/Text/ Spirit to Host.

/Text/ Host to Spirit.

Chapter 11: Travel

Ryou and Yugi went looking for Harry once they got back to the Leaky Cauldron. "What was that all about in the robe shop this afternoon?"

Harry looked around the pub before leaning in closer to the exchange students. "We think Malfoy was branded with the Dark Mark and has become a Death Eater."

"Harry. Harry thinks Draco Malfoy was branded with the Dark Mark," Hermione corrected him, "Honestly, it's not like you saw it or anything."

"His family is full of them, Hermione, and if he was sensitive about Madam Malkin touching his left arm, it has to be because the brand was there and he didn't want her to see it. Why else would he put up such a fuss? So we followed him to Knockturn Alley, which is where most of the Dark Arts shops are. He went into Borgin and Burkes and was arguing to the shopkeeper about something, but we didn't get to find out what."

"Is this Malfoy dangerous?" asked Yugi.

"He's a bully, but he's hardly dangerous. His family thrived on their wealth and pureblood status and they used their influence to blackmail and gain favor in the Ministry," said Ron. "But…after the Department of Mysteries battle, Malfoy's father was caught and sent to Azkaban, but considering You-Know-Who is out in the open again, he probably has been broken out by now."

"Well…I guess we'll just have to be careful when we're at Hogwarts," said Ryou. "If this classmate of yours really did join Voldemo –why do you flinch like that every time someone says his name?"

"It's from before the war ended the first time," said Ron, "He instilled so much fear in the world that people were afraid to talk about him in public. His name sort of became taboo."

"Which is ridiculous, it's just a name," said Harry.

"Well…" Ryou started again, "If he has become a Death Eater, he's seen us. Voldemort will know that we're going to be at Hogwarts this year."

"You'll be safe at Hogwarts though, so long as Dumbledore still runs the school," said Ron, "But why is that such a worry. What'd you do to piss off You-Know-Who?"

/Be careful what you say. We don't need these busybodies asking about the Millennium Items./

/I'm sorry, Spirit, it's just very difficult for me to keep lying all the time./

"I really don't know," said Ryou, running a hand through his hair, "We followed Dumbledore on, well, blind faith. I'm just worried that if he knows we're someplace he can't get to, he might find a way to draw us out. I mean, isn't that something he's done before?"

"Yeah," said Harry, looking down at the floor. "Last term at the Department of Mysteries. …And during the Tri-Wizard tournament the year before. It was rigged for me to enter, and the trophy was a Portkey that led me straight to Voldemort."

"If we've learned anything from the last couple of years, it's to not jump to conclusions," said Hermione, giving Harry a quick side-glance. "If something isn't right or looks suspicious, we just need to check with Dumbledore or another member of the Order at Hogwarts. They'll be able to help."

Harry nodded glumly.

Upon their return to the Burrow, Seto beckoned Yugi upstairs while Ron began to show Ryou how to play Exploding Snap.

"What's up, Kaiba?" he asked as they entered Seto's room. "Oh – I wanted to ask before, but got interrupted, how was your trip?"

"Exhausting," said Seto. "There were malfunctions with the new battery pack I built that needed to be dealt with, and I had to spend half the day at the office listening to Pegasus. It would have been nice if Professor McGonagall came tomorrow – I could have used the extra sleep."

"Is that why you were drinking that stuff Mrs. Weasley made? "

Seto nodded, "It's a poor excuse for coffee." He yawned. "I might just go back to bed once dinner is over, and so long as I get through the night, I should be back to a regular routine tomorrow."

Yugi thought back to their brief conversation earlier in the day. "Were you not sleeping before? You know, Mrs. Weasley thought you were seriously ill when you went right to sleep once you got here and then when you didn't get up the next morning."

Seto shook his head. "It's what I wanted to talk to you about. But first, I have something for you." He knelt down and opened his briefcase. "Your duel disk."

"Oh! Thank you! I hope it wasn't too much trouble to bring over."

"It wasn't. But since I had to pick that up, your friends put together something else for you. It's in here." Seto reached back into the briefcase and pulled out a thick envelope. "They've written you letters, and Mokuba included a photograph from a local event held at your grandfather's shop. Apparently one of those Auror babysitters offered to have it mailed by owl, but your grandfather wasn't sure it would make the journey flying halfway around the world."

"Thank you," Yugi hugged the envelope close to his chest. "I'll read them later. So…what's bothering you?"

Seto sighed tiredly. "This is in some way directed towards your…Pharaoh friend. Do you share dreams?"

Yugi tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Does he dream of his past life, and if he does, do you see what he sees?"

Yugi frowned. "I don't think…but I'll let him come out and answer this."

The Millennium Puzzle bathed the bedroom in a golden hue as Yugi swapped places with Yami.

"What's wrong, Kaiba? I haven't seen you this concerned in quite some time."

Seto sank down onto the edge of the bed and looked Yami straight in the eyes. "This past life you keep claiming to have – have you dreamt of it?"

Yami shook his head. "I have no memories of my past. They were all locked away. The only glimpses I have ever seen of it since awakening from the Millennium Puzzle had come from an outside influence. I saw a few flashes once while dueling Dartz in his temple, but that was about it, aside from our duel during the Battle City finals. Since I'm merely a spirit now, like Set, I also don't need sleep, and therefore don't dream."

