Gotc: NEW RECORD!

Ace: What, you actually getting off your butt long enough to write two chapters in the space of a week?

Gotc: And you wonder why I make your life so miserable.

Ace: Criticism builds character.

Gotc: And big heavy rocks break faces, but that's hardly the point. I'm sure the rest of you are tiredof this banter, so let's move on to our main attraction! Squeaky!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Keep moving thieves.)

Gotc: Remember while your reading to be thinking of that wonderful you will (hopefully) be posting at the end of this chapter. I promise it'll definitely be something to comment on! BUAHAHAHAHAHA!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Rising Dragon

CHAPTER 12: Split-Personalities

The commotion and flurry of farewells and well wishes was nearly as frantic as it had been rushing to get out of the house. More than once, those waiting to board the train were caught up in a tearful hug by Mrs. Weasley, before she moved on to the next person lest she forget to say good bye to someone. Bakura had resorted to using his nails to scrape off the lipstick off of his cheek that felt as if it were nearly an inch thick, when the crimson engine's whistle bellowed a warning to those students still on the platform.

The big black dog that had accompanied them suddenly reared up on its hind legs and flopped its massive paws onto Harry's shoulders, before Mrs. Weasley shoved him off of Harry and shooed the group onto the train. Everyone rushed to an open window to wave good by, as the train gave a mighty lurch forward and began to roll down the tracks. The big black dog barked joyfully and bolted after the train as it picked up speed past the platform. Laughter could be heard for several cars, before the Express rounded a bend and everyone left on the platform vanished from view.

"So long everyone!" Fred said clapping Malik on the back, "George and I have a bit of business to discuss with Lee."

The twins gave a flourishing bow, before heading off into another car.

"I guess we should find a car too," Harry said picking up Hedwig's cage.

Ron and Hermione exchanged uncomfortable looks at one another, neither really wanting to speak.

"Actually Harry," Hermione said at last when it became apparent Ron was far too busy inspecting each of his fingernails, "Ron and I have to go to the Prefect Carriage and get our instructions from the Head Boy and Girl."

"Oh," Was all Harry found himself saying.

"It's not like I want to go," Ron muttered, "It's a real pain."

"Don't worry about it." Harry said forcing a grin to his face. He felt strangely empty watching the two walk away dragging their belongings behind them, leaving him to his first train ride without his friends. Then again, he'd never ridden with the new exchange students either. Malik was arguing with Ryou about something already, while Yugi and Kaiba stood by shaking their heads as if such an argument was a normal course of events.

"We should find a seat," Ginny pointed out, "Ron and Hermione can catch up with us later."

"Good idea," Harry said numbly, "Hey, did you guys want to sit with us?"

"Yeah thanks," Yugi nodded, "Guys, we're gonna go get a se…..GUYS!"

"Yell a little louder Yugi…" Ryou complained, "I don't think they heard you back on the platform."

Yugi shrugged, but turned to follow Harry and Ginny as they worked their way down the narrow aisle.

"Is there something different about Ryou?" Harry asked Ginny under his breath.

"They're all probably just nervous," Ginny said, "Now come on and let's find a seat."

Car after car, nearly every seat was filled, and Yugi couldn't help but notice the odd looks people were giving them behind the glass. When they came to the last carriage, there was another boy dragging his trunk along behind him, while struggling to keep his grip on a wriggling toad.

"Hey Harry, hey Ginny," He huffed, stopping as they met each other in the aisle, "Who are the new guys?"

"Exchange students," Yugi said bowing slightly, "Yugi Motou, and these are my friends Malik Ishtar, Ryou Bakura, and Seto Kaiba."

"Neville Longbottom," He responded, before his eyes flicked to their hair. "Um-"

"Yes." They all said in unison before he could finish the sentence.

"Oh."

"Neville, why don't you have a seat already?" Ginny asked trying to worm her way past him.

"I got here late, and everywhere else is full; I can't find a seat."

"That's ridiculous! There's plenty of room in here!" Ginny said, "Loony Lovegood's the only one in here."

Neville muttered something under his breath that the rest of them couldn't quite catch, but it was enough to make Ginny laugh.

"Don't be silly," she said, almost pulling him back, "She's quite alright."

Neville didn't seem so convinced, and started to fiddle with his toad nervously.

"Neville right?" Malik asked sliding up next to him, "Apart from the hair, my friends and I scare you?"

"N-no….not exactly," Came the shaky reply.

"Good," Malik said patting Neville on the shoulder as he passed, "Then there's nothing to worry about."

