Compy: Hey everyone! It's my first yaoi fic, make some noise! Even though it's more shounen-ai. XD

I started this fic ages ago, right after I finished HP 7. Sadly, certain things prevented me from finishing and posting until now, nearly a year later. ; So I'm sorry that this isn't as current as I'd like it to be, but I'd like to think Harry Potter is something timeless, and that you'll enjoy this anyway.

I don't own YuGiOh, or Harry Potter. I should think that's obvious.

It's absolutely ridiculous, Yuugi fumed as he made his way down the across the street, the blistering heat of June only further souring his mood. I thought these things were supposed to last, not fall apart after less than a decade.

'It' in question was a paperback book, its spine a pattern of scarlet and blue, with gold lettering stamped between the book cover and layers of clear duct tape.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

You may not think that Yuugi Mouto, the teenage reigning "King of Games" would be into Harry Potter, or any kind of reading that didn't involve instructions for a game. Then again, you wouldn't think that his friend Anzu Mazaki hated ballet (even though she was a dancer, she preferred more modern, upbeat dances) and that Honda Hiroto actually enjoyed chemistry more than he let on. Or that Ryou Bakura was even more terrifying than his darker half when he had coffee with even a grain of sugar in it, but the point was that things weren't always as they seemed, and game-obsessed, leather wearing, spiky haired Yuugi Mouto did, in fact, like reading, and was just as obsessed with the adventures of Harry James Potter as he was with trap cards and strategies.

Which was why he was currently heading to Domino City's only bookstore, Miyahara Books, to replace the Sorcerer's Stone with a new copy, because…well…

Creases in the spine were hardly worth mention; it was always present in thoroughly read paperbacks. The ripped page was depressing, but tape had solved that, as it did with the cover (how he had managed to rip off a fourth of the cover, he'd never know – probably an accident, with a pinch of Jounouchi thrown in). Spilling soda over page 185 was a pain, and smearing hamburger grease all over the first page of Chapter 5 was a nightmare. Crisp, white pages had turned soft and yellow, and when chunks of the book began to fall free from the glue that had held it and the cover in holy matrimony, Yuugi decided it was finally time to replace the wretched group of pages that was the Sorcerer's Stone.

Yuugi was a good reader, but he was a teenage boy, and as such, books (especially books as frail as paperbacks) were always doomed from the moment of purchase.

I kept it alive for seven years, he grumbled mentally, pushing through the crowds more fervently as Miyahara's came into view. That's gotta be a record.

Miyahara Books was hardly a bookstore to be put on the map. It wasn't very big, only a little bigger than the Kame Game Shop, with plain brick walls and the new neon sign that Yukio Miyahara had saved up to buy last new year. His wife had been furious, screaming that the bright orange lights had clashed with the dark bricks and reminded her of a sign from a seedy nightclub, but her husband had been insistent, ("What if they want to buy books at night, Suzue-chan? They need to know where we are!" "Oh for God's sake…!") and the sign had stayed up. Yuugi grinned as he pushed the door open, stepping into the welcoming bliss that was air conditioning.

"Yuugi-san!" Yukio's daughter, Mako Miyahara, waved at him from behind the counter. "Hello!"

"Hey, Mako-san," greeted Yuugi, nodding. "How are you?"

"Bored," complained the eighteen-year-old, playing with her braid. "The only reason I agreed to watch the store for Mom was because I'd rather be in here than out there, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Yuugi waved as he walked to the back of the store, towards the children's section. What Miyahara Books lacked in space and workers (it was a family-run business, with only a few outside help) it made up for in books. Hundreds of shelves were crammed with them, from the latest-and-greatest to the classics, from steamy romance to chilling murder mysteries, children's picture books to a healthy supply of manga, and all the fantasy and sci-fi books that made geeks around the world salivate. There were ladders here and there, the kind that rolled along the shelves (Yuugi had always had a personal fantasy of pushing off as hard as he could while on one and screaming himself hoarse as he sped down the rows of books), and stools, an assortment of chairs, and just good old-fashioned carpet and shelves were placed randomly about, where the weary reader could sit and just relax with a magazine, or read an entire manga without buying it. Yuugi was guilty of this, as was everyone else he knew. Well…except maybe Kaiba, but Kaiba never did strike him as a manga fanatic anyway.