"Well, aside from our battle, the only flashes of Set's past life that I had ever seen before was during my duel with Ishizu Ishtar. From what I was told, the Millennium Rod activated by itself and that's what changed my mind on how to win that duel. I hadn't seen those flashes since…until now."

"You're getting memory flashes? Set's memories?"

"I don't know. He apparently can't see them, but I keep getting the same ones over and over again. And it's not like you go to sleep and dream some whimsical fantasy like a normal person. They feel intrusive, like these memories aren't supposed to be there, and they're actually interrupting the sleep I do get at night."

"Well, what do you see?"

"Most of them are the same. I'm – or Set is, I suppose – kneeling in front of a stone tablet depicting the Blue Eyes White Dragon. There's a woman in my arms, but I don't know who she is. A few other times I'm dueling you. Not a modern duel, but the one that happened on that tablet. Another one I've had, I had drawn a sword and had stabbed someone, but I don't know who it was, and that dream has only come around once."

Yami crossed his arms. "Have you talked to Set about them?"

"He's just as much an amnesiac as you are."

Yami frowned. "I'm afraid I'm not much help. I don't think we've ever experienced what you're describing. Try to remember as much as you can the next time they come around. Maybe there's something these wizards know about dreams that can help you. They seem to have magical solutions for almost everything else."

"Except for making decent coffee."

Yami chuckled. "Except that. We were going to play another round of mock Quidditch before dinner. It's a wizard sport played on broomsticks in the air. Yugi seems to enjoy spending the time up in the air, although he isn't very good at the sport. Would you like to join us?"

Seto shook his head. "While I would normally get a kick out of watching you make a fool of yourself, I'm just going to lie down before dinner."

Yami took a step forward. "Are you sure you'll alright?"

"Yugi, I haven't slept properly in over a week. This is my body trying to recover from being ridiculously overtaxed. If Mrs. Weasley hadn't woken me up when Professor McGonagall arrived and I was able to get up naturally, I would have been fine. One uninterrupted, decent night's sleep is all I need, and then I'll be the usual bundle of cheer you're used to again."

Yami chuckled. "Alright, if the sarcasm is coming back, I suppose you're okay. I'll leave you to get some rest, and I'll come get you for dinner. If you skip another meal, neither of us will hear the end of it."

Yami watched Seto lean back against his pillows and close his eyes before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Yugi took control again as he walked back downstairs. /Yami, why would the Millennium Rod be forcing Set's memories on Kaiba without the spirit's knowledge?/

/I don't know, Yugi. And they're the same memories too. They must have some importance, other than showing Kaiba his favorite monster in stone./

/I've never heard of a Millennium Item doing something like that before. The Puzzle certainly hasn't shown us anything related to your past./

/Perhaps we should ask Bakura if the Millennium Ring has ever shown him visions of the past before…/

/Bakura's spirit seems to know the most about the Millennium Items. I just hope he has an answer for us…./

/Me too, Yugi./ said Yami worriedly. /Me too…./

It turned out that Bakura couldn't offer any insight into why Set was unknowingly projecting his forgotten memories into his dreams. This was fine overall as the dreams hadn't returned since his talk with Yugi. He had too much to do to have to worry about losing sleep over memory flashes.

Seto woke the next day feeling back to his usual self. He rose earlier than everyone else in the house, set up a workstation at the far end of the kitchen table, made himself a cup of tea, and checked into Kaiba Corp, staying online and working right up through to Mrs. Weasley making lunch.

After his daily call home to his brother, he spent his afternoons either in the living room or under one of the shadier trees outside reading through his textbooks, ignoring Ron's jests that even Hermione didn't keep her nose in books the entire time between terms. It wasn't like he was on summer vacation; he graduated Domino High a year ahead of Yugi and his friends.

After dinner, he retreated from the others and went back to reading in his room. Set was beginning to get put out that he never went anywhere around the house holding onto the Millennium Rod and wasn't pleased at the prospect of being trapped in the Item for long periods again.

Seto rolled his eyes. "I'm not giving them something else to gawk over. It'll be easier to conceal the Rod at Hogwarts under my robes."

"And until then?" asked Set, phasing out of the Rod from its resting place next to Seto on the bed. "Am I going to count the seconds until you leave for school?"

"Is the range of this thing so limited that if I'm not holding it, or sitting next to it, that you can't get out?"

"I could, but it requires concentration on both of our parts. We haven't quite formed the same bond that the Pharaoh and Bakura's vessels have with their Millennium Items. I could train you to be able to reach out to the Rod from a greater distance, but it will require effort on your part. I cannot force you to do this. You have to want tap into the Millennium Rod's power."

Sighing, Seto found his evening transitioning from studying wand movements to trying to activate the Rod from longer distances.

….The continued routine passed the days by in a blur. Before any of them knew it, it was the end of August. With Seto back in Japan on business for their last week before school, it felt like the beginning of June all over again.

"Make sure you get to bed at a reasonable hour," said Mr. Weasley. "The Hogwarts Express won't wait if you can't get out of bed on time."

"Have you heard from Seto, Yugi?" asked Hermione. "He won't miss the train, will he?"

