Author's Notes: x.X Looks like I couldn't keep my promise. I had a ski trip (conveniently, it got landed on Christmas) and then my mom cut my Internet connection (apparently because a) I go online too much and b) I have a piano competition in January and she's raised my practice time per day to almost two hours. .;;). Also, I couldn't write because of the piano, and once I did write this chapter, I couldn't post it because of the Internet problem. I'm really sorry and I hope that since it's winter break, I can write a lot more. Once this piano competition is over, I'll have school exams, which leaves me with about zero hours to write…-_-;; Although after that I'll basically be freed up again unless my piano teacher forces me to join a duet competition with this fifth grade kid because he doesn't have a partner…X.X;;
Two other things contributed to the delay of the chapter. First thing was me starting to lack interest in YuGiOh (*gasp* the day finally came!). If anyone really cares, Inuyasha's replacing it. The second thing is described below. I guess you could consider it writer's block…
This chapter was a real killer to write. Unlike most people, I really dislike writing Diagon Alley scenes, so I made myself come up with something interesting that wouldn't totally disrupt the plotline…but it didn't really help me get started any, because it comes near the end. Let me warn you though, this idea comes at the cost of a pretty nasty cliffhanger at the end. . I am seriously evil. I love writing cliffhangers, yet I never like reading them. Then again, who does?
Beware a long, long chapter ahead to make up for the delay. The wand scene itself is eight pages. o.O;;
Review Credit: onlyHAUNTED, shadow-demon18b, Amber of Heart, Riye Link/Reue, Princess Krystal01, arikandrishin, Blood Aura, Chibi-claire, Maruken, Anime Lover, Yami-Bakura's-little-thief, ruth 4 kai, and Selene-Yugi!
Chapter Dedication: onlyHAUNTED for telling me about Malik's favorite Duel Monster.
Chapter 5
Welcome to Diagon Alley
They found Malik and Bakura arguing outside the Apothecary, still trying to figure out if they should blow it up or not.
"Guys, cut it out," Yugi said in an exasperated tone. "We're not here to blow things up, we're here to shop."
"Besides, we've got something to talk to you about," Joey added.
"I still think we should blow the place up."
"And who's going to pay for the repairs?"
"Are you even listening to us?" Yugi asked.
"No, not really."
"I thought so," Yugi sighed. "What if we said that Death Eaters were in Knockturn Alley and were out to kill us?"
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Hmm…so we have to talk about that?"
"Pretty much, yes," Joey said.
"I think blowing up the Apothecary would be much more fun then talking about Death Eaters trying to kill us," Malik said.
"They're hopeless," Kaiba said, shaking his head. "Let's just leave them to their strange explosive fantasies."
"But this is important!"
"I don't think they care," Joey said, looking at the two who had immediately started bickering again. "We can tell them on the way back or something. Right now, we have to find the Weasleys."
"I think it's safe to say that those two won't be moving anywhere for a while," Kaiba said. "Let's go."
They had barely turned around when Mrs. Weasley arrived, out of breath and very worried, with the rest of the group right behind her.
"Where were you? Did you land in Knockturn Alley? I knew we should have sent someone with you-"
"Mum, I don't think the fireplace would fit two people," Ron said.
"What's with them?" Harry asked Yugi, pointing at Malik and Bakura.
"They're just arguing about…stuff…"
"Oh…"
"Well, you're all safe, thankfully, so let's begin the shopping. I think if we split up, we can get the most done, but we all need to meet at Ollivanders for Yugi and his friends to buy their wands. Agreed?"
"Sure," Fred shrugged.
"Oh! Mrs. Weasley, how are we supposed to shop? We don't have wizard money…"
"Gringotts has an exchange system," Mrs. Weasley explained cheerfully. "I'm sure you all have some money. But we could always lend you some."
"Eh. No need. Hey Kaiba…" Joey started.
Kaiba groaned. "Let me guess, you want me to lend you some money…"
"Umm…yeah. Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
"Sometimes I wonder why I do these things," Kaiba muttered to himself. "Fine, fine, just don't bother me on the way back or to Hogwarts."
"YES!" Joey started to jump up and down in the air.
"You might want to calm down, Joey," Malik called. "You're getting funny stares."
"Oh. Sorry," Joey blushed, calming down. "Let's go!"
After they had all exchanged their money, with Kaiba having to make a few more loans, Mrs. Weasley handed them all a supply list. "In case you lost yours," she told them. "I think we should go to Flourish and Blotts first. They sell books," she explained.
