Notes: I wanted to get this chapter out last week, but that didn't happen. x_x Made tons of cut and paste changes, so if you see two sections that don't really flow... that's probably why. Ended up including three characters that I didn't originally plan to when I rewrote half the fic in three hours. @_@ As a result, I really can't say I've got as much confidence about the structuring and stuff... came out more sensationalistic than deep... I just didn't think it though enough. **sigh** Oh well, it's still pretty decent.

I really should be working on my short story assignment, but that would **gasp!** require me to come up with my own original protagonist. :P

Anyway, you might be able to pick up on some hints as to why Yugi's not the DADA or the muggle studies prof.

Warning: Bad puns.
Bakura: They should be used to that by now, ahou, even if your sense of humour is so warped that they hardly ever realize there's a pun to be had.
Yami: Nani?! What are you doing here, Soul Stealer?
Bakura: **arches an eyebrow, smirking** Auditioning as a dementor? (The fans love me)
Yami: **growls darkly and boots Bakura all the way back to ITN**

Nov. 14th: Still unedited. Added fanart of Yugi in leather in the final scene and added review responses.

Chapter 6 - That's Not Yours

Yugi ran a hand through his droopy hair and shuffled towards the staff room. It was 5 in the morning... Still way too early to be up in his opinion, but he still needed to fill out those forms and he's gone straight to bed last night. Therefore he had forced himself out of bed at an ungodly hour, mentally poked at his yami (who had grunted and refused to awaken), dunked his head in water and walked out in search of sustenance, papers tucked haphazardly under one arm.

The portraits were a little put off at being woken for directions... not that Yugi could blame them.

Bleary-eyed, hair dripping wet, and dressed in a rumpled blue shirt and sweatpants, Yugi looked like he was suffering from... well... a hangover. It even felt vaguely like one too, if the magic-induced headache had anything to say about it.

Granted, Yugi was now 22, and he'd had his share of hangovers. Furthermore, his time as an archaeologist had taught him some valuable and relevant life lessons, like: "Never leave home without sun screen" (or feel the burn), "Money doesn't grow on trees, it comes from sponsors" (be nice to them) and "Nothing is more eternal than massive amounts of paperwork" (d'oh!). Therefore he'd learned that the best thing to look for when faced with long hours, piles of paperwork and/or a hangover was...

Coffee.

Nothing better-

Thump!

"&$#%#&@!" Yugi cursed quietly in Latin as he rubbed his nose, glaring dazedly at the door frame that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. That hurt!

"That looked like it hurt," a female voice commented wryly and Yugi turned, hand still on his nose.

"...Madame Hooch..." he acknowledged the resident flying instructor and blushed when he realized she'd seen him walk face-first into a doorframe. "Mornin'..." he squeaked.

"I told you to call me Xiomara," The hawk-eyed professor chided, then grinned. "And watch out for those doorframes. They like to jump out at you without warning."

"So I see," Yugi pouted, dropping his hand from his face with an embarrassed grin, then favoured her with a perplexed stare. "What're you doin' up?"

A shrug. "The early bird gets the worm, as it were," Xiomara lectured cheerfully, pushing open the door to the staff room and gesturing for the younger prof to enter.

Quietly, Yugi groaned. Madame Hooch was obviously a member of the subdivision of human known as the 'morning person'. "No thank you, I'd take sleep over worms any day, given the choice," Yugi joked as he walked into the staff room.

The other teacher shot him a amiable grin. "That wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you look like a half-drowned cat, now would it?"

"...And they say flattery will get you nowhere," Yugi said dryly.

Xiomara laughed. "Coffee?" she offered.

"Yes," Yugi agreed vehemently, plopping down into an armchair.

Xiomara came over to the table a moment later, holding a tray with two cups of coffee sent up by the house-elves. Carefully, she set the cup down on the table and gestured. "Help yourself. They sent up sandwiches too."

"Thanks," Yugi said enthusiastically.

The flying instructor watched in amusement as the foreign professor dumped three heaping spoonfuls of sugar into his cup and sipped the aromatic brew with a blissful sigh, relaxing visibly.

"Coffee person, are you?" Xiomara observed with a smile.

"Coffee is to mortals what ambrosia is to the gods," Yugi affirmed, leaning back in his armchair.

"Most of the other profs are tea people." Xiomara poured cream and stirred a spoonful of sugar into her own cup.

"Obviously they've yet to learn the wonders of concentrated caffeine."

Xiomara snorted quietly. If only Minerva was here to hear that... speaking of which... "So, what are you doing up, Kitten?"

"Oh, I've got forms to fill and syllabi to compli-" Yugi stopped short and turned at her, wide-eyed. "Did you just call me Kitten?"

Nearly choking at the irked expression on the young man's face, the silver-haired teacher hid a smile behind her cup. "You look like something the cat dragged in," she elaborated, knowing perfectly well that it was due to Minerva and her forms that the young man was up and about so early in the morning. Of course, Yugi didn't know that Minerva McGonagall was a cat animagus... Xiomara giggled quietly.

"Kitten!?" Yugi repeated incredulously, and narrowed his eyes as he became aware of an odd bubbling sensation coming from the back of his mind.

/Yami! Stop laughing right now!/

//Who's laughing?// the spirit countered, chuckling lowly.

"You don't approve?" Xiomara asked innocently.

"I've been compared to a range of animals varying from porcupines to shrimps," Yugi retorted flatly, "But I've yet to be compared to a kitten." He drew himself up in his chair, trying to muster some amount of dignity, but only managing to make himself look young and adorable, especially with his hair flopped over his eyes just so.

The hawk-eyed professor bit back a laugh. "First time for everything," she grinned.

//Looks like we both have our nicknames now,// Yami observed, then seemed to make an exaggerated show of pondering something. //...I believe I prefer mine.//

/...Thanks a lot,/ Yugi pouted.

//Turnabout's fair play,// Yami pointed out, smirking.

Yugi rolled his eyes. /You always link everything to games./

The Egyptian bowed with flair, eyes shining.

