Oh my gosh! So many reviews! I don't know what happened, but I haven't gotten so much feedback for any other chapter. A lot of you took my "three guess as to what's coming" seriously. I was being facetious with that...mostly. But I loved how you guys to too it with gusto!

Anyway, as you can tell from the title of this chapter, if you hadn't already figured it out from the last chapter, we're gonna meet some Inferi! If anyone's keeping track of the timeline, it is now early March in this story.

Enjoy!


"Get up, Potter."

It was a few weeks after The Quibbler had been banned from Hogwarts and Malik found himself once again sitting in on Potter's Occlumency class. The boy had failed to learn how to close his mind in the two months these lessons had been taking place. Not that Malik could really talk about progress in two months. He was still boggled on how Legilimency worked. The memories pulled forward were random and certainly not in any kind of chronological order, so what good was it?

"That last memory," Snape said as Potter stood, "What was it?"

"I don't know," Potter answered, "Do you mean the one where my cousin tried to make me stand in the toilet?"

Malik had to admit, the boy did have a painful past of abuse and neglect from his aunt, uncle, and cousin. Many memories that were pulled forward were of particularly hard times when he was younger. Malik doubted Potter even knew he had many of those memories.

"No," Snape said softly, "I mean the one with the woman bowing in a room."

Malik coughed in the Shadows. Potter had had a vision of the information given to Voldemort about the Mages at the same time they witnessed it themselves. Unfortunately for Potter, it gave Snape a very clear indication of how much progress he'd made: none.

"Remind me why we're here, Potter," Snape said coldly.

"So I can learn Occlumency," Potter answered, glaring at a dead eel sitting on the shelf behind Snape.

"Correct, Potter. And dim though you may be, I would have thought that after two months' worth of lessons you might have made some progress."

They were about to continue when a woman's scream was heard throughout the castle. Malik whipped around in the Shadows, trying to pinpoint where it originated. The Shadows told him the other Mages were on their way, so he figured he needed to hurry. With one final glance at the stunned pair in the dungeon, he hurried off.

He found the others watching from the Shadows around the entrance hall. Students had crowded around and were flooding out of the Great Hall to see what the commotion was. "What's going on?" he asked once he was within earshot.

"It looks like the toad is making a move," Bakura commented, pointing to the center of the hall where Trelawny was wailing; holding an empty sherry bottle in one hand and her wand in the other.

"Are we going to stop her?" Malik asked, throwing a glance towards Seto.

"Let's wait to see how far she pushes it," Yami answered, ruby eyes narrowed at the scene playing out in front of them.

"You can't do this!" the woman wailed, "Hogwarts is my home!"

"Was your home," Umbridge corrected with a sadistic grin, looking down at the poor woman from the staircase. Malik felt sick to his stomach just looking at the witch and, based off the their expressions, the other Mages felt the same way.

"Seto, get your Game ready," Yami instructed softly, "I think she's about to overstep her bounds."

"You will kindly leave the premises," Umbridge continued, "You are embarrassing all of us."

Bakura let out a low growl. Feeling the need to remind the woman of her paranoia, he formed a pair of eyes in the Shadows, just within her line of sight. They eyes blinked once and vanished. Umbridge very obviously saw it as she flinched and took half a step back while McGonagall moved to comfort the drunk, crying "seer."

"Come now, Sibyll. You will not have to leave Hogwarts," she was saying, pulling the other woman to her feet.

"And on whose authority do you make that statement?" Umbridge asked haughtily, but her gaze shifted uncertainly towards the place where the eyes appeared before. This movement did not go unnoticed by the students and mutters broke out amongst them saying the Mages were watching and were about to intercede and that's why Umbridge was suddenly nervous. They weren't wrong.

"That would be my authority," a booming voice cut through all the whispers of the students and they crying of Trelawny. Dumbledore stood looming at the top of the steps leading up from the entrance hall.

"Yours, Headmaster?" Umbridge gave a tinkling laugh, "If you recall under Educational Decree Number Twenty-three-"

"You have the authority to dismiss my staff, but not to send them away from the castle," Dumbledore interrupted with a dangerous lilt to his voice, "And it is my wish for Sibyll to remain here."

McGonagall helped the woman off the floor, and together with Sprout, led her up the marble steps towards the North Tower. Flitwick hurried behind, charming the trunks they lay haphazardly on the ground to float up the staircase behind them.

"She's gonna flip," Malik muttered, reading Umbridge's thoughts as the woman's face turned red.

"Seto, the moment she crosses the line, begin your Game," Yami instructed, "Our goal for now is to make our presence known and protect the students in case something unexpected happens. Let's go."

