Soldiers of Sorcery
Part Six
Trowa looked up as he
heard the door open once again. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor in shock
when he saw Duo step into the room. Damn, Duo looked good, Trowa thought, taking
in the sight of the tight leather pants that hung around his slim hips and the
vest that Duo barely wore. His hair was a bit disheveled, clinging to
glistening, wet skin. Trowa could almost feel himself drooling, and had to turn
his gaze away for a moment, taking a deep breath before he could look at Duo
again.
The second time that he looked at Duo, worry invaded his heart. Without an
overshadow of lust clouding his judgement, Trowa could clearly see how pale and
thin Duo really was. There were a number of bruises showing from beneath that
vest and even a few along the edge of his hairline. Duo looked weary and cold,
his body shivering as he stood in the doorway. He looked ill and weak. He was
drenched in water from head to toe, but still smiled when he saw the people in
front of him.
Just as he was taking a step into the room, he stopped, dropping his bag to the
floor. An instant later, he followed his bag, collapsing to the stone floor.
Trowa was on his feet in an instant, but Professor Dumbledore held up his hand
and told him to stay put. Trowa grumbled but sat, not happy about being told not
to help. Apparently, none of the others were happy about it either, since he
heard objections from both Wufei and Heero as to why they couldn’t go.
Hagrid moved across the room swiftly, easily sweeping Duo into his arms and
carrying him like a rag doll over to the fireplace. Trowa moved from his place
in front of the fire, allowing Hagrid to set Duo down in his seat. He sat beside
Quatre, watching as Hagrid arranged Duo comfortably. Then Hagrid moved out of
the way and Dumbledore knelt in front of Duo.
“He stinks.” Relena abruptly stated, chuckling a bit. “When was the last
time he bathed?”
“Shut yer trap, girl!” Hagrid bellowed.
Relena glared, but shut up immediately. She didn’t look all that pleased to be
spoken to like that. Of course, to Trowa it was quite acceptable. The girl was
nothing but annoying and he was happy that she had been yelled at for her
ignorance.
“Munditia!” Dumbledore exclaimed with a flourish of his wand.
Trowa bit his lip to keep from gasping as Duo’s appearance was cleaned up. It
looked as though he had just gotten a bath, yet he was still sitting there. His
skin had paled a bit, but glowed with a clean shine. He was still wet with rain,
but he no longer smelled of body odor, cigarettes, and trash. In fact, he
smelled quite nice now . . . of lilacs and some other scent that Trowa
couldn’t identify.
“Enneverate!” Dumbledore said.
A moment later, Duo’s eyes slowly blinked open. He looked around briefly, but
stopped when his gaze had settled on Heero’s puppy. He raised his hand to his
face and groaned. “I knew I was going straight to Hell when I died.” He
muttered.
“You aren’t dead.” Trowa said with a smirk.
“Oh really? Does that mean I’m drunk?” Duo asked, gesturing tiredly at the
puppy.
Heero stroked his fingers along the puppy’s fur. “No . . . this is my
dog.”
Duo sighed, leaning back against the chair and closing his eyes. “Oh . . .
okay. You have a three-headed dog. That’s cool.” Duo shrugged, breathing
deeply.
Trowa smiled a little, glad to see that Duo hadn’t lost his sense of humor.
Then his attention was diverted as Hagrid started searching around in his coat
for something. Eventually, he pulled out a blanket and settled it over Duo’s
still shivering body. Duo looked up at Hagrid and quietly thanked him, not
saying a word about how huge the man was.
Hagrid nodded in reply and continued to root around in his coat, eventually
pulling a full tea service from inside the coat. The most surprising of this
however, was the fact that Trowa could see steam rising from the teapot. Hagrid
set the tray of teacups on the small coffee table in the center of all the
chairs, then reached into his coat once again, this time pulling out a plate
piled with what looked to be cakes of some kind.
“I think we should have our meeting here by the fire, to give Mr. Maxwell here
some time to warm up.” Dumbledore said, while Hagrid went about handing out
cups of tea and cakes to everyone.
