth and Zack arrived, I would have accepted him not getting into SOLDIER. I just wish…I got a proper chance to say goodbye."

"…In a way, I feel the same way," Harry admitted. "Not to Cloud. It's just…when I was in limbo, what Dumbledore told me…it pissed me off something fierce. My whole life was stage-managed by him, and while I had a chance to live…I just wanted to be with my parents, with my godfather. I was pretty much a child soldier, in hindsight, never allowed to have a decision of my own."

"…How old were you?"

"…17. A little under three months away from my 18th birthday," Harry said. "I guess I'm about 22 years old now, because I think I ended up in his body soon after he got exposed to Mako. But…in the end, I just left my friends. I knew they'd be able to stop Voldemort without me, with the Horcruxes gone, but…maybe I should have tried to say goodbye. Instead, I just let my anger get the better of me. It wasn't the first time. Probably won't be the last, either. Anyway, let's keep going. Hopefully we can speak to Zack's girlfriend and be done quickly."

"What was her name again?"

"Aerith Gainsborough…"

Within a couple of hours, they made it to the Sector 5 Slums, and had made their way to the Gainsborough house. It was larger and better kept than most of the houses in Sector 5, and was surrounded by many lovely flower gardens, a far cry from the shantytowns they had been traversing through. Harry heard Tifa inhale in surprise.

"…You don't see gardens like this in the slums, especially with so many flowers," Tifa said quietly. "The Mako Reactors tend to kill them off."

"So it's true? They suck the life out of this world?"

Tifa nodded. "I saw enough evidence for that myself in Nibelheim. Not that Shinra cares. They only care about money and power."

They then noticed a figure kneeling in the garden, wearing a pink dress, over which she wore a crimson jacket. Harry realised he knew her from Zack's memories, even if she was dressed differently, and gently cleared his throat. "Excuse me? Are you Aerith Gainsborough?"

The young woman stood up, and then looked at the pair of them curiously. She was older than she was in Zack's memories, but there was the long light brown hair, framing gentle and beautiful features. If Tifa was the epitome of the sexy Amazon, then Aerith was the epitome of a beautiful girl next door. Emerald eyes, so much like Harry's own in his past life, peered at them, before she nodded. "You've come to the right place. And you are…?"

"I'm Tifa Lockhart," Tifa said, walking forward and shaking Aerith's hand. "I run the Seventh Heaven Bar in Sector 7. And this is…a friend of mine, Cloud Strife."

Harry appreciated Tifa not spilling the beans then and there. It would be awkward to explain the situation to Aerith, at least for now. Not when they needed to tell her about her late boyfriend.

After a moment, Aerith peered at Harry. He was vaguely reminded of Luna then, not of her dottiness, but of her playfulness, and yet her perceptiveness. She then gently took his sunglasses off, and nodded when she saw his eyes. "That glow…Mako infusion. You were in SOLDIER?"

"…No. I was a lab rat for Professor Hojo. He put me through a similar Mako infusion, and it was far from pleasant," Harry said. And he noted the way she flinched at the name. "You knew him?"

"…Unfortunately," Aerith said, her smile wiped off her face briefly. "But enough about him. You have news for me, then? You don't look like you belong to Shinra, Mako infusion or not." On Harry and Tifa's solemn nods, she said, "Well, my mother may need to hear this. Come along…"

Elmyra Gainsborough, a rather careworn-looking woman, looked at them suspiciously, especially once she saw Harry's glowing eyes, but they heard him out. He related the same tale that he did to Tifa, albeit without mentioning Cloud passing on, or who he was now. After he had finished, Aerith and her mother embraced, the former sobbing quietly.

After they broke off, Elmyra said quietly, "I misjudged that young man. I thought he had left Aerith in the dark. He was Hojo's lab rat for nearly five years?"

"As was I, Mrs Gainsborough," Harry said solemnly. "I don't know why, but…I do have some of Zack's memories, and Aerith was at the forefront of many of them. He even got a few of her letters. He wanted to come back to her. But…Shinra murdered him, and only because I was mostly catatonic from Mako Poisoning that I didn't share his fate."

Aerith, who was wiping the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief, nodded, giving a sad smile. "I have to confess, I…had a premonition of what happened that day. I didn't know exactly what had happened, but…I knew something had."

"…I'm sorry," Harry said to her. "I really am."

Aerith shook her head. "Don't be. In the end, he returned to the Planet, Cloud. And I'm grateful you came to me with this as soon as you could. At least I know…and I know that he never forgot me. Doubt and uncertainty are amongst the worst things in the world. At least now, I can properly mourn him. As painful as such news is, you did me a favour. Thank you." After a moment, she then looked to Tifa. "On another note, do you know a man called Biggs?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just know he used to help out at the local orphanage, Leaf House," Aerith said. "We've met a few times before. He's shuttled back and forth between Sectors 5 and 7 over the years, but he's seemed to have moved over there for good. Say 'hi' to him for me. Oh, and the kids and the caretakers and teachers at Leaf House miss him."

"I'll be sure to let him know, Aerith," Tifa said. "He talks about them a lot. But…is there anything we can do for you? I'm sorry about Zack. I met him only one time, but…he was better than most at Shinra."

The brown-haired girl shook her head. "It's fine. I have Mom. And I'm grateful that you told me anyway."

Elmyra nodded. "And…it may be for the best if you leave for now. Zack aside, we've had trouble from Shinra before. We don't want it happening again. Even if you're not actually a former SOLDIER, those eyes will get attention. And so will that sword."

"Got it," Tifa said.

