9 April 2003
Parallel
A Harry Potter/Gundam Wing fanfic by 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)
Note for Diva Elf and Kyra: Sorry hon – your email wasn't working! I'm glad you're enjoying Parallel! I know *technically* there are two pet stores - but the Owl Emporium is just for owls, which are more working birds/pets then anything else. That would be like going to buy a trained police guard dog at a specialty breeder, NOT a pet store. ^^
The Magical Menagerie is an actual pet store, where kids can go get their familiars, or even just a plain ol' pet to cuddle, and that's why I did it like that. ^^ Sorry for the confusion.
And Kyra? ^^ Thanks for pointing out 'flied', even though a part of me had wanted to use the word 'flewed'. ^_^ Yeah I know – I make no sense. ^^
For future reference guys – yes I have seen the entire GW series and the Endless Waltz movie 3 times. Yes I own and have read, all of the Harry Potter books. I'm aware of the fine details – I just choose to either omit, or change things to suit the fic. So please –don't start getting picky on me about the finer details. I appreciate the help but I already know the answers. Thanks a lot. ^_~
Additionally, it's been pointed out to me that using the spelling 'Heero' is incorrect and that it should be 'Hiiro'. Actually, I prefer the English spelling and consider 'Heero' to be proper – considering I've seen the show subtitled that way, and spelled that way on the box for the dubs. When I learn to write in Japanese, that's when I'll use the Japanese spelling.
And finally, I know that at the beginning of the fic, I mixed up parts of the series with the OAV (GW). This was done part accidentally, and part on purpose – it's been a while since I've seen the whole thing, plus I wanted the history to go in a certain direction that would make the fic easy to follow after. My apologies to the continuity purists (^^) but since this is obviously an AU fic, we can ignore minor discrepancies, right? ^^
Beware of military jargon scattered throughout the fic whenever it's Heero's POV – he just can't help thinking in military terms. If it gets to be too much, and too pointed, let me know.
Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed – every time I get a review, I get inspired to write more of Parallel – which is really bad if I read my reviews at school and then can't get to my word processor. It's sad that my prof's think I'm taking copious notes when I'm actually scribbling down plot ideas.
Extra special hugs and thanks to my Luna-chan who is the best soundboard a fic-writer could ever have!
Heero left Gringotts Bank with an indescribable expression on his face. Behind him, Sirius and Ron followed closely, faces pale as was usual after yet another hair-raising ride through the Gringotts underground.
"I still maintain that they should have airsick bags on those things," Sirius moaned, one arm clutching his stomach. "I'm getting too old for this."
Heero raised an eyebrow in Sirius's direction. "I never once thought I'd hear you say that."
"And you never will again," Sirius promised solemnly. He pulled the cloak he'd borrowed from Remus more snugly around his head and shoulders. He was still a bit paranoid about strangers seeing who he really was. "Mark this day down on your calendars boys, 'cause those words will never again pass my lips." He glared at the two boys. "And neither of you will tell Moony I said that."
"I find it amusing that you're threatening me," Heero commented mildly. "You almost sounded like you meant it. Do you know how few people can do that?" He suppressed a small laugh at the mutinous look on his godfather's face.
His godfather. Heero shook his head as they headed back towards Magical Menagerie where they'd left an enthralled Duo staring at the dancing toads in the display window. It was still hard to believe he had a godfather. Any family at all for that matter.
That summer had been the best one he could remember. His memories of Molly and the Weasely's, powerful as they were when he got them back, paled in comparison to real life. Heero had no doubt in his mind that had Lily and James Potter survived, they would be just like the Arthur and Molly.
It was odd though. Part of him wanted to sink into the family lifestyle whole-heartedly, as he knew he must have done once. The other part of him was still hesitant, wary of relaxing and too world-wise to let his guard down completely. Ron once made the comment that Duo had totally relaxed into their home, but Heero knew better. Duo and the other pilots were on alert just as much as he was. They were just better at hiding it.
