Glad this one is done! I actually like how this one turned out.

Have a happy Easter!

Enjoy!

Chapter 21

Down One

"I refuse to believe it!" Rin exclaimed. "Hagrid would never do something like that!"

"Not intentionally," Yukio tried to argue. "Remember, he has a weird obsession with dangerous creatures. Remember Fluffy and Norbert?"

"Yukio's right about that," Ron agreed. "Giving me a temptaint is the only good thing that came out of taking care of that stupid dragon."

Harry had examined Riddle's diary and discovered its secrets. It showed how Tom Riddle apprehended a thirteen-year-old Rubeus Hagrid in the wake of the Muggleborn girl's death the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened. When Harry told his friends what he learned they didn't know how to process this new bit of information. On the one hand, Hagrid was the kindest person in Hogwarts who wouldn't hurt a fly. On the other hand, his love for dangerous creatures was questionable at best.

"Do you think we should ask Hagrid about it all?" Hermione asked.

"That'd be a cheerful visit," said Ron. "'Hello, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the school lately?'"

"Hagrid wouldn't tell me why he was expelled when I met him. He clearly doesn't like talking about it," said Harry.

In the end, the group agreed not to say anything to Hagrid unless there was another attack. Remarkably things had started to quiet down in regards to the attacks. It was now nearly four months since Justin and Nearly Headless Nick were attacked. Nearly everyone thought whoever was responsible decided to call it quits. Even Kuro was starting to relax to the point where he didn't follow the group everywhere.

In the meantime, the second year students were given the task of choosing their classes during the Easter holidays. Hermione was the only one who took the task seriously.

"...it could affect our entire future," she told Harry, Ron, and Rin while they poured over lists of new subjects, marking them with checks. Yukio was with his fellow Ravenclaws helping them with choosing their classes.

"I just want to drop Potions," said Harry.

"We can't," Ron said gloomily. "We keep our old subjects, or I'd have dropped Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"But that's very important!" Hermione argued.

"Not the way Lockhart's teaching it," said Ron. "I haven't learned anything from him except not to set pixies loose."

Rin looked at his list. "What's Arithmancy?"

"It's like Divination but you use math instead of tea leaves or crystal balls," Ron explained.

Rin grimaced. "I have enough trouble with basic math as it is," he grumbled. He signed up for Divinations instead.

~0~0~0~

Rin, Ron, and Harry were looking forward to tomorrow's Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Harry had spent a lot of time training with the Gryffindor team lately and he was feeling confident that they'd win tomorrow. Rin wondered how Shiemi would handle rooting for both teams since Hufflepuff was her House and she had friends in Gryffindor.

"Harry!" Neville stammered, looking frantic. "I don't know who did it - I just found -"

"What's up, Neville?" Rin asked. "You're acting more squirrely than usual."

Neville looked at the Japanese boy. "Rin! Your cat - Kuro -"

Rin then panicked. "What? What's wrong with Kuro?" he demanded.

The pudgy-faced boy led his fellow Gryffindors to their dorm. What they found looked like a disaster zone. Everything in Harry's trunk had been thrown everywhere. His cloak was ripped to shreds on the floor. Drawers were pulled out of his bedside table, its contents were spilled all over the bed. The bed curtains were ripped from the bedposts.

Seamus and Dean entered and saw the mess.

"Bloody hell!" Dean swore.

"What happened, Harry?" asked Seamus.

"No idea," Harry answered as he and Neville put the sheets back on the bed.

Rin looked under every piece of furniture looking for Kuro. "Kuro? Here, boy!" he called. It wasn't the normal way he'd talk to the cat sidthe, but he couldn't think of any way to find him.

"...meow…"

All the boys turned towards the sound of the cat. It came from underneath Neville's pillow. Dean, who was closest, picked it up and saw Kuro shivering in fright. Rin had never seen him like that.

"Kuro?" Rin said as he slowly approached the terrified cat.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Harry.

"Something obviously spooked him," Seamus stated, "which is odd because hardly anything scares Kuro, not even mine and Rin's explosions."

Rin picked up the shivering cat and started stroking him to calm him down. Neville helped by scratching him behind the ear.

"Well whoever spooked Kuro had to have been looking for something," Ron remarked, noticing the pockets of Harry's robes were hanging out. "Is there anything missing?"

Harry started to pick up all his things and throwing them into his trunk. It was only after he finished putting his Lockhart books away that he realized what was missing.

"Riddle's diary's gone," Harry said in an undertone to Rin and Ron.

"What?"

"How?"

Harry jerked his head toward the door and Ron and Rin followed him out. They hurried down to the Gryffindor common room where they found Hermione reading in one of the easy chairs. They quietly told her what happened and she was shocked at the news.

"But - only a Gryffindor could have - no one knows our password -" Hermione stammered. "And how could Kuro - I mean, he's a demon!"

"Exactly," said Harry. It went unsaid that whoever stole the diary obviously had what it took to scare Kuro into a quivering mess.

After that, Rin gave Kuro to Yukio to sleep in Ravenclaw Tower for a few days.

~0~0~0~

Shura whistled a happy tune as she left the library. She had checked out a book on ghosts and their behaviors. Filch had been complaining to her about the bathroom ghost flooding the corridors again and she decided to see if anything from the library could help. Normally calming a ghost would be an exorcist's job, but Shura quickly learned last year that the ghosts at Hogwarts were very different from the ones she'd dealt with in the past. Her thoughts were interrupted when her feet hit something, causing her to trip and fall to the floor.

