Hey guys!

I don't know if it's because I've been working on a one-shot as well, and my creative juices can only stretch so far, but this chapter was a bitch to write. It just did not want to happen. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I couldn't figure out what to say. Or how to say it. It was a mess, let's just say that.

But none the less, I have to say that after several days of cursing and swearing at this chapter, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. It's pretty well all character development, but who doesn't love that?

But if you DO happen to notice a sentence that's worded funny, or a typo or something, it's probably because I got too annoyed with it and stopped noticing my mistakes. (Not that I don't that a lot anyways . . .)

Anyways, now that I'm done complaining, I'll leave you all to your reading.

Warning: It's a long one. C:

Disclaimer: IownnothingIownnothingIownno thingIwantEVERYTHING.

Enjoy!

Chapter 22

She was having the dream. Again.

Ellie was beginning to feel silly. She felt silly for still being terrified of the same dream over and over again. This one didn't even have the strange and giant monsters in it. Her body hurtled straight down, with her robes flapping loudly behind her. She was falling so fast that her every instinct screamed that she was going to die, and soon.

But it was just a dream. And she knew that.

She knew that she would wake up, and be completely unharmed in a few moment's time. This dream didn't even cause her pain, like Harry's sometimes did. No, she knew this dream and how it would play out. Even when she was conscious, the dream did not scare her when she would think of it. Instead it was just a weird phenomenon to ponder. It wasn't even a particularly scary dream. She's certainly had worse.

But it terrified her.

Obviously it meant something, because before this dream, Ellie frequently had nightmares about that terrifying life sized chess match in first year. The chess match where she and Ron had to sacrifice themselves in order for Harry and Hermione to proceed to save the Philosopher's Stone. Ellie could even still picture the bishop swinging it's staff at her face full force when she closed her eyes, and hear Hermione screaming in the background as her world went black. She was knocked out cold.

Another reoccurring nightmare was the thousands of acromantulas chasing her, Ron and Harry through the Forbidden Forest in second year.

Yet another was the sight of Professor Lupin transforming into a werewolf, baring his fangs, ready to pounce and rip them to shreds. That one would haunt her all the time.

But most of all, the dream depicting Harry appearing outside the maze last June, covered in blood and clutching the Triwizard Cup and Cedric Diggory's dead body, screaming that Voldemort had returned terrified her to no end.

They had all ended when she began dreaming of that place. And even still, those nightmares couldn't shake her up the way that this dream did.

No, this was different. Much different.

She continued hurtling towards what she now knew was called the Eye of Horus, screaming and pleading to the thousands of eyes watching her to be allowed to wake up and end the nightmare.

But this time, she didn't wake as soon as she was about to hit the eye. No, Ellie fell right through it. The eye dissolved around her as though it were made of nothing but air, and Ellie landed facedown on a familiar carpet.

Luckily, this was a dream, so the incredible impact did not cause her any pain. It did, however, knock the wind out of her. She lay there panting for a few minutes, with her fear miraculously gone. She eventually rolled over so that her eyes could roam the surroundings that had given her so much peace.

The shock of light and color should have temporarily blinded her, considering she had just fallen through nearly complete darkness for Merlin knows how long. But it didn't.

Ellie was laying on the floor of her bedroom.

Everything was exactly the same. The walls were the same shade of cheerful yellow that Ellie had to beg her mother to let her get a long time ago, when she was only seven years old. Her twin bed was tucked into a little nook in the wall, with the quilt that her Nana had made for her before she died covering it. It was spread perfectly, even flat enough to bounce a quarter off of. Her bookshelf was still packed to burst, filled with photo albums, novels, and textbooks of both the magical and muggle variety. The dresser still displayed pictures of Ellie and Ollie in every stage of childhood, some with and some without their parents in them. Other pictures held Ellie and her friends at Hogwarts. None of them were moving of course, as her mother didn't approve of such things in case somebody outside of family saw. Sitting next to the window was the white vanity that had been her mother's when she was Ellie's age. It was a little bit scratched, but it was still a very much loved hand-me-down. It was covered in the countless bottles of sweet smelling lotions and hair products that her mother and father never stopped buying for her. Ellie stood up and walked over to it, running her hand over the familiar surface. She smiled, breathing in the familiar scent of home. Her room always smelt of her favorite vanilla perfume that was a gift from Ollie, and this illusion was no different.

She peered into her reflection in the mirror, and saw herself not dressed in Hogwarts robes anymore, but one of the beautiful designer sundresses that her mother bought her. She always insisted Ellie wear only the best for the famous Private Drive garden parties, hoping her daughter would impress a rich doctor's son. She was wearing her contacts instead of glasses, and her curls were arranged in a pretty, neat bun. It was a feat that really could only be managed by the determination of Ellie's mother.

