06-29-08: Uh, well… at least school's done! xD So, I'm in love with MIKA, which means references. (goes off singing 'My Interpretation') Oh, and by the way, The Used's "The Bird And The Worm" and Jason Mraz's "The Geek In The Pink" are AMAZING. ("THEREFORE YOU ARE KIRA!!" (facepalm) I've really immersed myself in the DN fandom, just to warn you all.)

NOTE ABOUT OCS: I have removed Hikari, Ceribi will not appear ever again, and Altáriël's not very important and I have plans for her. SO NO MORE OCs IN THIS STORY BESIDES THE LATTER.

Telepathy:

((Yamis))

/Hikaris/

Translations:

-Che: Shit, damn

Disclaimer: Hikari Daeron does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! (Kazuki Takahashi) or Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling). The characters Altáriël Daeron and Ceribi Motou are all original characters by Hikari Daeron. She also does not own MIKA (though she wish she did), the Spice Girls, or any of their lyrics.

Chapter Nine: Who's Up For Some New… Pranksters?
New Professors, New Adventures

Great Hall, Hogwarts, Scotland

When they were coming back up for dinner from Hagrid's, Harry recounted what he had overheard Yugi (or so he thought) say. Ron was just as confused as he was.

"What the bloody hell's the Shadow Realm?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? All I know is that the dragon took an awful liking to Motou, and then after a while he turned white and said that it's been opened."

Ron frowned, walking into the Great Hall with Harry. "Well, we could ask Mokuba about it," he said as they walked towards the Gryffindor table. "He's a part of that group, he might understand."

Harry slowed. Ron turned around when he noticed that Harry had stopped completely. "What?"

"Should we?" he said, disturbed. "If Mokuba does know, and if Motou's face was any indication it's a serious matter, then maybe he wouldn't tell us."

Ron blinked. "Oh. I didn't think of it like that."

"It's the same with Altáriël. It seems like she's going to be joining us from now on," she was sitting with Mokuba, Ginny and Hermione at the table, "and if she's also a part of all of that, she won't tell us either. If we can get Ginny and Hermione alone, then we can tell them."

Ron thought about it and then nodded. They continued their trek to their table. "Good call," he said. "I'd have never thought of it."

Harry, who was sitting next to Hermione after dinner, nudged her gently about halfway through. She glanced at him, and Harry gave a sidelong glance to their silverware before "accidentally" knocking both of theirs off of the table. When he dived under the table to retrieve them, Hermione said loudly, "Oh, no, don't worry about it!" and went under too.

"What is it?" she hissed.

"Ron and I need to talk to you and Ginny without the others," he whispered. "Tonight."

Hermione nodded and they resurfaced, both clutching their utensils. "Whoops," said Harry, placing his back on the table. "Sorry about that, Hermione."

Throughout dinner, all six of them discussed their day and various classes. When they talked about Kaiba's class, Mokuba roared with laughter.

"Oh he didn't!" he said, chortling. "Oh nii-sama, how you amuse me so… a dojo, you say? I definitely can't wait until Wednesday. This is going to be a blast…" Chuckling to himself, he added, "What about the others? How was Yugi's class?"

Ginny clapped her hands, delighted. "It was brilliant! I've never seen anyone so passionate about their subject! He definitely knows his stuff! I swear, every fifth year's going to take his N.E.W.T. class next year. It was riveting."

"I really like Marik's style, actually," said Altáriël. Mokuba laughed.

"Yeah, he's a much better teacher than I thought. We both have Ancient Ruins together," he added to Harry and Ron. "But are you sure you don't just like it because you're related?"

"What!" said Altáriël, picking up a dinner roll and chucking it at him. Mokuba laughed and caught it, taking a bite. "No way! You'd think I'd hate it because of that! Besides, we're not blood related, so why does that matter?"

"You're related?" asked Harry curiously.

"He's my… er, what is it?" Altáriël scratched her head. "I was never good at those extended relative things. Vaguely we're related, something about his mum being sister to my cousin's uncle or something…" She shrugged. "I dunno. That's how I met the group, see, huge family reunion and he was there."

"… Oh. Well then."

After dinner, the group trooped back to the Common Room. At about ten o'clock, Mokuba yawned and packed up his stuff. "Well," he said. "I've got all my homework done, and I'm surprisingly tired. Time to hit the hay."

"I'm with you," said Altáriël. She closed her inkbottle. "But I want to read a bit, while people are still up." They said their goodnights and departed.

Harry blinked. "That was surprisingly easy," he said.