Yugi shook his head. "His flight arrives overnight. He's going to stay over in a hotel in London, so we'll meet him on the train."

"Why doesn't he use a Portkey?" asked Ron. "So much faster."

Yugi shrugged. "He doesn't trust them."

"How exactly are we getting to Kings Cross Station?" asked Ryou. "I can't imagine we're going to Floo our way in…are we?"

"Not quite," said Mrs. Weasley, "We'll Floo into London, and the Ministry is providing cars to take us to the station."

"The Ministry of Magic uses cars? I didn't think they would do something so…" Yugi struggled to find the right words. "…Ordinary."

"Believe it or not," said Mr. Weasley, "Wizards are not completely out of touch with what goes on in the Muggle world."

"Are we allowed to do magic on the train, or is completely forbidden unless we're at the school?" asked Yugi.

"Magic is allowed on the train," said Hermione, "Which is odd, but I've cast spells on the ride up without having ever stepped into the castle, and I've never gotten into trouble. I know other underage students have as well. I think the Hogwarts Express, and the village of Hogsmeade, are considered extensions of the school, and are therefore protected from the underage wizard laws."

"That means we can practice a few spells before getting to Hogwarts! Finally!" Yugi looked over excitedly at Bakura, but frowned. Ryou was looking down at the table, but his eyes seemed unfocused. To the others, he would just seem spaced out, but Yugi knew better.

He tapped Ryou on the shoulder. "Hey, you there?"

Ryou jumped to attention. "Oh, sorry, Yugi, I guess I was a bit more tired than I thought. I think I'm going to turn in. I'll see you all in the morning."

"Is he okay?" asked Harry, watching Ryou climb the steps and disappear from sight.

"Yeah," said Yugi, "I guess he didn't get as much sleep as he thought last night. I'll probably head up soon too. But I'm good for a little bit if you want to play a game or something…."

"Well it's too late to go outside for Quidditch," said Ron, "But I'm good for a chess game. What do you say, Harry? Yugi?"

"I haven't played much chess," said Yugi, "So you'll probably beat me. But I'll give it a shot."

"Let's find out then!" Ron disappeared into the living room and came back with the board and pieces. "White or black?"

"Um…no preference, you decide."

"Okay then, you can be white." Ron set up the board and sat back. "Your go."

Harry sat between them and watched the match. Ron appeared to control the board, and every so many moves, Yugi would pause, rethink his move, and switch to a different piece. It seemed like Yugi wasn't sure of himself in his game, as opposed to Ron, who made his moves with confidence.

But, after focusing more on Yugi during the game, he suddenly saw something different. Each of Yugi's almost-moves would have left him wide open, but each piece he did move worked to push Ron onto the defensive. Is…is he pretending to be a lousy player?

Ron leaned back in his chair and looked at the board. The only pieces remaining were their kings. "Not bad, Yugi. You were getting better as the game went on."

"Thanks," Yugi laughed awkwardly, "Card games are more my thing." /You didn't have to help me out, Yami./

/I'm sorry, Yugi. You didn't want to lose…or win too easily. At least you drew the match this way./

/I know. You've been itching for a good game for a while now./

"I think I'm going to head upstairs too," said Yugi. "I want to be ready to go for Hogwarts tomorrow."

"You best be on up as well, Harry, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley. "I do not want a repeat of last year."

"Why?" Yugi turned around from the staircase. "What happened last year?"

"Running to the train like a group of ninnies. You're lucky you all made it on board. It seems someone didn't like getting out of bed," said Mrs. Weasley.

"No need to beat around the bush, Mum, we all know it was Fred and George," said Ron.

Harry snorted. "Sure it was, Ron." They followed Yugi upstairs, paused for a minute outside their closed door, and then continued up to the top floor to Ron's room.

"Got any extendable ears, handy?" asked Harry. "I want to hear what they're talking about in there."

The crept to the landing over Yugi and Ryou's and lowered the ears towards the door.

"Everything okay?" Yugi asked. "You seemed a bit preoccupied tonight."

"He's restless today," said Ryou, "Something happened, and it's making him uneasy."

"Yami hasn't felt anything," said Yugi.

The Millennium Ring flashed from under Ryou's shirt. "Switch places," said Bakura, crossing his arms.

"Hello to you too, Bakura," said Yami, taking control from Yugi. "So what's this all about?"

"The Shadows are uneasy," said Bakura, looking towards the window. "Something isn't right."

"How can you tell?" said Yami.

Bakura gave him a pointed look. "When you've spent as much time in the Shadow Realm as I have, you pick up on certain things. You can sense when something – or someone – goes in, and when things manage to escape."

"So did something get out? How would that be possible? I thought only a Millennium Item is capable of summoning the Shadow Realm, and therefore one of us would have to be behind it."

Bakura huffed. "You can bet it wasn't your holier-than-thou Priest. As far as I'm aware, Kaiba hasn't truly dabbled in the Millennium Rod's power since you gave it to him. And the only other person currently connected to the Items other than the two of us is Shadi, and you know he wasn't behind it. All he does is show up whenever trouble has already risen and deliver some cryptic nonsense…and sometimes rearrange a few soul rooms if he's in that sort of mood."

