Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter or YGO.
Seto Kaiba sat in his dark oak wood desk, papers scattered around and frowned. All day he had had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. That something was going to happen, and that he wouldn't like it. The same feeling he got every time Yugi Motou or magicwere involved. Kaiba silently sneered.
It was paranoia, nothing more.
Magic did not, nor would it ever, exist. And he would not be convinced otherwise.
Dumbledore sat in his office at Hogwarts, the desk around him piled high with trinkets from this place and that, most of which he couldn't for the life of him remember getting. For eleven years, he could not find Harry Potter. For eleven years, the savior of the wizarding world had been missing. Missing. The poor child had just disappeared one night while at his aunt's home, and Petunia hadn't bothered contacting anyone about the kidnapping-not until someone came around asking for the young boy. She had only answered with the words, "That freak? He disappeared years ago. I thought that one of you lot took him."
Dumbledore felt a growl rise in his throat. It had been almost eleven years since little Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, had reflected the Killing Curse back at Voldemort, killing the evil wizard. But deep in his old bones, Albus knew that the man wouldn't stay dead. Men that sought after immortality with single minded obsession often found some way to prolong their lives, even if it weren't the immortality they sought. And Albus could tell that Riddle was stirring once again.
That would be, of course, the reason he was once again staring at the Hogwarts register of accepted students, his eyes quickly finding the name Harry Potter on the list he had become intimately familiar with in the past few hours. Harry Potter was alive.
And Dumbledore was going to find him.
Kaiba woke the next morning with the same bad feeling that had been nagging him the night before. He frowned, as he dressed for the day, putting on the corresponding dress pant and shirt set, and reaching for his custom leather jacket. Last night he had been able to dismiss the feeling as superstition. However, the morning brought a clearer mind that denied his claim magic was false. What about Yugi? The voice in his head whispered. Kaiba shook his head, as he thought.
Mokuba was already seated at the table when Seto went down to breakfast, and his eyes ran over his little brother's features. Brown hair that was so dark it was often mistaken for black and big green eyes that Kaiba could never say no to. "Morning, Mokuba." He greeted casually, as his staff started setting breakfast out between the two.
Mokuba looked up with a brilliant smile. "Morning, Big Brother. Did you sleep well?"
Kaiba grunted, but Mokuba wasn't deterred. "Yugi called earlier this morning. He was wondering if there was something wrong. He and Yami had one of those feelings."
Kaiba froze for a second as he reached for the hot coffee that had been placed next to his hand, before completing the motion, but the slight hesitation had not escaped his younger brother's notice.
"So something is wrong." Mokuba declared. "What is going on, Big Brother?"
Kaiba shook his head. "Nothing." He grunted, turning his attention to the laptop screen he had just opened, eyes scrolling down the long list of unread messages.
Mokuba humphed. "Brother."
The elder Kaiba kept his eyes trained on the screen, faking concentration as he skimmed over his mail.
Mokuba was undeterred. He hopped off his seat, and sidled up to his brother's side, his head craning into Seto's view. Kaiba couldn't help it; he looked.
The CEO of the biggest, most successful gaming company in the world could not stand up to his brother's puppy eyes.
"I just have a bad feeling." He muttered staring harder at the screen, refusing to look at Mokuba who he knew would be thrilled.
"It's one of those bad feelings, isn't it!?" Mokuba smiled widely. "Yugi was right! Something is going to happen."
Kaiba groaned, and let his head drop into his hands in a rare display of vulnerability, a side that he only let his brother see. "You are not supposed to be happy about this. It will interfere with our work."
Mokuba shrugged. "It's exciting. It gets boring around here sometimes. It's good to have a little excitement in your life."
Kaiba growled. "It's not going to happen, Mokuba. Magic doesn't exist. Besides, I have had enough excitement for a lifetime."
Mokuba shrugged again, though the gleam in his eyes didn't fade. "If you say so. But when it does happen, Big Brother, be sure to take me too, okay?"
Kaiba sighed as though Mokuba had asked him to do some great burden. "Fine. If it means so much to you. But nothing is going to happen."
Mokuba only grinned, and got up to leave the room. As he reached the door way though, he slowed and with an impish grin, reminded his brother "that's what you said last time," before fleeing.
