Notes: Heh, bring on the immature sex jokes! (Hey, they're 15/16, what do you expect?) Thanks for the reviews, BTW! ^_^ Love ya guys!
Just for the record, the "transcript" and the "surviving copy" that were mentioned in last chapter are all canon (if you can call it that). Well in the manga's Egyptian Arc atleast…
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Turmoil
By Kaitourei
Chapter Three: Trains, Tabloids, and Traffic
"You know, they say the length of a guy's wand measure's his… Ow! Why did you just slap me Hermione?"
- Ron Weasly
Platform 9 ¾ was crowded, as usual, but this didn't bother Harry Potter much. After his much-awaited stay with the Weasley's at the Burrow, he was going back to Hogwarts! Harry could feel the excitement building as well as the twinge of dread at the bottom of his stomach. As always, he feared what new adventure was in store for himself and his friends – whom stood faithfully by his side at the very moment.
Harry couldn't help but smile as they boarded the train and slowly moved down the halls looking for open seats, but his smile faded as his eyes fell on Draco Malfoy. The small blonde boy stood in their path, both of his ever-present flunkies at his sides. A trademark smirk was painted across his placid face.
"Looking for a seat Potter?" Malfoy smirked.
"Yes," Harry hissed through gritted teeth. "Could you move, Malfoy?"
"What no 'please'?" Came the blonde's response, his wicked grin only growing.
Ron stepped forwards on cue. "Out'a the way Malfoy, or we'll do what we did last time we met [1]!" The red headed wizard reached for his wand, but another's hand gripped his shoulder tightly.
"It there a problem here?"
The six teens looked toward the speaker, who happened to be a tall man with thinning auburn hair and steely eyes. He wore black robes with the Hogwarts logo flashing brightly amidst the dark cloth on his chest. Harry noticed in his other hand a wand was held in a defensive position ready for a quick charm if necessary.
"No sir!" Hermione's eyes were wide as she looked over at the man. "We were just looking for a seat."
"Then I suggest you find one," the man said in the same monotone. "All students must be seated until the train reaches its destination, Headmaster's orders."
Nodding weakly Harry and his friends quickly moved away from the older man, leaving Malfoy and his flunkies the deal with him. Hermione muttering under her breathe all the way. Ron and Harry exchanged glances but decided not to ask until they were far enough away from the intimidating older man. So once they were settled in with Ginny (who, after seeing Harry enter the room, was absorbed in a magazine), Fred and George - or visa-versa, Harry still had trouble telling the twins apart - the questions poured out.
"Who was that? Why was he on the train?"
"What did he think he was doing? I was 'bout to tell Malfoy off!"
Both boys exclaimed in intuition, knowing Hermione was on step a head of them all. But before the know-it-all could reply, someone else took the stage.
"Don't tell me," Fred (or George?) crossed his arms and grinned. "Old guy, Hogwarts robes, yielding an evil eye? He's an Auror, my friends, and a tough one at that! So it's up to me and George, here, to break, 'em!"
Hermione sighed. "I should have known Dumbledore would install some sort of security at Hogwarts after… well, you know."
"So there'll be guards patrolling the school?" George asked with a sour face. "Well that'll take some fun out of this school year… but we could always…"
"Yes!" Fred said with a triumphant smirk. "Us, Weasleys are very resourceful when it comes to entertainment. Boredom beware, the terrible twosome have returned and we will not let puny Aurors stop us in out quest!"
The other occupants of the booth snickered as Fred stuck a "heroic" pose, while Ginny –having looked up from her magazine- rolled her eyes. "And what 'quest' might that be?"
George mocked a hurt look, "Why our only quest! To become the best, and only best, pranksters Hogwarts has ever had!" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "That and open our joke shop, of course - " Fred's eyes fell on the magazine Ginny was clutching. "That's '*Magic Realities' isn't it? Mum would kill you if she knew! Let me see?"
Fred made a swipe for the magazine but Ginny was quicker and moved it out of his reach, unfortunately she didn't notice Ron also reaching toward her until the magazine was pulled from her hands. "Brothers," she huffed with a vex expression.
