Chapter 18: - Home for the Summer
Something gold glinted just above Harry. The Snitch! He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy. He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange. He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him.
"Good afternoon Harry." Said Dumbledore.
Harry stared at him and remembered, "Sir! The Stone, it was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick…"
"Calm yourself dear boy, you are a bit behind the times." Said Dumbledore, "Quirrell does not have the stone."
"Then who does? Sir, I…"
"Harry please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realised he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets and next to him was a table piled high with sweets, enough to open a sweet shop, Harry would have wagered. In the next bed over Yugi was sleeping, his face ashen.
"Tokens from your friends and admirers." Said Dumbledore beaming, "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally the whole school knows about it. I believe your friend's Misters Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a lavatory seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic and confiscated it."
"How long have I been in here?"
"Three days. Your group of friends, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Ironhide x2, the other Mr Muto, Mr Wheeler and even Mr Kaiba, will be relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried, though Mr Kaiba has been hiding it well."
"What's wrong with Yugi?"
"His spirit was injured by Voldemort, after you passed out; Yugi came round yesterday while the Pharaoh was here and passed out about an hour after he left. The Pharaoh says Yugi will be fine, he just needs time to recover, he has the feeling Yugi is hiding something from him though."
"And the Stone?"
"I see you're not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. Yugi helped prevent that, I arrived as the Pharaoh's mind entered the Puzzle to help Yugi. Though you did most of the work on your own."
Harry looked over to Yugi's bed, "He'll be fine Harry. Though at the time I feared I was too late."
"You nearly were. Yugi was the only one conscious when I passed out, I wouldn't have been able to keep Quirrell from getting the Stone if it wasn't for him."
"Not the Stone, boy, you, the effort involved in stopping Quirrell nearly killed you. For a horrible moment I thought it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Harry said blankly, "But your friend, Nicolas Flamel…"
"Oh, you know about Nicholas?" Dumbledore sounded delighted, "You did do the thing properly, didn't you?..."
Yugi's eyes slowly opened, he could hear voices, Harry's and Professor Dumbledore's. He sat up as Harry spoke, earning himself a smile from the headmaster. "And Sir, there's one more thing."
"Just one more?"
"How did I get the Stone out of the Mirror?"
"Ah now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between us three, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone, find it, but not use it, would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves using it to make gold or drinking the Elixir of Life."
"But then why didn't…?"
"I find it?" Yugi finished, "I didn't want to find it, I wanted it to remain hidden, safe from Quirrell."
"Enough questions, I'd suggest you two team up to make a start on your sweets." Yugi noticed he had quite a large pile too, "Ah! Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavoured one, and since then I've rather lost my taste for them. I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?" He smiled and popped one in his mouth. Then he choked, "Alas! Earwax!"
Madam Pomfrey was a nice woman, but very strict. "Just five minutes!" Harry pleaded.
"Absolutly not."
"But you let Professor Dumbledore in."
"Well of course Mr Muto, that was the Headmaster, quite different. You both need rest." Yugi used his 'cutsie eyes of doom' on her, and Madam Pomfrey gave in.
"Dirty trick!" Harry hissed as Madam Pomfrey let the group in. Yugi just smiled sweetly at him.
"Harry!"
"Yugi!"
Harry was very glad that Hermione restrained herself from hugging him too hard, he watched the Japanese students equally enthusiastic treatment of Yugi though he couldn't help notice both hikaris were being quiet towards their yamis. "What really happened?" Ron asked, Harry and Kari fell to explaining while Yami prodded Yugi mentally.
"Are you feeling better?"
'I'm fine Yami.'
"No, you're not, you're hiding something."
'I can't hide anything from you can I?'
"No." Yami sighed, "What's wrong?"
'He was right.'
"Who?"
'Him, Voldemort. He was right.'
"What do you mean?"
'He was right, you don't need me anymore. I've only ever been a burden to you, why would you want to hang around me anymore? You could take the Puzzle and get on with this life.'
"Yugi…" Yami hugged his hikari tightly, "He wasn't right; you've helped me as much as I've helped you. More so in fact, if it wasn't for you I would never have been awakened from the darkness of the shadows, I wouldn't have met you and your friends, I owe you more then I'll ever be able to repay."
'I think you paid me back down in the Mirror room. You saved me from Voldemort, he was trying to possess me, I fought him, but if you hadn't come when you did he would have destroyed me.' Yugi's mental voice was wavering, he was still tired and injured.
