You guys are fun.

-grins at reviewers- Ee! (insert happy emoticon, since any punctuation/symbol I stick will prolly just be deleted anyway)

Chapter 39

It was a strange thing, to wake up with such a fluttery feeling in her stomach. At first she couldn't pinpoint where the feeling stemmed from, but recalling the night before made her smile involuntarily. Knowing that somebody, anybody, showed an avid interest in what she was doing – not including Ron – was an interesting thing in itself, but when it was an attractive young man…

Hermione only wished that he wasn't so madly in love with another boy, because she was quite easily finding ways to fancy Duo. He was kind, loyal, funny, intelligent, attentive… Heero was a lucky guy.

Which made Hermione an unlucky girl, but she was still happy to have had his attentions if for one evening, and was enjoying this fluttery feeling she felt whenever she thought of him.

…Although she absolutely refused to believe she was crushing on him, after he'd been so snarky with her only a few days earlier. And he was so suspicious, too, as well as the group he had shown up with. But maybe the mysteriousness wasn't so bad. And he was rather attractive… She tried to suppress her giddiness, but seemed to be failing, if the odd looks she was getting were any indication.

It seemed Ron had woken up with a strange feeling about him too, as every time she spoke with him he was snappy or unresponsive. It dampened Hermione's spirits a bit, but he was a hormonal teenage boy and was allowed to have his off days. She ignored it in favor of whirling through the Common Room with zest and making her way downstairs with extra flourish.

Seamus, Dean, Parvati, and Lavender were hot on her heels and pestering her within moments of her departure, leaving Ron behind to sulk and glare at the portrait hole. Harry came down the stairs behind him and Ron grumbled a bit louder so he could hear.

"Wonder what's made her so damn perky," he wondered. Harry made a questioning noise, but Ron shook his head and forced a smile for his friend. "See you downstairs."

At a much more subdued pace, Ron left the Common Room as well, leaving it almost deserted.

Harry frowned at the redhead's attitude and wondered about it until a tremor ran through his body, making him sway on his feet. He shook his head slightly, sent reassurances to Draco, and continued down toward the second year bedroom. He was greeted to the sight of Duo bashing Heero in the face with a pillow, and couldn't withhold a sigh.

"Bond isn't working out so well this morning?" he asked the room. Duo and Heero both snarled, more to each other than to him, and the others merely acknowledged him with varying looks of annoyance on their faces.

"Harry, how did you sleep?" Wufei asked. Harry grimaced and shrugged. He was pale and a bit withdrawn, eyes reddened by lack of sleep. Ron hadn't taken a good look at him this morning, thankfully. "Or did you at all?"

Harry shrugged, shuffling over and taking a seat on Trowa's bed. "I fell asleep at some point in the morning and got a few hours in. I'm fine."

"Good," Wufei said almost absently, returning his attention to Heero and Duo. "Are you two done? If you're going to bicker, you might as well get some production out of it."

"Well maybe if you found something that we could alter we could produce," Heero shot back, trailing off. Wufei snorted even as he moved to get a spare robe.

"Now I know you and Duo share the same brainwaves." Heero tensed, but settled for snatching the robe from Wufei's fingers and stalking back to his bed, wand in hand. Duo merely held out his own hand, obviously waiting for Trowa, Quatre, and Harry.

Soon enough, Heero and Duo were set trying to muddle their way through transfiguring the clothing with the help of Harry. Heero and Duo were still bickering in short, stilted, and not-very understandable sentences about spandex, or something. Harry didn't quite follow, but Duo seemed completely opposed to whatever it was.

It took a while, but eventually everyone had some variation of what Harry deemed "modern muggle clothing", although he wasn't sure why he had to clarify. It was kind of peculiar for them to ask, really, but there was no point in asking questions now. They put on the clothing – mostly non-restrictive clothing, like slacks and tank tops – and put their robes over top so that nobody would notice. After everyone was set, they did a check for wands in case there was a need for them and headed out toward Hagrid's hut. They hadn't wanted to dally too long in case Ihsaar sent someone looking for them.

Quatre cast a concerned glance back at Gryffindor tower. Their departure was suspicious and someone was going to notice. Quatre hadn't wanted to tell Harry that no matter what, when they returned everyone would find out where they'd been. Everyone would, in all likelihood, find out about Draco and Harry. He hoped their bond was strong enough to withstand that.

In truth, he was surprised when they managed to make it to the hut without being caught. Sure, they'd seen students milling about, but nobody had stopped to speak with them. The five pilots had been so aloof and faraway from everyone else in the school that people barely even acknowledged them.