Ginny was the first one into the compartment, followed by the rest of the group as they cautiously poked their heads inside one by one. Scraggly blonde hair was the first feature to catch their attention, shortly followed by the necklace of strung corks that hung around this strange girl's neck.

"Hi Luna," Ginny said, "Mind if we take these seats?"

Luna looked up from behind the upside-down magazine that was in her hands and gave them all a long searching look, before nodding to them and going back to her magazine, although she kept glancing up at them from over the top of the rumpled pages.

"Had a good summer Luna?" Ginny asked sitting next to her.

"Yes," She said in almost a dream-like voice, "Interesting friends you have."

"We're exchange students from Japan," Yugi started to explain, "Except Malik, he's from-"

"Egypt," Luna finished before Yugi had the chance, "You're Yugi Motou. You all we're in the Battle City tournament."

"Wait, a second," Neville said with more life in his voice than they'd heard so far, "The Yugi Motou? The undefeated King of Games?"

Kaiba gave a small snort of disgust, before turning to watch people pass by out in the aisle.

"Not entirely undefeated," Yugi said shyly, "But yeah. That's me."

"Wow! No wonder you guys are so good!" Neville exclaimed, "Wizards and game experts!"

"You have no idea…" Bakura muttered under his breath, before receiving an elbow to his side.

"Actually we didn't find out about the whole magic thing until last month," Yugi said.

"All the same! You guys are amazing!"

The compartment fell silent for what seemed like a painfully long time, as it continued to speed across the wide open countryside. Harry turned to look out the window at the scenery rolling past. Grey clouds hung in sharp contrast to the bright blue sky, looming like doomsayers for the future. The sun was quickly swallowed by them, plunging the train into the thin, pale light that managed to filter through the bleak atmosphere. But just before the last patch of blue was lost to the ominous clouds, he could have sworn he saw something silhouetted against the sky before it vanished into the murky cloud cover.

Harry rubbed his eyes and stared at the spot where the thing had disappeared, willing it to come back to get a better look at it to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But the thing never re-emerged, and before he could comment on it, Neville was the first one to break the silence.

"Hey, look at what I got for my birthday!" He said happily, before pulling out what had to be a small grey cactus with a bad case of boils covering its surface, "It's a Mimbulus mimbletonia! They're supposed to be really rare. I don't even think Hogwarts even has one!"

"Uh-huh…." Bakura said craning his neck for a better look at the grotesque plant, "And what exactly does it do?"

"Loads of stuff! Harry, hold Trevor for a moment," Neville said dumping the toad into Harry's lap,before taking out a quill and holding it a breath away from the plant's side.

Without any warning, Neville gave the thing a sharp poke with the tip of his quill. The whole plant seemed to shudder for a moment, before thick dark, green jets of liquid erupted from every boil that covered the plant's surface. The sticky substance coated every non-protected surface and stuck like overly thick jello. After the initial disgust of catching a facefull of the stuff, a whole new wave of revulsion hit the group as the smell of rancid manure filled the compartment.

Yugi and the others were too concerned with getting the worst of the stuff out of their faces to notice the compartment door slide open, and a embarrassed girl quickly dismiss herself and leave as quickly as she'd come.

"Scourgify!" Ginny shouted with a slight hint of disgust in her voice, giving her slime cvered wand a small flick in midair.

Instantly the sap disappeared, as well as taking the horrible smell with it, leaving the entire compartment even cleaner than it had been before. Neville hurriedly stowed the plant back into his sack, mumbling feverrant apologies the entire time. Bakura was almost certain he could still taste the stuff, but soon forgot all about it when a malicious grin spread across Malik's face.

"Hey Bakura," He said reaching into his pocket, and producing his deck, "How bout a duel?"

"Any stakes?" Bakura asked, his eyebrow arching in amusement.

"The usual," Malik said leaning back in his seat, expertly shuffling his deck, "I mean, if you're worried you'll lose…."

"You're on," Bakura declared without another moment's hesitation, leaving Yugi to only shake his head in mild annoyance, while Kaiba continued his vigil. Neville was nearly beside himself with joy, watching the two duelists start the game, and even Harry found himself occasionally asking Yugi about different rules and cards.

An hour later, when Ron and Hermione did show up, a winner had still not been declared, although both were beginning to run low on life points and overall patience with one another. The compartments occupants had all seemed to picked up on the general flow of the game and were now rooting for one or the other.

"S'not wizard's chess," Ron said after watching the stalemate for a few minutes, and biting the head off of a chocolate frog, "I mean, it's interesting and all, but the pictures on the cards don't even move."

A strangled snicker came from Bakura and Malik, as they tried to hide themselves behind their cards and keep playing as if nothing were the matter.

