Well, hello again! Out of guilt for the uneventful chapter that I gave you guys last week, I decided to write this monster. It's so long, in fact, that I actually cut it short. I intended to include two more scenes in this chapter, but I had to stop myself because it was getting out of hand.
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is Ellie + some plot points. Believe me, if I owned more I wouldn't be here, I would be too busy earning a big fat profit for my wonderful beautiful magnificent creations.
Enjoy!
Chapter 31
Ellie slowly opened her eyes, quietly groaning from a headache that felt like it was drilling a hole straight through her skull. She felt as though she had been asleep for a million years, and was confused as to where and when she was. The bed she was in felt different somehow, but it was dark and she was truly only half awake. She barely registered that her mouth was as dry as the Sahara desert.
Groggily sitting up, Ellie felt multiple joints creak and bones crack as her body moved for the first time in Merlin knows how long. The darkness pushed in on her, and the fact that she wasn't wearing her glasses made her vision all the worse. It was a big room, she could tell that much, but there was something sanctioning her off from the rest of it.
Still confused, Ellie rubbed some sleep out of her eyes and leaned over to a blurry form next to her bed that looked as though it could be a nightstand. She patted it down in the hopes of finding her glasses. Ellie took in a quick intake of breath when her blind searching caused her to knock over what felt like a glass vase, and it shattered when it hit the ground. She flinched as the clatter pounded at her aching head, and stilled her hand for a moment so she could adjust to the echoing noises. Nothing else stirred, making Ellie think that she was alone in the room.
When the echoing finally stopped, she slowly inched her fingers across the table, and her hand came into contact with her glasses. She muttered a silent thank you to whoever was listening and slid them onto her face. Unfortunately her wand was nowhere to be found. She would have liked some light.
Still confused, but not nearly as much as she was when she initially woke up, Ellie took in her surroundings. She was in the hospital wing with a curtain hiding her and what looked like another bed in a corner. She furrowed her brow: she had no idea why she was here. Could it have something to do with this headache? Maybe she had caught a bludger in the head during a Quidditch practice?
Mindful of the broken glass and still not able to see clearly because of the dark, Ellie slipped out of bed in hopes of finding a glass of water or somebody that could tell her what was going on. The ground was like ice on her bare feet, and she wrapped her arms around herself in hopes of keeping warm. Her thin nightgown only reached her knees, and it barely provided any warmth. It was nearly December, Ellie knew that much, and it was a very cold night.
She tiptoed past the curtain and slowly inched her way towards what she remembered to be the hospital wing's lavatory. She was careful not to bump into any beds. When she got into the bathroom Ellie turned the flame up on an oil candle that was burning, and winced at the sudden assault that the light wreaked on her pounding headache. She quickly turned the candle down so it was just light enough to allow her to see her surroundings, but it still burned her eyes.
Squinting, Ellie shielded her eyes and waited for them to adjust. After a few moments they finally did, and Ellie started when she looked up to see a pale, sickly reflection staring back at her. She looked very ill. Maybe she was in here for more than just a concussion? Ellie poked at one of the bags under her eyes, wondering again what was wrong with her. She splashed some cold water on her face, and gulped a few mouthfuls of water straight from the tap. It helped her headache some, but it still pounded painfully at her skull.
When she was finished, Ellie located a candlestick and lit it off of the flame of the oil candle. She wanted to be able to see on her way back to her bed, especially now that her eyes had adjusted to the harsh light she didn't want to have to wait for them to adjust back. She dimmed the light in the bathroom and made her way back to the far corner of the hospital wing.
The light shining onto the unoccupied beds of the hospital wing confirmed that it was indeed empty, but it made Ellie curious as to why her bed was sanctioned off. Why did they need to hide her? There was nobody else in here, and she certainly didn't have any gruesome injuries.
Ellie was confused and wanted to look for Madame Pomfrey to ask why she was here, but her exhaustion and the coldness of the hospital wing made her desperate need to get back to her warm bed win out. She quickly trotted over, hand shielding the flame. Besides, it was the middle of the night and she didn't want to wake her up. She wasn't too worried at this point, Ellie knew that if something terrible had happened to her then she would have remembered.
Ellie slipped past the curtain, and she jumped nearly three feet in the air when she saw that the second bed in her little corner was indeed occupied. She pressed a hand to her racing heart. The figure had it's back to her, and it's messy blonde hair looked as though it could have been Malik's. It was then that Ellie finally began to worry about what had happened.
"Hello?" She whispered shakily. There was no way that the person was still sleeping after she had shattered that vase. Ellie tiptoed around the bed and saw that it was Malik occupying it. And he was fast asleep, albeit with a worried expression on his face.
"Malik?" Ellie whispered, reluctant to wake him up yet wanting to know what exactly was going on. She gently shook his shoulder. The blankets slid down his shoulders a little bit, but he did not wake. She noticed that there was an empty vial of blue potion on his bedside. She picked it up and examined it closer. It looked like sleeping potion. That must have been why he wouldn't wake up, but it only tugged at her nerves further. Why did Malik need a sleeping potion? What was going on?
She sighed. Maybe it was best to just go back to sleep and wait until morning to figure out what had happened to them. She made to pull the blankets back up on the sleeping boy, but a red mark on his cheek caught her eye. Ellie pushed his hair back off of his face, and gasped.
There was an angry, half-healed gash on his face. It was huge. It stretched from just under his eye to all the way below his chin. Ellie tentatively reached out and touched it, and felt a particularly painful jab at her headache when her fingers made contact. She covered her mouth with her other hand, and just stared with wide eyes for a moment.
Finally coming back to her senses, Ellie was again going to pull the blankets back up on the boy when she had a sudden urge to pull them down. She didn't know why, but she felt as though that would be the right thing to do. So she did, flushing a bit when she realized that Malik was sleeping shirtless. But because of this, it gave her a full view of the tanned, massacred flesh that was his back. She rolled him onto his stomach.
When she saw Malik's scars, it all came back to Ellie.
She backed up a few feet, thankfully finding a chair and sitting down hard, staring at his scars.
She remembered everything. Malik running off and getting kidnapped. Voldemort setting Marik free. The tortured, insane Malik that returned. And finally, Ellie remembered the monster, her monster, Ammit, dragging her down into the depths of the Chamber of Secrets where Shadi told her that it was her destiny to wield the Millennium Scales.
