FicWad

Once in a Blue Moon

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and Final Fantasy 7 belongs to Square Enix

Author note: An amusing idea that popped into my head a few weeks ago and wouldn’t go away.

My best buddy Asilyessam has betaed this chapter for me.

Chapter 1

Zack… was… bored!

No really, he was. It was unbelievable just how bored he was. The Lifestream was a nice place, don’t get him wrong. It often looked like a field of those yellow flowers that his girlfriend Aerith grew in the church in Midgar but damn it was boring as hell. Being dead wasn’t really all it was cracked up to be. Yeah, he had Aerith there and he sometimes hung out with Angeal and sometimes he would watch his buddy Cloud but since the whole thing with the Remnants and Sephiroth coming back Cloud was finally getting his life in shape. Zack really hoped his little buddy would finally settle down with someone.

Still, death was boring. He didn’t need to eat or drink. He didn’t need to sleep and he could only do so many squats before he got bored with that too. He had only been allowed to visit the living world a couple of times as a wolf, and that never lasted very long. So yes, Zack was bored out of his skull.

“Zack!” Zack blinked as he heard someone calling his name. He had completely zoned out in his boredom. “Zackary Fair!” Oh wait, that was Aerith’s voice!

“Coming babe!” Zack said as he jumped up and ran toward his lady’s voice. It didn’t take long to find her, there wasn’t much here in the afterlife after all and he was only a little surprised to see her with another person. It happen sometimes, with Aerith being a Cetra she watched over and spoke to all the souls here in the Lifestream. “What’s up?”

“Zack, this is Lily Potter,” Aerith said with a small wave in the other woman’s direction. Lily, Zack noticed, was a pretty young woman around Aerith’s height and age when they had both been alive. She hand long firey red hair that would put Reno to shame and eyes an even more vivid green than his Aerith’s.

“Hi!” Zack said cheerfully. “So what did you need?”

“Zack… we were hoping you could do a small favor for Lily… well more like a big favor,” Aerith said. “Go ahead Lily.”

“This is going to sound a little unbelievable but I am not from the same world as you,” Lily said, Zack noticed she had some sort of accent that he couldn’t place.

“Eh?!” Zack exclaimed.

“Zack there are many many worlds out there,” Aerith said. “The Lifestream is connected to a greater afterlife for many worlds. Lily came here from her world’s part of the afterlife look for help.”

“Ok… that’s a lot to take in but ok, continue,” Zack said rubbing the back of his head.

“My world is called Earth, when I was alive I was a magic user called a ‘Witch’. A few years ago, my husband James and I were murdered by a mad man calling himself Voldemort. A dark lord hell-bent on taking over the world,” Lily continued explaining. “He then tried to kill our son but the spell backfired thank’s to a spell I placed on Harry.”

“Wow, that sucks. But I’m glad to hear your kid is ok,” Zack said, wondering what sort of manic would attack a helpless kid. Well… other than Sephiroth after he lost his mind. Lily sighed and rubbed her face.

“He’s alive but I wouldn’t say alright. When I placed the ward on Harry, I was assuming he would go live with someone James and I approved of. Instead the Headmaster at our old school Dumbledore, who was also heading the fight against Voldemort, placed him with my older sister Petunia. Whom I stated in my will was to never get Harry,” she said. “But Dumbledore for whatever reason decided that the ward I placed on Harry was based on blood and he needed to live with his closet living relative that was blood related to me to keep the spell strong. Instead all he’s done is weaken the spell, it was based on love not blood.”

“So umm, why didn’t you want your kid living with your sister?” Zack asked.

“Petunia non-magical, what witches and wizards call a muggle. She was jealous of me because I had magic and decided that ‘magic’ was ‘unnatural’. The man she married is even worse, they are some of the most horrible people and I’ve had to sit by and watched my baby be abused by them,” Lily cried and covered her face. Zack fumed in anger, he really didn’t like that sound of that.

“Damn, I wish there was something I could do to help,” Zack said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“There is, this is where the favor comes in,” Aerith said. “Zack, we were hoping that you could go to Earth and watch over Harry. Become his bodyguard after a fashion. But…well…”

“What? I’m not going to like this am I?” Zack asked. Aerith sighed softly.

“The Lifestream can give you back a body but… because Earth is so far away from the Planet, there isn’t any way for you to be human all of the time. You would have to be something smaller say like… a dog?”

“A dog…” Zack said. He had been called puppy by his mentor Angeal lots of time when they had both been alive but really, he had to be a dog?

“Well… I guess it could be something else but as a dog no one would blink an eye as you living with Harry,” Aerith pointed out.

“You said ‘all of the time’,” Zack said.

“You would change back into human when you need to protect Harry against something really dangerous,” Aerith explained. “Then afterward you would turn back into a dog.” Zack sighed and started doing squats as he thought it over. He would be alive again… but as a dog. Well… he figured there were worse things to be. He would be out of this damn boring Lifestream… heck they were talking about sending him to a whole other world! And he really didn’t like the picture Lily was painting about her kid’s life. She had even said flat out he was abused. That just made Zack boiling mad…

“Alright,” He said as he stopped his squats and turned to face the ladies again. “Why me?”

