I was surprised at the reaction Shadows Games and Philosopher's Stones got. I have to confess, I have no interest in continuing it at this time. Writing Harry Potter fanfic is actually beginning to pall somewhat, and I grew bored of writing Year One fanfics some time ago. I also have to say sorry to anyone who enjoyed that initial chapter of Underground's Champion: I realised once I had written it that I wouldn't be able to sustain my interest writing it. I also made some mistakes in the worldbuilding of the story, and if Underground's Champion ever does see the light of day, it will be in a somewhat modified form to ensure the story makes sense. For those actually wanting some Undertale fiction, feel free to read my crossover with Final Fantasy X, What Lies Beneath. Oh, and keep an eye out during the Christmas Update for a new Undertale crossover that I think has a lot of potential.

Another story idea that I think has a lot of potential is this one. Given the popularity of Shadow Games and Philosopher's Stones, I had a thought, what would be a Harry Potter/Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover I wouldn't mind writing? As much as having Harry have possession of the Millennium Puzzle had potential, I decided to have a story where an adult Harry's life intersected with the lives of the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, as I haven't done as many post-Hogwarts Harry stories that aren't Master of Death ones. I also decided to base it mostly on the manga, though have elements of both anime adaptations (including some of the dub names), along with Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series. The start of this story is just after Seto Kaiba has his first defeat in the manga. Oh, and I'm shipping Harry with Mai, as is made fairly clear in this first chapter. Depending on the response, this may yet be published as part of the Christmas Update. Hope you enjoy.

IGNIS AURUM PROBAT

CHAPTER 1:

MEETING MAI

Harry couldn't resist a snort of amusement as the blonde-haired woman took her victim to the cleaners again. She was one of the many dealers in the casino on the cruise ship, and clearly, she was chosen for more than being drop-dead gorgeous. Though that was clearly a factor in hiring her: her well-endowed figure doubtlessly helped distract her opponents, especially as she was just dressed in a leotard, a white coat with tails, and fishnet stockings. She had an odd combination of blonde hair, the epicanthic folds of an Asian, and purple eyes that managed to give her an air of exotic beauty. She seemed to be about his age.

But she was clearly an excellent player of card games of all kinds as well, from the standard ones like blackjack and poker, to even collectable card games like Duel Monsters. In fact, that particular game was what she was playing with the current sucker, a florid-faced overweight man who reminded Harry too much of his Uncle Vernon. Oh, she was cheating, in her own way, but it was probably allowed by the owners of the cruise ship to get more people out of their money. He had cottoned onto her secret some time ago. He would have called her out on it, but most of those she used it on were rich idiots who had some way of pissing Harry off. Acting like Malfoy, acting like his relatives, acting like so many he could name. Getting bilked out of what was probably a relatively small part of their monies by a beautiful woman was probably karmic retribution.

It had been a hobby of the past few days during the cruise to Egypt (the journey was pleasure, though the destination was all-business) to watch this woman playing games, once she caught his eye. He had to admit, few women did nowadays, and the ones who did were married. Ever since his rather acrimonious break-up with Ginny, he couldn't find anyone whom he liked, who weren't attached. Hermione and Luna topped that small list, and Hermione had married a Muggle scientist, and was working for some big company in Japan, while Luna was married to Neville, of all people. Harry Potter was Magical Britain's number one eligible bachelor. The problem is, he also had standards, much to the annoyance of many fangirl fiancées. And Ginny had not managed to look beyond the Boy Who Lived myth. Few in Magical Britain ever did.

As the woman's victim decided to cut his losses and leave, her eyes, purple in colour, met his own. She smirked, and crooked a finger. Harry sighed. He had been sitting at the bar, nursing a cocktail, so he came over. As he approached, she said, in an American-accented purr, "You've been sitting there a few nights now, watching me play. Should I call over a bouncer to remove a stalker?"

"I dunno. I'm not really interested in pissing my money away through gambling, though, even if the croupier is a looker. Though I'm surprised that adults bother playing Duel Monsters," Harry said. "It's a kid's game."

"You could say that about a lot of collectable card games," the woman said with a smile. "Odd thing is, you say you don't gamble, but your eyes tell a different tale. You probably don't gamble in casinos, but in other areas, well, that's another matter." She looked pointedly at his sleeve. "I may have nothing up my sleeve, but you have a wand holster in yours."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"

"I'm a Squib. And I'm guessing you're a Cursebreaker, heading out to Egypt. A few Cursebreakers who haven't got the ten-foot Pureblood stick up their ass take these cruises, unless they're in a hurry. I've met a couple before."

Harry nodded. She got that much right. Bill Weasley, after Harry's breakup with Ginny, had offered to take him under his wing and make him a Cursebreaker for Gringotts. The Goblins were a bit reluctant at first, given the chaos Harry and company caused during their search for the Horcruxes, but some gold from Harry's vault helped smooth things over. And the Goblins realised they had a publicity coup in recruiting the Boy Who Lived…especially once it came out that he had experience in destroying dark artifacts like Horcruxes. He was heading to Egypt to meet Bill, who had taken time off raising his family with Fleur and had wanted to introduce him to a few key figures in Magical Egypt, people he was expected to liaise with while excavating tombs. The names Bill mentioned included Isis Ishtar, as well as a man called Shadi, said to be a man who punished any tomb raiders.

