Yay! New chapter!! Sorry it's late!!Don't hate me, please!! Just R&R!


Unusual Tactics

Later that afternoon Ryou and Malik headed up to the school, following the other wizards as they returned to Hogwarts. They were both jumpy, excited and anxious about Malik joining Hogwarts. He and Ryou were interlocking arms, earning several stares from the other students as they walked by. Sekhmet was trailing closely behind, trotting happily behind her owner.

"I can't believe you're joining Hogwarts, Malik! It'll be so nice to have an actual friend here."

"What do you mean, 'actual friend'? You don't have any friends here?"

Ryou shook his head and looked at the ground, his smile disappearing.

"Not really. I am friends with Neville and Luna, but other than that, I don't really have any friends. They all think I'm a freak."

"And why is that?"

Ryou simply pointed to his hair with a false smile on his face, his eyes showing sadness deep in those chocolate pools. Malik sighed before ruffling Ryou's hair, smiling gently at his albino friend. Ryou giggled and pushed against Malik, who returned the gesture, making them both laugh as they struggled to walk while pushing their hips against each other's.

A bit back in the crowd, Ron, Hermoine, and Harry were watching the two with odd looks on their faces.

"They're right weird, they are." Ron said, raising an eyebrow at the two's antics.

"I have to agree with you on that, Ron. They are weird." Harry shook his head, running his fingers through his mop of black hair.

" Don't judge them, you two. They're best friends and they haven't seen each other in a while, so of course they're going to act a bit odd. Though I do have to admit, they are a bit…funny to watch." Hermoine said, covering her mouth with her hand as she tried to stifle giggles.

As they reached the castle, Ryou and Malik were still linking arms, earning several stares from the students and the teachers. Not only because they were both boys, but because Malik wasn't a student there. Dumbledore had noticed this and sent Snape over to meet the two.

"And who might this be, Mister Bakura?" Snape asked, sneering down at Malik.

"This is my friend Malik Ishtar, Professor Snape."

Malik looked up at Snape and stared for a few seconds, turning the situation into a semi glaring contest.

"Wow, look at that honker! He must've had a bad childhood."

Snape had no idea what Malik had just said, but at Ryou's attempt to stifle his giggles, he knew it was something along the lines of an insult. He raised his head and started walking, motioning for the two to follow. When he heard laughter from the students on both sides, he turned around to see Malik with his nose in the air, his arms out dramatically behind him, wearing Ryou's cloak and letting it flow out behind him as he walked. He didn't even attempt to stop when Snape saw him.

'Another troublemaker. Delightful.'

Snape just scowled and continued walking in the direction of Dumbledore's office, Malik and Ryou following closely behind.

"So what do you think Professor Dumblies wants to see us for?"

Ryou chuckled a bit and shook his head, not helping himself but laugh at how badly Malik butchered the Headmaster's name.

"Dumbledore, Malik. And I'm not quite sure what he wants to see us about."

Ryou suddenly stared off into space, almost running into a wall, and Malik deduced that he and Bakura must have been discussing the current situation.

-He probably wants to discuss the fact that Malik's here. Or he just wants to interrogate us.-

-Bakura! He's not going to interrogate us! He most likely just wants to talk.-

-…Or interrogate us…-

-Bakura…-

-Well, haven't you noticed how suspicious he is of us? He's always watching us, whether through teachers, ghosts, paintings, or just watching us himself! I swear he knows something's off about us…-

-…well, you could be right, but for now, let's just let it go. If he does seem suspicious of us, I can always discuss things with him.-

-Or maybe I could do the 'discussing'…-

-Bakura!!-

Ryou finally snapped out of his 'daydream,' and Malik laughed at the pout on his face. He couldn't help it. Ryou was just so dang adorable when he pouted!

"You're soooo cute when you do that!!"

"Do what?"

"Your pouty face!!"

Malik giggled and glomped Ryou, rubbing his nose into the albino boy's hair. Ryou blushed heavily in embarrassment and tried to pry the still giggling Malik off him, but failed.

Snape turned to see what the two foreign boys were up to and rolled his eyes. He already had to deal with enough teenage idiots. He didn't need another joining his list of people to torture because they annoyed him.

When they finally reached the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office, Ryou had officially given up on trying to pry Malik off him, and just let him hang there. Malik was ecstatic, finally able to get the chance to smell Ryou's beautiful hair. He'd always known it smelled good, but this was something else. It smelled like mango smoothies and waterfalls and-

"Malik. We're here. You can let go now."

Malik looked up and noticed they were in Dumbledore's office. How he hadn't noticed them going in was a mystery.

"Mister Ishtar, I presume?"

Malik nodded without letting go of Ryou, vaguely understanding what the elderly wizard had said.

"And why are you here, Mister Ishtar?"

Dumbledore propped his elbows up on the desk, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on his hands, waiting for Malik to answer.

Malik conversed with Ryou for a second before nodding, laying his head back down on the whitenette's shoulder.

"He said he came here because he wants to learn magic. He can use it, like I can, but it's a different magic. He wants to learn to use this kind."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, thinking over what Ryou had said.

"Different magic, you say? What kind of magic is it, then?"

Ryou seemed to space out, his eyes clouding over, then snapping back into focus. They seemed a bit…redder than before, however. His entire demeanor appeared to have shifted, becoming darker, almost.

