“Surveillance footage has yet to be retrieved. Police are working with the report given by Mr. Kaiba, who claims the attackers were dressed in black robes and spoke English. Police witnessed the suspects at the scene, but were unable to detain them. The suspects are still at large.

“Authorities suspect Kaiba Corporation’s business rivals could be responsible for the attack. When questioned, all denied involvement. Mr. Kaiba has reported that the attackers were searching for something but claims no knowledge of what.

“Mr. Kaiba (who is the president and CEO of Kaiba Corporation) advises stockholders not to panic. Business will be conducted as usual. Kaiba Corporation will continue to provide service to customers and personal setbacks will not affect the condition of the company.’”

The article continued to discuss the business related effects of the attack, but Ryou did not feel inclined to read it. He set it down on the bed beside him, the front-page image of the mansion in ruins face down, for he didn’t want to look at it anymore. An awkward silence filled the room as what he just read sank in.

“So that’s it,” Malik said, finally breaking the silence. “Those Death Eaters know where all of us live now. Didn’t take them long, did it? I hope Kaiba’s smart enough to stay hidden for a while.”

“I can send him a letter,” Yami said, “but I doubt he’ll believe a word of it.”

“Wait, wait, why are you assuming that it’s Death Eaters?” Ron said.

“We know it’s them,” Malik replied, frustrated and angry. He didn’t feel the need to say anything more, leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione to assess the situation for themselves.

“Black robed English speakers and mysterious muggle deaths,” Hermione thought aloud. “It certainly does sound like Death Eaters.”

“I take it this Kaiba person is a friend of yours?” Harry asked.

“Not a friend really,” Yami answered, a bit of a scowl on his face due to the fact that Kaiba was the topic of conversation. “More like a rival. Obsessed with winning and a sore loser to boot. He’s the CEO of the company that invented and manufactures the Duel Disk. Kaiba Corp. is one of the biggest gaming companies around. But Kaiba’s very close-minded. Doesn’t believe in magic, no matter how much of he’s seen. He’s very no-nonsense. Thinks there’s a rational explanation to everything.”

“Oh, he’s one of those,” Harry said. “I know the type.” From Yugi’s description, this Kaiba fellow sounded like a combination of Malfoy and the Dursleys. He pictured Kaiba as the typical computer geek with thick glasses and a bad complexion. For some reason, this stereotype he imagined also had slick bleach-blonde hair…

“I’m sure Kaiba has enough sense to leave the city if he thinks there’s an assassination group after him,” Ryou said, though he sounded more hopeful than sure.

“But this Kaiba person sounds like your typical muggle,” Harry said. “Rich, but typical. Why would Death Eaters be after him? For that matter, why would they be after any of you?”

Just then, Professor Dumbledore appeared in the doorway of the hospital wing flanked by Professor McGonagall and Sirius (complete with his Professor White disguise). Ryou immediately shrank back apprehensively as if trying to hide behind Ron and Malik. He was both afraid and ashamed to see his professors.

“Awake, I see,” Dumbledore said upon seeing Ryou despite the boy’s efforts.

Ryou gulped. “Yes,” he said simply. He tried to read the headmaster’s tone of voice, but could detect no emotion in it. He couldn’t tell if Dumbledore was angry, disappointed, or something else, and this uncertainty made Ryou all the more anxious.

“Um…Maybe we should go,” Harry said, thinking there was an upcoming conversation that they had no business being a part of.

“Stay where you are, Harry,” Sirius said. “Seeing as you three just had to get involved, we need to speak with you as well.”

“We told them willingly, Professor,” Yami said, sensing that Harry, Ron, and Hermione might get into trouble over this.

“We thought as much,” Professor McGonagall said. “But if you are going to trust them with this knowledge, they must be aware of the seriousness of the situation.”

“We will get to that shortly,” said Professor Dumbledore. “The matter of the Quidditch game must be dealt with first.”

Ryou cast his eyes downward and didn’t dare look up. “I…I’m sorry, Professor,” he said, voice quivering. “I knew this could happen when I started playing, but I…I just didn’t think…it could be this bad…” Ryou had been preparing himself for the worst and thought that he would be able to handle it. But this was proving difficult. Tears threatened at the corners of Ryou’s eyes but he refused to wipe them away, choosing instead to ignore them. He wanted so badly to stay at Hogwarts. He had thought this would be the perfect place for him; he didn’t fit in anywhere else. But if it was determined that he didn’t belong here as well, then just where did he belong? What was left for him?

