Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Peace, Love, and Family: The Story of the Vanuli Three ❯ Theta and Omega ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any things Harry Potter-the characters, setting, plot, everything belongs to the wonderful J. K. Rowling and whomever else she decides. I do not own anything Gundam Wing-the characters, setting, plot, everything belongs to (I think) Bandai and Sunrise.

Spoilers: This fic contains spoilers for books 1-5 of Harry Potter and all of the episodes of Gundam Wing. This fic does not include Endless Waltz.

Rating: NC17

Pairings: Neville/Harry, 2x1

Summary: Two years ago, the One Year War ended. At this time, the five heroes-the Gundam pilots-disappeared from the Muggle world. Three of them-pilots 02, 03, and 05-reappeared shortly after in the Wizarding world, as students at Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry. Now, twenty months after the fact, Heero Yuy and Quatre Winner are coming to Hogwarts, and they're bringing all of their secrets with them. The world-especially one Harry Potter-will never be the same.

Peace, Love, and Family:

The Story of the Vanuli Three

Chapter 16: Theta and Omega

Heero stared at Daemon, his arms loose at his side. He didn't know what to say. What could one say in such a situation? Heero sighed. He was never very good at expressing his feeling without getting upset. He was afraid that if he said one more word, he would break down. He would scream, yell, sob, wail, throw things, kick, punch, rip, have a full-out tantrum. He couldn't do that in front of non-family. Especially Daemon.

"I did everything for you," Heero said, trying-and succeeding-to keep his voice from breaking. But just barely. "Everything I did was for you and the other Omegas. We were family, and I loved my family. I lived for the Omegas."

"Yes, but-" Daemon started to say.

"Shut up," Heero interrupted him. "I am the wronged party here. That means that I get to be the one to talk."

Heero stalked away, infuriated by Daemon's closeness. He stared out one of the windows, the only one with glass in it. It overlooked a rose garden. Not a real rose garden, of course. It probably housed some rare, dangerous plant that the seventh years would have to dissect for Herbology and then use in Potions, maiming several of them in the process. It was still pretty to look at, and it calmed Heero.

"When I was seven, Odin Lowe, my mentor, took me with him on a mission to a Vanuli village. I don't know what his mission was-I probably never will-but I do remember one woman." Heero touched the window and remembered his mother. "She introduced herself to me as Morgan LeFey the Seventh and immediately led me away from Odin. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, with golden blonde hair flowing down to her ankles and the gentlest eyes I ever saw. She looked around forty years-old, but I later learned that she was 100. I was instantly smitten with her.

"I followed her around the entire day, but she didn't mind. Encouraged it, in fact, inviting me to tell her all about my life, my friends, my family. So I did. I told her about the Omegas. About you and Gatlin, Katydid and the others. I told her that I didn't have any magic, so you guys took care of me, protected me. And I, being the sweet person that I was, took care of you all. I cleaned your wounds. I cooked your food. I held you when it got to be too much, and you had to cry to somebody, or you'd die. I told her about our challenges and that I was always the one to make us lose. Because I was a Squib. I told her how hard I made it for my family, being what I was. I told her that I would do anything to make their burden less, and sometimes, I thought about doing just that, if you get what I mean."

Heero could see Daemon's reflection through the glass. By the shock in his eyes, he knew exactly what Heero meant.

"I'll never forget what she said to me then. She took my chin in her hands, and she said, 'You're not ever going to have to worry about being a burden on your family again.' I asked her how she knew that, why she would even think it. She didn't answer, but instead, she opened her hand. Two tiny spheres-maybe two inches in diameter-floated out, each a perfect golden yellow. They were fascinating, and I longed to touch them. Being seven and not aware of the dangers of such things, I did. They shot through my hand, and in that moment, I felt right. That was everything I needed.

"When I got my bearings back, I asked her what they were. 'Fury Orbs,' she said. 'They will become Fury Shooters when you get angry or upset. They're keyed to you now. They will protect you and your family.' 'Why would you do this for me?' I asked her, bewildered. No one who wasn't a family member ever did anything without wanting something in return. I knew that as much then as I do now. 'You remind me of my son,' she replied, and from the look in her eyes, I knew what she meant. She couldn't help him, and I was a good enough substitute."

Heero turned away from the window, tired of the view. The garden's deceptive beauty only drove it in that things-and people-were rarely what they appeared to be, and the ones a person loved most were the ones that could hurt him the most. He wiped a hand across his cheek and was surprised when it came back dry. No tears.

"But you already knew all of that, Omega-1," Heero tried to snarl it, but he couldn't work up the emotion. He was tired of fighting with Daemon-and with himself. "I told you when it happened. And you comforted me when Odin died because of it, even though we didn't know that was the reason at the time."

