New Tiers on Patr-on!

Tier 1 - Access Next Weeks Chapters in Advance, Tier 2 - Access Remaining Chapters of Ongoing Volume (1-45), Tier 3 - Access Volume 2 - Triwizard Tournament

Get the link to my page in the Synopsis. (/UnravelNNA)

Enjoy!

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The winter vacations were relaxing and enjoyable, other than the part where Howard Stark learned that they were the ones that were giving SHIELD so much trouble by stealing Military Tools, among other things.

Nevertheless, knowing that the goal was to ensure that the Shapeshifting Skrulls left their planet, he was at peace. The last thing that interested Howard was magic and Keyblades. One he could analyze ever so slightly, the other he had no idea.

Once the vacations were over, they returned to Hogwarts with a much lighter heart. They had decided that they wouldn’t overthink and deal with the circumstances.

Cloud also stopped giving the speculation of the voices another thought about Dumbledore, other Professors, and whatever was going on in Hogwarts and focused more on studying.

Recently, things seemed to be going well, they had an alien scientist and another that was the best humanity had to offer. Each of them was working in their way.

“You look so much better,” Aerith rested her head on his lap, though he put the book on her face, the one he was reading.

“You can tell,” Cloud turned the page, “I do feel better.”

“What happened?”

Cloud stopped in the middle of turning the page, hesitating, “I was scared…and so…I thought…I wondered if listening to the voices is the best way to protect you two.”

“Maybe it is…maybe it’s not. I don’t know…but then I had lost my strength…and I wanted to do everything I could to make sure you two were safe. Now though…you two know magic…and with the abilities that Tifa has…she might even be stronger than me.”

He rested his head on the couch, “Jenova’s problem is all but solved…with those two, or there must be a solution in the universe.”

Cloud looked away, wondering, ‘Or a place where I can’t hurt anyone.’

“So…I am not interested in all this anymore,” Cloud turned the book’s page.

Aerith pulled away, pulled her head out from under the book, resting on it, “Not interested?”

“No.”

“What about Quidditch?”

“When I feel like it.”

“What about studying?”

“I’ll get by.”

“What about making love to me?”

Cloud parted his lips to answer, realizing what he was answering, and shot a look at her, “Grow up.”

Aerith puffed her cheeks, “Almost had you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did,” Aerith closed her eyes, letting him read the book. Tifa had a class that they weren’t attending. They made their schedule, so all three took as many classes as possible and different classes, sharing what they learned with each other.

So it was rare that all three of them had free time unless it was breakfast, lunch, or after dinner.

A few more days passed, and they ignored everything suspicious that was going on, and they felt strangely relieved.

“Hagrid,” Aerith waved her hand the following day; the three were jogging, doing their morning training, when she noticed Hagrid act weirdly.

Hagrid looked back, and the moment he saw them, he was like a deer in front of the headlight, running away with his hands folded.

“That’s…rude….” Aerith muttered, and her eyes started glowing.

“What happened?” Tifa stopped beside her, looking towards Hagrid, who was running away.

“Don’t know?”

Tifa confusedly tilted her head, watching Cloud jog past them, “Cloud.”

“Not interested.”

Tifa parted her lips in surprise, chuckling, “Well, we are, and we are going to see what that was about. Join us?”

Cloud stopped, taking a deep breath, looking over his shoulder, “Do we have to?”

“Yes,” Aerith started pushing him, her nose touching his back, and she sniffed him.

“Are you sniffing me?”

“No, I am not,” Aerith brazenly lied, and Cloud started walking faster to get away from her, only for Aerith to walk even faster.

He dodged her, patting her cheek, pushing her away, “Stay a step away from me.”

“Please,” Aerith rolled her eyes, turning around and hugging the girl who was laughing. She sniffed her, “Tifa’s good too.”

Tifa hastily got away from her, maintaining distance, “Eri! Stop that!”

She hastily backed away, colliding against Cloud’s chest, who sniffed her neck.

“No. Mine’s better.”

“CLOUD!!” Tifa backed away from him as the blush climbed on her chest, neck, face, and ears.

Aerith grinned, “Let me compare!”

“Both of you! Stop right this instant, or I will get mad!”

Aerith giggled, and a supressed smile appeared on Cloud’s face as they walked towards Hagrid’s Hut.

Tifa patted her cheeks in embarrassment, “Sometimes you two go too far!”

Aerith gently hugged Cloud, “Cloud, whose scent is better? Mine or Tifa’s?”

“Mine,” Cloud didn’t even take a whiff, answering her question.