The window revealed it to be a beautiful summer day, and had Ellie not known better, she would have sworn that she was about to be dragged off to one of these garden parties with her family.

But Ellie was not transfixed enough by the exact replica of her room to forget that she had just fallen straight through her horrifying dream into the place that gave her so much comfort.

Examining the room further, Ellie noticed that it wasn't quite an exact replica of her bedroom at home. The dresser held more pictures than she remembered, with the additional frames containing photographs of her new friends.

Ryou, Malik, and Yugi's images beamed at her from their frames on her dresser. Even Bakura and Yami were present in some, their bodies being depicted as solid as opposed to their usual transparence. Ellie noticed that in all of these pictures, their golden items were displayed proudly, not hidden under clothing like they usually were. That was weird, because the boys rarely took these items out in public, though Ellie and Hermione knew them to always be there.

She couldn't help but smile at one photo in particular, though. The five young men posed happily in front of the Gryffindor fire, arms around each other and laughing as though they had just heard the funniest thing in their lives. It was rare to see all of them smiling like this at the same time, with no hint of worry, or an angry possessor shining through in any of their eyes. Even Bakura looked happy. He, Ryou and Malik towered over little Yugi and Yami, but somehow their happiness made them all seem as though they were equals.

Ellie smiled fondly at this picture and set it down.

The earlier terror of the dream had faded the second that Ellie had hit the safety of her bedroom, but it suddenly came back with a vengeance as soon as that picture touched the wood of the dresser. It was as though her attention drifting away from her new friends allowed the bedroom door to open, letting in a strange man.

Ellie whipped around. The door was wide open. Behind the man was not the corridor outside Ellie's bedroom. No, outside Ellie's bedroom was the same darkness that she had just fallen through, with some eyes staring blankly at her.

But right now Ellie didn't care about what was outside her door. She cared about the tall man imposing on her bedroom. She took a step back, knocking into her dresser, causing some photos to fall.

The man was tall. Very tall. He was almost as tanned as Malik, and had a white turban wrapped around his head. White robes draped down his thin frame, gold hoops dangled from his ears, and piercing blue eyes bore into Ellie in a way that made her feel violated, even though he hadn't yet made a move towards her.

Around his neck was a large, golden key.

Even though it was not stamped with the telltale Eye of Horus, Ellie instantly knew that this key was one of the seven items that Bill had told her about.

The man stepped forwards. Ellie tried to take another step back, but her dresser was hindering her progress. He came closer, wrapping his hand around the key and lifting it up, as though he were trying to unlock something.

Ellie suddenly found herself unable to move.

He came closer still. The key, Ellie realized, was aimed for her forehead.

She didn't know who this man was, or what he was trying to do, but Ellie knew that she needed out. Now. She remembered for the first time since she fell that she was actually in a dream, and focused all of her efforts on waking up.

The man's forehead suddenly began glowing with the symbol of the golden Eye of Horus, and his face changed from an expression of serenity to anger as he lunged forwards to grab her. He wanted to stop her from leaving. He wanted to keep her here.

But he failed.

Which is why, for the second time in three days, Ellie was jerked awake screaming. The man's free hand was millimeters from grabbing her arm, and the key wasn't much further from her forehead when she had finally managed to rip herself out.

There was no quelling this scream, though. She couldn't stop herself. She thrashed around in bed, effectively tangling herself up in the sheets and rendering herself nearly unable to move, but the restriction only scared her more.

The image of the man reaching forward to grab her, eyes piercing her very soul burned in her mind, and she continued to scream. She could feel him still. He was still there. Still in her mind.

"Ellie!" A voice broke through her panic, and she felt a pair of arms attempting to hold her thrashing body down. "You're okay!"

"No! He's here!" She screamed. Ellie couldn't see her surroundings, though she knew her eyes were open. All she could see was the man continuing to reach for her. "He's coming for me!"

He was in her mind.

She heard female voices talking frantically, and felt two more pairs of hands grabbing her.

"No one's here, El! It's just us!"

Between the sheets tangled around her, and the three sets of arms holding her down, Ellie was effectively pinned. But the bonds did not panic her more as they had done earlier. No, her three roommates had succeeded in calming her down.

She was calmed enough to think rationally, and it was most likely her rational thinking that caused the man to slip away. Out of her mind. The image of him reaching for her faded from her vision, and instead the blurry faces of her roommates swam into view. Every one was pale and staring at her with worry.

