12-24-07: IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE AND I'VE ONLY WRAPPED TWO – sorry, Blink 182… anywhoosle! I'm on break, hurray, so I vowed to myself that I had to update something. Merry belated birthday, Compy; Shadow, I love you and my dark-chocolate fountain, and to everyone else, HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!! (I wish I were British…) Oh, and a note: the first scene was meant to be one where the students explained Quidditch to the professors. As you can see… that's not what happened. And let me just say, I LOVE the baggage compartment scene. (dies)

IMPORTANT CORRECTION NOTE: I was rereading chapters when I realized that I wasn't consistent in my writing, so I want to clarify some things: After Dumbledore visits Bill in the first chapter, he takes Fleur back to France so that she can spend some time with her family. Then he comes back to share a room with Marik, however briefly. Speaking of the Egyptian, Marik comes to Domino and chats up with Yugi. After Yugi leaves Marik bothers Kaiba, and over the phone makes sure the clan's all right. Aaand… I think that's everything.

Location Note: Apparently, Hogwarts isn't in England, but in Scotland. Well, according to Wikipedia… I always thought it was in England though! Huh…

Translations:

Kami-sama: God

Aibou: Partner

Ano: Um, can be used as 'excuse me' (as it is here)

Jii-chan: Grandpa

Ore no Myoujou: My morning star (grins) (USED IN A NON-SHONEN-AI CONTEXT)

Dorobou: Thief

Telepathy:

((Yamis))

/Hikaris/

Disclaimer: Hikari Daeron does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! (Kazuki Takahashi) or Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling). The characters Hikari Daeron, Altáriël Daeron and Ceribi Motou are all original characters by Hikari Daeron.

Chapter Six: So Happy Together…
New Professors, New Adventures

The Burrow, Outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, England

Harry trudged downstairs to the breakfast table. He yawned. As he and Ron had stayed up all night looking at Harry's new deck and dueling, he was still tired.

Walking into the kitchen, Harry barely noticed the lack of the professors – except Kaiba –that morning. Harry greeted Mrs. Weasley, who set in front of him a plate of eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast, and then placed jam and butter on the table as well. Sighing with happiness – no one beat Molly Weasley's cooking except the House-Elves of Hogwarts – Harry began to butter his toast.

"More coffee, Professor?" asked Mrs. Weasley after pouring Harry some tea.

Harry, stuffing his face with toast, looked at the only other person at the table. Seto Kaiba, who was typing away on his laptop, glanced up. "If you please."

She poured him more coffee, told Harry more food was on the counter, and bustled out.

Silence fell. The only sounds that were heard was the easy clicks coming from Seto's keyboard, and Harry's chewing. Embarrassed, the latter tried to chew more quietly, but he realized that it was the absence of sound that was making him feel as if he was disturbing the older man.

Then suddenly, Kaiba broke the silence. "Yugi made you a deck."

Harry spluttered and nearly choked on his toast. Coughing, he drank some tea and managed to squeeze out a pathetic, "Er, yeah, he did."

"May I?"

The black-haired boy blinked. He knew of Seto Kaiba's fame when it came to Duel Monsters – Ron having exploded, "You don't know who Seto Kaiba is?!?!?" when he asked – but he did not quite understand his interest. "Er, sure…" he said, fishing out his deck from his pocket.

Seto took the offered deck case, opened it, and took out the cards. He started to flip through them, pausing at a few, merely glancing by others. After a moment, he slipped the cards back in their case and returned them to their owner. "Very stable," he said. "With some breaking in, it can be a strong deck. Might I offer a suggestion?" He sipped some coffee. "Mobius the Frost Monarch, or Jinzo. Preferably the latter. Combined with Horus LV 8, that could be one extremely powerful deck. Horus would take out the spell cards, Jinzo the traps."

Harry nodded, wide-eyed, mentally taking note of the mentioned cards and their effects. "Thanks," he mumbled, eating more toast.

Right before another awkward silence was about to set in, other people entered the room. Among them was Bill Weasley, who Harry sprang up to greet as he came in. After Harry introduced Kaiba to the redhead, Ron went up to get Marik and Yugi, as they had expressed the desire to see their former coworker when he came by.

