Gah....thankies again for reviews. More more more!! Fill my page up with reviews like the pharaoh's tomb!! Then Bakura will steal them all, hence falling into my trap, where I will glomp him and capture him!! XD Like as if that's ever going to happen. I wonder if there's an easier way to glomp the Pharaoh?
This chapter's somewhat tedious...I really need to get the entire "introduction" out of the way, but afterwards, Ryou gets into a really embarrassing situation that Bakura is certainly disappointed that it ended. It happens in the next chappie though. I hoped I had made the characters a little more round, but I don't think I succeeded. Ah well. I must type up my chapter with Ryou's encounter with Divination and girls.
Oh, to sum things up, no, Ryou is not my favourite character. He's ranging somewhere as my second favourite good-guy character, but I'm more or less falling after the yamis. XD YAMI YAMI YAMI!! I wuv the pharaoh. But Ryou's good for this story. Don't you agree? Yami needs to share the spotlight a bit.
No, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. If I did, I'd be richer than the Queen of England and be having frequent interviews with Shonen Jump.
Chapter Seven
Harry piled after Hermione and Ron into the dark carriage. Light rain pellets had begun to sleet onto the windows, the dark emerging from the depths of the just as dark lake. The night was yet once again a dark sheet, with no end and no beginning, wth the only little flecks of stars for light. Harry rubbed his scar disdainfully.
"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Hermione with concern.
"Fine..." Harry shook his head, wondering how many times he had ever used that word in the past few years.
"Come on, mate," nudged Ron. "What happened? Did you see You-Know-Who again?"
Harry shook his head. "No," he said as he frowned. "Nothing. I just felt....it hurt a lot...."
"No emotions at all?" inquired Hermione. "I suppose that's good then....those classes with Professor Snape over the summer certainly helped."
"Let's not mention it again, please," begged Ron as he slumped back against the seat. "Just because he's on our side it doesn't mean he's changed in anyway. He's still a mean old, greasy-haired git. Just because he's part of the Order of the Pheonix doesn't mean his attitude can change immediately. In fact, I doubt it will ever change."
"Speaking of change," said Harry quietly. "Have you guys noticed how different Ryou was when Malfoy was there?"
"And Yugi?" said Hermione.
Ron smiled. "Well...Marik sure didn't change."
Hermione had a irritated look on her face at the mention of Marik, but Harry nodded.
"You guys noticed too?"
"I don't understand," said Hermione, shaking her head. "Ryou was perfectly nice. A wondeful gentlemen....until Malfoy was there."
"Anyone that Malfoy speaks to has the right to act that way," snorted Ron.
"Oh, drop it Ron," said Hermione. "Admit it, you were surprised too."
Ron looked indignant before his face fell in admition. "I guess so."
"Ryou certainly didn't seem to be the type to jump on people before Malfoy came," agreed Harry. "Or Yugi...did you notice that after Ryou went on his weird rampage, Yugi got all confident all of the sudden?"
"Perhaps it was my imagination," said Hermione slowly. "But his voice certainly seemed a slight bit deeper too."
"It probably was," said Ron carelessly, as the looming shadow of Hogwarts approached. He suddenly looked at Harry. Hermione looked very dark. Ron looked back from Harry to Hermione.
"Please don't tell me that that's what you're thinking, Hermione," groaned Ron. "They're nice people!"
"What?" asked Harry.
Hermione was quiet for a moment.
"Well...when Marik took out his stick thing right? Your scar hurt then."
Harry frowned. "Hermione..."
"Think about it Harry," said Hermione desperately. "A few months after Voldemort is strong, then three new students come, and then your scar hurts when they are around."
"You don't think they are acutally followers of Voldemort?" asked Harry incrediously.
"Well, it's certainly suspicious, isn't it?" asked Hermione. "How else could Voldemort get closer to you? Than send three unsuspecting kids to kill you?"
There was a pause.
"There are so many things wrong with that," said Ron finally.
"What?"
"For one," pointed out Harry, "Voldemort is as closest as he can get to me already. Remember the prophecy about me? Either one of us has the destroy the other. It wouldn't work if Voldemort sent people to kill me. Also..." Harry glanced up at the now presently standing Hogwarts. "Dumbledore would never have let them in Hogwarts if he knew."
"Sirius got in," pointed out Hermione.
"He got in 'cause he used to be in this school," said Ron. "And you were wrong about him...how can you be so sure about these new kids then?"
Hermione was silent, but then bristled indignantly.
"I'm just saying."
"I think," said Harry, "that we should just wait until something else happens again. Then we can just see what they do."