“Lily wanted someone who can watch and protect Harry and always be in his corner,” Aerith said with a smile her hands clasped behind her back while Lily nodded in agreement. “You were the first person I thought was best for the job.”

“Ok, I can go with that,” Zack said. He then puffed out his chest a bit and struck a pose. “Zack Fair 1st class SOILDER is on the job!”

“Thank you so much,” Lily said in relief.

“So… how am I going to find the kid?” Zack asked as he rubbed the back of his head. “Heck, how am I even going to be able to communicate with him? Animals don’t talk after all… except for Red 13 and his race.”

“Well me and Lily have be talking about that,” Aerith said as she sat down among her flowers, Lily following after her. Zack shrugged and sat down with them, it sounded like Aerith already knew he was going to agree with this mad idea… well she did know he pretty well.

“We think that if I offer up some of my magic to use in the spell to send you to my world it will create a connection with Harry so you can find him,” Lily said. “A bit like a familiar bond.”

“A what bond?” Zack asked confused.

“Familiar, it’s when a magic user’s magic bonds with an animal. The animal usually becomes a lot smarter, lives a much longer life span than it usually would and will be a close companion for the witch or wizard,” Lily explained. “Their bond also allows the familiar to always find their master or mistress. Depending on the level of the bond, some can even understand their familiar to a certain point.”

“And with Lily’s magic and my magic helping to form a similar bond, we’re hoping that not only will you be able to always find Harry but to also be able to speak to him with your mind,” Aerith added.

“Like a telepath?” Zack asked. When Aerith nodded he grinned. “Cool.”

“But Harry would be the only person that could hear you,” Lily said. She was really anxious to start and get her baby the protection he needed! Zack noticed how wound up Lily was and decided they should go ahead and get this over with.

“OK, how do we start then?” He asked. Aerith smiled and took one of Lily’s hands in her’s then leaned forward to kiss Zack, drawing on Lily’s power with her own and sending it into her man. Zack started a bit at the surprise kiss and felt a jolt of energy before everything turned into a white light and felt himself quickly floating away.

“Tell Harry his father and I love him!” Lily called loudly as the ball of light that was Zack disappeared. She then seemed to realize something and cursed. “Bloody hell, I forgot to tell him about Sirius!”

*****

The trip from the Planet to Earth seem to be over in an instant, one second Zack was in the Lifestream getting one last kiss from Aerith and the next he was laying in a bed of those yellow flowers… and he was breathing!

Zack quickly jumped up and shook himself all over, sending dirt, grass blades and flower petals flying every were then took a deep breath.

‘Ahhhh… never realize just how much you miss breathing until you can’t anymore,’ Zack thought to himself then wrinkled his nose. ‘Gaaa… it stinks here almost like it did in Midgar.’ It was the smell of pollution, but without that mako tang to it. Shaking himself again Zack sat down on his hunches. They did it, he was really alive again… but as a dog this time. He wasn’t sure… but he thought he might be bigger as a dog than he had been as a wolf. And he felt something a little tight around his neck, his back leg coming up to scratch at it and to relieve that itch he had just right…. Aahhhh right there. He felt something under his foot that circled around his neck and something jingled from it.

‘Ah wait… a collar? Huh… guess that makes sense, I’m sorta suppose to be the kid’s pet after all…. This damn thing better not be pink babe!’ Zack huffed and stood up. He needed to find the kid so how… he felt something tug at him deep inside Curious, Zack turned in the direction the tugging was coming from and felt like he was going in the right direction as he followed the sensation. ‘Neat… so that’s what they meant by being able to find the kid.’ With a happy woof Zack trotted down the invisible path, thank the Planet he already had practice walking on all fours from the short time he ran around as a wolf otherwise he would more than likely would have tripped over his feet already.

******

Zack quickly discovered that not only could he breath again, but his new body needed all the other things alive bodies needed. He had to stop and eat and drink, to sleep and of course to use the little SOILDER’s room. Sleeping and using the bathroom wasn’t too hard as long as he found a good out of the way spot where no one could disturb him. Food and drink on the other hand… well that was a little trickier.

While he had found a pretty girl or two to slip him some food, Zack found himself knocking over garbage cans looking for food after a couple of days of only a few scraps. It honestly wasn’t that much worse than what he had to do to keep himself and Cloud fed while they were on the run from Shinra and the Turks. Didn’t mean he was happy about it. He also had to resort to drink from water puddles… nasty.

He did finally get a good look at himself while drinking from a pond. He was in fact a very large dog, with short black fur that was a little longer on top of his head and a bit ‘spiky’ looking like his normal hair style. There was also a patch of white fur on his left cheek in the shape of his scar. Zack had heard somebody say he looked a lot like a ‘Great Dane’. He had no idea what the heck that was and could only assume it was a breed of dog native to this world.

