Hagrid led the boys through the crowed street that was Diagon Alley. His wide berth created an easy path for them. Though the boys were intimidated by Hagrid's great size (with poor Yugi barely standing taller than Hagrid's kneecaps), they could not help but feel secure with him. Several people said friendly greetings to the giant as they passed, one even offering him a drink. But Hagrid merely declined with a polite wave and stated, "On Hogwart's business."

As it was lunchtime, they stopped at a local restaurant for a bite to eat. The ability to speak and read English didn't help Yugi much with the menu, as he didn't know what most of the foods were. Ryou helped he pick something, though even he was baffled by a few things on the menu. "Dragon steak" was a dish he had never heard of before.

While waiting for their food, Yugi and Ryou compared their supplies list. They were identical, so it seemed that they had the same classes, which brought both boys some comfort.

The meals arrived. Hagrid examined what appeared to be a schedule which he pulled out of one of his many pockets while he ate. He scratched his head in a confused way. "Running late," he commented. "I've gotta be back at the castle tomorrow. Got a shipment comin' in. For the first lesson," he added in an exited way. "Now, Dumbledore tol' me a bit about you two. About how you're muggle-borns from Japan and late-starters. Better late than never, if you ask me. The staff'll catch you up, you don't need to worry about tha'. But I'm afraid I don't know which of you's which." He seemed a little embarrassed.

"That's okay. I'm Yugi Mouto," Yugi said.

"Ryou Bakura," Ryou said, speaking up nervously, "but most everyone just calls me Bakura."

"Prefer the family name, huh?" Hagrid said nodding. "I'm like tha' myself. Even my closest friends call me by my last name. Now," he said turning around and pointing, "Tha's our first stop. Gringotts bank. You exchange your money there. Then there's a bunch of places we need to go for your robes and books and such. And then there's the extra stuff. If you wanna bring a pet along, the Magical Menagerie is the best place to buy one. I'd suggest and owl; they're the most useful. They'll carry your mail and such. But there's also cats, toad, ravens, rats... a bunch more. And if you're interested in sports, Quality Quidditch Supplies is around the corner."

"Quidditch?" Yugi asked.

"Wizard sport," Hagrid said. "Played in the air on broomsticks. There's lots of room on the house teams now with so many people having graduated, if you're interested. Some of our best players have been muggle-borns."

"I don't think competition is such a good idea," Ryou said looking at Yugi, who nodded knowingly. They were both afraid that their yamis might do something in the heat of the moment in competition that they might regret later. "Besides," Ryou added, "I'm no good at sports."

"Aye, you might be better off," Hagrid said. "With all the work you two have to catch up, ya probably won't have the time. Besides, Quidditch is going to be crazy this year. Majority of the captains graduated, so there's new teams leaders. What with Malfoy in charge of Slytherin and the Weasly twins co-captains of Gryfindor, don't know why McGonagall was thinking allowing that." Hagrid rattled on, more to himself than Yugi and Ryou, who had no clue who or what he was talking about.

They finished eating and made their way to the bank. The goblins gave Ryou the creeps, but it was even worse for Yugi, who was almost face to face with them. They exchanged their money and Hagrid took a look at their supplies lists, deciding where to go first.

"Well, we might as well get the books out of the way. They make up most of your list. Come along, stay right behind me."

The street was extremely crowded with school shoppers. There was arguing, children crying, big men laughing and joking. Yugi and Ryou felt like they stood out in their street clothes. Everyone around them was wearing robes. Ryou looked around embarrassed for someone else dressed like them. Suddenly, he felt the warm glow of the millennium ring on his chest. He felt a single dangling point move. He peered through the crowds. He noticed a flash of gold among the throngs. Blonde hair, street clothes... But before Ryou could put what he was seeing together, Yami Bakura, recognizing the form in the crowd, took over, and Ryou lost awareness. Hagrid and Yugi didn't notice that Ryou was no longer following them. Yami Bakura smirked and followed the flashes of gold, moving in the opposite direction of the bookstore.

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

"Oh, I'm sorry! Please excuse me," Malik said as he bumped into and older woman on the sidewalk.

"It's no problem, young man," she answered in a tired way. "Just be careful."

She walked onward. Malik waited until she was out of sight, and then examined the contents of the coin pouch he had just stolen from her. He frowned, disappointed. Only five of the gold coins, and twelve of the bronze ones. Hardly worth the effort. That brought his grand total up to thirteen gold coins, twenty-three silver, and fifteen bronze.

"Amateur..." came a harsh voice from behind Malik. Even in English, he was sure that voice was familiar. He turned sharply around. His mouth dropped as his eyes met that familiar glare.

"YOU! What are you doing here?!" he said in a harsh whisper.

"Same as you, I'd imagine," Yami Bakura answered, leaning casually against a wall. "Ryou's invited to that magic school, and, of course, he can't do anything without me."

"Seems more to me like you can't do anything without him," Malik muttered. Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes but said nothing, so Malik spoke again. "So what do you want? I'm kinda busy here."

Yami Bakura shook his head. "How you ever got to be the head of an international gang with those mediocre thieving skills is beyond me."

"Mediocre?!" Malik said fuming. "She never ever noticed!"

