Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Gundam Wing Goes to Hogwarts ❯ New Classes and New Friends ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: New Classes and New Friends

Quatre watched the students filing into his classroom. Since his class was an elective, the majority of his students were sixth and seventh years, who had more room for an extra elective in their schedules, but there were a few from the lower grades. Hermione Granger was the only third year, however.

“He seems awfully young to be an instructor,” Percy Weasley murmured to the young woman at his side.

“I think he's cute!” the young woman, a seventh year Ravenclaw named Penny whispered back. Percy looked stricken.

“Take your seats please,” Quatre said briskly. “First of all, this is a wandless magic class, so please put them away if you have them out.”

Hermione immediately raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss Granger?”

“Professor Winner, how can wandless magic be more powerful than wanded magic?”

“I didn't say that it was, Miss Granger. However, if you rely too heavily on your wand for everyday magic, it can become a crutch. I think it's important for young magicians to be prepared to rely on themselves. Ultimately, the best magic is the magic that gets the job done with the least amount of effort, wouldn't you agree?”

Hermione blinked uncertainly. “I guess so.”

“All right, let's begin. Who here knows how to make light?”

“We all do, Professor,” Percy said stiffly. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and started to raise it.

Quatre held up a hand. “Hang on. What's that in your hand?”

Percy blinked in confusion. “It's my wand.”

“Didn't I just say not to use them?”

“But Professor Winner!” Percy protested. “Making light is completely natural with a wand!” As he spoke, bright yellow light flared from the tip of his wand.

“Is it?” Quatre said. He held up his right hand and a ball of yellow light, the same color as Percy's appeared above his palm. “So can you just leave your light anywhere?” Quatre dropped his hand back to his side and the ball off light stayed where it was.

Percy stared. Then he muttered furiously under his breath and moved his wand slowly to the left. The light stayed glued to the tip of his wand. His brow wrinkled and he muttered even more furiously as he moved his wand to the right. The light moved back to the right, still clinging to the tip. Quatre made another ball of light, this one bright pink, and tossed it at Percy. Percy ducked with a yelp. The students tittered.

Hermione, sitting two rows back from Percy, reached out instinctively and caught the ball of pink light. “It's cool!”

“Of course it's cool,” Quatre said calmly. “I would hardly throw a ball of hot light at a student.”

Hermione studied the light intently, poking it with a fingertip. “Light needs a source, doesn't it, Professor Winner?”

“Of course. What do you think is the source for that light?”

“I have no idea.” Hermione scowled as she said this. She hated not understanding something.

Quatre smiled. “That's a good answer, but I'll answer you with another question. What separates wizards and witches from Muggles?”

“That's easy,” someone spoke up. “Magic.”

“Precisely. And where does the magic come from?”

“From inside us,” a haughty Slytherin girl said importantly.

“Correct. So what purpose does the wand serve?”

“It focuses and enhances the magic,” Percy answered quickly, anxious to re-assert himself as a classroom leader.

“Also correct,” Quatre agreed. “But you should be able to focus your magic without the wand and that is what we will be learning in this class. So, put your wand away Percy and let's get started. How many of you speak Latin?”

All around the room, jaws dropped.

“Latin is a dead language,” Percy said bluntly.

“But it's a good language for focusing magic,” Quatre replied. “For example,” he pointed at an empty chair and murmured, “Demutare riscus.” The chair turned into a trunk.

There was an explosion of cries.

“No way!” someone exclaimed.

“So who wants to try turning the chair back?”

Hands shot into the air.

Over lunch that afternoon, Hermione described the wandless magic class to her friends with great excitement, except Ron kept scowling at her and muttering under his breath about his rat.

After listening to Hermione, Harry scratched his head. “Don't you have Arithmancy in the morning, Hermione?”

Hermione waved that away. “Aren't you listening?” she exclaimed. “He turned a chair into a trunk just by pointing at it. No wand! No nothing! Just his finger! Can you believe it?”

“He does stuff like that all the time,” Roku said casually, “especially when he's irritated. That's how Papa Duo ended up as a woman. He pissed Mama off.”

Harry and Hermione stared at him.

