A/N: Sorry for the update delay. I was working on some other fics in the background. Updates should be more on a monthly-ish schedule from here on out. :)

/Text/ Spirit to Host

/Text/ Host to Spirit

Chapter 41: Debrief

Harry hurried down the stairs towards the Great Hall and shoved the invisibility cloak haphazardly into his bag. It was lucky that he woke unnaturally early this morning, and just in time for him to see Malfoy blink off of the Marauders Map into the Room of Requirement. He dressed and snuck out of Gryffindor Tower as fast as he could, and sat in a small alcove in the wall along the seventh-floor corridor, just past the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

Malfoy seemed to stay in there for upwards of an hour before Harry caught eyes on the door materializing across the way, and then he was out and down the corridor before Harry could even get up and pocket the map.

Once Malfoy had turned the corner and was out of sight, Harry made a beeline for the door, but it vanished before he could reach it.

Harry let out a frustrated sigh, leaned back against the stone wall, and crossed his arms. If only he had gotten up maybe two seconds earlier, he might have been able to sneak inside and see what sort of trouble Malfoy was getting himself into.

What could Voldemort have possibly ordered him to do that Snape had to make an Unbreakable Vow in order to offer aid? And if whatever he had to do was falling behind, why wouldn't he let Snape help him?

Was Voldemort punishing him – and by extension, the rest of his family – for how the skirmish at the Department of Mysteries turned out?

Harry huffed. What was it? An interest in a Vanishing Cabinet…that didn't seem to go anywhere, and a cursed necklace that was meant for Dumbledore but wouldn't have stood any chance of actually getting onto the school grounds with all of the Aurors (not to mention Filch) doing checkpoints on everyone going in and out.

There had to be more to it…but what?

Harry furrowed his brow. If Snape really did know about whatever Malfoy was up to…then there was also the chance that Snape wasn't as aligned on the side of good that Dumbledore believed him to be. Snape used to be a Death Eater. Was he laying low this entire time, waiting for the right opportunity to turn tail on Dumbledore and everyone else at Hogwarts? Is that why he made the Unbreakable Vow? Because he wanted Malfoy to succeed? Or, was it like Remus suggested – was he doing this just to find out what Malfoy was up to, and either report it to Dumbledore, or find a way to stop him himself?

But if that were the case…why go through such an extreme as making an Unbreakable Vow?

Dumbledore really did put a lot of trust in Snape, and Dumbledore was rarely ever wrong, but…maybe this one time…?

With a quick glance at the wall behind him, Harry shook his head. Despite whatever his feelings were about Snape, without any proof of what was really going on, the only way he was going to solve this puzzle was to get into the Room of Requirement. He was just going to have to keep a better eye on Malfoy and try and catch him entering the room. Maybe then he could sneak in after him with the cloak and no one would be any wiser.

But until then? Back to the drawing board.

Harry pushed himself off the wall and looked at his watch. By now everyone should still be at breakfast. If he hurried, he could get there and still have time to eat something decent before the first class of the week started.

Not that he had to rush off anywhere. He and Ron would probably end up with Neville playing Exploding Snap in the common room while Hermione and Seto ran off to Advanced Arithmancy.

Speaking of whom, seeing Seto sitting at the Gryffindor Table for the first time in weeks, surrounded by coffee, a half-touched plate of breakfast, and his giant Arithmancy book evened out his bitter mood of missing entry into the Room of Requirement. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he crossed the Great Hall and sat next to Ryou.

Despite his setback earlier this morning, maybe this was a sign that things were slowly returning to normal.

"Was wondering what happened to you," said Ron, through a mouthful of sausage, "You know how early Dean gets up in the morning, and he said you were gone."

"Oh," said Harry, "I, uh, couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk."

Hermione eyed his bag curiously. "Oh, are you going to the Library after breakfast?"

Harry blinked. "What?"

She pointed to his bag as the first owls of the day began swooping through the high open windows of the Great Hall, dumping newspapers and personal letters next to their intended targets.

"Oh, yeah," Harry lied, "I was hoping to find something to help with Snape's essay."

"You still haven't written it?" said Ryou, jaw-dropped. He set his fork down. "Harry, it's due on Wednesday!"

Harry shrugged.

Seto gave him the barest of side-eyes as a barn owl dropped a thin envelope onto his book. "I see some things haven't changed," he muttered, and reached for his coffee. "Still the procrastinator."

"I still have time," Harry countered back. "And you're one to talk, anyhow! You only missed two weeks of assignments."

Upon the look of absolute murder that was sent back his way, Harry quickly backpedaled. Even Yugi had flinched at it. "I mean – I know it wasn't your fault or anything…."

"I'm sure, after everything, the professors are going to give extra time to get it all done," said Yugi, "It wouldn't be fair otherwise."

Harry snorted and took a long gulp of pumpkin juice, missing Hermione press her lips into a thin line to try and hide the amused look on her face as she pointedly didn't look at Seto. "You know Snape isn't going to show leniency." He looked to Seto. "Don't be surprised that he demands all of his homework due the instant you set foot in the dungeons."

"Yeah, you might need to hunker down in the Library," said Ron, "Between Snape and Umbridge, you'll be writing essays until your fingers fall off."

Seto raised an eyebrow.

"What, you don't believe us?" said Ron.

Seto poked half-heartedly at the eggs on his plate before looking at Hermione. "…They don't know, do they?"

Hermione suddenly found her breakfast very interesting as she fought to keep her face neutral against the smile trying to force its way out.

"What?" Ron's eyes darted between them, his voice rising, instantly suspicious. "What don't we know?"

"Seto finished Professor Snape's essay…," said Hermione.

"What!" Harry's jaw dropped.

"…And Professor Umbridge's assignments as well."

"When!?"

Seto reached for the dropped envelope. "What else was I supposed to do in the Hospital Wing?"

"I dunno," Ron spluttered. "Sleep?"

"I did enough of that, thanks," Seto said. He slid the small card out and read the note. "…Apparently Dumbledore wants to see me in his office tonight."

"Oh, so he's back then!" said Yugi, "I was wondering where he was this past week."

Harry nibbled on his toast. Hopefully this also meant that his next meeting about Voldemort's past would be coming up too.

"I expected him to make an appearance in the Hospital Wing," Seto said, "All of the other professors did…"

Ron's eyes widened. "Even Snape? And Umbridge?"

"I didn't see Umbridge, but I was told Roland kept shooing her away," said Seto, "And I saw Snape once, dropping off potions."

He got up, and after filling his travel coffee mug, reached for his bag. "In any case, it looks like I'll finally get my phone back tonight." He looked at Yugi. "And then you can have yours back."

