Author's Notes: Ugh. I think I'm doing Harry's thoughts too much…the beginning of this chapter is Harry, but later on it'll be Yugi, Ryou, Malik, Joey, and Kaiba thinking. The whole last half is Joey and Kaiba, and I like it a lot. They're sort of becoming friends…sheesh, can anyone tell me if Joey and Kaiba ever make a truce in the anime? Or do they just keep fighting? @.@
On a really brighter note- this chapter was up within a week of the last one! I thought putting you guys through 3 months of waiting would be a bit painful, so this chapter is a page longer than normal and is up fairly soon. ^_^ *blows up balloons and throws confetti* Wow! And this chapter was…not scheduled…@.@ It just kind of…showed up by itself. *shrug* I liked it though, so I added it to the chapter outline.
And I forgot to do review responses for the last chapter! Gah! *whacks herself on the head* Oww…so they're at the end of this chapter.
Note: To all of you that read Harry Potter and the Duel Monsters, that's on hiatus, I think until after this fic, because all my good ideas are going to this fic because I love it. I'll have to do more brainstorming for that fic, and I don't really feel up to it at the time. *twitch* Please don't kill me…
Review Credit: Bakura's-Gurl, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, onlyHAUNTED, Sakura23, Blood Aura, Lyn/Lin, Anime Lover, Princess Krystal01, and Amber of Heart!
Chapter 4
What They Heard in Knockturn Alley
Last Time:
Harry suddenly got a sinking feeling in his stomach that they knew what he was trying to pull…
Especially when Yugi turned his head towards him and looked at him with crimson eyes.
~ * ~
They stared at each other, Harry in utter shock and Yugi as if he did it all the time.
I could have sworn his eyes were purple before…
But as quickly as his suspicions lasted, they vanished as Yugi blinked. "Hey, Harry, is something wrong? Why are you staring?"
His eyes were a light amethyst color again.
Harry shook his head. I must be hallucinating…no one can just change eye colors…
But at least he was spared the trouble of answering Yugi's question. Mrs. Weasley swept in, dragging Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione behind her. Ryou and Malik were following the big crowd, talking.
"We're late," Mrs. Weasley announced. "Come on, we have to go." She tossed Ron a flowerpot. Yugi stared.
"Is that one of those Portkey things?" he asked.
"No, it's Floo Powder. You toss it into the fireplace and step into the fire."
The transfers all exclaimed, "WHAT?" at the same time. Harry and Ron grinned at each other.
"Okay, I've seen my fair share of weird things over my lifetime," Malik said, "but this is insane."
"…Like you?" Bakura asked. Malik glared at him. "Umm…just kidding?"
"Like I was saying…you need to step into the fire," Mrs. Weasley said crossly, seeing as how they were no longer paying attention to her.
"You want us to burn ourselves up?" Ryou snapped, just noticing what she had said. "Forget it!"
Everyone stared. Yugi immediately noticed the transformation between Ryou and Bakura. Joey looked baffled until Malik told both him and Kaiba in a hushed tone. Looks of understanding flashed on both of their faces. "Oh, I get it!" Joey said.
"Get what?" Hermione asked curiously.
"R-er, nothing," Joey stammered.
"Does he always do that?" Fred asked, indicating Ryou.
"Do what?" Malik asked.
"Uhh…have violent outbursts?" George asked.
"Oh. Uh…sometimes, when he gets angry or he thinks something is stupid…"
It was a very inadequate explanation, especially since his hair had spiked up as well and hair didn't just do that by itself. But they took it for the time being- although their suspicions began to rise.
"Ba-Ryou, calm down," Yugi said, catching himself before he made the mistake.
Bakura grumbled something under his breath that didn't sound very nice, before disappearing and leaving a rather disoriented Ryou behind.
"Uh," Ryou said uncertainly, looking around at the staring group. Then he caught Malik's meaningful look that said 'I'll tell you later' and regained his composure. "So is it safe?" he asked.