Kaiba shook his head. As much as he loved his brother, the boy could be a little brat at times.
Dumbledore looked around to the witches and wizards he had called. He had fought with all of them at some point, had taught many of them, and guided even more. They were his students, though he couldn't call them friends; they were children in comparison. But still, they were his comrades, and he knew that each of them cared about finding the lost child just as much as he.
His eyes lingered on Remus Lupin. The werewolf had had a difficult time adjusting to the loss of all his friends, and the only child of the group. He had considered early on when he saw what grief was doing to the man, to tell him that Sirius Black hadn't been the Secret Keeper, but had kept his silence knowing that he would lose a follower, if Lupin found out that he had allowed Black to go to Prison without a fair trial. Merlin, Lupin wouldn't think twice about withdrawing his compliance if he discovered Black was innocent.
As much as he hated to do it, Albus needed as many followers as he could find. The Ministry would not back him, and he feared that he would not have enough fighters for when Voldemort truly arose. He needed everyone he could get.
He could only hope that discovering that the child was still living would spur the weary man into being a little more motivated. He needed active fighters, and Lupin was not meeting expectations.
To the right of Lupin stood the Weasley's. The Weasley's had been loyal to Dumbledore since he had defeated Voldemort, excluding a child here or there. Dumbledore was sure, that no matter how they found Harry, the Weasley's would fight to help gain custody of the child. He had to admit, that he was considering putting the child into their care, with financial support of course. He knew they had enough trouble caring for their own children without adding to the burden.
Severus stood off to the side, a sneer planted firmly on his face. Severus, Dumbledore knew, only fought for him, because he so desperately needed the chance to redeem himself for allowing Voldemort to kill Lily. The young man was willing to put himself in harm's way so many times that Dumbledore began to fear for the lad's life, though he never mentioned it. Grief was eating young Snape inside much like it was eating Remus. Still, Dumbledore needed Severus to keep making sacrifices.
These were his most trusted. They were the ones who were willing to risk everything they had to keep the wizarding world safe. They were his Order of the Phoenix.
Finally, after everyone appeared settled, Dumbledore cleared his throat, calling the attention to him. "As I am sure you are all aware, we are approaching Harry Potter's eleventh birthday. It has been nearly eleven years since the boy disappeared, and I am sure that everyone, including myself, thought him dead. However, it has come to my attention that the boy is still very much alive. In fact, we will know his location in only a few hours, once the letters are sent out. I have called you all here today, because I wish you to join me when I go pick young Harry up from where ever he has been for the past eleven years. I don't wish him to be out of our care for any longer. He has to be put back with his aunt for the blood protections to hold."
Arthur Weasley was the first to stand in agreement. "Whatever you need, Professor Dumbledore, all you need to do is ask. You know my family will do whatever it can."
Dumbledore smiled at the young man, remembering how open and bright he had been as a child. "Thank you, Arthur." He acknowledged the man's offer. "I would appreciate your company on the trip."
Severus only sneered, though Albus could see the slight incline of his head that let him know that though the much younger Potion's Master wasn't happy about it, he would go and help Dumbledore if he required it.
A glance at Lupin though, caused the old headmaster's heart to sink. The young werewolf was frozen, his limbs shaking from the building tension. Gold flecked his pupils and his breathing was heavy. "Remus…" The headmaster slowly called.
"I'm fine." Lupin grunted, forcibly containing himself. "The wolf is a pack animal, and I've been so alone. It's complicated."
Severus frowned. "Shouldn't the Wolfsbane Potion calm that side down as long as you take it regularly?"
Lupin gave a weary smile. "The potion would, I just don't have the funds to regularly purchase it. It's fine. I've dealt with it for years; I can wait a few more for some comfort. Harry's alive? Is he well?"
Dumbledore still looked at the younger man in concern, but answered. "I don't know. Until we see him, all I know is that he is alive."
"I'm going then." Lupin stated, his eyes trained on the headmaster. Dumbledore resisted the urge to fidget.
"Of course, my dear boy, of course. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning."
