Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Peace, Love, and Family: The Story of the Vanuli Three ❯ Vanuli Kind ( Chapter 21 )

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

Category: crossover, fantasy, general

Author: Selune

Author's site: http://www.gundam-wing-universe.net/fanfiction/menu.php?id=113

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 21: Vanuli Kind

"To understand anything about Vanuli culture," Relena said, sitting up tall and proud, so everybody could hear. She liked it that she was the center of attention, even if most everyone in the room knew everything she was going to say. "To understand about us," she reiterated, "or any culture, for that matter, you first need to know how we teach our children." She paused dramatically. She was really getting into this. It was something she would never tell anyone, except for maybe Tashpi or Heero, but she really loved public speaking. Even though she had hated being Queen of the World and all that it had entailed, she'd always loved giving the speeches that came along with it. "Whereas most other advanced cultures teach their children orally or through writing-textbooks and such-the Vanuli do not." Relena stopped to take a breath, and another dramatic pause, and basked in the attention from her family. "Vanuli teach their children through the Amenea."

Relena crawled off the bed. There was practically no standing room, and certainly none for dancing, so she went to the door frame. Relena swung her hips a bit to get started and clapped a slow beat above her head. She began talking as she danced.

"The Amenea, one of which I am demonstrating, is an instinctive dance. A Vanuli can see a particular Amenea for the first time in his life and still be able to do it flawlessly. He would-you would, Harry-hear the words of the Amenea rush at you mind, filling your head with its sweetness. And you would begin to sing.

"Listen, my child, and I'll teach you all you need to know," Relena sang in English for her sister-in-law's benefit. Relena couldn't give the Amena its full justice because she was wearing pajamas. In her Amenea robe, she could hold an audience spellbound. As could all Vanuli. Relena vocalized, letting the sounds and syllables of the Amenea rush through her as she danced the Koratel Amenea, the Teacher's Dance. "Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah."

Relena finished the Amenea and climbed back on the bed. "Sometimes, you will feel compelled to perform an Amenea. You should give in to this feeling, if at all possible, because it will teach you things you need to know. But even if you don't feel the need to join an Amenea already being performed, you should always watch it. You may not learn as much as the performer, but you will learn something."

Relena looked at Harry. This was for his benefit, after all.

"So it's like what happened last full moon," Harry said. "When Heero danced, and I couldn't help myself from doing the same. And why, earlier that day, I could understand the song Quatre and Heero were singing and sing along with them."

"That's right," Quatre said, before Relena could. "Our language and the knowledge of our culture is instinctive. Otherwise, it would take a lifetime to learn it all."

"And with the number of children raised by or mostly by humans, high elves, and the like, at least a third of all Vanuli would never even be able to speak the language," Heero said. Relena could see he was starting to get settled down for the night, being less hyper and more serene. He would be a bit more sane tomorrow, but probably not much.

"Why are so many Vanuli being raised by humans?" Harry asked. "And are they-are we," meaning himself and his brothers, "full Vanuli or half? And why-"

"Whoa, slow down there," Milliardo said. "We can only answer one question at a time."

Relena smirked and quietly handed the reigns over to her brother. Her brother liked the limelight as much as she did, so she would shut up-for now-rather than try to talk over him.

"In order to answer your first question, I'm going to have to tell you about Vanuli mating processes. And in order for you to understand that, you're going to have to know something about the clan system," Milliardo said, his face getting red as he ran out of breath.

Relena didn't envy him the task of telling Harry all the things that they merely took for granted. She would be sure to forget half the things. She already knew that there were sixteen clans divided into three classed-high, middle, and lower. She knew that high class was the Nobles, of which she was a part, and that Nobles became Niamos on their sixteenth Life Day (which, thankfully, her parents raised her as celebrating that day her entire life, so it wasn't an early surprise when Tashpi showed up), a tribute to the clan number, which was a constant for thousands of years. The Nobles consisted of four clans, the Peacecrafts and LeFeys being two. The monarch came from among the strongest of the Noble families. They were crowned on their eighteenth Life Day, the anniversary of the date of conception.

The middle class were the Warriors. They were the army of the Vanuli. Many of the women became Naiyamas for the Nobles. The Warriors were four clans strong, the strongest of which was the Mordals. The weakest was the Kordels-they never quite got over the scandal of their own Vierry Kordel being with her Niamo, Allurna LeFey. Relena sometimes wondered if the same thing would happen to the Mordal clan if she and Tashpi were discovered. She feared it would, but not before Tashpi's execution.

Relena shuddered at the thought of her beloved dying, before shoving it in a file marked "Do Not Open." To get further away from it, Relena turned her attention back to Milliardo.

"And the lower class, the Workers," Milliardo was saying, "make up half of our population, with eight clans and about 4,000 Vanuli."

