GotC: A year and a half of nothing, and now I've got something resembling a schedule! I'm on a roll! Kudos goes to Kagalei for catching the "One More Move" reference, though no one seems to have made the deeper connection… yet. *Slightly evil laughter* Aaaaaanyhoo, a HUGE thanks to those of you who have actually stuck around with this story for so long! And a big welcome to those of you just joining us!
So, read up and have fun!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Rising Dragon
CHAPTER 35: A Future Foretold
As much as he didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, Harry couldn't help but replay his latest encounter with McGonagall over in his head. Not that he'd done anything wrong, especially not with Angelina's warning to behave himself for the good of the Quidditch team hovering overhead, but he'd at least expected her to be a little more cross about the fact he was talking with Sirius. Harry didn't even dare hope she thought it might have been someone else at Grimmauld Place sending him mail. None of his waiting companions seemed to know what to make of it either, though any concern about McGonagall's behavior was quickly overshadowed by her warning.
"If the witch is reading your mail, she's not doing a good job about hiding the fact." Bakura was the first to make a snide remark as the group of them ambled toward the dungeons at the back of the group of other Gryffindors.
"I doubt she would have been able to get much from it." Ron pointed out, "Snuffles was at least careful."
"It was still sealed though." Harry said, more out of a need to reassure himself than anyone else.
"It wouldn't be hard to reseal the letter with magic." Hermione reminded him anxiously, shifting her bag on one shoulder.
"Which means it's possible Umbridge will be all the more vigilant waiting for someone to contact you." Yugi sighed, voicing Harry's biggest concern out loud. "And I'm betting even with magic, there's no way for us to warn him off for now, is there?"
"Not unless you know how to apparate." Harry said glumly. He should have been thrilled to have heard from Sirius at last, but like everything in the last few weeks, Umbridge's very presence seemed to have dampened that as well. So, it was perhaps fortunate there was more than enough waiting to keep him occupied as soon as he reached the dungeons.
Malfoy's voice was already floating high and clear, amplified by the smooth-worn paving stones. They rounded the corner to see the triumphant smirk spread like old cheese across his face and surrounded by a large group of Slytherins. It was mollifying to notice Malik waited for them, along with a small, but noticeable group of the opposing House and all of them had been faces he recognized from their latest trip to Hogsmede.
"-so of course she gave the Slytherin team permission to reform right off. I asked first thing this morning, but it was pretty much automatic since my father's always popping in and out of the Ministry. He knows her pretty well, you see. It'll be interesting to see if the Gryffindor team gets permission too…" Despite Malfoy's boasting, Harry managed a small smile at Malik's look of disgust and notice it was shared by all three of the transfer students.
"Only a coward would be excited about winning by default." Malik grumbled, leaving his own little posse of Slytherins to join them. Harry hadn't expected them to follow him, but at least they didn't seem to share the same contemptuous glares the rest of their housemates shot him.
"Don't judge him too harshly, Keeper." Bakura flashed an unnervingly toothy grin across Malik's shoulder that made several Slytherins look away, "It's the only way he knows how to win. Just a shame he's not even very good at it."
Harry had to admit that while the mannerisms of his new friends were taking some time to get used to, right now he certainly appreciated their camaraderie. They might all be some terrifying ancient spirits, but their sense of honor and fair play took the edge off Malfoy's words. He felt Ron next to him relax too, though the reprieve was brief as Malfoy only seemed to talk louder.
"-if it's a question of influence with the Ministry, there's not much hope is there? Father says they've been looking for a chance to sack Arthur Weasely for years, and as for Potter it's only a matter of time before they cart him off to St. Mungo's. I hear they've got a special ward for people with magic-addled brains…"
Harry had heard it all before and was prepared to usher Ron along into the classroom before he did anything too foolish, but he wasn't expecting Yugi to burst out from the center of their group. For a split second, Harry though the diminutive wizard was going to go after Malfoy himself, but instead he'd seized the back of Neville's robes just before he managed to fling himself at the cackling Slytherins. He would have thought even Neville might have been able to drag Yugi clean off his feet, but the Japanese student seemed to weigh him down just long enough for the rest of his classmates to join in and help. Harry was more than a little shocked to realize Neville was a great deal stronger than he looked and had to throw all of his own lanky weight into holding one of his arms back to keep him from lunging at Malfoy, and Crabbe and Goyle by proxy.
