Soldiers of Sorcery
Part Twenty-Four
Harry watched, gaping as
he heard the accusations that Gregory Cosman had thrown. He couldn’t believe
it. Quatre a murderer? It was just so unbelievable. However, he was even more
surprised when he turned and heard Quatre utter apologies for the actions he was
accused of, as if he had really done those things. Was it possible? Had Quatre
really destroyed one of the colonies?
He watched as Quatre turned and stumbled away. His friends tried to stop him,
but Quatre pushed them away, continuing on and eventually into the castle. Harry
took a step forward and reached out, he wanted to help the young man that he
cared so deeply for, but a firm hand clamped on Harry’s shoulder. He turned
back, seeing Professor McGonagall standing beside him, holding him back. She
escorted him away from the crowd and looked at him shrewdly.
“Is there something I should know, Professor?” She asked, her voice no more
than a harsh whisper.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Harry responded, trying to seem innocent.
McGonagall rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t give me that rubbish. You’re as
transparent as that invisible cloak you own. It’s obvious that you have
feelings for the boy.” She said. “This will cause you nothing but trouble,
Harry. An affair with a student...”
Harry cut her off. “No, it’s nothing like that!” He exclaimed, then
lowered his voice. “Yes, I do plan on a romance with him, but it’s not just
some fling for fun or a better grade.” He said, blushing even as he spoke.
“I’ve spoken with Professor Dumbledore about this and he’s already made
things clear. I don’t need to hear this from you as well.”
McGonagall sighed, shaking her head. “Well, I can’t decide things for you,
but you better be serious about this relationship with him, Harry Potter. I
don’t think he needs getting his heart broken...he seems so fragile
already.”
Harry nodded. “Yes... ” He turned, looking the way that Quatre had run off.
“If you’ll excuse me, I think someone should make sure that he’s okay.”
Professor McGonagall smiled, if only slightly. “Go on. I’ll see to it that
things are handled here and then send his classmates back to the tower. I think
it would be best if he doesn’t return there tonight. It would be awkward at
best if he does. I hope you can figure out some accommodations for him.”
Harry nodded, then turned and walked away, not replying in any way to the
implications that Professor McGonagall had left open in her statements. He
rushed into the castle, wondering where Quatre had gotten to. In all probability
he hadn’t returned to the Gryffindor tower...and he would probably want to be
somewhere the Slytherins wouldn’t bother him. That didn’t leave many places
to look for him. Harry frowned, not knowing where to start looking.
“Hello, Harry...good to see you again.” Nearly Headless Nick greeted as he
floated through a nearby wall.
“Nice to see you too.” Harry nodded in reply. “Tell me, have you seen a
young blonde run by here? He would have had bruises on his face, possibly
bleeding.”
“Why yes, I did. Heading to the Astronomy tower actually...looked quite
depressed mind you, crying and all.” The ghost replied.
“Thanks.” Harry smiled, then ran off toward the tower. He should have
thought of the tower earlier. It was where Quatre had gone the last time he had
wanted to be alone. Shaking his head for neglecting that memory, Harry quickly
made his way to the Astronomy Tower, hoping that Quatre wouldn’t do something
foolish in his state of distress.
Quatre stared out at the afternoon sky. He wasn’t looking at anything in
particular, he just ...he wanted some time to calm down a little before packing
his things. He wouldn’t be welcome at Hogwarts after today’s events...he was
sure of that. But he didn’t want to pack now, no he needed time alone and the
Astronomy Tower was the perfect place. There were no classes scheduled to use
the tower until nightfall, so he figured that he’d be safe here for the rest
of the day.
“How did he find out?” Quatre asked himself, taking a seat on the stone
floor to take the weight off of his sore ankle. “We were so careful not to let
things slip.” He sniffled and curled in on himself, his face pained as he set
it down on his knees and cried. “Am I THAT much of a monster that they can see
it on my face?”
A snide voice spoke from the shadows. “Not necessarily, Winner. Although, you
are pretty close.”
Quatre looked over, watching as a young blonde man approached, stepping out of
the shadows near the door. Quatre was unsure of when he had entered the room,
but he was here now, so it didn’t truly matter. He recognized him as Draco
Malfoy, the one that Ginny had warned him about. “Go away.” Quatre
whispered, attempting to glare, but knowing that he was failing miserably. With
all the bruises to his face, he just couldn’t manage a good glare.
Draco snickered. “Or what? You’ll kill ME, too?” He shook his head, a
cruel smile curling his lips. “I bet you enjoyed it, didn’t you...destroying
that colony?”
