Of Wizards and Duelists …
XO'MagickMoon'OX
A/N:
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WAIT!
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MATTE!
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ESPERA!
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WARTEZEIT!
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ATTENTE!
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ATTESA!
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Do I have your attention? Good, now if you don't read the following note I will never update ever again. –is completely serious- Listen up! People, yes, I know from personal experience that reading author's notes is a pain-in-the-ass, but please, please, PLEASE read mine! Though sometimes it's nothing but mindless ramblings, I do put important stuff in my notes! At the beginning and the end. In chapter 4, I explained why I thought Malik should go in Ravenclaw. In chapter 9, I explained why I spell magick with a 'k'. In chapter 11, I put a Japanese/English glossary for the words that I use! For those of you that overlooked it, go back! AND READ THE NOTE! I also put in special acknowledgements, and I put disclaimers, explaining what stuff is my own and what stuff is J. K. Rowling's. Please, from now on, READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES!
Good? Now, I'm sorry for leaving you all with that evil cliffhanger. And I'm sorry for taking so long (by my personal standards) to update.
And for darkdranzer, thank you kindly for your laconic, but critiquing, reviews. To answer some of your questions, yeah, I know that no one ever notices the Millennium Items glowing in the show, and they never really notice that the hosts seem to suddenly change, but I needed everyone to sorta notice for the story to move along. Same goes for the reason that the YGO cast is always speaking in English, when they could just speak in Japanese so no one would understand. I actually did think about that when writing the chapters, but it would kind of spoil the tension between the characters if the HP cast didn't have those bits of cryptic conversation between the YGO cast. And I was also too lazy to keep specifying when they would change languages, so I just had them always speak English. So sue me. And yes, there is a 'k' in magick. If you read my note for chapter 9, it explains why. Thanks again!
Kat1123, please forgive me, but I don't put Yami Malik in my stories. In my mind, he's gone for good and that's all there is to it. I can never really picture myself writing him as Malik's lover, since A) he was a creation of Malik's feelings and never actually a real person in any life, B) he's really scary and creepy with a strange voice, and C) he was destroyed in the Battle City arc. I don't mind reading about him in other stories, but I just NEVER use him in my own. Please forgive me! But don't worry; if … IF … Malik ends up losing Ryou, he won't be alone for long. –wink, wink-
Of course, Jazhira's reviews are awesome as always (thanks so much!). Hey, when are you gonna update, huh? -poke- I'm dying for the next chapter of your Charmed crossover! And thanks a whole lot to flamethrowerqueen for being so supportive, too. –glomps- Yes, I have self-esteem issues when it comes to my writing, as well as my artwork and my musical abilities … so your review meant a lot to me! -
And someone, I can't remember who (gomen!), was suggesting that Ryou use his Ring as a compass to find the way out of the Forest. If memory serves me right, the Ring does act as a compass, but not like that. It really only points out other Items, right? And the only Items within range would be the Puzzle and the Ring itself. So … yeah, dun think that's gonna be much help.
Phew, that was the longest note I've ever left. Everyone who read it and can prove it in their review gets a plushie of their choice, as well as a little acknowledgement in the next note! Even without all of this pathetic bribery, I hope you all read it! Please read them all from now on; I promise this is the longest one you'll ever see!
Since it's taken so long for me to update, let me remind you where we left off: the group (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ryou, Yuugi, Malik, Draco, and Blaise) are lost in the Forbidden Forest, suddenly surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves. Enjoy!
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The students huddled together nervously, five of them warily drawing their wands, holding them out in front of them. The wolves growled hungrily, pushing the teens' hearts to race at a frighteningly fast pace.
"What do we do?" Ron whimpered softly.
"Just don't move," Harry said through gritted teeth. However, seconds later his own advice was ignored as a large, gray wolf lunged at him. He reflexively jabbed his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!" White sparks shot from the tip towards the beast, causing it to freeze in midair and fall numbly to the ground.
The other wolves moved in then, lunging almost in sync at the students. Stupefy charms were cast quickly, and eight wolves met the same defeat as the first. This, however, didn't slow the others, but rather, taught them to avoid the students' aim. The remaining beasts backed off, circling the teens with predatory growls. One lunged at Hermione as another lunged at Draco.
"Stupefy!" they yelled in unison.
The wolves dodged the spells, jerking forward again with more tact.
