Chapter 12: - Moving Forward
"...They're still here, for now at least. The Ministry didn't know what to do with...them," Mai trailed off as she reached the kitchen with Harry and Yugi in tow, only to find a pair of young men debating the merits and disadvantages of certain pyro-type monsters over others while chowing down on what smelled like freshly baked cookies.
"Yo," said one of them with a wave of his hand. He was short, with messy brunette hair and green eyes. His jacket declared him as, 'Tate.' Three monster cards were in his hand.
"Cookie?" the other offered with a grin. He was tidier in his appearance, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was, 'Lyle,' according to his own jacket's nametag. "They're like, the best cookies ever."
Yugi's stomach growled in response. The pair chuckled and budged up, making room at the table for the trio. Harry and Yugi shot in the door and plonked themselves down on stools. Mai, however, was about to follow them into the comfortably warm side-room that led onto the baking hot kitchens when she spotted the small, humanoid creatures of about two feet tall, with long pointy ears working the kitchens. "What is that?"
"Apparently they're called House Elves," Lyle answered her, still grinning, "they're the best cooks ever."
Harry sensed confusion rolling over the link from Yugi and noted that his light link partner was shifting so he could see into the kitchen proper. "Take it Pegasus didn't have any here during Duellist Kingdom?" Harry asked, curious himself.
"Not that we saw," Yugi shook his head, spotting a House Elf who scurried out of sight as fast as possible, "but then we didn't know there were House Elves in school until fourth year."
"You were a little preoccupied the last time you were here," Mai agreed, a little weirded out by the thought of sentient creatures serving them. "Are they servants? With wages and things?"
"Oooh! Carnelian explained this one," Tate spoke up before Harry or Yugi could answer her, "she didn't like the idea of servants either. So Alyss made her come and talk to the House Elves."
"And?" Mai asked, still uncertain how she felt about the fact that the members of DuelDMU who had aided them in the battle at the shop were still here on the island, since the Clan was a pretty insular group and none of them had met the DuelDMU team before.
"They like working for families. They get insulted if you offer to pay them, take it as a sign they're not doing their job properly," Tate paused at the disbelief on Mai's face. "Ask them yourself if you don't believe me."
"Hermione doesn't like the idea of unpaid servants either," Harry spoke up, watching Mai's reaction as he did so, "I'm still undecided on the matter." Yugi leant against his link partner's shoulder, mentally shooing away memories that had arisen in Harry's mind of the way the Dursleys had treated him and offering reassurance that he wanted Harry around as a friend, not a servant.
"We have a question," Lyle half-asked, looking between the pair with an expression that informed them that he'd just worked something out.
"Oh?" returned Harry.
"Since when were you two dating?" Tate asked, and the reaction amused him greatly. Yugi spluttered and backed off at speed, falling off of his chair, while Harry went bright red and gave Tate a rather impressive death glare.
"Yugi and I are not dating!" Harry snarled, turning to his link partner and helping him up, easily able to sense Yami's amusement in the background, alongside Yugi's embarrassment and shock.
"Even if-" Yugi spluttered, pointing to Harry. "He's fifteen!"
"But you're only like, what? Sixteen yourself?" Tate asked, defending his curiosity. "It's not that weird."
"I'm twenty-three," Yugi sighed, his exasperation obvious.
"He's just that short," Mai added. Yugi shot her a glare that clearly stated, 'don't encourage them.'
"If Yugi were sixteen, he'd have been six when he first started playing Duel Monsters." This latest speaker was a young woman with bushy, brunette hair reaching halfway down her back. Her brown eyes were sharp and glimmered with a curiosity of their own. She looked as if she could have been related to Hermione, entered the side room, slumping down on a spare chair and jotting down a couple of notes on her pad of paper. "He started Duelling about the same time I started writing Digital Duellist."
"Hi," said Yugi, nodding his head, "it's been awhile."
"Yugi-san," DMG returned the gesture, smiling sadly, "I'm sorry to hear about your family. Your grandfather was a great man."
"Thank you." Harry felt Yugi mentally withdraw a little at her offering of sympathy, her sadness for the Pharaoh bringing up Yugi's own sorrow, which he was trying to push aside in order to interact with the world around him once again. Any conversation was stopped by a sudden chiming sound, which rang from a bell on the wall began to swing. There was a Japanese flag above it.