"Oh God," Ellie whispered, setting the candlestick down with shaking hands so she could bury her face in them.
No wonder she had that headache, Ellie knew that it was an effect of her untrained body being an outlet for the Shadows. She choked on a few soundless sobs, with strangely no tears falling from her eyes.
Ellie sat like that for what felt like hours, not even feeling the cold anymore. It barely registered when the candle finally burnt out, once again bathing the small space in darkness. But at that point the sky outside the window was becoming a dark dark blue instead of black, and Ellie began to feel her exhaustion once again.
She forced herself to stand up and replaced the covers back on Malik's body. Ellie had known about what Malik's father had inflicted on him, but she had never seen the damage herself. Even his roommates, Harry and Ron said that the boy never showed them. It was certainly a shock, even without all the memories coming back to her. Ellie felt bad when she saw small goose bumps on his skin from the cold, and gave his back an affectionate pat as way of an apology. She laughed bitterly to herself, wondering what Malik would say had he known she had been staring at his half naked form for the past few hours.
She made her way back to bed. Ellie wondered who had found her, and how. She had probably been laying on the hard stone floor of the Chamber of Secrets for hours. For some reason, that made her really mad. She frowned into the night as she crawled under the covers.
Thinking of the cold, damp air of the Chamber, Ellie was finally able to register the cold again, and pulled the blankets higher up on her chest. She shivered violently, but even still it didn't take her long to fall back into a deep sleep.
xxx
Bakura POV
"Hey guys!" Malik called cheerfully, poking his head around the curtains the second that Ryou and the others walked into the hospital wing. Bakura was taken aback: Malik was happy?
There was nobody around, so he figured it was okay to phase out. "What has you so chipper this morning, Ishtar?" He asked skeptically, eyeing Malik. He was fully dressed.. Ryou, who was still a little irritated at him from the day before, nudged him for being so blunt with Malik. Bakura shrugged.
"Two things," Malik grinned as they rounded the curtain. He took a seat next to Elizabeth's bed. Ryou's worried gaze, Bakura noticed, instantly fell onto her pale face. She was still sleeping, and Bakura felt a twinge of disappointment coming from Ryou. He forced himself not to roll his eyes.
"Well tell us then!" Hermione urged.
"First of all, Dumbledore said that the three of us can go visit Isis and Rishid today," Malik gushed, gesturing towards Ryou and Yugi. "Or five of us, I guess." He laughed happily, looking pointedly at Bakura.
"Wow Malik, that's great!" Yugi said, smiling. Malik grinned happily and thumped Yugi on the back, hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Doubling over, he coughed.
"Malik…" Yami said, phasing out. Bakura almost laughed himself when he saw that the pharaoh was torn between defending his hikari and laughing at his suddenly high spirited friend.
"What was the other bit of good news?" Harry asked, grinning as well and helping Yugi stand up straight.
"Ellie woke up last night!" He replied, laughing.
"She did?!" Hermione squealed excitedly, rushing to the girl's side. Bakura felt a sudden spark of hope ignite within Ryou, who grinned happily and stood taller than he had done in days. He had to admit that he was glad Elizabeth was getting better himself. He was anxious to find out what had really happened in the Chamber of Secrets.
"How do you know?" Ron asked, waving a hand in front of Elizabeth's face. She didn't stir. "She still looks pretty unconscious to me."
"When I woke up this morning there was a bunch of broken stuff around here," Malik replied, chuckling. "And she was wearing her glasses."
"So you never actually spoke to her?" Ryou asked dejectedly. Bakura knew he was desperate to know what had happened to her as well.
"Nah, but she must have been feeling well enough to go to the loo," Malik said. "She brought the candlestick back here, must have been awake for awhile. Look!" He pointed to a small nub of a burnt out candle sitting on his nightstand. "Guess she was watching me sleep." He shrugged and winked teasingly at Ryou, which irritated him and made Bakura laugh.
It would seem as though Ishtar is feeling like his old self again, wouldn't you say so, Ryou?
Hmpf, Ryou mentally grunted irritably. But Bakura knew it was only halfhearted, Ryou knew that Malik was only teasing. Also, Bakura could feel how much better his hikari felt now that they knew for sure all of their friends would be well soon.
"How are you feeling, Malik?" Yami asked, interrupting Bakura's train of thought. "Are you sure that you're up to making that trip today?"
"I'm fine!" Malik replied quickly. Bakura saw a quick flash of anger in his eyes, but it must have went unnoticed by everyone else. "Will you guys come with me?" He asked quickly after, looking from Yugi to Ryou.
Yugi nodded eagerly. "Of course I will!"
Malik looked at Ryou, who hesitated. Bakura knew he was torn between supporting Malik when he saw his family and wanting to be there when Ellie woke up, because it looked like today would be the day that she would finally be able to talk to them.
Go with Ishtar, Bakura urged. Elizabeth will still be here when you get back.
But what if she has questions? Ryou replied frantically, forever sounding like an overbearing parent. And what if Shadi comes back? She shouldn't stay here unprotect-
She will be fine, Ryou. Bakura interrupted. She won't be alone when she wakes up. Her friends won't leave her side.
Oops. That was the wrong thing to say, Bakura realized as soon as he said it. He didn't mean it like that, but Ryou thought that he was implying that he wasn't her friend. He felt a sting of hurt coming from him. Bakura was torn between anger at himself for saying such a stupid thing and annoyance at his hikari for being so sensitive. He knew that Ryou was still quite wary of him ever since Bakura had lost control and attacked him, and Bakura tried to take that into consideration and let it slide.
"Ryou?" Malik asked, his smile flickering for a second.
Go, Bakura urged, trying his best to ignore his earlier blunder. Elizabeth will be perfectly fine. We will take the scales with us so nobody has any reason to come after her, and we will come see her the moment we get back to Hogwarts. I promise.
Ryou sighed mentally, reluctantly giving in. After all, Malik had been his friend for a lot longer than Elizabeth had ever been. And Ryou knew that he needed his support just as much as Elizabeth did.
He smiled at Malik. "Sure, I'll come with you."
"You guys are the best, I swear," Malik laughed, rushing over and giving Ryou a hug. Ryou flushed red, but smiled at his friend nonetheless.
"When were you talking to Dumbledore anyway?" Harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows and looking annoyed for some reason. "Was he here? Did you tell him about Ellie?"
