Author's Note: Hey guys, here's another chapter of Seeking the Light of Shadows. I've been on a roll lately for writing and just about everything is looking up. I found my little black notebook(finally) in the stupidest place. Apparently my work belongs in the Freezer. Don't ask how it got there 'cause I have no clue. But anyway, thanks alot to those that reviewed. I love hearing from you guys. The plot will pick up I promise. Enjoy the next chapter and don't forget to feed the author!
Yami's Soul Room
Yami stared ahead despondantly, having given up a few days ago. The chains holding him in place tightened spitefully, reminding him that he wasn't going anywhere.
No matter what he did.
But just because his spirit form was trapped, it did not mean that he could not think. And he had plenty to think about. Like, why was he trapped and chained in his own soul room? And why were the same chains locking his soul room door shut?...And what happened to Yuugi? The last thing that Yami remembered, Yuugi was screaming in pain along with him.
When he awoke, he was trapped in his soul room and his connection with Yuugi severed. When he had realised that he could no longer feel Yuugi, Yami had screamed himself hoarse. What was happening to Yuugi? Was his aibou chained and locked in his own soul room? How was the teen handling without his darker half? Yuugi was stronger than most people gave him credit for, and it had more than once given them and edge over people who wanted the power that the two of them possesed.
Though what good was Yami's powerful Shadow Magic if it could not free him? Yami had done everything he could think of to try and free himself. He had even called forth the Dark Magician from the depths of his mind to try and break himself free, but to no avail.
Yami closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He missed his other half so much...
It was hard to do anything without his lighter half. After the many, many years trapped inside the Millenium Puzzle, to be brought out of the maddening darkness into light was a Gods send. Though right now he almost wished Yuugi had never freed him. That way he wouldn't know this absolute agony. But then he would never have met Yuugi and done all the wonderous things that they had accomplished together.
Yami shook his head to clear his mind. Chains tightened around his arms and chest, making him wince and wheeze as they squeezed painfully. He had to stop thinking about the past. What was, is and there was nothing he could do to change it. He could change the present though, and Yami had every intention of doing so.
There had to be a way to break the metal holding him, but how? Yami's mind raced as it tried to think of a ways to get free.
Perhaps he was going about this all wrong...What was a tangled and snarled mess of chain if not a puzzle? Maybe if he went about this as if it were a complex puzzle that needed to be solved instead of broken. Yami slowly and carefully moved his head, taking in all of the positions of the chains and how they wrapped around his body.
He had discovered that as long as he moved very slowly, like Ra moving across the sky, the chains would not restrict him further. To escape from the prison of his soul room Yami would have to be very patient, and hope that he was strong enough to do it without Yuugi by his side.
In front of the Infirmary Doors.
Yuugi had stopped his studying of the surroundings, deciding to instead focus on the man who had said precious little to him. The tall man was glaring at the stairs as if by his will alone he could make the stairs reappear. The scowling man had pale skin that rivaled even Ryou's and pitch black hair that hung greasily to his shoulders. Ebony eyes stole a glance to the side to find his younger companion staring unabashedly at him.
"Is there something specific that you are looking at or are you prone to staring often?" Snape asked snidely, turning his gaze from the blasted stairs to the now blushing youth beside him.
"Sorry. It's just...everything is so weird. I don't really know what to do. One minute I'm with my friends, and the next I wake up here. Ano...where is here? If you don't mind my asking..." Yuugi trailed off as he realised he didn't even know this man's name.
"Snape-sensei will do, boy. You are at Hogwarts, a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Europe" Snape said and watched the boy's reaction carefully.Yuugi's eyes grew wide and he suddenly found himself unable to breathe. For some reason this boy struck him as odd and there for something to watch out for. 'Yeah! You never know who's on what side these days! It wouldn't do to compromise youself...' Inner Snape whispered paranoidly, glancing back and forth in a skittish manner.
"Eu...Europe!" Yuugi ended up squeaking loudly, causing some paintings to scowl at him and mumble obscene things that shouldn't be heard in a school.
"You seem to be taking this all rather well" Snape said sarcastically as he watched the boy start to hyperventilate. Yuugi turned to Snape, eyes still wide but visibly calmer.
"How did I get in Europe? You say that this is a school of magic, Snape-sensei, but what sort of magic? Why am I here and not in Japan with my family and friends?('And Yami' Yuugi added silently) Was it the magic taught here that brought me?" Yuugi asked question after question. If he had any hope of getting home he needed to know how he was brought here in the first place, and more importantly, why.
