I don't own Harry Potter or Code Lyoko

The chips are down

"Hey everybody," said Ulrich as he walked over.

"Wow, that's a tough one," said Jeremy, ignoring Ulrich.

"You've got to be kidding," said Odd.

"Unfortunately I'm not," said Yumi.

"Hey uh, what's going on here?" asked Ulrich.

"I wish I could do something, Yumi," said Aelita.

"That's really nice of you, Aelita," said Yumi.

"I could see if my family owns any businesses that could take him on," offered Harry.

"Would somebody tell me what's going on?" asked Ulrich again.

"Look, we'll talk about it after class, ok?" asked Jeremy as he saw him.

"Don't mind me! Keep acting like I don't exist, ok?" muttered Ulrich as they walked past him. "Harry trying to see if he could get a job for someone?"

Class

"Could you say that again?" asked Ulrich.

"Yumi's father lost his job," whispered Odd. "They're thinking of going back to Japan to find work."

"You've got to be kidding."

"He's not kidding," whispered Harry. "Yumi might have to leave."

"It's not for sure yet. Don't panic," Jeremy said, trying to reassure Ulrich.

"What?! Yumi's leaving? We may never see her again, and I shouldn't panic?!" asked Ulrich, getting annoyed. "This is my girlfriend we're talking about!"

"You know what? There is an easy solution!" said Odd.

"Oh yeah? What?" asked Ulrich.

"Well uh, you see, if you marry Yumi, then she can get a green card!" suggested Odd.

"Very funny!" said Ulrich sarcastically.

"I'm just trying to lighten things up!" said Odd.

"Sir?" asked Ulrich as he stood up and put his hand up.

"Si Ulrich?"

"Can I go to the infirmary? I'm not feeling too well."

The three other boys looked at each other.

Outside

Ulrich peered in the window at Yumi. She turns to look at him.

"Excuse me ma'am."

"Yes Yumi?" asked the teacher.

"Please may I go to the infirmary?"

Ulrich dropped down and Yumi ran out to meet him.

"Why can't you stay as a boarder?" asked Ulrich. "You can go to Japan during the summer vacation."

"Are you kidding?" asked Yumi. "My parents would never go for that. And what's more, they need me!"

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" asked Ulrich. "What if…"

"Ulrich, it's nice of you to try to find a solution but nothing has been settled," said Yumi as she leaned on him. "There might not be anything to worry about."

"I know! Why don't we write to our congressman and ask for help?" suggested Ulrich.

"Sure, why not the president while you're at it?"

That night

Odd opened the door. "Are you ready for dinner?"

"I'll see you there," said Ulrich, waving a hand at him before writing again. "Dear MR Resident, I'm writing to you about a young girl. Yumi is an amazing person. She's originally from Japan but she really likes her country…" He crumpled the paper before starting again.

"Will you be quiet?! Can't you see I'm trying to concentrate?!" he asked the radio before hearing about the thirty million jackpot. He wrote down the numbers and turned off the radio. "No I couldn't do that… It wouldn't be right."

He walked out the room and shut the door.

Yumi's house

The family was eating noodles.

"Did you go back to see the temp agencies?" asked Yumi's mum.

"I haven't had time," said her dad.

"Too bad. They might have had something for you. I mean, to tide us over until we return to Japan."

"There's nothing out there for me. There are too many people in my field. You know that very well."

"And if you don't look, you definitely won't find anything."

"Can we stop it know?" asked Yumi's dad as he slammed his fit on the table. "What about you? Did you go to the temp agencies?"

Yumi's mum stood up and stalked off. He sighed.

Harry's and Jeremy's Dorm

Kiwi barked at Odd.

"He's not in our room, I don't know where he is!" said Odd as he sat down.

"I get the feeling that Ulrich is taking the situation even harder than we are!" said Aelita.

"You can say that again! For Ulrich, losing Yumi is…well, imagine how you'd feel if Jeremy had to leave!" said Odd.

