Hello everybody! Another long chapter for you here, it proved slightly painful to write as my muse flew away with the bad weather. I've kind of been in sun 'n' fun mode, but today I hunkered down and finished this up. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. Except for Ellie and the plot. So, pretty much nothing is mine. Almost. Ugh.

Enjoy!

Chapter 32

"I hope Ellie's awake!" Ryou said excitedly as they left McGonagall's office. They had sat and talked with Isis and Rishid for hours, and they have finally returned to Hogwarts. Ryou didn't know what time it was, but the lengthening of the shadows and the growling of his stomach suggested that it was well after dinnertime. "I want to see her face when I give her these flowers."

"Don't you dare take all the credit, Ryou," Malik threatened good naturedly, grinning. After seeing his siblings, he was in a much better state of mind. It was almost like Malik was back to his old self. He was still going to spend the next few nights in the hospital wing just in case, but Ryou thought that the visit with Isis and Rishid would help him be up and functioning normally again in no time at all. "It was my idea, remember?"

"We all chipped in!" Yugi piped up. "That St. Mungo's gift shop was expensive!"

"But she's worth it, right Ryou?" Malik winked and nudged Ryou, causing him to blush crimson. Ryou made a mental note to never tell Malik anything else he could tease him about ever again, because the boy was going to cause him to die of embarrassment any day now.

"Yes," He replied quietly. Both Malik and Yugi burst out laughing. Ryou tried his best to ignore both them and Bakura chuckling in his head, and began fussing with the large bouquet of yellow flowers in his hand. He wished that he could tell Ellie that the flowers were just from him, but the gift shop was terribly expensive and Ryou still wasn't one hundred percent sure he wanted her to know his feelings just yet. Yes, it was best to say that it was from all of them.

"Yami wants to know if you think they'll survive another day. You know, since you flattened them when you fell out of the fireplace," Yugi said, smiling, when his laughter died down.

"I did not flatten them, Yug," Ryou said, frowning, yet glad to have a change in subject. "Look, you can barely tell they're damaged!"

"It's the thought that counts anyways," Yugi said, smiling. "I'm sure that she'll love them."

"I hope so."

"Hey guys! Wait up!" Harry's voice suddenly called from behind them. Ryou and the two other boys turned around to see him jogging towards them, a bandage wrapped around his hand.

"Hi, Harry," Yugi said.

"How were your brother and sister, Malik?" Harry asked.

"They were good," Malik replied happily. "Dumbledore said he is going to send them to Headquarters tomorrow. So where were you?"

"I had detention with Umbridge," He replied, rolling his eyes and falling into step with them. "I was just heading back to see- hey, are those flowers for Ellie?"

"Um, yes," Ryou said, quickly adding: "We all chipped in."

"Blimey, I never would have thought of that." Harry said, looking impressed.

"Has she woken up?" Ryou asked.

"Yeah, she was awake," He hesitated for a bit. Ryou listened intently. "She's real tired, though. She fell asleep again when I had to leave for my detention."

"Oh," Ryou said disappointedly. He was really looking forward to talking to her tonight. He was glad he went with Malik today, but he also very much wished that he could have been in both places at once. "How was she?"

"Erm," Harry said, hesitating. "Moody?"

"Moody?" Yugi echoed, his face mirroring the worry that Ryou was sure was written all over his face too. "How bad?"

"Not too bad," Harry said. "But she was definitely cranky, which is unlike her."

"Did she say how she felt?" Malik asked.

"Yeah, she had a bad headache," Harry nodded. "And she wouldn't eat anything Madame Pomfrey offered her."

The group was silent as the three transfers digested that information. The headache and lack of appetite were to be expected, as Ryou knew from experience that they were pretty common side effects of somebody who wasn't used to the Shadows being exposed to them. He knew that they would fade in time. Ryou was more worried about how Harry said that Ellie was being moody. Ryou knew for a fact that Ellie was never short tempered with any of her friends, and it scared him to death because it could mean that the Shadows were taking their toll on her personality even faster than he thought possible. He desperately hoped that she was awake, Ryou wanted to see for himself.

The group was definitely walking quicker than absolutely necessary as they entered the hospital wing. It was still empty, save for the curtain blocking off the corner where Ellie and Malik have been staying. Ryou found himself hoping that Madame Pomfrey would move Malik away from Ellie now that she was awake, he didn't like the idea of them sleeping so close together with nobody else around.

For Ra's sake, Ryou, will you give it a rest? Bakura chided. Do you not think that Ishtar has other things on his mind?

Well I don't know, Koe!

I wonder what Elizabeth would say if she knew how jealous you were, Bakura mocked. He was worse than Malik.

Ryou was just about to reply angrily when Hermione pulled the curtains open, and he gasped when he saw what he had been waiting to see for nearly four days now: Ellie, awake and sitting up in bed.

"You're awake!" Ryou exclaimed. He rushed forwards so that he could get a better look at her, and was pleasantly surprised when she leaned forwards to pull him into a hug.

"About time, right?" She replied. Ryou was too focused on the swooping of his stomach and the scent of Ellie's hair to answer. Was that vanilla? He wrapped the arm that wasn't holding the bouquet around her too, and hoped that she couldn't feel the thumping of his heart. Ryou also hoped that Bakura wouldn't notice. His yami was observing with less involvement than usual, Ryou noticed. It was like he was watching what was happening without listening to Ryou's thoughts, which made Ryou grateful but was also a grim reminder of what he had almost done to Ellie. What he could still do to her.

