Hello, my readers! This is chapter three!
Don't kill me! I have an excuse for taking so long. You see . . .
Maybe I don't have an excuse . . .
I am strange. Do not argue this.
Please send info on personality quirks and clichés. I like both in my characters. ^_^
Disclaimer: I still don't own either Yuugioh or Harry Potter. If I did, I'd probably have enough money to own a computer.
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/Yami!/ A pause. /Yami! Don't kill people standing in line!/
//The wench is taking too long!//
/Yeah, but . . . / Ryou searched for a reason not to kill the people in front of him. /We're standing in front of other people, and they haven't tried to kill us, yet!/
//Yet.//
/Umm./ Ryou thought fast. He then realized that this topic was a lost cause. /Could you please return to your soulroom? People are starting to stare. And I have to convince the people up there that our Ring is an acceptable item to bring on a flight./
//No one touches the Ring!//
A pause. /Please?/
The strange white haired boy grimaced, and then went back to glaring. The woman in front of him scurried out of line. //See? We'll get out of this damn line faster if--//
/Yami!/
// . . . fine.//
Suddenly, the scowling boy seemed gentler, if a bit frazzled. He looked around very quickly, as if he was afraid of being caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing. Most of the people around him noticed. He gave a nervous laugh.
/Now everyone's staring at me./
A mental door firmly closed.
Ryou gave another nervous laugh. He played with the dangly parts of his ring while waiting in line to get through the metal detector. Maybe they'd accept the ring as an unusual piece of jewelry. Yami didn't pack any unsavory items, did he?
/Yami?/ Ryou began, /Did you bring anything you weren't supposed to?/
A snore was his answer.
Ryou stood up straight and prayed there weren't any weapons on his person. At least Yami wasn't commenting anymore on how humans were never meant to fly. Ryou had never considered the idea that his darkness was afraid of heights.
To bad Yuugi wasn't permitted past the checkpoints. Having someone to talk to would have been nice.
The people standing around the white haired boy shuddered as a dark aura filled the terminal.
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"How're you holding up, Bill?"
"Been better. So, Dad . . ."
Mr. Weasley looked over the case report at his son.
". . . I don't suppose there's any way to save me from Mum?"
Mr. Weasley gave his son a Look. "You're on your own, there."
The conversation lagged.
A door slammed open, and both men looked over to see what the commotion was.
"Bill! How could you? I was worried sick!" Mrs. Weasley stomped over to her husband and eldest son. "We couldn't get a hold of you, and your employer wouldn't tell us where you were, and . . ." She had to stop in order to breathe. A few of the more intelligent spectators backed away and left the premises.
Bill winced, then tried to explain, "Mum, I was just out on a quick research expedition. It wasn't going to last long at all."
"That's no excuse! You got a desk job for a reason! How could you be so stupid? I raised you better than this! You didn't tell anyone where you were going! Not even Fleur!"
Bill flushed and glanced beseechingly at his father. Mr. Weasley smiled apologetically and then sided with his wife. "Bill, you really should have left a message."
"Exactly! How could you do this to us? You nearly got yourself killed!" Her hair seemed to be poofing out more with each yelled sentence.
People were staring.
At this point, he would have preferred a howler.
Bill barely stopped himself from glaring at his father. It would not do to give his mother something else to go on a tirade on.
Mr. Weasley kept his peace. Molly was not someone you crossed lightly, and he had no desire to sleep on the couch that night. It didn't look like she was going to calm down anytime soon.
He almost felt sympathy for his son.
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"What are you going to do today, Yuugi?"
"I'll probably spend time with Jounouchi."
"Is that so? I thought you were spending a lot of time with that Bakura boy these days." Mr. Mouto, affectionately referred to as 'Grandpa' by Yuugi's friends, scooted a box across the counter. It was finally time to check back stock.
Something didn't quite add up with the inventory list. Grandpa studied the list, then the collection of boxes before him. Maybe they were stored in the wrong stack.
"Hmm?" Yuugi looked up from the shelf he was stocking. "Oh, Ryou's on a plane to England by now. He's supposed to spend his birthday with his father."
"Is that so?"
"Yep. I went with him to the airport this morning, but they wouldn't let me go very far. I had to leave him in line to get to the metal detector." And hopefully no one would touch the Ring.
"That's nice. Didn't we have a stack of jigsaw puzzles?"
"Maybe. I'll go check."
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A strange looking man, obviously a foreigner, struggled in his seat. Chains were binding him to an extremely uncomfortable looking chair. He didn't appear to be very happy with his surroundings, either. His pupil-less eyes were bloodshot, and he appeared to be weary.
Interrogation cells would do that to a man.
"Look you! Tell me right now why I shouldn't send you to the dementors!"
The man stayed silent.
"Start talking right now!"
The prisoner's eyes widened.
The large key shaped pendant on a cord around the man's neck started to glow. Slowly, the interrogator's eyes lost their shine. He released the foreigner from his bindings and led him out of the cell.
The foreign man strode calmly and confidently down the hall, obviously looking for an exit. However, he strode right into a group of aurors on their way home. The interrogator tried to stop them, but the aurors stupefied both. The interrogator dropped to the ground, bringing the auror he was strangling down with him.
A female auror glanced at the gold object hanging from the foreigner's neck. "Hey! Check this out!"
"Tonks! I needed that ear."
"Stop whining. Look at this."
One of the male aurors bent down to study the object. A flash of light seemed to hit the object, but Tonks put it up to flickering torches. The male auror reached for the cord around the foreign man's neck.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
The man paused. "This looks like an ancient Egyptian artifact. I'll just take this down to the lab. I want to make sure it's not putting out any harmful magic."
Tonks wore a dubious expression, but turned her attention to the foreigner and interrogator. "Get those two to the infirmary. Any ideas why Tranfield would turn on us like that?"
On of the other aurors checked Shaadi's pulse, then turned to Tranfield.
They were off the clock! Tonks was upset, since she wouldn't be paid for capturing the escapee. She probably wouldn't even get the bonus for working overtime, either.
The male auror left, presumably to turn in the golden artifact in his hand. As soon as he turned the corner, he slipped the cord around his neck. No one noticed how his eyes briefly turned red as he stuffed the Ankh under his robes.
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"Jenny, would you please move this appointment for next week?"
"Sure thing, Mr. Bakura." She blinked. "Is there any particular reason, sir?"
"It conflicts with a previous commitment. My son is coming to visit."
"That's wonderful! What's he like?"
"He's a quiet little thing. I figure this will be a good treat for his birthday."
"He has a birthday coming up?"
"Yes. I'm just glad he won't be missing any school this year."
"Where's he coming in from?"
"Japan."
"Oh. That's a long flight."
"I hope he doesn't become too bored on the flight. Twelve hours is a long time."
"Who's he coming with?"
"Oh, he's flying alone."
"By himself?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Mr. Bakura!"
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And special thanks to my reviewers!
Tomgirl27: The "weird awards," eh? Well, you have me beat. ^_^
komodo dragon: Here you go.
simpleinsanity: There is a reason for all the Harry focus, but here's a bit more Yuugi-universe for you. Harry didn't even show up once this chapter.
Bakura's-Gurl: Do you need any water? All that screaming can't be good for your throat. ^_^
Yes. My chapters are on the short side. Go figure.
The Scales are in storage. The aurors let Shaadi keep his Ankh, which was considered to be merely a tacky necklace with no immediately identifiable magic, but not the Scales. After all, the Scales are considered a murder weapon.