The young SOLDIER grinned as he waltzed over to the pair, shredded remains of the old robes fluttering around his feet. "I'm hurt Harry, no welcome back hug?" he asked, head cocked to the side in that cheerfully familiar way. Hermione bit her lip, not sure what the General would do, but Harry just smiled as he trotted over, happily allowing himself to be embraced. She'd been worried because she remembered Sephiroth being touch-shy, and truth be told, Harry was not much better. This was Zack though, the man who had a tendency to puppy-glomp at the drop of a hat, and once he'd gotten used to him, his Commanding Officer had been included in that list.

"How are you here? I mean, where did you come from?" Harry asked, pulling back enough to look up into the SOLDIER's eyes. Familiar pale blue eyes.

"Well, you know how Angeal always called me a Puppy?" The man laughed sheepishly, hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, that apparently carries over into new lives."

"Sirius. You were Sirius!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

Zack squinted at the girl, only to burst out laughing. "Shiva's Glowing-"

"Oi!"

"-I was gonna say eyes. But this is rich! Genesis Rhapsodos, heart-throb of the women of Midgar, reincarnated as a woman!"

Hermione's eyes flashed angrily, hand groping against the wall of the locker. "And no matter what life you're leading, you will always be a dog!" she growled, pulling a familiar red-bladed sword off the wall and chasing after the older man.

At once, the keen eyes of the young General could see an issue. They had the memories, but not the muscles or experience. The young woman was trying to move like she remembered, and was pulling it off with some of the simpler moves. But she kept stumbling as she tried to pull off the more advanced moves, betrayed by weaker arms and a lower center of gravity, and was in danger of hurting herself as much as Zack; whom was cackling as he dodged away, the traitor.

Even as he noted this, Hermione stumbled, tripping over the raised step leading up to the Veil, much to Harry's heart-stopping fear. Without thinking, he snapped off a spell, tapping into the strength of the Materia.

"harry! what did you do?"

A sigh of relief. The mini spell had activated just in time. His memories gave him the analytical skill to see that if she hadn't shrunk, she would have fallen far enough to have hit the Veil. The thought of losing her like he had Sirius made him feel like crying. "I just saved your life Hermione," he offered, picking her up. The spell had shrunk her to about the size of a mouse. She fit in the palm of his hand, and the Rapier had changed to the size of a toothpick. "You would have hit the Veil. And I'm still not sure how we managed to bring Zack back."

"Oh that's an easy one!" the SOLDIER chirped, picking up the Materia Harry had dropped in his haste to rescue his friend. "This is a Revive Materia!"

"i've never seen that type of materia," Hermione squeaked. "heard of it, but never seen it."

"Well, they were rare, even during our time. This might be one of the last ones in existence." He rolled it in his hand thoughtfully. "It might be why I look like this as it is."

"yeah, i was wondering why you look like that when you were Sirius a few months ago."

Zack got a thoughtful look as his hand slid down to pat at his own rear. "Well, I still have that mole on my-"

"hey!"

"-I was gonna say hip! Geez, when did you become such a prude? As I was SAYING, the mole was from Sirius. And I can still feel some of the scars on my arms from his life as well. I'm not Zack, I'm both of us." He ran a hand through those wild spikes, and Harry could now see some of the style Sirius' had, especially in the bangs. "I'm just, blended together now. Like, a stew instead of a parfait."

"only you would compare this to food."

"Ok, seriously? When did you stop being so cool Genesis? I remember you used to be our bro! You used to be the fun SOLDIER." Until he went insane a defected hung in the air. The trio of fighters ignored it.

"it's called reincarnation, and i see it didn't change you at all, puppy."

"Ok, Hermione? Give me a second to reverse the spell, this is just weird sounding."

"Hey, at least this means I still have the personality that the girls loved! I'm gonna have me some fun!"

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, only to stop as Harry recast the Mini spell. She got a thoughtful look once full sized, tapping the Rapier against the combat boots she must have bought in the Muggle world. "Interesting. Shrinking not only changes the size of the form, but increases the aggression of the person in question." She turned away, muttering to herself about dead wizards and muggle scientists, and something about Crichton having it surprisingly close to right.

Harry shook his head fondly as his Commander wandered off, trying to figure out the science behind the magic. "Zack, Sirius, I'm glad you're back," he offered, smiling up at the taller man. Those green eyes stared up at him. "And we could use you as it is."

"What'cha got in mind, General?"

"Well for one, no one knows you're alive. You can spy for us."

"On the Death Eaters I'm guessing?"

"Them and the Order." He held up a hand when the Wizard seemed to be ready to argue the point. "Dumbledore has been keeping secrets from us, and this stops now. He hands out information like those lemon drops of his, and if we want to win this war, we need to know whatever it is that he knows. Whenever you learn something, you tell us, and we figure out what to do with it." He bit his lip for a second. "We're also gonna need a way to relearn how to fight, and I suspect you need the same practice that we do."

"Just, one flaw General." His eyes were laughing at this. "You want me to spy, but how am I gonna get out of here? I can't Apparate out of here, and I doubt I'll fit under that cloak of yours anymore."

"I got it!" The boys turned at this, Hermione emerging from the Materia box. In her hands were a pair of yellow orbs, and she grinned as she passed one to the older SOLDIER. "Paired Exit Materia! We hold onto the Mastered one, and later tonight, you activate yours and meet us at the Burrow!"

"Will it work that way?"

"These two are paired together, so it will." She rolled the Mastered one in her hand thoughtfully, and Harry could see the inner light was more crystallized compared to the clearer sheen in his Fire. "The person who had this pair must have been a thief or something," she murmured.

"Maybe a Turk," Harry offered, sauntering to the locker, Zack following curiously, only to grin at the sight of the hunk of dark metal up on the wall. "Holy Odin, the Buster Sword!" he said with an oath, pulling it off the wall. "It's even in good condition too!" he offered before twirling it over his shoulder and trying to hitch it onto his back. Only to laugh at himself as it slipped down between his shoulderblades. "I forgot, no harness. Hey Harry, think they got any in there?"

Only to pause at the look on the younger man's face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Harry shook his head. "I just, have too many bad memories of that sword. Some with your face in them," he explained, turning away.

"You, I thought you remembered…?"

Harry turned back, a red Materia from the box rolling over his fingers. This one sang of power and justice, and righteous fury. "I AM remembering, just slower than you and Hermione seem to be. Most of my memories of that sword are connected with you and some small blond."

"He didn't even know his name, or his old face until I told him myself," Hermione offered, turning from where she was scanning a shelf of armlets and bangles and rings. Her hands, finger, and belt were already coated in metal. "It's strange. From everything I've found, he should be remembering faster than I am, he's under far more stress and peril. But as it is, his memories are coming back slowly and in pieces."

Sirius shrugged, balancing the Buster over his shoulder. "Don't look at me, I sure as heck don't understand this." He shivered, looking down at his shredded robes. "hey, did anyone grab my wand? I'm feeling a bit of a draft, and I don't really like it."

Harry shook his had as he turned away from the swords again. "Sorry, I think it went through the Veil with you. You're just gonna have to wait."

Hermione grinned evilly as she tossed a star-shaped pendant at Harry. "Tough it out SOLDIER, you've been out in colder wearing less."

"WHAT? WHO TOLD!"