"WILLIAM ARTHUR WEASLEY!" said Yugi, running in and hugging the other man with all his might. "I haven't seen you in AGES!"

Marik came in more calmly, grinning and clapping Bill on the back. "Keep up there, Weasley?"

"Well enough," said Bill, laughing as Yugi finally let go. "I didn't expect such an enthusiastic greeting."

"I think the little one missed you," said Marik sagely. Yugi backhanded his arm.

"Very funny. Don't tell me you haven't seen excited to share your room ever since you heard the news!"

Marik looked away dramatically. "It's true, Bill. I've… I've…" He buried his face. "I've been in love with you from the moment we met!"

Bill took a deep breath and sighed. "Marik," he said seriously, placing at hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, mate, but I'm engaged, and, er… I've never fancied males anyway."

Marik peeked at him from under his bangs, and they both laughed.

"Comical," muttered Kaiba, drinking his coffee and getting to work.

King's Cross Station, London, England

"I think I might actually miss them," said Yugi wistfully, waving as Mr. Weasley sped away in his Ministry-approved car. "The Weasleys were quite an amiable family."

"Don't worry," said Ryou brightly, pushing the trolley that held his trunks. "We're going to be seeing the Weasley children in our classes, everything will be fine."

"Not to mention we'll be too busy to think about them meanwhile," said Marik cheerfully, watching as a few people meandered by. "Now c'mon, we have to find the platform. What was the number?"

"Nine and three quarters," said Kaiba. He pointed ahead of him. "It should be that way."

"Did he say nine and three quarters?" whispered Marik, as he, Yugi and Ryou followed the tall brunet. "Has he gone mad? Who ever heard of three quarters of a platform?"

"Hey idiot," came Kaiba's voice. "A magical platform has to be hidden from non-magical eyes. It's in between platforms nine and ten."

"… Oh."

Ryou hid a smile behind his hand as Yugi bit his sleeve so as not to giggle. "C'mon, Ma-chan," the latter said when he was composed. "You're too used to this treatment. Let's find the platform."

"Already done, Yugi," said Ryou, pointing ahead to a brick wall that said "9" on one side and "10" on another.

Silence fell as the three of them stared at the wall. "What now?" said Marik.

Then Yugi screamed.

"Calm down, Motou, it's not as if my head's not connected to the rest of my body," said Kaiba's head, which was sticking out of the brick wall.

"Kaiba!" said Ryou, but Bakura, who had been just as startled as the rest of them (and didn't want to admit it), interrupted.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" he exploded. "You nearly made Marik shit his pants!"

Marik, who had fallen over and paled, glared at his white-haired companion. "Did not!" he said stubbornly, and stood. "I was merely… startled," he ended pathetically.

Bakura rolled his eyes.

Kaiba mirrored his action. "Walk through the wall, or run, it if makes you more comfortable," he said, and disappeared.

Bakura, Marik, and Yugi stared.

"Did he just tell us to run through the wall?" asked Yugi.

"Apparently," said Bakura. He shrugged and walked up to the wall. He leaned on it. With a confused expression, he said, "Seems solid enough to – " and disappeared.

"Holy…!" said Marik, before biting down on his hand. He glanced at Yugi. "You'd think that we'd be used to weird stuff like this, but Ra, a little warning would be nice."

((I'd never have thought that both the Thief and Marik would have been scared.)) Yami, who had been quietly sleeping in his soul room, had awoken to see the spectacle from Yugi's eyes. ((Pathetic, if you ask me.))

/Leave 'em alone, Yami. You'd probably be freaked out too./

((Would not.))

Yugi smiled to himself before offering his hand to Marik. "C'mon, Marik. It's just a wall."

Marik gulped, and complied.

Baggage Compartment, Hogwarts Express, England

"Ouch! Marik, you're stepping on my foot!"

"Oh, sorry Ryou, I thought that was Kaiba's – "

"OUCH! Marik, that's my foot!"