"Not… funny… don't… Mungo's…show…him…" Neville was turning a spectacular shade of scarlet as he sputtered near comprehensible words.
Harry thought they might have to pin Neville to the dungeon wall before he'd stop, when Snape arrived and swiftly brought an end to the confrontation.
"What a surprise," Snape sneered at the lot of them, while paying exactly no mind to the Slytherins behind his back all still mocking Neville. "I should have expected this kind of behavior when they let a muggle into the castle. Ten points from Gryffindor. Release Longbottom and get inside before you all end up with detention."
Despite his order, none of them let go of Neville until Malfoy and his posse was well inside the classroom. Harry gave an apologetic look to his panting and red-faced friend and got only an angry glare in return. "We had to stop you." Harry tried to explain, "Crabbe and Goyle would have picked you apart."
He wasn't entirely convinced though. While Crabbe and Goyle were brutes, he hadn't expected Neville to be half as strong as he was. Snape may have just had a point about Professor Cooper's teachings… Still, he didn't regret jumping in to help. He knew full well why Malfoy's taunts had upset his fellow Gryffindor. "Thanks for stopping him, Yugi." Harry said under his breath as they slipped into the room. "I don't think we would have stopped him if you hadn't gotten to him first."
"Thank Cooper." Yugi simply shrugged with a small smile in return, "I don't think I'd have been able to hold onto him without all the exercises he's given as homework. His is about the only class I can stay caught up with."
"Wouldn't say his name too loud." Malik gave both Yugi and Harry a small nudge as he took a seat, tilting his head in the direction of a bright pink cardigan waiting for them in the center of the room.
Harry couldn't focus for the rest of the lesson. He strained throughout the lesson to listen in on every little question Umbridge asked Snape as she haunted his every footstep with her clipboard in hand. Much as he hated both teachers, he wanted to see Snap snap and knock the thing across the room just for the look on her face alone. Hermione tried more than once to stop him from ruining the Strengthening solution in his cauldron, but it still managed to turn to a foul black sludge in the end anyway. When Snape seemed to remember he existed, scouring his cauldron clean and giving him no marks on top of extra homework, Harry had gone back to hoping Umbridge gave him just as poor an evaluation. He only gave the three transfer students a glum wave of farewell as they parted ways, and was debating the merits of skipping out of Divination as he plodded sullenly up the tower stairs.
"At least Trelawney won't give you extra homework," Ron offered, trying to brighten Harry's mood.
"No, she'll just predict my untimely death by disembowelment or something." Harry grumbled, finding a seat in the overly perfumed air of the Divination classroom. It seemed ridiculous to pretend to find meaning in made-up dreams when there was a growing mountain of homework waiting for him-
A copy of the Dream Oracle being slammed onto the table between him and Ron made him surface from his frustration, in time to see he was not the only one the day was not treating well. Gone was the detached and eccentric mannerisms he'd come to associate with Trelawny, as she stalked through the room practically throwing books at students with her lips pursed in a line so thin they were nearly transparent.
"Well?!" The usually high-pitched tone of her voice bordered on shrieking, when she turned to see nearly all eyes in the room fixed on her. "You know what to do! Or am I such a sub-standard teacher that you cannot open a book?!"
"Guess she got her inspection results back." Harry muttered quietly to Ron as their professor swept back to the high backed chair with tears magnified in her overlarge spectacles.
"Sixteen years of devoted service! Passed unnoticed!" She attempted to turn away to hide the angry tears now spilling from under her glasses, while Parvati timidly offered her a handkerchief to blot her cheeks. Trelawney didn't seem to notice at all as she continued with the dramatics of a professional actress. "We Seers have always been feared. Always persecuted. Always by those who cannot See as I See, with eyes clouded by the mundane world! Alas! It is my fate-"
Harry wondered how long she might have carried on like that, when a rapping knock against the doorway cut her off partway through her sentence. He half expected to look up into the beetle-eyed face of Professor Umbridge, but instead, Professor Cooper was timidly leaning his big frame into the room and looking bashful for interrupting Trelawney's hysterics.
