Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Vacation Blues ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )
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A/N: Where on Earth did everyone get the idea that this wasn't going to have the HP characters in it? I mean, it's only been five chapters.
I have the pairings down now. They will be as follows:
Pairings: Yami/Yugi, Draco/Harry, Severus/Seto, Ryou/Bakura, (implied Malik/Marik), (Heh. Not including Mokuba though. I'm keeping him all to myself! Muahahahahahaha!)
I have every intention of including Hogwarts, as a major hint in this chapter will show. But it's not going to be nice and pleasant. There is a WAR going on folks. People are going to be suspicious, mistrusting, angry, and tempers and emotions are going to be flying high.
Combine that with the fact that certain characters, ie, Yugi, Mokuba, Draco and Harry are going to be undergoing some changes, not only in their outlook to life, but in their relationships with each other, and that some people ie, Severus and Seto, both of whom carry many scars from their lives, are having to face things which any normal person would shy from, makes for some dark, but nicely fulfilling subject matter. Even if it is going to be filled with some unpleasantness.
As regarding the Voldemort issue. I firmly believe it is Harry's destiny to kill him. Yes everyone else has a grudge and the right to end his existence, and it will no doubt be a team effort to destroy him...but this isn't going to be a 'YGO-tachi ride in, save the day, ride out in the sunset' type fic. Each character I include has a purpose, a reason, and I greatly admire almost all the characters in both worlds, whether I can write them or not.
If you are reading this, be prepared for the long haul. I have no intentions of ending this within a hundred thousand words, and I'm barely touching the twenty thousand mark.
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Thank you to everyone who reviewed.
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[Story Advertising]
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1: On To You by RC Tanoshii
storyid=1707327
Yu-Gi-Oh! / Harry Potter
AU Time has passed since the final battle between the Hikaris and the Yamis. Everyone has died except Ryou, who is no longer who he once was. The world has restarted and it is time for the last of the Shadow Magic to leave the living realm. X-over with HP
Shi-koi: I don't like advertising the usual types of fics, they have to make me stop and blink before I'd even consider adding them. This fic is one of them. It's not written in the usual YGO/HP crossover style, it's infinitely darker than most, and Ryou is just oh-so deliciously borderline. Not evil, or completely dark, but thrillingly cynical while still being Ryou.
I have absolutely no doubt that when this fic is fleshed out a bit more it'll be a wonderfully captivating tale. There is already some wonderful angst going on, and the peeks we have of the interaction between Ryou, Harry and Draco makes for some promisingly juicy characterisations
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2: The Taur'i Pharaoh by FireSenshi2
storyid=1392724
Yu-Gi-Oh! / Stargate SG-1
Crossover YGO/SG1. A legend states that a Pharaoh was the one to free Earth & SG1 are about to see how.
Shi-koi: This fic had me hooked by the time I got to the end of the first chapter. The overwhelmingly smooth weave of both worlds presents the backdrop to a surprisingly addicting storyline with startlingly accurate characterisations; something which is even more impressive when you consider the cast of characters involved - and a plot which could have been written in history.
You are dragged into the fic so fast that it makes your head spin with the possibilities, and on occasions I was barely able to sit still. There are some very insightful additions to the basic plot, and this fic has the makings of an unforgettable adventure!
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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Chapter Six
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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Arthur Weasley paced the length of the dark wooden floor, his customary good-natured smile absent, replaced by a dark, worried expression. He glanced up every so often to watch the young man sitting in the deep chair beside the open fireplace, his lean body almost engulfed by the soft upholstery of the overlarge sofa.
This deep inside the Ministry building meant that there were no windows, but the flickering light from the flames threw the room into perpetual twilight.
Arthur sighed once again, his eyes avoiding the bed where the tiny twin to the youth beside the fire lay, comatose.
"It's been three days." Arthur cleared his throat after speaking, his voice slightly hoarse from keeping silent for almost the entire day.
The figure beside the fire shifted slightly, stretching it's legs before curling back up on the seat, like a snake coiling on a rock. "I am aware of this."
"He's not going to wake."
The figure turned, crimson eyes piercing in the grim light. Blood-tipped midnight spikes of hair parted as the youth ran a hand through them impatiently. "You think I do not know this? You think I do not realise the state my aibou is in?"