Ellie pulled away much too soon for Ryou's liking, but it allowed him to get a good look at her. Ryou instantly noticed that the rosiness in her cheeks was gone: she was very pale. She had dark circles under her eyes, which were, Ryou noticed, squinting at the light that the open curtains let in. Ron must have noticed this as well, because he quickly closed them, before clapping the three boys on the back in welcome. Ryou's attention couldn't wander, though. He couldn't help but think of how breakable Ellie looked in that moment, looking so sick and being wrapped up in the blankets. Ryou wanted to scoop her up in his arms again and never let go.

"Are those for me?" Ellie's voice broke through his train of thought, and he saw that she was eyeing the flowers with a small smile playing on her lips. Ryou delightedly noticed that a little bit of pink was finally bleeding into her cheeks as she asked the question.

Feeling more confident now, Ryou nodded proudly. "I- I mean, we thought you would like them." He gestured to Yugi and Malik.

"Wow, thank you guys. That's really sweet," She said, biting her lip and her smile grew. Once again, butterflies erupted in Ryou's stomach. He busied himself by placing the bouquet into a vase on her bedside, making sure to turn the damaged side away from her so she wouldn't notice.

As Ellie's eyes traveled from the flowers to the rest of her visitors, her smile quickly faded into a very troubled expression and her eyes widened. She turned her attention to Malik. "How are you?"

Malik shrugged, grinning. "I'll live." He made his way to Ellie's bedside and gathered her up in what looked like a bone crushing hug, actually lifting her body a few inches out of bed. "I'm glad to see you awake!"

"Malik, you're hurting her!" Ryou said desperately, remembering how fragile she looked.

Malik put her down and stepped back, laughing. Ellie looked shocked and a little ruffled, but otherwise fine. Ryou sighed exasperatedly.

"I'm not that delicate, you know," Ellie said, sounding slightly annoyed. Ryou was horrified to see that that comment was aimed at him. She again turned to Malik before Ryou could stutter out an ashamed apology. "And your sister and brother?"

Malik's smile faltered for a moment, but quickly came back in full force. "They're great! Much better than I was expecting."

"How are you feeling?" Yugi asked Ellie, stepping forwards to receive his hug.

"Better than this afternoon," Ellie replied with a shrug when she let him go. "But I still have a headache."

Yami phased out and stood next to his hikari. "That will fade in time," he assured her. "It is a common effect of an inexperienced Shadow wielder. You need not worry."

Ellie nodded gratefully. "Can I see them?"

Hermione looked offended. "Oh, I'm not so sure that's a good id-"

"It's fine!" Ellie interrupted impatiently. "I haven't so much as looked at them for more than a moment."

Bakura phased out in order to put his two cents in. "Look, Blondie, you are not in any state to be attempting to control the Scales now. We wouldn't want you hurting yourself." He said that condescendingly, but Ryou sensed that his words were very sincere.

"Oh, so you're back to calling me Blondie now?" Ellie demanded Bakura, shocking the wits out of all present. Ron choked on the water he was drinking. "Like you could do anything to stop me." She made a show of eyeing his incorporeal body. Ryou felt Bakura's anger rise at that comment, because it actually hit home for his yami. Bakura hated being helpless when he was not in control of their body. Not that he would ever admit it or allow himself to rise to the bait. He instead opted to seethe silently.

"Your energy level at the moment is practically nonexistent," Malik cut in. "You probably won't be able to do anything with them. Why take the risk?"

"I don't want to do anything with them," Ellie said, her gaze departing from Bakura and settling on Ryou. Her expression turned pleading, and Ryou could have sworn that her eyes grew two sizes. He swallowed. Hard. "I just want to see them. Please, Ryou?"

What harm could it do? Ryou asked himself, his mind slightly fuddled. He really couldn't bear to say no to her, especially when she was looking at him like that. Against his better judgment, he removed his backpack and opened it, reaching in and handing over both the Scales and the blue Feather of Ma'at. Ellie's face lit up, while both Bakura and Malik groaned exasperatedly.

"So that's all it would have taken?" Malik demanded Ryou, eyeing the Rod sticking out of his still open backpack. "It's about damned time someone used that look back on you." Ryou refused to answer, and quickly zipped the bag back up.

Ellie's eyes greedily took in the heavy, golden set of scales in her hand. They were quite large, they looked even bigger held in her small hands. Thankfully they didn't seem to be having any ill effect on her, though. The gold glinted in the fading light coming from the window, and Ryou swore he saw something pass in the reflection coming from her eyes. He shook his head and simply told himself that he was seeing things.

Ellie's gaze next traveled to the long blue feather that she held had dropped in her lap in favor of examining the Scales. The room was silent as everybody waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

Ryou finally came to accept that Ellie was going to keep the Scales. He didn't even need to ask her, it was obvious that she was forging a connection with them as he watched on. He knew that even if she didn't want them, it wasn't really a choice now. It was probably going to be just like Ryou's own connection with the Ring. Whenever he was separated from it, it somehow always ended up back where it belonged. Whether it was through Bakura or it's own powerful agenda, the Ring never failed to find it's way back to it's rightful home around Ryou's neck. He felt stupid for not realizing it before, but he supposed that he was just in denial because he didn't want this to happen. Minutes passed, and Ellie's gaze never once wavered from the Scales. Ryou found himself growing impatient.