"No, he's still at St. Mungo's watching over my brother and sister," Malik replied. "McGonagall passed the message on."
"Oh," Harry said, avoiding everyone's gazes and instead fixing his eyes on the floor.
"Harry, are you -" Hermione began, but ended her sentence in a loud squeak when the curtains were ripped open. Bakura jumped, and quickly resumed his composed posture before anyone could see. It was McGonagall, but both yamis were standing out in the open and it was obvious that she saw them.
"What the hell?" He demanded of her angrily.
"I'm here to take you three to St. Mungo's," McGonagall said, pursing her lips at Bakura's language. "Don't look so stunned, Mr. Bakura, do you think I've never seen a spirit before?"
For once in his very long life, Bakura was at a loss for words. Did the old man tell?
"H-how did you -" Ryou stammered.
"I suggest you two make yourselves scarce," McGonagall continued on, ignoring Ryou and eyeing Yami's translucent form. "That wo- I mean, Professor Umbridge will be down at any moment. I want us to be long gone before that happens, though." She angrily muttered something under her breath that Bakura didn't quite catch, but made him grin evilly nonetheless.
"As you wish," Yami said and disappeared. Bakura did the same. He hadn't seen Umbridge since he had sent her to the Shadow Realm, and he wondered what effect that had had on her. Ra knows what she had seen during her brief stay. He couldn't help from mentally grinning.
McGonagall nodded, as though she were agreeing with herself. "Well, come along then." She turned tail to leave, when she suddenly stopped as though she had second thoughts. "And for Merlin's sake you three," she looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione sharply. "Do not give her reason to be any more suspicious than she already is."
The three nodded sheepishly.
"And Miss Granger?" She added.
"Yes, Professor?"
"Professor Umbridge believes that Miss Milton has fallen ill due to a muggle ailment called apennit, I mean appendids-"
"Appendicitis?" Hermione suggested helpfully.
"Yes dear. I'm sure that she has looked into the illness, so please make it convincing."
"Yes, Professor."
The three transfers waved goodbye to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ryou, Bakura noticed, forced himself not to look at Ellie's face. He didn't want his resolve to crumble. They followed McGonagall out of the hospital wing and up to her office.
xxx
Harry POV
"Do you guys reckon that Dumbledore is avoiding me on purpose?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione the moment that the three transfers were out of earshot. He wanted to make this conversation quick: Umbridge was on her way down.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed, and frustratedly ran a hand through his hair. His scar had been twitching on and off ever since yesterday, and to put it nicely he wasn't in the best of moods. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with Umbridge. "I mean that all year he hasn't looked me in the eye, he's been pushing me away and -"
"When has he pushed you away?" Hermione interrupted, to his annoyance.
"Well the first time was when Malik ran off," Harry replied. "Dumbledore said okay and kicked us out, let me finish!" Harry snapped when Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt again. She looked hurt, but Harry continued. "Obviously he needed to contact the Order so I didn't think too much of it then." Harry looked around anxiously to check for Umbridge. "But when Ellie went missing he definitely was avoiding my gaze, and don't you think that he could have done a lot more to help find her?! And bloody hell, why isn't he here now? Don't you think that Ellie and the rest of Hogwarts needs his protection more than Malik's brother and sister?" He breathed in deeply.
"Well mate," Ron said uncomfortably. "I don't think it's just you that he is avoiding, it sounds like he's just trying to get rid of all of us."
"No, it isn't!" Harry snapped loudly. "I know Dumbledore, and he won't come near me. I've been having these dr-"
"Maybe he's just got a lot on his mind," Hermione said reasonably. "He's a very busy man and to be perfectly honest I don't think that you're seeing the big picture he-"
"NO!" He yelled furiously, jumping out of his seat and taking a step towards Hermione's shrinking form. He was sick of her interrupting him. "Why can't you lot ever just listen to me and take me seriously?!"
"Mr. Potter, I suggest you lower your voice before you wake up your dear little friend here," Umbridge interjected, smiling sweetly.
"Oh, it's you," Harry said irritably, suddenly feeling ashamed for his outburst. He sat down and tried to catch Hermione's eye, but she was determinedly avoiding his gaze. He was also suddenly very glad that Hermione had interrupted him before he mentioned his dreams about running down a long corridor, because Merlin knows how long Umbridge has been standing there listening. He was confident that she hadn't heard anything she wasn't supposed to, though.
"You will address me as 'ma'am' or 'professor', Mr. Potter. Five points from Gryffindor." Harry rolled his eyes. Umbridge puffed her chest up importantly and stepped up to Ellie's bed, inspecting her sickly appearance. "Now how is Miss Milton doing today? She looks absolutely dreadful."
"Better, I suppose, professor," Harry said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the word professor. He straightened up when he remembered that Bakura had sent her to the Shadow Realm. Harry still didn't quite understand what exactly that meant, but he was eager to see if there would be any difference in her behavior.
"Professor, I think that Ellie is feeling quite a bit better," Hermione said. "Madame Pomfrey had to remove her appendix, and she's been in recovery the past few days -"
"Is there a scar?" Umbridge interrupted, turning around. "I hear that these silly muggle procedures need to use knives and are quite barbaric."
"Oh, I don't k-know," Hermione stammered. "I don't know how Madame Pomfrey took it out."
"Well aren't you muggle-born?" Umbridge demanded. "Shouldn't you be aware of these ailments that only seem to affect your kind?"
"Well, to be fair Professor, only highly trained doctors are able to perform these operations, they are far from barbaric. It takes years of extensive training to get a license," Hermione said, more confidently this time. "I don't know if Madame Pomfrey used magic or not to complete it."
"I see," Umbridge continued, looking thoughtful. "Where are your little Asian friends?"
"You mean the Japaneseboy, the Egyptian and the boy who was born in England?" Harry asked dryly. That trip to the Shadow Realm must not have had any effect on her, she was still as horrible as ever.
"Yes, silly me," she simpered, smiling. "Where are they?"
"They're visiting Malik's brother and sister in the hospital," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Why do you care anyway? Ma'am," He added as an afterthought.
"I care about all of my students," Umbridge replied, ignoring Harry's attempts to get her going. "Who gave them permission to leave the school?"
"Dumbledore, I reckon," Ron said, after taking a quick look from Harry to Hermione. "And McGonagall just took them to the hospital."
