Chapter 34
Loneliness was starting to creep up on him, and very quickly.
He'd been doing fairly well, he thought. That first morning he didn't think he'd never get up – he was actually thankful for Ron's enthusiasm. He was glad that the redhead had persuaded him to go outside.
The five boys put up a façade very well. They could play like nothing was wrong, speak like there were no problems, and act like they weren't planning to go up against a powerful, malicious wizard and steal back a boy they barely knew.
Harry was actually a little awed.
Not awed enough, though, that he could stay near them for long. Especially Heero and Duo – they were the worst. Not as people, definitely not. He in fact enjoyed their company in less grave circumstances. What upset him, though, was the way Duo acted around the Japanese boy – the friendly in a more-than-friendly kind of way. And the way Heero acted in return – happy, yet shy and almost reluctant to show the same affection.
They were good together, when they weren't fighting, trying to kick the shit out of each other, or giving each other the silent treatment.
And seeing this made Harry's heart ache for Draco all the more.
Harry had taken one look at the two and wished himself away – fast. When he'd looked into the Great Hall and seen two redheads there, he'd left the other two alone.
Looking at them made him want Draco, and wanting Draco made him upset. He didn't need to be upset, especially for McGonagall's class, where the professor, Hermione and Ron would easily pick up on it. After picking up on it his friends would press him to tell them what was the matter, and if he refused they'd encourage him to tell Dumbledore.
The Headmaster wasn't learning any more about this one. He'd lost his chance when he'd refused his assistance – and refused to even believe Harry!
He knew it was foolhardy. He knew that they had a very slim chance of retrieving Draco from Voldemort – even if he was still alive. But the look on Heero's face, when he swore that they'd help get Draco back, made him want to believe that they had a chance, and that it was a good one.
But still, that didn't help him when the loneliness crept up.
"There you are," Ron said as Harry approached the table. Seated next to him was George, who was scribbling away on a piece of parchment. Harry smiled at the sight. Ron followed his gaze and smirked as well. "Yeah, hard to believe, eh? That they actually can do schoolwork."
"And moderately well," Harry agreed. George looked up, arching an eyebrow. Harry just continued to smile and took a seat.
"Where're the new blokes?" George asked, glancing around. "They're usually with you."
"Class, library," Harry replied absently, shrugging in his robes. "Only Heero and Duo actually have class next, with Ron and me." The twin pursed his lips and nodded.
"They don't seem... a little odd to you?" he questioned. "A little… too serious? Or too… 'dunno… smart? Quick?" Ron gave his brother an odd look.
"What do you mean, that we think it's odd they're so smart?"
"No," George replied. He frowned, and then shrugged. "I dunno. 'Spose I just think they're… a little off. Like somethin's not quite… normal."
"Well, they are exchange students," Harry offered weakly. He knew what George was getting at – he'd felt it when hanging around them as well. A bit too much solemnity. A bit too many dark moments. A bit too many references to things that he didn't or couldn't understand. A bit too much like soldiers, like Dumbledore had said the day they had arrived. "But I know what you mean."
George nodded,
chewing on the end of his quill, sopping the feathers with saliva. "Something about 'em makes me wonder.
S'all. Fred said somethin'
like that, too. Made me think of it."
"They're certainly different," Ron muttered. He shrugged. "Nice enough, though, I 'spose."
He shrugged once more. "We'd better get going to Transfigurations, Harry."
"Yeah," Harry agreed with a grimace. "We have so few points for Gryffindor we shouldn't be losing more." It was the appropriate response, as Ron and George both nodded enthusiastically.
"Let's go then."
…
Hermione caught Neville a few minutes after Potions ended, tapping him on the shoulder and tugging him into an alcove. Neville fidgeted and looked nervous at being in close quarters with her, but he didn't leave.
"Did you speak with them?"
Neville stared at her owlishly for a moment before his mouth dropped into a delicate 'o' shape. Hermione's face fell.
"You forgot?"
"Sorry," Neville said, cringing slightly. "I did. And even if I hadn't they're always in a group!"
Hermione sighed. "I know… but you had Duo for a lab partner, didn't you?"
"And Heero was right next to him," Neville protested. "He scares me." Hermione arched an eyebrow at the pudgy boy. He'd thinned out slightly since fourth year, but baby fat was still prominent in his cheeks and stomach.
"He scares you? He's not nearly as bad as Snape," Hermione countered. Neville made a face and nodded. "He's intimidating, I suppose, but that's why you should ask Duoor Quatre… even Trowa might be friendly. He doesn't speak much."
Neville looked reluctant. "I don't know, 'Mione…I don't wanna make 'em mad."
