Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Wizards in Training ❯ Owl Post ( Prologue )

Chapter One: Owl Post

 

It was nearly midnight, when Yuugi Motou heard a very loud tapping on the skylight in his room. With a yawn, he opened the lower window to see what it was… and a large, feathery bird flew into his face. He shouted out, and the bird hooted. “An owl…” he thought, too tired to notice how strange it was. It dropped a letter, and flew off again, not before giving him a baleful look. Yuugi gaped at the letter's address a little, for it read:

Yuugi Motou

The Front Bedroom

Kame Game Store

Domino City

Honshu, Japan

There was no return address. Yuugi flipped it over. There was a seal on the letter, a big, old-fashioned one. It was shaped like an H with a badger, a lion, a snake, and a hawk entwined around it. Yuugi opened it excitedly. Two pieces of paper fell out. The first one, he noticed was addressed to him. So he read:

Dear Mr. Motou,

It may seem strange to be contacted in this manner, but do not be afraid. You have been selected for the Wizarding Exchange Student Program, and thus will be attending Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the duration of one year. It may seem strange to you that, while it is five years since you first became eligible to attend Mahokenkyuu, Academy for the Supernaturally Gifted, you have never been contacted in any such manner. This is because Mahokenkyuu was forced to close its doors ten years ago, due to unfortunate circumstances.

As there is no owl service in Domino, I will personally visit you in one week, at midnight exactly. Term will begin September 1, but you will stay in London until this time, after I contact you. You may remain in Domino if you desire, but it is my hope that you shall accompany me.

Sincerely,

Professor Albus Dumbledor, Order of Merlin, First Class

The first time Yuugi read it, he decided that in the dim light of his bedroom, he'd misread some words. But even when he turned on the light, the letters refused to form anything else. Then, under the bright lights and the shock, his brain awoken fully, and he decided it was all just a very strange dream.

 

***

Seto Kaiba awoke in the middle of the night to discover something was knocking at the window. He banged on it, but the noise was not abated. Muttering something derogatory about the latest gardener, he opened. A rather large owl flapped through his window. Staring at it as tough it was an alien, he moved as though to scare it away. Its only response was to stick out a leg, with a letter tied to it. He decided this was a dream, and, with that sense of normalcy that results from deciding that, he untied the letter. The owl flew off through the still open window.

Seto stared at the letter. This is a dream, he repeated to himself, over and over and over, but it was no good. He flipped on the lights, and stared some more. For the address on the letter read:

Seto Kaiba

Penthouse Bedroom

Kaiba Mansion

Domino City

Honshu, Japan

He ripped the envelope open, and pulled out the first piece of paper. This read:

Dear Mr. Kaiba,

It may seem strange to be contacted in this manner, but do not be afraid. You have been selected for the Wizarding Exchange Student Program, and thus will be attending Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the duration of one year. It may seem strange to you that, while it is five years since you first became eligible to attend Mahokenkyuu, Academy for the Supernaturally Gifted, you have never been contacted in any such manner. This is because Mahokenkyuu was forced to close its doors ten years ago, due to unfortunate circumstances.

As there is no owl service in Domino, I will personally visit you in one week, at midnight exactly. Term will begin September 1, but you will stay in London until this time, after I contact you. You may remain in Domino if you desire, but it is my hope that you shall accompany me.

Sincerely,

Professor Albus Dumbledor, Order of Merlin, First Class

He briefly considered ripping it to bits, but instead crumpled it up, and threw it in the wastebasket, hoping it would be gone when he woke up in the morning.

 

***

Ryou Bakura was sound asleep, not to be woken even by the owl's loudest tapping. Finally, it let out a tremendous “Hoot!” Ryou promptly fell out of bed, and woke up, shaking as though suddenly cold. “Just an owl,” he murmured to himself, and climbed back in bed. The owl rolled its massive eyes, hooted some more, and pecked at the window. In the end, Ryou went over to scare it away. The owl refused to be scared, and pecked at the window, until Ryou opened it a crack, to yell at it. It fluttered in, dropped a letter on his head, and flew off, highly frustrated.

Ryou plucked the letter off his ivory hair, switched on the light, and opened it, leaving the address unread. The letter stated:

Dear Mr. Bakura,

It may seem strange to be contacted in this manner, but do not be afraid. You have been selected for the Wizarding Exchange Student Program, and thus will be attending Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the duration of one year. It may seem strange to you that, while it is five years since you first became eligible to attend Mahokenkyuu, Academy for the Supernaturally Gifted, you have never been contacted in any such manner. This is because Mahokenkyuu was forced to close its doors ten years ago, due to unfortunate circumstances.

As there is no owl service in Domino, I will personally visit you in one week, at midnight exactly. Term will begin September 1, but you will stay in London until this time, after I contact you. You may remain in Domino if you desire, but it is my hope that you shall accompany me.

Sincerely,

Professor Albus Dumbledor, Order of Merlin, First Class

Ryou checked the envelope, to make sure it was addressed to the right Mr. Bakura. It read:

Ryou Bakura

The Messiest Room

1470, Dragon Drive

Domino City

Honshu, Japan

A mixture of shock and exhaustion overwhelmed him, and the boy collapsed back asleep, sincerely wishing the letter would be gone when he awoke.

 

***

It was getting late at night, but Marik Ishtar refused to go back to his room until the sun had set completely. It was so beautiful, so perfectly round… As a result of his new habit, and the fact that he'd spent sixteen years of living by nothing brighter than candlelight, he had acquired a pair of glasses, but tonight they lay by his side.

An owl landed by him, and stuck out his leg. Marik sighed. Yet another petition from some Ra-forsaken British wizard, trying to get Ishizu to study at their Ra-forsaken colleges. But the address read:

Marik Ishtar

Secret Entrance

Ishtar Keep

The Red Lands

Egypt

Curious, he tore the letter open. It read:

Dear Mr. Ishtar,

It may seem strange to be contacted in this manner, but do not be afraid. You have been selected for the Wizarding Exchange Student Program, and thus will be attending Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the duration of one year. It may seem strange to you that, while it is six years since you first became eligible to attend the Academy of Ra, the premier magic school in Egypt, you have never been contacted in any such manner. This is because, quite frankly, the Ishtars have refuted any request to attend any school, or, indeed, to leave their Keep.

As owl service is highly expensive in Egypt, I will personally visit you in one week, at midnight exactly. Term will begin September 1, but you will stay in London until this time, after I contact you. You may remain in Egypt if you desire, but it is my hope that you shall accompany me.

Sincerely,

Professor Albus Dumbledor, Order of Merlin, First Class

At first, Marik put the letter down to not wearing his new glasses. But once they were on, the letters had not changed. He looked at it again, feeling a huge mix of feelings. Crumpling the letter in his pocket, he went inside. Maybe, just maybe, it would be gone in the morning.

 

***

And the strange thing was, when all four boys awoke later, the letters were still there.