Ace: Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.

Gotc: Nope. Still not free of me yet! Ok guys, I feel like I spend more time apologizing than writing but I have not given up on this. I refuse. And so I present to you another chapter! I'm not promising anything though because it seems like whenever I do, life happens and it's another year before I get back around to writing. So go on and enjoy! Squeaky! Disclaimer!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Nothing owned here folks. Except Ace, but he's not people. You don't want him.)

Ace: HEY!

Gotc: Off with you! On to the fic!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Rising Dragon

CHAPTER 32: Down the Rabbit Hole

It was beginning to feel like the library was a second home. They seemed to spend more time gathered around a battered oak table between the shelves of books like Charm Your Own Cheese and Flesh Eating Trees of the World. Maybe because it was in such an odd spot in the library that it was rarely used or visited by other students, which made it ideal for the ragtag group of students currently gathered around it to work in relative peace. For them.

Harry had to roll his eyes as Malik let loose another stream of Egyptian that he'd come to recognize as the teen's favorite expletive. He still hadn't quite worked out what it translated to, though he'd picked up the word 'goat' a number of times. He threw the book he'd been reading up onto the table and grabbed another one, before flopping back into the chair he'd transfigured into a beanbag. Kaiba glared at him from over the top of his own book as he swiveled lazily back and forth in his own seat that now looked very much like one the high powered CEO would have in his office, even if it still bore the wood grain pattern. Harry had been a little bit jealous at how quickly they'd seemed to pick up that bit of magic, but after Ron had melted a corner of his own chair trying to replicate their results, he decided that his seat was fine the way it was.

Of course, all the transfigured seating in the world couldn't distract from the fact there was still one empty chair around their table.

"We've got to move on." Hermione said interrupting the strained silence again, as she tossed her DADA homework to the table along with the pathetically childish book they were expected to 'learn' from, "Every day we just sit and wait is one we could be using to prepare ourselves!"

"Your approach could use some work, Granger," Kaiba huffed, "But I find myself agreeing with you. Ignoring the fact Umbridge isn't competent enough to teach us anything isn't going to make it go away."

"If only…" Malik muttered under his breath.

Harry certainly agreed with that sentiment. More and more he found himself thinking of ways to pay her back for the scars etched into the back of his hand.

"So you guys weren't just having a laugh about this whole me teaching thing then?" Harry asked glumly, part of him wishing it had been the case.

"'Course not, mate," Ron said encouragingly, the tone of his voice suggesting he was trying to gauge whether or not Harry would start yelling again.

"You have thought about it, haven't you?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"A…bit, I guess." Harry shrugged. Truthfully, he'd thought about it a lot since Hermione had brought it up two weeks ago. Umbridge's class had become almost something of a time to muse over defensive and offensive spells he'd used in his battles, dueling techniques and the like. He'd even gone so far as to start planning lessons of sorts. He'd tried convincing himself it was just to see if it was even a viable idea, because a part of him knew Hermione was right. They needed to learn these things, and more than that, they needed to practice them. The handful of flimsy charms they knew weren't going to cut it against a real threat. And as much as he hated to admit it, Umbridge might have been right when she'd said their training in Defense against the Dark Arts had been lacking. Not in the way she'd meant it, of course, but they hadn't had the consistency. A new professor every year meant they'd never picked back up to build on a foundation. If anything, they were trying to build a house opposite a boat going down a river; learn a few things, then have to stop and start all over again.

"You'll do it then Harry?" Malik's voice interrupted him from his own thoughts.

"Sure," Harry said a bit reluctantly, "I'll teach you guys."

"Well… not just us." Hermione said, with obvious hesitation in her voice, "I mean if...He's…V-Voldemort's back, oh grow up, Ron, then everyone is in danger, aren't they? It's not fair to not give them the same chance to protect themselves."

"No one else is going to want to learn from me, Hermione," Harry pointed out, gesturing to a copy of the Prophet poking out from under the books on the table, "Not with the papers coming up with new ways every day to make me out to be a liar or just outright crazy."

"You'd be surprised what 'crazy' can get done, Potter." Malik, at least Harry thought it was Malik, said with a grin.

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at the Egyptian, not quite wanting to hear what sort of examples he no doubt had at the ready to back up his claim, or admit that Malik probably had a good point. He shifted uncomfortably under the expectant looks of his friends as they all waited for him to say something. It was only then he noticed Yugi had been exceptionally quiet, not bothering to join in the conversation, and instead stared passively out the window, not looking at anything.

