A/N: I'm surprised no one got the Labyrinth reference in the last chapter. Shame on thee! D|

If you guys like this one, you should go and read my companion fic, Divided in the Darkness, United in the Light. It's this story told from a YGO-character perspective. Yes, that means they'll be showing up here… eventually.

Wow, it's been a while. o3o What happened? Life Happened. I have most of these chapters prewritten though! I think I'm just being a perfectionist about it all.

Also, do you guys realize how hard it is to keep everything straight when writing crossover stories that cross with each other? X_x;;

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I just borrow the characters from J. K. Rowling for a little bit!

Keiichi and Kiseki are mine, though. Don't steal. =3


If Only You Knew

Written by Fenikkusu

Chapter 3: Docere (To Teach)


Care of Magical Creatures was a joke, no matter what house you were in. For some reason, though, Snape put the course as a core class. With absolutely no clue what he was in for, Vincent walked out onto the Hogwarts grounds. It had been so long since he had seen sunlight and breathed air, and it was quite invigorating.

Of course, no one would believe that he was trapped in the Shadow Realm for four years when his physical body barely aged. Vincent didn't look like he used to, but he wasn't in a twenty-one-year-old's body. That's why he needed to keep his cover up. Keiichi had rehearsed with him over and over again, but failure was always an option.

At least he didn't have to worry about Weasley. At breakfast, Vincent had looked over and saw no sign of the prat. Ginny and Hermione were nowhere to be seen, either. Vincent was torn on whether or not the disappearance of his former friends was a good or bad thing. Either way, it's not like he had much of a chance to regain his old friendships under this guise… especially after he hexed Ron like that.

What caused that Impulse, anyway? Vincent asked himself as he began to walk towards Hagrid's hut. I've never been so careless before. No one should be subjected to the Unforgivables unless they're Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I would have lumped Snape in there before, but after everything that happened…

Snape. Spy extraordinaire, murderer, and now Headmaster of Hogwarts. Four years stuck in darkness was more than enough time for Vincent to reevaluate Snape's true loyalties. Sure, he didn't know the entire story, but he did know enough to put a few pieces together. Keiichi was adamant on proving that Snape was a spy of the light. Although Vincent wasn't ready to completely forgive the man, he felt that Snape didn't deserve a Crucio to the face.

He couldn't help but worry about the Headmaster. He probably has to endure a hell of a lot more during the meetings. The student shivered, recalling vivid memories of the Death Eater meetings he had to relive. All of that pain… how does he handle it all? I was barely able to keep up with school in my Fifth Year, and Snape has to deal with it every week.

"'Ey!" Vincent looked up to see Hagrid bumbling towards him.

"Hullo," Vincent replied, raising a hand in greeting. This was awkward. What could he say to Hagrid without giving himself away? If Vincent were to lose his cover here, the whole school would know in a matter of hours. The Gameskeeper wasn't too good with secrets, thinking back to Norbert.

Thankfully, he didn't have to do much. "So yer the new kid, eh?" Hagrid said with a hearty chuckle. "Not everyday tha' we get a new Seventh-Year! I think it's tha first time in ova a century!"

Vincent shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Whatever you say, sir."

That caused another laugh. "Sir? Ya don't have ta call me that, laddie! Hagrid is just fine!"

"Er… Right," was all Vincent could mutter before the rest of the students began filing in. He took a step back, allowing them to push their way to the front. Vincent took special care to observe Malfoy. As much as the newest Slytherin despised him as Harry Potter, he knew Malfoy was powerful. The newest Seventh-year gulped; this would be awkward.

Unless, of course, Malfoy approached him first. Whether or not the blonde had noticed his gaze, Malfoy walked over to Vincent. "I apologize for not welcoming you properly last night," Draco admitted, holding out a hand. "Draco Malfoy."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Vincent Evans." The firm grip he had over Malfoy's hand was returned. That definitely differed from our first meeting. I guess we did mature. A little. Vincent added the last part mentally when he saw the infamous smirk appear on the blonde's face. That expression wouldn't leave Malfoy anytime soon, that Vincent knew for certain.

Draco let go of Vincent's hand. "Care of Magical Creatures is a joke."

Vincent shrugged again. "I figured," the ravenet replied. "Is it true that this is a core class?"

He received a nod in return. "Yes. Did any of your classes transfer here?"

"Oh, um, a few," Vincent stammered. Crap. How was he supposed to explain his expertise if he screwed up during class?

"Do not fret," Keiichi said, attempting to placate his student.

"But!" Harry whined. "What if—"

"Worrying about what could be is dangerous," the mentor explained. "I have taken care of everything concerning your new identity. If by chance you forget anything, do not panic. Remember what I have taught you. Recite it."

