Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Just Another Perfect Soldier ❯ A Question of Safety ( Chapter 8 )

A/N: Sorry for the long wait- the last four weeks of work I've had maybe four days off. I had an idea of where I wanted to get this chapter to and that I'm finally going to start trying to get Heero and Harry to cooperate. So you should start seeing hints of slash here. HINTS people.

 

Thanks for the reviews and for being so patient.

 

Chapter Eight: A Question of Safety

 

 

Harry watched as his bodyguards awoke one by one the next morning. Or pair by pair as it usually went. Wufei was up before everyone but Harry- looking surprised to see the messy-haired wizard in the common room.

“What are you doing out here by yourself?”

Harry blinked at the irritated face before him, secretly relieved to find Wufei and not Heero had been the first to join him. Zero beeped awake in his mind and told him to answer the angry Preventer's question before he got violent.

“Isn't it obvious?” He replied, raising an eyebrow. “I'm trying to clean up.”

Zero reeled off a bunch of numbers and flashed warnings as Wufei's angry rose and his blood pressure spiked.

“You're not supposed to wander off on your own, Potter.” Wufei gritted out. “You could have a… a relapse or another fit.”

Harry, feeling a bit of irrational anger at the Chinese wizard seep through his Zero induced walls of indifference, slammed the empty plate down on the tiny table located in the right most corner of the Common Rooms. The unused tea and biscuits from that night had been transferred to the table after Heero had been safely tucked away in bed.

“I find it hard to believe that leaving my bedroom and tidying up the Common Rooms can be considered wandering off.” He glowered at Wufei. “And it would be nice if you stopped treating me like some sort of bomb just waiting to explode. I had a momentary lapse of….. something in the Hospital Wing in August. This is October. It hasn't and won't happen again.”

Flicking his wand to fix the broken plate, Harry mumbled. “Merlin, you screw one goat…..”

“Ew, Harry. Is that a typical hobby of wizards in Britain or are you just special?” Duo held up his hands as he became the recipient of two chilling glares. He frowned in confusion. Harry shouldn't have been able to possess such a look……..

“Chang seems to think leaving my bed while everyone is sleeping constitutes as sneaking out and wandering off.” Harry complained and Zero showed him its night's work. Each of his bodyguards- or was it pilots?- had been assessed for danger and security purposes. Heero's own almost computer efficient thoughts had cut down on the amount of work Zero had had to complete while giving them a comprehensive `file' of each teen's strengths, weakness and abilities.

One of Zero Five's weaknesses was his temper

One of Zero Two's was Zero Five- and vice versa.

Zero Two- Duo, Harry cut in with a mental growl- shifted uncomfortably at the amount of animosity in the room. It had been nearly three months since their awkward first meeting and that disaster in the Hospital Wing but Wufei had yet to relent in his belief that Harry was a danger to others. Not even when Heero, who slept in the same room as the green-eyed wizard-hero, had begun to relax around Harry had Wufei been swayed.

This had put Duo in a particularly hard predicament, especially since he genuinely liked Harry as a friend, and considering the fact that he slept with Wufei certainly meant he was more than just a little fond of the Chinese wizard as well.

“Heh, um guys…..” The violet-eyed teen started, unsure of how to word his opinion. “If Harry didn't exactly leave the room and say, wander off to…. the kitchens by himself then he didn't really wander off.”

Harry picked up a cookie and popped it in his mouth, trying to hide his smirk as Wufei blinked at his lover. There was a heavy silence for a few seconds after that announcement until a growl came from the Chinese teen.

“Fine. Just inform us if you so much as open that door.” Harry quirked an eyebrow but said nothing as Wufei turned his back on him - a stupid move by Zero's opinion- to speak to Duo. “I'll be in the library if you need me. There's a book on magic and the colonies in there that might explain….some particulars about particular things.”

Duo nodded, hiding his smile at Harry's eye roll. “Have fun, Dear.”

Wufei snorted but left go of the hand he had unconsciously held and stalked out the door.