Little did Dumbledore know, it didn't quite work out as perfectly as he had planned…
The next day the Kaiba brothers were sitting together at the table once more, laptops out, once again updating themselves on the status of the company they had left for a mere eight hours of sleep.
"Idiots!" Seto growled, "Can't these people do anything right? I knew I shouldn't have put Kurosaki in charge. He didn't have enough experience. This is going to take weeks to straighten out! Thank god he didn't talk to any of the sponsors…"
Mokuba grinned at his brother. He knew that his brother was still having that feeling, and that constant idea of magic would drive his brother crazy. Because of it, he was much more stressed as well. "Kurosaki isn't that bad, brother. He's just new. Maybe you should put him under one of the regional managers for a while, before taking him back to the main company. He wanted to visit his sister anyway."
Seto waved a dismissive hand. "Do whatever you want with him, Mokuba. I don't care as long as he isn't trashing my company."
Mokuba nodded. At least the poor man wouldn't have to pay for his brother's irritation. "Hey Seto…" he started before trailing off. If Kaiba was looking, he would have seen his brother staring awestruck out the big bay window.
"What, Moki?" he asked distractedly.
Mokuba shook his head. His brother would not be happy. "There's an owl at the window."
Indeed it was an owl. A beautiful grey owl that was currently fluffing its feathers, and occasionally tapping the window with its leg. The leg appeared to have a note attached.
Seto froze. He didn't twitch, hesitate, or linger, he froze for a full minute before slowly turning around in his chair like an old toy. "An owl." He stared blankly.
Mokuba nodded. "It's an owl. I think it wants to come in."
Kaiba shook his head. "Absolutely not. I will not have that sort of trash inside my house! Call security to get rid of the bird."
"Come on, Seto," the younger brother wheedled. "Just let it in for a moment. I think there's a letter on its leg."
"That's even worse. No. No. Absolutely not."
Mokuba frowned. He really wanted to know what was in that letter. Who used an owl to send messages today anyway? He decided to use his last resort.
"Seeettttooo," he drawled out, pitching his voice just so that his brother would have to look at him. Kaiba did of course look in his direction and that's when he did it. He widened his eyes and let the tears gather.
Kaiba froze. It was the puppy eyes. Mokuba knew he couldn't resist the eyes. "Fine." He growled. "Read the damn letter. But the feather duster is not staying."
Mokuba grinned in success. He dashed over to the window, and with little trouble, let the owl inside. The owl hooted indignantly at the wait, but allowed the young boy to take the letter from its leg.
Mokuba frowned as he felt the thick paper. If it was what he thought it was, he couldn't help but who used parchment in today's age, when it would be so much quicker to contact him by email. He frowned even deeper when he saw the addressed.
Harry Potter
Kaiba Mansion, Second Largest Bedroom
Domino City, Japan
"Brother," he asked, "Do we know anyone named Harry Potter?"
Kaiba looked up from his emails. "It could be you." He suggested. "Our parents never told us what your name was before you were adopted."
Mokuba continued to frown. "Then how would they know what bedroom mine was?"
Set whirled, his coat twirling out behind him as he stalked over to his brother. For anyone else the sight would have been terrifying, but Mokuba knew his brother would never harm him. Without a word, the elder held out his hand in silent demand.
Mokuba handed over the slightly crinkled envelope. His brother mimicked his frown when he felt the parchment, before a feral snarl was ripped from his chest. "Call security." He demanded. "I want whoever was watching the house stopped."
Mokuba nodded, but didn't mention that he didn't think they were being watched. But because he knew his brother's feelings about magic, he kept silent.
Seto wouldn't admit there was anything unexplainable about this until it was right in front of his face. And as time with Yami proved, sometimes even that wouldn't convince him.
Dumbledore looked around at the witches and wizards who had reassembled. "It's time." He said. "Is everyone ready?"
They nodded. "Okay, everyone touch the portkey… On three then. One… Two… Three." They all disappeared.
A few minutes later they were standing in front of the mansion.
Arthur Weasley let out a whistle. "Are you sure Harry's going to be here, Headmaster?"
Dumbledore nodded, though his brows furrowed in thought. He had thought that he would find Harry living in squalor, eager to join them in the wizarding world. But if Harry lived well, there was always the possibility that he wouldn't want to leave.