"I'm going to be sick."

Her three roommates instantly let go and backed off, allowing Ellie to sit up and do just that.

"Ew!" Lavender squealed. Ellie ignored her.

Had she pushed him out of her mind?

Ellie thought that a better question to ask would be whether he was really there in the first place, or just a part of her strange dreams?

"Scourgify," Ellie heard Hermione's voice, and instantly the smell of her sick was gone. A glass of water was shoved into her hand, and Ellie felt a deliciously cool cloth wiping her sweaty face. "Are you alright?"

"No." There was, evidently, no convincing her roommates that her dreams were no big deal now. Even without her glasses, Ellie could tell by looking at the window that it was barely dawn. With a shaky hand, she raised the glass to her lips and chugged the water. Hermione pushed Ellie's glasses onto her face, and everything came into focus. "Thanks, Hermione."

Hermione, who was by now sitting on Ellie's bed, leaned in and pressed a hand to Ellie's cheek. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Ellie glanced over at Pavarti and Lavender, who were by now discussing what just happened with each other. She knew that this was code for 'let's talk in private', and sighed. "Okay."

Ellie stood up on shaky legs and allowed Hermione to guide her to the bathroom that was adjacent to the dormitory. She was feeling better, and could have easily walked on her own, but Ellie appreciated the contact. She grew great comfort from her friend's proximity.

Once in the bathroom, Hermione took some convincing to allow Ellie to shower. She was evidently under the impression that Ellie would break down into hysterics the second that she was left alone, so they compromised by having Hermione wait outside the curtain while Ellie undressed and showered.

"So?" Hermione's voice wafted through the curtain.

Buying for time, Ellie played dumb. "So what?" She asked, turning the tap and reveling in the feel of hot water washing the final remnants of the man away. She instantly felt ten times better.

"You know what."

Ellie was grateful for the shower curtain separating them. She was glad she wouldn't have to have this conversation with Hermione face to face. Sighing, she caved. "Ever since Diagon Alley, I've been having these dreams . . ."

To Hermione's immense credit, she stayed silent throughout the entire explanation. Ellie knew how much she must have wanted to pester her with questions, but understood that Ellie needed to talk uninterrupted.

Ellie told her everything about her dreams. She finished her shower as she got to the part about the two monsters the last time she had woken up screaming. Ellie wrapped a towel around herself and opened the curtain, eliciting a gasp from Hermione.

"Your arms!" She interrupted. That was the first thing that she had said the whole time.

Oops. Ellie hadn't yet gotten to the part where she was covered in shadow magic and Malik had attacked her. Ellie picked her glasses up off of the counter and put them on, rubbing the fog off of the mirror. She looked at her reflection. The bruises on her arms were by now a sick looking yellow and green, but there was no mistaking that they were left by a rough set of hands.

"Oh. Right. About that. . ." Ellie then grudgingly told Hermione about the events on Saturday, making it very clear that Malik wasn't himself and that she did not blame him one bit.

Hermione's face went from a look of worry to a look of extreme worry, and she even remained silent for the duration of Ellie's explanation. By the time that she was done, Hermione was up to speed on everything that had happened.

"You've got to tell them." She said.

"No way!" Ellie shook her head fervently. "Malik isn't well, Hermione. If he finds out that we followed them into Knockturn Alley, who knows what he would do!"

Hermione snorted. "Oh, please. As if Ryou would let him touch you this time."

What was that supposed to mean?

"Huh?" Ellie asked.

Hermione shook her head. "You're right, Ellie. Malik isn't well. But you have to tell them. They might be able to help you."

Ellie blanched at the thought of this. She was right, they might be able to help. And deep down, Ellie knew that the amount of remorse that Malik's been feeling wouldn't let him hurt her again. But she was still afraid of admitting that they had followed them into Knockturn Alley.

"Just give it some time," Ellie pleaded. "Please. If it gets worse, we tell them."

Hermione grudgingly agreed. "Fine. But promise that you will tell me if you have another dream?"

Ellie nodded. "Promise."

There was a silence in which Ellie brushed her teeth.

"This man that was in your dreams, do you think that he's real?" Hermione asked when she was done.

Ellie shuddered, involuntarily seeing the man again. "He's real. And I think that he's the reason why I've been covered in shadows."

Before their conversation could go any further, there was a loud pounding on the door. "The rest of us have class today, too, you know!" Pavarti's annoyed voice drifted through.

Dumbfounded, Ellie realized that they had been holed up in the bathroom talking for a very long time, and Ellie was still wrapped in her damp towel. She shivered. The warm steam in the room had long since evaporated, and she realized how cold she was.