"Why do you say that?" asked Aelita, blushing.

"'Cause I love making you blush!"

"There was a thirty million jackpot on," said Harry.

"Yeah, I heard about it," said Odd. "It's over though."

The white light covered them.

That morning

"Wait," said Aelita. "What just happened? Why did we return to the past?"

"We went back in time," muttered Harry as Jeremy opened his laptop and started a scan. "Ulrich!"

"Could Xana have taken control of the return to the past again?" asked Yumi. "He's done it before."

"No," said Jeremy. "Harry designed a program to keep Xana off that particular program. The super scan doesn't show any activated towers."

"And I would have known if Xana had activated a tower," said Harry. "Jeremy and I will go to the factory after class to check it out."

Ulrich

Ulrich marked the numbers on the ticket. "Here you go."

"You do know that you're not really old enough to play?" asked the vender.

"It's for my mum," lied Ulrich. "She asked me to buy it for her."

"In that case…" he took the ticket.

Kadic

"We're going to check the factory Ulrich," said Jeremy as they entered the class. "You coming?"

"No, I have to study."

"Hey, mind if I study with you?" asked Odd. "I don't get the periodic table at all."

"I'd rather study by myself."

Odd gaped.

Yumi's house

"I know you're going to think this is ridiculous but I heard about the job," said Ulrich. "Well, I brought you a lotto ticket to help with the problems. You never know. Maybe you'll be lucky. Then you can stay here with Yumi." He handed them the ticket. Yumi's dad laughed.

"I don't mean to sound rude but you have to admit that this is very funny. Do you know the odds of winning the lotto? At least you made me laugh. I needed that."

"Anyway, it was really nice of you Ulrich," said Yumi's mum. "We're really touched."

"Don't forget to listen for the numbers," said Ulrich as he closed the door. "And please don't tell Yumi that I gave it to you. She might take it the wrong way."

"That Ulrich is such a sweetheart," said Yumi's mum as she stacked some bowls.

"Yes, only that he doesn't realise we have one chance in 14 million of ever winning!"

They listened to the numbers and gaped when they had the right numbers.

"Hey there. What's going on?" asked Yumi as she entered the room.

"This is the winning ticket," said her mum, picking it up and pointing at it with a shaking hand. "The jackpot…" Everyone looked at it.

"What's a jackpot?" asked Hiroki.

"It's incredible," said Yumi's dad.

"You played the lotto?" asked Yumi. "But I thought you hated that."

Yumi's dad cleared his throat.

"Actually, it was your friend Ulrich that played," said her mum. "He gave us the ticket."

"He didn't want you to know," said her dad.

Lab

"I don't get it," said Jeremy as Aelita and Harry looked over his shoulders at the screen. "Xana had nothing to do with it. It's like someone had set it off from here. The only ones who knows how to use it is me and Harry and we were at school when it was set off."

"Unless someone read your manual," said Aelita.

"I still think it was Ulrich," said Harry. "He could have done it to get the winning ticket for that jackpot and given it to Yumi's family."

Kadic

Ulrich walked over to the group.

"Hi Ulrich, you know I'm really impressed with your computer skills," said Jeremy.

"Who, me? You are?" asked Ulrich, playing dumb.

"Well you did enter the code for returning the past into the computer without making a single mistake! Well done," said Jeremy.

"What are…you talking about?" asked Ulrich.

"Don't waste your breath. We know it was you who set off the return to the past," said Yumi.

"You broke rule number one, Ulrich! I can't believe it!" exclaimed Odd.

"I only did it for Yumi, so you can stay…" said Ulrich. Harry sighed.

"I understand why you did it. I want Yumi to stay too but when you consider the fact that every time we go back, Xana grows a tiny bit stronger due to a third of a Qubyte being added, it's not worth it. The world is in greater danger now. Sorry for sounding harsh Yumi," he said. "I still love you but this is a problem."

