A/N: Hello! Some readers told me that I ended the last chapter on a cliffhanger. Honestly, I wasn't even aware that I had. Lol. Sorry to all of you who felt frustrated at the end of the last chapter. I tried to write this one quickly for you.

Hospital

When Duo's communicator had come to life in his ear, Heero had gone cold. He had immediately ordered the Order to release Voldemort back into Death Eater custody. Of course, it wasn't that easy. He met immediate and loud resistance.

Duo screamed a second time, voicing the code that signaled the worst had happened and Harry was being dangerously effected by Voldemort's capture. The agony in Duo's voice was crystal clear, and it lit Heero's nerves on fire.

Heero whipped his gun up, grabbed Dumbledore by his robes, and practically growled in his face. "Harry is dying. Release the Dark Lord. Or I'll kill you."

The protests silenced instantly. The Order and Aurors were no longer ignorant of the force Heero and his team could utilize. There was terror in their eyes as they obeyed his command. It was the same look the people had after the Gundam war. The same look that came when they were labeled terrorists; the look that drove the people to demand their arrest.

Dumbledore immediately sent a Patronus message to the school, and once they were clear of the Death Eaters, he grabbed Heero and Apparated him to Hogsmeade. As soon as they landed, Heero darted toward the Hog's Head. Dumbledore was left behind as Heero sprinted at his full speed into the dingy bar. The old bartender said nothing as Heero grabbed the floo powder and flung it into the hearth.

"Headmaster's office, Hogwarts!" he barked, causing green flames to whoosh up around him and carry him implausibly through a tube to land at his destination. He took off at a flat out run and burst into Duo's quarters in under four minutes. Professors Flitwick and Sprout stood in the living room, visibly distressed.

"Nurse Pomfrey is with them," Sprout said, face red from crying.

Heero strode toward the bedroom and came to an abrupt stop in the doorway.

The room looked like something out of a horror movie. The heavy air stank. Blood was everywhere. Limbs littered the floor. Duo and Harry lay unconscious, side-by-side on the magically widened single bed. The sheets under them were more red than white. Harry's and Duo's wounds were class III or IV hemorrhages. Class III meant they might live. Class IV meant they probably wouldn't, but there was a small chance of survival.

Nurse Pomfrey stood next to them chanting nonstop, her wand dipping and weaving over their mutilated bodies. Heero catalogued the damage. Duo had suffered multiple knife injuries to his torso and arms. His left hand was missing all five digits. His skin was pale and clammy, his breathing quick and shallow from blood loss. Harry's left arm was torn and shredded down to bone in multiple areas. His left hand was severed completely. His right thigh bore a stab wound.

From the placement and depth of the cuts on Duo's torso and the widened stab wound on Harry's leg, it pointed toward extreme torture. These wounds were done precisely to maximize mental and physical pain.

"They are stable for now. I am moving them to St. Mungo's for critical care," Pomfrey suddenly announced. "Where is the Headmaster? I need him to connect the fireplace here to the hospital."

"It is already done," Dumbledore said gravely from behind Heero. Even though Heero blocked the doorway completely, he was tall enough that he could see the horrific scene in the bedroom over Heero's head.

Heero watched like a hawk as his boy and lover were placed on magical stretchers and carried to the fireplace. Soon Heero was whooshed away once more and landed in the middle of organized chaos. He wasn't as good as Duo at blending in, but he did his best to do so. He couldn't afford the time it would take away from Duo and Harry's care to argue with doctors about his presence in the hospital room.

Orders were shouted back and forth as wizards and witches in Healer green worked over their unconscious bodies. Heero stood discretely out of the way in a corner; dead eyes watching every move of the healers in the room. Duo and Harry were fed several blood replenishers and pain relievers. Spells were cast to stop the bleeding and preserve the severed body parts that Pomfrey had brought with her.

"Where is the family?" a healer asked Dumbledore.

"Here." Heero stepped forward and pinned the man with his intense stare. "Status?"

The Healer visibly swallowed before gathering himself to answer. "They are currently stable. However, we have to make decisions about the limbs. You brought them here quickly enough and with the limbs they lost so that they have the option of a full healing."

"Risks?" Heero demanded. His heart began to beat faster. Was there a chance Harry and Duo wouldn't have to live crippled?

"If we try to heal them," the doctor explained patiently, "full functionality is not guaranteed and magical prosthetics will not be possible after the attempt. For Duo Maxwell, a full healing is further complicated because of the nerve damage he suffered while being held under the Cruciatus."

Heero nearly growled. He'd had Sirius cast that spell as well as Imperio on them so they would have a sense of what to expect. It had been intense even for them. He hated to do it, but he turned to Dumbledore for advice. Heero was completely ignorant of the magical medical field. Time was of the essence, and he didn't have the time to do his own research.

Dumbledore stared thoughtfully at the healer for a long moment before turning to Heero. "How responsive are Duo and Harry to healing spells?"

"Unknown, although potions seem to work at full capacity on both," Heero immediately answered.