"Rest Yugi. We'll talk this over once you have the strength to have a long conversation or we're on our own." Yugi nodded, smiling weakly, physically he was fully recovered, mentally he had a way to go.
"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron, they'd missed most of the conversation, "Flamel's just going to die?"
"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that… what was it?... 'to the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure'."
"I always said he was off his rocker." Ron said, looking quite impressed at just how mad his hero was.
"So what happened to you lot?" asked Harry.
"Well I got back all right," said Hermione, "Once I got Kaiba and Ombre to the chess room I brought everyone around, that took a while, and Ron and I were dashing up to the owlery when we met him at the Entrance Hall. He already knew, he just said, "He's gone after him, hasn't he?" and hurtled off to the third floor."
"Do you think he knew we'd do it?" said Ron, "Sending Harry the invisibility cloak, your father's cloak, and everything?"
"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did… I mean to say… that's terrible, you could have been killed!"
"No, it isn't." Said Yami thoughtfully, Hermione gave him a look that clearly said, you-are-mad, "Just hear me out, he had no way of predicting Yugi and Kari would be captured, but he is an odd man, I think he wanted to give Harry a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here and I have a feeling that he had a pretty good idea we were going to try and instead of stopping us, he taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let Harry find out about the mirror and how it worked. It's almost like he thought Harry had the right to face Voldemort if he could."
"Yeah, Dumbledore's barking, alright." Said Ron proudly. "Listen, you two have to be up be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are in and Slytherin won of course, Bakura's been lording it over us ever since the end of the Quidditch match. We were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you, but the food'll be good."
At that point Madam Pomfrey bustled over. "You've had nearly fifteen minutes, NOW OUT!" She said firmly.
After a good night's sleep the two boys felt closer to normal. "We'd like to go to the feast," Harry told Madam Pomfrey, as she straightened their sweet boxes, "We can, can't we?"
"Professor Dumbledore says you're both to be allowed to go." She said stiffly, as if she was of the opinion that Dumbledore didn't know how risky feasts could be. "Oh and you've got another visiter."
"Oh good," Yugi said, "Who is it?" Hagrid walked in through the door as Yugi spoke. As usual when indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down on a chair between the two beds, took one look at them and burst into tears. "It's… all… my… ruddy… fault…" he sobbed, face in his hands, "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All over a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I shoul' be chucked out and made to live as a muggle!"
"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking into his beard. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow. This is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him!"
"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid, "An' don' say the name."
"VOLDEMORT!" Yugi yelled, taking a leaf from Joey's book, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying.
"We've met him and we're calling him by his name." Harry continued, "Please cheer up Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, we have loads."
Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present Harry."
"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.
"Na, Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday to fix this. Course he should have fired me instead… anyway, got yeh this." It seemed to be a handsome, leather covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father."
"Sent owls off ter all yeh parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos… knew yer didn't have any… d'yeh like it?" Harry couldn't speak but Hagrid understood.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yugi and Harry made their way down to the end of year feast together. Madam Pomfrey had held them up with her fussing, so the Great Hall was already full. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. When they walked in there was a sudden hush and then everyone started talking loudly at once. Harry slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione, while Yugi joined Yami and Joey, opposite him, at the Gryffindor table. Theyu tried to ignore the fact people were looking at them.
Fortunatly, Dumbledore arrived moments alter. The babble died away.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerily, "And I must trouble you with an old man's weezing whaffle before we sink out teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were, you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts.
Now as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding and the points stand thus; in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty two; Ravenclaw have four hundred and twenty six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy two."
A storm of cheering rose from the Slytherin table. Yami refused to watch Bakura's antics as he tried to annoy the Pharaoh, Harry however could see Malfoy's smirk as he banged his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight."
"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin." Said Dumbledore, "However, recent events must be taken into account," The room went still, Yami's head shot up and the Slytherin's smiles faded slightly, "And I have a few last minute points to hand out. Let's see…
Firstly, to Mr Joseph Wheeler, and Miss Ombre Ironhide, who, the moment they realised their friends were in danger, sprang to their aid, 20 points each." Joey smiled and Ombre grinned happily at her hikari.
"Secondly to Mr Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen these many years, I award 20 points." Ron went beetroot red. The Gryffindor cheers were getting louder.
"Thirdly to Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of logic when faced with fire, I award 20 points." Gryffindors were beginning to go wild, they were up eighty points.
"To Mr Yami Muto, who acted the moment he was aware of a secondary attack on one of the students, saving that student's life, twenty points."
