Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Just Another Perfect Soldier ❯ Where Will You Go? ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A/N: This chapter was written listening to Evanescence, especially the song 'Where Will You Go'. Perfect song for Harry in this fic right now. Actually, if allowed song fics this probably would have been based on this song. -grumbles- stupid sorry for the long wait. I wrote this over twice before I was happy with Harry's ...moment. Hopefully now, anyone even remotely familiar with Gundam Wing will know what's wrong with Harry. Everyone else will just have to wait for the reveal.

Chapter Six: Where Will You Go?

Harry hit the soft, grassy ground below with a silent thump, instantly landing in a defensive crouch. Glancing up, the escaping wizard caught sight of his open window and frowned. The possibility of being caught was too great. He couldn't leave it open like that, a blatant trail to his escape, but he couldn't close it again without being discovered too soon. What to do, what to do...

A flash of glowing green numbers gave the wizard the answer.

Tilting his head to the side, Harry kept his green gaze on the window and watched as it slowly closed itself, leaving a gap for the steam from the shower to escape. The cool air would erase the markings on the mirror and keep secret just how long ago he had left.

Without another glance, Harry suddenly dashed around the side of the castle, his feet silent against the ground. He was a black blurred shadow in the pink and purple lights of the setting sun as he headed for the edge of the wards around Hogwarts.

No matter what people thought, even Merlin himself would be hard pressed to actually accomplish apparating on Hogwarts' grounds without leaving behind a valuable part of his body. It was common knowledge that Anti-Apparation Spells worked just not how they worked.

Basically, the spells made their specified area unplottable. The only way into or out of an unplottbale area was by portkey, which leaves behind a residual magical signature, or by Floo powder. Harry doubted very much that Death Eaters would be in the habit of conjuring up fireplaces in the middle of battle and trying to connect them to the Floo Network. Not only was it easy to trace but there was a two week waiting period before proper Floo travel was available. Portkeys are entirely too traceable as well; not exactly the best choices for a clean getaway.

The wards of Hogwarts stretched out a stark few feet into the Forbidden Forest, not in far enough to be bothersome to the centaurs and other far more dangerous creatures that lived there but just enough to completely cover the enormous grounds.

Harry stopped running when his shoes began to make a slight crunching sound on the dead leaves and twigs that covered the forest floor. A cool breeze made the tops of the trees sway as jade eyes swept the surrounding area intently. The tingle of the wards reading his magical signature was irritating but Harry could do nothing to erase it. Hogwarts magic was old magic, the kind that strengthened over time, and messing with it would only leave a bigger sign that he'd left Hogwarts completely and of his own will. Besides Dumbledore was gone for the night, and if Harry's predictions were correct, he was the only person with the authority to actually view the records of the wards around Hogwarts.

The...thing? Presence? Whatever it was- in his mind told him he was alone, or at least the only magical creature with the brainpower above a Flobberworm within sensing distance to know of his departure. Slytherin Harry was joyfully silent, probably a result of being more in control, while Gryffindor Harry was calling him seven kinds of idiot and yelling to go back before something bad happened. Again. Back to his bodyguards. They were hired for a reason.

Harry snorted to himself, relaxing his body in preparation to apparate. Gryffindor Harry was one hundred and ten percent loyal to Dumbledore and did exactly what the older wizard wanted, no matter what. Slytherin Harry liked to work on his own, be his own boss. Never again would he be used, by Voldemort or Dumbledore. This kept things interestingly balanced but a pain to make decisions with.

Harry kept his eyes open as he felt his body fold upon itself, magically of course, before jumping forward. The chance of him actually loosing his eyeballs was slim, not even two percent, and the split second it took to open his eyes when he landed might be all the chance a fatal shot would need.

Gryffindor Harry was reaffirming his suspicions of having a blood link to Mad Eye as Harry felt his body jerk to a stop and unfold. All of this happened in mere seconds, a jump from the Forbidden Forest in Scotland to...

Harry studied his surroundings in puzzlement. It was another forest, this one full of orange, red and brown leaved trees, the dark green of a few pine standing out brazenly. Close by, a bird of some kind called and Harry's hand twitched at the sudden break in the silence.

The bird's call stopped half-way.

Gryffindor Harry was silent after that.

A slight path, visible only by the darkened dirt against the fallen swirls of faded leaves, lead Harry away from his initial apparation point and deeper into the vast forest. Sporadically, the sounds of the wildlife would startle the wizard, his hands clenching and relaxing in an almost continuous cycle as the trees began to thin and bright autumn sunlight broke through the dark canopy.

Harry blinked as he suddenly found himself on the banks of a huge lake, one that looked almost out of place in the middle of the forest, its dark waters contrasting sharply with the colors around it.

Here. His mind whispered faintly. This place was important.

For a moment, Harry let the numbers and the possibilities overcome him, relaxing into the presence in his mind and just being there as multiple futures skimmed vaguely over his frazzled consciousness.

“Emerald!”

The sudden shout of what was obviously a name frightened the dark-eyed wizard into an almost instinctual attack. The trees behind him, separating the wizard from what he could now see as a little boy of about ten, swayed and exploded. Harry nearly choked on his breath as the little boy shrieked and threw up his small arms to ward off the attack.

A moment passed as nothing hit him, when the boy put his arms down to see the splinters and sticks of the tress held in midair barely inches from his body.

“Whoa...” His messy blond hair shone in the sun as he watched the trees rewind and come back together with a groan. Everything started back up again as the leaves swayed in the breeze again and the boy was back in motion, running towards Harry.

It was to the bewilderment of the black haired wizard that his arms opened up to grab the little runt as he sent a flying hug his way. Duo had barely touched him earlier that day and Harry had nearly broken his wrist. This little scrap of a boy was hugging him like a boa constrictor and the only thing he could think of doing was hug him back.

“Emerald, I was so worried you wouldn't come back! You said before that you wasn't sure if you could anymore.”

Harry swallowed at the innocent pleasure the boy seemed to get from his presence as he watched that little blond head, which had been trying to bury itself in his mid-drift, pulled back to reveal shining hazel eyes. Then the boy frowned in confusion.

“You're usually wet when I see you. You haven't come to check on her yet?”

Vocal cords which had been previously frozen in shock and confusion booted back up as Harry put his hands on the boy's shoulders.

“What?”

It was alarming to watch as the child's face crumpled suddenly.

“Oh, you've forgotten already! You said it would happen but I had truly hoped it wouldn't! You don't remember me, do you?”

Harry shook his head silently, feeling himself shake as Gryffindor Harry told him to not kill the boy. He was a little cutie-pie. Slytherin Harry snorted before admitting the kid was alright and apparently bright.

The child sighed so sadly. “Oh Emerald! It must be scary to not remember anything! Just like my Grandpa Fred! He keeps calling me Samuel when he knows that's only my middle name! He keeps forgetting I'm Jackson!”

Jackson stuck out his hand suddenly and gave Harry a big cheery grin. It didn't fade as the wizard slowly took the little hand in his.

“You said my name is-was Emerald?”

Jackson nodded excitedly. “That's what you told me! I found you up here on the banks hurt real bad just after school was out. You were bleeding and everything! I was gonna take you home to mom but then you just-” The boy snapped his fingers suddenly. “- woke up!”

The grin stayed on the boy's sun-tanned face as he spoke quickly. “It was pretty cool! But it wasn't cool that you were hurt. So I helped you and then we were friends. I used to come up here every day to see you but you could only come sometimes.”

Golden eyebrows furrowed sharply. “I was a bit afraid you might be a criminal or a murderer or something worse. Maybe the bogeyman. You kept saying you were gonna kill me too and that was scary. But when you showed me Phoenix, I knew you wasn't a bad guy. You're a Gundam Pilot.”

At Harry's uncomprehending look, the sunny grin faded. Harry looked down at the lake with troubled eyes.

