Woohoo! FINALLY off to Hogwarts! You don't understand how glad I am to be finally writing this chapter. I am so ready to be leaving Grimmauld Place behind.

There is a little bit of violence in this chapter. No blood, just Bakura drawing his knives in a fight. I'm not sure if this qualifies this story as rated T, but I am going to change the rating just in case.

I own neither Harry Potter or Yu-Gi-Oh !

Enjoy, my friends!

Chapter 14

Ellie was falling, falling, falling through an endless abyss of black, with millions of eyes staring at her, watching her, unblinking, seeing everything. The eyes watched as she screamed helplessly, groping in the darkness for anything to slow her descent. She felt as though she had been falling for hours, though she can't remember when she began, and she certainly had no idea when it would stop.

A high, cold merciless laugh reached her ears, and although it was a terrifying sound, it was a relief to hear something besides the constant whoosh of air in her ears and her own screams.

Ellie twisted her body around, trying to see where the laughter was coming from, and in the process she ended up falling face first, and she could finally see the end of her descent. It was a golden eye, the same symbol that had been on the golden trinkets that all the transfers held.

At first the eye seemed small, but as she hurdled closer the eye got bigger and bigger, until it was several times wider that Ellie was tall.

She screamed even louder, realizing that she was heading straight for the pupil of the eye. She tried to turn, so she wouldn't land headfirst, but something was stopping her, she couldn't turn, and the eye was drawing nearer and nearer, she was feet away, inches away. . .

Ellie sat bolt upright in her bed, her fist in her mouth to stifle a scream. The image of the eye was still burning in her vision. Her other hand frantically searched for her chest, where she pressed it flat against her heart, trying to settle the intense beating. She uncovered her mouth, and gasped for breath.

She had lost count of how many times she had dreamt this dream ever since witnessing the transfers' powers in Knockturn Alley.

The room was dark, but the edges of the curtains were a fuzzy grey, suggesting that it was almost morning. Due to experience, Ellie knew that once she woke from this dream there was no chance that she would fall back asleep, so she slipped out of bed and dressed as quietly as she could, as not to wake her roommates.

Rubbing her eyes and attempting to shake off the dream, she made her way down to the kitchen, dodging all of the trunks packed and ready to leave by the front door. Today was September the first, and they would be leaving for the train station in a matter of hours.

Ellie pushed open the door to the kitchen, and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw it's huddled and whispering occupants.

"Oh, I'm sorry. . .I'll just-"

"No!" Ryou said quickly. "It's fine. You can stay." He quickly pushed his chair back, giving some space between him and Yugi and Malik. It was obvious that Ellie had walked in on a private conversation.

"Okay." Nervously, Ellie walked in and made her way over to pour herself some orange juice. Over the past few weeks, the transfers and Ellie and her friends have been seriously wary of each other. They had made no move to hurt anybody, and there certainly hasn't been anymore suspicious behavior on their part. But Ellie unconsciously rubbed the spot where she had bumped her head, remembering that she still couldn't trust them. Her friends would kill her if they knew that she was alone in the kitchen with them.

But it would be rude to leave now.

"Couldn't sleep?" Asked Yugi cheerily as Ellie took a seat at the table, close enough not be considered rude, but still a safe distance away. Yugi was the one that Ellie trusted the most. Even though the tension between the two groups was almost painful, Yugi acted as though it never existed. It was clear where his allegiances lay, but he never acted as such.

"No. Not really." Ellie couldn't help but give him a small smile back. "How about you guys? Early risers?"

"Nervous," Yugi replied, to the dismay of Malik, who gave him a dirty look for admitting this. "You know, first day and all."

"You will be fine. You're almost all caught up, Hermione told me that you all whizzed through the rest of that review pack." To Ron's chagrin, Hermione had still helped the three with their homework.

"Malik's worried about the sorting." Ryou jumped in, earning himself a smack upside the head from Malik.

"I am not!" He snapped.

"How does it work again?" Ryou asked her, ignoring his angry friend.

"Well, there are four houses. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." Ellie went on to explain the characteristics of each house. "I almost got put into Hufflepuff, but in the end I guess I'm more suited for Gryffindor. Actually, everyone staying here that goes to school is a Gryffindor as well." She took off her glasses, and nervously began fiddling with them. She hadn't forgotten that she was supposed to be careful around these boys, but under different circumstances, Ellie thought that they could be good friends. They were easy to talk to, and they reminded her a lot of herself and her friends.