"Coming," Hermione called back. "Are you okay to go out there?"

Ellie shrugged. "I guess so."

Hermione opened the door and led Ellie out. She tried to cover her arms, but Lavender's perceptive eye caught the bruises in two seconds flat.

"What happened to your arms?" Ellie felt rather than saw Pavarti backtrack out of the bathroom, eager for more gossip.

"I fell." Ellie said firmly. Lavender's eyebrows shot up suspiciously, but something in the tone of Ellie's voice stopped her from challenging her. She was so not in the mood to deal with them. Ellie grabbed a clean uniform, and drew the curtains around her bed to get dressed.

A minute later she emerged, and grabbed her brush off of her bedside table. She began roughly yanking it through the wet, tangled mess that was her hair. She welcomed the pain that was helping to distract her. Ellie didn't particularly care about how much she was breaking her hair.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP!" Lavender demanded, rushing over and pulling the brush out of her hands. "You're going to wreck your hair! Let me do it."

Ellie was shocked right out her frustration. Since when did Lavender care about her hair? But she nonetheless took a seat and allowed her roommate to gently brush her hair. The tension between them had been high as of late, but this morning it seemed as though Ellie's nightmare had changed everything. Within a few minutes Lavender was prattling away as though nothing had ever happened between her, Ellie, and Hermione.

After a short while, Hermione was dressed and Lavender was finished. Ellie was shocked to see that she had achieved the neat bun from her dream that Ellie had thought that only her mother could manage.

A surprised giggle bubbled it's way to Ellie's lips. It felt good to laugh. "Wow." She said. "You tamed the beast."

Whether or not Lavender was still harboring some angry feelings towards Ellie was up in the air, because the next thing she did was submerge her in a cloud of hairspray. She explained that the muggle stuff worked loads better than magical over Ellie's coughing and gagging.

"You can thank me later!" Lavender called as Ellie allowed Hermione to anxiously pull her out the door. Lavender was eyeing Hermione's own bushy locks as though she wanted to tackle them next, but obviously Hermione wasn't as forgiving as Ellie.

"Does this mean we're friends again?" Ellie asked.

"I hope so. That way maybe they will keep quiet." Hermione shrugged, and eyed Ellie's hair. "It does look a lot better."

"Are you saying that it looks bad every other day?" Ellie joked, and the pair continued teasing each other the whole way down to the common room. Her mood was lightening incredibly with every step, something that Ellie would never have thought possible twenty minutes ago.

It was still very early, so much so that when they entered the common room it was empty except for Yugi and Malik. They were huddled over a table, leaning close and whispering fervently. They both whipped around when the girls entered, as though pulled by some invisible string.

"Morning," Ellie and Hermione chirped cheerily.

They didn't respond. They just stared at her, with wide eyes.

Ellie frowned. "It's the hair, isn't it?"

Malik shook his head dumbly, and Yami took over from Yugi. "What happened to you?" He asked worriedly, rushing over and tilting Ellie's face so he could examine it in the sunlight streaming in the window.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Ellie was surprised by his intensity.

"Could this have something to do with Ryou?" Malik asked, apparently breaking out of his trance and rushing over to examine Ellie for himself.

"Ryou?" Ellie gasped, pushing Yami's hand away. "What's wrong with him?"

The sounds of people moving about in the dorms above the four were growing more prominent, and Malik shifted uncomfortably. "We need to talk. In private."

"Where's Ryou?" Ellie demanded uselessly. Yami had relinquished control to Yugi, who had grabbed Ellie's hand and was pulling her towards the portrait hole. For a little guy, he was strong.

As Yugi tugged Ellie along, and Malik urged Hermione to hurry up, Yugi explained in a low voice that Ryou hadn't woken up yesterday or this morning, and that Bakura must have done something to him.

Ellie didn't have much more time to think or worry as she was led into an abandoned classroom and shoved down into a chair by Malik. Yugi locked the door, and allowed Yami to phase out.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked impatiently. "Classes start in an hour."

A small smile flitted across Malik's lips at this, but he immediately whirled back towards Ellie. "Your aura. It's been eclipsed."

"What?" Ellie instantly forgot about Ryou.

"You were covered in shadow magic before," Yugi translated. "We could sense it, but it was on you, as if somebody with strong magic had been hanging around you for too long." He then hesitated, looking to Yami for help.

"Now, it is as though your aura is completely gone. You are coated in shadows. It is as if they are inside you." He shook his head.

That didn't sound good, and Ellie gulped. Yugi walked around behind her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I didn't sense anything happening. . ."