He wished the others weren’t in the room. Getting expelled was bad enough, but for it to happen in front of all his friends made it all the worse. He didn’t know how much longer he could retain his composure; he didn’t want to cry in front of them. He had at least that much dignity left in him.

Ryou heard Dumbledore’s footsteps as the headmaster neared him. ‘Here it comes,’ Ryou thought. ‘Sorry son, but we can’t put the other students at risk. You’ll have to leave.’ He shut his eyes tightly against the thought. They were going to send him back to Domino. Where he would be alone. Where the Death Eaters were already looking…

He heard Dumbledore stop just in front of him. There was silence…and then….

“I believe this belongs to you.”

Confused, Ryou opened his eyes and lifted his head to see the headmaster holding out the Millennium Ring. He had picked it up from its lonely spot on the floor and was now offering it back to its owner. Taken completely by surprise by this gesture, Ryou accepted it without thought and laid it to rest in his lap. Upon coming in contact with the Ring, Ryou felt the presence of his other self return to the back of his mind. But the spirit said nothing to him, and Ryou didn’t feel the need to speak to him either.

“You certainly did give us all quite a scare,” Dumbledore said. “If your friends had not been so quick to react, I’m not sure what we would have done.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Ryou could say.

“Even though your fellow Quidditch players don’t seem to remember a thing,” said Professor McGonagall, “this game has left a lot for us to have to explain. The entire field disappearing in shadow is not something one typically sees.”

“Not to mention someone could have been seriously hurt,” Sirius added.

“But no one was,” Malik said, interrupting the flow of the conversation. “So no harm, no foul.” ‘They don’t know everything that went on in the shadows, anyway,’ thought Malik.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” McGonagall replied. “We can’t just ignore-“

“If you expel him, I’m leaving, too,” Malik said defiantly, arms crossed. He wasn’t sure if this would accomplish anything (certainly they would be happy to be rid of him) but he felt he had to do something. Ryou stared at him, mouth agape. He had a newfound appreciation for Malik.

“The same goes for me,” Yami said after he had agreed on it with Yugi, who really hoped they wouldn’t call him on it; he really did want to stay at school. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were greatly impressed by the devotion the friends had for one another. It reminded them of their own experiences.

Ryou almost lost control of himself due to sheer gratitude. He never thought Yugi and Malik would be willing to throw so much away for him. But he couldn’t in good conscious allow them to do that.

“Guys, really…don’t…”

“We can’t let you just get thrown out,” Malik said.

“Boys, this is all very touching,” Professor McGonagall said, “but no one is getting thrown out.”

Ryou blinked up at her. “I…You mean I’m not…”

“No,” Professor Dumbledore said. “We did not come here to expel you. We go to great lengths to help our students through problems that are no fault of their own so that they may study with us. If we were able to provide a werewolf with an education, we can do the same for you.” He cast knowing eyes at Sirius who nodded. “We must, however,” Dumbledore continued, “come to an understanding so that this does not happen again.”

Ryou was so dumbfounded that he wasn’t going to be expelled that the rest of Dumbledore’s words took a moment to register. “Well, I don’t know what I could do. I can’t very well stop him. And I can’t just rid myself of him either,” he added, knowing that no matter how angry the spirit might make him, he was unwilling to part with the Ring for an extended period of time and always had been. He continued. “And I don’t know what preventatives I could take short of…of quitting Quidditch.”

“Oh, no, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Professor McGonagall said.

“No,” Professor Dumbledore agreed. “I understand why your other half acted as he did. He said himself at our first meeting that he would retaliate if you were harmed. The Slytherin team did indeed rely on underhanded tactics, but they are still young and even professional Quidditch can be very violent. They did not deserve such treatment.”

“Don’t feed me that line,” Ryou said, his voice suddenly sounding angry as he stared down at the Ring in his lap. Several people in the room blinked in surprise at Ryou’s mood change. All save those who were experienced and knowledgeable enough to know better. “They deserved more than they got. And I would have seen to it had I not been interrupted.” The spirit cast livid eyes in Malik and Yami’s direction as if daring them to take him on again.

