Chapter 11: - No Island Stands Alone
It was a Saturday afternoon, in January, and Draco was walking around the castle, trying to work out some way of escaping Bakura's clutches. He'd come up with zilch. He'd even looked in the library for some sort of anti-spell to no avail, however he had found out that Bakura couldn't betray him either, the spell worked both ways, this was information that Draco had stored away for another day, when such a loophole would be useful to stop Bakura in his tracks, but only if Draco could work out how to use it to the best effect.
Unfortunately for him, the book he needed, that told him about the preparation potion and the full effects of the spell, was locked away in the Forbidden Section, and he was unable to find Professor Snape to get permission to borrow it. What he had found was records of people using the spell, and from those accounts he had worked out a few of the effects, but for any really useful information he would need to enter the Forbidden Section.
This fight this morning, which had started when Bakura had successfully annoyed the Weasley Twins, had given him an opportunity to slip off for the first time since the spell binding them together. Just because he couldn't betray Bakura by going to Muto and his gang, didn't mean he didn't have some free will of his own left, and he had no intention of remaining in Bakura's power.
Draco sighed, then saw Yami Muto, the Pharaoh, rush past, a look of horror and self disgust on his face, so intense, that Draco wondered what the hell he'd done. Disregarding his better judgement Draco followed him to one of the boy's bathrooms, where he cast a spell Bakura had taught him, making it much harder to notice him, and slipped in after him, hiding in one of the toilets so Muto wouldn't see him when it wore off. Bakura had his uses… Draco listened carefully as the normally cocky and overconfident male bereted himself.
"How could I?" Yami started, a dull thud echoing round the room, one that Draco recognised as the sound of someone bashing their head against a door, possibly one of the toilet stall doors, "It got away from me…" Thud, "I should never have…" Thud, "Fighting or not," Thud, "I shouldn't have let it get away from me…" Thud, "I should've had better control on my Shadow Magic…" Thud, "I felt it slip out of my grip…" Thud, "I should never have even thought about controlling Yugi."
Draco had to smother a gasp, the entire school knew the two were fighting, but he'd never thought the Pharaoh would stoop to Bakura's level. Maybe the yamis were all the same…
Wouldn't Bakura love to have that little tidbit of information. I wonder what I could get out of him…
Draco wondered how much of that thought was his and how much of it was the spell at work.
Yami was berating himself again.
"I should never…" Thud, "Ever," Thud, Draco heard the sound of fabric sliding down something, taking a peek, he saw the normally completely self assured man had sunk to the floor, his head in his hands, Yami looked around, and Draco withdrew into the toilet again. "He'll never trust me again." Yami's voice sounded broken, "And it's all my fault."
'Come to the Common Room now.' Draco nearly growled, as Bakura's mental voice rang in his head, Draco sent a wave of frustration back; he didn't want to lose the chance that this information could provide.
Draco sensed Bakura's anger, 'Now, Draco.'
"I'm listening in on the Pharaoh, I'll report back later."
Draco felt Bakura's interest war with anger at being thwarted… slowly one overpowered the other. 'Fine, but I want a full report of everything you've done today.'
"Maybe, lets see how valuable my spywork is first." Draco thought back, his attention turning quickly back to the Pharaoh.
'I could drag you out, and then the Pharaoh would notice you, I bet.'
"Yep, you could, except that would put me in danger, in effect betraying me, do you really want to lose my co-operation?" Draco felt his awareness of Bakura fading, he smiled slightly, he had won that round, only time would tell if he'd win the war.
Draco continued to watch the Pharaoh for another twenty minutes, but nothing else was said, Yami spent it staring listlessly at the floor. Draco pulled out his wand, and muttered the can't-see-me spell as quietly as he could manage, and slipped out of the men's room, walking down to the Slytherin Common Room.
Bakura was waiting for him.
"Well?" He demanded. Draco took a sip of the pumpkin juice someone had stolen from the kitchens, and only then turned to Bakura, sensing Bakura's growing anger.
"Yami and Yugi fought earlier."
"I'm aware of this, I was in Dark Necrofear's room." Draco went paler then normal at the look on Bakura's face.
"Were you aware that the Pharaoh used Shadow Magic on his hikari?" Draco asked, Bakura's eyes widened, the only indication of surprise, "I overheard him, he attempted to control his hikari."
"The Pharaoh attempted to control the runt?" Bakura's eyes were shining with mischief as Draco nodded, "You're certain of this?" Draco nodded, Bakura smirked evilly, any other questions lost in planning that sprung up from this new concept.
"Did anyone else hear this?"
Draco shook his head, "No, the Pharaoh believed he was alone."
"Good, when I saw the Pharaoh's other half, on my way out, he was looking worse for wear, but there was no lingering Shadow Magic other then that of the Monsters, his highness must've tried and failed."
Draco recognised the look on Bakura's face, it didn't bode well.
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BACK TO FEBUARAY
It looked the end of their group of friends, everyone was so angry at everyone else that Harry couldn't see how they'd ever make it up. Ron refused to speak to Hermione, Kari and had been angry at Yami beforehand, and refused to even look at him. Hermione, Kari and Ombre had started taking refuge in the Library, Joey, who was taking whichever side Yami wasn't, joined forces with Ron, Yugi was staying well away from them and Harry was stuck firmly in the middle of a four way fight.
Of course Bakura was finding it hilarious.
Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Tomas sat with him at meal times, and Harry was beginning to wonder why he'd over looked them before, sure Neville was a cluts when it came to wand work, but he was a nice person, and the three of them spent quite a few mealtimes discussing Quidditch or lessons or… anything other then the fighting going on between the people in Harry's other group of friends.
In Hufflepuff/Gryffindor lessons, Ryou Bakura and his Hufflepuff friends had taken to sitting next to him, talking with him, cheering him up after a bad morning. Harry wondered if Ryou had been avoiding them simply because of past differences...
