Chapter 5: - Revolving Door
Yugi hadn't slept well and had woken long before the others, heading out of the Common Room and down to breakfast to try to clear his head.Last night's dreams had been foreboding and meaningful and yet he couldn't quite seem to remember what it was he'd been dreaming about.
"Yugi!" The heir jumped and wheeled around, on the defensive instantly, well until he realised that it was Ryou that had called him. "Can I talk to you?"
"Hey Ryou, you have a good summer?" Yugi asked, nodding and following the other hikari.
"As good as can be expected." Ryou shrugged, "Better then yours at least."
Yugi didn't comment, thinking about the fact Ryou didn't know the half of it. "So what's up?"
"It's the Penalty Game on Draco."
"Ryou, I…"
"I know that we're not supposed to lift it before they've learnt their lesson, but Draco's being controlled by the Millennium Ring now too and he can't come to your group for help."
"If he's controlled by the Ring then…"
"I know but…"
Yugi frowned and sat down on a bench, "I think I need an explanation."
"I want you to lift the Penalty Game on Draco because he's being tainted by the Millennium Ring and I'm not sure he has the strength to fight it." Ryou said bluntly, "I understand that you probably wouldn't want to considering that he's been causing your group problems, but he's getting around the Penalty Game as it is, he's never going to break it and while he's unable to get help the Ring's taking over."
"How can he be controlled by the Ring if you and Bakura never hand it over?" Yugi asked.
"The Ring's not like the Puzzle, it comes and goes as it pleases, not as it's owner does." Ryou frowned, "It decided for some reason that it wanted Draco as one of it's 'owners' and I didn't know until it was too late to do anything."
"That explains how it kept getting back to you." Yugi growled, startling Ryou for a moment with how much he sounded like Yami, "But what can we do to help Draco? He may not even want our help."
"Please Yugi." Ryou looked like he was pleading.
"I want to help." Yugi held up a hand, "But I don't want to put my friends in danger either."
Ryou frowned, "I can't promise Draco would stay away from Harry or the others."
"I know, that's the problem." Yugi sighed. "Ryou, if I do this and he's controlled by the Ring too firmly, we may have to 'game' him at some point. At the moment that isn't an issue since Draco can't come after any of us directly."
"You know what the items are like, if you don't get him on your side and soon, the item could get him to go through people to get to you guys."
Yugi frowned, thinking. "Yami, you awake?"
'Since Ryou stopped you on the stairs.' Yami replied, 'I think it has to be your choice, Ryou has both good and bad points about the situation, but they are all valid points, and while I'd rather Draco wasn't able to start bullying us again, I don't think letting him get completely controlled by the Ring is a good idea either.'
"So… how do I go about lifting a Penalty Game?"
'Ummm.'
"Yugi?"
"I'll do it Ryou, but I'm not sure how."
"What did Yami say?"
"I…"
"It was obvious."
"That he'd rather not have a Shadow controlled Draco running around and that lifting the Penalty was an idea."
"But not a good one."
"No, but a route he'd rather go." Yugi sighed.
"Yami didn't teach you how?" Ryou sounded surprised.
"I don't think he knew himself, he's never had to do it."
"Bakura says you have to break the ties connecting your magic to the one under the Penalty Game." Ryou said with a frown as the Tomb Robber sent him a thought, "I didn't even tell him I was coming to ask you."
"You know what Bakura's like." Yugi said, closing his eyes and trying to feel out the strands of magic. He could sense Ryou easily, there was another mass of light upstairs, that had to be Kari, along with two dark masses, who, since they were with the other light source had to be Yami and Ombre, there was a dark mass downstairs, that had to be Bakura, along with a source of magic that wasn't dark, but it wasn't light either and if he hadn't been led to it by the cords of his own magic, he doubted he would have sensed it.
That had to be Draco, after all, he didn't sense any of his friends who weren't M Item wielders either and they'd be with Kari, Ombre and Yami.
Yugi focused on the strands of his own magic, which weaved around the self styled Slytherin Prince and caged the teen in.
He tried calling them back to him, but they didn't even budge.
Yugi tried once more, then frowned, envisioned a huge pair of scissors made from his magic and cut the strands.
Ryou had to catch him as he nearly fell over. "Yugi"
"Done, but I don't think I'd like to try that again." Yugi groaned as a headache so blinding that he shut the link to avoid it reaching Yami, arrived, quickly followed by a bout of nausea.
"Thanks Yugi." Ryou smiled, "Let me help you down to the Great Hall."
"Thanks, I think I'm gonna need it."
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The two got down to the Great Hall in time to see the post delivered. Joey was excitedly waving a letter around, telling Yugi that Serenity had gotten her timing right, and as Ryou left him with his friends at the table, he noticed Harry had one from Sirius too.
"Yugi?" Joey asked, worried, "You ok?"
The young man looked around quickly, decided that there wasn't anyone around that he didn't trust and whispered, "I lifted Draco's Penalty Game."
"What? Why?" Ron demanded, promptly getting sat on by Ombre for being too loud. "You can't trust him." He muttered with a glare at the Slytherin Table.
"Ryou."
Suddenly it made a lot more sense and while Harry still wasn't sure it was a good idea, if Ryou had come to ask Yugi about it there had to be a reason.
Both Yugi and Kari were plied with a ridiculous amount of food, though neither felt much like eating, and Yami handed over some of his energy to Yugi in order to help with the headache that was fading as he his energy level went back up again.
"What did Serenity say?" Yugi asked as they stood up to leave the breakfast table, taking a couple of pieces of toast with chocolate spread on with him.
"Just a letter to say here's my address, you'd better send me a letter soon or I'm going to bombard the school with mail." Joey said with a laugh, "Anyone would think she's annoyed that I didn't ring over the Summer."
Everyone snorted in response to that as they trudged across the wet, muddy vegetable path and entered greenhouse three, where they spent the entire lesson collecting Bubotuber pus, which wasn't very thought driven, bar the health and safety aspect and which was apparently good for the more stubborn forms of acne.
Ron spent the entire lesson muttering about Malfoy, until he was getting dark looks from even Harry.
"It was Yugi's choice." Harry inserted into Ron's unpleasant monologue, which to the relief of the rest of the gang shut Ron up.
By the time that they headed down to Care of Magical Creatures, Yugi was feeling a bit better and Kari was about half awake, which turned out to be a good thing considering that Hagrid had come with several crates full of very odd creatures that looked like… well… they didn't know what they looked like but even Bakura wasn't amused.
"Blast Ended Screwts." Hagrid told them happily. "Only just hatched, so you can raise em yourselves, make a project of it."
Draco looked like he was going to complain, but shut his mouth at a look from his brother.
By the end of the lesson the gang had been blown up, bitten, stung and generally had decided that saving the world was in fact LESS dangerous then looking after the little monsters.
Kari and Hermione shoveled food down their necks and raced off to the library, in favor of starting some new research rather then sticking around, and neither of them were seen again until the start of the next lesson.
Which, unfortunately for the majority of them came in the form of Divination and yet another presentiment of Harry's impending doom… until Harry told Professor Trelawney that no he hadn't been born mid-winter, he'd been born in July. Between that and Ron's unfortunately timed 'Can I see your Uranus?' comment, they were given a piece of homework that was to be referenced to their charts of the stars in the position they'd been in when they'd been born.
This of course had caused Yami to frown, but fill in the table as if he was Yugi, with a mind to let Yugi copy his chart when he had the lesson.
It didn't help Yami's mood when Joey jokily suggested that he take the ritual date as his fourteenth birthday.
They met Yugi and Hermione coming down from Arithmancy, complaining loudly about the amount of homework had been given to them.
They joined the end of the queue at the entrance to the Great Hall, discussing loudly while Kari and Hermione read books on tracking spells for some odd reason that they refused to discuss outside the Common Room, when there was uproar behind them.
Draco was reading the Daily Prophet out loud, much to the hilarity of the Slytherins, which was another piece claiming that Arthur Weasley was incompetent, this time it was because of his back up of Mad Eye Moody a couple of nights ago.
"Wow Weasley," Malfoy was smirking, taking the fact he could now actually say things to the group without getting a penalty in his stride. "Is your mother really that porky?"
