Marik Note: Marik isn't OOC, he's purposefully bothering Seto. (grins)
Telepathy:
((Yamis))
/Hikaris/
Disclaimer: Hikari Daeron does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! (Kazuki Takahashi) or Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling). The characters Hikari Daeron, Altáriël Daeron and Ceribi Motou are all original characters by Hikari Daeron. The song that Marik sings in this chapter – Situations – is owned by Escape The Fate.
Chapter Three: That Darn Marik
New Professors, New Adventures
The Burrow, Outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, England
"Yugi, for Ra's sake, stop pacing! You'll make a hole in the carpet!"
Yugi turned on his heel to face an amused Ryou. "But I'm nervous! What's going to happen, with all of us together again? Kaiba and Yami 'll want to duel ever five seconds, and Marik and Bakura will plot devious plans; then Bakura will try to get the Puzzle and Marik will laugh because Yami 'll be distracted by his duels with Kaiba while – "
"YUGI! Calm down, already!" Ryou walked over to him and forced him into an armchair. Squatting and keeping his hands on his shoulders, he added, "Everything will be OKAY. Things will work out, as they always have. Don't start to make judgments yet."
Yugi sighed and nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just worried…"
"I know, Yugi. I know." Ryou sat on the arm of the chair. "But there's no use worrying now. They're coming today, and there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, what's the worst that can happen? No," he said, holding up a hand has Yugi opened his mouth, "Don't answer that. It'll be fine, Yugi. Don't worry about it."
Yugi let out a long breath. "I'll try."
Kaiba Limo, Streets of Domino City, Japan
"HONESTLY THAT NEVER HAPPENED, LYING IS YOUR FAVORITE PASSION!"
Seto Kaiba groaned and buried his head in his hands. "Remind me again: why do I have to put up with you?"
"Because this is your training!" said Marik Ishtar happily, as the song he had been singing along with ended. "You're going to have to spend the next school year acknowledging my existence, so you might as well start now! Besides," he said, biting into a carrot that he had brought along with him, "Io migh tol 'Ari ohn yew."
Seto looked at him, disgusted, as Marik chewed and swallowed. "Care to repeat that?"
"I said, I might tell Hikari on you." Seto rolled his eyes as Marik lay back, smugly. "That's what you get for going out with my relative through marriage!"
Seto buried his face in his hands yet again. Across from him, Mokuba Kaiba was laughing so hard that he was crying. When he got his breath back, he said, "Why do you do this to him, Marik?"
Marik, who had been treating Seto badly for days now, just for kicks, tried to look innocent. "Whatever do you mean?"
"You know very well what I mean, Ishtar," said Mokuba, yanking the carrot away from the Egyptian and taking a bite. After chewing and swallowing, he added, "Seriously, you're going to kill him if you keep this up."
"Maybe the Pharaoh will treat me better if I do," said Marik cheerfully, glancing at the still hunched CEO.
Mokuba sniggered. "Please. Like that'll ever happen." Seto straightened with a sigh. "You alright there, Nii-sama?"
"Fine," grunted Seto, threading some fingers through delicate russet locks. "But I'll be even better when we get to England and I can hand responsibility for the child over to Yugi and Ryou, two sensible and capable adults. I'm surprised at my own eagerness to leave, to be honest. Who knows? This could be interesting."
"Hurray!" Marik paused. "Wait a minute, did you just call me a kid?"
"Out of all of that, he picks up the insult. You're as bad as the mutt, Ishtar."
"Another of my relatives through marriage through marriage!"
It took all of the billionaire's control not to pound his head into the car's window. Instead, he pressed his forehead against the cool forehead and muttered, "Just kill me now."
Next to him, Marik winked at Mokuba. The younger Kaiba grinned and rolled his eyes.
The Burrow, Outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, England
"Okay, so let me get this straight: you heard two different voices coming from both Motou and Bakura, and they acted as if there were a total of five people in the room, including Ishtar?"
"Yes!" said Harry impatiently as Ron stared at him, wide-eyed. "I've told you this a hundred times within the last five minutes, Ron!"
"Yes, but Harry," said Hermione anxiously, peering over her shoulder into the living room-type area, where Ryou and Yugi were talking. "This is a serious accusation!"
"What accusation!"
"Basically," said Hermione nervously, "You're saying our teachers have some sort of disorder – schizophrenia, bipolar depression, multiple personality syndrome… Do you know what this could mean? We could all be in serious danger! And the biggest danger is to themselves!"
