Hanging By A Moment

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own anything to do with Harry Potter or with Gundam Wing. I am not getting paid for this in any way, it’s merely for entertainment purposes.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This story contains slash which means male/male pairings and is a Harry Potter/Gundam Wing crossover.

0 0 0

Duo was irritated when two days later, Harry and Wufei hadn’t come home. Snow fell outside, locking them indoors and leaving him with the worst case of cabin fever he had felt since the Gundam days. He prowled restlessly through the flat, refusing to sit still for longer than a few minutes, irritating his house mates in succession.

Trowa was in the kitchen, which was nearly the only warm room in the house. Duo HATED being cold, and disliked the quiet contemplation of the boy who occupied the room nearly as much as he disliked the shivers that occasionally slid up his spine. “Trowa, don’t you like music, ANYTHING?!”

To his intense irritation, the boy with the golden brown hair merely glanced at him through moss green eyes and shrugged, mixing some sort of batter Duo didn’t care about. He sighed in frustration and walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room where Heero sat at the table, his laptop before him, fingers flying over the keyboard. Quatre sat opposite him, sipping a cup of coffee as he went through paperwork.

Duo nearly snapped at the companionable silence. “Can’t any of you SAY SOMETHING?!” He demanded. “Two of our friends are out there in this storm and all the three of you can do is sit there not caring!”

Heero didn’t even glance up, he was quite accomplished at ignoring his lover when Duo got into this sort of mood, and he didn’t even appear to hear Duo’s rant. Quatre glanced up, looking calmly exasperated. “Duo, of course we care that Harry and Wufei aren’t back yet…but I’m sure they’re fine. It’s not as if they don’t know how to survive. Between Harry’s magic and Wufei’s survival skills, they’re fine.”

“How do you KNOW that for sure?!” Duo demanded, not in the mood to be calmed down, pacing through the room. He picked up the remote and turned on the T.V., turning it up if for no other reason than that the silence was going to make him go crazy.

“Nice to know you care, Maxwell.” The sarcastic voice made him turn quickly, and he threw himself at the pair who stood at the door to the flat. They looked cold and tired, but no worse for wear and something in him unclenched. Wufei scowled at Duo. “Touch me and die.” He promised coldly.

Duo turned to Harry, who accepted the hug and returned it fiercely. He threw Wufei an exasperated look. “What did I tell you about being nice?” Harry’s voice was dry as he met Wufei’s eyes.

To Duo’s astonishment, Wufei’s hard expression softened slightly and he nodded to Duo. “My apologies.”

Harry smiled and shook his head, looking resigned. He touched Wufei’s shoulder briefly before gravitating toward the warmth of the kitchen. “What the HELL happened to you two out there?!” Duo demanded, startled by the tender expression in Wufei’s black eyes as they followed Harry out of the room.

Wufei grabbed onto Duo’s collar, dragging him toward the bedroom Trowa and Quatre shared, as it was the closest room that would be unoccupied. Heero glanced up at Duo’s words, and there was a dangerous look in his blue eyes. “Relax.” Wufei snarled. “I’m not going to kill him and I’m sure as HELL not going to do anything else to him.”

At those words, Duo allowed himself to be yanked into the dark bedroom and tossed bodily onto the bed. He looked up at Wufei through lowered lashes, a hand on his side. “You absolutely SURE you don’t want anything else while you’re here, Wuffers?” He asked seductively, enjoying the slow flush that slid up his neck and into his cheeks.

Wufei growled at him. “Shut UP, Maxwell.” He looked irritated, turning from Duo and pacing around the room. “Damn him, this is so stupid.”

Duo sat up and crossed his legs, cupping his chin in one palm. “So you don’t want to kill me and you don’t want to sleep with me, whatcha doin in here?”

The look Wufei shot him could have melted lead. “I never said I didn’t want to kill you, I said I wasn’t going to. There’s a difference.”

Duo watched him squirm for a long minute, trying to keep his face properly impassive, knowing that Wufei could very well still beat him to a pulp at the first sign of amusement. “Okay, so you’re not going to kill me and you’re not going to sleep with me. Whacha doing in here?” He asked again, trying not to laugh at the irritated glance Wufei shot him.