"You with them on this Yugi?" Harry asked quietly.

The King of Games didn't say anything for several long moments, or even give the impression he'd heard Harry at all until he let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm… tired… of being caught off-guard all the time." He said finally.

The weight in Yugi's words reminded Harry of the conversation he'd had with the teen's other half a few weeks prior. He'd had an argument about why he wasn't the right person suited for teaching a bunch of students; why all his 'success' had been little more than luck, when it dawned on him that it was exactly Yugi's point. How long could dumb luck really keep them going? How long could they keep rolling the dice and hoping chance was still on their side to pull them out of trouble? They had to prepare, they had to be ready, because somewhere out there, Harry could just feel that Voldemort was doing the exact same thing.

"Alright." Harry nodded, reluctantly at first, then with a bit more conviction, "But I still think no one is going to want to learn from a nutter."

"You might be surprised," Hermione said excitedly, pulling out a roll of parchment that had all sorts of indecipherable notes scribbled across it, "Now I think we should try to get as many people as we can who might be interested. I know there's several in Gryffindor, and I've got some friends in Hufflepuff who I can talk to spread the word. Malik, do you think there's anyone in Slytherin who'd be interested that won't go to Umbridge about this?"

"Sure," Malik nodded, "Most of them are pretty high on themselves, but there's a few who aren't all bad."

"I can spread the word around the Ravenclaws then," Kaiba said, already following Hermione's line of thought, "I know there's a fair number who are less than happy with that Toad's class."

"Wonderful!" Hermione nodded, scribbling more notes onto the parchment, "Ok, then I was thinking the first weekend in October is a Hogsmeade weekend. That gives us a few weeks to get the message out to everyone."

"Why do we need to wait so long?" Harry asked with a frown. He was thinking they would be starting in a few days, but a few weeks meant there was more time for him to lose his nerve about the whole thing.

"Why do we need to do this in Hogsmeade, either?" Ron griped, not happy about the prospect of forgoing his trip to Honeydukes.

"Don't be thick," Kaiba growled in his no-nonsense CEO tone, before snapping his book shut and reaching for another, "That Toad has her nose poked into every crack this school has. We're talking about having students from all four houses meeting together to work out a way to learn the very things she's trying to stop us from learning. If we don't do this right, just take a guess at how long it'll take for her to figure out what we're up to."

The morning of the Hogsmeade trip dawned bright and clear, and it seemed every student was up extra early to get ready for it. The entire castle was abuzz with energy, with students scurrying to and from the dorms and the Great Hall, making sure they hadn't forgotten a single scrap of money they planned to spend, or wolfing down food to ensure they weren't left behind when the call went out to fall in line.

The Gryffindor table especially was practically vibrating with barely controlled excitement; all stealing looks this way and that, as if someone would appear over their shoulders at any minute, knowing exactly what they were planning.

"Ron, will you stop that?" Hermione hissed over the top of her own breakfast, as she watched him peer around for the third time that morning.

"I can't help it," Ron mumbled, taking a bite out of his toast, "Feel like Umbridge is gonna come swooping down on us at any minute."

"Don't be an idiot, Weasley," Kaiba grumbled, taking his usual seat, and reaching for a carafe of coffee and pouring himself a mug, "We haven't done anything wrong as of yet. The Toad may be vile, but she's not going to tip her hand before we've mistepped."

Yugi was inclined to agree with Kaiba, even if his logic didn't help much with the uneasy butterflies in his stomach. He couldn't help but feel like, despite the fact that it simply didn't make sense for Umbridge to try and punish them before they'd done anything wrong, there was still a great weight looming over their heads that was just waiting for the right moment to come crashing down-

As if he'd willed it into existence, a small parcel collided with the side of his head, followed by a symphony of hoots and flapping wings as the owls descended across the tables with the morning mail. He hadn't meant to nearly jump out of his seat as it hit, but the yelp he let out drew the attention of everyone at the table, and brought a crimson flush to his face with embarrassment.

"Sorry…" Yugi said sheepishly, picking the package up off the bench next to him where it had landed and started to open it, "I was just deep in thought and wasn't expecting the mail to just-"

Malik cut him off as he reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him from opening the mail in his lap.

