Harry yawned. It had been a week since he had gotten the Key, and so far he was progressing at a slow rate in learning Shadow Magic. Bakura was at least patient with his new student. Much to the surprise of both Ryou and the pharaoh, Bakura was actually a very good teacher.

Most of what he taught Harry stuck...though frankly the boy would blame that on his methods. Bakura had an unnatural ability to scar Harry for life while showing him how to perform Shadow Magic.

Yami was on a mission. While Kaiba had managed to get plenty of information about Harry (almost none of it was pleasant), he had no idea how to get the boy on his side. It was like after he turned eleven, he simply vanished! And then there was the matter of his friends, the twins.

Both of them were magicians, yet they seemed to remind him too much of Bakura and Malik in a mischievous mood.

So now he was off to bug Ryou to learn more about his cousin.

(Ryou, having sensed this through unknown means, immediately went to Ishizu and offered to help around the museum in exchange for sanctuary. While she was loyal to the pharaoh, she had the innate ability to terrify any male that crossed her path.)

Harry was not in a happy mood. Why?

The pharaoh had succeeded in pissing him off. And he had help too. The infamous friendship otaku, Tea Gardener, had finally managed to corner him and gave him a four hour long spiel about friendship and why he should join their team.

After the end of her rant, he did the only sane thing he could do.

He told her point blank about how the person he considered his best friend and brother had betrayed him, and ever since he had become much more guarded about who he trusted. Ron had left a rather nasty scar in his heart, and while he had tried to forgive the boy, he had never truly forgotten the depth of his betrayal.

Tea had been left speechless at that, and Harry made good his escape.

Alas, that had only inflamed her desire to get Harry to join what Malik and Bakura had called the 'Friendship Squad.'

So he went to work and asked Kaiba quite nicely for assistance in acquiring something.

A flamethrower.

"Why exactly do you need a flamethrower?"

"I'm going to give it to Bakura so he can torch Tea's house."

"What did she do?" asked Kaiba, amused by the idea.

"Forced me to listen to a four hour long rant on friendship...and then tried to get me to join their team."

Kaiba winced. Tea was bad enough in small doses. Four hours of that would make him want to commit seppuku with a blunt blade.

"Unfortunately for the friendship freak, I did have best friends back in England," snorted Harry.

"What happened?"

"One turned traitor and claimed that I was only in a tournament for the fame and glory. The prize money was pretty big, so that didn't help either. It took him months before he came skulking back for forgiveness. He didn't seem to care that I had never actually entered my name, or that I was forced to participate against my will," answered Harry.

"I amazed you were willing to deal with people after that."

"I have tried to forgive him, but I will never forget what he did. Probably why I was so eager to meet my mysterious cousin that my godfather mentioned in passing."

"And look where that got you," said Kaiba in amusement.

"Still better than dealing with a traitorous jerk and a pushy know it all."

Kaiba nodded in agreement.

"I don't think I can get you a flamethrower just yet. Those things are still hazards."

"Damn."

Then Kaiba smirked.

"But I can get you a restraining order on the twit."

"That'll work."

Bakura was both amused and disappointed when he learned about Harry's conversation with Kaiba.

While he found the fact that Harry had a restraining order on Tea hilarious (and wondered why he hadn't thought of that one himself) he was a bit disappointed that he didn't get a flame thrower.

So Harry did the next best thing. He helped Bakura get a wand and proceeded to show him how to shoot fire from it. Bakura was extremely pleased about that, and wouldn't stop cackling for weeks.

Which had the pharaoh avoiding him like the plague, to his delight.

Back in England...

Things had taken a turn for the worst. Suddenly the Death Eaters became much more active, and the rumors that Voldemort had in fact returned seemed much more real to the general populace, despite the attempts made by Fudge to quell them.

And to make a bad situation more horrific, the Death Eaters had a new trick up their sleeve.

They were summoning monsters. From the grotesque to the terrifying, these monsters would attack muggleborns without question or care.

The only good thing was that it took the Death Eaters several weeks before they could bring them out again. Summoning the beasts took more magic than they were used to.

In a last ditch effort to get help, Sirius did the only thing he could think of.

He owled Harry in Japan. His godson had mentioned off hand about the strange magic Ryou and his comrades had. Perhaps they could help them...or at least keep Voldemort from wiping them completely out by offering a place to hide.

Harry read Sirius' letter in shock. The things he described sounded far too much like Shadow monsters for it to be a coincidence.

Ryou looked disturbed about the news as well.

"What are we going to do?" asked Harry.

"I have no idea. If we go there alone, it will only make it worse. Particularly if these people got a hold of the Items and learned how to use them."

Harry nodded in agreement.

