Welcome to Gaia! ::

Chapter 2

Yugi barely heard Ryou's gasp of horror or the low growl that came from Joey. All he could hear was Marik's words repeating over and over inside of his head. Again? How did they find out? Who was after them this time? Questions seemed to add themselves to his thoughts, beating at the inside of his skull angrily.

"Who? Who knows about us and the items?" Yugi chocked out, unable to keep the fear from his voice. Marik glanced out of the window and shook his head, moving toward the hall that lead to the living room. He still hadn't let go of Yugi so the younger boy was pulled along with him.

"Lets get further into the house before I explain." Marik muttered, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

They all followed him in silence, something in his tone and stance told them that this was serious business. Yugi gained his footing once more and moved ahead of Marik to show them the way into the living room. He was glad that he'd talk his grandfather into taking that offer to go visit Doctor Hawkins for a couple of weeks. At least he wouldn't be dragged into all of this again.

When they reached the room Yugi immediately sank down onto the sofa and waited for Marik to explain what was going on. Marik, who could clearly see how this news upset the two other item holders in the room, sat down and began to talk quickly.

"Three days ago I was in the tombs looking over some hieroglyphics that Ishizu had found about the shadow games. I was getting ready to leave when I heard voices that I didn't recognize, which is strange in it's self because the only ones that are allowed to be there are my family. I decided to investigate and found three people dressed in black robes looking over the hieroglyphics about the Millennium items and the shadow games. I almost mistook them for my Rare Hunters until I heard them start talking again. They were speaking English so I didn't understand most of what they said but I did catch a few phrases that made me realize we had a problem on our hands." Marik said, his tone and expression grave. Ryou was the first one to speak up, a frown tugging at his lips.

"What did they say?" he questioned the blond.

"The only phrases I understood were 'The Dark Lord will be please' and 'Power for his own'." Marik said, rubbing his hand over his face. "And of course 'Shadows' and 'Millennium items'." he added, his tone almost sarcastic.

Beside Yugi Ryou swallowed thickly and the spiky haired teen felt bad for him. He barely remembered any of the time that he held the ring, thanks to the spirit that resided within it. Yet, at the same time, he knew the horrors of the Shadow Realm better than any of them.

"I understand why you called me Marik but why Ryou?" Yugi asked, wanting to clarify things. Ryou didn't have the ring anymore, Yugi did. In fact it was in a bag upstairs with the Rod and the Necklace. They still had no idea where the Eye went and Yugi knew that Shadi had the Key and was keeping an eye on the other item. An involuntary shiver went down his spin at the thought of the Key, to him it was worse than the Rod in all aspects.

"Because you're going to have to give us our items back." Marik said in a weary yet reluctant voice. He didn't want the damned Rod back but he couldn't let his friend get hurt protecting it. Plus if he had his and Ryou took the ring back then there would be two extra people to help protect the item.

"What! If I take the Ring back then he'll come back." Ryou practically whimpered, looking slightly terrified.

Marik could understand is fear, once having his own Yami take control and go on a rampage, but he couldn't help but feel a little bit of annoyance. If the spirit of the ring got control of someone with more power and evil intentions then they'd all be screwed, a fact he didn't waste any time telling the white haired teen. Ryou looked even more troubled by this and bit his lip and fidgeted a bit, obviously trying to find an argument. Yugi sighed, he didn't want to admit it but Marik had a point. Plus they could deal with Bakura if he returned to cause trouble.

"He might even work with us if he knew that someone else was trying to get the items...someone who wouldn't cave into his will like Ryou did." Yami stated calmly, his spirit form once more materializing next to the younger boy.

"Working with Bakura? If it was any other situation I'd most likely tell you that you were finally losing your mind but I think you might be right about this..." Yugi responded with an internal sigh. He didn't like the thought of working with the spirit of the ring after everything that had happened but if Yami thought it was a good idea it might work.

"Besides Ryou, if he tries to cause trouble we can handle him. We did before." Yugi said, giving an encouraging smile. After a moment Ryou sighed and nodded his head in a resigned manner.

