London Shadow Mage - 11

Harry Potter Yu-Gi-Oh crossover – Disclaimer: I own neither

/Ryou and Bakura mind link/

Koe – Voice (What Ryou calls the spirit of the ring)

Yadonushi – Landlord (What the spirit calls Ryou)

0

Lightning lit up the dull gray sky as a loud crack echoed through the streets of London. An older man wearing a long brown coat quickly closed the door to his office and opened his umbrella. The weather was taking a turn for the worst and he wanted nothing more than to get home and enjoy some dinner. He pushed through the pelting rain, ignoring the squish of mud under his thick soled boots. He supposed he was lucky there were no fresh graves. The rain would have done horrors to freshly dug soil.

As the man made a quick walk from his office to the entrance of the cemetery, he caught sight of something near the gravestones. Even through the screen of rain he could make out a white topped head. He may have wanted to get home as soon as possible, but he wasn't about to leave a poor old man out in this weather, especially so late at night.

"Sir. Excuse me sir" He called out, raising his voice over the sound of the wind and rain. The man didn't seem to hear him and didn't move from his position against one of the grave markers.

"Sir" He tried once more, laying a hand on the man's shoulder once he was close enough. The man jerked and turned his face upwards. It wasn't an old man, but a young boy. The cemetery worker blinked in surprise. He shook his head and bent down beside the child, sharing his umbrella.

"Where are you parents? Don't you think you should be heading home before they get worried?" The man asked as he looked over the boy. His hair and clothes were soaked through. The teen turned his eyes away from him and looked straight at the tombstone he had been leaning on. A knot twisted in the man's gut as he deciphered the small motion.

"Come on son. You're going to catch your death out here without any protection." He said as he patted the boy's shoulder. Another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, but the child didn't even flinch. "Besides. I can't close up if you're still in here" he meant it as a joke, but the boy instantly turned towards the man and stood up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you trouble. I'll leave right away" said the boy in a quick breath.

"It's okay, it's okay. You can take all the time you need" The man was instantly up and steadying the boy with a hand. The boy's expression still looked guilty and the man's reassuring smile did little to help.

"Thank you. I was just finishing up anyway." The boy replied with a dip of the head. He walked away from the man without another word. The man watched the boy leave before glancing down at the grave site where two bundles of flowers sat in protective plastic coverings.

0

Ryou shivered and let out a small sneeze. The cab driver glanced at his rearview mirror before turning on the heater. Ryou didn't really notice the kind gesture. He was still thinking about his mother and little sister. He felt horrible for not visiting them the previous week. He didn't want to let the spirit of the ring back in London after what happened last time. He regretted not going as soon as Monday came. This time around, he stayed with them for as long as he could. He owed them that much after so selfishly ignoring them.

He sighed and rubbed his arms as the pins and needles started to fade. It had taken awhile to actually catch a cab in this downpour. At least he was finally getting some feeling back in his fingers. As soon as the cab dropped him off at his house, he went straight to his room. His body didn't even complain for food despite only having a light breakfast earlier that morning. He dropped his jacket in the hallway and left his freshly stripped clothes soaking on his bedroom floor. Without the clinging wetness of his clothing, he was already starting to feel better. He curled up under the covers on his bed and took a breath to suppress a shiver. His hair was wetting the blanket and the millennium ring was dripping water onto his sheets, but he could just dry everything out in the morning. For now, he would sleep.

0

Harry paced in his room. School was going to start in three days and they still hadn't gotten their booklists from Hogwarts. It was making him nervous. The only thing that calmed him was that Ron and Hermione hadn't gotten their supply list either. That meant he still wasn't expelled and the school was just running late with those letters.

Right?

