The darkness returns

by craighorner88

With the end of one Trial comes an even greater one as one door closes another opens Voldemort has found the dark power's of the Oricalcos and the powerful stones of Oricalcum and is beginning to cause even more chaos then when he first rose up. The Ministry blind how will the wizarding world deal with the best duelists in the world when they ask for aid. Please review please

21. Chapter 21 Classes, Attack, Defense

Hermione plowed her way back to Hagrid's cabin through two feet of snow on Sunday morning. Harry and Ron wanted to go with her, but their mountain of homework had reached an alarming height again, so they grudgingly remained in the common room, trying to ignore the gleeful shouts drifting up from the ground outside, where students were enjoying themselves skating on the frozen lake, tobogganing, and worst of all, bewitching snowballs to zoom up to Gryffindor Tower and rap hard on the windows.

"Oy!" bellowed Ron, finally losing patience and sticking his head out of the window, "I am a Prefect and if one more snowball hits this window OUCH!"

He withdrew his head sharply, his face covered in snow.

"It's Fred and George," he said bitterly, slamming the window behind him. "Gits. . ."

Hermione returned from Hagrid's just before lunch, shivering slightly, her robes damp to the knees.

"So?" said Yugi, looking up when she entered. "Got all his lessons planned for him?" smiling softly as Hermione huffed.

"Well, I tried," she said dully, sinking into a chair beside Harry. She pulled out her wand and gave it a complicated little wave so that hot air streamed out of the tip; she then pointed this at her robes, which began to steam as they dried out from foot to knees. "He wasn't even there when I arrived; I was knocking for at least half an hour. And then he came stomping out of the forest"

Harry groaned. The Forbidden Forest was teeming with the kind of creatures most likely to get Hagrid the sack. "What's he keeping in there? Did he say?" asked Harry.

"No," said Hermione miserably. "He wants them to be a surprise. I tried to explain about Umbridge, but he just doesn't get it. He kept saying nobody in their right mind would rather study Knarls than Chimeras oh I don't think he's got a chimaera," she added at the appaled look on Harry, Ron, and Yugi's faces, "but that's not for lack of trying from what he said about how hard it is to get eggs. . . I don't know how many times I told him he'd be better off following Grubbly-Plank's plan, I honestly don't think he listened to half of what I said. He's in a bit of a funny mood, you know. He still won't say how he got all those injuries."

"Well that's great your massive giant teacher might just get the sac from this school and all he can think about is planning an exciting lesson?" Kaiba said shaking his head his hand working tediously on one of the spare duel disks.

Hagrid's reappearance at the staff table at breakfast next day was not greeted by enthusiastic applause from the students. Some, like Fred, George and Lee, roared with delight and sprinted up the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to wring Hagrid's enormous hand; others, like Parvati and Lavender, exchanged gloomy looks and shook their heads. Harry knew that many of them preferred Professor Grubbly-Plank's lessons, and they had good reason: Grubbly-Plank's idea of an interesting class was not one where there was a risk that somebody might have their head ripped off.

It was with a certain amount of apprehension that Harry, Ron, Hermine, Yugi, and Kaiba headed down to Hagrid's on Tuesday, heavily muffled against the cold.

"Why are we doing classes in the middle of winter for god's sake," Kaiba complained pulling his coat tighter around his neck as Hermione simply looked at him with a look of surprise. "Well perhaps if you chose something more, warmer then stylish you wouldn't be as cold." She said her tone slightly snarky, not liking that there was another student at Hogwarts that was more intelligent than herself.

"Zip it Granger just cause your people are stuck in the sixties style of dressing doesn't mean I have to be." Kaiba shot back as Ron grew slightly red clenching his knuckles at the remark Kaiba had made to his friend.

Harry was worried, not only about what Hagrid might have decided to teach them but also about how the rest of the class particularly Malfoy and his cronies, would behave if Umbridge was watching them.

"God I miss Egypt," Marik said as the Slytherins trooped down to Hagrid's hut wrapped heavily in thick heavy cloaks and ear muffs. The sound of a clicking sound got Marik's attention as he slowly looked over seeing Malfoy making a gesture with his eyes.

"Aww is the little half-blood cold." He cooed at Marik as Bakura took over grabbing Marik by the shoulder to stop him from jumping at Marik seeing that Malfoy had already drawn his wand its tip sticking out the hem of his sleeve as Malfoy simply smirked. "Come on just try it" he challenged as Marik growled slightly in annoyance as they all approached the Hut.

However, the High Inquisitor was nowhere to be seen as they struggled through the snow towards Hagrid, who stood waiting for them on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He did not present a reassuring sight; the bruises that had been purple on Saturday night were now ringed with green and yellow and some of his cuts still seemed to be bleeding.

Harry could not understand this: Had Hagrid perhaps been attacked by some creature whose venom prevented the wounds it inflicted from healing? As though to complete the ominous picture, Hagrid was carrying what looked like half a dead cow over his shoulder.

"We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyways, they prefer the dark. . ."

"What prefers the dark?" Harry heard Malfoy say sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. "What did he say prefers the dark - did you hear?"

Harry remembered the only occasion on which Malfoy had entered the forest before now; he had not been very brave then either. He smiled to himself; after the Quidditch match, anything that caused Malfoy discomfort was all right with him.

"Awww don't tell me the pure-blood is scared of the dark now?" Marik mocked towards Malfoy causing Malfoy's face to go a deep crimson his hand twitching his wand.

"What did you say?" Malfoy said drawing his wand as Hagrid growled shaking his head fiercely. "Malfoy put your wand away right this instant," Hagrid demanded loudly as Malfoy put his wand back into his belt looking to Marik sneering.

"Oh don't mind him Hagrid he's harmless," Marik said laughing as Malfoy went pink with embarrassment.

"Ready?" said Hagrid happily, looking around at the class. "Right, well, I've been savin' a trip inter the forest fer yer fifth year. Though we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare. I reckon I'm probably the only person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em"

"And you're sure they're trained, are you?" asked Malfoy, the panic in his voice even more pronounced now. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?" Malfoy said with a knowing sneer.

The Slytherins murmured agreement and a few Gryffindor's looked as though they through Malfoy had a fair point too.

"Course they're trained," said Hagrid, scowling and hoisting the dead cow a little higher on his shoulder.

"So what happened to your face, then?" demanded Malfoy with a smirking look as Kaiba spoke up.

"What happened to your face or were you just born ugly?" Kaiba stated smirking softly as Hagrid growled swelling up.

"Mind yer own business!" said Hagrid, angrily. "Now if you have finished asking stupid questions, follow me!" He turned and strode straight into the forest. Nobody seemed much disposed to follow. Harry glanced at Kaiba smirking at his comment he made as Ron and Hermione followed, they sighed but nodded, and the five of them set off after Hagrid, leading the rest of the class.

They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so close together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow on the ground. Hagrid deposited his half a cow with a grunt on the ground, stepped back, and turned to face his class again, most of whom were creeping toward him from tree to tree, peering around nervously as though expecting to be set upon at any moment.

"Ok gather around gather around," said Hagrid encouragingly. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell of the meat but I'm going ter give 'em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me. . . ."

He turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face, and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. Nobody laughed; most of them looked too scared to make a sound.

"What kind of animal responds to that kind of call?" said Bakura looking skeptical as his eyes began to scan the skies.

Hagrid gave the shrieking cry again. A minute passed in which the class continued to peer nervously over their shoulders and around trees for the first glimpse of whatever it as that was coming. And then, as Hagrid shook his hair back for the third time and expanded his enormous chest, Harry nudged Ron and pointed into the black space between two gnarled yew trees.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck, and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs.

A great wave of relief broke over Harry. Here, at last, was proof that he had not imagined these creatures, that were real: Hagrid knew about them too. He looked eagerly at Ron, and Hermione but was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, "Why doesn't Hagrid call again?"

Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron's and were still gazing around everywhere except staring at the creature like Harry was. There were only four other people who seemed to be able to see them: a Stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distaste on his face, Neville and surprisingly Ryou as well as Marik, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" said Hagrid proudly, as a second black horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery wings closer to its body, and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. "Now put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"

Immensely pleased to feel that he was, at last, going to understand the mystery of these horses, Harry raised his hand. Hagrid nodded at him. "Yeah . . . yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Harry," he said seriously. "An' you too, Neville, eh? An' said Hagrid looking seeing the Slytherin and to his surprise Ryou his beady black eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Excuse me," said Malfoy in a sneering voice, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

For an answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and Parvati squealed. Harry understood why: bits of flesh-stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

"What's doing it?" Parvati demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. "What's eating it?"

"Thestrals, " said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft "Oh!" of comprehension at Harry's shoulder. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows?"

