Harry Potter and the Four Guardians

Harry Potter and the Four Guardians

Chapter Fourteen: Suspicions and Quidditch

By: Elf

"Duo, you're getting sluggish," Forest chided as she side stepped the braided boy. Harry watched as Duo fell face first to the ground. He looked away so that Duo wouldn't see him laugh, but he couldn't help himself. He faced his friend and the laughter sort of burst out.

Duo glared as he pulled himself up on his hands, his hair falling into his face. He sat up and growled, "Laugh it up, Harry."

Harry managed to contain his laughter to mere giggles, but Forest, on the other hand was a different story. The vampire was almost doubled over and roaring with laughter as she pointed at Duo. She laughed, "You're slow on the uptake, Duo."

Harry reminded him, "And don't forget, we have our first Quidditch match against Hufflepuff tomorrow." He had secretly been dreading this match, not because he was afraid of losing to them, but because he didn't want to see the Hufflepuff team without Cedric. He didn't want that reminder that he was partly responsible for Cedric's death, no matter what Sirius, Dumbledore, Cho, and his friends told him.

"Yeah, I know. Can't wait to get out there and . . ." A wicked look passed Duo's eyes as he chuckled.

Harry snorted and held out his hand for Duo to take. He said, "Come on, Maxwell, give me your hand."

"I've already taught Fred, George, and Ginny the full lines to 'We Will Rock You' and 'Another One Bites the Dust'," Duo told him with that wicked look still playing in his eyes.

Forest asked, "You're not going to sing, are you?"

"I can sing pretty well, thank you very much Miss Blood Sucking Fiend," Duo replied defensively as he pulled himself up without any aid.

Forest grinned and hooked her fingers into claws as she hissed in a bad accent, "I vish to suck yer bluuuuuddddd!"

"In your dreams," Duo snorted.

Harry laughed as he rested against the punching bag. The two of them were unbelievable sometimes, probably because that they were both Americans, well, in Forest's case, Currently American as Snape had explained. They were almost as funny as George and Fred, and three times as dangerous.

The makeshift firing range had been an excellent example of that.

Forest had constructed, with Snape's help (Snape tended to help Forest a lot), a makeshift shooting range complete with targets that looked a lot like Voldemort, except for one that looked like a woman with brown hair styled like Princess Leia from Star Wars dressed in a sort of military uniform.[1] Forest had said that Duo had made that one. Then Duo hadn't explained why he had made her, just said, "Man, you don't wanna know."

Ron had been there, fascinated by both the guns and the vampire (much to Hermione's hidden disdain, Harry had noticed) until they started firing. They were both excellent markspeople and it had quickly turned into a contest. Forest's shots were more controlled and precise while Duo's were more random and destructive.

Then Forest had the brilliant idea to let Harry try to use her pistol.

With Duo and Ron egging him on, he couldn't resist. So, he held the huge pistol in both hands in a stance that was similar to the vampire's and aimed at one of the Pseudo-Voldemort's heads. He gently squeezed the trigger, just like she had instructed.

The shot felt like he had his arms ripped off.

He ended up falling back on his arse, but he had blown the target's head clean off. Ron, seeing the destructive nature of the Muggle weapon, had pleaded with the vampire. He completely missed, burned his hands[2], and he had to be sent to see Madam Pomfrey.

Ron, who didn't use ear muffs like Harry did, was still having trouble hearing things and constantly asked, "What?"

So far, fifteen points had been taken from Gryffindor during potions because of Ron loudly asking, "What?" to whatever Snape said. Not even Duo or Malfoy could direct the professor's wrath away from poor Ron. Then, almost each night before Forest would begin her "lessons", Snape would walk in and chide her about letting Ron Weasley use one of her guns.

To which Forest found very amusing.

Forest smiled at Harry and asked, "Do you think that you can do better than Braid Boy?"

Harry pushed himself off of the red vinyl punching bag with a nod. He straitened himself up and answered, "I'll try." He was still unsure of what to do, how to move and how to attack or when to attack. He was getting better, but Forest was very intimidating under the right circumstances.

She grinned at him and said, "That's the spirit, Harry."

"Watch out for her left hook buddy," Duo cheered as he sat down on the mat.

Harry glared at Duo and walked over to where Forest was standing. He turned his body to the side and took his stance while she stood formless. "Oh, watch out, she's formless!" Duo crowed.

"Duo, could you do me a favor?" Harry asked without turning to look at the other teen.

Duo asked, "What?"

"Shut up please," Harry answered with a slight grin.

Forest chuckled and said, "Come on, Harry, let's dance."

He waited, watching her body, trying to sense where she would strike first as she had taught him. Her fist came flying at him and he swerved. He smoothly pushed her wrist back with his palm and twisted. Her body moved with her arm and she fell to the mat. She looked up at him, her indigo eyes wide with surprise, almost as wide as his own.

He stared down at her as a blush spread across his features. He stammered, "I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry, Forest."

Forest blinked twice and stayed laying on the mat.

He asked, "Are you all right? I didn't hurt you did I?"

