AN Hey all, I just want you to know that this chapter was damn near impossible to write! And it wasn't even because of writers blocks! I actually am volunteering at a church this week, and besides having to wake up early (it's summer dammit!), I've had several small munshkin type things attaching themselves to my back. But they're so cute!!! *hugs small child nicknamed 'teddy-bear'*
Teddy-bear: AHHHHHHHHH!
Other munshkins: RUN AWAY!!!!!
Anyway, enjoy the chap! I'll write more as soon as I can!
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Chapter 5
Duo woke up with a pounding headache. He didn't make a sound or move a muscle as he woke, and he carefully kept his breathing deep and slow.
Not too many people realized it, but Duo was a very light sleeper. Years on the streets, and later as a Gundam pilot had taught him the values to waking at the smallest sound. He could snore at will, usually done either to fake somebody out enough to lure them into a false sense of security, or to annoy Wufei. He had been practicing controlling his breathing after seeing Heero do it while strapped down to a hospital bed - tricks like that were very handy.
Turning his mind from the past, Duo instead tried to piece together what had happened to him the day before. The mission, getting shot, following Heero, the wands, seeing Harry... it all rushed back. Still not moving, Duo tried to figure out if anyone else was in the room or not. Finally deciding he was alone, he opened his eyes.
Summer morning sunlight filtered through the curtains across the room. His duffle bag had been enlarged, along with the rest of his things, and was peeking out from a large freestanding wardrobe. His computer and wand were placed neatly on a small work desk. Two doors stood on either side of the wardrobe. The room was very plain besides that.
With a huge yawn, he got up and looked around.
"Good morning sweetie!"
Duo spun around, looking for the owner of the voice that had just spoken. Nobody, there was nobody in the room.
"Over here, silly."
Duo looked up and stared at the portrait of a pretty dark haired woman. The woman waved at him playfully. "Wow." Duo whispered. "The wizarding world is even cooler then I thought! The pictures *talk*!" Within seconds he was at the frame, touching it lightly, feeling the ancient magic woven into the frame and the picture.
The woman laughed. "The portraits talk, sweetie, pictures just move." She suddenly wrinkled her nose and frowned at his mud and grime covered body, his half done, frizzy hair and the state of his clothes. If Duo didn't know better, he'd say she could smell as well as talk. "And you need a bath, look at you! Covered in dirt, have you been rolling around in a pig pen? Your clothes are practically in threads! And- OH! You're hurt!" She gasped and pointed at the scabbed over bullet wound that had bits of surgical thread poking from the skin.
Duo glanced at it, checking quickly for infection and shrugged, "I've had worse. Getting shot is no big deal. Now, where is this bath?"
The woman sighed, pointing to the door at the far right. She cast one last look at Duo's arm before settling back in her frame.
Duo quickly slipped into the bathroom, looking around in well deserved awe. The whole room was done in white gold and marble, charmed to stay clean, no doubt. And it wasn't so much of a bath as a swimming pool. Within moments Duo decided that there was no way to fill the pool and decided magic was the best way to go. The large body of water rippled slightly as the long haired boy dived into its depths. The boy then began learning the wonders of magical soaps, shampoo's and a strange looking white wand that cleaned everything with one simple swish.
After about half an hour, three waves of that wand, and an instantly drying towel later, Duo emerged from the bathroom, his body and clothing clean, ready for the next part of his morning.
The hair.
After a moment of concentration, a brush and hair tie appeared in his hand and he proceeded with the task of brushing and braiding his hair. Once completed, he looked around himself again and sighed. He didn't really expect there to be anyone to talk to besides the woman in the portrait, so he began concentrating on controlling his magic. He conjured things, banished things, levitated things. Made the stuff around him move...
Conveniently forgetting that his wand was still resting across the decent sized room. Not to mention the fact that the portrait was staring as he seemed to show off his powers as though he had done these things a million times before.
He was laughing himself silly at the sight of the dancing wardrobe when a loud crack sounded. A greenish *thing* wearing a pillow case appeared on the floor and looked up to see Duo's gun.
The thing, Duo decided it looked quite a lot like gremlins he had seen in an old movie, squeaked and dropped to its knees. "Bitsy, is sorry, sir," it wailed in a voice that was slightly feminine, smacking itself a couple times. "But Master Draco wishes for sir to join him for breakfast. Bitsy is to lead you there, sir, please follow Bitsy."
Duo put his gun away, amused at the little gremlin type thing. "Thank you," he said, bowing at her. "Lead away!"
The thing stared at him for a moment before sniffling slighting and rushing out the door, desperately trying to hold back tears.
"Equals!" Duo heard her wailing as he followed her down hallways, keeping track of the path as he went. "Dobby was right! *Equals*!"
===
"^I see you made your elf cry as well.^" Wufei commented dryly when Duo entered the dinning room. His hair was once again its natural black, though one stubborn hint of yellow still remained at the very tip of his ponytail. "^Strange little things.^"
"^The gremlins?^" Duo asked, sitting down next to Trowa and holding back a laugh. "^Yeah, I thought so too. So... any idea where we are?^"
"^Malfoy Manor,^" Quatre said, taking a sip of his orange juice. "^That blond boy is the last of his family, Draco Malfoy, and the only heir of the family. His parents died last year. Apparently his father served that Voldemort man Heero told us about and died during a magical battle at the Wizarding Ministry. His mother died about a week later in this manor, for betraying Voldemort, or something along those lines. The stories inside this manor are fascinating, but very hard to interpret.^"
Nobody questioned the explanation knowing full well that Quatre had probably spent most of his morning reading the building around them as much as he could. And nobody said anything about the boy's parents, all of them knowing the pain of losing somebody important to them. Duo attempted to break the silence by grabbing at some food, shoving it into his mouth and talking through the mouthful.
"^So, what's up with Heero?^" His eyes betrayed the careless tone of voice, telling them all that he was worried sick about the boy. "^Has he woken up?^"
"^No,^" Quatre sighed. "^And swallow your food before you talk Duo, remember your manners!^"
Duo made a face at him and continued stuffing his face. He paused when the Malfoy boy entered the room, sitting down in what they assumed to be his normal chair.
"Hey buddy," Duo grinned, putting down his fork. "Thanks for letting us stay here. We're really grateful."
