Divided in the Darkness, United in the Light

[F e n i]

Prologue-So it Begins

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Young Yuugi sighed as he looked as his cards, obviously bored. One elbow was situated on the wooden counter while he leaned his chin on his hand. Coming up with new strategies wasn't all that fun anymore, now was it. Being the best did sometimes have its disadvantages. Then again, watching your grandfather's game shop while he was away wasn't all that fun either. Especially if it was a Monday morning. Most of his customers were probably at summer school. Yuugi sighed, letting his head fall on his now folded arms.

Hearing a soft hoot, the teen looked up. A small brown barn owl stood in front of him, a letter tied to its leg. It preened itself, brushing its beak against tattered wings. "Is this for me?" The animal nodded, holding out the limb. Yuugi carefully untied the letter and unrolled it. /WHAT?!?!/

//Aibou, what ever is the matter?// A transparent form appeared next to him. He looked just like Yuugi except more...regal. Let's just say this being was this 'Guardian Spirit' that was supposed to help Yuugi in a way. In return, he was to regain memories once lost and forgotten. He stood in front of the younger, a troubled look etched upon his features. His crimson orbs shined with worry.

/Oh Kami-sama./ Yuugi mentally said back, shaking his head. /This can't possibly be real. Yami, tell me I'm dreaming. Please?/ Yami, not missing the tone in Yuugi's voice, decided to have a look at the letter. He took a few strides until he was behind the teenager.

Dear Mr. Motou,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is unusual for me to invite someone of your age to join my other students, but you, young man, are a special case. If you accept my offer, you will be entered as a Sixth year. As I said you are a special case, and I believe you can learn all the magic from previous years. The term starts on September 1st. Do not fret about supplies, they will be sent to you before the term starts.

Attached to this letter is a train ticket which will take you to my humble school. I will be looking forward to seeing you at Hogwarts, Mr. Motou.

Sincerely,
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore[/i]

There was a smirk, //You are surely not dreaming, aibou.//

/Really?/ Yuugi blinked /Then I think we should go. The Headmaster seems interested in our magic too. Do you think he knows about you?/ Yuugi questioned.

//Maybe, maybe not, aibou. Though he does know about our magic, he's not an enemy; I assure you of that. In fact, the name sounds oddly familiar.//

/He may know something of your past, Yami! If you think you've heard his name before. There's always a chance, right?/ the younger duelist's voice was filled with excitement.

The former pharaoh nodded, obtaining a solid form. It was a new spell that he tried out only recently. The body was only temporary. "May I have another look, aibou?" The younger handed the letter to him. Reading it again, Yami nodded. "But how to relay this to your grandfather...

"I'm sure he can handle it, mou hitori no boku. I'll go phone him now!" Yuugi exclaimed. Giving Yami a hug, he grabbed the letter and ran upstairs. Blinking, the pharaoh flipped the open sign to close. His hand remained on the glass for a short time. Yami shook his head and began to follow Yuugi upstairs.

This was going to be very interesting indeed.
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[F e n i]

Chapter One-Once Again

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Yuugi was just about to step onto the Hogwarts train. All of his belongings, except his robes, were stored at the bottom. He stood on the side, allowing others to get on before him. At this rate, Yuugi would never get a seat. The duelist sighed deeply, crossing his arms and thinking. The boy laughed inwardly as he remembered his first reaction not to long ago.

Flashback[/u][/i]

"Platform 9 3/4?!?!" Yuugi screamed inside his house. "This is going to be more difficult than I thought." He fell backwards on his couch, looking to be utterly stressed out.

The Hogwarts business itself was enough to confuse him. His supplies were already there, ready to be sorted at his feet. Among the mix was his wand, which had its own story behind it. He even got the dark brown owl, that gave him his letter, as a gift. Yami sat next to him in his solid form, smirking.

"Having a bit of trouble, aibou?" He didn't sound sorry at all. Yuugi sent a fake glare. After all, he could never really stay mad at his other self for long.

"Urusai, mou hitori no boku!(Shut up, other me!)" Yuugi joked. As soon as he said that, a pillow hit the pharaoh's face.

"Aibou..."

The boy eeped, jumped up, stuck his tongue out at the king, and ran out. Yuugi stopped a few rooms away, looking behind himself. There wasn't a soul even close. The teenager creeped back to the living room. He peeked is head out from behind the doorway. There was a thud, and the boy fell to the ground on his butt, pillow still stuck on his face. He laughed and took it off. "Hey!"

"Tsk, tsk, chibi ichi(little one). You know I always win. Now come, we must continue preparing. No time to dawdle," the pharaoh's voice said from the couch.

End Flashback[/i][/u]

Crazy as it seemed, he did actually find the platform. Walking, or rather running, through a wall in front of people did seem a bit embarrassing. At first, Yuugi thought he would ram into a real wall and make a fool of himself. He wasn't sure if it was real or fake at first. He had seen a group of red heads walk through it before him. They didn't seemed fazed. Just run through the wall and hope you didn't run into another person on your way out.

His next surprise was the huge steam train in front of him. It was huge and bright red. The machine had the number 9 3/4 painted in black on the very front. Being from Japan, was only used to seeing electric trains. Now he was in London of all places, staring at the weird train. Yami could easily see that his partner was nervous.

//Yuugi, do not fret. You said yourself that this would be enjoyable for the both of us. If you ever become frightened, just know I'll always be right over your shoulder.//

/Arigatou, pharaoh./

"All aboard!" the conductor bellowed. Yuugi sent a warm smile back and walk onto the train. As he walked past the rows and rows of students, he saw the younger ones wave goodbye to their parents or guardians. Yuugi's gaze wandered to the floor as he walked past the other children and teens.

What of Yuugi's grandpa? He just said to go ahead with it. But he was too busy to really let it sink in. All he said was good luck. Come to think of it, the duelist's friends didn't really care about him anymore. They all had their own lives to deal about. Maybe it was a good thing that Yuugi left Domino.

Yami was thinking along the same lines. Yuugi had looked so depressed at home, never going out with his so called friends. They all asked him instead, ever since he gained his own physical body. But the pharaoh only went if Yuugi came along too. He would refuse especially if it was Anzu of all people. She just wanted to hook up with him. She was definitely not his type. Stupid friendship speeches were memorized by the both of them already. One day he would just have to slap her over the head or something...

Apartment after apartment was full. Looking into another one, he saw a boy with messy black hair and glasses. He looked a bit tense, but that was only if you studied him intently. The emotion was barely noticeable unless you've been through it yourself. On his other side, there was a girl with bushy dirty-blond hair and the oldest red head he saw earlier. They all laughed when the red head made a joke.

/At least they're close friends. I can tell./ Yuugi thought and walked on. He really didn't want to relive his experiences right about then. Too much happiness, too much pain for him to handle at the moment. As soon as his figure passed the door, Harry Potter's head jerked up. His glasses were now sitting on the bridge of his nose. Scrunching up his face, he pushed them back up.

"You all right, mate?" Ron asked, scratching his head.

"Did you feel that?" he replied. "It's as if something pure just walked by. It's not that my scar hurts or anything. It feels like the complete opposite, but it's full of power." Harry turned to the spot where Yuugi was just standing at. That was weird. Then again, with the boy-who-lived, anything could be unusual. "Just forget it."

Meanwhile, Yuugi was still looking for a seat. Every one he past had some friends joking around with each other. Either that or they were talking like old friends should. The king-of-games blocked these thoughts out of his mind. Along the way of finding a seat, he heard voices, but they were barely audible. He moved closer to the sounds.

"Hikari, are you sure you wish to go there?" a voice asked hesitantly. The tone stayed steady, but the voice wavered slightly. "It could be dangerous."

"For the last time, daibajou(don't worry)! Sometimes I think you're a bit TOO overprotective. I need to show you that I can get along on my own. Without your help."

The new kid walked a bit farther. It wasn't everyday that in England you would hear someone speaking Japanese. A girl looking about his age was sitting in an almost empty apartment, alone. The long raven-haired girl was looking out the window. She had on a white silk kimono with intricate designs on it. A golden sash was wrapped around her waist, tied into a large bow behind her. They seemed to be the kanji for Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. There were also simple borders on the sleeves, collar, and hem of the clothing. The last accessory was the exotic crimson flower resting right behind her ear. Her hand was placed on a small black notebook resting in her lap. The page she was at was held by a black pen. The girl looked so at peace sitting there. The only flaw was that she was toying with something on her wrist.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken? All the others are full," Yuugi asked politely.

"Iie(no)," the girl said absentmindedly. Yuugi sat in the seat across from her. There was an awkward silence for the first few seconds of him sitting there. That girl was still staring out of the window, looking to be in a trance of some sort.

"Konichiwa(hi). I'm Yuugi." The girl turned to him, head slightly tilted to the side. Golden gems stared at his own amethyst. They seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. "Yes, I know Japanese."

The other's eyes became less shocked, "My name is Kiseki. Honestly speaking, I thought I was the only one from Japan. I assume you're new too, am I correct?" There was a small nod from the king-of-games.

Yuugi couldn't help but notice something though. The first was that she always averted her eyes. She never did keep eye contact for long. As he saw into her eyes, there seemed to be some kind of hidden sadness. The kind that could never fully be erased. Her golden irises weren't as bright as they could be.

Although her eyes didn't meet his, they did fall on the pendant around his neck. "That's the Sennen Puzzle of Unity, isn't it. It is also known as the Millennium Pendant," she said with a soft voice.

Yuugi was the one to be surprised this time. How did she know? This was from Egypt of all places. Did she know about Yami? And how did she know in the first place? Still astonished, the boy blinked rapidly. He managed to release a small giggle from the girl. She blushed and turned her eyes downcast as it abruptly ended.

"I lived in Egypt a short time before moving to Japan. My mother was Japanese while my father was Egyptian," Kiseki paused, thinking of something suitable to say, "and if you keep this quiet, I can show you the one I have that's not one of the original seven." Holding her hands by her throat, a soft glow emitted in between them. A golden star was formed from the light. Unclasping the locket from her neck, she placed the item in her palms. Taking a closer look at it, the Eye of Horus was placed in the center, much like his puzzle. Yuugi ran his hand over the glossy metal.

"I'm not entirely sure about the powers of this item yet. But as you know, king of games, the others do. Same with your puzzle," she continued.

"Do you know what kind of powers it has?" Yuugi asked hopefully. This girl sure knew a lot about him that even he himself didn't know. He hoped that Yami was listening in to the conversation.

"No, but I'm sure the pharaoh does. All I know is that the powers inside that puzzle exceed all the Millennium Items' powers pooled together. Don't worry; I won't take it," Kiseki said with a slight smile. "But I'm afraid... the pharaoh's memories have faded. Am I right?"

Suddenly, the said spirit appeared next to Yuugi. Yami was in his usual leather fetish; the ancient king wore his leather pants and sleeveless shirt along with some buckles adorning his top. He sat in the seat with one leg crossed over the other. //She's right, aibou.//

"My pharaoh..." Kiseki whispered, averting her gaze. "I can see you. Even if you are a wandering spirit."

Making sure no one was outside, he materialized in the seat next to Yuugi. Waving his hand, he made sure that the people outside only saw and heard Yuugi and Kiseki. "Inferring from what you said, I assume you determined my existence from your studies in Egypt?" He received a hesitant positive reply.

"Yes, my pharaoh. With some other sources."

"Please, no titles needed." So that's how the first conversation started. The first one that Yami had in his new body, with a new person. Yuugi smiled and joined in. He felt like all those other people in the other compartments. Like he felt only months before with his other friends. Now was the time to move on and make changes.

Minutes, or possibly hours later, Kiseki looked out the window with a dreamy expression on her face, "We're here."[/center]

[F e n i]

Chapter Two-Taming the Beasts, Taming the Soul

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After getting into their robes, both foreign teenagers looked out the window. A large castle was illuminated with thousands of little lights which were the windows. It looked antique, yet stable. The stones weren't crumbling away and falling to the ground like the young duelist expected. If Hogwarts looked that large from here, imagine what it would be like up close. "Sugoi(Awesome)! So that's Hogwarts," Yuugi said in awe.

"I guess so," Kiseki replied, shrugging her shoulders. "As I said before, only the young ones are supposed to be new. I wonder how the school will react. The Sorting Ceremony will be quite the attraction this year." She placed her hand on her hip and shook her head slightly. "Honestly."

"Matte, matte(wait, wait). You said you didn't know about the school!" He blinked once... twice... Another tiny giggle. Or so it seemed. It was almost like Kiseki didn't like to giggle. It was more like a concealed laugh. Something like that. Yuugi just didn't want to think at the moment.

"That's where you're wrong, Yuugi." Students began to file out of the train. She smiled down at him just slightly. "I said I was new. Not that I didn't know anything about the school." The girl winked. "I read about it." Kiseki slid open the door and walked out, waiting for him to follow. Yuugi hugged the Puzzle close.

