Yu-Gi-Oh!
Balance
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – THE QUIDDITCH FINAL
Bakura took the fact that Buckbeak was going to be executed the hardest, possibly even more so than Hagrid; he had a soft spot for the hippogriff ever since he had ridden it. Yami Bakura was hardly ever seen since the news, and when he did have occasion to come out, he was more foul than usual to everyone. It was clear he wanted to kill someone, namely Ecillia, for what was going on. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the hope for an appeal.
The fact that tension was high over the Quidditch final coming up did not help anyone's moods either. It was going to be Slytherin versus Gryffindor, and the already strong rivalry between the two houses was doubled. Fights were suddenly breaking out in the hallways, more detentions were getting handed out than normal, and it was all between students of the two houses. A fifth year Slytherin even made the mistake of picking on Yugi. Unfortunately, McGonagall happened by as Yami Yugi was "defending" his little love, and it was the pharaoh that ended up getting the detention.
"Stupid trophy room," he muttered, rubbing wax off his hands after Yugi, Marik, Draco, Harry, Hermione, and Ron stopped by the pick him up in the morning before going off to Divination. "I don't see the point of keeping those things clean. No one ever goes in there to look at them."
"Why do you think the teachers use it as detention, mou hitori no boku?" Yugi giggled, finding the fact that his other self had gotten stuck with punishment quite amusing.
Draco eyed Yami Yugi's dirtied hands. "Can't you just disappear into the Puzzle and come back out?" he suggested. "Wouldn't that get you clean?"
The pharaoh just sighed. "Yes, it would, but it's getting harder and harder to do that," he admitted. "It's almost like the thing doesn't want me in there."
Marik was about to comment on this, when an annoying laugh pierced their ears. They all turned angrily to see Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle behind them. Ecillia was standing before her two bodyguards, her hands on her hips and a look of absolute mirth on her face.
"Isn't that wonderful then?" she asking in a mockingly sincere voice. "Then you two can have all the… fun you could possibly want."
Harry, Ron, and Draco approached threateningly, but someone else beat them to it…
SMACK!
Ecillia reeled, caught off guard by the slap that had come out of nowhere. She recovered quickly enough, staring – along with everyone else – at her attacker in surprise.
"How dare you!" Hermione accused. "Just because they care about each other doesn't give you the right to mock them, you dirty… you evil…!"
She raised her hand to strike her again.
"Hermione!" Marik exclaimed weakly, having barely enough of a conscious mind to grab her hand.
"Let go of me, Marik!" she exclaimed, reaching into her robes with her free hand and taking out her wand. Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle goggled at her for a moment, hardly believing what they were seeing, before Ecillia ordered her cronies to get out of there.
"Hermione!" Marik exclaimed again once Ecillia had left, still shocked at what had happened. Hermione ignored him however, whirling on him, Harry, and Draco, staring each of them down.
"You'd better defeat her in the Quidditch final!" she exclaimed shrilly. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if Slytherin won!"
The boys all goggled at her for a long moment, before Yugi brought to their attention that they were going to be late to Divination. They hurried up the stairs and up the ladder to get to Professor Trelawney's room. She was sitting there, waiting for them patiently to take their seats before she started the lesson. They did so, taking their seats at their usual table, caught off guard by the unusual glowing crystal ball resting in the center.
"Thank you for joining us," Professor Trelawney said in her usual misty voice. "I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned. The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art," the professor continued, shooting her a reproving look. "I do not expect any of you to See when you first peer into the Orb's infinite depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and external eyes –"
Draco had to stuff a fist in his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud.
" – so as to clear the Inner Eye and the superconscious," she concluded. "Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will See before the end of the class."
Thus the practice began. Even Yami Yugi stayed present for the extremely boring lesson, and tried to see in the crystal ball himself, despite how idiotic he felt. He was not the only one who felt this way. Both Ron and Draco kept bursting into fits of giggles, Hermione and Marik kept shaking their heads in exasperation, Yugi gave up on it and just leaned against his other self, and Harry was too busy trying to chase away thoughts of "this is stupid" from his mind.
"Seen anything yet?" he asked after a quarter of an hour.
"Yeah, there's a burn mark on the table," Ron pointed out. "Someone spilled their candle."
"This is such a waste of time," Hermione groaned.
Professor Trelawney rustled past them at that moment.
"Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within their Orb?" she asked. Marik leaned back in his seat, waving toward their crystal.