"Don't even think about calling me Ki- that in public, Madame," Yugi threatened, waggling a finger.

"Now now, where's your sense of humour?"

"In bed, still sleeping," Yugi said dryly.

Xiomara chuckled, turning her cup in her hands, but decided to take pity on the young man and dropped the subject. "You really don't like waking up early, do you? How on earth did you get landed with this job?"

Yugi's gaze flickered to the ceiling in exasperation. "The headmaster can be quite convincing," he replied, taking a gulp of coffee. His violet eyes caught Xiomara's amber ones. "The forms of magic I study are quite archaic. Most of it forgotten." He ran a hand through his droopy hair. "Dumbledore offered me the chance to see what modern magic was like first-hand. I really couldn't refuse."

"...In other words he suckered you into it, didn't he?" the other professor said, eyes crinkling with amicable laughter.

"...'Suckered' is such a strong word," Yugi protested smilingly, mock-hurt, but voiced no denial. "He did offer me a chance to learn, though. I told him I'd rather observe. I'm a historian, not a magician."

"'Wizard'," Xiomara corrected. "Why just observe? Wouldn't you like to make history? Be a part of it?"

Yugi smiled thinly and sank into the armchair, a darker, distant look in his eyes. "I think you'll find, Madame, that history rarely lies in the hands of those who make it. No matter how great, the unrecorded and forgotten individual, battle, or conflict has absolutely no basis on which to exist."

Xiomara frowned, perplexed. Strangely enough, Yugi looked like he was speaking from first-hand experience... what on earth could that be about?

"Surely the past isn't everything?" she protested.

Yugi blinked suddenly, and the atmosphere seemed to lighten considerably as he laughed. "What a thing to say to a history professor!"

Xiomara grinned tentatively, still confused by the change she'd seen in him, and probed further. "You don't seriously believe that a person can't exist without a history?"

"My dear Madame," Yugi said nostalgically, hearing his yami sigh as the spirit retreated to his soul room, "You can't imagine the debates I've had with myself over that very issue."

In another room...

Remus stood, staring at the fireplace with a vaguely amused expression, despite the bags under his eyes. Within it, the disgruntled, watery-eyed face of the notorious Azkaban escapee, Sirius Black, floated in the flames.

"So, to what do I owe this early, early morning social call?" Remus teased, pulling up a chair. "I never thought I'd see you awake before 10."

"Dun expec' coherency," Sirius grunted, and then sneezed, massaging his noticeably red nose, "Dis is all your fauld."

"Oh?"

A glare. "De next dime Mundy asks fo' me, say I'm busy," he stressed.

Remus covered a smile. "What happened?"

"Mundy habbened," he said with a violent sneeze.

"Aw, c'mon, it's not my fault," a disembodied voice protested, "How was I supposed to know you were allergic to the stuff?" and an instant later Mundy's head replaced Sirius', looking cheerful as usual. "Top o' the mornin' to ye, Moony!" he saluted.

"Moony" crossed his arms.

In the background, loud expletives could be heard, followed by a series of sneezes and a long sniffle.

Remus' eyebrow arched. "Mundy, what did you do?" he asked, amusement battling concern. "I haven't seen Padfoot this bad since-"

"Since he taunted Snape about having a big bird nose and got hit by a Mucky-mucus hex?"

"Mundy!" Sirius' voice floated in from the background, "I'm gonna (**sneeze**) rib oub yo (**sneeze**) guds an' feed 'em to da (**sneezesneeze**) crowbs!"

Mundy winked at the brown-haired professor and raised a hand to his ear with a flourish, eyes raised innocently to the ceiling. "I'm sorry, what was that old chap? I couldn't understand you."

"!@^#@$%$@^#!!" said Sirius.

"Well you don't have to be so rude about it," Mundy replied, the image of offended pride.

Remus rubbed forehead in embarrassment, but he knew he'd rather see them joking than brooding. Merlin knew Sirius did enough of that in his own time. The dog animagus still had nightmares about his experiences in Azkaban, but come morning he'd have pushed the memories aside, assuming his usual niche as a prankster. Only sometimes, if Moony walked in on him unexpectedly, would he be able to catch the haunted look in his friend's eyes.

It worried him.

"Mundy, stop tormenting Padfoot."

"I'm not tormenting him- Whoops, there he goes...." the Auror noted, glancing at something out of Moony's line of vision. "I think he's finally realized he should be looking for an anti-allergy drought instead of standing around and complaining about it," he noted, turning back to grin at the werewolf. "Better finish this before he comes back-"

"What did you do," Moony asked again, narrowing his amber-flecked eyes.

Mundy's grin never faltered. "Snuck back into Crowne mansion. Had the old dog sniff around while I did some digging of my own. Would you believe that our esteemed MoJ had a stash of Fireball hidden inside one of his armchair cushions?" he stage-whispered conspiratorially. "Not only is that stuff potent enough to make you sing 'Lucy' (1), a whiff of it'll also give a certain Grim-clone enough huff and puff to blow down a house of bricks."

Remus sat up, alarmed. Fireball was a magically enhanced hallucinogenic drug, made illegal because it was practically undetectable by muggle methods. There had been a whole fiasco decades ago when some of the dealers had decided to sell the stuff to muggles for a quick buck. The Ministry was hard pressed to keep that in control when the said muggles turned up overdosed on seemingly nothing, baffling doctors everywhere. "You think the Minister O.D.ed?"

Mundy frowned, "Some of the symptoms are there... might explain why he's drooling all over padded carpeting right now, but I doubt he'd be stupid enough to overdose... for all we know he could be a dealer, not a user. I can't confirm until I can get my itchy fingers on his medical records."

"Foul play?"

"Entirely possible, but we don't have any witnesses. The house-elf's bound by magic to keep her master's secrets and she's not talking. At all."

Moony was silent for a moment. "Motive?"

Mundy grimaced. "I was wondering when you'd ask me that," he said wryly. "Revenge."

"Revenge?" Moony repeated.

