Chapter 7: Of Storms and Phoenixes

A/N: This whole story has been edited, I recommend rereading as some chapters have had pages more content added. I hope y'all like the revised version. I'm trying to update every 2 weeks at the most, 1 a month in the least.

Draco, wincing against the pain in his ears from the phoenix's cry, stumbled to the window. Rehkit was still diving at the new phoenix, screaming whenever she saw fit. The phoenix, dodging the irate falcon, made eye contact with him; the look freezing the blond in place. The phoenix suddenly whirled and dove at him.

Draco, surprised at the new turn of events, ducked.

A blur of heat and wind disrupted his hair as the magical bird flew through the window, followed shortly by Rehkit. As Draco turned to examine what chaos was ensuing in the sitting room, he noticed he was sweating when the breeze coming in from the window was cool. The fireplace exploded to life with more music as familiar phoenix song erupted throughout the room.

The song seemed to sooth Rehkit a bit as the raptor flew over to perch on Draco's shoulder. Draco pulled her hood out of his pocket and fastened it over her head; instantly calming the bird. Her breast feathers were still ruffled, a testament to her irritation, but the large bird sat complacently on Draco's shoulder, and stepped onto his arm when he prompted after he had put his leather vambrace on. Merlin forbid her talons ripped his robes.

Draco turned his attention to the other birds in the room.

The phoenixes were perched on opposite wing back chairs hissing at each other; one considerably larger than the other. The larger one Draco had never seen before in his life. The other, the blond was pretty sure, was Fawkes.

It was as the larger phoenix was mantling its wings in a rather threatening way, at least in Draco's opinion, that Hermione, Neville and Luna barged into the room. Surprised, the two phoenixes turned to see the newcomers.

"Merlin it's hot," Neville said as his eyes widened as he took in the two birds with raised hackles.

"Fawkes!" Hermione said, clearly surprised. "I thought I heard you! Who's the other bird?"

"He's Firefly," Luna said dreamily. "His fire sings of places far away."

The larger phoenix turned and pinned Luna with gold eyes. Her grey eyes stared back unashamedly, a dreamy smile on her face. The larger phoenix chirruped and shook itself, the cloying, uncomfortable heat dissipating with the action.

Rehkit chirped inquiringly.

"You, young one, Know things," The phoenix said in a melodious voice.

"You can talk?" Neville blurted surprised.

There was a melodious chiming that took the students a moment to realize was the phoenix laughing. "There is very little that can keep a phoenix out if they want to do something or be somewhere," the bird said. "Fawkes can speak as well, but compared to me, he is quite young and the effort would be a bit too much."

Fawkes chirped indignantly.

"As the Seer said, I am Vuurvliegje," The phoenix introduced himself. "But you may call me Firefly if that is too much of a mouthful."

"Seer?" Neville said, confused, as he looked to Luna. The Ravenclaw just smiled back at him.

"Vuurvliegje," Draco said, walking over to a nearby chair and sitting down, careful of Rehkit perched on his arm. He was pierced with the weight of golden eyes as they focused on him. It was a bit unnerving and uncomfortably reminded the youth of Buckbeak. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from Gaia; born of the Blood of the Planet, the Lifestream, to do battle at the behest of others," the bird replied with a slight bow and a flare of wings.

Fawkes squawked, and the impressions it left in the minds of those present had them thinking that Dumbledore's bird was slightly insulted by the showmanship of the other.

"Do battle?" Hermione asked. "What do you mean, 'do battle'?"

"I am bound to a Materia," Vuurvliegje explained. "Those that have my materia, and have enough magic to do so, can call upon me to aid them in a fight; be it against a wild creature, a monster of some kind, or another person. It doesn't matter. I am bound to listen to my Summoner and fight on their behalf."

"That sounds….HORRIBLE!" Hermione said aghast. "People forcing you to fight!"

"I am NOT forced, young one," Vuurvliegje said with a ruffle of feathers, indignant. "I could have been born from an egg, like Fawkes was, but that was not my destiny; I was born to that role by Minerva the Creator."

"Sounds complicated," Neville said.

Vuurvliegje just shrugged.

"Firefly," Luna said. "This Gaia you come from sounds beautiful, especially the glowing trees. Do you know of our friend that went missing?"

The phoenix shifted from one foot to another, chirping quietly to himself. He fluffed his feathers, resettled his wings, shook out his tail. Fawkes cooed at him, and Vuurvliegje became extremely focused on whatever the other phoenix was saying.

"Yes, I have met the Storm Child, briefly in passing."

"Storm Child?" Draco queried.

"Is there not lightening in storms?" the large phoenix asked, wry amusement in the statement as if the obvious statement on weather had been said before.

"And storms don't have to be limited to weather," Hermione said, cottoning on. "Muggles often refer to 'the storms of war' depending on context."

"Smart girl," Vuurvliegje praised.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here and Harry isn't," Neville said, still a bit confused over the situation. "We know it was a botched ritual, and very Dark, but not much more than that."

"Balance," the phoenix said. "Everything needs to be in balance. That's why every so many years of prosperity, there is tragedy of some kind; war, plague, death. History is an endless waltz: the three beats of war, peace and revolution will continue forever."