"What was?" said Ginny, her quill idly tapping on her piece of parchment.

"Getting rid of the two of them," he said. "Listen, today when we were down at Hagrid's…"

With Ron's help, Harry recounted the story of that afternoon. Ginny sat back thoughtfully. "You think if we told them they wouldn't tell us anything, don't you?" she said. "Because they're part of that group, right? I have to say, that was some smart thinking. Mokuba's extremely loyal to his brother, and if this threatens any of them, he'd have never told." She nodded approvingly. "Good one."

"Shadow Realm… Shadow Realm…" Hermione muttered to herself. "Oh, where have I heard that before? It sounds so dreadfully familiar…" She scratched her head with her quill. "It's no use. I'll go to the library tomorrow and look for it." Harry, Ron and Ginny looked at each other before busying themselves. Second day back, and Hermione was already at the library. Incredible. Probably a world record.

"In any case," said Ginny, "Mokuba probably would be the best one for answers. But since we can't ask him, maybe, eventually, Altáriël? She seems much less a part of that group – she told me that she hasn't seen anyone except for her cousin since they first met, which means that if she does know anything, whatever 'group loyalty' is there… well, isn't."

"Hm…" said Harry thoughtfully. "Yeah, okay, maybe we should ask her after all. When?"

"Soon," promised Ginny. "Maybe Hogsmeade, that'll give us enough time to judge fully whether or not she can answer truthfully. I'll pull her aside and ask her meself."

Headquarters, Hogwarts, Scotland

If there was one thing that Ryou Bakura hated, it was birthday parties.

And that was exactly what he was getting.

Rightfully, it was only the four of them – well, technically, six – but in any case, they were celebrating Ryou's birthday, and he didn't like it.

"Really, you guys, I don't need all this," he said helplessly as Marik went around chanting the birthday song and Yugi brought out a giant creampuff that was to be the cake. (He had asked the House Elves to make it – or rather, was forced to allow them to make it, as they refused to let him make it when he went down for the ingredients.) Bakura, standing behind him in spirit form, chuckled.

"Well, hikari, you rarely get what you want," he pointed out. "But if you don't want that creampuff, I'll have to eat it for you."

"That much I can manage," said Ryou with a smile. Yugi came up to him, dangling a bag tantalizing in front of his nose. "Oh, you shouldn't have!"

"I must, and I did," said Yugi firmly. "It goes along with Marik's. Oooh, I hope you don't have it!"

Marik handed Ryou his present, and Ryou opened them both. Marik's held a portable magical boom-box (something that was new to the magical world, an upgrade from the radio) and Yugi's a collection of CDs. Ryou flipped through it quickly – MIKA, Kaiser Chiefs, lostprophets and… "Spice Girls?" he said with a laugh, giving his friends thank-you hugs.

"Hey, if you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends," said Yugi solemnly, before laughing too. "Well, I thought it would keep with the UK theme."

The Brit smiled and thanked both of his friends. "Truly, I appreciate it, thank you."

Marik grinned and reached over his friend to take the MIKA CD out of its case. "I think we should break it in, don't you?" he said gleefully as the music started to play. "Ahhh, much better."

"He has a pleasant enough voice," said Kaiba calmly. (He (somewhat begrudgingly) and Mokuba had given Ryou a magical camera.) "I'm glad your taste in music has improved since the last time I heard you sing, Ishtar."

"Well, it's MIKA, you can't go wrong with him," said Marik. "He's GOD."

They stared at him.

"Whatever! WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ME?! WHY DON'T YOU LIKE ME?! WHY DON'T YOU LIIIKE – " (1)

"Wrong part of the song, Marik," said Ryou, amused. "But truly, I do appreciate this, you guys. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, well, it's the least we can do, since life's about to get pretty hectic," said Yugi nonchalantly.

Everyone turned to stare at him. Yami's lips twitched. ((You didn't tell them, Aibou.))

/Ah… che. That would explain why no one's brought it up…/

Yugi cleared his throat. "Well. Um. Earlier today, I stumbled upon Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class, and suddenly, I think I know what some of Bakura's prediction means." He took a deep breath. "The Shadow Realm's been opened again."

There was a shattering – Marik had dropped his glass. Swearing, he bent to mop up the mess and gather the glass with a cloth, shielding his face. Ryou swallowed and very deliberately put down his utensils, mechanically wiped his mouth with his napkin and then sat stiffly on the couch. Bakura, standing behind him, recoiled slightly and placed a hand to his face, breathing deeply. Kaiba showed the least amount of reaction. He had hardly flinched before leaning forward, taking a glass of water, and calmly saying, "How can you be sure?"

