Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any to update. I doubt I will update this story again until mid-December though. I'm moving this weekend, then there's Thanksgiving and then I have finals but at least you get an update.
Review Replies
Johan-chan: Thank you so much. I am glad that you enjoyed it. Jesse doesn't have Rainbow Dragon. Since I am sticking with canon for that, because it works well with the plot I'm coming up with when I get into the events of GX, he won't get Rainbow Dragon until third year at Duel Academy. Thanks for your review.
ExaltedLight: Thank you so much. Thanks for your review.
DisneyOUATgirl1437: Glad you liked that part with Snape. Thanks for your review.
MuggleCreator: Glad you like it and, yeah, I agree but it had to be done. Thanks for your review.
Thunber: Wow, you're review is pretty long so I'll just answer the questions you posted. Any other GX characters will make an appearance when I get to the events of GX in the sequel to Battle Born. I'm working on that with Atticus/Fubuki. And, yes, I have seen the original anime and that's the one I'm focusing on, even though I'm using dubbed names. Thanks for your review.
Shyannada141 Meow: Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your review.
Jehu: uh thanks?
Yuri/Lily: (out cold)
Yuya: why is he out cold? And why is his name Lily now?
Shyannada141 Meow hit him with a golden sword from Minecraft and for Angel-of-Anime Mizumi. And, oh, thanks Shadow.
Shadow: (smiles slightly)
Jaden: HI BLAZE!
Jesse? You're in charge of super hyper Jaden
Jesse (who looks like Jehu): aww man
Chazz: (takes black puppy in confusion) okay? Thanks, I guess.
Thanks for your review.
HiddenHero220: Hahahaha. I can so see that happening. Thanks for your review.
EndlessNight025: Glad you enjoyed it. Here is the next chapter. Thanks for your review.
Angel-of-Anime Mizumi: Thanks for letting me know.
Jaden: Cool, Tenshi's an Eevee!
Haou: An Absol? (Studies Absol) I'll name you Winter.
Jesse (who looks like Jehu): An Diancie? I'll name it Jewel.
Jehu (who looks like Jesse): A Purrloin? Interesting. I'll name it Night.
Haou: how original
Jehu: shut up!
Hmm, never seen xxxholic. Nor do I know what Higurashi is but if it's as unpleasant as your sarcasmseems to suggest, all right.
Haou: (eyes Tim warily)
Yuri/Lily: (frowns as his cards are taken from him)
Ohh, even though it's way past Halloween, yay! Caramel apples and pumpkins to carve for next year. Here is the next chapter. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
Hmm, what else do I have to say?
Well, nothing for this story anyway. Here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
37
The Tournament: Battle Royal
Slytherin Boy's Third Year Dormitory
Draco was lying on his back, gazing up at the ceiling. The end of the term was quickly coming up, only three weeks away and Draco wasn't sure he wanted to return home for the holidays. Granted, home was better than a place crowded with Dementors but Draco would be lying if he said he wasn't getting more interested in that muggle card game. He had read the rulebook several times, trying to understand the game without going to Professor Kelley or Yuki with questions, and it was a rather interesting game. A strategy game, like Wizard's Chess, and, when played using those holothingies that the muggles came up with, it was real life-like.
To think muggles came up with that kind of thing. Draco had always been raised to believe that muggles were inferior to wizards and they weren't nearly as intelligent as wizards but, now that Draco had seen muggle technology—Draco was pretty sure that was the word—firsthand, he was starting to think that, perhaps, his father was wrong.
Of course, he would never admit that out loud, or, Merlin forbid, to his father, but it was something he could think about in the safe confines of his mind. He still didn't even want to admit that he had an interest in the game as it was; those who had spotted the rulebook asked him about it and Draco just scoffed and said that he didn't care about the game. He was simply curious about the roots, since they did come from Ancient Egypt and some of the books Draco had checked out on magic in Ancient Egypt had suggested that there was a type of ancient magic that was dominate during a specific period during Ancient Egypt, what was referred to by wizarding scholars as the Gap.
Of course, no one knew that Draco was slowly developing an interest in the game itself, despite its muggle origins, and he supposed it came from the fact that he did enjoy strategy games. He was a good Wizard's Chess player, could probably give Weasley a run for his money—there was no question that Weasley was one of the best Wizard's Chess players in their year, at least, that's what Draco heard—if he ever decided to stoop low enough to actually have a game with that blood traitor.
Draco sat up and, swinging his legs off his bed, he reached over to the side table to pick up his wand and, maybe, try to do some homework since he wasn't tired, though everyone else was already dozing off. His hand brushed the card Yuki had given him—why didn't I put that way? Draco wondered—and he picked it up, studying the card.
The image depicted a large dragon that was half black with a large bat-like wing jutting out of its back, and half white with a large Pegasus-like wing jutting out of its back, and twin tails, one was black while the other was white. Light and Darkness Dragon, Draco thought, studying the card. 2800 Attack, 2400 Defense. Light-Attribute. Dragon-Effect. Level 8. Pretty strong monster and one of those monsters that Yuki said couldn't be Special Summoned. Hmm, it's also treated as Dark-Attribute while on the field. But that effect? It loses 500 ATK and DEF every time a Spell, Trap or monster effect is activated and, if it's destroyed, the player has to target one monster in their Graveyard, destroy all cards they control and then Special Summon that monster. That first effect could put the player at a disadvantage, because their monster would just keep getting weaker.