"I didn't mean to intrude, Professor." The Professor's deep baritone was at least a welcome relief from the self-proclaimed Seer's operatic shriek. "Is…this a bad time?"
Several students suddenly found their copies of the Dream Oracle very interesting as they struggled to hide their quiet snickering. Harry was far more interested in the fact that for the first time since his unorthodox arrival, Cooper actually looked like he was walking on eggshells. It might have actually been funny that the man who'd sent nearly every student, and several professors, on an impromptu flying lesson in the last several weeks, was cowed by the sight of their flighty Divination teacher in tears.
"I-" To her credit, Trelawney wiped her cheeks with the end of her shawl and squared her shoulders as if she hadn't just been caught in the middle of a tear-fueled rant. Chin in the air, she took a steadying breath before she attempted to open her mouth again. "Of course not. The students were working on interpreting their dreams."
The hard tone in her voice was more command to start working than explanation to the visiting professor, and there was a unified rustle of journals, parchment, and books being rifled through as the room filled with the low hum of quiet chatter. Cooper nodded slowly, but didn't quite take his eyes away from Trelawney. Harry opened his book as well, but sitting as close to Trelawny's desk as he was, it wasn't all that difficult to over hear the quiet exchange between the professors.
"I see. Well, I apologize all the same. I was trying to get a cup of tea from the Kitchens, but one of the ghosts informed me you have some of the best blends in the castle." Cooper explained with a bashful smile, "I was hoping I could trouble you for a sachet or two?"
"Oh!" The sound came out as a surprised squeak, as if she hadn't anticipated the professor's request for something quite so innocuous. Some of the tension left her face at the compliment, turning the red blotches into more of a rosy hue as she nodded thoughtfully.
"Of course! It's something of a hobby of mine. Mind you, most of my blends are crafted to pierce the veil, to See what others may not. I don't expect you would receive the- ah, same benefit." Harry wondered if Cooper ever got tired of hearing about being a muggle from the entirety of the Hogwarts staff. "I have a rather lovely White Peony tea with just a hint of dittany. Wonderful restorative blend, you know. I have a pot on now if you would like a sample?"
Cooper ducked his head in a small nod, while Trelawny poured the hot tea into a delicate looking cup. He was rather amazed she seemed to have calmed down a great deal in such a short amount of time and was eagerly adding a few biscuits to the plate as well. "Cream or sugar?"
"No, thank you." Cooper gingerly took the cup and saucer from her, looking every bit as big and unwieldy as Hagrid holding the fragile cup and took a slow, appreciative sip. "I'm sorry my timing was not the best."
"You could not have Known." Trelawney waved him off, though there was a distinct tremble to her lip as she tried to maintain her haughty façade. "There are always those who cannot understand the Sight does not answer to the beck and call of this mortal realm. No, I must instead bear such indignities as this vile woman's… probation." The word left Trelawney's mouth with all the venom contained in her wiry body. Harry hadn't thought it possible for the woman to summon that kind of loathing, but now that it was on display, he was certainly glad it wasn't aimed at him. Cooper didn't even blink, as he continued to take another small sip of his tea, quietly weathering the frustrations being vented his way. In fact, it looked very much as if the muggle professor had been expecting something of the sort. "Really, the indignity of it all… I've half a mind to leave before she can humiliate me further…"
"Then she wins, you know."
Trelawney blinked both owl-like eyes and stared at Cooper, as he continued to nurse his tea looking for all the world as if he were merely having a pleasant chat with an old friend, rather than the half-mad woman who predicted nonsense on a near daily basis.
"We both know Umbridge would like nothing more than to send off any and all people who don't, or won't, fit neatly in her little idea of an orderly school." Cooper said quite calmly and matter-of-factly as if his own head wasn't resting neatly on that same chopping block. "This is my own take, but we're teaching these students that nothing is gained without some hard work… So why should we let our dear High Inquisitor off without the same lesson?" The look shining bright in Cooper's eyes was one he was farm more used to seeing in the mirrored faces of the Weasley twins, but he doubted it meant any less chaos in the long run. It seemed to have the opposite effect on Trelawney, however. There were still a great many lines on her face carrying the same stress she'd bore when the classroom had first filled, but one by one, a handful smoothed out as a small, quivering smile touched her lips. Cooper returned it and quietly finished his tea with a satisfied sigh. "This is every bit as wonderful as I was told.
