Yu-Gi-Oh!
A New Generation of Priests
CHAPTER TWELVE – GOOD, EVIL, AND CHANGES OF DESTINY
Harry and Yami Bakura found themselves standing at the edge of a very long, dimly lit corridor. A stretch of walkway extended into the darkness before them, and the steady drip, drip of water was coming from somewhere. Columns in the shape of snakeheads lined the path, each with mouths wide open as if waiting to pounce and devour them.
Harry jumped as he felt a hand on his back. He looked up at Yami Bakura, who was gently urging him forward, his eyes roving about the entire Chamber.
"Okay, kid," Yami Bakura said. "Nice and easy. Keep an ear out for the snake."
They proceeded down the pathway, Yami Bakura's narrow eyes constantly flicking back and forth to the pillars and beyond. Somehow, for some strange reason, Harry felt comfortable with the tomb robber accompanying him. Perhaps it was because the Egyptian spirit was familiar in dark and enclosed places, or maybe it was just because that without the presence of the other spirits he was actually a fairly decent person. Either way, he was glad that it was him there and not one of the others.
When they drew even with the final set of pillars, a gargantuan statue as high as the chamber itself loomed into view before them. It was of an elderly wizard, his long thinning beard coming down near the rope belt around his robes. Harry was not focused on that, however, his eyes were down between the feet of the statue. There, lying face down on the stone floor, were two dark robed figures, one with fiery red hair and the other with tri-colored hair.
"Ginny! Yugi!" Harry exclaimed, sprinting to them and falling to his knees. Yami Bakura winced before following him.
"Please don't be dead," Harry urged. He flung his wand aside, grabbing Ginny by the shoulders and turning her over. Yami Bakura flipped Yugi over as well, pulling the small boy onto his lap. Both of them where deathly pale and ice cold, yet their eyes were closed, so they were not petrified. That could only mean…
"C'mon, little pharaoh," Yami Bakura said, slapping Yugi lightly on the face. "Wake up already."
Yugi's head just lolled helplessly to the side. The tomb robber bit his lip, fearing what he would have to tell the pharaoh if the little boy did not wake up. "Oh, yeah, Pharaoh, your hikari died by the way." He knew how that conversation would end.
"They won't wake," came a soft voice. Harry practically jumped out of his skin, and Yami Bakura's head snapped up in surprise. From the shadows, a dark haired boy emerged, his outline lit up by a pale misty glow. Harry frowned; the boy seemed familiar somehow.
"Who… what are you?" he asked.
"A memory," the boy answered, "preserved in a diary for fifty long years."
The boy pointed an area near the feet of the statue, where the black book Yugi had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom lay open. Harry's eyes grew wide, hardly believing it.
"Tom… you're Tom Riddle!"
Riddle nodded.
"Look, this is all well and good," Yami Bakura began, rolling his eyes, "but in case you boys haven't noticed, we're in the Chamber of Secrets with a giant Basilisk roving about. This conversation can wait till later."
"But…!" Harry began to protest.
"Later," the tomb robber stressed, getting back to his feet and lifting Yugi in his arms at the same time. "Now, get your wand, grab the girl, and let's go."
Harry reluctantly agreed, looking around for his wand. It was not where it had landed, however.
"Did you guys see where –"
He cut himself off, looking up to see that Riddle was holding his wand, twirling it between his fingers. Harry reached out to take it, but Riddle simply smirked before slipping it into his cloak pocket.
"You won't be needing it, Harry Potter," the memory stated. "We have much to discuss, after all."
"Are you deaf?" Yami Bakura demanded, starting to get annoyed. "We can talk later, now give him –"
"We will talk now," Riddle interrupted, an odd look on his face. Harry frowned; looking down at Ginny in his arms, before turning his attention back to the apparition.
"How did Ginny and Yugi get like this?" he asked. A sneer crept onto Riddle's face, an expression that looked eerily out of place.
"It's quite an interesting story, actually," he answered, in a tone that was mockingly pleasant. "I suppose it would start over the summer, when Ginny started pouring her soul to an invisible friend."
Harry clutched Ginny closer to himself. "What do you mean!" he demanded.
