Yu-Gi-Oh!
Episode Nine and Three Quarters

CHAPTER ONE – EVERYONE BLAMES JONOUCHI

Yugi Mutou lived in an average city, and was enjoying an average summer before going back to his average high school for his average sophomore year. That was about as average as Yugi's life got, however. While other people simply dressed in the morning, not giving a second thought to the cloths and baubles they put on, Yugi was preoccupied with a certain puzzle hanging from a certain chain and wondering what certain kind of dangers it would bring him that day.

Actually, he never really thought that, his other self that inhabited the Millennium Puzzle did.

Yugi scanned the cloths laid out on his bed, trying to decide what he would wear that day. It was hot, as usual, so he did not want to wear all black like he normally tended to do. He did not want to wear his white and blue shirt either, though, as his best friend, Katsuya Jonouchi, usually wore a similar one in the summer. Finally settling on a pair of jeans and a light blue top, Yugi dressed himself and slipped on his Millennium Puzzle.

The slightly faded form of Yami Yugi appeared next to him almost immediately, stretching and yawning.

"'Morning, aibou," he mumbled. Yugi chuckled at his other half.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, to which Yami Yugi shook his head. "Why not?"

A dark look suddenly over took his other half's face. "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about today."

Yugi frowned. "It's not 'insane maniac threatening to take over the universe' kind of bad feeling, is it?"

"Well, no…"

"Good! Then lets go have some fun!"

Yugi grabbed his other half by the arm and tugged him out of the room. Yami Yugi disappeared back into the Millennium Puzzle before they entered the hallway outside, and just in time too. Yugi's mother approached him before he made his way to the kitchen for breakfast, a small envelope in hand.

"Yugi honey, this came for you," she said, handing him the envelope before heading down the stairs next to his room to the game shop below. Yugi frowned at the seemingly innocent looking envelope in his hand. How odd for the mail to come so early!

What is it, aibou? Yami Yugi asked within his mind. It's just a piece of mail.

I guess you're right… Yugi began, only to have his frown deepen. Check out the address though!

Mr. Y. Mutou
The Bedroom next to the Stairs
Kame Game Shop
Domino City
Japan

Okay… Yami Yugi replied, a little freaked by the exactness of the address. That's just a little on the odd side. Next thing you know, you'll get another one marked 'Mr. Y. Yugi, Millennium Puzzle, Kame Game Shop, Domino City, Japan'.

Very funny, Yugi remarked dryly, wondering where his other half got a sense of humor while turning the envelope over in his hands. There was no return address on it; no other markings except a strange wax seal on the back, which consisted of an "H" surrounded by four different animals.

Maybe Jonouchi-kun and Honda-kun are trying to play a prank on us, Yugi said.

Or maybe Kaiba's trying to lure us out into a duel, Yami Yugi added.

Yami Yugi-kun, check the seal on the back. That's an 'H', not a 'K'.

Ah, but I looked it up, aibou. His last name means 'horse' in your language.

Yugi sweatdropped. He kept forgetting that Yami Yugi's native language was Egyptian, and that he only spoke and understood Japanese because he could. Usually when he said he "looked something up", it meant that he had scanned Yugi's mind for an answer.

Well, are you going to open it? Yami Yugi asked.

Yugi's stomach decided to grumble in protest then at not being fed yet. He blushed, making his way to the kitchen and making himself some toast. He plopped down at the table afterwards, half a mouthful of toast in his mouth as he tore open the envelope. Out fell two folded pieces of paper, an airplane ticket for Domino International Airport, and a train ticket for a Kings Cross Station. He ignored the tickets, setting them to the side of the table, and instead turned his focus to the folded pieces of paper, one of which turned out to be a note.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Mutou,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress

PS: We are aware that you are older than the standard age for first years, but you will have to start out at year one anyway. We apologize in advance.

What kind of crock is this! Yami Yugi exclaimed after they finished reading.

If this is a prank, I think Jonouchi's outdone himself, Yugi replied numbly, opening up the second piece of paper to reveal the item list promised in the letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM
First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

Yami Yugi? Yugi asked.

Yeah?

You really can't make this stuff up.

I realize this.

What are we going to do?

