04-Aug-2002
Parallel
A Harry Potter/Gundam Wing fanfic by Stormy
Rating: R
Pairings: 1x2 (more to be announced)
Warnings: Shonen ai (1x2), possible SBxRL (haven't decided yet ^^)
Spoilers: TPS, CoS, PoA, GoF, (HP) Endless Waltz (GW)
Additional Notes: Ooh!! A wee bit of snogging for those of you who want a bit of mush to go with your plot. Hopefully it isn't too overdone, nor too gushy – I don't specialize in romances.
Duo sat on the edge of the couch, his violet eyes darting from one speaker to the next. His trade-mark braid had strands of hair coming out of the tight weave all over the place where his nervous fingers had been plucking at it. A tightness had grown in his chest as Snape's explanation had gone on, and Dumbledore's final agreement with Duo's own conclusion had his stomach twisted up in knots. Something was dreadfully wrong. He looked over at Heero, horror mixing with a combination of terror and desperate denial. An entire person sent instead of a mind. A switch? Six weeks. Did that mean...
"What did you do with Heero?" he finally croaked, dazedly. Next to him, Heero's eyebrows shot straight up to his hairline, and he watched with disbelief as Duo backed away from him slowly, staring at him with an expression that made Heero's heart ache.
"Duo?"
"They said..." Duo licked his lips nervously, praying what he thought wasn't true. "They said that the spell sent you – did you replace my Heero?"
It would explain why he remembered this odd-looking entourage but it wouldn't explain why he had a full sixteen years worth of memory. But maybe Harry had just pushed his way into Heero's mind, settling in as though he owned the place... Duo's eyes widened again in fear. "Who are you?"
Heero growled and sent his best death glare at Snape and Dumbledore before turning back to him with a gentle look on his face that would have seemed completely alien to say Lady Une, or Sally Po. But to Duo, it reminded him of the times Heero had sat up with him when he was sick, or taking care of him after being injured on a mission. That simple expression did wonders for calming the American, even if it didn't dispel his fears completely.
"Heero?"
"Baka[i]," came the gentle reply. "I am the Heero you have always known. I still don't completely understand what's going on, but you don't have to worry about that."
Duo blinked and leaned forward. He looked quickly from one Prussian-blue eye to the other, searching for something and finding only honest truth reflected back on him. Heero didn't look away, only continued to stare at him steadily, a well known look of honesty there that as unmistakeable. The knots in his stomach slowly began to unravel. Shakily reaching out, Heero's larger hand swiftly caught his and pulled him in for a much-needed reassuring hug. Strong arms wrapped around him, Heero's nose nuzzling his hair and Duo slumped forward, feeling the familiar curve of Heero's back beneath his fingertips, the iron muscles tense. He drummed his fingers, automatically trying to soothe the tenseness out. Mentally reprimanding himself for jumping to such hasty conclusions, Duo pulled his head back to apologize and found himself being shushed in a manner he found most enjoyable. Several seconds – or maybe minutes, possibly years – later, the two separated, gazing at each other affectionately.
"I am a baka, neh?" Duo murmured. Heero nodded with a small smile that only he could see.
"Yes."
"Just making sure. Oi!" Without taking his eyes off Heero, Duo waved his hand in the direction of the others. "Quit gaping, and get used to it!"
Heero blinked and turned his head. Dumbledore was watching with a benevolent expression behind his spectacles. Sirius and Remus were grinning like fools, and Snape was actually laughing at the dumbstruck expression on Ron and Hermione's faces. McGonagall had her eyes covered. Heero felt his own face flush as he realized that he had tuned out the entire room when Duo had turned on him with a look he never wanted to see again.
Those expressive violet eyes looking on him with hurt and anger had nearly punched a whole in his chest. Duo was his one familiar rock, his touchstone in the universe. He needed Duo, needed him there, needed him laughing and smiling, reminding him that underneath the Perfect Soldier, he was still a human being. It was hard to remember that when people scattered from you when you walked down a hall, whispering at you, pointing fingers and calling you a machine behind your back. That Duo had almost doubted him...
Heero's fingers clutched at Duo's braid, gazing at the American. Duo smiled knowingly and curled in to him, threading his arms beneath his and around his chest, laying his head just below Heero's collarbone. His presence was fortifying and Heero mentally gave thanks that at times Duo just seemed to read his mind. It was bad enough showing this much open emotion in front of perfect strangers; he didn't think he could openly ask Duo if he wanted to snuggle as well.