Her mouth dropped open.

"Dude, I think you killed her," Duo chuckled as he reached out and tapped Forest's bare foot.

"I dinna think that she expected Harry to be able to pull off that move so quickly," Sean's amused voice said from the hallway.

Harry smiled up at the blond vampire and said, "Come in, Sean."

Sean walked in and gently pulled up the knees of his black slacks. He knelt beside Forest and pushed some of her long, blond hair out of her face. He said, "Aye, she's definitely in shock."

Forest's hand wrapped around Sean's elbow and she yanked. The vampire fell to the mat, sprawled beside Forest's slender form. She grinned up at Harry and said, "Good job, kiddo." She held up one of her slender hands. Harry noticed that her long nails were painted a brilliant silver and her hand was cool as he took it. He managed to help her up and she smiled at him.

He blushed as she affectionately ruffled his hair. She said, "You're a quick study, Harry."

"Thank you," he managed as his cheeks burned.

Duo laughed and asked, "What about me, babe?"

"You can get bent," Forest replied sweetly.

Harry looked at the clock and frowned. He would be late to see Cho if he didn't hurry. He backed away from Forest and stammered, "I have to go."

"Oh, Cho's waiting," Duo teased and Harry sent him a sharp look. Duo chuckled.

Forest asked, "When are we going to meet this Cho chick?"

"Never. I don't want Cho to find out about Duo," Harry answered, "I don't want to put her in that sort of danger."

He gathered up his robes and gave his face a quick wipe with a towel. He said, "Thank you, Forest." He started out of the doorway when Forest called his name. He turned back to face the tall, leggy blond.

She advised, "If you don't think she could handle it, Harry, then maybe you should find someone who can."

"Ginny knows," Duo piped up as he flexed his arms and stretched.

Harry looked at Duo and realized that he was right. Ginny had been right by Duo's side through all of this. She had been the one to convince Hermione to help Duo with his lessons. She had been the one who had listened to each of his confessions.

Harry felt something hard knot in his gut uncomfortably. He realized that it was something akin to jealousy. Him, jealous of Duo Maxwell because of Ginny, his best friend's little sister?

Impossible, right?

******

Trunks was flying, blazing through the Scottish country side like a bat out of Hell. He had a grin on his face as he felt his own energy wrap around him and propel him at great speeds. He dove down the rocky ledge of a cliff and flew on it, chuckling softly as he did.

He had always took the ability to fly for granted. Bulma had hated the fact that he had learned so quickly to control his powers and to use them. That he would advance so quickly just so he could fight the androids. She had said he was too much like his father, too intense, and then she would ask where would she be if he was gone.

As a child, he had always chaffed at being made to ride in the car with his mother. It was so obvious that he could fly so much faster and they could save fuel that way. Bulma, being stubborn to a fault, would yell at him and say that he needed to stay with his poor mother. Trunks, of course, loving his mom more than anything, stayed with her even though he'd rather fly beside the car.

Then the android attacks became more frequent as Gohan went on the attack more often. Bulma didn't go out in her car anymore. She stayed in her lab while working on the time machine, which he didn't know about at the time, while Gohan began to intensify his training, trying to push Trunks to the Super Sayan level.

Trunks pushed the rest of the story out of his mind, Gohan's death, his transformation, traveling back through time, killing Freeza, meeting Vegeta . . .

His aura spiked around him as he sped up the cliff face, sending rocks flying as he did. He rebounded and flew to the ocean's surface and created a pillar of waves as he flew. Some of the cold, salty droplets sprayed his face and hair. He smiled, enjoying the feel of it, the night sky above his head, and just the freedom about not tailing Malfoy for a few moments.

He turned back around and found himself at Hogwarts too quickly. He suppressed his power as he landed about a mile away from the school so that no one would suspect. He ran to the school though and froze when he reached the Quidditch field.

He'd recognize Draco Malfoy's silver-white head anywhere. He hid behind one of the goal posts and watched as Malfoy placed something into the ground. Malfoy looked up and around before starting to run off to the school.

Trunks waited until Malfoy was gone and headed toward the Quidditch field. He searched the ground and found only a pack of dungbombs. Trunks snorted as he picked up the bombs and the elaborate timer attached to them.

He knew he could reach Malfoy before he reached the Slytherin quarters. Maybe it was time to put on some of that infamous Sayan "Charm" on the arrogant teen. He took off and hid in one of the corridors. He sensed Malfoy's ki as he neared and emerged.

The startled heir smacked into Trunks' chest.

Fortunately for Trunks he was half-Sayan and he barely felt the blow. Unfortunately for Malfoy, he bounced off of Trunks like a brick wall and stumbled backwards. He recovered himself and glared icily at Trunks.

Trunks dangled the dungbombs from his fingers and asked, "So, Malfoy, what were you planning to do with these?"

"I lost a bet with Pansy. The loser would try to sabotage tomorrow's game some how," Malfoy sneered rather quickly. The slender boy's icy grey eyes glared at him as he drew himself up to face Trunks. And what the hell does Hotaru see in this bastard? Trunks thought with distaste.