“A good chance we did,” Malik said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Let it go. You would have regretted it later.”

“I regret nothing…” Yami Bakura said, low and fuming. He lifted his head so that all could see the furious look upon his face. “You know that. I would have done well to have fed their pathetic souls to the darkness.”

“Their souls?” Sirius said. “You were… trying to steal their souls?”

‘Geez, Bakura, shut up!’ Malik thought. ‘They don’t know just what you did. You’re just digging yourself deeper.’ But Yami Bakura, of course, did not hear Malik’s silent plea, and even if he had, chances were he wouldn’t have listened.

“It was a fitting punishment,” Yami Bakura said, obviously set in his decision.

“You really think anyone deserves that?” Sirius asked.

“I do,” Yami Bakura said without hesitance. He glared at Sirius for questioning him.

Sirius went slightly pale. He’d spent fourteen years under the constant threat of losing his soul to the Dementors and now here he was standing beside a normally innocent-looking boy who had the power to steal a person’s soul and, what was even more frightening, was willing to do so.

Yami wanted to hit Yami Bakura. These Hogwarts people were trying to treat him and his host fairly despite all the trouble he caused, and he was still acting like a jerk. Did he want to get Bakura expelled? Yami figured the other spirit was still fuming over the Quidditch game, but that was not an acceptable excuse. He should have had more than enough time to cool off anyway. Though the spirit of the Ring could hold a grudge for centuries, he never seemed to hold on to any emotion for too long these days. It was normal for the tomb robber to be moody after not getting his way, but Yami found it odd that Yami Bakura was still this mad.

As Sirius and McGonagall didn’t know how to handle Yami Bakura both looked to Dumbledore expectantly. The old headmaster didn’t appear to be phased by Yami Bakura’s rage. “Please do not be angry with us,” Dumbledore said calmly. “No one in this room has done you any harm.”

“Nor have you done me any good,” Yami Bakura snapped. He picked the Ring up from his lap and placed it once more around his neck, not breaking the gaze he had fixed on Dumbledore.

“Please, Mr. Bakura,” McGonagall said, stepping in. “We are trying to help. We would like your host to remain and finish his studies if at all possible. We can get past this unfortunate event if only we could reestablish the trust that this will never-“

“Trust?” Yami Bakura said, seething with insuppressible rage. “Trust?! You dare speak to me about TRUST?!” He grabbed the newspaper clipping at his side, and flung it angrily at Dumbledore, hitting the old headmaster in the torso with the crumpled up paper. Several gasps were uttered at Yami Bakura’s bold disrespect. Hermione covered her mouth in shock. McGonagall and Sirius were too taken by surprise to think to scold the spirit for his action. Dumbledore alone seemed to be unimpressed with the action itself and instead concerned about its cause.

The headmaster held out his hand and the crumpled paper floated up from where it had landed at his feet, flattening and smoothing itself out as it rose. He caught it and, adjusting his half-moon spectacles, he eyed the front of the page.

“First they attack Malik’s home, then they attack our hometown,” Yami Bakura said, the volume of his voice steadily rising. “Just when were you going to tell us that your enemies were after us?! When were you going to tell us that they knew about the Millennium Items?!!”

Realization dawned in the room. Yami and Malik now understood why Yami Bakura was mad all over again. This was no longer about the Quidditch game. He was taking the knowledge of the attack in Domino very seriously. They half-expected the room to start darkening.

Now that they knew why the Death Eaters were after their new friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione became aware that the already confusing situation had just got a lot more complicated. These items seemed so magical. What would happen if the dark forces were to gain that power…?

“They stole all the clues they needed from the museum!” Yami Bakura continued to rant, breathing heavily in his anger. “They’ve already used it to find Kaiba, how long before they connect him to Yugi?! And him to the rest of us?! Battle City was a highly publicized event and we were all there! Were you planning to wait until they were at our doorstep before you warned us?! Well, they’re there! You act all high, mighty, and noble, but the only reason you’re putting up with us here is so that your enemies don’t get something that may prove to be a disadvantage to you! Namely, us!”

Professor McGonagall’s lips were pressed into a tight white line. The students could tell that she very much wanted to say something (her first instincts were always to defend Dumbledore), but out of respect for the headmaster, she said nothing and waited for him to act. Dumbledore, however, waited patiently for Yami Bakura to finish.