"We're up one hundred points!" Harry whispered to Kari who nodded, Dumbledore wasn't done yet.
"To Miss Kari Ironhide, who put herself in harms way to protect her fellow Gryffindors, twenty points." Kari grinned; she hadn't thought about it, she'd just acted.
"To Mr Yugi Muto, who continued to fight to protect his friends, even at the risk of his own soul, twenty points." Twenty points under Slytherin, and Dumbledore was still going.
"To Mr Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding bravery, twenty points."
"We're tied with Slytherin!" Hermione hissed, Yami smirked and looked at Bakura who gave him a rude finger sign across the tables.
"To Mr Seto Kaiba, for attempting to help those who he'd normally turn away from, twenty points." Ravenclaw house cheered.
"And finally, it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but even more so to stand up to our friends, so I award ten points, to Mr Neville Longbottom!" Anyone outside would have thought that an explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise from Gryffindor table. The gang stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, who had never won a single house point and was white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. Yami couldn't have been happier as Yugi poked him and pointed out Bakura, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-bind curse put on him, while he was in the Shadow Realm. "Which means we need a change of decoration!" He clapped his hands and the green hangings became scarlet and the silver ones, gold. "Gryffindor win the house cup!"
It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning Quidditch, or knocking out mountain trolls… he would never, ever forget tonight.
Harry had forgotten about the exam results. To their surprise, everyone had done well. Hermione was top of the year, with, to Kari's annoyance, Kaiba second, though she'd come close third. Even Neville scraped through, his high Herbology grade making up for his abysmal Potions one. Though to their disappointment, neither, Crabbe or Goyle failed, it was a shame, but as Ron told them as they sat in the Common Room one night, you couldn't have everything.
It was too short a time before they were disembarking at King's Cross Station, Kaiba had offered to give the Japanese students a ride home, in exchange for their participation in his tournament later that summer. They were introduced to Ron's family and to Harry's uncle and aunt. Harry had hung back for a last word with the group.
"Uhh… have a nice summer." Hermione said uncertainly, shocked anyone could be that rude.
"Hey Harry, if they're too bad give us a buzz and we'll deal with them." Ombre and Yami agreed.
"Oh don't worry, I have a feeling this summer is going to be fine." Harry was grinning. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home, I'm going to have fun with Dudley over the summer…"
"Good afternoon Harry." Said Dumbledore.
Harry stared at him and remembered, "Sir! The Stone, it was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick…"
"Calm yourself dear boy, you are a bit behind the times." Said Dumbledore, "Quirrell does not have the stone."
"Then who does? Sir, I…"
"Harry please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realised he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets and next to him was a table piled high with sweets, enough to open a sweet shop, Harry would have wagered. In the next bed over Yugi was sleeping, his face ashen.
"Tokens from your friends and admirers." Said Dumbledore beaming, "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally the whole school knows about it. I believe your friend's Misters Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a lavatory seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic and confiscated it."
"How long have I been in here?"
"Three days. Your group of friends, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Ironhide x2, the other Mr Muto, Mr Wheeler and even Mr Kaiba, will be relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried, though Mr Kaiba has been hiding it well."
"What's wrong with Yugi?"
"His spirit was injured by Voldemort, after you passed out; Yugi came round yesterday while the Pharaoh was here and passed out about an hour after he left. The Pharaoh says Yugi will be fine, he just needs time to recover, he has the feeling Yugi is hiding something from him though."
"And the Stone?"
"I see you're not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. Yugi helped prevent that, I arrived as the Pharaoh's mind entered the Puzzle to help Yugi. Though you did most of the work on your own."
Harry looked over to Yugi's bed, "He'll be fine Harry. Though at the time I feared I was too late."
"You nearly were. Yugi was the only one conscious when I passed out, I wouldn't have been able to keep Quirrell from getting the Stone if it wasn't for him."
"Not the Stone, boy, you, the effort involved in stopping Quirrell nearly killed you. For a horrible moment I thought it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Harry said blankly, "But your friend, Nicolas Flamel…"
"Oh, you know about Nicholas?" Dumbledore sounded delighted, "You did do the thing properly, didn't you?..."
Yugi's eyes slowly opened, he could hear voices, Harry's and Professor Dumbledore's. He sat up as Harry spoke, earning himself a smile from the headmaster. "And Sir, there's one more thing."
"Just one more?"
"How did I get the Stone out of the Mirror?"
"Ah now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between us three, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone, find it, but not use it, would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves using it to make gold or drinking the Elixir of Life."
