Thanks so much for reviews guys! I love you all! gives out Bakura plushies now More more more!
Okay, due to popular demand, I made this a little bit more Sirius-centered. Gosh, I never knew there are as much Sirius fans as there are Bakura's. That's quite amazing. I hear Bakura everywhere. But I guess Sirius seemst to have his spotlight among the HP and YGO fans. That's...great! BACK OFF, FANGIRLS. SNUFFLES IS MIIINNEE..XD.
Haha, that thing with Sirius and the dog collar...I had always imagined Padfoot wearing leather, but nothing to the extreme of Yami Yugi's (hot) style, but now if you think about it, a dog collar would certainly fit our lovely canine Animagus, no? XD I should stop making him make fun of Bakura for his age...but there's nothing really to mock about to a guy who likes being all the bad and wrong things in general. We like Bakura being baaaddd...XD
Disclaiimer: Big deal You all know it. HP and YGO belong to their rightful owners,but this story and its plot belongs to me to a certain degree.
Add me to your favourites please! Read, review, enjoy.
Chapter Twelve
Ryou stood in his soul room, clutching his wand determinedly. He smiled at his surroundings and almost shuddered with glee of the prospect of seeing his friend again. Being extremely careful with the wand, he hurried into Sirius's semi-disintegrated soul room.
He stood in the middle of it, gripping his wand tight.
"Legilemens Communicani!!"
There was a bright string of light shooting from the end of his wand; it slithered onto the floor and burrowed itself through the carpet.The silvery strand soon disappeared, and Ryou exhaled deeply, his energy quite drained.
Nothing happened; though Ryou wasn't too worried. He knew he would have some difficulty with it; but he was sure he did it right.Perhaps it just needed some time before Sirius could come back. Until then, Ryou shrugged, he might as well amuse himself.
He was about to return to his own soul room, not really wanting to snoop, but the furniture and aspect of Sirius's empty soul room seemed to beckon him with much curiosity. Careful as to avoid the black abyss of the Shadow Realm beyond its dissolving walls, Ryou made a quick scan of Sirius's room. A large trunk stood in one corner; family photos and such were placed upon it. Ryou bent down and brushed the dust away from the pictureframes. On one, stared back an old family portrait that was old and frayed beneathe the cracked glass...Ryou interpretted that it was probably Sirius's family, either long forgotten, or deliberately forgotten, considering the broken frame that was covered in dust. Dust usually represented forgotten memories, or negliance. Ryou tried to look through another dusty frame and was shocked to see an image of someone he truly loathed.
There was no doubt, he thought, that the women staring back was no other than Bellatrix :Lestrange. Even though her hair was much fuller, her eyes much more sparkling, her face more full, there was no doubt that this was a picture of the woman that sent Sirius to the Shadow Realm. Ryou gaped at her beauty with rare distaste. Why on earth would Sirius have a picture of the Death Eater that he so forcefully hated?
Frowning, Ryou returned the picture and brushed his hands together, as though contaminated. He quickly absorbed himself among the other objects in the room.There was an old yearbook, or a photo-album of sorts, perched on the trunk as well. The photo-album was not dusty; on the contrary, it was rather new looking...at least it was brighter than anything else in the room. Curious, Ryou flipped through it, seeing many images of a young Sirius with many friends. He was surprised at how handsome his friend was at his age. Each picture held a bright, beaming young man with mischevious eyes and dark, twinkling eyes, his dark hair falling casually in front of his smooth face. As the years passed, Ryou noticed that the teen Sirius seemed to gain a lot more seriousness replacing the mischevious look on his face, though not in his eyes. Ryou flipped to the back. He saw Sirius as a seventh-year, truly handsome, his expression cynical but his eyes glinting. There was yet another picture of Sirius and three other friends; Ryou almost recognized one of the faces...it looked almost exactly like Harry!
Except...his eyes were hazel, there was no lightning bolt scar, and the eye-glasses were slightly different...and...well, Ryou had never seen Harry look at all that cheerful. The teen in the picture seemed to be so outgoing and joyous, and carefree, and rather Harry was more quiet to Ryou, a subtle, perserved boy. Not someone who looked as though he liked attention. So it couldn't be Harry...
Shaking this thought off, Ryou focused more on the other members. Each of them had a bright smile, though the one who looked like Harry had a mischevious grin almost identical to Sirius's. Ryou had a fleeting impression of a Bakura and Marik. Considering Sirius's expression in almost every school photo, he looked almost as capable of the mischeif Bakura would've likedly caused. They almost had the same smirk...to a certain degree, since Ryou's darker half was far more sadistic and evil than Sirius would ever be.
Ryou put the book away and stood back up, looking around, his hands behind his back. He didn't really want to snoop anymore, he'd feel guilty about it. He smiled as his eyes passed another photo, though this one was of him. Sirius obviously was very loyal to those he liked. He also seemed to have an affirmity of leather as well, noticed Ryou, as he continued staring around. It reminded him distinctly of the style Yugi wore, except much more subtle and mature. At least Sirius didn't seem to possess a dog collar...