"How could asking a few innocent questions make them mad?" Hermione asked.
"Well why aren't you asking them?" Neville returned smartly. Hermione had the decency to look somewhat abashed – she had annoyed them. They didn't talk to her very much.
But they talked to Harry.
Harry didn't talk to her very much, either.
Not anymore.
Hermione had to admit… she was feeling a little ignored. Ron was still there, a presence by her side, but Harry was her friend too! She couldn't understand why he was becoming so distant.
"I only asked you to do this simple thing, Neville," she wheedled. "Please?"
Neville, not known for his resistance to pleading – especially by girls – gave in.
"Right, then." He sighed. "I'll try 'n ask Duo later. I gotta go to the Infirmary. See you, 'Mione." With another small frown at her he walked away, headed off for his next class with Pomfrey and her medicinal magic.
Hermione, left behind, felt a little guilty for asking Neville to get some information, but she honestly didn't think they would answer her.
She just wasn't sure why not.
…
"Hey, Fred," Quatre greeted the stationary redhead upon entering the Library. He, Trowa, and Wufei had come there almost immediately after Potions. They hoped Pince wasn't in too much of a mood – they were interested in getting work done, and planned to do it quickly.
The twin looked up and waved. "Hey, Quatre. You two." Trowa and Wufei nodded back politely before branching out in the Library. Quatre noticed Pince look up, noted the fact that there was a group of them, and then return to whatever she was doing. Pleased that she didn't seem interested in bothering them, Quatre took to the shelves and looked for anything having to do with 'telepathy'.
After ten minutes of scanning text titles and fishing through a few of interest, Quatre heard Fred make a surprised noise. Looking back at the twin curiously, he noted that Fred was reading a rather large, dusty text. Quatre found himself walking towards him, interested.
"Find something interesting?" Quatre asked with a smile. "What're you researching?"
Fred looked up and smiled back. "Spells, curses, and the like. McGonagall is having me look up some ancient curses that've never been… used, I guess, for a project for her fifth years. They're spells that've been recorded but nobody's ever actually seen them used, y'know?"
Quatre nodded and looked over the twin's shoulder. A gruesome black and white drawing graced the page, and at the top 'The Death of One Thousand Souls' was written in dark print. He arched an eyebrow and scanned the opening paragraph.
"So it's just… some spell for a mass-murder?" he asked, with a frown. Fred nodded.
"Pretty much."
"Hn." Quatre looked at the picture – a rendition of the curse being used, with bodies screaming and flailing, some dead on the ground. "Anything in that book on telepathy?"
Fred looked up. "Telepathy?" He fingered the pages and looked contemplative. "Maybe, but they'd prolly just be useless. Book's just for ancient never-used spells."
Quatre nodded absently, eyes drawn to the graphic again. With a grimace he walked off towards Trowa, noticing he was holding a few texts in his hands. "Find something good?"
Trowa looked up. "Yeah," he replied, holding out one of the texts. "I think Wufei did, too," Trowa commented, gesturing to where Wufei sat pouring over a huge book in his hands.
"Good," Quatre muttered absently. He opened to the index and read over the selections. "Hm."
"We'll need something to narrow down sources or something," Trowa muttered. "Or, to narrow it down to a certain type of person. Don't need to be making everyone telepathic."
Unbeknownst to Quatre, who was deeply absorbed in flipping through his text, Trowa's eyes were scanning his features carefully. It was something he'd indulged in for a long time – watching the blond. Thus far it didn't seem that anyone had noticed, especially not Quatre himself, so Trowa allowed himself that much. He didn't expect anything to arise from it, his admiration, and he doubted that a little unnoticed staring – perhaps a little too often for a little too long – would hurt anyone.
Then Quatre looked up and caught him, but Trowa didn't look away.
"Did you find anything in yours?" the Arabian asked good-naturedly. He hadn't noticed, apparently, and Trowa doubted he ever would. That was why he allowed himself to watch.
It didn't hurt anyone if nobody noticed.
And if nobody noticed, it never would.
…
Duo sighed with relief once Transfigurations was over. McGonagall had been especially hostile, glaring at them and speaking in a biting tone.
Now they only had detention to deal with, and they'd be rid of her for the day. Duo glanced over at Heero. The Japanese boy had been returning McGonagall's steely gazes easily, and had been caught glaring at her even when her back was turned. Duo figured he was a bit high-strung himself. It made him want to brave Pince in order to get Heero's attention drawn to something other than the wrath of the teachers.
"Head to the Library right away?"
The Japanese boy paused and nodded. "That's a good idea. If they have anything useful we could have it in advance for our 'meeting' with McGonagall."
