Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Just Another Perfect Soldier ❯ Miscalculation: part One ( Chapter 14 )

A/N: -cringe- Gah, this is so late it isn't even funny…… well, maybe a little funny but God I seriously hate my job right now. People are unreliable and somehow I'm the person they try to pawn their shifts off on >_>

Seriously, I was planning to get an update out during Christmas but I worked so much overtime they wouldn't allow me to work anymore after that. I've also had the flu, pulled a muscle in my shoulder and found out I am in love with Heroes, Death Note and Supernatural…… I've actually gone and bought all the DVD box sets of these shows. -sniffles- Can't find Gundam Wing anywhere though.

But enough excuses! Here is part one of the Great Reveal! -wink- If you get what I mean!

 

 

Chapter Fourteen: Miscalculation- Part One

 

Quatre Raberba Winner had a Very Bad Feeling.

There were days that being an empath meant being bombarded with everyone else's emotions. There were days when the blond wizard went through life feeling as if he had a seriously annoying case of déjà vu. There were also days when everything fell into place and Quatre could feel his own emotions- and the faint impressions of others- clearly.

The day that they received news of Doctor J's presence among the living had been one of the latter. The same day he felt- clearly- Harry's unimaginable terror at the name of the creator of Gundam Pilot Zero One.

It wasn't a complete surprise to Quatre- of the five Doctors, J was the worst. Heero never spoke of his training much- well, hardly ever if he were honest- but it had been obvious that whatever J had done to their friend had been Bad. Heero Yuy had been an emotionless machine with only one goal- peace at any cost. Life was cheap, especially his own and emotional attachments- heck attachments of any kind- were to be avoided at all costs.

The simple fact that Heero clamed up at the mention of his training told them all that there were horrors in this world only Heero could truly claim to have seen.

So the fact that Harry feared Doctor J wasn't so mind-boggling. It was the fact that Harry seemed to even known the man that Quatre couldn't wrap his head around.

And yet…..it seemed to all be connected somehow. Harry had been captured by Voldemort just that summer, an experience he claimed to have no recollection of…….and Doctor J's blood had been found at one of Voldemort's bases. Had Harry seen the old scientist?

The worst part had to be not being able to just ask their charge. The jade-eyed wizard had yet to mention his mysterious imprisonment and they had all seemed to silently agree that whatever problems Harry had been dealing with back in September were over and off-limits. The typical `Ignore the Giant Elephant in the Corner' method men throughout the ages had perfected.

So asking Harry was just…out of the question, and so was bringing his worries to his friends. Quatre hated having to keep this a secret.

Trowa and Wufei were finally warming up to the other wizard, and Duo saw their friend as a younger brother of sorts- or at least someone he needed, and wanted, to protect.

And Heero……..Quatre didn't try to read his friend's most private emotions, but he was almost sure that Heero Yuy was falling in love with Harry Potter- if he wasn't there already.

If the blond empath told their most stoic friend his suspicions, Heero would withdraw more deeply than ever into himself before confronting Harry about….someth- Merlin, Quatre wasn't even sure what his mind was accusing Harry of!

For now his hands were tied, but he hadn't been the best strategist of the five of them for nothing- the Chess Master. Quatre knew how important it was to watch your opponent, to study their offense and defense before using their strengths and weaknesses to his advantage.

He just hoped he wouldn't have to stop thinking of Harry as their precious friend and start thinking of him as a potential enemy.

He really, really hoped not.

 

 

 

 

Harry supposed the announcement of the discovery of the possibility of Doctor J being alive was both a blessing and a curse to his nerves. Every discovery had Harry jumping with nervousness, thinking the others had figured him out. He slept lightly, and Zero was on constant alert. More than once, Heero found himself with company on nights when the nightmares were too hard for even him to suppress.

On the other hand, the need to be extremely secretive- even more so than before- had made Harry figure out a way to repair Phoenix without needing to undo the transfiguration spell.

The tiny pendant had actually compensated for the damage on the Gundam's left arm by leaving the spot where the wing joined the body bent and slightly cracked. Harry believed- and Zero agreed- that in fixing the pendant, the repairs should cross over into Phoenix and fix the damaged arm.

It was worth a shot.

It only took a bit of guilt-tripping and fifteen minutes in the library with Hermione to find the right spells to do the job. The Phoenix pendant shone from its spot around Harry's neck, fixed and whole again, leaving the pilot with another problem to stress over.