"Magical prosthetics are better than the Muggle counterpart, but not by much. They are functional, but the artificial limb will not have the full range of motion or dexterity that the natural one had." The lines on Dumbledore's face deepened with exhaustion, and his expression was intensely solemn. "The largest complication to a full healing on this scale is not the accuracy of the magic, the procedure is excruciating. Even with the patient placed in a healing sleep, that level of pain can cause enough stress to kill people with weak constitutions. The pain can also cause the wizard's magic to fight the healing, misinterpreting it as an enemy spell. However, if you feel they can withstand a full magical healing, I would recommend that route."

Heero turned his attention back to his lover and child. They looked so small on the medical tables, but it was an illusion. He knew how willful both of them were. "Do it, but first I want to speak to them."

The healers burst into motion once the decision was made.

Heero strode to the medical table where Duo lay naked, gravely injured, and unconscious. A few spells later and hazy purple eyes cracked open. Heero placed his hand against Duo's cold cheek. "02. You are in a ally medical facility."

Violet eyes slid his way and slowly focused. The brunet's face creased with pain, but there was no other visible sign Duo was suffering. They were very, very good at hiding their pain.

"You are going to be treated for your injuries with magic." Heero could tell Duo was hearing him, but he needed to know he understood. "Do not fight the spells, 02. This is a direct order. Confirm, soldier!" he barked, voice hard as steel.

"No fighting spell," Duo responded, voice thready and weak, hardly a whisper. "Take it like a bitch."

Heero almost smiled at that. Duo's spirit was not broken.

The healers sedated the ex-pilot once more and whisked him out to an operating room.

"Harry." Heero's voice was more gentle but no less commanding as he turned to the young teen. "Open your eyes, little brother."

Green eyes unshielded by glasses fluttered and then slammed open as the pain and fear registered. The teen arched with a whine that set Heero's teeth on edge. He pressed down on the child's chest, pinning him to the table and leaned down to rest his cheek against Harry's.

"I'm here. You're safe."

Harry relaxed a bit only to burst into tears.

Heero straightened only a few inches so that they could look at each other without eye strain. "You are hurt very badly, Harry. They can heal you. It's not going to be easy, but it's necessary. Do not fight them. I promise the pain will end." He stared hard into the boy's eyes. "Do you trust me, Harry?"

"Y-yes," Harry gasped, obviously in agony.

"Good." Heero smoothed Harry's long hair from his face and placed a gentle kiss on his brow next to the cursed mark. "I will be beside you the entire time. Trust in that, and you'll see me soon."

Harry nodded, sobbing. Slowly his eyes unfocused and he fell unconscious.

Heero looked up at the healer who had cast the sleep spell. "I will be in the room with him at all times."

No one had the courage to argue.

x x x

Quatre slowly opened his eyes. He immediately recognized that he was in a hospital room. Looking around he saw Wufei lying unconscious next to him, his arm bandaged and in a sling. His face was creased with pain and his face was damp with sweat. Trowa stood next to him and was bathing Wufei's face with a damp cloth.

"Did we succeed?"

Trowa immediately came to him. He bent down and smoothed Quatre's hair from his face, his green eyes tired and tense. Quatre had his answer. With Trowa's help, he sat up. He didn't feel injured, merely worn thin from magical exhaustion.

"Tell me," he demanded. They had been so close. What had gone wrong?

Trowa gave his report. Quatre felt his heart rate accelerate as he heard about Harry and Duo's condition. Their odds of complete recovery was low, but if Heero thought it was possible, then Quatre had to trust that. His mind raced as he tried to put together a scenario that could have led to Harry and Duo being tortured. He didn't like the one he came to.

"Quatre?" Trowa asked softly, knowing that look.

"The only thing I can think of is that when Voldemort was rendered unconscious, he possessed Harry's body. Harry tortured Duo and then he tortured himself using his dominant hand, which inflicted damage only to Harry's left side."

Trowa looked grim.

"Can you bring Dumbledore to me, please?" Quatre asked. He stared up at his husband with hard, determined eyes. "We have a lot to discuss."

Trowa nodded and slipped from the room.

x x x

Trowa stood in the hallway making sure they weren't interrupted while Dumbledore sat next to Quatre's bed. Wufei was awake and just as interested in what Dumbledore had to say, although he was still weak from having his bones regrown the night before.

"Your thoughts?" Quatre asked quietly. There was death in his eyes and Dumbledore knew he could no longer hold back.

"I believe the Dark Lord made multiple Horcruxes. It's a dark spell that requires murder to fuel it. It basically splits pieces of your soul off and stores it into an object. If your body is killed, you can be resurrected. From what happened during the battle, I am certain that when Voldemort murdered James and Lily, he initiated the spell to make Harry a Horcrux. But it went wrong. However, he must have been partially successful because I believe a piece of his soul resides in Harry."

Quatre gasped, but he quickly squelched any further reaction. It was Wufei who was the first to respond.

"How do we purge his soul from Harry's body?"

Dumbledore rubbed his eyes as sadness overwhelmed him. "This is unprecedented. There is no record of anyone trying to make a Horcrux out of a person. But from what I understand, the only thing that will destroy Voldemort's soul is Harry's death. If Harry doesn't die, Voldemort will never be destroyed."