This was a good thing, but it probably made them seem very distrustful. Quatre doubted that anyone else knew about Duo's episode with the Veratiserum, and they were probably assumed to be spies for Voldemort. Although, hanging out with Harry would certainly put a spin on that particular rumor.

Quatre was just beginning to, once again, brood over Heero and Duo's mishap with their bond when they reached Hagrid's hut. They saw Sirius immediately, and the dog took off toward the Forbidden Forest. Once he reached the outskirts the dog turned and continued running along its edge, barely visible.

"So we're taking the scenic route?" Duo asked aloud, even as they started after him. They were walking at a much brisker pace, and he wished could've brought the broomsticks if they wouldn't have drawn attention. "Just where do we plan on using this portkey anyway?"

"Probably near the road to Hogsmeade," Harry told them. He was breathing somewhat harshly. "The boundaries of Hogwarts end near there."

It took almost twenty minutes to reach Sirius once again, and the older man was sitting far away from the road. He waited until they had reached him before getting to his feet and speaking.

"We need to get out of the way of the road," he told them. "If someone saw us…"

"If we wait too long, people are going to come after us," Trowa countered. "Do you really think Ron and Hermione won't immediately notice that we're gone, and that they won't go to Dumbledore? Every minute we waste is another minute for them to come after us. If they find us, we won't be able to get Draco."

"Let's go, then," Duo urged.

"Are you even prepared?" Sirius frowned. "You're dressed in robes, and you have nothing but wands..."

The pilots took this as a cue to shed their robes, revealing the muggle clothing underneath and silencing Harry's godfather. Duo fisted his own discarded robe and ripped it, Heero doing the same next to him.

"Mind explaining to the rest of us just what it is you're doing?" Wufei asked them with surprise.

"We need weapons," Heero stated matter-of-factly. Sirius, Harry and the rest stared at them both, uncomprehending. Heero explained by way of taking out his wand and transfiguring the severed piece of cloth into a handgun.

"Holy shit," Harry breathed. Next to Heero, Duo was doing the same, although his was a different model. Soon enough there were five guns, and all five boys were armed and tucking their weapons somewhere inconspicuous. Duo spent a few more minutes creating other things – a knife, bobby pins, lockpicks, and other assorted things – and stuck them in his braid.

"You really are soldiers," Harry said aloud. Inside his head, Draco was shocked by the revelation as well. The boys had certainly had an air about them, but to see them actually handling weapons was quite a difference from speculation.

"Ready?" Quatre asked them. He was left feeling bereft with only one weapon, but he had to make due. Creating the ones they had had taken much more time than he would have preferred. He received affirmatives from the other pilots and a tentative nod from Harry. "We're counting on you to do the magic," Quatre told him. Harry nodded. "Okay." He turned to Sirius.

"Let's go."

"I never want to do that ever again," Wufei told them immediately after the world had stopped spinning. He got laughter as a response from Duo, but the other pilots were taking in their surroundings. Sirius and Harry were dealing with the return portkey and brainstorming how to conceal it.

"Draco said the building was a historical site. This place is much bigger than I thought it would be, though" Quatre mused, looking around the town. Cambridge was not small, but at this hour didn't seem to be overly busy. "Is there some kind of tourist shop or something?"

"Maybe we should just follow the suspicious looking guys in robes," Trowa suggested. When the others looked at him in surprise, he gestured to two figures, hustling through the street. Sure enough, they wore long black robes, even though the day was actually warm and sunny.

"Death Eaters," Harry hissed, eyes narrowing. "They're probably going to Vodemort's hideout."

"So let's not lose them," Quatre replied, already strolling away. The pilots followed without question, Duo with his hands in his pockets and whistling. Harry threw back a reassuring smile to Sirius, who had reverted to dog form and was pretending to sleep. He was curled around the portkey – a spoon from Hagrid's hut – and watched Harry silently.

With a sigh, and weathering another tremor, Harry followed the others.

"Where is everybody?" Ihsaar asked his class, looking around at all the empty seats. "The new boys, Harry – does anybody know where they are?"

Ron shrugged. "They were here this morning. Harry went down to see them first thing. But that's not new." Hermione frowned at the admission. Just as she'd begun to see the good side of Duo, they all disappeared with Harry in tow.

It figured.

The circumstances most definitely did not sit right with her, and as she considered the matter she had an unhappy thought. Perhaps, the previous night, Duo had merely been distracting her from some secret event? And while she had unwittingly fallen for his charms, much like Madam Pince had in the Library, she had been completely oblivious to…

Hermione's face fell.

"Of course," she murmured. "How could I think anyone could be interested in me?"

Professor Ihsaar looked at her in surprise. "Miss Granger? What was that?"

