This chapter was a lot of fun to write! I have some plans for Lockhart in this story, plans that will hopefully make you laugh until your sides hurt.

Enjoy!

Chapter 5

Rendezvous

"Harry? Harry!" Rin called out as he, Yukio, and Shiro walked around Diagon Alley searching for Harry. They and the Weasley family used Floo Powder to get to Diagon Alley for school shopping but Harry had not shown up at the same fireplace as everyone else. Both families then split up to find the boy.

"Are we sure he'll be in Diagon Alley?" asked Yukio. "For all we know, he could be at the monastery."

"Southern Cross Boys' Monastery does not sound like Diagon Alley," Shiro assured the boys. "Let's try down here."

The three of them walked past a sign that read "Knockturn Alley". Immediately, they saw that this alley was the exact opposite of Diagon Alley. It was dark and murky even though it was sunny. Several coal tars were fluttering around.

"Make sure none of those demons get into your nose or mouth," Shiro warned the twins. They continued walking for several minutes. Many of the people they walked past gave them dirty looks. "Promise me you two will never come here again."

"We promise," Rin and Yukio said at the same time. They didn't need to be told twice. This place was giving them the creeps.

Shiro then noticed an old woman trying to talk to a boy the twins' age. He instantly recognized the messy black hair.

"Harry!" Shiro called out.

Harry's soot-covered face turned and saw Shiro, Rin, and Yukio. It was clear that Harry was very afraid of being here. "F-F-Father Fujimoto!" he exclaimed in relief. "R-Rin! Yukio! I got lost… Floo Powder…"

Shiro scowled at the hag. "Beat it, granny! Leave the kid alone!" he barked. She shuffled off and Harry scampered towards the priest. "Let's get you out of here, Harry."

The group started walking back to Diagon Alley.

"I can understand if you don't want to travel by Floo Powder anymore," Shiro started, trying to break the ice. "Hated it then, still hate it now."

"I never thought it would take me to a place like that," said Harry. "What was that place?"

The four of them walked up to the sign that read "Knockturn Alley".

"Judging by the atmosphere and the people there, I'd say that it's for Dark wizards," said Shiro. "Not exactly kid-friendly."

"I told you I got lost!" Harry insisted. "What were you lot doing there anyway?"

"Looking for you," answered Rin. "Mrs. Weasley was freaking out when you didn't come out of the fireplace."

"She'll be relieved once she sees that we've found you," Shiro added.

"Harry! Rin, Yukio! Father Fujimoto!" a familiar voice called out.

The four males turned and saw a girl with bushy brown hair running up to them. Rin, Yukio, and Harry smiled, recognizing the girl. This was Hermione Granger, the smartest witch the boys knew.

"Hey, Hermione!" Rin greeted.

Shiro smiled as he recognized the girl. "Long time, no see, Hermione! How's your summer going?"

Hermione smiled at the Japanese priest. "It's been fine, thanks. How about you? How are things in Japan?" she inquired.

"Not bad, thanks."

A yell got everyone's attention. Arthur Weasley ran up to them, out of breath. Fred, George, Ron, and Percy were trailing behind him.

"Harry," Arthur panted, "we hoped you had only gone one grate too far… Molly's worried sick - she's coming now."

"Where did you end up?" Ron asked Harry.

"A creepy place called Knockturn Alley," Rin answered for his friend.

"Brilliant!" Fred and George said, impressed. With a smug grin, George held out his palm out towards Fred, who gave his twin a Galleon.

"Were you two gambling over where Harry would end up?!" Yukio asked exasperatedly. The twins simply replied by whistling as innocently as they could while Arthur gave them a withering look.

"We've never been allowed in," Ron added enviously.

"You don't want to go there, trust me," Shiro assured.

Molly suddenly appeared through the crowd, dragging Ginny behind her. The moment the Weasley matriarch laid eyes on Harry, she barrelled through, looking like she was going to throw her arms around him. Harry looked like he wanted to run away.

"Oh, Harry - oh, my poor dear - you could have been anywhere -"

She took out a brush from her bag and started brushing off the soot from Harry's clothes, causing him to blush. "Where on Earth did you find him, Shiro?" she inquired.

