Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing Goes to Hogwarts ❯ More Stuff Happens and I Think a Story May Break Out ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: More Stuff Happens and I Think a Story May Break Out

“So, Roku,” Dumbledore said with his perpetual cheery smile on his face, “I sense there is more to you than meets the eye.”

Roku blinked at the venerable gentleman. “You can see my storage space?”

Dumbledore's bushy eyebrows rose. “What, pray tell, is your storage space?”

“It's the place where I put stuff.” Roku pulled a book, two balls, three gold coins and a piece of string from his storage space.

Dumbledore clapped his hands delightedly. “I cannot quite see the magic, but it is fascinating nonetheless. I am very impressed that you can do that without a wand. Who taught you magic?”

“My Mama, mostly, but some stuff I just figured out on my own. It's easy once you learn Latin, because Latin pulls the magic out.”

“You speak Latin?”

“Yes, and Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, French and Arabic, too, but I can't read or write Arabic.”

“Well,” Dumbledore chuckled warmly, “I think that won't be a limitation here. But if you already have training in magic, why do you want to attend Hogwarts?”

“Because your classes sound fun.”

“I see.” Dumbledore pursed his lips and studied Roku over the rims of his glasses. “I understand Mr. Winner is your mother.”

“That's right. How did you know?”

“I may have heard it mentioned. Is Mr. Winner actually a man?”

“Yes, Mama is a man.”

“Fascinating. And your father? Or should I say fathers?”

Roku blinked in surprise. “You heard that too?”

“Someone may have mentioned it to me, yes.”

“They're all men, too.”

“Is there really a biological relationship between all of you?”

“Yes. Mama got pregnant after having sex with all of my Papas and gave birth to me just like a normal person. Well, maybe not really like a normal person because he was partly a man and then he turned into a tiger because it hurt and he didn't want to push me out.”

“He turned into a tiger?” Dumbledore leaned forward, his keen old eyes suddenly in sharp focus. “Mr. Winner is an animagus?”

“Do you mean someone who turns into animals? Yes, Mama can do that.”

“And the animal he turns into is a tiger?”

“Well, sometimes, but usually he turns into a bird because he does reconnaissance.”

“But you said he turned into a tiger when he gave birth to you.”

“Yeah, but Papa Trowa likes it better when he turns into a tiger cub rather than a full grown tiger because he likes cubs. And Mama sometimes gets testy when he's a tiger. Papa Trowa told me he stepped on someone on purpose once.”

“I see.” Dumbledore tapped a finger against his lips. “Did Mr. Winner teach you to change into an animal?”

“Not really. I was a tiger when I was born, but Papa Wu-Fei wanted me to have hands so he could teach me to write so I turned into a human. But I've also been a bird and a dragon.”

Dumbledore blinked slowly three times. “A multiple-form animagus! I think that might be unprecedented.”

“Really? It's pretty easy.”

Dumbledore smiled. “Perhaps for someone born in another form it is easy, but for most of us, shape-changing is a very difficult art. In fact, all animagi are registered because a person who can change shape could be dangerous.”

“Does that mean I have to be registered?”

“Well, perhaps not right now. You will be taking a class in transfiguration and self-transfiguration is one of the later lessons. At that point, if your ability has not already come out, it will be time to put you on record.”

“Ok.”

“Now, then,” Dumbledore picked up a parchment from his desk and scanned down it quickly. “Before we go over the class syllabi, can you tell me what was the largest or most powerful spell you've ever cast?”

“Hmm,” Roku pursed his lips. “I would have to say that was when I put Midgard and Asgard back together after Ragnarok. That was really big magic.”

Dumbledore stared blankly for several seconds. “Ragnarok?” he finally asked.

“You know, when Odin and the Ice Giants destroyed everything.”

“Um…” Dumbledore's brow wrinkled. “That would have been… quite some time ago, I believe.”

“Yeah, that was way back in the past.”

“And you were there?”

“Yeah.”

“Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore,” spoke up one of the many portraits of former headmasters hanging on the walls. “Could you please ask for clarification?”

Roku glanced around at the portraits. All of the portraits were staring at him. Some were glowering suspiciously. Most were whispering among themselves.

“Yes, yes, I was just getting to that,” Dumbledore said. He fixed his somewhat surprised eyes on Roku. “Could you please explain how you were present for Ragnarok?”

“Oh, we time travel.”

