/Text/ Spirit to Host
/Text/ Host to Spirit
Chapter 18: Interruptions
Darkness. A chill wound its way through the tomb guardian's light clothing and seeped down to his very bones. He had been alone for what seemed like days, though it couldn't have been more than a few hours. The lack of window in the room to indicate the passage of time made it hard to tell just how long he had been here. The strange hooded men would come and go – but through what door, he wasn't sure. There was no light from an outside room or corridor to indicate any exit. Did they disappear and reappear, like magicians? The idea was ludicrous, even though he had spent his entire life, as did his ancestors, protecting golden artifacts that once nearly destroyed the planet.
"The Dark Lord grows impatient," said a voice from behind, and he jumped. How long had that man been in the room with him? He could barely see two feet in front of him, let alone twist around and look behind. His wrists were bound to the arms of the chair he sat in, positioned at the end of a table. He knew that much only because his foot kicked it by accident when he first woke here.
"If you will not share the secrets the Dark Lord desires…" said the man from behind, and he could hear him walking around the room, though he still couldn't see them. "Then there is no reason why we should return you to your family."
He hung his head, but stayed silent. Knowledge of the Millennium Items was not allowed to get out. As tomb keepers and guardians over two of the Millennium Items (that had since gone on to find their proper modern-day owners), he was tasked with waiting for the Pharaoh's return. And he had. The Ring had been a testy one to protect, but he had heard it had found its way to a white-haired youth. He could only pray that the boy was strong enough to take on the darkness inside, lest he fall victim like all of the others. And he had watched their leader pass on the Eye to a young man desperate enough to hold onto a dream that could never come true.
Knowing the Items were out in the wind was fine, as long as they all didn't return to their sacred shine together. Not without the Pharaoh. Many stories had been passed down on what could occur once the Pharaoh was released, and the Items could not be brought forth together until he had completed his 5,000 year-old destiny. Above all, the stories of the Millennium Items could not fall into the wrong hands...
Thankfully, two other Millennium Items were watched over by a neighboring clan, or, at least they were the last he had spoken to them. Their daughter had inherited the Necklace and the last he heard, she traveled with one of their most precious and guarded artifacts to Japan. He had questioned why, until whispers spread of a boy resembling their lost King spread across the desert.
"Your thoughts betray you, Tomb Guardian," said a high, cold voice – a different one than the other man in the room. Probably another someone in a mask. He had seen that much of his captors once. They all wore long black robes that looked well out of place for the hot, Egyptian weather. Though…perhaps he was no longer in Egypt…it would explain why he was so cold.
"I wish nothing more than to return you home, safe and sound," said the new voice again. It was low enough to almost be a whisper. "But you must do something for me, first. I already know you have the answers I seek."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was light in the room. Not bright enough to be blinding, but after being in the dark, he had to close his eyes against it until they could adjust.
The room was actually much bigger than he imagined it to be. A chair sat across the table opposite his, though it was unoccupied. There were three hooded men in the room. Two by the door he didn't think was even there, and the third was standing at the end of the table, with a stick in his hand. Was that supposed to be a weapon? Being hardly longer than a twig, it didn't give off the appearance of anything remotely intimidating.
The man who had spoken last to him walked around from behind his chair and now, with the lights in the room, he could truly see his captor. And he suddenly wished the lights were still off, for the face looking down at him hardly resembled much of a man anymore, with slits for nostrils and cold, red eyes. It was almost snake-like. His skin was deathly pale, near white. He didn't even want to know how someone could become so disfigured. Perhaps that was why the others wore masks. He tried not to think about it.
The snake-man tilted his head, as if considering something, then waved a stick of his own, and the ropes binding him to the chair vanished without a trace. "It has been some time since you have eaten, or drank," he said, "I cannot have you perish prematurely." He waved his strange stick again and a goblet appeared, with what looked like water inside. "My Death Eaters tell me you have so far been uncooperative. However, their means of persuasion could very well leave you permanently damaged." He sat down in the seat across the table.
No longer held down, the tomb guardian rubbed at his arms, his eyes locked onto the goblet. It was easier to look at that than the man before him. And the water was tempting.
"…And we can't have that, now can we?" Voldemort continued, "After going through all of the effort to collect you, it would be a waste to have your mind damaged before I can gather what I need."
"Please," Voldemort watched the tomb keeper squirm in his seat. "I don't know any –"
His laugh, loud and cold silenced his guest. "Now, now. Don't sell yourself short, my friend. After all, you and others like you have been tasked with secrets of the highest honor. You needn't worry about your family, your fellow guardians. I am not here to threaten their lives. Keeping such information guarded after all these years tends to take its toll. I am merely here to relieve you of the burden."