"I'm telling you," said Ron as he got out of the carriage. "You're wrong Hermione. Those are nice people."
Hermione pursed her lips.
"Just be nice to them, okay?" asked Ron. "Simple really. Then you can forget that you ever thought of that weird theory."
Hermione was about to reply but Harry stepped in between them.
"Let's go in," he said firmly.
"Whoa....!" gasped Yugi as he stepped into the blinding light. The hall he now stood in was ceremoniously large and elaborately beautiful; the walls were high and reached up to the open night's heavens, with fragile candles floating luminously above them. The night sky in contrast with the chandliers and floating candles casted a friendly, mysteriously beckoning sheen of light upon all the inhabitants of the Great Hall.
"Magnificent," breathed Ryou. Even Marik was looking about mouth-gaped.
"Come along now," said a voice briskly. Yugi, Marik and Ryou turned around to see a tall, stern authority figure standing in front of them.
"You are to be sorted along with the other first-years," informed Professor McGonagall. "Don't go wandering off now."
"Sorted?" asked Ryou as he watched McGonagall place a three-legged stool in front of the students. "What does that mean?"
"Those?" Marik pointed to the four different tables, with students crowding along each length.
"You mean....." started Yugi.
"They use a housing system?" Ryou looked a bit concerned. "But usually they already decide when they send you the letter. How will they decide where we go?"
"Houses?" repeated Marik.
"Usually in boarding schools, they divide the students into dorms and houses," explained Ryou. "I've been through that when I was young, but when they decide which dorm or house you belong to, they usually tell you before you come to school. So naturally, I assumed we didn't have houses here."
"How's that going to affect us, precisely?" asked Marik, looking bored.
"It could mean that we won't be in the same house," responded Yugi. Marik's face fell.
"How will they decide?"
Whispers had begun to ripple around them; several students were pointing to a battered old , poorly patched wizard's hat that was now sitting on the stool.
"What the hell is that?" asked Marik scornfully. "Really, the wizarding world has the most pathetic items to use magic with. An umbrella, a stick, and now a hat?"
The hat twitched. It began to open its mouth, rather like a slowly smooth ripped seam spreading across. There was silence as the mouth opened, then boomed
"New students, new generation,
allow me my humble introduction,
for it is I that will declare your Hogwarts fate
Before you, stand your new family's gates
With you added, the unity more,
and the stronger be the Hogwarts four,
Don't underestimate me, I'm not merely a hat
all you see, it's here they had all once sat,
putting me on, letting choose the decisions,
because I can see your true intentions,
so let yourself relax before me,
(or under me, would that rather be)
and let me determine where you should be placed
In Gryffindor's, Ravenclaw's, Hufflepuff's
or Slytherin's signifcant traits?
Put me on, your house let me rat
for I am the Sorting Hat!"
"Always had a talent," said Ron, smirking. "Bit short this year, didn't it?"
"I think it's to make everyone less nervous," said Hermione. "Didn't it have more of a catchy tune?"
"Lots of breath for a hat," commented Ryou, laughing at Marik's expression. "I guess we just have to wear the thing."
"But he---it," stutterd Marik incredously, "said that it would choose for us. We probably won't be in the same house anyway."
Ryou bit his lip. Yugi looked up.
"Don't worry, Ryou," he said. "I''m sure we'll end up together."
"Which house is that Malfoy kid in?" asked Marik, skimming the various heads. He stopped abruptly at the Slytherin table and turned back to Ryou.
"Try not to be in Slytherin," he said. "I'm sure hell not."
"Why not?"
Marik jerked his thumb at Malfoy's direction. "If I'm going to stay a year with the kid, the damage we'll cause at each other would be even more than if I stayed with Bakura."
"Shh!" hushed Ryou nervously. "Not so loud!"
Marik took no notice and looked back at the hat. A small, mischevious smile spread across of his face. "I wonder if it has a mind..."
"Marik," started Yugi.
"Hush, Yugi," returned Marik, fingering his Rod yet again. "Let's see how this turns out."
/Where do you WANT to be?/ asked Bakura from the Ring.
/It doesn't matter/ said Ryou back.
/Liar./ The theif spirit smirked omniously. /I know you want to be with the Potter boy and all his weak friends.../
/They're not weak!/ protested Ryou.
A sinister sensation bubbled at the back of his mind. The theif king was obviously laughing lowly.
/Please. Defending them simply tells me that you really do want to be with them./
/What are you going to do...?/ asked Ryou warily.
