CHAPTER ELEVEN: KHEFTYU BINU SPER - EVIL ENEMIES ARRIVE
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The golden trio looked at each other in undisguised horror. Bakura was collapsed into himself on the armchair, leaning over in on himself and shaking with the force of his distress. What were they supposed to do? This wasn't the sort of thing they were expecting or were ready to handle.
Hermione was the first to move, mainly to send Ron a scathing look. After all, it was his fault Bakura was upset. She did feel hypocritical doing so though, mainly due to the fact that she was actually also extremely relieved. When Ron had blown up at the pale teen she'd been worried that Bakura would attack them then and there. He'd had a truly terrifying look in his eyes moments before he'd burst into tears. It had scared her, and she could see the two boys hadn't yet recovered from the sudden change they'd seen too.
The Polyjuice potion was starting to wear off now, and as Harry felt himself change he shifted back into action, and decided to deal with the most pressing issue first. Pointing his wand at the knife Ryou had dropped; Harry quickly summoned it and tossed it into a far corner of the room, before casting Muffliato on the area. The others noticed what he was doing and quickly soundproofed the house as well.
Bakura didn't notice or didn't care that his knife had gone. He was still hunched over, hands tearing at his long hair, crying silently.
Now that the knife was gone, Hermione slowly approached him awkwardly, feeling it was safer to try and comfort him now. The Polyjuice had worn off the trio completely now, and she didn't want to startle the obviously unhinged boy.
"A-are you alright?" she whispered as kindly as she could, barely placing a fingertip on his shoulder.
Ryou didn't reply, but he stopped moving.
"Bakura…" She reached out further and rested her hand fully on his shoulder.
He flinched hard very suddenly, pulling out of her loose grip he looked up at her. Hermione had ripped her hand back just as quickly.
His eyes were puffy and red and had a sadness in them that was so deep, so ancient, that it was more painful to look at than anything else she'd ever seen.
"You're Hermione." He said. His voice was almost calm.
She nodded, "That's right. And I'm here with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." She was a bit unnerved at how quickly he seemed to calm down, and tried to keep her voice slow and soothing as she spoke to him. Ryou didn't notice though, at the mention of Ron's last name he blinked.
"Weasley? I didn't know you were a Weasley." he said, ignoring the mention of Harry Potter, which internally surprised the trio, "I know your brothers. Sort of."
"Yeah, I know. Your dad used to work with Bill." The redhead said awkwardly, not used to being singled out first while with his friends.
"I mean the twins, Fred and George. I met them in Diagon Alley. They were nice."
He paused, "I don't really know Bill very well. I only met him a few times, father didn't want me to meet too many of his co-workers while I was in Egypt." Ryou's tone was calm, but it was a hollow calm. He was obviously babbling.
"You know the twins?" Ron asked incredulously.
Ryou nodded, eyes slightly glazed over, "They were really nice. They helped me out a lot while I was staying in the alley. Probably saved my life telling me about the… ministry."
Harry was thinking about something else the albino had just said, "Why didn't your father want you to meet his co-workers?" It was curiosity that made him ask this, rather than an actual need to know.
"He didn't want news of the police investigation to get out." The albino said quietly, wiping his face with a pale hand, "He had enough to worry about with me around, the spirit was still around then, bad things could've happened." Bakura blinked after saying this, but didn't show any other emotion.
The three looked at each other.
Hermione turned back to him and asked slowly, "What do you mean? What investigation, what spirit?"
Bakura slumped forward a bit with a sigh, before sitting up straight and slowly getting to his feet. The others took a step backwards, hands quickly strengthening their grip on their wands.
Looking at them with his dead eyes he said, "If I'm going to be interrogated I first want a cup of tea. I've had a hard enough day; and I haven't even gotten dinner started yet."
With that, he ignored the wands pointing at him and pushed past them into the kitchen. They followed him cautiously and watched as he filled a kettle and pulled open the fridge. He pulled out some vanilla cake and placed it on the counter.