Mentally taking note of the new Naruto manga due to come out the next month, Yuugi turned the corner and froze.

Now, Yuugi would have to admit to having seen some pretty odd/weird/bizarre/messed up things in his lifetime. How could he not, his life had been placed into the X Files the minute his grandfather had given him the Millennium Puzzle. He had thought he'd seen it all, shadow games, ancient amnesiac kings, visions of the future, holographic monsters coming to life…that freaky, gay clown at Duelist Kingdom (he still had nightmares) but nothing, absolutely nothing compared to this.

Bakura, THE Yami no Bakura, was standing in front of Yuugi, back to him, trying to shove a book into his jacket and make it look casual. Not a Millennium Item, not the head of one of Yuugi's friends, and not something sharp and shiny and all-around lethal, but a book. A rather thick book, but a book nonetheless.

Screw X, this was going into the Y files.

While debating whether or not to make his presence known, or just back away and call 911 (or maybe animal control? The man clearly had rabies, he was crazy enough to foam at the mouth) Yuugi could suddenly make out Bakura's angered grunts and swears, looking like he wanted to rip the book in half simply because it would be easier to hide.

"Damn you…get in there…I will NOT be held back by that pansy of a boy, you are MINE—"

"Um…Bakura?" Yes Grandpa, I'd like some lilies on my grave, please, 18 for every year of my too-weird life…

Bakura spun around with enough speed (and grace, Yuugi grudgingly admitted) to make Anzu envious, brown-red eyes narrowing at the unwelcome witness.

"What are you doing here?"

"Buying a burger – I heard there's a sale going on in the horror section, bloody burgers, two for a dollar." The thief stared at him, unsure how to respond, and Yuugi decided that yes, it was so much fun catching people off guard with his newfound, Comes With The Hormones Teenage Sarcasm ™.

He dropped the act. "I'm here to replace one of my books…and it looks like you're about to steal that one."

"No, I was thought it looked lonely on such an impersonal shelf, I was giving it a better home in my bloody jacket. Cotton makes for lovely beds, didn't you know?"

O…kay…apparently, sarcasm came free (special offer, folks, call now!) with the I'm Gonna Gut Out Your Heart With A Spoon And EAT It personality of thieving royalty. And…did Bakura just say 'bloody'?

"Yes," the thief snapped when Yuugi voiced the question, "You cannot live with Bakura bloody Ryou and not pick up British slang. I've sworn to shoot myself if I ever start using terms like 'loo' and 'telly', but at least bloody's a British cuss word."

"…Really?"

"British Slang for Dummies, next to 1001 Ways To Garden Crack."

Yuugi moved his life status to Z. "…Thanks, I guess. Um…why are you trying to steal a book?" Bakura opened his mouth. "And be serious!" He closed it.

Sighing, he pulled out the book he was trying to abduct. "I'm stealing this because I'm tired of borrowing Ryou's copies. He's always using them, and he's not the fastest reader in the world. Besides," he sniffed distastefully, "They always smell like some sort of fresh baked confectionary item. Disgusting, really."

Yuugi didn't answer, he was too busy gaping at what Bakura held in his pale hand.

Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix

Bakura…Yami no (bloody) Bakura…read Harry Potter. Bakura liked Harry Potter. Bakura was attempting to steal Harry Potter, and now Yuugi wondered if the weirdness in his life had suddenly gained the ability to shape shift.

"Y--YOU read Harry Potter?"

"Of course. Who hasn't read Harry Potter? Honestly, humans in this era seem to have converted Potter into a god of some sort!" When he saw Yuugi's gaping face, Bakura shrugged. "Like I said, you can't live with my former landlord and not be influenced in a pansy way."

Yuugi forcibly dragged his mind out of its shocked state to ask, "And you can't just buy your own copy because…?"

"Because then I'd be like you, runt."

Twitch. "I'm eighteen! I've hit a growth spurt!"

