Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Peace, Love, and Family: The Story of the Vanuli Three ❯ The Prophecy Potion ( Chapter 50 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Selune 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Hentai / Fantasy / Drama / Angst | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.16.2005 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 312 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Hentai / Fantasy / Drama / Angst | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.16.2005 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 312 | Status: Work In Progress
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: 2x1, Relena/OFC, OMCx4, OMC/Harry
Category: crossover, fantasy, general, drama
Author: Selune
Author's site: www.livejournal.com/~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 50: The Prophecy Potion
February 2, AC 198 Sunday 7:15 PM Moaning Myrtle's bathroom
"Hey, Myrtle," Harry said, leading his brothers and Dorothy into the bathroom. It would be the third bathroom they'd cleaned in a week.
Because Heero drank what he knew to be an intoxicating substance and because Quatre owned said substance, both of them had detention. Dorothy went with them because, by now, everyone knew that she was Heero's Naiyama, and she wasn't about to let any of her babies out of her sight. For that reason, she dragged Harry down with them.
Myrtle blushed silver. "Hi, Harry. You never come see me anymore," she accused.
"I don't want to bother you," Harry said, placating her.
"Who do you have with you?" she asked, looking at the others.
"Oh. These are my brothers, Heero Yuy and Quatre Winner, and my Naiyama, Dorothy Catalonia. We're here to clean the bathroom."
"You're not here to see me?" she scowled and floated back to her toilet, making it overflow.
"Hey!" Dorothy yelled, trying to keep her robes dry. "That was unnessecary."
Myrtle sniffed and began sobbing. "Why doesn't anybody like me?"
"Oh, brother," Harry muttered. "Not again." He pasted the brightest smile on his face and knocked on the stall door. "Myrtle, I like you."
The crying immediately stopped, and Myrtle floated out of her toilet. "Really?"
"Really, but I do have to work, now. Professor McGonagall will have a cow if we don't get this place cleaned up."
"Okay, Harry, I'll just keep you company."
Satisfied that that was over—for now—Harry turned to his brothers. They whispered back and forth to each other, their hands covering their mouths. Harry groaned. They were going to tease him later. He just knew it.
Harry clapped his hands, startling his brothers. "Let's get to work."
As the boys passed out mops and sponges, Dorothy transfigured a sink into a chair, as she had the last two times they'd done this. She felt—as she loudly declared—that Heero, at least, deserved his punishment, and she wouldn't help him out of it.
Harry rolled his eyes—she was such an aristocrat sometimes. Harry would help Heero and Quatre, just so the work would go faster. He took off his robe and handed it to Dorothy. She'd agreed to keep their things clean while they worked.
After thirty minutes of working, the bathroom was well on its way to being clean.
"Time for a break," Dorothy announced, as she often did.
Harry was glad for it. He may be used to cleaning at the Dursleys—Mother, may I never go back there—but that didn't mean that he didn't get tired of doing it. By the looks of it, Heero and Quatre were worse off than him. I guess piloting a Gundam doesn't lend well to cleaning, Harry thought.
He sat down on a dry, clean patch of floor, where Quatre had been mopping earlier.
He had been thinking on something all week, ever since Heero's "accident." He just didn't know how to phrase it to ask his family. He didn't want to seem naïve or stupid, as was sometimes the case. "Why don't we use Kimari to defeat Voldemort and Dr. J? It would be easy to kill them once they were magicless."
Heero sat up. "You know, I've been thinking that, too. Sooner or later, J will have Voldemort Turn him Vanuli, if only to not be the weaker of the pair. All we have to do is wait until then, then strike."
"But how do we get it to them?" Quatre challenged. "I'm sure they're guarded at all times."
"Besides," Dorothy said, "Kimari takes months to be completely effective, while the antidote takes only a couple of hours to make. There is no doubt in my mind that whoever gave Quatre the Kimari was working for Dr. J or Voldemort, which means that they'll both know the antidote."
"Oh." Harry leaned back against Quatre. "Well. It was only an idea."
Things were silent for a moment.
"I have an idea," Heero spoke up.
"Oh?" Dorothy asked. "What is it?"
Heero told them.
"Oh. Wow," Harry stammered. It was brilliant! Dr. J and Voldemort would never guess.
"Do you think it'll work?" Quatre asked.
"Well, we have to keep in mind that nobody's ever done it before," Heero said. "If we can do it, then yeah, I would say—"
"You do realize that if this works, you can never come back to Haven," Dorothy said, her voice hard as stone. "No more Bellarmees. No more Games. No more Balor. No more Daemon. No more me."