"I don't need help," he announced.
The professor raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah, it's obvious what this means," Marik continued, a smirk creeping up on his face. "There's going to be loads of fog tonight."
Yugi nearly fell off his chair in mirth as their whole table burst out laughing.
"Well really!" the professor exclaimed as the rest of the class turned in their direction. Slightly flustered, Professor Trelawney approached their table and peered into the crystal ball. Harry just gave her a dull look as the illumination from the Orb made her eyes seem larger than they normally were.
"Oh my…" she breathed, gazing up at him. "It is here, plainer than ever… stalking toward you… the Gr –"
"Oh pul-lease!" Hermione exclaimed. "Not that ridiculous Grim again!"
Professor Trelawney regarded her with her enormous eyes, the anger she was feeling clearly plastered on her face.
"I'm sorry to say, my dear," she began, "that from the moment you have arrived in this class, it has been apparent that you lack what the noble art of Divination requires –"
"Oh, knock off the sham."
Hermione crossed her arms haughtily, her hair darkening to black as Aishisu took over. The professor's previously harsh look melted into one of shock, caught off guard by the sudden change. Yami Yugi tensed, afraid that something was going to happen.
"Do you even understand half of the crap that comes out of your mouth?" Aishisu asked, clearly annoyed. "How can you call yourself a Soothsayer when you do not even understand the meanings behind half of the omens and signs that you see."
Professor Trelawney recovered herself then, fixing the Egyptian spirit with a nonplused look. "Are you implying that you understand better than I? A professor of this school?"
Aishisu rolled her eyes, before pulling her sweater down slightly, revealing the Millennium Tauk around her neck. At that Yami Yugi stood up from his seat, fixing the Soothsayer with a stern look.
"Aishisu, that's enough, stand down," he ordered.
Aishisu looked at him with determination in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Pharaoh, but no. You protect your light every time someone torments him. It's my turn to do the same for Hermione."
Yami Yugi held her gaze for a moment, before turning away and sitting down once again, having no argument for that. Professor Trelawney looked between the two spirits, the slight tinge of fear on her face easy to spot. The rest of the class, however, were totally fixated on Aishisu as she closed her eyes and held both hands on either side of the Tauk.
The Millennium Item suddenly exploded with blinding light, forcing some students to shield their eyes. An unfelt wind blew her hair back, revealing the Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness emblazoned on her forehead. Aishisu opened her eyes slightly, glaring at the professor – who had now backed away in fear and surprise – before she began to speak:
On the day of fate
In the hour of destiny
Seven Chosen Ones
With the aid of the four Gods
Will stand before the un-Chosen
Who wields the power of the Stinking Head
The Seven Chosen will fight bravely
But in the end they will fall.
If these images remain unchanged
Then everything will return to the beginning
A thousand years to infinity
A thousand times to repeat forevermore.
Yugi, Yami Yugi, and Marik stared at Aishisu, as the power she called on to make her prediction died away, and her arms dropped to her sides. After a long, drawn out moment, she opened her eyes again, gauging Professor Trelawney's reaction. The professor just stared at her, her bug eyes wide and her thin body trembling so badly it seemed as if it would snap. Satisfied, Aishisu gathered Hermione's belongings, walked over to the trap door entrance, kicked it open, and disappeared down the ladder. The six left at the table that they all had shared exchanged bewildered glances, before the boys got up and followed her out. No one moved to stop them; the class and the teacher were too shocked by the true prediction to do so.
Draco caught up to Aishisu first, grabbing her arm to help stop her brisk walk down the hallway.
"Aishisu, what was that!" he demanded. "What kind of vision was that?"
Aishisu turned to the six of them, her eyes lingering a bit on Marik. He stared back at her, concerned, but offered her a comforting smile. She swiped tears out of her eyes, before sighing slightly.
"I saw our deaths."
-.oOOo.-
Draco tossed and turned in his bed the night before the Quidditch final, unable to get any kind of sleep because of the stress that was plaguing his mind. Surprisingly enough, though, he was not focused on Quidditch as he should have been; he was more focused on the prediction that Aishisu had made. She said that she "saw our deaths"; could that mean she had seen his? Why would she, though? He should not have anything to do with such a weird prophecy!
