Kitty: (typing on her computer) Finally I can update!

Yugi: (comes into the room) The server's working again?

Kitty: Yep.

Lina: At last. It took you long enough to type the chappie...

Kitty: Hey, you know action scenes are always difficult for me to write, cut me some slack!

Lina: Can't: you're my Hikari.

Kitty: I hate you. And your reasoning.

Atem: (sweatdrop) R&R!

Chapter Seventeen:
A Framed Friend

"Dare, are you sure about this?" Ron squeaked as he and Harry followed Diana into the darker sections of the Forbidden Forest after a line of small black spiders.

"For the millionth time, Ron," Diana growled, "Yes, if we want to get Hagrid out of Azkaban, get Dumbledore back as Headmaster and help our friends."

Ron moaned. "But…but…"

-Honestly, Ron-kun, you are such a wimp,- snapped Seth, -If you're really so scared, then let me take over.-

The youngest Weasley brother almost did, but then what Diana had said earlier echoed in his memory.

"Do it for her, Ron…"

/No/ Ron replied, picturing Hermione in his mind, /I have to do this myself./

-Fine,- thought Seth, -Get yourself killed for all I care.-

Ron felt a stab at his heart, almost like Seth's words were a knife that had physically hurt him, and he didn't even know why. Maybe it had something to do with the whole "Hikari and Yami" thing he had always heard Atem talking about…

Suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"AHHHH-"

Diana's other hand covered his mouth.

"Chill, you idiot!" she snapped, "Honestly, do you want the whole forest to hear you?"

Ron pulled her hand away from his mouth to retort, "Well, don't scare me like that!"

"If you were paying attention to where you going instead of your daydreams, then I wouldn't have to!"

"I wasn't daydreaming, I was thinking!"

"Whatever! Your thinking still didn't help you see where you were going! Next time, I'll just let you do a George-in-the-Jungle on us and actually hit the tree!"

"Well, maybe you…!" Ron growled, unsure of what to finish with, "Uh…what's a George-in-the-Jungle?"

"Be quiet, both of you!" Harry hissed.

The two redheads turned to look at Harry, and when they did, they heard the reason why he had told them to be quiet.

A low rumbling sound was coming from the bushes, and by the sounds of it, it was coming closer to where the three were standing.

"Oh damn," muttered Diana, "Oh damn, oh damn, oh damn …"

"Shut up, it'll hear you!" Harry whispered.

"It already heard Ron!" Diana snapped.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light blinded the three students, forcing them to fling their arms in front of them to shield their eyes.

"What are we still standing here for?" Diana shouted, "Do you guys want to get killed?"

She tried to run, but Harry grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back.

"Harry, what are you doing, let me go-"

Harry didn't answer; he only stared as the source of the sound finally came out of the bushes and into view.

"What the… it's the Ford Anglia!"

"W-what?"

Harry was right; Mr. Weasley's flying car had driven straight up to them all by itself, its headlights ablaze and its sides scratched and smeared with mud. "The forest must've turned it wild," Atem appeared in Harry's place and went over to look at the car, "You've had fun, haven't you? Maybe we should get you to a carwash or something…"

The Ford Anglia honked twice in an almost cranky way, and shook itself a lot like a wet dog, making the mud fly at Atem.

The Tomb Robber was howling with laughter a few seconds later in Diana's place at the sight of the very muddy Pharaoh, and the Ford Anglia honked in a way that almost sounded like Seto snorting derisively.

"Ra," laughed Bakura, "That's the funniest thing I've seen in a long time!"

"Shut up, you baka!" Atem growled, "It's not funny!"

"Oh yes it is!" Bakura replied, still laughing his head off, "Geez…the only thing more funny about this is that you were humiliated by a car!"

The Ford Anglia, apparently, found that an insult, because a few seconds later, Bakura was covered in mud too.

Ron sweatdropped and Seth appeared in his spirit form next to his host as Atem took a leaf out of Bakura's book and cracked up and the King of Thieves tried to retaliate.

"Thank you," the transparent High Priest smirked down at the flying car, "That was most entertaining. Please know, however, that their hosts will be the ones to suffer later by cleaning it up: one thing that my cousin and the King of Thieves have in common is laziness."

The Ford Anglia honked in an almost understanding way, before heading back into the bushes and out of sight.

Diana and Harry took the Egyptian spirits' places; they didn't seem too fazed by being covered in mud, but probably because their attention was still focused on finding the trail of spiders and continuing to follow them.

