25-Mar-2003
Title: Parallel, A Harry Potter/Gundam Wing fanfic
Author: Stormy
Rating: R
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4
Summary: Heero Yuy and Harry Potter. Transcending time and space, the mystery of what became of Harry Potter is about to unfold.
Warnings: Shonen ai (1x2), possible SBxRL (Should I or shouldn't I? ^^)
Spoilers: TPS, CoS, PoA, GoF, (HP), Endless Waltz (GW)
Additional Notes:
I *heart* *heart* *HEART* Pyaneeiyan ( http://www.livejournal.com/users/piyaneeiyan ) for telling me the name of the pet shop in Diagon Alley. You have her to thank for me finishing the chapter tonight – otherwise I would have had to wait until tomorrow night to get my book back from Kathy and then I would have probably procrastinated until Thursday or Friday to get it done.
Also, thankies to my chat group – Kit-Kat, Chibs, Tal-Tal, Luna-gal, Hope-chan, Foxy, Anna-chan and Silver-girl – for their constant encouragement (also known as nagging, hounding, weedling, bribing and threatening). You guys are so GOOD at scaring me into working. ^
Wufei decided that he liked Diagon Alley.
Normally he wasn't a fan of large crowds and the incessant noise that came from venders selling their wares, but he found himself warming to the bustling, busy street full of oddities. There were so many things that called out to his scholarly nature.
Flourish and Botts, the strangest and largest bookstore Wufei had ever seen in his life, was one of the main reasons he was becoming so enamoured with the wizarding world. The first time the Weasely's and Harry had taken the pilots there, Wufei had buried himself in the dusty tomes and faded manuscripts, soaking up the knowledge contained therein like a drowning man devouring a glass of water. Hermione had been ecstatic that there was finally someone who properly appreciated her favourite shop, and wasted no time in joining him, leaving Ron to whine dramatically to Heero and Duo that 'Now, there's TWO of them!'
That day had simply been an exercise in getting the pilots used to the wizard community, suggested by Heero who had been begged for such an excursion by Duo who was getting tired of being cooped up at the Burrow. One could only explore the surrounding terrain so many times before a city boy got cabin fever, and a trip to the Wizard's equivalent of a strip mall was just the solution.
Today however, they were there to purchase school supplies. Wufei couldn't believe how quickly time had flied. They had spent a good deal of time playing wizard's chess – a game Wufei thoroughly enjoyed – and learning how to fly implements he had once considered to be cleaning utensils. To the amazement of the Weasely's, both he and Trowa both learned how to fly, the brooms responding to the magic within themselves enough to allow them to know the joy of flying the sky, unaided by their Gundams.
Duo adored flying and the instant he had done his first solo flight, the pilots knew that they had lost him. Every day since then, Molly had had nearly five heart attacks from watching Duo trying to perform stunt after stunt. After an incident where Duo had tried to ride his broomstick like a surfboard – fifty feet up in the air, mind you – Mrs Weasely had enchanted the surrounding area to slow down any free-falling object, in an effort to save what remained of her nerves.
Trowa was no better, usually dismounting from his broom at least twenty feet up and seeing how many twists he could do before he hit the ground. Quatre was a little more cautious, preferring to ride the broom the proper way, but even he started challenging Duo, Ron and Heero to speed races once he got the hang of it. Wufei liked flying, but it didn't seem quite natural to him, and usually preferred to stay on the ground with Hermione during these races, flipping through the Hogwarts trio's old textbooks in an effort to familiarize himself with what they would be learning.
No one had asked when he and the other pilots would be returning to their world, and frankly, Wufei hoped no one would. He liked it here in this world – they didn't have the stigma of 'Gundam Pilot' stamped on them, and no one knew of their pasts. Trowa was enjoying it here, Wufei could tell; he had caught the taller pilot with Ginny and Quatre looking through a large book filled with pictures of strange creatures and Trowa seemed to have his heart set on taking the 'Care of Magical Creatures' class Heero had told him about.
Quatre seemed to be enjoying his vacation away from both the Preventers and Winner Corp. The bags that had begun to gather his eyes from handling the daily double doses of stress had begun to disappear, and he looked much like the old Quatre – younger, freer, no longer tied down.
Then there was Duo. Duo absolutely thrived in this environment. Wufei knew the long-haired pilot had been starved for love and affection for most of his life, and the doting tendencies of Molly Weasely had won the stubborn pilot almost instantly. Even Ron and the twins had noticed how much Duo seemed to crave their mother's attention, and he had been encouraged to treat the family as his own. Wufei doubted that Duo would want to leave, even if Heero decided to return to their time.