Duo blushed, looking down shyly as he sipped his tea. He didn’t look all that
happy to be the center of attention. However, he quickly appeared to get over
it. Only a moment later, Duo all but swallowed his entire cake whole. It
didn’t even look as if he had chewed it . . . he had just inhaled it.
The seats were arranged in a semicircle around the fire, with Duo and Quatre
closest to the flames since they were both drenched from the rain. Everyone was
facing where Dumbledore sat at the center or the semicircle, all of them waiting
patiently for the man to speak. They didn’t have to wait too long.
“I suppose you are all wondering why I asked you to meet me here?”
Dumbledore said, gaining a number of affirmative answers in reply. “Well,
I’ve come to explain a few things to you. I am Headmaster at a school of
wizardry. If you read your letters, you will already know this. Some of you
already know about Hogwarts, but the majority of you do not.”
He took a breath, looking around the room. “Now, Miss Catalonia has already
attended Hogwarts, although briefly. She knows the age you should be when
starting your first term.”
“Eleven.” Dorothy said with a smug tone.
Dumbledore nodded. “Yes, eleven. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond
her control, she had to drop out late in her first year because of a family
emergency.”
“Grandfather never did want me to attend. When he found out that my caretakers
had allowed me to go he was furious.” Dorothy sneered, turning away and
lifting her nose.
“Yes, well you will be allowed to return, on the condition that you repeat
your first year again.” Dumbledore said. Dorothy made no reply this time, so
he continued. “The rest of you, never attended Hogwarts.”
“Why were we sent the letters now?” Wufei asked. “Why not when we were
eleven?”
Dumbledore sighed deeply. “You were all on the colonies when you were eleven,
with the exception of Miss Dorlian, but we had it on good authority from her
brother when he was attending, that she was dead.”
“Dead?” Relena gasped. “Milliardo actually said I was dead?”
“I’m sure he only meant to protect you, Miss. We had no reason to mistrust
him, since we had witnessed for ourselves the destruction of the Sanc Kingdom,
so we believed him.” The Professor stated. “Now, where was I. Oh yes, the
rest of you. Mr. Winner, you were living on L-4 with your family when you were
eleven. Mr. Chang you were on L-5 doing the same. Mr. Maxwell, I’m sorry to
say was on the streets of L-2. Mr. Yuy was training with some scientist on L-1,
and Mr. Barton was working a job with his fellow mercenaries somewhere on L-3. I
am right in all these cases, am I not?”
Trowa looked down, but answered with a quiet, “Yes,” barely hearing as the
others replied similarly. He didn’t like thinking of the mercenaries or his
past...he didn’t like the memories that were brought up.
“Unfortunately, during this time, the colonies and Earth were not on speaking
terms to say the least. We at Hogwarts and several of the other wizardry
schools, felt it would be safer for you if your letters were held until
circumstances became safer. We didn’t want our students to risk their lives
traveling from their homes to the school or vice versa. We did not know that it
would last so long for the Earth and colonies to be at peace once again.”
Dumbledore sighed again.
“However, all of you have had places reserved for you at Hogwarts for the past
five years, even though none of you are native of England. Exceptions were made
in your cases, seeing as how none of you are really from anywhere on earth.”
Dumbledore said, pausing to take a sip of his tea. “Any questions so far?”
“Yes, how is it you know my real name?” Heero asked.
Trowa nodded. “And mine?”
Dumbledore smiled. “I know more than you think. With the exception of Mr.
Barton, all of you have had a family member attend Hogwarts in the past. Your
parents, Mr. Barton ...or should I call you by your real name, Triton Bloom...are what we refer to in the wizarding world as Muggles, people who can’t
use magic.”
“I'd prefer you not call me that.” Trowa replied, not sure if he wanted to
use the name or not.
Dumbledore nodded, and smiled. He turned his gaze to Wufei. “Mr. Chang, your
father Shengli was quite a talented young wizard...married a pretty Muggle
woman if I recall correctly. I was sorry to hear of their deaths.”
Wufei nodded, but said nothing.