“Yes, I admit to knowing that the dark forces were after you magical items. But you are wrong about my intentions. I had your best interests in mind, not my own,” Dumbledore said when the dark spirit fell silent. “I had intended to spare you from the anxiety that comes with this knowledge for as long as possible. I felt it would be more dangerous for you to know. I didn’t want to risk you acting on this information. You are safe within the walls of Hogwarts, and there seemed to be no immediate need to worry you.”

“Teacher, I have been on this earth for over three-thousand years…” Yami Bakura said, he glare never wavering, “I am not a child in need of your protection. I do not need you to tell me what is best for me or my host. That is not your place.”

“Perhaps,” Dumbledore said, “but the welfare of this school is my place and I was not going to jeopardize it. Trust me when I say that when events such as this are concerned, the fewer people who know about it, the better. I did not think it necessary for you to know more than you had to. Giving you information about the Death Eaters and their goals was a risk I was not willing to take.”

“We had a right to know,” Yami Bakura said. “If we knew nothing about them, what would happen if we eventually faced them?”

“Oh?” Dumbledore said, his eyes suddenly shining. “Then, now that you know, you must have a plan worked out incase you should meet them. You must know exactly what to do.”

Yami Bakura opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. Knowing or not knowing about the potential danger that lay ahead, he had no idea how to handle the situation should it arise.

“Your silence speaks volumes,” Professor Dumbledore said. “As I expected, you are no better off now than you were before.”

“What about the people we left behind?” Malik said, offering an argument given that Yami Bakura seemed to have none to offer. “Our families are in danger.” Both he and Yami were somewhat angry at being kept in the dark, but they were showing more patience and control than Yami Bakura appeared to be capable of. Dumbledore’s explanation made sense to them and they could accept his reasoning even if they didn’t agree with it. They were both more worried than anything else.

“I have taken that into consideration, Mr. Ishtal,” Dumbledore answered. “After I discovered the aims of the Death Eaters, I paid a visit to both Egypt and Japan.” Yami Bakura cocked an eyebrow suspiciously but waited for Dumbledore to continue. “Your sister and brother,” he said, directing his attention to Malik, “had already left for the United States when I got there. The Egyptian Association of Magic-Users is already protecting the museum. The appearance of Death Eaters reflects badly upon them. I have informed them that the museum employees could also be in danger, and they kindly agreed to watch out for them. Your family is being protected even while they are out of the country. The E.A.M.U. cares greatly for their reputation, and wouldn’t want more deaths to tarnish it.”

“You’re grandfather’s shop is protected, too,” Dumbledore continued, turning to Yami. “I placed a charm on the store. It is now inaccessible to anyone with ill intent. I’m afraid it’s not an exceptionally powerful spell, but it shall have to do until we can provide a better one. I would suggest a secret-keeper, but I somehow doubt you grandfather would appreciate the effect that would have on his business. I also have asked local wizards to keep an eye out. They have a strong alliance against the dark forces.” He turned to Yami Bakura. “I have taken the same precautions at your apartment.”

Yami Bakura frowned. “Do not keep such secrets from me in the future.”

“I’m afraid I can’t promise that,” Dumbledore said. “The school comes first. I cannot in good conscience give you information that may endanger you or your fellow students. But I will tell you what I can, if you insist.”

Yami Bakura continued to glare, obviously not satisfied with this answer. He would find out information for himself, then. And he, of course, had secrets that he would also not be sharing.

Yami stood with his arms crossed as he listened to what was said. Dumbledore did seem to have all of their best interests in mind, and he had gone to the trouble of protecting all of their families. As long as these dark wizards didn’t know that he, Bakura, and Malik were at Hogwarts, it seemed things would be fine.

“I had not foreseen this, however,” Dumbledore said, once again examining the newspaper. “I had not realized that more than just your family could be in danger. Is this Seto Kaiba person also connected to the Millennium items? Judging from the amount of trouble the Death Eaters went through, they certainly must have thought so.”

“Yeah he…wait, you can read Japanese?” Malik said.

“It has replaced Gobbledygook in my mind,” Dumbledore said. “I thought it might be wise for as long as I have Japanese students present at my school. I have gained the ability to speak Arabic as well. I thought it might come in handy.”