We can ask your grandfather later, Yami Yugi replied. Didn't you promise the others you would meet them at the arcade at ten?

Yugi looked up at the clock. It was almost ten already, and it was at least a half hour to the arcade walking. He stuffed the notes and the tickets back into the envelope, which in turn got stuffed into the back pocket of his jeans, and raced down the stairs and out of the Kame Game Shop.

-.oOOo.-

Yugi walked into the arcade twenty minutes late, only to arrive in the middle of a heated argument between Jonouchi and Marik Ishitar. The young Egyptian was in the other boy's face, waving his arms threateningly. In one of his clenched fists, he held a crumpled envelope like Yugi had received that morning. Anzu Mazaki and Hiroto Honda were busy trying to pull the two of them apart, but it was not working too well.

"What kind of joke is this!" Marik demanded. "I swear, only you would come up with something this extravagant."

"I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talking about!" Jonouchi replied, looking like he was about ready to haul off and smack him. Yugi quickly jumped in-between the two of them, breaking up the fight.

"Marik, you got one of these too?" he asked, holding up his envelope. Marik blinked, surprised, and held up his for Yugi to see.

Mr. M. Ishitar
The Second Level Bedroom
23 City Lane
Domino City
Japan

"You mean this isn't some kind of joke?" Marik asked, reading the exact address on Yugi's similar envelope. "I thought for sure the koinu did it."

"Grrr… I am not a koinu!" Jonouchi shouted while everyone else sweatdropped. Marik just smiled at him, slyly.

"Oh, I forgot," he said. "Only your love slave, Kaiba, can call you that."

Yugi sweatdropped again, while Anzu and Honda were busy trying to keep Jonouchi from ripping the Egyptian to pieces. Just then, Ryou Bakura entered the arcade, clutching an envelope in his hand and a slightly disturbed look on his face.

"What's wrong, Bakura-kun?" Yugi asked, concerned by the look on his face.

"Did anyone else get any kind of strange mail today?" he asked, holding up the envelope.

Mr. R. Bakura
The Only Bedroom in the House
54 Ringmaster Drive
Domino City
Japan

"Bakura-kun too!" Marik exclaimed.

"Who the heck is sending these things?" Jonouchi asked, taking a look at Yugi's over his shoulder. "And if it's a prank… why didn't I think of it?"

The doors to the arcade swung open again, and Seto Kaiba entered in an angry huff. His eyes scanned the crowds a moment, coming to a rest on their group. He stalked over to Jonouchi, grabbed him around the collar of his shirt, and hauled him up to his eye level.

"Koinu, I want an explanation," he demanded darkly, holding up an envelope.

Mr. S. Kaiba
The Master Bedroom
1 Kaiba Boulevard
Domino City
Japan

While Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda were busy yelling at Seto for making accusations as soon as he entered the place, Marik took Yugi and Bakura aside. A conspiratorial look had grown onto his face, and he had taken the Millennium Rod out from his back pocket and was stroking it thoughtfully.

"Now this is odd," he whispered to the two of them. "If these letters are real, then apparently someone believes us to be gifted in magic. The three of us, I can understand, but that stuffed shirt Kaiba… how anyone would think he could use magic is beyond me."

"I don't understand, why the three of us?" Bakura asked.

"Our Millennium Items," Marik replied, holding up his Rod slightly. "To anyone searching for magic, the people using these items may seem like talented individuals."

"Well, Kaiba-kun is supposed to be the descendant of an ancient Egyptian High Priest, so I guess that explains why he got one," Yugi pointed out. Just then, Seto dropped Jonouchi and turned his malice toward the three of them.

"And what are you three whispering about?" he snarled, obviously not in a good mood. They each held up their envelopes, and Kaiba's eyebrow twitched in response, as if it were degrading that – if the letters were for real – he would have to go to the same magic school with them.

"Kaiba, except for Bakura and Yugi, we all thought Jonouchi did these," Marik began.

"Actually, I thought Jonouchi did it too until I read the item list," Yugi admitted.

"Thanks a lot, Yugi-ster…" Jonouchi grumbled.

"Anyway," Marik continued. "By all accounts, these seem real enough. So why don't we just figure out how to 'send an owl' and we'll go from there?"

