As to why these last two chapters were so late, I have made a simple
haiku.
These three things are certain.
Death, taxes and writer's block.
Guess which one occurred.
Wands!! I don't need a wand! I've never had a wand, and my magic works just fine! Why do I need a little stick thing to do magic!!!" Malik whined on the way to Ollivander's. "Well," Seto started, "You could show him the rod, and see if that qualifies." Malik shook his head. "And risk the rest of them knowing? No way." He answered bitterly. "Well, get over it, cause me and Mokuba don't have much of a choice, and neither do you." Seto said in a final tone. Malik sulked. "Well, how nice of you to order me around!" Seto stuck his tongue out. "Hey, I let you keep that rod of yours. Never could get the thing to work, though." He replied. "Hi ya, how ya doin'?" A flash of tan and white that was hanging on the two's shoulders said. "Hi Ryou." Seto rolled his eyes. "Ryou? Who's Ryou? I'm not Ryou? Can I help you find this Ryou person?" Malik hit him on the head. "Okay, 'Kura, you look almost exactly the same, especially when you're hyper like that? Did you steal something from that ice cream place?" Bakura gave him a dirty look. "How would I steal ice cream?" He asked innocently. "Yeah, tell it to the ice cold bag on your side." Seto said, feeling the bag he was holding. "Heh he. I'm going to go bother Yugi, 'Kay?" He ran off. "Is he always like that?"
"Hi ya, Yugi? What 'cha doing?" Bakura ran up to Yugi. "Um, taking the ice cream away from a hyper tomb raider." He replied as he took away Ryou's bag. "You guys take away all the fun!!" He stuck his tongue out at the boy as he searched for someone else to bug. He dashed back over to Malik. "Hi!! When was the last time I actually bugged you?" Malik pretended to think. "Huh. I think that would be last night, when you were talking to Ryou out loud about things that others didn't need to hear, that I'm most certainly sure." He turned to Seto. "And you?" Seto shook his head. "Um. gee, was it the time that you 'borrowed' a few hundred dollars, or the time you 'babysat' Mokuba?" He spat. Bakura blushed a bit. "Hey, you never said I couldn't!!" He came back before running off to Mokuba, who was hanging out with Ginny. "Yea, it's safe!" He said as he darted towards them. "Hey, Mokuba, hey Ginny! Mokuba, what can I use to suck up to your brother!!" Mokuba raised an eyebrow. "Poor tomb robber spend all of his hikari's money? I don't know, call Jou, it's gotten to where they spend more time together than we do. Although, I'm sure he'd find it worth a bit to see you run around in a dog suit." Bakura rolled his eyes. "What is it with this family and dogs!!" He vented in a frustrated matter. Ginny giggled. "Tell you what. oh no." He looked over at Ginny, who smiled and waved. "Yeah, I know Bakura. He's a bit weirder than the other tomb robbers I met in Egypt, but, I don't think any of them five-thousand just yet." She grinned. "Okay, you tell Ryou, let me see his reaction, and Seto will understand." Bakura frowned. "You realize I was begging you my hikari wouldn't know that I spent all his money." He said grudgingly, making Mokuba laugh harder. "Yeah, why else would I bother?"
Eventually, after that big episode, Seto ended up giving Ryou enough money to finish up shopping. Of course, Bakura still had to embarrass himself by un-stealing everything he bought. In other words, he had to go back into stores, and slip the merchandise back on the shelves. In a few instances, that was impossible, like when a few chocolate frogs hopped away. But nevertheless, it was the only thing that wouldn't make Ryou look bad, and would make Bakura suffer as well. (A/N: I had to do this once as a dare. It was ridiculous when I watched them throw away anything already opened!!!) "Poor Ryou." Yugi shook his head in pity as he watched Bakura use some of his best (and worst) techniques on items he had already bought and/or stolen. When that ordeal was over, Harry approached the foreigners. "Don't you need wands?" Malik's eyes went wide. "No. Absolutely not." He waved his hands defensively. Ryou laughed a bit. "And Isis?" Seto threatened. "Isis can get her own, I'm not getting a wand!!!" He said stubbornly. Yugi quickly thought something up. "Well, if not, you can always ask about your original magic, see if that qualifies. I'm sure everyone will be interested in it's *origin!*" He stressed. Malik thought for a moment. "Baka!!" He snarled. "If anyone is, it's a stubborn mule like yourself!!" Seto retorted. "Or you can just hand it back over. Or I can bribe a certain something to get it for me. Or I report you to a certain someone who I know will not appreciate this outburst. Or you can march into that shop and by a wand." Malik pouted. "Guess I don't have a choice. Go ahead and call Isis." Seto's eyes flared, and Ryou let Bakura take his cue. "Ooh, pretty!" He said as he fingered over the millennium rod. "I've always wanted one!! Gee, and when Malik-chan has his guard down, it's so easy to get!!" Yugi laughed. "Go Ryou!" Bakura rolled his eyes as he skipped over to Seto and held out his hands to him. "More for light!!" He smiled as he held out his hands, making Seto laugh as he put a single knut out of pocket and dropped it into Bakura's palms. He made a sour face and stomped hard using the metal heel of Ryou's boot before pivoting swiftly and marching away. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Did you see him do that?" She whispered. Harry shook his head. "No, it's like he had an invisibility cloak or something." Ron replied, slightly amused at the white-haired boys sudden attitude changes. "Maybe he's a follower of you-know-who!" Hermione wondered aloud. Harry shook his head again. "No way. If he were involved, I would know. Besides, since when did he recruit fourteen-year-olds?"