"Okay, I'll take it back for now. Only until this mess is over with, you can have it back after that." Ryou said, the last part said quickly as if he wanted it to be clear that Yugi was to get the item back. Yugi smiled and rose to his feet, moving toward the stairs to get said items.

"I'll be back in a second guys."

"How we know that they know you guys have the items." Joey asked, leaning forward and speaking for the first time since Marik had arrived.

Marik sighed and pulled out a picture from his pocket. Kaiba, Yugi, Joey, and Marik stood below the tittle that read "Battle City finalists: Seto Kaiba, Yugi Mouto, Joey Wheeler, and Marik Ishtar.". Yugi and Marik's Millennium items were in full view and glinting slightly in the light. They all looked like they wanted to get away from the camera quickly, which was exactly the case seeing as Kaiba had just announced that the island was going to blow up in exactly an hour. One of Kaiba's lackeys had insisted that they needed to take a picture to document the end of the tournament. He then sold it to a bunch of papers and magazines.

"As you can see Yugi and I are in full view with the items. It will only be a matter of time before they link the Shadow Games to Duel Monsters. When they do that they'll look at all of strange things going on in Domino then they'll see this, which was distributed in every convenience store and game shop all over Japan." Marik said, his eyes lingering on the picture.

They sat in silence until Yugi returned with the items. Both Marik and Ryou reached out reluctantly for them, both of the items holding bad memories for both of the boys. As soon as Yugi's hand was pulled back from the items golden light poured from the eye like symbols on both items. Both Ryou and Marik felt a jolt of energy go up their arms as they grasped the ancient items.

Marik stared down at the rod with a blank expression while Ryou slid the ring around his neck and felt the familiar weight around his neck. He winced for a moment, waiting for the familiar feeling of the malevolent spirit within his mind but it never came. He released his breath in almost a hiss of relief.

"He's not there?" Yugi asked, his eyes shinning with worry for the white haired boy.

"Nope, not a trace. He must still be locked in the Shadow Realm!" Ryou said happily, shaking his head enthusiastically.

Yugi and Marik smiled in relief, at least they didn't have to add watching to make sure Bakura didn't cause trouble to the list of things they had to do. Joey clapped the boy on the back with a smile. He only experienced being taken control of once but he knew how the white haired boy felt.

All four of them stiffened when the sound of someone knocking on the locked front door. Yugi didn't fight when Yami decided to take over, the transition so smooth that if you weren't watching closely you didn't notice that it had even happened. He and Marik made eye contact and Yami nodded slightly, pushing himself into a standing position. His hand went automatically to his deck as he walked toward the door, which Marik had locked before they had gone into the living room. He could see several figures standing outside the door and he paused to wait for Marik, Joey, and Ryou to get to the room as well. When they were all in the room Marik pulled the sheath off of the knife hidden in the bottom of the rod and Joey was flexing his fists. Yami took deep breath and opened the door, ready to jump out of the way for Marik to stab whomever was at the door if they were indeed a threat.

What he saw though surprised him even more than if he had opened the door to Seto Kaiba standing outside wearing a hot pink tutu with pink highlights in his hair. Standing on the doorstep was an old man in long flowing robes of emerald, his long white beard tucked into his belt and half-moon spectacles perched on his crooked nose, that looked as if it had been broken at one point. His blue eyes twinkled in amusement at the look of surprise on Yami's face.

Yami's stance loosened slightly. He couldn't exactly explain why but for some reason he knew that he didn't need to fear this man. It had to be something about the calming buzz of power that seemed to come from the elderly man. Behind the man stood three figures, each of them wearing long cloaks and looking vaguely surprised to see the door flung open in such a manner.

"Hello, I presume that you are Yugi Mouto? I have some matters to discuss with you and a few friends of yours that I see are already here." the elderly man said calmly, his eyes drifting past Yami to Marik, Bakura, and Joey.

"Who are you? Tell us and if we believe you we might spare you a trip to the Shadow Realm" Yami heard Marik growl from behind him and he had to suppress a shudder, he sounded a bit too much like when he was before Battle City. Yami was surprised once more by the man standing in front of him. He barely even blinked at the threat, though the people behind him stiffened and reached into their robes for what Yami could only guess were weapons. The elderly man however raised a hand to stop them before turning his attention back to Marik and the others.

