Quatre: Forgive me for the delay. Now that I have my notes, however, see how fast this got written?
Yami Quatre: She wrote this in a day, mostly. And she wrote the bulk of it in a few hours last night, so if the chapter sounds strange, that's why.
Quatre: *nods* I had fun writing this, too, but forgive me for any spelling mistakes or wrong translations of names (later in the chapter, you'll see).
Yami Quatre: I would like to congratulate Tomgirl27 on catching the very brief and inconsequential cameo for chapter 5. Give it up for Tobias! He appeared briefly as a random red-tailed hawk, and Tomgirl27 caught it! *applauds*
Quatre: The only thing I'd like to say is read and review!
Harry rolled as the Patrician attacked, managing to avoid the brunt of the blast, but still catching enough of it to send him flying. He hit the ground near Hagrid's hut. He jumped up and ducked through the door just as the Patrician attacked again.
He slammed the door and levitated the large table in front of it. He peeked out the window in time to see the Patrician slam the Hitostu-me Giant's club into the wall. He jumped back as some large hams fell from the roof.
/I'm going to get killed if I stay in here!/
Harry peered out the window and saw Gaea the Fierce Knight charge the Patrician. The Patrician turned to meet the threat.
/This is probably the best chance I'm going to get!/
He dashed through the back door and hid behind the giant cauldron holding the odd eggs. He watched the Giant stumble around blindly, presumably looking for him.
A grating sound caught his attention.
/Is that… are the eggs hatching?!/
He peeked into the cauldron (Hagrid had set it up around Halloween to protect the eggs) and confirmed his guess. The eggs were wiggling around on their own, and the golden one had a crack in it. As he watched, the golden one split open, and a dragon tumbled out.
Harry blinked. /That's a… no way!/
It was.
The golden Blue Eyes White Dragon flapped its wings, letting the heat from the cauldron dry them out. It gazed up at Harry as it stretched lazily.
\You are not the one I am to protect,/ it said evenly, standing up on its hind legs and letting its wings blow the air onto its body, drying it out.
Harry gaped. "You talked!"
It was the dragon's turn to blink. \You understood me. Interesting. However, I have no time for this. I must protect the pharaoh!/
"Is there something I can do to help?"
\Protect these eggs with your life. That is how you can help./
With that, the golden dragon flew away.
The red egg toppled over, shattering. A Red Eyes Black Dragon fell to the iron surface of the cauldron, and it sat up, shaking its head to clear it. Harry used magic to clear the shells away, since it was too hot for him to reach into the cauldron proper. He then made his wand produce hot air and dried the dragon with it.
\Thanks,/ it said cheerily. \I've got someone to go protect, but I'm sure I'll see you later!/
Harry watched the dragon fly away with a blank look on his face. /This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder. I'd better warn Yami and Bakura that company's coming./
Hey, yamis! There're two dragons heading your way, a golden one and a black one. Don't shoot them or whatever, they're friendly! At least, they didn't kill me.
Thank you for the heads up, Harry. Where are you? Yami asked.
I'm behind Hagrid's hut, and I seem to be safe for now.
Stay there, then. I will inform you when the battle is over.
Right.
Harry looked around the cauldron and was relieved to see that the Giant had decided to go somewhere else. The sound of another egg hatching caused him to turn his attention back to what was happening inside the cauldron.
This time, it was the light blue egg that had hatched. A normal Blue Eyes White Dragon was stretched out inside the cauldron, flicking its tail lazily, its wings twitching. Harry stared down at it.
"Um… There is a battle going on outside. Isn't there someone you should be protecting?"
It blinked up at him before starting. \That's right! How could I have been so stupid! Thanks for telling me!/ It jumped to its feet and flew away too fast for Harry to do anything but stare.
There's another dragon heading your way, he reported tiredly, choosing not to think about the latest dragon.
He turned back to the cauldron, but instead came face-to-face with a little kid. It blinked at him before hefting an ax.
/Oh brother… It's the Little Swordsman of Aile./
He ducked the ax and ducked behind the cauldron, putting it between him and the petit Duel Monster. It pouted and tried to swing over it, getting burned instead. It sucked on the burnt finger and gazed searchingly at him.
"I'm sorry, but I can't get killed," Harry informed it. "It's your fault for swinging over a hot kettle, anyway."
It grinned and pointed. Harry turned around to find that the Hitostu-me Giant had found him again. It swung, and Harry dodged. The club (which it must have gotten back from the Patrician of Darkness) knocked over the cauldron instead. The eggs went flying. Harry pulled out his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"
The club followed the cauldron. Harry, heartened buy this small success, tried another spell.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
This time, the spell bounced off the Giant, hitting the Swordsman instead. The Swordsman eeped and toppled over, cursing in what sounded like Ancient Egyptian. Harry caught a few words, and it wasn't pretty.