"And yet you're still getting a nosebleed from looking up!"

"I do NOT have a nosebleed from looking up at you!"

"Because I'm just that sexy, then?"

Face palm. "Oh just…just forget it."

Bakura chuckled, and Yuugi felt both better and tense. Bakura's laughter wasn't painful to hear or anything, but Yuugi had come to associate very bad things with that laugh, and his smile, his eyes, and everything else about him. "Do you read Harry Potter, little Yuugi?"

"Yes, that's actually why I'm here." Steeling himself, he walked closer to Bakura, acutely aware the other's eyes were following his every move, and picked up a new Sorcerer's Stone. "I'm here to replace one of my copies. I read it into submission."

"Oh that poor thing."

"It died a noble death."

"Drop it in the bathtub?"

"No!" Well, there was that close call with Chamber…

Bakura laughed again. "Number one, huh? I'm particularly fond of number four, myself. Goblet of Fire…ah dear JK-san, my hat goes off to you and that exquisite ritual in the graveyard."

Yuugi snorted. "Yeah, figured you'd like that."

"And what's your favorite, little Yuugi?"

"Just Yuugi. And it's a tie between 3 and 1, if you must know, though I'm leaning towards 1. I like the beginning."

"Tch. All Stone did was introduce the plot, characters, and set the groundwork. Sure, a basic and vital step in the writing world, but hardly worth mentioning again, only for reference. It's in the following books that we begin to truly read the story."

"Ah, but think of how hard it is to write a beginning," Yuugi murmured, running his fingertips over Harry's face and the gold lettering of his name. "It's easy to jump right into the middle of a story, write the juicy parts, ignore how this character came to be, and how this event came to pass. As you said, Bakura, Stone introduced the plot, characters, and groundwork. It's hardly worth mentioning again. But from this boring part of the series, Rowling-san enticed millions, she started a phenomenon. To write something so boring, and have it still launch something so much greater…it's the mark of a true writer, don't you think?"

Bakura was quiet for a while, but Yuugi felt him nod before he spoke. "Indeed." He studied Yuugi, head bent, fingers still tracing the cover art's lines. "You seem to enjoy Harry Potter very much, and I'm going to hope your opinions differ from Ryou's." Yuugi 'mmm'ed absently, nodding his head for no particular reason. He had opened the book and was skimming the pages, so he didn't see Bakura smirk. His next words almost made Yuugi drop the book. "It's been a while since I've debated with someone...I know a café a few streets down, care to join me?"

Yuugi's face promptly colored, and the sounds that came out of his mouth may have been words on the planet Zyegorth, but did little more than amuse Bakura greatly. Somewhere in the jumbled sounds, Bakura could make out one sentence. "Who are you and what have you done to Bakura?" The thief raised an eyebrow as Yuugi repeated the question, this time with over exaggerated arm waving and pointing.

"Is that a yes?" he asked once the teenager had calmed enough to stop hyperventilating. Yuugi glared at Bakura's mocking eyes.

"How do I know you're not going to drag me into some alleyway and kill me?"

"You don't!" replied Bakura with such cheerfulness that Yuugi knew had to be done on purpose. "However, you always were too trusting for your own good. I don't see why you should stop exhibiting that delightful trait just for me."

Yuugi gave him a flat stare. "You are Yami no Bakura."

"Correct."

"You were the Thief King of Egypt."

"Still am, thank you very much." Yuugi had to grin at the genuine annoyance in Bakura's voice, filing the information away in his many-filed mind.

"And you want me to come with you to a café…like a normal person…just to talk about Harry Potter?"

"Basically."

"…Fine. But no dragging me into an alley!"

"Oh damn. How about a warehouse?"

"S'long as it's for games."

"Deal."

Screw X, Y, and Z, Yuugi was going to have to move his life to files in the Greek alphabet.

When Yuugi found himself sitting in a small booth wedged in the back corner of the Hakodate Café, drinking coffee (pure black; he had developed quite a liking for it while working late nights for both the game shop and school) and sitting across from Bakura discussing the origin of Parstletongue and it's other "heirs" besides Slytherin, Voldemort, and Harry Potter, he knew that his life was just too bizarre to file into any letter, number, or symbol file, and that he'd just have to live with it.