"You speak English?" The boy gasped, "but Mr. Olivander said you all spoke Japanese! Well, he said one of you spoke Japanese, he assumed the rest of you did as well..."
"We do, but I like to pride myself on being smart enough to speak in more than one language."
"^Duo,^" Wufei said softly. "^It shouldn't matter what language we speak. But for tactical reasons, let's say the rest of us don't understand a lot of English, okay?^"
Duo frowned, clearly not wanting to lie.
"^You don't have to lie,^" Quatre said quickly, seeing Wufei's point. "^Just avoid the subject.^"
Duo nodded and passed him the tea pot, a clever ploy to distract Draco, who was trying to understand what the boys were saying.
"Duo Maxwell," Duo said to the blond across the table. "I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie." He grinned again before pointing at his friends. "That's Quatre Rebarba Winner, Wufei Chang and Trowa Barton. The unconscious boy that was with us is Heero Yuy. Any idea what happened to him or Harry?"
Draco looked around at the boys sitting at the table. He was barely able to keep up with Duo's fast paced talking, but he managed to place names to faces pretty easily. Quatre, the blond boy with aqua colored eyes was smiling warmly at him. Draco smiled hesitantly back. Wufei was obviously the Chinese boy seated next to the blond, his longish black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Draco wasn't sure, but he swore he could see a faint trace of yellow at the tip, the only proof that his hair had been yellow the day before. Which left Trowa, on the other side of Quatre. The boy with the bang covering half his face so that only one green eyes could be seen. Right next to Trowa, was Duo. The strange boy had hair longer then anyone Draco had ever seen, and eyes that looked as though they were purple, though they were most likely a shade of blue.
With a start, he noticed that all four boys were staring at him somewhat expectantly.
"I'm Draco Malfoy, and I've got no idea what's wrong with your friend." The friend that looked like Harry, with Japanese traits. The friend that had a strange scar on his forehead. Draco couldn't tell what it was the night before, but it seemed to be in the same location as Harry's lightning shaped scar. "All that I could tell was a large magic shortage, Harry too." He frowned suddenly, thinking back to when he first saw these boys. "So, where did you all come from? And why were you in the wand shop? How many languages can you speak?"
"^Too many.^" Wufei muttered under his breath. The pilot of Shenlong had a knack for languages, and had mastered the speech of many. But Duo still had him beat, becoming fluent in no less then eight languages more then Wufei. Six really, because "Heero-speech" and "Duo logic" didn't technically count as real languages.
"Well," Duo hesitated. He obviously didn't want to tell Draco that they came from the future, but couldn't find a way to say something that wasn't a lie. And Duo Maxwell didn't lie. "You could say that us coming here was a little unexpected. You see, we were supposed to be on vacation, but our plans changed and we ended up here instead."
Which was true enough. They had no idea that Heero would send them back in time, and they had been dismissed for vacation.
"So," Draco said frowning, his mind trying to fill in the blanks Duo's short explanation had left. "You're like transfer students? What school were you at?"
"I switch schools a lot," Duo said shrugging, not lying, merely encouraging Draco's train of thought. "And you won't have heard of most of them. I guess that's part of the reason why I pick up language's so fast. And I have a photographic memory, it helps."
The conversation was halted when the door opened and Harry staggered in, holding his head in one hand. His eyes were green again and half lidded with exhaustion. He muttered something along the lines of a morning greeting and flopped down in the chair next to Draco. A moment or so later, a large scruffy black dog also entered the room and sat down next to Harry for his breakfast. Suddenly, Harry's and the dog's head snapped up and green eyes and black eyes stared at Duo.
"Duo!" Harry cried, jumping to his feet, mysteriously no longer tired. The dog barked, moving to sniff the boy before moving over to the rest of the pilots. He stayed at Trowa's side, not knowing why, but knowing the unibanged boy would treat him well.
"What are you... *how* are you-?! I thought it was a dream!" Harry, unconscious of Snuffle's movements, took a few steps towards the now standing American, eyes wide.
Duo laughed and bounced his way over to the other boy, pulling him into a tight hug. "^You'll explain about last night later right? We have no idea why we're here.^" He said, marveling at how identical Harry and Heero were in build. "^And they don't want him to know they speak English yet.^"
Harry nodded, smiling as he pulled away. "^It's great to see you guys too!^" He beamed at the three still seated pilots. One the other side of him, he saw Draco's mouth fall open at the use of his apparently flawless Japanese. Snuffles simply cocked his head in order to have Trowa scratch behind his other ear.
The other's nodded at Harry's question.
"Where's Heero?" Harry asked, noticing that the other boy was not seated. He thought for a moment, closing his eyes. "Oh, still unconscious? That's odd, he's usually awake before me." Harry frowned thoughtfully, sitting back down at the table.
Somewhat reluctantly, Sirius joined him, ears down and tail still. He began casting doleful looks over at Trowa while eating his breakfast.
===
"How do you know them, Harry?" Draco asked after the meal had ended, the two boys and Sirius, who was napping, were sitting in a corner of the library. "And how long have you been able to speak Japanese?"
Harry laughed. "I had to do something while I was at the Dursleys," he lied dismissivly. "And I met Duo about two years ago, it was a rather explosive meeting, painful, you know? And I met the other's sometime after that. We didn't like each other much at first, especially Wufei - he was always the loner in the group, him and Trowa. But they're loosening up."
Which was mostly true, about how he met Duo anyway. The first time that the Deathscythe pilot had seen him was the first time that Harry realized there were more people than just him destroying OZ bases. Duo had shot him, first in the arm then the leg. So Harry was trying to kill the girl who would later become queen of the world, big deal! In any sense, the final year of the war had been a difficult one for both Harry and Heero. Emotion's had been haywire that year, especially for Harry, being unused to large amounts of anger flowing through his system. They hadn't switched much at all that year, Harry having problems with Umbridge, the insane Defence Against the Darks Arts teacher, and Heero having to concentrate fully on the war.
"Do you have any idea why they're here?" Draco asked after a pause. "I mean, I honestly don't mind that they're here, I'm just curious."
"Transfer students," Harry said flippantly. Duo had said something along those lines earlier and it seemed like a good excuse. "They went to a very small school, translated it's the Gundam Academy. Most don't acknowledge it as a school because there are only five professors there." Again, partly true, the five who trained the Gundam pilots weren't technically seen as scientists, and it could be considered a school in a warped way.