The Giant picked Harry up, squeezing him so tightly he was afraid his head might just pop off from the pressure. He squirmed, trying to free his wand arm.
/After all that, this is how it ends?!/
Yami, help! The Giant found me again!
Harry! Yami cried. I cannot come, but perhaps Bakura-
No go, Bakura said grimly. A Harpy's Brother carried me to the roof and I'm pinned.
Harry stared down into the Giant's soulless eyes as it slowly tightened its hold. It was becoming hard to breathe with each passing second, and there were dark spots dancing in front of his eyes as he gasped for breath.
Harry! Try and hold on, I'm coming! Ryou called desperately. I'm right across the field from you! Please don't pass out!
There's a dragon attacking my window! Yugi said frantically. It looks like a Blue Eyes!
Let it through… Harry said weakly as the battle for consciousness drew to a close. His head slumped to his chest, and his hands, which had been clenched at his sides, went limp.
Then the world exploded back into focus as his head hit the ground. He groaned, rolling over and trying to push himself to his feet.
/Why did it drop me?/
He looked up, trying to force his blurred eyes to focus. He realized that he had lost his glasses and looked around for them. A hand came into his vision holding them, and he put them on gratefully. The hand hauled him to his feet, and he found himself looking directly into Ryou Bakura's eyes.
"That was close," the white-haired teen observed.
"You think?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"I'll blame that on the concussion you're sure to have," Ryou said cheerfully. Harry leaned on him, searching for something that could have caused the Giant to drop him.
He blinked, then rubbed his eyes. "Am I seeing things?"
"I don't think so," Ryou said quietly.
There were two small dragons attacking the Giant. Harry recognized one of them as the one that had hatched only moments ago. The other one was what made Harry blink.
At first glance, one could mistake it for a Red Eyes Black Dragon, but a closer examination revealed that this dragon had a more serpent-like body, and the armor was so black that light only gleamed dully off it. The dragon wove gracefully through the air, easily outflying the Red Eyes Black Dragon that was helping it in the attack against the Giant.
Harry caught movement from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head in time to see a silver Red Eyes Black Dragon fly off in the direction of the main battle. He shook his head in confusion.
/If it's not black, how can it be a Red Eyes Black Dragon?/
Ryou seemed to know he was spacing out, for he tapped Harry lightly on the head with his wand.
"Focus, Harry," he warned. "Come on, I'll get you back to the castle."
They turned and, with Harry leaning on Ryou, they made their way from behind Hagrid's house into the main fray. There were about ten enemy monsters and five friendly monsters, not counting the newly-hatched dragons. Yami was clearly visible, a shield keeping him safe, with his trusty Dark Magician by his side. The Dark Magician Girl was dancing through the fray, destroying an enemy Harpy's Brother as Harry watched. A quick glance upwards, and Harry could just make out a head of white hair on the roof closest to Gryffindor Tower.
Ryou tugged gently on his arm, indicating that this wasn't the time to be dawdling. Harry let Ryou lead him through the fray. The hikari paused once or twice to summon a monster to help out the yamis, but other than that they made steady progress.
Get everyone back inside! There're too many monsters! I'm going to have to summon Osirus!
Right! Ryou turned to the frightened onlookers hovering just outside the castle doors. "Get inside! There's a huge monster coming that you won't want to be here for!"
They weren't going to argue. Soon, the only humans left outside were Ryou, Harry, and Yami (Bakura had made it to one of the Gryffindor Tower windows.)
Get Harry to the Hospital Wing, I'll finish up out here, Yami instructed Ryou.
Good luck, Ryou said before obeying.
They made it to the second floor before Harry stopped at a window.
"Come on!" Ryou insisted, tugging at his arm.
"We should be helping Yami!" Harry said, leaning out the (open) window and looking for the pharaoh.
"He'll handle it, now let's get going!"
Harry didn't move, instead choosing to watch.
A vortex appeared above the field, casting an eerie purplish light over everything. The monsters on the field looked up in confusion as something began to emerge from the vortex.
Harry was sure he wasn't seeing things.
The largest beast he had ever seen was slowly descending onto the field, flying in casual loops around itself as it emerged. A large dragon's head was at the front of the creature, and it sent its malevolent gaze to the now-cowering monsters on the ground.
Two blurs streaked past the duo into the castle, shrieking indignantly at the god-beast. They settled down on the windowsill to finish watching Osirus emerging.
"Wow," Harry said weakly. Needless to say, he was impressed.
"Can we go now?" Ryou asked impatiently.
Harry nodded.
"You don't like Osirus?" he asked as they continued down the corridor. The two dragons (the Red Eyes Black Dragon and the odd serpent dragon) followed at a leisurely pace.
