"I think there's been a mistake with my house."

"How so, Mr. Ishtal?"

"I don't belong with those... I don't belong with them. I already don't get along with Slytherins."

"I'm afraid your placement has already been decided. There's no changing it. You will just have to learn to get along with them. Perhaps it is not as bad as you think."

"But that stupid hat made a mistake! I'm not like them!"

"You may have more in common than you realize," Dumbledore said, his eyes almost smiling as the rest of his face remained serious. "The Sorting Hat doesn't make mistakes. You will just have to make adjustments."

Malik fumed. He wasn't used to not getting his way. "I'm just trying to prevent trouble, Professor," he said. "There won't be any peace in that house, especially with that Malfoy kid."

"Mr. Malfoy... is one of our most difficult students to get along with... but I know you will make every effort."

"No promises."

Malik turned to leave. "Professor Snape should still be in the Great Hall. You should ask him to help you find your way," Dumbledore said. Malik kept going without answering.

Malik took slow steps down the stairs from Dumbledore's office. He took deep breaths, trying to calm down. He hadn't been this angry in a while and it scared him. Something as small as this shouldn't upset him so. Maybe he wasn't as in control as he thought. Isis and Rishid weren't here to help him, and his different house separated him from Yugi and Bakura. Maybe he should tell Dumbledore. Yugi and Bakura were probably going to tell his secret anyway. But he decided against it. He was calm again. No sense in upsetting things more. He wasn't going to start any problems. He was just there to go to school. But should anyone else start problems, he sure as Hell wasn't going to take it.

Back inside the office, Dumbledore sighed. This was going to be another one of those years. "Now you two also have something you wish to speak with me about?"

"I... I'm not quite sure where to start..."

"It's best to start at the beginning, Mr. Mouto."

"Um... Well... I feel you should know so... I guess I should start by saying that me, and Bakura, and... well, never mind. We don't exactly have magic the way you all do."

"Elaborate, please."

"Well, you see, when I was younger, I found this puzzle in the back of my grandpa's game shop," Yugi said, pointing to the millennium puzzle as he spoke. "It's known as the Millennium Puzzle and it's from ancient Egypt. I spent eight years trying to solve it. When I finally did was when I got magic. My power comes from the puzzle." Dumbledore listened intently but said nothing. Ryou took a deep breath and started to tell his side.

"It's much the same with me," he said, reaching under his robes and revealing his millennium item. "My father found this while on a trip to Egypt. He bought it in a bazaar with me in mind. That was when I got magic. So I guess what we're trying to say is that there might have been some mistake when we were invited."

Dumbledore nodded in thought. "Cases such as yours are uncommon, but not unheard of. Magical items have existed for as long as magic itself has in the form of amulets and such. But you would have to have at least some magic yourself to use them. If you were completely without magic, these items would be of no use to you." Dumbledore smiled in a comforting way. "You needn't worry. You belong here as much as any other student."

Dumbledore must have expected this to make them feel better, but it didn't. The hard part was yet to come. "There's more that we feel you should know," Ryou said. He scratched his head in confused thought. "I don't quite know how to explain it. Yugi?"

"Well... You see Professor, the puzzle and the ring didn't just contain magic. There was...something else."

"Oh, spit it out, Yugi!" came a harsh voice from Ryou's direction. Ryou's eyes went wide and he quickly covered his mouth. Dumbledore gave him a curious look. "P-please excuse me," Ryou stammered. His yami was getting impatient again. But it was the boost Yugi needed.

"It wasn't him, Professor. Not really. You see, the millennium items were created by ancient Egyptian sorcerers. And they kinda became attached to them. Bakura and I are the reincarnated forms of the former owners of our millennium items. And the spirits of those former owners are with us. They've been part of us since we found our millennium items." Dumbledore said nothing. There really isn't anything you can say to that. This was one even he hadn't heard of before. The awkwardness was broken by a knock at the door. Dumbledore gave permission to enter.

"Professor? I just wanted to inform you that the schedules for tomorrow are complete. They're ready to be handed out in the morning," said Professor McGonagall as she entered.

"Yes, that's fine Minerva. Please come in. I think you should hear this." Professor McGonagall looked confused but did as she was asked. Her confused look progressed as Dumbledore told her what Yugi and Ryou had just told him.

"And why... do you feel the need to tell us this... belief of yours?" she asked.

"Because," Ryou said, deciding it was his turn to explain things, "Sometimes these spirits take control. The us you see may not really be us. We're possessed, really, and sometimes it can be dangerous if someone happens to catch these spirits at a bad moment. They can be, uh, temperamental." Again, there was nothing to be said to that.

Yugi sighed. "I guess it would be easier to show you. It won't do anybody any good if you don't believe us."