"Oh, sorry Yugi! I thought I was – "

"Hey Ishtar, when you're done making an idiot of yourself, would you kindly remove your hand from my genital area? It's a bit unnerving."

"AIE!" Hastily, a hand was withdrawn. "Gross, gross, gross! I'm TAINTED!" Marik flayed about before falling over, taking someone else with him.

"Kami-sama, Ishtar, I know you're in love with me, but I've already told you: I'm not into men."

"This is ridiculous," came Ryou's voice, before a light came on.

The compartment, which had been shrouded in darkness, was suddenly illuminated. Ryou was holding a chain that was attached to a light bulb. Marik was sprawled on top of Kaiba. The latter was rubbing his temples with an exasperated expression. Yugi was awkwardly holding several bags under his arms and two between his teeth, and tried to smile pathetically at the staring Brit.

Ryou, ever so orderly, sighed, took the bags from Yugi's teeth, and pulled Marik up. (The Egyptian hastily wiped his hands on anything that wasn't himself.) Kaiba waved his hand away, so the Brit took Yugi's remaining bags and placed them to the side of the small compartment. "There," he said, helping Marik brush the dust from himself. "Now, let's find our real compartment, shall we?"

Obediently, Marik and Yugi shuffled out, the former muttering something about tall brunets. The aforementioned CEO rolled his eyes and followed. Ryou took a final look around the compartment before clicking off the lights and following.

The Burrow, Outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, England

"You've been awfully quiet, Harry," said Hermione, watching her friend as he lay on his bed. "Is everything alright?"

"Just thinking about everything, really," said Harry. He has his hands hooked behind his head and was gazing at the ceiling. "Dueling, our new professors, this year… Voldemort."

"Ah." Hermione fell silent. Ron picked up the slack after swallowing his bite of sandwich.

"Well, whatever happens, we'll be there."

Harry smiled to himself. He had tried to dissuade the two of them on several occasions – especially as the school year drew near – and had failed each time. He didn't know if he truly accepted it, but he was eternally grateful for their friendship. "I know that," he said solemnly. "It's more like… what can he do next, y'know? What will he throw at us? The Stone, the Chamber, getting a new body, the prophecy – honestly, what's next? He'll find immortality and shove it in our faces?" (1)

"Probably," said Ron amiably, finishing his sandwich. "Ou'd yink 'at hi'd ge o'er et."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, this is Voldemort," said Harry with a grin. "Getting over himself isn't exactly his forte."

"Yeah," said Ron, swallowing. "But you'd think he would anyway!"

"Honestly Ron, sometimes you're so simple."

"Aw Hermione, leave me alone!"

"ANYWAY," interrupted Harry. "Point being, what's going to happen?!"

"Harry, you know I quit Divination in our third year," said Hermione. "And you and Ron always blew off that class, anyway. Who knows? We'll just have to wait and see."

Hogwarts Express Platform, Hogsmeade, Scotland

"I'VE GOT ANOTHER CONFESSION MY FRIEND! I'M YOUR FOOL!"

"Marik, shut up," said Bakura, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "Your voice is Ra-awful."

"Is not!" said Marik, unabashed. "My voice is the dulcet tones of angels!"

"Fallen angels?"

"Shut up Kaiba! Who asked you?"

Kaiba couldn't have looked haughtier as he stared down at the Egyptian. "Well Ishtar, I'm usually not one to agree with the pathetic thief – "

"Hey!"

" – but considering your singing is not only disturbing him but everyone else in the vicinity, of which I am a part of, I find myself agreeing. So shut up."

Marik pouted. Yugi hid his smile behind his hand and fanned himself, trying to cool down. The air was only little warmer than usual, but the humidity was high and Yugi, desperately loving his leather, hadn't thought that it could get so sticky. Marik, used to the sands of Egypt, was basking in the sun, blessing the Gods for inventing summer (and not looking forward to the imminent British winter). Bakura, adjusted as always, was wearing a simple t-shirt and was very comfortable, thank you very much. Kaiba said nothing in his usual white trench coat. The others took his stony silence to mean that even if he were uncomfortable, he wouldn't admit it.

