Wind: The odd comment in the bio about computers and milk refers to an incident that occurred on July 5. Stella was typing. She was thirsty. She took a sip of chocolate milk, but the glass she was using was slick and had no handle. It went all over the computer.

Stella: Fortunately, the computer was fixed yesterday with some replacements parts and such, but for a while it seemed hopeless. Also I hate to rewrite from scratch.

Review Responses:

DragonMaiden: Keep the Persian spell in mind...

Alaena Flame Dragonstar: You'll see.

Zidane: Yami Bakura was not paying attention. The spell is OLD.

Windswift: Constructive is nice, but praise will do.

Blood Cat: Stella's better now. It was the temporary-almost-permanent loss of a computer that delayed this. Please do e-mail it.

yesim@*@k@*m@liklover: Malik is going in power so conversation are now possible. Malik really wish they weren't. Thank you for telling me, but I don't really mind that at all. I read some of it and I was more concerned about the formatting. And you having to go to school so soon. Poor you.

rogue solus: Yup, next chapter for some of that.

Raven Scorne: *holds Pocky* Thank you. *wispers to Stella* What's Pocky?

AG the master: Another chapter or two until that.

summer psycho: Already decide that. Long ago.

anymouns: Tried White Angel?

Princess Serenity: I think you got the answer.

CereliaAsh: Yeah, but they'll be there soon enough, got most of necessary stuff done.

Hikaru: You're welcome. This monster may run over 75. Three years worth of Hogwarts.

Joci: Each to their own is one of my favorite sayings. Yami Malik first major appearance, as there was a bit in chapter two. Kurama plant a death seed? No clue.

Behold the Void: Well, at least that keeps the swelled head-itis down. A friend offered to proofread, but she knows nothing about YGO so it may take a little time. But I have a token excuse for this chapter, the A on this keyboard is faulty.

FireSenshi, Evergladelord, Yami Yavi-no-Lyithien, Sarah, YAMI CHIP, rayne: Thank you.

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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Chapter Twenty-one: Plots, Plans, and Pools

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Dumbledore chucked another log on to the fire and watched the sparks rise into the pre-dawn sky. He sighed and shook his head as he saw that the log had almost put out half the fire.

Well, at least it wasn't the whole fire, Dumbledore thought glumly, trying to ease his boredom a little. He was the one who had to watch the spelled fire that their magic had created and document how long it burned and any odd behaviors it exhibited. It also was to be kept burning until it went out. How it was going to go out, Dumbledore didn't know, but he assumed since it was born of magic, the problem would solve itself. If it kept burning past four in the afternoon, the next person would come and relieve him.

Shoving the wood further in to the heart of the flame with a booted foot, Dumbledore heard a snap.

Malik Ishtal it seemed could not have been able to get much rest, as he was talking a walk at five something in the morning; Dumbledore doubted it was normal insomnia

"Hello, Professor." Malik looked and sounded a little preoccupied. Then, a slight smirk of triumph briefly lit his face and disappeared like it had never been there. "What are you doing here?" he asked looking at the fire.

"Having a little camping trip," Dumbledore said, "before the term starts."

"Kiddies get on your nerves?" Malik asked, his tone suggesting that he was doubtful of this idea, but as this facet of the world was new to him he was willing to believe things that would have normally seemed odd.

"No, far from it, but it has been years since I last camped, and I wanted to get back into practice before...well, you'll see. I can't tell you what I'm talking about because I could get in real trouble with the Ministry, but let me just say you'll likely recognize it when you hear it. It was in no way whatsoever my idea," Dumbledore said.

"Whatever," Malik said, shrugging.

"So, what are you doing out hear?" Dumbledore asked hoping to find out a little more.

"Um..." Malik replied intelligently, caught off his guard. "Having a little walk... pre-new-school jitters," he explained, quickly recovering.

"Oh. So, you're a little excited about it?" Dumbledore said, slowly coming to something he had wanted to discuss with this boy.

"Faintly. It isn't often you get invited to a school for magic."

"Yes..."Dumbledore not feeling like making small talk for half an hour, went straight to the point. "Also one other thing this school of magic is offering is counseling."

Malik sighed. "How much did Isis tell you?" he asked aggrieved. He knew Mr. Weasley was a partly aware about his disreputable past, but Malik didn't know how much he knew.

Dumbledore was surprised by this question. It implied quite a bit... for some truly strange reason Dumbledore got the feeling that Malik had done more than associate with bad influences. "That you had fallen into the wrong crowd," Dumbledore made a small mental note that next time he met Isis Ishtal to ask more questions; it seemed Malik was not going to more helpful.

Malik seemed a little more relaxed after Dumbledore told him that, but only a little. Dumbledore was fairly sure this boy didn't even let his guard down with his own sister. This confirmed Dumbledore's growing suspicions about what the hierarchy may have been like.

