A/N: Apologies for the update delay. This chapter ended up at over 13,000 words by the time I was finished with it, so I had to edit it down and split it into two chapters. Chapter 9 will go live on schedule next week.

Thank you for being patient!

/Text/ Spirit to host

/Text/ Host to spirit

Chapter 9: Gatherings

Yugi unplugged the phone from its power bank and descended into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was fussing over a kettle, and Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, looking over at the Daily Prophet.

"Another arrest," he said. "I'm not sure who is worse: Fudge or this new one."

"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Weasley?" Yugi sat down across from him at the table, and looked across at the back of the page Mr. Weasley was currently reading. Seeing the photographs move took some getting used to, in comparison to the static photos of the Domino City Journal. A few copies of his home paper sat on the opposite end of the kitchen table. Kaiba had forwarded some along a few days after their arrival, when they contained something of interest to them. One covered a sneak on the next generation of duel disks, one commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Duelist Kingdom tournament, and the third had an article about a game release, with his grandfather's shop holding a small release-party to cover it. Joey and Mokuba were there to help promote the game's release and a photo of them all beaming behind the counter gazed up at him from the table.

"Yes, Yugi. What can I do for you?"

"I got a message from Kaiba. His flight should be arriving at London airport soon. I wasn't sure if Professor Dumbledore was aware of the change in time, so I wanted to let you know."

"I'll pass along the message," said Mr. Weasley. "But I suspect Dumbledore already knows. Nothing gets by him."

"Thanks." Yugi looked at the newspaper again. "Do you mind if I take a look at it? If there's anything you're done with, that is."

"Oh, absolutely, here you go. I assume newspapers back home are similar to ours?"

Yugi took one of the discarded pages. "Pretty much. I didn't read too much of them back home, but I think it's important to know what my friends and I are getting into here."

"A good philosophy to have." He ignored the look his wife was giving him. "Where are the others?"

"I think they're still outside teaching Ryou how to fly."

"You best go join them," said Mrs. Weasley, "Fred and George will be by once they close up shop for the day. You might have enough for two makeshift teams. Let them know dinner will be late this evening."

"Okay," Yugi shrugged. "Will you set the paper aside for me later then? I'd still like to read it."

"Of course," said Mr. Weasley. He waited for Yugi to leave the kitchen before turning back to his wife. "You can't keep that up forever, you know."

"Don't you think they have enough on their shoulders without having to worry about what else is being spun about in the Prophet? It's bad enough You-Know-Who is after them like he is Harry."

"You won't be able to protect them like this, Molly. They're not your children, and ours are old enough now and have fought enough that even they have seats at Order meetings." He cut her off as she tried to speak. "And you know perfectly well that Ginny's been eavesdropping at Order meetings all summer, so you might as well just let her sit at them."

"You know she's not of age –"

"Ron isn't either, but he sat in at Grimmauld Place, and both of them held their own at the Department of Mysteries."

"Where they never should have been in the first place!"

Arthur sighed. "But they were, and fought just as well, if not better, at times than other members of the Order. They're just as much a part of this fight as you and me. And the more you keep them in the dark, the more they're just going to go around your back and find out the news anyway."

Molly sank down in the seat next to her husband. "Are you suggesting I let them in on this evening's meeting?"

"If they ask, I don't see why not," said Arthur, "Keeping them all in the dark last year is what led them into so much trouble in the first place. And it might do Yugi and Ryou some good to have a better idea of what they're up against."

Molly sighed. "I'm not going to win this, am I?"

"Not in the slightest," said Arthur, "But, if it is any sort of relief, Dumbledore is supposed to be at this meeting, and you know nothing will get out that he doesn't want out."

Molly looked out the window. Fred and George had arrived and had gone into the shed for spare broomsticks. It looked like they were going over broom basics with Yugi, with Harry and Ron in mid-air next to him, helping to keep him from falling off. "Maybe if I'm lucky they'll stay outside for the entire meeting."

