Much to Konata's displeasure but understanding, Shiro went through with Draco's request to avoid his friends. Shiro had managed to find a loophole with his and Draco's deal, however, and resorted to visiting with Hagrid each afternoon. Realizing how down Shiro was, Hagrid let him in on an upcoming Care of Magical Creatures class, which involved creatures called Hippogriffs. He had introduced one of them, a gray one named Buckbeak, to Shiro early on, and the winged eagle-horse immediately developed a respect for the boy. When their Care of Magical Creatures class came around, Hagrid allowed Shiro to teach a portion of it. With no Draco in sight, Shiro suggested Konata be the first one to interact with Buckbeak.
"Approach him nice and slow, no sudden movements, yes, just like that… Now catch his eye, perfect… Now bow to him," Shiro instructed. Failingly attempting to put on a brave face and decrease her nervous shaking, Konata slowly bowed the upper portion of her body without faltering her stare with the Hippogriff. There were a few seconds of tension, and then Buckbeak gave a nod to his large head. A smile seeped onto Konata's blushing face as the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, plus Hagrid and Shiro burst into applause.
"You could ride 'im now, yeh know," Hagrid indicated, beaming.
"No thank you!" Konata squeaked. Blushing even further, she bolted back into the crowd. On her way back, she caught Shiro's eye and could see he was much more like himself. However, his peacefulness wouldn't be lasting long.
"What happened to you, Malfoy?" he asked at lunch that day. Draco had his arm in a sling, Pansy Parkinson staring at him as if that day might be his last.
"That disgusting brute of an animal featured in bloody Hagrid's class today attacked me. Almost killed me, it did!"
Shiro narrowed his eyes, clenching his fist. "Malfoy. I've studied medical aspects since I was 9, and there's nothing wrong with your arm. I can tell right off. Besides, Buckbeak is a good Hippogriff. Wouldn't hurt a fly," he said slowly.
Draco sent a steady glare his way. "I find it offensive that you can't be on a first name basis with me, but you can with a stupid, murderous animal."
"Buckbeak is not MURDEROUS, Draco. He must've barely scratched you, and you're just putting on a big show. Whatever he did to you, I know he was egged onto it. And Buckbeak isn't STUPID, either. I'll bet he's got more brains than you do." Shiro allowed himself to smirk. "Though, that isn't saying much."
Tense "ooooh"s erupted from all the people eavesdropping on their conversation. Draco had begun to go quite red in the face, his teeth clenched dangerously tightly. He got right in Shiro's face and hissed, "That Hippogriff, along with its idiot keeper, will be gone if my father and I have anything to say about it."
Shiro could have responded, but found his throat had tightened. He knew all too well that Lucius Malfoy certainly DID have something to say about everything. Instead, Shiro smacked Draco away and marched off to the Ravenclaw table. He almost wanted to throw up when he heard Pansy Parkinson saying, "Oh, Draco, he hit you like you were an insect! And when you're injured…"
"Injured? He's such a FAKE! Beaky just grazed him, with what Hagrid says Malfoy called him he's lucky to HAVE that arm!" Shiro growled a few days later. Konata and Blaze had seen him head off to Hagrid's that afternoon, so they decided they'd visit as well. However, they weren't seeing the side of Shiro they were hoping for.
"It was so pathetic… He pushed himself backward onto the ground and was crying out 'It killed me! I'm dying!' Kind of funny, really," Blaze commented. Shiro heaved a sigh and threw himself onto a chair, irritably stroking Fang's head.
"I've got him figured out, you know," he muttered.
"Oh…?" said Konata, looking up from her cup of tea.
Shiro nodded sharply, refusing the cup Hagrid offered him in what would've been a polite manner, had he not accidentally knocked it out of Hagrid's hand. He started rubbing his temples furiously. "I should have known he didn't want an even deal. If I died, that'd make it a waste for him. That'd be like… someone who hates dogs catching a runaway dog, then in return cutting the dog loose. He wants me to truly know I'm in his debt. This is WORSE than death. Death would be a blessing with what he's put me through. Separating me from my friends… I know I haven't acted like it, but you guys are my world! Without you, I'm nothing! I know I'm lucky that I'm allowed to have Hagrid, and Satoshi, and Sakura, but without you guys… I'm just not me!"
Blaze put her tea down, eyes flaming with mixed emotions. "It's so screwed up that Malfoy has to give you permission to see us. I mean, he didn't let you see us here, did he? Say he finds out about this exchange. What's he going to do? You said it yourself, it wouldn't be good enough to kill you."
Shiro buried his face in his hands, looking at the girls and Hagrid through his fingers. "But see, there's no limit to how twisted that boy is. If he does learn I've bent the deal, then no, he wouldn't kill me, but he and his father are perfectly capable of having a tragic 'accident' befall you two, or my siblings… He's already forming a plan to get rid of Hagrid somehow…" A grim expression formed behind Hagrid's tangled brown beard.