Silence met his proclamation.

"So why a phoenix in place of Harry?" Neville asked.

"Harry is the Light of the Resistance," Luna replied before Vuurvliegje could say anything. "A light for a light; and what purer Light than a phoenix to balance the Darkness that sent Harry where he is?"

"Very good," Vuurvliegje bobbed in agreement. He looked at each of them in turn head cocking this way and that. His gaze finally settled on Hermione and, like Draco, the heavy gold gaze was slightly unnerving. "Why do you have a dragon's essence about you?"

"Excuse me?!" Hermione said, taken off guard.

The large phoenix jumped off the chair he was perched on and soared across the room. Landing on the side table next to Hermione's chair, the Gryffindor was concerned the large magical bird was going to break the piece of furniture as it creaked ominously as Vuurvliegje settled on it. The phoenix cocked his head one way, then the other, before his beak poked at her pocket.

"There is a dragon's essence about you," the bird repeated, sounding confused. "You are obviously human but you have a resonance about you with dragons?"

Hermione's hand went to the pocket that Vuurvliegje had prodded with his beak only to find her wand. "You mean this?" she asked.

The phoenix cocked his head. "Why do you have a stick in your pocket?"

"It's my wand," Hermione explained. "Its core is dragon heartstring."

Vuurvliegje still looked confused. He eyed the wand before looking at Neville and Draco. "You two have something like chocobos about you but they're not birds?"

"Unicorn tail hair," Neville supplied shyly, glancing sideways at Draco. Who knew the feared Malfoy Heir had a unicorn hair as the core of his wand. That spoke more volumes about his character than his actions.

"Unicorn?"

Suddenly Fawkes burst into song and a heat haze showed in the middle of the room. On the wave, outlined with fire and amber light, the image of unicorns came into being. The magical horses, as described by Fawkes, were beautiful and seemingly more graceful than what Draco remembered of them as a First Year in the Forbidden Forest.

"They are beautiful, these Unicorns," Vuurvliegje said softly, awed. When the image wavered and disappeared as Fawkes stopped singing, Vuurvliegje turned back to Hermione. "So your sticks have the essence of these creatures in them why?"

"It's how we channel our innate magic," Draco said.

"We're born with magic," Luna added. "The wands help us channel it, but Father thinks they're crutches and everyone has an aptitude to do things wandlessly."

"Interesting," Vuurvliegje looked about the room, giving Rehkit an angry look at her rude chirp, before pinning Draco with his heavy gold gaze once more. "It seems I've stumbled upon some kind of movement your Storm Child was involved in. Tell me what I am now involved in."

Draco paused, not sure if he should be the one to tell the story or not since it everything had started in the Gryffindor Common Room long before he had gotten involved. But those gold eyes, heavy with age, were pinning Draco to his chair and waiting for an explanation. He supposed his view from Slytherin was unique given the nature and alliances in the House.

"The whole of the Second War started about five years ago," Draco began, "but our story starts a little over a year ago…"

Cloud glanced at Reno from his seat at his desk as he haphazardly buttoned up his shirt. The redhead looked none the worse for wear after the events of the previous night. Slipping his pants over lithe legs, Cloud smiled as the Turk rummaged around for his blazer that was under the cot he was sleeping on. Seeing the frustration rise in those stormy green eyes that still had a slight glowing haze Cloud got up and dragged the blazer out from under the cot.

"Was tha' under ther' tha whole time?" Reno asked as he fished through the pockets in his blazer before pulling out a cigarette.

Cloud just gave him a knowing smile.

Reno scoffed.

"What'cha wake me up so early fer, anyway, not that I minded the way," Reno said with a waggle of red eyebrows.

"I have a delivery on the Northern Continent," Cloud replied as he reorganized his ledgers and picked up a specific printout out of the mess. "I have to head out and pick it up if I'm going to deliver it on time."

Reno scowled. "An' why does tha' mean I gotta be up at this Ramuh forsaken hour?"

Cloud gave him a pointed look. "Do you really want to be here when Tifa wakes up? She's taking the kids to the Chocobo Farm tomorrow."

Reno's eyes widened in horror at the thought of babysitting a bunch of snot-nosed brats gawking at featherbrained birds, before saying, "Yeah, I think I'll be leaving with ya."

The two fighters finished getting ready and quietly made their way out the back of Seventh Heaven. The sky was still dark, the pre-dawn glow of sunrise not even gracing the eastern horizon yet. Cloud walked his motorcycle out of the shed he kept it locked in when not in use while Reno lit a cigarette.

"So why such a long delivery?" Reno asked as he blew smoke up towards the sky. He watched the lazy curling clouds swirl and writhe until they dissipated to nothing.

"Don't know," Cloud said.

"Huh?" Reno said, his attention turning abruptly from his smoking to Cloud. "What'cha mean ya dunno?"

"I was paid extra not to ask questions and deliver it before or by the requested date," Cloud said. "The customer is easily paying four times the amount I usually charge for the package size to the destination."

Reno just whistled.

Cloud nodded.