Silence fell. They knew that someone was supposed to come and escort them to the building, but they did not know who or when they were coming. Yugi silently hoped it was Hagrid – the half-giant had hit off with the short man the moment they met. Yami, watching from his soul room with an amused air, had also been taken with the big man.

They weren't disappointed. Two minutes later, the half-giant appeared. "This way, professors," he called, motioning with a giant trashcan-lid-sized hand. "This way!"

They trudged up the hillside, following Hagrid as he led the way. They didn't speak – Marik was still sore, and Kaiba was counting his blessings. Yami and Yugi started up a silent conversation about the upcoming school year.

/Hey Yami?/

Bakura was surprised to hear Ryou's voice. Ryou was… an odd person. He preferred to stay silent and melt into the background as opposed to drawing attention to himself. The two of them made an unusual yami-hikari pair. They weren't as open and close as the Puzzle bearers, but… Bakura would protect Ryou with his life and soul, and, in turn, Ryou respected and comforted his yami in a way that few people could ever understand. ((What's up?))

/I was just wondering… do you feel something coming?/

Bakura blinked. His hikari was not one to usually voice any sort of worries like that. He usually assumed that Bakura knew anything before he did – which was usually the case. But Bakura had not caught onto anything coming and threatening their safety. ((What are you talking about Ryou?))

/Maybe I'm just imagining things, but…/ Years of silent observation had honed his skills, so now, sharper than ever, Ryou was able to pick up things that sometimes even Yami missed. /I thought I felt a disturbance from the Shadows, that's all… maybe it's nothing./

If there was one thing Bakura had learned, it was to never discount Ryou's observations. Because of his nature, he and Yami depended on Ryou to keep a silent watch on the Realm so that they could focus on the present. There could never be too many senses alert for a disturbance, and Ryou had shown himself to be valuable in that area on numerous occasions. And if he said that something was coming, Bakura wasn't one to doubt him.

"There's something coming," said the white-haired yami. That was Pharaoh's cue. A flash of the Puzzle was all that gave away his appearance. He closed his eyes and sent tendrils of the Shadows to probe the area. As they passed the Forbidden Forest, he froze.

"GET DOWN!" he screamed, throwing a large ball of Shadows at Hagrid to push the giant to the ground.

When Pharaoh screams to get down, you get down, thought Marik, throwing himself to the ground and throwing a blanket of Shadows around himself. Looking up, he saw a creature soar above him from the Forest and land not ten feet from him. "Shit!" he gasped, jumping back and automatically reaching for the Rod, when –

"Go, Celtic Guardian! Spiral Sword Strike!"

The monster let out a sickening scream before shattering into a thousand pieces, like ice under skates. Marik let out a sigh of relief before accepting the hand that Bakura offered him. Pulling himself up, he asked, "What was it?"

"Man Eater Bug," said Bakura grimly. "Weak, but deadly to those without defenses. And due to its effect, it probably already got something in there," he said, motioning to the Forest.

"Are you alright, Marik?" asked Yami.

"Fine. A little surprised, but fine."

Yami nodded to him and went to Hagrid, trying to explain without saying anything. Kaiba joined him silently.

As they quickly walked the rest of the way, Bakura stayed behind with Marik. "I have something I need to tell you all," he said, tone serious for a change.

"Oh?" Marik raised an eyebrow. "A theory?"

"A prediction."

"… Shit," Marik breathed, wiping his mouth as some spittle collected there. "You serious?"

"Deadly." Bakura's predictions were uncannily accurate, and if he was worried enough to actually tell them the contents – crap –

"It's not going to end up well, is it?"

"Does it ever?"

"Touché."

Staff Room, Hogwarts, Scotland

"Ah, Hagrid, you have brought them!" Albus Dumbledore greeted each of the new professors warmly, ushering them into a side room from the Entrance Hall. Inside were twelve other people, all dressed in the robes of their kind. (2) Each of the staff members of Hogwarts looked welcoming – except for the grubby exterior of Argus Flitch, the caretaker, the fierce hawk-nosed face of Irma Pince the librarian, and the cold glare from one teacher than even Yugi Motou would have trouble accepting.

