“I know you must be angry with me for not telling you sooner, Severus,” Dumbledore said, sounding tired, yet patient.

Professor Snape continued to appear as if he were biting back a comment. He chose his words carefully as he spoke. “I’m…sure you had your reasons.”

“I would have informed you right after the sorting were it not for the fact that you were still running missions for us. I trust you whole-heartedly, but this was information we could not afford to give should the worst happen.”

“I…understand,” Snape said, though clearly he was still not happy.

“But now…” Dumbledore stood and began pacing slowly across the room. “Now that the Death Eaters are well aware that you are a spy and you will have no more missions ­“

“I could still be of some service to the cause,” Snape interrupted, slightly surprised at his own rudeness towards the headmaster. He cleared his voice of emotion before speaking again. “What I mean is that being discovered once does not mean that there is nothing I can do.”

“I’m afraid it does,” Dumbledore said solemnly. “By now, every Death Eater within a hundred miles will be on the look-out for you.”

“Then I will go two hundred miles,” Snape said defiantly.

“Severus, I understand your frustrations,” Dumbledore replied. “But your services have already been most helpful. Now you are really needed here. Life at Hogwarts is not as simple as it once was.” The old headmaster smiled at this little joke. Hogwarts life had never been simple.

Snape was not amused. “The school was under control well enough with my attention elsewhere.”

“But things are more dangerous now,” Dumbledore said as he continued his slow pace. “Voldemort is dangerously close to discovering the location of the items and I fear for the safety of our students.”

“Then I should be investigating just how close he is,” Snape said stubbornly. Dumbledore shook his head.

“I know how close he is, and that is why I am worried.”

“But surely with the aide of a disguise I could-“

“I’m sorry, Severus, the matter is closed,” Dumbledore said with finality. “The risk is too high. And we shall need your expertise in the field of the dark arts here, I’m afraid.”

“I may have knowledge of the dark arts, headmaster,” Snape said stubbornly, “but I am no more equipped to deal with three thousand year old magic than anyone else.”

Dumbledore sighed and adjusted his half-moon spectacles. “Please understand my position. Even in all my years, rarely have I come across a situation as complex and potentially hazardous as this. The trust these boys and the spirits have in us is waning and I’m afraid that is my fault. But unfortunately for everyone to remain safe, some people will just have to be unhappy with me. And I am afraid that you are one of them. I am asking for your help in monitoring young masters Mouto, Bakura, and Ishtal.”

Professor Snape fumed silently. “I shall do as you wish,” he said finally.

“I appreciate your cooperation, Severus.”

The student body seemed to readily accept the rumors that the mysterious shadow over the Quidditch field had been caused by a prank and the guilty party was just being especially careful not to get caught due to the risk of harsh punishments. Some still believed that the Weasly twins were the cause. Many thought that it had been an attempt at cheating on the Slytherin team’s part that backfired. No one ever came close to the truth and a couple weeks later, most seemed to have dismissed the matter entirely.

Harry and Ron were both fascinated by Yugi, Ryou, and Malik’s situation, but they had nothing on Hermione, who was so full of questions that she bombarded the three item holders every chance she got.

“So there’s seven in all and among the three of you, you have five,” Hermione said as she, Harry, Ron, Yugi, Malik, and Bakura all sat under a tree near the lake. It was surely one of the last nice days they would have before winter set in for the long haul, and they were all determined to make the most of it. They were well out of earshot, and so they could speak freely.

“That’s right,” Yugi said. He was sprawled out with his charms book and a lengthy piece of parchment. He chewed absentmindedly on the tip of his quill as he contemplated how to finish up his essay on mood-altering charms.

“Pretty neat how you can do all that powerful magic without having to learn a single spell.”

“Ron!”

“What, Hermione? Certainly seems easier. And no problems with mussing things up and casting the wrong spell, eh?”

“Can’t say I’ve ever had problems with that,” Malik said. He was laying idly on his stomach, picking bits of grass and allowing them fly in the cold wind of the approaching winter.

“Then why learn wizard magic at all?” Ron asked.

“Our magic is limited as far as what we can do with it,” Yugi replied. “It’s not very…” He searched for the right word. “Practical.”