After checking to make sure Fenrir was in fine working condition, not that the exSoldier let the bike be in anything other than that, Cloud offered Reno a ride, which the redhead waggled his eyebrows at. Cloud promptly scowled and threw a rock at him, which Reno dodged. Laughing, the Turk lit another cigarette and waved over his shoulder as he walked down the alley to the main street, Cloud following shortly after.

"Gimme a call when yer back in town," Reno said, green eyes still glowing more than usual from the night before. "Sumthin' don't seem right."

Cloud eyed him as the redhead shifted nervously. Reno didn't like to talk about it, but his mother, being a Lady of the Night, had worked on her back most of her life and been paid by either cash or drugs; one of the reasons Reno's eyes had a slight glow to them. She had read cards and fortunes for customers for extra and her readings got her recruited to a brothel, where she had had some protection from the streets, but Reno had been kicked out at a relatively young age when his mother refused to let him be recruited to her profession. Not that it had mattered too much since the place had burned down with everyone in it when Reno had been fifteen; on the streets mostly on his own for almost five years.

"I think she had 'ad a Gift," Reno had told Cloud after a night of too much alcohol, drugs and partying. "'An sometimes I wonder if I have it, too."

"I will," Cloud said as he turned Fenrir over, the engines of the motorcycle roaring to life.

Reno just nodded, took a drag on the cigarette he had lit, before turning and making his way back to the new Shin-Ra building on the other side of town. Cloud watched him for a few moments before revving the throttle and following Reno, passing the redhead and heading in the opposite direction to pick up the package he was to deliver.

He hoped Reno's sentiments were wrong.

Tifa looked worriedly at Harry. Yuffie had dragged her out of bed speaking almost too fast for her to understand, but when she had gotten to Cloud's room, worried now that something was wrong with Cloud, her heart almost stopped when she saw how pale and lax Harry was in his bed.

"How did this happen?" Tifa demanded as she rushed to Harry and felt his head. He was burning with a fever.

"I dunno," Yuffie replied. "He asked to see a broken materia I had and then that happened!"

"Broken?" Tifa repeated. "How can a materia be broken?"

Yuffie just shrugged. "It didn't glow."

Tifa sighed tiredly. She hadn't been asleep long and she was going to take a few of the kids to the Chocobo Ranch today. With this dilemma with Harry, she wasn't sure if that plan was going to pan out. She left the room to go to her medical supplies. With his fever being caused by whatever materia he was holding, Tifa didn't want to use another materia on him. Getting some medication out of the mirror, some water and rags, Tifa made her way back to Cloud's room.

She wiped his sweating forehead and forced some medication down his throat, hoping that would help bring his fever down, but there wasn't much she could do unless Harry woke up. She sighed dejectedly.

"The kids are going to be sad today," the brunette sighed.

"What's up?" Yuffie asked, hanging upside down from the ceiling. She had seen many a thing she wished she could forget hanging from ceilings in her travels. No one bothered to look up; that's why ninjas always won!

"I was going to take a few of the kids to the Chocobo Farm today, introduce them to the birds and check up on Cloud's bird," Tifa explained. "But now that Harry's sick, I'm not sure if that'll happen."

"I can watch him!" Yuffie almost shouted.

Tifa gave her a look. Yuffie huffed.

"Seriously, though," the ninja began, "I can, like, totally watch him and Red's here somewhere sleeping—I heard his beads tinkling as he shifted around—he can help me if I need it."

Tifa gave her a weighing look.

"I have Vincent's number on speed dial one and Reed's on two," Yuffie added.

Tifa sighed. "If you're sure…"

Yuffie frowned. "I really don't wanna wreck your plans, Tifa, and I shouldn't have given the kid the materia. I'll watch him, don't worry 'bout him!"

Tifa nodded. "If you're sure then I'm going back to bed for a few hours before I have to wake up the kids and get them ready to go."

Yuffie nodded, smiling brightly. "I'll make breakfast for everyone so you can get a little more sleep!"

"No Sushi this time!" Tifa warned. "Adam's allergic to seafood."

Yuffie just giggled as Tifa left the room. She resumed her perch on the ceiling keeping an eye on the bed. People did the most interesting things when they thought they weren't being watched….

He was sore, but it was a distant thought, and the sensation didn't affect him wherever he was. A forest of glowing trees; it was fascinating and intimidating all at once. The trees, despite their beauty and magnificence, looked dead; their boney, glowing fingers grasping towards the stars and moon in the sky. But that couldn't be right, because their glow was too bright for something dead. Harry wandered down a dirt path, then another just taking in the beauty of the forest.

"You are touched by Destiny, Storm Child," a voice spoke.

Startled, Harry turned around, wand out, before he saw that there was no one behind him. Looking around, the only creature he could see was a very large phoenix perched on one of the lower branches of a phosphorescent tree.

"Storm Child?" Harry repeated, confused.

"Is there not lightning in storms?" was the bird's melodious reply. "Do you not carry such a brand on your forehead?"

"That's not to signify a storm," Harry darkly replied, mood falling.

The bird cocked its head. "Not all storms are those of The Planet. War can be considered a storm; something in your youth you seem too familiar with."