"You said that most Death Eaters come out of Slytherin?" Malik asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"Yeah." Ellie put her glasses back on and studied him.

"And they are all are cunning, resourceful and ambitious?" He pressed.

"For the most part, yes. Why?"

"Just wondering." He replied lamely. "And Gryffindor's traits are courage and loyalty?"

"Yes. Are you alright, Malik?" Ellie asked. It was obvious that he thought that he was going into Slytherin, and his friends in Gryffindor. Ellie noted not to tell Ron this, as he instantly associated Slytherin with evil.

"I'm fine." He said unconvincingly. "How do they choose?"

Ellie shifted uncomfortably, knowing that they wouldn't like this.. "A hat. A talking hat. When you put it on your head, it looks into your mind and then chooses based on what's inside."

The three of them all looked at each other, communicating wordlessly. Ellie figured that they were worried the hat would see inside their heads and reveal their secrets. Personally, she hoped that it would.

Still sensing Malik's discomfort, Ellie chimed in again. "Of course, Slytherin isn't that bad of a house, Malik." His head snapped up, and he fixed his eyes on her. "It's given a bad reputation because Voldemort himself came out of it, and a good chunk of his followers as well. But, you know, Merlin himself was in Slytherin."

Malik still didn't look convinced. "But say you really didn't want to be in a certain house, if you hated it so-"

"The decision is final." Ellie shook her head. "I haven't heard of a single case where someone was allowed to swap houses. But the sorting hat is always right." The dejected look on Malik's face made her heart sink a little bit. She knew he was dangerous, and potentially evil, but she couldn't stand to see him like that. "Malik," She said, making him lift his gaze from his folded hands on the table to her. "You know, it's your choices that make you who you are. Not the hat. The Sorting Hat wanted to put Harry into Slytherin, but he asked it not to. So he ended up in Gryffindor, with his friends."

Malik's face broke into a smile, the likes of which Ellie hadn't seen since the first day he had gotten here. "Really?"

"Yes." Looking around at the other two boys, Ellie saw that they were both smiling as well. It turns out that all they wanted was to be together, Ellie thought. She smiled right back at them. "Look, I've got to go finish packing. I'll see you lot later."

XXX

YAMI POV

"I don't want to be put into Slytherin!" Malik whined again, frantically packing his trunk. He was the last one of his roommates to pack. Yugi and Yami sat side by side on his bed, watching them amusedly.

"Then ask it not to put you in Slytherin." Bakura, who had been spending a lot more time phased out than usual, chimed in. "The girl said that Potter did it, so why can't you?"

Malik did not dignify this with an answer, Yami noticed. He did not know how he felt about the Tomb Robber's increased presence, but at least he trusted him enough to let down his guard. Bakura's violent nature had lessened even more so after his loss in their duel a few weeks back.

-You noticed that too, Yami?-

-I did not know that you were listening in, aibou.- Yami mentally chuckled. Yugi was getting better and better at disguising his mental presence, not that Yami minded. He had nothing to hide.

-Sorry.-

-It is quite alright, Yugi. But yes, I feel as though Bakura has had a revelation as of late. His personality is the same, however it seems that even Ryou is less afraid of him.-

The boy in question was currently arguing out loud with his yami over which house Malik should be put into. One month ago, Ryou would have been punished for even thinking of disagreeing with his Yami, let alone actually arguing with him.

-I don't think that it was your duel that changed Bakura. He was acting like this before that. Remember when you tried to protect Ryou before he ran into Knockturn Alley, he got mad at you, saying that he wouldn't hurt him?-

Yami frowned. But before either of them could put any more thought into the matter, a pair of socks were lobbed at Yugi's head. "Hey!" Malik called. "It's rude to do that while there are others present, you know. Help me out, Yug!"

His hikari sighed, while shaking his head and doing a really bad job of disguising his amused smile. Yugi stood up and began helping Malik gather his things and dump them haphazardly into his trunk.

XXX

A few hours later, Mrs. Weasley was kissing all of her children goodbye on the train platform. Ryou felt a small twinge of sadness as he watched the scene, even Ellie, Hermione and Harry were being mauled by her and a distraught Sirius, who wouldn't stop jumping on them and licking their faces. It made him long for his own parents.