Trunks glared through his lavender hair and growled, "And the winner?"

Malfoy's eyes looked around from left to right rather quickly. Trunks could sense that the boy was grasping for a lie that would be convincing. Trunks waited as he glared.

Malfoy sighed as he did something wrong and was regretting it. Trunks could see right through the act. Sayans were suspicious by nature, at least Vegeta was and Trunks had inherited the trait. He even let some of his tightly reigned power slip, causing his body to gain a slight glow as he looked at Malfoy.

Malfoy answered, "There's a bet between the Ravenclaw and the Slytherin houses for tomorrow's match on who will win. As much as I loathe admitting it, we betted for the Gryffindors, because, regrettably, they always win. Well, Pansy came up with a sure way to make sure that you do by sabotaging the field for the Hufflepuffs. Then she came up with another bet that rested on Neville Longbottom that he would screw up in potions and Professor Snape would subtract points from Gryffindor."

Trunks frowned. Duo and Hermione alternated between helping Neville in that class. Today, before Neville could screw up, after Snape had given his instructions, Ron loudly asked, "What?" For some strange reason, he had been having trouble hearing lately.

It ended up with Ron blowing something up and losing points for Gryffindor while Neville actually made a potion correctly. He didn't win any points for Gryffindor due to his accomplishment, but he hadn't lost any that day either. Trunks had been proud of his little friend, even though he still cowered before Snape as he always did.

Trunks didn't believe in cowering before anyone, no matter how much bigger and stronger they were. He would discreetly retreat when he couldn't win or hold out his own life on a platter for the fiend, but he wouldn't cower in fear. Another thing he had inherited from Vegeta from the most part.

Trunks glared as he finished, "So you lost the bet and now you're helping the Gryffindors. Right."

"If it makes Hotaru happy I'd do almost anything," Malfoy retorted as he moved closer to Trunks, his face inches away.

Trunks gave his arrogant little smirk. The Vegeta Smirk was what Bulma always called it because his father had the same arrogant, knowing little smirk. He easily threatened, "Maybe you'd better take a step back, Malfoy. I have a problem with snakes getting in my face."

"What do you plan to do about it, Briefs?" Malfoy hissed unflinchingly.

Trunks flashed the full Vegeta Grin and answered, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"What's going on here, boys?" Setsuna's voice called out from behind Trunks. He spun around to see her standing there, one hand on her hip and glaring at the both of them. She was wearing a sleeveless robe, leaving her tanned arms bare, that had a slit up one side to display one shapely leg.

Trunks felt a spark of lust, sharp and hot, flood through him. His chest grew tight as he looked at her, her long, dark green hair swirling around her and her brown eyes glaring. She moved closer, giving Trunks a better view of that shapely, long leg. He knew that she would be curved yet muscular under those pale pink robes.

Malfoy drew himself up and answered, "Nothing Professor Pluto. I was giving Trunks here some advice on playing the Hufflepuffs tomorrow."

"Thank you, Draco," Trunks replied through clinched teeth as Setsuna's eyes met his.

Setsuna smiled and said, "Well, Trunks, why don't I walk you back to your dorm."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Trunks replied, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice. He didn't want Malfoy to even suspect his feelings for Setsuna. It would ruin some of the power of his threat.

Malfoy shrugged and said, "Well, good luck tomorrow on the field."

"Thank you," Trunks replied angrily as Setsuna began to walk him down the hall.

Setsuna quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong, Trunks?"

"I think he's up to something," Trunks answered, looking back at the Slytherin dorm. If he looked at her, he'd be lost.

Setsuna asked, "What do you mean?"

He answered, "Secret owls to his father, long talks at night with his dad, who just happens to be a Death Eater, and is asking about Duo, and doing something weird to the Quidditch field."

"Well, since he's so fond of Hotaru, maybe I could have her look into it," she suggested in her sultry voice.

Trunks groaned and slammed his fist into the stone wall. He hissed, "That won't work, Setsuna. She actually cares for the bastard. I've tried talking to her about it and even pointing out how Duo's moping and she just brushes me away like I'm stupid or something. I know Malfoy's not good, Setsuna. I can see it."

"Are you judging him because of his father?" Setsuna asked in an amused voice. He looked at her. The smirk on her ripe, red lips and her sherry colored eyes sparkling rhetorically.

Trunks grinned and replied, "Well, my dad's changed a lot."

"Amazing what a good woman can do for a man," Setsuna quipped with a grin.

Trunks looked her over and replied, "Exactly."

"Trunks?" she asked, looking at him with wide eyes as he moved closer. With one subtle movement, he had them in an abandoned classroom. She asked, "Trunks, what are you doing?"

He faced her and confessed, "I can't get you out of my head, Setsuna. Ever since I first saw you. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I train, you're still there." He watched as her sherry colored eyes searched his face.

She stammered, "Trunks, I'm ancient and you're just a boy. You don't know about these things."

Trunks growled, frustrated. He inched toward her and said, "You're driving me insane. You're getting under my skin and I don't know why."