A quiet settled over them, unusual if only because Duo disliked any lack of noise. Harry had never been one to fill up a silence with useless chatter and had found that, if given time, Duo would speak up.

He pushed the scrolling numbers predicting exactly when Duo would speak- right down to the millisecond- to the back of his mind as his friend sighed.

“It's not you he's- well technically it is you he's angry with, but Wufei would be spitting if it had been someone else who had grabbed me like that.” Duo fumbled through the slight awkwardness. “Just be patient with him.”

Harry cocked his head to the side, as if thinking about the proposal before nodding. It would be ideal for everyone if Harry simply took the brunt of the Chinese teen's anger until he sorted himself out. It would be beneficial to everyone if Wufei actually liked the person her was guarding, especially Harry, considering the fact that happy friends were not suspicious ex-Gundam pilots.

Or rather they were- just not suspicious of him.

“I understand.” He replied to Duo's inquiry. “He's simply being protective over someone he cares about. Must be hard being a Preventer and a lover at the same time.”

Duo snorted. “He's the one I have to worry about being with the Preventers! Fei can't keep a steady partner with his rough exterior.” The braided wizard explained at Harry's questioning look.

“Must be nerve wracking. So how long have you been a Preventer then?”

Duo blinked and thought about it as he picked up a cookie of his own. “A little over a year maybe. Me and the guys all joined up together.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “What, did you all meet at special secret agent school for the Preventers?”

The slightest pause in Duo's body language alerted him to his friend's discomfort. He'd struck a nerve it seemed, something he'd have to lie about.

And Harry knew well that Duo Maxwell didn't lie.

Those precious five seconds felt like five minutes before Duo simply shrugged the inquiry off. “Something like that. We've been friends since we were fifteen.”

`Since you all became Gundam pilots you mean.' Harry corrected in his head. Zero added the information to their memory files. `Since you met Doctor J. Or are there more like him just waiting to torture and break others in their sick experiments?'

'Stop being so emotional about something that is completed. You cannot change what happened to you- your system restore has been edited-deal with it or become obsolete.'

Harry ignored the program, opting to send a small smile at Duo.

“I'll deal with it.”

Zero relaxed slightly. 'Good.'

That seemed to be the cue Duo needed to ease the last bit of the tension between them as the braided teen quickly took to helping Harry clear up their Common Room; cracking jokes and commenting on the oddity of the Hogwarts population in general.

“The purebloods are the weirdest- you've either got the ones that can't stand anyone less than the fat-free version of the Wizarding world or the ones who think muggles and any variation of them are new and exciting pets.”

Harry hmm-ed in agreement. He had seen many Slytherins pick on those of muggle-born or half-blood families and Mr. Weasley had a tendency of examining everything he could find that was slightly mugglified.

“They've got Muggle Studies for the few pureblood who are interested in learning about our….culture.” Duo snorted. “Muggle Studies. It sounds like a damn science project- and where exactly is the class for muggleborns trying to learn about the Wizarding World?”

The green eyed wizard shrugged. He had also noticed the absence of a class for those who had never been in the Wizarding World before. In their haste to re-educate the witches and wizards of the world about their non-magical counterparts, everyone seemed to have forgotten the need to educate the muggleborns.

`A safeguard.' Zero supplied. ' Better to know your enemy than for your enemy to know you.'

The sound of one of the bedroom doors opening stopped all conversation as Quatre stumbled out into the common room, followed shortly by his taller boyfriend. Duo winced at the sight of his blond friend. He looked horrible.

“How's the head Q?”

Quatre grimaced as he plopped himself down at one of the smaller tables and groaning. “I fell like I've been stepped on by a G-giant!”

Trowa nodded at his companions, making sure the bond was settled down before starting on brewing a pot of tea. Duo scratched the back of his head in the silence after Quatre's almost slip.

“Perhaps you should go see the nurse after breakfast Quatre.” Trowa's quiet, strong voice broke the tension easily. “It's been a while since you had a headache this bad.”

The blond nodded, clutching his head miserably before long.