"Mr. Ishtar, believe it or not growling out threats at people do not make them more willing to comply to your demands. Quite the opposite in fact, they may make things worse for you. You would do well to remember this in the future." The man responded calmly and sounding almost, if Yami dared to guess, amused by the younger male. "As for your question, I might be more inclined to answer if I and my friends were invited inside. It is unwise to linger upon doorsteps in these troubled times." the man added wisely.

Marik was too stunned by the fact that the older man knew his name to do anything more than sputter incoherently so Yami took the incentive, he stepped aside to let the man and his companions enter the residence. He carefully looked over the three other people that accompanied the old man. A man with tattered robes, who looked like he could only be in his early thirties or late twenties, moved first to follow. After him was a woman with bright pink hair, much to Yami's surprise she winked at him as she passed. The last of the three through the door was an older man with glasses and flaming red hair. Yami's eyes slid out to the road quickly before he closed the door. He didn't lock it, if they needed to make a quick escape it would only hinder them.

Looking rather uncomfortable Joey and Ryou lead the way back to the living room, not liking the fact that they had to turn their backs on the strange new people. When they got into the room the old man settled down on the sofa while the other three stood behind him, looking as uncomfortable as Joey, Marik, Yami, and Ryou felt. In fact, the only one that seemed right at home and relaxed was the old man.

"Now, as for your question. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-" he began, only to be interrupted by Marik and Joey's snorts of laughter.

"Witchcraft?" Joey said, unable to hold back his chuckle.

"Wizardry?" Marik chocked out, more amused than Yami had seen him[unless right before his Yami took over counted]

"Yes, Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you find that unbelievable then I wonder what you find the Shadow Games." Dumbledore said, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Joey and Marik immediately stopped laughing, both of them glancing over at Yami uncomfortably. "As I was saying, I come here to offer you protection against the Dark Lord and his minions." Dumbledore continued, acting as if he had not seen the look the two blonds had given the smaller teen.

"Why should we take your protection Dumbledore-san?" Yami asked, sitting down on an ottoman that rested across from sofa. "All we know is that this 'Dark Lord' wants our Millennium items. How do we know that you are not working for said 'Dark Lord'?" He continued, his eyes never leaving the old man.

The woman standing behind Dumbledore hissed as if Yami had just insulted her. She began to reach into her robes once more for something that Yami couldn't see but once more was stopped by Dumbledore.

"It's okay Tonks, they have a right to be suspicious. After all, we did just meet." He said gently. "I assure you, we don't work for Voldemort. We are members of the Order of the Phoenix, a group that is working against Voldemort. I have already spoken to Seto Kaiba, who none too politely declined our offer. We set up basic defenses around his home and office, not to his knowledge of course, but he is in very little danger. It is you two, or should I say three now that I look closely at your white haired friend, that are in the most danger. Voldemort will do anything to get his hands on the power of your items, he may even target your family and friends." Dumbledore said calmly, waiting for a moment before continuing so the information could settle into their minds. "I have already sent someone to explain the situation to your grandfather and offer him protection as well. We are also prepared to offer shelter to Mr. Wheeler as well, seeing as he is known to be one of your closest friends and also had the misfortune to be in the picture with you that Voldemort has in his possession." Dumbledore continued, first addressing Yugi before turning to Marik. "I also offered your sister and brother the same protection but they declined. They would not say exactly why but I'm sure you'll know why."

Marik and Yugi nodded, while Joey frowned. Joey opened his mouth to ask something but Dumbledore silenced him by raising his hand.

"I will answer your question in a moment Mr. Wheeler, please don't think I am rude but I must get through this quickly. We don't know how much time it will take for Voldemort to track you down." he said with a kind smile before launching back into speech. "My offer is for the three of you: Mr. Ishtar, Mr. Mouto, and Mr. Bakura to come to my school where you will be under the supervision of myself and the staff and within the magical barriers of the castle. You will be able to learn how to defend yourself from Voldemort and also explore the magic of your items in a safe environment." Dumbledore said, pausing to let them think for a moment. "Do you accept my proposal?"