"Yes, I know," Daemon said. His voice cracked, and he looked pathetic, standing there amidst the bird shit, asking Heero to love him again. Heero would have felt sorry for him, if he could have brought himself to care. "I was there for you then. I can be there for you again."

"It took me five years to learn how to work Morgan's Fury Shooters," Heero said, pretending not to have heard Daemon's comment. "I figured it out just in time, too. Only three months before we were to fight the Thetas. The Thetas, who never lost, who never backed down, and who never took prisoners.

"Did you now that the Mus were Animagi? And the Nus were Metamorphmagi?"

Daemon shook his head.

"I thought not. I knew it, though. I was observant, even then. I watched the other units, tried to discover their weaknesses. Everything we knew about the other units would help us when we were up against them, and I wanted desperately to help us.

"The Thetas didn't have any weaknesses. Not a single one that I could find. So I decided to go undercover as one of them." Heero turned back to look at the garden. The flowers were beautiful, but they could probably kill in a second. Without mercy. Without remorse. Just like his Thetas.

"The only problem I had was that they were Acroumantula Homomagi, these huge, magical spiders with the ability to look like beautiful, blonde seductresses. I was a twelve year-old boy and a Squib. That wasn't very hard to overcome, though. I sent the Fury Shooters out to the Mus and the Nus. I set them on the lowest setting, so they wouldn't hurt anyone. They probably felt a little prick as the Shooters went through them, and then weak and tired for a few days after that. The magic that I got from the twenty-four of them lasted me about six weeks, so I had to redo it a few times.

"After I got the Animagus and Metamorphmagus magic, I was able to infiltrate the Thetas as one of them. I was shorter than them, younger, and I know they knew I wasn't a Homomagus. They didn't seem to care, though. They accepted me when I asked to join after they defeated the Sigmas. My rank was Theta-13, and my name was Annette."

Heero heard Daemon gasp from behind him, and a small smirk appeared on his face. Heero never told the other Omegas about what he did. He couldn't let them know; he'd needed their honest reactions to her. Annette had been a frightening person.

"As I said," Heero began again, "the Thetas knew that I wasn't like them, but I was close enough that they accepted me anyway. I spent three moths going between the Omegas and the Thetas. By day, I was the scrawny, little Squib who messed up everything. By night, I was a homicidal vixen, ready to strike at lesser beings at a moment's notice. It was a...nice existence for me. It wasn't perfect, by any means, but I liked it. I had my family, the Omegas, and my friends, the Thetas.

"I grew to love the Thetas. They were almost like sisters to me, but not quite. The Omegas were my sisters, my brothers. My first and only loyalty was to them, to you."

Daemon came up behind Heero and embraced him. Heero didn't stop him. He needed comfort from anyone right now. Even if it was from one who caused him pain.

"I never knew," Daemon said. "You never told me that. You never told any of us that."

"After three months, I still didn't know any of their weaknesses," Heero said, ignoring Daemon's words again. He tried to ignore the arms around him and the warm comfort he offered, but that wasn't as easy. "Their defense were perfect, their offense just as flawless. I could think of only one thing to use to defeat them."

"The Fury Shooters," Daemon whispered, his voice tinged with fear. And rightfully so-Daemon got hit with one during the battle.

"The Fury Shooters," Heero confirmed. "I told you and the others to put on as much Gundanium as possible. Morgan told me that the alloy-allani, she called it-would negate some of the effects of the Shooters. We got to the Practice Room, all dressed in our battle gear. We were so scared, Sam almost peed her pants. J called the battle to begin, and I let the Fury Shooters go. I set them on the highest setting, kill, and set them to kill "enemies of my family."

"They did their job, but there were only two of them. They could only hit one person at a time, and it was slow going."

Heero swallowed hard. There was a lump in his throat the size of a Quaffle. He was crying freely now, as he knew he would be. He couldn't even think of the Thetas without getting misty-eyed.

"I told you not to hurt the Thetas," Heero said, very calmly, he thought. "The Shooters would have left you alone. They wouldn't have attacked you. We all would have been just fine."

"We were scared," Daemon said, backing away from Heero. Heero felt a pang of loss as Daemon left him, but he quickly shut it out of his mind. Daemon wasn't important. Only family was important. Family and Duo.

"I expected you to do as you were told," Heero said quietly. He walked away from the window. The view was irritating him again. Heero walked to the door before turning back to Daemon.

"I didn't know what it meant at the time, but I do now. I set the Fury Shooters to attack enemies of my family. They attacked the Thetas because the Thetas were trying to kill the Omegas. The Shooters attacked the Omegas, as well, but only after the Omegas attacked the Thetas. The Thetas were a lot more important to me than I realized. They were my family, just as much as you were.

