God, Gods, whatever. (yawns) I'm awake, before 9 am, in the summer holidays (that'll be about 4 am for you peoples in America). (groans) What am I doing? I should be in bed, tucked up, warm, and cuddling any nearby fluffy toy (preferably a Bakura bishie… but hey, anything would do). But noooo, Shadow decides she's going to get up, and upload the next chapter of this stupid story. Yes, Shadow should be shot. (resumes yawning) In case you haven't noticed, Shadow is not a morning person.
Notes:
/Blah. / Yami to Yugi
(Blah.) Yugi to Yami
#Blah. # Ryou to Bakura
$Blah. $ Bakura to Ryou
/Blah. / Yami talking in the Shadow Realm/mind of someone other than item bearer
(Blah.) Yugi talking in the Shadow Realm/mind of someone other than item bearer
'Blah.' Shadow monster speaking anywhere
/Blah./ Kaiba, generally thinking he's going crazy (ok, Kaiba talking in his mind to himself or monsters… but to be fair, he only does that when he think he's going mad.)
I'm using three languages now (four, including English) and I sometimes mix up my translations. I might say something's Egyptian, but later find out it's Arabic. I do try, but I still make mistakes. Hope it doesn't upset anyone.
(Japanese translations)
Aibou- partner (soulmate)
Aa- informal yes
Yami- darkness
Hikari- light
Jii-chan - grandpa
(Egyptian translations)
Mer setau – Lover of fire (or Fire lover, either works)
Sechem hekau – Victorious with magical words (don't ask me how, I got this of someone else)
Ukhes sebau em maseru – Slaughterer of fiends in the night (again, don't ask)
Sekha-ek – Remember you
Djed-i – Tell me
Ren-i iew…- My name is…
Biaw – Mine
(Arabic translations) (I think Egyptians speak a lot of Arabic now… at least, that's what one of my friends said. Oh well, they can speak it for the duration of this story)
Khanh – Prince/Chief/Leader (name given to someone in authority… I think…)
Laa - No
Marhaba - Hello
With a Wave of the Wand
Chapter 13: Unlucky for some
He was in the room again. Determined to find out who the mystery figure was, he walked boldly up to the curtain. He was five steps away…four steps… three steps…two steps… one step… he was there. He put his hand on the curtain and-
"Ah, Harry, why don't you tell us?" Professor Flitwick beamed down at Harry.
"…Eh?" The teen frowned; jolted out of his daydream. He was totally confused. What was he doing in Charms? Where was that chamber?
Hermione let out a low hiss beside him. "It produces pure water, Harry."
What does? "Uh… it produces pure water?"
Professor Flitwick nodded. "Quite right. The Aguamenti Charm does produce pure water, and we'll be attempting to do this today. Now, we must remember…"
Harry switched off again. Though he found usually found Charms interesting, the chamber in his dreams was even more so. Who was behind that curtain?
Harry walked into the common room at the end of the day; his arms piled high with books.
Ron called to him. "Hey, Harry!"
Surprised, the jade-eyed teen looked at him, and as a result, walked straight into Katie Bell. The books went everywhere.
The girl frowned at him. "Watch where you're going, Harry!"
"Sorry…" Harry bent down to scoop up his books, but his arm was grabbed by Ron.
"Leave those!" The red-head began pulling him towards the notice board.
"But-"
"Leave them! Look at this!"
Harry sighed, shrugged in what he hoped was an amused 'oh, I'd better humour him' kind of way at Katie, and looked at the new notice on the board.
DUEL MONSTERS TOURNAMENT
The elimination matches for the Duel Moser Tournament are scheduled to take place on the 17th of September. All participants must be gathered outside the Great Hall by 9 am of that day to guarantee a place in the competition. A no-show is treated as a withdrawal from the contest.
Non-participants in the tournament may come along and watch at any time during the day.
Ron grinned. "It's on the 17th."
"I noticed."
"That's in two days."
"Right." Harry nodded. "Can I go get my books now?"
Ron sighed at him, and then went off to go drag Hermione to see the notice. Harry rolled his eyes, and went to fetch his fallen books.
The days leading up to the 17th came and went. Soon, the day dawned, and Harry, Hermione and Ron were lining up outside the Great Hall with countless others.
Hermione pressed her hand to her stomach. "I feel sick. Are you meant to feel sick? Feeling sick isn't good, is it? Oh dear, oh God, I feel sick."
Harry smiled weakly. "I think it's called nerves Hermione, normal people get them all the time."
"But I don't get nerves!"
"Well, obviously you do, or you wouldn't feel sick."
"I don't care… oh Lord, I feel sick…"
Ginny appeared. "Try not to throw up; it'll make you feel worse if everyone stares at you."
Harry smiled at the red-head. "You're dueling?"
The girl nodded. "Yup… hey, where's Ron?"
"He's-"
"-here!" Ron burst into the group, hair dishevelled. "Malfoy's participating!"
"…And…?" Ginny raised an eyebrow.
"I can cream him this time!"
The boy's sister looked sceptical.
"I can!"
"Right…"
Ron was about to say something, but was cut off by the doors leading into the Great Hall opening, and Professor McGonagall appearing in their entrance. "Will you all please come in? The duels are due to begin."
Harry stood in the Hall, trying hard not to fidget. The house tables had been temporarily removed, and been replaced with four dueling arenas – one in each corner of the Hall. In the very centre of the Hall there was a podium, and around the walls there were seats – most of which were taken up by teachers, and students who weren't participating.