"My diary, of course," Riddle replied. "Ginny has been writing to me almost all year. She's been telling me everything, from her deepest secrets to her most pleasant dreams. It's rather boring, you know, listening to the fancies of an eleven-year-old girl, but I was patient. I knew that eventually, as she poured some of herself into me, I would be able to pour some of myself back into her."
Yami Bakura grit his teeth; this was starting to sound familiar. "Let me guess," he snarled. "You possessed Ginny. You made her open this Chamber, and set that snake loose on the school."
"Oh, the mudblood can use his brain," Riddle sneered.
The tomb robber looked like he was going to kill at that statement. "And what does Yugi have to do with all this?" he demanded.
"Well, it took awhile for Ginny to stop trusting her little 'pocket pal'," the memory explained. "She discarded it, and who should come on it but little Yugi Mutou. I knew from what Ginny told me, that Yugi was close to you, Harry Potter. I knew if I could gain his trust, I would gain yours as well, so I showed little Yugi my famous capture of that bumbling oaf, Hagrid."
Harry's eyes narrowed at that. "Hagrid is my friend, but you framed him," he accused. "At first I thought you just made a mistake, but –"
A high, cruel laugh from Riddle cut him off. "It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry!" he exclaimed. "But even showing off that bit of brilliance on my part reaped in some generous rewards. Yugi started sharing some of his secrets with me, without the knowledge of his precious 'other self'. I knew that if I could get him to take off his Puzzle every now and then I could have him pick up where Ginny left off." His face twisted into an ugly sneer. "I could just picture the look on your face if you found out one of your own near and dear friends was responsible for the death of another close to your heart."
Riddle's face morphed into a downright scowl then. "Of course, I never got the chance. Ginny had apparently seen Yugi with the book and stole it back, afraid that I would blab her secrets to him. Unfortunately for them, by that time I needed them for another purpose…
"So, I had poor little Ginny ambush Yugi in the hallway. I made them write their own farewell on the wall, and come down here to wait for death. Ginny cried, and Yugi begged me to let her go; but I'm afraid none of that really matters now. There's not much life left in them, and they've completed what I set out for them to do."
At this point, Harry was looking up at the apparition with more hatred than he had shown even Snape. Yami Bakura's hand was twitching slightly, as if it longed to have something sharp placed in it. Riddle took a menacing step toward them, a mighty scowl on his face.
"Now, tell me, Harry Potter," he snarled, "how is it that you – a skinny scrap of a boy with no extraordinary talent – managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How is it that you escaped with nothing more than a scar, while Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
"What do you care?" Harry shot back, not bothering to mask the hatred in his voice. "Voldemort was after your time."
A slow smile crept onto Riddle's face. "Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter."
With that, he took Harry's wand out from his pocket. Holding it up, he skywrote three words:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
The memory waved his arms, and the words rearranged themselves into a message that even got a startled gasp out of Yami Bakura.
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
"You've gotta be kidding me…" the tomb robber hissed, remembering his previous encounter with the dark wizard. By this time, Harry was practically shaking with rage. He set Ginny on the ground and stood up, his fists clenched, focusing a hateful glare on the past manifestation of Voldemort.
"You're not," he snapped, his voice filled with hate.
"Not what?" Riddle asked casually.
"You're not the greatest wizard of all time," Harry clarified. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Dumbledore is the greatest; everyone says so. You yourself were afraid to even touch Hogwarts, even when you were at the height of your power."
The scowl returned to Riddle's face. "Dumbledore has been driven out by the mere memory of me!"
"He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry shot back.
Riddle was about to snap back at him, when music suddenly streamed down from the opposite end of the Chamber. The memory whirled as the music started getting louder, filling the whole chamber with its unearthly melody. For Harry, however, it felt like each note was resonating with his soul. He could feel it in his chest; a sense of familiarity mixed with a deep sadness. He had a distinct impression these feelings were not his, but if that were so, then where were they coming from?
