Soldiers of Sorcery

Disclaimers: I do not own either Gundam Wing or Harry Potter. I am making no money with this. This story is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Notes: Quatre awakens and is taken to meet with a Ministry official.

Soldiers of Sorcery

Part Thirty-Two


Quatre moaned as he felt someone gently shaking his body, but he did not want to awaken just yet. He was warm and comfortable and no one was trying to hurt him. He simply wanted to savor the experience for a little while. The shaking didn’t stop, however, and Quatre reluctantly opened his eyes. The sight that met him when he did finally open them, made him glad that he had awakened. Harry was leaning over him and smiling gently.

“Come on, Quatre.” Harry said, his warm hand on Quatre’s bare shoulder. “Time for you to wake up and get dressed. The official from the Ministry is here, and you have to tell him what happened in your own words.”

Quatre groaned as he sat up and winced as his cuts stung a little at the movement. “How long have I been asleep?” Quatre asked, raising a hand to his aching head.

Harry’s fingers tenderly brushed through his hair, stroking his scalp lightly. “Not long . . . only a few hours.” He replied. “You know, your friends were here earlier. They’re worried about you.”

“They were?” Quatre blinked. “I-I didn’t mean to worry them.” Now he felt bad . . . they were worried. He didn’t like causing people to worry.

Harry merely smiled. “Don’t fret.” He whispered, leaning forward and ghosting his lips over Quatre’s forehead. “I explained the situation and they were relieved to hear you were in good hands. Everything will be all right, I promise you.” He sat back, running his hand up and down along Quatre’s uninjured arm in a soothing manner. “Now, come on . . . can’t keep that official waiting around.”

Quatre allowed a small smile to come to his lips, nodding. He got dressed as quickly as possible, still feeling a bit chill as he did so. He guessed that the effects of that manipulation wouldn’t be going away all that quickly. Once he was fully dressed, he followed Harry out of the room, limping along slowly. Harry was kind though, not walking at too brisk a pace, saving Quatre from having to put too much pressure on his injured ankle by lending Quatre his arm for support.

When they reached Professor Dumbledore’s office, Quatre waited until Harry knocked. When a muffled voice bade them to enter, Quatre followed Harry into the room. Professor Dumbledore was there, but so was a young, red-haired man who was unfamiliar to Quatre . . . must be the Ministry Official. Although slender, his face was boyish and good-natured. The young man smiled and stepped past Quatre to embrace Harry while he laughed.

Harry laughed as well. “Ron! It’s so good to see you!” Harry happily announced. “I’m glad they sent you and not one of those stuffed shirts they would normally send.”

The man that Harry had called Ron, stepped back. Quatre vaguely remembered that name from somewhere, but couldn’t think of where. “Professor Dumbledore asked for me specifically.” He then turned his attention to Quatre. “And you must be Quatre Winner. Are you feeling any better?”

Quatre found it easy to smile at the redhead. “Somewhat. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Ron returned Quatre’s smile. “Don’t mention it. Now, maybe you should sit down. You look beat and you’re limping.”

Quatre nodded and gratefully took a seat in a chair near the fireplace, basking in the warmth there. Professor Dumbledore set his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Harry, perhaps it would be best if we left these two alone to talk . . . an audience really would not be helpful I daresay.”

Harry nodded. “Yes . . . I agree.” He stepped over to Quatre, giving his shoulder a brief, comforting squeeze before he turned and followed the Headmaster out of the room.

Quatre swallowed and turned to face Ron. His apprehension must have shown, because the redhead laughed kindly.

“Don’t worry so much. I don’t bite, and I’m not here to judge you in any way. I just need to know what happened.” He sat on the edge of Professor Dumbledore’s desk in a way that reminded Quatre of how Duo used to lean against his furniture whenever they had been together in one of Quatre’s estates. “I’m here to help in any way I can.”

Quatre could tell that Ron was speaking the truth, so he nodded. “All right. How?”

Ron shrugged. “That depends. Why don’t you tell me what happened in this dream of yours? If I have some idea of what transpired, it’ll help the Ministry to come up with a long-term solution until the perpetrator is apprehended.”

Quatre nodded. “Okay.” He whispered. Then he took a breath and told Ron what he could. He explained about the dream, of what had happened in his mind . . . of the bitter cold that had stung his skin, the way he had nearly succumbed to the lure of this cruel wizard or witch. He spoke of the pain of the slashes and showed him the marks on his chest and arm, shivering a little when he confessed the fact that he was empathic and had nearly fallen back into the darkness when his walls had begun cracking again. He told him everything that he could, just wanting to get some help . . . to be free of the fear that consumed him now . . . to be released from the terror he felt whenever he became tired and had to return to sleep. He was trembling by the end of it, but was hopeful that the Ministry would be able to help him somehow.

Ron frowned in thought. “Offhand . . . I don’t know who is causing this. There have been no hints of any Wizard going really bad lately, not since Voldemort . . .” He trailed off from there, shaking his head briefly. “Oh, there are a couple that dabble in the Dark Arts a little, mostly wizards from the house of Slytherin. All I can tell you, here and now, is to follow Professor Dumbledore’s advice.” He shook his head. “Not knowing who is causing this also brings up the question of why.”

“He wants me for something. That much I can feel.” Quatre whispered, wrapping his arms around himself.

Ron smiled kindly. “I can tell that, too. No wizard would go through so much trouble if they didn’t want you for a purpose. I can’t think of what purpose someone would want to use you for. I’ll have the Ministry look over your family history. Maybe the archives will tell us why you, personally, are a target.”

“Thank you.” Quatre said, smiling gratefully.