"I don't suppose they ever thought to request the permission of the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, did they?"
"Who?" Harry asked, delightedly.
"Me!" Umbridge snapped, a faint tint of red appearing in her cheeks. Harry was pleased to finally have gotten a reaction out of her, no matter how small. She cleared her throat with a small hem hem and straightened out her pink cardigan, as though composing herself. "How are they getting to this hospital?"
She was trying to get information out of them, obviously. Harry fumed. He didn't want to lose his temper with this woman, that was the last thing that they needed right now. And he had promised McGonagall that he wouldn't make Umbridge suspicious. So for once this year, he kept his mouth shut.
"We don't know," Ron said.
"How have Mr. Ishtar's siblings fallen ill?"
"We don't know," Ron repeated, his ears turning pink.
"Don't your friends tell you anything?" She demanded.
"Guess that they're not very good friends then," Harry replied halfheartedly, shrugging.
"Are you sure?" She raised an eyebrow and regarded Harry carefully.
"I must not tell lies, Professor," he held up his hand, which emphasized his point. Harry smiled at her.
Annoyed, Umbridge turned to face Ellie again. She poked at her face for a moment, looking as though she were trying to gauge a temperature reading. She eventually gave up, and shrugged. "Tell Miss Milton that I would like to see her when she wakes up."
"Will do, Professor," Harry said.
xxx
"You want me to WHAT?" Malik demanded of McGonagall, shocked.
"For the third time, Mr. Ishtar, toss the Floo Powder into the fire and step -"
"I think Ryou should go first," Malik said, taking a step back. "You know, he's the most responsible."
"Me?" Ryou couldn't help but squeak. "Why me?!" He did not like the idea of stepping into a fire, no matter how many times McGonagall assured him that it was safe. He remembered Dumbledore traveling via fireplace way back when he first invited him to come to Hogwarts, but Ryou didn't care. He was not stepping into those flames. He tried to ignore the sound of Bakura roaring with laughter in the back of his head.
"Do you want to see your siblings or not, Mr. Ishtar?" McGonagall sighed.
"Well, yeah …" Malik mumbled. "But …"
"I'll go first," Yugi piped up.
"You will?" Both Malik and Ryou asked.
Yugi shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Malik opened his mouth to answer, but Yugi interrupted him. "Don't answer that, Malik."
"Good," McGonagall said. "Now, Tonks will be waiting on the other side to take you up to their room."
Ryou perked up at those words. He liked Tonks, and was excited to see her again. She was such a chatterbox, and he always enjoyed her company.
"Okay," Yugi said nervously, taking a handful of some powder that McGonagall handed to him. "St. Mungo's?" He asked, checking with McGonagall one more time for confirmation.
"Yes, Mr. Muto. And speak clearly, otherwise you can end up somewhere completely different from where you intended."
"Okay," Yugi repeated, taking a deep breath. Ryou admired his courage, but not enough to speak up and volunteer to go first himself. He gave his friend a shaky grin. Yugi tossed his powder into the flames, which suddenly turned emerald green.
"St. Mungo's!" Yugi cried, stepping into the green flames. He vanished instantly.
"You next, then," Malik said, giving Ryou a pointed look.
"Fine," Ryou said nervously. Bakura, he noticed, wasn't laughing anymore. In fact, Ryou could have sworn that he was feeling his nerves build up to a level to match his own.
Mind your own damn business, hikari. He grumbled.
Ryou bit his lip to keep from smiling.
Just go.
Ryou, feeling slightly better now that he had something to laugh at, grabbed a handful from McGonagall as well. Trying not to think about what he was about to do, he tossed it into the fire and quickly stepped in. He could feel the warmth from the flames, but they did not burn him. For that, he was grateful.
"St. Mungo's!" He cried. He began to spin rapidly, seeming to be traveling through a tunnel of fireplaces. He caught glimpses of rooms, but he was moving too fast to see what was really going on in them. Just as Ryou began to feel sick, his spinning came to an abrupt stop and he shot out onto a pristine marble floor, covered in soot and looking up at a grinning Tonks. She was sporting long pink hair today, and standing next very blackened Yugi.
"Hullo, Ryou!" Tonks said happily, bending down and hauling him off of the floor. "Alright?"
"I'm not sure," Ryou replied dizzily, grabbing her arm for balance and squeezing his eyes shut. He heard a commotion just then, and opened his eyes again just in time to see Malik fall out of the fireplace face first. He, like Yugi and presumably Ryou, was covered head to toe in soot as well.
"That was freaking awful," Malik said, accepting Tonks' extended arm and climbing to his feet. "Never again …"
"You three are filthy," Tonks remarked, and waved her wand over them. Instantly their clothes, hair and skin were clean again, free from any and all traces of soot.
"Thanks!" Yugi said gratefully, looking down at himself.
"So where are Isis and Rishid?" Malik asked, looking around. The room they were in looked like a lobby, it had a reception desk with several people crowded around it. Ryou cocked an eyebrow at some of the people there, he supposed that even the wizarding world had their fair share of stupid accidents that wound them up in the hospital. There was a man who was leaking steam from his ears and whistling like a teapot, a little boy who seemed to have grown hair all over his body and was crouched down like a dog, and an elderly woman who kept emitting loud squeaking noises. Ryou and Yugi shared a confused, yet slightly amused look and turned their attention back to Tonks.
"This way," Tonks said cheerfully, ignoring the strange people at reception and leading them down a corridor and up some stairs. There were dozens of people in white robes bustling about.
They must be healers, Ryou said to Bakura, eyeing a middle aged witch carrying a tray of potions. That's what Ellie wants to be.
Like a doctor? Bakura asked. He grunted. I can see it.
Luckily, none of the healers were close enough to have to worry about overhearing any conversation, so Tonks piped up. "I was speaking with your sister and brother earlier, Malik. They're both doing great!"
"Are you sure?" Malik asked anxiously, his cheerful demeanor from earlier evaporating now that he was so close to his family. "Are they well enough to see us all? Maybe I should -"
"Malik, calm down!" Tonks interrupted, patting his back soothingly. "They're fine. Just a little shook up, is all. In fact," she stopped walking, leaned in and beckoned the boys closer as though she was telling them a secret. "Dumbledore reckons that they'll be ready to leave for headquarters sometime tomorrow."