Ryou blinked and shook his head, almost chuckling ironically. There it was, a small dog collar, glinting among the folds of another pile of neat leather. He noticed that the collar seemed to have a small embroidery on it; the silver thread made out a word in bold font:
"Padfoot."
Ryou cocked his head at the name. Hmn. Padfoot.
Sighing, he raised his wand again to attempt the spell; it couldn't possibly take Sirius this long to come back. He was about to repeat the spell when something else caught his eye.
It was an old tapestry, hanging off the wall, hidden by the folds of black. It was old and dirty and patched, smudged in many places. Ryou peered at it. There were so many burn marks...
Underneath the tapestry was an old picture...a wizarding picture, since all of the inhabitants were looking up confusedly at him, except for Sirius, who was beaming and waving. It was obviously taken a long time ago, since Sirius's hair was short, but the other inhabitants were familiar to Ryou..at least, some of them.
There was a Dumbledore, always as he was, with his silver hair and beard, there was Hagrid, crouching to get into the frame, there was Lupin, who looked much younger but rather tired (Ryou blinked at the image of Lupin, who seemed to suddenly realize who Ryou was and joined in waving), there was the Harry-look-alike, beside a woman with long red hair, and many more that Ryou couldn't recognize.
He looked up again and saw that, on the tapestry, the name "Bellatrix Lestrange" was connected indirectly to the name "Sirius Black."
Ryou's mouth fell open.
They were...related?
"Ryou!" yelled a voice. Ryou was jostled and quickly stood up. He was amazed at how angry Sirius looked now.
"Ryou!" he said again. "What are you doing in here?"
"I know I shouldn't have," stuttered Ryou, sticken by the expression on Sirius's face. A dark, empty look had returned to his eyes, making him look rather menacing. But then he realized that Sirius wasn't really mad at him...his eyes were at the tapestry.
"I'm sorry," apologized Ryou. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have...please don't be angry." Sirius almost certainly seem to resemble Bakura now...Ryou winced at the thought.
Sirius then looked rather weary and tired. He leaned against his soul room door and shut his eyes.
"How long have you been here?" he asked, forcing his voice to be smooth.
"Uh..." Ryou guilty looked at the floor. Sirius let out a breath of exasperation, but seeing the guilty look that Ryou had, he quickly regained composure.
"It's okay," he said disgruntedly. He frowned at the tapestry. "I'm not mad at you...but generally, I don't really like people in my soul room. Heck, I don't like it much myself."
Ryou quickly skitted out of the room.
"Why?" he asked, when Sirius stopped him and gestured back, indicating that he really didn't mind too much now.
Sirius was so silent that Ryou thought it had been a mistake to go back into the room. He was about to offer Sirius into his own room when the prisoner of Azkaban finally answered.
"Because it brings me memories I don't quite want to remember," he said roughly. He poiinted to the tapestry. "Such as that."
"Oh?" Ryou looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay," assured Sirius as he frowned more deeply at the tapestry.
"Why...why do you hate it?" inquired Ryou slowly. "The tapestry...it's your family, isn't it?"
Sirius let out a bitter chuckle. 'Yeah, I suppose, if you could call it that. They really aren't family if they weren't human."
"What was wrong with them?" Ryou had suddenly realized just how much of Sirius he didn't really know.
Sirius frowned even more deeply. "They were pure-bloods,"he replied shortly. "As in, true wizards and witches, who did not associate with those who were Muggle-born. You, for example, are Muggle-born, because you possess magic though your parents don't. My family wasn't like that. They were entirely pure-blood, and did not like to associate with those who weren't. Before Voldemort showed his true colors as a villain who wished for world domination, many people thought that he had the right idea, killiing off all the Muggle-borns and have the Pure-bloods in charge. My family was soft enough to believe them, but I didn't." He pointed to a name next to his. "That was my brother, a much better son, as I was constantly told. Joined the Death Eaters, but backed out and were killed by Voldemort's orders." He ran a hand through his dark, long unmatted hair. It was only then did Ryou notice that Sirius's face certainly did look much thinner and paler; despite the fact that Sirius was a strong wizard who wasn't banished by means of a Millennium Item, his soul was probably weakening from too much exposure to the Shadows.
"I can't possibly imagine hating my parents," said Ryou softly. Sirius gave him a rather cynical look.
"Well, I can't say much on that," he said. "You grew up entirely differently than I did. Are you one of those stereotyped Japanese kids with too much pressure at home?"
Ryou looked surprised. "What do you mean?"
Sirius immediately realized how rude his statement could've been.
"I mean...as in, your parents give you too much pressure, that it might stress you out?" Sirius rephrased, delicate to avoid any words concerning abuse.
Ryou understood, and laughed. "No..no...well, I guess it's a matter of opinon. I mean, I didn't live with my family, actually."
"Really?" asked Sirius, his eyes wide. "I moved out when I was your age and lived on my own."