Harry drifted off from the group, feeling a pang of guilt as he finished clearing away the mess from last night. Quatre hadn't even had a headache to begin with and now he was still suffering from something Harry had implanted in his head.

'You did what was necessary.' Zero chided. 'Zero Four will be fine before long.'

`He shouldn't even be in pain.' Harry argued feebly with the program, seeing its logic. `We should find a way to attack Voldemort without dragging these five into things.'

'Perhaps.'

Harry had just put the last of the trash into the garbage can and had joined the three other wizards at the table when a steady knock on the portrait startled them.

Everyone had risen to their feet at the noise, ready for anything. Duo shrugged it off easily while a rosy blush covered Quatre's pain-paled cheeks. Trowa and Harry stood still, suspicious.

Zero already supplied him with a possibility of who could be at the door. Hermione would still be trying to drag Ron out of bed right now. Remus and Dumbledore would be at Number 12, getting ready for their meeting. Wufei knew the password.

Obviously it was another Hogwarts student.

It was Duo who decided to answer the knock.

The portrait swung open to reveal, much to everyone's surprise, Lisa Turnip. The pretty brunette smiled slightly at the looks on everyone's faces, before her eyes landed on Harry. A larger grin spread across her face as she turned her dark blue eyes at Duo.

“Good morning. I hope I haven't woken you up?”

“Naw, we're up at the crack of dawn every morning in these parts of the castle.” Duo responded warmly. The braided wizard got on with everyone in their year- even most Slytherins.

Lisa snorted. “I highly doubt that ten in the morning is considered the crack of dawn anywhere.”

“Ever been to Siberia?” Duo parried, making the Ravenclaw laugh.

“What can we do for you Miss Lisa?” Quatre asked in his own polite yet direct manner. Harry had a strange feeling about things as the young witch twirled a lock of hair around her finger and blushed slightly. He could see that she wanted to speak with him, although the subject matter was a slightly more fuzzy vision.

“Actually I was wondering if I could speak to Harry for a moment?”

The tension in the room rose dramatically as Lisa proved Harry's personal prediction. Still, Duo kept his easy going smile and Quatre his friendly one, even though four of the five people in the room thought saying no would be necessary but awkward.

Everyone at Hogwarts knew, at some level, that the five new students who were rooming with Harry were not just new arrivals. They were his bodyguards- unofficially if not officially. But no one had any idea just how seriously they took their duty.

Harry could tell they didn't like the idea of him leaving the room on his own, even to just stand outside in the hall. It rankled at him. Lisa was all maybe over one hundred pounds and barely five foot three- Harry was positive he could take her if it came to a fight.

'But is it you they're worried about getting hurt or her?' Zero suggested lazily, bringing Wufei's words to the front of Harry's mind. 'One of them has already announced his mistrust, it would be foolish to not expect more.'

Harry blinked back to the present, noticing the silence and how uncomfortable Lisa was getting. He nodded at her slightly. “Alright.”

Trowa, Duo and Quatre each protested- although only Duo and Quatre actually voiced their displeasure. Trowa had a way of simply projecting his dislike.

Harry gave them each a heavy look. “I'll just be five minutes.”

“Sure thing. “Duo quipped, nodding tightly. Quatre gave a tense smile.

“Of course.”

Trowa `hn'ed in response.

Lisa was blinking at them all as Harry stepped out beside her and closed the portrait hole gently. The silence continued until she grinned a bit shyly at him.

“So they really are your bodyguards?”

Harry nodded, mentally setting his internal clock to countdown. He had no doubts that they would be out here in exactly five minutes if he wasn't back.

“In a sense. They were hired to protect me.” `From other people or protect other people from me, which I'm not sure yet.'

Lisa took a step forward, reaching out slowly to grasp Harry's hand. He could see clearly where this is going now, and desperately wished he'd stayed in the Common Room.

“So they'd have to follow us around all day if I asked you to go to Hogsmeade with me then?”

