Yu-Gi-Oh!
Balance

CHAPTER SIXTEEN – CAT, RAT, AND DOG

Everyone stood where they had stopped in total shock. Harry had a blank look on his face. Hermione was shaking so badly that Marik had to hold onto her, least she shook the already barely fitting invisibility cloak off of all of them. Yami Bakura's hands had clenched at the sound, and Ron was begging him to let go. The tomb robber realized what he was doing and let go, but he still was fuming to himself.

"Hagrid…" Yugi muttered, before trying to turn back. His other self grabbed his arm before he could leave.

"Aibou, that won't be a good idea," he warned. "If you're caught, we'll only get Hagrid in more trouble."

Tears started streaming down Hermione's face. "How… could… they…?" she asked, choking on her words. "How could they!"

"Lets get out of here," Ron hissed, still holding onto the pocket that concealed Scabbers.

They made their way quietly up to the castle. The light of the late afternoon had faded away in the shock of the death, and an uncomfortable darkness had settled over the grounds. About halfway to the castle, however, they were forced to stop once more.

"Scabbers!" Ron hissed. "Hold still! Please! Stay – OUCH! He bit me!"

"Will you keep your mouth shut?" the tomb robber asked, already irritated.

"He won't… stay put!" Ron exclaimed, furiously trying to keep a hand on his terrified rat. "What is the matter with you?"

Draco, however, was not paying attention to his fight to get a hold of the animal. Slinking low to the ground, a pair of wide yellow eyes was creeping toward them. There was no mistaking that bright orange fur, and whether or not Crookshanks could see them or not, it did not matter. Scabbers' squeals were loud enough to be heard all the way up to the top spire of the castle school.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione hissed. "Go away! Go away! Bad cat!"

Crookshanks did not listen to her, as he kept creeping closer.

"Scabbers, NO!"

Too late; the rat jumped out of Ron's hands, scurrying out from under the invisibility cloak. Crookshanks bound after the poor creature, and before anyone could stop them, Yugi and Ron ducked out after the two animals.

"Yugi!" Yami Yugi moaned. Yami Bakura just sniggered.

"I thought you had a leash for him," he jibed, only to get a death glare from the pharaoh.

"Knock it off, you two!" Marik exclaimed, pushing his way between them and ducking out of the invisibility cloak to follow the two boys.

Sighing or making other general noises of frustration, the others followed close behind. Up ahead, they could hear Yugi and Ron shouting as they fought with the stubborn cat to get Scabbers back once more.

"Get lost you stupid cat!"

There was a thud.

"Ron-kun! I've got him!" Yugi shouted. "Get off, Crookshanks!"

Marik, still in the lead, almost fell over Yugi and Ron in his effort to skid to a halt. The others plowing into his back did not help him much. Despite it all, however, Yugi had Scabbers cupped in his hand, the rat's tail was sticking out from between his fingers and was shaking slightly in his fear.

"C'mon, quick," Harry urged. "Let's get back under the cloak –"

Before he could even finish, before they could even collect their breaths, there came the thundering of heavy paws. Something was bounding toward them… a big, black animal was coming directly at them. Hands went for wands, but they never got the chance to draw. The animal bounded right into the crowd of them, causing the group of teenagers and Egyptian spirits to scatter.

Yugi managed to get to his feet first, slipping Scabbers into his pocket before running toward the others, trying to see how he could help. Without warning, the animal leapt at him, taking his right arm in its mouth. He let out a cry of surprise as he suddenly found himself being dragged away.

"Mou hitori no boku!" he shouted, struggling frantically.

"Aibou!" Yami Yugi shouted, struggling to get back to his feet. He rushed to save his little hikari, when something hit him so hard against the face that he was knocked off his feet again. He sat up, wincing; it may not have hurt him physically, but he still felt it. There was another cry from his left, and he did not have to look to see that Hermione also got hit.

"Lumos!"

Wandlight suddenly appeared above the pharaoh, illuminating Draco's face… and the massive hulk of the Whomping Willow before them. Its branches creaked as it swung at them, but that's not what held everyone's attention. At the base of the trunk was the animal – a giant black dog – and it was dragging Yugi backward into a gap between the roots of the crazy tree. The little teenager fought desperately, but there was no way he could break away from such a massive dog.

"Yugi-kun!" Marik shouted, ducking as he almost got hit full in the face by a stray branch.

"Bakura!" Yami Yugi shouted.

Yami Bakura did not need to be told twice. Shrugging off his student robe, he plunged into the haze of whirling branches, all intent on killing him. Ducking, dodging, twisting, weaving; he moved about with all the agility that came with his title as the King of Thieves as he made his way toward the gap in the roots.

"Yami Bakura!" Harry shouted. "Lupin told me once that there's a knot that stops the Whomping Willow from swinging!"

"Where is it?" the tomb robber demanded, ducking as a branch swept above his head and then quickly rolling as another tried to take his legs off.

"On the trunk! Near the roots!"

Yami Bakura strafed to the side, seeing what Harry was talking about as he did so. He dashed forward, ducking another branch before reaching out with both hands and slamming them on the knot in the trunk. With a strange sort of sigh, the tree instantly fell silent and completely still. Not a branch or leaf twitched as the tomb robber let out a relieved sigh.