Bakura had been keeping a close eye on their group ever since Yugi and Yami's fight, but Harry wondered how he seemed to be everywhere at once…
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It was Friday dinner time and Yami was sat alone again.
He ate his dinner in silence, but mostly poked at it until he had a misshapen pile of pinkish goo.
He could hear the others talking and laughing… he ignored them as much as he could.
He didn't notice when he added sugar to his potatoes, or salt to his tea.
When he had had his fill of the tense silence surrounding him, he got up and left, long before anyone else had had their fill.
He numb inside. First there had been fear, then anger, then despair, but now he just felt numb.
He didn't notice the tall figure standing in his way, barely noticed who it was when he walked into them. Just an impression of blue and silver… Ravenclaw then. Why would a Ravenclaw get in his way?
"You are being an idiot." The tall Ravenclaw told him.
Yami stared down at the ground, someone else was about to lecture him on what being a friend meant. It made him feel sick. Why did they care? They didn't know what had happened, no one had asked, they had just assumed the worst.
"Yami, look at me." The Ravenclaw told him.
Yami looked up. Kaiba. Why… No, it didn't matter. The brief flare of anger was short; the shadows deepened, don't care. DON'T care. DON'T CARE. He wrapped the saftey of the numbness around him again.
"Come with me." Kaiba said, walking away, when Yami didn't follow right away, he came back and herded Yami along several corridors, and then up a flight of stairs. Kaiba said something to a painting, and a doorway was revealed. Yami continued to study the floor.
Lots of blues and silvers, but the decorating was lost on Yami.
Kaiba led him up the stairs to the dorm, into a bedroom, then into a side room that looked like a study room/sitting room.
Kaiba pushed him into a chair, then picked another chair to sit himself in. "Now tell me what happened."
"Why?"
Kaiba snorted, "The Yami I know wouldn't have attacked Yugi. The Yami I know wouldn't have gone around in a daze. The Yami I know wouldn't avoid his friends, just because he made a mistake."
"Then you don't know me very well, Kaiba."
"Everyone knows Yugi's side of the story, everyone knows Joey's side of the story. No one knows your side of the story. So why?"
"I don't really know. I was angry, so very angry. Yugi shouldn't have left the castle on his own. He got into trouble, he always gets into trouble. And he followed Bakura into the Forbidden Forest, he put himself in danger, again! Then I don't know… I think I must've blacked out for a while because next thing I knew Shadow Magic was heading at Yugi and I had no way of stopping it. I tried, but I wasn't fast enough. Then I left… or got chucked out."
"Then why didn't you just apologise to Yugi? Explain what had happened?"
"Because this isn't the first time I have lost control of the Shadow Magic, and every time I do, I put my friends in danger. I'm too dangerous to let myself have friends."
"Muto, you can't continue like this. The weaker you get the more the shadows will get control. Your friends always made you strong before. I can't believe you'll cut yourself off from their help now, when you need them the most."
Yami laughed, "Kaiba, I don't believe you ever admitted that before. Thank you, but no. Goodbye." Yami got up to leave.
"You know I won't tell, but I will stop you if you start to get too dangerous."
Yami considered the offer, "Thank you Kaiba, I didn't want to ask Yugi." Yami left.
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Harry shook his head, trying to clear any thoughts as he walked down with the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, to the pitch for the last training session before the match against Ravenclaw, but it was hard when Yami and Yugi, who'd normally walk down together, were as far apart as they could get and Ron, who he'd invited so he could have his promised go on the Firebolt, was pointedly ignoring the Pharaoh. At least Ron and Yugi weren't fighting, but there was still more tension than Harry wanted to fly in. Yami didn't really seem to be paying attention; he kept staring at the ground like he hoped it would suddenly open up and devour him.
Madam Hooch ogled the Firebolt, praising it and comparing it to her old brooms, and as she did so Wood turned to Yami and Yugi. "I don't care what's happened between you two," He growled, "But we cannot afford to have any mistakes, we have to win against Ravenclaw on Saturday and we need the team working as a team, not against each other. So pull your acts together."
"But we're not even playing." Yugi protested.
"You are still affecting the Team spirit; now either get your act together or get out of here." Wood growled. Yami nodded and left, not even bothering to argue. Harry watched him go with wide eyes, what had Oliver said to him?
"Madam Hooch." Wood said, walking over, "Can Harry have his broom back now please, we need to practise." Madam Hooch nodded and passed Harry his broom, before joining Ron in the stands.
Yugi looked over as he took off, Boh was watching from the stands, Mahado had been there only seconds ago, was he tailing Yami? That's what it seemed like, since everywhere Yami went, the Duel Monsters would watch him. Boh would tell him if he asked, but did he really want the answer.
"Muto." Wood bellowed, Yugi shook his head, sighed and tried to get his head in the game but despite Yugi's efforts he couldn't quite feel the joy of Quidditch that the others did today. There was no way Wood would let him play in the next game.
The rest of the Team, despite the tension from earlier, gave their best performance ever, inspired by the Firebolt in their midst. Wood only had one criticism, one that he would discuss with the person in private, but with the Team he'd picked for the match he could see no flaws.
They landed and Wood turned to the Team, "I can't see what's going to stop us," He said, "Unless… Harry, you've sorted out your Dementor problem, haven't you?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded, wishing his Patronus was stronger.
"The Dementors won't show up again, Dumbledore'd do his nut." Fred said confidently.
"Let's hope not." Replied Wood, "All right, good work everyone, Muto, I need to speak to you, but the rest of you return to the tower… turn in early."
Harry wanted to talk to Yugi, but Wood's glare sent him packing to the other end of the pitch, where Ron raced onto the pitch and took his go on the Firebolt. Madam Hooch had fallen asleep, and night fell before she awoke and she, Harry and Ron returned to the castle, Yugi and Oliver had returned before them, but Harry had missed them leaving.
