Sands of Time
By: Neko-Chibi-Faithkitty

Summery: Yami discovers that an evil wizard is destroying the souls of the people of Egypt. Fearing that this vile creature is seeking the power of the Shadow Realms, he follows him back to a land with as much magical history as Egypt. There he discovers that this new threat doesn't want the Pharaoh's ancient power…he wants the Spirit's very life.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Harry Potter.

Author's Note: Hello everyone. I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get this up. I meant to have it up weeks ago, but my dog, Muppy, died. And so the time that normally would have been dedicated to writing was instead dedicated to keeping our new puppy from eating shoes. I was for the most part successful, but alas even with all my effort, one pair of tennis has managed to fall victim to playtime. Please forgive me! Also, in this chapter Bakura says a spell to summon Diabound. Yes, I know they don't really need to say any spells, but at this point he's mad and trying to show the wizards how superior he is to everyone else. (That and it sounded so cool I had to use the spell when I found it!)

Chapter 13: A Light In The Dark

The five of the six travelers stood staring at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. "Here it is." Bakura said, gesturing disgustedly at it. Bill started toward it, but was stopped by a sharp hiss from the almost albino.

"What now?" He asked, irritation creeping into his voice.

"You idiot." Bakura snapped. "They'll see you."

"And?"

The golden eyes flew to the roof before falling on the redhead in a silent snarl of irritation. "If they see then they'll also see you disappear, and they'll see that Ra-Be-Damned-Son-Of-The-"

"Bakura." Ishizu said sharply.

The snarl he sent her way was not silent, but he didn't challenge her. "Un uat en baiu. Opened is the way of souls. Au ba-a f maa-f neter aa em khennu. My soul seeth it the great god within. Diabound! Diabound!" The roar that echoed through King's Cross Station was felt, not heard. The muggles shivered as though they had gotten a sudden chill. Bill gasped as he heard it tear through his soul. But neither Bakura nor Ishizu or Yugi showed any signs that they had even noticed it. The roar crashed again and Bill closed his eyes against the angry torrent.

When he opened them again he gasped in horror. Towering over them was a hideous monster, it's skull like face glaring down at them, it's sharp dagger-like teeth barred in hate. "Shut up you fool." Bakura growled as the creature wrapped them in it's snake-like tail. "Diabound can hide us from view, but not even he can hide the sounds of your clumsiness." The wizard's jaw snapped shut. He reached to help Lupin leaving Bill to carry Yugi while the priestess aided the animagus.

In moments they were through the barrier and headed for the side of the train. "Um." Bill started, but was cut off by a hiss from their guide. He watched in shock as they passed through the side of the bright red train itself and into an empty compartment. There, the white haired man hissed again to the creature and, with a last look of loathing, it was gone.

"What was that?" Remus asked quietly, his voice frighteningly weak.

Bakura would have answered, but Ishizu quieted him with a look at the man still sleeping in Bill's arms. "It is nothing to concern yourself with." She said quietly. "Merely one of the many creatures that haunts the Shadows." And with that simple answer she motioned for Bakura to set Yugi down so that she might settle him comfortably on the soft bed the seat had obligingly turned itself into. Once she had him tucked in to her satisfaction, she turned to the wizards. "Well." She said patiently. "Would you like to sit down or would you rather stand the whole trip?" Stunned into silence the three wizards sank onto the bench opposite Yugi's bed as Ishizu arranged herself comfortably at her ruler's feet. The white haired thief sneered at her submissive placement. He didn't even glance at the others, but instead turned to the door of the small compartment and began muttering under his breath in a language Bill didn't quite recognize.

"What language is that?" He asked quietly, trying to start a conversation. If he could get them into the walls of Hogwarts itself, as he boasted he could, then the thief would make a valuable ally to the Order.

The white-haired man paused, then ignored him and continued his muttering. "Please, Mr. Weasley." Ishizu said softly. "He is creating a barrier. It would be unwise to interrupt him. Shadow magic is often very volatile." Bill glanced between the two Shadow Wielders, but her warning served its purpose and he fell silent again. When he finished, she gave Bakura a look of reproach. "That was a very sloppy spell." She chastised reprovingly.

