Hey guys! Another early update for you. You guys are spoiled. You really are. XD

Big hugs, once again, to my girl The Amber Raven for talking to me once again for hours today, going over my plot and working out even more kinks. I swear, half of my story should be credited to her. Thanks babe! :3

So, on another note, I would like to say this. As the transfers have been living in the wizarding world for a fair amount of time, and they have been studying magic, I think that it's only fair to assume that they now have a reasonably extensive knowledge of magical terms. Therefore, I did not waste my time having them constantly asking what things are and who people are in this chapter. If they don't ask, then assume that they already know from prior experiences.

Harry Potter isn't mine, neither is Yu-Gi-Oh. I would love to be able to take credit for both of those amazing pieces of literature, but alas, I cannot. I suppose I'll just settle for fanfic. :C

Chapter 13

"We're going to be late!" Yugi told his friends anxiously, checking his watch.

Ryou didn't want to hurry. His head still hurt from losing the Shadow Game. Bakura had just lost to Yami. He was now sulking quietly in his soul room.

Ryou had to say that he wasn't displeased. When they passed the sign that read "Knockturn Alley" and pointed into the darkness, Bakura had instantly tried to take over and rush in. They had both sensed the dark magic emanating out of it. Whereas Ryou wanted to steer clear of it, Bakura just had to take over and bolt in. Ryou was just glad Yugi and Malik were there to stop him from doing anything too stupid.

Ellie and her friends already didn't trust him, the last thing he wanted was for them to see him rushing into the very place that Moody specifically warned them to steer clear of.

Ryou clutched Shu closer to his chest, and with a sigh he hurried after Yugi and Malik. They were supposed to be meeting Moody and the others at 6, and it was five minutes to.

The crowd in Diagon Alley had thinned considerably as the shops began closing up, which made it easier for the trio to move freely towards the ice cream shop where they were meeting.

They finally made it with little time to spare. Everybody except Ellie and Hermione were already there, chatting happily amongst themselves and showing each other their purchases.

"Ooooh! Those are the most adorable kittens I've ever seen!" Ginny squealed, thrusting her things into a disgruntled looking Ron's hands and rushing over. "Can I hold her?" She asked Ryou, wisely choosing to steer clear of Malik's Kuma, who was at the moment trying to scratch his master's face off.

"Of course," Ryou reluctantly handed his sleeping cat over to the redhead, who cooed and petted her head happily. "Her name is Shu."

Ginny nodded happily, but did not ask the meaning of the name. Ryou was grateful for that, and he waited until Ginny was finally finished with his cat and moved on to gush over Kuma (from a safe distance).

"Ryou," Yugi quietly muttered to him, pulling him a few feet aside. "About that duel. . ." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

Ryou smiled happily. "It's alright, Yugi. What happens between our yamis should in no way affect our friendship. There's no need to apologize."

Yugi smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you Ryou." Yugi checked his watch again, and they looked around at the group, which Ryou noticed was getting slightly tense. "The girl's aren't back yet. . ."

Ryou grabbed Yugi's wrist and looked at his watch. It was ten minutes after. They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago! A small flicker of worry quickly tickled in Ryou's stomach,

"Boys," Moody called them over gruffly, his mangled face looking even more so with lines of worry overlapping his scars. "Have either of you seen Hermione or Ellie recently?"

They both shook their heads. "Not since we split up when we first got here," Yugi said.

"Has anybody seen them since we left Madame Malkin's?" Ron asked, his face looking slightly guilty.

Heads shook no all round.

"Those girls know not to be late in these times," Mrs. Weasley piped in, her arm around Ginny's shoulders. "I think we ought to call for backup."

Moody nodded. "It's too dangerous for us to be standing here waiting. It's getting dark. Here," He pulled a rusty old candlestick from his robes pocket. "Molly, take the kids back to headquarters. Send for backup. I'll wait here in case they decide to show up."

-What? He wants us to just leave them?-

-It would seem so.- Bakura replied crossly, still in a bad mood from losing earlier.

"What?" Harry yelped.

"No!" Ron cried. They both echoed Ryou's thoughts.

"If you think that we're going to leave our friends here, while we get back to safe-"

"Yes, Potter! That's exactly what I think!" Moody interrupted. "If you think two teenage boys can do what any number of fully qualified aurors can't, then I am sorry to say that you are very wrong! I'm sure that those girls would be very upset if you were to get hurt trying to save them whilst they have a perfectly good rescue team on their way. Now take this portkey and go."

The two boys were clearly not happy, but they grabbed hold nonetheless. The twins, Ginny, the transfers and Mrs. Weasley all grabbed hold as well. With a bad feeling in his stomach, Ryou allowed the portkey to take him away to Grimmauld Place.