"I've been living on my own, and moving frequently," said Ryou, "since I was fourteen."
"What?" Sirius's eyes were rather wide now. "That's rather young."
"I had to," shrugged Ryou. "I couldn't stay with the ones I loved with ...Bakura...I mean, without me knowing what Bakura was capable of doing. Bakura only recently became a bit more civilized."
"He was worse than this before?" Sirius looked exasperate. "God, I can't really imagine that."
"He was..." shrugged Ryou again. "...a lot more sadistic. He was always plotting against Yugi, hoping to get his MIllennium Item, and pretty much tipped towards the insanity side. He wasn't as insane in the beginning, rather just..certainly a lot more calm. But then he was sent to the Shadow Realm, and it was then did he get sort of touched in the head."
"He doesn't do anything to you anymore?"
"No." Ryou shook his head. "I'm beginning to trust him."
Sirius raised his eyebrows and seemed to notice the missing presence of the tomb robber.
"Where is he?"
Ryou shifted from his left foot to his right. "Well...it was rather difficult to cast the spell when I was in my own body," he said.
Sirius looked incredulous. "You left him out on his own?"
"It was worth it," smiled Ryou.
"I fear for the world," groaned Sirius. "I cannot possibly imagine what he can do in one night."
"I just hope he didn't get me in too much trouble," said Ryou. "I can't imagine what he's doing either, but it doesn't really matter. I was willing to let him take over my body tonight so that I could talk with you."
He leaned back against the wall and accidently tipped over the moving photograph.
"Oh no..." he said miserably. "I'm sorry..."
"It's fine," assured Sirius, hurrying to gather up the pieces. "The picture's still okay."
Ryou noticed that Sirius looked rather melancholy when he peered at the picture's inhabitants. His face slowly deepened in a deep frown.
"What?"
"Nothing," said Sirius shortly.
Ryou cocked an eyebrow and peered over; he saw Sirius's eyes narrow menacingly at a picture of a round-looking man, with a pointed nose, and fair hair. He seemed rather short and small compared to the others in the picture.
"Who...was that?" asked Ryou cautiously.
Srius was gripping the frame so hard Ryou was nervous that it would break.
"Someone who I show no more concern to anymore," said Sirius coldly. Ryou knitted his eyebrows in a quizzical expression.
"It's okay...if you don't want to say anything," said Ryou softly.
Sirius closed his eyes and laid the picture down, as though he could control himself better if he didn't see the face. He looked as though he was rather close to flinging the entire thing at the wall.
"He was....a comrade," said Sirius delicately cold.
"You mean, he was your friend before?"
"He was never a friend," said Sirius shortly. "He hanged out with us, was part of our games, laughed with us, joked with us, but he was never, and never will be, my friend. He betrayed us to Voldemort and caused the death of my best friend and his wife."
"Who?"
Sirius waved blindly in an offhand sort of way towards the picture frame, but Ryou couldn't make out who he was mentioning about.
"He was the one who convicted me to Azkaban," said Sirius quietly, his eyes haunted and dark.
"What?!" Ryou whirled around, eyes wide.
"Yes," said Sirius lowly. "The man's name is Peter Pettigrew. Also known, once personally, as Wormtail. He was a spy to Voldemort and betrayed us one night. He allowed Voldemort to kill my friends and then he made it look as though he caught me. I spent fourteen years in Azkaban because of him."
Ryou was in shock.
"And he...was your friend?" breathed Ryou in disbelief. never imagine that happening." He had a sudden image of Tea's faiths and hopes that had led them through so many victories and his heart was jabbed slightly.
Sirius snorted. "I'm not even sure how we ever managed to like him, now that I look back. He was obviously the most cowardice of us all; always liked to find people to hide behind..." He suddenly realized who he was talking to. He continued, more gently, "But that's just me, Ryou. I'm sure you and your friends seem rather strong together. We used to be like that. The three of us still are, I guess. It was just him who was a rotten person, through and through."
Ryou shook his head slightly, trying to get the image out of his mind. He had been visioning the Duelist Kingdom battles when Yugi and Joey were duelling and Tea was utterly confused as to why it was such a important and risky game. Perhaps her rantics were rubbing him off a bit too much now, as it was he who had explained to her and Tristan that the duel could've resulted in broken friendships.
"Gosh," said Ryou finally. "That's certainly horrible. To go to Azkaban is bad enough, but to go there because of your friend...that's so much worse..."
"He was not my friend and never will be," said Sirius brusquely. Ryou quirked his eyebrows slightly but they were hidden beneath his snowy white bangs. "A rat like him did not deserve how much we've done with him. He deserved to die."
Ryou shifted uncomfortably in Sirius's bitterness. True, in those times when Sirius had visited him, in the Shadow Realm when they were awaiting Yugi's rescue, he had come to know that Sirius would have sudden fits of brooding darkness. Yet this seemed to be far beyond melancholic brooding. A foreboding, menacing hatred seem to radiate from Sirius omniously at every mention of his family and his betrayed friend.