"I-I can't," the guardian whispered. Somehow, just the intensity of the man's gaze upon him was throwing him off. He had never had such an issue protecting the Pharaoh's secrets before. He couldn't let himself become loose-lipped. Even at the cost of seeing his sons again.
"You can," said Voldemort, "And you will. My servants have already shown you what they are capable of by means of persuasion…." He didn't miss the shudder that the tomb guardian involuntarily let out. "I will be much more direct. This is your last chance, and my final offer." He didn't gesture to the goblet of Veritaserum. Let the man believe it was water. "You can tell me what I wish to know willingly, or I will force it from you."
Domino City
Monday evening
"Is this it?" asked Roland. After Mokuba's insistence for the thousandth time, Roland set up his computer in Seto's home office, keeping an eye on the rotating camera feeds while he swept a glance over the form handed to him.
"Yep," said Mokuba. "It's supposed to be signed by my guardian, so I can go on the class trip next week. It's due tomorrow."
Roland looked down at the form. "Are you asking me to forge your brother's signature?"
Mokuba shook his head, "I don't know…I mean, I don't want to get in trouble for having that done…but Seto's not home. I was so caught up in Seto being around last week that I forgot to give it to him to sign. Aren't you technically my temporary guardian?"
"Not legally."
"Well, we won't be able to get it to Seto and back before its due. I don't know if they'll accept your signature." Mokuba stared down at his socks. "I really wanted to go, too."
"What would you have done if Mr. Kaiba was away at a conference for several days?"
Mokuba frowned. "I don't know…that's never happened before. He's always taken me with him. That's better than a school trip!"
"Well, if your teacher has a problem, she can contact me," Roland reached across the desk for a pen and signed the bottom of the form as the phone buzzed.
"Sir, there's a representative on the line from one of the legal divisions for Mr. Kaiba."
"Mr. Kaiba is currently out of the country," said Roland to the housekeeper on the other end of the line. "Legal knows this."
"I'm sorry sir, but they said it was urgent. They're on line 2."
Roland sighed. "I'll take it." He looked over at Mokuba, and then to his watch. "Go ahead and finish your homework. You need to be in bed in a few hours."
Mokuba made a mock salute before tossing his backpack onto the couch in the office. "Aye, Captain." He pulled out his workbooks and dug around for a pencil. He stole looks across the room. Roland didn't say too much to whoever was on the other end, but his fingers drummed along the desktop, which he knew the man only did when he was deep in thought over something. He watched the frown on the man's face deepen. Something must have happened, but a lot of the legal company matters went right over his head, so he doubted Roland would tell him what it was.
He looked up from his homework again at the sound of a cell phone vibrating along the top of the desk. Before he could ask what was wrong when the first call was hung, Roland had grabbed the cell and put it to his ear.
"Yes? ...What happened?" Mokuba watched as he asked the caller, positioning the cell against his ear with his shoulder and typing into the computer. Homework abandoned, Mokuba got up and walked around the desk.
"I'm tracking back on my end," said Roland to whoever was on the other end. "How long ago was it?"
Mokuba frowned. They were looking at camera feeds. But they weren't of the mansion or Kaiba Corp. It was to a house that they barely used; a property they inherited from their days with Gozaburo. Seto spent some time there once, when he needed to 'find himself' after his first duel with Yugi, but after being thrown into the mess that was Duelist Kingdom, the house hadn't been visited since. There was a caretaker that lived in their own home on the property that maintained the house and a minimal security detail, but that was it. Did someone break in? The stream of the feeds wasn't very good, and it was hard to make shapes out in the dark.
Mokuba wasn't sure exactly what he was looking to find until Roland ended the call. "What's going on?"
"There was a security breach at the other house," said Roland. "Pack a bag. I'm taking you to Mr. Muto's while I head there."
Mokuba blinked. "Won't I be safer with you? Or even here with all the guards? What kind of breach?"
"Security was compromised," said Roland shaking his head. "Fuguta is going to watch over you and Mr. Muto at the Game Shop tonight, and he will take you to school in the morning."
"What kind of breach?" Mokuba repeated. This was troubling. Roland never usually let him too far from his sight when he was entrusted to his care. He found it annoying, but his vigilance did stop more than one kidnapping attempt while they were in America. If Roland didn't want him with him, something serious must have happened.
"I don't know yet, that's why I'm going to the house to look at the feeds on site. It's too hard to tell over this connection. You are going to Mr. Muto's while I investigate. Please, sir, go upstairs and pack an overnight bag."
Mokuba sighed and gathered his homework back up. "What about the first call?"