"I killed my family for the Omegas, and how did you repay me for that? How did you repay me for my sacrifice? You betrayed me, and you killed me. You, Daemon Rosencrantz, saw one little tear and judged me unworthy. You sent me to hell, and my child's mind did not survive. The Heero you knew is dead.

"Now, you want me to forgive you. You want to be family again. There is only one way to do that, brother. You have to brink me back to life."

With that, Heero turned on his heels and walked out of the Owlery.

***

Harry paced the hall in front of the infirmary. He never strayed from the door, fearing that Poppy would come to tell him how Quatre was, and he would be way over by the marble staircase, and she would never see him, and he would never find out what was wrong with Quatre. So he paced in front of the door-three steps to the left of it, three steps to the right of it, taking six steps in all. It was very boring and very tedious and very frustrating, and Harry thought he might just pull out all of his hair if he didn't get to see Quatre right now!

He thought about crying, but didn't. He thought about punching the wall, but didn't. He thought about tearing out his hair, but didn't. He thought about ignoring Poppy's orders and storming into the infirmary, demanding to know how his brother was, but didn't.

Harry plopped down on the floor in a huff. He wished Heero were here. Or Ron or Neville. Or Hermione or Dorothy. Even Dean or Seamus would be good. Harry needed someone to brood to. Unfortunately, Harry didn't know where Heero was. Quatre most likely did, but to Harry's knowledge, he wasn't talking. Harry sent Ron and Neville to look for Heero, but in a castle this big, it could take weeks. Hermione-as well as most of Gryffindor-didn't even know there was a situation, much less that Harry was currently biting his nails to the quick over it. Dorothy was in Slytherin and hadn't heard about it yet. Harry sent Dean and Seamus to bang on their wall until they made Dorothy come out.

That would take a while, and until then, Harry would go through this alone.

***

Dorothy was sitting in the plushest chair in the common room, eating grapes brought to her by a second year-after careful screening for poison-and doing her homework. The usual thing a procrastinator did on a Sunday morning. She was working on a paper for Transfigurations about the usual characteristics of an Animagus. It was very interesting, but there were a lot of facts she needed to know before she could get too in depth into it. Every now and then, she had to send someone to the library to check out another book on the subject.

"He-here's the book you wanted," one of the little one's said, panting heavily. Molly Green, Dorothy thought was her name. Green was completely blocking Dorothy's light as she stood there like an idiot, waiting for Dorothy to take the tome.

Dorothy finished the paragraph she was writing and took the book from the small girl. Just from the size of it, she knew that Green got the wrong one, but like the benevolent creature she was, Dorothy gave her the benefit of the doubt. Dorothy looked at the title of the medium-sized book-only a thousand pages or so-and sighed when it was not the correct one, the one she told Green to get.

"Molly," Dorothy said, turning to look a the child, "what book did I tell you to get?"

"Umm, the one I got?" Green asked, scratching her head.

"No, darling," Dorothy said, backing away from the girl. Children never knew how to keep clean, and Dorothy didn't want to catch what Green was scratching at. "I told you to get me How I Put the Ani in Magus by Cynthia Tigress. This book is Becoming an Animagus. Take it back," Dorothy showed the book at Green, "and get me the correct book."

"Y-yes, Miss Dorothy," the brat said and left Dorothy's sight.

Dorothy went back to her paper. She was in the middle of telling that wizards who succeeded in becoming Animagi were usually more determined, not more powerful, than those who failed at the task; however, only those with the correct gene for becoming an Animagus ever actually succeeded. Dorothy wanted to use statistics from the book Green was supposed to get, but she couldn't exactly do that now. Dorothy sighed. This was going to take foreverwithout that book. Green better hurry.

"Miss Dorothy?"

"What?" Dorothy snapped, looking up from her work. She narrowed her eyes when she was it was Green, looking remarkably bookless. At the spark of fear in the little girl's eyes, Dorothy smiled. "Well," she gently prodded, barely gritting her teeth, "do tell me what this interruption is for."

"There's two guys waiting outside for you," Green said, braver than before. Dorothy would have to beat that out of her. There were only three Gryffindors she could stand, and none of their names were Molly. "They said it was about a Quatre."

Dorothy's ears perked up at that, and she went on full alert. "What?" Dorothy screeched, towering over Green. She lifted the girl up by the front of her robe until Dorothy was looking straight at her. "You knew something about my Quatre, and you waited for me to ask you before you told me?" Green tried to protest, but Dorothy didn't care. She flung Green into the chair and stalked away. "I'll deal with you later."