"Oh, and Ryou!" Ryou was shocked out of his thoughts by Mrs. Weasley, who had rushed over and threw her arms around him. Bakura wasn't impressed, but Ryou hadn't been hugged by anybody but Malik in a long time. He decided that it was nice. "Don't hesitate to write, dear. You are welcome with us at anytime, you were a delightful guest." Ryou thanked her, and Mrs. Weasley eventually pulled away. With a twinge of regret Ryou watched as she proceeded to give similar goodbyes to Yugi and Malik.

"Snuffles, stop it! I'm allergic!" Ellie's laughing voice came drifting over to where Ryou was standing. He looked over to see that Sirius had actually knocked Ellie over and was licking her face, while she sneezed repeatedly. "Go say goodbye to somebody else, will you?"

Sirius proceeded to pounce on each of the transfers next, saying his goodbyes. Ryou felt bad for him, once they left he was going to be living at Grimmauld Place all by himself. He gave him an extra pat on the head, smiling sadly at the disguised prisoner and boarded the train along with his friends.

"Bye!"

"Don't be afraid to write!"

"Stay out of trouble!"

"Good luck with the sorting!"

The voices of their guard followed them as the train began chugging away. Ryou laughed at Sirius' form bounding along beside the train until they rounded a corner.

"Come on," Harry said to his friends, blatantly excluding Ryou, Yugi and Malik. "Let's find a compartment."

"Um," Hermione stammered, looking at Ron nervously. "I'm sorry Harry, we can't. As prefects we're supposed to patrol the corridors for a bit."

"What?" Ron did not look pleased.

Hermione shook her head, and leaving their pets to be looked after by their friends, she dragged him off.

"Well, come on then," Ellie told a dejected looking Harry. When the transfers didn't follow them, she turned around. "Aren't you three coming?" Ryou's heart leapt.

"Of course," He said breathlessly, giving his trunk a yank and ducking his head to hide his blush. Harry did not look pleased, but Ryou knew that Ellie was much too nice to leave them to fend for themselves with their peers, regardless of the fact that she didn't trust them.

Once Ellie had her back turned, Malik nudged him and winked.

"Huh?"

"You're redder than Osiris."

"No I'm not!"

Malik just winked again and pushed forwards to shove a path through the crowd.

The five of them eventually found an empty compartment and settled in. (Ryou blushingly helped Ellie put her trunk in the overhead compartment)

For the next few hours, the transfers proceeded to grill the two with questions about Hogwarts, which Ellie eagerly answered, and Harry sulked at, looking out the window. The lunch lady eventually went by, and Yugi bought a dozen chocolate frogs, excitedly rummaging through the cards.

"So I have Dippet, Bertie Bott, Circe, Gringott, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Merlin, Ptolemy and Dumbledore." He said excitedly, laying out all his cards.

"Ooh, I'll swap you Queen Maeve for Circe." Ellie offered. When Yugi accepted, she laughed. "Ronald's going to murder me. He's been after Circe for years."

Harry, who couldn't be bothered to sulk anymore apparently, joined in on the conversation. "I can't believe you only got two sets of doubles!" He said, shocked.

"I guess I'm just lucky." Yugi replied quietly, while Ryou and Malik shared a knowing glance.

"Speaking of cards," Malik interjected, pulling out a deck. "Anybody up for an exciting duel?"

Yugi eagerly accepted his offer, and ten minutes later they were immersed in the game, while Ryou explained the moves to Ellie and Harry.

"I'll set these two cards facedown, and end my turn." Yugi said. He hadn't switched with Yami, it was too dangerous in front of Ellie and Harry, yet he was still kicking Malik's butt.

"So those could either be a trap or magic card, set to defend against Malik's attack?" Ellie asked,

"Or promote Yugi's own attack." Ryou had joined Harry on the opposite bench, while Ellie was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the compartment, getting a close up of the match that was taking place on the bench between Yugi and Malik.

Malik wore a mask of intense concentration, and he laid down two facedown cards of his own.

Half an hour later Ron and Hermione walked in, seemingly exhausted from their prefect duties.

Ron groaned, and collapsed into the empty seat next to Harry. "Three guesses who made prefect for Slytherin." He said sarcastically.

"You're kidding." Ellie swiveled around, wide-eyed, and looked to Hermione for confirmation.

"I wish I was." She replied, seemingly equally as frustrated.

"Who are you talking about?" Malik asked, not taking his eyes off of his cards.

