Title: Shinto Majutsu

Author: Katreal

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot, if even that.

Chapter 6

Dark glanced around the hall, watching the departing students. Apparently the feast was over and they were returning to their respective houses. Dark frowned, he knew he had to speak with the headmaster but according to Harry the dorm room had a password. The mage did not want to be locked out. He finally decided to go straight to Dumbledore, he was sure that the Headmaster would give him the password if he allowed him to stay as a student.

Dark turned away from the entrance to the hall and headed toward the staff table, all the other teachers had already departed leaving the elderly Headmaster alone at the table. Dumbledore turns toward the approaching teenager, wise blue eyes appraising him. Dark stops a few feet away, "Professor Dumbledore?"

"Yes Mr. Black?"

The brown-haired teen chewed on his lip for a minute, trying to decide the best way to phrase his request, "I would like to talk to you about something . . . "

Dumbledore raised one silver eyebrow, "Oh . . . ? What for?"

"I would rather not speak here . . . It has to do with the circumstances surrounding my being here." Dark replied, waiting for the headmaster's reaction.

Dumbledore's expression did not change, instead he merely folded his hands on the table, "Is that so? I must say I am glad you decided to approach me directly. How about we talk in my office? Tomorrow after classes should be fine."

Dark smiles, slightly relieved, "Thank you. Though I do not know where your office is."

The headmaster's lips twitched as he tried to surpress a smile, "Ask Mr. Potter, he knows the location."

Dark nods, "Yes Professor."

Dumbledore rises from his seat and begins to walk away. A few minutes later he pauses and looks back, "By the way. The password to the Gryffindor Tower is Enchante."

The mage nods and makes his way out of the hall.

Ryou follows Draco through the various passages of Hogwarts, silently committing the route to memory. The two Slytherins walked in silence, neither speaking. This continued until they reached a seemingly dead end, Ryou deduced that they must be in the dungeon due to the slight chill in the air. Draco stepped in front of a stone statue, on closer inspection Ryou discovered that it was a snake wrapped around a sword. The blonde Slytherin glanced at Ryou, "This is the entrance to the Common Room. In order to gain entrance just stand in front of the statue and say 'Majutsu'"

As soon as the word left Draco's lips the obsidian eyes on the statue glittered. The wall behind the stone snake shimmered and became transparent. Draco eyed the white-haired teen, "The password changes periodically, so check the notice board unless you want to be locked out."

Without another word Draco stepped through the transparent wall, not even bothering to look back as he felt it solidify behind him.

Ryou remained standing outside, gazing at the stone statue thoughtfully, 'Majutsu...ne....'

Having lived in Japan for the greater part of the last few years the white-haired Slytherin knew what the password meant. He only wished it was only a coincidence, "Majutsu......."

The wall became transparent again, allowing Ryou to step inside. As he stepped through the illusion two words resonated within his mind, playing the English definition of the word over and over again, 'Black Magic....'

Dark stood alone outside the entrance hall, he kept berating himself for not finding out the location of the tower beforehand. Sighing he closed his eyes and slightly loosened the seals on his magic. Upon opening his eyes he saw faint lines of power heading every which way.

Dark frowned at the sheer amount of lines, they were the power trails of every student to pass this way. The mage glanced at the lines before spotting one of a pure gold color; he smiled because he recognized that line; it was Harry's.

Dark began to seal up his hereditary magic once again, watching as all the lines began to fade and vanish; all except that one gold one. This line he followed, knowing it would lead him to Gryffindor tower.

He followed Harry's trail as it wound through the corridors, through doors, and up stairs. One or two times Dark had to double back, the staircases had shifted causing the direct route to change. Eventually the mage arrived in front of a portrait of a fat lady in a large frilly dress. He frowned as he saw Harry's line disappear through the portrait. He mumbled to himself, "Where is the tower?"

"Password please?" Dark looked up suddenly, surprised to find the lady in the picture had her arms crossed impatiently. He raises an eyebrow as he noticed that the portrait was moving; the lady's foot was tapping.

"Well?" Asked the Fat Lady.

"Um...Enchante?"

She smiled, "Same to you dearie." Dark finally understood as the portrait swung open, revealing a hole through which Harry's trail went. The mage replaced the seal on his magic and the line vanished from his view. Murmuring a thanks to the Lady in the Portrait, Dark stepped through the hole. The portrait silently swung shut after him.

Ryou lay awake in his four poster bed, in the 6th year Dorms. He stared up at the canopy, a thoughtful look in his chocolate brown eyes. Ryou sighed, he had a puzzle on his hands...two actually. One was a certain blonde haired Slytherin named Draco Malfoy. Ryou wondered why the Prefect kept his pain all bottled up, why he distanced himself from others. He knew personally that doing so just magnified the pain, not make it go away.

His other puzzle was his own yami, Bakura. Ryou was becoming worried over the continued silence, it just wasn't like Bakura to act this way. The tomb-robber's spirit usually watched his hikari all the time, making sarcastic remarks on situations and wrenching control away for a few minutes. But lately, all he had done was stay in his own soul room...

Ryou closed his eyes and felt himself lose awareness of the world around him. When he opened them again he was in his own soul room; once again sitting on his bed and staring at the door on the opposite side of the soul corridor.

Ryou knew he would get no answers out of his yami, but it still worried him. He runs his fingers through his snowy white hair nervously; trying to decide whether or not to look himself. Ryou stared at the door; behind that door was the reason for Bakura's silence.

Chewing on his lip, he gently rose off the bed and with hesitant steps he made his way to the Soul Corridor. The white-haired teen paused in front of the opposite door, the one leading to his yami's Soul Room; his hand hovering over the doorknob. Gathering his courage Ryou gently turned the knob and pushed the door opened.

Ryou gulped, he had never seen the inside of Bakura's Soul Room before; he did not know what to expect. As his eyes slowly got used to the darkness he began to make out some shapes in the room. It was patterned off an Egyptian tomb; which wasn't very surprising considering Bakura was a Tomb Robber. Ryou could barely make out a big rectangular object in the corner of the room; something about it just seemed out of place. He was about to go study it closer when a voice rang out in the darkness, "Hello Hikari."

Ryou froze, "H-hi"

Bakura's figure slowly melted out of the shadows, soon Ryou was able to see the dangerously cold expression on his yami's face. The hikari gulped and averted his gaze; he did not want to look in Bakura's cold red eyes.

Bakura stalked over to his hikari, "What are you doing in here?"

Ryou shivered at the deadly calm tone, "I-I was worried about you."

The yami just continued to stare, "Ryou..."

"H-hai?"

Bakura narrows his eyes, "Get out."

Ryou's brown eyes widen before he turns and rushes out the door. Bakura sighed and closed the wooden door behind him.
'That was close...'

A/N: Well that's all I have time to do right now. I am stuck at my grandparents house and we shall have company in a few hours. I don't have time to do the review responses....sorry....Maybe I can get a chapter done tomorrow....if not I won't be able to until I get back home...which is on Sunday afternoon I think...hmm....what else is there?

Kouryu: I dunno. Shiden?
Shiden: :shrugs: No idea.

u.u you guys are no help....anyways....have a happy holiday n.n

Shiden: Wait! I remember!
Kouryu: You forgot to ask them to review!

O.o Oh yeah...Well I had better listen to my muses....Please Review n.n