With breakfast almost complete, the schedules were handed out. Each of the students examined their classes.

"What do you have today, Malik?" Ryou asked.

"Herbology... Care of Magical Creatures... And Ancient Ruins."

"Care of Magical Creatures second? I think you're with me and Yugi."

"Yeah, the Slytherins are always with us for that class," Harry sighed.

"Potions, too," Ron muttered as he examined the rest of his schedule. "Double potions with those lousy Slytherins tomorrow. That bites." Then Ron remembered himself. "No offense, of course," he said glancing at Malik.

"None taken. What other classes do you guys have, Bakura?"

Ryou checked his schedule again. "History of Magic first. Defense against the Dark Arts later."

"Yep," Yugi agreed. "Sounds interesting."

"Defense against the Dark Arts isn't usually bad," Harry said. "It depends on the teacher. We've had a new one every year. No one can seem to hold onto the job. Don't know who it is this year."

"But History of Magic is always boring," Ron added.

"How can goblin wars and magical discoveries be boring?" Ryou inquired.

"I don't know, but they manage it somehow," Ron said. "What's your other elective?"

"Divination," Yugi and Ryou answered simultaneously.

"Oh..." Harry, Ron, and Hermione moaned.

"What's wrong with it?" Ryou asked.

"Oh, the teacher doesn't know what she's doing. Makes it up as she goes. It's all bull," Harry said.

"Plus every year she figures a new way to predict Harry's death," Ron added. "Better watch it this year, Harry. She might slip a few extra Death cards into your Tarot deck."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Harry nodded.

"The Death card doesn't actually mean death usually, you know," Ryou said. He got a few strange looks. "I kinda know about that sorta thing. Death actually means a drastic change."

"Oh, we got her on a technicality this year, Harry," Ron beamed. "Guess she'll have to stick to using tea leaves and crystal balls to foresee your inevitable doom."

Harry shrugged. "I've been dying for two years now. Guess she thinks she'll have to get it right eventually. Course that might be sixty years from now."

"Well, we have double Potions and double Divination on the same day. If that doesn't kill us, what can?"

"Why is it you she decided is going to die?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah," Malik added. "Why not another person? Or better yet, that Malfoy guy?"

"For one, Malfoy isn't in Divination, so she can't pick on him," Hermione answered. "For another, I'm sure she's just looking for publicity. She'd be renowned as a true seer if Harry Potter died and she predicted it."

"What's the big deal about him?" Malik asked.

"You don't know?" Hermione seemed shocked. "You have been sheltered from the magical world."

"This one, anyway," Malik muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Continue."

"Did any of you read about the dark times about fifteen years ago? And a very dark wizard, known most commonly as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You- Know-Who?" Hermione waited for a reaction, but got only blank and confused expressions. She elbowed Ron and quietly whispered, "Told you so. Either they don't even know what I'm talking about, or they should be actors, not wizards. Dark wizards, indeed!"

"You never know," Ron whispered back defensively.

"Well anyway," Hermione said, getting back on track, "Harry, would you prefer to explain it? It is your story."

"I guess so," Harry mumbled. "When I was a baby, the dark wizard Voldemort (most don't like hearing his name) came to my parents' home and used magic to kill them. He tried to kill me, and it backfired on him. He disappeared for a while and everyone thought it was the end of the dark times. So I was made famous by something I had no control over. And Voldemort has been popping up lately, so I didn't defeat him, but I still get all the attention."

"That was...blunt, Harry," Hermione commented.

"Short and to the point," he answered. "They'll hear all about it in History of Magic, no doubt."

"Well," Yugi started, sensing that this was an awkward conversation for Harry's group, "why doesn't that Divination teacher predict something good? Why doesn't she predict this Voldemort guy's downfall or Harry finishing him off or something?"

"Had a lot of close calls," Harry said. "Guess she's playing the odds. Figures I'll run out of luck eventually." And with that, the subject was dropped.

Malik had to return to his own table to get some breakfast for himself. He didn't have to be happy about it, though. His fellow Slytherins (mostly first years) were sure to give him plenty room and he was left to eat his grapefruit in peace.

A bell rang, signaling the official start of the school day. Malik grabbed his book bag and followed the other Slytherins outside to the greenhouses. Ryou and Yugi grabbed their bags and headed towards History of Magic with Harry and company. Upon reaching the classroom, Yugi and Ryou chose seats next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were slightly startled when the teacher appeared through the board. They hadn't realized that the professor for this class was a ghost. But they quickly recovered.

Harry and company had not been kidding when they said History of Magic was going to be a bore. Fifteen minutes into the class, Yugi could barely keep his eyes open. It was the same with just about every other person in the class, including Hermione. There was one exception. Ryou was hanging onto every word like he'd never heard anything more interesting then the Hag Rights Act of 1764. He listened intently, scratching down notes every few minutes. By the end of class, he was the only one who hadn't fallen asleep at least once.

