GotC: Sup all?! Sorry I didn't get a post out last week, but I had to take a trip out of town! I'm just now getting caught up on my sleep! 36 hours of uninterrupted consciousness is not something I'd recommend for anyone. But you're not here for that! You're here for the fic! Unless you'd rather listen to me whine, in which case-

Disclaimer: You folks by now should know who really wrote the source material for all this.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Rising Dragon

CHAPTER 36: Contingencies

"I swear our luck goes from bad to worse."

The news of the previous night was about as well received as any of them could have expected. Mailk was the first to give a voice to the collective feeling in the group over their breakfast. It felt like the storm clouds that hung over the tables in the Great Hall had been conjured specially for their little group. Bakura hadn't been eager to divulge the whole of both conversations from the night before in such a public setting, especially with Umbridge watching the seven of them like a gaudy hawk from her perch at the teachers' table. But with all the chatter from the students around them and the swooping owls delivering mail, there was enough noise and activity to give them some semblance of privacy.

"You pipsqueaks are the ones who need luck." Kaiba snorted from across the top of his paper. The Prophet already bore the telltale signs of being read through, and now he was working his way through an assortment of muggle papers that had been dropped off en masse by a haggard looking owl. He only gave a cursory glance at some, before moving on to the next in his pile. "People like me know how to rise to the top in the world without it."

"Care to give us some advice then, Priest?" Bakura spat the moniker out, not in the mood to handle their mountain of issues and Seto Kaiba's attitude already that morning.

"Try starting with a to-do list, idiot." Kaiba growled in his own patented tone that spelled the end of his patience. "It's a wonder you can tie your own shoes with how busy you all are talking to your imaginary friends, much less try to keep this tangled mess straight in your heads."

Bakura was half out of his seat, meaning to strangle Kaiba, had Yugi and Harry not latched onto an arm each to keep him in his chair. Kaiba either didn't notice or care enough as he dragged a piece of parchment out of his bag and had already wet a quill as he began making neat, precise rows of kanji to ensure no onlookers would glean a thing from peering over his shoulder. "We should have done this from the beginning, but that was my mistake for thinking anyone else could organize you lot." Kaiba huffed, though he had no way of seeing the unimpressed glare the Pharaoh's spirit leveled at him while Yugi tried to hide a grin from his other half. "There's enough of us here that we all shouldn't be focused on the same side of this problem. Getting this little club of yours running is one part, Potter."

"Easier said than done, you know," Harry said somewhat crossly, not sure he liked the commanding tone the CEO turned student was giving him. "We still need a place all of us can fit to practice. Not to mention somewhere Umbridge won't find." He was shocked that rather than give him some snide remark about how useless he was, Kaiba instead started making another line of notes.

"Then that will be your focus for now." The declaration came down in sync with the tip of his quill. "We four are behind as it is when it comes to magic. The best plan in the world will mean nothing if we aren't competent enough to put it into motion when the time comes."

Harry had to fight the urge to square his shoulders in his seat. In some ways, he didn't like the Ravenclaw teen taking charge like this, but it was liberating to know the entire weight of the problems crushing down around him were settled on his shoulders alone. He might be treading in unfamiliar waters when it came to interdimensional conflicts and ancient magics, but this way, it felt like he only had to keep a toe in that intimidating pool.

"Cooper will be a bigger problem for us to handle. The man is all over the place, and if he does have some master plan involving Yugi and his blackouts, then we need to know as much as we can about him and his movements. Granger, you were talking about a tracking charm a few days ago. Do you think you can get one on him?" Kaiba's icy stare turned to Hermione, frowning as she slowly shook her head and rolled her lower lip between her teeth.

"Not without him noticing. During class with him would be busy enough to pull it off, but we haven't been allowed to use our wands in weeks. And he's so hard to find outside of classes…" Hermione drummed her fingers against the table in deep thought, scouring her brain for an idea that wouldn't be immediately discovered. The professor in question had already proven he was exceedingly perceptive, and wandless, nonverbal spells were still well beyond her ability. Just getting close to him was going to be a trick in itself, but actually casting the spell… "Oh! Wait! That game with the cards you were all playing! Didn't Professor Cooper say he used to play too?"