Before they got into their robes, Yami ended the conversation and went back into the item. He ruffled Yuugi's hair with a smirk. "Be a gentleman, aibou," were the last words. The said boy crossed his eyes as Kiseki rolled her eyes for him. Yuugi could tell that the other teen was warming up to him and the pharaoh. At least there was a soul that wasn't disturbed by the fact that he had an ancient item from Egypt. He literally had so much power, so much magic laying right against his chest. Technically, it was the pharaoh's, but you get my point.

Both of them hopped out of the train, Kiseki leading once more. Instead of going with the first years, they went with the older students towards the carriages. (This also confused Yuugi seeing that they were new too.) The coaches were old fashioned, like from the eighteen-hundreds. They were coated in midnight blue paint. "How do they go when nothing pulls them?!?!" another teenager asked. She was a bit away from them, but the two Japanese teens could hear and see her nonetheless.

Figures. You of all people would forget learning about Thestrals." The two new students saw another figure walk behind her." Just move, Libria!!" She pushed the other into a carriage. The two watching could swear they heard something along the lines of, "OUCH! That hurt, Felienne!" The sixteen-year-old female next to him shook her head.

Yuugi was still confused, but even more now. He muttered under his breath, "Kami-sama, these people are so confusing. I bet I'll be brain-dead by the time we even reach the school." Then he spoke a bit louder, "What does she mean? I can see them perfectly fine."

"Only a few people can see them. I'm afraid the cause isn't all that good to see these magnificent creatures. You can only see these creatures if you've seen someone die." What the two saw was a cross between a horse and a snake. Majestic wings rested on their backs. One turned to them and snorted. Demon-like eyes surveyed the two for a minute before turning around. It stomped its hooves on the ground, agitated.

/Someone dying? But I haven't seen someone die./ Yuugi blinked.

//It must be me, aibou. Remember, I did have a past life before I was locked in this puzzle. Someone died in front of my eyes, I believe. It seems that is the only explanation. Since we both inhabit the same body, it is taking on the effects of one soul but sharing it with you also.// There was silence on the other end of their mind link.

Suddenly, the same thestral that was glaring at them moments before finally had enough. It began neighing loudly, getting attention from the other thestrals and just a few students. The horselike creature lifted itself off the ground while bucking and rearing. Unfortunately, it was still attached to a carriage. A high-pitched scream came from the carriage.

"Someone's in trouble, Kiseki." Yuugi screamed. The trio he saw on the train headed toward the carriage. They tried to approach the creature but got pushed back. Thankfully, the other students didn't notice what was happening. Maybe it was an annual thing? Hopefully not. The girl next to him just stood there with her impassive look, staring at the thestral. She took a deep breath and looked at him briefly before walking towards the carriage. "Hey, Kiseki, come back here!" No response. She was being stubborn. Great.

There was a determined look in her eyes as she walked up to the thestral. The teen turned her head just slightly, "Shinjiteru(Trust me)." She took a deep breath and clenched her left fist at her side. A flute appeared out of thin air, now resting inside the fist. Her eyes were closed as the beautiful music made its way through the air. A soft breeze whirled around the girl, the wind itself began to twist and turn with the music. Slowly, but surely, the thestral calmed down. Its call whittled down to a mere snort as the young sorceress continued playing. It abruptly ended, but the animal was calmed by her stroking its mane. "Shhh, calm down. They won't hurt you anymore."

Two, not one, girl stepped out of the carriage. They both looked to be relieved. The first looked a bit 'weaker' than the other as she panted. She had long brown hair that reached down past her shoulders. Her skin was a very light peach, but not as pale as Yuugi's or Kiseki's. The other looked unfazed, but seemed to be comforting the younger. The second also had long brown hair but had red highlights. She had tan skin that looked like the same shade as Yami's, just a bit lighter. Both had on the robes and uniform of the school. Both looked almost exactly alike.

"I know you're there. Come out or I'll hex you," Kiseki growled, staring at a coach not too far from the one they were currently at. Two people were snickering but suddenly stopped. A feminine voice yelled at the other figure, something along the lines of 'I can hex better than you'. There seemed to be an angry aura surrounding the female figure as she glared at Kiseki. She yelled at the other again before heading back to her carriage. The boy rolled his eyes and went to a different one. You couldn't see many of the features for it was close to dusk.

Yuugi shook his head. That girl was a sight. She was so full of surprises. One look and you thought she was an innocent person who would do nothing to hurt any other people. But now here she was, making threats to students she didn't even know yet. Yuugi was glad he was on her side. He gulped.

Kiseki seemed to sense his fear and turned to him. Her eyes were still not as bright as the boy thought they could be, but they brightened up the smallest bit. The young girl they saw before ran up to them. She smiled, "I'm Mara. You two can ride with us!" She looked to the ground, "If you want to." Yuugi looked at the girl and to Kiseki. His companion nodded and they were led to the carriage with the thestral. Kiseki stayed out a bit longer to assure the thestral that everything was fine. They all got in and were finally headed for the castle. Everything was silent for the first few minutes.

"I cannot thank you enough for saving us. I am known as Maraia," the older said formally. The younger rolled her eyes. That earned her a small glare from Maraia. "I've never seen you two before. What house are you in?"

Yuugi answered for the both of them, "We're new. So... I really have no idea what you are talking about." He put his hand behind his head in an embarrassed gesture. The boy blushed a bit.

"We'll see in the sorting where you two will go. But until then-" Maraia started. Their carriage flipped over and everyone screamed. Kiseki was right next to the glass of the window. Her eyes widened as the glass came crashing to the ground.

Two arms wrapped around her form and pulled her away before they crashed. Kiseki, expecting to get cut, was surprised when she didn't. It was all warm around her body. That's when she noticed someone was holding her in a tight embrace. "Is everyone all right?" a deeper voice of Yuugi asked. Kiseki looked up to see the pharaoh holding her tight. She began to blush even more, silently cursing her luck.

"I think we are, Yuugi." Mara replied. The pharaoh sighed softly. Good, she didn't notice the change. There was a glint in Maraia's eyes. But it was for sure that Kiseki knew. He looked down and saw the golden eyes silently thanking him. The ancient king barely stopped himself from brushing a lock of raven-colored hair out of her eyes. Stupid feelings.

"Now everyone, lean to the left side of the carriage. That way, we can try to flip this over again," Yami instructed. Since glass was still around them, Yami kept Kiseki wrapped in Yuugi's cloak. He could feel the girl shivering under the cloth. Was she really that frightened of the glass? Meanwhile Maraia was doing the same to her own companion. "Ready, push!"

As the coach flipped over again, the two older ones kept their charges shielded from all the glass. Yami and Emily were just lucky they didn't get sliced. Kiseki opened her eyes again after the rain of shards. Yami had protected her again. She tried to get up with the pharaoh by her side. Kiseki shakily unlocked the door and stepped out. The girl was still shivering, wrapping her arms around herself.

Yami shook the cloak to get all the glass out. Maraia did the same with hers, except it had less. Much less. It seemed that the bulk of the window ended up raining upon him. All the students got out of their carriages and looked up. A very large snake was in front of them. The light of Hogwarts shined on its scales. The light made an eery glow surround the serpent.

"It's a basilisk! Everyone, close your eyes!" Hermione and another girl said almost in unison. One of them had silverish hair with white highlights. To what Yami gathered from the previous minutes, it was someone by the name of Felienne. They gathered around the little group of four. "Mara, Maraia, get back with your friends!" Again Kiseki just shook her head, staying right where she was.

"We don't need to! It's blind," Kiseki whispered softly. She reluctantly let go of the pharaoh's hand. Both felt the effect as the warmth left them. The girl walked up to the beast, softly hissing. She suddenly coughed, tightening her hold around herself. Yet she carried on, hissing almost inaudibly.

"What isss wrong?" Kiseki asked it. She looked upward at the humongous snake. Her head was tilted to the side slightly.

"I truly do not wisssh to harm thessse ssstudents, but as you can sssee, I cannot sssee myssself," the basilisk replied. The teen could see the scar tissue over its pupils. "What isss wrong with you? You are ssshivering, but not of the weather." The teenager just lowered her head, not answering.

"She's speaking parseltongue," the two new girls said.

//Parseltongue. The language of the snakes.//

/Really? I understand it too. What can we do to help it?/

The pharaoh sent a warm smile back, //Kiseki can handle this by herself, aibou. Trust me on this. I feel as if she's a long time friend of mine. She's so familiar...// "I understand all the same," the pharaoh said out loud.

Felienne huffed, "Great. Another parselmouth. Just dandy." She crossed her arms.

"Kiseki and I are parselmouths, but what are you fretting about? This should not be that much of a problem," Yami retorted, "All that basilisk needs is some assistance. He does not wish to harm us." The pharaoh turned back to Kiseki as she spoke in parseltongue again. Murmurs were floating around the group of students. They finally noticed something happened. Honestly, how oblivious could you get?

Harry, who was silent up until that point, looked at Kiseki too, "She said for it to lower its head. She said that she could help it." The large snake obliged, lowering is head. Gasps were heard around the vicinity, but the girl right in front of the snake paid no heed.

"There you go. See, I won't hurt you. Just relax," Kiseki whispered. Her eyes were filled with sympathy at the prejudice that she could feel around her. The Japanese girl placed one pale hand on top of its head. A white light illuminated her hand and the body of the snake. Her eyes closed as she took in a large amount of breath. Her fingers ran over the slitted part of the basilisk's head that were its eyes. All was silent except the ruffling of the girl's kimono as she moved around just a bit. "Open your eyes."

The snake once again obeyed. It rose up above the crowd and stared down at them. The pharaoh nodded, "I can explain. When Kiseki healed his sight, she healed the effect of his sight. Therefore, no one can criticize him anymore. Yes, he's still poisonous, but I doubt he would bite any of us now." The basilisk lowered its head, saying 'thank you' to the healer.

Kiseki nodded to it as it started to slither away. She put her hand down and sighed. The snake hissed one last time. "Anytime. Don't worry about it anymore." She turned around to see everyone clapping. The girl blushed as she felt a bit dizzy. Kiseki coughed gently once more, re-wrapping that arm around herself. Yami noticed this and walked up to her.

"I know you feel drained. Just lean on me until we arrive at the school," Yami spoke softly. He couldn't just carry her in front of all of these people. Both of them wouldn't want too much attention, Kiseki nodded and followed him back to the shattered carriage. The pharaoh had his own questions to ask her, but those could wait. He wasn't sure about the others though.[/center]

[F e n i]

Chapter Three-Thus Introducing the Sorting

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The Pharaoh's eyes gazed down at the girl currently leaning most of her weight on him. Kiseki's breath was coming out in small pants. She coughed again, suddenly, hand flying up to cover up her mouth. The healer's eyes were clenched shut, trying to block out every source of light. Anyone could tell there was something wrong with the teen. Fortunately, none were near enough to see all the symptoms of Kiseki's illness. Kiseki couldn't feign this, could she? Yami glared, staring at the carriage in front of him. Hearing a few footsteps, the king turned around just slightly.

"Sorry for being so prejudice there. Name's Felienne," the girl with silver hair divulged. Yami nodded at the girl as she muttered a spell. A blue light flickered out of her wand towards the mangled contraption. The illumination sparkled upon each scattered piece before bringing it back together in one. The carriage itself looked refurbished as if it was just bought.

"It is quite all right. I suspect we must hurry to the school before anything else gets out of hand, am I correct?" the ancient king questioned. One of his hands was securely holding Kiseki's right arm. The hacking just became worse as she wobbled just a bit. The teenager glanced up at the one stabilizing her. Golden irises were silently thanking him. She was gently led back into the carriage and placed on the seat away from the door this time, away from where the glass was located.

Glass. Why was Kiseki so afraid of it? No, it wasn't the glass itself. It was the shards. The possibilities… Maybe she was afraid of it being sharp? A sixteen year old shouldn't be scared of something like that. Then again, everyone had their own fears to fret about. Each tiny piece slicing into your skin, making you bleed right on the spot. They would only sting though.

One of the few things that Yami 'feared' was that the girl would faint right here and now. Taking another glance behind him, he saw that the others were still conversing among themselves. The pharaoh almost sighed in relief as he clambered in. Kiseki's eyes had slipped shut again, but slightly opened as she felt her surroundings move. Yami moved over and watched as the benevolent girl placed her head on his shoulder to stifle another violent cough.

This time, the others actually heard the reaction. Mara was about to step inside to see what was wrong, but Maraia shook her head saying, "Give them some time alone." Her eyes and plain stature held a stern look. The smaller look-alike crossed her arms.