"Ow! Dammit," she winced as she got on her knees. She turned around to see what she tripped on and paled. Another student was Petrified. A Ravenclaw prefect by the look of the badge on the robes. "Shit!" She crawled over to the student whom she recognized as Penelope Clearwater from her sixth year Demonology students (and aspiring Aria exorcist) and patted her cheek even though it wouldn't do anything. "Clearwater! C'mon, snap out of it!" Shura looked around to see if anyone was nearby. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

The door to the library slammed open and a very annoyed Madam Pince stormed towards Shura. Whatever lecture she was going to say to the exorcist, however, died on her lips when she got closer.

"What is this?" she asked.

"What does it look like, Irma? There's been another attack!" Shura snapped. "Get the boss, or Minerva, or somebody!"

Madam Pince scurried off to find help. Shura pulled out her sword in case the attacker was still close by. On the floor, a few feet away from her, Shura saw another Petrified student. She slowly approached said student and immediately recognized who it was.

~0~0~0~

"Potter, I think it's best you come with me," Professor McGonagall said after she announced that the Quidditch match was cancelled.

Before Harry could wonder what she could suspect him of doing, Ron and Rin broke away from the crowd and approached them. To Harry's surprise, McGonagall didn't object.

"Yes, perhaps you two better come as well," she sighed forlornly. "Your brother may want to come as well, Okumura." She lifted up her megaphone. "Yukio Okumura, please come down to the field! Yukio Okumura, please come down to the field!"

They waited a few minutes so Yukio could break away from his fellow Ravenclaws and meet up with them.

"What's going on?" Yukio asked as soon as he showed up. McGonagall said nothing and gestured to the boys to follow her. Yukio looked at his brother. "What did you do this time, Rin?"

Rin scowled. "If I did something, then why are you here?"

"Fair point."

The boys were shocked that they weren't brought to anyone's office, they were standing outside the Hospital Wing.

"This will be a bit of a shock," McGonagall said in a gentle tone, "but there's been another attack… another double attack."

Harry's stomach did a somersault. Ron's face paled. Rin's blue eyes widened. Yukio gritted his teeth and looked away. Then he realized that someone in their group was missing.

'Where's Hermione?'

McGonagall pushed open the door and the boys entered. Madam Pomfrey was bending over a Ravenclaw prefect. Harry saw Yukio's eyes widened in recognition of her. On the bed next to the prefect…

"Hermione!" Ron groaned.

"No…" Rin breathed.

Hermione laid perfectly still, her eyes wide open and glassy.

"They were found near the library," McGonagall explained. "I don't suppose any of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them." She held up a small, circular hand mirror. The boys shook their heads as they thought back to the last time they saw Hermione. Earlier today, Harry heard the mysterious voice again and Hermione suddenly told them she had to get to the library.

"What's going to happen now?" asked Yukio.

McGonagall sighed. "If the culprit is not caught soon, the school will have to close," she answered.

Rin's head snapped up from looking at Hermione. "Close?" he repeated. He shook his head. "No. You can't." He looked at his friends and teacher. "You can't close Hogwarts! You can't!" He dashed out of the Hospital Wing and out of sight.

"Rin, wait!" Yukio called out.

"Mr. Okumura, get back here right now!" McGonagall yelled.

This change in behavior baffled Ron and Harry. Never before had they seen Rin act like this. Harry didn't want Hogwarts to close either, it was his home. It was the only place in the world where he had friends and acceptance. Did Rin feel the same way?

McGonagall sighed heavily. "I might as well escort you three back to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Towers. Do any of you know where Mr. Okumura could have gone?"

"He might have gone to the lake," Harry suggested, remembering when the two of them went there after Colin Creevey was Petrified.

"I don't know where it is but he has mentioned the kitchens more than once," Yukio offered.

"What about that Moriyama girl from Hufflepuff?" Ron asked. "Do you think she knows where he'd go?"

McGonagall nodded her head and once again gestured to them to follow her. "Very well. Let's go now."

The three boys walked in silent for a minute before Ron asked Yukio, "What was that back there? I know he doesn't want Hogwarts to close, none of us do. But why'd he go mental like that?"

Yukio was silent for a moment before answering, "I don't think he wants to go back to how things were before Hogwarts."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Before Rin and I knew we were wizards, we didn't have any friends in Tokyo. Kids in the neighborhood would pick on me for my glasses and Rin was known for his explosive temper so everyone was afraid of him," Yukio explained.

Harry then remembered what Professor Dumbledore said to him at the end of last year:

"Rin has only been alone back in Tokyo," Dumbledore explained. "With only his brother, his father, and the priests of the monastery where he lives, he's never had real friends until he came to Hogwarts."

"Ever since we started coming to school here, I've noticed that he hasn't lost his temper as often as before," Yukio continued. "For the first time in our lives, we have friends."

"So if Hogwarts closes, you two will have to go back to Tokyo," Harry concluded. "We'd never see you again."

"You'd have to start over at Mahoutokoro," Ron added.

Harry couldn't stand the thought of never seeing his best friends again. He might have to go back to living with the Dursleys. Everyone else would have to go to different schools of magic.

All three boys thought the same thing: 'We have to stop this.'

Things are starting to get interesting, huh? So, where do you think Rin ran off to?

Hope you guys are doing well. I've gotten my first dose of the COVID vaccine! FINALLY!

Keep those reviews coming, folks! Make my day!