"Trunks, you don't know what . . ." Setsuna began, looking way.

Trunks punched the wall. He pulled the blow so that his fist wouldn't go through it. Physical violence was something that he felt comfortable with. Even though he would never hurt Setsuna though.

Trunks exclaimed, "I don't know why! I don't like this, Setsuna. Not at all. I'm a Sayan. I'm not supposed to be fawning after a pretty woman with long legs and nice breasts! I'm the son of the damned prince, for Kami's sake."

"Trunks, I'm sorry," she whispered, starting to reach out toward him.

Trunks backed away and shouted, "Don't touch me!" She shrank back, looking hurt and a bit lost. He took a deep breath and said, "If you touch me I don't know if I could stop myself."

"Trunks, I know you could easily rip me apart. Still, we really don't know each other that well. And I made a promise to myself not to ever get involved with anyone," Setsuna stated as she took a shaking breath, "But you really think that I'm pretty?"

Trunks gave a little chuckle and nodded his head. He answered, "You're the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen and that's a lot considering some of the women that I know." Like my mother and Android 18. Especially Android 18.

"Trunks, thank you," she reached out and squeezed his arm.

He looked down at her long fingered hand, noting how fragile it looked against the coiled steel of his own muscles. He took it and grinned at her. He gently bent down and kissed it. She was warm and smelled of ginger. He released her hand and asked, "Wanna give this a try when this is all over? I'm older than I look."

Setsuna blushed and replied, "Oh, I forgot that Sayans aged much more slowly than humans. But I can't answer that question Trunks."

Trunks recognized why she was so hesitant due to all of the soap operas that his mother was so fond of. She was recovering from a broken heart or unrequited love. He leaned closer and whispered, "Sayans mate for life." Then he backed away and head back to his dorm.

As he walked, he noticed a pair of dark heads locked in a fierce kiss. He blinked as he did a double take. The girl was defiantly Asian and had long raven hair while the boy was Harry Potter. It had to be that Cho girl from Ravenclaw.

I'm definitely telling Duo, he thought with a hint of mischief that he had inherited from his mom. He ran up to the Tower with a big grin on his face. He may get Setsuna after all . . .

******

Harry was in a very good mood this morning. He had told Cho of his feelings of misgiving about playing Hufflepuff and she had told him that he would want life to go on. That he would want the houses to play Quidditch and have the best seeker win. That had lead to him kissing her and . . . then to the small, red bruise on his neck that he covered with his red Quidditch robes.

Duo was eating oatmeal that he had poured massive amounts of honey and cinnamon into. He swallowed and looked at Harry. He asked, "So, what did you and Cho do last night?"

Despite his best intentions, he started blushing. He felt his cheeks flame as he buttered another piece of toast. He grumbled, "Noneofyourbuissness."

Ron pushed his redhead too close and gasped, "You two snogged didn't you?"

"Okay, again with the 'Duo's American. He doesn't know British slang.' Explain snogged," Duo demanded as he waved his spoon at Ron.

Fred and George pounced probably at the scent of Duo's confusion. George asked, "You don't know about snogging?"

"The bird magnet that you are?" Fred asked in disbelief.

Duo glared and retorted, "I don't know what the word means. I'm not British, remember."

"Cor, don't you know anything?" George gasped with wide eyes.

Fred glared and said, "Well, you had better not be snogging with Ginny."

Harry chuckled as he helped himself to a sausage. Duo's eyes widened with recognition as he asked, "Oh, making out. Got it."

"What where you doing with Cho last night, Harry?" Trunks' voice asked behind him. Harry spun around to see the lavender haired boy grinning at him.

Harry growled, "None of your business!"

"Oh, man, getting some from the Ravenclaw Seeker, wait a-go Harry!" George crowed as he pumped his fist into the air.

Harry's cheeks were burning as he asked, "What were you doing with Angelia last night?"

George grew quiet as he turned bright purple. He stammered, "Umm, nothing important, Harry."

Fred laughed at his twin and punched his arm. He said, "Way to go, bro!"

Trunks sat down and began shoving food in front of his face as fast as it could appear. Ron swallowed and stated, "You know, I don't think I'll ever be able to get use to the way he eats."

Hermione and Ginny came down to the table at the same time. Hermione was clutching a letter in her hands and looked furious. Ginny kept rubbing her back. Duo, ever the gallant protector of all things female, jumped up and asked, "What is it?"

Ron looked up at Hermione's flashing eyes as did Harry. Harry asked, "Hermione?"

"Men!" Hermione screeched as she flopped down in the chair beside Ron. Duo pushed George away so that freed up the seat for Ginny. Ginny sat down and Ron looked at her.

He asked, "What happened, Gin?"

"Krum's found a new girl, some Russian witch named Tayla Dubernistok who plays for the Russia's Clawed Bears Quidditch team. He owled Hermione explaining everything, how sudden it was and how they're engaged," Ginny answered quietly.

Harry reached over and patted Hermione's shoulder. He said, "I'm sorry, Hermione. I knew you were fond of him."