“Yeah well…” Malik was somewhat impressed by how prepared Dumbledore was. “Yes, Kaiba is connected to the Items. He is the reincarnation of the High Priest who once owned the Millennium Rod, though he doesn’t believe it. The Death Eaters must have found him by using that stone tablet they stole from the museum. It did have Kaiba and Yugi’s faces on it.”

“Indeed,” Dumbledore said, once more adjusting his glasses and eyeing the newspaper one last time before placing it in it’s original spot on the bed. “Perhaps I should get in touch with Mr. Kaiba…” His gaze focused once more on Yami Bakura, who still appeared rather ticked off. “The matter of how we will handle your recent behavior still must be discussed. Your personal dissatisfaction with me is no excuse to put my students in danger.”

Yami Bakura cocked an eye. Was this old fool really considering a punishment?

“In case you should lose control of yourself again,” Dumbledore said, “I shall have to inform more members of the staff about your special circumstances, as much as I would prefer not to.”

“What?!” Yami Bakura yelled, enraged once more. “Didn’t you just say that the fewer people who know the better?! And now you intend to blab our secrets to anyone who happens to teach a class here?!”

“Please hear me out before you let your temper get the best of you, Mr. Bakura,” Dumbledore said calmly. Yami Bakura fumed, narrowed his gaze even further, but said nothing.

“It would not be fair to your other self, who has done nothing wrong, to punish you by removal from certain activities or even the school. However, the other students must be protected as well. So I will inform a few of my trusted staff members of the basic knowledge of your situation and give explicit orders not to share this information with another soul.”

“And their word that they won’t say anything would be good enough for you?” Yami Bakura said sarcastically.

“Certainly,” Dumbledore replied, taking no note of Yami Bakura’s attitude. “I would trust any one of them with my very life, and have on several occasion.” The spirit of the Ring scoffed openly.

“During our last meeting you said you would keep quiet if we wanted you to,” Yami Bakura pointed out. “Are you going back on your word?”

“I do not intend to,” Dumbledore answered calmly. “The matters discussed during that meeting shall not be mentioned if you wish for my continued silence. I only wish to inform a few trusted individuals with the information which you volunteered during our first meeting. I believe that with more informed professors to keep watch, we will all be a little safer. Trust me when I say I did not easily reach this decision. However, I feel it is best. If you disagree, feel free to place all your anger and blame upon me. And be forewarned, all three of you,” he glanced at Yami and Malik, “Those I select to inform will be told about these games of darkness. And each will be instructed to stun you should they see any signs of any such game.”

“WHAT?!” This time, Malik joined Yami Bakura in anger.

“Again, hate me if you must,” Dumbledore said smoothly in response to their outrage. “I know it may seem a little harsh, but I am left with few options. I believe your magic and our own would not mix well, so I’m afraid we have no simple counter spell with which to stop you should you lose control of yourself. I have determined this is the best way to discourage any more outbreaks of dark games. The stunning spell would not hurt you, as Mr. Bakura could tell you.”

Yami Bakura did know that this was true. He could not remember any pain or discomfort from when Malik had hit him with the spell. It had been like falling asleep, or, more accurately, slipping into a faint.

“But you’re going to blow the whistle on me and Yugi, too?!” Malik shouted. “Why us?! We didn’t do anything wrong! How does this fit in with your justice?! How are we supposed to defend ourselves around here if you won’t let us use our magic?!”

“Please Mr. Ishtal,” said Dumbledore, “it would be an insult to the intelligence of my staff to think that they wouldn’t guess. Certainly if one of you possessed a different magic, all three of you would. It’s not every year that we have international students who start off in fifth year, you know. And if every other student can handle themselves without millennium magic, then I am sure that you can as well. Within the walls of Hogwarts, you should have no need of it.”

“Calm down,” Yami instructed Malik. “What’s the big deal? So no games of darkness? It’s not so much to ask. I, for one, haven’t felt the need to start one since being here.”

“Well, aren’t you special?” Yami Bakura mocked. He was sorely tempted to bring up the fact that traveling miles away from school to duel in front of a small audience had been entirely the pharaoh’s idea. But the thought occurred to him that such a statement might just make more trouble. Instead, he thought of something better to mention. He turned to look at Dumbledore. “Just who are you planning to tell? Which teachers? You said it won’t be all of them, right?”

