Harry Potter and the Four Guardians - Part 18 by Elf
Standard disclaimers apply

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"I am freezing," Duo grumbled as his teeth clattered together. Harry snorted as Duo danced back and forth on his feet. They were outside of Hagrid's hut, waiting for Care of Magical Creatures to begin.

Ron snorted, "That's what happens when you go between classes to talk to Snape."

"I was just seeing if he had figured out that device yet," Duo hissed now bouncing up and down to keep warm.

Harry chuckled as Hermoine chided, "Well, you should have brought your cloak or your coat with you. You're going to catch your death of cold now."

Duo raised an eyebrow in amusement as he danced back and forth. Harry said, "Maybe Hagrid will have some sort of creature that breathes fire today."

Duo looked horrified as he gasped, "What?"

"Wouldn't put it past Hagrid. This is a man who had a pet dragon once," Ron answered.

Harry grinned as Ron started telling him the story of Baby Norbert. He was in a very good mood today. He had walked Cho to her first period class this morning and he had asked her to the Ball. She had said yes before giving Harry a quick kiss and running off to class.

Duo gasped, "Dude, it could have ate people!"

"We were more worried about it burning Hagrid's house down," Harry told him.

Trunks' voice said, "A dragon, cool."

Harry jumped as he spun around to face the tall, muscular teen. Trunks shook his lavender hair from his eyes with a grin. Harry swore, "Bloody hell, Trunks, next time make some noise or something."

"Isn't Forest teaching you how to sense things?" Trunks asked curiously as he looked over to where Duo was shivering, "Like ki and stuff."

Harry shook his head and answered, "Mainly hand to hand combat, Trunks, even though we're starting to get into fire arms." He really enjoyed Forest's lessons though. She was debating on whether to start to teach Harry how to sword fight. She had asked Duo if he had wanted to learn and he had snorted that this wasn't the Dark Ages and it wasn't in his personalty to use one. Still, Harry hated the firearms while Duo looked forward to blowing up the targets. Harry did have to admit that he liked the target that looked like Malfoy that Duo had came up with.

Trunks sighed, "Well, I can't sense her anyway. She's dead. She doesn't have a life force."

"Forest can sense other vampires as can Sean. She says it's a vampire trait," Harry explained as Hermione started to listen with interest.

Ron said, "D didn't tell us this in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Maybe Forest could teach a class one day."

"And risk frying," Duo grumbled as he rubbed his arms together.

Hermione looked at Ron and said, "They can't go out during the day Ron. They're vampires."

"Hello," Hotaru said as she walked up to them. Duo smiled and Harry noticed that he was blushing.

Duo replied, "Hi, Hotaru."

Trunks studied Duo and said, "Where's your jacket?"

"Left it in the dorm," Duo grumbled as he started jumping up and down in place again.

Crabbe and Goyle started laughing at him. Crabbe dully said, "We brought our cloaks out." Malfoy looked over at Hotaru before turning his back away, as if this was not important to him.

"Brilliant of you, shit head," Duo hissed.

Trunks took off his cloak and handed it to Duo. Harry noticed that he was wearing a blue jacket under his Hogwarts robes. He told Duo, "You need it more than I do. Besides, it's going to get in my way if . . ."

"If what, Briefs? Going to kill us?" Malfoy sneered at him.

Trunks grinned and replied, "That sounds like a good idea." He started to walk over to Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

Ron asked, "What is he going to do?"

Hotaru's eyes widened as she told Hermione, "I'm going to find Hagrid before Trunks kills them."

Ron grumbled, "No big loss."

Trunks grinned as he drew his hand back for a punch. He said, "Don't say I didn't . . ."

Trunks froze in mid swing. Malfoy had his wand out and lowered it with a smug grin. He said, "The Body Bind curse, Briefs. I didn't think that even you could have stoped that." He raised his wand at Trunks again and mused, "Now, I wonder what you'd look like with mold growing off of your nose, eh?"

"Expelliarmus!" Duo shouted as he dropped his wand to the ground and rushed at Malfoy. Malfoy's wand flew out of his hands. Malfoy's grey eyes widened as Duo charged over to him.

Crabbe and Goyle had their wands out, ready to curse Duo. Harry drew his own wand out and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Both wands flew out of their hands as Duo punched Malfoy in the jaw.

Malfoy went reeling, but he was back up. He grabbed Duo's braid and yanked on it so hard that Duo fell face first in the snow. Crabbe and Goyle, ignoring Harry, started to move back toward Malfoy, who was seething with anger.

Malfoy screamed, "Get back up, Maxwell! If you can! Beat me into the snow, come on!"

Duo looked up at Malfoy dangerously and smirked, "You asked for it, pal." He dove at Malfoy, tackling him to the snow. The two of them rolled around, trading punches and trying to pin the other down. "You shouldn't be fucking with things that you don't understand!" Duo shouted.

Malfoy reached for his wand and Duo disarmed him. Malfoy poked Duo in the eyes and rapidly stood up. Crabbe pulled Duo up before Harry could get over to him. Goyle stood in Harry's way.