Harry was pulled from his thoughts and examined the large bird. Its plumage was a familiar red with gold and yellow highlights. The orange undertones made the bird's form seem like it was burning in the poor light.

"You're the phoenix that I heard singing when I grabbed that materia," Harry stated.

"How astute of you," the bird replied proudly, preening a few feathers on his breast. "I find myself, however, in a rather strange world, where people use sticks for magic instead of the materia the Lifestream creates."

"You're in my world?" Harry asked incredulously. "How's everything going there? How are Draco, Hermione, Ron and Neville? Has Voldemort attacked?"

The phoenix burst into a song that made Harry want to dance, and he realized that the bird was laughing. "Apparently so. I know not of the actions of a Voldemort, the phoenix began, I'm staying in the company of one Fawkes who sought me out when I first appeared in your strange world that a rather rude falcon greeted me to. And as for those you've named, I think I may be in their company. My arrival was rather tumultuous."

Harry proceeded to describe his friends and closest allies. He didn't dare think on anything closer than that for fear that he may never leave the strange land he was in. "Can you tell them I'm doing all right?"

"I'll do what I can," the bird replied. "You, Storm Child, have to prepare. When the pressure drops and the air changes, you must be ready."

"I don't understand," Harry replied. "What do I have to be ready for?"

"Talk to the Lightning who's accompanied by a Shadow," the bird continued singing in riddles. "The information he has will make the Overcast Sky seem clear. But what is up is down and left is right, so beware the Hail from the Previous Storm. They know not the harmony of life, but can learn. Sing the song of fire and ice; opposites attract and work best together while learned skills can be an asset. Prepare to do what needs to be done for Harmony and Melody need to be tuned, Storm Child.

"Keep me near," he continued singing, "for even though we are worlds apart, I am closer than you think."

"I don't understand!" Harry repeated.

"Vuurvliegje speaks the truth," a new voice spoke up. Harry felt a presence at his back, and the scent of flowers overpowered the musky dirt smell of the forest. Somehow Harry knew he shouldn't turn around. "Take his words to heart. You remember them, right?"

"Of course!" Harry replied.

"Good. Wake up."

Harry opened his eyes.

At first he wasn't completely sure what he was looking at, as he only vaguely remembered getting to Cloud's room last night and throwing up. Scowling, Harry tried to remember more. He had been drinking with Reno…the two of them had somehow ended up back at Seventh Heaven. Cloud had gotten them up to his room.

He'd thrown up.

Harry continued scowling at the intricate pattern of the sheets he was under until he vaguely remembered brown eyes and being cold. The swirling pattern on the sheets reminded him of that one purple drink he had thrown back and groaned.

Wait…

Harry sat up, a bit too quickly as his head swam briefly, and habitually ran his finger up his nose to push his glasses up to where they should sit. There was no resistance.

"What?!" Astonished, Harry realized that he was seeing perfectly fine without his glasses for the first time in his life. He looked at his hands. It was so different without his glasses.

He could see the cracks and scars on his hands from dry skin and various potions mishaps and battles he'd been in. His most recent scar, from when Voldemort had broken his hand, despite whatever Cloud had done with the materia, was stark white against his slightly tanned skin. He flexed it experimentally and was enraptured with how he could see his muscles ripple under his skin; could see the tendons and blood vessels, something that had been too subtle for his thick glasses and poor eyesight to pick up before.

Something moving at the edges of his vision made him start, and Harry laughed when it was only the curtains moving in the breeze. Peripheral vision; something that was just as clear and crisp as his forward sight, it was something that made Harry deliriously happy.

He could see.

He could see normally. He didn't have to rely on glasses anymore. Harry laughed again. This would make fighting Voldemort so much easier. He wouldn't have to worry about his glasses being knocked off in battle. After he got home, the Death Eaters, Voldemort, Dumbledore, and the Ministry wouldn't know what hit them!

He wondered if how he remembered his friends and comrades would change. With how sharp his vision was now, would Hermione's hair be as bushy as it was? Would Ron's freckles be more distinct and not seem like they covered his whole face? Would Draco be just as ethereal?

A tingling sensation ran up his spine, as if someone were watching him, and Harry glanced around the room, noting it was only just him there. Looking up, the Gryffindor saw someone he vaguely remembered hanging on the ceiling watching him in surprise and curiosity.

"Good morning," Harry greeted, sly smile on his face.

Yuffie had been taking care of him, unbeknownst to Harry, for the last day and a half. Tifa had got stuck up at the chocobo farm by a freak seasonal storm. The weird kid had come in and out of consciousness, mumbling nonsense in some lyrical, cadenced language. If she hadn't been such an awesome ninja, she might have been freaked out, but as she was an awesome, and a princess, it was just another day at the office.

What was slightly creeping her out was the knowing, kinda glowing, green eyes the kid had that were staring at her as if he had known all along she had been there…

Yuffie wondered if the kid had met Vincent yet. They both did that creepy I Knew You Were There The Whole Time Stare like it was a skill they were born with. Maybe it was a skill they were born with and if that was so, Yuffie was going to be extremely irritated.