"Posh." She waved him off, though the entire room could have seen her pleased smile as she went about wrapping up a few more packets of tea leaves for him. He quietly finished the cup and one of the biscuits by the time she returned with his requested bundle. "Let me know when you run out. I have a few other blends you might enjoy, and I'm always happy to share with someone who appreciates artistry!"
"I will," He promised solemnly taking the bundle from her hands, but not before adding, "Don't let her rattle you. I find myself on her list too. You were here long before Delores Umbridge, and I suspect you'll be here long after she's gone. Even someone like me without the Sight can see that."
Harry thought Trelawney might descend back into the same hectic mood she'd been in prior to Cooper's visit, but instead she actually managed to give him a watery smile. "Smooth…" Ron muttered under his breath, but thankfully neither teacher seemed to hear him. Her frail fingers went to cover her mouth for a brief moment, before she reached out to pat Cooper's arm with affection. The amicable smile on his face fell in an instant, and he started to shift out of the way only to bump into one of the low tables the rest of the class was seated around. He had nowhere to turn to in the moment before Trelawney's hand came to rest on his arm. The air in the room seemed to chill, as the harried face of their Divination teacher turned slack and vacant, while her eyes and fingers remained locked on Cooper. The rasping rattle of her breath drew the attention of the entire room, though no one dared utter a sound as a voice so utterly alien to the wailing Trelawny seemed to fill the room with a crushing weight.
"So close, Firebrand. To see, but not to touch. To hear, but not to speak.
The world turns on a shattered promise.
Destiny converges again and time immemorial will repeat.
The keys found, the doors unlocked. The old vows made anew.
Your greatest wound shall become your mightiest weapon…."
It felt like an age the last syllable stretched through the air of the stuffy classroom, echoing until it felt as if it would shake Harry's brain loose. And yet he was every bit as frozen as the rest of his classmates, unable to do anything but bear witness to the sight unfolding before them. He didn't even dare to breathe, for fear of breaking the suffocating spell the words wove around them. And then as quickly as it had happened, time seemed to wrench itself back into place with a jarring lurch. The tone of the bell sounded the end of class rang distantly in the castle that still felt a world away, and somehow marked the end of an hour that had slipped past unnoticed. Trelawney blinked twice, her eyelids fluttering behind her large glasses while her mouth settled back into a dreamy smile, as she gave Cooper's arm the same motherly pat that had set off the whole bizarre chain of events. Cooper didn't move for a breath, tanned skin gone ash white as he fixed the oblivious Divination professor with a disbelieving stare. Perhaps it was only a trick of the light, but Harry could have sworn he saw the tiniest beads of sweat pearling across the muggle professor's brow, before he abruptly spun on one heel and fled the room with none of the care or grace he'd used to enter it.
"Seems that is all the time we have for today, children." She cooed, the only one seemingly unaware anything abnormal have just taken place, or that Cooper's sudden departure had nearly over turned a table in his haste to leave. "Do remember to fill out your journals for our next meeting, and we shall continue to…"
The summary of whatever was to occur in their next class was lost amid the hurried shuffle of book and parchment. For once, there was no idle chatter or laughter to fill the space between the dry rustling of paper. Even Lavender and Parvati couldn't seem to conjure up enough words to say to their favorite teacher. No one seemed to want to make eye contact with one another and focused solely on getting themselves and their things out of the cramped classroom as quickly as possible. Harry had to suppress the shudder that crept along the back of his neck and threatened to settle there like Fate had wrapped its fingers around his neck. He swallowed hard and swept his things into his bag and filed out behind Ron and the rest of his class. Even once the chatter of the rest of the castle enveloped them again, none of them felt like saying much of anything, lest they give what they'd seen any more footing in reality than they had already.