~~Hikari, those people are suspicious. I think they're beginning to notice.~~ Bakura warned. ~Then excuse yourself and let me take over!!~ He urged. ~~Take the others, so they know what's going on!!~~ Bakura grabbed the other four and dragged them over to a small corner. "Ryou, what's up?" Malik asked concerned. It wasn't often that he reacted like that. "They are getting really suspicious!! We all have to tone it down. Especially you, Malik, with that big reaction of getting the stupid wand!! Who says you have to use it, half the school supplies I take to Domino high end up as locker decorations! Now either shut up about it, or get all angry and give Marik right-of way!!" Malik closed his eyes. "And you, Yugi. well, at least warn your Yami about the Potter boy, I'm not so sure about him. I think he has sight." Malik reopened his eyes. "Sight!?! I thought only those connected to the Millennium items had sight!" He exclaimed. Ryou shrugged. "Well, we'll just have to talk to Isis about it. And you two, I strongly suggest you don't brag, no matter how much these baka spirits beg from you. I don't know why you two are here, because not even Bakura senses any more magic from either of you, but you were obviously invited for a reason. And especially to you, Malik. You see any ghouls, alert Isis immediately. If they acknowledge you, look at them all funny and say, 'do I look like this master of yours?' and somehow let them know that we have to be a secret. If you have to, threaten them, I don't care, they know better than to mess with you!" He practically ordered. "Not often Ryou here acts like a drill sergeant. You sure you're in there?" Mokuba asked innocently, earning a glare. "Why is that always an assumption! Believe it or not, I'm able to get people to listen to me, and guess who did that?" He ended before jogging away, his eyes now a bit watery. "Touché." Seto commented.
As Ryou, Seto, Yugi, Malik, and Mokuba walked into the eerie wand shop, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stopped nearby for ice cream. Naturally, the conversation eventually turned to the new students. "Speaking of spikes, did you see their hair?" Ron nodded excitedly. "They said it's natural, but I really don't know. You can imagine how Fred and George reacted. That Ryou kid even got them back!! There hair was multicolored for a day or so." Hermione smiled. "It'll be work trying to deal with three jokers. But Ryou? He doesn't seem the type. Perhaps the one they call Mokuba, but not Ryou." Ginny put her head down. "What's the matter, Ginny?" She asked. "Nothing!" Ginny answered in a high squeaky voice. Noticing that she might give herself away more than she already had, she ran away into the wand shop. Now, I promise this is the only time I will use the old, hackneyed phrase 'Meanwhile, back at the ranch,' I honestly do. (For those of you who haven't read any of 'a series of unfortunate events' books, or doesn't go dictionary reading as a hobby, hackneyed means 'something that has been used so many times that by the time Jocelyn uses it it's a bit cliché.)
So, meanwhile, back at the ranch.