"Look at the sender, Yugi," Mailk said quietly, letting go and calmly going back to his pumpkin juice as if nothing was wrong.

Yugi glanced down at the wrapping he'd been absentmindedly tearing into, and saw the crisp, neat handwriting of none other than Professor Hawkins on the brown paper. He suddenly snapped to attention, and looked at both Malik and Kaiba who were watching him sideways so as to not draw any attention. He glanced back down at the box in his hands, practically itching to open it, hoping desperately that it was information on the scans Malik had sent to him several weeks ago. But that wasn't exactly information that should be proudly displayed on the breakfast table in front of the entire school, and they were going to be leaving for Hogsmeade at any moment…

He was turning the box over, when he saw the white envelope tied to the bottom, and slipped it out, deciding that even if he didn't open the package, he'd at least open that and find out what the professor had discovered without plastering Egyptian hieroglyphics across the table. He was actually shocked to find a simple note scribbled inside, rather than a full length letter.

"Well?" Malik asked anxiously, as Yugi's eyes skimmed the paper in his hand.

"It doesn't say anything," Yugi said puzzled, before reading the letter aloud:

"Dear Yugi, Malik, Ryou and Seto,

Simon and I were quite pleased to hear from you boys and are both glad you're all doing well. I certainly hope you're all staying out of trouble. It's been rather quiet here, so Simon and I put together a little care package for you. Hope to hear from you very soon!

Professor Hawkins."

Yugi looked up at the rest of the table, to find the same confused looks on their faces as well. He now had the distinct feeling the box in his lap didn't contain the information they'd been hoping for, and opened it to find the whole thing packed with brand new packages of duel monster cards. Malik and Kaiba eyed them with an almost hungry look, and even Yugi had to admit that even though it wasn't what he'd been expecting, familiar sight of a dozen packs of duel monster cards waiting to be opened did bring a smile to his face. He reached in and tore the foil off the first pack, pulling out the cards inside and savoring the smell and feel of freshly printed cards in his hands, before he fanned them out to get a look at them.

There wasn't anything in his hand he didn't already have, but instead of the usual five cards to a pack, a sixth one was poking out from behind the others. It was one he hadn't seen before, like some kind of animated telephone, and Yugi couldn't help but immediately think of Pegasus for the cartoonish flair the card had.

"You guys ever seen a card like this?" Yugi asked handing the card off to Malik who frowned before passing it to Kaiba.

"Can't say I have," Malik said, "Definitely not one the Hunters ever came across."

"It's not a card in the Duel Monsters game," Kaiba said firmly, lowering his voice and setting it on the table in front of them, "I've memorized all of them, and those packs aren't from any new expansions."

"It's a legit card, Kaiba." Malik argued back.

"Of course it is," The CEO hissed, "I'm not saying it a fake, I'm saying it's-"

"Guys!" Hermione snapped at them before they started arguing with one another, and tapped her finger on the attack and defense points of the card, "Don't these look a little bit off to you?"

Yugi craned his head to look at what she meant. The numbers were a bit odd. For one, the monster had more defense points than attack, but the numbers were strange. Duel monsters almost always had points rounded to the nearest hundred to make calculating life points easier. This phone thing was all over the place with 632 Attack and 1453 Defense…

It suddenly snapped into place at once.

"It's a phone number!" Yugi hissed, trying to keep his voice down, "Professor Hawkins wants us to call him! He must have found something he didn't want to, or maybe couldn't put in a letter to us!"

"Damn, you're right," Kaiba growled, the look on his face obviously upset that he hadn't noticed it himself, "The card's serial number is his area code too. Good eye, Granger." He added a bit reluctantly.

"Pretty brilliant to hide a message like that…" Harry said with no small amount of awe, "No one else at Hogwarts would have known what even to look for…"

"There's still an issue with the fact we can't exactly ring the guy up," Malik pointed out, "Magic and all."

"Last time I called Mokuba, I had to go off the grounds a long way before I finally had a signal." Kaiba agreed.

"Well, couldn't you guys talk to him tonight?" Harry shrugged, not seeing the problem, "I mean, Seto knows where to go so it's not that big a deal, is it?"

"It is. I'm always escorted." Kaiba frowned, "Someone from the Order is waiting for me when I get there, so I never have total privacy. I'm fairly certain they're listening in on me anyway."