"Do you usually talk to them?"

"They're usually more interesting than most. I'm Mai Valentine," she said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Your parents must have hated you. 'My valentine'?"

Mai snorted. "It's saner than half of the names in the Wizarding World. I mean, in Magical Britain, you have Gilderoy Lockhart, Bellatrix Lestrange, Arsenius Jigger…and of course, Voldemort. Seriously, that's 'flight from death' in French. Anyway, it was a choice between my father's name, and my mother's name, Kujaku. She was a Japanese Halfblood. And while Kujaku sounds nice, it means 'peacock' in Japanese. I prefer Valentine as a last name(1)."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that. I'm Harry Potter."

"I knew. Or rather, I guessed since I first saw you. It's a bit hard to mistake you, given how you've been plastered over just about every magical newspaper out there for your whole life, even if your bangs conceal your scar. And half of what they write is full of trash. Can't blame you for wanting to be incognito. Besides, it's not like you're the first celebrity to travel on this ship."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "I'd like to stay incognito if possible."

"That's fine. They don't usually have magicals on this ship. I won't go advertising it. That being said, I have a price to pay. Call it a viewing fee for gawping at me for so long," she said with a smirk.

Harry sighed. "And what price is that?"

"Play a game of Duel Monsters," Mai said. "No stake. Just a round of the game itself."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Just don't expect me to win. I don't know much about this game. Plus, I know your secret."

"Oh?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You spray differing perfumes on your cards so that you know what card comes up next. I only found out because I wondered whether you were using magic or something to win so often, so I cast a spell on them to find out what it was. You must have a good nose to tell the difference between them."

"Thank you. Don't get me wrong, I can win card games easily enough without the help, but the owners of the cruise ship turn a blind eye to me using what I like to call Aroma-Tactics. They even let me keep a portion of the winnings. Not that I need it. My parents left me a lot of money." Her face fell at that, and Harry realised that her parents must have died.

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah. I know you are, because you went through the same thing. I even heard about where you were raised. I was lucky enough to stay in my family home, not to mention knowing my parents before they died." Mai sighed, before she indicated a number of card decks. "House decks. While you're a novice, I recommend that one. It'd be the one that'd give my Harpy Deck the most problems. I do want something of a challenge…"

As it turned out, it wasn't much of one. Harry did grasp the rules of Duel Monsters pretty quickly, as well as the concept of Trap and Magic cards, but while he managed to get some good hits in, Mai managed to defeat him rather quickly. "One of the reasons I chose the Harpy Deck is that I can summon the Harpies to the field quickly, and, if I play my cards right, I can destroy traps, as you saw," she said with a smile once they concluded the game. "Don't worry, you did well for your first game, and I've played against supposedly more experienced players who did far worse than you did."

"You've put more thought than most people would into this game," Harry said.

"Actually, I'm probably at 'Professor' level, unofficially. They call Duel Monsters experts 'Professors'. The current American champion used to be 'Bandit' Keith Howard, but he's dropped out of the public eye after a loss to Maximillian Pegasus a month or so ago."

"Pegasus…isn't that the guy who's the creator of Duel Monsters? The guy in charge of Industrial Illusions? He's not magical, is he?"

Mai snorted. "With a name like that, you'd think so, wouldn't you? I think he's a No-Maj, what you Brits call Muggles, but I've heard rumours that he works with Gringotts in funding archaeological expeditions in Egypt. There was even a rumour he was inspired to create Duel Monsters after a visit to Egypt."

"Great. And I'm heading there."

"Why that tone?"

"What, the tone of exasperation and dread?" Harry asked. When Mai nodded, Harry said, "If you know anything about my life, you know that I tend to attract trouble."

"…Fair enough. I have heard a few shady things about Pegasus. Remember how I said that he beat Bandit Keith? Well, what he actually did was pick a kid from the audience, write a strategy on a piece of paper, and have the kid follow the strategy. Some people think that Pegasus somehow cheated, finding out what cards Bandit Keith had. I think so too. I know card cheating, and not just because I do it myself. As a croupier, I have to look for cheaters and card counters."

"I once read about a couple of techniques in that James Bond book, Moonraker(2)."

"Well, I know more than Ian Fleming wrote about in that. Anyway, I looked at recordings from every angle. How he knew, I have no idea, but he did. Even Seto Kaiba doesn't know, and he was there. I once spoke to him about it on the Duel Monsters circuit at the Japanese championships."

"Seto Kaiba? Wait, that's that kid who's in charge of Kaiba Corporation, right?"

