Yu-Gi-Oh!
Dawn of Fate

CHAPTER TEN – SEALING FATE

Yugi was breathing hard as he made a mad dash through the hallways of the school, Draco huffing and puffing along side him. The both of them had woken up later than they intended; so late that they did not even have a chance to get anything for breakfast, and have any hope of making it to their Ancient Egyptian Magic class at a decent time.

The older boy glanced over at his companion, who was red faced from all the running. The professor of the class, Shadi, had requested that Draco transfer into his class the first day of school. He was a bit hesitant, but eventually agreed to it, hoping that maybe by taking the class he would be able to understand the new power he had been saddled with.

Yugi turned back to the path ahead of him just in time to nearly collide with a suit of armor. He dodged just enough to avoid knocking it over, but not enough that he could prevent his books from flying out of his hands. Turning to pick them up treated him to the sight of his other self, who had already gathered most of the books, bent over trying to collect the rest.

"Go on," Yami Yugi insisted. "I'll catch up."

As much as Yugi wanted to stay and watch, getting to class as soon as humanly possible was – sadly – more important. The two boys dashed the rest of the way down the hall, the pharaoh's almost real footfalls soon thudding close behind. Reaching the door flanked by two floor-based torches, the three of them paused a moment to catch their breath before entering the tomb-like classroom. Inside, Professor Shadi was waiting calmly at his desk; notes were already displayed on the chalkboard, of which the meager amount of students that were in the class was scribbling down furiously. The Egyptian man turned an emotionless gaze toward the three of them.

"You are late, Pharaoh, Draco," he pointed out.

"Sorry," the three of them muttered guiltily.

Shadi just raised an eyebrow, not amused. "Expect extra homework at the end of class," he said simply, waving them off toward their seats. Yugi and Draco groaned as the three of them trudged to their seats.

They plopped down in seats between Marik and Yami Seto, even Yami Yugi. Ever since they each had had their first lesson with Professor Moody, the spirits had been making a habit of participating in classes. The various professors they had more or less already accepted their constant presence anyway, so there was really no point in just hiding in their respective Millennium Items for hours on end while their hikaris suffered through school.

Yugi reached into his backpack, pulling out his textbook and writing utensils, when he noticed that their group was two short. Up, in the farthest corner near Shadi's desk – as far away from Marik as they could get – were Hermione and Aishisu. The spirit of the soothsayer looked like she was having a distressing mental conversation with her other half, if the expression on her face was any indication. Apparently even she did not agree with the way that Hermione had reacted a few nights ago in the common room.

"D'ya think Hermione-chan will ever apologize?" Yugi muttered to Marik out of the corner of his mouth.

"Doubtful," Marik muttered back, finishing up his notes. "She probably thinks it's all my fault. She was the one that went spastic."

The sound of Professor Shadi clearing his throat prevented Yugi from replying. Instead, he turned his thoughts inward, half focusing on the notes he was taking down as he spoke briefly with his other half.

I hope this doesn't last long. Hermione-chan and Marik-kun apart is just… wrong.

Yami Yugi mentally nodded in agreement. I know, koibito, I know.

-.oOOo.-

Harry –

I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is
the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached
me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore –
they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which
means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is.

I'll be in touch soon. My best to everyone. Keep your eyes
open Harry.

Sirius

A few weeks later found Harry in the boy's dormitory, picking up what he needed for his afternoon classes before going down to lunch, when the letter had sidetracked him. During the summer, before he went to Ron's house and the Quidditch World Cup, he had awoken from a horrible nightmare with his scar throbbing worse than it ever had. His first instinct made him write to his godfather, Sirius Black, a wizard that had been wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban. It had taken awhile for him to reply with the note that he just read for what had to be the umpteenth time, and the news that Sirius was going to be coming back to England did not thrill Harry very much. What if he got caught again? There was no way they could pull off another miraculous escape.

Sighing, Harry tucked the note under his mattress before heading out of the Gryffindor tower and down to the Great Hall. His friends were already waiting for him at the table, though Hermione was absent, having already stuffed food down her throat and left for the library.

Harry kept his gaze on Marik as he sat down, pitying the Egyptian boy. In the weeks that had passed, him and Hermione still had not made up, and apparently it was starting to wear on Marik. He had dark bags of sleeplessness under his eyes, and he looked like he was going to snap in half if you gave him the slightest push.

"Marik, you look horrible," he pointed out, noticing that the older boy had hardly eaten anything either.

Marik just gave him a miserable look that was supposed to be a glare. "The tomb robber already pointed this out to me, thanks."

An easy smile came to Yami Yugi's face. "Yes," he confirmed. "I believe his exact words were, 'For Ra's sake, you baka Gravekeeper, go and fucking apologize to her already'!"