Gradually the atmosphere in the room returned to normal.
"Ron, Fred, will you demonstrate for them?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Ron shrugged, threw a handful of the powder into the fire, and watched as the fire roared and began to shimmer green. He then stepped into the fire, yelling "Diagon Alley!" as he did.
Three yamis mentally told their hikaris, "This is insane."
And all three responded with "I know."
And Joey, being Joey, had a panic attack. "We have to step into the fire?" he squealed.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe," Hermione said. "Harry acted the same way the first time he traveled like this."
"A-all right," Joey stammered.
"Here, how about you go next?" Mrs. Weasley asked, holding the flowerpot to Seto Kaiba.
Kaiba actually looked surprised. "Actually, I was-"
"Scared?" Joey taunted.
Kaiba grumbled something that resembled "You wish" before extracting a handful of powder from the pot.
"Keep your elbows in, your eyes shut, and try not to breathe. Wait until you see Ron before you hop out of the fire, okay?" Mrs. Weasley instructed.
Kaiba was looking bewildered, and that almost never happened. /I wish I had a camera./ Yugi confessed to Yami, who chuckled.
"Right," he said. He confidently threw the powder into the fire and strode in. "Diagon Alley!"
He disappeared.
"Umm, I guess I'll go next," Joey said. Mrs. Weasley nodded, tilted the flowerpot towards Joey, and motioned for him to go. The fire had died down a little.
He followed Kaiba's lead and threw the powder into the fire. He eyed it doubtfully for a while before entering, though.
Yugi, Ryou, and Malik went next, followed by Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys. They were greeted with a frantic-looking Ron.
"Those two never came out!" he cried.
"Who? Joey and Kaiba?" Yugi demanded.
"Yeah," Ron said. "I think they might have ended up in…" He looked at Harry.
Everyone but Yugi, Ryou, and Malik groaned. Those three were looking confused.
"Knockturn Alley," they all said simultaneously. Unfortunately, this did nothing to explain why everyone had groaned, so they launched into a description of the place.
At the end of their tale, Yugi shivered and Bakura and Malik both quirked an eyebrow. "Hope they bring us back some souvenirs if that's really where they went…" Malik grinned.
"I hope not," Yugi said. "The place sounds creepy."
"Aw, you've had your share of creepy events," Bakura teased. "Another one shouldn't scare you too much."
Fred and George grinned at them and under his breath, George whispered to Harry, "They can't be all bad if they want to go to Knockturn Alley." This earned him a whack on the head by Mrs. Weasley, who had somehow managed to hear.
Yugi grumbled under his breath. Mrs. Weasley looked scandalized. "What if they run into Death Eaters there?" she fussed.
"Well then, let's just hope they're not there," Harry said wisely.
~ * ~
Kaiba was quickly finding out why he should have held his breath. The first time he breathed he began to choke on soot and could no longer even attempt to spot Ron. He couldn't even see a foot in front of himself. Somehow, among the shoving flames, he managed not to drop his briefcase, which seemed like a trivial thing when he was losing his vision in an unfamiliar place.
So he could do nothing about it when he ended up face-down in a gloomy, desolate row of shops. Somehow, he knew this did not fit the description of Diagon Alley that Mrs. Weasley had told them about before they had all gone to bed. He dragged himself up, grumbled discontentedly, rubbed his nose, and inspected his briefcase. All the Duel Monsters cards, his laptop, and his duel disk were all safe, though the case itself was smeared with soot. He brushed it off flippantly and was looking around for a sign that told him where he was when there was a loud thud and a groan behind him. He whirled around.
"Well, well, if it isn't the puppy," Kaiba smirked.
"Shut up, Kaiba, I have a headache and I'm most certainly not in the mood to deal with you," Joey growled. Kaiba decided to leave him alone. He certainly didn't look as well as he was normally supposed to. For one thing, he was a lot paler than a normal, healthy human would be.
"Any clue where we are, Wheeler?" he asked instead.