"But they're really, really unlucky!" interrupted Parvati, looking alarmed. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortunate on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once"

"No, no, no," said Hagrid, chuckling softly, "that's just superstition, that is, they aren't unlucky, they're dead clever and' useful! 'Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate an' here's another couple, look"

Two more horses came quietly out of the trees, one of them passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying, "I think I felt something, I think it's near me!"

"Don' worry, it won't hurt yeh," said Hagrid patiently. "Righ', now who can tell me why some of you can see them an' some can't?"

Hermione raised her hand. "The only people who can see Thestrals," she said, "Are people who have seen death."

"That's exactly right," said Hagrid solemnly, "ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals"

"Hem hem"

Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. Hagrid, who had never heard Umbridge's fake cough before, was gazing in some concern at the closest thestrals, evidently under the impression that it had made the sound.

"Hem, hem"

"Oh hello!" Hagrid said, smiling, have located the source of the noise.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?" said Umbridge, in the same loud, slow voice she had used with him earlier, as though she was addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. "Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?"

"Oh yeah," said Hagrid brightly. "Glad yeh found the place all right! Well, as you can see or, I dunno can you? We're doing thestrals today"

"I'm sorry?" said Umbridge loudly, cupping her hand around her ear frowning. "What did you say?"

Hagrid looked a little confused.

"Er thestrals" he said loudly. "Big winged horses, yeh know!" said Hagrid bellowing slightly his massive arms flapping hopefully, Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard, "has to resort to crude sign language"

"He's not an idiot lady you're just deaf," said Bakura as Umbridge stopped her scribbling and looked at Bakura with a stern look as she narrowed her eyes towards him.

"Well anyway," said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly flustered. "Erm, what was I saying?"

"Appears to have poor short-term memory'" muttered Umbridge, loudly enough for everyone to hear her. Draco Malfoy looked as though Christmas had come a month early; Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage.

"Oh yeah," said Hagrid, throwing an uneasy glance at Umbridge's clipboard, but plowing on valiantly. "Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male an' five females. This one," he patted the first horse to have appeared, "Name of Tenebrus, he's my special favorite, fir' one born here in the forest"

"Are you aware," Umbridge said loudly, interrupting him, "that the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as 'Dangerous'?"

Harry's heart sank like a stone, but Hagrid merely chuckled. "Thestrals aren' dangerous! All right they might take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy them"

"Shows signs of pleasure at the idea of violence'" muttered Umbridge, scribbling on her clipboard again.

"He didn't say anything like that it's called common sense any animal will attack if you piss it off!" said Marik rolling his eyes as Umbridge turned a little red and looked at the young teenage Egyptian, her toad-like eyes bulging slightly, narrowing as she returned to her inspection.

"No come on!" said Hagrid, looking a little anxious now. "I mean, a dog will bite if yeah bait it, won't it, but thestrals have just got a bad reputation because of the death thing people used to think they were bad omens, didn't they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"

Umbridge did not answer; she finished writing her last note, then looked up at Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly, "Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk" she mimed walking Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson was having silent fits of laughter "among the students" she pointed around at individual members of the class "and ask them questions." She pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.

"Hey he's not illiterate toad-face, you're just bigoted," Ryou said as Bakura took over causing Umbridge to stop and look at him her bulging eye twitching in anger. "Twenty points from Slytherin," she exclaimed as Malfoy and several of the other Slytherins growled in annoyance at the loss of points by the exchange student.

Hagrid stared at her, clearly at a complete loss to understand why she was acting as he did not understand normal English. Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now.

"You hag, you evil hag!" she whispered, as Umbridge walked toward Pansy Parkinson. " I know what you're doing, you awful, twisted, vicious"

"Erm anyway," said Hagrid, clearly struggling to regain the flow of his lesson, "so Thestrals. Yeah. Well, there's a load o' good stuff about' them. . . ."

"Do you find," said Professor Umbridge in a ringing voice to Pansy Parkinson, "that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?"

Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter; indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles. "No, because well it sounds like grunting a lot of the time"

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard. The few unbruised bits of Hagrid's face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard Pansy's answer.

"Er yeah, good stuff about' Thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, you will never be lost again. 'Amazing senses of direction, just tell 'em where yeh want ter go"

"Assuming they can understand you, of course," said Malfoy loudly, and Pansy Parkinson collapsed in a fit of renewed giggles. Professor Umbridge smiled indulgently at them and then turned to Bakura and Marik.

"You can see the Thestrals, you two?" she said.

They simply nodded their heads not wishing to speak to the vile toad-faced witch.

"Whom did you see die?" she asked, her tone indifference.

"None of your damn business it's personal," said Marik angrily as Yugi looked on knowing the answer to her question as Ryou clenched his jaw slightly.

"Ahh a personal family member," she said nodding as she scribbled another note down.

"That is a bit rude don't you think Professor wishing for a student to describe a personal tragedy in front of other people they do not wish to speak about to," said Kaiba his arms crossed looking down upon the short Professor with a knowing condescending smirk upon his face.

"And what do you think of them the Thestrals?" she asked Kaiba as he simply scoffed at her.

"Wow you are dense I can't see them and I assume neither can you but obviously as the Professor describes they are not dangerous," Kaiba stated his blue gaze lifting from the stout Professor and back upon the carcass as more of the meat was ripped from the bone and vanished in the air.

"Well, Hagrid," she turned to look up at him again, speaking once more in that loud, obnoxious condescending slow tone, "I think I've got enough to be getting along with. . . . You will receive" she mimed taking something from the air in front of her "the results of your inspection" she pointed at the clipboard "in ten days' time." She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wider and more toad-like than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson in fits of laughter, Hermione actually shaking with fury, and Neville looking confused and upset as well.

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow. "You see what she's up to?" she exclaimed as Yugi, Kaiba, Ryou, and Bakura followed listening to her rant.

"It's her thing about half-breeds all over again she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dim-witted troll. Just because he had a giantess for a mother and oh, It's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended-Skrewts again, But Thestrals are fine in fact, for Hagrid, they're really good!"

"Blast-Ended-Skrewts?" Ryou asked as Ron simply shook his head quickly. "Please don't ask I don't want to remember those things again," said Ron as he spoke again.

"Umbridge said they're dangerous,"

"Well, it's like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves," said Hermione impatiently, "and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly-Plank wouldn't usually show them to us before N.E.W.T level, but well they are very interesting, aren't they? The way only some people can see them and some can't! I wish I could." She exclaimed as Marik cleared his throat.

"Do you?" Marik asked her quietly.

She looked horror struck.

"Oh Marik, Ryou, Harry I'm sorry no, of course, I don't that was a really stupid thing to say," she said sheepishly looking down as her bushy brown hair fell over her head in embarrassment.

"It's okay," said Harry quickly "don't worry"

"I'm surprised so many people could see them," said Ron. "Five in one class"

"Yeah, Weasley, we were just wondering," said a malicious voice nearby. Unheard by any of them in the muffling snow, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were walking along right behind them. "D'you reckon if you saw someone snuff it you'd be able to see the Quaffle better?"

He, Crabbe, and Goyle roared with laughter as they pushed past on their way to the castle as Kaiba's leg jutted out tripping Malfoy while Bakura and Marik simultaneously tripped Crabbe and Goyle making all three of them fall face first into the cold snow covering them in fresh powder.

"Brilliant," Ron exclaimed as they got up quickly Malfoy's sharp eyes looking to Kaiba with a glare as he looked about to ensure no one else saw them fall as he jerked his two lackey's to their feet pulling them quickly to the castle.

"You really shouldn't have done that Kaiba, you know he is going to take it out on you now," said Hermione looking at the billionaire teen as he shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I really don't care what a spoiled rich brat thinks of me he needs to be put in his place and show respect to his better's," Kaiba stated seeing Hermione roll her eyes at him.

"You know you're pretty full of yourself, do you think you can do no wrong?" Hermione asked as they approached the castle entrance Kaiba simply laughed.

"Of course I don't do wrong I'm Seto Kaiba Genius Billionaire" Kaiba scoffed towards her as they entered the warm halls shaking the snow off their robes.

000

December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a positive avalanche of homework for the fifth years. Ron and Hermione's prefect duties also became more and more onerous as Christmas approached. They were called upon to supervise the decoration of the castle ("you try putting up tinsel when Peeves has got the other end and is trying to strangle you with it," said Ron), to watch over first and second years spending their break times inside because of the bitter cold ("And they're cheeky little snot rags, you know, we definitely weren't that rude when we were first year," said Ron), and to patrol the corridors in shifts with Argus Filch, who suspected that the holiday spirit might show itself in an outbreak of wizard duels ("He's got dung for brains, that one," said Ron furiously). They were so busy that Hermione had stopped knitting elf hats and was fretting that she was down to her last three.

"All those poor elves I haven't set free yet, having to stay over during Christmas because there aren't enough hats!" she exclaimed as Yugi flipped through his deck shaking his head. He had met the tennis ball sized eyeballed elf and rather liked him he was very happy to serve and tried to explain to Ryou that House-elves enjoyed working to which the Occult duelist found rather strange though Kaiba got good laugh wishing he had one to clean his mansion for free would save him on paying the little creature.