Marik flopped his head on the table, banging against it a couple times before wailing pathetically, "But I didn't do anything…!"

Yugi patted him on the back while Draco exchanged disturbed expressions with Ron.

"Ron," the blonde boy began, "if I ever get a girlfriend, please kill me."

"Only if you do the same."

"Deal."

They shook on it for good measure as Harry rolled his eyes.

After coaxing Marik to eat something and to stop banging his head against the table, it was off to Defense Against the Dark Arts, which Harry had to admit – between last year and this year – was steadily becoming his favorite subject. It was amazing just how much Professor Moody knew about the various curses out there. He was an incredible instructor as well, just as good as Lupin, if not, better.

They entered the classroom, where Hermione was already sitting with Aishisu all the way in the back. Marik hesitated a moment, fighting a war with his own good common sense paired off with his ego against his humility. His common sense and ego overpowered that fight, and he ended up sitting down with Yugi and the others, momentarily putting her out of his mind.

Though, as it turned out, Marik would not have much of a chance to think about his problem with Hermione anyway. After taking role, Professor Moody announced that he would be placing each of them under the Imperius Curse, so as they understood what it could do and to learn how to resist the effects. Not only that, but he had an unusual choice for who to go first.

Yami Yugi gulped, pointing a finger at himself. "Me!"

Moody gave him a bland look. "Did I stutter, lad?" he returned. "Yes you. Think of it as an experiment; if it doesn't work on you because you're a spirit, I won't have to put it on the miss back there."

He nodded to where Aishisu and Hermione were sitting, both of whom looked highly perturbed by the whole idea.

Apparently, not only did the Unforgivable Curse work on spirits, but Yami Yugi had difficulty fighting it off as well. Not long after Moody shouted, "Imperio!" did he have the ancient pharaoh clucking about like a chicken. Yugi was close to tears from laughing so hard by the time the professor let him out of it, while Aishisu was just trying to pretend she did not know him.

"Not – brrrgauk! ­– funny, aibou," Yami Yugi muttered as he retook his seat, still shaking off the effects. Marik had a hand over his mouth, trying his hardest not to bust out laughing himself.

"If the tomb robber ever finds out, he'll never let you live it down," he said, his face breaking out into a grin as the pharaoh gave him a death glare.

"Then he better not find out about it," he returned, just as Dean Thomas started singing the national anthem under the curse's influence.

-.oOOo.-

Harry limped out of the class an hour later in the company of the others – sans Hermione, who probably zipped ahead to avoid Marik. The young wizard had been the only one able to resist the Imperius Curse's influence right away, though just barely. He had gotten his knees knocked up pretty good the first two times, thanks to the fact that Moody kept trying to get him to jump up on the desk.

"I never want to have to do that again – brrrgauk!" Yami Yugi clucked, having more trouble shaking off the effects than anyone else did.

A shout came from behind them just then, and – much to the pharaoh's misfortune – Bakura and Yami Bakura ran up to join them.

"Oy, you guys," Marik greeted them. "Shame you're not in our house. You missed quite an entertaining Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson."

Marik grinned at Yami Yugi. If glares were bullets, the Egyptian boy would have been dead and buried with the firing squad still shooting at his grave. Both Yugi and Draco chuckled at the expression on the spirit's face while Marik backed away slowly.

"Must have been at the pharaoh's expense," Yami Bakura replied, grinning as said pharaoh cringed.

"None of your – brrrgauk! – business, tomb robber!" he snapped in return.

Yami Bakura, however, just gave him a confused look. "Did you just make a chicken noise…?"

"Anyway…" Bakura began, both him and Yugi pulling their respective other selves away from each other before blood started to fly, "We've got Care of Magical Creatures next. Hagrid's still making us take care of those bloody blast-ended skrewts."

"Still?" Ron groaned, making a face as they started making their way down the hall. "I hate those things!"

The others idly started to banter back and forth (with the occasional clucking from Yami Yugi) as they neared the main foyer. Marik crossed his arms behind his head, loosing his mind in the endless ramble, until he caught sight of something in an adjoining hallway. Was that Hermione…?

Screwing up his courage, he left the others, not bothering to tell them what he was doing, and started down the hallway. He did not get very far, before someone suddenly collided into Hermione as she passed a classroom. Marik hid behind a statue, his eyes going wide as the boy apologized in a heavy Bulgarian accent.

Victor Krum stooped down to help Hermione pick up the books that had scattered when he bumped into her. She took the last book from him, a bit of a callous expression on her face.

"Thank you," she said coldly. "I'd imagine you need to get back to your fan club now."

Victor seemed to wince at her tone. "Actually, I vas looking for a place to hide from them."

Hermione paused a moment, surprised by his response. "Well…" she began, a bit uncertain. "I know a place… I could show you."