Everyone nodded. The rest of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione had already split up to go buy their own supplies.
Yugi looked at his supply list.
~Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry~
Uniform
You will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
All pupils' clothing must be clearly labeled with name tags. There is no need to get new ones if your previous clothing still fits.
Books
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 5) by Miranda Goshawk
Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
He scanned over the rest. "This stuff looks pretty expensive," he commented. "I'm not sure I'll have enough money left over for the school year."
"Well, we might have to bargain a little and get some stuff secondhand, or you could just borrow more from Kaiba-"
"I already gave you money! What else do you want?" Kaiba bellowed.
"On second thought…I think I have enough money," Yugi said quickly, backing away from the irate Kaiba.
"We're here," Mrs. Weasley said hastily, opening the door for them. "Come on, get the books and pay for them, we're pressed for time."
Once they had gotten all their books, they paid for them and left for Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Mrs. Weasley said she'd go buy them some ice cream to eat while they walked the fairly long distance back to the Apothecary, so they entered alone.
"Hogwarts?" a short, squat, smiling witch asked them as they walked in the door.
"Yes," Ryou said, having finally gotten control back from his yami.
"We just got a new installment of chairs, so there's plenty. How about you all have a seat?"
Bewildered, they all sat down in one of the swiveling, aqua blue chairs. "One of my assistants will be out to help each of you, but until then, just stay seated. You'll have to stand for a while as we get you your robes, so rest up."
Swiveling around, Joey saw another boy being fitted a few seats away from them. "Hello," the boy greeted him. He had pale skin, a pointy face, and light silver hair.
Kaiba scanned the boy, immediately not liking what he saw. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik were already arguing among themselves again. Or rather, Yami, Bakura, and Malik. Yami was trying to dissuade them from setting fire to the boy's newly fitted robes. Bakura thought it would be too boring, and would rather set fire to Yami's hair, which didn't sit well with the former pharaoh. Malik just wanted to cause trouble. Pretty soon, the fight had erupted into loud yelling.
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Interesting company you have there," he said, nodding towards the Millennium Item trio.
Kaiba shrugged. "They were just arguing about blowing up the Apothecary about an hour ago. We've gotten used to it."
"My name's Draco Malfoy," Malfoy introduced himself. "I'm a fifth year at Hogwarts. Are you all first years? I've never seen you before."
"Actually, we're transferring into fifth year," Joey said. "My name's Joey Wheeler."
"Seto Kaiba."
"I see. Well, I suppose I'd better warn you beforehand to watch who you associate with. Have you ever heard of the Weasleys?"
"Yes, we're staying with them until we arrive at Hogwarts," Joey said.
"Well, distance yourself from them as soon as possible. If you hang around with people like that, it'll rub off on you."
"Mmm-hmm…"
"Are you Muggle-born, half-and-half, or full wizard?" Malfoy asked.
"…"
"Umm…we-"
"You two, Flora and Lily are ready to take your measurements and find you some robes," Madam Malkin said, coming in from the back room and thankfully saving Joey from having to answer his question, seeing as how Kaiba was remaining silent.
"Well, I suppose I'll see you at Hogwarts," Malfoy drawled as they hopped off the chairs.
"Mmm," Joey agreed. He and Kaiba hurried away into the back room.
After they had all gotten their clothing, the yamis in control to make sure the robes would fit them as well, they went outside where they saw Mrs. Weasley balancing several ice cream cones.
"It's about time," she said, handing them all ice cream. "It was starting to melt. Come on, the Apothecary's next."
"Hmm," Bakura said. "I still think we should-"
"No, and that's final," Malik said firmly.
"Aww…"
They finished their ice cream and went inside the shop. While Mrs. Weasley inquired about some basic potion ingredients for them, Bakura was contemplating stealing a unicorn horn.
"Maybe I could spear someone on the tip," he suggested. "Or sell it. It's pretty expensive."
"Not long enough to stab someone," Malik disagreed. "Not pointy enough either. I think you should leave it or sell it."
"Bakura, is all you ever think about stealing and killing people?"
Bakura shrugged. "It's fun and infinitely amusing," he said. "Gives me something to do in my spare time, anyway."
"Gah…"
"Remind me not to get on his bad side," Joey muttered to Yugi, who nodded.