Harry let out a heavy sigh and plopped down on his bed. He heard a soft flutter and felt a gentle breeze brush his face as his white winged companion came to comfort him. He reached out and pet her as she cooed. That reminded Harry that, along with the start of school, a certain friend of his had a birthday coming up. He had wondered about getting Ryou a small gift, but he wasn't having much luck finding something muggle friendly. The twins had suggested plenty, but accepting anything edible from them was just asking for trouble. And it wasn't like he was allowed to go outside for a few hours to buy something. He sat up straight and looked over at the small desk in the room. The least he could do was send him some happy birthday wishes.

0

/It's a shame that Potter brat isn't still here. I could have added a new doll to your collection for your birthday./

"That's not even funny, Koe."

Ryou dropped a bowl into the sink and quickly cleaned the remnants of his breakfast off of the silverware. He went about his morning routine as if it was any other day. In all honesty, he saw nothing special about his birthday anyway. After all, everyday was somebody's birthday somewhere. Far more important than acknowledging the addition of one more year to his age was the start of the English school year. Today marked the first day of school. He wasn't exactly excited about school per say, but he was curious about what his new high school would look like and how the people would be. He wondered if he would know anybody from his childhood. He had been to quite a few grade schools in the area when he was younger so he had been introduced to many more kids than the average student.

Ryou zippered up his bag and slung it over his shoulders. He touched a spot on his chest, feeling the hard metal lump of gold that housed his mental roommate snug under his grey uniform. He preferred the uniform of his old school, but there were worse things he could be wearing than the drab grey that now covered him from head to toe. Maybe.

He made it to Stonewall High in decent time and was glad he had left just the slightest bit early. The vice principal had dragged him into the main office where an office assistant gave him a run down on the rules and regulations of the school. By the time they had finished his introduction, the bell had rung to signal the start of homeroom. He glanced at his paper and went towards his room. This school wasn't too complicated to find his way around. He had had a lot of practice getting used to new layouts, whether it was from transferring, moving, or waking up in a strange new place and having no memory of how he got there.

As he entered his new room, all talking silenced and he felt every eye on him. He couldn't be sure, but he was pretty sure he had heard a few gasps upon his entry as well.

"Ah, yes. You must be the new transfer. I hope you enjoy your time here at Stonewall High" The teacher was polite as she strode over to him and stood before the class.

"Students, your newest classmate has come all the way from Japan, so do your best to make him feel welcome." She said as she gave her students a stern look. She turned back to her latest charge and asked him to introduce himself.

"I'm Ryou Bakura. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said instantly with a charming smile. Now he was sure he heard a few gasps in the crowd and the murmuring started up soon after.

"I thought you said he was from Japan. Why does he speak English so well then?"

"You said that was a 'him' ?"

"Does bleaching your hair hurt?"

"You're THE Ryou Bakura?"

"Quiet down. I'm sure if you ask politely, Ryou would be more than happy to answer your questions. Ryou, you can sit wherever you'd like." The teacher patted Ryou's shoulder and offered an encouraging smile, which Ryou returned, before she went back to her desk to continue taking attendance. Ryou took the first empty seat he came across and instantly he was surrounded by curious, gossiping teenagers. He was kind in his answers, explaining that he originally lived in England but moved to Japan, his hair was natural, and yes, he was the very same Ryou Bakura that was in the finals of the Battle City Tournament.

/well, very same body at least/

Ryou's smile didn't falter and he continued to seamlessly answer question after question. He had always been popular with the girls, probably thanks to his naturally innocent looking face, but this was the first time he had transferred and was flocked to by a few boys as well – fans of his from Duel Monsters. As it turned out, some of the students remembered him from grade school. Unfortunately, some of those people had once called him 'friend' and had to suffer the curse that once came with that position. They sat cautiously away from Ryou, watching him with unreadable expressions. It wasn't until one of Ryou's fans had suggested dueling against him that one of those boys jumped to his feet and all but yelled no. Everyone turned their confused eyes towards the boy, who looked scared at his own outburst and was staring at Ryou. After a tense moment of silence, he finally found his tongue.

