A/N's: Since QS is currently…. *Ponders* in her room avoiding her father, I get to do all the rambley non-fic stuff by meself.

The reason it's been about a month since it was last updated was because Qs was trying to avoid writing a shopping chapter. She managed to toss out over 7,000 words of a chapter though. *Glomps QS*

Anyway, QS and I are soon going to have up a Gundam Wing fic we're writing together, along with a Pirate of the Caribbean/HP fic crossover fic.

Disclaimer: QS and I swear we are up to no good as we try to steal the copyright for HP and GW and all related trademarks. Until such time as us two succeeding at our plots, we do not own Harry Potter and Co. nor Gundam Wing and all related trademarks.

Warnings: OOC-ness galore. Slash galore. Some prejudice, though Duo handles that. I can't think of anything else really. Oh, watch out for the innuendos.

Pairings: see first chapter.

Dedication: This is dedicated to Bat, hopefully it cheers him up. *nell and QS glomp bat*

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The first thing that hit the pilots upon their arrival in Diagon Alley was the large amount of people that made up the crowd of the small street of shops. The pilots automatically reached for the guns they no longer carried, and Wufei reached to grip the handle of his katana, only to swear as he realized it wasn't there. Crowds could be dangerous, they knew, and old habits die hard.

Sirius noted the reactions of the pilots and found himself sympathizing with them. His years on the run had taught him many things he never would have even considered otherwise. Even he found himself wanting to inch towards the shadows, despite his knowledge that the people knew he was innocent, especially after that stunt he had pulled during the final battle. Still, there were those few people he knew would never get their heads out of their arses.

"Come on, let's get this over with," Remus muttered after raising his eyebrow at his seven charges (as he refused to label Sirius anything else, knowing he would have to force the immature man to behave as well).

"Aw, don't ruin our fun, Moony!" Sirius replied immediately, grinning cheerfully. "I know you don't like shopping and all, but that doesn't mean you've gotta ruin it for the rest of us!"

"I'm not ruining anything for anyone," Remus snapped back.

"Yes you are," Sirius grumbled. "I swear, you get more and more like Snape every day."

"Well, they do say couples seem to become more like each other after a while…."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius whined, making a disgusted face. "Just can you please stop reminding me you're madly in love with Snape? You may like him, but that doesn't mean I have to."

Remus just rolled his eyes for a reply and began threading his way through the crowd towards Gringotts. First thing on the agenda was definitely the money.

"What the hell are those…things?" was the first thing heard when the eight of them entered. All eyes turned to Duo, who grinned sheepishly and waved at the glaring goblins.

"They're goblins," Remus growled to him. "And watch what you say about them, they're not exactly the nicest creatures around."

"No kidding," Duo pouted. "I think they don't like me."

"Of course they don't," Wufei snorted. "There's a reason for that, you know."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying, Wu-man? Because if you are…."

"What if I am, Maxwell?" Wufei smirked. "And would you stop calling me Wu-man!"

"Yeah, Duo," Heero added, smirk set firmly in place. "Haven't we already been through this before? Wufei is still inse—"

"Keep out of this, Yuy!" Wufei gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Will you all please stop bickering!" Remus groaned suddenly, rubbing his temple. "And, Siri—no, never mind. I don't think I can trust you to do that. You go get some money, and I'll attempt to keep them out of trouble."

"You're absolutely no fun!" Sirius grinned, and then skipped off to follow a very annoyed-looking goblin that was leading him to a cart.

"So…," Duo grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Why didn't you let us go with him to get the money? You afraid we'd steal it or something?"

"No," Remus replied defensively. "I was afraid you'd enjoy the ride too much."

"Ride?" Duo asked.

"We take carts down to the vaults, because they're deep underground. And the last thing I'd want is you asking me if you can go on again for the rest of the trip."

"Aw…" Duo pouted.

"Please stop pouting," Remus groaned.

"What for? I have nothing better to do. Unlike Zechs and Heero and Trowa and Wu, who can all stand around and make eyes at each other. Who am I going to make eyes at?"

"…Quatre."

"Ew, no!"

Sirius and the goblin chose that moment to emerge from the door they had disappeared through, Sirius grinning like an idiot and the goblin muttering something under its breath that nobody could hear. But whatever it was, it probably wasn't complimenting the tall human beside him.

"Okay!" Sirius grinned, bouncing back up to them. "I've got too much money, let's go somewhere!"

"Are those carts Remus was telling us about really fast?" Duo asked him as they began walking out.

"You have no idea…." Sirius returned, smirking.

Upon exiting the bank, Remus turned to Sirius.

"Okay, Sirius, give me the money," he said. "I'll actually buy all of the boring stuff, you can give them the tour. Just don't let them get into too much trouble, okay?"

"Hey, no problem!" Sirius responded. "Glad to see you're returning to your Marauderized state!"

"Marauderized isn't a word," Remus returned absently, looking in the bag of money. "Merlin, Sirius, how much did you get?"

"Well, I figured they'd want to buy some stuff besides school things, so…."

