THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO HAWK, BEST BETA IN THE WORLD WOOT!
"Yeah, we're going for wands!" Duo yelled. "Finally!"
The group had arrived at Diagon Alley three hours ago, and had just completed shopping for their books, robes, and supplies. They would have been done an hour and a half ago, had Duo not insisted upon looking at every single stall open, and insisting upon them each getting a broomstick and a pet. Hagrid agreed after a bit of wheedling, and five Silver Storm's were now on their way to Hogwart's. A white kitten sat on Heero's shoulder, named Hane. Duo had gotten a black drake, a miniature dragon, called Shinigami, of course. Trowa had a black and white ferret on his shoulders, called Han'i, and Quatre had a golden brown mouse in his hand, named Cimmeron. Wufei's pet was an owl, about the size of a baseball when it tucked its head in, and a complete fluffy white, called Wynter. None of them had bothered to get a pet which would actually be capable of completing the purpose of delivering messages, since none of them really knew anyone to send messages to in this time. Now, they were on their way through the door of Ollivander's.
"Whoo, cool!" Duo exclaimed.
"Ah ah ah," an odd man came out from behind a row of long, thin boxes. "The unexpected...the five latecomers...come, come. Wands...wands..." the man looked at Duo up and down, then began flying through the rows and rows of boxes, pulling one out, then muttering and pushing it back. He finally took one box and smiled, opening it and handing a wand to Duo. "Unicorn hair, fourteen inches, rather whippy."
"Uh, what do I do?" Duo asked, holding it.
"Oh, just give it a little wave," Mr. Ollivander explained.
Duo lifted it and brought it down, brandishing it like a sword playfully. He jumped when the entire wand seemed to split and explode in his hand. "Holy shit!" Duo blinked. "Is it supposed to do that?"
"Oh my...," Mr. Ollivander muttered. "Oh my, oh my...oh dear...oh dearie, dearie, dear..."
"What is it?" Hagrid asked.
"You, my dear boy, have the inner wand!" Ollivander cried. "Brilliant! Oh my. There hasn't been an inner wand wizard or witch for a thousand years!"
"Inner wand?" Hagrid rumbled. "What's that?"
"Yeah, what's that?" Duo repeated.
"Inner wand. It is an extremely rare talent. I, myself, am priveleged to meet an inner wand wizard! An inner wand wizard is a wizard who possesses the power of a wand in his hand. In other words, you, Duo Maxwell, have no need for a wand," Ollivander grabbed Duo's hand. "It's all in here, my boy."
"How'd you know my name?" Duo asked, suspicious.
"I know everyone's name," Ollivander's eyes glittered mysteriously. They snapped over to Trowa, and he smiled. "And you, Trowa Barton!" Ollivander grabbed an armful of boxes randomly and rushed over. He handed one to Trowa. "Wave it, please." Trowa proceeded to do so, and his wand engulfed in fire, burning. Ollivander laughed. "Another inner wand wizard! My stars! Here," he looked at the other three, handing them each a wand. Heero's shot out of his hand like a gun, impoding against the wall. Wufei's split down the center, peeling back and warping, and Quatre's began to set off a high pitched whistling until it popped like a firework. Ollivander was ecstatic.
"So they're all...?" Hagrid bumbled.
"Yes! Yes, my dear Hagrid! Five inner wand wizards! Oh my stars and sweet heavens!" Ollivander looked so excited, like he would faint the next second.
"So none of us need wands?" Quatre asked. "We can just...just use our hands?"
"Yes. Ingenious talent! Brilliant!" Ollivander cried.
"That's kind of highly unlikely," Quatre said, skeptical about the whole inner wand idea. "Nothing has ever happened with our hands and magic before."
"Yeah," Duo agreed. "We ain't been shooting off sparks or nothing like those wands do."
"Did you ever try?" Ollivander asked. "Did you ever think you could perform magic? No? Well, now you do, and now you shall! Bravo!" Ollivander dissapeared amidst the shelves. When he didn't reappear after ten minutes, Hagrid led them out, still flustered about the news.
"Well, can't say I don' agree with savin' a bit o' money for Hogwart's," Hagrid spoke. "But this beats all. Inner wand wizards from the future. Bloody fascinatin'! Dumbledore'll love this."
Duo was looking in fascination at his hands. "How are we supposed to learn magic now? If there ain't been inner wand wizards for a thousand years, who's gonna teach us?"
"Ah, I'll leave that one ta Dumbledore to figure out," Hagrid said, clearing his throat. "Anyways, off home we go now."
