WOW LONG CHAPTER! (whew) Yeah, they're at the Ministry now, but this incident is going to take longer than one chapter so...
HAHA! Cliffhanger! I'm so evil!!
...I wouldn't have gone with a cliffhanger if I had realized that this was so freakin' long!! Ah well, no matter, my wrists are tired from typing anyways. This is a bit rushed, and I tried my best to check for grammatical errors as fast as I could, but ... (glances at clock) SHOOT! My midterm exam!! (runs off to study)
I liketh this chappie! Hope you do too! I spent lots of time on it! Was up until...3 AM, from working at ....6 PM the night before. So yeah. Nine hours straight of work. Hope you like it!!
Remember to Read and Review!!
Chatper Nineteen:
"Shadi..." murmured Yugi as he slowly slipped into bed. Behind the privacy of the curtains, the ex-pharaoh had materialized, and was frowning pensievely. Arms crossed, he leaned against the wall, watching into the distance as Yugi slipped the covers over him. "Do you think that's why Shadi was here? Just to give Snape the prophecy?"
"I suspect so," said Yami gravely. "But we must remember that although Shadi cannot be trusted, he is still on our side."
"He certainly doesn't make it seem like so," sighed Yugi sadly. Yami quirked an eyebrow, regarding his aibou with a sardonic, amused look. "What?"
"Considering he's a spirit, I honesty doubt that he cares whatever we think of him," said Yami lightly. "Conscience can evaporate quite fast after five thousand years."
"But you still have a consience," said Yugi, giving his darker half a quizzical look. Yami shrugged.
"I've always been more different than the other darker halves," he said simply. Yugi gave hiim another quizzical look and Yami had to nod his head in the direction of the thief's host.
"Ohh..."
Yami sighed, looking away. He knew what was going to come now.
"Yami?"
"Hmn?"
"Do you....do you want to talk about your memories?" asked Yugi softly. Yami closed his eyes, as though he wasn't exactly sure how to answer.
"There's not much to say," said Yami, somewhat sadly.
"Do you know your name, at least?" questioned Yugi with concern.
"I think....I think it's...Atemu."
There was a odd silence between them. Yugi blinked wide-eyed.
"Atemu?"
Slowly, Yami nodded.
There was another silence, as both the Light and the Dark pondered this answer. Finally, Yugi looked back up, smiling.
"Hi, Atemu."
Yami couldn't help but smile back.
Harry's dreams had been getting worse lately. Ever since he had laid eyes upon Ryou's mysterious item with the eye on it, he had been getting painful headaches, splitting scars, and, when he saw Yugi's item, bad bad dreams. Except they had nothing to do with Voldemort, if that was something worth saying.
Harry woke up again, face sweating, scar burning. It was odd. Sometimes when he was looking at Ryou, it didn't happen as much, but when Ryou would change into...that someone different...then it would hurt like mad, especially when he glanced at the Item that dangled around Ryou's neck.
He didn't know what that Item was. It was from Egypt, okay, but that's all he knew about it. What was it exactly? Hermione had said that it was probably a Millennium Item..
...but you couldn't always trust a Quibbler.
...then again, you could trust Hermione.
Shaking his head to clear his mind (and accidently making his head throb more), he tried to remember the dream. It wasn't about Voldemort...at least, not that he knew about.
He had been running, through mountains of sand, sun baking on his back and sweating his jet-black hair. He felt like a bystander, as though he didn't really have a meaning for being there, or a purpose, or even visible to anyone at all.
People were screaming left and right. A horse pelted by, the man upon it, red cloak billowing behind him, and a blur of white for hair. Harry turned swiftly around to follow him, but felt as though he was about to be crushed when another horse pelted by again, this time royal purple robes flicking in the wind. He ran after the two pursuers, wondering what was going on.
"DIABOUND!! Attack the Pharaoh!!"
Pharaoh...crap..where had he heard that before?
"SLIFER! Defense!!"
There was a blinding flash of light, and then Harry was sufficiently trasnported elsewhere. He was sitting in some sort of ran-shacked temple; an ancient tablet was set up in the middle, and golden items were glinting evilly from their place. There seemed to be only one slot missing...
Harry blinked at each of the Items...
...they looked like a series...all of them had an eye upon them...
...Marik's Rod was in one of the slots...as well as Yugi's puzzle...
Suddenly, the red robed figure, tan hood covering most of his hair and features, stood, but Harry could see blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Another shadow came out from the corner, and the robed figure looked very apprehensive...
"Thief King-yo!!" yelled a voice. Actually, to Harry, that voice sounded vaguely familiar...but he couldn't turn around to see the person...
"Kukukukukukukuku!!" laughed the crimson-robed figure. Harry found that an odd laugh. Scary, cold, cruel, none-of-the-less, but odd. He had never heard anyone laugh like that before. "Don't try, Pharaoh-sama!! I have served well to the Dark Lord. The God of Darkness will soon be ressurected, and you will ALL suffer for your bloodshed!"
The more shadowed figure walked towards the altar, leaning over the tablet. Harry had an shivering, omnious sensation in his stomach that felt vaguely like squirming snakes. The Thief King seemed to be watching the other shadow carefully, as though wary.
"Get it over with, Akunadin," laughed the Thief King. To Harry, that voice also sounded familiar, but it was very very vague. As though certain pitches were exactly the same from someone else he knew. "You may think yourself as the servant of the Lord of Darkness, but know that it is I who serves him more, and it is I who will triumph."
"Quit your yabbering, Thief King," said the shadow, Akunadin, though distantly. "The God of Darkness will have different plans for me than you."
"I will possess the Darkness," smirked the Thief King. "Whether you like it or not. Now take that bloody eye out, or I'll do it for you, as I did before!"
Eye...?
The squirming feeling in his stomach increased. Something bad was going to happen..
...suddenly, Akunadin reached towards his face, his tanned hand gripping for something beneath his hood. In a split second, Harry knew what was going to happen, and tried to turn away from the scene but ---
Akunadin let out a reign of fearsome laughter, as he threw his arm out and extracted a golden object, crimson blood pouring an arcing trail from his face to the golden object in his hands. Harry swallowed, trying his best to not lose conciousness, but the Thief King looked utterly unfazed of this act. In fact, when Akunadin threw the Eye towards the Thief King, the thief had caught it expertly and before putting it into the tablet slot...
...he gave a feral grin...
...and licked the blood off the eye.
Harry recoiled somewhat in revulsion as he watched the Thief King slip the licked eye into the slot.
There was a blinding flash of light, and the shadowed figure of Akunadin was laughing maniacly, though now it had lost its low, odd tremor, and was now turning high, cold...
...and that was one voice, Harry recognized.
He tried to back up, away from the voice...the blinding flash of light disappeared...and Akunadin reached up to pull off his hood...
...his face revealed something utterly horrible...
...pale, flat....
...snake-like nostrils...
...red flaming eyes in slits...
...except one of the eyes was missing...and was replaced with the golden Millennium one.
It was Voldemort.
"NO!" yelled the voice of the Pharaoh behind him. "Bakura! What are you doing?!"
"Ah, well, if it isn't the Dark Priest Akunadin," smirked the Thief King omniously, ignoring the distraught Pharaoh behind him.
"Your hard work will be rewarded," said the Priest distantly, as though he really actually didn't want to reward the King at all. He let out a long reign of laughter, high and cold...
...and it was accompanied...