Other then the Weasely clan, Hermione, Sirius, and the occasional visit from Dumbledore and Remus, they hadn't seen anyone else all summer. The Wizarding World hadn't even been informed that he was back, and Heero thanked his lucky Gundams that he had changed too much in appearance to immediately alert the populace to his return. A baseball cap from Sirius provided enough cover over his forehead.
Still, that didn't mean the summer had passed aimlessly. The few weeks they had been at the Weasely's had been busy in other ways. Heero reached up automatically to rub his scar, an unconscious habit he had immediately picked back up.
His scar had hurt several times – nothing as painful as the first night he'd returned, but enough to know Voldemort was stirring somewhere. Severus Snape had been summoned to several Death Eater meetings, but was unable to discover just where Voldemort was hiding. Meetings were held in various locales, with Lucious Malfoy heading the whole thing. Voldemort was nowhere to be seen, but proof of his return and of his faith in Malfoy lay in the ancient staff Lucious brought to the meetings, a gift from the Dark Lord himself. Heero knew most of this from Snape, but he had the feeling the dreams he used to have had returned. They just didn't seem to affect him as much anymore.
Duo proclaimed it was because he'd seen so much more in term so of blood, torture and death in his second life, that the nightmares from his first seemed rather tame. Heero was willing to accept that explanation, and was simply happy that this meant he wouldn't wake up the household with his screaming every night.
Duo had smirked when he'd said that. Heero remembered his words with a blush. "Not from pain or terror at any rate... "
Speaking of which, it was time to get back to his partner. Sirius fell back into step with him, still uncomfortable about letting his godson out of his sight for long, letting Ron take point. The redhead confidently made his way through the jostling crowds, leaving them to part the way like the red sea for Heero and Sirius.
That was actually the hardest part of returning to Diagon Alley. It wasn't the magic, the strangeness or the weirdness – it was the sheer number of people. The assassin in Heero itched to get back under cover – walking down the middle of the street was suicide at best in the future.
He could feel the cool metal of his gun, tucked as always into the waistband of his Preventer-style cargos. He refused to wear the old, over-sized slacks Ron had found crumpled in a corner of his room, leftover from one of his summers spent at the Weasely's. Duo and Quatre had taken one look at the pants that could have doubled as a parachute and immediately asked if he'd lost an ungodly amount of weight. Heero had sidestepped the question at the time but he knew that would only work for so long. Eventually he would have to tell them about the Dursley's.
Besides, his work clothes gave him a measure of protection. They were easy to move around in. They reminded him of his most recent life in this strange place, reminding what happened when you gave into complacency.
That and the fact that his gun fit perfectly into the back.
Sirius knew about the gun – his canine sense had sniffed out the scent of gunpowder and metal as soon as he'd entered the room that fateful first morning at Molly's, and he knew from the pictures he'd seen at Heero and Duo's apartment that all of the pilots were carrying more concealed weapons then the most highly trained Auror. He didn't have to like it, but Heero was grateful that he left it alone for the time being.
That itching feeling was spreading. He hated being so open – even during his stint with the Preventers, Lady Une had allowed them to skip out on the ceremonies and the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the community, letting them do the background work where they could do the observing rather then be the ones observed.
If anyone had wondered why the boys were so paranoid about being shot in the back, they chalked it up to the intense training they'd had since their formative years. Having "Keep your cover at all time!" drilled into you at an impressionable age had its way of leaving a mark. Unconsciously, Heero's trigger finger twitched.
Ron steered them around a loud witch and wizard couple who were arguing with a potions vendor about the abnormal cost of a simple healing elixir for arthritis pain. The large antiquated Magical Menagerie sign loomed just ahead of them. Heero noted the absence of Duo from the window and concluded the boy must have gone indoors. He would have liked to take Duo on the ride through the underground caverns again, but they'd done that their first time in Diagon Alley, and Duo was more entranced by the strange animals in the window.
'Besides,' he'd said, smirking. 'Deathscythe gives a more impressive ride when I let 'er rip!'
Shaking his head in amusement, Heero absently strolled past Ron and Sirius into the pet store. He froze.