He wasn't about to give up on his self-imposed mission to take down Voldemort and Doctor J but the Preventers posed a new danger. They would be looking for the connection between the Wizarding world and the new Gundam sightings this summer. If anyone looked close enough into Harry's disappearance and the appearance of the new Gundam they would be come suspicious. If they looked even closer into both cases they would see the marked change in the mysterious Gundam Pilot's actions had occurred at the same time Harry had escaped and recuperated.

If anyone informed his bodyguards of their discovery the jig would be up.

For the time being, the Gryffindor was hoping feverishly that the Preventers weren't as clever as they were rumored to be- or at least that the agents assigned to his cases weren't at their best and brightest.

It was a cold Saturday afternoon- the First of December- that found all six wizards spread about their cozy Common Rooms. Heero's fingers were flying over the keyboard of his laptop while Quatre and Trowa poured over a large map of Europe. Duo and Wufei were reading Auror reports and comparing them against any information the Preventers had gathered about the new Gundam.

Harry sat at the kitchen island and listened to their bantering of ideas and possible scenarios under the guise of completing a rather boring History of Magic essay while Zero was busy completing internal updates- the threat level was low enough to let Harry out to play by himself it seemed. It was both enlightening and frightening to hear how…..bloody intelligent his five friends were.

The Gryffindor looked down at his nearly complete essay in hidden anxiety. If anyone found out how much of it he had written just from his own personal knowledge he would be in trouble. The old Harry was just above average in most of his classes, not freakishly knowledgeable in even the dullest of goblin wars.

A knock at the portrait door startled them all from their activities. Harry made to stand but one sharp look from Heero had him sitting back in his seat sheepishly. Duo pulled out his wand and loosened a deadly looking knife he kept strapped at his waist from its holster.

Cautiously, the portrait was swung open to reveal Ron and Hermione. Both Gryffindors blinked at the sight of Duo causally twirling his wand between his fingers.

“What's up?” The braided wizard asked cheerfully, motioning Harry's two friends inside.

Hermione shot him a knowing look. “Do you always answer the door with your wand drawn?”

Duo was non-pulsed. “Nope. Never had one before, but it is fast becoming a habit of mine.”

Harry was relieved to see both Gryffindors had their knapsacks and what appeared to be a few unfinished essays clutched in their hands. He sent his friends a small smile as they slowly drifted towards his seat.

While the ex-pilots had been his guard since the end of August, Ron and Hermione had actually had very little contact with them. Harry had spent his first month and a half after his escape trying to deal with the new programming in his mind. Dealing with his somewhat schizophrenic episodes hadn't left the jade-eyed wizard with much of a need to constantly be hovered over by his highly suspicious friends.

Even after assimilating Gryffindor Harry and Slytherin Harry into his psyche, he knew allowing Ron or Hermione to get too close would reveal what he had become at the hands of Voldemort and Doctor J.

The distance of their friendship now kept his secret safe, at the price of loosing what Harry had previously been: innocent.

“Hullo Harry.” Ron said with a resigned sigh.

“Hey.” He replied, a bit of amusement peeking out from his usual calm expression. “I'm guessing you still haven't completed your History of Magic essay then?”

Hermione snorted at the question, making her boyfriend flush red.

“Oy, it's not like I'm the only one! What was that you were scribbling about just before we came down here?”

The clicking of the keys on Heero's laptop became a bit more forceful, causing Harry to clear his throat meaningfully.

“Shhh.” He said softly, casting an apologetic glance at his guards. Quatre smiled at their sheepish expressions while Wufei gave them what Duo had termed `The Evil Eye.'

Hermione shifted nervously. “We came down to see if you'd like to go to the library to get some more thorough research material. Our textbooks are woefully brief on the Goblin Wars of-“

“Potter cannot leave without a guard present and we are currently unavailable.” Heero interrupted harshly, his dark blue gaze intent.

Ron blinked. “Hey mate, it's just to the library and back. No more crazy adventures into the forbidden forest to visit those mad wizard-eating spiders, no more giant snakes or dementors or invisible, flying death horses.” He grinned widely. “Just a bunch of books, dust and Madam Pince.”

“Oh he is so not going anywhere alone, ever again, now.” Duo declared before flipping to the next page of his report.

The room was silence for a moment before Hermione huffed. “Ron, that wasn't helpful at all.”

The youngest Weasley male frowned. “How was I supposed to know they had a thing against the library? Merlin……”

Harry picked up a rather pointy quill and gave his friends each a sharp poke in the back. Catching their eyes as they turned to him, Harry smiled. “Let me handle it.”

The two Gryffindors watched as their friend set his quill back down, rolled up his dried, partially finished essay and caped his inkwell before speaking.

“Heero.”