Yugi nodded. "Mokuba expecting you to call today?"

"At lunch, as usual."

Hermione swung her legs around the table bench and grabbed her bag as well. "Well, I'm off too. I'll see you all in Herbology?"

Ryou blinked. "There's a few hours break in the middle. You're not going to come back to the common room?"

She shook her head. "We're going to review the Transfiguration theory from the last two weeks. It's the only bit we haven't touched yet."

"Oh," said Yugi, "Alright then. We'll see you guys later."

Ron watched them leave. "…Did we miss something?"

Harry furrowed his brow. "Miss what?"

Ron jabbed a thumb towards the main doors to the Great Hall.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Yugi said, before anyone else could cut in, and he practically felt the surprised blink Yami made from their shared mind corridor at the chill in his voice.

/Yugi?/

"When did he have time to write all those essays? Umbridge just assigned hers the day he got back – and we all saw the size parchment Snape expected us to fill."

"He wrote it in the Hospital Wing," Yugi said flatly. "You didn't notice, because you and Harry didn't visit him a whole lot. And that's okay. I did, because my friends from home were here and that's more or less where they had set up camp. But while you were playing Exploding Snap and Wizard Chess, Hermione has been up visiting him every day, and dropping off schoolwork since he overcame his fever and stopped sleeping all day long.

"Aside from the day Madam Pomfrey knocked him out to fix his leg, he's had nothing except schoolwork to do. So yeah, it's no surprise he wrote his essays faster than the rest of us."

He sighed internally. /It's…just so frustrating./

/I know./

/I thought…after we came back from break that Ron was over this whole mess with Hermione. She stopped leaving the room whenever Lavender would show up, and at least started treating Ron better than she did before we left for Domino. I don't know what changed, or if Kaiba's abduction was the push we didn't know we needed…but I really don't want them going back to fighting./

Ryou leaned forward towards the other suddenly, a slight distant look in his eyes before he focused again on his friends. "So…now that he's gone, the Spirit wants to finally bring up the elephant in the room."

Yugi glanced around them. They were clustered far enough down the Gryffindor table that there was no one else around, and even the Ravenclaw table behind them was relatively empty, with most of the House getting up to head to their first class. He finally turned back, noting that even Harry and Ron had shifted in closer.

"Which is?"

No one could see the Millennium Ring flash with it hidden under Ryou's robes, but they caught the slight change in his hair and eyes.

"You know what," Bakura hissed. "The Rod. How are we going to get it back?"

"We don't even know where it is," said Ron, "Oh, unless we use that trick we did to find Seto in the first place."

Harry shook his head. "We can't – that plan tripped either that pin or his phone, and both of those are back here now."

Yugi's eyes briefly darted to Ryou's chest. "Can you still not track it?"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "If I could, I would have."

Harry glanced at the Great Hall doors. "Seto managed to escape. You think he could tell us where he was kept in the first place?"

Yugi shrugged. "I don't know."

/It's also not just the Millennium Rod – we have to figure out what Voldemort wanted from him in the first place. And if he didn't get it, what are the chances he may try again. Kaiba may have gotten out, but he may not be out of danger./

"But that's the kicker, isn't it?" said Ron, once Yugi relayed the Pharaoh's thought, "He has to want to tell us anything."

Bakura snorted. "You'd have better luck drawing water from a rock."

"Maybe he will," said Yugi, "But…not yet. I know we can't just leave the Millennium Rod with Voldemort, but it's as you said – he can't use it. We have to let Kaiba open up when he's ready, otherwise he'll just shut us out. He just got out of the hospital, and this is his first day back to class. I'm not going to push the issue today, and you guys really shouldn't either."

Bakura got up. "There's one other thing you haven't considered. Voldemort may not be able to do anything with the Millennium Rod, but we both know he's not the only one interested in Kaiba."

Ron's eyes widened. "That's right – that shadow monster."

"He doesn't need a Millennium Item to ravage someone's mind," said Bakura. "He doesn't even need to be physically here. But we know he's had an interest in Kaiba and his memories. And now the Rod and Priest Set are stuck with him. That should be enough cause to get them back as soon as possible."

"You don't even like Priest Set," said Harry.

"And as much as I'm relishing in his absence, the point still stands," said Bakura. "We don't know how much the Priest actually remembers about the past, or what Voldemort or the Shadow are looking for. The sooner we get the Millennium Rod back, the safer we'll all be."

Yugi sighed.

After being bedridden for the last week, he was ready for the return to his routine. To get up, savor his morning coffee (oh, how he missed the caffeine), and start the daily grind of going back to class. He didn't expect any of his professors to coddle him from his two-week absence, but he couldn't help but grin at the surprise by both Professors Vector and Sprout when he turned in all of his missed assignments before the start of his lessons, and downright refused Professor Vector's insistence that he sit for that day's exam on Thursday afternoon when he didn't have any class scheduled, to give him more time to learn the material.

…Did no one realize just how bored he was stuck on bedrest?

When Seto walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts and took his usual seat beside Bakura, he did expect Umbridge to make some sort of fuss over him, in some sort of ploy to get whatever it was she was secretly wanting.

She was, after all, barred from visiting him last week.

But no, the double class started as normal with reading and note-taking, and she didn't approach him once.

Very odd. Not unwelcome, but odd just the same.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, who had come to see him at least twice in the hospital, had already collected his missing work and set their next class on the start of a new type of lesson: human transfiguration.

With a mirror at each desk, they had to attempt to change the color of their own eyebrows.

Silently.

The spell didn't seem difficult on the surface, yet he found himself unable to cast it properly. He hadn't this much trouble performing spells since the beginning of the year, after a rough night of the Shadow Magus running wild through his mind, leaving him with nothing but a fierce migraine in the morning and an inability to charm vinegar into wine.

Beside him, Hermione didn't seem to be having much luck either. If she, who was arguably the best in the class, was having this much difficulty casting the spell, then surely his failure wasn't nearly as bad.

It didn't help him feel any better.

But even focusing as best as possible, there was something, somewhere in the back of his mind that just didn't feel right. Was it due to Set being gone? No, that couldn't be it – if anything, the lack of the extra voice in his ear should help him focus, not hinder it.

Even in Herbology earlier, while they were reading up on Venomous Tentacula, he found it difficult to tune in to his book. It wasn't even a voice, but a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that his study of magical herbs and plants was a waste of time, and that there were much more important things he could be doing.

And maybe it was. After this war ends, what use would he have for knowledge of Venomous Tentacula or how to conjure birds from the air or change the color of his eyebrows?