They landed hard, most falling flat on their backs because of the sheer number of them holding on to the little tiny candlestick. They landed in a heap, which Mrs. Weasley quickly prompted them out of, and ushered them into the house.

"Arthur! ARTHUR!" She yelled, apparently forgetting her husband was out on duty. She ran into the kitchen. "Remus? Kingsley? Ah, Nymphadora you're back!"

"Molly! What's wrong?" Sirius had evidently heard all of the commotion, and had come running.

"Hermione and Ellie have gone missing!"

Sirius went deathly pale and guided her into the kitchen.

Ryou and the others followed them, standing in a corner trying very hard not to be seen, knowing that they could be kicked out at any given moment.

Once everyone was assembled in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley quickly explained what had gone wrong.

Sirius jumped up. "I'm going."

"NO!" The room collectively chorused. Even Ryou and the other transfers knew that he was a wrongly wanted man, and there would be dire consequences if he was caught.

"I care about them too! If I was to change, that is, if I was to turn into 'Snuffles', then nobody-"

"Wormtail knows that you're an animagus, Sirius." Harry said. "He's bound to have told Voldemort," everyone flinched. "Your disguise is useless."

They argued for a few moments more, until Fred pointed out that them arguing was only wasting time.

Eventually, Sirius and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were all nominated to stay home and watch headquarters. (Ryou suspected Kingsley wanted the extra manpower left behind to keep an eye on Sirius, Ron and Harry).

Everyone followed Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley to the foyer, and watched as they rushed out the front door, quickly apparating out of sight.

Thus began their long wait. The group trudged back into the kitchen, sitting around the table and saying nothing. It seemed that Mrs. Weasley soon became sick of their company, as she ordered them all up to bed.

"But it's only 7:00, Mu-" George argued.

"Do not argue with your mother!" Mr. Weasley snapped. "Go! We will come and get you if anything goes wrong."

"Hasn't the worst already gone wrong?" Malik muttered, earning him a smack upside the head from Ginny.

The eight of them trudged up the stairs, as slowly and quietly as they could, trying to hear snippets of conversation from the adults.

"Where could they be?"

"Death Eaters all over the place-"

"Worried sick-"

"I want to help-"

"Merlin knows where they are-"

"GET UPSTAIRS NOW!" Mrs. Weasley screamed at them.

They all jumped from the difference in noise level from the conversation that they were eavesdropping on, and they hurried up to the landing. Of course none of them went to their rooms, they remained seated behind the railing, waiting for news of their two missing friends.

The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Ryou's stomach continually clenched and unclenched with nerves. He thought back to their shadow game.

-Koe, what if they were nearby?-

-They weren't.-

-How do you know?-

-We would have seen them. You cannot hide in the Shadow Realm.-

-But what if. . ? -

-You think too much.-

This did not settle Ryou's nerves one bit. The testy attitude of his yami only served to stretch them tighter, leaving him feeling as though one slight gust of wind could take him out.

Ryou looked over at his fellow transfers, and it was clearly written on their faces that they were also worried that somehow the girls had been caught in their Shadow Game. Ryou wished that they could talk in private, but he did not dare leave. It would look too suspicious, as Ron and Harry were already starting to whisper to each other and eye them accusingly again.

Finally, finally, after what seemed like hours more of waiting, the door banged open. The anxious group jumped to their feet and peered over the railing.

What Ryou saw made his heart sink.

Ellie was being dragged in by Moody, and when he let go of her it was evident that she was too weak to stand alone. Tonks wrapped an arm around her waist and supported her as they trekked into the kitchen. Hermione was in slightly better shape, she could walk at least, but her fatigue was obvious.

"Ellie!" Ryou called, at the same time that every other member of the group called to either her or Hermione. The girls looked up. Hermione gave a small smile and a half-hearted wave, while Ellie grimaced in what looked like pain. Ryou's heart clenched again.

The eight of them ran down the stairs, only to have the kitchen door slammed into their faces.

"Damnit!" Ron cursed, slapping his hand against the locked door.

"Pity," Said Fred.

"Damn shame." George continued. "Too bad we can't eavesdrop." He held up a handful of extendable ears. Ryou could have hugged them.

They each grabbed one and stuck them under the door, which thankfully had not been imperviused.

"Listen!" Ginny whispered.

"Oh, girls! What happened? Are you alright?"

"We're fine." Said Ellie's voice.

"Ellie is not fine. Lestrange used the Cruciatus Curse on her."

A collective gasp came from both inside the room and out. Ryou heard Harry growl in the back of his throat.