"That ties the match," said Harry. They had split into teams. Harry, Ryou, George, and Hermione were on one, and Yugi, Fred, Ron, and Ginny on the other team. The twins charmed a few tree branches into goal posts, and a rock into a quaffle, and everyone took turns playing Keeper as the others kept trying to score.

"Ugh, that's not fair," said Ryou, "I couldn't tell which twin was which."

Fred snickered.

"You're at least better in the air now than you were yesterday," said Ron, "How do you like flying?"

"I think I prefer to be on the ground, honestly."

/Flying without the aid of a Shadow Realm monster is exhilarating; you just have no stamina for this. Now, if you let me take over, we wouldn't be losing to the Pharaoh's team./

/I don't think so, Spirit. I don't want to risk you being noticed…and if you don't mind, I would rather not have to worry about falling to my death./

/Tch. As if I would let that happen to you. Where would I be if you went splattered your brain here in the field?/

"What about you, Yugi?" asked Ginny.

"This takes some getting used to…but it's not bad," he said, "Is Quidditch played at Hogwarts too?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "Each of the four Hogwarts houses has a team, and they compete for the yearly cup. If you're good enough, some people get signed on professionally when they graduate."

"So it's just like non-wizard sports then," said Ryou, "Do you guys play on the house teams?"

"We did," said Fred. "George and I were beaters."

Yugi racked his brain, trying to remember what he was told when they introduced him to a broomstick. "So you were trying to knock the other team off their brooms, right?"

"Yep," said George, "Such fond memories they were too."

"Too bad Umbridge banned us off the team in our last year," said George, "Though we did get her with all the Wildfire Whiz-bangs we set off…"

Fred thought back, reminiscing on the chaos they had left behind. "Don't forget the portable swamp we left right outside her office!"

"Ahh. Memories."

"Harry and I are seekers, or he still is, at least. I took over when Umbridge banned him from the team last year, but I think this year I might try out as a chaser," said Ginny.

"The seekers are the ones that go after that little golden ball, right?" asked Ryou, "And the chasers are what we were essentially doing today, right? They're the ones that score?"

Ron nodded. "Yep. And the keepers defend the goals."

Yugi leaned forward and touched back down in the grass as the phone buzzed in his pocket.

Ryou landed and walked up next to him. "Everything all right, Yugi?"

"It's a message from Kaiba," said Yugi, and he looked up towards the house. "He's…here already." That's sooner than I expected.

"What's he doing here?" asked Harry.

"Kaiba was supposed to join us when we got here," said Yugi, "But he had business to take care of at home first."

"So…oh!" Ginny smacked a hand to her forehead. "Mum did say there were going to be three exchange students."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Wait. Seto Kaiba is the third exchange student?"

Ron looked from Hermione to Yugi. "Who's Seto Kaiba and what's so special about him that's got you all in a funk?"

"He's one of the most successful men in the world, Ron! He inherited his father's company and rebuilt it from the ground up when he was only fifteen, was the reigning Duel Monsters champion…here, just look." She walked over to where she had left her book under a tree to play their makeshift Quidditch game, and pulled out a newspaper article she had stuck in it.

"Where'd you get that?" asked Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ron, they've been on your kitchen table for almost two weeks. Yugi's friends sent these. See here? He's our age, and has already invented all these devices for that Duel Monsters game."

She pointed to the duel disk article. A photo depicted Seto drawing a card from his duel disk. He had replaced his suit for his Battle City attire for the shot and the way he was photographed: mid-swing with his white coat dramatically flared out behind him and the smug look of determination on his face, he could have been dueling right in front of him and Yugi wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Fred and George gathered up the broomsticks and headed towards the shed. Ron started skimming the article as they moved back towards the house. Yugi and Harry looked over every few seconds every time Ron muttered something. Yugi could have sworn he heard a 'Victor Krum' as they walked into the house.

Harry stopped short once they entered the kitchen. "Professor Dumbledore?"

"Ah, good evening, Harry."