Dumbledore stared. The portraits stared. Roku blinked.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should move on.”

“Wait a minute!” the portraits shouted.

“Later!” Dumbledore said sternly. He smiled paternally at Roku. “Why don't we go over the class syllabi now and see what you know?”

While Dumbledore and Roku talked magic, Filch took Heero and Duo to the main gate. Two shadowy dementors hovered just outside, waves of icy air wafting off of their menacing forms.

“Those have got to be the most uninviting things I have ever seen,” Duo declared. He rubbed his temple. “Even their thoughts, if you can call them that, feel cold.”

“Damn creatures!” Filch muttered. “Always hanging about, giving everyone the creeps. Don't belong at Hogwarts!” he snarled, shaking a fist at the dementors. “They ain't allowed on school grounds. You see one on the grounds, you fetch one of the professors right quick to chase `em off.”

“Can they be killed?” Heero inquired speculatively.

“Don't know.” Filch glared at the dementors, clearly wishing he did know and that the answer was yes. “Come on, there's more to see.”

The tour of the grounds took them all over the place. At every spot where there was access to the grounds, dementors appeared, sometimes with their bony hands sticking out of their deep black robes. Filch grumbled something that sounded very naughty under his breath every time they saw one.

In the middle of the lawn, he stopped at a goodly distance from an enormous tree with long branches. “You'll want to keep your distance from that tree there,” he said. “That's the Whomping Willow and it'll smack the brains out of you if you give it a chance.” He chuckled wickedly. “That's a fun sight.”

When they had been everywhere outside, Filch took them into the castle.

“Hogwarts Castle has lots of places off-limits to students,” Filch growled darkly. “It's important to check `em all and make sure the students stay out.”

“I get the impression he thinks the whole castle should be off-limits to students.” Duo whispered to Heero.

Heero smirked.

“This here leads down to the dungeon.” Filch pointed down a dark staircase. “The Slytherin common room's on the first level, so you'll see them down there, and the Potions class is down there, too, so you'll see students there during the day, but otherwise no one's got business down there and no one has any reason to go below the first level.” Filch grinned evilly. “That's where the torture chambers are. Used to be, misbehaving students had to spend a little time in there.” He paused and an almost happy smile twitched across his lips. Then his face dropped back into its customary scowl. “But Dumbledore won't allow it.” He marched off and eventually stopped outside a large portrait of a bowl of fruit. “This is the entrance to the kitchen. No one's allowed in here but the house elves and you'll not see them most of the time.”

Filch had barely finished speaking when the portrait burst open and two identical redheaded boys crashed into them, sending everyone sprawling. Duo quickly jumped to his feet and caught the portrait before it could swing closed.

“YOU!” Filch shouted.

The two boys leaped to their feet and tried to take off, but Heero tackled them, pinning them to the floor by gripping them firmly by the backs of their necks.

“Ouch!” shouted one redhead.

“Let go!” shouted the other.

Filch climbed to his feet, an almost gleeful expression on his face. “Fred and George Weasley, caught in the act this time.”

“We weren't doing anything!” one of the boys exclaimed.

“Honestly!” cried the other.

“Kitchen's off-limits!” Filch declared. Heero hauled the youths to their feet and turned them to face Filch. “This'll be a double-detention for you two.” Filch scowled directly into their faces, but neither boy looked particularly cowed. “My office! Now!” Filch stamped off down the hall and Heero marched the two boys along behind him.

Duo grinned. “I'll just check the kitchen, shall I? Make sure they didn't do any damage.”

Heero glared back over his shoulder at him, but Duo was already slipping through the portrait hole into the kitchen with Mrs. Norris on his heels.

Meanwhile, down near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the Care of Magical Creatures class was in progress. Trowa sat attentively on the edge of a low stone wall watching the students care for their batches of flobber worms. Hagrid was carefully explaining to the students that if they fed the flobber worms too much they would die and if they handled the slimy things too much they would die and if they let them dry out they would die.

Frustrated, Hermione grumbled, “Maybe it would be easier if you told us what we could do that would not make them die,” as she watched yet another batch of flobber worms wilt and shrivel up.

Ron poked at his clearly dead flobber worms with his wand. “Maybe they only have a life-expectancy of an hour. Mine always seem to die by the end of class.”

“Mine, too,” Harry put in mournfully.

The three of them exchanged a long sigh.