Joey pointed at a sign. "Some place called Knockturn Alley. I think we fell out in the wrong place." He coughed and stood up, dusting himself off.
"Obviously," Kaiba snorted. "Let's go, we have to find a way out of here."
Joey muttered something about being ordered around but followed Kaiba anyway. He doubted he would have gotten very far if he had gone alone anyway, especially when a rather large crowd of black-robed men began to approach them.
"Whoa…freaks in black robes…think they're part of Malik's little group of Ghouls?" he asked, prodding Kaiba in the arm as they both slowly began to retreat, turning around and walking quickly the way they had come.
"They're missing the eye of Ra on the hood," Kaiba frowned. "Besides, I thought he disbanded them. And since when did he recruit so many people?"
The ominous silence and the lack of people on the streets was starting to get to both of them. When Kaiba's shoe scuffed against the cobblestone street as he slid it forward, it sent a jolt through both of their spines.
"Watch it, Kaiba," Joey growled. "The last thing we want to do right now is attract their attention."
"As much as I would normally agree with your logic, Wheeler, I'm sorry to say that I think we already have," Kaiba said. Joey cursed under his breath.
"Then why are we retreating? We'll just eventually run into a dead end and be cornered. At least here we have space to run," Joey reasoned out, and stopped in his tracks.
Kaiba shrugged. "Good point." He raised his voice. "We noticed that you're following us," he said, turning around. "What do you want?"
A couple of them pulled out wands and the leader of the group walked up to them, holding out a scroll. "We won't hurt you if you tell us the truth, and believe me, we have ways of finding out," he threatened. "Do you have any information on these Millennium Items or the holders of these Items?" The scroll contained Yugi, Ryou, and Malik's pictures as well as a short bio and the names of the Items they currently held.
Kaiba was shocked speechless. Joey's eyes widened a fraction, but it went unnoticed by the Death Eaters. Seeing as how Kaiba wasn't in any mood to talk, Joey had to take over.
"Huh?" he asked. "Millennium whatsits?" Play dumb, play dumb, he told himself mentally. Act like you don't know anything… "Sorry, don't know those guys. Who are they?"
"Our leader is searching for these Items," the leader said. "He intends to first kill the holders, and then take the Items by force if necessary. They are interfering with his plan. My name is Lucius Malfoy."
Actually, Malfoy found it thoroughly confusing. Most normal wizards would have screamed, run away, or begged for mercy already at seeing a Death Eater. When he stated his name, it didn't even cause a reaction. These two seemed completely ignorant of the wizarding ways. This only heightened his curiosity.
"Names?" he demanded.
Joey didn't miss a beat. "Tristan," he said.
Kaiba had to hold back a laugh. "Noa."
Joey quirked an eyebrow at Kaiba, who just shrugged.
Lucius frowned. Then these two weren't the companions of the Millennium Item holders. They were just older beginners.
"Have either of you seen or heard of Joey Wheeler or Seto Kaiba?" he asked.
What, now they're after us too? Joey groaned inwardly, but kept a straight face outwards. "Sorry, but no." Guess they must not have our pictures. Or they would have recognized us in an instant.
"How long is this interrogation going to last?" Kaiba snapped.
"Not much longer, seeing as how you have almost no information for us," Lucius said smoothly.
"By the way, could you please show us the way to Diagon Alley?" Joey asked.
"What for?" Lucius asked suspiciously.
Too late, Joey realized that they were probably against Hogwarts. It all started to click into place. They were Voldemort's Death Eaters. And they were having a casual conversation with him and Kaiba. This was just too weird.
"Oh, I have to meet up with my sister, Serena. You know, she's really mad about having to go to Hogwarts. She'd much rather go somewhere else. She hates Dumbledore, says he's a senile old fool. Come to think of it, I do too." Whoa, where did that come from? Joey asked himself.
Malfoy smirked. "Yes, he is, and any enemy of Dumbledore is a friend of mine. All you have to do is go down this street and turn right at the shop with the dead hands in the window. Nice meeting you, Tristan, Noa." And the group all moved away.