Snape closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten. When he opened his eyes he saw frustration and worry lining the boys face. It was not a look that belonged on the face of a child. How old was the boy anyway? Madam Pomfrey had told them the boy's name but nothing else. It shouldn't have been to hard, even with the language barrier. Perhaps the woman had just not wanted to reveal her own age to the boy, Snape thought with a smirk.
"How old are you, boy?" Snape asked, finally speaking.
"What? Oh, I'm seventeen, but what does that have to do with why I'm here?" Yuugi asked impatiently. Why wouldn't Snape-sensei answer his questions? Yuugi scowled when he saw the suprised look on Snape-sensei's face. Why did everyone think he was like twelve? Just because he was short didn't mean he was a little kid!
"Very well. I see no reason to tell you any lies. You are here because the Ministry of Magic saw fit to try and summon a spirit of light. They were undoubtedly trying to do so because they fear the Dark Lord's power. The Wizarding World is at war with itself. Light versus Dark if you will. Lucky for them, it worked and no one died. The Minister of Magic will be coming soon and they will see that you are nothing more than a little lost boy" Snape explained disdainfully. Oh, how he hated children. 'Don't lie to yourself. It's not healthy. You just hate specific ones, like that little moster, Potter.' Inner Snape said cheerfully, a smile on his face as he felt Snape scowl.
"This Ministry is why I am here? Then they're the ones who had better send me back!" Yuugi said deteminedly.
"It won't be that easy. If the Ministry decides you are what they were hoping for, it is more than likely that they won't let you out of their sight. If not, it is vey difficult to send a summonee back to where it comes from" Snape said and chanced a glance at the stairs which still hadn't budged.
"Why is it difficult to send someoneback? Can't they just reverse it or something?" Yuugi asked fearfully. He didn't know what he would do if he couldn't get home...And he still had to get to Yami, where ever he was.
"No. There is no 'reversing' such ancient magic. There are however, two ways to end it. One is for the reason you were summoned to end. If the Dark Lord were to be killed, you would return. That however, is not likely to happen. The second is for successful, but botched summonings. It is a powerful potion that when drunk confounds the magic into believing that the summonee has served its purpose and is therefore no longer needed. The problem is that the potion requires two very rare magical items that are in one case all but impossible to get in this day and age." Snape said, effectively killing Yuugi's hope of ever going home.
"Oh..." Yuugi said subduedly. So this was it? No titanic battle to save the world and get Yami back? He was trapped here...And Yami...he would never see Yami again...
POP!
Yuugi was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud popping noise and the appearance of a small brown and wrinkled looking creature. The creature blinked at both of them before promptly speaking.
"Dobby is to be getting Professor Snape, sir." The creature, Dobby, said. Standing still and waiting for Professor Snape to finish whatever he was currently doing. Hopefully it wouldn't take to long, the people that the Minister of Magic had brought with him didn't seem to be to patient.
"I assume the Minister is here then. Boy, make sure to hold onto my sleeve tightly. Very well. We are ready." Snape said and spared a glance towards the stairs which were slowly starting to move towards them. Dobby watched the Potions Master curiously. Why on earth was he glaring at the stairs so? Humans sure were a strange lot, Dobby thought as he carefully placed his hand on Professor Snape's robes and brought them to just outside of the room that the Minister was currently in.
"If Misters Professor Snape will be needing anything, just call Dobby! Dobby will gladly help!" Dobby said happily before disappearing with another POP!
"Snape-sensei...what was that?" Yuugi asked, still staring at the spot that the creature had been only moments before.
"That would be a House Elf. And a madd one at that. Come along, the Minister of Magic is waiting" Snape said and gestured towards the door that stood between them and the Minister.
"The person who brought me here?" Yuugi asked, his curiousity piqued. Yuugi looked at the door, wanting desperately to be home and wishing that he could see through the door so he would know what he would be facing. Everything was so strange here. The magic was unlike anyhing he had seen or used before. And that House Elf creature looked like he belonged in a Duel Monsters Deck.
Snape watched the boy, wondering what was magical about the boy. Perhaps the boy was a Wizard? Though that didn't make any sense either. He didn't know what a House Elf was and hadn't heard of Hogwarts before. The boy had to be magical in someway though or the summoning rite wouldn't have worked at best. After all, summonings were used usually to bring things that diddn't exsist in this reality or plane of exsistance. They could be used to bring Wizards or Witches across vast spaces, but most folk wouldn't dare take the risk when they could simply floo, apparate, or even portkey to whomever they needed.
"No, it was a stupid and desperate man that brought you here and he is no longer in office" Snape growled out as he thought of that moron, Cornelius Fudge.
"Oh. Ano, Snape-sensei? Could you please stop calling me boy? I am not a child, my name is Mouto Yuugi." Yuugi said to Snape as they approached the door.