Heero. Wufei's eyes narrowed. Heero fit in here, in a way he had never fit in back in their time. The lines between him and Harry blurred so much recently they were nearly indistinguishable. He was happy here, something Wufei knew Heero wasn't back home, except when he was with Duo. Back home, people still expected him to play the part of the Perfect Soldier.
Then again, didn't he have a similar role here? During his weeks of immersing himself in the various texts that littered the Weasely home, Wufei had uncovered much about the Boy-Who-Lived, and knew that Heero would still have a role to play.
Heero had explained about Voldemort to them and bits of his life that he could remember. Wufei had the distinct feeling that Heero was omitting a great deal of information, but he didn't argue with him – there must have been an underlying reason for doing so. But then Heero had told him of the pain he felt in his scar whenever Voldemort made a move against someone, used an Unforgivable, or was just feeling particularly malicious towards him. His scar had hurt back at Hogwarts, that first night they'd returned. That meant Heero's enemy – Harry's enemy – was still out there.
Wufei had no intention of leaving Heero and Duo there with their backs unguarded. He didn't doubt the magical prowess of Ron and Hermione, or the famed Aurors he's read about, but in his mind, that still didn't equal having a fellow Gundam pilot at your back.
No, he would remain there, as would Quatre and Trowa, until the threat was completely eliminated. Then they would deal with their return.
With that final thought, he turned back to the books in front of him, reaching for one he hadn't seen before. As he did so, another hand reached for it at the same time.
"I believe that's my book," drawled a bored voice. Wufei turned his head towards the speaker, one eyebrow raised.
"Of course," he said mildly, looking the other up and down coolly, assessing. The hand was attached to a slender body clad in dark robes. White blonde hair glinted in the soft lighting of the store, slate-grey eyes glaring at him, daring him to take the book. Wufei snorted and removed his hand, both uncaring of the situation, and unwilling to cause a scene. With a short nod of his head, he reached for a different book and proceeded to ignore the other boy, flipping through the pages, scanning them eagerly.
"I don't know you," the boy stated, still standing there. Wufei shrugged, not lifting his eyes from the page.
"No, I'd imagine you don't."
Wufei expected the boy to leave after being rebuffed. Instead, the boy cocked his head to one side, still looking at him, but the glare had turned into a smirk. His arms folded across his chest, the book he'd taken from Wufei dangling from his fingers.
"My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
"Chang, Wufei," Wufei returned. He closed his book with a decisive snap and nodded once at the blonde before moving down the aisle. The blonde followed.
"Chang?" The tone was slightly derisive. "Are you related to Cho Chang?"
Wufei ignored him, selecting yet another book to add to the pile collecting in his arms. Heero had given him and the others money to spend on things for themselves, and he was still well within his limit. Draco tapped his foot.
"Well?"
"I highly doubt I am related to anyone you would know," Wufei said finally, giving him a dismissive look. "If you don't mind... "
Before he could finish his sentence, Draco was next to him again, looking at his hip where his sword was strapped.
"Do you even know how to use that?"
"Would you like to personally find out?" Wufei snapped. Draco's eyes narrowed.
"You can't talk to me like that—"
"I would like to not talk to you at all, but you're making that very difficult by not leaving me alone." Wufei glared at him. "I am trying to purchase the texts I will require for this semester at Hogwarts, so if you don't mind—"
"You'll need that one." Draco airily pointed to one of the books in a bin. Wufei followed where he was pointing and then froze. The books were hovering in the air, tethered to little rings at the bins bottom. Small wings fluttered madly from the spine.
"By Nataku... "
"Just grab one of the leashes. The book will calm itself down once you purchase it," Draco said mildly. His eyes were still smirking though. Wufei took a deep breath.
"Thank you," he said perfunctorily. He selected a leash at random, and as promised, the book fluttered to lie calmly on the top of his stack.
"You're welcome."
Wufei permitted a small smile to grace his features, and he watched a look of surprise chase the smirk off Draco's. Intrigued by such a simple gesture receiving such a response, Wufei indicated to the list in his free hand. "And I would obtain these books where?"
A small smile appeared on Draco's face as he leaned in for a closer look.
Hermione and Ginny exchanged amused smiles as they watched Trowa and Quatre dash from one stall to the next. Actually, it was more Quatre who was doing the pulling, but Trowa was agreeable to anything the blonde wanted to do, and so he let himself be led around like a dog on a leash.
"Eye-Shrooms?" Quatre asked a storekeeper incredulously, gingerly touching one of the bulbous eyes perched on a withered mushroom stalk. "This is right out of one of the fairytale books Iria used to read to me."
