Well, it seems that the first chapter of Ignis Aurum Probat got some interest. Hopefully, I will post it as a full story come the Christmas Update. No promises, though. For those of you interested in what other stories are being updated, have a look at my profile.

IGNIS AURUM PROBAT

CHAPTER 2:

THE MILLENNIUM ITEMS

After leaving the port, they used a combination of Apparition and vehicles to travel far into the desert, into an area with vast ruins from a bygone age of Egypt. Harry was struck by the poem by Percy Shelley, Ozymandias. "Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair," he murmured as they walked towards a hatch in the ground.

"Many of the monuments of Egypt have stood the test of time and tide," Shadi said. "We work with Gringotts to ensure that some things are uncovered to allow our people, and the peoples of the world, to gain an appreciation for our past. We also work to ensure that some things remain buried forever."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

A faint, sardonic smile touched Shadi's features. "You'll see." He opened the hatch, and then walked down a staircase thus revealed.

The stone passageways revealed were lit by torches, the light flickering in the darkness. Shadi led them through passages, until they came to a rather homely room with a table. Waiting there for them was an Egyptian woman, an elegantly beautiful woman about Harry's age, perhaps a little younger, but carrying herself with a maturity beyond her years. "Shadi," she said with a brief bow. "William. I presume this is Harry Potter?"

"Indeed. Harry Potter, this is Isis Ishtar, the current leader of the Tomb Keepers. She is also Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities."

"She may be young, but she's very good at what she does for her age," Bill said.

Harry proffered a hand, which Isis shook. "Pleased to meet you," he said.

"And you. I have heard much about you from William."

"Isis," Shadi said quietly. "I must administer the test." From his robes, he plucked a set of scales, apparently made out of gold, with an eye-like symbol at the fulcrum. "What do you know of Egyptian mythology, Harry?"

"I know some things here and there. Bill had me bone up on it before coming here." He frowned when he saw the scales. "Wait a moment…isn't this like the Weighing of the Heart in Ancient Egyptian mythology? My heart versus the Feather of…Ma'at, wasn't it?"

"Indeed," Shadi said, plucking a feather from where it was stuck in his turban, and placing it on the scales.

Harry groaned. He had a bad feeling about this. "So…if I don't answer the right way, I'll get my heart eaten by a homicidal crocodile monster?"

"Yes. Rather, it is answering correctly and truthfully that will have you passing this test. William has passed the test, so I daresay you should be able to. The Millennium Scales give me the ability to test your soul. Now, to begin. A young girl falls into a well. You are the only one to see it happen. But at your feet is an expensive gold ring she was wearing. What do you do?"

"I save her, of course," Harry said. "And give her her ring."

Shadi peered at the scales, which only twitched. "Many have answered that question that way, but few told the truth," he said.

The test continued, before finally, Shadi declared it over. The scales tipped back and forth very slightly during them. After it was over, Shadi removed the feather and placed it back onto his turban. "You are truly fortunate, Harry Potter. Few have passed this test, this Shadow Game, as well as you had. William was one of the few."

"Shadow Game? This was a game to you?" Harry demanded, annoyed.

"Shadow Games are games in deadly earnest, Harry. I took no pleasure from that, save for knowing you passed. Had you not, you would have suffered a Penalty Game. In Shadow Games, the loser undergoes a forfeit known as a Penalty Game. Sometimes, the consequences are lethal, as with this one: Ammit would have devoured your soul. Sometimes, the consequences are not lethal, but fit the offence. And others allow the victim a chance to mend their evil ways."

Bill sighed, before getting up from his chair. "I'm glad you passed, Harry. This is where I have to get going. Shadi and Isis will handle things for now."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Harry demanded, annoyed that he had yet another near-death experience.

"Because he was ordered not to," Isis said. "Do not blame William. Anything to do with the Millennium Items is no laughing matter. We were also confident of you passing the test. You must understand, Harry, that there is significant secrecy around the Millennium Items, and with good reason. They surpass in power and danger the Deathly Hallows of Magical Britain. We need to ensure that anyone working with us is trustworthy, not necessarily pure of heart, but without avarice in their hearts. My father, in his arrogance, never trusted outsiders to help. It was thanks to his actions that a number of Millennium Items are now missing, not to mention losing his life and fragmenting my family."

