Yu-Gi-Oh!
Balance

CHAPTER FIFTEEN – THE DEATH OF BUCKBEAK

Monday
9 o'clock, Arithmancy
9 o'clock, Transfiguration
Lunch
1 o'clock, Charms
1 o'clock, Ancient Runes

Marik's eyebrows shot up into his hairline as he read over the unusual schedule that morning at breakfast. A week after Gryffindor's spectacular win at the Quidditch final, reality set in as the dreaded final exams loomed ever closer. The third year students seemed to have it worse, mostly because they were used to only having to worry about finals for the basic classes. With the elective classes added, most students were on the verge of nervous breakdowns from all the extra studying. Hermione was the worst off out of everyone, as her testing schedule proved.

"Hermi-chan," he began, "do I even want to know how you're supposed to take two exams at once?"

"No," Hermione responded distantly, munching on a biscuit as she filled out a study sheet.

Marik just shook his head and put the schedule down, before shooting Yugi, Harry, Draco, and Ron an exasperated look. The four of them chuckled just as Hedwig dived in. She went to Harry immediately, dropping the note in her claws before him before heading for his bowl of cornflakes.

"It's from Hagrid," he announced, reading from the note. "Buckbeak's appeal is scheduled for the sixth, after we finish exams. They're coming here to do it; someone from the Ministry of Magic and… an executioner."

Yugi choked on the cornflakes he was eating. "Nani!" he exclaimed. "It sounds like they've already decided!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they had," Draco said sadly, poking his oatmeal with his fork. "My father practically has the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures wrapped around his finger."

"But that's not fair!" Ron exclaimed. "I've been helping him study loads of stuff for the appeal! They can't just ignore it all."

"Not many things are fair, Ron," Marik pointed out, sighing. "I can't even imagine how extra pissy the tomb robber's gonna be when he hears this."

"There's got to be something we can do," Hermione began, putting away her study sheet. "Is there any way we can see Hagrid?"

"Not with the new security precautions," Harry said sourly. "And my invisibility cloak's still in the passage going to Honeydukes, and if Snape sees me there again, I'm toast."

Yugi sighed, resting his elbows on the table, and his head in his hands. They were cornered, and there was nothing they could do to escape. He could not even imagine how Bakura – both of them – would take the news.

-.oOOo.-

Yugi came out of his Transfiguration exam, holding his head as if he had a headache. For someone who was good at the subject, he would have never imagined he could do so poorly. They had to turn a teapot into a tortoise, and he had done well at it during the practice when classes were still going on. When it came to the exam, however, his still had a willow-patterned shell. True, his mistake was not nearly as disastrous as some of the others – one student's was still blowing steam – but the fact that Hermione kept fussing that hers looked more like a turtle than a tortoise did not help matters.

The Charms exam was not nearly as disastrous. They had to partner up and perform a Cheering Charm on one another. The only problem was Harry overdid his in nervousness and Marik, whom he had been partnered with, had to be led away to a quiet room for an hour because he was laughing hysterically at the least little thing.

Care of Magical Creatures was the first thing they had the next day. Since the incident with Buckbeak, Hagrid had lost his nerve, and they reverted back to flobberworms. All they had to do for the exam was make sure their worm was alive by the end of class. A simple task, as the worms were best left alone. That gave Harry and the others a chance to break the news to Bakura. As predicted, Yami Bakura did not take the news remotely well.

"Let that Lucius Malfoy cross my path," the tomb robber growled, having taken over his hikari's body. "I'll send him to the Shadow Realm so fast, he wont even know what happened."

Ancient Egyptian Magic almost went by without a hitch. All they had to do was recite the Egyptian alphabet and perform a simple spell of their choice. Yugi had attempted a fire spell, only to have it backfire in his face, much to his displeasure. Shadi calmly handed him a cloth to wipe his face off, before allowing him to try again.