"Hello, pharaoh. I've been expecting you for a time now." Everyone jumped at the ghostly whisper. Yugi whirled around. "I'm not the pharaoh. I mean, how do you know?" He asked timidly. "Ah, no doubt of that. But you are indeed the reincarnation of him, and as I see, the bearer of his soul." He glanced at the millennium puzzle. "And I see you even brought some old friends with you. I see the high priest, for one, not to mention two souls my ancestors weren't particularly fond of." Bakura, being in alert mode, jumped out. "How dare you insult my hikari and I like that!!" Malik pushed him down. "Easy, boy. I hate to disappoint you, sir, but I don't think I have a Yami, not like they do." Malik answered frankly. "Indeed, yours is induced simply by anger, nor can you speak to him in the same way, but he is certainly there." Yugi eyes widened. "Wait a minute, how do you know of the millennium items? We never told anyone!!" Mr. Ollivander smiled. "It has been passed down in my family for centuries. Come on now, boy, you first." He shoveled Yugi closer to him. "Hold out your wand arm." He ordered simply. Yugi, supposing it was whichever hand he wrote with, held out his right hand. The silver-eyed man took out a tape measure and started looking around for a suitable wand. "Beachwood, 9½ inches, tail feather of a rather young phoenix." He pushed it into the boys hand. "Go on, give it a wave!" Yugi waved it around a bit, feeling very foolish. His cheeks went bright red when half the wands fell off the shelves. "Apparently not." He whipped it out of Yugi's hand and shoved another one in. "Rosewood, 13 inches exact, hair of a unicorn." Yugi once again waved, and Malik started laughing out loud as the dusty front window broke. "Well, right core, wrong wood. Powerful little one, aren't we. Here, let's try maple, 8 ¾, very sturdy." As Yugi grabbed this one rather impatiently, sparks of a teal color and gold flew everywhere, eventually shaping into an all-gold pyramid. "Not surprising." He said simply as Yugi stood in awe. Yami urged. Nevertheless, the man never blinked, and Ryou, having re- switched with Bakura, went up and held out his left hand. The tape measure immediately went to work, and as did Ollivander, searching for a wand. "Here, rosewood, 9 ¼ inches, dragon heartstring." Ryou took it and, as though out of instinct, took out his deck, and chanted something. "Bakura ." Yugi warned, but it was too late as the change of heart was summoned. "Yes, this one will do." He said as he waved the Change of Heart back. He showed the others the ring behind his back, as though to explain. "Perhaps, but never use your wand for shadow magic. Terrible things can happen. If others learn of it, the world could suffer." Malik snorted. "Apparently you haven't seen real magic then, if you think that's bad, just opening a portal. If the rest of the monsters in Bakura's deck over here were released, then you'd see something. That's probably the nicest in his entire deck, and even she's pretty creepy." Ollivander nodded. "No doubt the tomb robber helped with that." He smiled creepily as he withdrew a wand of his own and repaired the window. "Come on now, young one, you'll be needing one too." He motioned for Mokuba. "Birch, phoenix feather, 12 ¾ inches."
"Well, I knew that wouldn't be bad at all!!" Malik boasted as he walked out of the shop to run right smack into Ginny. "Oh! Malik! I'm sorry!" She gasped between breaths. "Ginny, what's the matter!!" Ryou looked up to see closely followed behind her were Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Oh. Hello, you guys." He said brightly. Hermione briefly smiled at him before attending to Ginny. "Ginny, what went on back there?" Ryou made a noise like a sick parrot. "Um, I don't think you really need to worry about it. She'll be fine. I know what happened." ~~Told you they were suspicious.~~ Ryou inwardly frowned. ~Did I ever say they weren't?~ He answered as he closed the link. "What he means is, she got kind of freaked out when she knew something you didn't. I'm sure she's acted like that before, it's only natural." Yugi explained. Ron raised an eyebrow. "What did she know?" Ryou smiled. "That I'm actually a tomb robber that had been concealed inside a necklace for five thousand years, and that Malik is the reincarnation of an assassin, not to mention that Yugi here was the pharaoh that trapped me and himself in these mystical items." He made it sound sarcastic. Harry laughed, but he wasn't sure. Not even Fred or George could think up such an elaborate story so quickly. "I've always wanted to say that." Ryou added, noticing the nervousness in the boy's laugh. "Okay." Malik pretended to edge away from him. "It's a private joke." Yugi went along with it. But Harry still wasn't convinced. The faces of those three. he knew he had seen them before. Not like, yesterday or anything, but a long time ago, like a childhood friend. Although Dudley made sure that never happened, there was still a vague feeling. The thing was, it wasn't until Ryou had said that that he had felt like he had known them before. "Oh, Ra, look at the time! We were supposed to be at the bookstore almost half an hour ago!!" Malik exclaimed suddenly before taking off. He stopped quickly, though. "Um, I don't know the way."
"Yugi! Over here!!" Malik called across the room to his friend. Yugi immediately came running. "Hey do you know where Seto and Mokuba took off?" Malik nodded. "Yeah, right after they both got a wand. He paid without anyone else noticing and literally dragged Mokuba out. Look at this, I've never seen anything like it." He pulled a book off the shelf and started flipping through the pages. "You don't think." Yugi's eyes went wide when a page with a picture of the seven millennium items appeared. "Yeah, it is." Malik answered, partly ecstatic at the find, but partly troubled that it wasn't still in the tomb. "How do you think it got here, I mean, with Shadi and Rishid protecting it and everything?" Yugi asked. "I don't know. I mean, I've never been down there without at least a glare from one of the two, even though I'm the official guardian now. And knowing that those two can be lethal when it comes to protecting the treasures, I hate to think what pains whoever went through to get it." Ryou waltzed over, carrying at least a dozen books on random subjects, but mainly divination. "To get what?" He asked, overhearing the last bit of the conversation. Malik held it up, and Ryou dropped his books. "The Book of Shadows!" Noticing the boys' surprise, a shopkeeper walked over. "Can you read that?" He asked curiously. All three of them nodded, not really realizing what the question was. "You can have it then. It came in one day, and no one is able to read or wants to buy it. Gives me the creeps sometimes anyway." He said simply as he walked away. They had just realized what had happened. "We had best show Isis as soon as possible." They said at once.