That drawling voice, that familiar blonde hair – Heero paused on the threshold of the pet store and felt his eyebrows raise.
Duo was crouched in front of a row of cages containing Kneasels, and behind him stood Wufei and-
"MALFOY?"
The blonde head snapped up, turning to pin a familiar grey-eyed gaze on him.
"POTTER?"
Heero was only semi-aware of Duo's arms threading around his waist, saying something, but he was unable to understand the words through the roaring in his ears as another flood of memories rushed through him.
A pointed face staring in the window as they watched the birth of a baby Ridgeback. Three boys, two following their pale-faced ringleader as they dressed in black swooping masked robes and a scream of, "Expacto Patronus!" as they fell away...
His eyes narrowed as he returned to his senses and his ice-blue eyes drilled a hole into the suddenly familiar figure before him.
"Malfoy... "
Duo felt his partner's muscles tense and he pulled back, looking at Heero in concern. The Japanese boy was staring at Draco with the sort of intensity Duo had assigned to mission assignments, his fingers clutching Duo's braid tightly, cobalt blue lasers highlighting Wufei's friend in their sights.
Darting a glance back towards the blonde, he reached up and cupped Heero's chin in his hand, turning that stubborn gaze back towards him. It was like trying to manipulate solid granite but finally, Heero's eyes focussed on his.
"Duo?"
"Yeah. Me Duo, you Heero." He tilted his head towards the blonde. "Him, Draco. Bad?"
Heero blinked, momentarily derailed. Duo hid a smile at his success in sidetracking. "What?"
Sighing, Duo patted his cheek before turning around to face Draco. This was interesting. He didn't know the blonde boy, but he'd arrived with Wufei, and Wufei seemed to find him an acceptable person to hang with. Wufei's judgement carried a lot of weight with Duo.
On the other hand, Heero going into serious soldier mode meant not-so-good things. He noted that Wufei had seemed to realize this himself, for he stepped back, aligning himself with Heero and Duo automatically, his sword drawn. New friend or no, there was a lot to be said for comrades-in-arms.
The boy – Draco, Duo recalled – was still frozen after his initial outburst, watching as they seemed to line up like soldiers at a firing squad. Duo was about to find out what the deal was when Sirius and Ron burst through the doors of the pet store.
"Heero stop!" Ron yelped. His face was white and he was flapping his arms frantically, his ill-fitting robes flapping like outspread wings.
"Don't kill him!" Sirius added quickly. They pulled up short as they took in the harsh stances of the four. "Oh good – he's still alive."
"Sort of good," Ron muttered, shooting a glare at Draco. Whatever he had feared, seeing Draco alive and apparently unharmed had relieved him. Still, there was definite tension there.
Duo sighed and put his fingers to his lips, blowing once, sharply. The high pitched whistle had its desired effect, and everyone's gaze suddenly focused on him.
"Okay." He grinned disarmingly at Draco. "Well, this doesn't look good, I have to admit. You know Heero, he knows you, Ron and Sirius seem to think Heero's gonna pull his gun and start firing – this is all very interesting, I must say." Duo stalked forward, his eyes raking over Draco's figure top to bottom. "You're not carrying, except a wand of course, so I can rule out a gunfight." He held Draco's gaze with his. "And Wufei seems to think you're an okay kind of guy, which is a major point in your favour buddy."
Wufei snorted.
"So what I think," Duo continued, ignoring Wufei pointedly. "... is that you and Heero have a not-so-nice past meeting-type deal happening here. Bullies, enemies, childhood pals – something. Am I right?"
Ron choked. "Childhood pals?" Wufei put his hand on Ron's shoulder, and the redhead quieted. Sirius watched his godson's boyfriend with interest.
"Okay, rule that out." Duo drew an imaginary line in the air. "This leaves enemies or bullies. Which to tell you the truth, doesn't sound like a good kind of choice."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Draco finally spat out, his eyes large, darting back and forth from Heero to Duo to Wufei and back again. "Potter? What the hell happened to you?"
