Chapter 2

Heero's eyes opened slowly, as if a great weight were trying to hold them down. He fought against it, wanting to determine his condition and that of his comrades. Blinking, his brow furrowed as it took in the unfamiliar surroundings. It smelled of an infirmary, but there was something odd about it. He frowned. Why the hell was he here in the first place?

"Hey." Heero turned his head quickly, wincing as the movement sent bolts of pain through his skull. When his vision stopped swimming he focused on the source of the voice: Trowa.

"What the hell happened?" Trowa smiled slightly, and Heero noticed he was in a bed too. He looked worn and tired. "Where are the others?"

"Look to your left, Heero," the taller pilot replied. Heero obliged, turning his head slowly to take in the sleeping forms of Quatre and Duo, and one irate Wufei.

"About time you woke up, Heero. Now I won't have to deal with this woman's idiot questions alone. Trowa wasn't much of a help."

Heero's lips turned up slightly. "Who is it, Sally? I thought you two got along well. At least better than you used to."

Wufei arched an eyebrow at the Japanese boy. "Heero, we're not in the infirmary at base. Sally isn't here. Noin isn't here. Hell – none of Une's lackeys are running around. There's just this one woman-."

"Madam Pomfrey," Trowa supplied.

"Who insists on making us eat chocolate and drink god-knows-what in an attempt to 'heal' us. I think we've been taken prisoner and they're trying to poison us."

"Or maybe you're just too damn.. ugh.. paranoid for your own good, Wu-man," Duo grumbled, sitting up slowly. He was frowning deeply, the only hint to how much pain he was in. "Where the hell's the nurse? I need a fucking bedpan."

Heero snorted. "Thank you for sharing that with us, Duo."

Duo winked. "Anytime, baby," he quipped. He glanced over as Quatre started groaning and shifting around. At that moment, a woman bustled into the room, smiling brightly and pushing a cart covered in assorted candies and goblets.

"Oh good, you're all awake! I was beginning to worry. Normally the potions wear off before long…"

She was too busy sorting through her mess of chocolates to notice that all semi-groggy pilots immediately perked up at the word "potions". Even Quatre eyed the nurse warily.

"My, I just can't get over how strange your conditions were," the nurse said, holding up a goblet and a few pieces of chocolate. "It's unusual for students to collapse before they even get in the door!" She paused and finally noticed the boys staring at her as if she were crazy.

"Uh… lady? Where the hell are we?" Duo asked. He, like the others, had been listening to her carefully and paying attention to her movements. He didn't really get the whole chocolate thing, but chose to ignore it for now.

Madam Pomfrey frowned. "I'll excuse your language because it's obvious you've contracted a case of mild amnesia. You're in the infirmary at Hogwarts."

"What's a Hogwarts?" Duo asked again. The others seemed content to let him ask the questions, and sat back to listen.

"Hogwarts," she responded, "is the best wizarding academy in all the world."

There was a slight pause and silence reined the room, before Duo cracked and started laughing out loud. "You're shitting me, right? WIZARDS? Wizards don't exist!"

Madam Pomfrey's face became absolutely livid and she glared murderously at Duo. "You, young man, will watch your tongue!" She seemed on the verge of a tirade, and would have most likely given him a verbal lashing had a knock not sounded on the infirmary's door. She glared at him once more before moving to open the door.

Duo looked at Heero with a thoroughly confused look on his face. "The hell did I say?"

Heero shrugged. "'Shitting?'" Duo frowned but nodded slowly, seemingly accepting that as the reason for her outburst. He returned his attention to the door, where an incredibly old man was conversing with the nurse. And he was wearing robes and a pointy hat.

"Guys, you think it's possible we're really in the infirmary of an insane asylum?" Duo hissed. Quatre shushed him.

"Be quiet, Duo! They'll hear you! You're already in enough trouble."

"It's not his fault the woman's crazy," Wufei muttered. Duo nodded in agreement.

"Gentlemen," the old man said, directing their attention to him. The pilots eyed him, quickly disregarding him as a threat. He was too old – even injured there was no way he could take them on. "My name is Professor Dumbledore, and I would like to welcome you to Hogwarts. I am the headmaster of this school."

Duo shrugged. "Hi." Quatre answered the same way, while the other three merely nodded. Dumbledore watched them carefully, and smiled as he saw their wariness of him.

"I doubt it will work by telling you so, but you are in no danger here. A few students found you all outside in the grass. How you got there remains a mystery, but you were all unconscious."

"No danger. Okay, suppose we believe you. Why was Madam Pomfrey talking about wizardry?" Quatre asked. Duo smirked; if they'd let him ask that question he would have probably been thrown out the window. Speaking of windows…

"Ah, yes. Hogwarts is a world-renowed school known for its exemplary teaching in both wizardry and studies. And if I'm not mistaken, the lot of you also have traces of magical energy within you."

The boys paused to take that in. When Duo had not laughed or made a rude comment, they looked at him curiously only to find him staring out the window with a wide eyed expression.

"Duo?" Quatre prodded. Duo merely pointed, and the others followed his gaze.

Outside the window, a boy with short black hair and bright green eyes was looking in. On his forehead was a jagged scar, and he was floating on a broomstick.

***