Gotc: Well college started Monday...
Ace: Which means you can now goof-off in a public institution, instead of a state-mandated one!
Gotc: Quiet you. Anyway, so with a new chapter of my life beginning, I've decided to go ahead and celebrate with a new chapter of this fic!
Random Readers: Yay.
Gotc: Yes….thank you for that outpouring of support…..Shall we move to the chappie now? SQUEAKY!
Squeaky: Squeak! (Come on people, go rob your ideas from other places.)
Gotc: Indeed. Time for the fic! Enjoy! As an added note: This is during the 5th Harry Potter book, and just before the Millenium World arc.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Rising Dragon
CHAPTER 11: All Aboard!
The sun was beginning its slow decent beneath the horizon by the time the small band of shoppers made it back to the Order's headquarters. Night gave the old building a new look that almost seemed welcoming compared to the dilapidated place they knew by day. It was a needed change to come back to a familiar place after all of the turmoil of the afternoon. The weary teens stepped through the threshold and into the dusty apartment, each dropping their packages the second they were through.
However, there was no rest for them, as the house's other occupants swarmed the retuning group. Ron was the first at his mother's side, gingerly taking the long package from her with all the tenderness as if it had been a newborn child. Fred and George made a brief appearance, just long enough for them and Malik to vanish into some other room of the house. Yugi wanted nothing more than to just lie down for a while; a splitting headache had been growing just behind his eyes ever since their encounter with the man back in the bookstore. Both he and Ryou had decided to keep the Pharaoh's revelation a secret for the time being. Until they were sure exactly what kind of magic they were dealing with, there was no reason to worry the others.
Still, the throbbing seemed to cancel out all other life around him, and he only vaguely heard Mrs. Weasley announce a party to celebrate Ron and Hermionie's new prefect status. He did want to join in the party, help out and congratulate There were voices everywhere that seemed to bore straight through his skull, and the preparations for the party were only making it worse. Holding one hand to the side of his head, Yugi slowly made his way up the stairs and flopped into his bed. Another stab of pain shot through his head, and Yugi clamped both hands to his temples. The excited voices from downstairs were slowly making their way up the stairs and through the very floorboards to torment him.
He tried pulling a pillow over his head, but it did little to muffle the noise, but to no avail. The throbbing had now reached the point where it felt like his head was about to split open, and so Yugi retreated to the last place he could, his soul room.
There was more than one occasion when Yugi had been grateful for the magic of the Puzzle, this was one of them. It had been unnerving the first time he had experienced getting a look "inside of his own head" as Jonouchi had so eloquently put it once. He knew his mind was far different from almost everyone else on the planet, save for two others in the rooms below him. Part of that had to do with the fact that the realm that represented his soul, was split in two. On one side, a brightly lit room with an entrance wide open and welcoming, while on the other side, a heavy iron door stood as a foreboding obstacle to those unfamiliar to such a place. Yugi had once been a little afraid of what had lain beyond that threshold, but now he saw it in a much different light.
Within his own mind, he could feel the pain slowly begin to ebb away, although he was still dimly aware of it, like it was far-off rather than clawing at the inside of his skull. But as the pain receded, a new feeling came into sharp relief. Confusion, anxiety, anger, even hopelessness seemed to wash over Yugi like a massive tidal wave. It only took a moment's thought to realize where the feelings were rushing from, as he peeked out of his soul room. The iron door across the hall hadn't bothered him in a long time, in recent years, it had even become a symbol of strength for him that he could draw from when he was at his lowest. But looking at it now, it was as if it had become strange and alien to him, as he reached out and gave it a light push.
He knew he'd meet no resistance, no matter how strange it was, Yugi knew the door would always be open for him. What he didn't know, or had been expecting, were the countless scrolls strewn across the worn alabaster floor of his darker half's soul room. Tentatively, Yugi reached down and picked one up, only to find the papyrus' surface shabby, but blank. The story was the same for a dozen others he scanned through, and looked as if the entire floor was covered with nothing but rolls of the stuff, each one void of any marks whatsoever.