He was relieved to find that the collar was in fact not pink like he had feared but rather the same color as his 1st class SOILDER uniform top, a very dark blue that looked almost black. Zack was rather amused to find the tag hanging from it was in the shape of the Buster sword and much to his surprised he had material orbs lining the collar. Three summon material and four magic, nice little gifts from his girlfriend.

It also occurred to him at that time that he was seeing in color, like a human would. He had always heard that dogs couldn’t see color like a human could…. Maybe that was wrong? Or more than likely Aerith and Lily made it so he could see like a human…. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t really a dog? Either way he wasn’t going to question it.

He also learned about this new world, finding it very much the same yet different from the Planet. Some of the technologies seem to be the same, but he wouldn’t really know until after he found Harry and took the time to get to know his new home.

As he traveled the tugging got stronger and stronger which Zack hoped meant he was getting closer to Harry. One day, a week after arriving on Earth, Zack found himself in a nice little park in a neighborhood. The tugging was like a really strong pull now, leading him further and further into the woods. And then he found himself in a little patch of a clearing… and it stopped.

And sitting curled up at the base of a tree was a young boy with unruly black hair, a skinny frame and wearing clothing that was much too big for him.

This was Zack Fair, former 1st class SOILDER of Shinra, first meeting with Harry Potter, the Boy-who-lived.

*****

Harry could say without a doubt he was having a rotten no good day. This wasn’t too much different from other days he had, some worse than others, but somehow it seemed even worse as it was his birthday. On his birthday he seemed to have even more chores placed on him by his Aunt and his cousin Dudley went out of his way to torment Harry that no one cared that it was his birthday and that he wouldn’t get a cake or presents unlike Dudley who had a large cake and a ridiculous amount of presents each year. To say his cousin was spoiled was putting it lightly.

Today though, his Aunt Petunia had just a little too much sherry and had started in on Harry telling him how much he was like his ‘freak’ mother and how no one would ever love him. How much he was a burden on the family and how she wished she listened to Vernon on the day they found him on their doorstep to just throw him out. It had been too much for Harry, you think he would be use to the verbal abuse from his relatives but he was still a kid and it hurt so much to know his only family hated him. Then the lights in the room exploded in his hurt and anger. He knew he caused it, Harry was forever just causing strange things to happen. Another reason that his aunt and uncle called him a freak. With his aunt screeching like a banshee, Harry had bolted from the house and ran all the way to the park in Little Whinging where he lived with his relatives. There was a little patch of woods there where he hid sometimes, one of the few safe places where he was never found.

Harry knew he was going to get it as soon as he got home, there was no way his aunt or uncle was going to let him go unpunished for doing something strange that he just couldn’t explain. If he was lucky it would just be a couple of days in his cupboard under the stairs with very little to eat. It would depend on how his Uncle Vernon’s day was going but knowing his luck Aunt Petunia has already called him and told him what happen. Yeah, his day just sucked.

Harry sighed and drew his legs up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them and his chin resting on his knees. Why couldn’t he just have a nice normal birthday? Thinking about how much his life sucked Harry couldn’t help but make a little wish to himself.

‘I wish I had a friend,’ he thought depressed. Just then something snapped and Harry jumped in surprise, his head jerking up and his green eyes wide at the huge black dog in his hiding place. He and the dog stared at each other for a moment before dog’s mouth open in what could only be described as a ‘doggy grin’ and he bounced over in excitement. Harry was wary; he did not have all that great experiences with dogs thanks to Aunt Marge’s bulldog Ripper.

“G-good dog,” Harry said raising a trembling hand to pet the dog. It had to belong to someone as it had a collar with a tag on it but Harry didn’t remember ever seeing a dog like this in the neighborhood.

/“Hiya Harry!/”A man’s voice said in Harry head. Harry’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“W-what? D-did you just…” he started to say but couldn’t believe it. Dogs didn’t talk… did they?

”It worked? Great!” The dog said with an excited wiggle. “I know the girls said it would work but good to know anyway. The name’s Zack.” The dog, Zack, held up a paw for Harry to shake. Harry, feeling very silly, took the paw in his hand and shook it.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Harry said as he dropped the paw. “How are you talking Mr. Zack?”

“Just call me Zack, none of that Mister stuff,” /Zack said in Harry’s mind. /“I’m your new best buddy and bodyguard. Your mom sent me to you.”

“My mom? But… she’s dead. She and my dad died in a car crash when I was a baby,” Harry said confused.

“Car crash?” Zack asked in equal confusion, his head tilted to the side.

“Well… yeah. That’s what my aunt and uncle told me. My dad was a drunk and crashed the car, killing him and my Mum but I survived,” Harry said.

“That’s not how your mom told it,” /Zack said. /“According to her, she and your dad were killed.”

“Are… are you sure you got the right Harry then?” Harry asked.