Joey and Harry had to grab Ron's arms to stop him going after Draco.
"It's not worth it." Yami growled, glaring at Draco who tried not to appear intimidated, and the gang were surprised to find that Bakura wasn't actually attempting to do anything about it, obviously having decided that his adopted brother deserved it.
"You should've let me deal with him." Ron snarled as they ate dinner, the three girls heading up to the library to grab a couple more books on the subject they were researching after promising they'd meet them in the Boy's Dorm to tell them about their research.
The others ignored him.
"How did Malfoy find out the Penalty Game was gone so quickly?" Harry wondered.
"Ryou probably told him." Yugi said.
"Yeah, but wouldn't Ryou have said something…"
"Malfoys don't play nice with Gryffindors." Ron growled, taking up his glaring position facing the Slytherin table. Such was his distraction he barely touched his meal, although that may have been more mishmash of food he added to his plate.
More then one Gryffindor watched in disbelief as Ron shoveled the food in, and vowed never to look at cheese sauce the same way again.
Dinner was thankfully over quickly and Harry's eyes swept the Slytherin table as he got to his feet. Bakura, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle had already left the table, much to Harry's relief, since Ron had been looking for a fight and he didn't fancy costing Gryffindor points on the first day.
"Harry?" Yugi asked, still munching chocolate cake, and still catching up on all the energy he'd burnt this morning freeing Draco, though Harry was beginning to wonder if it had been a waste, no matter what Ryou had said.
"I'll meet you up there." Harry waved off Yugi's concern and headed out the door, getting to the stairwell before Draco appeared from behind the stairs. "Malfoy." Harry nodded, trying to accord the teen more respect then he was being offered, if only because he was too tired to be rude and to show the Pure-blood up.
Rudeness, however, wasn't what was on Draco's mind.
Harry couldn't believe it as the Shadows closed in around him and Draco.
Yugi and Yami had told him that only a Millennium Item wielder could call the Shadows, Draco couldn't really be… could he?
"Malfoy!" Harry growled, a headache kicking in. It was nothing compared to his nightmare migraines but he wasn't stupid, he'd learned enough from Kari's experience with her first Shadow Game to know that this was just the tip of the iceberg. "How did you drag us into the Shadow Realm?"
Harry watched with growing understanding as something started to glow on Draco Malfoy's chest. The glow came through the teenager's robes and formed into a golden item that caused Harry to growl.
"Why are you wearing the Millennium Ring?" Harry growled.
"So I can challenge you." Draco grinned, the Millennium Item protecting him from the Shadow Realm's effects.
"Yugi only just lifted the Penalty Game he put on you during our second year, and you're pulling this already?" Harry grew even angrier, "I thought you'd learnt your lesson."
Draco just shrugged, "Are you going to play me or not?"
Harry glared at him.
"If you want to forfeit and accept your Penalty Game now it's fine by me." Draco continued.
"What's the Game?" Harry asked.
Draco smirked, "Since you've been hanging out with the 'King of Games' I thought we'd play a game of Wizard's Duel Monsters."
"What happens if I lose?"
"If you don't play the Shadows will take a soul as forfeit, if you lose the Penalty is your soul."
"Malfoy, do you know what you've done?" Harry asked, "Your soul's on the line here too."
"I won't lose." Draco's smirk turned to a glare, Harry had seen far scarier ones on his friends' faces. "Will you play or not?"
Harry nodded, having taken Yugi's advice to carry his deck around at all times, especially since the events of the Summer. "Alright, usual rules?"
"Four thousand life points, first one to hit zero or deck out loses." Draco grinned as they shuffled their decks, "And I'm sure you're aware that your friend's trick doesn't work in the Shadow Realm."
"These are wizard Duel Monsters Cards, Malfoy." Harry growled, "Enhanced by my friends, they won't let me down." Harry drew his first hand.
"Your move first Potter."
Harry knelt, put his deck on the ground and drew his first card, trying to remember everything the others had taught him about the game. "I play two cards face down and a card in defense mode and end my turn." Two cards appeared right in front of him, and another in defense mode, more duel disk size then normal size. The headache got a little worse, but it wasn't so bad so far,
Draco drew, "I play one card face down, and summon my Serpent Guard in attack mode."
The Monster that appeared could have been a Slytherin Student had Harry not known better, with a black and green robe and a humanoid face, but no wand, instead he had a huge sword.
"Attack Potter's face down card."
The guard sliced through the card and for a half second, when the monster appeared, Harry's head felt like it exploded, then the monster on his card, a Baby Griffon, exploded and the pain subsided.
Harry panted for a moment, until his head cleared fully, no wonder Kari hadn't been able to fight Bakura if losing a monster caused that much pain…
"Your move Potter."
Harry draw and frowned, his hand was shaking.
"What's the matter? Are the Shadows too much for Gryffindor's Golden Boy?" Draco asked sarcastically.
Harry glared and summoned the monster he drew, "Gold Winged Wolf, in attack mode!" The wolf appeared, golden furred, with huge golden feathered wings, growling at Draco.
Harry grimaced against the pain, but it was nowhere near as bad as when his monster had been destroyed.
"I activate Beast Fangs, increasing my Wolf's attack to 2100." Harry grinned as his Wolf's fangs grew larger, "Gold Winged Wolf, attack his Guard!"
This time it was Draco that felt it as the Guard exploded. Harry smiled slightly as Draco flinched against the five hundred point drop.
"I end my turn Malfoy."
Draco looked paler then usual as he drew, it seemed he wasn't as immune as he thought he was. "Two cards face down and one in defence mode, your turn Potter."
Harry drew, shaking his head to clear his vision, "I summon my Gryphon, in attack mode and use it to attack your face down card."
Draco's snakelike thing exploded as the 1300 attack point monster attacked the card.
"And now, Gold Winged Wolf, attack him directly!"
Draco was sent sprawling by Harry's Wolf's claws.
Harry's eyes widened as the snakelike thing appeared in front of him and bit his arm. Pain raced through the teen as his own life points dropped by 2600.
"H…how?" Harry asked, barely able to think through the pain.
Draco didn't answer and Harry looked over quickly.
Draco wasn't getting up.
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'You idiot!' Draco heard someone yell at him, 'How dare you take the Ring? What were you thinking? A normal human like you couldn't handle the Shadow Realm!'
"Ba…Bakura?" Draco asked through the pain.
'I'm taking control!' Draco felt something invade his mind and then he knew no more.
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Harry watched as Draco got to his feet.
No echo of the pain that must have been racing through him like it had Harry…
Draco's eyes… they weren't grey… they were brown… they'd been grey a minute ago.
Who had brown eyes that…
"Bakura!" Harry snapped. "End this Shadow Game now."
"You're quick." Bakura in Draco's body smirked, his trademark smirk didn't look right on Draco's face but Harry was more concerned over the fact we was now facing someone who could handle the Shadow Realm and was a much better Duellist then he was. "And I can't, or rather won't."
"Then at least tell me why I lost the same amount of life points Ma…Draco did."
"By the rules, I have to." Bakura said, brown eyes staring him down. "That snake you sent to the graveyard has a special ability, you take the same amount of damage as the owner of the card on the turn it's sent to the graveyard." Bakura snorted. "It's my turn, isn't it?"
Harry nodded.
Bakura drew and his evil smirk grew eviler. Harry gulped.
"You know I have to say I'm impressed with both of you." Bakura said nonchalantly, "I suppose that it could be because you're wizards that you lasted this long, but the Shadows aren't meant for those who are untrained. You will lose Potter."
Harry scowled at him, "We'll see about that, Bakura."
"I play Monster Reborn to bring back my brother's guard and sacrifice it for this…" The guard appeared, disappeared and a huge Serpent creature appeared. It was almost as big as the basilisk Harry and Yugi had fought in their second year and no less intimidating, with huge fangs and Slytherin green scales. "My brother chose this one, the Great Serpent of the Earth, with 2300 attack points, making it more then a match for your Wolf." Bakura smirked though, "But I think I'll make it even stronger, by using Basilisk Fang, an equip card that increases any Serpent monster's attack by five hundred." It grew bigger and it's attack rose to 2800, "Now Great Serpent, attack his Wolf!"