Draco supposed the effect was a good one, though it was rather difficult to understand, but there were a few questions he had about it. He shook his head, deciding against thinking about that and studied the card again. He did love dragons and this dragon was very cool looking, being half in light and half in darkness, somewhere in between.
Wonder how it would look with those holothingies? Draco mused before he returned the card to the side table and picked up his wand, summoning his book bag as he did so and pulling out his Charms book to get to work on his Charms homework.
He made a mental note to put that card away where the other Slytherins wouldn't see it in the morning.
. . .
Gryffindor Tower
"Haou! Follow me quickly!" The voice was almost completely cut off by the explosion that caused the entire large ornate double doors to explode inward, showering the throne room in a rain of wood. Dark figures strode into the room and then he felt someone grab his arm and tug at him.
"Hurry! We've got to go now!" The voice said, tugging at his arm repeatedly.
"What about my family?" Haou demanded. "What about Mother and Father?"
"I have my orders to get you and Yubel out of here, my prince."
"When do you follow orders?"
"When the life of my best friend is on the line. Now move it, idiot, or I will knock you out and drag you!"
Haou growled but, nonetheless, let his best friend half-drag him out of the throne room, heading toward the emergency exit that was installed for that very purpose, if the enemy ever penetrated as far as the throne room. They entered the emergency exit and the guards quickly shut it behind them, ordering them to keep going.
"Where's Yubel?" Haou asked.
"I sent her ahead, Haou," his best friend said, continuing to drag him, though the shadows made it difficult to make out any of his features. He also had his back to the future king. "She's waiting where the tunnels intersect. Pick up the pace, Haou, or I will drag you and don't think I won't."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Haou said and hurried after his best friend.
Another explosion sounded and Haou and his best friend rounded the corner just in time to see a human Yubel running toward them. "The tunnel's blocked off," she said worriedly.
"Son of a bitch!" His best friend growled, releasing Haou's arm and running a hand through his hair. "Guess we're taking the other tunnel. Wonderful."
"Haou's sarcasm has rubbed off on you," Yubel noted.
"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around," Haou said.
His best friend scowled at him. "We weren't followed at all so we should be able to make it to the other tunnel. No telling how long it'll take for them to find the secret entrance, though, considering who betrayed us—damn traitor better hope I never get my hands on him—I doubt it'll be long before they find it." As he guided Haou and Yubel down one of the other paths at the intersection of tunnels, he was mumbling under his breath, quite graphically describing what he wanted to do to the traitor.
Yubel groaned. "Why must you be so graphic?" she demanded.
The one leading them paused momentarily and then said, "The traitor deserves it."
"Psycho," Haou grumbled.
"Why thank you, Haou."
"That wasn't a compliment."
Ice-cold water drenched Jaden from head to toe, causing the dream to shatter and him to suddenly end up on the floor in a heap, shivering. He lifted his head to glare at Harry who had just lowered his wand. "What. The. Bloody. Hell?!" he exclaimed.
"Thought you would have wanted to know that Uncle Kaito's letter came in, plus, it's almost noon. It's time to get up," Harry said.
Jaden yawned. "But it's Saturday," he whined.
"Yeah but you already missed breakfast. I don't think your stomach would be very happy with you if you missed lunch too," Harry said. He paused and then added, "Are you okay though?"
"Other than freezing because someone"—Jaden glowered at his brother—"saw fit to toss ice-cold water on me, I'm fine."
"No nightmares?" Harry pressed, not seeming fazed by the glower but then, since this wasn't the first time Harry has woken his brother up this way, he was used to it.
"No. The last nightmare I had was after the Quidditch match," Jaden said, getting to his feet and tossing his wet blankets onto his bed before making his way to his trunk to get some dry clothes to change into. "I did have a rather strange dream though."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Jaden didn't go on to explain what it was. He was still puzzling it out himself. First there was the fact that it was obvious he was viewing what happened through Haou's eyes, which suggested it was one of Haou's memories, and Yubel had been human, which suggested it was before her transformation, but who was that third person?
Jaden figured the only reason he couldn't get a good look at the other person was because the memory-dream was very dark.
'Haou...' Yubel began.
'I did not mean for that memory to leak into his dream, Yubel,' Haou said quickly. He paused and murmured, 'Believe me, it was hard watching that, seeing him again when I can still remember vividly what happened to him.'
Yubel said nothing in response to that.
Jaden frowned. Who was he? He thought.
There was silence and Jaden thought that Haou wouldn't answer him until Haou murmured, 'My best and closest friend, my most trusted advisor, someone...I really cared about, almost as much as I cared about Yubel.' He fell silent and said nothing more, leaving Jaden to puzzle through the newest clue to add to the mystery that was Haou.
Jaden really didn't know much about Haou, not even his real name, and he only ever learned what Haou deemed he needed to know, nothing more. To learn about this person that Haou cared about, Jaden had to wonder why Haou was telling him about this person now and why he hadn't beforehand. He wasn't that surprised to learn that Haou cared about someone; despite his antisocial nature, and his very short temper...
'I don't have a short temper!' Haou growled.
'Yes, you do,' Yubel said.
...Haou did have a heart that few people got to see. Jaden knew enough from the memories that had leaked into his mind that something had happened that caused Haou to harden his heart, drive everyone away from him and pretty much descend into madness, but he didn't know what and neither Haou nor Yubel were willing to tell him what happened.
They were willing to tell him about his powers, though Yubel did say she wouldn't tell him more until he started using Haou's cards, or the conduits, but they weren't willing to disclose too much information about Haou's life. Yes, they would tell him some things—mostly because there were times that Haou accidentally let a memory leak in after he woke up—but not everything.