In the back of his mind he noted Heero was regaining consciousness. A weak sounding mental voice sounded in his head. =Talk?=
=In a few minutes. I'm settling this with Draco. You're rather unexpected, you know that right? Anyway, send Duo with the message, it would seem suspicious other wise.=
Heero didn't answer.
Draco seemed lost in the explanation, but before he could pose another question, Duo burst into the room. "Heero's awake," he said loudly smiling at the two boys. "He wants to talk to Harry."
Harry nodded. "Excuse me," he said softly to Draco. He then stood up and followed the American from the room.
===
Something was off the moment that Harry entered the room Heero was occupying. Heero's magic power did seem weaker then normal, but there was no reasonable explanation for why there was a strange pull moving Harry closer to him. Meaning, the moment that Harry stepped into the room, something akin to a magnetic force began dragging him closer to the bed Heero was resting on.
And the closer Harry got, the harder the pull worked, and the more Harry began to panic. On the bed, Heero was using all of his strength to remain in one place. Trowa appeared at the last possible moment and pushed the wizard back, Duo sat himself down on Heero's chest.
Harry nodded his thanks, mind still whirling at this recent development. "That was odd."
"Hn." Heero muttered, now sitting up in the bed. He look at Harry, still being gripped now by both Trowa and Wufei, in order for him to be restrained enough to resist the pull, which was now working doubly hard.
=What is this?= Harry panicked. =I've never felt this before!=
Heero locked his eyes with the unique green across from him. =We've never been together like this before. Our magic seems to want to make us one physical person. Perhaps it realizes that you are I are not strong enough to defeat Voldemort alone, and decided to return us to one form.=
Harry relaxed somewhat. =That would explain why you're here instead of back home. I suppose the reason why we went to Olivanders is because it being full of old magic. Something in that shop remained in tact, even in your time and allowed us to link the two worlds enough to bring you here. And knowing Duo's curious side, as well as the others...= he flicked an amused glance at his friends. =...they followed and unknowingly got pulled here as well.=
"Logical," Heero muttered out loud, having pretty much come to that conclusion while Duo had been sitting next to him. The long haired boy had thought he was unconscious, and he didn't want to have the warm body next to his leave. The callused hand holding his had been a comfort as well, it told him that no matter what, Duo was there for him.
Turning his mind back to the new problem, he sighed. "So, how do we reverse the pull?"
Harry, being the more magically advanced of the two, frowned thoughtfully. "Well, there is no recorded case on something like this, remember how we checked during first year? So, maybe some sort of barrier spell will do the trick."
"It's worth a try," Duo pipped up, "does anybody know one of these spells?"
The two dark haired boys didn't say anything. Neither did anybody else, but that was only logical seeing as they had just entered the magical world a week ago.
Quatre sighed. "^Maybe we should just separate them until we can find a spell. Is there a library near by? Trowa and I can check if there is. Heero, you should rest, and Harry - why don't you give Wufei the tour, so at least one of us knows where we are?^"
Duo grinned while the other's nodded.
"So, we can learn some real spells while we're here?" Duo crowed. "I was getting bored with dancing wardrobes anyway. And I'll stick with Heero, I'm sure his energy level isn't *that* low." Honestly he just wanted to talk, but with the innuendo he had casually spit out, nobody would be bothering them for a few hours.
The other's facevaulted but didn't reply, taking the bait as they were meant to. Only Harry shook his head in amusement, knowing exactly what would happen in the room.
===
Wufei glanced around the large yard he was currently standing in. They had spent a few hours inside the house, allowing the Chinese boy to take in the layout of the building, and the magical feel of it. But after expressing the desire to be outdoors, Harry led them out a back door for a walk. For some reason, the vast lawns reminded him of life on L5. The warm sun, the rolling hills, the meadow. He could easily imagine settling down with a book and being transported back to before the war.
"It's beautiful, isn't it." Harry murmured, not looking at Wufei. "There's a little Japanese style garden in the back corner that I've been trying to restore. I like it because Heero and I have a sort of mental sanctuary that we spend our resting time in. It blocks the nightmares and visions usually, the garden reminds me of it. But, of course, it will probably take a lot of work to make it match. Would you like to see it, the garden, I mean."
Wufei thought about it for a moment. Perhaps he could spend time working in the garden as well, it would be a great time to meditate and calm himself. "Alright," he agreed, his voice as soft as Harry's. "I'd like that."
Harry smiled and began walking. "You can help me if you like," he said, "and I can help you with your magic. It's most likely you and the other's will be starting at Hogwarts with me, so it would benefit you to know the basics."
Wufei shook his head, hiding a smile of amusement. There was no doubt that this boy was Heero, nobody except a Gundam pilot could read him so well.
===
"^So,^" Heero said the next afternoon, glancing around the room his friends and double were sitting around. "^In theory, Harry and I cast the spell Quatre found, and we should be able to resist the pull until the barrier falls.^"
Quatre nodded in affirmative. "^Yes, you and Harry must cast it at the same time. It should be powerful enough to last quite a long while.^"
Harry nodded. "^Let's do it.^"
The four pilots - Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei moved back a healthy looking distance, pressing themselves against the far wall. Without their support, Harry and Heero slowly began to be pulled together.
At the same moment, the two boys stretched out their hands, holding them in a defensive position. There was a tangible tenseness in the room as the two boys began chanting the medieval spell, sparks flickering between them. Their voices rose in perfect synchronism, matching word for word. By the time their bodies reached each other, they were just finishing the spell and as their hands touched, a bright flash erupted between them.
As soon as the light faded, Duo sprang forwards to see the two boys passed out, a faint crackling sounding as the barrier spell fought to keep them apart.
"It worked," the long haired boy said in relief, glancing back at his friends. "They should be okay right?"
Just as he spoke, two identical groans were heard and the two boys on the floor slowly made their way to their feet.
"Well," Heero said, looking as though nothing important had happened, though a green gleam shone in his eyes. Harry's eyes were tinted with blue.
"I'm hungry, think Draco's up for a bit of lunch with us?"
===
Draco stared hard at the five extra boys sitting around his informal dinning room table. They were chatting quietly in Japanese, and they kept glancing over at him with strange expressions on their faces. The blond one, Quatre he recalled, seemed to be arguing with the others about something, while the Chinese boy, Wufei, sat in his seat and scowled at Duo, who are arguing with Quatre. Heero, Harry and Trowa were mysteriously quiet, almost talking with their eyes and body language rather then words.
