For those who are not familiar with the character of Sirius, here's some info (that is accurate as far as we know) to help you understand. He's human, but has the ability to transform into a large dog just like McGonagall can transform into a cat. He's Harry's Godfather who was framed for murder and spent about eleven years in the wizard prison Azkaban because of it. He was also partially blamed for the deaths of Harry's parents; people believed he led Voldemort to them. The only people who know the truth of his innocence are Harry, Ron, Hermione, a few teachers, and Dumbledore. Snape has held a serious grudge against Sirius since their school days; Sirius was in Harry's father's group of friends and Snape hated them all. Sirius is still wanted for murder, and if found, he will likely be killed.

I hope this chapter isn't too wishy-washy. My writing tends to reflect the mood I'm in, and I happened to be in a fluffy mood while writing the beginning of this. Perhaps I made Yami Bakura too "human" but I think it fits the way I've characterized him in this story.

And this chapter was a little late, so I tossed in an extra 1000 words. Enjoy, because my finals are approaching (Trig. is EVIL!!!) and I don't know how regularly I'll be able to update until June.

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

The weather was starting to show its first real signs of autumn. The once warm and pleasant days were quickly becoming cool and windy. Storm clouds blew in from the west, bringing with them enough force to ensure that the students at Hogwarts were going to have to stay inside for a while, and on a weekend at that.

Being stuck inside had a rather negative effect on Malik. He hated being cooped up with a passion and it made him anxious, especially when he was alone.

Yugi was studying in the library trying to catch up on some research for McGonagall's class. Malik had lost Ryou somewhere. The Weasly twins had likely frisked him away somewhere to discuss their latest plan for that sport of theirs. Either that, or the white-haired teen was hiding in his dorm where he was safe from both his new fans and getting into any new disputes with Malfoy. Either way, this left Malik by himself. He was not about to go to library himself, even though he knew he should as he had homework of his own. He chose instead to wander about the halls of Hogwarts castle and wait for something to catch his attention.

The halls were mostly empty except for those close to high traffic areas like the Great Hall, the library, and the dorms. This was fine with Malik. He didn't like it when there were too many people around, especially since he'd caught the vast majority of the student population staring at him at one point or another. Sure, Yugi and Ryou were stared at, too, but the gazes Malik got seemed to be less curious and more suspicious, like everyone expected trouble from him. But he figured this was probably Malfoy's fault in one way or another. Perhaps the students were just impressed that Malik wasn't intimidated by Malfoy. Didn't really matter to Malik. 'The other students can think what they want,' he told himself. That's what he told himself now, but he really didn't like it that people were always so suspicious of him.

Malik's footsteps echoed against the walls of the empty hallway. The torches were lit to cast some light on this dark and cloudy day. He heard the steady drip of water sneaking in from a crack and the howl of the wind coming from outside. He casually walked to a nearby window and peeked outside. Droplets pelted against the window and he could feel the coldness of the wind and water when he placed his hand against the glass. The weather was a far cry from what he was used to in Egypt.

He saw that he must be higher up than he realized; the ground seemed so far below him. Just how high did this castle go? Malik turned from the window and continued on his path. He soon happened on a flight of spiral stairs that seemed to lead to yet another upper story. Having nowhere better to go, he began to climb. The stairs seemed to go on forever and the narrow staircase was dark and uncomfortable. The thought came to Malik that perhaps he was venturing to an abandoned section of the castle and he was about to turn back, but he realized that the sound of the outside storm was much clearer here. Much closer. Did these stairs lead to the roof? Only one way to find out.

Malik continued up, eventually coming to a large wooden door. This had to lead out. He could feel the wind ruffling the bottom of his robes from where it snuck in under the door. Some fresh air did sound nice. Malik grabbed the handle and, after a bit of struggling, managed to open the door. He was met with a welcome blast of cool, moist air as he stepped out. This area was shielded from the brunt of the storm, the roof being outstretched to create a protected area. Then there was an open space, completely exposed to the elements. This must be where the students went when they needed to stargaze. It was rather nice in Malik's opinion. Much better than being stuck inside the castle. It wasn't long before Malik realized that he wasn't the only one who thought so. He wasn't alone. A figure leaned casually against the wall, staring out at the storm, white hair being teased by the wind.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Malik said upon recognizing the figure. "No one would look for you this far out of the way."

"And yet here you are," came the low reply, hinting at annoyance. Not how Ryou would answer.