Remus rolled his eyes. "The consequences of that will not be shared with me, okay? But we'll get them some animals as well, I suppose…. I'm sure they'd want some pets."

"Oooh, I've never had a pet before!" Duo exclaimed, having been listening to the older men's conversation. "Can I have a cute little puppy?"

"We'll see," Remus returned. "We're going to get everything else and the wands first, though."

"Cool! We get wands!" Duo bounced back to the others. "You hear that guys? We even get to have wands! This is too cool!"

"Gather them up, Sirius. We're heading for the cauldrons first…get them out of the way."

"Whatever you say, boss! C'mon, you kids, we're about to start shopping! Keep up, don't get lost, and I'll point out the landmarks on the way!"

The pilots promptly gathered together, walking behind Remus and Sirius, both of whom had already started marching towards the Leaky Cauldron. The plan of action was obviously to start at the beginning and finish at the end. A rather good idea, really.

The shopping started off normally enough, with the exception of Sirius pointing out a few random things and the pilots yelling out to each other in Japanese whenever they found anything interesting. In fact, the entire trip was getting to be so boringly normal that Remus found himself half-hoping for his charges to start acting up. However, he wasn't to get his wish. Instead, Duo found something extremely interesting.

"Hey, guys, check this out!" Duo yelled to his friends, this time in English. He was pointing to a large sign hanging off a building that proudly stated Weapons R Us, and in slightly smaller letters under that, Tools For All Psychopaths. "Let's go!" And he bounced off inside before anyone could say anything else.

To the amazement of Remus and Sirius, Wufei was the first one in the building after his least-favorite friend. They shared a bemused look for a moment before rushing in after the rest of the boys. Just to make sure they wouldn't accidentally kill each other or something.

Duo, of course, was happy. He had been horrified to find that his set of knives hadn't come with him to this world, and he really thought he needed a new set anyway. Seeing as this was a store of weapons, he naturally figured that they would have just what he needed.

He wandered off in a random direction, searching for that set he wanted. However, just as he spotted a table of knives to his right, he also spotted a wall of swords to his left. His eyes were drawn immediately to one of the swords, a sword that he knew Wufei would love. Of course, he loved it as well, if only because it seemed to be alight with silver fire.

"HEY, 'FEI, C'MERE!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, getting several annoyed looks sent his way.

Then he wandered back over to the table of knives. He looked over them as he waited for Wufei to decide he could dignify Duo with his presence. His eyes roamed over the too-exquisite knives boredly. He didn't bother to even pick any of them up, figuring they would be too uncomfortable against his body. However, he did rather like the look of one set—five plain blades with dulled edges. He picked one of them up, pulling it out of its sheath. The sharp blade was entirely metal, and it had no hilt. Instead, the end of the blade opposite the point had dulled edges. He grinned. He was definitely getting them. He picked up the entire set, noting with appreciation that one of the knives was bigger and seemed to have a sheath set for the back. He thought they were perfect.

"What do you want, Maxwell?" a disgruntled Wufei growled, coming up behind Duo. Duo spun around, grinning, and then grabbed hold of the Chinese boy's arm, pulling him over to the swords he had seen.

"Look," he stated simply, pointing at the silver-fire sword.

Wufei glared briefly at him before turning his eyes to the weapon Duo's finger was pointing at.

"Gripping the hilt would be impossible," Wufei stated simply, prepared to turn away and find something else.

"How do you know?" Duo responded immediately. "Magic, remember? Anything's possible! They probably have some way of making sure you can grip it. Try it for me, 'Fei? Please?"

"…All right," Wufei sighed. It would be far easier for him to just do as Duo wished and then move on to whatever he wanted. He didn't need Duo whining about it forever.

Having come to that decision, he reached out a hand and gripped the handle tightly, only to find himself quickly releasing his hold. The metal had shifted, just enough to conform to the shape of his hand. Shaking his head at himself, he reached out again and gently took it off its hooks.

The first thing he did was look over the hilt. It was beautiful, he decided. Two golden Chinese-style dragons, complete with long whiskers, were twined about the hilt and with each other to face in opposite directions. On the bit curled up toward the blade were two more golden dragons, facing upwards. All four of them were breathing what appeared to be silver fire. He cautiously put his other hand near the fire, and was surprised that it didn't burn him in the slightest. The small parts of the hilt that weren't covered by the scales of the dragons were black.

Suitably impressed by the design of the hilt, he pulled the blade out of its sheath, smirking as the fire lengthened to cover the entire sword so that it appeared as if it was totally on fire.

"Hold this," he brusquely ordered Duo, shoving the sheath into his hands. He then stepped back a few spaces and positioned himself in his fighting stance. "Perfect weight," he noted absently. Then he swung it a few times, checking how well he could handle it. Finally, with a nod, he tested the balance between the hilt and the blade—again, perfect. "I'm getting this," he said finally, snatching the sheath back from a grinning Duo.

"So this means my braid is safe, right?" Duo asked.

