[Next Volume is available on my Patreon in advance.]

“A face behind the head,” Aerith whispered to Tifa, seeing Quirrell’s back and the face on the back of his head.

“Creepy, no wonder he always gave me the creeps,” Tifa rubbed her hands, tilting her head, looking at Harry, “You ok?”

Harry was stunned for a few moments, then he put his hand in his pocket, shocked to find that it wasn’t there anymore.

“Is this the so-called Sorcerer’s Stone?” Cloud held the stone in his hand. He raised his eyebrows, throwing them to Tifa, “Here. Can you analyze it?”

Tifa held the stone, using her Amalgamation Ability. This ability not only allowed her to merge two materials, but it allowed her to absorb them and merge them into her. To do that, she gained a basic understanding of the material and its nature.

“Kill them!!!” The face on the back hissed, and Quirrell turned around, taking out his wand, “Avada Kedavra!!”

Cloud raised his wand; unlike the other Wizards, his Enhanced Eyesight allowed him to see these jets of light that came out when one used Spells. It allowed him to counter these spells to the point that no one could say a spell-like this on him until they were face to face with him.

“Stupefy!” A red flash of light collided with the green one, and the two turned into beams colliding in the center, causing multiple colored sparks.

The two sparks were about to break apart when Aerith took out her wand, which turned into a staff that she slammed on the ground, “Haste.”

Blue clock rims appeared around Cloud and Tifa, turning like gears, faster and faster until they disappeared. The moment two spells that collided against each other had disappeared, Tifa waved her wand, “Expelliarmus!” “Stupefy!”

Their time, movement speed, thought process, everything had been hastened by the spell, which allowed them to attack him long before he even thought of attacking them.

The two didn’t stop there as they kept the barrage of spells.

“Confringo!” “Bombarda Maxima!”

Quirrell’s body lit the fire, and he started screaming, and the two exchanged a glance, pointing their wands forward, “Expulso!” “Expulso!”

Two blue lights left their wands, colliding right in front of Quirrell, creating a massive explosion that threw Harry and Hermionebackwards, leaving Aerith barely hanging on. Still, it also destroyed the burning fire, but it broke most of Quirrell’s bones, twisting his arms and legs and leaving him nearly dead.

“You!!! I will kill you!!” Voldemort hissed only to feel a smack on his face, and Quirrell’s body twitched.

“You talk too much,” Cloud used multiple Stupefy, interrupting him every time he tried to speak.

He stopped raising his wand with a flourish, “Fiend—!”

His eyes followed the black flash, slithering like a snake as it tried to run away. He could use this spell and stop him, but with such a damaging spell, and so many people around him, there might be collateral damage.

He stopped, letting go of his wand, which disappeared in the air, “So much for being the Dark Lord.”

Aerith proudly puffed her chest, “It’s all because of me.”

Cloud looked over to Tifa, who was using the time she had, and the Haste effects to analyze what she was holding in the palm of her hand, and nodded, “It is. Thank you.”

Aerith scratched her cheek, blushingly looking away in embarrassment, “Hehehe.”

“So…it’s over,” Hermione fell on her knees, gasping for breath, gazing at the chambers that were destroyed from their spell and the mangled, burnt body of the Professor that she wasn’t sure was alive or dead.

“Yes, it’s over,” Aerith patted her head, smiling at her, “Good job getting this far. Now we should get away before someone realizes we were even here.”

“I am afraid it’s too late for that. Miss Gainsborough.”

Aerith froze, realizing that a man with a long white beard was standing at the entrance, looking around the chambers, “Headmaster…Dumbledore.”

Dumbledore looked at Quirrell, turning his eyes towards Tifa before landing on the Sorcerer’s Stone, “Now. Miss Lockhart. If you don’t mind?”

“No, I don’t,” Tifa shook her head, placing it in the palm of his hand.

Dumbledore held the stone, looking at the five who stood before him, “Go back to your rooms, and I will deal with this. How does that sound?”

“Great,” Cloud nodded his head to the side, gesturing them to Tifa and Aerith to get out of here with him while Hermione and Harry hastily followed.

Harry had much to talk about with Dumbledore, but he decided to wait for it. They could finally breathe again once they were two or three chambers away.

“Thank you,” Harry looked down, thanking them, and Hermione said the same.

“We have the Final Match soon. I came to make sure that you are well enough to participate in it,” Cloud glanced back, “After all, you did manage to make sure we come last in the last place.”

“Right, that’s why we came,” Aerith blinked, naughtily smiling, “I thought it was because you were worried about Hermione, Ron, and Harry?”

“I was worried about Tifa.”

“Aw, Cloud. Thank you for coming to save me,” Tifa hugged his arm, chuckling.