Ron cleared his throat. "Well, I guess that really does prove it." His tone was awe-struck.
"Prove what," Duo asked lazily.
"That you two are a couple," Hermione answered. "It kind of took us by surprise. Six weeks ago, Harry wasn't interested in anyone really. Too worried about Voldemort and Death Eaters and everything else in between. At times it was like he was trying to get rid of even us, for fear of posing a threat to us. It just seems weird that he could have changed so much in six weeks."
"Six weeks?" Duo snorted. "Try two years."
"Two years?" Sirius asked, interested.
"Soldier Boy here had a shell made of Gundanium," Duo grinned, poking Heero in the ribs as he spoke, eliciting an annoyed grunt from his boyfriend. "It took me two years to get through to him, to get him to respond to me."
"Admirable dedication," Remus commented, smiling at the two of them.
"Try bone-headed stubbornness," Heero countered in a grumble.
"It was worth it!" Duo chimed.
"A sappy Potter is almost worse then a paranoid Potter," Snape muttered.
Duo's eyes locked on Snape, flashing with anger. "You wanna say that again, greaseball?"
Ron and Hermione gaped openly and Sirius dove behind Remus, shoving a pillow in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Snape's face turned six different shades of red and purple before he raised one shaking finger.
"You arrogant little—"
"Now, now, let's all calm down a bit," Remus held up his own hands, biting his cheek to keep the grin at bay. "Duo, Snape is just like that. Just ignore it, okay?"
Duo was still glaring at the oily-looking professor.
"Duo?"
Heero tugged on his braid wordlessly. Duo snapped his head back to Remus, smiling innocently at the man. "Okay!"
Remus blinked at the complete switch around in expression. Then he took a closer look and saw just the barest hint of rage kept in check in the back of his eyes, sparking and promising revenge. He shuddered at the way Duo was able to focus and control such anger – that took a lot of control. Remus made a quick mental note to never get Duo angry with him. A glance at Sirius and Hermione told him they were thinking the same thing. Ron was simply grinning at the American, obviously won over by the insult to one of his least-favorite professors.
Heero sighed. "Can we get on with this then?"
Dumbledore clapped his hands once. "Capitol idea m'boy." His eyes twinkled. "I believe we should continue with story – after all, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for what happened when Harry was sent here and what it has to do with you."
"And I'm sure you know what it is," Heero finished for him, looking the elderly professor straight in the eyes. "You're just waiting for your students to figure it out for themselves. An admirable way of teaching, but I am sick of waiting." His eyes stared icily at the Headmaster, making a few of the adults frown.
Hermione and Ron blinked. "But we don't know either. You'll be waiting a long time," Hermione said, a little stiffly. Heero gathered that being in the dark was unfamiliar to her.
"You're not the only students here," Heero explained, smirking. Ron and Hermione took in all their professors, including Remus and Sirius and then grinned. Minerva had a faint blush on her cheeks, and Snape was deliberately not looking at any of them. Sirius and Remus exchanged looks.
"You're always children to your parents, and you're always a student to your teacher," Duo quipped. Sirius chuckled.
"I like him," he said, jerking a thumb in Duo's direction.
Heero felt a warm fuzzy feeling spread in his chest at Sirius's remark.
"So if Heero and Harry are the same person combined, why does Heero still have all the memories of his life, and none of Harry's?" Snape asked in an attempt to get the conversation back on track. "At least, not more then simple feelings anyway."
"That's what we'll find out." Dumbledore held up his wand. Snape nodded, and even Minerva had an approving look on her face.
"What are you going to attempt," Heero asked warily. Duo's grip tightened.
"I believe that Harry's body was... *ahem*... destroyed when the spell was cast," Dumbledore said sadly. Shocked and alarmed gasps rang out at his words but he held up his hand. "The spell wasn't meant for people to be sent that way. But, his mind was sent on to you, Heero. "
"Locked inside me," Heero nodded. "At least, that's a plausible theory."
"What I propose to do is remove Harry's mind and spirit from you and place it in this." Dumbledore reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out a small piece of what looked like brown crystal. It looked like it had been part of something bigger, broken off. McGonagall nodded. Hermione was squinting at the shard.
"What is it?"
"The last remaining fragment of the Philosopher's Stone," Dumbledore said softly.
Snape looked impressed. "Excellent idea Albus."
Hermione shook her head. "Wait a minute. Harry told us that you decided the Stone was too dangerous. He said you destroyed it."
