STORY SUMMERY: It had been only weeks since the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, where Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, had bravely stood against the Dark Lord, and failed to protect the world from the sinister creature's return. However, the Death Eaters and their master moved fast, locating an appropriate location to continue their plotting and plans. One of which would not only complicate the lives of the Order of the Phoenix, but of several others as well…

STORY WARNINGS: Drama, Violence, Angst, Swearing, Romance (Shonen-ai and Het)

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter Eleven is up! Sorry for the wait- college and such. I hope this doesn't disappoint. Still pleading for someone to give me some assistance with writing Duel Monster duels- still sucking and still too scared to try it!


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh. I'm not making money off of this.


CHAPTER ELEVEN:
ADVENTURA


Last Time: Ryou's crushing on Harry. The Order pushed the Shadow Mages too far too many times, and now there is very little going on between them. Occlumency shields are working well- except for Yugi and Yami. Threats were issued, as were books. It was a busy few days.


Maroon eyes were bright with mirth as they watched his host and the other occupant of their shared room rush around as they tried to stuff the last of the books they borrowed from Hermione back into the trunk. Yami chuckled softly as he hovered in a corner of the ceiling. Yugi shot him a pouting look before the violet-eyed teen slammed the trunk closed. Marik sagged in relief against it.

"There!" the blond said. "Now that the book crisis has been averted, we should probably try to get all of these trunks downstairs."

The trio glanced around the room, spying the three trunks and the fact that between them were only two sets of hands. Yugi exhaled, tapping the top of Hermione's book trunk.

"Bring this one down first. It's not ours. No one else should have to be late because we slept in a little too much."

"Not my fault!" Marik immediately said, even as he grabbed one handle. When Yugi rolled his eyes as he grabbed the other handle, Marik continued. "You rolled over and turned off the alarm!"

"Hey! At least I woke up!"

Yami rolled his eyes, floating out behind them as they left their room. "Stop arguing," he grumbled, eyeing the staircase. "I don't want either of you breaking your necks."

"But mostly Yugi, right?"

"Yes. So you're going down first."

Marik stopped short, turning around and glaring at where Yami hovered a few feet away from him. "Hey! I'm not going first! I have more upper arm strength so I should go down last!"

"Who're you talking to Marik?"

The blond yelped, dropping his end of the trunk onto his toes, causing him to shriek in pain. Yugi started, jumping away from his end of the trunk and dropping it in shock, making Marik yelp once more. Yami howled with laughter, clutching his stomach as he doubled over. Had Marik not had an audience and probably broken toes, he would have chewed the Pharaoh a new one.

As it were, however, George quickly rushed forward, whipping out his wand and levitating the trunk off Marik's toes as Fred grabbed and steadied Marik as the blond sagged backwards in relief. Yugi stumbled through several apologies in several different languages, some of which were for Yami who was too busy trying to breathe to do so for himself.

"I'm fine, Yugi," the Egyptian said through gritted teeth as he glanced down at his feet. Far too used to not wearing socks, his bare feet showed signs of already bruising and he gasped when he wiggled his toes, black spots appearing in his vision. "Ow."

"Jeez, Marik! If we had known that would happen-" George began, setting the trunk on the ground as Fred helped Marik take a seat against the wall.

"-We would have cast a feather-light charm on your trunk first," Fred finished.

Marik eyed the twins darkly, lavender eyes narrow. "That makes me feel much better, thanks." He looked at his toes, frowning. "Are they broken?"

"Not sure," Fred admitted, and poked one with his wand, earning a hiss and punch from Marik. "But I'd hazard a guess that that one is."

George poked another, making Marik squawk and pull his feet away from them, whimpering in distress. "And that one. I'll get Moody."

"What?!" Marik squeaked, earning twin looks of amusement. "He'll probably use this as an excuse to interrogate me!"

George frowned, tapping his chin. He nodded sagely. "That he would. I'll get Lupin instead."

With that, the twin left the trio. Fred then looked over at Marik with a searching gaze. "So, what invisible person were you talking to? It sounded like you were having a conversation with someone about Yugi, but not with Yugi." Marik opened his mouth to lie, but Fred gave him a blank look. "You don't monologue for that long to nothing."

Marik paled, turning his eyes upon Yugi, who stilled immediately and began to stare anywhere but at Fred. The second twin raised an eyebrow but lifted his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Alright, alright- I get it. Super secret. Shadow Magic stuff I assume?" Yugi flinched, and Fred nodded. "Right. George will hear about this- don't kid yourselves- but other than that, you'll find we can be discrete."

Marik's eyes narrowed, but he extended his legs back out as a show of trust. "No one else has to know?" Fred nodded, and Marik leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. "What do you want in return?" he asked stiffly, still pale. Yugi slouched and Fred grinned wickedly.

"George and I are making these sweets…"


Ryou and the Kaiba brothers made their way down the stairs, trunks trailing behind them and making loud noises as they did. Fortunately, it seemed someone had looked up the Permanent Sticking Charm that was used to place Walburga Black's portrait on the wall it the first place and used it to stick the two halves of her curtains together, muffling her shouts to an ignorable level. Spying them, Yugi gestured for the three to place their trunks with the ever-growing pile of them close to the door. Heqet's tank sat next to Thoth's cage by the trunks. Hedwig and Pig both were caged as well, and sat silently next to them.

Ryou led Kaiba and Mokuba to where Marik and Yugi stood, close to the kitchen. The white-haired teen peered around, taking in that not all of the house's inhabitants were gathered in the hall.

"Where's Harry?" the albino asked, leaning over and whispering into Marik's ear. However, they were interrupted by Moody barging in from a side room, Arthur, Remus, and a strange woman following behind him.

"The fawn is out of the wood with the chameleon and the ermine are keeping watch," Moody uttered to the Order members, well within earshot of the teens. Marik, toes fixed thanks to Lupin's wand-waving, eyed the others who were standing around him, stroking a sleeping Sekhmet.