Giving up on sleep, Draco pounded a fist into his pillow before heading out of the boys' dorm and down into the common room. Apparently, he was not the only one who could not sleep; Marik was already up, curled up in an easy chair with an old book propped open on his lap. The Egyptian looked up at him in mild surprise as he came down the stairs to plop down on the couch next to him.
"I don't know how Harry could possibly be sleeping right now," Marik said lightly.
Draco just raised an eyebrow. "That's not why you're up and you know that I know that," he pointed out. "When Aishisu said the 'Seven Chosen Ones', she meant the people with the Millennium Items, didn't she?"
Marik sighed thoughtfully, fingering his Millennium Ring. "I don't see who else it could be," he answered honestly. "That's not what bothers me, though. She mentioned four gods, but there are only three God Cards. That, and that 'Stinking Head'; I know I've heard that mentioned somewhere."
Draco just sighed – he only knew so much Egyptian mythology; he was hardly a scholar on the subject. He leaned his head back against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling of the common room. Frowning mentally, he reached under his bed shirt and pulled out the feather he wore around the chain.
"Marik, what's this?" he asked, holding it up, but not moving his head. He really did not need to; he could just picture the confused look on the Egyptian's face.
"A feather…"
Draco smirked, returning the feather to its normal hiding place.
"I thought so."
-.oOOo.-
The Gryffindor team received a standing ovation when they entered the Great Hall the morning of the match for breakfast. Harry hardly noticed, too busy rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Though he had gotten more sleep than Marik or Draco, he had not slept well, as his nervousness caused nightmares to plague him.
Breakfast went by in a blur. Wood kept encouraging the team to eat up, while hardly eating anything himself. Yugi seemed to be more optimistic than usual, and kept giving the team encouraging smiles. All too soon, they were hurried out of the Hall, to the accompaniment of applause from all the tables, save Slytherin.
"Good luck, Harry!" Cho Chang called over the crowd. Harry found himself blushing as Marik shot him a knowing look.
Bakura joined Yugi, Ron, and Hermione at the Gryffindor table when the team left, watching as the Slytherin team also made their way out to the field. The other Gryffindor's gave him a strange look as he sat down; students from other houses did not normally sit at the tables of other houses. Bakura ignored this, however, finishing a biscuit before his other half appeared on the seat next to him.
"I don't think this is going to be a clean match," the tomb robber stated, barely masking his glee at that.
Yugi just rolled his eyes at Yami Bakura's manner. "Why do you say that?"
"Because," Bakura answered for him, "I – well, he – caught word that Slytherin changed their line-up."
Ron grimaced. "How bad?"
"You'll see," Yami Bakura stated, standing up.
The five of them started heading out with some of the other students who were either finished with their breakfast or too excited to eat. They entered the stadium and took their seats, quickly followed by a sea of people dressed in red. On the opposing side of the massive playing field, was a conflicting mass of green, as the Slytherin House showed off their pride for their team.
Soon after everyone was settled, the Gryffindor team emerged from their locker room. The stands erupted in cheers of "Go Gryffindor!" and "Lions for the Cup!" and easily drowning out the Slytherin jeers.
"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee Jordan yelled over the loudspeakers. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood; and reservists Ishitar and Malfoy. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in years –"
An outpouring of "boos" from the Slytherin end cut off Lee.
"And here comes the Slytherin team," Lee continued, undaunted, "led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes to the line-up and seems to be going for size rather than skill –"
Lee was cut off by more jeers, but Yugi was not about to argue with the boy's assessment. Even from the distance he was at, he could tell that the group of players that had come out from the Slytherin locker rooms were of a lot thicker build than normal. In fact, the only one that was small and skinny was Ecillia, holding her broom over her shoulder cockily.
"Ne… Mou hitori no boku?" Yugi asked his other half (who had appeared when they arrived in the stands). "You don't think anyone's gonna get hurt, do you?"
Yami Yugi gave him a sheepish look. "I wouldn't count on it, koibito."
Suddenly, there was a sharp stab of a whistle cutting through the air, and the crowd erupted as the two teams took to the air. Whatever nervous feeling Harry had harbored soon evaporated as the thrill of flight coursed through his veins. His annoyance returned quickly enough, however; when he looked back, Ecillia was right on his tail. Tossing her a glare, he quickly turned his attention away from her and focused it at the match below.
Alicia Spinnet had gotten the Quaffle first, and had been speeding toward the Slytherin goal post before a Slytherin, who hit her with enough force to nearly knock her off her broom, intercepted her. A bludger from George quickly solved that problem, and Angelina Johnson recovered it, before closing the distance to the goal posts and nailing the first score of the game.
