Yu-Gi-Oh!
Balance

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – THE SERVANT OF LORD VOLDEMORT

There was a long, deafening silence in the shack as the absurdity of the statement was slowly absorbed into everyone's brains. Then, Draco voiced what was on everyone's minds.

"You're both mental," he declared.

"Peter Pettigrew died," Ron stressed. "Remember? He killed him!"

He motioned toward Black, whose lip just twitched in slight annoyance.

"I meant to," he admitted, "but little Peter got the better of me. Not this time though!"

With that said, Black leapt toward Scabbers and Yami Yugi. Somehow the pharaoh managed to grab onto his hikari and hold onto the terrified rat while trying to avoid Black at the same time. Fortunately, he did not have to worry about it for long, as Lupin grabbed the gristly man and held him back.

"No, Sirius!" the professor exclaimed. "We have to explain first –"

"We can explain afterwards!" Black snapped, trying to break away from him.

"Sirius, think! Ron's kept him as a pet! And Harry… Sirius, you owe Harry an explanation!" Lupin interjected, trying to talk reason.

At the mention of Harry, Black paused, turning his sunken face toward the young wizard. Harry remained where he was on the floor, Hermione next to him, looking up at the escaped prisoner with a lost expression in his eyes. This got him to calm down slightly, and Lupin let go of him gradually, making sure he was not going to attempt jumping Yami Yugi again. Meanwhile, the pharaoh was depositing Scabbers into Ron's waiting hands, before looking up to the two men, holding Yugi tightly.

"I have to get my aibou out of here," he stated. "He… he's in a lot of pain."

He could not get any closer to the truth. His hikari had always been more sensitive to pain than most people he knew, and judging from the way his leg was bent, it was a wonder the feeling of pain flowing across their mental link was not even more intense.

Black narrowed his eyes. "No way. You'll –"

"Sirius," Lupin cut him off immediately. "He's hurt badly. Let him go."

Grudgingly, Black got out of the pharaoh's way. Yami Yugi stood and gingerly picked up the still unconscious Yugi, making sure he did not damage his leg any more than it already was. Tossing a furtive look to Harry, he headed out the door and down the stairs to the trap door he had arrived in. He jumped back down into the tunnel before starting off in a quick sprint back toward the castle, always keeping a firm grasp on his aibou.

"Hang in there, koibito…" he murmured under his breath, before he suddenly met with something that sent him sprawling to the ground. Yugi moaned in his unconsciousness, while Yami Yugi was busy looking around in the narrow and dark tunnel, trying to figure out what he had hit. He heard someone not his hikari moan in the darkness, and he reached into his lighter half's robes for his wand.

"Lumos!" he exclaimed, the tip of the golden wand coming to light immediately. What he saw, however, was not what the pharaoh was expecting.

"Snape!" Yami Yugi exclaimed, hardly believing it. The Potions Master was sprawled out in front of him, bits of his body missing, allowing the pharaoh to see through to the dry ground. In various places, he could see the folds from the reverse side of Harry's invisibility cloak – the side that could be seen by conventional means. Yami Yugi felt like hitting himself. They had been so worried about getting into the Whomping Willow; they had forgotten the invisibility cloak.

Snape stood up first, leering down at the pharaoh.

"My, my, isn't this convenient," he sneered. "Not only do I get to capture Black, but I get the opportunity to expel all of you."

"Back off, Snape," Yami Yugi growled, "or I'll imprison you in your own madness this time."

"Threatening your teacher isn't very wise," Snape snarled, practically looming over the short spirit.

"Just because my aibou has the unfortunate title of 'your student' does not make you my teacher," Yami Yugi returned, matching his tone.

The two of them stood in the tunnel, glaring at each other, trying to make the other back down just with the power of their gaze. Reality brought them out of their glaring contest, as Yugi moaned and unconsciously gripped at his darker half's shirt. Snape snarled one last time, before turning back toward the Shrieking Shack's entrance.

"Take him to the hospital wing," he snapped, walking away. "I'll deal with you later."

"Snape!" Yami Yugi called after him sternly, making the professor stop in his tracks. "Don't let the hate of the past override your judgment!"

Snape growled again, before grabbing up the invisibility cloak and sweeping it about his shoulders once more. The pharaoh waited until the Potions Master was out of sight, before heading back down toward the school.