"And Hogwarts will sound an alarm if students leave the wards," Hermione pointed out, "So there's no way for you to really sneak out that far on your own anyway."

"What about Hogsmeade?" Ron piped up, looking around at them, "I mean, I know we planned to meet today and all, but they know what's going on already and this seems pretty important…"

"It could work…" Hermione mused, her brows knitting together as she tried to recall any reason why it might not, "There's still an awful lot of magic in the village though, so they'd still need to get out pretty far, and I don't know where exactly the castle's wards extend to."

"Not to Hogsmeade," Ron said, a sure tone in his voice, "I heard Fred and George talking about it. I guess they watched a couple of older students apparating all over the place last year. I mean, people live there, so it wouldn't be fair to keep them from apparating too would it?"

"Weasley's got a point," Kaiba nodded, "And if the school's wards don't affect the village, then it's a good bet we'd be able to get out far enough to call Professor Hawkins and get back before we'd even be missed."

"It's as good a plan as any," Yugi agreed firmly, before looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione, "Do you reckon you'd be able to cover for us in case anyone does come looking? I don't know that we'll need all day, but we could really use at least an hour or so."

"Don't worry, mate," Harry said with a confident nod, as a call rang out from the front of the Great Hall for everyone going to Hogsmeade to line up. "We'll have you covered."

The three exchange students quickly divided up the rest of the card packets and stuffed them into their pockets, and fell into line with the rest of the chattering students. Filch snatched their permission letters from them with a surly growl as he went past and shambled down the rest of the line to snap and bark orders at anyone not waiting patiently enough for his liking.

"You should follow us at least as far as the Hog's Head," Hermione whispered back to Yugi, so as to not draw Filch's attention to herself, "It's at the far end of the village anyway, and anyone watching will see you with us right up until the last minute."

"Right," Yugi nodded, his mouth feeling a bit dry about the whole situation. Not that he wasn't excited about perhaps finally having some answers, but he knew Umbridge was watching them like a hawk and couldn't shake the feeling she was going to be right there to block their way. And then how would they explain?

/Worrying about it isn't going to prevent it from happening./ Yami's voice cut into his thoughts to pull him away from that line of thinking, /It's a good plan, and certainly better than anything else we can do, save wait for another opportunity./

Yugi frowned, hearing a slight note of something other than the optimism he was trying to inspire. It wasn't hard to figure out where it was coming from, as the he materialized next to Yugi and glanced around the assembled students.

/I haven't seen him at all./ Yugi said with disappointment, /He's been coming to classes, but makes it a point to sit as far away from us as possible, and I don't have the slightest clue where he goes afterward./

/And he's quite deliberately keeping the link between the Items closed./ Yami said, a scowl forming on his face, /We can't wait for him to finally decide to show up. This is too important, but Ra damn him, I wish he would pull his head out from his as-/

"Alright students!" McGonagall's voice interrupted him before he could finish his thought, "Stay together and let's be on our way!"

Hogsmeade really was quite the place to see. While Hogwarts castle was undeniably an impressive sight with its many towers reaching out to the sky itself, Hogsmeade possessed an almost quirky charm that was definably characteristic of the wizarding world.

It was instantly apparent that there was no such thing as a homeowner's association in Hogsmeade as the students dispersed through the streets. Every house nestled into the country side had its own flair; wild colors, strange animals or imposing statues in one case in front of what looked like little more than a cabin. The shops, with the exception of Zonko's, all looked to be relatively 'normal' as far as the standard of things went, until one looked into the front window at the merchandise waiting inside. Made all the more surreal by the eager students ducking and weaving through the bustling main street, Yugi thought it was a sight that rivaled Diagon Alley.

He really was sorry he couldn't stop and take more than the cursory look at every shop as they passed on by. They had a mission and only so much time to do it. So instead, they mimicked the overwhelming excitement of the third years at seeing the village for the first time, and talked amidst themselves about making a full loop of the village before they decided on which shop to go in first, while Harry, Ron and Hermione would pipe in and make suggestions about the various placed to visit, or mention what each shop was famous for and why they needed to definitely stop in and take a look.

Before too long, the sounds of their classmates died away to a dull roar in the distance as they continued down the much less traveled road. Sitting alone at the end of the path like a grumpy old man, was a creaky looking pub that had certainly seen better days and had an old wood and rust covered sign that read "Hog's Head Inn".