Ron and Harry were halfway back to the castle when Harry froze, a pair of eyes gleamed at him out of the darkness. "What's wrong?" Harry pointed, Ron pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos." The eyes were revealed to have belonged to Crookshanks, who vanished quickly.
"See, she's still letting him wander around where ever he wants, and I bet the others aren't doing anything about their cats either."
Harry didn't say anything, he had been sure for a moment that those eyes belonged to the Grim. They set off for the castle again, and Harry felt slightly ashamed of his moment of panic, and didn't mention it to Ron, nor did he look left or right until they had reached the well lit Entrance Hall.
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Harry went down to breakfast with Joey, Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean, all of whom seemed to think he and the Firebolt deserved some sort of guard of honour. As they entered the Great Hall heads turned in their direction, and there was a great deal of excited muttering. Harry saw that the entire Slytherin team were looking thunderstruck. Even Bakura.
"Did you see the look on their faces?" Ron asked gleefully, looking back at the Malfoys, "They can't believe it! This is brilliant!"
Wood was basking in the reflected glory of the Firebolt.
"Put it here, Harry." He said, laying it on the table with it's name faced upwards. Harry was complimented on it all breakfast, except for a minor run in with Bakura which was easily diffused, it seemed that the Slytherin Tomb Robber had other things on his mind.
Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor Team went down to the changing rooms, where Harry stuck his wand inside his t-shirt. There was no sign of Yami again, and Yugi was getting changed but Harry couldn't see his broomstick.
"You know what we've got to do," Wood said, as they prepared to leave the changing rooms, "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just… Just fly like you did in practise yesterday, and we'll be ok."
They walked out onto the pitch to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, all dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the pitch. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl in the team. She was shorter then Harry by a head, and Harry couldn't help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Harry as the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt a slight jolt in the region of his stomach that he didn't think had anything to do with nerves.
"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch said briskly, and the Captains shook hands, "Mount your brooms… on my whistle…" Harry looked over to the stands, the entire gang were there, just standing in little groups instead of one big one, all bar Yami. "Three… two… one…"
Harry kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom; he soared around the stadium, listening all the while to the Commentary, which was being provided by the Weasley twins friend, Lee Jordan…
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Yami was sat on his own, in the library.
He didn't want to put Harry and the others off their game and he certainly didn't want to wait in the Changing Rooms with Yugi to await the outcome of the match, he was too afraid they'd end up in another argument and he was afraid his Shadow Magic would escape his grip again.
He looked out the window, he could see people flying around above the Quidditch Stadium; the match had begun.
Yami left the library; he had to find something else to do, something to keep his mind off of that fight.
"You know Pharaoh, I'm impressed." Yami snarled and wheeled around, his glare resting on Bakura.
"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" Yami snapped.
"I wasn't planning on annoying you," Bakura said, just his smirk was enough though to drive Yami up the wall, "I just thought I'd compliment you, finally fed up of that hikari of yours?"
"What do you mean?" Yami snarled.
"I was in Dark Necrofear's room when you two fought, I sensed your Shadow Magic assault on him, I recognised what you wanted to do, you attempted to control him." Yami's eyes widened, then settled back into a glare.
"I didn't deliberately attack him!"
"Yeah, right, that excuse isn't fooling anyone, your highness." Bakura sneered, "But I must admit, I never thought that you'd attack your hikari, though the runt had it coming."
"He didn't! And I didn't deliberately attack Yugi!" Yami's snarl increased in volume.
"Just yelling it louder doesn't make it any less true, Pharaoh." Bakura smirked and turned away, the shadows rose around them. Bakura turned back to face the angry Pharaoh, a smirk widely plastered on his face.
"This won't change anything." He said, still smirking. "But if you are so certain it will…"
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"Gryffindor lead by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through it's paces now. See it turn, Chang's Comet is just no match for it. The Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long…"
"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"
Ravenclaw were pulling back, scoring three goals, putting Gryffindor only fifty points ahead. If Cho got the Snitch before him, Ravenclaw would win. Harry dropped lower, narrowly avoiding a mid air collision, scanning the pitch frantically. A glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings, the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goalposts.
Harry accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead, but next second Cho came out of nowhere, blocking him…
"Harry!" Wood roared, as Harry swerved to avoid a collision. "This is no time to be a gentleman! Knock her off her broom if you have to!"
Harry turned and caught sight of Cho; she was grinning. The Snitch had vanished again. Harry turned his Firebolt upwards and was soon twenty feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye he was Cho following him… she'd decided to mark him rather then search for the Snitch herself.
Right then… if she wanted to tail him, she'd have to take the consequences…
He dived again, and Cho, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, tried to follow. Harry pulled out of the dive very sharply, she hurtled downwards; he rose fast as a bullet, then saw it for the third time; the Snitch was glittering way above the pitch at the Ravenclaw end.
He accelerated, so, many feet below, did Cho. He was winning, gaining on the Snitch with every second… then…
"OH!" Screamed Cho, pointing.
Distracted, Harry looked down.
Three Dementors, three tall black, hooded Dementors, were looking up at him.
He didn't stop to think. Plunging a hand down the neck of his robes, he whipped out his wand and roared "Expectro Patronum!"
Something silver white and enormous erupted from the end of his wand, but he didn't pause to watch; his mind still miraculously clear, he looked ahead, he was nearly there. He stretched out his hand, still grasping his wand, and just managed to close his fingers over the small, struggling, Snitch.
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, Harry turned around in mid air and saw six scarlet blurs bearing down on him, the team hugged him so hard he nearly fell off his broom. In complete disarray the team landed and Harry looked around, Yugi sprinted onto the pitch and his arrival was quickly followed by Ron and a whole gaggle of Gryffindor Supporters, who quickly surrounded the Team, "Yes!" Ron and Yugi were cheering, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"That was quite a Patronus." Said a voice in Harry's ear.