It was Potions that nearly killed everyone. Even Marik, who was good at the class, could not get his Confusing Concoction to thicken. Snape glared down at him as he made the effort, and scribbled something in his notes that looked suspiciously like a zero before walking away.

"Do me a favor, Yugi-kun," Marik said after they left that exam. "Have the pharaoh play another game against Snape. He needs to be trapped in his own head for a few days."

Thursday the sixth came, and the first exam they had was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had set up a strange sort of obstacle course outside, in which they had to wade across a pool containing a grindylow, cross an area of potholes where Red Caps were hiding, squish through a patch of marsh while ignoring a hinkypunk that would try to lead them astray, and then lastly climb into an old trunk and do battle with a boggart.

"Good job, Harry," Lupin commented as Harry emerged from the trunk. "Full marks."

Harry grinned, before sitting down next to the professor and waiting for his friends to finish. Marik managed to get through without any problems as well. Yugi had a bit of trouble with the Red Caps – he was so small that they managed to get him in the stomach with their clubs a couple of times. Ron did well too, until he managed to get turned around in so many circles by the hinkypunk that he ended up waist-high in the quagmire. Draco managed to get bit by the grindylow in the arm, but he just tore off a piece of his robe, tied it around the wound, and finished the rest of the test quickly. Hermione did everything splendidly until she got to the boggart. She disappeared into the trunk, only to emerge a minute later, screaming.

"Hermione!" Lupin exclaimed, startled. "What's the matter?"

"P-Professor McGonagall!" Hermione sobbed. "Sh-she told me I failed everything!"

Marik could not hold it in; he burst out laughing, falling over in his mirth and landing on the ground with a thud. It took a while to calm her down, after which the Egyptian got smacked for laughing at her. A hug from him made up for that, to the groans of everyone else. The sight of a familiar face, however, cut off any snide remarks on the subject.

"Hello there, Harry!" Cornelius Fudge called as he started out onto the grounds, heading for Hagrid's hut. "Just had an exam, I expect?" he continued. "Nearly finished?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied.

The Minister of Magic sighed. "Such a beautiful day… pity I'm here to view such horrid business."

Ron practically jumped out of his shoes. "Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" he asked.

"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," Fudge replied, looking at Ron with a raised eyebrow.

"Then that means that maybe you won't have to see an execution!" Ron exclaimed. "Maybe the hippogriff will get off."

Fudge put his hands on his hips. "Now see here, how do you know about this?"

Before any of them could answer, two wizards came from the castle to join the Minister. One was ancient, and looked almost like a strong wind gust would easily blow him away. The other was tall and muscular, with a shining ax thrown lazily over one shoulder. Ron's eyes grew wide at the sight of it, and he opened his mouth to say something when Draco grabbed him by the hood of his robes and led him inside the castle, the others following close behind.

"Why'd you stop me?" Ron demanded as soon as they were inside. "They've even got the ax ready! This isn't justice!"

"Ron, I think you've been watching that muggle show too much," Draco replied. "You know, Law and Order? Besides, you can't just go shouting your head off at Fudge. Your father works for him, remember?"

"Don't worry, Ron," Hermione began. "I'm sure Buckbeak will get off. Just as long as Hagrid keeps his head this time…"

Even she did not look convinced at her own words. The group of friends went on to the Great Hall, where they ate in silence, the darkening circumstances killing any excitement over the fact that exams were almost over and done with. After that it was on to the Divination final for Harry, Yugi, Ron, Marik, and Draco, while Hermione went off to her Muggle Studies exam.

When the five boys arrived at the trap door leading up to the classroom, they saw most of their classmates already assembled outside.

"She's seeing us all separately, so we can look in the crystal balls," Neville explained. "Have either of you seen anything in yours since we started on them?"

"Only an unending prediction of fog," Marik replied, as the door above swung open and a student descended the rope ladder, shaking the whole way. Some of the others asked what he saw, but the student refused to answer, walking away a bit before making a mad dash down the stairs, heading for the common room.

"Draco Malfoy!" the misty voice called from above.

