Not too much to say here, just thanks for my reviews. I'm so glad that people seem to have followed on from Light in the Shadows. For those of you who didn't review; I can see you reading anyway.
Chapter 2: Problems at the Burrow
Yami made the journey to the Burrow as quickly as he could to reduce the time that Yugi was forced to ride in the discomfort of his shadows. However the space between Harry's home and this Burrow contained several Shade territories. Yami had to skirt them with a great deal of care. They met with only one problem point.
Yami examined the area carefully. Two Shade territories met. He had never seen or heard of anything like it. They actually shared a border. Not a small border either, it extended for a good mile. The combination of their territories was too large for Yami to skirt in time to put Yugi down before the elf became too restless for Yami to hold. Yami's mood altered from confusion to irritation. How was he supposed to cross that?
/Very quickly/ Yugi commented as he shifted uncomfortably in Yami's grip. Yami steeled himself and back up a little. Not that he really needed a run up, he could reach his top speed very quickly, he just hoped that it was fast enough to get through this boundary before two Shades who apparently didn't hate each other all that much managed to reach him.
Yami shot forwards, the instant he touched the border he felt the two Shades come for him. One was young, the other was slightly older probably the reason that they could cohabitate, it wouldn't last. He could fight them if need be, but Yugi would be put in considerable danger and Yami would rather not risk that.
Yami pressed forwards going as fast as he could while carrying a passenger. As he moved he sent various curses out to Harry for making him do this. They had managed to make their way from the loud train station all the way to Harry's home without crossing a single Shade territory, now he had to cross two at once.
Yami could sense the two Shades coming up on him fast, he could also sense the end of the boundary spells. Unfortunately the Shades were closer. Yami was on the verge of spinning to a stop to face the oncoming threat when Yugi's voice rung through his mind in command. /Keep going/ Yami wasn't able to resist the words so he kept moving as Yugi wove an elfin spell.
To have someone call up an elemental magic while they sat inside you was certainly an unpleasant feeling, producing a sensation akin to swallowing a large spiny prickle. Yami twitched and Yugi sent the spell off, the prickle ripped its way out of his centre and colliding with the older Shade. He began to spin in confusion, Yami had had this spell put on him before; it gave you the bizarre sensation of being sure that you were upside down no matter which way you turned yourself.
Yami shot past the boundary while the younger Shade hesitated trying to work out what the strange magic was. Yami didn't stick around, they were nearly at the Burrow and he needed to put Yugi down and run a few spells through himself to get rid of the last of the elfin magic.
It took them only a few more minutes to cover the last distance. As they approached the house Yami slowed down, checking carefully to ensure that he didn't run head first into an anti-Shade spell.
As he settled down onto the ground, releasing Yugi and taking in his surroundings a human female came out of the house. She had her wand raised and was looking around desperately. Yugi stepped forwards and made a comforting noise she glanced down. "Hello there little one, now where is this S...Shade who is supposed to be coming with you." Yami rumbled in pleasure at her fear of him. Yugi gave him a condescending look. /Human form, now/.
Yami grumbled, but drew his shadows together. He had no intention of remaining that way for long so he didn't bother to make the form too solid. The witch flinched as he appeared and made several deft motions with her wand. Yami didn't pay any attention to the flare of human magic as several human voices, some of which were familiar to him called out from behind the female.
She gave him another wary look and stepped back to allow him inside. Yami picked Yugi up as he went, her wariness increased. As they stepped into the pleasantly warm room Ron and Hermione leapt up to greet him. He still found this strange, until he noticed that it was a slightly strained welcome as they both clapped him on the back. Yugi rolled his eyes as Hermione turned her attention to him. /They are trying to show the others that they can trust you, they are being nice/.
Yami looked at the two of them and managed a small smile. If anything this increased the trepidation in the room. Yami tilted his head at one of the females. There was something off about her, he twitched a few vision filters and realised why. She was part Veela, and she was staring at him.
"Where I come from, we would never allo' this to 'appen." She proclaimed.
The first female went brick red and purposefully turned to Yami. "Would you like something to eat dear?" She asked, her voice only wobbling slightly.
Yami hesitated before responding, Ron looked nervous and Yugi's presence in his mind insisted he at least try to be polite to start with. "No. I do not eat." He glanced at Yugi as the elf mentally poked him. "Yugi would like something though."
The female glanced down at Yugi and her face brightened. "Of course, you are so little, poor dear."
This made Yami grin for real and unfortunately this meant that his tight hold on his innate fear spells slipped a little. Everyone in the room went pale and the female who was in the process of pouring out some soup for Yugi, dropped the plate.
Yugi gave Yami a worried look as Yami muttered to himself and reeled his shadows back in. "Oops." This was going to be a nightmare. There was no way that he could keep his spells under control constantly for the next few months.
The humans were recovering slowly and Hermione was trying to explain. "It's alright, nothing serious."
Yami rumbled and added another layer of magic to his human form illusion. "You are wrong, I cannot control my magic around so few humans. You are going to be frightened a lot if you remain here with me."
Hermione frowned, "We didn't feel it that much last year?"
Yami sighed and the light in the room dimmed. He was just glad that his darkings had remained at Hogwarts, at Yugi's insistence. "I had more room to move. I could leave if my magic began to affect you too badly and there were more of you so the spells were spread out more." He growled and began to dissolve his human form, this was foolish. He would go to a deserted point within the spells and stay there. Yugi was upset enough with him having that one slip up.
"Stop!" The first female snapped and lifted her wand. "If you are going to be in my home then you will remain as a human at all times."
Yami's already frayed temper snapped. "Are you a fool. I cannot maintain a human form for that long around all this human magic. You are humans and you cannot do anything to command me." He dissolved into his shadows and left the room, despite the enriching emotions which had blossomed in wake of his outburst.
Yugi's trilling voice was raised insistently, but Yami managed to ignore him. This really was absurd.
OOOOOOOO
OOOOOO
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Harry looked up at the sight of the Burrow and smiled. He loved Ron's house, it was more of a home to him than the Dursley's house had ever been. Dumbledore paused and turned to face him. "Thank you for your help tonight Harry. I do not think that I would have been able to convince Horace quite so quickly if you had not come."
"That's okay Professor." Harry paused and looked back over at the Burrow. "Are you coming in?" He asked.
Dumbledore smiled faintly. "Unfortunately I have other things which I must attend to. However I will see you when you return to school." Dumbledore bowed to him slightly and turned walking across the boundary of the Burrow and apparating as soon as he crossed it. Harry walked up to the door on his own, wondering if Yami and Yugi had arrived.
It didn't take him long to work out that they had. His first clue was the blazing argument currently in full swing in the Weasley's kitchen, the second was the frightened looks on everyone's pale faces.
Harry's eyes settled on Yugi seated between Ron and Hermione. The elf gave him a big smile and went back to his dinner of soup and fresh crusty bread. Harry's stomach growled in response to the smells in the kitchen and everyone looked up. "Harry!" Mrs Weasley cried in delight and rushed forwards to hug him. Harry hugged her back and for several minutes he was lost under all the welcomes. Ron and Hermione were the last as he dropped into a chair next to Yugi.
The kitchen was full of people. Fleur, Ginny, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ron and Hermione, apparently everyone had stayed awake to welcome him, or meet the Shade. Yami himself was nowhere to be seen. Harry quickly swallowed a few mouthfuls of Mrs Weasley's mouth-watering soup before he asked. "Where's Yami?"
Everyone exchanged looks, Hermione took the lead in answering. "He arrived and everything seemed to go okay, then he smiled and everything went cold and frightening. Then he got angry and flashed out. You know; typical Yami." She gave a half hearted smile which told Harry that despite her desperate attempt at humour Yami had severely unnerved her.
Harry glanced down at Yugi, hoping for a smile and an eye roll which normally meant the Shade was just being temperamental. Instead Harry got a worried look before Yugi went back to his food. Mr Weasley took up the story. "Apparently he can't control himself around so few people. Harry I'm sorry but if this gets too dangerous he is going to have to leave."
Harry nodded and gave Yugi a significant look, they would have to talk about that. Harry ducked his head and finished off his meal in record time. As he stood up informing everyone that he was going to bed, Ron and Hermione joined him. They managed to get out of the kitchen without too much hassle, just Mrs Wealsy's continued attempts to stuff more food into him. Yugi wriggled out from under the table where he had disappeared after he had eaten. Apparently Mrs Weasley still unnerved him.
"I hope things aren't going to be too bad with Yami here." Ron said as he led the way up the stairs. Yugi sighed and spoke up. "Things are going to be bad, he is not happy."
Harry glanced down at the little elf as Ron held the door open for them all. "He didn't seem bothered when I told him we were leaving?"
Yugi nodded sadly, but to all their surprise it was Yami who replied. The Shade had been waiting for them in the room and now took human form with the easy grace which had come from lots of practice last year. "I did not realise there would be this few humans in such a small space. It poses problems."
Hermione gave him a wary smile as she sat down on Ron's bed. Harry and Ron dropped onto the mattress set up for Harry and Yugi climbed into Harry's lap.
"What kind of problems?" Hermione asked her eyes gaining the curious look that they were all so familiar with.
Yami shrugged, "I can survive on my reserves and the strength which Yugi gives me until we return to Hogwarts. That is not the problem with being here." He paused in thought for such a long time that Harry wondered if he had forgotten them. Yami sighed and looked up. "It is not easy for me to explain how my magic works to humans who barely understand the use of their own." His eyes flickered to Yugi. "I will try."
"My magic consists of three main types, offensive, defensive and energy. Offensive magic's are the magic that you see largely as shadows, that magic allows me to attack and destroy. Defensive magic's are those which Shade's use for their boundary spells around their territories and is also the magic that you see me using to absorb or reflect your spells. They can also appear as shadows. The last magic, the energy magic's are the ones which we use to cause the emotions we feed on to appear in humans, primarily fear. They are largely innate and invisible to humans, but obviously you can feel them. Older Shades like me can suppress those innate magic's to a degree, but we can't hold them at bay for long periods of time." Yami shrugged again and watched them.
Harry thought long and hard for a few moments, Yugi took the choice out of his hands. "If you leave here now you can't come back. You will only tire yourself out if you have to keep crossing the spells and I don't think the adults would agree to removing the anti-Shade spells totally and relying only on your boundary spells for protection against other Shades." The elf's soft voice trailed off before he started again. "I think I can help you suppress your magic." He turned his head. "With Harry's help. It won't be comfortable, but I want you to be close."
Yami's face was unreadable as he nodded his permission. Yugi glanced over at Harry who was about as confused as he could get. "Give me your hand Harry and call up as much of the earth magic as you can. We are going to need a lot of it."
Harry did as the imperious little elf said and closed his eyes to call up the magic. Hermione and Ron were watching silently. To Harry's eyes, when he opened them, Yugi was almost consumed by the glow of the power that he drew up. The white light was partly threaded by strands of bright purple light; Yugi's own elfin magic. Yami came forwards and settled cross legged on the ground in front of them.
Yugi's grip on Harry's hand tightened and the magic that Harry drew up began to drain into his charge.
Yugi's lips were moving silently as he reached out and placed one tiny hand on Yami's shadowy cheek. The Shade sat bolt upright, his ruby eyes went wide and he began to shake. Whatever Yugi was doing obviously wasn't pleasant.
The glow that was the earth magic began to thread through the intricate pattern of shadows that Harry could now see made up Yami's human form. Harry had never seen such a strange and impossible pattern. While all his energy poured into Yugi, Harry took the time to examine the shadows which were Yami's actual form and wonder how on earth they managed to become something like a human.
Then it was over.
Yugi dropped his hand and released Harry. The human felt as though he had been put through the drier, all twisted and shrivelled and he slumped over. Yami's response was a little more drastic. The Shade shot across the room so fast that Harry wondered if he had apparated there. The small slim figure curled itself up, his face hidden in shadows and then behind his arms. Yami was shaking badly and it took Harry's magic befuddled mind a moment to realise that Yugi was too.
As Harry pulled Yugi into his lap he noticed that the elf was crying silently. Harry wrapped him in a hug, Yugi had hated hurting Yami like that. Necessary as it may have been.
Hermione whispered goodnight and left, she seemed unnerved by what had happened. Ron climbed into his own bed and looked over at Yami, still shaking in the corner. Harry gave him an uncertain smile and pulled his covers up, still dressed. Yugi curled up next to him and the two of them fell asleep, exhausted by the effort that had put into one spell.
OOOOOOOO
OOOOOO
OOOO
Yami felt wrong, dirty and out of shape. Yugi had solidified his human form at the same time as he had suppressed Yami's latent magic. The Shade glanced over at the three sleeping figures, for once wishing that he could lose himself in the mindlessness of sleep as they did.
He very carefully probed the extent of the spells that now lay in heavy folds over him. In order to take his true form again he would have to make a concerted effort and break those spells, though the ability was there.
All his magic would work normally, he would still be able to force emotion out of the humans and his senses of the emotions still worked. It was simply the latent spells which existed in his outer self which were repressed. Yami curled himself up tighter; it would take a few days to get used to this. His mind settled into rest, he just hoped that this hadn't hurt Yugi too much.
I hope it doesn't seem like the earth magic is turning into a 'solve every problem' kind of thing, because there are certainly things that it can't do. This was really just a means to an end, I couldn't think of another way to stop Yami from being...well Yami.