Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Never Say Let Go ❯ Chapter 1

Title: Never Say Let Go

Author: Skeren Dreamera and Hoshi-Tachi

Spoilers: All the way up to book four, and some from book five, not to mention most of the GW verse

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, though I'm the one that says what happens to them.

Feedback: Skeren Dreamera: Mickeofas@yahoo.com, Hoshi-Tachi: koukennin_kaze@yahoo.com

Rating: PG, and eventually R

Pairings: 2xSeverus projected

Warnings: Time travel! The Death of Heero.

Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2221568/1/

Chapter one

Duo moved down the halls with easy steps, having been taken off by the man in black and the old man almost as soon as he'd agreed to come along quietly so he could explain himself. He was slowly finding that perhaps he'd been wrong to assume these people wouldn't believe his story. The thought was only backed up as he saw a portrait move from the corner of his eye as he resisted the urge to stop and stare.

"Hey, what is this place?" he asked, reaching out and tugging on the dark man's sleeve. The man immediately turned his head and glared at him, but it simply washed over Duo, used as he was to Heero's glare o' doom.

Severus scowled at the impertinent brat, and was surprised to see the stare that had frightened many students, most often the Longbottom child, into tears have no affect whatsoever on the short boy. Frustrated, he sighed and deigned to answer the question. "This is Hogwarts. A school," he added, seeing the continued puzzlement on the boy's face.

Duo stared at him for a moment before giving him a skeptical look, his gaze drifting pointedly to the moving portraits before looking to the moving staircases they were approaching. "What would you teach in a place like this? It looks like an out of control funhouse!"

Severus twitched slightly over the comparison, having some idea as to what the boy was referring to. "It is no such thing. This is a school for magic."

Again giving in the urge to stare, Duo did so for several more seconds. "Magic..." he repeated slowly. What kind of idiot did the guy take him for? There was no such thing as-

Remembering just how he'd managed to get to... wherever the hell he was, the pilot gulped and nodded, turning his eyes resolutely back to the front. "Okay, magic it is..." He increased his pace the tiniest bit, pulling a couple feet ahead of the man walking beside him.

Severus frowned, studying the back of the teenager's head, his eyes unconsciously following the swing of his long, chestnut braid. Surely the boy knew about magic! If not, he'd have to be a, a...

"Oh, bollocks," he muttered. "He's a muggle."

It was a most shocking thing that Duo paused mid-step, twisting around to look at the dark eyed man with a frown. "What did you just call me? Was that some kind of insult?" He could admit to being a little sensitive to comments directed at him, so he didn't realize he should have pretended not to hear. This was already weird enough as it was.

Resisting the urge to glare at the boy, Severus took a deep breath. He couldn't believe that he'd gotten stuck with this muggle boy! Dumbledore had better be meeting them near his office as he said he would be. "I called you a muggle, it means someone who can not do magic."

Duo gave a thoughtful pause, resuming his steps, mind going a mile a minute. This was completely insane. How could he have gotten himself into this mess? Oh yeah, Heero, magic, death's horses. Right. "I do magic..."

The Slytherin blinked after him, now thoroughly confused. Why would the boy claim he could do magic, when only a few seconds ago it had been pathetically obvious he was shocked by the very mention of it? Frowning suspiciously, he hastened after him. "Really? I would have sworn you hadn't even heard of the word before, from the way you reacted," he drawled questioningly.

To his surprise, the teenager flushed. "I've only known it was real for about ten minutes, okay? Give me a break. I've only managed it the once."

"Only once? How can I be sure it was magic at all that you are talking about? The muggles do tend to have rather... interesting things. Much as I am loathe to admit it." Shaking his head, he touched the short teen's shoulder, stopping him from heading off in the wrong direction and accompanying the motion with an annoyed glare. "To the left."

Duo huffed, tempted to glare right back with the rude treatment, but he refrained, letting himself be steered in the right direction. "It was magic. There's no way technology could do what I did." He then realized he was still being touched and blinked, uncertain why he hadn't minded. He only liked to pretend he was touchy feely. "I just never thought of it as magic. Magic is for little kids and bed time stories."

"Really? How odd. They must be very boring bedtime stories, then..." Duo jumped. He hadn't even noticed the old guy standing just down the corridor. "I myself grew up listening to muggle tales. Such fascinating creatures."

"Albus," Severus said, feeling a pang of relief as he nodded to the Headmaster. Perfect timing, he added silently. He had a feeling that if he'd been left alone a moment longer with the irritating boy he would have been tempted to wring his scrawny neck.

