Yu-Gi-Oh!
Dawn of Fate
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Mergh!
_
This chapter was difficult because it was one of those "the bad guy reveals what was going on while the good guys were busy" kind of chapters. A lot of what is said in this chapter was excerpted from the book, and I feel really horrible for it. There was really no other way that I could think of to do this chapter, though, and still maintain the same kind of effect.
Trust me, I'm going to be writing chapter twenty-six right away... as soon as I finish watching FMA #13. ^^;;
Read, enjoy, and then review!
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - ONE THING LEFT UNFINISHED
The wind and color suddenly vanished, and Marik felt himself slam into the ground, nearly swallowing a mouthful of grass in the process. He tilted his head up slightly, spitting out the blades of green before flopping back down on the ground again, exhausted. That was a close call if he had ever encountered one; not that he ever wanted to again. Something tightened around his arm, and he turned his head around to face Harry. The young wizard was out cold more or less, the mark on his forehead had vanished some time during the trip back, and he was unconsciously gripping the two things he was holding onto: himself and the Triwizard Cup. Marik chuckled, reaching over and mussing up Harry's already unruly hair. Harry's eyes opened blearily at the movement, looking rather dazed.
"Marik?"
"Yeah?"
"We dead?"
Marik laughed. "Nope. Not yet."
Harry managed to crack a smile. "Oh. Okay."
There was a gasp of surprise from somewhere over and behind them, and Marik managed to push himself up enough to look. The two boys were lying at the foot of the plinth that the Cup had been on, and Hermione was standing across the way. Her eyes, brimming with tears, were wide with shock, and her hands were over her mouth as if to prevent herself from screaming. A moment later, Yami Yugi practically plowed into her, looking slightly frantic, but she did not seem to notice.
"Mar...ik?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Marik smirked, raising a hand in greeting. "Yo, pharaoh, Hermio-"
He did not get a chance to finish, and he suddenly got tackled into the grass. His head hit the ground with a painful SMACK, as Hermione clung to him tight enough to nearly choke off his air.
"Hermione... I need to breathe...!"
She loosened her grip slightly, but still clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder. Yami Yugi breathed a sigh of relief, before taking out his wand and sending red sparks up into the air.
"You had us worried there, Marik-kun," he said, walking over to kneel by Harry and check to see if he was all right. "When Aishisu said your light went out, I thought you were..."
The pharaoh trailed off, unable to say it. Marik sat up, holding onto Hermione (who was still clinging to him as if he were going to disappear); he gave him a very serious look.
"I did die," he said. Hermione whimpered. "It was only for a moment, but I did die." He glanced down at Harry a moment, before continuing, "Pharaoh... we're really in over our heads this time."
Yami Yugi was about to ask what he meant by that, when Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and Professor Moody arrived at the center of the maze. The headmaster instantly went to Harry's side, gently rolling him over onto his back. Harry blinked up at him blearily; it seemed as if he were barely conscious. He clutched onto Marik even tighter.
"He's back..." he whispered. "He's back... Voldemort..."
"Harry, it's okay," Marik replied soothingly, prying his fingers from his arm, least he cut off his circulation. "It's okay, Harry. We're back at Hogwarts. We're safe now."
"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked, peering up from his shoulder.
"He's just tired," Marik answered. "After what he did tonight, I don't blame him."
"I'll take Harry, Dumbledore," Moody offered. "I'll take him to the -"
"No," Dumbledore cut him off, "I would prefer -"
The headmaster was interrupted as well, as Cornelius Fudge arrived, demanding to know what was going on. Marik got back to his feet tiredly as the two of the bickered back and forth, suddenly feeling twice his age as Hermione helped support him. Every bone in his body seemed to hurt, and he was sweaty and grimy from jumping through fire and running through the graveyard.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, looking up at him.
He smiled gently. "I am now, Hermi-ko."
She frowned, puzzled by the different word attached to her name, but she did not get a chance to ask what it meant as Yami Yugi nudged the two of them. Marik turned, worried by the concerned look on the pharaoh's face.
"Didn't Dumbledore tell Moody not to take Harry?" he asked.
"Yes, why?" Hermione asked.
Marik turned to where Harry had been lying... only to see that he was not there. Moody was also nowhere in sight. The Gravekeeper swore under his breath. Why did he get the feeling he was being a bit premature when he said that they were safe?
