Yu-Gi-Oh!
Balance

CHAPTER TWO – "HE'S AT HOGWARTS…"

A few days later found Draco with his face pressed firmly against one of the windows on Seto Kaiba's private plane. Yugi and Marik were too busy dueling, and Bakura was in a deep conversation with his other half, to notice him, but Seto did. He chuckled, moving from his seat on the spacious plane to sit next to the younger English boy. Draco turned to him as he sat down, a broad smile on his face.

"This is much better than that helichopter we took to Japan last year," he stated. Seto fought back a sweatdrop; him and the others had long since given up on trying to correct him when he mispronounced common Muggle terms.

"I bet you can't wait to go back to Hogwarts," Seto said. "It must be nice going back to a place that your more familiar with after so long."

"Not really," Draco admitted, shaking his head. "The only problem I had with Japan was I couldn't understand most of the people. I felt very comfortable there."

Seto chuckled in spite of himself. "That's good, and look at it this way, you got a head start on Muggle Studies this year."

Draco jumped at that. "Speaking of which, do you have a veletision on here?"

Seto smirked; he always enjoyed the opportunity to show off. He pressed a button on the armrest, and a small television screen descended from a hidden compartment in the luggage rack above. He watched Draco as he fiddled a bit with the switches on the screen, trying to find an English Muggle news channel.

Seto could not help but have a… paternal feeling when it came to Draco. The young English boy reminded him a lot of himself; a formerly stuck-up, snobbish child who had learned the error of his ways and learned what it truly meant to be human. There was only one outstanding difference between the two of them: Draco had managed to break away from his father. That was something the Seto had been trying to do since Gonzarou Kaiba died, but somehow anytime he tried to, he failed miserably (the still dysfunctional magical dueling board was a good example of this).

Further musings on his part were interrupted by a shout next to him. Seto turned to see that Draco had a horrified look on his face as he stared at the television screen, transfixed. On the screen was the picture of an ugly brute of a man, with sunken features and a tangled mat of black hair.

"…The public is warned," the reporter was saying, "that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. The special hot line is still in effect, and any sighting of Black should be reported immediately."

"Extremely dangerous is an understatement!" Draco exclaimed. All the commotion had drawn Yugi, Marik, Bakura, and Yami Bakura to the screen as well. The tomb robber was hanging over their seats, a bit of a bored look on his face.

"So?" he asked. "What would you care about a Muggle criminal, Draco?"

Draco fixed him with an incredulous look, as if he could not believe he did not know. "If he's a Muggle criminal, then I'm still in Slytherin house," he declared. "That's Sirius Black!"

Everyone just looked at him, confused. Draco hit himself in the forehead.

"I can't believe you guys don't know about Sirius Black…" he muttered.

"So who is he?" Marik asked, his hands on his hips.

"He's one of the worst criminals to ever be put in Azkaban," Draco explained, his voice hushed, as if he were afraid Black was on the plane with them. "He killed twelve Muggles and one wizard with a single curse, and it's rumored that he was the heir apparent to Lord Voldemort."

A strange sound escaped Bakura's mouth. "And now he's loose!"

Yami Bakura rolled his eyes, a sneer on his face. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, hikari."

Bakura sweatdropped. Meanwhile, Draco looked like he was going to say more, but he shook his head, deciding against it.

"Well, I hope everything will be normal at the school," Yugi said. "I hope we don't have to go through any of that 'increased security' garbage that they do in America."

-.oOOo.-

One plane landing and several taxi cabs later found Seto, Marik, Yugi, Bakura, and Draco standing outside the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. They entered the musty bar, to find that it was empty for the most part. Yugi bounded up to the counter almost immediately, where the barkeeper Tom was standing as always.

"Oy there Yugi!" Tom exclaimed. "Good to see you again."

"Good to see you too, Tom-san," Yugi returned. "Do you have rooms for us?"

"Aye," Tom replied, reaching under the counter. "Business has been pretty slow lately. Erm… have you heard…?"

"Yeah, we saw it on the Muggle news," Draco answered, lugging his trunk behind him as he joined Yugi at the counter. "Any word on how he escaped? I thought no one could get past the Azkaban guards."