"Vould you?" he asked, sounding hopeful. Hermione smiled and nodded, letting him loop his arm about hers as she led him back down the hallway.

Marik stood there in his hiding place, watching them walk away numbly. An ache filled his chest, like someone had ripped out his heart and let an elephant trample all over it before shoving it back in. He was not stupid; he knew the only place in this school that held any kind of privacy was the hidden room him and Hermione had found one day during a free period. The only reason it was so private was because – as far as they knew – no one else was aware of its existence. It was their room, the room they always went to when they wanted to study in private or just have some alone time together. Now, she was showing…

Marik started to slowly make his way back to the common room, hoping Hagrid would forgive him for missing one lesson.

-.oOOo.-

Yugi, Yami Yugi, Harry, Ron, and Draco started walking back up to the Gryffindor tower that night after dinner. It was not until after Hagrid had said something during their Care of Magical Creatures lesson that any of them had noticed Marik was not with them anymore. The Egyptian had not shown for the class at all, or for supper even. Draco put a comforting hand on Yugi's shoulder, trying to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, Yugi," he said. "He might be in the common room. Maybe he was not feeling well after class and decided to sit it out?"

"I hope so…" he replied.

The group of Gryffindors reached their common room, only to see that a handful of fifth and fourth year students were meandering about, trying to get homework done or just chatting with their friends. Neville spotted them from where he was sitting on an armchair with his Herbology homework, and waved them over.

"I think Marik's in his bed upstairs," he said as they approached.

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.

"Well," Neville began, closing his text book, "his bed curtains are drawn, and I think I heard him snoring or something. I couldn't really tell."

The five boys exchanged concerned looks, before Yami Yugi volunteered to check in on him. He ascended the staircase and made sure to open the door to the fourth year bedroom instead of trying to go through it – last time he tried to go through a door, he nearly bashed his nose in. Inside, it was just as Neville said it was. Marik's bed curtains were drawn tight, and a strange sort of half snoring, half whimpering sound was coming from behind them.

Frowning, the pharaoh stepped over to the bed and poked his head through the curtains. There was Marik, his body curled up in a fetal position, unconsciously hugged onto a damp pillow. Rishid the cat was curled up near his master's legs, and he let out a sad "meow" when he saw Yami Yugi. He sighed, not really knowing why the young Egyptian was like this, but he had a general idea. Coaxing Rishid to move, the pharaoh went over to Marik's spare cloths chest and pulled out an extra blanket, which he draped over him.

The pharaoh watched Marik a moment more, before closing the curtains once again and heading back downstairs. He was about to rejoin his friends by the fireside, when Hermione suddenly entered the common room, and he approached her instead. She paused as she saw him walk up to her, surprised.

"Hermione, I need to talk to Aishisu in private please," he requested simply.

Caught off guard by the request, Hermione nodded numbly before her hair suddenly blackened as Aishisu took over. The soothsayer let out a depressed sort of sigh, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Pharaoh, I already know what this is about," she pointed out.

"Then you know what I want to ask," Yami Yugi returned simply.

Aishisu sighed again. "I know, I know. She won't listen to me, though."

Yami Yugi blinked. "Won't listen to you? Is she really making that big of a deal about this whole 'spew' thing?"

The soothsayer just shook her head sadly. "No. It's not about that at all," she said, glancing over towards the fire to see that the others were also listening into the conversation. "Pharaoh, have you ever heard the phrase, 'If you love someone, let them go'?"

Yugi made a sound of protest from his seat. "You can't be serious…!"

Aishisu, however, nodded. "She's unsure of how she feels about Marik, and even she doesn't know why. I speculate that it might be because she feels he's so much older than she is."

"They're five years apart," Draco pointed out. "That's hardly a distance."

Again, the soothsayer sighed. "I know, I know," she said, before turning back to Yami Yugi. "I'll do what I can, but this is really something that they themselves need to straighten out."

-.oOOo.-

While everyone ate happily in the Great Hall that night barely a week before Halloween, he stood alone before the seemingly simply wooden cup. His fingers twitched in both nervousness and anticipation, as he wondered just what exactly would happen. Would he be chosen? Would he be given the chance to prove to himself and to her that he was worthy of her? Or would his name be skipped over, totally forgotten by both the schools and her?

Taking a steadying breath, he decided that there was no way that he could not try to find out. He calmed his fingers, reaching out to take the quill from the nearly empty well of ink and writing his name down on one of the last remaining pieces of parchment.

Marik Ishitar

He slipped the quill back into the well, before tossing his name into the blue flames of the Goblet of Fire. Standing before the cup a moment, he silently nodded and assured himself that he was justified, before heading off to dinner as if nothing happened… unaware that the crackling of the flames had sealed his fate…

"Bye-bye, hikari-pretty!"