"Oh, it's you," Malik said, realizing his mistake. This was Yami Bakura he was speaking to. The Ring Spirit barely acknowledged Malik's presence, not even bothering to turn to look at him as the Egyptian came closer and stood beside him. "What are you doing up here? Just thinking?" Malik asked.

"I don't need to explain myself to you," Yami Bakura snapped turning his head for a moment only to glare at Malik before turning back to face the storm.

Malik narrowed his eyes. "Forgive me for asking," he replied sarcastically, choosing a spot on the wall beside Yami Bakura to lean against. He was silent for a moment, then, "How long are you going to act like this?"

"Act like what?" Yami Bakura said as if he didn't care to hear the answer.

"Like the world's against you and you hate everyone for it," Malik said simply. "This indifferent attitude of yours is getting on my nerves."

"I don't care if my attitude annoys you, Malik," the spirit replied. "You cannot comprehend what's been going through my mind, so it would be pointless to share it with you. I keep my problems to myself."

"And they never get solved that way," Malik said. "You may consider yourself to be this high and mighty immortal, but you were born human just like the rest of us, and the sooner you admit it, the better off you'll be."

"Shut up, Malik," Yami Bakura said harshly.

"Fine," Malik said, angrily turning to leave. "So much for having each other's back..."

Yami Bakura bit his lip. If he wasn't careful, he was going to make things worse. "Wait," he said.

"Admitting you're more human than you act?" Malik asked.

Yami Bakura scoffed. "Yeah, you wait for that." Malik sighed, somewhat relieved. That was a typical Yami Bakura answer. Maybe they were getting somewhere now. Yami Bakura pulled something from his pocket and squatted down, resting his back against the wall and his arms on his knees. Malik sat down beside him, giving Yami Bakura a curious look as he saw the object in his hands. A pocketknife.

"I thought Bakura tossed all your sharp objects," Malik said.

"Ryou doesn't stop me from having something I want." Malik raised an eyebrow, knowing that statement wasn't exactly true, but not saying anything. He had a hunch that Ryou wasn't aware at the moment and knew nothing about the knife. Yami Bakura toyed with the blade in his hands absentmindedly.

"So what's on your mind that you use your moment of freedom to hang around up here?" Malik asked, trying to get the conversation going. He felt Yami Bakura was a valuable ally, maybe even a friend, so it was important to keep relations smooth.

"I like to watch the rain," Yami Bakura answered. But clearly that wasn't all. Malik waited for him to continue. Yami Bakura opened the pocketknife and dangled it between his index finger and thumb. "Do you ever feel that fate is mocking you? Like it's holding a dagger over your head, just waiting for the moment when you feel safest to let the blade drop?"

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Malik asked. "Who's been more screwed by fate than me? Sure, I didn't spend centuries in a millennium item, but still, I've had it pretty rough." Malik paused a moment in thought. "But it hasn't been that bad here. It beats the Hell out of the way my life was before. I could get used to this wizard lifestyle." Malik eyed Yami Bakura. "So what's with this sudden view of fate? Surely that wasn't just a casual observation?"

Yami Bakura sighed. "Nothing. I've just been thinking too much. There's just been a lot to worry about since we came to this school. And no, Mr. Suddenly Gives a Damn, I don't want to discuss it."

"That's alright. I didn't really want to hear it," Malik said matter-of- factly. Yami Bakura gave him a look. "I'm not used to seeing you so openly disturbed," Malik observed. Then he smirked. "You know what I think?"

"No. And I don't think I want to," Yami Bakura answered.

"I think," Malik continued, ignoring Yami Bakura's comment, "that you and Bakura are really starting to rub off on each other." Yami Bakura scoffed. "No, it's true," Malik said. "He's becoming less of a push-over. He's taking more risks and I think he's actually enjoying it. And you... well, you've been less inclined to kill anybody who ticks you off. And no power trips, either."

"What makes you think that I'm not just biding my time?" Yami Bakura questioned, casting Malik a piercing glance. "Everyone else who knows about me seems to think that I could turn against them again at any moment."

"You're talking about Bakura and that thing that turned into you, aren't you?" Malik asked.

Yami Bakura stared blankly into the storm. "It's good that he still fears me. Him and everybody else. Fear is a sign of respect."

"Oh, come off it," Malik said. "The very idea that he would still be scared of you is eating you away from the inside out. Anyway, he's not afraid of you now. I think you took it entirely the wrong way. I mean, you scared the Hell out of Bakura at more than one point; you can't blame him for still being afraid of what you were. I bet he still has nightmares. It's not easy sharing your body with a sadistic psychopath." Yami Bakura gave Malik an angry look, but Malik continued on. "But the fact that he trusts you now, even after all of that, should let you know how far you've come in Bakura's view."