"Who did he let Voldemort kill?"
Sirius frowned, but not as though he was annoyed at Ryou. He seemed to be contemplating whether or not he would even like to remember himself.
Ryou decided to hastily change the subject, since it looked as though Sirius was truly not willing to answer.
"Er---how is it, in the Shadow Realm?" he asked. Sirius shrugged, folding up the picture and slipping it into one of the dark drawers of a nearby desk.
"Certainly boring," he said, euphemisizing. "All that boredom is going to drive me insane..."
"That's what the Shadows do," said Ryou. "They drive people insane." He frowned worriedly. "Are you going to be alright? I'm sorry I couldn't find a way sooner to get you out..."
"It's fine," said Sirius, beginning to walk around the room. "It's not so bad if I can retrieve to my soul room once in a while. Sometimes I'd notice that I can't find another room...your room, that is, or Bakura's, and that's when I know that I need to refreshen the spell. Mind you, you did a rather good job anyways."
Ryou smiled. "Thanks."
Sirius seemed to be quite pleased at the amount of leather that he owned. Ryou interpretted that it was probably symbolizing strength...leather, of course, was hard to destroy. Sirius looked rather amused when he stopped by the leather dog collar. He had seen snapshots of Battle City a few times when he was visiting Ryou's room, and he quite knew what Yugi dressed like.
"I never thought you'd like that sort of thing," joked Ryou. "Yugi was the only one who really did seem to be into the entire dog collar leather thing. My own yami just liked leather coats. But Yugi usually goes over the edge; belts, chokers, bracelets, the works."
Sirius let out a laugh that sounded unusually similar to a dog's bark.
"Why does Yugi wear a dog collar anyways?" he asked.
"Dunno," shrugged Ryou. "I guess he just likes the looks of it. My...er, classmate...Seto Kaiba, likes to call my friend Joey a mutt, though. Why? I never thought you'd like that sort of thing."
Sirius picked up the collar with one finger and gave Ryou a amused, sardonic look, letting it sway playfully. An eyebrow was raised and Ryou had the distinct impression that Sirius was fighting laughter.
"What?"
"Your friends wear dog collars for the heck of it, right?"
"Yeah..."
Sirius shrugged, still seeming to supress an ironic laugh, and began slipping the dog collar around his neck. "Ryou...do you know what an Animagus is?"
"Er....yes," replied Ryou, remembering a part in the notes McGonagall gave him. "They're...people who can turn into a certain registered animal, right?"
Sirius snorted. "They don't have to be registered, Ryou." He finished slipping the leather collar on and turned to the teenage boy. "How do I look?"
Ryou laughed. True, the dog collar looked rather nice in Sirius, but it wasn't quite fitting, given the man's personality. "It's...not you," he said, seeing Sirius grin.
Sirius let out another laugh that sounded unusually like a bark. He gave Ryou a wink before suddenly vanishing. Ryou's eyes widened as his friend was soon replaced by a large, shaggy black dog, wearing the same dog collar as Sirius had. Ryou had the impression that the dog was extremely entertained at his shocked expression. Afterwards, the dog vanished, and was replaced by the infamous prisoner of Azkaban, chuckling happily.
"How about then?"
Ryou's mouth opened into an unbelievable, delighted shock. Sirius was still laughing.
"I daresay I looked better in it then than now," he remarked, slipping the dog collar off. "I never thought of wearing these before actually. Never got my attention, though that seems rather ironic now, seeing this in my soul room."
"You're...you're an Animagus?" breathed Ryou, his eyes wide.
"Yeah," said Sirius, running a hand through his hair. "A dog Animagus. Unregistered, mind, because my friends and I performed and made the potion when we were in Hogwarts secretely. I guess you could say that we were a bunch of risky trouble making teens."
"Not as much as Bakura and Marik," said Ryou, beginning to grin. "I can't believe it. I never knew you were one. So that's why there was a dog collar in your room..."
Sirius smiled.
Bakura hurried after Marik; he knew they were supposed to be on the Quidditch Pitch. He made sure that Yami and Yugi were fast asleep; the pharaoh need never know that he was out of bed. For fun's sake, he produced an old teddy bear from underneathe the bed, (one that he had snuck from Diagon Alley as well) he gently tucked it in Yugi's arms and guided Yugi's thumb into his mouth. Chuckling at Yugi's now even-more-so-sweet-angel-innocent face, Bakura began to leave. He smirked with glee at the thought of the boys' reactions if they were to find Yugi like that the next morning, especially if it was the pharaoh who woke up first. He looked back and saw Marik's bed was vacant. As he headed out, he couldn't help but notice that Harry's bed was empty also.
He slid out of the portrait hole, his slim frame slithering in the darkness. It was odd not having a hikari to be scolding from, or to even have to worry one, for that matter. He heard no complaints from Ryou, and after a quick peek in the soul rooms discovered his light talking and laughing animatedly to Sirius. That was alirght. He didn't like Sirius much anyways. Well, maybe more than some people...at least the man seemed to be capable of murder. That was always a plus side.