Looking at the three teens he said, "There're some blueberry muffins in the tin on the shelf. Granny Bagshot made them last week. They're one of her better batches."
While his tone of voice didn't change, his eyes seemed to somehow dim even further when he mentioned Bathilda Bagshot.
When they didn't move, he shrugged and grabbed the tin himself. As the kettle boiled, he placed four plates on the kitchen table, a muffin on each, before turning to the three again.
"What type of tea do you want? I have Sencha, Earl Grey and Rooibos tea." At their silence he said, "I'm having Earl Grey, is that okay for everyone?"
They nodded, watching in bewilderment as Ryou walked around the kitchen, looking completely unlike the guy they'd seen holding a knife to them or crying into his knees. Although his movements seemed heavy and sluggish, as if he was dragging a heavy weight with him through the kitchen. It was like he was on autopilot, Harry thought to himself as he watched the boy mechanically go through the normal tasks.
They didn't really know how to deal with him at all at this point. It was unnerving and concerning all at once.
Ryou poured four cups and set them on the table next to the muffins and cake.
"Please, have a seat." He motioned to the table politely before taking a seat himself.
The three walked to the table slowly and sat down, not taking their eyes off the teen. Ryou was already eating his muffin and sipping his hot tea. A bit of life seemed to return to him as he did so. After a moment he looked up from his food and looked pointedly at them.
"It's not poisoned you know, although you might want to be a bit cautious around some of Granny's baking." He motioned at the tea and cakes, "And you don't have to tread so lightly around me. Just ask what you need to, I promise I won't lose control of myself again."
"You won't?" Ron asked sceptically, but stuffing his muffin into his mouth as he said it.
Ryou shook his head, "No. I apologize for my actions earlier. I... haven't been my best of late; I'd just managed to get some of the more disastrous aspects of myself under wraps when Granny Bagshot was attacked last week."
Hermione nodded, "You keep calling her Granny, are you related to her?" she asked curiously.
Ryou shook his head, "Oh no. she was just friends with mother, but she was as good as a grandmother to me and my sister."
"You mentioned something happened to her, what?"
Ryou stared into his cup of tea in silence for a minute before he said, "She didn't come to visit me here one day." He paused, "She always visits me. So I went down the road to check on her, she's really old so I was worried she'd died in her sleep or something. I went inside when she didn't answer the door."
Ryou clutched his tea mug hard, his knuckles going completely white.
"I found her in the attic. Something was standing over her, it looked just like her – but it was wrong. When it saw me, it started screaming about killing 'the speaker' and it attacked me. It was a giant snake of some sort - it was hiding in a copy of her skin. It spoke, which was weird, I'd never met a talking snake, but then again I haven't really been near many snakes."
"You understood the snake?" Harry asked dumbfounded.
Ryou nodded blankly at Harry's interruption before laughing sadly, "I managed to kill the snake… blood was everywhere." He shivered slightly.
The trio looked equally disturbed.
"She was almost dead when I got to her. But she whispered one thing to me; Death Eaters." Ryou's face narrowed in pointed anger.
They gasped. And Harry looked ready to interrupt again, but Ryou continued talking.
"I shook her and her wand rolled out of her sleeve. I hadn't known she was a witch; she never acted like one, at least not that I noticed. She always used non-magical things around the house. I used her wand to summon a phone; I don't own a wand myself not being a wizard and all. I phoned an ambulance and got her out of there."
They sat in silence for a minute before Harry spoke.
"You said that last time we met. What do you mean you aren't a wizard? The fact that you can do magic – use a wand, doesn't that make you one?"
"No."
"Then what are you?" Harry said, frustrated.
"I'm a Shadow Mage," Ryou said softly.
"What? Shadow Mages don't exist!" Hermione had stood up, "That magic died out over three thousand years ago in Egypt! We covered some of the history in Ancient Ruins while we were learning Hieratic!"
Harry and Ron looked at her in surprise; they had no idea what Bakura or Hermione were talking about.