"D-dead hands?" Joey stammered. "I think I'm gonna be sick…what kind of place is this anyway?"
Kaiba raised an eyebrow at Joey, but ignored that. "Nice story. Wasn't your sister's name Serenity?"
"Yeah, it is. Had to change it a little, or she might've been in danger. Serenity isn't really such a common name. At least, I don't think it is…"
"Serena's not much better," Kaiba pointed out.
"At least it's not Serenity," Joey countered.
"I didn't know you could act so well," Kaiba remarked.
"I guess three years of drama class at school would be the reason for that," Joey shrugged. "Thanks, anyway. I knew it would have to come in handy sometime."
"Do you know who those people were?" Kaiba asked him.
"I think they were Voldemort's Death Eaters," Joey said. "Of course, I'm not all that sure…"
"We were having a casual conversation with Death Eaters?" Kaiba spluttered. Then he sighed. I really need to work on not sounding stupid…I'm losing my touch…
"My thoughts exactly," Joey said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. They began to walk down the street. "I was wondering why they hadn't just pulled out their wands and jinxed us."
"Maybe because we weren't openly supporting Dumbledore like some of those other fools," Kaiba suggested. "Hey, isn't this the shop?"
Joey glanced in the window and shuddered, darting past it and into the alleyway behind it. "Ew. That's really gross."
Kaiba pointed at the snow-white building now looming above them. "We've found Gringotts. Do you think we should wait there for the rest of the group?"
"I suppose, but we'll miss our shopping time," Joey grumbled.
"Better than going back to the shop with the dead hands," Kaiba teased.
"Why you-!"
But they were spared from fighting by a frantic Yugi running towards them. "Joey! Kaiba! Where have you been? We were all looking for you, we didn't get any shopping done!"
"In Knockturn Alley," Joey said promptly.
"You were where?" Yugi screamed. "Mrs. Weasley said that place was dangerous! Did you-"
"Hey, Yugi," Joey interrupted.
"What?"
"Shut up for a sec, will ya?"
"Huh? Why?"
"We've got a way bigger problem than what's in the past…get Ryou and Malik, will you? We need to talk."
~Meanwhile, in another part of Diagon Alley…~
"We will not blow up that apothecary! It's too flammable!"
"That's what makes it fun!"
"But then we wouldn't have any other stores to blow up!"
"Then we'll go somewhere else!"
"LIKE WHERE?"
"Like Knockturn Alley!"
"And how are we supposed to get there?"
"Uh…"
"My point exactly."
"I hate it when you're right…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I loved this chapter…but then again, I like Joey and Kaiba, so…^^;; Anyway, that's just me. I'm sorry if there isn't enough Ryou and Malik for you guys, but I'm trying my best. Remember, this fic centers around Yugi and Yami, so there'll be more of those two than anyone else.
Note: Can anyone tell me if it's the Eye of Ra, or the Eye of Horus that's on the Millennium Items and on the capes of the Ghouls (Rare Hunters)? Also, this is important for the next chapter- Does anyone know what Malik's favorite Duel Monster is? I thought it might be the Winged Dragon of Ra, but…that's just me with my poor character analysis skills. Whoever tells me first will have the next chapter dedicated to them or something. ^_^
Also, I use a weird mix of Japanese and non-Japanese names. I got "Ghouls", which are the Rare Hunters in the dub, from YuGiOh! Worldwide Edition for GameBoy Advance and some fanfiction. I use Malik and Ryou, but I also use Joey and Serenity. If Malik's sister shows up, she'll probably be Isis, not Ishizu because I find that kind of weird. I just use whichever name I prefer for each character.
Review Responses for Chapters 3 and 4:
Princess Krystal01- Yeah. I can't imagine it either. Except he's not a spy, Harry just thinks that because he didn't hear enough of their conversation. Yugi's been sent to Dumbledore to help fight off the spies. He's not a spy.
