Of Wizards and Duelists …
XO'MagickMoon'OX
A/N: This is a YGO/HP crossover that takes place in the fifth year of Hogwarts. It probably won't have anything to do with the Order of the Phoenix, as I'm only half-way through that book. So, enjoy!
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:-In the Turtle Game Shop-:
"Hey, Yami, what do you think of this letter?" Yuugi glanced inquisitively at the spirit peering over his shoulder.
The hazy form of his yami shrugged. "'School of Witchcraft and Wizardry', eh? Sounds like some sort of trick to me."
"You mean like a prank?" Yuugi asked. The Pharaoh nodded.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, it sounds pretty serious to me. Why would someone send us a prank, anyway?"
The Pharaoh mentally flashed on Bakura, before he shrugged again. He leaned his phantom form on Yuugi's back, one arm slung around his aibou's shoulder, as his eyes skimmed over the letter again. "It says that the school's in England … we don't speak English. Even if we wanted to go, we wouldn't understand anyone."
"Well," said Yuugi, reaching around his yami to grab the envelope and pull out another piece of parchment, "this 'Dumbledore' character sent us a spell."
The Pharaoh's eyes brightened. "Spell?"
"Yeah." Yuugi looked over the paper, carefully reading the inky scrawl. "It's called the 'Breaking the Language Barrier' spell. It's supposed to enable us to speak English, once cast correctly."
The Pharaoh thought for a minute, detaching himself from Yuugi and going to pace across the room. "Well, do you want to go to this … this magick school?" he asked, still uncertain that there was such a place as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "We'd have to fly to England –"
"The letter said they'd send someone to pick us up and take us to the train station," Yuugi interrupted, turning back to the letter. "Something about a 'portkey' … whatever that is."
"Well, even if we get to this school … we don't know anything about their kind of magick. I didn't see anything written there about Millennium Items or Shadow Magick."
"That's why it's a school," Yuugi pointed out. "We're supposed to learn. Maybe they'll teach us their kind of magick. If we have the ability already to use Shadow Magick, I'm sure we could learn to do their sort of magick, too. It says here that they want to help us 'advanced our special abilities and learn more about the Wizarding World."
The other shook his spectral head, tri-colored spikes shifting. "It's for an entire year, Yuugi. Did your grandfather say it was okay?"
"Grandpa seemed fine with it when I asked him a little while ago," Yuugi responded.
"And what about next year? If it's a school, then there has to be more than one year."
"Well, we can decide what to do when it comes to that. Maybe we'll want to return next year." Yuugi turned back to the letter. "It says here that we'd start school as 'fifth-year students', even though technically we should be 'seventh-year students'. The seventh year is apparently the last, and we're not quite at that level yet. And, it also says that we're too advanced to start as 'first-year students', or even 'fourth-year students'. So, they're placing us in with the 'fifth-years'."
The Pharaoh frowned. The whole thing still seemed suspicious. I mean, come on. A school for wizards? Who'd ever heard of such a thing?
But Yuugi seemed to have his heart set on going. Who was the Pharaoh to deny his desire? And anyway, how bad could such a school be?
He sighed. "When do we leave?"
Yuugi smiled. "September first."
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:-At The Train Station-:
Yuugi hauled his trunk behind him. It was filled with his clothes, along with school robes the wizard who'd picked him up had supplied. The wizard had also given Yuugi the books he would need that year. His yami's spirit was gliding along beside him, temporarily free from the Puzzle. To everyone but Yuugi, the Pharaoh was invisible.
The station had a busy, muggy atmosphere, smelling of oil and sweat. Yuugi looked back down at the letter. "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters," he read. "There's no such thing!"
He looked up. The Pharaoh did, too. He saw Platform Nine and Platform Ten, but no Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"What should we do?" he asked his distressed aibou.
"Oh, I don't know." Yuugi put his trunk down against the wall where the sign for Platform Nine was posted and sat on top of it. "I'm so confused."
"Yuugi!"
Both the Pharaoh and Yuugi looked up. To their great and pleasant surprise, they saw a fragile-looking, white-haired boy hurrying towards them with a trunk of his own, struggling through the sea of people crowding the station.
"Hey!" Yuugi grinned, jumping off his trunk. "It's Ryou!"
Finally Ryou reached his friend and doubled over, catching his breath. He dropped his trunk beside him as he straightened and looked at Yuugi, smiling his usual smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, we're looking for a nonexistent platform," Yuugi said downheartedly.
"We?" Ryou asked. "Oh! You mean you and the Pharaoh."
Yuugi nodded.
"Wait … 'a nonexistent platform' … you mean Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" Ryou inquired.
Yuugi brightened. "You too? Did you get that letter?"
Ryou smiled. "Yeah. Bakura was trying to convince me there was no such place as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but what can I say? I was curious. And when that man came and picked me up, I was sure it wasn't a hoax." Then he thought for a moment before saying, "So, you can speak English now, I presume?"
Yuugi nodded. "Yeah. Yami and I cast that language spell a few days ago. And it works, too! But, you've always been able to speak English, haven't you, Ryou?"
In plain English, the white-haired boy responded, "Of course."
Yuugi laughed, and then started speaking English himself. "You know, your accent doesn't sound as strange in English. You sound just like everyone else here."
I hate your accent, no matter what damn language you're speaking.
Ryou groaned. Koe, what do you want?