Yami watched the students from the shadows at the side of the Hall; half of them seemed to having minor mental breakdowns.
Hermione seemed to be doing a sort of chant under her breath. "I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose, I'm going to-"
"You're not going to lose!" Ginny frowned.
Hermione wasn't listening. "I'm going to lose, I'm going to-"
"Hermione, shut up and listen to me! You're not going to lose! You're a great duelist."
"Me?" The sixth-year let out a hysterical screech. "Me! Ginny, I can't duel!"
"Of course you can!"
"Ginny, I can't."
"You can."
Yami frowned, and then felt a queer feeling in his stomach. /Wha-/
The seven-year old khanh's lower lip wobbled, tears threatening to fall from crimson eyes. "I can't duel, Papa."
"Atemu, you must do this. Prove to them all you can do it." Pharaoh Akunamunkano bent down and looked at his son earnestly.
"But I can't!"
"Yes, you can."
"Papa, I can't!" Atemu's eyes were wide and tearful.
"Why ever not?" The pharaoh asked softly.
The prince was shivering. "I'll lose!"
"Whatever makes you think that?"
"I'm frightened! Papa, I'll be alone! I can't do it alone!" Suddenly, the boy clutched hold of his father and sobbed against his shoulder.
Akunamunkano stroked his son's head fondly. "Atemu, you'll be fine."
"Papa, I shan't, I know I shan't! Papa, I'm frightened! Please won't you come with me? Papa, please!" Tearful crimson eyes looked beseechingly at the pharaoh.
"Oh, Atemu…You won't be alone… you never will be. I'll be there with you in spirit…" Akunamunkano held his son tighter.
"How will I know you're there?" The sobs slowed, and Atemu's face was focused intently on his father's.
"Atemu, as long as life goes on, I'll be there. There will always be someone on your side, my son; you'll never walk alone in this world."
Atemu wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and pulled away from the hug. "Papa, I love you."
"And I love you too, Atemu. Now, no more tears?"
The prince nodded, and smiled wobbly at his father. "No more tears." He promised.
"Can you go out there and duel?"
Crimson eyes sparkled at Akunamunkano, a deep conviction glowing in their ruby depths. "I'll do more than that. Papa, I'll go out there and win."
"That's my boy."
Yami's eyes opened wide, his face pained. /Why…/ Hurt flashed in his eyes. /Oh, dear Ra why, must I be shown the memories that…that hurt the most…? Papa…I miss him so… /
(I'm sorry.)
/Aibou, don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for…/ Yami took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. /Yugi, can-can we leave? I need…/
(Of course. I understand.)
Yugi turned and left the hall quickly, blinking back tears that were trying to fall.
Harry watched Yugi disappear, concerned. Why had he run off like that? And why did he look so… distressed? Suddenly, Harry's scar seared on his forehead, burning white hot as a happiness that was not Harry's swept through the teen's system. The insane elation faded almost as quickly as it had come, leaving behind an extremely confused student. What had pleased Voldemort so much that his scar hurt and Harry had felt it? Had Voldemort seen through his eyes? If so, why was he so pleased Yugi was unhappy? What was going on? He was about to ask Hermione if she'd noticed, but was distracted when Professor Dumbledore stood up on the podium in the centre of the Hall and began to speak, Professor McGonagall in a seat at his side.
"I have no doubt that you are all skilled duelists, and I am proud to see so many of you gathered here before me. If it were my choice, you would all compete, but sadly that is not to be. As it is, only 200 of you may go through, and my well wishes go to all of you for trying to obtain one of those oh-so-coveted places. Good luck to you all."
Professor McGonagall got to her feet. "When your name is called out, go to your allotted dueling arena to face your opponent. If you win, you're through to the next match. If you lose, I'm afraid you're out. All names will be drawn at complete random. We duel till we have 200 winners. All duels will be played from 8000 life points, as they will be in the tournament."
"Ron Weasley and Darren Thompson."
Ron was nervous, but who wouldn't be? It was his first 'professional' style duel. "I summon Giant Rat, in Attack Mode, and end my turn." There. He couldn't go wrong with that, could he?
The Hufflepuff boy who he was facing, Darren something-or-other, smiled. "I summon La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the lamp. La Jinn, attack his Giant Rat!"
Ron's monster was destroyed and he lost 400 of his life points. "Yeah… but Giant Rat's special ability lets me summon one earth monster with an attack of 1500 or less to the field. I choose Silver Fang!" The wolf appeared on the field.
Darren shrugged. "Very well. I set this card face down and end my turn."
"I play magic card: Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy your face down card!" Ron was beginning to get into the hang of this…
"You lose 500 life points!"
"What! How?" Ron looked at the score. It was true. His life points had fallen to 7100.
"You destroyed my magic card, Black Pendant, which takes 500 LP away from my opponent when that happens." Darren smirked smugly.
Ron scowled. "Fine! I sacrifice Silver fang to summon my Jinzo! Jinzo, attack his genie!"
La Jinn was destroyed, taking 600 of Darren's life points with it. The Hufflepuff boy frowned. "I play the magic card Raigeki! Now your monster is destroyed I summon Bean soldier to attack your life points directly!"
Ron's score dropped to 5700. "I summon Gazelle King of Mythical beasts. Gazelle, destroy his Bean soldier!"
Darren's score was still higher than Ron's. His was at 7300. "I play magic card: Gravekeeper's servant, set this monster card face down, and end my turn."
"I set this monster card face down. Gazelle, attack his face down card!"