"Well, this situation is… difficult, huh?" Konata murmured. Shiro nodded, removing his hands from his very red face. He precariously got to his feet and half-heartedly opened his arms.
"Come here, you guys… For all we know, this might be the last time…" he sniffled. Without hesitation, Konata and Blaze gently threw themselves at Shiro. Hagrid brought the trio into his own bear hug, and Fang licked Shiro's hand.
"I love you guys so, SO much. I'm sorry I've put you in this predicament… I won't let him hurt you. I swear I won't," Shiro said in a choked whisper. Konata and Blaze nodded silently, only hugging Shiro tighter. Like he'd said: there was no telling when the next time they'd hold him would be.
There were a few moments of silence as they stayed in that group hug motionlessly. When they returned to normal stance, though, the silence became rather awkward. Konata brought up the trip to Hogsmeade Village later that day, and requested Shiro come along with everyone else to brighten his spirits. Draco couldn't prevent him from "bumping into" Konata and Blaze there. However, the suggestion just made Shiro look away uncomfortably.
Later that frigid winter day, the students years 3 and up piled up outside to head off to Hogsmeade. The third years waved their permission slips over their heads, eager to get a move on.
"I hope it's alright I had Konata's father sign my permission slip, Professor McGonagall… I've been staying with the Verdent family since my first year, so I figured they'd count as guardians," Blaze indicated as she handed the slip with "William H. Verdent" printed neatly on the line. McGonagall nodded, taking the slip out of Blaze's gloved hand.
"That will certainly do, Ms. Alexanders. You're free to go," she confirmed. Grinning, Blaze trotted off to an awaiting Konata. Had they not been so ecstatic, they probably would have noticed Shiro climbing the steps back up to the castle. The only other third year student accompanying him was Harry Potter.
The two boys exchanged glances. Though they'd seen each other multiple times, and knew of each other, they didn't really KNOW each other. Shiro had heard things about Harry from Blaze, who had told Harry things about Shiro, but the boys never interacted to know whether or not what she said was true.
"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry?" Shiro asked in a quiet, morose tone.
Harry shook his head. "No… My uncle wouldn't sign my form," he responded in the same attitude Shiro had spoken in. "What about you?"
Shiro abruptly felt the urge to cry as he muttered, "My parents weren't… around, to sign it."
As the two boys spoke, lightening up very gradually and getting to know one another, Konata and Blaze were having the time of their lives. They decided to start off at a pub called The Three Broomsticks so they could try out a popular drink called butterbeer. Konata was hesitant, of course, being afraid it was alcoholic. "They wouldn't sell it to a couple of 13 year olds if it had alcohol in it," Blaze assured her as she placed her money on the counter.
"They would if it meant making money!" Konata retorted. Blaze ignored her and put a steaming mug into Konata's hands. Seeing the look of serenity that seeped into Blaze's face when she took her first sip, Konata blew hers off and drank about a drop. The taste was indescribably delicious, so Konata took a bigger sample. She let out a pleased moan as it seemed to melt away the cold from her head to her toes. The girls found themselves a seat and gradually finished their butterbeer, savoring every sip.
Afterwards, they headed off to Honeydukes: a sweet shop that older students raved about. Every corner was lined with some form of candy, many of them quite disgusting-sounding, while others you almost wanted to immediately put in your mouth. Konata attempted to take it all in, but was so fascinated her mind went blank.
"C'mon. Let's go buy some stuff," Blaze declared, pulling gently on Konata's sleeve. The first thing Konata reached for was labeled Acid Pops, but Blaze steered her away from those. "They'll burn a whole right through your tongue. Literally." So Konata gulped and examined some Fizzing Whizzbees, which looked rather appetizing but said sucking on them made you float a few inches off the ground.
By the time they finished exploring the shop, the girls left with their pockets overflowing with Pink Coconut Ice, Crystallised Pineapple, Fizzing Whizbees (though Konata refused to try any), Chocolate Wands, Sugared Butterfly Wings, Spindle's Lick'O'Rish Spiders, and a couple of Jelly Slugs. They had managed to avoid so much as touching Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Blood-flavored lollipops.
Later on, Konata met up with Neville in Dogweed and Deathcap, a Herbology shop, while Blaze went off to get a closer look at the infamous Shrieking Shack: a supposedly very haunted house ("I have a feeling those ghosts aren't nearly as friendly as The Fat Friar!" Konata had said rather panicky). They met up at the Hogsmeade Post Office ("About 20 times more interesting than any post office I've been too!" Konata exclaimed), then the girls went off to browse Gladrags Wizardwear. When they finished, they headed back to the castle with huge smiles on their rosy faces.
"You know, we didn't so much as glimpse Shiro the entire time," Blaze noted as they trudged up to their common rooms.
"How odd, I was just thinking about him too. Perhaps he'd like to have my Fizzing Whizbees."
Blaze chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Good night, Konata."
"'Night Blaze!"