"What did Shadi do to you?" He finally asked, breaking the silence. The tension was killing him, he had been dying to find out what had happened to Ellie ever since they recovered her unconscious body from the Chamber. "Did he hurt you?"

Ellie slowly looked up from the Scales. She looked dazed, as though she had just awoken from a trance. Perhaps she had. She shook her head, either to tell him no or to shake herself out of the trance. "No, he didn't."

"So you remember what happened, then?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," She rubbed her eyes under her glasses, as though thinking about it was frustrating her. Ryou felt a small bubble of anger rise up in his throat.

"What did he do to you?" Ryou repeated, more fiercely this time.

Ellie hesitated.

"Tell them, Ellie," Harry encouraged her. "It's not so bad."

Ellie shot him a look. "Remember when I said that to you, Harry? Back on Private Drive?" Harry looked sheepish. "You got mad at me."

"Ellie," Yami said, sounding a bit like a school teacher reprimanding a child.

Ellie made a face. "Sorry," She laughed unconvincingly. "So I guess Shadi has been planning this for awhile …"

Ellie launched into the tale of what had happened to her. She told them about how Shadi had been planting the dreams into her head in order for her to remember the Eye of Horus in the Chamber of Secrets, how Ammit had dragged her down into the depths of the school, and that he had given her the Scales sooner rather than later because he sensed Voldemort was coming after him. Harry and Hermione looked painfully smug at this particular bit, while Ryou and Bakura tried to ignore them. They still didn't believe that Voldemort could capture Shadi. Ellie ended her tale by telling them that the last thing she remembered was passing out. But there was a glaring hole in her story that all five newcomers noticed.

"He did not put you through a trial?" Bakura asked skeptically when Ellie finished her story.

Ellie examined him for a moment, an odd expression on her face. "No."

She was lying, Ryou didn't have an ounce of doubt in his mind.

"You're lying," Bakura said, coming to the same conclusion as Ryou. He glared at her, apparently trying to scare the truth out of her. Ryou had to admit that the look was pretty intimidating, and he nudged his yami to tone it down a bit. Bakura ignored him.

Ellie flinched a bit at the glare she was receiving, but still didn't answer. Instead she again looked down at the Scales.

"A trial?" Ron asked. "What kind of trial?"

"Shadi does not simply give items of such power to just anybody," Yami answered slowly, his eyes never leaving Ellie's guilty face. "He always executes a trial before allowing a person to become the wielder of a Millennium Item." He looked thoughtful, as though he were remembering his own trial.

"What does he make you do?" Hermione asked, leaning forward anxiously. Ryou knew she was clever, and it was obvious that she was thinking the worst.

Yugi and Yami both shared a look. "It varies, depending on the person." Not even Ryou knew what trial the two of them had experienced. He himself passed his trial simply by putting the Ring on and not being incinerated by it, which was easy enough because he hadn't had a clue what he was doing at the time. Ryou wasn't sure what Malik had gone through, though. He hadn't imagined that it could have been good, because that would have been around the time when Marik was ravaging his soul. Ryou knew that there wasn't a chance that Ellie got by without a trial, and the fact that she was lying about it did not bode well.

"Ellie?" Ryou asked gently.

"I don't want to talk about it, Ryou," Ellie said quietly.

"Come on, Ellie, you can tell us," Hermione coaxed.

Ellie's head shot up, and she did not simply look irritated this time, she looked mad. The look she was giving Hermione was murderous, and Ryou worried about the Scales in her hand. "I said I don't want to talk about it!" Her hands clutched the Scales hard enough to turn her knuckles white, and the room began to spin. Ryou felt his power decrease enough to make him dizzy, while at the same time there was a huge spike in her power level. He grabbed onto a chair for support. It was as though all the Shadow Magic in the room had flown out of himself, Malik and Yugi. It was drawn to her anger, an emotion that the Shadows loved and had been deprived of ever since Ryou took the Rod from Malik. The vase holding the bouquet of flowers shattered, spilling them to their premature deaths as they hit the floor and were wrecked by a sudden rush of that wind blew out from Ellie. It was so strong that it blew the curtains back until they were horizontal for a few seconds. Ryou actually felt a small flicker of fear when he thought of what this emotional and untrained girl was now capable of.

"Whoa," Malik said, eyes wide. Both Yami and Bakura's forms flickered as their own magic was slowly draining as well.

Ryou bravely leapt forwards and grabbed hold of her hands, firmly pulling them away from the Scales. Luckily, she didn't resist him. The power shift in the room quickly balanced back out again. Ryou's dizziness instantly subsided, and Yami and Bakura's forms again materialized back to normal. Ryou's heart pounded. Ellie was left looking paler than before, but all traces of her earlier rage melted away from her face. "We're going to need to teach you to control that."

Ellie looked scared and shocked, as though she had no idea that she was capable of summoning power like she just did. Ryou thought that she was just lucky she didn't hurt anybody. "Oh," she whispered, pulling her hands away from Ryou's and bringing them up to rub her temples.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked, hastily picking up the mangled bouquet of flowers and waving his wand to reconstruct the poor, shattered vase. He tried his best to make them look somewhat presentable, but the poor flowers were doomed from the start.

