Shinsei Unmei: Path of Light and Darkness
Chapter One: From Day to Night
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Yugi, Seto, and the woman they had met moments before reappeared in a poorly lit pub amidst a large group of people, including a stern-looking woman clad in emerald green robes.
"Okay, I'm going to show you to your room and then Minerva will take over, she'll help you with all of your shopping." The woman said hurriedly, pushing them up a flight of stairs. "I'm sharing a room? With midget boy?" Kaiba spat, following the woman, but very reluctantly.
Once they were on the second floor, she led them to the first door and opened it, ushering them inside. "Listen, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you're both in very great -" she began, just as the woman in the emerald robes from downstairs walked in, interrupting the woman's rushed voice.
"That's enough Vivian." She said in a stern voice, grabbing the woman by her shoulder and pulling her into the hall. "What was that about?" Yugi wondered aloud, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation in the hall.
"Minerva, they have a right to know, they're not babies!" the woman named Vivian whispered, rage evident in her voice. "Maybe not, but it is not our decision to make, unfortunately that decision lies with the ministry."
"That's professor McGonagall, I hope she's not always like that..." Yugi muttered, thinking about what would happen if they crossed her.
A few moments later, the professor walked back in and gestured for the two boys to follow her, turning swiftly and walking back down the stairs. As she led them through a back door of the pub, a loud commotion erupted behind them and Yugi turned to see several familiar faces.
A man in a bowler hat suddenly whipped out his wand and blasted a familiar Egyptian into the wall, hurling him back with tremendous force. "Hey!" Ryou Bakura cried, the Sennen ring around his neck glowing softly. "Headless Knight, sign of attack!" he added, in a darker, more sinister voice, his features darker, but yet unchanged.
A transparent knight on horseback appeared in the pub, without its head. "What in Merlin's beard?" the man in the bowler hat exclaimed, stepping back. "Atta-" Ryou's darker half, Yami no Bakura, began, his monster rearing up for attack.
"Yami no Bakura!" Yami no Yugi bellowed, a stern look in his eyes. "This is not the time nor the place! Return your monster!" he added, watching the thief snigger. "What if I don't want to?" he returned, turning to face the former pharaoh.
"Then I will have to take measures to stop you, ones that I myself find extremely unpleasant." An aged voice said from behind Yami no Yugi, causing him to jump. "What could you possibly do to scare me old man? I doubt you would even make me wince." Yami no Bakura spat, the Sennen ring glowing softly again.
"Stupefy!" the man in the bowler hat yelled, a jet of light striking Yami no Bakura and throwing him into the wall as well.
"Cornelius! I will not have you attacking my students, no matter what the cause. If you will remember, they are under my jurisdiction, and therefore my protection. I do not want to have to take action." Professor Dumbledore boomed, his voice radiating throughout the small pub.
"Very well than Albus, I suggest you keep your students under control. You've just cost yourself in the eyes of the Ministry, after we told you not to accept these... these..." Cornelius Fudge, the present Minister of Magic seethed, turning swiftly and walking off through the crowd.
Dumbledore waved his hand towards Yami no Bakura and professor McGonagall pointed her wand at him, muttering "Ennervate," and Bakura awoke, cursing all the way up. "Uh, professors? It would be a very wise move to keep him like that, he's gonna be mad," Yugi began, shifting places with Yami.
"I will kill you all!" Yami no Bakura laughed manically, pulling a card from his duel monsters deck. "No!" Yugi cried, tackling the spirit to the ground, and knocking his deck out of reach in the process. "Get off me you man-loving pharaoh!" he shrieked in return, shoving Yugi off him.
"Ahem, perhaps it would be wisest to leave..." Professor McGonagall interjected, waving her wand at the scuffling pair. "Duo Petrificus Totalus," she uttered, immobilizing them instantly. Marik and Seto picked up their schoolmates and hauled them off through a back door behind their professors, the latter muttering under his breath.
As soon as they were out of the Leaky Cauldron, Seto threw the immobilized Yugi to the ground, wiping his hands in disgust. The Sennen puzzle flashed once and Yami no Yugi took over, getting up and dusting off their shared body.
"What the hell? I thought you were paralyzed!" Marik exclaimed, unconsciously throwing Yami no Bakura to the side.
"Interesting..." professor Dumbledore mumbled to himself, talking more out loud than to anyone in the proximity.
Yami no Bakura was forced out of control by his light half, Ryou pulling off the Sennen ring and locking in his shoulder bag securely.
With that behind them, Dumbledore turned their attention to the dead-end brick wall in front of them. "Oh, I get it. It's an illusion!" Yami no Yugi cried, running straight... into it. "Um, no. It isn't an obstacle to trained wizards though, mind you." Professor McGonagall said sourly, pulling her wand out of her robe sleeve.
After Yami no Yugi was pulled back up to his feet by Marik, professor McGonagall turned their attention to a trash can standing against the wall. "Just remember, three up and two across from the trash can." She said while tapping the appropriate brick with her wand.
As soon as the tip touched the brick, the rest of the bricks in the wall began to roll away and moved to form an archway into a bustling street full of wizards shopping for their various needs.
"Wicked," Ryou muttered, just as professor Dumbledore led them into the bustling street deemed Diagon Alley. They were walking out of the robe shop when a large man cried out in exclamation, pushing his way to professor Dumbledore.
