Hogwarts Part 3
A-Shopping We Will Go
'Must be sleeping near the piers... smells like fish.' Duo blinked his eyes open to look into a furry face. 'Oh... a cat... no wonder.' He stretched and frowned at the soft surface. 'Hm? A mattress? Wha?' He decided to look around. What he saw was a mostly bare room. "I guess it wasn't a dream, then."
The cat let out a snort as if it were calling him an idiot and hopped down to the floor.
"Well good morning to you, too! Keep it up and I'll have you neutered!" Duo blinked as the cat gave him a look and promptly started to bathe himself. That's when he got a good look at HER underside. "All RIGHT! Spayed, then. Happy now, Shi-chan?"
Shinigami snorted again and hopped out the open window to enter the opened kitchen window downstairs.
"Show off!"
There was a knock on his door. "Duo, dear? Are you decent?"
Duo couldn't resist. "Yeah! I'm dressed, too!"
Kitty came in, chuckling. "Oh you! What would you like for breakfast? I was just fixing up some eggs and sausages. Is there anything you'd like besides that?"
"Aunt Kitty... I'll eat just about anything." Duo smiled at his aunt, whom he liked a great deal already. "I'll be down just as soon as I've taken a shower." He opened the wardrobe to put his clothes away and dropped his bag when he saw the filled hangars. "Uhhhh... magic wardrobe, right? It won't take me to Narnia if I go inside, will it?"
Kitty let out a laugh. "Good Heavens, child! You can't believe everything you read! No... this wardrobe is spelled to have clothing that will fit this room's occupant if the need arises. Apparently... the need arose in abundance!"
Duo ducked his head and looked through the clothing. He let out a low whistle at some of the materials used. "Doesn't go halfway, does it?"
Kitty smiled and shook her head. "It's trying to impress you. Don't let it bully you into wearing something you won't be comfortable in. I have to get back to cooking before the sausages burn. The loo is at the end of the hall. Don't be too long, dear."
Duo grinned as he turned to the wardrobe. "Okay... I'll wear ONE piece of fancy clothing ONLY because I never got a chance to before." He pulled out a short-sleeved ruby red silk shirt. "Happy? Now would you let me get a pair of black jeans?" He shook his head as the wardrobe practically trembled with happiness as the doors closed. A moment later, the doors opened again and Duo took a pair of black jeans from one of the hangars. "Thanks." He sweatdropped as one of the drawers opened to reveal socks, undershirts and several pairs of boxers with funny patterns on them. "Mind-reader, huh?" He had to laugh as a smaller drawer opened to reveal a hairbrush and several elastic bands. He could almost SWEAR that the wardrobe was radiating a smug attitude. "All right! You win! But leave my shoes alone!" With that, he gathered up his things and trudged to the bathroom.
*****
Kitty looked up from where she was putting some sausages on a plate when Duo entered the kitchen. 'No WONDER he wanted a shower! What I mistook for a tan was actually a layer of dirt... poor dear.' She smiled and put the plate on the table as Duo sat down. "You have your father's skin tone. I didn't see it last night. Your mother was a tan in skin tone due to her gardening. I thought you took after her."
Duo blushed and ducked his head. "Sorry. Not a lot of places will let someone shower for free." He started eating his breakfast, but jumped when his aunt touched his wet, unbound hair. He had the hairbrush in his pocket.
Kitty drew her hand back. "I'm sorry, dear! I just thought I'd save you some trouble and pull it into a braid for you. I fixed your mother's hair when she was younger."
Duo wrapped his arm around the back of his head and bit his lip. "Sorry, Aunt Kitty, but no one touches my hair. No one has braided my hair for me since..."
Kitty nodded as Duo's eyes became haunted and slightly lost. "I understand, dear. Well... at least let me help you in SOME way." She left the kitchen and returned carrying an old hairbrush. "Use this when you're here. It belonged to my mother, your grandmother, Rosemary. She had hair longer than yours and got fed up with her daily battle with the hairbrush. She put a detangling charm on it. It will cut your brushing time by 90%!"
Duo smiled again, glad that his aunt understood his need to do his own hair... and grateful that she hadn't asked for him to elaborate on why he didn't want her to braid his hair. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Now eat your breakfast and we can get some talking in while we wait for your friend." She fixed her own plate and sat across from Duo, smiling sadly as the boy practically wolfed down his meal. She was tempted to tease him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. 'It's highly possible that he expects it to be taken away from him, the poor dear.' She wanted to just walk over to him and pull him into her arms and hug him until the slight apprehension left his eyes. Oh it was slight... but it was there. 'It's not just the food. Poor little duck is worried that this will all be taken away! Just the way he keeps glancing around tells me that he's checking to make sure it's all still there.' She shook her head and started eating... pausing only once to get Duo a second helping.
*****
Quatre knocked on the door and bounce a little as he waited. He wanted to know how Duo had fared last night. He smiled at Kitty when sheopened the door. "Good afternoon! Is Duo ready?"
Kitty smirked as she turned to face Duo, who was glowering a little. "Duo... Quatre's here!"
Quatre blinked in confusion. "Duo? What's wrong?"
"The stupid wardrobe polished and repaired my shoes!" He huffed a little. He LIKED his scruffy boots.
Quatre smiled in slight understanding. Duo wasn't used to being pampered in any way. Still... there was no need for Duo to mope about something he couldn't change. "Are you ready? We have to go to Gringotts before we get your supplies." He felt something butt against his leg and he looked down to see a slender black cat. "Hello."
The cat sat in front of Quatre and faced Duo, its tail was lashing as if it were waiting for something.
Duo sighed. 'It's just as bad as dealing with Heero was! At least the cat has a valid reason for being quiet.' He shook his head. "Sorry. Quatre... this is Shinigami, Shi-chan for short. She sort of adopted me last night."
Shinigami turned to face Quatre with a smug expression on her face. "Mraow!"
Kitty chuckled. "If you want, Duo, I could cast a spell so that you can understand her. It'll make life easier on the both of you."
Duo half-grinned at his aunt. "Maybe later. Depends on what Shi-chan thinks." He almost laughed at the surprised look Shinigami gave him. He gathered no one had ever asked for her opinion before. "Are you coming with us, Aunt Kitty?"
Kitty shook her head. "Not this time. Maybe we'll go on an outing sometime this month, just the two of us. Take care, dear!"
Duo smiled as he left the house... pausing to look behind him as Quatre said good bye. He had the strongest urge to just run back inside, but stamped it down firmly. 'Stop being silly! You were a Gundam pilot, for goodness sakes! Get a grip!'
Quatre gently took Duo's arm, bringing his friend out of what seemed to be dark thoughts. "Come on! You have your list, right?"
Duo nodded and brought out the sheet of parchment.
Quatre smiled. "Good. The fact that you already have a pet makes one less thing to buy. We go to Gringotts first."
Duo followed Quatre towards the town. The old surge of excitement filled him at the idea of new experiences. He took a deep breath and let one of his manic grins spread across his face. This feeling is one of the many things he lived for. The sense of adventure... the headlong dash into the unknown. It was something he hadn't felt since the war ended. He took another deep breath and grabbed Quatre's wrist before running into the town.
TBC...
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