Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Never Say Let Go ❯ Chapter 12

Title: Never Say Let Go

Author: Skeren Dreamera and Hoshi-Tachi

Chapter twelve

Hagrid frowned, looking curiously at the wand maker. "Ain't that wha' yeh said 'bout 'arry's wand?"

The old man smiled mysteriously. "Indeed, yes... You see, that's the first time I've ever sold a wand with that particular core. Though, I do admit it fits..." he added, gazing contentedly at Duo.

"Really? What is it?" The American peered at his new wand inquisitively.

"Why, that wand contains the pilot feather of a tengu," Ollivander answered proudly. "Quite a rascal, he was..."

Duo blinked. "A what?"

"A tengu!" Hagrid gushed, beaming. "They're from all the way over in Japan, they are! I've ne'er seen one, o' course, but I've read plenty 'bout them. Tricky little buggers, they are. Always foolin' the muggles by dressin' up as priests."

"Japan? Honto?" He couldn't resist, and the confused blinks that made him smirk. He waved a hand around and shook his head. "Betsu ni nanimo nai."

"Er, Duo? Whatcha' speakin' there?" Hagrid looked a bit amused, yet confused.

"Japanese, of course. It just seemed to suit the moment." He grinned, laughing quietly. "I know a few languages... It was something of a hobby for me."

Ollivander nodded his approval. "And quite a good one. I wish more young people these days would consider hobbies like that."

Duo grinned again. If they only knew about his 'hobbies'... Still, a compliment was a compliment, so he bowed. "Domo arigato gozaimashita, Ollivander-san."

The old man smiled. "Douitashimashite." As Duo blinked at him, surprised, the wand maker glanced again at his wand, and the smile was replaced with a frown. "Still, though, that is a very unusual wand..." He glanced at Hagrid. "Really, Mr. Hagrid, you seem to be making a habit of bringing customers to my shop with connections to Him."

Hagrid paled slightly, and Sirius whined at his feet. "Wha'? How?" he asked, sending Duo a troubled glance.

Ollivander shook his head. "Nothing as strong as Mr. Potter's wand, fear not. The yew tree Mr. Maxwell's wand is made from is the very same tree that His came from. A rather weak connection, in fact, compared to that of brother cores..."

Duo looked between them, steadily growing more bewildered with each sentence. "What are you people talking about?" he finally demanded, his voice raised a few decibels above normal.

"Well, your wand has wood from the same tree as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Ollivander nodded slightly, a mysterious look on his face.

"And that has to do with anything... how?" he asked, eyeing the other two. "What? Is that a bad thing or something?"

"You-Know-Who did great things... terrible things, but great," Ollivander stated, nodding again.

The teen blinked, then smiled a sad little smile and murmured something. Sirius, with his canine hearing, was the only one who caught the quiet words. "...sounds like us..."

"He was one of the most powerful wizards this world has ever seen," Ollivander continued. "Unfortunately, he allowed that power to corrupt him, and many people died before the chaos was ended."

Hagrid grunted. "An' now that 'e's back, it'll be startin' all over again..." he said grimly.

There was a bleak silence following his words, until Duo shook himself. "Hagrid, didn't we have to get some other shopping done?" he asked, trying to distract the normally cheerful professor from his dismal thoughts.

And perhaps himself from his own thoughts, as well.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It wasn't long until Duo had been bustled over to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. It was yet another name that had the braided teen arching his eyebrows in disbelief. Robes? Didn't anyone in this place ever choose to wear pants?

Hagrid, stepping in behind him, glanced around, giving a wide smile to the proprietor. "We've come teh get the lad some proper clothes. He 'as practically nothin'."

The proprietor, a rather heavy-set witch with an only slightly fake smile pasted on her face, immediately bustled over to them. "Hello Hagrid, dear. And who might this darling be?"

Beaming, Hagrid introduced them, explaining that Duo was a recent transfer to Hogwarts from America. The witch made sympathetic noises as the professor explained how the Headmaster had told him about the unfortunate accident that had destroyed the poor boy's clothes.

All throughout the conversation, not even distracted by the part that he knew Dumbledore must have made up, Duo seethed silently.

Damn it, no one called him darling! That was what you called your mistress, or your precious little lap dog!