"And why should I?" Mara asked. She stared into the older's eyes, looking for an answer through their mind-link. Unfortunately, the elder had blocked off her end of it. That meant that Mara wasn't going to get any answers soon. She shook her head to rid herself of the thought before she got too hooked on it.

"Because it's something she won't tell us, as usual, right Maraia?" Felienne asked as she looked at the newly-repaired carriage, wondering what exactly was going on in there. She received a nod in return. After all, they were friends, Mara, Maraia, and Felienne. Just add that other aloof girl from earlier and you got the small group of friends. Too bad that Felienne was in Ravenclaw though.

"Off subject a bit, but did you see what Kiseki did?!?! I mean, she must be really skilled!" Mara exclaimed. Her face went into a pensive look. "She said she's new though."

"It seemed more like a hidden strength," Maraia implied, not wanting to delve much deeper, "Her magic is much more powerful than any ordinary witch's." Knowing that nothing else was going to be explained until the time was right, the brown-haired girl began to chat with the other two.

Meanwhile, in the carriage, he pharaoh reached out his left hand gently, placing it over Kiseki's right. That simple sign alone made the girl relax, her coughing slightly lessening. It told her that everything was going to be fine, that he would capture her if she fell. Kiseki closed her eyes fully, most awkwardness already gone. Yami ran his hand through the silky black locks, the warm feeling rippling through his fingers.

Yami's POV

I can't explain it, I just can't. I don't think I ever will be able to. This emotion… the warmth that flows through me every time we touch. My hand burns softly, as if it is put over a lit candle. It tortures me, but I shall carry on. I can't explain the feeling, and I doubt I will for a long time to come. And you know? I could care less.

Touch. It's something all could take for granted. Aibou told me that people could be born without or lose some of their senses. Sight, speech, hearing… Those could be ripped away from you in an instant. Taste and touch would be more of the interesting cases in themselves. A chuckle is held back because I know I am an unusual case as well. Think of the odds. A spirit (a spirit of a pharaoh), trapped in a piece of metal, waiting for five thousand years for a chosen one to release you. Then, when you are finally released from the cold prison, you realize you don't remember anything. Nothing at all.

As a wandering soul, I do not have such simple pleasures as a normal mortal would. Touch is just a figment of what it should be. Since this body is not of my own, its nerves act differently with my soul. Normal 'touching' to me is as if I'm ghosting my hand over the object, just barely knowing the texture. With Kiseki, it's different. Even if I cannot remember so much about my own individual touch, I can notice a drastic change. It burns… The touch isn't normal at all.

How we are acting isn't, I wouldn't say right because, by the stars, it is. Curse my memories. If only I had them, I could find out. I have faith that I will retrieve my memories and true name someday. You would never know the feeling of never remembering anything at all. I wonder why this curse was bestowed on me. Only an act so deadly would produce such a horrible punishment. Yet, I shall believe. I'll believe until the day I cease to exist.

My right hand reaches over on its own accord. Sooner than I realized it happened, I was running my hand through long silky locks. At least, that's what I imagine it would be like. I have no proof to what it really is, but I can strive with what I have. The endearing action seemed to calm her down more, so I decided to continue it. The trembling ceases, and I sighed in relief.

I am shocked out of my stupor as there is a tentative knock on the door. My hand easily slips out of the ebony strands as I turn my head. A muttered 'she is resting' escapes my voice box. The door opens and I find the three females staring in. No flush spreads through my being. Mara gapes as she looks at Kiseki's condition. Her whole countenance is screaming 'What happened?!?!'. I just shake my head and shuffle my legs a bit. Mara and Maraia clamber in with a small goodbye to Felienne. They sit on the other side, Mara still staring at Kiseki. I sigh and start to explain a bit as the carriage begins to move.

End Yami's POV

"Kiseki has been ill since she healed the basilisk. I suspect it is due to the energy drain," Yami said, pondering for a moment. "I'm trying to give her some rest, but it will not belong, will it." He glanced outside the window for a minute, seeing the castle as big and as bright as ever. They also scanned over the mass of transportation devices in front of their own.

There was a nod from Maraia, "Pha-Yuugi, you are correct. Hogwarts is only a few minutes away from our current position." She silently cursed her slip-up, but it seemed the ancient king didn't notice. After all, there was a girl sleeping upon his shoulder. Yami kept on looking out the window the whole time, not even sparing a glance at Kiseki. Another knowing smirk appeared upon Maraia's face. {{If only they knew what their past lives acted like.}}

Mara felt the thought along the mind link but decided to wait until later to ask the former priestess about it. Her green eyes shifted to the people sitting in the seats across from herself. To say the least, the girl was surprised when she saw Kiseki and Yuugi like that. Mara shook her head slightly and looked out the window. Not another word was said between any of them. Only the sound of Kiseki's even, but deep, breathing echoed in the carriage.

From what seemed like an eternity later, the transportation vehicles finally stopped at the foot of the castle. The pharaoh nodded to the two girls as they walked out. Yami turned his head to the still sleeping sorceress. "Kiseki, wake up. Kiseki, wake up," the wizard said. He ran the fingers of his left hand over her knuckles. "Come back to reality, Kiseki. We need to go now." The said person was roused by both his voice and the touch. She lifted her head slowly and immediately blushed.

"I-I fell asleep?" the teenager asked with a touch of drowsiness in her voice. There was a nod from the pharaoh as he lead her out. "Gomen nasai(I'm sorry), pharaoh. D-demo, arigatou, pr-aA (B-but thank you, pharaoh). I feel much better n-now." After reassuring her that it was okay, Yami switched souls with Yuugi. Both Japanese magic folk saw Mara up ahead, waving to them to follow. She and Maraia were, once again, with Felienne. The only difference was that they now stood by the girl with deathly straight pink hair. Introductions were made, and Kiseki and Yuugi found out the bubbly girl went by the name of Libria Kyzal.

Both foreign teenagers tried to blend into the crowd, to act like one of the other students. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. Rumors were already circulating among the rest of the student body. Kiseki could feel the eyes staring upon her. She clenched her own shut, daring not to let tears escape her eyes. Yuugi looked on in worry again. If she got too stressed, there was a high chance that the fit would start again. He watched as she shook her head and took a deep breath.

Murmurs could be heard all around them. It was tedious and a bit irksome, so Yuugi asked if it was like this all the time. The answer he got was that Hogwarts was a gossip center out of classes, basically. If an incident came along, it was spread through the teenagers in a matter of one day. Anything slipped up, anything got to everyone. The teenager looked at his new friends in shock. Just dandy.

The humongous castle that was Hogwarts loomed in front of them now. Yuugi's eyes became wide as he stood right smack in the middle of the road leading up to the door. He couldn't believe how big the actual school was. And to think… the duelist was going to be walking through the numerous halls. The diminutive teen would need a guide or something for the first few days. Wooden doors creaked open to reveal a warm interior. The lights were set just right, casting a warm autumn glow over the returning teenagers.

An old woman, dressed exactly like the witches that the newcomers had seen in picture books, with the pointing hat and black robes stood at the top of the stairs that led to the first floor. "May the new sixth years please follow me," the woman said. Everyone was looking around to figure out who the new people were. Kiseki grabbed Yuugi's wrist as they made their way up the stairs. The woman nodded to them before turning around and walking away. Both teens followed right behind but stayed at least a yard from the witch. The girl seemed a bit more apprehensive, however.

"You can call me Professor McGonagall. I am the Head of the House of Gryffindor, Deputy Headmistress, and Transfiguration teacher. Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-year banquet will begin shortly, but first you will be sorted into your houses. While you are here, your house will act as your family. You will have classes with them, sleep in your house dormitories, and spend free time in your house's common room. Do you two understand me so far?" The Japanese teens nodded in unison.

"The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own special history and unique characteristics. While here, you will earn house points for triumphs, but will loose house points for any rule breaking. At the end of the year, the House Cup will be rewarded to the house with the most points. I think that sums up the whole idea. The Sorting Ceremony will begin soon. Just stand behind the first years," McGonagall explained. She walked farther away from them to reprimand some rowdy ten-year-olds.

Kiseki's head was bowed to the floor, smooth ebony hair cascading around her face. She dared not to meet anyone's eyes or even glance at them. Great, the anxiety was back, but thankfully the illness wasn't. Yuugi couldn't help but notice the pattern in behavior was odd, to say the least. Even from here, where he couldn't see much of her face, he could tell that Kiseki was blushing.

Yami. Yuugi bet it was his other half she was thinking of. Another thing on the usual side was the, how to call it, connection they shared. Maybe he knew her in a past life. That would be the most logical explanation on the matter. It would still be considered a bit absurd, but plausible. That idea really depended on what you believed in. Reincarnation was widely spread across the world, so there was a slightly better chance that people might buy his tale.

Kiseki could have been the pharaoh's past lover, for all that the small King-of-Games knew. Now that would explain almost everything. The intimate moment in the carriage, the urge to protect her when it flipped over, and many more events to come. Even the female seemed like she trusted the pharaoh completely. That, however, was a theory and unless tested multiple times would it be proven true. The boy would never do that to the spirit. What picked at him the most was the touch that Yami tried to explain to him. Surely it wasn't a curse… was it? Yuugi put a hand to his forehead and shook it slightly. All of this information topped off with this school of witchcraft and wizardry was really going to give Yuugi a headache.

Hearing yet another set of doors open, Kiseki's head jerked up. Yuugi looked at her in worry, but she just shook her head. The line began to move at an agonizing pace into a large room. There were four very large tables complete with goblets and plates, all empty. Out of the corner of his eye, the sixteen-year-old saw Mara slightly waving to them. He shivered himself before looking up at the ceiling. Yuugi heard a whisper from beside himself. It had something to do about enchanting the ceiling to look like it did outside the castle. Then something about reading up on it.

To tell the truth, it did look like it was. The night sky was truly a beauty. A mass of pure darkness, dotted in random places with white. Yuugi could tell if he looked close enough, he would see a constellation or two. No clouds blocked the pinpricks of light shining through the calmness above. Only the full moon served as the brightest beacon. Floating candles served to add to the gentle atmosphere.

When the line stopped, Professor McGonagall told the students to gather around the floor right next to the staff table. This time the boy was the one who tugged on Kiseki's sleeve. Both of them ended up at the front, next to a hat on a stool. Blinking at the current situation, the foreign teens were about to ask what this was all for. Then the rim of the wizarding hat opened on its own. Yuugi could have sweared that he jumped back at least an inch. The hat began to sing in a rhyming form. When it was done, an applause came from all around.

"Now when I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abrie, Taylor!" A young girl with brown pig-tails sat on the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head. It fell past her eyes. In a few moments pause...

"HUFFLEPUFF!" it shouted. Applause came from the respected table. The sorting went like that until Zahara, Kuavra was called. Unlike previous years, the hat stayed on the stool. An older looking man with a long silver beard stood up at the staff table. The boy could feel his other self sitting up to listen.

//That is Dumbledore, aibou, I am sure of it. His aura is a very powerful one… more magic than many I have seen.// An inquisitive question. //Yes, he is the one who sent us our acceptance letter.//

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore began. His voice was amplified, probably another charm at work. "Yet another year has begun and I have a few announcements to make. The Forbidden Forest is still forbidden and stays true to its name. No one is to venture to the Astronomy Tower alone this year. Classes there have been cancelled also, for some renovation. We also have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Allow me to introduce you all to Miss Kessai Moonstream," Dumbledore announced. All turned to look at the new teacher.

To start off, Kessai looked to be in her early twenties. She had spiked black hair that pointed downwards. Her hair had dark blue tips that almost blended in with the natural color itself. Her features were sharp and stern. The professor's arms were crossed over her chest. She opened her eyes to reveal hardened silver orbs. Kessai glared at her new students, and many of them gulped. Gosh, that rivaled Professor Snape's, even! Professor Moonstream caught the two new sixth-years' gaze. Both were unfazed, unlike the rest of the school. A small smirk made its way onto her lips.

"I hope you will all make her feel at home here. As you can see, we have two new boarding students from Japan," Dumbledore continued. He looked down at them with the usual twinkle in his blue eyes. "Lest they need to be sorted."

"Geminia, Kiseki!" Taking a deep breath, almost taking courage out of the air itself, she slowly stepped up the stairs towards the Sorting Hat. The sorceress hesitantly sat down on the wood. With equal feelings, she placed the hat atop her head. Kiseki immediately felt the hat probing her mind. She thrust up as many mental blocks as she could.

"My, my, my… What do we have here? This will be difficult. Very difficult indeed. Plenty of loyalty and the intelligence of one I have never seen. And yet you have the courage of that which exceeds one of a lion itself and a thirst to prove yourself worthy of everyone and everything that stands in your path. But where to put you?" the Sorting Hat mused. The seconds ticked by. Kiseki unconsciously tried to bite her lip, but resisted the urge to.