He motioned for the others to hurry, but just as they approached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks darted ahead of them, slipping into the hole easily enough. Harry went in next, quickly followed by Hermione, Marik, Ron, and Draco. Yami Yugi paused before following the others; he hesitated a moment, before clasping a hand on the tomb robber's shoulder.

"Thank you, Bakura," he said.

"Yeah, yeah," was his callous reply. "Just get in the damn tree, Panseru."

The two of them shared a smirk, before the pharaoh ducked into the hole headfirst. Yami Bakura waited until his feet disappeared into the opening, before letting go of the knot and diving in himself, only to find everyone crowded near the hole, with Harry's lighted wand at the point.

"Where's the kid?" he asked.

"Dunno," Marik replied, "but Crookshanks seems to."

The Gravekeeper pointed on ahead, to where a bottlebrush tail was disappearing into the darkness.

"What are we waiting for?" Yami Yugi demanded, racing ahead of everyone. "Lets go!"

They pounded down the tunnel, shouting for the pharaoh to slow down, but he did not hear them. All he could think of was his sweet little koibito… and what the hideous black dog could possibly be doing to him. He did not care how he did it, he just wanted his hikari back, but the tunnel was proving painfully long, and his breath was starting to come out in sharp, painful gasps. Suddenly the path sloped upward, and then twisted to reveal a patch of dim light filtering through a small opening. Crookshanks had already disappeared.

Without waiting a moment, Yami Yugi pulled himself up through the small opening, to find himself in one of the dingiest, most dirty rooms he had ever been in. Wallpaper pealed from the walls and foreboding stains dotted the floor. What little furniture was in the place was completely shattered, as if some kind of animal had torn through there. There was no one around, but there was a slightly ajar door to his right that led to a shadowed hallway.

Someone gave a soft squeak of fear behind him, and the pharaoh turned to see the others had joined him when he paused to look around the room. Hermione was clinging to Marik's arm in fright.

"Marik…" she murmured fearfully. "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack…"

"We are," Yami Bakura stated, his hands in his pockets as he kicked over a chair to reveal a long set of claw marks on the bottom. "But no ghost did that."

As if to prove him wrong, a creaking sound lurched overhead, causing all seven of them to look up toward the ceiling. Hermione's grip on her boyfriend's arm tightened in response. Marik shot her a slightly annoyed look, and she loosened her grip a bit. It was not that he minded the attention, it was just that if she held onto him that tight for any longer, he was going to loose feeling in his hand.

As quietly as they could, the group of seven crept out into the hallway and to the crumbling stairs beyond. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust one could burry their hand in, except for the staircase, which had a long swipe going up the center, like someone had been dragged up there. They quickly reached a dark landing, and Harry whispered the spell that would make his wand go dark again.

Only one door was open on the landing, and Yami Yugi instantly went up to it and pushed it open, despite the hisses to wait from the others. Inside was a tattered old canopy bed, which Crookshanks was lounged on, purring loudly. On the floor next to the bed, Yugi was sprawled out. He was clutching his leg in pain, which was sticking out at a painfully odd angle.

"Aibou!" Yami Yugi exclaimed, running over to the little one and wrapping him in a hug.

"Easy, pharaoh, you're gonna smother the kid," came the tomb robber's sarcastic voice as the others filed into the room.

"Where's that dog?" Draco asked, his wand held out in front of him as he looked about the room.

"Not… a dog," Yugi gasped in pain, gritting his teeth. He looked up to Harry. "It's a trap…"

"What…?"

"He's the dog… he's an Animagus…!"

Yugi had raised a shaking finger, and pointed to something in the darkness. They all whirled around in time to see the only door leading into the room snap close. A man with an ugly mass of filthy matted hair that hung to his elbows and deep sunken eye sockets appeared from the shadows. His waxy skin was pulled so tightly over his bones that he looked like he could have passed for a corpse. Something glimmered in his hand, and before any of them knew it, their wands had been dispelled from their hands thanks to Yugi's own wand.

"I thought you would come here to help your friend," Sirius Black said in a hoarse voice, his gaze focused entirely on Harry. "Your father would have done the same for me. Well done; this will make things so much easier…"

Harry narrowed his eyes. All the pent up frustration, all the anger he felt, all the sadness he endured; before he even knew what was going on, all of these things exploded within Harry as he lunged at Black amidst the shouts from his friends to stop. Apparently the much taller adult was not counting on a skinny little teenager to lunge at him, for the attack caught Black entirely by surprise. Somehow, Harry had managed to grab a hold of his wand arm and held on for dear life, even when a blast of red sparks missed his face by inches.

Black, however, recovered quickly from the assault, and used his free hand to grab Harry by the throat. His glasses went askew as the escaped convict held him aloft.

"No…" Black hissed. "I've waited for far to long…"

Suddenly, coming from nowhere on either side of Harry, both Yami Bakura and Draco head butted Black in the gut, forcing him to drop the young wizard and knock the wind out of him at the same time. The two of them struggled with the madman, while Harry edged away, fighting to regain his breath. Hermione went to his side as Marik and Ron jumped in to help Draco and the tomb robber. Yami Yugi remained by his hikari's side, who was close to passing out from pain.

