Quatre: Sorry for the wait. Here's the fifth chapter.
Yami Quatre: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. The prize cameos for everyone that guessed who the cameo from chapter three was will probably show up in "When Gundams are Gifties," since we've no more need for OCs, so to speak.
Quatre: That's all for now. Don't forget to review!
The teen stumbled into the Great Hall, unable to stop himself from colliding with Yami. The former pharaoh caught him and stared down at the boy incredulously.
"Marik!" Yugi cried, scrambling forward. "Marik, are you all right?!"
The tomb robber came forward and leaned down, peering into blank violet orbs. "Marik? Damn. He's in shock. We better take him to the hospital wing."
Yugi looked anxiously up at him. "Will he be all right?"
Bakura shrugged. "Who knows? I'm certainly not a healer."
Yami glared at him.
All around them, students were whispering, most of them edging slowly away. The teachers were trying to force their way through the crowd, but to no avail.
"Pharaoh…" Marik said faintly, struggling to lift his head.
"Yes?" Yami whispered, leaning down so he could hear what Marik would say.
"He's trying to take over me again," Marik said, closing his eyes and shuddering.
"Who?" Yami asked, though he had a pretty good idea of what Marik was talking about.
"My darkness…he's coming back…"
"How?" Bakura demanded.
"Voldermort…He's…"
Marik spasmed, his eyes clenching shut as pain wracked him. He coughed violently, blood spraying from his mouth onto Yami. The spirit made a small sound of disgust but made no move to push the boy away. Instead, he held him tighter, offering wordless comfort.
"Take it easy," Yami whispered. "One word at a time. Now, what is Voldermort doing?"
"He's… Millennium Rod… my darkness…"
Bakura growled in frustration. Ryou shot him a reproachful look.
Marik pulled in a shaky breath.
"He's trying to use the Millennium Rod… bring him back… sacrifices…"
The blonde nearly doubled over as another coughing fit seized him. Yugi put a supporting hand on Marik's arm as the fit subsided.
"My darkness…" Marik moaned. "Use the Rod… kill Harry Potter…"
Everyone who heard automatically looked at Harry.
"Is Voldermort using the Rod to bring back Yami Marik?" Ryou asked quietly.
Marik nodded. "He'll have… host body… going to kill me…"
"But you escaped," Bakura said.
Another nod.
"We'd better get him to the hospital wing," Yami said. "Bakura, help me carry him."
The tomb robber grumbled but complied. Yugi and Ryou followed anxiously.
"What should I do?" Harry called after them.
"Tell Dumbledore what we heard," Yami said.
They vanished through the doors.
Harry scowled, sighed, and headed to where the professors were gathered, staring incredulously at him.
The quartet made its way to the stone gargoyle that hid the entrance to Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster had asked to see them, presumably to find out the condition of their unexpected guest. Yami figured that there was more to this visit, however.
"Pop tarts," Yugi said, failing to suppress his giggles.
Bakura rolled his eyes. "It's not that funny."
That only made Yugi giggle more.
They trooped up the stairs and found the door open and waiting for them. They filed in to see Harry and Dumbledore waiting.
"Please have a seat, boys."
They did.
"How is our guest doing?" Dumbledore asked, steepling his fingers and gazing calmly at the quartet.
"He's fine," Yugi said. "Madame Pomfrey says that he should be able to leave the hospital wing in a few weeks."
"So how did he end up in that condition?"
"Voldermort was using him," Yami said. "He wishes to wield the power of the Millennium Items himself. He probably tortured Marik in order to learn all he could about the Millennium Items."
Bakura snorted. "He didn't have to go that far. He could have just talked to me."
Everyone either glared or shook their heads, or both.
"What? It's true."
"Back to the point," Dumbledore said. "Do you know if Voldermort succeeded in summoning Yami Marik?"
"I sincerely hope not," Yami replied. "After Battle City I sent him to the Graveyard. It is highly unlikely that he could have escaped, considering the other spells I placed on him."
"Hey, I escaped!" Bakura pointed out.
"Remind me to send you again sometime."
"Is that a threat?"
"No, a promise."
The yamis glared at each other.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Please refrain from arguing for the moment. We must discuss what to do with Marik now that he is here."
"We can't throw him out!" Harry said at once.
"I concur. But shall he stay here as a student or merely a guest?"
"A student," Yami decided. "He no longer has the Millennium Rod with him. He needs to be able to protect himself."
Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. Once he recovers I shall take him to Diagon Alley for his school supplies. He is very behind. You four will have to aid him in his studies."
"All right. May we go now?" Yami asked.
Dumbledore nodded. "And, just so you know, the other teachers and I have decided the winners of the costume contest."
" 'Winners'?" Yugi echoed.
"Yes. You all had themed costumes, so it's only fair for all of you to get the credit."
Everyone grinned at him. "Thanks!"
"Now get back to the dormitory. If anyone asks, I was telling you that you won, which, after all, is the truth." Dumbledore smiled gently.