"My magic card sends the top card in your deck to the graveyard! And, your attack just revealed my effect monster card, Magician of Faith! This allows me to bring back one magic card from my graveyard. I bring back Black pendant!"
Ron felt a stirring of unease. "I end my turn."
"I summon Armoured Zombie and I place these two cards face down. Armoured Zombie, attack his face down monster!"
"Reveal Penguin soldier! I can return two cards back to their owner's hands with this, and I choose your Armoured Zombie!" Darren's card disappeared off the field and back into his hand. Ron continued. "I draw and place this monster face down. Gazelle, attack his life points directly!" Yet again, the red-head discarded the top card off his deck.
Darren's life points fell to 5800 when Ron's monster's attack made contact. The Hufflepuff no longer looked smug. "I play magic card: Graceful charity! I draw three cards from my deck, and discard two from my hand."
Ron took his turn. "I place this monster face down. Gazelle, attack his life points!" Another card disappeared from his deck to the graveyard.
Darren's LP fell to 4300. "I summon Wall of Illusion! Wall, attack his second facedown card!"
"You reveal my effect monster, Sangan! Now he's gone, I can move one monster with an attack of 1500 or less from my deck to my hand." Ron chose his card, and added it.
"I end my turn."
"I draw. I place this card on the field, and set this monster. Now, Gazelle, attack his Wall of Illusion!" Another card gone to the graveyard. "Wall of Illusion is destroyed."
"And your Gazelle is sent back to your hand!"
"Whatever. I end my turn."
"I play my magic card, Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy your card!" Darren smiled, and Ron's trap card was destroyed.
The red-head nodded. "I place this card face down, and sacrifice my second face down monster, Witch of the black forest, to summon Millennium Golem! Since I sent my witch to the graveyard, I can choose any monster with a defence less than 1500 and add it to my hand. Now, Millennium Golem, attack his life points directly!" Ron discarded a card from the top of his deck.
Darren sighed, his life points a mere 1500. "I set this card facedown and end my turn."
"I summon Gazelle. Gazelle, attack his life points directly!"
The monster attacked, and Darren's LP fell to zero. Ron had won.
The breeze blew Yami's golden bangs around his face, waving the blonde strands about so madly at times that the pharaoh was forced to hold them in place with a slim hand. A small smile graced the king's lips when he did this – he must look so ridiculous –, something which pleased Yugi greatly.
(Are you feeling better now?)
Yami nodded absently, leaning back against the tree trunk he'd chosen to sit besides. His seat gave a great view of the lake, and allowed him some of the peace he needed to calm himself. Almost without thinking, he let his eyes slip shut, relaxing in the quiet that he'd missed so much as a teacher. Ra, it was so calm in the grounds… so peaceful… so perfect…
Falcon, he is coming. He approaches, bringing with him his messengers. Beware of him, mortal-dawn, but beware of his messengers more. Deception cloaks them like a shroud, trailing night after their footfalls like a creeping shadow. Behind their innocent smiles lies a scowl, and beneath the delicate flower lies the venomous snake. Beware, great one, beware, for their only purpose is to aid your demise.
Yami jolted awake, his eyes flying wide open and rapidly surveying his surroundings. A sudden flurry of feathers to his left caught his attention and the Professor turned, crimson orbs just catching sight of an escaping falcon taking to the air. Within seconds the bird was hardly visible against the bright blue of the sky above, if Yami had not seen the falcon when he had, he would have most likely not seen it at all. As he had, yet another disturbing thought was added to an already jumbled mix in his mind.
/What is with that bird/
(I don't know…)
Growling threats under his breath at mysterious birds, the professor stood, and stretched cramped muscles. /Aibou, let's head back to the Hall./
(You're quite sure?)
/Never more so./
"Pansy Parkinson, and Hermione Grainger."
Hermione felt panicky. Why had she done this? Why, oh, why was she doing this? She was going to lose. It was Ron and Harry who were good at this sort of thing, not her. She was best doing research, reading, and work. She wasn't the dueling type. She should have stuck to her books.
Her opponent seemed to agree with her. By some cruel twist of ill fate, Hermione had got herself landed with dueling Pansy Parkinson. The sixth year Slytherin leered at her unpleasantly, her ugly face warped in a gruesome – and what she probably assumed was intimidating (well, you might want to throw up your lunch when you saw it) – sneer. "I'm gonna beat you, bookworm."
Bookworm? Yes, Hermione was intelligent. Yes, she liked to read, but in no way, form, colour, shape or size had she ever related to some bug. That was so it. "We'll see – won't we?"
Pansy sniffed. "I'll begin." She drew a card from her deck. "I summon Mystical Elf, in Attack mode!"
Hermione blinked. Is she really that stupid? "I summon Cyber Harpie, in Attack mode. Cyber Harpie, attack her Mystical Elf!" Pansy's elf was destroyed, Pansy lost 1000 life points, and Hermione continued. "Now, I place these two cards face down and end my turn."
"I summon Turtle Tiger, in Attack mode. I end my turn."
I guess that answers my question. Yes, she really is that stupid. "I summon Maiden of the Moonlight, in Attack mode! Maiden, attack her tiger!" The tiger was demolished, and Pansy lost 500 LP. "Now, Cyber Harpie, attack her life points directly!"
Pansy's life points were at 4700, versus Hermione's 8000. The Slytherin student scowled. "I summon Hitodenchak, in attack mode, place this card face down, and end my turn."
Doesn't she get it? "I place this monster card face down. Maiden of the Moonlight, attack her starfish!"
Pansy suddenly smirked. "I activate trap card: Mirror Force! Your Maiden and Harpie are destroyed."