"Uhhh. What does that mean?" DMG asked.
"It means," one of the House Elves informed them, looking to Yugi as he did so, "that Master Yugi sir has a visitor."
LINE_RECOGNITION_HAS_GONE_AGAIN
"Kaiba-Shacho, there's an Ishtar Marik demanding to see you?"
Kaiba grimaced at his 'phone. He had been expecting the Ishtars to show up at some point, especially after he had been forced to quash the rumours of Yugi's death, which had been prompted by the sight of unconscious form being rushed away from the ruins of the game shop. He had also, however, been expecting the Ishtars to show up a week ago instead of now, and he was rather busy. "Tell him I'm busy and that he should make an appointment like everyone else," he said into the receiver.
"I tried that. I also tried having him evicted from the building when he got loud," the secretary sounded put upon. "It didn't stick."
Kaiba toyed with the idea of calling upon the magical security forces to deal with his problem. Marik was no friend of his, and while Yugi had forgiven him after his so-called change of heart, Seto had done no such thing. He had not forgotten that it had been the supposedly, 'nice,' Marik that had arranged Mokuba's kidnapping, tried to kill him and endangered the lives of others. Still, he supposed someone should reassure the Ishtars that their precious Pharaoh was still in the realm of the living, even if it would have been much more amusing to let them believe they were going to have to wait another five thousand years to send Atem on for at least a little while longer.
"Send him to meeting room 3," Kaiba decided finally, making sure not to mention that it was going to be at least another hour before he could spare the time to deal with anything that was not directly related to his company. Kaiba Corp. had been dealt yet another blow from the attack on the city and the destruction of his home. He had lost many of the colleagues who had been home from work that fateful Saturday afternoon. Shockingly, Marik was still waiting two hours later when he finally made it downstairs. Not so shockingly, Marik was in a foul mood.
"What kept you?" Marik scowled. "I've been waiting for hours."
"You're lucky I came at all," Kaiba shot back, "some of us have a legitimate company to run while others run around with bands of low-life thieves."
Marik let out a low growl at the jab. "I disbanded the Rare Hunters years ago," he said. "What they do now is no concern of mine. Where's Yugi?"
"Can't tell you." It was the first time that Kaiba had been glad for the geis he had signed willingly after reading over all of the small print. It allowed him to be perfectly honest and still get away with pushing Marik's buttons.
"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Marik glowered at him.
"I can't tell you," Kaiba replied with absolute calm. He had needed this for weeks. He had not been able to snark at his staff, it was bad for business and he refused to take out his mood on his little brother, but Marik was a perfectly legitimate target. "And considering your past interactions with him, I wouldn't even if I could."
"I haven't tried to kill Yugi in years!" Marik protested, then realised how that sounded and shut up. At least for a moment before, "It's not like you can talk."
Kaiba's expression turned black. He knew Marik had to be referencing, 'Death T.' rather than his more recent actions against Yugi. Actions he still knew had been necessary, even if he had yet to forgive himself for having to take them. "What do you want, Marik?"
Marik smirked. He had struck a nerve. "The Pharaoh's back in the Puzzle."
"The former Pharaoh is back in the Puzzle," Kaiba corrected him, "the new one's still grieving." Not that Kaiba had been to see him yet. It was not that he feared Atem's retribution for putting Yugi in danger, but because he had yet to accept Yugi's final words to him before the Pharaoh had slipped into unconsciousness and the Shabti had taken him further into the labyrinth.
"I knew," Yugi's smile was sad and showed the truth behind the words, "that if it ever came to Mokuba or us, we wouldn't stand a chance."
"Yugi..." Seto trailed off, unable to ask for forgiveness when he needed to do this to protect Mokuba, but knowing that without it, he would not be able to sleep easy. Not after everything Yugi had done for him over the years.
"I forgave you before we even stepped down here."
"I need to see them," Marik derailed Kaiba's train of thought.
"Why?" Kaiba growled. "Atem made his choice clear when he had the tablets brought to Domino. He doesn't intend to leave."
"He didn't. But you have to understand, if he doesn't go and Yugi gets killed too, it'll be five thousand years before they get another chance to open the Gates," pleaded Marik. "The Pharaoh gave up his rights to the Afterlife when he chose to rend his soul in two. They can't move on until the Ceremonial Duel has been completed and the sooner that happens, the better for both of them." He scowled slightly, "Unless you want Yami to be locked back in the Shadows and Yugi to go through yet another cycle of reincarnation?"