"R-Ryou…he's a monster. Everyone he plays a game against and beats…anyone who becomes his friend…" He stuttered, swallowing the lump that had tried to form in his throat. He had to say this. To protect his classmates.

"They get hurt."

Ryou looked away and stared at his interlaced fingers. He didn't want to meet any of the stares he knew were on him now. He blocked out the voices and the yells of the teacher as she tried to regain decorum in the room. Thankfully the bell rang and Ryou was able to slip out to his next period.

0

The remainder of the school day had gone much more smoothly than homeroom. Most of his teachers didn't believe in wasting the first day of class with social ice breakers. Ryou had almost made it out of the school without further incident, but he wasn't that lucky.

"Hey there Whitey. We've come to give you a traditional Stonewall High welcome"

Ryou stopped and looked at the faces of the three upper classmen blocking the hall. Two looked smug, which already set off alarm bells in the younger boy's head. The third boy looked wary and stayed quiet while the other two greeted Ryou. That third boy also looked really familiar.

"Ethan?" Ryou placed the face. Ethan was a boy he befriended at the last English school he attended right before he moved to Japan. It appeared Ethan hadn't forgotten Ryou either, but he refused to acknowledge the white haired boy.

"E, you know Whitey? Then you can do the honors." The other two boys said. At last Ethan's stiff face broke into full fledged panic.

"You see Whitey, we have a little tradition here at Stonewall," The two continued, ignoring their companion's obvious discomfort, "where any fresh meat gets well acquainted with the porcelain of our lavatories."

Ryou watched as a student went to either side of him and clapped a hand on his shoulder with a little too much pressure for it to be considered a friendly gesture.

"Come on Ethan." One of the boys said, goading the only one of the three that had yet to take a single step towards Ryou.

"I…can't. I … I like being awake and I finally stopped flinching whenever somebody sets up a board game. I don't want to go back to … I can't!" He rambled, earning him confused looks from his friends who had no clue what he was talking about.

But Ryou knew. And he wasn't the only one.

"So that's what this is….Ethan….do you want to play a game with me?" The white haired boy said suddenly, a wide smile sitting deceptively on his innocent face, conflicting with his narrowed eyes. Ethan froze as his eyes widened and teeth clenched.

"How about you, boys? You want to play? We can make sure it's something simple so you don't have to think too hard about it. Less pain on your little minds." He continued with total innocence in his voice.

"Hey Whitey, don't push your luck" One of the boy growled back as he pushed Ryou towards the wall. The younger boy didn't even stumble.

"Just one game, what do you say? If you win, you can do whatever you want to me. But if you lose… I can do whatever I want to you." His voice was soft and gentle, but his gaze was sharp and intimidating.

"Dude, come on. T-trust me, don't play. He…he" Ethan stuttered, reaching for his friends' arms, but not daring to get too close to Bakura. Bakura smirked at him, chuckling as one of his past victims jumped backwards.

"That's right. You lost a game to me didn't you? So how was the rest of that year? I can't seem to recall seeing you in school after that." He purred as he walked over to Ethan. Before he could reach the frightened boy, one of the others grabbed his arm.

"Fine. I'll play your stupid game." He said with a sneer. Ethan instantly turned his wide eyes to his friends and yelled no, but his yell went ignored. He instantly turned and ran down the hall, leaving the three boys behind. Bakura smiled at the other two students and nodded.

"Good. Let's play."

0

Ryou slumped his shoulders as he approached his front door. So much for making a good impression on his first day. He was positive he was going to be a social outcast after the spirit's latest fiasco.

/Now now, Yadonushi. It's not like those boys are permanently injured. In a couple of days, they'll wake up with a better respect for their superiors. Be glad I did not make their punishment any worse… threatening my property is a serious offense/

"I'm not your property… and you shouldn't have done anything at all. Ethan was already scared enough from the last time he met you." Ryou grumbled as he stuck the key into his door and turned the lock. At least the spirit left the two kids' souls intact. The boys had lost their game against the spirit and thus had to suffer whatever the spirit decided the penalty was for losing. Penalty games never ended well.