"It's not that we don't belie-"McGonagall began, but she was cut off we she saw the pyramid around Yugi's neck begin to glow. Yugi grew taller and his hair flared out even more than it usually did. But these things were barely noticed. It was as if something pulled the gazes of those in the room away from the changes every time they were focused on. Had they had no magic, they probably wouldn't have noticed the changes at all.

With the transition complete, Yami opened his eyes. The expressions on Dumbledore's and McGonagall's faces weren't exactly shocked, but definitely intrigued. Even in the magic world, possessions of this nature were rare. Yami however, was almost bored. He looked in Ryou's direction. "Well? Don't pretend you're not there now. You have to come out, too." The change in Yugi's attitude and voice made McGonagall doubt that this was simply the trick of a good actor. Dumbledore's expression was unreadable.

"You don't tell me what I have to do. You have no authority over me." It was obvious to Yami that Yami Bakura was in control, but he was being difficult and keeping Ryou's appearance. Only his tone of voice had changed. Yami Bakura could easily mimic the normal Bakura and it often made it difficult to tell who was really in control. For once, Yami Bakura was not blocking out Ryou, who was pleading internally for the spirit not to make him look crazy.

Yami was very much not in the mood for Yami Bakura to be acting up. He wanted to get this over with. Yami Bakura saw the look in Yami's eyes, considered pressing his luck, but thought better of it. He gave a low laugh and allowed his identity to be revealed. He eyes narrowed menacingly and his hair flared and spiked slightly. His transformation was less obvious than Yami's, but he was a thief; he wasn't supposed to be showy.

"And you two would be?" Dumbledore asked, speaking up for the first time in a while. "It is apparent that you are not the same as you were."

"I'm the spirit of the puzzle," Yami said. "Most call me Dark Yugi, Yami Yugi, or just Yami for short."

"What's with the sudden modesty, Pharaoh? What about your other titles, King of Games?" Yami Bakura mocked. Yami gave him another look but Yami Bakura was unfazed.

"And what about you?" Dumbledore said.

"I am Dark Bakura, Yami Bakura, or just Bakura."

"His other titles would be Grave Robber, Tomb Raider, Soul Stealer..." Yami muttered.

"You can't insult me that way. I'm proud to be those things."

"Would you please tell us about yourselves?" Dumbledore interrupted in a business like manner. "I am unfamiliar with a situation such as yours. I need to know if I should be concerned.

"I will do nothing to obstruct the lessons here," Yami replied. "Yugi wanted to come here in hopes of learning more about magic and maybe a little more about the millennium items."

"Well, I am personally not familiar with them, but perhaps you could find something in our library," Dumbledore said. "We have many books on the old magical cultures."

"Or perhaps some other member of the staff," McGonagall said. She was getting over the strangeness of the situation and was now seeing it as simply an issue of two of her Gryffindors.

"I'm not so sure that we should involve the rest of the staff, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "If this proves not to affect the education or safety of our students, then I see no reason to inform the staff or students. You should know because they are in your house, but I see no sense in unfounded fear. No doubt that part of the reason these student came to our school was for a fresh start. Am I correct?"

"That's true," Yami said.

"May I ask, why do you call each other 'pharaoh' and 'grave robber'."

"That's what we were in the past, before we were sealed in our millennium items," Yami answered. "Anything else?"

"You call yourselves 'dark'. That has a negative meaning here," Dumbledore said.

"Well, we do possess the powers of the dark," Yami replied. "And we are dark in comparison to our other sides. But if you mean evil, no. We're not evil."

"At least not anymore," Yami Bakura commented. Yami gave him a look that plainly said "must you bring that up?" "No sense in denying our past. I used to be quite violent. I enjoyed it. I'm a thief, it's in my nature. I just have more self-control now. Yami over there used to be fond of driving people insane. He killed people, too. Course now he's a goody-goody."

"I don't sense any malice from you now," Dumbledore said. "I feel you are telling me the truth. But is there any reason to your knowledge that you would revert back to your old ways?"

"Only one."

"And that is?"

"If someone threatened our hosts," Yami and Yami Bakura said together.

"I don't allow any harm to come to Yugi," Yami said. "I would have to punish anyone who tried to hurt him."

"My entire existence relies on Ryou. If something happens to him, I'm stuck in that ring again. And I don't want to be stuck in that ring again."

"That, I suppose, is understandable. I am protective over my students in much the same way. But I don't believe you need to worry. Hogwarts is probably one of the safest places in the world."

"That's good."

"But," Dumbledore said, "I would like to know more about the kind of magic you possess."

Yami Bakura smiled. The ring began to glow. Darkness billowed out like smoke until it filled the room, enveloping them all. Yami rolled his eyes.

"Did you really feel that a demonstration was in order?"

"Hey, would you rather explain it?"

Yami sighed. "Fine, carry on." It was difficult to explain the magic of the millennium items to someone who had never seen it.

"Where are we?" McGonagall said in awe as she stared at her surroundings.