Harry, actually, hadn't thought of that. "Oh. Yeah. I guess, um, we could—"
"We could send for you!" Quatre burst out. "That way, we'd all be together."
Dorothy shook her head. "No. It's too risky. I forbid it." She stalked out of the room.
Harry looked at his brothers. "What's her problem?"
Quatre and Heero shrugged, and the three of them went back to work.
***
Dorothy paced in front of the door to the bathroom.
How could her Niamos agree to something like that? After everything she did for them, how could they just throw themselves away? Throw her away?
No. It wasn't going to happen.
***
"Hand it over," Heero said to Harry, reaching to get his toast.
"Hey!" Harry paused. "Fine." He speared Quatre's bacon with his fork, holding it up like a trophy.
"Eggs," Quatre said, handing his plate to Heero.
Heero rolled his eyes, scraping his eggs onto Quatre's plate.
"Why don't you just get what you like, instead of doing all this trading?" Hermione asked, her eyes twinkling.
"It's more fun this way," Heero explained, biting into his toast.
Dorothy laughed at them. She was in a much better mood than last night.
A deep rustling broke Heero's—and everybody else's—attention, and he looked up.
"Mail's here!" Ron exclaimed.
Heero groaned—Yinau, the Ounta bird, was here. Again. The last time Yinau came, he brought a dozen red roses. Zetoth had heard about Heero's accident and sent them as a "get well" gift. He meant for Heero to wear them in his garland, but Heero decided to put them in a vase, instead.
Yinau swooped down and landed behind Heero's seat. Heero was already turned around to meet him.
"Yinau, son of Yirey, son of Yideu, son of Yinoi, founder of the Yi flock. I have come to you, Heero Yuy of the LeFey clan, to bring a most precious gift."
Yinau stuck out his leg, and Heero unwrapped the package from his claw.
"What is it?" Heero asked, knowing that Yinau wouldn't answer.
"I cannot tell you that," Yinau said.
"Yeah, yeah. Diffindo." Heero had put the gift on the table. The box fell away to reveal a golden box. Heero put the box on his lap. He lifted the lid and gasped.
"What? What is it?" Harry asked, crowding Heero to look inside the box. "Oh, Mother!"
Quatre, Dorothy, and the others clamored to see.
"Quite," Dorothy said. "It's a—"
"Pan flute," Quatre finished, as Heero took it out of the box.
Heero put it to his mouth and played a few notes. The tune was haunting, melodious. Beautiful. Heero put down the flute to find most of the eyes in the Great Hall on him.
"Ahem," came the voice behind him.
Heero turned back around. He'd almost forgotten that Yinau was there. "Yes?"
"My great friend, Zetoth Koel, wishes to meet with you."
"All right," Heero said, before thinking. "I'll meet with him." I need to speak with him about these gifts, anway. Heero caressed his flute.
Yinau nodded and flew off.
"So, you're really going to meet with him?" Harry asked.
"I suppose so," Heero answered. He shrugged, ignoring the look Dorothy was giving him.
Heero sighed. This might have been a bad idea.
***
Quatre sat down quickly as Snape stalked into the room. His scowl was fiercer than usual—with good reason. Trelawny had informed them that morning that they'd be making the Prophecy Potion in Potions, today. They would be trying it out in Divinations on Wednesday.
"As several of you already know," Snape sneered, "today we will be making the Prophecy Potion. I expect it to be perfect, because you'll be drinking it, for those of you taking Divinations." He spat out the word like he would an accidentally swallowed gnat.
"Instructions are on the board. Now, get to work."
The class sprang into action, Quatre included. He marched to the storage room to get his ingredients.
Artemsia, bloodwort, jasmine, rowan bark," Quatre muttered as he placed his ingredients in a basket. Most of the students carried theirs in their hands, but Quatre had learned early on that that led to mixed-up ingredients and broken bottles. "Death flower, heliotrope, and archangel." Gathering the last of his ingredients, Quatre went back to his seat.
"I hate Potions," Daemon muttered as he stomped back to the desk. It looked like he'd been in one of the class's infamous accidents—he was covered in white powder. Even his hair. At least, nothing was green, and he wasn't growing any tentacles.
"What happened?" Quatre tried to keep a straight face.
"Longbottom." That was all he needed to say.
Quatre nodded and went back to his work. They would be working alone today.
The Prophecy Potion was named such because it greatly increased one's natural divining abilities. If a person didn't have any psychic talents, then drinking the potion would be like taking foul-tasting water. But if the person did have some talent, the potion would almost triple his abilities. If taken enough times, the effect was permanent.