“You call turning a turtle into a teapot ‘practical’?” Malik interjected.

“Well, not that per say…” said Yugi. “But other than the unique powers offered to each item, our magic generally lends itself to game play with the occasional offensive and defensive stuff. Our magic isn’t really for everyday use. It would wear us out if we tried that.”

“Wear you out?” Harry said curiously.

“Yeah. Our magic is kinda fueled by our own…spiritual energy. If not for the other me, I doubt I could do much with the puzzle. I’ve been in a shadow game where I had to actually supply the energy. Believe me, it’s not fun.”

“Oh, then you usually don’t draw on your own magic,” Hermione concluded.

“Up until the point that Dumbledore contacted me, I didn’t know I had any magic of my own. I thought it all came from the puzzle. But besides all that, I for one, wouldn’t mind learning a few new tricks of my own. I’d like to be able to do some magic myself. I think that’s why Bakura’s here, too. That and he’s really into all this magic and wizards and weird creatures stuff.”

“Learning new tricks is nice,” Malik piped in, thoughtfulness in his voice. “But I like having this wizard world as another option for me. I don’t really know anything useful except magic and thievery. I’ve done the thief thing, and I don’t really want to do that for the rest of my life. But since most of my magic is illegal among you wizard types, if I wanna get along, I better learn to adjust my methods.”

Yami Bakura was leaning against the tree just a short distance away from where the others were engaged in conversation. He had long since grown quite tired of the tell-all sessions Malik and Yugi had been having with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and he didn’t want to be part of it. So he was feigning sleep. He still didn’t approve of sharing their secrets. It was bad enough that the teachers at Hogwarts and those dopes back in Domino knew what they did. Was it really wise to be telling these three anything they wanted to know simply because they knew the initial secret? He couldn’t see any good coming from it. In fact, he had a bad feeling about all of it. Yami Bakura would purge all their memories if he thought he could get away with it. But Ryou, the pharaoh, and perhaps even Malik would not stand for it. Yami Bakura didn’t understand it, but the others seemed to like the fact that Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew. They seemed to find comfort in it. Ryou had told him that it made them feel accepted to know these fellow students knew of their dark circumstances and didn’t hold any of it against them. But Yami Bakura didn’t see how that was comforting. After all, they would never know what Harry, Ron, and Hermione really thought.

Unless they used the Millennium Eye, of course…

“I still must wonder… Why were the items made?” Hermione continued. “And how?”

“’Fraid we don’t know the answer to that,” Malik answered. “The history of the Millennium items is as much a mystery to us as it is to anyone. Maybe we’ll find out if and when these two get their memories back.”

“You’ve said that the pharaoh gave up his memories to seal some evil all those years ago, right?” Hermione said.

“That’s how we understand it,” Yugi replied, not looking up from his parchment.

“Why then,” Hermione continued, lowering her voice slightly, “doesn’t HE have his memories.” Her eyes focused on Yami Bakura and the others followed her gaze. Feeling the attention on him, Yami Bakura opened one eye, annoyed.

“Actually, I never really thought about that,” Yugi said, still chewing on his quill. It was a good question. He knew that the pharaoh had given up his memories in order to seal the evil, as they had already said. But what had Yami Bakura done to lose his memories?

Malik gave a little laugh. “Maybe he was the evil that was sealed, heh…”

Malik’s comment was met with silence and he ceased his laugh immediately. He’d only meant it as a joke, but it seemed that the possibility that there was truth in what he’d said was being contemplated by his fellows. And now that he thought about it himself… No, no, it couldn’t be true…Could it?

//Well, that’s what I’ve always thought,\\ said a voice in the back of Yugi’s mind.

//Yami!\\ Yugi scolded.