"Yugi summoned it during our finals duel at Battle City," Ryou explained. "Or, more accurately, Bakura was the one dueling. It attacked me, and I got hurt."
An explosion outside punctuated his statement.
All clear, Yami reported. All of the monsters were either destroyed or had the brains to run away. On another note, why is there a golden dragon following me everywhere?
We don't know. Meet us in the hospital wing, Ryou said.
On my way.
What, doesn't anybody care about me? Bakura muttered.
There were several weak chuckles in response.
They all regrouped in the hospital wing. Harry lay down on a bed gratefully. The serpent dragon curled around his arm, its head resting on his shoulder. Harry didn't protest; in fact, he felt himself dozing off…
"Ouch!" he complained.
The dragon had bitten him.
\You should not sleep. Your head has been hurt and you may not wake up,/ it warned.
He glared half-heartedly at it before sighing and pulling himself into a sitting position. His ribs ached, his abdomen felt like it wasn't there, and his head was exploding.
Madame Pomfrey walked into the room just then, supporting a very battered-looking Malik. "That Yami Marik person broke in here and tried to kill my patient! It is quite fortunate indeed that Mr. Mutou was in here with that Dark Magician, or else Marik might have succeeded!"
"Put me down, woman, I don't need help!" Malik snapped angrily.
"Don't take that tone of voice with me, young man. I know what's best for you, and being snappish is not it!" She deposited him on a bed. "Now stay there, and if you get up I'll turn your clothes into dust!"
Malik eeped and shut up. Madame Pomfrey turned to Harry.
"Oh my lord, what happened to you?" she exclaimed.
"A Hitotsu-me Giant," he informed her, leaning gingerly against the headboard. "It seemed to think I was a banana or something and it couldn't figure out how to peel me."
Yugi broke into a fit of helpless laughter, partly because he was still a bit giddy from the battle and the adrenaline in his system hadn't dissipated and partly because Harry had been dead serious when he said it. Ryou chuckled, Bakura shot him a thumbs-up, and Yami just sighed.
"Could we please get serious here?" Madame Pomfrey requested. "Now, what hurts the most, dear?"
"No preference," Harry said. "It's all the same. My head's exploding, my guts are somewhere by Hagrid's hut, and I wish Lockhart would remove my ribs so I couldn't feel him."
Ryou turned to Yami, an eyebrow raised, and mouthed 'Lockhart?'
Yami shrugged, indicating he didn't know.
"Oh dear. Stay right there, and don't fall asleep1 I'll be back with some potions to make you feel better." She left the room, ignoring the five dragons draped on various things.
Indeed, the very same dragons that Harry had watched hatch had paired up with the quartet. The golden Blue Eyes rested on Yami's knee while the pharaoh sat on a bed, his arms crossed and appearing lost in thought. The normal Blue Eyes was curled up in Yugi's arms and apparently asleep. Yugi was sitting next to his darker half, absently stroking the dragon, also looking lost in thought. He and Yami were probably talking, Harry decided as he watched.
The silver Red Eyes was laying draped over Bakura's shoulders. The Tomb Robber studied his new companion with interest from his seat in the chair next to Malik's bed. The normal Red Eyes was sitting on Ryou's head, of all places, preventing the teen from getting a good look at it. Ryou had long since given up on trying to move it and had settled onto the floor leaning against Harry's bed.
Harry noted some differences between the dragons and their card counterparts. They were only about armlength, and they were more streamlined than the Duel Monsters. They weren't serpent dragons like Harry's, but there was less of a bulky feel to them.
Harry turned to examine the dragon that had paired with him. It was a bit longer than the others, about an arm and a half long (Harry's arm, anyway), and it had, instead of the red eyes of its lookalike, startlingly clear blue eyes that betrayed its intelligence.
Madame Pomfrey came in again, her arms full of potions. "Please get those dragons out of here! This is no place for wild, dangerous animals!"
Yugi's dragon raised its head blearily. \I don't want to leave!/ it complained.
\We belong with those who we were chosen to protect,/ Harry's put in. \We will not leave unless they instruct us to./
The quartet blinked.
"Since when can dragons talk?" Ryou asked. "I'm pretty sure that Hagrid would have mentioned if they could."
"I'm afraid, children, that these are no ordinary dragons," Dumbledore said softly, seeming to appear from nowhere. Malik yelped, and dove under his bed, causing everyone else to laugh.
Madame Pomfrey set her bottles down on the table next to Harry's bed, pulled out three, and poured a small bit of each into separate cups. "Drink these before you talk to the Headmaster," she instructed Harry. Turning to the Dumbledore, she added, "Try to hurry this up, this boy has serious injuries."
"I will not be long," Dumbledore promised.
Harry drank the potions. His head cleared up, and the pain in his chest lessened enough for him to focus clearly.
"Where are Ron and Hermione?" he asked.