...by the same low laugh...
...both that sounded so familiar.
Harry had woken up in sweat, and how he was sitting on his bed, recalling those cold incidents. That low laugh did sound so familiar...as did the voice of the Pharaoh...where had he heard it before?
And why the heck did he hear Ryou's surname in all of that?
He shook his head. Perhaps it was just Luna's articles that were getting to him.
Within a second, he had realized that morning had dawned already, and Yugi was peeking through his curtains.
"Harry? You okay?"
"Huh?" Harry shook his head, clearing the dream. "Oh hey, Yugi."
"Hogsmeade weekend," beamed Yugi happily. "You sure you're okay? You were tossing and turning around a lot."
"I'm....I'm fine," said Harry dully. Yugi, of course, didn't seem to believe him.
"I heard that you get...lots of these dreams with Voldemort," he said cautiously. "Was it...one of those?"
"Umnn..." Harry internally debated how much he should actually tell Yugi, but then settled with, "Sort of. It was more like a dream with Luna's article."
"Oh...you mean, the Pharaoh?" said Yugi. Harry wasn't sure if his eyes were decieving him, but Yugi looked actually somewhat suspicous.
"Umn...no," Harry lied. "Just, Egypt in general...or at least, I think it was Egypt."
There was a quiet, but short silence as Yugi seemed to think about this answer. He suddenly beamed again and nodded. "Okay. Well, if you ever have any of those dreams again, you can tell me, okay? I have lots of dreams about Egypt too."
"Yeah?" said Harry, relieved inside that Yugi had taken his answer to be the truth.
"Yep," nodded Yugi. "Come on! I'm excited about the DA meeting!!" And with that, the small, tri-coloured hair boy left to change.
/He's lying,/ said Yugi sadly to Yami.
/Well...what can you expect, Yugi?/ said Yami softly. /He has small amount of Shadow Magic within him. I can hardly be surprised to see that even he has dreams of ancient Egypt./
/Perhaps he's another Millennium Item holder?/
/No,/ said Yami simply. /His Shadow power is not that strong. All of the Items we know about are currently in safe hands, anyways./
Yugi sighed. /But still.../
Yami gave his aibou a mental soft look. /Cheer up, aibou. When he trusts us enough, perhaps he will tell us./
/I hope so,/ sighed Yugi. Yami gave him a mental hug and proceeded to allow Yugi to change.
They stepped out into the brightness of the day, met with the swirling blurs of golden, red and auburn. It was approaching Hallowe'en, and the entire small village of Hogsmeade seemed to be celebrating it quite readily.
Marik glanced about him, his lavender eyes flashing excitedly, his mouth open slightly in awe.
"Was this how you look when you first saw the above world?" asked Yugi softly, smiling at Marik's unbelievable gaze.
"Oh, shut up, Yugi," replied Marik, but very off-handedly, as though he didn't really mean it. His eyes seemed far too distracted by the beautiful features of the small village, anyways. Ryou was also glancing around eagerly, his memories about the Pensieve quite forgotten as he jogged along the sides of the shops, gazing dreamily in each window. Yugi ran ahead, stopping short once in a while, utterly torn with excitement deep inside as to which store he'd like to see first.
"Hog's Head is right up there," said Hermione.
"I thought we were meeting in the Three Broomsticks?" asked Ron. "Don't you remember --- er-- what Snuffles said?"
"Yes," said Hermione crisply, casting a glancing look at Harry, who was trying his best to urge Ryou, Marik and Yugi up. "But...all the same....Umbridge isn't here, so it would be safe to have the meeting in Hog's Head. It'd be harder for us to talk, anyways, if we're in the Three Broomsticks."
"And if Umbridge's idiot minions catch us?" asked Ron angrily. "I swear, Hermione, you can learn faster than lightning when a teacher tells you an information, but when Snuffles---"
"Snuffles was right," snapped Hermione somewhat. "I didn't mean entirely about the entire him being cooped up was altering his brain. But I seriously don't think we should be in the Three Broomsticks. Hogwarts teachers always go there. They'll no doubt see a huge crowd of people, and regardless of whether they hear or not, they'll know that we're bringing up the DA again."
Ron sighed. "Honestly, Hermione ---"
"We all miss Snuffles," said Hermione softly. "But we just need to go on. And Harry's doing a pretty good job of it too. We need to distract him from the memory of Snuffles."
"Something like that doesn't happen in a day, Hermione," sighed Ron.
"It happened in months, already, Ron," said Hermione. "Oh, come on, even Yugi's faster than we are."
As Ryou was tugged away from the shopkeeper's window, his eyes dazed off in thought. He had heard "Snuffles" quite constantly in the backround, and he was vaguely puzzled as to who his friends were talking about.
"Who's Snuffles?" asked Ryou when he caught up. Hermione jumped.
"Oh..umn..just a friend of ours," she said hastily. "It's nothing." She grabbed Harry's sleeve and sufficiently pulled him away, leaving poor Ryou looking absolutely befuddled.
"Look! Is that the Hog's Head?" asked Yugi, pointing. Marik arched an eyebrow at the name.
"Rather depressing for a pub, isn't it?" he asked somewhat sarcastically.
"It is...," said Ryou, looking somewhat reapproachful. Marik gave him a sly smile. "What?"
"Oh, nothing." He waved a hand. "Doesn't your yami like this sort of thing?"
"Marik, what are you ---" Suddenly, Ryou's large, brown eyes narrowed quite rapidly, his hair raised an inch into the air, and his posture seemed far more confident. "Well, let's see, shall we?" And with that, Yami Bakura stode past Harry, and opened the door to the pub.
There was already a large crowd of Hogwarts students, gathered around many tables, all together, drinking some Butterbeer. Yugi bounced happily as he waved to a couple of fellow Gryffindors. Marik and Bakura, however, ignored the large, happy sight of students, and rather, searched around for a witch under a veil.
"Oh look, there's Mungdungus," smirked Ron, pointing slightly. Hermione slapped his finger. "Ow! Hermione!"
"Wonder what's he's doing here?" pondered Hermione quietly.
"Fred and George told me he was bringing someone to the Ministry," Ron said under his breath. "Not sure why though...but I guess must be a shady character. Why else would he be here?"
"Still looking after me, is he?" sighed Harry.
"After what happened to Bill, I would gather so," said Hermione darkly. Harry looked at her, then at Ron.
"What happened to Bill?"
"Got attacked," said Ron lowly. "Fred and George finally decided to let me in on a few Order business behind Mum's back. Got a letter yesterday. He got attacked while doing something for the Order in Egypt."
Casting a warning look around, Harry edged closer. "Order business?" he said softly. "In Egypt?"
"Yeah," murmured Ron back. "Got attacked by a couple of Death Eaters when he tried to save some Egyptian guy from them."
"What happened?"
"The Order's been trying to stop Voldemort from finding the new sources of power, right?" said Hermione. "The new weapon?"
"You mean the Millennium Items?" said Harry, recalling Lupin's conversation with Snape. He had told Ron and Hermione everything that he had heard of through the Extendable Ear, and they, like him, weren't soon to forget it. "Yeah..."
Hermione nodded. "Well, they couldn't find anything here, so they tried in Egypt."
"Turns out, they found a mate who had two," said Ron lowly. Harry blinked.
"Two?" he whispered incredulously.