But this quiet nag in the depths of his brain never seemed to come out before. Sure, he would rather sit on his laptop and take care of all of the Kaiba Corp work that he missed. But what was so different now? It couldn't just be because Set was gone…could it?

"Seto?"

A hand pressed gently down on his wrist and his entire arm seized up as he jerked it out from under Hermione's light grip, blinking himself out of his thoughts. She looked at him, eyes wide and concerned.

"I'm sorry - are you alright?" she whispered, sparing a quick peek around the room. Professor McGonagall was on the far side of the classroom, where Seamus had inadvertently shattered his mirror in his attempt to smoke off his eyebrows.

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I can't concentrate."

"The spell is hard," she admitted, "But I think you were focusing a bit too much." She waved her hand out near the end of Seto's wand, where light wisps of smoke were coming off it. It was clear he was in his own world for a while. While everyone else in the room had their wands aimed towards their eyebrows, Seto's after a while rested in his hand against the desk, pointing lazily at the mirror. "I know you'll be able to get it. It just takes practice."

She tilted her head. "You can always try it verbally first, to get the rhythm of it down. That's what I've been doing. It's hard to watch myself casting it both in front of me and through the mirror at the same time. I think that's part of my problem."

Seto drummed his fingers against the edge of the desk, raised his wand and tried again.

Still nothing.

"This is frustrating," he growled quietly. "I can do it. It's not hard. But it's not producing results."

Hermione bristled slightly. That's great, that Seto was really that confident in his abilities. But the spell was difficult, all human transfigurations were, that's why they weren't explored until at least 6th year. The bird conjuring charm was seemingly as difficult, and he mastered it with ease.

But circumstances were different then.

"You're not pushing yourself too far, are you?"

He glared at her, and she held up her hands in retreat. "I'm just asking. It's your first day back. You don't have to prove anything, not to me or anyone else. It's probably natural that it'll take time to get back to where you were before."

"I'm fine," he said, and Hermione blinked, angling her head back slightly. He hadn't intended for that to sound so harsh.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I haven't been able to focus on much of anything since Vector's exam."

Hermione frowned, and eyed past him. Professor McGonagall was still on the other side of the room. "Maybe…maybe you just need a good night's rest."

He gave her a pointed look. "Sleep? Really?"

"I know, it's all you did last week. I know. We all know. But…maybe the mental recharge will be good for you. When did you turn in last night? You were still in the common room when I went to bed."

"…Late."

She raised an eyebrow. If he didn't want to admit the time, the answer was probably "very late".

"I think…after your meeting with Professor Dumbledore, you should try turning in early. No dreamless sleep potion or a diluted sleeping draught, no work, just head upstairs. Maybe you're trying to catch up on too many things at once, and that's part of what's wrong."

"Hn…"

After the bell rang, signaling the end of class and Professor McGonagall dropped their next assignment (a full roll of parchment on the risks of human transfigurations), Yugi met them by the door.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "I saw your wand smoking from the row back."

"Peachy," Seto muttered and brushed past him and down the corridor towards the Grand Staircases. A quick dump of his books in the dormitory, something to eat, and then he could get this meeting with Dumbledore over and done with, get his phone back, and finish some work in before bed.

He barely listened to whatever Harry and Yugi were carrying on with for conversation as he forced himself to eat dinner, not feeling incredibly hungry.

Why was today so…off? He was able to practice spells in the hospital. Hell – Mokuba even once watched, excitedly, as Professor Flitwick personally tutored the knitting charm by his bedside last Thursday after dinner. If there was any voice in his head telling him his classwork was a waste of time, it was that spell, but at least it was easy to learn.

Still, he was much more mentally and physically exhausted then versus now.

Dumbledore once mused way back when they first met that the Millennium Items may have been what allowed them to practice wizard magic. Could his separation from Set be affecting his schoolwork?

He dismissed the thought almost instantly. No…because he rememberedcasting spells while bedridden. Set was still gone then. Nothing had changed.

A quick glance at his watch and then his eyes traveled up to the High Table. Dumbledore wasn't even up there. Neither was Professor Umbridge.

He scowled for a moment before turning back, stomach churning. If Umbridge turned up at this meeting he was probably going to pop a blood vessel. Or two.

Or six.

"Good luck," said Harry, as Seto pushed his plate away and stood to leave. "We'll see you back in the common room?"

Seto gave the barest of nods. He had an feeling of how the night was going to go, and he already didn't like it.

The scowl formed even deeper as he entered the Gargoyle Corridor on the second floor. Professor Umbridge was standing at the far end of the hall, a smile plastered on her face that couldn't possibly be genuine.

Oh, now he really didn't like where this was all headed, and he hadn't even stepped foot in the office yet.

"Well, it's so wonderful to see you again, dearie," said Umbridge in her disgustingly sugary voice. "I've been looking forward to seeing you since you returned to the castle."

Seto kept his gaze squarely at the gargoyle statue blocking the entrance to the Headmaster's Tower. "I heard. But my meeting is with Dumbledore, not you."

"Oh, you'll be seeing a number of individuals today, not just the Headmaster," said Umbridge.

Seto huffed. "Not you, I hope."

"On the contrary," said Umbridge, turned to stand facing the gargoyle. "Gum drop!"

The stone gargoyle leapt aside and he followed Umbridge up the winding steps and through the heavy double doors into Dumbledore's office.

Seto expected to see Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, but instead, he found him at rectangular table off to the side of the office. Dumbledore sat at the head, and the seat to his left remained empty. Beside the empty chair sat Kingsley Shacklebolt. Along the other side were two people he had never met before, but their faces were familiar. It took a moment to place them, but Seto recognized them from his morning perusals of The Daily Prophet.

"Ah, Mr. Kaiba," said Dumbledore, rising from his seat. "Do come in." He gestured to the empty chair, and it was only then that Seto noticed that there was only one empty seat, not two. An oversight, or was someone not staying?

Umbridge looked about the table. "Oh, it seems we missed a seat."

"Ah," said Dumbledore, "On the contrary, Dolores, I'm afraid your attendance is not required. I do not wish to keep you from your work."

Umbridge's jaw dropped. "But –"

Seto's brow raised and he paused, halfway to the table. Umbridge wasn't going to be staying? Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"—surely the safety and security of the school–"

"—Is not an issue at this time," said one of the two men across the table. He had long shoulder-length greying hair and yellowish eyes behind thin wire-rimmed glasses. "Thank you for bringing the boy up, Dolores. We won't keep you any longer, as I'm sure you have a great deal to do."