Harry looked around and saw Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and pleased. "The Dementors didn't effect me at all!" Said Harry excitedly, "I didn't feel a thing!"
"That would be because they… err… weren't Dementors," Said Professor Lupin, "Come and see."
He led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the pitch.
"You gave them quite a fright."
Harry stared, Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, were Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Team Captain, all struggling to remove themselves from the long black hooded robes. Standing over them, with an expression of utmost fury on her face, was Professor McGonagall.
"An unworthy trick!" She was shouting, "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty point from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
If anything could've set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it was this, Ron and Yugi, who'd fought their way through the crowd to Harry's side, doubled up with laughter as they watched the three try to get out of the robes, and the tangled pile they'd landed in.
"Come on Harry!" George called, fighting his way over, "Party! Gryffindor Common Room, now!"
"Right," Said Harry, and feeling happier then he had in a long time, he and the rest of the team led their way, still in their scarlet robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.
It felt as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup; the party went on all day and well into the night. Fred and George Weasley disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of Butterbeer, pumpkin fizz and several bags of Honeydukes sweets.
"How did you do that?" Squealed Angelina, as George started throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd.
"With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs." Fred muttered in Harry's ear.
Only two people weren't joining in the festivities. Yami had arrived back in the Common Room after they had, looking worse for wear, and headed straight up to the dorms, Harry doubted he was sleeping, but didn't want to disturb him. Hermione, however, was sat in a corner on her own, attempting to read an enormous book entitled Home life and Social Habits of British Muggles. Harry broke away from the table where Fred and George had started juggling Butterbeer bottles, and went over to her.
"Did you even come to the match?" He asked her.
"Of course I did, I was stood with Kari and Ombre," Said Hermione in a strangely high pitched voice, not looking up, "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."
"Come on Hermione, come and have some food." Harry said, looking over at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet.
"I can't Harry, I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" Said Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical. "Anyway…" She glanced over at Ron too, "He doesn't want me to join in."
There was no arguing with this as Ron chose that exact moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just be eaten, he could've had some of these Fudge Flies, he used to really like them."
Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she had tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, run towards the staircase to the girl's dormitories and out of sight.
"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly, Kari and Ombre hadn't seen Hermione's reaction to Ron's comment but were glowering in his direction.
"No," Ron replied flatly, "If she just acted like she was sorry… but she'll never admit that she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers is on holiday or something."
The Gryffindor Party only ended when Professor McGonagall turned up in her tartan dressing gown and hair-net at one in the morning, to insist they went to bed. Yugi and Boh crashed out on the sofa closest to the fire, while everyone else retreated to their dorms, Harry noticed that Yami did appear to be asleep, all bar one of the curtains round his bed were drawn across, so Harry could see.
They climbed into their beds, and fell asleep almost instantly.
Harry had a very strange dream. He was walking through a forest, his Firebolt over his shoulder, following something silvery white. Harry sped up to try to catch up, but so did the something. As he broke into a run, he could hear hooves gathering speed. Now he was running full out he could hear galloping. Then he turned a corner and…
"! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Harry woke suddenly, as though he'd been hit in the face. Disorientated in the total darkness, he fumbled with his hangings. He could hear movements around him, and Joey's voice from the other side of the room.
"What's going on?"
Harry thought he heard the Dormitory room slam. At last, finding the divide in his curtains, he ripped them back, and at the same moment, Joey lit his lamp.
Ron was sat up in bed, the hangings torn from one side, a look of the utmost horror on his face. "Black, Sirius Black! With a knife!"
"What?"
"Here! Just now! Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!" Joey looked pale and rushed downstairs.
"You're sure it wasn't a dream?"
"Look at the curtains! I tell you he was here!"
The rest of them scrambled out of bed; Yami reached the door first, and they sprinted back down the staircase. Doors opened behind them, and sleepy voices called after them. "Who shouted?"
"What're you doing?"
The Common Room was lit by the glow of the dying fire, still littered with debris from the party. Joey was talking to Yugi who looked ashy white. Yami wanted to go over and talk to him, but hung back as Harry and Ron rushed over.
"Yugi, you alright?"
"Man with knife." Yugi stated, shaking, "Boh woke me up. I think it was Black."
"See I wasn't dreaming!"
"Excellent," Fred Weasley said brightly as he and a few other boys and girls reappeared, "Are we carrying on."
"Everyone back upstairs!" Said Percy, pinning his head boy badge onto his pyjamas as he spoke.
"Perce, Sirius Black!" Said Ron faintly, "In out dorm! With a knife! Woke me up."
The Common Room went very still.
"Nonsense!" Said Percy looking startled, "You had too much to…"
"He wasn't dreaming." Yugi cut him off.
"I'm telling you…"
"Now really enough's enough!" Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her as she entered the Common Room and stared furiously around.
"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"
"I certainly didn't authorise this, Professor!" said Percy indignantly, "I was just telling them to go back to bed. My brother Ron, had a nightmare."
"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled, "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME HOLDING A KNIFE!"
Professor McGonagall stared at him. Don't be ridiculous Weasley, how could he have possibly got through the portrait hole?"
"He was here, Professor, I saw him." Yugi said. Professor McGonagall stared at him.
"Ask him." Ron said, pointing at the back of the portrait, "Ask him if he saw…"
Glaring suspiciously at Ron and Yugi, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole Common Room listened with baited breath.
"Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"
"Certainly, good lady." Sir Cadogan replied.
There was a stunned silence, both inside the Common Room and out.
"You… you did?" Said Professor McGonagall, "But… but the password…"
"He had them!" Said Sir Cadogan proudly, "Had the whole weeks's, my lady! Read'em off a little bit of paper!"
Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait hole to face the stunned crowd. She was as white as chalk.
