Gotc: Sorry folks. When it comes to computers, I can't seem to catch a break. My desktop caught a virus and it had all my stuff on it, so now I'm working from my lappy to get all my stuff straightened out while it's awaiting the cash to clean it out. Pthbt.

Ace: Normally, this would be where I make some smart-ass comment, but seeing as how you about turned me inside out when the computer died…

Gotc: You just remember that. Anyway, things are starting to get back to normal so I give you all the next chapter! Squeaky!

Squeaky: Squeak! (It's safe to come out now right?)

Ace: Mostly.

Gotc: HEY!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Right people, you know the drill, now owning things here! Now get out of here and read!)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Rising Dragon

CHAPTER 28: Directions

Hermione wasn't sure if she was glad the others had stayed to keep Yugi company in the Hospital Wing, while she waited for Ron and Harry. It had already been decided they should know about their friends'…..circumstances, but she was starting to wonder if she would have rather had at least one of them to help retell the story. Of course, it was getting dark and Madam Pomfery wouldn't let them stay with Yugi much longer. Maybe she should just wait?

No, she was going to have to tell them one way or another. Better to tell them now than later. But what was she going to tell them anyway? The people the Order had rescued were really ancient wizards that could command magic from another realm? They were going to think she was out of her mind… Then again, given their history, it didn't sound as crazy as it should have.

A creak from the other side of the room interrupted her thoughts, as the portrait guarding the entrance swung open to let in a very tired looking Ron and Harry through. They dumped their gear in a haphazard trail behind them before flopping down into the empty chairs next to the fire. Hermione swallowed hard, still not sure how she was going to tell them.

"How was practice?" She asked, trying to keep the apprehension out of her voice.

"It was-" Harry began.

"Completely lousy," Ron grumbled, sinking further into the chair.

"Well it was only your first one," Hermione said, trying to get him into a better mood, "It's bound to take some time to-"

"Who said it was me who made it lousy?" Ron snapped back.

"No one! I just thought-"

"You thought I was bound to be rubbish?"

"No, of course I didn't! Look, I just-"

"Forget it," Ron said angrily getting to his feet and heading for the boy's dormitory.

"Ron, wait!" Hermione said, the anxiety finally leaking through her voice.

Both Harry and Ron stopped to look at Hermione, now almost shaking nervously. They knew something was up now. The only time she ever got flustered like this was when there was something seriously wrong, which meant there was no backing out of it now.

"There's something I have to tell you."

"Are you sure you don't remember anything else?"

"You're talking to the amnesia patient of the millennium," Bakura scoffed, leaning back in his chair to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the energetic nurse in the other room, "It's a miracle he can remember his own name- Oh wait!"

"Shut your mouth, Thief," Yami growled back, "Or I'll be the one to shut it for you."

"I'm sure you will…" Bakura rolled his eyes.

Yami glared a moment longer, a few particular phrases for the spirit coming to mind, but the droning ache in his head made the effort hardly worth it.

"No." Yami said running a frustrated hand through his hair, "That's it, and truth be told, I don't want to remember any more than that."

Malik nodded, finishing his scribbling on one of the glossy scans. The Egyptian sighed heavily with frustration, a sentiment that seemed to be shared by yami and hikari alike. Those scans held a mystery, and now it seemed like Yami's memories were tied to them as well. But if they were truly tied to his memories, what consequence would come from unraveling such a complicated web of secrets?

"Malik," Yami said, "We should consider what might happen if we do manage to translate those texts."

"The visions are getting worse the more time that passes," Bakura said, his brow furrowed, "You're passing out now they've become so intense. I think the question's become what might happen if we don't translate them."

"Risking the well-being of this world is too high a price to pay to find out," Yami pointed out.

"It may not have to be," Malik said, "From what I can tell, though granted that's not much, these scans are all depicting a single event. If your visions and these texts are related, it may be only a part of your memories recovered instead of all of them."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think Ishtar has a point," Kaiba said, reluctantly from his post at the window, "I think you're all crazy, but that doesn't change the fact that you're still passing out in the middle of a crowd of people. If that happens again, I don't think we're going to be able to get away with such a simple excuse like we did today."

"Kaiba's right, next time it may not be just Hermione," Malik reasoned, "If we can let the visions through that are trying to force their way out already, maybe we can stop the flashes altogether. Bleed the pressure a little."