//Well what other explanation is there?\\ the pharaoh asked. //Surely you don’t think that he did anything good or noble to get himself trapped in that Ring. We both know well what he’s capable of. And while one may go as far as to say he’s docile compared with what he used to be, we can’t be sure that he won’t change back just as fast.\\

//I wish you wouldn’t say things like that,\\ Yugi said. //Must you be so suspicious and negative? Why is he the only one who doesn’t deserve a second chance?\\

//Because he is the only one who was led entirely by his own lust for power.\\ Yami replied. //Malik wanted revenge for something he didn’t understand in the first place. Pegasus was trying to reunite with his dead lover. Even Kaiba has a miserable childhood to blame all his eccentricities and selfish exploits upon. But the dark Bakura has no excuses and no reasoning behind his actions. He was (and I’m convinced still is) guided only by his own selfish desires.\\

//That’s still not fair,\\ Yugi said. //There must be some reason or something that we just don’t understand. And besides…you changed, why can’t he?\\

That, the pharaoh had no answer for. He didn’t know why his inherent distrust of the other spirit was so strong. But that feeling was rooted deep within him and he had faith in it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all considering what Malik had said very seriously. While they, of course, didn’t actually know what happened back in ancient Egypt and they had only known of Yami Bakura’s existence for a short while, this explanation did make sense. What they knew of Yami Bakura consisted largely of what they saw of him back at the Quidditch game and in the hospital wing. And that display certainly did make the banished evil theory seem quite possible.

Yami Bakura hadn’t heard the initial question, but he’d heard enough to get the idea. Enough to know exactly what was going through the minds of the others. And that knowledge irritated him greatly. Just why was he the topic of conversation, anyway? This girl was asking questions that she had no right to be asking. And she was sparking those questioning, suspicious looks from the others. And Yami Bakura didn’t like that. Perhaps he should convey to these mortals just how he felt about the matter. Slowly, he sat up straight.

Malik saw the expression on the Ring spirit’s face as he started to move and wished he had never opened his mouth. He wished that for once, he had thought about what he was saying before he said it, for now it seemed that he had unwittingly triggered yet another of Yami Bakura’s moods.

“You seem so eager to speak of our past and our exploits, girl,” the spirit said darkly as he stood and walked closer to them. “Why not speak instead of the endeavors that you three have been through? I’ve heard much about them from the endless chattering and gossiping of those silly girls who follow my host around. Ryou paid little attention from where he hid from them at the back of our mind, but I faced them and I listened.”

Yami Bakura now stood before the spot where Hermione sat with Ron and Harry. Hermione dared not speak for fear that she would incite him further and for guilt that she may have helped inspire this anger. She really didn’t mean to. She was fascinated by Yugi, Malik, and Bakura’s story and only wanted to understand them. But she’d asked the wrong question. Her eyes darted to Harry and Ron for help, but the boys were looking questioningly to Yugi and Malik. Unfortunately, they also had little help to offer. Both Yugi and Malik tried to calm their fellow down, but their urgings fell upon deaf ears.

“Yes, from what I’ve heard, you’ve had many interesting adventures indeed,” the Ring spirit continued. “But I’m sure that there is much more to say than what I have heard. Why don’t you three favor us with the details? About how you secured the fabled sorcerer’s stone and killed your first Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?”

“Wait, it’s not like that-“ Harry tried to explain, but the dark Bakura would not allow his interjection.

“Or what about how young Harry is able to speak with snakes? A sign of evil and darkness among you wizards, isn’t it? What about how your second Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher went mad?”

“But you don’t understand-“ came Ron’s attempt to settle the spirit. But it was also in vain. Yami Bakura continued on, without so much as taking a breath.

“Or the harsh gossip there’s been about you over the last few years? Or about how all of you have nearly been killed several times since you first came here? How about the powerful evil forces that desire your death and nobody seems to know exactly why. And that boy, just last year, who was killed… supposedly because he was in the wrong place when Harry’s enemies came around. Killed because of his association with young Harry-“

Hermione stood quickly and with a sudden movement, her hand swept across Yami Bakura’s face. His head turned with the blow, and white hair swinging with its movement to curtain over his face. The boys stared at her in shock and silence, and in truth, Hermione was equally shocked by her behavior, but she hid it well behind a mask of bold righteousness and anger. The dark Bakura was being cruel and unfair; the things he was referring to were horrible enough on their own, and he was twisting them around to make them sound even worse. And to bring up Cedric Diggory’s death was just a low blow. It was terrible of him to want to bring up these things that they didn’t want to think about ­ that he couldn’t possibly understand. Hermione very much wanted to say something, but she couldn’t find the words. The moment seemed to last an age despite its actual length of only a few seconds.