“You,” Aerith wrinkled her nose, and they soon reached Hagrid’s Hut.

“Hagrid!!” Looking at the curtained windows, Aerith tilted to the side, banging on the door.

“Shh!! Shhh!!!” Hagrid opened the door, looking at both sides, calling her and the other two in.

Aerith peeked in and was surprised as she entered, and the two followed, only to find three more inside.

“Wearisome Trio is here,” Cloud whispered, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

“Wearisome…Trio?” Hermione blinked, counting Harry, Ron, and herself, “Don’t give people weird nicknames!”

“It’s not weird. You always get in trouble,” Cloud pointed at her, “Troll.”

Cloud pointed towards Harry, “That one almost fell from his Broom and got killed. For which I am being blamed still. Even after Dumbledore’s declaration and awarding me points.”

He glanced towards Ron, “I find it strange…but you might be the only one that hasn’t gotten into trouble. But your brothers are troublesome.”

"I am not my brothers!"

“I am sorry about that,” Harry scratched his head, apologizing.

Cloud glanced towards the Egg on the table, “We are leaving.”

“Oh please,” Aerith grinned, stepping forward to look at the Egg, “What is this?”

“Is that a Dragon Egg? Isn’t having a Dragon against the law?” Tifa glanced towards Cloud, who was leaning against the door.

“I said the same thing,” Hermione nodded, beratingly looking towards Hagrid, who ignored it in excitement.

“It’s coming out,” Hagrid watched as cracks appeared on the egg, and clicking noise came from the inside. Seeing a Dragon hatch was a new experience, one that none of them had before.

The egg trembled, and deep cracks appeared before the egg split open. A baby dragon flopped on the table, and it wasn’t pretty.

It looked like a crumbled black umbrella, with spiny wings bigger than its body, horns, and orange eyes. It sneezed, and sparks flew out of its mouth.

“Isn’t he beautiful,” Hagrid muttered, stroking its head, and it snapped, showing his pointed fangs.

“Bless him, look, he knows his mommy.”

“I doubt what showing you its fang means,” Cloud narrowed his eyes, watching the dragon.

Hermione cleared her throat, “How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow?”

Cloud glanced towards the window, and Hagrid jumped to his feet, with color drained from his face.

“Someone! Someone was lookin’ through the gaps in the curtain!”

Harry ran towards the door, and Cloud had already opened the door, observing him run out, “Which one?”

“Malfoy,” Harry muttered.

Cloud sighed, looking at Tifa and Aerith from over his shoulder, “See? Troublesome Trio, they are.”

“Hagrid’s the one who is in trouble,” Hermione protested, though there wasn’t any strength behind her protest. Since the only way Malfoy even knew how to look was because they were arguing loudly about it in the hallways.

Cloud stepped out the door, “Have fun dealing with this mess.”

“So rude,” Hermione muttered, looking worriedly at Hagrid.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll help you out,” Aerith grinned.

And so a week passed, and the little dragon had grown to the size of Hagrid’s palm, and everyone but Cloud was taking care of it, one by one.

Though the main trouble was how to get rid of them, it was decided that Charlie would help them since he had been taking care of dragons.

Cloud decided not to go when on Saturday, they decided to ship the dragon for most parts. He slowly fell asleep, but the following day, everything seemed different.

He stood in front of the giant hourglass, hearing the murmurs of students beside him who realized the same thing, “Minus 150 points?”

“Those idiots,” Cloud murmured, holding the books as he walked to his next class. By the time his first class was over, the rumors about Harry Potter, his two friend’s night trip, and the loss of a hundred and fifty points spread throughout the classes.

He met with Tifa and Aerith, whom he hadn’t seen anywhere during breakfast, sitting down beside Angelina, “You two managed to not get caught.”

Angelina blinked, wondering if he was talking to her, and then realized what he meant. She hastily turned her eyes towards her two friends, “Were you two out last night too?!”

“Shh,” Tifa put her finger on her lips, pleading her not to be so loud, and nodded.

“Why?!” Angelina furiously glared at them, “150!! We were winning, and now we are in the last place!”

“Sorry,” Tifa clasped her palms together while Aerith looked away, nibbling on her food.

“They didn’t get caught,” Cloud unexpectedly defended them, “Moreover, when we win the Quidditch Cup. We’ll have 150 points.”

“We’d still lose! They’d get points too, you know,” Angelina muttered.

“She’s right. We are so going to lose,” Lee sat down listlessly, “And all of it was going so well.”