Tom's voice dropped to a whisper. "Well, he was the right hand man of You-Know-Who," he said. "I wouldn't put anything past 'em." He raised his voice again. "Now, how 'bout them rooms?"

The five of them followed Tom up the narrow staircase that led to the rooms above the Leaky Cauldron. The barkeeper gave each of them a key to a room before going back down to tend the bar. They each deposited their belongings in the room (Marik's bed said it was nice to see him again), and slipped on their Hogwarts cloaks before reconvening in the hallway, school supplies list in their hands.

"D'ya think we should take care of our shopping right away?" Draco asked. "I mean, we have a whole two weeks to do it."

"We may as well," Seto said, looking over his list. "This way we can enjoy ourselves for the rest of the time."

They were about to head down to the back of the Leaky Cauldron, where the entrance to Diagon Alley was hidden, when a door opened up in front of them, nearly whacking Bakura in the nose. A small, dark haired boy with large glasses and green eyes emerged from behind the door, and let out a shout of surprise when he saw them.

"Are you all right?" Harry Potter asked. "I didn't realize someone was coming down the hall."

"Harry-kun!" Yugi exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "That's… a very long story," he replied, looking like he did not want to tell it. Fortunately, Marik saved him from doing so.

"We were just about to head down to Diagon Ally, wanna come?"

Harry nodded. "That's where I was heading too."

They went back down into the bar and out the back, to the supposedly solid brick wall. Seto tapped the third brick from the left above the garbage can, and the way into Diagon Ally was revealed. The six of them walked casually down the street, passing by several shops and pressing their way through crowds of wizards until they reached Gringotts bank.

"That reminds me, Draco," Bakura began as they entered the crooked white building. "Didn't Mutou Ojii-san give you money to be exchanged?"

Draco waved a dismissive hand. "I've got my own account in Gringotts with my own small fortune in it," he explained. He chuckled then. "Good thing my father can't touch it. I'll need to get a new broom this year. That damned bludger totally destroyed my old one."

A bit of a guilty look crossed Harry's face. "Sorry about that, Draco," he apologized, but Draco waved that off as well.

"I don't blame you, I blame Dobby," he replied. "Damned house elf should have had better methods." He rubbed his arm a bit self-consciously then. "Oh, yes, and I blame Lockhart as well. Bloody idiot…"

A goblin guide took Draco and Harry down to the vaults below, while the four foreign boys exchanged their money at the front desk. Then it was back off into the streets of the Ally, passing by various shops as Draco tugged them all excitedly toward Quality Quidditch Supplies. There was an unusual amount of activity around that store, and the reason why became apparent as soon as they managed to get close to the window. A truly magnificent broom was mounted on a display in the window, with a large sign under it.

THE FIREBOLT

THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART RACING BROOM SPORTS A
STREAMLINED, SUPERFINE HANDLE OF ASH, TREATED
WITH A DIAMOND-HARD POLISH AND HAND-NUMBERED
WITH ITS OWN REGISTRATION NUMBER. EACH
INDIVIDUALLY SELECTED BIRCH TWIG IN THE BROOMTAIL
HAS BEEN HONED TO AERODYNAMIC PERFECTION, GIVING
THE FIREBOLT UNSURPASSABLE BALANCE AND PINPOINT
PRECISION. THE FIREBOLT HAS AN ACCELERATION OF 150
MILES AN HOUR IN TEN SECONDS AND INCORPORATES AN
UNBREAKABLE BRAKING CHARM. PRICE ON REQUEST.

It took awhile to tear Harry, Marik, and Draco from the superb broom in the window. Little puddles of drool had formed around their feet before Yugi managed to convince them that "price on request" meant "more than you could afford in your lifetime". Draco had to go inside the store anyway, and he kept taking furtive glances at the Firebolt as he picked up a new Nimbus 2001 to replace his destroyed broom.

From there, it was off to the Apothecary to replenish their Potions supplies, and then to the stationary store to pick up more parchment, ink, and quills. Then they had to go Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, as Harry and Draco had both outgrown their old robes. Lastly, they went to the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts, to pick up their course books. The six boys got a bit of a surprise when they came to the store window. Instead of the typical display of neat books, there was a cage filled with the same vicious green books Draco and Yugi had received.