Yami Bakura was not the least bit shocked. When he turned back to face Hermione, he wore a smile that was a mixture of satisfaction and smugness. He had accomplished what he had meant to. He felt he had made his point.

Harry was angry at first with the way Yami Bakura was contorting their adventures, many of which Harry had personally always been quite proud. The way he placed emphasis an all the bad parts, forcing those terrifying and horrific moments to play back through Harry’s mind. To make him feel guilty and miserable all over again… Then suddenly he understood. Yami Bakura would never come out and say it, but he must have hated not knowing about himself. And asking these questions must have reopened the wounds. And these questions didn’t shine the best light on him. Like the way the Dark Bakura had not allowed them to explain the bad deeds of which he spoke, so were they coming to conclusions while not knowing the whole story… Because for the most part, the spirit didn’t know himself to tell them. Harry turned to Hermione and saw a look of realization pass over her face as well. Ron, however, still looked outraged.

“We all have things that we rather not discuss,” the Yami Bakura said, placing a slow emphasis on each word. “And I would rather you leave me out of your deliberations entirely. If little Yugi, the pharaoh, Malik, and my host wish to confide in you three, then so be it, but leave me to unlock my own doors before you come knocking.” He turned and sent one last glare in Malik’s direction. He didn’t come out and blame Malik for saying what he did, but he didn’t have to. The look said everything.

Malik sighed heavily. “There he goes again,” he muttered as Yami Bakura headed back toward the castle, no doubt to go sulk on the astronomy tower again. “Never know what’s going to set him off anymore. I guess he’s still mad about the secret being out.”

“He does make his point clear,” Hermione said guiltily.

“What point?” Ron said angrily. “Seemed to me like he was just being a jerk.”

“He doesn’t want his past thrown in his face, Ron,” Harry said. “He can’t remember it, so he can’t deny or explain anything. So he turned our past on us and didn’t give us a chance to explain before he put a negative spin on things.”

“But…Well…” Ron stumbled on his words. “Wouldn’t it have been easier just to tell us not to talk about him?”

“The dark Bakura rarely does things the easy way,” Malik replied. “He’d rather raise hell over every little thing and cause trouble whenever possible.

“He doesn’t like us very much, does he?” Hermione asked.

“Oh, don’t pay any attention to him,” Malik insisted. “I don’t think he likes anybody. He’ll get over it.”

Hermione wanted to say something but hesitated, unsure of how to phrase it. She opened her mouth to try to convey it anyway, but Ron bluntly beat her to it.

“You know things didn’t happen the way he said, right?” Ron eyed Yugi and Malik expectantly, the question heavy in his eyes.

“Oh…Um…” Yugi mumbled. “Well…few things are ever as bad as the other Bakura makes them out to be…”

“But judging from your reactions,” Malik added, “there was some truth in there. What exactly was all that about?”

Harry’s gaze fell. He should have realized that the subject of the darker events of the last few years would come up eventually. He sighed heavily and began the last conversation he would have wanted to have.

Bakura had not shown up at supper that evening and had not been in Gryffindor tower either. Yugi and Malik had listened to the dark stories that the ring spirit had brought up, and, despite the spirit’s intentions, they didn’t hold any of it against Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They knew well that one can’t face evil and have no scars to show for it. Surely Yami Bakura knew this too.

Yugi didn’t know what to do about Yami Bakura. Did he really hate people knowing about him that much? Why did he push away every time someone tried to understand him? It seemed to Yugi as if the ring spirit were trying to make people hate him. Yugi had been under the impression that Yami Bakura had wanted acceptance. So why was he doing this now? The only explanation that Yugi could come up with was that Yami Bakura was still not used to being with them instead of against them. The spirit was still uncomfortable with being…well, not friendly, but tolerant of them. Perhaps the whole “friend” concept confused him and he just lashed out at everyone as a result?