"Something happened." Hermione interrupted.

Ellie groaned internally. So much for secrets.

"Something's been happening." She continued, glaring at Ellie in a way that just dared her to object to what she was saying. It worked. Ellie was effectively too terrified of Hermione to say a word in protest. "Ellie's been having nightmares for weeks, and lately she's been waking up screaming."

"Hermione, it's no big deal-"

"You woke up yelling 'He's here, he's coming for me', Ellie." Hermione shook her head at Ellie. She then turned to Yami. "A man walked into her dream, and attacked her. She said she still felt him in her head when she woke up. I think that this has something to do with the shadows."

Ellie dropped her gaze to the floor, embarrassed. She didn't want to seem as though she couldn't handle some dreams. Especially in front of Yugi, Yami, and Malik, who had all been through a lot worse than her.

Yugi's hand slipped off of her shoulder, and he walked back around to stand in front of her.

"What did he look like?"

Ellie looked up at Yugi, rubbing at the headache that she knew was fast on it's way. "Tall. Very tall. He was wearing a turban on his head, and he had a golden key around his neck."

Yugi gasped, and Yami narrowed his eyes. But it was Malik's reaction that shocked her the most.

"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck." Malik groaned, rushing towards Ellie and grasping her shoulders. "Stay away from him."

That wasn't exactly reassuring. "It isn't exactly a choice, Malik." She said bitterly.

Malik's face darkened, taking on the look of insanity that scared Ellie, and had her suddenly wishing that he wasn't so close. She felt that he was going to have another fit of uncontrollable rage, and Ellie would rather not be in his clutches were that to happen. He squeezed her shoulders painfully.

"Promise me that you'll stay away from him, Ellie." He shook her shoulders, and Ellie was grateful to see that she wasn't the cause for his sudden fit of anger. Unfortunately, she was still in it's way.

"Malik, I can't help it. He came to me in my sleep."

He shook her shoulders again, and Ellie winced as he began squeezing hard enough to create new bruises. "Promise me!"

"You're hurting me, Malik," Ellie said, and the effect was instantaneous. The crazy look on Malik's face faded, and he just looked scared and sad.

"I'm sorry." He took his hands off of her and backed off, positioning himself as far away as possible.

Hermione, now knowing about Malik's struggles, still looked shocked at his sudden mood change. She shook her head. "But there was no one else there. It was just us girls in the room, but even when Ellie woke up he was still in her head."

Ellie felt a fresh stab of fear at the memory.

"What was he doing in your dream?" Yugi asked.

"I was . . . I was in my bedroom," Ellie began, editing out the part where she was falling through the blackness. Hermione scowled, noticing this, but didn't call her out. "At home. And then he walked in the door, and looked as though he was going to put the key to my forehead. Like he was going to unlock it," She twisted her mouth in confusion. "I knew that I was in a dream, though, so I made myself wake up. Then he tried to grab me." She finally looked up at each of the boys. "But even when I woke up, I could feel him in my head."

"But you pushed him out," Hermione said.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

Malik's face had once again turned angry at the description of the man in Ellie's head, and he spoke for the first time since his outburst. "That man's name is Shadi," he spat the name out. "He uses that key to unlock your soul. It shows him everything about you and your personality, and can even use it to change you."

Ellie crossed her arms defensively against her chest, feeling violated all over again.

"But he shouldn't be able to do that in a dream," Yugi pointed out. "He has to physically be there in person."

"As Hermione said, there was nobody else there." Yami nodded.

"But what does he want with you in the first place?" Malik asked Ellie. "You have never even been exposed to our magic."

Ellie frowned. The gig was up, and it was time to finally admit exactly why they had been in Knockturn Alley that day.

"Um, I have a little confession to make," Ellie said nervously.

XXX

Ryou still hadn't woken up.

The dorm had long since been emptied, as the rest of his roommates had gone to breakfast and class, assuming Ryou to be sleeping in again. The shrimp and Malik clearly hadn't bought this story though, and had rushed down to the common room quite early to discuss it without Bakura around.

But, believing himself to be alone, he had phased out. He was currently sitting at Ryou's bedside, head in hands.

What had he done?

The fit of rage that Bakura had experienced when Ryou called him weak had been just that, a fit of rage. It had only taken the former King of Thieves about an hour to begin to feel remorse, and that was when he had crossed the hall to his hikari's soul room to apologize.

But Ryou's unconscious form was still laying on the ground. He hadn't moved an inch.

It was at that moment that Bakura had realized that something was really wrong.

