Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Gundam Wing.

Warnings: my version of Duo (violent and potty mouthed) and eventual slash, angst.

AN: Alright another longer chapter, I couldn't have posted this a little sooner but I didn't like where it ended so I added a bit more to it.

Key:

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

"~Someone speaking Japanese.~"

~Time skip~

Chapter Sixteen

Duo had been intending on heading straight back to his rooms, grabbing a shower, and then sleeping till dinner. Entering the Entrance Hall he noticed the crowds had thinned and Heero was still leaned against the wall watching the Goblet.

"Hey Heero, how's it going?" Duo asked, slumping against the wall next to his partner.

"Uneventful, had fun?" Heero asked, eyeing the pumpkin still smeared on him in places.

"Uh, yeah… hey since I'm here you wanna' duck in there and grab some lunch? I can hold the fort for a bit while you eat," Duo offered, stretching his stiff muscles.

After looking Duo over and getting swatted Heero nodded. "I'll be quick," he said before ducking into the hall.

Duo humed and yawned, glancing back at the deserted hall. Everyone was off doing other things, the initial excitement worn off since most who could had already entered their names into the cup. 'At least they announce them tonight,' Duo thought, idly picking pumpkin seeds out of his bangs.

"Maxwell, you look like you're about to fall over," a gruff voice called out to him.

Duo straightened, he would recognize Moody's voice anywhere. He wasn't sure why but being around the man always tensed him up. Maybe it was because of the Imperius curse 'fun' or just being near someone else who had also been through a war. He flashed the older man a smile as Moody patted him on the shoulder..

"Yeah, I did the night shift. Just covering for Heero so he can grab a quick lunch," Duo replied. Both his eyes were trained on Duo which made his skin crawl, the blue eye was normally rolling nonstop, a testament to the old Auror's paranoia.

"Here, I'll keep you company lad," Moody grunted, settling in next to Duo. He gave the old man a grateful smile.

"You don't have to, but I appreciate it," Duo said back, rubbing his face. For some reason he was feeling even more tired now, probably because he'd stopped moving and had relaxed. He was no longer running off the excitement of carving up a giant pumpkin. He metanlly reminded himself to drag Heero down to check out his work later.

Duo closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts when he noticed a sweet smell. 'Perfume…?' he wondered, sniffing. 'It smells kinda' familiar…'

"-Duo?"

Duo's eyes flew open and he jerked, bouncing his head sharply off the stone wall behind him.

"Fuuuuck," Duo hissed, grabbing his head in pain. "What the fuck Heero?"

"Duo, I've been calling your name for awhile," Heero responded. Duo looked up, confusion on his face. "You fell asleep standing up baka."

"What…? Really?" Duo murmured, rubbing his face. 'I felt like all I did was blink…' He noticed the smell was stronger now, nauseating. 'The pumpkins…?'

"Duo?" Heero asked, voice concerned. Duo didn't quite hear him. His chest felt tight, heart racing.

"Sorry Heero, I'm really not that tired. I should head back," Duo replied after a moment, pushing off the wall. It was getting difficult to breath, like he'd run a marathon and couldn't catch his breath. He took two steps before a sudden wave of dizziness sent him to the floor in a heap.

"Maxwell!" "Duo!"

Duo looked up and was startled to not be looking up at Heero but Snape who was crouched next to him. He could see Heero and Moody behind him, both looking concerned at him. Heero moved forward and crouched next to them, his eyes searching Duo's face.

"I…" Duo focused his eyes back on Snape. That smell… he knew this smell. "~Not right, stay Heero,~" Duo managed to get out, holding on to Snape's arms for support.

"~Understood,~" Heero replied and straightened back up, eyes scanning the room.

"What did he say Yuy?" Moody growled, following the agent's example and glancing around at the few people who had stopped to watch them.

"Maxwell is sick, can you take him to the hospital wing Snape? I need to stay here," Heero replied, the look he gave steely determination.

"Surely you don't think-?" Snape started.

"Look at him," Heero cut in, eyes narrowing.