“Now class,” Hagrid continued, “flobber worms is interestin' creatures. They're useful fer all kinds of stuff.”

“Like what?” Draco demanded in a challenging tone. “About all they seem good for is inducing vomiting.”

“Well, now, that's one potential use!” Hagrid agreed with too much enthusiasm. “Pop one into yer mouth and yeh'll empty out right quick! Anyone else?”

Draco dropped his head dramatically into his good hand. The other was still bundled up in a sling. “That wasn't a suggestion!” he exclaimed sarcastically.

Hagrid ignored him. “Come now! What else?”

Hermione held up her hand.

“Hermione!” Hagrid called on her eagerly.

“I believe if you dry them and crush them into a powder, they can be used as an ingredient in a number of potions.”

“Quite right!” Hagrid appeared relieved that someone had come up with something. He beamed at Hermione. “So there's a homework assignment for ye. Look up a potion that includes flobber worm powder for next time. Class dismissed.”

“That seems more like Potions homework than Care of Magical Creatures homework!” Draco protested loudly.

“Oh, be quiet, Malfoy!” Hermione sneered. “Any homework is better than no homework.”

Harry and Ron stared at her.

“Did she really just say what I think she said?” Ron exclaimed, dumbfounded.

Harry just nodded.

Hermione, feeling their astonished gazes, glared back. “What?”

“Nothing!” the pair said quickly.

Hermione scowled as she scooped up her book bag and flounced away.

Hagrid stared after the children's retreating backs shaking his shaggy head. “I tell yeh,” he said to Trowa sadly, “class ain't been right since Buckbeak nearly took off Malfoy's arm. He deserved it, mind you!” Hagrid added quickly, “but Malfoy an' his dad have made a huge deal out of it an' now Buckbeak's on trial.” He sniffed and a big tear welled out of one eye. “T'ain't right, but there's naught I can do about it.”

“Who is Buckbeak?”

“Oh!” Hagrid exclaimed. “He's the finest hippogriff yeh'll ever meet! Come over to me hut an' I'll introduce yeh.”

Trowa accompanied Hagrid to his hut, where Buckbeak was reclining comfortably inside. As soon as they stepped in, however, Buckbeak rose to his feet to glare suspiciously at Trowa.

“Just give him a bit of a bow so he knows yeh're polite company,” Hagrid suggested.

Trowa bowed and after a moment, Buckbeak bowed back. Trowa straightened up and spoke to the hippogriff in fluent hippogriff. “How do you do, Buckbeak? My name is Trowa Barton and it's an honor to meet you.”

Buckbeak lifted his attractively feathered head and blinked at Trowa. Then his curved beak popped open and he uttered a piercing series of squeaks and squawks in reply. Trowa squeaked and squawked back. Hagrid watched this exchange with his mouth open.

After a few minutes of hippogriffian conversation, Trowa turned to Hagrid. “My goodness, what a polite and well spoken creature. Buckbeak thanks you for your hospitality, by the way.”

“He's most welcome,” Hagrid rasped. “But I ain't never met no one before who could talk like a hippogriff.”

“To be honest, I can talk to any living creature,” Trowa admitted. “It's a gift I was given a few years ago.”

Hagrid's eyes went round and a reverent expression came over his face. “You can talk to any creature?” he whispered. “That's a right precious gift indeed, that is!” Suddenly, he clapped his huge hands together. “Yeh aren't busy right now, are yeh? There's one or two creatures I'd love to have a bit of a chat with, if yeh have the time.”

Trowa smiled. “I would love to.”

“Champion!” Hagrid cried. He bustled to the door. “We'll just nip into the forest, then.”

Trowa bowed to Buckbeak again. “Good afternoon, Buckbeak.”

The hippogriff squawked a polite reply and settled down to finish ripping apart the dead weasel he had been eating when they came in.

As they disappeared into the forest, Hagrid could be heard saying, “Now, don't mind the reputation of the place. It's only dangerous to them as don't know what they're doin'. There ain't but ten or twenty or so creatures in here that'll try to eat yeh if they get the chance, so it's safe enough…”

Back at the castle, Quatre was exploring his new office, which had several old textbooks stacked on a shelf, two of which kept issuing desperate pleas to be taken down and dusted, when Roku bounded in.

“Mama, guess what?”

“What?”

“Professor Dumbledore says I know enough to go in with the third years, once I get my wand and textbooks and supplies.”

