Laws of Slytherin

Seto Kaiba, the new fifth year Slytherin, had his nose stuck in some book. The covers were bound with a cracking leather and the pages were yellowed in age. The title, which had been embroidered into the brown leather cover, was illegible from the distance, but it's outline could just be made out. The teen sits alone in one of the grand chairs near the hearth. Why he thought he deserved such a seat was beyond anyone; however, few Slytherins currently occupied the common room.

Dinner had started only moments ago and Slytherins had been pouring out of the common room in anticipation of food. Kaiba stayed behind opting to get some reading done. The teen flips a page, it's smooth crackling ringing throughout the room.

One other person sits in close range to the reticent teen. He is a second year, busily scrawling away at a piece of parchment. The boy flips through the pages hurriedly, his eyes darting from one line to another before jotting down the information and flipping to another page.

The near silence continues on for a while until Kaiba is disrupted by the growling of the studious boy's stomach. The teen momentarily glares at the young boy, who in return rolls his eyes back and continues on with his work.

Kaiba, deciding that he wouldn't stand for this, rises from his chair and leaves the room, heading to the cafeteria to retrieve some dinner, taking the book along for the ride.

The caverns where the Slytherins live are confusing. Once he exits the common room, he has to walk through a maze that takes up the whole underside of the castle to emerge into a regular hallway The stone walls are dark and the corridors damp in general. To his mild annoyance, it had taken the Kaiba longer than he'd admit to understand how the corridors work and how to navigate around the castle. Even now, late into his first week of school, the teen still occasionally finds himself walking in circles or following students he barely knew but had the same color robes as him to his classes. Luckily for him, the Great Hall lived up to it's name. Such a gargantuan room was hard to hide, and Kaiba had found it rather easy to reach said hall on numerous occasions.

Walking through the open doors, the brunet automatically heads to the Slytherin table and takes a seat by the edge, as far away from the rest of his house as possible. The food around him is plentiful for no one has touched it yet, and the teen easily picks out what he wishes to eat.

Kaiba almost smiles when the food enters his mouth. Whoever the chefs are, they are definitely worth it. The food is always astonishingly good, and not to mention, diverse. Delicacies from every nation in the world line the tables, and Kaiba has made it his secret initiative to try each and every dish. This is strange for Kaiba, who ordinarily thrives on routine, but the aromas coming from the food is just so tempting at times.

Opening the book with a solid crack, Kaiba flips to the page he had left off on. Scanning the page, the teen mindlessly feeds himself, taking time to savor every flavor all the while absorbing the information before him. The sounds in the background fade away as the teen continues his reading.

It is when he feels a tapping on his shoulder that the brunet is brought back from his self-imposed isolation. Expecting it to be one of the nerds he spends so much time with, the teen turns with a scathing remark on his lips. However, at seeing the bleach blond, not the white, dirty, or sandy blonde on his friends' heads, the scathing retort turns to one of annoyance.

"What?"

The bleach blond doesn't look phased by the venom in the other's voice but takes it as an invitation to sit.

"You are a Slytherin." The boy starts.

Realizing that his peaceful reading has come to an end, Kaiba snaps the book shut.

"Yes, the talking hat said so." Kaiba responds coolly.

"You don't have magic." Draco points out. "Unless you consider that puff ball magic."

"Why are you talking to me?" Kaiba asks annoyed.

"Slytherins are family. We share everything." Draco states.

"Really?" Kaiba asks. Draco is about to say more, but is cut off by Kaiba. "So tell me all about yourself."

"Wha-what?" Draco sputters.

"Surely you didn't expect me to give my life story to a stranger?" Kaiba asks, crossing his arms smugly.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are—"

"I am Seto Kaiba." Kaiba cuts off smoothly. "Now, unless you are about to tell me your life story, I suggest you scram." The teen glowers at Draco, waiting for him to make his move. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Draco obliges his grumpy housemate.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why do you keep talking to me?" Kaiba asks smoothly.

"You're new here, and believe it or not, I'd like to be your friend."

"Well believe it or not, I don't want to be yours." Kaiba shoots back, waiting for the boy to huff off angrily. Draco grimaces, but ultimately shrugs the comment off.

