A.N: Sorry for the extremely late update I didn't mean this chapter to take that long. Hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: Standard

:. . .: is Yugi, double is Yami

(. . .) is Ryou, double is Bakura

;. . .; is Malik, double is Ishtar

Anything with -. . .- around it is a broadcast to all six.

Chapter 25

Looking up abruptly from a hand of poker cards, Malik frowned. Turning, he stared out of one of the Gryffindor tower's windows at the black expanse of night sky beyond. Seeing nothing but his own reflection in the glass, he looked back down at his cards again, trying to focus on the number of tiny, black and red shapes on each plain, white surface. Suddenly having said 'It's so dratted boring I'd rather play war than sit here staring' didn't seem such a good idea. It was another few moments before he could distinguish between the similarly colored symbols.

"Malik, is something wrong?" Ryou's quietly concerned voice broke into his troubled thoughts and he shook his head, more to clear it than to answer the question.

"I—I don't know…" Shaking his head, Malik grimaced. "I've just got this…feeling… Never mind—just ignore me. Whose turn was it again?"

Yugi traded glances with Ryou. "It was yours."

"Oh, right. Sorry—wasn't paying attention." Seeing the looks on his friends faces, the Egyptian grinned lopsidedly. "Seriously. Why are you both looking at me like that?"

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Yugi asked instead of answering the question.

"Of course!" the blonde laughed a little too cheerfully. "Seriously, would I lie to you?"

Two sets of eyebrows went up ever so slightly and Malik rolled his eyes. When had these two gotten so suspicious? It didn't suit them at all. But still…

;Hey, I don't suppose you've seen that owl I sent to Isis?;

;;Hmm?;; Ishtar's sleepy voice sounded less than pleased at the mental prodding, but Malik couldn't care less at the moment. ;;What, the one that brought the letter screeching at you about not telling her everything?;;

Malik snorted. ;No, the one I sent after I got that letter to ask her why the hell she was being so antsy.;

;;Ooh, and who's being snappish now?;;

;Just shut up and answer the question. I'm not in a very good mood at the moment.;

;;I'm sure I didn't notice a thing.;;

There was silence on the other end of the mental link.

;;All right, all right, no, I haven't seen it. Though really, you spend more time out and about then I do, so if you didn't see it then it would be highly unlikely for me to have. Now, if you'll excuse me, you interrupted my nap.;;

Watching Malik's absent expression, Yugi and Ryou put down their cards in silent agreement and began to clean up. It was getting late anyway.

:I'm really starting to get a bit worried,: Yugi mused, slipping the deck of cards back into its box. :It's not like Malik to zone out so much. And on top of that, there's been all the disturbances…:

::Malik can take care of himself,:: Yami assured him. ::And if he can't we can pick it up from there. As for the disturbances, we've dealt with this kind of thing before, we can do it again. However, there is nothing we can do before the circumstances become more clear.::

:It can't get much clearer than a duel monster showing up in school…:

::Shadi may well have tracked that incident down by now. We can ask him next time after class.::

X

"Harry, Ron!" Hermione hissed as she slid into one of the common room's plush armchairs next to where her two friends were playing a game of chess. "I have something I need to tell you."

"It's not that we need to do our homework is it?" Ron asked anxiously, casting a wary eye towards the girl. "Because if it is, I'll have you know that I've actually finished all of mine today."

Hermione blinked, a little taken aback. "Well, that's good, but that's not what I was going to tell you. What I wanted to say," she lowered her voice, leaning in closer, "was that I went to see Professor Shadi about some of the information I've found in the library."

"Oh?" Interested, Harry lowered his voice as well. What did he say?"

"Now much," Hermione replied grimly, "but he confirm my suspicions that that dragon that attacked the school was most likely summoned here and not just something that slipped through a rift."

"Did he actually say that?" Ron asked in amazement.

"No." The girl shook her head. "I think he was trying very hard not to, actually, but my research said that powerful creatures have to be summoned, and that dragon had to have been a pretty strong one to just blast its way through the school's defenses like that. And he also mentioned—and here's the important part—that only those with the keys can do this."

"Keys?" Harry frowned. "What keys?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't know, but I'll bet you anything that Professor Shadi, Yugi, Ryou, and Malik probably have some of these keys."

Harry and Ron stared at her.