"Actually, I'm not that upset, just angry. Feels pretty queer actually," Hermione replied with a smile.

Ron puffed his chest up and said, "Hermione, you could do better than that Waddling Idiot anyway."

"He waddled?" Duo asked, his eyes wide.

Ron nodded and replied, "Yeah, but he was the best Seeker that I've ever seen. Out of Harry, I mean."

Harry started blushing. Krum was amazing on a broomstick and actually not a bad guy. He was half hoping to play against him once, just to see how well he would do. Still, he felt sorry for Hermione.

Fred leaned over and whispered something in Ron's ear that caused him to turn bright magenta and push him away. Ron's brown eyes were huge as he exclaimed, "Shut up, Fred!"

Harry asked, "What did you say to him, Fred?"

"Oh, just giving him a suggestion," Fred answered innocently as he looked over at Hermione, who was crumpling the parchment.

Harry's eyes widened in realization. Hermione and Ron . . .? Was he really that blind? When he thought back on it, it seemed to make a lot of sense. They always argued all the time and Ron did get awfully jealous that Krum had asked Hermione to the Yule ball last year.

He smiled down at his breakfast and thought, You go for it, Ron. You couldn't ask for a better girl.

******

"Okay, as soon as we take flight, remember what we planned," Duo whispered to Fred, George, and Ginny, who started giggling evilly. Fred and George had devious looks on their faces and Ginny was grinning impishly.

Harry sighed and asked, "Duo, what are you planning?"

"Mud in your face, you big disgrace, waving your can all over the place singing, 'We will, we will ROCK YOU!'" George sang out.

Fred said, "Muggles have great songs." That's when he launched into a horrid rendition of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheep" with the wrong words.

Harry cringed and asked, "You didn't?"

"Oh yeah," Duo answered with a wicked grin.

Angelia whirled on them and pointed one long, dark finger at Duo. She said, "Maxwell, let's leave that off to the Slytherins, okay. We're going to play a good, clean game today. You can pull all the taunting and singing all you four like when we play Slytherin. Right now let's show them what a good game we can play. Right George?"

George turned bright red and squeaked, "Of course, Angel."

Fred leaned over to Harry and whispered, "That's why we broke it off with each other, Harry. George likes to be pushed around by a strong woman though."

George turned bright magenta and suggested to Duo, "Let's hold off until we play Slytherin, okay?"

Ginny giggled, "Of course, George. Don't wanna get you in trouble with your lady."

George looked down, turning the color of a ripe plum. Harry shook his head and gripped his broom. He looked out into the crowd. He was shocked to see a Gryffindor banner in the Slytherin section, until he saw it was Draco Malfoy waving it and Hotaru Tomoe was sitting right beside him.

Trunks glared up, silent until he said, "Yeah, let's save that for the damned snakes."

"That's the spirit, Trunks. Now, come on and let's play a good game!" Angelia cheered as she headed the group out. The cheers were heard, a good mixture for both houses. Harry looked around and saw Cho waving at him and cheering, "Go Harry!" He blushed as he waved back at her.

Most of the girls started shouting, "Duo! Duo! Duo!" They were waving banners that had huge violet eyes drawn on them and screaming. Duo waved gaily at them and blew them kisses. There were others that cheered Trunks on when he walked out onto the field.

Trunks blushed and looked down until Setsuna cheered from the teacher's section, sitting beside Snape and Sirius . . .

Harry saw Sirius and waved. Sirius shouted, "Go, Harry!" Then he said something to Setsuna that made her laugh before she waved and cheered again. Trunks looked up with something that seemed very much like loathing.

He hissed, "Who's that? I've never seen him here before."

Harry turned around to look at one of Duo's Guardians. He proudly answered, "That's my Godfather, Sirius Black."

"Why is he here?" Trunks sneered, glaring up into the crowd, focusing on Sirius. Setsuna was looking down at her hands and laughing. Harry had heard that his godfather could be very charming when he wanted to be and was a hit with the ladies while he was at school. It just surprised him to see his thoughtful, intense godfather flirting with Setsuna.

Duo stopped blowing kisses and clapped Trunks on the shoulder. He said, "Chill, dude. It's okay. Sirius is one of the good guys. He's our friend. Like Forest."

"Sure," Trunks replied grimly as he turned away and continued to walk.

Harry frowned and whispered to Duo, "What do you think that was about?"

"Who the hell knows with Trunks. He's Trunks," Duo answered in explanation.

Lee Jordan's voice boomed out, "Here we have the Gryffindors! We have quite the new team this year since most of them graduated. Trunks Briefs is rumored to be an unscoreable Keeper and we have another Weasley on the team, the youngest, Ginny. Let's see if the talent runs in the family. We have Johnson, Briefs, Maxwell, Weasley, Weasley, Weasley, and POTTER!"

The crowd, especially the Gryffindors went wild at Harry's name. He took his Firebolt in his hand and waited. The Hufflepuffs, in their bright yellow, marched out onto the field.