"Damn," Diana muttered, "We've lost the trail…"

"We better get moving if we're going to find them again," agreed Harry, "C'mon, Ron, we…Ron?"

Ron didn't answer. His eyes were wide with terror, and focused on something right behind Diana and Harry.

The other two didn't even have time to ask him what he was staring at. There was a loud, fierce clicking noise, and the next thing Diana knew, she was upside down and her leg was being held by a set of shiny black pincers belonging to a giant, hairy spider.

"Acromantula," Diana whispered.

"Bless you," replied Harry, who was also hanging upside down from the jaws of another large spider.

"No," Diana growled in frustration a lot like Hermione would, "It's an Acromantula, a giant spider!"

"Oh, I never would've guessed that!" Ron said sarcastically, the blood rushing to his head, "There are tons of creepy animals with six long legs, a hairy body and pincers!"

It was then that the spiders carried the three students into a large clearing in the woods, and when they were brought into a small patch of light, Ron squealed in terror, and Harry and Diana couldn't help but agree.

Spiders were surrounding them from all sides: not the normal, small spiders that they might use in Potions class, but ranging from 2 to 8 feet high, and hanging from huge webs.

The only spider in the group that had captured Diana, Harry and Ron without a human's leg in his pincers stepped forward on its spindly legs and called loudly,

"Aragog! Aragog!"

And out from the middle of the misty webs, very slowly, came the largest spider of them all. There was gray fur on his black body and legs, and each of the eyes staring at the three Gryffindors was a milky white. He was blind.

"What is it?" said the spider called Aragog.

"Humans," clicked the lead spider.

"Is it Hagrid?" asked Aragog, moving slowly closer and his eight blind eyes looking around vaguely.

"Strangers," the lead spider replied.

"Kill them," Aragog clicked fretfully, "I was sleeping…"

"We're friends of Hagrid's!" Diana shouted, finding it difficult while hanging upside down.

The spider holding Diana dropped her squarely on her back. A few seconds later, the other two spiders dropped Ron and Harry. The spiders around them clicked frantically all around the hollow as Diana helped her two friends to their feet.

Aragog paused. Then he said, "Hagrid has never sent humans into our hollow before…"

"Hagrid's in trouble," Diana explained, "People think he's been setting a monster on students up at the school…the…the Ministry of Magic has taken him away…to Azkaban."

Aragog began clicking furiously, as did the other spiders around them.

"That was years ago!" Aragog said, "Years and years ago…I remember it well. They made him leave the school because they thought I was the monster that dwells in the so-called Chamber of Secrets."

"So you're not from the Chamber," Diana said in satisfaction, "Everyone at the school just assumed you were, and therefore thought Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set you free. But if you weren't born in the Chamber, where do you come from?"

"I came from a distant land," Aragog replied, "As an egg in the pocket of a traveler. Hagrid was young, but he cared for me, hiding me in a cupboard in the castle and feeding me scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered and blamed for the death of a girl, Hagrid protected me, and then he brought me here. I've lived here ever since, but Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown…"

Ron trembled as his eyes again glanced at all the spiders hanging around them and listening to the conversation.

Diana gripped her friend's hand reassuringly. "Don't panic."

Ron bit his lip, and summoned as much courage as he could to ask meekly, "So…so you've never attacked anyone?"

"Never," croaked Aragog, "It would've been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I've never harmed a human. The girl was found in a bathroom, anyway; I've never seen anything of castle but the cupboard where Hagrid kept me. Our kind like the dark and quiet…"

"But then," said Harry, "Do you know what did attack that girl? Because whatever it is, it's back and our friends were-"

The rest of his statement was drowned out by a loud outbreak of angry clicking and rustling from the Acromantulas.

"The thing inside the castle is an ancient creature which we spiders fear above all else!" Aragog answered fiercely, "We do not speak of it! We do not name it! I've never even told Hagrid the name of that dreaded creature, though he has asked me many times."

The spiders were pressing closer around them from all sides; it seemed to the three Brits that they weren't too inclined to talk with them for much longer.

"Er…th-thanks for your help," Diana stated a little anxiously, "Uh, we'll just…go now…"

"Go?" repeated Aragog slowly, "I think not. My sons and daughters don't attack Hagrid on my command…but I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our hollow… Goodbye, friends of Hagrid."

"Can I panic now, Dare?" Ron squeaked as he, Diana and Harry huddled together and the spiders made an almost wall around them.

The Yamis immediately took their hosts' places, right before the spiders lunged at them.

Light shone from the Millennium Puzzle, blinding the spiders.