"That's great!" Yugi said. "That way they'll be kept safe with Grandpa, Malik. I wrote him yesterday to tell him the news, he should be heading there within the week."
"I don't know if I want them involved in all of this," Malik said. Ryou could see the gears in his mind working as he pondered the possibilities. He wished that he would stop thinking so much. "What if -" He suddenly gasped, as though an idea had struck him. "Where's my Rod?" He whirled around on Ryou, apparently forgetting about Tonks, who furrowed her eyebrows and tactfully walked on ahead.
"Malik!" Ryou hissed. "I've got it right here," he gestured to his backpack, which currently held both Malik's Millennium Rod and the Scales. "Keep your voice down!"
Malik, realizing his blunder, shook his head and leaned in closer to Ryou. "Can I have it?"
Shocked, Ryou shook his head fervently. "No!"
"Why not!?" Malik snapped, eyeing his backpack. Tonks had continued walking ahead of them, but she didn't realize that the three boys had stopped.
"Malik you are not well," Yugi said. He grabbed hold of Malik's arm, attempting to lead him down the corridor towards Tonks and away from Ryou. Ryou did not like the look in Malik's eyes. He had been acting relatively normal for the past couple of days, but Ryou should have known better than to let his guard down.
"Don't touch me!" Malik cried, shoving Yugi off and receiving several stares. "I want my Rod." He turned to Ryou now. Bakura, sensing that this was not good, quickly took over.
"Why?" Yugi asked, hurt shining in his eyes. Malik had not hurt him physically, but it bothered him a lot that his friend had pushed him away so aggressively. Ryou was surprised that Yami hadn't taken over yet, this looked as though it could get serious. Malik took another step closer to Bakura.
"I don't want them to see me like this," Malik said, staring Bakura in the eyes and wearing a look that Ryou hasn't seen since his Rare Hunter days. It scared him. "Give it to me."
"No," Bakura said, not breaking eye contact or backing down in any way. "Back off, Ishtar."
"I can use the Rod to fix myself," Malik said, his threatening eyes turning desperate, but no less intimidating. "Why won't you help me?"
Ryou once again thought that Malik was losing his mind, and worry tinged his stomach. They all knew that giving Malik the Millennium Rod back would not help him anymore than giving him any regular stick would, but it could do a world of hurt. Malik was not in a well enough state of mind to wield that kind of power just yet, and he didn't understand that having the Rod couldn't fix anything.
"Malik …" Yugi said, his eyes fixating on Tonks, who had finally realized that they weren't behind her. She had stopped walking, and was staring at them from down the corridor. It looked as though she were deciding whether or not to intervene, and Ryou knew that they didn't have much more time to finish this conversation.
"Don't make me do this, Bakura," Malik said, clenching his fist and taking a step closer. The two boys were only inches apart and practically had sparks flying between them, oblivious to the stares they were receiving.
"Try me," Bakura spat. "You know the Rod can not help you, Ishtar. You are a fool if you think that I will let you have it before you visit your family."
At the mention of his family, Malik instantly backed down. "Shit," he cursed angrily.
Ryou breathed a sigh of relief.
"Malik, come on," Yugi said. "You can have the Rod back soon. Just not yet. Don't you want to see your brother and sister?"
Malik nodded silently, and this time allowed Yugi to take his arm and lead him towards Tonks. Bakura reluctantly handed control back to Ryou, who clutched the shoulder straps of his backpack and flushed at all the people staring at them. He hurried to catch up.
"Don't let him get those, Ryou," Malik whispered as he caught up. Ryou nodded.
"Alright?" Tonks asked confusedly as they walked up to her.
"Yep," Yugi said, too cheerfully and with a voice about three octaves higher than usual. "Are we almost there?"
"Yeah," Tonks said skeptically, with a pair of raised eyebrows. "This is it." She pointed to a closed door. "I'll be waiting outside to take you home when you're ready."
"Thanks," Ryou said, smiling shakily at her.
Malik, apparently forgetting his anger and his earlier reservations about having Isis and Rishid see him in his less than stable state, practically sprinted through the door. Yugi followed, and Ryou hesitantly brought up the rear. He didn't want to intrude on what was sure to be an emotional reunion, but he also wasn't one hundred percent positive that Malik wouldn't have another meltdown.
"Brother!" A very pale Isis cried. She was wrapped in a white robe and standing next to a bed that held Rishid, who wasn't quite as pale but had a black eye. Ryou thought it was very strange to see two very proud people in such vulnerable positions.
"Are you alright?" Malik demanded, rushing over and wrapping his arms around his much taller sister. He quickly pulled back to inspect her, and seeming satisfied he turned to Rishid. He gripped his hand tightly and Rishid nodded at him. Both of the elder Ishtars' eyes lingered on the gash on their little brother's face. Determined to keep the attention off of him, Malik wrapped his free arm around his sister protectively. The remaining three Ishtars were all misty eyed, but the dignified family refused to let any tears fall.
"We are fine, Master Malik," Rishid replied, bowing his head and regarding his younger, adopted brother's hand in his. "We have been more worried about you."
"Did he do this to your face, Malik?" Isis asked in a whisper, reaching up and gently touching the wound. "I should have never -"
"Don't," Malik said. "This wound is my own fault for allowing him to grow strong. I was careless." He did not hang his head in shame, Ryou noticed. He was finally beginning to blame himself. Which was both good and bad because it meant that he was returning back to his normal state of mind, but he was also beating himself over his yami's rise to power. "It is my fault that you two were kidnapped. I'm sorry."
"Malik," Isis said, sounding angry. "How dare you accept full responsibility for this?" She shoved him off, startling everyone in the room. "Do you know how offensive that is?"
"Uh, n-no?" He stammered, taking a step back and looking scared.
"I -"
"We." Rishid interjected firmly. Even though he was injured and in bed, Ryou could see how large of a man Rishid was. The hieroglyphs etched into his skull reflected impressively in the light of the small hospital room, and he squeezed Malik's hand hard. Ryou was intimidated even from his forgotten position across the room.
"We should never have allowed you to leave our side," Isis continued. "We knew that you were going to be living in a very powerful magical environment where Marik would thrive. We should have come with you."
"If I may," Interrupted a voice from the corner. Ryou started when he saw the speaker. Had Dumbledore been standing there this whole time? Without him noticing? "I do not believe that the blame is to be put on anyone other than Marik, Lord Voldemort himself, and the old fool who allowed it to happen."