Yugi noted that there were a number of other wizards around the kitchen table that he had never met before. Among them was a tall man in shabby looking robes that Harry greeted as 'Professor Lupin', a witch with the most vibrant shade of blue hair that he had ever seen, and an older wizard that was giving him and Ryou an uncomfortably sharp look, but that may have been due to the magic eye that was darting between himself and his friend.

Dumbledore rose to greet them. "Hello to you as well, Mr. Muto, Mr. Bakura. If you are looking for Mr. Kaiba, he was calling home to let his brother know he had arrived. Molly took him up to his room."

"Are we having an Order meeting?" asked Fred as he and his twin walked into the house.

"Looks like it," said George. He took a seat next to Lupin and Tonks.

"We'll start when Molly comes back," said Dumbledore taking his seat again. "You two are of course welcome to join us. As is Mr. Kaiba if he wants to come back downstairs."

"I'll go see," said Yugi.

"He's in Charlie's old room," said Mr. Weasley, "One floor above you."

"Thanks."

Yugi climbed the steps and then knocked on the door.

/He didn't answer. This is the right room, isn't it?/

/There's only two bedrooms on this floor. The other one is empty./ Yugi knocked again and then quietly pushed the door open.

"Kaiba?" The dim candle lamps that Mrs. Weasley had lit were still going in the quiet room. The familiar steel bullet-proof briefcase that Yugi knew housed his extra cards and duel disk was against the wall under the window, next to his suitcase and what looked to be a large laptop bag.

Seto was half-slumped against the headboard, eyes closed. He looked as if he had come straight out of the office. He had removed his jacket and laid it on the edge of the bed, but his tie was still knotted against his collar. His arm had dropped down to his side, his phone resting in his hand. Seto's normally expressionless mask was gone, and for once his face looked relaxed.

Yami phased out of the Puzzle. "While he doesn't look comfortable in the slightest, I don't think we should wake him, Yugi. Look at the circles under his eyes. We can relay the information from the meeting to him when he's up. If that text he sent yesterday was anything to go on, he's had a long day."

"Yeah, I was thinking so too." Yugi quietly closed the door behind him and walked downstairs. Extra chairs had been magicked around the table to include everyone, with two empty ones near the steps that he assumed were for him and Seto. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were squashed up next to the twins, with Ron and Ginny looking fairly pleased with themselves for managing seats at the table. Mrs. Weasley was frowning next to her husband.

"Did I miss something?"

Ryou leaned over. "Not much," he said quietly, "Mrs. Weasley lost the argument to have everyone underage leave for the meeting."

"I see Mr. Kaiba won't be joining us?" asked Dumbledore.

"No," Yugi shook his head, "He's, uh, asleep."

Fred and George snickered, and then stopped upon seeing the hard look their mother gave them. "Stop that, you two. The poor boy looked exhausted when he got here."

"Well, then let us begin," said Dumbledore. "Remus?"

The man in the shabby robes sighed. "It is going to be much harder to sway the werewolves than we initially thought. Many of them had been around for the previous war, and while not all of them sided with You-Know-Who before, a lot of them have been threatened by Fenrir Greyback."

"I take it he has gathered followers for Voldemort," said Dumbledore.

"Unfortunately. It doesn't help that the Ministry continues to make it difficult for them to find work, so they are choosing allegiance with Him, claiming that he'll provide for them. He had already gathered support from the giants."

"I remember. Alastor?"

"The new minister is already doing a fine job," said Moody, his magical eye still occasionally flicking between Yugi and Ryou. "He's sent two more wizards to Azkaban under false accusations. Last one was the kid who ran the Knight Bus. Made a crude joke in the Leaky Cauldron near two Ministry officials and that was it for him."

"You mean, Stan Shunpike? They arrested him?" asked Harry.

"'Fraid so," said Moody. "Anyone with a half a brain in their head could see he's no dark wizard, but these are the times we're living in. At this point, there will be more wrongfully imprisoned wizards in Azkaban than actual Death Eaters."

"What about the Dementors?" asked Ron. "They're still there, aren't they?"