Harry swallowed the rock that was forming in his throat as Lee went on, "And here come the Hufflepuffs! Let's have a moment of silence for former Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory." The whole arena was silenced except for a few snickering Slytherins that had parents that were Death Eaters, such as Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy, strangely enough, was silent and looking at Hotaru very strangely.

Lee picked up again, "They've had some changes in their roster as well. And that is one fine looking Seeker they have!"

"Jordan!" McGonagall chided.

Lee pointed to the smallest Hufflepuff, a very pretty, almost elfin girl with long, white-blond hair in a French braid and grey-green eyes. Harry wondered for a moment if she was part Veela. He went on, "That's seventh year student Greer Riverstone! Following Riverstone are Rayne, Head, Marsters, Crosley, Bones, and Pyrice!"

Madam Hooch flew between the two teams and said, "I want a nice, clean game. Players, shake."

Harry walked over and shook tiny Greer Riverstone's hand before shaking the rest of the team's. She winked at him and said, "Let's see if you are as good as your reputation, Harry Potter."

Harry grinned at that and replied, "I'll try my best." She chuckled as she shook the twin's hands. Fred looked a little nervous as she did and she gave him a tiny wink. He turned bright red as she moved onto Duo. Duo gave her one of his winks and she blushed. Ginny and Angelia just glared. Trunks nodded, surprisingly enough, at each hand, including Hannah Bones, who giggled as soon as she looked up at the tall, muscular, handsome Keeper.

"Go!" Madam Hooch shouted before she blew her whistle.

Harry took up to the air automatically and began looking for the Snitch. He saw two long braids, the longer being chestnut brown and belonging to a pair of broad shoulders and the shorter was a brilliant, flame red that belonged to a slender, slight, definitely curvy female. Ginny and Duo kept passing the Quaffle to each other as soon as two of the Hufflepuff chasers, Marsters and Hannah, came within grabbing range.

Lee commented, "Excellent team work by Maxwell and Weasley. Every time Bones and Marsters grow close enough to steal the Quaffle they pass it to the other. Ohh, here comes Head and he looks pissed!"

"Jordan!" McGonagall shouted as she tried to steal the megaphone from him.

Harry watched as Duo sped away from Ginny, giving her the Victory signal before doing so. Hannah, Head, and Marsters grew closer and Ginny dropped the Quaffle Literally dropped it.

The three went racing down toward it, but Duo swooped down and caught it. He sped strait up, holding the Quaffle close, and started to go toward the Hufflepuff goals where Rayne was waiting. Harry continued looking for the Snitch as Lee continued, "Where did Duo come from! Look at that control. He's a natural at this! He's going strait toward Rayne, Rayne's ready to block, but Duo swerves at the last moment and scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

"Ya better watch out now!" Duo shouted as he punched the air.

Hannah had the Quaffle and Angelia charged her. She tried to throw it to Head, but Angelia intercepted and sped toward the goal post.

"Angelia, still proving she's an excellent Chaser! She just whizzed past Rayne like he wasn't even there! Twenty to zero for Gryffindor. Marsters is in possession, Duo's coming in and . . ."

Duo froze in midair. He had a blank look on his face and just stopped. Marsters sped by while Hannah and Head kept Angelia and Ginny busy. Fred bounced one of the Bludgers away and flew to where Harry was hovering.

He asked, "What's wrong with Duo?"

"I don't know, maybe I should . . ." Harry gasped as the Bludger came flying at Duo. Duo, not knowing, just hovered there, his face wide in terror as if he was living some nightmare.

Harry looked around to see the familiar cloaked forms of a dementor, but he didn't see any. He licked his lips as the Bludger whirled closer. Luckily, George was there and used his club to slam it away.

"Oh, looks like Duo's in trouble. Maybe someone should get him to Madam Pomfrey.," Lee suggested worriedly.

McGonagall stood up and watched with worry. Harry cast a look over toward Trunks. Trunks ducked low on his broom and caught the Quaffle

"Excellent block by Trunks Briefs! I guess they do know how to play Quidditch in Japan," Lee cheered.

"If you can't keep your biased comments to yourself, I'll get someone else to comment," McGonagall threatened with a scowl on her stern features.

Duo shook his head and sped to Trunks. Trunks nodded at Duo and Duo flashed his cocky, charming smile. Trunks frowned but tossed the Quaffle anyway. Duo caught it and shouted, "Get out of my way!"

He went charging through the other players, avoided being hit by the Bludger twice, and slammed the Quaffle into the goal post much to Rayne's dismay.

"I guess Duo's feeling better now, he had us worried there for a second, mate!" Lee cheered. McGonagall smiled and sighed, settling back in her seat. Harry looked over to see Hotaru clinching the seat in front of her and Malfoy looking at her with that strange, sad look.

Harry then looked over to where Hermione and Ron were sitting with Hagrid. Hermione mouthed, "Ask him what happened."

Ron was cheering loudly as was Hagrid, not worrying like Hermione was. Hermione glared then pointed at Duo. Harry nodded and flew down to him.

He asked, "Duo, are you all right?"

Duo frowned and answered, "Yeah, now I am. It was a little strange though. I blacked out for a second."