A frustrated yell and a fresh wave of pain through his head confirmed Yugi's suspicion of his headache, and left the empty scrolls in search of the voice's owner. It didn't take long for him to find the Pharaoh stooped over an ancient stone table littered with the same blank sheets of papyrus he'd found earlier. Around him stood stone shelves carved into the very walls of his room that once held the scrolls that now resided on the table and floor. Only a relatively small collection remained in place on one of the shelves, and Yugi had a fairly good idea what they contained. He reached out to look at one, when Yami lashed out in frustration, and swept his arm over the table's surface and pushed the useless scrolls to the floor. Still not satisfied, he slammed one fist down onto the table, making Yugi wince in sympathy.
"You know, in many countries I think that would be considered littering Yami," Yugi called out in a half-hearted joke.
Yami abruptly spun on his heels, so lost in his own thoughts he had not heard Yugi's approach.
"Ra Yugi!" Yami breathed in relief, "You scared me half to death."
"I certainly hope not," Yugi chuckled, "You've got one foot in the tomb already."
"Technically, I'm a spirit sharing your body, so it's really your foot."
"Good point," Yugi laughed a little, but stopped when the spirit didn't join him.
Yugi walked over to the table next to his yami, trying to decipher the turmoil rolling across his face.
"Why did I do it Aibou?" Yami sighed, shaking his head and slowly starting to pick up the disgruntled scrolls, "What on this Earth would have forced me to result to a spell with such cost? We've fought the Shadows before, there's always another way to send them back. But instead my name, my memories, my identity….Gone."
Yugi figured something like this would have happened sooner or later. For years, the Pharaoh's only concern was protecting his lighter half, never one turning a thought to himself. Sure, he'd talked about it, they both had, but until today the realization of how little they really did know about his past had never truly hit home.
"I don't know," Yugi said truthfully, "But you've never done something without a good reason. Whatever happened, I'm sure you made the right choice."
"What if Bakura's right though?" Yami groaned rubbing the bridge of his nose, "What if the magic is coming undone and the world is put at risk again?"
"That's really nothing new for us." Yugi said trying to lighten the mood
"But what if it's my fault?" Yami shouted in frustration, "I get my memories back, and the world gets a dark lord that nearly destroyed mankind. I get what I want, only for the rest of the world to suffer."
Yami glanced at Yugi with a weary look in his crimson eyes. The entire world might have well been bearing down on him. Yugi was taken aback, unable to find any words to console the despairing king. In his mind, he saw the catch-22 that was the cause of his darker half's inner turmoil. Their conflict with Dartz still stung like an open wound, and even though the Atlantean King had been under an evil influence, his tale of an evil Pharaoh no doubt still hung with him.
"Wanting to remember who you were doesn't make you a bad person Yami," Yugi said resting a hand on the Pharaoh's shoulder, "I promised you that I would help you get your memories back, and I'll help you do it without bringing the world down around us. You said it yourself right? There's always another way."
Yugi saw a thin smile cross his yami's face, and a wave of relief wash through their link. It felt so strange having their roles reversed, Yugi offering advice and wisdom to a troubled Yami.
"You're right aibou," Yami said, his usual confidence edging back into his voice, "Forgive me, I did not mean to worry you."
"S'alright," Yugi said shrugging it off with a grin, "It was your worrying that was giving me the headache."
The tension gone, Yugi felt the weariness creeping back into his body and couldn't quite manage to stifle the yawn that built in his chest. It seemed like an entire year had been crammed into a single day, and now it had finally caught up to him.
"Get some sleep Yugi," Yami chuckled, "You have a big day tomorrow."
"You too, Yami," Yugi yawned again, this time not bothering to hide it, "I'll see you in the morning."
"Oyasuminasai," Yami called after his hikari as he walked away, then added in a voice hardly above a whisper, "And thank you."
The first thing to assail Yugi's senses was not the gentle caress of the sun's first rays. It was not the smell of a farewell breakfast cooking on the stove. Nor was it the soft summer breeze that blew through his bedroom window back home. Instead, it was the sound of several voices all screaming at once, and one portrait shrieking at the top of it's lungs.
"- COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS -"
"- FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS -"
"Wow… If this isn't entertainment, I don't know what is." Malik's voice drifted in over the din.