“Yeah I’m sure, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to hear me kiddo,” Zack said. “Sounds like to me your aunt told you a fib and the way your mom talked about your aunt, that wouldn’t really surprise me.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me either,” Harry muttered. Somehow the idea that his aunt and uncle lied about how his parents died wasn’t really all that surprising, after all Petunia made it no secret that she had hated her younger sister. Harry then gave Zack a look and crossed his arms over his chest. “No offence but how do I know that you’re telling me the truth. My mum is dead but you just said you spoke to her.”

“Guess I should start at the beginning huh. See, I’m from another world,” Zack started to explain, his hind leg coming up to scratch behind his right ear. Harry’s mouth dropped open.

“You’re an alien?” He whispered. Maybe that was why he could hear Zack, he was a alien from another planet. “Do you have a space ship?” He asked eagerly, maybe he could convince Zack to take him away from Earth and his horrible relatives. “Is your planet one of talking dogs?”

“What?” Zack asked just as confused. “Well… I guess I am sorta an alien since I’m not from your world but I didn’t come here in a space ship or anything… and the only animals that I know that can talk are those cat-wolf guys. No my world, we just call it the Planet, has humans too and I used to be a human. See I died about 2 to 3 years ago, I was fighting what seemed like the whole Shinra army and they wore me down until they could take me out. After that I was in the Lifestream, that’s where the souls of the dead go back home.”

Harry’s green eyes were wide, Zack had to fight a whole army? By himself? He wondered what ‘Shinra’ was, Zack sounded very bitter when he ‘said’ the name.

“Anyway, so there I am bored out of my mind, being dead isn’t any fun kid by the way, when your mom showed up. Pretty lady by the way. She was with my girlfriend Aerith and was looking for someone to come back and protect her kid because she was /very /unhappy with the way he was living,” Zack said. “I didn’t like anything of the things Lily was saying-“

“Lily?” Harry couldn’t help but ask.

/“Yeah. Oh, that’s your mom’s name, Lily. She called your dad James,” /Zack said.

“Lily… and James…” Harry repeated softly to himself. He had never known his parents names.”What… what did my mum look like?” Zack blinked then realized that Harry knew zilch about his parents.

“Well, she was very pretty. She had long hair that was a very deep shade of red,” Zack said then stood closer to Harry until their noses were touching. Harry blinked in surprise at the sudden closeness and noticed that Zack’s purplish tinted blue eyes had a ring of green around the iris and he would swear the eyes were glowing. “Yep, you got her eyes kiddo. They are the exact shade of green. You kinda got a few of her facial features too, like her nose. But I’m gonna guess the rest of your looks belong to your dad.”

Harry sat there in wonder as he tried to imagine what his parents looked like. He had never seen a picture of them, his aunt had gotten rid of or cut out his mother from any pictures she had of her. He was giddy to know that he had his Mum’s eyes and his Dad’s looks.

“So what happen then?” Harry said, curious to know what happen. “You said my Mum was killed didn’t you? Not killed in a car crash?”

“That’s how your mom told it. She said some guy with a really weird name, Voldie-something. Damn, you think I would remember since it’s almost as weird sounding as Sephiroth,” /Zack said with a doggy scowl. /“Anyway she said some dark wizard dude named Voldie-“

“Wizard?” Harry said. “Like… magic?”

/“Well yeah. Your mom said she was a witch and said boy witches are called wizards,” /Zack explained.

“But… magic isn’t real…” Harry said, a tone in his voice that said he didn’t quite believe that himself.

“You’re talking to a human in a dog’s body that’s from another world kid,” /Zack pointed out. /“It was magic that sent me here. And I bet you got magic too.” Harry thought on it… it would explain a lot of stuff that happened to him over the years like his hair growing back overnight or that ugly sweater shrinking down to the point where he couldn’t wear it…. and then there was the thing with all the lights blowing up this morning when he got upset….

“Maybe you’re right…” He said softly. “Ok, continue. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine kid. You can ask any question you want,” /Zack assured him. /“Anyway, your mom said this Voldie guy killed her and your dad then he tried to kill you but couldn’t cause of some sort of spell your mom put on you. One that kept you protected. Let me tell you, she’s livid that you’re living with your aunt.”

“Why was I left with her then?” Harry asked. Zack should his head, the sword shaped tag on his collar jingling.

/“She said the headmaster, Dumble something, at her old school is the one that put you with your aunt, she never, ever wanted you to live with her. But that spell that she put on you, Dumbles thought that you needed to live with a blood relative to keep it going so he ignored her and your dad’s wills. But according to Lily, the spell was never blood based but based on love. She had a whole list of people you were suppose to live with but Dumbles ignored her wishes,” /the former SOILDER explained. Harry sat there in open mouth shock.

“I could have lived with someone who would at least care for me?” he said in a small voice. He really didn’t like this Dumbles person for putting him with his relatives.