Realizing he was finished, Quatre looked down at his potion. And smiled. It was a perfect baby blue—just like it should be.
Quatre only hoped that Heero's and Harry's would be as good.
***
"You know, you don't have to do this," Quatre said, as they walked out of Defense class.
"Yes, I do," Heero sighed. He was doing that a lot, lately.
"You're taking Daemon with you," Dorothy stated.
He'd figured. "I figured. Though, I am surprised that you're letting me go at all."
"What? Surprised that I'm letting my baby boy—who just out of the Hospital Wing, by the way—go traipsing off into the Forbidden Forest—which is forbidden for a reason—I guess you're right." A pause. "I'm leaving Harry and Quatre in a bubble and following you."
"What?" Harry yelled.
"NO!" Quatre forced them to stop. "Dorothy, you can't go around just putting people in bubbles. And what I mean by that is that you can't just go around putting me in bubbles. Not only is it inconvenient, but it'll alert people to our. . .triple aspect."
"I suppose so, but why are we keeping it a secret now, anyway?" Dorothy asked. "Dr. J and Lord Voldemort both—presumably—already know about your aspect, so why not let the general public know and come to fear you?"
"It's the 'fear us' part that worries me," Harry said. "I'd like for my last month and a half in the human world to be as normal as possible. Well, for a fairy tale being, savior of the Wizarding world orphan."
Heero realized that, at some point, they'd begun talking in Vanulian.
"Sorry, I'm late," Daemon said, making all four Vanuli jump. The tension between Dorothy and Harry was thick enough to cut with a spoon.
"Fine," Dorothy said through gritted teeth. "We won't tell anyone, and I won't put you and Quatre in bubbles." She turned to Heero. "I will, however, be putting you in a bubble." Heero made to protest, but Dorothy put her hand up. "You'll be the one in danger, and it's already been established that I'm your Naiyama."
Heero nodded. He knew he couldn't get out of it, unless he completely back out of going, and he wasn't going to do that. "Okay."
Dorothy turned to Daemon. "You are going with him." She turned to Harry and Quatre. "And you two are coming with me to visit Professor Hagrid. Heero, if you need help, call out to one of them, and I'll be there in less than two seconds."
Heero and the others just nodded. By now, they knew better than to argue with Dorothy about stuff like this.
"Great!" Dorothy clapped her hands together. "Let's put our books away and get going."
***
"How much further is the grove?" Daemon asked, pulling himself up a small incline with the help of a tree root.
"Not much farther, if I remember correctly," Heero answered. His bubble was giving him trouble on getting up the incline. "I've only, uh, been there once." His foot stuck on the root, and he went tumbling back down. "Damn bubble! Damn Dorothy!" he grumbled. "Doesn't think I can protect myself. I've been taking care of myself since she was sucking her thumb in Haven."
"Here, let me help you," Daemon said. Before Heero could answer, he was levitated to the top.
"Oh. Thanks." Heero brushed imaginary dirt off his shirt. Despite all his declarations of love, loyalty, and brotherhood, Heero was still a little wary around Daemon, sometimes. But only sometimes. One does not just get over five years of betrayal overnight.
Just like one does not get over two years of it overnight, either. But it Heero could forgive Daemon, Duo damn well better be able to forgive him. Anything else was juvenile.
"I think it's just a little bit away, now," Heero said. "The ground should be pretty flat from now on."
"Good."
A few minutes later, Heero saw smoke. "We're here!" he exclaimed to Daemon.
Daemon came crashing through the trees. "Really? Well, um, what do you want me to do, when you meet him?"
Heero smiled. Daemon tried so hard—he could almost be a Hufflepuff. Heero inwardly cringed at the memory. He was a Gryffindor through and through. "Could you just—just stay back a bit, okay? Out of listening range, but keep me in your sight. Dorothy will have a fit if you don't."
Daemon nodded. "Okay."
They were approached by a graying centaur.
"Dona Maya, Bramtac." Heero introduced Daemon to the centaur leader.
"Dona Maya, Imela, Kidayo. It is a joy to welcome you to our home," Bramtac said, in his booming voice. "Why have you come to visit us this afternoon?"
"Actually, I came to see Zetoth. Kidayo is here as my bodyguard." Heero had the grace to blush. "Ismea wouldn't let me out of the castle without him."
"Thus, the need for the bubble surrounding you." Bramtac chuckled. "Ismea is not the first overprotective Naiyama I have ever met, nor will she be the last." He started to clap Heero on the shoulder, but the bubble wouldn't let him. "Come! Zetoth is this way."