He had come to this conclusion when he discovered that no matter what else could be said about him, Bakura was actually a pretty good conversationalist when he wasn't threatening his life, soul, or the world in general. Yuugi actually found himself enjoying the conversations, even if their opinions on nearly every subject they touched upon were as different as they were.

"I'm telling you, Salazar Slytherin's ancestors created and developed Parstletongue; no one else in the magical community can speak it, so it had to be something like, I dunno, a blood trait, or something. Hereditary throughout the Slytherin clan, and it stops with Voldemort and Harry."

Bakura shook his head, a smirk playing at his lips. "Who said no one in the magical community can speak Parstletongue? The only ones that we, the readers, know of are Salazar Slytherin, Tom Riddle, and Harry Potter. Other Parstletongues could very well exist."

"Doesn't explain how Parstletongue came to be," pressed Yuugi.

"I think it was just one of those gifts that can't be explained, something just chooses you as its bearer and that's that, no questions asked or answered, like the Items. I think something similar to the American Salem witch trials occurred, and many Parsletongues were slain, or went into hiding. After years of hearing nothing from them, the magical community decided that they had died out, sans Slytherin."

Bakura was a fan of the Slytherin house, which came as no surprise to Yuugi, and was very interested in the theories behind the spells and aspects of magic and its link to anything in modern day. Yuugi, who mainly stuck with debates about the characters themselves and the "what's next?" scenarios, found this to be a refreshing change of pace, and enjoyed hearing Bakura throw out theories and conspiracies with the skill of one who had thoroughly obsessed over such thoughts for a long time. A true Potter Fan, in other words.

For the next few hours, Yuugi found himself conversing with the great "Thief King" Bakura about everything to do with a fictional teenage wizard, whose story was about to end (July 21st was in five weeks, after all). The topics bounced all over the place, like jinxes gone wrong, and the poor cups of coffee suffered many refills and were caught in the crossfire as the discussions evolved from serious to Yuugi's favorite setting – weird. (This was Bakura, after all.)

They debated Snape's motives…

"I'm telling you, he's one of the Light, a spy - if for nothing else, it's because it's far too cliché to say otherwise!"

"You are lecturing me about cliché, Mr. Friendship and Heart of the Cards?"

The Triwizard Tournament…

"Fighting a dragon...pssh, what's so scary about that?"

"Well not all of us are stupid enough to demand Slifer to attack us"

"..."

And character deaths.

"Dumbledore didn't deserve to die!"

"Ding dong, the wizard's dead!"

Indignant sputter. "You…you heartless--"

"I'm sorry, little boy, flattery won't get you an autograph."

It reached pairings…

"Dammit, midget! HARRY. AND. HERMIONE. Ron and Ginny can go screw each other!"

"Oh no you didn't--"

And even...yaoi?

"SIRIUS X LUPIN!"

"SIRIUS X SNAPE, DAMN YOU!"

"YOU HAVE A SNAKE FETISH!"

"YOU...YOU'RE SMALL!"

"..."

"...I need more coffee."

It was only when dusk was about to give the night free reign of the world, and the cups sported permanent coffee rings that Yuugi's eyes glanced down to his watch and nearly bulged out of his head.

"8:45?!" he nearly shrieked, causing Bakura to lean back into the booth, wincing, "We've been here for nearly five hours!"

"Aw, has little Yuugi stayed out past his curfew?"

"I am eighteen, I told you!"

"Still a child compared to me."

"Yes, yes, you're a regular fossil." Yuugi stood up, ignoring Bakura's frown. "But I've got a major English project due tomorrow, and thanks to you, I'll probably have to pull an all-nighter!" In the panicked state that only a procrastinated, nearly screwed high school student could achieve, Yuugi barely caught Bakura's words.

"Do you regret it?"

Already out of the seat and money in hand, Yuugi looked up to see Bakura staring at him, all traces of humor gone from his eyes, though his face still housed the amused, borderline mocking, smirk that was so uniquely Bakura. Bloody brown met plum purple and Yuugi felt himself shake his head.