He had picked Ryou up, and gently carried him over to the couch. Ryou's soul room was a reflection of the living room in his old house, and Bakura knew that it was because this is where he held many memories of hanging out with his family before the accident.

But now, sitting in the dorm by Ryou's still sleeping form, Bakura realized that the unconscious state of their body was both a blessing and a curse. If Bakura would have been able to access it, he would have been able to get to Ellie.

He didn't know which disgusted him more, the fact that he had attacked Ryou and rendered him unconscious for days, or that he was fully intending to rape a 15 year old girl.

He was almost dreading the moment that Ryou woke up, because he would know what Bakura had planned to do.

His musings were interrupted when the door banged open, and Bakura jumped up. It was one thing for one of their roommates to see him out in the open, but it would be even worse for them to catch him in the defeated position he had assumed next to Ryou.

But the intruder was none other than Malik, followed closely by the shrimp, Hermione, and Ellie.

Bakura froze when he saw her. He had been dreading the moment that he would see her ever since he had came to his senses after attacking Ryou, but he didn't expect this. She usually had a pretty light aura, almost as light as that of the hikaris. But today her aura was dark enough to challenge even those of the yamis themselves.

But no, it wasn't her aura that was so dark. It was just that the shadows surrounding her was blocking her aura from shining through. Bakura doubted that she could even feel it, but it looked as though somebody had been using some pretty heavy shadow magic on her.

She apparently wasn't all that worried about the shadows covering her from head to toe, though. Ignoring Bakura, she rushed straight to Ryou's sleeping form and gently brushed a stray lock of hair off of his forehead. "What's wrong with him?"

But just because the girl was covered in shadows didn't mean that Bakura had forgotten his reservations about seeing her. He didn't like that she was mere inches away from his corporeal form. He stepped back until he was standing a few feet away, determinedly keeping his eyes off of her.

"Dunno." He answered curtly, desperate to hide his guilt. "Shouldn't you all be in class?"

"This is more important," Yugi said, joining Ellie next to Ryou's bed. "Ellie and Hermione have something to tell us."

Bakura frowned. "Does this have something to do with the giant storm cloud blocking Blondie's aura?"

Ellie finally took her attention off of Ryou, and turned to face him. He reluctantly met her eyes. "You can see it too?"

He forced himself to give her one of his famous scowls. "Of course I can."

"What did you have to tell us?" Malik asked impatiently. Clearly it was going to be one of those days for the Tomb Keeper. "It must be pretty important if you wanted Bakura to hear, as well."

It also must have pretty important for Hermione to skip class.

Hermione, who had joined Ellie and Yugi next to Ryou, turned her attention away from the unconscious boy and onto Bakura. "Not until you tell us what happened to Ryou."

Wow. That girl must have some balls to challenge Bakura like that. And he thought that she was supposed to be smart.

Bakura growled, and made a move towards her. No one spoke to him like that.

He didn't get far though. The bloody Tomb Keeper stepped in front of her, with a pissed expression and crossed arms.

"She's right, Tomb Robber. Ryou isn't just sleeping. You did something to him. Fess up." Malik growled. The Pharaoh phased out as well and took up a place next to him.

"Yes, Bakura. It is time that you admitted to what you have done." He said in that irritatingly authoritative voice of his, pointing his finger straight at Bakura's face.

Bakura scowled. "I assure you, Pharaoh, if you don't get that finger out of my face I will shove it where Ra's sun doesn't-"

"Look!" The shrimp interrupted him, leaving Ellie perched alone by Ryou. "We know that you're fighting something, Bakura. We know that you didn't mean to hurt Ryou. But we can't help him if you don't tell us what's wrong."

He was smarter than he looked. Yugi had figured out what his imbecile yami hadn't - that Bakura actually responded much better to reason than confrontation.

But that didn't mean he was going to up and allow himself to lose face. "Fine." He snapped dramatically. "I attacked him with the shadows in the corridor between our soul rooms. It was the same thing that Tomb Robber did to that fat broad." He refused to call that woman by her actual name.

Hermione and Ellie's faces took on confused expressions at this. But the other three all looked shocked.

"Why?" Yugi asked.

Bakura shrugged, knowing that he looked as though he didn't give a damn, but his conscience was wreaking havoc on his emotions. "He pissed me off. You two are the experts on this thing that's supposedly inside of me, so you tell me."

Yami and Yugi shared a confused look, and were obviously communicating through their mind link. Bakura actually found himself curious to what they were saying.

"You attacked Ryou?" Ellie's voice finally broke through. She sounded disgusted. "He trusted you."