After changing, Jaden followed Harry out of the dorm room, noticing that the common room was almost completely empty. Harry held out the letter that had been delivered to Jaden and said, "Everyone's already heading to the Great Hall. I decided to stay behind and make sure you got up."
Jaden took the letter. "Well, thanks," he said, opening the letter and reading it quietly to himself, beaming when he finished it. "Sweet!"
"I take it good news?" Harry said.
"Yup. Dad said he's going to send us two more working duel disks in a few days," Jaden said.
"Cool. That means we can do that Battle Royal," Harry said.
Jaden nodded. "Let's go tell the others," he said and led the way out of the common room, pocketing the letter as he did so, and Harry walked after him.
. . .
Great Hall
"Hey, Jay, decided to drag your butt out of bed?" Jesse said with an amused smile as Jaden plopped into the seat beside him and began filling his plate with food, suddenly starving since he had missed breakfast that morning.
"I was kinda forced outta bed. Harry over there"—Jaden pointed at his brother—"saw fit to toss ice-cold water on me to wake me up."
"At least he didn't flip you off your bed like you did to me that one time," Ron grumbled.
"Oh he does that too," Jaden said.
Harry smirked. "I regret nothing," he said.
Jesse chuckled. "Boy am I glad I'm pretty good about getting up in the morning," he said.
"Yeah, part of like two percent of the population that's part of the subdivision of people known as morning people," Jaden said.
Jesse rolled his eyes as his crush but didn't respond.
"Besides, got good news from Dad," Jaden added. "He says that he is going to send us two more working duel disks in a few days."
"Nice, that means we can do that Battle Royal now," Atticus said.
"Yup. I'm looking forward to that," Jaden said brightly.
"Of course you are," Jesse said. "Have you decided on who you wanna go against in the semifinals?"
"Nope, not yet," Jaden admitted. "How about you?"
Jesse shook his head. He was still thinking about it too. He would like to go against Jaden again because he wanted a rematch with the brunette but he also would like to see how he stood against Atticus and Harry. It was difficult to decide.
"I'm not sure yet who I wanna go against either," Harry said.
"Me either," Atticus said. "Well, we've got a few days to figure that out."
"Yeah."
"By the way, where's Hermione and Alexis?" Jaden asked.
"Hermione's in the library doing homework and Alexis went to remind her that it was almost time for lunch," Atticus said.
"You know she wouldn't have as much homework as she does if she didn't take all those classes," Ron mused. "Still can't believe how many classes she's taking. How does she manage all those classes? Some of them are at the same time as other classes?"
"She said she figured out how to do that with Professor McGonagall," Harry said. "But yeah, I agree, it's a bit much but this is Hermione we're talking about."
"True."
. . .
Halls
Hermione and Alexis, after the latter quite nearly dragged the former away from the library, were walking toward the Great Hall. Hermione shifted her grip on her book bag and glanced at Alexis. "You know I'm starting to regret taking Divination," she said.
"That bad?" Alexis asked.
Hermione nodded. "Yeah. I mean Professor Trelawney decided to predict Harry's death yet again during class a few days ago and, personally, I think it's woolly and just a lot of guesswork," she said.
"Are you thinking about dropping that class?" Alexis asked.
"Probably. I mean I do have plenty of other classes to occupy my time and it would free up some time for homework and working on my deck. My parents were ever so happy when I told them about my extracurricular activity and that I wasn't spending all my time doing homework or reading," Hermione said.
Alexis smiled. "Well, that's good then," she said. "Have you decided on what your deck's theme or archetype is going to be yet?"
"Not yet. I'm leaning toward that Ice Barrier archetype or maybe an Ice theme overall. I've managed to get quite a few cards that support that archetype over the summer but haven't compiled my deck yet," Hermione admitted as the two of them walked around the corner. "It's oh so difficult to figure out which deck archetype or theme to use. I mean there are so many."
"Yeah, there are," Alexis agreed.
"Look, it's two little mudbloods talking about such a stupid muggle card game," a voice sneered and Hermione and Alexis turned slightly to find Pansy standing there, watching them with a baleful look in her eyes; she was surrounded by Theodore Nott, Millicent Bulstrode and a few other Slytherins, though, surprisingly enough, Malfoy wasn't part of that group.
"What do you want?" Hermione said with a sniff.
"Nothing you could give, mudblood," Pansy sneered.
"Then just leave us be," Alexis said coolly, narrowing her eyes as she removed her wand from her robe and she could see Hermione doing the same thing. They were surrounded with their backs to the windows that they had been walking beside and Alexis thought it was unlikely they would be able to get out of there without a fight. However, Alexis had been taught to never throw the first punch, or the first spell, so she waited, hoping that the Slytherins would just leave them be once they saw that Alexis and Hermione were willing to fight back if necessary.
That was not the case.
"Oh you're not going anywhere, mudblood. You two are worthless. You only got into this school because the headmaster is a senile old fool," Pansy spat.
"Hermione's the top student in our year, Parkinson," Alexis retorted.
"So what? She's a mudblood. She must have cheated to get higher marks than my Draco."
Her Draco? Alexis sweatdropped.
Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "Say whatever you want, Parksinon, it doesn't bother me. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me," she said firmly.
"Then why don't I show you just what else can break your bones," Pansy shouted and then tossed a curse at Hermione that she quickly dodged out of the way of. It crashed into the window behind them and the window shattered.