"I can't tell you where they are," Kaiba snapped back at him, "so if you want to talk to them that badly, you need to talk to the Ministry of Magic."
"And how do I find that?" Marik felt he was finally getting somewhere.
"If you haven't been approached by them, I can't tell you that either," said Kaiba, enjoying watching Marik turn three different shades of purple as he tried his hardest not to explode spectacularly.
"Kaiba," Marik let out a low growl, "you don't understand the danger..."
"I understand it perfectly well," Kaiba retorted, "but I can't tell you what you need to know." He paused, an evil thought crossing his mind as he pressed a button under his desk. "But I do know how to help you find out."
"How?" Marik had just time to ask before he was swarmed by magical security.
LINE_RECOGNITION_HAS_GONE_AGAIN
Hermione slumped at a spare table in the dining hall, dropping a pile of notebooks onto it with a hefty thud, startling the other girl in the room, who appeared to be dismantling something that looked like a modified Duel Disk. "Hi." She waved at the girl, whose black, white and pink hair was pinned up in a way that reminded Hermione of liquorice allsorts, as she opened up her laptop.
"Yo," the girl grumbled back, still fighting with a tiny screw.
Hermione let out a soft chuckle, distracting herself from the fact she had been about to work on her book of Clan History, and tilted her head curiously at the girl. She could not remember meeting her before. "Need a hand?"
"No," the mechanically inclined Shadow-Touched Duellist shook her head, "just a way to smack my past self upside the head."
"Oh?" Hermione's curiosity continued to win over her urge to go over her notes. "I know that feeling. Any reason in particular?"
"Because I used damn micro-screws to hide panel lines and now when I want to take them out they won't come," the girl sulked, ignoring a strange, snoring sound from under her chair. Hermione looked to see what the noise was coming from, only to find there was a plushy sheep fast asleep beneath the table, oblivious to its Duellist's ranting.
"Sorry," Hermione apologised when she sat up, trying to remember why a plushy sheep sounded familiar, "I'm not very technically minded, you'd be better off asking Mokuba for help there. I'm better on the magic front." She paused for a moment as it hit her. "You're one of the DuelDMU'ers aren't you? The one who saved Ya...Yugi? When the Death Eaters attacked?"
"Yes I'm with them," the girl nodded with a frown, "and no, I can't ask Mokuba, I wanted these to be a surprise... but it's wrong."
"Thank you for helping Yugi," Hermione said, and briefly wondered if the girl minded all the interruptions. She offered her hand. "I'm Hermione."
"Everyone calls me Sweetybell," the girl replied, accepting the gesture, "nice to meet you."
"Who's the surprise for?" Hermione asked curiously. "If you don't mind my asking, that is. I'm sure they'd love it as it is."
Sweetybell shook her head, sorrow crossing her features. "The guy I was going to give it to," she said, "he's not around anymore."
"Oh," Hermione got it, and her shoulders sank. "I'm sorry. I've lost a few friends recently myself, it's never easy." There was silence for a minute or so, as Hermione tried to concentrate on her book and found herself staring at a blank page as the last couple of months plagued her mind. She turned to the DuelDMU'er. "If you need to talk, I'm not going anywhere for awhile."
"Same for you," Sweetybell offered, "I asked an elf to find me a small room for a workspace, but until that happens I'll be right here."
"How you finding the whole, 'magic-is-real,' thing?" It was the nonchalant way the DuelDMU member spoke that caused Hermione's curiosity. "I remember I had a hard time believing it when I first found out. Always thought I'd be a scientist, you know?"
"Honestly? I really just want to see how I can use it in my work," the mechanic gave her a shy grin, and Hermione chuckled.
"Well if you're working on things like Duel Disks, then it'll probably make a huge difference, there's a theory going around that part of the reason the Duel Disks make things so real is because Kaiba's at the helm of the project and he's Shadow-Touched." She stopped, remembering something. "What are you studying? I mean you're part of a university club right? So you're a student?"
"Yeah," Sweety nodded, "programing and mechanical engineering. I also occasionally sneak in the back of the art lectures."
"Wow," Hermione said, and looked impressed, "looks like you've learnt a lot. I couldn't do what you're doing. Wouldn't even know where to start." She admitted it, but she did not like doing it. It reminded her too much of the concerns she had had about going to Hogwarts in the first place. It mostly stemmed from the fact that there were no muggle classes, only the ones that would get her by in the magical world.