"Morning kiddo!" Yuffie said with a flourish as she spun from the ceiling and landed gracefully on the balls of her feet. "What'ch want for breakfast? I hope it's nothing complicated because I can't really cook."

Harry made a face at that proclamation. "Maybe I should cook breakfast then."

"Kids don't cook," Yuffie admonished. "As the one in charge, I'm doing the cooking!"

"Kid?" Harry echoed. "How old do you think I am?"

"…thirteen?" Yuffie guessed. She had no idea quite frankly.

"I'm sixteen!" Harry blurted. "How in Merlin's beard do you get thirteen?!" He threw the blankets off of him and made his way over to the dresser that Cloud said had clothes for him in it. Changing his clothes into something much more comfortable, he glared one more time at Yuffie who was muttering to herself in what seemed a different language before heading downstairs to the kitchen. The footsteps behind Harry told him that Yuffie was following him.

"What do you usually eat for breakfast?" Harry asked as he looked through cupboards and generally familiarized himself with the layout of Tifa's kitchen.

"Whatever the servants make or I buy," Yuffie said as if this was common to most of the populace.

"Servants?"

"Didn't anyone tell you about me?" Yuffie asked, shocked.

"…That you're Yuffie and to make sure I have nothing of worth to take on my person," Harry informed her.

"I'm Princess Yuffie Kisaragi, Heir to the Blessed Leviathan Throne of Wutai."

"That's cool," Harry said after a moment. "I'm heir to Lord Black and Lord Potter."

"Cool!" Yuffie chirped. "Breakfast?"

"Quiche?" Harry asked as he pulled some leftovers out of the fridge.

"Sounds good!" Yuffie said with a smile.

"You have no idea what that is, do you?" Harry asked as he started making pastry for the crust.

"Nope!"

Harry gave her a smile. "Well, I hope you like it."

Cloud opened his eyes to an absolute lack of sound; something that hadn't happened to him since he had been a child and a terrible thundersnow had suddenly broke over the ridge and stormed across his small home town. It was unnerving in its stillness. Sitting up in the bed he had rented from Innkeeper Hautula, Cloud then realized that he was somewhat chilled, something he also hadn't experienced in a long time. Not since Before.

Groaning, Cloud stood up and stretched, still wondering at the silence.

Then he remembered the storm.

He knew storms could be vicious from living in the Nibel Mountains, but the one that had threatened and then broke was anything to rival what he grew up with. With the strong gusts of wind, Cloud had been thankful that he had reached Icicle fine. The receiver of the package was most thankful, and seemingly surprised, when Cloud had knocked on her door and delivered the package. Smiling shyly, she had thanked him and told him to get indoors "quick right as no southern goer would be liking the weather in the near future."

Cloud had then promptly gone to the Inn, gotten a room from Old Hautula, then fell asleep.

Just how long had he been sleeping?

He glanced at the clock on his mantel. It was flashing bright green numbers. So the power went out. So why did he not hear anything? He took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled a cloud of frost. He smelled cold; biting, unrelenting cold. He stood from his bed, and heard ice crystals break and fall to the ground in a series of musical tinkles. Cloud watched it all happen as if it wasn't happening to him. He shuddered, and wasn't sure if it was from the cold or foreboding. The quiet he permeated everything, heavy in its silence, and the blond SOLDIER had a sudden urge to leave. He had no idea how long he had slept, but it was long enough.

He checked his phone and saw several missed calls, most from Tifa, one from Yuffie and one from Red. Gathering what little he had taken out of his bag when he had purchased the room for the night, Cloud opened his voicemail and began playing, not bothering putting it on speaker. He didn't get far into the first message, and Tifa's much too happy voice tinged in concern, before the phone beeped and died.

"Three days," Cloud murmured to himself. It took three days for his phone battery to die. That means that he had to have been sleeping for one or two, since it had taken him about a full day to get from Edge to Icicle. Shaking his head to try and clear it, Cloud left his room intent on getting back to the Eastern Continent as soon as possible.

Cloud opened his door and his danger sense spiked. It was just as still in the rest of the Inn as it had been in his room. No noise, no vague sound of movement through walls that his enhanced hearing always brought him. It was worse than the catacombs under the Shin-Ra Mansion when they had traveled there to free Vincent. At least there he could hear the monsters skittering away and water dripping somewhere.

Get yourself something to eat, Cloud, a voice ghosting through his head whispered.

I don't have time, Cloud replied. I need to leave.

It wasn't until he got to the first floor that Cloud thought he heard...something. Making his way towards the front door, he realized that everything was dark. His phone had said it was mid morning before it died, so there was no reason for the lack of light. If he hadn't been enhanced, he probably would have noticed the darkness sooner. Upon reaching the front door, Cloud pulled it open to be greeted by a wall of snow and louder, muffled voices.

"Hello?" Cloud queried through the snow.

"I hear someone!" a young voice shouted.

"Don' worry! We're diggin' ya out!" an older man's voice called loudly enough to be heard clearly. Looking around the entry way, Cloud saw a snow shovel and started digging from his side. After a time, he broke through the dense snow and the light made him flinch before his enhanced eyesight got used to the bright light.