"Rictusempra!" Alexis shouted and a silver light shot from her wand and flew at Pansy who dodged and it struck Nott, sending him to the ground laughing as the tickling charm struck him.
"Reducto!" Pansy shouted and Alexis quickly ducked out of the way to avoid the spell, though she wasn't able to avoid the leg-locking curse that Pansy sent next and she was sent crashing to the floor, unable to move her legs.
"What did we ever do to you?" Hermione shouted, moving to standing in front of Alexis and murmuring, "finite," under her breath and waving her wand over Alexis, canceling the curse that had been placed on her.
"You're mubloods and it's time you knew your place in this school," Pansy said firmly, pointing her wand at the two of them.
"What is going on here?" A silky voice demanded and Hermione and Alexis, as well as the other Slytherins, turned as Professor Snape swept toward them like a bat, cloak billowing about his legs.
"They attacked us, Professor Snape," Pansy whined.
"No we didn't," Hermione shouted.
"She attacked us first. We weren't doing anything wrong," Alexis agreed.
"They're lying," Pansy protested.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for dueling in the corridors," Snape said firmly, glaring at the two Gryffindors.
"What?! That is completely unfair!" Alexis exclaimed, pushing herself to her feet.
"I will make it thirty if you open your mouth again, Rhodes," Snape snapped and then turned to the other Slytherins. "Return to the Great Hall, all of you, now!"
Pansy, with a smug smirk, said, "Yes, Professor Snape," and walked toward the Great Hall with her friends behind her.
Alexis and Hermione glared at Snape as they also made their way toward the Great Hall but Snape's eyes were unwavering before he swept away from them, also heading toward the Great Hall.
. . .
Great Hall
Draco was seated at the Slytherin table when Pansy, Nott, Bulstrode and a couple of other Slytherins walked into the Great Hall. He raised his eyebrow, wondering where they had gone, though his question was answered almost as soon as Pansy sat down across from him, a smug smile on her face as she related what happened in the halls to her.
"They should have gotten detention though," she said.
Uncle Sev wouldn't give out detention unless he actually catches someone in the act, Draco thought, knowing full well that while his godfather—hence why he called Professor Snape 'Uncle Sev' in his head—did favor the Slytherins, he wouldn't assign detention without reason, mostly because the other teachers would protest and likely get the assigned detentions overturned.
"Well, it was rather funny seeing the mudbloods' faces when they got those points deducted," Pansy added smugly as the Great Hall opened and Granger and Rhodes, both looking furious and glaring at the Head Table where Professor Snape had just taken a seat, made their way over to the Gryffindor Table.
Draco didn't respond.
"What's the matter?" Pansy asked.
"Nothing," Draco replied.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm going to head to the library. I've got some homework to finish for Monday," Draco said, standing up and, grabbing his bookbag that he had brought with him for that very reason, left the Great Hall.
He really was heading to the library to do some homework but also because he wanted to be alone. He still refused to admit it, out loud to any of the other Slytherins, but he really did like the muggle card game that had been introduced to the Hogwarts students the year before. He could admit it to himself though, it had taken the last three months to finally do that though.
Now, he was simply keeping it a secret from everyone, especially his father.
He knew his mother, while surprised that he liked something that was muggle, would support him to the very end, even if she probably wouldn't understand why he liked a muggle card game but his father was a completely different story.
Draco hoped his father would never find out.
. . .
Gryffindor Boy's Third Year Dormitory
A few days passed by and Jesse was relaxing on his bed; it was late and everyone else was already fast asleep but Jesse couldn't sleep. More or less, he had been woken up by yet another strange dream and yet, this time, he had actually heard someone speaking and heard a name mentioned, or rather title. Haou.
Deciding not to think about it, Jesse rolled onto his side and smiled a little as he gazed at the crystal figurines he had taken to keeping on his bedside table. A new one had been added to the crystal Ruby and crystal Sapphire that were already there; a mini crystal version of Topaz Tiger that Jaden had given him for his fourteenth birthday a couple of weeks earlier.
'When am I going to get a mini-me?' Amethyst asked, appearing next to the bed and looking up at the mini-crystal figurines.
"I'm sure Jay'll have one made of you soon enough," Jesse assured her.
Amethyst growled. 'He'd better,' she said firmly.
Jesse chuckled quietly. "I'm sure he'll make one of every one of you," he said with a small smile. He would like that; to have these mini crystal figurines that represented his family. Sure, he did have his dad, adopted though he was, but the Crystal Beasts were more of a family to Jesse than his adopted dad was, mostly because Jesse reminded his adopted dad of both the sperm-donor and his mother who was killed when he was six.
'Rubi?' Ruby appeared and pawed at Jesse's face as a single tear slid down and he wiped it away, smiling at Ruby.
"I'm okay, Ruby," he assured her, not wanting to think about his mother at the moment and why she was killed. He may have told Jaden that his mother had been murdered by Death Eaters because she was a muggle but that wasn't entirely true; she had been killed because she was trying to protect him, because...
Jesse pushed the thought away. He refused to think about that, though he knew that was partially the reason why his dad rarely ever spent time with him beyond business trips like the one to Domino City when Jesse was nine. Even then, Jesse had spent more time with the Yukis than he did with his dad. He wasn't complaining, much, because he had met Jaden.
Jesse smiled a little as he thought about Jaden. Yes, he was crushing on the brunette but he was too shy to admit it and he didn't exactly want to ruin their friendship by admitting such a thing. It would make things so awkward, of that Jesse was certain.
He sighed and rolled onto his back, which caused Ruby to curl up on his chest with a little 'rubi!'
