[Kitty: This was the most fun chapter for me to do!

Lina: For good reason, you like introducing the Japanese boys, especially Yugi.

Yugi: (grins)

Kitty: R&R!]

Chapter Four:

Japanese Exchanges

"Shut up, Tomb Robber!" Marik snapped, as his black raven, Horus, landed softly onto his shoulder.

"C'mon, Gravekeeper," said Bakura in a laid-back time, "You're too weak to take me on. Your brother Odeon couldn't even take me if he tried."

Marik lunged, Horus flying off his shoulder, but...

"Ow, Marik!" said Ryou.

"Sorry," growled Marik, "But, really, keep your Yami's fat mouth shut!"

Seto rolled his eyes at the pair, as he stroked his new Siamese cat, Rama, looking out the window.

"I still can't believe no one around here has heard of Duel Monsters!"

"I guess it hasn't become very popular around here," said Yugi quietly, scooping his new kitten, Hoshi, into his lap.

"Excuse me."

The four looked at an auburn haired boy with a baseball cap and biker gloves in the doorway.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a pair of red haired twins?"

They shook their heads.

"Drat!" the boy muttered, "By the way, were you guys speaking Japanese by any chance?"

They nodded.

The boy's eyes widened.

"Cool! You guys play Duel Monsters?"

"Finally!" said Marik, "We found someone who's heard of it!"

"Everyone we've met thinks we're talking 'bout some video game," said Ryou, as his tawny owl, Raider, landed on his shoulder promptly.

"Pleasure to meet you," the boy said, sitting down next to Marik, "I'm Diana."

The four stared.

"Uh..." Marik said, "Why are you...?"

"Oh, sorry," said the boy.

He took off his cap and a long ponytail came free.

"I know I sound like a boy," said Diana apologetically, "But I'm a girl."

"Whoa," said Yugi, "You sure look like one!"

"We really thought you were!" said Ryou.

Diana smiled as if saying, "I hear that a lot."

"You are?" she asked pointedly.

"Oh right!" said Marik, stroking Horus's dark feathers, "I'm Marik Ishtar."

"You Arabic?" asked Diana, her eyebrow raised.

"Egyptian," he corrected politely.

"Wicked!"

Marik smiled.

"I'm Ryou."

"I'm Yugi. And that's Kaiba."

Diana's ocean-like eyes widened.

"Seto Kaiba?" she muttered to Yugi, "As in KaibaCorp?"

"Hai."

"Totally wicked!"

"So how long you play Duel Monsters, Diana-kun?" asked Marik curiously.

"Call me Dare please, everyone does," said Diana, "About two years. My aunt's an Auror, she worked internationally in Japan for a while and she introduced it to me."

"What's an Auror, Dare-kun?" asked Yugi curiously.

"A witch or wizard fighting against Dark Forces," Diana explained, "My mum was one too."

"Cool," said Marik, "I'd like to meet your mum sometime."

Diana looked down.

"She died," she muttered, "Many years ago."

"Oh!" said Marik, realizing how uncomfortable he'd made her, "I'm sorry."

"Forget it," Diana said dismissively, "I barely knew her anyway. She died only a year after I was born."

"I know what you mean," said Marik, "My mom died because I was born."

"And my mother died when I was seven," said Seto, letting Rama jump off his lap and start a little fighting game with Hoshi. It was the first time he had spoken in the whole conversation.

"What about your dad, Dare-kun?" asked Ryou, "Is he...?"

"No," Diana said harshly, "He's alive."

They blinked at her sudden irritation.

Diana sighed.

"Sorry," she muttered, "I'm not very... er... fond of my father."

"I can relate perfectly," said Seto.

He wasn't looking at her, but was still looking out the window.

"His foster father, Gonzaburo Kaiba... er... wasn't very nice to Kaiba-kun and his little brother when they were kids," Yugi explained.

"He died, though," added Marik, "When Kaiba-kun threatened to push him out a window and gave him a heart attack."

"I wish that could happen to mine," Diana muttered.