Malik had his own theory. Yami Bakura was quite simply pissed off. And the spirit had rarely been able to express such an emotion without making an ass of himself. End of analysis. But since such behavior would end up alienating Ryou as well as the ring spirit, Malik felt that another little heart to heart was in order. Maybe if he was lucky, Yami Bakura wouldn’t try to rip his out.

The blonde knew full well that Yami Bakura would not be found in the library, Great Hall, or any of the other nice, warm places there was to be. No, Yami Bakura would not be Yami Bakura if he didn’t make things as difficult as possible. Therefore, he would of course be found on that blasted observation tower, up all those stairs, and out in the freezing cold night. So that was where Malik headed.

Malik opened the tower door and faced blackness dotted with stars where the overhang didn’t block his view. There was no wind this night, so the cold was not as bad as it could have been, but Malik still would have much rather been inside. He pulled his robes closer around him.

“What do you want, Malik?”

Malik jumped, startled at the sudden noise, which had come from somewhere on he left. The faint starlight was not enough to find the source of the noise from where it hid in the shadows. Yami Bakura’s eyes, however, were quite adjusted.

“Where are you?” Malik asked the darkness before him.

There was a slight rustle as Yami Bakura reached in his robes. “Lumos,” he muttered. A light flashed, bright at first, and then it settled on a steady glow. Malik could see Yami Bakura sitting against the wall quite clearly in the light of the wand that the spirit held.

“You learned a new trick,” Malik said, slightly impressed.

“Ryou did,” the ring spirit replied simply.

Malik eyed Yami Bakura cautiously. “You still mad at me? I swear I didn’t mean anything by what I said earlier. I didn’t think.”

“So what else is new?” Yami Bakura muttered crossly.

“Okay, so apparently, you’re still a little mad,” Malik observed. “A little mad” was probably the best he could have hoped for anyway. He chanced approaching the spirit.

“I’ll ask you again,” Yami Bakura said impatiently. “What do you want?” The spirit had something in his hands, but in the light, Malik couldn’t tell what it was. That pocket knife of his again?

The blonde sighed. No point in beating around the bush. He stood next to Yami Bakura, but didn’t sit down beside him. “Why does it bother you so much that Yugi and I talk to Ron, Harry, and Hermione? Why does it tick you off that the secret is out? You were the one who blew our cover in the first place, you know.”

Yami Bakura shot Malik a dirty look. “Our cover wouldn’t have been blown if you and the pharaoh hadn’t interfered with my shadow game. And if I’d have had my way from the start, nobody would know about us. I’m not the one who wanted to tell that old man. So don’t try to make me sound like a hypocrite.”

“You are a hypocrite,” Malik replied, starting to lose patience. “You say you want acceptance. Yet you want to remain a secret. You can’t have it both ways. And being a jerk doesn’t help your case much either. So just what is your deal, anyway?”

Yami Bakura eyed Malik and scoffed. “You and the pharaoh just don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

Yami Bakura’s gaze wandered to the object in his hands. Now that he was closer, Malik could see that it was a deck of cards. Not duel monsters ­ the cards were too big to be that kind of deck.

“Tell me Malik. Can you name one person who was connected to the items in any way who wasn’t tragically affected by them?”

“Uh…” Malik drew a blank.

“I’ll tell you right now that you can’t,” Yami Bakura said. “Something unfortunate has happened to every person who so much as knows about the items.”

“Are you trying to tell me now that you’re acting like a jerk because you’re concerned about the well-being of these people who learned about the items?” Malik said disbelievingly.

“No,” Yami Bakura insisted. “It’s because more often than not, it comes back to bite the rest of us as well. Nothing good comes from that knowledge. You and Yugi should know that by now. And yet you both stupidly divulge every detail in hopes of making some new friends.” Yami Bakura spat the last word out in disgust.

“Yeah, but there’s a difference,” Malik defended. “These people have the power to defend themselves. They aren’t bound by the magic of the millennium items.”

“It makes no difference,” Yami Bakura said. “The millennium items have a destiny to fulfill. They want to fulfill it. It’s like they plan things out. And they make things happen.”