As they readied themselves to take their leave, Aerith went over to them. "Oh! Before you go, would you like to buy some flowers? Zack suggested I sell them. Maybe they could look nice at the bar you run, Tifa?"

Harry and Tifa exchanged glances, before Tifa shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The three of them went out into the flower garden in solemn procession. "You're taking this well," Harry observed.

"Oh, I'll probably have a good long cry later. I mean, I did before, but…I was sort of resigned to something having happened to him for the past few years. I still kept writing letters, sending them, but…I suspected something had gone wrong. Now, I know, and that he didn't give up trying to come back. Anyway, there's another reason I brought you out here, aside from selling you flowers."

"And that is…?" Tifa asked, folding her arms under her impressive bust.

"…They say eyes are the window into the soul, don't they?" Aerith asked, looking to Harry. "I didn't comment on your heterochromia at the time, and Mom will probably chalk it up to whatever Hojo did to you. But…your eyes…your soul…your soul is mismatched with your body, isn't it?" As Harry and Tifa tensed, Aerith shook her head. "It's okay. Let's just say I see and hear things other people don't."

Tifa looked confused, perhaps even a bit irritated, but Harry was struck once more by comparisons to Luna Lovegood. "What do you mean?"

"I know that sometimes, Mako Poisoning detaches the soul from the body. The body still survives, but the soul returns to the Planet," Aerith said gently. "And in this case…someone else took his place?"

"How do you know this?" Tifa asked.

Aerith looked away. "Let's just say there's a reason I know of Hojo and Shinra. We've only just met, Tifa, and you too, Cloud…or whatever your name is now. I might come over to Sector 7 one day to say hello to Biggs, sell flowers…we could talk then, maybe. Anyway, what flowers would you like, Tifa?"

Harry looked on as Tifa picked out a few flowers. Currency, known as 'Gil', was exchanged, and Tifa had a small bundle of flowers ready for the journey home. Aerith bade them farewell, though not before saying, "I hope you both find happiness."

"Okay, she was interesting," Tifa said. "Though what was that crap she said about…well, seeing your soul?"

"I've no idea," Harry said.

"Almost sounds like something a Cetra would do."

"A what?"

"Oh, right. They sometimes call them the Ancients."

Harry suddenly winced as what felt like an icicle stabbed through his head. "Through my veins runs the blood of the Ancients," snarled a low, smooth, deep voice, its tone cold as ice. "This Planet is my birthright."

And for a moment, he saw the speaker. A tall man in a dark coat with white pauldrons, part of his muscular chest showing. Long silvery hair framed strangely feminine features. Yet the eyes were so chilling. Bluish-green, but as icy as the tone with which he just spoke. And those slitted pupils, reptilian, like Voldemort's.

Yet he knew, thanks to Zack and Cloud's memories, who this was. The man who was once a hero to the people of this city, Shinra's finest warrior. And yet, the very man who burned Nibelheim to the ground and massacred its inhabitants in a fit of madness when he discovered what he thought were his origins.

Harry had seen the man in nightmares and distantly in memories. But the memory was so vivid, so real. It didn't matter that it wasn't his own. He saw a glimpse of what Cloud and Zack saw, that monster smirking at them as he stood serenely amongst the flames at Nibelheim, before turning and striding through the flames as if he was simply going on an enthusiastic walk.

He didn't realise that Tifa had come to his side, concerned. "Harry?" she asked. "What's the matter?"

"Sorry, I just…had some sort of flashback. I think it was one of Zack's memories," he said. "It was Sephiroth, Tifa. Even though I haven't met the man, I could feel the fear in Zack and Cloud's memories when he went crazy. He claimed he was one of the Ancients, thanks to his mother, Jenova."

Tifa shook her head. "I doubt it. The Ancients, the Cetra, by all accounts, were basically like humans, but with extra abilities. Some say they could use magic without Materia, though there are people who can use special abilities without it anyway. Limit Breaks in certain people, the Ninjutsu used by Wutai's warriors…but Cetra were also said to be able to speak to the Planet, as it were. I studied up on it after Barret got me into Planetology. In fact, I cracked open one of his books last night to help me get to sleep. The Cetra are supposedly extinct, but it's possible Aerith may be a descendant. Always assuming she isn't something else. As for Sephiroth…whatever the hell his mother was, this…Jenova…she's no Ancient."

Harry nodded, another memory, or rather, a couple of them, one apiece from Zack and Cloud coming to mind. Jenova, a strange, bizarre woman in a tank filled with liquid, strange growths all along her body, tubes and organs like wings and hearts. Beautiful, but in a twisted and alien way.

"Yeah, given Cloud and Zack's memories, I'll agree with you there," Harry said. "But if she's not an Ancient, what the hell is she?"

"I don't know, but if Shinra somehow used her to create Sephiroth, I doubt it was good. Come on, it's a long trek back, and I want to get back before the customers get ornery…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry-Cloud and Tifa have met Aerith.

Now, I don't know when Aerith learns Zack died in canon. She seems to get a premonition of it at the end of Crisis Core, but I don't think she knows for certain until later, if at all.

I also did this to soften Elmyra's character a little. I personally think they made her a touch too bitchy in the remake. Understandably, yes, but she couldn't have couched matters to Cloud better, and honestly, Aerith, by that point, is old enough to make her own decisions, and not have Elmyra make them for her. But having Tifa and Harry take the initiative in telling them Zack's fate, and that Zack didn't blank Aerith willingly, has Elmyra softening her attitude. She may not want them to stay for long, but she's amenable to them visiting now, as long as they don't cause trouble with the Turks.

Biggs' backstory comes from the Final Fantasy VII-related novel Traces of Two Pasts, via the wiki.

No numbered annotations this time.