"Ah, I remember when I first came to Diagon Alley…" sighed a 13 year old boy. This boy was rather tall for his age, and had messy, chocolate colored hair with lovely blue eyes.

"Well naturally you would. It was only 2 years ago," his 11 year old brother indicated. This boy looked much like the first, except he was scrawnier, his hair was a bit darker shade of brown as well as straight and shorter, and his eyes were somehow quite more attractive.

The older boy waved his hand, dismissing the comment. From his pocket he removed a folded up note from their parents."Whatever. Now then… We've gotten your books and cauldron, your robe has been fitted, you have a wand… Where shall we go next, Shiro?"

Shiro Ueda thought for a moment. "Let's see… How about we look at pets?"

The older boy- Satoshi, his name was- scanned his eyes over the note, muttering to himself. "Sounds good. Mum and Dad say you can get any pet you want, even an owl… Lucky you, they never let me get even ONE pet. Said I'd bury it alive or flush it down a toilet within the first month… They were right, of course, but it would've all been in good fun…" Shiro rolled his eyes, striding off toward Magical Menagerie. He sighed silently. He understood why his parents had to stay home; taking all 6 of their children, especially the 5 year old twins Satoko and Sakito, to Diagon Alley would be chaos. But did they really have to make Satoshi accompany him? He loved his brother, truly, but… Of all people they knew…

It wasn't too crowded of people in the pet shop, but quite a ruckus was about. Ravens were crowing; rats were scurrying nosily; cats were meowing morosely…

"So, brother dear, what would you like? I hear toads are TOTALLY cool…"

Shiro shot Satoshi a glare. "I'm not stupid. I know that toads are the most embarrassing animals you can purchase. Honestly, you must think I was born yesterday…" He looked around the room with a bored expression on his face, while inside he was bursting with excitement. "I don't know, maybe we should swing by the Owl Emp-"

"YOUCH! What in bloody Hell was that?" Satoshi screeched, spinning around to examine the back of his leg.

"Watch your tongue, Satoshi. Let me see…" Shiro kneeled down, then had to stifle a laugh. A tan and brown cat- he recognized it as a Himalayan- sat at his elder brother's feet, nose twitching and claws ejected. Distinct claw marks were visible on the back of Satoshi's pant leg, revealing some fresh pink scratches beneath. Grinning, Shiro scooped the feline into his arms.

"You silly kitty, what'd you go and do that for?"

"Silly? Shiro, don't TOUCH that thing! What if it has rabies?" shrieked Satoshi.

Shiro stood up straight, holding the now purring cat closer to his chest and beginning to stroke its fur. "She doesn't have RABIES, Satoshi. She's glowing with health. And what a beauty she is…" Turning on his heel, he approached the counter. "How much for this cat, sir?" he asked sweetly.

"Her? Oh, my boy, you may be biting off more you can chew with that one. Always finding secret passages, bothering the other animals, scratching customers she doesn't seem to like… A good mouser, though."

Shiro's smile remained, but it became more obvious that it was faked. "Thank you for the background information, sir, I truly appreciate it. It'll be useful when I purchase her. Which I can't do unless you answer my question…"

The man scratched his chin for a second. "Well, if you insist… 20 galleons."

Satoshi choked on air. "20 galleons? For that fleabag?"

Shiro gave him the evil eye, plopping 20 shiny galleons on the counter. "Don't call her such vile things. Such a beauty should be worth at least 40…"

"Hm, you have a good point, perhaps I should raise the price…" But Shiro had bolted out the door before the man could change his mind. Smirking joyfully, Satoshi jogged after him. He ruffled his hair. "That was so devious of you. I'll bet you'll be put into Slytherin like our old man. Though I was hoping you'll be a Gryffindor, like moi."

Shiro shook his head, running his fingers through the cat's fur. "No offense, but I don't really want to be a Gryffindor… I'd much rather be a Slytherin. I mean, Dad's the only good person that's come out of that place. I want to change that. Although I'd love to be a Ravenclaw, like Aunt Renee… Y'know, she says that Mum probably would've been sorted into there, had she not been a Squib."

Satoshi gave a small nod, flinching at the word "Squib". Secretly, he desperately wished his mother had been a pureblood, like their father was. It would save him an awful lot of trouble and probably make him more friends. "Well, anyway, let me count out how many galleons we have left, then we can work from there," he muttered, propping himself against a lamppost. "By the way… Are you going to give a name to that furball?" he asked, nodding at the cat in Shiro's arms. Shiro bit the inside of his cheek, deep in thought, then nodded. "I'd like to name her Mischief."

Receiving the distinct feeling he was being watched, Shiro glanced over his shoulder. A skinny boy with unruly black hair and round glasses was waiting outside The Leaky Cauldron, looking at him. Smiling, Shiro gave him a wave; this caused him to sit bolt upright, send a miniscule wave in return, then quickly turn his gaze away.

Shiro looked back at Satoshi and was disappointed to see he'd only made it to 10 galleons. He sighed inaudibly, half wishing Satoshi had inherited his mother's brains like he had. Turning his attention back to the street, Shiro noticed a girl with brown hair lighter than Satoshi's, tied up in two semi-frizzy pigtails, stumbling down the alley. She appeared to be no more than 9, but Shiro knew that couldn't be the case, for a basket filled with textbooks, quills, and parchment piled up in it was teetering in her arms. She approached a slight change in the stone pavement, then- CRASH! With a screech, she fell onto her stomach, rolls of parchment unrolling themselves, ink splashing everywhere, and textbooks flying open. "Oh, goodness, no…!" she gasped feebly. Swiftly placing Mischief beside Satoshi, Shiro bolted to her side.

"You sure have made a mess of things, hm?" he said softly, gingerly closing the books that were out of her reach. Sniffling and shakily reaching for an upturned ink bottle, the girl nodded.

"Y-yes, I'm terribly clumsy… You don't need to help me, but thank you so, SO much…" Tears shimmered in her emerald green eyes as she realized how irreparable her book required for Potions, now drowned in ink, was. A tear managed to escape when she saw how scraped up her elbows were. Shiro stacked the surviving books in a neat pile, taking the girl's hand and helping her to her feet.

"Let's see, you're not bleeding, that's good… Those scrapes should be gone within a week. Also, don't worry about buying a new textbook. Just ask one of the teachers if they could clean it up for you on your first day, is all. You'll probably need new ink though…"

The girl nodded grimly, staring at her feet. "Y-yes, certainly." She sniffled again, heaving the stack of books back into her basket. Shiro helped her lift it, then placed the quills parchment rolls on top. "You look terribly stressed- understandably, of course… Why don't I buy you something from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour? That should cheer you right up. In fact, after my brother counts out our galleons, I'll pay for you."

The girl's jaw dropped a bit. "O-oh, my, no! You can't spend your money on me… But thank you so much, you have no idea how much I appreciate it… M-may I ask one favor, though?"

"Naturally."

"Where can I buy my cauldron…?"

Smiling softly, Shiro pointed her toward Potage's Cauldron Shop. The girl nodded, thanking him multiple times, then trotted clumsily off in that direction.

"Okay, we've got 50 galleons left, let's wrap up your shopping… By the way, I saw you help that girl. Let me tell you how it is: I'M the flirty lady's man. YOU'RE the brainiac. Keep it that way, shall we?" came the voice of Satoshi, who nearly stepped on Mischief. Shiro picked up the cat, grinning up at his brother.

"I don't know, Sato. Brains AND good looks? The girls will be all over me before first term ends."