"Tarantallegra!" Malik's spell was cast upon the two creatures, each of his hands aimed at one, and their legs promptly flew from beneath them, sweeping them off-course in a violent fit that was supposed to be uncontrollable dancing.
Malik's spell was immediately followed up by Hermione's "Impedimenta!" which slowed the beasts' movement, and then Draco's "Stupefy!". Both wolves fell to the snow, stunned.
Meanwhile, Blaise and Ryou were warding off another couple of their canine opponents with Impedimenta and Stupefy, both spells working with great efficacy. Malik then held up his hands and shouted, "Incendio!" Flames sparked from the air in front of his palms, and the wolves shied away from the fire with frightened yelps. With this slight diversion, the teens ran.
The wolves quickly pursued, their speed greatly outmatching the students'.
In a flurry of snow, three or four of the beasts bounded forward with a giant leap. Two missed their targets, but one managed to pounce on Ron and the other on Ryou.
Before either wolf could act, however, Hermione shouted, "Impedimenta!" Both of their movements slowed drastically, and Harry followed with, "Stupefy!" to each creature. Ron and Ryou scrambled to their feet, pushing the frozen wolves from above them. They would've continued running, but the feral predators had once again encircled the teens, leaving them no room to escape.
"This is ridiculous!" Draco cried expaseratedly. "Diffindo!"
"Malf –" Hermione's gasp was cut short by a piercing, pained howl as the wolf before Draco's wand split in two, splattering the snow with scarlet.
The others quickly turned away from the messy sight, Yuugi covering his mouth as if to keep his stomach from heaving. Draco himself looked particularly sick, but nonetheless turned to another wolf, which quickly met the same fate as its brother.
"Malfoy, stop!" Yuugi pleaded.
"Look, it's either them or us, and I, for one, don't feel like dying at fifteen," Draco said definitely.
The ten or so beasts that remained bared their fangs, and simultaneously lunged forward.
Each student Stupefied their opponent. Harry, however, was matched with two. He stopped one, only to have the other come up right behind it. With no time to react magickally, he drew a sharp breath, screwing his eyes shut and bracing himself for the impact.
But it never came.
"Diffindo!"
With a heartwrenching yelp, the wolf was split down the middle in a display of blood and innards. Harry stumbled back and fell into the snow, splatters of scarlet flecking his cheeks, which had turned a sickly green color after glancing at the mess. All heads turned simultaneously to face none other than Draco, who was tucking his wand back into his robes.
"Malfoy, you idiot!" Ron shouted.
"What?" Draco said.
"That was dangerous," Hermione intervened before Ron had a chance to continue his tirade. "What if you'd missed and hit Harry?"
"I wasn't going to hit Potter," Draco replied, sounding offended. "But I will hit Weasel there if he doesn't stop glaring at – agh!"
The blonde's breath was knocked from his lungs as another wolf appeared out of the mists and pounced on him. He found himself pinned to the ground in a flurry of snow. Just as the creature began to sink its claws into its prey, fangs bared menacingly, it was hit with a stupefy jinx, promptly freezing. The caster immediately scrambled forward and pushed the immobile beast off of the blonde with one hand, stowing his wand away with the other. His emerald eyes glinted worriedly.
Draco lay there, chest heaving, as the others knelt around him.
"Always … gotta be the hero … don't you, Potter?" Draco snapped as best he could with the lack of oxygen in his lungs.
"All right then, next time you're about to be torn to pieces by a hungry wolf, I'll stand by and watch," Harry rejoined. "Are you okay?" he added more gently.
Faint surprise flickered through metallic eyes before a shield fell in front of them again, and Draco nodded, sitting up. "I'll be fine." He rubbed his chest, as if he had a pain in it, before rising to his feet. "Just a … scratch."
"This from a boy who nearly 'died' after being 'attacked' by a hippogriff in third year?" Harry wondered, quirking an eyebrow.
Draco glared at him, but said nothing. Instead, he rubbed his chest again, this time drawing a sharp breath.
"What is it?" Blaise asked.
"Ah … uh … I don't know," Draco replied. He leaned against a nearby tree and threw his robe open, pulling his shirts up to his chest. There were two inflamed spots below his collarbones, four small punctures making up the center of each. They weren't bleeding much, but some, and from the look on Draco's face, they hurt … a lot, standing out against his ivory skin.