Dumbledore cast saddened eyes in Quatre’s direction. “Mr. Winner, your
mother, Quaterine...well, I’d never before met such a kind-natured girl
such as her. She was a wonderful student, and quite a talented witch. It was a
shame how frail she was...not even magic could help her in the end.”
Quatre bowed his head, sniffling sadly. Trowa saw a stray tear fall from one of
the blonde’s eyes.
“Mr. Maxwell...Daniel Cassell...both of your parents, Miranda and
Thomas, were skilled in the use of magic. A tragedy what happened to them.”
Dumbledore said, shaking his head.
Then he looked at Heero, a smirk appearing on his face for a brief moment.
“And Mr. Yuy...no, your name is Yosei Lowe, if I’m not mistaken. Your
parents, Kirei and Odin were two of the finest people I had ever known. Top of
their class...Head Girl and Head Boy in their day. I would like to have a
word with you about them once this meeting is concluded.”
“Okay.” Heero replied, his face showing confusion.
“And as I have already said, Miss Dorlian, your brother attended our school
under the name of Zechs Merquise. He was an average student, but quite skilled
on the Quidditch field.” Dumbledore said. “Now, to get on to the next
subject. You will not be treated exactly like our regular first year students.
Given your age, the other faculty and I thought that it would be best for you
not to be singled out for the sorting ceremony. So we will have the ceremony
here and now.”
“Sorting?” Duo asked, tiredly.
Dorothy huffed. “Into the school houses, isn’t that right, Professor?”
Dumbledore nodded. “Quite right. The school body is split into four houses
where you will live for the school year. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and
Ravenclaw. Miss Catalonia has already been sorted and it has been decided that
she will stay in the house she was put into before, Slytherin.”
“Good.” Dorothy smirked, a cruel glint in her eyes. Trowa got the distinct
impression that he did not want to be in Slytherin.
Dumbledore reached into his robe and pulled out a battered old hat. He handed it
to Hagrid, then pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill pen. He looked to be
getting ready to take a few notes. “No need to have the rhyme said, you’ll
all hear it during the official ceremony for the other first year students.”
Hagrid went around the group, placing the old hat on each head. When it spoke
for the first time, Quatre nearly jumped through the roof. It wasn’t normal
for any of them, well except for Dorothy and Wufei it seemed...neither of
them had looked the least bit surprised by the talking hat.
Trowa didn’t like the feel of the hat on his head, although he couldn’t
explain his reason... nor did he enjoy the fact that it could speak. It just
seemed weird. When the hat was returned to Dumbledore, everyone had been placed
in their houses. Relena joined Dorothy in Slytherin, while the five ex-pilots
were placed into Gryffindor. Dumbledore seemed rather pleased with the results
and smiled as he put his things away.
“If you’ll all follow Hagrid, he’ll show you the way to Diagon Alley,
where you can buy your school supplies and anything else you could need. Most of
you have accounts in Gringotts, the wizard bank.” Dumbledore said, rising from
his seat.
Trowa and the others also stood, well all of them except for Heero. Duo shook
off the blanket that he had been given, looking a bit woozy as he walked out of
the room. Trowa decided to stay close to the American, not wanting to see him
get injured in some way. As he followed his friends out of the building and into
the alley, where it had stopped raining, he silently wondered how he was going
to pay for any of this stuff. If his parents were...Muggles...as
Dumbledore had said, then he wouldn’t have an account in this wizard’s bank.
Heero waited in his seat while the others left. Then he looked up at Dumbledore,
wondering what the man wanted to say. He idly petted Odin’s heads, not sure if
he should ask or whether the old wizard would just blurt out what he wanted to
say.
After several long moments, Dumbledore finally sat in front of Heero, sighing
before he met Heero’s gaze. “I have a matter to speak with you of the utmost
importance, Heero. It concerns your parents.”
Heero nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. He didn’t know what he was
about to hear, but for some reason he was sure that he wouldn’t like it. There
was just something about the man’s concerned look that warned Heero of
trouble.
“Your mother, Kirei, is alive.” Dumbledore said.