"For now," Wufei returned grudgingly. He glared at Duo again. "I want to show you something."

With a shrug, Duo followed Wufei, imitating his walk. When they finally stopped and Duo looked at what Wufei wanted to show him, he squealed happily.

"Scythes!"

"Do you know how to use those things?" a voice asked from behind them. Duo and Wufei turned to find an amused-looking Sirius staring at them, hands in his pockets.

"Would you like to find out?" Wufei asked, an eyebrow raised.

"…Not particularly," Sirius responded. "I'm not too sure we should be getting those for you, though…."

"I didn't have my katana with me when we came here. If we are to remain in this world for any length of time, I refuse to allow myself to be out of practice."

"Yeah, really!" Duo agreed, waving his knives around. "I've gotta practice with my aim and all, you know. Never know when you might need to spear an apple off a tree, eh? And anyway, these scythes remind me of Deathscythe. Look, that one's even got a green blade!"

"Deathscythe?" Sirius asked curiously, but didn't receive any answers. Wufei was inspecting the hilt of his sword again, and Duo was busy trying to jump up and reach the green-bladed scythe that he had noticed before. With an amused grin, Sirius reached over the head of the much shorter boy and handed it to him.

"Thanks!" Duo grinned. "Yo, 'Fei, move back a bit! I need to see if I can swing this thing right!"

"I highly doubt you'll have any problems," Wufei returned immediately, but backed away all the same. Sirius, noting how far back he'd stepped, decided to move back as well.

Duo, once he was sure he wouldn't hit anyone, began swinging the scythe around in decidedly complicated patterns. When he finished, Sirius let out an appreciative whistle, and he bowed, grinning happily.

"Apparently, you do know how to use it. And very well, too," Sirius murmured thoughtfully. "Hold on, I'll talk Rem into getting them for you."

"Yes!" Duo bounced happily.

"Thank you," Wufei said politely, smacking Duo in the back with his sheath. After taking the sword out, of course.

"C'mon," Sirius grinned, walking over to Remus, who was absently staring at a wall of bows. "Hey, Rem, money time!"

"What're you talking about, Sirius?" Remus responded, turning around. He eyed the weapons in the hands of Wufei and Duo. "No. Those things are definitely not needed for classes."

"But they really know how to use those things!" Sirius protested. "Well, at any rate, Duo can definitely use the…uh…pointy staff-thing—"

"It's called a scythe," Duo interrupted.

"Yeah, the scythe," Sirius corrected himself. "He can use that thinger. And Wufei said something about not getting out of practice with the sword, so…."

"Sirius, no. Dumbledore wanted us to buy their school supplies, not weapons that could possibly be used to kill each other."

"Hey, wands have the same use!"

"…Fine," Remus sighed finally, glaring at his friend. "But I'm telling you now, if Dumbledore gets angry, you will be the only one of us held responsible. Though, if we're getting those two anything from here, you'd might as well check and see if the others want something too."

"I wonder if they have guns here?" Duo asked curiously as he and Wufei walked away in search of their friends. "If they do, I'll bet Heero's grabbed a few and some ammunition."

"I doubt wizards have guns, Maxwell," Wufei replied.

"I beg to differ," a voice said nearby, and Heero came out of an aisle with a machine gun.

"Hey!" Duo said, jumping back. "Don't scare me like—wait, why do you get all the fun weapons? Get me one!"

"You have enough weapons, Maxwell," Wufei said before Heero could reply, naturally assuming he would immediately go back down the aisle and get one for him.

"This was the only one," Heero shrugged, and Duo's face dropped. "And look at this antique." He held up a small, gray gun and showed it to them.

".38 Browning," Wufei identified almost immediately, eying it. An eyebrow raised as he noticed the picture of a raven on the butt. "American police edition, I believe. During this time, it must be a relatively good weapon."

"How do you know this kinda shit, 'Fei?" Duo asked curiously, gawking at him.

"I read a lot," was the evasive reply.

"But it's all in Chinese!" Duo protested. "They actually have information like that in Chinese books?"

"Apparently. Now, if you don't mind, we should go find the others."

"Oh, yeah! Wonder what they all have? Hey, you getting those things, Hee-chan?"

"Of course I am," Heero replied with a nod. "I've even found some bullets…and these odd cartridge things. I'll have to ask someone what they're for."

"Maybe they shoot out laser beams!" Duo grinned, bouncing. "That'd be sooo cool!"

"Maxwell, shut up," Wufei ordered, rolling his eyes. "And let's go find the others."

"Ooh, right!" Duo started bouncing off, this time grabbing hold of Heero. "I wonder what Q-chan's found? I don't know if he can use anything besides guns…. Maybe we should pick up one for him?"

"No," Heero returned. "If he wants a gun, he'll ge—"

"Holy shit!" Duo suddenly interrupted him, jumping back and stepping on Heero's foot. Heero grunted as Wufei ran into his back.

"What are you so jumpy about, Maxwell?" Wufei growled before he noticed the three-pronged weapon sticking out of the wall to the right of Duo. "Ah."