Dumbledore smiled at the girl. "I did. I have." He held up the shard. "What you see here is a mere piece of the Stone, kept for emergencies just such as this. What do you know about the Stone, Miss Granger?"
"That it holds the secret to Immortal Life," Hermione answered promptly. "It allowed your friend Nicholas Flamel and his wife to live for over six hundred years."
"Correct, Miss Granger. Were we at Hogwarts, I would award Gryffindor with ten points. As it is..." his eyes slid over to McGonagall.
"I shall make sure of it Albus," Minerva said, smiling slightly.
"Wonderful!" Dumbledore clapped his hands again. "Now, Miss Granger, and the rest of you – do you know what else the Stone is capable of?"
Shaken heads all the way around.
"The Stone can act as a storage capacity for life," the Headmaster explained. "It literally holds life; IS life in some ways. By drawing Harry's spirit out of Heero's body, he can safely reside here in the Stone until we can make some...other arrangements for him."
"What, like conjuring up a body?" Ron asked sharply.
"Precisely, Mr. Weasely.
"That's all just peachy-keen for you guys," Duo's voice suddenly drawled out, startling all of them. They turned to see the American still lazily reclining in Heero's arms but his eyes were flashing bits of violet fire at them. "But just how safe is this whole procedure for Heero? I don't know your Harry from Adam so forgive me when I tell you; Heero's safety is my primary concern. NOT Harry's."
Sirius bit back the angry growl that almost escaped but Duo's eyes fixed on him anyway. A fleeting expression of apology flashed across his face but his determination was resolute. Sirius subsided, somewhat understanding the boy's loyalty. He couldn't find fault with something he'd probably declare himself on Harry's behalf.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to himself. "The procedure is simple enough for me to complete. I need only bind Harry's soul to my wand and then transfer him to the Stone where he will be safe until we can procure for him a new body."
Duo eyed the older wizard with hard, battle-trained eyes before turning to look at Heero. "Well Hee-chan? It's your call after all. What do you want to do?"
Heero looked around the room once before looking back at Duo. He could see concern in his eyes, concern and pain and a healthy dose of fear to boot. That shook him a bit. Duo was fearless in most aspects of life. He would charge headfirst, armed with a butter knife, into a factory of armed mobile Dolls if doing so was for the good of the team, or even if Heero simply asked him to. Such was the loyalty Duo was famous for, the trust he had in his partner and his friends. The only thing that could scare the American was the loss of someone he cared for.
Heero had always known that Duo loved him. Seeing the fear in his partner's eyes now, only reinforced that knowledge and he ignored the twinge of guilt he felt for being somewhat happy that Duo was worried about him so deeply.
"My call, huh?" He murmured, reaching up and stroking the baby-fine hairs at the nape of Duo's neck. "My call is your call. Always has been. Always will be. What do you think, partner?"
Duo sighed, burying his head in Heero's shoulder for a second before lifting his face up again. "I think you'd better get to the bottom of this Heero." He cracked a weak grin. "It'll drive you nuts if you don't, and then you will drive me nuts."
Heero chuckled. "Ryoukai.[ii]"
"I take it to mean I should proceed?" Dumbledore asked calmly. Heero exchanged one last look with Duo who gripped his hand so tightly he cut off the circulation, and then nodded. "Very well."
He directed Heero to lie down on the couch. Duo looked like he wanted to protest when Dumbledore gently informed him that he had to let go of Heero so they could complete the spell, but a simple word from Heero made Duo nod. Letting go, he brushed his hand across Heero's cheekbone, a wordless promise to be there no matter what, and then he turned, stalking to the head of the couch and perching on the edge, watching them all with suspicious, cat-like eyes that reminded Hermione eerily of a predator on the hunt. The braided boy had a wicked-looking dagger in his hands again, and was playing with the handle, rotating the blade around his fingers in a dangerous nervous gesture.
Sirius had one eye on Heero but his heart went out to the American who, despite all appearances to the contrary, had to be scared out of his mind, especially considering that they were about to pull a spirit out of his lover's head. Despite Dumbledore's reassurances, Sirius was also worried. Not only for his godson, which was a given, but for the Japanese pilot lying on the couch with his eyes closed. Sirius didn't want to see either of them hurt if they could help it. He decided against laying a hand on Duo's shoulder, not knowing how the American would take the gesture, and settled for making eye contact, trying to reassure him without words, that Heero would be okay. Duo's violet eyes narrowed slightly, as though judging Sirius's sincerity for himself, before relaxing a little bit.