That evening, the seven (including Hermione, who decided to spend the rest of summer with the others) were shooed out of the house to go on a hike. "Remember, stay on the east side of the house!" Mrs. Weasley urged as she pushed them out. "Okay! Okay!" Fred and George repeated. Ryou of course, ran right out to enjoy the fresh air with his new delivery raven, Nightshade. "I still can't believe you got a raven!!" Malik and Yugi were whispering to him all afternoon. Considering as nice and bright and quiet Ryou was, it was weird to think Ryou was actually kind of into the occult. A lot of that was Bakura's doing of course, but it was still pretty much a visual oxymoron to see Ryou with his slightly tanned skin and white hair next to his tarot deck and raven. "Come on, slowpokes! We can't stop here! There's a lot more ahead!" He said to the rest of the lagging group. "Oh, come on, five minutes!" Fred, George, and Ron begged. Ryou rolled his eyes. "You really need to get in better shape, if this is as far as you can get! I know bugs that go faster than you!!" Malik snorted. "Yeah, one comes to mind." He laughed, referring to his 'Man Eater Bug'. "He ate Jounouchi once, how could I forget!" Yugi chimed in. "Well, true. But it wasn't my fault the baka went ahead and attacked!!" Fred and George raised eyebrows simultaneously. "Long story." "We got plenty of time." Ginny went ahead and spoke up after a weird churn in her stomach. "I don't think we do!" She pointed to the woods ahead, in which a crowd of dementors were approaching. They all started running, but didn't get very far before falling to their own memories. Harry tried shooting something out of his wand, but it was pretty much useless against them all. "What are these?!?!" Yugi cried. "Dementors! They make you remember your worst memories!" Harry, the only one still managing to stand. At this, Yugi and Malik immediately turned to Ryou. "RYOU!! Ryou, it's okay, he can't hurt you! It's just a memory!!" Malik cried into his ear. "Get them away!! I don't think he can last his memories again!!" Yugi yelled tearfully. As though this was a cue, the creatures came closer and advanced on Ryou, who was screaming something incomprehensible, curled up in a small ball. Only Malik, who was close enough, understood him. "Iie!! Iie!! You've had your fun, now go away!! Please!! Please, no more!! No, Yami, please, no!!" "Ryou, really, it's okay!! Relax, he can't hurt you, it's just a memory!" He tried to calm him down. "Bakura?" Yugi tried to ask Malik calmly, fighting his own memories, particularly those of Malik trying to kill him. Malik nodded. "Hai! I can't get him to calm down!!" As though whatever god whichever person believed in was listening, a parade of ministry personnel on broomsticks flew overhead and sent down a lot of ghostly patronums, running off them all. Ryou had long since passed out. Yugi ran over to Ryou and Malik. "Is he okay? Did they." He was cut off. "No, he's just fainted. You're the only one I've ever known to do that before, Harry." Ron said, leaning over Ryou and shaking him. "Here." Ginny handed Malik a bottle. "Wave it under his nose!" Malik threw the cork off and spilled some of it on Ryou's shirt before managing to get it under the boy's nose. Ryou coughed and sputtered a bit before opening his eyes. "Needs a lot less rose and a lot more jasmine." Were his first waking words.
"Ryou. are you feeling okay? I know what happened today must have shook you up a bit." Malik asked. Ryou shook his head. "No, of course not! I'm fine!" He said in what could only be described as false cheeriness. "I know what you were remembering. I heard you, Ryou! It's okay, you can tell me." Ryou's eyes narrowed. "There is no reason for you to try to comfort me! I'm perfectly fine, I just need some time to myself without someone bugging me about something, whether it be a tiny scratch or a harmless memory!" He exploded. Malik's features hardened. "Yami and I are both assuming that you're the tomb robber, because I know this isn't Ryou!!" He spat. Frustrated, Ryou took off the ring and threw it to the floor. "There!! You happy! Now he couldn't hurt me if he tried!! It's apparent that this is the hikari speaking because I can't even talk to him without the ring! Why can't you two just shut up! He's changed, and why you can't see that, I don't know!!" He marched wrathfully out the door, slamming it behind him.
"Harry, do you know if that Ryou kids parents died like yours or something?" Ron asked curiously. "No. His mom, yes, but his dad's still alive." Harry answered thoughtfully. "I still don't know why he fainted either. Not many people have memories that bad! It was as though, there was another factor or something." He added. "I know," Hermione started. "And you heard the way he screamed. Like the Cruciatus Curse had been placed on him or something." She commented. "And what's more," Ron whispered. "Is the way Yugi and Malik reacted. You know, 'I don't think he can last his memories again!' thing. That was creepy. " Harry and Hermione both nodded. "I just wish I knew what he was remembering."
Wow!! Lot's of words! Yea!! By the way, if you would please, help me!! I need to figure out someway for a duel monster to next-to-kill Draco Malfoy. without the help of Ryou, Bakura, Yugi, Yami, Malik, Seto, or Mokuba."