"Lovely…" Draco muttered under his breath, before heading up the silvery ladder.

The Divination classroom was even hotter than normal. The curtains were drawn and the fire was lit, and that same sweet smell of incense assaulted his nose as soon as his head poked through. Professor Trelawney was waiting for him, sitting in her winged chair before a large crystal ball. He sat across from her, trying not to let his disdain for the meaningless exam show. Already, he was trying to think up a good false prediction in hopes of throwing her off and getting a good score at the same time.

"Good day, m'dear," she greeted softly. "Now, kindly gaze into the Orb… Tell me what you see."

Draco blinked a bit, before squinting into the glowing crystal ball before him. As usual, he did not see a thing. He opened his mouth, ready to come out with a typical cleverly concocted lie, when he stopped. Something moved within the swirling mass of glowing white. After a moment, it solidified into an object… one he had seen at the library ages ago.

"Well, my dear?" Trelawney asked. "What do you see?"

"I… I…"

As he struggled to tell her, something else appeared, slithering about toward the Millennium Scale. The snake lifted itself up, its tongue flicking in and out, before coiling up in one of the Scale's golden baskets, forcing it to tip down to accommodate the creature's weight. It settled there, its head slightly hanging over the side. After a moment, a small white feather with gold outlining appeared, drifting down from nowhere to settle on the other basket. Despite the drastic differences in weight, once the feather landed in the basket, that side tilted down until the Scale was perfectly balanced.

Draco stood up, nearly toppling his chair over. He stared at the crystal ball, willing the image to change. It stubbornly refused to do so, remaining there as if to burn itself into his memory.

"My dear, what do you see?" Professor Trelawney's voice finally broke him away from the crystal. He stared up at her briefly, before looking back down at the Orb. The image had vanished without a trace.

"Mr. Malfoy…" she said, her patience wearing out.

"Balance," Draco finally replied. "I saw balance."

With that said, he quickly left the room, descending the ladder and rushing out of that accursed hallway, ignoring the calls to wait from his friends.

-.oOOo.-

About a half hour later, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room more than a little shaken. When he had gone up to Trelawney's classroom, he bombed his exam, but that was not what bothered him. As he made to leave the overly hot room, the professor did something he would have never imagined: she made a real prediction. Most of it seemed to be gibberish, but from what he could gather, a servant of Lord Voldemort's would return to him, and it would happen that night.

He easily spotted his friends huddled together in a corner of the room and went over to them. Harry was about to share with them what Professor Trelawney said, but the defeated look on their faces stopped him.

"Buckbeak lost," Ron announced weakly, handing him a crumpled note. Harry looked down at it, instantly recognizing Hagrid's untidy scrawl.

Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset.
Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't
want you to see it.
Hagrid

"We've got to go," Harry stated without hesitation, momentarily forgetting his own problem. "There's no way we can let them get away with this."

"But it's at sunset," Yugi protested, dejectedly. "There's no way we'll be able to get down there without the invisibility cloak."

Hermione tapped her fingers against the arm of the chair she was sitting in, before she asked, "Where did you leave it again, Harry?"

"In the passage leading to Honeydukes," he answered, giving her a strange look. "A statue of a witch guards the entrance."

"And how do you get it open?" she asked, standing up.

"You… you tap it and say, 'Dissendium'," Harry answered again, starting to panic slightly. "Wait, you're not gonna –"

Hermione was already out the door before he could finish. The boys just stared after her, dumbstruck.

"What has gotten into her?" Ron asked.

"She hasn't really gone to get it, has she?" Marik asked.

Hermione did go after the cloak. After a half hour of waiting, she returned with the silvery fabric tucked securely in her robes. The boys goggled at her.

"Hermione!" Draco exclaimed. "Have you lost your mind!"

"What is with you lately?" Marik demanded. "First you bitch slap Ecillia, then you and Aishisu tell off Professor Trelawney…"

Hermione smiled proudly.