"Sorry, Duo!" the three pilots heard from their left as Quatre came jogging into view. "I didn't know you'd be walking by!"

"Hey, no worries, Cat-chan!," Duo waved off his apology as he yanked the weapon out of the wall. "Didn't even scratch me. But…er, what is this thing?"

"It's a sai," Quatre explained with a grin. "It's one of the few weapons besides a gun I can actually use. I was going to get some sort of staff, but these things caught my eye. I've never seen a sai with a white blade before!"

"I've never really seen any weapon with a white blade," Duo agreed, absently playing with the black leather on the hilt. "But my scythe's better. It's got a green blade!"

"Just like Deathscythe, right?" Quatre asked, gently taking his sai from Duo and placing it back in the sheath that was already around his waist. Then he looked at all the weapons the others were carrying. "Nice gun," he said to Heero.

"Thanks," Heero smirked.

"I suppose we're allowed to buy all these things?" Quatre asked, though it was really more of a statement then a question. "Well, we'd better go find the others. I wonder what they've gotten?"

"Well, who can tell?" Duo asked, throwing an arm around Quatre's shoulders and steering him off in the direction they had been walking in before. "I mean, we never knew you could use these sai-thingers, right? What skills do you think Tro and Zechsy might be hiding?"

"Trowa likes whips," Quatre returned almost immediately.

"Oh, really?" Duo grinned lewdly, and then turned to Wufei, who seemed to be blushing slightly. "Did you know about this fetish of his, 'Fei?"

"I can't say that I did," Wufei said haughtily, blush intensifying.

"Then why're you blushing?"

"…Shut up, Maxwell."

Duo started laughing at that, leaning on Quatre to keep himself up as they walked. He continued in that manner until they actually did find Trowa, who was indeed holding a whip. He was looking at it as they walked up to him, staring at the steel tip on the end of the long green strip of leather.

"What took you so long?" Trowa asked when they had gotten close, and he looked up from the whip. "I've been hearing Duo's loud voice for a while now."

"…I have the feeling I should be insulted about the loud voice thing," Duo grumbled thoughtfully. "But…. Hey, Tro! Nice whip. What do you plan on doing with it?"

"That depends," Trowa replied, smirking slightly at Wufei.

"Do you have to get one with a steel tip?" Wufei asked, and then sent a death glare at Duo when he guffawed loudly.

"I like it," Trowa replied mildly.

"Aw man, 'Fei, and here I was thinking you'd be the dominant one!" Duo laughed hysterically. Wufei glared more.

"Let's just go find Zechs," he gritted out.

"Sure thing, 'Fei-fei!" Duo grinned and then ran off, laughing hysterically.

"…'Fei-fei…" Quatre murmured uncertainly and then began giggling. "Why does Duo insist on making your name sound like a dog's?"

"…He's dead," Wufei growled and then ran off after Duo.

"No, Wufei!" Quatre yelled, taking off after him, Heero and Trowa right behind. "Don't kill him! We're in the middle of a—oof!"

"Sexy Zechsy has a sword!" Duo's voice drifted back from in front of them.

"Sexy Zechsy has a big, fiery sword," Quatre agreed dully, looking over Wufei's shoulder.

"What's this about Zechs having a big sword?" Heero piped up, trying to look around Trowa. "Wait…why do we keep calling him Zechs, anyway? I mean, it's really Mill-chan."

"Because Sexy Zechsy is more fun!" Duo replied, bouncing again. "Especially now that he has a big, fiery sword!"

Zechs was eyeing all five of the pilots thoughtfully, holding up what was indeed a big, fiery sword. The flames were varying shades of translucent red and gold, and, upon closer inspection, the source of the flames was obviously the hilt, which was in the shape of a large bird with red and gold plumage—apparently a phoenix. As he looked over the various weapons the pilots were carrying, a single eyebrow slowly began its ascent to his hairline.

"…My sword's better than yours," he eventually told Wufei. Wufei raised an eyebrow back at him.

"I don't think so," Wufei returned. "Dragons are much better than phoenixes."

"Are not!" Zechs returned with a glare, sounding insulted.

"I refuse to dignify that childish statement with an answer," Wufei returned, sticking his nose in the air.

"…Wasn't that an answer?"

"…Shut up, Merquise."

Zechs grinned, and then turned to the others.

"Well, shall we go?" he asked them, pushing his sword back into its sheath. "I believe Remus and Sirius are waiting for us to return with our weapons? I must admit that we should definitely be getting a move on."

"Aw, isn't Sexy Zechsy so thoughtful?" Duo asked, snickering softly. "All reared to get going, just so we don't keep our people future professors waiting."

"Duo, don't you dare make fun of Zechs," Heero growled, eyes narrowing at his best friend. "Nobody makes fun of him. Except me."

"Ah, I didn't mean anything by it, Hee-chan!" Duo pouted, making a valiant attempt of putting his balled fists on his hips without poking himself with his scythe. "I'm just having a little fun!"