Heero didn't say anything but he did keep staring. If Duo hadn't grown a kind of immunity to that look, it would be slightly alarming. Duo waggled his fingers in front of Draco's eyes, drawing his attention back again.
"Yo – Blondie? I'm talking here. You're doing the listening. Got it?" Duo gave him a thumbs up. "See, I'm kind of like a mediator – they tell me I'm good at talking."
"I believe Hilde said more along the lines that you never shut up."
"Quiet 'Fei! Anyway, see, the reaction Heero just gave? Means he's thiiiiss close – "Duo held his fingers a millimetre apart. "- from pulling a gun on ya." He leaned in closer. "Any reason I should let him?"
"You're insane!" Draco glared at him. "Potter? Weasely!" The confusion on his face had bypassed fear and was heading straight into fury. Heero cleared his throat.
"Relax Duo," he finally spoke up. "Malfoy is... an old classmate of mine."
"Really?" Duo cocked his head to one side. He folded his arms. "And you want to kill him why?"
Heero snorted and cuffed the American lightly. "There's not going to be any killing."
Duo looked at him for a long moment, searching for something only he could see. Heero returned his gaze steadily. Finally Duo nodded, the serious look in his eyes seeming to vanish, and Wufei echoed the movement, sheathing his sword in one fluid movement. His dark eyes still held a question in their depths and Heero nodded.
"It's a long story. And I'd rather not tell it in front of strangers."
Draco glared. "What – you're just going to leave? Potter, I thought you were dead! And why do you look like that?"
Heero glanced back at Draco, a smirk on his face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Malfoy."
"Then you'd better convince me." Draco glared. "I'm sure the Daily Prophet would be interested in hearing about your little resurrection."
Wufei cleared his throat. "I would like to know what is happening as well. Might I suggest that Draco accompany us back to the Burrow? In case we have to... quiet, any leaks."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" He didn't seem to like what Wufei's words implied. Sirius nodded, glancing around.
"As it is, we seem to be drawing a crowd," he said, motioning to the people watching them in the pet store. Surreptitiously he pulled his cloak a little tighter around him. Ron turned bright red.
"Bring Malfoy back HOME?" he barked. "Are you all stark raving nutters?"
"Better there then here," Duo said soothingly. "Less people. More private." He saw the tension still rising in Heero, and Sirius didn't seem too thrilled by the attention he was receiving. He jerked his head towards the door. "Let's move."
They filed out of the building, Sirius, Ron and Heero ahead, and Wufei and Duo following behind the bewildered Draco Malfoy. Once Heero crossed the stoop of the store however, he came to an abrupt halt, one hand raised as he turned his gaze on the crowd.
Heero would be the last person to ever say he was grateful to Doctor J for his training, but he couldn't help but be thankful he'd at least been thorough. The genetic enhancements the mad scientist had built into Heero only helped him on his missions. As a result, no matter how painful the procedures had been, Heero had grown used to depending on his abilities to alert him of danger.
Like now. Nerves pricked and itched with the tension he'd felt before. He had thought it was simply because he was out in the open – he cursed inwardly as he realized it was his training kicking in, alerting him of something not quite right.
The signal Heero gave was immediately picked up on, and Duo and Wufei immediately scanned the streets for whatever had alerted their friend.
Duo felt the hair stick up on the back of his neck as he finally registered that there was something going on. Something wasn't right. "Fei?"
"I know Maxwell." Wufei was the perfect picture of calm, one hand resting on his scabbard, the other slowly reaching behind his back.
"What are you doing?" Draco complained. "Let me go—"
"HIT THE DIRT!" Duo suddenly shouted, lunging forward and pushing Draco into Sirius and Ron, slamming all three of them to the ground in a heap behind a cart filled with strange food items, landing on top of them. Wufei had dropped to his knees the second Duo had cried out and he watched in amazement as a low beam of green light flashed through the crowd.
Heero dodged rather then ducked the beam and Wufei tracked the source, scanning the rooftops of the old buildings. A scream came up from the crowd and he saw Duo whisper a harsh, "Stay DOWN!" to the three beneath him as he clambered over them, heading in the direction the light had gone. Wufei knew he was going to check and see if there were any casualties.