Hermione sighed. "Here." She drew her wand and pointed it at the blonde. "Ferula!" A puff of blue smoke billowed from the tip and wound around Draco's chest. Once it had cleared, there were pristine, gauzy bandages wrapped across the small wounds.
"Thanks a lot, Granger, but the blood wasn't a problem. How 'bout a pain-relieving spell?" Draco said crossly.
"I … don't know any," Hermione admitted, blushing. "But the bandages are better than nothing."
Draco huffed, tugging his two layers of clothing back down, then pulling his robe back around his torso. "Whatever."
"You know, a little gratitude wouldn't kill you," Ron said.
"I don't give gratitude to dirty mudbloods," Draco jibed.
"Bastard," Ron muttered.
"Do you think the wolves are gone?" Yuugi wondered.
"They appear to be," Malik replied.
Yuugi visibly relaxed. "That was close."
"Oh, but they did damage enough," Harry said bitterly. "Now we're completely lost, after running from those buggers."
Several curses echoed through the group before silence settled upon them. After several moments, Hermione spoke up.
"Well, I think we should set up a fire."
"Out here?" Ryou said. "It's too wet."
Hermione looked up through the trees. "I'm sure there's some dry wood around here somewhere. We could split up to look for it." The others looked uncertain. "Look, we have to do something, other than freeze our arses off."
Everyone else hesitantly agreed on this.
"Okay," Hermione said, taking charge, "Ron, Zabini, and I will check around here. Yuugi, Ryou, and Malik go that way," she motioned to the left, "and Harry and Malfoy go the other way."
"What!" Harry cried. "I'm not going with Malfoy!"
Blaise inputted, "I think it's a wonderful idea."
Draco glared at the brunette and mouthed, "Traitor". Blaise just grinned.
"Harry, you're going with Malfoy," Hermione said definitely.
"Hermione, you're off your rocker," Ron muttered, but was silenced with a sharp glance from the bushy-haired girl.
"Everyone, meet back here if you find anything and we'll start the fire," Hermione added. "All right? And don't go too far. If you can't find anything within ten minutes of walking, then just come back this way and we'll work something else out."
"Hermione, I'm not going with Malfoy," Harry protested.
She sidled up beside the raven-haired boy and whispered, "Yes, you are." She had a disconcerting glint in her eye that pushed Harry into agreement. He swallowed, nodding silently, and turning to the blonde.
"Let's go," he growled, taking off in the direction that Hermione had instructed.
Malik, Yuugi, and Ryou left in the other direction, and Hermione, Ron, and Blaise began searching around their site. Before designated area was out of sight, Harry and Draco heard Hermione's incendio spell, and an orange light leapt to life behind them. Draco wanted desperately to turn around towards the fire, but Harry gripped his arm and forced him onward.
"Let's look for a few minutes, and then we can go thaw out," the Gryffindor said.
Draco huffed, but tacitly agreed, continuing through the mist behind the other.
They walked a pace or two in silence before Harry muttered, "I can't believe I'm stuck out here with you."
"Hey," Draco said, "it was your nutter friend who took off into the Forest."
"And you're the one who followed," Harry reminded bitterly. "You didn't have to come out here."
Ha, the blonde thought, if only you knew. Aloud, he said, "So what was the albino running from anyway?"
"Firstly, Ryou's not an albino," Harry answered. Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Secondly, he was a little … upset … because of something Bakura did in History of Magick."
"You mean that ancient Egyptian bloke?" Draco wondered. Harry nodded. "What did he do?"
"Well, it's … complicated."
Draco scanned their surroundings. "We've got time."
Harry was silent for a moment. "This is very odd."
"What?"
"Being out here, with you, actually having a civilized conversation," Harry said.
"Yeah, that reminds me: not one word of this back at school, or detention with McGonagall will seem like afternoon tea compared to what I'll do to you," Draco warned, scowling.
"Right. Well," the other began, "you know about Malik and Ryou, right?"
Draco frowned bemusedly, shaking his head.
"Oh … uh … well, they're sort of … a couple," Harry explained a bit awkwardly. Draco's eyebrows raised, but he said nothing. "Anyway," Harry pushed on, "Binns announced that we'd be starting learning about the ancient people's influence on magick today. When Malik asked if we'd be going over ancient Egypt and Binns said no, because they 'apparently didn't contribute much to modern-day magick', Atemu and Bakura basically exploded with anger, possessed Yuugi and Ryou, and stormed to the front of the class. They began ranting about how the ancient Egyptians contributed loads to modern-day magick, and when Binns didn't seem to show much care or interest, they opened this portal to the Shadow Realm –"
"'Shadow Realm'?"