"My apologies." The thief growled, strong white teeth barred at her. "But you'll have to forgive me. Not all of us were trained by the greatest magicians in the court of the Pharaoh. Some of us were forced to learn the spells from texts lost to the ghosts of Kul-Elna". His voice was biting and accusatory.

"Enough." She said wearily. "Your quarrel is not with me."

"It is as much with you as with your Ra-Be-Damned-Pharaoh!"

"We did nothing to you!"

"Truly?" He snarled. The wizards were looking nervously between the two as the Darkness crackled up and down their arms, causing their hair to flutter in its wake. "Then let us see you go to the sleeping place of the Dark God! Let us see if the Spirits of the thieves deign to let you tread were mortals may not enter! Let us see you give peace to the souls of my dead sisters!" He spat. "They would rend the flesh from your bones before you could draw breath to utter a prayer."

Her amber eyes softened slightly. Unfortunately he noticed. "What are you talking about?" Bill asked, his soft tone loud in the wake of Bakura's challenge. "Yugi didn't say anything about ghosts! And besides, if the Pharaoh is like Yugi he's probably sorry about what happened at that village."

The angry thief wheeled on his new target, his hair luminescent in the Darkness of his Shadows. "Keep your filthy mouth out if it, worm!" His voice was harsh and rasping now. "What do you know of the making of the Items? Did the Pharaoh tell you what happened in that village?"

"Bakura, no!" Ishizu gasped. But in his sudden rage, he didn't hear her.

"Did he tell you of the souls that were shattered? The lives that were stolen? Perhaps he told you about the soldiers and priests of the temple that drank the blood of their victims in celebration of the rape of my village. Or maybe he boasted how his own uncle used Shadow Alchemy to boil the flesh from the bones of the bodies so he could turn them into the gold that was used to forge the seven Items? I bet he even told you about the little boy who watched from the shadows as his mother and sisters were raped and murdered in front of him! The little boy who starved in the desert with only hatred to keep him alive!" He fell silent, his mad eyes burning into the wizard who dared to make light of his suffering. "How dare you even think to understand how much he has to atone for. I'll bet he's sorry, but he'll be even more sorry before I'm done with him! Him and that thrice damned Pharaoh! A thousand lifetimes filled with torture could not satisfy me! A hundred painful deaths would not pacify my dead sisters! HOW DARE YOU TRY TO UNDERSTAND!" His shout shook the compartment, making everyone flinch. "Yes." He said, his voice become as quiet as death and as soft as the velvet lining of a coffin. "I'll play the part of the broken lapdog. I'll aid him in his quest for peace. But only because nothing is more painful to him than the bitterness of defeat and failure. I'll take him to your damned school so he can protect the innocent children. But only because I want to see his tears as one by one they die in his arms. Not even the rending of his flesh or soul can compare with the pain in his eyes when he fails to save even one life."

It was as still as the grave. Nothing could compete with the anger and hatred in Bakura's eyes, and, as Ishizu watched him warily, she wasn't sure that anything should. 'He was hurt so badly.' She thought silently. 'Is it right for us to presume to intrude on his grief?'

"Shh." The soft whisper was an invitation, and it reverberated in the quite left by Bakura's words. "It's alright." The four of the stood staring as a doppelganger of the thief appeared, shimmering before the white haired man. "I know and I forgive." It said softly, wrapping ethereal arms around the thief in silent comfort. For a moment Bakura was broken, and about to cry. But the moment past and with it the dual image. Bakura stood there, his face haughty as though nothing had happened. With a quiet huff he flounced down on the bed by Yugi's head and, seemingly, went to sleep.

It seemed like forever before anyone dared to speak. Ishizu checked Yugi many times, every moment worried that Bakura's anger had hurt him, and each time careful not to wake the man and anger him further. The wizards sat opposite her, holding silent council with their eyes. Finally, Lupin cleared his throat. She stopped fussing with her charge and looked at him. "Was all that true?" he asked quietly, careful not to wake their unpredictable guide. "About the village." He clarified. "Was it true."

The Egyptian woman worried at her lip in a rare show of unease. "We are not to talk of it." She said. Her words came out fast as though by speaking quickly she could be rid of the conversation. "But yes." She admitted finally. "It's true."