"Ah, so that's why Hagrid sent me that book," Bakura muttered, looking down at his list of necessary supplies. "It's the book we need for Care of Magical Creatures."

"You got a book from him too, Bakura-kun?" Marik asked, looking over his shoulder to see what else he had.

"Yeah, and it was a certifiable nightmare trying to get it under control," Bakura replied. "Anyway, I'm taking that class, Study of Ancient Runes, and –" He frowned a bit – "Ancient Egyptian Magic."

"You don't sound so enthused," Harry pointed out.

Bakura just sighed. "Yami Bakura-kun threatened he'd drop kick me into the Shadow Realm if I didn't take that course."

Seto smirked as he looked at his supply list. "Well, don't feel bad. My other self kept poking me in the back of my neck until I finally checked that course just so he'd shut up," he explained, a bit of a humored note in his voice. "In any event, I'm taking Arithmancy, Divination, and Ancient Egyptian Magic."

Yugi just stared at him. "You're joking, right? You're taking Divination?"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

Yugi shrugged nonchalantly. "No, not really. I just find it odd that someone who ordered his Blue Eyes to, and I quote, 'destroy the future', is willingly taking Divination."

Seto sweatdropped slightly, but otherwise did not comment as they went into the store. The harassed looking manager came up to them, leaning heavily on his walking stick.

"Hogwarts, are you?" he asked.

"Erm… yeah," Harry answered.

"Out of the way then," the manager said rather rudely, pulling on a thick pair of gloves and heading for the Monster Book's cage.

"Hold on, we already have a copy of that one," Yugi said before he could put his hands in the cage. The manager seemed to melt in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness," he said, taking the gloves back off. "I've been bitten twice already. I am never stocking these books again! I thought we had seen the worst of it when we ordered two hundred copies of The Invisible Book of Invisibility. Cost a fortune, and we never found them. Well, how might I help you gentlemen?"

"We're going to need six copies each of Intermediate Transfiguration and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three," Seto answered, decided to speak for everyone, looking over shoulders to see supply lists. He rambled off several more book names, and the manager scrambled to get them all, coming back with armfuls at a time.

They left the shop a few minutes later, loaded down with their new course books and other supplies (and Draco with his new broom slung over his shoulder). They stopped back at the Leaky Cauldron to drop everything off, before heading back into the Ally to stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for peanut butter and cherry sundaes. The six boys took that opportunity to catch up with Harry, who finally revealed why he was staying at the Leaky Cauldron.

"You blew up your aunt!" Draco exclaimed, hardly believing it.

Harry found his feet interesting at that. "Well, it was an accident," he said. "Fudge was nice enough to let me off with only a reprimand."

"Still, Harry-kun, that's the greatest," Marik added, a devilish grin on his face. "I would have paid to see that. When can you do it again?"

"Marik-kun!" Bakura admonished. "It isn't funny!"

Yes it is, Yami Bakura corrected within his mind, chuckling.

Don't you encourage him! Bakura shot back.

Harry, however, had shaken his head at Marik's question, a bit of a smile on his face.

"No, it's okay, Bakura," he said, swallowing the last bit of his ice cream. "I don't really care for my aunt anyway. Besides, I'm just glad to be able to still go to Hogwarts."

Finished with their treat, they got up and started to head back to the Leaky Cauldron. They were about half way there, when they heard a cold, slightly high pitch voice behind them.

"Oy, I was wondering when I would run into you," the voice sneered.

Draco seemed to totally freeze up. Yugi looked up at him, surprised by his reaction, as they all turned to see who had said that. Behind them was a stout-looking girl with finely chiseled features. Her brown hair spilled about her shoulders, and had golden highlights that made her seem to glow in the waning sunlight. She had very pale skin, and was almost as pale as Draco had been before he came to live in Japan. She also had bright green eyes, almost the same shade as his. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she had a bit of a stubborn pout on her face.

"Well?" she sneered. "Don't I even get a 'hello' from my baby cousin?"