Snape looked back down, meeting panicked purple eyes. "Come along Maxwell, you really shouldn't overwork yourself like this," Snape said loud enough for the onlookers to hear. If someone was attempting some kind of sabotage he didn't want to raise suspicions.

"I'll stay with Yuy, you got him Snape?" Moody asked, magical eye whizzing around while his normal focused on the Potion's Master.

"Of course," Snape said gently, pulling Duo to his feet. Together they left the Entrance Hall before Snape could pull the younger boy up the stairs Duo stopped and looked up at him.

"…Aconite…" Duo choked out, chest heaving as he covered his mouth with his hand. The smell, he'd finally remembered where he recognized it from.

"Are you sure Maxwell?" Snape asked, searching the young man's face. Instead of replying Duo leaned away from him and vomited, coughing and choking as he emptied his stomach. "Shit, right then. My classroom is closer."

Duo tried to walk with him but the pain, dizziness, and inability to catch his breath had him sagging against the older man uselessly. Snape cursed as he tried to hold him up, Duo was heavier than his small frame implied. Knowing time was of the essence Snape pulled out his wand.

Duo wasn't sure what was going on, he'd suddenly felt weightless but that wasn't really his main concern. Aconite. He'd been poisoned, somehow he'd gotten it on his skin or breathed it in. It was too quick for it to have been in his breakfast or the tea he'd gotten from Hagrid. He felt guilty making Snape drag him but right now he just needed to breathe. It was steadily becoming harder and harder to do so, his chest heaving with the attempt and stomach rolling with nausea.

He felt a hand patting his face and forced his eyes to focus. Snape was hovering over him and saying something. He couldn't hear him over the sound of his own pounding heartbeat. Something was being pushed against his lips and he obediently parted them. 'Bezoar,' his brain whispered at him as he swallowed whatever had been shoved into his mouth. After that his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out.

Heero had been in the Great Hall for about ten minutes. Ten minutes. He'd been concerned when he had exited to see Duo leaned against the wall with both eyes closed. Duo did not sleep on the job, but he was. It'd taken him too long to get the braided boy's attention and once those hazy eyes settled on him he knew something was off.

"Don't worry, Snape's fond of the boy and we have an excellent Healer here. Maxwell will be fine," Moody growled quietly next to him. Heero hn'd in response.

"I'll move to the other side, I'll have a better view of who is coming in and out," Heero said after a few minutes, moving across the room before Moody could respond.

Duo had been targeted and there would be hell to pay when he found the culprit.

Duo woke to the sound of quiet voices. He felt a lot better but he that wasn't saying much since he'd pretty fucking bad befoer passing out. He pretended to still be asleep and listened, trying to figure out where he was and what was going on.

"-good thing you acted so quickly, I've never seen such a high amount of aconite. The bezoar will neutralize it but he'll probably be a bit shaky and weak. You say he self diagnosed the poison?" a female voice was saying. He recognized Madame Pomphrey the resident Healer.

"Yes, before he became unresponsive he said it. I had to float him here, he couldn't even walk. I was worried the bezoar may have been too late," Snape's voice responded, teh man sounded worried and Duo couldn't repress a small smile. The man would never admit how worried he had been to Duo's face. He Heard a rustling and felt a weight sink onto whatever he was laying on.

"Hello Duo, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore's voice was soft and the other two stopped talking immediately.

"Mmm, I've had worse AB," Duo responded, cracking open an eye. His voice sounded a little raspy but his throat didn't hurt. "What happened?"

Dumbledore smiled down at them but it was Snape who answered moving into view and standing next to the seated headmaster. Duo dimly noted that he was on a bed.

"You passed out, I brought you to my class and fed you a bezoar. After you looked stable I brought you here to my rooms and retrieved Pomphrey and Dumbledore," Snape told him gently, his worried eyes searching Duo's face. Duo felt a bit guilty, he hadn't meant to worry the man. Then again he hadn't really had any intention of being poisoned either.

"Well, this isn't exactly how I'd planned to end up in your bed," Duo told him with a wink. Snape rolled his eyes, knowing Duo was just trying to lighten the mood. "Sorry, in all seriousness this is not the worst thing I've experienced. Where's Heero, is he still guarding the Goblet?"