The Mages quickly exited the Shadows and stood inside the crowd of students, spaced out so that they formed an effective barrier between the stubby witch and the students. The sight of the Mages seemed to be enough for Umbridge to second guess the actions she was about to take. Malik frowned as he noticed the change in her thoughts.

Umbridge turned back to Dumbledore who still stood patiently at the top of the stairs, seemingly unaffected by the appearance of the Mages. "What will you do when I assign a new Divination teacher who would be in need of her lodgings?" she asked, voice almost imperceptibly trembling in rage and fear.

"That won't be a problem," Dumbledore said pleasantly, "I have already found a new Divination teacher and he prefers lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found-?" Umbridge demanded shrillingly. The Shadows flared, ready to pounce on the woman the moment she overstepped her authority. "Under Education Decree Twenty-two -"

"The Ministry may appoint a suitable candidate if the headmaster is unable to find one," Yami finished coldly, scarlett eyes flashing. He'd made sure he was familiar with the wizard laws, at least the ones that Umbridge could use to manipulate others.

"I am happy to say on this occasion I have succeeded," Dumbledore continued, "May I introduce you?"

The heavy oak doors of the entrance hall swung open, revealing a misty night. The students all craned their necks to get a glimpse of whoever was coming through the doors. The sound of hooves was heard, sending yet another round of mutters throughout the student body. Before long, a centaur revealed himself through the mist.

"The outcast," Yugi muttered in Egyptian, his voice reaching the other Mages. They were well aware of the social structure of the centaurs in the Forest. This one had been outcast because he sympathized with the humans and decided to help them.

"Seems they finally booted him out," Bakura said quietly, watching the centaur approach carefully. There was something off about the way he entered. The way the centaur's body was tensed spelled trouble. Though the wizards seemed oblivious to it.

"This is Firenze," Dumbledore said happily to a dumbstruck Umbridge, "I think you'll find him suitable."

"Headmaster," the centaur said with a sense of urgency, surprising everyone, "There is an army on its way to attack the castle. They are coming through the forest. My brethren are attempting to hold them off, but I fear it will not last long."

The Mages tensed, knowing this was the battle they had been waiting for. Dumbledore stepped forward, concern written all over his face, "Are you sure, Firenze? I did not sense a breach in the defenses around the school."

"There is no doubt, Headmaster," Firenze replied soberly.

The Mages leapt into action. Yami started barking orders, pushing aside the worry that they had not felt a breach in their defenses either, "Malik. Ishizu. Hold up a shield to protect the castle. Make sure nobody steps outside it. The rest of us will take the souls of those who have them. No Games."

"Yami," Yugi said urgently, "Ryou and I found, just before this, that these creatures are not alive. We can help."

Yami nodded, "Bakura, you and Ryou should probably merge, just in case things turn ugly. I don't want to take any chances."

"You should too," Bakura replied quickly moving towards Ryou and the open door.

Yami nodded, gesturing for Yugi to come closer while he turned to the gathered student body and staff. "Everyone is to remain inside the castle!" he ordered as many teachers had moved forward with wands ready, "Anybody who dares disobey this will have their soul taken and scattered to the Shadows the moment their foot steps beyond the door. Let's go," he said to his Court.

They leapt into action. Malik and Ishizu erected a golden shield to surround the school, casting a dim light onto the soon-to-be battlefield. Yami, Yugi, Seto, Bakura, and Ryou took up positions just outside of it. 'Ready?' Yami asked Yugi silently.

'Let's do it,' Yugi's mental voice was determined. The link between them opened fully, letting Yami have full access to Yugi's mind and vis versa. Their minds slowly became one, as did their souls. Bakura and Ryou were doing the same. To the wizards watching anxiously, nothing appeared to be happening, but Seto, Malik, and Ishizu knew better.

Yugi and Yami snapped their eyes open, overflowing power radiated off of them. Yugi's left iris had turn red while Yami's had turned violet. Bakura and Ryou were similar. Ryou's right iris was now the same blood-red as Bakura's while Bakura's eye was brown.

Seto smirked, "Welcome to the party, Atem. Akefia." The priest reached out his hand pulled a short broadsword from the Shadows.

Yami and Yugi, now Atem, smirked. Moving in synchronization, they also reached out to pull their own swords from the Shadows. Bakura and Ryou, now Akefia, pulled two sets of daggers, adopting identical stances. Though they were currently sharing an identity, the people in each pair held their own will.

"It feels great to be at a full one hundred percent again," Bakura grinned, his voice echoed a bit with the sounds of Ryou's voice.