"Hermione, go get the others, have them meet us outside the maze," he whispered. Hermione, though confused by his request, nodded and headed off. Marik turned to Yami Yugi, who was just giving him a concerned and confused look.
"Just what exactly happened in here?" the pharaoh whispered, eyeing Marik's charred cloak.
"I'll explain later," the Gravekeeper replied, pulling Yami Yugi down a path, leaving the professors to bicker with the Minister of Magic.
The two of them plowed through the maze, making their own path by blowing holes into the hedges. When they were about halfway out, the pharaoh looked back the way they came furtively, biting his lip.
"Don't you think we should have told Dumbledore what's going on?" he asked.
Marik made another hole in a hedge before answering, "This is something we've got to handle. Harry's got a God within him. If that's what Moody's after, then we need to take care of it."
Yami Yugi looked at him in surprise. "A GOD?! Like a God Card? But there's only supposed to be three...!"
"I know," Marik replied. "I know... but everything that's happened tonight just blew everything we knew about the Gods - and the Millennium Items - out the window."
The two of them made it out of the maze just as Hermione came running up to them with the rest of the current Millennium Item holders. Both Bakuras looked tired, as if they had just held their breaths or bit their nails the whole time of the task. Seto had a scowl on his face that would have made Voldemort cringe, and his yami was trying to get him to calm down, least he murder somebody. Yugi and Draco wore worried expressions on their faces; but whether it was because of what had happened or what was going on with Harry, Marik could not tell.
"What's with Seto?" he asked.
Bakura sweatdropped. "Someone stunned Fleur. That was why she screamed."
"And I'll kill the person who did it when I get my hands on them..." Seto growled, cracking his knuckles. Everyone sweatdropped at that, not sure how else to react.
"Anyway," Yami Bakura cut in, shaking his head. "Where do you think Moody took Harry?"
"Probably his office," Yami Yugi offered, before nudging Marik. "You're going to have a lot of explaining to do later."
Marik sighed. "Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to have any friends left when this night is done...?"
~.oOOo.~
Harry pressed himself against the chair he was sitting in, trying to remain calm despite the fact that he could not understand or accept the situation he found himself in. He dimly remembered Moody picking him up and leading him to his office in the school, and then everything came into focus when the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor gave him some kind of potion. After that, however, Moody started ranting, claiming to be a Death Eater in Voldemort's service... but that was impossible! Professor Moody was an Auror and a good friend of Dumbledore's. He could not be... he just could not...!
Moody had both eyes trained on him in an insane gaze. The door to the room was locked and barred; and there was no way that Harry could get to his wand or call on that power from before to defend himself.
He was stuck.
"The Dark Lord and I," Moody continued, towering menacingly over Harry, "have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers... very disappointing indeed. Both of us have suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure, the very great pleasure, of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!"
"You're crazy!" Harry exclaimed before he could stop himself. "You're absolutely mad!"
"Mad, am I?" Moody asked, his voice rising. "We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him... and now... I will conquer you!"
Moody raised his wand... Harry dove a hand in his robes, trying to get to his wand...
"STUPEFY!"
There was a blinding flash of red light, accompanied by a loud splintering and crashing sound. The door of Moody's office was blasted apart, and Moody himself was thrown backward onto the office floor. Harry stared up where he had been, breathing hard in shock, before having the courage to turn around and peer over the back of the chair he sat in. Nine bodies stood nearly crushed together in the doorway; nine wands were still outstretched, still glowing slightly from the aftereffect of the Stunning Spell.
Yami Yugi was standing before everyone else, and it was at that moment, Harry understood what it must have meant to cross a pharaoh in ancient times. The look on the spirit's face as he walked over and stood above Moody's unconscious body was more terrible than anything the young wizard had ever seen. There was no casual or confident smile on his face, no amused glint in his eyes... nothing but a cold fury that seemed to radiate a power Harry had never even dreamed of.
The pharaoh placed a foot under Moody and kicked him over so he was lying on his back, as Yugi and the others rushed into the small office.
"You all right, Harry-kun?" Marik asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No," Harry answered, shaking his head. "No, you guys came just in time."
No sooner had he said that, then Dumbledore and Professors McGonagall and Snape appeared in the doorway. The headmaster breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Moody unconscious on the floor, as Marik rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry we didn't tell you, professor," he apologized. "We just wanted to get to Harry before something bad happened."
Dumbledore nodded, relieved. "A wise choice, Mr. Ishitar."