"Don't worry about that. Go get your things together." He waited for Mokuba to leave the office before switching the feeds back to the mansion, and running through the last hour. Emmeline Vance spent the evening in the library with one of the other wizards – Podmore, by the looks of it. It wasn't the first time that one of the other two wizards visited the mansion, but it never left him with a good feeling. Weren't they supposed to watch over Yugi Muto's friends? It seemed rather taxing to leave it all for one person.
After password-protecting both computers, he stepped out of the office and locked it. Roland took three steps towards the library where he knew the wizards to be, and stopped. If the person on the end of the phone at the second house was to be believed, then he may not want to involve them. This could be a freak-out over nothing. But at the same time, Mr. Muto's home was much less secure than the mansion, even with Fuguta keeping guard. Would he be putting Mokuba in danger by alerting them that they were leaving for the night?
Roland shook his head. Dumbledore had obviously put high trust in the three wizards he left here to keep an eye on things. Hestia, Sturgis, and Emmeline were probably very good people and capable magicians. But Mr. Kaiba's concerns from his visit home, while seemingly unwarranted, could not be ignored. He was told the intruder seemed to vanish without a trace. Surely not one of those three, but….
Mind made up, he spun around on his heel and went upstairs, dialing the Game Shop as he moved toward Mokuba's bedroom.
.
Monday morning
The notice for the first Hogsmeade trip of the year went up on the common room message board first thing that morning. Harry and Ron descended the dormitory steps to see Yugi and Ryou amongst the gaggle of excited third years reading the post.
"Is it this weekend?" asked Harry. He wasn't going to try to maneuver through the crowd to find out, not when there was someone over there who could read it for him.
"Next," said Ryou. "What does this mean here – that a signed permission slip is needed to go to the village?"
Yugi looked at them, puzzled. "I don't remember getting a permission form with the Hogwarts letters."
"I'm surprised you didn't get one," said Harry, "We only had to get it signed once, and then it's on file somewhere. If you don't have permission to go, they don't let you off the grounds."
"I'm surprised that they're even allowing the Hogsmeade trips, considering You-Know-Who's out in the open and all," said Ron.
"Well, Hogsmeade has some of the same protections as the castle," said Hermione, "The main difference though is that you can apparate in and out."
"I was really looking forward to going and getting away from the castle, too," said Yugi, sadly, "Even if we get a hold of the form, it may not make it back in time."
"We can try though," said Ryou, "Even if we don't make it this time, there will be others, right?"
"Of course," said Hermione, "But honestly, there's only so much we're allowed to do there. Sometimes it loses its appeal after a few goes."
"But you've been able to go for years now," said Yugi, "It'll be the first time for us! And you know…there's only so much to do on the weekends if we're all caught up with our homework. Kaiba's just going to hide in an empty classroom and work the entire weekend away anyhow, and Ryou's tired of losing at Duel Monsters."
"I don't mind it, really," said Ryou sheepishly as they headed down to breakfast. "He won't stop putting up a fuss when we lose. You know how he is."
"Sore loser, huh?" said Ron.
Yugi took a quick glance around them. "The Spirit of the Ring has been trying to defeat the Pharaoh in a Shadow Game for as long as we've known him."
"Usually for him, losing is a ticket to the Shadow Realm," said Ryou, "Though he always seems to find his own way out. Recently though, I've been able to hear him swear up a storm every time Yugi wins."
"Is that why you two play instead of the spirits?" asked Harry, "To avoid Shadow Games?"
"There are a couple of reasons behind it," said Yugi, "We don't want people noticing that I get taller or Bakura's hair just kind of fluffs out. And you're right – if they're out playing, Bakura will more than likely summon a Shadow Game, which brings up all sorts of awkward questions for anyone who might stumble upon it. More importantly though, we made a promise to Professor Dumbledore that we wouldn't summon the Shadow Realm except in an extreme emergency."
"Which is now broken," Ryou sighed, "I don't even want to think of the trouble I'll end up in right now."
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will understand when he knows the whole story of what happened," said Hermione, "I mean…the spirit did it to protect you."
"I know," said Ryou miserably, "But I don't know if Professor Umbridge will see it that way." He went through his day dreading her class. Would Umbridge call him out in front of the entire room? Or would he be marched out to Dumbledore's office and then promptly kicked out of the school for his spirit's behavior?
/I don't see why you're so worried. It's not like you need a magical education/ Bakura crossed his arms. /We both know that I am more than capable of getting you out of any mess./
Ryou didn't feel it wise to remind him that while he was powerful and extremely dangerous, the spirit certainly did not do well enough in a fight against the Pharaoh – and Marik's darker half to back up that claim. That reassurance wasn't helping at all.