These three things are certain.
Death, taxes and writer's block.
Guess which one occurred.
Wands!! I don't need a wand! I've never had a wand, and my magic works just fine! Why do I need a little stick thing to do magic!!!" Malik whined on the way to Ollivander's. "Well," Seto started, "You could show him the rod, and see if that qualifies." Malik shook his head. "And risk the rest of them knowing? No way." He answered bitterly. "Well, get over it, cause me and Mokuba don't have much of a choice, and neither do you." Seto said in a final tone. Malik sulked. "Well, how nice of you to order me around!" Seto stuck his tongue out. "Hey, I let you keep that rod of yours. Never could get the thing to work, though." He replied. "Hi ya, how ya doin'?" A flash of tan and white that was hanging on the two's shoulders said. "Hi Ryou." Seto rolled his eyes. "Ryou? Who's Ryou? I'm not Ryou? Can I help you find this Ryou person?" Malik hit him on the head. "Okay, 'Kura, you look almost exactly the same, especially when you're hyper like that? Did you steal something from that ice cream place?" Bakura gave him a dirty look. "How would I steal ice cream?" He asked innocently. "Yeah, tell it to the ice cold bag on your side." Seto said, feeling the bag he was holding. "Heh he. I'm going to go bother Yugi, 'Kay?" He ran off. "Is he always like that?"
"Hi ya, Yugi? What 'cha doing?" Bakura ran up to Yugi. "Um, taking the ice cream away from a hyper tomb raider." He replied as he took away Ryou's bag. "You guys take away all the fun!!" He stuck his tongue out at the boy as he searched for someone else to bug. He dashed back over to Malik. "Hi!! When was the last time I actually bugged you?" Malik pretended to think. "Huh. I think that would be last night, when you were talking to Ryou out loud about things that others didn't need to hear, that I'm most certainly sure." He turned to Seto. "And you?" Seto shook his head. "Um. gee, was it the time that you 'borrowed' a few hundred dollars, or the time you 'babysat' Mokuba?" He spat. Bakura blushed a bit. "Hey, you never said I couldn't!!" He came back before running off to Mokuba, who was hanging out with Ginny. "Yea, it's safe!" He said as he darted towards them. "Hey, Mokuba, hey Ginny! Mokuba, what can I use to suck up to your brother!!" Mokuba raised an eyebrow. "Poor tomb robber spend all of his hikari's money? I don't know, call Jou, it's gotten to where they spend more time together than we do. Although, I'm sure he'd find it worth a bit to see you run around in a dog suit." Bakura rolled his eyes. "What is it with this family and dogs!!" He vented in a frustrated matter. Ginny giggled. "Tell you what. oh no." He looked over at Ginny, who smiled and waved. "Yeah, I know Bakura. He's a bit weirder than the other tomb robbers I met in Egypt, but, I don't think any of them five-thousand just yet." She grinned. "Okay, you tell Ryou, let me see his reaction, and Seto will understand." Bakura frowned. "You realize I was begging you my hikari wouldn't know that I spent all his money." He said grudgingly, making Mokuba laugh harder. "Yeah, why else would I bother?"
Eventually, after that big episode, Seto ended up giving Ryou enough money to finish up shopping. Of course, Bakura still had to embarrass himself by un-stealing everything he bought. In other words, he had to go back into stores, and slip the merchandise back on the shelves. In a few instances, that was impossible, like when a few chocolate frogs hopped away. But nevertheless, it was the only thing that wouldn't make Ryou look bad, and would make Bakura suffer as well. (A/N: I had to do this once as a dare. It was ridiculous when I watched them throw away anything already opened!!!) "Poor Ryou." Yugi shook his head in pity as he watched Bakura use some of his best (and worst) techniques on items he had already bought and/or stolen. When that ordeal was over, Harry approached the foreigners. "Don't you need wands?" Malik's eyes went wide. "No. Absolutely not." He waved his hands defensively. Ryou laughed a bit. "And Isis?" Seto threatened. "Isis can get her own, I'm not getting a wand!!!" He said stubbornly. Yugi quickly thought something up. "Well, if not, you can always ask about your original magic, see if that qualifies. I'm sure everyone will be interested in it's *origin!*" He stressed. Malik thought for a moment. "Baka!!" He snarled. "If anyone is, it's a stubborn mule like yourself!!" Seto retorted. "Or you can just hand it back over. Or I can bribe a certain something to get it for me. Or I report you to a certain someone who I know will not appreciate this outburst. Or you can march into that shop and by a wand." Malik pouted. "Guess I don't have a choice. Go ahead and call Isis." Seto's eyes flared, and Ryou let Bakura take his cue. "Ooh, pretty!" He said as he fingered over the millennium rod. "I've always wanted one!! Gee, and when Malik-chan has his guard down, it's so easy to get!!" Yugi laughed. "Go Ryou!" Bakura rolled his eyes as he skipped over to Seto and held out his hands to him. "More for light!!" He smiled as he held out his hands, making Seto laugh as he put a single knut out of pocket and dropped it into Bakura's palms. He made a sour face and stomped hard using the metal heel of Ryou's boot before pivoting swiftly and marching away. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Did you see him do that?" She whispered. Harry shook his head. "No, it's like he had an invisibility cloak or something." Ron replied, slightly amused at the white-haired boys sudden attitude changes. "Maybe he's a follower of you-know-who!" Hermione wondered aloud. Harry shook his head again. "No way. If he were involved, I would know. Besides, since when did he recruit fourteen-year-olds?"