"Hmm." Hermione didn't look pleased. It turns out Pansy wasn't such an awful duelist as she'd first appeared to be. "I end my turn."
The Slytherin student was smug. "I change Hitodenchak to defence mode, and place this monster face down."
"Right… I activate my magic card: Restructer Revolution. This takes direct damage to my opponent, 200 life points for every card in their hand. You lose 800!"
Pansy scowled, her life points falling to 3900. "Huh."
Her Gryffindor opponent nodded. "I place these two cards face down, and place this monster in face down defence mode. Your turn."
"I sacrifice Hitodenchak to summon Peacock!"
"And I activate my trap card: Trap Hole."
Pansy's Peacock was destroyed instantly. The Slytherin scowled again. "I end my turn."
"I activate my magic card, Change of Heart! I take control of your face down monster, and I use it to summon Firewing Pegasus! Now, I flip my face down monster in face up attack mode, revealing my Dark Elf!"
Pansy's face paled. Her strategy was ruined because she'd wasted too much time before without attacking. "…"
Hermione smirked, a strange expression for her. "Bye, bye, Pansy… Firewing Pegasus and Dark Elf, attack her life points directly!" It didn't matter that she lost 1000 life points every time Dark Elf attacked, this game was in the bag. The two monsters swooped, striking the Slytherin girl and wiping out the remainder of her life points.
Hermione was victorious.
Yami watched the girls' duel, a little surprised by Hermione's style of playing.
/Aibou, is it just me, or does Hermione dueling remind you of anyone/
(Kaiba.) Yugi didn't need any time to think. (God, that girl duels like Kaiba.)
/Only without the dragons… /
(Not for lack of wanting them. Her 'guide' – as you so eloquently call them – is Hyoranzu, remember? Y'know…that big, white, sparkly dragon that looms over her shoulder in our lessons?)
/I don't know how I could have missed it./ Yami's tone was dry. /Ra, what would Seto think of me/
(Offhand? That you were an arrogant pest that got in his way far too many times for his liking.)
Yami smiled.
The man worked quickly and silently, stowing clothes in his suitcase. It was almost full, there was just a little more to pack. The man pushed his bangs out of his eyes, running fingers lightly through sandy blonde before resuming the task he was in the middle of.
"Running away again, are we?"
Marik turned, a hiss of anger escaping his lips. "Khafril."
The man nodded, an ugly smirk twisting his lips. "Marhaba, Ishtar."
"That's Khanh Ishtar to you."
The smirk turned to a sneer. "You? A Khanh? Perhaps in name Ishtar, but in no way otherwise."
Marik's eyes narrowed. "What do you want, Khafril? I'm busy."
"You're packing…" Khafril's eyes gleamed. "So the rumours are true."
The blonde Egyptian turned his back on the other, his face deliberately shadowed by sandy bangs. "And what rumours would they be …?"
Khafril stalked forwards, taunting smirk reaffixed firmly in place. "The ones claiming you're going to England, and taking part in yet another one of those mindless tournaments."
"And what if they are…?" Marik's jaw tightened in anger, but he reined it in.
"Then you are going? I thought as much. I always knew you were a coward."
Marik's fist clenched at his side. "I'm not a coward, Khafril."
"Try another one, Ishtar. All the clans know what a backstabbing, lying, cowardous traitor you are."
"I'm not a traitor!" Marik whirled, anger glowing bright in his lavender eyes.
"Laa?" Khafril's smirk had turned into a most definite leer. "I doubt the Pharaoh thought so."
Marik mentally swore. I walked right into that one. "Drop it. You know nothing of what you speak of."
"Oh, I do Ishtar, I do. All the clans know of it. The tale will echo in these sands till the stars themselves no longer shine. Who could forget it? The tomb keeper who betrayed his family, his clan, his entire race and dared to challenge what his family had spent three millennia trying to protect."
"Khafril…!"
"Of course, that didn't matter to you, did it? You were obsessed, it didn't matter that you trampled over Egypt's beliefs, and dared to desecrate a God's name. You wanted the power for yourself, fed up of the lowly duty of guarding it. No matter that was what your family had done, no matter that was the sacred duty other clans would willingly die to perform; you didn't care – did you? Laa, you were destined for greater things – weren't you? And then you failed, dragging your clan's name down into the mud with you. You were defeated, humiliated, and it was a wonder the great one spared your insignificant little waste of a life. You should be glad he was so merciful. If it had been my decision you would have been exterminated instantly, you disgusting little wretch. But no, even then you weren't finished. You had one last insult to make to your clans' memory. You dared to drag your unworthy filth back here, onto Egypt's sacred sands, and you took over your late father's position as Khanh! As if anyone like you deserved to be a Khanh!"
The anger inside Marik was bubbling, threatening to lash out and destroy whatever it came into contact with. "You always hated that – didn't you Khafril? After everything I did, I became Khanh of my clan. You were always jealous of me, even before I set out to challenge Yugi."
"You dare to call the God incarnate by his name! How do you have the nerve to let your foul lips utter his holy name!"
"Ah, yes, that's another thing which annoys you… After everything I did, I was forgiven. I became a friend of Yugi's, and Yami's as well. It's enough to drive you insane, isn't it? The jealousy is eating away inside you…"
Khafril glowered. "At least I have something inside to be eaten away at, Kwwy."
Marik hissed, hatred flaring in his eyes. In one fluid movement he had stepped forward, slammed the other against a wall and had a knife pressed to Khafril's throat. "Don't you dare call me that."