"But then why didn't…?"
"I find it?" Yugi finished, "I didn't want to find it, I wanted it to remain hidden, safe from Quirrell."
"Enough questions, I'd suggest you two team up to make a start on your sweets." Yugi noticed he had quite a large pile too, "Ah! Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavoured one, and since then I've rather lost my taste for them. I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?" He smiled and popped one in his mouth. Then he choked, "Alas! Earwax!"
Madam Pomfrey was a nice woman, but very strict. "Just five minutes!" Harry pleaded.
"Absolutly not."
"But you let Professor Dumbledore in."
"Well of course Mr Muto, that was the Headmaster, quite different. You both need rest." Yugi used his 'cutsie eyes of doom' on her, and Madam Pomfrey gave in.
"Dirty trick!" Harry hissed as Madam Pomfrey let the group in. Yugi just smiled sweetly at him.
"Harry!"
"Yugi!"
Harry was very glad that Hermione restrained herself from hugging him too hard, he watched the Japanese students equally enthusiastic treatment of Yugi though he couldn't help notice both hikaris were being quiet towards their yamis. "What really happened?" Ron asked, Harry and Kari fell to explaining while Yami prodded Yugi mentally.
"Are you feeling better?"
'I'm fine Yami.'
"No, you're not, you're hiding something."
'I can't hide anything from you can I?'
"No." Yami sighed, "What's wrong?"
'He was right.'
"Who?"
'Him, Voldemort. He was right.'
"What do you mean?"
'He was right, you don't need me anymore. I've only ever been a burden to you, why would you want to hang around me anymore? You could take the Puzzle and get on with this life.'
"Yugi…" Yami hugged his hikari tightly, "He wasn't right; you've helped me as much as I've helped you. More so in fact, if it wasn't for you I would never have been awakened from the darkness of the shadows, I wouldn't have met you and your friends, I owe you more then I'll ever be able to repay."
'I think you paid me back down in the Mirror room. You saved me from Voldemort, he was trying to possess me, I fought him, but if you hadn't come when you did he would have destroyed me.' Yugi's mental voice was wavering, he was still tired and injured.
"Rest Yugi. We'll talk this over once you have the strength to have a long conversation or we're on our own." Yugi nodded, smiling weakly, physically he was fully recovered, mentally he had a way to go.
"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron, they'd missed most of the conversation, "Flamel's just going to die?"
"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that… what was it?... 'to the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure'."
"I always said he was off his rocker." Ron said, looking quite impressed at just how mad his hero was.
"So what happened to you lot?" asked Harry.
"Well I got back all right," said Hermione, "Once I got Kaiba and Ombre to the chess room I brought everyone around, that took a while, and Ron and I were dashing up to the owlery when we met him at the Entrance Hall. He already knew, he just said, "He's gone after him, hasn't he?" and hurtled off to the third floor."
"Do you think he knew we'd do it?" said Ron, "Sending Harry the invisibility cloak, your father's cloak, and everything?"
"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did… I mean to say… that's terrible, you could have been killed!"
"No, it isn't." Said Yami thoughtfully, Hermione gave him a look that clearly said, you-are-mad, "Just hear me out, he had no way of predicting Yugi and Kari would be captured, but he is an odd man, I think he wanted to give Harry a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here and I have a feeling that he had a pretty good idea we were going to try and instead of stopping us, he taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let Harry find out about the mirror and how it worked. It's almost like he thought Harry had the right to face Voldemort if he could."
"Yeah, Dumbledore's barking, alright." Said Ron proudly. "Listen, you two have to be up be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are in and Slytherin won of course, Bakura's been lording it over us ever since the end of the Quidditch match. We were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you, but the food'll be good."
At that point Madam Pomfrey bustled over. "You've had nearly fifteen minutes, NOW OUT!" She said firmly.
After a good night's sleep the two boys felt closer to normal. "We'd like to go to the feast," Harry told Madam Pomfrey, as she straightened their sweet boxes, "We can, can't we?"
"Professor Dumbledore says you're both to be allowed to go." She said stiffly, as if she was of the opinion that Dumbledore didn't know how risky feasts could be. "Oh and you've got another visiter."
"Oh good," Yugi said, "Who is it?" Hagrid walked in through the door as Yugi spoke. As usual when indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down on a chair between the two beds, took one look at them and burst into tears. "It's… all… my… ruddy… fault…" he sobbed, face in his hands, "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All over a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I shoul' be chucked out and made to live as a muggle!"