/Come now, Yadonushi. That pathetic Pharaoh you respect so much has dealt his fair share of penalty games as well. A little time trapped in their own nightmares is something he sees as a way to reform those who cross his host. You have no problems when his Royal Pain hands out punishment./

Ryou paused a moment with his hand on the doorknob. "Koe, the difference is you do it just to spite people. You don't want to help anyone."

/Intentions do not change the results./

Ryou shook his head as he pushed open the door and walked inside. He dropped his bag by the entrance and slipped off his shoes. As he headed towards the stairs, he finally realized something was different in his living room. A certain owl was sitting on his couch, watching him.

"How did you get in here?" Ryou chirped as he immediately headed over to the white bird with lifted spirits. He rubbed the owl's soft head and watched her as she fluttered over to the window. The open window. Ryou gasped and gave a quick scan of the room. Nothing was missing.

"Koe, I told you leaving the house open makes me uncomfortable." He said quietly in an unsure voice. The voice in his head didn't bother giving him a reply. Ryou sighed and took a seat on the couch, picking up the letter Hedwig had left on the table. As he read it, he smiled. Harry had remembered his birthday. He let himself relax as he read about Harry's own little dramas at his school.

/He's a liar. Four eyes keeps talking about his female slave as if she's with him often. They go to the same school, not some sister school to this St. Brutus's for boys./

Ryou huffed and laid his letter down.

"Her name is Hermione. She's not his slave, Koe. And we don't know much about the school. Maybe they have lots of classes with their sister school. I trust Harry. There's no reason for him to lie to me about this." He said with a confident calmness to his voice.

0

"It's only been one month, and she's already ruined the school."

"Oh, stop complaining, Ronald. She has not ruined school"

"Oh yeah, she's only made students miserable, refuses to teach, and enjoys disrupting every other class being taught here…" Harry scoffed as he lounged in the Gryffindor common room with his two best friends. October had come fast at Hogwarts and during the short span of 5 weeks, the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff had succeeded in making Harry's favorite class absolutely wretched. Dolores Umbridge had turned Defense Against the Dark Arts into a joke – nothing but biased theories and prejudice points of view. Even worse was her appointment as a High Inquisitor, which was just a fancy way of saying usurper of the headmaster's power, or better yet, the ministry's mole.

"Did you know she's reading my mail? One of the letters I was going to send to Ryou was sent back to me with her writing on it saying I couldn't send it because I was 'divulging too much information to a muggle'. I bet the real reason she stopped it from going out was because I wrote how horrible she was." Harry grumbled as he crossed his arms and pressed his back into the plush red chair.

Ron snickered. "No wonder she was glaring at you extra hard during class this week."

Harry smirked at Ron and the trio moved on to discussing homework until the common room finally began to empty. Today was the first Hogsmeade trip of the year and not even the pink scourge could diminish the excitement flooding the castle. It even helped to pull attention away from Harry himself, which he was more than grateful for. While the other students talked and chatted about the trip, he could walk the halls without their stares and whispers. He didn't even know what to make of his classmates anymore. Those that had once been friendly towards him now watched him with wariness and distrust tainting their eyes. Most of the school didn't believe him when he tried to warn them of Voldemort's return.

"Do you really think people are going to show up?" He asked suddenly as they packed up their books in preparation for the trip. Hermione looked at him a moment before glancing around the empty room.

"Yes. It's the only way anyone in this school is going to learn how to defend themselves." She whispered in reply.

"And you're sure you won't be a better teacher?"

"Harry. Nobody is more qualified than you."

With that, the trio left the common room and went towards the group gathering to head to the local wizarding town of Hogsmeade. They had a meeting to attend to at the Hog's Head pub….but first, Harry had to make a stop at the owlery.