"'Hogwarts School Scandal'" Ron read the cover story. "'Sources inform us that much acclaimed Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is indeed consorting with dark forces after the acceptance of a transfer student against the Ministry's better judgment…' Do you actually believe this stuff Ginny? It is by *Rita Skeeter!" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No I don't, but," Ginny had her arms crossed. "I need it back, it was a friends…"
"Skeeter?" Hermione mumbled softly. "I was wondering what she would do next… I mean, she did loose her job with the *Daily Prophet but…"
Ron paid no heed and continued flipping through the pages, making faces at quite a few of them. The rest of the occupants watched him. Ron looked up suddenly with a grin, "You know, they say the length of a guy's wand measure's his - " A thwack sound was heard by all as a palm collided with Ron's cheek. The Weasly rubbed his reddening cheek, "Ow! Why did you just slap me Hermione?"
"That was just immature!" Hermione crossed her arms and glared. Harry watched the scene play out, not sure whether he wanted to stop it or not. "And not to mention disgusting! Plus, it's not even true!"
"And how would you know?" George cleverly asked, causing Hermione to burn with blush. "Hm? Who was the lucky man?"
Seeing his chance, Harry pulled the magazine away from Ron and handed it back to Ginny – who blushed, but not as much as Hermione was. The others were too preoccupied with the current discussion to notice.
"T-thanks," Ginny stuttered awkwardly. "I think I'll go visit Lavender or someone… B-bye!" She scampered from the room before Harry could reply. Shrugging to himself Harry turned his attention back to the others, occasionally joining the conversation.
---
Harry wasn't surprised when he noticed a few students missing. He had anticipated that they wouldn't want to return after last year's tragedy…
Harry's head instinctively snapped toward the Ravenclaw table. Cho Chang sat with her back to him, Harry couldn't see her face but he suspected she wasn't too happy to be here. Sighing to himself, for what seemed to be the third time that day, the black haired boy turned his attention to the beginning ceremony.
Within the castle's safe walls the ceremony began and Harry's thoughts drifted from the terrified faces of the first years to his friends and godfather Sirius Black, who just happened to be a wanted criminal. Mail from Sirius was slow this summer. According the Sirius he was in a "safe place" and "won't be able to contact – or be contacted – until the situation blows over a bit". Harry was a bit disappointed at this but he knew Sirius was trying his best. He assumed the whole Aurors-guarding-the-castle bit didn't help much either…
"…As of the current situation the Ministry of Magic has ordered the aid of Aurors," Dumbledore was saying. "They will be patrolling the castle and are here for your protection, their judgment will not be questioned, and they shall be treated as if they were part of the Hogwarts staff." He glanced sternly across the room. "Now that is said, I would like the announce a change in plans. Usually tomorrow would be the first day of class, but instead we will be having a ceremony to welcome in a very talented transfer student. You shall meet in the Great Hall before breakfast for his sorting, and then… the rest of the day is yours."
A murmur of happy whispers and questions spread across the hall as the food appeared magically. Harry turned toward his two best friends. "This transfer student…?"
"Hm?" Ron raised an eyebrow, his moth full.
"Oh Harry, you don't think… He can't be…" Hermione looked skeptical. "… It was Rita Skeeter."
Harry looked at his plait, suddenly the food didn't look so appetizing. "That's what worries me, as much as she twists her stories, there is some truth…"
---
It was a standoff, just like the old western movies the CEO had seen, except the occasional tumbleweed rolling through the scene. Kaiba clenched his fists. The wand, on the other hand, remained still. Kaiba raised an eyebrow. It was stupid, he knew, to sit there glaring at a twig on his nightstand. But that twig has done what only an item of immense power – a *Sennen Item - could. Because, from what Kaiba knew, only a Sennen Item could summon the Shadow Realm… but apparently that wasn't true in this case - a case that Seto Kaiba was determined to solve.
Warily Kaiba reached in and closed his fingers around the wand… nothing happened. With a raised eyebrow, the CEO gave the wand a flick, but still, to no avail. Sighing in defeat and frustration he turned and set the wand back in its rightful box. Kaiba moved away from the nightstand and sat down beside his laptop, which was conveniently sitting on the small desk provided in the inn's bedroom. Sighing again at his current situation (an accommodations) Seto Kaiba took to typing.
When he had a chance to look at the clock near the doorway he could barely make out the numbers four fifty-two. With sleep dragging his eyelids downward, he shut off the third program he had finished in a matter of hours and flopped lifelessly in bed, not bothering to change from his current clothes or pull the covers over him.