Yami sighed. He wanted to be angry for all that was happening, but couldn't manage it. For whatever reason, this had been the path he'd chosen. He could only hope that he'd known what the consequences of his actions were going to be.

"We're going to need to get a hold of Professor Hawkins," Yami said, "He's the best chance of figuring out what language we're working with."

"We could send it with one of those owls," Kaiba suggested, "They seem to be efficient if nothing else."

"No," Malik shook his head, "The people who were after us are still out there somewhere. We don't know what's written here, and there could be a dammed good reason it's almost impossible to read."

"Then where does that leave us?" Bakura asked, "If the pigeon's can't carry it, how are we supposed to get those scans to the old man?"

"I'll be making a company call to Mokuba in a few days," Kaiba said, "He could forward the information to Hawkins."

"This needs to be done sooner rather than later, Priest," Bakura argued.

"He's got a point," Yami sighed, "We may just have to take a chance and send it out by owl."

Everyone's gaze fell on the scans loosely held in Malik's hands. Depending on the point of view changed the particular feeling towards them, but the sentiment was still the same. There was something important buried there within those texts, and they had no better way to get it than to break down and ask another outside source for help. They had nothing else they could do, but wait.

"I don't like this." Kaiba frowned, shaking his head

Kaiba's declaration shattered the silence that had settled between the duelists, bringing all eyes back to him

"Join the club, Preist," Bakura scoffed, keeping his gaze on the floor in front of him, "The Pharaoh's passing out in broad daylight and I don't think any of us are exactly thrilled that a couple of nosy wizards know about us so soon."

"Hmph. It's almost cute how you think I care those three know about your mental problems," Kaiba snorted, "I'm talking about the timing of all this."

Malik rolled his eyes, "Yeah it's not the most ideal situation now that he's starting to pass out in front of people who are literally scared out of their skins by every little thing they can't explain."

"I can't believe sometimes how thick you can be," Kaiba growled, a headache starting to form, "Doesn't it strike any of you as odd that this all began to happen as soon as we were accepted into this school? 'Coincidences' are something that we never seem to have in large supply if you haven't noticed."

What are you getting at?" Yami glanced at the CEO.

"Think about it for once," Kaiba pointed out, "We get our letters and not two hours later, McGonagall shows up telling us that they think some evil wizard was after us. Ishtar's hieroglyphs from this newly discovered tomb begin showing up in your psychotic episodes, AND you start having these flashes after we're attacked in Domino."

"Hold on," Bakura stopped him, "You think the wizards are doing something?"

"I think the wizards know something." Kaiba nodded, "Both this 'Order' of theirs and those dark wizards that attacked us. I think they found something that pointed them right to us, it wouldn't be the first time someone's wanted something from us for some kind of power move after all. I feel there's more to the story than we've been told, and they're just biding their time until either side can end the stalemate."

"So what's your plan?" Bakura folded his arms across his chest.

"We start with those scans," Kaiba gestured to the laminated sheets in Malik's hand, "We can't afford to have Yugi drawing any more attention to us. We'll send them out first thing tomorrow to Dr. Hawkins, by owl. You translate for a living, Ishtar. If you can't figure them out, no one intercepting them will be able to either."

"If you are right about these wizards, Priest," Bakura pointed out, "We'd be foolish to proceed any further without knowing who we're dealing with any better. Some of these teachers here were at that place in London, we need to find out exactly what their agenda is."

"I agree," Yami nodded, "It's something we should have looked into before it got this far, but there's not much we can do about that now. Now that Harry, Ron and Hermione know about us now, they may even be able to help us and it may divert some of the attention off of us as well."

The sound of brisk footsteps brought the discussion to an abrupt close, as Madam Pomfrey entered the ward with a glass of water and some leftovers from dinner.

"Alright you three," She said, setting the tray down, "You lollygag here much longer and you'll be out past curfew. Now get along, Mr. Motou needs his rest."

There was a second of noncompliance among the group, as thoughts of arguing with the witch crossed everyone's minds. There was still more they needed to discuss that shouldn't be put off, even until morning. When no one moved, her features hardened into a look that would have sent the Shadows running for cover.

"Well?" She said, putting both hands on her hips.