He sat down nervously in Defense Against the Dark Arts next to Seto, realizing that this was the first they had seen of the young executive all day. He stole a glance to his right. Seto was reading something off of his phone, with a frown deepening as his eyes scanned down the lines of text.
/I wonder where he was, earlier today?/
/Why are you so concerned with what the Priest does? It's no skin off your nose./
/Aside from the week he spent at home, he's never missed a class. It's just not like him./
Bakura rolled his eyes. /I'm sure he'll be flattered of your concern./
"Wands away, children!" said Professor Umbridge, closing the classroom door behind her with a loud click. "We will be having a quiet class today. Please open your books to read and notate Chapter 4, which covers Dementors and Inferi. There will be no need to talk."
Like the rest of the class, Ryou let out a small sigh and flipped his book open. Today was going to be another boring class, but if that was all they got out of Professor Umbridge for the day, he would take it. Umbridge seated herself at her desk and merely watched the class go about their note taking. How anyone can sit still and watch a group of teenagers read for an hour seemed like a boring way to pass the time, but Ryou tried not to think too much about it.
He didn't realize how much he had gotten engrossed in the section about Dementors to notice that Umbridge had gotten up and was now wandering the room. He briefly heard her chastise a pair of Hufflepuffs for not reading efficiently or taking notes.
How does one 'read efficiently?' What does that even mean!?
Bakura snorted. /Ask your desk partner. …Or, better, let the Toad ask him. I can feel the boredom radiating off of him. He hasn't snapped at anyone in a good while, and I want to be around when he finally does./
/He was off on Harry and the others Friday when he returned from Japan./
Bakura shrugged. /Yes, but little Yugi stepped in on that one. He's been avoiding them for most of the weekend. And honestly, if I lash out at anything, it's bound to get you into…more trouble. And you know Yugi won't complain about anything and make it worthwhile entertainment. So I'll have to settle for Kaiba going mad from the complete monotony of this class. You can't tell me that you are not tired of sitting in here every Monday reading about utter trash./
Ryou sighed and glanced to his right to see what his darker half was referring to. Seto's quill was back in its inkwell, and he was lazily paging through the book in a manner reminiscent of a patient sitting in a doctor's waiting room. He peeked at the page number and then flipped to the same spot in his own book.
/How is he three chapters ahead already?/
/Maybe he's 'reading efficiently'/ Bakura emphasized with air quotes.
Ryou ignored him and flipped back to his original spot in the book as Umbridge approached Dean and Neville, peering at their notes before nodding in approval and moving on to the next table.
His concentration was broken by the familiar yet muffled buzz from beside him. Ryou looked over at Seto, who froze turning the page of his book and reached into an inner pocket of his robes.
"They know you're in class, right?" Ryou whispered.
Seto pulled out his phone, still quietly vibrating, but now easily heard out in the open. He nodded; the boredom on his face replaced by a mixture of puzzlement and fear at the name displayed on the screen. "Roland knows my schedule. But it's near midnight there. He'd only call if it were an emergency."
Ryou saw Umbridge make her way up the row towards them as Seto got up and slipped out of the classroom.
"What was that?" she asked. "Where does he think he's going?"
Ryou swallowed. "He got a call from home."
"A call? What are you talking about?" said Umbridge. "What was that thing in his hand?"
"A phone," said Ryou, as if it was obvious. He had to remind himself that wizards and Muggle technology didn't mix, because explaining what a phone did felt rather foolish. "So he can keep in contact with his brother and company."
"Not in my classroom," she huffed. "This is a school, not a boardroom. It's about time he kept his education separate from his home life." She stormed through the rest of the aisle towards the door. By now the rest of the class had abandoned their work in favor of watching her lose her cool. She turned back to the rest of the room once she reached the door. "Keep reading. There should be no talking while I'm gone." Angrily, she threw the door open with much more than necessary force and stalked into the hallway.
"What just happened?" asked Harry, twisting around to look out the open door, as if either of them were going to walk back in at any moment.
"I don't know," said Yugi. "I didn't think he kept his phone on him while in class."
"I didn't either," said Ryou, "But he thinks it might have been an emergency. It's the middle of the night back home."
A few students crept towards the door as they heard Umbridge's voice rise from out in the hall.
"Seto Kaiba," they heard Umbridge shout, "We are in the middle of a lesson. I will not have you interrupting my class with this nonsense."
They couldn't hear his response to that at all, but it must not have been what Umbridge wanted to hear, because they could hear her sputtering from all the way down the hall.