One of the other wizards at the table, a tall black man that Ryou would later learn was called Kingsley Shacklebolt, nodded. "For now. But we fear it is only going to be a matter of time before they defect and join You-Know-Who's side as they did in the last war."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Ryou said meekly, "But what is a dementor?"

"Dementors are beings that guard the wizard prison Azkaban," said Lupin, "They're of the darkest creatures that have ever lived on this earth. They revel in despair, sucking all of the happiness and joy out of the prisoners until there's nothing left but your worst memories and experiences. A dementor's kiss is considered a fate worse than death. It takes the living soul right out of you, leaving you an empty shell. Because of this, normally no one ever escapes Azkaban. Most go mad or die in prison."

/Sounds like my kind of creature,/ said Bakura.

Ryou ignored him.

"As of now, they still work for the Ministry," said Dumbledore, "But like Kingsley has stated, it will only be a matter of time before they break away to join Voldemort."

"But if they leave, who will guard the jail?" asked Yugi.

"We'll have to," said Kingsley. "Not us specifically, but Aurors, the dark wizard catchers. Of course, the only problem is, if we're stuck guarding the jail, there won't be anyone out to fight You-Know-Who. Which I'm betting is what he's banking on. He'll wait for the right time, and control the Ministry of Magic. The Dementors are under Ministry control, so they'll naturally just switch sides."

"While he may be only a few hairs smarter than Fudge, Scrimgeour was an Auror before taking the Minister of Magic job," said Moody, "And a damn good one, too. He won't go down easily."

"It may be coming sooner than we think," said Dumbledore. "We have all read the papers. There are more reports of wizards under the influence of the Imperius curse than ever before. If and when Voldemort decides to take the Ministry of Magic, he will not do so directly. He will use subordinates in order to keep the community in fear. It is possible that he has already planted someone within the Ministry, and if so, finding them will not be easy."

"…Now I would like to shift the focus a bit," Dumbledore continued after a moment's pause. "I would like to introduce you to Yugi Muto and Ryou Bakura, who, along with Mr. Kaiba who you've met briefly upon our arrival this evening, will be joining in the sixth year class of Hogwarts this year."

"Um, hello," said Yugi, waving shyly at the group. The blue-haired witch must have sensed his nervousness, smiled warmly, and her hairstyle immediately changed to match his own, only in a bright, shocking pink.

"Tonks," she said, "I'm a Metamorphmagus, meaning I can change my appearance at will."

Ginny leaned over to Yugi and Ryou. "She does great animal faces."

Tonks winked at them. "Catch me after the meeting. I do requests!"

"…I'm afraid we will not see much of Mr. Podmore, Miss Jones, or Miss Vance this year, as they have agreed to station in Japan to keep an eye on their families while they attend Hogwarts. They will continue to keep me updated on the war from that front. Other than that, however, there is not much else to discuss. I had hoped we would have more news from the werewolves, but I admit I underestimated Voldemort's continued allegiance with Greyback. Our continued talks with the Giants continue to lead nowhere, and I fear that has become a lost cause."

"We'll keep an eye out at the Ministry, Dumbledore," said Kingsley, rising from the table.

"Anyone staying for dinner?" asked Mrs. Weasley. Kingsley and Moody shook their heads.

"Afraid not, Molly. I have some matters at Hogwarts that need attention," said Dumbledore.

"Remus and I will stay," said Tonks.

Kingsley left the house, heading towards the edge of the barrier to apparate away. Moody made his way around the table after him, but paused at Harry's seat to whisper something quietly in his ear. Harry frowned, but nodded to him.

Dumbledore stopped in front of Yugi and Ryou. "Before I leave you to Nymphadora–" he ignored her glare at his use of her given name, "–May I have a word with the two of you?"

Yugi looked at Ryou. "Uh, sure."

"Perhaps someplace where we won't be overhead," said Dumbledore, seeing Fred and George talking with Harry and Ron out of the corner of his eye.

"We can go out to the garden," said Ryou. "I don't think dinner is going to be quite ready yet."