Bakura took a risk and pelted down the corridor, unsure how to get to the Quidditch pitch. He decided his best luck was to head downstairs; if he got to the main entrance maybe he could see the stands from there.
He made his way to the front entrance, quietly easing the large double doors. From there, he headed towards the large Quidditch stands, hoping he didn't miss too much.
The cloak was large enough so that Harry and Marik could walk together without being too close for comfort. The Egyptian boy was staring wide-eyed through the sheeny transclucent material, smirking occassionally. Though Filch was still on probation, he was living outside in the caretaker's cottage, and Mrs. Norris was still around, stalking in the night, reporting to him. Harry found it rather pointless as he saw the cat streak down the hall, since Filch couldn't really do much. Actually, he had noticed that without Filch's presence, the students had been a lot more obedient.
Outside, it was rather cold; they made out a figure and Harry hastily checked on the map.
"It's Malfoy," he whispered. He slipped off the cloak. "Go...but be careful."
Marik shrugged and entered the pitch, stoaking his Rod affectionately as he approached the Slytherin.
"Alright, Ishtar," said the Slytherin, twirling his wand. "Let's get this over with. Keep in mind that I am a sixth-year, and you had only been here a month?"
"It all depends on what you think," said Marik smoothly. "Quit blabbering and duel, Malfoy sama."
Malfoy gripped his wand, but Marik shook his head.
"I'm not going to quite duel that way, Malfoy," he said, twirling his own Rod. "But I suppose, since you don't even know the true aspects of the game..."
"Duel my way first," said Malfoy offhandedly, as though he wasn't quite listeing.
Marik laughed. "Now why on earth would I do that?"
"Because..." Malfoy sent him a surprising spell. The curse hit Marik smartly in the shoulder and he cursed as he fell to the ground.
"Becase I said so, Ishtar. And you will learn to obey my orders, and my orders alone."
Marik frowned deeply as he stood back up. "That was uncalled for, Malfoy."
"Of course it was," replied Malfoy smoothly. "And so is this. Maybe now you will go back to where you came from, Mudblood."
Marik whirled around at the sound of footsteps. Three or four cloaked figures were surrounding him, though he could make out the faint outline of Crabbe and Goyle's monstrous heavy-weight figures.
"You never told me it was one on one," smiled Malfoy. "I told you. Tatics. And one never leads into battle when there are no reinforcements behind them. That's the frist strategy, Ishtar."
"And this is your new lesson," snarled Marik as Crabbe and Goyle attempted to wrestle his arms. "Don't mess with me."
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice," said Malfoy, as Crabbe and Goyle now tightened their grip so that Marik couldn't even move. "My father would be very pleased to see you, he will indeed..." He reached out for the Rod.
"BAKA!" Marik thrusted his foot into Malfoy's stomach, sending the bewildered Slytherin onto the ground. He yearingly attempted to call the magic of the Shadows, but failed when Pansy Parkinson sent him a a Stunner directly in the chest.
There was a crack as Goyle was then Stunned; Marik looked up and saw Harry holding his wand in the darkness of the stands. He tried to fight off Crabbe as Malfoy then growled and began duelling with Harry. Pansy was yet ready to attack Harry from behind when there was an almost casual crack and the Slytherin girl fell to the floor. Crabbe and Goyle both immediately released his arms momentarily to stare at the monstrosity above them.
A rather dead-like corpse was floating in the air; there was a faceless ghoul, his hand on an Ouiji board. The letter "D" was floating omniously in front of it. Smirking at this trademark, Marik quickly threw off Crabbe and Goyle and threw a card in the air.
"Summon Bowganean!"
A rather eerie monstrosity appeared, attacking them all with its spikes. No sooner after it struck them all had it disappeared. He ran towards Bakura.
"Harry!" he yelled. "Over here!"
Harry sent another curse flying at Malfoy. As soon as Malfoy was down, he left immediately, scowling Bakura was standing omniously in the darkness, smirking at the Slytherins.
"I'll count to four," he said softly. "Then leave. If not...."
He gestured to the Ouija board.
The Slytherins looked scared.
"Four," said Bakura, and the letter "E" appeared. D....E....
Harry stared at the odd....thing ... floating omniously in the air. He had to get away from Malfoy, but what was more precarious; duelling with Malfoy and getting caught by the teacher or running headfirst into a headless ghoul that was spelling out the word...well, he didn't know what the word was, but he knew and Ouija board was a bad omen.
"Three." Bakura closed one finger, showing them. The Slytherins began to part as another letter was materalizing out of the air...A....
"Two." Another finger down. The letter T appeared and it was only then did Harry understand what the board was spelling.
"Bakura," he muttered. "What's going to happen when it reaches the end?"
Bakura gave him a frighteningly dark, sadistic look. "Why don't you stand around and see, Potter? I assure you, it will be highly amusing." Marik acutally looked rather reluctant about it and nudged Bakura in the stomach.