"Fawn?" he asked, and Hermione shrugged, holding her own cat loosely in her arms.

"Probably Harry's codename," she said seriously. Marik merely looked confused, and leaned over to whisper in Ryou's ear.

"Why would you call Harry Potter a fawn?"

Ryou shrugged, watching as Moody pointed from where the group of Shadow Mages stood to where a regal-looking woman stood. Her harsh, silver eyes looked down at over her nose. She offered a stiff, yet friendly, smile to them, her long black ponytail swished behind her. Moody nodded.

"Right, Vance," he said as he addressed the woman with the well-defined and elegant face, "you'll be taking the goslings- ("Is he referring to us?!" "Marik…" "Yugi, I am not a goose!")- to the pond. Lupin, you'll take the mob. Weasley has the weasel and the mink. I'll be taking the gear."

George, Fred, and Ginny grinned widely, and George turned to Lupin. "Mob?"

The werewolf gave him a joking smile. "It's the name for a group of sheep."

Meanwhile, Ron grumbled darkly at his own codename, crossing his arms and glaring down at his feet. Marik snickered, and Ron turned swiftly on him. "What's so funny, Gosling?"

Marik sputtered indignantly, face flushing slightly. Ryou rolled his eyes, laying a hand on Marik's shoulder and giving Ron a withering look, ignoring Hermione's crinkled nose at his actions. Yugi, ever the pacifier, stepped in and pushed Mark and Ryou backwards slightly.

"Now, guys, we're about to go to school. I don't want Marik to have a black eye."

Marik scowled, eyes narrowing and flashing dangerously, as if the frustration from the past few weeks was threatening to come rushing out. "Somehow I doubt I'd be the one with the black eye…"

Finally, Kaiba stepped in and struck Marik lightly on the head with the golden Rod, ruining his carefully styled hair. "Shut up. Don't be such a drama queen."

Marik growled, but smirked slightly and turned away. He ran a hand through his hair, straightening his long locks with a flick of his wrist. Yugi snorted, drawing a pair of confused lavender eyes to him. Yugi explained, smiling.

"How's the business going, Duke?"

Marik blinked a few times before rolling his eyes. "Yes, yes. Ha-ha. A Duke Devlin hair-flip. Shut up."

"Excuse me."

A soft, royal voice uttered cut through their conversation. The five foreigners turned around to see the lady called 'Vance' standing before them, silver eyes scanning over them. "I am Emmeline Vance, and I shall be your escort." Her eyes fell upon Yugi and the small backpack on his back. "Alastor has already said he will be carrying your luggage. Are you taking that with us?"

Yugi grabbed his shoulder straps tighter, and nodded. Within the black bag was the Millennium Ring- he wasn't about to let it out of his possession for anything. "Yeah. This… needs to stay with me."

Emmeline nodded, waving a well-manicured hand with long, sharp nails painted dark green dismissively. "Then I shall permit it." She smiled loftily at them. "Once we are outside, my code name is Goose."

Mad-Eye, overhearing their conversation, cleared his throat loudly. "Right. When you're talking about Vance, she's Goose and her group is the gaggle. Weasley is Stoat, and his group is the boogle. Lupin is Wether-" Lupin rolled his eyes at this, while Kaiba and Mokuba gave hearty snickers- "and his group is the mob. I'm Mule, and I'll be taking your things." Someone snickered, but Moody's mood suddenly turned fierce. "No one but Order members are to mention Potter."

His voice grew dangerous and the 'goslings' nodded quickly. Ron, the weasel, looked about to argue, but Hermione, the mink, grabbed his arm and gave him a stern glance. The redhead grumbled but nodded, glaring to the side. Moody kept his magical eye on him as he limped forward. "You don't have to like it. Constant Vigilance!"

Everyone jumped, and Emmeline Vance fussed with her hair that had become misplaced. Moody scowled at them and limped forward. "The words 'Harry,''Potter,'or 'Fawn' are not to be mentioned. At all. Nor the Millennium Items." His magical eye spun around to glare at Yugi, who looked down at his very-visible Puzzle. He grabbed it, holding it close to his chest before frowning.

"It's just a puzzle that my Grandfather gave me when I was younger," he snapped automatically, turning his body to the side while Yami seethed within his soul-room.

/ How dare he even think to suggest we remove the Puzzle! / the Pharaoh growled, and Yugi could feel the indignation rolling off of the spirit. Yugi sent a wave of reassurance to him.

/ I won't let him. Don't worry. /

Yugi looked over at Moody, violet gaze narrow as if daring the ex-Auror to say anything. Moody merely smirked, nodding to him. "And don't forget it. Now, let's move out. Gaggle, get!"

Marik rolled his eyes, but smirked. "Honk honk," he said, shifting Sekhmet in his arms.

The group of five began to double check to make sure their wands and Items were all where they should be. Ryou peaked into the pocket of his blue windbreaker, and spotted Booger snoozing happily. Emmeline waved her hand for them to follow, and nodded to Moody.

"We shall take Route Blue, as instructed," she said loftily, and strode through the door. Ryou gave those behind him a weak wave and quickly shuffled out alongside Yugi, Marik trotting a few paces behind him. Kaiba followed along without a glance while Mokuba smiled brightly and waved good bye to his friends, and Ginny and the twins returned it with equal fervor.

The door was shut behind them, and Emmeline walked stiffly down the sidewalk, turning her head every which way. Marik gave Yugi a short glance and Yami phased into sight beside the shorter teen. The Pharaoh caught Ryou and Kaiba's attention by clearing his throat. They both quickly looked away and Yami sighed.

"Don't even think about reacting to this right now. Wait until we are alone," the spirit said, and Ryou's step faltered while Kaiba's eyebrow rose slightly. Yami exhaled.

"Fred and George are on to us. They overheard Marik arguing with me."

Kaiba's hand twitched backward, as if he was resisting the urge to reach around for the Rod and smack Marik with it again. Yami frowned at the CEO. "It's just as much my fault, Kaiba. They don't know exactly what we are doing, but they are blackmailing Marik and Yugi into testing some candies that they made. Make you ill and cure you after, or something. You guys don't have to worry about it."

