Atem: (raises an eyebrow) An update? Already?

Kitty: Well, this one I've been looking forward to!

Yugi: So I suppose we learn a secret or a part of one, I presume?

Kitty: Good guess!

Lina: What kind of secret?

Kitty: Look at the title.

(pause)

Lina: Is it about Sirius?

Kitty: How ever did you guess?

Hermione: (rolls her eyes) R&R!

Chapter Nine:

The Secret of Sirius Black

Poor Harry was kept in the Hospital Wing for the next three days, and while he didn't complain about being kept there or about losing the game, Diana knew that Gryffindor's defeat had hit him hard. For the first time in his time as Seeker, he lost a match. The rest of the Quidditch team tried to make him feel better, telling him that everyone loses sometime, but it didn't help much. Why would it? Knowing that everyone loses sometimes doesn't give you another chance to win what you've lost.

Diana had been skipping classes a lot to visit Harry, much to the displeasure of Hermione, who told her that she needed to focus on her lessons. Right then, however, Diana thought keeping Harry company was more important.

When Harry was let out of the Hospital Wing, the Gryffindors and Slytherins were lucky enough to have Defense Against the Dark Arts for their first lesson, and to the Brits', Yugi's and Marik's enormous relief, Lupin was back at work, looking quite ill indeed, but still cheerful.

"Hey, Professor!" greeted Diana, "Nice to see you back!"

"It's nice to be back," Lupin smiled at her, "I'm sure all of you-"

"Professor, do we still have to do that essay Professor Snape gave us?" Parvati Patil cut in.

"Essay?" Lupin repeated, blinking in surprise, "What essay?"

That was all the class needed to hear to start into a long list of complaints.

"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?"

"We don't know a thing about werewolves-"

"-two rolls of parchment!"

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly.

The students' babble started again.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind-"

"-he wouldn't listen-"

"-two rolls of parchment!"

Lupin made a hand gesture to silence the class. "Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay."

"Oh no," Hermione whined in disappointment, "I've already finished it!"

Later that day, Diana and the rest of her friends learned that Harry had asked Lupin about ways to prevent the dementors from affecting him, and that Lupin had finally agreed to give him some anti-dementor lessons after the holidays were over. Diana was very pleased to hear this, and it gave her yet another reason to respect the Defense Against the Dark Art teacher: no other teacher had ever offered to do something like this for Harry before.

Harry's mood also brightened a bit when Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff. All Gryffindor had to do was defeat Ravenclaw and Slytherin to win, and if Lupin's lessons helped him with the dementors, then he couldn't possibly lose again.

Then the last trip for Hogsmeade before Christmas came around, and both Harry and Ryou felt their holiday cheer decrease significantly.

Diana gave each Harry and Ryou a big hug, promising them to bring back a lot of stuff for them, before following Seto, Yugi, Marik, Hermione and Ron out the door into the frosty grounds to head into Hogsmeade.

While her friends took a look at the sweets in Honeydukes, Diana sat alone in the Three Broomsticks, thinking of everything that she'd been trying not to think about. The most notable of those things was Bakura and Artemis. Just looking at Ryou and giving him a hug of farewell had been enough to make her remember the day Roth told her that her best friend had loved her almost-Yami. She half wanted to ask Bakura what had happened between them, but the other half was afraid that he still loved her…she could never look at the Tomb Robber the same way again if he did.

"Wow…a lot of thinking going on here."

Diana's head shot up to see Seth smiling down at her.

"Seth? What are you doing here? I thought you were with the others."

"Curious as to why you weren't hanging out with us," the High Priest replied, "And Marik said something about you only being this absent around the time you guys came back from Egypt. Something bothering you?"

Diana studied Seth for a moment: he did have the most memory of Ancient Egypt, she reasoned. Maybe he could tell her something…

"Seth…do you know anything about Artemis…back in Egypt?"

Seth blinked as he sat down next to her. "Why so curious?"

"Well…I've heard that Bakura had a connection with her," Diana chose her words carefully, "I…I just want to know what happened between them."

Seth's eyes filled with understanding. "I see…well, I don't know much about Bakura's and Dark Artemis's connection, but most historical accounts do agree that there was a connection between them, mostly because the King of Thieves had a companion named Artemis who vanished right before Dark Artemis became a threat. I reckon the only person who might be able to answer your questions would be Bakura himself."

Diana frowned. "I was afraid you'd say that. But what if Bakura doesn't remember?"

Seth sighed. "Bakura…remembers much more than he lets on, Dare-kun."

"But he doesn't even remember what his worst memory is about," Diana pointed out, "That thing that the dementor showed him on the train…the burning town."