Bakura didn't reply. He felt yet another stab of remorse at that. He knew the implications of what he had done, and didn't want to be reminded. Especially by her. And he was interested to see what the shrimp and the Pharaoh were about to say.

"We think that he won't wake up because you attacked his soul, and not his body." He turned to the Tomb Keeper. "Malik, can you fix him? The Rod is better suited for this than the Puzzle."

Malik nodded. "I think so."

XXX

Malik pulled the rod out of his book bag, and approached Ryou's body. Ellie scooted down to allow him access, sitting on the edge of the bed and clasping Ryou's hand in both of her own. She didn't know what Malik was about to do, or how Ryou was going to react to it, but she wanted to at least give him some comfort if it was needed.

Malik had closed his eyes, and looked as though he were concentrating hard on waking Ryou up.

Ellie looked at Ryou's face and thought that it was almost a shame to wake him up. He looked so peaceful. That wasn't an emotion usually expressed in Ryou, as he was usually blushing over something or another, dealing with an evil spirit, or concentrating hard on his schoolwork. The look on his face right now reminded Ellie very much of the picture of him in her dream, where he was smiling as though he hadn't a care in the world.

Everyone else had gathered around the bed. Hermione stood on Ryou's other side, with Yugi and Yami next to her. Ellie felt Bakura standing behind her, and she stiffened slightly.

She wouldn't say that she was afraid of Bakura. She believed Yugi and Yami, how they said that he was being influenced by something else. That's what she was afraid of. He constantly gave off an angry, scary vibe. But Ellie sometimes felt as though there was more to him than that. Almost as if he were putting on an act lately, to appear more intimidating.

And she knew that he felt bad for hurting Ryou. She saw it in his eyes when she accused him of betraying his trust.

Ellie suddenly felt an unpleasant prickling on the back of her neck that broke her out of her musings. She swore that she felt Ryou's hand tighten around hers the slightest bit.

The prickling on her neck then got even worse, and Ellie knew that she was feeling the rush of magic that Malik was pushing at Ryou. She felt as though she should have been scared, sitting so close to such a powerful magic. Especially such a powerful magic that was being wielded by such an unstable young man. But she wasn't afraid. She just felt anticipation for the moment when Ryou woke up.

His hand squeezed hers again, this time harder.

"Ryou?" She asked, pulling his hand into her lap and leaning closer to him. His eyelids fluttered.

"It's working," Hermione breathed.

"Come on, Malik," Yugi urged. "I know you can do this."

Ellie felt the magic emanating from Malik reach it's peak, and Ryou's eyes slowly opened.

Ellie had never noticed before, but they were the most beautiful shade of chocolate brown.

She sighed in relief.

Ryou's eyes quickly went from a sleepy blinking to wide-eyed . . . Was that horror?

And it was aimed straight at Bakura.

"What did you do to me, Koe?" He whispered, leaning backwards in order to get as far away from Bakura as possible.

Ellie gently pulled on his hand, both trying to stop him from moving away and to get his attention. "Ryou, it's okay. He didn't mean it." She was shocked to find herself actually defending Bakura. She had no idea where it came from, but she found that she believed her own words. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

Ryou's horrified eyes slowly traveled from his yami to Ellie's own worried face. His expression didn't turn to one of instant relief as Ellie had expected, but it turned even more horrified when he looked at her.

"No," he whispered. Ellie figured that he must have noticed her eclipsed aura, and was about to explain, but his eyes tore back to Bakura. "You didn't."

Didn't what? Ellie was sure that Ryou knew what had happened: Bakura had attacked him. But this implied something else.

"Ryou, it's okay-" Malik began, but Ryou's eyes had traveled to where Ellie had his hand clasped in her own. He ripped it away, effectively shocking Malik into silence.

Confused and hurt, Ellie looked to Hermione for some form of reassurance in a comforting look. But she found that Hermione's gaze was instead locked on Bakura.

She turned her head to see what Hermione was looking at, and was incredibly surprised to see that Bakura's face had transformed into an expression of deep sorrow. He actually looked like he was going to cry. His and Ryou's gazes were locked, and it was obvious that they were communicating.

Ellie looked back to Ryou, who was shaking his head, and he removed his gaze from Bakura and fixated it firmly onto his hands.

Ellie leant forward again, desperate to quell the fear that was tainting Ryou's innocent features. She once again tried to take his hand in hers, but he flinched away so violently when she touched him that she effectively gave up.

What had Bakura done?

"Ryou," Malik said firmly, "This is important. Shadi came to Ellie in a dream."

"What?"

"Malik!" Both Hermione and Yugi chastised.