0

Another teenage boy was dealing with his own share of stares and gossip. Ryou let out a dull sigh as he flopped down onto his couch and covered his eyes with his arm. School had started out as a rather nice distraction from his solitude at home, but as the weeks went by, the rumors grew. The two boys the spirit had ended up hospitalizing with mental torture came back to school the following Monday, and they had only fueled the stories that had started to spread like wildfire. Some of the stories were bordering on the line of ridiculous, even for Ryou's standards. On the plus side, Ryou was never approached by a bully wanting to give him a toilet facial again. On the downside, as more time passed, people began to avoid him like a plague. He had taken to walking the halls with his eyes downcast. He didn't want to catch the fearful stares of his classmates. He knew not everyone stared at him with anxiety and dread. In fact, he was quite sure a few of the students refused to talk to him because they saw him as a celebrity and were too embarrassed or nervous to say hello.

No matter the reason behind their distance from him, it made his school life just as lonely as his home life.

/Yadonushi… you once wished you could play with your friends forever. Shall I grant that wish for you again?/

Ryou instantly sat up straight and shook his head.

"Koe, you know that wasn't what I meant when I said I wanted to play with them."

/As figurines in your game, they can't hurt you anymore, Yadonushi. They'll never leave you and you can play with them as much as you want/

"Stop it! They're not hurting me. They're not my friends and I don't want to play with them." Ryou lied as he pressed his fists against the sides of his head. He could hear the spirit chuckling.

/Yadonushi, you'll be late for school if you keep sitting here worrying about your enemies./

Ryou looked up at the clock sitting on the wall and jumped up.

"They're not our enemies either." He said as he held up the ring around his neck. He stuck the golden jewelry under his shirt and hurried out the door.

The spirit was quiet for the rest of the morning, leaving Ryou to his own thoughts. Ryou was always nervous that his classmates would just lose their souls one by one, stolen away by the thief residing in his millennium ring. It was a fear that was consistently present even when he wasn't actually wearing the ring, yet Ryou wondered if the spirit would go through with such actions unless they were seriously provoked. Yugi had been right when he said the spirit had changed since their first encounter with him. Ryou wasn't blacking out for days at a time anymore. In fact, blackouts had become rare and only lasted a few hours at most, which meant the spirit wasn't going off all the time in his body doing who knew what. Even now, out here in England, Ryou thought he could see a better side of the spirit. For one thing, he was becoming a tiny bit more conversational. Sort of.

As soon as Ryou reached his school he felt a chill run up his spine. He couldn't explain it, but he just had a bad feeling churning in his stomach. He couldn't shake the feeling all day, and he felt his body tense from every unexpected sound or movement during every single class. It wasn't just him either. He could feel the spirit of the ring unusually alert throughout the day instead of sleeping through the classes like he normally does.

It was a little before lunch when the knot in his stomach just intensified and he had to rub his arms to try to keep the warmth from leaving him. He shivered anyway and was seriously regretting coming to school today. Then it happened.

/YADONUSHI!/

0

In another part of Europe, a boy marked by the lightning scar etched into his forehead was marching down the hallway with his classmates. He only stopped when he and pretty much the rest of the student population could glare up at the latest addition to the school rules hanging on the wall, courtesy of professor Umbridge.

Harry seethed. All school clubs were disbanded until approval by the pink toad herself.

"Do you think she knows about you know what?" Ron leaned over and whispered to Harry and Hermione. Harry glanced at his red headed friend with a grimace, but Hermione was shaking her head. There was no way she could have found out about their Defense Against the Dark Arts meeting. Hermione had made sure they'd know if someone had snitched.

Either way, now their little club was officially illegal and they'd have to find someplace well hidden if they were going to get away with it. Harry really didn't want to take a group of kids down into the chamber of secrets, but it was looking to be the only safe place. Luckily it didn't come to that, since the very next day, the problem was solved. Dobby, a house elf and close friend of Harry's, had given the trio the perfect place to practice – the room of requirement. Things were starting to look up.