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "The first thing I should do is remember to breathe; panicked subjects tend to forget that. However, deep breaths also alert the other party of your… nervousness. Think things through, but do so quickly and efficiently. Reply in an intelligent manner."

A hum of approval sent a spark of pride through Harry's body. "Very good. You must always keep this in mind when you reenter your realm, Harry. Many times, your heart has overcome your mind when a decision was made. Many, many times."

"Yeah… I've noticed," Harry replied with a sheepish grin.

The grin wasn't returned. Instead, hard eyes stared at him. "Focus, Harry. Not all of those decisions were light-hearted." At that, Vincent's grin faded. "Your reckless antics will do nothing but hinder you, especially if you are Sorted into Slytherin."

"Slytherin?"

Keiichi raised an elegant eyebrow. "Why, yes. That was to be your original house, if I remember correctly."

Harry shifted his feet, uneasy. "Um, Keiichi?"

"Yes?"

"Um… How do you know so much about me?"

His mentor chuckled, running a hand through his long hair. When he saw Harry bristling with annoyance, Keiichi shook his head. "Again, you are worrying about insignificant matters. The proper question is, who does not know about the Boy-Who-Lived?"

The boy hung his head and sighed. "I really shouldn't be surprised, should I. Sometimes I wish that I wasn't so famous."

"A lesson learned so young… We can be thankful for that," Keiichi replied. "At one point in most peoples' lives, they wish to become famous. Many regret the wish once they taste fame, however."

"How about you, Keiichi? Were you ever famous?" Harry asked. "You're really powerful and know a lot about magic, but I've never heard of you before."

Silence overcame them in the few moments before Harry received a response. "I have… I have been attempting to, as you say it now, 'live under the radar.' I was once famous, quite some time ago. I have no desire for that anymore."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "So you did want fame before?"

Keiichi pursed his lips before speaking. "I try to avoid absolutes, but I believe it is all right in this case. I believe that everyone desires fame at one point in their lives, particularly when one is young."

"I completely agree," the boy replied with a scowl. "But it's not like I asked for any of this." He averted his gaze to where the floor would have been. Harry didn't flinch when an arm came around his shoulders and held him tight.

"Do not keep yourself down over matters you cannot change," Keiichi said from behind him. "It is a life lesson you should not quickly forget."

Tears began to slip down Harry's cheeks. He clenched his fists as he thought of every person who had died for him, whether or not he knew them personally. "There should be something… Anything that I could have done!" he screamed. He felt himself be turned around by those strong hands on his shoulders.

"Listen to me, Harry." Reluctantly, he raised his gaze to meet that of Keiichi's. "Answer me truthfully. Were you able to stop Voldemort before you were born?"

"No…"

"Do you blame the deaths by the Dark Lord on yourself? When you were not yet conceived?"

Keiichi had a point. "Um… maybe?" Harry finally answered.

"Now let us apply the same principle to your lifetime. All the people who died, who sacrificed themselves for you, did it out of love."

This wasn't anything that Harry hadn't heard before. "Love," Harry spat, "I thought it was supposed to bring about happiness."

His mentor's grip tightened. "Love… love is quite complicated. You are far too young to completely understand, but I ask you to try. Please."

Harry's head snapped up at the word 'please.' Did he just say please? The boy noticed a wry smile cross Keiichi's face. Before he could open his mouth to say something, Keiichi had already dropped his hands. He turned and walked away without another word.

"You okay, Evans?" The newest student blinked and turned to Malfoy. He looks… concerned?

"Yeah. Just thinking about stuff. I'm fine," the newest Slytherin managed to reply in a haste. He pressed a few fingers to his temples, attempting to stifle the incoming headache.

Malfoy, meanwhile, didn't look convinced. "Just pay attention," he muttered. By this time, the rest of the students had arrived. They stood in a circle around the half-giant, who was now holding a wide oak box underneath his right arm. Vincent was mildly surprised by how the Slytherins stood, awaiting instructions. It wasn't only Malfoy who held himself high; each of them stood straight, poised, powerful.

How come I never noticed this before? Come to think of it, Vincent's ignorance needed to be fixed. As Harry, he allowed himself to fall early into the clutches of prejudice. Ron had convinced him long, long ago that Slytherins were horrible, lying creatures from his first day at Hogwarts. At least I have a second chance. I better not screw this up.

"Welcome to yer last semester of Care of Magical Creatures! Ya'll gotta be excited." Hagrid chuckled as he placed the chest on the ground. "Can any of ya'll tell me what this 'ere box is? Come 'round and take a closer look."

Malfoy and Vincent shared a look before they took a step forward. The oak box was engraved with many ancient designs. The flowing runes ran across the box, creating a complete pattern. One symbol in particular, however, caught Vincent's attention. He knelt down on one knee and reached out a hand to touch the eye-shaped engraving.