As he relaxed and tried to go back to sleep, Jesse found his thoughts drifting to his dream. It wasn't as if it was a nightmare, even if the palace he had been in was getting attacked, he and—Haou?—weren't in any danger until the end but the end was when Jesse woke up so he had no idea what happened afterwards. But who was Haou?
And Yubel. That name had been mentioned in his dream as well and Jesse couldn't help but frown. Yubel was the name of Jaden's favorite monster card whom was also his spirit partner so why was she making an appearance in Jesse's dreams?
And why was she human?
Jesse didn't know.
I honestly don't know what to make of this dream. It's just so...so different from what I'm used to. I don't even know through who's eyes I was seeing, though, apparently, it was someone whom is rather...erm...well, the term sadistic and psychotic comes to mind, Jesse thought, remembering everything the person through whom he was seeing what was happening had said.
He wondered if he should tell Jaden about his dream. Jaden was a good listener and, maybe, he might know why Yubel was making an appearance in Jesse's dreams and, possibly, why she was human. The latter didn't seem likely but it was worth a shot. It wasn't as if it could hurt or anything.
Jesse resolved to ask Jaden as soon as he could.
With that in mind, Jesse closed his eyes and tried to relax and get some more sleep.
. . .
Great Hall
The Saturday before the final week before the holidays dawned cloudy but all the duelists in the castle were excited because that day was the Battle Royal to decide the semifinal matches that would take place the next day. Kelley had decided that the finals would take place in the second term of the year. Uncle Kaito had also sent Jaden and Harry two more fully functioning duel disks with a note reminding them to keep up their grades and with their studies a few days beforehand.
Harry and Jaden had presented the two duel disks to Atticus and Jesse respectively the same day they received them.
"Consider it an early Christmas gift," Harry said.
Now, it was early Saturday afternoon, about one hour before the Battle Royal was due to begin. Thankfully, there wasn't a Quidditch match that weekend to interfere with the Battle Royal that was to take place. Jaden, Harry, Atticus and Jesse had spent the majority of the day before going through their decks and preparing themselves for the upcoming match as well as deciding on who they were going to go against.
Jaden had decided that he wanted to go against Jesse since he was looking forward to dueling against the Crystal Beasts again and has been wanting a rematch with his crush for a while now.
Harry had decided that he wanted to test himself against Atticus and his Red-Eyes monsters.
Atticus was looking forward to seeing how he would do against Harry's Lightsworn deck and so that was whom he decided he wanted to go against.
Jesse had decided that he wanted his rematch with Jaden as well.
The gang headed toward the Great Hall were everything was set up for the duel. The tables encircled the center of the hall and everyone was starting to pour into the Great Hall and taking their seats at their house tables. The staff were also seated at their table; Snape's face was as impassive as ever while Lupin, Dumbledore and most of the other teachers were looking curious and, Lupin, Flitwick and McGonagall in particular, eager. They had really enjoyed the last couple of matches.
Kelley stood up once everyone was seated and began to speak. "All right, so today is just a Battle Royal match to decide who will face who in the semifinals tomorrow," he said while Jaden, Jesse, Atticus and Harry strapped on their duel disks and, after shuffling and cutting their decks, inserted them. They then walked over to the center of the hall and separated one across from the other, leaving plenty of space between them for their monsters.
"Now, aside from the normal rules that were established during the last few duels, here are the rules for this duel," Kelley said. "This is a Battle Royal. This means that no one can attack until everyone has gone through their first turn and you will all start with four-thousand Life Points. Also, you can attack whoever you want and, just the same, if you want then you can help out anyone you want. The first two duelists to lose will face each other in the first match of the semifinals whereas the two duelists who are left standing will face each other in the second match. Any questions?"
After answering the few questions that there were, Kelley glanced at the four duelists who were poised for battle. "Are you four ready?" he asked.
"Ready!" Jaden and Jesse said eagerly, their faces filled with determination and excitement.
Harry laughed at his brother's excitement. "I'm ready," he said.
"Me too," Atticus said.
"Who starts though?" Ron asked.
The four of them looked at each other.
"Huh, I hadn't thought of that," Jaden said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Frankly, I don't care," Atticus said.
"Neither do I," Harry said.
"All right, it will go Jaden then Atticus then Jesse then Harry. That all right with everyone?" Kelley asked.
No one had a problem with that and, soon, all four duel disks were alive and the four duelists were drawing their opening hands.
"Let's duel," they declared.
Jaden: 4000
Atticus: 4000
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 4000
"Since I've got the first move, here goes," Jaden said, drawing a card and glancing at it. He then picked another card from his hand and placed it on his duel disk. "I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in Defense Mode." In a swirl of fire, a blonde fiery heroine appeared on the field before kneeling down (A: 1300/D: 1000).
"And then I place this facedown and end my turn, which means Lady Heat's effect activates, allowing me to deal 200 points of damage to my opponent for everyone Elemental Hero on my field and I choose Harry," Jaden said and Lady Heat tossed a fireball at Harry who jumped back to avoid it.
Jaden: 4000
Atticus: 4000
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 3800
"Oh thanks a lot," Harry said, tossing a mock-glare at his brother.
Jaden smirked at him.
"Wait, why was Jaden able to attack on his first turn?" One confused Ravenclaw asked.
"It's because it was an effect that he used, not an actual attack," Hermione explained loud enough for the Ravenclaw to hear.