"So you people use blood magic?" Bill yelped. He was quickly hushed by Remus and Sirius who didn't wish to rouse the thief, though they shared his look of revulsion.

"I- I can't tell you any more. Bakura said too much. Only Yugi can tell you about it."

"But Yugi's unconscious right now." Sirius pointed out. "We have to know what we're letting in to the school, and as long as he's out of it it's up to you to tell us."

Her eyes darted between the wizards and her sleeping Pharaoh, her usually calm demeanor shaken by Bakura's outburst. "I cannot say. Soon Yugi will wake. You can ask him then."

"But-"

"No." She said firmly, having made her choice. "It comes too close to treason and the Shadows punish traitors. I will say nothing." A sharp snort from the thief told them he was awake and listening to them, but he did not stir or interrupt.

"Fine." Sirius growled, becoming irritated by the lack of information. "Then at least tell us about the doppelganger."

The priestess blinked at the sudden change of topic. "The what?"

"His twin!" Remus sighed. "There was two of him."

She blinked again. "I will not tell you about that." She responded firmly, after a moment. "It is none of your affair, and I'll not betray their trust like that."

"If you people are keeping secrets that could endanger the children at Hogwarts-" Sirius started, but he never finished it.

"My Pharaoh is more than a match for Bakura." She snapped, becoming impatient. "And even if Bakura were to try and hurt someone there, his hikari would stop him. Now be quiet before you anger me as well as him." Her head jerked sharply toward the still form of the thief.

The wizards grumbled slightly, but seemed content to restrain themselves until they could speak to Yugi. The rest of the journey passed in silence, with only Ishizu's movement making any noise. Soon, Remus looked out the window and was surprised to see the village of Hogsmeade rising out of the darkness outside. He started to suggest waking the thief, when he turned to find Bakura staring at him, a dark smile on his lips.

"Time to go." He said softly. "Diabound." And instantly, the monster had wrapped itself around them once again. The white haired man rose and as gently as if he were picking up an injured child, he lifted the unconscious man into his arms and turned to leave. The Priestess was also offering her hand to Remus, and Bill hastened to Sirius. Once they had again passed through the side of the train, the three of them looked up to see the giant looming form of Hogwarts Castle.

"We'll never get in." Bill frowned, eyeing the great expanse of water at the foot of the castle.

"There's always another door." Bakura said, smugly. "Now be silent and follow me." He started quickly for the castle, setting a startlingly fast pace that the others struggled to maintain. The trek was quickly over and soon they were passing through the gates of the castle, and then the walls. Bakura led them easily through the twisting maze of corridors, heading unerringly to his goal. At first Bill was startled when they passed the first few students, but none of them seemed to notice the uninvited guests that strode quickly past them.

Before long the almost albino thief had led them straight into the Hospital Wing. He strode quickly to through the door the others trailing behind him. The Hospital Wing was clean and sterile as it always was. The only occupants were at the far end; a tall willowy witch in white robes stood by a bed giving a glass full of a bubbling green liquid to a small blonde boy with orange boils all over his face.

"-Do well not to encourage Mr. Malfoy." The woman was saying, a frown wrinkling her brow. "Now then, you can leave as soon as the boils are gone. I don't think he's done you any lasting damage. Mr. Creevey, are you listening to me?"

The boy had stopped paying attention to her in favor of staring at Bill and the others. "You look like Ron." He said dumbly to Bill.

The witch turned to see who he was talking to and gasped. Abandoning the Creevey boy, she darted forward to take Remus from Ishizu while directing Bill and Bakura where to place their own burdens. The redhead helped Sirius to collapse in a bed, but Bakura ignored the witch and glared at the priestess. "Where do you want him?" He asked curtly.

"I said right over there!" The medi-witch said, indicating a bed.

"There." Ishizu countermanded, choosing a bed at the far end of the room, away from prying eyes. "That one would be best I think."

The witch took a moment to fume over being ignored, but only a moment. Then she was bustling around the two who had listened to her. "Alforth." She said loudly. "Alforth, get over here."

A tall wizard in mahogany robes ambled into his painting. "You called?" He asked amiably.

"Yes." She snapped at him. "Get Professor Dumbledore in here now. And don't you dare let that Umbridge woman near here." He glanced quickly down at her charges, and then disappeared from the painting.