Blood Aura- I lost you? T.T Umm…I'll try to explain it…okay. Harry was the only one who overheard what they had been talking about, but because of Fred and George making noise, he couldn't hear it all. He only heard stuff about Voldemort and spies, so he's suspicious of them and asks everyone to close off from them, not wanting to take any chances. He doesn't want to give out any information about Hogwarts, again, because he's suspicious. Because Yami can usually analyze situations better than Yugi, at the end of the chapter, he realizes why Harry is basically ignoring them, and tells Joey and Kaiba about it.
Dragona 2007 and The Ring's Spirit- I don't really have a reason for Joey being there, other than to add some humor, although I have read some fics in which Joey played a role in Ancient Egypt, though I doubt that that's actually canon. I don't read the manga, and I've only seen up in the anime to what WB aired (dubbed version *growls*) so I'm not really all that sure. If he was part of Ancient Egypt, I wouldn't know. I think he would be pretty good with a wand though. *blink* You could say he's a really late beginner? *shrug* Inadequate explanation, I know. I hope it doesn't stop you guys from continuing to read the fic.
OnlyHAUNTED- Chapter 2: Good question. Bakura has the Eye and the Ring, Malik has the Rod (although at the end of Battle City I believe he gives it to Yugi, I'm just leaving that part out because I'm not sure), and Yugi has the Puzzle and the Necklace. Shadi has the Key and the Scales, but he doesn't really show up in this fic. This leaves Kaiba and Joey with nothing but their wands, although Kaiba did wield the Rod in Ancient Egypt (I think). And yes, Umbridge will suffer horribly. I hope. And chapter 3: No romance, so you have nothing to worry about with the Ginny thing. Eh heh. Sorry for the lack of updates and the yaoi thing…o.O;; Also, I admit I was going out of my way to make the characters not too OOC but I think that's screwing it up, so in this chapter Kaiba was really kinda OOC… Also, the plot holes, I think I've got a slight problem with that too, so I'll try to close them up later. Thanks for the advice…didn't really mind the lecturing ^.~
ChibiMalik- Fortunately for you, I wasn't planning to have any pairings. I can't really imagine why Malik would suddenly like Ginny or anything…they just don't go together…
Shikami- Oh. When Kaiba gets mad, he fights with Joey. When they fight in such a small space…things tend to get broken… ^^;; Thanks for the review!
Bakura's-Gurl- Chapter 2: You did? O.O Thanks!! Here's your update… Chapter 3: -_- I hate it when the reviewers have such power over the author…there was a small part with Bakura and Malik in this chapter. Thanks for the steak idea, I think I'll use it later (and I'll give you credit). I plan to have more Ryou and Malik in the fic later because they're so cool…not to mention funny…
Quatre Winner- (chapter 2) Ack. Lol!
*Kaiba walks past me giggling over review*
Kaiba: What…does it say?
Kirbie: NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL! *laughing hysterically*
Kaiba: YOU'RE LYING! I KNEW IT! HAHAHAHAHA! I STILL HAVE MY TOUCH!
Kirbie: *blink* Uhh…yes…I have to agree with Quatre Winner on this one…
Kaiba: What did they say??
Kirbie: NOTHING! I TOLD YOU!
Kaiba: GIMME THAT! *dives on top of Kirbie, wrestling for the paper* Give…it…to me!!
-_-;; Yeah…
Sakura23- I was planning on that…the result will be more humor in the fic…thanks for the idea and the review, anyway!
Curtis Zidane Ziraa- Sure. Just leave me your email address. I hate cliffies too when I'm reading them, but I LOVE writing them! Here's your update!
Anime Lover- He's just worried about Voldemort coming back and killing more people. They'll become friends later though. Thanks for the review!
Expect another chapter on Christmas, but it might start to slow down again after a while…
Next up: The YGO gang talks about what Joey and Kaiba heard in Knockturn Alley. And then they go shopping.
The purple button is calling you…please review!