The crowd cheered her as she went to take up position after her score. She pumped a triumphant fist in the air, before…
"THAT WAS DELIBERATE!" Lee shouted over the loudspeakers.
Flint had come up from out of nowhere and knocked Angelina clear off her broom. She landed on the soft sand below with a painful sounding thud, and Flint spent most of the time out that followed trying to say that he did not see her. Eventually, she had to be taken off the field because of a broken arm.
Draco mounted his broom, trying to relax his grip, but his nerves were too jumbled up for that. He waited for Madam Hooch's whistle before soaring up to take Angelina's place in the game. Given the Quaffle, he scored the penalty shot meant for her, making it in easily.
"All right, Draco!" Lee shouted. "He's beaten the Keeper! Twenty – zero to Gryffindor."
Draco soared back to his side of the field before he could get hit or worse; he was going to be a target in this game, he knew it. He gazed up briefly toward Harry, who was zooming about the field with Ecillia close on his tail. It was essential for Harry to catch the Snitch when their team was fifty points ahead. If he did not, then they would win the game, but loose the Cup.
Draco snapped out of his thoughts as Lee started shouting again. One of the Slytherin Chasers had cut of Katie Bell, but instead of grabbing the Quaffle, grabbed her head and nearly sent her off her broom. After the Slytherin got a thorough tongue lashing from Madam Hooch, Katie scored the third goal of the game.
"HA!" Lee shouted. "Take that you dirty, cheating –"
"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way –"
"I'm just telling it like it is, professor."
Harry smirked at their antics, before his heart leapt up into his throat. He had seen the Snitch, floating about one of the Gryffindor goal posts. Problem was, if Ecillia had seen it too…
Thinking quickly, Harry pulled his Firebolt around and zoomed for the Slytherin end of the field. Ecillia bought the faked sighting and followed as close as she could. He let himself have a private smile; he had no doubt that she was a good Seeker, but she was easily duped. Harry did not have long to dwell on this thoughts, however, as a bludger hit by the Slytherin Beater whizzed by his ear. He reflexively ducked, only to get grazed in the shoulder by a second bludger, courtesy of the other Slytherin Beater.
Dimly aware of the two brutes closing in on him with their clubs raised, Harry waited until the last moment before turning his Firebolt upward and soaring off. The two lugs collided with a sickening crunch, much to everyone but Slytherin House's delight.
"Ha haaa!" Lee exclaimed. "Too bad boys! You'll have to move faster than that to catch a Firebolt!"
Draco, in the meantime, was soaring down the field, the Quaffle firmly tucked under his arm. He knew that his former captain, Marcus Flint, was catching up to him, but he forced himself not to think about it. He just had to get to the Slytherin goal and get them another score so Harry could get the Snitch that much faster and prevent anymore of their teammates from getting hurt.
This was easily the dirtiest game he had ever played in.
Flint pulled up along side him finally, his ugly face leering at him. "You're going to end up as paste, you lousy traitor," he sneered.
Draco shot him an annoyed look. "Buzz off, Flint!" he exclaimed, before hitting the brakes. Flint, caught off guard, soared past him. Allowing himself a smirk, Draco soared up slightly, before lobbing off the Quaffle in a perfect pass to Alicia. Just before she could catch it, however, one of the Slytherin Beaters came out of nowhere and hit her with his club.
The stands erupted at that, with Slytherin applauding the move and everyone else shouting obscenities. Furious, Fred went up to the Beater and elbowed him in the face in retaliation. Lee, meanwhile, swore so badly at the previous dirty move that Professor McGonagall tried to tug his megaphone away.
"Sorry, Professor, sorry! It won't happen again! So, penalties to both Slytherin and Gryffindor. Alicia scores! And – oh no…"
Flint had scored his penalty shot as well, bringing the score to forty – ten, Gryffindor.
The Snitch had disappeared from view and Ecillia, furious at having been led astray from it, was watching Harry like a hawk. He ignored her, listening to the commentary closely while looking about. Once Gryffindor was fifty points up…
Katie scored, and Fred and George were swooping about her as she made her way back to safety, making sure none of the Slytherins thought to try and get revenge. Taking advantage of the Weasley twins' absence, the Slytherin Beaters shot both bludgers at Wood; they both caught him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
Madam Hooch was beside herself with rage and disbelief.