';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';';'

Madame Pomphrey was beside herself. As annoyed as she was at being ignored, she was mollified to see that at least one of her visitors had some healing skills and was taking care of settling in the worst of her new charges, leaving her free to settle Remus and Sirius. "What happened?" She asked Bill quickly, helping Lupin to crawl beneath the covers.

"What didn't." Bill sighed, sparing a second to glare at the priestess at the far end of the hall. Then he noticed Poppy's glare. "Sorry. But I don't know what happened to them."

"They were the guests of the Shadows." Said a soft voice behind them. They turned to see the almost albino standing meekly behind them. "Ishizu asked me to tell you what happened so you could take them off of her hands." He explained. Bill hissed at his apparent docility, but Madame Pomphrey simply gestured for him to go on. "They trespassed in the Shadow Realm and triggered a Seal. As far as we can tell, it just held them in limbo. They might have lost a few memories, but we don't know." His doe-like eyes shifted nervously to Remus and Sirius, who were listening intently to their diagnoses. "They'll be weak for a few more days while their spirit recovers, but until Yugi wakes we won't know exactly how much damage was done or what kind of trap the triggered."

"And who is Yugi?" Pomphrey asked gently, recognizing a timid soul when she saw it.

"He's down there at the end." The white haired boy pointed. "It was his Seal, so he'll know exactly what it was supposed to do and whether or not it actually did it. He'll know what to do to reverse it, and whether or not he can retrieve any memories they might have lost."

Pomphrey smile at him as she might a frightened child. "Thank you dear. Do you know if she's going to stay to look after him?" She asked, nodding towards the Priestess.

He nodded. "Ishizu won't let anyone else near him, so if you need to know anything else, just ask her. But she said that Sirius and Remus would be all right with just rest until Yugi wakes up. She wanted them here so she could focus on Healing him without draining herself to help these two." He glanced nervously about as though looking for something. "Excuse me." He finished quickly. "But I have to go." His eyes flashed golden, and as he muttered something under his breath, he was gone.

Poppy turned quickly to Bill. "What spell was that." She frowned. "I don't like the idea of people showing up here without the headmaster's knowledge."

"It's alright, Poppy." The old man said from the door of the infirmary. "I was expecting them quite some time ago." He strode over to Sirius and Remus and began checking them over. "Did you run into trouble?" He asked, his tone light, but his eyes serious.

"Just a bit." Bill sighed. "Remus and Sirius decided to go exploring and ended up on the wrong end of a foreign curse. We weren't sure whether or not their memories of the Shrieking Shack had been affected and decided not to test it. I'm sorry it took so long, but we had to rely on Yugi's contacts to get here."

"I wasn't aware that he had contacts in the wizarding world." Dumbledore frowned slightly.

"He doesn't." Bill sighed in exasperation. "After I talked to you, I talked to Ishizu." He said, his eyes darting toward the priestess and back. "She refused to let me portkey or apperate or anything else. We had to use Yugi's contacts to get us back to England, and the psychotic thief brought us right into the castle!"

The blue eyes focused intently on the redhead. "He came into the castle? No one let him in?"

"No." Remus sighed, leaning back onto the pillows Madame Pomphrey had just finished fluffing. "He had some sort of beast that allowed him to pass through walls. We didn't learn too much about it. Every time he started to talk the priestess made him clam up."

Dumbledore was silent for a few moments. Then he looked at Bill. "What else happened. How badly injured is your friend?"

Bill's green eyes fell to the floor, and then rose again to meet the headmaster's. "Ishizu says it's not that bad, but it looks terrible and he's been out for days already. She keeps saying he'll wake up soon, but… I don't know."

Dumbledore nodded slightly. "Very well then, Mr. Weasley. If you three are well, I think I'll go check on our other guests. Oh, and Poppy?"

"Yes, Professor?" She asked.

"I think our guests should be alright in here for a few hours at least. Peeves agreed to help us out by, ah, distracting Professor Umbridge."

"Sir?" Bill asked.

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten you were in Egypt. Delores Umbridge is our current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

"But Professor, doesn't' she work for Fudge?"

"Of course she does. That's why Peeves agreed to distract her." He said, his eyes regaining their brilliant twinkle.