Harry's Wolf exploded and Harry's life points dropped from 1400 to 700.
Harry's head felt like it exploded and he felt himself fall forward, luckily since he was sat down he didn't hurt anything, but he was in too much agony to realize it anyway.
"Turn end. It would be easier on yourself if you give up." Bakura's voice cut through the fog of pain, "You can't keep going like this, if you give up your soul will be trapped here but it'll be whole, you keep going and you run the risk of tearing your soul into shreds."
"W…Why do you care?" Harry asked, pain blinded but pushing himself upright, "You're…"
"You're not my problem, I'm only after the Pharaoh and the Princess, I wasn't going to challenge you unless you became more of a threat." Bakura answered, "This was Draco's idea, I had nothing to do with it."
Did Bakura sound like he was apologizing?
That wasn't possible, right?
Harry blinked, trying to stop the world from spinning, but it didn't help.
"Give up Potter, and there's a chance that your soul can be rescued, keep going and it'll be worse then the Dementors for you."
Harry's answer was to draw.
"Stupid mortal." Bakura growled, "You can't win."
Harry was busy trying to work something out.
4000 – 2100 – 500 What?
4000
1900
1400!
Damn.
One hundred points over the card he had currently face down.
Harry wasn't sure he could last another turn, he was barely holding himself together now…
"Give up Potter."
"N…no." Harry shook his head, wished he hadn't and placed the card he'd drawn face down alongside his other trap card. "I switch my Gryphon to defense mode and end my turn."
"Stupid Potter, very stupid." Bakura said, Harry thought he drew but was too busy trying to stay conscious and pay attention to the duel at the same time to be sure. "Great Serpent, attack his Gryphon!"
"Reflect Wall!" Harry activated the card he'd placed face down, "Reflects back the attack and destroys your monster."
The snake exploded. "One card face down and it's your turn Potter."
Harry knew this could be his last card, if he'd have taken any damage that turn, he was certain he wouldn't still be knelt here.
He drew. Please, I need to win this…
He stared at it.
He played it.
"I sacrifice half my life points to activate Phoenix Heart, which allows me to summon one monster from my Graveyard and attack you directly with it."
Bakura's eyes widened as Harry's 1600 attack point Gold Winged Wolf appeared on the field, "Attack!"
The Wolf swiped at Bakura but Harry was already losing consciousness.
Bakura's points hit zero as Harry hit the ground.
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The bubble was fading and the entire gang was waiting.
Yami and Yugi had sensed it first, shooting out of the Great Hall before anyone could even start to ask what was wrong.
It hadn't taken long for Kari and Ombre to sense it, but they'd already been coming out of the library when they had, and had been half way down the stairs before Yami's loud and multilingual cursing reached them.
Someone was in a Shadow Game, but they couldn't understand who.
It had to be a Bakura creation, all of the other Shadow Duellists were here, waiting to see who or what had started this and who was the victim. Even Ryou had shot up here and was now waiting to see who was caught up in the Shadow Game.
The bubble faded, leaving behind two unconscious forms.
"Harry!" Yugi shot forward before the last of the Shadows had cleared.
"Draco!" Ryou was at the young man's side almost as fast.
"How the hell did Malfoy do that?" Joey demanded angrily.
"He has the Ring." Ryou growled, "I was afraid of this."
"Then why did you…" Ron scowled.
"Not now." Yami snapped. "We don't know who won and who's hurt."
"We need to get them both to the hospital wing. Draco's Shadow Game or not, he's still not a trained Shadow Duellist." Yugi said sharply, "The shadows would still have tried to feed on him."
"Yuge…" Joey trailed off as Draco groaned and sat up in Ryou's arms. "You…"
Draco actually broke away from Ryou and backed away quickly, "Bakura… took over from me…"
"Who won?" Yami snarled at his scariest, scared for his friend if he'd been fighting the Tomb Robber in Draco's body.
"I…I don't know. I don't know what happened after Bakura took over" Draco retorted with a glare.
"Get out and take that Ra accursed Ring with you." Ombre snarled.
Draco wasn't stupid, he fled.
"Ryou…" Joey growled.
"I'll deal with him." The hikari promised and left.
"I've got Harry." Joey scooped the small teen up and carried him to the hospital wing. No one wanted to say it, but if Draco had woken up and Harry was still out and Draco had initialised the game…
Yugi was actually more worried about something else, "Yami what about his mind? Even if he won, the Shadows could have overwhelmed him."
'I know.' Yami returned, 'I think he won, his soul's still in his body.'
"That's a good sign." Yugi sensed Yami's concern, "He's hurt isn't he?"
'Badly.' Yami growled, 'And I don't know if I can help.'
"What do you mean?"
'Harry's not a hikari, we might not be able to help him.'
Madam Pomfrey was already expecting them. "Ryou Bakura said you were bringing someone in, which one of you…" She trailed off. "Set him down on one of the beds at the end Mr Wheeler."
Joey did what he was told and backed away quickly.
Yugi had to cast a barrier spell between his friend and the group that came in the door, including Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Ryou and Bakura, who was unconscious too, to stop them from attacking the group.
"Yugi, Harry won." Ryou said.
Yugi looked like he was going to ask how Ryou knew, but then assumed that it was better he didn't know, the bond between Ryou and Bakura was more convoluted then the one between him and his own dark half and Ryou hadn't appeared to have known before now…
However, if Ryou was right then it was a good thing.
Madam Pomfrey was scowling as she used the last of the diagnostic spells. "Physically there's nothing wrong with him, but his magical reserves are practically non existent and I'm no mind healer but I'd say something's attacked his mind." She paused and looked at Ombre, "This was a Shadow Game, right?"
Ombre nodded, wondering what Madam Pomfrey was getting at.
"Can't you help him the same way you helped your hikari?"
"We don't know. We're going to try." Yami promised no more then that, he didn't know if it was possible.
"I can give him something to restore some of his lost energy but that's about all I can do." Madam Pomfrey looked ill amused by this fact. "I'll have to inform Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and they'll probably inform his Godfather."
'Sirius is going to have a field day.' Yami thought sarcastically, "Madam Pomfrey, we'll have to stay close if we're going to try to help."
She pursed her lips but nodded. "Miss Ironhide, I'd like a word with you once you've gotten started whatever you're going to try."
"Yes Madam Pomfrey."
Yugi had to let her out of his barrier, and then they settled in chairs and on beds at 'their' end of the ward. "I'll try." Ombre said.
"It's better I go." Yami shook his head, "The Puzzle interacted with Harry over the Summer, I don't know if the Orb would react at all."
"Just be careful." Joey frowned, "And don't… sorry Yami." The young man sighed.
"You're worried, I understand." Yami smiled sadly, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes. Yugi waited half a second and then lifted the Puzzle from around his own neck and put it on Harry.
"Now all we can do is wait." Yugi sighed as the eye on the Puzzle glowed.
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Yami was surprised to find that the corridor between his room and what was possibly Harry's soul room was similar to the corridor which held the portrait of the Fat Lady.
It shouldn't have been this easy, just to simply waltz into Harry's mind, and something about it bothered the Pharaoh, but he didn't stop to think about it and on opening the door to Harry's Soul Room, Yami's eyes had to adjust for a moment to how dark the room was. There many shadowy corners and the only light was being given off by a candle in the center of the room.
It bathed the parts of the room it touched in a warm light, but there was far more darkness in the room then light.
For Yami, who was used to either his tomb like room, or Yugi's bright and airy one, the room wasn't what he'd expected but he didn't waste time hesitating at the door.
Harry was unconscious on a four poster bed that looked like it had come from their dorm, the only thing in the entire room to have Gryffindor colours on it, unless you counted the candle's flame, and he was terribly pale and washed out.
"Harry," Yami shook him gently and the teen opened his eyes, the emerald green orbs revealed just how much pain he was in, "I'm here to help."
"I won, didn't I?"
"You tell me."
"I used Phoenix Heart, and my Wolf attacked successfully… so I won." Harry's face gained a smile. Where are we?" Harry asked hoarsely.
"Your Soul Room, Yugi put the Puzzle on you so I could help."
"How come it's so dark?"
Yami shrugged, "I don't know, it's your Soul Room." He examined Harry carefully, "You did really well, I've never known a someone who wasn't linked to a Millennium Item, who won a Shadow Game before."