“Professor Quatre turned Mr. Maxwell into a woman?” Hermione exclaimed.

“Yeah, he does that when he's mad.” Roku chuckled. “At least he stuck to a human form. When he's really mad, people usually end up as chickens.”

“Chickens?!” Harry and Hermione exclaimed.

“What about nice, big, cat-eating dogs?” Ron spoke up suddenly. “Can he do those?”

“Sure, but why would you want him to do that?”

Hermione flinched. “Crookshanks is just acting like a normal cat when he chases Scabbers,” she said defensively.

“Hah!” Ron exclaimed.

“Who's Scabbers?” Roku asked.

“My rat!” Ron snapped. “And her stupid cat keeps trying to eat him!”

Roku blinked. “Isn't that normal?”

“Sure!” Ron shouted. “Take her side!” He jumped to his feet and stormed off.

Harry shook his head. “Ron's a little sensitive right now. I think his rat's dying. It looks terrible.”

“Oh.”

“And it is normal!” Hermione said, her voice wavering.

“Um,” said Harry, trying to change the subject, “are you going to the fencing club this afternoon, Hermione?”

“No.” Hermione pulled one of her textbooks closer. “Why would I do that? It would just take time away from studying.”

“But it sounds like fun.”

“I'm sure it will be. Don't poke your eye out.”

“What?!”

But Hermione already had her nose buried in her book.

Neville Longbottom, sitting across the table next to Hermione, blinked nervously at Harry. “Are you sure you want to join the fencing club? I heard a lot of Slytherins were planning to join. I'm pretty sure I heard Malfoy say he'd be there.”

Harry scowled. “I don't care! I think it would be fun to learn to fence. I'm still going. You should come, too.”

Neville shook his head quickly. “No thanks! I don't need to give any Slytherins more chances to beat me up!”

Harry shook his head. “Are you coming, Roku?”

“Yeah. Uncle Treize said I can help during sparring practice.”

“You know how to fence?”

“Sure. Uncle Treize taught me.”

Harry sighed. “It must be nice having relatives who like you and want to teach you things.”

Just down the table, a handful of Gryffindor seventh-year girls were giggling excitedly among themselves.

“You have to take the class, Janice!” one girl was saying. “I heard that that cute guy that sits with the new professors is going to be the assistant.”

“He's so good-looking!” another girl squealed. “Do you know his name?”

“They call him Hadeya. He's like a Greek god! He's so beautiful!”

“They're all beautiful,” Janice said.

“But he's super-beautiful!”

“He's a Norse god,” Roku said. “Well, a demi-god, anyway.”

“Hush!” Harry shushed him.

“Why?”

“I don't think they need to know that. It will just make them worse.”

“Well,” Janice said, “I don't have time to fit another class in my schedule, especially an elective that's not even about magic.”

“Well, I asked my parents about it,” one girl said, “and they said they think it's a good idea.”

“Of course they would, Susie! Your parents are Muggles! All the Muggle parents think their kids need to learn non-magic stuff, too.”

“I know,” said a girl named Evie. “I signed up because my parents said I wouldn't have to take summer school if I did. What's one more elective if it means I can finally take the summer off? You kids from wizarding families are lucky.”

“No kidding!” Susie agreed.

Janice looked down the table at Roku. “Are you going to take Professor Chang's class, Roku?”

“No. Papa Wu-Fei said he wasn't going to cover any college level subjects.”

Evie's eyebrows shot up. “College level?! Are you saying you're already in college?”

“Yeah, I started last year.”

“But… but… You're twelve!”

“More or less.”

“So how can you be in college already?! I haven't even finished high school yet!”

“I was home-schooled.”

“That's… that's…” Evie stammered without finding anything to finish her sentence.

“Papa Wu-Fei had a lot of time to teach me,” Roku assured her.

“Roku, guess what!” Alexa sprinted up to him with Jett on her heels. “They have baths here! Big ones!”

Roku's eyes gleamed. “Really?”

“Yeah! Mommy and Daddy said they'd give us baths tonight!”

“Uncle Treize never bathes us!”

“Not if he can avoid it, but Mommy says he has to this time.”

