"That's much appreciated." Yami said and Yugi smiled at Molly as she put the tea mugs in front of them.

"Of course, dears. I'm afraid we only have black tea around, but I hope you'll find it to your liking. Sugar?"

"Please."

Yami absent-mindedly dropped a couple of teaspoons of sugar in his cup and stirred it with his spoon. Tea wasn't exactly his preferred choice of drink, but even he doubted that getting more caffeine in his system right now would be a good idea. He blew off the steam that was rising from the cup and took a small, appraising sip as considered the flavour.

Hmm, it was not his favourite, but he could tell that the tea was good quality and Molly seemed to have the skills to prepare it, rather than just pouring boiling water on top of the tea leaves, like so many people did.

"Let me get you some food as well. You need it to recover." She called over.

Yami looked up, slightly startled to realise he had zoned out. He bit the inside of his cheek in irritation and resolved to pay more attention to his surroundings.

He blamed the headache, as well as the general atmosphere in the house. The magic was still winding around close to him and Yugi, vying to receive their attention, and even though he found himself not minding it, it did take away from his focus. However, they had already decided to examine it later, once they would hopefully be given a room for themselves.

"Thank you again. Sorry for the trouble." Yugi spoke up, while he was sorting out his thoughts and Yami gratefully squeezed Yugi's hand under the table, where they kept the point of contact, and felt Yugi's reassurance flow back to him.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Molly assured, placing a tray of biscuits and sandwiches on the table. "Just make sure to eat something, even if you don't really feel like doing so."

They looked up, slightly surprised that she had taken note of their apprehensive expressions.

Molly treated them with a motherly smile and Yami could feel Yugi squeeze his hand just a little tighter. "I am familiar with both the magical exhaustion and the aftermath of a dementor's attack, although not first-hand. Eating is not exactly a priority when you're dealing with either, from what I've been told. But I promise, you'll feel better afterwards."

Beside him, Yugi let out a small breath. "Alright, we'll try." With that, Yugi reached out and took a biscuit, taking a small bite out of it and Yami followed the suit, making Molly nod in satisfaction.

"I'm hoping Albus will show up soon, I'd rather have you resting as soon as possible. Sleep is an important part of the recovery process. How do you feel, dears?"

'Again with this Albus person. Who is he?'

'We'll ask in a minute. Oh. We should bring up the 'wands' too.'

'Right.'

"Tired." Yami answered honestly. He decided not to mention the headache they both were still experiencing, as he was reasonably sure that it was the new magic's fault, rather than anything else.

"And rather stiff." Yugi added.

Molly tutted. "While that's to be expected, I'm wondering if we should have Poppy do another check-up." She turned to Arthur and Remus. "What do you both think?"

Remus, who had been quietly sitting a little ways off from them and nursing his own mug, looked up with a considering look. "I'm not sure. Didn't Poppy say they should just rest and take it easy, for the most part though? There aren't really any potions that help with either of these things." He lifted his hand to his face and tapped his chin, seemingly in deep thought. "If anything, I would just advise for you two to eat some chocolate." He nodded at Yami and Yugi.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Arthur spoke up. "It certainly won't make anything worse." He obviously noticed their slight confusion. "Ah, sorry, boys. Poppy is a nurse, she was the one who did the check-ups on you, when you first arrived."

Yami nodded, understandingly. Of course, that made sense. "Please tell her we said thanks, in case we don't get to do it for ourselves."

Arthur inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Oh, certainly. She'll be glad to hear that you're okay. As for the chocolate, it's the most effective medicine for getting rid of the effects of a dementor's attack." He waved his hand. "Don't ask me why, I have no clue. But it's a proven fact, that chocolate lifts a person's mood, which is one of the main points a dementor has a great effect upon." Yami saw Remus nodding along.

"Oh? How unusual!" Yugi blinked at them, curiously. "I'll bet that's the best tasting medicine anyone's ever had though! If I had to guess, I'd wager that it helps due to chocolate increasing the levels of endorphins in the brain."

'Chocolate? Seriously? Ryou would probably enjoy hearing this. The best cure for a creature is literally a bar of candy.' Yugi though with some humour, but it was immediately diminished at the reminder of his friend.