"Hermione," said Ron seriously, "I don't think Harry meant that our teachers are nutters. Just that…"
"They're a bit off their rocker?"
"Not helping, Harry, mate. I'm trying to not say our teachers are loony."
"Alright Hermione," said Harry, turning to the female in the group. "How about this: we're watch them. If more appearances of these 'multiple personalities', well, appear, we'll tell Dumbledore, got it?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "That sounds fair…" She sighed. "I just hope that everything is okay. I'd hate for them to go to St. Mungo's before we even start Hogwarts!"
Domino International Airport, Domino City, Japan
Marik Ishtar was, yet again, being a smartass.
"And over there we see the lovely water feature known as the fountain!Yes indeed folks, invented some time ago in some country, Domino decided to buy one when resident moneybags Seto Kaiba stuffed money down City Council's throats! Perhaps that's why it's in the shape of a Blue Eyes White Dragon, known to be the billionaire's favorite Duel Monster! Though why a now-adult CEO would still be playing a children's card game is beyond me…"
A vein pulsed in Seto's head, but other than that, he showed no sign of having heard the Egyptian. Mokuba, beside him, whistled cheerfully.
"Mr. Kaiba, are you sure you know this man?" whispered a bodyguard, right beside him.
"Know him? Heavens no. He claims he's a friend of Mokuba's."
"Hey, hey, hey!" protested Marik. "You very well do know me, Kaiba!"
Seto raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure we've met?"
Mokuba covered up his grin. "It's alright, I know him."
Marik stuck out his tongue. "There, you see? Mokuba loves me, at least."
The younger Kaiba threw up his hands. "I never said that! I just claimed to know you, and I can easily say I was mistaken."
The sandy-haired man pouted. "You Kaibas are no fun."
"That's what makes us Kaibas."
The Burrow, Outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, England
"Hullo, I don't believe we've met."
Yugi spun around to face the man who had just spoken. Ryou stood up. "No, I don't," said the former agreeably, holding out his hand. "I'm Yugi Motou, and this is Ryou Bakura."
"Ah, the new professors!" said the man amiably, shaking Ryou's hand as well. "Albus told me about you. I'm Remus Lupin, a former teacher at the school. Albus wanted me to come and talk to you about teaching, but he said there would be four of you, not two."
"We're still waiting for the other two to arrive, Mr. Lupin," said Ryou. "Won't you have a seat?"
"Thank you, and plain Remus is fine."
Yugi also sat, knowing it wasn't quite proper manners to pace. "Forgive me… Remus is such an interesting name. I take it you know the origins?"
Lupin's face grew somber. "Quite."
Sensing a sensitive area, Ryou hastily added, "Yugi's a history buff, though his forte's the Ancient Egyptians."
"Really?" said Lupin, intrigued. He turned to the tri-colour haired man. "Mummies and pharaoh's your cup of tea, then?"
Yugi smiled. "Indeed. It's amazing what the Egyptians would do to protect their kings' tombs. I hate breaking and entering, as it was, but how else can we find out more about them?"
"And you believe the secret lies in the pharaohs' tombs?"
"I believe the pharaohs have a lot to offer us. The story of their lives, their most treasured artifacts – everything about them solves some mysteries and only uncovers more. Truly, it is remarkable."
"We must continue this conversation in depth some day soon, Yugi – may I call you that?"
"Of course, Remus," said Yugi warmly.
Lupin turned to Ryou. "And you, Ryou – again, it is alright, on a first-name basis?" A nod. "What do you do?"
"I'm still in university," said Ryou, glancing down. "I'm… well, I'm studying psychology." (1)
"Oh?" Again, Lupin was intrigued. "That is, I believe, the Muggle term for the study of the human mind?"
"Indeed," said Ryou. "Very non-magical, I know, but it intrigues me."
"No doubt," agreed Lupin. "What ages are you focusing on?"
"Right now, I'm still studying general, but I hope to go into child or adolescent psychology. Childhood is the most impressionable age, and if something traumatic happens to a child at that age, well… the results can be catastrophic."
Silence fell, the truth of Ryou's words sinking in. And who better to know than the occupants of the room? One: little sister and mother killed in a car accident, father leaving, friends disappear. One: bitten by a werewolf, afraid to make friends on the account of the violent nature when transformed, unable to tell friend from foe. One: tormented and bullied, unable to make friends, lacking confidence and companion.
