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Yu-Gi-Oh/Harry Potter

Title: Order and Shadows

Author: Kyogre (Ana)

Summary: YGOHP xover. To create a new body for Yami, Yugi turns to more modern magic. But Shadows look too close to Dark for English wizardry and the Order of the Phoenix.

Notes: This chapter dragged on for a while. It's unfortunately not very interesting.

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Fourth: Noble Musical Variation

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"Boy, I assure you, your friend must have been mistaken!" the Auror repeated. "Death Eaters could not have possibly attacked him! That would be like saying You-Know-Who has returned, and that's just preposterous!"

Bakura clasped his hands and looked up at the man pleadingly. "But sir, I'm not saying that at all! But someone dressed up like a bunch of Death Eaters attacked my friend! You'll catch these hooligans, right?"

The Auror snorted, waving him away. "I'm sure it was just a prank. A stupid one. It's all that Dumbledore's fault, spreading those rumors. Small wonder the punks are going wild, with that kind of example."

Standing to one side, Yugi watched the proceedings with no real anger, but no surprise either. He had never felt particularly able to rely on the authorities for anything – whether bullying or thief after the Millennium Items – so he hadn't expected this to be different.

He hadn't quite expected this level of unhelpfulness. Maybe they didn't believe "Voldemort" had returned, but many of his followers were still at large and even the punks in costumes theory was a possibility, but the Aurors simply dismissed both Yugi and Bakura, telling them not to do silly things like wander around Muggle places, as if the whole thing was their fault somehow.

"I'm sorry," Bakura apologized as they were ushered out of the Auror's small Diagon Alley precinct. "That was… I didn't think it would be like that."

"It's not your fault," Yugi assured him.

"But it's not right. Aurors are supposed to stop things like this from happening," Bakura insisted, uncharacteristically fierce. "I'll take it up at the Ministry proper, with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. This is just…"

He shook his head angrily, his lips pursed into a severe line. "This is just like when Mother and Amane died. No one cared how or why it happened. It wasn't just an accident, I'm sure of it, but the Ministry refused to investigate it at all." Bakura looked away, his expression pained and angry. "I can't just let this go. Not again."

Bemused, Yugi only offered, "Be careful. You don't want to get in trouble, right?"

Bakura gave him a tight smile, but his expression said clearly he thought trouble was only a minor inconvenience and quite worth the risk.

As they parted ways, Yugi couldn't help but think that this might not be so bad for Bakura, who had always been a little too passive, especially after getting controlled for so long by the spirit of the Millennium Ring. It was nice to see him so passionate and determined. And maybe he could finally get a little closure to the deaths of his mother and sister too. (And hadn't that sounded suspicious…)

Yugi's next destination was Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He had lost all his belongings, and while the two biggest losses were the Millennium Spellbook and his own notes, he now also had no money and nothing to pawn for money. He didn't even have any identification or a passport. It was a sad state of affairs that he couldn't allow to continue.

So the current plan was to borrow money from Ishizu, who had a Gringotts account. 'Ishizu said I could access it if I needed to, but she never really explained how,' Yugi thought with a sigh. That was just like her, to assume everyone knew everything she did.

The Readman Collection Bakura had helped him use was not located in Diagon Alley, so Yugi had not had much reason to venture into Wizarding Britain's most popular shopping venue. He looked around with interest now, mentally taking note of the bookstore, a potentially useful source of information, a café, also quite useful for gathering intel, and the clothing store, which he would need to visit unless he wanted to keep using Bakura's borrowed robes.

Allowing himself to be carried along by the steady flow of people, Yugi soon found himself standing in front of Gringotts' main offices and took a moment to admire the tall white facade. The interior was equally magnificent, with high ceilings and large chandeliers, all in a very antique, traditional style.

'Bakura wasn't joking about the goblins,' Yugi thought, preoccupied and trying not to let his eyes linger impolitely on the short creatures that worked most of the desks. In the back of his mind, Yami radiated a strange mix of emotions predominated by distrust.

"Sir? What is the nature of your business with us?" one goblin suddenly asked, almost demanded, making Yugi flinch back in surprise.

"Um…" Yugi trailed off, staring in spite of his good intentions, while Yami bristled and glared mentally. "Well, I just… uh… foreign… ah, account?..."

The goblin gave him a cold look, seeming to stare down at him despite being quite a bit shorter, and pointed one bony claw down to the last counter at the end. "Foreign affairs," he directed and turned away pointedly.

Tearing his eyes away with an effort, Yugi headed down the long row of counters, most occupied by goblins and their wizarding customers, until he reached the last one at the end. It was empty, but when he glanced at the polished gilded placard, it indeed read "Foreign Affairs."

Gingerly, Yugi placed one hand on the counter and leaned in to glance around behind it, only to feel a charm activate on contact. It took him a moment to realize it was just a buzzer to inform the staff a customer was waiting.