Heero scrambled back towards him, gun in hand. His face was set, jaw clenched tightly. Wufei didn't look at directly at him but pointed to the skyline. "It was a downward shot, coming from the rooftops in that direction. I don't see anyone yet."
"They might be invisible," Heero muttered, glaring at the empty ridge. Then his eyes narrowed as he caught a faint trace of movement. "Or not." He indicated with his hand, and Wufei nodded, bringing his gun around. He flicked off the safety.
Duo appeared on Wufei's other side. His face was blank; his eyes emotionless in the grip of Shinigami's persona, but his tone betrayed his anger. "One woman dead. No signs of trauma. Magic?"
Heero nodded tersely, jerking his head towards the Owl Emporium. "Rooftop, eleven o'clock. They're after me most likely."
"Better get ready to run then, lover-mine." Nodding at the columns holding up the awnings for the Emporium, Duo gave his arm a quick squeeze before he rolled to the side and disappeared into the fleeing crowd. Wufei watched the skyline intently.
"Yuy?" A plan would be a good thing right about then, was the unspoken thought between them.
"Cover them Wufei," Heero said, glancing calmly at Ron and Draco who hadn't moved, and were staring back with a mixture of fear and shock in their eyes. Wufei nodded and backed up a step, still hunched over. His gun was still aimed unerringly at the rooftops, but his free hand rested on his sword. Heero knew Wufei would protect them with his life if necessary.
Sirius, on the other hand, had his wand out and crept back towards them. "Sirius?"
"I was an Auror before you were even dreamed about kid," Sirius said, brandishing his wand. His blue eyes were almost black with anger at their situation, and he stared back at Heero resolutely. "Guns aren't going to save you from the Killing Curse."
Heero looked like he wanted to argue, but then he gave in, nodding once. "Help Wufei protect Ron and Draco."
Sirius looked at him, startled, but then he nodded and moved back beside the Asian who grunted his approval at the exposed wand. But he couldn't help asking, "What about you?"
"That's what I keep Duo around for," Heero said absently, checking the clip in his gun and then turning his gaze back on the nearly deserted street. There was no sign of the long-haired American – as he knew there wouldn't be - but somewhere among the buildings, the over-turned carts and display cases, he knew Duo was waiting for him to move. So he did.
Dimly, he heard Sirius curse as Heero suddenly broke free of their tenuous cover, racing across the street like the devil himself was after him. Which, Heero thought as he leaped over a display of snake skins, is probably very likely. He found it highly improbable that a deranged witch or wizard would show up in Diagon Alley and start firing off Avada Kadavera's by mere coincidence.
He raced on, trying to avoid the clumps of terrified witches and wizards that huddled against the buildings, trying to get out of the way. The last thing he wanted to do was to make an innocent civilian a target, and he waved at one cringing couple, warning them to stay behind the store's awning poles. The elderly gentleman, though obviously terrified, nodded and huddled closer to the wall, wrapping one arm around his wife in an effort to protect her.
Suddenly his senses screamed 'Ave Maria'; he rolled as a flash of light fried a stand that sold copies of the Daily Prophet, and he watched as a stack of Witch's Wizarding Weekly went up in a flash of fire and smoke. "Hn." His quickness was rewarded with the sound of a gun going off behind him. His distraction had obviously given Duo the target he had been waiting for.
Immediately he came to a stop. Turning around in a crouch, he was just in time to see a black-robed figure roll over the side of the Eyelops Owl Emporium with a scream, plummeting to the ground below. He watched the person hit the ground with a sickening thud.
Duo emerged from where he'd taken refuge behind one of the columns of a smaller building next to the Emporium, his gun still held in his sure grip. Heero jogged back, watching as Duo nudged the body with his boot, finally kneeling down to check for a pulse.
"Do you honestly expect one Maxwell?" Wufei asked from where he remained with Sirius and the two boys. His sword was still held loosely in his hand, but his gun was now pointed at the ground, the safety back on. "It was one of your shots after all."