"So you should understand the need for discretion," Shadi said. "I had every confidence you would pass. Only those who possess the Items, or associate with them, would not have to pass such a test. Then again, if one is unworthy and tries to possess a Millennium Item…they die."

Bill went over to Harry, and gave him a brief hug. "Don't worry, Harry, you'll do fine. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay. Say hello to Fleur for me. I'll send letters by owl to the others."

Bill nodded, and they said their farewells, before he left. Shadi then returned his attention to Harry. "Perhaps we should begin by explaining the Millennium Items," Shadi said. "There are seven in total, and only those worthy can wield them. I possess the Scales, as you saw, and this is the Millennium Key." He held up the ankh-like object around his neck, which Harry realised did look like a key. "If this makes contact with a person, I am able to enter their mind with ease, no matter what their ability with Occlumency may be. I can view their Soul Room, a manifestation of their memories and personality. I can even rearrange their Soul Room to make them my puppet, though I can revert that just as easily. I use it in conjunction with the Scales to judge those who desecrate the tombs of the dead."

"I possess the Millennium Tauk," Isis said, and Harry actually noticed the necklace around her neck, with the eye symbol that the Scales had. "It gives me the ability to see along the stream of time, and grant myself and others visions of both past and possible futures."

"The Millennium Eye is in the possession of Maximillian Pegasus, the head of Industrial Illusions," Shadi said. "We believe the current whereabouts of the Millennium Rod to be in the hands of Isis' brother, a rogue Tomb Keeper by the name of Marik. The exact whereabouts of the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Puzzle are currently unknown, but I believe them to be in Japan."

Harry frowned. "If these items are so dangerous, why are three of them loose?"

"My brother Marik was destined to become the leader of the Tomb Keepers, and he found the Rod where we have kept it. He leads a group of tomb raiders and thieves called the Ghouls," Isis said. "In retrospect, there is more I could have done to stop him from following the path he does. Sadly, I cannot change the past. As for the other Millennium Items, they were lost during my grandfather and father's time leading the Tomb Keepers. They were even more isolationist than most of us, for we are bound to protect these ruins and the tombs."

"Of note is the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh," Shadi said. "The Millennium Items were forged during his father's reign, and that period of history was the height of the Shadow Games. It was the Nameless Pharaoh who sealed away the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games, though the Items still yearn for destined masters."

"And the Shadow Games?"

"Dark magical games of mortal combat. Many were not dissimilar to Duel Monsters, though that is harmless by comparison. Unless a Millennium Item is involved. Then, the loser will have to undergo a Penalty Game. The game itself can be brought into a dark dimension known as the Shadow Realm. Any game can. Not all Shadow Games are lethal, true, but that depends on the one who makes a game a Shadow Game. In fact, many were used as a form of trial by ordeal, like what I did to you with the Millennium Scales, to determine guilt or innocence."

"Okay, so, dangerous magical artifacts, can make games more dangerous than they have to be. I get that. I'm guessing there's a reason for this, aside from telling me about forbidden artifacts."

"Indeed. As I said, I suspect two of the Millennium Items to reside in Japan. The tomb containing the Millennium Puzzle was excavated years ago. It fell into the hands of a man called Sugoroko 'Solomon' Muto, who had retired from archaeology to run a games shop in Domino City in Japan. I had let the matter go, as the Puzzle will not let itself be assembled by any but the worthy, and nobody who has attempted to do so has managed to assemble it. However, I have heard reports of possible Shadow Games in Domino over the last couple of months. Gringotts has agreed to loan you out as an agent of ours. I intended to head to Domino soon to confront Curator Kanekura of the Domino City Museum. While he has been involved in many legitimate expeditions, he is also well-connected to tomb raiders and the black market. He performed an excavation recently with a Professor Yoshimori that was not in consultation with us," Shadi said. "Indeed, he bribed many officials in the Egyptian government to keep us out of the loop, and had a few killed. We have…punished them. I intend to travel to Japan to confront both Kanekura and Yoshimori."

"But where do I come into it?"