-.oOOo.-

A large impression moved across the grassy grounds of Hogwarts, toward the simple little hut that Hagrid lived in. The impression disappeared as it reached the steps leading up to the door, and a loud knock followed shortly after. The groundskeeper's head poked out after a minute, looking around for the person who knocked.

"It's us. Let us in."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid hissed, before standing aside and allowing the disembodied voice inside. He quickly shut the door behind it, and all of a sudden, Harry, Yugi, Hermione, Marik, Ron, and Draco appeared in the center of the room.

"We had to come down here, Hagrid," Yugi said as he sat down on a chair, Yami Yugi appearing leaning on the back of the chair. "There was no way we could have stayed up in the castle with what's going on."

"It's not fair what's going on," Yami Yugi stated. "Back in my reign, nothing like this would have happened."

"Well, not everyone can be a goody-two-shoes like you, baka pharaoh."

Nearly everyone jumped out of their skin at the voice coming from the corner of the room. They all turned to see a familiar, spiky white-haired man standing behind them.

"Tomb robber, how in the name of Ra did you get here?" Marik demanded, a hand on his chest to help steady his heart.

Yami Bakura gave him a bland look. "I'm a thief. How do you think I got down here?"

Everyone sweatdropped, before Hagrid went over to make tea for everyone. He was not crying like the last time they had visited, but he was listless and shaking so hard that he dropped the milk bottle. Hermione encouraged him to sit in a chair, before taking up the task of making the beverage.

"Isn't there anything left you can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked as the giant sunk into his chair. "What about Dumbledore?"

"He's tried," Hagrid said sadly. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared… Yeh know what yer father's like, Draco."

Draco gave him a sour look. "Yeah," he agreed. "He's probably threatened to hex them and their families. Not only that, but I recognize the executioner. He's Macnair, an old friend of my father's."

There came a thud from where Yami Bakura was standing. The tomb robber had punched the wall out of frustration. Marik was going to try to offer a suggestion, when Hermione suddenly let out a shriek of surprise.

"Ron! I… I don't believe it! It's Scabbers!"

Ron blinked in disbelief. "What!"

Hermione carried the new milk jug she had recovered from the cupboard to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, and a lot of scrambling, Scabbers popped out of the jug. Elated, Ron picked up his precious rat and held him up, speaking soothing words. The poor creature looked worse than ever, as he was extremely thin and had wide bald patches speckling his fur.

Suddenly, Hagrid stood up from his seat, totally ridged.

"They're coming…"

The group of students (and two Egyptian spirits) whirled around to the window, to see a group of men walking down the castle steps in the distance. It was Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, the feeble old Committee member, and the executioner.

"Yeh gotta go," Hagrid said. "They mustn' find yeh here."

Harry and the others had all managed to disappear under the invisibility cloak before he finished. The giant went to the opposite end of the cabin, opening up a door that led to the garden in the back. There was Buckbeak, tethered to a tree behind the pumpkin patch… but no matter what they wanted to do, there was nothing they could do.

"Go quick," Hagrid hissed as he started to close the door. "Don' listen…"

They were already on their way from the cabin though, each of their hearts heavy with their own thoughts. Starting up the sloping lawn toward the castle, they tried to stay as quiet as they could, considering there were eight people crammed under a not large enough invisibility cloak.

So it was understandable that it did not help any when Ron stopped in his tracks.

"Ron, c'mon!" Draco hissed.

"It's Scabbers… he won't… stay put…"

Ron was bent over as well as he could in the close confines of the cloak, trying to keep Scabbers in his robe pocket. The rat was literally going berserk, squeaking madly as it tried to twist out of Ron's grasp. Yami Bakura, who was standing behind him, put a hand over his mouth as well as over where the rat was struggling. They stood in hushed silence as the sound of men's voices came from the garden they had just left…

Followed by the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.

Hermione looked like she was going to pass out. "They did it!" she whispered, horrified. "I d… don't believe it! They killed Buckbeak!"