Summary: Everything was different in this world, even the stars that dotted the night sky. There was no Northern Star, Orion... Sirius. But she had a family. A wonderful mom. A brilliant dad. And a precious, precious baby brother she wouldn't trade for the entire world. Everything was perfect. ...Or it would have been, only if her baby brother didn't insist on saving the world. Because being a hero was definitely overrated. Harry knew that intimately from firsthand experience. But would Zach be Zach if he listened? And so, Harry gets involved in the mess that is Shinra.

Warning: The only knowledge of FF7 I have is from fanfiction. Very, very slow romance.

FemHarry. Rufus/Harry. Slow Romance. Plenty of Zach the Turks and the other SOLDIERs.

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Final Fantasy.

It was a new life, an opportunity that Harry had never even dreamed of.

Deep chuckles and childish giggles interrupted Harry's reading. She was relaxed on the comfortable chair of the living room, with a novel on her lap. The room was cozy and the atmosphere cried home. Tearing her eyes off the text, she found herself chuckling along as she spotted her little brother and Father laughing merrily, locked in an impromptu wrestling match. Then she realized that the steady sound of knives hitting the wooden board had also stopped. Harry glanced up to see her Mother standing in the kitchen, pausing midway from cooking dinner to laugh happily at the two. Mother and daughter's eyes met, and both exchanged contented, amused smiles.

Her name was Hadrienne Fair, firstborn daughter of the Fair Family in Gongaga and older sister to Zachary Fair. But she had another name that she swore not to forget. Harry James Potter, Lord of both Potter and Black and the only son of James and Lily Potter.

It had been confusing, when Harry first felt pain when he was supposed to be… dead. He had expected the train, and maybe his loved ones waiting on the other side. Instead he had felt terror of being born; pressure of being squeezed by all sides and realizing that everything was freezing. He could not see, but he could hear, and the sounds had been confusing, incomprehensible, and to be completely honest, panic- inducing.

Time passed, and Harry realized that he had two ordinary, loving parents. The fact that he was a she rather was a shock to him, but what had him most troubled was this new life that he never wanted. So he denied the fact that faced him, insisting on being called Harry instead of his given name Hadrienne, denying everything and being withdrawn, worrying his parents.

But one day, Mother had gotten pregnant.

When Zach was born, Harry fell in love with the toddler at first sight. He was, no, she was an older sister. She had never had siblings before, and the responsibility daunted her, but she wasn't the type to back away from a challenge. She promised herself that she would take care of her little brother. That she would teach him, protect him, love him. Her sibling's birth awakened something that had been missing before in Harry's life.

A purpose.

It was strange how a goal in life could do to a person.

The word Harry found herself in was very different from her previous one. The world was called Gaia, and seemed a strange mixture of the future and past of the Muggle world. It was more advanced and at the same times more backwards than what she was used to. It was basically a kingdom ruled by a king, well, tyrant. The said tyrant was head of a Company, of all things. There were cars and airships, guns and swords coexisting. Ah, in this world, Gaia, there were no witches or wizards either. But strangely, there was magic. Harry's magical core had carried on to this world, and her reserves were as same as the day she died. There also existed magical creatures, or more accurately, monsters. None seemed intelligent, unlike others Harry had seen in the Wizarding World such as werewolves, centaurs, merepeople, veelas, vampires, house-elves, phoenixes, or even basilisks, but they were plenty dangerous, like Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts and Aragog.

They were a threat. Most could easily take an unsuspecting civilian out, and hiring mercenaries to get rid of such creatures cost money. It was a dangerous world, so unlike that of Earth's. At least on Earth, one did not have to worry about fighting dragons (unless you entered the Triwizard Tournament) or being killed by wild beasts by just stepping outside of the village.

Most who wished to be somewhat self sufficient and travel learned the basics of physical self defense.

But what Harry wanted to test out today was Magic.

She could feel it deep in the earth, the stirrings of it, just waiting to be drawn out and used. And the monsters were definitely magic. Enhanced, the lot of them, and who ever heard of nonmagical creatures who could breathe fire? From books, she also knew the people could perform magic though very limited through an item called materia. She would love to get her hands on one, but for now, she was going to test her own magic, the one she trained in Hogwarts and polished during the wars and as an Auror out in combat.

Technically, she had tested out her magic already. It was exactly like learning wandless magic- doable, but difficult. But the important thing was that she'd never tried using her magic against other magical creatures.

Who knew how her magic would react to these different creatures?

Harry went out to the outskirts of her town, flirting in the edge of the forest. She picked a place where she could easily outrun bigger monsters and where smaller ones mostly resided.