Arthur ignored the strange word. The youth had not offered the meaning, and he didn't particularly want to break the strange truce that had sprung up between them by asking what had not been offered. Frowning, Arthur tried a different tack. "Have you given my suggestion any thought?"
The darkness around the fire parted, and the slim, regal figure stalked out, walking to the bed to sit carefully beside the unconscious boy. "I have."
"And?"
Yami let out a foreign expletive, the harsh, guttural sound fading into the room. "...And I would not trust one of these...medi-wizards any farther than I could drag them, were I an inch high and made of papyrus!"
Arthur rubbed his eyes tiredly. When he'd first been released from the two Specials keeping him in his office he'd been almost frantic, trying to find out what had happened while he 'd been detained. That had been almost half a week ago.
Wizards' debts were not something to be scoffed at, they were binding in a way that no-one could predict, especially if the other magical being involved was not a witch or a wizard. Arthur felt himself beholden to the two youths for saving the lives of his teammates, as well as his own.
He was under no illusion as to what the outcome of their bungled mission could have been. Things were getting dangerous, information was becoming increasingly twisted and false. Accurate sources for the activities of those who followed He-who-must-not-be-named were virtually non-existent.
There was a good reason for why he had been chosen to lead the mission, when he was not a battle auror. There were too many uncertainties regarding the plots and plans that went past those who worked for the light, and finding someone you could trust to watch your back was even rarer.
When the information had come through, it was simply too good an opportunity to miss, although some would have said the reasons were a damn sight more personal. With eight out of ten operatives already tied up, the choice of personnel whom the Light trusted was narrowed down significantly. With his experience in delaying, misleading, and a very carefully cultivated aura of clumsy enthusiasm, Arthur Weasley was the only person they could realistically send in after the rumor of missing muggle children was dropped into the Order's lap.
But no-one could have predicted this outcome.
The halls had been packed with terrified and worried Ministry workers when Arthur found himself released. Rumors had been flying thick and fast about the reason for the buildings sudden shudders and shakes, as well as the sudden shadows that had sprung up everywhere for an instant, before disappearing.
People were saying You-know-who had attacked and been thwarted, most possibly by the Untouchables or the Specials, after all wasn't the distinguished leader and Commander of the Specials here today himself? Mentions of dark wizards running rampant through the halls were considered and nervously brushed aside.
In all the rush, it had taken the red-haired auror almost fifteen minutes to get back to the infirmary where he'd last spoken to the boy he owed so much to.
He'd arrived to a scene of utter devastation.
Glass was smashed and glittering across the floor, red smears pooling in places, sending crimson coloured shimmers across the stone where the sunlight touched them. The beds were thrown about and in complete disarray, the medi-cupboards at the far end of the room mangled and broken. A handful of aurors were working, tight lipped and pinch-faced around the room, their eyes flickering up to meet Arthur's face with a clear sense of relief when he walked in.
The situation had been briefly and quickly outlined to him, and his eyes had widened with each progressive sentence. Arthur had been privy to the punishment the youth, Yami, had dealt to those Death-Eaters when his small friend had been mildly hurt. He did not want to know what he did to Adrian.
Stomach churning, Arthur had clenched his fists, straightened his back, and followed the woman in charge to the room which had, quite suddenly, added itself to the building in preparation for the two youths who needed it.
She had whispered one last thing to him before knocking on the door, her hand gripping his arm in a deathly tight hold, her eyes hard and afraid at the same time.
This woman, who Arthur knew from the files had once been a first-rate instructor and fighter, usually undercover, spoke one sentence that sent shivers down Arthur's' spine. They were words she had never uttered before, not even when she had been captured once ten years previously and had to face weeks of torture, followed by a long period of recuperation, the results of which had ended her field career.
She spoke quietly, her voice ever so slightly breathless and strangled. "Be careful Arthur." She said, swallowing nervously, her voice quivering fractionally. "They scare me."
They scare me.
By the time he had gathered his wits, she was gone, leaving a stunned auror on the doorstep of what could be an even greater threat than the Dark Lord himself. Because this youth here had someone to protect, and none fought as fiercely as those with something precious to lose.
Watching the youth tend to his smaller twin, Arthur felt he could forgive Yami his rash actions. Just thinking of the trauma his once friend had inflicted on the child made his stomach churn. Rape. Whether it had been carried through or not, the intention was there.