Ryou nodded, "That's true," he agreed, "That's why there are less than maybe ten of us in existence. The only way someone can have Shadow powers is through a link to the ancient past."
"What does that mean?" Asked Harry.
"Shadows? Sounds bloody suspicious to me; makes me think of dark magic." Ron muttered sceptically. Harry couldn't help but mentally agree.
Ryou looked at him with his sad strange eyes and said, "The Shadows aren't dark, they cannot exist without light, just like light cannot exist without dark."
Hermione looked at Ron and said, "Ron, Shadow Mages are the users of an ancient branch of magic that originated in Ancient Egypt. It was used by priests and the pharaohs to protect and serve their kingdom. It was used to keep people safe from what I've heard."
She looked at Ryou, "If you're serious would that make you a priest? I'm not sure though, there wasn't much information available about the Shadowed era, and we were told that most knowledge of it was lost - if you're telling the truth you have got to tell me what you know about this."
"I'm probably not allowed to tell you anything else," Ryou said ducking his head, "Isis would probably kill me for spilling tomb keeper secrets without her knowledge. Please ask me something else."
Hermione's implication that he was one of the pharaoh's priests had made him uncomfortable. Telling them that he was a tomb robber and former enemy of Kemet hadn't really been in his plans at any point, but now that she'd made the connection between Shadow Magic and the priests, the thought of telling her that he was practically the exact opposite of that image, well... it wasn't a nice feeling.
Hermione didn't look happy with his lack of response, it was obvious she wanted to know more, and Harry could see that she was about to push the matter. He motioned for her to let it go, at least for now. Hoping she'd remember they had more important reasons for being here.
"We want to know if you stole something in Diagon Alley," Harry said, changing the topic back to the most pressing matter at hand.
Ryou looked at Harry before replying.
"Probably," he muttered darkly.
"We're looking for a gold locket with an 'S' on the front. Did you take it?"
Ryou was quiet before speaking, "I might have done so. I remember grabbing something like that off a shifty looking man in the Alley."
"Great! Where is it now?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Banished to the Shadows, with everything else I got in the wizarding world."
"What does that mean?" Harry asked, baffled.
"I really don't feel like explaining," Ryou said coldly.
Harry shivered; Ryou's personality seemed to be shifting again, despite him saying he'd stay under control.
"Can you get it back?" Harry pressed on.
"Why do you guys want it so badly?" Ryou shot back.
"It's important to us." He said.
"I figured as much." Ryou said quietly, "I recall when I got it; I sensed something really strange about it." He paused, "In fact now that I think about it, it felt a lot like soul magic. Sort of like when I used to seal parts of my own soul into objects."
"You created Horcruxes?" Harry was horrified.
"What's a Horcrux?" Ryou asked confusion evident in his eyes.
After a minute Harry spoke, hoping it was a misunderstanding, "Horcruxes are a dark, evil magic. It's a soul shard sealed into an object. As long as it exists, the person is basically immortal. A Horcrux is created when a ritual is done and a murder is committed. Is that what you did?"
Ryou frowned, "It was just something I could always do, I can control and manipulate souls, not just my own. I haven't done it by myself in ages though. I never killed anyone to do it either, nor did the spirit – I mean," he was cut off.
Harry frowned, "you mentioned a spirit before. Are you possessed?" Harry remembered the article from the magazine Hermione had found.
Ryou's eyes widened, "What?" he caught a hold of himself and shook his head, "Not anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I just said; not anymore. Not for almost a year."
"Who possessed you?" Please don't let it be Voldemort, Harry thought.
"Zorc; an ancient demon that had haunted my soul for three thousand years."
"You're three thousand years old?" Ron asked doubt evident in his voice once more.
"Only half of me. The half that was possessed. Half of my soul was sealed in an object, like that Horcrux thing you mentioned I guess, and as a result, I've existed in some form for the past three thousand years. " Ryou shook his head, "Can we not talk about it? The reason I came to Britain was to escape all that."
