Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Peace, Love, and Family: The Story of the Vanuli Three ❯ At Haven ( Chapter 45 )

A.N.: The lyrics in the first scene are from the song "Main Theme" by Jack Wall from the game Myst III; however, they don't mean the same thing in this context. To get the best effect, listen to that song while reading the first scene.

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, Relena/OFC, OMCx4, Zacharias/Harry, OMC/Harry

Category: crossover, fantasy, general, drama

Author: Selune

Author's site: livejournal.com/users/selune2

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 45: At Haven

Friday, December 20, 197

Haven-Dawn Room

6:59 AM

Heero sat in the bleachers with his family, waiting. The bleachers weren't like any found in the human world. Like most seats in Haven, they were made from gnarled tree roots, which rose up when you sat in them, curving just so to get maximum comfort.

"Is it time yet?" Harry asked, excited as a kid at Christmas. It was his first Yule celebration at Haven, so that was to be expected.

As it was only Heero's second Yule, he didn't know much more than Harry.

"Almost," Dorothy replied, catching Harry as he started to flutter away. "Now, sit down."

Heero stopped his wings' vibrations, catching himself before Dorothy did. This year, they got to be flyers. Which was much better than the mere foot soldiers they were last year.

Heero caught Harry's eye-one seat in front of him, to the left-and smiled.

Quatre gasped. "I see them!"

The queen. Heero's grandmother, the matron of all. For today, at least. For it was the day before Yule, and the meant one thing and one thing only: the kick-off of the fortnight-long Yule celebration.

Every year since the beginning of Haven, Yule began with a great Amenea that remembered what truly created the need for the beautiful city. The war with the humans, who-after gaining enough magic, of course, and numbers-decided they didn't want "any damn Vanuli stinkin' up their world." The war lasted for only three months, and in that time, the humans were able to force the Vanuli back to six points in the world-six of the sixteen entrances to the land where Vanuli began. Where the first Father and Mother begat their first children.

And so the land was named Haven, for it was their safe haven from the treacheries of man, who betrayed the Vanuli so readily, after learning magic at their knees. And Haven prospered, growing ever more beautiful, more magical with each succeeding generation. Each queen more radiant than the last, until finally Haven was as it stood today.

But first, there was war.

Heero stood as the first notes of the violetta rang out. It was beginning. Heero felt his body swaying as the foot soldiers in the valley below moved. Two opposing forces, one representing the humans, the other, Vanuli.

He thrust his wand out like a sword and waited for the swell of music to overtake him.

The fianets were plucked by the air and the sheer magic being created by the Amenea.

Heero flew.

Below him, the foot soldiers danced. Above their figures, he could see impressions of the people they represented. Red colored the landscape as Vanuli after Vanuli fell.

Heero fluttered in the air, seeking out his counterpart. He becamethe past, as he looked for the "Veela" who killed him.

He-no longer Heero-found her.

They circled one another as, in the bloodbath below, one lone voice rang out.

"Naray alani. Naray latiste t'dee. Nosis amani azhwa na. Famani Sa. Havana devotee."

It was a plaintive cry, and the part of Heero that was still Heero was sad. He wept openly, and began the reply song.

"Amani malissa pariel. Memodama ami soule!"

The Amenea picked up speed. All were singing now, dancing. Fighting.

The Veela-no longer Heero's Vanuli cousin, Vanity, but the embodiment of hate-struck him, and he fell. He sliced at her with his sword-wand-and hit her wings. They fell together, still singing, onto the bodies in the valley.

The Amenea broke from it's highest point, as the queen began to sing again. Whereas the last was a cry for battle, this urged the survivors to flee to safety.

Run to Haven.

Only a third of the flyers remained, and all of the foot soldiers lay crumpled on the valley floor.

Exhausted, Heero could feel the blood-It's not really there-on his forehead. He waited, waited, waited until the last plaintive note wrung out.

It's done.

He passed out.

***

"Wow, that was-that was-" Daemon said, walking on the trail in the main time portal.

"Amazing? Beautiful? Super-duper?" Quatre supplied, grinning. They were alone. Harry had run off with Balor as soon as the War Amenea was over, and Dorothy and Heero were spending time with Relena and a very pregnant Tashpi.

"Powerful," Daemon settled on. "And not a little bit disturbing."

"It's supposed to be," Quatre said, sounding much like Hermione before a lecture. "It's to make sure we remember where we came from. It was a powerful and disturbing thing that brought us to Haven. Besides," Quatre trailed his hand down Daemon's arm, "it makes the rest of it so much nicer in comparison."

Daemon grabbed Quatre's hand, lacing their fingers together. He brought Quatre's hand to his mouth and kissed it. "So, what's next?"

Quatre rolled his eyes, smiling. "Next is the Single's Ball."