Dorothy walked out of the hidden door into the hall, where she saw two Gryffindors. She didn't know their names, but she saw them sit around her boys during meals. She didn't care who they were, what they were doing, or what they wanted from her. She wanted only one thing.

"Okay," Dorothy said, sauntering up behind them. They jumped-they had their backs turned and didn't see her-and she smirked. She drew her wand and pointed it at the tall, black one. "I'm going to speak slowly because I know most of you Gryffindors aren't big in the brain department. What. Happened. To. My. Quatre?"

***

Heero sprinted away from the West Tower. He wanted to get back to his room and his brothers as fast as his legs could carry him. He knew he was going to cry-he could feel the burning just behind his eyes, and it was going to be a big one-and knew that Quatre and Harry could make it all better. Heero felt safe with them.

So Heero ran and ran and ran and ran. In his running, he failed to notice the two people in front of him. Heero ran straight into the two, bowling them over like pins. Heero would have kept running anyway-that was the kind of mood he was in-but unfortunately, one of the two fell onto him.

Heero lay on the floor, pinned by the weight of Ron Weasley, his middle brother's best friend. Ron was heavy and didn't seem intent on getting up soon.

"Ohh, my head," Heero's other victim and Harry's boyfriend, Neville Longbottom, groaned to the right of Heero's ear.

"Yeah," Ron agreed, still lying on Heero, "that's gonna hurt tomorrow."

"That's gonna hurt now," Heero said, attempting to push Ron away. Finally, Ron realized that neither of them were in the most comfortable of positions, and he stood up.

"Err, sorry about that," Ron said when all three parties were standing, "but I am glad we found you."

Heero couldn't think of any reason why the two of them would be looking for him, but he didn't particularly care. He just wanted to get back to Harry's bed, crawl into it with his brothers, and forget that any of this ever happened. Preferably without Ron or Neville realizing that he should be the one to apologize.

"Yeah, um, Harry asked us to come look for you," Neville said,, stumbling over his words while giving Heero a weak glare. Heero could tell he meant to be intimidating, but it wasn't working. Pathetic, really. But if that was what Harry wanted in a boyfriend, Heero wouldn't judge. Much. "But he didn't tell us where you might be, so we've been looking all over for you."

"Yeah, it took us forever," Ron said, interrupting Neville, "until we remembered the Marauder's-I mean, until we remembered to check the Owlery. We were on our way there."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm, okay, all right," Heero said before clapping his hands in Ron's face to get him to stop rambling. He made a mental note to ask Harry what the "Marauder's" was. "You said Harry wanted me?"

"Yes," Neville said, sounding none too happy about it. "Something happened to Quatre. He went insane or something. He's in the infirmary now-"

Heero stopped listening and ran away. His brother was hurt. His brother was sick. If anyone got in Heero's way on the way to the infirmary, Heero was hexing them into oblivion.

***

Harry rocked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth on the floor outside of the infirmary. Quatre had been in there an hour, there was still no news, and Harry was alone. He felt as though he would go as insane as Quatre did if something didn't change very soon.

So Harry rocked. He rocked to have something to do. He rocked, so he wouldn't cry, even though he desperately wanted to. He rocked, so he wouldn't have to think about bad things. What if Quatre is sick? What if he doesn't get better? What if Quatre dies? Harry rocked because he could do nothing else.

Arms wrapped around Harry. Warm, soft arms that felt like mother and safety and love.

"Dorothy," Harry choked out. And then he wasn't rocking anymore but hugging and holding and sobbing and talking. "I was so scared," Harry cried into Dorothy's chest. "He was talking to air and hurting himself, and he wouldn't stop, no matter how much I begged and pleaded and bargained with him. And I had to restrain him, but he still wouldn't stop! Poppy couldn't either, but she took him away anyway and wouldn't let me see him. And you and Heero were gone. I didn't know where you were! I didn't know what to do!"

"Shh, shh," Dorothy said, patting Harry's back. "You did great, and I'm here now." She patted his head, continuously ruffling and smoothing his hair. "It's going to be okay. Quatre's a strong kid. Whatever happened, I'm sure he's fine now."

"Then why can't I see him yet?" Harry asked, clinging onto Dorothy like a lifeline. "Why won't Poppy tell us anything?"

"I'm not sure, baby," Dorothy said. "Quatre's probably just resting."

"You think?" Harry asked, hopeful. He knew it most likely wasn't that, but he wanted to be lied to.

"Yeah," Dorothy said. "Now let's get you off this floor. You'll catch a cold."

Harry consented to let Dorothy pull him up, and they both stood. When they did so, Harry could see a person-sized blur coming from the stairs.

"How is he?" Heero asked as soon as he was within range.

"We don't-" Harry was cut off by the slight squeak of the door opening.

Selune