“Oh, come off it, Bakura,” said Malik. “These wizards don’t really have anything to do with the items.”

“You’d be surprised,” Yami Bakura insisted. “I’ve been dealing with the millennium items for a long time. I know…just how involved it can be.”

“What do you mean?”

Yami Bakura closed his eyes in thought. “You remember that Pegasus guy we’ve told you about?”

“Uh, yeah…” Malik muttered. He was growing uncomfortable with the conversation now. They were talking about the guy that Yami Bakura had murdered. But Malik was also very curious about what was causing Yami Bakura to bring this up.

“Did we ever tell you about how he got the eye in the first place?”

“Yeah. You guys read it in his journal, right? Shaddi gave it to him when he went to Egypt after his girl died, or something like that.”

“Yes,” Yami Bakura said. “If that girl had not died, Pegasus would not have gone to Egypt. He wouldn’t have gotten the eye, and he wouldn’t have created duel monsters, and he wouldn’t have thrown the tournament that brought the pharaoh to the world’s attention. All of that which played a vital role in bringing the items closer together and closer to their destiny. Quite a domino effect… Now, with so many events tied to that girl’s death, doesn’t that make you think that maybe the items have something to do with it? Would she have died if it weren’t for them? Perhaps it was the items that made that first domino fall. Maybe there were even earlier steps taken. Events tied together so intricately that we can’t even begin fathom them.”

Malik shook his head in disbelief. “Are you drunk or something? What the hell has got you talking like this? Since when are you all philosophical and wondering how things might have been? And what does this business about Pegasus have to do with anything?”

“Alright, fine, forget all that,” Yami Bakura said, throwing a hand up in exasperation. “That was just an example. But someone brought up a subject that caused me to question myself and I don’t do anything half-assed.”

“Question yourself?”

Yami Bakura glared at Malik for a moment, then scoffed. “Forget it, just forget I said anything.”

‘What the hell is he going on about?’ Malik thought. ‘One mention of his past and he goes completely nuts?’ He put a hand to his head. Just what was Yami Bakura’s point? He wasn’t making sense.

Yami Bakura could never even begin to explain how he had gotten on this tangent, and Malik probably wouldn’t understand even if he could explain it. Several hours of thought and concentration had gotten him this far and he had neither the consideration nor the patience to handle Malik’s confusion. Yami Bakura had his own confusion to deal with.

The earlier events of the day had once more forced Yami Bakura to face the fact that he knew almost nothing about himself ­ who he was, why was he sealed in the ring… He didn’t want the others to believe that he was some monster and that it was his fault he and the pharaoh were sealed. Mostly because he didn’t want to believe it himself. The histories said that the pharaoh would be revived with the shadow games to stop the resurrection of a great evil. If he was that evil…then what? Would he be fated to face off against the pharaoh until one of them fell? Was he cursed to never be out of the fight?

As one question led to another Yami Bakura had reflected on what he did know about himself and the millennium items he was so closely connected to. It was then that he saw the path of destruction behind each of the items and began to wonder just how much the items were responsible for. Even before they made their appearance. There was just too much to chock it all up to coincidence. Pegasus’s miserable past was only one such example. Yami Bakura didn’t know much about Malik from before Battle City, but he knew enough to know that it had been bad for him. A happy childhood doesn’t normally lead to a homicidal alter-ego after all. Malik’s misfortunes would have also, of course, affected his sister, Isis ­ another former item holder.

And then there was Ryou…and the events which led to him becoming the owner of the millennium ring. He was the only one who could serve as Yami Bakura’s vessel…the only one who could bear the ring. Many others had died trying. That the millennium ring would fall into the hands of the only person that could survive it… It could be no mere coincidence. As part of the millennium ring, Yami Bakura knew that it was capable of finding its way to Ryou. And its first journey to him had been on a road of tragedy and death. Ryou couldn’t understand or handle it then. And he couldn’t now.

There was also a long list of people who had suffered who had only known about the items. Like Malik’s step brother, and Yugi’s idiot friends back in Domino. And perhaps countless others who had been stepping stones to further the items toward their final goal. This suffering was like a curse…a disease spread by involvement with the items.