"I started by dismantling my toys and putting them back together...aha!" she crowed as she finally won the fight with the screw and started disassembling and sorting the parts of the custom-designed Duel Disk.
Hermione watched her for awhile, thinking about her friends and how much they would want something as well-built, good-looking and suited to them as the one Sweetybell was dismantling would have been for whoever it was meant for. "Can you use those parts in another disk," she asked curiously, "or is it a one-time thing?"
"No, they can be cleaned and recycled," the other girl replied, thinking about it as she examined the latest piece to come off, "since I didn't crack or strip anything during the dismantling."
"Could I order one for a friend?" Hermione asked, thinking that it would probably cost her a bomb, but Yugi could use something to lift his mood even slightly. "He needs a pick-me-up right about now."
"Sure," Sweetybell said with a nod. She had been looking for something to do while they were stuck on the island, something difficult that would get her mind off everything that was going on. "Let's come up with what you want and I'll quote you for the materials." She gave Hermione a curious look, "Who's the friend?"
"Well..." Hermione trailed off, a little embarrassed by the question, "I want to order one for Yugi. He's been through so much recently and I was hoping that if he got one of those for himself, it might cheer him up a bit." She paused and watched in shock as the student pulled out a custom Duel Disk from under the table, one that was swirling purple and black at the base layer, with gold highlighting the card sections and running around the edge of the dome, on top of which were hieroglyphs spelling out, 'Yugi Mutou.' The dome itself was purple, with silver, twinkling glitter that was spread out enough to remind Hermione of stars, but disappeared as the purple faded through red into yellow, not dissimilar to the colours on the robes of Yugi's Sunset Magician.
"Oh, wow," Hermione stared in awe at the work, "that's perfect." She blinked and glanced up at Sweetybell. "Can you see the future," she asked, "or are you just that fast?"
"Alyss, you know her as Dinah, was going to be in a tournament with him down the road," replied the student, and she pulled out a pure white, custom Duel Disk. The card readers had been redesigned to resemble the wings of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The dragon's head was positioned in place of the graveyard slot, while its tail was framed to wrap around the Duellist's arm as a means of balancing the weight properly. "So I made three for her to take... one for Kaiba and both of the Mutou's."
Hermione suddenly understood who the Duel Disk that Sweetybell had been dismantling was for. Her mood shifted towards grief again, even as she reminded herself that Yami was not truly gone, but simply back in his Puzzle. "So the disk you were dismantling was Yami's," she said, and let out a soft, sad sigh, "he would have loved it too."
"Well, you can have the one I was going to give to Yugi for free and I'll make any changes you want," Sweetybell offered. "No charge. If it helps him that'll be good enough."
"Are you sure?" Hermione looked shocked. "But you must have put so much work into it…"
"Like I said. If it helps, I'll be happy."
LINE_RECOGNITION_HAS_GONE_AGAIN
"Mutou-San," the visitor, the Speaker for Magical Japan, bowed to Yugi the very moment he emerged from the fireplace. "I am glad to see you're well."
"Speaker Saitou," Yugi said and returned the gesture. Truth be told, he was not feeling up to this, but knew that it would not pay to be rude to the man who had had their backs so far. Regardless, he was grateful that Atem had taken spirit form and stood at his side. "I'm feeling much better, thank you. Can I help at all?"
The Japanese Minster of Magic bowed to Yami, who nodded back, then smiled at Yugi a little ruefully, "Actually I have something that belongs to your family that I feel should be returned to you."
Yugi felt Atem's mind snap to attention, his focus now purely on Minister Saitou. When the former Pharaoh's body had been released for burial, his deck had been missing. Yugi's friends had commented on it, concerned that the ridiculously powerful God monsters within it would fall into the wrong hands, but Yugi had been too lost in his shock and grief to even think about the missing God cards until this moment.
The Speaker for Magical Japan pulled something carefully, almost reverently, out of his coat pocket. The sight of it made Yugi's breath catch for a moment. Even from this distance, he could see that the edges of the cards within the deck holster were damaged and that was probably only the start of the troubles.
