Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Never Say Let Go ❯ chapter nineteen ( Chapter 19 )

Title: Never Say Let Go

Authors: Skeren Dreamera and Hoshi-Tachi

Chapter Nineteen

Severus studied him with dark, narrowed eyes. "Indeed…" He watched as the boy almost absently flew a bit lower, still hanging from the broom. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter," the professor directed over his shoulder.

The Gryffindor stared at him, confused. "Sir?" he asked hesitantly.

The potions master smirked. "Why not? After all, you just found your rival team a new, rather gifted Quidditch player…"

Duo blinked a few times and gave Severus an odd look. "You aren't talking about me are you?"

The pale man raised an eyebrow. "But who else would I be referring to?"

"The invisible kid flying just over my left shoulder," the American deadpanned. Which was a rather odd sight, considering he was still upside-down…

Severus chose to ignore this. "Mr. Malfoy," he called out. "If you would, next time you see Mr. Flint, arrange for a session to determine just where we will be placing Mr. Maxwell."

Draco looked like he dearly wanted to protest, but he'd been a bit in awe of the boy's natural abilities himself… "Of course Professor." He just hoped the boy had the good sense to realize who was really in charge of the team.

Duo himself was still rather doubtful. "I dunno… I still don't know much about Quidditch."

"We'll fill you in," Harry offered, ignoring the vitriolic glance he received from Draco Malfoy. Slytherin or not, on the rival team or not, he was still family.

And besides, as long as he wasn't a seeker… Hell, maybe the Slytherin team would finally get a player that wouldn't play dirty.

Then the Boy-Who-Lived took another look at the mischievous light in his descendant's eyes as the teenager grinned happily at him. Wouldn't play very dirty…

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Severus couldn't believe that. The boy was flying around like a lunatic and he went and told him he'd be joining a team in which that was completely permissible. Not to mention the fact that when he'd left to resume his trek to the dungeons, the boy showed no indication that he was coming down.

Unfortunately, his voyage to his nice quiet office was again interrupted. This time by the new defense teacher.

"Severus! Oh, Severus, do wait up!"

He cringed as the sickly-sweet voice echoed down the hallway behind him. Also unfortunately, there were no doors close enough to slip through, so there was no way he could simply pretend he hadn't heard her. "Yes, Umbridge?" he asked snidely, turning to face the foul beast.

"You weren't heading back to those musty old dungeons alone again were you?" With his lack of instantaneous reply she continued. "You were! Well, we can't be having that, you and I really must talk over tea."

Severus barely managed to dodge her grip. "Really, that isn't necessary, I have papers to grade and I shall be far too busy for company."

She pouted, a grown woman somehow managing to seem like a simpering schoolgirl. "Oh, surely you could spare a few minutes? It gets so lonely sometimes… Tea is meant to be talked over," she pleaded sweetly, even going so far as to bat her ridiculously long eyelashes at him.

Severus resisted the urge to vomit. "I have never found it so," he said plainly. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" He turned to leave, and the witch was about to catch his arm with her claw-like hands when a third voice distracted them both.

"Doom… doom…" Professor Sybil Trelawney came drifting down the hallway, the gauzy rags she called robes floating out in her wake. "Oh, Dolores, you must help me," she beseeched the startled woman. "I have seen my doom! You must slay it, that horrible, horrible beast…"

Smirking, Severus turned his back on them both in favor of a dignified escape. That bug of a seer had her uses, sometimes…

Herself unable to escape the clutches of the Divination professor, Dolores Umbridge stared after the retreating wizard and felt her lips curl into a snarl. Damn it! Now she'd have to find some other way of getting Veritaserum into the horrible man.

Her dear Cornelius had told her himself that Severus Snape was a Death Eater, and if it was the last thing she did, she'd bring her wonderful mentor proof of his dreadful, appalling practice of the Dark Arts.

She smiled dreamily at the thought. Cornelius would be so proud of her…

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Severus was so pleased with his escape, he was completely caught off guard when he saw a note on his desk that stated there had been a problem, and Poppy wanted to see him about her potions stores.

"Can I not get a break?" He looked over the note again. "Of course, bad question."

Sighing, he glanced at the grandfather clock standing in the corner of his office. There was just enough time to go down and see Poppy before he needed to get ready for his first class of the day…

And so, a few minutes later he was storming into the Hospital Wing, since the corridors were most thankfully empty of harpy-descended fellow professors. "Poppy?" he called out, glancing around the surprising empty room. Usually, by this time students were poring in as they discovered just how much they'd forgotten over the summer…

"Severus! Thank goodness, I was worried you wouldn't get my note until after classes were underway. I'm afraid Peeves has struck again, he got all my minor potions and burn solutions."

She came at him from the right, at least her exuberance led to that impression. "If you'd make me a list, I'll see what I can accomplish before the first rush of injuries."

The matron nodded. "Anything would help. Without those potions, I'm restricted to spells for anything less than a broken arm, and you know how often those go wrong. Especially in a school with this much stray magic to warp the spells. I do wish healing magic wasn't so sensitive…"

Severus waited as she grabbed a scroll of parchment and a quill and scratched out a disturbingly long list of potions. "Peeves managed all of this?"

"I'm afraid so, he must have gotten here just after I stepped out for breakfast." She shook her head and handed it to him. "I'm so sorry all your had work was wasted, but I did salvage what I could."