Yami Bakura, meanwhile, had walked over to where Yami Yugi was standing over Moody's body. He frowned down at him, kicking him slightly.
"This isn't Moody, is it?" he asked.
"No," Dumbledore replied. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed Harry from my sight after what happened tonight."
"So... who is he?" Bakura asked, confused.
Dumbledore went over where Moody was and bent down, slipping a hand inside his robes. He pulled out a hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. The headmaster opened up the flask and peered inside, before handing it up to Yami Yugi. He sniffed at it.
"Polyjuice Potion," he explained to the others, scrunching up his face in disgust. "I'll never forget that smell."
Dumbledore stood up, dusting off his robes a bit. "Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess -"
"Um... professor..."
All eyes turned toward Seto, who looked uncharacteristically nervous. He fidgeted slightly where he stood, looking more like his yami than himself, before he continued.
"Instead of a Truth Potion..." he began. "I could use the Millennium Rod. It might even be more effective."
Yami Seto started at his other half like he grew another head. "Hikari...!"
Dumbledore, however, was giving him a measured glance. "Are you sure, Mr. Kaiba?"
Seto chewed a bit on his lower lip, looking the headmaster in the eyes. "It's okay. My other self has been showing me how to use the Rod since he started getting his own body. I feel confident that I can do this."
Worried looks were exchanged among the Millennium Item owners; Snape was giving Seto a dirty look and McGonagall looked slightly appalled. Dumbledore, however, held the young businessman's gaze, as if silently gauging his ability to use the Item. After a long moment, he nodded, before turning to where the fake Moody was still lying on the floor. With a gesture from his wand, thick cords shot out, wrapping themselves around the man.
"First, however," Dumbledore said. "We wait to see who he really is."
Minutes passed by in silence, before the face of the man that posed as Moody began to change. Scars disappeared, smoothing out into healthy, youthful skin. The mane of grizzled hair shortened, becoming the color of straw. With a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg re-grew in its place. A moment later, the magical eye also fell out, rolling away on the floor, swiveling about on its own.
Harry had rarely seen Professor Snape shocked. This was one of those times.
"Crouch!" the Potion's Master exclaimed. "Barty Crouch!"
"But..." Hermione began. "That's not Mr. Crouch..."
"No," Draco agreed. "That's his son."
Dumbledore gave Seto a look, as if to ask if he was ready. He nodded, trading his wand for the Millennium Rod and standing before the son of Mr. Crouch. The headmaster pointed his wand at the man's chest and said, "Ennervate."
Barty Crouch's eyes snapped open immediately. He glared up at Seto and Dumbledore, before trying to lunge at the two of them despite his bonds. Seto was already ahead of him, though. The Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness on the Millennium Rod glowed, instantly capturing Crouch's mind with its power. Seto closed his eyes, as if he were searching through the man's memories. His eyes snapped open suddenly, a shock and outright disgusted look on his face.
"You... you disgusting... monster..." he murmured. He grit his teeth, his expression becoming cold and cruel as he pointed the Rod at Crouch. "I command you! Tell us how you escaped from Azkaban."
Crouch opened his mouth to speak, his voice as expressionless as the look in his eyes.
"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance.
"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors.
"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."
Seto grit his teeth. Harry had never seen him so mad before, and if the looks on Yugi's and the others' faces where any indication, neither had they.
"Tell us what your father did with you," he commanded.
"Staged my mother's death," Crouch responded. "A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. Our house elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master... of returning to his service."
"Tell us how he subdued you," Seto ordered.
"The Imperius Curse," he replied. "I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."
"One of these rewards was the Quidditch Cup, correct?"
"Yes."
"Tell us what happened there," Seto commanded once again.
"The house elf talked my father into it," Crouch explained. "She spent months persuading him. I had no left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end.
"It was carefully planned. My father led me and the house elf up to the Top Box early in the day. She was to say that she was say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. The house elf would appear to be along. Nobody would ever know.
"But she didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. The house elf didn't know. She is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."
"That was my wand..." Harry protested quietly.
Seto looked to him briefly, before turning his focus back to Crouch. "Tell us what you did with that wand."
"We went back to the tent," Crouch said. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did no. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. The house elf was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky.
"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where we stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both stunned.
"When the house elf was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed the house elf. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape.
"Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then... and then...!"
Barty Crouch's head rolled on his neck, allowing him to flash an insane grin.