“A Gundam Pilot?”

The way Jackson's eyes widened and his jaw dropped would have been comical at another time, Harry absently noted as the boy gapped at him.

“You don't even remember being a pilot? Man, this is worse than I thought! Do you remember anything about anything?”

Harry's affronted pride made him give the boy a sharp look.

“Yes. Just not anything about being this Emerald person. Emerald wasn't real.”

Slytherin Harry was impressed that the little shrimp went from happy to suspicious so quickly.

“You mean you're not Emerald?”

Harry rubbed his scar in frustration. “No. I was Emerald. My name's Harry now. I was Harry before I was Emerald and now I'm Harry again.”

Jackson looked skeptical as Harry spoke before scratching his chin in thought.

“You mean when you said you didn't remember anything before and that you're name was Emerald was just you forgetting your name was Harry?”

Jade eyes blinked at the explanation before nodding. “Exactly. But now I can't remember when I was Emerald and that's a big problem.”

“Why?”

The question was said in such an innocent voice, Harry half wondered if he had the right to burden the little blond boy with his troubles.

“Because I can't remember what I did when I was Emerald. I think I may have done some bad things.”

“You did.” Harry's eyes shot over to Jackson's solemn face at the serious tone the boy used. He looked a lot older than ten as he stared at Harry, like a doctor telling a patient of his impending death. “You told me that sometimes, your bosses made you do bad things but you couldn't stop it. I think that they brainwashed you myself.” Then the grin returned. “But you said that I was helping you fight the evil men and I needed to take car of Phoenix for you AND soon you'd forget everything they did and you would escape and come to see me. Did you escape?”

At his nod, the young boy went into a frenzied dance, shouting excitedly and clapping his hands. A few Indian howls were added as well until Harry couldn't help but smile slightly. It was barely a twinge at the corners of his mouth but it happened and for a moment, the green eyed wizard felt lighter.

The moment was gone as the high pitch of a woman's voice broke through the trees.

“Jackson, supper time!”

Mid-jump the blond boy stopped and looked horror stricken. “Oh no, mom's gonna kill me! It'll take ages to get back from here!”

Without so much as a goodbye, Jackson took off down the bank, heading back up the path. Harry felt his heart constrict in panic as he called out to the boy.

“Wait a moment! Where is this Phoenix?”

Tiny feet skidded to a stop as the boy turned around quickly.

“I already told ya! She's in the lake. Come back again, Emerald!”

Harry watched as his younger companion rushed off into the dense forest with a lost expression on his face. His memories had told him that Emerald was a dangerous, cold-hearted killer with a dark thirst for revenge but if Jackson were to be believed, and Harry's knowledge of children's unique ability to be completely honest told him it was, then Emerald was slightly more human than he thought.

With an irritated sigh Harry turned to consider the lake, wincing slightly at the throb headache that had suddenly taken up residence behind his scar. He didn't need to follow the threads of those annoying possibilities to know he had two choices- to go into the lake or to not go into the lake.

Gryffindor Harry shrugged, up for a bit of heroic exploration. Slytherin Harry wanted to make sure no one else came looking for his Phoenix and had already carefully weighted the options. This was one of those Calculated Risk things, he always hated.

Harry roughly toed off his sneakers and the robe he'd transfigured from a fallen leaf earlier. No sense in getting bogged down with heavy clothing when there was really no need to wear it. Almost absently-absentmindedly, the black-haired wizard folded his belongings and tucked them down at the base of a tree nearest the lake. His hand barely twitched over them before they disappeared from sight, transforming into a dandelion. Instinctively wards were raised to alert him of anyone, or anything in the case of some magical creatures, coming near his position before turning back towards the lake.

Muscles stiffened as Harry went on alert, his eyes scanning the water for a sign of something. Was it just his imagination or did he really see a pair of glowing green eyes flash up at him from the murky depths? Hell, he was already arguing with the other presence in his mind and with his own conscious, why not add hallucinations to the tally as well. If he was going to be insane, he was milking it for all it was worth.

Without hesitation, Harry strode towards the water's edge, not letting the muddy banks keep him. His face was calm as the ice water lapped at his toes, then his ankles, numbing his body as he sank further and further into the lake. Gryffindor Harry was torn between awe at his newfound pain threshold and fear of it. What did it take to make him that strong? The idea that perhaps Harry had already endured worse was not one of comfort. Slytherin Harry was preoccupied with thoughts of just how this new information could be put to good use.

The lake deepened at an alarming rate and before long the wizard was up to his armpits in the dirty water. No a word was said as Harry cast his spells, making breathing underwater far less troublesome for himself than most found it, before slipping underneath the glassy surface.

For once Slytherin Harry and Gryffindor Harry were in a tentative agreement as Harry's gaze snapped around the other world underneath the lake. The sunlight streaked through the muggy surface and lit up patches of the underwater pathway. Shadows from plants and the larger forms of rocks swayed with the buoyancy of the water and the currents from Harry's powerful strokes or the movement of the startled aquatic life. It was different down here.

Slime and tiny particles of dirt were stirred up as Harry swam, keeping an eye out for enemies as well as his elusive Phoenix. Honestly it couldn't be that hard to find, it was a larger-than-life sized robot.

Slytherin Harry cringed before rising up like an angry cat at that Gryffindor-ish description. Phoenix was not a robot; to even think that was... immoral. Besides, he had read some of the articles in the muggle papers about Phoenix and everyone called her a Gundam. Jackson had called him a Gundam Pilot.

Whatever that was.

To another, the vague outline of the Gundam would have been missed entirely. Unknown to Harry, only the other five official, or unofficial depending on who you asked, pilots would have been able to spot her. Harry felt a sort of fondness well up in his chest at the outline of his Phoenix, sitting on th lake's bottom like a lost china doll waiting for its owner.

For a moment, Harry would swear the words 'Welcome Home' were whispered against his consciousness.

All thoughts of talking mechas drifted from his mind as Harry stopped between Phoenix's outstretched legs, floating down to land softly on the muddy lake bottom. Looking up into her face, the wizard felt surprise, and a touch of faint familiarity, to see a pair of glowing green eyes stare down at him.

The tingle of wards, marked by his own magical signature was not a surprise at all. What kind of -pilot?- would he had been if he had simply left Phoenix unprotected in the middle of a lake and alone except for the visits of a young boy while he cheerfully went off and lost his memory again? Not very good one, that was truth. Harry never left his Firebolt for granted, he doubted he would leave something as special as this without high security as well.

Almost instantly, thoughts about upgrades, systems checks and maintenance drifted through Harry's mind. She was made of gundamium, but she had been sitting here for- he paused, frowning- for Merlin knows how long.

Surging upward, Harry came to rest, his palms against the cockpit's hatch. He battled with an almost undeniable urge to simply open the door and sit down. Start her up and leave this place...

Of course common sense told him opening that hatch would ultimately kill Phoenix and himself by way of short-circuit electrocution. He'd need to find another way to move her.

Not for the first time, Harry cursed the loss of his memory. He had no clue as to what he did with Phoenix's remote. The slim little device, with the power to make the Gundam walk to him without his presence at the controls, would have been ideal fro this situation. The remote, however, was missing.

Harry figured, with an irritated sigh, that it must have been destroyed by Emerald to keep Phoenix from Voldemort and- Harry frowned as the name slipped away from his mind again. There was someone else hidden with Voldemort. Someone Harry knew about but wasn't supposed to know about. It couldn't have been another captive.

But Harry wouldn't be this afraid of another captive.

So the remote must have been destroyed. The only other option the green numbers and tingling nerves gave him was that he might have given it to Jackson. Following that thread for a moment, Harry shuddered and shook his head. Or not. The boy was trustworthy but if his presence was missed for too long, if he had been killed in the escape, the runt would have called Phoenix just for fun.