Heero followed Bramtac, saying nothing. They reached a grass hut—like in Haven, the houses had no doors—and Heero went in. Daemon stayed at the entrance, and Bramtac left, presumably to wherever he had been before their arrival.
Heero spotted Zetoth at the far side of the hut. The whole place was dark.
Heero shook his head and went over to Zetoth. "Hey," he said, and Zetoth jumped.
"Oh, Heero, you're here!" Zetoth exclaimed. "Sit. Sit."
Heero looked around. The place was bare. "Uh, okay." He made to sit on the floor, but Zetoth stopped him.
"Sorry. I, uh, I got you this, to sit on." Zetoth produced a nice size log, perfect for sitting. Heero accepted the log and was soon seated comfortably on it, with Zetoth settled beside him. "So, uh, what did you want to talk about?"
"Actually, I wanted to return something." He reached in the bag at his foot and pulled out the pan flute. He set it as close to Zetoth as the bubble would let him, then scooted back. Dorothy had put a spell on it to allow it to pass through the bubble. "I can't keep this."
Zetoth picked up the flute. "But why? It's a symbol of my love. . ."
"That's just it, Zetoth." Heero paused. There was no way to say this without hurting Zetoth. "I don't love you, and I never will. I have other responsibilities, and—"
"I know about your brothers," Zetoth interrupted. "Everybody does. You'll have to be with them after your Life Day. I get that. Just. . .don't you want some experiences of your own before then?"
"I've had my own experiences," Heero said. "I've lived a full life. I've done things most people can't begin to fathom. I have a great family. And. . .I'm already in love."
"I've never seen you with anybody."
"Our relationship is complicated, at the best of times. I did something, once, that really hurt him, and he's never really forgiven me. We're trying to work through it." Heero twisted his robes in his hands. Thinking of Duo hurt, sometimes. "The thing is, is that I love him with my whole heart. There will never be anyone else. Not for me."
"Basically, I have no change, right?" Balor's voice was thick.
"Right."
"I understand, I guess," Balor said. "We can still be friends, though."
"Sure." Though, Heero couldn't tell why he would want to be. Heero would never be able to be "just friends" with Duo.
"Then I—then I want you to keep this." Balor pushed the flute towards Heero. "And think of me when you play it, whether you're Prince Imela LeFey or King Imalat LeFey."
Heero wrapped his fingers around the flute. "Thanks." He wished he could hug Zetoth—he looked like he needed it. "For everything. Good-bye, Zetoth Koel."
"Good-bye, Heero Yuy."
Heero met Daemon at the entrance.
"Are you—" Daemon asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Heero said, wiping his eyes. "Let's go back to Hogwarts."
***
"Take your seats, class," Professor Trelawny said as Quatre and the others entered the room. Quatre took his seat next to Heero.
"Today, we're going to be using the Prophecy Potion to See into the future," she said in her wispy tone of voice. "We'll be working in groups of three and trying to see if any of you can jump a vision."
Quatre immediately got with his brothers, Dorothy joining Ron and Seamus, right next to them.
"This should be easy," Harry laughed. "Let's do what we've been doing for the past couple of months."
Heero went to get their potions. When he got back, they drank their potions at the same time.
"Wow," Heero said.
"That's a rush," Harry agreed.
Quatre was feeling pleasantly warm. "This feels nice."
"Yeah," his brothers agreed.
Quatre was the one to pick up the locket, sitting between them.
"I love you," a man said to his wife, putting the locket around her neck.
Harry grabbed Quatre's hand, and the scene changed.
Professor Trelawny gazed at the triplets, her eyes wide. A great black ball of energy emanated from the center of their circle.
Heero held Quatre's hand, but the scene held on.
The energy ball grew, expanding until it filled the circle, covering it with darkness.
"What's happening?" Lavender cried out, as a gust of wind blew threw the room. None of the windows were open.
In the back of his mind, Quatre realized he could hear her with his ears as well as in his mind. Quatre squeezed his brothers' hands, and the scene changed, again.
"We have to do this," Heero said, gravely. He put a locket around Dorothy's neck and kissed her temple.
"I know." She was crying. She enveloped Quatre and his brothers in a group hug. She stood back. "Well, let me see you." She brushed Harry's bangs out of his eyes. "My boys. So brave." Dorothy turned to Quatre. "Now, you take care of them, you hear. If you die, I won't speak to you, again." She laughed through her tears.
"Of course," Quatre said, in a choked voice.
"I suppose we should get started, then," Dorothy said.