He felt annoyingly left out, and in his own home too!
The three silent boys seemed to have somehow come to a decision, as Heero turned to look at him, an oddly calculating look in his green tinted eyes.
"Draco," he said in perfect English, complete with a British accent the blond didn't think twice about. "We were wondering if you would take us to Diagon alley. Duo and I were hoping to get some sort of translating spell for them." He suddenly smirked over at Wufei, a smirk that only matched Draco's. "They seem to be having a problem with learning English."
Wufei seemed to bristle at that comment, or it could be whatever Quatre was now saying. Either way, his magical energy had just spiked, giving Draco chills. Such power and control he had over his abilities. Draco wouldn't be surprised if that boy could do even wandless magic. The portrait in Duo's room had reported that Duo also had control over his magic, that he had been practising his control the first morning he was at the manor. However, the portrait also said that Heero snuck into Duo's room one night to sleep, but that was insane, because Draco would know. Heero's bedroom was right next to his own and the door had a tendency to squeak when moved.
Coming out of his thoughts, Draco noticed that the table had fallen silent and every boy was now staring at him, amused expressions on their faces. "Alright," he said softly. "I know where we can find some translator spells."
"Great!" Duo grinned, jumping from his seat. He watched, amused, as a small house elf-gremlin popped into the room to take his dishes away. Suddenly, his face fell. "Hey!" He whined, "I was still eating that!"
===
Duo and Quatre dashed happily across Diagon ally, running from display to display, letting out yells about what they saw. Though, they were yelling in Japanese, so people could only assume they were shouting the items that they saw.
Harry shook his head amused when Duo shouted something particularly loud and somewhat rude before proceeding to run into what the boys now recognized as a pet shop. With heavy hearts, the remaining six boys followed him into the shop. Three looking amazed at all the strange looking animals, and three looking bored.
"^Wufei,^" Duo laughed, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing the Chinese boy's arm. "^Come look at this!^"
He forced the boy over to a small display of dancing rats. Wufei raised an eyebrow at the small rodents before turning and sending a pleading look at his friends. *Help me* his eyes seem to scream, *save me*. Duo disappeared again, this time pulling Trowa over to a large basket of loudly humming custard-colored furballs. Quatre was staring as a large rabbit began changing into a silk top hat and back with small pops. Harry, Heero and Draco were talking quietly amongst themselves, not paying much attention to the animals around them.
So, when a small black puff of fur attached to a kitten sank its claws into Wufei's silk pants, nobody except said boy noticed. He scowled down at the animal now clawing up his pant leg, mewing softly. Its eyes blinked dolefully up at him, almost begging the boy to pet it. Wufei jerked his leg in an attempt to be rid of it. The kitten mewed again, this time letting out the plea higher pitched and as loud as it could.
Just his luck it caught the attention of five sets of sensitive ears.
"^Oh Wufei!^" Quatre beamed. "^I didn't know you wanted a pet!^" He moved a little closer, reaching out to pet the small creature. He gently detached it and pushed it into his friends arms.
"^I do *not* want a pet!^" Wufei snarled at the blond, trying to ignore the sadness that was leaking from the empath's body and the small, surprisingly warm and light weight bundle resting in the crook of his right arm.
"It's so cute!" Duo exclaimed, appearing next to Quatre, apparently not having heard the brief exchange of words. He reached out a hand to pet the cat, snatching it back when the black puff hissed and swiped at him with all claws extended.
"You stupid ball of fur!" Duo snarled, cradling his hand.
"^On the other hand,^" Wufei smirked, moving his arms to place the kitten on his shoulder. "^This cat has good taste. I think I'll take it.^"
He turned to the woman at the counter, pointing at the cat in a show that he wanted to buy it but was unable to tell her himself. He pulled out a few of the Galleons that Harry had given him earlier that day at the bank. The woman smiled at him, took a few coins, pushing the rest back and smiled again. Two minutes later the group of boys exited the store and walked slowly through the crowd towards what Draco had said was the store selling translator spells.
After purchasing five of the spells in various forms, for example the matching earrings Heero and Duo purchased, again with Harry's money, they headed back to the street.
"I don't know," Wufei said, touching his hand to his translator, in the form of a simple hair tie, holding his hair back tightly. "These spells seem a little risky to me." Especially seeing how we don't need them, he added silently.
Quatre laughed, glancing over at his friend. "Don't worry about it Wufei," he smiled, already knowing his friends delimna. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong with them. Besides, at least we can speak English now."
Shenlong's pilot couldn't complain about that one, so he remained silent, glancing over at Quatre's translator. He and Trowa wore matching rings on their right hands, a silent indication that they were together.
"So," Harry grinned, slinging his arms around Duo and Quatre's shoulders. "Where to? If you're going to stick around here, you should probably pick up some books so you don't get bored." In other words, pick up some books on spells in order for Harry and Heero to teach them more controlled forms of magic over the rest of the summer.
Duo scoffed at that. "Bored?" He asked, "I think not. I have both you *and* Heero to entertain me now." He let out a classic evil villain laugh, throwing his head back to add to the effect.
Harry ignored him.
"The book store sounds interesting," Quatre said, smiling at Harry, ignoring Duo's piercing cries of NOO! Wufei perked up at the mention of books.
"I'd like that as well," he said softly, eyes gleaming.
Harry and Heero groaned simultaneously. "Another Hermione," they moaned jokingly. "He's going to be just as bad, I can feel it!"
Draco stared at them at that. There was something about those two boys that didn't quite seem to add up. They were obviously very close, in a way that suggested that they had known each other all their lives. But there was more to it then simple friendship. Their features, magical signature, natural grace, were almost identical. And there was also that scare still hidden on Heero's forehead, and something about his eyes that was hauntingly familiar. His sudden appearance into this world, it was just weird.
Still observing Harry, Heero and the rest of the pilots, he followed as they trooped into Flourish and Blotts. Nearly an hour later, and still nowhere near figuring out Heero, Draco followed them back out again. Just as they were passing Eeylops Owl Emporium, Harry sank to his knees, much like he had back on the grounds of Hogwarts, gasping in pain and pressing his hands to his forehead.
The thing that caused Draco's eyebrows to rise, was the fact that Heero had mirrored his motions at the exact same moment.