"So Yugi you mentioned the World Championships are in December do you think it would be cool if we joined you guys to watch, I would love to see your game played without the restrictions of the castle and such," said Hermione as Harry and Ron nodded happily. "Yeah that would be awesome I love how your game is played I would love to see the different types of decks used during this tournament." Ron requested smiling wide.

"Sure I don't see why not I believe it's being held as far as I know from what Kaiba told me at the Wembley Stadium in London," Yugi said the spirit form of the Pharaoh appearing by one of the beds watching the snow fall, his crimson and violet eyes looking at the snowflakes falling as he half listened to the conversation.

"Wembley Stadium that place seats ninety thousand people do you think it might be too big for this kind of event?" Hermione asked as Kaiba spoke from his chair a book in hand.

"In fact, it's probably too small, but since there isn't enough time to build a larger stadium for a trading card came tournament they will have to use Wembley since it's the largest," Kaiba informed the bushy-haired girl smirking behind his book.

"Do you really think that there will be that many people at this shindig I mean come on how many players in the world could there really be?" Ron asked skeptically as Yugi made to answer, but Kaiba beat him to it.

"In total there are about three hundred thousand duelists throughout the entire planet, and the reason I know this is the sales of my duel disks represents a single duelist maybe two duel disks per person in case of damage, so yeah not every person will show up but the last time the worlds were held in Domino City Japan in my Blue-Eyes White stadium. It held one hundred and fifty thousand people comfortably. Though it was still not enough seats we had around ten thousand additional guests outside of the entrances," said Kaiba behind his book.

Ron's eyes widened slightly at the sheer numbers he was just told.

"So what happens at this competition?" asked Hermione looking towards Yugi instead of Kaiba.

"Well throughout the year, if you have completed enough tournaments and won your Countries Intercontinental competitions you are declared the best in your continent and then in winter the World Championships are held as the seven greatest duelists come," Yugi said as the Pharaoh turned listening more intently now knowing that soon the competition would be building and he was excited about powerful opponents.

"So who do you think will be there?" asked Harry his interest peaked as he sat up, Yugi sat there in thought and lifted his hand counting off on his fingers.

"Well me and Kaiba obviously cause I am the King of Games and Kaiba is second best," Yugi said hearing the book close his soft eyes looking at the spirit as he simply smirked softly. "Then we have the North American champ might be Jessica Hopkins, then there is the Australian champ most likely Jack Siclones he's been the reigning champ for four years." Said Yugi as Hermione gasped slightly.

"Four years? How is that possible?" she asked Yugi as he simply shrugged.

"Well from what Kaiba mentioned about the contestants Jack is a fierce player no one has beaten his deck yet so I have no doubt Kaiba want's a crack at him then we have the Asia Champ who may show up depending on the schedule but if not then the rank falls to the second and third best if they can't show then it falls to someone else but Knowing Joey he will be there." Said Yugi with a smile then we have the South American champ which could be anyone and then the other major nations they were going to do it based on the Continents of the world but since Antarctica doesn't have any people and they decided on nation so if Bakura and Marik are lucky they may get to represent Egypt and London in the Worlds, so honestly I don't know who will be there but thousands of Duelists flock to the event not only for the tournament but for the smaller events they hold a regionals there as well as a smaller tournament for the younger players games vendors and such to keep all the guests entertained." Said Yugi, informing Harry, Hermione, and Ron as they sat enthralled by all the information.

"Do you think there will be some good matches?" Ron asked as Yami took over to answer this question. "Yes I believe so," the ancient king said a snort from Kaiba cause him to roll his eyes at his Rival.

"Come now Kaiba you know it's true to make it to the Worlds is a big deal," said Yami as Kaiba sat straighter, his book going flat at his lap as a deep chuckle passed his lips.

"No their true test lies in defeating each other," Kaiba said smiling softly, his fingers turning a page in the book upon his lap.

"Kaiba do you think Hope will be there?" Yugi asked as Kaiba froze slightly looking up at him.

"I don't know, but if Jack is going to be there then it will be an interesting tournament that is for sure," said Kaiba as Hermione and Harry looked between the two with a look of confusion.

"I don't understand what you two talking about?" said Hermione as Yugi sighed and approached the bushy-haired fifth year.

"This is going to be a bit of a shocker but Jack and Hope were in a very serious relationship together engaged to be married, but she left him and broke his heart so severely that he never forgave her for it," said Yugi as Hermione gasped softly.

"That's terrible why did she leave him," said Hermione pressing the question as she looked longingly upon the pint-sized King of Games.

"Well I don't know the entire story but it involved her parents never liking Jack even though he loved her so very much and cared about her safety and such but her Mother told her she didn't want her with him," said Yugi frowning as Kaiba spoke up. "Love is for fools," said Kaiba with a snort as Hermione gaped at the young billionaire in shock as Harry grew slightly angry.

"Well that is a rather foolish statement to make so boldly, do you not love your brother?" asked Hermione as Kaiba lowered his book slowly looking at her.

"Yes I do but the bonds of love between a family member and the opposite sex are two different thing's entire," said Kaiba with a look of cold determination.

"Well anyways if she is going to be there you can rest assured the tournament shall be an interesting one and if we are lucky Bakura and Marik might get to compete Marik most definitely since he represents Egypt," said Yugi smiling as Kaiba simply rolled his eyes.

"So who else do you think shall make it? Asked Ron now, even more, intrigued he had always had an affinity for strategy and loved games with it so this was simply a new game to master.

"Well besides me, Kaiba possibly Joey if he makes the InterContinental's, as well as Marik Bakura, is a maybe, Jack Hope and one other though I won't know for sure till we get there," said Yugi confirming with Ron as he nodded his head excitedly.

"Ron are you interested in learning to play?" questioned Yugi as he looked at the ginger-haired teen smiling softly as he simply blushed deep red looking away.

"I don't know I like it but," Ron said as he was cut off by Hermione. "That's a great idea, Ron, you are an amazing strategist you would do great in this game," she said encouragingly as Ron blushed deeper Yugi took note of this and simply smiled.

"Is there a play style you are wanting there are so many, Power decks, magicians, spell damage different Arch Types and such," said Yugi looking at him as Ron nodded.

"Yeah, I saw one in Bakura's stack he didn't have multiples of it. It said Archfiend Rook, is there by chance a chess style of monsters?" asked Ron as Yugi nodded.

"Yeah there known as the Archfiend collection a chess set of Monsters including King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, and pawn and some other more updated cards as well but I should warn you the deck isn't an easy deck to play almost all of the cards cost life points and you must pay," said Yugi looing to Kaiba as he simply rolled his eyes. "I'll have Mokuba assemble all the cards needed as well as the support cards and addition fiend support so you can playtest build and practice while on winter break," said Kaiba as he lifted his book back up to continue reading.

Harry, sat quietly reading over his History of Magic Essay making alterations to it scratching out specific words and removing them with his wand. For the first time in his school career, he very much wanted to spend the holidays away from Hogwarts. Between his Quidditch ban and worry about whether or not Hagrid was going to be put on probation, he felt highly resentful toward the place at the moment. The only thing he really looked forward to was the D.A meetings, and they would have to stop over the holidays, as nearly everybody in the D.A. would be spending the time with their families. Hermione was going to go Skiing but had convinced her parents to let her go to the tournament. Ron, meanwhile, was going home to the Burrow before the Tournament. Harry endured several days of jealous before Ron said, in response to Harry asking how Ron was going to get home for Christmas. "But you're coming remember Harry the Tournament Mom is thrilled at the idea,"

Hermione watched as Harry's spirits soared: The thought of Christmas at the Burrow and then the Tournament was the highlight of his holiday vacation, only slightly marred by Harry's guilty feeling that he would not be able to spend the holiday with Sirius and show him the marvels of the Muggle tech the Kaiba had made work at Hogwarts. He wondered whether he could possibly persuade Mrs. Weasley to invite his godfather for the festivities too, but apart from the fact that he doubted Dumbledore would permit Sirius to leave Grimmauld Place, he could not help but feel that Mrs. Weasley might not want him; they were so often at logger heads. Sirius had not contacted Harry at all since his last appearance in the fire, and although Harry knew that with Umbridge on the constant watch it would be unwise to attempt to contact him, he did not like to think of Sirius alone in his mother's old house, perhaps pulling a lonely cracker with Kreacher.

Harry arrived early in the Room of Requirement for the last D.A. meeting before the holidays and was very glad he had because when the lamps burst into light he saw that Dobby had taken it upon himself to decorate the place for Christmas. He could tell the elf had done it because nobody else would have strung a hundred golden baubles from the ceiling, each showing a picture of Harry's face and bearing the legend HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!