"The first is that I would like you to help me find out whether the Millennium Puzzle has been assembled, and by who. The second, should that be the case, is to be our liaison in Domino with the bearer of the Puzzle. Given that you had once lived with a prophecy hanging over your head, it would behove the bearer of the Puzzle to have someone who can guide them who knows what that is like, as there are prophecies surrounding the Puzzle too. And those with the Puzzle also tend to be magnets for trouble."

"Great. Just my luck," Harry remarked, sighing in annoyed resignation. "So you want me to keep an eye on them, then?"

"Yes. William recommended you highly, considering you a person of great integrity, bravery, and compassion," Isis said. "And there are times when the Tomb Keepers cannot be seen as acting directly. Many in the Wizarding World see us as dark because of our association with the Millennium Items, as well as harsh punishments to thieves and tomb raiders. We are known to most DMLEs around the world, but some elements would wish to kill us, or even exploit the Millennium Items. And, of course, there is the barbaric practise my family put its heirs through, something many wizards look askance at. The firstborn son must have a tattoo of a specific set of hieroglyphs carved into their backs using the ritual dagger within the Millennium Rod. My father was a proud, cruel, and ruthless man, and in retrospect, I wish I had done more for my brother."

"What actually happened to him?" Harry asked, seeing the pain in her eyes, as well as the self-reproach.

Shadi and Isis looked at each other, before the former nodded. Isis then turned her gaze back to Harry, sorrow evident in her eyes. "Our father completely forbade us from leaving this place during our childhood, but Marik insisted on wishing to venture to a nearby village. Shadi warned us to return. However, when we got back, we found that our father had learned of our absence, and was torturing our adoptive brother, Rashid. He attempted to punish us, but my brother fought back. A split personality emerged, one that had existed since Marik had undergone the ritual, but had taken him over. That personality…for all my father's cruelty, it had nothing on Marik's dark side, Dark Marik. My brother's evil side stole the Millennium Rod, and used it to murder my father, cutting off the tattoo on the back of my father, and draping Rashid in it. Rashid revived, and Marik's darker side receded."

"I came forth, and lamented about the Pharaoh's will causing a rift in the family," Shadi said. "In truth, I thought such a young boy would not be able to handle the truth about being a patricide. However, I chose my words poorly, all it did was turn Marik down the path of darkness. He absconded with the Millennium Rod, Rashid in tow, and founded the Ghouls, and has resisted all attempts to explain what truly happened. They are good at evading our people, and the forces of the Egyptian government."

"All because he was forced to live in a cupboard underneath the stairs," Harry muttered, angry not at Isis or Shadi, but at Isis' father, and the traditions of the Tomb Keepers. Shadi seemed to get the implication, and spoke softly in Arabic to Isis, whose eyes widened, and she looked down at the ground.

"I wish to make up for what happened to Marik, Harry, but he refuses to listen. He's determined to have his own way," Isis said. "He blames the Pharaoh for his predicament, and as it may be possible that the Pharaoh may one day be reincarnated…he is seeking out a means to have his revenge. Until then, he does so by desecrating tombs and robbing them."

"Like the ancient Thief King," Shadi said. "In any case, what we ask you to do is to help us find the holder of the Millennium Puzzle at least, and if possible, guide them and help them. However, I do ask that you be cautious. The Millennium Items and the Shadow Games are not to be trifled with."

"Dangerous dark artifacts and curses and deadly magic?" Harry sighed. "Same shit, different day…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Well, there you have it. Harry's met Shadi and Isis, and has passed their test. Now, the next chapter will be set shortly before Shadi arrives in Japan. Harry has been sent ahead, but he will meet Yugi, Anzu (Téa) and Jonouchi (Joey). Bit of a warning for the manga purists: I am doing one of the chapters out of order: namely the restaurant hostage chapter. That happens before Kaiba's first duel with Yugi in the manga, but here, it happens later.

Incidentally, I will be using the name I used for Yami in Shadow Games and Philosopher's Stones. He will be called Shadow. It's a badass name, reminiscent of another dark vigilante character, the Shadow from the pulp novels, radios, and that movie with Alec Baldwin.

No numbered annotations this time.