Heero glared.

"Yes, Hee-chan," Duo sighed.

"Let's go already," Wufei growled, beginning to walk back to the front of the store. The other pilots looked at each other and then shrugged in unison before following.

"Maybe he's mad because nobody said his sword's better the Sexy Zechsy's," Duo mused as they walked off. "What do you think, Tro-chan?"

"I wouldn't know," Trowa returned blandly. "I haven't seen Zechs' sword." He raised his visible eyebrow as Duo started laughing again.

"It's always the quiet ones, ain't it?" he sputtered out. "First the whip, now the innuendo! Man, this is great!" He paused for a few seconds to get back on track. "Okay, Q-chan! Is Wufei's sword better or is Zechs'?"

"I don't know," Quatre returned innocently with a shrug, "as I have yet to see either of them."

Silence. The four pilots left behind with Quatre had stopped short, eyes comically wide as they stared at the blond's retreating back. Wufei, who had been a few steps ahead of the rest of them, had stopped as well, and his eyes tracked Quatre as he casually passed by.

"Hey, uh, Hee-chan?" Duo asked blankly, staring at the still-walking boy.

"Yes, Duo?" Heero asked back, doing likewise.

"Did I just hear Quatre say what I think I just heard Quatre say?"

"…I think so."

Quatre, now significantly ahead of even Wufei, turned around to face to face the others, the most innocent smile he could muster plastered on his angel-like face.

"Are you all coming?" he called back, not even the slightest hint of anything besides innocence in his voice. "Or should I ask Remus and Sirius to go back and carry you all individually to the counter to buy your weapons?"

Duo, of course, was the first to recover, and he ran up to Quatre, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

"Like I said," Duo grinned manically. "It's always the quiet ones. Gotta watch out for you guys, eh? Sorta makes me wonder what you're like in bed!"

"Sorry, Duo, but I don't think you're going to find out anytime soon," Quatre murmured, blushing furiously. "Innuendo is one thing, sex is another."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Duo howled, and then broke down into snickers. "I'm just curious, I don't want to! Well, not with you, at least."

"…Should I be insulted?" Quatre asked, sounding unsure.

"Nah," Duo waved the hand that was holding the scythe wildly, nearly taking the head off some random customer. "I just meant that you ain't my type. I love you and all, Kitty, but not like that!"

"Good," Quatre returned, giving Duo one of his hundred-watt smiles. "Because if you tried to seduce me, I might have to…retaliate."

"Always the quiet ones," Duo snickered after staring at Quatre in shocked silence for a second. "Always."

"Do you boys have everything you want?" Remus' voice suddenly asked, causing both Quatre and Duo to jump in surprise. "Well, come on, hurry up. We still need to get your wands and everythi—Oh, dear." Remus had apparently noticed the large array of weapons the pilots were carrying. "I hope we have enough…."

"I'm sure we do, Rem," Sirius said, grinning. "I don't think most of these were all that expensive, surprisingly enough. Probably because this store specializes in weapons."

"Lets' hope it's cheap enough…," Remus sighed. "Put them all on the counter, boys. Let's see how much Hogwarts has to fork out for your strange hobbies."

The pilots all shuffled forward and reluctantly released their weapons from their tight grips. All were placed gently on the counter, and an old man peered at the assorted items.

"My, my, you boys do have good taste," the man muttered. "Unlike most of the people who come into my store. I've had a few of these for years." He turned bright eyes to the six pilots, peering at them thoughtfully. "Yes, you are indeed the proper owners for these weapons. I know you will take care of them the way you should." The eyes suddenly narrowed, darkening in thought, and the old man glared at them all. "But there is something very odd about you…something very odd indeed. But no matter!" and he was all bright eyes and smiles again. "Now, then…you will need a few other things. This book here—" he casually pulled a few books out from under the counter and showed one of them to the pilots, though his eyes were trained on Heero "—will tell you all you need to know about these cartridges. As for the blades…you boys shouldn't need to worry about a thing. They are all charmed to remain sharp indefinitely, and cleaning and polishing isn't strictly necessary, unless you really want to. And…this all will add up to ten galleons."

"Only ten?" Remus asked, startled. Even Sirius looked rather surprised. "Are you sure that's enough?"

"Of course it is!" the old man growled. "I have plenty of money, no need to charge so much when I make these for pleasure! And these boys will take good care of my creations! I only charge too much if they won't be used or treated properly! Now, ten galleons, please, and I won't accept a knut more!"

"All right," Remus said softly, handing over the money.

"There we are now, was that so hard?" the old man asked. "Take your weapons, boys, and off with you all! No need to let my other customers know how cheap these cost for you! Oh, and have a nice day, gentlemen."

The pilots and two professors all walked out of the shop, the pilots strapping their new weapons to their bodies. Heero shoved the Browning out of site, and glared absently at the machine gun that he had to carry. Duo, meanwhile, was trying to persuade a blushing Quatre to make sure his larger knife was positioned properly on his back before he tightened the straps. Quatre was quickly saved by Wufei, who informed Duo that, yes, it was in the proper place, and that he shouldn't terrorize Quatre like that, especially on a crowded street. Duo stuck his tongue out at Wufei, but quickly pulled it back in as his braid was once again threatened.