Yugi's eyebrows raised, pulling Hoshi away from Rama at last.

"Why?"

"Please, I don't wish to explain about him right now," she replied quietly, "Maybe another time."

"No prob," said Ryou.

"We don't mind," added Marik.

Diana smiled.

"So, I know Seto's a duelist here. You guys all duelists?"

"Yep!" said Yugi, smiling in adorable chibi-like way.

"Wait a sec," Diana said suspiciously, "Yugi's your name, right?"

"Hai..."

"Yugi Mutou? As in the King of Games Yugi Mutou?"

"Hai..."

"Totally and completely wicked!"

Ryou and Yugi sweatdropped. Marik snickered.

Diana cleared her throat and got her dignity back.

"Sorry," she muttered, blushing slightly, "I just can't believe I'm meeting you of all people! But why are you going to a British school if you're Japanese?"

"We've been wondering that ourselves," Ryou said, "That Doodledore guy just said it be safer."

"Who... oh! You mean Dumbledore!"

"Whatever," said Ryou, rolling his eyes.

"And we're also older than the other people on here," Marik added, "They're all 11, and we're 14."

"14?" repeated Diana, frowning slightly, "Shouldn't you be in fourth year, then?"

"I guess..." said Yugi.

"But since we don't know any magic, starting at fourth year level would be difficult," remarked Seto.

"Well, I'm glad you ended up starting with me," said Diana, "I've never met other people around here who played Duel Monsters. Besides, you guys seem pretty nice."

Marik and Yugi smiled.

Horus flew off of Marik's shoulder, and landed on Diana's. He grabbed a lock of her hair in his beak, tugging it softly, and she giggled.

"Horus likes you," Marik noted, "That's a first, he hasn't gone near anyone except me."

"Do I know it," Ryou said, showing a fresh-looking cut near his thumb, "The reason he only goes near you, Marik, is because you're the only one he likes..."

Marik glared.

"Well, you really can't say that, Ryou, since Horus likes Dare-kun just fine."

Diana smiled.

"Well, animals almost always like me for some reason," she said, stroking Horus's feathers, "And Horus is rather sweet."

Horus chirped affectionately, and Ryou rolled his eyes.

"Sweet, my ass," he muttered.

Marik glared at Ryou reproachfully, but looked kinder toward Diana when she let Horus fly back on his shoulder.

"My, Horus made a good friend out of you," Marik said, smiling subtly at Horus and then at Diana.

Their eyes locked for a moment, lavender on blue. They agreed silently; they were definitely friends.

"All students," said the conductor on the PA, "Please note that we shall be arriving at Hogwarts in about ten minutes. Change into your robes and leave your luggage on the train. Bags, cages, and personal belongings will be carried to the school separately. Thank you."

"I better go," said Diana, standing up, and Horus flew off promptly, "Nice meeting you guys. Hope we're in the same house!"

And with that, she left.

"House?" Ryou repeated.

"What house?" asked Marik, as Horus returned to his normal sitting place on his shoulder.

"The school houses," said Seto as if it was obvious, "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. You're sorted into one of them by your personality."

"What do they represent, Kaiba-kun?" asked Yugi curiously.

"Well, Hufflepuff are for the loyal, fair and patient lot."

"I'll probably end up there," Ryou said, "Unless my Yami has a say in this."

"Ravenclaw are for the smart," Seto continued, "I'm guessing that's where I'll be. Slytherin are for the cunning and ambitious, but most that end up there become Dark wizards. And Gryffindor is for the brave."

"I like Gryffindor," Marik said, smiling, "I hope I'll end up there."

"What house d'you think you'll be in, Yugi-kun?" Ryou asked him.

"I'm not sure," said Yugi, "I guess either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor if I had to guess. But I think Yami-kun would like being in Gryffindor better, don't you?"

Bakura came out, scowling.

"Oh, of course," he said scathingly, "Nothing but the best for the Pharaoh..."

And he left, Ryou in his place, and rolling his eyes toward the heavens.

"My Yami is such a pain in the ass," he muttered.