"Do you need to go see Madam Pomfrey.?" Harry pressed, peering at him.

Duo shook his head with a puzzled look on his face. He answered, "I'm fine, now. Let's just win this game, okay?"

"Yeah," Harry replied as he flew up, frowning. He waved at Hermione and shrugged. Hermione frowned and he knew that she was going to find out more for herself later. Which would be good for Duo.

Harry searched for the Snitch as Lee went on, "Whatever was bothering Duo had sure cleared up! He and Ginny are going on a war path with the Quaffle and poor Angelia isn't having a chance. Fifty to zero for Gryffindor! And Trunks, can anything get past this boy? He's everywhere at once!"

Then, Trunks grinned at Head and purposely moved away from the goal post to let him score. The crowd went wild and started shouting at Trunks. Especially the Gryffindors. Trunks called out, "I let you have that one. Let's see if you can get any more by me." Then he threw the Quaffle at Angelia because she was the closest.

Harry saw a shimmer of gold down by where Duo was taunting Head and Rayne. He swooped down for it. He saw a bright flash of gold beside him and saw that Greer was mirroring his movements. He looked back and the Snitch was gone.

He pulled back up and the girl winked with her cat green eyes. He started circling the field again when Lee called out, "Excellent play again for Ginny and Maxwell, I think we should start calling those two the 'Dynamic Duo!' Get it!" McGonagall groaned and covered her face as she shook her head. "Sixty to ten, Gryffindor's lead."

Harry sighed. He didn't want to pulverize the Hufflepuffs this much. It wasn't fair, especially with having Trunks as the Keeper. He looked almost board. He saw the two bright flashes of braids as Ginny and Duo came around for another double-team play.

He was surprised on how well they worked together and a little jealous. He couldn't explain why he felt like that though. It was just Ginny, Ron's baby sister who couldn't speak around him and always turned bright red when he talked to her. Except Ginny had grown up during the summer, became more like her brothers than anything, except brighter somehow.

As he was thinking, the Snitch flew right past his nose. He dove down after it and Greer was after him. She shouted, "You're not going to get this, Harry!"

Harry reached out. He saw the tiny, golden ball in his hand and the furious wings flapping. He sped up and wrapped his fingers around the Snitch. It beat wildly at his hand and he held it up above his head with a grin.

The crowd went wild as always as he flew to the ground. Angelia hugged him, Fred and George slapped him on the back, Ginny and Duo hugged each other before giving each other high fives, which then Duo promptly gave to Harry. Trunks flew down with a grin on his face as he waved up to the crowd.

Harry looked over at Duo and asked, "So, how did you like your first game of Quidditch?"

"I wanna be Seeker," Duo answered as Hagrid, Ron, Sirius, and Hermione ran down to him, "You get all the fans."

Ginny screamed and Duo spun her around. She shouted, "We won!"

Snape was down in an instant, sweeping like a bat toward Duo. He squinted his eyes and asked, "Are you all right, Maxwell?"

"I am now Prof. We won," Duo answered with a happy grin.

Snape peered at Duo with something akin to worry, which shocked Harry. He looked over at Harry with his dark eyes and sneered, "Potter, what happened up there?"

"Duo blacked out, sir. It only lasted for a moment. He says he's fine now and you saw how he played," Harry answered, shifting his feet to avoid Snape's glare.

Snape reached over and gently grabbed Duo's shoulder. He said, "Perhaps. We should get you to Madam Pomfrey., Mr. Maxwell."

"I'm okay, really Prof," Duo replied, trying to ease Snape, which Harry knew wouldn't work.

Dumbledore strode over with his blue robes fluttering behind him. He said, "Perhaps Professor Snape is right in his advice, Duo. Maybe a visit to Madam Pomfrey. could stop the problem before it becomes one."

"I'll walk you there," Snape volunteered as he started to steer a protesting Duo back to the hall.

Malfoy and Hotaru walked over. Malfoy looked at Duo and asked, "What happened to Maxwell?"

"Is he okay?" Hotaru asked, peering worriedly at the retreating figures.

Trunks glared at Malfoy as if he was going to kill him on the spot. In turn, Hotaru glared back at Trunks. Trunks sneered, "We don't know, Malfoy. Maybe you have a better idea."

"I don't know why I would have a better idea, Briefs," Malfoy replied easily as he took Hotaru's hand.

Hotaru asked, "But he's okay, right?"

"Snape's getting him up to Madam Pomfrey., miss. We'll see if anything's wrong with your classmate," Sirius answered with a grin.

Hotaru looked directly at Harry with those haunted eyes. He wondered how Malfoy could stand looking at her. She just seemed so . . . tired and ancient if she could be such a thing.

She said, "If anything's wrong, tell me, please."

"Of course," Harry mouthed as Malfoy swept her away.

Sirius asked, "What was that about?"

"Hotaru's one of the four Guardians," Harry whispered.

Sirius asked, "Then why is she with a Voldemort supporter like Malfoy?"

"We're trying to figure that one out, Sirius," Harry answered grimly as he watched them disappear, "Especially Duo."