"Well, it's time to get the wands…," Sirius muttered cheerfully, and began pushing Trowa and Zechs in the proper direction. "Come on, all of you! Let's get going!"

The rest were quick to follow him to the end of the street, and into the cluttered front of Ollivanders.

"This place is creepy," Zechs muttered to the others, glancing around at the shelves and piles of boxes scattered around the store. "Are you sure this place is a good store? I mean, how cold you possibly find anything in here?"

"Ollivander does," Sirius shrugged in reply.

"…Right," Zechs muttered, glaring around at everything.

"Next question!" Duo said, glaring into the shadows. "Why is he in the shadows staring at us like he's going to eat us?"

"What?" Remus asked blankly.

"You have quite the good eyesight, Mr. Maxwell," Ollivander said as he coalesced from the shadows where Duo had been glaring. "I congratulate you on finding me before I wished to be found."

"How do you know my name?" Duo asked, still glaring.

"I have been expecting you," Ollivander replied, smiling eerily. "I have been expecting all of you, for quite a while now."

All six of the pilots glared at Ollivander now, suspicion on their faces. Heero clutched his machine gun tightly.

"Mr. Ollivander, if you might like to actually sell us your wands instead of freaking these boys out?" Remus asked, sounding a tad bit impatient. "We are in quite a hurry, and would appreciate returning to Hogwarts as soon as possible."

"Never thought I'd appreciate Snape's influence on Rem," Sirius muttered under his breath, low enough that only the pilots heard him.

"Yes, of course… Mr. …Lupin," Ollivander returned, silvery eyes glaring at Remus. Sirius growled.

"The wands, if you please?" Remus asked, nodding towards the pilots. "And, please, spare us the dramatics of measuring. I know you already know which wand to give each boy."

Ollivander didn't move.

"Would you get moving, Ollivander!" Sirius barked out suddenly.

"Of course, Mr. Black," Ollivander returned, and then turned on his heel and shuffled over to a pile of wands.

"Bloody, prejudiced, anti-werewolf old freak," Sirius growled under his breath. "Surprised he hasn't got the same stick up his arse where I'm concerned."

The pilots all stared at Sirius for a moment. Then Duo spoke up softly.

"Remus is a werewolf?" he asked, being careful to keep his voice low so Ollivander wouldn't hear it.

"Yes," Sirius replied.

"Oh. Okay." And all six pilots shared a glance with each other, then turned narrowed eyes toward Ollivander.

"Prejudiced, is he?" Quatre asked softly. "Maybe we should give him a piece of our minds."

"No!" Remus growled. "He's an old man, leave him be."

"You're too nice, Rem," Sirius growled. "Personally, I'd like to see one of Duo's knives deep in his throat."

"Siri, we can't get away with murder," Remus muttered, rolling his eyes. "Let's just get the wands and go."

He didn't get an answer to that, mostly because Ollivander was returning with six boxes. The old man opened one and pulled the wand inside out, handing it to Quatre without taking his eyes off of Remus.

"Rowan and unicorn hair, nine and a half inches," he told the blond. "Give it a wave, get used to the feel of it."

Quatre gave it a quick wand, seemingly unperturbed at the shower of sparks that came out of the tip. He was too busy glaring at Ollivander to care.

"Elder and gryphon mane, ten inches," he told Trowa as he handed it to the boy. Trowa instantly gave it a wave, ignoring his own sparks.

"Oak and dragon-heartstring," he continued, unmindful of the glares he was receiving as he handed Wufei his wand, "eleven inches." Once again, the sparks were ignored.

"Ebony and manticore hair, twelve inches," Ollivander handed Heero his wand. Heero smirked.

"Ash and phoenix feather, twelve and a half inches," he told Zechs, who waved his wand and snickered as the sparks made Heero's hair look red.

"And, finally, weeping willow, and a sphinx' tail hair, thirteen inches," he told Duo, who pouted as he realized his sparks were the same colors as everyone else's.

"And, Mr. Lupin," Ollivander turned to the werewolf, "owing to the rarity of several of the wand cores…. That will be forty-six Galleons, four Sickles—" Ollivander smirked in a way that made Duo twitch and Zechs and Quatre grab onto his arms "—and three Knuts."

Glaring, Remus pulled out forty-seven Galleons and shoved them at Ollivander. Still smirking, Ollivander pulled out the change and held it out to Remus.

"Twelve Sickles and twenty-four Knuts is your change."

Sirius snatched the money from the still smirking Ollivander, and dropped the silver into his pocket before dropping the Knuts into Remus' bag of money.

"Hurry up, let's go," he muttered to Remus, eyeing the deadly expressions on the faces of the pilots, and the way Quatre and Wufei were clutching Duo's arms. Zechs had moved from Duo to wrap an arm around Heero, holding his arms against his body.