A moment later, a crimson bird the size of a small swan appeared from the shadows. Its glittering golden tail was as long as a peacock's, and its whole plumage gave it the illusion of being on fire. It was gripping something frayed and ragged, which it deposited at Harry's feet before resting heavily on his shoulder. The bird folded its great wings, and Harry looked up to see it had a sharp golden beak and beady black eyes. It stared calmly at Riddle, as if it was not bothered or impressed with the memory's appearance.
"That's a phoenix…" Riddle muttered, staring shrewdly at the bird.
Harry looked up at the bird in surprise. Yugi had mentioned last year that Dumbledore owned a phoenix, but he never thought he would actually have the opportunity to see it.
"And that," Riddle continued, his focus now on the ragged thing the bird had dropped, "is the old school Sorting Hat."
Harry looked down as well. Indeed, it was the old hat, lying motionless at his feet. He picked it up, wondering what the heck he was supposed to do with it, as Riddle let out a high, sinister laugh.
"So this is what Dumbledore sends his defenders," he sneered. "A songbird and an old hat! Well, shall we see how these trinkets fair against the all mighty power of the Heir of Slytherin?"
Riddle walked over to in-between the final two columns, blocking off any hope of exit before whirled about, facing the giant statue of the wizard above them. He spread his arms wide, as if reaching out to embrace some dark power. A sharp hissing sound escaped from his mouth, but Harry understood what he was saying.
"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"
High above, the mouth of the statue slowly started to open and a hissing sound from deep within filled the whole chamber. The phoenix took to the air again as both Harry and Yami Bakura closed their eyes and backed away from the statue, the tomb robber still loaded down with Yugi's limp body. Something huge hit the floor; feeling like it was shaking the whole chamber. The two of them could almost picture the Basilisk falling out of the mouth of the statue and rearing up, ready to come after them.
"Kill them!" Riddle commanded in Parseltongue.
"What'd he say?" Yami Bakura asked.
"Do I really need to translate?" Harry replied sourly, backing up as far as he could as he heard the King of Serpents come closer.
"Stay here," the tomb robber ordered, before darting forward.
Yami Bakura was using his sense of sound to get an idea of where the creature was. His hope was that he would be able to draw it away from Harry; unfortunately the plan backfired on him. Instead of following him like he had hoped, the snake whipped its tail around, sending him flying to the other side of the Chamber. Yugi went sailing from his arms as he landed on the slimy stone floor with a thud that not only knocked the wind out of him, but forced his eyes open as well.
Fortunately for the tomb robber, however, the Basilisk was still preoccupied with Harry, and was not focusing its petrifying gaze on him. He breathed a sigh of relief, when he caught the sound of something rolling on the stone floor. Turning, his saw the Millennium Eye had slipped from the pocket he kept it in and was following a crack in the floor, as if trying to escape from the predicament they had ended up in.
"Oh, no you don't," he muttered, grabbing the Eye before it could disappear into the darkness. "You may be useless in this situation, but if I can't escape from this, then you can't either."
Yami Bakura got back to his feet, careful the make sure the Basilisk was not looking at him before turning around. The snake had Harry completely cornered. The young wizard had the Sorting Hat jammed over his eyes, as if that would assist him in shutting out the murderous gaze of the Basilisk. The tomb robber gripped the Millennium Eye in his hand – if only he had an Item that could do him some good! The Eye's powers revolved around being able to look a person or creature in the eye. Needless to say, against something that could kill you for looking it in the eye, it was not helpful at all.
Suddenly, with a scorching note, the phoenix dived on the snake from out of nowhere. The bird's beak sunk right into one of the Basilisk's eyes before the phoenix hovered away from harm. The damaged eye started pouring blood, and Yami Bakura was forced to close his eyes as the snake swung its head about, hissing in pain. There was another note from the bird, and another hiss from the snake, and the tomb robber got the distinct impression that the phoenix had impaled the other eye as well. Opening his own eyes confirmed that, and he tossed a confident sneer toward Riddle, who was too busy hissing furiously at the snake to notice.
"Harry, c'mon!" Yami Bakura shouted. "The snake's blinded! Get outta there!"