"Hagrid's class was studying Red Eyes Black Chick," said Yugi with a sigh. "Yami asked it how it got here, and it said that there was a portal." When no one commented, he said, "It fits. The increase in Shadows, the appearance of the Man Eater Bug earlier, Bakura's prediction, this general sense of unease… it works."

"So what are we going to do about it?" asked Marik quietly. He had disposed of the broken glass. "If we get a mass increase in monsters, we'll have another DOMA on our hands." Kaiba stiffened at the mention. "Shall I bring in Ishizu? Shadi?"

"That seems logical," said Yami, who had been sitting on the arm of the couch. "Shadi, as the long-standing protector of the Millennium Items, knows the most about the Shadows."

"I so detest that man," muttered Marik.

"It's can't be helped," said Ryou softly, placing a hand on the other's arm. "We need to stem the tide before it explodes."

Yugi smiled sadly. "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, especially on your birthday," he said. "But this can't be delayed."

"Of course not," said Ryou, waving a hand. "Birthdays are overrated anyway."

Silence fell. "So now to Shadi," said Bakura.

"And now, to Shadi," agreed Marik, standing up. "So then, I'm off. I expect to hear from Ishizu soon enough."

Quidditch Field, Hogwarts, Scotland

Harry never thought that when he became captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the popularity would suddenly skyrocket.

Well, it did.

Harry had learned that he was Captain by the end of the first week of school, when Professor McGonagall had approached him and asked why tryouts hadn't been scheduled yet. Embarrassed, but with his blood pounding in his head, Harry had posted announcements for tryouts and alerted earlier teammates. By the time everyone had settled into their usual routines, he had a team that he was bloody-well proud of.

Tryouts had been interesting enough, to say the least. After dismissing a bunch of giggling Hufflepuffs, Harry started conducting the tryouts for Chasers. After a long line of second years who could barely fly, third years who had no broomsticks, and a large Ravenclaw who refused to move until he was allowed to try out, Ginny, Katie Bell, and to Harry's surprise, Mokuba made the spots. Ginny and Katie had been givens – Katie was the only person left from Harry's first Quidditch team that was still at Hogwarts, and had been playing with him for five years; Ginny had proven to be exceptionally gifted on a broom, twisting and weaving around the other players and darting past Bludgers. When Mokuba said that he was trying for the position, Harry couldn't help but scoff – until he saw Mokuba catch the Quaffle from fifty feet away, and score it into the center goal at a neck-breaking speed.

A similar ordeal took place when Harry tried the Beaters – to his immense pleasure, the wiry Altáriël was fairly strong and had good aim. She would never be a Weasley Twin, but she was a damn good replacement, in his opinion. Her counterpart was the bulky but forceful Jack Sloper, whose lack of agility was made up for by the blatant disregard for his opponent that rolled off of him in sheets. (2)

Out of compassion for his best friend, Harry had saved Keeper tryouts for last. Ron's nerves hadn't improved in the span of a year, but his confidence on a broom had increased slightly. That, coupled with the absolutely hilarious spectacle of seeing Marik and Bakura attempting to fly boosted his confidence enough for him to secure the spot of Keeper.

And so, Harry had his team, practices were set, and the two (former?) thieves had made utter fools of themselves, to the amusement of one former pharaoh. Humbly, they admitted themselves to the ridicule afterwards, which was only halted by the biting dare of seeing him try to do any better.

Yami, true to his title, managed to soar above the grounds gracefully, and, modest as he always was, rubbed it in their faces.

Outside of the Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade, Scotland

"Hey, Altáriël," said Harry slowly. "There's something we should talk about, before Mokuba returns."

The first Hogsmeade weekend was upon them, at long last. October had rolled around, finding Harry and Ron struggling to keep up with the homework load, as per usual. Hermione was, of course, passing everything with flying colours; Altáriël and Ginny were nonchalant about their exams in May (which left Hermione staring), and Mokuba had adjusted wonderfully.

They were waiting for Mokuba to appear, as he had been delayed back at school. Something about talking to his brother.

"What's up Harry?" asked Altáriël idly, trying to fix her hair in her reflection from a shop window.

"We were wondering if you had ever heard of the Shadow Realm," said Ginny, coming up behind Altáriël and adjusting the multitudes of spikes.

Much to their surprise, Altáriël snorted. "Yes, of course I've heard of the Shadow Realm, but only as stories. Why?"