"So…" Harry said slowly, eyes drifting to look across the common room to where the three students in question were just cleaning up a game of cards. "Do you mean to say…that they summoned that dragon to attack the school?"

"I don't know…" Hermione bit her lip pensively. "I don't think it was Professor Shadi—he looked pretty grim when he was telling the class about possible disturbances, and he wouldn't have let us know so much or mentioned that he was a summoner if he was behind it."

"But then Yugi, Ryou, and Malik…" Ron's eyes grew round as he trailed off. "But—they got rid of the dragon."

"It wouldn't be the first time someone let a monster into the school then acted to cover it." Harry let the words out reluctantly. They had seemed like really good people, but…

"You don't think they're working for You-Know-Who, do you?" Ron asked suddenly.

"It's possible." Hermione tapped her fingers lightly on the chessboard. "But we shouldn't jump to conclusions… It could still be someone else."

"There aren't that many summoners in the wizarding community," the redhead muttered.

Harry sighed. "I guess we're going to have to be careful—keep an eye on them."

"Harry!"

Starting at the sound of his name, Harry looked up to find Angelina standing over them. She was frowning and the panicked thought of 'how in the world are we supposed to explain ourselves' flashed across all three of their minds before the older student opened her mouth and put their fears to rest.

"Harry, can I talk to you for a moment? I want to get some ideas on strategies the team can use for the next match."

"Oh." A sudden surge of warmth flooded through Harry and he grinned, standing up. "Sure."

x-X-x

Lavender eyes stared up into the darkness, alert despite the lateness of the hour. Blinking irritably, their owner turned over restlessly. A sliver of paler darkness indicated the place where the drapes around the bed didn't quite meet. Outside there was only quiet.

Turning over again, Malik let out an exasperated sigh. He was getting nowhere at the speed of light. Sitting up quietly, he pushed aside the bed curtains and swung his feet to the floor. Standing, he scanned the surrounding beds to find their occupants still and silent behind their own obscuring drapes. Bending, he slipped his shoes on, slung his robes over his sleep wear, took his Millennium Rod out from under his pillow, slipped it into pocket, and headed for the door.

The stairs outside creaked slightly as he stepped onto them. Pulling the dormitory door shut behind him, he made his way silently to the common room. Peering inside, he scanned the chairs and tables as they shimmered faintly in the dim glow of the dying embers in the hearth. Not seeing anyone, he stepped inside, only to realize that he had missed the room's only occupant because of where she had been sitting on the floor near the hearth, blocked from view by an armchair.

Angelina, Malik thought, seeing the miniature Quidditch pitch the girl was looking at. Cursing inwardly as he pressed himself back against the wall, he thrust a hand into his pocket without a second thought. The Rod grew warm in his hands and Angelina's back stiffened.

Turning, Malik strode quickly to the portrait hole and pushed it aside, only releasing his grip on the Rod when the portrait had settled shut behind him. Back in the common room, Angelina blinked. Had she zoned out for a moment? She must have been more tired than she thought. It was probably time to get to bed.

Out in the corridor, Malik let out a breath and started in the direction of Shadi's office. There was no guarantee that the item guardian was there, but Wadjet had been conspicuously missing all evening and that usually meant she was with the Defense professor, meaning he had to be awake.

The school halls were dark and silent, filled with the whispers of deep slumber and the pale, glimmering lights of the occasional ghost wandering around the grounds with nothing to occupy their time. It must be boring, being dead, Malik mused, but then again, he supposed it would have to depend on what kind of dead you were. Bakura and Yami certainly led eventful enough lives—or deaths.

You really are rather out of it today, he applauded mentally. Now you just need to start preaching the logical and fun-free life.

Shadi's office door was rimmed with the distinctive, yellow light that indicated the presence of an occupant. On the other hand, it was also locked when he tried to turn the handle. Frowning, he knocked. No one answered.

"Hey, Shadi, You in there or not?" he called through the door in a loud whisper. Again, there was no answer. "If you don't say anything I'm not going to be responsible for anything that happens!" he added. Still, the office was silent.

Shrugging, Malik focused on the lock, his hand wrapped once again around the Millennium Rod. There was a flash of gold light, a click, and the door swung silently open.

The first thing Malik noticed upon stepping inside was the conspicuous absence of a cold-eyed Shadi inquiring as to his reason for all but breaking in to his office. The second thing he noticed—and by far the more startling of the two—was that there was a dark, swirling vortex of purple and black light in the far wall of the office.

