Chapter 20: Christmas Party

There were only a few days before another one of Slughorn's dinner parties. This one was different from the precious ones in that they were allowed to bring guests and it was going to be a more formal affair. The pressure was mounting for several of the boys to find dates.

Ryou and Marik were both debating if they wanted to bring dates at all. Kaiba just raised an eyebrow at them and shook his head as he sipped his morning cup of coffee. He smiled slyly to himself, he had asked his date out the previous evening. He had nothing to worry about.

/Yugi, who are you going to ask to the party?/ The Pharaoh asked over their link.

/I'm not sure yet Atem. I know we don't have very much time to figure it out./

/One positive thing about being at Hogwarts is that there are fewer fan girls following you around all the time./ The Spirit teased him.

Yugi repressed a shudder. /Thank Ra. But I think that is also due to Mahaad, I think some girls are intimidated by how stoic he can be./

Mahaad stared at his plate of scrambled eggs. Obviously he couldn't ask Hermione to go to the party with him. Unbidden, the thought of bringing Mana with him crossed his mind. He could see her acting out of place and drawing unwanted attention to herself. He smiled painfully.

The Pharaoh had made it clear he was interested in ishizu. Mahaad couldn't go with her anyway, people thought they were siblings.

"Mahaad?"

"Yes, Muto-" He saw the exasperated look his younger Master was giving him and cut himself off.

"Are you going to take anyone to the Slug Club party?"

Mahaad shook his head slowly. "I don't think so…"

"Why do I feel like there is a 'but' in there?"

Mahaad smiled at him. "Because you can read me exceptionally well. Yes, I feel some sense of obligation to bring someone. How I act is a reflection on you."

"Even if neither of us bring anyone?" Yugi asked, concern lacing his tone.

Mahaad raised his head. "Forgive me. I assumed you would be taking someone."

"Why?"

"Despite the fact that we are in the wizarding world, there are still some girls who would go to great lengths for the privilege of attending with you."

"And when has that ever impacted us?" the Pharaoh cut in, phasing out of the Puzzle his eyebrow raised. He waved off Mahaad's attempt at a bow.

"If I recall correctly, you had some followers of your own back home."

A faint blush creeped up Mahaad's cheeks. "No, my king. There was one girl who would sometimes try and spy on me, but Mana told me she was too scared to talk to me because I spent too much time with the Crown Prince." Mahaad made a dismissive gesture. "It is of little import now. She has been dead for millennia."

Mahaad and the Pharaoh went to party as friends and placed themselves on the perimeter of the room. Loud music was playing from the center of the room by a wizarding group that Mahaad cared little for. Their music grated on his ears.

Mahaad watched the other party goers in the crowd. He spotted Hermione with Kaiba and turned away quickly, trying not to feel hurt and betrayed. The Pharaoh saw and gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'll get us some drinks."

Mahaad opened his mouth to protest but the diminutive king disappeared before he could say anything. The Pharaoh returned and pressed a cup of butterbeer into Mahaad's hand. The magician took it gratefully. "Thank you, my king. You didn't need to do that."

The Pharaoh gave him a knowing smile. "I wanted to."

Mahaad gasped as he saw Kaiba kiss Hermione firmly on the lips.

"They're under mistletoe," the Pharaoh commented.

"Mistletoe?"

"Aibou says that it is tradition to kiss the person you are under the mistletoe with."

The Pharaoh's gaze moved upward and he smirked lightly. "Yugi is correct...there appears to be mistletoe near us as well."

Mahaad's heart started racing, as his cheeks warmed.

Mahaad took a sip of his Butterbeer and swallowed painfully as the liquid started to go down the wrong way. He started coughing. The Pharaoh looked at him and rolled his eyes.

Near the end of the Slug Club's Christmas party, Harry's scar burned. He put a hand to his forehead and winced. "What's wrong Harry?" Luna asked him.

Mahaad who had been standing nearby gave him a concerned look.

"Voldemort is happy."

The Dark Lord sat in his armchair by the fireplace in his manor. Nagini was sleeping beside him. Someone knocked on the door.

"You may enter," he said.

The person opened the door and entered the room, being escorted by Wormtial, his silver hand reflecting the firelight.

"My Lord!" Bellatrix rasped as she bowed to her master gracefully.

"Bellatrix," Voldemort acknowledged. "I hope you bring good news."

She straightened, her eyes glinting. "Yes, Master! We are ready to move against the half-blood now."

"Excellent. Bring him to me."

She bowed again and swept out of the room.

She gathered some other Death Eaters who were a respectful distance away. At her signal they disaperated with a crack.

Bill Weasley was on another mission for the Order in Egypt as he was the only one who had ever lived in the country. He was in the Valley of the Kings, across the Nile from one of the old capitals of the land. He walked out of his tent and blinked against the morning sunlight.

His blood chilled as he heard screams coming from some of the other tents. Black cloaked figures with silver masks were pointing long thin wand toward some of the tents, setting them on fire.

Bill whipped his wand out of his fanny pack and ran toward the thick of the action. He saw one of the tall muggles, with hieroglyphs tattooed on his head-Ishtar? Bill thought. "Get down and stay out of the way!." He ordered.

Unseen by Bill the man frowned and followed slowly behind him, keeping to the shadows. As the red-headed wizard reached the black robed wizards brandishing sticks. Bill started trading spells with them.

The man's eyes widened as one of the black cloaked figures grabbed Bill and vanished with him. The man didn't have long to think about what had happened as a green spell hit the tent he was crouching beside.

Author's Notes: Sorry about the slow update.

Review Responses:

Banshee Queen Lydia:

I believe in the manga Yami says that his dream is to create a world where everyone is equal. I'm glad you pointed that out about Hermione brushing off the gods. I think she would—if she doesn't think they are real.

That's a good question. I agree, I think if Mahaad broke his vow there would be serious consequences for sure. Both Yami and Mahaad would present challenges to traditional Egyptian beliefs. Mahaad wanting to live among the living while the god Osiris doesn't. And is Atem the incarnate of Horus—as living Pharaoh, or he is now Osiris, because he's dead? I enjoy thinking about these kinds of questions. For me, this is one of the fun parts of writing this is trying to get inside Egyptians' heads and see how they would deal with the modern world. Exactly. The gods are paying close attention. Thank you for your review, you gave me some things to think about.

Jacuelinmueller53:

My favorite season in number 5. I love ancient Egypt!