“So your mom finally got tired of seeing you treated like crap and asked for help. She and Aerith asked if I come and watch over you and bam here I am,” /Zack said with another doggy grin, his tongue hanging out. /“Of course there were some draws backs like this body, cause my world and your world is so far apart, a dog was the best body they could give me.”

“Oh… sorry?” Harry said uncertainly.

“Hey, it’s alright. It’s not like I haven’t done something similar like this, I returned to the alive world once as a wolf but it was only for a little bit. Plus my mentor use to call me puppy all the time,” /Zack assured him. /“And Aerith thinks I can go human again when I need to protect you, but it’s not a permanent thing. So your mom and my girl used their magics to send me here. They sorta made me your familiar or something, that’s how I’m able to speak to you. So me and you are gonna be best buds for now on.”

“So my wish did come true…” Harry whispered in awe.

“Hmm, wish?” Zack asked. Harry blushed slightly.

“Today is my birthday, I…umm… sorta kinda wished for a friend,” he admitted.

“Happy birthday then! How old did you turn?” Zack asked.

“I’m ten,” Harry said.

“Ten!?” Zack yelped in surprise, barking out loud.

“Is… is that a problem?” Harry asked worried.

“What? No of course not. I was just surprised… you look a lot younger,” Zack said. Harry sighed softly his shoulders slumping.

“I know, it’s all thanks to my oh so ‘loving’ relatives care,” he said bitterly. Zack snorted softly in anger.

“Yeah, well that’s gonna stop right now. I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and let them abuse you any longer,” Zack said with a growl.

“How are you going to stop them?” Harry asked.

“Kid, look at me. I’m huge!” /Zack said. /“Plus I’m a former SOILDER, I can be pretty intimidating when I want to be. Just tell them I’m a magic dog or something, it’s kinda true after all. They don’t believe me, I’ll set them on fire.” Harry snorted in laughter and grinned.

“Uncle Vernon is so fat, I bet he would burn for days,” He said.

/“That’s the spirit. Oh, there was something else I needed to tell you. Your mom made sure to say that she and your dad love you,” /Zack told Harry as he remembered Lily’s parting words. Tears sprung to Harry’s eyes and he felt his chest warm.

“R-really?” He asked in a small hopeful voice. When Zack nodded Harry bowed his head slightly. “Thank you… I know they’re dead but it’s… it’s great to hear that.”

“Hey, no problem kiddo,” Zack said just as softly, bumping his shoulder against Harry. They sat there in the quiet forest for a little longer, letting Harry pull himself back together. Once it looked like the kid was going to be ok, they continued their conversation. “Ok, tell me about your family and anything else I need to know. Think of this as a debriefing for a mission.” Harry laughed softly, Zack made it sound like they were getting ready to fight some war and he guessed in a way they were.

Harry was hesitant at first, he had it pounded into his head by his guardians to never relieve his home life after all and the couple of times he tired nothing came from it but pain. But as he went on, Harry found that he couldn’t stop himself, it felt good to finally get it all off his chest. He told Zack all he could about his aunt and uncle, how they had treated him over the years and how they made other adults in the area believe Harry was a delinquent. He told his new friend all about the chores he had to do every day and how every year they seem to get longer and harder. How he cooked for his family since he was big enough to stand on a chair yet got very little to eat himself.

Then Harry told Zack about Dudley, how spoiled and how much of a bully the older boy was. How he tormented Harry by making sure Harry didn’t have any friends, Harry-hunting and how he was Dudley’s personal punching bag. How all of Harry’s clothing were hand-me-downs from his cousin except his shoes which had always been bought at the local second-hand shop. Even Harry’s glasses were second hand, he had to try on several before finding a pair he could see out of for the most part.

Harry also mentioned the incidents of magic he had over the years, and now he knew that it could only be magic, and how he was punished each time. By the time Harry got to the cupboard under the stairs were he slept, Zack was growling low in his throat in anger. The elder Dursley’s had easily made it to the top of his shit list right after Hojo. The youngest Dursley wasn’t far behind either but he was young enough that he could change one day.

“Ok, all of that crap is stopping today,” /Zack said in barely contained anger. /“No wonder your mom needed somebody to come back to help you. We’re going to go to your house right now and I’m gonna make sure you are never mistreated again.” Harry still wasn’t sure if Zack would be able to help, he might have been human once but right now Zack was a dog. What could a dog do? But Harry wasn’t going to argue, even if nothing came from it, at least someone finally tried to help him. It gave him more hope that he ever thought possible.

“Ok… I think Uncle Vernon is home by now. Aunt Petunia would have called him after I made the lights blow up,” Harry said standing. Zack, who was pretty much a Great Dane, easily stood as tall as he did.

/“Lead the way then kiddo,” /Zack said. Harry gulped slightly and hoped that he wasn’t about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

******

“Planet… all the houses look exactly the same! How the hell does anyone know where they live?” Zack said with a snort as he looked around the neighborhood. “It’s too neat around here, these people must be so bored.” He was already thinking of all the chaos he could cause here.

“My aunt and uncle loves it, it’s ‘normal’ to them,” Harry whispered so he wouldn’t be overheard.