It was Zero's warning not to hurt her that told him she was going to move closer before her lips quickly pecked his cheek. Still, Harry was tense as he watched her retreat and wait for his answer.

Instead of that half-remembered awkwardness he'd once had or even a light-hearted excitement at the proposal of doing something normal, Harry was surprised to feel an unbearable sadness descend around him.

Lisa still stood there, his rough, bloodstained hand in her soft, warm one and a nervous light in her eyes. She felt so young to him, so young it hurt- even though she was just his age.

She was, just on her own, a harsh reminder of what he'd lost. His capture had aged him more than anyone could have guessed; even through Harry hadn't been a child since he was dropped on his aunt's doorstep all those years ago.

He could kill her easily and justify it with the program in his head.

“I-I can't.”

The light dimmed from her eyes at his answer, making Harry feel as though he just might've already killed something with his words alone. His hand was dropped quickly, as she looked down at the carpet.

“Oh.”

His skin felt cold, although Zero reminded him it was the same temperature as the rest of his body, as Harry tried to explain.

“It was decided that it would be…safer for everyone if I didn't leave the castle this year.”

The air around them felt solemn after that, with understanding and not-really-understanding. Lisa would tell herself she knew what Harry meant but his rejection would always be there now and she didn't really know how much he had changed.

“I'm sorry.” The need to apologize was strong as Harry looked at the pretty girl before him. “I hope I didn't ruin your plans.”

Zero told him he hadn't, that she would have made more being a Ravenclaw, but it was good for him to hear that she had.

“I'll just go down with Hannah and Terry for a while- they invited me before.” It was obvious she wanted to leave, just forget she had even asked and Harry let her go with a wave of his hand. He watched her hair as it disappeared around the corner with a sigh.

Feeling unbelievably heavy, like a rain cloud trying to rise above a mountain, Harry sat across the hall from the portrait hole. He wasn't wandering, like Chang had accused earlier. He was stagnant- in more ways than one.

He couldn't go back to being just innocent, naïve Harry anymore- that path had been more annihilated than barred off to him. Wiped completely from his programming. A mere memory.

The present was a confused jumble of newly situated fragments, too brittle to apply and the future was nothing but a run of glowing numbers in his mind.

He was completely and utterly stagnant.

The distant rumble of feet and teenagers talking brought a grimace to Harry's face. Would he ever join their ranks again, simply being care-free, weightless and young? Or would another Lisa Turnip try her luck with this war-weary, fate-burdened soldier and succeed?

Harry doubted it; there innocence was simply too much for him now- so bright it hurt his jaded eyes.

The portrait hole swung open suddenly, making him start, a hex hovering on his lips. Heero stalked out only to be brought up short by Harry's huddled form. The thunderous expression faded from the Japanese teen's face as the portrait clicked shut and left the two messy-haired wizards alone in the hall.

Heero checked over his charge quickly, his shoulders relaxing minutely. “You are safe.”

“Am I?” Harry mumbled, glaring at the fabric of his pants and not meaning for the words to carry.

The slight shift in Heero's form alerted him to the knowledge that he had heard him muttered inquiry. Harry set his expression and met his bodyguard's look head on.

“Am I safe? Chang doesn't seem to think so, even after all this time he still expects me to explode with the force of a Supernova.”

Heero's expression changed slightly at those words, taking them in and processing them in a way not unlike Zero.

From experience, Harry knew the process was short lived and was unsurprised by a swift answer.

“Chang has his reasons and his fears for any anger against something that hurts those he cares about, even if the hurting was unintentional.” Heero's voice was quiet but steady as he spoke. “He is quick to anger but slow to forgive. Chang is not one to give people a baseline of honor to live up to- you must earn it.”

Blue eyes burned with conviction. “I trust you know your limits and fear your uncontrollable urges. Give him a reason to trust you and he will not be so scathing.”

Trust. Something he'd been unknowingly missing since his return. Nobody trusted him anymore- to be safe for himself or others. To still be their hero.

`And with good reason.' Zero pointed out slyly. `Wasn't last night's activities enough to break Zero One's trust?'