Hermione looked up. "Can I be excused, Professor? I'll go look for them."

"Me too," Ron volunteered. Hermione looked at him in surprise and he returned with a significant one of his own.

The burly wizard regarded them both for a moment, and watched as they both turned to him with determined looks on their faces. "All right." The two students rose to their feet immediately, Hermione thanking him on their way out with Ron on her heels.

"There's something very wrong," Hermione said immediately, she and Ron already heading toward the Gryffindor tower. "They shouldn't be missing."

"I saw Harry just this morning," Ron repeated. "But I should have figured something was up. He wasn't at breakfast."

"It they aren't in the tower we had better tell Dumbledore." Hermione turned and began ascending the staircase. "I very much don't like this."

"Hey, Ron!" Ron paused and turned to see Fred walking towards him and Hermione. "What're you two doing outta class?"

"Have you seen Harry?" Hermione asked immediately. "Or Duo, Heero, or the others?"

The lanky redhead paused and scratched his chin. "Can't say I have. Why?"

"They're missing."

Fred's eyes widened. "Missing? Have you checked the Common Room?"

"We're just on our way," Ron replied.

"Well, hurry up then! I knew those guys were suspicious!" Fred began jogging up the stairs, passing the other two easily. Hermione and Ron ran after him.

"Fred, wait!" Hermione called. She had her robe hiked up and was trying to keep up, but wasn't exactly the athletic type. It was no use to call out to the twin, though, because he outran them soon enough. By the time they reached Gryffindor Fred was already coming back out.

"They're not here."

Hermione and Ron looked grave. "We'll have to go tell Dumbledore," Ron said. "This isn't good."

"Maybe we should check the Great Hall first," Hermione suggested. "In case we worry him needlessly."

"And maybe Hagrid's, or outside somewhere," added Fred.

"We can't check everywhere," Ron fumed. "We could be wasting too much time checking everywhere only to find out they're gone! We need to worry about finding out where they've taken Harry!"

Hermione gasped. "What if Duo outwitted the Veratiserum? When he first got here he said he wasn't a spy, because Dumbledore had used that serum, but what if since then he became a Death Eater and we never even knew?"

Ron put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, 'Mione. Harry wouldn't just walk into a trap like that."

"But what if they tricked him!" she exclaimed. "He's not been himself lately, and he could be in trouble and we wouldn't even know!"

She was getting more upset by the minute, and Ron knew she'd continue if they didn't do something. "Okay, Hermione, we're going to see Dumbledore right now. That way, even if they're on Hogwarts grounds, at least we'll know, right?"

Hermione sniffed slightly and nodded, her rapid breathing slowing considerably.

Fred grinned at her. "Yeah, Hermione. I'll go recruit George from Flitwick's class and we'll both help look."

Hermione began to nod, but then paused. "George is helping Flitwick today?" She shook her head. "Nevermind. That doesn't matter. Thank you, Fred."

The elder Weasley merely shrugged and turned to run back to Flitwick's class. "Oh, and you two, as soon as you find out something let us know, all right?"

"Okay!" Hermione called back. She turned to Ron with a small smile. "Thank you. Let's go see the Headmaster."

"They went in that building, I'm sure of it," Trowa told the others as he jogged back. The group had stopped at a corner and Trowa had gone on ahead. While he'd been gone Heero and Duo had been snapping at each other, but that was quickly abated when another pair of Death Eaters passed by. With a gasp, Harry had pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and was now invisible.

Other members of the Cambridge community were hanging around and didn't seem to notice the Death Eaters. As the others had looked around while Trowa was gone they had found this realization disconcerting.

As Duo had put it, they would "certainly notice if freaks in black robes showed up all of a sudden."

"Which building?" Quatre asked.

"The cathedral."

"Cathedrals are historic," Duo commented. He looked at Harry. "What does Draco say? Could it be the cathedral?"

Harry paused for a moment, grimacing as he conversed internally. "It… could be. He's in the bottom of it. Says they've been referring to the place as… 'Ely'?"

Trowa nodded. "Ely Cathedral. That's the place."

Heero and Duo both smiled suddenly. "So let's go," Duo said. "Time to reunite these two and get this lunkhead outta my head."

Heero shoved his counterpart and simply glared.

(edited 31st (happy Halloween) for asterisk eating.)

I know dick all about guns. They have handguns. That's all that matters.

Ely Cathedral is a real place. I've never been there, as it's an ocean away. All information about Ely Cathedral was found on the internet, and you can see it at:

http: www. picturesofengland. com /Ely-Cathedral/

by removing the spaces.

Sorry about the wait.