"Seto, your main targets will be those with souls," Yami instructed, his voice, like Bakura's, echoed with Yugi's voice, "We will hold off those without souls."

"Try to work fast," Yugi said, "We don't want to accidentally cut down those with souls by mistake." As part of Atem and Akefia, Yugi and Ryou were now safe from any effects killing might have on them, but their nature as hikaris still made them averse to it.

"Speak for yourself," Bakura muttered, almost quivering with excitement.

"They're coming," Ryou said. Atem, Akefia, and Seto focused on the Forbidden Forest, seeing figures move in the shadows of the trees.

Risking a glance behind him, Yami saw Malik and Ishizu holding the shield firm while the students and teachers who were in the entrance hall before had crowded the door, trying to get a glimpse of the Mages in action. He was pleased to see that none of them had so much as a toe outside that door. Lights had appeared in many windows as their occupants were curious about the sudden light that had appeared outside them.

Turning back, he caught the first look of their adversary. The army was led out by people in black robes and masks, holding their wands high. They were followed by hundreds of skinny, pale figures. Their eyes were fogged over and seemed to be stumbling as they moved. Dead skin hung off of some of them and many had scraggly hair that fell limply on their faces.

"Well, it will be easy to tell who to cut down and whose soul to take," Bakura commented, grinning.

"The ones in black are Death Eaters," Ryou told Seto and Atem, "All the others must not have souls."

"They remind me of zombies," Seto commented lightly, "Shall we attack?"

"Let's go!" Yami agreed.

They took off, sprinting towards the Death Eaters and their army, catching them off guard. These wizards were obviously not expecting a full frontal assault by only five people, nor were they expecting them to be able to move so fast. Yugi and Yami worked in perfect tandem as Atem as they pushed past the front line, cutting some wands in half as they passed, and straight to the soulless creatures. Atem and Akefia drew the attention of the creatures while Seto got to work on the Death Eaters.

Spells began flying as Seto ripped souls from the Death Eaters and used the Shadows to toss them aside. The spells that missed flew and hit the shield surrounding the school, causing it to ripple where it hit. Screams of terror were heard from the open doors, but they were quickly silenced once they realized that the shield was absorbing all of the Death Eater's spells.

Armed with the Rod in one hand and his sword in the other, the priest cut through several wands, rendering the wizards powerless before taking their souls. The sight of their comrades falling easily to only one man in battle disheartened some of the Death Eaters and they tried to run from the battle before they were tossed aside like a rag too. They didn't get very far before a solid Shadow blocked their path.

Seto let the Shadows chase and torment the cowards who tried to run before commanding them to feast upon their souls. With every soul, the Mages could feel the Shadows growing stronger and more excited to help them.

"These things have no blood!" Bakura exclaimed, slicing an arm off another creature. He and Ryou stood back-to-back, giving Akefia nearly 360 degree vision. Ryou had cut through many creatures as well, but it did not seem to deter them. "Can't they feel pain?"

"Unlikely," Yugi called over to him, "They are Inferi: bodies of those already passed cursed to do the bidding of a dark wizard."

"Too bad you didn't get to see what their weakness was," Yami said, using a small blast of Shadow Magic to push them back. At the moment, all of Yugi's thoughts were Yami's. There was no delay in the exchange of information between them.

The field was littered with severed limbs and a few heads, but the Inferi continued to attack. Yugi managed to slice one in half, but even that did not deter the creature. The top half dragged itself closer while the bottom half continued its mission. Atem and Akefia were quickly getting lost in the swarm of Inferi that stumbled onto the lawn on Hogwarts. Yami felt sick at the thought of what it might take to actually stop these things. 'Don't think about that,' Yugi stopped him, 'I'd rather not have those images.'

'Sorry.'

The Mages had remarkable stamina, but with all the effort they had put in so far and how little progress they'd made, it was likely that some would slip past their defenses towards the castle if they were to tire too much. Seto, finally finished with the Death Eaters, joined in the fray, though his efforts did not seem to help much. It seemed there was only one way to stop these creatures.

'Yami…'

'Of course.'

"Akefia!" Yami called out, blast yet more Inferi away from him, "You need to summon your god! Seto, hold them off for a few minutes!"

"Yes, Pharaoh!" Seto responded, sending a large wave towards the Inferi, drawing their attention to him while Atem and Akefia used the Shadows to fade out of the swarm and to the no-man's land between the Inferi and the castle.

Yugi broke the cord that held the Key around his neck and held the Key high, focusing intently and drawing in energy, borrowing from Yami so he did not deplete himself so quickly. Bakura held his hands around the Ring, eyes closed and drawing in enough to summon a monster.