"One of my men found something before the bigwigs choked us off," Mundy shook his head. "I'll see if I can swipe it for the next Order meeting."

"Does Moody know about this yet?"

"No, he still wants us to focus on Diagon Alley, but there's a connection here, Moony, I know it. If I can just get that folder they confiscated, I can prove it."

"Alright," Moony agreed reluctantly. "Just don't get yourself caught."

Mundy switched on his 100 watt grin. "I know, I know. I promise I'll be good," he teased, fingering a cross over his heart.

"I'm serious."

"So am I!"

"Oh no," a snarling voice drawled threateningly out of the blue, "I'm Sirius."

Mundy blinked, turning his head to the right and knitting his fingers behind his head. "Hey!" he observed enthusiastically, "You're all better!"

"No thanks to you."

The auror chuckled nervously, glancing back to the werewolf. "Uh, Moony, can I get back to you later... Fill Gramps in for me, would you?"

Remus sighed. "Mundy, Padfoot..."

A growl, sounding distinctly canine.

"Mund-" Remus chided, but was cut off by a soft knock at his chamber door.

"Uh oh, that's our cue to go," Mundy yelped.

"Professor?" a soft voice filtered through the wood, inaudible to human ears. "Professor Lupin, are you awake?" Good thing Remus was a werewolf.

"Wait," Remus ordered waving his hand as his brows furrowed, "It's Harry."

"Harry?!" Sirius cut-in, shoving Mundy out of the flames ("Hey!"), thoughts of retribution forgotten.

Remus was already walking across the room, pushing open the portrait-door slightly. His eyes narrowed as he was met with an empty hallway, but a discrete sniff of the air confirmed that Harry was indeed at the door.

"Come in," he invited quietly, pushing the portrait open wider, only closing it again after he'd felt a faint breeze and heard the discrete shuffle of slippered feet.

Looking over his shoulder at where he thought the boy would be, Remus frowned. "Harry, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

There was a shimmer of air as the teen removed his invisibility cloak, draping it over one arm instead. A somewhat sheepish smile graced the boy's features as he shook his head, waving his hands reassuringly. "No, I just couldn't get back to sleep, so I- I thought I'd pay you a visit. I didn't get a chance to talk to you last night," he said, bowing his head.

Remus frowned disapprovingly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder as he guided the teen to the inner rooms. "Harry, you know you shouldn't be wandering around after-hours on your own. It could be dangerous."

The boy huffed, "I know, I'm sorry, but I wanted to ask about-" the eyes flickered to the fireplace. "Sirius!"

"I was wondering how long it'd take you to notice me," the dog animagus grinned.

"Don't encourage him," Remus chided, sliding into his chair once again.

"Why did you come, Harry?" Sirius asked curiously. "I hope you're not going to land yourself a detention on the first day of school," he grinned.

"I haven't heard from you in ages," Harry accused, biting his lip. "I was getting worried...."

Sirius' eyes softened slightly. "I'm sorry, Harry, if I'd been able to write, I would have."

Harry looked away, "I know."

"Hey, kiddo, you're not mad at me, are you?"

Harry frowned at his godfather, arms crossed under the invisibility cloak, and Sirius was suddenly struck by the ghostly image of James overlapped on Harry. It was astounding, really. Physically they looked so remarkably familiar, excluding the fact that Harry was undeniably scrawnier, but their attitudes were completely different.

James had been carefree and fun-loving, always up for a good joke. Harry, however, was somehow more subdued. His emerald eyes, inherited from his mother, were darkened with experiences no 15 year-old should have. His youthful face was marred by a serious frown, and most vivid of all was the white lightning scar that ran down the right side of Harry's forehead.

"No," Harry sighed and shook his head.

"Harry?" Remus asked, concerned.

"Ahem," someone coughed, and Sirius was pushed out of the fire ("Ow!"). "Hi!" said a man Harry had never seen before. "I'm Mundungus Fletcher!"

Harry blinked in confusion as he heard his godfather curse ("Dammit Fletcher!"). "Um, hi?"

Mundy eyed him up and down. "Gotta say you're a bit scrawnier than I expected- Ow!" he rubbed his head where Sirius had whacked him. "How on earth do you put up with this mutt, Harry- hey!" he protested as Sirius replaced him yet again.

"Harry, we'll talk later, alright?" Sirius said solemnly, "I think I can come and visit in a bit."

The black-haired teen seemed to brighten a bit. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then, alright?"

"Sure," he blinked as the flame flickered out.

Sensing his professor staring at him, Harry turned back to Remus. The werewolf was indeed staring at him calculatingly.

"Harry," the old marauder said, frowning slightly, "I really don't want you wandering hallways, alright?"

"Professor-"

"I mean it, Harry," Remus said sternly.

The teen looked down at his feet. This wasn't the kind of authority he was used to. "Alright," he agreed reluctantly. Unless I have to.

"Good," Remus approved, smiling as he stood, "Don't let me catch you doing it again. C'mon, I'll walk you back to the Gryffindor tower," he said, grabbing a robe and making his way to the door.

Yugi flipped through his deck as he walked down the corridor. Xiomara had offered to drop the forms off at McGongall's office for him and save him the trouble of scouring the castle for the deputy headmistress. Sighing, he stared as he came across the familiar images of the Dark Magician, the Dark Magician Girl, the Celtic Guardian...

Deep in thought, Yugi let his awareness wander again, and as he turned the corner he failed to notice the approaching body. The other person, tired as he was, also failed to notice Yugi, and as a consequence, the two collided with an "oof!", sending the cards scattering to the stone floor.

"I'm so sorry!" someone apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No, neither was I," Yugi replied sheepishly, "Sorry!" he said, kneeling down to pick up his cards.

"Harry, are you alright?" Remus asked, coming up from behind and helping the boy up.

"Yeah," Harry assured, before looking back at the man he'd collided with. "Hey, it's you!"

Yugi looked up, a flash of recognition in his eyes. "You're the boy from the bookstore, right?"

Harry nodded, bending down to pick up some of the cards. "I'm really sorry..."

"No, not at all," Yugi assured.

