It wasn't until the 31st of October that things got more interesting. More ghosts than ever floated through the walls and ceiling, twice as many candles lit than on the first day. Gigantic jack-o-lanterns grown by the gamekeeper, Hagrid, lined the walls, flickering both brilliantly and ominously.

"I used to go trick-or-treating with my parents every year… I was usually a princess of some sort. I feel ashamed that I had been a Muggles' idea of a witch one year…" Konata was saying. Shiro took a swig of pumpkin juice, patting her shoulder.

"Not your fault. You didn't know about the magical community."

"Yeah, guess so. Oh, hey… Did you hear the rumors? About a group of Gryffindors planning to sneak off to the Forbidden Forest tonight?" Konata asked in a whisper. Shiro slowly shook his head, taking another sip of his delectable pumpkin juice.

"It's just a rumor, I'm sure. Just because they're brave doesn't mean they're STUPID. Nobody is senseless enough to go into the Forbidden Forest," he reasoned. He narrowed his eyes. "Now, don't YOU go doing something stupid, like going into the forest yourself to see if the rumors are true."

"What! Of course I wouldn't! Let's not be ridiculous," Konata countered quickly. She spun back around to return to her apple cider, taking a rather hasty sip. She hoped Shiro couldn't tell her heart was beating a mile a minute; she couldn't believe he could read her thoughts so well, and didn't want to admit she'd lied to him by saying she wouldn't go.

Later that day, the students were free to wander around the grounds. Konata kept nervously glancing at every Gryffindor they passed, trying to determine where they were headed and if they seemed suspicious-looking or nervous. She tried to force herself to relax and enjoy the break. Shiro got her to visit Hagrid's cottage with him, seeming completely unfazed that they hadn't seen Blaze for a while.

"Hello, Mr. Hagrid, it's Shiro Ueda and Konata Verdent… Mind if we come in?" Shiro chimed in a peppy tone, knocking on the cottage door. The large man opened it, his face beaming. "Ah, o' course yeh can! Welcome here an' time, the lotta you. Yer frien' Blaze, too. She bin down here a couple o' times already, real nice girl. An'way, come in! I'll put on some tea for yeh."

Konata looked around the little house sheepishly, her cheeks a light shade of pink. She'd seen Hagrid around, of course, but never actually spoke to him; he was just the gamekeeper in her eyes. But, obviously, Shiro had something different with him.

"You see, Satoshi made a habit of bothering poor Mr. Hagrid. Tormenting his animals, messing with his crops… He told me Hagrid would be good company for me; he found we had lots in common when it came to our opinions on four-legged critters and such. My mum says that the only trouble I ever gave her was when I brought in feral pets at least once every month," Shiro explained, taking a seat in a rather large armchair. Since it could easily seat two people, Shiro scooted to the farthest side of the chair, patting the free space. Konata nodded timidly, sitting beside him with still an inch of room between them.

Konata's mind was completely wiped of Gryffindors when she noticed something stirring in the corner. She squeaked, crawling farther back into the chair, as a giant gray boarhound approached them. Shiro chuckled as the dog placed its huge head on his lap, drooling down his leg. He scratched behind its ear affectionately. "There's nothing to fear, Konata, he's a gentle giant. His name is Fang. He's a real sweetie, c'mon, pet him." Fang turned his droopy eyes toward Konata, who inched her way closer and half-heartedly patted his head. In return, she received a slobbery lick on the hand. She laughed feebly, sliding into a normal sitting position.

"See, 'e don't bite. Real whimp, 'e is. Take some tea, sweet'eart," Hagrid said gently, handing Konata a steaming cup.

"Th-thank you, sir," Konata murmured, blowing off her tea.

"I don' quite git how a shy lil' lady like you came across some'un like Shiro 'n lived," mused Hagrid with a smile.

"Oh, trust me, I'll be the death of Shiro before he's the death of me," replied Konata with a miniscule smile.

Shiro grinned, sipping his tea but flinching since he hadn't blown it off. "Let's hope." Konata giggled and carefully sipped her own tea.