Her parents trusted her to be left alone, and her brother was occupied in a task she gave him just hours ago. There was nothing to bother her.

Harry spotted a small green thing- it looked harmless, but… "Incendio!" she cried. The creature was hit, and it seemed obviously winded, but instead of catching on fire it shrugged it off and lunged at her.

Harry dodged. The monsters were magic, obviously throwing spells off with ease. But it was still damaged. She sent another batch of flames to distract it and shot a strong confounding hex. Using the bought time, she crept behind the monster. It shook his head right and left, obviously confused.

Harry sent a cutting curse, but that barely made a paper cut. The pain seemed to allow the thing to snap back into attention. "Ugh" Harry used a blasting curse to push it away, but the damn thing kept coming. Harry looked frantically for cover, but found none.

The monster was close, just a feet or two away. With danger so near, Harry finally could gain enough composure to let her panic recede. Her thoughts began to clear as she began to calm down. Power. Her spells would have been perfect on any nonmagical being, but this monster was not magicless. It had its own power protecting it. Harry just needed to overpower it.

She hurled an overpowered cutting hex with much force as she could muster.

The monster's body was cut clear in half. Harry smiled grimly, satisfied.

Now all she needed was practice.

Stargazing.

It was a hobby she gained in this new world. Everything was different here. There was no Northern star, Big Dipper, Orion... Sirius. But she could make new constellations of her own.

"Harry?" inquired Zach from below.

"Hmm?" Harry replied thoughtlessly, her back leaning against the tree trunk and legs swinging softly along with the breeze.

"Mother said you're not allowed to climb trees that high!" shouted Zach, cupping his lips with his hands. His voice held amusement though, without worries or signs of tattling.

Of course not. Zach was of belief that his sister could do no wrong- a sentiment Harry greatly encouraged.

Harry finally tore her gaze from the sky and to her baby brother.

"Afraid?" she taunted.

"Of course not!" he huffed.

Harry slowly stretched her legs, and took her sweet time placing both on the trunk. Her gaze was again fixed on the stars. She didn't want to climb down now, when she was so high that she could fool herself into believing that she could reach them... But shook her head ruefully.

Harry climbed down swiftly. At five feet above the ground, she pushed herself off from the tree and landed on all fours with a soft thump. Magic aided the gentle fall. She probably could do it higher but, well, her little brother was watching and she had to set a model for him, right? It would be terrible if he broke a leg while attempting to imitate her.

Zach's eyes went starry. "Wow"

Harry grinned, elated at her jump as well as her brother's obvious admiration.

"I can teach you," she offered.

Zach crowed "Yes!" as he pumped his small fists excitedly. His enthusiasm brought a smile to Harry's lips.

It always went like this. Harry would pull a stunt. Zach would wish to learn to do it too. She'd teach him. Then Harry would pull another.

And repeat.

She loved her brother. And Zach loved her too.

They were inseparable.

But then, a letter came.

It was a recruiting pamphlet. To be more exact, Shinra's recruiting pamphlet, asking for recruits for a newly made army- SOLDIERS.

And once Zach laid his eyes upon it, she'd lost him. Or, she hadn't lost him, but he'd grown up, way too fast for her liking.

Zach had a dream. And he knew exactly how to achieve it.

"I want to be a hero!"

Mother worried. Father worried. But Harry was the one who worried the most.

She remembered her past life, as the reluctant Savior. She had struggled so much had sacrificed too much. She had later in life, chosen to be an Auror, because like it or not, she could admit that she was somewhat addicted to that danger, the thrill. But Zach was only fifteen. Fifteen was too early to choose such a life- and no matter how Shinra wrapped the opportunity with pretty words such as destiny, heroism, and pride of the nation, it didn't change reality that practically screamed that this would sign her brother's life to Shinra forever.

...But what was she saying? This was Zachary Fair. Of course he wasn't deterred.

He had dreams, big ones, and he would not give in easily. Not even to his family. Not even to his favorite (only) sister.

It made Harry very proud, despite being worried.

"If you want to join SOLDIER, I'm not letting you go anywhere without proper training."

Zach watched his sister warily. He knew she was dangerous when she was in one of her moods, and she had never looked as threatening as now.

"Training?" questioned Zach. "Sis, give me some credit. Since we were very little, you've been training me. I didn't realize until later, but..."

He smiled wryly. "I always wondered why you never used your pocket change. You always saved it, everything, even the money you made by killing monsters with me around town. And the first thing you bought with that hard-earned money was a heal materia, Harry. Which you gifted me."