Harry had only just managed to get the last of them down before the door creaked opened and Luna Lovegood entered, looking dreamy as always.

"Hello," she said vaguely, looking around at what remained of the decorations. "These are nice, did you put them up?"

"No," said Harry, "it was Dobby the house-elf."

"Mistletoe," said Luna dreamily, pointing at a large clump of white berries placed almost over Harry's head. He jumped out from under it. "Good thinking," said Luna very seriously. "It's often infested with nargles,"

Harry was saved the necessity of asking what nargles were by the arrival of Angelina, Katie, and Alicia. All three of them were breathless and looked very cold.

"Well," said Angelina dully, pulling off her cloak and throwing it into a corner, "We've replaced you."

"Replaced me? Said Harry blankly a tone of surprise in his voice.

"You and Fred and George," she said impatiently. "We've got another Seeker!"

"Who?" said Harry quickly his green eyes widened in surprise.

"Ginny Weasley," said Katie.

Harry gaped at her his jaw falling open slightly.

"Yeah I know," said Angelina, pulling out her wand and flexing her arm. "But she's pretty good, actually. Nothing on you, of course," she said, throwing him a very dirty look, "but as we can't have you . . ." Harry bit back the retort he was longing to utter: Did she imagine for a second that he did not regret his expulsion from the team a hundred times more than she did? "And what about the Beaters?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Andrew Kirke," said Alicia without enthusiasm, "and Jack Sloper. Neither of them is brilliant, but compared with the rest of the idiots who turned up . . ."

The arrival of Ron, Hermione Neville, Bakura, Marik, Yugi, and Kaiba brought this depressing discussion to an end and within five minutes, the room was full enough to prevent him seeing Angelina's burning, reproachful looks.

"Okay," he said, calling them all to order. "I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right before a three-week break"

"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then," said Fred loudly. Several people sniggered. HHarry saw Cho laughing and felt the familiar swooping sensation in his stomach, as though he had missed a step going downstairs.

"We can practice in pairs," said Harry. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."

They all divided up obediently; Harry partnered Neville as usual. The room was soon full of intermittent cries of "Impedimenta!" people froze for a minute or so, during which their partners would stare aimlessly around the room watching other pairs at the word, then would unfreeze and take their turn at the jinx.

Bakura and Marik had improved quite quickly as Bakura pointed and shouted "Impedimenta" as Harry watched Marik freeze wand pointing up to the ceiling as he suddenly unfroze only to turn it around and cast the same spell upon Bakura as the white-haired teen froze as well this time his wand pointed upon the ground. Neville had improved beyond all recognition. After a while, when Harry had unfrozen three times in a row, he had Neville join Ron and Hermione again so that he could walk around the room and watch the others. When he passed Cho she beamed at him; he resisted the temptation to walk past her several more times.

After ten minutes on the Impediment Jinx, they laid out cushions all over the floor and started practicing Stunning again. Space was really too confined to allow them all to work this spell at once; half the group observed the others for a while, then swapped over. Harry felt himself positively swelling with pride as he watched them all. True, Neville did Stun Padma Patil rather than Dean, at whom he had been aiming, but it was a much closer miss than usual, and everybody else had made enormous progress. Kaiba's aim was superb hitting Yugi center chest several times, the same was said compared to Yugi stunning Kaiba as he made a move to dodge only to be stunned and fell upon the massive safety cushions.

At the end of an hour, Harry called a halt to the spell flying his face brightening with a smile as he looked amongst his fellow students seeing them panting sweating slightly but happy all the same.

"You're getting really," he said, beaming around at them. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff maybe even Patronuses."

There was a murmur of excitement. The room began to clear in usual twos and threes; most people wished Harry a Happy Christmas as they went. Feeling cheerful, he collected up the cushions with a swish of his wand and a well called Accio as they all flew across the room landing in the box. Harry had hung back a little because Cho was still there and he was hoping to receive a Merry Christmas from her.

"No, you go on," he heard her say to her friend Marietta, and his heart gave a jolt that seemed to take it into the region of his Adam's apple.

He pretended to be straightening the cushions in the box. He was quite sure they were alone now and waited for her to speak. Instead, he heard a hearty sniff.

He turned and saw Cho standing in the middle of the room, tears pouring down her face.

"What's up, you ok?" he said feebly.

She shook her head and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I'm sorry," she said thickly. "I suppose it's just learning all this stuff it just makes me wonder whether if he'd known it all he'd still be alive…"

Harry's heart sank right back past its usual spot and settled somewhere around his navel. He ought to have known. She wanted to talk about Cedric.

"He did know this stuff," Harry said heavily. "he was really good at it, or he could never have got to the middle of that maze. But if Voldemort really wants to kill you, you don't stand a chance." She hiccupped at the sound of Voldemort's name but stared at Harry with flinching.

"You survived when you were just a baby," she said quietly.

"Yeah, well," said Harry wearily, moving toward the door, "I dunno why, nor does anyone else, so it's nothing to be proud of."

"Oh don't go!" said Cho, sounding tearful again. "I'm really sorry to get all upset like this I didn't mean to" she hiccupped again. She was very pretty even when her eyes were red and puffy. Harry felt thoroughly miserable. He'd have been so pleased just with a Merry Christmas. . . .

"I know it must be horrible for you," she said, mopping her eyes on her sleeve again. "Me mentioning Cedric, when you saw him die. . . . I suppose you just want to forget about it. . . ."

Harry did not say a word to this; it was quite true, but he felt heartless saying it.

"You're a really a good teacher, you know," said Cho, with a watery smile. "I've never been able to Stun anything before."

"Thanks," said Harry awkwardly, smiling softly. They looked at each other for a long moment. Harry felt a burning desire to run from the room and, at the same time, a complete inability to move his feet.

"Mistletoe," said Cho quietly, pointing at the ceiling over his head.

"Umm yeah," said Harry. His mouth was very dry. "It's probably full of nargles though."

"What are nargles?"

"No idea," said Harry. She had moved closer. His brain seemed to have been Stunned. "You'd have to ask Loony. Luna I mean," Cho made a funny noise halfway between a sob and a laugh. She was even nearer him now. He could have counted the freckles on her nose.

"I really like you, Harry." He could not think. A tingling sensation was spreading throughout him, paralyzing his arms, legs, and brain.

She was much to close. He could see every tear clinging to her eyelashes. . . .

Suddenly the large door to the room burst open as Marik ran in laughing. "Hey Harry I forgot to ask you something?" said Marik as the two froze teenagers froze in front of Marik Cho immediately turned her head blushing crimson and spoke in a quick voice. "Merry Christmas Harry," she said leaning in to kiss his cheek quickly and darted off past Marik who simply stood there a sly smirk on his face.

"Did I just interrupt something?" Marik asked his eyes looking at the blush on Harry's face as he was turning annoyed. "KINDA!" he exclaimed as he looked at Marik. "Merry Christmas Marik," he said stomping past the Egyptian teenager as Marik stared just before Harry left.

"Oh don't worry my people don't celebrate Christmas," Marik said hiding a snicker behind his hand as the heavy door slammed loudly.

He returned to the common room half an hour later to find Hermione and Ron in the best seats in the Gryffindor Common Room by the fire Yugi was resting against the hard stone wall next to the fire a book in hand. Hermione had already filled half a roll of parchment, which was dangling from the edge of the table. Yugi was lying on the hearthrug, while Ron was trying to finish his transfiguration homework.

"What kept you?" he asked as Harry sank into an armchair next to Hermione's.

Harry did not answer. He was in a state of anger and shock. Half of him wanted to punch Marik and the other half wanted to tell Ron and Hermione what had just transpired In the room, but the other half of him wanted to keep it a secret it was too embarrassing.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Hermione asked, peering at him over the tip of her quill.

Harry gave a halfhearted shrug. In truth, he didn't know whether he was all right or not. "What's up?" said Ron, hoisting himself up on his elbow to get a clearer view of Harry. "what happened?"

Harry didn't quite know how to set about telling them, and still wasn't sure whether he wanted to. Just as he was decided not to say anything, Hermione took matters out of his hands.

"Is it Cho?" she asked in a businesslike way. "Did she corner you after the meeting?"

Numbly surprised, Harry nodded. Ron sniggered, breaking off when Hermione caught his eye.

"So er what did she want?" he asked in a mock casual voice.

"She" Harry began, rather hoarsely; he cleared his throat and tried again. "She er"

"Did she kiss you? asked Hermione briskly.

Ron sat up so fast that he sent his ink bottle flying all over the arm of the chair. Disregarding this completely he stared avidly at Harry. "Well," he said as Yugi simply watched, he knew from the looks Harry gave the black haired girl that he had a major crush on her.

Ron made a triumphant gesture with his fist and went into a raucous peal of laughter that made several of the timid-looking second years over beside the window jump. A reluctant grin spread over Yugi's lips as he watched Ron rolling around on the arm of the chair.