"Which person," She said, her voice shaking, "Which abysmally foolish person, wrote down the weeks passwords and left them lying around?"
There was utter silence, broken by the smallest of terrified squeaks. Neville Longbottom, trembling from hand to fluffy slippered toes, raised his hand slowly in the air.
Unfortunately for him, the book he needed, that told him about the preparation potion and the full effects of the spell, was locked away in the Forbidden Section, and he was unable to find Professor Snape to get permission to borrow it. What he had found was records of people using the spell, and from those accounts he had worked out a few of the effects, but for any really useful information he would need to enter the Forbidden Section.
This fight this morning, which had started when Bakura had successfully annoyed the Weasley Twins, had given him an opportunity to slip off for the first time since the spell binding them together. Just because he couldn't betray Bakura by going to Muto and his gang, didn't mean he didn't have some free will of his own left, and he had no intention of remaining in Bakura's power.
Draco sighed, then saw Yami Muto, the Pharaoh, rush past, a look of horror and self disgust on his face, so intense, that Draco wondered what the hell he'd done. Disregarding his better judgement Draco followed him to one of the boy's bathrooms, where he cast a spell Bakura had taught him, making it much harder to notice him, and slipped in after him, hiding in one of the toilets so Muto wouldn't see him when it wore off. Bakura had his uses… Draco listened carefully as the normally cocky and overconfident male bereted himself.
"How could I?" Yami started, a dull thud echoing round the room, one that Draco recognised as the sound of someone bashing their head against a door, possibly one of the toilet stall doors, "It got away from me…" Thud, "I should never have…" Thud, "Fighting or not," Thud, "I shouldn't have let it get away from me…" Thud, "I should've had better control on my Shadow Magic…" Thud, "I felt it slip out of my grip…" Thud, "I should never have even thought about controlling Yugi."
Draco had to smother a gasp, the entire school knew the two were fighting, but he'd never thought the Pharaoh would stoop to Bakura's level. Maybe the yamis were all the same…
Wouldn't Bakura love to have that little tidbit of information. I wonder what I could get out of him…
Draco wondered how much of that thought was his and how much of it was the spell at work.
Yami was berating himself again.
"I should never…" Thud, "Ever," Thud, Draco heard the sound of fabric sliding down something, taking a peek, he saw the normally completely self assured man had sunk to the floor, his head in his hands, Yami looked around, and Draco withdrew into the toilet again. "He'll never trust me again." Yami's voice sounded broken, "And it's all my fault."
'Come to the Common Room now.' Draco nearly growled, as Bakura's mental voice rang in his head, Draco sent a wave of frustration back; he didn't want to lose the chance that this information could provide.
Draco sensed Bakura's anger, 'Now, Draco.'
"I'm listening in on the Pharaoh, I'll report back later."
Draco felt Bakura's interest war with anger at being thwarted… slowly one overpowered the other. 'Fine, but I want a full report of everything you've done today.'
"Maybe, lets see how valuable my spywork is first." Draco thought back, his attention turning quickly back to the Pharaoh.
'I could drag you out, and then the Pharaoh would notice you, I bet.'
"Yep, you could, except that would put me in danger, in effect betraying me, do you really want to lose my co-operation?" Draco felt his awareness of Bakura fading, he smiled slightly, he had won that round, only time would tell if he'd win the war.
Draco continued to watch the Pharaoh for another twenty minutes, but nothing else was said, Yami spent it staring listlessly at the floor. Draco pulled out his wand, and muttered the can't-see-me spell as quietly as he could manage, and slipped out of the men's room, walking down to the Slytherin Common Room.
Bakura was waiting for him.
"Well?" He demanded. Draco took a sip of the pumpkin juice someone had stolen from the kitchens, and only then turned to Bakura, sensing Bakura's growing anger.
"Yami and Yugi fought earlier."
"I'm aware of this, I was in Dark Necrofear's room." Draco went paler then normal at the look on Bakura's face.
"Were you aware that the Pharaoh used Shadow Magic on his hikari?" Draco asked, Bakura's eyes widened, the only indication of surprise, "I overheard him, he attempted to control his hikari."
"The Pharaoh attempted to control the runt?" Bakura's eyes were shining with mischief as Draco nodded, "You're certain of this?" Draco nodded, Bakura smirked evilly, any other questions lost in planning that sprung up from this new concept.
"Did anyone else hear this?"
Draco shook his head, "No, the Pharaoh believed he was alone."
"Good, when I saw the Pharaoh's other half, on my way out, he was looking worse for wear, but there was no lingering Shadow Magic other then that of the Monsters, his highness must've tried and failed."
Draco recognised the look on Bakura's face, it didn't bode well.
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BACK TO FEBUARAY
It looked the end of their group of friends, everyone was so angry at everyone else that Harry couldn't see how they'd ever make it up. Ron refused to speak to Hermione, Kari and had been angry at Yami beforehand, and refused to even look at him. Hermione, Kari and Ombre had started taking refuge in the Library, Joey, who was taking whichever side Yami wasn't, joined forces with Ron, Yugi was staying well away from them and Harry was stuck firmly in the middle of a four way fight.
Of course Bakura was finding it hilarious.
Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Tomas sat with him at meal times, and Harry was beginning to wonder why he'd over looked them before, sure Neville was a cluts when it came to wand work, but he was a nice person, and the three of them spent quite a few mealtimes discussing Quidditch or lessons or… anything other then the fighting going on between the people in Harry's other group of friends.
In Hufflepuff/Gryffindor lessons, Ryou Bakura and his Hufflepuff friends had taken to sitting next to him, talking with him, cheering him up after a bad morning. Harry wondered if Ryou had been avoiding them simply because of past differences...
Bakura had been keeping a close eye on their group ever since Yugi and Yami's fight, but Harry wondered how he seemed to be everywhere at once…
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It was Friday dinner time and Yami was sat alone again.