"All right, my turn," Atticus said, drawing a card and glancing at it. "And I'll start with Mirage Dragon in Attack Mode." With a roar, a shiny light gold serpentine dragon appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 600). "And I also place one card facedown and end my turn."
"My turn," Jesse said, drawing a card. "And I summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus in Attack Mode." A sapphire gemstone appeared on the field and shattered, revealing a white Pegasus with a sapphire horn who spread his wings as he landed on the ground (A: 1800/D: 1200).
'You're starting out with me, eh, Jesse?' Sapphire said.
Jesse smiled at him and shrugged. "Why not? Also, when Sapphire Pegasus is summoned, I can add one Crystal Beasts from my hand or Deck to my Spell & Trap Card zone as a Continuous Spell and I choose Ruby Carbuncle." He searched for the card and then inserted it into his duel disk and a jagged ruby appeared on the field behind Sapphire Pegasus.
"Next, I activate Crystal Release and equip it onto Sapphire Pegasus, increasing his attack by 800," Jesse added and Sapphire Pegasus glowed as his power increased (A: 1800-2600).
"And, with that, I end my turn," Jesse added.
"My turn," Harry said, drawing a card and glancing at it. "And I activate Solar Recharge. With this, I can discard one Lightsworn monster in my hand to draw two more cards and then send the top two cards of my Deck to the Graveyard." He did so and then added, "And since I sent Wulf, Lightsworn Beast from my Deck to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon him to the field." In a burst of light, a large white beast in white and gold armor wielding a gold axe in his hand appeared on the field with a growl (A: 2100/D: 300).
"And I also equip him with Lightsworn Sabre, increasing his Attack by 700," Harry added, inserting another card into his duel disk and Wulf's axe changed into a blue saber with a winged golden hilt (A: 2100-2800).
"Now he has the strongest monster on the field," Flitwick commented.
"And next I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress to the field also in Attack Mode," Harry added and a black haired woman dressed in white with a sheer white cape around her shoulders and a staff in her hand appeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 200).
"I also activate the Continuous Spell Lightsworn Sanctuary," Harry added and a white temple rose up next to him on the field. "This card gains a Shine Counter every time I send a card, or cards, from my Deck to the Graveyard. Also, once per turn, I can send one Lightsworn monster in my hand to the Graveyard to add one other Lightsworn monster from my Graveyard to my hand. And I will end my turn with that and that means I have to send the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard due to Lyla's effect and Lightsworn Sanctuary gains a counter." One ball of light appeared floating in front of the temple (Lightsworn Sanctuary SC: 1).
"My turn," Jaden said, drawing a card and then grinning. "Sweet! I activate Polymerization and fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in Attack Mode." Both his green-feathered hero and his black-haired heroine fused together to create the red-and-green monster from Jaden's last duel who poised, ready to attack (A: 2100/D: 1200).
"Next, I switch Lady Heat to Attack Mode," Jaden added and Lady Heat stood up.
"Now, Flame Wingman, attack Mirage Dragon," the brunette Gryffindor ordered and Flame Wingman shot forward before bathing Mirage Dragon in flames, causing him to cry out and shatter.
Jaden: 4000
Atticus: 3500
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 3800
"And now Flame Wingman's effect activates, dealing you damage equal to your monster's attack," Jaden added and Atticus winced as he was bathed in flames from Flame Wingman.
Jaden: 4000
Atticus: 1900
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 3800
As expected, at the head table, Madame Pomfrey looked a little worried, even though this was the third duel she had seen. She was thankful that it wasn't real though as it would probably have been serious.
"Now, Lady Heat, attack Atticus directly," Jaden commanded.
Lady Heat conjured up a fireball in her hands.
"I activate my Trap, Offensive Guard," Atticus said, pressing a button on his duel disk and his trap card flipped up. "I can only activate these when my opponent declares a direct attack. This halves your attacking monster's attack for the rest of the turn and I get to draw a card." He winced as the fireball struck him anyway as he drew a card from his deck.
Jaden: 4000
Atticus: 1250
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 3800
"Nice move, Atticus. I place one card facedown and end my turn with that, which means Lady Heat's effect activates and I choose Harry," Jaden said brightly and Lady Heat conjured up two fireballs before lobbing each one at Harry who blocked with his duel disk.
Jaden: 4000
Atticus: 1250
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 3400
"Why me, Jaden?" Harry asked.
Jaden shrugged. "I dunno. Why not?" he said.
Harry huffed at that.
Atticus chuckled as he drew a card. "My move," he said. "And I'll start by activating Cards of the Red. With this, so long as I send one level 7 Red-Eyes monster, like my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, from my hand to the Graveyard, I can draw two cards and then I can send another level 7 Red-Eyes monster from my Deck to the Graveyard." He did so.
"And next, I summon Hunter Dragon in Attack Mode," Atticus added and the metallic black dragon from his last duel appeared on the field with a roar (A: 1700/D: 100).
"And I also activate the Spell Dragon's Gunfire," the Red-Eyes duelist added, holding up another card. "With this card, so long as I control a Dragon-type monster, I can either inflict 800 damage to my opponent or destroy one face-up monster with 800 or less Defense. I'm going with the second effect to destroy Harry's Wulf." A large fireball erupted from Hunter Dragon's mouth and slammed into Wulf, destroying him.
"Now, Hunter Dragon, attack Lady Heat," Atticus commanded and Hunter Dragon unleashed another blast of flames that enveloped Lady Heat, causing her to cry out before she shattered.