"That's ok. I didn't ask for any help. I know you can look into jobs for Dad but more research than anything else."

"As Harry said, Xana gets stronger every time we go back," said Jeremy.

"Why couldn't you have talked to us?" asked Odd. "You didn't have to go sneaking around."

"I'm sorry."

"It's too late," said Jeremy. "You've betrayed our trust."

Yumi gave him the ticket. "Here. You can take back your ticket. My parents think that you can keep the money."

She stormed off.

"As of now, and until you hear otherwise, you're out of the group, Ulrich," said Jeremy. They walked out and Aelita put a hand on his shoulder.

"I hope this will all work out." She walked off.

"Don't you think you're over reacting a little bit?" asked Harry.

"Hey, what's up, Ulrich? You don't look too good," said Sissi as she walked over.

"You're right," said Ulrich as he saw Yumi with William. "We had a fight. I can't really say why though. I don't think there's anything anyone can do to help."

"Oh, right."

"I really don't understand what she sees in him," said Herb as he and Nicholas watched them talk.

"You said it! He sure is no match for my looks or my brains," said Nicholas.

"Hmph, you think you're handsome, huh?" asked Herb.

"No more than you think you're smart," said Nicholas.

"I dare you to say that again!" Herb made punching motions with his fists. Nicholas punched him.

Lyoko

A tower in the desert sector glowed red. A lot of Krabes started to mobilise

Kadic

Herb and Nicholas splashed water on their faces. Herb walked out and Nicholas turned the taps on again. Sparks flew from the lights as smoke aimed for Nicholas. He flickered for a while and the taps turned off. His eyes showed the eye of Xana.

Class

"Africa is the continent that suffers most from problems related to a shortage of water and rural areas of Africa are affected to an even greater extent, less than half of all rural zones have any access to water…" lectured Mr Fumet. Nicholas glanced at the group.

"Wow! When I think how much we complain all the time!" muttered Odd. Harry looked at Nicholas.

"Xana has taken over Nicholas," he whispered. "Don't look."

Jeremy looked at his laptop under the desk. It showed the results of the scan.

"Harry's right. Xana has launched an attack."

"What?" asked Aelita.

"We have less than a minute of class. We'll go to the factory as soon as the bell rings. We know who to watch out for."

"Without Ulrich?" asked Odd.

"Without Ulrich!"

Nicholas looked at them again. The bell rang and they got out of their seats. Nicholas followed.

"See you next week," said Mr Fumet. "Don't forget your project report on your ideas for helping African communities."

"Nicholas, wait," called Herb.

Lab

Jeremy sat down at the computer as Harry, Odd, Yumi and Aelita went to the scanners.

"Transfer Aelita. Transfer Harry. Transfer Odd. Scanner Aelita. Scanner Harry. Scanner Odd. Virtualisation."

He waited for Yumi to step into a scanner. "Transfer Yumi. Scanner Yumi. Virtualisation!"

Lyoko

Harry immediately called up the Overjet.

"Here come your vehicles," said Jeremy. The Overboard and Overwing appeared as Harry went to the pilot seat.

"Madame, would you do me the honour of climbing aboard my humble…board?" asked Odd with a pause. Aelita smiled and walked on.

"I still think we were too harsh on Ulrich," said Harry as they flew off.

"The activated tower is located two plateaus north," said Jeremy.

"We know that," called Harry. "I did put that tower activation program on us, remember? You still haven't responded to what I said."

"Ok, let's go," said Yumi.

"No, I don't think that we were too harsh," said Jeremy. "I said what I said and I stand by it."

"I'm still angry at Ulrich," said Harry. "But he's my brother and what you said was in the heat of the moment. Don't you regret it even a little?"

Jeremy looked thoughtful. "I guess I do regret it. But you know he put us in even more danger."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm at risk of being possessed Jeremy."