"Aw," Daemon groaned. "More dancing? I don't think my wings will be able to take it!"

***

Heero stood in the Ball Room-which was actually a very large woodland clearing, with room for a full orchestra (with no one to play the instruments) at the side-away from everyone he knew and loved.

He was wearing a special Amenea robe made with the back cut out, so his wings could spring forth and not damage anything important.

He was at the Single's Ball, which was, as the name might suggest, a dance for unmarried Vanuli. Every single Vanuli between the ages of sixteen and thirty was forced to go to the ball-and dance with every other single Vanuli-in the hopes that they would find their one true love and get hitched. (Subsequently, the couple went to the Married Ball and danced with the old geezers.)

The music started after someone charmed the instruments, and the dance began. It was a waltz, as the first dance always was. Heero fell into the arms of the first person he saw, who happened to be a nondescript, twenty-something female, and they danced.

It was going to be a long night.

***

"No more waltzes! No more waltzes!" The group chanted, and the music complied.

A fast song came on, almost Muggle in sound, and Harry squealed with delight. He wasn't sure how an orchestra could produce such sounds-including vocal!-but he didn't care. It was his favorite Vanuli song, The Twin's Amenea.

There were layers, now, in the dancing. The ball had been going on for hours. Vanuli flew up into the sky to dance, higher and higher and higher, until there were eight separate layers-including the ground-upon which people danced. Harry knew Heero was up in the eighth layer, as high as he could possibly get.

Harry, shit-eating grin on his face, flew up to his brother. With who else could he dance to that song?

Heero came out of a spin and jumped when he saw Harry. "Ooh. You scared me."

"Care to dance, little brother?" Harry asked.

Heero rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand. They flew up into a ninth layer.

Taking that as a yes, Harry took the hand and spun Heero. Hard.

They spun, dipped, turned, twirled, and twisted above everybody else until the song ended.

"Nice dancing!" Harry yelled out as they dropped back into the eighth layer. Heero laughed.

Harry turned to his new partner and found-Balor. Harry blinked in surprise. After spending six days practically in Balor's lap (not literally; they just spent all their time together), he'd barely seen Balor all day. Just for a few minutes after the War Amenea. And a few minutes before. And at breakfast. Okay, okay! He'd seen Balor a lot. But it felt like no time at all.

A slow song came on, and Balor grabbed Harry's waist and pulled Harry to him. Harry gulped. There really shouldn't be any butterflies in his stomach. It was just Balor. His friend.

Yeah, right.

Harry shut his eyes and lay his head on Balor's chest. They fluttered in the air.

***

Balor couldn't help but stare at Nelat when he saw him. Dancing on air with his brother, Imela, Nelat was breathtaking. Of course, Nelat was always beautiful.

Balor felt proud to be his friend. And that's all that he was. Nelat, who preferred to be called Harry, had a boyfriend back in the human world. Not to mention, his betrothal and eminent marriage to the equally lovely Malal and Imela.

Balor knew what he was. He knew his place. His mother was the younger sister of the current Crown Princess. His father was a half-giant. Thankfully, his father was dead-killed-and Balor was raised by his mother. In Haven. He knew nothing else.

But he wished... He dreamed of being with Nelat. Even if they had to leave Haven and go out into the real world. Balor was truly, madly, deeply in love with Harry, and he would go anywhere, do anything, to be with him.

It was not to be, though. Nelat didn't even think of him like that. The one, sweet kiss Balor had stolen would be all he ever would ever get.

Sometimes, though, Harry would look at Balor just so, and he would think, Just maybe...

But no.

Balor sighed and kissed Nelat on the forehead. The song was ending, and it was someone else's turn with his beloved.

***

"Oh, my wings!"

"Oh, my feet!"

"Oh, my wings and feet!" The triplets whined at once. It was after the ball. The ball, which had lasted sixteen hours, was set in one of the quadruple speed time portals, so time out in the real world (and in the main portal) had only moved forward four hours.

Sixteen concentrated hours dancing was enough to do anyone in, and the full 2,158 single Vanuli were all, once again, going to the same place! The backwards portal. The backwards portal would de-age their bodies back the extra twelve hours they'd spent dancing-hurting-in the Ball Room.

"There it is," Dorothy said, spotting the backwards portal. "We're almost there. Turn around." It was more fun to jump in backwards.

Quatre looked behind him as he walked, so he wouldn't trip over anything or anybody. He had, last year, and it wasn't any fun.

"I see it!" Harry said. He was still excited, despite how tired he had to be.

Quatre could too. It shimmered darkly off the path of the main portal. They were next. The backwards portal would be like a roller coaster. Quatre stepped up to the landing as he watched a couple jump in. He counted to three, grabbed Daemon's hand, and jumped back.