"No…no, I don't regret it." He forced himself to laugh. "How else could I have discovered that you think Tom Felton is a Malfoy Sex God?"

"SSSH!" Bakura reddened, glaring at Yuugi. "Speak those words again and I'll cut out your tongue!" Yuugi laughed again, for real this time.

"Not like you haven't tried before." Placing his money on the table and murmuring a good-bye and thank you, Yuugi turned to leave when Bakura's words made him stop once more.

"This café is on of my usual hangouts, if you can believe it," he said nonchalantly, finishing his coffee and looking out the window, where the dull, gold lights of street lamps were flickering on. "I come here for the Happy Hour on Fridays."

Yuugi nodded and left, not needing to look back to know that Bakura was watching him through the window.

Tomorrow was Friday.

Over the next few weeks, Yuugi started going to Hakodate Café religiously, every Friday. At first he was unsure if he should take Bakura up on his offer (if that's truly what it was), but when he entered the café the next day, he saw Bakura before Bakura saw him. The thief was slouched in the same booth they had inhabited before, a long finger tapping an impatient rhythm against his glass, eyes trying to glare the liquid into submission. Yuugi found himself grinning, and when he walked over he could've sworn he saw Bakura relax (the tapping certainly stopped), before smirking (Miss me that much?) and Yuugi sat down (You wish, I just felt like some coffee), ordered, launched into discussion about Horcruxes, and that had been that.

Eventually, by the Friday of the third week, talks about wands and what they'd love to do to Umbridge gradually moved into talks about themselves. Likes and dislikes, hobbies, philosophies on life--

"It's a bitch."

"…Well said…"

--were shared between the two gamers, who were discovering that their fellow Potter fan and coffee buddy was very different outside the dueling arena. Though truth be told, most of the revelations had been on Bakura's part, as Yuugi had more or less expected that Bakura enjoyed horror movies

(Though he thought Saw was over-the-top gory)

had a knife collection

(But he much preferred his one knife from his tomb robbing days)

hated sweets

(He had a mean spicy streak)

and resented any and all comments about the softness of his hair.

(Yuugi wondered if it was as soft as Ryou claimed, and felt a flash of envy at the thought of Ryou running his fingers through Bakura's hair)

Yuugi's discoveries about Bakura may have been expected, but that didn't mean the teen wasn't taking notes.

"I didn't like five very much - Harry seemed a bit out of character with his temper, though I guess it's understandable. I think she piled to much into one book, you know? Kind of rushed it, and at the same time, dragged it out."

"Do you think Bellatrix is sexy?"

Yuugi choked on his coffee. "Do I think WHAT?" It was the Friday of the fourth week, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was coming out in exactly one week, come Saturday. Excitement was running through the air like a global electrical wave, and the theories of how the adventure would end were becoming more and more heated. Bakura and Yuugi were no exception; their debates on Book 7 grew in intensity and volume, until they were very nearly thrown out of the café two or three times. Today was not one of those days, but it was, to Yuugi, even worse.

Bakura was being random. Lock your doors! Hide your children! He's about to elaborate!

"Well, she seems to be a very psychotic bitch...death of Sirius and all that, you know--" Bakura raised his voice to a harpy's pitch, gesturing dramatically, " 'You have to mean them, Potter! You have to want to cause pain, enjoy it! MEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAN it!' I mean, seriously, that's psycho talk right there, and psycho people are usually pretty sexy. And Voldemort doesn't seem like the type to keep ugly people," he added as Yuugi took a minute to compose himself after having a laugh-gasm from Bakura's imitation.

"W--What made you come to that conclusion?"

"What, Voldy's vanity? I think that stems from deep psychological trauma--"

Yuugi snickered. "No, no." Bakura stopped nodding sagely, and cocked his head to the side. Yuugi sighed, and let Bakura play dumb. "What makes you think Bellatrix is sexy because she's a psycho? What makes you think all psychotic people are sexy?"

Bakura grinned. "Look at me!"