/Ah.../ Bakura waved a hand. /I'm in such a good mood today; maybe it's the cut, I don't know, but I feel so good enough to pay my "rent".../
/No!/
/Certainly persistent, aren't you, landlord?/ teased Bakura. /Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything.../
Bakura emerged into Ryou's body and winked at Marik.
"Let's go with Gryffindor, Marik."
Marik smirked. "You got it."
The concession of students began to thin out as each student was placed under the hat. Ryou was the first to be sorted out of the threesome.
"Hmm, very peculiar..." said the Sorting Hat.
/Holy RA!/ exclaimed Bakura. /What is it with everyone coming here?! Go implant yourself in the pharaoh's mind, this one's mine!!/
/Bakura!/
The Hat chuckled. "Two minds? Never seen such a thing..."
/Just sort us, please/ said Ryou politely, blushing slightly.
"Where should I put you?" asked the Hat, thinking. "One has the mind of a Ravenclaw, a heart of Gryffindor, and the spirit of a Hufflepuff. The other...however, has the mind, soul and heart of a Slytherin."
/That's me,/ snickered Bakura. /Normally, under normal circumstances, I'd be proud, but this is slightly different./
"How so?" asked the Hat.
Ryou remained quiet.
/Dammit, just sort us into Gryffindor,/ snapped Bakura.
"But you obviously---GRYFFINDOR!" bellowed the Hat. Ryou quickly swept the hat off his head and hurried to join Harry, who was clapping very hard.
/Marik does a good job,/
"Shut up," muttered Ryou.
/Persistent and touchy,/ said Bakura dryly./Well excuse me for living in your body./
Ryou's response was cut off when Marik went up. The Hat bellowed, "Sly-GRYFFINDOR!!" before it frazed the top of Marik's hair. Marik smirked as he hurried to join Ryou, who was not at all clapping with the rest of the members of the Gryffindor table.
Yugi, of course, did not need the help of the Rod. Immediately, before the hat had even grazed the highest point of Yugi's pointy hair, it bellowed loudly, "GRYFFINDOR!" Yugi beamed as he sat next to Ryou.
Soon afterwards, the thin river of students dried out, leaving Dumbledore free to start speeches before the dinner.
"Now, a few notes to students..."
Yugi, Marik and Ryou listened intently at the rules stated as Hermione craned her neck above Yugi's head to see the teacher's table.
"Yes!" she whispered.
"What?" asked Yugi.
"It's Lupin!" she said excitedly at Ron and Harry. Both of them jerked their heads up in anticipation, and as the wizard with light brown hair and patched robes stood, Harry, Ron and everyone in the Gryffindor table (as well as the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table) stood up and applauded. Ron let out a shrill whistle in unison with Ginny.
"Is he good?" asked Ryou, smiling.
"Duh!" said Ron. "Best Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher ever!!"
/We'll see about that./
/Yami!/ Ryou scowled.
The feast began shortly after the introduction of Lupin. Yugi, Ryou and Marik were amazed at the food cluttered about them and dug in. Yami at some point made a light snide comment about the amount Yugi was eating in comparison with Ryou, at which Yugi laughed in his mind and offered to share with Yami. Yami gained control and ate to his heart's content.
A girl, with straggly, long, dirty blond hair and proterburent eyes glided over to Yami. The ex-pharoah blinked in suprise at the presence of the girl, who seemed not to notice him though she made a deliberate stop next to him.
"Hello Luna," greeted Ginny. "Have you finished eating?"
"Yes, of course," said the girl dreamily. "Hello," she said, looking at Marik, Ryou, and then Yami. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Thank you," nodded Ryou.
"I know all of your names, of course," continued the girl dreamily. "The Sorting Hat called out your names."
"That's ...good to know," said Ryou, unsure of his own sentence.
"Will you still be holding the D.A this year, Harry?" asked Luna. Yami cocked his head a bit in curiosity.
"Doubt it," said Harry regretfully. "Lupin's here though, that's good to know. With him around, I don't think we'd need to have DA lessons anymore."
"That's sad," commented Luna, her eyes glazing at nothing. "It was fun." And with that, she glided away.
"DA?" questioned Yami.
"Defense Association," said Harry. "It's nothing really. Last year we had a horrible teacher, and we had to learn about Defense against the dark arts, even though she didn't teach anything."
"So Harry set up the DA," finished Hermione. Harry looked at her.
"Oh fine," she said. "I set it up. But Harry taught."
"You must be good," said Yugi, finally returning.
Harry shrugged and stuffed a precariously large amount of peas and carrots in his mouth to prevent himself from answering more uncomfortable questions. Sadly, the food did not last long in his mouth, as Harry almost choked of laughter at the sight of Yugi's face when Nearly Headless Nick appeared next to him.