Silence filled the great hall, a thin sheet of apprehension covering everyone. The Sorting Hat continued to muse. Murmurs began through the room again. Felienne was one of the few that didn't engage in the activity. This was certainly… awkward. The new girl was supposed to be sorted a few minutes ago. By what the Sorting Hat said when it was first put on, it had a bit of trouble deciding. Her gaze was focused, also unlike most of the people there. Only she, and a certain group of people noticed the odd event to its full extent.

A boy sitting at the Gryffindor table rolled his eyes. Common, it wasn't a big deal. So the Sorting Hat had a bit of trouble with this one. The ordeal wasn't something to get all excited about. Then again, this was the first time it had happened. Being in his sixth year now, the boy had plenty of time to witness odd sortings. Which never did happen. He turned his head to look for at least one person who wasn't gossiping. Burgandy and bright blue eyes clashed. All he could really see from here was the very straight pink hair and semi-tanned skin. Well, he did have all year to find out who this interesting girl was. Why not start after the banquet?

After what seemed like an eternity to Kiseki, the sorting hat finally opened its rim. The girl sighed almost inaudibly. That was way too long for comfort. How she hated to be different from everyone else. All her life, she was looking to be normal. But no… she had to be the extravagant one. Kiseki truly despised being that way, but there was nothing she could do about it. She tried to pay attention to what the Hat was singing.

"Dear Headmaster
I know not what to say
I'm afraid I have no idea
Where this Chosen is to stay

Gryffindor, Slytherin
Deep down in her core
Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw
She has traits of all four

Her heart is of a Gryffindor's
Courageous and bold
Brave and self-sacrificing
Never to act cold

Her intellect is of Ravenclaw
Very smart indeed
She must use it to her advantage
It's only one of the things she needs

She has Hufflepuff's soul
One that will always stay loyal
Never to turn to the Dark
To fight through troubles and toils

But deep inside are traits of Slytherin
Life revolving around lies
Secrets buried deep inside
Don't dare find out, don't even try

The choice is yours
Choose where you wish to go
But take caution, Chosen
A fierce test you shall undergo

I wish you the best of luck
Gifted one of the Light
Your story is just beginning
Do what you think is right

For Destiny is starting to reveal herself
We must join together, one and all
To make a whole, to truly belong
Before everything falls."

The silence once again floated over the Great Hall. "So it seems the decision is up to you, Miss Geminia," Dumbledore explained. The charm was off now, so his voice was much softer. Kiseki pulled the rim off her eyes to glance at all the tables. She carefully hopped off the stool and placed the Sorting Hat back on. Even it was awaiting her decision. The teen turned to the Headmaster.

"I-I choose… Gryffindor, Headmaster." The Hall got even quieter… if that was possible. A blast of noise came from the Gryffindor table. Kiseki walked to Yuugi and grabbed his hand briefly. She paused by him for a few seconds. Without turning her head to him, she spoke. "Good l-luck. I hope we're in the same house… to b-both of you." Striding to her table, it wasn't surprising when she ended up between Mara and Maraia.

After all the commotion, "Motou, Yuugi!" rang across the Hall. The teen did the exact same thing as all the people before him. Yuugi sighed as the Sorting Hat was placed upon his head. He hoped that he didn't have to go through the same thing as Kiseki just went through.

'Interesting. You are yet another which belongs to all four. I am not asking you to choose, however. Would you mind terribly if I put you in Gryffindor?' the Sorting Hat asked inside his mind.

"Not really. We-I was hoping to be where Kiseki would be sorted," Yuugi thought back absentmindedly.

'Ah, yes. You and the other Light have become close friends all ready. That is a good sign. She needs your help to complete what Fate has in store for her. I also wish you good luck. To you and the spirit who is residing with you.'

"GRYFFINDOR!" Another roar of applause from the Gryffindor table. After all, they just got two more students sorted into their house. Yuugi took off the hat and sat down next to Kiseki. She smiled softly at him.

"Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore exclaimed. Suddenly, the plates in front of them were filled with food. Everything you could imagine was there. Yuugi smiled and began to eat his fill. The girl next to him was a bit more hesitant.

//I see you are enjoying yourself?//

/Hai(yes), Yami! This looks like this will be a fun year!/ He turned to Kiseki who's gaze was now locked with the new professor's again. The teacher still had that smirk plastered on her face.

'This will be an interesting year, aibou. A very interesting one to say the least.'[/center]

[F e n i]

Chapter Four- Of the One Who Considers Herself Unworthy

[/u]

The feast itself went by decently. Students ate their fill, old friends talked to each other, and the new ones made acquaintances. Kiseki smiled but for the most part kept silent during the meal. Mara, Maraia, and Libria kept on trying to get a few words out of her without forcing the poor girl to talk. The Japanese female just shook her head and retorted with the fact that she had nothing interesting to talk about. She was content with just listening to everyone else.

Not everyone was having a good time, however. Our dark former pharaoh was pacing upon the floor of his soul room. Shadows were gathered at his feet as his mere presence lured them. Yami seemed to have a pensive look on his face. The golden bricks of the walls and floor shook slightly, expressing his uneasiness. The darkness drew closer, but with a low growl, the king forced them back.

After five thousand years trapped in the hunk of gold, Yami learned some techniques and strategies of the Shadows and some of their own. They preyed upon all negative emotions such as despair, depression, guilt, envy, anger… In order to evade them, your heart had to banish those feelings, or at least push them to the farthest depths of your mind. What was the pharaoh thinking about? Well, I’ll give you one guess. There was still something looming about the one he was thinking about. But what, exactly, Yami couldn’t decipher.

Shaking his head to rid his mind of the thoughts, he stood and looked to his left at the entrance to his soul room. He could see the faintest bit of light shining between the threshold and the bottom of the metal. His crimson orbs narrowed just slightly. Yuugi wanted to talk to him now? A small emotion filtered through their link and understanding was sent right back. His aibou always worried about him at times like this. Ever since that ordeal with the Oracle Cards… Yami unconsciously sped up his pace.

“Mou hitori no boku, you okay?” Yuugi asked a bit hesitantly as the door to the pharaoh’s maze opened, revealing none other than his other self. He bit his lip as he studied the other’s expression. Yami’s stature was just the smallest bit slumped, leaning forward. The pharaoh’s hand was resting in his pocket as he averted his eyes.

“Iie, aibou. You know I cannot lie to you.” He put a hand to his forehead and sighed, “I do not understand. Something is unusual about that Kiseki, I can sense it. Her aura is uneasy, and I fear that her physical condition has also been affected. The bout of magic she preformed is a very advanced form, that I can definitely assure you.”

Yuugi smiled and giggled, “Don’t be so tense, other me! She’ll be fine. Kiseki is strong, and in the few hours we’ve known her, she only proved that fact even more so by what she’s done. Stop worrying. If Kiseki finds out you are, she’ll just get worse. You especially don’t want that to happen, right?” There was a curt nod in response. “Good. Is there anything you want me to ask her though?” Ideas were exchanged swiftly before anyone could notice that Yuugi was acting strangely in the outside world. The lighter of the two males left with a small wave and a hope to talk to the spirit more later.

Retreating back to his body, Yuugi blinked his eyes, the glaze that formed on them now vanished. He looked to his right to find Kiseki smiling at everyone else. But the young duelist knew that she was looking at him while he was talking to Yami for the majority of the time. There was one spared glance from the girl and a wink. At least those simple gestures helped the young duelist know she was still on the borderline, not over it yet. That proved to be more of a relief to the duelist than he thought it would be.

Unbeknownst to the girl, there was more than just one person keeping their eye on her. Cold silver irises surveyed the new female with interest. The figure smirked to herself as she didn’t let her gaze waver. She took a small bite out of her food before the sides of her mouth curled up into a smirk. Mischief danced in those all-seeing eyes. Wasn’t this going to be fun. However, she had a lot of scheming to do before anything went according to what she wanted it to. “Hmmmm…”

A few minutes later, Dumbledore dismissed the houses as he did every year. Taking their cue, the prefects guided the mob of people out the Great Hall’s doors. Giddy first years gathered at the front to learn the castle first-hand while our ‘heroes’ lurked toward the back. It would kind of look a bit awkward if two sixth years were in the front with the eleven-year-olds, you know? There were nods from his new friends as Yuugi said that thought aloud. Kiseki just smiled at them all as they began their long trek upwards to Gryffindor tower.

Riku was your average ‘perfect’ boy. To start off, he was a Gryffindor. Now, as we all know, Gryffindors were always the best, or so they said. They were courageous, strong-willed, and determined. Second, many of the girls thought he was cute. Silver hair and aqua eyes… no wonder why he had his own little fan club. Third, he was actually one of the smart ones. Some people thought he could have been in Slytherin even. This trait set him apart from the other reckless males in his house. All of his characteristics made him able to get almost anyone he wanted.

Almost.

He dodged through the crowd, looking for that girl with the burgundy eyes and bright pink hair. How had he not noticed her before? Riku was in Hogwarts for six years already, the next being his last. Unless the girl just came the previous term, he didn’t know how he could have missed her. How many people in the school would have pink hair? Not many. The boy grunted as the task proved to be more difficult than he actually thought. Everyone was bunched together, making it harder for him to spot her. Going against the flow of students wasn’t a good idea either.

Hundreds. Thousands. Millions even? Yuugi couldn’t tell as he looked around the gigantic hallway. The stairs looked like they were never-ending. Stomping of feet was the only sound registering in his ears. He shook his head, trying to clear it. How come they had to walk up seven floors to their tower? Why couldn’t they be down in the dungeons like the Slytherins? But then again, it was colder down there and no windows were present… Yuugi stuck his tongue out which made the group of girls giggle around him.

“Why am I the only boy here?” Yuugi asked, slapping his forehead. The females just looked at each other before bursting into laughter again. “Nani?” They all sighed and Libria put her arm on top of Yuugi’s head. The boy blinked and crossed his eyes at the one above him.

“Because you’re new and you’d get creamed by the boys. That’s what,” the pink-haired girl said casually. She smirked as the male shook his head to get the arm off. “Hey, you’re shorter than me even. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to pick on you.” Yuugi breathed out a sigh of relief as the taller girl (well, just a few inches) ruffled his hair.

The amusement began to die down until it stopped altogether. That was, until, some first years tripped up. That in itself caused a domino effect upon the rest of the Gryffindors. One by one they began to fall. The small group in the back tried to move away, but not before a blur crashed into Libria, knocking her onto the floor. A ‘oomph’ was heard as the pink-haired girl got all the wind knocked out of her.

When all the chaos was over, burgundy and aqua clashed for the second time that night. Riku and Libria both had wide eyes when they noticed the position they were in. Riku was right atop Libria, the only things holding him up being his arms. They were so shocked that neither of them could move for the first few seconds. Suddenly, Libria’s hand made contact with the boy’s left cheek. The action made the boy cringe and fall to the ground next to the girl as she got up.

“YOU PERVERT!” Libria almost screamed as she glared at the silver-haired boy. She stomped up to where the group was (the whole line moved, thank goodness) and huffed. The others just shook their heads and continued on. Yuugi looked back and forth between the male rubbing his cheek and his new friends. His instincts told him to help the other guy so he did.

Riku didn’t really need any help, but our little King-of-Games went over anyway. The taller was just pulling himself off the rock of the ground, rubbing his now bruised cheek. He saw the other and just looked at him as Yuugi walked down next to him. “It wasn’t your fault, really. I think Libria’s overreacting a bit,” Yuugi began. The boy didn’t tell Riku, but he saw the pain lurking in the back of his eyes. Ouch. “You tripped up, it’s nothing, really.”

“A bit?!?!” Riku argued as they began to walk up together. After something like that, it was good to have someone to talk to until you got to your room. “Look, New Kid, I don’t trip. I don’t usually humiliate myself like that either. But anyway, the name‘s Riku.” He held out his hand and the boy shook it.

Yuugi was about to respond when a voice was calling out for him to catch up. Kiseki stood at the top of the stairs, hands clasped behind her back. She was smiling at them, leaning forward a bit. The girl gestured to the mob of people with an incline of her head. The gamer did a small wave to Riku and bid him goodbye until they had to meet again whenever the seemingly endless staircases did end. Eventually.

Maybe the two new shrimps weren’t that bad after all. At least the boy seemed like a nice guy. The sixteen-year-old smirked to himself as he regained his composure. The footsteps began again as he rushed back up to the front. On Riku’s way, he past Libria who was, naturally, still pissed at him. The fun eyes he saw before just seemed to glare holes in his back as he met his friends.

Among those many people was the one and only Harry Potter. Ever since the last two sortings, something was tugging at him. The connection befuddled him, for it was alike to the one he had with Voldemort, and it wasn’t. A similarity was that it was like the reaction he had in Fifth Year with his scar. But yet it was entirely different. That boy emitted an aura that was calming and pure, just like Kiseki. Then there was the other personality he sensed. One that was seen as the Dark. One that was potentially dangerous. One that was the complete opposite of the word good.