"What's the Cruciatus Curse?" Yugi asked him.

"It's torture. It inflicts unbearable pain upon it's victim." Harry replied murderously. "I will kill Lestrange."

Ryou felt an unbridled anger rise up in him upon hearing this as well. -Not if I get to her first.-

Bakura, strangely, did not have a rude remark to this. His silence almost sounded like an agreement.

The group quieted down, seething, and listened to the rest of the story.

Sirius's voice came flitting through the earpiece, asking what the girls were doing down Knockturn Alley. At this, Ryou's ears filled with a loud buzzing noise, and he got slightly dizzy. They were down Knockturn Alley? His heart pounded.

He didn't even hear the next bit of the conversation, he was too immersed in his own thoughts. He locked eyes with Yugi, who looked as worried as him. They couldn't have been there. . .

He finally got ahold of himself, and listened to the rest of the conversation. Their excuse for being down Knockturn Alley was that they had followed a Death Eater, but Ryou didn't buy it. Hermione and Ellie were both very smart girls, and neither of them had the stupidity in them to do the likes of that.

Malik and Yugi were both staring at him with narrowed eyes, he realized. It seemed that neither of them believed Ellie's excuse either.

XXX

Ellie and Hermione finished their food quickly, and after their initial interrogation, pretty silently. Mrs. Weasley was still forbidding their friends to enter the kitchen.

Ellie could hear them whining out in the hall, and begging to be let in and it put a small smile on her face to know that her friends cared so much.

When the pair finished their stew and tea, Mrs. Weasley cleared their dishes with a quick wave of her wand. "Bed!" She commanded simply. Ellie stood up slowly, still very wobbly, but feeling much better after consuming some food.

Mrs. Weasley apparently didn't think that Ellie was fit to walk, because she grabbed her by the waist and supported her weight before pulling her out the door. At first she wanted to argue, but when she looked at the multiple flights of stairs Ellie held her tongue.

"Ellie!" Ron and Harry cried, rushing forwards with pale faces. "Are you alright?" Harry asked. The transfers, the twins and Ginny were all hovering anxiously in behind them. Hermione came through the door next, dragging her feet and hanging her head in a very un-Hermione-ish fashion.

"Hermione!" Ron yelped when she walked through the door, his voice cracking slightly on the last syllable. Her head snapped up when she heard Ron's voice, though, and Hermione gave the smallest of smiles.

"They are fine! These girls need sleep, and I absolutely forbid any of you from asking them any questions until morning!" She snapped, plowing through the small crowd, dragging Hermione with her free hand. "Ginny dear, you father is on duty so you'll be staying with me tonight. I want these two to be able to rest." Her eyes flashed, and it was obvious to all present that she didn't trust her daughter to let them sleep uninterrupted.

"But, Mum!" Ginny whined, clearly disgruntled that she couldn't get answers tonight.

"No buts! Now come on, you two." She pulled them up the stairs. Ellie turned her head and gave a curious glance over her shoulder to see what the transfers were up to. They were huddled together, whispering. Did they know?

Before Ellie could explore the issue further, they turned the corner and the transfers were out of sight.

Mrs. Weasley ushered them into their room and fussed over them for a good five minutes, not even allowing Ellie to undress by herself. She helped Ellie into her nightdress, folded her clothes neatly, set her glasses on the bed stand, and tucked her in.

"Mrs. Weasley, you really don't have to do this," Ellie mumbled embarrassedly from the bonds that her tightly tucked in sheets were creating. "I am fine."

Hermione smirked from across the room and independently climbed into her own bed.

"It's alright, dear. I don't mind." Mrs. Weasley was sitting on the edge of the bed, smoothing Ellie's curls back. "I can whip up some dreamless sleep potion, if you'd like."

Ellie wished that she would go, and let the girls talk, but didn't have the heart to say so. "No, Mrs. Weasley I am fine. I can't run away from what happened."

"Alright, dear." She stood up, gave Ellie one last pat on the cheek and went to tuck Hermione in. It was Ellie's turn to smirk at her friend behind Mrs. Weasley's back.

With a stern warning to go to sleep, and not to talk, she finally turned the lights out and closed the door behind her.

"Oh, finally!" Hermione said impatiently, standing up and wrapping her red dressing gown around herself. Ellie sat up, and watched as her friend began pacing. "Do you want to talk now, or do you want to wait until Harry and Ro-"

She was interrupted by a quiet knock at the door. Ellie chuckled quietly, and put her glasses on.

Ron poked his head in, hands over his eyes. "Are you decent?"

"Of course, Ronald." Hermione rolled her eyes.

The two boys slipped in the door, closing it noiselessly behind them.