"All right, time to go," Mrs. Weasley said. Making a split-second decision not to steal it because most likely it wouldn't help him any, Bakura left with the others.
"I think we should get an owl," Yugi told the others. "Maybe just to share, so we can write mail to the rest of our friends."
"Dumbledore told me he'd spell my computer so it would work in Hogwarts," Kaiba said. "We could just send e-mail. It would be more convenient and we wouldn't spend as much money."
"Suit yourself, but I'm going to get an owl," Yugi said. "Anybody else?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to help you pick one out," Ryou said. "We can all share." He and Joey followed Yugi inside. They came out with a tawny owl with a white blaze shaped like a moon on its forehead.
"What do you want to name it?" Joey asked.
"I don't know," Yugi shrugged. "I was thinking of Crescent, because of the moon on its forehead…"
"Hmm. I guess it'll do," Kaiba said. "I think Mrs. Weasley is waiting at the cauldron place."
As they walked there, Joey suddenly said, "Dumbledore's spelling your computer?"
"I believe so," Kaiba said. "What's it to you?"
"Ask him if he can spell our duel disks as well," Joey said. "I don't think I'd be able to live a whole year without seeing holographic Duel Monsters."
"Fine, fine…"
They all bought pewter, size 2 cauldrons, although Joey wanted to get a solid gold one. Then they all bought collapsible telescopes, a nice set of brass scales each, and crystal phials.
"That should do it," Mrs. Weasley said happily. "Now all that's left is…wands."
They headed to Ollivanders, where Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys were already waiting.
"What exactly is this place?" Malik demanded, staring in consternation at the narrow, run-down shop squeezed between a small restaurant and a brick wall.
"Ollivanders," Mrs. Weasley chirped cheerfully. "It's the best place for wands. Well, shall we go in then?"
~~I don't like this place. Something about it makes me think that something bad is going to happen once we enter it.~~
~Relax, Bakura. It's just a shop like all the others we've been to. It's just smaller and dustier, and probably older, is all.~
Still, Ryou eyed the place with some suspicion before following Malik and Joey inside.
"Something wrong, Ryou?" Yugi asked, seeing the look on Ryou's face.
Ryou waited until the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione had passed through before whispering to Yugi and Malik, "Bakura thinks there's something off about this place, that's all."
"Oh. Well, I still don't think you should take it too lightly. We're basically magnets for trouble- I wouldn't be surprised if our first somewhat peaceful vacation turned into another one of those life-threatening dueling disasters," Yugi joked.
"Hmm, I'm not sure you should joke about that kind of stuff, Yugi," Malik told him. "It just might turn into one. I felt it as well, and so did my yami."
/Yami, you felt anything like that so far?/
//The feeling's all over this shop. I think we should leave, Yugi. It must be major if all three of us are feeling it.//
/I'd listen to you if I could, but we need to get wands for Hogwarts. I'm sure it'll be fine./ But Yugi spoke with more confidence than he actually felt.
"Yami felt the same," Yugi reported, seeing Ryou and Malik's expectant looks. "He keeps telling me to leave."
"Pretty strange, isn't it," Ryou commented. "But I think we should go. We might be holding the rest of them up."
They arrived to see Joey wave a wand around and blast half the ornaments off the front desk. Yugi blinked.
"Umm…"
An old man with pale, shining eyes turned around to scrutinize them. "Good afternoon, my name is Mr. Ollivander…"
"Ehh…hello?" Ryou said uncertainly.
~He's got pretty strange eyes.~
~~Definitely.~~
"I'll be taking your measurements as you come up to get your wand, but right now you can just wait with Mr. Kaiba over there," Mr. Ollivander said vaguely, still focused on the heaps of boxes piled at his feet.
"He does seem to be a tricky customer, doesn't he," Mr. Ollivander commented to Mrs. Weasley, nodding at Joey, who waved another wand and nearly blew a hole with a six inch radius straight through the side wall that led to the restaurant.
"Uhh…whoops?" Joey said sheepishly, dropping the wand instantly. "I guess that one's not it."
Mr. Ollivander's eyes glittered as he swooped over to examine the hole. "I haven't had a tricky customer like you since Mr. Potter over there," he remarked. "No need to worry about this, I can patch it up in no time. Carry on, carry on."
Joey picked up the next wand, and ignoring Mr. Ollivander's prattle about the type of wood and what was in it, brought it down with a sharp swish.
He was totally unprepared for what came next.