The humiliation, debasement and loss of control could and most likely would have serious repercussions in the smaller boy's future. That innocence, that light and friendly concerned warmth that had been in the boy's eyes possibly lost forever.
Yes, Arthur could find himself hating his friend even more with each passing day.
It was even more horrifying considering he had children himself. There is nothing quite like the realisation of a parent when their child is in danger, and the moment the boy had risked his life to save a few strangers was the moment Arthur found himself feeling responsible for the small pair of twins.
When he'd knocked the door had opened by itself, the taller youth being on the other side of the room, a small, naked bundle of limbs in his arms. His red eyes had looked devoid of expression, but the taut line of his lips alerted Arthur to Yami''s firm control of his emotions.
When Arthur didn't move, Yami continued on his way, a side door opening and then closing partway behind the boy of it's own accord. The sounds of splashing water and softly whispered words in a deep, rolling tongue floated out into the room, but there was no reply, no lilting voice in answer to the almost desperate croons.
When Yami had carried his smaller twin into the room, clean, dried and naked, Arthur wordlessly helped dress him in the white shift he'd found on the bed, stepping back to allow the youth to tuck the small boy in the large blue-sheeted bed.
Then they had talked. Warily, with evasions and long pauses as each male took stock of the other, but eventually an unspoken truce was met.
Things were getting worse though. Since Yami had related Yugi's last words to him, the boy had simply not woken up. His eyes blank and lifeless when he'd checked them, his body unresponsive to everything Yami tried. On the second day Yami had suddenly collapsed whilst rocking his twin.
When he came to over eleven hours later, his eyes drawn with fatigue, his arms shaking, his legs too unsteady to walk on, he had gasped for breath and sobbed out one sentence, before falling into a natural, albeit fitful sleep.
He is lost to me.
The horror, desperation and sheer despair in Yami's eyes had tugged at Arthur's heart. Thinking back now he had to stop himself from smiling wryly at the thought of having adopted, if only in his feelings for them, two extra sons.
Okay one son who seemed to be a malignant, vicious, darkly terrifying and oddly regal, and another who, with a single glance had brought out every overprotective parental impulse he'd ever experienced in one go, both wrapped up in the strangest twin-like package he'd ever seen.
When Yami had woken up the next morning, he himself having left around two am and returned around nine-ish, Arthur had broached the subject of the nurses and doctors at a medical facility called St. Mungos. He'd suggested allowing one or two of their medical staff come examine Yugi.
The cursing that had met that suggestion had turned the air blue, figuratively speaking.
But now...
"There may be another way..." Arthur said, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
Yami raised a brow, waiting.
"I know someone. He runs a school and has many, many contacts. There is a nurse who works for him at the school whom I trust implicitly, and have trusted to take care of my kids there. She might be able to help."
Yami scowled, crossing his arms. "...and you think she could help?" he asked sceptically.
Arthur nodded slowly, his eyes earnest. "I don't like this any more than you do. I feel responsible. But by Merlin Yami! You can't sit here and do nothing!"
"I am not doing nothing!" Yami roared, one arm sweeping out to encompass the room. "I have stayed here even after out help was abused. Our trust in your people taken advantage of...my aibou...my light tortured!!" His voice rose, "I am not doing nothing!"
"Then accept some help!" Arthur shouted back. "He is going to die!"
Yami flinched. The air around him chilling a few degrees as the magic responded to his emotions.
"Please Yami. Let me help."
There was a long pregnant pause as Yami thought things over. "As you will." he said thickly, his voice subdued. "Get me your help and I will consider this allowing them to attempt to heal my aibou."
Arthur sighed in relief. "Thank you."
Yami's lips quirked into a self-deprecating half smile. "I should say that to you, if this works."
Arthur snorted.
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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The plane touched down with barely a shudder, as smooth as silk over glass.
"We're here Kaiba-san."
Mokuba stretched in his seat, quickly unfastening his seatbelt from the double-sized chair he'd ridden in. It was pretty handy having your own plane to fly in, especially since Mokuba doubted he'd have been able to do this otherwise.
His first landing two and a half days previous had been to Heathrow Airport. His base of operations one of the most private and luxurious hotels in Britain.
From there he'd started his search, using magical and mundane means.
