Title: Brewing Trouble
Author: Grevola
Rating/Word Count: PG, 1334
Notes: Don't own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter. Set in the same universe as the Sorting Hat Series and What Goes Up. Also posted on my LJ.
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When Professor Snape called Hiiro Yui into his office, Hiiro was braced to expect the worst. Only two days ago, Snape had caught Hiiro roaming the halls, ofuda in hand, looking for the troll that had some how gotten loose in the building. The Professor had been more than slightly annoyed to stumble across the Japanese boy, and had first locked him into a class room, and then set him a month of detentions for being a bloody idiot.
Hiiro had protested this at the time, of course, citing that he hadn't wanted to fight the troll so much as make sure Harry Potter wasn't about to go get himself killed by it. Snape had only sneered at him, "And pray tell me, Yui, what an untrained eleven year old could do to protect Potter that a school of the best witches and wizards in the world couldn't manage?"
He hadn't had a good answer for that, not that he suspected Snape would have listened even if he did. He'd been especially unhappy when he learned that Harry had fought the troll, nearly been killed, and he'd won Gryffindor five points for his trouble. At least Snape wasn't going to take points from Gryffindor for Hiiro's little excursion. Of course, that probably meant his idea of detention was worse.
Hiiro knocked on the door to Snape's office and was relieved when the professor told him to come inside immediately. It was very cold in the hall, and as much as he reminded himself that an onmyoji does not stand around in dank caves shivering, he fights demons there like a man, his toes kept reminding him that they were going numb, mysterious powers of the onmyoji or not.
Fortunately Snape's office was somewhat warmer, with an eerie green fire in the grate, and two uncomfortable chairs set across from the professor's large, dark desk. Snape was staring at him as he came in. "I'm glad you decided to join us, Yui," he said, "we'll begin as soon as Maxwell graces us with his presence." The corner of his mouth twisted up slightly in an unpleasant smile, "Which should be right about now."
"I'm going, I'm going! You don't have ta push!" Came a loud, annoyed voice from the hall. The door burst open, and Duo Maxwell, bane of staff and students alike, stumbled into the room. Behind him, the Bloody Baron glowered from the doorway.
"Professor," The Baron said, then he drifted off down the hall.
"Load of bloody rubbish, gotta be unusual cruelty, setting ghosts on students," Duo muttered to himself as he stomped across the room and nearly threw himself into the other chair, where he slouched horribly and glared at Snape through his bangs.
"Maxwell," Snape said, "I am sure asking the Baron to escort you to my office is not unusually cruel punishment. If you would like, I'm certain something could be arranged to offer you a comparison."
Duo heaved a sigh, "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. So why am I here, anyway? And what's he doing here?" He pointed rudely at Hiiro.
"Yui is here because I told him to be," Snape said, "Now, Maxwell I have to ask if you are taking my class seriously."
"What do you mean?" Duo asked. Hiiro noticed he sounded more calculating than repentant.
"In the past two months you have managed to start two fires, melt three cauldrons, none of which were your own, and I'm sure you are behind the spontaneous bouts of boils Crabbe and Goyle keep sprouting."
"You can't prove nothing," Duo said.
Snape gave him a long look. "I'm sure I could," he said after a while. "But more importantly than your little pranks, you have failed to produced a single potion that I could in good conscience or bad give a passing mark."
"What about my boil elixir?"
"That is not the point, Maxwell." Snape snarled. "The point is you persist in not applying yourself. The other teachers may think pushing you will some how turn you into a rogue warlock, but I personally doubt it."
Duo's eyes had gotten increasingly wide by the end of Snape's rant, and he was sitting more still than Hiiro had ever seen him before. Hiiro himself was a bit surprised by the accusation. While Duo certainly lacked a basic respect for school rules, he hardly seemed about to turn into a master of the black arts. However, if the potential was there, he would require close watching.
"Now, normally I detest having to look beyond my own house for this sort of thing," Snape continued, "but I am assigning you to be Yui's partner for the rest of the term."
"What?!"
"Sir?!"
The professor raised a hand for silence, "Enough. Maxwell, I have paired you with every single Slytherin of your year. And while I'm sure you would adore being paired with Winner or Barton indefinitely, you seem to cause the most trouble when you are with them."
"But sir," Hiiro broke in, "wouldn't Miss Granger be more suited? She has the best marks in the class."
"And she is also an insufferable perfectionist who would rather brew the whole potion herself than risk Maxwell doing a less than perfect job of helping." While his assessment was blunt, Hiiro could not fault it for being incorrect. "Additionally, I have spoken with Professor MacGonagall. So Yui, as your detention for being involved in that troll fiasco, you will be tutoring Maxwell Monday and Wednesday afternoons. You will both meet me here in my office promptly at five thirty so that I can keep an eye on you."
Hiiro's eyes went wide, "But sir, that's during Gryffindor's Quddich practice." Harry would be not only out of his sight, but hot dogging on that cursed fancy broom. Even if no one attacked him, there was a good chance he'd manage to break his neck.
"Happily," Snape said, "that won't be a problem because you are not in fact on the Gryffindor Quiddich team."
He didn't really have an answer to that, so he just bowed "Yes sir."
Snape nodded at both of the boys, "That will be all."
Duo was surprisingly quiet until they were out in the hall. Once the office door had shut behind them, both boys looked at each other and sized one another up. At last the Irish boy grinned, "I don't want your help."
"Aa, I know" Hiiro said.
"I don't need your help either.
Hiiro nodded, "So it seems."
"I just don't like following directions. And the class is so boring." Duo huffed a theatrical sigh.
"I don't want to help you either," he said.
Duo glared at him with his arms crossed, and Hiiro wondered what he had said wrong.
"Just don't get in my way. Snape's gonna have my arse if I don't shape up."
Hiiro shrugged, "That would be easy enough. Professor MacGonagall will be unhappy if I do not serve my detention."
"Peace?" Duo asked, extending a hand.
Very carefully Hiiro folded his hands through the sleeves of his robe and bowed over the extended hand, "Peace." When he straightened, Duo looked a bit confused, but pleased.
They walked aways down the hall together in silence before Duo nudged the other boy with his shoulder, "So Hiiro. You got mixed up with the troll? How'd you manage that?"
Hiiro sighed, "It is a long story."
Duo grinned, "Then come on! We'll steal some nosh from the kitchens, and you can tell me."
"Alright," Hiiro said, "But I want you to explain to me what you did to Pansy Parkinson. She runs in terror whenever she sees you."
And thus a very unlikely friendship was born.