"Hn. This way Mouto." Snape said and opened the door, stepping inside. His black robes billowed from his swift movements, making the man look more batlike than human.
'Mah! He is as bad as Kaiba-kun!' Yuugi thought as he jogged to catch up with Snape who had walked into the large spacious room ahead of them.
There were several over-stuffed chairs near a fire place on one side of the room. On the opposite side of the chairs there was a table set with tes and several different kinds of cookies. Yuugi's attention was drawn away from the sweets and to the three people rising from their seats in front of the fire.
"Greetings Minister" Snape said politely. 'Yah right! This guy is just like any other idiot Ministry official. Being in charge just makes him their King. Make way for the King of the Morons! The Minister of Magic!' Inner Snape snorted and glared at all three unseen.
"Yes, Greetings Professor. I apologize for intruding on the school like this, so late but the Ministry is a mess. Won't have time to do this later. I had hoped to see Dumbledor, oh is this the boy?" The Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour asked stepping forward and gesturing at Yuugi who was studing the three as they looked back.
"Yes. Madam Pomfrey said he awoke around 9. He only speaks Japanese so you will need a translator if you wish to ask him anything." Snape said and fought the urge to tug his sleeves down even though he knew that they covered his arms very well. Something about Scrimgeour's predatory gaze made him want to hide.
"Not a problem Professor. Mr. Rowling here is fluent in over 25 languages. Japanese being one of them. He's quite a handy fellow to keep about, eh?" Scrimgeour said and waved his hand to his left where a short and very plain looking man stood. He wore plain dark blue robes and carried himself in an educated manner.
'There goes that plan, Mr.Smartypants. What're you going to do now?' Inner Snape asked.
"What luck. I do not mean to be rude Minster, but it is rather late. How long will this take?" Snape asked, managing to keep the annoyance he felt out of his voice.
"Not to worry Professor. Just a few questions for the boy, to see if he would or will be of any use to the Ministry. I trust I don't need to remind you that he is Ministry property as it was the ex-Minister Cornelius Fudge that he is bound to?" Scrimgeour stated, an almost feral grin on his face as Mr. Rowling brought out a quill and a scroll of parchment.
"Do you know what brought you here?" Rowling asked, not even looking up at the person he was questioning.
"Yes...ano...who are you?" Yuugi answered, his eyebrows burrowing in confusion.
"My name is irrelacent. Are you aware that until such time that it can be confirmed that you are human you are considered Ministry Property?" Rowling continued on not at all phased by what he was asked.
"WHAT! I don't belong to anyone!" Yuugi shouted angrily. Who did these people think they were? Tearing him awy from his home and then claiming ownership of him! It was absurd!
"No then. Very well. All beings brought through summoning are magical in nature. Are you magical and is so, in what way?" Rowling asked on despite Yuugi's shouting. Snape was watching and listening intently
"GAH! No more questions! This is enough. You people take me from my home, my friends! And now you harrass me with these questions. I won't take it anymore!" Yuugi snapped, eyes blazing angrily. His normally vast patience had snapped, he was emotionally strained as it was.
Rowling blinked and finally looked at the person he was questioning. Short, shorter than even Rowling, angry and sad violet eyes framed by spikey blonde bangs. Wild black hair tipped with crimson adorned the boy's head like a crown. Pale skin covered in dark leather was accented by spikes, chains and belts. It was all topped off with a large gold pyramid like pendant that hung from his neck by a chain.
"Is something the matter, Mr. Rowling?" Snape asked, words rolling off his tounge like oil.
"I apologize. That was very rude of me. Please understand though. This is all very stressful" Yuugi apologized and bowed slightly to the man he had yelled at. Yuugi's cheeks were pink with embarassment. He couldn't believe that he had done that! Yami must have been rubbing off on him more than anyone thought!
"Er, no, nothing is the matter the boy was just insulted by something. I'm not sure what though. I believe that the boy has no current or future usefulness for the Ministry. He seems to be rather upset with being here. I would suggest relocation but with the times as they are, it is my belief that it would be best for the boy to remain here, sir" Rowling explained, leaving out several things that Scrimgeour's sharp mind would pick up.
"Very well. I shall take your comments into consideration. Though you are right, the child will stay at Hogwarts until a suitable place has been procured. Good day to you Professor" Scrimgeour said and calmy left, his two assistants scurying after him.
Snape looked over at Yuugi who was staring at the floor dejectedly.
"You should not have apologized. Now come along we shall find you a place for the night. We can discuss everything in the morning" Snape said and left the room. Yuugi just noded and followed the man. Come tomorrow he would have his answers and he would find Yami.