Author's Notes: THANK YOU, TEFLA! I accidentally repeated the part of the story all over again somehow, and now I'm reloading it. This chapter took awhile to write because I had a 5 hour Drama rehearsal this weekend, but oh well. At least I got it done before midnight, right? I hope you enjoy this one!

Disclaimer: I own no-ting! I see no-ting!

Chapter 7: Old Friends

Yami looked around the bleak shades of the Shadow Realm, watching for the doors to other worlds. He grasped the letter in his hand tightly; its importance was the only reason he even consented to taking it through this replica of Hell.

Yami stepped blindly forward, using his Millenium Puzzle to help him find the doors. It wouldn't guide him completely, just give him a sense of where he should go. As he walked, he thought about what kind of help the old wizard would send. They were desperately going to need the best he could find.

He felt he was getting closer, so he quickened his pace. Every moment would count, so he couldn't waste time. Besides, he wasn't quite sure if time passed as fast as it did in his world in the Shadow Realm.

Yami stopped abruptly, the feeling of being alone left him quickly. He could feel something was near him, but he wasn't quite sure what it was.

Yami started walking again. If he got to the doors quick enough, then perhaps he wouldn't have to deal with whatever it was. It was getting closer, but no sound was made in the Shadow Realm, so he couldn't even tell where it was coming from. Yami sped up, he was almost to the doors…

Suddenly a hand grasped him on the shoulder and spun Yami around violently. Yami nearly gasped in shock.

"What are you doing here, Pharoah Yami? I can tell you're not banished here, your body's still with you. Such a shame," Yami Bakura said in a harsh voice. Yami glared at him, and broke free of his hold.

"It's none of your business."

"Does it have to do with that wizard, Harry Potter?"

Yami's eyes widened. "What?"

"If it does, some one already beat you to it. They're guarding the door now," Yami Bakura said casually. "They're making sure that no one is able to help them. Funny, with all that they have, I thought Potter would be dead by now."

"You're lying!" Yami accused vehemently. Yami Bakura simply adopted a look of superiority on his face and crossed his arms.

"Why don't you see for yourself, then? They'll be happy to find you, because then they'll know that Potter and his friends are with you. What a way to save the day," he taunted. As much as Yami hated him, he couldn't help but get a feeling that Yami Bakura wasn't lying. What exactly would he gain from tricking Yami into not sending the letter? Revenge? Not likely.

"Go ahead then. I'm not stopping you, it'd make my day if you were killed."

Yami backed away from his nemesis. He made up his mind; to go see if there really was a Death Eater at the doorway.

He advanced forward, leaving Yami Bakura to fade into the shadows. The doors came within sight after a short period of time, and Yami stopped to observe if anyone was there. It turned out that Yami Bakura hadn't been lying.

A huge man, dressed in a long black robe and a mask, stood at the entry to Harry's world, wand poised, ready to take on intruders. Luckily, he hadn't spotted Yami yet, so he could just back away quietly without being seen.

As soon as it was all out of his vision, Yami immediately used his Millenium Item to transport back to his world. After all, there was no way he could defend himself against the wizard; he hadn't even brought his Duel Monsters because he hadn't counted on finding someone else blocking his way. It looked like they would have to fight them with what they had.

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"Excuse me, umm, Miss?" Ron asked the secretary, confused about whether it was a Miss or Mr. Harry agreed the secretary was rather manish looking, no offense to her – or him. "Is Hermione Granger allowed visitors?"

"Yes," she said, her voice confirming her gender, "Are you family?"

"We're her friends," Harry explained. "She's here with us, her family is back at home."

"Can you prove it?"

"Look, we're not some freaks out to poison her, alright? We just want to see how she's doing," Ron pleaded. The secretary sighed and gave in. She gave them Hermione's room number and shooed them out of the way so that the next person in line could be attended to.

They had to take the elevator again, and this earned yet another nasty glare from Ron at the Muggle device. Once inside, Harry's curiosity got the better of him.

"Ron, why do you always glare at the elevator? It's not going to bite you or anything."

"Well, what if the elevapour gets stuck? How are we supposed to get out? My cousin Jessica got caught in one once. A day went by before she could get out," Ron explained. "And what happens if there's someone really evil stuck inside with you?"

"Ron, what are the chances of having a murderer or whatever will be stuck in it with you? And besides, if we get stuck, there's a little red button we can push to call for help," Harry reasoned. Ron still didn't look convinced.

"That's what Jessica said just before she got in." Harry rolled his eyes.

They were soon at the right floor, and they found Hermione's room number in no time (it was quite near the elevator). Ron opened the door quietly, to reveal an awake and bandaged, yet happy Hermione.

"I've been waiting for you guys to visit!" she chirped, and pointed to the chairs by her bed. "Any news? Is Lupin alright?"

Harry and Ron quickly explained what all had happened while she was stuck in the hospital. She seemed relieved that it was good news.

"I've been watching the news to see if anyone else had died, but there hasn't been anything yet, only a mention of how the police are baffled at the case." Hermione looked down at her bandages. "I wish I could do something more to help you, but I can't get out until tomorrow."

"Are the cuts that deep?" Harry asked.