But, save for Ryou and maybe even Malik, Yami Bakura didn’t really care about all these other people. They were neither his problem, nor his concern. What did get to him was the fact that if all these others were being used by the items, then so was he. And he didn’t like being anybody’s (or anything’s) pawn. That was why he didn’t want anyone to know about him or the items. That was why he wanted to scare people away. It wasn’t out of concern for them, but rather out of his own stubborn refusal to be a piece in someone else’s game. He’d always hated revealing the secrets of himself and the items, but it wasn’t until Malik motivated him that he was able to sort out the reason why. He’d understood subconsciously, but never in rational thought. Well, as rational as these thoughts could be considered.

Because his theories would only upset Ryou or Malik, it would thus do him no good to tell them about his thoughts. And he wasn’t about to go talk to the pharaoh…Ha, the pharaoh… Yugi was the only one whom Yami Bakura wasn’t sure had totally been screwed by his involvement with the items. But then, he’d never bothered to find out any personal details about Yugi. There was probably something about him, too.

Regardless, Yami Bakura couldn’t rant or vent to anybody about what was truly on his mind and his worries and concerns put him in a very bad mood which, he felt, left him little choice but to take it out on Malik, who was most certainly at fault for making him think too much in the first place.

“If you’d have asked me a month ago, I would have said that I thought you and the pharaoh knew better,” Yami Bakura said. “Those three mortals will end up getting involved and we’ll end up having to clean up the mess.”

“Look,” Malik said, “if there really are dark wizards after us, then it’s probably better that Harry, Hermione, and Ron know about it. They know more about these Death Eater guys than we do, and since they’re always in trouble with them anyway, who’s to say that these dark wizards won’t go after them at the same time that they go after us? This way they at least have some warning.”

“They’re in more danger by knowing and their knowing is a risk to the rest of us as…well.” This conversation was starting to sound awfully familiar and the smirk on Malik’s face that looked all the more self-satisfied in the limited light told Yami Bakura that the familiarity would not be in his favor. He thought for a moment with lips tightly pursed before it dawned on him. He had very recently been on the opposite side of this conversation with Professor Dumbledore. His eyes widened a bit and his mouth fell slightly in this realization. He quickly regained his composure, but not quick enough to avoid Malik seeing his reaction.

Malik was very pleased with the way the conversation was going now. Not that it had been an accident by any means. Malik had become quite good at talking people into corners.

“Hy-po-crite,” he said, stretching the word out and delighting in every syllable. Yami Bakura huffed and glowered up at the blonde.

“Okay, so what if I am?” he replied indignantly, crossing his arms. “My mind remains firmly unchanged.”

“Stubborn hypocrite,” said Malik through his grin. Yami Bakura no longer had a leg to stand on in his argument and both of them knew it. “Why don’t you just accept that what’s done is done and you might as well stop moping about it because it’s too late to change-“

“I could always…”

“Because,” Malik repeated a little more forcefully, “it is too late to change it. They know about us, and now we know about them. The risk is shared. Now we can go on with our lives, right.”

“Pffft…” was Yami Bakura’s only reply.

“Good enough,” Malik said. “So Hermione need not fear your wrath for having slapped you?”

“It was part of making my point,” Yami Bakura said.

“Wait,” said Malik, “you went into that whole thing knowing it was gonna get you slapped?”

“Figured that if at least one of them didn’t get ticked off enough to hit me, then my point would be lost. Besides, that little tap didn’t hurt me.”

Malik paused thoughtfully for a moment. “What if she’d have cursed you instead? You know…a spell?”

Yami Bakura blinked several times. “I hadn’t thought of that. That would have sucked.”

“Moron,” Malik muttered.

Several minutes went by without either of them saying anything. Malik leaned casually against the wall behind him, his back against the stone. Yami Bakura remained in his sitting position, shuffling his deck of cards. His lit wand was discarded to the floor between them, where it still provided them with some limited light. It was Malik who finally broke the silence.

“So, you’re going to lay off the rest of us, right? No one else will get involved.”

Yami Bakura stopped shuffling and eyed his deck. “Why do you always seem to feel the need to come talk things out? Why do you always seek me out when I obviously want to be alone.”