The dark spirit of the Ring scowled. "Whatever got out of the Shadow Realm had help from something or someone on the outside, and without a Millennium Item."

Yami frowned, trying to think of who might have been able to get out. "The only person I know of in the Shadow Realm…is Marik's dark half. But I don't see how he would be able to get out without Marik himself interfering."

Bakura shook his head. "While I would say to contact the Ishtars to be certain, I don't think that is the case."

"How can you tell?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Unlike some, I didn't spend five millennia in a box. I've been around the block, Pharaoh. I was aware of every mortal that has touched the Millennium Ring before ending up in Ryou's hands. Whatever – or whomever – escaped, had magical help. Modern magic."

"Death Eaters then?" Yami asked. "That should be impossible, even for someone powerful like Voldemort."

Yami paused. "Could it be possible that nothing went in or out?"

Bakura shrugged. "Sure. But if it wasn't us, or Shadi interfering, then we have bigger things to worry about than this Voldemort character." There are some things buried deep in the Shadow Realm that aren't meant to come out – yet.

Bakura grabbed Ryou's toiletries bag and headed towards the door. "The only way we're going to find out is to keep on these wizards. I don't know who the old man's spies are, but he has at least one of them in Egypt, checking in on those Death Eaters that keep poking their sticks where they don't belong. Those fools are meddling in ancient powers they don't understand, and if they're not careful, they will doom us all."

He switched back to Ryou the moment he opened their bedroom door, and phased out of the Millennium Ring as Ryou made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He floated alongside him, but stopped, hearing a creak on the landing upstairs. The spirit narrowed his eyes and looked up, but there was no one there.

Floo-ing to London wasn't nearly as scary this time, now that they've done it once before. Considering they were a group of eight to the train station, Yugi was surprised the Ministry only had one car waiting for them outside of the Leaky Cauldron.

"How are six trunks, two owl cages, and all of us supposed to fit in there?" he asked. "Our stuff alone would take up the entire car!"

He watched the driver start to load the vehicle's trunk, adding luggage piece after piece. By now it had to be full, but the driver kept loading items into it, as if the cargo area had no end.

"Like almost everything, its bewitched to fit everything," said Harry, "I wondered that too the first time I rode in one of these cars."

"I just hope that there are enough carts when we get there," said Mrs. Weasley once the car had pulled away. "Finding enough for everyone last year was a right mess."

"I'm sure we'll manage," said Mr. Weasley, looking about the car. "Oh, look! They've upgraded their fleet since we've ridden last. I wonder what these buttons do…."

Ryou had never seen anyone so fascinated with the automatic window controls in his life.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about finding luggage trolleys, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry as they pulled around to the front of the station. "I don't think I've ever seen the parking area so…empty."

"It's because of the Death Eater attacks yesterday," said Hermione quietly. "Did you see what they did to those bridges in this morning's Prophet? I heard Mrs. Weasley was downright worried because Seto spent the night here in London without any sort of magical protection."

"Of course I was!" Mrs. Weasley gasped, and Hermione turned red at being overheard. "London was practically a warzone these last few days. With all the damage the Death Eaters did to those bridges and monuments, he could have been killed! And I'm sure you heard what happened in Diagon Alley yesterday."

Ron shook his head as they exited the car. "What happened?"

"Ollivanders was attacked," said Mr. Weasley, "He's missing – the Death Eaters took him."

"He was kidnapped? But why?" asked Ryou.

"When wizards are arrested and sent to Azkaban, their wands are confiscated," said Mr. Weasley, "If You-Know-Who is breaking his forces out of prison, they're going to need wands. Using a stolen wand will only go so far, so he has to be forcing the poor man to make new ones."

Yugi looked worriedly at Ryou. They had only met Mr. Ollivander once, but he couldn't imagine what it must be like to be in Voldemort's clutches.

"I didn't think the Platforms had such a weird numbering system," said Ryou, looking down at his ticket. "Do they really go by fraction?"

"Not for Muggles," said Ron, pushing his cart through the doors. "You'll see."

Seto was pacing back and forth between Platforms 9 and 10 when they approached the tracks, talking angrily into the phone against his ear, with a large travel mug in his other hand. Upon seeing Yugi and the others approaching, he lowered his voice and quickly finished his call. He had barely enough time to slip his phone back into his suit before Mrs. Weasley wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug and then immediately looked him over for injuries that weren't there.

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right. How close were you to the attacks?"

Seto managed to detach himself. The amounts of mothering that Mrs. Weasley treated him with were becoming a bit uncomfortable, but he ignored it for the most part since she seemed to treat everyone that way, not just her own children. "I'm fine. The attacks didn't come close to my hotel, and I had my own security detail last night."

Annoyed, he held up his train ticket. "I've paced between these two tracks for the last ten minutes. I suppose, like most everything you wizards have, there's a magical entrance to get on the platform?"

"There is," Mrs. Weasley nodded, "This way."

The Weasleys led them up to one of the brick barriers between platforms 9 and 10.

Ryou looked around. "Is something supposed to be here?"

"It's the wall," said Harry. "You need to just push your cart right at it."

"That's a brick wall," said Yugi, "We'd crash right into it!"

"Best do it in a run if you're nervous," said Ginny, "That's how I got in on my first trip to Hogwarts."