Quatre didn't get to see what they were going to do because he was thrust out of the vision.
And into chaos.
"My magic! My magic!" Parvati shrieked. "My magic's gone!"
Selune
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: 2x1, Relena/OFC, OMCx4, OMC/Harry
Category: crossover, fantasy, general, drama
Author: Selune
Author's site: www.livejournal.com/~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 50: The Prophecy Potion
February 2, AC 198 Sunday 7:15 PM Moaning Myrtle's bathroom
"Hey, Myrtle," Harry said, leading his brothers and Dorothy into the bathroom. It would be the third bathroom they'd cleaned in a week.
Because Heero drank what he knew to be an intoxicating substance and because Quatre owned said substance, both of them had detention. Dorothy went with them because, by now, everyone knew that she was Heero's Naiyama, and she wasn't about to let any of her babies out of her sight. For that reason, she dragged Harry down with them.
Myrtle blushed silver. "Hi, Harry. You never come see me anymore," she accused.
"I don't want to bother you," Harry said, placating her.
"Who do you have with you?" she asked, looking at the others.
"Oh. These are my brothers, Heero Yuy and Quatre Winner, and my Naiyama, Dorothy Catalonia. We're here to clean the bathroom."
"You're not here to see me?" she scowled and floated back to her toilet, making it overflow.
"Hey!" Dorothy yelled, trying to keep her robes dry. "That was unnessecary."
Myrtle sniffed and began sobbing. "Why doesn't anybody like me?"
"Oh, brother," Harry muttered. "Not again." He pasted the brightest smile on his face and knocked on the stall door. "Myrtle, I like you."
The crying immediately stopped, and Myrtle floated out of her toilet. "Really?"
"Really, but I do have to work, now. Professor McGonagall will have a cow if we don't get this place cleaned up."
"Okay, Harry, I'll just keep you company."
Satisfied that that was over—for now—Harry turned to his brothers. They whispered back and forth to each other, their hands covering their mouths. Harry groaned. They were going to tease him later. He just knew it.
Harry clapped his hands, startling his brothers. "Let's get to work."
As the boys passed out mops and sponges, Dorothy transfigured a sink into a chair, as she had the last two times they'd done this. She felt—as she loudly declared—that Heero, at least, deserved his punishment, and she wouldn't help him out of it.
Harry rolled his eyes—she was such an aristocrat sometimes. Harry would help Heero and Quatre, just so the work would go faster. He took off his robe and handed it to Dorothy. She'd agreed to keep their things clean while they worked.
After thirty minutes of working, the bathroom was well on its way to being clean.
"Time for a break," Dorothy announced, as she often did.
Harry was glad for it. He may be used to cleaning at the Dursleys—Mother, may I never go back there—but that didn't mean that he didn't get tired of doing it. By the looks of it, Heero and Quatre were worse off than him. I guess piloting a Gundam doesn't lend well to cleaning, Harry thought.
He sat down on a dry, clean patch of floor, where Quatre had been mopping earlier.
He had been thinking on something all week, ever since Heero's "accident." He just didn't know how to phrase it to ask his family. He didn't want to seem naïve or stupid, as was sometimes the case. "Why don't we use Kimari to defeat Voldemort and Dr. J? It would be easy to kill them once they were magicless."
Heero sat up. "You know, I've been thinking that, too. Sooner or later, J will have Voldemort Turn him Vanuli, if only to not be the weaker of the pair. All we have to do is wait until then, then strike."
"But how do we get it to them?" Quatre challenged. "I'm sure they're guarded at all times."
"Besides," Dorothy said, "Kimari takes months to be completely effective, while the antidote takes only a couple of hours to make. There is no doubt in my mind that whoever gave Quatre the Kimari was working for Dr. J or Voldemort, which means that they'll both know the antidote."
"Oh." Harry leaned back against Quatre. "Well. It was only an idea."
Things were silent for a moment.
"I have an idea," Heero spoke up.
"Oh?" Dorothy asked. "What is it?"
Heero told them.
"Oh. Wow," Harry stammered. It was brilliant! Dr. J and Voldemort would never guess.
"Do you think it'll work?" Quatre asked.
"Well, we have to keep in mind that nobody's ever done it before," Heero said. "If we can do it, then yeah, I would say—"
"You do realize that if this works, you can never come back to Haven," Dorothy said, her voice hard as stone. "No more Bellarmees. No more Games. No more Balor. No more Daemon. No more me."
Harry, actually, hadn't thought of that. "Oh. Yeah. I guess, um, we could—"
"We could send for you!" Quatre burst out. "That way, we'd all be together."