"It's not your fault, he's a menace, and we really need to find some way of controlling him. I thought it was made clear that the medical supplies were off limits!" The potions master scowled, heading for the door.

"They were, but apparently something changed. Thank you for this Severus." Poppy watched him pause in the door.

"No thanks are required." Then he stepped back out, cursing his ill luck.

As he strode back towards his dungeons, he was already planning each step in his mind. That many potions would take a great deal of time to brew, and now that he had to handle pretending to be a faithful little Death Eater on top of classes and giving that worrisome brat lessons…

He hit a stumbling block in his plans when he remembered the other two days of the week that were reserved... Maxwell. It was enough to make a man want to obliviate himself. Though… The boy was rather talented with potions. With a little guidance he might even prove an asset in restoring the ruined potions instead of a hindrance. He'd catch the boy once he was finished with his classes.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Duo sighed in relief as Blaise finally accepted his assurances that he'd catch up with him in the Great Hall in a few minutes. Honestly, he liked the kid, but sometimes he was too stubborn for his own good…

Not that he could talk, the former pilot admitted. There had been a few memorable occasions…

The sound of the younger Slytherin's footsteps gradually faded away, and Duo turned to the animagus now sitting cross-legged on his bed. "So, um, time for that chat, right?"

Sirius nodded, leaning his elbows on his legs. "Yes, time for that chat. I'm almost completely sure that he didn't see your reaction, since he was looking at me… But… Why?"

"It's not exactly a short story…" Duo caught his intent expression. "But I can give a short explanation."

The wizard nodded. "Please."

Duo sighed and walked over the bed, plopping down beside his friend. "Alright… You know the story about us pilots. What you don't know is that we were all chosen, by five… I don't want to call them doctors, 'cause there is no way any of them took the Hippocratic Oath, but…" He grimaced as Sirius shot him a look. "Right. Moving on...

"There were five doctors, one for each of us. G was the one who picked me to train- I'd stowed away on his ship, after all. He was actually a pretty good guy, at least compared to the others. But the worst… the worst was J. Heero's doc."

The teenager was silent for a long moment, and Sirius was quick to ask a question, not liking the sudden shadows in his cobalt eyes. "Why was he the worst?"

Duo glanced up at him. "He was the worst because… of how he treated Heero. How he trained him." The American propped his head on his hands. "J believed… that a soldier, the Perfect Soldier, shouldn't have emotions, shouldn't feel, shouldn't even think about anything but the mission. And he trained Heero… accordingly."

Sirius pushed himself off his elbows with a horrible sinking feeling. "Duo, why did you look at Dumbledore like that?" His voice was low.

"Because he is J." And Duo's words only confirmed the suspicion. "He's one of the mad five…"

Automatically, the Gryffindor opened his mouth to defend his former Headmaster, to tell the young man before him that Dumbledore was too honorable, too good to do something like that… and couldn't. Because he wasn't.

And because the old man was trying to do something so horribly similar to his own godson.

Sirius closed his mouth and let out a breath. "I don't want to have to agree with you."

Duo cocked his head to the side. "But you do anyway," he said softly, almost sadly.

The older man sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

The American nodded, staring off into the distance for a minute. "So, what'd he do here?"

Sirius blinked. "Huh?"

"You know. What's he done in this time to make you react like that?" Duo clarified.

The Animagus looked to the side slightly. "I told you Harry is my godson, haven't I?"

Duo blinked, then shook his head. "Actually, no, you hadn't."

"Well, he is. Dumbledore was the person who cast the Fidelius Charm for James and Lily, Harry's parents." He paused, as though that were important, and his eyes opened a little wider for a split second. That was true… The man had known all this time he was innocent…

"What is it?" Duo asked, concerned by the sudden disquietude in his friend's eyes. He put his hand on the man's shoulder.

Startled by the contact, Sirius glanced over at him. "He cast the spell… He knew I wasn't the secret keeper, knew I wasn't the one who'd betrayed them…"

The former Gundam pilot's eyes narrowed, showing just a tinge of violet. There would have to be a reckoning, then. But… later. The old man still had his uses. Duo could wait.

Shaking himself out of his shock, the convict put himself back into his narrative. "After they died, he put Harry with Lily's muggle sister and her husband. They despise magic… If there had been any way, I would have made sure he never needed to see those people. It had to be horrible there, since barely after meeting me, Harry was all for coming to live with me, escaped convict and all. I haven't managed to get all the details… but Dumbledore is making sure that Harry believes it's his job to deal with Voldemort…" The name was practically spat out.

Seeing he had the boy's rapt attention, he added his own opinion. "It isn't right… Harry doesn't deserve something like that. But I don't think I have much chance of convincing him otherwise anymore…"

Duo looked thoughtful. "Huh… Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we…?" He blinked at a sudden thought. "Hey, just why does everyone think Harry's the one to do it? Is it just a 'he did it once, he'll have to do it again' type thing? Or is there an actual reason?"

Sirius frowned. "I think it's mostly that, but… Dumbledore has acted… oddly, a few times, when the subject was brought up. I can't help the feeling that he knows something we don't."

"Then we'll just have to find out what that is, won't we?" A smirk on his face, the teen started to plan.

To be continued.