Snape and Minerva stood on either side of the Headmaster, watching with fascination as Albus placed the Philosopher Stone shard on Heero's chest. The Stone seemed to react with something in the boy, glowing ever so slightly and Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction.
"Let's begin."
Holding his wand over Heero's head, the Headmaster began to mutter something under his breath. Duo's sharp ears picked up a few Latin phrases but of such an arcane dialect that he couldn't translate it, at least not so that it made sense. Then something happened that made him ignore everything else.
A soft glow had surrounded Heero's body, a light blue, almost white, like a mist rising off the water in early morning. It pulsed gently, and as Duo watched it, wide-eyed, he realized that it must have been in tune with Heero's heartbeat.
"Whoa," he whispered, his eyes huge.
"You said it," breathed Ron who was peering over the back of the couch. Hermione stood with him, and the two were unconsciously holding each other's hand as they watched the magic being worked. Duo smiled as he registered the closeness of the two, before looking back at Heero. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer, and automatically, he reached up to his shirt collar, pulling out the small, golden cross he carried with him everywhere. Duo was not an overly religious person, preferring to follow the path of Shinigami than any other deity, but it was in times like this that the teachings Sister Helen had once imparted to him came back full-throttle. Gripping the cross in his hand, he watched the body of his lover glow as Dumbledore touched the wand to his forehead, and he sent off a quick prayer that Heero would be all right.
It was as soon as the wand touched Heero that things rapidly went to hell.
A bright light flashed as the wood touched the boy's brow, radiating out from the faint outline of the scar that was so famous in Britain. Blindingly bright, even Dumbledore stumbled back a step in complete shock. Heero's body convulsed and the Japanese pilot screamed.
Duo's eyes snapped open, bright light or no bright light, at Heero's scream. He had never heard the Perfect Soldier sound so panicked, so afraid or in so much pure pain before. Like lightning, Duo leaped across the couch, pushing Dumbledore all the way back, knocking Snape down and sending Minerva stumbling into Sirius and Remus who caught her automatically. The light was dying down and bright spots were still flashing in Duo's vision, but he ignored it as he whipped the gun out of his back pocket, training it on Dumbledore as he crouched in front of his partner.
"What the fuck did you do to him?" he hissed, his eyes narrow slits of a rage barely kept in check. "If you hurt him I swear to god I'll kill you!"
Snape got to his feet, glaring at the boy. He looked like he was about to start ranting, but Dumbledore put out a hand, stopping Snape in his verbal tracks. Sirius and Remus let Minerva go as she assured them she was fine, and then watched the boy-terrorist warily, wands out. Hermione and Ron had their own wands out but looked reluctant to use them. Duo's eyes were focused on the headmaster but no one doubted that if anyone else moved, the braided boy would be on them in a flash.
"I tried to do the spell," Dumbledore said simply. His ageless eyes stared directly into Duo's, conveying all the sincerity Duo had felt before. "The spell tried to separate Harry from Heero."
"You said it wouldn't hurt him," Duo growled.
"And it wouldn't have," Dumbledore agreed calmly. "If I had been able to separate them."
"What do you mean?" The gun was unwavering. Duo had no illusions that if they wanted to, they could disarm him with their magic, but damn it, if he had to go down, he was going down fighting.
"Albus, you're not saying what I think you are," Snape said slowly, the anger on his face slowly draining away to be replaced with something else Duo recognized as shock.
"I think I am, Severus." Dumbledore had a frown on his face. "Duo, may I check on Heero please?"
Duo snarled, but his hand wavered slightly. Searching those blue eyes again, he saw nothing but concern and worry, and Duo let his instincts take over. They had always served him well. Standing up from his crouch, he relaxed on the trigger of his weapon, engaging the safety automatically as he motioned for the Headmaster to come over. His muscles were still tense however, and he watched the rest of them with wary eyes, silently ordering them to stay the hell away. Hermione looked as though she was going to move closer anyway, and only Ron's hand on her arm prevented her from doing just that.
Dumbledore smiled at Duo, murmuring "Thank you," before kneeling next to the couch. He held his wand over Heero's body which made the hair on Duo's neck stand up and his trigger finger twitch, but he remained motionless, watching. After a minute, Dumbledore stood up, nodding.
"Professor?" Sirius was watching him, pale-faced. His bottom lip was chewed to pieces where he'd bitten it when Heero had screamed.
"Why did the spell go wrong?" Remus asked urgently. "What happened?"
Dumbledore looked them all in the eye, especially Duo. "I couldn't separate the two of them, because there was nothing to separate."