"Draco challenged me, but Bakura took over when we both took 2100 points direct damage."
"You took…" Yami shook his head, amused, "Harry, I'm going to lend you some of the Puzzle's power, it's nothing bad, but it's just to help the healing process, and if you'd let me, I'd like to examine the memory of the Duel." Harry hesitated and Yami sighed, "I won't if you don't want me to."
"Sorry Yami…" Harry shook his head and Yami frowned but there was understanding his eyes.
"Is it alright if I stay until you're fully recovered?" Yami asked, offering Harry a ball of purple energy. Harry touched it and it sank into him. Harry smiled slightly and to Yami the room brightened slightly, a sign it was helping.
Harry felt the energy rush through him and the pain subside slowly, sitting up, "You could if you wanted to, you don't have to ask, do you?" Yami looked surprised, but answered truthfully.
"No," Yami admitted, "But it's polite to ask before you take residence in someone's mind." He paused, "At least I think it is, other then Yugi I've never had anyone to ask."
"What did he say the first time you asked?" Harry asked, having never heard this part of the story before.
Yami looked chagrined, "I wasn't strong enough to start with to even keep myself alert for any real amount of time, yet alone ask permission to enter his mind."
Harry tilted his head and sat up, sorting out the pillows so he could lean against them. "So what happened to make him trust you enough to let you into his memories?"
Yami shook his head, still amazed that Yugi had trusted him so implicitly without even knowing who or what Yami was, "I'd been helping him for a while, but would you believe it was combination of Kaiba and our friend Mai Valentine that finally got us working together properly?"
"But I thought you and Kaiba hated each other back then."
"We did, or rather, he thought he hated Yugi." Yami said, "No one but Tea could tell the difference."
"Then how?"
"Did we ever tell you about the Duel with Kaiba in Pegasus's castle?"
"Just that you lost."
Yami sighed, he didn't like admitting to this part, but… "I was about to win, and Kaiba stood on the wall surrounding the castle on all sides, but more specifically the cliff side edge, if I'd attacked, he would have been killed." Yami looked disgusted with himself, "Yugi didn't want to attack and instead of acquiescing and giving control back, I ordered the attack."
Harry's eyes went huge and Yami couldn't look at him.
"That was the first time I realized just how strong Yugi could be." Yami said with a small, proud, smile, "He not only wrenched control away, but somehow managed to get a hologram Celtic Guardian, and we're not talking the new holograms, but the old ones that were little more then illusions, to stop mid attack, which should have been impossible."
Harry couldn't help thinking that Yami was more then a little proud of his hikari, even when the person in question had been fighting him. "But if Yugi had to fight you, how did he get to trust you so much?"
"That would be Mai." Yami said, "She talked Yugi into facing up to me instead of just shutting me out. I had to swear that I'd never go against Yugi's wishes again before he'd let me help out."
Harry looked like he was thinking about this, "Is that why you're normally so careful to make sure you don't do something Yugi would get annoyed at?"
Yami nodded, though he had a slightly rueful smile. "Though I think last year kind of blew that out of the water."
Harry just laughed.
"Harry, are you sure I can't poke around your mind?" Yami asked, "I'd like to check the shadows didn't change anything."
Harry hesitated, "Could you wait until I'm healed enough to poke around with you?"
"Sure."
"You can stay in my mind as long as you need to." Harry said with a trusting smile, then led back down and drifted off.
The Pharaoh stood up, and looked around for somewhere for him to sit, and chose to sit against the wall and try something. 'Yugi, can you hear me?'
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Yugi jumped a mile as a faint thought, which sounded like it had come from a really old radio from at least three rooms away reached him.
"Yami? You in alright?"
'Harry did win. That Phoenix Heart card you were trying to cage from him last week saved him. I'm going to stay in here until Harry's better. So it might be a good idea to tell Madam Pomfrey.'
"Talking won't be easy once Harry's awake, I can barely hear you now. The link's weak when it's not me wearing the Puzzle." Yugi frowned, "Your body will have to stay here too."
'Leave the link open.' Yami replied, 'I'll try and give updates.'
At least 'give updates' was what Yugi assumed Yami was going to say as the link faded out.
"Yuge." Joey nodded to the barrier where the two professors were waiting semi-patiently. Yugi let them in.
"What happened?" McGonagall sounded furious. Yugi explained quickly, leaving out how Yami was currently hiding in Harry's mind to give some support to the young man, though somehow he just knew Professor Dumbledore knew. "And we're pretty sure Harry won, but he'd going to need time to recover."
Yugi paused as he caught Dumbledore's eyes, where concern was showing through behind the twinkling. Yugi felt something odd, like pressure on his mind and it hurt like hell. "Yami, if that's you that's not funny!"
'?' The alarmed and questioning feeling he got back was about all he could understand from his dark and the pressure eased off.
"I'm going to have words with him once Harry's better." Yugi thought sternly, "That ruddy hurt." He rubbed his head with his hand, trying to shake some of the headache that had caused while Joey continued the explanation, wondering if something was wrong. Yugi let the Professors out of the barrier then slumped in a chair.
"Yuge?" Joey asked, worried.
"Headache, nothing serious. Yami's in, Harry's letting him stay until he's healed." Yugi reported.
"I don't understand." Hermione said, "How did Yami get in? Harry's not a hikari."
"No." Yugi allowed, "But his mind must have been wide open for some reason and I can't think of a good one. The only thing I can think of was that someone's been through his mind before and it opened pathways."
"But Yami can't get into Joey's mind and Marik was in there at one point." Hermione frowned.
"No, because Joey chucked Marik out, creating barriers and shields against that kind of forced intrusion, Harry doesn't have those on his mind, so whoever invaded left peacefully, but left the doors open behind them."
"So someone with mind magic?" Kari asked, then paused and gasped, "Robyn knew about some kind of mind magic! Remember Xuan?"
Yugi and Joey paused and nodded, remembering him as the bad guy that Kari had nearly killed herself to defeat.
"Eye contact allowed him to get into our minds!" Kari said, lowering her tone, but no less excited as Madam Pomfrey glared at her, "Xuan was a Wizard!" She turned to her friend, "Hermione, do you know of any wand magic that might allow you to get into a person's mind."
"Well…" Hermione started thinking, "I think it's called Legellimency but I don't know much more then that."
"Another thing to add to our list of things to read up on."
"Thinking of things to read up on, what are you girls scheming?" Joey asked, not that he wasn't still concerned about Harry, but there was little they could do for the young man, he was already being looked after the best way they could.
Kari was saved from answering by a call from Madam Pomfrey and the gang settled for a time, wondering exactly what the nurse wanted.
When she came back, it was with a frown on her face.
"Kari?"
Madam Pomfrey has a spell she wants us to learn." Kari said, "She's working on something to help Harry too."
"Is that why she wanted to talk to you?"
Kari nodded, "That and we have to decide which of us needs to stay and which of us are heading back to the dorm."
"But…"
"She wouldn't let you guys stay with me and she isn't going to let us stay with Harry." Kari sighed, "We get two people." She held up two fingers to emphasize her point, "And Yami counts as one."
"What?" Joey protested, "That's no fair!"
"So I had an idea." Kari said, "We draw from the top of our decks and the one with the highest attack points is the other one to stay."
There were a round of nods and everyone drew.
"2400, Red Eyes." Joey held it up.
"2000, Dark Magician Girl." Kari sighed.
"I'm out, 2100, Sixth Son."
"2300, I'm out too, Millennium Witch."
"2300." Ombre held up her Drake card.
"I win then, 2500, the Dark Magician." Yugi smiled slightly. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"You'd better give us an update when we see you." Joey said firmly. Yugi nodded in agreement and lowered his barrier, letting the others out.
"G'night guys."
"Night Yugi." Joey waved over his shoulder as he left the hospital wing.
Yugi sighed and sat on one of the bed, opening his bag. The items hidden underneath his school book were dangerous, but they had no choice but to wield them because if they didn't have them, they could fall into the wrong hands…
Like those of Draco.
"Should we have challenged Bakura for the Ring before now? Back when the darks gained their own bodies? Before any of this could have started?" Yugi wondered, though he knew the thoughts wouldn't get down the link, "We should never have given up the Ring in exchange for the Eye."