Umbridge's jaw dropped a bit more as she seemed to struggle for her words, before her hands formed tight fists at her sides.

"…Yes, of course, Minister."

Dumbledore took his seat once the door had closed behind her, and then gestured to the empty chair again. "Now, if you would, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto sat, and shifted to get comfortable, and then jolted as a kneejerk reflex shot through both arms the instant he laid them along the chair rests.

What the – ?

He froze, flinching down at his arms as a random burst of pain surged through his wrists. He wasn't in the same chair Dumbledore set out for him, and he wasn't even wearing his Gryffindor robes. Somehow, he was back in his dust-ridden suit, in a cold and darkened cellar, tied down to the chair arms. His eyes darted up to where the other Ministry of Magic official sat.

But he wasn't there, and the table between them was gone.

Voldemort sat in his place, wand in one hand, cell phone in the other.

H-how?

Sharp nails dug deep into his shoulders and Seto twisted around as best he could to see the hulking figure of the Shadow directly behind him, pinning him in place, rasping out a cold, dark laugh.

"…Mr. Kaiba?"

A hand lightly ghosted his forearm, and despite the bindings seemingly on his wrists, he yanked it away away with ease and turned his head so fast that he felt the muscles in his neck spasm.

Dumbledore stood right beside him, his hand hovering still above where his arm sat half a second ago. "Are you alright?" he said softly.

Seto barely paid him a moment's notice and looked down at himself again, his heart hammering against his ribcage. Gryffindor robes. A different chair that he most certainly wasn't restrained to, and both Ministry officials were giving him odd looks from across the table.

He turned to look behind him. No Shadow Magus.

Seto blinked a few times before he tilted his head back down, pinched the bridge of his nose, and closed his eyes, ignoring whatever else it was that Dumbledore then said to the others in the room. What the hell…?

The flash of Voldemort before him, with the Shadow Magus sinking his claws in – what was that? A memory? When was it? He had been trapped for days in Voldemort's study with nothing better to do than read from a terrible picking of pureblood social commentary, or sit at the table with Voldemort and stubbornly refuse to eat.

…A table not much different than this one. Only Dumbledore was at the head of it, and not Voldemort. But he still sat in the same place.

The Shadow Magus never visited the study. And when he overcame his guard and bolted from the room, he had just enough time to find his phone and wand and form the Portkey. And then there was the flash of light that struck his leg as he departed, shattering it.

He remembered that vividly. But the flash of being tied down in some sort of cellar? That never happened. After Voldemort's reveal of the Orichalcos stone…he never saw him again. Only his lackeys once they gave him chase through the house.

So why did he have such a reaction?

"Seto?"

Dumbledore's voice was so gentle, Seto had barely heard it. He looked up. Kingsley and the other two Ministry men were gone. Dumbledore had moved to where Kingsley had been moments ago, chair turned to face him, the corners around his eyes creased with worry.

"I've asked the others to leave for a moment," said Dumbledore, noting Seto stare at the other empty chairs in the room.

Dumbledore reached out with his withered hand, almost placing it to Seto's shoulder, and then decided against it, dropping it back to his side. "Would you like something? A bit of a calming drought perhaps?"

"No." That he was sure of, and thankfully his voice was sharp enough that it left no room for argument. "No more potions."

"Very well." Dumbledore said, and he waited a moment for Seto's breathing to level out before speaking again. "I must apologize profusely for my insensitivity, for I did not take into account the state of your recovery when organizing this meeting."

He sat, hands clasped in his lap, and waited for Seto to look at him. "Your health and wellbeing are much more vital than the topic we wished to discuss this evening. The fault lies with me for not checking in on you. Would you prefer to postpone until you are up to it?"

"…No," Seto said finally, and hesitated before leaning back in his chair, once the panicked bubble stuck down deep in his chest seemed to subside. He resettled himself, pausing with his arms hovering just above the arm rests before shifting them instead to clasp his hands in his lap. "I have a vague feeling I know what this is about, so we'll get it over with now."

Dumbledore nodded and rose from Kingsley's seat while keeping a wary eye on him. Seto appeared to be calmer now, but he also appeared that way before sitting down.

Something about being at the table was triggering him.

Dumbledore gestured to a door practically hidden among the full bookcases along the side wall in the office. "Come."

Seto eyed the doorway, and then Dumbledore.

"It is clear you are having an adverse reaction here," said Dumbledore, "I will not pry, but considering the nature of our meeting, I want you to be comfortable. There, you are clearly not."

Another minute had gone before Seto made any move to get up, but he then followed Dumbledore through the door and into what had to be the Headmaster's living quarters. It was a cozy sitting room with another door on the opposite end, no doubt leading to another private chamber. More bookshelves lined the walls, and an identical phoenix perch stood in the corner. A trio of squashy armchairs, not unlike the ones found in Gryffindor Tower, surrounded a large sofa.

A roaring fire in the opposite corner left the small room bright, warm, and inviting. A stark contrast to both the wooden table and chairs in Dumbledore's office that looked to have been summoned just for this meeting, and the cold drafty study where Voldemort had kept him.

"Some of what we will discuss may be unpleasant," said Dumbledore. "If you decide at any point to cut this short, it will end. No further questions asked."

"…Understood."

"I will return in a moment," said Dumbledore, and he held out a hand to the sofa. "Please."

Seto looked at the armchairs. Sitting alone was preferable to the couch, but would he have that same freak reaction once he sat down again?

He ran a hand along the arm before sitting. It was incredibly plush, and upon closer inspection, it was the same chair from Gryffindor Tower, right down to the same shade of upholstery. Holding in his next breath, Seto gingerly set his arms along the rests.

No reaction. No Voldemort. No Shadow Magus.

He could hear the outer door to the office open and close again, and Dumbledore was back, the three Ministry wizards following behind.

Dumbledore gestured around the room once everyone else had gotten comfortable. "Mr. Kaiba, this is Rufus Scrimgeour, our Minister of Magic. Pius Thicknesse, the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of the Ministry's top Aurors."

Seto cooly eyed each one of them. He knew Kingsley was a member of the Order. Is that why he was here? To listen in and report back during one of the secret meetings at the Weasley home, or wherever they were held these days?

"Mr. Kaiba," Scrimgeour nodded, "On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I want to formally apologize –"

"—For what?"

Scrimgeour blinked, taken back. He had just watched the boy sit down out in the office and have what seemed to be a panic attack completely out the blue. And now, not even five minutes later, he appeared to not only completely recover from whatever spooked him at the table, but was completely calm, his voice as frigid as the icy stare held in his direction.

"…For what's transpired, of course. None of this should have happened in the first place."

