Whew! With everything going on the world, this took longer than I thought! Yesterday was also my mom's birthday, so here's a belated birthday shout out to my mom. I love you, Mommy!

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Tea Dregs

The following morning the boys sluggishly got out of bed and prepared for their first day of classes. Rin trudged to the boys bathroom and started brushing his teeth. As happy as he was to be back at Hogwarts, he wished that he and his friends could sleep in just a little longer. They had a long day yesterday after all. Rin spat into the sink and filled his cup with water for a quick gargle. He spat into the sink again and let out a huge yawn. Rin stopped mid-yawn and leaned closer towards the mirror. He lifted his upper lip and was shocked that his canine teeth seemed to have grown a little longer than the rest of his teeth. They almost looked like fangs. He poked them with his finger and was surprised at how sharp they were. He knew that they weren't like that last night.

"'Morning, Rin," Neville Longbottom yawned as he entered the bathroom. "What are you looking at?"

"This might sound random, but do my teeth look… I don't know, different?" Rin asked hesitantly.

Neville leaned in and squinted at Rin's open mouth. He then frowned. "Yeah, now that you mention it. How long have they been like that?"

"I just noticed seconds before you came in," Rin answered.

"Maybe you should talk to Madam Pomfrey," Neville suggested.

"What could she do?"

Neville shrugged as he made his way to a urinal. "I don't know. That's who I'd turn to for something like that."

Rin sighed and put his toothbrush away. "Maybe I'll ask Hermione. Her parents are dentists. She has to know a few things about teeth."

Neville nodded. "That's a good idea."

"Fortuna Major, Neville, Fortuna Major," Rin said as he left the bathroom. Neville looked up from doing his business. "Gryffindor password," he reminded his forgetful friend. Neville groaned, realizing that he'd already forgotten the password.

Rin got dressed, went downstairs, and waited for his friends in the common room. To his surprise, the place was a mess. Decorations and knick-knacks were all over the floor, one of the easy chairs was knocked over, and there were tufts of black and orange fur everywhere.

Rin recognized the color of the orange fur. Crookshanks must've tried sneaking into the boys dorm to attack Scabbers again and Kuro stopped him.

'That explains the noises last night. I thought they were part of a dream or something.'

Harry and Ron came down and saw the mess.

"What on earth?" Harry started.

"What the bloody hell happened?" asked Ron.

Rin held up some of the black and orange fur on the floor. "Take a good guess."

Ron and Harry leaned in closer and realized what had happened.

"That bloody cat!" Ron exclaimed. "No wonder Kuro didn't wake up. He probably spent all night fighting off that orange monster."

Rin frowned at the fur in his hand. "I really hope this doesn't become a nightly thing. Kuro may be a demon but even he has limits."

"Maybe we should ask Hermione to keep Crookshanks in her dorm at night," Harry suggested.

"Are you kidding?!" Ron asked exasperatedly. "Hermione thinks he's a sweet little angel. No way she's gonna agree to that."

"Let's ask her then."

Several girls came downstairs and slowly waded through the destruction of the common room. One of them was Hermione.

"What happened?" she asked.

Rin held up the fur again. "Ask your cat," he said dryly.

"That explains why there were bald spots all over Crookshanks this morning," she concluded. "Why did Kuro pick a fight with him?"

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Why did -? He picked a fight with Kuro, not the other way around!"

"Rubbish," Hermione dismissed. "You didn't see what happened."

Harry stepped in before things broke out into an argument. "Could you at least close the door to your dorm at night? Keep Crookshanks in and we'll do the same for Kuro and Scabbers. It'll give Rin and Ron some peace of mind," he pleaded.

Hermione let out a sniff and nodded. "Very well, I'll keep Crookshanks in my dorm at night with the door shut."

~0~0~0~

The four friends entered the Great Hall for breakfast. The smell of sausages, eggs, bacon, and other breakfast items filled the room, making Ron and Rin's mouths water. They then saw Draco Malfoy entertaining his fellow Slytherins with a funny story. When he made a swooning noise and pretended to faint, the group knew he was mocking Harry and his reaction to the Dementor from last night.