Afterwards, Yugi, Ryou and Marik followed Harry, Ron and Hermione to the dormitories. Hermione looked anticpated at the new Head Girl and Prefect as they headed up.
"Careful about the stairs," warned Ron. "they like the change."
Yugi, Ryou and Marik had to do an odd dance around the missing step; especially since Marik was stuck in it in the most awkward (and possibly painful) position.
Soon, they headed up the tower to sleep; night had fallen, and most of them were sleepy from the food. Yugi suspected that Yami had slightly gone overboard, as the spirit rarely ate. Even when Yami had control of Yugi's body when he didn't have to duel, the pharaoh rarely touched food.Marik and Ryou exchanged a light-hearted conversation, ending with Bakura teasing Marik about his encounter with the missing step.
"Did it hurt, Mawik-sama?"
"Oh sure," snorted Marik sarcastically. "Like falling on a wooden beam in that area wouldn't..."
Rubbing his stomach and sighing in pleasure, Yugi chose a bed near Ryou's and the window and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Ryou had a sight bit difficulty sleeping. His yami could be heard sniggering and admiring the cut from his soul room. Either Bakura was being abnormally more insane than usual, or Ryou could penetrate his yami's mental defences better, the teen had no idea. A soft knock on Ryou's door brought him to his senses.
"Good day, Ryou," smiled Sirius as he entered. Ryou's own soul room was decked with many random books and games; most of the games were spilled on the table top, and the windows of his soul room where closed and draperies drawn. The room had a very secluded, self-enclosed touch to it, as though one could retreat here for peace and quiet. Sirius wiped off some miniatures off a chair before sitting down in a very casual position.
"Hey Sirius!" smiled Ryou happily. "How are you?"
"The usual," replied Sirius, rolling his eyes slightly. "Dark, dark, darkness...oh yes, and more dark. You?"
Ryou chuckled. "Can't complain."
Sirius quirked an eyebrow. "Where did you get that cut?"
Ryou blinked and fingered the long scratch underneat his eye. "It's nothing."
"I didn't ask how it was," smiled the prisoner of azkaban. "I asked where."
Ryou shrugged. "You know where."
Sirius looked very disbelieving. "Well that's the obvious. Care to share more details?"
Ryou leaned against his pillow. "Bakura got into a fight again."
"Not another barfight?"
"No! No, nothing like that. He was fighting with a boy named Malfoy."
Sirius was silent for a moment.
"Alright, this time I can't criticize your yami," he finally said.
"Why?" asked Ryou, curious.
"Other than Malfoy was nothing but a snivelling, daddy-hiding, snotty, insolent little snot?" asked Bakura from the door. Ryou jumped. The ancient theif was leaning against the doorway once again, playing carelessly with the miniatures in his hand. He was unusually full-clothed, which was odd, because it seemed pointless to be wearing a dramatic leather jacket when one was in his soul room. However, in darker shadows of the soulroom "hallway", Bakura looked very intimidating indeed.
Sirius gave a Bakura a smile that was anything but friendly. "I hate to say it, but yeah, that sums it up." He sized up the tomb robber with his eyes, as though trying to understand Bakura's presence, but failed. "What are you doing here?"
"Hmph," snickered Bakura omniously. "You don't think I'm actually willingly going to allow strangers from the shadow realm to talk to my hikari so freely, do you?"
"With a yami like you, I think Ryou would gladly welcome strangers," said Sirius, looking annoyingly innocently at the ceiling. Bakura smirked.
"So...made any new friends yet?" asked Sirius.
"Yes..." said Ryou enthusiastically. "Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry."
At Harry's name, Sirius' eyes casted an obvious look of darkness, but he said nothing.
"That's great," he said, fiddling around with a little miniature. He looked very interested as he examined the small statue closely. "Did you make this, Ryou?"
Ryou nodded modestly.
"What is superb," said Sirius, looking at it from every angle. "Ingenious. You have much talent." Ryou shrugged.
Seeing that he was going to be ignored, Bakura spoke up. "Alright, Black, I admit it. There is a reason why I would like to be here." Sirius looked up with a mild look of interest.
"I would appreciate it if you could tell me about Voldemort."
Sirius blinked suspiciously. "Why would you want to know that?"
"Yes...why do you?" Ryou looked at his yami warily.
Bakura looked at Ryou with an expression he couldn't quite place. The theif's face was simply blank, hard and unable to penetrate. "I simply wish to know what Voldemort is capable of. If the pharaoh had the chance,he'd be demanding Sirius about Voldemort as soon as he could."