With a startled shout, Yami Bakura was tossed from the struggle, impacting against a nightstand that easily gave way. Grumbling to himself, the tomb robber reached deep into his pants pocket and pulled out a Duel Monsters card with a green boarder.

"Energy Bind!" he shouted, holding the card above his head. The magic card glowed briefly, before near transparent beams of energy shot out of it, binding the struggling Black securely. The others that had been wrestling him backed off slightly, making sure he was really secured before stepping away fully.

The tomb robber tapped the still glowing card against the side of his face. "I knew I kept this thing around after Duelist Kingdom for a reason," he remarked.

"Thank Kami-sama for small favors," Marik said dryly as the pounding of footsteps started up the stairs. After a moment, the door burst open, to reveal Professor Lupin with his wand at the ready. He glanced over at Yugi, who was now out cold, to Harry, still crumpled on the floor, and lastly to Black, still bound with Yami Bakura's magic.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

Before the tomb robber could even blink, his Energy Bind card was ripped from his hands and sent skittering to a dark corner of the room. Once the card had left his hand, the effect from it was lost, and Black was once again free. Everyone stared in shock and surprise as Lupin helped the escaped convict to his feet.

"Where is he, Sirius?" he asked.

"Whoa, whoa, waitta minute!" Yami Bakura exclaimed, while the others were still trying to catch up. "Don't tell me you're helping this psychopath!"

Lupin opened his mouth to explain.

"I don't believe it!" Hermione screamed suddenly, hurting Harry's ears. "You… you…! I didn't tell anyone, and you…!"

"Hermione, please, calm down," Lupin said, reaching out a hand toward her.

Hermione just shrunk away. "Stay away from me, you werewolf!"

Time in the room seemed to have come to a standstill at Hermione's words. Harry, still trying to get over the fact that Lupin – the man he had trusted to help protect himself – would help Sirius escape from Yami Bakura's abilities, and now this… Well, he just did not know what to make of all of it.

"How long have you known?" Lupin asked quietly, lowering his hand.

"Ages," Hermione replied. "Ever since you first took ill."

Lupin smiled slightly. "I'd expect nothing less of you, Hermione," he stated, before turning his solemn gaze to Harry. "Harry…?"

Harry looked up at him, his green eyes filled with the confusion he was feeling in his heart. He wanted to shout, he wanted to scream, but making such noises seemed rather pointless. Finally, he settled with:

"Why are you helping the man who murdered my parents?"

There was a long pause, before Lupin finally answered, "I'm doing nothing of the sort, Harry."

Harry's gaze flicked back and forth between Black and Lupin, and then turned to Yami Yugi holding tightly to his unconscious hikari, before turning back to Lupin.

"Then how did you know we were here?" he asked.

"The Marauder's Map," Lupin said simply.

"Whoa, hold up," Marik protested. "You know how to work the map?"

"Of course," the professor replied. "I'm one of the people who helped write it."

Ron blinked, his eyes going wide. "Moony!" he exclaimed.

A nostalgic smile came to Lupin's face. "Yes, I was Moony of the group of headstrong children known as the Marauders. Moony, Wormtail, Prongs –" He rested at hand on Black's shoulder – "and Padfoot."

Everyone was silent, trying to absorb all this information at once. Harry never took his eyes off of the two older men.

"Why did you follow us?" he asked finally.

"Very simple reason, really, yet complicated all at once," Lupin explained. "I knew you would try to console Hagrid in his loss, so I felt it wise to keep an eye on you through the map. When you left the hut and set back toward the castle, however, you were in the company of someone else."

Yami Bakura cleared his throat before pointing to himself. "Well duh!"

Marik smacked him upside the head. "I don't think he means you, smart ass."

"I was quite surprised to see this other person, so say the least," Lupin continued, ignoring their antics. "I thought at first that the map might be malfunctioning, but no. It could not have been, especially when Sirius dragged both him and Yugi into the Whomping Willow." The professor paused a moment, focusing his gaze on Yami Yugi. "May I see the rat in your partner's pocket?"

The pharaoh gave him a strange look as Ron stepped up in Scabbers' defense. "Hold on. What does Scabbers have to do with this?"

"Everything. May I see him?"

Ron cast a helpless gaze at Yami Yugi, before he finally shrugged, not seeing how it could hurt. Propping his hikari up against him, the pharaoh reached into his robes and grabbed a hold of the wriggling rat. He had to hold the creature by his tale in order to prevent it from taking off as he lifted it out of his aibou's robe pocket. Crookshanks stood up at the sight of the rat and hissed spitefully, only making him squirm that much more. Lupin moved in close, observing the rat intently.

"I thought so…" he muttered under his breath.

"You thought what?" Ron asked, confused. "He's just a rat!"

"That's no rat," Black stated.

"Are you blind?" Draco asked suddenly. "Of course it's a –"

"No, he's not," Lupin cut him off, standing up straight.

"He's a wizard," Black finished for him. "An Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew."