Chapter one
Atem and Yugi were just finishing up their breakfast when an owl came flying through an open window which helped the warm summer weather in. A shriek came from Yugi while Atem sat quietly and eyed the owl, he couldn't grab the owl since he didn't have a physical body and Yugi wasn't in danger by any means.
The owl dropped two letters on Yugi's head, he scrambled to get them and looked at the pieces of papers. They looked old-fashioned in a fancy way, there were waxed marks on them. What could these possibly be?
"Do you know what this is?" Yugi asked, gesturing towards Atem and waved one of the letters in front of the transparent figure. "I haven't seen anything like this before," Atem said and shook his head. Yugi sniffed it, it smelled of old parchment.
"Well, I guess I will just have to open it," Yugi said and looked at Atem for any objections, but none came. The paper was smooth and when he opened it he found that the letter was written in a stylish handwriting. Cruvy and round, with straight lines.
It was written in Japanese, but it seemed that the sender was from Britain. When he started to read the content of the letter he gasped and dropped it.
Atem flew to his mind to also get a glimpse of what could be written. Yugi schemed through the letter once more looking for any indication that it was a joke. The handwriting was too smooth for it to be Jounouchi`s or Honda`s, he doubted they would have gotten an owl to deliver it in the first place.
"It is indicated to me," Atem pointed out suspiciously. It had a full name too and not many knew Atem`s name or full at that. Not even Atem had known his full name until fairly recently.
Yugi picked up the other letter and scanned through it too. The same information was written in this letter, but it was indicated to him. It was weird. Who would have written this as a prank? Certainly not someone named Dumbledore.
"The sender asked us to meet in Domino park tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon, what do you think? Should we go?" Yugi asked as that was written in the letter. "I don`t know, this could bring us into potential danger,'' Atem pointed out. His eyebrows narrowed and his lips took a turn downwards.
"We can go and see though? It seems like there is some seriousness to it, they know your full name, plus, if it is a prank then that`s that. We wouldn't need to think about it. Domino park is a public place, and the sender can't do much damage without being reported," Yugi said. He didn't want to admit it, but he found the letter intriguing. He wanted to know if the message was true. It was too intriguing to not check out at the very least. They should check if the sender was dangerous, so they could fix it later, so no other person got hurt.
“It still sounds dangerous, if the letter is true they can use magic and possibly mess with any witnesses minds,” Atem pointed out. Yugi thought it over, what Atem said was true, but they weren't entirely defenceless against magical beings.
“That is true, but we aren't entirely defenceless, so we can just leave if it seems too dangerous, we will probably have to fix it later if it is dangerous too,” Yugi pointed out, he knew Atem would agree to that. They have done alot to fix stuff which involves magic, despite being eleven.
Atem seemed to think about it before he gave a small nod. "Okay, but I will be on high alert for potential danger and we get out of there as fast as we can if there is any indication of danger," Atem said sternly and gave him a warning look. Yugi smiled, but didn`t comment.
---
Ryou sat on his bed, reading a comic. Bakura found this to be incredibly boring, in fact he wanted to take over the body of his host, so he could find something worthwhile to do.
"Can`t we do something else?" Bakura asked. "Can't you let me finish reading this?" Ryou asked and hoped Bakura would for once obliged, but of course not. Bakura took over Ryou`s body. After the events of battle city the spirit has been a little better towards Ryou, but would still take over if he was bored. He did not like his soul room he had told Ryou once when he had suggested it.
He stretched a little before he started to walk towards the door, but a knock on the window stopped him. They were on the fifth floor of the building. He turned prepared only to see a feathered creature. It was brown and white. Bakura frowned. What was such a creature doing here?
He called forth Ryou. "What is that?" he asked. Ryou looked at the white and brown feathered creature. "That is an owl," Ryou informed, a little surprised that Bakura did not know what an owl was, plus, why was an owl here? It continued to knock on the window.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to scare it away," Bakura said and started to walk towards it. Ryou studied the owl, it seemed strange for an owl to be here. Then he noticed something it bore, it seemed like paper.
"Wait, Bakura!" Ryou shouted in alarm, but it was too late. Bakura had opened the window. "Hush, hush!" Bakura shouted at the owl and made a gesture with his hand for it to leave.
The owl flew into the room and Bakura let Ryou take over as he was tired of this owl already. Ryou was happy to have his body back, but the owl was more important as of now. After the owl calmed down it delivered Ryou two pieces of parchment. It seemed like letters, they had waxed marks on them.
Ryou opened one of the letters. It was written in Japanese, but it was a letter that he was accepted into a school in Scotland for...
Ryou`s eyes shot open in surprise and he gaped like a fish. Bakura, who had sensed a shift in the air, came forth. He looked at the paper and read some lines, before he scoffed.
"That is most definitely a prank, don't bother going to that location tomorrow," Bakura said, Ryou`s mouth turned into a thin line. He looked disappointed. "Can`t we at least try to see what it is?" Ryou suggested, it seemed serious and he wasn't sure if he knew anyone who could pull a prank such as these. He had always had a fascination for wizardry, so this would be like a dream coming true.
Ryou then turned to the other letter that the owl had given him. He opened it. Strange, it was also indicated to him with the same information.
"What about this?" Ryou asked and waved the letter. "That one is the same," Bakura said and scowled. "But what is the deal with sending two of the same letter to me?" Ryou asked and started to compare the letters. There was no difference.
"One is dedicated to Ryou Bakura and the other is dedicated to just Bakura," the spirit casually threw it out there. That was strange though? Wasn't it, what could that possibly mean...
"What if the one with just Bakura is dedicated to you?" Ryou asked, the spirit was a bit surprised, before he considered it. "I doubt someone would dedicate an acceptance letter to a school in Scotland to me," Bakura pointed out. Ryou wasn't so sure about that considering what type of school it was. Bakura may actually benefit from going to this school, but then again he would be stuck with Ryou the whole time.
"Could we at least see if it was a prank or not?" Ryou pleaded, he wanted so badly for this to be true. "Okay, but you will take the consequences if it was a prank," Bakura threatened, Ryou shuddered. At least he would know if it was indeed a prank or not...
---
Malik sat with both his sister and adopted brother while they ate dinner. They were eating ful medames, it wasn't his favourite dish, but his brother made it and he was an awesome cook.
They were having small talk in between themselves. It was a normal day and Malik liked it. That was certainly an upgrade from before battle city. Malik smiled to himself, despite his severe trauma and trust issues that lingered - that was what Rishid said they were called. He was much happier, his sister and brother had reassured him that everything was okay since he expressed a curtain amount of guilt.
"What is that?" Ishizu said. Malik looked toward where she pointed, something had flown through the window. "An owl," Rishid answered. "No, I know that, but it has something with it," Ishizu clarified.
The owl flew over to Malik and dropped said thing on his head. "Hey!" Malik shouted and slapped at the owl which dodged. Ishizu grabbed the thing the owl had let go of and studied it.
"It's a letter," Isis pointed out. Both Rishid and Malik looked towards Isis and gave her puzzled look. Both of their attention had been captured by the owl to notice that Ishizu had taken the letter. "What?" they said in union.
"The thing the owl dropped on your head, Malik, it is a letter," she explained and waved the piece of paper in front of Malik's eyes. She smiled fondly when Malik pouted.
"Well, what is the letter about then?" Malik asked and took a bite of the unfinished ful medames. Ishizu opened the letter and began to read out loud what the content was. He choked on his food when he heard the content. Rishid was kind enough to give him some hard pats on the back.
"I don`t trust whoever sent this," Malik informed when he didn`t choke anymore. "It sounds like someone is playing a bad prank on me," he continued and eyed the letter. Rishid and Ishizu didn`t comment.
"Could you give me that?" Malik asked and gestured towards the letter. Isis handed it over to him. He inspected the letter, it was written in Arabic despite being an acceptance letter for a school in Scotland which made him trust it even less. It was written in very neat handwriting. He could already picture an old man with a long, long white beard. He scoffed, he didn't trust it for one second. There was no way that this was legit.
"Yeah, this is some rubbish," he said and threw the letter away from him and started to eat his food once more.
"Malik...," Ishizu said and looked at the thrown away letter on the floor. Malik`s attention turned to Isis. "Yes?"
"I think you should at least check what this is about..." Ishizu suggested carefully. She hoped that Malik could get to know himself better and grow more confident in his power if this letter had any resemblance of truth in it. Malik paused and gave Isis a look.
"But Ishizu, this is clearly a prank or a way to do something to any of us, plus, if this has any truth in it then I certainly do not trust these wizards," Malik said. He couldn't possibly trust anyone who did magic and he couldn`t trust himself with magic after what happened...
"Just think about it, Malik, I do believe that this would be a great opportunity for you," Ishizu prompted. Malik nodded, he would at least give it some consideration for Isis` sake.
---
Kaiba and Mokuba sat and discussed their company's newest game concepts. Despite his young age, he already managed to lead the company forward. His father had given up when he saw all the executives take his son`s side. Kaiba had the time to fail all he would want, but he hadn't once had a very big failure, the company was on its way. It was a huge success.
Mokuba helped a lot too, he also had a special interest for games like his brother, just not in the extreme way his brother had taken to follow.
“Hey what is that doing in here!?” Mokuba sounded alarmed. Kaiba looked up and stared at the owl which had come up into the room they currently are in. Kaiba mused and turned back to the computer he was currently working on.
The owl dropped something in front of him and to Kaiba`s and Mokuba`s astonishment it was something made of paper. The owl seemed to leave, but Kaiba would have to confirm that later. Mokuba reached for it, but Kaiba stopped him.
“We have no clue where that owl has been this… letter could be full of bacteria,” Kaiba said, and it had to be a letter. There was even a wax mark on it. “But, I want to know what is written in the letter,” Mokuba whined. He looked at Kaiba with one of those eyes. Kaiba sighed.
“Get some gloves, we can examine it in the lab to see if we find any disease on it,” Kaiba said defeated, he wouldn't admit it, but he was intrigued by the letter himself.
“I do have some here,” Mokuba said and pulled out a drawer and took out a pair of plastic gloves. He put them on and ran over to the letter. “Let's go!” Mokuba said excitedly.
“No way, there isn't a single bad bacteria,” Mokuba stated and showed Kaiba. They were in the lab that Kaiba used to experiment with technology for new games. It could also be used for other things that need to be examined, such as a letter that an owl dropped.
“Can we open it now? It doesn't seem poisoned,” Mokuba pleaded. Kaiba sighed and nodded. “Yes, go ahead,” he said. Mokuba happily ripped it open and began to read. “I don't understand everything that stands here,” Mokuba said and squinted his eyes. “I think you are accepted to some kind of school in England,” Mokuba stated before he handed the letter to Kaiba to read.
He scanned through the letter and all he could think was that it was a load of bullshit and that he had wasted such precious time on this stupid letter.
“Tch, this is just a prank Mokuba, it is a load of bullshit,” Kaiba informed him and threw the letter in the nearest trash can he found. Mokuba looked confused, but followed after Kaiba as he left the lab.
“What was written there? I don't understand, it seems like you are accepted to some school, isn't that good?” Mokuba ranted. Kaiba shook his head. “There is no such thing as a school like that was written in the letter, dear brother,” Kaiba stated and opened the door to their office. “What do you mean, what kind of school is it?” Mokuba asked. Kaiba didn't want to tell him, Mokuba would get so excited and would force him to go.
“It is just bullshit, there is no reason to get excited about it,” Kaiba said and went back to work. “I want to know! It would be exciting to see how the school is, don't you think and what kind of school could be that bad? It is in England of all things!” Mokuba rambled on. Kaiba sighed.
“No, I actually believe this school to be in Scotland,” Kaiba said, he shouldn`t have said it. “Scotland!? Oh, you would have to go, I have heard there are many fine buildings there!” Mokuba said. “No, I don't believe this school exists,” Kaiba said.
“Huh? What kind of school could not exist? It is not like it is a magic school or anything, right?” Mokuba joked. He had always said things like that as a joke and then it turned out to be true. Mokuba studied Kaiba`s expression as the room had gone quiet.
“Wait! No way! You got accepted into a magic school? This has to be a joke!” Mokuba realised, he smiled. Kaiba sighed. “You have to go! I think the letter mentioned a meeting in Domino park, right?”
---
The park was lit up by the warm sunlight pouring down on them. Ryou tapped his foot on the ground and peaked nervously around for any sign of this "Professor Dumbledore", who had written that he would like to have a conversation with him today in Domino park. Ryou didn't know what to expect of him, but he had no idea how this man looked and he had no idea if he would even come or if he was some scammer.
"It looks like the old man won't come," Bakura snarled and gave Ryou a smirk where he stood in his transparent form. Ryou flinched, which didn't go unnoticed by Bakura who's twisted grin widened. "It is only 13:40," Ryou pointed out as he looked at his watch. Bakura`s lips turned downwards. "Whatever," he muttered before he retreated to Ryou`s mind.
He had wanted to come early to be sure, which was against the spirit`s will, but he had reluctantly agreed after what he called "Ryou`s too loud whining."