"Hagrid. Do you have any clue how an inner wand works? I think...I think I just have to think I can do magic or something. At least, that's what I got out of what the wand man said."
"Now don' you be tryin' anythin'," Hagrid warned Duo, wagging a finger. "The only place underaged wizards are allowed ta do magic is at Hogwart's. You try an' do magic out here, an' you'll have the Ministry o' Magic on your tails."n
"Ministry of Magic?" Wufei asked.
"A bunch o' wizards an' witches that make sure muggles-them's non magic folk-don' find out about us magical folks."
"Ah," Wufei nodded. "It's like the government of the magic world."
"I suppose...," Hagrid said.
"So the only place we can ever do magic is at the school?" Quatre asked.
"An' then only when you're in classes."
"No magic outside of classes and no weapons," Duo pouted. "That sucks. Now I'm gonna have to deal with a twitchy Heero."
Heero, who hadn't spoken since he found out he was a wizard, now cuffed Duo's head. "Baka." Thai'kia swatted adorably at Duo's braid as he swung round, protesting. Heero did look somewhat agitated, though.
"I still can't believe you got that kitten, Yuy," Wufei scoffed.
"Hn."
"Say one word about my Hee-chan's kitten, and you're goin' down," Duo threatened with a grin. "Shini will bite you." The black drake on Duo's shoulder flared it's small wings and hissed, snapping. Wynter's small black eyes went wide and her head tucked in, making her seem only a white ball of fluffiness.
"Funny 'ow quick a connection is made 'tween masters an' pets," Hagrid commented, then ordered. "No fightin' 'tween the animals. Or 'tween you guys." He added as an afterthought.
Duo's eyes glinted at the thought, and he grinned. "Right. No fighting 'Fei 'Fei."
"My name is Wufei, Maxwell!"
"They called a special breakfast meeting for us to be sorted," Quatre said. The five stood, in full Hogwart's robed clothes, in a small room adjacent to the main hall. They were waiting for McGonagall to come and bring them to be sorted. The only time the students had really seen them was when they had popped into Hogwart's. They had been kept under wrap since then, and now were to be revealed. "Apparently, it happens in front of the whole school."
"An audience," Duo smiled. "Neat. I wonder how this sorting hat thing works."
"We'll find out soon enough," Wufei replied. "Here comes McGonagall."
"When I call your name, go and sit on the stool and put the pointed hat on your head. The hat will shout out which house you are to be in and your house table will cheer. Proceed to the loudest cheering table, and that will be your table." She turned sharply and walked through the curtains, the five gundam boys following her. They stepped onto a stage in front of four long tables, each filled with students cheering and applauding them.
"Barton, Trowa," McGonagall said. Trowa stepped forward, giving Quatre's hand one last hidden squeeze. He sat on the stool and held the hat for a moment, observing it, then placing it on his head. He had to tilt it back a little so his bangs didn't press flat against his face.
Hm, a latecomer student to Hogwart's, and an inner wand wizard as well. Oh my...
Trowa's eyes widened slightly when he heard the voice, his shoulders stiffening, then relaxing in curiousity as he realized it was the hat that was speaking in his mind. He quickly assessed that since this was the wizard world, he couldn't be considered crazy for listening to it.
Yes, I see quite a bit of wisdom in you, quite a bit...but your courage is in good supply as well. And I sense such great loyalty. You have incredible loyalty to all your friends, loyalty and a hand to help...I guess you'll have to go to...
'GRYFFINDOR!' the hat yelled, and Trowa took the hat off and stood up. He hopped off the stage and made his way over to the exploding table. He sat down, trying to ignore all the pats on the back and congrats he recieved. He wasn't much for attention.
'Chang, Wufei," McGonagall spoke as soon as the noise had died down. Wufei walked up to the stool, set the hat on his head, and sat down, arms crossed.
You have a great sense of justice and honor, that is obvious.
Wufei nearly sighed with relief. Finally, someone who said that and didn't mean it as a joke or part of a joke. Duo could really push his buttons sometimes. He had an inkling of what would happen when he put the hat on, stuff he had gathered from what McGonagall had said and how Trowa had reacted. So now he listened.
You have loyalty to your friends,a great amount of it. But you are incredibly knowledged. You have great learning in you. You are a brilliant scholar, I can see. Would rather sit and read than go out and play.
Wufei thought this was a childish statement.
You will most definitely be in...
'RAVENCLAW!'