"They are safe in my office, do not fear. It was all I could do to convince them to wait here. I assume that you do not wish to tell them about this?"
"I may have to," Harry sighed. "Not about the yamis, of course, but some things."
"It is fair. Please do not tell them much, it is safer for them."
Harry nodded.
"Now, it appears that Bakura's prediction came true, and there was an attack under the influence of a plague star," Dumbledore continued. "Because of this, the 'five' mentioned in Professor Trelawney's prophecy have been revealed. I suspected all along that it was indeed Yugi, Yami, Ryou, and Bakura. The fifth, however, stumped me. I'd had a good long talk with Shadi and had decided that Harry was not the fifth mentioned. I was leaning towards Malik, actually. From what I've heard of him, it seems that he fits the description of 'a child of light and darkness.'"
"Thanks," Malik said dryly. He'd crawled from under the bed and now had his head resting on it, listening. "Hey, could you elaborate a little? I'm a bit behind on current events."
"Perhaps Yami will explain later," Dumbledore informed him.
"Oh, joy," Yami muttered under his breath.
"So who is the fifth, professor?" Yugi asked curiously.
"It is Harry. Harry is the child of light and darkness."
Everyone turned to look at Harry.
"I'm just as confused as you are," he shrugged, turning to Dumbledore. "How is this possible?"
"Well, you are a child of light, because your parent's were light wizards. Can you guess how you are also a child of darkness?"
Harry scowled and thought about it. His scar pulsed angrily, and it hit him.
"Voldermort transferred some of his power to me the night he tried to kill me," he said. "Since that was dark power, and I got some of his abilities as well, that's how I'm a child of darkness."
Dumbledore smiled. "Very good, Harry. Ten points to Gryffindor."
"Now that you've figured that out," Malik said dryly, "where do the dragons come in?"
"I believe that these dragons are the guardians mentioned in Professor Trelawney's prediction," Dumbledore explained. "It said that the guardians would be crucial to defeating the darkness."
"But Professor," Yugi objected, "the prophecy states that all five will command the power of shadows, and even Voldermort."
"Yeah, how can that be? I don't have a Millennium Item," Harry mused.
"I have yet to figure it out," Dumbledore said honestly. "Malik, do you wish to stay here and learn magic? I believe that it would help should Marik attack again."
Somehow, in all of the confusion, it had been silently agreed upon to call Light Marik Malik and Dark Marik, Marik.
Malik chewed his bottom lip. "I suppose it would be best," he said finally. "I mean, without the Rod, I can't do anything, and I hate feeling helpless."
"Then you have a semester's worth of work to catch up on," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I'll ask the Ministry for a Time-Turner, that way you'll be able to catch up faster."
"What's a Time-Turner?" Malik asked blankly.
The dragons snickered.
"Why don't we name our dragons?" Yugi suggested suddenly.
Everyone turned to him. He colored under the scrutiny but continued.
"Since we have the dragons, we can't just call them 'Red Eyes One' and 'Blue Eyes Two.' If we name them, it would be much easier."
The dragons declared their approval in no uncertain terms.
They sat around thinking up names for an hour, during which Madame Pomfrey healed Harry's ribs and managed to bring his abdomen back to where it should be.
"I can't think up a name!" Ryou complained.
Yami turned to his dragon. "How about Koganeiro? It means golden colored."
\It will suffice. It sounds nice, anyway./
Yugi sighed. "What do you think of Asagi?" he asked his dragon. "It means light blue."
\Sounds good to me!/
Ryou and Harry shared a look.
"You take the color name," Harry decided. "I'll think of something else."
"Gin'iro," Bakura told his dragon. "If you don't like it, think up one yourself."
\It will suffice./
"Kuro," Ryou suggested to his dragon. "It means black."
The dragon seemed to shrug, and Ryou took it as a yes.
"Karasuhebi," Harry decided. "It means black snake."
"I don't want to know how he knows that," Yugi said, stroking Asagi.
The dragons chuckled to themselves.
\It is our job to protect you,/ Koganeiro said solemnly.
\And we will do so, even if it costs us our lives,/ Kuro added.
Quatre: Malik was featured a bit more in this chapter. Forgive me if he is OOC, I don't know how he acts when he isn't acting evil. This is just my impression of him.
Yami Quatre: Do you like the dragons? I do!
Quatre: I don't know what I'm going to do with them, though.
Yami Quatre: You'll think of something.
Quatre: I'm sorry if I got the names of a few cards wring, I didn't have my deck handy to double-check. And I couldn't remember what Yugi's god card was called, so I think I might have found the Japanese name instead. Someone please tell me whether I'm right or wrong, and if it's wrong I'll change it in later chapters.
Yami Quatre: Don't worry!
Quatre: Well, I must be going. I hope you enjoyed and please review!
Both: Ja ne!