Relena's eyes panned the gathering. Harry seemed to be the only one listening to Milliardo. Dorothy and Tashpi were talking quietly-and civilly, for once-in a corner of the bed. Quatre was talking to Lucy, occasionally touching her stomach in awe. Heero had his head in Quatre's lap, taking in their conversation and tracing patterns in the quilt. Everybody seemed to be okay, so Relena focused on her brother and Harry again.

"And the mating?" Harry prompted when Milly faltered in his speech. Relena didn't blame her brother. Their system took some getting used to.

"Well," Milliardo began, "there's no really way to put this delicately, but Vanuli are, they kind of-"

"They're sluts," Relena put in matter-of-factly. The boys jumped. They probably hadn't realized she'd been listening.

"Yeah," Milliardo said, visibly putting himself back together. "What she said."

"Why?" Harry asked, after a moment, looking back and forth between Milliardo and Relena.

"Okay," Relena said, after another minute and a half of silence, indicating that she'd take over this nasty bit. "As you've probably already figured out, many Vanuli can be quite promiscuous." Harry nodded his head. That was the definition of a slut, after all. "However, not all are, and certain things are sacred. Marriage, for instance, is still only ever between two people. Though that may change in the next little bit," she murmured that last to herself. Harry didn't need to hear that from her. "Most Vanuli clans, with the exception of us and the Morrigals, both of whom have almost completely died out, actively encourage their members to sleep with as many people as possible, have as many babies as possible. This most likely relates back to the aftermath of the Black Plague, which, like the humans, hit us quite hard."

"So most Vanuli will fuck anything that'll stay still long enough," Milliardo broke in. "Of course, it helps that anything with even a drop of Vanuli blood is completely Vanuli."

"I guess that answers that question," Harry muttered.

"Yeah, I guess so," Relena said. He was as pure as she, and both her parents had been Vanuli. She mentally checked off that question in her head. One down, two to go. "We're not really that sure why," Now only one to go, "but if you have one Vanuli parent, you will be completely Vanuli."

"Yes," Milliardo agreed. "But with all those different partners, it could become quite difficult as to the raising of the children. I mean , even married people have affairs-legal, encouraged affairs, in order to keep the population steady and to make the community tight-knit. It's a rarity to have a closed marriage, where affairs aren't tolerated."

"Therefore," Relena said, "our ancestors had to figure out a system as to whom got what child. What they came up with is a little silly, in my opinion. I would much prefer it if all Vanuli were raised by Vanuli."

"I agree," Milly said. Both of them-as well as the rest of their clan-agreed that open marriages were wrong. That was probably why they were the rest of their clan, and all others were dead.

"Well, what is it?" Harry asked. He clenched his fists in the quilt and leaned forward, almost toppling right onto the Milliardo and Relena.

"Every odd child between one particular coupling would go to the father, and every even would go to the mother," Relena said. "The children belonged to their parents and clan until their eighteenth Life Day, when they could then choose to become a member of the other parent's clan or stay where they were."

"Of course, some didn't have a decision to make!" Milly joked. "What with many Vanuli preferring to-I think the expression is-'keep it in the family.' "

"And of course," Relena said, ignoring her brother, "the same laws went for any human parents, as well. And since we rediscovered that mating with other species wouldn't taint our blood, the number of human-parented Vanuli rose dramatically."

"And that answers your questions," Milliardo said, gesturing for added effect.

"That answer those questions," Harry said, "but I have a lot of others. Beginning with, 'what exactly are Naiyamas and Niamos'? And 'why did I never hear of a Vanuli before meeting Heero and Quatre'? And 'why do we have Gifts and Sights'?"

***

Dorothy's head snapped up when she heard Harry ask about Naiyamas. Finally! A chance to explain myself in a clear, concise manner, she thought. She finished her conversation with Tashpi-a regaling account on both their parts about the lengths to which they'd gone to keep their charges safe-and crawled over to her Niamo. She almost felt bad about leaving her sister in the lurch because Dorothy could tell that something was wrong with her. Dorothy shoved those feelings away-I'm sure she's fine. She's strong-and settled in to explain away. Her thoughts on Maxwell and Heero were likewise put on the back burner for the time being.

"Niamo means 'the protected.' Naiyama means 'the protector,' " Dorothy said. "A Niamo is a Noble child, usually between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, although they can be older than that. Roughly translated-"

"Why?" Harry asked. It was a justifiable question, Dorothy supposed.

"A Naiyama-me, Tashpi, others like us-is chosen on her Niamo's sixteenth Life Day." Dorothy was going to answer this completely, leaving no room for questions from Harry or anyone else. "The Naiyama knows who her Niamo is by a tugging feeling in her abdomen. I can't answer for anyone else, mainly because mine is a unique case, but I felt three distinct tugs. Two however, were together, and they were people I already knew, making it that much stronger. I've always believed that's why I went to Heero and Quatre, instead of coming here to you."