"I think so. But he said he hadn't played in a long time." Yugi nodded, thoughtfully.

"I know, but what if we attach a tracking charm to one of those cards and give it to him?" Hermione lit up, "I mean, Seto almost broke Malfoy's arm on the train ride here, so your decks are all important to you, right? If he used to play, maybe he'd be inclined to keep the card on him?"

"That's ridiculous-" Kaiba started to say, but the Pharaoh's timbre cut in before he could dismiss the idea.

"Kaiba, Cooper stopped Umbridge from taking my deck, claiming he knew how special each one is to a person." The memory brought an unpleasant mix of feelings boiling to the surface. It was hard to reconcile the plot against him that they'd pieced together, with a man who had enough respect for a game he held dear. It wasn't as if that made him a good person by default, given three out of the seven people at the table had the same convictions and had still made a pass at his and Yugi's lives at least once. But knowing anything good about one's enemy only made it harder to continue to think of them as such. "If it doesn't work, the worst we lose is a card. But I think Hermione's idea has merit, and it will be easier to fix the spell to a card than a person."

Kaiba looked as if he would argue, but Yugi was in no hurry to wrestle control back from the Pharaoh. He was one of the few people who could make Kaiba back down at his most belligerent and that was a task he was more than willing to let his other half handle. Given enough time, maybe they could come up with a more foolproof plan, but every one of them could feel the way Time seemed to be working against them. And behind Kaiba's icy stare, he could tell he was coming to that same conclusion. No, the sooner they tried something, the better.

"Fine." Kaiba relented, with no small amount of venom as he made a few more notes. "I'll get the cards to you Granger, and we can figure out which will be best to hand over to Cooper."

Malik dropped his chin into one hand as he watched Kaiba's pen scrawl across the parchment's surface. He absentmindedly chewed through a small tart, as their plan of attack slowly drew together. "We still need more information." He finally said out loud.

"Brilliant observation," Kaiba's reply could have dripped sarcasm onto the table, "What could have possibly made you think that?"

"Unless you think you're good enough with that twig to go toe-to-toe with me, don't bite my head off before I finish my thought." Mailk warned Kaiba sharply. Yugi wondered if maybe it wasn't time to intervene before things got any more heated, but Malik didn't leave them waiting long. "We've been going off of the little scraps we've pulled together so far and are trying to do research on our own without even knowing where to look. But aren't we having classes about similar stuff? Half the Slytherins sleep through History of Magic, so why not ask Professor Binns knows about Atlantis?"

"Or Ancient Runes." Bakura was nodding his head in agreement already. "There's all kinds of strange things the Professors work on in their spare time. Maybe one of them knows something we could use."

There seemed to be an almost unanimous agreement around their group on that matter, and even Kaiba seemed impressed as he added a new column to his list of notes. "We'll need to be careful we all don't go asking the same questions or it may raise suspicions." He did add, though there was begrudging acceptance in his voice as he did.

"I'll handle Binns." Malik offered. "I've got his class later anyway."

"Bakura and I have Ancient Runes tomorrow." Yami spoke up, deciding it would be better for the Item holders to be the ones to ask those particular questions. Not that Hermione or Kaiba weren't capable, but there might be some small tidbit that they might think unimportant or pass over. "I think it wouldn't hurt to find out just what else the Ministry might know about the mess Dartz caused a few months ago too."

"We will also need a way to get that information back to Professor Hawkins as he works on translating more of those scans we sent him." Bakura added, turning to Kaiba with a pointed look. "If the mail is being watched, it'll be hard to send out an owl to him. And I doubt you'll be able to pull off the same trick at Hogsmeade again either."

He got an insulted snort in reply. "I'll handle it. Just because they took my duel disks doesn't mean they took my methods for making them work. I'll get started on a phone tonight and see if I can't get it running. Even Umbridge won't be able to track that."