He waited until the conversation paused before smiling at the woman, having intentionally cut in before Hagrid could introduce her to him just for this reason. "Are you the owner of this shop then ma'am?"

"Yes, I am." She gave him an even wider smile, looking as though she wanted to pinch his cheeks and coo at him.

"So, does that mean you're Madam Milkin?"

The everlasting smile suddenly wasn't quite so everlasting, and Duo gave a mental cheer as it visibly flickered. "No, dear, I'm Madame Malkin," the shopkeeper said fastidiously, taking great care in enunciating each syllable. "With an 'a'. Please try to remember that."

Duo smiled innocently, his eyes bright. "Yes, ma'am. Of course. I apologize," he said with a bow that hid the smirk that so desperately wanted to show on his face.

Seemingly satisfied by the apology, she set about getting the American outfitted in an array of play and school clothes, once she was assured of how large his budget was. Somehow, Duo had managed to convince her that the only actual color he needed for his clothes was red, barely dodging an array of blues, violets, and greens. He also managed to get more clothes in a similar style to the one he was already wearing.

An hour later, as they were leaving, Duo turned and waved at the woman, giving her a cheeky smile. She'd refused to stop calling him darling, therefore... "Bye-bye, Madame Milkin!"

He left before she could call him on it.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Yeh really shouldn't o' done tha', y'know," Hagrid chided the teenager as they picked their way through the crowded alley. Or rather, Duo picked his way- a path simply seemed to open up in front of the gigantic professor.

Apparently, no one wanted to get stepped on.

The American snorted. "Didn't you hear what she called me?" he asked indignantly.

Hagrid looked taken aback. "'Darlin'?" he answered, obviously baffled as to how the young wizard could take offense to that, of all things.

Duo nodded vehemently, his braid thrashing behind him with the movement. "Exactly! I had to make her pay for that!"

"But I dun see..." He shook his head, peering down at the small figure at his side in confusion.

"Do I look like some frufru little puppy? I mean, I can see if she wanted to call Zechs that, but me? I'm a guy for one, and for two, I'm not a darling anything!" He curled his fingers into the black fur of the listed wizard, but the furred wizard didn't take exception. Apparently the woman had hit a nerve, and he was bright enough not to try to intercede on her behalf.

"I s'pose..." Hagrid conceded. "Still, tho', Madame Malkin is a very nice lady. I'll be expectin' yeh to apologize next time yeh see 'er."

Duo rolled his eyes, but nodded nevertheless. After all, no one had mentioned anything to him about having to actually come back here...

"Where next?" he asked, tired of that particular subject. "I've already got books..."

Hagrid nodded. "We'll still be needin' teh get you quills an' such, tho'. An' after tha', we'll stop by the 'pothecary teh get you yer Potions supplies."

The American paused, nearly cringing as he heard the word quill. "Can't we go get some pens? Please? Potions supplies sound okay, but can't I get some real paper or something?" Silently he wished for the convenience of a laptop. He suddenly understood the draw the stupid thing had had for Heero. It was just so much more organized...

"Pens? What do yer need them for? If yeh got a quill why do yeh need anythin' else?" He gave the boy a curious look, not having a real clue what a pen was. With the reference though, he could guess.

"Why? Because those quills are a freakin' menace, that's why," Duo asserted, frowning at his companion. "Half the time the tips break when ya try to use 'em, and the rest of the time the damn ink bleeds. Why the hell do you people use them?"

Hagrid blinked, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times before he could get out a reply. "Er... we always 'ave."

Duo wrinkled his nose in disgust. "In other words, 'it's traditional, therefore it's better'." Sirius, listening to the conversation, couldn't hold in a doggy snicker at the pure disdain in the teenager's voice.

To the boy's surprise, however, Hagrid nodded. "Yeah. Wizards are fond o' tradition, and suchlike. Takes a long time fer anythin' new teh be accepted."

"That's so stupid! I mean, ugh. You'd think the people who came from outside families would at least know better." He shook his head, completely disgusted. He'd never once been fond of the stupid traditions others were.

"I's nah that bad..." He trailed off, thinking, and a moment later, when he went to finally defend the traditional position, he only found a very confused looking black dog at his side. "Where' did 'e go?"