"Sure, okay." Harry said, despite his curiosity, "But we need the locket."
"Is it one of those Horcrux things you mentioned?" Ryou asked curiously.
"…Yes."
"Whose soul is inside it?"
"Voldemort's," Harry said.
Ryou jumped the moment he'd said it, sensing the summoning magic in sick waves, "Don't say his name!" He yelled.
He spun around to face the door, looking as if someone might attack at any moment.
"What? It's just a name." Harry said, startled at Bakura's reaction. He hadn't expected such a reaction from someone reasonably unfamiliar with the wizarding world.
"Like hell it is!" Ryou shouted, "You've bloody well alerted the Death Eaters to our position!"
The trio looked at him in horror.
"What -" Harry started, when there was a loud banging at the door.
"Oh hell!" Ryou swore, "It's too late!"
The four were on their feet in seconds, three wands out. Ryou's hand flicked to his belt for his knife, only to find nothing.
"Where's my knife!" he whispered urgently.
"I chucked it into a corner earlier," Harry whispered back.
There was yelling outside.
Ryou pulled at his hair, "We don't have time for this! Diabound!"
The room shimmered and the snake-tailed Ka monster filled the room. Ryou noticed Diabound looked much more reptilian than before, as a result of killing the snake.
Seeing Diabound warmed Ryou's heart even now, it reminded him of how good at least a part of his soul was at always adapting to bad situations.
Hermione let out a squeak when she realised they were surrounded by the monster, and Ron yelled out moments later. Harry just stared, eyes wide.
"Shut up!" Ryou hissed at them before turning to his Ka, "Diabound, get us out of here!"
The creature scooped them up and, smashing the house lights, it blended into its surroundings. It pulled them through the wall into the living room, where Ryou quickly grabbed his knife from the corner, hooking it on his belt before moving them out of the house silently. As Diabound pulled them through the garden, they saw masked figures surrounding and climbing into the house as they glided past.
Keeping away from the light of the street, where Diabound's illusion would be hard to maintain, the Ka pulled them through the dark graveyard instead. There was little sound from the church, and Ryou wondered if the late service was over. They came to a stop at Amane's grave, which was far enough from the house for them to speak unheard.
"What is this thing?" Harry asked in vague horror, staring at the Ka. The Ka looked down at him and made a face at his comment as if to say; 'That's the tone you use on someone who saved your life?'
Ryou however, was focusing on other things, "Oh God! I hope they don't make a mess!"
The other's looked at Ryou, who was looking back in the direction of his house, in surprise.
"I think we had more important things to worry about right now." Harry hissed at him, but Ryou wasn't listening.
"Father finally gets home in two weeks! Oh dear, what will he think if the house is completely demolished? I spent ages keeping it tidy!"
"Bakura, focus!"
With difficulty, Ryou sighed and pulled his eyes away from the direction of the house with difficulty, looked at them, "Do you have somewhere we can go?" He said, "I don't think I can go home now because of you." Bitterness was marked in his tone.
"Let's just go back to Grimmauld Place!" Ron whispered, peering towards the house they'd just left nervously.
"But -" Hermione started, her eyes twitching towards Ryou.
"No, I think Ron's right Hermione. Bakura, do you know how to Apparate?" Harry said.
"No! For the last time, I'm not a bloody wizard!" Ryou hissed back.
"Then hang on to us."
Moments later, there was a small pop.
A/N:
For anyone wondering why I made Ryou able to talk to snakes, well; it was mainly because of Diabound. Diabound is a giant half snake creature, so I thought a magical connection to snakes was kinda fitting.
Ryou was able to seal his own soul into dice in the original manga in an attempt to stop the spirit, destroying himself in the process. However because he also had a part of himself in the NPC White Wizard Bakura, he was ultimately able to come back because a part of his soul still remained, even with the spirit gone at the time. A bit like the immortality granted by the Horcruxes, only without murder. So even without the spirit, Ryou could still manage an amount of soul magic alone. At least, that's how I'm looking at it.
Edited 2018