Harry had wanted to see if what Forest had taught him really sunk in. He was tempted to draw his wand, but he quickly quelled his urge. Goyle threw a punch at Harry. Harry blocked it and pushed Goyle's arm down. Then he turned to the side, still pinning his arm, and swept Goyle's huge feet from under him. Goyle fell down in the snow in a huge tumble of limbs.

Harry blinked as he looked at his hand. He hadn't even thought about it. He just knew what to do and did it. He grinned as he shouted, "Hey, Monkey Brain!" Duo stomped on Crabbe's foot and he let him go.

Malfoy pointed to Harry and shouted, "Don't let him interfere! Stay out of this, Potter. You don't understand it. This is between the American and myself!"

Crabbe charged at him and Harry spun gracefully. His foot caught Crabbe under the chin. The kick set the large, hulking boy flying back. Harry kept his body loose as Crabbe stood up. Crabbe went after him again. Harry moved to the side and grabbed Crabbe's arm. Using Crabbe's momentum, he flipped Crabbe to his back.

Then he looked back at where Duo was blocking Malfoy's punches. Malfoy was red in the face and Harry had never seen him so angry. Also, Harry didn't want to admit, but Malfoy looked hurt as well.

Duo grabbed Malfoy's arm and twisted it behind his back. Duo asked, "What the hell is your problem? I didn't do anything to you."

Malfoy screamed, "You wouldn't understand, you wanker! You took Hotaru from me and my own father is more interested in an American git than he is me!"

"I didn't take Hotaru from you. Hotaru left you out of her own free will," Duo explained, shoving his face into Malfoy's.

Malfoy hissed, "Don't feed me that tripe, Maxwell. I've seen you with the other girls, laughing and flirting like you're the next Gildroy Lockhart or something."

Harry looked over to see Pansy looking between both Duo and Malfoy, as if she couldn't decide on who to be worried about. Duo's eyes widened as he let Malfoy go. He said, "I didn't steal Hotaru from you, pal. She left you because of you, man."

Malfoy punched Duo hard enough and suddenly enough that it made Duo fall back. Harry caught Duo and asked, "Are you okay?"

Duo blinked as Harry helped him up. His face was a mixture between confusion and pity. Harry patted Duo on the shoulder and glared at Malfoy. He said, "He's not worth it, Duo, come on."

"You go and help him Potter! Of course. You like showing off, don't you Potter? Befriending the American and riding out on your broomstick to fight vampires. Just you wait, Potter, just you wait," Malfoy cried as he shook with rage.

Hagrid and Hotaru were running over. Hotaru looked out of breath as she pointed at them. Hagrid shouted, "'Arry, Duo, Malfoy? What in the world is 'oing on 'ere?"

Hotaru's eyes searched the group, from Crabbe and Goyle still sitting in the snow and looking bewildered, to Duo who's nose was bleeding slightly, to Harry who was glaring at Malfoy, then at Malfoy. Malfoy looked pleadingly at Hotaru, the look on his face was one of pure anguish.

Malfoy cleared his throat and gathered his wand. Trunks was still frozen in place. Malfoy waved his wand and Trunks stood up strait. He blinked and then glared at Malfoy. Malfoy answered, "We just had a little misunderstanding, Hagrid. But we've patched it up, haven't we Potter?"

Harry glared and through clinched teeth he sneered, "Yeah, we have."

Hagrid shrugged and said, "Well, come on with the lot of ya. Today's lesson is inside the 'ut."

They walked into the small hut. Sitting in a small cage on Hagrid's table was a tiny blue bird covered with brighter blue spots. It looked up at the class silently. Lavender gasped, "Isn't it sweet?"

Hagrid said, "This is a Jobberknoll. Can ya tell me what a Jobberknoll 'ose?"

Hermione's hand flew up as did Duo's. Hagird nodded at Duo and Duo answered, "They're used in Truth Potions."

Hagrid swallowed after he finished looking horrified. Hagrid hated killing any of his creatures. Ron whispered, "That bird's awfully quiet." Harry nodded in agreement as Hagrid pointed his large hand at Hermione.

Hermione answered, "They're a silent bird that repeats every noise that they ever heard in their life before they die."

"Good, 'Ermione. Now, who can tell me what they eat?" Hagrid replied cheerfully, beaming up at the class.

******

Hotaru sighed as she looked down at her Transfiguration homework. She tapped her quill absently on the parchment and looked around the Commons. Harry was still being congratulated by the boys for beating Goyle and Crabbe while Duo was brooding in the corner with Lavender leaning over his shoulder, trying to soothe him. He shooed her off and continued to brood.

She knew why he was brooding. Hell, she was the reason he was brooding. Draco was raging hurt and heart broken and he had thought that Duo was the cause. And Duo knew this, hence the brooding. Their eyes met from across the room and he gave her a lopsided grin before turning back to brood again.