"What is Pigcorns like?" Malik asked after they had stood in the night's silence.

" Hogwarts is one of the top school is on magic. But since almost every academy says this it's rather uninformative. However, one thing I can say is there is rarely a dull moment. "

"Could be interesting."

Dumbledore realized how well the boy had neatly sidestepped the implied question; once more it seemed he was going to be blunt, an around about type of bluntness, but still blunt. "Hogwarts has recently received a grant for the Ministry to hire two councilors. Many of the grants we are receiving, though welcome, come from cuts in many places that I consider essential. But the Minster never said there was a limit, so I've plans to exploit them as much as I can. I couldn't do that with the councilors," Dumbledore said regretfully. "The candidates for the position were already lined up. I just had to choose two."

Privately, Albus thought that only one had been suitable. Sure Ms. Dustden had excellent credentials, but there was something bout her that Dumbledore didn't like, perhaps it was her attitude, or how she took what ever the Ministry said as the truth and the law. "So instead of getting two or three councilors and giving each a decent workload, I have one I dislike and other I need more time to decide on. The process I'm planning to judge them on is how well they can handle the students and how many are counseled. For that I need quite a few students, so I asking every child that I think of that has one or more issues if they want counseling."

Malik smirked. "Clever."

"I thought so myself," Dumbledore said modestly.

"I'll keep the counseling in mind," Malik said, "but I don't believe I shall need it at the current pace thing are happening at." Malik furrowed his brow briefly. "Then again... at the current pace things are going at, I may need it."

Before Dumbledore could unravel the cryptic comment, Malik turned and left.

***

After leaving the professor, Malik breathed a sigh of relief. That old man was not as batty as one might think after meeting him. He was too clever and cunning by half; Malik was fairly certain that the reason Dumbledore told him of his stratagem about the new additions to the staff was to lull Malik into trusting him. Yami Malik hadn't helped when Malik had first found them eccentric professor, giving all stimulating suggestions as to the explanation of why the wizard was there, ranging from cannibalism to a lady friend. But Malik had shut him up with an off-handed sounding comment that the professor was going to be rather curious to why he seemed to stop in mid-conversation. He chuckled at the sudden mental picture of what the geezer's reaction to his other side.

Malik was unaware he was not the only one laughing, but this other someone was not laughing because of a whimsical fantasy that couldn't come true, but because the plan was working.

***

Dumbledore mopped his brow with his robe's sleeve. The humidity had soared after Malik left. He was half expecting the beautiful red sunrise to convert to a blue one with water.

Again he heard a noise coming from the woods. This time who ever it was made no pretension of silence. All three in one morning, Dumbledore thought. Odd.

"Hello... You're Professor Dumbledore, right?" Yugi asked scrambling over a fallen tree.

"Yes, camping trip," Dumbledore said, sticking to the same story, in case they were compared.

"Having any fun?" Yugi asked politely.

"Moderately earlier, before this muck set in," Dumbledore said, waving his hands in the air. He could swear he felt some water.

"So you been up a long time then?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, one of the joys of sleeping outdoors."

"You must have been talked to Malik and Bakura then," Yugi told him, nodding slightly in satisfaction.

"How did you deduce that?"

"With this humidity Bakura wouldn't wash his hair unless he had a long time to blow dry it, and that would be a little pointless as there are no electrical sockets...unless he had something to hide. And I met Malik earlier when going out. He said that he had been saying goodbye to the gnomes. I know he detested those little buggers. Since I found no pools of blood, no bodies, and none of them were traumatized when I was walking in the garden thinking, he lied."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow about Yugi's description of what would have happened had Malik said a farewell. This boy had been living under the same roof with the other boy for over a week so he supposed he knew him better then Dumbledore, still pools of blood? "Ermm, Yes, they both talked to me briefly," he confirmed. "What were you thinking about by the way?"

"Changes." Yugi sighed. "I know everything must change, but..." He broke of to sigh again. "Sometimes changes aren't for the best. So far we've been lucky, but it gonna run out sometime." Yugi looked into the emerald woods. "Sorry," he apologized after a minute.

"Don't apologize for speaking your mind," Dumbledore reprimanded gently.

"Gotcha."

Dumbledore felt a drop of liquid fall onto his wrist.

"Better get going," Yugi said, already leaping over the rotting tree. "See you at school!"

Dumbledore smiled. Ahh, the agility of youth. About a minute later Dumbledore could of used some speed. He had forgotten all about the fire.

Despite his efforts to save it, the rain had put it out.
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Stella: If it's a little choppy, it's 'cause around the middle of conversation of Dumbledore and Malik's was when the milk came into to play.

Since the search here on ff.net seems to be down and new fics are being posted and such, we have decide to take matters into are own hands. If you know of any HP/YGO crossover fics that have been updated in last month please review and tell us the name. A list will be complied and posted in our bio. Thank You

Wind: Next update? *shrugs*