It was at that moment that Draco spotted the lightning shaped scar etched into the Japanese boy's forehead.
==============================
AN Review and I'll update.
.
Teddy-bear: AHHHHHHHHH!
Other munshkins: RUN AWAY!!!!!
Anyway, enjoy the chap! I'll write more as soon as I can!
==============================
Chapter 5
Duo woke up with a pounding headache. He didn't make a sound or move a muscle as he woke, and he carefully kept his breathing deep and slow.
Not too many people realized it, but Duo was a very light sleeper. Years on the streets, and later as a Gundam pilot had taught him the values to waking at the smallest sound. He could snore at will, usually done either to fake somebody out enough to lure them into a false sense of security, or to annoy Wufei. He had been practicing controlling his breathing after seeing Heero do it while strapped down to a hospital bed - tricks like that were very handy.
Turning his mind from the past, Duo instead tried to piece together what had happened to him the day before. The mission, getting shot, following Heero, the wands, seeing Harry... it all rushed back. Still not moving, Duo tried to figure out if anyone else was in the room or not. Finally deciding he was alone, he opened his eyes.
Summer morning sunlight filtered through the curtains across the room. His duffle bag had been enlarged, along with the rest of his things, and was peeking out from a large freestanding wardrobe. His computer and wand were placed neatly on a small work desk. Two doors stood on either side of the wardrobe. The room was very plain besides that.
With a huge yawn, he got up and looked around.
"Good morning sweetie!"
Duo spun around, looking for the owner of the voice that had just spoken. Nobody, there was nobody in the room.
"Over here, silly."
Duo looked up and stared at the portrait of a pretty dark haired woman. The woman waved at him playfully. "Wow." Duo whispered. "The wizarding world is even cooler then I thought! The pictures *talk*!" Within seconds he was at the frame, touching it lightly, feeling the ancient magic woven into the frame and the picture.
The woman laughed. "The portraits talk, sweetie, pictures just move." She suddenly wrinkled her nose and frowned at his mud and grime covered body, his half done, frizzy hair and the state of his clothes. If Duo didn't know better, he'd say she could smell as well as talk. "And you need a bath, look at you! Covered in dirt, have you been rolling around in a pig pen? Your clothes are practically in threads! And- OH! You're hurt!" She gasped and pointed at the scabbed over bullet wound that had bits of surgical thread poking from the skin.
Duo glanced at it, checking quickly for infection and shrugged, "I've had worse. Getting shot is no big deal. Now, where is this bath?"
The woman sighed, pointing to the door at the far right. She cast one last look at Duo's arm before settling back in her frame.
Duo quickly slipped into the bathroom, looking around in well deserved awe. The whole room was done in white gold and marble, charmed to stay clean, no doubt. And it wasn't so much of a bath as a swimming pool. Within moments Duo decided that there was no way to fill the pool and decided magic was the best way to go. The large body of water rippled slightly as the long haired boy dived into its depths. The boy then began learning the wonders of magical soaps, shampoo's and a strange looking white wand that cleaned everything with one simple swish.
After about half an hour, three waves of that wand, and an instantly drying towel later, Duo emerged from the bathroom, his body and clothing clean, ready for the next part of his morning.
The hair.
After a moment of concentration, a brush and hair tie appeared in his hand and he proceeded with the task of brushing and braiding his hair. Once completed, he looked around himself again and sighed. He didn't really expect there to be anyone to talk to besides the woman in the portrait, so he began concentrating on controlling his magic. He conjured things, banished things, levitated things. Made the stuff around him move...
Conveniently forgetting that his wand was still resting across the decent sized room. Not to mention the fact that the portrait was staring as he seemed to show off his powers as though he had done these things a million times before.
He was laughing himself silly at the sight of the dancing wardrobe when a loud crack sounded. A greenish *thing* wearing a pillow case appeared on the floor and looked up to see Duo's gun.
The thing, Duo decided it looked quite a lot like gremlins he had seen in an old movie, squeaked and dropped to its knees. "Bitsy, is sorry, sir," it wailed in a voice that was slightly feminine, smacking itself a couple times. "But Master Draco wishes for sir to join him for breakfast. Bitsy is to lead you there, sir, please follow Bitsy."
Duo put his gun away, amused at the little gremlin type thing. "Thank you," he said, bowing at her. "Lead away!"
The thing stared at him for a moment before sniffling slighting and rushing out the door, desperately trying to hold back tears.
"Equals!" Duo heard her wailing as he followed her down hallways, keeping track of the path as he went. "Dobby was right! *Equals*!"
===
"^I see you made your elf cry as well.^" Wufei commented dryly when Duo entered the dinning room. His hair was once again its natural black, though one stubborn hint of yellow still remained at the very tip of his ponytail. "^Strange little things.^"
"^The gremlins?^" Duo asked, sitting down next to Trowa and holding back a laugh. "^Yeah, I thought so too. So... any idea where we are?^"
"^Malfoy Manor,^" Quatre said, taking a sip of his orange juice. "^That blond boy is the last of his family, Draco Malfoy, and the only heir of the family. His parents died last year. Apparently his father served that Voldemort man Heero told us about and died during a magical battle at the Wizarding Ministry. His mother died about a week later in this manor, for betraying Voldemort, or something along those lines. The stories inside this manor are fascinating, but very hard to interpret.^"
Nobody questioned the explanation knowing full well that Quatre had probably spent most of his morning reading the building around them as much as he could. And nobody said anything about the boy's parents, all of them knowing the pain of losing somebody important to them. Duo attempted to break the silence by grabbing at some food, shoving it into his mouth and talking through the mouthful.
"^So, what's up with Heero?^" His eyes betrayed the careless tone of voice, telling them all that he was worried sick about the boy. "^Has he woken up?^"
"^No,^" Quatre sighed. "^And swallow your food before you talk Duo, remember your manners!^"
Duo made a face at him and continued stuffing his face. He paused when the Malfoy boy entered the room, sitting down in what they assumed to be his normal chair.
"Hey buddy," Duo grinned, putting down his fork. "Thanks for letting us stay here. We're really grateful."
"You speak English?" The boy gasped, "but Mr. Olivander said you all spoke Japanese! Well, he said one of you spoke Japanese, he assumed the rest of you did as well..."
"We do, but I like to pride myself on being smart enough to speak in more than one language."