Harry dimly heard the tomb robber's shout; he was too scared to even move. He clutched the brim of the Sorting Hat over his eyes, mentally wishing for the hat to help him somehow. Suddenly, the hat contracted, as if some kind of hand were squeezing it. Something heavy and hard thudded against his head, almost making him pass out. He lifted the hat off of his head, and a gleaming silver sword encrusted with rubies the size of eggs slid out of it and into his lap.
Yami Bakura blinked in surprise as Harry held the sword up in wonderment. Where had that thing come from…?
Something started glowing in the tomb robber's clenched fist. He held it up, unclenching his fist to reveal the Millennium Eye glowing brightly in response to the appearance of the sword. The ball-shaped Item started flattening slightly, sprouting two golden fins on either side of the Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness. A leather bound gold handle appeared out of the end, and the tomb robber held it before him. What the heck was he supposed to do with this…?
Suddenly, a long, curving blade shot out of the other end of the Item. Yami Bakura stared at the Millennium Eye turned Millennium Sword, his eyes wide and his mouth contracted into a small "o" of wonder. What he had previously dubbed as the most useless Item just made itself ten times more useful.
Yami Bakura charged for the Basilisk as it swayed unsteadily above him. He jammed the sword into the side of the snake, running it along the creature's flank, giving it something else to occupy itself with as the tomb robber went to Harry's side. He helped the young wizard to his feet as the snake started swaying again, following the hissing shouts from its master.
"Move!" Yami Bakura shouted as the snake lunged wildly, narrowly missing the two of them as they ducked out of the way. They skidded about the slimy floor, coming up to brandish their swords before them as the snake reared up for one more strike.
"All right, kid, on three," the tomb robber ordered as the snake started curling back. "One… two…"
The snake lunged.
"Three!"
Both Harry and Yami Bakura put their entire weight behind their respective swords. Both weapons went right through the roof of the serpent's mouth, drenching them in blood. They had pierced the Basilisk's brain, only…
Harry let out a cry of pain as the snake keeled over onto the floor, twitching slightly in death. The young wizard fell against Yami Bakura, giving him a clear view of the splintered Basilisk fang wedged in his arm. He knelt back and let the young wizard rest against him as he started shuddering uncontrollably. The tomb robber grabbed the fang and forcefully pulled it straight out, but it did not do much good. He could literally see the poison coursing through Harry's veins, and he knew that the young boy would be dead in only a matter of minutes.
"You're dead, Harry Potter," Riddle sneered. "I'm going to enjoy watching you die."
Yami Bakura clutched Harry's shoulder, trying to ignore the fact that the memory was right. There was a flash of scarlet, and the tomb robber turned to see the phoenix had landed next to them and rested its head against Harry's injured arm. Soon, pearly tears started slipping down its glossy feathers, dropping onto the wound from the Basilisk fang. As Yami Bakura watched, wide eyed, the wound started to slowly close and the hellishly green poison faded from Harry's veins.
"Get away, bird!" Riddle shouted, pulling out Harry's wand from his pocket. "Get away!"
There was a bang like a shot, and the phoenix took to the air again. Harry managed to sit up again on his own, any signs of poison faded away as if they were never even there.
"I forgot," Riddle snarled. "Phoenix tears have healing properties… Well, if the snake couldn't kill you, then I'll be glad to do it!"
Riddle raised the wand again, as the phoenix fluttered past once more, dropping the black diary next to Harry's knees. There was a brief moment where both he and Riddle stared at the diary in surprise, when Harry grabbed the discarded Basilisk fang and plunged it straight through the book.
There was a long, piercing scream that rang throughout the whole Chamber. Harry and Yami Bakura looked up to see that Riddle was slowly breaking apart, holes of blinding light appearing on his body. With one blinding flash, the memory of the boy who would be Voldemort was gone, with Harry's wand clattering to the ground.
Harry let out a shuddering breath as Yami Bakura got to his feet. He picked up the young wizard's wand and handed it to him, a smirk on his face.
"I believe this is yours," he said.