-.oOOo.-

Harry sat on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, surrounded by his friends, staring up at Lupin. The werewolf professor had just finished explaining how everything had started. How the other "Marauders" – Black, Pettigrew, and Harry's father – would illegally transform into animals anytime Lupin would change to his wolf form. How, together, they would roam about Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, getting into more trouble than anyone their age had any right to. How, because of Black, the Whomping Willow would have killed Snape if it were not for Harry's father.

"No wonder he hates your guts," Marik commented once he finished. Lupin just smirked.

"This is all just dandy," Yami Bakura replied, bored out of his mind. "But how about some proof that Scabbers is really a human…?"

Everyone turned their focus to the rat still struggling in Ron's grasp as a creaking sound came from behind the door. Draco turned in the direction of the noise.

"What was that?" he asked.

Black waved a dismissive hand. "Just the shack settling. Now," he continued, turning to Ron, "I've waited long enough. Hand over the rat."

Ron did the opposite, however. He held on tighter to Scabbers and took a step away from him. Lupin sighed patiently, before stepping in front of Black and reaching out a hand toward the protective red head.

"Ron, how about this," he said, "I'll force him to show himself first. If he's really a rat it won't harm him."

Hesitantly, Ron agreed, transferring the squirming rat to the professor's hand. If possible, Scabbers started struggling even more, squealing to be released. Lupin would have none of that, however; he kept a tight grip on the rat with one hand and his wand in the other. He counted off to three, and suddenly a flash of bluish white light burst from his wand. For a moment, Scabbers was suspended in the air, twitching madly, before he fell to the ground. Another blinding flash followed, and suddenly it was like they were all watching a tree growing at super speed. A head shot up from the ground, arms and legs sprouted; and before the befuddled students knew what happened, another man was standing before them, cringing and wringing his hands in nervousness. Crookshanks was snarling from where he was on the bed, the hairs on his back standing on end.

The man that appeared was very short, barely a few inches taller than Yugi was. He had a bit of a shrunken appearance, as if he had lost a lot of weight in a very short amount of time. His hair was thinning and colorless, and he had a bald spot at the top. A bit of Scabbers face remained, as he had a bit of a pointed nose and very small eyes.

"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin said casually, as if he were used to rats suddenly turning into people. "Pleasure to see you again."

"S-Sirius… R-Remus…" Pettigrew stammered, his voice squeaky. "My… my old friends…"

Black took a threatening step forward, but Lupin held out an arm, keeping him back.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about how Lily and James died," Lupin said. "Maybe you'd like to clear some things up for us."

"Remus!" Pettigrew exclaimed. "You don't believe him, do you? He tried to kill me! That's why I've been hiding as a rat all this time –"

"You weren't hiding as a rat because of me, Peter," Black stated, cutting him off. "You were hiding from the Death Eaters. I heard things in Azkaban, dear Peter; they think the double-crosser double-crossed Voldemort. Your old master went to Lily and James's on your information, and he didn't come back. They all think you're dead… and not all of them are in Azkaban, are they? If those that are still out and about in society ever caught wind that you were still alive, you wouldn't have a prayer!"

Pettigrew was mumbling distractedly, but Harry could not help but notice he kept looking toward the windows and the door.

"Lily and James only made you Secret Keeper because I insisted," Black continued, looming over the former rat. "I was their obvious choice, but no one would have expected them to give their lives to a weak man like you. It must have been the finest moment of your life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters. Now this time, all you had to do was wait for Voldemort to come back into power, and then deliver to him the last Potter. If you gave him Harry, you'd be welcome back with open arms."

Pettigrew was shaking in fear, and he was not the only one. Harry turned his gaze up for a moment at Draco, who had given a barely audible squeak at Black's last few statements. Apparently, he knew what it would mean if the former rat was welcomed back with the other Death Eaters. Harry turned his gaze back down to the scene before him, to see that Black was staring at him.

"Harry, please believe me when I say that I never betrayed Lily and James," Black said, his eyes watering slightly. "Please believe that I would rather die than betray them."

Harry, too full of emotion from finally knowing what led to his parent's deaths, could only nod his understanding.

"No!" Pettigrew shouted, falling to his knees as if Harry had signed his death sentence. He crawled forward on his knees, groveling at Sirius's feet

"Sirius, it's me! It's Peter, your friend! You wouldn't…!"