He noticed that he was getting ahead, stopped and checked the location of Nicholas. "Jeremy, Nicholas is in the lab."

"I still don't know how you can do that," said Jeremy as he looked around. "There's no monsters on the horizon."

"He's above you."

Lab

Nicholas crawled along a beam.

"It's not monsters I'm worried about," said Yumi. "It's Ulrich. He doesn't know about Nicholas."

"Yeah, well. Nicholas is here so he's safe," said Jeremy. "Get the tower deactivated."

Nicholas dropped down, picked Jeremy up and electrocuted him before throwing him across the room. Jeremy fell unconscious. Nicholas turned to the computer and started to affect it. Code flew across the screen.

"At your orders Xana."

Lyoko

Aelita looked at a Krabe. She pointed it out to the others as more arrived.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or are there at least…twenty of them?!" asked Yumi.

"Yumi, there are no mirages on Lyoko," said Aelita.

"And I've seen more," said Harry. "Remember when Xana sent thousands against me Aelita? Good days."

"That's what I was afraid of!" said Yumi.

"By the way, thanks for warning us, Jeremy!" exclaimed Odd. No answer "…Jeremy?"

"Now your wounds will become fatal!" said Nicholas. He laughed a maniacal, sadistic laugh.

"Jeremy, was that you?! Answer me, will you?" asked Yumi.

"That isn't Jeremy, I'd recognise that laugh anywhere! It's Nicolas!" exclaimed Odd.

"Nicolas? Are you sure?" asked Yumi again.

"Nobody else has a laugh that dumb, nobody in the whole universe!"

"What I'm worried about is what he said," said Harry. He flew the Overjet to a safe height and started to reprogram the malfunctioning programs. "Good thing I installed this on the Overjet."

"Don't forget about the Krabes," said Aelita as she looked at them.

"We'd better get out of here fast," said Odd as they flew away. The Krabes followed, shooting at them all the while. Yumi was hit and she spiralled out of control before being flung off.

"Yumi! Harry, whatever you're doing, hurry up!" Odd yelled as he flew the Overboard over too Yumi and they jumped off. "Yumi, are you ok?"

"That's that sorted out," muttered Harry as he closed the window and flew back down.

"I don't understand. Why does it hurt so much?" asked Yumi as she lay down on the Overboard. "Shouldn't I just lose some life points?"

"Xana made it so the pain we felt from the shots would be like if we were hit on earth," explained Harry. "He also removed our agility. I wouldn't put it past him to use Nicholas to mess them up again though."

"Is that even possible?" asked Odd as they hid behind a sand barrier.

"You're seeing the effects of it now."

Gym

Ulrich was training as Sissi watched.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Sissi…I think I'd rather be alone…" said Ulrich.

"Are you crazy?" asked Sissi. "That's the last thing you need when you're feeling down! It's just the opposite; you need your friends to be there!"

"Uh-uh, I don't have friends anymore," said Ulrich sadly. "I did something I shouldn't have."

"Well what about me? What does that make me then?" asked Sissi as Herb arrived.

"Oh, Sissi, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" he cried.

"Yeah? Well pretend I'm not here and keep on looking! Why don't you go out and play with your friend Nicolas?" asked Sissi.

"I-I would, but I can't find Nicolas either! He ran off like a madman after class to follow Jeremy, Odd and the new girl! He was really spaced out…his voice sounded weird, and there was something strange about his eyes…" said Sissi

"Xana!" muttered Ulrich.

"Why are you telling me all this? I don't care! Can't you see I'm with Ulrich?" asked Sissi.

"Well not anymore you're not," said Herb as he watched Ulrich go.

Lyoko

"I'm going to go check it out," said Odd as he ran over the rock. Aelita watched over Yumi.

"We'd better move," said Odd as he watched the Krabes. "Otherwise…" he got hit and fell backward. "Are you sure that you sorted it out Harry? That does hurt."