“Correct,” Dumbledore answered. “If it will make you feel more comfortable to know…” Dumbledore tilted his head upwards slightly, as if pondering his choices. “As you can tell, professors McGonagall and White are already well included. I believe I shall also inform Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Madam Hooch, Madam Pomfrey, Professor Sinistra, and Professor Snape.”

‘Oh, not that idiot,’ Yami Bakura thought, shaking his head at the mentioning of Snape. Yami, too, was most displeased. Snape was already unfair to Yugi and Bakura… what would he do once he possessed this precious knowledge? Yami also had a feeling that Snape would be looking for any excuse to stun them. Well, to stun Bakura and him, at least… Malik didn’t look too upset about the list of names. But then Snape was quite fond of him.

“We understand each other then?” the headmaster asked. Yami Bakura and Malik merely nodded and Yami gave a halfhearted “Yes…”

“Very good then,” said Dumbledore. He turned slightly so that he was now facing Harry, Ron, and Hermione. “You three should also understand that you now have vital information. What you have learned today must never be repeated, as I’m sure you already know. I trust there will be no problems with secrecy or, ahem, heroic schemes?” The Gryffindors nodded, grinning sheepishly. They understood the message: they were not to get too involved.

“Well now, I have matters to attend to,” the headmaster said as he turned to the door.

“Wait, Professor!” Harry called after him. “What about the Quidditch match?”

“We will call it a draw,” Dumbledore replied. “The winner of the Cup shall be determined by your other matches later this year. But I’m sure it was a most spectacular game. I was impressed by what I did see.” Dumbledore smiled as he stepped through the double doors of the hospital wing, Sirius and Professor McGonagall on his heels. His warm, comforting expression put much of the room at ease. Even Yami Bakura could not help but feel its effects in spite of himself, though he later suspected that the headmaster must have bewitched him.

Quite ready to leave the hospital wing, Yami Bakura stood and began putting his shoes back on.

“Wait,” Hermione said, “Are you sure you should be leaving? Madam Pomfrey might want-“

“I’m fine,” Yami Bakura interrupted. He was more than a little uncomfortable having new people around who knew his secret, with another batch of them on the horizon. Due to his secretive nature, he was much happier to be thought of as one of Ryou’s mood swings.

“No cure for stubbornness, I’m afraid,” Yami said.

“Pfft!” was Yami Bakura’s response. But the majority of his anger was gone and Yami was neither impressed nor intimidated by the general bitterness left in the wake of Yami Bakura’s outrage. The spirit of the Ring trudged across the room, and, without saying another word, went right on out. Malik sighed, shrugged at his fellows, and then proceeded to follow Yami Bakura.

“I don’t think he’s happy about us knowing about him,” Harry said once Yami Bakura and Malik had gone. He also felt this was probably an understatement.

“He’s rarely happy about anything,” Yami replied, taking a seat on the foot of the bed. “He’ll get over it. In a few days, maybe even a few hours, he’ll be back to his old, psychotic, trouble-making and argumentative self. Pay him no mind.”

“Well…” Harry started to say something and them paused.

“Yes?” Yami said.

“Ah, well…um, I don’t know what to call you,” Harry said, stumbling over his own words. “You’re not really Yugi.”

“The spirit of the Ring and I don’t have names,” Yami replied, eyes downcast. “At least none that we can recall. If you must refer to me as something other than ‘Yugi’, I suppose you may call me Yami or Pharaoh as everyone else seems to have taken to calling me. Just don’t do so when others are around. It’s bad enough that half the staff is already going to know about me. Not much of a secret anymore.”

“Oh. Okay, um, Yami.”

“It’s so strange that you can’t remember anything,” Hermione said. “Not even your names. It’s kinda sad. I guess I can understand why the other Bakura is so bitter.”

There was silence. Yami wasn’t sure how he felt about this sympathy. Hermione thought for a moment that perhaps she shouldn’t have voiced her thoughts. She looked around nervously until her eyes fell on the newspaper article. She picked it up out of curiosity. She, of course, couldn’t understand a word of it, but thought the pictures might be worth a look. She examined the photo of the nearly destroyed mansion before her eyes fell to something lower in the article. “This isn’t him, is it?” she asked, pointing to a photo of a boy not much older than herself. The boy had brown hair, blue eyes, and a very serious expression. Just beside him was another photo of a much younger boy with the same blue eyes and long black hair. Hermione leaned over so that Yami could see.