"Oh," Harry said. Dorothy felt better that that part was out of the way. It always bothered her what Harry might think about that, if he might wonder if she loved his brothers more than him.

"A Naiyama," Dorothy said with more confidence than before, now that the burden was lifted from her shoulders, "guides and protects her Niamo until adulthood. When the Niamo reaches adulthood, traditionally the eighteenth Life Day, the Naiyama releases her Niamo into society. However, occasionally, the Naiyama will feel that her Niamo is not ready to be an adult, so she will refuse to release him. And sometimes, the Niamo just doesn't want to be an adult. I've known Niamos who were ninety years old."

"What happens," Harry asked, "if the Naiyama thinks his Niamo isn't ready, but the Niamo does?"

"All Niamos are female," Quatre tossed out, before going back to his conversation with Lucy.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"It has always been that way," Tashpi said from the darkened corner in which she still sat.

"Oh," Harry said. Dorothy knew it was a non-answer, but she didn't have a better one. "Well, then, what about my question?"

"The Niamo can either except the Naiyama's decision, or he may call upon the Rite of Kaigel," Tashpi said. "It is an ancient ritual, wherein the Niamo must kill his Naiyama, with his bare hands. No magic allowed. If he succeeds, he is declared an adult."

"Sounds barbaric," Harry said, wrinkling his nose.

"Indeed," Tashpi said. She turned away from the group and went back to her own thoughts. She wasn't looking at anyone, but Dorothy could tell she was keeping her eye on Relena.

"So that's it then?" Harry said. "You protect us and then set us free, like returning a zoo animal to the wild?"

"No," Dorothy said, alarmed. That wasn't it at all! The Naiyama/Niamo relationship was a special one, like that of a parent and a child. It usually replaced that relationship, actually, due to the large number of children most Vanuli had, and the consequent lack of time to spend with each child. Dorothy told Harry all of this. "Being a Naiyama is a breathtaking experience and an honor. My whole life revolves around you and your brothers. I would protect you with my last dying breath, resurrect myself, and kick the ass of whoever was hurting you.

"When I'm not with you, I worry about your safety constantly. I hate not being in the same House as you because I could watch you so much better there. My whole life revolves around you. Literally."

"What would happen to you if we were gone?" Harry asked, his face all wide-eyed and innocent. He didn't know what he was asking. Everyone froze at his comment, Dorothy especially. He had just asked about her greatest nightmare, every Naiyama's greatest nightmare.

Dorothy took her time in answering. Even thinking about it had her close to hyperventilating. "I would go insane," she said finally. "My world would be gone, and I would grieve as no mother ever could. The oceans could flood the island, great earthquakes could shake the ground underneath me, long dormant volcanoes could erupt with a passion never before known. I would not recognize any of it. My tears would be more plentiful than the floods, my magic more unstable than the rocks, and my anger more potent than the lava. I would be a woman aggrieved. I would be insane. And I would be quite dangerous."

***

"Well," Relena said, clapping her hands.

It startled Harry after the grimness with which Dorothy had engulfed the room. If he had known the answer, he never would have asked the question.

"Why don't we have some refreshments now?' Relena asked.

Harry leaned back on his brothers, who had moved against him during Dorothy's speech. He needed their comfort after that. He really shouldn't have asked, should have known it was a touchy subject.

"What kind of refreshments?" Heero asked. He was less energetic than earlier in the day, but he still had some of that puppy playfulness in him. Apparently, though (and Harry had checked it with Remus), Heero would act more and more lusty and less and less playful as the week went on. Harry didn't know if that was a good thing or not. "Are they the tasty kind?"

"Of course, they're the tasty kind," Relena said. Harry must have been even more lost in thought than he thought because she was standing in the middle of the bed, holding a jarful of what looked like very large beetles. "Most are really old, but I brought some younger ones for you, too, Heero." Relena passed the jar around, and everyone took one.

When the jar got to Harry, he cautiously picked one up with only his thumb and forefinger. It was still alive and smelled awful. "Ugh!" Harry gagged as he accidentally squeezed it too hard. Green pus came out and trickled down Harry's finger. "What are these?" he asked, holding it away from him.

"Bellarmees," Quatre answered matter-of-factly. He was sitting to Harry's right, holding his bug as Harry was. Everyone moved to sit in a circle on the bed, and after everyone got a bug, Relena started passing around a vial. "They're quite tasty. Especially the old ones-the closer to death they begin, the juicier they are. Unfortunately..."

