I own nothing of the Harry Potter or the YuGiOh variety. Just Ellie. She's all mine.
-blah- = speaking through mind link. (note that the yamis can phase out and speak like normal human beings, and witches and wizards can see and hear them when they phase out, but we don't know that yet)
Enjoy!
xxx
Chapter 2
Lord Voldemort was a merciful lord. His followers and servants were so very lucky to have him as their master. So, although he was murderous when Wormtail reported the counter attack on his fellow Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort did not kill him. He tortured him until he was begging for death, he tortured him until he forgot his own name, and he tortured him until Wormtail was reduced to a sobbing, trembling mess at his feet. But Lord Voldemort did not kill him. He had already lost 12 of his few followers, and he could not afford to be wasteful.
Hours later, when Wormtail finally came to his senses, he told his master of the white haired boy who possessed the ability to make a Death Eater disappear in a field of darkness that he produced from a ring around his neck, and summon a monster powerful enough to resist the curses of 12 fully grown wizards at once.
Lord Voldemort laughed a cold, high, laugh. He must find this boy. He must recruit this boy. If this one boy could take down 12 Death Eaters on his own, what could he do when he had the brilliant mind of the Dark Lord controlling his actions?
xxx
"What's the matter, Harry?" Asked Harry's neighbor, Elizabeth Milton. Elizabeth actually preferred to be called (the much less formal) Ellie. Ellie unstuck her unruly blonde curls from the back of her sweaty neck. She hated heat, and this bloody drought that they were going through was enough to make her go crazy.
Harry sighed. "It's my scar. It's been hurting again. Voldemort… Voldemort is after somebody else. A boy. He's young, I think about our age. He believes that this boy possesses some sort of power and Voldemort wants to control him."
Ever since his return last spring, Harry's scar had been hurting almost nonstop. Voldemort was recruiting, rebuilding his strength and army. He was constantly after people. Powerful people who were left defenseless because they were manipulated into believing that Harry was lying about Voldemort's return.
Harry felt guilty. There have been so many victims lately, both muggle and magical. Apparently there had been an attack on a muggle street in London the day before. The Daily Prophet hadn't said much about it though, because the ministry wanted to keep it hushed up. Harry knew that he could not stop Voldemort from going after all of his targets. He did not have enough information to do anything. All he caught were feelings from Voldemort and small snippets of conversation that never seemed to help.
But Lord Voldemort had never set his sights on anybody so young (other than himself). The Boy Who Lived would never wish his fate on another soul, and the thought of someone else completely innocent being in his shoes terrified him to no end.
Ellie bit her lip. She was lost for words. She felt bad for her friend, and she desperately wanted to help, but she could not think of anything to say. She settled for reaching out and gently rubbing Harry's arm. There was absolutely nothing romantic about their relationship, but Harry still drew comfort from the soothing gesture of his lifelong friend.
"I just hope that the boy will be okay." He whispered.
"Me too, Harry." She replied, thankful for something to say. "Keep an eye out, and look for an opportunity to get information on him. Maybe Dumbledore can help."
"Mmm."
"What kind of powers did he have anyways? Could you tell?" Ellie asked.
"No," Harry frowned. A short silence ensued. "But Voldemort was very very pleased. Nothing that makes him that happy can be good for us. And he was very desperate to get to this boy."
Another silence, this one much longer. The hot sun beating down on the two seemed to become even hotter as the clock reached noon.
After awhile, Ellie stood up, wincing as her bare legs unstuck themselves from the cheap plastic park bench that the pair have been sitting on. "Let's go home and get some dinner. I want to check if Genevieve is back with Ron and Hermione's responses." Plus she thought that her pale skin was beginning to burn from all the sun.
"I doubt it. Those two have been ignoring us all damn summer," Harry said bitterly.
Aware that Harry's temper has been very short this summer, Ellie was quick to try to make peace by telling him that they were probably just very busy with OWL preparations and didn't have the chance to answer. Harry just grunted. He didn't buy it, she could tell, but he appreciated her feeble attempt to make him feel better.