"^Duo,^" Wufei said softly. "^It shouldn't matter what language we speak. But for tactical reasons, let's say the rest of us don't understand a lot of English, okay?^"
Duo frowned, clearly not wanting to lie.
"^You don't have to lie,^" Quatre said quickly, seeing Wufei's point. "^Just avoid the subject.^"
Duo nodded and passed him the tea pot, a clever ploy to distract Draco, who was trying to understand what the boys were saying.
"Duo Maxwell," Duo said to the blond across the table. "I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie." He grinned again before pointing at his friends. "That's Quatre Rebarba Winner, Wufei Chang and Trowa Barton. The unconscious boy that was with us is Heero Yuy. Any idea what happened to him or Harry?"
Draco looked around at the boys sitting at the table. He was barely able to keep up with Duo's fast paced talking, but he managed to place names to faces pretty easily. Quatre, the blond boy with aqua colored eyes was smiling warmly at him. Draco smiled hesitantly back. Wufei was obviously the Chinese boy seated next to the blond, his longish black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Draco wasn't sure, but he swore he could see a faint trace of yellow at the tip, the only proof that his hair had been yellow the day before. Which left Trowa, on the other side of Quatre. The boy with the bang covering half his face so that only one green eyes could be seen. Right next to Trowa, was Duo. The strange boy had hair longer then anyone Draco had ever seen, and eyes that looked as though they were purple, though they were most likely a shade of blue.
With a start, he noticed that all four boys were staring at him somewhat expectantly.
"I'm Draco Malfoy, and I've got no idea what's wrong with your friend." The friend that looked like Harry, with Japanese traits. The friend that had a strange scar on his forehead. Draco couldn't tell what it was the night before, but it seemed to be in the same location as Harry's lightning shaped scar. "All that I could tell was a large magic shortage, Harry too." He frowned suddenly, thinking back to when he first saw these boys. "So, where did you all come from? And why were you in the wand shop? How many languages can you speak?"
"^Too many.^" Wufei muttered under his breath. The pilot of Shenlong had a knack for languages, and had mastered the speech of many. But Duo still had him beat, becoming fluent in no less then eight languages more then Wufei. Six really, because "Heero-speech" and "Duo logic" didn't technically count as real languages.
"Well," Duo hesitated. He obviously didn't want to tell Draco that they came from the future, but couldn't find a way to say something that wasn't a lie. And Duo Maxwell didn't lie. "You could say that us coming here was a little unexpected. You see, we were supposed to be on vacation, but our plans changed and we ended up here instead."
Which was true enough. They had no idea that Heero would send them back in time, and they had been dismissed for vacation.
"So," Draco said frowning, his mind trying to fill in the blanks Duo's short explanation had left. "You're like transfer students? What school were you at?"
"I switch schools a lot," Duo said shrugging, not lying, merely encouraging Draco's train of thought. "And you won't have heard of most of them. I guess that's part of the reason why I pick up language's so fast. And I have a photographic memory, it helps."
The conversation was halted when the door opened and Harry staggered in, holding his head in one hand. His eyes were green again and half lidded with exhaustion. He muttered something along the lines of a morning greeting and flopped down in the chair next to Draco. A moment or so later, a large scruffy black dog also entered the room and sat down next to Harry for his breakfast. Suddenly, Harry's and the dog's head snapped up and green eyes and black eyes stared at Duo.
"Duo!" Harry cried, jumping to his feet, mysteriously no longer tired. The dog barked, moving to sniff the boy before moving over to the rest of the pilots. He stayed at Trowa's side, not knowing why, but knowing the unibanged boy would treat him well.
"What are you... *how* are you-?! I thought it was a dream!" Harry, unconscious of Snuffle's movements, took a few steps towards the now standing American, eyes wide.
Duo laughed and bounced his way over to the other boy, pulling him into a tight hug. "^You'll explain about last night later right? We have no idea why we're here.^" He said, marveling at how identical Harry and Heero were in build. "^And they don't want him to know they speak English yet.^"
Harry nodded, smiling as he pulled away. "^It's great to see you guys too!^" He beamed at the three still seated pilots. One the other side of him, he saw Draco's mouth fall open at the use of his apparently flawless Japanese. Snuffles simply cocked his head in order to have Trowa scratch behind his other ear.
The other's nodded at Harry's question.
"Where's Heero?" Harry asked, noticing that the other boy was not seated. He thought for a moment, closing his eyes. "Oh, still unconscious? That's odd, he's usually awake before me." Harry frowned thoughtfully, sitting back down at the table.
Somewhat reluctantly, Sirius joined him, ears down and tail still. He began casting doleful looks over at Trowa while eating his breakfast.
===
"How do you know them, Harry?" Draco asked after the meal had ended, the two boys and Sirius, who was napping, were sitting in a corner of the library. "And how long have you been able to speak Japanese?"
Harry laughed. "I had to do something while I was at the Dursleys," he lied dismissivly. "And I met Duo about two years ago, it was a rather explosive meeting, painful, you know? And I met the other's sometime after that. We didn't like each other much at first, especially Wufei - he was always the loner in the group, him and Trowa. But they're loosening up."
Which was mostly true, about how he met Duo anyway. The first time that the Deathscythe pilot had seen him was the first time that Harry realized there were more people than just him destroying OZ bases. Duo had shot him, first in the arm then the leg. So Harry was trying to kill the girl who would later become queen of the world, big deal! In any sense, the final year of the war had been a difficult one for both Harry and Heero. Emotion's had been haywire that year, especially for Harry, being unused to large amounts of anger flowing through his system. They hadn't switched much at all that year, Harry having problems with Umbridge, the insane Defence Against the Darks Arts teacher, and Heero having to concentrate fully on the war.
"Do you have any idea why they're here?" Draco asked after a pause. "I mean, I honestly don't mind that they're here, I'm just curious."
"Transfer students," Harry said flippantly. Duo had said something along those lines earlier and it seemed like a good excuse. "They went to a very small school, translated it's the Gundam Academy. Most don't acknowledge it as a school because there are only five professors there." Again, partly true, the five who trained the Gundam pilots weren't technically seen as scientists, and it could be considered a school in a warped way.
In the back of his mind he noted Heero was regaining consciousness. A weak sounding mental voice sounded in his head. =Talk?=
=In a few minutes. I'm settling this with Draco. You're rather unexpected, you know that right? Anyway, send Duo with the message, it would seem suspicious other wise.=
Heero didn't answer.