Harry popped a piece of bacon in his mouth with a small smile, feeling his confidence grow with every moment that passed. There was no arguing to convince one another a task actually needed done or time wasted convincing someone that the situation was serious. In fact, it felt like the only thing these four did argue about was who was better suited to what task. It was oddly refreshing that none of them seemed content to wait on their heels for someone else to come along and do the work for them. Each item that went onto Kaiba's list made the concern in his gut that they were way in over their heads grow more and more tangible, but none of them acted as if they were daunted in the least. They acted as if this sinister plot were a certainty, and not one of them were about to be caught unaware. That in itself was comforting.

What was less so, was that there was one person who was still absent from their gathering as the bell dismissed them off to their classes for the day. Harry stood and gathered his things, craning his head around to look for the familiar shock of red hair that had been conspicuously absent from breakfast. He'd been glad both Yugi and Ryou hadn't mentioned Ron's outburst from the night before, though each of them had silently looked at him in turn as if to ask the same question. Harry was about to give up and hope he'd meet his friend on the way to Charms, when he spotted the singular spot of red hair moving against the crowd to grab something from the furthest end of the Gryffindor table. Harry had to shoulder his way past a group of giggling first-years, before he got close enough for Ron to spot him and try to make a break for it. It was bittersweet to see Cooper's classes were having some effect, when he caught up with his best friend before he'd gotten too far.

"Hey!" Harry panted, grabbing hold of Ron's shoulder, "What's going on? You weren't at breakfast!"

"Wasn't hungry." Was the mumbled reply he got. Ron looked rough now that Harry was close enough to see it. His pale face was almost ashen under his freckles and the dark circles under his eyes showed that for all he'd gone to bed early, sleep still hadn't come easy to him.

"You ran off last night before Snuffles could say hi." Harry pointed out, "Your mom had a message for you too. And now you miss breakfast? If just seems like you're avoiding us is all-"

"A'course I am!" Ron finally snapped back at him, though there was an edge of desperation in the way he spoke, "This whole year's been a mess since we got here! Bad enough we wind up with that lot who's already got one foot in St. Mungo's, but now it's like the whole castle is catching it! Even you're getting caught up in it-"

"I'm not 'caught up' in anything!" Harry felt his hackles go up defensively, "They're actually trying to take charge so we aren't standing around like gits when the other shoe falls! No one wanted to believe me this summer! Even you took convincing! Not one of them ever doubted for a second I was telling the truth, and now that they're trying to do something about it-"

"Do what, mate?!" Ron raised his voice just enough to draw a few stares, "Don't you get how mental this all is? Say it is all true! What then? What can we really do ourselves?"

Harry wanted to match Ron's growing voice, but he found his throat had closed up and left him unable to say anything at all. Maybe because he was hearing his own doubts voiced out loud that robbed him of the chance to say anything at all. Safe behind the great stone walls of the school, it was easy to forget the feeling of utter helplessness that had gripped him a few months prior. Surrounded by friends and teachers, where they were able to hone their magical talent into useful skills, it was easy to pretend Voldemort and his followers weren't doing the very same thing. But when the bustle of the day came to a close, just when he thought he could relax, back they came whispering in his ear. Just as they did now.

"I don't know." Harry admitted, "I don't know what we really can do like this. Sneaking around and trying to learn these things on our own, I mean." Ron didn't look reassured in the least, as if he'd expected just that answer all along. "But I know that I'm not going to stop trying." Harry said firmly, surprised at how strongly he meant it. Even Ron seemed taken aback with the conviction in his friend's voice. "I know Voldemort-" He ignored the flinch at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. "-is never going to stop coming after me. I know I'm not strong enough to stand up to him and protect the people I care about. He already proved that this summer. So what else can I do but keep trying? I know it's mental. But it's all I can do."