Lightning crashed down on top of the castle, leaving it unharmed, but the Shadows started moving in like fog. Yami was reminded horribly of his nightmare, but pushed it aside. Afterall, he knew where Yugi was and what he was doing. Murmurs were heard from the castle, but Atem and Akefia ignored them and continued drawing in power. They did not plunge the entire area into the Shadows as they had hundreds of students to think of as well. Even protected, it would not be wise to bring so many into the Realm of Shadows. It would require more effort and energy to summon outside of the Shadows, but they had strength enough to do it.

More lightning struck through the looming Shadows and they were finally ready. Yami stood next to Yugi as the called out as Atem, "Forbidden One! I call you from your chains! Come down and wreak havoc, Exodia!" A huge lightning bolt fell from the heavens, cutting through the Shadows, blinding the wizards who watched as it grew in size. The light disappeared, leaving behind an enormous hunched creature bound in chains. With a mighty roar, it broke its chains and stood straight, facing its enemy. At the same time Exodia was called, Akefia had called forward Diabound. The huge snake-like monster flew out of the Shadows and landed in front of its master, awaiting orders.

Akefia nodded at Atem, indicating they were ready. "Seto! Move!" Yami commanded. The priest did not hesitate to obey and used the Shadows to vanish and reappear behind the two ancients and their monsters.

"Diabound! Attack!"

"Exodia! Obliterate!"

The two monsters released their attacks, hitting the Inferi directly and overtaking them. Through the light of the blast, the Mages saw the Inferi being torn apart and breaking into oblivion. They would be lucky if there were ashes after this attack. The light died down, revealing more Inferi crawling out from the tree line that had been shielded somehow during the first onslaught.

"Persistent little things aren't they?" Bakura grit his teeth.

Yami glanced at Yugi; they had enough energy left for one more attack without collapsing, but gathering energy to have Exodia attack and obliterate so many creatures was digging deep into their collective stamina. With a firm nod, Yugi began gathering energy again, transferring it to Exodia for one more attack. Akefia was doing the same to Diabound. With one more blast, not only were the Inferi gone, so were the first few rows of trees in the Forbidden Forest.

The swords and daggers the Mages held dissolved into the Shadows, as did Exodia and Diabound. Yami knew Yugi was exhausted, only having strength for a facade to show the wizards because they were merged. Once they separated again, they would likely sleep for at least a day. Akefia was in the same condition.

"Malik, Ishizu, Seto, take care of things here. Remove the bodies of the Death Eaters, tell Dumbledore I will speak to him on my own terms, and send the students to their dorms. If any student is found out of their dorms after fifteen minutes, Game them."

"Yes, Pharaoh," Ishizu said in English, taking down the shield, and turning to the assembled crowd to relay the Pharaoh's instructions as Seto and Malik moved to take care of the Death Eater bodies.

Atem and Akefia disappeared into the Shadows to go back to their chambers in peace. Once they were there, they finally let the fatigue from the battle show. Slowly, Yami and Yugi separated their minds and souls. Yugi stumbled as soon as they were fully themselves again. He was caught by Yami who had dark rings under his eyes from the exertion they'd been forced to use in the battle. Bakura and Ryou looked slightly better, but not by much.

"Let's get you to bed," Yami muttered, helping Yugi to his room. Too tired to argue, Yugi nodded and allowed his yami to lead him along.

"You too, 'Kura," Ryou supported Bakura.

"I can make it myself," Bakura said stubbornly, "You get to bed too."

The battle had been harder than Yami would have liked to admit. They had shown too much of their strength to the wizards, but he took comfort in the fact that there was still at least one trump that the wizards knew nothing about. Hopefully these wizards wouldn't force them to use it.

He managed to get his basically sleep-walking hikari to change into pajamas and crawl in bed. The Prince was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Yami smiled gently as he lightly draped the sheets over him. Yugi had done extremely well today and Yami was proud of him. The hikari had come a long way in five hundred years, perhaps covering more distance than the rest of them. Afterall, he had to step up to the role of Prince and emerge from the shadow of the Pharaoh to shine on his own.

Yami stumbled back to his own room, yawning as he went. Idly he wondered why Ishizu hadn't seen the attack coming this evening. Making a mental note to ask her about it later, he crawled into his bed. Letting out a content sigh, he closed his eyes, asleep almost immediately.


I hope that whole merging bit made sense. If you're still confused on something, let me know and I'll try to clarify it. Basically their identities become one, but each person still had their own will. It allows them to work in tandem without really having to send their thoughts to each other.

Please review!