"Before we say give you an answer please answer this one question: Where will Joey and my grandfather be?" Yami asked, the question on both his and Yugi's minds. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Joey stiffen and then give him a small smile. Apparently that had been Joey's question as well.

"They will be at the headquarters of the Order, the second most protected place we can send them other than Hogwarts." Dumbledore said simply.

"I accept" Marik said after a moment glancing over at Yami and Ryou.

"I accept as well. I'd gladly take any chance at learning how to control the Rings power." Ryou said, sounding more confident than Yami had ever heard the boy.

"Then I guess I shall accept as well, as long as my family and friends are protected as well." Yami finally said after a few moments.

Chapter 4

"You go in first."

"No you!"

They all stared at the door, arguing in whispers about who was going to enter the room first. Joey pushed Ryou forward and there was a miniature scuffle. In the end Ryou ended up closer to the door while the other three gave him a push. He gave them such a dirty look that if Yugi didn't know any better he'd say that Bakura had returned. Ryou reached out a shaking hand to grasp the door, turning it gently and pushing it open. He poked his head into the room, his stance saying that he was ready to flee on a moments notice. However, the people in the room didn't seem to notice the fact that the door had opened. They continued to argue, and from what Ryou could hear it was about them.

"If they are so powerful that Voldemort wants them then I doubt that they're younger than thirty." A girl said in a know it all manner, her bushy hair falling over her shoulder as she shook her head.

"But Hermione we heard Dad saying that they'd be staying with us until term started. That must mean that they're school aged!" One of the red haired boys said, and what could only be his twin sitting next to him nodded smugly.

"If only we could get the ears under the door, we'd know exactly why the order has to protect them!" Another one of the red haired boys complained, though he looked younger than the twins.

"I wonder if they're the weapon that Sirius accidentally let slip?" A boy with black hair and glasses asked, frowning slightly.

"I don't think so, the order's too worked up for them to be the weapon. It's like they just found out about them or something." The other girl spoke up, pushing a strand of red hair out of her face.

To say that Ryou was curious to listen to the rest of the conversation would be an understatement but he never got the chance because the others were getting curious as to why Ryou hadn't entered the room yet. Someone, he was more interested in what was being said to notice who, bumped into him trying to see what was going on in the room and sent him sprawling forward. The door opened just enough for him to land flat on his face in front of the teens talking.

"Ryou are you okay?" Yugi cried, moving to help his friend up.

"I'm fine," Ryou muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Um, who are you and why were you standing outside our door?" Hermione asked, rising into a standing position along with the rest of them.

"Mrs. Weasley told us to come up here until dinner was ready." Yugi said, reaching down and offering Ryou a hand to help him up. Ryou took the hand with as sigh, brushing his pants off once he was standing again.

"You didn't answer Hermione's first question." The younger red haired boy asked, looking them over suspiciously. Out of the corner of his eye Yugi could see Marik glaring at the kid and sighed.

"I'm Yugi Mouto and these are my friends." Yugi said, motioning to each of the teens behind him.

"Joey Wheeler," Joey waved slightly, looking just as comfortable as he would if he were in Yugi's house.

"Ryou Bakura," Ryou nodded slightly, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"And Marik Ishtar." Marik just crossed his arms over his chest and have a small nod. Yugi couldn't help but feel like he was going to cause trouble in the future.

"Oh, are you guys with the people that Dad and Dumbledore went to get?" One of the twins asked, relaxing slightly. "We heard that a couple of their family and friends would have to go into hiding." The other twin added, matching the firsts stance.

The four of them exchanged glances and sighed. Nobody ever seemed to think that they could be as powerful as they were, unless someone already knew about the items or had gone up against them at one point in time.

"Um...no. We are them." Yugi said, scratching the back of his head.

"Well except me, I'm the one going into hiding." Joey said with a chuckle, moving to sit down on one of the beds.