Draco's whole face seemed to turn down into a frown. "I'm younger than you by a month," he growled out. "That doesn't give you any right to call me your 'baby' cousin, Ecillia."

Ecillia just played with a lock of her hair, bored. "Whatever, whatever," she replied. "You better be nice to me, though, Draco honey."

"And why in God's name would I want to do that?" he said, matching her tone.

She smirked. "Because, we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other," she replied.

"What are you talking about?" Draco demanded. "You go to Durmstrang… What are you doing here?"

Ecillia smiled pleasantly, though Yugi was reminded of a cat that had just cornered its prey.

"Why, that's very simple, Draco honey," she answered. "I've transferred from Durmstrang to Slytherin House at Hogwarts."

Draco looked like he was going to be sick. Ecillia just smirked.

"Have fun, Draco honey," she said, starting to walk away. "Oh, and your father sends his love."

"Yeah, right," Draco muttered as she disappeared into the crowd. He turned to the others then, a bit of a thoughtful look on his face. "Was I ever that bad?" he asked.

"Worse," Marik replied, a bit of a smirk on his face.

Draco sighed. "No wonder I ended up in a bug jar…"

-.oOOo.-

Ron, Hermione, and their families arrived at the Leaky Cauldron a few days later. Ron talked excitedly about his trip to Egypt as they made their way through Diagon Ally so the two of them could pick up their supplies. Their first stop was the Magical Menagerie, however, as Ron's rat, Scabbers, needed to be tended to. The rat had not been looking well since the Weasleys had returned from Egypt, and while Ron haggled with the woman behind the counter, everyone else was looking around.

Yugi was watching some purple toads croaking in their glass, when someone shouted, "NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!"

He turned just in time to see what was either a really large tabby cat or a small tiger land on Ron's head before pouncing on Scabbers. The rat squealed as Ron started shouting, and soon Scabbers was taking off out the door. Yugi went after the rat right away, finding him hiding under a barrel near Quality Quidditch Supplies. He reached a hand toward him, and closed it around the trembling rat.

"It's okay, Scabbers," he cooed, stroking the rat's head in an effort to calm him. "It's okay, that cat can't hurt you anymore… and… I can't believe I'm talking to a rat…"

Just then, Ron and Harry rejoined him outside, and the former gratefully took his rat back.

"Where's the others?" Yugi asked.

"Helping Hermione pick out… oh no!"

Hermione came back out of the Magical Menagerie, carrying an armload of ginger fur in her arms. It was the cat that had jumped on Ron, and it was hissing at Scabbers as she got closer. The others followed her out of the shop, Marik with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"Sorry, Ron-kun," he said. "I tried to talk her out of it."

"But Crookshanks is so cute!" Hermione exclaimed.

Yugi got a good look at Crookshanks as Ron quickly hid Scabbers in his cloak. The cat's face looked like a bus had smashed it in. He sweatdropped at the thought.

"Yeah, really cute…"

-.oOOo.-

The night before they had to go King's Cross station and back to Hogwarts, Yugi had packed up his suitcases and collapsed into bed, so exhausted he forgot to take off the Millennium Puzzle before he fell asleep. That did not matter, however, as he was quickly shaken awake. He stared up, bleary eyed, at Harry's concerned face.

"What…?" Yugi moaned.

"Yugi, I just heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking," he said urgently.

"So? Can't this wait till tomorrow?" Yugi returned.

"No, it's about Sirius Black."

Yugi woke up very quick. "What about him?"

"He's after me," Harry stated.

Yugi raised an eyebrow, confused. "How do you know that for sure?"

"Because," Harry urged, "I heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arguing. Mr. Weasley said that before Black escaped from Azkaban, he kept mumbling, 'He's at Hogwarts'."

"So?" the older boy repeated. "Do you know how many guys go to Hogwarts? How do you know he means you?"

Harry fixed him with an annoyed look. "Yugi, haven't you been paying attention?" he asked. "Black was Voldemort's right hand man. Without Voldemort, he's nothing. I nearly destroyed him the first time, to the point where he became nothing more than a spirit. I don't know about you, but I think it's a pretty good chance that he's after me."