A few moments later, a beautiful young woman hurried up to the counter, making Yugi stare again, for entirely different reasons.

"Oui! I am so sorry for making you wait," she drew out, with a heavy, flowing accent. "I am Fleur Delacour, at your service. How may I help you to-day?"

"Um, yes," Yugi stammered, momentarily caught up by her flowing pale hair and delicate features. She had to be the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Yami nudged him, amusement mingling in his mental touch. "I'm, uh, Yugi Muto. I need to access an account, for the Ishtar clan, but it's in Egypt…?"

"Oh, Egypt!" the girl – Fleur – exclaimed, her pretty blue eyes lighting up. "Please wait. I will get my supervisor!" She seemed oddly happy as she hurried away, making Yugi blink in surprise and shake his head as if to clear it. He felt a little woozy, strangely enough.

Yami grumbled, feeling faintly distrustful. 'Relax, other me! She's just a very pretty girl,' Yugi laughed.

Looking up, Yugi could see Fleur returning, leading a young man who must have been her supervisor – a tall red head, who looked oddly familiar.

'…Uh-oh,' he thought.

'Oh, it's Bill,' Yami realized, sounding faintly pleased despite himself. He didn't protest as Yugi surreptitiously switched with him. Bill's eyes met his and lit up with answering recognition.

"Well, if it isn't Yami," Bill said with the same charming smile. "It's been three years, right? What can I do for you?"

Fleur glanced between them and pouted faintly, to Yugi's confusion. "He said he wishes to access an account in Egypt," she said, striking a subtle pose. Too bad Bill only glanced at her briefly, though appreciatively.

"I didn't know you had an account with us, Yami," he continued.

"I don't," Yami replied bluntly. "Ishizu said I could use the Ishtar account if I needed to, but she didn't explain how."

Bill nodded understandingly. "Ah, I see. Well, in that case," he turned to look at Fleur, making sure she was paying attention, "we would pull up the Ishtar clan's file, like this, see?" He shuffled something on his side of the counter, waited a moment, then opened a drawer and pulled out a rolled up parchment. Using a letter knife, he carefully opened the seal on it and unrolled it. "See, here is the account information and a list of everyone allowed access it…"

'That… could be a problem,' Yugi sent. 'Which name would Ishizu even put us under? Bill only ever talked to you, so he only knows "Yami," but Ishizu could have used my name, or even "Atemu"…'

Yami tried to casually lean in and look at the list himself, which was probably against bank policy. Fortunately, Fleur chose that moment to lean in as well, shoving her "assets" to their best effect – which was, indeed, quite remarkable. Yami kept his eyes firmly on the list, but Bill was momentarily quite distracted, eyeing her appreciatively.

'Well, that solves that,' Yami thought a little wryly, sitting back. 'She put all three on.'

"It might be written as a kanji," he told Bill helpfully, though he could perfectly well see that there was also an English romanji phonetic next to it.

The curse breaker jerked away from Fleur and coughed embarrassedly. "Yes, of course," he said very professionally. "I see it. We'll need you to sign here and put a drop of blood in the square. That will allow us to verify your identity." He slid a form toward Yami, indicating a line and a box at the bottom.

Yami picked up the quill on his side of the counter slowly. 'Is this really going to work?' he wondered to Yugi. 'Maybe we should switch.'

'But then I'll need to use my name, and Bill will wonder why,' Yugi pointed out. 'It's probably some kind of truth magic, like a lie detector. After all, it's not like Ishizu ever took any of our blood for them to compare it to.'

With a faint frown, Yami scrawled the single character for "darkness" on the line – since his name was chosen for its Japanese meaning, like Yugi's, he had picked up Yugi's (annoying) habit of signing in Japanese.

When he glanced at Bill, the curse breaker added, "Just press your thumb in the square. There's a spell to draw a drop of blood on it."

Doing as he was told, Yami felt the barest prick. As he drew his hand away, he could see the splotch of blood already darkening on the parchment – Yugi's blood. Bill drew the form back, showing it to Fleur, and tapping it with his wand.

"And you're confirmed," he said. "Of course, I already knew that, but procedure is procedure."

Yami shrugged, nodding his understanding. Fleur glanced between them, but held back from asking as Bill handed her the form and the scroll for the account. She hurried away, her heels clicking, and Bill watched her go until she glanced back over her shoulder with a wink.

His ears faintly red, he turned back to Yami. "She's gone to get the key to the Ishtar vault," he explained, his flush deepening in the face of Yami's deadpan expression.

"The Ishtars have a vault here?" Yami asked after a moment of embarrassed silence. "I hadn't thought they would have much business in London."