A golden light emitted off the wand and proceeded to engulf Joey as well until he was glowing yellow. When the light died down, Joey blinked.
"Umm…was it supposed to do that?"
"Yes," Mr. Ollivander said. "Hold onto that until I finish with these four over here."
Joey nodded and stepped off to the side.
"Mr. Kaiba, if you please?" Mr. Ollivander asked. "Which is your wand arm?"
"My right one," Kaiba said tersely.
Mr. Ollivander then proceeded to measure his right arm, followed by his left arm. The tape measurer then began to measure from his shoulder to his elbow on both arms, from his knee to the ground, from his elbows to his fingers, around his head, and then from his shoulder to the floor. Kaiba looked rather annoyed at it while Mr. Ollivander just flitted around, removing boxes from cabinets and shelving the ones Joey had used.
When the tape measurer stretched up to measure the distance between Kaiba's nostrils, he swatted it away violently, having had enough of the tape measurer taking numbers in strange places. It crumpled to the ground in a heap near a corner.
"Why exactly do you need measurements from my nostrils to pick a suitable wand?" Kaiba demanded.
"Every aspect counts, so I would advise you not to mislead the tape measurer," Mr. Ollivander suggested, waving his wand and summoning the tape measurer to him. "You may begin testing those wands, while I set the tape measurer on Mr. Motou here." Yugi took an involuntary step back.
"I would prefer for it not to measure between my nostrils," he said, alarmed.
"We'll see," Mr. Ollivander said, and flicked his wand at it. It immediately started measuring Yugi's right arm. He began to question Ryou about his wand arm before he was distracted by Kaiba shattering several dusty glass vases with a flick of the wand.
Kaiba actually looked flustered. "I could pay for that," he said.
"No need, you'll find that magic is very handy in some situations," Mr. Ollivander said, looking rather startled. "Reparo."
The glass fragments began to fly around, piecing themselves together. Kaiba's eyebrows rose.
"Continue," Mr. Ollivander said, turning back around. "I happen to have two tape measurers today, so, Mr. Bakura, which is your wand arm?"
"I think Malik wants to go first," Ryou said, grinning mischievously.
"I do?"
"Splendid!" Mr. Ollivander cried, swooping down on Malik and beginning to measure his arms.
Bakura was snickering from inside his soul room.
"Ryou…" Malik growled. "I'm gonna get you for that…"
Just then, a beam of red and black light went whizzing by them from Kaiba's direction, singing the tips of Ryou's hair and burning a rather large hole in the wall behind him.
Now, even if the hair is natural, it takes a lot of brushing to make sure the hair doesn't get tangled. And having the edges burned off does not make it look better. Naturally, this ticked Bakura off quite a bit.
"KAIBAAAAA!!"
Kaiba started snickering. "You look really nice like that, Bakura."
Bakura grabbed Joey's wand. "You'll pay for that!" A huge jet of purple light exploded from the tip of the wand, heading straight for Kaiba, who somehow managed to sidestep it. It slammed into a shelf crammed with wand boxes. The shelf literally exploded, sending boxes flying everywhere. One hit Yugi on the head. Another crashed into the tape measurer, which promptly went flying back to Mr. Ollivander's pocket. One could just imagine it quaking in fear, curled up in a corner of the pocket.
"I'M FREE!" Yugi cried happily, jumping up and down.
"Can you fix that as well?" Kaiba asked.
"Thankfully, yes," Mr. Ollivander sighed. "Mr. Bakura, please refrain from grabbing anyone else's wands while in this store. Since you can't use someone else's wand as effectively, naturally the results wouldn't be as pleasing as if you used your own wand to do it."
"So…you're saying…if I used my wand to blast Kaiba…it would burn down his hair instead of just hitting a bunch of shelves?"
"…"
"Malik, give me the tape measurer!!"
"Take the damn thing!" Malik yelled, pushing it at Bakura. Once Bakura had it, he joined Yugi in screaming "I'M FREE!", but he didn't jump up and down.
"Remind me never to take them wand shopping ever again," Mrs. Weasley muttered to Harry, who was staring in complete awe.
Ryou took over control, whacking away the tape measurer. "You do strange things even to sane people," he told it. "I think you've made all of them insane."
"More so than they already are," Kaiba snorted, waving another wand.
"No wait don't aim it at my hair again GAHHH!" Ryou said frantically, diving aside as a jet of light struck the ground right where he had been standing a moment before.