"I'm not giving you a choice. You are a Slytherin and that means there are certain things you must do."

"So you're really here to give me your political agenda." Kaiba muses, fingering the book he had been reading fondly.

"Yes." The white-blond drops his friendly facade once he realizes he no longer has to beat around the bush.

"Go ahead, I'm curious." Kaiba urges.

"First and foremost, Slytherins are the best of the best. We are the purebloods, the best wizards. We do not associate with those below us."

"And yet I am having a conversation with you." Kaiba interjects. Draco's cheeks flare red, his lips pressing into a straight line. The boy takes a deep breath, breathing out heavily through his nose.

"Secondly, the ministry is always right. We will be leading the ministry one day; we must learn from both their success and mistakes."

"A bit mindless if you ask me. No one controls me. I control people." Draco glowers at the arrogant teen.

"Thirdly, mudbloods and half-breeds are dirt. They are mongrels."

At this, Kaiba actually laughs, and for the first time Draco actually looks calm. "I'll agree with you on that."

"Lastly, Harry Potter is not to be revered. He is celebrated for living, that's it. There is nothing special about him."

"Obviously not; he's like the brat over there with the pyramid around his neck." Kaiba responds, pointing at Yugi who is currently laughing at something someone said.

"What is that pyramid?" Draco asks curiously at the mention of the golden artifact.

"Some puzzle," Kaiba answers with a shrugs.

Draco glares at the teen, "I just answered one of your questions, now you should answer one of mine."

"I did. It's a puzzle. Do you think I believe what those dweebs claim about it?"

"What dweebs?" Draco questions. He had been curious about this new group of students ever since he heard his father mention them in passing. Unfortunately, when he pried his father for more information, he was shut down. His father never denied him; that only strengthened his desire to know what was happening.

"Ryou, Marik, Yugi, Joey, the whole lot of 'em."

"What's this myth they believe?" Draco inquires further.

Kaiba glares at the boy, internally waiting for him to get up and leave. But once again, Draco remains resolute, waiting for Kaiba to honor his word and answer his question.

"Fine." Grunts the multimillionaire, taking a slow deep breath, "You see the pendant around Yugi's neck. The lot of idiots believe that an ancient Egyptian pharaoh lives in there. This great pharaoh is supposed to save the world from the evil that is supposedly stored in that ring Ryou's wearing." Kaiba explains. "Now, may I return to my food?"

Draco nods, standing from beside Kaiba and returning to his group of friends, taking control of the conversation the moment he joins. He'd have to get to know these Ryou and Yugi characters. Kaiba had been a bit too dismissive. there was information that the arrogant boy didn't know or was purposefully withholding, and Draco couldn't have that.

Glancing back at the eating boy, Draco ponders inviting him to sit with his group of friends. However, the best way to gain the trust of the brunet would be to leave him be, and that is what Draco decides to do.

~.~

Yugi would never openly admit it, but he felt lonely. Marik and Ryou are best friends and Kaiba is Kaiba, so he doesn't really need anyone. Sure, having Yami is nice, but Yugi had come to the conclusion that he really did miss his friends.

"So, I just write a letter and these...owls will send it to my friends?" Yugi confirms, looking worriedly at Hermione.

"Yes."

"Won't they think it's strange? I mean, if we really want to talk to each other, we usually just call or text." Yugi continues. Ron grimaces in confusion, still not attuned with muggle technology.

"Unfortunately, technology doesn't work in Hogwarts. This is the only way to communicate with them."

Yugi frowns, staring down at the parchment, quill, and ink waiting for him. What was wrong with pens anyway? Or regular paper for that matter?

"And why is Hogwarts stuck in the Middle Ages?" Yugi asks, picking up the quill and tentatively dunking it into the ink. In neat Kanji, the boy begins writing his letter.

"It's not that Hogwarts is stuck in the Middle Ages, it's just that magic interferes with technology. There is no need for technology here and honestly, having technology in a magical area could cause a fire." Hermione explains matter-of-factly.

"Wow, someone should really look into that." Yugi responds, starting the body of his letter. Harry and Ron, who had been enjoying their own conversation, finally stop to look over at Yugi's letter.