Reluctantly, the three got to their feet, casting sidelong glances behind them as the graying nurse hurried them along when they didn't move fast enough for her liking. Yami leaned his head back against the pillow, letting the fluff take the weight of his head. Mixed feelings about the whole situation rolled in his mind for what felt like the millionth time since they'd arrived at the castle. Relief that they were at least making progress, unease of just where that progress was going to lead them. He glanced at the food on the table next to him, though didn't feel much like eating but did recognize the body he inhabited was not his own.

/Are you hungry Yugi?/

/Not really. But you should probably get some rest./

/And you should probably eat./

The silence that passed between them was almost tangible and nearly stifling. Yami pressed his head into his hands for a moment before Yugi resumed control of his body. Yugi felt sudden stiffness and fatigue seize his limbs after being little more than spirit for so long. Yami materialized next to him, but didn't look up from his place next to the bed.

/So where do we go from here?/

/We follow Kaiba's plan. That's all we can do for now./

Yami sighed heavily, looking out the window and past the darkening glass. Yugi could see something else brewing behind his darker half's crimson eyes that he wasn't sharing.

/Yami…/ Yugi pushed, not about to let his darker half shut him out again.

/There's something off about these visions./ Yami relented at last, /Dreams I could understand, but the way that one just hit…..I think something triggered it./

/Like what? The duel?/

/It's a possibility. Kaiba did say he had to use several spells to get the duel disks to work on the school grounds./

/I thought Bakura said that the magics here weren't strong enough to affect the seal on your memories./

/The Thief wasn't even aware of the wizards until Ryou got his letter. I find it hard to believe he could be 100% sure./

/What if you're both right?/

Yami looked at his younger charge, as Yugi sat up a little more in the bed to put his elbows on his knees.

/Think about it. If the magics here are strong enough to interfere with electronics, how do we know that there aren't other enchantments that could interfere with other magic? There're plenty of places out-of-bounds to students without any real reason as to why we should stay away. Maybe there's something in the castle that's triggering the flashes. The longer you're exposed to it-/

/-the stronger the flashes get./ Yami finished nodding his head, /It would make sense as to why they're starting to get worse… So if we find out just what's setting them off in the first place, we might be able to stop them all together./

/That's the idea,/ Yugi nodded, /Of course, there's only one way to really find what's causing it…you'll have to…./

/Be exposed to it. I understand,/ Yami said, / But I'd rather be using these visions to get closer to an answer, than sitting back and just waiting for the next one to hit./

/First thing tomorrow then?/ Yugi tried to stifle a yawn, leaning back on the pillows hardly able to keep his eyes open any longer, /I'm kinda…tired…./

/Of course, Aibou. Get some rest./

Yami never got a response from his lighter half. Yugi was already fast asleep, and it wasn't long before Yami followed suit.

"You're joking."

Hermione folded her arms, narrowing her gaze at Harry and Ron. Disbelief was one thing, but the smirks the two were casting back and forth between each other like she was crazy were starting to get on her nerves.

"Why on Earth would I be joking about something like this?" Hermione cried indignantly.

"Look," Ron shook his head condescendingly, "It's been a long day for everyone. I know the Yugi and his friends are a little off, but that doesn't mean they're ancient wizards! I mean, they're even worse at using some of these spells that I am-"

"I sincerely hope for your sake that was a compliment."

The three wizards turned around in time to see Bakura push his way through the Portrait Hole. Hermione swallowed hard as the yami entered the room, but Harry and Ron only sat back in their chairs and waited for him to sit and join them.

"How's Yugi?" She asked tensely, as Bakura flopped heavily next to them.

"Tired, but not bad all things considered," He grumbled staring into the fire, "I'm impressed you two aren't berating me yet though."

"Hermione was trying to tell us you guys were some weird crazy wizards from like 10,000 years ago," Harry chuckled, Ron joining him in a laugh.

"5,000."

The laughing slowed a little to something of an uneasy chuckle, as Bakura turned his gaze on them. There was no trace of laughter in his dark eyes, and he certainly didn't seem like the friendly kid they knew in Ryou at all.

"Heh….what?" Ron stammered uneasily.

"We're 5,000 years old, not 10,000." Bakura said evenly, "And it's only Yugi's infuriating other half and myself, Granger, not all four of us. If you're going to include these two in all of this, then they'd better have their facts straight, or Malik and Marik are going to have fun wiping their minds."