Black kicked out at him, making him recoil.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," he snapped.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, shuffling toward Lupin, his expression alone imploring him. "You don't believe this…! Wouldn't Sirius have told you he changed the plan?"

Lupin just looked casually over to Black. "I think now we can kill him…"

Pettigrew squeaked again, before scrambling toward Ron.

"Ron! Haven't I been a good friend? A good pet?" he asked.

Ron just stared at him in revulsion. "I let you sleep in my bed!" he exclaimed.

"Kind boy… kind master…" the former rat continued, crawling closer as Ron backed away. "You wouldn't let them…? I was your rat; a good pet –"

"If you make a better rat than a human, that doesn't help you much," Yami Bakura replied dryly. "C'mon, you make even someone as low as me look like a nice guy."

Pettigrew whirled around on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl… clever girl…" he implored. "You wouldn't let them –"

He never got to finish, as Marik kicked him squarely in the shoulder. Pettigrew landed on the dusty floor with a surprised squeak.

"Keep your hands off my girlfriend," the Egyptian warned, pulling her away from him for good measure.

Pettigrew turned his gaze to Draco, more than a little frantic. "Kind boy… you know what Death Eaters do to people…!"

"And you deserve every nail and hammer," Draco replied crossly.

The former rat somehow climbed back to his knees, trembling uncontrollably as he knelt before Harry.

"Harry… Harry…" he begged. "You look just like your father… just like him –"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY!" Black roared. "How dare you face him! How dare you talk about James in front of him!"

"Enough of this," Lupin declared, focusing his wand on Pettigrew. "I'll end this right now."

Harry somehow found the motivation to move then. He stood in front of Pettigrew and under Lupin's wand, blocking any kind of attack to the former rat.

"No, professor, Sirius, I can't let you do that!" he declared.

"Harry, this piece of filth is the reason you have no parents!" Black protested.

"I know that," Harry began, "but… I don't think my father would have wanted his two best friends to become murders over scum like him."

That got Lupin to lower his wand, however a bit uncertainly.

"We'll take him back to the castle," Harry continued. "We'll hand him over to the dementors, and he can be the one who goes back to Azkaban."

Pettigrew threw his arms around Harry's knees in relief. "Harry! Kind boy… it's more than I deserve…!"

"Get off me," Harry spat, kicking the vile man's hands away from him as best he could.

Yami Bakura gave the former rat a disgusted look. "Lets go and catch up with the pharaoh before he starts kissing Harry's ass."

-.oOOo.-

It had to be the strangest set up of people ever to be seen in either Hogwarts or Hogsmeade; at least that was what Snape thought as he invisibly followed Lupin, Black, Harry and the others as they "escorted" Pettigrew back to the castle. Needless to say, it had been quite a shock to see the mousiest member of the old Marauders suddenly appear from Wesley's rat.

Said former rat was now bound at the wrists and ankles, being pulled along down the tunnel by both Ron and Lupin. Draco and Yami Bakura were directly behind them, keeping a close eye on Pettigrew. Marik and Hermione came next, and Harry and Sirius brought up the rear, talking quietly to one another. Snape caught snippets of their conversation, something about Black being his guardian or something that got Harry all excited. The Potions Master did not really care; he was more concerned with the fact that they had finally reached the end of the tunnel.

Crookshanks crawled out of the hole in the Whomping Willow first, planting his large paws on the knot on the tree's trunk. The others crawled out once the tree was tame, with Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew having to angle themselves sideways in order to fit. Snape followed close behind, so close in fact that when the group suddenly stopped dead in their tracks, he almost collided with Harry.

A light suddenly bathed the grounds of the school that made the invisible professor look up and nearly curse out loud, suddenly reminded of why he had descended into the hole within the Whomping Willow in the first place. All throughout the year, Lupin had been taking the Wolfsbane Potion, a potion that more or less helped him retain his human mind during the light of the full moon. He had been on his way to deliver it to him when he found his office empty.

This was not good.

Before anyone out of the group of students could grasp what was going on, Lupin was already halfway through his transformation. In the next instant, a snarling werewolf was standing where he had been, his long jaws snapping hungrily. Soon after, Black had also disappeared, a large black dog taking his place.