For a long moment Wufei stood still and contemplated Duo on the bed, and as Duo saw the intense look in his black eyes, he wondered for a wild moment if he had misjudged everything and Wufei really DID want to sleep with him. Wufei’s voice when he finally spoke was quiet. “Maxwell, you’re a pain in my ass and most of the time I want to beat the crap out of you for the fun of it. You talk too much, you’re too damn impulsive and you can’t sit still.”

Duo stared at him. Well. Nothing like being told each of your faults by someone you actually worried about. He opened his mouth to tell the Chinese pilot off, but stopped as he saw the slight smile on Wufei’s face. “Don’t change.”

Duo’s mouth dropped open in astonishment and he made to speak but no words could get past his lips. He gaped at Wufei, his violet eyes wide. Wufei snorted. “You’re speechless. Never thought I’d see that happen.”

Duo blinked at him and the astonishment grew when Wufei actually laughed. “You should see yourself. You look like a fish gaping at me like that.” He looked at Duo for another long minute before he walked out of the room and toward the kitchen where he heard Harry’s annoyed voice.

Duo grinned when he was sure Wufei was sufficiently distracted. “Well. The sleeping bag must have been a success.”

0 0 0

While he had to admit he was relieved that they were alive and seemed to be undamaged save for lack of sleep, Heero still felt his temper rise when he looked at Harry. “You drugged us.” He said, ignoring the sharp look of reproach Quatre shot him.

Harry didn’t even turn around, accepting a cup of coffee from Trowa and taking a long sip with a satisfied sigh. “Yes.” He agreed after a moment, taking another long sip.

Heero felt pinned by Harry’s green gaze that was clouded and uncertain, yet held a great strength. “Why.” It was not really a question, but the answer would depend on if he decided to shoot the wizard or not. They had all felt betrayed to wake up and find out that Harry had drugged them to go to London…but it was worse for Heero whose lover had actively participated in the deception.

Harry sighed. “You’re all soldiers, Heero. When you look at me do you see ME or do you see someone who can go invisible when he wants to, someone who can heal whatever sort of broken bone you happen to get on the field? In other words, do you see a human when you look at me, or do you see a machine just as effective and deadly as your guns?”

Heero felt as if he had been slapped by the matter-of-fact words. Harry sounded tired and annoyed as he continued. “I went to London as a wizard. You don’t know me well yet. I didn’t want you to see me like that until we were both ready for it.” He looked away. “So I drugged you.”

Heero’s voice was cold. “But you trusted Duo.”

Harry snorted. “That’s because Duo openly wears both of his personalities. Duo IS Shinigami. He can accept Harry Potter as The-Boy-Who-Freaking-Lived and still just see me as Harry the next time we play Exploding Snap.”

Heero could feel Quatre’s gaze on them, saw Trowa watching from the kitchen. Wufei stood in the living room, his arms crossed over his chest. Duo hadn’t emerged from the bedroom yet, and Heero felt his temper snap. “What the HELL did you do to him?!”

Wufei smirked at him. “Nothing he didn’t enjoy.”

Quatre gasped at the casual provocation of Heero’s temper, which was already on edge. Heero ignored it, his eyes narrowing on Wufei. “What. Did. You. Do.”

Duo appeared next to Wufei, looking disgustedly at Heero. “He didn’t do anything to me. We just talked.”

Wufei looked even more amused at the statement, though his face remained calm. Heero growled softly. Life was easier when Harry didn’t drug people, when Wufei consistently wanted to murder Duo. Suddenly Heero wasn’t sure what was going on, and he didn’t like that at all. “Talked.”

Duo smiled at him. “Yes. Talked. He wanted to thank me for the sleeping bag.”

Heero was somewhat gratified to hear Harry spit his coffee across the kitchen and see the look of astonished annoyance Wufei threw the braided baka. Harry stared at Wufei with wide eyes, and the Chinese boy’s expression grew stormy. “Maxwell…” he growled.

Duo smirked at him. “Speechless, Wu-Man?” He asked sweetly, sliding past him and sauntering up to his place at the table, knowing all eyes save for Harry’s were on him. “So what all happened out there, Harry?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at him, and Heero knew, enjoying the incredulous look Harry shot him.

“Good question. What DID happen out there?” Heero finally asked, taking pity on Harry as the wizard tried to come up with a good response when all he really wanted to do was throw something at Duo’s head.

Harry’s expression darkened and Wufei walked in, sitting down at the table. “I saw the effects of bitterness and hatred.” Harry finally said, leaning against the counter. “I mourned the deaths of the people I love. My family, my best friends, my godparents Remus Lupin and his wife Tonks. I bore witness to their destruction, even if I was 450 years too late to save them.”

Silence greeted his words, and the self satisfied smirk had disappeared from Duo’s face. Wufei’s expression was wooden, and Heero knew with a sudden burst of realization that the Chinese pilot loved the wizard. It was not merely lust as he had once thought, nor was it a passive emotion in any shape or form. The dark eyes watched Harry, and though his face was unemotional, his eyes spoke of the feelings he doubted the pilot had even acknowledged yet.

“I’m so sorry, Harry.” Quatre’s voice was soft and Harry smiled at him, a tight, painful smile, but a smile just the same.

“I’m all right.” He sipped his coffee reflectively. “The colonies are in danger, if they haven’t already been taken. Have you received any transmissions lately? Anything odd going on up there?”

Heero frowned at him and he looked down at his laptop. “No.” He replied shortly. “Though quiet periods aren’t unheard of.”

“What do you mean, ‘taken?’” Quatre asked, folding his hands over the table.

Harry studied them over the rim of his cup and Wufei saw the change in him. In the blink of an eye Harry had transformed into one of them, into a man whose job it was to save the world…whether he had asked for the privilege or not. There was a quiet strength, a power in those green eyes and Heero finally understood why Harry had drugged him. The understanding was the first step toward forgiveness, and he saw Quatre shoot him a slight smile and knew that the feelings had been understood.

“We’re moving tonight. I don’t care where. It doesn’t really matter, but it needs to be big enough to house refugees if we need it. Both in the house itself and on the grounds. I’ll ward the place myself and make it unplottable on a map. It’ll take a little time, and until those protections are secure, we’ll need to come up with a code of sorts.” He glanced at Trowa. “Have Heero, Duo and Quatre been in the same areas for the last few days? Have any of you left at all?”

Trowa shook his head. “No, it’s been snowing too hard to leave.”

Harry looked relieved. “Nobody is going to try to impersonate me, the only two people who know I’m here aren’t in any position to use magic…and Wufei has been in my sights the entire time.” He glanced at Wufei. “Ask them something, something only they would know the answer to.”

Wufei stared at Harry for a moment and then nodded his acceptance. “What did I call my Gundam and why?”

“Nataku.” Trowa replied calmly, knowing what answer Wufei was looking for.

“Named for your wife.” Duo supplied, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Who believed she was the reincarnation of the warrior.” Heero finished quietly, knowing what it took Wufei to ask for this information. He could easily remember the night the Chinese pilot had told them about her…none of them had expected to survive the fight ahead.

“You believed that her spirit resides in your Gundam and that she helped you.” Quatre contributed, watching Wufei carefully.

Wufei glanced at Harry and nodded. “Only they would know that.”

Harry paused. “You’re sure?”

Wufei raised one eyebrow in reply. “Damn sure.”

Harry looked at Wufei for a long moment and Heero saw the acknowledgement in his eyes that he had hurt Wufei…and that it had been a necessary thing to do. “Thank you.” He said quietly before turning to the group. “A potion will allow someone to turn into someone else. For instance if I wanted to turn into Quatre and impersonate him I could do so. An Imperious curse can take over someone’s will and force them to do what the wizard wants. Even after I get the wards up, we’ll use the code we come up with. No exceptions.”

Duo whistled shortly. “What exactly are we dealing with here, Harry?”

Harry hesitated, and Heero saw a mix of emotions cross the boy’s face. When he finally answered, his voice was impersonal, as if he tried to lessen the blow. “Wizards who want to wipe out both the wizarding world and the muggle. Experienced wizards from the looks of things. We can expect no help from my world. Those who aren’t with Hogwarts are against it and have been contaminated, making their magic useless.”

He studied them. “They’ll begin with the colonies if they haven’t taken them already.” He looked at Wufei. “What exactly were you doing when they captured you?”

Wufei looked at Harry with no expression and Heero recognized the expression…when they were like this, Wufei and Harry were comrades in a war and nothing else. Neither of them would admit to feelings when on duty. Both a curse and a blessing, Heero glanced at Duo and saw the recognition in his eyes as well.