"You?" Yami asked, phasing out. Isis, apparently realizing that Ryou and Yugi had been standing there the whole time, nodded to them in welcome.
"Yes, Mr. Muto. I was well aware of Mr. Ishtar's predicament, yet I underestimated the magnitude of Marik's will. I should never have placed him in such a thriving magical environment. I offer my deepest apologies."
"Well, now that we're being honest …" Malik said, relief at having Isis's anger at him cut off written all over his face. He scooted back over to her, putting his arm around her once more and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry to say that I didn't have any time to bring you flowers, Isis. I know how much you like them."
"Oh, Malik …" Isis said, her anger apparently long forgotten. In fact, Ryou thought, she looked as though she were going to cry again. He couldn't help but feel jealous over Malik's infamous charisma. He never failed to win over any woman when he turned on his charm, even when he was living his worst nightmare. Ryou wished he had the same ability.
Really, Ryou? Bakura sighed exasperatedly.
Ryou flushed. He had forgotten that the mind link was still open. He didn't respond, and forced himself to pay attention to the situation at hand once more.
"How is Miss Milton?" Dumbledore asked the three boys. "I have heard of her predicament and regret not being able to see her myself." Isis and Rishid both perked up, apparently not knowing who or what Dumbledore spoke of.
"She is still unconscious, although Malik said that she had been up sometime last night. It seems as though she will wake up today." Yami replied.
"Who?" Rishid asked.
Malik sighed. "We've had a very eventful week."
"What has happened, Brother?" Isis asked.
"A classmate and friend of ours has been being tailed by Shadi ever since we, um, accidentally got her caught in a Shadow Game." Malik said, eyeing Isis warily, evidently expecting her to be angry again. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "She had the stamina to stay awake for a few minutes. So, for some reason, Shadi dumped the Scales on her."
"We have no reason to believe that Lord Voldemort or Marik has gained any knowledge of this," Dumbledore said. "Unless I am mistaken?" He looked pointedly at Malik.
He shook his head. "No, I have kept the mind link closed on my end. There really is no danger of Marik breaking in."
"How is the link now, Master Malik?" Rishid asked.
The boy in question shrugged. "Less and more, I guess." After seeing the look that Isis shot him, he quickly continued. "I mean, it's easier to shut him out since we don't, you know, share the same body. We both have to make a conscious effort to communicate, otherwise we can just feel what the other is feeling with no idea why. He can't hear what I'm thinking, but we definitely can communicate."
Rishid nodded. "So this friend of yours, is she capable of wielding the Millennium Scales?"
The three boys all looked at each other. "Not yet," Yami finally answered thoughtfully. "We believe in her ability to do it, but certainly not without rigorous training first."
"Will she be corrupted?" Isis asked.
"No," Ryou answered quickly.
Isis looked skeptical. "Those who wield the Scales must be pure of heart." Ryou nodded, he had no doubt that Ellie was pure of heart. "But those who possess so much purity with no darkness to buffer the Shadows are easily broken."
Ryou didn't like the sound of that. From what he knew, Ellie had never really faced any tough personal demons. Sure, she had faced danger and suffered a few losses, but other than a few minor glitches along the road Ryou knew that her own personal morality was never questioned. She had a nice family back home, and friends that would do anything for her. She was good, there was no arguing that. He hoped that what Isis said wasn't true. Ryou didn't want to lose the Ellie that he had grown to care for so much.
"Is she a duelist?" Rishid asked.
Ryou, heart sinking, shook his head. She always loved watching their duels and was interested in what was going on, but she had never really shown much interest in taking it up herself and when she did it was only because she didn't want to seem rude by saying no. He knew that it was good that she likely wouldn't be involved in any dangerous Shadow Games, but it meant that she couldn't defend herself if the need ever did arise.
"Why would Shadi give her the Scales, then?" Rishid asked quizzically.
"Like Malik said," Yugi spoke up in Ellie's defense. "She lasted quite a while in the Shadow Realm. And Shadi must have tested her. He wouldn't have given her the Scales had she not passed."
"Well," Isis said, and Ryou did not like her tone of voice one bit. "Not necessarily. Lord Voldemort did not seem that interested in preventing your people from rescuing us," she nodded at Dumbledore. "Perhaps he is going to go after Shadi? Perhaps he wanted to give the Scales away before Voldemort could get his hands on them?"
Ryou shook his head fervently, they had just had this same discussion last night with Harry, Ron and Hermione. He tried to ignore the other bit of logic that Isis had just brought to the table, when she said that Shadi could have given her the Scales out of fear of Voldemort. "No, Voldemort wouldn't be able to catch Shadi."
"He caught us," Rishid said darkly. "Maybe it was a distraction so he could get to Shadi …"
"Marik knows about Shadi, how he is the holder of the Millennium Ankh, and has been the keeper of the Millennium Items for so many years. He would be the best one to train Voldemort in wielding either the Eye or the Necklace," Malik said, nodding. He seemed to be agreeing with his siblings. "Marik wanted the Ankh, too. Shadi definitely would have sensed him coming."
"I don't think he simply dumped the Scales on Ellie as a last resort," Ryou said, trying his very best not to snap. "I'm sure she proved she was capable."
"I thought you didn't want her to take them?" Malik asked.
"I don't!" Ryou replied quickly, flushing. "I just don't think that she was a last resort, is all."
"We will not know until she wakes up," Bakura said, finally phasing out. "I think that until then, we should drop the matter."
"An excellent suggestion, Mr. Bakura," Dumbledore spoke up, eyes twinkling.
"Hey, I have a bone to pick with you old man," Bakura said to Dumbledore, pointing a finger aggressively in his face. "How does McGonagall know about us?"
Dumbledore smiled. "I did not tell her, Mr. Bakura."
"Then who did?"
"I did," Yugi said, shocking Ryou for the second time that day. "I thought she should know."
"When?"
"When Malik went missing." Yugi firmly stood his ground. Bakura was mad, but Ryou agreed with Yugi. He knew that McGonagall was someone that they could trust, and he didn't mind a few extra people knowing, as long as the right secrets were kept out of the wrong ears. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters certainly knew most everything by now.