"They're bang out of order, really," Ron said with an incredulous yet amused look on his face.
"Definitely," Harry agreed.
Fred and George grinned. "They definitely can't be working for Voldemort. How could guys like these kill people?"
Kaiba picked up another wand and gave it a swish. This time, nothing destructive happened, although Ryou, Malik, Yugi, and Joey had all instinctively flattened themselves against the floor. Instead, the wand began to glow blue before the same thing that happened to Joey, happened to Kaiba. The light then faded away.
"Well, there's your wand," Mr. Ollivander said faintly, looking around at the damage done to his shop. "Next…Mr. Bakura?"
Hermione winced. "I'm not quite sure I want to stick around and see what happens with the last three," she began.
"Guys," Mrs. Weasley called. "We'll wait outside and go buy you some more ice cream. Come out when you're done." And with that, every one of them left, though Fred and George did seem a bit reluctant.
"You know what? I think they're scared," Bakura laughed.
"We already had ice cream," Yugi said, frowning, as Mr. Ollivander pushed a wand box into his arms and demanded that he try it. Bakura and Yugi simultaneously waved their wands, blowing two small holes in the roof.
"Umm…"
"Never mind, drop the wands, drop the wands," Mr. Ollivander said, beginning to pile boxes on the floor and on the spindly old chair. "Keep trying."
Bakura seemed very happy at the increasing amount of damage they were doing to the shop. After they had cracked the front desk and split it down the middle, blasted apart another shelf, and blown another hole in the wall, they finally found suitable wands. Yugi began to glow red, and Bakura glowed green before they stepped aside for Malik to test out his wands.
Malik by far caused the most damage to the shop, outdoing even Kaiba. One of his beams of light nearly sliced off the center tip on Yugi's hair, which made Yami pretty angry. After he nearly singed Bakura's hair again, the two of them started blasting him with their wands. However, they kept missing and instead caused large holes to appear in the sides of the shop.
After Malik finally found his wand, he began to glow violet. His wand vibrated fiercely, yet he couldn't seem to drop it. Slowly, one by one, the rest of their wands began to vibrate as well, glowing their respective colors again. The room was plunged into shadows. Behind Yugi was the Dark Magician, his staff poised for an attack. Behind Kaiba, the Blue Eyes White Dragon stretched its wings and roared. The Red Eyes Black Dragon materialized beside Joey, flapping its wings and charging up for a fireball attack. The Change of Heart appeared above Bakura, soaring around his head. And behind Malik rose the mighty Winged Dragon of Ra, which made the whole room shake and tremble and caused the air to haze over.
Then beams of light shot out from all the wands, criss-crossing across the room and forming an arc across all their heads.
And outside the shop, people screamed and panicked as the Dark Mark was shot into the sky yet again, glimmering as the setting sun illuminated its outline.
o.O;; That was strange. Nasty cliffhanger, is it not? . I feel sorry for Mr. Ollivander, ruining his shop like that. ^.~
Sorry about the delay. I'd like to have at least 80 reviews by the time I post the next chapter, but it'll still be up as soon as I finish it, I promise.
FF.Net is being a *beep* (can't say it or I'd have to raise the rating), so now I can't leave you guys author's notes if something comes up and I already posted a chapter. I was thinking of doing review responses in a separate chapter about every five chapters or so, but with the new rule, I don't think I can. Which sucks, because I hate taking up chapter space for review responses.
Review Responses
onlyHAUNTED- Hmm. I guess I'm not the only one who's confused. Thanks for the review and your opinion on Malik's favorite Duel Monster. Hope you liked this chapter too.
arikandrishin- Maybe. I'm not quite sure yet, if I do it probably won't be that much.
Blood Aura- Well, in the second book where Harry ended up in Knockturn Alley, it seemed like they didn't know where it was because they were looking for it. And yes, it was Bakura and Malik talking, but Ryou found it amusing so he didn't try and stop them. …or something like that.
Princess Krystal01- He found out that they were going to Hogwarts with Yugi, Ryou, and Malik. Same place he found out about the Millennium Item holders going to Hogwarts too, I guess.
Maruken- Yup, Mariku exists but I'm not sure what I'll be calling him yet, which is why he hasn't made any big appearances yet. Once I figure that out, he'll probably start popping up here and there with the other yamis.
Yami-Bakura's-little-thief- You're welcome. ^.^
To the rest of you, thanks for reviewing!!
Review please!!