The answer slammed into his head, making Harry wince. Gryffindor Harry was getting angsty with all of his over-analyzing and Slytherin Harry was strung-out with his lingering. Someone could simply drop by at any minute. Friend or foe. Or innocent. What would Harry do to keep Phoenix a secret?

The word 'Anything' pushed at his lips at the same time 'not that' crossed his mind. Harry froze for a moment in indecision. What would he do? Would he let Gryffindor Harry or Slytherin Harry take over, or would he even be given that choice? Would he be forced to kill again?

A scarier thought followed the last one, making Harry shudder and rest a hand on Phoenix for support. Would he enjoy it?

In a tiresome feeling of deja vu, Harry felt a memory peek up and let it. He needed to know, no matter what. Bad or good, this was his burden. Harry needed to know what he'd done to make some memories smell like smoke and blood and sound like tortured screams.

Memory

“Mission Complete. Returning to base.”

Emerald turned off the comm link as the confirmation sounded and sighed. Conflicting feelings of relief and shame filled his chest, making it hard to breath.

That wasn't logical. Simple emotions weren't supposed to make it physically confining to draw oxygen into his lungs.

Besides, were relief and shame even the appropriate ones to be feelings one should have after completely decimating the hidden Veela village of Petite Amoure...

A stream of bubbles left Harry's mouth as bits and pieces of memories broke free and surfaced in the wizard's mind.

“Enemies destroyed. Civilian barracks still holding. Mission Complete.” Radio static sounded for a moment as Emerald prepared to pull out.

Nothing, not even his ability to predict possibilities and probable futures, could have believed he would ever get those next orders.

“Black Emerald, Mission Incomplete. Civilian barracks must be destroyed. I repeat, destroy civilian barracks.”

Emerald felt his hands shake as they reached for the controls. Calloused fingertips brushed the cooling hand grips before he pulled them back violently.

“No.”

The comm link crackled.

“What did you say?”

Whoever he was talking to was angry, furious in fact, so much so that their voice sent shivers of terror done the pilot's spine. Green numbers flashed rapidly across his eyes. No, the mission was to destroy the armies, his enemies. Innocents were needed to rebuild. Reconstruction was necessary for the survival of the race.

“Orders not recognized. Orders denied. Orders unconfirmed. Orders fucked up!”

The voice on the other line rose dramatically at Emerald's outburst.

“Black Emerald complete the mission. If the civilian barracks are still standing you have failed. You cannot fail your mission!”

The words 'Failure is not an option' whispered through his mind as another thought overpowered it, making him feel weak.

Sometimes failure is the only option.

If he knew exactly what smug rebellion felt like, Emerald would have labeled the strange sensation bubbling up in the pit of his stomach as such as he replied back, a smirk across his lips.

“Mission failed.”

The man made a noise of outrage before his half-spoken words were cut off suddenly. Emerald kept the smirk on his face as he booted up the thrusters and left site, communications still open.

“Black Emerald, report back to the left hanger immediately.”

The smirk disappeared as the rebellious pilot froze.

“Left hanger?” He repeated, his mind frantic with possibilities.

“Yes. It seems you need to be...re-educated in some aspects of your training.”

Emerald may not have known the feeling of smugness but fear was an old friend.

My Lord, he's escaping! Ja-”

Whatever the black-robed Death Eater had been about to shout was cut off as his throat was crushed. Instead, a wet gurgle echoed in the damp corridors of the base's underground. Emerald debated leaving the filth alive as predictions of possible capture dashed across his eyes.

With a curse, he turned and left the man there.

Lucky bastard.

Still pulling out needles, plastic tubes and torn wires, he sped down the torch lit hall, feet silent on the cold stone floor. It had been unbelievably foolish of them to have given him free-reign of the base after they had given him the tools necessary to break out.

They'd made him this way. A ruthless killer, super strong, super fast, super psychic. They'd made him but he belonged to no one.

It was time for them to deal with the consequences of their actions. A simple act of cause and effect. His freedom was within his reach so that never again would someone else control him. Never again. He'd have to kill no longer...

Three Death Eaters stumbled through a door at the end of the corridor, wands drawn, ready for battle.

Emerald let a predatory smirk cross his face.

Well, maybe that thought would have to wait...

Harry jerked back to the present, his heart pounding in time with the throb in his head as his mind already began to process what he'd just remembered. Absently, his hands smoothed across the chest plate of Phoenix, as if soothing a startled child.

Sweet, merciful Merlin it was worse than he'd thought.

Realizing, in his fourth year, that Cedric Diggory had been a victim of the tragic 'wrong place, wrong time' scenario simply because he was standing next to Harry had been traumatizing. He'd had nightmares ever since.

Even more ghastly than that, discovering his sole role in the death of the other boy's father had been pushing it to the end of Harry's tolerance levels.

But to suddenly remember, and actually understand, that he'd wiped out entire towns and villages of innocent people, entire clans and packs of magical creatures, was too much to bear.

Harry began to shake slightly.

He'd been Voldemort's pawn, his perfect weapon, all along and hadn't even known it, hadn't remembered. His hands curled into fists as he recalled being poked and probed and tied down to a cold metal table. There had been cold hands roughly touching him, his eyes stinging with all the bright lights as they erased Harry James Potter and created this Black Emerald to do their bidding.

Harry swallowed and looked back up at Phoenix.

Only they hadn't erased him, not completely. Somewhere along the line, Harry had been buried, pushed away and kept safe, kept innocent of all the things Emerald made them do. Now he had both, both Emerald and Harry trying to co-exist without driving him insane.

Two extremes tugging him in different direction, tearing at him until he broke or stretched and adapted. Or change.

There was really only one option.

Harry needed to embrace Emerald and everything he stood for. Emerald needed to accept Harry and his ideals or risk short-circuiting. They didn't have to agree completely but meet halfway and find a middle ground.

Balance. Harry thought to himself. We need to balance each other out or theywin.

There was no verbal, or mental Harry thought with a shaky grin, reply but Gryffindor Harry and Slytherin Harry faded into the background, still fighting but under the wizard's tentative control. For now. Harry wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to stop Bla- Emerald- from emerging if his control wavered.

Memories pushed aside with his thoughts, Harry looked up at Phoenix. He just had a wonderful idea on how to get her out of here.

Duo Maxwell opened the bathroom door in a whirl of wood and steam, securing a black elastic band on the end of his braid with a flourish. He stopped short at the figure of his best friend still waiting to use the shower.

“Man, just go in and drag him out.” Duo complained, exasperated with Heero's odd passive-aggressive nature with their charge. “No one takes thirty minutes showering, not even me and I have enough hair for ten of us.”

Heero eyed the long braid trailing behind his friend in thought before snapping his gaze back to Duo's.

“You have enough hair to adequately cover twelve point thirty eight heads.”

Duo scrunched up his face as he groaned. “Dude, that's so gross. If you ever get tired of this bodyguard business you can write outrageous facts for children's books.”

“Hn.” The look on Heero's fact was one of contemplation, making Duo give the Japanese wizard an odd look. Heero shook his head. “That occupation does not pay as well.”

“I was kidding, man-oh ha ha very funny. Let's all laugh at Duo. Come on everyone join in.” The American teen said, catching the teasing light in the other's dark blue eyes.

A deep chuckle came from the pair's right, startling them. Trowa stood in the doorway to his and Quatre's rooms, a towel still thrown over his shoulder. The tiniest smirk flitted around his mouth as he looked at Duo in amusement.

“I believe I missed the punch line.”

Heero shrugged. “You can laugh at him anyway.”

Duo was pouting when Wufei joined them, raising an eyebrow at his smirking friends. The smug expression didn't flatten at the Chinese teen's glare.

“What hap-”

Whatever Wufei was going to say was cut off as Quatre dashed out of his room, his clothes in various states of disarray. He ignored Duo's shout of confusion and avoided Heero's grab at him.