Lavender walked over to her with a jealous expression on her pretty face. She sat down across the table and studied Hotaru as if she was missing something. Even at that distance, Hotaru could smell the reek of expensive perfume wafting off the girl that was a thick, clotting smell like juniper.

Lavender leaned over and whispered, "So, has Duo asked you yet?"

"Asked me what?" Hotaru answered, blinking in surprise.

Lavender grinned and answered, "To the ball, of course, silly."

"No," Hotaru answered, shaking her head.

Lavender giggled, "You're going to go with him, aren't you?"

Hotaru frowned. She looked over at Duo, who caught something that Fred Weasley had tossed at his head, and smiled slightly. She had wanted Duo to ask her. She wanted to dance with him and have an excuse to snuggle close to him. She wanted to get to know the mystery that was the God of Death.

Then she remembered the hurt, lost look in Draco's eyes when he had fought Duo. She didn't want to be the cause of another fight like that during such an occasion. So, going with Duo was out of the question, regrettably. She sighed and answered, "No."

"Are you insane? Just look at him!" Lavender squealed as she pointed to Duo who was looking at the sunset and still brooding.

She did. The crimson light brought out coppery highlights in his chestnut hair and made his eyes seem like amethysts. The light curved around the soft roundness of his cheek and highlighted the pertness of his nose. He really did look like some Faire Prince that was lost among the mortals.

"Hey, Hotaru," Trunks said from behind her.

She looked up at Trunks. Sweet, shy, strong Trunks who was only a friend and a partner. She stood up and said, "Let's take a walk."

They were walking around the halls and Trunks asked, "What is it?"

"Go to the ball with me," Hotaru stated purposefully.

Trunks' blue eyes widened as he blushed. He stammered, "What about Duo?"

"I can't go with him, Trunks. You saw what happened today in class," Hotaru sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Trunks grinned and answered, "I wonder if Harry wants to spar."

Hotaru glared as he chuckled. She hissed, "With Draco and Duo!"

"I would have killed him," Trunks said matter-of-factly, "I'm getting tired of waiting for Voldemort to show up. I say we hunt the bastard down and kill him."

Hotaru gasped, "That is not the reason we are here. If we do that we're putting Duo, the Scythe Barer, at risk."

"Sitting here on our butts is putting Duo at risk. The only one who's doing anything is the vampire," Trunks replied, "I say that I should find Voldemort and kill him."

She seethed and snapped, "Damn you and your Sayan blood! The whole reason that the Kai chose you because you were supposed to be more level headed than your father."

"If the Kai wanted someone level headed then he should have chosen Gohan. I'm Vegeta's son. All I have to do is look in the mirror when I see that. Vegeta's not a nice guy, Hotaru. He'd make Voldemort look like a saint. Except, Vegeta knows what he did was wrong and is trying to make up for it. He has a wife and a son that he loves more than he knows. He gave his life willingly to save them," Trunks replied fiercely, placing his face next to hers.

He stated, "I'm of royal Sayan blood. I'm one in a long line of warriors. I was a Super Sayan. I saved my world. I'm the last Sayan in my time and I'm not even pure blooded. I hate being here. I hate having my powers stripped from me. I hate this world of magic and fancy. I hate it!" He punched the wall, sending cracks along the stone.

Hotaru whispered, "I'm sorry."

"That's not the worse part, Sailor of Destruction and Rebirth. You're not the only one with a connection with someone around here," Trunks confessed with an insane smirk on his face.

Hotaru looked at him and stated, "You're in love with Setsuna."

"Yeah," Trunks chuckled as he turned back to face her, "Now that you said it, yeah. I love her, Hotaru and I can't do a damned thing about it except this mission. I play along as the good, shy little warrior who blushes when girls talk to him when all I long to do is take Setsuna and . . ." A hungry look passed over his face as he gave a dark laugh. He pinned Hotaru against the wall as he looked down at her.

She reached for her transformation wand as he gave her his insane look. He whispered in a dark voice, "I could rip you apart before you could say 'Saturn Power', Hotaru. I have the power to destroy the planet and I'm in love with the Keeper of Time and Dimensions. And there's nothing I can do about it except play along. I'll go to the ball with you, Hotaru, to keep precious Duo from killing that bastard. Even though I doubt that he would kill Malfoy now. You care about Malfoy, not in the way that you do Duo, but you think he could be saved, don't you?"

Hotaru looked up in his true blue eyes and answered, "Yes, I think he can."

"You can believe that. It's not in my nature to. Malfoy's a threat. He should be eliminated. End of story," Trunks replied as he pulled back from her, leaning against the other wall.

Hotaru stood to her full height and asked, "So, are we going?"

"Of course. I mean, I can't be with Setsuna, can I? No, so we'll go together and watch Duo and make sure that he doesn't get hurt. Even though this is going to hurt him," Trunks replied as he hovered above the ground.

Hotaru asked, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Flying, oh, and by the way, Duo's been listening to most of this conversation," Trunks answered with a grim grin before he jetted off in a flash of blue light.