“We’ve all been getting strange communications that my boss, Lady Une transmitted to us. Disappearances. Healthy people who suddenly drop dead. A child who swears that her mother is no longer her mother.”

Harry’s expression looked haunted. “That sounds like the Imperious curse I told you about. Go on.”

Wufei shrugged. “I went to check it out and was recognized. Until recently there was no point in trying to hide who we were. I woke up in a holding cell two days later and was interrogated as to what I was doing there and if I was still in contact with the former rebel leaders.” He glanced at the others around the table. “I didn’t say anything. You and Heero know the rest.”

Harry nodded. “They must not have had a wizard there at the time, or at least not any truth serum ready for use. Since force wasn’t going to be an option, they would try a magical solution, but it took a little time. You got lucky.”

Wufei’s expression softened ever so slightly. “Yes.” He agreed. “I did.”

0 0 0

Quatre glanced around at the flowing sand dunes around the mansion. He was home, the dry heat caressing his face, sand lightly whipping against his skin. “Will this suit?” He asked Harry, standing next to him. It was the largest safe house he owned, protected by the heat and sand around them, grounds large and sprawling, surrounded by a large wall that surrounded the house and the oasis it was built on.

Harry’s hair ruffled lightly in the harsh wind. “It’s perfect. I’ll start on the protection spells tonight when the sun has gone down.”

Quatre smiled. “Not used to the heat?”

Harry smiled wryly in reply. “I’ve been raised my whole life in England. I’ve never been anywhere this hot and dry before.”

Quatre hesitated, watching Duo annoy Trowa, who was doing an admirable job of ignoring the braided pilot. “So what next?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. We need an army, Quat, and all we have to show are 6 boys barely out of their teens. We need to find a strong resistance before we try anything against these wizards. Need information.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’d kill to have Hermione here right now. She might be able to come up with a warding that would keep out anyone using a polyjuice potion or under an Imperious curse.”

Quatre studied Harry. “Hermione was your friend?”

Harry winced at the use of the past tense. “Yes. She was…a lot like Wufei actually. Smart for the kick of being smart. Clever. Talented. Good at telling me when I’m acting like an idiot.” He smiled wryly.

Quatre felt the pain from Harry and sighed. It was muted, and he knew the wizard boy was working hard to suppress it for their sake. “We need an army then. You and Heero saw those people in the base. They were afraid. Do you think…”

Harry shrugged. “That would be the best bet. I’m going to try to drum up a wizard resistance. Even if they can’t use magic itself, they’ll want to do something against it. I’m also going to ward a jail of sorts to put people in until we know they aren’t under a spell. A tent aught to do it, I’ll see what my friends in London have for me. Good places for our army to live too. I don’t want anyone in that house except the 6 of us until we’re sure. Period.”

Quatre nodded. “I’m sure we can teach your wizard friends some moves. You too.”

Harry smiled ruefully. “Wufei is teaching me swordplay. I have less bruises than I used to. I figure that’s a start.”

Quatre laughed, liking the wizard boy’s wry sense of humor that he rarely lost, even under extreme pressure. “You know…you could just go home and put a stop to this. You DO have a way home don’t you?”

Harry looked down at the ring on his right hand for a long time. “I thought about that.” He admitted quietly. “Go home, stop things before they happen. Save the lives of the people I love.” He smiled sadly at Quatre. “Only Hermione once told me when I was upset about the prophesy that linked my fate to Voldemort’s that fate couldn’t be stopped. If I went back perhaps I could stop them from dying, but worse things would happen. Perhaps they would go to war with the humans right then instead of now. Maybe the humans would retaliate and destroy the world in a nuclear war. Maybe they’d still die and this would still happen and Wufei would be dead or in the enemy’s army right now under some curse.” He took the ring off and held it in one hand. “I was called here for a reason, Quatre. I was called here for Wufei and for all of you.” Bending down, he dropped the ring into the sand and covered it. With a slight smile, he turned and walked toward the mansion and to Duo’s side.

Quatre watched him, then looked down. The ring had disappeared completely now, and he wasn’t entirely sure where it had gone. He wondered if Wufei would understand the sacrifice he had just made, wondered if he even knew. As he saw Harry laugh merrily and leap onto the braided pilot’s back, watched Duo stumble around and collapse into the sand both boys laughing, Quatre smiled as he walked toward them. Maybe the reason Harry had come had been for his sake too.