Malik shrugged, smiling. “Part of that whole watching each other’s back thing, right? Besides, who else is gonna straighten out your disagreeable behind. It can’t all fall on your better half. He’d go insane.”

Yami Bakura laughed softly. “Ryou’s taken to sleeping or simply ignoring me when I’m in charge. He decided he rather not know what trouble I cause when I’m in control. But I still block him out when I don’t want him involved. I’d rather he not know my business as well.”

“Can’t block me out,” said Malik, grinning.

“If only,” muttered Yami Bakura dejectedly, resting a cheek on his fist.

Malik only grinned wider as he stood up straight. “I know you’d help me if I needed it. Despite that solitary tough guy aura you project. So I don’t mind being a sounding board every once in a while so you can hear just how stupid you sound.”

Yami Bakura arched an eyebrow. “Watch it. My opinions haven’t changed, remember?”

Malik laughed. “They rarely do,” he said.

The ring spirit stared off into the darkness. “I suppose I can be tolerant. Just leave me out of your conversations.”

“Great,” Malik said. He stretched his arms and back as he stood there, then readjusted his robes. He hadn’t noticed the cold much during their talk, but now his hands and nose felt frozen. He cupped his hands together and warmed them with his breath and then promptly rubbed his nose. “Well,” he said, “I still have a paper due tomorrow that I need to throw together, so I’m off. I suggest you do the same. Bakura’ll raise hell if you get him sick.” Malik started to walk back to the door.

“Wait a minute,” Yami Bakura said.

“What?”

Yami Bakura spread the deck of cards in his hand and held them up with their back to Malik. “Pick a card.”

“You gotta be joking,” Malik said. “Card tricks? You’re not supposed to be that kind of magician.”

“Humor me,” said Yami Bakura.

“Fine,” Malik said, as he walked back to the sitting figure of Yami Bakura. “What do you want me to do?”

“Pick three,” Yami Bakura answered. “One at a time. Tell me what they are.”

“Not much of a trick if I tell you what they are,” Malik muttered.

“It’s not a trick, numbskull,” said Yami Bakura impatiently. “I just want to see something.”

“All right,” Malik said with a sigh. He picked a card near the left and blinked at it in the dim light. He hadn’t seen this kind of card before. Was this Bakura’s Tarot deck? “The Devil,” he said.

‘Evil,’ thought Yami Bakura. “Again,” he said.

“Two of…” Malik eyed the card he had just pulled from the middle, “Cups, is it?”

‘Alliance.’

Malik pulled the last card on the left. “King of Wands.”

‘You,’ thought Yami Bakura. There was no doubt now. “One more.”

“But you said three,” Malik protested.

“Just do it.”

“Fine, fine…” Malik pulled a card from near the end on the right. “The Tower,” he read.

‘Devastation...’

“That’s all, Malik,” said the ring spirit.

“That’s it?” Malik asked, confused. “What was all that about?”

“Nevermind,” Yami Bakura said. “Just go do what you have to do.”

“Whatever,” said Malik, dismissing his curiosities. What Yami Bakura had been trying to do must not have worked.

As Malik closed the door behind him, Yami Bakura eyed the cards Malik had drawn. While alone on that rooftop he must have done twenty readings, just trying to get his mind off things and settle his own curiosity. Those same cards had shone up in almost every reading. What ever he had predicted in that first reading in Divination class was clearly still going to happen. He had hoped that having Malik draw for his own fortune would have shown that the blonde wasn’t the center of it all. But it still seemed that he was.

Yami Bakura sighed heavily, resting his head against the stone wall. So many problems… He rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache threatening. Having been faced with the current problem of revealed secrets and the future problem looming over them all, he had chosen the former and focused all of his frustrations upon it. Now that Malik seemed to have confirmed his fears, a few secrets told seemed such a meaningless thing to worry about. Though Yami Bakura was sure that Harry, Ron, Hermione and all those teachers knowing weren’t going to help matters. However, they couldn’t be blamed for Malik…and whatever he ended up doing.

It was going to be soon. Whatever it was…it would be soon.