“There ain’t nothing normal about all this,” Zack said. Harry privately agreed with Zack but he didn’t say it out loud. As they approached Number 4 Harry saw Vernon’s current company car in the driveway and reached up to bury his hand into Zack’s fur for comfort. “Don’t worry kiddo, I’ll protect you.” Harry was only a little comforted as he opened the door to the house he lived in with his so-called family.

“Boy!” A very fat man with a walrus-like mustache bellowed as soon as the door was open. The man was baring down on Harry, his face so red it looked purple. “How dare you do that freakish stuff in the house! You won’t be leaving your cupboard for the rest of the summer by the time I’m done with you!” His hands were outstretched to snatch Harry and throttle the 10 year old.

“I don’t think so fat man!” Zack growled in anger, leaping onto Vernon and knocking him over with a strength that came from being a SOILDER. Vernon yelled in shock as he was knocked onto his back, staring up into a set of impressive teeth that was inches from his face. And eyes that glowed with a hellish light staring into his soul.

“Vernon!” Petunia yelled when she saw the big black beast attack her husband. “Boy what did you bring into my house!?” She reached to grab Harry by the arm but stopped when Zack turned to her with those glowing eyes and sharp teeth. Petunia screeched in fear and quickly back away. In the living room Dudley ignored everyone as he tried to watch his shows on the telly. Vernon, seeing Zack’s attention was on his wife, yelled and brought a fist up and clobbered Zack on the side of the head. While Zack might have been a dog now, he still had everything that had made him a first class SOILDER plus whatever else Hojo had done to him. As such, the hit didn’t faze him at all as he turned his full attention back on Vernon with an angry growl.

“B-boy, get this b-beast off me!” Vernon commanded. Zack, seeing that he made his point, got off Vernon and stood by Harry’s side again. “How dare you bring this thing into my house!”

“His name is Zack,” Harry said as he buried his hand into Zack’s fur again trying to draw comfort from the man. “And he’s a magic dog that came to live with me.” Both Vernon and Petunia yelped at the world ‘magic’.

“There is no such thing as magic you stupid boy!” Petunia said in a hurry. Vernon grabbed a heavy vase off the table to throw at Zack and Harry.

“Fire!” Zack barked, drawing on the fire material on his collar and hitting the vase with a small fireball. Vernon bellowed again and stumbled back as the vase shattered.

“As I was saying, he’s a magic dog that came to live we me,” Harry repeated greatly enjoying himself. Dudley had finally given up on ignoring what was going on behind him and had turned to watch, hoping to see his parents beat Harry. “/Someone/ doesn’t like the way you treat me and decided to send Zack here for my protection.” Vernon and Petunia stiffened slightly, Petunia grabbed Vernon’s arm.

“Vernon, they know,” she hissed. “/They know!”/

“Good job kid, vague enough not to give away your mom and make them think they are being watched. You’d make a Turk proud,” Zack praised. /“I wonder who ‘they’ are.” /Harry just wondered what a ‘Turk’ was.

“B-boy! Go to your room,” Vernon said in a panic. Zack growled loudly, his teeth bared once again, like hell Harry was going back into that cupboard.

“Vernon,” Petunia hissed at the same time.

“I mean… blast it all, just get out of my sight! Upstairs! Both of you!” Vernon yelled.

“But I don’t want to,” Dudley whined.

“Now Dudley!” Vernon snapped. Dudley jerked back in surprise, stomping his feet and pouting but his parents didn’t budge. Complaining loudly, Dudley stomped up the stairs to his room and slammed the door loudly. “You, boy, go… go into the guest room for now. And take that ruddy beast with you!” He pointed at the stairs.

/“Come on Harry, we won round 1,” /Zack said nudging Harry toward the stairs. Harry was all too happy to leave and ran up the stairs with Zack to the guest room. He grinned and hugged Zack around the neck.

“Thank you, even if nothing else comes from this, that was one of the best things I’ve ever seen,” he said against the side of Zack’s neck.

“Hey, I told ya I had it under control,” /Zack said with humor, rubbing his head against Harry’s side. /“I can hear them arguing down stairs. Just sit tight and I can find out what they’re saying.”

“You can hear them?” Harry whispered in awe. Zack flicked an ear and gave a doggy-grin.

“Dog’s hearing is better than a human’s,” He pointed out then when to go sit in the hallway in front of the door, head cocked to the side as he listened. Harry turned and walked over to the bed, grinning as he sat on the oh-so comfy mattress. 100 times better than what he usually slept on.

Meanwhile Zack concentrated on the muffled voices, they must have moved to another room further into the house he mused.

”-everything Vernon,” Petunia’s voice hissed. “What are we going to do?”

“We could call the pound to get rid of the dog,” Vernon said.

“Oh don’t be naive Vernon,” Petunia snapped. “Would you really set that beast on good normal people? And who’s to say they won’t send another creature? Or maybe one of them will come themselves. Oh… Vernon, what if that /thing is one of them?/”

“What are you on about now Pet?” Vernon asked, sounding very grumpy.