"My master came for me! He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail, and accompanied by a faceless spirit. My master had found out I was still alive."
Seto was practically shaking in his rage as he gripped the Millennium Rod tighter. Yami Seto, misinterpreting his reactions, reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hikari, let me take over," he offered.
Seto took a calming breath, before answering, "No, I'm fine. It's just... I've never encountered a more disgusting human in my life." He turned his attention back to Crouch. "Tell us how you were first discovered to be alive."
"Bertha Jorkins came to the house one day with papers for my father's signature," Crouch replied. "He was not home. The house elf had showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard her talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently.
"My master had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant… perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."
The grin spread wider over Crouch's face, as if he were recalling the sweetest memory of his life. Everyone else in the room was deathly quiet, either too afraid or too appalled to speak.
"It was very quick. My master placed my father under the Imperius Curse. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."
Seto pursed his lips together, knowing what was coming. "Tell us what Voldemort had you do."
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master."
Harry and Marik exchanged tired expressions.
"Tell us what became of your father," Seto ordered, missing their expressions.
"After a while," Crouch began, "he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban.
"The faceless spirit pursued my father, but when it reached my father, it couldn't capture him. It couldn't enter the school grounds. The spirit sent me an image of where he was. Krum and Ishitar were already there. I waited. I stunned Krum and Ishitar. I killed my father."
Seto swallowed painfully. "You killed your father..." he murmured, before shaking his head. "Tell us what you did with the body."
"Carried it into the forest. When I was out of sight, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone... and I buried it, wrapped in the Invisibility Cloak, deep in the woods."
The silence in the room was absolutely deafening.
Then, Seto ordered, "Tell us about tonight."
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," Barty Crouch whispered, as if telling a big secret. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."
The insane smile lit Crouch's features for a brief moment more, before Seto lowered the Millennium Rod, and the Death Eater slumped forward, exhausted from having his mind invaded in such a manner. Seto just backed away from the foul man, his face scrunched up as if he had a horrid taste in his mouth. Crouch had no sympathy for anyone, no regret for what he had done... in fact, he had been proud of killing his father.
He dimly felt Yami Seto's hand on his shoulder again. All Seto could think of was, whatever happened to Crouch after this ordeal was over, it would be far too good for him.
Dawn of Fate
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.
Mergh!
_
This chapter was difficult because it was one of those "the bad guy reveals what was going on while the good guys were busy" kind of chapters. A lot of what is said in this chapter was excerpted from the book, and I feel really horrible for it. There was really no other way that I could think of to do this chapter, though, and still maintain the same kind of effect.
Trust me, I'm going to be writing chapter twenty-six right away... as soon as I finish watching FMA #13. ^^;;
Read, enjoy, and then review!
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - ONE THING LEFT UNFINISHED
The wind and color suddenly vanished, and Marik felt himself slam into the ground, nearly swallowing a mouthful of grass in the process. He tilted his head up slightly, spitting out the blades of green before flopping back down on the ground again, exhausted. That was a close call if he had ever encountered one; not that he ever wanted to again. Something tightened around his arm, and he turned his head around to face Harry. The young wizard was out cold more or less, the mark on his forehead had vanished some time during the trip back, and he was unconsciously gripping the two things he was holding onto: himself and the Triwizard Cup. Marik chuckled, reaching over and mussing up Harry's already unruly hair. Harry's eyes opened blearily at the movement, looking rather dazed.
"Marik?"
"Yeah?"
"We dead?"
Marik laughed. "Nope. Not yet."
Harry managed to crack a smile. "Oh. Okay."
There was a gasp of surprise from somewhere over and behind them, and Marik managed to push himself up enough to look. The two boys were lying at the foot of the plinth that the Cup had been on, and Hermione was standing across the way. Her eyes, brimming with tears, were wide with shock, and her hands were over her mouth as if to prevent herself from screaming. A moment later, Yami Yugi practically plowed into her, looking slightly frantic, but she did not seem to notice.
"Mar...ik?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Marik smirked, raising a hand in greeting. "Yo, pharaoh, Hermio-"
He did not get a chance to finish, and he suddenly got tackled into the grass. His head hit the ground with a painful SMACK, as Hermione clung to him tight enough to nearly choke off his air.
"Hermione... I need to breathe...!"
She loosened her grip slightly, but still clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder. Yami Yugi breathed a sigh of relief, before taking out his wand and sending red sparks up into the air.