"Yes, I can go tell him you're alright now if you want," Snape said, straightening back up.

"I can tell him, I need to check in with him," Duo said, sitting up. He swayed slightly and Dumbledore grabbed his arms in a surprisingly strong grip.

"Not so fast young man. You're still recovering, you should stay in bed," Pomphrey said, swooping down on him. Duo flinched back from her, his instincts screaming at him being surrounded.

"No! Ah, I mean I'm fine, I just need to take it easy. I should check in with my partner. He'll be upset till he sees me," Duo said, flushing slightly. The three adults exchanged concerned looks.

"Of course, you are an adult Duo, but let Madame Pomphrey give you a quick check-up. We just want to make sure you're good to move about," Dumbledore said gently. Duo nodded, figuring fighting them on that would probably have him stuck here longer. He needed to talk to Heero. There was something more amiss here than just some cheating in a tournament.

Dumbledore excused himself, saying he needed to get ready for the feast tonight. Snape stayed but moved away, sitting on an armchair in front of the fireplace. Duo glanced around as Pomphrey ran her wand over him doing her tests. He realized that Snape had set him in his bed and blushed slightly when he noticed he wasn't in his uniform but black robes. After five solid minutes of spells and muttering Pomphrey announced him fine but that he was not to do any strenuous activity and to get a solid night's sleep. She made him promise to come by the hospital wing in the morning to get checked again.

"Alright you, I need to get back to my office. If you feel ill you come straight in you hear?" she said, pointing her wand at Duo menacingly.

"Of course, thank you Madame," Duo said meekly, watching as the woman huffed adn swept out of the toom.

There was a moment of silence before Duo cleared his throat catching Snape's attention.

"My clothes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and tugging the robe in emphasis. Snape rolled his eyes and stood.

"THey were filthy, they needed more than a cleaning charm so I leant you a cloak. If you like I can shrink some clothes for you to borrow or grab something from your rooms. Your welcome to my shower," Snape said, standing and walking over to the bed.

"A shower sounds awesome, are you sure it's okay to borrow clothes? Last thing I wanna' do is put you out more than I have," Duo said with an apologetic smile.

"Think nothing of it, it's our fault as well you were poisoned. We have magical defense that clearly failed us," Snape said, eye hard at the thought.

Duo shook his head. "It's alright, I'm kinda' glad it was me and not some student. It could have been a lot worse," he replied, carefully standing up before looking back up at the taller man. "Bathroom?"

"In there, I'll drop some clothes on the counter for you," Snape replied, pointing to a door to the right of the bed before turning and walking over to a large wardrobe.

Duo was a bit jealous, Snape's rooms were way nicer than his. Then again the man had been working and living here for years. Duo dropped the robe and the last of his clothes in a pile on the floor before stepping into the frosted glass shower stall. At least the frosted glass meant he didn't have to worry about Snape getting an eye full and he turned on the shower happily washing away the mix of pumpkin, sweat, and sick on him and his hair. He made a face at his poor braid. He heard the door open.

"Hey, my hair's gross. Can I borrow some shampoo?" he called out over the water.

"Light blue is shampoo, dark blue is conditioner, the other one is body wash," Snape called. Duo was about to ask about how he was supposed to use the body wash when a puffy pink pouf bounced off his head. "It's a spare I was given as a present, feel free to use it."

Duo chuckled. "What, pink not your color?" he teased as he finger combed out his braid then reached for the shampoo. His only answer was a snort before he heard the door open and shut again leaving him alone to finish his shower. He made quick work, wanting to get back to Heero before the feast.

He stepped out of the shower and muttered a basic drying spell and smiled as his hair was instantly dry. This was probably the most used spell he learned since hair dryers weren't an option in Hogwarts and his hair took hours to dry on its own. He blinked down at the clothes on the counter, Snape had left hima black turtleneck sweater and some black slacks. Duo slipped both on and couldn't help the chuckle as he glanced in the mirror. Despite Snape shrinking the clothes the sweater was still slightly too big as were the pants. They slid down and hung low on his hips but didn't fall any further. He figured he'd just grab his belt from his uniform before he headed to the Great Hall.