They rushed through the portal their wings and feet mending as hours of flying and dancing were washed away in seconds. They fell out of the back, three-quarters of the way refreshed.

"That was, once again-"

"-Wow," Quatre finished for Daemon. That was how he felt last year, and his opinion hadn't changed since then.

"What's next?" Daemon asked, as he had several times that day.

"The Games," Quatre said, "beginning with the Maze."

***

Dorothy reached down and touched her toes, stretching, warming up for the Maze game.

This year, she was determined to win.

"Limber up," she said to Heero, who was her partner for the game. They were almost naked, having changed out of their Amenea robes for more practical garb. They wore Clenaute robes, which looked like basic short, tank top dresses.

The thing about Clenaute robes, though, was that they changed with the form of the wearer. The backs shrunk to accommodate wings. The neckline grew broader as the wearer grew. It even grew a hole for tails to go through. Dorothy loved the robes and thought that they should be made in every fashion, so a Vanuli wouldn't have to worry about ripping her clothes when Changing.

Dorothy and Heero lined up at the starting line with all the other players. Maze was as one might suspect, a maze. The object of the game was to get to the finish line before anyone else. Maze was played in partners, and whoever won, her partner won, too.

Maze was set in the grass houses on the main street of Haven. To complete the maze, Dorothy would have to go through the interconnected houses without stepping foot outside. If a Vanuli stepped outside, she was automatically sprayed with red paint and disqualified.

Dorothy Changed into a centaur just as the Princess shouted, "Go!" and galloped through the first house.

***

"I can't believe we won," Heero said, passing the jar of Bellarmees and the anti-venom back to Dorothy. He was covered from head to foot in red paint.

"I can't believe you were pushed out!" Relena said, grabbing a Bellarmee as the jar was passed. She licked her blue wrist. "How many did you say you took with you?"

"Seventeen." Heero flicked his tail, which was also covered in paint. It was shorter than in the maze, but not by much. "Vanity pushed me, and I just grabbed everything I could with my tail."

Dorothy laughed. "Still, we won." The ritual Taunting of the Losers was the most fun of all, of course, but the prize was great.

"Give me another Bellarmee," Heero said.

"Where are Harry and Quatre?" Relena asked, passing the jar back.

"With their boyfriends," Heero giggled. He was getting quite high.

"What our esteemed Imela means to say," Dorothy said, "is that Quatre is with Daemon, and Harry is with Balor."

"Daemon's the one you Turned, right, Heero?" Relena said.

Heero nodded. "He'd never admit it, but Quatre is quite infatuated with him. And Harry goes all googly-eyed over Balor, even though he has a boyfriend waiting at Hogwarts."

"Huh," Relena said. She looked up and waved. Heero turned to see Tashpi. "That must mean it's time to go." Relena stood, brushing off her Amenea robe. "A queen's work is never done."

Heero frowned. "Have fun." He blew her a kiss and tried not to think of tomorrow.

***

Harry and Balor walked side by side in the Beach Room. They were the only ones there, as everyone else was at the Games.

"You didn't want to watch Ismea and Imela?" Balor asked, staring down at Harry.

Harry shook his head. "No. That's kid stuff."

"You're still a kid."

"Is that how you think of me?" Harry asked. The back of his hand brushed Balor's.

"No. I could never think of you like that. It would make me a pedophile, wouldn't it?"

Harry laughed and play-punched Balor. He got quiet and lay his head on Balor's arm. "Do you really like me?"

"Immensely."

Harry sighed. "Because I really like you." They stopped walking. Harry could feel that Balor wasn't breathing. He looked up at Balor. "Kiss me?"

Balor breathed. "What about your boyfriend?"

"Just once. Just one kiss to hold me over until I can talk to him. I don't think-I can't be with him anymore. I want to be with you. I want you." Harry stopped himself from saying what he really wanted to say. It had taken him years to fall in love with Neville, but apparently he didn't need that long with Balor. "Kiss me?" he asked again.

Balor leaned down, and they kissed. It was nothing special, just one sweet, chaste kiss, but it meant the world to Harry.

"I love you," Balor said.

Harry felt a tear slip down his cheek. "I love you, too."

***

Daemon and Quatre found the room their family was in.

"Kidayo and Malal LeFey," Quatre said to the filmy partition in the doorway. It slid away to allow them entrance.

They walked into the room and dressed for bed. Dorothy, Harry, and Heero were already asleep.

They hadn't meant to stay out so late, but the Forest Room-where they'd gone to make out-was always set at dusk, and they hadn't realized how late it was.

They shared one last kiss before climbing into opposite sides of the bed. Otherwise, they wouldn't be getting much sleep, and that would be rude to the others. Besides, Quatre and his brothers had an early morning.