Dorothy shook her head. "No. It's too risky. I forbid it." She stalked out of the room.
Harry looked at his brothers. "What's her problem?"
Quatre and Heero shrugged, and the three of them went back to work.
***
Dorothy paced in front of the door to the bathroom.
How could her Niamos agree to something like that? After everything she did for them, how could they just throw themselves away? Throw her away?
No. It wasn't going to happen.
***
"Hand it over," Heero said to Harry, reaching to get his toast.
"Hey!" Harry paused. "Fine." He speared Quatre's bacon with his fork, holding it up like a trophy.
"Eggs," Quatre said, handing his plate to Heero.
Heero rolled his eyes, scraping his eggs onto Quatre's plate.
"Why don't you just get what you like, instead of doing all this trading?" Hermione asked, her eyes twinkling.
"It's more fun this way," Heero explained, biting into his toast.
Dorothy laughed at them. She was in a much better mood than last night.
A deep rustling broke Heero's—and everybody else's—attention, and he looked up.
"Mail's here!" Ron exclaimed.
Heero groaned—Yinau, the Ounta bird, was here. Again. The last time Yinau came, he brought a dozen red roses. Zetoth had heard about Heero's accident and sent them as a "get well" gift. He meant for Heero to wear them in his garland, but Heero decided to put them in a vase, instead.
Yinau swooped down and landed behind Heero's seat. Heero was already turned around to meet him.
"Yinau, son of Yirey, son of Yideu, son of Yinoi, founder of the Yi flock. I have come to you, Heero Yuy of the LeFey clan, to bring a most precious gift."
Yinau stuck out his leg, and Heero unwrapped the package from his claw.
"What is it?" Heero asked, knowing that Yinau wouldn't answer.
"I cannot tell you that," Yinau said.
"Yeah, yeah. Diffindo." Heero had put the gift on the table. The box fell away to reveal a golden box. Heero put the box on his lap. He lifted the lid and gasped.
"What? What is it?" Harry asked, crowding Heero to look inside the box. "Oh, Mother!"
Quatre, Dorothy, and the others clamored to see.
"Quite," Dorothy said. "It's a—"
"Pan flute," Quatre finished, as Heero took it out of the box.
Heero put it to his mouth and played a few notes. The tune was haunting, melodious. Beautiful. Heero put down the flute to find most of the eyes in the Great Hall on him.
"Ahem," came the voice behind him.
Heero turned back around. He'd almost forgotten that Yinau was there. "Yes?"
"My great friend, Zetoth Koel, wishes to meet with you."
"All right," Heero said, before thinking. "I'll meet with him." I need to speak with him about these gifts, anway. Heero caressed his flute.
Yinau nodded and flew off.
"So, you're really going to meet with him?" Harry asked.
"I suppose so," Heero answered. He shrugged, ignoring the look Dorothy was giving him.
Heero sighed. This might have been a bad idea.
***
Quatre sat down quickly as Snape stalked into the room. His scowl was fiercer than usual—with good reason. Trelawny had informed them that morning that they'd be making the Prophecy Potion in Potions, today. They would be trying it out in Divinations on Wednesday.
"As several of you already know," Snape sneered, "today we will be making the Prophecy Potion. I expect it to be perfect, because you'll be drinking it, for those of you taking Divinations." He spat out the word like he would an accidentally swallowed gnat.
"Instructions are on the board. Now, get to work."
The class sprang into action, Quatre included. He marched to the storage room to get his ingredients.
Artemsia, bloodwort, jasmine, rowan bark," Quatre muttered as he placed his ingredients in a basket. Most of the students carried theirs in their hands, but Quatre had learned early on that that led to mixed-up ingredients and broken bottles. "Death flower, heliotrope, and archangel." Gathering the last of his ingredients, Quatre went back to his seat.
"I hate Potions," Daemon muttered as he stomped back to the desk. It looked like he'd been in one of the class's infamous accidents—he was covered in white powder. Even his hair. At least, nothing was green, and he wasn't growing any tentacles.
"What happened?" Quatre tried to keep a straight face.
"Longbottom." That was all he needed to say.
Quatre nodded and went back to his work. They would be working alone today.
The Prophecy Potion was named such because it greatly increased one's natural divining abilities. If a person didn't have any psychic talents, then drinking the potion would be like taking foul-tasting water. But if the person did have some talent, the potion would almost triple his abilities. If taken enough times, the effect was permanent.
Realizing he was finished, Quatre looked down at his potion. And smiled. It was a perfect baby blue—just like it should be.