"I never said she kissed me, she almost did till Marik came in and interrupted me so no we didn't kiss she kissed my cheek and wished me a Merry Christmas," said Harry slightly deflated.

"What?" Ron said looking at Harry with a look of shock as Yugi spoke up.

"What did Marik want?" asked Yugi a look of interest in his eyes at the news that one of his friends had basically ruined a perfect moment for a first kiss for the fifth year student.

"Not sure really, when he realized he had interrupted Cho gave me a kiss on the cheek wished me Merry Christmas and simply left so I left as well a little peeved off at his interruption he simply smiled widely.

"So how was it at least?" said Ron, Harry thought for a moment. "Wet," he said smiling slightly rubbing his tear-stained cheek. Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or disgust it was hard to tell.

"Because she was crying," Harry continued heavily.

"Why was she crying did you say something wrong?" Ron said looking at Harry with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Of course not," said Hermione absently, still scribbling away at her letter.

"How do you know?" said Ron in a sharp voice.

"Because Cho spends half her time crying these days," said Hermione vaguely. "She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place."

"You'd think a bit of kissing would cheer her up," said Ron, grinning.

"Ron," said Hermione in a dignified voice, dipping the point of her quill into her ink pot, "you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet."

Yugi simply chuckled loudly at her comment as Ron glared at the small King of Games with a look of shut-up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Ron indignantly. "What sort of person cries while someone wants to kiss them.

"Yeah," Harry said slightly desperately, "Who does?"

Hermione looked at the pair of them with an almost pitying expression on her face. "Don't you understand how Cho's feeling at the moment?" she asked them both.

They both simply shook their heads in confusion as Yami exited the puzzle in spirit form intrigued by the conversation, he may have been a five thousand-year-old pharaoh but he was still a young teenager when he sealed his spirit away and the insight on the woman's inner mind was always something that troubled him not understanding it.

Hermione sighed and laid down her quill. "Well, obviously, she's feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can't work out what her feelings toward Harry are anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful. Oh and she's afraid she's going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she's been flying so badly."

A slightly stunned silence greeted the end of this speech, and then Ron said, "One person can't feel all that at once they'd explode."

"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again.

The pharaoh was laughing loudly bent over his spirit only seen by Yugi as he chuckled deeply at the look of Ron's face Yugi simply snickered loudly behind his hand as Ron looked at him with an insulted look.

"You shut up tiny," said Ron angrily as Yami usurped control his lavender and crimson gaze narrowing slightly.

"Perhaps you should try showing a bit more emotion then Ronald instead of simple ones, like tired, angry, and fatigue from lack of food," Yami said his voice cool and calm with a hint of a threat cause Ron to back off for a second.

Ron simply looked miffed as he turned his head pulling his wand out as he back to siphon the ink off the chair.

"She was the one who started it," said Harry. "I wouldn't've she just sort of came at me the next thing I know the door busted open and Marik ruined the chance," said Harry with a look of frustration.

"Don't blame you, mate," said Ron, looking alarmed at the very thought.

"You just had to be nice to her," said Hermione, looking up anxious, "You were, weren't you?"

"Well," said Harry, an unpleasant heat creeping up his face, "I sort of smiled and told her Merry Christmas back when she was leaving.

Hermione looked as though she was restraining herself from rolling her eyes with extreme difficulty.

"Well, I suppose it could have been worse," she said. "Are you going to see her again?"

"I'll have to, won't I?" said Harry. "We've got D.A meetings, haven't we?"

"No you know what I mean," said Hermione impatiently her eyes looked at Yami seeing his eyes looking over at her then to Harry. Harry said nothing. Hermione's words opened up a whole new vista of frightening possibilities. He tried to imagine going somewhere with Cho, Hogsmeade, perhaps and being alone with her for hours at a time. Of course, she would have been expecting him to ask her out after all she had proclaimed to him and attempted to kiss him. . . . The thought made his stomach clench painfully.

"Oh well," said Hermione distantly, buried in her letter once more, "you'll have plenty of opportunities to ask her"

"What if he doesn't want to ask her?" said Yugi, who had been watching Harry with an unusually shrewd expression on his face.

"Don't be silly," said Hermione vaguely, "Harry's liked her for ages, haven't you, Harry?"

He did not answer. Yes, he had liked Cho for ages, but whenever he had imagined a scene involving the two of them it had always featured a Cho who was enjoying herself, as opposed to a Cho who was sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

"Who're you writing the novel to," said Kaiba his voice came down the steps seeing the massive scroll of written words as he stood before the group of Gryffindor's a curious look on his face at the sheer size and length of the letter that was now trailing on the floor. Hermione hitched it up out of sight. "Victor"

"Krum," said another voice.

How many other Victors do we know?"

Ron said nothing. But looked disgruntled. Kaiba had seen the pissed look as he seemed to smirk knowing what that meant simply sitting down by the fire as they sat in silence for another twenty minutes, Ron finishing his Transfiguration essay with many snorts of impatience and crossings-out. Hermione wrote steadily to the very end of the parchment, rolling it up carefully and sealing it, Harry staring into the fire, wishing more than anything that Sirius's head would appear there and give him some advice about girls. But the fire merely crackled lower and lower, until the red-hot embers crumbling into ash and, looking around, Harry saw that they were, yet again, the last in the common room.

"Well, 'night," said Hermione, yawning widely, and she set off up the girls' staircase.

"What does she see in Krum?" Rom demanded as he, Harry Yugi and Kaiba climbed the boy's stairs.

"Well," said Harry, considering the matter, "I suppose he's older, isn't he and he's an international Quidditch player. . . ."

"Yeah, but apart from that," said Ron, sounding aggravated. I mean he's a grouchy git, isn't he?" said Ron as Kaiba smirked softly.

"Maybe it's cause he has money, skills knowledge and isn't a complete loser," said Kaiba in the process of getting ready for bed.

"KAIBA!" said Yami taking overlooking incredulous at the billionaire with a look of anger as Ron went red at the insult.

"What, it's not my fault his feelings get hurt by the truth," said Kaiba looking at Yami lazily as Yami glared.

"Please don't listen to him Ron please he is just an incredible ass and doesn't like to think before he speaks," said Yami as Ron got dressed and rolled over.

"'Night," grunted Ron, from under his covers as Yami sighed sadly as he saw Kaiba simply finish putting his night clothes on and get into bed.

"'Night," said Harry.

Maybe next time if there was a next time she'd be a bit happier. He ought to have asked her out; she had probably been expecting it and was now really angry with him. . . or was she lying in bed, still crying about Cedric? He did not know what to think, Hermione's explanation had made it all seem more complicated rather than easier to understand.

That's what they should teach us here, he thought, turning over onto his side, how girls' brains work. . . it'd be more useful than Divination anyway . . .

Neville snuffled in his sleep. An owl hooted somewhere out in the night.

Harry dreamed he was back in the D.A room. Cho was accusing him of luring her there under false pretenses; she said that he had promised her a hundred and a fifty Chocolate Frog cards if she showed up. Harry protested. . . . Cho shouted, "Cedric gave me loads of Chocolate Frog cards, look!" And she pulled out fistfuls of cards from inside her robes and threw them into the air, and then turned into Hermione, who said, "You did promise her, you know, Harry. . . . think you'd better give her something else instead. . . . How about your Firebolt?" And Harry was protesting that he could not give her his Firebolt because Umbridge had it, and anyway the whole thing was ridiculous, he'd only come to the D.A room to put up some Christmas baubles shaped like Dobby's head. . . .

The dream changed. . . .

His body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible. He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone. . . . He was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly. . . . It was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colors. He was turning his head. . . . At first glance, the corridor was empty. . . but no . . . a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping onto his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark. . .

Harry put out his tongue. . . . He tasted the man's scent on the air.

He was alive but drowsing. . . sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor. . . Harry longed to bite the man . . . but he must master the impulse.

He had more important work to do. . . .

But the man was stirring . . . a silvery cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt. . . . he had no choice. . . He reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the man's flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood. . . .

The man was yelling in pain. . . then he fell silent. . . . He slumped back against the wall. . . . Blood was splattering onto the floor. . . .

His forehead hurt terribly. . . . It was aching fit to burst. . . .

"Harry! HARRY!" said Yugi shaking him hard trying to wake him.

He opened his eyes. Every inch of his body was covered in icy sweat his bedcovers were twisted all around him like a straitjacket he felt as though a white-hot poker was being applied to his forehead.

"Harry!"

Yugi was standing over him looking extremely frightened. There were more figures at the foot of Harry's bed. He clutched his head in his hands; the pain was blinding him. . . . He rolled right over and vomited over the edge of the mattress.

"He's really ill," said Kaiba looking at Harry. "Shouldn't we call someone"

"Harry! HARRY!"

He had to tell Ron, it was very important that he tell him. . . . taking great gulps of air, Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again, the pain half-blinding him.