"Sounds good," Duo agreed, and they set out towards the stairwell. Footsteps fell in behind them and Duo looked back. Harry and Ron were following, and a ways behind he could see Hermione exiting the classroom and following as well. "Hey, guys," Duo greeted.
"Where're you off to, the common room?" Ron asked. Duo shook his head and grinned, turning and walking backwards as they made their way towards the stairs.
"Library." Ron made a face.
"The library? Why would you spend your time there?"
"What's wrong with the library?" Hermione harped from behind the redhead, and Ron's face flushed. He turned to smile and making a placating gesture at the irate brunette.
"Nothing, 'Mione, nothing! A fine place to do homework, eh? That's, er, where me 'n Harry were off to after we stopped at the tower. Duo 'n Heero 're goin' there now, you know?"
Duo arched an amused eyebrow at Harry, who returned the look. Ron's speech, when he was nervous, became very stilted and improper. Hermione was still glaring at the redhead, but had fallen into step with him and seemed to be following them. Heero shrugged at Duo, who'd made a questioning face, and the two merely continued their path.
Like Ron had said, Harry and Ron both veered off towards the Common Room at the junction, and Hermione went with them. Ron promised vehemently that they would soon go to the Library, and Hermione seemed pleased when they'd left. Duo had sighed explosively once they'd disappeared from sight, and shook his head at a vaguely amused looking Heero.
A few minutes later they arrived at the Library, and Duo braced himself.
"Hey," Quatre called as they walked in. Pince looked up sharply, and Duo made an 'I told you so' face at Heero. The Japanese boy ignored him. Instead, he sat down in a chair across from Trowa, who was pouring over texts with Wufei. Duo went to Quatre among the bookshelves.
"Find anything?" Heero asked, leaning forward and looking at the page Trowa had before him. The brunette looked up and shrugged.
"Nothing groundbreaking. Wufei has found one spell that could prove useful, though. What was it called?" he asked the Chinese boy. Wufei glanced up.
"'The Bond of Lovers'," he recited. He looked fairly displeased with the title. "It apparently allows lovers to read each others' minds. Since the two have a physical relationship deserving of that title, I thought it would work."
Heero nodded in agreement. "Good thinking." He cast a questioning look at Wufei's text and the other obliged, pushing it towards him.
"It doesn't look too complicated," he added. Heero nodded, already reading. While Heero did that, Wufei took notice of what the rest of the room was doing. He'd seen Hermione, Ron, and Harry enter from his own vantage point, and it was apparent that Heero had not. After noticing their entrance Wufei hadn't bothered to track their progress as none had approached himself, Trowa or Heero.
Currently Hermione looked fairly excited about something Fred was reading, and Ron and Harry simply looked bored.
Actually, Wufei amended, Harry looked more torn than bored, as though he greatly wished to be somewhere else.
'Of course,' Wufei thought. 'Either over here, with us looking for a solution, or with Draco.' He diverted his attention to Quatre and Duo, who seemed to be engaging in excited conversation. Quatre was actually fairly red, with Duo more excited in mannerism. Wufei spared a minute to wonder what they were so excited about at such a time before his text was pushed back to him. He lowered his eyes to Heero's vibrant blue.
"That will work."
"Then we have to start planning," Wufei returned. Trowa looked at them both.
"The 'Bond of Lovers' it is, then?" the European muttered, bemused. Wufei snorted.
"Such an important spell should not be given such an unworthy name." Wufei frowned in distaste. "It demeans the spell and makes it seem weaker."
"Perhaps it isn't a powerful spell after all," Trowa returned, apparently baiting the Chinese pilot. Wufei fell for it.
"Of course it's a powerful spell, for Nataku's sake it involves mind-reading of specific people with specific characteristics – a relationship no less!"
While Wufei and Trowa bantered quietly – with Wufei's voice rising in volume due to his ire – Heero gestured to Duo and Quatre. The two pilots agreed to continue their conversation later and returned to the table. Duo slid himself into a chair next to Heero and Quatre followed suit.
"Wufei's spell sound good?" Quatre asked, passing the text to Duo to fill him in. The braided boy began reading immediately. Heero nodded. "I thought so… it seems specific enough. Even so, performing it away from the school – and with some competent wizards present – would be a good idea."
"You're saying get Sirius to assist?" Heero asked. Quatre nodded. "That could be useful, but it would be up to Harry. It depends on whether or not he wants to let his godfather know that he's gay, sexually active, and with Malfoy."
Quatre winced at the bluntness. "Yeah."
"This looks good," Duo muttered. He was nodding absently at whatever he'd read. "I think I've seen some of this ingredient shit in Snape's bunker. Take Harry's cape thing, and we'd have everything we'd need."