Sleep didn't come easily to the Heir.
"Yugi!" The heir jumped and wheeled around, on the defensive instantly, well until he realised that it was Ryou that had called him. "Can I talk to you?"
"Hey Ryou, you have a good summer?" Yugi asked, nodding and following the other hikari.
"As good as can be expected." Ryou shrugged, "Better then yours at least."
Yugi didn't comment, thinking about the fact Ryou didn't know the half of it. "So what's up?"
"It's the Penalty Game on Draco."
"Ryou, I…"
"I know that we're not supposed to lift it before they've learnt their lesson, but Draco's being controlled by the Millennium Ring now too and he can't come to your group for help."
"If he's controlled by the Ring then…"
"I know but…"
Yugi frowned and sat down on a bench, "I think I need an explanation."
"I want you to lift the Penalty Game on Draco because he's being tainted by the Millennium Ring and I'm not sure he has the strength to fight it." Ryou said bluntly, "I understand that you probably wouldn't want to considering that he's been causing your group problems, but he's getting around the Penalty Game as it is, he's never going to break it and while he's unable to get help the Ring's taking over."
"How can he be controlled by the Ring if you and Bakura never hand it over?" Yugi asked.
"The Ring's not like the Puzzle, it comes and goes as it pleases, not as it's owner does." Ryou frowned, "It decided for some reason that it wanted Draco as one of it's 'owners' and I didn't know until it was too late to do anything."
"That explains how it kept getting back to you." Yugi growled, startling Ryou for a moment with how much he sounded like Yami, "But what can we do to help Draco? He may not even want our help."
"Please Yugi." Ryou looked like he was pleading.
"I want to help." Yugi held up a hand, "But I don't want to put my friends in danger either."
Ryou frowned, "I can't promise Draco would stay away from Harry or the others."
"I know, that's the problem." Yugi sighed. "Ryou, if I do this and he's controlled by the Ring too firmly, we may have to 'game' him at some point. At the moment that isn't an issue since Draco can't come after any of us directly."
"You know what the items are like, if you don't get him on your side and soon, the item could get him to go through people to get to you guys."
Yugi frowned, thinking. "Yami, you awake?"
'Since Ryou stopped you on the stairs.' Yami replied, 'I think it has to be your choice, Ryou has both good and bad points about the situation, but they are all valid points, and while I'd rather Draco wasn't able to start bullying us again, I don't think letting him get completely controlled by the Ring is a good idea either.'
"So… how do I go about lifting a Penalty Game?"
'Ummm.'
"Yugi?"
"I'll do it Ryou, but I'm not sure how."
"What did Yami say?"
"I…"
"It was obvious."
"That he'd rather not have a Shadow controlled Draco running around and that lifting the Penalty was an idea."
"But not a good one."
"No, but a route he'd rather go." Yugi sighed.
"Yami didn't teach you how?" Ryou sounded surprised.
"I don't think he knew himself, he's never had to do it."
"Bakura says you have to break the ties connecting your magic to the one under the Penalty Game." Ryou said with a frown as the Tomb Robber sent him a thought, "I didn't even tell him I was coming to ask you."
"You know what Bakura's like." Yugi said, closing his eyes and trying to feel out the strands of magic. He could sense Ryou easily, there was another mass of light upstairs, that had to be Kari, along with two dark masses, who, since they were with the other light source had to be Yami and Ombre, there was a dark mass downstairs, that had to be Bakura, along with a source of magic that wasn't dark, but it wasn't light either and if he hadn't been led to it by the cords of his own magic, he doubted he would have sensed it.
That had to be Draco, after all, he didn't sense any of his friends who weren't M Item wielders either and they'd be with Kari, Ombre and Yami.
Yugi focused on the strands of his own magic, which weaved around the self styled Slytherin Prince and caged the teen in.
He tried calling them back to him, but they didn't even budge.
Yugi tried once more, then frowned, envisioned a huge pair of scissors made from his magic and cut the strands.
Ryou had to catch him as he nearly fell over. "Yugi"
"Done, but I don't think I'd like to try that again." Yugi groaned as a headache so blinding that he shut the link to avoid it reaching Yami, arrived, quickly followed by a bout of nausea.
"Thanks Yugi." Ryou smiled, "Let me help you down to the Great Hall."
"Thanks, I think I'm gonna need it."
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The two got down to the Great Hall in time to see the post delivered. Joey was excitedly waving a letter around, telling Yugi that Serenity had gotten her timing right, and as Ryou left him with his friends at the table, he noticed Harry had one from Sirius too.
"Yugi?" Joey asked, worried, "You ok?"
The young man looked around quickly, decided that there wasn't anyone around that he didn't trust and whispered, "I lifted Draco's Penalty Game."
"What? Why?" Ron demanded, promptly getting sat on by Ombre for being too loud. "You can't trust him." He muttered with a glare at the Slytherin Table.
"Ryou."
Suddenly it made a lot more sense and while Harry still wasn't sure it was a good idea, if Ryou had come to ask Yugi about it there had to be a reason.
Both Yugi and Kari were plied with a ridiculous amount of food, though neither felt much like eating, and Yami handed over some of his energy to Yugi in order to help with the headache that was fading as he his energy level went back up again.
"What did Serenity say?" Yugi asked as they stood up to leave the breakfast table, taking a couple of pieces of toast with chocolate spread on with him.
"Just a letter to say here's my address, you'd better send me a letter soon or I'm going to bombard the school with mail." Joey said with a laugh, "Anyone would think she's annoyed that I didn't ring over the Summer."
Everyone snorted in response to that as they trudged across the wet, muddy vegetable path and entered greenhouse three, where they spent the entire lesson collecting Bubotuber pus, which wasn't very thought driven, bar the health and safety aspect and which was apparently good for the more stubborn forms of acne.
Ron spent the entire lesson muttering about Malfoy, until he was getting dark looks from even Harry.
"It was Yugi's choice." Harry inserted into Ron's unpleasant monologue, which to the relief of the rest of the gang shut Ron up.
By the time that they headed down to Care of Magical Creatures, Yugi was feeling a bit better and Kari was about half awake, which turned out to be a good thing considering that Hagrid had come with several crates full of very odd creatures that looked like… well… they didn't know what they looked like but even Bakura wasn't amused.
"Blast Ended Screwts." Hagrid told them happily. "Only just hatched, so you can raise em yourselves, make a project of it."
Draco looked like he was going to complain, but shut his mouth at a look from his brother.
By the end of the lesson the gang had been blown up, bitten, stung and generally had decided that saving the world was in fact LESS dangerous then looking after the little monsters.
Kari and Hermione shoveled food down their necks and raced off to the library, in favor of starting some new research rather then sticking around, and neither of them were seen again until the start of the next lesson.
Which, unfortunately for the majority of them came in the form of Divination and yet another presentiment of Harry's impending doom… until Harry told Professor Trelawney that no he hadn't been born mid-winter, he'd been born in July. Between that and Ron's unfortunately timed 'Can I see your Uranus?' comment, they were given a piece of homework that was to be referenced to their charts of the stars in the position they'd been in when they'd been born.
This of course had caused Yami to frown, but fill in the table as if he was Yugi, with a mind to let Yugi copy his chart when he had the lesson.
It didn't help Yami's mood when Joey jokily suggested that he take the ritual date as his fourteenth birthday.
They met Yugi and Hermione coming down from Arithmancy, complaining loudly about the amount of homework had been given to them.
They joined the end of the queue at the entrance to the Great Hall, discussing loudly while Kari and Hermione read books on tracking spells for some odd reason that they refused to discuss outside the Common Room, when there was uproar behind them.
Draco was reading the Daily Prophet out loud, much to the hilarity of the Slytherins, which was another piece claiming that Arthur Weasley was incompetent, this time it was because of his back up of Mad Eye Moody a couple of nights ago.
"Wow Weasley," Malfoy was smirking, taking the fact he could now actually say things to the group without getting a penalty in his stride. "Is your mother really that porky?"
Joey and Harry had to grab Ron's arms to stop him going after Draco.