Quatre only hoped that Heero's and Harry's would be as good.
***
"You know, you don't have to do this," Quatre said, as they walked out of Defense class.
"Yes, I do," Heero sighed. He was doing that a lot, lately.
"You're taking Daemon with you," Dorothy stated.
He'd figured. "I figured. Though, I am surprised that you're letting me go at all."
"What? Surprised that I'm letting my baby boy—who just out of the Hospital Wing, by the way—go traipsing off into the Forbidden Forest—which is forbidden for a reason—I guess you're right." A pause. "I'm leaving Harry and Quatre in a bubble and following you."
"What?" Harry yelled.
"NO!" Quatre forced them to stop. "Dorothy, you can't go around just putting people in bubbles. And what I mean by that is that you can't just go around putting me in bubbles. Not only is it inconvenient, but it'll alert people to our. . .triple aspect."
"I suppose so, but why are we keeping it a secret now, anyway?" Dorothy asked. "Dr. J and Lord Voldemort both—presumably—already know about your aspect, so why not let the general public know and come to fear you?"
"It's the 'fear us' part that worries me," Harry said. "I'd like for my last month and a half in the human world to be as normal as possible. Well, for a fairy tale being, savior of the Wizarding world orphan."
Heero realized that, at some point, they'd begun talking in Vanulian.
"Sorry, I'm late," Daemon said, making all four Vanuli jump. The tension between Dorothy and Harry was thick enough to cut with a spoon.
"Fine," Dorothy said through gritted teeth. "We won't tell anyone, and I won't put you and Quatre in bubbles." She turned to Heero. "I will, however, be putting you in a bubble." Heero made to protest, but Dorothy put her hand up. "You'll be the one in danger, and it's already been established that I'm your Naiyama."
Heero nodded. He knew he couldn't get out of it, unless he completely back out of going, and he wasn't going to do that. "Okay."
Dorothy turned to Daemon. "You are going with him." She turned to Harry and Quatre. "And you two are coming with me to visit Professor Hagrid. Heero, if you need help, call out to one of them, and I'll be there in less than two seconds."
Heero and the others just nodded. By now, they knew better than to argue with Dorothy about stuff like this.
"Great!" Dorothy clapped her hands together. "Let's put our books away and get going."
***
"How much further is the grove?" Daemon asked, pulling himself up a small incline with the help of a tree root.
"Not much farther, if I remember correctly," Heero answered. His bubble was giving him trouble on getting up the incline. "I've only, uh, been there once." His foot stuck on the root, and he went tumbling back down. "Damn bubble! Damn Dorothy!" he grumbled. "Doesn't think I can protect myself. I've been taking care of myself since she was sucking her thumb in Haven."
"Here, let me help you," Daemon said. Before Heero could answer, he was levitated to the top.
"Oh. Thanks." Heero brushed imaginary dirt off his shirt. Despite all his declarations of love, loyalty, and brotherhood, Heero was still a little wary around Daemon, sometimes. But only sometimes. One does not just get over five years of betrayal overnight.
Just like one does not get over two years of it overnight, either. But it Heero could forgive Daemon, Duo damn well better be able to forgive him. Anything else was juvenile.
"I think it's just a little bit away, now," Heero said. "The ground should be pretty flat from now on."
"Good."
A few minutes later, Heero saw smoke. "We're here!" he exclaimed to Daemon.
Daemon came crashing through the trees. "Really? Well, um, what do you want me to do, when you meet him?"
Heero smiled. Daemon tried so hard—he could almost be a Hufflepuff. Heero inwardly cringed at the memory. He was a Gryffindor through and through. "Could you just—just stay back a bit, okay? Out of listening range, but keep me in your sight. Dorothy will have a fit if you don't."
Daemon nodded. "Okay."
They were approached by a graying centaur.
"Dona Maya, Bramtac." Heero introduced Daemon to the centaur leader.
"Dona Maya, Imela, Kidayo. It is a joy to welcome you to our home," Bramtac said, in his booming voice. "Why have you come to visit us this afternoon?"
"Actually, I came to see Zetoth. Kidayo is here as my bodyguard." Heero had the grace to blush. "Ismea wouldn't let me out of the castle without him."
"Thus, the need for the bubble surrounding you." Bramtac chuckled. "Ismea is not the first overprotective Naiyama I have ever met, nor will she be the last." He started to clap Heero on the shoulder, but the bubble wouldn't let him. "Come! Zetoth is this way."
Heero followed Bramtac, saying nothing. They reached a grass hut—like in Haven, the houses had no doors—and Heero went in. Daemon stayed at the entrance, and Bramtac left, presumably to wherever he had been before their arrival.
