"Blimey, why are we staying HERE?" Satoshi asked, his face twisted up in disgust.

"Don't be such a girl," Sakura told him as she strode into the building. "Disgusting" didn't even begin to describe Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The walls were chipped and poorly painted, dust, grime, and mold coating every visible surface. There was a disturbing feeling that you were being watched every step you took.

Satoshi sighed, shifting his travel bag to his other arm. "Why are we at this dump, anyway?"

Mr. Dopple was sure that the door was closed firmly behind him, then turned to face the Ueda kids. "This home is invisible to Muggles for a reason. This is the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix."

Sakura and Shiro widened their eyes; Satoshi's jaw dropped. "You two are members?" they gasped.

"WERE, yes. But with some recent… happenings, we've been invited back," Mrs. Dopple explained. She gave a motion with her hand. "Come now, the others should be having lunch right about now…"

To their surprise, the kids actually recognized some of the large group: their Professor Lupin, Professor Mad-Eye Moody (the real one, they assumed, as opposed to a disguised Barty Crouch Jr.), a majority of the Weasley family, Hermione, and Harry.

"Oy! Shiro, I didn't know you'd be here!" Harry called, pushing back his chair. Grinning, Shiro jogged over to him.

"I didn't even know where I was going, let alone who I'd see here… It's great that you're here, mate! You too, Ron, Hermione."

However, the presence of some of his companions didn't help to improve his stay. The place was horrid, and nearly every cabinet or door contained some type of creature that would hiss and zoom at you. Shiro shared a room with Ron and Harry, which consisted of three creaky, torn up beds, with a blank painting on the wall. It gave him the creeps.

A few things, though, did make everything bearable. First off, Mrs. Weasley was a very talented cook, so the meals were to be looked forward to. Shiro quickly became fond of lots of other witches and wizards in the Order (the Uedas particularly liked a young witch called Tonks, who was a Metamorphmagus). At breakfast one morning, Satoshi recognized Sirius Black and whipped out his wand, putting his free arm protectively in front of Sakura and Shiro.

"It's alright, Satoshi, Sirius is fine. Long, complicated story short, he's not a murderer: he was framed," Lupin assured him, lowering Satoshi's arm. In the end, Shiro ended up taking a liking to Sirius.

One day during lunch, he noticed Sirius explaining the tapestry of his family tree (12 Grimmauld Place used to be home to the Black family) to Harry. He himself, as well as Tonks's mother, had been burned off.

"Reminds me of my own family tree," Shiro commented quietly. He blushed as Sirius and Harry turned to look at him. "Oh, sorry, talking to myself… I was, uh, just going…"

Sirius shook his head, unkempt black hair smacking him lightly in the face. "No, why don't you tell us what you mean about this reminding you of your family tree?"

Shiro took a few steps forward, eyes glued to the tapestry. "The Uedas had always been obsessed with blood purity… My father's parents didn't much care for it, so for that reason, their names are very light on our tree. There, but hardly noticeable. Because of his parents, my dad was already light on the tapestry, but he was removed completely after marrying a Squib. My mum and all her children weren't ever even put on," he explained.

Sirius nodded slowly, clearly taking in every word. "You know… You and I are probably related in some way or another. I think all purebloods are, with how little of us are left." Shiro gave a small nod, considering it. The Malfoys were on the Black family tree… Did that mean he was in some way related to Draco? If all purebloods were connected, he'd also have to be somehow related to Blaze… Well, he supposed, there's obviously no CLOSE relations. They were probably so distantly related they couldn't be considered relatives (which, he later discovered, was true).

There was one thing in particular that made the last bit of the summer worthwhile. Shiro awoke one morning to Jakkin perched regally on his master's pillow, an envelope clamped in his beak. Shiro yelped to wake up with his owl so close, but soon calmed down. Rubbing his eyes absent-mindedly, he sat up and took the envelope. "Just help yourself to your treats," he yawned, trusting Jakkin wouldn't sneak snacks without Shiro's permission.

What struck him as peculiar straight off was the bulk of the envelope. He slid his finger under the seal he recognized to belong to Hogwarts, wondering if it was just a special supply list. But, no: the envelope contained a shiny badge with the blue Ravenclaw crest on the front, and an informative letter stating Shiro had been chosen as a prefect.

Happiness with a dash of shock swelled up in Shiro's chest and burst like confetti. "A prefect…" he gasped out loud.

"You got one too?" came the choked voice of Ron. Taken aback, Shiro nodded. "Uh huh… You're it for Gryffindor? Congrats, mate!" He hoped his voice didn't sound too incredulous: he expected Harry to get it (though he had completely forgotten this was the year prefects were selected). "Hey, er, do you happen to know if there's a Muggle phone in this place?" he inquired.

Ron, who was still staring at his badge in shock, gave a small shake to his head. "I doubt it. The Blacks were totally anti-Muggle."

"Yeah, thought so," Shiro sighed, sliding out of bed. He hurriedly stripped out of his striped boxers and white T-shirt and threw on some clothes; he ran a brush through his hair and then ran off to see if one of the Order members had a Muggle phone with them. Sure enough, one of them did, and he dialed Konata's number without delay.

"Verdent residence, this is Konata speaking," chimed a familiar voice into the phone.

"Konata! It's me, love," Shiro said quickly.

"Oh my gosh! Shiro, hi!" Konata gasped.

"I'm sorry I couldn't contact you before, terribly busy… I can't tell you where I am right now, top secret stuff… I would if I could, honest. But, anyway, not why I'm calling… Guess what I got in the mail this morning? Don't guess, I'll tell you: a prefect badge!"

"Prefect! Blimey, Shiro, congratulations! I knew you had it in you!" Konata squealed.

Shiro beamed. "Ah, thank you. Ron and Hermione are for Gryffin- oh, Mrs. Weasley is calling me… Got to go, love. I'll see you September first." He made a kissing sound (like "mwa") into the receiver, and though she was dying to ask why Shiro was with the Weasleys, Konata returned the noise.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley?" Shiro called, hanging up the phone.

"Could you be a dear and go see if your brother is up?" Mrs. Weasley asked, beginning to start breakfast. Shiro nodded: this would be a perfect opportunity to show his brother what he'd been awarded.

Shiro stared at his badge as if it was his newborn child. He walked quickly to the room his elder brother shared with the Weasley twins, his mind swimming with fantasies of his future as a prefect. He bumped into multiple things on his way, though he didn't care. "Prefect. I'm a prefect," he thought, unable to wipe the grin off his face. His eyes still glued to the pin, he groped the door for its handle and flung it open. "Satoshi! Satoshi, Satoshi, Satoshi! Look, I-" Shiro stopped dead. The pleasure abruptly vanished from his face, as if it had Apparated away. "S…Satoshi… Are you… CRYING?" he asked in an incredulous whisper.

Satoshi was stretched out on his partially broken bed, hugging one leg tightly to him. His face was pressed against his knee, and tears were streaming down his face. He looked like he could be a statue, until he slowly shook his head. "Eff off."

Shiro strongly considered reminding him to watch his language, but instead hesitantly sat beside him. "This is so unlike you. C'mon, what's up…?"

Satoshi glared at him, propping his chin on his knee. "You don't wanna hear my damn sentimental crap."

"Yeah I do."

Satoshi sighed, suddenly pulling Shiro into a tight hug. "This year… This would be when Sana would've started her first year at Hogwarts."

Shiro felt as if he had taken an arrow to his heart. He completely forgot about the cheerfulness he'd been experiencing all morning. He wanted to cry too, now. "I MIGHT have expected this from Sakura, but you…"

Satoshi hugged him tighter. "That's why I'm crying, dingbat. I've always been the cool one, the troublemaker. The one who snogs girls he's known for 20 minutes. The one who should've been expelled from school. Don't get me wrong, I love being that guy- Dad… Dad was always so proud, since he was just like me- but… That's not ALL I am." His voice started to crack. "I have a heart too. You'd always expect me to prefer hanging out with a group of dudes and some hot chicks instead of my family, but, I got a soft side, y'know? You don't know the half of how proud I am to be you and Sakura's brother. I-I loved the twins and Sana a whole lot too. I miss them, Shiro. Them, Mum, and Dad." Satoshi's voice quivered with sobs. "I miss them so bloody much."

Shiro didn't know quite what to say. Though he was the mature one, Satoshi was the strong one. To see him like this was a bit scary. Biting his lip, Shiro gently hugged his brother, but Satoshi shook his head and moved back. "I'm sorry, bro. I just… gotta calm myself," he murmured. Shiro nodded.

After a couple partially awkward minutes, Satoshi had evened his breathing and dried his eyes, which floated down to Shiro's hand. He smiled gently, unfolding his brother's fingers. "Blimey, is that a prefect badge? Well done, mate, well done. Only to be expected, of course." He ruffled Shiro's hair, giving off a warm vibe of pride. Shiro's eyes widened as he realized how incredibly similar to their father Satoshi was when he was being brotherly like this.

"I, er… Mrs. Weasley wanted me to see if you were up, so I assume breakfast will be ready soon," Shiro said quietly. Satoshi nodded, getting to his feet and stretching. He turned to Shiro and, to his brother's surprise, kissed him on the head and then the cheek. "That second one is for Sakura. Pass it on for me, alright?"

Shiro gave a small nod, looking quite dazed. "Yeah… I'll do that." So the moment he found Sakura, chatting with Ginny and Tonks, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "That's from Satoshi." He just laughed at her blank expression and added, "Don't ask. By the way! Your big brother is a prefect now!"