"Ignore them," said Hermione, who was behind Harry. "Just ignore them. It's not worth it."

"Hey Potter!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl who had the face of a pug. "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Ooooooo!"

"Hey Parkinson!" Rin taunted back. "Do you realize how girly Malfoy looked pretending to faint?"

Malfoy heard that and his face turned bright pink. He glared angrily at Rin who stuck his tongue out and lowered one of his eyelids. The four friends sat down next to the Weasley twins who passed them their schedules.

"What's up with you, Harry?" asked George.

"Malfoy," said Ron who was glaring at the Slytherin table.

Fred and George looked up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint again.

"Rin's right. He does look girly when he pretends to faint," Fred noted.

"That little git," George said calmly. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," Fred said, staring at Malfoy in contempt.

Rin snorted. "Now I kind of wish he came into our compartment just so we can see the look on his face," he said with a mischievous smirk.

Ron also snorted. "I'd never let him live it down," he said as he helped himself to some porridge.

"We'd dangle it over his head until we graduate," Rin laughed. "Hey, Fred, George, which is funnier? Fainting or wetting your pants?"

The twins laughed. "Wetting yourself," they said simultaneously.

Harry smiled to himself as he helped himself to some sausages and fried tomatoes.

Hermione smiled as she looked over her schedule. "Ooh, good. We're starting some new subjects today," she said happily.

"Hermione," Ron said as he looked over her shoulder, "they've messed up your timetable. Look - they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."

Rin looked over her other shoulder. "Is it a typo or something?" he inquired.

"Looks legitimate to me," said Harry.

"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall," Hermione assured the boys.

"But look," Ron laughed, "see this morning? Nine o' clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o' clock, Muggle Studies. And -" Ron leaned in closer to the timetable, "look- underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o' clock."

Rin whistled. "You're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How can you be in three places at once?"

"Don't be silly, you lot," said Hermione shortly. "Of course I won't be in three classes at once."

"But…"

"Pass the marmalade."

"Well then…" Ron started.

"Ron, Rin, what's it to you two if my timetable's a bit full?" Hermione snapped. "I've told you, I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

After an eager Hagrid stopped by to tell the group how eager and nervous he was about being a new teacher, everyone decided to leave and head for their first class, Divination, which was located in the North Tower, ten minutes away.

~0~0~0~

Shura Kirigakure was on her way to breakfast when she bumped into someone she hadn't seen since she was a student at True Cross Academy.

"Remus!" she called out. The tired looking man turned and smiled when he recognized the Demonology professor. "It's been so long! Haven't seen you since Wales. How have you been?"

"Shura Kirigakure, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Lupin greeted. The two embraced. "You've really grown up since I saw you last."

Shura pulled out her credentials. "Upper First Class Exorcist. Finally made it," she said proudly.

She didn't see Lupin flinch. "Shiro must be very proud of you," he said.

"You bet he was. Now he's raising two kids who are students here."

"Really now? Who are they?"

"Rin and Yukio Okumura," Shura answered.

Lupin raised his eyebrows. "What do you know? I actually met Rin on the train here yesterday. Dementor had a strange effect on him."

Now it was Shura's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Strange how?" she asked.

Lupin rubbed his chin as he recalled what happened. "His entire body started glowing bright blue and his eyes turned blue and red. Most people usually faint or become temporarily catatonic when exposed to a Dementor."

"That is interesting," Shura muttered more to herself than to Lupin.

"Not to worry," Lupin assured her. "I informed Dumbledore about it. He'll know what to do."

Shura smiled. "He always does. I've seen him duel some Death Eaters while we were looking for Oscar Redstone so I know how badass he is."

"I'm surprised that you were allowed to accompany us since you were only a student when I saw you last."

Shura smiled with pride. "I wasn't the only True Cross student there. Other students were there too," she said. She made a mental note to write a letter to Shiro about this new development.

~0~0~0~

The classroom didn't look like a classroom at all. In fact, it looked like a cross between an attic and an old-fashioned tea shop. There were small, round tables crammed closely together. The curtains were closed, it was stiflingly warm, and the fireplace was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume that was drifting in the air that was making Rin feel queasy due to his sensitive sense of smell.