"Not as deep as they could've been. I'm lucky I didn't get bitten. Is your back alright, Ron?"

"Yeah," he assured, "it's a bit sore, but I reckon I'll be alright."

They talked about other things for an hour, like what was happening to their friends at Hogwarts, who was in the lead for the Quidditch Cup, and whether or not Malfoy had been expelled yet. Soon enough a nurse came in and told them that their time was up and that they had to treat the patient. Hermione wasn't too pleased, but she said goodbye anyway.

"It's good that she's alright," Ron said. "And she'll be back tomorrow, which is excellent."

"Sure is," Harry said, but then his smile faded. "What do you really think is happening at Hogwarts?"

Ron visibly dulled as well. "I think that with Dumbledore there, that they're probably fine. I miss Hogwarts too, though. It's really different around here. I've never really been in the Muggle world for more than an hour. And it's not even in England."

Harry was about to respond when Ron almost had a collision with a man walking down the opposite direction.

"Oh, sorry about that, are you alright?" the man asked him. Ron just stared up at him with utter amazement, and Harry understood exactly why. The hair – the glasses – it was utterly impossible…

"Dad?" Harry half gasped. The man looked at him in shock.

"Excuse me? Who are you? I don't have a son – I don't even live here!" he said, still staring at Harry, obviously amazed at the resemblance between them.

"Dad, it's me, Harry! The last time you saw me, I was only a baby! Don't you remember?"

"I – don't remember you at all," the man said apologetically, "Even with the resemblance – remarkable, as it is – I don't remember you. I've never had a child. I'm not even married! I'm sorry, but you really must have the wrong person."

"Wait, there has to be something-" Harry was abruptly cut off when Ron elbowed him in the ribs and pointed to a person coming out of the alleyway. He immediately recognized him as a Death Eater, for the person had a wand in his hand.

"Come on, Harry! We've got to hide!" Ron urged, pulling Harry away from the man who looked like his father.

"What do you mean hide? What's going on?" the man yelled after them, utterly confused. Harry couldn't blame him, if he had just experienced what the man had, he would've thought he needed therapy.

But he was too busy to think of that now. Ron quickly brought out a baseball cap that Yugi had bought him (to disguise his hair, so the Death Eater wouldn't spot him so easily amongst so many black-haired people) and shoved it on his head. He quickly pushed Harry into the nearest doorway and flung himself in after.

"Are you two alright?" asked a rather confused till person. Looking around, Harry saw that they were in McDonalds.

"Uh, yeah!" Ron said, "We were, er, racing, our friends here." When two more teenagers walked in the door Ron whipped around and said, "Ha! We beat you!"

The two girls looked at him as if he had grown another head. Harry glared at Ron, who only shrugged with a look on his face that said, "It's the best I could do!"

"Could we use your phone?" Harry asked.

"Sure! Right around the corner where the washrooms are!"

They thanked him and followed his instructions. They called Yugi's house and told him that they needed a ride back to the house.

"There's a Death Eater there?" Yugi asked, sounding very concerned. "Down by the McDonalds?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Joey lives down there!" Harry and Ron looked at each other, realizing the meaning of this statement.

"Yugi," Harry said, "We didn't realize, we couldn't have done anything…"

"I know," Yugi said, his voice quavering from the battle to fight back tears. "I don't blame you - it's just that we need to do something! And Yami couldn't even get the letter to Dumbledore! They were guarding the Shadow Realm too!"

Ron then summed up all that was going through Harry's head. "We're in serious trouble."

Review Response:

Luna339: Yep, he's finished now. Otherwise they wouldn't get anything done. Thanks!

Hikari Briefs: Draco/Ron? AAAAHHH! I'm not a fan of slash, actually, but that doesn't mean I'm against it! I just can't see it happening. I'll run, I will! Thank you!

Gin Ryu-chan: Oh. I was just curious, but that is rather puzzling. I'd die if my keyboard broke down. No keyboard = no fan fic writing. *cries* Thanks!

Starheart: I hate to ruin your fun, but yes, everyone did figure that out before. There's nothing wrong with that, though. (2) I've got you into HP? Well, I hope that's a good thing! Thanks for reviewing!

tefla: I know! It's out already, but not in my town. It'll be here sometime in January. I should've gone to Silver City, they have everything there the earliest. Thank you!

Zheryta: Once again, just curious. I wonder if I'll ever have titles? Ones that include Best Actress Oscar Nominee, or maybe a Smarties Award! Thanks a lot!

YamiBakuraChan: Yay! And of course I put Yami Bakura in! It's not one of my Yu-Gi-Oh fics if he isn't in it somewhere! Thank you for reviewing!

PIcaRDMPC: Your username is hard to type! I like it, though! Sorry about that, but that's part of the story! Thank you!

lily22: LOL That is an awkward scenario, poor Bakura! You're not brain dead. Thanks!

Amani: It would be boring. Bashers wouldn't have anything to do (I'm not a basher, though.) Sirius is still on the run, and is currently unaware that Harry isn't at Hogwarts. He'll be fine. As for Joey and Seto *suddenly grows devil horns and a forked tail* I can't promise anything. MWAHAHAHAHA- *is suddenly running away from the little sister you set on her* AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!