The change in behavior didn't go unnoticed. Hermione made an unsuccessful attempt to ask what was wrong, when she noticed the only color in Ron's face were his freckles. He opened his mouth, but only shut it straight away and shook his head before sliding wordlessly into a seat for Umbridge's class. Harry followed suit, but looked up once to find Yugi- no, the Pharaoh staring at him with a look that felt like he might be able to see inside his head after all. It was only the appearance of the Toad herself that kept him from being asked questions he didn't yet have the answers to.
"Alright." The scowl on Bakura's face had been etching itself deeper and deeper ever since Umbridge's class when a handful of Gryffindors had shown up looking as if they'd all seen the ghosts of their ancestors. And given each of them were on speaking terms with several said spirits, the haunted looks on their faces were all the more worrying. Both Hermione and Malik had had tried all through dinner to engage Harry and Ron in conversation, with no success, and now Angelina's news that Malfoy's arrogant boasting might have had some truth behind it after all hardly stirred a reaction from either of them. "If he's not going to snap out of it, I'm going to make him."
Yugi looked up from his own homework, as the Thief lurched up out of the chair and planted himself firmly in front of Harry and Ron with arms crossed firmly against is chest in a posture that plainly said he would have his answers one way or another. /I don't agree with his methods,/ Yugi heard Yami's voice echo alongside him, /But I'd like to know myself. Some of the others were whispering about their Divination class earlier, but no one would say what happened./
"You haven't said a single word all afternoon, and patience is not a strong suit of mine." Bakura glared at the both of them, "What has the both of you looking like you've just come out of a fever dream?"
"It's nothin'." Ron mumbled unconvincingly, "Cooper visited Trelawney's class is all."
"That's all?" Bakura pressed harder, turning an eye onto Harry. "I'll remind you both I'm not terribly fond of lying when I'm not the one doing it."
"What do you want me to say?!" Ron exploded at last, getting to his feet and giving Bakura a hard shove to get him out of his way, "Umbridge is rubbing that nutter raw and she snapped! S'all it was! She's mental enough to see someone dying because their tea cup's got grit in it! It's all a lot of nothing to hide the fact she's a fraud!"
Ron didn't even bother to grab his potions homework as he muscled his way past the King of Thieves. He didn't even so much as cast a cursory glance in his brother's direction as they drew a crowd in demonstration for one of their newest products, save to growl at a second-year to make room for him to climb the stairs to the dormitories. Bakura looked for a moment as if he had half a mind to follow him, but instead turned his attention to Harry who let out a heavy sigh and sank into his chair as if he could wish it would swallow him whole.
"I dunno what we really saw today." He finally admitted. "Trelawney was out of sorts over the inspections and Cooper came around asking for tea or something. Then she just… Ron's right. Umbridge must have just pushed her too hard. She was after her to make a prediction during her inspection, you know-"
"Harry." Yugi asked gently, deciding someone had to play good cop to Bakura's bad before he decided to push either boy any harder. "Did she say something?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded slowly at first, then harder as if admitting it helped ease the weight that had been sitting on him since the class. "She touched him, and it was like the world stopped turning for a minute. She's predicted my death every class for the last two years, and it never felt like this."
"What did she say?" Harry turned slightly to see Hermione sitting with a quill in her hand and attention fixed on him. For all her disgust with the Divination professor, she at least knew when something was worth taking notes on.
The words came easy since they'd continued to roar in his head since they'd left Trelawney's lips. In a way it felt blasphemous to repeat them, and yet he was glad to do so if it meant someone else could shoulder their weight for a while. Bakura and Yugi both watched him intently, unblinking, and he vaguely wondered if they weren't sharing the conversation word for word with Malik too. Even Kaiba would likely have the entire conversation by morning. He felt a little guilty that there seemed to be new lines of concern on the faces of his friends, but at the same time a part of him whispered that there was still more to pass on.
"Cooper's in it up to his eyes." Bakura said darkly. "He may not be a wizard, but the man's no muggle."
"That doesn't exactly help us." Yugi pointed out, though the look on his face was no less serious. At least, Harry thought it was Yugi. He wore such a look of concentration that maybe the spirit that inhabited his body had quietly switched without his notice. "We knew Cooper was involved somehow… We just didn't know how much."