Kaiba rubbed the bridge of his nose, turning his blue eyes to the sky while Ryou slouched a bit as he walked.

"Are… are we there yet?"


In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to place four of the top five duelists in the world in one train station.

"Can I have your autograph?!"

"How do you get your hair that way!?"

"KAIBA! I WANT TO HAVE YOUR CHILDREN!!"

As the crowd surged forward, Yugi pressed himself flat against the wall, clutching the Puzzle tightly to his chest and Mokuba squished beside him. Kaiba was shielding both of them by pushing back at anyone who came close. Ryou and Marik hid behind Emmeline, who was discretely waving her wand from within her long sleeves to ward off the Muggles. She glanced behind her to where the white-haired teen stood.

"What is the meaning of this?" she gasped, a stray strand of hair falling into her face. Ryou pressed closer to Marik.

"We're… rather famous in some circles…" Ryou began and Marik rolled his eyes. "We've got obsessive fan girls… and fan boys," the blonde explained, eyeing one of them waving a deck through the air, "but I didn't know we had such a following in England."

"It's all Ryou's fault!" Mokuba exclaimed, peaking around the coattails of his brother. "He's British! Of course once one of the top duelists is British it'll catch on!"

Ryou squeaked, ducking back slightly. "I-I'm sorry!"

Suddenly the swarm seemed to stop as one and fall back, looking around confusedly before rushing away, exclaiming about how they'd miss their trains. Emmeline blinked, and then ran her hands through her hair to straighten it and to tame it once more, tying it back as she looked around. Her silver eyes latched onto someone in the crowd, and she offered them a small smile.

"Xenophilius," she exhaled, smiling slightly in obvious appreciation. "Oh, it is good to see you! Were you the one to come to our rescue?"

The group of young wizards turned and looked as a man with white-blonde hair that was puffed out as though he'd been playing with electricity came over. He smiled easily, but his gaze was hard to keep- one eye stared at the group while the other strayed towards his nose. While the group was used to odd clothing choices, the sight of the man wearing robes that were covered in swirls of green and purple and red made their eyes hurt. As if he didn't realize their discomfort, he paused in front of them and nodded his head.

"Emmeline, it's been too long. I noticed that you were having a bit of a crowd-control problem, so I cast a simple Muggle Repelling Charm on this young boy here," he said, gesturing to Mokuba. "Handy Charm, that one. It will wear off before he even gets to Hogwarts."

Mokuba and Kaiba gave him scandalized and furious looks, respectfully, but he ignored them as he then turned his odd gaze upon Ryou and the others, distant and yet focused. "You four are those… Duel Monster Card champions, yes? Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, Marik Ishtar, and Ryou Bakura?" His eyes fell upon Mokuba and nodded to the youngest of the group. "And Mister Mokuba Kaiba."

Mokuba's face cracked slightly into a small smile, but Kaiba's eyes merely narrowed. Yugi nodded faintly while Marik smirked, poking the tiny teen in the side. "Yugi here's the champion. We three just happen to be his stepping stones."

Xenophilius nodded slightly before turning to the side, exposing a young girl with straggly blonde hair and large, silver eyes that protruded slightly from her head. One hand was holding onto a trunk while the other held a magazine she was reading. She seemed completely absorbed by it, but looked up once her father stepped aside. "This is my daughter, Luna. She's the one who knows most about your game. Managed to see some of the Battle City Tournament when we went to Japan earlier in the year to look for the Kilbit."

The girl smiled in a distant sort of way, her large silver eyes were bulging slightly as she stared at Yugi for several long moments. Finally Marik cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So, uh… you duel?"

"Hmm? Oh, no," Luna finally said, turning her analyzing gaze upon the Egyptian. "I collect, mostly. I find the creatures on the cards quite fascinating. Do you suppose they exist, now or in the past at some point?"

Yugi's mouth dropped open, horrorstruck that someone actually had gotten it right but more shocked that she said it in such a serious manor. Kaiba rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to offer his scathing point of view, but Mokuba stepped in quickly.

"We've met the creator of the cards. He isn't a wizard, you know, so I doubt he'd be able to make cards based on things he saw," Mokuba said swiftly, and Yugi felt Yami chuckling in the back of his head about how smoothly the half truth fell off the eleven-year-old's tongue.

Luna turned her eyes upon Mokuba and nodded slowly. "I see," she said simply. The group looked around before moving towards the entrance to the platform. Yugi turned and looked at Luna, who had gone back to her magazine.

"So, um, Luna…?" Yugi began, and Luna once more lifted her head and stared at him. Yugi continued. "We just have to… walk through the wall, right? Nothing else?"

"Most of us just walk through the wall, but some of the first-years and Muggle-borns become far too nervous and end up sprinting through the wall. It has led to some collisions," she said conversationally. "Normally, we have to wait until all the Muggles stop looking at us, but thanks to Father it isn't a problem. Now that you have a Muggle Repelling Charm on you, you won't really have to worry about the Muggles noticing you." She must have noticed Yugi's unease because she then smiled at him. "You are still nervous about it." She never gave Yugi a chance to respond. "I'll go first, so you can watch."

Yugi smiled brilliantly at her, and Luna returned it just as brilliantly. Xenophilius paused just a few feet in front of the divider they were supposed to travel through and pulled his daughter into a hug, which she returned most eagerly. "Have a good year Luna. And make sure to ask around if anyone has seen any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks over their holidays. I'm working on that paper about their migration patterns, remember?"

Luna smiled at him. "Of course, father. I'll see you at Christmas break."

With that, she tightened her grip on her trunk and dragged it toward the divider and looked over at the group of wizards. "This is how it works," she said, and walked through the wall. Kaiba rubbed his eyes and stepped forward, pressing a hand against the wall, and watched his fingers push through. He glanced at the others and frowned.