Kiseki was surveying them on the way up, unbeknownst to Yuugi and Harry. The girl made it convincing by occasionally nodding her head to the conversation. She knew something was special about both of the males. Kiseki already knew that Yuugi had the world on both his and the pharaoh’s shoulders enough times already. Shouldn’t the pharaoh have gotten his memories yet? There were all the tournaments and challenges both had to go through. Then again, that was only in Japan, in Domino.

Not to forget about that other boy either. He had saved the world of the wizards and witches many times. That would be five, one for each year at Hogwarts. Kiseki didn’t know his name, but she did know of his deeds. One was about the Sorcerer’s Stone, then Chamber of Secrets with Salazar Slytherin. Third year was about Peter Pettigrew and his loyalty to some supreme ruler of some kind, and fourth year was the Triwizard tournament. Last year it was the Order of the Phoenix and losing Sirius Black to one follower of the supreme ruler.

What was it to be this year? Kiseki had a very bad feeling that it had something to do with her. She had just turned sixteen, and she remembered someone saying that something would happen in her sixteenth summer. That’s how they said years in Egypt where she got her Millennium Item. She just hoped no one else got involved. Especially the pharaoh. Deep inside, she knew she had a connection with him. What other way would you explain the warmth whenever they touched? The bearer of the Sennen Locket began to blush again, immediately becoming dizzy. She shook the thoughts from her mind, sighing albeit loudly. The others looked at her oddly.

“Are you all right? Yami said you still look a bit dizzy,” Yuugi said softly. The other teen shook her head. All the rest looked at her worriedly. Even if they didn’t hear what the boy had whispered, they all could tell that something was amiss. Kiseki looked at them with pleading eyes, asking them silently to let the subject drop. Thankfully, all of them gave into the dubbed ‘puppy dog’ eyes.

Something was wrong with those as well. The duelist could tell as soon as she pulled them off. Usually the ‘eyes’ would be used by young children to get whatever they wanted. However, these were not the eyes of a child. These were the eyes of someone who had seen too much and who wanted to see no more. Still effective but still greatly contrasting.

“Whatever you say, Kiseki. Just don’t be afraid to tell us if something’s wrong.” Kiseki stiffened just slightly as she heard the words. Then she just walked on, completely unfazed. Yuugi didn’t want what happened to him to be bestowed on Kiseki. She was just to pure for that kind of pain. It would hurt him too much for him to bear. Yuugi almost had to hit himself to make sure he was awake. Stupid depression...

“Valor,” Hermione said clearly to the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open. “Follow us,” Hermione told the other students. “That is the password for our tower. The only way you can get in is if you say that to the Fat Lady. Is everyone clear?” Nervous First Years nodded their understanding. The voices startled the three who were so very deep in their thoughts.

Walls were painted in a mixture of red and gold. To his left, Yuugi could see various couches and chairs scattered around the room. Some of them looked a bit too overstuffed, but that could be avoided easily. A fireplace crackled merrily off to the right side, glowing embers showering the room. Tables and other furniture were placed in various arrangements. Moving portraits hung in random positions around the room. There were two stone staircases leading into the higher parts of the tower. Both curled around each other as they flowed to the cylinder shape. “Boys’ dormitory to your left, same with the girls’ on the right. All of your belongings have already been moved upstairs. As you all can see, this is the Common Room,” Hermione formally spoke.

“Where you could do your homework and hang out, and stuff like that,” Ron appended offhandedly. Maybe a bit too casually. The comment earned a scolding from Hermione. A bit to be Prefects, ne? The students made their way to their dorms in groups until there weren‘t many left. The Riku boy was one of the first to sprint up the stairs, not willing to get embarrassed anymore. Yuugi felt a light touch against his hand. He turned to his right to see Kiseki smiling at him. She winked and turned her gaze towards the others.

“Daibajou, it’s just that I’m still weak from the healing. But... Arigatou gozaimasu for making sure I was all right. You really didn’t have to. Oyasumi, minna.” Kiseki squeezed his hand slightly and pattered up to her dorm. No one spoke until the soft pad of her footsteps was inaudible.

“Yeah, we’ll see you tomorrow, okay thanks, bai!” Mara said all chipper as she dragged Maraia up the same steps. The boy just stood there and blinked. Yawning, he made his way up to his room too. What luck! He shared the same dorm as Riku and that black-haired kid with the glasses and scar. Yuugi just curled up in his bed, away from the others, trying to get some sleep.

~Time Lapse~

Kiseki snapped her eyes open, breathing deeply from her latest escapade in her mind. She clenched the crimson seats in a death grip as she sought to regain her senses. It was only a dream… just a dream and nothing more. The witch pushed herself up, blankets falling around her form. As golden irises scanned the room, they noticed that it was too early in the morning for anyone to be awake. Kiseki assumed she wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon so she clutched the pajamas she was wearing closer to herself. Pulling the blankets away, the girl returned to the common room to find it not completely submersed in darkness.

She smiled, settling in one of the couches. The girl brought her knees to her chest slowly. Her arms wrapped around them as Kiseki rested her head upon her knees. The dying embers of the fire flickered ever so much. She shivered, tightening her hold upon herself. That smile stayed upon her face as she thought of the not so distant memories that she hoped she would never lose.

Being the first time the memories even mattered, Kiseki hoped with all of her heart that these wouldn’t be taken away from her. ‘Please, I’ll do anything. Don’t make me forget.’ She bit back a sob at the thought. At least… at least she was here, in this school, away from her old life. The past was the past and she would have to leave that behind if she wanted to move forward. In some form of comfort, and also to forget about what she was thinking, Kiseki began to sing softly.

(A/N This is one my songs I made up. Yupp, piano accompaniment, but I doubt any of you would get to hear it. Ehh, early one so I think it sucks. -shrugs- The joy of editing! XD After this chapter is posted.)
“You said you had to go
Didn’t want you to leave
I called out for you repeatedly
Yet you never turned back

To this day I wonder why
My voice still cries out to you
I know you can’t hear me
You’re too far away

The sands of time are dropping
The cogs turn little by little
You stay still while I’m pushed
Forward, away from you

When I looked into your eyes
That one starry night
When you held me in your arms
I thought that you loved me

I loved you, didn’t you know?
I’m still waiting for you
Why do I still love you?
My Dream of a Memory…

Even if I didn’t say a word
Your smile told me all I needed
If only I had the courage
To tell you what I had to say

Since you’re gone now
I can sing loud and clear
What use will it be?
To tell you the truth…

This emotion will do nothing
Other than become stronger
I never wanted to know
What loneliness truly was

There’s nothing we can do
The past is in the past
Your decision broke my heart
Mine keeps it in shattered pieces

When I looked into your eyes
That one starry night
When you held me in your arms
I thought that you loved me

I loved you, didn’t you know?
I’m still waiting for you
Why do I still love you?
My Dream of a Memory…”

This was all sang with a layer of sadness curled under the beautiful singing voice. It wasn’t used to its full potential, however, as Kiseki kept her voice to a bare minimum. Crimson eyes sought to comfort her in some way, but they restrained. The witch’s voice became even softer when she hummed the rest of the song out. She probably hadn’t finished it yet. With a sad smile on his face, our pharaoh floated back upstairs to the boy’s dorm while Kiseki was blissfully unaware.

Yami had awoken feeling restlessness not unfamiliar to him. Yuugi was stuck in a normal nightmare which was also unusual. After waking him up, the boy asked him why he wasn’t asleep. The pharaoh replied that he didn’t need to sleep so much if he stayed in spirit form (the form he was currently in). Yuugi nodded his understanding before bidding the other a good night once again. Yami just had been standing guard by the boy’s side when he heard someone going downstairs. Curiosity overwriting his natural instincts, he kept the door open as he looked outside. The ancient king caught the whole scene but knew that Kiseki didn’t know he was there.

/M-mou hitori no boku, are you still awake?/ Yuugi’s tired voice asked from the other side of the link. When Yami looked in, the boy was sitting up on his bed. The younger rubbed his eyes with the back of his fists and palms.

//Aibou, your first day of classes starts tomorrow,// he replied, ghostly form settling next to the little one.

/Technically, it’s today, pharaoh… But still, I can’t sleep. This whole thing has been so--/ Yuugi trailed off, looking for the right words to say. His brows creased as he pondered silently.

//Sudden, to say the least, ne, Aibou? I shall not force you to rest, but I do expect that you return to bed sometime this morning.//

/Hai, hai, mother hen/ Yuugi rolled his eyes at the pharaoh jokingly. He laughed when Yami got a little ticked off at the comment. /I wonder what the duel monsters would think of this. There won’t be much dueling here./ The diminutive teen pulled himself out of his bed while grabbing his deck off a nightstand. Yuugi walked outside, planning to sit by the fire and look at his cards. Only at the top of the steps, he looked down. Kiseki’s head snapped around with frightened golden eyes. However, they only lasted a few split seconds before a cheerful look adorned her face. Yuugi waved and so did Yami who was now next to him. Both made their way down to sit in the chair next to the girl.

“Hello, Yuugi, my pharaoh. Couldn’t sleep, eh?” Kiseki asked them once they were relaxed enough.

“Yeah, all the excitement has literally gone to my head. I was just coming down here to pass the time, you know? Look at my dueling deck too,” Yuugi replied as he took the cards out. “Do you want to look?” Kiseki nodded, smiling the whole time. The teen just stifled a laugh, handing his precious deck over to the girl. She turned over the cards to see the pictures of the monsters.

The Dark Magician stared up at her, blue eyes piercing her soul. He was clad in his usual purple attire which consisted of his robe and overly-large hat. The magician held his long silver staff in an attacking pose. The monster seemed to be smirking at her, just like Yami would. What else would you expect from a Guardian Monster? They had to have some similarities to the one they watched over.

Flip.

“It’s so cute!” Kiseki squealed as she looked at the next card. This time a small ball of brown fur winked at them both. Its huge eyes stared up at them as the girl continued to flip out. Yami chuckled, knowing that Kuribou represented his Aibou well. Kuribou was small and impossibly cute for one. If you underestimated it, the ball of fluff would strike right back.

Flip.

‘Hey, guys!’ the card seemed to say. A girl with bright green eyes was staring at them. She was dressed in a blue dress with pink trimming along with a pink mini skirt. A matching hat sat atop her head. There was a long staff in her right hand that ended up looking like a yellow seashell at the tip. The girl looked like giggling at the moment. Dark Magician Girl had the same allure as her master, and possible boyfriend, the Dark Magician.

Kiseki smiled at the cards, handing them back to Yuugi once she was done. The girl stole a glance upstairs before pulling another stack of cards from her own pocket. The puzzle flashed before Yami took the boy’s place, raising an elegant eyebrow in question. Kiseki just giggled softly, pulling out her wand and muttering a spell. A small wooden table was transfigured out of a spark that landed near their feet. The table was between the two couches for easy access. Kiseki placed her deck in the middle of the furniture before raising her eyes to the pharaoh again.

The pharaoh’s expression became determined as the trademark smirk made itself known. He placed his own cards next to the female’s. They met eyes again and Yami saw a little glitter within them. Even though both knew what was going to happen, they knew that it would be amusing nonetheless. Their hands brushed for a brief second as they reached for the other’s deck. A jolt of warmth rushed through them both, but they decided to let it sleep. For tonight, that is. As the cards were handed back, the sorceress and the pharaoh placed them on the bottom right corner of their side.

Let the games begin.

~Time Lapse~

-Continued-[/center]

[F e n i]

Chapter Four - Of the One Who Considers Herself Unworthy (Part Two)

[/u]

Riiiiiiiip

Thud

“ITAI!” he said as he slowly got his body into a sitting position. Someone knelt next to him, helping him up the whole time, unnoticed by the rest of the people in the room. They all just thought the unfortunate one was doing it by himself. A pale hand reached to the back of his head, rubbing the small bruise now present. His other hand reached up to rub at his eyes to improve his blurry vision. “What was that for?”

“We tried to get you up, mate,” Ron said from a distance as Yuugi saw him shrug. “Yah just wouldn’t budge.” The one spoken to blinked, shaking his head back and forth. What did he do last night? Right. The boy rubbed his head with his palm as he pushed himself up. Man, that was great... At least what Yami told him. It kept him, his body actually, up all night. Yuugi’s soul had gotten a good night’s rest for the first time in months.

“Yuugi, right? We have Care of Magical Creatures first thing… About an hour from now,” the boy with the messy black hair said. He stood next to the red head. “We’ll need the time to get downstairs.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s on the first floor,” Yuugi said with a groan as he walked to his trunk. Yami snickered before the boy shut him up with a quick mental glare. With that out of the way, he flipped open the top of his trunk to retrieve some robes.