“No! I never!” Quatre blurted out, rising to his feet, only to wince as he
put pressure on his aching ankle. A moment of thought and Quatre realized
something. “How did you know? How do you know about the colony?”
Draco slowly circled Quatre, as if he were some menacing bird of prey ready to
swoop down on Quatre. “I heard all about it from the lovely Dorothy Catalonia.
I’m the one who told that Gregory boy about you. How you cold-bloodily
murdered a whole colony full of civilians and got away with it because all the
scumbag Gundam pilots, including that L-2 whore, got a full pardon.”
Quatre met Draco’s eyes and growled. “Duo is NOT a whore!” He shouted,
thinking nothing of defending his own reputation. However, he would protect his
friends’.
Draco shrugged carelessly. “Not from what Relena told me. She said that he
walked into your initial meeting with Dumbledore looking like a poof’s wet
dream.” He shook his head. “But enough about that street scum. Gregory was
whining all about how his sister was killed and how he would love to strangle
the one responsible. I simply did him a favor. Can you deny it?”
Quatre lowered his heard. Draco was right. He was a murderer, a cold-blooded
killer of men, women, and children. He never should have come here to Hogwarts.
It had been a mistake to think he could be happy. He didn’t deserve it.
“That is ENOUGH!” An angry voice shouted.
Quatre looked up, just as Draco turned, both of them seeing Harry stalk into the
tower. “Come to pamper your little pet, Potter?” Draco asked.
Harry’s green eyes were dark with anger as he approached. “If you had spent
more time studying and less time tormenting your fellow students, you would have
graduated with the rest of us. But you didn’t, did you?” Harry smirked.
“And you are not one to talk about someone being a teacher’s pet, Draco.
Miss Catalonia had no right to disclose confidential information, and so I will
be deducting fifty points from Slytherin for her breech of trust as well as
another fifty points for you rubbing salt in what is obviously an open wound.”
Draco balked, opening his mouth and closing it several times. “Potter,
you...”
Harry held up his hand. “Remember, I am a teacher here, so unless you want
more points deducted, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and just go to wherever
you’re supposed to be right now.”
Draco growled, but said nothing. Instead he brushed past Harry, muttering to
himself as he hastily left the tower. Quatre lowered his head, burying his face
in his knees. He didn’t think that he could look at Harry without breaking
into tears. Harry must hate him now that he knew the truth about him. Quatre was
a murderer...a monster.
A warm hand landed on his shoulder and Quatre shrank back, afraid. Harry
couldn’t care about him now. No, Harry would just punish Quatre for his past
actions, just like that Gregory wanted to do. Quatre had made too many mistakes
and now it was time for the consequences.
“Quatre? Are you all right? You got beaten up pretty badly.” Harry said, his
hand firm on Quatre’s shoulder.
Quatre gasped and looked up at Harry, thinking that he’d only see disgust and
hatred in the older boy’s eyes. “How...Why would you care? It’s true what
Gregory said! I’m a murderer!”
“What happened?” Harry sat down in front of Quatre, pulling him close.
“Tell me, Quatre ...let me help you.”
Disbelief filled Quatre even as he rested his head on Harry’s shoulder, his
arms timidly circling Harry’s body. “What does it matter? It doesn’t
change the facts.” He whimpered.
“No...No knowledge will change the fact that Gregory’s sister is dead. But
sometimes you need someone unattached to the situation...someone who will not
judge you without knowing everything.” Harry said, while running a soothing
hand up and down Quatre’s arm in a gentle motion, cautious in case of any
injuries Quatre might have.
“I...I don’t really remember it. Everything is a big blur. I
remember...watching a satellite explode with my father on it. The next thing I
know...Trowa was telling me to go back to being the gentle person he knew...and
Heero was trying to kill me.” Quatre shuddered and closed his eyes, a brief
flicker of an explosion crossing his perception as well as the echoes of
thousands of emotions ending abruptly. “I...I sometimes have nightmares about
doing it, and I know that I did it...but I don’t remember the act itself, not
really anyway.”
Harry nodded. “So...basically you snapped.” He sighed. “It happens. Still,
no one has the right to judge you or anyone else without knowing the facts.”
He paused, carefully drawing Quatre away from himself. “Now, let me check you
out.”
Quatre gasped, blinking in confusion as Harry gently started moving his hands to
check for injuries on Quatre’s body. “That’s it? You’re not going
to...?”
Harry shook his head. “I’m not going to punish you, nor am I going to tell
you that I don’t want anything to do with you. I’d be lying is I said that.
Sometime...sometime you should tell me about your friends. Not now, though.