"Better safe then sorry, Wuffers," Duo shrugged, placing two fingers against the cloth-covered throat. After a second, he shook his head, and stood back up.
Heero was aware of the crowd slowly coming back to life, frightened shopkeepers and their patrons moving forward. It was like watching a Muggle car wreck – no one could resist trying to take a look. Still, many of the Alley's occupants had disapparated as soon as the Killing Curse had hit, Heero noted, watching how few people were actually left. That reminded him... .
He turned away from the body and headed back towards the pet store. He passed Ron and Draco who had a million questions die on their lips at the enraged look in his narrowed eyes, smouldering embers so close to erupting into flames.
An elderly witch lay flat on her back, her sightless eyes gazing up at the sky in complete surprise. The green scar that marked the Killing Curse was right between her eyes. Heero sighed. He didn't have a clue who she was. His eyes travelled across what must have been her grocery bag, its contents strewn across the Alley floor. Just another innocent bystander, dead because she had chosen the wrong day to go shopping.
Heero paused, and then knelt, touching her hand. Then he reached out and closed her eyes. The Ministry would likely handle the rest.
Standing, he returned to the corpse. Sirius was crouching next to it, and was just about to rip the mask off when Duo snarled and produced a knife out of thin air. He was nothing but a blur as he whirled around and let loose the blade. It flashed through the air and struck a second black-robed figure that had suddenly emerged from Madam Malkin's clothing store, burying itself to the hilt.
Heero didn't even have time to draw his gun before the person's wand fell from suddenly nerveless fingers as they keeled over.
"Anymore?" Duo asked rhetorically, another blade appearing between his finger and thumb. His words, though light, were punctuated by the deadly gleam in his violet eyes. Wufei's sword had come up the instant Duo had moved, and he now inserted himself between Heero and the second body, in case a third assassin would dare try his or her luck.
Suddenly there was a burst of popping noises as Ministry Aurors suddenly arrived. Sirius, still in shock over the swiftness of Duo's actions, and the cruel harshness in the eyes of the pilots, acted on instinct. Seconds later, a shaggy, black dog was crouched on the ground, watching warily as the dark grey and gold-trimmed robes of the officials swarmed ever closer. Absently, Heero let his hand drift to the dogs head, stroking one ear soothingly.
"P-Potter?"
Heero turned slightly and saw Draco still on the ground where Duo had thrown him and Ron. His silver-grey eyes were fixed on him; his already-pale skin had lightened about three shades. Ron's jaw was working silently, opening and closing, his eyes on the second body that had just been felled by a well-placed knife.
Wufei snorted and strode over to the second assassin, turning him over roughly. Beneath the dark mask, he could still hear a faint rasping sound, and he watched idly as the chest rose. The knife was firmly implanted in the chest, just below the heart and missing the lungs apparently. "This one's still alive. Losing your touch Maxwell?"
"I figure one of them has to answer questions. We do. Why should he get off easy?"
Heero shook his head. Trust Duo to think that death was preferable over questioning, though he supposed it had a lot to do with who your questioner was.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?" an angry voice shouted. Heero sighed and turned to face a tall, muscular man clad in Ministry robes who was striding towards him, wand in hand. Underneath his hand, he could feel Sirius tense, a low growl escaping him, and he wondered who this person was.
The man brusquely pushed his way through the small crowd that was starting to gather, and slammed out his hand. A silver-plated card was thrust into Heero's face.
"Jason Armstrong. Auror-in-Chief. Who the hell are you?"
End Chapter 21
Well. So much for wanting this to be done in 20 chapters or less. *sighs* I still haven't even gotten them back to the bloody school yet. Can we say, 'dragged out'? I knew that you could.
So there you are – 12 pages (well, 11 if you skip the authors notes), the longest chapter yet. This ought to give me some breathing room. And more to come. And if you want more, you're gonna have to tell me by leaving a review. ^_^
Stormy
Please send comments to: dingostorm@hotmail.com