Remus frowned slightly, he hadn't been aware that Harry had met the mysterious HoM prof before. He'd have to ask him about it later. He refocused on the present to see Harry hand the cards over, Yugi accepting them graciously.

"Thanks," the foreigner smiled, curling his hands around the deck.

"You missed one," Lupin commented softly, walking over to pick up a card that had floated farther than the rest. Turning it over for a quick look out of reflex, the werewolf froze.

Harry noticed immediately. "Professor?" he called tentatively. "Professor, what's wrong?"

Yugi himself had turned to look perplexedly at the man, but his eyes slowly widened as he felt a twinge through his link with cards. The card in Lupin's hand was responding!

That's impossible! Yugi gapped. They should only respond Yami or me.... But the card was definitely reacting to the other man's presence. Yugi walked forward hastily, reaching out for his card.

At the same time, Harry called again, touching the man's arm, "Professor Lupin!" and Remus finally seemed to snap to, blinking dazedly.

"W-" he exhaled, looking over at Yugi, brows furrowed. What happened? "I'm sorry, here," he said, surrendering the card, unnerved. His hands curled unconsciously into fists, remembering that odd tingle that had run up his arm as he stared at the card. "C'mon Harry," he ordered quietly, nodding stiffly to the smaller professor. It seemed like he'd have one other thing to report to Dumbledore today. "Let's go."

Disturbed, Harry ran after his father's friend, giving Yugi a troubled look as he passed.

Yugi wasn't much better himself in terms of confusion. Reaching out with his senses, he scanned the older man but he could detect no trace of Shadow magic... Lupin should not be able to summon a monster.

Brows furrowed, the Game King glanced questioningly down at the card.

A powerful white wolf sat on its haunches, fangs barred as it howled at the full moon. Its fur was more luminescent than usual and the beast's amber eyes were glinting with new life.

Silver Fang

Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room, frowning.

Hermione and Ron, who'd been arguing quietly by the stairs, turned and looked at him.

"Harry?" Ron asked, surprised by his friend's serious expression.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, alarmed. "Is it... Snuffles?"

"No," Harry shook his head, walking towards the boys dorms.

"Well what is it then?" Ron probed, following his friend.

Harry was silent for a moment, staring at empty space. "I ran into the HoM prof."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "You didn't get in trouble did you? Classes haven't even started yet-"

"No. No, Professor Lupin was walking with me," Harry assured.

"Then what's the problem?" Ron arched an eyebrow.

"Professor Mouto had a deck of cards with him-"

"OooOOOoo...." Ron said with a grin.

"Shut up," Harry ribbed. "They were really strange looking cards. Kinda like those magic card games muggles have...."

"How can muggles have magic cards?" Ron asked, looking at Harry like he was crazy. Muggles are muggles. Magic is... magical and distinctly non-muggle.

"Not real magic," Hermione corrected exasperatedly. "Go on, Harry."

"Well anyway, Lupin picked one up and he sorta froze on the spot. Looked like he was in a trance or something," Harry turned to his friends worriedly. "I don't know what happened."

Hermione frowned. "Maybe the cards are warded against strangers?"

"Can't be," Harry countered, "I touched them too."

The bushy-haired genius turned to stare at him. "I'll see if I can find anything," she promised.

"Thanks Herm," Harry smiled.

Ron, on the other hand, was groaning. "This means research, doesn't it?"

"He can be taught," Hermione teased, and Ron glared half-heartedly at her.

The trio stopped as they reached a set of double doors and Harry had just reached out for the knob when it was suddenly jerked open inwards. Instinctively, Harry shoved the invisibility cloak behind his back.

Dean Thomas looked up, towel wrapped around his waist... stared... and promptly slammed the door loudly in their faces.

Harry closed his eyes as the resulting breeze flew past him.

Ron turned conversationally to a beet-red female Hermione. "Welcome to the 5th year boy's Dormitory."

At breakfast...

"What do you think we have first?" Harry asked, wondering when their schedules would arrive.

"Maybe we'll get HoM?" Ron suggested half-hopefully.

"Well, anyway, eat up, I don't want to be late," Hermione ordered quietly, "First impressions are important."

"If we have HoM first you won't have to worry about that," Ron mumbled through his toast. "You've already made an impression on him at the bookstore."

Harry's lips twitched as Hermione glared at an oblivious-seeming Ron, catching the subtle jibe at hers weight. Ron wasn't stupid by any means... no one that good at chess could be... but with his image as a slacker you could never tell if one of his subtle jokes were deliberate, or if they were merely a consequence of his flapping mouth.

Dean poked at food, ignoring the banter as he sat in usual silence.

Seamus nudged him with an elbow. "What's the matter?" he grinned, "Still embarrassed about showing so much leg?"

Hermione turned red again as Dean glared venomously at his best friend.

"Shut up, Seamus," they spat in unison.

"Oh, they be talking in sync now," he teased.

"Shut up, Seamus," Ron growled, looking slightly jealous. Seamus shot the redhead a lopsided grin.

Dean frowned, ignoring his friend and switching the subject. "Anyone else get the feeling that they should recognise the new HoM prof?"

"Why would you?" Ron asked, reaching for more bacon as he gave Seamus the evil-eye. "I mean, you've never met him before, have you?"

"That's the problem."

"Deja-vu?" Hermione suggested, sipping at her pumpkin juice as her cheeks faded to its usual colour.

"No, it's not that either!" Dean insisted, frowning. "I dunno, I just can't figure out why."

"It'll come to you," Harry consoled, slathering his toast with tons of butter and jam. It was a bad habit he'd developed to compensate for the times when the Dursleys had fed him nothing but a meager portion of burnt toast.

Hermione made a face. "Harry..."

The dark-haired boy grinned and took a huge bite, enjoying the flavor while he could.

"Uugghh..." Hermione shuddered as Harry chuckled quietly. "Goodness, Harry, eat something else!" she ordered. "One piece of toast isn't enough no matter how much jam you put on it."