"Off we go!" Remus muttered, forcing both Duo and Heero around and shoving them towards the door. "C'mon, hurry up!"

"Good riddance," Ollivander growled under his breath. "I don't care what they say nowadays, werewolves should all be wiped off the face of this planet."

This was apparently the last straw for Duo. Before anyone knew what was happening, he had pushed Quatre, Wufei, and even Remus away from him and had thrown a knife at Ollivander. It flew past him, scratching his face, and then buried itself in the shelf behind him.

"Duo, no!" Quatre shouted as Duo rushed around the counter and slammed Ollivander against the shelf as well, right next to where the knife was.

"Listen, you fucking piece of shit," Duo growled, twisting the front of Ollivanders robes tightly against his throat. "I don't care what kinda close-minded asshole you are, you having absolutely no fucking right to act that way towards your customers. He doesn't hafta take that shit from you, and he shouldn't hafta pay you after taking it like that! Just because Remus can't control himself once a month doesn't make him some sort of fucking inhuman monster! He's just as human as anyone else! And he's obviously a hell of a lot better of a person than you could ever hope to be! Open your eyes, old man, nothing can be seen in only black and white!"

Reaching the end of his rant, Duo yanked his knife out of the shelf and put it back into the sheath on the wrist of the hand that was holding Ollivander up. Then he slowly stepped back and released his hold on the robe, watching with cold eyes as the man slid down to the floor in a heap. Then he turned at a sudden sound behind him.

Heero had started clapping. Before long, the rest of the pilots were clapping as well, and Sirius let out a loud cheer. Remus, on the other hand, was blushing furiously, looking as if he couldn't decide whether to be embarrassed, amused, or angry.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Duo said with a bow, manic grin back in place once again. "I appreciate the standing ovation! And anyway, someone had to give him a piece of our minds, eh Quatre?"

"And who better than you to get a point across?" Quatre asked in return, smiling back.

"Shall we go, then?" Remus asked, finally settling for a roll of his eyes and bypassing emotions entirely. "We do need to get those animals, you know."

"Yeah, let's go!" Duo grinned bouncing forward and throwing an arm around Quatre's shoulders, steering him out of the store.

"There's something strange about these boys," Sirius muttered to Remus, praying his voice was actually low enough that their charges didn't hear him this time.

"It's more than strange," Remus agreed softly. "It's scary."

"Hey, you two coming or what?" Duo called back to them, and Remus and Sirius both rushed forward, steering them towards the closest petshop.

"All right, Duo, you deserve a treat for that stunt," Remus said, smirking. "Let's go in here…you can have whichever animal you want, magical or not."

"What about the others?" Duo asked, looking up at Remus with wide eyes.

"Yes, yes, whatever they want as well. Within reason, I mean," Remus added hastily. "I should be able to afford all of it."

"Nice!" Duo grinned and then bounced into the store with the other pilots walking normally after him.

"Are you sure about this, Rem?" Sirius asked Remus as they wandered in to find the pilots nowhere in sight. "I mean, you never know what we'll find in here…. This place is really weird."

"I know," Remus shrugged. "But Duo's bound to find something he likes in here, isn't he?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at him. "I like the kid. He barely knows me, and he still stuck up for me."

"Yes, well, he does seem like a nice kid, doesn't he?" Sirius asked, shrugging. "They all do, actually. Well, except Zechs. He's not exactly a kid."

"Bad joke, Siri," Remus groaned. "Real bad joke."

"I try," Sirius grinned back. "Now let's go find those kids, all right?"

Remus rolled his eyes, sighed, and then nodded before following Sirius further into the store.

The first of the pilots they encountered was Trowa, who seemed to be having a staring contest with a pure black cat. As the two of them walked up, the cat turned to them, hissing.

"I win, Shenlong," Trowa calmly informed the cat, which suddenly stopped hissing. Instead, it turned to Trowa and leapt neatly into his arms, purring complacently even though its eyes were still trained on the two older men.

"One down, five to go," Remus muttered under his breath. "Wait up at the counter until we come with the others, okay?"

Trowa nodded and then wandered back toward the front of the store, talking softly to the cat.

A little further on they found Wufei with a kneazle trying to claw its way up his pants. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy.

"Pick it up," Sirius suggested. "I think it wants to be your pet."

"Stupid…thing," Wufei growled, glaring at them before picking it up. "Is that what you want?" he asked it, staring at it in surprise. He could have sworn it had nodded. "Right. Then you need a name. Nataku good enough for you?" The kneazle shrugged. "Okay, that's it then."

"You need a license for one of them," Remus said thoughtfully. "We'll just say Sirius is buying it for you. This way, anything it does can be blamed on him."

"Hey! Wait a second!" Sirius protested.

"Thank you," Wufei said to Remus, both of them ignoring him. "I'll wait for you at the counter."

"Thanks a lot, Remus," Sirius muttered as he and Remus walked on.

Remus only snickered in response, and he kept it up until they reached the section of the store with the birds in it. The first pilot they found was Quatre, who was talking softly to a pale pink Fwooper.