"One." The letter H appeared. Bakura laughed.
"And now the word is done, Slytherins! Are you gone? Or will my Necro Ouija board find you all?" He gestured to the monster above him. The word, indeed, was finished, and confirmed Harry's suspicions.
He gaped at the word.
D E A T H...
The Slytherins had all disappeared by then, much to Bakura's disappointment, it seemed.
"Come on," muttered Harry, tugging the both of them. Sightly sadly, Bakura made the image vanish before shooting a look at Marik. Harry then felt at an odd, disappearing sensation at the back of his mind, as though the image of the Ouija board and the other monster was slowly ebbing away...
Protego, he thought silently. The sensation stopped. Shaking the thought of who could've been the one causing it, Harry then silently placed the Occulmency spell in his head. His mind was soon feeling free and his own again.
"Here," he muttered, flinging the cloak over Bakura. "It's an Invisibility cloak...we don't anyone to see us..."
But Bakura simply shrugged off the cloak, looking rather disgusted.
"I'm perfectly capable of prowling through the night without the means of such a demeaning item," he said coldly. Harry stared.
"You sure?" he finally asked as he threw it over Marik's shoulders. "It's enough for four people."
"Don't tell me that you're deaf as well as you are pathetic," said Bakura airily. "No, Potter, I don't need a cloak to hide me from the night. I am the night. I am the dark. There is no need to hide from it."
"Okay, but don't blame me if you're caught," said Harry, taken aback by Bakura's rudeness. Bakura smiled sinisterly.
"I never get caught."
Harry quirked and eyebrow before feeling someone poke him in the arm. He turned around to see Marik looking rather dark.
"That idiot Malfoy..." he growled. "Why didn't you tell me he was going to do something like that?"
"I did tell you that he would," said Harry. "You can't trust a Slytherin like him. His father's a Death Eater."
"A what what?"
"Death Eater....you know, Volde-"
"Bakas," growled a menacing voice. Harry looked up to see that his white-haired comrade had disappeared. There was a soft sound of approaching footsteps...
Harry whirled around and saw Filch heading towards them, his light beaming in the darkness.
"I heard something!" they heard him say.
"Run!" hissed the voice again. Harry and Marik quickly pelted into Hogwarts. As Harry passed by one of the walls, he quickly stopped Marik and gestured to a stone.
"Wobifasi," he said, pointing his wand. The block of stone quickly vanished, revealing a dark corridor. He hastily ran in. Marik followed suit, and when Harry looked back, he saw Bakura again at the end.
The ran until they reached an office. There were voices. Harry recognized the office to be Lupin's, and the voice that was accompanying his favourite professor.
Snape.
Bakura seemed to scowl deeply at the fact that they had almost ran themselves into Snape. He hastily grabbed the cloak and dragged Harry and Marik into a nearby corridor, one that they've never seen, that seemed to be so narrow that it seemed to be merely the size of a broom cupboard. At least it was dark enough...
His head was thrusted down roughly; he felt Marik sliding down next to him. He looked up and saw the dark figure of Bakura, who's narrow eyes were now cold and sharp, warily darting from side to side, his frame tense, like like stalking cat on instinct. He was unusally still as he tried to listen to any signs of movement. Harry was alarmed to see how cold Bakura looked, and how dangerous. Especially in the darkness, his Japanese comrade seemed to be one with the shadows, his figure barely visible. Even his white hair did not show against the darkness. Harry felt his scar burst with pain again as he laid eyes on the swinging item on Bakura's neck. He quickly clasped his hand on top of his scar, hoping to make it cease, somewhat.
The office was right next to them; they could hear harsh, low voices. Harry saw that, despite Bakura's cold eyes, there was a light of fire in them, as though he was so pleased to do this all over again, doing something he hadn't done for so many years. It seemed to be almost his joyous, mischevious passion. Harry gripped around his pockets for his wand but instead found some long, skin-colored fleshy strings..
"Damn," he heard Bakura mutter. "Can't hear a Ra-damned word they're saying..." Harry only found one properly working Extendable Ear and inserted it into his own ear, in the darkness of the shadowed corridor.
The fleshy colored string slithered itself beneathe a crack in the wall, and Harry had to surpress and anticipated jump as he heard Lupin's voice loudly and clearly, as though standing right next to him.
"The shadows in the Ministry are getting larger, Severus..."
"...then perhaps you should be the hero and stop them, Lupin?"
"I have enough to do, Severus..." said Lupin's voice, oddly firm.
"...wish Black was here," said Snape's voice, softly sarcastic. "He would've been glad to go, would he not? Then at least his death would've been more worthwhile..."
There was a tense silence as Harry's anger flared. He suspected that Lupin himself was getting rather irritated.
"Please continue, Severus," said Lupin's voice calmly.