The vial was handed to Quatre. Quatre handed his Bellarmee to Lucy, who was on his right, and opened the lid. There was some type of strainer on the top, and Quatre pressed it on the inside of his wrist. He motioned for Harry to do the same after exchanging Harry's bug for the vial. Harry did so and passed it to Heero for another Bellarmee.

"Unfortunately," Quatre said, "they are quite poisonous in their original state. So we use this," Quatre raised his left wrist, "to neutralize the poison. Wait until the anti-venom turns blue, then lick it. Then swallow the Bellarmee whole."

Whole?Harry thought, looking at it. It was huge. "There's no way this thing is fitting down my throat."

"Then just make it bigger," Heero said, joining the conversation. "That's what I always do."

"And just how do you propose I do that?" Harry asked with his very own special blend of curiosity and aggravation.

"Vanuli are amorphous," Heero said, as if that explained everything. Maybe it did-Harry didn't know what 'amorphous' was. He looked blankly at his brother, and eventually Heero continued. "Vanuli have no shape of their own. If we didn't take on the appearance of other species, we'd be so many blobs of goo floating around in the atmosphere. We can change our appearance-our sex, even-at will."

"And how is this going to help me swallow this bug?" Harry asked after a few moments. He didn't know how to change shape, even if he had the ability. Or even want to, he thought, eyeing the bug with disgust.

"Think snake," Heero said. He licked his wrist-it was blue-and then Harry got a first hand demonstration of how to eat these things. Heero's throat elongated-not that much, but enough to be noticeable-and he put the Bellarmee in his mouth. He swallowed once, and Harry could only see half of the bug. Two, three, four swallows, and the bug was completely gone. Heero purred with contentment.

Heero eyed his wrist and his Bellarmee. Might as well, he thought. He tried to "think snake," like Heero said, but not too much. He didn't want to get stuck like that, and he wasn't sure that, if he could do it, he would be able to get himself back. Well, C'est la vie, he thought.

Harry licked his blue wrist, closed his eyes, and put the Bellarmee in his mouth. He swallowed once, and it started going down his throat. God, it was big. It's pinchers-or something that felt like pinchers-nipped at the walls of his esophagus, its feet burning a trail down his throat. Harry swallowed four times, like Heero, and the fire moved down to his belly.

I guess that's it, Harry thought, disappointed. Why would anyone want to eat those?

The fire in his belly grew, and Harry put a hand over his stomach, as if to hold it in. He could feel the Bellarmee running around inside him, frantic skittering up and down inside himself. Its frenzy rose higher and higher, the skittering was faster and faster. Harry didn't know how much more he could take. It hurt. It hurt. Harry doubled over onto the bed. He gave out a cry of pain at the inner movement of the the strange bug.

The Bellarmee stopped moving. Harry could practically feel it thinking what to do next. It made up its mind and moved up against his throat. It was climbing out! The Bellarmee climbed up his throat. It entered his mouth again, and skittered across his tongue. It didn't hurt anymore. It actually kind of tickled. Harry wanted to laugh, but he knew instinctively that he shouldn't. He swallowed again, again, again. It reach his stomach again.

Harry could tell there was something different this time. It stilled. Harry could hear a ticking, like a clock. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Harry swayed to the rhythm, waiting for whatever it was he was supposed to be waiting for. He didn't have long to wait. It ticked twelve more times and simply stopped. Harry could feel it fall-dead-in his stomach.

The rush of flavor Harry got as the bug let out it juices was almost too much for him. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted, and that was only the backwash of gases from the Bellarmee. He wondered how intense the taste would be if he had bit into it. Harry purred at the thought.

"See," Quatre said. "I told you they were good." He sat back with a smug smile on his face.

Harry looked back at him. "Yeah," he said, "very good. But is it always such an ordeal?"

"That was my fault," Heero said, sheepishly. "I picked out the youngest of the bunch. The older ones usually die quicker, and they taste better."

"Then why did you get the youngest?" Harry asked. It was an obvious question, he thought.

"Let's just say he got one once that was too old," Quatre said. "Apparently, it's not all that tasty if it dies on the way down."

"No, it's not," Heero said. He looked around the circle. "You know what would make this even better? Some Booamyie."

He said it at just the right time. Relena passed out these flowery cups-which actually were flowers, they'd just been strengthened to hold the liquid and had a base attached; the petals were still fresh-and a bottle of red liquid with pink fumes coming from it. The jar of Bellarmees and the anti-venom were being passed around the other way.

Harry got both at once. What the hell? he thought when he got the Booamyie. He'd been proven wrong on the Bellarmees, this was probably tasty too. He licked his once more blue wrist, swallowed the Bellarmee, and chased it with a gulp of Booamyie. Around him, his family members did the same.

Selune