Alone at his desk sat the Hogwarts headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. The start of the term hustle and bustle was finally over and things had not been going as smoothly as he would have hoped, but he couldn't complain. Things could be far worse. Now most of his work was answering mail. This wouldn't seem like such a huge task, but the headmaster had many correspondents. His pensive was nearby to store away any excess thoughts for later.

Dumbledore was working rather late this night. He had just begun on a letter from Cornelius Fudge when there was a knock at his door. The knock startled awake Fawkes the phoenix who chirped in protest, ruffling his feathers. Professor Dumbledore, on the other hand, had been expecting this late night call. "Enter," he said.

The door opened and Professor Snape entered, bowing his head slightly towards the headmaster. "I apologize for the lateness, Albus."

"I quite understand," Dumbledore answered. "Did you come across any trouble?"

"No," Snape answered, closing the door and taking a seat at Dumbledore's desk. "I found a new recruit among the Deatheaters at The Three Broomsticks with some information. He didn't know that I was among those on the Dark Lord's traitor list. I needed only flash the dark mark and he treated me like a brother."

Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "You must practice caution that your true identity is not revealed."

"I am careful," Snape replied. "I use a fake name, of course. This amateur Deatheater will be useful for information. His family has been supporters of the Dark Lord for years but managed to escape questioning when Voldemort fell, and he is quickly moving up in ranks. He was quite happy to find a fellow follower in the area as so many others have left."

Dumbledore put his quill down and gave Snape his full attention. "The Deatheaters are moving?"

"Yes," Snape answered. "To Egypt. Exactly why, I am not yet sure, but it seems the Dark Lord is looking for something and has offered an impressive reward in exchange for it. Many Deatheaters, especially those who denied him in the past, are searching in hopes to clear their names with Voldemort and prove loyal."

Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought. "And no clues as to what he's looking for?"

"The fool at the tavern only knew that it was something from legend," replied Snape with a shake of his head and a sigh. "But perhaps I can get more out of him in time. Now Dumbledore, if you excuse me, it's late and I have classes tomorrow. Let's see if my students can go a week without blowing something up."

"Thank you Severus," Dumbledore said. "Your help is most appreciated."

Snape nodded his parting and left Dumbledore to return to his work. The headmaster stared down at the letter from Fudge. The thoughtful look returned to his face and he once more stroked his beard as he read Fudges inquiries regarding the new transfer students.

"Hmmm... Egypt," Dumbledore murmured. "I wonder..."

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

Yugi, Malik, and Ryou were quickly growing more and more accustomed to their new surroundings and were learning how to get by. Ryou didn't want to do anymore Tarot readings for a while, and Harry and Ron advised him that if he told Professor Trelawney that it was in the stars that he was not to do anymore readings, she wouldn't make him. It worked like a charm. She didn't want to jeopardize the abilities of her new best student. Ryou was allowed to research other means of divination instead. He decided to try the same trick on Lavender and Parvati and they bought it despite Ryou's truly horrible lies. Even though all this saved him some trouble, he still felt a little guilty.

Yugi was advancing much faster in Charms and Transfiguration than Ryou was. He could master most spells in a few hours' time and even Hermione was impressed. He began studying spells for that wizard's duel stuff Ron had mentioned. It looked a bit dangerous to him, but he thought that disarming charms and such may come in handy.

Malik was yet to find a subject that he really excelled at. He might have done well in Ancient Ruins if he could manage to stay awake. And he absolutely hated wand work. He felt as if he would end up breaking the fool thing. He much preferred his millennium rod. The subject he was actually doing best at was potions. And, as he always partnered with Ryou, he ensured Ryou's passing, too. If Ryou had teamed up with a fellow Gryffindor, Snape would have certainly failed him. Snape still somehow managed to give Ryou a lower grade than Malik.

In Care of Magical Creatures, the Irish Pygmies kept everyone very busy. The little dragons were forming a bond with their caregiver's based on their treatment. For Yugi and Hermione, this meant a muzzle was no longer needed. For Malfoy, this meant that a muzzle, a set of gloves, and a trip to the hospital wing were often needed. Ryou and Malik and Ron and Harry's dragons were becoming tamer, but were still quite hyper, so the muzzles were still used as a precaution. The class was often spent either caring for the dragons or harvesting potion ingredients from them. The Pygmies went through the disturbing act of shedding their skin and losing their first teeth and it was the students' job to collect them. Yugi, Ryou, and Malik were astounded to find out from Harry that this was actually Hagrid's least disgusting project.