The others looked uneasy. Altáriël caught shimmers of their glances from their reflections, and turned. "What is it?" she asked. "Have you heard anyone use the phrase?"

"First day of school," said Ron. "Motou – he, well, y'know how Hagrid got a baby dragon for study?"

A nod. "Motou spoke to it, I think," said Harry. "By the end of the conversation or whatever, he said that the Shadow Realm had been opened again, and we want to figure out just what that means."

Another surprising reaction: Altáriël paled. "You serious?" she said. "Yugi said that the Shadow Realm had been open again?"

"Yeah."

"Shit," she muttered, running a hand through her bangs. "If I've really pieced together everything like I think I have, then that could mean bad news."

"What do you – "

"Hey guys! What are you talking about?"

Mokuba had jogged up to them. Hurriedly, Harry cast glanced at everyone else, only to be greeted by blank stares, until –

"We were thinking about becoming the new Marauders."

At that moment, Harry could have kissed Ginny. Sure, he would have done so anyway, but –

"New Marauders?" Mokuba stroked his chin. "You mean like new pranksters?"

"Er – "

"Actually," interrupted Ginny again, laying a hand on Mokuba's arm. "We were thinking more like Marauders as the intruders that find out the truths of the world."

Harry had to admit, Ginny had phenomenal acting skills. Mokuba perked up. "As cheesy as that is, that sounds awesome. Which means we all need nicknames!"

"Brilliant," said Ron. "Y'know how Harry's dad's mates had names from their animagus forms? We could do the same!"

"Pending on mine," moped Ginny. Mokuba squeezed her shoulder.

"We can get some of the ingredients for the potion from here, today," he said warmly. Harry felt a surge of jealousy. "But y'know, Ron, that was a surprisingly good idea."

"Thanks, I – HEY."

Mokuba laughed. "Well, in any case, names?"

"Harry should be Leo," said Hermione. "In the signs of the Zodiac, Harry's birthday – the 31st of July – would make him Leo the Lion. He's also a Gryffindor, and his animagus form is a lion."

"Isn't that too obvious, though?" asked Mokuba. "What about – "

"WAIT!" Ginny threw up her hands, eyes wide and excited. "Why don't we go on a famous European scheme?"

They blinked at her. "What?" asked Harry, bemused.

"Oh, BRILLIANT!" Ginny was silently congratulating herself on the idea. "Look, we each name ourselves after some famous European in history, it would be so cool." (3)

"I get it!" said Mokuba, excitedly. "Then I want to be called Napoleon." They roared with laughter. "No, I'm serious!"

"Sure, Mokuba," said Ginny with a laugh. "You've got the idea."

"Brilliant," said Mokuba. "So, sticking by the theme, we should have a… OHMYGOSH."

"What?"

"MOLTKE!" (4)

Ginny gasped. "Oh, I love it! Then we definitely need a Schlieffen. AND BISMARCK!"

"HOLY CRAP, YES!" They clasped each other's hands. "Well, are we only sticking to male names? Because only male Europeans did anything back then. Unless you count random people like Catherine the Great, and the female Tudors, but the males had the cool names."

"I resent the slur on women, and actually they did do stuff, but yes, male names are fine." The two seemed to be in their own world, completely secluded from the staring others. "Okay, so Napoleon, Moltke, Schlieffen, Bismarck… METTERNICH."

"Yes, yes, more yes." Mokuba's eyes gleamed. "One more."

"Machiavelli."

"LE GASP. Ze list et complete!"

They turned to the others, eyes wide and gleaming. Before they could start, Altáriël raised a hand. "I claim Moltke," she said. "Definitely, definitely, definitely."

They grinned. "Fine," said Mokuba, "But we should probably explain who's who, anyway." Mokuba picked up a stick from off the ground and scribbled seven names into the dirt path. "I'm pretty sure that we know who Napoleon is – tried to conquer Europe in the early 1800s, et cetera, et cetera. Now, let's jump back to Machiavelli, who was before Napoleon, then go chronologically. He wrote The Prince in favour of the Medici family, in the hopes that they could unify Italy in the face of outside influence."

"Sounds cool," said Harry. "Could I be him? Though his name's a mouthful, so let's shorten it to Mach."

Mokuba crossed the name off the list. "Next, Metternich. He was the Austrian Prime Minister during the Congress of Vienna, where they discussed what was to happen to Europe post-Napoleon."