"I can second that," said Marik and a newly appeared Atem at the same time.

The four got into their new black school robes.

Seto's were made of silk, since he could afford it.

Yugi's sleeves were slightly long for him, so he had to roll them up several times.

Ryou's cloak wouldn't seem to fasten, so he had to tie the two sides together instead.

Marik's were plain, except that he fastened a pin with his tomb keeper crest on them.

Yugi kept his Millennium Puzzle outside of his robes, unlike Ryou, who hid his Ring under his shirt, and Marik, who tucked his Rod in his back pocket.

The train slowed down, finally stopping, and leaving their stuff behind, the four left the train with the other students.

"Whoa," said Ryou, "I didn't know there were going to be so many people!"

Seto looked around. He was so tall that he didn't have too much trouble looking over all the heads of the first years.

"I think we have to follow that guy over there!" he said, pointing out a huge bearded man carrying a lantern.

"C'mon, firs' years!" the man yelled, "This way te the boats! C'mon now, hurray up!"

"Let's go, then," said Marik, "I can't wait any longer!"

"No mo' than four to a boat!" roared the large man, who they had learned was called Hagrid. The three Japanese and one Egyptian got into one boat.

Marik noticed Diana get into the boat next to them with a boy with even brighter red hair than her and tons of freckles, a black haired boy with taped glasses over green eyes, and a bushy brown haired girl with buckteeth. Diana didn't seem very pleased that the girl was riding with them, and neither did the two boys.

Then Diana saw them, and she waved. Marik and Ryou waved back.

The red haired boy asked her something, and she muttered something back, probably introducing them shortly to him.

Marik spotted Hagrid get into his own personal boat, and the boats suddenly began to move by themselves. Seto looked the most shocked of the four, not being used to magic in the least bit.

The boats swam around a corner, and then, they saw it: a large stone castle, with glittering lamps in the windows, tons of towers that reached up toward the red tinted clouds, and a large blue-black lake.

"No offense, Kaiba-kun," Yugi breathed, "But this place I think beats out your mansion by a fair amount."

Seto didn't say anything, but looked quite speechless.

Marik peered over at Diana, who looked just as shocked as he was, and Marik could have sworn that he saw her mouth, "Wicked."

Finally, the boats stopped, and everyone got out.

Hagrid was asking around if a student had lost his or her toad, and a joyful looking boy came forward in the crowd, claiming it and calling it 'Trevor.'

Then Hagrid brought up a fist about the size of Yugi's head (tricolored hair included) and knocked on the wooden doors.

[Kitty: (grins as she finishes writing the chapter) YAY, I'M DONE!

Lina: (smiles) Cool.

Kitty: (smiles) That was really fun! I'm going to like the next part too: THE SORTING! (grins)

Yugi: (smiles as he types on the computer) kani likes this fic a lot, Kitty...

Kitty: (looks at Yugi in surprise) Really? What did she say?

Yugi: She says, and I quote, "Is Ryou gonna be in the story? Cuz he's sexy too! Good story, I always love HP/YGO stories with OC's they make the story interesting and fun to read (like all your stories)."

Ryou: (blushes)

Bakura: (grins) P.S., Kitty would like to know your email next time you review, kani.

Kitty: (smiles) Yeah, as you can see, Ryou's already having fun in my lovely HP/YGO world...

Ryou: (glares) You think being hit by Marik and getting clawed by a raven is FUN?

Kitty: ...that is a lot like my imagination.

Seto: Oh, really? Is that why I have to hang out with these idiots, because in your mind, you find that amusing?

Kitty: No, I did that because I wanted to see you struggle with magic... (glares) But, due to circumstances I can't control-

Seto: A.K.A. not wanting my bishojo Jesse to get angry... (grins)

Kitty: -I thought it would be best to save your reputation. (sighs)

Yugi: (sweatdrops) You're not even doing that for me...

Kitty: Trust me, Yugi, a few magical problems will help you later, okay?

Yugi: (sighs) If you say so.

Lina: R&R!]