The teens stared the four of them for a moment, not quite believing them. Yugi sighed and moved to sit down next to Joey. He felt tired and jittery at the same time, but he was used to the feeling. He'd had it twice before. He knew it was the worry of what was going to happen next, what they were going to have to face.

"Look you don't have to believe us, I don't care either way. But the fact of the matter is that we're going to be around each other till term starts so we please just try to get along." Yugi said, running his hand through his multicolor hair.

"Well said mate, I'm Fred and this is my brother George" One of the twins said with a large grin.

"What are you talking about! I'm Fred and you're George" The other said, looking annoyed.

"I think I know my own name brother." the other said with a grin.

"Oh, that's right. I am George. My Bad" George said with a grin, shrugging while Fred had to place a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

"Ignore those two, they like messing with peoples heads. I'm Ginny by the way." The other girl said with a roll of her eyes.

"I think mum dropped both of them at one point when they were babies." The other red haired male said, eying the twins for a moment. "I'm Ron," He added after a moment, giving a tentative smile.

Joey's eyes shifted over the twins, Ron, and Ginny for a moment with a frown.

"Are you four related?" He asked after a moment, not noticing the sweat drops that formed on Marik, Ryou's and Yugi's heads.

"Yep, Fred and George are older than Ron and I, and I'm a year younger than Ron." Ginny said with a smile, moving to sit on the other side of Joey. Yugi glanced over at the other two teens, one of which still hadn't stated his name. Hermione seemed to be thinking carefully while the other was just staring at Yugi strangely.

"Is your hai—." He began, only to have Yugi, Marik, and Ryou answer

"Yes, it's natural." The chimed, having had to deal with the same thing back home. Even by Japanese standards Yugi's hair was odd.

"Oh....okay. I'm Harry by the way." Harry said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"It's cool, and it's nice to meet all of you." Yugi said with a smile, glancing around the room.

"Soooo....when exactly does term start for you guys? In Japan schools already started." Ryou asked, moving to sit on the other bed.

None of them could answer because the door opened and Mrs. Weasley poked her head into the room.

"The meeting is over dears, come down for dinner." She said, disappearing a moment later.

"FOOOOD" Joey moaned, almost jumping two feet in the air in his haste to get out of the room and toward the delicious smell that was wafting up the stairs. The only one to move nearly as fast as Joey was Ron, who was hot on the blonds heals.

"Um....does he always act like that?" Harry asked, glancing nervously over at Yugi.

"I'd like to say no but I would be lying" Yugi said, shaking his head sadly. Beside him Marik chuckled and began to walk toward the door.

"Lets go before those two eat all of the food."

The trip down the stairs was no more pleasant than the trip up the stairs. Yugi tried very hard not to look at the heads on the wall as he passed them. He wondered how long they'd have to stay here. He hoped it wouldn't be too long. The people seemed nice enough but the house it's self was really really creepy.

He was grateful to reach the kitchen. It was slightly move inviting than the rest of the house that Yugi had seen. When they arrived Joey and Ron were already sitting at the table staring expectantly down at the plates in front of them. Mr. Weasley was deep in a conversation with another red haired male and didn't seem to notice them for a few minutes.

"Is there anything I can help you with Mrs. Weasley?" Ryou asked, smiling at the red haired woman.

"No dear, but thank you for asking." She replied with a smile, carrying a large platter toward the table.

Yugi moved to sit down next to Joey, which put him right next to a black haired man that he hadn't noticed at first. Then again the other man didn't notice him for a moment as well.

"Oh, hello." He said with a slight smile, his eyes traveling down to the puzzle. "You must be Yugi" he added with a smile.

"Yeah, though I don't know if I should know your name or not." Yugi said, glancing up at the man. Sitting down he barely came up to the mans shoulder. He really hated being small sometimes.

"I'm Sirius Black" Sirius said with a smile, holding out a hand which Yugi shook while returning the smile.

Dinner was pretty pleasant, the four of them found it very easy to jump into some conversations while with others they had to ask several questions. Mrs. Weasley informed them that when the school lists came in they'd go get their supplies. This caused all three of them to panic for a moment because they didn't know how they were going to pay for school supplies until the woman assured them that there was fund at Hogwarts for students who couldn't afford the supplies.