Dean's teachings were finally starting to show for Ryou. He was hardly professional league material, but he could hold his own when it came to catching and throwing, but only for short distances. He and Dean (who would be playing Keeper) spent every other afternoon practicing on the old school brooms. Sometimes Yugi, Malik, Hermione, and Ron would come to watch. Harry was usually there already, practicing himself. Fred and George tested Ryou out against the Bludgers and were once more impressed. Ryou was able to dodge everything they threw at him and still pass to fellow Chaser Josie for the score. The twins pleaded with Ryou to finally make a commitment to the team so that they could order him a broom. After much begging from Fred and George and self-debate on Ryou's part (in more than one way), he finally agreed. He only hoped he wasn't getting in over his head.

They were now two-and-a-half weeks into the term. The delivery owls arrived as they normally did as the Gryffindors and their adopted Slytherin sat down to breakfast. Only this time, a school barn owl had a delivery for Malik, and Nightshade arrived with the responses from Domino City for Yugi.

"About time Isis replies," Malik complained as he removed the letter from the barn owl's leg and began to read. Isis had first complimented Malik on his use of English. Little did she know just how easy it had been. Languages had always been Isis's talent. She needed it for when she traveled for the museum. She wrote how she was glad Malik had made it to school alright and said Rishid sent his love. She also warned Malik to behave himself, which made him laugh. 'Little late, sis,' Malik thought. But what he read next was what he found most interesting.

"Ha!" Malik said, "As soon as I'm gone, she latches on to the first man that comes along. Just as soon as I'm not there to scare him away."

"Isis found a boyfriend?" Yugi asked.

"It was just a date at the time she sent this letter, but it's probably moved forward since then, knowing Isis," Malik answered.

"Who is it?' Yugi inquired.

"She didn't give a name. Like you or me would recognize it anyway. It's somebody who made a delivery to the museum," replied Malik. "He brought her a bunch of artifacts from a dig site and asked her to dinner. She describes him as, and I quote, 'a dashing redhead with a darling accent.' Sis always was a sucker for accents. Oh, well, it could be worse. At least it's not Kaiba."

"I can't read a word of my letter from Grampa," Yugi said, frowning down at the paper in his hand. "I asked Anzu to answer in English in my last letter, but Grampa can't. Could you translate it for me, Bakura?"

"You want me to rewrite it or just read it to you?" Ryou asked as he took the letter.

"Just read it, please," Yugi replied.

"Alright." Ryou skimmed over the letter first to check for anything that would have to be left out until they weren't around so many people. Harry, Ron, and Hermione busied themselves with their own conversation so as not to seem nosy. He didn't see anything, so he began reading, blushing a bit as he read the first sentences

"Dear Yugi,

Where do you get off sending that bird to me with no warning?! I nearly had a heart attack when that thing started flying at me. If I hadn't seen the paper around its leg, I don't know what I would have done." Yugi laughed in an embarrassed way. Ryou continued. "Tell, Bakura that I delivered his letter and Honda will be the one writing him back." Ryou smiled and made a mental note to thank the old man.

"The shop's doing fine. Got in a new shipment the other day and business is doing great, though it is a little more hectic around here without you. Your friends still like to stop by a lot and their company is always welcome. I even gave Jounouchi a part-time job (with permission from school, of course) as your replacement, though between you and me, he doesn't quite measure up to you." Ryou had to stop reading at this point to wait for Malik to stop laughing. The blonde thought the "measure up" comment was quite funny.

"Best of luck to you. Make me proud.

Love, Grampa

P.S. Do you think you could send me some of those wizard games? I think they would sell really well."

"Nice try, Grampa," Yugi said as he took the letter back. "Thanks Bakura. Yugi moved on to Anzu's letter, which he was able to understand on his own, and read silently.

Dear Yugi,

Hope this letter finds you well. The gang really misses you, but we know that this new boarding school of yours is a wonderful opportunity and we want you to do your best. But it's boring around here with both you and Bakura gone. Did he get a chance to tell you that he was leaving as well before you left?