"You had us worried there, Marik-kun," he said, walking over to kneel by Harry and check to see if he was all right. "When Aishisu said your light went out, I thought you were..."
The pharaoh trailed off, unable to say it. Marik sat up, holding onto Hermione (who was still clinging to him as if he were going to disappear); he gave him a very serious look.
"I did die," he said. Hermione whimpered. "It was only for a moment, but I did die." He glanced down at Harry a moment, before continuing, "Pharaoh... we're really in over our heads this time."
Yami Yugi was about to ask what he meant by that, when Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and Professor Moody arrived at the center of the maze. The headmaster instantly went to Harry's side, gently rolling him over onto his back. Harry blinked up at him blearily; it seemed as if he were barely conscious. He clutched onto Marik even tighter.
"He's back..." he whispered. "He's back... Voldemort..."
"Harry, it's okay," Marik replied soothingly, prying his fingers from his arm, least he cut off his circulation. "It's okay, Harry. We're back at Hogwarts. We're safe now."
"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked, peering up from his shoulder.
"He's just tired," Marik answered. "After what he did tonight, I don't blame him."
"I'll take Harry, Dumbledore," Moody offered. "I'll take him to the -"
"No," Dumbledore cut him off, "I would prefer -"
The headmaster was interrupted as well, as Cornelius Fudge arrived, demanding to know what was going on. Marik got back to his feet tiredly as the two of the bickered back and forth, suddenly feeling twice his age as Hermione helped support him. Every bone in his body seemed to hurt, and he was sweaty and grimy from jumping through fire and running through the graveyard.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, looking up at him.
He smiled gently. "I am now, Hermi-ko."
She frowned, puzzled by the different word attached to her name, but she did not get a chance to ask what it meant as Yami Yugi nudged the two of them. Marik turned, worried by the concerned look on the pharaoh's face.
"Didn't Dumbledore tell Moody not to take Harry?" he asked.
"Yes, why?" Hermione asked.
Marik turned to where Harry had been lying... only to see that he was not there. Moody was also nowhere in sight. The Gravekeeper swore under his breath. Why did he get the feeling he was being a bit premature when he said that they were safe?
"Hermione, go get the others, have them meet us outside the maze," he whispered. Hermione, though confused by his request, nodded and headed off. Marik turned to Yami Yugi, who was just giving him a concerned and confused look.
"Just what exactly happened in here?" the pharaoh whispered, eyeing Marik's charred cloak.
"I'll explain later," the Gravekeeper replied, pulling Yami Yugi down a path, leaving the professors to bicker with the Minister of Magic.
The two of them plowed through the maze, making their own path by blowing holes into the hedges. When they were about halfway out, the pharaoh looked back the way they came furtively, biting his lip.
"Don't you think we should have told Dumbledore what's going on?" he asked.
Marik made another hole in a hedge before answering, "This is something we've got to handle. Harry's got a God within him. If that's what Moody's after, then we need to take care of it."
Yami Yugi looked at him in surprise. "A GOD?! Like a God Card? But there's only supposed to be three...!"
"I know," Marik replied. "I know... but everything that's happened tonight just blew everything we knew about the Gods - and the Millennium Items - out the window."
The two of them made it out of the maze just as Hermione came running up to them with the rest of the current Millennium Item holders. Both Bakuras looked tired, as if they had just held their breaths or bit their nails the whole time of the task. Seto had a scowl on his face that would have made Voldemort cringe, and his yami was trying to get him to calm down, least he murder somebody. Yugi and Draco wore worried expressions on their faces; but whether it was because of what had happened or what was going on with Harry, Marik could not tell.
"What's with Seto?" he asked.
Bakura sweatdropped. "Someone stunned Fleur. That was why she screamed."
"And I'll kill the person who did it when I get my hands on them..." Seto growled, cracking his knuckles. Everyone sweatdropped at that, not sure how else to react.
"Anyway," Yami Bakura cut in, shaking his head. "Where do you think Moody took Harry?"
"Probably his office," Yami Yugi offered, before nudging Marik. "You're going to have a lot of explaining to do later."
Marik sighed. "Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to have any friends left when this night is done...?"
~.oOOo.~
Harry pressed himself against the chair he was sitting in, trying to remain calm despite the fact that he could not understand or accept the situation he found himself in. He dimly remembered Moody picking him up and leading him to his office in the school, and then everything came into focus when the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor gave him some kind of potion. After that, however, Moody started ranting, claiming to be a Death Eater in Voldemort's service... but that was impossible! Professor Moody was an Auror and a good friend of Dumbledore's. He could not be... he just could not...!