The few students that had crept closer to the door bolted back to their seats upon hearing her hurried footsteps coming closer. Harry could have sworn he heard something about detention thrown out during one of Umbridge's outbursts.
Seto swept back into the room and gathered up his books, ignoring the curious stares from around the class as well as Umbridge's seething purple-faced rage.
"This is ridiculous," said Umbridge, "There are rules here, Mr. Kaiba. Against my judgement, you have already been allowed to return home for more than your estimated allowance that was agreed upon over the summer. Your work is being handled by others. This is where you belong."
"Where I belong?" Seto shot back, "Last week, two students went home due to Death Eater attacks. In that time of need, they belonged with their family. The only thing ridiculous here is that I have an emergency at my home, but I am not allowed clearance to leave and check up on my twelve year-old brother."
"Is Mokuba okay?" asked Yugi worriedly, getting up from his seat. "What happened?"
"Yugi Muto, sit down and return to your books," Umbridge snapped, and she addressed the room. "That goes for all of you! Turn back around, right now, or I will have all of you joining him in detention." Standing in the doorway, she crossed her arms and held her ground. "You need permission to leave, Mr. Kaiba. You are not in control here, I am. And right now, you are going to sit in this classroom, and continue today's lesson with the rest of your peers."
Seto finished jamming the stopper back on his ink and threw his laptop bag over his shoulder. "It's a good thing you don't handle my travel arrangements then. If I don't have your permission to leave, then I'll take this up with the Headmaster, who takes the safety and security of mine and my peers' families rather seriously." Stepping towards the door, he glowered down at Umbridge. "If you expect me to choose staying here over the welfare of my only living family, then you're horribly mistaken. But go ahead, give me detention, if it makes you feel better. I'll serve it when I get back." Angrily, Seto brushed past her and out the classroom door, slamming it shut behind him.
No one moved. Umbridge slowly made her way back to the front of the room, flexing her chubby fingers in and out of fists as she tried to control her breathing and calm herself down again. She was quite aware that none of the students had listened to her, and for an instant, couldn't blame them for watching the complete outburst that had broken the usual calm and quiet of her class. How dare that boy go up and beyond her authority like that!
No matter, she thought to herself as she reclaimed her seat at the front of the room, he will soon learn not to do that again.
The bell tolled signaling the end of the first hour block by the time the class finally returned to their books. Umbridge sighed, one more hour….
The murmurs of students moving through the halls broke through the silence of the classroom. Normally, Umbridge would give them a brief break from the class and resume once the bell tolled again, but Harry noted that was unlikely to happen today. He wasn't the only one puzzled in the room either. Some of the Hufflepuffs on the other side of the room looked unsure if they should keep their quills and ink out or put them away. The second half of their double class usually involved some sort of hands-on lesson.
"Wands away, please," said Umbridge irritably, "For the rest of this class, finish your work on the current chapter, and then move to the section on the Unforgivable Curses. Read the bit on the Imperius Curse and copy the text three times for maximum retention. There is no need to talk."
Yugi watched her grab a sheet of parchment and begin to scribble something frantically across the surface. Sighing, he flipped the pages of his book back to the table of contents and searched for the passages on Unforgivable Curses. The rest of the class seemed to share in his lack of excitement for this task. Even Hermione, who normally would be reading and writing at furious speeds, was taking her sweet time getting to the correct page. It seemed no one was relishing the thought of wasting more of their parchment today.
"Do we really have to write all this down three times?" he whispered to Hermione.
She nodded glumly, "If she doesn't think we're working hard enough, she'll even collect and grade the notes."
Yugi hung his head. You've got to be kidding.
"No talking!"
Yugi quickly dipped his quill back into his inkwell and began to write.
/This Imperius Curse really does sound similar to the effects of the Millennium Rod./
/Yeah. It's kind of eerie. Check this part out, Pharaoh – 'the curse may allow the victim whatever skills necessary to complete their directed task, such as allow them to cast spells beyond their regular knowledge or increased physical strength.'/
/That seems like a blessing and a downfall with this curse./
/How so?/
/Think about it, Yugi. I imagine if someone wanted to be discreet about who was under this curse, they couldn't task the person to do something out of their scope because it would give it away something was wrong./
/Hm. It does say though that a strong-willed individual could resist the effects, but I bet that would take a ton of mental stamina to do, especially if it was a strong casting. Otherwise the castor could cause serious mental damage to the victim. …And this is the least dangerous of the three curses?/
"Hem, hem."
Yugi jumped and nearly spilled his ink bottle. "Professor?" He didn't realize Umbridge had left her station at the front of the room again, let alone come this way.