The other Egyptian gasped, cold metal a shock against his skin. He glared at Marik, his eyes condemning. "Oh I will call you that, Kwwy." When the blade pressed a little harder against his neck, Khafril merely smirked. "Then kill me, Ishtar – or don't you have the guts to? I couldn't care less; we already know you're a murderer."
Marik had to repress the urge to slit the other man's throat there and then. The desire to kill was still in him, he could feel it… seething, barely under his control. The anger was still boiling in his blood, commanding his hand to press down, to cut, to feel crimson blood well up and run beneath his blade… NO!
Marik flung himself away, panting. He was a good person now; he wouldn't kill if he could help it.
Khafril was taunting. "Kwwy, coward… Ishtar, you're pathetic." And the man swept from the room, leaving a broken, sandy-haired Khanh behind him.
"Alice Herthshaw, and Harry Potter."
Harry looked at his opponent. She was a Ravenclaw, and seemed to be happy with him as her rival. Her name was Alice, and she was a fourth year. She didn't appear to be bothered her opponent was older than her, her absolute calmness was beginning to spook even Harry. That, and the eerie smile she had firmly fixed on her face.
To distract himself from the smile, Harry spoke to her. "Have you been dueling long?"
"Yes." Alice nodded. "Four years. Have you?"
"…No. I just started over the summer." Harry felt a lump of dread from in his stomach. He was only an amateur compared to this girl…
"You're a beginner?" Alice arched an eyebrow. "I do hope you won't lose too quickly. I do actually like time to get into the duel – if you know what I mean."
Harry frowned. "Who says I'll lose?"
The Ravenclaw smiled again. "I do. Are you going to try and prove me wrong?"
"I'm not going to try, I'm going to win."
"If you say so." Alice smiled irritatingly, as if humouring an infant.
Harry bristled. "I will."
Alice began. "I set this monster face down, and end my turn."
Harry nodded. "I set this monster face down, and end my turn."
His opponent frowned. "Oh, I do hope you're not just copying my moves. That would get frightfully boring. I was looking forward to an interesting duel – even if it's only with an amateur."
"I'm not copying!"
Alice sniffed. "If you say so. Now, I activate the magic card Raigeki!" Harry's monster was destroyed. "I flip my face down monster, Anthrosaurus, into Attack mode and summon Sangan. My monsters, attack Harry's life points directly!"
Harry hissed as the monsters attacked, feeling some of the pain as he was struck. His life points fell to 6000 and the teen frowned, then grinned when he drew a card from his deck. "I activate the magic card: Dark Hole!"
His opponent wrinkled her nose. "That was a fluke."
Harry shrugged. "Perhaps, but it's a fluke that's going to cost you 1800 life points. I summon Giant Red Seasnake! Giant Red Seasnake, attack her life points directly! I set this card face down."
Alice scowled, her life points only 200 above Harry's. "Well, two can play at that game. I activate my magic card: Dark Hole!"
Harry frowned as his monster was destroyed, but couldn't resist the opportunity to make a jab at his opponent. "Now who's copying?"
The Ravenclaw girl glared at him, and then proceeded with her turn. "I now summon Sangan. Sangan, attack his life points!"
"Not so fast. I activate my trap card: Negate attack."
Alice looked sulky. "Fine. So my monster can't attack now. I'll get you later. Now, I'll set this card face down."
Her Gryffindor opponent surveyed his cards slowly. Finding nothing better, "I place this monster face down."
"Well it's not staying face down. I activate my trap card, Shadow of Eyes!"
Harry's monster was flipped, it's effect unactivated. Cyber jar was revealed. The teen frowned. "I end my turn."
Alice's creepy smile returned. "I place this card face down. Sangan, attack his Cyber Jar!"
Cyber Jar was destroyed, and Harry's life points fell to 5900.
The Gryffindor drew a card from his deck. "I summon Celtic Guardian, in Attack mode."
"And I activate my trap card: Light of Intervention!"
"And what's that going to do! Celtic Guardian, attack Sangan!"
Alice's monster was blasted to pieces, and her life points fell to 5800.
The Ravenclaw wasn't best pleased. "Idiot boy. I set Kanan the Swordmistress, in defence mode!"
Harry was finally getting into the swing of things. "I summon Maiden of the Moonlight, in attack mode! Maiden, attack Kanan!"
The sword mistress was destroyed, and Alice's displeasure grew. "I place Lunar Queen Elzaim, in defence mode."
"I summon Gemini Elf, in attack mode. Maiden of the Moonlight, destroy Lunar Queen! Gemini Elf, follow up with an assault on her life points!"
Both sets of monsters complied, and Alice was left seething with 3900 life points and no monsters defending her on the field. "I summon Protector of the Throne in defence mode!"
"I set this card face down, and activate my magic card: Mystical Space Typhoon. This allows me to destroy one magic or tap card on the field, and I choose your Light of Intervention! Now, Gemini Elf attack the Protector, and Maiden of the Moonlight attack Alice's life points!"
Again, the Ravenclaw was left defenceless and fuming, her life points 2400. "I place this monster face down!"
Harry grinned. "Maiden of the Moonlight, attack her face down monster!"
Fairywitch was revealed, and brought down.
The Gryffindor's smile grew. "Gemini Elf, attack her life points directly!"
Alice's life points fell to a mere 500. The Ravenclaw scowled at him, at her cards, and at him again. "I end my turn."
Harry nodded amiably. "Maiden of the Moonlight, attack Alice's life points directly!"