"Yes," Ellie said in a small voice, she was warily staring at the Scales as though she expected them to grow a set of jaws and bite her. "My head hurts." She really did look like she was in pain, Ryou wasn't sure if he should run for Madame Pomfrey or not. But before he could make a decision, Ellie looked up at Hermione with tired eyes. "Sorry. I- I'm not sure -"

"It's quite alright," Hermione said hastily. "That isn't your fault."

The room was tensely silent for the next few minutes as every member stared at Ellie, wondering exactly what Shadi had had her do to pass her trial. The reaction that she had just exhibited made it clear that it was something that she did not want to think about, let alone talk about. Ryou and Bakura locked eyes, not even needing to communicate to share what was on both of their minds. Ryou did not know whether or not to feel angry at Shadi for putting her through this, or to just feel sorrow for the trauma that Ellie had faced.

"I think I need another nap," Ellie said, slumping back against the pillows while a wave of exhaustion clearly took it's toll on her. She handed the Scales over to Ryou, apparently wanting to be rid of them after she witnessed what they allowed her to do. "Where's the feather?"

"Right here," Harry said, picking it up from the floor from where it had flown in the gust of wind. He handed it to Ryou.

"Thank you," Ryou said quietly.

He shared a look with Malik, who nodded at the unspoken question to watch over Ellie that night. She wasn't going to be left with the Scales, but Ra knew what else she was capable of now that she was accessing her new powers.

After a few tense goodbyes and a promise to come see them before they headed off to class the next day, the group left Ellie and Malik to head back to Gryffindor Tower.

xxx

When his friends left, Malik wasn't really all that tired. He made himself comfortable by peeling off his t-shirt, enjoying the cool air on his skin. But he was still not quite ready to take off the muscle shirt he had been wearing underneath, not unless he was completely alone. Ellie knew about his past, but he didn't want her to gawk at his mutilated back. Malik grabbed the magazine that Sirius had sent him and settled down in the chair between his and Ellie's beds. It was only 8 o'clock, and he wished that Ellie wasn't so tired so that he could have somebody to talk to. He didn't like being alone, especially when he could feel his yami's presence so prominently in the back of his mind.

Marik was happy, Malik could feel that, but he didn't know why. He wasn't letting him in, or even throwing any more taunts his way like he had been before the Order rescued Isis and Rishid. Malik had been growing used to the taunts, and didn't rise to the bait anymore. It was when Marik let Malik hear his thoughts that scared him the most: his yami was absolutely insane. It was terrifying, because he only had the emotional maturity of a small child, which was basically what he was. Marik was only born a few years ago. Malik was glad he hadn't heard anything from him recently. He tried his very best not to let it show when Marik communicated with him, but it was very hard not to react. He was sure Yami had noticed it a few times, but it wouldn't do any good to admit to his friends how much it was bothering him. He wanted them to think that he was stabilizing, because all Malik wanted was his Rod back. He felt powerless, while his yami was steadily gaining power.

About 15 minutes passed and Malik read a couple articles that would have been helpful months ago when he was restoring his motorcycle. He was happy to have a distraction, no matter how small. He was subconsciously rubbing the scar on his face when Ellie's voice caught his attention.

"Malik?" She asked.

He started, quickly dropping his hand from his cheek. "I thought you were asleep!"

Ellie shrugged, and sat up. Malik thought she looked strange without her glasses, but she never put them on. "I wanted to talk to you."

"So what, you've just been sitting here watching me for all this time?" He smirked at her, trying not to laugh. "Isn't that what you did last night while I was asleep?"

Malik was glad to see that she at least cracked a smile at that, but her reaction was mostly to blush beet red. "Sorry," She said, embarrassedly.

"Aren't you blind as a bat without your glasses?" Malik asked, cocking an eyebrow. She looked strange without them, Malik thought. He wasn't used to seeing her like that.

"Er, kind of," Ellie said. She made no move to pick them up, and Malik handed them to her. A weird look crossed her face. "Thanks." She smiled at him.

Malik noticed that when Ellie put them her gaze lingered around his bare shoulders. When she noticed that he had caught her staring, she awkwardly cleared her throat and blushed a little bit more for good measure.

Malik uncomfortably shifted so that his back was well hidden. His muscle shirt should cover his scars, but there was always the possibility that something was poking out and that's what she was staring at. He broke the silence. "Well what did you want to talk about, then? It better be important, you should be sleeping."

"Can you keep a secret?" She asked quietly, looking around.

"Course I can," He said happily, quickly forgetting about his back. He scooted his chair closer and grinned. He loved secrets.

"Well, I wanted to tell you this because I know you'll understand," She said. "No offense."

"No offense?" He skeptically furrowed his brows, preparing himself to be insulted.

"I failed my trial," Ellie blurted, her eyes traveling to her twisting hands.

"You failed your trial?!" He echoed, jaw dropping. "Then why the hell did Shadi give you the Scales?"

Ellie looked up at him, guilt and shame written all over her face. "Last resort. He was positive that Voldemort was coming for him."

Malik was speechless. He knew that he was staring at her incredulously, but he couldn't help it. "What was your trial?" He finally managed to spit out.

Ellie groaned. "It's embarrassing." She told him.

Malik couldn't care less, he really wasn't in any position to judge. He had tried to run away from his own problems, which had really only resulted in a much bigger problem in the form of Marik being resurrected and buddying up with Voldemort. Which is why, he realized, she was telling him. He was slightly offended, but he was more interested in what happened with Shadi. "Tell me!"