"You're not writing, Mr. Muto. Is something wrong?" Her sugary-sweet voice was back, as if she hadn't turned into a purple-faced screaming machine only thirty minutes ago. It made Yugi wonder if she had an internal switch to flip the false-sweetness on and off.
Yugi shook his head quickly. "No, Professor. I'm sorry, I was just caught up in reading, I guess."
"Hm." Umbridge didn't sound too convinced. She held out a slip of paper to him. "Please take this to Professor McGonagall after today's lesson. I expect to see you and Mr. Bakura with the Headmaster this evening."
Yugi swallowed. He had a feeling she was going to want an explanation for what happened with the Boggart, and he knew Ryou was dreading exactly that all day. "Yes, Professor."
"And watch what you're doing, Mr. Muto, or you'll drip ink over your notes. We wouldn't want you to have to write everything all over again, now would we?"
"No, ma'am."
"Good." Umbridge nodded and moved across the way, taking a look at Malfoy and Crabbe's progress.
Yugi looked down at the envelope in his hand. It was sealed shut, so he couldn't open and read it.
Umbridge finally made her way back up to the front of the room as the bell chimed the end of their class. "I expect a complete essay on the effects of and resistance to the Imperius Curse by our next class. No less than two feet of parchment."
There was a series of groans around the room as books were collected and the class filed out.
"What was that all about?" asked Ron.
Ryou shook his head. "I've never seen anyone go as red-faced as she did today. It seemed very silly if you ask me."
"Seto had a point though," asked Hermione as they climbed the steps, "Umbridge really had no right to try and keep him in class if there was truly an emergency at home with his little brother."
"I wonder what her angle is," said Harry, "We still don't know why she's here in the first place. Considering she doesn't want to teach us anything at all."
"She's been watching us," said Hermione, "For what, I don't know. I don't know if she was truly trying to keep you guys in the school or not. Maybe she was more upset that his phone went off and caused a disruption. It's not like she's ever heard of a cell phone before."
"Then I would think she just would have tried to confiscate it," said Ron. "And I wouldn't see that going over well either, seeing how long it took him to get the thing working."
Yugi shrugged and paused as their staircase moved into place at the end of the corridor. "I have to take this letter to Professor McGonagall."
"Might as well go back to the common room and swap out the books first. We don't know how long we'll be in her office and I don't want to be unprepared for her class."
"Me neither."
After entering the portrait hole, Harry and his friends crashed into empty seats by the fire. Yugi made his way across the room towards the dormitory steps and up to his room.
Seto had changed back into one of his suits and was knotting his tie in front of the full-size mirror in the room when Yugi walked in.
"Kaiba, I thought you had left already," said Yugi, "Is everything okay? What happened at home?"
"I'm leaving now," said Seto, glancing at his watch, "Dumbledore is escorting me back after his meeting with the Minister." He glanced at Ryou walking through the doorway before continuing. "Roland was alerted a security breach at one of my properties. It looked like a wizard apparated and disapparated from the site."
"Maybe it was Sturgis or one of the other two people Dumbledore left behind to watch Grandpa and the others?" said Yugi. "Could they be worrying over nothing?"
Seto shook his head, adjusted his jacket and grabbed his phone off of the bed. "No. This wasn't my house or Kaiba Corp, but another property I inherited through Gozaburo. Aside from the security and grounds staff, no one lives there. We didn't even tell the wizards about it."
Ryou tilted his head. "So why were wizards there?"
"That's what I'm going to find out."
"Wait," Yugi reached for Seto's arm before he was completely out the door. "I don't know how long you'll be there…but, will you check on Grandpa for me? I won't push for Joey or the others, though I'm worried about them too, but…."
"I'll stop by," said Seto, glaring down at the hand clutching his arm, and giving it a slight shake. "Mokuba's staying there anyway."
Yugi nodded and let go. "Thank you."
"You took side-along apparation well for your first time," said Dumbledore lightly, "Most people get dizzy or vomit."
Seto rolled his eyes. "I'm not like most people."
"No," Dumbledore chuckled, "You are not." They made their way down the garden path leading up to the mansion in the dark. Despite no one living in the house, all of the lights were on. The guards for the property were no doubt searching the place inside and out for any intruder still lingering behind.
"I take it you will want to search for your bodyguard," said Dumbledore, illuminating the path with his wand. "If I may, I'll walk the grounds and see if anything was left behind." He pulled a strange looking object from his pocket. "This is a sort of dark detector. It can find concealed magic and dark objects. I'd rather not have anything dangerous left here."