Yuugi's face became very intimate with the table (repeatedly) and Bakura laughed his head off.

He really should have seen that coming…really…but the reason for his sudden urge to inflict pain upon himself wasn't because of Bakura's teasing. It was because, for the first time, Yuugi had seen Bakura grin. Not smirk, the bastard had actually grinned. It had looked so foreign on Bakura's sharp, wicked face that Yuugi had to physically stop and try to absorb how something that looked so alien could look so much better.

"What makes you think all psychotic people are sexy?"

"Look at me!"

And to top it all off…Yuugi wholeheartedly agreed.

"So…tomorrow's the big night."

Yuugi diverted his gaze from the window to Bakura, who was looking at him very seriously, as he had that night (Do you regret it?). Wanting to squirm under the weight of the stare, Yuugi met it steadily. "Yeah…exciting, isn't it?"

It was Friday the 20th. Tomorrow, would be July 21st; the release date of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bakura nodded. "Yes, exciting…have you pre-ordered it?"

"No, I'm going to go to Miyahara's first thing on the 22nd, come here and start reading with a hot breakfast."

"Rather boring, don't you think?"

"Eh?"

"I happen to know that Miyahara-san is throwing a midnight release party tomorrow night, from nine to midnight."

Alarm bells. "Yeah, I heard that too. Mako-san's been talking about it."

"Mmmhmm…I'm going."

Getting louder. "R--Really? Awesome."

"Want to come?"

Red alert, red alert, red a--bloody--lert! "Me? Why do you want me to come?"

Bakura stared at him for another few seconds (and this time Yuugi did squirm) and then shrugged. "Because I think Ryou'd enjoy some company that wasn't, well, me."

Yuugi's mind flooded with relief and annoyance. Relief – Ryou was coming. He wouldn't have to be alone with Bakura. Though how this was different

(date)

from their weekly

(almost dates)

discussions he didn't know. His annoyance? Same reason.

"Well?"

Red alert, coffee, red alert, debates, red alert, Friday, grinning, laughing, Bakura, Yuugi, psycho, sexy, RED ALERT --

"Sure, why not?"

Psycho and sexy and wanting so much more.

Yuugi had never considered himself a masochist before. He was a good little boy, he didn't purge himself, knives were for cooking only, and he only risked his life to save the world when it was absolutely necessary. But he found himself reevaluating that fact as he walked to Miyahara's at 8:57 the following night. He had just spent two hours ripping his closet apart for something that wasn't his usual dark blue jacket and leather pants, and the another hour in the bathroom solving the complex formula of How Much Gel and debating "To cologne or not to cologne," while Yami stared and Grandpa smiled knowingly.

And for what? To spend three hours with Bakura and Ryou, who would serve as a painful reminder that as much as Yuugi wanted it to be, this was not a date. He missed the X Files Life, he really did.

Arriving at Miyahara's to find the party in full swing (even if it was only a minute or so past nine), Yuugi shook his head, raised a hand to smooth down his hair, then smacked himself before he could do it and went inside. Even though the store wasn't as big or well-known as the other bookstores throwing parties, Miyahara's was packed with Potter fans. Some had dressed up, some were rereading the books, and a group of guys from Yuugi's chemistry class had brought in dozens of Red Bull cans, slapped a FIREWHISKY stamp on them, and were chugging them as fast as they could, with a small audience cheering them on. Yuugi made a mental note to avoid them at all costs later as he moved through the crowd, waving at Mako, who was manning the face painting table.

The teen finally spotted spikes of white near the back of the store, and pushed his way towards it. To his guilty pleasure, it was Bakura he found, leaning against the same shelf Yuugi had found him at weeks ago, eating a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You made it," said the thief, not looking up as he rummaged through the box. Yuugi stopped in front of him, looking him over.

"Nice costume." Bakura was dressed as Lucius Malfoy, with a black formal jacket over a long white shirt, and a long black robe over that. He had paid attention to all the small details, from Lucius' rings to the silver snake pins on his jacket. The snake headed walking stick leaned against the bookshelf. Of course, Bakura hadn't straightened his hair, which combined with the too pale color threw off the look. But Yuugi liked it, even if he was feeling a bit underdressed in his jeans and Gryffindor hoodie.