"Well, first he wanted me to figure out where I've seen that stupid eye before," Ellie spat out, sounding angry. "But I was too thick to figure it out, even though he has given me hints for months. I didn't even realize it in the end, Shadi said that he only put the memory back into my head so I would meet him that night."

Malik nodded, not saying anything and not judging. Ellie looked grateful. "Go on," he said.

Ellie really hesitated at this bit, finally looking up and making eye contact with him. "Then he wanted to test my loyalty. He said that an opportunity presented itself and he didn't even have to do anything." She frowned again, tears welling up in her eyes. Malik wished she wouldn't cry, there was nothing worse than being alone with a crying girl.

"So?" He prompted, knowing full well that those tears would fall, whether he wanted them to or not.

"I was awful to you," She sobbed, the tears finally spilling out. She sniffed, and Malik awkwardly handed her a tissue. Should he hug her, or no? He really didn't know what to do. "When Harry t-told me about … you know."

"It's alright," Malik said, horrified when he finally realized that she was crying over him. "I'm over it, really." He waited until her sobs subsided enough that she could speak again, and he tentatively and awkwardly patted her back.

"I really am sorry," Ellie said. She dabbed at her eyes with the tissue he had given her.

"I know," Malik said quickly. "You didn't know, I don't blame you for thinking and saying those things."

"Really?" She sniffed, smiling up at him.

"Yes!" He cried, relieved that she looked somewhat happy again. He would have said anything to make her stop crying, and he was glad that it was that simple. "Now can we get on with the story?"

Ellie nodded fervently. Thankfully, no more tears came. Malik tried not to exhale in relief.

"The third option was to test my courage," Ellie said. She laughed bitterly. "I failed that one with flying colors, Shadi even said so himself."

"He did?" Malik asked.

"He said that I failed it magnificently," She made a face. "I guess I kind of did, though. He said that he came into my dream that time in order to make me fear him, because he knew you guys would tell me to keep away from him at all costs."

Malik blinked. Oops. Of course they had played right into Shadi's manipulative hands and caused Ellie distress. "Sorry," he said quickly.

Ellie looked at him funny. "It's alright, I was afraid of him anyways." She sighed. "That's when I started taking dreamless sleep potion so that I would stop having the dreams he was giving me."

"You were?" Malik asked, more interested than shocked. "Where were you getting it all?" He spotted an opportunity to begin taking it himself. He has relived the moment when Marik had been reborn in his dreams the past few nights, and pretty intrigued at the possibility of making it stop.

"I made it," Ellie told him, giving him a weird look. "Why?"

"Can you make me some?" He breathed.

"Can't you just get Madame Pomfrey to make you some?" Ellie asked, not even needing to ask why he wanted it.

Malik shook his head. "She says that it's not healthy to be taking it every night. She let me have it the first night, but after that she's just been giving me sleeping potion."

"I don't know," Ellie said skeptically. "If Madame Pomfrey said that it's not good for you -"

"It's a fairly simple potion, though, isn't it?" Malik prompted. He was willing to run and make it right then and there, if necessary.

"No!" Ellie said, shocked. "Well, yes, it is, but I'm not making it for you!"

"Ugh, fine," Malik said. He wasn't going to let the issue drop, but he had realized that she hadn't yet finished the story of her trial and he had rudely interrupted her. Obviously this wasn't easy for her. "Go on."

"Okay," Ellie said, eyeing him skeptically and shaking her head. She took a minute to gather her thoughts again. "Since I was preventing the dreams, Shadi got Myrtle to tell me that she had seen him go down into the Chamber. He wanted to test me again, but when she told me that I tried to run away."

"And that's when Ammit dragged you down," Malik finished for her. "Is that all?"

"Is that all?" Ellie echoed, offended. "I failed my trials, Malik! Not just one, I failed all three!"

Malik shrugged. He didn't care that she had failed, truthfully he didn't really rank Ellie's behavior as nearly as bad as his own. Besides, everyone made mistakes. "He must have seen something in you, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here right now." He pointed out.

Ellie blushed a little bit. "He said that I was pure of heart. That he liked how I went back to apologize to you and Ryou and Yugi."

"And you have the ability to wield them in the first place," Malik reminded her brightly, making her smile. He was proud of himself. Apparently he was cheering her up a lot more than he thought he was capable of.

"You think I will learn to control them?" Ellie asked him. "Be honest."

Malik nodded. "I think that with the right amount of practice, anyone could do it. But it won't be easy, and you'll probably suffer a lot along the way."

Ellie's eyes widened in fear. Oops, Malik wanted to smack himself in the face. He and his big mouth.

"I will?" She asked in a small voice.

"You told me to be honest," Malik said, slightly defensively.

"Right," Ellie said distractedly, mind somewhere else. She looked up at him, and Malik leaned in. "Shadi said that I was naïve and easily manipulated." She sighed, looking directly into his eyes. Ellie followed his lead, leaning towards him too. "Malik, do you think that the Shadows will corrupt me?"

He hesitated. Honestly, Malik thought that they have already begun to take their toll. He knew that he was the right person to ask, though. Yugi would avoid the question and tell her that with her friends around she would never have to worry about facing anything alone, and Ryou would only sugar coat the answer and probably tell her a lie to make her feel better. Malik was the only one who would tell it to her straight, and he knew that he had to do just that.