Seto nodded once and headed inside, moving to where he knew the camera playback system was located. It had been a long time since he had stepped foot in this house. He had meant to sell it a long time ago. It stood as one of the last reminders of the days under Gozaburo, although he last stayed here after the old man disappeared. Now the last memories of this place were of defeat, attempted murder, and betrayal.
Seto shook his thoughts aside as Roland looked up from the triple-monitors in front of him.
"Mr. Kaiba," Roland stood up, "I hope I didn't interrupt anything important."
Seto snorted. "This outweighs anything I could have been doing over there. Is Mokuba…?"
"He's fine, sir. Worried and shaken up, but safe. Fuguta is at the Game Shop with them."
Seto nodded. "Did you find out who it was?"
"Yes, and no," Roland typed something into the computer and turned one of the monitors around. "It's too dark to make out faces, but…" he hit the button to begin playback of the video. "In this feed here, someone clearly appears out of nowhere. They make it halfway across the way to the house before tripping the motion sensor. In a minute or so, security starts investigating and – there. That's when they disappear."
"They didn't expect to be seen," said Seto. "They don't fight, don't cast magic, they just go…." Why? He massaged his forehead. None of this made sense. "Why here? How did they even find this place? I didn't mention this house to Dumbledore or any of the wizards when they first arrived. I would have expected this sort of thing from the main house, or Kaiba Corp."
"But they can't get to those places," said Roland. He paused. "I may have an answer, but you're not going to like it."
Seto scowled. "I already don't like it."
Roland pushed a steaming mug across the desk. "You'll want to sit down for this, sir."
Seto accepted the coffee. "How much trouble are we in?"
"Legal called this evening. It looked like someone was trying to make a payday by getting at some of your financial data. It didn't work, of course, but when we dug back into it, whoever was responsible was probing into all sorts of information. Kaiba Corp's history and profits, real estate ventures, everything." Roland reached into the desk, pulled out a sheet of paper with their search results, and slid it across the surface. "We didn't find the exact person who did it, but we traced it all the way back to the United Kingdom."
"That can't be a coincidence," said Seto.
"No, sir."
"What about Yugi's grandfather and the others?"
"I spoke to Mr. Muto this evening before dropping off Mokuba," said Roland, "So far nothing out of the ordinary, but they probably don't have a team set up to prevent breaches in privacy."
"Hn," Seto tilted his head back against the wall he was propped against and stared up at the ceiling. "They didn't get into the house. Or even across the lawn. Assuming these were the Death Eaters, they could have taken security out with ease, but they didn't. Actually, it doesn't have to be Voldemort and his followers – any wizard could have gotten past security if they caught them enough off guard. But nothing was gained here. I don't get it."
Roland hesitated a moment and reached back into the desk drawer. "There's more."
Seto frowned and looked at the next sheet of paper. "I thought you said they dug into my private life. This is a report on you."
"I know." Roland stiffened. "We're being watched, and I can't say for certain if it is or isn't the three wizards that are supposed to be protecting us. This house? It was supposed to be the backup plan, in case the Death Eaters arrived. It's secure – at least, by our standards – and we didn't tell any wizards about it, so unless they literally followed us here, it wouldn't be found."
Seto thumped his head against the wall again. "That's not going to work anymore." He looked down at the paper in his hands. "You're going to have to be much more discreet about this."
Roland raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how much more discreet I can be, considering I didn't speak of this specific plan to anyone, not even Mokuba."
Seto crossed his arms and drummed his fingers against the crook of his elbow, realization sinking in. When he finally spoke, he turned and looked his most trusted employee in the eyes. "Listen to me very carefully. There is a deposit box in the main branch of the Domino First Bank. I created it right after Duelist Kingdom, a few weeks before you were reinstated. The idea was an untraceable exit, to protect Mokuba. The box isn't linked to my name and I can count how many people know about it on one hand."
"Sir?"
Seto reached under his collar and tugged at the card locket around his neck. Popping it open, he carefully removed the photo of his little brother to reveal a small key taped to the locket backing. "Box 713."
Roland looked down as the key was pressed into his hand. "I don't understand."
Seto shook his head, replaced the locket around his neck, and set the mug down on the desk. "This was a test, Roland, and we played right into their hands. Do we know who it was? No, it doesn't matter, but for the sake of argument, assume it was Voldemort. He doesn't know anything about us, not personally. But somehow, they're able to spoof background checks on both of us. So they not only know everything associated to my name, but they've been spying around long enough here to know that you've got the only reason I would leave the security of Hogwarts and come back here."
Roland nodded slowly, glancing over at the camera feeds. Dumbledore had finished circling the perimeter of the grounds and was slowly heading back towards the house, probably looking for Mr. Kaiba. "And because of the protection placed around the mansion, they choose a different place, out of the way to see what you would do if your security was breached."