"Knockturn Alley," Shiro answered.

Molly covered her mouth in horror at his reply. "Knockturn Alley?! Oh, Shiro, if you hadn't found him…"

Shiro smiled nervously. "Hey, relax, Molly. Harry's fine and in one piece, that's all that matters," he assured.

"Still, if anything happened to him…"

"Arthur, a little help and reassurance, please," Shiro pleaded. After Arthur managed to pry his wife from Harry and Shiro, the group then walked through the alley.

"You'll never guess who I saw at Borgin and Burke's," Harry told the group. Everyone looked in the boy's direction. "Malfoy and his father."

Rin immediately became agitated. "That idiot is here?!"

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Malfoy? That arrogant kid that caused you a lot of trouble last year?"

Yukio nodded. "The same one," he confirmed. "He has a particular hatred towards Harry, Rin, and Ron."

Arthur immediately jumped into the conversation. "Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" he inquired.

Harry shook his head. "No, he was selling."

Arthur smiled. "So, he's worried," he said with a satisfied grin. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something."

Molly looked sharply at her husband. "You be careful, Arthur," she warned. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting more than you can chew."

Shiro nodded. "She's right, Arthur. There's a quote from the book of Proverbs: 'A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man holds it back.'"

"Is that a fatal verse?" Hermione inquired.

Shiro chuckled. "No, it's not. Just wise advice."

Yukio gave Rin a smug grin. "Words to live by, huh, Rin?"

Rin scowled at his twin brother. "Shut up."

Arthur frowned. "What does that quote mean, Shiro?"

"It means don't let your anger get the best of you," Shiro explained. "If Malfoy sees that his insults aren't bugging you, it'll bug him."

~0~0~0~

After making withdrawals at Gringotts (and meeting up with Hermione's parents), and splitting up to do their own shopping, everyone eventually regrouped at Flourish and Blotts. A huge crowd had gathered outside the bookshop.

"What's going on here?" Shiro asked out loud.

A banner hung above the door that read:

"GILDEROY LOCKHART

Will be signing copies of his autobiography

Magical Me

Today from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm"

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed excitedly. "I mean, he's written the whole booklist!"

"We know," her four friends grumbled.

"What's so great about Lockhart anyway?" asked Rin.

Hermione gasped. "Don't you read? Gilderoy Lockhart has done thousands of things for the wizarding world. Like in his book, Break with a Banshee, where he -"

"Hermione, besides Yukio, does it look like we read as much as you do?" Rin interrupted, rolling his eyes. Shiro could only chuckle.

"Let's just get inside, get the books, and leave," Ron grumbled as they squeezed into the crowd. "Whose idea was it to get all the books this guy ever wrote? I bet you that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's a witch."

"A die hard fan," Yukio grunted as he pushed his way past two witches. Luckily Shiro managed to steer the children towards a breathless Molly who, like the other witches in the shop, were eagerly awaiting Lockhart's arrival and trying to look presentable. Fred, George, Percy, Ginny, Arthur, and the Grangers were also there.

"Oh, there you are, good," Molly greeted when she saw Shiro and the children. "We'll be able to see him soon."

Right on cue, a rather handsome wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes entered the room, causing most of the women in the shop (including Molly and Hermione) to swoon. Gilderoy Lockhart sat down at the table in the front, which was surrounded by large pictures of himself that winked cheekily at them, complete with dazzling smiles.

Shiro knew he was well-known in the wizarding world, but he didn't know how well-known. Nonetheless he lifted his collar as best he could to hide himself in case Lockhart recognized him. The last thing he wanted was attention.

Lockhart, who was posing for photos for a Daily Prophet photographer, noticed not Shiro, but another celebrity in the crowd. He leapt to his feet and pointed at said celebrity.

"It can't be Harry Potter!" he yelled.

The entire bookshop fell silent. Everyone looked at where Lockhart was looking. Harry shrank back, not wanting to once again be the center of attention of total strangers. Soon, everyone started whispering as Lockhart walked over and pulled Harry out of the crowd. Harry was dragged to the front by a grinning Lockhart as the photographer started snapping photos of the two of them.