"Yes, I do." Malik said simply. He was thinking of how moody she had become just today, and he wondered what else the Shadows trick her into doing in the near future. Ryou, Yugi and himself would do their best to help her, but deep down Malik knew that there was no stopping it.

"I think they already have," Ellie whispered, leaning in closer still. Malik was becoming slightly uncomfortable at their proximity now, and guiltily thought of Ryou. He shifted back.

"I know," Malik replied, standing up. "You should really get some sleep."

Ellie nodded dejectedly, and laid down. Malik moved his chair a few feet back, and returned to his magazine. At least, he pretended to. He sensed Ellie's gaze on him.

"Malik?" She asked a few moments later, her voice sounding as though sleep would overcome her any minute. Apparently she was more exhausted than Malik had originally thought. He felt bad for keeping her up so long.

"Yeah?" He looked up.

"Thanks," She smiled at him. "You're a good friend."

That compliment actually made Malik blush, he hadn't really heard anybody tell him that he was a good anything in awhile. "You're welcome." He grinned happily. Ellie soon fell asleep, and Malik continued to smile for a long time.

xxx

Yugi POV

"I think that we all need to talk," Hermione said before they reached Gryffindor Tower. She gestured to an empty classroom. "In private."

She's worried about Ellie, Yami, Yugi said.

As she should be, Yami replied gravely. The best we can do is offer our support.

Yugi nodded to both Hermione and Yami. He stepped into the dim classroom, perching on a desk. After they all filed in and Hermione closed the door, both Yami and Bakura phased out.

"What's this all about?" Bakura asked irritably. "My host needs his beauty sleep."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you didn't care."

Bakura glared at him.

"What's going to happen to Ellie?" Hermione demanded Yami. "She's not herself."

"We cannot answer that yet," Yami replied slowly. "Only time will tell."

"Surely you have some idea?" Harry prompted, looking from Yugi to Ryou. "You guys both went through this."

"Well, yes," Ryou said uncomfortably. "But we had our yamis."

"And that makes a difference?" Ron asked.

Yugi and Ryou made eye contact quickly before looking away. Neither of them wanted to answer Ron. Yugi did not want to shame Yami by telling them how dark he really was in the beginning. He knew that he wasn't like that anymore, but Yugi did not want to tell them of Yami's past. Yami had never been evil, but he was never afraid to do what he had to get what he wanted, and because of that the Shadows focused on him. Yugi would even argue that because of that he had taken less than his fair share of the Shadow's impact. He couldn't speak for Ryou and Bakura, but Yugi suspected that it had been more like fifty-fifty for them. He knew that Bakura has a horrifying past, but Yugi had recently learned that Ryou had some personal demons as well. However with them, the dark and light balanced out the Shadow magic. It all worked out for the best. Ellie had nobody to balance her out though, so nobody was sure what would happen.

Thank Ra that she has had such a happy childhood, Yami mused to Yugi. Otherwise, she would be more likely to end up like Malik. Neither of them wanted to say or think it, but Malik had been pushed over the brink of insanity several times because of the Shadows. It was because of that that his yami had been forged. It would be unthinkable for that to happen to Ellie as well.

"It does," Yugi finally answered when he collected his thoughts. "While we all had somebody to share the burden with, Ellie is all alone. And she's never experienced the effects of Shadow Magic before, so …" He didn't know how to finish that sentence on a positive note, so Yugi left it hanging.

"What if Ellie decides not to keep them?" Harry asked quickly. "Will the Shadows leave her be?"

Ryou shook his head. Yugi knew that he had realized that there was no turning back for their friend, Shadi had chosen her to wield the Scales and they had both witnessed the connection forge between Ellie and the item. "She has to keep them."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "I thought you said -"

"I was wrong," Ryou said, something akin to anger overtaking his usually peaceful expression. "Shadi's decision is final." He sighed, his anger melting into defeat. "Besides, she's bonded with them. Fate will always bring them back to her even if she does try to get rid of them."

Yugi felt himself shiver. The Millennium Puzzle has been the greatest blessing imaginable for him, but he would never ever wish a Millennium Item on any of his friends. They caused too much danger, grief and insanity. He hoped that Ellie would be strong enough to pull through it.

xxx

Ellie awoke to the bright, hot sun beating on her face the next day. It wreaked havoc on her pounding headache. She groaned, pulling the blankets up and over her face to block out the bright light. It took a few minutes for her to fully wake up, and when that was accomplished the first thing she did was jump out of bed and slam the curtains shut.

"Are you alright, dear?" Madame Pomfrey's confused voice floated over. The curtains that had been dividing her and Malik's beds have been removed at some point, and Malik was nowhere in sight. Madame Pomfrey was halfway across the room, carrying a tray of potions.

"I just have a headache," Ellie replied, rubbing her eyes and putting her glasses on.

"Would you like some potion to fix that up?" Madame Pomfrey asked concernedly. "There is no need for you to suffer."

Ellie nodded appreciatively. "That would be amazing," She said. Madame Pomfrey bustled into her office to whip up the potion.

While she waited, Ellie began digging around in the bag that Hermione had packed for her. She didn't much fancy the idea of spending the next few days in the hospital wing's pajamas or her school uniform. She anxiously pulled out her favorite pair of jeans and the same sweater that she had worn that day to Hogsmeade, the one that Malik had made fun of. Ellie couldn't help but feel disappointed. This outfit was definitely comfortable and would keep her warm in the chilly hospital wing, but Ellie had been hoping for something nicer. Sighing, she grabbed a few more things and headed for the bathroom.