“Congratulations!” Then Quatre stared at him suspiciously. “How many of our secrets did you give away?”

Roku grinned. “Professor Dumbledore is really smart.”

Quatre sighed. “That has to be a new record for spilling the beans.”

“I don't think he'll tell anyone.”

“Oh, good.” Quatre did not sound convinced. “Did you mention that you already started attending college?”

“No. We just talked about magic.”

“Well, it is a school for magic, so I suppose that's to be expected.”

“May we go in your common room? I need to fluff my fur.”

“Sure.”

They went into the Gundam pilots' common room and Roku immediately shifted into tiger form. He shook furiously.

“That's better,” he purred. “Professor Dumbledore said people who can turn into animals have to be registered, but that he wouldn't register me right away if I didn't change in front of anyone.”

“Oh really? Did you tell him I can change forms?”

“Yeah, but I don't think he plans to make you register.”

“How thoughtful.”

Roku rolled onto his back and waggled his paws in the air. “Will you rub my tummy?”

“Sure.”

A few minutes later, Treize and Zechs entered with Alexa and Jett. Seeing Roku lying on the floor, both girls immediately zoomed across the room and leaped onto the young tiger with squeals of joy.

“Roku! We missed you!”

Roku rolled over and pinned them to the floor with his big front paws and proceeded to lick their faces liberally.

“Ew!” Alexa squealed.

“Eeee!” Jett shrieked. The lamps on the walls tinkled but nothing broke. “Sorry!” Jett squeaked.

Zechs groaned as he stared at Alexa's suddenly sopping face. “She was clean!” he exclaimed mournfully.

“I'm sure they have baths here,” Treize said with a chuckle.

“Undoubtedly, but do we have to use them on the very first day?”

“This is the second day.”

Zechs glowered at him. Treize blinked innocently.

“We've been looking for you, Roku,” Treize said, changing the subject with a slight smile. “We need to get our swords from you.”

“Ok,” Roku replied, in between applying liberal doses of tiger spit.

Alexa squirmed out from under Roku's paw and scrambled out of range of his tongue. “Is it lunchtime yet? I'm hungry!”

“Me, too!” Jett cried.

“Should be,” Quatre said. “Let's go down.”

Roku returned to human form, Treize and Zechs used their handkerchiefs to reduce the slobber-load on Alexa and Jett's faces and everyone trooped downstairs to the Great Hall. Students were already starting to assemble for lunch and Roku hurried over to the Gryffindor table towing Alexa and Jett.

“Hey, Roku!” Harry greeted him. “How did your meeting with Dumbledore go?”

“Great! He put me in third year.”

“That's excellent!” Ron said excitedly. “That means you'll be in classes with us.”

Roku nodded. “Yeah. I'm in all the same classes as Harry.”

“Neat!”

While they were talking, Jett climbed up onto the bench and surveyed the empty table with disappointment. “I'm hungry!” she pouted.

“Lunch will appear soon,” Hermione said. She gazed curiously at Jett.

“This is my sister Jett,” Roku introduced her. “And this is my cousin Alexa.”

“How do you do?” Hermione said.

“You have fluffy hair,” Jett said.

Hermione quickly put a hand on her head and tried to smooth her hair down. “It's the humidity,” she said, her face flushing, “it always makes my hair frizzy.”

“It's not nice to make personal comments, Jett,” Alexa admonished her.

“Sorry,” Jett muttered. “When will the food appear?”

“Any minute…” Hermione started to say, but just then the tables filled with serving dishes steaming with food and place settings appeared along the edges.

“Yay!” Jett squealed. She reached for the nearest serving dish, which was mounded with sausages, and snatched one with each hand.

Roku groaned. “Use the serving fork, Jett.”

“Ok.” Jett dropped the two sausages onto the nearest plate, grabbed the fork and speared two more sausages, which she transferred to the same plate, pushing them off the fork with her fingers. She grinned at Roku. Roku rolled his eyes and sat down next to her. Alexa sat on her other side.

“Since you'll be in third year, Roku,” Hermione said as they ate, “you'll need to get the third year book list before you go to Diagon Alley tomorrow.”

“Professor Dumbledore said Professor McGonagall would have it.”

“That makes sense.”

“I wonder what kind of wand you'll get,” Ron said. “My first one was a hand-me-down, so it worked but it didn't match me. My new one's much better.”