Confused looks sprouted on Sirius and Ron, but Remus, McGonagall and Snape gasped in understanding. Even Hermione had an amazed look on her face as she figured it out. Duo narrowed his eyes.
"Explain."
"I will, Duo. Severus, is there a way to confirm just how far back the merging was?" Albus asked. Snape nodded slowly, his face still pale.
"I believe so, Sir."
"I think it would be best if you got on that," the headmaster said wearily, and Snape nodded dumbly.
"Albus?" Sirius looked from Heero to the Headmaster. "What's going on?"
"There was nothing to separate," the headmaster repeated. "Harry is Heero and Heero is Harry."
"We were wrong in assuming that since Harry had been missing for six weeks in our time, he would only be in this time for the same length," Minerva began to explain slowly.
"We tracked Harry to this time, when his mind and magic were active," Remus said shockily. "Did something strange happen on that mission of yours six weeks ago, Duo?"
Duo frowned. "No more then usual," he said shortly. Then his eyes widened. "But..."
"But what?" Remus pressed him.
"I don't know. Sally and Wufei were under heavy fire when we showed up to pull them out." Duo's eyes faded out slightly as he thought back to the hellish mission. "It seemed like there was no way to get them out. Heero was so determined to save them that he raced through a hail of bullets to get to where they were." He grinned slightly. "Of course, as soon as he started running, so did I. I wasn't going to let him risk his life like that by himself. I remembered thinking, 'any second now we're gonna die.' The bullets were flying everywhere – corporate thugs can't hit the broad side of a barn y'know – but one of them was bound to hit its mark. Except none of them did." He blinked. "I was thinking how god damn lucky we were when we found Wufei and Sally, but they were staring at us in shock. Sally wanted to know how we had deflected the bullets. Apparently she thought she had seen something glowing around us. I told her it must have been the light reflecting off the gun fire or something, and then we were too busy getting them out. Heero took a bullet when he was binding Sally's wounds just enough to keep her from bleeding to death while we escaped. She had used all her strength to bind Wufei's." Duo came back to himself with a start. "Sally blamed it on the shock when she remembered later on, and smacked me and Heero for taking such a blind risk, running over like that. But could that glow she mentioned..."
"I believe that could have been a manifestation of Harry's magic," Dumbledore said, smiling as though something had been confirmed for him. In a way, Duo supposed it had been. "Six weeks ago was when Harry disappeared. Only a few days after that, we were searching for Harry's magical signature, trying to track him through time. It took a long time but finally, what we felt must have been that surge of magical power Heero used unconsciously. Sirius spent the last two weeks trying to confirm if Heero was really the one we were looking for."
"It was hard," Sirius admitted. "Heero has only the faintest hint of Harry's scent, and I couldn't figure out why he would have that at all."
"Scent?" Duo raised an eyebrow. Sirius looked away. After a minute, Duo spoke. "What did you mean by tracking down when the merging took place?"
Dumbledore and Snape exchanged glances this time. Snape was the one who answered.
"Because Albus believes, and so do I, that Harry's mind and faculties, such as they are—"
Sirius growled.
"—were sent into Heero's body when Heero was an infant," Snape finished rather quickly, glaring at Sirius. Duo cocked an eyebrow.
"Say what?"
"Think about it Duo," Hermione said excitedly as she moved closer. Duo quirked a grin at her apparent forgetfulness at the loaded weapon he was still currently holding, and relaxed a bit. "If Harry merged with Heero at an age where Heero still hadn't formed his own coherent psyche and personality—"
"They basically are one and the same," Duo finished, an understanding light dawning in his expressive eyes. "Heero and Harry are the same person."
"But what about the scar?" Ron asked, his nose twitching with confusion. "This is all mind stuff – if Harry doesn't have his original body, why does Heero have his scar?"
"Magic?" Duo guessed. "C'mon, you people would know more about this then me."
"I suspect you've hit the nail on the proverbial head, Mr. Maxwell," Dumbledore conceded.
"So Heero is Harry," Duo repeated softly. He looked at all the astonished faces, and then back at the face of his own lover, pale and sleeping on the couch in front of him. He ran a hand through his bangs, sliding it down the back of his skull to tug at the braid in sheer frustration, summing up the situation in two words.
"Well, fuck."
End Part 6
Notes:
[i] Fool, baka
[ii] Understood.
Feedback please? Honestly, it encourages me to write faster!
Stormy
Please send comments to: dingostorm@hotmail.com