"The cards don't move," Kaiba scoffed, "But in the Battle City tournament, the duelists used special duel disks that projected the cards as holograms onto the field. As soon as we get to Hogwarts, I'm going to get a couple sent to me."

"For us?" Yugi asked.

"You three are the only ones actually worth dueling anymore," Kaiba said as if the fact were obvious.

"Direct attack Malik!," Bakura declared triumphantly, "I win."

"Damn…Alright," Malik resigned after observing the field one last time, "Get it over with…."

"Oh I will, just not when you're expecting it," Bakura said with a devious smirk, "You up for a round Kaiba?"

The CEO shrugged, and handed his deck to Bakura to shuffle. The two had no sooner drawn their first cards, when the door to the compartment slid open again. This time three boys stood blocking the entrance, two looked like newly evolved apes, while the third wore a smug look that complimented his oiled blond hair. Everyone else in the compartment seemed to tense immediately at the new visitors, and Harry was the first to speak before the newcomers could.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry practically snarled.

"Manners Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," drawled Malfoy, whose sleek blond hair seemed to give him the air of a crooked salesman "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," said Harry, "but you, unlike me,-are a git, so get out and leave us alone."

A low chuckle traveled around the group, bringing a hint of anger to Malfoy's pale blue eyes. He looked distastefully at the new students, regarding him with little thought before going back to their game. It was enough for Malfoy to reach down and snatch a card from Kaiba's hand and toy with it like a useless piece of paper.

"What's this Potter?" Malfoy sneered, "Running a home for misfits now are we? Where's you find these losers? The gutter? And playing a stupid muggle card game too-HEY!"

Malfoy let out a yell of surprise, as Kaiba's hand shot out to catch Malfoy's arm in a vice-like grip. All four were on their feet in an instant, each with a seemingly more menacing air about them than there had been before. Even Yugi who looked as though he would never harm so much as a gnat, leveled a glare that looked as if it were meant to turn Malfoy to ash. And while Kaiba had been intimidating before, he was nothing like the man that had a firm hold on Malfoy's arm. All 6'2" of him towered over Malfoy, cold fury boiling in his icy blue eyes.

"I strongly suggest you give him back the card," Yugi said in a commanding voice no one had been expecting out of him, "Preferably before he breaks your arm."

As if to emphasize the point, Kaiba tightened his grip, drawing another yelp from Malfoy, who swung uselessly at Kaiba's head.

"Crabbe! Goyle! What are you buffoons standing there for!" Malfoy yelled, "Get him off me!"

Crabbe and Goyle took a single step towards Kaiba, only for Malik and Ryou to fold their arms across their chests, with what could have been anticipation plastered to their faces. For a moment the tension in the room was tangible. The exchange students that had been living with them for the last week were all suddenly replaced by completely different people.

"Just give us and excuse," Ryou growled, a thin smile crossing his lips.

Whatever primitive organ that served as a brain for these two, must have decided against taking these newcomers, as they took several steps in the opposite direction. Malfoy continued to pry uselessly at Kaiba's hand, like a fox caught in a trap, as the CEO kept increasing the pressure until Malfoy's arm began to turn purple.

"Give. It. Back." Kaiba said definitively one last time, before Malfoy decided the card wasn't worth losing his arm over.

"Here's your bloody card!" Malfoy yelled releasing it at last, and rubbing his arm where Kaiba had a hold of it, "You four don't know who you've just messed with!"

"What's to know?" Malik scoffed, "You're a coward who hides behind your little cronies when you get too scared to take care of business yourself."

A look of utter rage engulfed Malfoy's face, and left him shaking, but without a response back to the four who all still stood waiting, daring him to make a move.

"Better keep an eye on your new pals there Potter," Malfoy spat, "Because I'll be dogging your every step, just waiting for you rejects to slip up."

Only when Malfoy and his cronies wee out of sight, did the tension finally break and the four slowly took their seats once again. Harry wasn't sure what he had just witnessed, and jugding by the face for his friends, neither were they.

"That was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed, "I've never seen anyone run those three off like that!"

"It was stupid," Hermione said, trying to keep her tone of authority, "Malfoy could have gotten them into big trouble before they'd even walked through the doors of the school! And now he's going to be looking for any excuse to make your lives miserable!"

"Let him try," Malik chuckled, going back to watching the duel, "If he wants to play that game, I'll have no problem showing him what a novice he is at it."

Gotc: I know I said Hogwarts this chapter, but my thought process ran longer than usuall.

Ace: That's a first.

Gotc: SO….I posted another chappie for your viewing pleasure! Get over there and read it!