He ate his dinner in silence, but mostly poked at it until he had a misshapen pile of pinkish goo.
He could hear the others talking and laughing… he ignored them as much as he could.
He didn't notice when he added sugar to his potatoes, or salt to his tea.
When he had had his fill of the tense silence surrounding him, he got up and left, long before anyone else had had their fill.
He numb inside. First there had been fear, then anger, then despair, but now he just felt numb.
He didn't notice the tall figure standing in his way, barely noticed who it was when he walked into them. Just an impression of blue and silver… Ravenclaw then. Why would a Ravenclaw get in his way?
"You are being an idiot." The tall Ravenclaw told him.
Yami stared down at the ground, someone else was about to lecture him on what being a friend meant. It made him feel sick. Why did they care? They didn't know what had happened, no one had asked, they had just assumed the worst.
"Yami, look at me." The Ravenclaw told him.
Yami looked up. Kaiba. Why… No, it didn't matter. The brief flare of anger was short; the shadows deepened, don't care. DON'T care. DON'T CARE. He wrapped the saftey of the numbness around him again.
"Come with me." Kaiba said, walking away, when Yami didn't follow right away, he came back and herded Yami along several corridors, and then up a flight of stairs. Kaiba said something to a painting, and a doorway was revealed. Yami continued to study the floor.
Lots of blues and silvers, but the decorating was lost on Yami.
Kaiba led him up the stairs to the dorm, into a bedroom, then into a side room that looked like a study room/sitting room.
Kaiba pushed him into a chair, then picked another chair to sit himself in. "Now tell me what happened."
"Why?"
Kaiba snorted, "The Yami I know wouldn't have attacked Yugi. The Yami I know wouldn't have gone around in a daze. The Yami I know wouldn't avoid his friends, just because he made a mistake."
"Then you don't know me very well, Kaiba."
"Everyone knows Yugi's side of the story, everyone knows Joey's side of the story. No one knows your side of the story. So why?"
"I don't really know. I was angry, so very angry. Yugi shouldn't have left the castle on his own. He got into trouble, he always gets into trouble. And he followed Bakura into the Forbidden Forest, he put himself in danger, again! Then I don't know… I think I must've blacked out for a while because next thing I knew Shadow Magic was heading at Yugi and I had no way of stopping it. I tried, but I wasn't fast enough. Then I left… or got chucked out."
"Then why didn't you just apologise to Yugi? Explain what had happened?"
"Because this isn't the first time I have lost control of the Shadow Magic, and every time I do, I put my friends in danger. I'm too dangerous to let myself have friends."
"Muto, you can't continue like this. The weaker you get the more the shadows will get control. Your friends always made you strong before. I can't believe you'll cut yourself off from their help now, when you need them the most."
Yami laughed, "Kaiba, I don't believe you ever admitted that before. Thank you, but no. Goodbye." Yami got up to leave.
"You know I won't tell, but I will stop you if you start to get too dangerous."
Yami considered the offer, "Thank you Kaiba, I didn't want to ask Yugi." Yami left.
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Harry shook his head, trying to clear any thoughts as he walked down with the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, to the pitch for the last training session before the match against Ravenclaw, but it was hard when Yami and Yugi, who'd normally walk down together, were as far apart as they could get and Ron, who he'd invited so he could have his promised go on the Firebolt, was pointedly ignoring the Pharaoh. At least Ron and Yugi weren't fighting, but there was still more tension than Harry wanted to fly in. Yami didn't really seem to be paying attention; he kept staring at the ground like he hoped it would suddenly open up and devour him.
Madam Hooch ogled the Firebolt, praising it and comparing it to her old brooms, and as she did so Wood turned to Yami and Yugi. "I don't care what's happened between you two," He growled, "But we cannot afford to have any mistakes, we have to win against Ravenclaw on Saturday and we need the team working as a team, not against each other. So pull your acts together."
"But we're not even playing." Yugi protested.
"You are still affecting the Team spirit; now either get your act together or get out of here." Wood growled. Yami nodded and left, not even bothering to argue. Harry watched him go with wide eyes, what had Oliver said to him?
"Madam Hooch." Wood said, walking over, "Can Harry have his broom back now please, we need to practise." Madam Hooch nodded and passed Harry his broom, before joining Ron in the stands.
Yugi looked over as he took off, Boh was watching from the stands, Mahado had been there only seconds ago, was he tailing Yami? That's what it seemed like, since everywhere Yami went, the Duel Monsters would watch him. Boh would tell him if he asked, but did he really want the answer.
"Muto." Wood bellowed, Yugi shook his head, sighed and tried to get his head in the game but despite Yugi's efforts he couldn't quite feel the joy of Quidditch that the others did today. There was no way Wood would let him play in the next game.
The rest of the Team, despite the tension from earlier, gave their best performance ever, inspired by the Firebolt in their midst. Wood only had one criticism, one that he would discuss with the person in private, but with the Team he'd picked for the match he could see no flaws.
They landed and Wood turned to the Team, "I can't see what's going to stop us," He said, "Unless… Harry, you've sorted out your Dementor problem, haven't you?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded, wishing his Patronus was stronger.
"The Dementors won't show up again, Dumbledore'd do his nut." Fred said confidently.
"Let's hope not." Replied Wood, "All right, good work everyone, Muto, I need to speak to you, but the rest of you return to the tower… turn in early."
Harry wanted to talk to Yugi, but Wood's glare sent him packing to the other end of the pitch, where Ron raced onto the pitch and took his go on the Firebolt. Madam Hooch had fallen asleep, and night fell before she awoke and she, Harry and Ron returned to the castle, Yugi and Oliver had returned before them, but Harry had missed them leaving.
Ron and Harry were halfway back to the castle when Harry froze, a pair of eyes gleamed at him out of the darkness. "What's wrong?" Harry pointed, Ron pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos." The eyes were revealed to have belonged to Crookshanks, who vanished quickly.