School is the same as it always is for us. We're all in the same class again, and Kaiba's there as well. He misses you, too, though he expresses it a different way. He keeps saying that you left so that you wouldn't have to accept his challenge again. It gets Jounouchi mad and he always challenges Kaiba to defend your honor, but he doesn't do a very good job of it. He's getting better at it, though. That job your Grampa gave him (as I'm sure he's already told you about) is really helping him to get some new cards for his deck.

Honda's still fighting with Otogi for Shizuka's affection, much to Jounouchi's dismay. She's back with her mom, but they write letters to her a lot. Almost every time there's a fight between the boys, though, it's usually about her.

How is the other you getting along? Great, I hope. I hope he's found someone to duel against, otherwise I bet he's having a really tough time. I know how the two of you like your games. Tell him not to get you into any trouble. I doubt magic will sit well with your teachers.

I should be able to do my traveling sometime in the near future, too. My English is getting really good, as I hope you can see (I thought it was rather odd for you to ask me to answer in English, but I suppose that's so you can get better at it, right?). My savings are growing, and my dream of studying dance shouldn't be too far away.

Write back soon and tell us how you're doing. Work really hard, okay?

Love, Anzu

Yugi smiled and sighed as he finished the letter. It reminded him about how much he really missed the others. This was the longest he'd been away from them since they all became friends, but he knew in his heart that simply being separated would not affect their friendship. He could only hope that the same could be said for all these new secrets he would have to keep. So many secrets... He had to keep the wizard world secret from his Domino City friends, and he had to keep his alter ego and millennium item powers secret from his new Hogwarts friends. At least he had Ryou and Malik to talk to without having to be careful. He'd probably end up going insane were it not for them, even if they often caused trouble, purposely or accidentally.

Yugi pulled his bookbag into his lap and carefully tucked the letter away. He would have to be careful about where he left things like that. It would be difficult to explain should anyone else ever find it.

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

About a week after Ryou agreed to join the Quidditch team, he received a parcel carried by two large grey owls. It was undoubtedly his broom and this did not go unnoticed.

"The Gryffindors must be desperate," Malfoy muttered. "They recruited that trash for the team. But with the Weaslys' as captains, I expected stupid moves like this. We're going to slaughter them at the first game. Potter won't be able to save them this time."

The twins excitedly rushed over to Ryou when they saw the package arrive. "We got you a broom suited to your strong points, Whitey," George said. "Go ahead, open it!"

Ryou did as he was told and tore into the brown packaging paper to reveal his smooth, wooden-handled, soft-strawed broomstick. A golden sun with rays seemingly emanating from it was painted on the handle.

"It's a Solar Flare," Fred said proudly. "It's not as fast as the Nimbuses or the Firebolts, but it's steadier. And with your less than perfect throwing and catching abilities, steadiness is what you'll need."

"And it's great for defensive maneuvers, which are your strong suit," George added.

"She's a beauty," Harry agreed. "Much better than that old broom of George's that you've been using. You should be pretty good with that." Ryou had to admit, he was anxious to try it out.

"We'll try her out this afternoon," said George. "A little practice, and we should flatten those Slytherins at the game."

Ryou stared agape at George. "Slytherin is our first match?"

"Always is," George replied.

Ryou felt that familiar feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

Malik put a finger to his chin in thought. "Do you think I would lose points with Snape if I cheered for your team...?"

"Most definitely," Harry answered.

"Oh," Malik said. "I shall have to be more subtle about it then."

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

They all had been managing to stay out of trouble for the most part. Malik, however, had a harder time of it when he wasn't in the company of the Gryffindors. His private war with Malfoy was progressing, and it probably wouldn't be long before somebody ended up getting hurt. But both parties were stubborn and used to getting their way. And neither liked losing.

They had been back and forth at each other since the incident with Ryou and the broom, which Malik started by mixing up Malfoy's potion ingredients. Malik didn't want Malfoy's attention on Ryou. He'd seen that the Ring Spirit had been in a difficult mood, and therefore was unpredictable. Normally, Malik would find this entertaining, but it would be the end of the road for all of them if Yami Bakura finally decided he'd had enough and started taking care of business. Just the opposite was possible as well. Yami Bakura could decide to do nothing, which would leave Ryou helpless. Nether would be good in Malik's opinion. It was best to keep Malfoy's attention on himself until Yami Bakura was a tad more reliable.