"RUN!" shouted Atem, and neither the Tomb Robber nor the High Priest was willing to disagree.

After the spiders recovered from the shine of bright light, they sped after the three Egyptian spirits.

"We're going the wrong way!" yelled Bakura, "My Ring says we're running deeper into the Forest! We have to go back the other way!"

"We'd be going through the spiders!" Atem yelled back, "We don't have a way around them!"

"Not around them…over them!" Seth suddenly smirked, "Look!"

A familiar low rumbling came from the bushes, and a few seconds later the flying Ford Anglia came thundering toward them.

"Get in!" Seth shouted, as he jumped into the driver's seat and Atem and Bakura jumped in the back and they slammed the doors closed behind them.

"Car," Seth muttered, "You've got to fly over the spiders; we need to get back to the school."

The car honked in agreement, before the three spirits felt themselves being thrown against the leather seats as the car took off into the air, flying high above the spiders and out of the Forest.

Finally it landed on the grass outside of the school, and the doors opened to let the three Brits out as they took their Egyptians' places.

"Follow the spiders!" Ron snapped as Seth appeared in his transparent form next to him, "If Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him! We're lucky to be alive!"

"He probably thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his," Diana tried to calm him down as Bakura appeared next to her.

"That's Hagrid's fucking problem!" Ron shouted, "He always thinks monsters are like cute little puppy dogs, and look where it's got him! A cell in Azkaban! What the hell was the point of sending us in there, anyway? What have we found out?"

"We learned one thing," Atem appeared in his transparent form next to Harry, "Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was innocent."

"Somehow I don't think hatching a giant spider qualifies as 'innocent,'" Seth replied.

"You sound like you're in a better mood," Diana pointed out.

Seth smiled a small smile. "Hey, if I keep moping around, I'll never help Seto-chan…I have to be strong for Mokuba-chan and Melisanne-kun."

"Glad to have you back, cousin," Atem patted him on the shoulder.

"Good to be back," Seth answered, "Now that my moping is over, I know where we need to look for our next clue."

"Where?" asked Bakura.

"That girl fifty years ago," Seth explained, "Aragog said that she died in a bathroom…what if she never left?"

Diana's eyes widened. "You don't think…"

Harry couldn't believe it. "Not…not Moaning Myrtle?"

Kitty: Chapter completed.

Seth: Finally I stopped being a jerk.

Kitty: Hey, with Seto gone, I kinda needed a new jerk...

Seto: HEY!

Kara: (checks the review box) Wow, Kitty...it sure has been a while since we answered reviews.

Kitty: Indeed. Who's first?

Kara: Setoglomper, reviewing Chapter 16: we didn't answer her review last time around.

Kitty: (shifts in her seat at the mention of Seto) The plot bunny shall pay dearly for my reviewer's suffering. I tihnk Claire and I will have a lot of fun butchering it at the Bash-a-thon, even if technically it's only for Malfoy and Lockhart.

Hermione: (twitches at the mention of being with Malfoy or Harry) Er...nope! No thanks!

Kitty: The only HP shipping I have ever supported fully with is Ron/Hermione. I may look at others, but only with a really good fic, and if the ship is not Harry/Hermione. (twitch, twitch)

Seto: According to Kitty, I will not be taking Cedric's place as the Hogwarts champion: for one, she says I will and should not be the primary focus in that part of the book, and second, she wouldn't want to kill me off even if she likes mocking me.

Seth: I wouldn't let Kitty kill you.

Kitty: I wouldn't, anyway: if it ever did happen (which it won't), it'd be the plot bunny's fault, not mine.

Lina: Next is Claire!

Kitty: Hey, girl! That actually is exactly what I was going for with Seth. And I think Seth glomping Seto would be funny. (grins widely)

Seto: (sweatdrop) You would.

Yugi: (sends Lucius Malfoy to the Shadow Realm) Yeah, my poor Yami still can't get to grips with it...more of that will be discussed in Let Me Fall (HP & the POA).

Kitty: (glomps Yugi) I am very relieved with the outcome of the season, but I'll feel much better when I can write when Yugi is unpetrified. (smiles) Goofy is awesomeness: I've only hugged Mickey, when I was three. I pulled his mask off by mistake...lol.

Lina: (grins insanely) The Littlest Elf is pure hell. Then again, anything in the tale of the unfortunate Baudelaire children's story is sure to be.

Diana: And now...Kyte.

Atem: (eyes widen) NO! NOT THE HAIRGEL! (hides all of his bottles of hairgel in various, hard-to-find places) Don't worry, I'll be careful! (hugs Isis gently) I could never hurt something so beautiful.