"Ryou is careless with his trust. Always has been. His trust is not hard to win, which makes it almost meaningless. So he's not the best way to show 'how far I've come,' as you put it."

"I thought this was all about Ryou's opinion of you?" Malik asked, slightly confused.

"I just get tired of having everyone suspicious of me," said Yami Bakura, remembering his conversation with Yami after the Tarot card reading. "Always thinking that I'm going to stab them in the back. I am aware of what I've done in the past, and I'd be lying if I said I regretted it or would change it if I could. But I'd just like to move on."

"Everyone's suspicious of you, huh? I've been sitting here with you on this roof, alone, no witnesses. You have a knife and two millennium items. I have one, which is virtually useless against you, as I can't very well mind- control someone who's already controlling someone else. The rod has that blade in it, but I know I can't beat you in a knife fight, even if you fought fair. And yet, I don't feel threatened. That should tell you something." Yami Bakura looked at Malik, expression somewhat softened. "And believe me, I know what it is like to have everyone suspicious of you. People who don't even know me automatically assume I'm trouble."

"That's because you are."

"And you're not? Unlike you, I do regret some of the things I've done. I would change it if I could. I like causing a little trouble here and there, but that's all in fun. But you... You are a freakin' paradox, you know that. You pride yourself in being so bad and tough, yet you're offended when people are suspicious of you, believing fate is against you. More of Bakura's personality seeping into you. Are your souls colliding, or something?"

"I'm not getting more like Ryou," Yami Bakura argued. "I'm just more focused now, clearer of mind. And it's a pain in the ass, too. It was so much more fun when I was going for the millennium items. I had a goal, and I didn't worry about anything else but that. It was so much simpler. Now I have to make sure that I don't get Ryou or any of his little friends in trouble. I have to give up my freedom so he can study or play that stupid sport of his that I told him not to get involved with in the first place."

"So Bakura's disobeying you? And you really don't HAVE to do those things; you're just willing to. You and Bakura are in the process of switching roles, it seems. Could it be you're becoming a nice guy?" Yami Bakura gave Malik a shove in response that caught the blonde off guard and toppled him over. He chuckled as he got back up and climbed to his feet. "Guess not, huh?" He laughed again. Yami Bakura looked cross, but that was his natural expression, so Malik thought nothing of it. "Well, I'm hungry and they'll be serving lunch soon. Coming with?"

"No, I think I stay here a while longer," the spirit answered.

"Suit yourself," said Malik, turning to leave. He paused as he was about to open the door. "You know, some people would tell you that you can't fight fate. You can only make do with what you have and accept the inevitable. But I won't say that. Screw fate. You control your own destiny. So whatever hand fate is dealing you, make sure you have a few aces up your sleeve." Yami Bakura answered with a smirk and nodded as Malik disappeared behind the door.

"That's good advice, Malik," Yami Bakura muttered. "I just hope you remember that yourself...because fate has a Hell of a hand waiting for you, and fate does not like to lose..." Yami Bakura opened the blade of his knife. "And neither do I, which makes you lucky that we're on the same team."

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

Yugi stared down at his book of spells. He'd stopped actually reading it about twenty minutes earlier. Now he was just kinda looking at it with absolutely nothing registering. He barely noticed when Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in and sat at his table.

"Hey, Yugi," Hermione said. "Studying?"

"If you can call it that," he answered with a yawn. "That what you're here for?"

Hermione nodded. "That essay for Snape is going to be a killer."

"But it's not due 'til next week," Yugi said. "We have the whole weekend and then some."

"That's what we said," Ron muttered, making a face. "But Hermione's making us 'get an early start.'"

"Well, you can all wait until the last minute, but I'm not," she replied.

Yugi yawned again and rubbed his eyes. <You're tired,> Yami observed. <Why don't you rest for a while?>

<That's a good idea,> Yugi agreed. <You want control for a while?>

<Yes. But walk away first. I don't want to take over in front of Harry. I believe he's catching on, and I don't want to make it too easy for him.> Yugi thought that was a good idea.

"I need a break," Yugi said. "I can't focus on this anymore." He closed his book and got up to return it to the shelf. When he came back, he looked considerably more refreshed. Harry caught sight of this and eyed Ron and Hermione to see if they noticed. They didn't.