When Seto merely continued to hold his glare, Scrimgeour continued, "I know the last weeks have been rather difficult, to say the least, but –"

"Difficult is hardly the word I would have used."

Scrimgeour matched his hard stare. "…You're right," he said finally. "Difficult is used for an exam, a problem you can't quite pick apart. It hardly accounts for a traumatic encounter such as the one you have just gone through. You'll forgive me, I didn't wish to slight your most recent experience."

When Seto didn't react or answer him, the Minister continued. "I realize that revisiting an event such as this may be uncomfortable, but there are some details we would like to ask, to better understand just what we are up against in the fight against You-Know-Who. Is that acceptable?"

Seto quickly side-eyed Dumbledore. "If it wasn't, I wouldn't be sitting here. Even if I hadn't been warned ahead of time to what this meeting was about, it doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. I know Umbridge –"

"—Professor Umbridge –"

Seto's eyes narrowed. Were they really going to play this game with him? "—has been trying to bring in someone to see me the entirety of my stay in the Hospital Wing." He looked pointedly at Scrimgeour. "You, I imagine."

"Ah, no," said Pius, and Seto's gaze shifted right onto him. "That was me, on behalf of Minister Scrimgeour."

"I was unconscious or sick for the majority of the week in Madam Pomfrey's care," said Seto flatly, "What was so important that it couldn't wait until I got out?"

"All of our available Aurors had been working around the clock to find you," said Pius, "And I will say firsthand how disheartening it had been with no leads and to come up short every time. Knowing that our best efforts at you and your friends' safety were done away with in one night was worrisome. It was clear with your abduction that our best simply wasn't enough, and our hopes, my hopes, were that the sooner we would be able to speak with you, to understand just what had transpired, the sooner it could allow us to repair the cracks before You-Know-Who could split them open even farther."

Seto's jaw tensed.

Pius took Seto's extended silence as the go-ahead and cleared his throat. "Right, so, how much of the incident do you remember?"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "What, do you want the exact play-by-play of what happened? It's fairly obvious, isn't it? Death Eaters broke into Kaiba Corp and hauled me off to some undisclosed location where I would probably be to this day if I didn't take matters into my own hands to get out."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I know you are justifiably upset, angered even, over what has happened," he said calmly, drawing Seto's attention for the first time since he made introductions, "But believe me when I say the entirety of this meeting, and any seemingly pointless questions asked, are for a reason. An error was made on our part, and now we are scrambling to correct it before it can get worse. This is all for your continued safety and that of your family."

When Seto opened his mouth, likely to retort back at him, Dumbledore raised a hand and continued, "I am aware that you likely have opinions and questions over this. Rest assured, you will have every opportunity to air those grievances with us. We will be nothing but honest and upfront with your concerns." His voice was firm, absolute. "But we will need that openness in return."

Seto was silent for a moment. "I'm guessing I have to sit through a game of Twenty Questions first."

"We need to paint a full picture of what we're up against," said Kingsley, speaking for the first time. His voice was low, completely cool. "It may not seem fair, to seem like we are all interrogators, but in this instance, we don't want the conversation to sway and get off topic and not return to the matter at hand."

"But you will have a voice when we are done," said Scrimgeour. "That is a promise."

Seto sighed and waved his hand out for him to continue before dropping it with a light thump back onto the armrest. "Go on then."

"I spoke with Mr. Muto and the others upon their return to Hogwarts following the attack," said Dumbledore. "I have their accounts from the amusement park, but may we hear what happened in your office building?"

Seto paused. Of all the times that Yugi and the rest of the Nerd Herd had flocked around him in the hospital the past week, no one – not even Mokuba – mentioned anything about the night he was kidnapped. The only true bit of information he had gotten was the casualty report from Kaiba Corp, and he had to assume that was only because he nearly turned Roland ghost-white after mentioning Fuguta's name.

Knowing Yugi, he purposely avoided talking about that particular night in some attempt to spare his feelings or avoid hindering his recovery. No doubt that's probably why they all didn't ask him any probing questions about his time in captivity, or what happened to Set.

He didn't even know what happened to Set.

But now that he was out of the hospital, it was only a matter of time before the subject was brought up amongst the others.

"…Mokuba had taken everyone to the park – it was one of the last days running a soft opening, so it was exclusively available to company employees and their families," said Seto. He shifted in his seat and rested his head against the high back, thinking back through the last several weeks. "I was still at the office, working late. I was supposed to meet them at the park for dinner and then to judge the night show to see what last-minute tweaks needed made before the official grand opening.

"…I remember the lights going out in the building, and switching to emergency power. I called Roland, who was at the park, and he mentioned the power was completely cut, so we made arrangements for Yugi and his friends to return to the office, and I was going to wait for them to come back. Sometime after that the communication lines went down."

"Did you see anyone else? Were you alone?"

Seto had to resist rolling his eyes. Obviously, security was in the building, so he couldn't have been alone, but that wasn't necessarily what Scrimgeour was asking. "Fuguta checked in on me, not long after the power dropped. It wasn't just the lights – whatever happened had an adverse effect on the security system, so they were making rounds."

Kingsley nodded slowly. "Is there anything else that you remember from that night – anything at all, that could be helpful?"

Seto stared down at the floor, eyes distant, trying to think back. Emergency power aside, the office had been dark due to it being nighttime. The Death Eaters hadn't just appeared like Dumbledore did that first day many months ago. Their arrival was silent.

He did remember catching a glimpse of what appeared to be fog rolling across the floor. He hadn't the slightest idea where it had come from, but when he swiveled his chair to look behind him, where what should only have been dead space before the window stood no less than four Death Eaters.

"…The Death Eaters just appeared, out of nowhere," said Seto. He remembered the fog reminding him of the Shadow Realm, or at the very least, the same sort of mist that Marik used to summon in all of his duels. That would likely mean the Shadow Magus had something to do with his abduction, but he was certain that the hulking monster hadn't been in his office at the time.

Though, it was hard to tell. He had barely enough time to pull his wand from his suit pocket before red lights flashed across his vision…and he then woke elsewhere.

But he had no idea if Dumbledore or any of the other Ministry personnel were even aware of the Shadow Magus, or in the case of the Ministry – the Millennium Items. He also didn't know what else Yugi might have given in his statements, based on whatever happened at the park.

And he certainly wasn't going to open any cans of worms mentioning the Millennium Items.

"…I believe I was stunned not long afterwards. There was no time to really put up any sort of fight, and I woke up in a study someplace else. Voldemort was there."

Pius leaned shifted to lean inward. "What did You-Know-Who want?"