"These kids are expensive," Sirius muttered to Remus, grinning. "And if he gets that Fwooper, we are definitely teaching him the Silencing Charm right away. We're all insane enough as it is."

"I'll say," Remus grumbled. "And here's another licensed animal for you, Siri."

"Can't we just get it licensed to Hogwarts?" Sirius groaned.

"No. It's your fault they're getting these."

"…Damn."

Remus rolled his eyes and then walked up to Quatre and tapped him on the shoulder. "Counter, please, Quatre? And pick up a bird cage for the Fwooper while you're going?"

"Of course," Quatre smiled. "C'mon, Hikari," he murmured to it softly, and the bird climbed onto his outstretched arm. "By the way, I think Heero and Duo went out the back door there. I wonder what they saw?"

"Horses," Remus sighed. "Wonderful. They want flying horses."

"You're getting the licenses for them! Can't blame me for these two!" Sirius said cheerfully. Remus glared at them.

Then they both rushed for the doors. They didn't make it to them, though, because they were distracted by something else. And what was that something else?

"I'll call you Hee-chan, then," Zechs murmured, stroking the bright red bird. "You're a beautiful bird, you know that?"

"A phoenix," Remus groaned.

"Not mine!" Sirius nearly shouted before Remus could say anything else.

"Aren't we a bit old for that game?" Remus asked him dryly.

"Hell no."

"Zechs," Remus sighed. "Take…er…Hee-chan to the front counter, will you? Sirius and I need to get the other two, and then we'll be up there to pay."

"All right," Zechs absently replied before picking up the bird's cage and carrying it away.

Remus and Sirius both sighed this time as they walked for the back door. They stopped just sort of opening it to share a look before walking out. They didn't get more than two steps out, however, before they stopped short, staring at Duo.

"Hey, guys!" Duo grinned when he finally noticed them. He walked towards them, and the black figure followed him. "How do you like Shini?" he asked brightly. "He's gonna be my pet!"

"…" said Remus.

"Wow! Hey, Hee-chan, come here! Remus is channeling Trowa, and Trowa isn't even dead!"

Heero came trotting up, a pale gray, almost white, Granian behind him.

"How can you tell he's channeling Trowa?" he asked curiously. "Trowa doesn't talk!"

"Exactly!" Duo grinned back.

"…" Remus said again.

"Wow!" Heero agreed. "That's neat!"

"Isn't it, though?" Duo returned.

"Okay, before we get too interested in the Remus-channeling-Trowa thing, we need to back up a minute," Sirius grinned suddenly. "You…both of you…can see Duo's Thestral, right?"

Heero and Duo shared an uneasy look. "Uh…yeah," Duo said. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Only those that have seen the death of another human can see a Thestral," was Sirius' ominous-sounding reply.

"…" said Heero and Duo.

"I see I'm not the only one channeling Trowa," Remus muttered.

"Hn," Heero stated finally. The former Duo-ized look on his face had all but disappeared.

"We've all had hard lives," Duo murmured softly, the mischievous twinkle in his eye dead. "All six of us have seen death…multiple times. But I know…I know, none of us would wish our lives changed at all, because we…we did a great thing. Something we wouldn't have been able to do if we had been…normal."

There was a rather tense silence for a few minutes, the four of them doing their best to avoid each others eyes.

"I think," Remus said finally with a sigh, "that you'll find many more people that have had hard lives in this world then you think." His eyes flickered over to Sirius and then a humorless smile appeared on his face. "You must meet Harry soon. You'll understand then."

And with that said, Remus turned and walked back through the door he and Sirius had come out of.

"Let's go," Sirius said in an undertone to Heero and Duo. "Their double doors…I suppose we should lead those two horses through the store."

The two pilots shared another look between each other. Then, both nodding slightly, grins appeared back on their faces.

"C'mon, Mill!" Heero called to his Granian, and then linked arms with Duo. They skipped happily back to the doors. Sirius sighed softly as he watched the Thestral disappear into the doorway, and then he looked upwards, half-wishing that he could see the sky. Then, plastering a smirk on his face, he strutted in after them.

When Sirius finally reached the counter, Remus shoved a pile of parchment at him and told him to sign the things so the pilots would have permission to keep the animals, even though Sirius was technically responsible for them. After he and Remus spent a few minutes filling out the forms, they quickly left the store. Remus and Sirius quickly shrank all the packages and stowed them away , and then Remus held out a tattered map. One by one, each of the pilots touched it, one hand holding onto their animals, and then Sirius reached in and they all disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~Reviewers~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kami Beverly: thank you for reviewing, and yes, Siri is funny…and Duo's Duo, so….

Kyra2: I'm not sure what gopher sex is, but neither is QS and I'm the one who said gopher sex…

Leitheindel: Why not Dl the epi's off of kazaa? And I believe QS updated MSB on…the 12th.

Jaykeliolizard: Thank you for reviewing, and of course, we'll continue this fic.