YAMI/ HIKARI MENTAL CONVERSATIONS ARE NOW MARKED BY "// \\"

Ryou stared out across the empty field. Behind him was the castle, in front of him, the forest. He was supposed to be meeting Malik for some reason that he couldn't remember. But Malik was nowhere to be seen.

"Malik!" Ryou called once, his voice echoing against the emptiness. He received no answer. The wind was picking up now, gentle at first, but steadily getting stronger. Ryou shivered against it and wrapped his robes tighter around him; it was so cold. Though it was only early afternoon, the sky was dark and grey, as if it were about to rain. The coldness almost made Ryou suspect snow, but it was still early for that yet, wasn't it? He looked about, seeing no one, not even a student having wandered from the castle or Hagrid making his rounds. He was getting that feeling again. That bad feeling...

Ryou began walking towards the forest, calling for Malik once more and again getting no response. Why wasn't Malik there? He promised he would be. Could it be that...?

Ryou was brought out of his thoughts as his foot struck something on the ground. He looked down to find that something looking back up at him. He jumped back and fell, landing hard on his bottom, a small cry escaping him. It was a human skull, sickly green in color as if the flesh had only just recently rotted away from it. Ryou placed a hand on his chest and attempted to slow his breathing as he eyed the thing that had scared him so. Ryou felt as if it was staring back, grinning at him in the way only a skull can. It did not fit the image Ryou had always had of a skull. It didn't look like the ones on his Duel Monsters cards. That poisonous green color rather than a shade of white. The surface was rough and flawed rather than the semi-smoothness he had always imagined. Was it real? Was there a real human skull before him? Ryou felt deep down that it was real, but there was only one way to find out. He slowly got to his knees and crawled closer to the hideous thing. It certainly looked real, especially at this distance. He reached a trembling hand towards it, hoping that it would reveal that the skull was plastic or wood.

His hand never made contact. He was mere millimeters away from brushing against the grinning bones when he heard a sound like the air being let out of a tire. He looked for the source of the sound and saw two yellow eyes staring at him from the mouth of the skull. Before Ryou could pull his hand back, the snake that had been lurking inside struck out, sinking its fangs into the flesh just above his wrist.

Ryou screamed in both shock and pain. He stood up, clutching the bite with his other hand and backing up hastily. The snake hissed at him again, protruding from the mouth of the skull like a tongue. Ryou stared at it in terror. His pulse raced and sweat began to bead on his brow despite the cold. He glanced down at his injury seeing the blood start trickle down. The pain was barely present, but the feeling he was getting terrified him. He could feel the poison working up his arm, leaving a tingling feeling in its wake. He had to get help, but as he started to move towards the castle the motion became more and more difficult.

It started at his hand, at the scene of the bite. Ryou suddenly became aware that he was unable to move his fingers. They weren't numb, just immobile. He could feel his own grip on them, but for the life of him couldn't even twitch his index finger. It was spreading quickly. Soon his arm hung lifelessly at his side, and it didn't stop there. Ryou feet gave out from under him as the strange effect of the bite seemed to reach his legs and they could no longer support him. He could feel himself hit the ground, but could do nothing to prevent it. His whole body had gone limp; he had no control over it whatsoever. Ryou was reminded of the stories he'd heard of victims of the puffer fish's venom, and wondered if this was the same. If it was he would certainly be dead soon.

Ryou had ended up on his side in the grass. The cold wind seemed to bite at him, but he could do nothing about it. His thoughts were becoming cloudy and his head hurt. He was confused and frightened... and alone. Or was he... Yami Bakura... where was Yami Bakura? Wasn't the spirit supposed to protect his him?

A shadow fell over Ryou as someone stood over him. Ryou tried to see who it was but he couldn't make his head turn to the right direction. For one fleeting moment, Ryou held the hope that this person was going to help him. That hope was soon thrashed as the mysterious person placed a blade to Ryou's throat.

Ryou held his breath, one of the few things he was still able to do of his own will. He could feel the pressure of the cold metal against his bare skin. He tried desperately to make his body move, to do something, anything to fend off his attacker. But there was nothing he could do. His body would not obey.

"Don't think I don't know you would be begging for your life were you able," came the low, whispered voice of the shadowed form, revealing that it knew just how helpless Ryou was. Ryou didn't recognize it, but a whisper wasn't much to go on. His brain screamed for oxygen, but he was afraid that if he released his breath, the blade would surly cut him. When it got to the point that Ryou was on the verge of passing out, the blade was removed and he could breathe freely again, though that came as little relief as the shadow spoke again.