Heero spotted Zetoth at the far side of the hut. The whole place was dark.
Heero shook his head and went over to Zetoth. "Hey," he said, and Zetoth jumped.
"Oh, Heero, you're here!" Zetoth exclaimed. "Sit. Sit."
Heero looked around. The place was bare. "Uh, okay." He made to sit on the floor, but Zetoth stopped him.
"Sorry. I, uh, I got you this, to sit on." Zetoth produced a nice size log, perfect for sitting. Heero accepted the log and was soon seated comfortably on it, with Zetoth settled beside him. "So, uh, what did you want to talk about?"
"Actually, I wanted to return something." He reached in the bag at his foot and pulled out the pan flute. He set it as close to Zetoth as the bubble would let him, then scooted back. Dorothy had put a spell on it to allow it to pass through the bubble. "I can't keep this."
Zetoth picked up the flute. "But why? It's a symbol of my love. . ."
"That's just it, Zetoth." Heero paused. There was no way to say this without hurting Zetoth. "I don't love you, and I never will. I have other responsibilities, and—"
"I know about your brothers," Zetoth interrupted. "Everybody does. You'll have to be with them after your Life Day. I get that. Just. . .don't you want some experiences of your own before then?"
"I've had my own experiences," Heero said. "I've lived a full life. I've done things most people can't begin to fathom. I have a great family. And. . .I'm already in love."
"I've never seen you with anybody."
"Our relationship is complicated, at the best of times. I did something, once, that really hurt him, and he's never really forgiven me. We're trying to work through it." Heero twisted his robes in his hands. Thinking of Duo hurt, sometimes. "The thing is, is that I love him with my whole heart. There will never be anyone else. Not for me."
"Basically, I have no change, right?" Balor's voice was thick.
"Right."
"I understand, I guess," Balor said. "We can still be friends, though."
"Sure." Though, Heero couldn't tell why he would want to be. Heero would never be able to be "just friends" with Duo.
"Then I—then I want you to keep this." Balor pushed the flute towards Heero. "And think of me when you play it, whether you're Prince Imela LeFey or King Imalat LeFey."
Heero wrapped his fingers around the flute. "Thanks." He wished he could hug Zetoth—he looked like he needed it. "For everything. Good-bye, Zetoth Koel."
"Good-bye, Heero Yuy."
Heero met Daemon at the entrance.
"Are you—" Daemon asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Heero said, wiping his eyes. "Let's go back to Hogwarts."
***
"Take your seats, class," Professor Trelawny said as Quatre and the others entered the room. Quatre took his seat next to Heero.
"Today, we're going to be using the Prophecy Potion to See into the future," she said in her wispy tone of voice. "We'll be working in groups of three and trying to see if any of you can jump a vision."
Quatre immediately got with his brothers, Dorothy joining Ron and Seamus, right next to them.
"This should be easy," Harry laughed. "Let's do what we've been doing for the past couple of months."
Heero went to get their potions. When he got back, they drank their potions at the same time.
"Wow," Heero said.
"That's a rush," Harry agreed.
Quatre was feeling pleasantly warm. "This feels nice."
"Yeah," his brothers agreed.
Quatre was the one to pick up the locket, sitting between them.
"I love you," a man said to his wife, putting the locket around her neck.
Harry grabbed Quatre's hand, and the scene changed.
Professor Trelawny gazed at the triplets, her eyes wide. A great black ball of energy emanated from the center of their circle.
Heero held Quatre's hand, but the scene held on.
The energy ball grew, expanding until it filled the circle, covering it with darkness.
"What's happening?" Lavender cried out, as a gust of wind blew threw the room. None of the windows were open.
In the back of his mind, Quatre realized he could hear her with his ears as well as in his mind. Quatre squeezed his brothers' hands, and the scene changed, again.
"We have to do this," Heero said, gravely. He put a locket around Dorothy's neck and kissed her temple.
"I know." She was crying. She enveloped Quatre and his brothers in a group hug. She stood back. "Well, let me see you." She brushed Harry's bangs out of his eyes. "My boys. So brave." Dorothy turned to Quatre. "Now, you take care of them, you hear. If you die, I won't speak to you, again." She laughed through her tears.
"Of course," Quatre said, in a choked voice.
"I suppose we should get started, then," Dorothy said.
Quatre didn't get to see what they were going to do because he was thrust out of the vision.
And into chaos.
"My magic! My magic!" Parvati shrieked. "My magic's gone!"
Selune