Malik wasn't any better off in Herbology. Malfoy volunteered to be his partner, so he knew something was up, but Professor Sprout had them already down as partners before Malik could protest. Today, they were pruning Snapdragons. Sprout had instructed Malfoy to be sure to help Malik, as he was new, while she went to get more potting soil. Malfoy conveniently forgot to mention that Snapdragons don't like being pruned and show their dislike with a nasty bite. Plus, he had "forgotten" to remind Malik to wear his dragon hide gloves. The only thing that saved Malik from potentially losing a finger was a quick movement that left the Snapdragon biting the armband around his wrist rather than his hand. He was unharmed but his robes were slightly torn where the Snapdragon had caught them. Malik was not happy. He then "forgot" to tell Malfoy that he had placed the ferocious plant on the boy's chair when Malfoy wasn't looking. Malfoy was not happy.

The Gryffindors were glad to be able to go outside to stretch out a bit after sitting through History class. It was time for Care of Magical Creatures, so they all headed out to Hagrid's hut. Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder what disaster Hagrid had planned for this year.

Several medium-sized crates had been placed right outside of Hagrid's hut. The giant beamed as he placed the last of them down. "Mornin' all!" he called cheerfully. "Got great plans for today's class!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Maybe that death prediction WILL finally come true, knowing Hagrid's idea of 'great'..."

The Slytherins approached from the greenhouses, Malik and Malfoy surprising in one piece though their robes were quite torn. Ryou started to ask Malik about what happened, but the look he got told him that it may not be a good idea.

"Gather 'round!" Hagrid called. The students obliged. "Had to get special permission from the headmaster for these. I'll expect you to be very gentle with these, as they're not fully grown. Yer in fer a real treat!" Hagrid got down to his knees and pried open the lid of a crate. He scuffled a bit with what was inside before finally revealing to them the contents.

There were a few gasps as the students took in the creature. It was green and about the size of a cat. A long tail, reptile scales, spikes running up the spine, a serpent-like head which Hagrid had in his firm grip as he cradled the beast like a baby. One could almost swear it was a...

"It's a dragon!" Dean Thomas exclaimed.

"Right you are!" Hagrid cheered, unable to conceal his excitement. He had always been partial to dragons. "Take five points for Gryffindor. This is an Irish Pygmy, the leprechaun's dragon. Very rare, they are. The world's smallest dragon. These are all from the same batch of eggs and they're all only 'bout two months old. Haven't even shed their baby teeth yet!"

"What's the point of a small dragon?" Malfoy said with his usual attitude. "It's just a little bitty thing, what's the good of it?" Hagrid looked hurt. He couldn't understand how anyone could find such a creature useless.

"If you had bothered to do any research," Hermione said, coming to Hagrid's defense, "you'd know that smaller dragons have their purpose, too. A dragon's size affects the potency of the potion ingredients you get from it. Smaller dragons are used for weaker potions. Like a sleeping draft. If you use powdered scales from a large dragon for it, whatever you use it on will be asleep for days. If you use scales from a small dragon, it works for just a few hours."

"Exactly right!" Hagrid said, "'Nother five for Gryffindor! Now, since these little guys are so young, we're going to be making a project out of raising them and harvesting potion ingredients from them this year."

A few Slytherins groaned, but the majority were excited. Ryou's eyes were wide with interest. Yugi was a bit more hesitant, but he was still looking forward to it.

"Now, we don't have that many dragons, so you'll have to get into groups of two, three maybe."

Like lightning, Malik grabbed Ryou by the shoulder and pulled him close. "Got our group!" He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. There was no way he was going to be stuck with Malfoy and a dragon. Malfoy seemed to be thinking along the same lines and made no attempt to join them. Ryou gave Malik a sideways glance and sighed. He HAD wanted to be grouped with someone who knew what they were doing. This was just the blind leading the blind.

"That's good ta see," Hagrid said, "houses intermixin'" Malik nodded in agreement. Ryou just rolled his eyes.

They rest of the groups formed. Malfoy went with Crabbe and Goyle. Harry joined Ron. Hermione volunteered to go with Yugi. Hagrid handed each of them a crate.

"Now," Hagrid began, "Firs' thing we're going ta do is get associated with 'em. Might want ta muzzle 'em first. They have a bit of a bite."

"Uh, Hagrid?" Harry asked. "Is there anything we should know about these things? Like, are they poisonous? Do they breathe fire, or something?"

"Not poisonous. Too young to breathe fire. Don't do that 'till about five months. The tail can make a nasty whip, but it's not really anything to worry about until the spikes start ta grow on 'em. An' their legs are to short for 'em to jump very high."

"How big are these things going to get, Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

"'Bout the size of a dog or large cat. They've done most of their growin' already. Just need ta finish maturin'. In a week or so, they'll shed their first skin. Tha's really good for a potion for mild pain relief, like headaches and such. Madame Pomfrey's goin' ta love it! Now get started!"

Malik stared down at his group's crate. "Bakura, how do you associate with a dragon?"

"How should I know? This is the first dragon I come across that isn't a duel monster."

"I suppose it'll be happy so long as it's fed, but I certainly don't want to be the one to feed it. I already almost lost a finger once today."