"We really just have to run into the wall?" asked Ryou. "That's it?"

"That's it. Ginny, why don't you show them how it's done," said Mr. Weasley. "Let's go."

Ginny nodded, and moved her cart so she was lined up with the platform barrier. "See you on the other side!" she called, breaking into a jog.

Yugi closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable sound of a trolley crashing into the wall, but after a few seconds, he didn't hear anything, not even the sound of the trolley wheels on the platform. When he opened his eyes, she was gone.

"What happened?" he asked Ryou.

"She disappeared through the wall!"

"Come on, you'll go through in pairs," said Mrs. Weasley. "Yugi, why don't you go through with Hermione. We'll follow after you."

Yugi gulped.

/There's nothing to fear, Yugi. The Weasleys have been nothing but kind and upfront this entire time. They wouldn't force us to do anything dangerous. Just run through it!/

"Ready?" Hermione asked.

Yugi nodded. "I think so."

They broke into a run together. While he didn't hear Ginny crash at the barrier, he still expected to ram right into it and fall flat on his face.

But that moment never came. Instead of causing a scene by slamming into a wall at running speed, he passed right through it as if the bricks were made of smoke, and came to a stop on an identical looking platform. The sign attached to the other side of the barrier read '9 ¾'. A scarlet engine with the words 'Hogwarts Express' stood in front of him.

A few moments later, Seto and Ron passed through the barrier, with Harry, Ryou, and Mrs. Weasley bringing up the rear. Mr. Weasley and Ginny were over towards the throng of wizard families seeing their children off onto the train.

"Go on in," said Mr. Weasley, "If you all want to get seats together you'd best hurry before the compartments are all full."

Yugi, being the first one in the group to make it onto the train, had to drag his trunk all the way down the train to find an empty compartment that would fit the six of them. Ginny broke off from the group to sit with a gaggle of girls in her own year.

Seto stashed their trunks in the overhead bin, took a seat by the window, and set his laptop on the small fold-out table.

"You're much more alert this time after traveling," said Hermione.

"I slept before my flight yesterday," said Seto, checking his phone for messages before sitting it next to his computer on the little table.

"So, um, did you, uh…find something to cure that insomnia you were having?" asked Yugi.

That time, Seto did look up at Yugi, who sat directly across from him. "No," he said bitterly, before looking back down. "I did not."

"I'm sure Madame Pomfrey, the school nurse, probably has something for that," said Hermione, "The last thing you want to be doing is fall asleep in class."

Seto shook his head. "I'm used to it. I'll be fine."

"So…" Ryou began, eager to change the subject. "How long is the train ride to Hogwarts?"

"We won't arrive at the school until after dark, so most of the day," said Ron, "There's a food trolley that passes by every so often with sweets and such if you get hungry."

The first leg of the ride was in pseudo-silence, other than the consistent click-clack of fingers flying across the keyboard. Yugi was reading through a couple of the first-year textbooks he had picked up at Flourish and Blotts and Ryou was dueling with Ron. Hermione was reading through a copy of the Quibbler that Luna had passed out on her way through the train.

"Why do you keep looking over at the hallway?" asked Ryou suddenly. "Are you expecting someone?"

Harry sighed. "It sounds stupid, but I was expecting Malfoy to show up. He usually barges in here at least once on every ride up to school."

"Maybe he's grown past that," said Ryou.

Ron snorted. "Once a bully, always a bully. Just you wait; it'll only be a matter of time."

Hermione suddenly jumped up. "Oh – Ron, we have to go to the prefects' carriage and attend our meeting with the Head Boy and Girl," said Hermione.

"Prefect?" asked Yugi. "What's that?"

"Two fifth years and up are chosen from each house to be prefects," said Harry, "Usually chosen by having good grades, or other good work for the school. They're kind of like hall monitors in a muggle school. They can't give detentions or things like that, but they can report wrongdoing to the Heads of House, and can take away house points as a way of disciplining people."

"Oh, I see," said Yugi, "We had hall monitors back at our high school, so it sounds about the same, just without magic."

"The meeting shouldn't take up the whole journey," said Hermione, "We'll be back. C'mon, Ron."

Harry scooted over in the compartment once Ron and Hermione had left. Despite what he and Ron had overheard the previous night (which he still needed to get Hermione's insight over), he didn't know much of anything about their rather distant friend, other than what was printed in magazines. He knew only a few constants: Seto dressed extremely well, and kept his nose either in a book or his computers. Amongst all of them (not including Yugi and Ryou), he socialized the most with Hermione – and only because they talked Hogwarts, books, and a few other things Harry had tuned out, then stayed in his room after dinner. When he had asked Yugi about it, he had shrugged and said Seto checked in at home in the evenings.

But, Japan was eight hours ahead of their time. Calling home would be disturbing someone in the early hours of the morning. It's possible that's what he did, considering Seto didn't seem to sleep too much, but Harry also knew Seto spent every day after lunch taking his brother's phone call. Was he that paranoid that he needed to make sure things were okay that often?

Until his overheard conversation last night, he would have written Seto off as having nothing to do with Yugi and Ryou's random odd bits of behavior, but they mentioned Seto's name with having to do with a Millennium Item, whatever that was. Was it related to Yugi's pyramid necklace, and whatever Moody saw that Ryou kept hidden under his clothes?