Cloud ignored the stink eye he got from Aerith and had lunch.

Once they were done with lunch, they walked to their next class, the one they had together.

“That wasn’t fair! Complaining to Angelina.”

“That reminds me…how did you two manage to safely make it out?”

Tifa leaned forward, looking at him with a smile, “Curious?”

“No. Just asking.”

“So you are curious,” Tifa chuckled, “Well, they forgot the Invisibility Cloak, and we went to pick it up. Though, by the time we reached downstairs….”

“They had been caught?” Cloud said, looking up at the corridor, “Feels unreal…who forgets something as important as the Invisibility Cloak? How stupid can they be?”

He walked a few steps realizing they were quiet, “You are not defending them? Or Hermione, to say the least?”

“No, that was…that is…undefendable,” Aerith sighed, “Even I can’t find it in my heart to make excuses.”

“That’s true.”

For the next few weeks, the Troubled Three got the same treatment as Cloud, though he didn’t take any pleasure from it. He didn’t practice, but even Fred and George treated Harry with a slight chill.

“I dislike it….” Cloud muttered, gazing at the sky, seemingly dull in his eyes.

“The sky?”

“No, the atmosphere in the school. It’s annoying, nothing like what it used to be in the past few years. It’s as if the tone has changed with Harry’s arrival.”

Aerith shrugged, “That’s true to some extent. Let’s hope things would get better soon.”

“Exams are coming soon,” Cloud’s eyes followed Tifa, flying through the sky.

“Opps,” Aerith grinned, resting her head on his shoulder, “I guess the school’s mood is going to take another dive.”

“Let’s hope not,” Cloud closed his eyes, thinking about the exams which soon started. It was easy for them, not because they had studied in advance but simply because they had studied that much.

That night, he felt someone crawl into his bed, making him open his eyes, “Aerith?”

“I could be Tifa too?”

“She’s bigger.”

“Idiot Cloud,” Aerith raised her body, looking into his eyes, “Cloud…did you know someone has been killing Unicorn in the Forest?”

“No….”

“That thing was drinking their blood.”

“Hm. Wasn’t there a strong curse on their blood?”

“Yes, only someone who truly has nothing to lose would do something so sinful.”

“So?”

“The Centaurs think it’s that guy. The One Who Must Not be Named.”

“You mean Vo—”

Aerith placed her fingers on his lips, “Cloud, fear alone isn’t enough to make people not say his name. I fear there might be a curse on it, so let’s try and not say it before we know why others didn’t?”

“Ok. So this guy… he’s alive and drinking Unicorns blood. Do you want to stop it?”

“I found out too late. I only heard of it from Hermione and then went to check the forest.”

“So, it’s gone?”

“No, Cloud. It’s here,” Aerith sat up, “I can’t sense Professor Dumbledore’s magic…he’s either in hiding, or he has left, and I have a bad feeling about it all.”

“Bad feeling?” Cloud sat up, “The Stone.”

“Right. The only thing that could revive him and free him of this curse. He’s here for it.”

“You said Hermione told you about it?”

Aerith pressed her lips, “They are probably on their way.”

“Oh boy,” Cloud slumped his head, “Where’s Tifa?”

“She might be ahead of us…to make sure everyone comes out safe.”

Cloud lay down on the bed, “We had known this for months…other than the part that he was so weak that he drank Unicorns blood—that was unexpected.”

“Ask Tifa to come back and sleep. Not like that thing could hurt Harry…not with that spell on him.”

“What about Ron and Hermione,” Aerith tilted her head, blinking.

Cloud slowly opened his eyes, “Fine.”

Aerith grinned, watching him get out of the bed, wearing his boots before the two of them made their way to the Common Room. Just as they passed, they came across Neville, stiff and petrified.

“Dispel,” Cloud knelt beside him, asking Aerith. He could feel her magic, watching the petrification retreat from the boy’s body.

Neville abruptly sat up, gasping for breath, tears in his eyes, “I…I tried to stop them….”

Cloud looked away, uncomfortable with what he knew he should do. He sighed, patting his head, “You did well. Leave it to us now.”

Neville blinked tears, looking at his back as he felt, only to feel soft lips on his cheek, “You were courageous. Good job. Neville.”

Neville’s face flushed red, his head swirling, and he fell to the floor, petrified, not by magic this time.

“There was no need for that.”

“What, could it be you are jealous?” Aerith blinked, grinningly.

Cloud glanced back at her, scrutinizing her, “Heh.”

“Hey! What does that mean?!” Aerith took offense, puffing her cheeks.