Draco seemed lost in the explanation, but before he could pose another question, Duo burst into the room. "Heero's awake," he said loudly smiling at the two boys. "He wants to talk to Harry."
Harry nodded. "Excuse me," he said softly to Draco. He then stood up and followed the American from the room.
===
Something was off the moment that Harry entered the room Heero was occupying. Heero's magic power did seem weaker then normal, but there was no reasonable explanation for why there was a strange pull moving Harry closer to him. Meaning, the moment that Harry stepped into the room, something akin to a magnetic force began dragging him closer to the bed Heero was resting on.
And the closer Harry got, the harder the pull worked, and the more Harry began to panic. On the bed, Heero was using all of his strength to remain in one place. Trowa appeared at the last possible moment and pushed the wizard back, Duo sat himself down on Heero's chest.
Harry nodded his thanks, mind still whirling at this recent development. "That was odd."
"Hn." Heero muttered, now sitting up in the bed. He look at Harry, still being gripped now by both Trowa and Wufei, in order for him to be restrained enough to resist the pull, which was now working doubly hard.
=What is this?= Harry panicked. =I've never felt this before!=
Heero locked his eyes with the unique green across from him. =We've never been together like this before. Our magic seems to want to make us one physical person. Perhaps it realizes that you are I are not strong enough to defeat Voldemort alone, and decided to return us to one form.=
Harry relaxed somewhat. =That would explain why you're here instead of back home. I suppose the reason why we went to Olivanders is because it being full of old magic. Something in that shop remained in tact, even in your time and allowed us to link the two worlds enough to bring you here. And knowing Duo's curious side, as well as the others...= he flicked an amused glance at his friends. =...they followed and unknowingly got pulled here as well.=
"Logical," Heero muttered out loud, having pretty much come to that conclusion while Duo had been sitting next to him. The long haired boy had thought he was unconscious, and he didn't want to have the warm body next to his leave. The callused hand holding his had been a comfort as well, it told him that no matter what, Duo was there for him.
Turning his mind back to the new problem, he sighed. "So, how do we reverse the pull?"
Harry, being the more magically advanced of the two, frowned thoughtfully. "Well, there is no recorded case on something like this, remember how we checked during first year? So, maybe some sort of barrier spell will do the trick."
"It's worth a try," Duo pipped up, "does anybody know one of these spells?"
The two dark haired boys didn't say anything. Neither did anybody else, but that was only logical seeing as they had just entered the magical world a week ago.
Quatre sighed. "^Maybe we should just separate them until we can find a spell. Is there a library near by? Trowa and I can check if there is. Heero, you should rest, and Harry - why don't you give Wufei the tour, so at least one of us knows where we are?^"
Duo grinned while the other's nodded.
"So, we can learn some real spells while we're here?" Duo crowed. "I was getting bored with dancing wardrobes anyway. And I'll stick with Heero, I'm sure his energy level isn't *that* low." Honestly he just wanted to talk, but with the innuendo he had casually spit out, nobody would be bothering them for a few hours.
The other's facevaulted but didn't reply, taking the bait as they were meant to. Only Harry shook his head in amusement, knowing exactly what would happen in the room.
===
Wufei glanced around the large yard he was currently standing in. They had spent a few hours inside the house, allowing the Chinese boy to take in the layout of the building, and the magical feel of it. But after expressing the desire to be outdoors, Harry led them out a back door for a walk. For some reason, the vast lawns reminded him of life on L5. The warm sun, the rolling hills, the meadow. He could easily imagine settling down with a book and being transported back to before the war.
"It's beautiful, isn't it." Harry murmured, not looking at Wufei. "There's a little Japanese style garden in the back corner that I've been trying to restore. I like it because Heero and I have a sort of mental sanctuary that we spend our resting time in. It blocks the nightmares and visions usually, the garden reminds me of it. But, of course, it will probably take a lot of work to make it match. Would you like to see it, the garden, I mean."
Wufei thought about it for a moment. Perhaps he could spend time working in the garden as well, it would be a great time to meditate and calm himself. "Alright," he agreed, his voice as soft as Harry's. "I'd like that."
Harry smiled and began walking. "You can help me if you like," he said, "and I can help you with your magic. It's most likely you and the other's will be starting at Hogwarts with me, so it would benefit you to know the basics."
Wufei shook his head, hiding a smile of amusement. There was no doubt that this boy was Heero, nobody except a Gundam pilot could read him so well.
===
"^So,^" Heero said the next afternoon, glancing around the room his friends and double were sitting around. "^In theory, Harry and I cast the spell Quatre found, and we should be able to resist the pull until the barrier falls.^"
Quatre nodded in affirmative. "^Yes, you and Harry must cast it at the same time. It should be powerful enough to last quite a long while.^"
Harry nodded. "^Let's do it.^"
The four pilots - Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei moved back a healthy looking distance, pressing themselves against the far wall. Without their support, Harry and Heero slowly began to be pulled together.
At the same moment, the two boys stretched out their hands, holding them in a defensive position. There was a tangible tenseness in the room as the two boys began chanting the medieval spell, sparks flickering between them. Their voices rose in perfect synchronism, matching word for word. By the time their bodies reached each other, they were just finishing the spell and as their hands touched, a bright flash erupted between them.
As soon as the light faded, Duo sprang forwards to see the two boys passed out, a faint crackling sounding as the barrier spell fought to keep them apart.
"It worked," the long haired boy said in relief, glancing back at his friends. "They should be okay right?"
Just as he spoke, two identical groans were heard and the two boys on the floor slowly made their way to their feet.
"Well," Heero said, looking as though nothing important had happened, though a green gleam shone in his eyes. Harry's eyes were tinted with blue.
"I'm hungry, think Draco's up for a bit of lunch with us?"
===
Draco stared hard at the five extra boys sitting around his informal dinning room table. They were chatting quietly in Japanese, and they kept glancing over at him with strange expressions on their faces. The blond one, Quatre he recalled, seemed to be arguing with the others about something, while the Chinese boy, Wufei, sat in his seat and scowled at Duo, who are arguing with Quatre. Heero, Harry and Trowa were mysteriously quiet, almost talking with their eyes and body language rather then words.
He felt annoyingly left out, and in his own home too!