Malik emerged in a cloud of steam just as Ellie approached the door. His hair was all wet and he had a towel draped over his shoulder, signifying that he was fresh out of the shower. Ellie wished that he wouldn't keep her here long, she wanted to clean up before they talked. But Malik must have been in a good mood that morning, because as soon as Malik saw her he shot a shockingly dazzling grin her way. He said something to her as well.

Ellie blinked a few times, confused. "What?" She was too busy both worrying about her ruffled appearance and as to why he was so happy and smiling at her like that to catch what it was the first time.

Malik laughed. "Someone not fully awake yet?" Ellie wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so she just shrugged and tried to ignore the feeling of her face heating up. Malik shook his head amusedly. "I said, you just missed everyone. You slept right through their visit, but they all had to go to class."

"Oh," Ellie said, shocked. "Did I really?" She had slept that long? Again? She couldn't help but be impressed by her own ability to sleep right through what she was sure was a loud visit by her friends. Malik threw his head back and laughed again. Ellie relaxed a little bit, but still felt a little self-conscious about the horrible state that she was sure her hair was in. She wished Malik would move aside so she could get to the bathroom to clean up and dress.

"Are you feeling better?" Malik asked, his voice losing the teasing quality and instead sounding concerned.

Ellie nodded. "Yes, I really do," She told him. It was true, too. She still was tired and had a killer headache, but Ellie realized that she was up and walking without trouble, unlike yesterday morning when she had to rely on Madame Pomfrey to walk her to the bathroom and help her bathe.

Malik grinned at her. "Glad to hear it! You look great."

Ellie felt her breath catch. "I do?" She couldn't help but ask.

Malik nodded. "Yeah, well you're standing on your own two feet, aren't you? And you're finally changing out of your PJs," he gestured to the bundle of clothes in her arms. Ellie was slightly disappointed at his answer. She didn't know why or when this happened, but she was suddenly very worried about what people thought of her appearance.

Ellie forced a laugh. "I guess I am," She said, and Malik finally stepped out of her way, opening the path to the bathroom. "Can you tell Madame Pomfrey that I'll be right out?"

"Will do!" Malik said.

Ellie thankfully got into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She was sick of living in the hospital wing, it felt as though she had been here for weeks. She dumped her clothes onto the counter and eagerly took in her reflection, which was, she was excited to see, looking a lot better.

While she was still pale, Ellie's skin no longer looked sickly. The bags under her eyes had lessened considerably, and she couldn't help but think that her hair was only slightly more messy than usual. Sure, she still had a long ways to go before she began looking normal again, but Ellie believed that she was a hell of a lot better than she was the day before.

Ellie quickly washed up and dressed. She angrily noticed that her ribs were poking out, since she hadn't eaten in days. Ellie made a note to eat more in the future so she could get rid of those and hopefully fill out in more desirable places.

Not wanting to spend more time obsessing over her reflection today, Ellie forced herself to stop staring and get back to the task at hand. Her hair didn't survive the static from when she put on the wool sweater from Mrs. Weasley, though, and she instead opted to put it into a bun. It looked nothing like the neat, pretty bun that Lavender had done a few weeks back, but Ellie knew there was no way that she could wrangle her hair into looking half as nice it did that day. She sighed, feeling a lot better now that she felt somewhat presentable, somewhat normal. Ellie quickly packed up her things. She was eager to get out and take that headache potion.

Ellie left the bathroom and found Malik laying on his stomach. He barely looked up when she emerged, he was too busy reading his magazine. On the table next to him, thankfully, sat Ellie's potion. She downed it in one gulp. It tasted awful, but it brought her instant relief.

"Here, dear," Madame Pomfrey came from out of nowhere, somehow both thrusting a tray of food into Ellie's arms and guiding her back into bed at the same time. Ellie thought that this was an act she must learn to perfect herself someday too, if she wanted to be a healer.

"Thank you," Ellie replied. She truly was ravenous. Yesterday she hadn't eaten much, as her stomach had been feeling queasy. But today she was really feeling the effects of not having eaten in several days, and she dryly saw her skinny, bony reflection in her mind's eye once again. She practically inhaled her eggs and toast, hearing Madame Pomfrey's comments over and over again in her head.

"My goodness, you cleaned that up fast. Would you like some more?" Madame Pomfrey asked her when she finished, eyeing her empty dishes. "You must be starving."

Ellie nodded and said yes, but truthfully she was full. The first plate had been more than enough to fill her, but she figured she might as well eat a second in the hopes of gaining a few pounds. Madame Pomfrey bustled away to prepare a second helping.

Ellie looked over at Malik, who was still only halfway through his first helping. It really was a monument to how quickly Ellie had eaten. She hoped she wouldn't make herself sick. "How did you sleep?" She asked him, remembering his request for dreamless sleep potion the night before.

Malik looked up at her, expression turning angry. Ellie instantly felt defensive. "I slept all night, but the nightmares sucked pretty bad." His words were accusing.

"Even if I had said yes I hardly could have gotten you a potion on the spot last night," Ellie hissed back, aware of Madame Pomfrey's approaching form. "Don't put this on me, Malik." Malik glared at Ellie the whole time that the healer dropped off the tray and until she disappeared into her office.