"Good night, Professor." They stood and left.
Ron pounced on Harry as soon as the boy entered the dormitory. He was still dressed up in his costume, though most of the jewelry had been set aside.
"What exactly happened in there?" he demanded.
Harry gulped. "That boy was an old friend of Yami's and Yugi's," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "He ran into some dark wizards on his way over here. Apparently they wanted to have some fun. Marik only just got away."
Is that a complete lie? he wondered to no one in particular.
Ron frowned but accepted the answer. "So is he all right?"
"Madame Pomfrey is healing him now." Harry rubbed at his eyes. "I'm going to take these contacts out. I'm still not used to them. 'Night."
"Okay. Goodnight."
Harry climbed the stairs to his room. He took the contacts out, put them in their case with cleaning solution, and put his glasses on so he could get ready for bed.
As he dressed, he happened to glance out the window. He caught a glimpse of the shooting star as it slowly moved across the sky. It was larger than it had been at the beginning of the school year, meaning that it was closer to Earth.
He wondered how close it would get.
He shivered, remembering the prophecies.
Looking at the shooting star gave him chills. He climbed into bed and closed the drapes, hiding the window from sight.
He fell into a sleep plagued by dreams of battling dragons and serpents.
The results of the costume contest were announced at breakfast the next morning. Harry smirked across the room at Draco, whose Dark Angel costume had only won him second place. Draco scowled at him and turned back to eating.
Yugi, Ryou, and Yami were not at breakfast, most likely in the hospital wing to visit Marik and get more information. Bakura, however, was eating like he always did. Harry winced as he watched.
"Suddenly I don't feel very hungry anymore," he muttered to no one even as he munched on a bagel.
Owls began swooping down just then, marking the arrival of the post owls. Harry scanned the swarm, noting owls that belonged to his friends and making sure to ask them about their letters later.
Yugi rushed into the hall and grabbed several plates, loading them with whatever food was nearby.
"We're all waiting for Marik to wake up," he explained quickly. "Dumbledore has given us the day off."
"I'll take notes for you," Harry promised as Yugi ran out again.
"Perhaps I should take notes for them," Hermione said. "You two are probably going to play that card game of yours again."
"That's Ron and Dean," Harry informed her. "I just collect the cards."
"Then why exactly did I hear you say yesterday, and I quote, 'I attack with the Dark Magician!'"
Harry sweatdropped. "Okay, so I'm beginning to learn to play. So sue me."
Hedwig landed in front of him just then, saving him from Hermione's retort. He took the note from Hedwig and watched her fly away. He caught sight of a red-tailed hawk in the window and stared at it. It stared back before dropping out of sight.
"Since when do hawks deliver mail?" he asked Hermione as he opened the letter.
"They don't. That hawk was probably wild."
Harry shook his head and skimmed over the letter.
Soon, Harry Potter. Soon. I will come for what's mine. You cannot hide him forever.
Yami Marik
Harry crumpled the letter angrily in his fist. "I'll be late for Transfiguration," he informed Hermione, standing and making his way out of the hall.
He found Yami talking to Dumbledore inside the hospital wing.
"I received a letter from Yami Marik," Harry told them, showing the battered paper to the headmaster.
Dumbledore examined the letter carefully. "This is not good. It will take at least a week for Marik to heal. It will be difficult to protect him. I cannot afford to take a teacher from his or her duties for that long."
"We should send him somewhere safe, then," Yami decided. "Until he heals, he should stay at Order headquarters."
"Good idea. I'll have Madame Pomfrey arrange the transfer." Dumbledore touched his wand to the letter, causing it to burst into flame. "It would be best for you to burn these letters should you get anymore. There's no telling what spells he used on this one. You had better stay here and let Madame Pomfrey check you, just in case."
Harry nodded.
"Good day." Dumbledore left the hospital wing.
Madame Pomfrey walked into the hospital wing just then, arms laden with many potions and salves. "Dumbledore spoke to me on his way out. I'll get to you in a minute, Mr. Potter. You just take a seat."
Harry nodded and stretched out on a bed. He watched Madame Pomfrey vanish behind a curtain, accompanied by a few Egyptian curses.
"What're you trying to do, woman, kill me?!" There was a yelp and Harry could see someone trying to scramble away.
"Don't worry," Yami said to Harry's startled look. "This happened last night, too. Madame Pomfrey knows how to sort him out"
"What's she doing to him?!"
Bakura smirked. "For one thing, she had to get him undressed to see all of his wounds. So now he's nude. For another, she's been shoving potions down his throat all morning. And Marik's wary of that wand of hers, too. She's been trying to heal him all morning."
There was a small explosion from behind the curtains. Yami sighed and pulled out a card.
"Be right back." He walked to the curtains and muttered something.
"Damn you, Pharaoh!" came a scream.
Yami smirked. "I can't help but enjoy that."
"What did you do?" Harry asked.