The laughter came to an abrupt halt at Bakura's threat. There was no joke in his voice and every syllable carried the threat with the weight to see it carried out. Ryou didn't threaten anyone; the kid was the kind to get threatened for sure, but he never seemed like he had a mean bone in his body. The white-haired wizard beside them looked enough like their friend, but there was certainly something off. His hair seemed to stand out even wilder than usual, if that was possible, and his eyes held an edge that seemed as though it could cut straight through them. Whoever was sitting in the chair by the fire now, looked at them over his knuckles as if they could be wiped away with no more effort than it would take to shoo a fly. And at the moment, it didn't seem like he even had the patience for flies.

"You're really not…Ryou?" Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Hmph. It's at least good to know I can play the part of my host well enough to fool you mortals," Bakura rolled his eyes, "I am, unfortunately, only a spirit who shares the body of the boy you know as Ryou Bakura. As I'm sure your friend there has already explained to you."

Hermione put her hands on her hips as if to say I-told-you-so, but at least had the grace not to. There was enough going on, and the last thing any of them needed was to play a childish game of who was right and who wasn't.

"Do any of the teachers know about you four yet?" Harry asked, finding his voice first, thought it still seemed uncertain as he spoke.

"No," Bakura said harshly to drive the point home, "And I intend to see that it stays that way. It's bad enough we have this Voldermort amateur trying to hunt us down as it is."

"Is that why he came after you? Those Items Hermione was telling us about?" Harry pointed to the glint of gold peeking out through Bakura's robes.

"It's certainly the most likely reason," Bakura nodded, "Though we think that perhaps some members of this 'Order' may have an idea about why he came hunting us down."

"I thought you just said no one knew about you," Ron frowned.

"It's a close kept secret that some of the Items house spirits; the abilities and nature of the Millennium Items I'm afraid aren't as reclusive." Bakura sighed, trying to keep his patience in check, "Though the only ones that can truly wield their power are already in possession of an Item."

"Then this makes sense," Harry frowned, earning looks from everyone, "Remember when I first showed up at Headquarters? How Sirius said they thought Voldermort was looking for a weapon? I think they meant all of you, that's why they brought you to Hogwarts."

"Which is why we need your help," Bakura nodded, impressed with how well they were coping with the news, "We don't know who we can trust, especially within this wizarding order. I find it hard to believe they only wish to provide us with a safe haven in such troubling times."

"You think the Order of the Phoenix is trying to use you guys?" Ron scoffed incredulously, "That's rubbish!"

"No it's not Ron," Harry reminded him, suppressing a shudder at the memory, "Remember how easy it was for Crouch to take Professor Moody's place?"

"Harry, I don't think Dumbledore would be so careless a second time-" Hermione started.

"Quirrel was already here when we arrived at the school, and now there's Professor Umbridge?" Harry ticked off on his fingers, "Dumbledore can't watch everyone, Hermione."

"You'll help us look into these teachers then?" Bakura held out his hand.

"I certainly don't think it could hurt." Harry nodded grasping it, "Ron?"

"Fine," The red-head sighed, adding his hand, "But only as long as you don't try to pull any of that dark magic stuff."

"Don't worry," Bakura chuckled darkly, "It would be over before you even knew what happened."

Ron pulled his hand back as Ryou blinked a few times, letting Bakura recede back into his soul room, laughing the whole way there. He felt off as usual when Bakura had control of his body for extended periods of time, but for once the feeling quickly wore off as he settled back into his chair.

"Sorry Ron," Ryou sighed, "He didn't mean it. I swear he would never do anything to you guys."

"Yeah, no." Ron nodded his head awkwardly, "I didn't think he would."

"I think if we're going to start looking at any of the teachers, we should start with Professor Cooper and Umbridge," Hermione sat down, pulling out some parchment and getting right to work, "Professor Snape too, considering his history ."

''Not it," Harry folded his arms, "But I don't think Umbridge will be too hard to get to, since she seems so interested in giving me detention. Cooper may be hard too, since he always seems to be heading off somewhere."

"We'll just have to find out where exactly he's going then," Hermione quickly scribbled a note.

Ryou followed along quietly, adding his input every now and again when it was needed. He hadn't been expecting these wizards to take so easily to the idea of their….unique situation. But then again, they still shared a common enemy, no matter how different their situations might be.

((The enemy of my enemy…)) Bakura's voice echoed lightly in the back of Ryou's head.