Quicker than the other four pilots had ever seen him move, the blond was at the bathroom shared by Harry and Heero, turning at the knob. When it didn't budge, a slight growl came from Quatre, making Wufei raise his eyebrows. Duo blinked as the blond turned to Heero.

“Open this door.”

Trowa had no doubt his lover meant for Heero to simply kick it open and leave the door fairly intact.

No one expected 01 to literally rip the door knob out of the wood.

There was a pause as the five wizards looked around the room.

“You know, I'm kinda surprised that I'm not surprised to see its empty.” Duo remarked tightly. Heero was already checking out the window.

“It's open. No signs of a forced entry.”

“Or a struggle.” Trowa pointed out calmly. Quatre nodded, rubbing his chest and looking sheepish.

“I just realized before I got in the shower that something felt...off. When I checked on you guys I noticed Harry's presence was missing.”

“Where would he go?” Wufei demanded, serious. “Why for that matter? He doesn't strike me as the type to run away.”

“Nor the type to be able to get out from under the noses of the five Gundam Pilots.” Duo countered. “Aw man! We've been had!”

“Could he still be in the castle?” It seemed that they would be ignoring Duo's last remark for actually finding their charge. Quatre closed his eyes for a moment. He sighed gustily. “I can't feel him anywhere.”

Heero turned sharply and exited the crowded bathroom.

“Let's search the castle and grounds. We may find someone to help.”

Remus Lupin stood in the entrance Hall of Hogwarts with the heavy feeling of bittersweet belonging in his chest. He was back. Home again, alone and just a bit more weary than he had been four years ago.

The castle was disturbingly silent, a startling contrast to how the werewolf was used to the school being. Hogwarts wasn't built to be silent or empty, and Remus wondered just how Albus Dumbledore could ever stand to live here year round.

Slowly, with his trunk scraping along behind him, the werewolf made his way completely inside the doors and started on the familiar route to his new-old office. It was on a somewhat more cheerful note that Remus realized he never thought he'd be back at Hogwarts to teach and yet he had returned for another shot at it. Of course there had been a few complaints, but most families had come to see that Voldemort's rising was of much more concern than a harmless werewolf teaching their children Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Remus suspected, a bit modestly, that Harry's force the DA had had something to do with talking down their parents. He never did suspect that it might have been his amazing teaching ability or his friendly nature that had gained him so many admirers.

His feet padded gently on the carpeted floor, his amber gaze flickering around to look at the paintings and stationary suits of armor. He was home.

Knowing that the students weren't due to arrive until late the next day, the spicy scent of male teenagers, cubs his mind labeled quickly, just like Harry, startled him. The werewolf's enhanced hearing strained to catch the sound of another's stride, more than one he realized, coming down the corridor ahead of him.

Silently, Remus set his trunk down and crept up the hall slowly, listening to the different walks and trying to fit them into the ones he knew. There was one a bit like Minerva's in that it sounded like a cat's graceful stalk. The arrogance, barely present in it was different from the Transfiguration Professor's quiet confidence that she was in charge.

The next one was erratic but barely there, a right contradiction. It seemed to be a cross between Flitwick's excited gant and Dumbledore's quiet ghostings. It was confidant and cautious, as if the person walking new danger could be just around every corner and welcomed it with open arms.

Next came a step that reminded Remus very much of Harry's gentleness clashing with Draco Malfoy's knowledge that this person deserved to be there, walking around. There was that undercurrent of disguised danger that Harry constantly gave off only it was tapered back by something Remus wasn't sure he could understand.

The last two were...odd. Remus could barely make out one, the only sound that seemed to come off that person was the sound of air moving around their body, while the other strode down the corridor with a single-minded determinedness and ire Remus had only seen Severus Snape pass off. One foot in front of the other, steady and efficient were the first words that popped into the werewolf's head as he prepared for their arrival. Whoever they were, they were strangers to him and the Defense Professor was not stupid enough to believe the best of everyone in these troubled times.

Prepared for a surprise confrontation, Remus was terrified to find himself grabbed suddenly and slammed into the walk. The hands at his robe's collar were strong and steady as the stars cleared from the older man's vision to let him realize he was actually hanging off the floor by the hands of a shorter teenage boy.

A frightfully strong teenage boy with a fierce expression and surrounded by four of his friends, it appeared.

Remus blinked at them all before the wolf in him tensed at what he saw. The boy holding him didn't need his weapon but the others had taken no chance. One of their number, a boy of obvious Asian descent, was wielding a sword like he knew how to use it while the teen next to him, supporting an outrageously long braid of chestnut colored hair, was holding two sharp looking knives.

The last two made the werewolf's blood run cold.

“Dear Merlin, are those guns?”

A gentle looking blond and another tall boy with hair that reminded Remus of a Shetland pony held hand guns and were, Remus saw, taking point at both sides of their trio of friends. Unfortunately, that appeared to be the wrong thing to say as the one holding the professor up growled, returning his attention back to see wild chocolate-colored hair and startling blue eyes. Eyes Remus hadn't seen since Sirius Black...

“Who are you?”

The question was growled in a way that told the trapped wizard if he didn't have a very good excuse for being there he was in trouble. Thankfully, Remus Lupin was the calmest out of the four Mauraders.

“I think I should be asking you that question. I was under the idea that the students didn't arrive until tomorrow.”

The blond groaned before huffing in frustration. “You're a professor?”

The others, all clear the one with his hands at Remus' throat, relaxed slightly at the older man's nod.

“I teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

“Prove it.”

That challenged came from the one with the sword. Remus was boggled at how to do what he asked. “It might be easier if I weren't pinned to the wall like a beetle but I can tell you that I know the password to Albus Dumbledore's office is Strawberry Swirl and that he has ventured off to meet with the Headmistress of Beaubattons in France.”

There was obvious hesitation on three of the five boy's faces as Remus sent a faint prayer up that he wouldn't get killed by the five Preventers Albus had hired to protect his godson. He honestly doubted that parents were sending their children to school armed nowadays and that was the only conclusion he could come up with for these five having actual muggle weapons..

A sudden thought seared its way through Remus mind.

If these five were Harry's guardians, just where exactly, was Harry?

The answer came when the braided teen let out a frustrated breath and touched the wizard's blue-eyed attacker cautiously.

“We don't have time for this. He's been away for an hour now and 04's not-”

“Harry's gone?!”

Remus abandoned all rational thinking and his hold on his emotions, struggling against the surprisingly strong hold on him. He growled dangerously. “You've lost my godson?!”

The blond gasped, a hand hovering over his chest as he turned to stare at Remus. Teal colored eyes flashed as he spoke. “Put him down Heero. He speaks the truth.”

No one moved as Heero's too-blue gaze flickered from Remus' frantic face to Quatre's open one. His grip didn't waiver as Quatre' expression became...darker and his bright eyes turned almost blank.

“I told you to Put. Him. Down.”

Remus felt Moony crawl back into his mind at the tone of voice used by the blond. Hero's hands dropped him immediately and the teen stepped back, sending a glare at Remus and an unreadable expression at the golden boy who ignored him for looking at Remus.

“Harry appears to have left of his own accord, Sir. We have already searched the upper levels of the castle and we on our way to the dungeons.”

'Searched the whole of the castle in only an hour?' Remus thought faintly as the news hit him.

“Harry ran away? He wouldn't-” There was a pause as five sharp gazes focused in on the professor's reaction. Remus groaned. “What am I talking about, it's Harry? Of course he would.”

“This is a repeated behavior?” The boy with the sword demanded briskly, his brows frowning in anger. “Why were we not informed of it?”

Remus waved a hand in confusion. “Why should I know? Dumbledore does things his way and that's how it is.”