"Very well." He followed them outside and then waved his wand at the door. "A spell to stop eavesdroppers. I had hoped Mr. Kaiba would join us, but I trust you will fill him in. I have already discussed this with the other Order members, but I felt you would not want Harry and his friends to hear what I have to share. That is, unless you've told them about the magic of your Millennium Items."

"We didn't," said Yugi.

"I see. I was correct in my assumptions." He gestured to the chairs around the garden table.

"So what's going on?" asked Yugi.

"There has been increased activity of dark wizards in Egypt, especially near the site that the Millennium Item tablet was found."

"Has anyone disturbed the tablet?" asked Ryou.

"No. It seems there is a great deal of old magic protecting that sanctuary. But, a few artifacts were found near a newly discovered tomb and taken to the Cairo museum. I imagine they won't hold much interest to Voldemort or his followers, but they were found near where they were looking."

"What are they looking for?" asked Yugi.

"I believe they may be searching for anything related to the Millennium Items, even Items themselves. It would appear that they do not know how many there are and who may possess them all."

"That's…good, I guess," said Ryou, "It helps protect anyone else associated with the Items." He paused. "Even if the only other one wielding a Millennium Item is a prickly ghost."

"There is something else," said Dumbledore gravely. "It appears Voldemort is taking additional interest in the tablet in the Domino Museum. One of the museum curators was questioned into translating the hieroglyphics upon it, but, thankfully, the employee did not have a chance to do so. It appears the poor man had no knowledge on how to read Ancient Egyptian texts. The museum was mercifully busy that day, and the Death Eater in question did not linger."

Yugi looked at Ryou. "If that's the case, wouldn't they try again? What if they find someone who can read it? You don't think they would force them to translate it, do you?"

"I cannot say, but if Voldemort is going through the effort to send his men overseas, it is not under the realm of impossibility. Is there someone in the museum who can translate the text on the tablet?"

Yugi nodded. "Ishizu Ishtar brought the tablet to the Domino Museum. She knows more about it than anyone…and her family guarded some of the Millennium Items for generations. They also kept the secrets to the Pharaoh's return. If Voldemort found this out, the Ishtars would be in serious danger."

"I see. I will have to take this matter into consideration." Dumbledore rose from the table. "One of my teachers will be by soon to finalize your school subjects for the upcoming year. I am sure by now Miss Granger may have gone into some detail of the various classes taught at Hogwarts. Aside from your standard fare that all students take, you will have room for up to two elective courses. My colleague will take down your choices at that time and deliver your equipment lists."

"Professor," Ryou began, "Where do we buy our books and such for Hogwarts? I imagine we won't find them in any store."

"Ah. Worry not, Mr. Bakura, there are a line of shops in Diagon Alley in London for you to get your school supplies. It will become much clearer then. Now, I won't keep you from your dinner any longer. I wouldn't want you to keep Molly waiting. Good evening, gentlemen."

Dumbledore turned on his heel, and with a faint 'pop!', he was gone.

"I thought he had to leave the field to disappear like that," said Ryou.

"Maybe he's just special," said Yugi.

Mrs. Weasley poked her head out the kitchen door. "Come back in, boys. We'll have dinner inside tonight." She closed the door behind them and gestured for the two empty seats next to Lupin at the crowded table.

"So what did Dumbledore want?" asked Ron, grabbing a roll from the center of the table.

Mrs. Weasley smacked Ron's shoulder. "Ronald!"

"He was giving us an update on how things were going at home," said Ryou cautiously. "And that someone would be by to help us finalize our school schedules in the next couple of days."

"Oooh, I wonder if that means we're going to get our Hogwarts letters soon," said Hermione eagerly, "And our O.W.L results! I've been waiting for those since term ended!"

"O.W.L?" asked Yugi. "What's that?"

"Fifth-year exams," said Ginny. "Stands for 'Ordinary Wizarding Levels'. I'll be taking them this year. It's like one big test covering everything you've learned at Hogwarts up to that point. Your sixth and seventh year classes can depend on how well you place in your exams."