~~Hikari, those people are suspicious. I think they're beginning to notice.~~ Bakura warned. ~Then excuse yourself and let me take over!!~ He urged. ~~Take the others, so they know what's going on!!~~ Bakura grabbed the other four and dragged them over to a small corner. "Ryou, what's up?" Malik asked concerned. It wasn't often that he reacted like that. "They are getting really suspicious!! We all have to tone it down. Especially you, Malik, with that big reaction of getting the stupid wand!! Who says you have to use it, half the school supplies I take to Domino high end up as locker decorations! Now either shut up about it, or get all angry and give Marik right-of way!!" Malik closed his eyes. "And you, Yugi. well, at least warn your Yami about the Potter boy, I'm not so sure about him. I think he has sight." Malik reopened his eyes. "Sight!?! I thought only those connected to the Millennium items had sight!" He exclaimed. Ryou shrugged. "Well, we'll just have to talk to Isis about it. And you two, I strongly suggest you don't brag, no matter how much these baka spirits beg from you. I don't know why you two are here, because not even Bakura senses any more magic from either of you, but you were obviously invited for a reason. And especially to you, Malik. You see any ghouls, alert Isis immediately. If they acknowledge you, look at them all funny and say, 'do I look like this master of yours?' and somehow let them know that we have to be a secret. If you have to, threaten them, I don't care, they know better than to mess with you!" He practically ordered. "Not often Ryou here acts like a drill sergeant. You sure you're in there?" Mokuba asked innocently, earning a glare. "Why is that always an assumption! Believe it or not, I'm able to get people to listen to me, and guess who did that?" He ended before jogging away, his eyes now a bit watery. "Touché." Seto commented.
As Ryou, Seto, Yugi, Malik, and Mokuba walked into the eerie wand shop, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny stopped nearby for ice cream. Naturally, the conversation eventually turned to the new students. "Speaking of spikes, did you see their hair?" Ron nodded excitedly. "They said it's natural, but I really don't know. You can imagine how Fred and George reacted. That Ryou kid even got them back!! There hair was multicolored for a day or so." Hermione smiled. "It'll be work trying to deal with three jokers. But Ryou? He doesn't seem the type. Perhaps the one they call Mokuba, but not Ryou." Ginny put her head down. "What's the matter, Ginny?" She asked. "Nothing!" Ginny answered in a high squeaky voice. Noticing that she might give herself away more than she already had, she ran away into the wand shop. Now, I promise this is the only time I will use the old, hackneyed phrase 'Meanwhile, back at the ranch,' I honestly do. (For those of you who haven't read any of 'a series of unfortunate events' books, or doesn't go dictionary reading as a hobby, hackneyed means 'something that has been used so many times that by the time Jocelyn uses it it's a bit cliché.)
So, meanwhile, back at the ranch.