The look that crossed Ron's face was nothing shy of shame. Harry didn't blame him in the least for wanting to pretend this entire mess was nothing but a bad dream. He wished he could too, but it wouldn't make any of this just go away. Harry reached out and clapped a firm hand on Ron's shoulder. "I know they're… odd." Harry finally offered, shrugging a shoulder in the direction of the exchange students just starting to catch up with them. "But I know I'd rather have them on our side than not. And I definitely don't want to have to do this without you either. I know I could really use your help."

Five years in Hogwarts and not once had Harry every managed a spell the first time he attempted it. But the way the doubt and clouds cleared from his best friend's face, he felt like he achieved more in that instant than casting a simple spell. Ron's arm was around his neck an instant later, followed by a grin that erased so many of the lines of concern that had made their home among the freckles. Not all of them, but Harry figured they'd take care of those one problem at a time.

The rest of the morning seemed to go rather smoothly. Both Yugi and Ryou decided to give Ron some space after his absence at breakfast, but part way through Charms it felt as if the last 16 hours had never happened at all. All of them, save Hermione, struggled through their lessons making headway a little at a time with the kind of renewed vigor that followed finding a purpose for it all. That didn't mean the silencing charms came easily to them, but Harry had managed to quite his crow to a hoarse shriek, while Ron's was silent for three seconds, before its voice returned at twice the volume.

More than once Harry looked over to Ryou and Yugi to see the two deep in concentration as they attempted their own spells, and every little bit of progress they made seemed to be done in pairs as the class was oblivious to the Egyptian spirits that took their turn behind the wands. Once or twice he could have sworn he noticed a dull golden glow out of the corner of his eye, but if either of his friends were using their Items, no one else in the room seemed to notice.

Harry actually left Charms feeling rather light on his feet, even despite the extra homework he'd been given. The only real hiccup of the morning came during lunch, when Kaiba sat down at the table with not just one or two cards as Harry might have thought, but stacks of the things. They were spread out in front of them on the table where each intricately drawn image was laid out for the world to see, and more than a few people were certainly craning their necks around every which way to do exactly that.

"Didn't we only need one of these?" Hermione asked, as she picked up the one nearest her holding the edge gently as she was suddenly aware of four sharp sets of eyes resting on her.

"It'll be better to give him a couple, so it doesn't seem out of place." Malik sorted through a few in his hand with deft precision. "It's picking which ones that's the tricky part."

"Why would the exact cards matter?" Ron asked, though he was taking a keen interest in a few monsters wreathed in such real looking fire that it felt like they'd burst into flames themselves at any moment.

"We want Cooper to keep them close enough that the tracer isn't worthless. Not to just toss them into a trunk to be forgotten about until the end of the year." Kaiba explained, setting out several cards he'd picked himself. "That means they need to be worth something to him, which is why I have doubts this will work at all."

None of the others seemed to share his lack of enthusiasm though, as they all eagerly sorted through the various cards as if it were bright and early on Christmas morning. Malik had already made a small pile for himself and was quick to offer a trade, only to be reminded curtly by the CEO that they weren't here to build themselves new decks. Harry almost laughed himself at the Egyptian's suggestion of where Kaiba could stick his own cards, when Yugi got rather quiet and set a single card down in the middle of the table for all of them to look at.

"This one."

Everyone turned to look at the smaller teen, no one having noticed at what point the Pharaoh himself had joined them. A shudder ran down Harry's spine at the command his voice seemed to carry, even while he was being quiet enough no one else would have overheard him. It brought the chattering conversation among them to a halt as they all turned to look at the card itself; a soldier in gleaming, winged armor staring back at them from the depths of the card.

"Hades Guardian?" Kaiba wrinkled his nose at the choice. "That's the one you pick?"

"What's wrong with it?" Hermione asked, looking at it a bit closer herself.

"It's hardly valuable. Rare, certainly. But it's not exactly the greatest card in the collection." Kaiba shrugged as he looked the card in question over again with the same unimpressed eye.

"It doesn't need to be." Bakura joined in, "Value means different things to different people. Cooper doesn't look like a man who cares much for material wealth anyway."

"You would know." Malik snickered from behind the growing piles of cards around him.