Wufei exploded into vicious Chinese. Trowa stepped into the room and immediately tried to restrain their recently healed brother. Wufei was practically screaming his fury. Trowa looked to Quatre for an explanation, but his husband seemed frozen in place. His wide blue eyes were pinned on Dumbledore, his body perfectly still.

"Quatre!" Trowa barked, disturbed.

The blond's head turned. His eyes were dark and empty. "We need to talk to Heero and Duo." Quatre turned back to Dumbledore. "I am going to want a thorough dissertation regarding Horcux as soon as you can complete one."

Dumbledore stood, knowing a dismissal when he heard one. He bowed his head and quickly left the room. He had no idea what those young men would do with the information, but he did know they were capable of amazing feats. They had completely subdued the Dark Lord on their first encounter! It had been completely shocking and frightening to see what those four men were capable of. Perhaps they would be able to see something that he did not.

x x x

"Enough Wufei!" Quatre yelled.

The Chinese man went perfectly still, but it wasn't a sign of capitulation. Fury beyond comprehension blazed from his skin and soaked the room so even people without magical empathy could feel it.

Quatre sent him a dark glare. "What do you think we're going to do?" he hissed with equal fury. "Hold Harry down and slit his throat? Do not forget we love him, too!"

Trowa was alarmed. "Quatre?" he demanded. "Wufei?"

"Voldemort can possess Harry's body because some of his wretched, vile soul is trapped in Harry's head," Wufei snarled. He glared hotly back at Quatre. "That slime of a human being suggested that the only way to break that connection is to kill Harry."

Trowa's wide eyes immediately slitted in rage. "Harry is not going to die," he growled.

"I know that!" Quatre screamed at them. "I'd take Harry away tomorrow from this world and let the war wage on, but you are missing the point! Harry's very soul is in danger! There is nowhere far enough he can run! Voldemort has a leash on his very being! Don't you see?" he practically shrieked.

Trowa took two large steps and pulled Quatre into his arms.

The blond instantly folded and began to sob loudly. "Don't you see?" he asked again, voice small and hoarse. "He's just a little boy. He's suffered so much. And that evil man has his fingers all over Harry's mind and heart. At any moment, Harry can be turned into a puppet: possessed and controlled. It's worse than rape!" Big blue eyes stared up at Trowa, desperation and pain swimming in them. "What are we going to do? How can we stop this? How can we save him?"

Wufei growled from the next bed.

Trowa lifted his head to see the Asian throw off the hospital sheets and get wobbly to his feet. Trowa didn't try to stop him. The man's look could kill, he was so furious. "Be careful," he offered as Wufei stormed from the room and turned his attention back to his husband. Trowa lay his cheek against Quatre's soft golden hair. "We will find a way, love. We always do."

x x x

The first four hours of treatment Duo and Harry had screamed in agony even in their potion induced sleep. Then they had stopped. Not because the pain had grown more bearable but because their voices were gone. Nearly twelve hours later and their expressions were still twisted in agony, their bodies tensed and arched, covered in sweat and stinking of pain.

It had been nearly thirteen hours of Heero standing by uselessly, watching as the two people who were his world were tortured. There was always at least two healers in the room with him, sometimes more. They all came in, swished their wands, checked Harry and Duo's regrown limbs, and smiled happily. Heero had to clench his teeth to keep from snarling at them. No one should smile when Duo and Harry were suffering so much.

"Heero!" Wufei strode into the room, his eyes black with rage.

Heero straightened, his eyes leaving Harry's rigid form for the first time in hours. "Report!" he commanded.

Wufei glanced at the two healers who were watching curiously and gave them a fierce scowl. His hands flashed out to communicate in sign language. Demon's soul entered Harry's as a baby. It has always been there. Demon can travel between his body and Harry's whenever he chooses. This is also the source of Demon's immortality. Headmaster thinks only way to defeat Voldemort is to kill many soul vessels. He will live as long as even one soul vessel is alive. Including Harry. He says Harry must die to be free. Must die to end war.

Heero swallowed hard. His hands tingled and he felt suddenly cold. His brain told him he was in shock.

Wufei nodded his head, never breaking eye contact. "It seems he made Harry do this to himself and Duo," he whispered so softly that only Heero could hear him.

Heero's fists clenched. He could imagine what Harry was going to feel when he was conscious again. The guilt, the feeling of being dirty, the feeling of blood on your hands; it was horrible and felt like walking death. Even though it wasn't his fault, it would not feel that way to Harry.

"Research purification rights, exorcisms, and soul magic," Heero rasped. "Harry comes first." Winning the war and Voldemort's assassination had just become second priority.

Wufei nodded. He spun on his heel and marched out of the room as abruptly as he had arrived.

Heero's eyes returned to Duo's pain-wracked form. I need you, he thought. You will know what to do.

Chapter end.

A/N: I feel like I don't have enough setting descriptions or physical descriptions in my writing anymore. Is it just me or do you agree? Just curious.