"This is where we leave you then?" Harry said, casting an unsure glance around. He wasn't particularly thrilled with the location Hermione had picked for their meeting, regardless of how unlikely it was they'd be overheard. The place practically exuded an unfriendly aura from somewhere underneath the layer of grime it had accumulated over the last century.

"Good a place as any." Malik nodded, making sure there was no one else around, "No sense in the three of you having to double back, especially when the others will be here too before long."

"Which is why we should keep going while we have the opportunity." Kaiba muttered impatiently and pushed his way through their group to keep going.

Malik nodded in agreement and turned to follow, while Yugi hesitated for a moment longer.

"Good luck Harry." He said with an easy grin, "And no matter if they do think you're crazy, sometimes you've got to be to live in the world anymore."

Yugi was rewarded as the uncertainty fell from Harry's face for a brief moment and was replaced by a small smile.

"I guess you do." Harry agreed, squaring his shoulders a bit before nodding in farewell, "Good luck to you too."

"Muto! Will you hurry up?!" Kaiba's loud, impatient hiss jolted Yugi into a quick jog after his friends to catch up.

Kaiba and Malik were already waiting for him at the tree line on the edge of the village, turning the moment he caught up into the trees and disappearing into the foliage. Yugi could feel the magic seeped into the very woods, both ancient and recent as they walked and wondered if it was from the wards around the village or if the trees possessed an ambient magic of their own. The sun overhead cast a speckled collage of light and shadow on the ground around them and the light breeze in the air made those shapes dance in fantastical patterns that were entrancing to watch. It was then Yugi realized just how vast this forest seemed to be, and the magics around them, while slight, were just strong enough to be disorienting.

"Guys, before we go any farther, are we sure we can get back?" Yugi said, casting a glance back in the direction he hoped the village still lay.

"Tracking charm," Malik said easily, flourishing his wand, "I put it on a tree right at the edge of the village. We move, tree doesn't. Thought it would be better than a handful of breadcrumbs, yeah?"

"It's a great idea!" Yugi nodded, thoroughly impressed, "You'll have to show that one to me sometime-"

"Will you two shut up?" Kaiba growled, looking up from the phone in his hand, "It's bad enough we're slogging out here trying to find a signal, but I don't want to have to listen to the two of you the whole way there and back too."

Malik scowled back at Kaiba but held his tongue, slowing his pace some and gesturing silently to Yugi for him to do the same. They let him get about twenty or so feet ahead of them before Malik leaned over and whispered to Yugi.

"Is it just me or does the Priest have a larger stick up his ass than usual?" He muttered irritably.

"I don't think he means anything by it," Yugi shook his head with a sigh, wondering at what point it had been that he'd actually learned to read Kaiba's moods, "He's stressed, or worried. Maybe both knowing him."

"You'd think he'd be just a little bit excited about all of this." Malik replied.

"Kaiba's had to leave a lot of his world views at the door to be here though," Yugi pointed out, "I mean, magic didn't exist in any form for him, now he's actually learning how to use it? Not to mention we're breaking, I imagine, a dozen school rules to call Professor Hawkins about scans from a tomb in Egypt that now are quite possibly related to Yami's memories and why I'm blacking out periodically?" Yugi quirked an eyebrow at his friend and laughed a little bitterly himself, "I don't really think we're in for good news exactly. The best and worst thing we can hope for is that there's no connection at all."

"Then why all the secrecy? Why make us come out here to call him?" Malik asked, more to himself than anyone.

"Because I don't think we're in for no news at all." Yugi said, looking back up at the canopy with a sigh.

"Hey!" Kaiba barked, stopping suddenly and causing the two to run and catch up, "There's a signal here. Yugi, what was the number on that card?"

Yugi dug through his pockets and turned out the card, flipping it over in his hand to read off the numbers to Kaiba as the CEO punched them in and held out the phone for all of them. A ripple of tension ran through the group as the phone began to ring, and Yugi couldn't help the feeling that Umbridge or someone would swoop down on them at that very moment, just as they were within grasping distance of some answers at last.

But the cosmos seemed to be content with not interfering, as the ringing stopped, and a grey headed old man's face appeared on the small screen.

"Well hello there boys!" Professor Hawkins smiled brightly, "I was wondering when I'd hear from you!"