'I'll say.' Yami thought back, but a similar weariness weighed down upon his shoulders too.

Arthur, however, was unaware of their sudden mood shift and instead was excitedly leaning forward. "What are these en-dol-pheens you speak of? Is that a muggle thing? Like a part of the scii-en-cee studies I've heard of?"

"Now, now, dear." Molly warningly patted him on the shoulder, with enough force to make him wince and sheepishly back off. "You can ask your questions after the boys have had their chance to rest properly."

'Muggle thing? Scie-en-cee? Oh gods, we're way down into the deep-end with this one, aren't we?'

'Yep.' Yami thought, trying to keep his face neutral. 'We're in a different time, none of our friends are reachable and are likely freaking out – except Kaiba, probably – and we've gotten involved with these strange people, one of which we will be helping out for, in front of a Ministry that we've never heard of before. I just wish I knew what we can expect next.'

'Exactly. And we just need to learn everything we can about an entirely new culture in the span of few days, so it doesn't seem like we're too out of place. How hard can it beee?' Yugi dragged out the word with obvious sarcasm. 'Also, do they seem a little... backwater to you?' He used the word with some hesitation, as he disliked to call these people that, but it seemed appropriate from what he had just heard.

'It does seem like they don't have much knowledge of scientific discoveries, yeah.'

"Sorry, mugg-le?" Yami made sure to pronounce the word with exaggerated slowness, hoping they would elaborate. "I'm afraid I haven't picked up all of slang yet." He hoped it qualified as such.

"I was wondering about that, actually." Remus spoke up. "You both are obviously not using the translation charm, or it would have worn off by now and I haven't seen your wands either."

"Um, yeah." Yugi smiled, sheepishly, trying to come up with an explanation quickly.

The 'wands'. The damn 'wands'. They had to talk about those soon, before it became too suspicious. However, they were interested in this 'muggle' thing, and mentioning their lack of... - attributes? weapons? tools of trade? - whatever they were; would probably distract their hosts from the stuff they actually wanted to hear about right now.

"Well, we had to study English back at home anyway, so we just try to practice whenever we can. It's more of a generalized study though, so we pick bits up along the way, as we travel." Yami interjected in the meanwhile.

There. And it wasn't even a lie.

"That's amazing." Remus said, with an admiring smile and Molly, who had been listening in, nodded enthusiastically. "We don't really get language classes around here, as it's not a requirement. A bit of a shame, actually."

He took a sip of his tea, which made Yami remember his own and prompted him to do the same. He was surprised to find it the same temperature as he had left it. More of this magic, probably.

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it and he wasn't sure if he liked that and his thoughts bled over. Yugi inclined his head in agreement to both statements.

Remus put down his mug and put his elbow on the table, leaning in to prop his chin on his hand. "So, 'Muggle' is just the term for what we call the people with no magic. I'm sure you have something similar to it. I think the term was coined sometime before the 17th century." He looked thoughtful. "I'd have to brush up on my history, to tell you for certain though. As for other countries, I know that Americans, for example, mostly go with 'no-majs' and I've heard of some that call them 'mundanes'."

"Ah, thank you." Yugi listened intently. He did actually like learning about different languages and had gotten really good at several ones.

Additionally, this was essential information for them and would at least give them a starting point, while they did their own research, but that was for them to know.

"So what about Japan?" Remus questioned.

Yami startled slightly and mentally flailed around for a bit, trying to gather his thoughts. Damn.

"Ah... I think we just call them... let me see how to best translate it." Yugi thankfully interjected and then pretended to consider the question.

'Fu..tsūnohito..? Aaa.. futsuu..? Do you think that would work, Yami?'

'Futsuu? As in 'Normal'?' Yami thought it over quickly. 'Yes, I think it'll do. Simple, but to the point.'

"Aa. Sorry about that. Languages are a bit of a chore." Yugi smiled, as he scratched the back of his neck. "I think it best translates as 'Normals'. Although it might just be for the region where we resided."

"It's always so fascinating, learning about the different cultures." Molly commented, having sat down next to her husband and Remus, who were both listening intently.