Harry's lips twitched as he fought off a frown. `Why don't you just take me over and run everything like the perfect machine that you are?'

A strange feeling came from the Zero-part of his mind, almost an emotion in its intensity. Then the program spoke.

`I would never do that unless it was absolutely necessary for our continued survival. Without you I am simply a body shaped computer running on a predictions program. I would be perfect in everyway but one; I would have no humanity. What you give, as a separate person, is very precious to me.'

“Potter?”

His hands clenched into fists at the sound of Heero's voice. Jade eyes blinked rapidly up at his bodyguard.

“Sorry, about zoning out there for a moment.” The previous conversation refreshed in his mind and he gave the Japanese teen a small smile. “Thanks. For trusting me.”

Heero gave him a small nod and pulled him to his feet casually, as if they both didn't know Harry had been seconds away from throwing a punch.

 

****The Night Before****

 

To say they were surprised at the amount of destruction would have been an understatement. There was nothing left to the base but a crater and a few smoldering pieces of rubble.

And bodies. Remus wasn't sure he would ever forget the bodies.

Albus had been immediately swept up in the politics and official investigating of the mess, leaving his two professors alone to do a bit of their own poking around.

Remus wasn't sure he liked what he'd found.

The base had been destroyed completely and its former occupants had been caught unaware. Even with all of the magical protections and secrecy, someone had found Voldemort's base and made sure it would never be put to full use.

Listening in on the chatty French Aurors, the werewolf wizard had been able to overhear that any survivors of the attack- which was an odd way of wording the destruction of a Death Eaters' base- had already been taken into custody.

The name Vulcan Mulciber was the most recognizable. He was a member of Voldemort's inner circle.

A slight scent drifted on the air, pulling at his memory as his brain automatically recognized and separated the smells of death and fire. This scent was different- it was danger and vulnerability all in one. It was strength and weakness, love and hate, light and dark. It almost remaindered the werewolf of-

“Remus, Minerva!” the Headmaster's voice called out suddenly, startling him from his thoughts. Whatever that new scent had reminder him of vanished like the elusive thought it was.

Remus growled softly, imprinting the exact sense to his memory before stalking off.

Albus was standing close to where they had split up, right next to a tall, heavy-set man with a large beard. He nodded at the stranger as Remus and Minerva came into view.

“Head Auror Renee LaPierre has agreed to let us watch in on the questioning of Mister Mulciber.”

LaPierre nodded tighty before holding out a rolle dup newspaper. “Jeez `old onto ziss. Five. `our. Three. Two. One.”

That horrible tugging sensation just under his navel made Remus wince, as they were pulled through time and space to land heavily in the designated portkey area of the Ministry of Magic in France.

LaPierre took the newspaper back and burned it with a flick of his wand- destroying any trace back to the crime scene or vice versa.

He tuned sharply.

“Follow me.”

It was disconcerting to see just how different one Ministry varied from the other. The British Ministry of Magic had a modern corporate feel to its offices while its courtrooms were plain medieval.

The French ministry appeared to have been frozen in time at the Reconnaissance Era. Everything was decorated in gold or plush satin drapery. The high ceiling appeared to have a mural that looked very similar to the one Michelangelo created in the Sistine Chapel.

“We `ave zee Death Eater in `olding.” LaPierre explained briefly. “Our interrogators are about to administer Veritaserum.”

Remus blinked at him. “Doesn't he have the right to an attorney?”

LaPierre sent him a look. “He `as zee Dark Mark on his arm- zat nullifies any rights zat killer might `ave.”

The corridors became more familiar looking as they were led deeper into the bottom of the Ministry. Torches lit the stone hallways, casting shadows as they flared and dimmed.

Suddenly, the Auror stopped before a nondescript door and ushered them in. the room was bare, except from one long, shaded mirror on the opposite wall. Lapierre flicked his wand quickly, turning the mirror into a screen. It reminded Remus of the one-way mirrors muggle police officers used when interrogating a suspect.