While he didn't have the same sort of magical talent as his brother or Yugi and his friends, he did seem to have an inborn ability to control the natural world. Not really consciously, but he felt and sometimes saw things that others didn't. He never got lost as long as he could touch the earth, and there was an almost invisible connection between himself and those he counted as friends.
But it wasn't magic.
He'd first noticed it as far back as when he was a little boy, when Gozaburo Kaiba had adopted him and his brother. Seto had started to change after the first six months, his eyes losing their soft kindness, and gradually hardening into the perpetual ice that froze those he looked at with disdain.
Seto had done what he could to keep his little brother safe, but Mokuba witnessed a lot more than Seto thought.
He had started avoiding Gozaburo after eighth months, while Seto was still being trained. That was when he noticed his 'gift'. When he wanted to disappear the grounds seemed to hide him, the plants and grasses, branches, trees and bushes always managing to obscure him from view.
When he was chased once, the guard dogs turned on their trainers and allowed Mokuba to hide before Gozaburo realised that he had even left his room.
When he was upset, or when his brother seemed tense, he could always tell, even if he wasn't even in the same house, and when he was around his brother his touch would calm Seto down.
Not to mention he always managed to understand what it was people actually meant, rather than what it was they were trying to say.
When he'd been kidnapped by Pegasus, he had managed to stay hidden on the grounds since the plant-life seemed to see him as one of their own. It was because he left the safety of the natural environment that he was re-captured.
He knew that it wasn't normal, but he'd never said anything to anyone, for fear of seeming like a freak, then when the truths about the yamis and hikaris as well as his brother were shared, Mokuba didn't tell anyone because he knew that somehow it would hurt his brother.
As long as Seto thought Mokuba was normal, he would do anything to make sure that Mokuba led a normal life. But if he found out about Mokuba's 'gifts' he would worry endlessly about something he had no control over.
Mokuba sighed, rubbing his eyes as he discarded that train of thought. Somehow he didn't think that these were normal musings for thirteen year olds, no matter how advanced or mature. Then again, he could hardly be considered normal.
The short walk out to the waiting limo and the fifteen minute drive to the small, private estate that he would be staying at for the next few days drew Mokuba's attention. He knew it was just a matter of time before Seto followed him, and his brother was showing remarkable restraint in not jumping in the other company jet and flying straight over here.
Seto's one stipulation had been that as long as Mokuba rang every evening, and stayed in one of Seto's many properties, guarded by at least four bodyguards, then he would have a week's leeway before Seto involved himself.
For Mokuba, who had never been away from his brother if he could possibly help it, and vice versa, this was a massive test, both on his own behaviour, and Seto's patience and trust.
Although Mokuba doubted that he would have been allowed to be alone if it wasn't for the fact that Seto felt safer being alone on his property to use his magic. With Mokuba safely esconsed in one of his houses on the other side of the world, Seto wouldn't have to worry so much about shielding his magic and castings.
The car rounded a densely forested road and stopped, leaving Mokuba blinking. The huge metal gates seemed to blend in with the massive leafy trees on either side. True monoliths of nature blended seamlessly with man-made and curved metal.
Once through the gates, the grounds continued for a minute or two of forest, opening up to a beautifully green expanse of grass before a long, low-slung two storied house. There were smaller, multi-coloured trees peeking out from behind the walls, and a delicate rose garden to the right. The entire area was enclosed in on all sides by the forest.
The house was brick and glass on the bottom half, a long sheltered black-wood floored porch that was somehow oriental and western at the same time. The front doors were thick, dark wood, and the lower windows had equally thick frames.
Deep flower boxes stood on the floor, a colourful arrangement of flowers and herbs giving of a delightful, woodsy, earthy scent.
The top half of the building was more in line from what Mokuba expected from Seto. Shimmering white material, not unlike fine marble or covered, sanded glass fronted the building, a dark reddish brown, almost black trim of tiny mosaic tiles reaching around the sides in an intricate pattern that Mokuba recognised from one of Seto's wards as being a protection spell, woven into the actual frame of the building.
No wonder Seto insisted that he stayed here.
The windows on the top half were long and wide, over four feet across in some cases.
"Sir?"
Mokuba turned to the waiting man. "Yes?"
"The bags are inside sir, and your rooms have been prepared. May I show you?"