Yami felt like sagging in relief, but was too dignified to show it. They had bought it.

'Well, we haven't really given them any reason not to trust us, so why wouldn't they.' Yugi reasoned.

'But we haven't given them a reason to trust us either.' Yami cautioned, and his heart ached at Yugi's answering wave of resigned agreement.

"Oh, most definitely. I've always been interested in how our country differs from the others." Remus agreed.

"Yeah, but you're a teacher anyway." Arthur elbowed him good-naturedly. "You were always the more studious one."

"You're a teacher?" Yugi raised an eyebrow in curiosity that was now shadowed by the lingering doubt. Yami hated to be the one who caused it, but there was no helping it. They had to stay vigilant.

"Well, not a teacher anymore." Remus shot Arthur an exasperated look.

"He used to teach in Hogwarts." Molly corrected. "He had to quit due to.. personal circumstances." She shot an uncertain look at Remus, something that neither Yami nor Yugi missed.

'Do we ask?' Yugi asked at length.

Yami considered the question. 'I don't think we should. It might be important, but I doubt it. We've only just met the man. We'll figure it out later, if we have to.'

'Agreed. You said that Fang was interested in him anyway. If he wants to investigate, I say we let him.'

Yami sent a mental agreement.

"There is something important we need to ask about, however." Yami intoned seriously, observing the barely concealed sighs of relief at his abrupt subject change.

Obviously, whatever it was that they weren't willing to disclose, the matter was a sensitive one. He would let them have it.

Molly shook herself out of whatever grim thoughts had seemingly overtaken her mind for that brief moment. "Of course. What is it, dears?"

"We both lost our.. wands." Yugi hoped they wouldn't notice the brief pause before he said the word. "Mine got lost during the, uh, dement-ur's attack and Yami's got broken sometime before that. It's a bit of a blur, honestly."

Thankfully, all three appeared to be too shocked – in Arthur's case – or too concerned – in Remus and Molly's - to notice his tiny slip.

"Bu-" Molly was just about to say something, when they all heard a brief knock that seemed to come from the front door. It sounded like it was intended to be quiet, but in the resounding stillness of their surprise, it appeared very noticeable.

Molly closed her mouth before giving a determined shake of her head and turned to face Yugi. "I - ah.. I think that's Albus, dears. He'll be able to help you out with that, okay?" And she hurried off before Yugi had a chance to say anything else.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Remus sounded genuinely upset, but earnest. "That must have been quite unsettling, stepping into an unknown place without a protection."

Arthur shook his head in wonder. "Especially in these trying times. I admit, I'd feel quite naked without my trusty wand."

"Yeah.." Yami trailed off.

'Amazing. They seem to be extremely dependant on these sticks.'

'Sounds like a potentially crippling flaw, especially in a conflict. How hard can it be to knock a piece of wood out of someone's hand?'

'With this magic they have? Who knows.' He saw Yugi nod.

"Anyway." Remus cleared his throat. "I really must be off now."

"Aren't you staying?" Arthur asked with a questioning tilt of his head.

"No." Remus said and rubbed one of his eyes wearily. "I've been meaning to pick up something, but I kept putting it off. If you'll excuse me." He rose from the chair. "Good to meet you."

"And you." Yami echoed back. What an abrupt leave.

"Thank you." Yugi added. "I hope we meet again soon." Remus nodded in affirmative and with that, stepped out of the kitchen.

'Should we?'

'If he wants.' Yami felt the Silver Fang brush against his consciousness and let amusement fill him. 'And want he does.'

'Off you go. Be careful.' Yugi spoke directly to the monster and they both heard the silent huff in return. Of course he would be.

Arthur was next to stand up and he stretched his arms out, over his head.

"Great meeting you, boys." He said and Yami could see that he was struggling to hold back a yawn. "Unfortunately, there's work to be done tomorrow, so I really must be off. I will see you tomorrow." He gave them a tired smile. "Molly will show you to your room, after you finish up here. Night." He walked around the table, dodging a stray chair by the millimetre and stepped out.

"Goodnight!" They called after him.

Yami could hear his footsteps echo down the hallway, then Molly and someone else speaking to him, before the walking resumed and then slowly faded as he proceeded up the stairs. Yugi could still feel his energy though, and was able to pinpoint his exact location, if need would arise.

Just then, Molly stepped back into the room and following her, in walked one of the strangest people either of them had ever seen, and they were effectively distracted again.

'Is that..?'

'The Albus-person? Likely. Is he wearing-'

'-a shimmery purple dress? Robes? Yep.'

'Oh. So I'm not hallucinating.'

'Nope. On a more serious note, he's old. I can almost feel the years on him. And the magic is reacting strangely around him.'

So it was. Yami carefully didn't focus too much on the threads that were floating around the man, in fear of attracting his attention, with the seemingly unfocused staring.

'The threads... they're bending to him? To his will? I think he's controlling the 'wards'? Or, at the very least, he has some control over them.'

'They seem slightly unwilling though.' Yugi noted with a tiny frown.

Yami examined them with a quick once-over and focused on the man's energy. He had.. notably more than he had expected from such an old person. 'Huh. That's probably because they're Dark. He's... Grey.'

'Ah. That would actually explain it. Also, he's tall. Just wanted to point that out. Not as tall as Seto though, at least I don't think so.'

'How do you even know how tall Kaiba is?'

'Hard not to notice when he hovers over everyone.'

Yami quieted a snort. 'Okay, fair. But to be honest, I mostly face him in stadiums and during those instances I tend to focus on the duel.'

'That's true.'

"Yami, Yugi," Molly turned to look at them. "This is the man who asked for your help at the hearing."

"Hello." The strange man's glasses reflected the light and Yami noted their strange half-moon shape. His blue eyes burned with sharp intellect that was just partially concealed behind the lenses, and Yami was instantly back on high alert.

The one's with intelligence were always the most unpredictable, and this man had it in spades.

The man, however, just smiled at them with genuine curious expression on his weathered face. "My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and I'm the current acting headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please, just call me Albus."

He extended a hand, first towards the very baffled Yami, who stood up and shook his hand, taking a note of the strong grip. Annoyingly, it also made him let go of Yugi, but the headache had thankfully subsided for the moment. Still, he made sure to remain a close proximity of Yugi.

Albus then offered his hand to Yugi who took it with a small bow and gave a quiet greeting.

'That almost forces us to give out our full names, out of sheer politeness. Also, an entire school dedicated to magic? That's... wow.'

'Yeah. As for the names, I don't see the harm in giving mine out. The surname is not exactly uncommon and we're adults anyway. The school thing, on the other hand, that's a lot more believable now, than it would have been not even a day ago.'

'That's true, yes. By the way, I'll let you improvise on my surname.'

"My name is Yugi Mutou." Yugi stated and then gestured towards him. "This is Yami Katsuya. We're cousins. Please feel free to use our names too."

'Oh? Not bad at all.'

'Mmm. A relatively common surname. Plus, I feel better having a reminder of Jou here.'

'Me too, partner.'

"I see. I assumed you were related. I really like your hair too, it's superb." Albus's eyes sparkled. "You're from Japan, yes?"

"Ah – I – thank you. And yes, indeed." Yugi blinked.

"Wonderful, wonderful." Albus looked around and seemingly not finding what he wanted, simply perched up on the table.

...for all of the two seconds that it took for Molly to glare him down, after which he slid down in a proper chair with a put-upon sigh.

Molly smiled at him sweetly, while Yami and Yugi watched the exchange with raised eyebrows.

"Tea, Albus?"

"Oh, definitely, Molly. Thank you." She nodded and went off to the corner of the kitchen, pulling out her 'wand'.

Yami noted the long stick and the various movements that Molly was starting to make, and would have continued examining the scene, if he didn't feel the need to keep Albus in his field of vision at all times.

Said man had now crossed his arms on the table and was looking at them thoughtfully.

"Now, Molly here said that you're both down a wand?" He tilted his head.

"Yes." Yami said and heaved a heavy sigh, hoping to convey how much the fact troubled them. "Sadly, we're not even exactly sure how it happened. As you can imagine, we're having some trouble recalling everything that happened."

Albus hummed understandingly. "Well – oh, thank you, Molly – I can definitely help you with getting to the Diagon Alley, and you should be able to find what you're looking for there. I'm sure you'd like to go as soon as possible, so how about tomorrow?" He took a sip of his tea.

Meanwhile, Molly settled down with her own cup and was looking at Albus worriedly. "Are you sure it's a good idea to send them without an escort?" She glanced over to them. "No offence meant, but it's a bit dangerous to be outside of protected spaces right now. You two also seem quite young and, with the way you look, you'll never blend in."

"We're twenty." Yugi stated with a long-suffering expression. He was used to people mistaking him for someone much younger.

"Oh. My apologies" Molly blinked. "You're definitely older than I had assumed." She didn't seem to hear Yami's muttered 'you'd be surprised' as Yugi elbowed him discreetly.

"Either way, couldn't we maybe escort them?" She turned her pleading eyes at Albus, and Yami was amazed how much this woman, that they had only just met, seemed to care about their well-being.

"If that's what you'd like." Albus shrugged. "However, I ask that you please keep young Harry here."

Molly sighed and cradled the mug in her hands. "He won't be very happy with that."

"I don't imagine he's very happy with any of us right now." Albus said with good humour. "But you realize he would get swarmed by reporters in a heart-beat if he showed up in Diagon Alley right now."

"Oh, I suppose you're right. Those foolish, blood-sucking people, I swear." She shook her head.

Yami and Yugi wholeheartedly agreed, even if they didn't know the context here. Seemed like reporters everywhere were the same breed.

Albus smiled at her in a comforting manner and then faced them again. "Are you okay with funds?"

"As long as we have somewhere where to convert the money." Yami said slowly. Did the wizarding world run on different currency?

'From what I've seen of them so far, I'd say definitely.'

'We'll probably have to convert some of our jewellery into money then. Not sure what they'd think about money from the future.'

'Ah, right you are.'

"Oh yes." Albus was nodding, but he didn't seem to be paying much attention right now, instead taking out a watch from his pocket and flipped it open, checking the time. "Gringotts bank. They can help you with that." He flipped the watch shut. "Molly will be able to point you the right way. Afternoon work for you?"

"Uh, Yes, sure." Yugi said. Albus was way more... springy.. than most of the older people he knew. It was a little bit off-putting when he pulled stunts that they would expect from a much younger man.

"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush." Albus apologised, getting up. "I thought you might appreciate sleeping in, seeing as you're still recovering."

"Yes, that would be nice." Yami agreed.

"Alright then, off I go!" He waved at them and started towards the fireplace. "Thank you for the lovely tea, Molly."

"Welcome, take care!" She called after him and stood up, collecting all of the mugs from the table. "I'll show you your room in a minute, alright?"

Yami nodded at her and then nudged Yugi.

'Fireplace phone. And apparently way of travelling?'

'I actually thought you were kidding with that one.'

Albus had just taken a pinch of a dusty powder that was hanging by the shelf in a decorative flower pot. Stepping in the unlit furnace, he turned around to look at them and waved again.

He then called out something unintelligible to them, while simultaneously dropping the powder and disappeared into roaring, green fire, which had appeared as soon as the powder touched the ground.

Yami was glad that Molly was busy washing the dishes, as even he recoiled back into his seat at the unexpectedly violent send-off.

'What..'

'..the fuck?' Yugi dead-panned.

'...this new magic is truly … something.'

'Something awful. Who thought that this way of travel wasn't a suicide mission and decided to try it out? Also, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Shadow Flickering seems tame by comparison. Are all the wizarding ways of travel so violent?'

'I guess we'll find out.' Yami thought unenthusiastically.

'Yaaaayy...' Was Yugi's dry reply, but there was a certain humour to it, which Yami echoed.

"All done now, dears." Molly put the last cup down and walked towards them, rolling down her sleeves.

"Come. I'll show you where you are staying."

A/N. Whyyyyyy do I write in soo many details.

Thank you, those who reviewed, favourited and followed. You guys are all amazing!