The Japanese wizard didn't move from his position at his computer and his fingers didn't stop typing as his eyes flickered towards their charge. His very body seemed to emit `I'm listening' vibes.

“It's just a visit to the library.” One eyebrow rose in amusement.

“Mad, wizard-eating spiders, Potter.” Heero parried, still typing.

“I need more books for my essay.” Harry said evenly.

“Giant snakes.”

Duo shuddered, muttering something about God damn snakes. Wufei nudged him gently.

Harry decided it was time to pull out the big guns.

“Please?”

Quatre froze, aqua eyes wide, as Heero's typing faltered just a bit. A frown marred his face as the blue-eyed wizard was forced to backtrack a few characters before continuing.

“Twenty minutes.”

Harry couldn't stop the wide grin that crept across his face or the warmth that suddenly flooded his veins at the blue-eyed wizard's concession. Heero was perfect.

“Thanks.” He replied, gathering his books slowly.

“Nineteen minutes and forty-one seconds, thirty-nine…” The other teen said warningly, keeping the smile from his lips as the three Gryffindors rushed out of the Common Room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The silence after Harry, Ron and Hermione's departure wasn't filled by the clacking of a keyboard, the scratching of pen on paper or the flipping of pages. Heero looked up from his work to see four sets of eyes staring at him.

“What?” He snapped, irritated.

“You let him go.” Trowa answered, a bit of surprise coloring his voice.

Heero let out a slow, quiet breath, a sure sign of his rising temper.

“Why?” Wufei asked, perplexed. “He is out of our range without any protection-“

“We could not keep him here, sitting in a corner and without the material needed to complete his school work because we are too busy to accompany Potter to the library.” Heero pointed out, his voice dripping with the word `duh'.

Duo smirked. “Sure, it had nothing to do with Harry saying please in that cute little puppy dog voice.”

“Do your work Maxwell.”

Trowa shared a look with Wufei as Quatre and Duo snickered and Hero tried to ignore the slight heat that had surfaced in his cheeks all of a sudden.

 

Not even the slight awkwardness of being with Ron and Hermione again could quell the heady feeling of freedom Harry was experiencing. While making friends with his guards had stopped most of his irritation of being guarded, it hadn't stopped the feeling completely.

Being alone- well mostly- and without them was….exciting.

“Are they always that mental about you?” Ron asked suddenly, ending his playful arguing with Hermione. The Head-Girl quirked her head their way to listen.

Harry nodded. “They're very….dedicated. Dumbledore couldn't have picked anyone better.”

“What I find particularly interesting,” Hermione began, hesitant. “Is how Professor Dumbledore found five….well, five teenagers who were not only wizards but skilled enough to protect you.”

Zero beeped warningly, finished with his internal updating and clean up.

`She is getting suspicious.'

`No duh.' Harry snapped back mentally.

The jade-eyed wizard shrugged. “They are Preventer agents.”

“But so young?” Hermione persisted, a frightening gleam in her intelligent brown eyes.

Surprisingly Ron saved his jittery friend from answering.

“Aw give it a rest Hermione.” He said lazily. “Haven't you ever heard of a…what's the word….prodigy?” Ron snorted suddenly. “Of course you've heard of it but that's not what I was going on about…..”

Hermione's furious response was cut off as they entered the library. Most of the tables were full of working students and harried looking Sixth and Seventh Years.

Harry grinned slightly, nodding hello to a few of his friends as they walked by.

“Heero would murder me for not running back to him if he knew how crowded it was in here.”

“Isn't he supposed to be protecting you?” Ron grinned, darting around a group of confused looking First Years.

“If you think that will stop him you obviously do not know Heero Yuy.”

“Quiet, moody, frighteningly Hermione-ish when it comes to his work. What's left to know?” The redhead asked jokingly. Hermione scowled darkly.

“I'll be in the Ancient Ruins section when you've finished with your childish behavior Ronald!”

Harry and Ron watched their bushy-haired friend stomp off towards the other end of the library. The jade-eyed wizard chuckled at his friend's positively baffled expression.

“What's her problem now?”

Harry clapped his friend on the shoulder briefly before giving him a shove. “Go apologize, you great oaf. Please think before you open your mouth next time.”

Ron huffed before hunching his shoulders and trotting off to deliver his deepest sympathies for being a complete moron most of the time. Harry walked towards the History section, mindful of his somewhat vulnerable position. He didn't have anyone to watch his back anymore- he needed to be careful.

`I am here. I will guard you.' Zero promised faithfully. Harry rolled his eyes, just beginning to scan the rows of books when something rocked the very ground he stood on.