Seto blinked. What did Voldemort want? Really want?

"I honestly have no idea."

Scrimgeour looked pointedly at Dumbledore before turning back to Seto. "You can't be serious. You were gone for a week, and he never once revealed why he went after you in the first place?"

Seto huffed. "The days ran in circles. What I know is that he wanted me alive and healthy. I wasn't left in a cold dungeon to rot, he kept me in a study with a fireplace, a dusty place to sleep, and questionable literature. He visited me twice a day bearing food and tried to get me to talk with him, and that was the only thing he kept asking of me for nearly four days."

"That's all?" Pius's brow furrowed.

"You must have had some hunch," said Scrimgeour. "I find it hard to believe he took you all the way from Japan to sit and have a fireside chat over dinner."

Seto drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair. "His consistent attempts to get me to eat and nothing else seem to say otherwise."

"I wonder if perhaps the food was drugged," Kingsley mused. "If those were his only demands, then perhaps he anticipated you being resistant. It would be much easier to put Veritaserum in your meal, and then he would have been able to get what he wanted without a fight."

"Only he didn't," Seto said. "I didn't give him anything."

"But you had to have eaten under his watch," said Pius, "You were gone far too long to go without food."

Seto shook his head and glared back at him. "I never said I didn't. But if any of the food was spiked, it wasn't the stuff I actually ate."

Pius raised his head haughtily. "And how could you tell? Forgive the skepticism, but most people under the influence of a mind-altering spell or serum don't always have regular control over their thoughts. You might have carried on full conversations without even knowing it."

The muscles in Seto's jaw twitched. "Because the first three days, I didn't touch it. Any of it. Didn't eat, and I refused to speak with him. He could have poisoned me with ease – even while I was initially unconscious, but he didn't." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "If there was anything I could make out from this whole mess, is that he wanted to build my trust level up, and if, after assuring me time and time again that the food wasn't drugged and he actually lied, that would have been blown to pieces in a heartbeat."

Build his trust? Now Dumbledore leaned in, pressing his hands against his legs. "Oh? What for?"

Seto gave another slight shake of his head. This meeting was just like those days in Voldemort's study. Running in circles, once again. He was sitting with four very capable wizards. Why was he having to repeat himself over and over again?

"I haven't the slightest idea," Seto snapped. "Is he out of bribing materials? Maybe he was hoping to leech off my power status."

Pius held up a hand. "I apologize if this sounds rude, Mr. Kaiba, but up until very recently, you lived life purely as a Muggle. There would be nothing for You-Know-Who to gain from that life."

"Not Kaiba Corp or the technology we create," said Seto, "But I hold influence, power, wealth, and under the right circumstances they can be all the worst tool to hold over someone's head."

"Even still," said the Minister, "It's just rather peculiar that You-Know-Who chose you over your friends, who were in a much easier place for abduction. As far as I am aware, the amusement park did not have any wards placed over it, so the Death Eaters should have been able to take the others with ease. Instead they had to storm through the protective barriers in place just to find you." He eyed Seto suspiciously. "And you really have no idea why?"

"No," Seto swept Scrimgeour another frigid glare, "Maybe if he would have stopped wasting time and gotten to the point, I would have known. Instead, he kept insisting on talking over breakfast and dinner. I didn't eat with him, and I didn't talk, and the first chance I got, I escaped."

Scrimgeour started to speak, but Dumbledore loudly cleared his throat and cut him off. "I think, perhaps, there is nothing more on that front, so let us move on. How much do you remember of your escape? I'm sure we are all curious to how you managed it."

"Were you not guarded?" said Scrimgeour.

"I was," Seto snorted. "On the one day that Voldemort didn't come visit, I overpowered the guard, took his wand, and left."

"You couldn't try that earlier?" asked Pius. When he saw the murderous look Seto gave him back, he held his hands up in defense. "I am not making little of your escape. We are all pleased that you were able to get out."

"It's not like he tied me down. I was free to move around the room," said Seto. "But he visited twice a day, and there were always two guards in the room with me, and supposedly more on the outside. I was told on countless occasions that I wouldn't make it past the door, and I didn't try. Even if I got past one of the two, I wouldn't take out the other. They had wands, I didn't."

"So what changed?" asked Kingsley.

Seto's brow furrowed, thinking back. It wasn't just that Voldemort didn't visit him, and it wasn't just because there was only one guard, not two…though that did help his decision to leave. What was it?

The room remained quiet, the Minister and the others sitting patiently, waiting for him to answer, and the only sound in the room was the crackling of the fireplace, drawing Seto's attention.

The fire was going in the study at the time, too. He remembered standing in front of it, and how it didn't warm him against the drafty chill in the room.

He blinked, staring blankly at the flames. It was the cold. The drop in temperature felt like Set's old training lessons, but those used the Shadow Realm.

Oh. That's what it was. Well, he certainly wasn't bringing that up.

"Death Eaters always stayed in the room with me," Seto repeated, "They changed the guard when Voldemort showed up. There were always two…but that day Voldemort didn't pay me a visit, only one came in, dropped off a plate, and kept watch."

Seto sighed again. "I was already feeling the effects of having not eaten for days. I knew if I wanted to keep myself alive, I was going to have to start accepting the meals they brought me, with or without Voldemort present. And if there was going to be a perfect opportunity to spike my food, it would have been then, when I had no other option.

"I saw an opening, and took it. Despite his claim, there were no guards outside the door, so I took the Death Eater's wand and ran."

"Do you have any idea of where exactly you were kept?" asked Dumbledore.

Seto shook his head. "The house I was in looked like it had been abandoned for some time, and it was huge. I don't know if it was magically altered as a defense in case I tried to escape or if it was built that way, but it felt like I was running through a maze trying to get around.

"…It didn't take long for them to figure out I was free, and I had to slip into a few empty rooms to try and evade them." His jaw twitched. "My wand and my phone were sitting on a fireplace mantle, like trophies."

He scowled at the memory. "They must have known where I was, because I was caught almost immediately after. Someone's spell hit me in the leg as I was casting a Portkey, and I don't remember anything else until I woke up here."

Seto slowly turned his head to face Dumbledore. "Speaking of…you have my phone. Why?"

Scrimgeour looked from Seto to Dumbledore curiously. "His what?"

"My wand was with me in the Hospital Wing. So was my watch. Hell, even the clothes I was wearing were cleaned and set in the dormitory. So why wasn't my phone returned?"