"Your dad," he panted, His chest heaving. "Your dad's . . . been attacked. . . .

"I'm going for help," said the same scared voice, and Harry heard footsteps running out of the dormitory. "Harry, mate," said Ron uncertainly, "you. . . you were just dreaming. . . ."

"No!" said Harry furiously; it was crucial that Ron understand. "It wasn't a dream not an ordinary dream. . . . I was there, I saw it. I did it"

He could hear Seamus and Dean muttering but did not care. The pain in his forehead was subsiding slightly, though he was still sweating and shivering feverishly. He retched again as Ron leaped backward out of the way.

"Harry, you're not well," he said shakily. "Neville's gone for help. . . ."

"I'm fine!" Harry choked, wiping his mouth on his pajamas and shaking uncontrollably. "There's nothing wrong with me, it's your dad you've got to worry about we need to find out where he is he's bleeding like mad I was it was a huge snake. . . ."

He tried to get out of bed but Ron pushed him back into it Dean and Seamus were still whispering somewhere nearby. Whether one minute passed or ten, Harry did not know he simply sat there shaking. Feeling the pain recede very slowly from his scar. . . . Then there were hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, and he heard Neville's voice again.

"Over here, Professor . . ."

Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the Dormitory in her tartan dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her bony nose.

"What is it, Potter? Where does it hurt?"

He had never been so pleased to see her; it was a member of the Order of the Phoenix he needed now, not someone fussing over him and prescribing useless potions.

"it's Ron's dad," he said. Sitting up again. "He's been attacked by a snake and it's serious, I saw it happen,"

"What do you mean, you saw it happen?" said Professor McGonagall, her dark eyebrows contracting.

"I don't know. . . . I was asleep and then I was there. . . ."

"You mean you dreamed this?"

"NO!" said Harry angrily. Would none of them understand? "I was having a dream at first about something completely different, something stupid . . . and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didn't imagine it. Me. Weasley was asleep on the floor and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was a load of blood, he collapsed, someone's got to find out where he is. . . ."

Professor McGonagall was gazing at him through her lopsided spectacles as though horrified at what she was seeing.

"I'm not lying, and I'm not mad!" Harry told her, his voice rising to a shout. "I tell you, I saw it happen!"

"I believe you, Potter," said Professor McGonagall curtly. "Put on your dressing-gown we're going to see the headmaster."

Harry was so relieved that she was taking him seriously that he did not hesitate, but jumped out of bed at once, pulled on his dressing gown, and pushed his glasses back onto his nose.

"Weasley, Kaiba, Muto you ought to come too," said Professor McGonagall.

"Professor could you fetch Marik and Bakura since our tournament in only three days away they are Harry's close friends as well," said Yugi as she sighed and nodded.

They followed Professor McGonagall past the silent figures of Neville, Dean, and Seamus, out of the Dormitory down the spiral stairs into the common room, through the portrait hole, and off along the Fat Lady's moonlit corridor. Harry felt as though the panic inside him might spill over at any moment; he wanted to run, to yell for Dumbledore. Mr. Weasley was bleeding as they walked along so sedately, and what if those fangs Harry tried hard not to think "my fangs" had been poisonous?

"Why are we moving so slowly if one of your agents from the Order has been gravely injured?" demanded Kaiba as McGonagall looked back seeing Kaiba with a narrowed look.

"Because Mr. Kaiba we do not wish for Delores to know too soon to the events that have transpired in the Ministry," said Minerva as they continued to walk.

They passed Mrs. Norris, who turned her lamp-like eyes upon them and hissed faintly, but Professor McGonagall said, "Shoo!" Mrs. Norris slunk away into the shadows, and in a few minutes, they had reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Fizzing Whizbee," said Professor McGonagall as the gargoyle sprang to life and leaped aside; the wall behind it split in two to reveal a stone staircase that was moving continuously upward like a spiral escalator just as Bakura and Marik came up the rear. The seven of them stepped onto the moving stairs; the wall closed behind them with a thud, and they were moving upward in tight circles until they reached the highly polished oak door with the brass knocker shaped like a griffin.

Though it was now well past midnight, there were voices coming from inside the room, a positive babble of them. It sounded as though Dumbledore was entertaining at least a dozen people. Professor McGonagall rapped three times with the griffin knocker, and the voices ceased abruptly as though someone had switched them all off. The door opened of its own accord and Professor McGonagall led Harry and the gang inside.

The room was in half darkness; the strange silver instruments standing on tables were silent and still rather than whirring and emitting puffs of smoke as they usually did. The portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses covering the walls were all snoozing in their frames. Behind the door a magnificent red-and- gold bird the size of a swan dozed on its perch with its head under its wing.

"Is that a Phoenix?" asked Bakura bluntly his eyes widening at the sight of the immortal magnificent bird as it lifted its head singing softly as it's head turned to look at Dumbledore and then returning its head beneath its wing.

"Oh it's you, Professor McGonagall and ah" Dumbledore was sitting in a high-backed chair behind his desk; he leaned forward into the pool of candlelight illuminating the papers laid out before him. He was wearing a magnificently embroidered purple-and-gold dressing gown over a snowy-white nightshirt, but seemed wide awake, his penetrating light-blue eyes fixed intently upon Professor McGonagall and then the many students that had entered the office.

"Professor Dumbledore, Potter has had a, well, a nightmare," said Professor McGonagall. "He says... "

"It wasn't a nightmare," said Harry quickly stepping away from the group in defiance of his head of his house. Professor McGonagall looked around at Harry, frowning slightly.

"Very well, then, Potter, you tell the headmaster about it." She said as Harry took a deep breath.

"I well, I was asleep," said Harry and even in his terror and his desperation to make Dumbledore understand he felt slightly irritated that the headmaster was not looking at him, but examining his own interlocked fingers. "But it wasn't an ordinary dream it was real I saw it happen" he took another deep breath. "Ron's dad Mr. Weasley has been attacked by a giant snake."

The words seemed to reverberate in the air after he had said them, slightly ridiculous, even comic. There was a pause in which Dumbledore leaned back and stared meditatively at the ceiling. Ron looked from Harry to Dumbledore, white-faced and shocked.

"How did you see this?" Dumbledore asked quietly, still not looking at Harry.

Kaiba and Yugi took note of Dumbledore's eyes not turning to address him, Kaiba's blue eyes looking at Yugi's as his brow rose slightly in confusion.

"How did you see this?" Dumbledore said still sitting his eyes up at the seeing as Harry almost growled.

"What did it matter in my head I guess," said Harry exclaiming angrily.

"You misunderstand me," said Dumbledore still in the same calm tone. "I mean can you remember where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?"

This was such a curious question that Harry gaped at Dumbledore; it was almost as though he knew.

"I was the snake," he said. "I saw it all from the snake's point of view. . .

Nobody else spoke for a moment, then Dumbledore, now looking at Ron, who was still white-faced, said in a new and sharper voice, "Is Arthur seriously injured?"

"Yes," said Harry emphatically why were they all so slow on the uptake, did they not realize how much a person bled when fangs that long pierced their side? And why could Dumbledore not do him the courtesy of looking at him?

But Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry jumped, and addressed one of the old portraits hanging very near the ceiling.

"Everard?" he said sharply. "You too, Dilys!" A sallow-faced wizard with short, black bangs and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame beside him, both of whom seemed to have been in the deepest of sleep, opened their eyes immediately.

"You were listening?" said Dumbledore.

The wizard nodded, the witch said, "Naturally."

"The man has red hair and glasses." Said Dumbledore. "Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people"

Both nodded and moved sideways out of their frames, but instead of emerging in neighboring pictures as usually happened at Hogwarts, neither reappeared; one frame now contained nothing but a backdrop of dark curtains, the other a handsome leather armchair. Harry noticed that many of the other headmasters and mistresses on thee walls though snoring and drooling most convincingly, kept sneaking peeks at him under their eyelids, and he suddenly understood who had been talking when they had knocked on the massive oak door.

"Everard and Dilys were two of Hogwart's most celebrated heads," Dumbledore said, now sweeping around Harry, Ron, Professor McGonagall and the duelists and approaching the magnificent sleeping bird on his perch beside the door, "Their renown is such that both have portraits hanging in other important Wizarding institutions As they are free to move between their own portraits they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere. . . ."

"But Mr. Weasley could be anywhere!" said Harry.

"Please sit down, all of you," said Dumbledore waving his wand as four additional chairs manifested next to the three that already littered the large circular office as the duelists looked at Harry and sat down following Professor McGonagall. "Everard and Dilys may not be back for several minutes." Said Dumbledore.

Harry sat down, watching Dumbledore over his shoulder, Dumbledore was now stroking Fawkes's golden head with one finger. The Phoenix awoke immediately stretching his beautiful head high and observed Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.

"We will need," said Dumbledore very quietly to the bird, "a warning."