Seto let out a dismissive sound in response. "I'll not be a party to such foolishness," he replied, tossing his envelope in the nearest garbage reciprocal before walking back out of the arcade. Marik watched him go, an annoyed look on his face. He fingered the part of his Millennium Rod that concealed the dagger within, wishing he could carve the hieroglyph for "asshole" on Seto's face.

-.oOOo.-

Marik and Bakura ended up going home with Yugi that night, hoping that perhaps Sugoroku Mutou would have some answers to their dilemma. They found the elderly man behind the counter of the Kame Game Shop, getting ready to close up for the night. He greeted his grandson's guests warmly before they showed him their envelopes, and his face darkened.

"Oh my," Sugoroku muttered. "I never thought he'd actually send these…"

"Him?" Marik asked. "You mean that Diddlydore guy?"

"That's Dumbledore," Yugi's grandfather stressed, "and you'd do well to show him some respect, young Ishitar."

Marik rolled his eyes as Yugi asked, "Ojii-chan, do you know what these are for?"

Sugoroku leaned forward on the counter, lacing his fingers together. "Yugi, there are a lot of things I haven't told you about the Millennium Puzzle," he said, "and one of those things is how I got it, but in order for you to understand that, you'll have to hear a little bit of history."

Marik groaned, prompting Bakura to elbow him. Sugoroku used the distraction to take a moment to clear his throat.

"When I was your age," he began, "I also received a strange letter by owl. My mother had heard of Hogwarts, but never believed that I would be accepted. She sent me off to England –"

"England!" Marik interrupted. "This school is in England! Why are we getting invitations then?"

"Marik!" Yugi and Bakura scolded. Marik winced, but kept quiet.

"Ahem, as I was saying," Sugoroku continued, "I went to school at Hogwarts, and was in the same year as Albus Dumbledore. However, I was too preoccupied with games and other such things to pay attention to my studies and was ultimately expelled. Dumbledore and I still kept in touch, however, and I eventually met up again with him in Egypt. He informed me that a group of scholars were excavating in a nearby ruins and he felt it best that I went along with them."

"Lemme guess," Marik interrupted again, getting dirty looks from Bakura and Yugi, "the ruins turned out to be where the Millennium Puzzle was entombed." Sugoroku nodded. "The Gravekeepers had cursed that place, so that only those descended from the pharaoh would be able to go in and live to tell the tale."

Sugoroku nodded once again. "And I was the only one who did survive," he said. "I took the box that contained the Millennium Puzzle and I ran, leaving the bodies of the scholars behind. I met back up with Dumbledore; at first I hated him for making me go, but he explained to me that the Puzzle and the other Millennium Items would be needed soon."

The three boys exchanged looks before they suddenly found their feet interesting. Yugi's grandfather chuckled before continuing his story.

"I kept the Puzzle hidden, vowing never to even look at it until I got an owl from Dumbledore telling me to use it." He smiled ruefully. "But then, eight years ago, a certain grandchild of mine got his grubby little paws on it and started assembling it. I sent an owl to Dumbledore right away, but he told me to let you complete it. After everything started happening with the spirit of the pharaoh and Marik's dark personality, I voiced my concern to him. He assured me that everything would be all right, but should ever the need arise, he would send for you to attend Hogwarts."

"But, Ojii-chan, the danger's past," Yugi protested. "Yami Yugi-kun has regained his memories, Yami Marik is lost in the Shadow Realm, and the God Cards power has diminished. What could possibly be wrong that I – that all three of us as well as Kaiba-kun – have to go to this place?"

Sugoroku shook his head. "I don't know, Yugi," he answered. "I'll send an owl to Dumbledore and ask him." He raised an eyebrow. "Though I assume all three of you would want to go to Hogwarts anyway?"

Bakura and Yugi nodded. "Heck yeah!" Marik exclaimed. "Oh, by the way, you might want to let Dumbledore know that Kaiba is a bit reluctant to be a 'party to such foolishness'."

Marik puffed out his chest as he repeated Seto's words from before, drawing laughs out of the other two boys at the impression. Sugoroku rolled his eyes, wondering if Hogwarts would be able to survive the three (five counting the two yamis) of them.