Marik was gone for something related to his clan with Ishizu, and Kaiba was away on business. The only people who could help them were the Friendship Squad, but after Harry had slapped that order on Tea they were less than friendly with him.

Even though he had explained his reasons, they were still angry over that.

Harry slumped in the recliner. When he brushed his hair out of his face, he felt his body suddenly go stiff.

His eyes became glazed over, and he couldn't hear Ryou cry out in shock.

His mind went flying out of his body.

He was in England. He could tell that much at a glance. The house he was floating over was fairly normal for a wizard dwelling.

Well, except for the fact that it was currently in flames. The Death Eaters cackled in cruel glee as the place went up into ashes.

Harry tried to look for the occupants, who were missing. Then he saw them. And his heart nearly broke.

It was Luna Lovegood...and a man who was obviously her father. They were hiding in the woods, watching in mute sadness. Harry didn't know why he was watching their house be destroyed...until he spotted something glinting gold around Luna's neck.

He gasped.

It was an Item. And there were only two that were missing, so it had to be the Tauk. Luna seemed to look up and see him. Her dreamy gaze was sad.

'Hello Harry.'

He was jolted out of the vision by Bakura slapping him.

He coughed, as if he could still feel the flames on him.

"What happened?" asked Bakura. His voice sounded uncharacteristically concerned.

Between coughs, Harry said "I found the Tauk. It's in England."

The effect of that statement was instantaneous. Bakura looked in shock as Ryou stared in disbelief.

"Who has it? And what the hell just happened?" Bakura asked.

"I know who has it. It's a girl from my old school named Luna. And her house was just destroyed by Death Eaters. I saw it as if I were there."

"Are you absolutely sure?" asked Ryou.

"Ryou, I could literally feel the flames that engulfed the house. I am positive. And she could see me."

"I'm calling Ishizu. Harry, just stay there and rest," said Bakura.

Harry knew he would get no sleep that night. Not after that vision.

"Hello? Is Ishizu Ishtar there? What the fuck do you mean I can't speak to her? Tell her it's Bakura! I don't give a flying fuck about your damn protocols, get her on the phone now dammit!"

Harry smiled. At least Bakura was back to normal.

Bakura growled...then waited impatiently for the woman to get on. Ryou watched his cousin in concern. Without realizing it, Harry fell asleep...

Somewhere in Luxemburg...

He was pleased and frustrated at the same time. His minions were able to summon the beasts, but it took too long to bring them out again.

He had thought that the girl with the gold necklace would...assist them...but she had fled the pathetic house with her wretched father before they had even arrived. His pawns had taken great delight in killing the house elves and burning the house.

Now he would have to hunt down the other five. And possibly the brat who had defied him for far too long.

He chuckled darkly. The boy would not live after what he was going to do to him. He turned to the lone mirror in the room. His new...accessory...suited him nicely. A single gold eyes stared back at him with a malevolent glow...

Harry sat up with a start. That was far more vivid than the last one. Bakura was still on the phone, and Ryou was looking at Harry in concern.

He looked at them with an upset gaze.

"Tell her that both of the missing items are in Europe. Voldemort has the Eye."

Bakura cursed. Suddenly the phone came to life. Finally someone answered.

But it wasn't Ishizu who answered, but Rashid.

"Master Marik and Ishizu are in a meeting with the clan. What's going on?"

"The Eye and Tauk have been found. One is in the hands of a Zorc wannabe and the other is in the possession of an inexperienced Seer."

The silence on the other end was palpable. Finally, Rashid told him to wait a moment before Marik came on.

"Are you sure? You've found the remaining two?"

"Harry had a pretty good vision of where they were. So either he was hallucinating...or we have a serious problem."

Harry snorted from his spot.

"If that was a hallucination, then the pharaoh is not a narcissistic asshole."

Bakura snorted in amusement.

"We'll be on the first flight back. Better alert the Friendship Squad."

"Like hell. They would only try to get in our way. Besides, they aren't talking to us at the moment."

Harry and Ryou heard Marik's disbelieving remark. Bakura chuckled evilly.

"Harry slapped a restraining order on the friendship whore."

"It's about time someone did. We'll be there soon."

Harry picked up his cell and hit the speed dial. He wasn't going to ask Kaiba for help. He was just going to warn him to avoid Europe until things settled down.

"Hey Harry, what's up?" asked Mokuba.

"Hey Mokie. Is your brother there?"

"Yeah, he's hashing out some details with a few prospective investors. We're almost about ready to head to Ireland for a meeting."

"Cancel it."

"Why?" said Mokuba, clearly surprised.