"And I want him, sorry," said Ginny. "So I can own your sorry ass." The Kaiba smacked her across her knees with the stick. She laughed and smacked him back. "Now, Bismarck?"

"Hermione, this 'll be you, I think," said Mokuba. "He was the German Chancellor and unified Prussia with the rest of the German states. Brilliant, truly." Next, he pointed to Schlieffen and Moltke. "Schlieffen was the Chief of Staff of the German army post-First World War, and his plan was initially the dominating idea for the attack on France, where the right wing was predominant and sweeping. Later, when Moltke replaced him, he was worried about the weak left wing, and so lessened the power of the right in order to protect it. 'Bold, bold,' was Schlieffen's motto, but Moltke modified with with, 'But not too bold'. Since Altáriël claimed Moltke, Schlieffen's all yours, Ron."

"Sweet," said Ron. "Sounds brilliant."

Mokuba stood with a grin, and put his hand out. "Shall we call a cheer, or what?"

The others laughed and put their hands in too. "Maybe not a cheer," said Harry. "But whatever. To the Marauders?"

"The Marauders!"

History of Magic Classroom, Hogwarts, Scotland

"Yugi, seriously, are you cleaning your classroom on an amazing day like this?"

Yugi looked up to see Bakura and Marik standing at his doorway. He had been talking to Yami while… yes, indeed, cleaning his classroom. "W-well," he stuttered. "I just thought since…"

"HELLS NO." Marik went over and power-gripped his arm. Yugi tried to jerk away but failed; he was soon being dragged from his office. "You're going out and enjoying yourself if it kills you."

Ryou, hovering around in spirit form, said, "Doesn't that defeat the purpose?"

"Screw you, Ry."

The Brit laughed. "Just saying, you don't need to get nasty."

"Who's being nasty?"

"Marik," said Yugi, finally wiggling his way out the other's grasp, "I'll come, alright? Just let me put some stuff away so that some poor soul doesn't try to look for me in that mess."

Marik debated it, then nodded. "Fine."

"What, the dream-team's having trouble?" sneered a familiar voice. Marik beamed.

"Kaiba! You've finally realized your lifelong love!"

"… What?"

"In other words, are you going to be a prat and follow us to Hogsmeade, or are you going to be a prat and work?" said Bakura idly. "Either way, you're still a prat."

Yami chuckled. "No arguments there."

Yugi grinned. "We're going to go take the day off, Kaiba," he said. "Will you join us?"

"Please don't," said Bakura.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I will decline, but not because of your idiot friends," he said. "I have KaibaCorp business to catch up on. Motou – check on my brother? I don't trust the morons to do it for me."

Yugi nodded. "Of course. Although… that's an odd request."

"He seems to be doing fine, but somehow I wouldn't put it past him to end up blowing half the town."

Yugi laughed. "Alright, then. For the sake of our lives, sure, I'll check on him."

The brunet nodded. "Thank you." His eyes flicked to the dynamic duo. "Try not to cause any trouble. You two stand out enough as it is."

Marik grinned. "Who? Us? O ye of little faith!"

Kaiba almost snorted. But it was Kaiba, and he didn't do such things. "Exactly."

The Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade, Scotland

"Oh, there you are! Your brother asked me to check up on you."

Mokuba looked up at Yugi and scowled. "What! I'm not ten! I'm seventeen, I can take care of myself!"

"So says the person who went with a friend and got a tattoo," said Bakura. Mokuba stuck out his tongue at him. "Oh, very mature."

"So says you," muttered the younger Kaiba. Bakura flapped a hand in response.

The "Marauders," as they now called themselves, were sitting in the Three Broomsticks when Yugi, Marik and Bakura had found them. "What brings you to Hogsmeade, professors?" asked Hermione.

"The same as you – just a chance to relax," said Marik, twirling a piece of his hair. "And now, we should be leaving; I want to go get some of those sweets from the shop next door."

Yugi motioned idly, watching Harry. "May I?" he asked. The other blinked and nodded. Yugi plucked the deck from the table and began flipping through it, the first time rapidly, the second time calmly. After a moment, he said, "You've done a wonder with this. Might I suggest Jinzo, or Mobius the Frost Monarch?"

Harry stared. Kaiba had offered that exact same suggestion when he looked through his deck too. Of course, Harry hadn't gotten either of those cards in the few packs he'd bought, which is why he hadn't put them in. "Maybe Messenger of Peace, Breaker the Magical Warrior, Level Up!" Yugi was starting to think aloud. "Otherwise, Harry, very nice. I look forward to watching you duel."