Harry shrugged, suppressing a grimace. Truth was, he'd gotten used to eating a little, especially in the mornings. Although Mrs. Weasley had tried to remedy that, he still couldn't eat very much without feeling bloated. Ron, whose appetite had grown exponentially, had shot up in height several inches over the summer, but while Harry had grown, he couldn't hold a candle next to the redhead. "Not that hungry, Herm," he insisted. "Besides, I ate a fair bit last night at the feast."

Hermione frowned at him, but reluctantly dropped the issue when one of the older prefects came around with class schedules.

Ron stared at the parchment like it was a ribbon-wrapped spider. "I can't look," he said flatly as Harry opened his. "Tell me we don't have double potions with the Slytherins."

"'We don't have double potions with the Slytherins,'" Harry repeated dutifully as he skimmed the schedule.

"Lemme see that!" the redhead said suspiciously, grabbing the parchment. After a moment of silence he mock-glared at his best friend. "...Liar!"

Harry grinned. "You asked me to," he pointed out. "And look on the bright side. It's not until tomorrow.

"Well that just makes it all better," Ron sulked quietly.

Out of nowhere, Fred and George snatched the parchment out of their little brother's fingers ("Hey! That's mine!" protested Harry) and skimmed through it as well. "Unfair!" Fred said dramatically, waving the parchment in front of Ron's eyes. "Roniekins, you've got HoM first!"

"With the Slytherins," Hermione sighed, but was ignored.

The youngest male Weasley turned to his brother with snicker. "...You do realize how strange that sounds coming from you, right?"

"First time in years anyone's been willing to go to HoM for anything other than a nap," Harry observed lightly, grabbing his rumpled schedule with a mock-glare.

George slid his hands into the pockets of his robes and smiled easily in response. "Oh c'mon, with a teacher that looks like that, who wouldn't want to go?" he waggled his eyebrows.

"George!" Fred gasped mockingly, "How could you say that? Are you in love with another?"

Hermione face-palmed as Harry hid a smile behind his glass of juice. It was another morning with the twins.

Shooting his brother a comically wide-eyed look, George grabbed his twin's hand reverently. "Never! You know you're the only one for me!"

"Oh George!" Fred gushed, starry-eyed.

"Oh Fred!" George sighed.

"Hold me!"

The resident bookworm sighed exasperatedly as the twins glomped each other. "Honestly, where do they get it from?" Hermione said sideways to Ron. "Your parents are such nice, proper people."

Ron shrugged. "Great-uncle McQuarry who married into the family about three generations back on my dad's side," he announced with all seriousness. When Harry shot his friend a disbelieving look, Ron grinned toothily. "Percy didn't get any."

"That's not all Percy isn't getting!" Fred crowed as he clung to his brother, damsel in distress style.

Harry choked on his pumpkin juice, spluttering with laughter. Percival Weasley was one of the most up-tight people Harry had ever encountered, especially when compared to the rest of the friendly, easygoing Weasleys. He was so obsessed with his work, he hardly had any time to socialize... let alone worry about "getting a piece of the action".

Ron told him that Percy'd had the entire family convinced he was gay at one point, and Mrs. Weasley had showered him with leaflets on self-acceptance and emotional freedom, all through which Percy had turned an interesting shade of reddish-purple and spluttered incoherently (the twins had taken pictures). Apparently his mum and dad had been estatic when they'd heard Percy'd started dating Penelope... too bad that relationship hadn't lasted too long.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her back to the twins, knowing it was practically useless to comment. Instead, she glanced at the time. "We should get going."

One by one, the fifth year Gryffindors shuffled out of the Great Hall, side-stepping around the twins (who where now spouting bad poetry), but not before Ron ran back to grab the last piece of toast.

"Ro~on!"

"Herm, I'm hungry!"

When they reached the HoM classroom, a collection of Gryffindors and Slytherins were already congregated outside the door.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, coming up in front.

Neville Longbottom looked up from his place against the wall, greeting his fellow Gryffindors. "No one knows. We've been waiting for the doors to open for a while." Neville's attention, however, was not focused on the door, but focused warily on the group of Slytherins collected on the other side of the hall, slowly approaching.

"Hey," Ron nudged Harry, brows furrowed with concern.

"Just ignore them," Hermione whispered.

Harry exhaled loudly. "Yeah, I know," he replied, but the weight in his chest remained.

"There you are, Potter," an arrogant voice sneered from behind, "I didn't think you'd have the guts to show your face."

Harry didn't even bother to turn, he already knew who it was. "Well it wouldn't be the first time that you'd thought wrong," he countered dryly.

"Buzz off, Malfoy," Ron snapped, glaring at the blonde.

"Need people to play guard-dog for you now, Potter? Careful, you'll lose more friends that way."

Harry's jaws clenched. "See, that's where we differ. I have friends, and you have dogs," he threw over his shoulder, eyes landing briefly on Crabbe and Goyle.

Draco sneered, "At least I won't get them killed."

Harry whirled furiously. "I would never-"

"Cedric would beg to differ," Draco smirked.

Their audience gasped and snickered, but the two boys took no notice. In a split second, both had drawn thier wands, Harry out of anger and Draco out of his expectations of Harry's reaction.

"Don't you dare presume to know what Cedric would think," Harry hissed lowly, green eyes narrowed into pained slits.

"Oh, and I suppose you knew him so much better," the Slytherin drawled.

From the sidelines, Hermione stared at them, wide-eyed. "Harry, don't-"

"Listen to the mudblood, Harry."

Hermione whirled on the blonde, hands on her hips, "Don't do us any favors, Malfoy. I'm trying to save you from a beating your grandchildren would feel."

"Go Herm," Ron cheered quietly.

Draco's eyes flared and he raised his wand. "Con-"

At the same time Harry shouted "Ex-"

...And both blinked in surprise when their hands turned out empty an instant later.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure there's no dueling allowed in the hallways," Professor Mouto smiled easily, twirling two familiar wands in his hands. (fanart: www.deviantart.com/view/3829876/ OR www.angelfire.com/anime2/loft1050/adult_yugi.jpg)

The students gapped at the man. Up close, the foreigner was even more exotic. Their newest professor leaned casually on the doorframe of his classroom, clad in glossy black leather. His hair was loose and spiked up, golden bangs falling around his violet eyes. A gold studded earring graced his left ear, and a large, inverted golden pyramid hung from the leather cord at his neck.