The monster attacked, Alice's life points fell to zero, and Harry won.
Professor McGonagall called out, and everyone turned to look at her on the centre podium. "That's it! The 200 participants who will be going forward to represent the school have been found! Well done to you all! Though I'm sure you all know whether you won or not, lists of the tournament's participants will be placed around the school for you to look at."
Lupin smiled, and leant on the wall beside Yugi. "They're all duelists to be proud of." He indicated the winning 200.
Yugi nodded absently. "Some have the potential to go far…"
"Such as…?"
Violet eyes looked at him. "They could all go far if they put their minds to it."
Lupin grinned. "Ah, you're not getting away with a vague answer like that. You meant someone specific when you spoke before."
"Well…"
"Yes…?"
"The two Weasleys. Ron's lacking a bit in courage, and he'd have to work on that, but he'd do pretty well if he could build up his confidence. His sister's a good duelist too; she's got a real flair in her playing."
"Any others?"
"Draco Malfoy. He was an average duelist at best in the summer; I witnessed one of his duels. But he's changed now… how much he's improved is almost alarming…"
Lupin looked thoughtful. "I wonder how he improved so quickly…"
"And then there's Hermione Grainger. Her technique… Duelists who use her style are considered one of the worst ones you can possibly duel. It's known as annihilation. You completely and utterly devastate your opponent, obliterating their defences and wiping out their life points. And she's really good at it too… even though I believe Hermione has only dueled about five times before. That girl needs to get herself some dragons…"
"Dragons?" Lupin was baffled.
Yugi smiled slightly. "Inside joke… My rival, Seto Kaiba, he has the same technique as Hermione. Actually, I think he invented that technique. His deck… it's full of dragons – though most people only know about his three most famous ones."
"The Blue Eyes White Dragon…"
"No, the three Blue Eyes White Dragons. There's only four copies of that card in the world, and the fourth is unplayable."
"Why?"
Yugi smiled again, and reached into his pocket. "It got torn."
"How?"
"…A misunderstanding…" The professor withdrew a Duel Monsters card from his pocket, specially cased in protective plastic. "Do you want to see it?"
Lupin did a double take. "You've got it!"
Yugi's smile was positively impish. "Why else would I ask?" He held out the plastic coated card, and his colleague took it, something closely akin to awe on his face.
The Defence against the Dark Arts professor was stunned. There, in his hand, lay one of the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragons. For a duelist, this was an unbelievable occurrence, amazing and wonderful. These cards were ultra rare, it was a sacred honour just to see one, never mind actually hold.
Yugi laughed softly. "You look like a kid in a sweet shop."
Lupin could only nod dumbly.
The violet-eyed professor laughed again. "Look." He pointed to a tear on the card, which had been put back together as best as possible. "That's where it got torn in half. Do you see how it goes straight through the code there? It means it can't be played on a Duel Disk or in a Dueling arena, and unless you've got really lenient friends, can't even be played in an ordinary duel."
"Who tore it?"
"…I never say."
"Why not? I'd kill someone if they tore my card – and this on is a Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
"I did actually notice that before."
Lupin laughed, and relinquished the card. He sobered quickly. "Seriously though, I would. Weren't you upset when it got ripped?"
"Murderous… but it wasn't really the card that got me upset. It was my grandpa's card, and it really hurt him when it was torn. It had been a special gift of a very good friend of his. He kept the card afterwards as a reminder. He didn't treasure it because it was rare; he treasured it because it was a reminder of his friend. After my grandpa's death, I received the card, and I'll keep it now – as a reminder of my jii-chan, his friend, and all the events that happened after the card was torn. It's a little funny to think of… I'm where I am today because of one single card being torn…" Yugi trailed off.
Lupin changed the subject. "So do you think any others will do well if they continue dueling?"
"Yes, I think Harry Potter would do very well."
"Why?"
"He reminds me of me."
"Nii-sama? Daijoubou desu ka?"
Kaiba turned to face his little brother. Mokuba stood in the doorway to his study, earnest face looking worriedly into his. The CEO nodded. "Daijoubou, Mokuba."
"Are you sure?" Mokuba looked determined, echoing a question he'd asked his brother many times.
"Positive."
"Hmm." The teen didn't look convinced, but turned and left.
Kaiba got up and quietly shut the door Mokuba had left ajar. In all due honesty, he wasn't alright, not really. His days were spent in idleness, mind drifting off to times long forgotten, and his nights were spent trying to fight off dreams that he didn't want to see. Curse Mouto!
Kaiba had been fine until he'd seen Yugi during the summer. Before that, the brunette hadn't seen the spiky haired pest for just under a year. Just under a year of blissful peace. No yamis, no hikaris, no insane idiots running around waving shiny gold items in the air, no mind control and no Shadow magic. And, most definitely of all, no stupid pharaoh's who believed that Kaiba was the reincarnation of their High Priest. Nope. Nothing like that at all. A perfectly normal, sane life.
'Too bad it isn't your life normally.'
The brunette snorted. Normal? Since when had anything to do with the Mouto's ever been normal? Mouto and normal didn't fit in the same sentence.
'As if you do either…'
No. That was true. Kaiba wasn't normal either, not by a long shot. His childhood had been a mess, but he'd persevered. He was the CEO of a multinational company now, and at the age of twenty-three, he was rich, powerful, and happy.
'…Happy…?'
Yes, happy dammit! It didn't matter about the Mouto's or any of their pathetic, misguided attempts to change his view on that. He and Mokuba were fine as they were.
'Such strange dreams for someone who is fine, don't you think?'