Dumbledore shook his head, ignoring the looks his companions gave him. Of course Harry would join them. The boy had wizarding blood in his veins. He wouldn't be able to resist the call.
"The book never lies." The Headmaster of Hogwarts answered simply. "He will be here."
And with that, Dumbledore knocked on the door.
However, the house being as large as it was, the only one to hear the knock was a passing maid, and Dumbledore's face fell when the one to answer was not Harry.
"Good Afternoon, Sir." She greeted. "What can I get for you?"
"Ah, yes," Dumbledore fumbled. "I'm looking for a Mr. Harry Potter?"
The maid shook her head. "No one by that name lives here, I'm afraid. You must have the wrong address."
Dumbledore shook his head. "Nonsense. I know this is the correct address. Perhaps he doesn't go by the same name. Just let us look around; I'm sure we'll find him."
The maid shook her head again. "I am afraid, sir, unless you have an appointment with Mr. Kaiba, you may not come in."
"Well, then, how would we go about setting up this appointment?" He inquired.
Three days later, Dumbledore finally made it into the house. However, he was only able to bring Remus Lupin. Unfortunately, he was told, there had been too many attempts on the Kaiba brother's lives, to allow a guest to bring more than one person with him. He was told that often, wealthy businessmen would bring a bodyguard. He, of course, chose Harry Potter's stand in godfather.
Surely the boy would want to meet the man who was friends with his parents.
He stood uncomfortably in the lobby, waiting for Mr. Kaiba to join them. Of all the places he could have imagined young Harry disappearing to, Japan certainly was not one of them. And certainly not to a place like here.
The furniture was elegant, but sparse, blunt almost in the way that it just sat there. The house didn't appear lived in by any means. Everything was spick and span, and Dumbledore was secretly worried that Harry would have been affected by it. Imagine, an arrogant savior, expecting things to be handed to him on a silver platter, and caring more for his life than the greater good. No. Dumbledore couldn't have that. That was why he had sent the boy to the Dursley's in the first place. To be sure that he wouldn't ever forget his place. He couldn't have the hero of the wizarding world thinking that he was better than everyone else… no, then Harry wouldn't be any better than Voldemort. The boy had to suffer, had to be as close to Voldemort's Mirror image as possible, then rise against it.
No, Dumbledore was beginning to think that this Harry might not be what he needed after all. But there was nothing to do for it now, at least not until he met the boy. Perhaps he wouldn't be a total failure.
He glanced up when he heard the confident footsteps approaching the room, and next to him, Remus stood up straighter. The werewolf was probably so used to people dismissing him when they saw his ratty state, and knew his condition, he was conditioned to try to appear as professional as possible and brace for the disgust he was sure he was going to face.
Dumbledore, though, was surprised when he saw that the footsteps belonged to a mere boy! Seventeen at the oldest, still in school surely. Perhaps this was the son of the CEO he was going to meet?
"Hello, my dear boy!" he greeted boisterously, his eyes twinkling merrily. "What brings you here?"
"I am Seto Kaiba," the teen announced coldly, waving one hand dismissively in a motion to follow, as he turned heel and headed down to a room down the hall. Dumbledore's face twisted into a minute scowl that was barely there, but followed the young man anyway. "I am the CEO of Kaiba Corp. and the man you wished to speak to day."
Kaiba moved to sit behind his desk, again motioning the two to take a seat in the chairs across from him. "So what can I help you two gentlemen with?"
Dumbledore's smile was back and brighter than ever. "So you're the Kaiba that's so hard to get a hold of!" He exclaimed merrily, hiding his distaste. "I myself am Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Young man, I was hoping to meet with a Mr. Potter that appears to be in your household? I have a message to deliver that concerns his parents and his education."
Kaiba scowled. "There is no Harry Potter here. And what kind of name is Hogwarts for a school anyway?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "You are mistaken. Perhaps his name changed. But Harry Potter lives here, and it was his parent's wishes that he attend my school."
"If his parents wished him to attend this school, perhaps they should tell him so themselves."
"They are dead. I come bearing the wishes they wrote in their will."