"I came running," said Seto, scowling. "Imagine what would have happened if there was a trap waiting here for me."
"You didn't come alone."
Seto shook his head, "No. Not this time. Even if tonight was baited, I doubt Voldemort – assuming he was behind this – would have tried anything with Dumbledore here. But of the three of us, I'm the easiest target. It doesn't matter if I use magical means or not, but I have scheduled trips back for work. If we're being watched here, who's to say there's no one keeping a watchful eye out at Hogwarts, too? I disappear from school for a week at a time. Someone is bound to notice a pattern as time goes on.
"He only has to get one of us to break, and then everything we'll have tried to prevent by going to that school in the first place would have been for nothing," said Seto, "So you take that key, and use anything and everything from that box that you need to, however you need to, to keep Mokuba safe." He closed his eyes and hit his head against the wall again, much harder this time than before. "And you might as well lump Yugi's Dream Team in there, too."
Roland's eyes snapped up. That was the last thing he expected from his boss's mouth. "W-what?"
Seto let out a huge exhale. "We can't assume it was just us being watched. All it'll take is for something to happen to Wheeler or any of the others and Yugi's going to cave to any demands made. They won't have the means to get off the grid like we do. Plan for the worst-case scenario you can think of, and build a contingency plan." He pushed himself off of the wall and headed towards the door. "Just don't tell me about it."
"S-sir?"
"After all of the magical nonsense both of us have witnessed from these damn magical items alone, I won't put it past the wizards to be able to do some sort of mind-probe. Some of their illegal spells involve mind control. IF something were to happen to me, Mokuba would be the most obvious form of leverage they could find. I won't be the one to lead them right to him."
"…Understood."
Seto sighed. "Good. Now if we're done here…we might as well find Dumbledore. I doubt our trespasser left anything behind, and I want to check in on Mokuba before I go back."
Roland furrowed his brow and looked down at his watch. "Sir, it's nearly two in the morning. He does have school tomorrow. We can check in with Fuguta, but Mr. Muto should have sent Mokuba to bed already. He's probably also asleep. It's too late to call on them now."
"I told Yugi I would check on his grandfather before coming back. I suppose I'll be staying the night then."
"Ah! There you are," said Dumbledore, knocking on the open door. "A rather cross gentleman upstairs told me I would find you here."
"Professor," Roland nodded.
"Good evening, Mr…Roland, was it? A pleasure to see you again, though I wish we could do so under better circumstances." He turned to Seto. "There was nothing left behind, though I expect that was not the intruder's intention."
"It was a test, then," said Seto.
"I see we've come to the same conclusion," Dumbledore nodded, "If I had known this house existed, we could have put the protections here as well, and this trouble may have been avoided."
"Mokuba and I don't live here, so I didn't see the reason behind it," said Seto, "I own a lot of properties. It would be a waste of time and effort to have you cast spells on all of them, especially when they don't get used. My home, company, and Mokuba's school was enough."
"I see," said Dumbledore, "I plan to see my colleagues before we return to Hogwarts. We will have to be more vigilant in the future. I trust that won't interfere with any plans of your own."
Seto followed him back out of the room and up the stairs towards the ground level. "That's fine. I want to check in with Mokuba, though we'll both have to wait until morning."
"Ah, yes, I've forgotten about the jump in time," said Dumbledore, "There were matters I needed to discuss with you and Mr. Muto and Bakura back at Hogwarts this evening, but that may wait until tomorrow. By the time we return to Hogwarts, it will be too late. I'll send a message to Minerva about our change in plans." He eyed Seto over his half-moon spectacles, "Do not stray too far. The wizards that spooked your alarm may have gone from here, but it's possible others may still be in the area."
"You don't have to treat me like a child," said Seto, his frown deepening. "I am fully capable of taking care of myself."
"Of which I have no doubts, but alas, I am an obsessive worrywart," said Dumbledore casually, "Please indulge me just tonight."
"Will you be…disappearing back to Domino?" asked Roland, for lack of a better word.
Dumbledore shook his head. "While you took it rather admirably, Mr. Kaiba, I can tell you did not enjoy side-along apparation. It would take some time for you to travel by your conventional means back to town, and I don't wish to be too far from you, just in case. If you don't mind the company…it has been quite some time since I've ridden in an automobile…."
A/N: Thanks for reading! There probably won't be an update again until 2018 begins. In the meantime….if you're in the mood for a light, cheery, friendship/fluffy holiday story, you can check out Let it Snow! which will be my December project. See you next time!