"Fifth year students also get career advice on what they would like to do when they leave school," said Mrs. Weasley, "Each career has certain score minimums that have to be met before you can take N.E.W.T level classes. N.E.W.T classes are much more advanced and will help prepare for your seventh-year exams, which you need to pass to graduate and enter your desired field."

"What does N.E.W.T. stand for?" asked Ryou.

"Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests."

"They're named that way for a reason," said Lupin, "Those two are the only cumulative exams given at Hogwarts and they are exceptionally difficult. You can't hope to pass them on one night of studying."

"Unless you're Hermione," said Ron through a mouthful of potato.

Hermione bristled at his comment. "Honestly, Ron, you know perfectly well that I had been studying all last year for those exams. I just hope I didn't mess up the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes ones too terribly."

Ron rolled his eyes and swallowed. "I don't see why you're worrying. You know you're going to get straight 'Outstanding' on everything."

"I guess that's a good grade?" asked Yugi.

"The highest one you can have," said Tonks. "It goes 'O' for 'Outstanding', then 'E' for 'Exceeds Expectations', and 'A' for 'Acceptable'. Those are the passing grades. So long as you get an 'O' or an 'E', you can continue in that subject for the next year. Sometimes an 'A' will do, but it depends on the professor as the classes get so much more difficult in N.E.W.T. level. Then, of course, your failing grades are 'P' for 'Poor', 'D' for Dreadful, and lastly, 'T' for 'Troll'.

Yugi blinked. "Really? 'Troll?"

Tonks nodded. "Totally serious."

Mrs. Weasley grabbed a spare plate and began to fill it with a bit of everything from the table. "Do you think Seto would be up for a bite? He looks like he needs a proper meal."

Yugi shared a glance with Ryou. "Uh," said Yugi, "Maybe? He was out when I went up earlier."

"Well, I'll go check on him," said Mrs. Weasley, heading towards the stairs. "And Ron – save some of that salad for everyone else!"

"So are there any books you want to look through tomorrow?" asked Hermione, "I think you've read through most of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'."

"Actually," said Yugi, "We were thinking of something different. Would you guys like to learn how to play Duel Monsters?"

"I'm game," said Harry, "I saw a few of Dudley's cards once, but never paid much attention to it before. You fight with monsters to take out your opponent, right?"

Ryou nodded. "That's the simplest description of it, yes. You back up your monsters with magic and traps too."

"We don't have any cards," said Ron.

"We'll use our decks," said Yugi, "And Kaiba brought his too. He usually keeps extra cards on him. Maybe he'll let us use those."

/He might, so long as you catch him in a decent mood./

Hermione pulled Harry and Ron aside once Yugi and Ryou had gone up to bed.

"What did Moody tell you before he left?" asked Hermione. "You didn't look all that well afterwards for a bit."

"He said to be careful of Yugi and Ryou, that they're both hiding something dangerous."

"Like what?" asked Ron. "And how would he know?"

"I don't know," said Harry, "I'll bet Dumbledore was talking to them before arrived for the meeting. But whatever it is, I'm going to bet that's why Voldemort is targeting them."

"That's not really a whole lot to go on," said Hermione. "Did he say anything else?"

"He didn't have a lot of time to whisper in my ear," Harry nodded. "But his magical eye? It saw that Ryou's got one of those weird Egyptian artifacts too."

"He does?"

"Yeah, Moody saw it with his eye. Whatever those weird items are? He said to keep an eye on them. They're not what they seem to be."

"The two of them aren't very forthcoming about much of anything," said Hermione, "But can you blame them? They know us as well as we do them. I know first appearances can be deceiving, but they don't seem like the kind of people to end up as dark wizards. You'll have to give it a little more time for them to want to open up to us."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances.

Hermione sighed and slapped a hand to her forehead. "You've already started spying on them, haven't you? Why am I not surprised. Ugh, I want to find out what's going on as much as you do, but maybe, just once, I want to find something out the normal way. Don't come crying to me when friendships become ruined when you get caught."