Wufei stood up and joined the table of clapping ravenclaws. He wondered if he, as a scholar, would have anything in common with them, as scholars. He learned in the future, and they learned now, in the past, and at a wizard school. Totally opposite.
'Maxwell, Duo," McGonagall spoke again. She seemed to clip her words with very good grammar. Duo ran forward and sat down. He grinned and put the hat on his head.
Aren't you the hyper one?
Duo jumped and fell backwards off the stool. He lay on the floor for a momentbefore standing up and rushing to Dumbledore at the head table. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled and spoke. "Is it supposed to speak inside my head?"
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, chuckling. Duo gave an okay and went back to the stool. Half the audience was smiling at his response to the sorting hat's speakings.
"Okay, hat, continue," Duo muttered.
Kind of jittery. You hear voices in your head often?
No. I hear a voice in my head. And I don't like that voice. Duo replied by thought. He had long ago mastered the art of talking inside his head.
And that would be the dark side of Duo, wouldn't it? That would be Shinigami...
Duo swallowed and stiffened as the hat's simple word brought Shinigami out into his main thought. He hated, yet needed the damn other side of him. Shinigami was simply the dark side of Duo.
Well, you have courage and loyalty and determination. You have great ambition, you want to prove yourself to everyone, I see...prove you're not a joking idiot all the time. And what a sharp, devious mind. Very cunning, if you ask me. And then of course, there's the darker side of you...yes, you will have to go into..."
'SLYTHERIN!'
"Slytherin? Sweet," Duo said as he hopped off the stool, setting the hat back down. The Slytherin table had erupted into wild cheers, but the other tables were relatively quiet. Duo idly wondered why as he jumped down to join the Slytherin table, noting at the same time that most of the Slytherins looked kind of slithery and dark.
"Winner, Quatre Raberba," McGonagall spoke. Quatre walked up to the chair with a friendly smile and sat down, placing the hat on his head, where it nearly fell over his eyes.
Hello, little one. I see that's your nickname...
Only one person calls me little one. Quatre replied. And only him. He, too, was used to speaking to voices in his head, only he spoke to much more than one spirit. Being an empath and a being able to hear spirits and phantoms brought that upon Quatre.
Yes, your koishii, as you call him. You seem to have an incedibly nice heart, and you seem to be a very good, trustworthy friend. Maybe you're a little too nice...but, then again, you can definitely hold your own in a fight. A sweet, little thing is what you are. You're going into...
'HUFFLEPUFF!'
Quatre stood off the stool and forced a mostly sincere smile at the Hufflepuff table cheering for him. He let a longing glance go to Trowa for a moment, and received a secret, supportive smile in return, and he sat down at his new house.
"Yuy, Heero."
"Woot, Hee-chan!" Duo yelled from the Slytherin table, and Heero rolled his eyes, but smirked his smile at Duo anyways. Heero sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head, all the while thinking how silly this was and looked and how crazy this whole school was and how idiotic he looked in his robes. Treize and Zechs wore robes, not him.
My, my, my...I can tell this will be a hard desicion. Loyal to a few, courageous yet uncaring about what happens to yourself. WIlling to give everything up for someone, yet hoping to be able to give it all up. Hmm...where shall I put you? Very intelligent, able to get whatever you want...Slytherin or Gryffindor...? Is there, perhaps, one you would prefer?
Heero ignored the voice, simply waiting for it to shout something. he didn't understand how a hat could shout. Then again, how could a hat speak in his mind? It was all crazy. And he really didn't care. He just wanted to finish these seven months so he could go home.
I see. You don't care. Very well. let's consider this...I would have to say you have much more goodness in you than anyone realizes, so I shall put you in...
'GRYFFINDOR!'
Heero's mind registered the hat had shouted, and he stood up, eyes icy cold and calculating, to go and join Trowa at the Gryffindor table.
"Let the breakfast begin," Dumbledore announced, and everyone burst into talking and eating. Trowa and Heero both looked at their kois sitting at the other tables, speaking to other students, then shared a silent glance between them. Wufei was ignoring a Ravenclaw girl who was asking him how much he knew, and Duo was listening to the basic one-and-all about the school from a Slytherin. Quatre was holding a friendly conversation with a Hufflepuff pair of students, and Trowa and Heero ate the food which had simply appeared on the table plates in silence. Heero wasn't very social, and Trowa liked to think.
Thank you for reading the chappie dedicated to Hawk, best beta! Now review it, and then read on, if you doth so wish it and it dith so pleaseth you. Heh heh.