Everyone: (sweatdrop)

Kitty: Honestly... (ahem) I hate spiders too! (hides with Kyte behind Bakura)

Bakura: (sighs in aggravation) I would get rid of you two, but I would feel more comfortable if the Ring stayed with Dare and Yugi would kill me if I so much as put a sour hand on Kitty.

Kitty: I work a little bit on all the books, usually starting with my fav scenes and then branching out. Helps me work if I'm doing little bits and pieces at my own pace. And no more clues with the Valentine: I'll just let you ponder.

Lina: Now presenting...Engie!

Kitty: RON/HERMIONE FOREVER! That's right. (grins)

Ron and Hermione: (blushes)

Kitty: Anyway... LUCKY! (pouts) I love the beach.

Yugi: I like it too: it lets me see you in a swimsuit.

Kitty: YUGI! (blushes furiously)

Yugi: What? (nibbles on her earlobe)

Kitty: Yugi-chan, stop it! Really...we have to finish the reviews!

Yugi: (pouts) Oh...okay. But you owe me.

Kitty: (nods) Fine. But right now...we have to answer the review sent to us by Seto's Girl 2004.

Lina: Sometimes Kitty's chappies are a little longer/shorter than usual. This one was longer, so that should help even them out.

Kara: Next is ANAYAS-CREATOR.

Atem, Noa, Bakura and Amelda: OW! (rubs their heads where ANAYA hit them)

Kitty: I'll Worship You Forever is currently on hold: the main reason is because I have to plan out Khayer's dueling deck as to work with his strategy.

Diana: ("borrows" Isis from Atem and burns Lucius Malfoy)

Atem: HEY! GIMME! (grabs Isis back) Oh, little darling, did that stupid redhead hurt you?

Diana: (glares at Atem and whacks him over the head like ANAYA did)

Atem: OW! What was that for?

Diana: (rolls her eyes) And...ZeldaAlly.

Kaiba: (his eyes filled with flames) GET OFF MY BROTHER, YOU FILTHY SON OF A BITCH! (uses a blunt bread knife to cut out Jake into a thousand million pieces and throws the pieces onto a stirfry to cook)

Everyone: (stare)

Seto: That is what you get for teaching my brother such language.

Mokuba: (sweatdrop)

Noa: Umm...something tells me I won't have a turn with Jake this time around...

Jake: (magically comes back together)

Noa: (smirks) Spoke too soon! (uses his virtual technology to build himself a sonic canon coming out of his arm that looks similiar to Cyborg's from Teen Titans) HEY! IDIOT!

Jake: (turns) Huh?

Noa: (shoots Jake's head off, making it roll around the floor and stop to rest at Seto's feet)

Seto: (kicks Jake's head out the window) Sayonara, sucker!

Lina: (sweatdrop) Onward to Rainbow Guardian Angel!

Kitty: (fire in her eyes) I agree with you, Mizumi. DIE, LUCIUS!

Lucius: EEP! (jumps under Kitty's bed)

Kitty: (sigh) "Let Me Fall" is the title of a song written by by absolute fav singer, Josh Groban. All the fics in this series will have titles of songs as their name.

Yugi: (pats Rainbow's shoulder) You are not the only one who agrees with Ron-kun about his fear. Kitty hates spiders almost as much as snakes.

Atem: (sings) I don't like spiders and snakes...

Kitty: NO I DON'T! (shivers)

Seth: (smiles) Thanks for your reassurance.

Everyone: (runs away at Mizumi's evin grin)

Everyone: (comes back)

Lina: And finally...Dumb Arse. (raises her eyebrow at the name of the reviewer)

Kitty: (blushes) Wow. I'm glad you like it that much. And honestly, I don't think any HP/YGO crossover I could ever write could be as good as Skyla Doragono's, but I am honored you think so highly of my fic.

Diana: And yes, Bakura and I will get together...after many unfortunate trials like old relationships being discovered, rejection of feelings and jealousy. (sighs)

Kitty: SCHOOL'S OUT AT LAST! (takes Yugi's hands and dances around the room)

Yugi: Which means more updation in the next two weeks.

Kitty: Before summer school starts... (growls ferally) History in my grade is HELL...I can't organize, so how do you expect me to get a good grade on a notebook worth, like, 300 points compared to 5 to 10 point other stuff? DAMN, THAT'S SCREWED UP!

Yugi: I couldn't agree more. You already learned everything...you got a B+ on the final exam.

Lina: (sighs) Whatever. R&R!