Kaiba growled. He'd been having the dreams since meeting Yugi over the summer, after just under a year of none. Somehow, in some way, Yugi had triggered them. It was just the shock-
'Oh, really?'
Yes, it was the shock. Just the shock. None of that stupid Shadow magic.
'Of course not. After all, you never believed in magic, did you, Seto Kaiba? Not even when it stared you in the face. And oh, look, there is magic in the world. Or haven't you noticed it? Most of your sales are to magical suppliers, but of course, there is no magic according to you.'
There was magic, he'd accepted that. Maybe even shadow magic too. But he didn't have it! He wasn't Yami's priest, and he'd never lived in Egypt! He'd served no pharaoh, and had never wielded any stupid rod. He didn't have shadow magic, and these stupid dreams he was having meant nothing!
'Liar.'
They didn't. Mean. Anything.
'You just don't want to accept it, sorcerer. You never liked what pharaoh told you. You didn't want to hear it, afraid of what it meant to you…'
Please, the term was wizard.
'Perhaps now, but then you were the sorcerer and priest of the Millennium Rod, one of the most powerful men in Egypt and cousin to the great pharaoh. Seth…'
It wasn't true!
'Ra, Seth, do not lie. You belong to pharaoh now, you were always his. These dreams you have, they are your memories. Sekha-Seth, Sekha-ek.'
Kaiba did not remember! What he saw were just dreams, nothing else.
'Yet you understood me… You remember your native tongue… Djed-i Seth.'
The brunette growled again. He was sick of these invading thoughts; again, they'd arrived after his confrontation with Yugi.
Inside the CEO's mind, there was a deep rumbling, sounding disturbingly like laughter. 'Invading…? Master, we have always been here.'
No they had not! Kaiba needed coffee; maybe the caffeine boost would return some semblance of his sanity to him.
'You are perfectly sane, Master…'
Now where was that coffee…?
'Call upon us, Seth, Master… Call upon us and we will be there…'
NonononononononononoNO! The brunette resisted the urge to bang his head off the nearby wall. He was hearing things, that was it. There was nothing to call, nothing, absolutely nothing whatsoever in the slightest-
'Seth, mer setau, sechem hekau, ukhes sebau em maseru…'
/Get out of my head/
'Master…Seth…'
/Ren-i iew Seto/
'I thought you didn't speak Egyptian…?'
Kaiba groaned, the conversation well out of his grasp. /Damn you…/
There was that rumbling laughter again. 'Ah, Master, you have to admit your past…'
/What are you, one of Yugi's cheerleaders/
The voice in his head sounded surprised. 'No Master, we are yours.'
/Biaw/
'Yours.' The voice confirmed. 'You are the Dragon Master, and we are your dragons…'
Kaiba groaned again, and buried his head in his arms. /I should have guessed. Pharaoh, the next time I see you, you are so dead./
The Blue Eyes snickered quietly in his mind, curled up, and was silent.
DUEL MONSTERS TOURNAMENT
The delegations from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, New Victoria and Anubia will be arriving at 5 pm on Friday the 30th of October. Alongside these will be Ministry officials, and others whom the Ministry are only permitting us to reveal as 'Mentors'.
Information on the 'Mentors', and other items relating to the tournament, are classified. No student in any of the participating schools will receive any tournament related data –apart from the basics which have already been given- until the tournament's beginning. The specific rules and regulations are not being released until the official opening for the tournament.
The tournament's opening is on the 31st, and on the evening of that day there will be a celebratory ball. As the date coincides with Halloween, it has been decided that it is to be a costume ball. Appropriate clothing is to be worn, as all students will be representing Hogwarts in a mixture of people from all over the globe. Anyone found wearing and/or behaving in an inappropriate manner while the visitors are in Hogwarts will be dealt with most severely by their Heads of Houses, or, if it seems necessary, the Headmaster.
Shadow: I might as well go straight to the reviews…
Marina-kashu: Well… thanks. Those riddles are actually quite easy to make… sometimes. Eh… (blushes) the rant. Oh, why, for the love of God, did I write that rant? I only really looked at it after I uploaded; it takes up about 2 pages! (sighs) Stupid…
Emotional-writer: (nods) Indeed I do. Reading fast can be great at times, specially where the HP books are concerned. Saturday night was so much fun. Y'know, annoying everyone by going 'I know what happens!' and they're going 'Sshh! We're reading!' and shoving me out of the room as fast as humanely possible. (smiles) Ah, the memories… (coughs) Anyway… ages and ages and ages ago, before I opened an account on f f. n e t (the spaces between the letters are so the stupid thing will actually show), I was reading this website on Yu-Gi-Oh. The author of the site (well four authors) had been doing all this really specific research on the characters and stuff. They'd used resources, and taken notes on what seems to us as insignificant little things the characters said, and came up with the rough ages of them all. Some things don't quite fit, but have any of you actually looked at all the gaping plot holes in Yu-Gi-Oh? There's like a million of them… Anyway, back to what I was saying. Yugi, Tea, Joey, Tristan, Duke, and Ryou – they're all meant to be 15/16. Kaiba, from he's said/has been said about him, is 17 going on 18. Yami, on the other hand, appears to be a little older than Yugi, about 17. Bakura's roughly the same. Now, here's where it gets confusing…
Seth and Thief King Bakura are both older than Atemu. Seth was born before Atemu (no, duh), and when the prince is born a few years later, Seth looks pretty tall. If we work on the Seto against Yami in the future, Seth should be about 1 or 2, but he's way too tall for a 2 year old. And no 2 year old has the grammar he did, however intelligent they are. Seth looks to be about 7/8, and that's how old people cast him as. So, even if Seth was 7/8 years older than Atemu in Egypt, Seto's only 1 or 2 years older than Yami in Japan. Now…onto 'Kura. (grins) Bakura was born roughly 8 years before Atemu, making his birth about the same time as Seth's. (Bakura and Seth are the same age? A scary thought…) Even though Bakura's 8 years older than the pharaoh in Egypt, he's taken as the same age as Yami in Japan. (Either that, or Yami sure as hell matured pretty quickly.) So….Yami's actually younger than mostly everyone else, and he still manages to kick their ass. Come on. How embarrassing must it be to lose to someone who's eight years younger than you?