"We had no way of knowing at the time just how you managed to get back to the school. Hearing your account of events has been most helpful, and I am relieved to know it was you who placed the Portkey, but think for just a moment – what if it had been someone else? The very item that brought you back home to Hogwarts could have sent you right back if handled incorrectly. I had to be sure it was safe before returning it to you."

Seto scowled. "It's been over a week. That's more than enough time."

"Alas, I have also been out of the castle," said Dumbledore. He rose from his seat and disappeared from the sitting room to his desk in the center of the office, and returned moments later with it in his hand. "No one else would have been able to retrieve it for you."

He held it out to Seto, who narrowed his eyes at the state of it. "I assure you, it was this way when it was given to me."

Seto took his phone back and turned it over in his hands. The screen was smashed and he saw several hairline cracks going around to the back.

"Regretfully," Dumbledore began, "Professor Hagrid claimed he stepped on it while conducting a search along the perimeter of the grounds in the dark, near the forest. You must have dropped in when the Portkey let you go."

"Hn." Seto turned it back over and hit the power button along the side. It didn't turn on.

"I have also taken the liberty of stripping it of all magical enchantments," said Dumbledore, earning him another harsh glare. "Without knowing what may or may not have been cast upon it, it was the safest course of action."

Seto looked back down at the phone. If he were still Domino, he would just reprogram himself a new phone. In its current state, it wasn't worth repairing. But here, in a world of magic? It would be good as new (hopefully) after a few short spells, and then he could get the enchantments overriding the school wards back on it.

With his current focus level being less than stellar though? He'd have to borrow Yugi's phone for the next few days until he was certain everything was working properly again. There was no way he would be missing his usual calls to Mokuba.

"…Is there anything else?" Seto muttered. He didn't see what else the Ministry could want out of him. There wasn't much else to tell anyways.

"I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we were hoping that there would be a bit more to say on what You-Know-Who wanted," said Scrimgeour. "He isn't known for being incredibly patient, and has numerous methods at his disposal for getting his prisoners to talk. Knowing he took his sweet time with you, to build your trust up, is rather troubling."

"Like I said," said Seto stiffly, "He didn't mention anything."

Dumbledore nodded. "The not knowing is disappointing, but it is also a relief that he also did not get anything from you as well. We must take the small victories while they last."

Seto slid his phone into the inner pocket of his robes and crossed his arms. "If you're done…"

Kingsley straightened up. "I'm sure you have concerns of your own, for us?"

Seto's jaw twitched. "Again, that's not the word I would have used. I have questions."

"Ask."

Seto swept his eyes around the room from Scrimgeour to Dumbledore. "Myself, Yugi Muto, and Ryou Bakura – we all accepted admission to this school under the firm understanding that our families and lives back home would be protected. Was that not true?"

"It was," said Scrimgeour, "As you know, Aurors were stationed in Domino City. One of them was staying in your own home."

"I know that," Seto said icily, "We were also told that wards were going to be placed on our homes and places of interest while we were away."

"That was also true," said Scrimgeour. "And protective enchantments were placed on several key buildings around the city."

"Then explain to me how Death Eaters managed to get into my office."

"That is something we were unable to figure out," said Scrimgeour, "for the wards were still in place."

Seto narrowed his eyes at him skeptically, and opened his mouth to argue the point, but stopped, and his gaze darted to Dumbledore, whose voice was firm.

"Do you remember the coins that I gave you and the others? The ones to call if you found yourself in trouble or with questions before you made the decision to come to Hogwarts? Yours was activated from the office building, and unlike my initial visits over the summer, I was unable to apparate inside."

"I do have to report that while the anti-apparation charm may not have been removed, it is possible other wards have," said Pius Thicknesse, "I'm sure you remember Emmeline Vance, one of the Aurors that was stationed in Domino City?"

Seto leveled his hard glare onto Pius. It was a bit hard to forget the person who had put the shields up around his home, and then was living in it.

"Miss Vance, along with her entire family, was found dead not long after you had gone missing," Pius continued. "They appeared to have perished some time ago."

Seto's eyebrows shot up, eyes wide. …No one had mentioned that to him before. Roland had filled him in on the cleanup in Domino, but he never said that anything had happened to Emmeline. Did he not know?

Did Yugi even know? The two kept in contact while he was gone so if Yugi was told, surely he would have updated the others back at home.

Or, maybe this was information that the Ministry wasn't giving out. In any case…that would help explain how the Death Eaters got in. She had helped place the wards over Kaiba Corp.

"The Aurors in Domino were being swapped out so they could return home for the holidays," said Scrimgeour, "Miss Vance left Japan first, before Hogwarts let you all out for break. We believe You-Know-Who got to her upon her arrival, and tortured her for information before killing the family. It would explain how the Death Eaters knew you were separated from the others."

"I chose to work late," said Seto, "I was supposed to be with the others at the park. No one could have planned for that."

Roland had told him that on top of the carnage that took place in Kaiba Corp, there was at the very least one guard at Kaiba Land that had been replaced, and he had sat in the security office and watched the cameras. How hard would it have been for him to see that he wasn't in Kaiba Land with the rest of the group and alert the others that he was still in the office?

"Then I would say the attack at the park against Harry Potter and his friends was a diversion, because they seem to have wanted you. Otherwise I imagine damage control there would have been far worse than what it was. We were lucky."

Seto's jaw twitched again. "Damage control?" He dug his nails into the arm of his chair. "You – none of you – have any right to sit there and tell me that you lucked out on this fiasco. Not after how you treated the fiasco at my company."

Pius straightened in his seat. "Mr. Kaiba, the International Statute of Secrecy –"

"—Is in place to keep magic a secret from the regular population. It does not allow you to cover up a crime in another country." Seto set his glare back on the Minister. "The fact remains that at the very least, six of my employees are dead. And your government was going to sweep it under the rug as if it never happened, and potentially give my own bodyguard brain damage by wiping his memory of it all. And that doesn't even begin to count the number of however-many park guests that might have been witness to whatever went down there.

"I heard the full report of what happened after Professor Dumbledore arrived with the Japanese Ministry of Magic. None of them went through the same extremes you tried to do. They hid the existence of magic, yes, but not the incident itself. You had no authority to take control over an attack in Japan. So what is it you were trying to hide?"

Pius looked taken back. "Hide? Nothing. If our Aurors were to be stationed in Japan, then it is only fitting that we handle any issue as it arises."

"It was your Aurors that created the problem in the first place."

Now it was Scrimgeour that leveled Seto with a hardened look of his own. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"You placed your own people in Domino. They placed the wards – wards we can't see and are going on blind faith that they are actually there, and now once one of them goes home, she is captured and killed."