"Ah, Severus. I do hope nothing untoward happened on your way here? I apologize for leaving you, but Professor Umbridge wanted a word with me." The elderly wizard beamed at them, bright blue eyes twinkling.

The professor wondered then if perhaps it wouldn't have been better to be left with the boy. At least he could get away with throttling a stranger. It wasn't like anyone would miss him. He couldn't do the same to Albus though, unfortunately. "No, but it seems this boy has done a bit of magic before, yet still doesn't believe in it."

"'The boy' is standing right here. Magic isn't something you learn is real where I come from, alright? So, are you guy taking me somewhere, or what?" Duo knew he was being rude, but he was looking at the black haired guy, Severus, as he spoke. The old man hadn't done anything to him after all.

"Ah, yes, of course! This way." Dumbledore smiled yet again, turning to his gargoyle and murmuring what sounded like the name of a cake to the statue before it leapt aside. "Please, my office is just here."

Duo followed him cautiously, eyeing the gargoyle as he stepped gingerly past it. If it could move once, it could move again, and those clawed hands didn't look particularly soft or gentle. The Severus guy brought up the rear of the little procession, trodding practically on his heels as they climbed the spiral staircase revealed by the statue's movement.

In only a few moments they'd reached the top, and Albus beckoned them into his office. The braided pilot stopped dead as he spied the peculiar glittering gizmos that cluttered the room. They didn't look dangerous, but hell, they didn't exactly look familiar, either. And if there was one thing that being trained as a terrorist really drove home, it was to suspect any and all unknown objects.

After all, with five Gundam pilots in one house, there was no telling if something just lying around might blow up in your face.

After a moment of waiting, he sighed, seeing the boy wasn't about to sit of his own volition. He steered him firmly into a chair before taking up a post near the wall. Even a muggle shouldn't have been eyeing Albus' trinkets like that. It was absurd. "I believe you had an explanation to make as to what you were doing in the stables."

Duo twisted to look at the younger man, then moved his chair a bit so he could see them both, though he still mostly had his back to the darkly dressed wizard, he wasn't as disturbing as the old guy. He just hoped neither noticed what he was doing. He didn't want to explain. "I did?" He paused, giving the blue eyed man an innocent look.

Severus gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Yes, you did," he bit out warningly. "Now, if you would?"

The boy blinked infuriatingly at him. "Would what?"

"Explain!" the wizard snarled explosively, instinctively reaching for his wand. His hand paused as the boy in front of him tensed ever so slightly at the movement, his cobalt eyes fastened on his. Severus frowned as for a moment he saw something in those eyes, something that tugged at his instincts...

But then it was gone, so quickly he was half-convinced he'd simply imagined it. The boy turned back to the elder wizard, as relaxed as he'd been on the walk up. "Oh, all right, since you insist..."

Albus held up a hand, forestalling anything the teenager might have said. "No, no. Not yet." He smiled at Severus' frustrated glance. "I'm afraid we've neglected our manners terribly. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the Headmaster of this fine establishment. My rather dour colleague there is Severus Snape, our Potions instructor. And who might you be?" he asked, fixing the boy with a curious stare.

"Me? I'd be Duo Maxwell, I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie." Quirking his lips in amusement over a real chance to use that little catchphrase of his outside a classroom, he sat back, resting his hands on the arms of his chair. "Pleasure to meet you both."

He still had his backpack, so at least he didn't have to worry about that. Flexing his arms a little, he felt the reassuring weights of the blades hidden up his sleeves, and he waited, deciding to see how the pair would react to what he'd said. The threatening motion the professor had made implied he carried some form of weapon, and that meant that the older man likely did as well. He covered his thoughts with an easy grin.

But the only reaction he received was an even brighter smile from the old man, who, nice or not, Duo was beginning to suspect was at least a touch senile. "The pleasure is ours, I assure you, Mr. Maxwell."

"Duo," he interrupted cheerfully. "Please. 'Mister' makes me feel like I've done somethin' wrong, and someone's about to chew me out for it."

That statement possibly wasn't that far off the mark, depending on how good the boy's explanations were, Severus reflected. And that reminded him... "Pleasantries aside, Mr. Maxwell, we are still waiting to hear just why you decided to trespass."

The teenager frowned at him, the first time he'd seen the boy display a truly negative emotion. "There's no need to be rude about it, ya know. I was going to tell you anyway."

Severus waved him on with one elegant hand. "I'm not stopping you."