A young face poked through the small hole, smiled at him, before shouting, "Watch out!" and before Cloud knew what was happening, he was covered in snow and holding a young child. The kid's gray eyes scrunched up as the kid laughed, briefly apologized, before he tore off with his snow shovel to the next house with his friends. An older man, whom Cloud assumed was the one who had yelled to him, walked up to him, shaking his head.

"Sorry about Danvers," The older man said, blond hair, very similar to his own, regarding him with vague concern. Seeing that Cloud was fine, he continued, "The kid's 'ave all been right locked up fer days, with the storm that went through. Lost power sometime yesterday and us folk got worried about the older gen'ration. Had the kids dig out the Inn before sending 'em off ta dig out the rest of the town, right.

"Name's Ari, by the way."

"Cloud," the exSoldier introduced.

"Yup, know that," Ari replied. "You know if Old Man Hautula survived the storm? We already have three deaths accounted for. Bad storm, bad storm."

"I didn't think to look," Cloud replied, looking back in the Inn.

"It's alright if'n ye didn't," Ari replied. "He was old, knew he was old, and kept talking about leaving the Inn to 'is grandson. Danvers is his twice great grandson."

Cloud just blinked. What do you say to that?

Ari just laughed. "Most people have that same reaction."

Cloud gave a tentative smile, before frowning. The storm had to have dumped a good five feet of snow with up to seven foot wind blown snowbanks. The Inn, being against a hill, was veritably buried. Literally.

"I haven't seen snow like this since I was a kid," he murmured absently as he retraced his steps. Where was his bike buried?

"Ah, used to snow then?" Ari asked as he led Cloud around the Inn.

"Nibelheim," Cloud replied.

"Ack! Thundersnows!" Ari then said something in a lilting language and spit on the ground. "You're right about snow, but your side of Gaia is vicious in winter. We just get cold and the occasional storm like this; happens at least three times a season."

They came around the corner of the Inn to see the blue tarp that Cloud had thrown over Fenrir as it had started to snow a few days back. Before the storm had actually picked up. When the show was still picturesque and the sun could be seen through the storm clouds.

Cloud suppressed a shiver.

Ari helped Cloud pull the tarp off. Cloud probably could have done it himself, but would have gotten snow on his bike. Ari informed him that they had had the kids dig the thing out, but wouldn't let them take the snow off. "Wouldn't want them to get ideas," Ari had said as he brushed the tarp off and folded it. Cloud had stowed it in a compartment before starting the bike and just letting it run. Ari had continued to talk, reminding Cloud painfully of his childhood, but he paid the man little attention as he checked to make sure the fluids didn't freeze.

"Looks like you're ready to go," Ari said, finally breaking through Cloud's mental fog.

"Indeed," Cloud replied. "I'll see you again if I have any deliveries up this way."

"Summer's are nice if ye have the time to visist," Ari said. He stepped back and, with a final wave, Cloud but his bike in gear and headed off. The wind was icy cold and this time, he couldn't prevent the shiver that wracked his body. Changing gears, Cloud sped away from Icicle as fast as he dared. He needed to get back to Edge.

"You're sure your fine?" Tifa asked again over the receiver. She had taken a few of the orphans up to the Chocobo Ranch that were interested in animal husbandry but a sever summer storm had caused a lot of damage to the area and they were staying around to help with repairs to the farm.

"Yes Tifa," Harry assured her. "I'm feeding the kids, making sure there are easy leftovers for them to use the microwave, the bar still has the closed sign up, and nothing's been set on fire or broken."

"If you're sure," She replied. It was obvious that she didn't believe him, but hardly anyone ever believed him when it came to adults. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Harry replied. "My fever broke and I'm taking it easy; just cooking. Red thinks it might have been something residual from when Cloud found me."

"The bridge that was washed out should be repaired today or tomorrow," she told him. "I'll call tomorrow to let you know when we'll be returning."

"Sounds good," Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. Merlin, he should have let Yuffie answer the phone like she had begged to do.

After exchanging good bye's, Harry veritably slammed the receiver in its cradle and sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair. If there was one thing he had to pick that annoyed him more than the snoring in the boy's dormitory, it was adults that treated him like a child. Swearing to himself, Harry made his way to the kitchen, thinking of something to cook.

The one downfall of being the oldest orphan at Seventh Heaven was the younger kids instinctively looked to him for care. He couldn't just morph into Kam-t or Neshshu and run around Edge and Midgar. The DA was more self sufficient than these orphans were. He had been more self sufficient at their ages.

Magic might have helped a bit with that, a little voice said in his head.

"And it wasn't like I had to survive yearly attempts on my life," Harry said to no one in particular.

The kids just seemed to Know when food was ready. They would come trickling in and sit around the tables in the bar as Harry set everything out. They had some order amongst themselves, and when Harry gave the okay, formed a line and got their food. When he was cleaning up after lunch, the Gryffindor was surprised when Reno of all people showed up.

"Sup?" he asked with a grin that just spoke of trouble. His green eyes still glowed a bit, but not as much as they had the night the two of them had gone out drinking.

