Unexpected Family, part 3
AN: Hello, dear readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter. You can expect a bit more humor than last chapter. We'll see more Wizarding characters here, as well as the meeting of Heero and Harry.
Disclaimer: I own neither the world of Gundam Wing nor Harry Potter. The characters and locations belong to their rightful creators.
Chapter 3
There were times Chang Wufie wished he required hearing aids. Such instances were rare, but the idea of turning a little knob and whatever annoying chatter would become inaudible, was quite tempting. Especially now that he was driving with a bonified cat-lady in the car. At least Harry was pleasantly quiet in the backseat.
The streets had surprisingly light traffic, the Preventor noted. Of course, he was accustomed to large cities with a much higher population. The occasional grassy park and cluster of trees he found as a nice change from concrete building after concrete building. Nearly any scenery was better than that cookie-cutter neighborhood, Wufei supposed with a shudder.
At long last, after constant inane rambling about cats, the car turned onto the road with the clinic. Wufei ignored the urge to drive faster to escape the confined space. He didn't mind cats, he really didn't, but he was nearing his breaking point. On the short distance to the parking lot, a figure near the automatic doors caught his attention. Messy brown hair, a loose green tank top, faded jeans, and hideous yellow trainers. Yep, that's Heero, the Chinese teen thought to himself.
Harry Potter was a little excited. He had expected to spend the entire day at Mrs. Figg's house, surrounded by cats. He had at least managed to let his snowy owl, Hedwig, out of the house before Vernon had practically dragged him out to the car. Despite carrying the scent of predator bird, the boy still had gotten covered with cats. Some of the felines hadn't liked him from the start, but he hadn't had them laying on him before. But he was somewhere new, and that sparked a bit of excitement. Harry was also curious to see Mrs. Figg's recently found Family member. The young wizard agreed with his babysitter as they clambered from the car, it was rather exciting .
By the time the trio reached the clinic's doors, Heero had already gone back inside. Wufei lead Arabella Figg and Harry Potter through the threshold, then he chose a clear space of wall to lean against. Shenlong's former pilot noted the brown-eyed teenager who Duo seemed to be distracting from the assumed upcoming procedure. The Japanese pilot straightened from drinking from the shiny water fountain. Mrs. Figg took a seat a polite distance from the others, with Harry sitting at her side.
The brown-eyed teen stared at Harry for a few seconds. "Excuse me a moment," he told Duo. Then leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Hello, Harry. Having a good summer so far?"
"Er," the green-eyed teen startled, "not too bad. But, urm, how do you know my name?"
"Oh! Sorry. I'm the Hufflepuff seeker, Cedric Diggory." The now identified Cedric blushed in embarrassment. "Um, my dad and I are here for the Family Reconstruction registration. We're sort of hoping to find some of my mum's family."
Harry nodded. "Good luck, then. My neighbor, Mrs. Figg, just received word of a found family member. I was at her house and was brought along."
For her part, Mrs. Figg was glad to see Harry interacting on friendly terms with the other boy. Dudley had turned all the children in their own neighborhood against him. She smiled at Cedric's polite 'congratulations' directed at her.
Duo and Heero both leveled confused expressions at Wufei. The Chinese teen smirked and mouthed the word 'surprise'.
Wufei pushed off from the wall. "Actually, Mister Potter," he paused until the three non-Preventors looked at him, "that isn't entirely accurate." A mischievous smile twisted his lips and his dark eyes twinkled in mirth. "The match in our database was for you, not Mrs. Figg."
Harry was pretty sure he was gaping like a goldfish out of water. He quickly thought back to everything the older teen had said at Mrs. Figg's house, only to realize he never really specified which of them had the familial match. A clap to his shoulder startled him out of his shock. Cedric grinned at him and squeezed his shoulder.
"Me?" Harry whispered, "but I'm an only child, my parents are dead, and I live with my mum's last living relatives."
The Chinese Preventor crouched in front of Harry's chair. "According to our specialists, the match is a half-sibling through your father's side of things. I happen to personally know this individual. I can already tell some similarities features between the two of you."
"My-my dad had another kid?" The green-eyed boy breathed deeply.
"Yes, it would seem," Wufei confirmed. "He, like you, is an orphan, and we know nothing of his mother. But he is here to meet you."
Still reeling in surprise, Harry glanced around the room. There was Mrs. Figg beside him, Cedric a couple seats down, an older boy with long braided hair next to Cedric, Wufei crouched in front of Harry, and another older boy leaning against a wall. He recognized the outfit belonging to the person that has stood at the clinic doors as they had driven to the parking lot. Now that he was closer, Harry noticed the intense blue eyes staring back at him. Wufei's mention of similar features rung true as he studied the older teen.
Heero's dark blue eyes met Harry's green eyes across the room. His mind flashed to the medical report, and indeed, Harry was small and underweight for his age. The younger boy was dressed in oversized cast offs that could almost be considered rags, as he appeared even smaller. A large bruise shown from under the floppy sleeve that reached his elbow. Behind bent, round glasses, Harry's green shown with wonder.
Due observed, unusually quiet. Despite his care-free exterior, he had been hyper aware since Harry and the old lady arrived. He mentally catalogued details about the boy, everything from the baggy clothes to the partially visible bruises to the glasses he suspected might not even be the correct prescription. Another thing he noted was how Heero's hardened gaze seemed to soften just a bit when he met his half-brother's stare. Duo really wished he had an inconspicuous camera on hand.