"I know it's not particularly grandiose Kaiba," Yami shrugged, though the confidence in his voice didn't waver, "But that's the card. And please don't ask me to give you more to go on than that. We both know no answer I give you will satisfy you. I'm just asking you to trust me."

"Not that 'Heart of the Cards' crap again…." The disgust in Kaiba's voice was palpable, but he did hand the card back to Hermione all the same. "If this doesn't work, you're going to owe me for that card, Mutou."

Hermione quickly slid her wand out from her robes and cleared a little bit of space around her on the table and laid the card out with all the care she could manage. "Invenieto." The very tip of her wand glowed with a vibrant gold for a split second, before she tapped it to the card's surface. Awash in the golden light, the creature seemed to take on a life of its own. The armor gleaming brighter with a polished shine, the cocky stance shifting to one Yami was certain he'd seen the professor in question make himself. Even the eyes seemed to suddenly fill with sharp intelligence for a brief moment, before the magic faded and only a still image on the printed card sat among them.

"Here." Kaiba grabbed a few other cards and tossed them onto the Guardian, a mix of beasts and dragons the other duelist was so fond of using. "Pick a few more. We might as well call this thanks for him interfering with Umbridge trying to take our decks. At least that way it'll make sense. All of you pick one or two to add and we'll call it good."

As simple as Kaiba made it sound, that task took the rest of lunch. No one was quite as willing to just toss a few randomly chosen cards onto the pile, and even their wizarding compatriots were asking the seasoned duelists questions about cards that caught their eye. Ron in particular seemed to be rather excited about all the various combinations and twists each card had in store, and was eagerly talking with Malik about a rather sneaky combination trap/monster ability he'd found while pawing through the pile. In the end, "a few cards" had evolved into an entire deck centered around the Guardian that started it all.

"If you're going to put a dragon in the deck, at least use that one." Bakura insisted firmly, jabbing a finger at a "Defender of Dragons". "It's a fusion deck already, so why not build on that?"

"Or I can put in both to shut you up." Kaiba snapped, shuffling the cards into the newly built deck. "There. Happy?"

"I will be when Cooper gets it." Bakura replied smugly, and pushed the deck in the Pharaoh's direction. "Here you go Your Highness. It's all you now."

"Wait, me?" Yami balked at the idea, now that the others at the table were looking at him expectantly. "Why?"

"It makes the most sense. Professor Cooper stopped Umbridge from taking your deck specifically. Seems like it would feel more genuine if you were to give him the cards, doesn't it?" Hermione pointed out, leaving Yami with little to argue against that line of logic. Cooper had seemed more… interested in him and Yugi since the start of the term. And he did owe the man for keeping his deck out of Umbridge's sausage like hands. No matter what Cooper might be embroiled in, the idea he owed the man wasn't one he could just ignore either.

Instead, Yami reached out and carefully tucked the newly made deck into his robes where the cards wouldn't errantly slip out before he spotted the professor. Not that it was likely to happen any time soon. He craned his head around, looking up at the head table only to see Cooper's seat was conspicuously empty. Not that it wasn't a common sight, but that didn't make the task of delivering their bugged gift any easier.

"Take a breath before you pass out." Bakura nudged him with a deep frown, "You look guilty. I know your hangers-on like to preach love and friendship all the time, but it's making you into a disgustingly honest coward."

Yami shot Bakura a glare that could have peeled paint, only to realize the Thief King had been prodding him on purpose. He supposed it was the white-haired teen's way of showing his support, but there was only so much even his insults could do to make him feel any better about his task. It wasn't as if he wasn't in support of their plan, or even that he wasn't willing to do his part. Quite the opposite, in fact. It was one of the reasons he hadn't protested more when the deck had been pushed his way. Both Malik and Kaiba would have had the man's class long before he would, and yet it was hard to argue that it didn't seem right that the "gift" would come from anyone but him.

/You ok, Pharaoh?/ Yugi's concerned voice cut across his thoughts, as the concerned face of his lighter half materialized alongside him in the crush of students all shuffling along to their next class. There were few things the two of them could hide from one another, but he knew full well his host was not used to the waves of uncertainty that rolled off his shoulders with every step.