"We did try and dry them out," Saitou explained. "We figured that if we couldn't return your brother, whole and sound, we should at least try and return these but..." He handed the holster over and Yugi carefully opened it, anxiety etched across every centimetre of his being as he cautiously drew the cards from their resting place.
Duel Monsters cards were ridiculously hardy things, especially the ones that were tied to a Duellist's heart, but they were cards nonetheless. The leather holster had done its best to keep out the water, unfortunately they had been submerged for far too long and most of the cards that Yugi and Atem had spent years collecting and playing with were ruined. The only ones that seemed like they might still be playable, if only in friendly duels, not tournaments where someone could complain about marked cards, were the few that had been in the very centre of the deck. Thankfully, the Dark Magician, the one that had belonged in his grandfather's deck before it had been given to him, was among the survivors. Yugi was not sure what he would have done if he was destroyed. The God monsters too were still at least recognisable, as was the Dark Magician Girl.
'Yugi, may I?' Yugi relinquished control easily. Atem found himself surprised afresh at his hikari's willingness to just hand over his body to an ancient spirit without even asking what he was going to do while using it. Atem drew Yugi's wand and tapped it against the deck, "Reparo."
The deck glowed for a moment, then returned to it ruined state.
"We tried that, but not one of the repair spells took," Saitou apologised. "Even the strongest ones seemed to just slide off. I don't think there's enough of them left for it to work."
Atem stared at the pile of wrecked cards in his hand. That was it, then. His deck was gone, just as his physical form and everything else that had been a part of him was gone. Everything that had belonged to, 'Yami Mutou,' was destroyed or missing, leaving behind just the spirit who had claimed the name.
His second mortal life had been the first thing to go. His wand and his Duel Disk had been damaged beyond repair in the same flood that had claimed his life, then everything he had not been carrying that day had been destroyed in the fires that consumed the Game Shop and the mansion, and now this. Once again, all he was left with was a room and a maze, generated by a Puzzle he had not created and stored in a mind that was not his.
He felt Yugi nudge him, sending reassurance down the link, but he was in no mood for it, not even from his precious hikari. Instead, he re-entered the Puzzle, shoving Yugi into control with such force that he physically staggered. The Speaker steadied Yugi, who regained his footing easily, old instincts kicking in although he had not shared his body with another in years. "Sorry," Yugi apologised for his darker self.
"I understand it's a shock," said Saitou, waving it off and watching Yugi closely, "is there anything we can do to help?"
Yugi tried to prod Atem, only to find he had shut his door for the first time in over a year. He frowned slightly. "I'm not sure," he admitted, "unless you have a time machine?" It was a weak joke, but it made the minister smile regardless. "Was there something else?"
"Actually, yes," said Saitou with a nod of his head, "is there somewhere we can sit and talk in privacy?"
"Why?" asked Yugi, worried as he ushered the minister out of the room and towards another, making a note to ask the nearest House Elf to bring them some tea if they were not too busy.
"There's a lot we need to discuss Mutou-san," Saitou explained, "you see I need your help, and I believe that we can be of mutual assistance to each other."
"Oh?" Yugi questioned, curious now.
"Well, you see..."
LINE_RECOGNITION_HAS_GONE_AGAIN
"For the record Tristan, ow!" Joey complained as the pair of them headed for the kitchens, or at least where they thought the kitchens were. He was nursing a black eye. "You still pack a mean right hook!"
"Yeah, well you fight like a girl," Tristan prodded back, sporting a rather spectacular bruise on his right cheek, "anyone would think you've had it easy at this school of yours."
"You have any idea how hard it is to get into a decent fight when you're surrounded by kids? Some of which are half your age?" Joey complained. Tristan chuckled. "Ah, shut up."
Pleased to see Joey at least bantering with him again, even if it was easy to see that the grief was still just under the surface, Tristan budged his friend, grinning as he did so. "Yeah, well now you'll have a proper sparring partner instead of...oof!" Tristan bounced off something invisible, which let out a startled yelp of its own before landing hard on its rear end. There was a flap of strange fabric, and Harry appeared, dishevelled and wrapped in a broad cloak. Tristan stared, then made a confused sound, as Joey offered the teen a hand to his feet.
"Invisibility cloak," Joey explained, glancing at Tristan, "very useful." He returned his attention to Harry, "So where you sneaking off to again?"
"Not sneaking off," Harry promised, "sneaking in. The Speaker arrived about ten minutes ago and I was going to try to get into the meeting."