"Professor? Is this an Eye of Horus?" Vincent inquired, glancing up at the teacher.

"Five points to Slytherin!" the bumbling halfling replied. "Know anythin' else about it?"

It was then that Vincent stood up, brushing some dirt off of his knees. "This is Egyptian in nature. The Eye of Horus was believed to protect its wearers from small evils. Today we can associate the 'small evils' mentioned in the ancient texts to minor jinxes and hexes." Keiichi had taken the liberty to teach him some History of Magic, and Vincent found that he learned much, much more than from Professor Binns.

Hagrid chuckled again. "Fifteen points to Slytherin! And here I thought I was gonna stump ya'll."

Vincent couldn't help but blush a bit at the praise. He stole a glance at Malfoy and inwardly grimaced; the blonde's mouth formed a terse line. Something gleamed in his blue-gray eyes, too. To hell if you're gonna try to use me again, was the immediate thought racing through Vincent's mind. The student barely repressed a scowl from appearing on his own lips.

The Care of Magical Creatures teacher walked over and clapped Vincent on the back. With a wince, Vincent realized that Hagrid probably didn't' know his own strength. "Why don't cha try to open it?"

There was a shrug, but Vincent wanted to sate his curiosity. He unlocked the simple bronze latch on the front of the chest. He wasn't expecting the sun to reflect back in his face. This caused Vincent to stumble backwards, making the other Slytherins laugh.

"Is that gold?" Pansy Parkinson asked, swooning over the items in the box. Vincent managed to pick himself up and glanced inside to see golden pieces in all shapes and sizes. No wonder why the chest was so big... there must have been thousands of them in there!

"Nearly three thousand in there!" Hagrid said as he puffed out his chest. "Counted them all meself! This 'ere used to belong to someone very powerful, ya? Some wizards think it belonged to a vampire."

"Professor," Malfoy interjected with a sneer, "we already learned about Vampires in Defense."

"What we're learnin' here is about the creature itself. What's a vampire? What makes it a vampire? That kinda stuff," Hagrid replied.

Well, at least this semester would be interesting. The other Slytherins seemed to assent as they nodded their heads. "But why show off something so valuable?" Vincent inquired.

"To get ya interested!"


Hagrid made it very clear that being dark didn't necessarily mean being evil. How the half-giant came up with such a conjecture was a mystery to Vincent, but he was sure that Hagrid hadn't thought of it himself. Either way, there was a very thin line between darkness and evil. Vincent knew well what happened to wizards who tread on that line, who dabbled too far into the Dark Arts.

Come to think of it, Elemental magic was still considered dark… right? As Vincent walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, he looked down at his right hand. He flexed his fingers as he thought back to the Impulse. Keiichi would have his head if he ever found out what happened.

He was so immersed in what happened that he didn't notice the two boys standing right in front of him. "Move it, new kid," one hissed as Vincent bumped into him. Before he knew what was happening, he was shoved into a nearby wall. He caught a glimpse of white hair as the mystery person walked away. As Vincent was going to push himself off of the floor, a tanned hand was extended to him.

"Thanks," Vincent said as he took the offering. His eyes widened at the sudden fire he felt when he linked his grip with this Good Samaritan. That could only mean… He felt himself be pulled back up onto his own two feet.

The person standing in front of him looked to be his age, exempting his eyes. Dark ruby eyes didn't seem to fit on the Egyptian student; they looked like they belonged to one who had lived several more times over. Black hair streaked with red and yellow fell around his face, though some of the blonde bangs spilled over those angled eyes. A Slytherin badge gleamed in the low light. The robe was missing, though. A black sweater vest sat over the usual white button-up shirt. Khakis sat upon his narrow hips instead of the gray pants of the Hogwarts uniform.

"Akefia is merely in a bad mood," the other Slytherin commented in a low baritone voice. "Don't mind him." He bowed from his waist, and it was then that Vincent noticed a studded leather belt with a pouch wrapped around the other student's hips. "I am Amun Sennen, a transfer student from Egypt. This is only my second year here, though I will be graduating with your class. You are Vincent Evans, correct?"

"Oh. Yeah," Vincent said, awkwardly attempting a bow of his own.

Amun laughed. "I apologize. People here are used to handshakes. I would offer one, but considering the Impulse that nearly occurred…"

"Wait. How do you—"

"I'll tell you after class, yes? Are you headed for the Defense room as well? If you do not know the way, Akefia and I can lead you there." Amun tossed his head in the albino's direction. "Whether you like it or not, Mr. Evans, you will be seeing much more of us. Come along, now."

For a few moments, Vincent was left standing in the middle of the hallway. There are more Elementals here? What just happened?