Trowa was staring at a handful of plants strung together on the wall that seemed to be devouring each other. "Hmmm... "
"Why didn't you go with Wufei to the bookstore?" Ginny asked Hermione casually, as they tagged along behind the boys. They were under instructions to let the pilots have fun exploring, but to keep an eye on them. Despite seeing first hand just how dangerous they could be, this was still unfamiliar territory for them, and Heero had wanted an escort for each group just to be certain there would be no trouble. Hermione was supposed to have gone with the Chinese boy.
"He said he wanted to explore the bookstore by himself for a bit," Hermione shrugged. "I get the feeling he wanted to spend some time by himself." She gave Ginny a tiny smile." Besides, I get the feeling he doesn't... well, doesn't want a girl with him."
"Don't mind Wufei," Quatre said suddenly, appearing in front of her and Ginny. His blue eyes stared plainly at her, conveying the honest warmth and sincerity she'd come to associate with the blonde. "It's not you, really."
"Really?" Hermione repeated, arching an eyebrow.
"Really. Wufei's more of a loner then the rest of us. He's used to working solo missions all the time, and as for the woman aspect... "Quatre shrugged. "You're right."
"That's not very nice," Ginny said, frowning.
"It's not meant to be a slight." Quatre sighed. "It's not my story to tell, but I don't want you to misunderstand Wufei. He's a great person – he just has issues in his past he's never really dealt with. One of those issues is dealing with the death of his wife."
"WIFE?" Hermione and Ginny goggled. Hermione blinked furiously. "But-but – he's OUR age!"
"He is," Quatre nodded. "His clan still followed the ancient tradition of arranged marriages. His wife and he... they didn't get along very well. Not until she was hurt in battle."
"Oh... " Ginny whispered.
"He would probably kill me for telling you this," Quatre continued, giving them a serious look. "I know you won't tell anyone what I've told you, correct?"
The girls nodded solemnly. Quatre smiled.
"Wufei feels responsible – he should have protected her, but he didn't. He became a warrior for our side in her name to make up for what he thinks was negligence and cowardice on his part, even if it wasn't. He doesn't like females getting close to him, probably because they remind him of his failures."
"He's not a failure," Trowa added softly. "And we don't want you to think him mean or cruel."
"Solitary," Hermione said softly. She smiled. "He'll fit right in with the rest of the angst crowd."
Quatre laughed, and they did too. The sobriety that had set in suddenly lifted, and the earlier light-heartedness came back. Quatre clapped his hands.
"So what's next then?"
The clerk at the bookstore had been most pleased with the commission he received from Wufei and had repaid the Chinese boy by enchanting a bag to hold everything for him, and then placing a feather light charm on top of it. Wufei gazed down at the deceptive-looking shopping bag with approval.
Draco smirked. "Easily impressed?"
"More like relieved," Wufei corrected the boy with the barest of glances. For some reason, the blonde had tailed along with him throughout his entire book-selecting expedition and seemed to be in no hurry to leave. Still, Wufei found himself not minding. It was his fault Hermione was not with him to help him with the finer points of getting along in a magic-based community, and clearly Draco had the definite advantage. There was also his keen mind, something Wufei had quickly picked up on, and respected. "I was not looking forward to carrying a two-foot stack of textbooks through the crowds."
Draco cocked his head to one side as they walked through the doors of Flourish and Botts, emerging into the bustling street. "What do you have left to purchase?"
"I am supposed to meet my companions at a pet store of some kind," Wufei said, narrowing his eyes as he thought. "Then to a clothing store to buy robes."
"There's only one pet store in Diagon Alley," Draco said, nodding his head in the store's direction. "Shall I lead you there?"
Wufei shrugged. It would be faster then wandering up and down the absurdly long alley, hoping to get lucky. "After you."
The trek to Magical Menagerie was thankfully a short one. Wufei was thankful for his training as a pilot – his well-developed senses alerted him each time he was in danger of being jostled or struck by a wand-waving witch, or wares-peddling wizard, letting him slip through the crowd relatively unscathed. A part of his mind had noticed Draco's apparent ease at slithering through the riotous market with little damage being done to his person, and his estimation of the arrogant blonde went up another notch.
Draco slowed his pace and waited until Wufei was beside him, pointing ahead to yet another old-fashioned building. This one had the words, Magical Menagerie, in antiquated letters on the dilapidated sign, informing Wufei that the business had obviously been there for a very long time. "Here we are."
"We're not the only ones," Wufei observed dryly as he saw a familiar figure plastered up against the window, and headed over.
Draco watched curiously as Wufei left his side, walking over to an obviously muggle-born female who all but had her face smushed against the glass. Her hair was incredibly long – nearly three feet or so, he'd wager. A girlfriend perhaps? Relative? Draco was about to ask for an introduction when the girl turned around, revealing herself to be a male. Draco paused, surprised.
"'Fei!" the boy chirped, lunging forward and grabbing Wufei's arm, dragging him over to the window. "Heero said I could pick out a pet to bring with me to Hogwarts! Isn't that cool? I've never had a pet before!"