The tallest one of the bunch spoke up, his voice low and soothing, in a scary sort of way. “Perhaps we should continue our search and save these talks for a later time.”

There was no shameful blushes in the group as they gathered together and mapped out who would search where. Remus felt distinctively out of the loop and worried. It would take a frightfully long time to search the whole of the undergrounds of Hogwarts. It was full of twists and turns and little cubbyholes that had been horrible to draw on the Maurader's Map.

Remus blinked before clearing his throat. “Where's Harry's trunk?”

A meeting of looks told the older wizard that the one with Sirius' eyes was against telling him that. The blond one over-ruled him silently.

“In our rooms.”

The guy with the braid, and a set of bright violet eyes, glared at nothing with an out-of-place grin on his face. “If he's hidden away in there for a joke I'll kill him myself.”

Remus quickly explained. “No, Harry holds in his possession a map of Hogwarts and all her grounds. One look on it would tell you if he's left completely.”

“We are not taking him to the rooms.” The one who assaulted Remus said sharply as the not-so-gentle blond raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to argue back. Remus beat him to it.

“Oh blast it all! Accio Maurader's Map.”

The braided teen gave his protesting friend a look. “I thought we beat that Lone Ranger instinct out of you years ago. Quatre's not wrong about these kind of things and you know it. So get your head outta your ass and think for a damn minute.”

Personally, the werewolf would have called that a bit harsh but was too distracted by the whistling sound of the all too familiar map whizzing through the air. He caught it smoothly in his outstretched hand. In a flash it was unrolled and had a wand tip nearly shoved through its parchment.

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

In the silence of everyone watching the spidery lines draw themselves out onto the old parchment, the teen with the braid nudged the Asian boy beside him and mumbled out of the corner of his mouth “There's a wicked story behind that, I know there is.”

Remus grunted slightly. “You can forcibly drag it out of Harry when we find him. Now hold this out and help me look.”

Eyes roamed the map quickly before the tallest teen, the one with the braid and the one Remus suspected was named Heero pointed out on the grounds.

Remus jerked in recognization.

“Just what in the bloody hell is he doing out behind Hagrid's hut?”

Harry had barely crossed the imaginary line between Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest when his scar burst into pain. Experience, and bloody common sense, told him that one of two things were about to happen.

Harry would either have a vision of Voldemort, or the slimy bastard was trying to break into his mind. Again.

The absence of any flashing pictures and the sheer intensity of the pain told Harry that the Dark Lord was trying to enter his head, his mind, making the young wizard felt fear chill his spine.

'Blac-'

Instinctively the his mind slammed shut, like a draw bridge being pulled up. The imaginary sound echoed in his mind as the pain increased and Harry felt the stirrings of panic.

Voldemort knew the words, the phrase, that would turn the Boy-Who-Lived from his present state into a cold-blooded killer wiling to do whatever the sadistic Dark Lord told him to.

Harry distantly felt the cold, damp earth under his knees as the harsh sound of his panting breath filled his ears, battling against the noise for the rush of his blood through his veins. It felt like someone, three guesses who, was stabbing burning hot shards of glass through his brain at random then twisting them suddenly.

“Dammit, just leave me alone.” Harry grit out between his clenched teeth, one hand fisted in the fabric of his pants, the other pressing palm first against the throbbing lightning bolt scar splashed across his forehead. Slytherin Harry growled at the idea of someone forcing their way back into Harry's head, countering Gryffindor Harry's desperate and forceful attempt at blocking the force with a calm and steady stream of strength.

Other than the clenched hand and the palm to his forehead, anyone passing by would have thought the Boy-Who-Lived was meditating or in some sort of sleep-like state, breathing slowly and deeply. The vague thought that this was an impressive feat crossed Harry's mind as he fought the intrusion. Prior mental attacks for the Dark Lord had usually resulted in the wizard finding himself dazed, confused and on his back, screaming bloody murder.

'Black Eme-'

Harry felt the stirrings of complete panic as Voldemort pushed at his mental barriers. Their connection was too strong to block completely and severing the link meant one of them had to die.

Harry wasn't ready to die, dammit!

'Black Emerald-'

Muscles stiffening at the command, Harry felt something inside him break- or fall into place, either way it hurt- as his fragile control on the presence in his mind that wasn't himself or Voldemort, broke.

Neurons were firing rapidly as they began to redirect themselves while gray matter finally began to reorder itself into a specific pattern that had never been seen naturally in the human brain.

The wall around Harry's mind was reinforced as a series of glowing green numbers replaced his thoughts, followed by odd...commands.

'Access Violation. Foreign program located.'

'Black Emerald!'

'Bad command, invalid response.'

'Black Emerald I-'

'An error has occurred while reading your program. Access denied.'

Th wizard felt his shields bending and flexing like some sort of durable plastic as Voldemort tried to break though. While Harry recognized this, the presence that had taken over treated the ordeal as if the Dark Lord were merely a hacker trying to gain access to his secure files.

At a draw, the glowing green numbers issued one last command.

'Removing junk files. System shutdown in: Five. Four. Three. Two. One.'

The world went black.

All in all, Heero Yuy thought he was having an extremely bad day.

The first sign of that day's impending disaster status had to have been the arrival of his current employer, through the fireplace of Preventer Headquarters. Although none had known it, that little bit of action had thrown the Perfect Soldier for a loop. People were not supposed to suddenly step out of fireplaces with green flames- the very idea messed with his impeccable sense of logic.

Of course people weren't supposed to be able to do magic, or conjure things out of thin air either, so Heero was beginning to think that this logic business was severely over-rated.

With his impromptu foray into the Magical World, the ex-pilot had done what he did best and adapted; slowly but surely filed away observations about the Wizarding World, trying desperately to make some sort of sense of it as Heero's logic was dealt another blow in the form of his new charge.

Harry Potter wassupposed to be a normal little boy, Voldemort and his magical status aside. He was supposed to be a typical and routine and solid presence, just like the mission. Heero knew these mission parameters well. Keep the boy healthy and alive and keep anyone remotely dangerous away. While he didn't want to be overly optimistic, Heero thought that taking care of this kid would be easy compared to guarding a spoiled, newly discovered Princess with the determined intentions to get into his pants.

Instead, Harry Potter turned out to be far from the little kid had already become in Heero's mind, and to top it of, the wizard seemed to have some sort of emotional breakdown only Quatre could understand. The pilot 01 had yet to determine if this was a good thing or not, as strange occurrences with pilot 04 usually resulted in the blowing up of friends and colonies.

So the kid wasn't so much a kid but more of a peer, that should have made the mission ...not necessarily easier but less complicated. Get Quatre and Duo to befriend him and gain his companionship. 02 and 04 were about the closest anyone in their group came to normal teenage behavior, according to Heero's previous observations, and were more than able to deal with Potter.

Instead, the other wizard turned out to be much more like, well Heero himself, than the others. He was quiet, withdrawn and almost moody. And suspiciously quick with impressive reflexes and observational skills. He could actually dash and lay his hands on Duo Maxwell, sneak-theft extraordinare. Heero knew, from personal experience, that Duo was as quick as a frog on speed, a phrase he picked up from the braided pilot himself.

So Potter was not the typical teenager, that was completely understandable. What wasn't was that he seemed to harbor a warped desire to run from his bodyguards. This confused Heero to no end, especially since his only experience was with Relena Peacecraft. Wasn't Potter supposed to be clingy? Even a bit terrified of another abduction? The green-eyed wizard was neither.

While Relena had the nasty and annoying trait of finding Heero wherever he went, Harry seemed to be more inclined to run in the opposite direction. Back when he was fifteen, Heero would have given his laptop, his gun and any parts of Wing that weren't exactly necessary to have Relena run away from him. He saw the irony of the situation now as he glared at the man running across the Hogwarts Grounds before him.