"The Speaker? From Japan? Why didn't Yuge tell us?" Joey gaped, brushing himself off and grimacing slightly at the dirt on his hands from his earlier tussle. "Wait, Yuge's on his own with the guy? I thought we agreed Yuge wasn't allowed to be on his own any more, he gets into too much trouble."
"Yugi didn't get much warning," Harry explained, "and he didn't come with anyone. Besides, Yugi had the Puzzle on him..."
"Which means he took Yami in with him," said Joey, and he relaxed slightly. True, there still existed the possibility that Yugi could wind up hurt even with Yami around, but between the pair of them there were not many situations they could not get themselves out of, especially with only one opponent. Not that the Speaker for Magical Japan was an opponent, at least Joey hoped not, but too many years of people stabbing the group in the back had made him a little paranoid.
"Anyway, I was going to try and find out what's going on, since Yugi's distracted and Yami's refusing to open the door to his Soul Room for some reason," said Harry, picking up his invisibility cloak and gesturing to the door just behind Tristan, "but the door's shut, so I'll need another way in."
"You do realise that you don't need to walk around in the corridors with the cloak, right?" Joey said, giving him a teasing poke, all the time wondering why Yami, who had been the one who maintained communication with everyone else while Yugi had shut down, would refuse to talk, "I mean it's literally just us, DuelDMU and the Speaker here. Well, not including the House Elves."
"Force of habit," Harry sheepishly admitted.
"You know, you could just do this," Tristan knocked on the door and then shoved Joey up the corridor past Harry and around the corner, so that by the time Yugi opened it and spotted Harry on the other side, they were out of sight.
"That was mean," said Joey, unable to hide his grin. It reminded him so much of their time before they came to Hogwarts. All those times when Tristan would counter his ridiculous and overly dramatic or confrontational plans with a far more practical, safer alternative.
"Maybe, but it worked," Tristan pointed out, noting that that was Joey's first real grin since Voldemort had attacked Domino. Seeing his old friend finally rising out of his slump was satisfying, but it also made him wonder who had been able to do the same for Yugi, at least enough for him to be functioning again.
"True," Joey allowed. "Hey, have you seen the Weasleys? I still haven't thanked them for bringing the DuelDMU'ers and saving our rears."
"I saw the twins sneaking off somewhere, probably outside," said Tristan, listing off his fingers, "the girl was looking for Mokuba and the boy about Harry's age was heading for the kitchens, but that was before I kicked your ass, so..."
"I let you win!" Joey protested, sulking because Tristan's assessment of their fight was, in spite of his indignation, quite accurate.
"Oh really?" Tristan snorted.
"Yeah and I'll prove it next time." Joey pounded his right fist into his left palm, "but first, lunch."
LINE_RECOGNITION_HAS_GONE_AGAIN
"You want to what!?"
"I know it's crazy," Sirius admitted, "but I need to find out what that prophecy says and Dumbledore refuses to share."
"But breaking into the Department of Mysteries? You do realise that's insane right?" Remus demanded. "We're already breaking the law by hovering around to watch out for potential Death Eaters trying to steal it. If we get caught..."
"You think I don't know the consequences?" Sirius snarled back, glad that they had retreated to one of the dark and lonely corners of the house to have this conversation. "That I want to end up back in Azkaban?"
"No but," Remus faltered under his friend's gaze, "you're going to do it anyway, aren't you?"
"I promised Harry that I would find out what it is," Sirius replied. Remus could tell he was deadly serious, steely determination written all over his features. "I won't let him down again."
"Sirius, you haven't," Remus tried to reassure him, but Sirius interrupted.
"Yes, I have. I promised James and Lily that I would look after him if anything happened to them. Instead I went after Wormtail and he got left with those...those muggles!" Sirius snapped. "Because I wasn't there when I should've been, he's gone and found himself a family in another country and..." He let out a frustrated snarl and sat down on the nearest available seat.
"Sirius..."
"You want to know what kept me sane during my time in Azkaban?" Sirius asked with his face in his hands. "I kept thinking that I was innocent and that once I was free and clear Harry could live with me and we'd be a family, like we should have been before the Dark Lord wrecked everything. Now it turns out he doesn't need me. He has a family. One he picked for himself."
"He still wants you around," Remus reminded him, "he's contacted you every night since you went your separate ways."