"They don't really. Hardly ever leave Egypt. But they're major partners to Gringotts Egyptian operations, and these are our main offices. It's a sign of goodwill, kind of." Bill shrugged. "Anyway, when Fleur comes back with the key, we'll go down and you can withdraw according to your clearance… which is actually master level, so basically, you can take as much of anything as you want."

Fleur returned quickly, bearing an ornate golden key in a wooden box. She presented it to Yami carefully, then peered beseechingly at Bill. "Is it okay if I come too?" she asked. "I haven't seen such a deep vault before!"

Bill glanced at Yami for confirmation, who seemed annoyed at the interruption until Yugi nudged him. He then shrugged, looking away.

"The Ishtar vault is on of the deepest," Bill explained, more for Fleur's benefit, as he led them out of the lobby and into a series of stone corridors that led further and further down. They emerged into a cavernous chamber crisscrossed by railroad tracks and made their way to one of the many mine carts. "It'll be a bumpy ride," he warned, nodding to the goblin operating the cart.

Fleur clasped her hands dramatically. "It is my first time! I heard the turns are very… dangerous, and I am quite light… perhaps you should hold me just in case…"

"Of course. For safety," Bill agreed, reaching out to put an arm around her narrow shoulders.

Watching the two draw closer and smile at one another suggestively, Yami suggested, deadpanned, "Maybe we should all hold hands… just in case."

They broke apart quite quickly at that and climbed into the mine cart. The goblin gave them a rather unsettling grin before abruptly flipping the cart into gear. It jerked into motion abruptly, throwing Fleur straight into Bill and Yami into the side of the cart, and began to rush along at breakneck speeds. The ride was indeed bumpy, Yami decided with a glare at the first ninety degree turn of the tracks.

'It's like something out of Kaiba's Death T,' Yugi observed all too calmly, as the cart went through a tight loop that had it momentarily upside down. He wasn't the one who could feel all this after all, and Yami sent a distinct feeling of displeasure, before focusing on keeping his stomach contents down.

'Do you want me to take over for this?' Yugi wondered. 'I like roller coasters. Well, the ones I can get on to.'

'No,' Yami grit out. 'I won't lose.'

His grip on the side of the cart had become almost strong enough to leave imprints in the metal by the time they turned off the main tracks and pulled to a stop. Bill was the first one out, and even his gait was a little unsteady. Fleur stood next and swayed.

"Oh, I feel so dizzy," she exclaimed, throwing an arm across her forehead to pose like a Harlequin heroine.

"Careful!" Bill replied, equally theatrical, spreading his arms wide to catch her as she jumped out of the cart.

Taking the time to gather himself – and his churning insides – Yami watched this spectacle with a flat lack of expression before finally standing and climbing out. "Quick, get the smelling salts," he intoned slowly and a bit more loudly than necessary.

"Er, that's quite alright," Bill assured him quickly.

"I've got some wyrm feces here," the goblin driver suggested, baring pointy teeth. "It'll get you awake and energized right quick."

"It'll also kill our noses for a month," Bill muttered under his breath, ushering Yami and Fleur away from the tracks, the goblins cackling echoing after them. He held his wand up, the tip glowing, as he led the way down a mostly unlit tunnel.

Something rustled in the deep shadows, and Bill gestured for them to stop.

Suddenly, a face loomed out of the darkness. It was smooth and mask-like, but the body that followed – torso, paws, flanks, and tail – was that of a giant lion.

'Wow, a sphinx,' Yugi marveled. 'It's so beautiful!'

Turning its calm face toward Yami, the sphinx purred faintly and stalked closer. "An honor, oh Great One," it drew out smoothly, dropping into a graceful crouch that was almost a bow. "A special riddle just for you…" Its tail lashed.

Bill glanced at him, surprised and faintly concerned, but seeing Yami's calm demeanor, he only shook his head with a smile. 'That's right,' he thought. 'This guy is amazing at games and riddles.'

"You come to a fork in the road. One path leads to certain danger, the other to safety. There is no signpost to tell you the right way, but a pair of twins. One always lies, the other always tells the truth. One tells you to take the left path, one tells you to take the right. You may only ask one question. What will you do?"

Yami thought for a moment, his quick mind already working out the solution, while Yugi took the few moments to study the sphinx more closely. It was a truly majestic beast, almost as regal and unreadable as his other self. But he could see that it was faintly pleased with itself, waiting eagerly for the answer.

Finally, Yami looked it in the eye with a smile. "I ask one what his brother would say, if I asked him the right way to go. And then I take the opposite path."

The sphinx smiled and bowed again before leaping out of their way. Yami nodded and stalked forward, pulling out the golden key. Although it couldn't see him, Yugi waved with one transparent hand.

"You haven't lost your edge," Bill complimented as he Fleur caught up, his wand illuminating a great set of thick doors.