Pius's jaw dropped. "So it was Emmeline's fault that You-Know-Who came for her?"

Seto stiffened. "I was under the impression that the guards placed in Domino were done discreetly. Professor Dumbledore even set up a house centrally located for most of the people the other Aurors swore to protect. Emmeline was in my own home to watch over my brother. So how would Voldemort know when she was going home?"

"We already established there was a Death Eater masquerading as a member of your security," said Scrimgeour, "For an undetermined amount of time."

"But that employee would have never stepped foot in the mansion," said Seto. "At best she might have crossed paths with him at the office, but it's doubtful he would have gotten her itinerary that way."

Seto stood up and swept a cold glower across the room at the Ministry officials. "If I were you, I would be less interested in what Voldemort was after, and more interested in what caused this to happen in the first place."

"Both are equally important in helping us to move forward," said Pius.

"Not from where I'm standing," said Seto, and he shot Dumbledore a dark look. "You want to know why Voldemort wanted me? Maybe you should roll back six months and ask yourselves why we were dragged into your conflict in the first place."

He then glared at Scrimgeour and Pius. "And assuming your sugar-coated words of protection and 'repairing the cracks' sincerely meant fixing the mess you made, then I'd turn your eyes on your own department. Because if your security in Domino was so airtight, none of this should have happened."

He turned towards the doorway, ready to leave. "And until you find out just where you all royally screwed up, I don't want anyone from your Ministry in my office, my home, or any other property that belongs to me." Seto glanced at Dumbledore. "I will be in contact with the Japanese Ministry of Magic for future security measures."

"Do you feel that is necessary?" asked Pius.

Seto slowly pivoted on his heel to face him. "The fact that you had to ask proves that it is." He turned back to Dumbledore. "I will be forwarding my leave schedule to them, and I expect them to be able to access the school grounds to escort me to and from Domino."

Scrimgeour cleared his throat and rose to his feet. "About that," he began, and matched Seto's severe look with one of his own. "We no longer feel it is acceptable for you to continue your travels. There is no telling whether or not You-Know-Who will strike again, and for your protection –"

Seto cut him off. "I made it clear that I would have to travel to and from Domino every so many weeks for work and to check on the wellbeing of my brother. My schedule was worked with Professor Dumbledore prior to my arrival. It was, and still is non-negotiable. And since your people will no longer have to babysit my travel, you have no say in the matter."

He turned back to Dumbledore. "Like I said, I will be in contact with the Japanese Ministry of Magic. I will set up a new work schedule with them, and I expect my arrangements to be honored without resistance."

"I can forward your current itinerary to them, if you would like," said Dumbledore, "It will not be a problem."

Seto snorted. "Please. All of you know what that schedule is. And if you all know, Voldemort likely does too. No, I will contact them myself."

"While I too am against letting you back out of the school, I will allow for your new arrangements. Though, I must ask to have your new schedule. That way I can alert the staff ahead of time on the dates you will be out of the country," said Dumbledore, "Rest assured, you have my word that the Japanese Ministry will be consulted and every measure will be taken to assure your continued safety."

Seto's eyes narrowed even farther. "…I'll think about it."

Dumbledore shook his head. "Mr. Kaiba –"

"No." Seto stopped at the doorway and gave a side-eyed glare back to the others, landing last on Dumbledore. "None of you get a say anymore in what I consider necessary for my safety. The fact that you too wanted to go back on your agreements means that your word clearly doesn't mean much. And if there was one thing I got out of this entire experience? It's that I can't trust any of you."

"I thought he would have been back by now," said Harry and he looked over at Ron. "Any longer and you'll probably run into him during your rounds tonight."

Ron shrugged. "Probably, yeah. Unless I get assigned the Dungeons again."

"We just have to gauge his mood when he comes back," said Yugi. He fidgeted nervously from his seat next to Ryou, picking at a stray bit of fuzz on the couch cushion.

Ryou drew his knees up to his chest from his spot resting on the common room sofa, and turned the page in his Divination book. "I don't like the idea of nagging him this soon. You remember what Professor McGonagall said."

"I know," said Yugi, "But the Spirit of the Ring had a point too. Even if Voldemort can't use the Millennium Rod, it's doing us no favors being away. And there's no telling what the Shadow might be able to do to it – and to Set. And if Voldemort really is still after the Millennium Items, then we have to get it back before he can find the others."

"Fat chance of that," Yami Bakura snorted, phasing out of the Millennium Ring, and Yugi had to quickly whip his head around the room. The two third years that were doing their homework by the table near the portrait hole must have gone up to their dorms, and thankfully they were the only ones still left.

"Fat chance of what, finding another Millennium Item?" said Ron, "Why? There's seven of them right? If you and Yugi still have one each, there's still a number of 'em floating out there."

Yugi shook his head. "Not quite. I have the Puzzle, but I've also been holding onto the Necklace. And the Scales and the Key belong to Shadi."

"Who's Shadi?"

"A ghost that only shows up when it's convenient for him," Bakura muttered. "You can't just merely look for him."

"Okay, but that's only six," said Hermione.

"Pegasus had the Eye," said Yugi, and he looked nervously to Bakura, "And then he lost it after Duelist Kingdom."

"In any case," said Bakura flippantly, purposely ignoring the look Yugi sent him, "Forget what McGonagall said. Kaiba clamming up isn't going to help anyone."

"Oh, right, force him to talk, that'll put us on his good side all right," Harry muttered, "Not like any of us are there anyways."

Hermione ran a finger absentmindedly along the spine's edge of her Arithmancy book. "I think, it's how you ask, too. I don't think we should be doing this tonight, not after he gets back from Professor Dumbledore's office. It's not just about finding out what happened to him while he was gone, it's for formulating a plan remember? We have to have cool, calm heads."

The portrait hole swung open admitting Seto and Ron, who was nearest to the open area of the common room, stepped back, feeling the fury rolling off him in waves.

Yugi stood up from the couch and started to call out his name and then yelped, startled, as Ron pushed him forward. He turned around and glared at him slightly before looking back at his dueling rival.

"Kaiba!"

Seto was nearly at the boys' staircase when he stopped. If he saw the group off to the side on his war path to the dormitory, he didn't seem like he planned to join them.

Cold blue eyes swept over the group before settling on Yugi. "We need to talk."

He continued up to the dormitory without another word.

Yugi turned back to his friends.

Harry blinked. "Well…that was…I dunno? Better than I expected?"

Yugi looked up at the ceiling, his face pulled into a thoughtful frown. "Was that for me? Or all of us?"

Ron patted his shoulder. "I'm not going up there. Good luck mate, you'll need it."