"See you on the other side," he grunted, and stepped through. The four others quickly rushed through after, waving their goodbyes to Xenophilius. Emmeline came through last, and quickly dragged her group away from following after Luna and over to where Mrs. Weasley and Tonks were waiting with Harry, who looked pleased to see them.

"Emmeline!" Tonks cried, rushing forward and grinning at her. "So, you made it, huh?"

The regal-looking woman brushed down her robes. "We almost didn't," she said stiffly, eyeing the group of five wizards beside her. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened and Harry paled slightly. Emmeline waved her arm, rolling her eyes slightly. "Nothing as dramatic as that. Apparently, these five are quite famous in the Muggle World."

Marik flushed softly. "I didn't think we'd be so well-known here…"

Yugi merely exhaled sagging slightly. "We should have guessed. We just aren't that lucky."

Emmeline continued. "Thankfully Xenophilius was there, and he cast a Muggle Repelling Charm on the youngest Mister Kaiba. I'm not quite sure where the idea of casting the Charm on the boy himself came from, however…"

Molly shrugged lightly. "The Lovegoods always were such an odd sort. It isn't that surprising he'd think of that spell. He lives near us, but we very little of him, you know. Ever since Peryri died, Xenophilius and Luna spend more and more time out the country. Peryri kept him from running around the world so much, but after the accident he just…"

All conversation was halted, however, when Ginny burst through the barrier, laughing hysterically, Fred joining her mirth. George trailed along behind, smirking as if the whole thing amused him. Lupin came through a moment later, shaking his head slowly and face slightly pink. Tonks raised an eyebrow.

"What's up, Remus?" she asked, but it was George who answered.

"Do you know what his codename is?" the redhead snickered. "It's Wether! That's a castrated ram! Moody is such a jerk!"

Fred howled, clutching is sides as Ginny collapsed against him. Tonks looked at Lupin, who shrugged weakly. The woman with spiky pink hair gave the man a coquettish grin, her hair changing to bright, bold red. "Well, I'd say you were a ram. Right Remus?"

Remus placed his head in his hands while George erupted into hysterics, joining his twin and younger sister. Sirius, in dog form, gave a series of rasping barks as he, too, joined in on the embarrassment of his friend. Mrs. Weasley looked mortified, looking from Mokuba to Tonks.

"Nymphadora!" she hissed, earning a sharp glare from the woman. "There's a child present!"

Mokuba rolled his eyes, turning and looking at his older brother. Kaiba frowned, his eyebrow twitching. Ryou flushed suddenly, looking at is feet while Harry cleared his throat, but threw the werewolf a sly smile, which further embarrassed the graying brunet. Yugi looked confused, and decided to get answers.

/ Yami… what's going on? / Yugi asked, almost afraid of the answer. Yami snickered, and Yugi felt his dread increase.

/ I believe Miss Tonks in implying that she'd know if Lupin was a wether or a ram. /

Yugi stared blankly for several seconds before his thoughts caught up with him. / What?! Yami! /

Yugi blushed and turned away from the group, shaking his head. Once the laughter had calmed down, mister Weasley came through, leading Ron and Hermione. They were arguing softly, but when they caught sight of Harry they stopped immediately and rushed to his side.

"Harry! How was the walk? It wasn't too bad was it?"

Harry shook his head, grinning slightly. Ron frowned at him. "Then you're lucky. Hermione kept nagging me for not finishing my Charms homework yet. I mean, I've only got three more inches to do!"

Hermione rounded on the redhead, brown eyes flashing. "That doesn't matter, Ronald. It's homework. It's supposed to be done at home."

Suddenly the two broke into a soft argument and Harry rolled his eyes, turning away from them. Ryou chuckled, drawing Harry's attention. He came closer to the albino, eyebrow raised.

"So, famous, huh?" he began. Ryou blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah… we all competed in Duel Monster tournaments in Japan, and I'm the fifth top duelist. Then it's Joey Wheeler- a friend who lives back in Japan- as fourth, Kaiba is third, Marik is second, and Yugi is the champion."

Harry jolted, turning to look at Yugi who was currently shuffling his deck while Marik jabbered to him and Mokuba, Kaiba standing like a silent sentinel beside his brother. "Yugi's the champion?"

Ryou smiled, nodding as he, too, watched the Puzzle Holder turn and smile at something Marik said. "Yes. He's a master strategist. Kaiba used to be the champion, but then Yugi beat him earlier last year," the albino said. "Then Kaiba held the Battle City Tournament, and he and Joey lost to Marik and Yugi in a four-way match." Ryou neglected to mention that Joey had passed out due to the card game, but there was no reason to mention that. "Kaiba and Joey played for third place, and Kaiba won. Obviously, Yugi beat Marik."

Harry turned and looked at Ryou, eyebrow quirking. "How did you become the fifth top then?"

Ryou fought the urge to look away, and used his Occlumency to shove the dark feelings from remembering waking up in the middle of a Shadow Game with a giant dragon bearing down at him…

Ryou blushed slightly. "When I was defeated, my record was the best out of all the losers." Ryou smirked, looking at Harry sideways. "I still think I could beat Joey though."

Harry chuckled at him, and Ryou's face flushed a bit more, a tingle jumping through his stomach. Mrs. Weasley said something, however, before the white-haired teen could respond. The group turned their eyes to where Moody came limping through, dragging a cart loaded up with all of their trunks and animals. Not for the first time Ryou found himself wondering how they did such things before he would remember that their kind magic existed.

The crazy-eyed man waved his wand and the cart unloaded itself, and its baggage went to their respectful owners. Ryou and Harry's trunks landed lightly in front of them, and the owl cages hovered beside their owners while the trunks settled in front of them. Mokuba latched onto Heqet's tank, blinking down at the trunk in front of him and sighing. Marik chuckled at the boy, placing Sekhmet around his shoulders like a boa and the kitten went limp, tired green eyes half-open.

"Too bad you can't just float it along, huh?" he said with a smirk. Mokuba huffed, turning around and smiling down at the purple toad with vivid green eyes. "Don't worry," he cooed, "we'll get you there."