"I will let you live as long as I have use for you. You are mine..." Maniacal laughter followed. Ryou's vision began to fade out, his mind felt as if a thick fog were enveloping it. Ryou couldn't fight it. The laughter followed him as he was plunged into darkness...

................................

Ryou awoke with a start, sitting up in bed and breathing heavily. He was in the safety of the Gryffindor dorm. The moonlight shown through his partially open drapes; it was still early. His eyes darted down to his hands. He flexed his fingers, making sure that he was completely mobile. There was no sign of the bite from the dream. There was no freezing wind. No skull or snake. No mysterious shadow...

"It's hard to sleep with such emotions emanating from your soul room, you know."

Ryou jumped at the sound. His yami seemed to be sitting on the end of his bed staring off into space, his transparent image bathed in the moonlight. //S-sorry,\\ Ryou said through the mental link, not daring to speak aloud incase one of the other boys was awake. There was no fear of his yami being seen or heard. The spirit was invisible to all but Ryou when separate from him.

"You don't need to apologize. It was an observation, not an accusation," Yami Bakura said, not looking at Ryou. Ryou shifted uncomfortably.

//Why... why did you separate?\\ Ryou asked. //I thought you didn't like doing that.\\

"I don't usually," Yami Bakura answered. "But like I said, your rather intense dream made it difficult for me to get any peace."

//Oh...\\ Ryou scratched the back of his head. This was a bit awkward. //Well, it's over now. We have a few more hours until dawn and you have a duel today, so you need your sleep.\\

Yami Bakura turned and faced Ryou for the first time. "Do you want to talk about it?"

//The duel? I already told you that I don't mind so long as you don't go overboard-\\

"No. The dream," Yami Bakura interrupted.

//The dream? It was...nothing. Just a stupid nightmare. I probably ate too many sweets at supper is all.\\

"Ryou, I was able to feel your reactions to it. That was no mere nightmare."

//It was nothing!\\ Ryou insisted. //It was just a dream, and I'm too tired to discuss it now. Please, let's just go back to sleep okay. I-I can't even remember most of it anymore.\\ That last part was a lie, but Ryou hoped his yami would believe it. He was afraid of the conclusions the spirit would draw if he knew about the whole dream. A shadow that spoke harshly and held a blade to Ryou's throat, saying that it knew what Ryou would do, that Ryou belonged to it as long as it had need of him. And the fact that Ryou had been unable to control his body... He didn't like that so many aspects of the dream seemed to point to his yami. And if Ryou made this connection, surely the spirit would. Yami Bakura had only just started to act normal; Ryou didn't want him to get defensive again. He was sure it was just a stupid dream, although it had been rather haunting. What was that snake and skull about anyway?

Yami Bakura looked at his host, trying to judge his expression. Even though he was the one who was transparent, it was Ryou that was seen right through. There was no question in Yami Bakura's mind that Ryou remembered every detail of the dream, but for some reason, didn't want the spirit to know. He had his suspicions why. But confronting Ryou wouldn't accomplish anything. It was quite obvious that Ryou didn't trust him enough to tell him.

"Alright. Let's just go back to sleep," Yami Bakura said. Ryou nodded in agreement. The ring glowed as Yami Bakura returned to his own soul room. Ryou covered the light with his blanket to shield it from anyone who wasn't asleep. His transparent double was gone. Ryou could feel him once more at the back of his mind, which oddly enough brought him comfort. He hoped that it was this feeling that his yami would pick up on rather than the fear left by the dream.

Ryou lay back down and pulled the covers up around his neck, turning onto his side and curling up into a comfortable position. Soon, he was asleep again.

Yami Bakura debated with himself. He wanted to know what that dream had been about. Dreams were not to be ignored; they were valuable clues. But...If Ryou didn't trust him enough to tell what the dream was about, then how would he feel if Yami Bakura pried anyway? They both knew that the spirit was more than capable of finding out anything that Ryou's mind held.

Yami Bakura didn't want to jeopardize the trust between him and Ryou. But it might be in all of their best interests if he knew about the dream so that he could interpret it. What if it was a warning of danger? Certainly Ryou would understand that...wouldn't he? But maybe he should let Ryou be the judge of whether the dream was important or not; give him a little credit. Oh, but Ryou was so naïve, he wouldn't know a potential threat if it spat in his face. Oh, what to do?

This business of having a conscience was really complicating matters. He had to do something to put his mind at ease. He quietly emerged from the ring once again and stood beside the bed.

"Ryou?" Yami Bakura whispered to his sleeping host.

"Hmm?" Ryou mumbled aloud without really waking up.

"You'd tell me if something were really wrong, right? You'd tell me if something had you worried, no matter what it was?"

"Mm, hmm," the boy responded in his sleep.

The ancient spirit looked down at the peaceful form, all curled up like a cat. The covers rose and fell with Ryou's steady breaths. He showed no signs of once more suffering through a nightmare. Yami Bakura sighed.

"I guess that's all I need to know..."

....................................

"Good morning all!" Malik said cheerfully as he sat down to breakfast on the morning of the Hogsmeade trip. "Did everyone have a lovely sleep?"

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Yugi asked. "I thought you weren't a morning person."

"I'm not," Malik replied. "But I come baring good news."

"Yeah?" Ron asked through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "What's that?"

Malik grinned. "Malfoy has detention today. He's not going to Hogsmeade."

"That's good timing," Yugi said. "We won't have to worry about him messing up the duel. I was worried that he was going to end up following us again and blowing our plans."

"Well, you needn't worry about that anymore," Malik said smiling broadly. "Nothing's going to go wrong with Malfoy out of the way."

"Famous last words," mumbled Hermione. She still didn't like the idea of taking such a risk just to play a game. And she found the idea of playing such a dangerous game to be appalling.

"Just what did Malfoy do to get detention?" Ryou asked suspiciously, giving Malik a look.

Malik put on an innocent face. "He tripped me and threatened me right next to McGonagall. Then he denied it, saying he didn't do anything. She was true to her word and gave him a detention for continuing the fighting after she told us to stop."

"And you did nothing?" Ryou said accusingly, cocking an eyebrow.

"I saw McGonagall standing there. I wasn't going get myself in trouble."

"But Malfoy didn't notice the Professor?" questioned Ryou. "I would think he would be smart enough not to get caught for something as small as tripping you."

"I thought that, too," Malik replied with a shrug and a grin. "Guess I was wrong."

"And I'm sure you were completely innocent," Ryou pressed. "You had no influence over anything that happened, right?"

Malik smirked. "I was just walking past, hands in my pockets, minding my own business."

Yugi and Ryou weren't fooled. There was no doubt in their mind that it was more than a lucky coincidence that Malfoy got a detention on the day that he could have gotten them all in deep trouble. But it was convenient nonetheless, and it wasn't like Malfoy didn't deserve it. It could be considered revenge for the language charm.

"Are you guys STILL eating?"

Fred and George walked up to the Gryffindor fifth years and adopted Slytherin, looking a little impatient. The twins had been informed of the day's plans and they couldn't think of a better way to spend their Hogsmeade weekend. But they also insisted on being in charge of organizing it and nobody argued with them. Who knew better about how to break about a million school rules and not get caught than the Weasly twins?

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. "It's still early and we just got here. The post owls haven't even passed yet."

"We want to get an early start," said George. "And you guys still have to get your brooms and any other supplies you may need."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ron asked his brothers. "What's your plan?"

The twins leaned in, gesturing for the others to do the same. "We have to make sure that we're seen in Hogsmeade before we take off. Separately, so that no one will notice if we all disappear at once. Whitey and Harry, you too will have to be seen at the Quidditch supply store so it won't look suspicious if you're carrying your brooms around. We'll be doing the same. The story is we brought them to get checked out before the Quidditch games start. Got it?" Ryou and Harry nodded.

"The rest of you be sure to be seen around town. Go to high traffic areas like Zonko's and The Three Broomsticks."

"Why all the trouble?" Hermione asked. "I mean, why don't we just head straight off and get this over with?"

The twins gave exasperated sighs. "As smart as you are, Hermione, you don't know anything when it comes to rule-breaking," said Fred. "Look, which is more suspicious, us being seen all around Hogsmeade or us not being seen at all? People won't be as quick to assume that we're up to trouble if they just saw us acting normal."

Hermione pouted. "This is never going to work. I should avoid the risk all together and stay at school."

But everyone knew she was going to go.

The post owls flew in as they did every morning, dropping off packages and letters as they swooped down. Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet newspaper landed in her lap as the delivery owl flew overhead. She started to unfold the paper when Fred stopped her with a gesture.

"No time," he said. "We've all got to go get our stuff."

"Well, I don't have anything I need to bring," Hermione defended.

"Just come on Hermione," Ron said, standing up. "Let's get going."

Hermione huffed but stood as well. She was going against her better judgment and even she didn't understand why. She supposed it was just something that friends did. Maybe she would be able to keep them out of some trouble.

.................................

"Yuck!" Yugi exclaimed, making a face as he eyed the rows of candies for exotic tastes in the Honeydukes sweet shop of Hogsmeade. "What on earth eats something called a cockroach cluster?"

"I'm not sure," Harry answered, quite understanding Yugi's reaction. "Hags, maybe. Or goblins."

"Yuck," Yugi repeated, pursing his lips together and wrinkling his nose in disgust. He turned away, the mental image of one of the goblins he'd seen at Gringotts Bank chomping on one of the cockroach clusters caused him to shiver and he looked about for something to take his mind off of it. He turned down the next aisle and soon busied himself with examining the sweets that didn't look like they would make his stomach turn. Harry followed him, not wanting to stay in that section of the store himself either. Ryou, the third and last member of their group lingered behind, still examining a small section of the exotic candies. He, Harry, and Yugi were supposed to stick together until noon. That's when they were going to meet the others on the hill and start towards the clearing where they were to have the duel. Ron and Hermione made up another group, and Malik was with the Weasly twins (who were teaching him the wonders of Zonko's joke shop and were astonished when he found the pranks there to be "too tame").

The white-haired teen's nose was barely two inches away from a display of what looked deceptively like ordinary cherry lollipops. His narrowed eyes stared at them with morbid fascination.

//Don't even think about it.\\

//I'm just looking,\\ Yami Bakura defended. //I'm not actually planning on buying any.\\

//You'd better not be considering stealing any, either,\\ Ryou replied.

//I wonder how real they taste...\\ Yami Bakura teased, seemingly ignoring his host. Ryou gagged.

//Come on, give me back control,\\ he pleaded. //I want to go see if they have any cream puffs.\\

Yami Bakura sighed inwardly. //Oh, alright,\\ he said, giving in. He'd be in control again soon enough anyway. Ryou blinked as his body became his again.

"Bakura, why are you still hanging around in that aisle?" Yugi called. "That stuff's gross. Come on over here and check these sweets out."

'Gladly,' Ryou thought, walking away. He was eager to leave that section behind. He didn't think his yami was really that deranged (he was only teasing, right?), but better safe than sorry. Rare steak was one thing, but Blood Pops? Ick...

Noon soon rolled around. By that time, the various groups had been seen all over the town of Hogsmeade, including at the Quidditch shop, the post office owlery, and The Three Broomsticks tavern (where Yami Bakura made another appearance hoping to get some liquor only to denied all but the weakest of their beverages). They all began towards the hill from different directions. Any who saw them assumed they were going towards the Shrieking Shack, which was also in that area.

They met at the base of the hill. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had all been there before. Sirius had hidden in a cave near there the previous year and they had come to see him. Having that past success in sneaking out of Hogsmeade didn't exactly make them any less nervous, though.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Ron whispered to his brothers when they had all gathered around.

"We're gonna walk around the hill," Fred replied. "The Shrieking Shack will block us from view. Once we're over there, we take off, keeping fairly low so as not to be seen. We should reach the clearing in what, ten, twenty minutes?"

"Sounds right," George agreed. "Whitey, do you think you can handle someone else on your broom? It's the same as regular flight, you just have to adjust to the added weight."

"I guess so," Ryou said uncertainly.

"Alright," George nodded. "Ron, you come with me; Malik, go with Fred; Hermione, you're with Harry; and since you're the lightest, you go with Whitey, Yugi."

"I certainly hope this hologram thing will be worth all this risk," Hermione said. "I hate to think that we chance getting expelled just for a simple illusion."

"Don't worry," Yugi assured, switching the weight of the backpack containing his duel disk to the other shoulder and smiling. "You won't be disappointed."

"I know I'm looking forward to it," George said with a grin. He turned to Ron. "Can you imagine how Dad would react to something like this? He'd flip at the opportunity to see some advanced muggle technology. Heck, if batteries and plugs keep him entertained, what wouldn't he do to see an invention that makes playing cards look like they're alive."

"Mum wouldn't like it though," Ron replied with a laugh. "Dad would end up wanting one and then bewitching it so that it REALLY brings the cards to life!"

They all laughed, Yugi, Ryou, and Malik a little more nervously than the rest of them.