Wufei gracefully rose to standing. He strolled to Heero's side and nudged the other teen. "Your turn."
The former pilot of Gundam Wing Zero automatically moved forward. He stopped approximately an arm's length from Harry. "I am called Heero Yui, as my original name was lost. I look forward to getting acquainted with you." Heero offered a handshake.
Harry shakily stood and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "I'm Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you, Heero. I have to say, it's going to take a bit before this seems real to me. Came unexpectedly, it did." The youngest teen shook hands with his half-brother.
The room seemed to hold its breath as everyone waited for something to happen or to be said. A moment later, Dr. Jones led Amos Diggory to the waiting room. A look of relief graced the man's features, and he and his son exchanged smiles.
"You're up, Ced," Martha called. The brown-eyed teen ambled over to the doctor while his father sat away from the teenagers and whatever kind of drama between the the two messy-haired boys.
Arabella turned to Amos. "Half-brothers meeting for the first time. Oh, this is exciting!"
Harry awkwardly shifted his weight. He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable under Heero's intense stare. "So, um, do you go to school or have a job?"
Heero gestured toward Duo. "Shall we sit?" The two sat next to the braided teen, who smiled encouragingly at them from his seat. "To answer your question, I work with the Preventors. We are...like international, intergalactic police." The former pilot hesitated just a heartbeat - he wasn't good at small talk. "Where do you go to school?"
"It's a boarding school in Scotland. My parents attended there, so they invited me to go, too. That boy, Cedric, he attends too, but we're in different Houses, err - dormitory groups." Harry played with the hem of his shirt nervously. He might have gone into more detail about Hogwarts, but Mr. Diggory might overhear and then they'd all be in trouble. "Do you live close by?"
"My primary residence is in the employee housing near the Preventors' main office. It is a spartan apartment, and I am often away on missions. I am currently stationed near London."
Duo decided to join the conversation. "Our boss entrusted Heero with a very important mission while he's here. A sort of 'since he's here anyway' kind of situation. Poor Hee-man has to convince some backwards community to register with the FRA database."
Wufei took a seat near the other three teens as Harry questioned the nickname. "Duo here gives his friends nicknames. Heero is sometimes Hee-man, sometimes Hee-chan. He calls me either Wu-man or Wuffers, and I despise the second one. Our friend, Quatre, is Kat, Q-bean, or Goldie. Our other friend, Trowa, usually only has his name shortened to Tro. Duo also has the disrespectful habit of calling our boss, known as Lady Une, 'Une-baby."
"Don't worry, Harry," Duo joked. "I'll find a nice nickname for you, too!"
Harry snorted, while Wufei rolled his eyes and Heero scoffed.
Amos Diggory and Arabella Figg had a conversation separate from the boys. They quietly discussed the event of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, both stumped on how he managed such a feat. Somehow the topic wove around to Diggory's cat recently having a litter, and the crazy cat-lady aspect of Mrs. Figg came out.
At least I know who as ask about tending to the kittens now, Amos thought, bemused.
Soon enough, Cedric was led back to the waiting room by a smirking Dr. Jones. Cedric was blushing pretty fiercely from her explanation of safe sex and condoms. While the boy appreciated the simple, no-nonsense phrasing, the topic in general was what set off the blush. That, and she gave him a handful of condoms, which he stuffed into his pocket before the others could see.
Amos arched an eyebrow at the sight of his son's red cheeks. "Everything alright, Ced?"
"Yea-yeah, Dad," Cedric stuttered. "Doctor Jones was talking about, uh, reproductive health. Our regular clinic doesn't really, um, go into so much detail on that." Cedric felt better when his father's face pinked as he looked to a random corner.
Duo, having heard the conversation between father and son, snickered at their discomfort. Wufei shook his head sadly, Heero lightly smirked, and young Harry was confused by virtue of not having 'The Talk' yet. Mrs. Figg daintily covered her smile with a loosely curled fist.
Martha grinned at the group of Preventors. "That was quick for a familial match, Harry." She clapped her hands once. "Now, in honor of the first meeting hosted by this clinic, there's a light lunch available in the break room! Diggorys, you're welcome, too."
Harry blushed for the kind doctor's attention, especially that she remembered his name. Five teenagers and two adults followed Martha to the break room, which might be more accurately termed employee lounge. Place settings of disposable plates, cups, and utensils were set at every seat. The refrigerator was of the French door variety with an ice dispensor built in. The countertop was covered in a variety of picnic type food stuffs, while serving utensils rested on napkins next to each container.
Wufei turned to Martha. "Did you do all of this by yourself?"
"No," the doctor replied. "The nurses brought in most of it. Just me in the office today, but whatever is left over will be eaten the next time the staff work."
Everyone helped themselves in an orderly fashion. Martha declared that Harry and Heero had to go first, as the luncheon was celebrating their first meeting. At the long table, there was more than enough room for eight people.
AN: And that's Chapter Three! Harry and Heero are getting acquainted, Mrs. Figg gets to socialize with a wizard, and Cedric gets to see a side of Harry few at Hogwarts ever do.
Next chapter will feature those FRA letters taking effect on Fudge, Umbridge, and the Malfoys