“I don’t think you needed any saving,” Hermione muttered, looking toward Tifa with admiration.

“Never said I came to save her,” Cloud had a soft look in his eyes, “Just that I was worried about her.”

Tifa’s eyes softened, and a sweet smile appeared on her lips. She knew it was the moment she should kiss him, and she was about to, only to be interrupted by a scream.

“Oh No!!!!”

“What!” “What!”

Harry took a step back, getting a sharp glare from Hermione and Aerith, who saw the moment being spoiled.

He gulped, “We…we forgot Ron.”

“Oh, right! Ron!” Hermione covered her lips, only realizing that they had forgotten about him, “I thought something was nagging at the back of my mind ever since Aerith took Ron’s name!”

Cloud sighed, yawning, “I am going to bed.”

That night might have been restless for others, but when it came to Cloud? He had the best sleep he had in the whole year. Now, he didn’t have to worry about a demented creature roaming the corridors of Hogwarts. Or about whatever Dumbledore had planned for Harry Potter. Or the boy himself.

Now, he could lay in his bed and sleep without worrying about waking up in the morning and hearing the news of someone dying.

The next few days were exciting since the last match of the Quidditch Cup Finale was held, and unsurprisingly they won, gaining 150 Points.

It came as a surprise, but Gryffindor won Cup this year as well, and still, Dumbledore gave a few announcements, dishing out a few comments about Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

There wasn’t any mention of Tifa, Cloud, or Aerith, which reminded them of the talk they had a few days ago with Dumbledore.

“You three should know why I called you?”

“Not really,” Cloud leaned back on the chair, crossing his arms and legs.

Tifa pulled down his leg to avoid disrespect and asked, “Is it about the Third Floor?”

“Yes, and no. It’s about the fact that the three of you have mastered magic that is never before seen,” Dumbledore smiled, “I knew that Harry was going to face Voldemort. I had hoped for it. I knew that he should. But you three coming face to face with him was unexpected.”

“So Headmaster came running to save us? Thank you,” Aerith grinned.

“Oh, I wasn’t sure if you’d make it through the last hurdle but to think you would eradicate it. Was it the same magic you used on the Stands?”

“Yes.”

“And let me see, there was another that Stopped Time of Fluffy, the one you used to Unlock the Door, and another Time Magic that made you hasten your time. I’d say each and everyone was of them was fabulous,” Dumbledore smiled, “It saved you from the Killing Curse. Between you and me, the thought of that alone scared me.”

“It was all Aerith; these Spells are her creation,” Cloud poured all the credit on Aerith since he knew it would be hard to explain. It wasn’t easy to create time magic, and you’d need a lot of knowledge and research to create one, and they could be dangerous. Talent alone wasn’t enough to explain something like that, but Aerith was special. With her Cetra Blood and the abilities she got with those, it was possible to explain the magic.

Though in truth, all of these spells were the ones they used in their world through Materia. Since they were the conduits, they knew the feeling that using the spell left behind. Over time, they could replicate it to perform the same spell, and once they did it, it opened new doors for them.

“I see. You are even more talented than I thought, Miss Gainsborough. Yet, I must ask you this. Could you not use these spells in the public eye or register them?” Dumbledore politely asked.

“I know what I am asking of you, but as you saw…Voldemort is trying to come to power, and his people and followers are everywhere. With spells like those…if they got into the wrong hands, then we can’t be sure how much damage they will cause at such a delicate point.”

“We weren’t planning to,” Cloud said, “We don’t even plan on telling you how they work.”

“Haha, I have earned your ire because of what happened this year?”

“I couldn’t care less about what you do or how you do. Just remember. I won’t play your game anymore,” Cloud stood up to leave but stopped and sat back down, “He was weak. So why did you not kill him?”

“It’s not that I do not wish to kill him. Mr. Strife. But…he cannot be killed.”

“One of those,” Tifa murmured, glancing towards Cloud; there were a few that even they had faced. The ones that couldn’t be killed, like Jenova, Sephiroth.

“Yes, but it’s nothing to worry about. The three of you, alongside Mr. Potter, stopped Voldemort this time, and I am sure you or Wizards like you will stop him again and again.”

Cloud scoffed, and Tifa interlocked her finger with his, leaning forward, “Headmaster…would you mind us asking a few questions? To clear some things up?”

“It depends what you’d ask. Miss Lockhart.”

“The reason why you wanted Harry to face Dark Lord—”

“Call him Voldemort. I assume you do not fear him.”

Tifa smiled, shaking her head, “It’s not about fear. We do not wish to stand out more than we already do. What I wanted to ask was…the reason you wanted them to come face to face…is that Harry might be Voldemort’s nemesis? Or is it something else? Is it that mark?”

“Ah, perceptive,” Dumbledore nodded and smiled, “Let me ask you three this. Do you wish to fight against him? Voldemort or his forces? Or do you want to sit out?”

And that brought Cloud’s mind back to the feast they were having. He ate, and that night they rested again before taking the train back home.

In addition, Howard Stark had more than a few secret vaults that allowed them to get tools that allowed the process to speed up. With Tifa’s powers, they had cut down the time, a lot cut down ten years that would have taken to build a Spaceship.

They had barely stepped inside their own house before getting pulled down to the Lab, and what they faced was a spaceship with a slight inclination towards Kree’s but more like a Fighter Plane that was tens and tens of times larger than anything they had seen. Bigger than even an airplane.

“Will that do the job?”

“Yes. It will,” Howard breathed in, marveling at the spacecraft, narrowing his eyes, “With this. We should be able to go in space.”

“You are excited,” Cloud muttered. He had no interest in space, maybe because it seemed familiar to him. After all, Jenova was a creature used to traveling in space.

“You two do remember this one we have to give the Skrulls? Right?” Mar-Vell was relieved.

“Yes, and I am not against that,” Howard shrugged, “But we can get a few things from space. Enough to create a smaller craft for a few people, right?”

“What are you planning?”

Aerith leaned forward, leaning on Cloud’s shoulder, blinking, “Are you planning on going to Space?”

“Of course. Why not? We can’t use Kree Tech, doesn’t mean there aren’t others. It’s a good time to go and collect some. Techs would allow us to create more spaceships without going through so much trouble. How about mining tools? You want to mine the asteroids to make your money. You don’t want to create weapons. Those two. This will help us all.”

“Alright. Do whatever you wish,” Cloud shrugged, “Just a reminder…we have magic? We don’t need to mine asteroids in space. We can take them in the bags like we take the tanks and bring them here. They would be just rocks.”

He saw the realization dawning on Howard’s face, “Doesn’t matter. You can travel through space as much as you want.”

Howard followed him leave, curling his lips, “When did that boy start telling us what to do or not to do?”

“Always?” Wendy shrugged, “You are noticing it now? Not that I blame you. I wonder if he has noticed it.”

“Eh, probably not,” Aerith pressed her lips, “And Cloud doesn’t order us around. It’s just…his ideas are mostly good. Especially because he always thinks of us when making those decisions.”

Howard looked back at her, and a knowing smile appeared on his lips, “We’ll start preparing it for a trip.”

“Hey, what is that smile supposed to mean?”

She fumed, only to see Wendy smile at her and walk away.

“Not you too!”

Aerith slammed her feet, leaving the lab, going back up only to find Tifa setting up places, and Cloud was helping her while Maria brought the food.

“What has you so angry?”

“Don’t ask me? Howard and Wendy are teasing me,” Aerith sat down, and her mood soon took a turn, sniffing the food, “It’s so good. Sadly it would go to waste since they don’t plan on eating.”

“They don’t?”

“No, they plan to take the spacecraft on a trip.”

Maria put a bit of force when she put the bowl down, “Tifa, do you mind bringing other dishes? I want to have a word with my husband?”

“No. I don’t mind,” Tifa chuckled, “Have at it.”

Cloud leaned over the chair, watching Maria leaving, shooting a look towards Aerith, who giggled, “Childish.”

“I am a child,” Aerith tilted her head, “You should enjoy it more. Cloud. Not everyone has the chance to be a child again.”

“I am enjoying it,” Cloud breathed out, looking at Tifa and then at Aerith, “I have you two, and I am popular at school…and I even get good marks and better friends. It’s the best childhood possible.”

“You have us two?” Tifa blinked, grinning, “What could you mean by that?”

Cloud leaned forward, putting his hand around Aerith’s shoulder, raising her chin, planting a kiss on her lips. She widened her eyes, realizing what was going on. She was about to kiss him back, but he pulled away.

He stepped away from her and closer to Tifa, took her hand’s palm in his, kissed her lips, and pulled away just as soon, “I can do this…and not be killed. That’s is plenty to be thankful about.”

“Oh, Cloud,” Tifa placed her hand on his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

Aerith sneaked over, stroking his back, “That reminds me…we were interrupted last time? Want to continue?”

“Then tonight?”

“Mm,” Tifa nodded, running her fingers through his hair, kissing the nape of his neck, pulling closer to him.

“I can’t wait,” Aerith put her hands inside his t-shirt, wanting to tear it apart, “Right now seems like a good idea.”

“Do you want to make Maria mad? I don’t,” Cloud said, and both of them stopped, sitting down.

“Right.”