The three silent boys seemed to have somehow come to a decision, as Heero turned to look at him, an oddly calculating look in his green tinted eyes.
"Draco," he said in perfect English, complete with a British accent the blond didn't think twice about. "We were wondering if you would take us to Diagon alley. Duo and I were hoping to get some sort of translating spell for them." He suddenly smirked over at Wufei, a smirk that only matched Draco's. "They seem to be having a problem with learning English."
Wufei seemed to bristle at that comment, or it could be whatever Quatre was now saying. Either way, his magical energy had just spiked, giving Draco chills. Such power and control he had over his abilities. Draco wouldn't be surprised if that boy could do even wandless magic. The portrait in Duo's room had reported that Duo also had control over his magic, that he had been practising his control the first morning he was at the manor. However, the portrait also said that Heero snuck into Duo's room one night to sleep, but that was insane, because Draco would know. Heero's bedroom was right next to his own and the door had a tendency to squeak when moved.
Coming out of his thoughts, Draco noticed that the table had fallen silent and every boy was now staring at him, amused expressions on their faces. "Alright," he said softly. "I know where we can find some translator spells."
"Great!" Duo grinned, jumping from his seat. He watched, amused, as a small house elf-gremlin popped into the room to take his dishes away. Suddenly, his face fell. "Hey!" He whined, "I was still eating that!"
===
Duo and Quatre dashed happily across Diagon ally, running from display to display, letting out yells about what they saw. Though, they were yelling in Japanese, so people could only assume they were shouting the items that they saw.
Harry shook his head amused when Duo shouted something particularly loud and somewhat rude before proceeding to run into what the boys now recognized as a pet shop. With heavy hearts, the remaining six boys followed him into the shop. Three looking amazed at all the strange looking animals, and three looking bored.
"^Wufei,^" Duo laughed, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing the Chinese boy's arm. "^Come look at this!^"
He forced the boy over to a small display of dancing rats. Wufei raised an eyebrow at the small rodents before turning and sending a pleading look at his friends. *Help me* his eyes seem to scream, *save me*. Duo disappeared again, this time pulling Trowa over to a large basket of loudly humming custard-colored furballs. Quatre was staring as a large rabbit began changing into a silk top hat and back with small pops. Harry, Heero and Draco were talking quietly amongst themselves, not paying much attention to the animals around them.
So, when a small black puff of fur attached to a kitten sank its claws into Wufei's silk pants, nobody except said boy noticed. He scowled down at the animal now clawing up his pant leg, mewing softly. Its eyes blinked dolefully up at him, almost begging the boy to pet it. Wufei jerked his leg in an attempt to be rid of it. The kitten mewed again, this time letting out the plea higher pitched and as loud as it could.
Just his luck it caught the attention of five sets of sensitive ears.
"^Oh Wufei!^" Quatre beamed. "^I didn't know you wanted a pet!^" He moved a little closer, reaching out to pet the small creature. He gently detached it and pushed it into his friends arms.
"^I do *not* want a pet!^" Wufei snarled at the blond, trying to ignore the sadness that was leaking from the empath's body and the small, surprisingly warm and light weight bundle resting in the crook of his right arm.
"It's so cute!" Duo exclaimed, appearing next to Quatre, apparently not having heard the brief exchange of words. He reached out a hand to pet the cat, snatching it back when the black puff hissed and swiped at him with all claws extended.
"You stupid ball of fur!" Duo snarled, cradling his hand.
"^On the other hand,^" Wufei smirked, moving his arms to place the kitten on his shoulder. "^This cat has good taste. I think I'll take it.^"
He turned to the woman at the counter, pointing at the cat in a show that he wanted to buy it but was unable to tell her himself. He pulled out a few of the Galleons that Harry had given him earlier that day at the bank. The woman smiled at him, took a few coins, pushing the rest back and smiled again. Two minutes later the group of boys exited the store and walked slowly through the crowd towards what Draco had said was the store selling translator spells.
After purchasing five of the spells in various forms, for example the matching earrings Heero and Duo purchased, again with Harry's money, they headed back to the street.
"I don't know," Wufei said, touching his hand to his translator, in the form of a simple hair tie, holding his hair back tightly. "These spells seem a little risky to me." Especially seeing how we don't need them, he added silently.
Quatre laughed, glancing over at his friend. "Don't worry about it Wufei," he smiled, already knowing his friends delimna. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong with them. Besides, at least we can speak English now."
Shenlong's pilot couldn't complain about that one, so he remained silent, glancing over at Quatre's translator. He and Trowa wore matching rings on their right hands, a silent indication that they were together.
"So," Harry grinned, slinging his arms around Duo and Quatre's shoulders. "Where to? If you're going to stick around here, you should probably pick up some books so you don't get bored." In other words, pick up some books on spells in order for Harry and Heero to teach them more controlled forms of magic over the rest of the summer.
Duo scoffed at that. "Bored?" He asked, "I think not. I have both you *and* Heero to entertain me now." He let out a classic evil villain laugh, throwing his head back to add to the effect.
Harry ignored him.
"The book store sounds interesting," Quatre said, smiling at Harry, ignoring Duo's piercing cries of NOO! Wufei perked up at the mention of books.
"I'd like that as well," he said softly, eyes gleaming.
Harry and Heero groaned simultaneously. "Another Hermione," they moaned jokingly. "He's going to be just as bad, I can feel it!"
Draco stared at them at that. There was something about those two boys that didn't quite seem to add up. They were obviously very close, in a way that suggested that they had known each other all their lives. But there was more to it then simple friendship. Their features, magical signature, natural grace, were almost identical. And there was also that scare still hidden on Heero's forehead, and something about his eyes that was hauntingly familiar. His sudden appearance into this world, it was just weird.
Still observing Harry, Heero and the rest of the pilots, he followed as they trooped into Flourish and Blotts. Nearly an hour later, and still nowhere near figuring out Heero, Draco followed them back out again. Just as they were passing Eeylops Owl Emporium, Harry sank to his knees, much like he had back on the grounds of Hogwarts, gasping in pain and pressing his hands to his forehead.
The thing that caused Draco's eyebrows to rise, was the fact that Heero had mirrored his motions at the exact same moment.
It was at that moment that Draco spotted the lightning shaped scar etched into the Japanese boy's forehead.
==============================
AN Review and I'll update.
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