"Where is she?" asked Ron.

"Welcome," a soft, misty kind of voice greeted.

Harry's first immediate impression was a glittering insect. Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight and they saw that she was very thin; her glasses made her eyes look several times their normal size, and she was draped in a gauzy, spangled shawl. Several chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, and her arms were covered in bangles and rings.

"Sit, my children, sit," she said and they all awkwardly took their seats. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Rin sat themselves down at one table.

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who sat down in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often in the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

"Her Inner what?" Rin asked Ron who shrugged.

Professor Trelawney continued, "So you have chosen Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you… Books can only take you so far in this field…"

The three boys glanced, grinning at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this class.

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they may be in the area of spellcasting and potion making, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," Professor Trelawney continued, her enormous eyes moving from face to face. "It is a Gift granted to a few. You, boy," she said suddenly to Neville. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I think so," Neville answered nervously.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said Professor Trelawney. Her big eyes then landed on Rin. "I see flames, flames everywhere."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's not new. Rin always sets things on fire," she murmured.

Rin sweatdropped. "Not on purpose!" he exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

Professor Trelawney continued. "We will be covering the basics of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall be progressing to palmistry. By the way, dear," she shot suddenly to Parvati Patil, "beware the red-haired man."

Parvati gave Ron a startled look, who was sitting behind her and edged her chair away from him. Professor Trelawney then instructed the class to divide into pairs.

"Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with your left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you, helping and instructing."

Rin partnered with Hermione and they both shared a cup. They swilled the dregs around as instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over.

"Got the book ready?" asked Rin.

Hermione had her copy of Unfogging the Future opened in her lap. "Ready. What do you see in mine?" she asked.

Rin looked in her cup. "Soggy tea leaves," he deadpanned.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "This is pointless," she said. "How can tea leaves show us the future?"

"Beats me. I'm not the one who came up with it," Rin said with a shrug. He tried looking at the tea dregs again. "Maybe we should approach this like the hidden picture puzzles in those magazines for kids."

"I suppose…"

Rin squinted at the tea dregs. "Let's see… when I turn it like this, it looks like a bowler hat. Maybe you're gonna work for the Ministry of Magic," he said, thinking of Cornelius Fudge's signature bowler hat. "When I turn it like this, I see a… square with a stick coming out of it? Maybe that's a picket sign. You gonna protest over some issue or something?"

"How should I know?" Hermione asked. "This is stupid. Let's switch and get this over with." Hermione gave Rin her book and he gave her his cup. "When I turn it like this, I see some sort of bird," she observed.

Rin checked the book. "The closest I can find is a falcon. That means I have a deadly enemy," he read.

"The only enemy I can think of who can be your enemy is Malfoy and he's far from deadly," said Hermione. She turned the cup again. "I see a skull now."

Rin checked the book again. "Danger's in my path?!" he panicked.

"I doubt it," she replied. "Now when I turn it like this, it looks like a pitchfork. I think that's supposed to symbolize the devil."

Rin checked the book and saw that she was right. He readily frowned. "Even the stupid book thinks I'm a demon," he growled.

"I don't think you're a demon," Hermione assured Rin. "You may have a short temper, but you're far from evil."

Rin gave her a half-smile when Professor Trelawney suddenly screamed, causing everyone to turn towards her. She had sunk into a vacant chair, staring at Harry in horror.

"My boy - my poor, dear boy - no - it is kinder not to say - no - don't ask me…" she said.

"What is it, Professor?" Dean Thomas asked immediately. Everyone had gathered at Ron and Harry's table to get a glimpse at Harry's cup.

"My dear," Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically, "you have the Grim."

"The what?" asked Harry.

"You mean like the Grim Reaper?" Rin asked, thinking of a skeleton wearing a black robe and wielding a scythe.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Harry didn't understand. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen - the worst omen - of death!"

To my readers from the UK, you have my sympathies for your loss. Queen Elizabeth II will be missed.

I made up the pitchfork shape for Rin to drop another hint about his origins to Hermione and the others. What do you think?

Keep reviewing, folks!