"I'm feeling in the mood to play a game," Yami said. "Maybe I can talk Bakura or even Malik into playing cards. Any of you seen them?"

"Not since breakfast," Harry said. Yami thought that was a little suspicious. He hoped they weren't causing trouble. But just shook his head and shrugged.

"I guess I'll play solitaire instead," he said, pulling his deck out and sitting down and the table. He shuffled and dealt out the Duel Monsters cards in the method he had devised for a one-player version of the game. Harry, Ron, and Hermione tried to remain focused on their work, but it wasn't long before Yugi's activities caught their attention and the potions essay was long forgotten.

"What kind of cards are those?" Ron asked curiously. "My dad's collected some packs of muggle playing cards, but I've never seen any like that."

"I believe they have it here in England," Yami answered. "It's called Duel Monsters and you could likely find it at any game shop. Any non-magic game shop at least. It was created in America, and it became very popular in Japan and a lot of other parts of the world. Malik, Bakura, and I play it."

"Oh, was this what Malik was talking about when he called you 'King of Games?'" Ron asked.

"Yes, I have that title," Yami said. Yugi would have been a bit more humble about it, but that was not in the pharaoh's nature.

"I've heard of games like this," Hermione said. "It's one of those monster battling games, right? The ones muggles base on stories of magic?" Yami nodded. "How do you read those cards if you can't read Japanese at the moment?" asked Hermione.

"I've long since memorized the cards in my deck," Yami said. "I know each of them by heart."

"It looks interesting," Harry observed. "I'd like to watch when you find someone to play against, if you don't mind."

Yami looked solemn. "The game is much more impressive when we use the holographic duel disk system. Brings more life to the game. Unfortunately, technology doesn't work here, right?"

"Did you say holographic?" Harry asked. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"The duel disk creates a hologram of the monsters on the cards," Yami answered dully. "Makes them look real and simulates the battle."

"Wow, like on those sci-fi movies," Hermione said in awe. "I didn't even know they made that. I live among muggles, you'd think I would have heard of it."

"I don't know if the technology's made it to England yet," Yami said. "But I assure you, it does exist, and it was created especially for this game. The inventor is really into the game, perhaps too into it." Yami frowned at his mention of Kaiba. "I've played against him, and he's good. But I'm better."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ron said, waving his hands to get attention. "You're saying that you have this muggle invention that makes those cards look like they're real monsters?!"

"Yes," Yami said simply. Ron looked confused.

"But how can they do that without magic?"

"I'd show you if it worked here," Yami said shrugging.

"I would really like to see that," Harry said, tapping his finger on his chin in thought.

"No, Harry," Hermione said, seeing that Harry's gears were turning.

"There is that Hogsmeade trip coming up..." Ron mused. "Everyone will be distracted. We COULD sneak off, then..."

"We could never get far enough and back in time," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Forget it."

"If we took the brooms we could," Harry said. "I could carry one other person on my Firebolt. And Bakura could carry another on his Solar Flare..."

"Absolutely not!" Hermione said defiantly, shaking her finger at them. "We'd get caught for sure! There's no way!"

"I could borrow one of my brothers' brooms," Ron said, ignoring Hermione. "Or we could even have them tag along. They'd love to see this, and they'd be able to help us not get caught. They're experts at this sneaking off stuff." Yami liked the way this was going. Hermione sighed, but refused to give up.

"And how are you going to sneak off? Someone would see you fly off, no matter how high or low you were."

"We could go to Hogsmeade with everyone else," Harry said, "then take off from the other side of the hill. No one would see us there, and we've snuck up that hill before without being seen."

"Harry, weren't you told to avoid such risky situations?" Hermione reminded. "Anything could go wrong, and we don't know what to expect."

Harry's face fell as he remembered. "Oh, yeah..."

"Oh, Hermione," Ron argued, "it's not like we're going into the Forbidden Forest, or something. There's a big open plain about eight kilometers away from there. Completely empty and far enough from both muggle and wizard towns to avoid trouble. And far enough away from magic for technology to work, I'm sure. And we could make the trip in no time on brooms."

"That doesn't sound too risky," Harry agreed. "No one would look for us there. And how long would it really take to see that hologram thing?"

"A good game between me and one of the others would last about an hour at most," Yugi said. "And that's only if we exchange boasts and show off, which is likely, but can be left out if need be. How far away is this Hogsmeade trip?"

"Next weekend," Harry answered. Yami grinned. Perfect. It looked like he was going to get a chance to really play.