Jaden: 3600
Atticus: 1250
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 3400
"I activate my Hero Signal Trap. Since you destroyed one of my monsters, I can Special Summon a level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my deck and I choose Elemental Hero Woodsman in Defense Mode," Jaden said, revealing his trap and a green monster with a branch for an arm appeared on the field before kneeling down (A: 1000/D: 2000).
"Not a bad defense," Ron commented.
"All right, I place two cards facedown and that's it for me," Atticus said and two vertical facedowns appeared at his feet.
"My turn then," Jesse said, drawing a card. "First, I'll start by summoning Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger in Attack Mode." A topaz floated onto the field and then shattered to reveal a large white tiger with topazes on the side of his head (A: 1600/D: 1000).
"Now, Sapphire Pegasus, attack Flame Wingman," Jesse ordered, turning slightly to Jaden.
'Right on it, Jesse,' Sapphire Pegasus said and charged forward.
"I play De-Fusion," Jaden said, revealing his other facedown. "This splits Flame Wingman back into Avian and Burstinatrix, both in Defense Mode." Flame Wingman vanished and the black-haired fiery heroine (A: 1200/D: 800) and green-feathered hero (A: 1000/D: 1000) both appeared on the field and knelt down.
"All right then. I'll have Sapphire Pegasus attack Lyla instead," Jesse said and Sapphire Pegasus turned around and charged into Lyla, destroying her.
Jaden: 3600
Atticus: 1250
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 2500
"Now, Topaz Tiger, attack Hunter Dragon and he gains 400 Attack during the Damage Step whenever he attacks," Jesse said.
Topaz Tiger growled before he leapt at Hunter Dragon and sank his teeth and claws into the dragon, destroying it.
Jaden: 3600
Atticus: 950
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 2500
"And then I place this facedown and that's it for me," Jesse added and a vertical facedown appeared at his feet.
"My turn," Harry said, drawing a card. "And I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner in Attack Mode." In a burst of light, a blonde dark-skinned woman dressed in white with golden bands around her biceps and a white scarf around her neck appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1000).
"Now I activate Lumina's effect. Once per turn, as long as I discard a card, I can Special Summon one level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster from my Graveyard and I choose Wulf, Lightsworn Beast," Harry said and Lumina held out a hand; it glowed and a portal appeared that the white beast with the golden axe rose out of (A: 2100/D: 300).
"Now, Lumina, attack Atticus directly," Harry commanded.
"I activate Red-Eyes Spirit," Atticus said, revealing his facedown. "This allows me to Special Summon a Red-Eyes monster from my Graveyard and I choose Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon." In a burst of bright yellow light, a black dragon surrounded by an aura of flames with red-and-black wings appeared on the field with a roar (A: 2400/D: 2000).
"Drat," Harry scowled. "All right, I'll have Lumina destroy Burstinatrix instead." Lumina unleashed a blast of light that enveloped Burstinatrix, destroying her.
"Now, Wulf, attack Topaz Tiger," Harry ordered.
"I activate Cut Jewel," Jesse said, revealing his own facedown. "With this, so long as I discard a Crystal Beast in my hand, I can halve Wulf's attack but you get to draw a card. Topaz Tiger, counter attack." Topaz Tiger leapt forward and crashed into the charging Wulf and the larger white beast shattered.
Jaden: 3600
Atticus: 950
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 1950
Harry frown, frustrated, before he picked up another card in his hand and inserted it into his duel disk. "I place this facedown and end my turn, which means I have to send the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard because of Lumina's effect and Lightsworn Sancutary gains another Shine Counter," he said and did so as another glowing orb appeared in front of the temple (Sanctuary SC: 2).
"My turn," Jaden said and drew a card. "And, during my Standby Phase, I can activate Woodsman's effect to add Polymerization from my Graveyard to my hand."
Harry realized he probably should have taken out Woodsman while he had the chance.
I really should've taken out Woodsman while I had the chance, Jesse thought with a frown.
"Next, I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards," Jaden added and drew two cards before adding, "And next, I play Polymerization and fuse Woodsman with Avian in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado in Attack Mode." A burst of wind surged through the Great Hall as the two monsters on Jaden's field fused together, creating a warrior green, black and gold armor with a torn black cape around his shoulders (A: 2800/D: 2200).
"And when Great Tornado hits the field, the Attack and Defense of all face-up monsters my opponents control is halved," Jaden added (Flare Dragon A: 2400-1200/D: 2000-1000) (Sapphire Pegasus A: 2600-1300/D: 1200-600) (Topaz Tiger A: 1600-800/D: 1000-500) (Lumina A: 1000-500/D: 1000-500).
"And I also summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode," Jaden added and a warrior in blue and gold armor appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1400).
"Looks like Jaden's gonna knock someone out," Ron commented.
"Now, Great Tornado, attack Lumina," Jaden ordered.
"I activate my facedown Beckoning Light," Harry said quickly, revealing his facedown. "With this, I can discard my entire hand and add the same number of Light monsters from my Graveyard to my hand. And I'll add Lyla and Honest to my hand." He retrieved said cards and added, "Then I activate Honest's effect. By sending it from my hand to the Graveyard, Lumina gains Attack equal to the Attack of Great Tornado until the End Phase." Lumina was surrounded by a bright light as her attack increased (A: 500-3300).
"And you can't call off your attack, Jaden," Harry added. "Lumina, counter attack."
"Drat," Jaden grumbled as Lumina struck Great Tornado with her staff when he drew near her and the warrior shattered.