"The resident dark lord of the magical community has gotten his hands on the Millennium Eye, and his lackeys have been summoning beasts from the Shadow Realm. I would avoid Europe for a while, at least until we can get that thing away from him."

Suddenly the voice changed. Kaiba had taken the phone from his brother.

"Harry, what's this about canceling my conference to Ireland?"

"Resident nut job has the Eye, and he's using it's powers so his lackeys can summon monsters. Unless you want to deal with that crap, I would suggest you do a teleconference instead."

Silence...then...

"Are you absolutely sure he has the Eye?"

"I wouldn't warn you against Europe unless I was very sure. I just thought you would appreciate a heads up about it."

"...Thank you for warning me. I wondered why none of my colleagues would explain why Europe has had difficulties for the past two months."

"Glad to be of help."

Ryou popped his head in, annoyed.

"I thought I said to take it easy?"

"Just warning Kaiba and Mokuba about Europe. I didn't want them to get caught up in this mess if they could avoid it."

"He's probably surprised that anyone thought to call and warn him. Usually the pharaoh just drags him into it right after Mokuba would be kidnapped," said Ryou.

"How often does that happen?"

"Often enough that it has given him a reason to despise all things magical."

Harry leaned back on the bed. He had been reading when he remembered to call him.

A few hours later, his cell went off. The tune alone told him it was Kaiba.

"Yo."

"I suppose I should thank you for the warning. The place where the conference was to be held was just attacked. There aren't any survivors."

Harry sat up in shock.

"What happened?"

"I told them that something had come up and that I would speak through the web cam. About an hour into the talks the line suddenly blanked out, but I could hear screaming. Then it went dead."

"Yikes."

"Oddly enough, I heard someone talking about the Items before the line was cut off."

"Death Eaters. Voldemort must have known you have the Rod, and sent them to take you and Mokuba."

"We're heading back. We'll be at the air port in two hours. I'm not risking Mokuba's safety over some arrogant investors."

"Got it. Bakura will meet you there."

"Meet us at the mansion instead. I want answers."

Harry got up and went into the living room. Bakura and Ryou looked at him with annoyance. He was supposed to be resting!

"Kaiba is coming back. The place where he was supposed to have a conference with investors was attacked by Death Eaters looking for the Items. We're going to meet him at his mansion in three hours."

"Marik and Ishizu were attacked at the air port. Fortunately the guys who were there were pretty bad at using their summons, but they were both injured. Marik said he was going to get his Ghouls back. We're going to need his lackeys," said Bakura.

"Marik had goons?" said Harry, surprised.

"If you want to get technical, it was Malik at the time, but yes," said Ryou.

Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"How bad were they hurt?"

"Bad enough that Marik has his leg in a splint," said Bakura sourly.

"I'm going to make a few calls."

Ryou looked amused.

"Haven't been doing that already?"

"True," chuckled Harry.

At Kaiba's mansion...

Kaiba, while not happy to have yet another save the world prophecy in play, was at least in a better mood than usual. For once, the person who was involved in the whole mess hadn't dragged him in unwillingly.

And his brother was definitely safe from harm. Kaiba had sent him straight to Yugi's shop. As far as the Friendship Squad was concerned, there was an assassin after the Kaiba brothers, and he wanted Yami to protect his little brother.

They bought the lie hook line and sinker. They didn't suspect a thing.

"So what exactly does this Voldemort want?" asked Kaiba.

"As far as I can tell, to kill anyone without magic. He seems to think that normal people aren't worth the waste of space. Aside from that, I have no idea."

"And from what you know he has the Eye."

Harry tapped his scar with a scowl.

"This wretched thing links me to him. The first vision I was floating above the attack, the second time I was Voldemort. He happened to have a mirror in the room at the time."

"Great... Another save the world prophecy," grumbled Kaiba.

"You think I want to deal with this shit? The bastard killed my parents and then proceeded to come after me repeatedly to kill me!"

"How old were you?" asked Bakura, curious.

"Eighteen months, eleven, twelve and he finally succeeded in coming back into a physical body when I was fourteen."

Bakura held up a hand in disbelief.

"Wait, didn't you say you started that school at eleven?"

"Every time I faced him it was the end of the year."

"What kind of amateur are we dealing with here? I mean come on, who takes four tries to kill someone and fails?"

"If it makes any sense, the idiot always tries to use the same curse each time. Though the third time I faced him he used a big ass snake."

"That's no excuse! You were barely trained, and this idiot couldn't manage to kill you when he has a large arsenal of spells?"

"He's got an ego the same size as the Pharaoh's," said Harry dryly.

"So just to be clear, there's an pathetic madman with a Millennium Item and a god complex," said Kaiba.

Harry nodded.

"Should be cakewalk then," said Bakura, cackling.