Hotaru sighed as she leaned against the wall. Duo did walk over to you, a painful lopsided grin on his features. He said, "So, you asked Trunks."

"Yeah," she replied as she rubbed her temples.

Duo gave her a sad smile and said, "Well, there goes me asking you." Then he chuckled wirily.

She grabbed his wrist and explained, "I just don't want to hurt Malfoy, Duo. He can be saved."

"Yeah, I saw that today. Why do you think I didn't beat the shit out of him?" Duo replied with a wiry grin.

She blinked in surprise and asked, "You did?"

"Yeah. It was kind of easy to see that the way he was looking at you and everything. I mean, besides, you don't know me that well and . . ." Duo drew off, raising his hands. He snorted, "Besides, what does a street rat have to compare to someone like Malfoy?"

Hotaru looked at the sad expression in his violet eyes. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to face her. He moved with ease as he blinked in confusion as he looked at her. She said, "I heard enough."

She reached out and touched his braid. His eyes widened in wonder as she said, "I heard when you told the story to Snape and that other guy. I should have told you sooner. Well, maybe you should go find someone else to dance with."

"Yeah," Duo sighed as he walked off, still not his usual bouncing self, but a bit better than he was before.

She smiled to herself and thought, I'm just going to have to get to know him a bit better.

******

"He already asked Cho," Ginny grunted as she threw a punch, "Besides, he doesn't even know."

The punch connected to the palm of Forest's palm. Forest nodded and asked, "Have you done anything to let him know that you care for him?"

"All sorts of childish stuff in my first year," Ginny answered with a round house kick. The moves were coming to her easily. That and Forest was a very good teacher and a very good listener. She could tell her things that she couldn't tell Hermione. Girl things that Forest would understand and give advice. Besides, Ginny, being a Weasley, at least of the wilder gene that Bill, George, Fred, and Charlie had, craved the adrenaline the teaching brought out.

Forest stated, "Elaborate." She deflected Ginny's kick as Ginny moved to the side to plan another attack.

Ginny sighed, "Valentines that sang these really stupid songs about Harry. Stupid stuff and the fact that I turn red in the face when I talk to him."

Forest nodded sagely as she advised, "Well, my suggestion would to challenge Cho to a duel and beat the shit out of the little trollop."

"You don't like Cho?" Ginny asked as she stopped, looking at the vampire.

Forest shook her head with a wiry grin and answered, "Not really. She's spunky and pretty and smart, but she's not brave. There's a reason why you're a Gryffindor, Red. You'd stand by Harry's side to the end, Cho would cry and mourn, but she wouldn't give up her life for him. It's not logical and Ravenclaws are all about logic."

Ginny asked, "Really, Forest. What do you think I should do?"

"Try to prove to Harry that you're more than his best friend's little sister. Show that you're a person to be counted to and if Harry doesn't see that, then, well, Harry wasn't worth the effort anyway," Forest answered with her indigo eyes sparkling.

"Or I suggest running around the Great Hall bare assed naked," Duo's voice said from the doorway. They turned to face him as Forest lifted an eyebrow at him. Duo added, "That'll get my attention, that's for damn sure."

Forest sighed, "Well, there is that idea, but that could get you expelled."

Ginny shook her head at her friend and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Rejected by one of my protectors to find out that she rejected me to protect me," Duo answered with a slight bow. He stood up and winked at Ginny.

Ginny raised an eyebrow and stated, "I am immune to your charm, Duo."

"Well, I still need to get revenge on your brothers," Duo said wickedly as he rubbed his hands together with an evil grin.

Forest asked, "And how are you planning to do that?"

"By taking their baby sister to the ball," Duo replied smoothly as he glided over to Ginny and playfully wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

She twisted his arm behind his back and asked, "And what makes you think that I would want to go with you?"

"Because both of the people we have the hots for are too stupid to notice what amazing people we are. So, together, with our amazingness, we will dazzle them and make them kick themselves in the ass for not noticing that in the first place," Duo answered cheerfully.

Ginny studied his too-wide violet eyes and let him go. He flinched and said, "Man, Red, you're getting mean."

"It's the red hair: it automatically comes with a temper," Ginny retorted with a grin, "But you do have a point."

Forest snorted, "Only Duo could come up with such a bizarre twist of logic and have it work."

Ginny studied Duo and stated, "You are better than Neville Longbottom."

"Ack, he asked you?" Duo cried in mock horror.

Ginny giggled, "He did last year. Damn near trod my toes off of my feet though."

"Well, I assure you, my lovely, fiery redhead, that I dance pretty damn good," Duo replied with an impish grin.

Ginny shook her head and looked up at Forest who was watching them both with fond amusement. She asked, "Are you going to the ball, Forest?"

"Dumbledore asked me and I told him I haven't got anything better to do," Forest answered with a shrug.

Duo asked, "Got a date?"

"Please. I do not need a man to complete me," Forest snorted haughtily.

Ginny clapped and cheered, "Here here!"

Duo flinched and said, "On behalf of my gender: hey! Still, what about Serveus? He's probably dateless."