Kaiba shrugged. "Then that's too bad. I don't care what dead people have to say."
Dumbledore drew himself up, preparing to take… drastic measures to convince this man to allow their meeting with the Potter child, when a gentle tapping came from the door.
All three gentlemen whirled around. "Harry!" Lupin cried. He had been silent until now, letting the headmaster take the lead, but there was no mistaking that face.
Kaiba at the same time growled. "Mokuba, I told you to stay out of here until I was finished."
The boy, Harry, tilted his nose down. "Brother, you know I wanted to know what the letter was about."
Kaiba sighed. "I should've known I couldn't trust you to stay away. I should have called Yugi. The twerp owes me a favor."
Harry smiled up at the teen he called brother. "You wouldn't have. You dislike Yugi more than me being here."
Kaiba sighed again, and motioned him to the desk. "Sit down then, if you insist on staying. You may as well start over headmaster."
Dumbledore looked at the boy in front of him. Harry was strong and confident. More so than he had originally intended. He was healthy and used to living comfortably. He shifted in his seat. There was no guarantee that this Harry would want to be in Gryffindor. In fact, he would be more likely to wind up with the Slytherins. No matter. He would just talk to the hat beforehand.
"Harry, my dear boy!" The headmaster exclaimed. "We've been looking for you everywhere. You aren't with your aunt and uncle like you were supposed to be, and when we found out, we were worried something had happened to you."
Mokuba shrugged. "I don't know how I ended up at the orphanage. And my name is Mokuba Kaiba. Please call me by my name."
Dumbledore had to resist the urge to frown. Irritating little bugger. "I knew your parents dear boy, and it was their dearest wish before they died to see you go to Hogwarts."
Behind Mokuba, the elder Kaiba lifted a disbelieving brow. Mokuba soon mimicked the expression. "I'm sorry Headmaster, but Hogwarts?"
"Ah yes, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are a wizard, Mr. Potter."
Mokuba stifled a giggle as he felt his brother straighten at those words, and already knew what he was going to say. He mouthed it with his brother.
"There is no such thing as magic."
The elderly wizard let out a chuckle that made Mokuba's insides twist in distaste. He was a little too similar to another white haired person they had the misfortune of meeting.
"Of course there's magic. Allow me to demonstrate."
Mokuba watched with interest as the elderly man pulled a stick out of his sleeve, waved it in the air, and then motioned towards the tea set he conjured. "Tea?" He asked.
"There is no such thing as magic." Kaiba repeated, looking though the tea set as though he couldn't see it. Mokuba rolled his eyes. His brother was ridiculously good at pretending magic didn't exist.
"Magic…" he tried the word, looking up at the wizard before him, and then looking at the guest he had brought. "So who is he? A teacher, maybe?"
The man shook his head before Dumbledore could answer. "I was your parent's friend." He corrected. "I wanted to be sure you were okay. So you are going to be attending Hogwarts in the fall, correct? We assumed you didn't know how to respond."
Mokuba frowned. "Why would you assume that I would attend?"
Dumbledore's brows rose and Mokuba couldn't help but ask. "Surely you've had students refuse before. I can't imagine that a refusal would bring you all the way out here, and then go through the trouble of arranging an appointment with my brother simply because I didn't respond to your… owl." Mokuba was proud to note he sounded a lot like his brother than, and Seto squeezed his shoulder supportively. The younger could have jumped for joy.
The elderly wizard let out a sigh. "My boy… You are Harry Potter. You vanquished a very powerful evil lord before you could talk. Both of your parents were wizards and witches. Why wouldn't you want to attend?"
Mokuba shrugged. "Evil lord…? Never mind. I don't care about any of that. I am very happy here, and plan to help my brother run Kaiba Corp when I'm done in school. I don't see how knowing magic will help me. Besides, I don't trust my brother enough to leave him alone without getting into trouble, and the letter said I would have to board. So I will have to turn down your offer."
Seto grinned ruthlessly, while the two wizards started in shock. "Saito, Nakamura. Please escort these two men off my property. Make sure they don't come back in. By any means necessary."
A/N: Well this is what I've been working on in my spare time. I hope you enjoyed it. :)