0

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great hall, discussing the very first meeting of their secret club. Hermione pulled out a gold galleon from her pocket, checking the numbers inscribed along its side.

"Yes. It worked. All the coins should have changed to tomorrow's date" She said as she hid the coin away in her robes.

"More importantly," Ron began as he chewed a bite of chicken, "the Quidditch teams are back. You want to come to our practice tonight, Hermione?" He asked her, more than proud to be able to include himself now that he was the Gryffindor keeper. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Sorry. I'd rather spend the night catching up on my reading." She said calmly.

"Catching up on what? You're already ahead of all the classes" Ron said sarcastically as he took another bite of food.

"Our O.W.L.s are this year you know. I have a list of books I want to have read cover to cover before it's time for the examinations."

"Extra reading? I swear, you're not a normal one, are you?" Ron laughed. Hermione responded by giving him a good kick from under the table. Ron looked affronted by the action, but Hermione made a point to look away from him and back towards Harry. After seeing her face go from irritated to worried, Ron followed her gaze.

"What's the matter mate?" asked the ginger. Harry looked up from his sudden stupor and shook his head.

"Nothing, just… thinking about Hedwig. I knew they were checking my mail, but to go so far as to injure Hedwig…" After Hermione had mentioned owls, Harry couldn't shake his feathered companion from his mind. Hedwig was with Professor Grubby Plank for now. He said she would be fine, but it still irritated Harry that she had been hurt at all. She hadn't even managed to make it to Ryou to drop off his latest letter.

"She'll be fine Harry." Hermione instantly consoled him, patting him on the shoulder. As if the thoughts of owls alone could summon them, a flock of all shapes and sizes flew into the Great Hall. Harry felt wind brush against his head as a particularly large owl passed by, and as expected, Hedwig did not make an appearance. Ron received a copy of the evening Daily Prophet during the flurry of feathers. He ignored it in favor of his food.

"Yes, I know. I've been told by plenty of people that her injuries aren't serious. That doesn't mean I still can't be angry about it" Harry replied with a bit of an edge in his voice. Hermione recoiled her hand and looked like she had just been slapped. Harry took a deep breath and quietly apologized to her. A silence followed after that, and Ron finally decided to break that silence by unrolling his Daily Prophet. He flipped it open and began skimming the titles for anything Quidditch related or maybe something about the Ministry finally accepting that He-who-must-not-be-named is back.

"Wait… what does that say about muggles?" Hermione asked as she caught sight of a headline reading 'Muggles attacked! Was Magic Involved?' She snatched the paper from Ron's hands, ignoring his protests and flipping to the proper page to read the story. Her eyes flitted across the page with the practiced ease of a speed reader.

"So, what does it say?" Harry asked as he put down the piece of bread he had in his hand. Hopefully whatever it was didn't have anything to do with Hermione's home town.

"It says, yesterday on the seventh of October, a small public muggle learning facility underwent an attack of questionable origins. The building itself has sustained unnatural damage, and many of the muggles within were discovered unconscious. Few details have been released about the current condition of these muggles, though a majority of them are still in the hospital. Although it is easy to dismiss this event as muggle tomfoolery, magical essence was discovered at the scene. The Ministry of Magic claims that everything is under control, and that nobody should be alarmed. It is believed that this was the act of teen wizards recently of age using magic recklessly. The ministry is still looking into the matter and talking to the eye witnesses as they awaken..." Hermione's voice lowered as she read the rest on her own. Harry looked to Ron, but he merely shrugged. It didn't seem all that important.

"Hermione… it wasn't anywhere you knew right? Your family is still safe?" Harry asked as he looked at the brunette. He was confused by the stare she was giving him.

"….what?"

Hermione hesitated and looked away for a moment, re-reading the page in the paper. She took a breath and returned her gaze to her friend.

"Harry….the place that was attacked… it was Stonewall High."

End