“M-My mother?” He asked, not sure that he had heard correctly. Never in all
the years when he had been traveling with his father had there ever been mention
that his mother had been alive. He had just assumed her to be dead all of these
years. “Where is she? Can I see her?” He asked, even before he had known he
had spoken.
Dumbledore sighed again, and shook his head sadly. “I'm afraid that now is not
the right time for this. After you’re settled in at Hogwarts, I can make
arrangements for you to visit her. I have to warn you though, you may not like
what you find.”
“What do you mean, sir?” Heero asked, wary about learning the truth.
“It happened during a time when the wizarding world was still recovering from
the cruelty of a particularly evil wizard named Voldemort, that preyed on wizard
and Muggle alike. No one seemed to notice that another was gaining power in his
wake. It was almost five years after Voldemort’s apparent death...and you
were but a child, only three years of age. There was a good deal of confusion
and Apox used it to his advantage. A young witch was nearly sacrificed in a
ceremony meant to imbue Apox with a good deal of power about three years prior...enough power so that he would gain immortality and rule where Voldemort had
failed. Thankfully, Apox did not succeed in that attempt.” Dumbledore said.
“What does this have to do with my mother?” Heero asked, feeling confused.
Dumbledore sighed. “Your mother, and a number of other witches and wizards,
were sent to stop Apox once and for all. He killed many, hurt others. But he
attacked her with the Cruciatus Curse, one of the three Unforgivable Curses. It
is forbidden to use these curses on other wizards or Muggles. The Cruciatus
Curse causes extreme, agonizing pain and unfortunately when done too many times
for too long, can cause insanity...and that was the case with your mother,
unfortunately. Your mother is a patient in St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical
Maladies and Injuries. She’s been there, unaware of her surroundings, for the
past thirteen years.”
Heero gasped, shaking his head. He didn’t want to believe this. First he had
been told that he had a mother, and then his hopes were all crushed. His mother
was a mental patient. “Why did you bother telling me this?” Heero asked,
rising to his feet quickly, holding Odin against him as he felt the burning
tears threaten to fall from his eyes.
“I wanted to inform you of your past, Yosei Lowe. As much as you have denied
it in your life, it is a part of you.” Dumbledore said, setting a sympathetic
hand on Heero’s shoulder. “When he heard what happened to your mother, Odin
Lowe took you away and hid you among the Muggles...he turned his back on
everything he had ever known in the hopes of protecting you from Apox. Apox had
the unpleasant habit of going after the family members of his victims.”
“Where is this Apox now?” Heero asked, cutting Dumbledore off before he had
finished speaking.
Dumbledore shook his head. “He disappeared ten years ago. No one in the
Ministry of Magic thought he was much of a threat...the fools...but he
hasn’t shown his face once in these past years. He could be dead, he could be
alive...no one is really sure.”
Heero bowed his head, fighting away his tears. He wouldn’t cry over a mother
he had never known. He was stronger than that. “Thank you for telling me about
my mother.” He said quietly, his voice a cold monotone.
Dumbledore’s hand slid down his arm, holding it just above his elbow. “Allow
me to help you with your puppy.” The kind Professor said.
Heero looked up at the man, confused once again. “What do you mean?” He
asked.
“Well, you can’t really go walking around Muggle streets with a three-headed
puppy.” Dumbledore stated. “I can help with that.”
Heero nodded unsurely, watching the man with one raised eyebrow. “Go ahead.”
He said, holding Odin out.
“Opinio falsa!” He said, tapping his wand on one of Odin’s heads.
The puppy sneezed, but Heero saw no other effects. “What did it do?” He
asked, looking at Odin curiously.
“Nothing that you can see, my boy. From now on, Muggles will see a one-headed
dog instead of one with three heads. That way you can take him out without
having to worry about being gawked at wherever you go.” Dumbledore replied.
“Thank you.” Heero said, cradling Odin in his arms and heading to the door.
He paused before he got there though, turning back to look at Dumbledore.
“Where is this Gringotts?” He asked.
Dumbledore smirked. “I’ll show you. Then you can catch up with your friends
and get your school things.” The Professor said, taking hold of one of
Heero’s arms and leading him out of the room, into the narrow alleyway, then
beyond it.