"Oh boys, could you help us with some cleaning tomorrow?" Mrs. Weasley asked during desert.

"Sure, what kind of cleaning?" Ryou responded happily, looking a bit more comfortable than he did when they first got there. Joey and Marik just nodded to say they agreed, seeing as their mouths were stuffed with food. Yugi nodded as well and waited for an answer.

"We don't consider it cleaning, we consider it waging war against the house. Before now it sat empty since my mother died." Sirius answered, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

It took a while for Yugi and the other three to stop laughing but once they did Lupin decided to speak up about something all of them were wondering about.

"Now, I know you three must have questions. We didn't have time to fully explain the situation before." He said, leaning back in his chair wearily. "Dumbledore told us to answer any of your questions that we could." he added with a small smile. Yugi was the first to speak up.

"Who exactly is this Voldemort person anyway?"

He noticed that all around the table, except for Lupin and two others, they twitched or jumped. Some of them let out strange noises of fear.

"What'd I say?" Yugi asked, puzzled.

"Um...most don't say his name. We call him You-know-who or He-who-must-not-be-named." Sirius explained, rolling his eyes slightly. "Even if most of the wizarding world denies that he's returned they still fear him." he added.

"Which is part of the reason they deny that he's returned." Lupin added.

Yugi, Joey, Ryou, and Marik all spoke at the same time, in almost the same exact tone of disgust.

"That's stupid"

"If you're afraid to say the name then you're just adding to your own fear of the person!" Marik protested. Yugi and Ryou nodded.

"Besides, it's stupid. He can't be that bad!" Yugi said, frowning. He noticed that Yami was listening avidly now. He could feel the spirit prodding at the back of his mind, asking for permission to take over.

"Sorry, I want to do this one on my own." Yugi said mentally to the spirit before turning his attention back to Lupin as he began to speak.

"You have to understand, he was and still is one of the darkest wizards in history." he said, his tone gentle. "And yes, even the history of your own magic looks lighter than what he's done." He added, noticing their dubious expressions.

"But if he's that dark why does he need us?" Ryou asked, sounding a bit upset.

"Think about it, if he got a hold of that type of magic he could bring fear and destruction to the entire world. We would be defenseless because we haven't had to deal with magic like that before." Lupin explained. "I doubt even you would know how to stop him if he got a hold of it. The only one who knew how to do that was the nameless Pharaoh." Lupin added, looking grave.

Yugi and Marik exchanged a knowing glance. They knew that said nameless Pharaoh was currently residing in the puzzle. Still, they didn't like the idea of this man unleashing the powers of the shadow games on the world again. The room descended into silence for a while. Everyone was thinking about what had just been said.

"Alright, everyone to bed. We have to get up early to start cleaning tomorrow." Mrs. Weasley said, breaking the silence at last. Everyone muttered their agreement and began to rise from their seats and head toward the beds that awaited them.

I hate to seem completely condescending, but after I saw the first few lines, I couldn't really keep reading. I absolutely love Harry Potter, so I understand that you may want to portray some kind of school or some characters. However, I have learned this: You HAVE to obtain written proof of permission to use those characters. They aren't original characters, so technically, it's copying. You could get sued a lot of money if the writer finds out. I suggest you change the names of the characters and the school, and try to keep the information you're getting from there to a minimum.
Please don't take this in a bad way. I'm sure it's a good storyline, but I can't read it in the knowledge that someone is taking characters another person spent time creating and trying to use it as their own. I completely agree with making a... contradiction... of sorts, like:
"This school reminds me of Hogwarts. It's so old-fashioned, Larry." Magenta said, looking around Starlight High School.
"I know right? I'm just waiting for Harry Potter to walk out at any moment, talking to Hermione and Ron." Larry replied, chuckling.

Something like that I think would be fine. But actually using the characters for your own is, believe it or not, illegal. :/

I would like to point out to you that this is in the /Fanfiction/ forum. ^_^
Which means I am writing my own story within the fandom and am not going to publish it anywhere other than the internet and will receive no profit other than people reading it.
S