Mulicber looked pale and sweaty on the other side of the glass, his hands shackled in glowing silver cuffs and his feet chained to the floor. A small sparkling bulb hung in the corner- a magic detector and signature reader. On a small table just below the bulb was a Sneakascope and a few other Dark Detectors Remus could barely make out.

“If you cooperate we could try and make a bargain with the British Ministry to change your impending death sentence into a life-time stay at Azkaban.” A man with dirty blond hair was leaning over Mulciber, trying to intimidate him. Standing of to their right stood another man of French descent if his looks were to be taken as true.

The Death Eater shook his head violently, a snarl on his lips. “My Lord owns the Dementors- he owns Azkaban. If I were to even consider the notion of betraying him there wouldn't be a place on this earth I could hide.”

The dark-haired man in the corner tsked. “Certainly you've `eard of zee Fidelius Charm?”

Mulciber laughed mockingly. “Yes, that bit of magic certainly worked well for the Potters, now didn't it?”

The blond sighed gustily, giving his comrade a nod. “Administer one drop. Let's see how true his loyalties are with Vertiaserum.”

As predicted, the shackled wizard began to panic.

“You can't do this to me! I am a British citizen- a wizard of the highest caliber. I have rights! You-“

“Yeah, yeah and right now you've also got a drop of Vertiaserum running through you.” The blond Auror said. “Aren't you the lucky one?”

LaPierre looked disgruntled, although a slight glint of amusement shined in his eyes. “Zat is Aaron Murphy. `E is a transfer from America.”

Remus rather liked his style.

“Now, let's get started.” Auror Murphy said, sitting down across from the now glaze-eyed wizard. “For the record, what is your full name?”

“Vulcan Demetrious Mulciber.”

Murphy shuddered. “Wow- you're parents must've really hated you as a child. That's not a question!”

Mulciber blinked for a moment before going quiet again.

A more serious air fell on the crowd as Murphy dropped his funny man attitude and got down to questioning. “Are you a Death Eater in the ranks of Lord Voldemort?”

Remus watched in a bastard mix of fascination and boredom as the two Aurors took turns milking their prisoner for information and admissions of guilt. They had almost come up to the incident of the base when Albus spoke up for the first time.

“Perhaps after you finish with your questioning, could you have Auror Murphy ask him about the kidnapping of Harry Potter?”

LaPierre thought for a moment before nodding again and touching a pendant on his neck. Murphy stiffened in the room before raising his own hand to his neck and nodding.

“Alright. Let's talk about to night. What happened to the base in the countryside?”

Mulciber blinked. “It was destroyed.”

Murphy rolled his eyes. “Yes, but by what?”

When the Death Eater didn't answer, Murphy repeated the question and Remus felt the tension in the air thicken. A twitch began on the dark wizard's face as he tried to speak.

“It-it-” He gasped; a wet choking sound. “It was Phoen-“

Murphy was forced to push away from his seat as Mulciber started to spew up blood. It ran from his nose and eyes as the Death Eater began to convulse and slid out of his chair.

LaPierre dashed from the room and into the holding area as the other Auror ran off to get a medi-witch. The stench of blood and death coated the back of Remus' throat as the two Auror's began to swear.

Albus ushered them out of the room and into the hallway.

“It's best that you stay away from the blood.” The Headmaster called out to the Aurors. “It will have been spelled to have an acid-like quality now.”

The two men quickly exited the room, murderous expressions on their faces.

Minerva, pale but steady, spoke first. “What was he trying to say before…”

“I do believe,” Dumbledore said, his voice grave. “That he was trying to say Phoenix. A Phoenix of some kind destroyed the French base.”

Remus ignored the exclamations of denial from the Aurors around them. A tight ball of dread had formed in his stomach, something the professor hoped was just his nerves.

To fear an impending turn of fate- or a threatening disaster- seemed to be much too late.

 

A/n: any mistakes are from me trying to post before having to go to work AGAIN! I just called in between finishing this chapter and trying to edit it!

 

S. Tangerine