ENAH - 37

Two Stories

IMPORTANT: (MUST READ) This is another Round Robin being written on Slytherin Mafia's yahoo group. With their permission, I put this up on here for other people to read and give ideas. This will be updated weekly or whenever the next person puts their chapter up. Any reviews will be passed on to them and replies will be the same. Please R&R. Thanks. IMPORTANT: (MUST READ)

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Duo led the group to one of the Sweeper common rooms. There were only a few people in it already, and one look at the group they all vacated the room. All of them had broad grins on their faces, and most of them ruffling Harry's hair as they passed Wufei.

"Thanks for bringing him back." The last of them murmured quietly.

"Take a seat." Duo motions, lifting Harry easily out of Wufei's grasp, "How bad was it?" He asked Quatre once they were all settled. Harry still asleep in Duo's lap.

"Pretty bad." Quatre shrugged, "They got nasty after Harry escaped. They let him stay with me at first. Then they took me away for the first round. When I got back he was gone. The alarm indicating an escape didn't go off for a few hours… I don't know what happened to him. I probably shouldn't have baited Colonel Une, but I couldn't resist. She was demanding that I tell her where Harry would have gone."

"They didn't hurt him?" Heero frowned in surprise.

"Trieze is against harming children." Duo supplied with a shrug, "Even if it would get information from me. Colonel Une will not disobey Trieze. Lady Une is too gentle to."

"Huh?" Wufei blinked.

"Split personality." Duo answered, "So you don't know what happened to my little bro?"

"I'm sorry, Duo." Quatre actually looked guilty, "I don't. And given what he can do… We can't even be sure that they didn't hurt him. Trieze may have high principles… But not all of OZ does."

"I had breakfast with Trowa." Harry yawned, "We talked."

"You did?" Duo asked gently, "What did you talk about, kiddo?"

Thankfully Harry was still half asleep, or he would have probably noticed the tenseness in the other Pilots, which Duo was managing to disguise. Even if Trowa was still loyal to them, it was foolish to believe that the conversation hadn't been listened to by other ears. Harry could have inadvertently revealed crucial information to someone he trusted.

"Animals." Harry murmured, "He told me he'd seen a dragon once. Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah, kid." Duo smiled, "Really cool. Anything else?"

"Told him about the mermaid. And he told me about a hurt wolf he helped. And a desert cat, which he didn't think knew that he meant it no harm. We talked about animals and plants and stuff. Then some men came to take me back to the cell. I got away and hid. I didn't want to leave Quatre behind. He told me to!"

"Shush, little one." Duo stroked Harry's hair, "Get some rest. You did a good thing. Go back to sleep."

The other three didn't speak, as Duo wove a spell of words and touches to draw the small boy back into slumber. Once the boy was firmly back in the arms of Morpheus, Duo spoke again.

"Thank you, Quatre."

"It is alright, my friend." Quatre smiled, "Though I have to ask, Heero, Wufei… How did you find him? Harry… Is very good at hiding."

"He found us." Heero's lips twitched upwards slightly, "Or rather he found Wufei."

Two pairs of intrigued eyes flashed to the stoic Chinese man.

"He dropped out of a ventilation duct…" Wufei began.

"He does have a fondness for those." Duo shrugged.

"And punched me." Wufei finished, blushing.

"Where? In the stomach?" Quatre snorted slightly, "He can't have reached any higher."

"Lower." Heero's lips were definitely smiling now.

Both Quatre and Duo spluttered in quiet laughter, as they tried not to wake Harry, and yet were unable to hide their mirth.

"I'd better put the kid to bed." Duo rose to his feet, Harry in his arms, "It's good to know that Trowa's certainly still on our side. Even I can see the dragon among us."

"Is there a bed I can sleep in?" Quatre asked, "I'm really tired."

"I'll find you a berth." Duo grinned, "Won't be much. But it'll be a bed."

"Right now," Quatre smiled, "That sounds like the most beautiful thing in the Sphere."

Heero rose as well to follow Duo and Quatre, clearly intent on sleeping also.

Wufei was left in the small common room alone. He curled up on the sofa, having perused the small e-book selection and found one of his old favourites.

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Several hours later, Wufei looked up from his e-book. He frowned slightly. The door was closing, but it appeared that no-one had entered the room. Without moving his head significantly, he started to scan the room.

He smiled as he saw a small hand and head peer around a chair, as if spying on him. The size of the hand betraying the identity of the intruder.