Roku clapped his hands gleefully.

“You guys like bathing?” Harry said.

“It's fun!” Roku nodded. “Do you want to take a bath with us?”

“What, all of you together?” Harry looked faintly scandalized.

“Sure! We'll teach you to play our favorite bath game.”

“What's that?”

“It's kind of hard to describe. We'll just show you. We'll do it after dinner tonight, ok?”

“Um, ok.”

“Yay!” Alexa shouted. “Harry's gonna bathe with us! I get him on my team!” She and Jett raced back to the teacher's table to give Treize and Zechs the news. Treize looked monumentally unhappy.

“You're going to take a bath with girls?” Neville exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. “Isn't that rather … naughty?”

“They're little girls,” Harry said quickly, but his cheeks reddened.

“Don't worry,” Roku said. “Bathing is serious business. There won't be time for anything naughty.”

Harry blinked, clearly wondering what he had gotten himself into.

When Harry and Roku walked down to fencing club later, with a reluctant Ron in tow, Harry tried to get more information.

“So, about this bath…”

“It'll be great!” Roku said enthusiastically. “You can swim, right?”

Harry's eyes widened. “Yes, sort of.”

“You have nothing to worry about, then.” Roku thumped him on the back. “And anyway, no one's drowned yet. Here's the club room.” Roku stepped through the door into the newly designated fencing club room.

Treize and Zechs had acquired a rack from somewhere and it now held a dozen wooden practice swords in various shapes and lengths. Both men were wearing long, slender straight swords.

“Welcome everyone!” Treize said. He gave them a winning smile. “I'm glad to see you here. Fencing is as much an art form as fighting method. When done correctly, it is as beautiful as a dance. First off, I would like everyone to sit on the benches.” He gestured to the benches against the walls on either side of the room. “My assistant Count Merquise and I will give a demonstration first and then we will divide you into groups to begin instruction. All right?” He shooed them toward the walls and stepped into the middle of the room.

As Zechs stepped out to face him, Draco leaned toward Crabbe and Goyle. “I bet he's not a real Count.”

“No talking, please,” Treize said airily, “especially if you're going to make idiotic statements.”

Draco turned red and several students snickered.

Treize and Zechs faced each other and bowed without losing eye contact.

“Note that we never talk our eyes off our opponent,” Treize said. “To do so is to invite a length of steel into your midsection.”

“Aren't you supposed to draw your swords or something?” Draco interrupted. “I've always seen fencers present their swords to each other.”

“If you want to present your sword to someone, do it in private,” Zechs remarked.

Draco's mouth fell open and his blush stained the roots of his pale hair pink.

Treize shook his head at Zechs. “A true fighter does not draw his sword until he needs to use it, Mr. Malfoy. All that swishing about of unsheathed swords is for amateurs. Now please pay attention.”

After standing completely still for the space of five heartbeats, Treize and Zechs suddenly leaped into motion. It was impossible to tell which one actually moved first. There was a clang of steel and just like that, they were standing about three meters apart with their backs to each other.

“All right,” Treize said as he sheathed his sword, “who struck first and who defended?”

Complete and utter silence followed his question.

Treize looked around the room. “Come now, anyone?”

The students exchanged stunned looks but no one spoke.

Roku finally popped to his feet. “Uncle Zechs struck first and you defended Uncle Treize.”

“Very good, Roku. That is correct.”

“How could you tell?” Harry whispered as Roku sat back down. “They moved at the exact same time and I didn't even see them draw their swords!”

“I'm used to watching them spar,” Roku confided. “Anyway, you can tell Uncle Zechs attacked because he covered more ground than Uncle Treize.”

“We're going to do the same thing again,” Treize said, “only slower this time. Watch closely.”

He turned to face Zechs and bowed again. They repeated the clash at about half-speed, and now it could be seen that Zechs actually did move first. He drew his sword as he stepped, slashing up toward Treize's face as it cleared the sheath. Treize stepped forward moments after Zechs began to move, drawing his sword at the same time. He struck Zechs' sword before Zechs could complete his upswing and their blades skittered along each other as they passed.