The trio spoke for about an hour until sunset began, when Shiro decided they should head back to the castle. Konata, mind free of Gryffindors, bowed her thanks to Hagrid, who ruffled her hair affectionately but almost knocked her over with his large hand.

As they made their way back to the castle, Shiro caught sight of something that made him shudder. "What is it?" Konata asked, her voice cracking a bit with concern.

Shiro hesitantly pointed to a bench on which Satoshi sat, clearly making out with a brunette girl. "They met last week, and they're already sucking face. My brother disgusts me," Shiro groaned. His brother… He was a Gryffindor… Konata's earlier suspicion bubbled back up inside her.

Shiro went rigid when the brunette opened one eye, backed away from Satoshi, and pointed Shiro's way. Satoshi looked up uninterestedly, then waved him down. "Oi, Shiro! Get over here!" With an aggravated sigh, Shiro trudged over to his brother. Konata heard the brunette girl saying "He looks like a little you, Sato! Goodness he's a cutie!" and Satoshi remarking "But I'm cuter, right?" but then something caught her eye: someone in black, gold and red slinking off toward the Forbidden Forest. Konata sucked in her breath, glancing back at Shiro. He was preoccupied by Satoshi pinching his cheek and the girl laughing like a maniac; Konata was able to slip off without being noticed.

The closer she got, she quicker her heart beat. Turn back, voices in her head were whispering. It wasn't until she reached the outskirts of the forest that she decided it just wasn't worth it. Not only would she get in colossal trouble, but she could get hurt. Who knew what lurked in those woods? If the Gryffindors wanted to get detention or injuries, so be it.

Konata gasped quietly as she heard footsteps approaching. She dived into a nearby bush, hoping nobody heard or saw her.

"We ready to go?" asked a voice Konata didn't recognize.

" 'Course we are. What are we waiting for, let's go before someone sees us!"

"Keep your voice down, stupid, or someone will HEAR US."

"The first year has a point, y'know." Konata covered her mouth with both hands. She knew that first year's voice all too well: it was Blaze. Without so much as thinking it through or listening to her conscience, Konata sprung from the bush and silently bolted after the group of Gryffindors once they entered the forest.

"This isn't so scary," someone remarked after a few moments of silence.

"SHUT UP! We could still be heard!" someone else hissed. Even though she was a good 15 feet behind them and silently maneuvering her way while remaining behind trees or shadows, Konata still feared someone would be able to hear her heart thudding. Though the sun still hadn't completely set, it was already pitch black in the forest. Konata tried her best to watch out for twigs or anything that'd make a sound when stepped on, but could barely see a foot in front of her. She couldn't identify a majority of the disturbing noises she could hear. She felt her eyes watering, regret pounding like a drum inside her.

"Guys, does anyone else feel like we're being watched?" asked a nervous voice.

"Duh, of course we do."

"No, wait…" Blaze's voice was speaking. "Lumos Maxima!" she called out. Konata, who had been peeking out from behind a tree, squeaked and ducked back into concealment.

"We know you're back there. Come out, ya coward," Blaze called. Shaking horribly, Konata gradually stepped into view.

"What a rip off, it's just Blaze's girlfriend."

"Konata…! You IDIOT! What are you doing here?" Blaze growled. Konata slowly approached them. She narrowed her eyes, looking much calmer than she felt (which was saying something, considering she looked like she'd explode into dust any moment.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Blaze groaned, motioning sharply with her hand. "We don't have time for this. Just come on, and keep. QUIET." Konata nodded, shrinking down a few sizes (if possible) and slipping over to Blaze's side. It was obvious Blaze was furious that Konata had followed them, and her silence only made Konata feel worse. She didn't dare say anything, though.

"Hey… What was that?" someone whispered a while later.

"Haha, very funny."

"No, I heard it too." A few people chimed in with "Yeah, same here."

"In that case, cool. Maybe it'll be a centaur! I hear they live in this forest."

"Guys… Those aren't centaurs," Blaze muttered, slowly pointing. Konata fell rigid with abrupt fright; a group of unnaturally gigantic spiders was scurrying toward them from all sides.