Hermione gave a frustrated groan. She was outnumbered. "If we get caught, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Relax, Hermione," Ron said. "You know you want to see this, too."

"Yes, but..." Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "Is it really worth the risk?"

"To me it is," Yami said. "I've been eager to play a real game of Duel Monsters for weeks."

"That settles it," Ron said, smiling. "We go!"

A smile crept its way across Harry's face. It was something to look forward too. As long as nothing went wrong, that is.

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

Malik had gone all the way to the Great Hall before he realized he was early. His stomach was not yet on English time. It would be at least an hour and a half. So he had some time to kill. 'Might as well go back to the dorm and nap while waiting,' he thought. Unfortunately, something unpleasant stood in the hallway that led to the Slytherin common room.

Malfoy gave Malik a dirty look as he approached. He was leaning casually against the wall, his arms crossed. "Coming back to touch up your make-up?" he taunted.

Malik, having played the good guy all morning, was not willing to put up with Malfoy. "Ah, I'm so in the mood to put a loud mouth in his place right now, Malfoy. Just give me a reason."

"I hope you know that we're going to slaughter your Gryffindor friends at the Quidditch match," Malfoy said. "Perhaps you should tell them to prepare for a bloodbath."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they end up teaching you and your team a few things," Malik replied smugly. You don't know the half of what they're capable of."

"So why don't you tell me?" Malfoy said. "A true Slytherin would not withhold information."

"I am not, and never claimed to be, a 'true Slytherin.'"

"You have our potions master convinced of the opposite."

Malik found this conversation to be growing tiresome. "Why can't you just accept the fact that Snape has a new favorite student? Go find someone else's butt to kiss."

Malfoy put his hands up in mock submission. "Okay, you win. You are a far better butt-kisser than I. There, does that make you happy?"

Malik narrowed his eyes angrily. "Alright, I've had enough," he said. 'Let's see how cocky you are after I make you stand in the rain for four hours,' he thought, reaching into his pocket for the millennium rod.

Malfoy saw his movement. He knew Malik had to be about to use the Imperius curse on him again. Malik had always reached into his pocket right before something weird and unexplainable happened. Malfoy was determined to beat him to it this time. Like lightning, he pulled out his wand and immediately countered with a spell-breaker to ensure that Malik's curse would not work. Unfortunately, there was nothing to counter, and the spell hit Malik dead on.

Malik was tossed rather painfully against the wall before he could activate the millennium rod, but was otherwise unharmed. He shook his head a moment to shake off the strange feeling the spell left on him. He examined himself quickly, to see if there were any effects of the magic. There were none that he could see. He was in one piece. He scoffed and immediately gave Malfoy a smug look. "That the best you can do?" he said. "That's your wizard magic? Pathetic. I barely felt it."

Malfoy's mouth dropped open and a look of confusion spread across his face. "What's your problem?" Malik asked suspiciously. A look of realization spread across Malfoy's face and he immediately began to laugh hysterically, nearly doubling over. Malik's eyes went wide in his own confusion. He felt his face and his hair to make sure the spell didn't do something to him that he couldn't see. There was no difference that he could tell. He pulled a lock of his hair into view. It was the unchanged. "What the Hell's so funny?" Malik asked angrily. Malfoy made no move to answer him and continued laughing. Malik sighed. This was a waste of time. "You stay here giggling like an idiot. I'm going," he said, dismissing Malfoy with a wave of his hand.

Malik walked past Malfoy and towards the dorms. Malfoy recovered himself and followed, much to Malik's annoyance. "Go away!" Malik shouted. Malfoy laughed again and ignored him. Malik shook his head, extremely frustrated at this point. He paused in front of the common room entrance. "Lion's blood," he said, giving the password, which was a shameless stab against Gryffindor, but he had no control over that. The door remained closed. He said the password again. Again nothing.

"Alright, when did you change the password?" he said, turning angrily to Malfoy, who was still giggling like a fool. "What's the new password?" Malik shouted impatiently. Malfoy only smirked knowingly and shrugged, saying nothing. Malik took a deep breath to calm himself. 'Fine,' he thought. 'I didn't really need a nap in this damned dungeon anyway. I'll just head back upstairs.'

He turned and stalked away. Malfoy laughed after him. 'He has no clue,' thought Malfoy. 'I wonder how long it will take him to figure out that my counter spell canceled out his language charm..."

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

Credit for malfunctioning language charm goes to Ayod Botla. I just tweaked it a bit. Thanks a lot!

R&R!