"You could have told me where you've got them stashed," He finally replied, pointing a fork at her. "But since you didn't, I suffered."

Ellie was getting angry that he was blaming her for his nightmares, she hadn't had anything to do with them. It was his own fault for running off and getting kidnapped. "I'm trying to help you, you know," Ellie told him. It was meant to seem like a friendly reminder, but it came out more as a snap. With every word, Ellie found herself growing more and more angry at him. She furiously tore her toast apart as she didn't really have any other outlet for her rage.

Malik didn't respond, which was probably for the better, because Ellie didn't really think she could get madder without really lashing out at Malik. She tried to understand that he was truly dealing with some nasty demons, but so was she! They were both in the hospital wing instead of attending classes because they had both been through hellish ordeals. He should be being nice to her. He should be respecting her.

Forcing some more food into her full, protesting body, Ellie reflected back on the night before. She had held the Scales and had summoned the Shadows without instruction from anyone. Even though she had been afraid and confused at the time, Ellie looked back on that moment with pride. She realized that she had only just begun, and yet she was already manipulating the Shadows to her will. It was funny how much one night's sleep had changed her perspective. Last night when everybody had left Ellie had confided in Malik of her failure of the trials and her fears of what her future might hold. She regretted opening her heart up to him, now, though. It seemed silly that she had been afraid. Nothing bad would happen to her unless she let it. And she wouldn't.

Malik had, Ellie noted, returned to his magazine. He was pointedly ignoring her gaze. She missed her Scales, and she had really and truly only felt their power the night before. Ellie imagined how powerless Malik must feel without them. They both had their wands with them in the hospital wing, but Ellie knew that without the Rod nearby to channel the Shadows, Malik couldn't use his. She sat up a little bit straighter when she realized that advantage. Not that she would use it, of course. No matter how angry Ellie got she would never hurt a friend, but she liked knowing that she held that over his head.

Speaking of advantages, she mused, Ellie remembered how she had gotten her hands on her Scales the night before. She had entertained the idea of Ryou liking her earlier yesterday morning, but that was really only because Hermione kept implying it. But when he walked in with that bouquet of flowers for her, Ellie knew that her friend was right. The flowers had been from Yugi and Malik as well, but Ryou had just looked so proud of himself that Ellie would have had to be an idiot to miss it. She flushed a little bit thinking about it. Of course, when she had hugged him afterwards his heart was thumping hard enough that she could both feel and hear it against her head. She hoped Malik wouldn't look over and see her blush. Of course she was sure it was just a small crush, but she couldn't help but use that to her advantage when she wanted something from him. Everybody was telling her how it would be bad for her if she was to get her hands on the Scales, but Ellie knew that they were wrong. She still barely knew how to use them, and all she had wanted was to do was see them. It couldn't have really hurt her. Besides, Ellie hadn't really intended to con Ryou into handing them over, it had just kind of happened. She knew what she was doing, though. Ellie had definitely pulled those eyes on her father a few times. It never failed.

Once again, she felt a little bit of pride at having that power over him. But behind that, she felt a tiny bit guilty. Asking your father for things and getting them because you were his little girl was one thing, but exploiting Ryou's feelings for her own selfish reasons was another entirely. Especially since Ellie didn't think that she felt the same way about him. Oh, they definitely had chemistry. And she liked him very much and thought he was quite good looking, but with Bakura around it could never be much of a relationship. Besides, Ellie could think of a few other guys that would be willing to go out with her. Guys that would be a million times easier to have a private relationship with.

Ellie couldn't help but smile smugly to herself at that. She was having a lot of self-esteem issues as of late, but knowing that she had at least Ryou, Nikolai, and Mclaggen wanting to date her certainly wasn't hurting. Perhaps there were more, as well, she couldn't help but wonder. Ellie thought back to the Yule Ball the year before. She had only really accepted Nikolai's request to take her to the ball because he was a good friend of Krum's and Hermione had begged her, but they had ended up having a lovely time and had gone on a few dates afterward. They still exchanged the occasional letter, and Ellie fancied him a lot, but the distance made it difficult. Perhaps that bumped him off the list of easier guys to date after all, but there was no harm in keeping contact, was there? After she had agreed to go to the ball with Nikolai, Mclaggen, Dean Thomas, and a sixth year Ravenclaw Ellie didn't even know had all asked to go with her. No, she thought as her smug smile grew wider, it was a possibility that she had even more admirers.

"What are you grinning about over there?" Malik asked, interrupting her train of thought and wiping the smirk right off of her face.

"Er, nothing," Ellie replied hastily. She returned to her food. She only had one piece of bacon and half a glass of pumpkin juice left. It really was quite a feat that she had eaten as much as she had up to this point, because she had been full when she started this second plate. She picked up the last piece of bacon and forced it past her lips, chewed, and swallowed it into her reluctant stomach.

It churned painfully.

Perhaps Ellie was going to be sick, after all.

xxx

If you guys are sharpening your pitchforks and chopping firewood in preparation of the angry mob that is about to go after Ellie, please let me join you. I couldn't help but hate her this chapter, even though I'm making her that way. But in the end, it's all just going to be more angst for Ryou. And that is what we love, right? Right!

Thank you all very much for reading! Don't be afraid to review, I am always glad to hear from you!