Chapter Seven: I'm the prettiest.
(Sorry; inside joke.)
Draco and Kiyoshi were leaving Snape's potion's class when the Professor stopped them. "Draco," He said, beckoning. "May I speak with you, please?"
Kiyoshi lingered in the doorway while Draco stepped back into the drafty potions classroom, which had still not quite dried out. Snape glanced uncomfortably at Kiyoshi. "Go on, Mister Kamagaki," He said firmly. "Draco can catch up with you."
Kiyoshi fretted for a moment longer, then scampered down the hallway.
Snape sighed as the sound of Kiyoshi's retreating steps faded. Draco swallowed dryly. "Professor Snape, if this is about this morning—"
"Draco, I'm afraid it might not be a good idea for you to continue—er, associating with Mister Kamagaki," Snape said uncomfortably. "I know that you're fond of him—"
"It isn't like that, I promise," Draco said desperately. "We've never—it just isn't like that. Please, please—"
Snape put up a hand for silence. Draco looked at the ground. "It isn't any of my concern what you are doing with that boy in the dead of night," Snape fixed Draco with a steady gaze. Draco flushed scarlet. "I only request that you don't broadcast your doings to the whole school. What I mean about Kiyoshi is that he probably won't be staying at the school long, so—"
"I know about Nuncio," Draco said quickly. Snape looked shocked. "Kiyoshi showed me a letter that was sent to him—two letters," He was talking very quickly and very quietly, lest someone hear him. "I think Nuncio's gone to the Icelands—and he's in trouble."
Snape considered this a moment, then frowned and shook his head. "You'd best forget about what you've read in those letters," He said lowly. "To prevent adding Nuncio's enemies to your own."
"But what if they come after Kiyoshi?" Draco asked, sounding small and scared. He thought of Professor Wolf, stalking the school grounds.
"If They somehow make their way here," Snape sighed. "Kiyoshi will likely be the only one who makes it out alive."
"But who are they?" Draco demanded, but Snape hurried him out the door and shut it behind him.
***
Kiyoshi hurried down the hall, glancing nervously about him. Most of the other students stared at him, and some of them stopped him to ask where Draco was. "It's so odd to see you without him," One girl, wearing a scarf with the Ravenclaw colors on it, commented. "I assumed you were—I mean, I thought you were really close." Kiyoshi kept his eyes on the floor, shrugged, and shook his head. He was hurrying for a reason; he was afraid that any moment—
"Kamagaki! You there, wait up!"
Kiyoshi took only a moment to glance over his shoulder and confirm that the person calling him was Harry before he bolted down the hall and up the nearest flight of stairs. He could hear Harry in hot pursuit behind him. "Kamagaki—Kiyoshi! Wait!"
Kiyoshi rounded a corner, threw down his books, then scrambled up another flight of stairs. At the top was a large, foreboding wooden door, of the sort the school seemed to favor. He grabbed the handle and yanked; it was locked. He turned and pressed his back to the door, looking for all the world like a mouse about to be devoured by a particularly vicious cat. Harry came up the stairs, huffing and puffing. He'd shed his cloak and scarf somewhere on the way. "Now I know you're up to something," Harry said, his lips twisting in a triumphant smile. "There's nowhere for you to—" He looked at the door that Kiyoshi was trembling against, then brightened with an idea. "I'll tell you what. I'll give you a head start through that door there. Let me help you." He brandished his wand, and with a swish and a flick (like they learned in class), he cried "Alohomora!"
The lock on the door clicked open. Seizing his opportunity, Kiyoshi yanked the door open and plunged through it, then slammed it shut behind him. Harry calmly tapped the door with his wand, causing the lock to slide back into place. "Hope you can sing," He chuckled, then made his way back down the stairs to retrieve his things.
Kiyoshi heard the latch click behind him, then looked up ahead of him. There was a three-headed dog standing a few feet from him, snarling and dripping saliva. Kiyoshi bristled, his fingernails digging into the ancient wood of the door. He fixed him with the burning gaze that had terrorized so many men, and made a snarl of his own.
Boy and dog matched gazes for a moment.
The dog eased one of its huge heads forward and sniffed Kiyoshi, making the boy's hair and clothes ruffle as if tousled by a high wind. Gingerly, Kiyoshi patted the dog on the nose. Satisfied, the dog turned away and lay down at the far end of the little corridor they were standing in.
Kiyoshi tried the door again; still locked. Heaving a sigh, he sat down against it and drew his knees up to his chest.
***
Draco knew something was amiss when he didn't find Kiyoshi waiting for him outside the potions classroom; he nearly panicked when he found the boy's books scattered across the hallway. His scarf, which he never seemed to take off, was lying close by. Draco scooped it up and shoved it in the face of the nearest student, a Hufflepuff boy. "You!" He barked. "Have you seen the boy who was wearing this? Did you see where he went?!" The Hufflepuff boy only yelped and ran. Draco looked around wildly, searching for Kiyoshi's pale skin, his shocking blue eyes in the sea of faces. "Kiyoshi!" He shouted finally. "Where are you?"
Through the thick wood of the door, Kiyoshi could faintly hear Draco calling his name. He leapt to his feet and pounded on the door, but his fists only made a muffled unk sound on the heavy wood. He kicked the door, then turned around to look at the three-headed dog, which was busy scratching a flea. Kiyoshi beckoned, then pointed at the door and touched two fingers to his lips. Then he put his hands over his ears.
The dog reared back and started barking with all three heads. The sound echoed and re-echoed in the little corridor, and could be heard clearly outside. Draco bolted up the stairs, ran headlong into the door, then grabbed the handle and shook it violently. "Kiyoshi!" He cried. "Are you in there?" He fumbled for his wand, then cast the unlocking spell that Harry had used earlier on the door. Kiyoshi tumbled out into his arms, ruffled and partly soaked in dog drool.
"How did you get in there?" Draco demanded, then let it drop as he watched Kiyoshi turn back to the door and smile at the heads that were crowding the opening. Draco stared in disbelief. Kiyoshi shut the door carefully, then turned to collapse against Draco.