"Dumbledore has probably told you this already..." whispered Snape's voice. "...but do I need to repeat it? Ever since that Lovegood's article came out...foolish man, he was, he can get the world in trouble for that one article...and his idiot daughter prancing around, so happy...at any rate, the Dark Lord is suspecting the Items mentioned in the article. He is restless, Lupin. He wants more now, he's always been ambitious. You heard what Potter said when he came back. He wanted immortality, and he is certainly not going to stop now, now that he has his body back."
"The ...er...shadows...can't give him immortality though...those things are like a clouded mass of Dementors," said Lupin softly. "How is that going to help him, if he wishes immortality?"
"I'm not sure," admitted Snape darkly. "But I assure you, Lupin, we aren't going to find everything we want here in England."
"Where then?"
"...where else have there been so much Death Eater activity?"
"But Bill is there, why on earth would it requre me?"
"I would like to go, Lupin," said Snape, "but the Dark Lord will get indeed suspicious if I am constantly requesting certain duties. He knows many things, Lupin, many things. I'm guessing that he is looking for more to gain power."
"What, he wants the power of the reincarnated pharaoh?" asked Lupin's voice, quietly incredulous. "He knows he cannot have it; it's only a legend. The man has proabably already reincarnated anyways..."
"The Items, then," said Snape shortly. "We are not even sure what they looked like, those damned Egyptians must've hidden it for years. There are no records of what they can do. Unless we get Relina's files soon..."
"Mungdungus is on it, and you know it," said Lupin.
Snape snorted. "Let's hope the boy is capable of it...wouldn't want any more trouble than needed."
"I'm sure...Mungdungus knows best when it comes to this," said Lupin finally.
Snape snorted. Harry frowned. Who were they talking about?
"Well then, we'll just have to wait until the next Hogsmeade meeting then," said Lupin finally. "I sure hope the boy knows what he's doing... he is new, after all..."
"It is in his hands," said Snape coldly, "that the Dark Lord will not manage to possess more power before we can. He is relentless to find this other option for more power. I suppose the wizarding magic is not enough..."
Harry's mouth fell in the darkness. Another way for more power? It was not just the prophecy that Voldemort wanted?
"He is not worried about the increasing shadows," said Lupin's voice, "and yet he wants the Millennium Items? He doesn not even know what they can do! They can't stop or control the magic that's growing from the Ministry...how will he be able to...-"
"The Dark Lord will find other ways to conquer," said Snape's voice cuttingly. "Until then, I suggest that ..."
"...I fill in?" finished Lupin, slightly drily. "I'll see what I can do, Severus."
Harry was jostled back into reality when he felt Bakura nudge Marik. Marik gave his friend a sharp nod before they quickly got up. There were footsteps heading their way. Bakura quickly gestured for them to follow him; numbly enough, Harry felt as though he could certainly trust his new friend's instinct when it came to sneaking at night.
Disgruntled, they returned to the common room and headed straight up to their dormitories. Bakura had slumped into a chair and waved an ignorant hand at Harry, gesturing him that he wished to be alone. Harry couldn't help but stare cynically at the white-haired teen; there was certainly something odd about him...something a lot more older, more mature, and more menacing about his demeanor. Shrugging and saying good night, Harry trudged up the stairs after the silent Marik, who seemed to be in such a furious rage that he could not speak. Ironically enough, Harry never thought he could've found someone who loathed Malfoy more than he, but Marik seemed to be an awfully good competitor as the Egyptian boy rashly threw open his curtains and disappeared into his bed. Wearily, Harry sat down, his scar beginning to ease from pain, but it was still throbbing rather annoyingly. As his eyes widened slightly at the sight of the sleeping Yugi next to him, sucking on his thumb and cuddling a bear, he unrolled the map and stared down at it.
His eyes grew larger.
The Marauder's map was never wrong; it had always revealed who the true person were, despite their disguises. Was it malfunctioning? Why were there two names next to the dot of Yugi and the dot of Bakura? He squinted at the names, not understand them. Next to the dot of Yugi, there was "Yugi Motou" and then, "Yami Motou Yugi". Next to that, however, was another name, though it was smudged, as though someone had rubbd a sweaty hand over the ink. Harry squinted, shaking his head. He couldn't read the name next to "Yami Motou Yugi" very clearly; that is, he could...but it didn't make sense. He could only make out a guess; but he couldn't be sure. He doubted it highly. The smudged ink looked as though it was once 'ahemu' or or 'alemu' or 'atemu' or something, but to Harry, that sounded nothing like a name of any sort, rather more like how someone would describe a bad cough. He peered down again. Next to Bakura's dot were "Ryou Bakura" and "Bakura Ryou." Next to that, however, was an even more transparent name, one that Harry definately could not make out. It was shimmering slightly, as though pulsing brightness, like a weak lightbulb. He frowned. The Murauders' map was never like this...
Coincidence that it was only malfunctioning around the new students...
Harry shook his head again, trying to figure out what was going on, but it made his head hurt. He fell back against the covers and fell asleep instantly, the map rolling out of his hands.