"Hello Professor!" Yugi chirped back, genuinely happy to see his friend in good health, "How's Grandpa doing?"

"Quite well. He and I both have been kept pretty busy." Arthur sat back in his chair. Yugi could tell he was calling from the same RV he and Rebecca had been camping in during Dartz' attempt to revive the Leviathan. "We've been sleeping in shifts since we sent that owl out, that way we wouldn't miss your call. Wasn't sure when you boys would manage to get around to it, but I'm glad you figured out the card!"

At the mention of the card, the smile dropped from the old professor's face. Even on the smaller screen, Yugi could see the rough stubble of a beard on his chin that was obviously several days old, and even his normally well groomed appearance looked more harried than he'd ever seen it. The fine lines around his eyes that were normally creased with laughter, now just made him look much older and tired.

"I apologize for the secrecy," Hawkins sighed heavily, his voice taking on a harder tone, "But Solomon and I thought it would be best this information not fall into the hands of anyone else, least of all people that can use magic."

"I take you managed to translate the scans then, Professor?" Malik asked, with just the barest edge of annoyance in his voice that he hadn't been able to do it himself.

"Yes. Though we certainly would have had a much harder time of it, had you not put the first piece into place for us." Hawkins nodded, "You were dead on that the walls were merely inscribed in Egyptian hieroglyphics as a cover for another language entirely. The word 'cusotali' was indeed a variation on the Latin word for 'Keeper' as you already figured out, but as it happens, the word has its roots in a language much older than that. "

Yugi could almost feel the air around them charge with anticipation, as if the world around them already knew what the professor would say and was just waiting for their reactions. He cast a sidelong glance next to him at Yami, who was staring at the phone with rapt attention.

"The text is actually Atlantean." Hawkins said, the excitement of the discovery significantly dampened by the memories of their last dealings with that forgotten land.

"You've got to be joking." Kaiba scowled, the look on his face evident he remembered the experience all too well himself.

"Afraid I'm not." Hawkins shook his head, "While 'custos' in Latin means 'keeper', the word 'Cusotali' is actually a proper noun referring to an old tale about a group of knights called Guardians. It popped up a number of times during my previous expeditions, but these scans are the most complete recount of the story I've seen to date!"

"So that's it?" Kaiba said, his grip on the phone tightening, "All that was on those damn walls was some Atlantean fairy tale!? We already know about Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos!"

"The scans aren't actually referring to the dragons you aided in the conflict with Dartz, Mr. Kaiba," The professor continued on, undaunted, "The dragons were three in number, and everything we've found mentions a society of seven, distinctly human individuals who were named for the duty they performed."

Yugi exchanged looks with Malik and Kaiba as the professor kept talking.

"You see, the Atlanteans believed that the world had been split in half, one half housed the light and the other dark. The Egyptians believed much the same, although they dubbed the darker half of the world-"

"The Shadow Realm." Yugi filled in, unbidden.

"Yes. But while the Egyptians simply accepted that the shadows had just always existed, the Atlanteans believed that the worlds had once been united as one. They speak of an event before Atlantis was actually created, where seven powerful beings actually split the world in two and sealed the dark half away from the light." Arthur said in a hushed tone, as if someone could overhear. "The creation of the Shadow Realm."

"So you're saying these Guardians are responsible for making a land of demons and monsters that runs alongside ours?" Kaiba scoffed at the idea.

"No. According to the information we've found, the beings that did that were weakened by the event. The Guardians, became not just the sentinels for this new divide, but also the protectors of these beings." Arthur said firmly.

"This is great and all, but why is it in an Egyptian tomb?" Malik said, his brows knitted together in confusion and thought.

"Well, that's where the story gets interesting." Professor Hawkins beamed, with a glint in his eyes, "You're well aware that the time of your friend the Pharaoh was one where the Shadow Realm was as close as it's ever been to merging again with our world. Seems odd, doesn't it, that if these Guardians existed that they would allow such a thing to happen?"

"Because they probably didn't exist." Kaiba said sardonically.

"Exactly," Hawkins said, not catching the sarcasm in Kaiba's voice, "Everything I've told you I'd found on my previous digs. They only mentioned the hey-day of these Guardians; the scans in Egypt mentioned their fall."

Hawkins' voice grew quiet and solemn again as he picked his words, wetting his lips a moment before he spoke.