Cloud fixed his eyes to the front, going over to the Third Floor. While they were on the stairs, Aerith threatened to see it through later.

“It’s this door?” Cloud asked, even though he could sense the monster’s life force on the other side of this door. He opened it, watching Aerith nod and grab onto his clothes.

Though the moment they took the first step, the dog inside, that had been awakened, started barking.

Cloud held the door in place, looking at Aerith, wondering if she wanted to try soothing it.

“Fluffy has orders, and what I do isn’t an ability. It’s not that effective on Magical Creatures. Especially the grown-up ones,” Aerith whispered, looking at the dog, “Bad Fluffy.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Cloud forced open the door, even though the three-headed dog was pushing against it, barking. It tried to stop from opening, but the sheer force pushed Fluffy back. He summoned the Buster Sword, which appeared as a wand. A pitch-black wand with two holes at the base.

It backed away to gain more space before its three heads tried to bite him and her.

“STOP.”

It wasn’t a command, but a spell, one of the highest kind that wasn’t allowed. It was also a spell that originated in their world rather than this one.

A bright white ring appeared around Fluffy, bigger than even it. Much like a clock’s rim, the hand of a clock moved left until it was perpendicular to the rim. A spherical bubble appeared from the clock’s hand, covering fluffy, sealing him and the time around him.

“Hm, we are starting with big guns?” Aerith blinked, seeing Fluffy sealed. It was like he was inside a spherical glass cage with a white rim and a clock’s hand.

Cloud wiped the sweat from his cheek, holding the heavy wand in his hand, “We wouldn’t have to if I could kill it.”

“You’ll make Hagrid cry,” Aerith chuckled, climbing on Cloud, who summoned his other Keyblade that had taken the form of the broom. The two floated down.

“Lumos Maxima,” Aerith raised the wand, creating a bright flash that lightened the whole area, allowing them to see the trap.

“Oh! This one, I know! We need fire!”

“Ok,” Cloud waved his wand in a circle, and a blue fire came out from the tip, circling them. The vines withdrew, giving them the way to go down. This wasn't dark magic, this was magic that only he could do because of Jenova's cells. Those flames looked blue, but they were different.  

The two landed in the room with a locked door and numerous keys flying in the high, arched roof.

“A Lock and a Door?”

Cloud’s wand turned back into its original form, of the Keyblade, and he pointed it forward. A light came out from the tip, and a keyhole appeared in front of the door. He twisted it to one side, unlocking the door.

The Keyblade’s ability to lock or unlock wasn’t magic, but it was a Higher Grade. Conceptual even. It didn’t matter if there was magic on this door. Suppose it could be unlocked only by a specific key. It was all the same for the Keyblade.

Aerith clapped her hands, “Yay, awesome, Cloud. I knew you could do it.”

The two of them stepped into the next room, only to find a massive chessboard with broken pieces, “I have a feeling this is Tifa’s Handiwork.”

“Probably,” Cloud kept walking, ignoring the animated pieces that had started to move.

“Cloud?”

He knew she was talking about Ron, who was injured, lying on the side of the board, but he was alive.

“Keep walking,”

“Yes, Sir!” Aerith stuck to him, walking with him to the end of the room, through before they left the board, the white queen attacked them.

Aerith barely blinked, and she missed the moment that Cloud summoned the Keyblade from his right hand to left, transmuting it into Buster Sword and slashed the queen piece apart, breaking it.

When they reached the next room, a disgusting smell filled their nostril, forcing them to close their nose. They avoided the troll asleep with a lump on his head and entered the next room.

This time though, it wasn’t empty; two people were standing in front of the firey gate, one criticizing the other.

“Tifa!” Aerith waved her hand, running over, hugging her, “I brought Cloud!”

“Thank you,” Tifa hugged her back, relaxing now that all three of them were together.

“Why are you waiting outside?”

“I am not. I just came here, and well…there is this magic. Only one door would allow us to enter. Now that Eri is here…it’s a different story,” Tifa gestured towards the seven firey gates, and Aerith raised her wand. She puffed her chest out, “Leave it all to me!”

“But there was only one potion that could grant the entry,” Hermione shook her head, “Three are poison, and two are wine—”

“I have seen this,” Cloud muttered, “I think I can create a potion for entry, but then again. It’s not necessary.”

“Yes, as long as I am here,” Aerith grinned, shaking her wand, “Silence Maxima.”

A spherical room spread out in front of them, and the doors disappeared, revealing the path forward. It revealed the open door, the chambers, and a scene they weren’t expecting to find.