"Alright, you lot!" Moody's sharp, snappish tone cutting through the group's conversation. They all turned to look at him, and he grunted at them. "Take care of yourselves, got it? Keep watch over each other's backs; don't let anyone get the better of you!"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Moody jumped, along with everyone else. Everyone swung around to look at Harry who was smiling widely, dropping his hands from his mouth. Moody gave him a sneer, but one that told how proud he was. Harry beamed under the praise and Ryou smiled at the black-haired teen. Lupin smiled, but picked up where he left off.

"Just be careful guys," he said, scanning the group of eleven students. "Remember- we aren't in the public's good graces at the moment, so stick together. No matter where you end up." The werewolf cast a knowing glance at the eldest Kaiba brother, and Kaiba merely rolled his eyes at the warning.

Tonks winked at them before looking up at the train. "It's about to leave, so get going guys!"

While the other, older students remained behind to get far more personal farewells, the five newcomers quickly made their way to the train, and clamored onboard. Mokuba paused, turning and looking at his brother, who was dragging both of their trunks behind him. "Uh… Seto?"

Kaiba nodded, looking at his brother. A pair of blue-violet eyes peered up at him through a tangle of black bangs. "Could I… sit with some other first years?"

Kaiba stilled for several long moments, turning and staring out the window before exhaling, nodding at the brother. "Fine. Just don't do anything stupid," the eldest Kaiba said gruffly, but Mokuba smiled at him, bumping into his side affectionately.

"Thanks, big brother! Let's go find a compartment!"

The tiny boy darted forward, clutching Heqet's tank close to his chest. Kaiba rolled his head back, exhaling.

"I don't know how I'm going to handle him being in a different House…" the CEO grumbled before trudging forward, dragging both trunks behind him. Yugi and Ryou shared a knowing look before trudging after the CEO, Marik falling in behind.


Once Mokuba was settled in with a group of other first years, a few who were Muggle-born and knew who he and his brother were, the four Shadow Mages strode through the now-moving train, looking for a compartment that would fit them all. It was after a good few minutes before the four of them stumbled across a compartment half-way through the train that held only one student and their trunk. Yugi knocked tentatively on the door, and the black student turned around, blinking at them with dark eyes in confusion before he rose to his feet and slid open the door enough for him to stand in the way.

"What?" he asked, eyeing them curiously. Yugi, far too used to being inspected like this, ignored it and smiled slightly at him.

"Uh," he began articulately, "we need a place to sit. Are you waiting for some of your friends, or do you have some room?"

"Who are you?"

The question took Yugi by surprise, but Kaiba was ready for it. "We're the students from Japan. Mutou, Kaiba, Bakura, and Ishtar."

The student stilled for a moment, his handsome face flashing shock for a moment before he stepped back, pushing the door open, an invitation. "Come in. I'm Zabini. Most of the students heard you were coming. Never thought I'd see you down here, however."

Zabini took a seat nearest to the door while Kaiba and Ryou began to stuff their trunks in the luggage rack. Yugi and Marik took seats next to the tall teen, the Egyptian taking his kitten from around his neck and laying her in his lap. He stroked the kitten and turned to the other, taller teen.

"Why wouldn't we be here?"

Zabini shrugged, but his eyes were guarded. "Well, this is where the Slytherins have gathered."

Ryou and Kaiba took a seat across from Marik and Yugi, Kaiba closest to the window. Ryou blinked at Zabini, leaning his head to the side.

"Really?" he asked, sliding forward in his seat slightly. "We've only heard the worst about them from Harry and Ron. I was kind of hoping to meet one of you."

Whatever reaction Zabini had been expecting, that wasn't it. He sat, shocked, for several long moments before he leaned forward, a smile lighting across is face. "Really?" he said, honestly surprised. "Not too many Mud-Muggle-borns are interested in Slytherin. They usually hear how horrible we are and run the other way. This is refreshing."

Ryou fought the urge to blush, but he did duck his head slightly. Yugi looked at Zabini and blinked a couple of times. "Could you explain it to us? How is it really in Slytherin?"

Zabini smirked lightly, shaking his head a little. "I'm not the best one to explain it, but a friend of mine is. He's at the Prefects meeting, but he'll be here in an hour or so, if you don't mind waiting for answer."

Yugi shook his head, violet eyes bright. "That's not a problem, actually."

Moving on, Zabini looked them up and down. "What year are you in, by the way? I mean, you aren't going to be first years, are you?"

Yugi smiled. "We're going to be fifth years."

"All of you?" the Slytherin said, blinking down at Yugi. The crazy-haired teen frowned, and Marik burst into laughter. Ryou grinned at Zabini.

"Yugi's only a year younger than us," Ryou explained. Zabini's eyebrows arched upwards in surprise, and Yugi glowered at the white-haired teen.

"Actually, I'm practically two years younger than you," Yugi said. He turned to Zabini. "He's turning seventeen tomorrow."

Zabini smirked at Ryou, who blushed brilliantly. "So, you're going to be a legal wizarding adult tomorrow. First day in Hogwarts and you can already do magic whenever you want. Most of us would kill to be you."

Ryou grinned, blushing still. "It would help if I knew more magic than I did."

Zabini nodded, leaning back and just watching them for several seconds. He smiled easily. "So," he began, "what do you know about Quidditch?"


"… and that is why the Heidelberg Harriers is the best team in the league."

The compartment door slid open, and a tall, slender blonde male came into the compartment, dragging a trunk with one hand, the other holding a large cage in which a Eurasian Eagle-owl sat, head tucked under a brown wing. The teen stood still for a moment, taking in the sight before turning to look at Zabini wordlessly. The black teen smirked at him.

"Malfoy, meet Mutou, Ishtar, Bakura, and Kaiba. The students from Japan."

Malfoy's grey eyes widened and he nodded, turning and offering his hand to Bakura. "I'm Draco Malfoy," he said. Ryou didn't even hesitate when he reached forward, grasping the other teen's hand.