The two animals starting battling fiercely, jaws and claws locked in their death match. Harry stood rooted to where he had stopped, transfixed by the sight. The only thing that brought him out of it was Hermione's scream, and he turned to see Pettigrew diving for Lupin's discarded wand, dragging a caught off guard Ron along with him. There was a bang and a flash of light, and suddenly Ron was unconscious on the ground. Another bang followed, and Crookshanks went flying through the air.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, waving his own wand. Lupin's wand went flying into the air and out of sight, but that was not their only problem.

"Oh no you don't!" Draco exclaimed, but it was too late. Even as he dived for Pettigrew, the man had already transformed back to a rat. He went scurrying through the grass, with Draco hot on his bald tail as he headed for the forbidden forest.

Before anyone could say anything, there was a howl and a rumbling growl, and the werewolf Lupin and the dog Sirius took off toward the forest as well, angling more toward Hagrid's house.

Yami Bakura smacked himself in the forehead, hardly believing their misfortune. What else could go wrong tonight?

"I'm going after Draco," he declared suddenly, turning to the three other people out of their group that were left standing. "One of you stay with Ron, the other two go help Black."

Not waiting for a reply, the tomb robber headed off to where, in the distance, he could barely make Draco out as he headed into the forbidden forest. He ran as fast as he could toward the forest, cursing the young English boy for not thinking before running after the rat. Yami Bakura had just reached the edge of the dark forest when the voice of his lighter half made him stop.

Bakura! Look; the others…!

Yami Bakura turned to see at least a dozen dementors closing in on the distant forms of Black, Harry, and Hermione. The tomb robber paused his pursuit, waiting with baited breath… but his focus had been diverted to the lake not that far away from them.

"C'mon, Harry-kun…" he muttered under his breath. "C'mon…!"

As if answering his plea, a burst of sparkling white light surged forth from the opposite side of the shore from the dementors. It took the form of a stag, galloping toward the vile creatures, shaking its horns at them threateningly. The dementors scattered at the sight of it, bringing a satisfied smirk to the tomb robber's face. He was about to turn and head into the forest, assured that everything would be okay, when Ryou's voice came again.

Yami… they're coming toward us!

Yami Bakura whirled around, to see at least three or four dementors heading his way. It was not nearly as many as had just been chased away by the stag, but he had yet to find a happy thought in order to conjure up a functioning patronus.

Seeing no other method of escape, the tomb robber readied himself, taking out his hikari's wand and thanking whatever gods that were really out there that his lighter half always kept the stick of wood in his back pocket. Taking several deep breaths, he ignored the creeping icy feeling that started crawling up his back and focused back on the Quidditch Final, and how happy he had been when Harry had grabbed the Snitch right out from in front of Ecillia, effectively taking that annoying girl down a few notches. With that thought of triumph clearly imprinted in his mind, Yami Bakura raised his wand high…

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he bellowed…

Nothing… not even a flicker.

"Ra damn it all!" Yami Bakura shouted, feeling like tossing the infernal stick at the dementors and seeing if that would do the job. He did not have long to dwell on it, as that crawling cold was turning into a full out arctic wind, chilling his insides to the very core. Then, the screaming voices starting ringing in his head again, bringing the tomb robber to his knees.

"No…" he moaned as the dreaded creatures got closer. "No… not again… go away…!"

Suddenly the voices stopped, and slight warmth wrapping around him made Yami Bakura snap out of it with a start. He turned slightly to see the spirit form of Ryou Bakura holding onto him, encircling him in the light of his innocence.

Bakura, snap out of it! he implored through their mental link. I know you've had a hard life, but you can't give up. If you don't have any happy memories that can help you conjure a patronus, than use some of mine!

Yami Bakura looked from the spirit of his hikari to the dementors, who strangely seemed to be licking their lips at the thought of a double meal (assuming they even had lips).

Beats the alternative, he replied. What d'ya got for me?

Bakura thought for a moment, before an image started to fill the dark spirit's mind…

Bakura sat alone in his quarters, having just reappeared from wherever it was his body had disappeared to. It felt good to be back and away from that cold, dark place; but something just was not right, something was seriously out of place.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door, and Yugi came walking into the room. The others stood behind him out in the hallway, even that boy Marik that his yami had talked to back in that alleyway. The smaller boy bounded up to him excitedly, giving him a happy hug.

"Bakura-kun!" Yugi exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're all right!"

Bakura smiled slightly. "Arigatou, Yugi-kun, but…" he trailed off a moment, before asking, "Do you have my Ring?"

Jonouchi made a weird sound from out in the hallway. "Why the hell would you want that thing back?"