"Yeah, mate, two," said Ron. "Can't imagine how much power that guy had, but the Death Eaters had found him roughly the same time that Bill did, and they did horrible things to him."
"The Cruciatus Curse," murmured Harry, dumbstruck. "How is he?"
"Can't believe what he did next," said Ron, looking quite caught between awe and incredulous fear. "The mate actually tried to possess them."
"Possess the Death Eaters?" breathed Harry, wide-eyed. "But..that means he's awfully powerful..."
"Yeah," muttered Ron. "But they got the two Millennium Items anyways...and when Bill tried to find him...he disappeared."
"Disappeared?" repeated Harry. "No way. Apparated, you mean?"
"Probably," shrugged Ron. He turned to Hermione. "Looks like Luna's article really isn't bull, anymore."
"So the Items are actually real?" murmured Hermione wonderingly. "What did that guy say before he disappeared?"
"That's the weird part," muttered Ron. "Fred and George told me that he looked straight at Bill, all gazy and stuff, and just said, 'I must go. The Pharoah must be warned.'"
"That means, the Pharaoh's been reincarnated already!" gasped Hermione.
Harry shook his head. "But into who?"
All three of their gazes rested upon the happy Yugi, who was trying desperately to find Bakura and Marik. He sighed exasperately when he couldn't, and seemed somewhat dazed, as though he was having a mental conversation to himself about their whereabouts.
"Perhaps we should ask what his pendant was," suggested Hermione.
"He did say it came from Egypt," said Ron.
"I wonder...what the Millennium Items can do..." murmured Harry distantly."I mean, if it's even stronger than the prophecy..." He turned sharply to Hermione and Ron. "I really think that this has something to do with Yugi, Marik and Ryou."
"Why?" asked Ron.
"Well...little things," admitted Harry. "Like, Yugi was interested about Luna's article, his item came from Egypt, and the fact that, well, he changes personality sometimes."
"He doesn't do it very often anymore," said Hermione. "Maybe he's just different in different situations."
"Hermione, YOU were the one who suspected them!" said Ron exasperately. Hermione sighed.
"It's just...well, it's just really weird," said Harry quietly. He looked back at his new classmate, who seemed to have no success in finding his friends.
"Oh come on, Harry," sighed Hermione. "There's nothing we can do right now. Let's just talk about the DA."
"Yeah," muttered Harry distantly, as he allowed Hermione to pull him in front of the crowd. Sighing, he addressed the crowd, saw Yugi sit down, though he still looked anxious, and gave him a thumbs-up.
"And the next meeting should be...?" he asked the group.
"Ah..Bakura?" said a voice from beneath the veil.
"Who else?" smirked Bakura as he sat down lofitly in the wooden chair. Noticing the 'witch' glancng at Marik, he waved a casual hand at his comrade. "This...is Marik, Mungdungus. My friend, and shall we say, associate."
"Please to meet you," smiled Mungdungus, nodding his head. Marik merely nodded back, before sitting into the chair next to Bakura. A bottle of Firewhiskey had already been put onto the table, though Mungdungus didn't look like as if he had touched it. Bakura threw Dung the letter he had recieved, proving his idenity before eyeing the bottle of alchohal curiously.
"May I?" asked Bakura sardonically, gesturing to the bottle. Mungdungus smiled, dropping the letter on the table and nodding. He watched in amazement as Bakura poured himself a tall glass and began to down the contents as though it were water. "...Pretty good for someone who's a first drinker. That's Firewhiskey, you know?"
"Whoever said I was a first drinker?" asked Bakura, setting down his glass with a soft thud. "Now...cut the social casualities, Dung, and let's get to business."
Dung sighed, rolling his eyes. So stern for a teenager. Strangely, the teen reminded him highly of a friend a year ago when he was moody.
"Well, it's in the Ministry, that's all I can say, really," said Dung, flinching slightly under Bakura's cold gaze.
"Specific details, Dung," said Bakura coolly. "You can't expet me to Apparate out of nowhere if you don't give me the exact location." He felt proud that he even remembered that he had passed his Apparation test.
"Fine," sighed Dung. It had been a stressing week with the Order, what with Bill injured, Fred and George managing to find out, and Sirius gone and Lupin attempting to make things better in Egypt... "You can Apparate, right? If you can't, we'll just take this Portkey. I'll bring you right there."
"And what if I can't trust you?" asked Bakura warily.
Dung shrugged, grinning. "Well, it's one of the things you have to do as a thief, right? Take risks? And you're supposedly the King of Thieves, am I wrong?"
"We shall see," smirked Bakura. He cast a glance backwards, making sure Harry was occupied. Then he glanced over at Marik, who nodded as Dung pulled out an old shoe.
"You wizards seriously need more prominent representatives of magic," said Marik disgustedly as he reached out for the shoe. Dung raised an eyebrow at the young teen, chuckling.
"Just to make it inconspicous, you know."
"I'd like to be inconspicious of where it had been before," said Marik coolly. "So far, I've seen prominent wizarding magic being kept prisoner within umbrellas, sticks, hats, and now a shoe."
Dung laughed. "Well, we like to keep things simple."
"You English are a little behind times, aren't you?" smirked Marik. Bakura rolled his eyes, also smiling as he reached out for the shoe. Marik was right. Classy golden items seemed a lot more dramatic to possess magic than an old shoe.
The DA meeting had adjourned, but Yugi stayed put. He was looking about, hoping to find a sign to point to Bakura or Marik.
/Where could they have gone?/ he moaned inwardly. Yami sighed.
/Judging the tomb robber and keeper, I'm not quite sure if I want to know./
/Look!/ Yugi pointed mentally. Yami quickly materialized and found the Keeper and thief talking to a witch underneath a veil. They seemed to be reaching out for a dingy old shoe...
...and then they were gone.
Growling with alarm, Yami quickly took over Yugi's body, and pelted to the table's side in an instant. He was followed by Harry, Ron and Hermione, all looking somewhat pleased and relaxed.
"Hey, Yugi," smiled Ron. "What's up?"
"I'm not too sure," said Yami darkly. He looked up at Harry, who was also frowning at the exact same spot. "You saw Bakura and Marik here, didn't you?"
"Huh?" asked Harry, snapping out of his reverie. That's odd...Mundungus was just here...they were going over to say hi, but ...
"Where IS Ryou and Marik?" asked Hermione.
"Just here," said Yami darkly, gesturing to the empty table. Ron frowned, scratching his head.
"D'you think they Apparated somewhere?"
Yami frowned even deeper. "If they did, I'm not quite sure where they went. There was someone else here too."
Hermione nudged Harry in the ribs. "Dung," she whispered. Harry frowned. Why...where...what was Mundungus doing with Ryou and Marik?
Yami, however, had already managed to find that answer, as he picked up the crumpled letter.Eyes widening, crimson pupils flashing, he jerked his head up, and Harry immediately felt rather stiff, as one would feel in front of an emperor.
"What is it, Yugi?" he asked.
"Harry," said Yami lowly. "Do you know where the Ministry of Magic is?"
"Umn..." Harry gave Ron and Hermione a worried glance. "Why?" he asked, stalling for time.Yami, gaze unblinking, thrusted the crumpled parchement at Harry, whose eyes also widened substantially. He handed it over to Ron and Hermione. They glanced at and their faces clearly read, "What the heck is Dung doing with Ryou?"
"I fear they are in grave danger," said Yami grimly. Though he wouldn't say it aloud, Harry had the same feeling too. "Please, if you know how to get the Ministry of Magic, tell me."
Harry, Hermione and Ron all had to exchange a glance...before nodding.
"Perhaps Lupin is there too," said Hermione quietly.
"Lupin?" repeated Yami, just as softly. "And why would he be there also?"
Hermione looked as though she had said something private out loud. She clapped a hand over her mouth and shook her head.
"Nothing," said Harry, rushing. "Nothing. Here." He looked about, biting his lip. "You know how to Apparate, don't you, Yugi?"
Yami warily nodded. He wasn't very good at it, but he could Apparate.
"Okay," sighed Harry, trying to calm himself down. "We'll just Apparate there. It's better than taking Threstals, anyway."
"Taking what?" asked Yami, somewhat incredulously, since he, Marik and Ryou had just had their Care of Magical Creatures class recently. Yami was one of the few students who could see Threstals too, and that didn't make him feel any more special.
"Okay," said Harry, ignoring him. "Can you imagine the Ministry of Magic in your head?"
"Uh..." Yami frowned, deeply concentrating. He had seen the building of the Ministry in his textbooks, surely it would help. "Yes."
"Then you'll have to Apparate there," said Harry simply. "We'll be Apparating too."
"You're kidding me?" sighed Yami, even though he had expected to do this. "Alright. Anything else?"
"You're not good at Apparating, are you?" said Ron.
"No, not really," admitted Yami.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron raised their wands. Determinedly, Yami did the same.
"Then pray."
/Yami...!/ complained Ryou sleepily, having been stripped of his control, and was now staring out through his Darkness's eyes. /What did you do?/ he asked anxiously.
/Urusei,/ snapped Bakura back. /Shut up. This time, I don't want you telling me how I should steal./
/Steal...YAMI!/ yelled Ryou nervously./This is the Ministry of Magic!! What are you planning to steal from HERE!?!/
/Calm down, baka!/ snarled Bakura. /Call it ...a challenge./
Groaning, Ryou fell back into his soul room, nursing his head.
/Please don't get me in trouble,/ he said weakly.
/Have I been caught yet?/ asked Bakura dryly. His only response was an exasperated sigh.
Turning his attention away from his easily-panicking hikari, Bakura looked about, surveying his chances. Marik seemed already quite curious and was looking about the large, chamberous room. For a Ministry of Magic, it seemed rather deserted. There was an odd, interesting hallway, that was entirely empty and dark.
"So...room?" asked Bakura to Dung.
"That one," said Dung, pointing door the corridor. At the end stood a plain, black door. Bakura surveyed it with mild interest.
"And ...I'm stealing what files, again?"
"The big pile of papers that have the image of an eye on it," supplied Dung eagerly. "Make sure you don't get caught, Bakura. I'm putting a lot of bets on you."
"I'm not a racehorse to bet on," said Bakura irritatedly. "So don't make me sound like one. Remember, after I am through, you are to give me your end of the deal."
"I'll distract anyone who comes," said Dung, nodding. Bakura gave him a look.
"I don't need anyone to do my thieving for me," he said simply. "You will be here, Dung, when I come back." It wasn't a question. It was a statement, as though if Dung really did disappear (or if Mad-Eye caught him first) Bakura would catch him within the instant. Dung nodded.
"Alright then," said Marik, looking a lot more interested than any of them. "Let's go."
Shrugging, and feeling that same breathless excitement build up in his chest whenever he stole, Bakura followed Marik down the corridor, and opened the door.
"So that's the kid?" said a voice gruffily from behind Dung. Jumping, Dung whipped around, and almost immediately felt sick when he met eye-contact with..
...a whizzing electric blue one.
"Mad-Eye!" he gasped, clutching his chest. "Don't DO that!"
Moody merely shrugged. "Interesting kid, isn't he? You sure Dumbledore would approve?"
"Umn.." at this Dung shifted guilty from his left foot to his right.
"DUNG!!" growed Moody angrily. Dung looked up sheepishly.
"Well, he might already know," he said suggestively. Moody merely whizzed his frightening eye straight at Dung, as though reading his mind.
"He probably does," growled Moody viciously. "But all the same..." He casted his glance towards the black door down the corridor. "You were right when you said the kid was freaky. White hair, brown eyes, skeleton figure."
"He isn't that thin," said Dung. "But I guess he has to be pretty thin to steal whatever we want."
"You sure this kid can do it?" asked Moody. "He has pretty good tatics so far, but right now he doesn't seem to know which door to open. If the Order members can't get to it, how can he?"
"He's calls himself 'The King of Thieves'," said Dung, also looking at the door, though he possessed no magical eye. "So...well, I guess he's pretty good. Slipped my wallet out without me even noticing, and then popped out of nowhere when I found out that it was gone."
"Then why does he steal?" growled Moody.
"For the challenge, I guess," muttered Dung. "Like me, I guess. I mean, really, am I going to nee-"
"--all those cauldrons from last year?" finished Moody. He shrugged and turned around, gesturing Dung to leave the vicinity. "---well, at least Snape could use them."
"Not like I would give it to him anyways..." muttered Dung. He smiled at the door, then promptly left with Moody to distract any other possible Ministry officials. They were, in the Departement of Mysteries, after all.
Plus...Bakura would find him later, anyways.
"Okay...here we are, the Ministry of Magic," sighed Harry breathlessly, looking about. Everything looked familiar. The same, spacious reception, the same golden fountain (that obviously been prepared), even the same empty desk. The absence of a security guard brought Harry, just like last time, the exact same feeling of forboding. And looking over at Yami, the tri-colored haired boy felt the same thing.
"This place is entirely extensive," mutterred Yami as he quickly scanned around, hoping to see a flash of wild white hair. "Bakura and Marik can be anywhere here."
For some odd reason, Harry couldn't help but look down the corridor that lead to the lifts. A wave of guilt stabbed at his stomach, sweeping his squirming insides into nothingness. What if he was wrong? Just like last time?
When Sirius died?
Yami was wondering quite deeply. Hermione and Ron, obviously, had no idea where to start, but if Yami thought this properly, perhaps he'd follow Bakura's logic and discover him sooner.
He looked about the Atrium, and his eyes lingered for a moment on the golden gates that lead to the lift. They were already underground quite deeply, but it was like Bakura to be somewhere dark, menacing...
"Harry," he said suddenly. The Potter boy jumped a slight bit before turning to him. "You've been here before, haven't you? Where do you think we should start?"
Harry bit his lip, contemplating the answers. The only place he actually knew was...the Department of Mysteries.
Instantly, for some unknown reason, the memory of the archway and its black veil bombarded his senses. He felt an odd, tugging sensation in the pit of his heart, as though it wanted to at least see the last spot Sirius had been. It was stupid but...
...there was no other option.
"Follow me," he said. Everyone pelted after him, the four of them thankfully comfortably crammed into the golden lift. He stabbed at the number 9 button, and waited impatiently for the lift to descend.
"Where are we going?" asked Yami, eyeing at the button Harry had just pushed. Nine...that would be quite deep underneath the ground. Probably dark too, knowing Bakura.
A cool, female voice echoed in the lift as the golden gates opened. Yami's suspicions were confirmed. A dark, dreary corridor, entirely deserted, and at the end, a single black door.
"Welcome to the ninth floor, the Department of Mysteries."
"Dung no baka!" snarled Bakura under his breath as he eyed his surroundings. A circular, cold, marble room, with cool blue flames flickering from the torches, drowning the entire, dingy department with an underwater glow. Plain, black doors were encircled around him, and he had no way of choosing which one to explore. Marik was surveying each one, with a look of pure contempt on his face.
"Well, Mr. Big Bad Tomb Robber," he said, "where should we go?"
Bakura didn't reply, merely looking around him again, sizing up each door as his feral red-brown eyes scanned the room's contents. A smirk leered upon his lips as he strode forward, grasping the handle.
"Let's experiment, shall we, Marik?"
Yami, Harry, Hermione and Ron all pelted down the hallway. When Yami managed to get there first, he ignored the forboding warning in his head, seized the handle, and wrenched the door open. He did not like whatever he was feeling. In truth, he felt as though he was over-reacting, of course Bakura and Marik would like to disappear on him, as some sort of pratical joke....but Yugi had faith in his sixth sense, and both of them had agreed that wherever Bakura and Marik had disappeared to, the consequences in store were not pleasant.
There was no one in the room.
At first, Yami mistakened it for some sort of underwater dwelling, for each of the cool blue flames flickered like ripples on the deepest of ocean floors. It was when Harry tentatively stepped in that Yami realized it was a stable room, not a capsule beneath the sea. He stalked through the door warily, his arms somewhat stiff at his sides, as his eyes fickered bright red in the darkness of the room.
So many doors!!
Which one had Bakura or Marik possibly gone through? Or worse, which one could either of them taken seperately?
Inside, Yami started to panic. He did NOT like whatever he was feeling, a cold, weary dread, as though the Shadows had developed in the pit of his chest. He promised that he would protect Marik for helping Yugi. Though this particular group was not like Yugi's normal collection of friends, the certain bond of unity, perhaps it was just the possession of the Millennium Items each, Yami was sure stretched between them all. If one were to fall, the other two certainly would not survive.
Ra, which room was it?!
Quivering, Harry's gaze turned towards one of the doors...even though there was no longer a red X upon them to signify which one they had explored already...somehow, deep inside, he could feel the breeze that lingered among the black curtains, even hear the whispers behind the archway, in his ear. Without even a clear idea of what he was doing, Harry began to walk towards that door.
"What are you saying...?" he asked softly to the door.
Hermione grabbed his sleeve. "No one's saying anything, Harry!" she whispered anxiously. "Oh, come on, Yugi already's gone through one of the doors!"
Harry snapped around. "Which door --- ?"
Before the door had closed, Harry noticed the highest tip of a crimson strand of hair.
"Ew...brains," muttered Marik disgustedly as he opened the door. Bakura followed after, looking rather amused. Both of them had quite the most amusing time darting from room to room, sometimes coming across the same room.
"Interesting things to put on showcase," he said airily. Marik gave him a somewhat appalled look.
"They looked like slimy green cabbages," he said bluntly. Bakura laughed.
However, his laugh was cut short when the door he had came through closed on its on accord; both of them spun around and almost instanly, the walls surrounding them began to move, swirling around and around, until a different door slid into its previous place.
"Damn," muttered Marik darkly. "Great, now we don't know which room we just went through." Bakura smirked.
"Stupid of me not to have thought of it first," he said, raising his wand. Marik blinked at the disgraced stick, before Bakura promptly pointed it at the door. "Flagrate!"
A fiery X appeared on the door.
"Finally used your brain, didn't you, Bakura?" smirked Marik as he opened the door. "And what to do you know, good instincts too. It's the exact same room."
Bakura smirked. He didn't have to tell Marik it was Ryou who got so tired this never-ending search and had suggested it. His Light had managed to find yet another mind-link and had begun a rather depressing and angsty conversation with Sirius once again. Bakura was glad he could determinedly shut the door of his own soul room so that he didn't have to hear the Prisoner of Azkaban's dark, murderous rants about different ways he could dispose of Ryou's darker half. He already had one voice chiding him lightly for everything he did, he didn't need another, especially when it came from someone as snappish as himself.
He looked about. Simple enough. Now that there was one red mark, they could cut down on some time. Marik, despite his complains and rants about how disappointing Bakura's adventure was, seemed rather excited and pleased all the same. He opened one of the doors and went in.
"Marik!" Bakura angrily followed, shutting the door behind him. "Keep to me, I don't want to babysit you! If you stuck in a trap hole or something ---!"
He stopped short.
They were in a chamberous room, with high chairs on steps in a circle, much like some sort of dungeon court room, or even a gloomy dingy stadium. However, instead of what should've been an interrogating chair in the middle, there was a single archway, its black curtains swaying.
However, it was what was swirling out of the archway that scared him and Marik.
"What the--?" Marik breathed, stepping down the steps. Dark, luminous clouds hung around the depths of the archway, its black, ragged veil swaying in the violet breeze. A sense of darkness and coldness surrounded the room, a sense long forgotten since the Battle City Blimp.
"Not possible," snarled Bakura, remembering his Light's and Sirius's conversation during Umbridge's first class. "Not possible at all!!"
Marik had stepped down further, his face in a stern grimace, his tanned hand outreached.
"Marik!" yelled Bakura. "What the hell are you doing?! Get away from there!"
Marik paid him no heed, and simply reached is hand forward.
Suddenly, Marik's hand froze, and a swirl of rainbowic colors flashed through the pigment of his skin, as though his entire limb was a pyrotechnic holographic display. It was the exact same feeling of immobilization that occured when Odion did not properly summon the Winged Dragon of Ra...
...His Millennium Rod flashed.
Yami gasped in horror as the Puzzle that was perched beneath his robes flashed menacingly.
/Marik!/ gasped Yugi. /And Bakura!/
/They're somewhere near,/ said Yami under his breath. /I can feel it. And something's not right. I feel a sense of the Shadows.../
/Do you think they've started another Shadow Game?/ asked Yugi anxiously.
/It's possible,/ replied Yami darkly. /But the Millennium Items only periodically flash like this when something's wrong. When the Shadows are out of control, or when fate has been tampered, or when the Items themselves have been affected./
"Harry!" called Hermione. Harry, for some unknown reason, had walked out of the door. Yami, Hermione, and Ron all hurried after him, and found him standing in the chamberous, 'underwater' room, staring at another black door.
"What's going on, Harry?" whispered Ron.
"I ...I can hear him..." Harry whispered.
"Who?" asked Hermione anxiously. "Who are you hearing?"
"....Sirius."
Bakura and jerked Marik out of the way, and both of them had bolted out of the door.
"Dammit, Marik!" snarled Bakura angrily as he opened the door. Seething, he noticed Harry's face in the darkness..and behind him..
...the Pharaoh.
Seething, Bakura grabbed Marik's wrist and slid along the shadows of the room, opening the first door he could find and hurtling him and Marik though it.
"What the hell are you doing?" yelled Marik angrily as he almost crashed into a shelf.
"The Pharaoh's here," snarled Bakura. "And what the hell were YOU doing, touching that archway?"
"It wasmy darker half," whispered Marik. "He's there. He's in there."
"He's in ...in that?!" yelled Bakura. "What are you talking about? He can't be in that archway! He's in the Shadow Realm!"
"Then that is..." Marik turned around, looking Bakura firmly straight in the eye. "...the Shadow Realm."
Bakura was about to retort something when his Ring began to glow. Its prongs dangling began to reach forward, tugging him towards some unknown source.
"A Millennium Item?"asked Marik breathlessly.
"No," said Bakura darkly. "But something similar."
Gesturing Marik to stay put, Bakura followed the Ring's guidance. A trapdoor flew from beneath him, but he managed to grab hold of the floor before he fell. Straightening, he pursued after the ancient treasure...
...at the far distance, there was a pile of paper, all packaged and neat...
...with the Eye of Horus upon it.
Eyes wide, Bakura reached out for it.
Ignoring Yami's cry after he had seen the thief, Harry purged through the door Bakura and Marik had just came out of, and stopped short.
It was the archway.
The archway that took his godfather's life.
"Help me..."
And dark, lumious clouds were erupting from it, pulsing, draining away his happiness, his cheerfulness. As though it was one giant of a slumbering Dementor.
"Harry, what---," Yami asked, coming through. He also stopped short, his eyes wide in horror and alarm, flashing deep crimson. "Oh no... Harry, get out of here!"
But his words were deaf to Harry's ears. All Harry could hear was the whispering pleads of help that were calling to him, the sad, insane incoherent words spoken by the mad, as though the spirits had finally reached the end of their sanity. A particular voice kept on crossing his mind as he tried to reach for Sirius, it was very bold, as though it had just been replenished, and it was entirely unfamiliar.
"I am the Master of the Shadows...and I will be resurrected, Marik!"
Harry gulped at the low, grating tone. Insanity tipped each word, as each tone was struck with an octave of menace. He stepped closer, ignoring that vibrant, evil voice.
Other voices whispered in his ear...
"Oh, my lovely Cecilia..."
"I'm sorry, Loony..."
"...please help me..."
And faintly, despite the other whispering pleads...he heard Sirius's voice.
He drew closer and closer to the archway, closer and closer to what seemed to be the shadow of a slumbering Dementor, ignoring the cold, heartless feeling in the pit of his heart.
...he could hear Sirius's voice!
But it was so distant, and not only that, it was accompanied by someone else's.
"What did you say?" he asked loudly. "Speak louder, please! Padfoot?"
Sirius's voice stopped short, and so did the other one. Harry tried again, his heart beating.
"Snuffles! It's me, Harry! What are you saying?"
"Someone's talking to me," said Sirius's voice distantly.
"From the Shadows?" questioned another voice, soft, and even more distant. Harry frowned. He had heard that voice before. He heard Sirius sigh.
"Maybe it's just Bakura playing with my mind," Harry heard, but extremely quietly. His heart froze.
"You sure you're okay, Sirius?" asked the other voice, worry edging his tone. "The Shadows haven't finally gotten to you, have they? Can anyone else hear this mind-communicating spell? Because in the Shadow Realm, you have no privacy from your thoughts. Anyone can hear. And since I'm speaking to you through a mind link..."
"Don't worry yourself, Ryou," said Sirius's voice. "Don't worry. No one will hear."
Bakura had finally gotten the package. The Ring shivered for a moment, then dropped loosely back onto his chest. He held the package within his hands, grasping tightly.
It was the same files!
It was the exact same files that he had seen the Pharoah's hikari pore over. Luna Lovegood's files. He flipped though. Yes...exactly the same!
Although he had no idea what the Pharaoh had read, Bakura managed to decipher the random scribbles. A sketch of the archway in the other room was bold, drawn in red ink, and below...
...in heiroglyphics...
..."Fate does more than tread the lives
of those who live and those who die
It plays with the souls and the spirits seperate
In a different realm than the world has met
In this realm will the chosen few
will be able to stop it from how it grew
5000 years ago in a world far away
to ressurect the games once played."
It was written is ancient Egyptian, as though the woman had simply copied it off its original context. Marik had popped up behind him and read it out loud.
"Oh no..." whispered Marik when he had finished.
Gripping the text tightly, Bakura stuffed it in his robes, next to the warm, round sphere. For some odd reason, he could not just leave it alone, and had brought it with him.
"Bakura!" yelled a low voice. Bakura grimaced, and turned around.
"Pharaoh!" he yelled back, glaring at the tri-haired male. "What are you doing here?"
"I could as the same question," said Yami lowly, his stance rigid and menacing. "Though I can guess the answer perfectly well."
"Well good for you," Bakura spat. His heart was thumping in his throat, and a wave of nervousness collapsed on top of him. Marik seemed to be suffering from the same symptoms as he watched Harry, Ron and Hermione appear after Yami.
"Ryou!" gasped Hermione.
"Marik!" yelled Ron.
"What are you doing here?" Harry, Hermione and Ron all asked in unison.
"None of your business," said Marik shortly, his voice low, though his face was pale. "Pharaoh, there's something afoot here."
"I know," replied Yami, his voice low with some worry. "I had just been in the room with the archway..."
"For now," laughed a cold voice suddenly, "concentrate on what's afoot here, Pharaoh!"
All six of them whipped around, and Hermione screamed.
"DEATH EATERS!!"
Cloaked figures flew from the top of the shelves, each of their identies hidden. Five of them landed behind Bakura and Marik, and five other ones landed behind Yami, Harry, Hermione and Ron. Ron had grabbed Hermione and threw her closer into the circle, so that she'd be safe. A reckless rage had flashed before his eyes as he cried out, "STUPEFY!"
The red spell, however, had been sufficiently blocked, and Ron had to duck and scramble deeper into the circle to avoid being hit. Harry trembled. It was the Ministry of Magic all over again.
"Pleased to meet you again, Harry," smirked a female voice, dripping with sickening sweetness f baby-talk. "Tell me, Harry, how much have you missed my cousin? He's not here to save your neck anymore, is he?"
"Shut up!!" snarled Harry angrily, gripping his wand tight. "Shut up about him!!!"
"So these are your new friends," laughed the woman again, approaching Marik. She grasped his chin roughly, pulling his face towards her. He growled angrily and threw his knee upward, connecting with her stomach. With a cry of pain, she released him, and he stood back.
"Get your filthy hands off me, fool," Marik snarled. The woman merely laughed.
"Look at them, Lucius!" she shrilled. "Potter's ego must've honestly gotten to them! The new one's acting like as if he's my superior!"
"I could gather why he's acting like that," smirked Malfoy as he pulled down his hood. He glared at Marik with a glint of evil in his eyes. "My son tried to disarm him and battle him, but he was saved by his white-haired friend."
"Watch it," snarled Bakura menacingly. Who were they to act like as if they were his superiors? The woman laughed again.
"The new students are a lot more egotistical than Potter!" she shrieked again with mirthless laughter, pulling down her hood. "Tell me, white-haired boy, what's your name?"
Bakura had to do a double-take at the face he met. It was Bellatrix Lestrange.
Damn I'm glad Ryou's not watching this, he thought.
"Who are you?" asked Yami behind Bakura, his voice also rather low and menacing.
Lucius regarded him with a look. "Ah...now, who are you, little boy? I heard the albino call you 'Pharaoh'...and by what means is that?"
"Because he is!" yelled one of the Death Eaters. Marik's eyes widened. That voice sounded so familiar...
"Really?" asked Lucius, "well then, why don't you admit it, Pharaoh? Are you truly the reincarnated Pharaoh?"
"That's for me to know, and for you to ignore," snapped Yami, his eyes narrowing. Normally he would've kept his anger under control, but it was getting to be extremely difficult when there were ten people surrounding them all. He wished he could summon a monster of sorts, or at least call a duel, but he knew the wizarding world would have no such knowledge.
Well, wandwork then.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" yelled Ron.
"You, boy," snapped Bellatrix, pointing her finger at Bakura. "You have something I want."
"So do you," snarled Bakura back, a smirk appearing uptop his lips. "But it wouldn't be nice for me to take it, now, would it?"
Bellatrix laughed. "What would I have that you'd want, boy?"
Bakura smiled, a deranged, evil smile that only Marik and Yami were used to. "Your soul."
"Bakura, no!" yelled Yami.
"STUPEFY!" yelled a voice. The crimson light hit Bakura straight in the shoulder, and for a moment, he went rigid, before Marik tried his best to break the spell.
"You have those documents," smiled Lucius. Glancing at Harry while he waited for Bakura to extract them, he said, "Do you like our new recruits, Potter? Introduce yourselves, servants of the Dark Lord."
"This will be so easy," snickered another Death Eater, sounding oddly like Avery. "They're only children."
"ONLY CHILDREN?!" yelled Marik suddenly. The Hogwarts group immediately turned around at the urgency of his voice, and they saw that Marik's eyes were wide with apprehension."HOLY RA!!"
The new Death Eaters, who had showed themselves, looked equally horrified.
"E-easy...?" croaked the midget one, who was bald, nose squashed and was wearing half a mask.
"If you wil excuse us, Master Malfoy..." stuttered another, much larger in size, who was also wearing half a mask, "perhaps ...you should d-do the honours of ..of defeating ...Master.. I mean...M-Marik.."
"How dare you," snarled Marik, angrily, his lavender eyes flashing. The new recruits looked absolutely terrified. Harry glanced around. Even Yami looked as though he knew the new recruits. Harry looked around again. The newest recruits were all staring at Marik, with terrified looks, as he remenbered how the Death Eaters looked like when Voldemort came to power.
They were scared of Marik!
Marik narrowed his eyes, and suddenly, a wave of confidence struck his heart, and he stood tall, almost the same height of Lucius Malfoy. He walked about in a circle, looking at each Death Eater in the eye, and when he finally came back to Malfoy, he smirked.
"I do hope you find their loyalty trustworthy, Malfoy," he smirked. "Your son was the most interesting experiment as a toy. Wasn't he, Umbra?" Harry shivered. Why was Marik looking so evil, so confident, so ...malicious? Harry could've sworn Marik could've been one of the Death Eaters, the way he was standing, swaying gracefully, with a look of pure cotemplative hatred in his eyes.
"U-um..." the one named Umbra stuttered. Malfoy glared at him.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded. Bellatrix also gave them a glare, obviously oblivous to this news. Marik's smirk widened.
"And you, Lumus," continued Marik deceptively, his anger filling his soul, his rage only barely supressed. "Do tell us, Lumus. What is the meaning of this? Which master are you willing to serve now?"
"U--um--please, Master Malfoy," choked Lumus, glancing at Lucius. "Please forgive us---we---"
"YOU DO NOT GROVEL AT MALFOY'S FEET!!!" bellowed Marik so loudly that even Malfoy and Bellatrix took a step back. Yami stepped next to him.
"Look! There-there's the Pharaoh!" squeaked Umbra, pointing.
"I DO NOT GIVE A DAMN WHERE THE PHARAOH IS OR NOT!!" roared Marik again. "YOU ASK MALFOY TO FORGIVE YOU? IS MALFOY YOUR NEW MASTER NOW, OR HAVE YOU FORGETTEN A SPECIFIC LEGIANCE ONCE BEFORE?!!"
Harry, Hermione and Ron looked terrified. What was Marik talking about. Hermione tugged anxiously at Harry's sleeve. "I told you so," she whispered faintly.
"Shut up, Hermione," whispered Harry back. "We have to listen."
"What do you mean, a specific legiance?!" demanded Lucius. Suddenly, Marik let out a reign of terrible laughter that Harry never heard, though his tone was low and menacing, the day they had their detention with Umbridge. The new recruits recoiled back; one of them even fell at Marik's feet. But the Egyptian merely kicked the robed figure away, still laughing.
"You English are so dense," he said when he finally finished. Bellatrix turned back around, glaring at Lumus.
"You belong to the Dark Lord Voldemort!" she shrieked. "You are his servant, not Marik's! Show him the Death Eater's mark upon your arm to show your allegiance with the Dark Lord!"
Marik only looked merely amused as Lumus, arm shaking, slipped back his sleeve, revealing the trademart skull upon his arm. Marik looked down at it, and laughed again. The Death Eater closed his eyes, as though dreading the worse.
"Well, do you really think a sign is going to show that he belongs to you?" smiled Marik, cocking his head at Malfoy. "Well then..."
"What are you talking about, brat?" snarled Bellatrix. "Lumus couldn't be one of your servants! You're only a child!!"
"A child," smiled Marik fondly, looking up at the sky. "Oh, what can this generation do?" Then his face fell in a glance of cold contempt...he unhooked his Rod from the back of his pocket and brandished it in front of Lumus. Umbra, Lumus, and a few other Death Eaters almost shrieked and backed away. Pleas and begs were heard, either to Marik or to Voldemort, it was hard to tell.
"Please, our Dark Lord, save us from Marik's grasp ---"
"Please, Master Marik, we didn't know ---"
"We are your servants, no one else's ---"
"Help us, Dark Lord Voldemort! ---"
Harry suspicions were confirmed. The golden stick that was in Marik's hands truly was dangerous.
"Please, Master Marik!" cried Umbra. "We apologize, please, don't send us to ---"
"The Millennium Rod!" gasped Lumus, pointing at the golden artifact. "Please, Master, don't use the Millennium Rod, please!"
"Your begging bores me," said Marik lowly. He turned to Malfoy, and Yami and Harry could see the almost insane rage behind his eyes. It was as though he could not contain his anger or his hatred this time.
"Malfoy," he said lowly. "Do you really think a mark is going to scare me like that? Shall I show you the mark upon them to show that they belong to ME?"
"You?!" shrieked Bellatrix again. "You are but a child!"
"A child of the darkness," smirked Marik. Turning back around, he bellowed, "Powers of the Millennium Rod, reveal the mark that burns the loyalty of the Ghouls!!"
There was a shriek of pain, and the new recruits threw their heads back in agony. There was a blinding flash of light on their forehead, and when the pain seem to subside, upon their foreheads, where identical, gleaming golden eyes.
Marik laughed again.
"IMPERIO!" screamed Malfoy.
Suddenly Lumus's eyes glazed, and he started forwards. The Eye upon his forehead disappeared.
"Lumus!" yelled Malfoy. "Destroy Marik and return to the safety of the Death Eaters!"
Marik raised an eyebrow, clearly unaware of the powers of the Controlling curse. Lumus raised his wand...
...there was a blinding green light..
... but Yami had ducked out of the way, bashing into Marik and Bakura, and throwing them onto the ground. Even Harry, Hermione and Ron had avoided the curse. Obviously, Lumus wasn't a terribly skilled wizard. The curse managed to hit the walls, pounced off, and hit Bakura straight in the Millennium Ring.
There was a flash of green and golden light, before Bakura felt the sphere within his robes slip away. It arced through the air, pointed by Harry, before smashing onto the ground.