With a polite nod, Mokuba followed the man inside.
The interior of the building was softer than Mokuba expected. A dark wooden floor gleamed under the hidden lighting in the roof. The hall he'd stepped into was open, leading directly into a long, wide, open-planned seating and living area that was sub-set into the floor. Four steps led down to the area, and a wide fireplace stood against the far wall, a rounded leather sofa and three custom-made rounded wooden and leather chairs sat around the leather sofa.
To the far left was a three-four-foot wide set of windows, or maybe doors, that opened up to a stone flagged garden/barbecue deck.
Immediately to Mokuba's right lay an indoor pond. It was six feet round, not too big, and it had a long eight foot by three foot trench leading to the right, put past the other wall to the rest of the pond, over twenty feet worth of it.
Beside that was a curved staircase to the upper floor. Behind the staircase, leading off from the lounge was the dining area and kitchen as a quick peek confirmed.
The upstairs was just as stunning. Soft, honey-coloured floorboards, and cream, emerald and silver-toned decor made the place seem airy and bright. His own room a contrast of dark green walls in three layered imaging, smaller details, almost invisible unless you looked closely had been painted in shades barely darker and lighter than the main tone.
A wide, low futon-style bed lay in the centre of the bedroom, cream sheets pooling on the sides, giving the place the appearance of an altar.
Mokuba grinned, sometimes Seto's humor showed up in the oddest places.
To the right was his private bathroom, complete in Japanese style, with a shower built into the wall and floor beside the bath. The entire room being waterproofed. The bath itself was over eight feet wide, and four feet deep, perfect for long, relaxing soaks. Mokuba knew if he checked the cupboards they would already be filled with all his favourite brands.
Mokuba turned to the man who was waiting patiently. "Thank you." he said, giving the man a nod.
The man nodded back before leaving.
Unclipping his mini-player from his hip, Mokuba dropped it on the bed, kicking off his shoes and socks, before turning on the bath and shower. He spent a blissful half hour in the water, before padding out of the bathroom in his bathrobe, trying to dry his hair which now reached his waist.
Dressing quickly in red jeans and a black top with an anime character plastered across it, and his hair braided, Mokuba sat cross-legged on his bed, booting up his customised laptop and booster. Within moments he was linked to every satellite around the earth, most of which his brother had already hacked and put in back doors to.
They were the type that would never be found, after all, who could plan for a magical hacker?
"Right..." Mokuba muttered, setting off his trackers, "...let's see. Search for areas of concentrated energy, both magical and mundane, oddities in localised weather patterns, animal behaviour, and overlap each graph..."
The search continued for another hour, the data sectioned and plotted into his specifications.
The results were unbelievable.
More than two-thirds of Britain was covered by a mystical interference spell of some sort, in fact, it was so powerful it could even be natural. What was odd was that these disturbances didn't follow the natural ley-lines of the Earth.
There were three main disturbances that outshadowed the rest. On the surface, the magic in them seemed normal, but combined with the weather reports, the electrical disturbances, police reports...or lack thereof, land value, geological and demographic surveys, all pointed to some extremely dangerous and erratic magic.
The closest was in London, in the outskirts of the city. That in itself was strange, especially since no-one ever seemed to notice it. But then again, most people didn't really tend to see what was under their very noses. The second was in the Yorkshire Dales, around about the centre of the island that was the United Kingdom, the third lay in Scotland.
Each of these three centres of magic were old, older than most of the towns that had sprung up around them if the state of the magic in them spoke truly...but they were mere babes compared to his brother and the yamis. There was something not quite right about his results. His computer measured the magical data as easily as it did the electrical data...but something just didn't add up.
And he was no closer to finding Yugi and Yami than he was before.
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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"Through Ancients' eye, and sandy tomb, By gift of Air, and Life renewed..."
The sounds of steady chanting rumbled in the air of the darkened room.
"...for time unbound, and might suppressed."
The male in the centre of the room stood proud, his arms upstretched, his body clad in heavily embroidered dark blue robes, a long curved headdress covering his features down to his eyes.
"Knowledge sought, and wisdom found, by creed and sign, and words command..."
A light wind whipped up the long robes around the figure, two glowing spheres suddenly forming in the dual points of his palms.
"Return and release!"