Bakura opened his mouth to give Yugi a piece of his mind, but Ryou spoke up first. "I don't think that this should be a secret anymore. I don't mind if you tell the Order, Professor." Obviously pissed off at being shut down by his hikari, Bakura snapped his mouth shut and glared at anyone who looked his way.
Malik nodded in agreement. "Just don't tell them the details, please." Obviously his past with the Rare Hunters was on his mind.
"The Order?" Isis echoed.
"Ah," Dumbledore smiled. "I have not yet told you the nature of your rescue, Miss Ishtar. I run a rebellion against Lord Voldemort and his followers, we call ourselves The Order of the Phoenix."
Isis nodded. "Will you be able to watch over my little brother when I am not around?"
"Isis," Malik hissed embarrassedly. She ignored him, simply pulling him in closer.
"Not only can we continue to protect these three boys," Dumbledore smiled, waving his arm at them. "We can offer you two a permanent place of residence at our Headquarters. You will be safe there, but we ask something in return."
"Anything you wish," Rishid said.
"I ask you two to assist Sugoroku Muto in the training of the Order in the art of dueling." Dumbledore said. "My intelligence tells me that Marik is training Lord Voldemort and his top Death Eaters, and I do not wish for any of my comrades to be caught up in a battle they cannot win."
"Yes, sir," Rishid agreed. Isis nodded alongside him in agreement.
"We will do whatever it takes."
xxx
Ellie woke up to the voices of two of her best friends doing what they do best: bickering. Her eyes slowly opened, and she looked up to see a blurry Ron and Hermione practically at each other's throats. Harry was perched at the end of her bed, keeping his mouth shut from the sounds of it. Her headache still pounded at her skull, but it wasn't as bad as it was last night. She smiled when she realized that they were so caught up in their argument that they didn't even notice that she had woken up.
"-don't understand why you need to still be writing him, of all people. He attacked Harry!"
"Viktor was imperiused! You know that! And he has always been very nice to me, unlike some people I can mention," Hermione retorted, straightening out a long piece of parchment she was writing on.
"Ellie doesn't still write to that Durmstrang bloke she took to that bloody Yule Ball," Ron said. "What was his name again?
"Nikolai," Hermione said smartly. "And I'm sure you won't be pleased to know that she does in fact still write to him."
"Hermione!" Ellie couldn't help but snap. "That was supposed to be between us!"
"Ellie!" The three gasped. Hermione turned about three shades of pink before settling on white. She threw her letter aside and jumped onto her, wrapping her up in a suffocating hug.
"First of all, you're hurting me," Ellie said, pleased when Hermione loosened her grip and Ellie could breathe properly. "Second of all, can we lose some light? My head is killing me." Ron fell all over himself trying to close the curtains quickly. The room instantly darkened, and Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "And thirdly, that was supposed to be between us, Hermione."
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked, ignoring her accusation. "We've been so worried!"
"Tired," Ellie said, allowing Hermione to help her sit up. "And my head hurts."
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, thoughtfully passing over her glasses.
"Thank you," She said gratefully, putting them on and her world instantly came into focus. "And I think so. I don't really feel any different." She shrugged, and then looked around for the first time, noticing the absence of three people she thought would have been around. A slight bubble of hurt erupted in her stomach. "Where are the others?"
They all shared a worried look, which turned Ellie's hurt into concern. "Where are they?"
"Oh, they're fine," Hermione said quickly, shoving a glass of water into Ellie's hand. Ellie never ceased to be amazed at all of her friends' abilities to figure out what Ellie wanted before she did herself. "They just went to visit Malik's brother and sister."
"Oh," Her worry quickly turned right back into hurt again. "Do they- I mean, were they… never mind."
"They were here, El," Ron said. "But, er, You-Know-Who and Marik kidnapped Malik's brother and sister."
Ellie spit her water out. "What?!"
"They're fine now," Harry said quickly, giving Ron a dirty look for breaking it to her so insensitively. "They've been admitted into St. Mungo's. That's where they went."
"Are they okay?"
"As far as we know," Hermione said, worry etched onto her face. "You've been out for awhile, you know."
"How long?" Ellie asked.
"Well, you disappeared Thursday night," Hermione said. "We found you Friday afternoon. Today is Sunday."
Ellie blinked. She couldn't believe that she had been asleep that long, and she still felt as though she could lay down and fall right back under again. She reckoned that she wouldn't be healthy for a good while yet, which brought her mind back to Malik. He couldn't be doing all that well: he was acting absolutely insane before Voldemort kidnapped his family. "How is Malik doing?" She asked.
Her friends hesitated. "Better," Hermione said thoughtfully. "He still has a ways to go, but he is definitely better."
Ellie nodded. She figured that she would have to wait and see for herself.
"So, what happened?" Ron asked.
"Ronald," Hermione hissed. "Don't push her."
"It's alright, Hermione," Ellie said, annoyed that her friend thought that she was so delicate that she couldn't talk about it. "It's no big deal."
"No big deal?" Hermione half cried, half shrieked. "Are you-"
"I remembered where I saw the Eye of Horus before when Ron mentioned the Chamber of Secrets," Ellie carried on, ignoring Hermione. She recalled the rest of her story without too many interruptions, although she was careful to leave out the bit where she failed all of Shadi's tests. She was determined to keep that a secret for as long as possible. Ellie couldn't help but be proud of her friends, though, as it seemed as though they had pieced together most of the story with the help of Myrtle and the transfers. They didn't seem terribly surprised by anything, until she mentioned Ammit.
"You have a monster?!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, rather than fearfully. "Blimey, do you think that we can sick it on Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins without getting caught?"
"Her, Ronald," Ellie said, annoyed at his disrespect. She found herself fiercely protective of Ammit. "She's female. Not an it."
Unfazed, Ron continued. "Okay, then can we sick her on the Slytherins?"
"I can't control her yet," Ellie snapped at him. "I have no idea how to summon her. And even if I could, I wouldn't wish her wrath on anybody short of a Death Eater."
"Alright, well no need to get your knickers in a bunch," Ron mumbled, ears red.
"You can't control her?" Harry echoed worriedly, ignoring their earlier quips. "Does that mean that she can come out at anytime?"
Ellie sighed. "No. I need my Scales in hand to summon her." She looked around, realizing that she had no idea where said Scales were. "Where are they?" She demanded worriedly, praying that they didn't leave them behind in the Chamber.