"Er, Professor," he said, beckoning. "I've summat to tell you…"

"Um – don't worry about that, Hagrid," said Yami haltingly. "We'll… um, we'll inform the Headmaster of the events that… um… happened."

"That was lame," muttered Bakura. Marik elbowed him.

"Your fault."

"What!"

"Should have mind-wiped him while you had the chance."

"Or you."

Hagrid looked like he was about to object, but a touch of the Rod sent him on his way. Breathing a sigh of relief, the new professors followed the Headmaster into the Staff Room and were introduced to their colleagues.

/I like McGonagall-sensei,/ (3) said Yugi happily, as Yami bowed before the stern-looking Headmistress. /She's so very…/

((Respectable, Aibou?))

/Yes, respectable! So very stern – like a teacher you can't help but like even though they give you three hours of homework!/

"I am honoured to meet you, McGonagall-sensei," murmured Yami. "I have heard so much…" Which wasn't a lie.

McGonagall's lips twitched ever so slightly. "Thank you, Professor Motou."

"Ano, please, call me Yugi."

The Headmistress's lips drew into a hint of a smile. "If I asked you to call me 'Minerva', would you do so?"

Yami blushed and started to stutter when a thoroughly dirt-covered Professor Sprout approached him. "Minerva, don't scare the poor boy," she said with a friendly smile. "Now my dear, I have heard that one amongst you is especially gifted with my trade. You wouldn't happen to know which one of you that is, would you?"

((Aibou?))

/Ryou-kun, completely. He made that ancient daisy pop back to life, do you remember?/

((You mean the one that jii-chan left in the kitchen for about ten years?))

/It wasn't ten years, Yami!/ said Yugi, laughing. /But yes, in any case, that's the one. He came over, shrieked, and a week later it was in perfect health./

((Are you sure he didn't replace the flower when you weren't looking?))

Yugi silently vowed to beat Yami severely with his largest pillow the moment he could. /Yes, ore no myoujou,/ he said with a grin. /Give Ryou more credit than that!/

Mentally chuckling, Yami excused himself from McGonagall and made his way over to where Bakura stood, amiably chatting with Pomona Sprout along the way. Bakura, upon seeing that he'd have to be social with Ryou's new colleagues, immediately relinquished control with a, ((Well, the more dangerous task is ahead of us, I think it's your turn to risk your life for a change.)) Ryou rolled his eyes and engaged in an intense conversation about Herbology with the said professor.

Meanwhile, Marik was making an idiot of himself.

"Can you really tell the future?" he said to bug-eyed Sibyll Trelawney, who was staring him straight in the eye with an ebullience that put even him to shame. (4) Poor dear never stood a chance.

"The Inner Eye knows all," she said dramatically, flinging a hand to backhand him in the chest. He let out of a soft "oof", but she didn't hear. "My dear, if there is one thing that has been passed through the generations, it is our abilities to See!"

"Impressive," Marik muttered, rubbing his chest. "So can you – "

"My, my!" said Trelawney with even more flare, clutching the helpless Egyptian and staring into his eyes. "I see something!! I see… I see… my dear boy! You… you must be wary! There are those around you who'd wish your death!"

Had he not been Seto Kaiba, he would have choked on his pumpkin juice just to contain his outright laughter. As it was, he was observing the scene with an amused Madame Hooch from a nearby location, a flask of pumpkin juice in one hand and the other in his pocket. At Trelawney's statement, he leaned forward and muttered into Hooch's ear, "Yeah, I for one would love to see Ishtar suffer." She laughed and whacked his arm.

"You do tease the poor boy so."

"Tease? Believe me, Rolanda, I do not jest. Anyone who knows me for even a day can attest to that."

"I know I can," said Yami, raising his goblet to the other woman after pouring some punch and drinking it. "Heaven forbid the day Kaiba speaks a joke." He motioned towards the center couple that they had just been speaking of before Kaiba could respond. "Oh, look, I think she's proposing to him."

