Small Note

Sakura: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and has taken an interest in this story!


Chapter 2

The Invitation

Two weeks into June and the heat refused to give up causing more people to find ways to cool themselves off. Since staying inside the game shop was unbearable to Yuugi, the two lovers decided to plan a day trip down to the beach since it was only an hour away. Something else Yuugi and Yami truly did not understand is even in the city of Domino, Yuugi was not allowed out of the house very often. Solomon was a good guardian to Yuugi, but sometimes he and Yuugi would butt heads when it came to Yuugi going out onto the town or anywhere in general. When he was a teenager Yami had been allowed his freedom to hang out with his friends so long as he did not use magic, but Yuugi was a whole different story. It sometimes made Yami wonder if Yuugi's lack of freedom had to do with Yuugi's childhood and his parents. Just as Yuugi was told nothing of his parents, Yami was told nothing of Yuugi's younger life in general. There were no family photos around the house which would tell Yami who Yuugi's parents were and no other family ever visited.

A few things Yami did know was that Yuugi came from two very well-known pure-blood families. One family being the Mutous, but the other Solomon never talked about. There were still some pure-blood families in the wizarding world including the Sennen family so it was any guess which other family Yuugi came from. It was almost that other family that had Yami thinking that Yuugi must have come from a dark wizard family for him to be so sheltered all his life.

One other thing that had Yami thinking about Yuugi's sheltered life was the fact that his little lover was a werewolf. It was hard to believe that cute little Yuugi Mutou was part werewolf. Before Yami and Yuugi started a serious relationship, Solomon had thought it best to inform Yami about Yuugi's other half. According to Solomon Yuugi's papa had been turned into a werewolf when he was younger thus making Yuugi part werewolf. Unlike normal werewolves, Yuugi could control his wolf on the full moon, but only if he was not around other wolves. Another thing is that any day at any time Yuugi could turn into a normal furry wolf whenever he wanted. It was bizarre and Yami had almost not believed it until he saw it with his very eyes. However it did not stop the growing love Yami had for Yuugi and he continued to pursue a relationship.

So many things could explain Yuugi's life being closed off from the rest of the world, but only Solomon and Yuugi's parents seemed to know the real truth. It sometimes hurt Yami to see Yuugi locked up like a cage animal and that is why he worked his hardest to get Solomon to trust him so Yuugi could have some form of freedom.

That was why after weeks of sitting in the house sweating their butts off, Yami planned a trip down to the beach. The teen and young adult had helped Solomon out plenty with the shop so they deserved a day to themselves and Yami was not going to waste it.


The picnic basket had been packed along with a duffle bag which had a change of clothes and towels. Yami and Yuugi were both going to be wearing their swim shorts to the beach and after their swim they would use the restrooms to change, so as not to get Solomon's vehicle wet inside. Yami had only recently gotten a driver's license because of the fact that Solomon did not allow too much magic in the house and brown sticks were out of the question. Yuugi was not allowed to use magic due to still being under the wizarding law, so any form of magic he used would be reported to the ministry. It was troublesome sometimes to Yami having grown up around nothing but magic being used in his home, but he would do anything to stay in Solomon's good grace so he could live with Yuugi.

Solomon was busy with the shop that morning, but over breakfast he had made both Yuugi and Yami promise him that they would be careful and that no muggles (wizards' word for non-magical people) would see any form of magic out of Yami and that Yuugi would not turn into a wolf. The last thing the old man wanted to see in the paper was a random wolf sighting that would have the small city of Domino in an uproar.

It wasn't but an hour after breakfast that Yami had everything in the car and the two were gone for their beach trip. They would spend most of their day there, but would be back before dinner so Solomon would not worry too much.

Honestly it was not that Solomon did not trust them, but he had worked so hard to protect Yuugi all these years. The boy was special beyond anyone's understanding and he deserved a normal wizard life. That was partly the reason Yuugi was allowed to date Yami, because Solomon wanted to see Yuugi happy.

So while the two were gone, Solomon forced himself to relax behind the counter of his shop and read his muggle newspaper. The wizard's newspaper was much more interesting, but he had to be careful when reading it so Yuugi did not get too curious about what was going on in the wizard world. It was one of the rules placed by the ministry when Yuugi was placed in his care. There were some things the boy was not supposed to know about. Solomon did not agree with everything the ministry had done to his great-grandson, but he would follow the set rules if only to keep the boy out of harm's way.

Just as a costumer walked into the shop with his daughter, Yuugi's owl flew in behind them and landed behind the counter away from prying eyes having not been seen by the man and his daughter. As they looked around the shop, Solomon quickly retrieved the newspaper from the owl and gave her a treat. Once the costumers left he would let her back out. He knew Yuugi kept his skylight open so she would probably go there next to rest her wings.