"What are you working on?" Harry asked.

"Catching up on emails," said Seto. "Plus, three budgets to approve, six projects that need review, and if I'm lucky…" he glanced at his watch, "I'll catch Roland in the office before he takes Mokuba home for the day."

A quiet buzzing sound made Seto pause in his email. He looked to his phone, and disconnected it from his computer. "If you'll excuse me."

Harry watched him get up and head out of the compartment. He heard a 'Hey kid' as the door closed behind him.

"He talks to his brother every day?"

"Every day," said Yugi, looking up from A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. "It was a struggle for him to come with us and leave his brother behind."

"Fancy a game of Duel Monsters, Harry?" asked Ryou. "We've got the time."

Harry shrugged. "Sure…but if you're going to split your deck again, I want to pick the half I use."

Ryou laughed. "That's fair."

After two rounds of playing half of a deck (Harry won once), Yugi looked up from his seat against the window to see Seto pacing in front of the compartment. He suddenly stopped, pulling the phone from his ear and looking at it, before shoving open the compartment door and making his way back to his seat.

"Everything okay?" Yugi asked.

"Phone just shut off," Seto said irritably, "That battery should have been fine for at least another week." He opened his laptop back up, but it did not boot back up from going to sleep.

"What the –" Seto jammed his finger into the power button. Still nothing. "This is impossible. There's no way both of these would be dead."

Ryou glanced over. "Maybe it's the magic on the train?"

"It's been several hours now. If the train itself was the cause, neither of these would have worked from the moment I stepped on board."

"Bet Hermione would know the answer," said Harry, "She's one of the only people I know who have actually read Hogwarts: A History, so I'm sure the answer is there somewhere."

Seto leaned back against the headrest on his seat. "I'm guessing you haven't."

"Nope. But, if I know Hermione, it's in her trunk."

Seto eyed the trunks on the rack over Yugi and Ryou's heads. "I'm not going to rifle through her belongings to find out." He sighed, pocketed his phone and tucked the laptop back into its case.

"Want one of the books?" Yugi held up The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2 as the compartment door opened, admitting Ron and Hermione. Seto huffed and went to looking out the window.

"How was your meeting?" Ryou asked.

"About the same as it was last year, although there's a new prefect for Slytherin House," said Hermione, "Malfoy wasn't there."

That got Harry's attention. "Malfoy gave up being a prefect? That's not like him at all. He enjoyed the power trip it gave him last year."

"Something must have changed," said Ron, "You know his dad was arrested at the Department of Mysteries. Rich snot's not so high-and-mighty with dear old Dad stuck in Azkaban."

"That makes sense," said Harry, "His father's out of the picture, so Malfoy was branded a Death Eater. That's why he's given up his favorite job of bullying first years and making our lives miserable. I bet you he's been given a mission by Voldemort and has other things to worry about."

"Oh, come on, Harry," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Even if Malfoy has been branded, that doesn't mean he's up to something. What could he possibly get away with at Hogwarts?"

"You saw him just as well as I did at Borgin and Burkes, Hermione. He –"

"You saw as much as we did, Harry," said Hermione, "Nothing. He looked at a cabinet. And the blinds were shut. Looking doesn't make one a Death Eater."

Frustrated, Harry got up and retrieved the same silvery cloak Yugi saw him with at Madam Malkin's.

"Where are you going?" asked Ron.

"To get some fresh air."

They watched him storm off. "Did we say something…?" asked Yugi.

Hermione shook her head. "No…Harry's just jumping off to conclusions. It'll probably land him in trouble again. …Have you been playing that Duel Monsters game this entire time?"

"We were…" said Ryou, "Until you guys came back, at least."

"Well, Harry'll get over it. Takes him a while because he's thick-headed, but he'll come around." Ron. He looked over towards Seto. "What's got him in a funk?"

"His tech stopped working," said Yugi. "Is that normal for non-wizard stuff the closer you get to Hogwarts?"

Hermione nodded, "Muggle electronics don't work at Hogwarts. They clash with the enchantments around the school. It's part of what keeps the school undetected."

"Great," Seto muttered, "Just great. Anything else I should know about this school before we get there?"

Hermione reached for her trunk. "It's in Hogwarts: A History. Ooh, I forget the section though."

Seto sighed and held out a hand. "May I?"

Ron's eyes widened. "You're actually going to read it?"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "What else am I going to do with it? As it stands, I can't complete any actual work, and I've read through everything else we have."

"Everything?" Yugi looked up from his book. "All of our new textbooks? Even the beginner ones?"

Seto flipped open Hogwarts: A History and took a sip from his mug. "All of them."

Ron sat back, impressed. "He's more of a bookworm than you, Hermione!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I can't grasp how hard it is for you to believe there are people out there that open books when not at school, Ron."

Set chuckled. /You seem to have landed with a true group of intellectuals, Seto./

/Tell me about it./ Seto turned the page and tuned out the rest of Ron and Hermione's bickering.

The lights in the train turned on as the sun began to set.

"We're almost there," said Hermione. She got up, dug into her trunk, and pulled out her uniform. "Best to go change into robes."