They were stuck following a complete stranger, in unknown territory to find Potter and Heero was quite sure that days like this would become the norm here at Hogwarts.

The group was spread out in an arrowhead like formation, with the Professor having a slight lead on Heero as Duo and Wufei took the right side, Trowa and Quatre on the left. The Wing pilot chafed at letting anyone other than his four fellow pilots lead them anywhere the idea that it could very well be a trap had crossed his mind more than once since they'd set off towards Hagrid's hut. If it weren't for the fact that he had no idea where this place was, the blue-eyed pilot knew he'd be in the lead instead.

Eyes snapping around at the slightest movement or sound, Heero studied their new found accomplice with suspicion. The grounds of Hogwarts were massive, what with having to house a Quidditch Pitch, greenhouses and various other school related buildings and the Professor had yet to slow down, even once.

This display of strength contradicted the man's weary appearance making Heero wonder if anyone was what they seemed anymore.

The low grumble from Duo about just how big the grounds were, a few curse words added in for effect, startled Heero out of his almost trance like state. Whether they could trust him or not had to be put aside if the man could actually help them find Potter. The sun was beginning to set.

Finally at the top of a large hill, the Professor paused and pointed towards a small little shack at the edge of the vast forest surrounding the castle and its grounds.

“That's Hagrid's. According to the map Harry's just behind there.”

Filing away the thought that the older wizard didn't sound half as breathless as he should have, Heero surged forward, bypassing the stone staircase to doge the large boulders set up on the hill's decline. There was the beginnings of a startled yelp before Heero heard his friends follow.

Automatically his mind studied the sound of the foot falls behind him and placed them with the proper person. Trowa and Duo were nearly neck and neck behind him, followed by their mysterious tag-a-long, while Wufei and Quatre brought up the rear. Pilots 2 and 3 had longer legs than the others, allowing them to cover more ground quicker. Pilots 4 and 5 were not the taller of the bunch but had more stamina and could easily keep up with their partners but none of them were genetically modified, like Heero was, for speed, strength and stamina.

The Japanese pilot reached the hut first and dashed around the corner, eyes peeled for their charge. He had to halt quickly to stop himself from tripping over the other teen who appeared to have collapsed on the ground just around the hut's corner.

Heero allowed the others to scan the area as he deafly check Potter over for injured. There wasn't a scratch on him.

“Harry!”

The startled cry from the Professor set him on edge and before anyone knew it, Heero had the man slammed back up against a wall again. He was surprised to find his usually superior strength challenged as the older wizard struggled against him.

Trowa began checking Potter out as well, having a better grasp on the medical side of things than Heero while Wufei and Duo kept watch on the area around them. Quatre gave the perimeter a quick scan before rushing over to try and pry Heero off their helper.

“Dammit let me go! That's my godson over there! I can help him!”

The man struggled fiercely, letting out a couple of growls that sounded remarkably real. Heero was a rock though and could not be easily moved by displays, emotional or otherwise.

Quatre put a pale hand on the other teen's shoulder, his grip more warning than reassuring as he spoke.

“Heero let the man go.” When his taciturn companion failed to move the hand tightened briefly. “I hope I won't need to order you, Heero.”

“It would be foolish to let him anywhere near Potter until his identity and loyalty can be confirmed.” The Japanese wizard snapped at the blond, his grip never wavering not even when his prisoner kicked his shin viscously.

“He helped us find Harry. That's a step in the right direction.” Quatre pointed out before whispering quietly to his friend. “And he's truly concerned for him. I can feel it.”

The brief flicker of Heero's dark blue gaze was the only sign of his indecision and Outreach felt the sting of hurt at Heero's apparent distrust of him. The slight edge of irritation could be heard by the other pilots as the Winner heir spoke down their friend.

“It may have not always worked, Heero Yuy but my Space Heart has never been wrong. Let him go.”

There was a seconds hesitation as Heero realized what he'd done before his hands let go of the older man and Trowa's voice spoke up.

“He's clear. There are no physical signs as to why he is unconscious.”

The Professor slipped away from Heero's slack grasp to nearly throw himself down next to his godson. Gentle hands smoothed over the unresponsive teen's messy hair as the distraught man spoke to him softly.

“Harry? Harry, wake up. It's Moony. I'm here. I've come back to Hogwarts to teach again this year thanks to you. If you wake up I can tell you all about it.”

The five Preventers were silent as the mysterious Moony spoke to Harry, hand sliding down to brush away the fringe that only partially covered the famous lightning bolt shaped scar. The wizard's comforting stream of promises was suddenly broken by a harsh curse. He went to pick Potter up but was stopped by Heero who beat him to it. Duo, knives poised to throw his eyes still scanning the dense forest spoke up.

“Guys whatever's wrong with him will have to wait until we get the hell outta dodge. It isn't smart to stay out here like this for too long, 'specially with one of our own taking a dirt nap. Grab the kid and let's scatter.”

Trowa rose his gun again and kept to Heero's side since the shorter pilot had his arms full. Remus picked up the wand he'd dropped, when the boy had slammed him into the wall, and stayed at his godson's side as well. Quatre spoke up.

“What's the matter with him, Mr. Moony?”

The Professor quickly pulled back Harry's bangs to reveal the now angry red scar on the boy's forehead before speaking in hushed tones just loud enough for the five teens to hear him.

“Harry's scar is an active link from his mind to Voldemort's.” He glanced around the group as if waiting for some kind of response before continuing. “The connection has been growing stronger ever since Harry has re-entered the magical world. A few times before Voldemort's rebirth he would have visions of some of the heinous acts the Dark Lord would do. Since his rebirth, Voldemort has tried many times to force his way into Harry's mind, through their link.”

Wufei's voice cracked with suppressed anger. “That's- that's practically a form of mind-rape.” He nearly hissed dangerously. No one looked happy at the thought.

“We've tried to help him,” Moony said, looking at his godson sadly. “-but the link is to strong, too deep. It was forged with the death of one of them after all.”

“Really?” Duo asked, surprise coloring his voice. Moony shot them all a confused look at the various expression on the other's faces. Quatre met his gaze steadily.

“We don't exactly know the whole story behind Harry and this Voldemort fellow.”

Professor Moony groaned slightly before giving Heero a sharp look.

“Hurry up then. We need to get him to Poppy Pomfrey, Hogwarts Medi-nurse.”

The trip back didn't seem to take nearly as long as the run out, but it was a relief to finally be back inside the stone walls of the school with their charge. Potter hadn't stirred at all on the jarring journey back, not even when Heero began to climb the stone stairway back up the hill, causing Trowa to regularly check his pulse and breathing.

For the second time in less than an hour, Heero found himself following the shabby looking wizard before him, this time being lead towards the Hospital Wing- the very place they had suggested Potter go earlier that day when he'd nearly broken Duo's wrist.

He scowled slightly at the thought.

The Hospital Wing was guarded by a set of double doors, strong and tall, if the five ex-pilots were any judge of doors, but Moony pushed them open without breaking a sweat.

The noise of the doors creaking open brought a plump, matronly-looking woman bustling out from her office, her face set in a frown. Her attire seemed to startle Duo for a moment, as Heero vaguely recognized the pure white robes and headdress as having a subtle catholic nun feeling to them.

“Remus, what on Earth-” She began to speak, her voice clear and strong before the Professor cut her off.

“I'm terribly sorry Poppy, but Harry's had another attack.”

Poppy's eyes snapped over to see the limp body in Heero's arms before she dove into action.

“Set him down over there. Gently now.” She said with a gesture towards one of the closer cots. Heero did as he was bid, stepping back slightly and putting his gun away. He was close enough to Potter now that anything coming after the other messy haired wizard would have to go through him or the other four first.

Poppy was already at one of the large cabinets stationed all around the Wing, shooting questions out at Moony with a professionally clam voice.