Wufei quickly flicked back to the start of the book. If the child was simply curious, there would be no harm in indulging his curiosity for a while. Though Wufei had to admit, the book he was reading wasn't exactly the simplest of things.

"In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go though the course prescribed for surgeons in the Army. Having completed my studies there, I was duly attached to the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers as assistant surgeon. The regiment was stationed in India at the time, and before I could join it, the second Afghan war had broken out…"

Wufei continued to read the book out loud, his eyes flickering between the pages and the slowly emerging figure of Harry.

Page after page, chapter after chapter, Wufei didn't stop. Harry at first stayed hidden behind the furniture, moving closer to listen. Then he cautiously moved out from behind the furniture, to sit on the floor.

Wufei eventually felt the sofa shift underneath him, as extra weight joined him. A small smile graced his face as he continued to read in a soft voice, not changing tempo at all.

Cautiously the small frame of the child moved closer to Wufei. Until eventually a small head was almost lying in the Chinese boy's lap.

Wufei was struck by the similarity; he himself had curled up in Harry's exact position many years ago, only he had leant against his mother. Almost unconsciously, he reached out a hand and started to run his fingers through the young boy's hair. At first Harry tensed, but slowly relaxed as the soothing motion calmed him.

With half an ear, Wufei listened as the boy's breathing slowed and deepened. He quickly marked the section he had gotten to, but continued to read out loud, knowing that falling silent was highly likely to wake the child now.

"Ya know, Fei," Duo drawled from the doorway, "I don't think that's a bedtime story."

"He seems to like it, Maxwell." Wufei retorted mildly, "I am merely broadening his mind."

"He's bright." Duo shrugged, "But I don't know if he's ready for long stories yet. He's barely started learning to read."

"That is not why you are worried." Wufei noted.

"Nah," Duo sank into a chair opposite Wufei, despair clearly visible on the L2 boy's face, "It's just… All these powers Harry has… Teleporting. Astral projection. Healing. Growing his hair… It's worrying."

"Why?" Wufei frowned, "Winner has his Space Heart."

"But that's just one thing. One area," Duo replied, "I love Harry. I love every bit about him. But for him to have all these abilities… They didn't all develop at once in one person…"

"You think there are others." Wufei realized.

"I know there are." Duo sighed, "The Doctors told me. Gave me his cross… To help him."

"It must not become a crutch," Wufei warned, "Or it will cripple him."

"I know." Duo nodded, "The thing is… There are others… What happens when they come for him?"

"You fear they will?"

"Don't ask me how or why, but I know they will. They'll take him away from me… From us. I'd rather die than let that happen."

"No," Wufei countered, "They will try to take him from us. They will not succeed."

"Thanks." Duo grinned, a small fraction of his usual good humor returning.

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The escape had not been without repercussions. Trowa had been fortunate among the OZ soldiers. He had neither been on duty at the time, nor in any location which was passed during the escape. Few others had had his luck. Though Trowa would not admit it, it had not been luck. He had made sure that he stayed as far away from the probable escape routes while off duty, not wanting to be forced to fight the others.

Thus it seemed Trowa had become responsible for the care of the most important prisoners on the base… Well, there was only one left now.

Trowa had never seen the mysterious 'Wolf' before. But the rumors had reached his ears. Apparently he had been part of a secret experiment, which General Trieze had stumbled across. The man refused to reveal any details, but the results had been obvious to see. The man had been a prisoner for nearly a year and a half.

What Trowa didn't know was what the experiment had been. The rumors were many and varied. One suggested telepathy, another that it had been to do with genetic manipulation of the body. There were many others, but those were the two that Trowa remembered the most clearly.

Very few people had ever seen the man. Only General Trieze or Lady Une could grant permission for someone to see him. Normally only those two, a few scientists and one guard, who primarily acted as food supplier, were allowed to see him.

Trowa opened the door to the cell, not entirely sure what he would find.

It wasn't a standard cell. There was a comfortable bed, a chair, a small table, a bookcase, a bathroom. The prisoner was lounging in the chair, reading a book.

"Chicken casserole, again." The man sighed, "Oh, well, better than nothing. You're new."

Trowa blinked in surprise, the man had not looked up from the book. He looked old. No… Not old… Worn out. Like an often handled and heavily abused book. His brown hair was limp. He was thin.

He looked like a man old before his time.