“Kaiba? Yes, that’s him. And his little brother Mokuba.”

“You’re kidding?!” Hermione exclaimed. “This guy’s the CEO of a muti-million dollar international corporation? But he’s so young! He can’t be more than eighteen!”

Yami shrugged, apparently not understanding why all this was so surprising. “His step-father died and Kaiba inherited the company.”

“But…how can someone that young possibly be able to do something like that?” Hermione asked, still unbelieving.

Yami frowned. “Kaiba’s intelligent. I’ll give him that. Obsessive with barely enough personality to fill a thimble, but intelligent.”

“He must be a genius!” Hermione said, ignoring Yami’s negative comments.

“Imagine,” Ron said, “being that well off right from the start. Set for life right off the back like that.” Ron, whose large family had always had very little in the way of money, was always a little envious of those who never had to worry about finances.

The pharaoh scowled. He wished the conversation would turn to another topic not related to his rival. At least Harry didn’t seem nearly as impressed as Ron and Hermione.

“Well, considering we’re standing next to a three thousand year old pharaoh and I recently came close to having my soul stolen by a tomb robber, a teenage businessman doesn’t seem so odd,” Harry said nonchalantly.

Nobody argued his point.

There seemed to be no purpose in lingering in the hospital wing, so Yami, Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed out towards the Great Hall. Supper would be served soon. Hermione was still carrying the newspaper clipping with her and was constantly eyeing it.

“Hermione,” Ron said finally, “no matter how much you stare at that paper, you still won’t be able to read it. I know it must be devastating to know that there’s something in print that you can’t read but…”

Hermione ignored him. “Hey, um…” She looked around to make sure there was nobody around who could hear her. “Yami,” she said quietly, “Malik said this Kaiba person was connected to the Millennium items. Do you think Dumbledore plans to invite him to Hogwarts?”

Yami looked positively scandalized. “Gods, I hope not!”

Hermione was taken aback. She had not expected such a reaction. “But Malik had said…”

“Kaiba hates magic,” Yami said flatly. “Just as he hates everything he can’t understand. He stubbornly refuses to believe in it, even when it’s staring him in the face. Even hinting that he might believe or even have an interest in magic would make him angry. He would take an invitation to Hogwarts as a personal insult.”

Hermione looked disappointed. She didn’t say anything more on the subject. She also did not dispose of the newspaper article.

They walked in silence for a moment. Then Ron laughed suddenly.

“I wonder why Hagrid wasn’t one of the teachers Dumbledore mentioned,” Ron said smartly.

………………………………………………………….

Yami Bakura and Malik were loitering in the halls on their way to supper as well. Yami Bakura had cooled off significantly, which made Malik feel that he wouldn’t be pushing his luck to bring up the events of earlier that day. Besides, now that he was away from Yami and the rest, he could express some of his true feelings.

“You may have caused a load of trouble and risked getting all of us kicked out,” Malik said, smiling, “but that was a brilliant game. Cursed Bludgers. Nice. And the look on Malfoy’s face! Priceless!” Now that the danger and consequences were over, Malik saw the whole event as a big joke. He couldn’t help himself. His inner trouble-maker greatly enjoyed Yami Bakura’s deeds.

“I’m good at what I do,” Yami Bakura said with a smirk.

“Don’t get me wrong, I hate that Dumbledore’s going to give the staff permission to put us out of the game, so to speak. And it is all your fault,” Malik said, to make sure that Yami Bakura didn’t forget that he was responsible. “But that was some nice work. The time alterations and everything. The truth now - you had that planned out ahead of time, didn’t you?”

“Heh, you know me too well,” Yami Bakura replied, grinning widely now. “Yeah, I’d been thinking about what a excellent shadow game Quidditch would make for a while. But I wasn’t really planning to do it. That is, until they pissed me off. Then I no longer saw any reason not to.”

“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Malik said with a laugh.

“Scary place, isn’t it?”