"Nicholas must have messed it up again."

Yumi woke up and watched Aelita climb up the barrier. She looked at the Krabes and used her creativity to create a sand barrier. The Krabes attempted to climb up but they slid down.

"It won't take them long to find a way around."

Lab

"Jeremy!" Ulrich ran over to him.

"Maybe I'm the one you're looking for!" said Nicholas as he watched from above. He climbed along the wall and jumped off. Ulrich moved out of the way.

"Wow, since when have you become an athlete?!" he asked. He attempted to kick Nicholas but he went straight through him. Nicholas punched him and climbed up the ladder.

"Spider man…" muttered Ulrich as he looked at the elevator. "I'm not out yet."

He ran into the elevator and pressed the button. Nicholas climbed into it as the door closed. Ulrich ran out, trapping Nicholas in it. He pulled out the wires and ran electricity through it.

"Jeremy! Wake up, will you? You gotta get up!" said Ulrich as he shook him.

"Hey…hi, Ulrich…how are you?" asked Jeremy drowsily.

"Jeremy, pull yourself together! I need your help!"

"Because I'm not feeling so great…" muttered Jeremy as he fell unconscious again.

Lyoko

"Odd? Yumi? Aelita? Harry? Can you hear me? Answer me, will you?" asked Ulrich.

"Ulrich, is that you?" asked Yumi.

"No, it's Jim," said Harry. "Of course it's Ulrich."

"Oh, great, you're alive…"

"Yeah, but not in great shape…" said Odd.

"What about Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

"He's also in pretty bad shape." Ulrich looked at the screens. "I don't get it. There's nothing on the screens."

"That must be why Xana's fire from his monsters hurt us for real," said Yumi. Harry pulled up his screen and loaded several Scorpions.

"Go attack the Krabes," he ordered. They scuttled off to the sand barrier and waited. The Krabes started to push through.

"That was just what I was afraid of," said Aelita as they looked over the rock.

"Time to send out my new monsters," said Harry as he loaded them up. Five eagle like monsters appeared and attacked.

"Eagles? Really?" asked Odd as one swooped down and raked its claws on a Krabe. Harry shrugged.

Lab

"I'm really sorry about this Jeremy, but it's for a good cause!" said Ulrich as he slapped Jeremy. He woke up, jumping to his feet.

"Ouch! What…what's going on?" asked Jeremy as he walked over to the computer.

"Looks like Nicholas knocked you out," said Ulrich as Jeremy looked at the screen.

"Nicholas has deactivated the scanner," said Jeremy. "I can see Harry tried to sort it out but he couldn't do much from his end. I should be able to fix it."

"Jeremy," Ulrich said. "I wanted to tell you…"

"Later," interrupted Jeremy. "Head for the scanners and get ready for transfer."

Ulrich climbed down the rungs to the scanners.

Lyoko

"Ok, this is no time to drag our feet," said Odd as they ran. Krabes followed them but the Eagles attacked them form a height with lasers.

"Am I brilliant?" asked Harry.

"This isn't the time to inflate your ego," said Yumi. Harry sent his shuriken at the Krabes and they went flying everywhere. Yumi go hit again but Jeremy fixed the bugs at the right time.

"Yeah! We're invincible again!" exclaimed Odd.

"We're not invincible," corrected Harry. "Just more hardy than before."

"Hold on," said Jeremy. "I'm sending you Ulrich. Transfer Ulrich. Scanner Ulrich. Virtualisation!"

Ulrich landed and immediately got hit. Harry glanced at the others and went to top speed. To the rest of the group, it looked like the Krabes had spontaneously decided to self-destruct at the same time.

"I am so awesome!"

"Hi guys, didn't miss me too much, did you?" asked Ulrich.

"Oh, just a little, yeah!" said Yumi.