“Lily, she mentioned one time while bragging about her oh-so wonderful freak world that some of her kind can turn into animals,” Petunia explained. Zack could imagine that string-bean of a woman was wringing her hands in worry about right now. “Vernon, it’s clear that we failed. We were able to ever stop the boy from using that freakish power of his.”

“Well maybe we should just beat him harder,” Vernon suggested.

‘Yeah, I dare you try it fat man,’ Zack thought to himself with a growl.

“Oh give it up Vernon,” Petunia’s voice said crossly. “We’re not going to be getting anywhere near the boy with that beast here.”

“We could always throw him out,” Vernon suggested next, almost gleeful at the idea.

“You know that won’t work,” Petunia’s said dryly. “We’ve tried to turn him out in the past and they always brought him back.”

“Then what do you suggest Pet?” Vernon said in a grumpy tone.

“Well it’s pretty clear that the boy will be going to that school,” Petunia started to say.

“I won’t have it!” Vernon yelled clearly enough for everyone in the house to ear. And likely people outside of the house as well.

“We won’t have a choice Vernon!” Petunia hissed in anger again. “I’m not any happier about it than you are but as I already said it’s clear that we failed in making the boy normal. We only have to put up with him for one more year and then he’s off to that school. And maybe if we’re lucky that will be the last we see of him and if we’re not, at least we won’t have to deal with the little freak for 10 months out of the year.”

“Well that’s fine and good Petunia, but what are we going to do the rest of this year?” Vernon asked snidely.

“Well with them watching us, we can’t keep going like we have. We’ll have to move the boy out of the cupboard at the very least,” Petunia said with a huffing sigh. “He was getting to big for it anyway.”

“We could always make him sleep in the shed,” Vernon suggested. It was quiet for a couple of moments then Vernon groaned. “Alright fine, the boy can have Dudley’s second room.”

‘Second room?’ Zack thought in disbelief.

“But… Dudders….” Petunia said. “You know he needs that room Vernon.”

“Well I’m not giving that boy the guest room!” Vernon thundered. Zack heard Petunia sigh in defeat.

“Alright fine, I’ll have the boy clean it out tomorrow. I have no desire to deal with him or that creature tonight,” Petunia said. “All of Dudley’s things can go up into the attic I suppose…”

“Good, now that that’s dealt with,” Vernon said in a final tone. Zack didn’t know how final, they won the battle but Zack felt it was still going to be a war to get the Dursley’s in line. “What’s for supper?”

“Oh dear… I haven’t started anything…” Petunia’s voice said in worry. “We could eat out, treat Dudley when we tell him about his second room. It should ease him a little.”

“Fine,” Vernon said. “Dudley! Come on son! We’re going out to eat!”

Zack quickly backed into the guest room and watched Dudley quickly waddle down the hallway, bellowing places that he wanted to go eat at. Soon the front door could be heard opening and closing, then a car leaving the driveway.

“Wow, you’re aunt and uncle are real pieces of work,” Zack said as he turned to Harry. Harry was laid out on the bed, clearly enjoying their hard won prize for the night.

“What did you hear?” Harry asked as he sat up. Zack jumped up onto the bed next to Harry and flopped down on it, making the bed bounce from his large size.

“Well, they kept mentioning a ‘them’ and calling someone ‘freaks’, I’m going to hazard a guess and say they mean people like you. Witches and wizards,” Zack said as he laid his head on his paws. “They know that you have magic and been trying to make you ‘normal’ for years but your aunt thinks that they should give up on that. They also think I was sent here by the magic folk. Kinda true since it was your mom that started it.”

“So… they’ve always known why all that strange stuff happen to me,” Harry said mulling over the fact. He was very miffed by it, he had gotten in trouble for years for things he could never explain or help and his aunt and uncle had always known!

“Sounds like it,” Zack agreed. “Bean pole also mentioned a school. I guess it’s the same school your mom said she went to.” Harry snickered as Zack called Petunia ‘Bean pole’.

“A school of magic… wow…” Harry whispered. “So, what else?”

“Well since they think the witches are watching them now, your aunt and uncle decided you won’t be in the cupboard anymore. They said something about your cousin’s second bedroom?” Zack lifted his head and gave his a quizzical look.

“It’s the smallest bedroom in the house, Dudley puts all the things he doesn’t want or things he’s broken over the years in there. He doesn’t allow anything to be thrown out, yet nothing to do with the stuff once it’s put in there,” Harry explained. “I don’t mind being put in there, at least it’s not the cupboard.”

“Sounds like your cousin has a hoarding problem on top of being spoiled,” Zack said in amusement. “Why not in here? I bet I could force them to let you have this room instead.”

Harry shook his head as he said, “no, it’s fine. Besides, it smells like Ripper in here.”

“Ripper?” Zack questioned.