And with the fact that materia was very expensive and rare to buy in Gongola, she supposed it was quite telling. Maybe Harry was reading into Zach too deeply, but she didn't think so. Her brother was not dumb. He might have been open and goofy, with bright smiles for everybody, but he was sharp.

"I wanted you protected. Always."

Zach ruffled Harry's hair. Harry glared, slapping Zach's hand away. But her heart was not in it.

She sighed. "You're right. I have been training you, in a way. But everything we've done together- it wasn't proper training, Zach. Educational, but still, not enough." She narrowed her eyes. "At least not to my standards, that is, if you want to become a soldier, instead of a simple farmer."

"Harry-"

"Just three months, Zach." Harry pleaded, staring into her brother's eyes. "It won't hurt to learn a few things, and I... Think of it as amusing your favorite sister. Please?"

Zach raised his eyebrows. "And what exactly will you teach me in that short amount of time? We've been doing physical excersises for years, I might not be at your level but I can use heal and escape materia to your approval, and just last week you complimented me in my quick thinking for battle strategies when we went monster hunting earlier. You even taught me a style of sword fighting, and I know that in SOLDIER, they will be teaching me their standard form. I'm ready, Harry."

He was right. That did not mean that she had to like it.

"Sis, this is really it for me. You didn't think that I would be satisfied living as a farmer like our dad, now did you?"

He pleaded, making sure to make his eyes extra wide with a bright smile.

Harry rushed to hug her brother, long and hard. "Alright. But don't you dare die on me, mister!" she murmured into his shirt.

He hugged her back. "Of course not. Don't worry, Harry."

Zach convinced them all, their entire family of four, and earned the blessings of the rest of the village to boot.

In the end, in just fifteen years, her little brother had grown up and left.

Harry watched her talkative, enthusiastic brother walk out the chapter of their lives that marked their childhood. Grinning and looking back frequently, hand waving fervently as he walked out of their small village.

Harry stood in front of the gates, waving her hands, smiling maybe a tad too brightly to be natural.

Harry was proud. And maybe, a little wistful too.

Three years passed. Zach's letters still came, though it grew less and less frequent each passing year. And after, Harry could not stand it anymore.

She missed him. And a life without her brother...

But maybe even more importantly, she had to admit that she was bored. Hadrienne Fair might have been a simple farm girl. But she was also Harry Potter, Savior of the Wizarding World and the best Auror that world had ever seen who had life threatening adventures every year since eleven. A life as a village girl who's biggest problems was marriage; well, that just was not Harry.

She talked to her parents, and packed her bags. With one last hug and a glance at her small, but loveable hometown, she set for Midgar.

Midgar. It was a bumbling city. Harry looked around with wide eyes at the half-finished yet still towering buildings and well polished cement roads. It was so very different from Gongaga.

In her rapture, she might have forgotten herself. She wandered into the slums, and made herself stand out a bit too much with her ignorance. Well, in her defense, it had been a long time since she'd visited a city. …Pitiful excuse, she knew.

Anyways, it was only a matter of time when she was surrounded by six burly men with less than innocent intentions.

Harry didn't want to fight. She was in great physical shape, but even that wasn't enough to allow her to face six grown men physically and win. Magic would make this easy, but using the ability... She did not possess materia because she had given them all to Zach, so how would she explain it to the strangers of Midgar of her magic? Not that she would tell them if asked, but Midgar was Shinra's headquarters, and she did not wish to stand out if it was possible.

It wouldn't do good to attract unwanted attention. Well, more attention.

So obviously, her best option was running.

When one stepped forward to grab her, she sidestepped, making him temporarily lose balance and ran. The other five yelled and began to give chase, but Harry had been an Auror her past life and she hadn't been lazy in this one either.

She ran past them, and despite not having extensive knowledge of these backwater streets of Midgar, she managed to avoid the dead ends and continue to outpace them.

Until…

She crashed into the hard chest of a man, and tumbled down, loosing balance. Instant dread began to pool in her stomach.

She tried to stand up, but was surprised by a hand in front of her face. She looked at the offered hand, disbelievingly.

"Are you alright, miss?" the man questioned politely.

She lifted her gaze up and was met face to face with a young man about her age with bright blond hair and icy blue eyes, wearing a white suit. His face was neither welcoming nor worried. Feeling uncomfortable, yet thinking it rude to refuse, she took his hands. He pulled her up. She fixed her clothing, brushing it down.