"Yeah, but I suggest that we get out of here before Xana sends more Krabes," said Odd as the Eagles flew above. They turned to look at the tower but four lines of Krabes formed in front of it. Harry tapped a few commands into his screen and the Overjet flew towards them

"It has an auto pilot?" asked Ulrich.

"Yep."

The rest of the vehicles appeared in front of them.

"Ok great, now all we have to do is cross that line of monsters. You, Harry and Yumi may as well go over the top," said Odd.

"And what about you?" asked Yumi.

"I'll do what I do best…chef's surprise!"

He jumped on the Overboard. "Come on Aelita. We don't have much time."

Harry looked at him as he started to rise. Odd flew in and out of the Krabes.

"He's really lost it this time!" said Ulrich has he watched.

"No more than you have!" said Yumi. "Let's go."

Ulrich used a rock as a ramp and started to hover. He stabbed three Krabes. The eagles pecked some of the Krabes and one got defeated. Yumi sent her fan at the monsters and one blew up.

"They're never going to make it…" muttered Jeremy.

"Of course we are," said Harry. "We have to do the unexpected. Xana won't see that coming."

"Oh no," said Odd. "Another row."

"Do you want me to go defeat them?" asked Harry. "I still haven't gotten over Xana possessing me."

"Stop moving around so much!" called Ulrich as he flew over. "How do you expect me to help you?"

"Cut me some slack, ok?" asked Odd as he swerved. "I'm just trying to avoid getting hit!"

Harry closed his eyes then opened them again. "Jeremy, Nicholas is on his way up."

Ulrich jumped of his bike and stabbed the Krabe he was standing on. Odd flew through the gap left behind as Ulrich jumped off. "Jeremy, I think we've done it."

"Ulrich, you're the greatest!"

"Hey, what about me? Don't I get any credit?" asked Odd as Aelita jumped off and entered the tower.

Nicholas entered the lab and laughed as Jeremy looked around for him. He jumped on Jeremy and electrocuted him.

Aelita rose to the second platform and pressed her had to the screen.

Aelita

Code

Lyoko

Lab

The two boys collapsed.

Kadic

Yolanda checked Nicholas's heart rate.

"You say this is how you found him?" asked Jim.

"Yeah," said Jeremy. "In the middle of the campus."

"He must have fainted," said Yolanda as she finished. "Nothing serious."

"I know you did it for me, Ulrich…" said Yumi as the group headed outside.

"I should've asked you first. I'm sorry." Jeremy put his hand on Ulrich's shoulder.

"So, are you back in the group?" asked Aelita.

"Looks like it."

"What are you going to do with that lotto ticket?" asked Odd.

"Save it?" suggested Harry.

"I'm going to give it to charity. One that builds wells in Africa."

"That's a great idea," said Yumi as her phone rang. "Yes? Yeah, Mum, I'm listening…uh-huh…uh-huhh…alright. See you tonight. My father's found work with Takahashi."

"Takahashi? You mean…in Japan?" asked a worried Ulrich.

"No, silly! Right here!" The group cheered as Yumi ruffled Ulrich's hair.

"Oh, look who it is," said Harry as he saw Dumbledore. "Still trying to get me to come to Hogwarts? I see you brought brainwashed and stupid with you."

"I am not brainwashed" yelled Ron.

"And I'm not stupid," complained Hermione.

"I don't see you doing clever stuff like having both a normal and magical education."

"Harry, I know you want to stay here," said Dumbledore in a grandfatherly tone. "But I need you to come with me. It's for the greater good."

"Whose greater good?" asked Harry. "Yours or mine?" mine would be staying here, helping my friends defend the entire world."

They looked at him.

"Who are these three?" asked Jim as he walked over.

"They pretty much want me to go with them illegally. If I don't they'll try to kidnap me," said Harry.

"Well, I have no choice but to escort them off the premises," said Jim. "They haven't done anything yet so I can't call the police. You three, come with me."

He dragged them away.

"Will they ever give up?" asked Odd.

"Probably not."