I feel left out …
Koe … please … not now …
"Nnng …" Ryou groaned. The Millennium Ring around his neck began to glow ominously. Ryou felt his knees buckle as a searing pain tore through his body before he was forced from his own mind by none other than his yami, Bakura.
"Ryou," Yuugi said, "are you all right?"
'Ryou' laughed. His voice was deep and dripping with a false sweetness that was more like venom than sugar.
Yuugi frowned. "Bakura." Then, Yuugi's own Millennium Item began to glow as the Pharaoh took control of his body.
"Heh." Bakura smirked. "Hello … Pharaoh."
The Pharaoh grimaced, arms folded across his chest. "Thief."
Bakura sniggered. "Oh, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"
"Shut your mouth, Bakura," the Pharaoh spat. "Give Ryou his body back."
Bakura put a finger to his chin, as if considering the demand. "No."
"Bakura …" The Pharaoh's voice held a threatening tone. He hadn't forgotten the way Bakura had abused Ryou's body back in Battle City. No doubt he made Ryou's life a living hell at all times.
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Meanwhile, a motorcycle pulled into a parking space outside the train station. Two people jumped off, removing their helmets and placing them on the bike. Both were lean and tan, with strange garb, golden accessories, and their eyes outlined heavily in black. The woman – the taller of the two – pulled her white veil self-consciously further over her ebony tresses. She was wearing a matching white dress, hemmed in gold, with sandals on her feet. The other, her younger brother, simply adjusted the golden bands around his biceps, wrists, and neck. Also adorning his slim body was a pale-purple, hooded vest and trim black pants, dark boots on his feet. His blonde hair contrasted considerably against his suntanned skin, falling around his shoulders.
The blonde pulled a small trunk strapped to his motorcycle to his side and started into the station.
"Malik!" the woman called after him. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" She ran to catch up with him.
"Isis, I told you. The letter said Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."
His sister nodded.
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When Malik and Isis reached Platform Nine, the sight they were met with was both startling and amusing. One guard was holding back a struggling 'Ryou', another gripping 'Yuugi's' arms tightly. The two boys seemed to be trying to jump at each other. As the two Egyptians neared the scene, they heard their native tongue punctuating the air, one voice unmistakably the Pharaoh's, the other belonging to the self-proclaimed Thief King, Bakura.
Isis sped up, forcing her way through the crowd that had gathered around the spectacle. Spoken in ancient Egyptian, she heard the Pharaoh shouting, "You filthy rat, I should have had you executed ages ago!" He struggled against his captor, a blue-clad, burly station guard.
"Only problem, Pharaoh: you could never catch me! You're too much of a fool to ever even come close to it!" Bakura looked like he was about to sink his fangs into the arm of the guard holding him before Isis interrupted, her Egyptian ringing out above their arguing.
"Pharaoh! Bakura! Stop this at once!"
The two turned to her in surprise and immediately stopped struggling. But, once Bakura realized who had spoken, he began wriggling again, and this time gained his freedom from the guard, who was also stunned by the interruption. In fact, the whole area around them had fallen silent, save for the whispers and murmurs from the spectators. Malik came up beside his sister, arms folded.
Bakura was now standing in the middle of the ring of people, his arms also folded, the Pharaoh watching him warily. The Pharaoh pulled free from his captor and stood, waiting to see what would happen next.
Isis turned to the guards and, in English, said, "I'm sorry for my friends' behavior."
The guards nodded, and the crowd dissipated.
"Friend?" Bakura snarled. "Don't flatter yourself, tomb keeper." He brushed a stray lock of snowy hair behind his shoulder and huffed. "You guys are no fun." The Ring began to glow again, and moments later, Ryou was back in his body, staggering wearily.
The Pharaoh caught the disoriented boy and helped him to stand as he gathered his senses.
"I'm … sorry, on behalf my yami," he mumbled.
"Don't be," Isis said soothingly. "It's not your fault."
Ryou didn't look so convinced.
Soon Yuugi, too, was back in his body. The Pharaoh's spirit was sitting on Yuugi's trunk, and Bakura's spirit was leaning against the wall, invisible to everyone except Ryou.
"Isis," Yuugi said, "when'd you learn to speak English? Last I checked you could only speak Egyptian and Japanese."
"Oh, my brother," Isis motioned towards Malik, "got a letter from someone named Albus Dumbledore, inviting him to attend some magick school. They sent him a spell to use on us to enable us to speak English."
Yuugi glanced over at the blonde. "You got the letter, too?"
"Yeah. I'm guessing you and Ryou got one as well."
Ryou nodded. "We just don't know where the platform is."
Malik shrugged. He looked up at the sign that said "PLATFORM 9" and then the sign that said "PLATFORM 10". There was nothing but a square, stone pillar in between the two. He went to lean on the pillar to think.
As he leaned back against the cold stone, he suddenly fell through the column. "WHAT THE –" The rest of his words were lost as he stumbled, seemingly, inside the stone pillar.
Yuugi, Ryou, and Isis just stared for a moment at the spot where Malik used to be, their minds trying to register what had just happened. They exchanged bemused glances. Then Isis picked up her brother's trunk and took a tentative step towards the pillar before stepping through the stone. Yuugi and Ryou followed suit.
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Pretty, pretty please REVIEW! This is TBC, unless you all hated it, in which case I will stop and permanently remove this monstrosity of a story from cyber-space. ... Again ... PLEASE REVIEW!
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