Screams filled the air as bookcases swayed precariously and books fell to the floor.

The ground shook again before Harry even had the chance to turn around. It felt like something was…..running. Something big.

The students who hadn't been knocked to the floor by the tremors, or pinned down by fallen bookcases, were already running out of the library. Quick jade eyes spotted Ron and Hermione trying to make their way towards Harry's last know position.

`Escape.'

Following Zero's command, the messy-haired wizard darted back towards the closest window to him in the library. When a quick push wouldn't open it, Harry pulled back one clenched fist and shattered the glass easily with his elbow. The slight sting of sharp glass cutting into his skin was ignored.

Climbing out onto the slight ledge, he froze at the sight before him. Giants were steadily tearing their way through the Forbidden Forest, tree branches and snow flying through the air. Two were tangling with another smaller one just outside the fainting glowing wards of Hogwarts.

“Grawp.”

From his spot just one level above the ground, Harry could see Hagrid and Fang yelling at the young giant fighting in the wood. When Professors McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and Headmaster Dumbledore could be seen dashing across the grounds did Harry jump from his perch and head in the opposite direction.

Zero had already begun forming another plan of attack when the shaking had started. There would be panic and disorder and sheer madness in Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry while the giants attacked. Just enough madness for a student or two be suddenly go missing and not be discovered until the danger had passed.

Harry planned to be one of those students.

`Mission: Destruction of Russian Base.' Zero confirmed with a beep of excitement.

Harry nodded, jumping over bushes, shrubs and snow drifts as he broke through the outer cover of the Forbidden Forest. The Phoenix necklace was whipped off of his neck and held up to his lips before the secret phrase had it floating and glowing and transforming into the mysterious Gundam Heero had been trying to find.

For a second, Harry wondered how the Japanese teen would feel knowing Phoenix and her pilot were just a few hundred yards from the school; that he slept in the same room as the person Heero'd been trying to find. Then the rip cord descended and Harry was shooting towards the cockpit, surrendering to the Zero system completely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first tremor barely shook the table that held Heero's laptop. Just the faintest of rumblings and the clattering of the pen he'd set down beside him alerted the Japanese teen to the disturbance.

His very blood seemed to freeze, going cold and stagnant in his veins as the next tremor shook the whole room.

Harry……

The screen was slapped down onto the keyboard as Heero vaulted over the table in his haste to find their missing charge. He'd let his guard down and let him go…….If anything happened to Harry, Heero would never forgive himself.

Four other bodies scrambled behind him- if trying to keep up with Heero's enhanced body could be called scrambling- as they reached the corridor.

Terrified students- mostly first and second years- dashed around the halls as the other older students tried to create some semblance of order. A few prefects were shooting sparks into the air, yelling for their respective houses to follow them.

Heero rejected going around the groups of terrified students for simply plowing right though them, ignoring squeaks of surprise and pain.

Duo seemed to slide between the bodies like oil, quickening his pace to catch up with his super-strong friend.

“Shit! When it rains it freaking pours! Regular search formation?” Duo barked out, turning to let out three short, shrill whistles at Heero's curt nod. No other communication was needed as the tall, double doors of the library came into sight. One of the hard wood slabs was knocked slightly ajar, as the earth still trembled beneath their feet.

Inside was a mess of toppled bookshelves and students trying to escape the sudden deathtrap the library had turned into.

Heero had taken the time, early into the school year, to memorize exactly where each section of the library was- fiction, non-fiction, Defense, Potions, History of Magic- Heero knew where it all was. Quickly taking in the mess and all the Not-Harrys running around him, the blue-eyed teen set his sights on the History section and blocked out everything that just wasn't Harry.

Duo and Wufei started for the stairs and the top level of the library as Quatre and Trowa split up and continued with the rest of the lower level. The time limit was seven minutes- nothing more or less unless they found their target and assistance was needed. They'd meet back at the foot of the stairs and plan from there if Harry wasn't found.

Heero wasn't the praying type, but he wasn't above begging any deity out there for him to find the jade-eyed wizard somewhere in all this chaos.

Sharp blue eyes caught sight of a familiar black bag dropped haphazardly in the middle of the rows of books, contents spilling out across the floor. A piece of old parchment, a fancy eagle feather quill, something fluid and silvery looking and a surprisingly large amount of notes written out in their charge's neat print.

Heero froze, panting but not from exertion. Panic clawed at his heart and lungs, trying to find hold because Harry was missing and Heero didn't need a bloody crime scene to figure that out.

“Heero!”