Harry gave him a scowl. "Tifa's stuck up at the Chocobo Ranch with some kids, I'm here taking care of the rest of them since Yuffie's useless. Red's in and out and helps when he's here."

"Cloud?" Reno asked, a bit too blasé.

"Don't know," Harry replied as he put the last dish in the dish drain that hadn't fit in the dishwasher. "He wasn't here when I woke up."

Reno sighed. The Turk watched Harry as he wiped down the kitchen table where he had been cooking, before going out into the bar and wiping down the tables that he had fed the kids at. Reno followed him out to the bar and watched, lighting a cigarette.

"Ya wanna break?" Reno queried.

Harry just looked at him, wary at the offer.

Reno shrugged. "Jus' sayin'." He blew smoke. "Yer a kid too n' ya probably wanna do stuff."

"I told Tifa nothing was broken or set on fire," Harry slowly replied. "Don't make me a liar."

Reno grinned.

Harry went up to his room. He wanted to meditate and touch base with his animagus forms. Settling down on his bed, he fell into his magic. He was vaguely aware of the kids coming back and Reno giving them whatever leftovers they wanted for dinner, and him swearing at them that they couldn't have cake and ice cream for dinner, did they think he was stupid?

Harry smiled at the question as he fell deeper into himself, all noise of the outside fading. His pathways seemed fine. Where the Green had carved new ones or expanded old ones, those still seemed a little bruised. His recent transformations probably hadn't helped that, but Harry had needed the escape.

He was jarred from his meditation by a loud, shrieking crash.

Running into the hallway, Harry saw that the kids were occupied with Nanaki and Yuffie playing some pretend game. Making his way down the stairs, he saw Reno bolt out of the bar, the smell of alcohol and smoke about him. Harry beat the redhead to the door, and froze for a moment.

Fenrir was on its side, still growling and rumbling. Cloud was laying still in the backyard.

"Reno, turn the motorcycle off!" Harry yelled as he went to check on Cloud. The growling and engine sounds soon stopped as the Turk turned the bike off and walked it into the shed that Cloud usually kept the machine in.

Harry rolled Cloud over and was surprised by how brightly his blue eyes were glowing. He hadn't realized Reno was done with the motorcycle until he heard swearing behind him.

"Shit! He's burnin' mako."

"What?" Harry replied.

"When Soldiers are in adverse conditions too long," Reno began to explain as he made sure Cloud was breathing without touching him and he wasn't bleeding from anywhere, "they go beyond the body's normal reserves and start burning Mako. Mako's what makes 'em Soldier."

"His leg is at an odd angle," Harry said. "And there's blood in his hair."

Reno finished his cigarette. "I know. Was wonderin' if he was gonna get violent if I try ta fix 'im."

"Why would he do that?" Harry asked, looking at Cloud.

Reno threw the cigarette on the ground and ground the butt with the heel of his boot. "He's not exactly conscious. Running more on instinct than anything. He'll feel bad if he hurts either of us when he comes back to himself.

"Grab his head," Reno said. "I'll try and fix his leg."

It was a good plan, but as soon as Harry's hands touched Cloud's face, blue eyes snapped open and hands came up almost too fast for Harry to dodge. Reno sent a bolt of lighting from his EMR to next to Cloud, except the blond was now standing, put more of his weight on his uninjured leg, as he held out two smaller pieces of his sword. Reno made his way between Harry and Cloud, watching as the exSoldier shook his head and blinked violently, trying to focus on what was in front of him.

"He's freezing cold," Harry said softly as Cloud took a small, half-limping step forward.

"I need ta see ta his leg before his body heals it wrong," Reno muttered. "Oi! Idiot! Lemme see what's wrong with ya!"

"Reno!" Harry hissed. He didn't want to show his abilities to the Turk, but if Cloud attacked...

"Reno? Harry?" Cloud queried before slumping back to the ground with a moan.

Reno gave Harry a smile before clipping his EMR to his belt and going to Cloud. Harry followed. Now that Cloud was aware of himself, Reno and Harry could get a better idea of Cloud's injuries.

"Looks like ya cracked a bone and dislocated your knee," Reno said as he examined Cloud's leg through a tear in his pants. "Don't feel like a compound fracture."

"You might have a concussion," Harry added as he looked through Cloud's hair and found several large bumps and extensive bruising.

"I think I crashed three times," Cloud said in a dreamy tone.

"You crashed?" Reno said, disbelief colouring his voice.

"I'm cold," Cloud replied.

Reno felt Cloud's arm, then his face and neck. The fighter's temperature was indeed much lower than the norm for people, and considering that Soldiers ran at a temperature higher than the norm, this was very worrying.

"What did you do, sleep under the stars in Icicle?" Reno asked, feeling around Cloud's swollen knee.

Wincing, Cloud replied, "Big storm hit and power went out. Hadn't slept for a while so I just...slept. Cold woke me up."

Reno frowned before repositioning himself and wrenching his hands in different directions. Cloud swore and started talking in some cadenced, guttural language. Blue glowing eyes glared darkly at the Turk.