Malfoy retaliated, of course. His first method was to get Malik out of Snape's favor. He pointed out to the professor that Malik had not been sitting with his fellow Slytherins at mealtimes and had been avoiding them at off periods. He suggested that maybe Malik was not loyal to the Slytherin house. Perhaps he was revealing information such as passwords to the Gryffindors. But this plan backfired on Malfoy. Snape scolded him for making such accusations about a housemate. He didn't want to hear anymore of it. There was no rule that said that students were not free to associate with other houses if they so desired.

But Snape was one to say one thing and do another. He walked over to the Gryffindor table at the very next mealtime, sneering at Harry's group, and especially at Ryou, and spoke to Malik about why he chose to sit at the Gryffindor table rather than with the Slytherins. He didn't seem to care that he was insinuating that a Slytherin shouldn't sit with Gryffindors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly busied themselves so that it would not appear that Malik was with them. No matter how fond of Malik Snape seemed to be, he would not tolerate him if he was friends with Potter and crew, and they knew this.

Malik knew exactly how to respond to retain Snape's favor. His first response was the hasty question, "There isn't a rule against it, is there?" Ryou and Yugi had to keep themselves from rolling their eyes at this. Of all the people to say such a thing... But Malik knew what he was doing. A teacher likes Snape likes those who respect the rules. Snape had to respond that no, there was not rule against it, but he still wanted to know why.

Malik clapped Ryou on the back and gave Snape a knowing look. "I want to make sure that he stays out of trouble. In order to make a proper impression upon him, I must be with him as much as possible."

"'HE' has a name," Ryou whispered under his breath to Malik, annoyed at once more being made out as some kind of mischief-making monster.

Snape wasn't quite sure about Malik's answer. It was odd for a person of this age to have such dedication towards the betterment of another student unless there was something in it for him. He suspected that there was more going on than what he was seeing, but he had no evidence. He gave Malik a silent nod and returned to the teacher's table.

Ryou sighed heavily. "You are not helping my reputation any," he muttered. "But that teacher is going to catch on soon enough. Why don't you tell the truth: that you don't get along with the other Slytherins?"

Malik shook his head slowly, his hair and earrings swaying with the motion of his head. "You just don't know how to play the game, Bakura. The involvement of authority figures just causes more trouble. If I say I don't get along with the Slytherins or even Malfoy specifically, Snape will wonder why. Then Malfoy will say something I did, I'll say something he did, and eventually the whole thing will be traced back to you."

"Me! How can it be traced back to me!" Ryou exclaimed. "Surely he can't say that the dragon incident was the cause of this. You two were fighting since before we even got to school!"

"Well, there is the dragon, but also..." Malik leaned over and whispered, "It was YOU who told me to rob Malfoy in the first place. Remember, Diagon Alley?"

"HE started all this mess!" Ryou said aghast before catching himself. "You can't blame me for that!" Ryou whispered back. "I didn't know what was going on."

"Does it matter?" Malik said with a shrug, sitting up straight once more.

"But the only people who know that's how it went are me and..." Then he suddenly realized. "You wouldn't dare..."

Malik shrugged again, smiling mischievously. "I'm not saying that I would turn you in, I'm just saying that things might be said, you never know."

"You darn well better know!" Ryou said, crossing his arms. "Of all people, you should be good at keeping secrets." He knew Malik was just trying to get a reaction out of him, but he didn't care. For Malik to even suggest such a thing that was so far out of his control was Ryou's fault took nerve. Malik merely flashed the angry Ryou a toothy grin and left it at that. Though Malik wouldn't really do anything that would really hurt Ryou (and in fact he strived for the opposite), he did so love to aggravate his companion every once in a while. Yugi was never as much fun to pick on because he always just shrugged it off, but Malik could always get a reaction out of Ryou.

Harry couldn't help but catch the tail end of that conversation and it started to get him thinking again. 'Don't,' He warned himself. 'Sirius said to let it go. He knows and Dumbledore knows and neither thinks I should. That should be good enough for me.'

But alas, that was never enough...not for Harry, at least...

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

Finally, some time lapses! Yea! *happy dance*

Credit for Isis's pairing goes to The Mad Fangirl. And I didn't forget you, Ayod Botla. Your suggestion will be in the next chapter. Thanks for the ideas, ya'll! Appreciate your patience in waiting for me to get to them!