Duo felt his frown deepen as he stared at the dark man. "Fine. I was looking for a friend," he said shortly. Really, the guy couldn't expect to get what he wanted in life by being rude to people, could he? Well, sure, Duo did it all the time himself, but only when it would benefit him in some way.

"You were looking for a friend. Here?" Severus' voice was deadpan and he couldn't help an arched eyebrow, not really believing that the boy's explanation could be so simple. "How did you even get here?"

"Now, now Severus, give Duo a chance to explain between questions." Another of those oddly disturbing smiles followed the words as he looked to the braided teen again. "Though, if you would be good enough to answer his questions?"

Tempted to rub his forehead over the looming headache, Severus conceded to the unspoken demand that he be more polite. He wasn't making any guarantees though. "Yes, do continue."

"Yes, here. I got here through a tracking spell thing. That's all. I just woke up out in the rain, then you guys found me." Duo's voice was clipped, and he couldn't help that his annoyance bled into his words. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"A tracking spell?" Albus asked with some interest. "Which one did you use?"

Duo shrugged. "If it had a name, I don't know it. I found it in this musty old book, and thought it might help track He- my friend down."

"I see." The Headmaster studied him curiously. "Do you have the book with you?"

The boy slid his backpack off one shoulder, pulling it around to his front. He started to search through it automatically, then froze. "Oh, shit," he whispered, eyes wide in realization.

"Duo? What's wrong?"

Duo looked up at the old man, just a hint of panic in his eyes. "The book. The damn book, it didn't come through with me!"

"Calm down, it certainly can't be that bad." Albus raised a hand offering the boy a candy. "Lemon drop?"

He paused in his actions, lifting his head to give the man a look rife with incredulity, and he shook his head. "No, I don't take candy from strange men." He then sighed, seeing the diversion for what it was, belatedly. "A... friend gave me that book, a long time ago. It had some title on it that I'd never been able to see the point in..." He paused, thinking, and mouthed out the words. "I think it was 'The Book of Lost Legacy' or something like that."

Severus frowned, searching through his memories for anything of that name. Coming up completely blank, he glanced questioningly at Albus.

The Headmaster wore a small frown of his own, as he leaned back in his chair. "That does sound familiar..." he murmured absently. "Perhaps I saw a copy of it in the library, or Aberforth mentioned it to me..."

Duo sat up straight, eyes intent. "You've heard of it?"

Albus glanced up. "I believe so, though I fear I cannot quite remember where."

The boy sagged in relief, smiling at the old man. "Thank God... I wasn't sure it would exist here."

Severus cocked his head to the side at that comment. "Exist here?" he asked sharply.

Duo immediately shot his eyes to the source of the question, a grin creeping across his lips to hide his slight nervousness over the question that had been asked. "Yeah. Seeing as I don't know where I ended up at all here..."

The elderly wizard's eyes lit then, and a touch of his brilliance showed before being hidden behind those determined twinkles. "You don't? I'd imagine now. Tell me, what is the place you come from like? I'd prefer to be sure of something."

Duo shot the wizard a wary look before answering, relaxing outwardly even through his own tension. "It's allot less wet than here, and it was spring. It isn't spring here though is it?"

Albus' eyes twinkled even more brightly. "No, my boy, it isn't. In fact, we are just reaching the beginning of autumn. The students will be arriving... oh, any minute now."

The teenager nodded after a moment, accepting that as truth. "Okay. But that still leaves the question of where I am. It doesn't rain like that where I come from, period."

"Where do you come from, then?" Severus asked, growing ever more curious in spite of himself.

"L2."

That was... a singularly unhelpful answer, the Slytherin decided after a moment of deep thought. The utterly blank look on Albus' face told him he didn't recognize the place, either. "El-two?" he questioned, his brow furrowing in puzzlement.

That was Duo's cue to frown at them. He'd thought everyone knew the colonies... Then he could have hit himself, remembering what had brought him here, and what the book said here might be. Either a really different alternate reality, or...

"What year is it?" he asked abruptly, gaze focused on Severus' dark eyes.

The wizard stared back at him, yet again both confused and annoyed by their unexpected guest. "What do you mean, 'what year is it'?" he snapped waspishly. "It's 1995, of course, you daft idiot!"

The boy was no longer paying him any attention, though. His eyes had gone wide and lightened to an oddly disturbing near-violet color, as the blood drained from his face. A choked sound emerged from his throat as he dropped his head, cradling his face in his hands. After a few seconds they heard him speak, his voice muffled from behind his fingers. "Oh, freakin' bloody hell..."

To be continued.