"Malfoy." Ron spat, making it sound as though it were a dirty word.

The name rang a bell in Ryou's mind. "Isn't that the death eater that, uh. . ." He trailed off awkwardly.

"Yeah." Ellie said, wrinkling her nose and looking at Ryou. "His son. His name is Draco. Most loathsome prat you'll ever meet. Watch out for him."

"And he got prefect because. . .?" Malik asked, scowling as Yugi took out a big chunk of his life points.

"His Daddy is on the board of governors and likes to boss people around." Hermione replied patiently. "We're almost there, Ellie. Fancy a trip to the toilet to change?" She offered her friend a hand, and pulled her to her feet. The girls dug their robes out of their trunks and set off, leaving to boys to do the same.

They all pulled their robes out and began to change as well. Ryou noticed that Harry and Ron's robes were already branded with the Gryffindor crest. Hopefully, by tonight his would be as well.

Malik had cleverly thought ahead to this, and he was wearing a muscle shirt underneath his muggle t-shirt, so he did not need to expose the scars on his back. Harry and Ron were none the wiser.

Ryou, however, was not so lucky.

"Bloody hell, Ryou! What happened to your arm?" Came Ron's tactful voice. He was half dressed himself, and was pointing to the spot where Bakura had stabbed him. It was certainly a big scar that he usually hid behind long sleeved t-shirts, but didn't think to cover it up now.

Caught on the spot, Ryou couldn't think of a good lie. "Um, I-I got. . . Mugged," He said lamely, pulling his shirt over his head to hide his blush and his arm once again.

Ron scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."

Ryou's heart sank. He wished that Ron would just drop the issue.

Luckily, Yugi came to his defense quickly. "It isn't really your place to judge, Ron."

"Like hell it isn't, you three have been lying to us ever since you got here."

"So what?" Demanded Malik angrily. "It's none of your business."

"Yes it is," Said Harry quietly. He rounded on Ryou. "You hurt Ellie."

Ryou was still guilt ridden from this, but Harry bringing it up again was just like pouring salt into a fresh wound. If it were up to him, he would have just sat down and took that quietly. But Bakura must have felt it, because he chose that moment to explode from his soul room in rage, and Ryou quickly lost control of his own body.

"Stupid fool, you know nothing." Ryou watched on helplessly as Bakura pulled a knife out of his pocket (he had no clue that that was in there) and fingered it threateningly.

-Koe, please, I can handle. . .-

-No, Ryou.- This was the first time that Bakura had ever called Ryou by his name. -I will not let this weakling demean you on my behalf.- If Ryou had been in control of his own body, he would have fallen over in shock of what he had just heard.

"I know that you pushed one of my best friends, and she had an egg on her head for a week." Harry retorted, eyeing the knife and pulling out his wand in response.

"Ignorant fool, that wasn't-"

"What Ryou is trying to say," Interjected Malik angrily, thankfully cutting off Bakura before he said too much. "Is that we have our secrets, and you have yours." The duel monsters game between him and Yugi lay untouched.

"You already know our secrets. You know about Sirius, you know about the Order, and you know where Headquarters is," Ron said angrily, rounding on Yugi, who had been quiet this whole time. "And you're too scared to share your secrets?"

"There is nothing cowardly about protecting your friends," Yami had came out when Ron had insulted Yugi. Ron and Harry weren't nearly as observant as Ellie and Hermione, so they didn't notice a thing. "I think that we need to establish a truce."

Harry and Ron both were obviously opposed to this idea, but they nodded reluctantly. Ryou figured that it had something to do with the knife in his hand. They certainly were not cowards. They knew how to fight with magic, but it was clear that they didn't have the first clue when it came to hand to hand combat.

"Fine." Ron said sulkily.

"Alright." Harry nodded, eyeing the knife and warily pocketing his wand.

"You two put some faith in us," Yami proposed. "And you have our word that we will not hurt either of you. Ever."

"That had better include Ellie and Hermione!" Ron said, pointing a finger in Yami's face.

"As you wish."

The general atmosphere in the compartment lightened considerably, as they all took their seats. It was awkward, but it wasn't hateful.

-Koe, speaking of Ellie and Hermione…-

-They have been gone awhile.-

"Hey, Yugi, Malik? Fancy a walk?" Bakura, pretending to be Ryou, asked. Obviously they weren't fooled, but they packed up their cards and came nonetheless. Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows at this, but did not say anything. For that the transfers were grateful.