"Ryou Bakura," he said, getting up to assist Malfoy place his trunk in the rack. Once the owl and the trunk were safely stored, Malfoy turned to Yugi, who smiled as he shook his hand.

"Yugi Mutou. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Malfoy."

The teen winced slightly, but kept a small grin on his face. "Just Malfoy. It sounds like you're talking about Father."

Marik grinned and quickly shook Malfoy's hand without rising, Sekhmet still lazing in his lap. "Marik Ishtar. We've heard a little about you."

Malfoy paused, eyebrows rising. "Oh?"

"Yup. Apparently you're a goat." Zabini broke into laughter while Malfoy just looked confused. Marik took a moment to think about his words. "Er… or something like that. What did Weasley say, Kaiba?"

Kaiba rose, taking Malfoy's hand when it was offered. "Seto Kaiba. He said that Draco Malfoy was a snarky, pointy, evil git and should be avoided at all costs."

Malfoy blinked at that, but his lips curled into an unkind sneer. "Did he now?"

Kaiba smirked back before retaking his seat, and Malfoy sat next to Ryou and across from Zabini. Marik, meanwhile, leaned back in his chair, stretching out his arms behind his head. "Git. That was it. We haven't known you long enough to determine if you are snarky or evil- which we'd know- I can tell you, you do have a bit of a pointy face."

Zabini snickered into his hand, but was silenced when Malfoy threw him a glare. He frowned back at Marik, face pinking slightly. "Really?" the Prefect said. Marik shrugged, gesturing to the short teen beside him.

"Not that we can talk, anyway," Marik said, and Yugi gaped at him.

"Hey!"

Malfoy grinned, running his hand through his hair. "Well, I'll have you know that I'm not pointy. I have a fine-boned facial structure."

Zabini snickered again, and Marik burst into laughter. Yugi chuckled into his hands while Ryou shook slightly as he contained his mirth. Kaiba merely smirked at him. Once everyone had regained control, Malfoy turned back to Zabini from across the seats.

"The other Prefects are exactly who I thought they'd be."

"Even the Weasel?" Zabini asked, eyebrows darting upwards again. The white-blonde nodded.

"Even him. I knew Dumbles wouldn't want to stack this on top of his Golden Boy. But, really? Weasel? I was hoping I was joking when I said that. I'm sure someone else could have done a decent job. Granger I can stomach- mostly because I can use that with Father- but Weasel is too much. That Thomas kid would have been better."

Zabini shook his head slowly, as if mourning something. He then jolted, blinking rapidly. "Oh, Malfoy."

The grey-eyed teen raised a thin eyebrow at the other boy. Zabini continued.

"These guys wanted to know what being in Slytherin is all about. Trying to get a good feel for the best House," the handsome, dark-haired teen said smugly. Malfoy nodded, turning to smirk at the four.

"You've probably heard all about how Slytherins are all about evil and darkness and kicking puppies, right?" Malfoy asked. He didn't wait for a response before he rose to his feet and began to pace the compartment. "It's not like that. We're ambitious and determined; we have goals that far outreach our current selves so we work hard to become who we need to be to accomplish them. We're clever, cunning, and resourceful; we don't have to be brave if we just take our time to figure out how to do it without risking our own necks. And we damn well like to keep ourselves alive; we'd rather make sure what we're doing won't get us killed before we rush in. That's what Slytherin is."

Malfoy stood there, turning his gaze around the compartment as if daring them to argue with him. Kaiba merely nodded while Yugi was staring off into space, a slight smile on his face. Marik grinned widely at him.

"I must say, Malfoy, that your impassioned speech was the best explanation for any House we've learned about thus far. Slytherin sounds far more appealing now that it did a few days ago."

Ryou nodded absently, blinking straight ahead. Someone knocked on the door, and a pug-faced girl with short black hair and dark eyes pushed it open and looked inside. "Got your Prefect pin on, Draco?" she asked before taking in the sight before her. Her dark eyes practically glowed with glee before she contained herself. "We've got the first walkthrough. Maybe we'll catch some second years running around wild. I'd love to take points before even we get to school!"

Malfoy sighed, waving his hand through the air as he double-checked to make sure his pin was on his green jumper. "Alright, Pansy. We'll walk really slowly by the Gryffindors. Maybe we'll get one of the Golden Trio." Here he paused, turning around to look back at the group of four. "You understand mutual hatred, right?"

Marik and Kaiba nodded at once while Ryou shrugged slightly. Yugi grimaced, but nodded. Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry; I won't do any sort of physical or magical damage to them."

Yugi chuckled, nodding. "Sorry- I'm a bit of a… how did Fred put it?"

Ryou smiled at his friend. "You're a bit of a first-year Hufflepuff."

"Yeah, that."

Malfoy cracked a grin while Pansy tugged him out of the compartment, calling over her shoulder: "I'll have him back in a half-hour!" Then her voice went soft as the door began to close. "Was that them?"

The door was quickly shut and Zabini chuckled nervously as Malfoy dragged Pansy away. Marik shrugged, waving his hand through the air. "We figured you wanted to get on our good sides, so don't worry about it."

Zabini scratched the back of his head. "Slytherins are ambitious- can you blame us for trying to campaign for you to be more accepting of our House?"

Kaiba shook his head. "We get it," he grunted, rolling his eyes. Ryou nodded to make up for the CEO's rudeness. "We'd rather get to know you before we pass judgment."

Marik mock-gagged and Ryou reached over and punched his shoulder lightly. Yugi snickered at him while the CEO looked away once more.

The black teen shook his head, rolling his eyes. He finally straightened himself out, drawing everyone's attention. "I never told you my first name," he said simply. "I'm Blaise. But call me Zabini. It's just how Slytherins do it."

Yugi nodded. "Alright, Zabini."


"Are the windows closed?"

Kaiba looked at the glass that was showing a darkened sky and nodded. "Yeah."

"Good," Malfoy said, and held out the small blue cardboard box. "Alright, Mutou, remember what I told you."