Reno just shrugged. "Knee was dislocated. Lets get you inside and cleaned up."

Harry helped Reno get Cloud situated before heading to open the door. The Turk took him to the bathroom to give him a warm shower to try and raise his body temperature and clean some of the blood off. Harry nodded, and went to Cloud's room. Glancing back at the door to make sure no one was there, he fished his wand out of his belongings and duplicated the mattress for him to sleep on in the corner. Reno would probably want the cot so he could be closer to Cloud.

Harry was just finishing putting extra blankets on the bed when Reno stumbled in with a towel wrapped Cloud.

"Fuck! I forgot how heavy you are!"

"Don't be worried, I'll be fine," Cloud said, still in that dreamy tone.

Harry turned down the covers and Reno got Cloud into bed. Cloud started humming and muttering something in that guttural language of his.

"He's runnin' a fever now," Reno said. "I don't think I've ever seen 'im sick."

"What did he mean by worried?" Harry replied.

Reno huffed. "I've been told by coworkers that when I get...emotional...I lose my Slum drawl.

"Ya know where Tifa keeps her materia?"

Harry thought his drawl was slowly coming back. Whatever schooling he must have had on his job must not have stuck all the way if he couldn't keep his accent away. "Nope," he said to Reno's question.

Reno swore as he stormed out of Cloud's room, muttering something about the bar. Harry watched him go, and pulled the red, gold and orange coloured materia that had once been dull gray out of his pocket.

"Let's see if this works," Harry said to himself as Cloud was wrapped up in his humming. Holding the materia in his hand, Harry placed it against Cloud's leg before thinking of the bird he had seen in his dream; a phoenix similar to Fawkes but larger with a more dominating presence about him. Harry thought of the feeling of being healed by a phoenix, and pulled the magic out of the materia as if he were casting a spell.

Cloud sighed in relief.

"Couldn't find one," Reno said, coming back into the room. "Tifa must've taken it with her. I set the bone in the bathroom, he slipped and it fractured, so s'long as 'e doesn't walk on it, he'll be fine. His body'll've healed it by t'morrow."

"You're not staying?" Harry asked reluctantly.

"Can't kid," Reno replied, pulling out his box of smokes. "Got work from th' Boss. He'll be mad I detoured 'ere ta begin with. Ya good?"

"I'll be fine," Harry replied, watching as Cloud rolled over and pulled he blankets over his head. Going over to the cot that was now free, Harry took the blankets from the pallet he had created and settled down. He hoped the night was going to uneventful.

Rehkit glared in the way that only raptors could, and in that particular way of falcons. She was extremely large for a hobby, just about the size of a Peregrin Falcon, and Draco just wrote it off as her being a magical counterpart to the muggle recognized species. She had calmed down enough for Draco to remove her hood. During his story, he had tied her jesses to a perch that was just for her, she wouldn't share owl perches for some reason, by his chair.

"And I just wanted to go rabbit hunting with you," Draco said to the bird as he took a sip of water from a glass the House Elves had seen fit to bring part way through his telling. Rehkit gave a worried chirrup, but Draco shushed her and ran his fingers through her feathers. He wasn't sure if at this point it was to sooth the bird or himself, but it was calming either way.

Vuurvliegje felt his power being drawn on. Fawkes saw him stiffen, but he told the younger bird that it was no concern of his, and he seemed to take it at face value. Vuurvliegje, however, was not happy. There was a disturbance, he could feel it. He wasn't sure if it was on this world, or his own, as where he was was rife with war as his was just settling from it. He trilled a song that caused Fawkes to shift in agitation.

The two birds launched into the air and circled the room, still singing, before diving into the fireplace and disappearing in a small explosion of fire.

"That was dramatic," Neville said.

"They're only doing what they think is necessary," Luna said.

"We should get the others and have a meeting," Hermione said as she looked at her notes from what Firefly had told them. "It's close to dinnertime anyway. I can't see them playing Quidditch indefinitely."

"I'll get Sirius," Draco said.

The rest broke off to head to Dinner, sending a Patronus off to different areas with the message of Dinner and a meeting afterwards.

In the Other Plane, where magical animals and cats traversed, Fawkes and Vuurvliegje were having a disagreement. Fawkes was trying to get Vuurvliegje to go to his wizard, the one he had a familiar bond with. The older phoenix wanted to hunt and see to this Sirius character.

"We have to go to Dumbledore!" Fawkes kept saying. "You'll like him. He's very aware of the happenings of the Wizarding world and can help you with your quest."

"I don't have a quest," the older phoenix said. "I have a duty."

"I really think you should come," Fawkes said, the suggestion leaving and becoming more demanding. "We can help."

"Enough!" Vuurvliegje finally said. "Who do you think you are, fledgeling, to order me around and make demands? Me, who's several millenia old?"

Fawkes looked chastened, feathers slick to his body.

"You will speak to no one of me," Vuurvliegje commanded with a hiss, hackles raised and feather puffed out. "I will do as I please!"

And with that, Vuurvliegje disappeared in an explosion of fire and song and Fawkes returned to Grimmauld Place, where the Order that had been founded under his name was having its own meeting.

posted 25January2015