The Gryffindors all backed into a tight circle, Konata tightly gripping Blaze's arm. All was silent except the snapping of the spiders' pinchers, until one Gryffindor fifth year cried out "RUN!" Miraculously, they all found a blind spot among the spiders and bolted toward where they had entered. That is, all except Blaze and Konata. "Cowards!" Blaze snapped at their backs.

"You see! This is why I followed you guys! I-I was worried something would happen, so I thought that m-maybe, if I came, th-then I could help somehow! It was really stupid, I know, 'cause I'm so weak-"

"Konata. NOT. NOW," Blaze muttered through clenched teeth. She raised her wand and began to shout a spell, when-

"BLAZE, WATCH OUT!" A spider had reared up on some of its hind legs and slammed Blaze to the ground with one of its front. Blaze cried out in pain, her wand rolling away.

"Get away from her! BOMBARDA!" Konata shrieked. A tiny explosion smacked into the spider, making it hiss madly and scurry off. But, there were still 4 more spiders to worry about.

"Blaze, Blaze, are you okay?" Konata asked frantically, kneeling beside her blonde friend.

"We sort of have bigger problems at the moment!"

Konata gulped, facing the colossal spiders. They were staring at them with a disgustingly hungry glint in their many eyes. Gripping her wand so tightly her knuckles turned white, Konata brought herself to her feet.

"Leave. Us. ALONE! AVIS!" she cried. The loud BANG noise her wand made was enough to frighten off the smallest spider, but the flock of birds that exploded from its tip sent the rest running off. Once the furry beasts were gone, the birds vanished.

"Quick, come on, let's GO! Before they come back!" Konata pleaded, helping Blaze to her feet and handing her wand back to her. Blaze gave a small nod, not letting go of Konata's hand and beginning to run.

"Konata… You saved my life. You know that, right?" Blaze huffed once they made it safely out of the forest. The sun was nearly gone, leaving behind a yellow-orange glow on the horizon. Still, a few students remained throughout the grounds. Few of them, Konata noticed, were Gryffindors.

"I-I wouldn't say I did. But, are you okay? Do you need to see Madam Pomfrey? No, she'll ask what happened… Perhaps Shiro could help somehow, I doubt he'd tattle on us…"

"I'm fine. Just a little sore. Let's not tell anyone- not even Shiro- about this…"

"Not even tell me what?"

Konata and Blaze froze. They turned around slowly to see Shiro standing behind them, a curious expression on his face.

"Oh, Shiro! W-what a pleasure to see you!" Konata yelped.

Shiro narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms. "What's going on here?"

"No sense lying," sighed Blaze. "A group of the older Gryffindors- fifth and fourth years, maybe a sixth or two- decided to look around the Forbidden Forest, and I thought I'd come too. Konata saw us and was afraid we'd get hurt, so she tagged along…"

Shiro's eyes bugged nearly out of his head. "You WHAT? You absolute IDIOTS! One, you could have gotten detention or even expelled, two, you have NO idea what could be hidden in there, and three, you could've gotten hurt- no- KILLED!"

"Sorry Mum, won't do it again," Blaze muttered, rolling her eyes a bit. Shiro sighed exasperatedly.

"I mean it! Were you two even using your heads? Come on, I'm too smart to have stupid friends."

Konata felt as if her heart had stopped beating. "Y-you mean… You don't want to be our friend anymore?" she asked, her voice suddenly hoarse. "Well, mine at least, Blaze isn't stupid," she added in a whisper.

Shiro smiled gently at her, patting her shoulder. "Of course not. I'm saying that I know you girls are smarter than to go into the Forbidden Forest. Well, I suppose it's over and done with now, just promise me you won't go in again. I'm also too smart to have DEAD friends."

The girls smiled at each other, then Shiro. "We promise." The trio hugged, and Shiro whispered "But if you do go back, bring me back a centaur, hm?"

Konata and Blaze laughed. "Happy Halloween, Shiro."