The Japanese bodyguard turned at his name being shouted above the noise his ears had just begun to register. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger were weaving between hysterical students, falling books and on shaky ground to his side.

“Harry's- we lost sight of him when the shaking started!” The redhead gasped out, his pale skin making his freckles stick out sickly. “He was just- here one moment and gone the next.”

Heero looked murderous, eyes shifting between the two Gryffindors. Hermione swallowed slowly, guilt spreading across her face.

“He was alone? Why would you leave him alone?”

“We didn't mean to!” Burst from her lips as another tremor made the bookcases on either side of them swayed dangerously. “We're at Hogwarts! It's supposed to be the safest place in Britain! It- it was just for a moment……”

Heero's arms shot up keeping the gigantic bookcases upright as a huge tremor shook the floor and a deep, angry bellow filled the air. Hermione and Ron stood frozen in place as they watched their best friend's bodyguard hold hundred of pounds of paper and wood upright and rigid.

Heero huffed slightly. “What is causing the quakes? Hogwarts is built on ground that has no known record of notable semantic activity.”

Hermione let out a startled squeak and quickly pointed just over Heero's shoulder. The blue-eyed teen turned to see a large gangly figure toss another to the ground. Something opaque rippled before them, like a curtain or a veil, shot with multi-colored beams from hastily thrown spells.

Somehow, Heero know, without the whispered answer from Ron, that he was watching giants try to break down the wards around Hogwarts.

He turned back to the stunned duo, fingers digging into the wooden shelves as another giant took a hit and fell to the ground making it shake violently.

“Go find the others. Bottom of the stairs. Now!”

Whether they understood or not, Heero wasn't certain, but Hermione nodded and began to pull Ron back towards the middle of the library, swaying and stumbling as they clung to each other.

Heero kicked Hary's discarded belongings to the edge of the narrow walkway before turning around to face the window.

The broken window.

It registered like a blow to the head and had the wizard shooting over to the frame, sticking his head out to scan the ground below.

There was no sign of Harry but glass littered the ledge and the snow below, glinting in the sunlight like crystal. No clues- no damn clues at all- as to what had broken in and taken Harry….

In the corner of the window, the part that hadn't completely shattered, a piece of black fabric flapped in the cold winter breeze. Agile fingers plucked it from its trap, rubbing the threads between a blunt thumb and pointer finger.

It was easy to identify- black and generic cotton, exactly like the cloth the Hogwarts robes were made out of. Like the ones Harry had been wearing…….

Blue eyes scanned the rest of the glass that was edged around the window like a crooked, toothy smile. Opposite the side the piece of fabric had been caught, Heero gently touched a red smear.

Blood.

Harry's blood?

“Heero!”

Duo and Trowa were at the head of the group, eyes going over the same evidence Heero's had just minutes before. Quatre was biting his lip nervously, avoiding eye contact as he scooped up Harry's things and tucked them away in the discarded black bag. Wufei ran a hand over his smooth, black hair in irritation, obviously coming to the same conclusion as Heero.

“He's not here? Damn it!” Duo cursed, gripping his gun tightly, safety off. Their wands were still too much of a new thing to be pulled out- guns they were familiar, comfortable with.

“So Voldemort's got him again?” Ron demanded blue eyes frantic. “How? Did a giant or something break in somehow?”

Click.

Everything cleared suddenly, like someone had lifted the smoky glass over his eyes. The last bloody piece to a gruesome puzzle had been put in its place and things made a horrible, heavy sense to Heero. The glass outside the window frame, the cloth, and the blood- nothing had broken in because Harry had broken out.

But why?

Most of the books had already fallen to the floor, bent and trampled as the ground still trembled with the weight of the giant's steps. Yells and cruses could be heard just out of sight from the window behind him, but Heero was unconcerned with that.

“How can Harry just be gone?” Hermione demanded of her boyfriend, having finished her hasty explanation of the wards and protections around Hogwarts. “Death Eaters and dark magical creatures can't just walk onto the grounds! It had to have been someone already here, someone inside-“

Heero cut her off sharply. “No. Potter's gone.”

His gaze was cutting as he looked at his four friends.

“And he left voluntarily.”

 

 

 

A/N: I am horrible for stopping there but the next part shall hold almost all Harry's PoV- which means lots of action and internal angst. Thanks for being so patience and still reading, even with my erratic updating phases!

 

Look- everyone's favorite part!

 

Please review! Remember, for every review not written, Harry admits his sordid attraction to Cornelius Fudge before they have mad sex on his Ministry-approved desk……God, what is wrong with me?

 

S. Tangerine