"Quit complaining," Ron yells, muttering "lazy Muggles" under his breath.

Hermione glares at the redhead and slaps the back of hishead.

"It's not lazy. They don't have magic so they have come up with other ways to do things." The girl explains, huffing slightly. "Plus, who are you to comment on complaining?"

"What're you writing anyway. There are no words there." Ron complains

Hermione glances back at the letter, rolling her eyes at Ron. "He's not writing in English."

"Oh..." Ron responds dumbly. "What're you telling them?" The boy asks nosily.

"Not to worry, I'm fine, all that stuff."

"You're not gonna tell 'em about our magic are ya?" Ron questions warily.

"Of course not. I understand that you guys wish to keep your world a secret and I respect that."

"Oh," Ron starts, taken aback by Yugi's honesty.

\Aibou, are you okay. You're acting a little...how do you say it nowadays? Blunt?\ Yami notes, intruding upon Yugi's thought process.

/Not now, Yami/ the boy responds, mentally shooing the spirit away. Yami listens, fading into Yugi's subconscious and watching him write the letter, which is, by the way, most definitely spilling all of these children's secrets.

Hermione curiously peeks over Yugi's shoulder, trying to read what he is writing too. however, one glance from Yugi has the girl looking the other way. When had the sweet little boy gotten so prickly?

"I'm sorry." Hermione mumbles.

"It's fine, just please respect my privacy."

"Of course," Hermione responds.

"Thank you," Yugi smiles, standing from his seat. He rolls up the parchment, placing the quill on the table neatly.

"Do you need help getting to the owlery?" Hermione questions, standing to help direct the boy.

"No, its fine. I've done quite a bit of exploring and have already found it." Yugi explains. With a smile, the boy heads out, leaving the rest of the group in his wake.

Once the door closes behind him, Hermione starts.

"He's lying to us." Hermione states blatantly, staring at the two boys. "We need to get to the owlery before him. he's gonna expose the Wizarding World to his friends."

"I thought he said he couldn't lie." Harry points out. however, Ron has already jumped up.

"I knew it! And that white-haired one is their leader! The whole lot of 'em are evil!" Ron proclaims, jumping up and down. Hermione quickly hushes him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Harry, the map, do you have it? We could find him, and Harry, you know some shortcuts, right?" Hermione questions.

"Well yes, but we can't just run up and stop 'im. Then he'll know that you can read whatever he writes. Maybe we should use this to our advantage. His friends already know about magic-just not our particular brand. Besides, they're too far away to do anything with that information. Plus, its not like they can find our world. But, if we play ignorant, we can lay in wait and learn more about him." Harry explains, putting a hand on each of his friend's shoulders and gently pushing them back into their seats.

"That's brilliant!" Ron and Hermione exclaim.

Harry sits back with a calm smile. So, the group of teens could lie. why they had ever believed otherwise stumped Harry, but now that they know the truth, the mysterious teens cannot be trusted.

"So, what was he saying?" Ron asks.

Hermione leans forward, the boys following her action. "He said something about yami acting weird, but that's strange, because yami means darkness." Hermione scratches her head, her eyes darting around the room thoughtfully. A niggling feeling in the back of her head say she should remember why yami is so important, but no matter how hard she tries, she can't bring herself to remember what is so important about the term.

"Yami, eh. That sounds...familiar." Ron ponders, "Has he said anything about yami 'Mione?"

"I—maybe, I don't remember." Hermione turns to Harry, waiting for the boy to say something, anything to clear the fog in their minds.

"Something happened, something strange. After the Start-of-Term Feast, all I remember was waking up with a massive headache. He might've said something then." Harry answers.

"Um, he said that yami Bakura and yami Marik have been behaving themselves."

"Bakura's the last name of the white-haired one and Marik is the name of the blond." Ron points out. Hermione nods, taking this information into account.

"Yes, but what about these yamis?" Hermione asks.

"I don't know, we'll have to wait and see."

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer since it wasn't at the beginning: I own nothing.

Yeah, so when Yami mind-crushed everyone, did it have some major effects.

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