"Ryou!" a voice came from behind him. He turned around as he saw Yugi come towards him. Ryou and Yugi had been good friends for a while. "Hello Yugi, how are you?" Ryou asked.
"Oh! I am good, just a bit... um..." Yugi seemed to be saying something before stopped himself mid sentence. "Oh well, it isn't important," Yugi said and gave a small smile which Ryou returned.
"How are you?" Yugi asked, he looked like he just remembered to ask, but Ryou didn't mind. "I am quite alright, you-know-who hasn't acted up much lately," Ryou said boldly. "That can be changed soon enough," Ryou heard from his mind and shuddered a little. He chose to ignore that, for now.
Ryou looked around and down at his clock. 13:45, there was still fifthteen minutes to the promised meeting. He looked at Yugi who also seemed to be frantically looking at his clock too.
"So what are you doing here Yugi?" Ryou asked after a while. Yugi opened his mouth, but shut it again. He seemed to think for some time before he informed him: "Well, I was supposed to meet someone here today very soon." Yugi rubbed the back of his head. Strange, what a coincidence that they are going to meet someone soon at almost the same time.
"Perhaps they are the ones pulling the prank?" Bakura suggested from his mind. Ryou wrinkled his eyebrows. He doubted it, Yugi and Atem weren't ones to pull pranks.
"How about you Ryou, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked.
"To be honest, I am also here because I am meeting someone soon," Ryou explained and smiled. "Oh! Then we can keep each other in company while we wait!" Yugi said and Ryou nodded happily.
"They are definitely the ones pulling the prank, they are just waiting on the right timing to reveal it," Bakura said in his mind. Ryou only shook his head. He didn't want Bakura to continue spouting nonsense.
"Yeah, when are you meeting them?" Ryou asked and looked at his clock to see how long he still had to wait - 13:55, five more minutes. "Oh! Um... just wait a second, oh yeah! In about five minutes!" Yugi said as he struggled to read his clock. Ryou thought Yugi seemed more nervous than normally, to be honest, he was nervous too, but probably not for the same reasons that Yugi are.
A person popped up in front of them, both Ryou and Yugi shrieked and fell on their buts. After Ryou`s frantic heartbeat had stopped and he looked at the person in front of him. He had a long white beard and he wore a blue attire, on his nose a pair of glasses rested. He looked to be older than his dead grandfather.
Ryou noticed that Bakura hadn't taken over which means that this person isn't that dangerous.
"You two must be Ryou Bakura and Yugi Mutou?" the man asked. Ryou gaped and Yugi seemed to do the same out of the corner of his eye. "Um... yes sir," Ryou spoke up and Yugi nodded his head in agreement.
Ryou gave Yugi a look, which Yugi returned, they seemed to be thinking the same thing. They both had received letters to join the magic school of Britain, Hogwarts, and this was Professor Dumbledore. They had a lot to talk about if this was not some kind of prank or if it was real. Probably more if it was real.
This seemed to be more truth in the letter now that two people have received it, Ryou thought and hope grew in his chest. "Don`t take this old man`s word too seriously, I still don`t trust him, he seems strong,'' Bakura chimed in from his mind. “And now it seems that also Yugi has been ‘accepted’ which means that this isn't just targeted at us. This may actually be more dangerous than I initially thought,” Bakura continued, but Ryou ignored him. He didn`t feel any bad intentions coming from Dumbledore or this person.
"You must be Professor Dumbledore, right?" Yugi asked. It confirmed Ryou`s suspicion, Yugi had also received a letter. The old man smiled. "Yes, I am in fact Dumbledore," the old man confirmed.
"Now, I would like to talk about the circumstances with you, Mr. Bakura and Mr. Mutou," Dumbledore said and gestured towards a nearby bench. "Lets sit, shall we?"
They all sat down on the bench. Dumbledore looked at them, Ryou would normally feel nervous, but there was something about his eyes which made him trust this old man. "I don`t trust him one bit," Bakura said in his mind. Ryou could feel him frown.
"Now, I must ask about your friends, before starting on anything else," Dumbledore started. "What do you mean?" Ryou asked, confused.
"Well, there were two other people who seemed to live with you who also were accepted into Hogwart," Dumbledore explained. "They should have also gotten a letter and it seems impractical if you don`t know that when you live in the same house and apartment," Dumbledore continued.
Ryou gave a quick glance at Yugi who also seemed to have the same reaction as him. Both Atem and Bakura had received a letter too. Which meant that the other letter which he had gotten was truly to the spirit. He could hear Bakura scoff.