"Suspicious," Trowa muttered.
"Necessary," Duo countered. He looked up and peered at the European through shaggy bangs. They weren't exactly as they had been before they'd been regrown, but were reminiscent of his style. "We swore. We need to get him back, because we swore. This is a necessary step towards that. Besides, with him back we'd have another competent wizard to help us get back."
Trowa nodded. "I know."
"Then what we have to think of is how," Duo murmured. "I'm sure you guys noticed that this is some high-tech hocus pocus. Since Harry's the guinea pig, and our skills are meager at best, we need help."
The other four looked miffed at the notion, but knew that to be true. "We need Sirius, at least," Quatre murmured. The others nodded. "Anything else… we'll have to improvise. Harry merely needs to comply."
"We also need to get this book out of here," Duo muttered, smirking and caressing its worn pages. "Dibs not it."
With a roll of his eyes, Wufei huffed. "I'll take the damned book, Maxwell. If you would be so kind as to offer a distraction…"
Duo winced. Quietly he muttered, "Should have seen that coming," to Heero, who nodded in agreement. "Okay, distraction happens to be my specialty. Who'd like to assist me? Quatre? Heero? Trowa? Any takers?"
The other pilots backed away from the table slowly, Duo watching with an amused look on his face. "Come on guys, we need some assistance here. Wuffie'll have a hard enough time looking inconspicuous with that 'holier than thou' look on his face." Wufei sputtered.
"Duo, if you don't stop-," Wufei began, but Duo was already grinning and pursuing a retreating Quatre.
"Q-man! Q-ball! My main man!" he hollered, tossing an arm around the blond's shoulders. Quatre winced at the volume.
"Damnit, my turn," he muttered. "Fine. DUO! You shouldn't scare me like that, you'll give me a heart attack!"
Duo laughed uproariously, and Pince's gaze was riveted. "Q-man, you're too young to die! Life is short! Live it loud! Oh, hey Madam Pince! Hey! Remember me? I'm Duo! This is Quatre, have you met him?" The American steered his friend over to the irate librarian. "He's going here too, you know. We're taking all sorts of classes together, you know? Potions and that crystal ball one… you know, Quatre, the smelly one!"
"Divination!" Quatre offered, beaming. "That class is always so stuffy, not like in here. The library has such a soothing atmosphere, don't you agree?"
Pince opened her mouth to reply, but Duo cut her off. "Yeah man, and you, lady, are a saint compared to what's-her-name."
"Trelawney," Quatre piped up again, plowing forward to change the subject. "I was actually wondering if you had any books on machines? I love machines! And law. I like to learn about law, too, but I love machines."
"Yeah!" Duo agreed. "I hadn't even thought of that, man." He gestured wildly with his hands. "This one time, back home, I rebuilt this amazing engine with my bare hands! I mean, sure I had some spare parts, a torch, and a team of engineers alongside me, but MY bare hands!"
Quatre looked sufficiently impressed. "Whoa. That's awesome. You never told me that!" Duo turned to him with a wide grin.
"My man, we have a lot to talk about then! I have tons of hometown stories I'm sure you'd love!"
"We have a bit of time before supper, let's go back to the tower and you can tell me and the guys about them!"
Duo grinned cheekily at Pince. "It was great seeing you again ma'am, hope I didn't cause too much of a ruckus! I tried keeping it down, but I get so enthusiastic sometimes…" He sighed explosively. "Bye!"
With that, he and Quatre turned and rushed out of the library, leaving a dazed looking Pince staring after them. Not only that, but Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Fred were staring after them in shock as well.
"George had said he was a master of distraction," Fred murmured, referring to the American chatterbox. "I hadn't believed it."
"Wow," Ron agreed.
"Wow indeed," Hermione muttered, eyes narrowed. She'd seen the other three boys disappear out the door as Quatre and Duo had provided a distraction. It seemed a very suspicious thing to do, and she hadn't the slightest clue as to why they would do such a thing. Hermione hated being without knowledge, and was resolved to get to the bottom of their mystery somehow.
Harry, still watching the doorway, merely hoped that whatever the distraction was for, it would help them rescue Draco.
The loneliness was so strong it was almost tangible, and Harry hadn't felt such a painful longing since the Mirror of Erised and his first glimpse at his lost parents.
They needed to get Draco back, and soon..
…
I actually feel pretty bad for Harry…. But never fear. It's coming.
But in the meantime, exams are on the horizon, set late June. I'd say that a chapter in that time, or before early July, would be a miracle.
So I'll see you lot after the storm has broken, and I'm officially past another school year.
3 Ja for now!