But it was bothering Ellie as well. She would never admit it, but the lack of communication from two of her best friends was starting to wear on her. It hurt to think that they were ignoring her letters, which, by this point, it was fairly obvious that they were doing. At least she and Harry had each other, though.
"Come on, Harry." She said, eager to get her mind off of her troubles.
He finally got up off of the park bench and the two of them began walking home through the scorching heat. They talked about Quidditch, their OWLs, and made fun of the Dursley's the whole way home. When they finally reached Number 4, Private Drive, they said their goodbyes and Harry went inside the comfort of the air conditioned home. Ellie heard Mr. Dursley screaming at him to close the door before he let out all of the cool air. Poor Harry, she thought, as she forced herself to keep walking and not to barge right in and do something to make that awful man be nice to Harry.
Harry and Ellie grew up together, and they were very protective of each other. It was like they were siblings. They had met at the age of 4 at Dudley's birthday party. Petunia had invited all of the neighborhood kids and their parents, Ellie included. The Milton's and the Dursley's were good friends. But of course Harry was forbidden to join in on the festivities and he was locked in his cupboard under the stairs the whole time.
But Ellie, desperate to get away from Dudley (who had developed a huge crush on her and was pelting her with cake and mud), ran inside the house in search of a hiding spot. Preferably with a sink, so she could wash all of the icky stuff out of her wild blond hair.
She had thought that the door to Harry's cupboard led to the toilet, and she undid the latch and opened the door. What she expected to find was a loo. What she found was a tiny boy with unruly jet black hair, and a funny scar on his forehead. He was wearing a pair of ratty, too-big suspenders and was sitting on a tangle of blankets and pillows.
"Hullo," He said to her.
"Hello. What are you doing in here?"
"I dunno."
"What's that on your forehead?"
"I dunno." He replied. "What's that stuff in your hair?"
Ellie frowned. "Mud. And cake. Yuck." She pulled a curl taut to show the mess, and made a face, as if to demonstrate her misfortune.
"Yuck?" His expression suddenly became very sad. "I've never been allowed to eat cake. What's it like?"
"Cake? It's delicious! It's soft, and fluffy, and sweet…" She trailed off. "What's your name?
"Harry Potter. What's yours?"
She curtsied like her mother taught her (feeling quite ridiculous), and giggled embarrassedly. "My name is Ellie Milton."
"I'm Dudley's cousin. I wasn't allowed to come to the party."
Ellie nodded, under the impression that Harry had been bad and this was his punishment.
"Would you like some cake, Harry? I can sneak you some if you'd like."
Harry's eyes lit up and his face broke into the biggest smile he had ever given anyone. "I would love some, thank you." Nobody had ever been nice to him before.
After that, the two had become inseparable. They attended primary school together, and were very very shocked when they met on the Hogwarts Express. Ellie was a muggleborn, and the two 11 year olds rejoiced in their dream come true of attending a school for magic together.
Smiling at the memory, Ellie walked into her home, and sighed in relief at the cool air. She yelled to whoever was listening that she was home, and ran up the stairs to her room. When she spotted Genevieve perched on the open windowsill, Ellie got very excited. They had finally replied!
Ellie ran over to the owl and removed the letters from her leg. She adjusted her square rimmed glasses and opened the first one up.
Her heart sank. It wasn't the handwriting of her best friends looking back up at her, but her own. Genevieve had brought the unread letters back to her. With a flicker of hope, Ellie looked at the second letter. It was the same deal there.
They had never read her letters.
Why were Ron and Hermione ignoring them?
xxx
Ryou Bakura awoke with a splitting headache pounding at his brain. He had no recollection of how he had gotten back to his hotel and into his rented bed. He was in England, visiting the graves of his mother and Amane. His father was supposed to have met him, but of course he had called last minute and told Ryou that he couldn't make it.
He groaned. The Spirit of the Ring must have taken control again. The last thing that Ryou remembers is walking down a busy London street, and hearing a series of loud cracks.
-Koe?- He asked through the mind link.
-What, host?- Came the irritated reply.
-What happened last night?-
-I was paying my rent, yanodoushi.- He chuckled meanly.
Ryou panicked when he heard this. He immediately did a once over, and checked the hotel room for any valuables that were not his. You never know what the Thief King might steal. He found nothing out of the usual.