They went over to the dead Basilisk and carefully tugged out their respective swords. Harry collected the Sorting Hat from where he had tossed it as a faint moaning came from the other end of the chamber. From between the feet of the statue of Slytherin, Ginny was stirring slightly. A ways away from her, where he had landed, Yugi was holding himself up with one hand and holding his head in pain with the other.
Yami Bakura went over to Yugi as Harry went to help Ginny. As soon as he was in range, however, she latched onto him, crying her eyes out.
"Harry! Oh Harry!" she exclaimed. "I'm so s-sorry! I w-wanted to t-tell you, but I c-couldn't! R-Riddle made me! I t-tried to g-get away from h-him, but –"
"Ginny, it's okay," he interrupted gently. "I understand, and Dumbledore should too."
Yami Bakura, in the meantime, helped Yugi to his feet. The small boy was still holding his head painfully, wincing.
"Are you all right there, little pharaoh?" the tomb robber asked.
"I've got a headache," Yugi groaned.
In spite of himself, Yami Bakura laughed out loud. "Only a headache?" he asked. "Thank god."
He lifted the smaller boy onto his shoulders, giving him a free ride as the four of them headed back to the entrance of the Chamber. The phoenix was waiting for them, leading them back out into the corridor that had led into the place. The doors of the Chamber hissed closed behind them, sealing them off from the horrors within for eternity. They followed the corridor back down the way they had come, until the sound of shuffling rock reached their ears.
"Ron!" Harry shouted. "Draco! Marik! Ginny and Yugi are okay!"
A whoop of triumph came as the four of them and the phoenix raced around the bend. What had once been a solid wall of rock had a fairly large hole in it, and an eager face poking through it.
"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed, reaching his arms through for his sister. Ginny gladly went through the hole, and Marik quickly appeared in the hole in her place.
"Yugi! Thank Kami-sama you're alive!" he exclaimed, reaching out for him. He plucked Yugi right off of Yami Bakura's shoulders, allowing him and Harry to crawl through the gap as well.
"Are you guys all right?" Draco asked as they fell down on the other side. "And where did you get those swords!"
"Later," Harry replied as the phoenix came flying through. "Where's Lockhart?"
Marik motioned back to where they had come from. "He's back near the pipe, but… Well, you'll have to see for yourself."
They went back up toward the pipe, where Professor Lockhart was sitting on a rock. He looked up at them as they approached, smiling pleasantly.
"Oh, hello," he said. "What an odd place. Do you live here?"
"No!" Ron answered, incredulous. Marik turned to Harry, a lopsided smirk on his face.
"When the wand exploded, the spell must have backfired on him," he explained. "He has no clue as to who he or where he is."
Yami Bakura snickered. "Sweet!"
Marik and Yugi sweatdropped. Draco, in the meantime, was looking up the pipe.
"Any ideas as to how we're going to get back up?" he asked, as the phoenix flew past him to come to a rest inside the pipe. It waved its tail feathers at them, as if it wanted them to grab a hold.
"Does that bird honestly think it can carry us all up?" Ron asked, eyebrow raised.
"This isn't an ordinary bird," Harry stated, walking toward the bird.
He motioned for everyone to take one another's hand. Once everyone was ready, Harry reached out and took hold of one of the phoenix's tail feathers. An amazing sense of lightness spread thorough him to the others, and with a rush of wings, they found themselves flying up the pipe ("Amazing! This is just like magic!" Lockhart exclaimed, to which Marik replied, "Well duh!"). Even Harry was impressed by the ride, but unfortunately, it was over quickly, and soon they were deposited back on the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
Myrtle stared at them as they regained their bearings, surprised. "You're still alive," she said to Harry.
"Don't be so disappointed," Harry replied sourly.
Myrtle just shrugged. "Oh well… I thought that if you died, you would be welcome to share my toilet," she said, blushing silver.
Draco made a face. "Urgh!" he exclaimed. "Looks like Myrtle fancies you, Harry!"
Harry rolled his eyes, wishing he were somewhere else. Suddenly, the phoenix floated ahead of them, heading out of the bathroom. They followed the bird as it led them down the hallway, up the stairs, and past empty classrooms until they finally came to Professor McGonagall's office.
Harry sighed, before he knocked and pushed the door open.