“How along ago was the attack? Did it last very long? Did he seize, or was there an abnormal bleeding?”

“I've no clue, Poppy.” The Professor confessed, looking grim. “We just found him out behind Hagrid's hut, just before the Forbidden Forest.”

The Medi-witch turned to glare at the wizard.

“What do you mean you've no clue! Albus was by just a couple of hours ago to tell me of the arrangement between Harry and these five and- Dear Merlin why do these children have guns!?”

Wufei was gingerly putting his katana back in its sheath at the older witch's outburst. Duo and Quatre quickly stuffed their weapons out of sight. Trowa leisurely flicked the safety back on before putting his gun in an easily accessible place, his face expressionless.

For a moment, Poppy was silent as she looked at the five of them before an angry flush stained her cheeks and she opened her mouth to rant.

She didn't get a word in as suddenly Harry's emerald eyes snapped open and the Hospital Wing exploded into action.

'Computer now booting from operating system.'

'System has recovered from a serious error.'

Noise. There was noise. Too much of it. Someone was talking.

Stress levels: High.

Presence of seven threats detected.

Danger: Extreme High.

Surroundings: Insert further data.

Possibility of Escape: eighty percent.

Location: Requires further data.

Glowing emerald eyes snapped open to see white walls and a bright light beating down into his eyes. Immediately images of a similar room and memories of pain and fear scrolled across his vision.

'Please don't. It hurts. Make it stop. Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop. No more!'

Danger detected.

Shadows loomed over him, details blocked out by the bright lights.

Suggested Course of Action: Escape at Whatever Cost

Before anyone could react, the stainless steel tray that had been set by the cot was sent flying by Harry's foot. It connected with a solid smack to Wufei's face, followed by a litany of curses, most in another language.

'Direct hit to 05.'

In a flash Harry rolled to the left and off his cot before kicking out again and pushing his cot into the legs of Trowa and Heero, making the taller of the two let out a sharp hiss of pain.

'Direct hit to 01 and 03.'

Duo and Quatre blinked at the scene before crouching into a defensive stance in perfect harmony. Harry stalked his way towards the doors, almost frantic to escape. Duo leapt at him.

'02 and 04 approaching.'

'Engaging 02.'

Harry let Duo attempt to tackle him before grabbing his injured wrist and using the boy's momentum send him flying into the wall behind him.

'02 disabled.'

Quatre ducked the first punch thrown at him, jumping back beside Trowa as the taller fighter grabbed the kick Harry had aimed at his lover, making the wizard loose his balance suddenly.

Moony gapped at the scene of his godson's five apparent bodyguards now fighting off their charge in horror. He called out to the boy.

“Harry! Harry stop!”

Heero had somehow ended up behind Harry as he fell backwards, wrapping his arms around the other teen tightly. Unafraid to play dirty, Harry smashed his fist into the Japanese boy's crotch and was quickly released before grabbing another tray and jamming it into Wufei's midsection.

The Chinese Preventer cursed. “Why is he smacking me around with all the trays in here, dammit!”

'03, 04 and 02 attacking. Eliminate.'

Poppy whipped out her wand, preparing to curse the whole lot of them for fighting in her Hospital Wing when Remus grabbed her arm.

“Some thing's wrong with him, Poppy. You couldn't get a clear shot even if you wanted to.” Quickly the werewolf turned back towards the scene.

“Harry James Potter stop! Harry! This isn't you!”

The Boy-Who-Lived had just landed a clean blow to Trowa's jaw when Remus' voice cut through the hazy of numbers and commands in his mind, becoming superimposed with another voice, screaming frantically.

““Harry, this isn't you! Remember, Hogwarts? Remember Cedric! This man killed Cedric.”

With a choked sob, Harry pushed away from the fight, tripping over Duo, who he'd just tripped himself, to crab craw back between two cots. The five Preventers didn't move, each still poised for attack as Harry sat curled up with his hands over his ears, crying. Shaking his head he gasped.

“No, no stop this! Stop it!”

Remus inched closer, his wand gripped tightly in his sweaty hand as he looked at his godson, trembling in the corner. This image was a far-cry from the show he'd just seen. His eyes widened as the hand Harry suddenly pushed against his forehead shook violently. Swallowing he called out.

“Harry?”

The boy in question jerked at the name before letting out a frustrated half yell, startling his five bodyguards.

“My name is not HARRY!”

Poppy gasped in unison with Quatre while Duo gave a soft “What the hell...”

Remus felt fear flash through his veins as he stared at the trembling teen before them. His voice shook slightly as he spoke.

“Then who are you?”

Harry sucked in a deep breath and let it out, the noise sounding like a dying sob. Shaking his head slowly from side to side, eyes still closed he answered.

“I don't know.”

A tremor visibly went through the emerald-eyed wizard's body before his eyes blinked open and he looked right up at his father's friend. They were dark jade again, weary and guarded.

“I'm so tired Moony.”

The sentence was whispered softly before Harry suddenly slumped back against the wall, unconscious once more.

The Hospital Wing was silent after Harry's sudden awakening and consequent reintroduction back to the world of the unconscious. Quatre held an ice-pack to his lover's bruised jaw as Poppy weaved her way around her cleaned Wing, making potions. Duo had broken a large stock pile of her pain-killers when Harry had thrown him into the wall.

The braided young man was currently sitting beside his own lover, his previously broken wrist stuck in a stiff harness as the bone knit itself back together. Wufei was nursing a swelled nose and bruised stomach from the fight as he cleaned the dried blood off his face.

Remus sat next to his godson again, his shoulders slumped sadly as he stared at the sleeping boy. Heero stood on the other side few the cot, his own gaze boring into his charge, as if he could gain the answers to his questions by drilling his eyes into Harry's head.

Finally someone spoke.

“I don't know about anyone else but I'd sure as hell like some questions answered. Let's start with how Harry went from friendly, quiet boy-hero to the Terminator reborn.”

The Medi-nurse paused slightly before continuing her potion-making, apparently punishing Remus by leaving him with the important questions.

The werewolf shot her a look but sighed in resignation. Running a tired hand through his graying blond hair he spoke.

“I'm not sure what happened. He's never reacted like that to an attack before. It was almost like he didn't know where he was.”

“He didn't even know himself.” Wufei pointed out gruffly, his voice muffled by the bloody cloth held to his nose.

Quatre gently pulled the icepack away from Trowa's face to survey the dark bruise forming there as he spoke.

“Could this maybe have something to do with Harry's capture and imprisonment by Voldemort and not by the attack?” Six pairs of eyes flashed his way in contemplation as the blond continued. “This is the second time today Harry has responded with violence from a...blackout of sorts.”

“Second time!?” Remus and Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, the former looking at the sleeping boy in worry as the latter glared at her new Seventh Years.

“Why wasn't he sent to me immediately? With his medical history, Harry needs to be treated for a bloody splinter!”

“He said he was fine.” Heero's low voice broke through anything Wufei was about to muffle out, making the others shoot him a look. “He's eyes were clear, he was steady on his feet and came to by himself.”

“There is one thing you need to understand about Harry Potter,” the Medi-nurse said, her voice frosty with anger. “And its that that boy would say he was fine if he walked into my Wing holding his severed head.”

Obviously irritated, Poppy spun on her feet and smoothly dished out her Pain Reliever Potion into five goblets. The ones for Heero and Quatre were noticeably smaller, the both of them having sustained no injuries in the dog fight.

Wufei balked at having to take a potion for his pain.

“This pain is nothing! I've dealt with worse before I an certainly deal with this now, and without any strange concoctions running through my system.”

Madam Pomfrey turned out to be made of stronger stuff than Wufei's stung pride. “Just because you can deal with it Mr. Chang, don't mean you should.”

The Chinese Preventer finally relented when the stern witch threatened to tie him to his cot and keep him under observation overnight. Duo teasingly commented on how fast Wufei could swallow, causing his lover to blush and send him a scathing look.