Yugi nodded, and took the box from him. The four newcomers all leaned over, watching as Yugi pulled the cardboard tab on the box. It opened easily, and something brown leapt through the air, only to be snatched by Malfoy's quick hands before it even started to fall. The chocolate frog squirmed in his grasp, and the blond shook his head.

"Okay, that wasn't fair. They normally stay in the box for a couple of seconds."

He passed it over to Yugi, who held it, inspecting it. "This is a charm? Or a transfiguration?"

"It's a little of both, actually," Zabini said, poking the frog with his wand. "It's more like a mishandled transfiguration- a block of chocolate into a frog- and then charming the frog into jumping around. So, you aren't eating a real frog."

Marik grinned, snatching the chocolate frog from Yugi and quickly chomped down on its head. The creature stopped squirming and Marik grinned at Yugi, who'd paled slightly at the sight. Malfoy rolled his eyes at their antics before turning and looking at the group with an annoyed look. "Zabini's favorite class is Transfiguration," the blonde said, turning his eyes and narrowing his grey gaze at the teen. "Traitor."

At their confused looks, Zabini explained. "Transfiguration is taught by Professor McGonagall, who is the Head of the Gryffindor House. So, Malfoy thinks I've betrayed my House by liking Transfiguration more than Potions. Professor Snape is Malfoy's godfather, the Potions Professor, and our Head of House. It's sacrilege for a Slytherin to like another class more than Potions."

Malfoy nodded solemnly. "I've protected him since third year when we came out to our House- little moron told off one of the upper years for saying that Transfiguration was stupid." Malfoy turned a disappointed grey gaze upon Zabini. "I was so disappointed with you. I mean, where the hell was your cleverness? Your sense of self-preservation!?"

Zabini had the grace to look sufficiently chastised by the other Slytherin. "I was a mere third year. Plus, there was a mass murderer on the loose- I believe everyone slipped up once that year."

Malfoy stared hard at the black teen before rolling his eyes. "I did no such thing!"

"Oh, really?" Zabini said, but there was a dark glow in his even darker eyes. Malfoy gave him an odd look- worried and curious at the same time.

"Zabini…"

"So, you don't remember that first night the whole school slept in the Great Hall where you pulled Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and me into a far corner and practically sobbed all over us that you wouldn't let anything happen to us?" Zabini raised an eyebrow. "That was you acting like a Slytherin?"

Malfoy flushed pink- he and Ryou seemed to have a similar complexion in that they didn't turn red- and turned away, glaring at the doorway. "Fine, so I had a couple of moments. As you said, Zabini- mass-murderer on the loose!"

Zabini gave him a wicked look, but Yugi smiled at Malfoy, making the Slytherin blink at the teen with spiky hair. "I think it's great you wanted to protect your friends," Yugi said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Malfoy blinked a few times at Yugi before nodding slightly. "Yeah. Sure."

Marik opened his mouth to say more when suddenly all four foreign teens winced at once, Yugi immediately placing his head between his knees as he clutched at his temples. Malfoy jerked away from them, and Zabini leapt to his feet, rushing over and kneeling Yugi. "Hey, what's going on, Mutou?"

Yugi hissed, and the Puzzle around his neck flashed before glowing, and the teen slowly lifted his head, maroon eyes slightly glazed over. Yami looked at Zabini before rasping out: "We've entered Hogwarts grounds."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow as the rest of the teens slowly composed themselves. The Necklace Marik wore had begun to glow, as well, and he was tight-lipped and pale. Kaiba was rubbing his temples slowly, eyes shut. Ryou was clutching the edge of the seat tightly, blinking at the floor of the compartment. "We… we all have bad reactions to wards," the albino explained. "We'll be fine in a few hours. We just have to allow our bodies to get used to it. The Headmaster suggested it could be because we didn't develop our magic until much later in life, so we're very sensitive to magic auras."

Of course, this was a bold-faced lie- their Shadow Magic cores merely repelled the Neo-Magic, and the pressure of the Shadow-Magic trying to repel so much Neo-Magic gave them headaches. It would decrease with time, as it had in Grimmauld Place. This was why their own Neo-Magic cores had no affect on the Shadow-Magic cores- desensitizing.

Malfoy winced in sympathy while Zabini nodded, sitting back down and looking from the still-glowing Puzzle to Marik's also-glowing Necklace. "Why is your pyramid glowing? And your necklace?" the black teen asked. Yami grabbed it with one hand, looking down at it.

"It was a gift from my Grandfather," the spirit began, "and it's been charmed to glow when we pass through wards. It kind of gives us some warning. The same with Marik's Necklace."

"Does it detect wards?" Malfoy said, eyeing the golden necklace, a slightly hungry look in his eyes. Yami fought to keep the disgust off his face, and instead pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Only when we're already on the other side."

"Oh," was all the blonde said, immediately losing interest. Yami relaxed a bit more, although it still felt as though someone was tap dancing on his skull with steel-toed boots. Ryou looked over at Malfoy, smiling weakly as he rubbed his temples slightly.

"How much further till we get to Hogsmeade?"

Malfoy squinted out the window and into the darkness. "Not long. We should probably put on our school robes."

As they quickly pulled the black robes over their clothing, Malfoy turned to look at Yami, moving is Prefect badge from his jumper to his robe. "Any idea what House you'll be put in?"

Yami shrugged. He looked over the small black hat before pulling it onto his head, where it held onto a few spikes rather than sit on his head. "From what we've heard, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, or Gryffindor would fit for me."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows at the mention of Slytherin. Ryou chuckled slightly, drawing both of the Slytherin's gazes. "You'd have to know him better," was all he said.

Malfoy turned his grey gaze upon Ryou, quirking an eyebrow. "What about you?"

"I'm probably Hufflepuff. Maybe Ravenclaw."

Marik attempted to pull his pointed hat away from his grey Maine Coon kitten. "I haven't the slightest clue where I'll be," he said, and Kaiba snickered at him.