The corridors were nearly empty now, as they were nearing their destination and everyone was packing their things. "What's up, Bakura?" Malik asked, knowing that he was speaking to the spirit.

"My hikari believes that the girls have gotten themselves into some sort of trouble. He is worried for the blonde's safety."

-I AM NOT!-

Unfortunately, Ryou was ignored.

Yami (who was still in control), and Malik both smirked and nodded. They followed him towards the bathrooms.

A few carriages down, they found what they were looking for. And Ryou was right, the girls were in trouble. They were backed into the wall by four huge boys wearing robes crested with the green and silver crest of Slytherin. All six had their wands drawn.

"These are dark times, boys. Filthy little mudblood girls shouldn't be running around by themselves." A boy with hair almost as white as Ryou's own, said, sneering down at them.

"Sod off, Malfoy. Daddy isn't here to protect you, so I'd watch your back," Ellie shot right back, with not a trace of fear in her eyes.

-Malfoy? Bakura, that's the death eater's son!-

"Speaking of which, Milton, my aunt came around the other day. I believe you've met. Bellatrix? She told me that you had the pleasure- AHHH!"

He was cut off mid-sentence because Bakura had grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the wall, knife to his throat. "I suggest you stop talking." He whispered threateningly in the cowering boy's ear. "In fact, I suggest that you never talk to her again."

"Crabbe! Goyle! Zabini! Do something!" Malfoy commanded.

XXX

"Crabbe! Goyle! Zabini! Do something!"

"I wouldn't do that." Malik said, as the lackeys in question rolled up their sleeves and cracked their muscles menacingly. Ellie gaped. Ryou, sweet Ryou, had Malfoy pinned with a knife?

No, she shook her head. This must be his double. But he was protecting her and Hermione? Why?

Malik and Yugi both stepped in front of the girls, ready to face Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini for them.

Hermione and Ellie shared a scared, yet confused look.

"Blaise!" Malfoy whined desperately once again. Ellie saw that the knife pressed to his throat wasn't really pressed, it was just hovering there for a threat. She relaxed a little bit.

Blaise made a move towards Ryou and Malfoy, obviously intent on beating up Ryou, but Malik punched him in the face before he could get much further.

Angrily, he raised his wand, and pointed it in Malik's face.

"Expelliarmus!" Ellie shouted, stepping forward next to Yugi, or his double. The jet of red light hit Blaise square in the chest, and his wand went flying. Crabbe raised his wand at Ellie to retaliate, but before either of them could even blink, Yugi had raised his own wand to Crabbe's neck.

"Stay away from my friend." He commanded in a deep, authoritative voice that was so unlike Yugi.

Realizing that they were outnumbered and outmatched, Crabbe and Goyle turned tail and bolted. Blaise grabbed his wand and ran too.

Ryou, obviously deciding that just Malfoy on his own wasn't worth threatening anymore, tossed him to the ground effortlessly.

"Just you wait until my father hears about this!" He cried.

"You don't know who you're messing with." Ryou snarled back. They watched as Malfoy scrambled away.

Ellie lowered her wand and stepped back to stand with a shell shocked Hermione.

Ryou pocketed his knife, and his eyes flashed. He smiled at them innocently. "Did they hurt you?" He asked, stepping forward and examining the two of them.

"N-no. . ." Ellie stammered, looking over at Yugi, who seemed to have reverted back to his usual self as well. There was no change in Malik, who was dusting himself off and looking as though he had enjoyed the fight.

"We're sorry that you had to see that," Yugi said, smiling sweetly, stepping forward too. His wand had disappeared inside his robes.

There was absolutely no trace of the menacing boys who had just scared off the four Slytherins left in Yugi and Ryou.

"Assholes! I bet that that is the famous Malfoy?" Malik jumped in, grinning and putting his arms around Ellie and Hermione's shoulders.

"Yes." Hermione said confusedly. "We could have taken them, you know. We have before."

"All four of them?" Malik asked dubiously, eyes wide, swiveling his head from Ellie to Hermione..

"Yes!" Ellie said, slightly offended.

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes!" Her and Hermione answered together, slight smiles gracing their faces.

"Not that we don't appreciate it," Hermione added hastily.

"I suppose you don't really need Dumbledore's protection after all, do you?" Ellie muttered, more to herself than the transfers. They smiled at her, but didn't answer her question.

"We should get back."