"I know," Sirius sighed, "but we talk more now than we did when we were travelling across Europe together. I just don't know what to say to him when I see him in person. He's too like James, but at the same time, he's not James at all. He's..."
"Harry," Remus said gently. He had suffered a similar issue when he had first seen Harry, though he had managed to separate him from the memory of his father much faster than it seemed Sirius could. The dog animagus did not say anything for a while, just nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as he did so. "Do you have a plan?"
"Not really," Sirius admitted, "bar getting myself on the rota to guard the door to the Department of Mysteries and going from there."
"We used to come up with better plans for sneaking in and out of places when were Harry's age," Remus retorted, "and you've had how long? You're slowing down in your old age." The werewolf teased his friend and was rewarded with an outraged scowl.
"Old? Look who's talking!" Sirius shot back. "I'm sure there's grey in your fur now!" He indicated the hair on top of Remus's head which was, indeed, going silvery-grey in places.
"Pots and kettles, Black," Remus snarked back, enjoying the banter and the signs that beneath all the damage that Azkaban had inflicted on his friend, the old Sirius was still there just below the surface.
"I would have you know I look distinguished with a little grey in my hair," said Sirius, snootily.
"Who told you that? Because I think they need their eyes tested."
Sirius let out an amused but irritable growl and attempted a pounce. The pair's play-fighting stopped only when Molly Weasley slammed open the door, wand drawn, and the pair of them were startled back into comparatively good behaviour.
"Oh," the Weasley matriarch looked a little lost, "it's just you two."
"Sorry, Molly," Remus said, then he quickly righted himself and dusted off his jacket.
"No. No. It's just I was hoping..."
The two of them knew exactly what she was hoping. Molly had been taken by surprise when her children had just taken off without the slightest warning. She was used to Fred and George defying her in small ways, but she had never had the entire brood do something she had made them promise not to do before. For all of them to just up and leave at the same time, vanishing from inside the safe house and going to pit themselves against the Dark Lord after she had specifically told them not to, had thrown her completely.
She had ranted and raved the first couple of days away, when it had become obvious that no matter how much she pressed, she was not going to find out the location of her children, and then she had started investigating every loud noise, hoping it was a sign of their return. So far, no luck.
"I'll let you know if any of them pass on a message through Harry," Sirius renewed his promise, not that he had had any messages from the Weasley children yet bar, 'we're fine,' and, 'you should see the beaches.' Molly just nodded and shut the door again, leaving the pair behind, their formerly light-hearted mood spoiled.
"So...you in or out?" Sirius asked, getting to his feet. "Because if the Order's guarding the Department of Mysteries, it's not hard to guess that Voldemort wants the prophecy too, and if he gets it before Harry does, well..."
"In," Remus interrupted. "You're not the only one with a debt to pay to the cub. I didn't even try to make contact with him until his third year and didn't have any idea of how bad his home life was until I overheard the Clan discussing things on the train. If I can help him now, I will."
"In that case, my fellow Marauder," Sirius grinned wickedly, "we have a scheme to hatch."
LINE_RECOGNITION_HAS_GONE_AGAIN
"So you see why I need your help?" Saitou asked the Pharaoh, watching him and his link partner closely as the pair pondered over his words. He had only wanted to approach Mutou-san, who was known for helping anyone who asked, even enemies. When Potter-san had knocked on the door, however Mutou-san had informed him that he, 'didn't keep secrets from his partners anymore.'
"Let me see if I've got this right," Yugi said slowly, his mind racing over the facts and figures he had been given at a speed that Harry had great difficulty keeping up with. "Thanks to Voldemort, there's a quite considerable anti-wizard movement within Domino. There's also a strong feeling amongst the public that we," he indicated himself and Harry, but Saitou assumed he meant the Court, "should be doing more to prevent something like that happening again since it was obviously us they were after."
"That's correct," Saitou nodded.
"Not only that, but people, including some within the Diet, are of the opinion that we should be aiding the police in dealing with the rogue Shadow-Touched that have emerged since Shadowmorn," Yugi continued, "and there is a group of about thirty Shadow-Touched, twelve of them below the age of fifteen, who recently got sent your way by the French magical embassy by way of the English muggle one?"
"Indeed," Saitou nodded again.
"And you want us, me, to take them in because there's no where safe to host them since they're targets, just as we are and your men don't feel comfortable around them."