"I chained him to he bed so he can't move," Yami explained. "The magic will wear off eventually, but not before Madame Pomfrey is done with him."
Harry's confusion must have shown on his face, for Bakura said, "I thought we told you that our Items let us summon the magic of these cards."
"I'd forgotten. Sorry."
Madame Pomfrey emerged from behind the curtains. "That boy is impossible." She dropped her empty bottles in a sink. "Normally I'd punish students for using magic on each other, but in this circumstance I'll let it pass for now. Please refrain from it later."
Yami nodded. Madame Pomfrey turned to Harry.
"This won't take long."
Harry nodded and suffered through the examination.
"You're fine, Potter. I'll write you a note for class. Go straight there!"
Harry nodded and picked up his books. "I'll see you later, Yami, Bakura."
"Later," the spirits said as he walked out.
Harry slid into his seat with only a few minutes to go before the class let out. Hermione turned a disapproving glare his way before handing him the notes she'd taken for not only him but the quartet.
"Thanks," he whispered as Professor McGonagall loomed over him.
"Well, Mr. Potter? Where were you for the duration of the class period?"
Harry handed her the note from Madame Pomfrey. McGonagall frowned down at him, pursed her lips, and nodded. "Very well. However, please do not let this happen again."
"It's not like I could help it," he muttered as she walked away.
"So what did that letter say?" Hermione asked as they left for Potions.
Harry half considered telling Hermione the truth. Eventually he said, "It was nothing."
He didn't know why he wasn't telling her and Ron about everything that had happened. All he knew was that for the moment, it was better if no one else found out what was happening.
Potions was hell. Apparently, Snape was in a bad mood and so was being even more of a bastard than usual. Harry couldn't figure out how he'd gotten his potion right while under the malicious scrutiny of the teacher. To top it all off, his scar began burning midway through the class.
"Are you all right, Harry?" Ron asked him as they climbed out of the dungeons. "You look a bit pale."
"I'm fine," Harry assured him. As if to prove him wrong, the pain in his scar flared for a second before returning to a dull burning.
"I think I'm going to take a walk outside. You know, get a bit of air. I'll meet you in the Great Hall later." Without waiting for an answer, he left them alone.
It was nice outside, if a bit chilly. He shivered and pulled his cloak tighter about him.
There weren't many students outside, most preferring to stay inside where it was warm. Harry walked over to the lake and took a seat, gazing mutely at the calm water, disturbed occasionally by the giant squid.
A reflection caught his eye. It was the shooting star, close enough now to be visible, even during the daytime. Harry twisted his head so that he could look at the real thing.
Without warning, there was an explosion. Harry spun around and saw a monster barrel out of the Forbidden Forest.
A very familiar monster.
Harry dug into a pocket of his robes and pulled out his deck, flipping through the cards until he came to a certain one.
"It can't be!"
The Hitostu-me Giant looked over at him, studying him, before lumbering over, swinging a club idly as it walked.
Harry backed away slowly, the cards clutched in his hand. Students were running out of the castle to see what was going on.
Another monster ran out of the forest. Harry recognized it; it was the Patrician of Darkness. The Patrician launched an attack at a group of students staring openmouthed at it.
Harry ran from the Hitostu-me Giant. It easily caught up, and Harry was forced to roll away from its club.
"Someone get the transfers!" he yelled at the knot of students that had formed. The Giant swung again. "Oh, bloody… Accio Firebolt!"
The broomstick dodged around students to reach him, and Harry swung on and upwards, out of the Giant's reach.
He dodged a blast of magic from the Patrician and easily found the windows for the hospital wing. A Harpy's Brother was attacking it, but kept hitting a barrier of some sort.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted. The jet of red light only seemed to irritate the monster, but it was distracted enough to allow a blast of magic from inside the hospital. The monster disintegrated.
"Yugi! Yami!" Harry yelled, flying up to the windows and peering in.
"We know, Harry," Yami said coolly. "Bakura is on his way down to help stop the monsters."
"But there could be more on the way!" Harry said. As he spoke, several more monsters pooped up and began blasting things.
Yami sighed and turned his head so he could speak over his shoulder. "Dark Magician, protect them. Yugi, you stay here. You can summon another monster if the Dark Magician fails."
"Be careful, Yami!" Yugi called as Yami carefully climbed out the window and onto the back of Harry's broomstick.
They swooped down. A Harpy's Lady saw them and attacked.
Harry lost his balance and fell. He hit the ground with a painful thud.
/I'd be surprised if I didn't break anything,/ he thought, sitting up and checking himself over gingerly.
A shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see the Patrician of darkness standing over him.
This was turning out to be a very bad day indeed.
Quatre: Yet another cliffie. Forgive me. However, this was the best place to stop.
Yami Quatre: She's in love with Cliffies.
Quatre: Hey!
Yami Kenshin: *shakes head* We don't have much to say in the way of author's notes, just thanks for the patience. Please enjoy.
All: Ja ne!