"It's not worth it." Yami growled, glaring at Draco who tried not to appear intimidated, and the gang were surprised to find that Bakura wasn't actually attempting to do anything about it, obviously having decided that his adopted brother deserved it.
"You should've let me deal with him." Ron snarled as they ate dinner, the three girls heading up to the library to grab a couple more books on the subject they were researching after promising they'd meet them in the Boy's Dorm to tell them about their research.
The others ignored him.
"How did Malfoy find out the Penalty Game was gone so quickly?" Harry wondered.
"Ryou probably told him." Yugi said.
"Yeah, but wouldn't Ryou have said something…"
"Malfoys don't play nice with Gryffindors." Ron growled, taking up his glaring position facing the Slytherin table. Such was his distraction he barely touched his meal, although that may have been more mishmash of food he added to his plate.
More then one Gryffindor watched in disbelief as Ron shoveled the food in, and vowed never to look at cheese sauce the same way again.
Dinner was thankfully over quickly and Harry's eyes swept the Slytherin table as he got to his feet. Bakura, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle had already left the table, much to Harry's relief, since Ron had been looking for a fight and he didn't fancy costing Gryffindor points on the first day.
"Harry?" Yugi asked, still munching chocolate cake, and still catching up on all the energy he'd burnt this morning freeing Draco, though Harry was beginning to wonder if it had been a waste, no matter what Ryou had said.
"I'll meet you up there." Harry waved off Yugi's concern and headed out the door, getting to the stairwell before Draco appeared from behind the stairs. "Malfoy." Harry nodded, trying to accord the teen more respect then he was being offered, if only because he was too tired to be rude and to show the Pure-blood up.
Rudeness, however, wasn't what was on Draco's mind.
Harry couldn't believe it as the Shadows closed in around him and Draco.
Yugi and Yami had told him that only a Millennium Item wielder could call the Shadows, Draco couldn't really be… could he?
"Malfoy!" Harry growled, a headache kicking in. It was nothing compared to his nightmare migraines but he wasn't stupid, he'd learned enough from Kari's experience with her first Shadow Game to know that this was just the tip of the iceberg. "How did you drag us into the Shadow Realm?"
Harry watched with growing understanding as something started to glow on Draco Malfoy's chest. The glow came through the teenager's robes and formed into a golden item that caused Harry to growl.
"Why are you wearing the Millennium Ring?" Harry growled.
"So I can challenge you." Draco grinned, the Millennium Item protecting him from the Shadow Realm's effects.
"Yugi only just lifted the Penalty Game he put on you during our second year, and you're pulling this already?" Harry grew even angrier, "I thought you'd learnt your lesson."
Draco just shrugged, "Are you going to play me or not?"
Harry glared at him.
"If you want to forfeit and accept your Penalty Game now it's fine by me." Draco continued.
"What's the Game?" Harry asked.
Draco smirked, "Since you've been hanging out with the 'King of Games' I thought we'd play a game of Wizard's Duel Monsters."
"What happens if I lose?"
"If you don't play the Shadows will take a soul as forfeit, if you lose the Penalty is your soul."
"Malfoy, do you know what you've done?" Harry asked, "Your soul's on the line here too."
"I won't lose." Draco's smirk turned to a glare, Harry had seen far scarier ones on his friends' faces. "Will you play or not?"
Harry nodded, having taken Yugi's advice to carry his deck around at all times, especially since the events of the Summer. "Alright, usual rules?"
"Four thousand life points, first one to hit zero or deck out loses." Draco grinned as they shuffled their decks, "And I'm sure you're aware that your friend's trick doesn't work in the Shadow Realm."
"These are wizard Duel Monsters Cards, Malfoy." Harry growled, "Enhanced by my friends, they won't let me down." Harry drew his first hand.
"Your move first Potter."
Harry knelt, put his deck on the ground and drew his first card, trying to remember everything the others had taught him about the game. "I play two cards face down and a card in defense mode and end my turn." Two cards appeared right in front of him, and another in defense mode, more duel disk size then normal size. The headache got a little worse, but it wasn't so bad so far,
Draco drew, "I play one card face down, and summon my Serpent Guard in attack mode."
The Monster that appeared could have been a Slytherin Student had Harry not known better, with a black and green robe and a humanoid face, but no wand, instead he had a huge sword.
"Attack Potter's face down card."
The guard sliced through the card and for a half second, when the monster appeared, Harry's head felt like it exploded, then the monster on his card, a Baby Griffon, exploded and the pain subsided.
Harry panted for a moment, until his head cleared fully, no wonder Kari hadn't been able to fight Bakura if losing a monster caused that much pain…
"Your move Potter."
Harry draw and frowned, his hand was shaking.
"What's the matter? Are the Shadows too much for Gryffindor's Golden Boy?" Draco asked sarcastically.
Harry glared and summoned the monster he drew, "Gold Winged Wolf, in attack mode!" The wolf appeared, golden furred, with huge golden feathered wings, growling at Draco.
Harry grimaced against the pain, but it was nowhere near as bad as when his monster had been destroyed.
"I activate Beast Fangs, increasing my Wolf's attack to 2100." Harry grinned as his Wolf's fangs grew larger, "Gold Winged Wolf, attack his Guard!"
This time it was Draco that felt it as the Guard exploded. Harry smiled slightly as Draco flinched against the five hundred point drop.
"I end my turn Malfoy."
Draco looked paler then usual as he drew, it seemed he wasn't as immune as he thought he was. "Two cards face down and one in defence mode, your turn Potter."
Harry drew, shaking his head to clear his vision, "I summon my Gryphon, in attack mode and use it to attack your face down card."
Draco's snakelike thing exploded as the 1300 attack point monster attacked the card.
"And now, Gold Winged Wolf, attack him directly!"
Draco was sent sprawling by Harry's Wolf's claws.
Harry's eyes widened as the snakelike thing appeared in front of him and bit his arm. Pain raced through the teen as his own life points dropped by 2600.
"H…how?" Harry asked, barely able to think through the pain.
Draco didn't answer and Harry looked over quickly.
Draco wasn't getting up.
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'You idiot!' Draco heard someone yell at him, 'How dare you take the Ring? What were you thinking? A normal human like you couldn't handle the Shadow Realm!'
"Ba…Bakura?" Draco asked through the pain.
'I'm taking control!' Draco felt something invade his mind and then he knew no more.
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Harry watched as Draco got to his feet.
No echo of the pain that must have been racing through him like it had Harry…
Draco's eyes… they weren't grey… they were brown… they'd been grey a minute ago.
Who had brown eyes that…
"Bakura!" Harry snapped. "End this Shadow Game now."
"You're quick." Bakura in Draco's body smirked, his trademark smirk didn't look right on Draco's face but Harry was more concerned over the fact we was now facing someone who could handle the Shadow Realm and was a much better Duellist then he was. "And I can't, or rather won't."
"Then at least tell me why I lost the same amount of life points Ma…Draco did."
"By the rules, I have to." Bakura said, brown eyes staring him down. "That snake you sent to the graveyard has a special ability, you take the same amount of damage as the owner of the card on the turn it's sent to the graveyard." Bakura snorted. "It's my turn, isn't it?"
Harry nodded.
Bakura drew and his evil smirk grew eviler. Harry gulped.
"You know I have to say I'm impressed with both of you." Bakura said nonchalantly, "I suppose that it could be because you're wizards that you lasted this long, but the Shadows aren't meant for those who are untrained. You will lose Potter."
Harry scowled at him, "We'll see about that, Bakura."
"I play Monster Reborn to bring back my brother's guard and sacrifice it for this…" The guard appeared, disappeared and a huge Serpent creature appeared. It was almost as big as the basilisk Harry and Yugi had fought in their second year and no less intimidating, with huge fangs and Slytherin green scales. "My brother chose this one, the Great Serpent of the Earth, with 2300 attack points, making it more then a match for your Wolf." Bakura smirked though, "But I think I'll make it even stronger, by using Basilisk Fang, an equip card that increases any Serpent monster's attack by five hundred." It grew bigger and it's attack rose to 2800, "Now Great Serpent, attack his Wolf!"
Harry's Wolf exploded and Harry's life points dropped from 1400 to 700.
Harry's head felt like it exploded and he felt himself fall forward, luckily since he was sat down he didn't hurt anything, but he was in too much agony to realize it anyway.