By now, most of the room was focused on the couple. Bakura was cracking up from his soul room as Ryou, still with Professor Sprout, tried not to laugh.

"Ah – well, death, you know, very common – " Marik was getting nervous, now. He tried to ease himself away, but the farther he got the closer she latched on.

"BUT WAIT!" she shouted, flinging back her goblet and covering Marik in something sticky. "I see more! A chance… a chance at happiness! With a beautiful woman who you'll suddenly love!"

"It would be so great if Ishtar turned out to be gay," muttered Kaiba. Madame Hooch choked on her drink as Yami bit his tongue by accident, both of them trying not to laugh.

"Shut up, Kaiba," said Yami awkwardly, pressing on his tongue with his fingers in an effort to relieve the pain. Needless to say, it failed.

Many things that night failed… Marik's attempt to weed off of Trelawney was the top of that list, but it gave the more malicious in their group ample material for future jokes.

Headquarters, Hogwarts, Scotland

"Besides that most amusing evening," said Bakura, chortling to himself as he came to the center of the room and removed his robe, "there's something I have to tell you all."

"That you're gay?"

"No, nitwit, that you are."

"I always knew Ishtar was a queer," said Kaiba, opening his laptop and rapidly typing on it.

"I'm not gay!"

"Hey Kaiba," interrupted Yami. "How does your computer work here? I thought electronics weren't able to work in Hogwarts."

Kaiba smirked before divulging himself in his work.

The new professors had an extremely interesting room arrangement. Each had their own office attached to their classroom – or, at least, was nearby – but in addition had their own sleeping quarters. Oddly enough, each of their rooms had portraits that lead them to a sort of middle ground – something that resembled a living/sitting/family room, with couches and furniture and little odds and ends. Marik had dubbed it their "headquarters" the moment he and Bakura had discovered it when they were exploring the former's rooms. Around them were the pictures that lead to each of their bedrooms for easy access. Overall, it was a very comfortable arrangement.

"No, seriously you guys, I have something to tell you," said Bakura with a grin, picking up a goblet of water and taking a sip. (Marik grumbled that it was his, but the other ignored him.) "I think it may have something to do with the attack earlier today."

That got their attentions. Kaiba stopped his typing, Marik turned to face him, and Yami looked up. "I… well. Um. I had a funny feeling not too long ago so… I pulled out my deck."

Yami sucked in a breath. "Without consulting us?!"

"It was enough that I was worried, Pharaoh!" barked Bakura. "And you should be grateful that I'm telling you at all!"

"Can it, Motou," said Kaiba, stony as usual but unusually on Bakura's side. "Let Dorobou say what he has to, then judge him for it."

Counting his blessings, Bakura continued. "Basically, it said that someone that none of use expect – well, no one I recognized, anyway – is going to come and help out, and that something was coming and that it's bad."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Bakura, I probably could have told you that myself."

Bakura held up a hand. "Pharaoh, the overall problem was Call of the Haunted, which means that whatever's coming back isn't going to be pretty." He started to pace, using his hands to emphasize his point. "With the unexpected event of Monster Reborn, it means an old grudge is going to be against us and it's not going away anytime soon. Then Subtle Problems is Narrow Pass – whatever that means – and I drew Thunder of Ruler for future problems, which foresees a battle. However, Bait Doll told me that there will be a sacrifice – someone who's already been in a similar position, or whose spirit has beforehand. It's not a good prediction, Pharaoh, and with the coming of Man Eater Bug, well, I'm worried!"

"Don't be. It's nothing we haven't handled before."

"Weren't you listening?! This isn't like before, Pharaoh!"

As the two of them got into an argument, Marik sat quietly on the couch, thinking over what Bakura had said. He had let out a lot of points, but in general, it was a nasty prediction. However, something was bothering Marik: why did he leave out the conclusion? Every prediction had some sort of conclusion, whether specific or vague, good or bad, and Bakura had certainly left out this one.

It meant one of three things to the platinum blonde: it involved Bakura or Ryou, it was really, really bad, or it was too confusing to explain. Marik had a hunch it had to do with all three, but he'd been wrong before.