“What I don’t understand,” Malik said, “is why you fixed it so that people would forget the shadow game. I mean, sure it would have meant that nobody would know what you had done, but you went and told those teachers anyway. And now Malfoy and the rest of his team haven’t learned anything.”

“Do you really thing I would do all that for nothing?” Yami Bakura asked.

Yami Bakura and Malik’s conversation was interrupted when they turned a corner and met the Weasly twins who were quick to grab their attention. “Oi!” the twins called when they saw them. Fred and George walked up to them, showing no signs of having just been in a shadow game. “We were just on our way to the hospital wing to check on you. Doing alright, Bakura?”

Yami Bakura grinned in a way that seemed suspiciously satisfied. “Fine, thanks.”

“Wow, was that crazy or what?” Fred said. “One second the game’s paused for your injury, and the next half the team’s on the ground and Harry’s caught the Snitch. Wonder how they’re gonna call that one.”

“Draw,” Yami Bakura said simply, with that satisfied grin still plastered to his face, leaving Malik to wonder why.

“Really?” George said. “Well, could have been worse. Thought they might have tried to pin all that on us and disqualify us for cheating or something.”

“Though it really should be Slytherin to be disqualified,” Fred said bitterly. “They played especially dirty this time. We promise the games against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff won’t be like that.”

“I should hope not,” Yami Bakura said.

“Well, we’ve got to find the rest of the team to make sure they’re okay, too,” said George. “Dean’s a nervous wreck but seems like he’ll be all right.”

“Bit of a traumatic first game,” Fred said with a nod.

“We’ll see you later Bakura. You too, Malik,” and with that, the twins went down the hall where Yami Bakura and Malik had just come. Malik finally turned to Bakura. “Okay, what is it?” he asked.

“That was the answer to your question.”

“Fred and George?” Malik asked, not understanding. “They answered the all for nothing question?”

“In a way,” Yami Bakura replied.

“Explanation, please?”

“You may have noticed that they have stopped calling me by that annoying nickname.”

“Whitey?”

“That’s the one,” Yami Bakura said. “During the game, I mentioned in passing that I didn’t like being called by that name. And now they don’t use it anymore.”

Malik stared curiously at Yami Bakura. “What did you…?”

“Simple,” Yami Bakura answered. “While they aren’t aware that the game took place, they subconsciously remember it. The twins remembered that I don’t like that name without realizing that I ever even said it.”

“That’s not simple,” Malik said frowning.

“Shadow games have a funny way of affecting people,” Yami Bakura said, smiling smartly. “Nobody ever REALLY forgets them. I once turned Ryou’s gym teacher into a lead figurine because he was disrespectful towards my host. He was later released and had no memories of his time as a game piece, but he never once bothered Ryou again. He knew not to mess with him. It’s like the instinct is burned into them. They know without knowing. Confused yet?”

“Greatly,” Malik said, blinking. “But I think I kinda get it. So Malfoy-“

“Will never bother Ryou or me again,” Yami Bakura said, the satisfied grin having returned.

“Brilliant!” Malik said approvingly. He placed his arms behind his head as they walked and grinned thoughtfully. “I wonder if we can get around the teachers and have another little game. That really was excellent work. I’d love to see just how creative you could be. What do you think you can do with that wizard’s chess game? Somehow, I can imagine a little Malfoy pawn and-“

“Malik!”

Malik was dumbstruck in mid-sentence. The other Gryffindors were just behind them, Yami angrily tapping his foot and staring him down with narrowed eyes. Malik’s mouth hung open slightly as he fought to find his voice.

“Ah…and…and I know that’s what you would do Bakura, but I forbid it! You’re little childish games have already caused enough trouble and Yami and I can’t be there to watch you all the time. You simply must learn to control yourself and…and show a little restraint and maturity. There! Now…now don’t do anything like that ever again!”

Yami Bakura cocked an eyebrow as he watched Malik struggle, barely holding back a laugh. “Give it up, Malik,” Yami Bakura advised once the blonde had run out of things to say.

Malik did indeed give in, realizing he was caught. He stared down at his feet and avoided Yami’s gaze.

“I should have known you would just encourage him, Malik,” Yami said. “Honestly, you’re no better than he is!”

Of course, thought he would never say it, the truth was Yami had been toying with the idea of a wizard’s chess shadow game for weeks… But nobody needed to know that.