Yugi quickly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and rolled out of bed, still groggy but feeling much better than he had the night before. The apparent lack of strange dreams was a bonus too. Malik was crouched by the door, peering out down the hall at the fray going on at the bottom of the stairs.
"What's going on?" Yugi asked, walking up behind him.
"The twins got their trunks to fly down the stairs and hit their sister on the way down," Malik snickered, "Two flights of stairs and six prefect somersaults. It was a work of art."
/You have a horrible sense of humor, Keeper…./ Yami scoffed, also waking up.
[[Call it whatever you like Pharaoh,]] Marik huffed, [[But when those two get back up here, we're paying them good money to have another trunk fly down at the Priest. Even you'd have to admit watching the ever composed Seto Kaiba flail down a couple flights of stairs would be amusing.]]
/Right up until he breaks his neck and we all have to go to the hospital./ Yami shook his head, /And if those Dark Wizards know anything about us, that'll be the first place their watching, seeing as how we have a natural tendency to try and kill each other on a regular basis./
"Point," Malik sighed, reluctantly getting up from his post and following Yugi to where their trunks were stacked and waiting.
The chaos of the house was even worse than it had sounded back in the relative safety of the room. People were rushing back and forth, bodies crashing into piled trunks, tables, lamps, bookcases and each other. And all of it was topped off by the continued shrieking of the portrait upstairs. Almost the instant their feet touched the last stair, Ryou hurried over to Yugi and Malik and forcefully grabbed a hold of Malik's collar.
"You left me here with these idiots and the Priest!" Bakura's voice hissed into the Tomb Keeper's ear, "If my hikari hadn't made me swear not to send these pathetic fools to the Shadows…."
"Well forgive me for trying to get the Priest knocked down a flight of stairs…."
"DON'T DO IT AGAIN!"
"Come on you lot!" Mrs. Weasley called out to them, "It's a twenty minute walk to the King's Cross and- SIRIUS FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, NO!"
A massive black dog had just seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and was sitting next to Harry's feet with a doggy grin all over his face. Mrs. Weasley seemed to realize her protests were going to be in vain, and tossed her hands into the air exasperatedly before herding the group to the door . It was all Malik and Bakura could do not to burst out laughing when one of the trunks gave an unexpected jolt and knocked Kaiba to the floor. Yugi could have sworn he saw a couple of coins exchange hands, but was shoved through the door so quickly he didn't have time to be sure.
Blessed silence surrounded them, as the door to Number 13 Grimwald Place shut behind them. The screeches of the portrait were safely locked away behind a rapidly disappearing door that seemed to grow smaller with every step they put between themselves and the house. The dog that now accompanied them barked joyfully and ran in tiny circles chasing nothing more than his own tail and sunlight. Every now and again he would run off after a cat or squirrel that came too close and made such a show out of it the group couldn't help but laugh. As they drew closer to the train station, Yugi saw Kaiba stiffen slightly, and slowly pick up his pace to walk with the rest of the group.
"What's wrong Kaiba?" Yugi asked, instinctively glancing over his shoulder.
"We're being followed, and whoever it is, doesn't want us to know." Came the nearly inaudible reply.
"How do you know?"
"You're kidding me right? You've been hunted almost every other day of your life since you beat Pegasus at his own twisted game on Duelist Kingdom."
"You do realize there are guards hiding to keep an eye on us right?" Malik cut in.
"Much as I hate to admit it," Bakura said, after checking the Ring, "He is right. Another robed man on a roof top about three blocks away and closing. Of course, it wouldn't be too much of a problem to get rid of him-"
"We're supposed to be laying low," Yugi said, "If he had any plans to attack us, he would have done it by now, not wait until there are hundreds of witnesses. Our best bet is to go to this Hogwarts until we know who we're dealing with. Not engage them ourselves."
"You don't give us nearly enough credit Yugi," Bakura scoffed, "He'd never even know what hit him."
"His boss would!" Yugi snapped, "And he's already blown up my house, so what do you think he'll do if we attack one of his men?"
"Everything ok dears?" Mrs. Weasley asked, hearing the raised voices.
"Oh, it's nothing," Malik lied quickly, "Kaiba here just thinks he can beat me in a Duel. Anyway, what's Hogwarts like?"