"Enough." Kaiba's voice cut through the bickering yamis' like a cleaver. "Be grateful the fool actually told us, Motou. Don't let his cockiness get to you, Bakura. And both of you, shut up. If the thief's actually done something right, it could turn out to be worse than any of us think. Stay on your guard." He stood, taking his laptop with him. "Now, I for one have work to do and can't concentrate here, so I'm off."

The two yamis blinked in unison and turned to stare at their seated friend. (Both had risen in the fury of their argument.) Marik shrugged. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's right. Best be on your guard, for now."

The Burrow, Outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, England

If there was one thing that Harry could relate to the feeling of soaring through the air on his broomstick, it was going through his deck.

It was… an odd sensation. He didn't really understand it. Every time he went through his deck, he felt a tingling all throughout his body, like the first time he used magic. As he went through it more and more, memorizing the names and faces of each card, the tingling ascended into a feeling of grandeur and loops. More and more he felt like he was soaring in the air, wind whipping not his hair but his soul as he screamed in exuberance…!

It was the oddest thing. Sometimes Harry would look through his deck and he'd swear that the cards were looking at him in the same earnestness that he was them. That… that Mirage Dragon actually winked at him when he was examining its scales, or that Spirit Reaper was cackling, or that –

No, no. It was impossible. It was just Harry's overactive imagination.

Still… he couldn't deny that sometimes, the cards flashed a mixture of black and purple when they thought he wasn't looking… and quite frankly, without letting anyone know, it worried him.

(1) A reference to the Horcruxes… they aren't in this story – well, not exactly – but I thought I'd throw them in there. xD

(2) I went on Wikipedia, I dug through my own knowledge, I did everything – not including the house elves and the twelve school governors, there are thirteen teachers at Hogwarts, plus four others (the Headmaster, the caretaker, the librarian, the healer). No, Hagrid was not counted twice, and yes, I know, that's nothing. But Rowling's said Hogwarts only has like 600 kids, so… yeah.

(3) Sensei can also be used for a woman, right? I've always heard it used for males, but there should be no reason against calling a woman sensei… I used it here for McGonagall – I don't think Yugi would be able to call her "Minerva", even if she asked him to. (grins)

(4) "Ebullience" means "intense enthusiasm". It's the only word I learned (well, one of the only – besides "recalcitrant", which means "stubbornly resistant to authority") when we were practicing for the PSAT. WARNING: INTENSE RANT AHEAD. Read only in boredom. Also, I took out the swearing because I don't want to offend anyone. Incidentally, I'm really upset; I got an awfully low score. All my practice ones were in the high 190s, I got a 187! A ONE-FREAKIN-EIGHTY-SEVEN!!! (is incredibly pissed) You know what I need to get on the freakin' SAT, which I take in January?? Hell, I don't even know, man, but better than a freakin' 1870!!! What the hell is IB teaching me if it's not higher standardized test scores?! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE IN ONE OF THE TOP PERCENTILES IN THE WHOLE GODDAMN COUNTRY AND I GET A 187?!??! I'M UP THERE WITH ALAN AND ROSALIE AND ALL OF THEM AND ROSALIE GOT A FREAKIN' 238 AND ALAN A 231 AND EVEN THE SMARTEST KID THERE IS, AMER, THE FREAKIN' LOVE OF MY LIFE AMER, GOT A 212 EVEN THOUGH HE DESERVED A PERFECT AND UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I'm still incredibly pissed, my parents aren't going to ever find out, I hate this so much!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! (goes on and rants to those around her, the poor dears)

Me: Man, Ron's always eating in this story. And these chapters are getting longer and longer (over 4500 words, this chapter!) – before you know it they'll be Shadow's monstrous 52 pages (DON'T QUOTE ME). On that note, I have twice as many things that I need to write for chapter seven, so that's going to be even longer! (dies) AND I still need to update The Forgotten! Shit! (runs around and into a pole) Help?

By the way, if the ending was a little rushed, I'm sorry. I really needed to update.