There was a flash of fire and the Phoenix had gone.

Dumbledore now swooped down upon one of the fragile silver instruments whose function Harry had never known, carried it over to his desk, sat down facing them again, and tapped it gently with the tip of his wand.

The instrument tinkled into life at once with the rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top. Dumbledore watched the smoke closely, his brow furrowed, and after a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled in the air. . . . A serpent's head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide. Harry wondered whether the instrument was confirming his story; He looked eagerly at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, but Dumbledore did not look up.

"Naturally, naturally," murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. "But in essence divided?"

Harry could make neither head nor tail off this question. The smoke serpent, however, split itself instantly into two snakes, both coiling and undulating in the dark air. With a look of grim satisfaction, Dumbledore gave the instrument another gently tap with his wand: The clinking noise slowed and died, and the smoke serpents grew faint, became a formless haze, and vanished.

Dumbledore replaced the instrument upon its spindly little table; Harry saw many of the old headmasters in the portraits follow him with their eyes, then, realizing that Harry was watching them, hastily pretend to be sleeping again. Harry wanted to ask what the strange silver instrument was for, but before he could do so, there was a shout from the top of the wall to their right; the wizard called Everard had reappeared in his portrait, panting slightly.

"Dumbledore!"

"What news?" said Dumbledore at once.

"I yelled until someone came running," said the wizard, who was mopping his brow on the curtain behind him, "said I'd heard something moving downstairs they weren't sure whether to believe me but went down to check you there are no portraits down there to watch from. Anyway, they carried him up a few minutes later. He doesn't look good, he's covered in blood, I ran along to Elfrida Cragg's portrait to get a good view as they left"

"Good," said Dumbledore as Ron made a convulsive movement, "I take it Dilys will have seen him arrive, then"

And moments later, the silver-ringletted witch had reappeared in her picture too; she sank, coughing, into her armchair and said, "Yes, they've taken him to St. Mungo's, Dumbledore. . . . They carried him past under my portrait. . . . He looks bad. . . ."

"Than you," said Dumbledore. He looked around at Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva, I need you to go and wake the other Weasley children."

"Of course. . . ."

Professor McGonagall got up and moved swiftly to the door; Harry cast a sideways glance at Ron, who was now looking terrified.

"Well my condolences," Bakura said bluntly as Ron turned pale even further looking at Bakura with a look of anger.

"What about Molly?" said Professor McGonagall, pausing at the door.

"That will be a job for Fawks when he has finished keeping a lookout for anybody approaching," said Dumbledore. "But she may already know that excellent clock of hers. . . ."

Harry knew Dumbledore was referring to the clock that told, not the time, but the whereabouts and conditions of the various Weasley family members, and with a pang, he thought that Mr. Weasley's hand must, even now, be pointing at "mortal peril." But it was very late. . . .

Mrs. Weasley was probably asleep, not watching the clock. . . . And he felt cold as he remembered Mrs. Weasley's boggart turning into Mr. Weasley's lifeless body, his glasses askew, blood running down his face. . . . But Mr. Weasley wasn't going to die. . . . He couldn't. . . .

Dumbledore was now rummaging in a cupboard behind Harry and Ron. He emerged from it carrying a blackened old kettle, which he placed carefully upon his desk. He raised his wand and murmured "Portus"; for a moment the kettle trebled, glowing with an odd blue light, then it quivered to a rest, as solidly black as ever.

Yugi looked between Marik, Bakura, and Kaiba a look of confusion on his face as he spoke. "What did he just do?" said Yugi as Professor McGonagall surprised him by answering. "He has made an illegal portkey to transport you from the school," she said looking to the wizened headmaster.

Dumbledore marched over to another portrait, this time of a clever-looking wizard with a pointed beard, who had been painted wearing the Slytherin colors of green and silver and was apparently sleeping so deeply that he could not hear Dumbledore's voice when he attempted to rouse him.

"Phineas. Phineas."

And now the subjects of the portraits lining the room were no longer pretending to be asleep; they were shifting around in their frames, the better to watch what was happening. When the clever-looking wizard continued to feign sleep, some of them shouted his name too.

"Phineas! Phineas! PHINEAS!"

He could not pretend any longer; he gave a theatrical jerk and opened his eyes wide.

"Did someone call?" the aged wizard said looking at the many people packing Dumbledore's office space.

"Yeah, you decrepit old fool wake your lazy ass up!" Bakura yelled angrily at his false oblivious attitude, while Professor Dumbledore gave the white-haired teen a look of surprise as he heard Phineas scoff at the belligerent disrespect shot his way glaring at the young man.

"I need you to visit your other portrait again, Phineas," said Dumbledore, "I've got another message."

"Visit my other portrait?" said Phineas in a reedy voice, giving a long, fake yawn his eyes roaming the room and the people and focusing on Harry. "Oh no, Dumbledore, I am too tired tonight. . . ."

Something about Phineas's voice was familiar to Harry. Where had he heard it before he could think, the portraits on the surrounding walls broke into a storm of protest. The sudden voices cause Kaiba and Yugi to jump slightly not accustomed to screaming portraits.

"Jeez they are pissed," said Yugi looking at the dozens of Portraits yelling at the ignoring older wizard named Phineas.

"We are honor-bound to give service to the present Headmaster of Hogwarts!" cried a frail-looking old wizard whom Harry recognized as Dumbledore's predecessor, Armando Dippet. "Shame on you, Phineas!"

"Shall I persuade him, Dumbledore?" called a gimlet-eyed witch, raising an unusually thick wand that looked not unlike a birch rod.

"Oh, very well," said the wizard called Phineas, eyeing this wand slightly apprehensively, "though he may well have destroyed my picture by now, he's done most of the family"

"Sirius knows not to destroy your portrait," said Dumbledore, and Harry realized immediately where he had heard Phineas's voice before: issuing from the apparently empty frame in his bedroom in Grimmauld Place. "You are to give him the message that Arthur Weasley has been gravely injured and that his wife, children, Harry and some of his friends will be arriving at his house shortly. Do you understand?"

"Arthur Weasley, injured, wife and children Harry Potter and friends coming to stay," repeated Phineas in a bored voice. "Yes, yes. . . very well. . . ."

He sloped away into the frame of the portrait and disappeared from view at the very moment that the study door opened again. Fred, George, and Ginner were ushered inside by Professor McGonagall; all three of them looking disheveled and shocked, still in their night things.

"Harry what's going on?" asked Ginny, who looked frightened. "Professor McGonagall says you saw dad hurt"

"You father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore before Harry could speak. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there,"

"Wait you're telling me that you don't even go to normal hospitals your backward world has its only weirdo hospital!" exclaimed Kaiba looking at Dumbledore who's eyes looked upon the young genius Billionaire with a look of curiosity at the statement.

"Well of course for spell damage and magical maladies, of course, we cannot send witches, and wizards to a muggle hospital to be mended for dragon burns and spell backfires," Dumbledore said a soft smile upon his grandfatherly face.

"Wait we have a tournament to be preparing for in the next two days," said Marik looking at Dumbledore with a shocked expression as the Weasley children turned to look at him.

"No offense but we need to get there before the tournament begins or we are forced to forfeit," said Bakura as Ryou usurped control. "Is there a way we can be taken to the hotel that is by the stadium that has been set up for the duelists within a day?" he asked as Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, I think so I will have a Port Key sent to Sirius's house to transport you tomorrow now please Mr. Bakura,"

"How're we going?" asked Fred, looking shaken. "Floo Powder?"

"No," said Dumbledore "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey," He indicated to the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back. . . . I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you"

There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.

"it is Fawke's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "She must know you're out of your beds. . . . Minerva, go and head her off tell her any story" said Dumbledore pleadingly as the Headmistress head off out the heavy oak door.

"He says he'll be delighted," said a bored voice behind Dumbledore; the wizard called Phineas had reappeared in front of his Slytherin Banner. "My great-great- grandson has always had odd taste in houseguests. . . ."

"Anyone ever in form you, you are freaking rude," said Marik looking shrewdly upon the portrait as it sneered at Marik even though he was a part of his noble Slytherin house.

"Come here, then, Dumbledore said to Harry the Weasley children and the four transfers. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us. . .

Harry and the others gathered around Dumbledore's desk.

"You have all used a portkey before?" asked Dumbledore, and they nodded all except the transfers as Kaiba looked skeptically towards the black teapot his blue eyes looking upon it, his brow rising slightly.

"um that is a no for us?" said Kaiba as Dumbledore waves his hand dismissively. Don't fret it isn't painful in the slightest just hold on tight and don't let go till you are told to," said Dumbledore informing Kaiba.

"Ok. On the count of three then . . . one, two"

It happened in a fraction of a second: In the infinitesimal pause before Dumbledore said "Three," Harry looked up at him they were very close together and Dumbledore's clear blue gaze moved from the Portkey to Harry's face.