Jaden: 3100
Atticus: 950
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 1950
"Well, I've still got one more monster," Jaden added. "Sparkman, attack Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon." Sparkman unleashed a blast of electricity that shot forward and slammed into the great black dragon and it roared before shattering.
"Harry must've been prepared for something like that to happen," Hermione commented.
"Maybe," Ron said.
Jaden: 3100
Atticus: 550
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 1950
"And then I place this facedown and end my turn," Jaden added. A facedown appeared at his feet and Honest's effect expired (Lumina A: 3300-500).
"My turn then," Atticus said and drew a card. He smiled and then pressed a button on his duel disk. "I play my Call of the Haunted Trap to Special Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my Graveyard in Attack Mode." The great black dragon with burning red-eyes appeared on the field with a roar (A: 2400/D: 2000).
"And, sorry Harry, but looks like you're out," Atticus said.
Harry frowned. "Why do you say that?"
Atticus held up one of the cards in his hand. "I activate Inferno Fire Blast," he said.
"Drat!"
"What's that do?" Draco wondered quietly to himself but figured Atticus would answer.
"This card allows me to target my Red-Eyes and inflict damage to Harry equal to the original attack of my Red-Eyes, however Red-Eyes can't attack the turn I activate this card," Atticus said, inserting the card into his duel disk and Red-Eyes Black Dragon unleashed a blast of fire that shot forward and slammed into Harry, knocking him off his feet, though Kelley cast a cushioning charm to make sure he didn't get hurt.
Jaden: 3100
Atticus: 550
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 0
"And then I activate the effect of Black Metal Dragon in my hand and equip it onto my Red-Eyes increasing his Attack by 600 and then I end my turn," Atticus added as a metallic black dragon appeared on the field and perched itself on the Red-Eyes's back (A: 2400-3000).
"3000?" Ron whistled. "He's got the strongest monster on the field now."
Harry sat down beside Ron and began watching the match.
"All right, my turn," Jesse said, drawing a card and then smiling. "Sorry, Atticus, looks like you're out too. I summon Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat in Attack Mode." An amethyst gem appeared on the field and shattered to reveal the pink lioness with the large amethyst jewel on her chest (A: 1200/D: 400).
Atticus shrugged. "Go ahead, Jesse. I wanted to face Harry in the semifinals anyway," he said.
"All right then. Per Amethyst Cat's effect, by halving her attack, she can attack you directly," Jesse said and Amethyst Cat, purring in satisfaction, shot forward and raked her claws across Atticus's face causing him to yelp in pain.
Jaden: 3100
Atticus: 0
Jesse: 4000
Harry: 0
Jesse facepalmed. "Seriously, Amethyst?" he objected.
'Again, I regret nothing,' Amethyst said, licking her paw.
"There you have it," Kelley said. "The matches in the semfinals that will take place tomorrow will be Harry versus Atticus and Jaden versus Jesse. Best of luck to all of you."
Jaden exchanged glances with Jesse and smiled. "Looks like we get our rematch, eh?" he said.
Jesse grinned. "I'm looking forward to it," he said.
"So am I."
"So you wanted to face me in the semifinals?" Harry asked Atticus.
"Yup. You're a good duelist and I wanna see for myself just how good," Atticus said brightly.
"Well, best of luck to ya."
"You too."
It wasn't long, though, before Madame Pomfrey was descending on them, casting diagnostic spells to assure herself that they were all right, if slightly tired.
. . .
Unknown Location
It was getting colder. The winter months had arrived and the shaggy and extremely skinny black dog was finding it difficult to get any rest. The Animagus sighed and rested his head on his paws, gazing out of the cave that he had decided to claim for the time being. He was tired and hungry and thirsty and there wasn't much he could do about it.
The Animagus sighed as he gazed out of the cave, thinking. Christmas is coming up. Maybe I can get Harry something. But what would he like? He does fly like his dad. Should I get him a broom? He rested his head on his paws as he thought about it. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to get him a broom. Maybe that new Firebolt that just came out.
Sirius knew he could buy it through the company itself by going through his Gringotts Account. The goblins didn't care if he was a fugitive and would let him do that.
Hopefully he'll like it, Sirius thought, lifting his head off his paws and getting to them, shaking his fur. Now here's the tough part, getting into Gringotts without being recognized since I don't have a wand so I can't hide my appearance under a glamour or nothing like that. Great.
Sirius sighed, wishing, not for the first time, that he had never gone after Pettigrew and, then, perhaps he would never have been sent to Azkaban and would never have had to escape just to protect his godson.
But, of course, he knew it was pointless to think about what could have happened.
So he focused on the moment.
And, at that moment, he was focused on figuring out how to get his godson a Christmas gift.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: and that was chapter 37
Bakura: yeah, yeah
Hungarian Horntail Dragon: (sets Kaiba's Mansion on fire)
Kaiba: GET YOUR DAMN BEAST UNDER CONTROL, BAKURA!
Bakura: let me think about that…no (cackles insanely)
Ryou: (sweatdrops)
Jesse (who looks like Jehu): okay then (walks off to play with his Diancie)
Jaden: (happily playing with Tenshi)
Yuri/Lily: that is not my name and why do you have both those names together?
Blaze: Mizumi wants to call you by your translated name Lily but I kinda like you so I'm letting you have both names as your name
Yuri/Lily: okay?
Blaze: yes! I have confused Yuri! (Does happy jig)
Harry: why is she so happy about that?
Chazz: (petting his black puppy) it's Blaze
Harry: true
Blaze: well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will not be up for a while, maybe the middle of December but it's doubtful. I will try to post at least once more before the New Year though. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.