"You two had better hurry up, I expect your mother will be checking on you soon."

"Nah, she went to bed. And Dad is on guard duty. We're safe."

Harry walked over to Ellie and placed a hand on her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Ellie sighed. "I'm fine. Please stop asking." She gently pushed Harry's hand away.

He gave her another worried glance, before sitting down on the edge of her bed. Ron pulled a chair up, and Hermione sat cross legged by her feet.

"There's something that we need to tell you guys." Ellie finally said. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.

She and Hermione looked at each other, both willing the other to start. Ron and Harry waited expectantly.

Hermione finally sighed, giving in. "Fine. First off, we stole your invisibility cloak, Harry."

He gave a slight gasp of surprise, not expecting to hear that. But Ellie jumped in before he could respond. "We didn't steal it, we borrowed it." She reached over and picked up her purse, unzipping it and pulling out the silvery cloak. She tossed it onto Harry's lap. "Sorry." She said, and buried her face in her knees.

"Why?" Ron asked dryly.

"To follow the transfers, of course." Hermione replied confidently.

Ron and Harry looked livid. "You went after them alone?" Harry demanded, standing up and towering above them.

"Is it really that much worse than following a death eater into Knockturn Alley?" Ellie asked, raising her head. "I know you were listening earlier." Harry and Ron did not look one bit ashamed. "Besides, Harry couldn't have gotten away from Moody."

"You could have taken me, then!" Ron said hotly.

"That would have looked too suspicious! Moody was the best auror around, he isn't an idiot." Ellie shot back.

"Look, we know that you two are angry," Hermione said calmly. Her voice was steady, but her hands betrayed her anxiety, as they were tugging and twisting at the skirt of her dressing gown. "But wouldn't you rather hear what we saw?"

The boys nodded eagerly, and Hermione launched into the tale of how they had followed the transfers into the pet store, and then into Knockturn Alley. She told them how they had summoned a great wall of darkness, and transported them to that awful place. Ellie jumped in at this point to describe the void, as Hermione had been unconscious. The story then led to them waking up alone, and the confrontation with Malfoy and Lestrange. Ron made an angry noise in the back of his throat upon hearing of her threats to Ellie's family, but he held his tongue.

Harry, who had at this point pulled up a chair, shook his head doubtfully. "I can't believe that they didn't kill you." He said simply.

"I suspect that they were trying to lay low. It would be hard for the Prophet to explain the bodies of Harry Potter's best friends at the same time that they're saying you are an attention seeker that is making the whole thing up." Hermione replied.

"You didn't say anything about the transfers," Ellie said quietly.

"I do not trust them one bit." Harry said firmly. "If what you said is true, about them being controlled by darker versions of themselves, then we must be careful. You said that Yugi's possessor was protecting Ryou?"

Ellie nodded slowly.

"Then it seems that there is only one truly evil spirit there. Unless Malik is harboring one as well."

"And the things they used to conjure the. . .darkness?" Ron asked. "You said that you recognized the symbol on it? What did it look like?"

"It was an eye." Ellie told him. Ron got up and brought her some parchment and quills out of the bag of supplies they had gotten today. He handed it to her, and Ellie drew it.

"I've seen it before, I'm positive." She told them, and signed sadly. "I just wish that I could remember where."

"This looks Egyptian." Ron said, leaning in closer to examine the eye. "You know, I could ask Bill."

Hermione looked thoughtful, then nodded slowly. "Yes, that is a good idea. But be very careful, make sure that they don't overhear you."

"And don't tell him where you saw it!" Ellie interjected anxiously.

"Alright, keep your knickers on," Ron shot back.

When the conversation lulled, Ellie tried to cover a big yawn behind her knees.

"Time for you to go to bed." Hermione said. She gave Ron and Harry pointed looks.

"I'm fine!" Ellie said hotly. "You're the one that needs sleep, Hermione."

The boys laughed, but took the hint. They slipped out the door. Hermione climbed into her own bed, and said goodnight.

As soon as Ellie's head hit the pillow, she was out like a light. She didn't even have the chance to take off her glasses.

XXX

MALIK'S POV

SLAM.

"Ryou, are you-"

"I'm fine." After slamming the door, Ryou stalked over to his bed and quickly began undressing. Malik noticed that he wasn't meeting anybody's eyes.

"If this is about Ellie-" Malik began. It was obvious that Ryou liked her. Well, it was obvious to his friends.

"It's not!" Ryou snapped. The lie in his voice was obvious. Malik simply raised an eyebrow at his friend and jumped onto his own bed, lounging with his hands behind his head. He was worried about Ryou. Malik understood what it was like to have a completely deranged yami, but at least he was fortunate enough to have been able to contain him. And poor Ryou had to deal with Bakura on top of trying to impress a pretty girl.