And then there were two others. One: village burned to the ground, family and friends killed on the spot in front of staring eyes; and one: father died, forced to rule an entire kingdom at a young age, left to defeat an evil that immediately threatened.
And then there was the one that ran into the room to give one a hug. One: parents murdered, nearly killed as a baby and then, later, hunted by one of the most dangerous men in history.
They would be joined by one, one, and one, and two of the ones joined to become two. And really, it would be no surprise that they all shared something in common.
Heathrow International Airport, London, England
"There's my bag, I was beginning to worry." Marik snatched up his bag before it was rotated away from him. "Stupid bag, listen to me next time when I tell you to stay put."
Seto rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ishtar. It's not like we're on a free schedule."
Marik waved a hand. "Don't worry about it, Kaiba. I'm sure the family we're staying with won't mind if we're a few minutes late."
"You forget that we have two more weeks left until we're due to set up our classes and schedules at Hogwarts, and we've yet to buy whatever we need for our classrooms."
Marik, unable to come up with a retort, closed his mouth. "Fine. You win this time."
The CEO looked to the heavens and mouthed, Why me?
Mokuba tugged at his brother's sleeve. "Se-to," he said. "Let's go, already!" He pointed to a small group of people holding up a sign that said "DOMINO CITY".
Seto raised an eyebrow. "You think that's them?"
"One way to find out!" Marik walked up to probably the oldest in the group. He was a balding redheaded man with spectacles and was eagerly discussing the normal-looking clothes he was wearing with a companion. "Excuse me?" he said politely. "I'm Marik Ishtar – are you here to pick up three people from Domino City, Japan?"
The redhead man looked delighted. "Professor Ishtar!" he said, extending a hand. "My name is Arthur Weasley, you'll be spending these next weeks at my house."
"Lovely!" said Marik, shaking the offered limb and motioning to the Kaiba brothers. "This is Seto Kaiba, my colleague, and Mokuba Kaiba, who will be a student."
"Charmed," said Mr. Weasley, shaking their hands as well. "This here's your guard!"
"Our guard?"
"Y'know, in case," Mr. Weasley lowered his voice. "In case of an attack." He straightened. "This here's Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and my sons, Fred and George."
"Wotcher," said Tonks cheerfully, her hair a bright shade of bubblegum pink. "We'd wanted to split up, but Arthur thinks it best we stick together."
Marik shrugged. "Why bother splitting? We're not important enough to be attacked, don't worry." He slung an arm around Tonks' shoulders. "Besides, if we are, I'll make sure to protect you first."
Mokuba clapped a hand to his forehead. Leave it to Marik to hit on the first attractive female he met in Britain.
"C'mon," he said, smoldering a laugh and yanking the blonde away. "We're on a tight schedule, remember?"
The Burrow, Outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, England
"MARIK!"
Yugi ran to the Egyptian, giving him a hug. "How was your flight?" he asked with a smile. "Ryou and I have been near sick with worry!"
"No, Yugi's been near sick with worry," said Ryou, coming up more slowly than his friend. He grinned and hugged Marik tightly as well. "How have you been? I haven't heard from you in ages."
"Sorry about that," said Marik, grinning. "I've been traveling with this one here." He jerked a finger at the shortest in their group. "But what about you?"
"Nothing interesting, just school," said Ryou with a shrug. "Even Bakura's kept relatively quite."
"Ooh, can I speak to him?"
Ryou rolled his eyes. "Am I surprised?"
Two flashes of bright light, and Bakura and Yami were out in the flesh. "I think that Pharaoh felt left out," said Bakura, giving his old friend a hug. "How're tricks, Marik?"
"Not bad, sorta missing the old days though," he responded with a grin. He turned to Yami and clasped his shoulder. "What about you, Pharaoh? Keeping up?"
"Well enough," said Yami. "Luckily, the idiot Tomb Robber's been quiet."
"Hey!"
"Oh look, two minutes together and you're already fighting," said Mokuba with a grin. "How've you been, yamis?"
"Well enough," said Yami. "Why are yo – Kaiba."
His rival had arrived. They stared daggers at each other before the brunet said, curtly, "Yami."
Bakura and Marik looked at this exchange, before the latter said, "And I'm Marik, since we're obviously make introductions."
"Ishtar…!"
(1) Well, people often say Ryou's crazy, so there's a little irony for you. I was debating psychiatry, but I realize that Ryou probably doesn't have enough money for med school, so yeah.
Sorry that took so long, the original chapter was short as hell.