You’ve been beaten up, inside and out...and your empathic shields are probably
battered as well.” He caressed Quatre’s face, no more than a feather-like
touch. “Nothing would make me stop loving you. Not even if I should find out
that you are actually Lord Voldemort in disguise.”
Quatre blinked. “Y-You love me?” He stammered, certain that he had heard
wrong.
Harry blushed slightly. However, he did nod. “Yes, I do love you. I may not
have known you for very long, but I know how I feel. I love you, Quatre
Winner.”
Quatre felt his lower lip start to tremble and he threw his arms around Harry
and started sobbing as Harry returned the hug. “Thank you! I-I love you
too.” He said, truly meaning it, even if he had only known Harry for less than
a month.
“No more tears, Quatre...crying makes your face all red and
swollen-looking.” He pulled back, a gentle smile gracing his face. “And it
won’t help your bruises any.” Harry gently kissed the bruises forming on
Quatre’s face.
“What am I going to do now?” Quatre asked timidly. “I...I can’t go back
to the dorm. There could be other students who want a piece of me. If...If
Dorothy and Relena spilled the beans about me...it’s only a matter of time
before they tell people about the others as well.” Quatre sniffled...feeling
only marginally better than he had before. He still feared for his friends’
safety, even if his own was of no concern to him. He would bear the guilt of the
deaths of those colonists until he died himself.
“Right now, I think you should get cleaned up and then get some sleep.”
Harry suggested, his fingers lightly brushing through Quatre’s hair.
“Professor McGonagall is talking with everyone on the Quidditch field, your
friends included. She also told me to find you suitable accommodations for
tonight. So I figure you should stay in the one place where I know you’ll be
safe...with me, in my room.”
“Y-Your room?” Quatre blinked, a little surprised.
Harry chuckled. “Quatre, you already know that nothing will happen between us
while you’re there. I still stand by the agreement we made. You’re still not
ready for anything physical, nor am I. You just need a quiet place to sleep and
my room is the perfect place for me to watch over you and make sure you’re
well.” He smiled, lightly tracing a finger along the edge of Quatre’s face.
“Can you walk?”
Quatre smiled, if only a little as Harry helped him rise to his feet. He was
shaky, and his ankle hurt quite a bit. But he felt that he could walk if he had
to. “I think so.” Quatre said. “My ankle hurts, but not too bad I
guess.”
Harry paused. “Ankle hurts?” He asked, but didn’t wait for an answer.
Instead, he bent slightly and swept Quatre into his arms, smirking at the
shocked gasp that Quatre made. “Then you probably shouldn’t walk on it.”
Quatre smiled, laying his head down on Harry’s shoulder. He liked the
attention, enjoyed the feel of being in Harry’s arms. He closed his eyes,
sighing as Harry carried him out of the Astronomy Tower. He didn’t realize
that he had fallen asleep until he found himself being gently shaken.
“Quatre?” Harry asked, cautiously dabbing a wet cloth along Quatre’s face
to clean up the traces of blood.
Quatre blinked open weary eyes, for a moment wondering where he was. Then he saw
Harry’s face and any fears he might have had disappeared. He smiled, even
though it pained him, and pushed himself to a sitting position.
Harry carefully helped Quatre to remove his robes, always being delicate when
touching Quatre in case of injuries. He pulled off Quatre’s shoes and socks,
wrapping Quatre’s swollen ankle in a length of cloth. Quatre unbuttoned his
shirt, shrugging it off.
Harry looked up, an appreciative smile crossing his features. He helped Quatre
up, keeping him steady as Quatre removed his pants, leaving him clad only in his
boxers. Quatre blushed deeply, embarrassed by his lack of covering. He yelped as
Harry unexpectedly picked him up, enjoying it when he was carefully laid down on
the bed.
Harry covered him with the blankets, smiling as he brushed Quatre’s bangs
back. “Quatre, do you want me to sleep on the floor? I will if it would make
you more comfortable.” Harry offered.
Quatre shook his head. “No...please, could you...hold me?” He asked, feeling
quite foolish about his need for physical contact. He must seem so childish in
Harry’s eyes.
“Of course I will.” Harry replied, a bright smile on his face. He kicked off
his shoes, removing robes and clothing to leave himself in a similar state of
undress as Quatre was in. Lastly, he took off his glasses, setting them on the
bedside table, before climbing into bed with Quatre.
Quatre sighed, snuggling against Harry’s body as the dark-haired youth wrapped
tender arms around his frame. He was happy here...in Harry’s arms, Quatre was
happy. With feelings of contentment and calmness in his body and mind, it
didn’t take long for Quatre to drift off to sleep. Harry was just a pacifying
influence and Quatre loved him for it.