“Castle grounds, runt.” Yuugi turned to see a dark boy leaning against the wall with Yuugi’s sheet in his hand. He smirked at them, making Yami growl lowly. The male had peach skin that contrasted with his raven-colored hair. It swept over his right eye, and the young duelist thought of how he could actually see through the mess of it. He had cold neon blue eyes. Yuugi almost raised his eyebrows at the amount of eyeliner he wore… But he had to admit it did add to the ‘look’. His clothes were a deep red hoodie-like thing and dark grey, almost black pants. The top had a Gryffindor crest right above where his heart was, but anyone could see the attempt at trying to pull it off or ruin it in some way.

“Wait… I thought this was a uniform--”

“Shut up,” the emo kid glared. He crossed his arms, throwing the sheet at Yuugi’s face. It hit its target and the boy fell back, but onto his bed this time. “I’m leaving.” He turned on his heel, walking out of the room swiftly. Short and to the point… not bad. Yuugi, deciding to change first, did so. On his way out, he grabbed his bag and books.

Ron, Harry, and surprisingly, Riku all waited for him at the entrance of the tower. Yuugi rushed out, hearing the portrait shut behind them. “Who was that guy? Waking me up like that,” Yuugi muttered as he walked beside the three of them. His hand reached to the back of his head again, touching the small bruise. The boy winced only slightly since he knew of worse things.

“Kiru Stone,” Riku supplied as he opened up a shortcut for them to get downstairs faster. “Don’t mess with him, Yuugi. He’s the bad attitude, ‘I’ll-kill-all-of-you-slowly-and-enjoy-every-second-of-it’ person. I swear, he’s worse than Peeves, the Poltergeist. He resorts to violence in his pranks and loves blood.”

“Worse being more of a troublemaker,” Harry (Yuugi assumed it was his name from the comments from everyone) appended. “Don’t get in his way and you should be fine. About the uniform thing you said earlier, he didn’t like ours,” he pointed to his own clothes and everyone else’s, “so he decided to do something about it. Dumbledore got involved, but they were forced to make a compromise.”

Yuugi nodded in understanding as they all made their way outside. The sun wasn’t all the way up yet, casting an eerie glow upon the lush grasses of the grounds. The air was filled with the scent of the woods and various things of nature. A soft breeze fluttered by, taking a few leaves with it. Yuugi breathed in deeply. It felt so good to be outside. The grounds were so much better than being cooped up in that castle.

The three other sixth years led him not too far from Hogwarts. They walked upon a dirt trail to what seemed to be a hut of some kind. A large group of kids were gathered there already. After explaining that it was only the sixth years, Yuugi blanched. There were just too many of them! This school would take some getting used to. A lot of it.

Among the group were the little group of sixth year girls. Kiseki and Mara stood off to the side, hands over their mouths as they giggled. Maraia was leaning against the tree, arms crossed as she shook her head at the scene. Apparently Libria was ranting about something. She made odd gestures to go along with the story, and even though the boys couldn’t hear it, they knew that Libria wasn’t too happy.

“Gather aroun’ ya?” The rest of the students walked to what appeared to be a giant or half-giant. He towered over them all, even if Yuugi did consider himself pretty short. The giant was well over ten feet tall, judging by what the petite duelist could tell. It wore a patched up coat with various pockets. The look on Yuugi’s face could be considered priceless when he took all of that in.

The bright one just shook his head as he hurried to catch up with his friends. With a few ‘excuse me’ and ‘pardon me please’ phrases accompanied by some grunts of disapproval, Yuugi made it to the front. The boys were clustered to one side and the girls right next to them. Gosh, were they always so biased? Taking a deep breath, the new kid looked around to spot anyone else. It seemed that Riku was as far away to the left of the Gryffindors while Libria was on the right. Mara and Maraia weren’t /too/ far, Harry and Ron were closer, but still not that close. Kiseki was standing next to the lake, and Kiru was who-knows-where. Of course, everyone was used to him ditching classes.

The giant called out to the rest of the students who had strayed on their way over. Immediately they scurried, actually looking interested in learning something from this class. Once they were all together, close enough so that everyone could hear at least, the largest’s eyes scanned across each small human. “Nice seein’ you all ‘ere for anoth’a year! Fr tho’ who don kno’ meh, me name’s Hagrid, former ground’s keeper of ‘ere Hogwarts. Sorry t’a say tho’, today’s ‘ere creature gonna and run ‘en off ‘fore class started. I gues’ we a need a notha’ creature, ya?”

“Professor!” Kiseki waved from her spot in the back. “I have a proposition if you’re willing to listen!” After the statement, her hand was placed elegantly over her mouth as she tried to stifle another giggle. Yuugi raised an eyebrow. Something was up her sleeve, but to what, he had no idea. “Can we learn about the swans here for this period?” the ground shook only slightly as Hagrid made his way over, the small mob following him. He told the new witch that it was a great idea and something that included a thank you.

The sorceress ran over to the lake with a happy sigh. Her eyes glittered when she saw the aviator-type of animals swimming in circles. What was it exactly though? Yuugi couldn’t help but think that it was the serenity of the situation that put Kiseki at ease. She sat down by the lake, looking at the swans with interest. Anyone a mile away could feel the exuberance pulsing out of her in waves.

“Well, since we hav nothin’ to report 'bout, here ya all go. Now ya all go se'in swans ain’t magical creatures. They gotta their place in the world too, ya know.” Hagrid nodded more to himself than his students. The giant turned around to find out more data about the animals he was supposed to teach his class about.

Meanwhile, Mara leaned over one swan, observing one. It was completely white, exempting the black feathers that surrounded its eyes to give a tiny flare. The bird cocked its head to the side when it landed on the bank of the lake. Wadded feet splished on the sodden grass as it got a bit… curious.

The brunette just smiled and turned her head from one side to the other, making sure that no one was looking. Fortunately for her, most of the other students were waiting for Hagrid to continue with his little lecture. Wouldn’t they ever learn that the best way is to learn by experience? At least that was one of the few traits that the kind-hearted giant lacked.

She squeezed her hand and pulled in an upward motion. The seaweed in front of the swan’s beak grew up. Squawking a bit loudly, the bird gladly gobbled up its new meal. Its wings fluttered in a thank you, spreading white feathers across the ground. Mara herself just giggled, happy that the swan was happy. Usually, there wasn’t such an opportunity. Birds rarely came to this particular lake, especially since that ‘feared’ kraken lived inside of it.

Mara could only wonder why /these/ birds came, but she wasn’t complaining. It was nice to have some peace at Hogwarts for once. Every time the new school year began, something always happened to make it hectic in the end. The swans made a slight change in the ways of the school if you looked at it from a certain perspective. Hogwarts wasn’t an ordinary boarding school for the magical folk.

Why? Let’s take everything into account here. There was the fact that possibly the wisest wizard next to Merlin himself, Albus Dumbledore, was the Headmaster. Harry Potter was a student in the school. Therefore, Voldemort attacked every year. The castle itself even had its secrets from hiding the Philosopher’s Stone to the Chamber of Secrets.(It wasn’t a ‘secret’ for much longer after Harry had slain the basilisk…) Now the King of Games of all people would show up?

Yes, Mara knew a lot about that kid. After all, she had come from Japan originally and transferred to Hogwarts as an exchange student (go figure). Mara, from the stories she heard and read, knew that the Sennen Puzzle was not just a hunk of gold Yuugi hanged around his neck. Something special was going on with that thing, but that was one of the few things that the brunette didn’t know.

The young girl shook her head of the thoughts to return to the present. It seemed that the white bird was inching its beak closer to her. Giggling yet again, Mara reached out her hand to try and pet its beak. A simple touch wouldn’t hurt, now would it? Her pink-ish hand fell upon the wet and hard bill.

“MARA!” someone screamed, seemingly in the distance. The said person didn’t hear, continuing to pet the swan. Mara appeared to be in some sort of trance. All she could really feel was the tranquility of the lake and all the creatures inhabiting it. There was nothing wrong here… was there? To the girl, everything was fine. Nothing was wrong. Nothing at all.

The swan broke away and flew in the other direction, leaving Mara stunned. Had she done something wrong?

Screams, students scurrying in all directions, trying to find a way out. Desperate pleads for order were abruptly denied.

That’s when she saw it. Flames were spreading at a rapid pace around the vicinity: a meteor shower made up of flames. Now that’s what it was! It looked so beautiful, but it was oh so deadly. The sun shined down on each of the fireballs. The light glinting off of each one gave off an ominous emotion. Each one hit the ground with a large: CRACKLE. The flames came from everywhere, all at once.

The Gryffindor chose not to be hectic like the other girls, but instead Mara tried to find a way out of the situation. Unfortunately, while she was thinking, the flames erupted into a circle around her. The ends didn’t meet, oh no. Her luck had run out the time the fires had started. There was no way she could get herself out without burning herself.

Okay, this day officially went from good, to bad, to good again, REALLY good. Now it became one of the worst of her life.

A whoosh. Someone running through the flames, immediately snuffing out the small fire on her back by conjuring up some water. A smile, asking the one stuck there in the first place if she was all right. Getting a confused response in return.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! That really hurt,” Libria mumbled as she tried to look at a small scorch mark on her back. She also crooked her head to look at her skirt for any damage. It was an ugly uniform, but hey, it was still clothing. You wouldn’t want it burning up in the middle of class while there wasn’t a wardrobe nearby. Mara just blinked as she raised an eyebrow.

“Just what a-are you doing… here?” Mara coughed out through the smoke. She shook her head to try and rid some of the dizziness. The girl brought herself to the ground. Only hearing this from Maraia, Mara wasn’t sure if this would lessen the smoke inhalation. It was worth a try though; there wasn’t much else she could do.

Libria just laughed; odd the girl could still be happy in a situation like this. “I ran in here and came to help! When everyone noticed you were still with that swan, and not noticing the fires, we kind of tried to make a plan.” She leaned forward and pointed a finger at Mara accusingly, but the other girl knew it was a joke. “I /am/ the Water Elemental, after all. It was even better when they told me /not/ to go because it would be easier fighting from the outside of the circle. You need all the help you can get! I’m not just going to stand there. Plus, they got a ton of people helping out there!”

A raised eyebrow, “Knowing the other Gryffindors, they would have run away from now. These houses are out of character. The girls are preps and the boys are well… irresponsible.” Mara wouldn’t believe that more than a small group of students would assist in putting out the fire once it got to a size such as this.

“Fine. There’s not that many,” the pink-haired girl sheepishly grinned. “There’s about… five?” The younger slapped her forehead at this. Just dandy! Mara did /not/ need to know that.

“Ever hear of optimism?”

Impulsive attempts to douse the inferno. Water being pulled up from the lake and onto the nearest flames. Various aguamente (sp) spells fired, but only creating steam. Smoke rising, suffocating… frightened teenagers, safe ones, standing on the sidelines, too cowardly to do anything…

Harry, and Riku pointed their wands at a number of spots and fired water spells, but to no avail. Steam rose up and out, their places quickly being occupied once again. They all never gave up, though, and kept firing as fast as they could. One after another, the spells collided with the wall. Yuugi ran over to them, whipping out his own wand. He begged to aid the two girls inside the eye of the inferno.

“We need all the help we can get,” Harry nodded, explaining the spell to the other sixteen-year-old. The young one nodded, pointing the stick at the conflagration. Yuugi commanded the spell, watching as water shot out his wand. Even with three spells, it didn’t work. The first two boys cursed under their breath while the third initiated a talk with his Dark.

/Any ideas, mou hitori no boku? We need to end this, quick./ Yuugi asked, hoping with all his heart for a good answer. The pharaoh was better at solving problems like this anyway. He was always the one thinking on his feet. Yuugi, meanwhile, was the type that could solve some of the harder puzzles, but he needed time.

The shorter could picture Yami in the hallway between the two soul rooms, pondering. He had his head in his palm with a concentrating look in his eyes. It made him look more mature than his age -- the age being eighteen, of course. Back in Egypt, Yami was probably wiser than his years anyway. He was a genius and Yuugi knew that for a fact.

//Aibou, you say your water spells are not having any effect on the fire, correct? That Libria-san is within the circle with Mara-san?// Yami asked, finally looking at the puzzle-bearer. Yuugi nodded his head quickly. If they were just going to stand there like this, they’d waste more time, putting their friends’ lives in danger. //May I have a try at it, aibou?//

Yuugi smiled, knowing that the pharaoh would never use their physical form without permission first. They both had known the consequences when that happened. In a small flash of light, both had switched places. Yami snapped his eyes open in the corporal world, looking around. He immediately whipped out Yuugi’s wand, barking out a quick spell that caused a small wind to snuff out the nearest fire.