******

"What happened?" Snape asked as soon as they were away from the loud, cheering crowd. He detested Quidditch matches for that reason, the crowd. He liked to be by himself, alone, and working on potions or reading.

Duo was unbuttoning his robe as they walked. He grumbled, "I don't think I'll be able to get use to wearing these all the time." He shrugged out of the crimson robe, wearing a black sweat suit underneath.

Snape peered at the braided boy and prodded, "Duo, I asked you what happened?"

"It was weird, Prof. Really fucking weird," Duo began and Snape smiled in amusement at his profanity. It just came so easily with Duo. He shook his hair out of his eyes and continued, "I was flying you know, really enjoying myself, getting off on the air and everything and then I was afraid."

Snape blinked and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I was up flying around and it felt like I was watching my best friend die for a moment. You know, complete anguish and terror and helplessness. Then it was over, just that quickly. Everyone was worrying about me and I hate that," Duo answered with fierce determination, "I can take care of myself."

Snape suggested, "Let's see Madam Pomfrey. just to make sure. Some spells seem like they wear off like that but have lasting effects." Snape frowned, afraid that someone did indeed curse Duo Maxwell. Still, if someone did and he could find the caster, they would pay dearly.

******

There was a battle, a heavy battle. The stunning, feathered Wing ZERO was a wreck. One of the wings was dangling uselessly on its side as it tried to maintain flight. The heavily armored mechs were growing closer, bombarding ZERO with heavy rounds of Vulcan fire and missiles.

Heero was inside of the cockpit, blood streaming down his face from a shard of shrapnel that had broken off the control panels. He wiped the blood off of his face as another volley of sparks shot through the controls. He pushed a few buttons on the COMlink and called out, "Trowa, this is Heero, you there, over?"

A screen full of static was his only answer.

"Trowa, this is Heero, over," Heero bellowed in his monotone, his movements becoming more frantic as he tried to dodge the mobile suit's fire. The dark-haired boy's dark blue eyes widened in horror as he received no answer. "Trowa," he whispered in realization as he let his fingers drop off of the controls for a moment and bow his head.

Trowa was gone, taken out by the advanced mechanics of the Scorpio Suits. They probably used up all of his ammunition and then attacked from there. "Damn them," Heero hissed as he looked up with fierce determination and a need for vengeance.

He hit the COMlink again and received the image of a cherubic blond boy with tears in his aqua eyes. Heero barked, "Quatre, status report!"

"Heero, Trowa's dead, I can't move," Quatre rasped, clutching at his heart and gasping for air as tears spilled down his round, angelic face.

Heero glared and snapped, "Quatre, Trowa wouldn't want you to die. I need you to stand up and fight, Quatre. They're too many people depending on you."

"Heero, he's gone . . ." Quatre sobbed, his sobbing shaking his fragile body. Heero gritted his teeth. With Trowa dead he knew Quatre was sure to follow. The two were connected, lovers in every sense of the word.

Duo, where are you? We could use you, baka. Duo, where are you? Heero thought as he looked out onto the battle field. He wished that the braided idiot was here. Duo was the only one that didn't have to worry about running out of ammunition. Plus, his cheerful wit and raging temper would be very welcome right now.

They needed their God of Death back from whatever Hell he had stumbled himself into.

"Quatre, good bye," Heero whispered as he charged into battle with Quatre following. Within moments, the heavily damaged Sandrock fell in a raging inferno. The screen went dead, white static the only testimony that there had been a connection.

"Injustice, I will become the Lord of Hell if I have to find my own sense of Justice!" Wufei raged right before a beam cannon cut down Shenlong.

Heero closed his eyes. He was all alone, the only one left standing. His beam cannon was completely diminished. He had lost his beam saber a long time ago and his vulcans were empty.

"Heero Yuy, surrender, we have you surrounded," Dekium Barton's voice bellowed out into the darkness.

The Scorpios were still, waiting for his move and surrounding him at every angle.

"Run, Heero, get out of here!" Relena cried out into the COMlink, her voice thick with tears.

The ZERO system was quiet. Heero dropped his controls and whispered, "Relena, I'm sorry."

The self-destruct mechanism felt good in his hand, right. He ran his fingers over the smooth cylinder and allowed himself one last smile. See you soon, Shinigami, Heero thought with a grin, I'm sorry Relena.

"Good bye, Relena," Heero whispered before he pushed the button.

The world exploded in a mass of bright light and heat, taking everything in a mile radius with it.

"No!" Duo Maxwell cried as he awoke with a start. His heart was pounding in his chest as he sat there. He took a deep breath and looked around. He was in the Gryffindor dorm room with Harry sleeping in his bed beside him and Trunks on his other side, lying on his stomach and snoring lightly.

His body was covered in cold sweat and he was shaking. He silently got up out of bed and got dressed. He managed to sneak to Forest's dungeon without being caught or noticed.

The blond vampire looked up at him with startled indigo eyes from her book. She asked, "Duo, what is it?"

"I need to blow something up," Duo answered, wrapping his arms around himself to keep from shaking.