"Actually Yugi-" Hermione interrupted timidly, "I'd been doing a bit of work on my own. Trying to see if your… Um. Flashes? If they had any kind of pattern. I started looking at things you'd done or people you'd been in contact with… and Professor Cooper's name keeps coming up. It doesn't prove anything, mind you. But the evidence seems to keep building up."
"Guys? There's one more thing." Harry piped up, deciding he'd better say it now before too much else was said, "I couldn't even begin to tell you what anything Trelawney said might mean but I think Cooper knew. And he… well… He looked scared."
That brought the conversation to a halt for several long minutes. Cooper's very first moments on the Hogwarts grounds had been characterized by his complete unconcern for whatever hidden threat or danger the castle walls held, human or otherwise. In fact, he'd treated them all with the same air of inconvenience, as if they existed merely to pester the man rather than potentially do him any serious harm. Even Delores Umbridge had yet to make the man do more than bat an eye. The idea that the revelation of a half-mad teacher could unsettle him, not matter his motives, filled the room with a palpable unease.
"Aren't you four being quiet tonight?"
A low voice from the fire pulled each of them out of their own thoughts in time to see Sirius's dark head grinning as it hovered in the flames. Somehow, Harry felt better just for the sight of his godfather and managed a genuine grin in return. He dropped out of the chair and onto the hearthrug on his knees with Hermione, while Yugi and Bakura kept back a bit.
"Been a long day." Harry offered, wishing Sirius could be here right now.
"So I've heard. Educational decrees, no Quidditch, and a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group doesn't leave much leisure time, does it?"
There was a short pause as Harry realized he'd told his godfather none of that surprisingly accurate information, given he was sequestered in at Grimmauld Place. "How did you know about all that?" Harry demanded.
"Your choice of venues leave a bit to be desired." Sirius scolded, though he looked more amused than upset. "The Hog's Head, I ask you…"
"We didn't have many options and Three Broomsticks always has a ton of people!" Hermione defended her choice, with a bit of color rising to her cheeks.
"Which means you would have been harder to overhear. You'll learn sometimes it's best to hide in plain sight." Sirius winked at her.
"So I assume you've got people following Harry then." Bakura pointed out sourly, not liking they'd been so easily uncovered before they'd had the chance to do much at all.
"And you four too." Sirius craned his neck to get a better look at Bakura and Yugi. "Don't think we didn't notice your little disappearance-"
"We made a call to my grandpa." Yugi stepped in, before Bakura could say anything very unlike his meeker half. "We didn't want to risk Kaiba's phone being taken after the mess with his duel disks, and the owls are taking some getting used to when you were using phones up until the summer. We didn't exactly know we had someone supposed to be watching us."
((I think I'm actually proud of your little clone.)) Bakura smirked appreciatively at Yugi's quick explanation, as he cast a glance to where Yami stood alongside his counterpart. He got a half-snort in reply but hadn't expected much else from the high and mighty Pharaoh either.
"Who was following us?" Harry wanted to know, mad at himself he that hadn't noticed the tail.
"Mundungus, of course! And a good thing too if you're going to be organizing illegal defense groups on your first weekend off!" Sirius laughed, positively beaming at them through the flames.
"It wasn't illegal when we did it…" Hermione protested, though no one seemed to hear.
"Anyway, I have a message to pass on- where's Ron?" Sirius seemed to notice the final member of their party had gone missing at last.
"He headed to bed." Harry shrugged hoping his godfather wouldn't press him for more than that.
"Well, you'll have to be sure to tell him then. His mother wants me to tell him that on no account is he to take place in any illegal secret Defense against the Dark Arts group." Sirius said with all the vigor of delivering an on an obligation. "She says you'll all be expelled for sure and it's not worth risking your futures over since there will be plenty of time to learn how to defend yourselves later. She also says she knows she can't tell the rest of you what to do, but that she hopes you'll remember she's only got your best interests at heart. You each probably would have gotten an owl saying much the same, but none of us wanted the owls to be intercepted and she's on duty tonight or you would have had it straight from the horse's mouth."