-We were attacked, host.- The spirit told him. -I saved the body from harm.-
-We were attacked? In England?- Ryou was shocked. He had thought that Yugi was the danger magnet. For once Ryou was glad to have the Spirit on his side.
The Spirit opened the mind link further, and showed Ryou a replay of what had happened the night before. Ryou was frightened.
-Really, host,- The spirit began casually, enjoying Ryou's fear, -You are lucky that I was there to save you. You are also lucky we share a body, otherwise I might have enjoyed watching those people die, instead of stepping in to protect them.- Ryou shivered. -Now get up. I have plans for today, host.-
After that, Ryou was certainly not up to getting ready for a day on the town, but the fear of the evil spirit inside his head got him moving.
About a half hour later, Ryou was just finishing buttoning up his shirt when a flame appeared out of thin air. It burned for a second, and then a feather and a letter fell out of it. Ryou yelped and jumped back, looking desperately for a fire extinguisher. The spirit phased out and approached the letter, ignoring his light's distress.
"Interesting, Host. Look at this magic. Come, open it." The spirit said aloud. His transparent body could not pick up solid objects.
"No! It could be dangerous!"
"Do you think I would let you do anything that would put the body in harm's way? Now do as I say!"
Ryou approached slowly. He was afraid of the letter, but he was even more afraid of the evil spirit. He tentatively bent over the desk where the letter and feather had landed. He picked up the feather. It was beautiful! Red, and gold, and over a foot long.
It must have come from some bird, Ryou thought.
He admired it for a moment, and used the moment of peace to gather up his courage. He finally set it aside and picked up the letter. With trembling hands, Ryou opened it.
Dear Mr. Bakura,
My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore. I believe that I may have some information regarding the attack on you last night. I want to make it clear that I mean you no harm. It seems as though we have a common enemy. It is too dangerous to explain here, in case this letter is intercepted: if you would like to speak to me in person, simply light a fire at your earlier convenience.
Cheers,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Order of Merlin, First Class
Ryou reread the letter once, twice, and finally a third time. Was it just him, or did that not make one lick of sense? He was about to throw the letter in the trash, when the Spirit spoke up.
"Light a fire, host."
"No! That will just be granting him permission to do… well, to do whatever he's planning!" Ryou stared incuriously at the transparent projection of the crazy spirit that inhabits his body.
"Host, I will deal with anything that threatens us. Now do as I say before I lock you in your soul room."
Ryou wanted to cry. As he crouched down to kindle a fire, he thought of how much he hated the spirit. It wasn't fair! Why couldn't he have gotten a spirit like Yugi's yami? He envied their partnership. Ryou's yami always pushed him into doing undesirable, and dangerous things. Yugi and Yami were equals. They were partners. Neither one of them threatened or bullied the other into submitting to their will.
Ryou struck the match, and lowered it to the newspaper. A tiny flame caught. He could have swore that it flickered green, but that must have been his imagination.
The spirit disappeared into the ring, ready to defend the body should something attack.
Ryou backed away, far away. He backed up until he hit the wall and could go no further. With his back pressed against the wall, he waited with bated breath.
After a minute, when Ryou started to think that someone had played some sort of practical joke on him, the fire caught with a WHOOSH and starting blazing an emerald green.
A very old, tall man, with very long silver hair and a very long silver beard stepped out of the fire. He lifted his beard so it wouldn't light, and he looked up at Ryou.
"Good morning Mr. Bakura. My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore."
xxx
I hate the groundwork of books. It's so boring. I'm trying to fly through it as fast as possible. I hate reading it, and I certainly hate writing it. I can't wait until we get to Hogwarts and everyone gets together!
Can anyone tell me if it's Malik or Marik? All of the different fics I've read say different. And I don't want to go back and rewatch that whole section of the series just to find out his proper name.
Also, do we want Kaiba at Hogwarts? Right now I have Ryou, Yugi, and Malik down to go. But I can't decide about Kaiba. He won't play a huge role, but I want your guys' opinions because I'm personally not a big fan of him.
Anyways, please review review review! I don't have to work this weekend, so I should have the next chapter up soon!