With an earth-shattering cry, the figure threw both hands face down to the ground, the impact shattering the globes and sending an immense magical ripple thorough the fabric of both the natural and magical worlds.
In the aftermath, harsh panting filled the now black room, the magic-heavy air thick with the smell of sweat and the lightly bitter scent of blood.
In the centre of the room, Seto fell to his knees, one hand wiping the blood from his lips and nose. A moment later he curled up on the stone floor of his basement room, asleep.
There was no-one near to find him.
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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In life there is a delicate balance. A little trite, but true nonetheless. It can be seen in a million of tiny ways. The blooms of flowers in spring changing thought the seasons into the brown of autumn. Seemingly dead trees sleeping, only to flourish once winter's icy grip passes.
From the minuscule bacteria that keep our bodies functioning, the ever continuous workings of our bodies to keep themselves healthy, healed, happy.
Then there's the other side. The faint electrical traces that have been found, bio-electric chemistry and faint aura discolorations that can even be photographed, but which cannot be completely explained...these both helped to make up who we are, and how we see things.
But say there was a third issue. A component that was only present on a fraction of people. Not a gene, or a mutagen, not a reactive disorder...but a whole new type of energy that infused the body.
Then...lets call these people magical.
This automatically destroys the balance of the natural world. Nature had things pretty much sorted, then these magical beings came about.
So they need to be balanced.
Imagine then that for centuries of being unbalanced, all the chaos that should have erupted in the natural world was being absorbed by another plane, another 'unseen' level of existence, one which had all the same composition and elements of the world they had originated in.
Then lets say that the constant influx of bio-information forced this 'other' level, this separate realm to manifest an almost duplicate copy of the DNA and Magical codes of the worlds that was sending the excess unbalanced magic through. These factors combined to birth creatures that were a warped version of the first, normal, creations. But since they were trapped in this other place, no-one could find out.
Then one day someone did find out. Someone over six and a half thousand years ago searched for a way of boosting his magic, and stumbled onto this warped, blackened, dark, twisted plane, filled with magic for the taking.
Only it was unnatural magic.
Shadow magic.
Chaos Magic.
This wizard changed, his own natural magic becoming unstable. He couldn't control it and he died, leaving the gates to this dark realm wide opened.
Creatures emerged and were set free. Vampires, a dark reflection of Elves fled, taking all traces of themselves and disappearing, thestrals, the dark versions of unicorns did the same. Ogres, the dark reflections of the giants were unable to comprehend what was happening, so they stayed in their realm, only a scarce handful managing to make their way into the outside world. Soon, hundreds upon thousands of creatures had escaped.
Most stayed in the area they were freed in, wanting to either stay close to their only source of Chaos magic, or too weak to flee.
The wizards in the area tried their best to subdue the creatures, new spells and enchantments being created continuously to stop the threat of the Shadows. Soon, the best wizards from around the globe managed to congregate and seal the gate.
Or so they thought.
What they actually managed to do was set a temporary seal on the passage between the worlds, but with the chaos inside running unchecked, they knew it wouldn't last. Their own magic was also changing, they were not wizards any longer, their magic warping into something new, something completely unseen before.
Thus the race of mages and sorcerers, priests and clerics was born.
Soon they found ways of harnessing the power they'd trapped, and they became ever cockier with each generation being born. The newer generations forgetting the huge number of their kind which had perished trying to seal away the magic. They had been warned that there were none strong enough to seal the Shadows again, should they be released.
People forgot this and carried on, the wizards eventually hiding themselves away when it became apparent that they were no longer working on the same wavelengths, their basic philosophies and beliefs slowly changing, their entire way of magic evolving into a never before seen darkness.
With the only way into the Chaos realm blocked, the wizards were forced to change too. Their magic beginning to balance itself. Darker magics, curses, blood rites and even death curses started to be created, the chaos having no other outlet.
The Great Red War began, and lasted for seven hundred years. When it ended, only a tiny number of wizards were left, those of the non-magical persuasion now outnumbering them a thousand to one.
The wizards fled, and hid themselves, magically wiping all traces of their existence as they licked their wounds and recovered.
Eventually, they became mere myths.
During the wizarding war, the mages and sorcerers were also fighting. They forced the creatures they caught and tamed from the Shadow Realm, as it was now being called, to do their bidding. But even they were changing.