"On duty doing what?" Bakura asked suspiciously
"Order stuff." Was the clipped reply that told all of them they'd get no more than that. "That all being said, I think it's a wonderful idea. The Ministry's doing all it can to cripple us, thinking somehow no one using magic is going to be safer than making sure you can protect yourselves. It's a risk worth taking in my book. Now, where have you decided to meet? From what I understand, you had quite the group."
"We haven't figured out anywhere yet." Harry sighed, glad Sirius approved of their plan. "And we've got people from all four houses too, so it's made things tricky…."
The rest of the conversation faded into the background as the two Item Holders lapsed into an internal discussion of their own. Harry's revelation of the day's events were hardly welcome, but they'd certainly shed an interesting light on an already complicated problem.
((Who else thinks that bit about being close and unable to touch means he's close to that damn rock you and Kaiba were talking about.)) Bakura scowled.
(I agree. But it's the rest of the message that worries me.) Ryou chewed on his lower lip in thought. ('Destiny converges again and time immemorial repeats'? Our biggest fear has been someone undoing the seal that keeps the Shadows at bay. We are evidence ourselves that it happened once before in Egypt.)
/Keys found, doors unlocked. Old vows made anew./ Yugi added solemnly. /We've dealt with this too many times for it not to be familiar by now. With the Items he could control the Shadows, and with just a shard of the Orichalcos, he could strip the souls of anyone who opposed him. We were already attacked once, so what if we're in the castle? It sounds like it wouldn't have been the first time a teacher snuck into the school to get at a student, and if these 'old vows' tie him to that Voldermort…/
/Then what is he waiting on?/ Yami decided to cast his own take on their discussion, /Why is he teaching us? What could possibly be the angle for allowing us to get stronger? How does he benefit from waiting, when he's had multiple chances to make some kind of move?/
((Because I think Granger is onto something.)) Bakura looked as if he'd bitten into something foul. ((All that talk about the Shadow Realm, all his little tricks to keep us together… what if he's not waiting to find the Stone? What if he's waiting for it to break through your memories? He'd have to teach us something to stay employed, and he can't let Umbridge toss him out either. A class here, a conversation in passing, all of it could be to chip away at whatever guards your memories until he unlocks the right one.))
No one had a way to argue that. It wrapped up far too many coincidences and dangling questions none of them had yet been able to find the answers for.
/Then we let him./ Yami said resolutely after a moment of pregnant silence between them.
((I think you're getting delusional again Pharaoh. I could have sworn you just said to 'let him'.))
/Kaiba was right when he said Cooper is teaching us real defense techniques./ Transparent fingers ticked off his points one at a time. /We learn more magic by the day, and if we can help Harry, then we'll have the chance to learn yet another avenue of defense. If we make Cooper suspicious, he may just decide to take the direct approach. If we play along, maybe we'll have the chance to find a weakness we can exploit for ourselves./
((So you want to go be a martyr again and throw yourself in front of the enemy? Have you-))
/I'm not looking to be a martyr, Bakura. I need help. The memories I have seen are horrific. I can't handle more of them and Cooper alone./ As much as he hated admitting it, it needed to be said. The last thing he wanted to do was worry Yugi, but he knew his partner already had a clear idea of what was waiting for them regardless. He could tell neither Bakura wasn't thrilled with the idea, but until they had something better… /Consider it until morning, Thief. We can't do anything tonight anyway, and we'll need to tell the others-/
Harry and Hermione abruptly getting to their feet cut off the last of their conversation. All four teens stopped and stared at the fire where Sirius's head should have been for a split second, before a stubby fingered hand adorned with too many old-fashioned rings was suddenly groping about in the flames for someone who was no longer there. Not one of the four decided to test their luck. They fled for the safety of the dormitories, not stopping once to look back.
GotC: Nice long chapter here for you fine folks with plenty going on! I've had this little interaction in my head for quite a while, so it was oh-so-nice to get it out on paper! So for those of you with your theories on what role our dear Professor Cooper may play in all this, I'm curious to hear your take! How right are our protagonists? Maybe they're closer to the truth than we think! Guess you'll have to find out later! And as an update for those of you rereading: The first few chapters have received their 10 year makeover! More will go out as I am trying to work on at least one a day until we are reasonably caught up!