At once, Harry's scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so powerful he felt, for that instant, that he would like nothing better than to strike to bite to sink his fangs into the man before him "Three."

He felt a powerful jerk behind his navel, the ground vanished from beneath his feet, his hand was glued to the kettle; he was banging into the others as all sped forward in a swirl of colors and a rush of wind, the kettle pulling them onward and then his feet hit the ground so hard his knees buckled, the kettle clattered to the ground and somewhere close at hand a voice said, "Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true, their father's dying?"

"Bloody hell what the fuck was that," said Bakura as he winced and struggled to his feet as Kaiba and Yugi struggled to get to their own feet.

Harry scrambled to his feet and looked around; they had arrived in the gloomy basement kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The only sources of light were the fire and one guttering candle, which illuminated the remains of a solitary supper. Kreacher was disappearing through the door to the hall, looking back at them malevolently as he hitched up his loincloth; Sirius was hurrying toward them all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him.

"What's going on?" he said, stretching out a hand to help Ginny up. Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured"

"Ask Harry," said Fred.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," said George.

The twins and Ginny were staring at him. Kreacher's footsteps had stopped on the stairs outside.

"It was" Harry began; this was even worse than telling McGonagall and Dumbledore. "I had a-a kind of vision"

And he told them all that he had seen, though he altered the story so that it sounded as though he had watched from the sidelines as the snaked attacked, rather than from behind the snake's own eyes. . . .

"Why isn't he telling them the true tale," Yugi asked Kaiba as the young genius stood with Marik and Bakura to the side of the wizards listening to the tale.

"I believe he is afraid his friends will fear him if they hear that he was the snake that attacked their father," Kaiba informed Yugi as Yami stood in spirit form next to the pint-sized king nodding his head solemnly, "Yes Yugi fear of loss clouds his mind heavily weighing upon his shoulders of the situation that has arisen," said Yami informing his host of the altered story and it's reasoning.

Ron, who was still very while gave him a fleeting look but did not speak. When Harry had finished, Fred George and Ginny continued to stare at him for a moment. Harry did not know whether he was imagining it or not, but he fancied there was something accusatory in their looks. Well, if they were going to blame him for just seeing the attack, he was glad he had not told them that he had been inside the snake at the time. . . .

"Come on guys I think they need some time alone," Yugi informed the fellow duelists looking to Sirius. "Is there a room where we can rest and prepare for our Tournament Dumbledore said he would be sending us a Portkey tomorrow and we need time to prepare," Yugi said to the ex-convict of Azkaban.

"Yes take the stair's quietly up third room on the left you may rest there for the night," Sirius said to them as they began to head up the stairs hearing Harry and the group began to discuss the situation till their voices faded.

00000

Later that next morning as the transfers had awoken they noticed that a Harry was walking in seeing them begin to get dressed getting up and strapping upon their arms there Duel Disks as Harry smiled.

"Morning guys Dumbledore has sent the Portkey it sits on the kitchen table," said Harry smiling weakly.

"How is Mr. Weasley?" asked Yugi, the Pharaoh stood by listening as he watched Harry frowning and looking down. "He is on the second floor Creature-Induced Injuries," he said as Yugi nodded his head finishing his strapping of his belts and bangles his eyes fell to the wall beside Harry seeing several prepacked bags as well as Kaiba's heavy briefcase and a duffle bag full of clothing and such realizing that Dumbledore had sent their clothing after they had left.

"Yugi, when you go to your tournament may we join you," said Harry looking at the group as Marik nodded.

"Yeah that would be awesome since the tournament is being held at Wimbley stadium there are three massive hotels nearby, the largest has reserved the best eight rooms for the competitors obviously but yeah I will let the front desk know there is three more coming and to reserve two smaller rooms," Marik said as Bakura simply shrugged not caring really if they came he just wanted another chance at Yugi smirking.

"So when will you be leaving?" said Hermione coming in the room seeing the four duelists packing up their cards as a couple of them strapped on their duel disks ready for the tournament.

"Shortly, Dumbledore sent a Patronus alertin us that he will be sending a small portkey for us to be transported to the Hotel just outside of the Stadium, which is good since that is the one we have our reservations for the fellow competitors should be there within the hours to prep and such usually they open the stadium for the people and vendors to come in and meet other professional duelists since while the Worlds are competing there usually is a Regional competition on the side so some will be there to compete in that contest while the remaining occupants will be there to watch the Worlds," Yugi informed her smiling as they began to leave the room Kaiba last his hand gripping the briefcase as he looked about the dingy room and shuddered.

"Never have I stayed in such a filthy home before," said Kaiba as Hermione merely rolled her eyes at his bluntness.

"You are very rude, you know that," said Hermione looking at Kaiba with a stern look of annoyance and surprise as Kaiba merely paid her no mind passing her without a thought.

"Mr. Kaiba I have a message from Albus," Sirius called down from the basement Kitchen as the transfers began to head down the steps.

The soft grunt of Kaiba came from above as they finally reached the kitchen as Sirius stood with the Weasley children as Harry and Hermione came in behind the transfers.

"Are you four ready to go?" Sirius asked as they all nodded and approached the table as Sirius pointed his wand towards the metal doorknob speaking out "Portus" he said as the doorknob glowed and rattled then became silent once more.

"Yeah, did Dumbledore informed you of the location of where we are supposed to be transported to?" Bakura asked as Sirius simply nodded his shaggy head of dirty hair.

"Alright just touch it and it will bring you to the hotel," Sirius said looking at the strange group of transfers, he had heard that two of them were in Slytherin and the other two were in Gryffindor which he found odd.

"Ok guys, lets get going we got a tournament to get to," said Yugi nodding to the three fellow duelists as they reached out touching the doorknob as it yanked them and squeezed them all together tightly teleporting them to the back of the hotel slamming hard into the ground their knee's buckled beneath them as Kaiba caught himself placing his hand upon the ground to steady himself as they slowly stood straight.

"God they need an easier mode of travel," said Kaiba growling as they began to walk around the hotel Bakura shaking his head trying to get his senses back.

"So are you ready to lose this time Yugi?" said Kaiba as they approached the entrance of the hotel the front desk worker looked up smiling.

"Ahh Mr. Kaiba we have been waiting for you, would you like your usual suite," the man said smiling his British accent thick the group of duelists dozen feet or so from the front desk. "Yes Franklin my normal reserved room please do I have any messages by the way," said Kaiba as the man typed upon the keyboard looking at the digital screen.

"Geez, Kaiba do you have a reserved room in every major city in the world?" Marik said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes slightly Kaiba simply looked over at the Tomb Keeper his calculating blue eyes narrowing.

"Well, of course, that's the good thing about having millions of dollars to spend I normally get what I want," he said a slight smirk adorning his face.

"Ahh yes, you have one message Mr. Kaiba from a Ms. Venetia saying "you better stop acting like an excuse me Sir these are not my words Ass," but before the man could finish the message a loud ringing word echoed throughout the lobby of the hotel as Bakura covered his ears.

"SEEETTTTTYYYYYY!"

There were very few times in Kaiba's life where his face showed actual fear. The first was when he found out his Parents had died. The second was dueling Yugi for the first time and seeing the stout King of Games pull off a miracle destiny draw and bring forth the mighty unstoppable Exodia and obliterate his three majestic powerful Blue-eyes White dragons. The third time was dueling against Umbra and Lumis and nearly being defeated in the duel so early on but being saved by his very own Rival. The fourth was facing Yugi for the second time and having his most powerful beast disassembled and split to his three Blue-eyes White Dragons with a face-down De-fusion only to power up Yugi's Dark Paladin to bring him victory. The fifth time was one of the most terrifying losing his soul to Darts that madman that had purchased Kaiba Corp and taken over as CEO. But this fear, this fear was different he knew this voice and of all the experiences in his life, it wasn't trembling fear that ran through his very being like all the other times. No, it was the embarrassing fear of being humiliated by the only woman he knew, respected and liked to a degree that would shortly follow the scream as piercing pain shot through him.

The person yelled as a blur of purple lilac and blue slammed Kaiba from the back spearing him causing him to crumble upon the ground in a very undignified manner his legs spread eagle as a loud groan came from Kaiba.

Yami usurped control fearing it may be a danger as his lilac and crimson eyes stared at his rival always so poised ready tense and always alert was now splayed upon the ground like a dog laying on its belly arms out like Superman and legs spread wide his coat no longer billowing dramatically. What startled the Pharaoh, even more, was the sight of the person that had crumbled the great Seto Kaiba with a single blow when he knew that not even trained security like Pegasus's spiked headed Guard were easily dispatched. This woman was a vision of loveliness and yet she simply sat upon Kaiba like a blanket looking down upon her prey with a striking look in her eyes.

(A/N for any that are curious about what the message was going to read the full message was "stop acting like an asshole to everyone one that you think is beneath you")