"He what?" Ryou asked, rounding back on Ellie. "Did he hurt you?"

Biting her lip, Ellie shook her head. She stood up off of her perch on Ryou's bed, and walked towards the window, gazing out. She didn't want to have this conversation, because she knew what was coming. Ellie wrapped her arms around her midsection uncomfortably.

"What did he want?" Ellie was shocked that Bakura had asked this question. She twisted around to face the group.

Hermione, she saw, had walked over to join her.

Given confidence by her friend's firm presence at her side, Ellie decided that it was best not to beat around the bush. She already had delayed telling Yugi, Yami and Malik in the classroom by saying that Ryou needed to know too, but there was no backing out now.

"Well, we kind of lied to you." Ellie began nervously, eyeing Malik and trying to gauge what his reaction would be. Right now he had on an excellent poker face, which didn't exactly make Ellie feel better.

"Not just to you," Hermione said quickly, apparently trying to make it seem better than it was. "Actually, we lied to everyone about this." Except Harry and Ron. But the transfers really did not need to know that just yet.

"Remember that day we all went to Diagon Alley, and Hermione and I, er, kind of ran into some death eaters?" What a stupid question. How could they forget? All of their faces darkened though, so Ellie figured that they all knew what was coming. She sighed. "We followed you, and got sucked into that . . . Place." Ellie had been dreaming about it for months, yet she still didn't know what to call it other than 'that place'. But it still instilled a healthy dose of fear in her.

"You were transported to the Shadow Realm?" Yugi gasped. "How?"

"We were kind of hoping that you'd tell us," Hermione said.

"But the Shadow Realm reveals your soul. There's no way we wouldn't have noticed," Malik shook his head dubiously.

"We were invisible," Hermione shrugged.

"How?" Yami asked.

The girls looked at each other. Harry wasn't particularly stingy about who knew about his dad's old cloak, but they still didn't feel right about giving away his secrets without his permission. "There are ways." Ellie eventually said.

"But-" Yami began to argue, but Hermione interrupted him.

"Look, that secret isn't ours to tell. I wasn't even conscious long enough to get a good look around, but the point is that Ellie's dreams started that very night." Hermione said.

"What are your dreams of?" Yami asked. He seemed to be taking this well. In fact, all of the boys seemed to be taking this pretty well. Even Malik was acting very calm and reasonable.

Except for Ryou. He hadn't said a word since they had began their confession. Ellie looked to him, and noticed that he looked quite sick indeed. She frowned, and realized that she had yet to answer Yami's question. "Of that pl- the Shadow Realm, you called it? I just dream that I'm falling through it, and I eventually land in the Eye of- that eye." She saved herself just in time, and pointed to Malik's rod, where the Eye of Horus was winking in the sunlight. The boys didn't yet know that they had Bill tell them about the items, or that she had seen the Eye somewhere before. Ellie planned on keeping it that way.

Unless they would fess up.

But she didn't think that was likely. Luckily, nobody noticed her slip.

"You know what the Shadow Realm looks like?" Malik asked, surprised. "How long were you awake for?"

Ellie shrugged. "A minute or two? Not that long, really." All of the boys gasped. Even Ryou, who had been averting his gaze this entire time, actually looked up. "What?"

"I think that we figured out what Shadi wants with you," Malik said.

"Huh? What does he want?" Ellie asked.

"Your endurance."

XXX

Whew. I'm glad that's over. Are you? Probably. But for the sake of my ego let's say that you're not. ^.^

Anyways, I'm not really entirely sure that Ellie lasting 1-2 minutes in the Shadow Realm for her first time is a particularly amazing feat, but in my mind it is. Considering she's never even heard of it before, and Hermione plopped right over the second she was sucked in? Yeah, sure. Let's just say it is for the purposes of this story.

Yeah, yeah, I know that I'm abusing my creative license again "for the purposes of the story". Please don't take it away!

Lalala, something else I wanted to say is that I apologize for not including more Harry and Ron. They do both have big roles in the story, but right now I'm trying to establish OTHER relationships. Unfortunately, they're kind of unimportant at the moment. I was planning on incorporating them in more by now, but my story and characters really do have minds of their own and Merlin knows that I can't control them. I wanted Ellie and Hermione to be really close with the transfers and have them convince Harry and Ron to be friends with them, but the process of establishing the trust is taking a lot longer than I thought it would.

Anyways, like it? Hate it? Please let me know! Also, if anyone has any ideas on WHAT EXACTLY went through Ryou's head when he was unconscious, hit me up! You didn't think that he was just peacefully sleeping, did you? No way, I'm too mean for that.

See ya next week!