"I'd imagine you wouldn't have," Wufei said, glaring at the boy's hand still clutching his arm. "It would have been difficult to keep a fish tank anchored properly in Deathscythe."
The boy stuck out his tongue and turned back to the window. Draco cleared his throat.
"Excuse me Draco," Wufei said, glancing at him. "This is Duo Maxwell. Maxwell, prove to me that Quatre was able to hammer some manners into you and say hello."
Duo turned back around, a roguish smile in place. Draco noted with a start that the boy's eyes appeared to be violet. He reached out and shook his hand.
"Draco Malfoy."
Duo's eyes narrowed a bit. "Malfoy... name sounds familiar." He shrugged. "Oh well. FEI!"
Wufei started as Duo shouted his name. "WHAT, Maxwell?"
"Come on! I have to pick out a pet!" Duo glanced back at Draco. "You too! Anyone who can put up with Wufei makes a friend in my eyes – it means you'll have the patience to put up with me!"
"You're assuming I do?" Wufei growled, as he allowed himself to be tugged into the pet shop.
Draco was amused by the display. Wufei had struck him as the no-nonsense type, and his willingness to accept Draco's help in the bookstore despite his obvious desire to be alone showed that he was a sensible individual. Intelligent too, as their brief chats during the book selection had proven.
The other one though... Wufei did not strike him as the type to hang around with the bouncy boy. Within seconds, Draco had noticed their very different attitudes, and he wondered what would make two such complete opposites friends? It was puzzling – and Draco dearly loved solving puzzles. He allowed a brief smile to surface as he followed the two into the store.
The smell of the store always reminded Draco of the stables at Malfoy Manor. Despite the No-Odour charms employed, there was still a distinct animal smell, strong and musty, that couldn't be hid. The light was a bit dimmer inside, and he blinked, letting his eyes adjust. He picked out Duo and Wufei standing by a stack of cages, peering into each one.
Rather, he allowed, Duo was peering into each cage. Wufei was standing behind him, arms crossed and an impatient expression on his face.
"I don't see why Heero felt it was necessary for us to get pets," he was saying as Draco drew near. "He has a perfectly good owl. What more is required?"
"I assume this means we won't be picking out Wufei Junior from these cages?" Draco asked innocently, eyes dancing with laughter. Wufei scowled at him, but Duo grinned.
"Guess not. And besides, I happen to want a pet." He looked over his shoulder at them. "Draco, you're a wizard. What makes a good pet?"
"Anything that suits your fancy," Draco said, shrugging. "Though I assume you'll be going to Hogwarts, the same as Wufei?"
Duo nodded.
"Then your choices are somewhat limited. A toad, an owl or a cat is the standard pet allowed at the school."
"Heero said Ron had a rat," Duo said offhand. "They made an exception once before, they can do it again."
"Thinking highly of yourself again, Maxwell?"
Draco froze as his ears registered the name Ron. "Are you referring to Ron Weasely?"
"Uh-huh." Duo crouched, his attention back on the cages. "Strange looking cats, these guys are... "
"They're Kneasels," Draco said automatically. "You're... friends with Weasely?"
"Yeah, I guess." Duo wrinkled his nose at the musty smell coming from the cages and stood up, moving down the corridor. "Though he and 'Mione are Heero's friends really. They know each other, but me, Fei and the others just met 'em."
"Others?" Draco found himself intensely curious now.
"Yeah," Duo said casually. "There's me, Fei, Quatre and Trowa, as well as Heero." He glanced at Draco. "You could say the wizarding world was sprung on us."
"But you're my age," Draco objected. "Where were you before now? I assumed you were transfer students or something."
"Nope."
Wufei cleared his throat and Duo's eyes darted towards him for a split second before turning back to Draco. "So you go to Hogwart's too, huh?"
"I do."
"Then you must know Heero," Duo grinned. "He went there too."
Draco narrowed his eyes, thinking hard. "I don't know anyone named Heero."
Duo grinned. "That's 'cause his other name is—"
"Duo?"
"Speak of the devil!" Duo spun around and loped past Draco and Wufei. Draco's eyes widened until he was sure they were going to pop out of his head. He knew that voice. He turned around and saw Duo launch himself at a messy-haired boy Draco knew very well indeed.
"POTTER?"
"MALFOY?" Harry's voice sounded almost as shocked as his. Was that really Potter? It sounded like him but he looked... .different. And he was... .cuddling another boy?
Duo glanced from one shocked face to the other. "Oh good," he said, still smiling. "You DO know each other!"
End chapter 20
o.0;
I'm in trouble, aren't I? *snickers and dashes away*
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Stormy
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