"Thank you, I had to dodge the Cruciatus Curse to steal this." Yuugi rolled his eyes as Bakura popped a tan bean in his mouth and immediately grimaced. "Alas. Earwax." Yuugi laughed and Bakura put the box down, and rolled up his sleeve. "You like?" On his arm was a tattoo of the Dark Mark, and as Yuugi leaned closer, he wondered if it was Bakura's magic or his own eyes that made it seem like the snake was moving.

"Wow…that looks awesome."

"Yeah, I was just going to come as a Death Eater, but then I figured that if I dressed like this, it'd give me an excuse to bring the cane and beat everyone back come midnight. Ryou's idea, actually, one of the few good ones he's ever had." Yuugi's mood dropped a bit at the mention of Ryou's name.

"Y--yeah…hey, where is Ryou?"

"Not here."

"What?" Yuugi's head whipped away from scanning the crowds to Bakura, who was looking at him oddly. It made Yuugi's insides squirm again, and he decided he didn't like that look (but then he'd be lying).

"Ryou's not coming. He's been sick lately, really bad cold or something. He made me promise to get him a second book when I came toni--"

"Wait, wait, wait. Ry's been sick lately? Then what the hell was up with you telling me he'd--"

"I lied."

"Obviously! But why?"

"Because it's something I do, last time I checked."

"You just--argh!" Yuugi threw up his hands and stormed off, face burning. "God you're frustrating!"

"Yuugi."

"I can't believe I came here--"

"Yuugi."

"What the hell is wrong with--" Yuugi felt a tug on his hoodie and then his back was eating titles as Bakura pinned him to a bookshelf with his cane.

He could have kicked himself for that quick shiver of excitement that wedged its way between the book spines and his.

"So was I right then?" Bakura propped himself against the bookshelf with his free arm, the other applying force to the cane pressed against Yuugi's chest. "Would you rather be here with Ryou?"

"What? That's why you lied?"

"If you hadn't thrown your hissy fit I could have told you that Ryou was going to come, but his cold got worse earlier today, so you're stuck with me."

That grin shouldn't make me happy, Yuugi mentally grumbled. "Are you lying again?"

"Maybe."

"Knew it."

"Would you like me to kiss you, little Yuugi?" The Game King's face flared again.

"WHAT?" Yes.

"Well, look at our position. In the back of the store, alone, having just completed a drama spat, I have you pinned against the wall…and I'm pretty sure it would make the group of Ravenclaws behind us very happy."

"What Raven--" And then Yuugi heard it. The most evil sound in the world, schoolgirl giggling made itself known somewhere to their right and sure enough, three girls dressed as Ravenclaws peeked out from around the corner. Yuugi spluttered and Bakura leaned closer, his grin unholy.

"Weeeeell?" he breathed in Yuugi's ear.

"Dude, this is so going on my LiveJournal!"

"I'm fanficcing it!"

"Who would be the little guy though?"

"I AM NOT LITTLE!" Confusion, sexual frustration, and a healthy dose of flustered-ness caused Yuugi Mouto to snap. Grabbing the snake cane, Yuugi chased after the fan girls, screaming about his height and their spying and, "No it is NOT Lucius x Harry, that's just SICK!" while Bakura stayed behind to laugh himself into asphyxia.

The rest of the night passed rather smoothly, for the most part. Yuugi spent five minutes chasing the Ravenclaws around the store until he found out they were the girlfriends of the "Firewhisky" drinkers and was forced to try and beat off the ultra hyper jocks with the cane, which oddly enough turned into Harry Potter Baseball when someone threw an empty Red Bull can at him and he hit a home run. He was nearly thrown out of the store for that, and it didn't improve his mood when he found out Bakura was the one that had thrown it. Mako had saved him from committing homicide by dragging him over to the Trivia Game, where he won a bag of Jelly Slugs.