Ron smiled in return. “Don’t you worry. I’ll do my best to ensure your safety.” He assured Quatre, stepping forward to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Any friend of Harry is well worth the effort . . . and I can see that you are one of the best things that has happened to Harry in a good long while. It’s good to see him happy again.”

Quatre ducked his head in embarrassment. It was then that his stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten in a while. He blushed lightly, feeling self-conscious.

Ron chuckled. “First . . . we should see about getting something into your stomach. It’s almost time for dinner to begin. Do you want to go back to Harry’s chambers, or do you want to go to the great hall with the other students?”

Quatre smiled at the thought of joining his friends in the main hall. A part of him did want to hide in Harry’s rooms forever, but he knew that he couldn’t do that. He had to continue as if everything was fine. “I’ll go to the Great Hall to join my friends.”

Ron nodded. “All right. I’ll get Harry to help you down there . . . besides, you might need the support once you get there. I remember how cruel students can be. And we don’t want to give them any more ammunition than they already think they have.” He smiled, setting a hand on Quatre’s shoulder. “I've heard the rumors . . . and the truth from Professor Dumbledore. While I don’t understand most of the Muggle terms, I don’t fault you for what you did in the past. Wars are a horrible thing to have to live through.”

Quatre smiled brightly, nodding as he watched Ron turn and walk away. His smile only widened as Harry entered the room shortly after the redhead departed. Quatre sighed happily as he was pulled into a strong and warm embrace.

“I am so proud of you, Quatre.” Harry said, pressing a soft kiss to Quatre’s cheek. “A lesser wizard would have balked at the idea of facing so many so soon.” Harry smoothed Quatre’s hair back, looking into his eyes. “Ready?”

Quatre nodded. “Let’s go. I’m hungry.”


*****


Quatre was beginning to regret his decision as he and Harry walked into the Great Hall. The looks in the hallways had been bad enough. Now, however, there were whispers of who he was and what he had done. ‘It’s so unfair. We sacrificed everything to bring peace, and we’re being treated like criminals!’ He was about to turn and run when a very welcome voice was heard.

“Hey, Quatre!! Over here!” Duo yelled out over the whispers and other conversations, jumping up and down while waving his arms madly as if anyone could miss seeing him.

The others at the table were shaking their heads. Trowa reached out and pulled Duo down. From the interaction between them, Quatre wondered if there was more than friendship there. And as he got closer, he knew for certain that there was. There was a calmness between them . . . Quatre could sense it, could very well taste it in the air . . . they had been intimate. But there was more than simple lust between them . . . there was a distinct sense of love hanging in the air. Quatre was happy for them, glad they had found comfort in each other . . . they deserved any amount of happiness they got.

Harry helped Quatre over to his friends, then left to sit with the other teachers. He couldn’t very well sit with the students, not unless he wanted rumors to sprout about him. Quatre understood and didn’t fault him. He was just happy to be here in the hall with his friends.

Quickly, he was brought out of his earlier unhappiness. He and his friends fell easily into a pleasant conversation. Of course the topic of Quatre’s present endangerment was brought up, and Quatre did talk about it. But Duo had a way of making Quatre see the better side of things. Staying in Hogwarts and not leaving for vacations did mean he would get a lot of studying in . . . and spend more time with Harry, and that was good. Duo was a great help in boosting Quatre’s spirits.

Soon enough, Quatre’s eyes drifted over to Wufei and Heero. There was . . . something. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but his senses were picking up on something. It wasn’t clear. It wasn’t deep or anything distinct. It was simply a hint of something . . . something more than friendship that not even the two of them knew about within themselves. Quatre shook his head. It wasn’t his place to pry . . . he should know better than to go rooting around in other people’s minds and hearts. He sighed, smiling to himself at the thought of them getting together . . . they would make a lovely couple. But Quatre was determined to let nature take its course . . . he wouldn’t interfere. It wasn’t his place.


*****


“What the bloody hell?” Ron Weasley asked, more to himself than anything.

He just didn’t understand this. How could it be possible?

“Find something, Ron?” Hermione questioned, looking up from the pile of musty records she was perusing. Ron had enlisted her help in this task, since for some reason most Ministry Officials were against the idea of Ron investigating Quatre Winner’s family line to find past instances of danger.

“That’s just the problem, ‘Mione.” Ron murmured, flipping through a number of parchments, all of which were oddly blank. “I found his family file . . . but there isn’t anything here. It’s like his past has been erased.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Hermione gasped, quickly striding over. She took the parchments from him, her eyes widening as she saw just what Ron had seen . . . nothing. “I don’t believe this. But . . . the Ministry has always kept impeccable records . . . why is there nothing here?”

“I don’t know Hermione. But I can’t say I think this is a good sign.” Ron stated. “There’s only two reasons I can think of for this. Either the wizard is or has someone inside the Ministry . . . or the Ministry itself is covering this up.” Ron shook his head. “Either way, Quatre’s in danger. We have to find something.”

Hermione nodded. “You’re right. We can’t let anything happen to Quatre . . . Harry’s been so happy lately . . . Quatre’s the cause for that. And we can’t let anything hurt someone that Harry cares about . . . not when we can do something to help.” She sighed then, brushing her hair from her face. “This is going to be interesting. We’ll have to go through everything, starting with the most recent files and search for any others that have been erased . . . it’s the only lead we have.”

Ron sighed, dropping his head and banging it on the desk. “Merlin! This is going to take forever!”

“Not forever, Ron . . . we don’t have the luxury of time on our side. Better get right to it.” Hermione said sadly.

Ron nodded. They didn’t have time to delay, he knew that. He got to work, sighing as he did so. He certainly hoped that they would find something to help them here.

To Be Continued . . .