(looks at other questions in review) Gah… I can't answer them all. I've already taken up loads of space with that bit above and it's probably beginning to annoy people who want to read their own review answers. Heck, but you deserve that. That was a long review.
Atemu Yugi Lover34: Is what Harry? Sorry, you weren't very specific… uh… yeah… the prophecy does mean something in this tournament, but I'm not sure if it actually does anything. Scarily enough, I was looking over my plot the other day, and the stuff I'm doing in this is echoing in the sequel… the stuff's clicking together… like it's predestined or something…. (twilight zone music plays from nowhere)
Chelley Angel: (nods and cuddles Bakura plushie)
Yllom21: I hope this is soon enough?
Darkrose 17: Okay, let's start a 'We hate the evil dude' club. All members must bring at least three extremely pointy items.
Kitroku: It wasn't actually that long. (nods knowledgably) It's a little chapter sandwiched between two massive (ish) ones.
Darkrose 17: (nods) Blink. Blink. Blink! Did you enjoy it?
Hikari Skysong: Shounen-ai… uh… y'know, I'm not actually that certain on the definition of shounen-ai. Isn't it a milder form of yaoi or something…? (blinks) Eh…well there's definitely no yaoi… but some scenes do stray a little toward shonen-ai style… It's not deliberately intended, and there's not going to be any boy/boy relationships.
DreamCherry66: Err…yes, I probably will. (glomps Yami, 'Kura and Ryou) They're so glompable! (Pauses) Y'know, that isn't really that fair. (glomps Yugi, Seto, Atemu, Seth, Mokuba, Marik and Joey as well) There. See? No-one who is cute is left out. (Blinks) No, my muse just corrected me. (glomps reviewers) There, muse! Are you happy! (mutters)
Dreamergirl090: Ah, doesn't matter. (sighs) I so need to go sharpen something… (no, not a pencil, nor my wit, thankyou very much)
Bakura-Chan: 'Kura-kun! (Dives on reviewer in mad glomp) (starry eyes) How came you got the cool name?
Peter Kim: I don't think they'll be in it. No, I don't think I'll cross it with GX, I simply don't know enough. (mutters) Stupid TV. I know absolutely nothing about GX. Nil. Nada. Nope. And that's after hours of research.
Luna's meow: (squeaks) That's a lot of chapters. I'll check it out sometime.
darkmagicianM: Yup. They're definitely gonna show up.
Nefertiti Riddle: Well, you did have a little longer to figure it out than most people. You finally convinced about the veteran thingy….now we're arguing about GMT. (grins) 8.44 pm!
Atem's Queen of the Nile: Cool name… hey, doing the research was fun.
JewelValentine: (bows at applause) Mistress, please. (pampers self) Thankyou. Don't we all just love the cold ones? (dreamy sigh) You had the same 'throwthebookacrosstheroombecauseweallhateumbridge' urge too? I'm glad to know I wasn't alone. Gods, I hated that woman.
RandyPandy: Well, so far… I think only three people have actually realised who the prophet was. It wasn't as if it was hard or anything. About Snape…(rubs hands in glee) he is going doooowwwwn.
Kayono: Aw. You poor thing! (hugs) Yes. Definitely. Make the thing extremely long, shiny (come on, it's only cool if it's shiny and goes whish as you wave it in the air), pointy, sharp and um… lethal. Yes, I think the lethal bit is important. (hugs again) Get well soon!
Tira's Host: Ooooooooo. (glomps tira and runs off with ice cream) Thankies!
Shadowyoukokitsune: You liked that? (smiles) Anyway, I updated!
Halcyon Azuminay: Heeeeey…. A new reviewer! (hugs reviewer and welcomes to general insanity of shadow) If you like mine, you should really go check out Lizeth's. Hers is so much better.
Dark Mage of Sea: Bye, bye Snape. (throws evil teacher down to hell)
Kenmeishouri: Is this super soon enough?
Kikyo's killer: Done.
GeneticallyElvenGryffindor: (smiles) Well, I'm not going to give up on it after I've worked so hard, now am I?
Ceribi Motou: (nods) I admit defeat. From now on in, Marik's hair is blonde. Sandy blonde. (sighs) Not gold (that's Yami's!) but sandy. (grins) This is the after affects of an argument with one of my mates… Ignore me, I'm rambling. By the way… have you updated yet?
Shadow: Yes… anyway, my computer's being taken away to get sorted out. No, for once it's not broke; we're just getting stuff added to it, and uh… technical things done. Hopefully, this will prevent it breaking in the future. ((coughs) Yeah, right.) Sooo….updates might be a little while in the coming. Please be patient.
PREVIEW
The mentors arrive at Hogwarts, as do the four other participating schools. Reunions, and new meetings, all seem set out to cause blushes…