"How?" Saitou blinked, having not mentioned anything about the feelings of his Shiragiku.
"It's not hard to guess," Yugi smiled, slightly deprecatorily, "most people don't feel comfortable around people with Shadow magic. Not once they know what it can do."
"No offense intended towards you, but we do have the track records of your other self and the other item-holders to go on. Insanity, death and soul-stealing are not exactly reassuring aspects of your power-set." Saitou pointed out.
"No, I know," Yugi grimaced slightly. He was aware of just how frightening Yami truly was. "I'm willing to take them in, the castle has plenty of room, but we're going to need supplies. Somehow, I doubt that the gardens are capable of feeding everyone. The House Elves are good, but I don't know if they're that good and we'll need things besides food."
"We can provide that," said Saitou. "That's not a problem."
"I'm not sure what you want us to do about the rest, though," said Yugi. "I want to help, but you insisted that we to go into hiding in the first place, so..."
"All I want regarding these other issues, is a promise that you'll agree to work with our Shiragiku in the future if we need assistance," replied Saitou, "and that you'll let us borrow some of your people for training purposes."
"In exchange for what?" Saitou jumped a mile when Atem spoke, appearing in spirit form beside Yugi. His gaze was fixed sharply on the Speaker. "What do we get out of turning ourselves into a police force for you?"
"I've been authorised," Saitou replied, with a small grin, having wondered who would get it first, "to offer you full assistance in dealing with Voldemort. Not only that but full diplomatic immunity when you travel to other countries. Not only for you, but for recognised members of the Inner Circle of your Court."
"Why?" asked Harry.
"Because Voldemort may have been aiming at you, but he attacked us, too. And we won't let it happen again. We don't take kindly to foreign Dark Lords attacking our soil," Saitou growled, his expression black, "not only that but we believe that it's likely that once other countries work out we have a task force assembled from the only people who truly know how Shadow magic works, your help will be requested elsewhere and we'd rather you didn't end up in jail on trumped up charges by some bitter politician."
"Makes sense," Yami allowed, looking at Yugi, who realised that his counterpart was silently passing judgement of the offer unto him, "although it sounds like you're just helping yourselves again."
"I cannot guarantee what else we could offer at this time, but should the need arise, I'm certain that we could provide building materials for homes and shelters for any other refugees you bring to the island," said Saitou, long-windedly sweetening the deal. "Not only that, but England's Minister of Magic is willing to hand over the prophecy concerning Potter-san in exchange for your assistance."
Harry's back stiffened. Beside him, Yugi and Yami were intrigued, but also wary.
"Can you guarantee that we'll receive the prophecy?" Yami asked, in a cautious tone of voice. "Past experience has removed any trust we might have towards the British Ministry."
"We have been informed that Potter-san will have to retrieve it," Saitou admitted, "since only he or Voldemort can remove it from its resting place, but we would be willing to send a team to escort you in order to ensure your safety."
Yami let out a sharp, irritated hiss, and Harry noted that Yugi was also looking ill-amused. It was frustrating. So close, and yet so far. Harry leant against the nearest chair and growled quietly in the back of his throat, much less detectable than the Pharaoh's overt, animalistic reaction.
"We were just as unhappy as you are," Saitou assured them, "especially after the young man we took into custody earlier today seemed to think that it was essential that you two go to Egypt and commit ritual suicide." He gestured towards Yugi and Yami, who stared at him for a moment before realisation settled in. They both winced. "Between him and the English Ministry thinking we would be stupid enough to give them your location and then telling us that, it's been a bit of a rough day in the office."
"You have Marik in custody?" Yugi asked, cringing slightly as he imagined the fallout.
"Ishtar Marik? Yes, he was arrested after threatening Kaiba Seto," said Saitou, gravely.
"Are you sure no one else can get to the prophecy?" asked Yami. He was tempted to make an embittered comment about Kaiba deserving it, but one look for Yugi killed it in his throat.
"Not that we're aware of," said Saitou, "although the likelihood of them passing on all this information is slim to none."
"Note to self, ask Hermione," Yugi murmured, and from the corner of his eye caught Yami and Harry nodding in unison. "There's a lot to think about, Saitou-san. Can you come back in a few hours, once I've had a chance to think this over?"
"Of course. I would be disappointed if you didn't give this the consideration it requires," replied Saitou, picking up the few things he had shared. "I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning."