Redemption

Chapter Nineteen:

Harry was relieved to finally be released from the Infirmary. As far as he was concerned, he'd spent a little too much time there over the years. He and Wufei were on their way to Gryffindor Tower when they ran into none other than Draco Malfoy.

As soon as Harry caught sight of the slicked blond head, he turned back the way they'd come, dragging Wufei with them, but it was too late. He'd been spotted.

"Well, if it isn't 'The Wonderful Mr. Harry Potter," the Slytherin sniveled.

Harry's teeth ground together and he contemplated whether to ignore Malfoy or to retort when his decision was made for him.

"And you are?" Wufei asked coolly, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"No concern of yours," the boy answered, taking in the Muggle clothes Wufei wore. "At least, not unless by some miracle, you're a pureblooded wizard, which I sincerely doubt."

"Not an ounce of wizard blood in me as far as I know. Do you have a problem with that?" Wufei crossed his arms over his chest, subtly assessing, and dismissing, Draco as a fighter.

"What if I do?" taunted the smaller boy.

"Then I suggest you get over it," Wufei answered crisply before continuing down the hall and past Malfoy. "Coming, Harry?"

Harry had watched the whole exchange, and was ready when Malfoy drew his wand. "Petrificus Totalus!" he cried, pointing his own at Malfoy. As the Slytherin's limbs sprang together, he keels over, face forward, onto the floor. "Nice try, Malfoy. You know, you really aren't much without your goons watching your back."

Together, Harry and Wufei continued on their way, leaving Draco to be found by a student or teacher, and not much caring of the consequences. By the time the reached Gryffindor Tower, they forgot all about the boy who was lying frozen in a dark corridor. They entered to a chorus of cheers, and Harry was swept up in the chorus of congratulations and enquiries as to how he was. About half an hour after they arrived there, Ginny and Hermione came down from the girls' dormitories.

Ron was in the center of the room, loudly retelling the story of a particularly difficult save he made and tried to drag Harry and Ginny into it, but neither really wanted the attention. Harry, Wufei, Ginny, and Hermione sat in a relatively quiet corner of the common room, after establishing that they weren't part of the entertainment, and the two girls got to know Wufei a little better.

He couldn't be sure, but Harry thought that Hermione seemed to be drilling 'Fei as though she were a parent or older sibling assessing the suitability of a date. But she couldn't know, could she? After all, he hadn't told anyone but Ginny. Of course, there was always the possibility that Hermione had figured it out all on her own. Or even that Harry was just being paranoid and reading too far into things. He'd have to have a little talk with Ginny, though, to find out if Hermione really did know anything. Even so, if she did know, she didn't seem to mind all that much.

Eventually, the party wore down and Harry began to get a little tired after such an excitable day. Hermione and Ginny both went upstairs, and Harry and Wufei took that as their cue to leave as well.

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Draco had been making his way back from the owlery when he spotted Potter and a foreign boy walking towards him Just as he was about to say something, the Gryffindor spotted him and began to walk away.

"Well, if it isn't 'The Wonderful Mr. Harry Potter," he called, trying to gain his enemy's attention. He was sick of being ignored, and he needed their rivalry to keep himself from falling into a brooding, angsty mess.

He hadn't expected the other boy to react, and was caught off guard by his question. "And you are?"

"No concern of yours." Who did that boy think he was? Strolling around the corridors in Muggle clothes with Harry Potter, 'The Boy Who Lived'. Draco didn't need to waste his time on some glory seeking idiot who couldn't even wear a proper pair of robes. He obviously wasn't from the school; it would be hard to miss someone so attractive, so he must have been a friend from outside. "At least, not unless by some miracle, you're a pureblooded wizard, which I sincerely doubt."

"Not an ounce of wizard blood in me as far as I know. Do you have a problem with that?" He should have known. Who else but Potter would bring a Muggle into the school? Well, it looked like Draco would finally be getting some action.

"What if I do?" he taunted.

"Then I suggest you get over it." Draco sneered. How dare that filthy Muggle brush him off like that? "Coming, Harry?"

Just as he reached for his wand to teach the bugger a lesson, he heard Potter cry out a spell behind him. "Petrificus Totalus!"

As he fell to the floor, face first, Draco's eyes widened in shock. "Nice try, Malfoy. You know, you really aren't much without your goons watching your back."

He heard the two boys walking away, laughing. For the first time since he was a child, Draco wanted to cry. He knew that it was a sign of utter weakness, that to let one tear fall would prove that he was just as unworthy of the Malfoy title as his groveling fool of a father. Still, a tear fell, and several more after that.

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"Whoa!" Duo cried as he fell out of a new fire place and rolled to his feet. "Now that's a ride I wouldn't wait in line for..."

He looked around the room he'd landed in. It was filled with odd gizmos and gadgets and walls were covered in portraits. Portraits that were moving and talking...

"Oh, you've got to be shitting me!"

Staring in wonder at the walls, Duo walked up close to one and poked it. The inhabitant on the painting, a squat witch with frizzy blond hair, cried out in indignation and muttered furiously under her breath.

"Duo," growled a voice behind him, "don't touch anything!"

The braided boy winced and pulled his hand away slowly. "Of course not, Heero. Wouldn't dream of it." He whistled quietly as he surveyed the rest of the room and his eyes came to rest on a sickly looking bird. He was just taking a step toward it when suddenly it erupted into a column of flame. "I didn't touch anything, I swear!"

"What have you done now?" Trowa asked after landing gracefully in the fire place, just in time to see Duo panic.

"Nothing! Honestly!" He backed away from the pile of ash, hands behind his back.

The tall gymnast just sighed and shook his head, sharing a knowing look with Heero.

Quatre was the next to come through the fire, he landed in a heap on the floor by Trowa's feet and the taller boy held out a hand to help him up.

"Thanks," Quatre said to him. "Remind me never to do that again, okay?"

"You might want to move before the big guy comes through," Duo suggested helpfully.

"Uh, right." Quatre and Trowa moved away just in time as Hagrid landed off balance and stumbled forward a few steps.

"Well, 'ere we are, then. Professor Dumbledore will be down in a minute. Jus' wait 'ere fer 'im," the large man told them before striding over to a door on the far side of the room and exiting down a winding staircase.

They didn't have to wait long. Not long after their contact left, a door on the other side of the room opened, and a tall man with long platinum hair entered, followed by an elderly man in strange, colorful robes.

"Good evening. I do hope you were well met," the old man said.

Despite his looks, Duo had the feeling that this man wasn't quite as frail as he'd have them belief. There was a presence just radiating from him that spoke of wisdom and hidden strength.

"If you'd all like to take a seat, perhaps we could discuss why you are here," the man continued. As they all sat down around a desk that seemed to appear in the middle of the room, Duo glanced somewhat guiltily towards the pile of ash that he couldn't help but feel guilty about. "Ah, I see you've met Fawkes. Do not worry, he is a phoenix and will soon rise from the ashes. Most unfortunate that you caught him on a burning day... Lemon sherbet?"

Duo felt a bit better about that and happily accepted the offer of a sweet, ignoring the glare that Heero threw his way. "Sure, why not?"

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Wufei led Harry up to his private dorm, where they sat on the edge of the bed to chat.

"Did you get the feeling that your friend Hermione was interrogating me?" Wufei inquired once they were settled.

"You noticed that, too, huh?" Harry asked as he popped the lid off of a butterbeer bottle he'd taken from the party.

"Have you told her about us?" The Chinese boy took the bottle offered to him and took a sip.

"No. Only Ginny. Don't get me wrong, Hermione is one of my best friends, but I'm not sure what she'd say about, well, us. I hadn't planned on telling anyone, but Ginny already knew," Harry answered.

"Well, I don't think you'll have a problem there, even if she does know. Judging by how close she was to Ginny, I'd say she understands all too well." Wufei snorted and handed the bottle back to Harry.

The young wizard stared at him blankly for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"What? You haven't noticed? They were both flushed when they came downstairs. Both had swollen lips and neither of them was wearing make-up. On top of that, their legs were brushing together throughout the whole conversation," the Chinese boy replied.

"You're not saying... But, Ginny and Dean! At least, I thought they were... Ginny and Hermione? No, way. That's just too odd. Ron would freak!" Harry suddenly broke out into a fit of laughter at what he imagined would be the look on Ron's face. "I will DEFINITELY have to have that talk with Ginny," he finally said with a grin.

Wufei watched in amusement. He was glad to see how happy Harry was. He'd heard all about what had happened with Lupin, and he'd been worried about what effects that might have on Harry.

After the Quidditch game, he'd thought his love would be out for at least a day, but, apparently, not in this world. He shouldn't have been surprised. After all, he'd seen quite a few spectacular things at The Burrow, but he still hadn't expected for Harry to be up and about so soon.

Harry seemed to notice that he was being watched and cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"Nothing," Wufei said to him, and then he leant forward and kissed Harry, pinning him down to the bed as he did so. "You just looked adorable, that's all."

Harry's playful mood suddenly vanished and his heart began to race faster. "Wufei," he whispered, lifting a hand to trace along a smooth, subtle cheekbone.

He never had the time to say anything more. Soon, his mouth was once again preoccupied and he wrapped his arms around Wufei's neck. He felt himself grow hard and arched up against Wufei's body, delighting in the friction it caused.

Unfortunately, wizard healing could only go so far and after a couple of minutes, Harry's head began to spin and he pulled back, breathing deeply and trying to focus his vision.

"Argh! Dammit!" Wufei sat back up immediately and Harry slowly followed. "Are you okay?" The Muggle asked. "Do you need to go back to the Hospital Ward?"

"No, no. I'm fine. I just need a good night's rest, that's all," Harry told him and sighed. "I'm sorry, Wufei. I wanted to spend some more time with you, but I guess that isn't going to happen tonight."

"It's okay. You go and get some sleep. I'll be here for a while. Besides, you have classes tomorrow." This only made Harry groan.

"Thank you for reminding me. I have Potions first up," he complained.

"It can't be all that bad," Wufei said skeptically.

"Yes, it can. Snape is an evil, sadistic bastard who's sole purpose for living is to make my life a living hell." Harry stood up and straightened his clothes. "Well, do I at least get a kiss goodnight?"

Wufei joined him, but refused anything more than a soft peck on the lips. "Now, go. I'll see you tomorrow."