Chapter 5

Transfiguration class was fun for the yamis although the regular students seemed to find it difficult. Ron in particular seemed to be having a bad time, whereas Hermione acted no different than she had in their other classes. To the yamis it was a simple matter of willpower. As Marik had mentioned earlier you only had to be able to picture it and it became possible.

They were working on turning matchsticks into knives by first transforming the match into a needle and then changing the needle into a knife. Knives fascinated the yamis and they each had quite a collection of them by the end of the class (at least five each). They had designed the knives to match their wands so Marik's knives were either solid gold or steel with a gold handle. Yami's knives were steel with golden handles and had patterns in ruby and gold along the blades. Bakura's knives had the most variety. He had knives with onyx blades, plain knives made of seven folded steel, and knives that were carved all over with strange designs.

Everyone stared at the knives, fascinated not only by the fact that they were perfect but because they were so different from the plain kitchen knife that McGonagall had produced. Each knife was different and the boys refused to allow their knives to be touched. The knives were quickly placed inside their bags, seeming to vanish. One boy grabbed Yami's bag off him and searched it trying to get a look but was severely disappointed. Not only did he not manage to find anything but McGonagall gave him detention as well.

In Herbology, their next class, they learned once again how good Yami was. The plants that he was working with never tried to attack or go against him or anything. Marik came out with scratches all over from where he had practically gotten into a wrestling match with one of the plants and Yami was the only one left untouched. The class headed back into the building to wash up and then the groups separated. The Yamis were going to study Ancient Runes and Harry's gang was going to Divination.

"I wonder what we're actually going to do in Ancient Runes." Marik said as they walked. "I mean, they're doing hieroglyphs and we know those already."

"I wonder how much more they're going to get wrong." Bakura told them. "It'll be fun to correct the teacher."

"Well there were several different types of writing, but yes, I have noticed quite a few mistakes already..." The boys gave each other mischievous grins and headed into the classroom.

Divination the next day was interesting. Bakura impressed Professor Trelawney with his skill in reading the Tarot and the older students finally found the Professor's strong point. She and Bakura got into spirited discussions of different spreads to use for the Tarot deck, what color candles were to be used when you were trying to see in smoke patterns and how many of each color (Bakura favored two black or equal numbers of black and white while the Professor used mainly pink), and the differing meanings of different symbols depending on the different circumstances and backgrounds of the person in question.

They were assigned a ten inch essay to complete and hand in within the week on what the symbolic meanings of different colors were. Trelawney had given them several suggestions. These included everything from the most obvious, a study of the English meanings and usages of certain colors, to an essay showing how colors were used in historical settings.

"You know we've never had such a normal homework assignment from Professor Trelawney before?" Harry asked them on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Really, she seemed quite interesting to me," Bakura told him, "Definitely not a real seer though, if she gets visions once or twice in her lifetime she should count herself lucky. She won't be able to call up visions on purpose and if she does ever have a vision she'll probably not remember it afterwards. Still, she's interesting. It's not often that you meet someone who knows that much about the art and has that much potential without the mental discipline to do anything with it. If she wasn't as old as she is I'd try to teach her."

"Yeah, yeah, spare us the lectures please." Yami said. Hermione looked at him, startled, she'd been interested. She wasn't the only one either. Harry was impressed and Marik looked disappointed that Yami had stopped the 'lecture'.

They turned into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and sat down. Professor Umbridge was seated at the teacher's desk, still wearing the horrible pink cardigan and bow. "Well, good morning!" She said to them after they had all taken their seats.

The answering "Good morning," was only vouchsafed to her by a few people. The yamis were included in this group, standing to bow politely.

"Tut, tut. That won't do, now, will it?" said the Professor, "I should like you, please, to reply 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge." One more time please. Good morning class!"

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge." Said most of the class back to her. This time it was the yamis who didn't reply.

"There now," she said. "That wasn't too hard, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

"Oh, good, we can finally get rid of these stupid sticks." muttered Yami.

"What! I've never had a good class where I haven't used a wand."

"What about potions?" Marik asked but Harry's tart reply was interrupted by the Professor who had started talking again as the words 'Defense Against the Dark Arts A Return to Basic Principles' appeared on the blackboard.

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it? The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year." She smiled sweetly at them and continued.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following please."

'Course aims:

Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.

Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.

Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.

Once everyone had finished writing down her three aims she asked, "Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?" A few people muttered assent.

"I think we'll try that again. When I ask you a question I would like you to reply 'Yes Professor Umbridge,' or 'No Professor Umbridge.' So, has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes Professor Umbridge," said everyone in the room dully.

"Good. I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk." Professor Umbridge sat down in her chair again to watch them as four hands shot into the air.

"Excuse the interruption Professor, but would you mind explaining how this theory will work in the real world?"

"This is school, Mr. Ishtar, not the real world,"

"So we're not going to be ready to face what's waiting for us out there?" Harry asked her, sounding furious.

"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter."

"Oh, yeah?" Harry, Malik, Yami, and Bakura all asked her simultaneously.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" Professor Umbridge's voice was coated in honey.

"Well, let me think... Voldemort maybe?" Harry asked sarcastically.