Poor guy.

Malik decided to humor his friend, at least for now. "Okay, if it's not about Ellie, then what's got your knickers in a twist?" He mimicked something that he heard all of the Weasley boys say at least once.

Ryou groaned, and flopped down onto his own bed. He didn't answer.

"Ryou," Yugi began, "I am, I mean Yami is sorry if he made Bakura mad." Yugi seemed to be under the impression that Bakura was having a go at Ryou because of his loss.

Apparently this wasn't the case, as said evil spirit phased out at that moment. "Do you think that I am petty enough to hold my own loss against my hikari?" He yelled at Yugi. "Stupid shrimp."

"Enough!" Yami phased out. "You will not insult my hikari, Tomb Robber!"

Malik rolled his eyes and tuned out the childish bickering of the yamis. Honestly, they were like an old married couple. He was just glad that he didn't have to deal with his yami anymore.

An angry twinge from said yami reminded him that this wasn't completely true, as he was still present. Present, and aware enough to know that he was very much unwanted, especially since Malik had made friends without him. Marik did not like this one bit, as he was very possessive.

"Guys," Malik eventually said, trying to shut up Yami and Bakura. "GUYS!" He yelled when they didn't listen. They shut up this time.

"Shouldn't we be discussing, you know, the shadow game? And whether or not Ellie and Hermione saw?" He was almost positive that they had saw, and he was positive that they had followed them into Knockturn Alley.

This finally got the dejected Ryou's attention, as he sat up and fixed Malik with a curious stare. "There's no way they didn't see." Malik told him.

Bakura, who had moved to sit next to his hikari on the bed, scoffed. "Oh, please. We would have detected them. The Shadow Realm reveals all."

Yugi shook his head. "No, not necessarily. There are a lot of things in this world that we do not understand. There is a big possibility that they had a way to disguise themselves."

"I do not think that they would have intentionally followed us into the Shadow Realm." Yami said. "If they were there, it would have been by accident."

"I don't trust them one bit." Malik cut in. "Those girls had no business in Knockturn Alley-"

"You don't know that they were following us!" Ryou interrupted. "I don't believe that they followed that death eater in there, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they were watching us!" He took a deep breath. "They were found almost two hours after our duel. The chances of them being there for that are very slim."

"But they're not eliminated entirely." Malik said. There was no doubt in his mind that those nosy girls had been following them. A wave of fresh anger flowed through him. "Then they met those death eaters in there, who's to say that they weren't leading them to us?"

"Dumbledore trusts them. And he wants us to do the same." Yami said carefully, eyeing Malik with his poker face firmly planted.

"That death eater, Lestrange, tortured Ellie." Ryou said quietly, something that resembled anger flashing in his eyes. "I don't think that they would have met them on purpose. They're not stupid."

"Whatever." Malik sighed, and stood up. He pulled off his shirt, opened the door, and trekked down the hall and into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He could hear them talking from outside the bathroom door, but he could not make out what they were saying over the sound of water gushing from the tap.

When he was finished, Malik looked into the mirror to make sure he didn't have any toothpaste left on his face. What he saw made him gasp and jump back. He dropped his toothbrush and stared. For a tenth of a second, he could have sworn that he was looking at his yami's reflection, smiling evilly back at him.

"No," He whispered. Malik took a step forwards, and placed his nose about an inch away from the mirror. He was close enough to steam it up, but there was no mistaking it, even through the fog it was his own reflection staring back at him. Placing a hand over his racing heart, Malik picked up his toothbrush and opened the door to go back to his bedroom.

Walking out of Ellie and Hermione's bedroom were Harry and Ron, both looking anxious.

They saw him at the same time that he saw them, and the three boys stopped dead. Harry and Ron because they knew that they were caught, and Malik because he didn't want to turn around and let them see the scars on his back.

The look on their faces plainly said that they knew something, and Malik didn't even bother trying to be friendly. He just stared them down until they passed, and waited for the sound of their door closing before he left his perch and raced back into his room. That was close, he thought. They had almost seen his scars.

Yugi and Ryou clearly didn't care about their secrets being revealed, but Malik certainly wanted to keep his.

XXX

Not much to say here, I'm afraid.

Just that I can't believe that they're still not at Hogwarts.!This story is ruling me, not the other way around. I want your guys' opinions, should I write the trial? It won't be any different, only that Ellie would be there.

If you all say no, you don't want the trial, I will probably send them to Hogwarts in the next chapter. Sound good?

Let me know!

Thanks guys!