”Aunt Marge’s bull dog,” Harry explained. “Not my real aunt of course, she’s Vernon’s sister but I’m forced to call her that. She breeds English Bulldogs and has one called Ripper. Real brute he is, he chased me up a tree one time with Marge and Vernon egging him on. I was up there for hours. Marge always brings him when she comes over to stay, he uses the bathroom all over the room here.”

“Huh… so that what that smell is,” Zack said. “Well kiddo, if you’re fine with the little bedroom…”

“I am,” Harry assured him then blushed as his stomach growled in hunger.

/“Heh, I agree with ya. Come on, let’s get something to eat,” /Zack said with huff of laughter.

“I-I’ll get in trouble if I take food,” Harry said worriedly as he followed Zack downstairs.

“You have just as much right to eat as those pigs do,” Zack pointed out. “If they say anything, I’ll set them straight. Don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry, I know I’m being silly,” Harry said with a sigh as he started to put together a sandwich to eat. He couldn’t have anything heavy; he wasn’t use to eating much after all. “I… I’m just not use to anyone watching out for me.”

“Don’t worry about Harry,” /Zack said, snapping the pieces of meat Harry tossed him out of mid air. /“We’re a team now, I’ll do my damn best to make sure you’re taken care of now. And the way Bean pole was talking, we’ll be at this magic school next year and you won’t have to worry about them at all.”

“That would be nice,” Harry agreed as he put some water in a bowl for Zack and poured him a glass of milk, feeling giddy that he got to drink milk and have a good sandwich for once. “Hey Zack, you said my Mum and Dad had a will right? Do you think we could find out who they wanted me to live with? Maybe contact them?”

“We can try but I honestly don’t know where to even start looking,” /Zack said. /“I honestly didn’t get much information for your mom before I jumped into this with both feet. I should have waited a little longer but… well after hearing that you were abused, I couldn’t just wait around. All I do know is that this Voldie guy was trying to take over the world.”

“Well I’m glad you did then,” Harry said softly. “Who knows what my aunt and uncle would have done to me today if you hadn’t been here to stop them.” Zack panted happily then stood, shaking out his fur.

“Well that’s enough depressing stuff. Come on let’s watch TV, I want to see what sorta shows you got on this world,” Zack suggested. Harry grinned and followed after cleaning up the kitchen, he never got to watch the telly.

****

Harry and Zack watched many different programs until Harry started yawning his head off. Zack guided the sleepy boy back upstairs where he used the bathroom then fell into the guest bed sleeping. Zack shut the door with a foot and lay on the bed next to Harry. But he didn’t sleep, he didn’t trust Harry’s uncle enough for Vernon not to try something. He heard the Dursleys return home some time later and bustle around the house, acting as if there wasn’t a fourth person who lived here. Soon Zack heard Harry’s cousin going back to his room then much later his aunt and uncle coming upstairs.

When the bedroom door open, Zack looked up and stared in Vernon’s direction. He knew he looked eerie with his mako glowing eyes, giving the fat man an full showing of his teeth as his lips pulled back. Vernon showed he was smarter than he looked and quickly closed the door, hurrying down the hallway.

‘Idiot,’ Zack thought with a soft snort.

Much later, after the sounds of snoring came from the other rooms in the house, Zack hopped off the bed and pulled the door open with his teeth. He already knew what door was the bathroom so he passed right on by it. He paused at one door, his nosed wrinkled the smell of soiled food came out. He could also small Dudley and assumed it was the cousin’s bedroom.

The next door had someone snoring so loudly on the other side and smell like the fat man and bean pole, Zack marked it as the master bedroom.

That left the last door in the hallway. Zack carefully turned the knob with his teeth and pushed the door open. The room on the other side was a complete and utter mess. There were broken toys, books and other things just thrown everywhere. Some items, Zack noticed, wasn’t that bad off but these looked like they were mostly books and other things a spoiled little brat like Dudley would want nothing of.

Zack did notice something else about the room, there was a small twin bed, a desk with a chair and a wardrobe in the room. Not the best looking bunch of furniture but still, it was there.

‘Buy why though? Did they originally mean to put Harry in here from the start then change their minds?’ Zack asked himself. He didn’t see any other reason to buy bedroom stuff, not unless they meant to turn this room into a second guest room but Zack doubted that. All the furniture he had seen so far in the house was good quality, he would know since his dad was a carpenter. Zack had never had any skill for it himself; if he had the carts he built for Aerith would have been a hell of a lot better.

But the stuff here in this room was piss poor, more like something he would have seen in the slums under Midgar’s plates. So unless they had meant to put Harry in here, why bother?

‘Well, it could be because they are evil and soulless pricks,’ Zack thought with a snort as he closed the door back and went back to Harry’s side. It wasn’t great stuff but with what Harry already told him, it was better than what he already had. ‘I’ve got to get Harry out of this place. This is no way for a sweet kid like him to grow up.’ With a sigh, Zack laid back on the bed next to Harry and fell into a light sleep.