Staring, he shut the office door firmly and moved closer. There was no mistaking it. There was a portal to the shadow realm in Shadi's office wall, its tendrils rippling over the hieroglyphs in lazy wisps.

The Egyptian youth let out a low whistle. "And he tells us not to get carried away."

X

"We are getting closer."

His voice was small and oddly muffled by the eddying mists of the shadow realm, but the small, winged serpent hovering by his shoulder heard and hissed softly in reply. Around them the flashes of electric blue that occasionally rippled over the darkness were becoming stronger and more numerous, a distinct sign of fluctuating powers or inconsistencies in the state of the realm.

Pausing in his steps as a sudden, blinding flash of blue lightning swept through the mist, Shadi shielded his eyes. The moment passed but he remained where he was. The mists here swirled more quickly though the air at the spot where he stood was clear and seemed to be glowing faintly white.

This is the place… Now to see who or what is on the other side.

Raising his hands, he invoked the powers of the Millennium Key, focusing on parting the veil between the shadow realm and the part of the material realm where this particular breech had last opened. Traces of the Cyber Dragon's aura still lingered in the air, indicating that the summons had not been as clean or precise as it could have been, still, it was worryingly solid. Whoever had opened the breech had not been relying on a distortion.

A sudden, warning hiss from Wadjet brought Shadi's eyes snapping open just in time to catch sight of something black streaking through the mists towards them. Stumbling back a step, he barely had the time to register that the thing, whatever it was, had no distinct features aside from a pair of luminous eyes before the darkness closed around him like hands trying to squeeze the life out of his body. Closing his eyes, he focused hard with his mind and pushed, shoving the creature back.

It is strong, he noted, even as he backed away from it. It is not entirely of this plane.

It reached for him again, but this time Wadjet had swooped forward, her aquamarine scales shimmering with a sheen of pale, gold light. The shadow hissed and drew back, its amorphous body pulsing as though with rage.

Shouting out a command, Shadi traced a symbol in the air with his fingers. It blazed brightly for an instant and there was the sound of rushing wind as the shadow realm blurred, its mists drawing away as though being pulled an intangible force. Then it was gone and he was back in his office, his limbs a little shaky from the exertion of power.

"Whoa, what the heck were you doing?"

Heads snapping around at the unexpected but familiar voice, both shadi and the Wingendi narrowed their eyes at the sight of Malik Ishtar standing near the door.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Malik said defensively. "I'm not the one who just left a gaping hole into the shadow realm in my office where anyone could have seen it."

"There is a reason people lock their doors, Mister Ishtar," Shadi said pointedly, gesturing at the portal. It flexed outward, then folded in upon itself until there was nothing left but the glyph covered wall. "I assume you have a reason for breaking in to my office at such an hour?"

"Yeah, sure," Malik agreed distractedly. "Hey, did you find anything then?"

Raising his eyebrows, the professor moved to sit down behind his desk. Wadjet flitted over to curl up on the corner of the desk nearest to the hearth.

"Perhaps, but is that what you came for?"

Malik rolled his eyes. "Part of it anyway, so? What's the news?"

Shadi sighed, closing his eyes. "It is not good. I have reason to believe that whoever stole the Records was the one responsible for the Cyber Dragon's appearance in our realm. I have searched the wizard archives extensively and there is no other volume that may have provided the knowledge that would have been necessary. They know some of the history—indeed, more than I had expected, but they clearly did not retain the spells."

He's actually explaining, Malik thought, surprised. "So do you know who it is then? Or where the book is?"

Shadi shook his head. "I was close, but I believe there is another force involved—something inside the realms, something that could have caused the Records to appear here." He stared hard into Malik's eyes. "Please inform the Pharaoh of what I have told you here. We must all be prepared." He fell silent, waiting expectantly, but Malik remained standing without any apparent intention to head for the door. "Is there anything else you wished to speak to me about?"

"I—" Hesitating, Malik frowned slightly, then cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you've heard from my sister lately?"

"No, I have not."

"Oh, right, that's it then." Turning, Malik strode quickly to the door and exited before Shadi could ask him any more questions. The uneasy feeling in his stomach had only gotten worse.

TBC

A.N: Okay, I'll explain about Isis next time I hope you enjoyed it. Again, questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome. Oh, and I had no idea what kind of monsters Shadi would have, so any ideas would be welcome.