Seth looked down at the floor thoughtfully. "I'm not sure about that…I can only theorize how Bakura's mind works. His memory wasn't wiped like Atem's was…all I can guess is that Bakura blocked some significant memories out…likely ones he didn't want to remember…but I'd bet anything that those memories aren't blocked too well, hence the reason why he saw that town burning when the dementor came into our compartment."

Seth looked again at Diana. "But even Atem's memory was unlocked slightly when he was reunited with me. I bet Bakura remembered Artemis as soon as he saw you…you do look a lot like the old Artemis."

"But what if he doesn't remember the whole story?" asked Diana, "That town…he said it seemed important to him."

"If you are really so determined to learn the secret of that town," Seth told her, "Then I suggest you ask Bakura to tell you about Kul Elna."

"Kul Elna?" Diana repeated, "But what's-?"

"Hey, Dare! Seth!"

Diana and the High Priest turned to see Ron, Hermione, Yugi and Marik, accompanied by two other students…two others that should've been alone at school together instead of in the middle of Hogsmeade.

"Harry! Ryou! What the hell are you guys doing here?" Diana inquired as the friends sat down together around the table.

Harry pulled something out of his pocket, which turned out to be a worn, ragged and blank piece of parchment.

"Fred and George gave this to me," he told them, "To help Ryou and me get into Hogsmeade."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "An old piece of parchment? This is the most sour joke those two have ever performed."

"No, no, look at this," Harry protested as he pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

At once, to Diana's shock, thin lines began to spread over the parchment from the point Harry's wand had touched, joining and crisscrossing to create a map of the Hogwarts grounds, with little dots showing the action of people walking around it, and a strange heading that read:

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs,
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers,
And Misses Trickster, Clawpaw and Nightwing,
Loyal Spies to the Marauders and their Disciples,
Are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP

"Nice nicknames," noted Seth, "Who helped Fred and George make it?"

"They didn't make it," explained Ryou, "They stole it from Filch's confiscation drawer in their first year. They only gave it to Harry-kun because they know it by heart…they thought we could just use a secret passage to get into Honeydukes…not even Filch knows about it. I bet only the Marauders, the Spies, the Weasley twins and us know about it."

"So Fred and George don't even know who these people are?" asked Hermione, looking worried.

"No, they don't," answered Ryou, catching Hermione's look, "But they've used it for years without anything happening, so I doubt it's dangerous-"

It was then that Diana pulled Ryou and Harry underneath the table with her. Professor Flitwick and McGonagall had just entered the pub, and were followed shortly by Hagrid and the Minister of Magic.

Diana heard Hermione whisper, "Mobiliarbus!" above her and saw the large Christmas tree rise a few inches off the ground, drift sideways and land again with a soft thump to hide them from view. She saw the teachers', gamekeeper's and minister's feet gather around a table and sit down, before the feet of Madame Rosmerta, owner and barmaid of the Three Broomsticks, wearing sparkly turquoise high-heels walked over to their table.

"A small gillywater…"

"Mine," McGonagall's voice spoke.

"Four pints of mulled mead…"

"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid.

"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella…"

Flitwick smacked his lips.

"So you'll be the red current rum, Minster."

"Thank you, Rosmerta," answered Fudge, "Lovely to see you again. Have one yourself, won't you?"

"Well, thank you, Minster, I have been meaning to have a word with you…these dementors you sent are scaring off a lot of my customers…are you sure they're necessary to catch Sirius Black?"

"They are," Fudge said grimly, "After he showed up at the school, there's no doubt of it. If only Dumbledore would've allowed them to search the school…then they might've found him."

"Dementors are horrible things," McGonagall remarked sharply, "They should be nowhere near the students…what happened with Mr. Potter at the most recent Quidditch match was proof enough."

Harry twitched next to Diana, and the redhead took his hand to calm him.

"But they are necessary," demurred Fudge, "They're here to protect us all from Black…we all know what Black is capable of."

"I still have trouble believing it sometimes," Rosmerta commented thoughtfully, "I mean, I remember Sirius Black as a boy at Hogwarts…he was one of the last people I thought would go bad."

"You don't know the half of it," Fudge sighed, "The worst of what he did isn't even known by most…certainly there's the thirteen Muggles he murdered…but that was merely an epilogue of his real crime."

"You said you remember him at school, Rosmerta," murmured McGonagall, "I dare say you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," laughed Rosmerta, "Never saw one without the other, did you? Ooh, they used to make me laugh…quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Diana's mouth dropped. Harry gasped, and Ron kicked him to tell him to be quiet.