Ishizu carefully tied off the bandage she had just finished wrapping around her liege's midsection. It wasn't necessary to keep it clean, the Shadows would do that, but she did wish to keep the wound away from prying eyes. "How's he doing?" a concerned voice asked from behind her.

"As well as can be expected." She answered without looking up. She placed a wrist to his forehead to check for a fever. Finding none she carefully pulled the clean white linens up to his chin. He didn't stir. When this was done she turned to face the old man watching over her shoulder. "You are Professor Dumbledore." She said coolly.

"I am." He smiled. "However, I have yet the pleasure of making your acquaintance."

"I am called Ishizu. I serve the Pharaoh." Her golden eyes regarded him cautiously for a moment. "You would do well to heed the warnings of those around you. The traitor will surely take your life if you do not."

The gaze he met her with was steady. "You are a seer then?"

"I can see what will happen, if that's what you mean. As well as what has already come to pass. I care not if you live or die, but my Pharaoh will be upset should something happen to you. I do not wish him to be hurt trying to fight a lost cause."

He cocked an eyebrow. "He must be an amazing man to command such respect."

"He commands nothing." She replied evenly. "We give everything freely. Even our very lives. And in return, he heeds our advice. Many mortals would do well to follow the example of such a proud and pure soul." She turned back to Yugi. "Mouto-sama will wake in day or so, but he needs to remain in bed for quite some time. It was his wish to return here. So I shall remain here with him until he sends me elsewhere. As soon as he wakes I will know the extent of the damage done to the other two. Most likely they will be able to leave then." She fell silent. Dumbledore was about to leave when she spoke again, giving him one last warning. "Oh, Professor."

"Yes?"

"You would do well to keep an eye on Mr. Weasley. Ryou has taken a liking to him, and Bakura has already found a reason to hate him. I would rather not have to disturb my Pharaoh to remove his soul from another of Ryou's dolls.

Un uat en baiu. – Opened is the way of souls.

Au ba-a f maa-f neter aa em khennu. –My soul seeth it the great god within.

Diabound! –Diabound!

Yayzers! 100 reviews and counting! You guys are so awesome!!! Thank you all so much for giving me so many wonderful and kind reviews! And to everyone who reads this story, thanks to you too. Even if you didn't review you took time from your busy lives to read my story. For that, I'm thankful.

Faithful Cherry Blossom – I hope this came soon enough!

titangirl797 – I'm glad you read it, and I'm even more glad you liked it! I hope this update came fast enough!

Annuket – I am being rather hard on Bill right now, aren't I. He is one of my all-time favorite characters, and that is saying quite a lot, but they do say we are hardest on those we love. Thank you for your vote of confidence.
As for the Egyptian, I know I'm probably butchering it pretty badly. I've been using English grammar because it's extremely confusing to try to conjugate their verbs and get the sentence structure right and things like that. As I get better with the words themselves, I'll start to use the more accurate sentence structure, but for now, forgive my pitiful Egyptian grammar.

Serzie – Hmm. How to explain this. Yugi and Yami are, for the most part, the same person. It's sort of like having MPD. They share the body most of the time, but every now and again one of them will take complete control and the other will go to his soul room. It's kind of like in the movie 'Sybil', except that they each knows what the other is doing and they each have a say in what they do. (By the way, if you ever watch the movie Sybil, prepare to be wierded out! It's a true story, but it used to give me nightmares when I was a kid. And I still hate that dead cat!)
And Yugi will be waking up soon. I promise.(I seem to be saying this a lot.)

Xuwum – Thank you so much for the compliment. You're right. My fics are my babies, and I spend a lot of time on them… maybe that's why I have so many. This is the first one in a long time that has managed to get me so excited, though.
Don't worry, Yugi wakes up in the next chapter. So you don't have to be sad anymore!

Shadewolf7 – Here's some more for you. I hope you didn't wait too long. I'm glad you like it, and I hope you continue to like it!

Citrus Newt – Well, they survived the trip to Hogwarts, does that count? And yes, I'm sorry to say that Umbridge will be making an appearance. I'm trying to stay true to the books for the most part, so I'm afraid she's a necessary evil. I'm glad you like Ryou and Bakura. It took me quite a while to decide what they would be like as adults and I'm glad that you like the way they turned out.