"Hagrid, where is Harry?" professor McGonagall asked sternly, looking for someone in the crowd. "Oh, Harry? He's in Madam Malkin's getting his robes!" he exclaimed merrily, holding two ice cream cones in his hands. At this, professor McGonagall disappeared with a sharp crack, and Hagrid turned to leave after whispering a few words to Dumbledore.
"Well, I believe the only things left are your wands and your pets, if you want one." Dumbledore said, walking into the neighboring shop. "Ollivanders, Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC, eh?" Marik muttered to himself, unconsciously stroking the Sennen rod in his back pocket.
"Ah, professor Dumbledore! Would these be the transfer students you told me about earlier?" an aged man asked as they walked in, climbing down a ladder with a few long, slender boxes.
"Yes Ollivander, would you mind getting them fitted for wands while I go and check in with Minerva? She's been gone an extended period of time." Dumbledore replied, smiling at the man. The Sennen puzzle glowed softly once and Yugi regained control, the switch going unnoticed.
"Alright then, which one of you would like to go first?" Mr. Ollivander asked rhetorically, his eyes lingering on Ryou. "I guess I do." He cried as Marik and Yugi half-heartedly shoved him to the front. As soon as Ryou was within reach, Mr. Ollivander began to measure his arms, nose, and various other aspects with a tape measurer.
Ryou soon realized Mr. Ollivander was pulling boxes out of the wall, and the tape was measuring him by itself! After a couple of wands had been handed to him, Mr. Ollivander spoke.
"Ah, yes. Try this one. Willow and Unicorn hair, nine and a half inches, very flexible. Go on, give it a wave!" the man said dryly, handing Ryou a wand.
Ryou waved it and only Yugi noticed his discarded bag was glowing softly, the Sennen ring's shape vibrating very softly.
As Ryou watched, a jet of blue and silver sparks flew from the tip, disappearing almost immediately. "That should do it, next!" Mr. Ollivander added, waving his wand towards Seto.
"Ah, the CEO..." The man muttered, pulling a box out from his sales counter. That one didn't turn out to be Kaiba's, nor did the next four that he tried.
"Oak and Dragon heartstring, ten and a quarter inches, very sturdy. " he added as he handed the wand to Seto, who took it grudgingly.
As he waved it, a quick burst of blue and silver sparks emitted from it as well, and Mr. Ollivander waved Marik up to him. "You're the one who tried to take over the world if I'm not mistaken? I think that'll narrow the choices a bit. Try this, birch and dragon heartstring, 10 inches."
Marik halfheartedly waved it and it shot another group of sparks, this time red and gold. "Yes, yes. Now you, the reincarnated pharaoh."
Yugi went up to him and watched as he pulled a silver box out of a case on his desk. "Cedar and phoenix tail-feather, ten inches. Very sturdy, great for complex spells."
Yugi waved it once and a jet of sparks similar to Marik's appeared, causing Mr. Ollivander to nod. "Yes, yes. The headmaster has already paid for your wands, so I suppose you had better return to the Leaky Cauldron."
"Uh, sir? Professor Dumbledore told us we were going to buy some pets, do you know where we could find those?" Yugi asked quietly, having to repeat it again for Mr. Ollivander to hear him.
"The Emporium. It's just across the street. I suggest you choose wisely Mr. Mutou, the school won't pay for just anything now."
On their way across the street, they ran into a blonde-haired kid who shoved past Marik in a hurry.
"Watch it..." The Egyptian spat, grabbing the kid's robed arm and turning him around sharply.
"What the bloody hell are you doing, you filthy mudblood? Don't you speak to me like that, I'm Draco Malfoy." The blonde replied, his words not having the affect he had anticipated.
"I'm Marik. Marik Ishtar. You won't cross me again. Hogwarts I presume?" Marik replied harshly, lightening up at the end.
"Yes, but what bloody business is it of yours?"
"Just curious..." Marik replied, turning back to his group and slipping his hand into the pocket with the Sennen rod. 'Stuff your head down a toilet.' The Egyptian thought with a smirk, his friends oblivious to his antics.
Once inside the Emporium, the smell of animal dung, animals, and food hit them full force, causing Yugi to almost faint.
"Hello m' dears, what can I help you with today?" a woman called from behind the sales counter, coming out to greet them. "Um, we're looking for some pets? We're supposed to be with professor Dumbledore" Yugi replied shakily, still faint from his near bout with unconsciousness.
"Ah! The exchange students, of course. Look around, tell me when you've found something you like." She replied, returning to her magazine behind the counter.
That night found the group in Seto and Yugi's room, their animals with them. Yugi smoothed his snow owl's feathers, the pharaoh standing invisibly behind him.
As Marik finished his duel with Ryou, the latter's puffy white cat walked into the room, a dead rat in its mouth. "Ryou, get that damn thing out of here." Seto spat, picking up a pen from his bedside table and throwing it at the animal.
As Ryou got up, a rapping at the window nearly made him jump out of his body. "Seto, your owl is back." Yugi noted, his own owl hooting softly in reply. As Seto brought his owl in from outside, the group said their goodnights, Marik and Ryou returning to their shared room next door.
As Yugi closed his eyes and began to drift asleep, the Sennen tauk inside his trunk next to the bed began to shine brightly, his hand unconsciously moving to cover it. As his palm made contact with the golden object, he was suddenly sent to a moment in the past. As they watched, the horizon shifted, and the sun sank beneath the sands, letting night cover the sands...
Shinsei Unmei: Path of Light and Darkness © Copyright 2004 ArchSaugim (ID: 418011). All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of ArchSaugim
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Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Harry Potter, just this story.
A/N: Now that you've read, review.