The former king jumped up, moving back toward the edge of the lake. “Harry, Riku! I might just have a strategy for us. However, we must be resolute in our attempt. Hesitation will result in injury, my comrades.” The two boys crowded around Yami, not noticing the change. The crimson-eyed one opened his mouth to speak when they heard that same voice that screamed for Mara earlier.

“Let me go! I have to get to my hikari. Don’t. Hold. Me. Back,” Maraia growled out, struggling to break free from another girl’s grasp. Her right arm almost slipped free when the grip was tightened around her wrist. The three boys had to wait until the two were close enough, but they eventually found out who the other was.

“Of course not, baka. Stop being so reckless! If you somehow got hurt trying to s-save Mara, what would she think? I know. She’d blame herself! Do you really wa-want her to have something such as that on her conscience?” a soft voice commanded. “Now Listen to Yam-Yuugi-kun’s plan of action, all right?” The girl coughed at the end of her little speech, beating her chest gently with her other hand.

“Kiseki, you’re in no condition--” he began to protest.

Kiseki glared at the pharaoh, fixing to tie her hair into a ponytail. Once the long ebony locks were secure in place, the girl shook her head, allowing the two white bangs in front of her face to flutter forward. She smiled although her grip was tight around Maraia’s shirt sleeve now. The small girl wasn’t about to let the stubborn one get away anytime soon.

A sigh, “All right. I am going to say this, and I am only going to explicate once. Everyone understand that?” Nods. “Very well. This is a forthright plan, an ingenious one. No criticizing. Now…” The pharaoh said with his usual regal air. Once it was passed to everyone, Yami stood up fully. “Any questions? Good. Now go!”

Maraia and Kiseki ran to the left toward the circle that enclosed Mara and Libria. “Mara-san, Libria-san, can you hear us?” Kiseki screamed, putting her hands around her mouth to try and amplify her small voice. The raven-haired girl began to feel the heat of what was occurring around her, causing her eyes to droop.

“Kiseki, I’m sorry about before, but you need to stay awake. Ya-Yuugi was right about you not being fit for this situation,” Maraia said, shaking her head. Kiseki had an accusing look on her face as she heard the stutter in the name. Maraia just placed a tanned hand on the small of Kiseki’s back, patting it slightly. “You’re still a bit weary from the healing last night, and now this. Take it easy.”

Mara instantly turned her head to the voices. “Libria, did you hear that?” The pink-haired girl nodded in response. “Kiseki, is that you? Can-can you help us?” Stupid smoke making her cough. The brunette covered her mouth with her hand to try and suppress another one. Footsteps echoed near the edge of the circle, on the outside.

“Mara, thank Ra! Get us Libria, will you?” Maraia gasped out, relieved that the other girl was still all right. Both she and Kiseki stood with their wands out, facing the wall.

“What do you want me to do?” Libria shouted over the crackle of the flames. The fires were closing in fast.. They only had about three to six feet around them now. Mara inched back so that she was back to back with the other girl tapped. She couldn’t take out her wand for it was stored away in her backpack. Hopefully none of the personal belongings were incinerated yet…

“Libria, you /have/ to summon a tidal wave to snuff out the flames around you! We can’t keep ourselves in secret now; your lives are at stake,” the oldest pleaded. “Same with you, hikari. Mud, all right?” Maraia shifted her gaze to Kiseki. The other female looked back, knowing that all would be explained in time. After all, each one of them had their secrets.

Both of the cornered girls had to comply. With deep breaths, Libria thrust both arms forward and back, slowly, as if they were part of a swell themselves. Mara held her stance steady, bringing both hands to her body and making fists. “Stand back,” Maraia whispered. “It would be unfortunate if you drowned, now wouldn’t it.” Kiseki obediently took a few steps back, wrapping her arms around herself. The power surrounding those two was amazing.

She had to stay awake, she had to stay awake.

Unexpectedly, water crashed down upon the fires from the direction of the lake. Mud rose from the ground, effectively killing off the flames. The circle disappeared in mere blinks of an eye. Kiseki stood in the background, eyes sparkling. She was astounded to her very core.

Both Mara and Libria were breathing harshly, Mara falling to the ground. Kiseki and Maraia ran over to the two to give them a quick look-over. However, all the girls knew they didn’t have much time. The boys were creating the diversion, but a majority of the flames still sprang up.

Yami quickstepped to the side as he shot another round of water spells at the remaining blazes. He quickly dodged each fire with elegant finesse. The king’s body twisted and turned with such agility… The world’s best seekers wouldn’t be able to match it. Like a cat, he always landed on his feet. It had to be training, right? There was no other way he could get that good.

Five students, sighing in relief as it dulled down, but did not let their guards down. Working at a rapid pace now, drenching what was left of the fire… Such a scare… Who would do such a thing?

All the girls ran to the boys on the opposite side of the field. By this time, Kiseki was yet again hacking whatever was in her. Yami stopped his movements, walking in front of Kiseki. He knelt down on one knee, opening up his arms slightly. The girl, not suspecting anything, fell in her drowsy stupor. The pharaoh smiled at that. She looked just like a fallen angel… Clammy white skin burning from the temperature of hell, wings disappearing in embers, delicate eyes closed from exasperation.

Yami easily caught Kiseki in his arms, bringing her close. It was no time to get mushy now, although the pharaoh could care less. The girl was hurt; what would you do if the one you liked was injured? Exactly. The pharaoh had an excuse to hold her, and Ra dammit, he wouldn’t pass it up for many a thing.

“Maraia, if you may,” the pharaoh said tenderly, trying not to wake the now unconscious girl up. It was probably from the smoke inhalation; she probably wouldn’t need that much attention. Kiseki wished for the exact opposite, truly. He held her close even though the student was still heated from the conflagration.

The staid one nodded slightly, standing in front of all of them. Her eyes glared at the remaining fire in front of her. In a split second, her hands had erupted into balls of flame. One by one, she shot out the heat, the ones burning the grass disappearing. Everyone watched as the fire finally died after loads of effort. Maraia made the whole thing look like nothing.

“Are you all right, Mara?” Maraia asked. She clapped her hands together to rid the smoke. The two appendages were now back to being like any other person’s hands. The more mature glanced down and inspected her charge. Mara screwed up her face when Maraia touched her right arm. “You have some burn there, hikari.”

“I got one too,” Libria complained, pointing down at her left leg. “It’s not much, but it still hurts. Anyone have some ointment or anything?” The bubblegum-haired girl looked around for anyone with information.

“M-my bag,” a small voice rasped out. Yami looked down to see Kiseki trying to wake up. “There’s… b-ban-bandages inside.” Her eyes were open just to slits. “If you-you need the-them.” The girl beamed for nodding off once more. The king just shook his head and accioed the backpack to himself.

He passed out each of the aiding materials, surprised there was what looked to be like a small first aid kit located inside. Mara and Libria, with help from Maraia and Harry, (Libria wouldn’t let Riku near her) bandaged their wounds quickly. Yami shifted the lightweight in his arms when they heard footsteps nearing.

“Ye all right?” Hagrid asked. “See no casualties, yer? Ya could jerst get ye friend to ze hospital wing. I gotta thank ye all for puttin out dat ‘saster.” He gave them some kind of salute and each one turned to Yami who smirked. It was he who formulated the plan of action, in the end.

With Mara, in her little happiness bubble, leading the way, Maraia, Libria, Harry, Riku, and Yami made their way to the hospital wing. None of them noticed the cruel laughter that followed them. Not even the Gryffindors back at the lake who were trying to salvage some class.

“Idiots,” Kiru garbled before effectively disappearing.[/center]

[F e n i]

A/N: Prone to updates. I deleted a partial scene at the end which took place in the Hospital Wing. I might add it in later this month, once I finish it.

Chapter Five - Though Things Weren’t the Best

[/u]

There was a pensive expression on Yami’s face as Mara led their whole group into Hogwarts. She whistled a somewhat familiar tune and hopped on the first stair. “C’mon! Slowpokes, slowpoooookes!” The youngest giggled at the annoyed stares of Riku and Maraia. Everyone else didn’t seem to mind, however, like the only royalty there. He glanced down at the prone form he was keeping up.

//I thought she would have obeyed my request. Does she believe I am not seeking her best intentions?// Yami wondered to himself as he began to climb.

/Eh, I don’t think that’s exactly the reason, mou hitori no boku. In fact, she kind of reminds me of you,/ Yuugi replied gently over the mind link they shared. Mara’s bubbly-ness seemed to rub off on the light because he giggled as well. The pharaoh blinked from Yuugi’s response. He raised an elegant eyebrow in question.

//May I be bold enough to ask how, Aibou?//

The giggle disappeared and a soft smile took its place. Yuugi glomped the older in the hallway in between their minds, making Yami’s soul stumble back. /If you reallllly want to know… You’re both as stubborn as mules! Both of you don’t listen to too many people. And even the ones that you do pay attention to… sometimes the things we want to say can’t get through to you./ Both males went silent at the remark.

It wasn’t the best time to get into those dates, was it? After all, their new friends were nearby. The Doma organization had scarred both of them more than the enemy knew. Light did prevail, the leader was proved good, and everyone on the side of justice won. The events that occurred lurked in their minds until this day.

No, there was no time for that.

The stoical king blinked himself back into reality. Crimson irises surveyed the surrounding area, seeming to think everything was normal. However, Yami didn’t see the look he was getting from Maraia. She smiled softly, but it was quickly hidden behind the mask of neutrality. The soft rubies gained their hard edge, hidden from the rest of the people.

Maraia had a lot of explaining to do. All Mara really did know was that she was a past priestess. That wouldn’t have too much to do with anyone else, right? It was just her connection with that puzzle that really bugged Mara.

Flashback

Mara blinked as Maraia immediately headed toward her own bed. The elder sat herself down with a small ‘plop’. Mara just pouted and crossed her arms. “Spill, Maraia. You KNOW something, don’t you? About that boy and girl who helped us today, ne?” Skipping around the bed, the younger Gryffindor leaned forward with her hands resting on her hips. “Hmmmmm?”

The elder’s countenance remained neutral, Maraia’s eyes withholding a far-away look. That’s when the Fire-blood began to speak, “You need not worry, light. Events of the past -- memories -- have only rose to a certain extent. Mara, you know well that the mind is a mysterious thing, creating ruse after ruse to confuse. This appears to be one of them; I have never seen either of them before the current date.”

Even so, the younger cast a suspicious look at her other half. The pout was still plastered on her countenance, and it didn’t seem to be leaving any time soon. “You sureeeeeee about that?” Mara whined while leaning in even closer to Maraia.

Another smirk made its way onto Maraia’s face, just like the pharaoh had on earlier. Seeing this, the Earth Elemental shivered slightly before backing up. The devilish look didn’t leave the elder’s face as she looked as if she was going to pounce.

“EEP! MARAIA, STOP IT!”

A warm chuckle escaped the usually emotionless woman as she began tickling her little hikari into submission. It was times like these Maraia would forever treasure. Mara giggled as hands were running up and down her sides. And so it continued, both parties enjoying the whole thing. Maraia wouldn’t let her light turn into her, the stone of heart. The other had to be happy and bubbly like she always was.

A glare was shot at the little angel, though. Mara didn’t seem to notice at first, continuing to giggle from the onslaught of tickles that happened to cease. Maraia seemed pressed to comment, but against her better judgment, stopped herself. Perhaps it would be best to live the days of sunshine out. The Fire Elemental settled back into her reserved demeanor, ruffling the hair on top of Mara’s head. Another smile, another shake of the head.

The question was never resolved.

End Flashback

It didn’t take them long to reach the wooden doors of Hogwarts once again. Mara was as exuberant as ever, dancing in small circles in the large hall. Thankfully there weren’t many students near the wide open space though some Slytherins had their fun snickering at her. The Earth-blood didn’t really seem to mind, however, stopping to glance at them. She merely waved with a grin on her face. Maraia simply shook her head, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. It wouldn’t do the younger any good if she would be called the ‘Luna Lovegood of Gryffindor’. (She was actually good friends with the insane girl…)

In reality, it seemed that the fourteen-year-old was a bit too happy after the Magical Creatures incident. Maraia’s rubies narrowed slightly; perhaps the younger one tried too hard to put the events in the back of her mind. Mara wasn’t trained in Occulmency as she and a few others were. It was no great surprise that the young one couldn’t control her mind… yet. There would be a time when the Fire-blood would teach her friends about the fine art, but that time wasn’t yet present.

The others -- Libria, Riku, and the famous Gryffindor trio -- all shared glances, nodding slightly. They’d talk to each other later on. Some secrets just wouldn’t be kept that way anymore. Everyone had their own theories and suspicions about each other now. The Trio was wondering when their close friends of four years had developed those Elemental powers of theirs, while the Elementals themselves devised their own plans on spilling the beans. Either way, both parties weren’t too at ease with the other.