Ginny grimaced and thought of greasy Snape dancing with tall, lovely Forest. She flinched and groaned, "You can't be serious, Duo. Forest with Professor SNAPE?"

"What's wrong with Snape? He's cool. Come on Forest, you two get along really well," Duo pleaded with wide eyes.

Forest ruffled Duo's bangs affectionately as she answered, "Serveus and I are old enough to make our own decisions, Duo. Still, I'm warning you with Snape, he is fond of you, but don't think for an instant that he will let you get away with anything. He'd resent you trying something like that."

"Plus he's a greasy git," Ginny added.

Duo looked offended as he snapped, "He is not! He's just a lonely guy that's severely misunderstood. He just needs a friend, Gin, but everyone's so mean to him."

"If you say so," she snorted, remembering her last potions lesson with the Slytherins.

Duo asked, "So, Forest, what's up for the agenda tonight?"

"I'm not sure, actually. I wasn't planning for you to show up, at least not with Harry," Forest answered as she grabbed the punching bag and hoisted herself on it. She swung from the bag for a moment or two thoughtfully. Ginny grinned as Forest jumped down.

Forest grinned and walked over to the huge cabinet in the room. She opened it and pulled out three long wooden poles. She threw Duo one, who caught it deftly, then threw one to Ginny. Ginny flinched but managed to catch it. She balanced the pole in her hand as Forest spun the last one one handed.

Duo shouldered his and asked, "What, did we suddenly become Little John?"

"No, I'm going to teach you how to use a staff," Forest answered as she held it in front of her, "So, en' garde." She brought the staff down at Duo with a grin. Ginny watched wide eyed as Duo managed to block the blow with her own staff.

Forest looked at Ginny and said, "Just watch us for a little while Red, then we'll get into the mechanics of it."

"Right," Ginny replied with a flinch as Duo smacked Forest's shoulder with his own staff. Forest grinned wickedly as she brought her own staff up.

Duo said, "Yeah, cuz you'll be fighting me."

******

The next few days flew on. Between homework, Quidditch practice, and his lessons with Forest, Harry's life became a blur. The teachers, even Flitwick, were coming down hard on the students, telling them that they had to prepare for the O.W.L.S which were only months away.

As the holidays approached, the student body became preoccupied with the ball and feast, but teachers like Snape and McGonagall cracked down even harder on them. As the ball approached the younger students that were going home went home and before Harry knew it, it was Christmas Morning.

Harry woke up to see the more familiar pile of presents in front of his bed and Sirius standing there looking very awkward. Sirius grinned sheepishly and said, "Merry Christmas, Harry."

Harry put on his glasses and asked, "Merry Christmas, Sirius. What are you doing here?"

"Giving you your Christmas present, besides, I had to get out of the dudgeons. If I had to look at Snape's greasy head for another moment," Sirius stiffened with a shutter as Harry climbed to the edge of his bed.

Ron was waking up as was Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Trunks. Duo was still sprawled out on his bed and fast asleep. Seamus shouted, "Its Sirius Black!" His face went pale with horror as Neville squeaked and jumped behind Trunks. Trunks glared at Sirius while Dean was looking rather confused.

Ron grumbled, "Come off of it, guys. Sirius's innocent. He's Harry's godfather and he's been at Hogwarts for the last month."

"Oh, right then, sorry Mr. Black," Seamus replied, moving away. Neville was still clutching Trunks' shoulders and peering over his lavender head. Dean shrugged and started opening his presents. Duo was still sleeping.

Seamus nudged Dean and said, "Lets go to the Common room and leave these guys alone. Come on, Neville." Seamus tried to drag Neville away from Trunks, but Neville held onto Trunks rather tightly.

Neville squeaked, "I'm not moving!"

"He's not going to bite," Dean grumbled as he grabbed his presents. Duo snored loudly from his bed.

Trunks said, "Let's go to the Commons, Nel. Sirius is one of the good guys."

"Really?" Neville asked.

Trunks nodded as he grabbed his small pile and wrapped his free arm around Neville's shoulders. He nodded and answered, "Yeah. Come on, you can tell me more about that plant that breathes fire."

"Okay," Neville chirped as Trunks gave Harry a wink before he left them alone.

Sirius scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Ron chuckled, "Neville thinks that Trunks is the greatest. He helps him find his toad all the time and Crabbe and Goyle is afraid of him."

"If what I heard from Snape and Albus is true, then I'd be afraid of him too," Sirius replied as he looked back at the door.

Harry rubbed sleep out of his eyes and said, "Well, it's good to see you Sirius."

Duo grumbled something and rolled over in his sleep. Sirius asked, "Has he been having nightmares?"

"Not lately," Harry answered as he looked over at Duo's sleeping form.

Ron piped up, "Unless you count the dream he told us about where he walked into Divinination class and saw Trelawney naked."

Harry shuddered, trying to particularly forget Duo telling him about that dream. Sirius flinched and said, "That would be a nightmare, but that's not what I'm talking about. Still, I've got the device figured out."

Ron said, "I'll wake Duo up."

Harry grinned. Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George all took turns waking up Duo. They took a strange pleasure at seeing Duo's head shoot up in surprise as he screamed, "What the hell!"

This morning was no exception as Ron bent beside Duo's ear and started to sing very loudly, "Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open . . ."

"Eikkkeeee! The hell!" Duo screamed as he shot up out of bed, grasping for the wand on his table.

Harry laughed and Duo glared, "Oh, very funny Ron." Then he grabbed one of his pillows and plowed it into Ron's face.

Ron blinked and shouted, "Hey!" Then he grabbed one of the pillows off of his bed and swung at Duo. Duo blocked with his pillow with a grin. Ron towered over him and pushed the pillow on top of Duo's head.

Harry and Sirius laughed at the two of them as they beat each other with the pillows. Duo turned at Harry and shouted, "Come on, Four Eyes, join in!" Then he threw his pillow at Harry's face.

Harry fell back into bed as his glasses were knocked askew. He shouted, "Hey, Braid Boy!" Then he hit Duo with his pillow. Ron pelted Sirius upside the head with his and Sirius grabbed a pillow off of Dean's bed and joined in.

A few minutes later they were out of breath and laughing, sprawled on different beds. Sirius chuckled, "I haven't had that much fun in a long time."

"You should come with us more often. We get into all kinds of trouble," Duo suggested as he limply raised his hand in invitation.

Harry grinned as Sirius said, "I'll think I'll do that."

Harry asked, "So, what is that thing?"

"And why did they use it on Duo?" Ron asked.

They all sat up and Harry looked at Sirius, who turned serious again. He answered, "It really doesn't have a name. It's an original invention of Malfoy's and it's nasty. It did a real job on your mind, kid."

"Why?" Duo asked, his eyes darkening as he looked at Sirius. Harry was wondering the same thing.

Harry stated, "The visions were about Duo's friends in his home dimension. They wanted him to go back, didn't they?"

"Actually, try rather. And the stress of the nightmares would have brought out the Scythe Barer's powers after a while. You all caught it early enough," Sirius explained, "There were trace elements on the Quidditch field that would hook onto a person's thoughts while they're very active and the adrenaline pumping. That's why Malfoy told his git to place the device there under the guise of dungbombs. The trace was enough to collect Duo's memories, or at least enough of them to give him proper nightmares."

Duo asked, "But what about the old guy and the little girl, I don't know them?"

"There was a bit of divininational properties added to it. There were hints of a future that could happen. It doesn't mean it did so don't go running out to get there yet. The device was showing you the worse possible outcomes without you being there. It seems that Voldemort was trying to set up a trap to get you with Malfoy's help. That if you alienated you enough from Dumbledore and Harry then he could catch you. And after a while your worry would trigger your Scythe Barer powers as a defense mechanism," Sirius answered.

Harry asked, "What are you going to do about it?"

"Setsuna, Snape, and I are going to talk to Dumbledore about it tonight after the ball. That Briefs boy and the little girl will probably be there as well. They're the two closest to Duo that are assigned to guard him," Sirius answered thoughtfully.

Ron asked, "What about You-Know-Who?"

"He has a name, Ron. It's Voldemort. But I think that Setsuna is more than a match for him," Sirius answered.

Harry remembered Dumbledore saying that Setsuna was the Guardian of Time and Space. That he had said that she had the power to go between worlds, turn back time, and stop time among other things. Harry didn't want to think if Voldemort had that sort of power.

Duo darkly said, "Voldemort should be killed before he becomes too powerful."

"You can't just kill You-Know-Who!" Ron gasped.

Sirius nodded as he said, "Duo has a point, Ron. Voldemort should be stopped before he becomes too powerful."

Harry kept quiet. He looked out the window at the snow falling. Duo did have a point and so did Ron. He had seen Voldemort face to face. He had just barely survived Voldemort's wrath.

Ron said, "Well, it's Christmas. Let's open our presents."

Harry grinned as he reached down at the foot of his bed. Hermione had got him a book called Quidditch's Most Dangerous and Unusual Plays which had a picture of Viktor Krum on the front in a deep dive. Ron had gotten him a bag of wizarding fireworks and a few fake wands. Mrs. Weasley had given him his usual sweater, this time dark green, a tray of homemade fudge, and a custard pie. Sirius had gotten him a very unusual knife that was made out of silver. Sirius had explained that the knife could shrink to any size so he could easily hide it. Duo had gotten him a dart board and a set of darts. His last present was from Forest, which really surprised him.

It was a long sword made out of bamboo. Harry held the surprisingly heavy sword in his hands. There was a small tag on the wrist guard that read, The most elegant and the most ancient of all weapons. Wanna learn how to use it properly, Harry? Should be fun.

Duo looked up at Harry. He was holding a gun just like Forest's with a tag in his left hand. He said in awe, "Oh, she got you a bokken! Coolness. She got me this!" He held up the gun with a grin. He said, "The card said that it was the only weapon that I was actually any good at because she didn't want to see how I'd butcher the art of sword fighting."

Sirius looked at the bokken and said, "I think I want to meet this vampire friend of yours."

"She'll be at the ball tonight," Duo replied as he held up a hand knitted violet sweater. He asked Ron, "Why did your mom give me a present?"

"I dunno. Maybe because Ginny wrote her or something," Ron answered with a shrug as he held up Hermione's present, a Chudley Cannon's robe with all of the team's signatures all over it.

Sirius said, "Still, why did she give him a gun?"

"If you ever saw Duo on that firing range then you'd know why," Harry answered as he gently wrapped the bokken back in the black cotton cloth that it was wrapped in.

******

Later that night the boys were in their dorms getting ready for the ball. Duo watched as Trunks put on a royal blue robe while bitching about it the whole time. He grumbled, "I hate these things. They restrict your movement and they're girly." Duo noted that Trunks was wearing a black tank top and cargos underneath the linen robes.

Harry's robes were an emerald green velvet that really brought out his eyes. He fussed with his hair, trying to make it a bit neater. After a while, he gave up with a sigh as he repaired his glasses with his wand. He looked at Duo who gave him a thumbs up as he brushed through his hair.

Ron nervously brushed off blue robes of his own. He kept pacing around the room and looking at the clock. He looked at the uniform that was hanging above his bed before smiling goofily and pacing again.

Duo brushed his clean hair and braided it. Instead of a simple elastic around the end, he tied it with a black satin ribbon. Then he changed into his dragon skin.

He saw Seamus' mouth fall open as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing the dragon skin pants that clung to his body better than leather ever could. He had a pair soft suede boots that laced all the way up to his knees. He left the first three buttons of the black satin shirt open so that his cross could spill out. Then to top it all off was the black dragon skin robe that shimmered with every movement due to all of the scales. He winked at himself and knew that all he needed was a scythe and he could look like some Goth's fantasy of the God of Death.

Seamus asked, "Duo, who are you going with?"

"Ginny," Duo answered matter of fact as he turned to see the scales move in the light.

Ron gasped, "You're not going with my sister looking like that."

"She's my friend, bud. This is just for all the other ladies," Duo replied with an impish grin as he looked at his more than satisfactory reflection. With that, he swept down the stairs.

Waiting for him was Ginny. He gave a whistle as he looked her over. She giggled and blushed a little.

She was wearing a thin, cream-colored velvet gown with the sleeves slit to expose her pale skin. All of her red hair had been curled and piled artfully on top of her head with soft curls falling around her heart shape face. She had an amber ribbon tied around her slender throat to make her eyes look more amber than brown. She also had a couple of cream roses entwined in her hair and around her wrist like a bracelet.

She gasped as she looked him over and offered her arm. Duo took it with a grin. She said, "I'm tempted to tell Harry to hang himself."

"Easy there, Red, don't give me any ideas," he replied with a wink.

They giggled together as they made their way down to the Great Hall. As they walked in together, Blaise Zabini gasped as soon as she saw Duo. Duo waved to her and noticed that poor Millicent Bulstrode didn't have a date. The big-boned girl sniffled as Duo walked past.

Duo grinned at her and promised, "Hey, Milly, I'll dance with you later, okay."

Millicent smiled brightly at Duo, her homely face transforming as her dark eyes sparkled at him. Ginny whispered, "You're so bad."

"Look, the poor girl doesn't have a date and even her house mates pick on her," Duo replied as he walked past a glaring Malfoy and Pansy. Pansy looked at Duo with a dreamy sigh and Duo winked and grinned at her. He even waved at Crabbe and Goyle as he made his way to an empty seat.

Ginny said, "You're somewhere between a demon and an angel you know that."

"Actually, I'm leaning more toward the God of Death," Duo replied with a grin. His grin slid off of his face because Trunks and Hotaru walked into the room.

Hotaru looked lovely in a rich burgundy velvet robe. The robe was high necked and trimmed with dark violet silk. The sleeves were slitted like Ginny's, except they displayed that her arms were incased in tight dark velvet silk. There were various silk streamers of the same color floating around the gown as she moved. Her hair was piled up in one of those messy yet artful styles on the top of her head, allowing stray locks to fall into her face and eyes, giving her a mysterious allure.

Apparently, Malfoy had noticed as well because he couldn't take her eyes off of her, much to Pansy's dismay. Ginny patted Duo's arm and said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Red," Duo replied as he gave her one of those winning grins.

Then Harry and Cho walked in, making a very handsome couple. Cho's robes were blood-red Chinese silk with golden dragons printed into it. She had pinned up her hair with chop sticks. She was grinning on Harry's arm and Harry was grinning as well. The grin fell off of his face as soon as he saw Ginny, as if this was the first time he had seen her.

Bingo, he's noticed her, Duo thought with a grin as Hermoine and Ron trailed behind Harry. As usually, Hermione and Ron were bickering about something before grinning at each other. Hermione looked very pretty in icy blue violet robes. Her hair was sleek and silky, pulled back from her face as she grinned up at Ron.