"Turn end. It would be easier on yourself if you give up." Bakura's voice cut through the fog of pain, "You can't keep going like this, if you give up your soul will be trapped here but it'll be whole, you keep going and you run the risk of tearing your soul into shreds."
"W…Why do you care?" Harry asked, pain blinded but pushing himself upright, "You're…"
"You're not my problem, I'm only after the Pharaoh and the Princess, I wasn't going to challenge you unless you became more of a threat." Bakura answered, "This was Draco's idea, I had nothing to do with it."
Did Bakura sound like he was apologizing?
That wasn't possible, right?
Harry blinked, trying to stop the world from spinning, but it didn't help.
"Give up Potter, and there's a chance that your soul can be rescued, keep going and it'll be worse then the Dementors for you."
Harry's answer was to draw.
"Stupid mortal." Bakura growled, "You can't win."
Harry was busy trying to work something out.
4000 – 2100 – 500 What?
4000
1900
1400!
Damn.
One hundred points over the card he had currently face down.
Harry wasn't sure he could last another turn, he was barely holding himself together now…
"Give up Potter."
"N…no." Harry shook his head, wished he hadn't and placed the card he'd drawn face down alongside his other trap card. "I switch my Gryphon to defense mode and end my turn."
"Stupid Potter, very stupid." Bakura said, Harry thought he drew but was too busy trying to stay conscious and pay attention to the duel at the same time to be sure. "Great Serpent, attack his Gryphon!"
"Reflect Wall!" Harry activated the card he'd placed face down, "Reflects back the attack and destroys your monster."
The snake exploded. "One card face down and it's your turn Potter."
Harry knew this could be his last card, if he'd have taken any damage that turn, he was certain he wouldn't still be knelt here.
He drew. Please, I need to win this…
He stared at it.
He played it.
"I sacrifice half my life points to activate Phoenix Heart, which allows me to summon one monster from my Graveyard and attack you directly with it."
Bakura's eyes widened as Harry's 1600 attack point Gold Winged Wolf appeared on the field, "Attack!"
The Wolf swiped at Bakura but Harry was already losing consciousness.
Bakura's points hit zero as Harry hit the ground.
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The bubble was fading and the entire gang was waiting.
Yami and Yugi had sensed it first, shooting out of the Great Hall before anyone could even start to ask what was wrong.
It hadn't taken long for Kari and Ombre to sense it, but they'd already been coming out of the library when they had, and had been half way down the stairs before Yami's loud and multilingual cursing reached them.
Someone was in a Shadow Game, but they couldn't understand who.
It had to be a Bakura creation, all of the other Shadow Duellists were here, waiting to see who or what had started this and who was the victim. Even Ryou had shot up here and was now waiting to see who was caught up in the Shadow Game.
The bubble faded, leaving behind two unconscious forms.
"Harry!" Yugi shot forward before the last of the Shadows had cleared.
"Draco!" Ryou was at the young man's side almost as fast.
"How the hell did Malfoy do that?" Joey demanded angrily.
"He has the Ring." Ryou growled, "I was afraid of this."
"Then why did you…" Ron scowled.
"Not now." Yami snapped. "We don't know who won and who's hurt."
"We need to get them both to the hospital wing. Draco's Shadow Game or not, he's still not a trained Shadow Duellist." Yugi said sharply, "The shadows would still have tried to feed on him."
"Yuge…" Joey trailed off as Draco groaned and sat up in Ryou's arms. "You…"
Draco actually broke away from Ryou and backed away quickly, "Bakura… took over from me…"
"Who won?" Yami snarled at his scariest, scared for his friend if he'd been fighting the Tomb Robber in Draco's body.
"I…I don't know. I don't know what happened after Bakura took over" Draco retorted with a glare.
"Get out and take that Ra accursed Ring with you." Ombre snarled.
Draco wasn't stupid, he fled.
"Ryou…" Joey growled.
"I'll deal with him." The hikari promised and left.
"I've got Harry." Joey scooped the small teen up and carried him to the hospital wing. No one wanted to say it, but if Draco had woken up and Harry was still out and Draco had initialised the game…
Yugi was actually more worried about something else, "Yami what about his mind? Even if he won, the Shadows could have overwhelmed him."
'I know.' Yami returned, 'I think he won, his soul's still in his body.'
"That's a good sign." Yugi sensed Yami's concern, "He's hurt isn't he?"
'Badly.' Yami growled, 'And I don't know if I can help.'
"What do you mean?"
'Harry's not a hikari, we might not be able to help him.'
Madam Pomfrey was already expecting them. "Ryou Bakura said you were bringing someone in, which one of you…" She trailed off. "Set him down on one of the beds at the end Mr Wheeler."
Joey did what he was told and backed away quickly.
Yugi had to cast a barrier spell between his friend and the group that came in the door, including Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Ryou and Bakura, who was unconscious too, to stop them from attacking the group.
"Yugi, Harry won." Ryou said.
Yugi looked like he was going to ask how Ryou knew, but then assumed that it was better he didn't know, the bond between Ryou and Bakura was more convoluted then the one between him and his own dark half and Ryou hadn't appeared to have known before now…
However, if Ryou was right then it was a good thing.
Madam Pomfrey was scowling as she used the last of the diagnostic spells. "Physically there's nothing wrong with him, but his magical reserves are practically non existent and I'm no mind healer but I'd say something's attacked his mind." She paused and looked at Ombre, "This was a Shadow Game, right?"
Ombre nodded, wondering what Madam Pomfrey was getting at.
"Can't you help him the same way you helped your hikari?"
"We don't know. We're going to try." Yami promised no more then that, he didn't know if it was possible.
"I can give him something to restore some of his lost energy but that's about all I can do." Madam Pomfrey looked ill amused by this fact. "I'll have to inform Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and they'll probably inform his Godfather."
'Sirius is going to have a field day.' Yami thought sarcastically, "Madam Pomfrey, we'll have to stay close if we're going to try to help."
She pursed her lips but nodded. "Miss Ironhide, I'd like a word with you once you've gotten started whatever you're going to try."
"Yes Madam Pomfrey."
Yugi had to let her out of his barrier, and then they settled in chairs and on beds at 'their' end of the ward. "I'll try." Ombre said.
"It's better I go." Yami shook his head, "The Puzzle interacted with Harry over the Summer, I don't know if the Orb would react at all."
"Just be careful." Joey frowned, "And don't… sorry Yami." The young man sighed.
"You're worried, I understand." Yami smiled sadly, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes. Yugi waited half a second and then lifted the Puzzle from around his own neck and put it on Harry.
"Now all we can do is wait." Yugi sighed as the eye on the Puzzle glowed.
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Yami was surprised to find that the corridor between his room and what was possibly Harry's soul room was similar to the corridor which held the portrait of the Fat Lady.
It shouldn't have been this easy, just to simply waltz into Harry's mind, and something about it bothered the Pharaoh, but he didn't stop to think about it and on opening the door to Harry's Soul Room, Yami's eyes had to adjust for a moment to how dark the room was. There many shadowy corners and the only light was being given off by a candle in the center of the room.
It bathed the parts of the room it touched in a warm light, but there was far more darkness in the room then light.
For Yami, who was used to either his tomb like room, or Yugi's bright and airy one, the room wasn't what he'd expected but he didn't waste time hesitating at the door.
Harry was unconscious on a four poster bed that looked like it had come from their dorm, the only thing in the entire room to have Gryffindor colours on it, unless you counted the candle's flame, and he was terribly pale and washed out.
"Harry," Yami shook him gently and the teen opened his eyes, the emerald green orbs revealed just how much pain he was in, "I'm here to help."
"I won, didn't I?"
"You tell me."
"I used Phoenix Heart, and my Wolf attacked successfully… so I won." Harry's face gained a smile. Where are we?" Harry asked hoarsely.
"Your Soul Room, Yugi put the Puzzle on you so I could help."
"How come it's so dark?"
Yami shrugged, "I don't know, it's your Soul Room." He examined Harry carefully, "You did really well, I've never known a someone who wasn't linked to a Millennium Item, who won a Shadow Game before."
"Draco challenged me, but Bakura took over when we both took 2100 points direct damage."