The chaos magic was trying to find a balance. Dark creatures bred and half their offspring were of other types of magic. Light, Wind, Earth etc, were all being born. The Darkness was finding it's strength, and becoming balanced within itself, it's creatures and inhabitants increasing in strength as time progressed.
It wasn't until a battle, nearly a thousand years later that the Realm of the Shadows was finally sealed for good. But, with it gone, the mages and sorcerers, priests and clerics disappeared, searching for other conduits of power.
They became forgotten as the years passed and they were never seen again.
And time, as it usually does, moved forward. The passages of her books losing all remembrances, the actions of the wizards and mages, sorcerers, priests, clerics and magical beings were lost forever.
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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The room was hot, musty. The air stale and heavy. It's single occupant slept fitfully, sun-touched limbs slowly turning white from their lack of exposure to the outside world.
Dreams, nightmares forced their way into his mind, dragging images of torture and death to the forefront.
"You're a liar Harry."
"There is no Voldemort."
A single figure coalesced from the sudden mist that had sprung up, green eyes glinting from the darkness.
"Nothing. That's what you are. Just a waste of space."
"You're a murderer Harry."
The figure stepped closer, the mist parting to show Harry his own face. The other Harry grinning madly, holding out a single blood-caked hand. His other hand held up the a severed head, it's long white beard matted and red, its eyes blank and empty.
Albus Dumbledore.
"C'mon Harry. You might as well accept it. You're a filthy wizard. Not a decent person at all. You're the one behind the attacks. Just you Harry. Just Harry. You killed him, your precious Headmaster. Didn't you always resent him in secret, wishing he'd never placed you with those horrible muggles? Well, you can be happy now Harry, just Harry. You killed him."
Harry stumbled backwards, holding his head in both hands. "NO! You're a dream! This isn't real! He's not dead! I don't...I don't resent him. I don't..."
The other Harry tilted his head. "Oh?" he said, blinking once as if he was hearing something incredibly silly. He looked down at the head in his hands and it was engulfed by a bright green flame, leaving not even a trace of ash behind. "Better Harry, just Harry? Don't feel so guilty now that you can't see him, right?"
Harry gasped in horror and took a step back, stumbling over nothing and falling in an ungainly mess of limbs on the floor. He wrapped his arms around his chest.
The doppleganger crouched beside him, his unnaturally green eyes glowing malevolently. "Face it Harry, just Harry. You've always wondered if you deserved being inside that dark horrid cupboard under the stairs. You felt worthless, discarded...an unwanted embarrassment."
"No..." Harry moaned, trying to cover his ears. The sounds carried through anyway.
"Don't lie Harry, you can't remember. I'm you. You can't lie to yourself. You always thought you would be better off dead, didn't you? Then you found out you were a wizard. A wizard Harry, just Harry! You thought things would be better...only they weren't were they? No-one noticed or cared that you were always bruised and starved, battered and half-broken when you came back every year.
"No-one cared or noticed that you threw yourself against every obstacle and every battle with a fervent, suicidal hope that that day would be the last.
"Nobody cared, did they, Harry, just Harry?"
"NO! Ron..Ron and Hermione, and Mrs Weasley, and Fred and George and Ginny and Mr Weasley...they all cared!" Harry screamed out in defiance. He shook slightly as he forced himself to stand level with his dark reflection. "...and Professor Dumbledore worried about me. But it wasn't safe for me to leave the Dursleys!
"I was never suicidal! I was hopeful. I wanted to help people. Not die!"
"Really Harry?" The other Harry cocked his head to the side, a glimmer of a smile touching his shadowy features.
Harry squared his the delicate line of his jaw, and jutted his chin out, his own dark green eyes sharp with anger. "You don't know me at all."
Delighted laughter filled the air as the other figure faded back into the mists. "I know you Harry, Just Harry..."
"You're not real." Harry muttered, clenching his fists. "Not re..."
"...al. Not real." Harry mumbled in his sleep. He kicked the covers of his dorm bed off, rolling over with a frown marring his forehead.
Sitting up with a gasp, Harry hugged his arms around himself protectively, biting his lip to prevent himself from making a sound.