Moody had both eyes trained on him in an insane gaze. The door to the room was locked and barred; and there was no way that Harry could get to his wand or call on that power from before to defend himself.
He was stuck.
"The Dark Lord and I," Moody continued, towering menacingly over Harry, "have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers... very disappointing indeed. Both of us have suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure, the very great pleasure, of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!"
"You're crazy!" Harry exclaimed before he could stop himself. "You're absolutely mad!"
"Mad, am I?" Moody asked, his voice rising. "We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him... and now... I will conquer you!"
Moody raised his wand... Harry dove a hand in his robes, trying to get to his wand...
"STUPEFY!"
There was a blinding flash of red light, accompanied by a loud splintering and crashing sound. The door of Moody's office was blasted apart, and Moody himself was thrown backward onto the office floor. Harry stared up where he had been, breathing hard in shock, before having the courage to turn around and peer over the back of the chair he sat in. Nine bodies stood nearly crushed together in the doorway; nine wands were still outstretched, still glowing slightly from the aftereffect of the Stunning Spell.
Yami Yugi was standing before everyone else, and it was at that moment, Harry understood what it must have meant to cross a pharaoh in ancient times. The look on the spirit's face as he walked over and stood above Moody's unconscious body was more terrible than anything the young wizard had ever seen. There was no casual or confident smile on his face, no amused glint in his eyes... nothing but a cold fury that seemed to radiate a power Harry had never even dreamed of.
The pharaoh placed a foot under Moody and kicked him over so he was lying on his back, as Yugi and the others rushed into the small office.
"You all right, Harry-kun?" Marik asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No," Harry answered, shaking his head. "No, you guys came just in time."
No sooner had he said that, then Dumbledore and Professors McGonagall and Snape appeared in the doorway. The headmaster breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Moody unconscious on the floor, as Marik rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry we didn't tell you, professor," he apologized. "We just wanted to get to Harry before something bad happened."
Dumbledore nodded, relieved. "A wise choice, Mr. Ishitar."
Yami Bakura, meanwhile, had walked over to where Yami Yugi was standing over Moody's body. He frowned down at him, kicking him slightly.
"This isn't Moody, is it?" he asked.
"No," Dumbledore replied. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed Harry from my sight after what happened tonight."
"So... who is he?" Bakura asked, confused.
Dumbledore went over where Moody was and bent down, slipping a hand inside his robes. He pulled out a hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. The headmaster opened up the flask and peered inside, before handing it up to Yami Yugi. He sniffed at it.
"Polyjuice Potion," he explained to the others, scrunching up his face in disgust. "I'll never forget that smell."
Dumbledore stood up, dusting off his robes a bit. "Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess -"
"Um... professor..."
All eyes turned toward Seto, who looked uncharacteristically nervous. He fidgeted slightly where he stood, looking more like his yami than himself, before he continued.
"Instead of a Truth Potion..." he began. "I could use the Millennium Rod. It might even be more effective."
Yami Seto started at his other half like he grew another head. "Hikari...!"
Dumbledore, however, was giving him a measured glance. "Are you sure, Mr. Kaiba?"
Seto chewed a bit on his lower lip, looking the headmaster in the eyes. "It's okay. My other self has been showing me how to use the Rod since he started getting his own body. I feel confident that I can do this."
Worried looks were exchanged among the Millennium Item owners; Snape was giving Seto a dirty look and McGonagall looked slightly appalled. Dumbledore, however, held the young businessman's gaze, as if silently gauging his ability to use the Item. After a long moment, he nodded, before turning to where the fake Moody was still lying on the floor. With a gesture from his wand, thick cords shot out, wrapping themselves around the man.
"First, however," Dumbledore said. "We wait to see who he really is."
Minutes passed by in silence, before the face of the man that posed as Moody began to change. Scars disappeared, smoothing out into healthy, youthful skin. The mane of grizzled hair shortened, becoming the color of straw. With a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg re-grew in its place. A moment later, the magical eye also fell out, rolling away on the floor, swiveling about on its own.
Harry had rarely seen Professor Snape shocked. This was one of those times.
"Crouch!" the Potion's Master exclaimed. "Barty Crouch!"
"But..." Hermione began. "That's not Mr. Crouch..."
