Impressive

"Hey..." Bakura said admiringly as he looked up at the castle that was Hogwarts. "Neat." It was almost worth the trip just to see the old place. At least they had a reason for having to take the ordinary way of traveling rather than apparating. Apparently Professor Dumbledore was smart enough to see that if people kept appearing inside Hogwarts it wouldn't be safe anymore, and to fix that problem by working spells to stop apparating altogether.

The magical veils that shimmered and danced in his sight would take some getting used to though. They almost eclipsed the splendor of the castle, and they certainly made it hard to see. Why would the old man put so many spells on the place? And didn't it obscure his vision? If Bakura was having a hard time seeing anything but the magic – and he was used to it – what effect would it have on the students?

"It's not exactly the most enthusiastic response I've ever heard." Commented Lupin. "Most people are more impressed."

Sirius chuckled "Oh believe me, he's impressed. I've never seen him so enthralled by anything before. And I'm the one who spent weeks with him remember?"

"Yes," Lupin agreed warily, "But still... Hogwarts normally gets at least a drop-jawed stare. He's looking at it like it was just a very pretty house."

A smirk flickered across Bakura's lips. "I can actually hear you talking about me you know. Whatever else I may be I'm not deaf."

"Sorry," Lupin muttered, flushing.

An undignified snort was Sirius' only reaction. "Like you care," he said sarcastically, "You're just trying to make poor Remus uncomfortable."

"Am not." Bakura protested. "I'm just trying to point out to you the innate rudeness of your behavior. Since my host isn't here to do it I suppose I have to take his place."

"Who?" Lupin asked.

"Ah, not such a good question." Cautioned Sirius. "He won't answer questions about his host, whoever he is. Even if he does mention him almost constantly." He shot a fake glare at the white-haired spirit.

Bakura smirked. "I'm not going to spill all my secrets to you no matter how much you want me to. Baka no inu."

"What did you say?" Lupin asked.

"I just called Sirius an idiot dog." Bakura explained coolly. "Which he is."

"I resent that." Sirius growled, pouting slightly. The effect was quite nice. Long black hair blowing in the wind, violet eyes annoyed, bottom lip stuck out. His posture reminded Bakura forcibly of his former host. That was just the way his Ryou looked when he wasn't getting his own way. Bakura was the only one who got a different reaction, and that was one of more fear than annoyance.

A slight smile played across his lips. He hadn't thought about his hikari for a long time, and the forcible reminder of the sweet-spirited host was welcome. Blue eyes slid closed as the memories washed over him. His host was perfect. The pharaoh would say that Yugi was the perfect one and probably come up with a hundred reasons why Ryou wasn't as good, but to Bakura his hikari would always be the best.

"Hadn't we better get down there?" Lupin asked eventually. "We've only got a couple of weeks before term starts and we'd better get busy."

"I suppose," Agreed Sirius reluctantly. He glanced over at Bakura, who shrugged and smiled.

"I don't care. There's as good a place to think as anywhere I suppose. Is the Hogwarts library any good?"

"The library at Hogwarts is one of the best magical libraries in the world." Lupin told him. "You should have no trouble finding any text you want in it."

"Should being the operative word." Bakura sighed. "Oh well. At least it should have more books in it than the shadow realm."

Sirius gaped at him. "You mean that place has books?!"

"It's quite civilized I assure you," Bakura said dryly. "Everything that could be done to make it more comfortable has been done. Your problem is that the only part you've seen is the punishment place. That's where people go when they're banished to the shadow realm, not where they go for a visit."

"Why were you there then?" Sirius retorted, obviously believing he had just scored a hit.

"I wasn't visiting. I practically live there. The shadow realm's better than this world sometimes, and there's no place better when you want to be alone."