"The Shadow Realm," Yami Bakura replied. "A dimension separate from the world you know. Much of our power resides here. But the ability to travel here isn't the only power I have... Each millennium item has a unique power. Besides harboring my soul, my millennium ring also has the power to locate other millennium items. The magic of Yami's puzzle makes him practically undefeatable. But that's not all..."

Yami Bakura reached under his robes and pulled his and Ryou's deck out of his back pocket. He began to shuffle it casually as he spoke. "Back in ancient Egypt, there existed monsters. Real monsters. Only those with the power of millennium items could control them. When we were sealed in our items, the monsters lay dormant. Years later, a popular card game was created from images of the monsters. I can now use these cards to summon those monsters." He pulled a card from the top of his deck. "Ah, a personal favorite. Dark Necrophia!"

The ring and the card glowed and the monster appeared at Yami Bakura's side. "We normally summon these monsters to be used in the games of darkness which are played between owners of millennium items as a means of determining fate. Losers of these games suffer the consequences." He looked at Yami. "Are you going to make me do all the work?"

Yami sighed and pulled out his deck. He pulled a card off the top. "I summon Black Magician." His monster appeared and Yami smiled mischievously. "Black Magician, attack!"

"What the-"

Black Magician attacked and destroyed Dark Necrophia. Yami Bakura fumed. "Now why did you have to and do that?!"

Yami shrugged. "I thought we were demonstrating. Usually when you summon a monster, you lose shortly after."

Yami Bakura sneered. "I would have won that last one if it wasn't for that damn god card."

"I...believe we've seen enough..." Dumbledore said. "Please, let's return."

"As you wish."

The Shadow Realm disappeared and Dumbledore's office reappeared. "Well, is that all you need to know," Yami Bakura said. Yami had ruined his fun so he was in a hurry to get this little interview over with.

"How often," McGonagall began, unsure of how to phrase what she wanted to say, "how often are you going to be the personalities in control?"

"Never during classes," Yami answered. "Only during convenient moments."

Dumbledore sighed thoughtfully. "I...would not be truthful if I said I was not concerned," Dumbledore said. "But I am a strong believer in innocent until proven guilty. I also don't feel that your...other selves should be denied an education. So unless you should prove yourselves untrustworthy, you are welcome at Hogwarts. Both sides of you."

"Thank you," Yami said.

"Is there anything you would like to know?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Yami said. "Is there anyway around the no electronics rule?"

"I'm afraid technology doesn't work here."

"So I've heard. Perhaps I can get permission to go far enough out of range to use my holograph system?" Dumbledore and McGonagall had no clue what a "holograph system" was.

"It is not a good idea," Dumbledore answered. "As I've told your other half, these are dangerous times. It is best to stay close to the castle." Yami didn't like the answer, but he accepted it. For the time being anyway.

"One more thing," Yami Bakura said. "I'm three thousand years older than you are. Any chance I can get special permission to have alcohol?"

"No. I don't think that is a good idea either."

"Well, thanks anyway," Yami said before Yami Bakura had a chance to argue. "We're going to return to our items now."

"About time this was over," Yami Bakura said. "It took less time to introduce myself to Ryou..."

"That was because you introduced yourself by trapping his soul in a card..." Yami murmured.

Yami Bakura paused. "Oh, yeah... Introduced myself to Yugi the same way..."

"And was sent to the graveyard because of it..."

Yami Bakura chose not to respond. Instead, he returned to the ring and Ryou reassumed control. He was relieved to have it over with, but it was still awkward. He didn't want his yami to affect the way people thought of him. At least the whole school wasn't going to know about it. Yami, seeing that he was no longer needed, also returned to his millennium item.

"I'm glad you understand our situation, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," Yugi said when he gained control.

"Thank you," Ryou agreed.

"There is one more thing," Professor Dumbledore said.

"What's that?"

"Your friend, Mr. Ishtal. Am I correct in assuming he has a similar situation?"

"Uh..." Yugi muttered. Malik hadn't wanted anyone to know.

"His magical aura was similar to yours," Dumbledore continued. "Does his magic also originate from a millennium item?"

"Well, yes," Yugi said. "It does."

"And does a spirit also reside in this millennium item?"

"No," Yugi answered truthfully.

"That is all I needed to know. Minerva, would you show them to the Gryffindor common room?"

"Of course, Professor. Please wait for me at the bottom of the stairs, boys. I will be with you in a minute."

Yugi and Ryou did as they were told, closing the door behind them. Professor McGonagall looked at the headmaster. "Those boys are going to have a rough time this year. What with having to catch up and dividing their time between two personalities."

"I know."

"You didn't ask what unique power the other boy has. Perhaps Severus needs to know."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I feel that if he was a threat, the other two would have told me."

"I wish I was as trusting as you Albus."

"Goodnight, Minerva."

She nodded. "Why can't we ever have a normal school year?" she remarked as she exited. Dumbledore smiled.