"Hello, pharaoh. I've been expecting you for a time now." Everyone jumped at the ghostly whisper. Yugi whirled around. "I'm not the pharaoh. I mean, how do you know?" He asked timidly. "Ah, no doubt of that. But you are indeed the reincarnation of him, and as I see, the bearer of his soul." He glanced at the millennium puzzle. "And I see you even brought some old friends with you. I see the high priest, for one, not to mention two souls my ancestors weren't particularly fond of." Bakura, being in alert mode, jumped out. "How dare you insult my hikari and I like that!!" Malik pushed him down. "Easy, boy. I hate to disappoint you, sir, but I don't think I have a Yami, not like they do." Malik answered frankly. "Indeed, yours is induced simply by anger, nor can you speak to him in the same way, but he is certainly there." Yugi eyes widened. "Wait a minute, how do you know of the millennium items? We never told anyone!!" Mr. Ollivander smiled. "It has been passed down in my family for centuries. Come on now, boy, you first." He shoveled Yugi closer to him. "Hold out your wand arm." He ordered simply. Yugi, supposing it was whichever hand he wrote with, held out his right hand. The silver-eyed man took out a tape measure and started looking around for a suitable wand. "Beachwood, 9½ inches, tail feather of a rather young phoenix." He pushed it into the boys hand. "Go on, give it a wave!" Yugi waved it around a bit, feeling very foolish. His cheeks went bright red when half the wands fell off the shelves. "Apparently not." He whipped it out of Yugi's hand and shoved another one in. "Rosewood, 13 inches exact, hair of a unicorn." Yugi once again waved, and Malik started laughing out loud as the dusty front window broke. "Well, right core, wrong wood. Powerful little one, aren't we. Here, let's try maple, 8 ¾, very sturdy." As Yugi grabbed this one rather impatiently, sparks of a teal color and gold flew everywhere, eventually shaping into an all-gold pyramid. "Not surprising." He said simply as Yugi stood in awe. Yami urged. Nevertheless, the man never blinked, and Ryou, having re- switched with Bakura, went up and held out his left hand. The tape measure immediately went to work, and as did Ollivander, searching for a wand. "Here, rosewood, 9 ¼ inches, dragon heartstring." Ryou took it and, as though out of instinct, took out his deck, and chanted something. "Bakura ." Yugi warned, but it was too late as the change of heart was summoned. "Yes, this one will do." He said as he waved the Change of Heart back. He showed the others the ring behind his back, as though to explain. "Perhaps, but never use your wand for shadow magic. Terrible things can happen. If others learn of it, the world could suffer." Malik snorted. "Apparently you haven't seen real magic then, if you think that's bad, just opening a portal. If the rest of the monsters in Bakura's deck over here were released, then you'd see something. That's probably the nicest in his entire deck, and even she's pretty creepy." Ollivander nodded. "No doubt the tomb robber helped with that." He smiled creepily as he withdrew a wand of his own and repaired the window. "Come on now, young one, you'll be needing one too." He motioned for Mokuba. "Birch, phoenix feather, 12 ¾ inches."
"Well, I knew that wouldn't be bad at all!!" Malik boasted as he walked out of the shop to run right smack into Ginny. "Oh! Malik! I'm sorry!" She gasped between breaths. "Ginny, what's the matter!!" Ryou looked up to see closely followed behind her were Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Oh. Hello, you guys." He said brightly. Hermione briefly smiled at him before attending to Ginny. "Ginny, what went on back there?" Ryou made a noise like a sick parrot. "Um, I don't think you really need to worry about it. She'll be fine. I know what happened." ~~Told you they were suspicious.~~ Ryou inwardly frowned. ~Did I ever say they weren't?~ He answered as he closed the link. "What he means is, she got kind of freaked out when she knew something you didn't. I'm sure she's acted like that before, it's only natural." Yugi explained. Ron raised an eyebrow. "What did she know?" Ryou smiled. "That I'm actually a tomb robber that had been concealed inside a necklace for five thousand years, and that Malik is the reincarnation of an assassin, not to mention that Yugi here was the pharaoh that trapped me and himself in these mystical items." He made it sound sarcastic. Harry laughed, but he wasn't sure. Not even Fred or George could think up such an elaborate story so quickly. "I've always wanted to say that." Ryou added, noticing the nervousness in the boy's laugh. "Okay." Malik pretended to edge away from him. "It's a private joke." Yugi went along with it. But Harry still wasn't convinced. The faces of those three. he knew he had seen them before. Not like, yesterday or anything, but a long time ago, like a childhood friend. Although Dudley made sure that never happened, there was still a vague feeling. The thing was, it wasn't until Ryou had said that that he had felt like he had known them before. "Oh, Ra, look at the time! We were supposed to be at the bookstore almost half an hour ago!!" Malik exclaimed suddenly before taking off. He stopped quickly, though. "Um, I don't know the way."
"Yugi! Over here!!" Malik called across the room to his friend. Yugi immediately came running. "Hey do you know where Seto and Mokuba took off?" Malik nodded. "Yeah, right after they both got a wand. He paid without anyone else noticing and literally dragged Mokuba out. Look at this, I've never seen anything like it." He pulled a book off the shelf and started flipping through the pages. "You don't think." Yugi's eyes went wide when a page with a picture of the seven millennium items appeared. "Yeah, it is." Malik answered, partly ecstatic at the find, but partly troubled that it wasn't still in the tomb. "How do you think it got here, I mean, with Shadi and Rishid protecting it and everything?" Yugi asked. "I don't know. I mean, I've never been down there without at least a glare from one of the two, even though I'm the official guardian now. And knowing that those two can be lethal when it comes to protecting the treasures, I hate to think what pains whoever went through to get it." Ryou waltzed over, carrying at least a dozen books on random subjects, but mainly divination. "To get what?" He asked, overhearing the last bit of the conversation. Malik held it up, and Ryou dropped his books. "The Book of Shadows!" Noticing the boys' surprise, a shopkeeper walked over. "Can you read that?" He asked curiously. All three of them nodded, not really realizing what the question was. "You can have it then. It came in one day, and no one is able to read or wants to buy it. Gives me the creeps sometimes anyway." He said simply as he walked away. They had just realized what had happened. "We had best show Isis as soon as possible." They said at once.