Slipping silently from his warm, cosy bed in the Gryffindor boys dormitory, Harry wrapped his robe around himself and tugged on a pair of thick socks, padding soundlessly down the stairs to the Common Room below. The fire started up with a wave of his wand, and Harry curled up in a large chair before the flames.
By the time dawn broke, Harry was asleep.
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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"Why do I have to go?"
Dumbledore sighed, sending a disapproving look to the long-haired professor before him over his small, half-moon spectacles. "Really Severus. Did you not read Arthur's report?"
A snort answered him. "You expect me to drop everything on the off chance that the report Arthur sent us about two muggle children may be accurate?"
"From what he said, I got the feeling that if we do not manage to mend the bridges that have been burnt, something terrible could happen. These two boys are not muggles, Severus. And I feel they may be of some help to us."
"...if they don't kill us first." Snape grumbled. "Poppy should be sufficient if they need healing."
"And if she is unsuccessful?"
Snape rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Fine. I'll go and assess the situation. But I will not stay for more than a day. Any longer and you can move them here or count me out. I am not going to allow some ragtag substitute destroy my classroom while I'm off doing your dirty work."
Dumbledore smiled pleasantly. "As you say Severus. Can you be ready in an hour?"
"Fine." Snape uttered darkly, leaving in a swirl of black robes.
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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Arthur paced up and down the hallway outside the door to the room in which Yami waited impatiently. A worried expression was planted firmly on his face.
While he'd managed to persuade Yami to accept help from his friends, he knew that with the three-day delay, chances that Yugi could he saved were still slim.
Then there were also the rumors going around.
Adrian Waring had been admitted to St Mungos, although the reasons for his admittance were not widely spread. Most people seemed to think Adrian Waring could do no wrong, since he'd been fighting for the Light for over fifty years. He was legendary among the young recruits, and people were starting to get upset at the person they felt was responsible for hurting one of their own.
With Yugi unconscious, and Adrian no better, there was no concrete proof of Adrian's wrong-doings, since only six people had actually seen Adrian harm the boy. Yet the room, when it had been destroyed by Yami in anger was filled with Adrian's blood, from his skin being shredded as if by a hundred, thousand blades.
Compared to the eight-hundred strong staff of the MoM, (the Ministry of Magic), there was a good chance that the charges that were going to be brought up against Adrian would be dropped, or that he would be excused, some were already saying the Dark creature (Yami) had cast the spell to make it look like Adrian had been doing something wrong, then not allowed his younger 'brother' to wake up. Just to cause trouble.
Ridiculous. But then most people didn't like to change their world views, they clung to what was familiar and closed themselves off to th real possibilities,.
It was only a matter of time before Adrian was healed and awake, and Arthur worried that he may decide to take his revenge on the boy he taken under his wing. Yugi.
"Arthur." A kindly voice greeted, and it took the man a moment to re-gain his bearings.
"Madam Pomfrey." Arthur greeted. He blinked and frowned when he saw the person who had accompanied the medi-witch. He held back a glare, turning instead to the elder witch before him. "What's he doing here?"
Madam Pomfrey shook her head in warning. "Really Arthur," she said, as if chastising a child, "I though you were above such pettiness."
Arthur turned to her. "Maybe normally, yes. But I fail to see what good can come from his being here. Didn't you get my report?!"
"I can assure you that this was not my decision." Came the blunt interjection from Professor Snape.
"Fine. But I take no responsibility for you if anything happens!" Arthur snapped.
"Arthur!"
Arthur winced. "My apologies Madam. I guess I'm just a bit on edge. It was a nightmare getting Yami to agree to you coming...I don't know how he's going to react to him."
"But they're only children Arthur."
"One of which annihilated over a dozen Death Eaters. The Ministry had to tell the bone shards apart by magic."
Pomfrey paled.
"Look, as long as you're no threat to the younger one you'll probably be safe. Okay?"
Two nods.
Arthur sighed. "Right." he knocked on the door.
A deep voice, laced with impatience answered. "Come."
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---ooo0*0ooo---
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Tbc...
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Read and Review? Please?
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This was, unfortunately more of a filler chapter, moving the pieces around the board into their proper places. I hope you all enjoyed it anyway though.
I can't wait to write the next chapter, I'm better at actual battle and conflict scenes than I am with the necessary stuff. But it's important nonetheless.
Hugs,
~Shi-koi~
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