"Yeah, you remember when 'Yuugi' was about to toss you into the 'Dark portal'? That was the Shadow Realm. So everyone got real scared, and Atemu and Bakura got sort of carried away, until Malik stopped them. Then Malik and Bakura got into an argument. Malik told Bakura he was heartless, Bakura told Malik he was just as much of a monster as him, and then Malik jumped on Bakura. It ended up with Bakura basically pulling Malik down on him and kissing him. Then Bakura jumped – I think Malik bit him – and the class was dismissed as Ryou and Yuugi got their bodies back. Binns gave them both detentions. Then Ryou just … ran. He ran outside, down through the courtyard, and into the Forest. And that's where you came in, I assume."
Draco was silent for a moment. The two were still walking, though neither was really scouring the grounds for firewood as they should have been. Then, the blonde said, "I get it."
"Get what?"
"What Bakura was talking about before."
"When?"
"Remember when he pushed me into you after class?"
Harry nodded, suddenly feeling heat rise in his cheeks at the memory, although his wind-bitten complexion hid the blush.
"And remember how he dragged me down the hall afterwards?"
Again, Harry nodded.
"Well, he started yelling at me, telling me I was stupid because –" Draco caught himself. This atmosphere was entirely too comfortable; he'd almost spouted his deepest, darkest secret to the worst possible person!
"Because …?" Harry prompted.
"Because … uh … I … well, you see … we both sort of have the same problem. And Bakura thinks that I could solve mine if I really tried while he's doomed to suffer. Now, after all that you've just told me, I think that Bakura may fancy Ryou."
Harry froze. "What? That's crazy! Bakura hates Ryou, and vice versa. Bakura's so cruel to Ryou, always hurting him, from what I've seen and heard. I can't imagine someone so cold actually having feelings like that." This reminder suddenly saddened the Gryffindor as he thought of his own situation, glancing at the blonde, who seemed all of a sudden indignant.
The conversation ended abruptly, however, as Draco gasped, falling forward. Something on the ground let out a pitiful, pained noise as the Slytherin got to his feet again and turned to find …
… a baby unicorn.
It the same pristine white as the snow, except for its hooves, which were black as coals, as were its shining eyes. A stump of a glimmering horn was poking through the silvery mane matted against its forehead. Its seemingly fragile legs where tucked beneath it, and its warm breath was puffing from its nostrils in white clouds. It let out another pitiful moan.
Harry was now at Draco's side. "Are you okay?" he asked.
The blonde nodded. "Stupid pony."
"It's not a pony –"
"I know it's not a pony!"
"What do you reckon it's doing out here all alone?" Harry asked, watching the foal from a safe distance.
"I don't know, but I think we should leave," Draco replied.
"What if it's hurt?"
"Well, that's tough for it."
"Malfoy," Harry said reprovingly.
"Fine, fine, we'll check on it." Draco rolled his metallic eyes and knelt down beside the foal. Harry did the same. "It seems okay to me, just a little tired," Draco decided after a moment.
"Yeah, I guess. Wish Hagrid were here, though. It's strange to see a baby without the moth –"
A shrill whinny suddenly sounded behind them. The boys turned slowly to find themselves in the shadow of a full-grown unicorn. Long, shimmering mane, sharp, silver horn protruding from its forehead, obsidian eyes glinting dangerously. It reared up on its hind legs, kicking out with its powerful hooves. Harry and Draco stumbled backwards, only to land on the foal, issuing another pained groan from the beast, which resulted in another enraged whinny from the mother.
The two jumped up as quickly as their tired, frozen bodies would allow and ran. They could hear the unicorn follow them, hooves pounding across the snow-blanketed ground. They veered to the left, and then right, zigzagging around the trees, until they became so short of breath that it was painful to breathe. Then, Draco ran into a wide tree, falling back on his ass with a panicked cry. The unicorn stopped in front of him as the blonde scrambled to his feet, pressing his back against the sound trunk. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins, his body telling him to move, to run, but his paralyzing fear holding him in place as the beast lowered its massive head, lethal horn aimed at its prey's chest. Draco instinctively drew his wand as the unicorn charged, and shouted, "Protego!"
