Title: Magical Alliance
Author: AkizukiSakura
Series: Yuugi-ou/Harry Potter/Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Rating: M/R
Pairing(s): Yami no Yuugi/Yuugi, Bakura/Ryou, Scorpius/Sakura, others pending.
Spoilers/Warnings: Since all three series referenced here are complete, let it be safe to assume that I might reference anything and everything. This is heavily plot divergent.
Disclaimer: Yuugi-ou belongs to Takahashi Kazuki-san. Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP. I own only the basic plot and make no monetary profit off this story.
Summary: With Voldemort gone, the wizarding world was allowed to release its collective breath. The danger seems to be over. So why are people who aren't even associated with wizards having visions that pertain to the hidden, magical world?
Notes: There are hints of pairings in this chapter that aren't listed above. Those will not change, either, but since they are not mentioned too much I deigned it unnecessary to list them under 'pairings'. Also… Hagrid's accent is freaking annoying to emulate!

Italicized words represent thoughts unless they're in Japanese. Foreign words will be italicized as well as honorifics.

'…' represents telepathic communication.
"…" (non-italicized) represent spoken words.
Any necessary translations will be at the end of each chapter.


Chapter 3: Leaving and Learning

For what seemed like the tenth time in less than five minutes Mokuba watched Seto glance at the clock adorning the mantle of an elegant fireplace, his big brother's lips pursing almost crossly.

"They're late," the CEO and president of Kaiba Corporations finally announced sourly, glaring at the minute hand of the clock as though it had severely insulted him. Mokuba suppressed a snort with difficulty and knew instantly that he had failed at keeping it completely silenced when Seto glanced at him with an arched eyebrow. Mokuba raised his hands defensively.

"It's only two minutes after eight," he lightly chided his overzealous older brother. "And our escort won't be here until nine. You're the one who set such an early time for everyone to gather even though I know Yuugi-kun and Atem-san must have a hundred different things to do to shut down the shop in such a permanent way," he added when Seto looked only slightly reprimanded. Since Sugoroku had died two years ago – the anniversary of his death had fallen only a week ago on the twenty-fifth of August – Yuugi had no one to take care of the shop in his absence so it would have to be completely closed down.

Seto opened his mouth to reply with what Mokuba was sure would be a suitably scathing comeback but he was cut off by a knock on the door. Instead the older Kaiba barked a command for the person to enter – it was their housekeeper, there to announce that Bakura and Ryou had just arrived. Seto grumbled something that Mokuba interpreted in politer words to the housekeeper as: "Go ahead and show them in." A few minutes later both pale young men were seated upon a loveseat in the well-furnished room Seto had deigned the meeting place.

"What crawled up the priest's ass and died?" Bakura remarked to Ryou in his usual crass way, earning glares from not only said former high priest and his younger brother but also from his white-haired lover. Ryou calmly whacked his yami atop the head.

"Manners, Bakura," he reminded the sulking thief calmly, his soft brown eyes betraying his amusement. "If I had to guess I would think Kaiba-san is curious as to the whereabouts of Atem-san and Yuugi­-kun," he added, glancing at Mokuba for confirmation. The raven-haired preteen nodded affirmation as Seto was still occupied leveling his icy, but ineffective, glare at Bakura. The silence, brief as it had been, was broken by another knock on the door. This time the housekeeper opened the door and Yuugi and Atem came in.

"You're late!" Seto snapped immediately, the targets of his ire finally present for him to verbally flay. Yuugi at least had the grace to look mildly abashed; Atem merely lifted an eyebrow at the annoyed billionaire.

"I'm sorry, Seto-san, but we were held up at the last moment." Yuugi glanced at Atem and suppressed a smile at the slightly embarrassed tint to his other's cheeks. He did not elaborate further on just what had kept them occupied but from Atem's reaction it was clearly something the former pharaoh had managed to do – or to forget. Seto seemed only marginally mollified by this explanation and gestured irately at the other loveseat in the room for the pair to have a seat. Mokuba called for breakfast to be brought up. To his and everyone else's surprise it was Jounouchi who pushed the trolley into the room, his honeyed hair still tousled from sleep and his eyes likewise tired. He attempted a scowl at Seto.

"You said you'd wake me up!" he grumbled at his husband, glaring when the brunette merely smirked at him. In contrast to his sleepy guests Kaiba Seto appeared as immaculate as always, not even a single hair daring to stray out of place. He accepted the cup of coffee – a single spoon of sugar – from Jounouchi and sipped it casually, nodding at his soon-to-be colleagues to get something to eat. As with dinner Seto knew everyone's tastes well.

There was tea for Ryou and Yuugi, Earl Grey for the former and green for the latter. Bakura and Atem both preferred watered-down Egyptian wine – a leftover from their previous lives, in seemed – despite their respective hikaris' best attempts to get them to drink anything else in the mornings. Mokuba preferred orange juice, as did Jounouchi, and Seto drank plenty of coffee. Only Ryou and Mokuba chose full breakfast dishes – omelets, rice, and miso soup: Seto had already eaten and everyone else was content with the varying pastries, Atem displaying a somewhat surprising sweet tooth in his choice of a hazelnut biscotti.

They all nibbled in silence for almost a quarter of an hour, each having glanced at the clock at least once to ascertain the time. As it drew closer to the time Dumbledore-san had informed them their escort would arrive everyone, even the normally mellow Ryou, became a little edgy. It took a loud, comical sneeze from Jounouchi to break the palpable tension in the room. Attempting to conceal a smirk Seto offered his husband a handkerchief.

"I wonder what the students are like," Ryou mused thoughtfully aloud. Bakura, slumped against the couch and wishing he was still in bed, snorted. From the stern look Ryou directed at his yami a moment later it was clear that Bakura had given him a mental response that was probably crude and more than likely uncalled for. "I doubt that, Bakura," Ryou replied out loud, shaking his head when the other occupants of the room gave him a questioning look.

Yuugi tilted his head to the side, finger pressed lightly to his lower lip as he gave serious thought to Ryou's voiced inquiry. "I would imagine they're like any other students, except that they can use magic," he said finally. "There will be people like Seto-san, good with studying and always eager to learn." He ignored the glare the CEO directed at him for daring to classify him into a category – Yuugi knew Seto was still not comfortable with the idea of magic.

"There will be the troublemakers and slackers too, Aibou," Atem spoke up, sipping casually from his wine glass and smirking faintly at his other when Yuugi gave the dark liquid a disapproving stare. "It might possibly be worse than a typical school because these children have all grown up together. It is entirely feasible that they will have associated in cliques and my experience is that groups of different people are rarely always amiable towards each other."

"I don't think it'll be that bad," Mokuba piped up suddenly. "I mean, everyone had to start out new at some point and Dumbledore­-sensei said that the different houses get along much better now. I think it'll just take some getting used to. Besides," he added with a faint smirk of his own, "I think Bakura will be able to scare off anyone who tries to mess with him, and it'll translate over to everyone else." There was silence for a moment before a harsh bark of laughter drew everyone's attention to the aforementioned yami.

"Kid's got a point," Bakura remarked once he'd gotten his laughter under control. Though his tone was light and almost jovial no one missed the possessive way his arm curved around Ryou's waist. All assembled knew what would happen should anyone attempt to harm the gentle hikari. If something happened the best they could hope for would be damage control in the form of a certain former pharaoh. Then again… If anyone was cruel enough to want to hurt either hikari no one really felt any sympathy towards said person when Atem and Bakura found out.

Before anyone could say anything to such a statement – not that there was much to really say at all – there was another knock at the door. Nearly all eyes went to the clock yet again: now it read precisely nine o'clock in the morning. Seto sniffed faintly.

"At least some people know how to be on time," he muttered, striding over to the door and pulling it open. For a moment his mind didn't really process what he was seeing and then the logic that usually dictated his world kicked in. After nearly a full minute of thought he realized that the only answer to what he was staring at was that there was an extremely tall, extremely burly, extremely hairy man standing at the door. Kaiba Seto was not a short individual – he typically towered over every other person in any room he was in – but even he had to look up at least a foot and a half to see the newcomer's eyes.

"Er… Hi," the giant man said, sounding mildly confused to be stared at for so long. Belatedly he recalled Professor Dumbledore's instructions and that these people had grown up in the Muggle world. Of course they would not be expecting a half giant. "Uh… You mus' be Seto Kaiba." He pronounced the foreign name with only a little difficulty. For a Japanese name Seto's was rather easy to vocalize. "So, uh, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, keeper o' the keys an' grounds at Hogwarts; call me Hagrid. Er, Professor Dumbledore sent me to show yer 'round Diagon Alley and get yer things…?" Finally, though mutely, Seto gestured for Hagrid to enter the room.

"I am Seto Kaiba," Seto affirmed as the half giant came in. Knowing Hagrid was English the CEO had purposefully reversed the order of his name. "You're speaking in English. I speak it, and I know Ryou speaks it, but most of the others here don't," he informed Hagrid dryly. He didn't invite the man to sit down but that was because he didn't think any of the chairs would hold the man. Their appointed escort didn't seem offended. He did, however, slap his forehead with a hand the size of a large ham.

"Ah, right. I fergot to put on the amulet. Lesse…" Apparently unconcerned with Seto's raised eyebrow and the Japanese words the blue-eyed man was now speaking to everyone else in the room Hagrid began digging in the multiple pockets of his coat. Mercifully he had already noticed the splendor of the room he was in and tried not to make a mess, though a few stray crumbs and odd-looking animal treats fell to the floor. Finally he tugged a ring out of a pocket and squeezed it onto a finger. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Er, how's tha'?" he asked. This time everyone in the room looked at him.

It was Yuugi who took pity on the foreign man. "If you're asking if we can understand you now, yes. We can." He grinned up at the groundskeeper. Hagrid found himself grinning back, Yuugi's sunny smile infectious. Yuugi got to his feet. "I'm Yuugi Mouto," he introduced himself. His English wasn't nearly as good as Seto's but he'd heard Seto give his name Western style and followed his example as he pointed to everyone else in turn and gave their names.

"I understand you are supposed to guide us to an area where we might purchase what we need for school?" Atem asked. For some reason Atem made Hagrid think of hot air and golden sand. The half giant inclined his head nonetheless and Atem, too, got to his feet. "Is there anything in particular that keeps us here? I would think it best if we started early," the former pharaoh finished, glancing around the room for any objections. Bakura looked like he might want to say something simply to annoy him but Ryou quickly stood, dispelling the possible argument before it could begin.

Hagrid nodded and looked around the room again, this time stilling his gaze on the fireplace and the various bags and suitcases piled near it. "Well, er, we'll be goin' by Floo since there's so many o' you. It'll be easier if I can shrink yer things," he added, wielding a pink, flowery umbrella now. Mistaking everyone's silence for trepidation he hastily tacked on a "It won't be permanent now! Jus' long enough fer us to get to the Leaky Cauldron where Mokuba will be stayin'. We can leave it there until I take yer to the castle an' all an' then I can make it right again."

This time it was Ryou who came to the floundering guide's rescue. "I'm sure it will be all right, Hagrid," he replied kindly. "Do what you need to do. So long as it is not permanent I'm sure everyone will be fine." Hagrid, a little apprehensive now, brandished his umbrella with a flourish and murmured something. Instantly the luggage vanished – or, at least, it appeared to have vanished. Closer inspection revealed that it had merely been shrunk. Mokuba approached and scooped everything up, eyes alight in wonder.

"Cool!" he exclaimed finally, showing his handful to his older brother. Seto stared at it without comment. "This must be really handy for travel," Mokuba said, rolling his eyes at his brother's lack of comment. "So, what's Floo?"


If he had his way he would never, ever travel in such a manner ever again. It was not dignified for a pharaoh to topple out of a hearth and onto the floor covered in soot, less so to have the tomb robber fall on top of him a moment later. Luckily he and Bakura were the last ones to come through the 'Floo'. Bakura grumbled something in hieratic and picked himself up off of Atem, brushing the dark ashes from his pale hair and pointedly not looking at his hikari – Ryou was trying his best to stifle laughter as he helped his yami brush off the evidence of his tumble.

A slender hand presented itself to Atem. He didn't have to look up to know that his aibou was smiling at him in a way that showed he was both concerned and faintly amused. Atem accepted the hand and allowed Yuugi to help him to his feet. Yuugi and Ryou had not fallen when exiting the hearth but, if the thoughts Yuugi presented to Atem through their mind link were any indication, it had been a near miss. No one dared say anything to Seto about the ash stains visible on the seat of his dark pants and Mokuba brushed black ash from his equally dark hair good-naturedly.

Hagrid hovered sheepishly in the background. "Er, sorry abou' tha'. I fergot that yeh might not have used Floo before and didna' warn yer about tha' firs' step comin' ou' o' the hearth…" Seeing the twin glares leveled at the giant from both Atem and Bakura, Yuugi stepped over to his yami and murmured something soothing to him. Atem grumbled but relented, leaving Ryou to deal with Bakura. The pale-haired hikari was best able to handle Bakura's homicidal tendencies.

A man named 'Tom' – apparently the proprietor of the inn – showed Mokuba to the room where he would stay while he waited for term to officially start in a few days. As promised Hagrid un-shrunk everyone's bags and left them in the room before taking them all out back to a brick-enclosed back yard. To everyone's surprise their guide went right up to the wall, took out his flowered umbrella, and began to count bricks. "Ah!" he announced when the point of the umbrella came to rest on one in particular. He tapped that one and stepped back as the bricks wriggled, convulsed, and then reshaped themselves into an archway that opened onto a cramped street lined with shops and full of people.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" he said cheerily to the new teachers and student. Only Seto was dignified enough to keep from gaping and even he eyed their destination with more than a hint of incredulous curiosity. Hagrid led them all through the archway, keeping a careful eye on the group. "Now I have the ring here ta let me un'erstand yer an' all but since only two of yer actually speaks English I need yer to all stick together," Hagrid informed them, leading them down the street. "Firs' place we'll be wantin' to go is Gringotts."

"Seto-san, are you sure that you're okay paying for –?" Yuugi began worriedly, ducking immediately to his yami's other side when Seto glared at him from his superior height. "I was jus –" he attempted to elaborate only to have Seto cut him off.

"I told you already, Yuugi. I won't be associated with people who can't afford what they need," he said haughtily. Mokuba, listening in on the conversation, snorted. Ignoring his brother's warning look Mokuba skipped out of Seto's reach and grinned at Yuugi and Atem, remarking in a stage whisper his older brother was sure to hear.

"Niisama's just too shy to tell you that he doesn't want anyone to lack what they need. Besides, it's not like it's going to make much difference – we are kinda rich, you know." Grinning at Seto, whose cheeks were suspiciously pink, Mokuba trotted to catch up to Hagrid so that he could bombard the groundskeeper with questions about Hogwarts. Yuugi, knowing better than to say anything else to Seto, turned his attention instead to Atem. He was surprised with the distracted way Atem kept shifting his gaze around as though the former pharaoh was looking for something but didn't know what.

'Atem?' Yuugi mentally prodded his other, his worry growing when Atem didn't answer. 'Atem, what's wrong?' he tried again, this time adding a bit more force behind his thoughts. The equivalent was as if he'd raised his voice. Atem jumped a little and glanced at Yuugi, plainly startled.

'Yes, Aibou? Is something the matter?'

Yuugi rolled his eyes at Atem. 'You're acting a little spacey there, Atem. Is something bothering you?' To his surprise Atem did not answer right away. The yami turned his attention once more to their surroundings, brow furrowing. It took him several moments before he seemed ready to elaborate.

'Something feels strange here, Yuugi. There is an odd feel to the air…' Atem's lips pursed in his annoyance at being unable to discern what he was sensing. 'It is not the magical energies of these wizards that I am feeling,' he added before Yuugi could ask. 'It is not of our magic, either. It is foreign, and does not feel malevolent, but…'

'Magic can rarely ever be wholly good or evil, right Atem?' Yuugi finished for his other, spreading his senses outward in an effort to sense what his yami was feeling. His eyes widened when he came across the foreign magic. 'You're right! But… I don't feel anything bad from it. I can't tell who it's coming from, either, but it doesn't feel like it's even really being used. It's just sorta…there.'

Hearing his aibou's thoughts on the matter allowed Atem to relax momentarily. "So long as you are certain," he said finally, trusting in Yuugi's calm judge of character. Atem fell silent after that and Yuugi, realizing that Atem wanted to think, pulled out of the pharaoh's mind to leave him be. With their minds casually detached for the time being it took Atem several minutes to realize that Yuugi was no longer walking next to him. His head jerked up in surprise, crimson eyes hurriedly scanning the crowds of people.

"Aibou?" he called, garnering a few strange looks but no reply. Growing concerned he tried his mind link only to find that Yuugi had closed it, wanting to give Atem privacy. If that wasn't bad enough Atem could no longer see Kaiba or anyone else. He bit his lip, wavering for a moment, before turning and plunging into the crowd. Yuugi may have closed their link but Atem could still follow it to find him. Ra help anyone who dared to harm his aibou.


The end of chapter 3. This was supposed to encompass a lot of other things but I decided to end it here. Besides, this story isn't so much in demand, so I can take my time with creating new chapters.

Sensei: An honorific especially used for teachers or a person who is literally one's teacher in some hobby or job. The form is "Mary-sensei" which translates roughly into "Miss Mary" in the same way we would refer to a teacher.
Niisama: A very formal way of addressing one's older brother while still retaining the feeling of affection. You'll notice the –sama honorific, hopefully, and should connect it to the same level of respect as tacking –sama onto a person's name.

Word count: 4,018

Kampai!
AkizukiSakura