The next few hours were spent mingling and watching with amusement as Bakura was glomped by very devoted Draco Malfoy, who was crying, "Daddy, Potter's being MEAN to me!" while the guy's friends (and Yuugi) had a laugh fest of their own. This only increased when Bakura showed Tough Love upon his son, which then brought a Narcissa Malfoy (what were the odds of that, Yuugi wanted to know) down on his head.

The crowning moment did indeed come at midnight, as they all counted down the last 10 seconds of the last HP midnight party they'd ever have. Then with a cheer, Yukio Miyahara tore off the sheet covering the stacks of books, and for the next hour it was cash and books, shouts and cheers, and the group of Ravenclaws immediately sat down next to a sign that said 9:00 Party Starts, 12:00 Book Released, 12:15 Halfway through Chapter 3, to do just that.

"Well," said Bakura as they finally fought their way out of the store, "It's about time, is all I can say."

"Yeah." Yuugi ran his fingers over the cover, much like he had done with the Sorcerer's Stone, smiling softly. "Yeah it is."

"Too bad I'll finish long before you."

"….What. Did. You. Just. Say."

"That your slow growth is linked to your slow reading rate."

"And you can do better?!"

"I can."

"Fine!" Yuugi grabbed his cell phone, dialing the Game Shop. "Hello, Gran--Yami? Oh, he's asleep? Sorry. Anyway, I'm going to spend the night at Ryou's place. Yeah, I know, but I've been given a challenge," and here he threw his own smirk at Bakura (which only made the thief's widen, the bastard), "And as the King of Games, how can I refuse? Yeah. Uh huh, I'll see you later then." He hung up and glared at Bakura.

"Ah, youth. So passionate, so spirited, so foolish."

"Just lead the way, Malfoy."

The next 19 ½ hours were intense. They got to Ryou's house at 12:25, and Bakura wrote a note telling Ryou of the situation and to stay away from Bakura's room until one of them emerged victorious. Only, since it was Bakura, it was more like, "Disturb me and you'll be in the Shadow Realm before you can say Accio." And not even as polite as that.

They then locked themselves in Bakura's room, Yuugi on the bed (he was too deep in Gamer Mode to take notice of that) and Bakura on a (stolen) couch. The moment the clock struck 12:30, the book was open and they started reading. Ryou came by every so often to remind them they needed to eat, yelling this from down the hall. Bathroom breaks were an unfortunate necessity, and Yuugi had to call Grandpa to let him know everything was okay, and likewise, Bakura had to yell to Malik that, "I can't bring over the chainsaw today, I'm reading! Yes, I can read, you ass!"

Despite all this, at 7:42 that night…

"HA! YES! Finished!" Bakura threw down the book, and immediately ran to the bathroom. But his yells of victory followed Yuugi through the last two pages, and he set the book down, flopping back onto the bed with a large sigh of relief. That had been a monster, and yet, like every Potter fan around the world, he wished he could do it all over again. His bittersweet thoughts were interrupted as Bakura dived onto the bed, grinning widely. Yuugi, too tired to care about grins and invaded personal bubbles, raised an eyebrow.

"I win," declared Bakura, poking Yuugi. He had downed a few Red Bulls himself to get himself through the last five chapters, and he poked Yuugi again. "That's about time, too."

"Whatever." Yuugi sighed, closing his eyes. Now that he had finished, he felt very tired. He could hear the smirk in Bakura's voice though, as it murmured right by his ear. "I won. That means I deserve a prize."

Yuugi cracked open his eyes, suddenly wary. "….Like what?"

Smirking at Yuugi's suddenly cautious tone, Bakura leaned forward pressed his lips to Yuugi's, kissing him inches away from the Deathly Hallows, both a finale and a beginning for them. Eyes as wide as a house elf's (his mind was still Potter mode), Yuugi stared at Bakura as he pulled back.

"Victory," Bakura whispered. Yuugi blinked, and said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Told you Snape was good."

"..."

"..."

"You have got to be kid--mmmf!"

Nothing was debated for the rest of the night.

Compy: I actually saw that sign at the midnight party I went to, and I loved it because it's so true. And Yuugi's SS book looks exactly like mine. No joke, I've read the first 4 books to death.

I hope you enoyed it!