Pain-free and more wary than before, the other four Preventers joined Heero and Remus around Harry's bed. There was a quiet moment of contemplation before Trowa abruptly spoke up.

“What about MPD?”

Quatre shot him a look. “Multiple Personality Disorder? Why would you say that?”

“Its a mental illness characterized by anxiety, fluctuating level of function, time distortions and lapses such as amnesia, post traumatic stress, sleeping disorders and physical pains such has headaches. Most of which Potter has displayed just this afternoon.”

Duo gave their tall friend a funny look. “Tro-man, have you been reading the medical encyclopedia again?” The question was asked in the same tone someone with a disobedient puppy would ask if said pet had chewed up the newspapers again.

Remus ignored him to look at Trowa. “The same could be said of many mental disorders and most caused by magic as well. Patients who have had their minds altered by Memory Charms experience the exact same symptoms, as well as a tendency towards forgetfulness.”

Trowa's expression didn't change but everyone could hear the gears turning in his mind. “He also does not refer to himself in the third person or as 'we'. Hm.”

“Guys something stinks here like spoiled Parmesan cheese.” Duo growled. “We were hired to protect a kid who can suddenly protect himself?”

“Begs the question of exactly who we're protecting.” Wufei said softly. “Potter or the people around Potter.”

Remus bit back at growl at those words, forcing his mind to think logically about Wufei's words. A part of him was furious that anyone could think Harry was dangerous, something that needed to be watched in case he hurt someone. This his mind brought up the Harry he'd seen, with his own eyes just hours ago, fight with his bodyguards and Remus couldn't help but think that maybe Harry did need to be watched.

“What is the trigger? Why now?” the werewolf said suddenly, startling the five out of their own conversation. “You said he had collapsed earlier- was there any hint of this...violent intent before?”

Duo waved his wrapped wrist in a mock 'hello gesture. “Let's just say I'm a lot stronger than I look and this baby here is the work of multiple attempts.”

Remus just stared at the braided wizard until Heero let out a sound that seemed to be a cross between a growl, a grunt and his own personalized 'hn'.

“We need more information- there are too many unknown variables still. Too many unanswered questions for us to competently protect Potter.” He looked at Remus and the old Professor felt a shiver at just how much those eyes reminded him of Sirius. “Start talking.”

“About what?” Remus asked, slightly taken back. “I highly doubt I know anymore than you do. Dumbledore is the only one with all the information and he only tells people what he thinks they need to know.”

The last part was said with no attempt at disguising the bitterness in the Professor's voice, making Quatre raise his eyebrows. He gave their new informer a shrewd look.

“I thought the Light side of this war was an alliance between allies, not the heirachy of followers and leaders.”

Remus let out a short mirthless laugh. “You'll soon learn that the only difference between our side and theirs is the color of our robes.”

Trying to bend his wrist, Duo sighed before looking up at his friends. “Guys, why don't we just go up to the guy and tell him we want our questions answered or we'll kneecap him.” At Wufei's and Quatre's glares the American shrugged. “Or we can threaten to walk. If he refuses, we ask him why he won't squeal.”

“Simply, Mr. Maxwell, because most of it is not my story to tell.” A voice said from the Hospital Wing door.

For the second time in less than twenty four hours, Albus Dumbledore found himself with five weapons pointed at him. He smiled in a grandfatherly sort of way at them, his eyes twinkling madly at Heero's frustrated expression. “Don't worry Mr. Yuy. I have had many decades of practice at being silent and the help of an extremely old castle.”

Almost as if demonstrating his strange ability, the Headmaster swept silently into the Wing, his smile fading into a grave expression. “What happened?”

The five Preventers looked at Remus, who vaguely wondered why it was his day to be the bearer of bad news.

“He had an attack this afternoon.”

Dumbledore looked at the night sky, his light blue gaze turning back to his Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. “Harry usually awakens not long after his visions, Remus.”

“He had a...moment after he woke up.”The werewolf bit off, obviously not in the mood to rehash the day's events. His five new students appeared to be not so chatty all of a sudden.

“A moment you say?” Dumbledore repeated, looking down at the sleeping wizard between them all in contemplation. Slowly his eyes rotated around at the boy's bedside companions. “What happened here?”

“Harry's moment.” quipped Duo, his grin more a a smirk. Two bushy, gray eyebrows rose as the Headmaster thought about that phrase. “Indeed. What does Poppy say on the matter?”

“Potter is exhausted and will wake in the morning, late morning by the latest.” Wufei reluctantly ground out, feeling the weird urge to keep as much information to himself as possible. Albus Dumbledore had suddenly become someone to be wary of.

“Just enough time for the five of you to finish your studies.”

“With all due respect, Headmaster.” Quatre said brightly, looking like the polite young man he usually was. “I thought our mission here was to protect Harry, first and foremost.”

the old wizard nodded in agreement. “Yes, but you cannot do that to the best of your ability without completing your studies before the term starts.”

“Potter should not be left alone.” Trowa declared softly, making Remus jump. He had forgotten the tall youth was even there.

Dumbledore gave a small chuckle. “You are certainly dedicated. Remus here will no doubt stay by his godson's side tonight, or at least long enough for you all to go and get your books. I'm sure Poppy wouldn't mind the company.”

There was a deep tension between the five ex-pilots and Remus against Dumbledore's suggestion. No one wanted to move, to comply with the old man's wishes but somehow felt that any direct rebellion would be dangerous. Then Heero spoke roughly.

“We'll take shifts. By pairs. I'll take first with the Professor.”

Duo poked Wufei in the arm. “Me and Fei's got second shift.”

“Trowa and I will take last.” Quatre seemed very relieved at Heero's plan of action, grinning brightly at the Japanese wizard.

“Excellent!” Dumbledore praised, looking from teen to teen. “if you go now and get your things for the night, Remus and I will keep watch until you return.”

Heero shot Remus a look that the sandy haired wizard interpreted as 'you had better stay right there or else'. He returned it with what he hoped said 'duh'.

The five bodyguards moved reluctantly away from eh bed, each giving Dumbledore's cheery face a glance as they passed.

“Harry would most appreciate a change of clothes as well, I suspect.” Remus called back to them. A wry grin stretched across his face. “I would go get him some myself but i haven't a clue where his new rooms are.”

Heero gave the man a smirk before following the others out the doors at a brisk pace. He obviously wished to return as soon as possible.

Turning around, Remus was a bit startled to find the Headmaster staring intently at Harry's sleep-slack face. The old man's next question was a bit odd as well.

“Is he unconscious, Remus my boy?”

The Professor blinked before answering. “No. Poppy says it more of a deep sleep. Not complete unconsciousness but as close to it as possible. Not even our talking has registered on the monitoring spells in place on him.”

Dumbledore 'hmm'ed before grabbing the curtain that hung from the ceiling and jerked it across . Harry's still body was momentarily blocked from view.

“You missed the meeting of the Order tonight. One of Voldemort's active bases has been located in the French countryside. I had a pleasant visit with Madam Maxime today to discuss her joining of the Order...”

With the curtain pulled across Harry's bed, neither wizard saw the flutter of jade eyes or the flash of glowing emerald numbers as slowly a pale hand came up to stroke the newly acquired necklace around Harry's neck. The eyes of the phoenix pendant nestled on his throat glowed green in the darkening Hospital Wing. No one noticed the Boy-Who-Lived as he listened and new information began to scroll across his mind.

Monitoring spells never even beeped as the five Preventers returned and the curtain was pulled back to reveal the still sleeping wizard.

A/N: Please review! Remember, for every review not written, Dumbledore feeds Harry an Aging Potion in one if his Lemon Drops and they run away to Aruba together. -shudders-

Thanks for the reviews and for being patient with me!

Sparkley-tangerine