"Um... well, there is a little situation there, you see," Yugi started and looked to Ryou for help. "Yeah, a situation," he added. Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow at that. "Oh? And what is that?" he asked.
"Uh... you see professor, we kind of share a body," Ryou said and laid the card down. "Ah, I see," Dumbledore said and Ryou was surprised he didn't seem to be surprised. "Idiot! Why would you expose us like that!" Ryou heard a shout from the spirit in his head. He grimaced, he probably shouldn't have said that. The spirit was right to be cautious, he shouldn't trust people with this kind of information right away. Dumbledore just seemed so trustworthy and Ryou instantly trusted him even though he should have waited.
"Tch! So this is the gang, huh?" a voice came from in front of them, it was full of disdain. Ryou and Yugi turned their gaze from Dumbledore to the person who had popped out of nowhere. "Kaiba!" Ryou and Yugi said in union as they saw who it was. What is he doing here? Could he also have been accepted to Hogwart? He could feel Bakura twitch a little.
"Yes, that is me," he said and smirked. "So you are the prankster here, I understand how you can trick them, but not me?" Kaiba said and turned his gaze towards Dumbledore who merely had a nonchalant smile on his face. "There are no pranks here, Mr. Kaiba, I assume? I am merely accepting you to our magic school" Dumbledore stated. Kaiba didn't look convinced.
"What is the deal with that then?" Kaiba asked.
"First of all, I was here to inform you that you are wizards and that you have been accepted to Hogwarts," Dumbledore started. Kaiba snorted. "Nothing that wasn't said in that stupid letter," Kaiba said and started to turn around.
"I was also here to inform you that if you decide to start at Hogwarts that you can all meet here next week, same time as today, so that you can go to Britain," Dumbledore said. Kaiba stopped at that, before he started to walk away again.
The silence stretched on for a while after that. "Um, sorry about him, he is usually like that," Yugi said, having decided to speak up. "No, no, that is quite alright, it is normal to be sceptical, I got to say the most important part," Dumbledore answered.
Ryou had just stared at the exchange, he didn't know what to say. "Well, I want to know more about sharing your bodies with another spirit, if that is alright?" Dumbledore asked. Ryou and Yugi gave each other a glance.
"You have to understand, professor, it is quite sensitive information, we can`t give it to whoever we meet," Ryou said carefully. He didn't want to be rude, but he couldn`t give away this information to just anybody. Yugi and him had already given him a bit too much information.
"I promise I won`t give this information to anybody if it doesn't become absolutely necessary," Dumbledore promised. Ryou glanced at Yugi. They had a silent conversation that none of them could hear, before Yugi nodded. They trusted him.
"We have these items which a spirit comes along with and we share our body with said spirit," Ryou informed and pulled out his Millenium ring and Yugi pulled out his Millenium puzzle. It was hard to explain, it wasn`t just to explain the concept, but also the history.
Dumbledore's eyebrows quirked in interest. He nodded. "I see, is there any way I can meet these spirits?" Dumbledore asked. Ryou didn't really want Dumbledore to meet Bakura, it could make Dumbledore rethink on accepting them to the school, or specifically him.
"I am meeting this old bastard," came from his mind, Ryou knew had waited for a chance and now was perfect.
Bakura looked at the old man who this so called "Professor Dumbledore is." He didn`t trust him one bit at all. He wreaked of some kind of powerful magic, who knew what he was capable of? He was furious with Ryou for just outing their secret to him, Ryou knew better than to give their secret away to powerful man he had just met. Worst of all even the pharaoh seemed to let Yugi let Ryou tell the old man.
Kaiba had even shown up, the only one logical in this group who had left after the ground information, Bakura thought. Ryou had been caught up in this guy's plot and he was left to fix it. When Dumbledore decided that he wanted to meet him and the pharaoh he took his chance.
"I am meeting this old bastard," he said. He could hear Ryou`s protest, but he decided to block it out.
"Hey old man, I have no idea what your plan is, but I am not letting you corrupt my host`s mind," Bakura snarred to the old man, who merely smiled and did not seem bothered by the personality change or some of the small physical changes that happened. Bakura stood up.
"Oh please, we all know if there is anyone corrupting Ryou`s mind it's you, tomb robber," the pharaoh commented and smirked at him. Bakura glared at him, the pharaoh had also come out. Dumbledore didn't seem baffled by that either, only quirked an eyebrow at their behaviour.
"Tch, shut it pharaoh, you can't admit you don't find all of this strange, have you ever heard of a magic school? Or magic like this at all?" Bakura called him out. The pharaoh`s eyes narrowed, which told Bakura everything he needed to know.
"Oh? You seem familiar with magic, Mr. Bakura, Mr. Sennen, I assume?" Dumbledore chimed in. Bakura huffed, Atem simply gave a nod. Bakura who saw it. "You can't seriously trust this guy!" Bakura asked the pharaoh with a stern glare.
"Well, I think we should at least let him explain himself," Atme said and gave Dumbledore an expected look of anticipation. Bakura couldn`t believe the pharaoh! Was he for real? Did he really believe the nonsense this man was spouting!?
"I apologise for this menace behaviour," Atem said and gave Bakura a look. Bakura snorted, as if he needed the pharaoh to apologise for him, when he had no plan to apologise.
"As if, pharaoh, I won't apologise not even through the mouth of others`,'' Bakura stated. "No, no, it is completely normal to react like this, especially when it is something you are unfamiliar with, such as this," Dumbledore explained. It didn't work for Bakura. Unfamiliar? Unfamiliar!? He has been stuck in this magical ring around his neck for three thousand years, did he remember that? No, but he was not unfamiliar with the concept of magic!
He moved over to the old man and grabbed his long white beard.
"Listen up old man, I am anything but unfamiliar with the concept of magic and never in my many years have I ever heard of such magic schools as your`s and you expect to waltz in here and make me believe the nonsense you are sprouting. I know you have fooled my host, but you sure as hell is not going to fool me!" Bakura shouted in the old man`s face.
Atem grabbed Bakura and dragged him off of Dumbledore, which ended up in Bakura pulling Dumbledore`s beard. While Dumbledore was looking indifferent to the situation. "Idiot! Stop that, you are making this worse," Atem told Bakura who glared daggers at him, but let go. "Are you serious!? Are you really going to go to this so-called "magic school" of his!?" Bakura asked and pointed at Dumbledore. He got himself out of Atem`s grip, but stood still.
"I will at least hear him out, and it is exactly that we haven`t heard of this type of magic before that we should check out what it is about. To see if it could potentially be a threat in the future," Atem said. Bakura paused, he hadn't thought of it like that, all he had thought of it was some man trying to trick them into a trap of some kind. He hadn't considered that the magic could be a potential threat to him. This old man did wreak of some kind of unknown power that he couldn't identify.
Bakura huffed, he wouldn't ever admit that the pharaoh was right, but the pharaoh noticed the shift in Bakura's attitude, so he let his guard down - a little. Bakura retreated to Ryou`s mind, he could listen from Ryou`s mind.
Ryou snapped out of it, he was standing where he last could remember, both Dumbledore and Yugi- no Atem were there. Atem had a look of relief on his face, whatever Bakura had done, it wasn't something which would leave a good impression on Dumbledore.
"Um... I am so sorry for whatever my other self did, I can't quite control him...," Ryou said sheepishly. Dumbledore manoeuvred to sit on the bench again, but he placed himself further away than last time so if the damage his other self had done was irredeemable.
"No, that is quite alright," Dumbledore reassured him. He didn't look bothered, but he had a troubled look. "As of now, this might cause a bit of a problem however," Dumbledore started carefully. Ryou`s heart sank, they didn't want him anymore, no one would, but he had hoped...
"Oh, I understand if you don't want to accept me anymore to the school," Ryou said. He thought of Yugi. Would this mean that he couldn`t go either? Had he ruined Yugi`s chance at this? "But please accept Yugi, he hasn't done anything wrong!" Ryou said in his friend's defence. He didn`t know what Atem had done when he had blacked out, but he isn't the one to act hot headed in situations like these.
"I won't go if Ryou don't get accepted!" came Yugi`s voice, apparently Atem had retreated to the shadows. "Despite Ryou`s spirit, he is a nice guy, so don't make an opinion on him based on the spirit`s actions," Yugi said, coming to his defence.
"No Yugi, it is alright, you deserve to go to Hogwarts more than anyone, so even if I don't get accepted you should go," Ryou said and smiled at Yugi, but Yugi shook his head. "No, that wouldn't be fair," Yugi said. Things are often not fair, Ryou thought.
Dumbledore laughed and both Yugi`s and Ryou`s attention snapped back to the old man. "No, no, everyone here is getting accepted, even Bakura, the spirit," Dumbledore informed and smiled at both Yugi and Ryou. Ryou felt relief wash over him, he would get accepted.
"There is just the question of how we are going to do it, you see," Dumbledore, both Yugi and Ryou paid attention like a hawk on the hunt for its prey. "There are quite many reasons why sharing might be a problem, first of all, you all are accepted as individual students. There may be house clashes in your mind and may not be sorted correctly," Dumbledore informed and gave Ryou a look at the last part, while Ryou didn't know what a house in this setting was, he still flushed from embarrassment.
"You will also deal with the consequence for something you didn't do," he still had his gaze on Ryou at this. This was just directly attacking him, wasn't it? "Well, there are other things which could bring some trouble, but if we are to state all of them then we are going to be here a while. You have probably faced these unmentioned problems before," Dumbledore continued. Ryou and Yugi shared a glance, they had very much faced these "unmentioned problems' ' before.
"What do you reckon we do? We can't exactly leave the spirits alone, they don't have any other hosts to 'possess'," Ryou asked, he really wanted to go to Hogwarts and didn`t want his unintentional body-sharing to stop that. Dumbledore's eyes flickered knowingly. He seemed to know almost everything Ryou reliesed.
"Well, I do have a proposition that may catch your interest," Dumbledore revealed. Yugi and Ryou leaned in, intrigued. "There is this ritual which may suit your best interest," Ryou and Yugi nodded. "It allows a spirit of a shared body to get it`s own body, the spirit would still be connected to its host - but I believe it will be the millennium items you bear in this case. The spirit would be able to grow and function completely like a living human being, in fact they would live, they wouldn't be dead at all," Dumbledore finished.
Both Yugi and Ryou`s jaws were on the ground, how could that be possible? Ryou could feel Bakura stir in interest, Ryou knew Bakura would like this and Ryou wouldn't lose all his friends. Him and the spirit could live a separate life, with separate wrong doings!
"Is that really possible!?" Ryou asked excitedly. "Yes, how is that possible!?" Yugi added. Dumbledore nodded and Ryou felt so excited. "It is, but that ritual is only used in situations like these, no other time, understood?" Dumbledore said sternly. "You must promise not to tell anyone about this ritual, okay?"
Yugi and Ryou nodded, and said their promises. "Also, this ritual would make it permanent, I will have to warn you," Dumbledore told them. "Okay, I will give you time to think about it though, I understand how this ritual would be life changing," Dumbledore added with understanding.
The silence was let out as Dumbledore let it sink in, before he continued.
"That was all I had to propose as of today, if you decide to go to Hogwarts meet here next week same time, if you want to go through the ritual, then please contact me - by sending a letter with an owl - better before the first of September, since that is when the school starts. Any questions?" Dumbledore finished.
Ryou thought it over, but he couldn't think of anything and shook his head.
"I have one, um... you mentioned houses, what are those?" Yugi spoke up. Now that he had mentioned it, Ryou also wondered what the houses were.
"To explain it simply, there are four houses you could be sorted into, gryffindor, hufflepuff, ravenclaw and slytherin, the house is determined by your personality," Dumbledore explained. "Anything else?" Ryou noticed that Dumbledore seemed to have something to do, so even though he had a bunch of questions about the houses, he shook his head. Yugi did too.
Dumbledore said his goodbyes and vanished out of thin air, which made both Yugi and Ryou flinch. They stood there in silence, their heads pounded with all the information they had gotten. At the end, Yugi turned his head to Ryou.
"How about we meet sometime this week to discuss what we have been informed about? I believe today we both need to rest and think?" Yugi suggested and looked expectantly at Ryou. "Yeah, just tell me when you have got time," Ryou said, silently agreeing that he needed to think before he discussed it with anyone.
The boys said goodbye and headed home, their heads thinking over what they had been informed of.
Ryou had an uneasy feeling that someone was following him when he headed home, but brushed it off when he saw no one out of suspicion. There was a mother out with her child, Ryou`s lips had thinned at the sight, a pair of lovers who were eating ice cream and a pair of teenage boys who looked to be having fun laughing at something.
---
It was an abnormally warm day and Malik was sweating where he stood with Isis at the supposed meeting place Professor Dumbledore wanted to meet him. Ishizu had tagged along, because she wanted to know who this Dumbledore was and if it was legit. Malik didn`t trust this one bit, but he went along with it for Ishizu`s sake. He had hidden the Millennium rod under the shirt he was wearing.
"Do you think the wizard guy will come soon?" Malik asked. Isis looked towards the sun. "I am sure he will."
They stood there in silence for about a minute.
"Look over there," Ishizu said and pointed towards a person with a white long beard and glasses who was winking at them. Malik wrinkled his nose, he looked exactly like he had pictured the wizard called Dumbledore.
"I assume you are Malik," Dumbledore asked when they had made their way over to him. Malik said nothing and instead eyed him warily. He could sense strange energy from this guy, he was powerful, so much was clear.
"Yes, he is a bit shy," Ishizu said and patted him on his head. He knew it was a warning, but he ignored it. "I am not shy," he said and pouted.
"Shall we sit?" Dumbledore asked and gestured towards a bench. "No, I would rather stand," Malik hurriedly said, while Ishizu promptly sat down. "So, what was this about the magic school that was mentioned in the letter?" Ishizu asked, jumping straight to the conversation that they were supposed to have.
"I assume you are his guardian?" Dumbledore asked. "No, but I am his sister and I do take care of him. I think this would be a great opportunity for Malik," Ishizu said. Malik didn't like that she said all this to a man - they had just met. Malik stared at her and hoped she understood, but she didn`t glance at him like she knew already what he was thinking.
"I see, well, Malik here is accepted to the wizarding school of Britain. I initially came here to meet Malik to see what type of person he was since he is going to come a long way if he decides to start our school," Dumbledore informed. "I thought it would be better if I gave some information and he could ask any question he would like in person," Dumbledore continued and looked at him expectantly.
"That is very nice of you," Ishizu said. "But I do have a question, how will you work out the language barrier? Malik regrettably never learnt English due to circumstances," Ishizu explained. Malik blushed, he didn't like that Isis exposed him.
"Well, that is easy, I myself don't know Arabic, but I used a spell so I can speak, write and understand Arabic," Dumbledore explained. Malik gaped, he hadn't thought anything about it, Dumbledore sounded like a native. Ishizu looked equally baffled.
"Wow," Malik said without realising it and flushed when both Dumbledore and Isis looked his way. Both were smiling.
"Anything else?" Dumbledore asked. Ishizu shook her head and paused. "It sounds good, when will he leave?" Isis asked as if it was already set in stone. "If he decides to go to the school - which is highly recommended - then meet at this place next week, same time," Dumbledore informed.
"Any other questions?"
"No," Malik said. Isis shook her head. "Well, I have other matters to attend to, so please excuse me," Dumbledore said and vanished out of thin air. Malik couldn`t doubt that such magic was real anymore, but he still didn’t trust the man. He still wanted to see what Hogwarts was like, but he would have to think before he left his family.
---
"Brother! Pleaaseee goooooo!" Mokuba whined. It has been approximately twenty four hours since they had gotten that letter and Mokuba hadn't stopped trying to make him go. He had made him dig through the trash can to find the letter again and read it to him out loud which had made Mokuba even more persistent.
"At least go and see if it actually is something worthwhile," Mokuba said for the thousand times. "Okay, I will go and see this Dumbledore guy, happy?" Kaiba finally said in defeat. Kaiba had tried to shut Mokuba down like he usually did, but Mokuba wouldn't surrender.
"Yay!" Mokuba jumped in excitement. Kaiba took out his phone and gave orders to the driver that they would leave in five minutes for Domino park. The clock was already 14:00, but Kaiba didn't care. Dumbledore could afford to wait, or not.
"Can I come?" Mokuba asked. "Yes," Kaiba sighed, he didn't want to fight a losing battle.
They arrived shortly in Domino city. Mokuba hurried out of the car, and prompted Kaiba to do the same. Kaiba walked into the park with Mokuba at his side. He stood tall.
"Can you see anyone who looks like a wizard?" Mokuba asked as he scanned the park. Kaiba sighed and looked over the park until his eyes set his eyes on Yugi and Bakura together with a man who had a long white beard. Kaiba wondered if Ryou and Yugi were also accepted into this school?
"Over there," Kaiba said and nodded towards the three. Mokuba looked excitedly towards the group, but his face faltered. "Isn't that just Yugi and white-haired psycho guy?" Mokuba asked, confused.
"Are you blind, I meant the old man with a white beard over there," Kaiba said and pointed yet again towards the man. Mokuba just stared confused at Yugi and Ryou. Kaiba huffed.
"Well, I guess I got to get this over with," he said and walked over to Yugi and Ryou. Mokuba stood behind and waited, but he felt more excited. This had to do with magic? Kaiba could see a man he couldn`t!
They went home after Kaiba had seemingly talked to the old man, and Mokuba bombarded him with questions.