How had he gotten those wands so quickly?

Yugi merely blinked at their confusion. "Would you all like to have the lesson out in the hall?" he queried in his softly accented voice, "That'd be an awful waste of the time I spent redecorating the classroom," he teased, captivating several of the girls with the way his lips pouted in mock-disappointment.

No one moved.

The foreigner sighed and waved the two wands carelessly around. "Let me rephrase that. 'Get into the classroom, please!'"

The students shuffled.

"Ah-m...." Hermione said, closing her mouth and squaring her shoulders as she thread past their unusual professor and into the HoM classroom.

"Herm," Ron hissed, jogging after the Gryffindor bookworm.

The other students hesitantly followed, giving Yugi various looks ranging from awe, annoyance and bewilderment.

Draco, on the other hand, marched furiously up to the violet-eyed man. "My wand," he demanded coldly, holding out his hand.

/I think we have a Kaiba-clone,/ Yugi noted with amusement, studying the blonde.

//A rather childish Kaiba-clone,// Yami observed as the boy in question clenched his fists in furious indignation.

Yugi merely arched an eyebrow, tucking the wands in his belt. "No, I think I'll hang on to them a little longer. You won't need them for the duration of the class."

Harry came up behind his rival, staring perplexedly at the man he'd encountered twice now.

The muscles of Draco's neck tightened as his teeth gnashed together. "Do you know who I am?"

"No, should I?" Yugi asked, almost too innocently.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," the blonde hissed.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy," Yugi replied affably, noticeably unmoved. Harry had to smirk as Draco's ears started turning red.

Yugi's violet eyes stared down at both of them. "Into the classroom, please, both of you," Yugi ordered, shooting Harry a discretely amused look as he waved a hand. "I've got a class to teach."

One glaring, one thoughtful, the boys walked into the room after their classmates... and stared.

Their old, musty, boring classroom had been transformed. The desks had been pushed into a semi-circular form in two rows, leaving the center floor clear. The French windows at the back of the room and been framed with heavy red curtains, looking as if they just barely fit in with the new design.

The rest of the room was decked with cultural memorabilia, although there was an distinctly Egyptian theme underlying everything. The pillars now sported vivid hieroglyphics, and oil lamps and lanterns lined the walls, unlit for now. On one section of the wall there were a number of earthen African masks and on the other were feathered Native American headdresses. Near the front, there was a glass enclosed display of samurai armour, with two matching swords. The walls themselves glittered golden, covered with Mayan pictographs, Australian aboriginal designs and other ornaments. Heck, there was even a didgeridoo in one corner, surrounded by drums. The only thing that remained the same was the blackboard at the front of the room.

Coming up behind them, Professor Mouto grinned.

"Welcome to History of Magic."

TBC

(1) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", by the Beatles. ^_^ Some people think it's code for LSD, and looking at the lyrics, it really isn't hard to speculate. **sings and twirls** Newspaper taxis appear on the shore, waiting to take you awaaaaay. Climb in the back with your head in the clouds and you�re gone!

**Muses with earplugs shove Lizzie off the stage**

Notes: Myah! I know, I know, still no lesson, but look, they're IN the classroom. I can start with the lesson right at the beginning of the next chapter.

I can't remember if Harry's cloak was confiscated at the end of book four... lets assume it hasn't been... and is HoM supposed to be a two-house class?

Didgeridoo! It's such a fun word. ^_^ I remember seeing some on a school field trip to a historical museum in Melbourne, way back when I lived in Australia. Those things are cool. ;) Of course if I hadn't been in Australia, I would've been in Japan, and then I'd be able to accurately use those Japanese terms I like to throw in... **sigh** Oh well. Can't have everything.

I know, overdosing on a hallucinogenic isn't very magical, is it? What can I say, I've been at those police procedural novels again.

REVIEW! ^_^ Please?

Thanks to & Review Responses:

Anime Crazed, Anime-crazed33, Antagonist, Ashita II, Autumn Ann Star, blazing kodachi, Catalyst of Light, C.M Aeris Queen of Insanity, Crying Forever, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, Cyberkat, Delphine Pryde, Jaganshi-Summoner, kaien, Katya D Keaton, Kris Ice, Lethe Seraph, Maia Webmistress, Mashed Potato Master, Miko-Snow Goddess-Me, Molly-chan the Anime/Game fan, Neko Moon Goddess, not the usual baka, Penterghast, Ranma Higurashi, shadow/phantomness, Skye-Chan1, smilez, Steeple333, and The-Kurisutaru.

Akina Tori - **nodnod** I think earrings fit Dobby pretty well. ^_^

Alana Hikari-Chan - Yep, my back's all better, thanks, but now it's my hand. Ever see one of those cartoons where people slip on a banana peel? That pretty much happened to me on ice. Feet went flying up and I landed backwards on my palms. They're actually kinda greenish-purple right now. x_x Skating is dangerous, dangit!

alicia - **Arches an eyebrow** Don't tell me that e-mail address actually exists.

Aneko - **smirks** No, I don't like confusing people with big words. It's much more satisfying if I can confuse them without resorting to that. **evil grin**
Well, I'm not too sure if I like Isis myself... she's a bit of a pessimist and rather robotic, but it's looking like Bakura might sub for Divination if Trelawney gets the boot.