Yami smirked faintly, carefully inserting the key into the doors and turning it. "I heard there was a sphinx at the Triwizard Tournament, but I hadn't seen it," Fleur commented. "Does Gringotts use many of them?"

Placing one hand on the doors, Bill shook his head. "No, not at all. Sphinxes always ask riddles, and that tends to annoy most customers, so they're only used on demand. The Ishtars specifically asked for one to guard their vault." He laughed. "Well, actually, we convinced most of the sphinxes to just use the same set of riddles, so I brought a cheat sheet of answers, and then it goes and comes up with a 'special one.' It was a pretty nice. Too bad it would be no help with my brothers. They're both consummate liars."

Golden runes ran across the doors for a moment, followed by the sound of gears turning inside. Something clicked, and the great doors slowly swung open to reveal a deep cavern filled with gold and treasure.

"Welcome to Vault 610," Bill said grandly.

With an exaggerated bow, he handed Yami a bag. "Do you need help finding anything? Or are you just getting some money?"

Accepting the bag, Yami dropped a few handfuls of gold coins inside. "I do need some money," he explained. "My things were stolen, so I'm going to borrow some money from Ishizu. But I also wanted to see if they have any good channeling tools. I want to be more prepared if something else happens…"

"I think the magic tools are over there," Bill said, gesturing to one side of the vault. "But you don't have anything on you now? That's a bit… odd. And why not just buy a wand?"

Following Bill's directions, Yami studied a large collection of golden jewelry, mostly necklaces and bracelets, interspersed with ornate daggers and rods. "I have this," he tapped at his collar, "but it's for small everyday spells. If I tried something for defense with it, it would be destroyed," he said, repeating what Yugi had explained to him long ago, when he first found out his partner could do a bit of magic. "And a wand just wouldn't be my style."

Instead, he carefully picked up a golden pendant, with the familiar eye in the center. Compared to some of the other pieces, it was plain, decorated only with a red-purple stone, but the weight of it was reassuring, almost like the Puzzle had been, and it resonated well with his magic.

"This will do," Yami decided, drawing its gold chain around his neck.

"Oh yes, that's definitely more your style," Bill agreed with a grin. "Well, come on then." As they made their way out of the vault, he hesitated for a moment. "Listen, you're not really used to Wizarding Britain yet, right? And seems like all your stuff got stolen. So how about I show you around Diagon Alley? I can take a long lunch break and help you get clothes and anything else you need…"

"Ah, thank you," Yami replied, eyes widening a little in surprise. "That would be… good."

"I'll come too," Fleur insisted. "I'll have you know 'dress' has always been my strongest 'suit.'"

Bill laughed at her pun, but Yami only put on the same blank expression. "But how good are you with robes?" he asked deadpanned.

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Yami didn't end up buying much, just some robes, a book on modern history, and a few odd and ends. Even all his subtle mocking hadn't put Fleur off her flirting, which Bill was only too happy to reciprocate, and he was looking forward to parting with the soon-to-be couple.

They had insisted on walking him to the Leaky Cauldron, where Bill helped him pay for another room, next to Bakura's. As they said their goodbyes, an elderly man stood from a small table in the corner of the bar and walked up to Yami.

"Excuse me, young man, but you wouldn't be any relation of Solomon Muto, by chance?" the man asked, his round face creased with an uncertain smile.

Bill started in surprise, his eyes darting between Yami and old man. Noting his reaction, Yami became only more suspicious. "What makes you ask?" he asked, just short of demanding.

"Ah, well, I worked with Mister Muto in Egypt, you see," the old man stammered. "You look so much like him…"

'Well, that's true. I take a lot after Grandpa,' Yugi agreed, trying to sooth Yami's suddenly high-strung nerves. 'And Grandpa was a pretty famous curse breaker back in his day. Maybe it really is a coincidence.'

'I somehow doubt that,' Yami thought, watching the way Bill stared at the old man.

"I've got an interest in Egypt myself," Bill said slowly.

The old man smiled tightly. "Yes, it's quite the place, isn't it? Homeland of pharaohs, sphinxes and phoenixes…" He laughed uncomfortably. "Oh, I apologize. I am Elphias Doge. And you are?"

"Late for work," Fleur broke in, tugging on Bill's arm. She had endured Yami and Bill's talk of traps and riddles all afternoon, as well as Yami's continued mocking of her flirting, and it was clear she had become quite fed up.

"She's right. We've been gone way longer than we should have," Bill agreed regretfully. He threw Yami unreadable look that did nothing to calm his suspicions. "Just as for me at the bank if you have any problems, okay?" he added as Fleur dragged him away and out of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Shall we get a table?" Doge suggested.

After a short but furious mental debate, it was Yugi who smiled and said, "Sure, Mister Doge. I'm Yugi Muto, by the way."

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End Notes: Whaat~~? Why are you still not with the Order, Yugi? Dang it, this is just dragging out so much…

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