"Poor kid," Shiro sighed. Lockhart turned in Shiro's direction and immediately recognized him.

"Father Shiro Fujimoto?!" Lockhart cried.

"Shit!" Shiro squeaked.

The photographer grabbed Shiro by the sleeve and shoved him towards Lockhart, who maneuvered Harry and Shiro so they'd be on either side of the grinning wizard. The photographer soon started snapping photos again. Soon, everyone in the bookshop were murmuring about the three celebrities. Out of the corner of Harry's eye, he saw that Shiro had half a mind to knock some of Lockhart's teeth out. Rin and Yukio could only look on sympathetically at their father.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!" Lockhart addressed the audience.

"This can't be good," Yukio muttered to Ron.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present to him free of charge -"

Shiro coughed. "No, he didn't."

Lockhart either ignored Shiro or didn't hear him. "- he had no idea that he would be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his fellow students will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have the great pleasure and pride of announcing that this September, I will be taking up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" he announced.

Rin, Yukio, and Ron all dropped their jaws at the same time.

'WHAAAAAAAT?!'

Lockhart then shifted his attention to Shiro, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. "I also humbly ask Father Shiro Fujimoto to aid me in writing my next book. Together, I'm sure the two of us can shed more light on demons and their behavior."

The Weasley brothers, Harry, and the Okumura twins looked in horror at the Muggle priest who was just as surprised as they were.

~0~0~0~

When Harry broke away from Lockhart (complete with a free set of books), the wizard dragged Shiro aside to talk to him.

"Let me just say that it is an honor to speak to one of the greatest heroes of the Wizarding War," said Lockhart, flashing him a dazzling smile.

Shiro rolled his eyes, unfazed by Lockhart's charms. "Quit kissing my ass. I stumbled into your war by accident. Your people and mine only teamed up because we had a common enemy. Had we known that one of our exorcists at the Knights of the True Cross was also a wizard who followed the magical equivalent to Hitler, things might have been handled differently."

Lockhart was taken aback at that statement.

"And, no, I will not help you write your next book," Shiro finished with a growl. And with that, he left to regroup with his sons and their friends, who were facing off against a pale boy with blonde hair and had an arrogant smirk on his face. Behind the boy was a man who could only be described as the boy's father.

"Everything alright?" he asked the group.

The boy's father looked in Shiro's direction and looked at him from head to toe, as if he were assessing the priest. The children also looked in Shiro's direction.

"So," the man started, "this is the infamous Shiro Fujimoto."

Shiro lifted an eyebrow. "And you are…?"

The man held out a hand. "Lucius Malfoy." The two men shook hands. "Quite an honor to meet a legend, such as yourself."

"Malfoy… my boys have spoken a lot about your son," said Shiro.

"Draco has spoken quite a bit about one of yours," Lucius replied. He shifted his eyes towards the blue-haired boy. "Rin, I believe his name was."

Shiro moved in front of Rin, blocking Lucius's view. Before anything else could be said, Arthur Weasley appeared from the crowd with Fred and George.

"Ron! Shiro!" he said. "What are you lot doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."

Arthur slowly turned towards the Malfoy patriarch. "Lucius," he greeted coldly. Rin and Yukio blinked. They'd never seen the usually happy-go-lucky man act like that before.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Lucius. "All those raids… I do hope they're paying you overtime." He reached into Ginny's cauldron and picked up a secondhand copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfigurations. "Obviously not. Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Arthur flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.

Shiro then spoke up, "Your idea of disgracing the name wizard is quite different than his, Lucius."

The wizard and the Muggle locked eyes. "Associating with your kind," Lucius sneered. "I didn't think Arthur could sink any lower." Shiro narrowed his eyes. "Come, Draco."

Lucius walked out of the shop. Draco followed behind, but not before speaking to Harry and the others.

"See you at school," he said to them. The five twelve-year olds couldn't help but feel the hair on the back of their necks rise.

A tiny bit of light has been shed on Shiro's past in the wizarding world. Were you paying attention?

Time's running out! Should the Exwires be included in this series or not? Let me know in your reviews.

NO REVIEWS EQUALS NO UPDATES! I cannot stress that enough!