Everyone stood in utter surprise as the ancient, glass-spun ball exploded, andout drifteda hazy figure of an Egyptian girl, with clear blue eyes and long dark hair. Marik's rage and anger suddenly diminished, and Harry was shocked to see his lavender eyes wide withawe and pleading at the young girl. He almost looked...innocent.
"Ishizu!!" yelled Marik.
The reincarnated priestress paid her younger brother no heed, and, her eyes far and misty, she recalled distantly:
"I have seen into the future, my pharaoh, and the dark games will once again threaten mankind. You are the only one who can save the world from this devastation."
Yami's eyes widened. They were right! It was the prophecy Ishizu made back in Battle City. He almost recalled it word for word. Glancing around, he noticed everyone was staring at the ball, the misty figure, and decided to take advantage of this distraction. Aiming his wand at the nearest shelf, he blasted a curse into the shelf; it toppled backwards and crashed, sendng millions of balls tinkering and crashing.
Through the commotion, he yelled, "Harry! Hermione! Ron! RUN!!"
However, as Bakura was about to get up, Yami grabbed the hem of his robes and dragged him down.
"What the hell is it now, Pharaoh?!" demaded Bakura angrily. "It's bad enough I have to be stupified while watching Marik and his Ghoul speech..."
"Bakura," gasped Yami, silencing him. "I want you to do me a favour. Grab any one of these balls that may have anything to do with the word 'pharaoh'."
"You want me steal?" said Bakura incredulously, though he knew exactly what Yami was hinting at. The Pharaoh was hoping that through the many spheres he stole, one of them would at least be made by the preincarnate of Ishizu in ancient Egypt.
"Yes!" said Yami, urgency in his voice. "Quickly! I'll get Marik out of here and distract the Death Eaters!"
"Send them to the Shadow Realm if you will!" snapped Bakura, getting up.
"I can't do that!" yelled Yami.
"Then throw them into that damned room with the archway for all I care!" yelled Bakura back. "If you don't want to use your item, then do that!" And with that, he purged through the cloud of dust and debris, heading towards the shevles with the large letter "P". No doubt standing for the prophecies about "P"haroahs.
"Marik," panted Yami, dragging his Egyptian friend up."Quickly, we have to go..."
"Save yourself, Pharaoh," snarled Marik back, but his lavender eyes were clouded with concern. "You go! I have to finish some unfinished business here."
"You can't possibly be thinking about getting revenge, Marik!" cried Yami exasperately. "We don't have time for that! Please, Marik!"
"Sorry, Pharaoh," snapped Marik, wrenching his arm free of Yami's grasp. He gave Yami a sad look. "Sorry, Pharaoh," he said, more sincerley. "My duty has always been to give you your memories, but I've also been handed the burden of protecting the Millennium Items and bringing you back to your memory world. If I let my Ghouls go back to the hands of Voldemort..." he looked up at Yami, his eyes soft and honest. "...well, let's just say I'd have more work to do." A sudden crash and a shriek from Bellatrix startled them both, and Marik quickly pushed Yami towards the door.
"Go!" he yelled. "I'll be fine, Pharaoh! Just look after Harry, Ron and Hermione!"
Yami looked back at the insistent Marik, distraught between his emotions deep inside. But he knew Marik could get out of it soon...Marik could take care of himself. At least, until Yami would come back. Plus, Bakura was here too..
"Fine," he nodded. "But I will be back, Marik, I'll be back."
Marik nodded, and quickly ran in the direction of the Death Eaters, who were chasing after the thief in futile attempts to catch him. Sighing and breathing in another gasp of air to strengthen himself, Yami quickly turned around and hurriedly urged Hermione and Ron out the door.
It was only after the three of them were in the darker chamber and when Hermione had flagrated the door,did Yami realize one of them was missing.
"Harry!" cried Hermione, looking at the door wide-eyed.
Yami looked back at the markeddoor. He then returned his glance to Ron, who looked ready to go back in. He threw an arm out to stop him.
"No, Ron," he said firmly. "You keep Hermione safe here. Marik and Bakura and Harry are still inside. I'll go find them."
"You sure?" asked Ron. "But Harry's our friend! We can't just abandon him!"
"He's my friendalso," said Yami sternly. "Stay here, Ron. The last thing we need is for you and Hermione to get caught by Death Eaters. Don't worry. Marik will have everything under control."
"He knew those Eaters!" yelled Ron. "How does he know those Death Eaters?!"
"Marik is not an enemy of yours,"assurred Yami firmly. "We have no time to explain right now, but I assure you, whatever Marik is doing inside, will only help us more. He is the only one on our side who can control those Death Eaters, and since there are only three of them that are possibly true to Lord Voldemort, I'm sure that will be an advantage to us." He looked back at Hermione, who was leaning against the wall, clutching her heart. "Take care of her, Ron. We'll be back soon."
And with that, the ex-pharoah ran from Ron's side, wrenched the door open, and before Ron could protest any further, the door was shut tightly after the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.
Tense? I hoped so! (does a little dance)
Okay, messages to reveiwers! Thank you all so much!! I really want to take this time to thank each and every one of you for being so loyal to this story so far. You guys are the only reason for me to continue this!
Atemu Yugi Lover34: Originally, this was SUPPOSED to be Yami, Yugi and Harry centered, but when everyone's obsessed with Sirius and Baku-chan tearing out each others throats verbally, I can't really help but make this Ryou centered. Considering the fact that Sirius is living in his BRAIN...XD Don't worry, I'll try my best to make this more Yami Yugi and Harry centered. Eventually it will, because well...(shifts from left to right) You'll see. I tried adding more Yami and Yugi goodness in here, so hoped you liked that.
jak'idiot: (laughs) Don't worry, I won't make Shadi a teacher. I've read that fic with Shadi as a teacher, and it somewhat scared me. I don't really think any of the YGO characters are made for teaching unless it's written by Lizeth. XD Hmn, you're very good at piecing together clues yourself, with you theory of why Shadi gave the thing to Snape. I can't have Yami Yugi help piece together Ryou's memory about Grimmauld place because...well, Yami or Yugi weren't there.
ShebytheDogDemoness: I don't know WHY Shadi likes to do that, helping the pain along, but I'm guessing it makes his job as the person who "helps fate" a lot more interesting. Why not add a little blood and gore and make the Pharoah's life miserable just to see how he reacts? XD
Koriaena: You've reviewed every one of my chapters so far! I love you!! Thanks so much!! (hugs) Yami no Hot Potatoe does sound fun. XD
Larisha: OOh, you didn't die through my chapter this time! XD Umn...no, no, don't worry , Umbridge torture will be coming up along soon, but Draco torture? That's going to be a little tough, but yeah, I'll try. Don't worry, little Draco's next on Malik's list of "who shall we banish"...oops, did I just say that out loud?
AnimeDarkside: You've been such a loyal fan since the first chapter, I love you so much!! (gives you a Shadi plushie) I actually think our little turbaned dude is cute, with his glazy eyes and his perfect complexion. And the fact he's one of the only bishies who doen't go entire insane...(shifty eyes at Yami Marik, Malik, and Yami Bakura)
Wah, I would've answered more reviews, but like I hinted before...MIDTERMS! (bawls) Anyways, thanks so much for reading and reviewing!! I mean, 225 reveiws! That's amazing! I never knew this fic could get so interesting that fast! First person to hit the 300 kiribian gets a drawing or a ficcie of your choice!