"Yeah, him. Adopted son of Gozaburo after his biological son died(3), along with a younger brother called Mokuba. Seto's apparently a wunderkind as far as Duel Monsters is concerned, not to mention business and technology. He's a genius, but he's also a rather nasty bastard apparently. He's a bit like a Pureblood, if he was a wizard. I heard people say that his unofficial motto is 'Screw the Rules, I have Money(4)'."

Harry snorted. "Sounds like just about every rich Pureblood back home. Kingsley's cut down on graft, but he hasn't managed to remove it completely."

"I hear that. It's as bad back home with the MACUSA at times. It was illegal to marry No-Majs until some decades ago," Mai said.

They talked like that for a little while longer, before someone else came up to the games table, looking to play a game. Harry took that as a dismissal and left. He had to admit, for all her sexualised appearance and sardonic attitude, he actually liked Mai. She was intelligent, wasn't in awe of his celebrity, and had the same cheerfully anti-authoritarian views as he did.

Over the next few days, they saw each other more. Mai seemed to enjoy talking to someone who wasn't intent on getting into her pants (well, leotard) and who shared her cynical views about the world in general, and wizards and witches in particular. Harry certainly enjoyed talking to a beautiful woman his age who knew his reputation but didn't view him with awe (well, save for a little for actually beating Voldemort at the end of it all), and who had quite the knowledge about Duel Monsters. He still wasn't that interested in the game per se, but the lore and strategy involved was intriguing.

He had to admit, he was actually sorry when they arrived at Port Said, where he had to disembark. Mai, in a surprising gesture, had given him her email address. "When I'm not working on cruise ships, I'm generally on the American or Japanese Duel Monsters tournament circuits," she had said. "So, don't be a stranger."

He had promised not to. As he passed through Customs (through a special Magical section), he thought back to her. There was something about Mai that had drawn him to her, aside from her figure. He didn't believe in love at first sight: Ginny had, but it was far from mutual. She clearly trusted him enough to give him an email address. He had a laptop Hermione had modified, along with a modem years ahead of anything else.

Of course, Mai would have to wait, he reflected, as he emerged from Customs to find his welcoming committee waiting for him. The first was the familiar sight of Bill Weasley, still with Fenrir Greyback's claw marks on his face and that dragon fang earring. The second was rather unfamiliar, a man in what looked like desert clothing, loose white robes and a turban. He wore large hoop earrings, and on his chest was a massive ankh ornament, seemingly made of gold, hanging from a loop of cord around his neck. His most distinctive features, however, were his blue eyes. A contrast with his brown skin, they seemed paradoxically dull and yet piercing, tired and yet perceptive.

Harry approached them, grateful for the enchantments to his glasses Hermione made that could tell whether someone was a Polyjuice impostor, or under the influence of the Imperius. Nobody here, thankfully, was in that state. Considering that some children of Death Eaters or followers of Pureblood ideology would want him dead, it was a reasonable precaution. "Bill, it's good to see you!"

"And you, Harry," Bill said, shaking his hand with a smile. "I can't stay very long, Fleur's expecting our second child soon."

"So Victoire's brother or sister will be coming soon?" Harry asked. "Good to hear." He turned his attention to the other man. "Sorry for ignoring you, sir."

"It is no problem," the man said in a quiet voice. "The reunion of friends is a joy to behold."

"Harry, this is Shadi, the man I told you about."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shadi," Harry said, proffering his hand, which the Egyptian took with a small smile.

"Likewise, Harry Potter. I consider William to be a good friend and valued colleague. Given how highly he speaks of you, I hope that we can be too. Of course, there is the test I must administer before you become wholly trusted."

Harry sighed. "Of course there's one. Is it potentially lethal?"

"Only to those with greed and darkness dominating their hearts. I believe you will pass the test, Harry," Shadi said, before adding ominously, "Of course, the trials that will come with your work may be another matter…"

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Harry's met Mai and Shadi, and Shadi is going to administer a test to Harry. Fans of the manga will doubtless know what that test is. Keep in mind, this story will modify the manga's story, blending it with elements of the anime. I don't intend for Death-T to happen, for example, as that makes the Kaibas less redeemable than they are in the anime. And when I say the anime, for all the pedants out there, I mean the second adaptation, the one actually released in the US. I don't mean Season Zero, the fan name given to the first adaptation.

1. This is what Mai's Japanese name means. To any Final Fantasy fans, does that sound familiar? Yep, the name of the main villain from Final Fantasy IX, Kuja was a reference to kujaku. Given how he acts like a peacock, well…

2. This was one of the things that stuck with me about this novel. Bond mentions working with a card sharp to learn various ways of cheating so that he could spot cheaters. He learns that Hugo Drax is what they call a shiner, using a polished cigarette case as a mirror to see the cards as he deals them while playing Bridge. Incidentally, the novel Moonraker is actually closer to the plot of the Bond film Die Another Day than it was to the film Moonraker.

3. My little nod to Noah. I doubt I'll be including that Virtual World arc in this story, but I thought Noah was a nice little addition to the Kaiba family dynamic.

4. Yep, I did reference that meme from Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series. Deal with it.