"Pharaoh?"
"Nothing worth your concern, Black," said Bakura offhandly. "Simply tell me."
"Not until you tell me why you want to know," replied Sirius. "I'm not that dumb to let you wander around with dark information such as that preserved in your sadistic, insane, evil head."
Bakura frowned menacingly at Sirius. "Is it wrong to know what's dangerous to harm my hikari?"
Sirius snorted. "You're using Ryou as an excuse?"
"I'd like to know," put in Ryou. He gave Bakura an annoyed look. "I can take care of myself, yami." Bakura ignored him and returned to the darkest part of the shadows until his intimidating piercing eyes were the only things visible.
Sirius sighed before starting; Ryou's anticipation was persuading. "Voldemort...he is the most feared wizard ever to live. A few decades ago, he attempted to gain world domination and at some point, killed my schoolhood friends." Sirius's expression was alarmingly dark here. "He also tried to kill my godson, and I was charged as his second in command. Now that he's alive once again. I'm sure that he will try to regain power once again." He looked out of Ryou's soul room window. "Before I entered the Shadow Realm, I was duelling one of his followers. I guess I lost."
"Who was the follower?"
"They are called Death Eaters," replied Sirius, his expression equally dark to the name regarded. "The one in specific who duelled me...her name was Bellatrix Lestrange. She was convicted a few decades ago for performing illegal curses on a Ministry official, and she broke out recently."
Ryou's eyes were wide. "I must tell Yugi this."
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "You mean, Yugi doesn't know?"
"No, no," Ryou shook his head. "We only knew of Voldemort from what you told me from our time in the Shadow Realm. You weren't quite all that clear."
Sirius ran a hand through his dark hair.
"You have to understand," he said softly. "That I cannot open up to people as well as you can. I didn't live quite the nice life myself, you know. For fourteen years, I had never seen anyone that I could trust, I had seen most of my loved ones die in front of me, there was no one in Azkaban..." Sirius shuddered. "...and the Ministry had put a millions' worth of galleons on my death. I couldn't trust anyone anymore, espeically if it had happened once before."
"What happened?" asked Ryou quietly. Sirius did not reply, but instead stood up.
"Listen, Ryou," said Sirius, looking rather transparent. "The communication spell I performed is getting weaker, since the Shadows seem to be growing more. I'm afraid I have to go back now so I can refreshen the spell for the next time we meet."
Ryou nodded, though his heart sank. "I hope to see you soon." Sirius smiled before bidding a youthful farewell, and then disappeared.
"You are so soft, Ryou," said Bakura from his shadows. "I don't understand why you would give any ra-damned concern for him if even he can't even trust you."
"What you do mean? Of course he trusts me."
Bakura laughed. "I know when I see a lie, hikari. The man doesn't trust you."
"You heard what he said. He had a rough life."
Bakura waved a hand. "All I'm saying is, if he doesn't trust you, then how can you trust him? How can you be so sure that what he is confiding in you is the truth? Who knows? Maybe he was a Death Eater himself."
"I don't believe that," said Ryou firmly.
Bakura laughed again. "And what makes you so sure?"
Ryou slipped his pillow onto the bed and began fluffing it. "If I can trust you," he said quietly, "I can trust anyone."
Bakura was silent. Before abruptly turning on his heel, he asked over his shoulder, "What do you mean by that?"
Ryou stared into Bakura's mirror-image eyes for a long while before replying.
"Just as I said. If I can trust you, I can trust anyone."
Bakura stood still for a moment, and Ryou could almost swear that the ancient theif's expression was warmer. That is, before Bakura threw his hands in the air and muttered angrily about something sounding very much like going soft. As Ryou returned into a lying position on the bed, he decided that Sirius and Bakura had more in common than he could ever have possibly imagined.
Ahahahahaaa....yes, I've decided to have a bit of Ryou and Bakura bonding, in request of my friend Riyo. Though to me, Bakura would never be capable of any emotion in synonym with sympathy, love, concern, consideration...or even guilt. He's a mean, evil, sadistic bishie and I like him for that, but I guess some things I can't avoid. Like Yami, for instance. This story was intentionally supposed to be revolving around Yugi, Yami and Harry, but it wound up mostly about Ryou. XD But I've made myself clear. For this fic, yes, there will be some yami and hikari binding, but for my other YGO/HP crossover, no, Bakura is cold and mean and will do anything to get what he wants. I like to stick with what I see in the canon thanks. And my other crossover is no, not a side-story with this, but an entirely different one. You'll just have to wait. XD