/Yes./ A lie, and they both knew it. /Or I will be when this is over with. I don't like this sneaking around. That's Bakura's strong suit. Not mine./

/I don't either./ Yugi admitted with palpable relief. /I know the others want to get a handle on this situation as soon as possible, but is it bad I'm hoping we don't run into Cooper for a while?/

That brought a small, wry smile to Yami's face. Though he'd refrained from saying as much himself, he'd been thinking the exact same thing. He preferred to face his enemies head-on. None of these cloak and dagger tactics sat well with him. Kaiba was used to it from the day-to-day cutthroat business he ran with an iron fist, Malik had learned the art as the head of the Rare Hunters, and the less that was said about Bakura, the better. Maybe the wizards were used to this too, as even they seemed rather adept at the secretive methods the others were proposing. He the odd one out, far more used to being on the receiving end of these kinds of ploys than being the one handing them out. It just didn't sit right with him. But worse than this dirty way of fighting, was doing nothing. And Yami would not idly sit by and let danger continue to creep nearer while he had the ability to do something about it.

That thought helped harden his resolve, but it seemed to have come at a price. The slog of Gryffindors all shuffling through the miserable drizzling rain to Herbology weren't enough to conceal the lone figure making loping strides out to meet his own class jogging out to gather under one of the large trees near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Yami stood still, torn between just heading to class and getting it over with before Cooper vanished again.

"Professor!"

Better to get it done before the bad taste it left in his mouth had a chance to fester any longer. There was still a tiny hope the Cooper wouldn't hear him as he peeled away from the other Gryffindors, but after a few long seconds his stride slowed, then stopped completely. Maybe it was his own imagination, but he could have sword he saw Cooper's normally confidant posture sag minutely, but the man turned to face him with the same boisterous grin as always.

"Aren't you heading to the wrong class, Mr. Motou? Most students find one class a week with me is more than enough!" Yami stopped a few feet from the muggle professor, as a feeling of wrongness hit him at once. The Puzzle was cold and still against his chest, and he certainly didn't have the urge to turn on his heel and run. It wasn't a sense he or his hikari were in danger, but rather there was something fundamentally off about the way Cooper was acting. From a distance, he might have chalked it up to the rain, but there was no hiding the heavy circles that hung below the man's eyes. Nor was there any amount of acting that would have made the smile plastered on his face reach his eyes. Instead, sharp cerulean watched him with the same wariness Yami had felt since they'd returned from Hogsmeade.

"No, I'm on my way now, but I wasn't sure if I'd see you before we had our next class." Two could play at that game, Yami decided firmly. "I never had the chance to thank you properly after the mess we made with our duel a few weeks ago."

"Nothing to thank me for." Cooper shrugged, trying to wave him off. "Delores just needed reminding there's nothing wrong with students trying something new."

Yami held back the snort that rose in his chest. Cooper was predictably downplaying it, and they both of them knew it. Umbridge would have done far more than she had if given the chance to get away with it, and it was only the fact a muggle had called her out on her reaction that had forced her to back down. "I won't argue the point, Professor." Yami pressed on, not about to let the man deter him. "I wanted to thank you, and I meant it. It just took a few weeks to get ahold of them here."

Yami reached into his robes and pulled the deck free to hand over to Cooper, only to find the grin had died completely and was replaced with a look of pure shock. His heart suddenly leapt into the hollow of his throat and hammered wildly as the first worry hit him that Cooper had somehow sussed out that there was more to this gift than was first apparent. "You said you used to play." Yami found himself continuing to break the pregnant pause that fell between them. "We all picked out the cards. It was fun trying to think what you might have liked. We don't do things like that often." That came easier. The truth didn't feel like the words wanted to stick to the backs of his teeth and made him feel better about turning over the deck. It was still a few more awkward seconds before Cooper reached out and took the deck from him, fanning out a few of the cards to look them over with the same disbelieving stare.