"Ryou has them, don't worry," Hermione replied soothingly. "They should be back soon."
"How long have they been gone?" Ellie asked. She understood why they left, and didn't blame them. But she still was slightly hurt that they weren't there when she woke up. She was hoping that they could give her some insight on what she was going to have to go through in the next few months on her road to mastering her Scales. She felt distinctively powerless at the moment, and would have loved to have their reassurance.
"Awhile," Harry said. "They left first thing this morning, and lunch was two hours ago."
"Oh," She said, slightly bitterly. She hoped nobody noticed. "So how did you guys find me?"
"Well you weren't on the map so we thought that you had left Hogwarts," Ron said. "But Dumbledore said that he was keeping an eye on all the exits and nobody had passed through them, so you had to be in the school."
"Poor Ryou was beside himself," Hermione pointedly whispered to Ellie, who blushed and awkwardly tried to avoid her gaze. She was beginning to have the feeling that Hermione believed he had feelings for her, and Hermione was never wrong. Her stomach fluttered a little bit, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Yugi sent out a monster to look for you," Harry said, predictably oblivious to what Hermione had said and Ellie's reaction to it. "It took awhile, but eventually he lead us to Myrtle who told us that you've been dragged down to the Chamber of Secrets by a monster."
"So I was down there for a long time," Ellie confirmed, raising an eyebrow. She remembered that she had disappeared around curfew Thursday night, and Hermione said that they had not found her until well into the next day. She recalled her anger last night at lying down in the Chamber for so long, and it came back in full force. "Didn't it occur to you guys that there's only two places in Hogwarts that aren't on the Map?"
"No, not really," Ron said sheepishly. "We're really sorry, El."
"Ellie," Hermione said, furrowing her eyebrows. "Surely you're not angry that it took so long? We did our best."
"No," She snapped unconvincingly. Ellie crossed her arms and avoided their gazes. She knew that it was unreasonable to be upset, and she knew that they did everything they could, but Ellie couldn't get over the fact that she had been lying in the cold Chamber for nearly a day. The place was full of rats, Merlin knows they were probably crawling all over her the whole time.
The thought of that made her shudder. "I think I'm going to go and wash up." She made to stand up, and as though that simple movement set off alarms, Madame Pomfrey was instantly by her side.
"And where do you think you're going?" She demanded. Ellie was only half out of bed, but she froze in place. The look Madame Pomfrey was giving her was kind of scary.
"To go and clean up," Ellie said, regaining her confidence and continuing get up on unsteady legs
Surprisingly, Madame Pomfrey nodded. "Alright, I think that might be best. Come along, then." She wrapped a supporting arm around Ellie and helped her walk.
Ellie shot a look at her friends, who clearly were dumbfounded at her strange behavior and didn't know what to say. She followed Madame Pomfrey into a different washroom than the one she had visited last night, and allowed the woman to help her undress.
"I really think I'm up to doing this myself," Ellie muttered, slightly embarrassedly as she avoided her eyes.
"I'm sure you are dear, but I don't want you passing out into the water," Madame Pomfrey replied. She tutted as she ran the water for the bath, eyeing Ellie's body in a disapproving way. "You're too skinny."
"I haven't eaten anything in nearly five days," Ellie shot back defensively. But her comment really got into Ellie's head. She discreetly checked out her reflection in the mirror, and for the first time looked at her body in a critical manner. She had never really cared before, but now Ellie couldn't help but agree with Madame Pomfrey. She was short, but even still she barely weighed a hundred pounds. She was hardly skin and bones, but she didn't carry the weight where it could be considered desirable. Sure, Ellie was not flat-chested, but she certainly could not be considered "busty" by any means. She enviously thought of Pavarti and Lavender, who flounced around their dorm topless all the time. They were busty. Ellie even began mentally comparing herself to Hermione, who had certainly filled out quite a bit more than Ellie. Her eyes traveled down to her hips, which protruded out only slightly. She suddenly found herself wishing that she had more curves.
Evidently in a self-destructive mood, Ellie took in the reflection of her face next. She didn't even think about what she was doing when she climbed into the bathtub, her mind was obsessed with picking apart her own reflection. Her skin was more than pale on a good day, but today it was a sickly white, almost grey and she had huge bags under her eyes. She looked like hell. Usually if you looked really close you could see a million tiny faded freckles from all the time she spent in the sun playing quidditch, but once again her gaunt skin today made them stick out a hundred times worse. Ellie knew from her mother's constant ranting about her appearance that those could easily be covered up with a little bit of makeup, but Ellie had never really cared enough before to do it without her mother's insistence. Those freckles combined with her curly blonde hair were quite childlike. She didn't consider herself ugly, but at the same time she couldn't help but draw the obvious connection between her girl like features and her resemblance to a little girl.
She only half listened to Madame Pomfrey as she told her about how Umbridge and the rest of the student body believed that she had come down with appendicitis, and that was why she was in the hospital wing.
When they were finished, Ellie climbed out of the tub and wrapped herself in a towel. When Madame Pomfrey handed her a fresh set of pajamas to put on, Ellie had to bite her tongue to keep herself from asking if she had anything more grownup. With a wave of Madame Pomfrey's wand, Ellie was dry again and she left her alone to dress. Glad for the bit of privacy, Ellie instantly dropped the towel and took in every inch of her reflection. She was scrutinizing for so long that Madame Pomfrey knocked on the door, asking if she was alright.
"I'll be right out," Ellie called, quickly pulling on the fresh undergarments and nightgown. She was glad to see that this one was slightly more fitted than the one she had on before. It was light blue, fell a few inches above her knees, had long sleeves and buttoned up the front. Experimentally, Ellie undid the top two buttons. She liked the way that it exposed a little bit of cleavage.
Pleased, Ellie opened the door and allowed Madame Pomfrey to guide her back to her friends.
xxx
And there you go. I enjoyed writing this chapter, but it's kind of hard to keep track of who's crazy and who's not these days. I was halfway through writing the trip to St. Mungo's when I remembered that Malik is crazy! Oops. Anyways, I hope that you guys all enjoyed it!
Also, I want to know what you guys are thinking will happen: How deep will Ellie succumb to the corruption of the Shadows? And what do you think she will do? I think I foreshadowed a quite a bit in this chapter, but I'm curious to know what you guys think!
Please review, and thanks a million for reading!