Dinner was a very interesting affair then they were dancing. Duo saw that Snape was brooding at the table while Dumbledore danced with Forest. Forest was dressed in regular Muggle finery, and Duo had to admit that she couldn't wear anything else. She was wearing a bright violet silk dress that had a black rose pattern lace over it. The gown showcased her long legs. She had a choker of amethysts around her long, slender neck and her long, blond hair was loose and free.

Sirius Black was dressed in black robes and dancing with Setsuna. Trunks kept sending them death glares as he prodded around the room with Hotaru. Hotaru kept looking at him pityingly.

Still, Duo gave Setsuna another look. She was wearing pink robes that had slits along the legs to show them off and short sleeves. She was laughing at something Sirius had said to her as they parted. The song that the band was playing changed and Dumbledore bowed to Forest as she headed toward Ginny and Duo.

Duo gave her an appreciating look as he said, "You're going to dance with me, right?"

"I'm not sure," Forest replied with a grin as she looked at where Cho and Harry were dancing.

Ginny's eyes widened as she asked, "You wouldn't."

Forest's indigo eyes had a naughty glint to them as she watched Cho and Harry. Duo shook his head with disbelief. Then Forest grinned and suggested, "Hey, Duo, why don't you cut in?"

Duo chuckled as he guided Ginny over to Harry. From across the room, Fred was glaring from where he was dancing with Greer Riverstone. Duo whispered to Ginny, "Get ready to make all of your dreams come true."

Ginny blushed as she gripped Duo's arms. She pleaded, "Duo, I can't do this. Not like this."

"A friend once told me live by your emotions, Red. I say take whatever chance you get," Duo told her as he gently kissed her sweet-smelling cheek.

******

There was something nagging in the back of Harry's head every time he saw Duo and Ginny pass around the room. Ginny was lovely, and it was like he had never noticed her before. Still, Cho was there, smiling at him to bring him to bring him back to Earth, she said, "This is strange."

"I know," he told her with a grin as they made slow circles. She looked very pretty in red, Harry thought.

Then there was a tap on his back. Harry turned around to see Duo standing there in all of his dragon scaled glory with Ginny at his arm. Harry looked at Ginny then back at Cho.

Duo grinned wickedly as he said, "Wanna switch?"

"Errr," was all Harry could get out as Cho said, "Sounds interesting enough." Soon, Cho was out of his arms and Ginny was in them.

He looked down at her. She blushed as he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her hand. She was very warm he realized and fit quite nicely underneath his chin. He lowered his head closer and inhaled her vanilla scent.

She looked up at him and said, "You look nice."

"You look beautiful," Harry blurted, realizing he sounded like an idiot.

She blushed and replied, "Thank you."

******

Forest grinned at her handiwork. Harry was dancing with Ginny and probably realizing what an amazing girl she was. She could see the signs that Harry was falling despite himself without knowing it.

Duo walked over to her with a grin. Forest noticed that Cho was talking to some of her friends and drinking butterbeer. Forest looked Duo over and smirked. She had a pair of dragon skin pants herself and knew the effects that they could cause on various people and knew that Hotaru Tomoe was falling under these effects.

Then a homely Slytherin girl walked up to Duo. Duo grinned and bowed to her before sweeping her up in a dance. Forest chuckled as she tapped her foot to the beat of the music.

She walked over to Serveus and asked, "Wanna dance?"

His pale skin flushed for a moment as he looked her over. She leaned closer and stated, "Come on, Serveus, it's not that hard of a choice."

Serveus sat up strait and replied, "I do not dance."

"You're dancing with me," Forest replied as she yanked him up. The startled Potions Master looked at her wide eyed as they guided out to the dance floor.

Serveus stated, "If you were anyone else you wouldn't do this."

"But it's me and you looked lonely and brooding over there," Forest replied, "And I've known too many brooding and pensive men over the centuries."

Serveus whispered, "I'm leaving."

She froze in mid step as she looked into his dark, fathomless eyes. She saw the grim determination there as she looked at him. She said, "This is about the Dark Lord, isn't it?"

"I'm going to run with some of the Death Eaters again. I'm going to try to find my way back to the Dark Lord's inner sanctum and see what he's planning," Serveus answered darkly.

Forest gave him a wiry grin and asked, "This was about my smart ass comment wasn't it?"

"The why don't you thing you said. Partially. The device that Black has been inspecting has a lot to do with it as well. Still, I must thank you," he replied as he studied her.

She asked, 'Why?" She was a bit confused at this, but she wouldn't admit that.

He let her go and answered, "Because you were kind to me and forced me to look at myself. Thank you, Forest."

"Still, be careful, Serveus," Forest told him with a slight smile.

She gasped as he gently cupped her cheek with his long, graceful fingers. He looked her over and said, "I'm leaving tonight, Forest. Keep safe." With that, he walked away, leaving her alone at the ball room.

*******

TBC

*******

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