"It's a very old magic, that originated in Egypt. It's far stronger than the petty magic that's taught here, and can easily trump a fully grown wizard, if used correctly."

Dumbledore nodded, noting the slight change in Ryou's voice.

"What is this foreign magic called, Mister Bakura?"

"Shadow Magic. Only a few people throughout the world are able to use it. It can't be taught or learned. It can't be acquired or obtained. It is designated to work only with those who are compatible from before birth. Those who can use shadow magic are born with the ability. Malik and I are two of the very few who are naturally compatible with the shadows."

Dumbledore nodded, a serious expression on his face. He knew the foreigners were a tad…off in their magical aura, but he didn't think it would be this drastic a difference. To be able to use a different magic all together…and one far stronger than normal wizarding magic…He'd have to keep an eye on those two.

"I see then. I've made my decision. Malik Ishtar, welcome to Hogwarts."


"I can't believe I'm going to a magic school!! And I can speak English,too!"

Malik jumped up and down in the Gryffindor common room, ecstatic that he would be able to go to a wizarding school with his best friend. He was also pretty happy that he could speak English, thanks to a linguistics spell, but the heavy Egyptian accent stuck.

Ryou giggled, watching his best friend as he ran all around the room, inspecting magical items, scanning books, and sometimes poking other Gryffindors. He looked just like an excited puppy in a new home.

-Careful he doesn't wet himself. We'd have to tell Ishizu that her years of housebreaking failed.-

Ryou couldn't help but laugh at Bakura's sarcastic remark. Malik heard Ryou's amusement and ran up to him, still bouncing on the pads of his feet.

"What is it?"

Ryou covered his mouth with his hand, desperately trying not to laugh. Bakura wasn't helping either- he was barking like a hyper dog in his soul room, obviously mocking the poor oblivious blond.

"N-nothing, Malik."

Malik narrowed his eyes, knowing something was up. He lowered his hand to the Rod resting in one of his belt loops. His eyes clouded for a second before he turned beet red.

"HEY!!"

Ryou broke out laughing as Malik began his lovely rainbow of curses, ranging from English to Arabic.

Over on the other side of the room, Ron, Hermoine, and Harry were watching with amused expressions at the two's antics.

"That's the happiest that I've ever seen Ryou. It's also the first time I've heard him laugh, too. It's rather cute…" Hermoine said, chuckling behind her hand.

"I wonder what they're going on about." Ron stated rather than asked, smiling amusedly.

"No idea, but it is kinda nice that Ryou doesn't seem so, well, depressed."

Harry continued to stare at them, eyeing the golden object hanging from Malik's belt loop. He had touched it when he had his outburst, and it looked as if he had been thinking hard, as if trying to remember something.

'I wonder what it is…maybe I should ask him…no, he'd get suspicious…'

"Hey, Malik!"

Harry snapped back to reality to see Ron walking over to the Egyptian, a curious look on his face.

'Oh, no…he isn't going to-'

"What's that thing on your belt?"

*HARRY FACEPALM PLZ*

"Hm? Oh, it's my Rod."

Hermoine, who wasn't paying any attention until just then, blushed furiously and spun around in her chair, staring at Malik with wide eyes. (Yep, 'Moine's a Malik fangirl. Or she's a yaoi fangirl and just interpreted that like…the rest of us would have. X3)

"Your Rod?"

Ron tilted his head to the side, unknowingly making himself look simply adorable, at least in Malik's eyes. His outside appearance was calm and collected, but inside, he was squealing like a fangirl on crack.

"Mhmm~ I use it to channel my magic." (Interpret that however you want.)

"Oh. Is it heavy? It looks like it's made of gold…"

Malik pulled the item out of his belt, twirling it around in his hand.

"It's not really that heavy, but yeah, it's made of gold. It's magical or something, though, so it's not as heavy as it should be." *

"Oh. Can I see it?"

Malik forced a smile, pulling the rod back and putting back into his belt, keeping one hand on the top.

"No, sorry. It's a bit choosey about who can hold it."

Just then, Malik's stomach grumbled rather loudly, eliciting stifled giggles coming from Ryou. Malik blushed furiously, embarrassed, and hit Ryou lightly across the head, pouting.

"Hungry, Ishtar?" Bakura said amusedly, pushing Ryou back into his soul room so he could control his laughter.

"…A little…" Malik mumbled, still pouting.

"It is time for dinner, so how about we head down and get something to eat?" Hermoine suggested, putting her study material away.

"Really?! Yay!!" Malik all but squealed, grabbing Bakura's arm and running out of the common room.

"I think we should follow them so they don't get lost." Harry said, chuckling at how excited Malik was to get food. In his mind, though, Harry was mulling over the fact that, just a second ago, Ryou had…changed, somehow. His eyes were darker, almost red, and even his hair seemed pointier. He also seemed to be darker, in a way. Harry pushed the thought to the back of his mind, however, when Ron tugged on his sleeve to get him moving.

'I will figure this out…I hope.'



Sorry it's so late, guys!! I had a huge spot of writer's block, and I just didn't know what to write! But it's here now! YAY!! Please don't hate me!

*-Think about it- if the items were really made of solid gold, and had no magical charm to make them light-weight, they would weigh over 100 pounds apiece! D8

I'll try to update soon!!