By the time Hermione had returned to the compartment, the train had pulled into Hogsmeade station. Harry still hadn't returned.

"Shouldn't we wait for him?" asked Yugi as they filed out of the train.

"He'll follow. Don't worry," said Ron.

"What about our stuff?" asked Ryou.

"It'll all make its way to your dorm, wherever you guys end up," said Ron. "Everything gets up to the castle during the opening feast."

"Firs' years and transfer students! This way!"

"I guess that's us," said Yugi.

At the end of the platform, herding all of the first-year students together was the largest man Yugi had ever seen. He had to crane his neck to look up.

/That is a very tall man./

/I think this might be the Hagrid that Harry and others referred to. I believe they said he was half-giant./

/Forget half, he's plenty-giant to someone like me, Yami!/

"Alright," said Hagrid, once everyone was together. "This way to the boats!"

They climbed into one of the small boats, ignoring the stares of all of the eleven year-old students around them. Once everyone was settled, the boats set off from the edge of the lake and moved towards the huge castle settled high on the rocks above them.

"Hogwarts is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be," said Ryou, wide-eyed. "I hope they give us a map or something to help get us around to all of our classes."

"Knowing our luck? We'll be expected to remember," said Yugi.

"Assuming we have classes with the rest of the students our age, I imagine we'll just follow them everywhere," said Seto.

/Hm. There are creatures in the lake./

Ryou looked down at the dark waters. /How can you even see them?/

/I've gotten quite used to traveling in the dark./

/Well, don't think highly of making any friends with whatever's down there. I don't want to end up with pneumonia before my first day, thank you very much!/

One of the other first-year students wasn't as lucky, and Hagrid's boat had to break off from its lead of the group to fish the boy out of the water.

"Looks like you've got some troublemakers on yer boat," said Hagrid lightly. "Don' worry, we'll be up at the castle soon. The professors will dry you out before the sortin' ceremony."

Yugi, Seto, and Ryou strayed towards the end of the group as they exited the boats on the other end of the lake. Hagrid led them up the path, past his hut, and up the stone steps to the large front doors to the castle, where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them.

"Good evening," she said as all of the new students gathered in the Entrance Hall, "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments you will pass through those doors and join your new classmates in the Great Hall for the Opening Feast, but first you will be sorted into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are here at Hogwarts, your house will be your family. Good behavior will earn your house points, and rule-breaking will lose points. The House Cup will be awarded at the end of the year to whichever house raises the most points."

Both Seto and Yugi gave Ryou a sideways glance.

/You see that, Spirit? It's not really me they're looking at. Don't go getting me into trouble!/

/Pfft. Please, if there is any rule-breaking to be done around here, you certainly won't get caught doing it./

/Ugh./

"Single file please, and fan out around the Sorting Hat once we get to the other end of the hall," said Professor McGonagall. The double-doors to the Great Hall opened and she led them inside through the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables.

Ryou looked around as they progressed through the room. It seemed each house had their own table in the room, illuminated by floating candles high above the tabletops and large torches alongside the windows. Another table sat on a raised area of the Great Hall, with all of its occupants sitting facing the rest of the hall. I guess those are our teachers.

Ryou's gaze wandered upwards and he gasped. "Oh, look up!" he whispered.

Yugi's eyes widened in amazement. "There's no ceiling!"

"It's enchanted to mimic the weather outside," said Seto, glancing up to see the dark, starry sky. The ceiling rafters were barely visible.

"How'd you know that?" asked Yugi.

"It's in Hogwarts: A History."

Professor McGonagall gathered them all around a three-legged stool in front of the teacher's table. Upon it sat a very old, tattered hat. After a few seconds, the rip along its brim opened up into a mouth the hat broke into song, reciting bits about the houses and staying unified before settling itself back down into silence.

"This year, we also have three transfer students entering the sixth year class. Please welcome them to our school as you would any of our newer students," said Professor McGonagall, unrolling the scroll of parchment sitting next to the hat. "Please come forth when I call your name."

Ryou suddenly panicked as she began calling out names. "Oh no, they're alphabetical."

"Don't be nervous, Ryou. It's just a hat," said Yugi, as a Millie Azeles shuffled off to the Ravenclaw table.

"Bakura, Ryou!"

Ryou gulped and made his way through the clump of first years to sit on the rickety stool, trying to block out the various whispers echoing throughout the hall. He nearly jumped off the stool when he heard the extra voice in his ear.

"Well, well, this is new. It's not often I find a second mind in here…and polar opposites to boot."

/What is that supposed to mean, Hat?/

"Aaaah, I see. You're an old soul – no, older than I am. You just take residence in the boy, don't you?" The hat seemed to detect Ryou's nervousness. "Don't worry, Mr. Bakura, the only bit everyone else out there can hear is what house I send you off to."

/Which house would that be?/

"That's a tough one. You, dear boy, could belong to any of the four houses. You have a strong sense of loyalty and a kind soul – good qualities of a Hufflepuff, but you're just coming out of your shell, aren't you? I see some Gryffindor in you as well. There's some eagerness to learn and a good bit of cleverness in there as well. I could put you in Ravenclaw. Now the friend you've got in here, he is a true example of a Slytherin…so where to put you?"