"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking into his beard. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow. This is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him!"
"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid, "An' don' say the name."
"VOLDEMORT!" Yugi yelled, taking a leaf from Joey's book, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying.
"We've met him and we're calling him by his name." Harry continued, "Please cheer up Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, we have loads."
Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present Harry."
"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.
"Na, Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday to fix this. Course he should have fired me instead… anyway, got yeh this." It seemed to be a handsome, leather covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father."
"Sent owls off ter all yeh parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos… knew yer didn't have any… d'yeh like it?" Harry couldn't speak but Hagrid understood.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yugi and Harry made their way down to the end of year feast together. Madam Pomfrey had held them up with her fussing, so the Great Hall was already full. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. When they walked in there was a sudden hush and then everyone started talking loudly at once. Harry slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione, while Yugi joined Yami and Joey, opposite him, at the Gryffindor table. Theyu tried to ignore the fact people were looking at them.
Fortunatly, Dumbledore arrived moments alter. The babble died away.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerily, "And I must trouble you with an old man's weezing whaffle before we sink out teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were, you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts.
Now as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding and the points stand thus; in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty two; Ravenclaw have four hundred and twenty six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy two."
A storm of cheering rose from the Slytherin table. Yami refused to watch Bakura's antics as he tried to annoy the Pharaoh, Harry however could see Malfoy's smirk as he banged his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight."
"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin." Said Dumbledore, "However, recent events must be taken into account," The room went still, Yami's head shot up and the Slytherin's smiles faded slightly, "And I have a few last minute points to hand out. Let's see…
Firstly, to Mr Joseph Wheeler, and Miss Ombre Ironhide, who, the moment they realised their friends were in danger, sprang to their aid, 20 points each." Joey smiled and Ombre grinned happily at her hikari.
"Secondly to Mr Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen these many years, I award 20 points." Ron went beetroot red. The Gryffindor cheers were getting louder.
"Thirdly to Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of logic when faced with fire, I award 20 points." Gryffindors were beginning to go wild, they were up eighty points.
"To Mr Yami Muto, who acted the moment he was aware of a secondary attack on one of the students, saving that student's life, twenty points."
"We're up one hundred points!" Harry whispered to Kari who nodded, Dumbledore wasn't done yet.
"To Miss Kari Ironhide, who put herself in harms way to protect her fellow Gryffindors, twenty points." Kari grinned; she hadn't thought about it, she'd just acted.
"To Mr Yugi Muto, who continued to fight to protect his friends, even at the risk of his own soul, twenty points." Twenty points under Slytherin, and Dumbledore was still going.
"To Mr Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding bravery, twenty points."
"We're tied with Slytherin!" Hermione hissed, Yami smirked and looked at Bakura who gave him a rude finger sign across the tables.
"To Mr Seto Kaiba, for attempting to help those who he'd normally turn away from, twenty points." Ravenclaw house cheered.
"And finally, it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but even more so to stand up to our friends, so I award ten points, to Mr Neville Longbottom!" Anyone outside would have thought that an explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise from Gryffindor table. The gang stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, who had never won a single house point and was white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. Yami couldn't have been happier as Yugi poked him and pointed out Bakura, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-bind curse put on him, while he was in the Shadow Realm. "Which means we need a change of decoration!" He clapped his hands and the green hangings became scarlet and the silver ones, gold. "Gryffindor win the house cup!"
It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning Quidditch, or knocking out mountain trolls… he would never, ever forget tonight.
Harry had forgotten about the exam results. To their surprise, everyone had done well. Hermione was top of the year, with, to Kari's annoyance, Kaiba second, though she'd come close third. Even Neville scraped through, his high Herbology grade making up for his abysmal Potions one. Though to their disappointment, neither, Crabbe or Goyle failed, it was a shame, but as Ron told them as they sat in the Common Room one night, you couldn't have everything.
It was too short a time before they were disembarking at King's Cross Station, Kaiba had offered to give the Japanese students a ride home, in exchange for their participation in his tournament later that summer. They were introduced to Ron's family and to Harry's uncle and aunt. Harry had hung back for a last word with the group.
"Uhh… have a nice summer." Hermione said uncertainly, shocked anyone could be that rude.
"Hey Harry, if they're too bad give us a buzz and we'll deal with them." Ombre and Yami agreed.
"Oh don't worry, I have a feeling this summer is going to be fine." Harry was grinning. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home, I'm going to have fun with Dudley over the summer…"