"Sevvy?" Duo called as he stepped into the bedroom, he glanced around and noticed the older man wasn't there. He shrugged and grabbed his belt from his pile of clothes by the bed. He slipped in on and then hurried out of the room.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had spent most of the afternoon in Hagrid's hut. Hermione had tried to persuade Hagrid to join S.P.E.W. but he'd flat out refused. After the two argued for a while it had started growing dark so they decided they should head back up to the castle for the feast and the announcement of the champions.

"I'll come with yeh, jus' give us a sec."

Hagrid said getting up and going across to the chest of drawers and began searching for something. The trio ignored him as they gathered their things until a horrid smell hit them.

"Hagrid, what's that?" Ron choked out.

"Eh? Yeh don' like it?" Hagrid asked, turning around holding a large bottle.

"Is that aftershave?" Hermione asked in a choked voice.

"Er, eau de cologne, Maybe it's a bit much, I'll go take it off, hang on…" Hagrid muttered, blushing. He stomped out of the cabin and began washing himself vigorously in a water barrel outside the window.

The three looked at each other with confused looks on their faces. None of them had even seen Hagrid like this.

"Look!" Ron said suddenly, pointing out the window. Hagrid had straightened up and turned around. If he had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to how he was now. Getting to their feet very cautiously Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked through the window and saw Madame Maxime and the Beauxbatons students had emerged from their carriage, clearly about to set off for the feast as well. They couldn't hear what Hagrid was saying, but he was talking to Madame Maxime with a rapt, misty-eyed expression Harry had only ever seen him wear once before; when he had been looking at the baby dragon, Norbert.

"He's going up to the castle with her!" Hermione said indignantly. "I thought he was waiting for us!"

Without so much as a backward glance Hagrid was trudged off up the grounds with Madame Maxime, the Beauxbatons students following in their wake, jogging to keep up with their enormous strides.

"He fancies her!" Ron said incredulously. "If they end up having children, they'll set a world record, bet any baby of theirs would weigh about a ton."

As they talked they let themselves out of Hagrid's hut and headed toward the castle, wrapping their cloaks tightly around themselves.

"Ooh it's them, look!" Hermione whispered, pointing toward the lake.

The Durmstrang group was walking toward the castle. Viktor Krum was walking side by side with Karkaroff, and the other Durmstrang students were struggling behind them. Ron watched Krum excitedly, but Krum did not look around as he reached the front doors a little ahead of Hermione, Ron, and Harry and went inside.

As they entered the Entrance Hall Harry noticed two things, the Goblet was gone presumably moved into the Great Hall and Duo was walking toward them. He smiled as he spotted them.

"Hey guys, heading to dinner?" he asked as he joined their little group, flipping his braid over his shoulder.

"No uniform Duo?" Hermione asked, eyes the outfit Duo was wearing. He somehow looked smaller in the bagger sweater but the blaack suited him. He looked a bit paler than usual but that could have been from being tired.

"Oh, well it got a bit dirty earlier so figured I'd skip it. Not really necessary anway for this kinda' job," Duo said, waving a hand.

Harry hesitated and leaned closer to Duo, sniffing the shorter boy. Duo raised an eyebrow and Harry blushed. "Ah sorry, you usually smell different, different shampoo?"

Duo chuckled. "Yes," he said simply, giving Harry a wink before slipping into the hall before they could ask him any more questions.

TBC

AN: I'm so mean to Duo… So I'm assuming bezoars work pretty much immediately. Also I love that I do the most random research for this story. I actually looked up aconite poisoning. Some more Snape and Duo bonding, don't know why I just love wrign them together. I know Snape is very OOC but Duo has corrupted him by wearing the poor man down like water eroding a rock. I know the part with Harry and the gang is almost straight outta' the book but I felt like the whole Maxine and Hagrid thing might be important so I didn't cut it. A lot of little slide things in the book are important or at least I think they are.

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