Bakura retreated back into his soul room, frowning. It was a pity he couldn't hear what Lupin and Snape were saying; he would've enjoyed it immensely. Looking rather crossed, he shifted against the dark walls of his room, fiddling with random secret knobs and switches and watching, amused, when the traps of the ancient replica of a tomb were released. He somehow seemed to like the large, swinging blades that appeared from nowhere, swaying percariously,ready to slit the intruder. The blades were extremely large; they were bigger than a tall man, probably double in size, making a satisfactory barrier of protection. It could only be timed right if you wanted to get pass the swinging blades and enter the tomb from beyond...that is, if you ever wanted to meet Bakura.
He heard Sirius's voice from the hall and, thoroughly bored, decided to go off and pester the man.
It was amusing to have another row with the prisoner of Azkaban...the man was wearing a leather dog collar found in his room, and was laughing hard with Ryou, who seemed to be quite cheerful. Upon entering the room, Bakura had casually called Sirius a mutt and Ryou burst out laughing even more, though Sirius looked rather cynical. Bakura then explained why "mutt" was considered such a disrespectful term in the Aisan language, and was rewarded by a large, shaggy, snarling dog pouncing on top of him. Ryou had to pull Sirius off.
And then the bickering went on.
"What were you doing?" demanded Sirius as he slipped off the collar again.
"Oh nothing," said Bakura innocently. Sirius snorted in disbelief.
"Just sticking my neck out, having some fun, life is not fun without risks..."
"Depending on what those risks are," said Sirius menacingly.
"I don't quite see you sticking your shaggy neck out, Black, so don't lecture me on what I should do or not."
"You're not quite old enough to be drinking in bars and getting into barfights," said Sirius heatedly.
"I don't do that anymore, Black, you know it, though I have never tried firewhiskey before. And certainly I'm old enough, how dare you suggest that. I daresay a five-thousand-years-old is certainly enough to purchase alchohal."
"An old senile man shouldn't be anywhere near a bottle of beer," replied Sirius casually. "That can do something bad to your health, my senior friend."
"You want to see what an old man can do, mutt?" snarled Bakura. "Let's see how happily you call me old again AFTER I show you what I can do with a walking stick." He actually flipped open a pocket knife and began whittling a piece of wood to prove his point.
"Stop it," said Ryou wearily. "Bakura's not old, Sirius. True, he's five-thousand-years-old, but I think he died when he was twenty-two..."
"Thank you, hikari," said the tomb robber in a dull, mono-tone voice. "I believe I'm quite capable of remembering my own death age."
"When's your death-day?" asked Sirius.
"What?"
"Death-day," repeated Sirius. "The day you die. Sometimes ghosts celebrate their death-days at Hogwarts. Why don't you?"
"Oh I'm sure the pharaoh would be quite pleased by that," said Bakura sardonically. "Prancing around, happily squealing, 'the tomb robber's dead the tomb robber's dead...nice to rub it in, eh, Bakura?'...no thanks, Black. But certainly, it would be something for the pharoah to celebrate. Too bad he'll be celebrating his own soon afterwards.."
"Aren't you moody," commented Sirius. "So you don't know your own death day?"
"No."
"Haha," said Sirius. "Oh dear, and you don't call yourself old. Does alzeimers also happen to twenty-two year olds, Bakura?"
"Forget alzeimer, Black, how about amnesia after I give you a personally sent tomb robber concussion?"
"Oh?"
"I'm serious, Black. Shut up about my age if you like your head and memories where they are."
"On my shoulders attached to my neck, thanks."
"It's a pleasure doing business with you."
To a certain degree, this was entertaining to Ryou, but he desperatedly needed sleep. He tried his best to supress a yawn but his cracking jaw seemed to catch Sirius's attention.
"Sleep now, Ryou," he said firmly, gesturing to his soul room. "I guess I'll just...wait here...until the spell is broken again. There's nothing else to do in the Shadow Realm anyways; at least my soul room seems to be filled of something productive."
"See you in the morning then," yawned Ryou. He got up and left, stumbling along the way. "Goodnight, Padfoot."
"Goodnight, Ryou."
Bakura followed Ryou to his soul room and gave him a sardonic look.
"Padfoot?"
"Sirius's nickname."
"Interesting. You're not even going to inquire what I've done tonight?"
"I trust that you didn't do anything too bad," said Ryou off-handedly. "Thanks again, Bakura."
"Hmph," snorted the tomb robber.
"Good night," said Ryou fimly, his eyelids drooping, eager for some sleep as he shuffled into his own soul room. Bakura headed into his own as well.
"Good night."
Sorry...I got confused with the different monsters in their decks...I can't remember the names of all the monsters they play. I can't even remember exactly what the Ouija board was called, but hey, I'm sorry, I couldnt' watch YGO from Mondays to Fridays, sadly enough. Ah well...too lazy to research it too, so just make a wild guess at Marik's monster. I thought a bowganean was...that..weird..eyeball, spiked thing...but, I'm not sure if I got that right...forgive me. XD
Add me to your favs!! kisses you all