“Holy cow!” Ron exclaimed. “That was amazing!”

“Attack and defense,” Treize said. “These are the two sides of a sword fight and you must learn both if you want to become an exceptional swordsman. Everyone get a wooden sword from the rack and form pairs. We'll start with some simple thrusts and parries.”

It did not look like there were enough wooden swords to go around, except that Roku stood by the rack and kept handing them out until everyone had one.

Harry stared at him suspiciously. “Did you just pull a sword out from under your arm?”

Roku blinked at him. “I was just holding it there,” he said innocently. “Why don't you and Ron pair up? I'll watch.”

The students had just started making clumsy passes at each other when Alexa and Jett came in with Duo.

“Hey, Treize, do you mind if the girls stay here for a minute? I've gotta go do some errands for Mr. Filch.”

“Of course.” Treize smiled affectionately at the girls. “They're part of the fencing club, too. Roku, are there more practice swords?”

“Sure.” Roku said. He handed the girls practice swords.

Alexa pointed her sword at Draco. “He doesn't have a partner,” she announced. “I'll fight him.”

“Don't hurt him,” Zechs murmured.

Draco drew himself up. “My arm is injured. I'm just observing today.”

“Scared of a little girl, Malfoy?” Ron sneered.

Enraged, Malfoy snatched a sword from Goyle and approached Alexa. “I should tell you that I've had some training from my father.”

“Really?” Alexa stared at him critically. “Then why are you holding the sword wrong?”

The class snickered. Draco looked around, his scowl not quite covering the cornered look in his eyes.

Alexa faced him and bowed. “En guard.” Draco barely got his sword up in time. Alexa swooped in on him, feinted high and came in low, landing a solid blow to Draco's midsection. He doubled over with a grunt.

“Touché!” Alexa cried. “Again?”

With his left hand clutching his bruised side, Draco straightened up and lunged forward. Alexa executed a neat disarm and sent Draco's sword spinning across the floor. She finished with a straight lunge and jabbed him in the chest, knocking him onto his butt.

The students burst into applause and laughter as Crabbe and Goyle scrambled forward to pull Draco to his feet. Alexa grinned.

“All right, all right, let's get back to work,” Treize said, clapping his hands. The students settled down and resumed sparring practice as Zechs went to check on Draco.

“Not too bruised, I hope,” Zechs said, but he did not sound particularly sympathetic.

“I'm fine!” Draco snapped, but his voice squeaked a little.

“Why don't you take him to the nurse?” Zechs suggested. “Alexa can go a little overboard.”

“I'm all right!” Draco repeated loudly, but he let Crabbe and Goyle talk him into going to the nurse anyway.

After he was gone, Harry and Ron began laughing so hard they could barely see to swing their practice swords at each other.

“We have to make sure everyone knows about this!” Ron howled. “Malfoy got beat up by a little girl!”

Draco was not present at dinner that evening, leading to the obvious and hysterical conclusion, repeated frequently and loudly by the Weasley twins, that Draco was hospitalized by a little girl and his absence made it impossible for the glowering Slytherins to deny the rumor successfully. The incident put Ron in such a good mood that he did not make any snide remarks to Hermione about her cat, for which she appeared to be quite grateful.

“Now I'm sorry I didn't join the fencing club,” Neville said gloomily. “It would have been worth getting trounced by Slytherins to see Draco knocked on his behind by a pretty little girl.”

“Yeah,” Hermione agreed with a nod. “I wish I'd seen that.”

“Maybe she'll do it again,” Ron snickered.

“Unless Malfoy's too cowardly to show up for another class,” Harry chortled.

“He'll have to show up,” Hermione exclaimed. “His stupid Malfoy honor can't let it rest like this.”

“But what can he do?” Ron said, still laughing. “He can hardly turn around and beat her up. How would that look?”

“I'm not sure he could, anyway,” Harry laughed.

“You don't suppose he'd try to put a spell on her?” Hermione asked a little worriedly. “That is the cowardly sort of thing he might do.”

“He better not,” Roku said. “I'll stuff him in my storage space.”

“Do people fit in there?” Ron asked in surprise.