"Precisely," McGonagall concurred, "Black and Potter, leaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course…exceptionally bright, in fact. The only other person in their grade that could rival their brightness was Carly Randall…I dare say you remember her as well, Rosmerta?"

"Of course," Rosmerta granted, "She was a very kind young lady, Carly. I remember all the fights she used to get into with Black and Potter…great friends, those three were, but when they got her mad, they were in real trouble. It's really too bad…Carly could've gone so much farther than she did if she and Black weren't stuck together."

"Yes," Fudge agreed, "I've never heard of a marriage that ended worse…"

Diana's eyes widened in horror, and her face went white. Marriage…?

"Carly has a daughter, doesn't she?" asked Rosmerta.

"Diana," replied Hagrid, "Called Dare by her friends an' meh. Ya never see her without Harry…those two are so much like Carly and James you'd think they were cloned from 'em."

"If only they could've been warned of You-Know-Who coming after them," Rosmerta whispered.

"Carly, James and Lily did know that You-Know-Who was after them," said Fudge, "Most people don't know this, but Dumbledore had learned from one of his spies looking in on the Death Eaters that You-Know-who was after the Potters and Carly. So James and Lily employed the use of the Fidelius Charm to hide from You-Know-Who."

"It works by concealing a magical secret inside a single, living soul called a Secret Keeper," clarified Flitwick, "Once the magical secret is concealed, it is impossible to learn it unless the Secret Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret Keeper is silent, there would be no way to find the people the Secret Keeper is hiding."

"Black, naturally, was the Potters' Secret Keeper," said Fudge, "As for Carly, we have reason to believe she had a Secret Keeper as well, who also betrayed her. As her husband, it's only natural she chose Black…that, and they had been good friends at school. The Potters and Carly chose the same Secret Keeper, unknowns to them, and it was a big mistake."

"Because Black betrayed them?" breathed Rosmerta.

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role and was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who after the Potters and Carly were dead. But after You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter, Black fled. He had no choice…his master had fallen as soon as he had shown his true colors as a traitor."

"But the Ministry still caught him the next day," pointed out Rosmerta.

"Alas, if only we had gotten to him first," Fudge muttered bitterly, "It was Peter Pettigrew who found him…he was another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been James and Lily's Secret Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew…" Rosmerta sounded like she was thinking, "That fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at school?"

"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter," assented McGonagall, "Never quite in their or Carly's league, though, although I remember that Carly used to always help him when he was having trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if Pettigrew had suspected Black of also betraying Carly when he went after him: Carly was like a big sister to him, always standing up for him…if only she could've seen him stand up for himself…for the first time in his life…" she sounded as thought she had a sudden head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," Fudge said kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death…I'm sure Carly and James would've been very proud of him. Eyewitnesses…Muggles, of course, we had to wipe their memories later…told us how Pettigrew had cornered Black, sobbing, 'Your friends, Sirius, your wife! How could you?' Then he went for his wand, but Black was quicker…blew him to smithereens…no one would've stood a chance against Black except for Hit Wizards from the Magical Enforcement Squad, but Pettigrew didn't care. We gave him the Order of Merlin, First Class, and I think that gave some comfort to his poor mother…then we captured Black and brought him to Azkaban."

There was a small clink of glass on wood: someone had set down their glass.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the Headmaster, we'd better head up to the school," prompted McGonagall.

"Yes, yes, you're quite right," replied Fudge, as the four sets of feet started move away from the table and to the door, "It was nice seeing you, Rosmerta."

There was a sound of the door opening, and the teachers disappeared in a flurry of snow.

"Harry? Dare?"

The others looked under the table at Ryou, Harry and Diana, looking stunned. The Boy Who Lived had his mouth open and looked lost for words: Artemis's Heir's face was paler than they'd ever seen it and her normally almond-shaped blue eyes were a bright red.

Lina: (eyes wide) Whoa.

Yugi: (looks at Kitty) Sirius...?

Kitty: Shocking, eh? You haven't heard anything yet.

Atem: Will Dare talk to Bakura?

Kitty: Maybe.

Bakura: That means yes to the rest of us.

Kitty: Maybe.

Bakura: (sweatdrop) I hate you.

Emessa: (pops out of nowhere) Don't go hating my big sister! She's awesome. She wears the black hat.

Bakura: And you wear the striped tights. Much hotter during sex.

Lina: (eyes turn to flames) EXCUSE me?

Bakura: (face goes white) Oh, fuck. (runs for his life) AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Yugi: (sweatdrop) Why can't anything around here remain sane?

Kitty: Because no one here is sane to begin with.

Yugi: Good point.

Diana: R&R!