While the children chattered at the Gryffindor table, Quatre, seated at the teachers' table, looked around worriedly. “I wonder where Trowa is.” Wu-Fei and Hadeya had turned up when lunch started, but Trowa was nowhere in sight.

“Did you notice that Heero and Duo are absent as well?” Treize said with a straight face.

Quatre scowled. “Who cares about them? It's Trowa I'm worried about. He said he was going to observe that Care of Magical Creatures class, but it must be over by now.”

“Hagrid is also missing,” Treize pointed out innocently.

“What?” Quatre started, apparently having only just noticed the absence of the giant gamekeeper-turned-teacher.

Just then, Heero entered with Filch, trailed by two redheads with suspiciously perky grins on their faces, which they would quickly replace with not-very-convincing mournful looks whenever Filch glared at them over his shoulder. The redheads scurried to the Gryffindor table while Filch and Heero approached the teachers' table.

Filch stopped in front of McGonagall. “Them two earned a double-detention just now,” he growled, hooking a finger at the Weasley twins. “They should lose points for sneaking into an off-limits area.”

McGonagall's pinched face got a little more pinched. “Very well,” she said calmly. “Five points each from Gryffindor.”

Filch nodded in satisfaction and he marched over to his customary place by the wall where he could scowl at the students while they ate.

Heero took a seat next to Hadeya. “Where's Duo?”

“Wasn't he with you?” Wu-Fei said.

“Yeah, but he wandered off.”

“There he is,” said Hadeya.

At that moment, Duo came bouncing into the Great Hall, his long braid swinging. “Hey, guys!” He flopped down next to Heero and immediately started eating.

Heero glared at him suspiciously. “Weren't you just in the kitchen?”

“I haven't been in there this whole time,” Duo said.

“Oh?”

Duo kept eating and said nothing.

Heero continued to glare at him.

“What?” Duo said innocently.

“I don't trust you when you're out of my sight.”

“Me?” Duo blinked, wide-eyed.

“Now I know you were up to something. Have you been screwing someone?”

“Of course not!”

Heero glared.

“I wasn't!”

“It's so sweet,” Quatre said. “Heero's still jealous and Duo hasn't been a woman for months.”

“I'm not jealous!”

“Trowa's here,” Hadeya interrupted loudly.

Trowa and Hagrid came in together. Hagrid was talking excitedly, his big hands waving through the air like windmills. Quatre scowled.

“Who's jealous now?” Wu-Fei muttered under his breath.

Quatre glared at him and Duo snickered.

“T'was the most amazing thing!” Hagrid exclaimed loudly as they reached the teachers' table. He dropped an enormous hand onto Trowa's shoulder. “He talks to animals! Just like that an' clear as yeh please. I ain't never seen the like.”

The teachers all stared at Trowa. Snape's glower was full of open disbelief.

Trowa waved a hand deprecatingly. “It's nothing, really.” He quickly took a seat, squeezing in next to Quatre.

Quatre frowned at him. “Have you been with Hagrid this whole time?”

“Yeah, we were out in the Forbidden Forest talking to things.”

“I see.”

“He's jealous, all right” Wu-Fei stage-whispered to Duo.

“Shut up!” Quatre snapped.

“I'll be going out into the forest again tomorrow,” Trowa continued. “There are all kinds of very interesting animals out there.”

“I suppose you'll be going with Hagrid,” Quatre said stiffly.

“Of course, he knows the way.” Trowa began eating, failing to notice the slight frown on Quatre's face. “And anyway, you'll be shopping in London with Roku.”

Quatre's frown became a little more pronounced.

Duo snickered again. “Someone's doing without tonight.”

“Huh?” said Trowa.

“Never mind.”

“You should talk!” Heero growled at Duo. “I should cut you off for whatever it was you were doing just now.”

“I wasn't doing anything!” Duo protested.

“He's not going to let up until you tell him, Duo,” Wu-Fei advised.

“Oh, fine!” Duo exclaimed. “I was shooting craps with the house elves! Satisfied?”

“What could you have possibly been cheating the house elves out of?” Wu-Fei wondered aloud.

“I was not cheating!”

Wu-Fei lifted an eyebrow.

“It couldn't be big,” Hadeya speculated. “He hasn't given anything to Roku yet.”

“I am so abused!” Duo whined.

“Whatever it is,” Heero glowered, “you better let them win it back.”

Duo pouted. “You're no fun.”

“You wanna get laid later?”

“Oh, all right!”