The reaction was huge and immediate. Ron gasped, Neville fell of his chair, and many of the students went white. The new kids rolled their eyes. Umbridge didn't even flinch. Actually she looked rather pleased.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. Now, let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain dark wizard has returned from the dead."

"I haven't been told anything, I saw him return."

"Mr.-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-House-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," Professor Umbridge said all this very fast without taking a breath in between words. "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It is not a lie! I saw him! I even had to fight him."

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge looked triumphant. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five 'Basics for Beginners.'"

Harry stood up. "Sit down," Marik hissed at him pushing him back into his chair, "That's not what I was talking about anyway. Let us do this."

Bakura raised his hand. "I don't know anything about Voldemort professor, but I don't think that's what my friend was talking about. The problem is that the textbook doesn't make sense."

Idiot Marik heard Malik's thought and privately decided to skip lunch to punish him for that. This was serious. Marik wasn't going to have his hikari insulting his... friends, yeah, that's Bakura was, a friend. Anyway, this was one thing that he wasn't going to stand for, and it wasn't just a justification either. This would provide an opportunity to try that spell he'd found in transfiguration too.

"What do you mean by that dear?" Professor Umbridge asked him, "You haven't even started reading it yet."

"Oh, Isis made us memorize all our course books before we came. It's just that I don't agree with most of the stuff in here, that is the stuff that's actually understandable and not just pretty words."

"How can a word be pretty, dear?" Professor Umbridge's look had turned motherly as soon as Bakura had started talking.

"May I show you?" Bakura asked picking up a piece of chalk and gesturing at the blackboard.

"Certainly dear," People were staring at her wondering what had caused this sudden attitude change. Bakura walked up to the blackboard and began to write something. When he stepped back the board was covered in hieroglyphs.

"What are those?" asked Seamus incredulously.

The Professor's expression changed dramatically as she looked at him and sharply ordered him not to talk without raising his hand. "What do they say dear?" she inquired then, "They look interesting but I can't read them."

"Oh," Bakura flushed slightly, "Sorry, I forgot." He quickly erased the marks and rewrote it, this time a long, involved, speech about the beauty of the lotus plant. Everyone stared at it in disbelief.

"I didn't know you liked flowers Bakura." Yami's tone was mocking, "And you're wandering from the subject. The point is that whether this particular Dark wizard is dead or not, we are still in need of protection."

Before the Professor could answer the bell rang. She dismissed them, holding Bakura back for a moment to whisper something in his ear, and telling them all to have the chapter read by the next day.

"What did she say to you?" Marik asked once they were in the hall sounding slightly envious.

"Apparently I remind her of her favorite nephew. Ra that was annoying. If she wasn't the teacher I would've killed her for treating me like a little kid. And don't you start." He glared at Yami who had patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"Aw, come on, we have to go to Care of Magical Creatures and you're holding us up." Yami tugged Bakura's sleeve and managed to get him moving again.

At Care of Magical creatures they learned about Bowtruckles, small creatures that looked as though they were made out of sticks. Professor Grubbly-Plank told them that Bowtruckles ate woodlice and fairy eggs and lived in trees. These tree-guardians preferred trees that were suitable for making wands out of; and could be quite fierce in their defense of their trees. Bakura wondered out loud how many Bowtruckles had been hurt or killed by wizards, and was treated to the best glare that the Professor could summon.

At lunch time Marik excused himself saying that he wasn't hungry and was just going to go up to his room. When he got there he slammed the door shut and grabbed a piece of rope, glaring at it until it turned into a whip. He got a satisfied smirk at his success and separated from his hikari.

When the light cleared and both of them were clearly visible, Malik started trembling uncontrollably. He didn't know what had happened but it had to have been something bad. Marik looked angry. Then Malik's eyes fell on the whip in his yami's hand and he froze. Marik glared at him and he quickly dropped to his knees. He was in enough trouble already; it wouldn't do to get Marik any madder.

"I heard what you said in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Marik's voice was low and angry. Malik's trembling began again as Marik circled him, stopping and snapping the whip on his back. Malik screamed as Marik lashed him. Malik heard the crack again and flinched automatically, waiting for the blow to fall. It never did.

Malik looked up slowly. Bakura was standing there with the whip wrapped around his wrist, his normally pale face white with fury. "Get out." He ordered through clenched teeth. Marik looked at him, shocked.

"But-"

"I said get out. Now."

Marik stared at him for a moment longer before slowly nodding, dropping the whip, and backing out the door. Bakura glared at the whip until it vanished in a curl black smoke and then turned to Malik who quailed.

"Take off your shirt."

Malik obeyed, trembling, and waited for the next order. He wasn't sure what was going on but he was sure that whatever it was it couldn't be good. Bakura turned him around and retreated into his soul room long enough to find a jar of ointment which he brought back into the real world with him. Malik's trembling stopped when he felt Bakura's hands gently covering his back with something that seemed to numb the pain. When Bakura had finished he grabbed a shirt and handed it to Malik ordering him to put it on. It was then that he noticed the carvings on Malik's chest. He smirked, anger gone for the moment and headed out the door with a parting command for Malik to stay in the room.

AN. As in chapter three I have copied what Umbridge says directly from the book. Well except when she's babying Bakura. Sorry 'Kura, I couldn't resist. So don't get mad at me please. Runs away from furious hottie