"See, she's still letting him wander around where ever he wants, and I bet the others aren't doing anything about their cats either."
Harry didn't say anything, he had been sure for a moment that those eyes belonged to the Grim. They set off for the castle again, and Harry felt slightly ashamed of his moment of panic, and didn't mention it to Ron, nor did he look left or right until they had reached the well lit Entrance Hall.
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Harry went down to breakfast with Joey, Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean, all of whom seemed to think he and the Firebolt deserved some sort of guard of honour. As they entered the Great Hall heads turned in their direction, and there was a great deal of excited muttering. Harry saw that the entire Slytherin team were looking thunderstruck. Even Bakura.
"Did you see the look on their faces?" Ron asked gleefully, looking back at the Malfoys, "They can't believe it! This is brilliant!"
Wood was basking in the reflected glory of the Firebolt.
"Put it here, Harry." He said, laying it on the table with it's name faced upwards. Harry was complimented on it all breakfast, except for a minor run in with Bakura which was easily diffused, it seemed that the Slytherin Tomb Robber had other things on his mind.
Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor Team went down to the changing rooms, where Harry stuck his wand inside his t-shirt. There was no sign of Yami again, and Yugi was getting changed but Harry couldn't see his broomstick.
"You know what we've got to do," Wood said, as they prepared to leave the changing rooms, "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just… Just fly like you did in practise yesterday, and we'll be ok."
They walked out onto the pitch to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, all dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the pitch. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl in the team. She was shorter then Harry by a head, and Harry couldn't help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Harry as the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt a slight jolt in the region of his stomach that he didn't think had anything to do with nerves.
"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch said briskly, and the Captains shook hands, "Mount your brooms… on my whistle…" Harry looked over to the stands, the entire gang were there, just standing in little groups instead of one big one, all bar Yami. "Three… two… one…"
Harry kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom; he soared around the stadium, listening all the while to the Commentary, which was being provided by the Weasley twins friend, Lee Jordan…
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Yami was sat on his own, in the library.
He didn't want to put Harry and the others off their game and he certainly didn't want to wait in the Changing Rooms with Yugi to await the outcome of the match, he was too afraid they'd end up in another argument and he was afraid his Shadow Magic would escape his grip again.
He looked out the window, he could see people flying around above the Quidditch Stadium; the match had begun.
Yami left the library; he had to find something else to do, something to keep his mind off of that fight.
"You know Pharaoh, I'm impressed." Yami snarled and wheeled around, his glare resting on Bakura.
"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" Yami snapped.
"I wasn't planning on annoying you," Bakura said, just his smirk was enough though to drive Yami up the wall, "I just thought I'd compliment you, finally fed up of that hikari of yours?"
"What do you mean?" Yami snarled.
"I was in Dark Necrofear's room when you two fought, I sensed your Shadow Magic assault on him, I recognised what you wanted to do, you attempted to control him." Yami's eyes widened, then settled back into a glare.
"I didn't deliberately attack him!"
"Yeah, right, that excuse isn't fooling anyone, your highness." Bakura sneered, "But I must admit, I never thought that you'd attack your hikari, though the runt had it coming."
"He didn't! And I didn't deliberately attack Yugi!" Yami's snarl increased in volume.
"Just yelling it louder doesn't make it any less true, Pharaoh." Bakura smirked and turned away, the shadows rose around them. Bakura turned back to face the angry Pharaoh, a smirk widely plastered on his face.
"This won't change anything." He said, still smirking. "But if you are so certain it will…"
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"Gryffindor lead by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through it's paces now. See it turn, Chang's Comet is just no match for it. The Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long…"
"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"
Ravenclaw were pulling back, scoring three goals, putting Gryffindor only fifty points ahead. If Cho got the Snitch before him, Ravenclaw would win. Harry dropped lower, narrowly avoiding a mid air collision, scanning the pitch frantically. A glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings, the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goalposts.
Harry accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead, but next second Cho came out of nowhere, blocking him…
"Harry!" Wood roared, as Harry swerved to avoid a collision. "This is no time to be a gentleman! Knock her off her broom if you have to!"
Harry turned and caught sight of Cho; she was grinning. The Snitch had vanished again. Harry turned his Firebolt upwards and was soon twenty feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye he was Cho following him… she'd decided to mark him rather then search for the Snitch herself.
Right then… if she wanted to tail him, she'd have to take the consequences…
He dived again, and Cho, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, tried to follow. Harry pulled out of the dive very sharply, she hurtled downwards; he rose fast as a bullet, then saw it for the third time; the Snitch was glittering way above the pitch at the Ravenclaw end.
He accelerated, so, many feet below, did Cho. He was winning, gaining on the Snitch with every second… then…
"OH!" Screamed Cho, pointing.
Distracted, Harry looked down.
Three Dementors, three tall black, hooded Dementors, were looking up at him.
He didn't stop to think. Plunging a hand down the neck of his robes, he whipped out his wand and roared "Expectro Patronum!"
Something silver white and enormous erupted from the end of his wand, but he didn't pause to watch; his mind still miraculously clear, he looked ahead, he was nearly there. He stretched out his hand, still grasping his wand, and just managed to close his fingers over the small, struggling, Snitch.
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, Harry turned around in mid air and saw six scarlet blurs bearing down on him, the team hugged him so hard he nearly fell off his broom. In complete disarray the team landed and Harry looked around, Yugi sprinted onto the pitch and his arrival was quickly followed by Ron and a whole gaggle of Gryffindor Supporters, who quickly surrounded the Team, "Yes!" Ron and Yugi were cheering, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"That was quite a Patronus." Said a voice in Harry's ear.
Harry looked around and saw Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and pleased. "The Dementors didn't effect me at all!" Said Harry excitedly, "I didn't feel a thing!"