After straightening herself, she replied. "I apologize, I should have watched where I was going." He stared at her, without any reply. Concern filled her voice. "Are you hurt?" Harry asked worriedly, suddenly wondering if she did more damage than she thought and scanning him up and down.

The man smirked. "I am fine. It is you who took the fall."

Harry blinked. Then she ducked her head in embarrassment. "I really am sorry, sir. And thank you for-"

"There she is!"

Harry and the man turned as one to see six burly men racing towards them. One had his index finger pointed straight at her. Harry tried to turn tail and run.

"Wait," commanded the man, and stopped her, by gripping her arms in an iron hold.

The six approached.

"Thanks buddy," one said, leering at Harry all the while.

She shuddered.

"We'll let you have a go too, if you wa-"

The man had whipped out a gun, and was pointing it face blank at the man's head.

The man's face flushed red.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" yelled another. "Boss told you you'll get a go too!"

The man's eyes narrowed, then he aimed the gun downward and shot it at the offending man's feet.

"I'm afraid I am not interested." he stated coolly.

The shot man clutched his feet, howling in pain.

The man's eyes narrowed even further and became chips of ice.

"Leave."

The other five could not get out fast enough. They ran, leaving their injured behind. Now, that man, no, that pathetic creature was now left, crying and bumbling, and doing his best to drag himself away.

Harry saw the man go, and realized that she was not disturbed by the scene. A part of her was distantly surprised, while the other part thought maliciously, 'The man deserved it.'

She wondered when she had become so cynical. Probably a long time ago in her life as Harry James Potter. Harry Potter had changed after the war, when he finally realized that the ordinary Light witches and wizards could be just as bad- or worse- than Voldemort himself.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. Was the man worried of her reaction? That would be the norm. But no, he did not seem worried, or even mildly bothered. His face was blank, and cold.

Their eyes met, her jade green ones with his icy blue.

Harry tilted her head. She really couldn't tell anything from his expression. She was almost tempted to use Legillimency. It had been a while since a person had stumped, but it was also true that for the past eighteen years of her life, she had only interacted with villagers. Though humans were complicated creatures, she had known the villagers her entire life and they had no practice in hiding their emotions.

Oh well. It would be rude to mind rape her temporary savior anyways.

Composing herself, Harry beamed. "Thank you." she said, most sincerely as she could manage.

The man gave a curt nod. "My pleasure," he replied smoothly. His eyes were very intent and focused. "You have a peculiar accent." he observed bluntly. Harry nodded. "Yes. I'm actually from Gongaga." Though really, her accent was more of a result of her previous British accent rather than because she lived in the outskirts of civilization.

"For what reason did you visit Midgar?"

Harry smiled impishly. "Isn't Midgar the land of opportunity?" Looking at his deadpan expression, she giggled. "Truthfully, I came here for Shinra."

The man twitched. Though he kept his smile, it looked less sincere.

"And what is your business with the company?" now it was more of a demand than polite inquisition. Harry sighed, pretending to not have noticed the change in his manners.

"My brother."

He raised his eyebrows, asking nonverbally to expand on her answer. She snorted inside her head. How commanding.

"I suppose I can pay you back this way," Harry said nodding agreeably. She didn't miss the flash of amusement that crossed his sly face at her words.

"I missed my brother, who left to work for the company three years ago. He does write home time to time, but I wanted to see him again."

The man nodded. "Then I wish you luck," he said, then turned away.

Harry didn't want to separate like that. Her arm shot out involuntarily, grabbing his right arm. "My name is Harry," she said brightly. "Can I ask the name of my savior?"

"...Reno." the man answered curtly.

Harry didn't miss a beat. "You're lying."

Surprised, the man narrowed his eyes. "You know who I am then?" he asked. Harry surprised him again then, by laughing gaily.

"Course not!" she replied. "I've only just met you after all!" Smirking, she half mock-whispered to his ear. "I've got a sixth sense for detecting liars, that's all."

Well, Harry supposed Magic was her sixth sense. After all, even though she was a hopeless Occlumens, she was a natural Legillimens. Not that she was purposely reading this man's mind, mind you, but she could tell when a person was lying.

She grinned, and bowed in the old wizarding way, right hand across her chest and left behind, and bowed with a flourish.

"Well, thank you, Reno!"

She raced away, quickly blending in with the narrow streets of the bumbling, half-finished city of Midgar.

"What an interesting character," mused Harry. "Reno, now, was it?"

Rufus Shinra watched Harry leave with amused eyes, tapping his fingers against his gun rhythmically.

What an interesting character.

"Hello Harry," he said, watching the girl scurry away.

He smirked.

AN: Should I continue this?