Yami Bakura only laughed, which made Malik even madder. Although Yami Bakura wouldn't admit it, he was glad Malik was there. Malik was his answer to Yami's Kaiba. A rival. Someone with comparable skills with whom he could compete. Not to mention he was fun to bicker with. Malik felt much the same. The two of them had a habit of instigating each other, which made for much amusement.

"Alright, know-it-all, what did I do wrong?" Malik said, crossing his arms and frowning.

"You've got to pick your targets better," Yami Bakura replied. "That woman was obviously tired and she was carrying several packages. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she's been shopping all day and so has spent most of her money. You've got to pick somebody who looks like they're just getting started. Someone who looks like they have money."

Malik scoffed. "That doesn't always work. Look at me, I'm the perfect example. I'm not tired and I'm covered in gold, but the only money I have is the bit I just stole."

"Yes," Yami Bakura said with a hand on his chin as if he were deep in though. He looked Malik over. "But your clothes are dirty. Those pants are at least a year old, that shirt is several. And it appears that you cut the sleeves off yourself. Anybody with half a brain can see that you don't have money. The gold is obviously either hand-me-downs or stolen."

Malik wanted to be able to tell Yami Bakura that he was wrong, but couldn't. The spirit was right about all of it. Yami Bakura, sensing this, grinned. "Face it, kid, I know what I'm talking about."

"Alright, then you pick someone out," Malik said. If Yami Bakura was going to be arrogant about it, Malik was at least going to use him to do some of the work for him.

Yami Bakura looked through the crowd. His keen, narrowed eyes moved from one person to another, judging each one until he found the right target and smiled. He grabbed Malik roughly by the shoulders and made him face the right direction. "There's your prey."

Malik looked in the direction Yami Bakura was pointing him. Directly in front of him, about thirty yards off, was a boy with black robes, slick bleach-blonde hair, and an obvious attitude. "Him?" Malik said pointing.

"That's right. Nice robes, expensive stuff in his hair, snobby attitude. The kid's loaded. Follow him. Get close enough, and when the opportunity arrives, snatch his cash."

Malik sighed. If he didn't need the money he wouldn't have even considered listening to that big-headed tomb raider. But he did need the money so...

Malik went after his target and Yami Bakura watched him go. 'Well,' Yami Bakura thought, 'long as I'm out, I might as well get a look around.' He wandered around for a few minutes until he came to a street sign that caught his eye.

"'Knockturn Alley'" he read. He peered down the said street. It was a lot less crowded than this Diagon Alley. Darker, too. Looked more interesting. His mind was made up. He took the turn and began to walk down the nearly deserted street.

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

Yugi and Hagrid were already at the bookstore before they realized Ryou was not with them. Hagrid believed that he had gotten separated from them along the way. Yugi knew better. He knew Ryou was more careful than that. And it was more than likely that Ryou had not left them of his own free will. But he wasn't going to tell Hagrid that. It would be a little hard to explain.

Yugi wasn't quite sure what to do. If he didn't stay close to Hagrid, he was likely to get lost himself. On the other hand, it would be slow work finding Bakura with Hagrid around. Especially if Yami Bakura had taken control, as Yugi suspected. So when Hagrid went inside to ask the shopkeep to keep an eye out for a white-haired boy just incase he found his way there, Yugi allowed Yami to gain control. Yami then turned in the direction they just came from and retraced their steps in search of their missing companion.

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

"A kid with long white hair?" the shopkeep repeated.

"Tha's right," Hagrid said. "Got separated in the street. If he shows up here, tell 'im to stick around, we'll be back, alright?"

"Sure thing, Hagrid. If I see him, I'll let him know."

"Thanks."

Hagrid was about to exit the shop when he heard a familiar voice greet him.

"Hello, Hagrid!" He turned.

"Harry! How've you been? And Ron and Hermione! Nice ta see ya! Buying your school supplies, are you?"

"Yup," Ron answered. "We're almost done."

"Are you staying at The Leaky Cauldron?" Hagrid asked.

"No," Hermione answered. "We're all at Ron's. My folks are going out of town next week and the inn's full. Mrs. Weasly was nice enough to invite me. And Harry's been there most of the summer."

"And she can't wait to get back to school," Harry said.

"She ran out of homework and now has nothing to do," Ron muttered.

"Tha' reminds me," Hagrid said. "Congratulations on making prefect, Hermione." Hermione beamed. "Weren't you supposed to be one, too, Harry? McGonagall says you turned it down."

"Had to," Harry replied. "It would have gotten in the way of Quidditch."

"Yeah," Ron said sarcastically, "Cause you KNOW Fred and George are going to make you work sooo hard. I'm telling you, the team's in big trouble this year..."

"So Hagrid," Hermione said to get off the subject of the team's fate, "What brings you to London?"

"Oh, I 'bout forgot! I'm supposed to be showing a couple new students around. Unfortunately, I lost one of 'em. Strange-looking pair, but nice." Hagrid walked quickly to the exit only to discover that he had lost not one, but two of them. "Oh, no! Now where did he go?!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Hagrid out, and quickly discovered the reason behind his distress.

"Wish we could help you, Hagrid," Harry said, "but we have to find Ginny and get back to The Burrow."

"Tha's alright," Hagrid replied. "Those two shouldn't be too hard ta find. You don't see boys like that very often. Someone's bound to have spotted them. I'll see you at the welcoming banquet."

"Bye, Hagrid. Good luck."