“Sure. I got lots bigger things in there than that. Anyway, I'll know if he tries something.”

After dinner, Harry excused himself from Ron and Hermione with some misgivings and accompanied Roku up to the bathing chamber that was closest to the Gundam pilots' suite.

“I've never been in this bathroom,” Harry said, “but I suppose it's like all the others.” As they entered the room, they were greeted by a cloud of steam and giggling.

“Yay! They're here!” Alexa squealed. She swam to the edge of the massive tub and leaned on the edge on her arms. “Hurry up and get in! Guess what, Roku? A bunch of the faucets spray out stuff other than water. It's cool!” She flopped back into the water and swam swiftly across the giant tub. “This one has oil and it smells really good!”

Next to another spigot, Jett was very deliberately turning it off and on, releasing various-sized bubbles of soap onto the surface of the water.

Zechs was seated with his arms crossed on a bench underneath a rack where a row of thick towels hung. His feet were bare and his pant legs were rolled up to just below his knees. Inside the tub, Treize, apparently naked, leaned back on the edge, resting on his elbows. He glanced at the new arrivals.

“We've been waiting for you,” Treize said. “Better get undressed.”

Harry gulped. “In front of everyone?”

But Roku was already shedding his clothes and in a scant second, he leaped into the bath naked. “Come on, Harry! Hurry up!”

Zechs held out a hand. “I'll hold your glasses.”

Harry handed Zechs his glasses and quickly undressed with his back to the tub. Then he turned around and dashed for the water, leaping in quickly. He had barely hit the water when someone grabbed his feet and yanked him under.

“Ah!” Harry yelped. He floundered to the surface, coughing up water.

“I thought he was on your team, Alexa!” Roku shouted.

“Right!” Alexa said. She grabbed Harry's arm. “How good do you swim?”

“Uh… um…”

Alexa dragged him across the tub. Roku and Jett faced them from the other side. She pointed across the water. “We gotta get to the other side and stop them from getting to our side. You're the referee, Daddy! Get ready! Go!” She dove into the water.

Caught off-guard, Harry dove in after her. Suddenly, a pair of little hands had him around the waist and he was pulled to a stop. He scrambled to free himself, rolling over to break the grip of those small hands. A second later, more hands grabbed him and dragged him to the bottom. His lungs burning for air, Harry struggled to reach the surface and he finally exploded out of the water, sputtering. Suddenly, Jett latched onto his shoulders and pulled him over backward. Roku grabbed his wrist and the pair of them started dragging him back toward where he had started.

“No!” Alexa shrieked. She plunged over, grabbed his ankles and started hauling the other way. “Help me, Harry!”

Unsure what she meant by help and more concerned about getting drowned, Harry struggled to break out of Roku's grip. Fortunately, all the oil and soap the girls had let into the tub made his skin slick and he broke free. Desperately, he kicked for the other side with Jett still clinging to his shoulder. Abruptly, she let go and slipped off.

“Don't let her get away!” Alexa shouted.

Startled, Harry reached for the little girl and grabbed her around the waist. Jett squealed and kicked and it was like trying to hold onto a forty-pound salmon. She squirted out of his grip with a shriek that made Harry wince. Alexa shot past him and grabbed Jett's ankle. Then Roku appeared from under the water like a shark and grabbed Alexa around the middle.

“Got you!” he crowed. He started dragging her toward the side.

“Help!” Alexa shrieked. “Harry!”

Harry grabbed her hands and pulled. Jett stuck her little hands under his arms and tickled. Harry began to laugh helplessly while struggling to hold onto Alexa's hands. It was a losing battle. He let go, doubled over and went under. Jett grabbed his arm and started pulling and a second later Roku got him by an ankle. Harry kicked but only got a mouthful of soapy water for his trouble. Gagging, he could not escape as he was towed to the side of the tub. Suddenly, a firm grip caught him by the back of the neck and pulled him to the surface.

“Round One: Roku and Jett,” Treize said. He wiped off Harry's face. “Not drowned?”

Harry coughed. “No.”

“Good.” Treize made his way back across the tub. “Get ready for Round Two.”

“WHAT?!”