They had to Malik credit. He certainly knew how to completely de-rail a conversation. Mrs. Weasley never skipped a beat as she, as well as Ginny and Hermione more than obligingly launched into a full-blown explanation of the school that would be their home for the next several months. The rest of the boys rolled their eyes and glanced at the others with a playful look of mock disgust.
"He's just opened Pandora's box!" Ron moaned, "Hogwarts is Mum's second favorite subject in the world!"
"Don't forget Miss Shiny Prefect," Fred winked, "I'll bet she could give Mum a run for her money on the topic. Hogwarts, a History Revised by Hermione Granger."
"Oh grow up," Ginny huffed, catching the boy's conversation between breaths.
Malik looked over his shoulder, his eyes pleading for help from the onslaught of jittering about how much fun he was going to have, and the collection of fond memories of the past. Bakura only laughed at his friend's plight, wondering if karma could be any sweeter. Fortunately for Malik, the King's Cross had only been another block away, and it was so packed with busy businessmen, families retuning home from vacations, and leaving to go home, that talking about any sort of magic would have been impossible without someone overhearing them.
The group at last approached platforms nine and ten, but looked between the two trains and saw muggles piling into both. The teens exchanged looks of confusion, before Fred and George took off running at the barrier between the platforms at full speed. The crash they had been expecting never did come, as the twins suddenly seemed to melt into the brick surface and disappear.
"Your turn dears," Mrs. Weasley said nudging Bakura and Kaiba towards the barrier.
"You're telling me I have to walk into a brick wall if I want to get on this train?" Kaiba scoffed.
"Actually it's best if you do it at a bit of a run," Mrs Weasley said giving the C.E.O. another good nudge.
Kaiba gave Mrs. Weasley the kind of dumbfounded look that only a seasoned CEO of a multimillion dollar company could. She however, seemed not to notice as she prodded them both closer to the threshold as if the motion would get the two started on their way. Bakura merely shrugged and took a deep breath, as if he were about to dive off of the edge of a cliff.
"Maybe that's what this school is," The Thief King muttered under his breath, "You knock yourself into a coma and wake up thinking you know magic. What the hell, I've never terrorized someone in a hospital…"
Kaiba muttered something under his breath that sounded something to the effect of 'I can't believe I'm about to do this', as the two took off at a light jog at the brick divider, despite every neuron in their brain screaming at them to stop. But instead of being thrown back to the ground with a severe concussion, both Kaiba and Bakura disappeared into the brick, just as Fred and George had before them. Yugi and Malik needed no prodding to dash after their friends, mainly out of concern, and partly to see if someone had fallen flat on their face.
After the Order's headquarters, the idea of a hidden railroad platform had inspired the illusion of some rundown, underground subway type boarding area to get on this mythical train that was supposed to take them to the school. People would have been always looking over their shoulders, afraid of some totalitarian police force storming in and putting an end to whatever system they had built for themselves. The four had been expecting some dank tunnel, maybe even mining cars all linked together for their transportation. No one had been expecting to walk out into bright daylight pouring in through the gilded ceiling, while a magnificent crimson engine stood at the ready while hundreds of students poured on board with parents waving good by.
They stood staring at the scene, as the rest of their caravan came through the barrier behind them. Mrs. Weasley said something to them, but neither of them actually registered what it was until Harry clapped Yugi on the back.
"Come on you guys," He chuckled, "All aboard the Hogwarts Express!"
Gotc: Well, this chapter took a bit of a turn I hadn't really been expecting. I kinda felt like I needed to address some of the stuff that had been happening to Yugi and Yami, hence our three page long psychiatrist scene. Anyway, we may actually be arriving at Hogwarts next chappie, and then we'll introduce my favorite little plot twist to the rest of our heroes! Chaos, mayhem and most likely a generous dose of sarcasm will ensue. Oh! BTW: I invite all of you to check out Phoenix Fire-Feather's C2 archive The Hogwarts Library. Phoenix has generously opened a forum thread for this story there, so if you would like to give me your input, give a suggestion, or maybe speculate about what kind of madness I'm gonna come up with in upcoming chapters, please check it out! I'll also try to post dates for chapter updates there too. So until next chappie, laters!