September and October went by without any particularly notable happenings, besides Shiro's confirmed dislike of Professor Slughorn. However, the Ravenclaw boy was gradually growing concerned about the wellbeing of his elder brother. He and Sakura had each received only 3 letters from Satoshi, the third one discussing trying out to be a replacement Beater for the well-known Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons, while the official player was out on some sort of paternity leave. The two other Ueda siblings had not heard from him since. One crisp November day, though, they received word of him.

All classes had been dismissed, giving the students a few hours of rest or homework time before they were to head up for bed. Shiro told Konata he was listening in on her and Blaze's outdoor study session, when in truth he was just using the opportunity to spy on his sister and Colin Creevey nearby. Biting his lip, he flinched slightly as the couple kissed across their textbooks.

Noticing that he was not paying the slightest bit attention to her or Blaze, Konata stopped midsentence and followed her boyfriend's stare. "You know, if this bothers you so much, you could always talk to Sakura about it," she suggested. Shiro jumped a bit, half-turning toward Konata.

"Yeah, right. With her temper, she'd either whack me upside the head or completely ignore my presence 3 minutes into the conversation." Shiro sighed, though his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, hey! I never opened up my Daily Prophet! I got it at breakfast this morning, but I didn't get enough sleep last night so I was too tired to read it…" Digging through his bag, he withdrew the newspaper. He browsed through it lazily; however, he gasped when he got to the third page. Staring back at him was unmistakably a picture of his brother. "Blimey, this looks like some sort of interview… Why didn't anyone confront me about my brother having a whole section of the paper about him!" he wondered aloud in a tone higher than his own usually was.

"Oh, they have. A few people have come up to you and said something like 'Tell Satoshi I say congrats' or 'Wow, your brother's gonna be a star!' But you were too busy stalking your sister to notice," Blaze indicated, her voice a tad bit amused. Shiro glared at her for just a fraction of a second, getting to his feet at the same time as Colin. The moment the Gryffindor boy left, Shiro strode over to his sister.

"Oy, Sakura! Have you seen the Prophet today?" he exclaimed, kneeling down beside her. She shook her head, her reddish ringlets lightly smacking against her cheeks.

"No, but I've heard Satoshi's in it…" Shiro nodded, holding the paper out to her. The instant her green eyes fell upon it, she let out a snort-like laugh. "Look at him, he's gone and grown a stupid little goatee…" Laughing at his sister's remark, Shiro read the article along with her:

Yesterday, I scored an exclusive interview with the newest, temporary addition to the Chudley Cannons: Mr. Satoshi Ueda (pictured above). At a mere 18, he's one of the youngest professional Quidditch players next to the legendary Viktor Krum. Except his appearance and skills as a Beater, he's got total youth-like qualities. Nevertheless, I found him to be quite the charmer and am honored to have scored a consultation with him.

I began with a typical suggestion: "So, tell us about Satoshi Ueda."

His response made me laugh: "Pretty vague of you, wouldn't you say?"

So, I gave him a little more to go on: "Let's start out with the basics: how long have you been playing Quidditch?"

He answered without delay. "I've been a fanatic of the sport since I was 9, but I played on my school- Hogwarts, I was a Gryffindor, you know- team for the first time just last year. I was a Beater, naturally."

When you see him play, you'll never believe he's so inexperienced! "I see! So, tell us about your family."

I'm being completely truthful when I tell you that he looked at least two years older as I said this. "Well, I've got a brother, Shiro, who's 16 right now. Our sister Sakura is 14. They're bloody great kids, I'm proud to be their brother."

Sakura and Shiro blushed slightly as they read this.

I made a hand motion, signaling for him to expand. "And, your parents…?" His very gorgeous smile faded slightly right then.

"I've been an orphan for 3 years…" Tragic! I almost wanted to burst into tears as he informed me of this. "My mum and dad were bloody great people, though: their names were Sandra and Shotaro Ueda."

I couldn't help but reach out and pat his hand at this. "I'm sure they would have been very proud of you, Mr. Ueda. Now then, let's move on, shall we? Everyone has friends… Who are your closest pals?"

Fortunately for me, Satoshi laughed- his laugh is almost musical, I must say. "That's unfair to say! I've got a ton of great buddies… Though Jeffrey Knumlach plus Fred & George Weasley will always have a special place right here." With that, he patted his chest right where his heart is.

"They must be honored, certainly. Alright, so I just need to ask…" I leaned in. "Does a handsome young man like you have a special woman in his life?"

Mr. Ueda grinned brightly. "This man here does, and her name is Catherin Lumbach. We're not 'dating,' per se, but we've known we're meant to be for a while now. We went to the Ball together 3 years ago."

Shiro's eyes widened, while Sakura grinned softly. "So they're a real thing now, hm? Well, I AM pretty good friends with her sister, and from what Konata's told me she's a fine girl…" Shiro shrugged. "Perhaps I'd like to have her in the family." Sakura nodded her agreement, and then they read on:

"Lovely! Ms. Lumbach is a very lucky girl."

"This is completely true, but I'm pretty fortunate myself." What a sweet boy he is!

"I regret to say it, but that's all the time we have. I'll see you on the Quidditch field, I presume?"

"Absolutely. And if all goes well, in the next interview you'll be asking how my team managed to win the Quidditch World Cup. I may even have the opposing teams' heads on platters. Not literally, of course…I hear Quidditch players taste bitter."He grinned at me: this Catherin girl truly is blessed, that smile makes even me want to melt!

So there you have it: the Chudley Cannons have gained a very memorable new player, even if not permanently. He's attractive. He has a sensitive side. He has a sense of humor. He's got a lover. He's Satoshi Ueda! What if, though, this is all an act? Will Satoshi Ueda live up to his words and the upbeat personality he displayed to me? We'll all just have to find out!

"Would you look at that, Sakura? Our brother is becoming a celebrity," said Shiro, closing the newspaper. Sakura nodded, putting her arms behind her on the ground and leaning backwards with her legs stretched in front of her.

"I saw it coming, really… Although I always expected it would be for holding the world record for Most Girlfriends Within a School Course."

Shiro grinned at her: he didn't know it, but he even had his brother beat when it came to dazzling smiles. "That'll be the next article, I'm sure." It was silent among the two siblings for a few moments, so Shiro got to his feet.

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to swallow Colin the next time you two do some snogging."

Sakura blushed uncharacteristically. She highly considered smacking her brother, or suggesting he go to a certain fiery underground place, but instead gave a half smile. "I'll try." She closed her eyes as he ruffled her hair, her smile becoming full as she watched him walk off into the distance.