Yes, for Seto Kaiba there was no night - just daylight, work, and morning, so by the time his eyes had fully closed it only seemed like a second in the CEO's mind before the bustle of the shops outside woke him. Blinking the dreamless sleep away, Kaiba stood on wobbly feet and massaged his back. Taking a few steps away from the bed, he realized he was still in yesterday's clothes, but that wasn't the worst discovery yet.
"Shit," Kaiba turned to the clock and grimaced. Two hours of sleep and an hour before the train left… he knew he needed an alarm clock, whether it be to thrown across the room or to wake him on time was debatable.
After showering, dressing, and leaving the Leaky Cauldron, Kaiba was back in his familiar realm. Cars honked and pedestrians called loudly to each other welcoming Kaiba into the London rush hour [2]. There were some days the CEO wished humans would just crawl under the pathetic rock they generated from and stay there… forever. This was one of them.
He found himself stuffed in the back of a smelly cab against his entire Hogwarts luggage. If only gaze could kill Kaiba would be a serial murderer in less than half an hour. But his icy eyes only warned what could come if he was displeased. Which was just what Kaiba wanted, after all he hated to consort with people "below" him. Now this wasn't a matter of intelligence, it was more of a matter of wealth and power. People who wouldn't help the CEO in one or more ways were "below" him.
"…Woman's body found today," an anchor's voice slowly drifted and met Kaiba's ears. "Police identified the diseased woman as Elise Akila, who recently moved from Damietta, Egypt to a residency at Privet drive. Investigation is still under way to determine the cause of death, from what authorities said there was no visible cause. One detective was quoted saying the death was 'unnatural' and almost 'like magic'… "
"I was listening to that."
The cabby had reached down to turn off the depressing news, but the CEO's interest was sparked. Kaiba sent a swift glare toward the cab driver that nodded mutely and avoided the cold gaze. "Sorry sir…"
" …The world wide murders and disappearances of some thirty-seven archeologists and Egyptologists – the late Elise Akila included – have sparked universal interest among top authorities. Britain's archeological society is astounded by these crimes, but as of yet, no suspects or motives can be deduced…"
Kaiba turned his head and stared out the window. Magic. Murders. Egypt. This could be a problem. Running from problems that you knew were coming was pointless he knew that from experience. He just hoped he would know the solution and could meet this one head on. No one liked getting caught with his pants down, especially Kaiba.
Hours dragged on like centuries, the CEO staring out the window at the pathetic mess he had gotten himself to. It seemed lucky then, that Kaiba's interest was sparked. At first it wasn't noticeable. They were just a few men, walking along the crowded boulevard. But they weren't meant to be there. How he knew that, Kaiba wasn't sure.
His own cab passed them slowly, allowing Kaiba a closer look. When the cab was almost along side of them, he did know. He could see them all clearly now, two brunettes and a greasy looking black haired man. They were wizards, or their clothes seemed to belong in that realm. Wherever they were from Kaiba could see they didn't want to be walking out in the open walkways. Disgusted looks played across the brown haired men's faces as they moved, though the other darker haired man didn't look so revolted.
One of the brunettes glanced disgustedly over toward Kaiba's cab. Kaiba wasn't sure what made the man's eye widen as they locked eyes. He had probably recognized him as Seto Kaiba.
A sudden jolt sent Kaiba banging against the luggage and broke his gaze. The cab had apparently fought its way through the traffic jam and plunged down streets towards Kings Crossing and platform 9 and ¾. Kaiba made a mental note not to tip the driver as the car gave another jolt. He was mistaken in even agreeing to come to this lunatic school in the first place. But it never occurred to him that his only mistake that day was making eye contact.
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*Magic Realities = a wizard tabloid magazine (cover article by Rita Skeeter, go figure…) focused on revealing the "truth" (think "National Inquirer" if you live in the US). ((It also may be the only thing in the fic that I own (besides the unimportant OCs)! I'm so proud!))
*Daily Prophet = popular wizard newspaper.
*Rita Skeeter = a Daily Prophet writer who wrote horrible lies about people including Harry, Hermione and Hagrid – is an illegal Animagus (bug) and was caught and trapped in a jar by Hermione at the end of book 4.
*Sennen = Millennium (I prefer Sennen over Millennium.)
[1] At the end of book 4, Harry, Hermione, Ron and a few others (whose names escape my mind at the moment) jinxed/hex Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle - knocking them unconscious.
[2] Okay I have no friggin' clue about London or its traffic. This scene was purely my imagination…
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