"You took…" Yami shook his head, amused, "Harry, I'm going to lend you some of the Puzzle's power, it's nothing bad, but it's just to help the healing process, and if you'd let me, I'd like to examine the memory of the Duel." Harry hesitated and Yami sighed, "I won't if you don't want me to."
"Sorry Yami…" Harry shook his head and Yami frowned but there was understanding his eyes.
"Is it alright if I stay until you're fully recovered?" Yami asked, offering Harry a ball of purple energy. Harry touched it and it sank into him. Harry smiled slightly and to Yami the room brightened slightly, a sign it was helping.
Harry felt the energy rush through him and the pain subside slowly, sitting up, "You could if you wanted to, you don't have to ask, do you?" Yami looked surprised, but answered truthfully.
"No," Yami admitted, "But it's polite to ask before you take residence in someone's mind." He paused, "At least I think it is, other then Yugi I've never had anyone to ask."
"What did he say the first time you asked?" Harry asked, having never heard this part of the story before.
Yami looked chagrined, "I wasn't strong enough to start with to even keep myself alert for any real amount of time, yet alone ask permission to enter his mind."
Harry tilted his head and sat up, sorting out the pillows so he could lean against them. "So what happened to make him trust you enough to let you into his memories?"
Yami shook his head, still amazed that Yugi had trusted him so implicitly without even knowing who or what Yami was, "I'd been helping him for a while, but would you believe it was combination of Kaiba and our friend Mai Valentine that finally got us working together properly?"
"But I thought you and Kaiba hated each other back then."
"We did, or rather, he thought he hated Yugi." Yami said, "No one but Tea could tell the difference."
"Then how?"
"Did we ever tell you about the Duel with Kaiba in Pegasus's castle?"
"Just that you lost."
Yami sighed, he didn't like admitting to this part, but… "I was about to win, and Kaiba stood on the wall surrounding the castle on all sides, but more specifically the cliff side edge, if I'd attacked, he would have been killed." Yami looked disgusted with himself, "Yugi didn't want to attack and instead of acquiescing and giving control back, I ordered the attack."
Harry's eyes went huge and Yami couldn't look at him.
"That was the first time I realized just how strong Yugi could be." Yami said with a small, proud, smile, "He not only wrenched control away, but somehow managed to get a hologram Celtic Guardian, and we're not talking the new holograms, but the old ones that were little more then illusions, to stop mid attack, which should have been impossible."
Harry couldn't help thinking that Yami was more then a little proud of his hikari, even when the person in question had been fighting him. "But if Yugi had to fight you, how did he get to trust you so much?"
"That would be Mai." Yami said, "She talked Yugi into facing up to me instead of just shutting me out. I had to swear that I'd never go against Yugi's wishes again before he'd let me help out."
Harry looked like he was thinking about this, "Is that why you're normally so careful to make sure you don't do something Yugi would get annoyed at?"
Yami nodded, though he had a slightly rueful smile. "Though I think last year kind of blew that out of the water."
Harry just laughed.
"Harry, are you sure I can't poke around your mind?" Yami asked, "I'd like to check the shadows didn't change anything."
Harry hesitated, "Could you wait until I'm healed enough to poke around with you?"
"Sure."
"You can stay in my mind as long as you need to." Harry said with a trusting smile, then led back down and drifted off.
The Pharaoh stood up, and looked around for somewhere for him to sit, and chose to sit against the wall and try something. 'Yugi, can you hear me?'
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Yugi jumped a mile as a faint thought, which sounded like it had come from a really old radio from at least three rooms away reached him.
"Yami? You in alright?"
'Harry did win. That Phoenix Heart card you were trying to cage from him last week saved him. I'm going to stay in here until Harry's better. So it might be a good idea to tell Madam Pomfrey.'
"Talking won't be easy once Harry's awake, I can barely hear you now. The link's weak when it's not me wearing the Puzzle." Yugi frowned, "Your body will have to stay here too."
'Leave the link open.' Yami replied, 'I'll try and give updates.'
At least 'give updates' was what Yugi assumed Yami was going to say as the link faded out.
"Yuge." Joey nodded to the barrier where the two professors were waiting semi-patiently. Yugi let them in.
"What happened?" McGonagall sounded furious. Yugi explained quickly, leaving out how Yami was currently hiding in Harry's mind to give some support to the young man, though somehow he just knew Professor Dumbledore knew. "And we're pretty sure Harry won, but he'd going to need time to recover."
Yugi paused as he caught Dumbledore's eyes, where concern was showing through behind the twinkling. Yugi felt something odd, like pressure on his mind and it hurt like hell. "Yami, if that's you that's not funny!"
'?' The alarmed and questioning feeling he got back was about all he could understand from his dark and the pressure eased off.
"I'm going to have words with him once Harry's better." Yugi thought sternly, "That ruddy hurt." He rubbed his head with his hand, trying to shake some of the headache that had caused while Joey continued the explanation, wondering if something was wrong. Yugi let the Professors out of the barrier then slumped in a chair.
"Yuge?" Joey asked, worried.
"Headache, nothing serious. Yami's in, Harry's letting him stay until he's healed." Yugi reported.
"I don't understand." Hermione said, "How did Yami get in? Harry's not a hikari."
"No." Yugi allowed, "But his mind must have been wide open for some reason and I can't think of a good one. The only thing I can think of was that someone's been through his mind before and it opened pathways."
"But Yami can't get into Joey's mind and Marik was in there at one point." Hermione frowned.
"No, because Joey chucked Marik out, creating barriers and shields against that kind of forced intrusion, Harry doesn't have those on his mind, so whoever invaded left peacefully, but left the doors open behind them."
"So someone with mind magic?" Kari asked, then paused and gasped, "Robyn knew about some kind of mind magic! Remember Xuan?"
Yugi and Joey paused and nodded, remembering him as the bad guy that Kari had nearly killed herself to defeat.
"Eye contact allowed him to get into our minds!" Kari said, lowering her tone, but no less excited as Madam Pomfrey glared at her, "Xuan was a Wizard!" She turned to her friend, "Hermione, do you know of any wand magic that might allow you to get into a person's mind."
"Well…" Hermione started thinking, "I think it's called Legellimency but I don't know much more then that."
"Another thing to add to our list of things to read up on."
"Thinking of things to read up on, what are you girls scheming?" Joey asked, not that he wasn't still concerned about Harry, but there was little they could do for the young man, he was already being looked after the best way they could.
Kari was saved from answering by a call from Madam Pomfrey and the gang settled for a time, wondering exactly what the nurse wanted.
When she came back, it was with a frown on her face.
"Kari?"
Madam Pomfrey has a spell she wants us to learn." Kari said, "She's working on something to help Harry too."
"Is that why she wanted to talk to you?"
Kari nodded, "That and we have to decide which of us needs to stay and which of us are heading back to the dorm."
"But…"
"She wouldn't let you guys stay with me and she isn't going to let us stay with Harry." Kari sighed, "We get two people." She held up two fingers to emphasize her point, "And Yami counts as one."
"What?" Joey protested, "That's no fair!"
"So I had an idea." Kari said, "We draw from the top of our decks and the one with the highest attack points is the other one to stay."
There were a round of nods and everyone drew.
"2400, Red Eyes." Joey held it up.
"2000, Dark Magician Girl." Kari sighed.
"I'm out, 2100, Sixth Son."
"2300, I'm out too, Millennium Witch."
"2300." Ombre held up her Drake card.
"I win then, 2500, the Dark Magician." Yugi smiled slightly. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"You'd better give us an update when we see you." Joey said firmly. Yugi nodded in agreement and lowered his barrier, letting the others out.
"G'night guys."
"Night Yugi." Joey waved over his shoulder as he left the hospital wing.
Yugi sighed and sat on one of the bed, opening his bag. The items hidden underneath his school book were dangerous, but they had no choice but to wield them because if they didn't have them, they could fall into the wrong hands…
Like those of Draco.
"Should we have challenged Bakura for the Ring before now? Back when the darks gained their own bodies? Before any of this could have started?" Yugi wondered, though he knew the thoughts wouldn't get down the link, "We should never have given up the Ring in exchange for the Eye."
Sleep didn't come easily to the Heir.