(Then let's make sure we don't make enemies of them,) Ryou chided him back, (We need all the help we can get.)

"Now Ron," Hermione carried on, before looking up from her quickly filling parchment, "we may need a few- Hold on, is that Hermes?"

Four heads swiveled towards the window, looking directly at the small screech owl tapping impatiently on the glass to be let in. A frown etched its way onto Ron's face as he quietly stood from his seat and crossed the room to let the bird inside. The owl wasted no time landing neatly on the table they'd been working on, holding out a leg to which a letter was neatly attached.

"This day's been really strange," Ron muttered, as he clumsily undid the knot, "First, I find out two of my housemates are ancient wizards and now Percy's writing to me? I'm not sure which is stranger…."

As soon as the letter was free, Hermes quickly took his leave, qickly making his exit back through the still open window as Ron sat back to open the letter.

"It's from him alright," Ron turned the paper over in his hands, "It's Percy's handwriting."

"Well," Harry urged him, "Go on and open it!"

Ron tore open the envelope and started to read. It wasn't a second before an obvious look of distaste began to spread on his face, working itself deeper and deeper the further he read. At last, Ron finished the letter and thrust it out away from him for the other's to read. Ryou, Harry and Hermione leaned in so all three of them could see it at once, and it didn't take long to pinpoint the source of Ron's disgust.

Dear Ron,

I have only just heard (from no less a person than the Minister of Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect.

I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the "Fred and George" route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility.

But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. Hopefully you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions.

From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternization with that boy. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this - no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favourite - but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different- and probably more accurate - view of Potter's behaviour. I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing - and see if you can spot yours truly!

Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be very damaging to you future prospects, and I am talking here about life after school too. As you must be aware, given that our father escorted him to court, Potter had a disciplinary hearing this summer in front of the whole Wizengamot and he did not come out of it looking too good. He got off on a mere technicality if you ask me and many of the people I've spoken to remain convinced of his guilt.

It may be that you are afraid to sever ties with Potter - I know that he can be unbalanced and, for all I know violent - but if you have any worries about this, or have spotted anything else in Potter's behaviour that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a really delightful woman, who I know will be only too happy to advise you.

This leaves me to my other bit of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should be not to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I am very sorry to hear that so far Professor Umbridge is encountering very little cooperation from staff as she strives to make those necessary changes within Hogwarts that the Ministry so ardently desires (although she should find this easier from next week - again, see the Prophet tomorrow!). I shall say only this- a student who shows himself willing to help Professor Umbridge now may be very well placed for Head Boyship in a couple of years (I hear you have a few new students in your house who I'm sure could use a strong example to follow. It may not be such a bad idea to get them set on the right foot)!

I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticize our parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mixed up with the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore (if you are writing to Mother at any point, you might tell her that a certain Sturgis Podmore, who is a great friend of Dumbledore's, has recently been sent to Azkaban for trespass at the Ministry. Perhaps that will open their eyes to the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders). I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people - the Minister really could not be more gracious to me - and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parents' beliefs and actions either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes.

Please think over what I have said most carefully, particularly the bit about Harry Potter, and congratulations again on becoming prefect.

Your brother,

Percy

Ron tore the letter back from them almost as soon as they were done reading it, promptly tearing it into tiny bits and feeding them to the fire. Harry tried to make a joke out of it, rather than confront the truth of what had been discussed in its lines. But it set an uncomfortable feeling in Ryou that seemed to cast a dark cloud over the single ray of hope they'd found in their situation.

((This…)) Ryou heard Bakura say, ((Is going to complicate things.))

Ryou nodded. It was hard enough getting around under the charge of the current headmaster, but if he read that letter correctly, it definitely sounded as though that toad-ish Professor Umbridge was well-placed to take control.

(What do we do now?)

((What the letter says, Yandoushi,)) Bakura sighed, ((We wait and see what tomorrow brings.))

Gotc: Finally! Yes, yes, I apologize for the wait. I also apologize for the kinda boring chapter. I SWEAR THIS ALL HAS A POINT!

Ace: Suuuuuure it does…..

Gotc: You should hope so, 'cause your tail's going to be in it next chappie.

Ace: What do you mean! I don't want to-

Gotc: I'm sure you gentle readers remember where the best button on Earth is, yes? Press it and I'll get busy coming up with new and inventive ways of torturing Ace! Laters!