Thankfully the man made a quick purchase before they left. Solomon waited a minute before going to the door and holding it open for the owl. She happily flew out and then he closed the door back and went back to his post. Since the shop was completely empty for the time being, Solomon pulled out his wizard's newspaper and unfolded it to the first page.

As soon as his eyes met the first page, he froze in his place. On the front was a shaggy looking man in a prison uniform laughing like a mad man. Solomon was thankful the newspaper did not make sounds, because the looks of the photo would be enough to scare people. However it was not the picture that truly scared Solomon it was the words above the picture in big bold letters.

PRISONER ESCAPED FROM AZKABAN

Those few words were enough to make Solomon's blood run cold and he knew that after today nothing would be the same anymore.


When the two lovers arrived at the beach it was no surprise to find the place packed with people and children. They however had a special spot that they found last summer and no one ever went there. It was a good mile walk from the main shore spot and hidden behind a rock formation. The rocks were considered dangerous to climb, but that did not stop Yuugi from climbing them just to get a better view of the ocean. Last year when he had come there and found the spot, they had grandpa with them and the old man nearly had a heart attack when Yuugi started climbing the rocks. It was pretty much the last time grandpa allowed Yuugi to go off exploring on his own. However the old man was not there and Yami was more than happy to join Yuugi on the other side of the rocks.

As soon as they made it on the other side they found the place deserted like they thought it would be. There was a nice strip of beach on the other side that led all the way to the pier which could be seen in the distance. This part of the beach was considered dangerous mostly because of the pier and boats that often passed the area. The waves were a little stronger due to the boats passing by, but as long as someone stayed in the sallow end they would be safe.

While Yami set up the blankets and their lunch, Yuugi quickly stripped himself of his shirt and hurried to the water. He sat his butt right in the sand and allowed the waves to gently crash onto his upper body. It was calm for the moment since no boats were around, but Yuugi knew to move if one came their way.

Yami chuckled at his little lover and soon joined him once he was done. "This sure beats saying at home all day."

Yuugi agreed as he soaked up the sun. It felt nice now since he had cool water hitting him. "I wish we could do this more often. Then summer would not be so boring."

"Maybe once you are of legal age, we could do some traveling. It would be nice to travel to Hawaii or some other tropical island. I hear they are nice this time of year." Yami said he knew both of them would like nothing more than to get out of Domino.

Yuugi sighed as he picked some sand up and let it run out of his hands. "I wish I could go out and see the world now. I remember all those stories you told me about your summer vacations when you were out of school. I hate being locked up during my summers. The only time I got to go somewhere was when grandpa had to go to Egypt and he had to take me with him."

Yami reached over and lifted Yuugi's chin up. "I'm sure there is a very good reason that you are supposed to stay in Domino. Your grandfather probably just wants to keep you safe until you are a legal adult."

Yuugi shook his head and laughed at that. "I doubt my grandpa is the one holding me here. I figured out long ago that he is just doing what the ministry wants. They were the ones that pulled me from my home and placed me here. If I was not with my grandfather than I would be living at the ministry with all my freedom taken from me, at least grandpa let me go to Cairo with him." He smiled up at Yami. "If he hadn't I would have met you."

"When did you learn all this?" Yami questioned.

"It was about the time we were to take the trip to Cairo. The prime minister came to visit my grandfather, because he had plans to take me out of Domino. The minister wanted me to live at the ministry until he returned, but grandpa would not have that. Grandpa said something about I was perfectly safe with him and no one would take me from him. They argued for a while and I heard things about the ministry being the one behind taking me from my parents because they were dangerous and they thought grandpa was going to be me in danger by letting me leave Domino." Yuugi lean against Yami and wiped at his eyes to keep the tears from coming. "I know my parents would never hurt me. Sure my papa is a werewolf, but I'm his child and I'm sure daddy would have protected me."

Yami wrapped Yuugi in his arms. "I wish I could tell you why you were taken, but I promise you we will see your parents again." He placed a kiss onto Yuugi's head before removing himself from Yuugi and standing up. "Now, we came here to have fun so let's have a swim so we can eat."

A smile lit up Yuugi's face as he stood up and lightly smacked Yami's arm. "Well a game of tag is always fun, so you're it!" He shouted before running off with Yami hot on his heels. They both laughed the whole time, just happy to be with each other.


It wasn't until around dinner time that Yuugi and Yami arrived back at the Game Shop completely wore out from their day at the beach. Unknowing to Solomon they had also gone downtown to do some shopping, but what he did not know would not hurt him. While Solomon closed up the shop, the two used the side door to enter the house part and hurriedly took their bags to Yuugi's room to hide them.

Yuugi put their stuff away, while Yami went downstairs to let Solomon know they were home and help the elderly man with getting supper started. As Yuugi cleared his bed of their shopping bags, he noticed something he had not noticed when he first entered the room. On his pillow was an envelope made of yellowish parchment with his name on the front.

As he picked it up he noticed how thick and heavy the envelope was and wondered who would have sent him a letter. He looked to the skylight and saw that it was still open so any owl could have visited his room. He checked his owl's cage and was happy to see she was sleeping soundly inside. Approaching the cage, he smiled at her. She was beautiful with feathers black like a raven and when her eyes were open she had wicked golden eyes. "Good night Akumu…" Yuugi gently cooed before going over to his skylight and closing it.

Once he settled himself on his bed he finally turned the envelope over and noticed the seal on the back keeping it closed. The purple wax seal was bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. Curiosity was getting the better of Yuugi he carefully broke the seal, pulling out a letter and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

Dear Mr. Mutou,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Terms begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Head Mistress

The letter was read multiple times by Yuugi as he tried to process what he really had in his hands. All his life he had wanted to be treated like a normal teenager and go to school with wizards and witches like himself. He had dreams of going to a real wizards school after he heard stories of Hogwarts from his grandfather and Yami. The two of them had attended the school from ages eleven until they graduated at seventeen. Yuugi was sixteen now and he was just now being invited. It confused him greatly about why he was being sent a letter now, but he almost did not care as excitement started to build up inside him.

This was finally his chance to get out of Domino and really explore the wizards world. He quickly leap off bed and hurried out of his room and toward the kitchen shouting for his grandfather.

Solomon looked up when he heard Yuugi rush into the kitchen and up to the table waving a letter in his hands. Yami stopped what he was doing at the stove and turned his attention to the two, not sure what had Yuugi so excited.

Yuugi handed the letter over to his grandfather with a smile on his face. "I've finally be invited to study at Hogwarts!" He shouted there was no hiding his excitement.

The elderly man looked the letter over and he did not seem at all surprise by it. "Where did you find this?"

"It was on my bed. I guess either Akumu dropped it off or another owl came in. I leave my skylight open so any owl could have come into my room without you knowing." Yuugi explained as he put his hands together in a pleading motion and pulled out his famous puppy dog eyes. "Please say I can go!"

Solomon offered his grandson a small smile and handed the letter back to him. "You have been invited to one of the best schools around, so I guess there is no saying no to that. I'm warning you now it will be different from your home schooling so be prepared to work hard."

Yuugi's jaw dropped for a moment as he could not believe the man who had raised him and kept him sheltered for so long was really letting him leave to go to England and stay at a boarding school. It was like a dream come true and if it was a dream than Yuugi did not want to wake up. Once he picked his jaw up off the floor did he nearly hug the life out of his grandfather and thank him a hundred times.

After the boy was done, he raced back to his room shouting that he loved them but he wanted to get packaging right away.

Yami raised a questioning eyebrow at Solomon. "Alright what gives?"

"What do you mean?" Solomon questioned back as he worked more on his crossword puzzle.

"Yuugi is almost sixteen and has been home schooled all his life. Why would he be invited to Hogwarts now, I thought the ministry was clear on him staying in Domino." Yami explained wanting to finally get to the bottom of all these secrets. "I want to know what is going on Solomon."

Solomon sighed as he turned his head to look at Yami. "I know you care for Yuugi and want what is best for him. I too want what is best for Yuugi, so it has been decided by the ministry to allow Yuugi to enter Hogwarts until he graduates and becomes a legal wizard." He raised his hand when Yami went to interrupt. "I received a letter around lunch from headmaster Dumbledore letting me know of the ministry's decision in this so I knew that Yuugi would be getting a letter from the school. We will be headed to England in a week to help Yuugi gather his school supplies and I assure you that all your questions will be answered then and no earlier."

A frown made its way onto Yami's face, but he kept his mouth shut. He could have kept trying to press Solomon for answers, however the man was stubborn, plus Yami was always taught to respect his elders. He turned back to the stove deciding to continue cooking supper and let the matter drop. It would be a week until he got his answers, but at least for the moment Yuugi was happy and that was all that really mattered at the moment.


Sakura: I've honestly never seen a pure black owl before, but I figured it would be awesome for Yuugi to have one. Also in the next chapter they will be taking their trip to England. Be prepared for lots of times skips in the next couple of chapters, because I'm trying to get Yugi into his schooling sooner so we can get to the really interesting stuff.

Yumi: Review