"No," Draco agreed. "That's his son."
Dumbledore gave Seto a look, as if to ask if he was ready. He nodded, trading his wand for the Millennium Rod and standing before the son of Mr. Crouch. The headmaster pointed his wand at the man's chest and said, "Ennervate."
Barty Crouch's eyes snapped open immediately. He glared up at Seto and Dumbledore, before trying to lunge at the two of them despite his bonds. Seto was already ahead of him, though. The Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness on the Millennium Rod glowed, instantly capturing Crouch's mind with its power. Seto closed his eyes, as if he were searching through the man's memories. His eyes snapped open suddenly, a shock and outright disgusted look on his face.
"You... you disgusting... monster..." he murmured. He grit his teeth, his expression becoming cold and cruel as he pointed the Rod at Crouch. "I command you! Tell us how you escaped from Azkaban."
Crouch opened his mouth to speak, his voice as expressionless as the look in his eyes.
"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance.
"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors.
"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."
Seto grit his teeth. Harry had never seen him so mad before, and if the looks on Yugi's and the others' faces where any indication, neither had they.
"Tell us what your father did with you," he commanded.
"Staged my mother's death," Crouch responded. "A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. Our house elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master... of returning to his service."
"Tell us how he subdued you," Seto ordered.
"The Imperius Curse," he replied. "I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."
"One of these rewards was the Quidditch Cup, correct?"
"Yes."
"Tell us what happened there," Seto commanded once again.
"The house elf talked my father into it," Crouch explained. "She spent months persuading him. I had no left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end.
"It was carefully planned. My father led me and the house elf up to the Top Box early in the day. She was to say that she was say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. The house elf would appear to be along. Nobody would ever know.
"But she didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. The house elf didn't know. She is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."
"That was my wand..." Harry protested quietly.
Seto looked to him briefly, before turning his focus back to Crouch. "Tell us what you did with that wand."
"We went back to the tent," Crouch said. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did no. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. The house elf was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky.
"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where we stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both stunned.
"When the house elf was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed the house elf. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape.
"Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then... and then...!"
Barty Crouch's head rolled on his neck, allowing him to flash an insane grin.
"My master came for me! He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail, and accompanied by a faceless spirit. My master had found out I was still alive."
Seto was practically shaking in his rage as he gripped the Millennium Rod tighter. Yami Seto, misinterpreting his reactions, reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hikari, let me take over," he offered.
Seto took a calming breath, before answering, "No, I'm fine. It's just... I've never encountered a more disgusting human in my life." He turned his attention back to Crouch. "Tell us how you were first discovered to be alive."
"Bertha Jorkins came to the house one day with papers for my father's signature," Crouch replied. "He was not home. The house elf had showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard her talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently.
"My master had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant… perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."
The grin spread wider over Crouch's face, as if he were recalling the sweetest memory of his life. Everyone else in the room was deathly quiet, either too afraid or too appalled to speak.
"It was very quick. My master placed my father under the Imperius Curse. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."
Seto pursed his lips together, knowing what was coming. "Tell us what Voldemort had you do."
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master."
Harry and Marik exchanged tired expressions.
"Tell us what became of your father," Seto ordered, missing their expressions.
"After a while," Crouch began, "he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban.
"The faceless spirit pursued my father, but when it reached my father, it couldn't capture him. It couldn't enter the school grounds. The spirit sent me an image of where he was. Krum and Ishitar were already there. I waited. I stunned Krum and Ishitar. I killed my father."
Seto swallowed painfully. "You killed your father..." he murmured, before shaking his head. "Tell us what you did with the body."
"Carried it into the forest. When I was out of sight, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone... and I buried it, wrapped in the Invisibility Cloak, deep in the woods."
The silence in the room was absolutely deafening.
Then, Seto ordered, "Tell us about tonight."
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," Barty Crouch whispered, as if telling a big secret. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."
The insane smile lit Crouch's features for a brief moment more, before Seto lowered the Millennium Rod, and the Death Eater slumped forward, exhausted from having his mind invaded in such a manner. Seto just backed away from the foul man, his face scrunched up as if he had a horrid taste in his mouth. Crouch had no sympathy for anyone, no regret for what he had done... in fact, he had been proud of killing his father.
He dimly felt Yami Seto's hand on his shoulder again. All Seto could think of was, whatever happened to Crouch after this ordeal was over, it would be far too good for him.