/You leave my thoughts out of this, Hat/ Bakura spat, /It is Ryou Bakura you are sorting today, not me. I'm just along for the ride./

"Very well. Better be…GRYFFINDOR!"

"Excellent," said Ron, clapping Ryou on the back as he sat down next to him. "The hat was so quiet for a while, I thought it wasn't gonna be able to make a decision."

Ryou paled. "Is that…normal?"

Hermione shrugged. "Sometimes the hat can instantly place someone before it's even on their head, and sometimes it has to think it over for a few moments. It's not common for it to take a long, long time, but it's happened before."

The table next to them broke into applause as Thomas Cook joined the Hufflepuffs.

Yugi watched as Bridgette Jackson was sorted into Slytherin. "She doesn't look like she's eleven," he whispered. "Look how small she is!"

Seto raised an eyebrow and looked down at his rival. "And? You don't even look like a sixteen-year old."

"Touché, Kaiba."

"Kaiba, Seto!"

There were just as many whispers, if not more, as Seto made his way up to the Sorting Hat.

"Ah, I see I have another double-minded fellow to sort today."

/Oh goody – something else talking in my head. Just what I've always wanted./

/At least the hat isn't a permanent resident,/ Set said reassuringly.

"Hm…your minds are much more alike than the other boy. I can definitely see that you are no Hufflepuff. You're much more a leader than a follower. The other three houses, though, that is up for some debate. You seek power and achievement, and certainly have an ambitious mind to match. Speaking of which…that is quite a mind you have as well. We seem to have another genius in our midst. You would certainly do well in both Slytherin and Ravenclaw, though I can only put you in one."

/You said three houses, but only mentioned two./

"Now, now, have a little patience. I am a thinking cap after all. You've got quite a bit going on in here. Deep down, hiding in that calculating mind is something I didn't see before. You seem to be placing much on faith and trust these days, facing a fear perhaps? It takes a great deal of bravery to put aside your long-held beliefs and take the plunge into the unknown…I see you would also make a fine Gryffindor, so where to put you…."

/I didn't think Seto would be such a difficult choice./

/If I have any say in this whatsoever, I'd prefer to end up with Bakura, and Yugi – once he's sorted, at least. I have a feeling I know where he'll end up, and to be honest, it would probably be easier on the school if I was lumped in with them, if anything to keep them out of trouble./

"Are you sure? You would also make an excellent Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

/Positive./

"Very well then, GRYFFINDOR!"

"That's two of the three," said Ron, as Seto headed down the line to sit across from Ryou at their table. "Think we'll get Yugi too?"

Ryou nodded. "Probably. The hat must have been divided for you too, Kaiba."

Seto shrugged. "It was getting chatty."

"Yours was longer than Ryou's," said Hermione, "But the hat never stalls out. It sorts everyone, no matter how long it has to sit there."

Eloise Marks joined the small cluster of new Gryffindors at the end of the table.

"Muto, Yugi!"

There was another round of whispers echoing through the hall as Yugi made his way up to the stool.

"Ack! Watch where you point that hair!"

/Oh, um, sorry. It's naturally that way…/

"Oho, I see you're just like the others. What an interesting year this will be – three students with two minds!"

/You're a very old hat. You must have been doing this for many years. Are we the first you've come across with two minds?/

"Today would be the first, my equally old friend. I see you have a case of missing identity."

/Partially. I know what I was, just not who I was./

"Very curious. However, it is not your mind I'm here to explore today. Though it shouldn't matter much, both of your minds are similar, like the last one."

/You mean Kaiba?/

"Yes. But we're not here to talk about him. Let's see what you've got going on in your head, shall we? Hmm…you're another quiet one, but you're certainly not afraid to get your hands dirty to stand up for your beliefs, are you? The both of you have been through some adventures – to put that mildly. Of the three of you, I daresay you may be the easiest!"

/Really? I…um…was worried that with the length of time it took you to decide for Ryou and Kaiba, that it would take just as long for me./

"Oh, no. Everyone is different. While your mysterious friend has shown some leanings towards Slytherin House, I believe you do not belong there. I have a different home in mind for you. You belong in GRYFFINDOR!"

Yugi sat down next to Seto. "How awesome – we all ended up in the same house. How about that!"

"The hat may have sensed if you wanted to be kept together, since you're all out of your element here," said Hermione. "It takes choices into account when picking your houses."

"Really?" asked Ryou. "I just thought it probed your brain a little and then sent you on your way."

"Harry's a good example of it," said Ron, "He asked the hat not to be placed in Slytherin."

"Speaking of…where is Harry?" asked Yugi, craning his neck to look up and down the table. "I still don't see him anywhere."

"I can't see why he would get held up," said Hermione. She took a look around as well. "I mean, I saw Tonks near the gates when we arrived, but he can't be there just talking. He would have known to get inside for the feast."

"I'm sure he has a good reason to be missing," said Ryou, "Maybe he's not feeling well and went right up to bed?"

"Can't, mate," said Ron, "The passwords to the dormitories were given out at the Prefect meeting. Harry wouldn't know the code to get through. Besides, he'd be missing the feast, and after sitting on the train all day with nothing but pumpkin pastries and licorice wands to eat, he'd be downright starving! …I know I am."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Only you can think of food at a time like this."