"Jonouchi!" Anzu yelled at him.

Yugi, in the meantime, gave Bakura a strange look, as if he himself could not understand why he would ask for the Millennium Ring back. After a moment, he took the Item out from his back pocket and held it out for the white haired boy to take. Bakura did so willingly, slipping the leather strap around his neck, a small smile coming to his face…

Yami Bakura blinked as the flashback faded away from his mind.

"That was your happiest memory!" he exclaimed aloud, looking at his lighter self as if he had grown another head. Bakura just smiled broadly in response.

Of course! he replied. Because, I had you back, and I was complete again. You may be annoying, and selfish, and stuck up, and a kleptomaniac… but you complete my soul, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Despite the impending threat from the dementors, Yami Bakura let that statement mull over in his mind. A slow, satisfied smirk eventually crept its way onto his face.

You're definitely a strange one… aibou.

Bakura's spirit practically beamed as the tomb robber got back to his feet.

"All right!" the tomb robber exclaimed, pushing up shirtsleeves that were not there. "No more sentimental crap!"

Yami Bakura waved his wand once more. "Expecto Patronum!"

For a moment, it looked like the tip of his wand exploded. A silvery white light burst forth from the magical stick, hovering before him slightly, before taking the shape of a woman with long hair and dressed in a flowing robe. She hunched over slightly, spreading her wings – a devil wing on the tomb robber's right, an angel wing on his left – before shooting off straight for the dementors. The vile creatures panicked, before taking off as if they had never been. The patronus Yami Bakura had summoned hovered above the ground for a bit, looking down on the tomb robber and the spirit of his hikari, before vanishing into the night.

Change of Heart.

Yami Bakura smirked; it figured. He twirled the wand between his fingers, before looking at the stick. He could not resist…

"Now that's my boomstick," he declared. Bakura's spirit sweatdropped, before falling over in embarrassment.

No more American movies for you!

Yami Bakura laughed out loud, before turning to more serious matters. Namely, the fact that Draco was probably still in the forbidden forest. There was no way the tomb robber would be able to track him now, not without the Millennium Ring to help him. Hopefully, Draco would be able to take care of himself. He sighed, before looking down at his hikari.

"Get back in your Soul Room, and lets go find the others."

-.oOOo.-

Draco winced as he almost got smacked in the face by a twisted stray branch. He stopped his run through the forbidden forest a moment, mostly to regain his breath, but also to think. Pettigrew had disappeared from his sight a while ago, and common sense told him to turn around before he got lost, but he just could not do it. They had finally caught the person who had really killed the Potters; he was not about to let him get away clean.

He was about to head forward again, when a hissing sound caught his attention. He looked up to see a snake hanging down from a branch, staring down at him curiously.

"Have you seen a rat that is not a rat?" Draco asked the snake in Parseltongue, suddenly very grateful he could speak the language. The snake cocked its head, obviously not used to humans talking to it in its native tongue.

"I have ssseen many rrratsss," the snake replied, "but only one sssuch as you ssspeak of."

"Show me where he went!" Draco exclaimed, excited. The snake dropped from its branch, slithering over to where he was standing, its tongue flicking out at the ground.

"Thisss way!" it exclaimed, slithering off into the underbrush.

Draco followed close behind, careful not to step on his new guide as he plowed along. They traveled this way for a few good minutes, before the snake suddenly stopped, raising itself up into the air slightly.

"The trrrail endsss herrre," it declared.

Draco looked around, confused. "So where is he?"

As if in answer to his question, a hand suddenly wrapped itself around his neck before slamming him up against a tree and holding him there. Draco blinked back stars, trying to pry the hand away with his fingers as he glared down as his captor. Pettigrew smirked slightly, his rat-like eyes glittering in the moonlight.

"Do you honestly think I would return to my master without something to cool his anger at my absence?" he asked

Draco kicked out at him, but somehow he missed.

"You may as well just kill me here!" he exclaimed. "No matter what your buddies may try to do, I'll never give any information to the Death Eaters, nor will I join them!"

Pettigrew clicked his tongue mockingly. "My dear boy… whoever said the Death Eaters were interested in you?"

Draco was about to demand what he meant by that, when something was suddenly shoved violently into his chest. He gasped in pain, feeling like his heart was being ripped apart. No – more accurately – it felt as if his very soul was being torn in two…

…and then he knew nothing else…