Redemption

Chapter Eight

Treize sipped elegantly at his fine red wine. On the vid-screen before him, the dark wizard was receiving a message from one of the servants he called Death Eaters.

"My lord," Voldemort began as the robed figure left his sight. "All goes according to plan. Soon, both our enemies shall be eliminated, and your path of domination will be clear. Your reign will be as the old days of king and his sorcerer, only this time, you will be 'emperor.'"

"Do not be so hasty, Voldemort, for that has been your mistake in the past. Harry Potter continues to elude you, and will continue to do so until you learn to tread carefully. Fail this time, and your life may hang in the balance."

"My lord, this time, with our combined forces we cannot fail. Once Harry Potter is destroyed, I shall be feared by all the wizarding community, and those who oppose me will be annihilated. With the entire world of magic at your feet, the universe itself will have no choice, but to submit to your will," hissed the dark wizard.

"Very well, Voldemort. I will hold you to your word." Treize cut the line and the screen went blank. He was about to send for Zechs when there came a knock at the door.

"Come in," he called. A tall figure entered the room and closed the door carefully behind him. "Ah, Milliardo."

Zechs' eyes narrowed slightly at the name, but there was no other sign of his displeasure. "I wish you would not call me that, sir."

"Why do you still deny your heritage?" Sighing, the former general placed his wine glass on the table. "What is it, my friend?"

"There have been reports, sir, that the leaders of G.U.N.D.A.M. have discovered your alliance within the wizarding world. If these rumors are true, then the enemy will soon set out to guard your dark wizard's target." Despite Treize' laps into casualty, Zechs held to the formalities he'd been taught as a soldier. "What are your orders?"

"Let them come. If the fox takes the bait, there is no need for the dogs," the senator answered.

Zechs watched his friend as a sadistic smile crept across his face. "Treize...?"

"The time has come, Milliardo. You will return to your world, and be my eyes within the halls of Hogwarts." Without looking at the man before him, Treize dismissed him and turned his back, taking up his glass once more.

"Yes... my lord," the blond whispered as he left the room.

Little by little, Treize was being consumed by the dark powers that he consorted with. Yes, Zechs would take his former name and re-enter the world of his youth, but not as a spy. If he did not break away now, the dark power which had taken over senator Khushrenada would spread, and consume him too, little by little.

"Goodbye... my friend," Zechs whispered, slipping outside into the beautiful countryside which surrounded the mansion Treize had claimed as Romefeller HQ.

He made for the nearby forest and continued inside until he reached a clearing in the trees. Taking a few deep breaths, Zechs began the transformation into his animagus form. First, his face began to elongate into the features of a horse, two white ears appearing through the hair, which was becoming thicker and tougher, growing into his spine which was now supported by four legs; feet fast becoming hoofs. With a snort and swish of the tail, two magnificent glowing silver wings appeared on either side of the horse's body, and he ran two laps of the area before taking off from the ground and spiraling upwards out of the treetops.

To the Muggle world, he would be invisible, but once within the range of wizards, he would have to take the form of a simple white stallion and keep to the edge of forests until he reached Hogwarts.

For so long, Milliardo Peace craft had been a dream; a half remembered apparition from a time long past, but now, the wizard was back.

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Voldemort hissed at the blank screen before him. That filthy Muggle made his skin crawl, and he longed to simply cast him aside.

"Lord Voldemort," came a voice from the shadow, "if you ask me to dispatch of him-"

"No, Lucius, until my plan is complete, Khushrenada must remain in the public eye. Once the wizarding world is mine, I must use the senator to gain control of the Muggles." The Dark Lord motioned for his servant to come to him. "I know of your doubts, Lucius. You wonder why I care about taking power in their world. You think I have become consumed by revenge."

"No, my lord-"

"Do not lie to me, Lucius. I know how your pathetic mind works. Know this. You failed me once, and I showed mercy in light of your devotion, but if you do so again, you will not live to see the death of your son by my hand." Voldemort saw the flicker of horror pass over his servant's face. The fool would not dare to doubt him again.

"Yes, my lord. Your... mercy will not be forgotten." As his eyes lifted to glance at his master, the hideous scar across Lucius' face became visible and Voldemort laughed. The sound grated in the air and caused Lucius to grit his teeth against it.

"Go now, and do not let your faith slip again," Voldemort cautioned suddenly. "Get out of my sight."

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Harry was working on his Potions homework while Ron versed Hermione in a game of wizard's chess. The essay he was working on was difficult, and Hermione had resolved not to help him this year. She claimed that as he was studying to become an Auror, he needed to really learn the work. He complained, of course, telling her that was all very well for her to say that now that she'd finished. Now, he was just getting tired and wished his friends would simply help him out.

The last few weeks had really worn him down. At first, he'd had Lupin's comfort to stop him pining for Wufei, but as the month drew on, the werewolf had grown distant and was obviously suffering deeply himself.

With Lupin sinking into depression and Wufei so far away, Harry had really begun to feel the sting of Sirius' death once more. Normally, when he was down or confused, he'd used to write his godfather a letter and that was still his first instinct. Then, he'd realize that that was no longer an option and suddenly everything would seem so hopeless. Harry once more began to blame himself for Sirius' death and no matter what Lupin had told him, he hated himself for having found comfort so soon after the man had passed away. Yet, at the same time, he wished with all his heart that Wufei was there to comfort him once more. The pain was just too much without someone to take it away.

Ron and Hermione had noticed him pulling away little by little, and they tried to find out what was wrong, but it just wasn't the same anymore. Harry had changed after losing Sirius in a way that none of his previous experiences had managed. Now, more than ever, he hated being who he was. Cedric Diggory had been an eye opener, yes, but Sirius was family. Sirius was one of his own. In losing his godfather, Harry had finally seen that his life was doomed to misery until either he or Voldemort was dead, and what chance did anyone have against the most powerful dark wizard of all time?

Maybe he should just write Wufei a letter and break it off before he got anyone else hurt...

"Harry?"

Harry snapped back to reality to find that the common room had gotten awfully quiet, and he was slumped over his homework scroll with silent tears streaming down his face.

"Harry, are you ok?" Ginny Weasley was kneeling beside him and whispering.

Standing up, he glanced around the room with bleary eyes. Thankfully, there was no one left to see him. "Yeah, Ginny. I'm fine. I just-"

He was cut off when Ginny none too delicately told him to shut up, and then drew him into her arms for a quick hug. Then, she dragged him over to the armchairs in front of the fireplace and drew something out from under one of them.

Ginny handed him a butterbeer, and Harry just raised his eyebrows at her. She giggled and told him they were her emergency stash for 'relationship crisis counseling'. This made him frown and he was about to ask why she thought he needed it when she cut him off.

"Don't worry, the others didn't notice anything. They thought you were asleep so I convinced them to leave you and head on up to bed."

"Uh, thanks, but-"

"Now would probably be a good time to tell you that I know about Wufei," Ginny cut in once more, biting her lip. "I saw you with him from the train window," she explained. "I just want you to know that I know and that you can talk to me if what's bothering you has something to do with him, or anything else for that matter."

Harry stopped gaping and truly smiled for the first time in the last fortnight at anything other than a letter from 'Fei. "Thanks, Ginny but I'm ok, really. I'm just tired and also a little worried about Remus. That's all."

"Not. It isn't," she said very surely. "You miss him... Sirius... I can tell."

He sighed. "You're right. I do-"

"And you blame yourself."

Looking up in surprise, Harry saw the tears that had begun to form in Ginny's eyes. "You miss him too," he said softly. She nodded and it was his turn to pull her into a hug as the tears spilled over. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I've been so self absorbed lately that I haven't taken any notice of anyone else."

"It's okay," she said into his shoulder. "I just wanted you to know that - that I understand what you're going through." After a moment of silence, she pulled away and wiped at her eyes. "I always liked Sirius. He never treated me like the kid that everyone else did, and he told me all sorts of stories about when he was at Hogwarts. I only really got to see him at Grimauld Place but that was enough to see what a great guy he was. He, he even taught me some things about becoming an animagus."

"What?" Harry sat up straight and wondered if she meant that the way it sounded.

Ginny laughed nervously and took a sip of her butterbeer. "Please don't tell anyone but I've been studying ever since the beginning of last year, and, well, with someone to teach me I've gotten further than they did when they were kids."

"Ginny, are you saying that-"

"I haven't been able to transform yet, but I'm getting really close. Last time I tried, I felt my nose get all leathery and I think I almost grew fur," she babbled.

"But, Ginny, that's dangerous! What if you got hurt?" Harry exclaimed.

"I won't. Don't worry. I've been very careful, and besides, Sirius taught me everything I know."

Harry contemplated this for a moment and then nodded. "I wont tell anyone."

"Thanks, Harry."

They sat quietly for a little while longer until Harry looked up from his thoughts. "So, what animal will you change into, you know, when it works?"

Ginny giggled at that and laughed as she answered, "A fox!"

"I should have known," Harry replied, joining in the laughter.

They stayed up and talked until both had finished their drinks, and then agreed that it was time to go to bed. "Ginny, before you go, I just wanted to thank you again. I feel much better about everything, and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it."

"Hey, that's what prefects are for," she replied with a wink. "Night, Harry. I'll see you in the morning. Oh, and don't tell anyone about my secret stash."

He laughed. "I won't, night, Ginny."