***

"Good morning!" a Vanuli woman shouted, throwing the curtains open.

Harry blinked as noontime sun shined into the room. He looked at his watch. Breakfast time.

"Go away, Allegara," Heero moaned, burrowing into the covers-and Harry's shoulder. "It's too early."

"It's time to get up. Up! Up!" Allegara smiled, being entirely too bouncy for seven o'clock in the morning. "We have to get you boys isolated, and as your older sister, that joy has fallen to me."

"Fine," Quatre rolled out of the bed. He hit the ground. Hard. "I'm up. Happy?"

"Great!," Allegara said. "Now, get dressed, so we can leave."

After they got up, it didn't take them long to get dressed.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked after they left the room. They traveled all the way down main street, took a left, two rights, another left, and started on this circular road that Harry was sure would lead them straight back to the houses.

"The White Room," Allegara said. "Nobody ever goes in there, except for Confirmations and Coronations. The last time anyone's been in there was 103 years ago. It was your mother." Allegara skipped, but Harry couldn't find the energy-or the inclination-to join her. They hadn't been allowed to eat. Something about purity of the body. "I'm so glad we're having a Confirmation, aren't you? It's been so long, and I've never seen one. I bet it'll be splendid. What do you think?"

"Oh, yes. Rah. Rah," Heero said in a monotone.

Allegara didn't seem to notice. "Well, here we are."

They'd reached a white door that lead to nowhere. Allegara opened the door, and Harry could see the White Room beyond.

"Well, in you go." Allegara pushed the triplets in, locking the door after them. "Somebody'll come get you in time for the ceremony!" she yelled, but Harry could barely hear her.

"Well," Harry sighed, turning to survey the room. There was no food. Damn. "What do you want to do, now?"

***

It was a long day. Eleven hours with no food and nothing to do but play cards.

"Rummy," Quatre said, picking up the cards Harry had just lain down.

Neither Harry nor Heero had ever played Gin Rummy before, so Quatre was, quite rightly, kicking the pants off them. They were playing to 50,000. Quatre had 36,348, while Harry and Heero had a measly 12,642 between them.

Harry caught Heero's eye. "You want to quit?"

Heero took a deep breath. "Mother, yes!"

"No," Quatre complained. "You can't quit now. What else are we going to do?"

"We're going to talk," Heero said, "about relationships."

Quatre blushed. "I don't think-"

"Starting with yours," Harry said. He scooted his chair closer to Quatre. "Spill, big brother."

Quatre squirmed, as his face turned tomato red. "I don't think-it's still so early. Why don't we-I just can't. Not yet."

The door opened, saving Quatre from further embarrassment. It was Dorothy.

"It's time," she said. "Follow me."

***

Seeing approximately 8,000 Vanuli mulling around the Throne Room almost made Heero turn tail and run. But that would leave Harry and Quatre to go it alone, and Heero couldn't do that. Besides, Harry was clutching his arm, almost painfully hard.

Dorothy cast the Sonorous Charm and began the ceremony. "Behold, the triplets, Princes Malal, Nelat, and Imela! Bow to Their Graces!"

The crowd parted, bowing as Dorothy led the triplets down to the dais, where stood the queen, Morgan, Allegara, and a man and woman Heero didn't recognize. He thought they were his siblings, though.

"I present my Niamos," Dorothy said, bowing to the queen. Her nose touched the ground, and Heero could hear the crunch as she broke and bent her bones to be able to curtsy so low.

"My grandchildren," Aravu said, a Sonorous cast on both of her bodies. She offered her hands to them.

Heero and his brothers bowed, facing the queen and away from the crowd. They kissed the proffered hands. "Your Majesty," they said, in syncronicity.

The queen left them to sit as her thrones, and the triplets were told to rise. They turned and kneeled toward the crowd.

Morgan came to them, a tray of six golden chalices floating behind her. She distributed three of them and said, "Drink of the Blood, for it represents your kingdom." They drank.

Harry almost choked-it was real blood!-but managed to get it all down.

Morgan floated the other three chalices above the triplets heads. "Bathe in the Blood, for it is Vanuli." The chalices upturned themselves, soaking the triplets in the Blood. The blood spilled down upon them. Harry blinked to get it out of his eyes.

"Do you swear to be a Prince for your people, to be strong and courageous for them?" Morgan asked.

"I swear," The triplets answered.

"Do you swear to aid your people, and help them to the best of your ability?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to Fuse and become King on the day of your majority?"

"I swear."

Morgan beckoned Allegara and the other two. Bringing new garlands, they stood behind the triplets.

"By the Almighty Mother and the power of Vanuli, I present to you, the new Crowned Princes!"

The garlands were dropped on their sticky heads.

The crowd roared, "Malal! Nelat! Imela!"

Selune