Angel Rosz - Yeah, it is Lupin. ^_^ According to some legends, the best way to kill a werewolf is with a silver bullet. For some reason, they just really don't like silver. The term "Watcher in the Water" comes from Lord of the Rings. As for the squid itself, I made no assumptions on its origins. :P I know, but Yugi tried picturing Dobby in his leather clothes and it didn't match, so he went for earrings instead! I mean, Dobby's big pointy ears just begged for ornaments... the fact that they'd fit Dobby's excentricity is just a plus. ;)

Anime-fan Meepa - Awww... sorry, but Yugi tried picturing Dobby in leathers and figured it would scar anyone who saw him for life. :D

**grins** You're the second person to mention unicorns! Except the other person was convinced the uni's would love Yugi. I'm not quite sure myself... I mean, if it was just Yugi, they'd definitely come flocking, dark powers or not. Hmmm...

anime-rulez3 - Oh! Cute pun. I'm a big, big fan of puns. ^__^

Arabella Silverbell - Mou... can I infuse a picture of Yugi into your mind? I've added fanart for that wand-swiping scene. :D

BakaNeko-Chan - O_O OMG! Dobby with Malik-hair?! x_X Now I'm scared (and scarred) too! :P

BishounenzAngel - Of course I don't mind! :D

blackrose - Gomen. It'll be updated before Christmas.

Blood Aura - Holy mother of pearl, did you know all that before or did you just research it? My image mental of fawkes looks like this: ww w.deviantart.c om/view/3657924/
The stuff about Benu was just taken from 10 minutes of researching 'cause I thought it'd give him a common thread with Yami. Even then I wasn't too picky about details 'cause there are so many variations of the gods and the creatues... they change over time and what-not... not to mention the fact that it's all taken from internet sources, which are always shaky at best (one site mentioned Benu was a "he" then switched to "she" have a page later). "Firebird" was just because of his tendency to burst into flame come burning day. On a side note, I now know where they got the name "Ho-oh" for the legendary bird in Pokemon. **smirks** Thanks. **blinks** Ano... I'm partial to Ginny/Harry, but I've seen some people pull off Herm/Harry really well... I dunno if I wanna get into romance at all... it's hard to pull off without making it corny.

Chaos-chick3 - Mou, slash? No... but I'm hoping I'm giving enough Shonen-ai hints to keep the yaoi-fangirls happy.

Chibizoo- **snorts** Well I try. Sometimes I get my alphabet mixed up. ;)

DHASN - @_@ "Desu" is a bit hard to explain and I'm not sure I understand it myself. You can't really translate it directly into English. It usually goes at the end of "to be" sentenses to affirm that something "is". Leaving out the "desu" can imply that "it is not". x_x It's really complicated 'cause it can also be seen as "de arimasu" or "de masu" or just "de"/"da"... Sometimes even "de gozaru" in old samurai anime (like Rurouni Kenshin ^_^ or like "no da" in Fushigi Yuugi). If you ever listen to subs, it'll probably be pronounced "des" with the "u" dropped out. There's your Jap. lesson for the day. **crosses fingers** I hope I didn't explain it wrong.

Watcher = squid. :) Yes actually, Ron is the Jou/best friend figure. I made him scarf food for a reason. :P TBC = To be continued.
I confused you with Just Desserts? I used it because it implies that if you didn't deserve to be punished... you won't be. Of course, that's not how the card actually works according to the rules, but for Shadow punishment purposes it'll do.

Dragon-sama and/or Starling - **blinks** Ah... I don't think I'm gonna have him play Quidditch, but you've given me an interesting idea with the Snidget... **spacey grin** Well I've started to include Draco... he's gonna be like... a bratty, spoiled Seto, if you can picture that. ^_^ He's got the holier-than-thou attitude and the brains, just give him a bit of maturity and he might make a good rival for Harry. As of the YGO characters, I think it's safe to say that Bakura'll be showing up later. I like reading yaoi... I just can't write it. Best thing I can do is shonen-ai hints.

Firehedgehog - You think the last chapter was weird? Whadda ya gonna think of this one?

gimeGohan - Wristbands? Nah. :) That might be more Winky's thing. ;)

Goddess-of-da-Cheesburgers - "The Total Idiot's Guide to World Domination" **snicker** Thanks for putting me on your fav. author list.

Hey - I'm so glad you like it. :D **meep** Fangs!

hobbit13 - Harry will definitely connect to Yugi... not telling you how though... **evil grin**

hoshi-tachi - Uuggghh... well, those possessions aren't really canon. I can still pretend they don't exist. ;) You're right, Yugi's HoM is going to encompas more than just wizarding history. **spoiler-ish** He's actually going to do a bit of muggle history too, and branch out into other cultures of magic.

innominate - Wow, you're giving lots of nice, long, thoughful reviews. :D I hope to hear more from you. Y'know what? I confess, I was thinking of the little soot-balls from Spirited Away too. They're so darn cute, especially when they were grabbing those star-food things.
**Sweatdrop** Dangit, Tuulikki already told me to fix that sentence, and then I went off and made a different mistake in the same sentence...
The thing with Rose-san was to give Yugi some common ground with Harry... I guess you could call it the effect of evil on the innocent. That was what Rowling was going for when she killed off Cedric, right?

JadedKatrina - Mmm... I dunno. There actually was a reason, plot-wise, why I didn't let Yugi tell Jon where he was working, but with the way things are going right now, I don't know if it's still a valid reason.

Jenniyah - Snape and Yugi will definitely have more "chats". **evil grin**

Kaira-chan - Of course there's gold again! (although personally I prefer Yugi in silver). I'm not sure about the unicorns... maybe not as CoMC class... they already covered unicorns anyway.

kangrowl - Yep, a werewolf can't touch silver. ^_^ Just dun ask me why. I dunno.

krimsonkiller - **arches an eyebrow** That's what the N stands for in TNT? I didn't know that. Thanks!

Lirael2 - Only Yami? How 'bout Yugi? I've added a pic of him now too. ^_^

Mavelus - I like fluff too, don't worry. :D Bakura will probably show up when Trelawney gets the boot, but I won't know for sure until I get to it. **ponders** Most of my YGO fics are single character-based fics, actually. I've got ITN (Bakura), HoM (Yugi), BB (Seto) and I'm planning a Malik one called "Wayward". ^_^

Mercedes no Inuarai - Thanks. ^_^ Yay plushies! I love plushies! Yeah, I've had enough of the fics where their magic just seems to blend... next chapter I think I'll finally get around to posting the magic theory behind everything... I hope there wasn't too much HP in this chapter.

Midnight Star - Ending? I haven't planned that far ahead!

MistyStarlight - Glad you liked Dobby. ^_^ I did include a sketch of Yugi leaning against his classroom door... Added it a little late though...

MollyJean - **evil laughter** Yeah, well, no one would ever mistake Yami for a hikari. It's cool to see him evil. ^_~ I did try to tone it down a bit though, cause Yugi would be watching. Yes, I have read The Dark is Rising... The squid was actually based partially off the Greenwitch. :D I'm not sure about the dust-bunnies... I think Yugi'd have to go back and visit them. There're plenty of other creatures to meet around Hogwarts.

MRiddle433 - Liz: 0_0
           Bakura: Well now she's gone catatonic...

Pastbyer - Meep. Did I really spell your name wrong? Gomen! You'll find out why Yugi teaches next chapter. ^_^ And yes, Bakura will come later and sub for Trelawney... at least that's what I'm planning right now.

Phoeniki - Of course they'll realize that Yugi's magic is different! ^_^ For one, he doesn't have a wand and frankly I think he'd refuse to use one.

r - @_@ You always ask the questions I never would've thought of. No... probably not... Yugi giving Dobby a present was just to know that he has more appreciation for house-elves (and other creatures in general) than most people do. If Winky came to meet him personally, he might give her something...

RedCat8 - Thanks, I try. :) Although I didn't pay as much attention to structure in this chapter. It was a little rushed. @_@

Ryuu no Furui Yami - **blinks and grins** "Excepting" or "accepting"? No, sorry... although I do write a fair number of OCs, they're usually shaped around the plot... to elicit a response from a main character, usually. ^_^ If I take suggestions then I'd have to try to fit the plot around an OC, which means I might accidentally pay more attention to the OC than I should, and ignore the main characters.

Sarah - Nah, don't stop asking questions... sometimes they remind me what it is I have to focus on.

SchizoAnimeDelinquetFoxDemon - Thanks. I hope you like the new pic of Yugi. :D

seagirl - Do I get a cookie? ^_^

Shinnyu Kudzu - I would be estatic if you'd do fanart for me! ^_^ Nice change from me doing all my own fanart for this fic.
I'm not telling. :P Picture whichever kind of earrings you like best. :D

shitsumon - Underwear? x_X Good heavens. Nope, no Sennen Item for Harry. This story's already bordering on cliched with the whole HP x-over deal, giving him an Item might just push it over the top. ^_^() I have something much more original planned (or at least I hope it's original...)

Songwind - In-character is good... and having Yugi as a 22-year-old gives me a bit of elbow-room, ne? :)

starsong - Yes, earrings! :D I'm so surprised no one's thought of it before! Those big pointy ears of his demand earrings.

Target Zero - O_O Wah! Don't jinx my timing! I really really really want to bring 'Kura-chan and Seto-chan in, but I won't unless they're actually needed. ^_^() Um... ITN? @_@ If I'm lucky, I'll get a chapter out by Christmas...

The Chaotic Ones - **points** Look! I took your suggestion about Silverfang! Well... sorta... close enough. ^_^ Credit still goes to you.

thegymrat - Well I tried to think it through. :) If it stops making sense, give me a shout.

The Helldragon - Heh... I wasn't thinking of that, although I didn't originally want to have them go head to head until later.
The confrontation scene was purely for dramatic purposes. I always try to keep a chapter balanced, that's why Simon's death by the "lightning conspiracy", the Watcher by the entrance scene, etc.... (gotta admit I didn't give much thought to structure in chapter 6 though). I needed something a little more exciting to balance Yugi's meeting with Dumbledore and Snape fit the bill.

Trillium - Yes, you may enter a plea for decent Slytherins... maybe later though. ^_^()

Tuulikki - **watches a helicopter fly in circles in the distance and grins** Aw, you're too sweet for words! Vladimir Putin and Dobby? 6_6
Aw, my fics are always educational if you pay attention! **shifty eyes** Well, not always, but I do try. Just you wait until chapter 7 when Yugi finally gives his lesson. I'll be throwing anthropology terms left and right.
**Giggles** Yes, well, little quirks like the socks and the walking into doors stem from me trying to make them seem human. ^_^
Ugh, I have three subplots going on right now... it's hard to fit them all in without making it seem choppy! @_@ And then I worry that by following through with one subplot I block off another. Aarrrggg...

Anyway, thanks for the long review. :D By all means, give me letter-length ones. I don't mind the slightest.

vsakura - **sweatdrop** Well, if you wanna get technical about it, I'm sure Yugi has some clip-on earrings.

Wall Of Illusion - Nope, earrings aren't clothing. Yugi thought of giving him clothing, but Dobby in leather is just too weird for words.

whisper*2*imaginary - Yugi pictured the leather thing... didn't work. I mean, Dobby in leather? O_o Scarry. ;)

White Rain - See! I included Malfoy! ^^ Ginny won't show up until later though.

Windswift - O_O Another long review from you. x_x No, no perverted connotation! If you like nicknames, Yugi's got a new weird one curtesy of Mme. Hooch. x_X Oh! "Harry-glare". I guess Harry did end up giving Dumbledore some socks... go figure, he can go Christmas shopping for Dumbledore and Dobby in one go.
**blinks** Oh, nitrogen-something-or-other was used to blow through the Canadian Shield (rock formation) when they were building the trans-Canada railroad. I number of the Chinese immigrants recruited to work on construction died in cave-ins and faulty explosions.

Yami) White Rain - Yeah... I'd love to see their reactions to Ryou too. I mean, if they were going ga-ga over a centaur...
**snorts** Well, you get to see a bit of Draco now. ^_^ Hang on, he'll pop up again later.

Yugi-Closet-fan - Yeah, a lot of people like Ryou and 'Kura... I'll stick him in later when I have a valid reason. ;)

Hope I haven't missed anyone! Thanks!