That evening, the seven (including Hermione, who decided to spend the rest of summer with the others) were shooed out of the house to go on a hike. "Remember, stay on the east side of the house!" Mrs. Weasley urged as she pushed them out. "Okay! Okay!" Fred and George repeated. Ryou of course, ran right out to enjoy the fresh air with his new delivery raven, Nightshade. "I still can't believe you got a raven!!" Malik and Yugi were whispering to him all afternoon. Considering as nice and bright and quiet Ryou was, it was weird to think Ryou was actually kind of into the occult. A lot of that was Bakura's doing of course, but it was still pretty much a visual oxymoron to see Ryou with his slightly tanned skin and white hair next to his tarot deck and raven. "Come on, slowpokes! We can't stop here! There's a lot more ahead!" He said to the rest of the lagging group. "Oh, come on, five minutes!" Fred, George, and Ron begged. Ryou rolled his eyes. "You really need to get in better shape, if this is as far as you can get! I know bugs that go faster than you!!" Malik snorted. "Yeah, one comes to mind." He laughed, referring to his 'Man Eater Bug'. "He ate Jounouchi once, how could I forget!" Yugi chimed in. "Well, true. But it wasn't my fault the baka went ahead and attacked!!" Fred and George raised eyebrows simultaneously. "Long story." "We got plenty of time." Ginny went ahead and spoke up after a weird churn in her stomach. "I don't think we do!" She pointed to the woods ahead, in which a crowd of dementors were approaching. They all started running, but didn't get very far before falling to their own memories. Harry tried shooting something out of his wand, but it was pretty much useless against them all. "What are these?!?!" Yugi cried. "Dementors! They make you remember your worst memories!" Harry, the only one still managing to stand. At this, Yugi and Malik immediately turned to Ryou. "RYOU!! Ryou, it's okay, he can't hurt you! It's just a memory!!" Malik cried into his ear. "Get them away!! I don't think he can last his memories again!!" Yugi yelled tearfully. As though this was a cue, the creatures came closer and advanced on Ryou, who was screaming something incomprehensible, curled up in a small ball. Only Malik, who was close enough, understood him. "Iie!! Iie!! You've had your fun, now go away!! Please!! Please, no more!! No, Yami, please, no!!" "Ryou, really, it's okay!! Relax, he can't hurt you, it's just a memory!" He tried to calm him down. "Bakura?" Yugi tried to ask Malik calmly, fighting his own memories, particularly those of Malik trying to kill him. Malik nodded. "Hai! I can't get him to calm down!!" As though whatever god whichever person believed in was listening, a parade of ministry personnel on broomsticks flew overhead and sent down a lot of ghostly patronums, running off them all. Ryou had long since passed out. Yugi ran over to Ryou and Malik. "Is he okay? Did they." He was cut off. "No, he's just fainted. You're the only one I've ever known to do that before, Harry." Ron said, leaning over Ryou and shaking him. "Here." Ginny handed Malik a bottle. "Wave it under his nose!" Malik threw the cork off and spilled some of it on Ryou's shirt before managing to get it under the boy's nose. Ryou coughed and sputtered a bit before opening his eyes. "Needs a lot less rose and a lot more jasmine." Were his first waking words.
"Ryou. are you feeling okay? I know what happened today must have shook you up a bit." Malik asked. Ryou shook his head. "No, of course not! I'm fine!" He said in what could only be described as false cheeriness. "I know what you were remembering. I heard you, Ryou! It's okay, you can tell me." Ryou's eyes narrowed. "There is no reason for you to try to comfort me! I'm perfectly fine, I just need some time to myself without someone bugging me about something, whether it be a tiny scratch or a harmless memory!" He exploded. Malik's features hardened. "Yami and I are both assuming that you're the tomb robber, because I know this isn't Ryou!!" He spat. Frustrated, Ryou took off the ring and threw it to the floor. "There!! You happy! Now he couldn't hurt me if he tried!! It's apparent that this is the hikari speaking because I can't even talk to him without the ring! Why can't you two just shut up! He's changed, and why you can't see that, I don't know!!" He marched wrathfully out the door, slamming it behind him.
"Harry, do you know if that Ryou kids parents died like yours or something?" Ron asked curiously. "No. His mom, yes, but his dad's still alive." Harry answered thoughtfully. "I still don't know why he fainted either. Not many people have memories that bad! It was as though, there was another factor or something." He added. "I know," Hermione started. "And you heard the way he screamed. Like the Cruciatus Curse had been placed on him or something." She commented. "And what's more," Ron whispered. "Is the way Yugi and Malik reacted. You know, 'I don't think he can last his memories again!' thing. That was creepy. " Harry and Hermione both nodded. "I just wish I knew what he was remembering."
Wow!! Lot's of words! Yea!! By the way, if you would please, help me!! I need to figure out someway for a duel monster to next-to-kill Draco Malfoy. without the help of Ryou, Bakura, Yugi, Yami, Malik, Seto, or Mokuba."