White sparks spouted from the tip just as Draco felt something fly into his side, hurling him to the right, out of harm's way. He heard a cry of pain, and his heart thudded nervously as he lay motionless in the snow, exhausted and breathing heavily. Stars were erupting behind his closed lids, and he was barely aware of the sounds of the unicorn galloping away. Eventually, everything was still, Draco's own ragged breathing and someone else's pained gasps filling the air. Finally, Draco pulled himself up, shaking the stars from his vision and looking around.
"Fuck, Potter!" he gasped. He crawled shamelessly on his hands and knees over to the tree, where Harry lay in a trembling heap, glasses tossed to the snow some feet away from him.
Draco grabbed the boy's shoulder and heard him gasp in pain. The blonde quickly recoiled his hand. "Potter … are you … okay?" he asked weakly, afraid of the answer.
Harry sat up finally, clutching his side and leaning back against the tree. His eyes were screwed tightly together, betraying his pain just as much as his clenched jaw and worrisome trembling did. His breath was strained, as if it hurt just to breathe, which wouldn't surprise Draco in the least. Draco found his own breath frozen in his lungs, his heart beating dreadfully fast with panic. His mouth was a thin line as he waited for Harry to do something … anything to let Draco know what had happened, what was wrong, and what he could do to help.
Finally, after what seemed to be painfully endless moments, Harry opened his eyes, taking as deep a breath he could. He smiled faintly, eyes finding Draco's face. "… Idiot." His tone was light, but his voice was dark and raspy with anguish. "You really … have to … p-pay more attention … in class. … Didn't you know that … unicorns are impervious … to magick?"
Draco felt his eyes beginning to sting, and was suddenly grateful that Harry didn't have his glasses on. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to see his own fear. "Yeah," he replied, "I knew that. I just … I panicked."
The faint smile still present on his lips, Harry said, "… So did I."
Draco held back a choked sob, before saying, "Potter, what happened?"
Harry tried to sit up, and Draco aided him with a hand behind his back. Harry pulled his hands away from his side, and the blonde nearly broke down just then to see that they were coated in blood.
"No," he whispered, voice heavy with unshed tears. "Potter … oh fuck." He licked his dry lips, throat tight, as his tears finally fell. He realized with startling clarity where he had seen this all before: his nightmare. "No way in Hell am I going to let you die," he muttered. "I promised …"
"What are you … going on about?" Harry said, his voice beginning to fade.
"Nothing. Come on." Draco quickly grabbed Harry's glasses and placed them on the boy's face.
Harry blinked. "Malfoy … are you … crying?"
"No. There's just snow on your glasses," Draco snapped. Harry didn't look so convinced. Before the raven-haired boy could utter another word, Draco was wrapping his arm around the Gryffindor's back and grabbing beneath his knees. With a shocking display of strength, Draco picked Harry up out of the snow.
Harry all but squeaked with surprise, before saying softly, "Malfoy … you don't honestly … think that you … can … carry me … all the way back?"
"The hell I can't. Ever heard of adrenaline, Potter? Works wonders, really."
"Wow, I never … knew you cared," Harry whispered jokingly before giving in and curling tighter against the blonde.
Draco glanced wistfully down at the beauty in his arms before carrying onward. He had to find his way back before it was – God forbid – too late.
Harry felt his senses dimming. He was only conscious of the warmth around him, and decided that it was worth being in so much pain if it could get him this close to Draco. He blinked, going over that thought once more, before closing his eyes completely, snuggling closer to the warmth of his hero.
Doubts diminished, his last thought before finally passing out was, I love you, Draco.
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Well aren't I the biggest bitch you've ever seen? Surprise, another cliffie! Sooo sorry, but I'm trying to keep my updates quick and I'm trying to make the chapters a little shorter, which is easier without all of the emotional angst I spent a painfully long time describing in previous chapters, which probably bored everyone to tears. In the next chapter, we'll be checking up on Yuugi, Ryou, and Malik and welcoming back Atemu and Bakura, who were absent for this chapter.
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Atemu: -glares-
Bakura: -glares harder-
MagickMoon: -cowers- ... G-Gomen!
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Needless to say, TBC!
Oh, and guess what? It's my birthday on Wednesday! w00t! 15 at last! Until next time!
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