"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" she shrieked. "Gryffindor penalty!"
Draco scored easily, bringing the score to sixty – ten. Moments later, Fred used a well-shot bludger to knock the Quaffle out of the hands of a Slytherin Chaser. Alicia seized the large red ball and scored another goal for the team.
Down in the stands, Yugi was gripping his seat in anticipation while the rest of the Gryffindor supporters were screaming themselves hoarse. If Harry could get the Snitch right now, then their team would win the Cup. He stared up at the young wizard, silently hoping he would find it…
Suddenly, Harry shot upward. Yugi jumped up from his seat.
"C'mon Har—!"
He cut himself off, a look of abject horror on his face. Ecillia had thrown herself forward when Harry shot off, grabbing a hold of the Firebolt's tail and pulled back, slowing him down. He kicked her hands off of his broom, but the damage was already done; the Snitch had disappeared once again. Madam Hooch went up and started shouted at Ecillia as she slid back on her broom, while the Gryffindor supporters starting cursing her out.
"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee shouted over the loudspeakers, staying out of McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING, BITCH!"
Professor McGonagall was not about to tell him off. She too was shouting obscenities at Ecillia, shaking a rude finger in her direction.
Alicia took the penalty Gryffindor received, but she was so furious she missed the goal by several feet. Their team was starting to loose their concentration, while Slytherin was reveling in Ecillia's dirty move.
"Slytherin in possession. Slytherin heading for the goal – Montague scores…" Lee groaned. "Seventy – twenty, Gryffindor."
Harry was marking Ecillia so closely, that their knees where knocking against each other. He was not about to let her anywhere near the Snitch.
"Oh, come off it, Pothead!" she exclaimed as she tried to turn, only to find Harry blocking her path.
"Draco Malfoy gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor," Lee announced suddenly. "C'mon, Draco, c'mon!"
Harry turned to look down at where Draco was streaking up the field. Every single Slytherin player apart from Ecillia was heading straight for him, intent on blocking him by any means necessary. Not sparing a second thought, Harry wheeled around, lying flat against the handle of his broom as he shot forward like a rocket.
"AAAAAAARRRGH!"
The Slytherin team scattered as he came shooting toward them, giving Draco a clear path to the goal posts.
"HE SCORES! HE SCORES!" Lee nearly shouted himself hoarse. "Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!"
Harry, who almost pelted into the stands because of his move, brought his broom up and around in a position to head back toward the center of the field. What he saw as he turned, however, made his heart stand still. Ecillia was diving, a sickening look of triumph on her face. There, a few feet above the sand below, was a golden glimmer…
Harry did not even stop to think. He pressed himself flat against his broom again as he shot forward. Ecillia was so far ahead, but he refused to dwell on it. A bludger was sent in his direction, but he looped around it, avoiding it easily. He was at Ecillia's ankles… he was level…
Taking both hands off of his broom, Harry threw himself forward. One hand knocked Ecillia's out of the way while the other…
"YES!"
Somehow, he managed to pull out of the dive before he ended up permanently embedded in the sand. The crowd below him exploded in ecstatic cheers as Harry soared above them, showing off the Snitch that was clutched tightly in his hand.
In the next instant, Wood was speeding toward him, half-blinded by tears. He seized Harry by the neck and sobbed on his shoulder in absolute joy. This was followed by two thumps on his back as Fred and George hit him. Then came Draco, Alicia, and Katie's voices, "We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" Even Marik joined them on his broom from the reservists spot, one of his nails bleeding from the stress he had taken out on it.
The team sank back to the earth, tangled together in a many armed hug, as a sea of scarlet burst forth onto the field. Before Harry even knew what had happened, he found himself on the shoulders of the Gryffindor supporters along with the rest of the team as they were led off to the teacher's box. Ron, Hermione, Yugi, Yami Yugi, Bakura, and Yami Bakura managed to push themselves through the crowd to get to Harry. Word escaped them; they just grinned up at him triumphantly. Even the tomb robber had the first genuinely happy smile he – and he assumed anyone else for that matter – had ever seen on his face.
The team was borne toward where Professor Dumbledore was holding the enormous Quidditch Cup. Harry silently wished, as a still sobbing Wood passed the Cup on to him, that a dementor was around. He lifted the Cup into the air in triumph, thinking that right there and then, he probably could have produced the world's best Patronus.