He eyed the others as well. "Do you all have yours with you as well?"

Mokuba, Bakura and Marik groaned.

Great Hall, Hogwarts, Scotland

The Great Hall was filled with voices. Dinner was winding down, dessert about to appear on the table. Just as everyone got started on their treacle tart and other goodies, Dumbledore stood. The Hall went silent.

"I have," he said with a smile, "good news. Due to the popularity of a similar occasion two years ago, and to lighten the grim mood that has fallen over the wizarding community as of late, I am very pleased to announce that Hogwarts will host another ball this year." The excited murmurings began. "It shall take place on Halloween, and in the spirit of the holiday, everyone should dress up in a costume of sorts." The murmurings grew louder. Dumbledore smiled. "It is not restricted by age, and I hope to see you all there." He sat.

The Great Hall burst into chatter. Altáriël turned to the others with a grin. "A ball, huh? With costumes? This is a perfect opportunity for pranks!"

Mokuba laughed. "Let is alone, 'táriël," he said. "Let's just enjoy it, yeah?" He leaned forward. "So, Harry, Ron, any idea who you'll take?"

Ron flushed crimson almost immediately, while Harry tried to contain the pink in his cheeks. "Well – er, no," said Harry, scratching his head.

"Don't worry Harry," said Altáriël airily. "Half the school's in love with you, I'm sure you'll find someone."

Harry scowled at her. "Oh, thanks a lot."

"It's a compliment, don't give me that look!"

Dinner ended, and Harry and Ron took their time going back to the dormitory. The others, getting annoyed with how long it was taking them, went up ahead.

Ron groaned. "Harry," he said. "How am I supposed to ask her?"

"Hermione?" said Harry, amused. "Well, don't do it like last time, that failed."

Ron blushed and shrugged. "How am I supposed to do it Harry? I mean…"

"Get her alone," said Harry, his mind mentally imagining a similar situation with a very different girl and himself… "And just… I dunno. Be nice about it. Be casual."

The redhead nodded awkwardly. "What… what 'bout you? Anyone you want to ask?"

If only he could tell him! "Er, I dunno. We'll see. Maybe just someone random…"

"Like Parvarti Patil last time?" said Ron, amused. "Yeah, sure Harry. Whatever."

They trampled up to the common room where they saw Ginny flushed and looked pleased. "Eh? What's going on?" asked her brother.

"Mokuba just asked me to the ball," she said, and ran off before Ron's gaping mouth could snap a retort.

"… What?!" he finally said, stunned. He spun around, looking for the perpetrator. Mokuba blinked lazily from the couch. "You!"

"Me," said Mokuba with a shrug. "Look, Ron, your sister's a sweet girl, I like her. So, me, her, ball, dancing. It was the logical thing to do."

But the thing that happened to make two certain boys want to strangle him…

"Oi, idiots," said Altáriël, amused, "Don't sweat it. Ron 'll go with Hermione and I'll go with Harry, alright? Relax. Nerds."

Ron blinked as Hermione blushed and went off to busy herself. Harry nudged him with a head jerk. "Go, you stupid sod. Talk to her!!" Which made him stumbled after her with a, "Hermione!"

Harry turned to Altáriël. "Er, look, you don't have to – "

"Don't sweat it Harry," she said with a shrug. "I know you like her, alright? Use this as an opportunity. You're both good friends of mine and I've got twenty galleons on you getting her…" Harry snorted. She flapped a hand. "Call me in a favour sometime, alright?"

"You've got it."

(1) The rest of the line is "… like yourself?", just fyi. xDDD The song is "Grace Kelly".

(2) I'm pretty sure that's his name – I couldn't think of anyone, and there was some sort of random person who was beater in book six, and I'm pretty sure that his name was Jack Sloper.

(3) I wrote this while studying for the AP Euro mock, and I haven't studied the course in two years, so… should be interesting, to see what I get. (As I said last chapter, Ginny's a history buff, so that's why she's so adamant.)

(4) I AM IN LOVE WITH MOLTKE. Well, WWI in general I'm in love with. But OHMYGOD MOLTKE. Every time I bring him up in class, my friends turn around and stare at me… they think I'm psycho… which is true enough. XD (PS: I abuse that smiley. So does Kelpy.)

HIKARI HAS BEEN FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES THAT I CAN THINK OF REMOVED FROM THE STORY.

SHE IS NOT DATING KAIBA ANY MORE.

HE IS SINGLE.

EDITS IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS WILL SOON BE MADE.