"The Leviathan was only one reason Atlantis fell. These Guardians apparently turned on one another, fought amongst themselves and killed each other over a stone. A stone they believed was used to split the realms apart. A stone that fell into the hands of a mad king when they fell." Hawkins looked pointedly at Yugi, "You know the one I mean, my boy."

Yugi nodded. "The Orichalcos."

"These scans are important, because it looks like not all of the Guardians were killed. At least one survived and made their way to Egypt…. And brought a part of that stone with them." Hawkins folded his hands on the desk in front of him.

"That…. Makes sense…" Malik shook his head, the look on his face obvious he didn't like what he was hearing, "My family passed down stories about how Egypt came under attack, and it was the Pharaoh that saved it. You think this Guardian turned bad and set the Shadow Realm on the entire country?"

"It's entirely possible, especially given what you've told me about these flashes Yugi has been having."

The entire forest seemed to fall silent with the heavy realization. For a moment, all they could do was stare at each other and the phone, unable to find words to put to the thoughts running through their heads. Beside him, Yugi could see the Pharaoh, almost shaking with anger, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Yugi was certain if he'd had a body of his own, his palms would be bleeding.

/What happened to the stone?/ Yami was the one to speak first, Yugi relaying the question on.

"That I can't tell you." Hawkins sighed, "If it was in the tomb, it's long gone now."

"But the proof it was there still is." Kaiba said, "Proof that a magical object that can tear holes between realms existed. Sounds like a pretty damn powerful weapon for someone to have."

"Someone like Voldemort." Malik agreed, "But that doesn't mean that he's doing anything more than chasing a myth, so we've got a leg up on him-"

"No we don't." Yugi shook his head, "When Dartz tried reviving the Leviathan… He shattered a part of the Orichalcos. Pieces went all over the world. It was all over the news for weeks afterward. There isn't a chance on Earth that at least one of those shards hasn't found its way to a wizard."

"It may also explain the headaches you have been experiencing, Yugi." Professor Hawkins said, "If the Orichalcos had something to do with the Pharaoh's memories being sealed all those millennia ago, then perhaps you've been coming into contact with it without realizing, and it's been setting them off."

Yugi couldn't help but look fully at Yami, the stunned face on the Pharaoh mimicking his own. Could someone at Hogwarts have a piece of the stone? Was it hidden somewhere on the grounds? Did anyone even realize what it was? It was a sudden rush of feeling to know that somewhere nearby, there was potentially a proverbial key to unlock the memories hidden within the Pharaoh's mind!

"Th…thank you, Professor Hawkins," Yugi managed to stammer out, his mind still reeling, "You've been an enormous help-"

"Don't think anything of it, my boy." Arthur held up a hand to stop him before he could say anything further, "But I'm afraid I have one last thing to share with you."

They could all tell by the tone of his voice that what the old professor had to say was not good news.

"Yugi, these wizards have been sending your grandfather newspapers when there's something mentioned about Hogwarts so he can remain informed on the goings on there." He said, fishing one out and holding it up to see a picture of the two newest professors at Hogwarts there on the cover, "I wouldn't have thought anything of it until I saw this, but there were pictures taken at the tomb site when it was being excavated…"

He set the paper down and picked up a photograph for them to see. The dusty sands were whipping around the pair of grinning archeologists in the foreground, but it was the familiar person who had inadvertently walked into the background that immediately caught the eye of all three boys.

Because there on the sands of Egypt, looking right at the entrance of the tomb stood their professor.

Professor Cooper.

Gotc: BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ace: So who wants to bet on when she'll ever update again?

Gotc: Shut your face! I made this chapter really long! And now I'm getting into the fun stuff!

Ace: Tormenting me is not fun.

Gotc: Obviously you've never tried it. Anyway folks, yes, I have updated, and my situation now seems to be slightly more favorable to more frequent posting. I'm making it my goal to finish this fic this year (no it's nowhere near over yet and the fact that it's now 33 chapters and counting is borderline disturbing…) Goal number two, is to see it break 1k reviews! We're already at 575, so we're halfway there! I'm also probably going to be going back through and paring some of this down a bit. I did start this fic 6, and almost 7 years ago so there are things I was trying to do then that just seem silly now. But as always I appreciate reviews! So drop me a line if you would and hopefully I'll see you all soon!