"That would be because they… err… weren't Dementors," Said Professor Lupin, "Come and see."
He led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the pitch.
"You gave them quite a fright."
Harry stared, Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, were Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Team Captain, all struggling to remove themselves from the long black hooded robes. Standing over them, with an expression of utmost fury on her face, was Professor McGonagall.
"An unworthy trick!" She was shouting, "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty point from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
If anything could've set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it was this, Ron and Yugi, who'd fought their way through the crowd to Harry's side, doubled up with laughter as they watched the three try to get out of the robes, and the tangled pile they'd landed in.
"Come on Harry!" George called, fighting his way over, "Party! Gryffindor Common Room, now!"
"Right," Said Harry, and feeling happier then he had in a long time, he and the rest of the team led their way, still in their scarlet robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.
It felt as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup; the party went on all day and well into the night. Fred and George Weasley disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of Butterbeer, pumpkin fizz and several bags of Honeydukes sweets.
"How did you do that?" Squealed Angelina, as George started throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd.
"With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs." Fred muttered in Harry's ear.
Only two people weren't joining in the festivities. Yami had arrived back in the Common Room after they had, looking worse for wear, and headed straight up to the dorms, Harry doubted he was sleeping, but didn't want to disturb him. Hermione, however, was sat in a corner on her own, attempting to read an enormous book entitled Home life and Social Habits of British Muggles. Harry broke away from the table where Fred and George had started juggling Butterbeer bottles, and went over to her.
"Did you even come to the match?" He asked her.
"Of course I did, I was stood with Kari and Ombre," Said Hermione in a strangely high pitched voice, not looking up, "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."
"Come on Hermione, come and have some food." Harry said, looking over at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet.
"I can't Harry, I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" Said Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical. "Anyway…" She glanced over at Ron too, "He doesn't want me to join in."
There was no arguing with this as Ron chose that exact moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just be eaten, he could've had some of these Fudge Flies, he used to really like them."
Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she had tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, run towards the staircase to the girl's dormitories and out of sight.
"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly, Kari and Ombre hadn't seen Hermione's reaction to Ron's comment but were glowering in his direction.
"No," Ron replied flatly, "If she just acted like she was sorry… but she'll never admit that she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers is on holiday or something."
The Gryffindor Party only ended when Professor McGonagall turned up in her tartan dressing gown and hair-net at one in the morning, to insist they went to bed. Yugi and Boh crashed out on the sofa closest to the fire, while everyone else retreated to their dorms, Harry noticed that Yami did appear to be asleep, all bar one of the curtains round his bed were drawn across, so Harry could see.
They climbed into their beds, and fell asleep almost instantly.
Harry had a very strange dream. He was walking through a forest, his Firebolt over his shoulder, following something silvery white. Harry sped up to try to catch up, but so did the something. As he broke into a run, he could hear hooves gathering speed. Now he was running full out he could hear galloping. Then he turned a corner and…
"! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Harry woke suddenly, as though he'd been hit in the face. Disorientated in the total darkness, he fumbled with his hangings. He could hear movements around him, and Joey's voice from the other side of the room.
"What's going on?"
Harry thought he heard the Dormitory room slam. At last, finding the divide in his curtains, he ripped them back, and at the same moment, Joey lit his lamp.
Ron was sat up in bed, the hangings torn from one side, a look of the utmost horror on his face. "Black, Sirius Black! With a knife!"
"What?"
"Here! Just now! Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!" Joey looked pale and rushed downstairs.
"You're sure it wasn't a dream?"
"Look at the curtains! I tell you he was here!"
The rest of them scrambled out of bed; Yami reached the door first, and they sprinted back down the staircase. Doors opened behind them, and sleepy voices called after them. "Who shouted?"
"What're you doing?"
The Common Room was lit by the glow of the dying fire, still littered with debris from the party. Joey was talking to Yugi who looked ashy white. Yami wanted to go over and talk to him, but hung back as Harry and Ron rushed over.
"Yugi, you alright?"
"Man with knife." Yugi stated, shaking, "Boh woke me up. I think it was Black."
"See I wasn't dreaming!"
"Excellent," Fred Weasley said brightly as he and a few other boys and girls reappeared, "Are we carrying on."
"Everyone back upstairs!" Said Percy, pinning his head boy badge onto his pyjamas as he spoke.
"Perce, Sirius Black!" Said Ron faintly, "In out dorm! With a knife! Woke me up."
The Common Room went very still.
"Nonsense!" Said Percy looking startled, "You had too much to…"
"He wasn't dreaming." Yugi cut him off.
"I'm telling you…"
"Now really enough's enough!" Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her as she entered the Common Room and stared furiously around.
"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"
"I certainly didn't authorise this, Professor!" said Percy indignantly, "I was just telling them to go back to bed. My brother Ron, had a nightmare."
"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled, "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME HOLDING A KNIFE!"
Professor McGonagall stared at him. Don't be ridiculous Weasley, how could he have possibly got through the portrait hole?"
"He was here, Professor, I saw him." Yugi said. Professor McGonagall stared at him.
"Ask him." Ron said, pointing at the back of the portrait, "Ask him if he saw…"
Glaring suspiciously at Ron and Yugi, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole Common Room listened with baited breath.
"Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"
"Certainly, good lady." Sir Cadogan replied.
There was a stunned silence, both inside the Common Room and out.
"You… you did?" Said Professor McGonagall, "But… but the password…"
"He had them!" Said Sir Cadogan proudly, "Had the whole weeks's, my lady! Read'em off a little bit of paper!"
Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait hole to face the stunned crowd. She was as white as chalk.
"Which person," She said, her voice shaking, "Which abysmally foolish person, wrote down the weeks passwords and left them lying around?"
There was utter silence, broken by the smallest of terrified squeaks. Neville Longbottom, trembling from hand to fluffy slippered toes, raised his hand slowly in the air.