When the two Slytherins turned their gaze upon Kaiba, he leaned back and returned it. "Most would assume I'd end up as a Ravenclaw, but I'm Slytherin."

Malfoy blinked at him while Zabini gave him a dull stare. "You do realize that Slytherin House very rarely takes any mud- gah- Muggle-Borns?"

None of the foreign wizards even flinched at the near mess-up. Kaiba looked in disgust at the pointed black hat before placing it on his head. "I do."

"Oh," Zabini said, leaning back. "Just wanted to make sure."

At last, the train began to slow, and the six males began to pull their trunks from the luggage rack. Someone was knocking on the door, and Malfoy turned around and smiled at two large, bulky teens standing at the compartment door. Both had dark brown hair and dark eyes. Both of them were tall, but the shorter of the two had large, gorilla-like arms, like a Giant Orc monster. The larger one was more proportioned, but still shaped more like the Hitotsu-Me Giant than anyone else. Malfoy gave them slight grins.

"Crabbe, Goyle," he said, nodding to them.

"Malfoy," Crabbe said, his voice low and gravelly. Goyle gave the blond a dull smile before nodding to him. "'Lo Malfoy." The two of them glanced around Malfoy to stare hard at the other four in the compartment. Ryou waved weakly at them while the rest of them returned the gaze coolly. Zabini leapt in.

"These are the new wizards from Japan, guys."

Suddenly, the harshness left the eyes of the two other Slytherins and they nodded amiably at them. "Oh," Goyle said dimly, "okay."

"Parkinson told us to come 'round," Crabbe said, turning once more to Malfoy. "She wanted us to help you get your stuff off the train while you and she go do your Prefect stuff. Wanted us to watch your back."

Malfoy smiled at them "Alright then you two. Here- I'll be riding with Zabini and these four… right?"

He paused and looked over at the foreign wizards. Yami smiled slightly at him, tilting is head to the side.

"Of course," he said, nodding. Malfoy nodded back

"I'll be riding with these five, so Crabbe, just follow them. Here," he turned and placed his owl's cage into Crabbe's, "take this. Goyle, follow me!" He turned around and nodded at the group. "See you at the carriages."

With that, the teen disappeared through the compartment doors, robes billowing out behind him, and the taller of the two teens stumbled off after him. Crabbe stood stiffly for several seconds, merely holding the cage in his right hand. Zabini, carrying a silver cage with a black-and-white boreal owl inside, sighed gesturing for him to follow. "Heel, Crabbe," he mumbled, leaving his trunk behind as they were supposed to.

On the way, Kaiba managed to stumble across Mokuba and Heqet, and left with Heqet while the younger Kaiba brother went on his way towards where an elderly witch with a short haircut was summoning the first years. Marik snickered, elbowing Ryou lightly with the arm that wasn't petting Sekhmet, who was enamored with the glowing Millennium Necklace.

"Thank Bes we don't have to go on a boat, eh?" the Egyptian cackled, and Ryou chuckled beside him, nodding slightly. The blond stole a glance at the brunet CEO and smirked, winking at Ryou. "I doubt Kaiba would fit in one."

Kaiba shot Marik a dark look before adjusting the large terrarium in his arms. The four foreigners all came to an abrupt halt, eyes wide as they stared at what awaited them. Zabini and Crabbe had led them to a carriage being drawn by a large, black, horse-esque creature. Glowing white eyes stared at each of them, and large bat-like wings folded gracefully along their skeletal bodies. A silvery mane ran along the draconic faces of the creatures. The two Slytherins were too busy trying to organize the seating arrangements to actually notice the others weren't with them. Ryou exhaled softly, coming forward to inspect it.

"What… are they?" he asked, reaching out and stroking the snout of one, which snorted into his hand.

"So," a soft male voice interrupted them, "you can see them too?"

The four turned their attention to a weedy-looking teen with dirty-blond hair and hazel eyes. He had a green and silver tie around his neck, indicating he was a Slytherin. He looked past them and at the creature before them. "They're thestrals, creatures only able to be seen by those who have seen death."

Yami narrowed his maroon gaze slightly, inclining his head to the left. "Who are you?"

The teen turned and watched them with cool, calm eyes. "I'm Nott," was all he said. He turned toward another thestral-drawn carriage, gazing over his shoulder. "I'll be seeing you." And he left.

Kaiba stared after him before rolling his eyes skyward. "Death ponies. How fascinating."

Yami grunted before trudging forward where Malfoy had appeared and was trying to get a good seat. "C'mon- before they leave without us."

The group quickly clamored aboard the carriage as Malfoy was recounting his run-in with a second-year Hufflepuff, chuckling. Yami shook his head and took the seat next to him, while the other three sat on the other side. The carriage began to move, and Ryou smiled nervously.

"We're so close," he murmured. Zabini nodded, gazing out the window and at the castle as it came into view.

"The Sorting is going to be a big deal. I hope to see one of your at our table when it's all over," the teen said. Yami turned his maroon gaze upon the two Slytherins.

"Even if we aren't," the spirit began, channeling Yugi's questions for him, "can we still associate with you?"

Malfoy looked taken aback before nodding slightly, blinking at him. "If you still want to. We'll let the rest of the Slytherins know that you're all honorary Slytherins. That should keep them off your backs if you're wandering through the dungeons."

Yami smiled slightly, nodding his head. "Thank you."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence.


AFTER NOTES: … Oh man, it's so long! XD Over twenty-two pages of text, just for you guys! Sorry it took me a little longer than usual to get it out- college has been running me into the ground. I hope you all understand what the Slytherins are doing- it's not exactly about becoming friends for them, it's about gaining their trust. And, sorry about not have Neville in here- it just didn't work out. However, I like my Blaise Zabini in his stead. The next chapter will be shorter, as it deals only with the Sorting… at least, that's all I have planned for it at the moment.

CHAPTER TITLES: ADVENTURA - an adventure

NEXT TIME: The Sorting Hat! …That's all I have to say, right?