‘Yuugi’ turned to ascend the stairs, much to the protest of the others. He shook his head, and a chuckle, a deep baritone (not deep enough to be a bass), came from within. Mara stopped spinning, glancing up at the older teen. She’d heard his voice on those televisions, but wow! It was so much better up in person. The tone he used was somewhat alluring, even if it was his usual voice.

“Do not fret, minna-san. This may be the first day of courses, but this one has to ascertain where these various halls and moving staircases lead. This seems like an adequate time to do so, don’t you think?” the game king inquired. The redhead of the group stepped forward, sapphire eyes glistening with worry.

“But, mate, you gotta understand. This is SNAPE of all people!” The pharaoh raised an eyebrow at the remark but chose not to comment. “Snape… That guy that was sitting between Professor McGonagall and that new lady.”

“You mean the greasy-haired one? I think is face is fixed into a permanent scowl or something,” Riku appended. He didn’t sound as urgent as the Weasley. “And he’s always taking points from the Gryffindors. If you turn up late, there’s no point in turning up at all.”

“RIKU!” Hermione butted in, striking the teen on the arm once, leaving a stinging sensation. “Professor Snape,” she began again, stressing the ‘professor’, “is just strict. There’s no doubt he’ll lash out at you. But we do have an unconscious body here.” The brunette bit her lower lip as she pondered the possibilities. “Just be careful, all right? I can’t guarantee we can help you later.”

Harry nodded grimly, remembering the awful memories he shared with the git. “Third floor, Yuugi. That’s where the Hospital Wing is. It’s the room at the very end of the hall.” The sixteen-year-old nodded his head, a smirk coming to rest on his countenance.

Yami turned to proceed the trek up. Before he did so, he replied with a trivial, “This ‘greasy git’ of a professor will not cause a dilemma, I assure you. All students have their share of malicious teachers.” For a second there, the violet eyes flashed to crimson. “The dungeons are where we shall assemble then.” About-facing completely, the spirit walked up the first flights of stairs soon vanishing from the others’ view.

Granger just sighed deeply, “We’ve got to talk to Snape about something before class begins.” Ron was utterly bewildered while Harry had a death glare that could actually kill -- your current state of mind, anyway. “You two are hopeless. We‘ll see you later!” The sixteen-year-old muggle girl grabbed both of them by the elbows and dragged them both downstairs first.

The ones left behind turned to look at each other before bursting out laughing. Libria and had tears in her eyes while Riku chuckled softly. Maraia, the same as ever, stood there shaking her head at the others. The Fire Elemental just couldn’t laugh with them.

“That was just too awkward!” Mara exclaimed in the middle of her fit of giggles.

Libria nodded in agreement, “I hope they’ll trust us after what happened earlier today.” The pink-headed girl bit her lip. “We’ve kept so many secrets!”

“They’re bound to hate us,” Riku chimed in for the first time in that conversation. He shifted his eyes and cast a privacy bubble over all of them. It was a handy charm; it looked like they needed the invisible shield. “But I think that Harry would understand most of all. He is the ‘Chosen One’, you know? Our friend has some secret of staying out of harm’s way. It’s a wonder that Volde--”

A hiss from the pink-haired girl, “Stop saying his name, you idiot!” Libria looked pressed to comment again when Riku glanced over at her nonchalantly. Her burgundy eyes glittered in the low lanterns’ light. The male averted his gaze from those At the moment, the small group of Elementals were traversing through the stairs leading to the dungeons.

“Voldemort,” the male continued, not bothering to notice the flinch, “Potter’s right; the name of the Dark Lord is just that. A name. Nothing to flinch or squirm about. Join the Dark or support the Light. Dumbledore and Voldemort make the line oh so clear for normal people. Look at the facts. We lose a bit of our humanity when we use our powers. Why do you think we get out of those tight spots unscathed? It‘s not a coincidence.” The girls were all quiet. Each one knew the answer to that hypothetical inquiry. Riku sighed dejectedly, “Even if we’re not immortal -- and none of us will ever be, so don’t be getting any ideas -- we are harder to murder than the average witch or wizard.”

Maraia kept her rubies trained on each person of their little posse. They were all correct but all so naïve. The fire-blood shook her head from side to side, fiery locks flittering in every direction. “Although Riku-san is correct, there are other matters we must assess. For example, the little ‘stunt’ we pulled at our previous class. Who knows what number of students work for Voldemort here?” Maraia hissed, eyes glowing dangerously. Not one answered. “Hundreds of students, my friends. Hundreds if not thousands.

“This is of the utmost importance. The Dark Lord doesn’t strike many as merciful. This further supports the fact that we should not use our Elemental powers. That IS --” the eldest in mind and body kept her heated gaze upon everyone. “unless there is a dire emergency as aforementioned. The Dark Lord constantly searches for new recruits that may aid him in the Final Battle. If somehow, some way, he discovered us… We would be forced to join his ranks of Death Eaters or die.”

Silence once again engulfed the small posse of Gryffindor students. Only the sound of pattering feet echoed through the dank halls. However, there was a small torch at the end of the hall; this illuminated a door which was slightly ajar. (If the source of light weren’t there, perhaps the entryway could not be seen.) Other teenagers from both their own house and Slytherin gathered into the Potion’s classroom.

As soon as the door opened more, Mara bounced inside. Taking the table closest to the door, -- which, miraculously, wasn’t taken by anyone yet -- the Earthen Elemental claimed both seats as her own. Maraia merely rolled her eyes and joined her companion, levitating the sixth year potions text from her messenger bag. The one next to the Fire-bender sighed in frustration, going through her own bag. It was only minutes later that a battered and bruised potions book was extracted.

By taking the next table up, Libria crushed any hopes of Riku getting away with anything during the class. Three tables to a column, three to a row. Apparently, the others (exempting the three front tables) contained some Slytherin or someone the kid hated. Riku growled as he passed Libby, only to receive a tongue stuck out at his face. The bubblegum-haired lion giggled as she set up her supplies.

“Libby! Psst, Libriaaa!” a hushed whisper resounded through the stagnant, fume-infested air. Burgundy irises glanced around the room to find the source of the voice. Suddenly, as if appearing out of nowhere, Felienne plopped down into the seat next to Libria. She looked around for any sign of the Potions’ Master but found none.

“Are you all okay? I mean, word’s been spreading around Hogwarts rather quickly…” the Ravenclaw began. “I had to come and find out what happened from your point of view. I usually have History of Magic right now, but Professor Binns is asleep. Again. He wouldn’t mind, anyway. But back to this -- everyone’s saying something about a spectacle and some new kind of magic. Details. Now.”

Mara leaned forward, almost enough to knock over the table. Thank goodness for Maraia, taking hold of the other’s robes and tugging her back. The brunette just shook her head, returning her attention to Felienne. “Our group was generally unharmed.”

A raised eyebrow. “Who got hurt?”

Expected from a Ravenclaw; they knew when lies were lies. Figures, for a smart one. Mara continued, “Kiseki received a few burns, and Yuugi took her up to the Hospital Wing. I just hope he knows where to go. Libby and I were trapped in this huge fire, but we’re alive, right? Everything’s fine and dandy!”

Libria just rolled her eyes and attempted a glare. “If you call getting a second degree burn trying to help YOU fine and dandy, I don’t know what kind of issues you have,“ she said playfully, rubbing her leg. “Snape’s gonna be here any second now. We better shut up.” The others nodded, either turning to the front or to a textbook.

Creaking open again, the entrance allowed three more students inside. These were, of course, the Golden Trio of the school: Harry, Hermione, and Ron. No eye contact was made between them and the Elementals. (If you looked close enough, though, you could see Ron rolling his eyes at the last available three-seater. Although it wasn’t dead in front, no one was sitting in the one before it -- which meant that Snape could see their every move.) All three took a stool and took out their own supplies.

Suddenly, the little light provided by floating candles was extinguished with a strong gust of wind. The front door swung shut with a loud bang, yet no one was startled out of their seat. The only other door, the one by the professor’s desk, slid open. A monochromatically dressed figure seemed to slither out, piercing black eyes scanning each one of the students. It stopped at the desk, cloak no longer billowing behind it.

“The potion you shall be creating today requires some sort of skill from you dunderheads. One class period is all you should need. Hence, I am not expecting many of you to complete it successfully. Do not comprehend this wrongly; there is a certain mark each and every one of you must pass. Those highly skilled in brewing,” it paused, gaze flickering to the Slytherins. “could possibly pass.” A sneer was sent in Harry’s direction. “Those incompetent enough not to gain a passing grade will be immediately ousted from this class. Punishments beyond mere detentions will soon follow. For wasting my valuable time…”

Professor Snape watched as many of the sixth years shivered. “Directions,” he flicked his wand, and words immediately imprinted themselves upon the blackboard in chalk, “are on the board. Ingredients…” Another flick and the dusty cabinets were flung open. “are within their regular stocks. Begin.”

With a flurry of movement, everyone rushed to the student cabinets. After rushing back with cauldrons and various ingredients in hand, the Gryffindors, Slytherins, and one Ravenclaw began to work in their respective groups to create the potion. Poor Riku had to work alone, however. He wouldn’t complain about it, however. To him, it was better to work alone than with idiot boys or girls like Libria. Though, you could see him sneaking glances back at the girl once in a while when Riku thought no one was looking. The same could be said vice versa.

Severus Snape learned to anticipate many things as a Potions teacher. For example, Neville Longbottom was always a problem; thankfully the kid decided to take Herbology instead of this class for the semester. Another ingenious observation included the fact that the first day of Potions’ class had a disaster. Whether it was some first year with a paper cut or an exploding cauldron… Something was bound to happen.

And it did.

An abnormally loud splash of an ingredient landing in a cauldron caught onto Snape’s keen senses. The wand was whipped out as those cold obsidians searched for the culprit. Surprisingly enough, he wasn’t expecting (or hoping) for Libria and Felienne to screw everything up. The Ravenclaw was known for her aptitude in potions… Libria, on the other hand, was a different story completely. With a multi-colored explosion, potion splattered on the two girls. Snape had managed to contain the rest of the bubbling solution within a charm, just in time.

“LIBRIA, YOUR HAIR! YOUR EYES!” Mara screamed, standing up and pointing at the sopping teen. “Feli, you’ve got the same problem…”

“I’M BLOND?!” A horrified shriek left Libria’s lips, causing Snape’s scowl to deepen further. He finally reached the scene, banishing the potion since he was close enough now.

“Twenty points from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for botching up this potion beyond utter repair. Hmm, a detention seems to be in order as well,” Snape mused, causing Felienne to stare agape. The Gryffindor was too busy worrying about her beautiful hair and partially singed outfit.

Riku just had to speak up, didn’t he. “Professor Snape, I have to disagree with you on that. It’s obvious the potion was tampered with from another source. They had no control on what happened.” Aqua irises glared in defiance. Bad move.

The Bat’s glare matched Riku’s for a few moments before overpowering the boy. “Detention for you as well. Nine sharp, do not be late. Any of you. Draco!” The platinum blonde stood up from his seat obediently. “Accompany Riku in bringing the lion and bird to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey will surely enjoy having more company… Pity there was no catastrophic permanent damage.” With a wave, the Slytherin took Felienne by the arm and dragged her out. Riku attempted the same from Libria only to earn another thwack to the back of his head. The female stormed out with a distressed boy behind her.

“Back to work!” The curt command cut through the awkward silence. Everyone set back to their concoctions. Whether someone was chopping up frog’s liver or someone adding in newt’s eyes, the busy bustle continued on.

/The potion was a truth serum. I wonder what could have made their hair change color like it did./ Mara gave her other half an odd look. Maraia blinked and stirred the potion twice counterclockwise. Attempting to finish the solution and use the mind link at the same time got quite difficult at this stage, as the potion was most volatile.

//Phoenix tears might have done the trick. Phoenix tears are often used in truth serums because of the creature’s light status.// The Fire-blood picked up a small vile, battered but not broken. Opaque fluid could be seen swishing around inside. //It would detect any lie and destroy it. Adding too much of the tears combined with fluxweed may have harbored this reaction. Libria, who was born with pink hair, acts so much like a stereotypical blonde that the potion caused her to transform into that.//

/Wait a minute… truth serum? What’s the name of it, anyway?/ Mara inquired.

A smirk. //Veritas of Umbra.//

Truth of the Shadow.

[/center]

[F e n i]

||I doubt ANYONE gives a damn about this anymore.
But I'm rewriting it.
Again.

Me = FAIL.||

[Sephiroth]

Epiiiiic, I really like it, and I haven't even read/ seen Harry Potter.

I think the characterization for Yuugi and Yami was spot on and flawless. Nice storyline as well.

I'm off to go read the prologue