"Uh, Hagrid?" Ryou asked, "Are we supposed to feed it?"

"Naw, the seventh year's fed 'em this morning. S'how I know they need to be muzzled. They're a bit snippy."

"Oh, great," Ron mumbled. "Pass the muzzles, Hagrid..."

One by one, the students opened their crates. Hagrid had made handling the miniature dragons look a lot easier than it was. The Irish Pygmies were very cranky after being in those crates and they made these feelings known. Luckily, the crates were just tall enough to prevent them from jumping out. Course that left a problem.

"Bakura, reach in there and put the muzzle on it."

"Are you crazy? You put the muzzle on it!"

"Quit being a coward and put the muzzle on it!"

"I'm blocking it with the lid. You reach around and just slip the muzzle on."

"No way!"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Yugi watched Malik argue with Ryou with amusement on their faces. "They make it a lot harder than it has to be," Harry observed.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Okay, Harry, put the muzzle on ours."

"What?! Uh-un. You do it!"

"Oh, no, I'm not sticking my hand in there! You do it."

Hermione and Yugi sighed heavily. "If you distract it, I'll put the muzzle on," Yugi offered.

"Agreed."

Because they were the only ones who didn't argue, Yugi and Hermione were the first to muzzle their dragon. But after that, there were somewhat stumped as to what to do with it.

"What now, Hagrid?"

"There's a box 'o leashes over there. Fix one 'round the middle and led them on the grass a bit. Shouldn't be a problem once the muzzle's on. Remember, the dragons'll treat you like you treat them. They're bad 'bout holdin' a grudge, so be gentle."

"Who's afraid of this puny little thing's grudge?" Malfoy mumbled, kicking the crate of their still un-muzzled dragon once Hagrid wasn't looking. The Irish Pygmy hissed in protest.

Because Ryou had been stuck muzzling the beast, Malik had to hold the leash. Once out of the box, the dragon had no interest in attacking and seemed to rather enjoy its little walk. It sniffed around and moved surprisingly fast on its short legs. Malik had to practically run to keep up with it.

Soon the whole class was walking their dragons and it was quite enjoyable. Occasionally, a dragon would decide it wanted to fight with its littermate or a leash would slip out of someone hand, but overall, the class went well up until the end.

"'S'almost time fer lunch, so start packin' up the dragons!" Hagrid called.

Malfoy's group, the last to get their dragon out, was the first to put it back. The creature seemed to understand that it was getting a raw deal and snapped at Malfoy's hand as the muzzle was removed.

"Ah! Stupid beast," Malfoy muttered and kicked the crate again. The dragon squealed as it was tossed against the wall of its crate.

"You know, a little tenderness goes a long way," Hermione advised.

"No one asked you, mudblood."

"Hey," Yugi defended. "She was just trying to help."

"S'okay, Yugi," Malik said. "There's no point in talking to Malfoy. He doesn't know good advice when he hears it." Malfoy answered that by stomping at Malik's dragon, which was stilled leashed at Malik's feet. The creature was startled and ran, but it had nowhere to run except around Malik, who had no time to react. The leash wound round his legs, he lost his balance and fell, luckily avoiding landing on the dragon. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and the rest of his followers among the Slytherins laughed. Hagrid ran over to straighten things out. But with them focused on Malik, no one noticed Ryou, who was standing beside Malfoy's crate, his eyes narrowed and a smirk evident on his face. Yugi alone saw this, but it was too late to do anything. Yami Bakura was in control.

Yami Bakura placed his foot on Malfoy's crate and slowly tipped it over. The miniature dragon streaked out, un-muzzled and un-leashed, right at Malfoy and goons. It hissed its attack. Malfoy saw the dragon racing toward him and his eyes went wide. He turned and ran, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. The Gryffindors laughed hysterically to see Malfoy and his cronies being chased around by the cat-sized dragon.

"No! Don't run!" Hagrid yelled. "It'll just chase you!"

"And if I stick around it'll just bite me!" Malfoy called back angrily.

"No, no! Don't run towards the woods! Run this way! I'll catch it!"

They did as they were told. They ran past Hagrid, and the giant nimbly grabbed the pygmy and tried to calm it.

"I tol' yeh not to make it mad," Hagrid scolded. "Yeh got it all worked up!"

"Well, excuse me if the vicious dragon is upset!" Malfoy panted. He turned angrily to see what had allowed the dragon's escape. Yami Bakura still had his foot resting on the crate, as if daring Malfoy to accuse him. Malfoy wasn't intimidated and marched right over while Hagrid struggled to relax his dragon. "You!" he said, pointing a finger at Yami Bakura. "You did this!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You knocked the crate over!"

"No, I don't believe so. Malik, do you know anything about a crate being knocked over?"

Malik smirked, holding the untangled leash and shaking his head. "Nope. Don't know anything about it."

"I know you did it!" Malfoy said, shaking with rage.

"Prove it." Yami Bakura said simply.

Malfoy growled in anger. "You two will pay for this humiliation. I swear to it!"

"Bring it on anytime, Malfoy," Malik said. "Anytime..."