And when that stare flicked up to look straight at him, it became a fight to keep both feet firmly panted. Maybe it was because he'd gotten used to the easygoing demeanor of the professor that the sudden absence of it felt all the more alien. It took him a moment to realize there was disappointment hiding in his eyes, though that wasn't all. There was something oppressive about the weight his stare seemed to have, as if there was something more in the empty space that separated them than just air.

Then it was over. Gone was the suffocating atmosphere, and while the wide grin he'd been expecting all along remained absent, a smaller smile tugged at the corners of his mouth that made him look far older than the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor first seemed. "I appreciate the gesture, Mr. Motou." When Cooper did finally find his voice, Yami nearly winced at how hollow and formal the man before him had suddenly become. "Don't be late to class."

A dismissal, and one he couldn't exactly refuse. Yami could only give him a mute nod of his head and turned to try and catch up with the rest of his class. Yugi was somewhere in the back of his mind saying something, but all he wanted to do was relinquish his control over his host's body where he could retreat back to his soul room to think. It wasn't that he didn't suspect Cooper was up to something, if anything, he believed the muggle Professor was even more embroiled in the silent conflict of politics and grudges taking place around them. His connections to the dangerous world they knew did little to help his case, and it seemed like more and more damning evidence came to light with each passing day. It wasn't until Yugi gave up and switched tactics in order to urge him on to catch up with their friends, that he gave his head a shake to try and clear it. Though as he did, the former Pharaoh chanced a look backward and saw Cooper still standing there looking at the deck in his hand before he carefully and deliberately slid it into his pocket.

The others would be glad to hear it had gone smoothly, especially now since it meant they had a good chance of keeping tabs on the elusive man. They were one step closer to unraveling the convoluted mystery that lay draped across the castle like a knotted web.

So then why did he feel guilty?

If this was all for the best shouldn't he have been relieved?

"Well?" Bakura was the first to demand when Yami rejoined the tail end of the Gryffindors filing into the greenhouse.

"It went fine." Yami replied absentmindedly, as his attention was split between the class, his curious friends, and the way the anxiety from his other half was bleeding through their joined link. He didn't want Yugi to worry, but he didn't have the words to reassure anyone right then. The whole exchange had been odd, like there was something that should have been said. Like Cooper had expected something more. "Cooper took the cards."

But what else could Cooper have wanted? It wasn't as if he'd known what they'd done, right? Instead, it he'd looked like they'd just handed him a bunch of pictures of his dead dog or something. Maybe it just their imaginations playing tricks on them? It was certainly giving him a headache now-

"C'mon mate, did he say anything?" Ron urged, as he sat his bag down and tried to slide into a seat. "We couldn't see all that well from the path."

"He didn't say much." The edge that crept into his voice was sharper than he meant for it to be, but he wanted them to be quiet long enough for him to think-

"He had to have said something! You were over there for a while-"

The words started to blend together as he dull thump of his heart was suddenly loud in his ears and keeping time with the throb in his skull. There were too many eyes looking at him now, no longer with expectation, but outright concern. He wanted them to leave him alone but trading back with Yugi seemed suddenly like too much effort. The hot, humid air inside the greenhouse was doing him no favors either. It was too close, too hard to breathe. If he could get outside, it would be better. In here, it felt like he was back under Cooper's scrutinizing glare all over again with those eyes watching every move he made-

He was on his feet, making the stool he'd been sitting on drop to the floor with a clatter. But he neither saw nor heard it hit, as a sharp pain stabbed through his temples. Someone screamed, and he wasn't entirely sure if it hadn't been him before the floor rushed up to meet him at last.

GotC: Hehehe. I honestly cannot wait to dig into more chapters. I felt like the later half of book 5 was where things really got good and I'm looking forward to dredging more of it for this fic too! Anyway, please leave me a review, either good or bad, so I know if you all like it, or if you'd like me to change something up! Plot probably won't change, but if my characterization bothers you or you'd like to see more or less dialogue, or other things of that nature then please feel free to drop me a line!

See you all next chapter!