"No one warned you about me." The man seemed to smirk, "Gives me a chance to show off… You're a pilot. But you do your own mechanical stuff. You use sandalwood soap to wash… You're either a really good shot or trying to improve. You had a bacon buttie for lunch, with tomato ketchup, in a white floury bap. Breakfast was scotch pancakes with maple flavored syrup… Couldn't you find the actual maple syrup? There's an open bar of chocolate on your person, one with fruit and biscuit in it, but not nuts. You've been near someone who's come from the desert. And… Cub."

The last word was whispered almost reverently. Trowa was slightly in shock from all the correct details that the prisoner had related, without even looking up from the book… At least until the last word. Now Trowa could see light brown and intent eyes staring at him, almost hungrily. But then softening in slight grief.

"Pardon?" Trowa asked when he recovered slightly.

"I am sorry," The prisoner smiled wanly, "I thought I smelt Cub."

"Who is Cub?" Trowa asked, setting down the tray on the small side-table.

"My best friend's son. I haven't seen him in nearly four years now. Not since James and Lilly died."

"What happened to him?" Trowa's sharp mind started to connect the dots.

"Dumbledore sent little Harry somewhere safe. You can't have been near him. Dumbledore promised me that Harry would always be safe… And cared for… And loved… I'm not allowed to see him."

"Why not?"

"I'm… ill. I've had a… disease for a long time. It's what brought me to your General's attention. He wants to know who gave it to me… The disease means I'm dangerous once a month. Some people take that to mean I'm dangerous all the time. And I'm not allowed near children without their guardians' permission. James and Lilly would let me… But not Harry's guardians. I'm allowed to send him a parcel twice a year. Christmas and his birthday. Nearly equally spaced."

"Born the end of June?"

"End of July… I doubt he can even read them yet. He's only about five. But I hope he liked the toys I sent. Nothing much. Just a toy wolf and some coloring books really… Dumbledore promised that when Harry's about eleven if he wants to meet me, he can. But it's his choice. Not mine. I can live with that."

"You trust someone else? With your best friend's son?"

"Dumbledore swore he'd be safe. At least I get to communicate with him. Some people wouldn't even allow me that."

"Who is Dumbledore?"

"My old Headmaster."

"Why have you not tried to escape? To see Harry? Even if only from a distance? You have a great deal of freedom for a prisoner."

"I don't know where he is. Only Dumbledore knows… And his guardians. And anyway… This," A hand rose to touch a collar around the prisoner's neck, "Keeps me here. If I leave my cell the alarms go off and it sedates me. The freedoms I have in here are concessions to get me to co-operate with the scientists that study my disease."

"What is the disease called?"

"I can't say."

"What is your name? I am Lieutenant Trowa Barton."

"They call me Wolf. I haven't told anyone my name… But I will show you something."

He put his book down and reached into a pocket. A small folded photograph was removed and handed to Trowa. Trowa noted that the picture had been folded and unfolded often, parts of the picture worn away by the repeated motion.

However the image was still visible. A young couple and a small baby. Trowa was forced to use all his experience in keeping a straight face. There were several distinct features in the man's face that he had noted in Green-eyes'. And the woman's eyes…

"Green-eyes." Trowa murmured in shock.

"Lily always did have the most amazing green eyes." The man agreed, "Harry inherited them."

"I will return with your breakfast." Trowa announced, as he moved to the door, leaving the tray of supper behind, "May I ask though, how you knew so much about me?"

"My disease has gifted me with an incredible sense of smell." Wolf smiled slightly.

*Well, Wolf,* Trowa thought to himself as he wandered the corridors, *You have entirely too much faith in this Dumbledore of yours. Your Cub and my Green-eyes are one and the same. And if I can help it… You will never meet. You placed his safety in someone else's hands, who in turn passed it to someone else… You have no right to claim it back, just because Nobody is doing the job that Somebody should have.*

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And before anyone yells at me, yes I know that 'Nanashi' translates to 'No-Name', but 'Nobody' fitted the quote better. And Trowa's allowed to do that. It is his name after all.

The questions I leave the next writers… Is will Trowa tell anyone? Will he still get his amnesia? Will he ever remember Wolf?

I also will give cookies to whoever can name the book Wufei is reading in this chapter. I will give you a hint, it's not from his own culture, but it does fit our studious dragon.

Well, this took me longer than normal, but I hope people like it. I pass the baton over to the next person. And then I'm going to get some rest… It's been a long day… A long week.