KagomeGirl021 – Thank you for the e-mails. I do read them, even though I didn't really get a chance to reply to the second one. Please forgive me! And I know exactly what you mean about sharing a room. I'm the youngest of four, and when I was really little I shared a room with my youngest older sister. There wasn't a day that went by that we didn't get into an all out brawl. I can't even count the times mom came home to find one of us with a black eye and the other one limping. We've both mellowed out a bit since then, but we still don't get along very well. Later on I lived with my oldest sister. I still have a scar from where I fell off the bunk bed ladder and onto her jewelry box. She nearly killed me for it. The only sister I really get along with is the second one. She's the one I lovingly refer to as my muse. She's the one who reads my stuff first and tells me whether or not to ditch it. Anyway, off of that tangent, congratulations on your computer! Even if it is in the middle of everything, and even if you have to share it, at least it's yours and you can get online!
Oh yeah, and one last little tangent. If you ever have bunk beds, keep them far away from ceiling fans. It hurts when you get hit on the head with the blades. (Ask me how I know)

denique – I'm glad you enjoy my story so much! And I promise to keep going. I've still got quite a ways to go on it, so I promise not to leave in hanging.

vanumi-victoria – Don't worry. I'm planning for Bill to have plenty of interaction with Ryou and Bakura. I really enjoy those three. Bill because he's so easy to work with, and Ryou and Bakura because they have such and intriguing back ground. I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations!

Protector Of The Nameless – I'm glad you enjoy reading this! And I hope the update came soon enough. I don't have a lot of spare time right now between baby Tempest and work. But I promise to update at least once more before the end of the month!

sietherkairy – I'm thrilled about the one hundredth review, but one hundred and one is better because it means I've passed a landmark instead of just reaching it. But truth be told, I thrilled I got even one review! As long as somebody likes it, it means I'm doing something right.
And as for Bakura and Ryou, it always seems that they get taken for granted. Bakura is always an evil thief; but so few people take the time to think about what it must have been like to witness the massacre of Kul-Elna. And poor Ryou is always Yugi's friend who gets possessed by the evil thief, but can you imagine the strength it takes to live with that? I think Bakura would respect that kind of strength. Stuff like that molds you and makes you an amazing person, so I'm doing my best to do justice to that. Yeah, Yugi is strong, but I don't think he's ever suffered the way those two have.

Phoenix Fire-Feather – It did that to me too. When ever I update I go ahead and go to the story to make sure it loads correctly. After a day or so it stopped doing that so I didn't worry about it anymore. Like I've said, Ryou and Bakura are two characters that I've really come to respect while writing this. There will be more of them throughout the story, simply because I like them.
Yugi will be up and about very soon, so don't worry too much about him. And you were right about Diabound. That was my mistake and thank you four catching it.
And last but not least, the memories that Sirius and Remus forgot… I don't usually like to give away future plot points, but I think this time I'll make an acceptation. Look in the 5th book, towards the end. It mentions one of the memories that Sirius has forgotten.

Crazy hyper Lady – I'm glad you enjoy it so much! It sounds like you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! And the switching was a bit hard to write, but I like it so much, so I'm glad every one else enjoyed it too.

Isis the Sphinx – Yes, Ryou is more timid than most people make him out to be. He just seems like the kind of person whose extremely shy when you meet them, and you have to make an effort to get to know them or they'll always shy away from you. As for Isis, she did get away from me a bit I think. But to excuse her behavior, she's rarely under this much stress in the anime. She usually works in the background, and because she was thrust to the forefront in this I had to stretch a bit with her. I hope she didn't come off to wrong. And as for sharing secrets, I don't know any one who does that, so I have a hard time seeing characters doing so with out a very good reason.
And as for Diabound, you were right. It was spelled wrong. When you said that I went to Barnes and Nobles and borrowed a manga. I apologize for my mistake. Thanks for catching it. And yes, Diabound was considered a monster, but you have to remember that Bakura is extremely arrogant and considers his Shadow beast to be an equal to the Pharaoh's gods, and Ryou out of respect for his yami refers to Diabound in the same way.
Did I get everything? Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it! And I hope this one was just as good! Thanks!