Well, the inevitable happened. I got a mild case of COVID this past week. Luckily I'm better now, tested negative. The whole experience, though, is something I never want to do again. Remember to get vaccinated and boosted. Getting sick is never fun.

Anyway, I'm actually quite pleased with how this chapter turned out.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Catscratch

The Magical Menagerie smelled like a combination of a pet store, an animal shelter, and a barn. It was also noisy because the occupants in the cages were either squeaking, squawking, hissing, or jabbering. While the group waited to speak with the witch who was advising a wizard and his double-ended newt they looked at some of the cages. A lot of the creatures there looked like regular animals but they were in different colors and had strange abilities.

As soon as the double-ended newt wizard left, Ron approached the counter.

"It's my rat," he started. "He's been a bit off-color since I brought him back from Egypt."

"Bring him on the counter," the witch drawled, putting on a pair of heavy spectacles.

Ron lifted Scabbers out of his pocket and placed him on the counter next to a cage of his fellow rats, who stopped doing tricks and gathered at the wire to get a better look.

Like almost everything Ron owned, Scabbers was secondhand (he used to belong to Percy) and battered. Compared to the glossy rats in the cage, Scabbers looked like he had seen better days.

"Hm," the witch hummed, picking up Scabbers. "How old is this rat?"

"Dunno," Ron answered with a shrug. "Pretty old. He used to belong to my brother."

"What powers does he have?" she asked, examining Scabbers closely.

"Er…"

"Does playing dead count?" Rin called out from a corner of the shop.

"Shut up, Rin. That's a trick, not a power," Yukio scolded.

The witch's eyes moved from Scabbers's tattered left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly.

"He's been through the mill, this one," she said.

"He was like that when Percy gave him to me," Ron said defensively.

"An ordinary common or garden rat like this normally doesn't live longer than three years or so," said the witch. "Now, if you were looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of these…"

She indicated the rats, who promptly started skipping again. Ron muttered, "Show-offs."

"Well, if you don't want a replacement, you can try this rat tonic," the witch offered, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red bottle.

"Okay," said Ron. "How much - OUCH!"

Ron fell to the floor as something large and orange came soaring from the top of one of the highest cages, landed on his head, and then propelled itself, spitting madly, at Scabbers.

"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" the witch cried, but Scabbers shot out of her hands like a bar of soap, landed on the floor, and then scampered out the door.

"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, racing after the rat; Harry followed.

The creature, which was now identified as a cat, was about to go after them when Kuro jumped from Rin's shoulder and landed on it.

"Kuro, no!" Rin and Yukio yelled simultaneously. Both cats were fighting viciously with each other. It got to the point that fur was literally drifting in the air.

"Do something! Control your cat sidthe!" the witch pleaded.

The twins looked at each other apprehensively. Rin tried to step in but a growl and a hiss stopped him (he didn't know which cat made those noises).

"Kuro, stop! No!" Yukio ordered. Kuro didn't listen. Every time the orange cat tried to head towards the door, Kuro would pivot in front of his path. This would infuriate the cat and he would then pounce on Kuro and the cycle would continue.

"Stop!" Hermione finally stepped in. "Bad kitty!" Her tone was firm enough to cause both felines to stop what they were doing. Rin quickly scooped Kuro into his arms and scooted back towards Yukio who had backed as far away from the orange nightmare as he could. The cat then approached Hermione and started rubbing up against her legs. "You need to learn to play more nicely with other cats."

She picked him up and the cat immediately started purring and nuzzling against her. Rin and Yukio could only stare in shock at this sudden change in the cat's behavior.

Rin leaned towards his twin. "Can cats get bipolar?" he muttered.

"If they can, it's news to me," Yukio replied.

"That's Crookshanks," the witch at the counter explained. "He's lived here for ages. No one ever wanted him."

"With a face like that, I can see why," Yukio muttered to Rin. To them Crookshanks looked like a cross between a persian and an orange tabby and then ran its face into a brick wall. Repeatedly.

"Poor thing," Hermione cooed as she stroked the cat called Crookshanks. "How much is he?"

"WHAT?!" the twins exclaimed.

"You're really gonna buy him?" asked Rin. "What about Kuro? You saw what those two did to each other!" While Kuro was not seriously injured, patches of fur were evidently missing.

Yukio agreed. "What about Scabbers? Ron's not going to be happy when you tell him that you bought him."

"Rubbish," Hermione scoffed as she paid the witch for the cat. "He'll be staying in the girls dormitory and Scabbers and Kuro will be staying in the boys dormitory. I don't see the problem."

"You can't watch him twenty-four seven," Yukio reasoned. "If he gets Scabbers while Ron isn't looking, what do you think he'll say?"

"Don't worry," Hermione assured them. "He'll be on his best behavior, won't you, Crookshanks?"

The cat in question just purred and purred. The twins and cat sidthe were not convinced.

They left the shop and saw Ron and Harry come back. The lump in Ron's front pocket confirmed that they were successful in retrieving Scabbers.

Ron's jaw dropped to the ground at the sight of the cat in Hermione's arms. "You bought that monster?!" he asked incredulously.

"We tried to talk her out of it," Rin defended.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione.

Harry thought that that was a matter of opinion.

"Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!" Ron exclaimed.

"Told you he wasn't gonna be happy," said Yukio.

Hermione let out a huff. "I don't understand what the problem is. Scabbers has been living in the same dormitory as Kuro for the past two years and there haven't been any problems."

"That's because I told Kuro to leave Scabbers alone," Rin argued. "The worst he's done since then was glare at him." The cat sidthe emphasized this statement by glaring at both Ron's front pocket and then at the orange cat.

"That reminds me, here's your rat tonic," said Hermione, slapping the little red bottle in Ron's hand. "And don't worry. Crookshanks will be staying in my dormitory, so what's the problem?"

Ron dropped the subject and the group went back to the Leaky Cauldron where they saw Arthur Weasley and Shiro talking amongst themselves at the bar.

"Harry!" Mr. Weasley called out, smiling as he looked up. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," Harry answered as his friends joined the two men with their shopping. He noticed a copy of the Daily Prophet sitting on the counter between Mr. Weasley and Shiro. The familiar photo of Sirius Black was printed on the front page. "They still haven't caught him, have they?"

"No," Arthur said gravely. "They've pulled us from our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far."

"If they don't give you a raise or pay you overtime, then I've got a bone to pick with them," Shiro murmured.

Arthur sighed. "Tell me about it."

"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" asked Ron. "It'd be good to get some more money -"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," Arthur scolded. "Black's not going to be caught by a bunch of thirteen year olds. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him, mark my words."

"'Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction,'" Shiro quoted. "First Timothy, chapter six, verse nine."

Ron blinked. "Who is Timothy?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's quoting the first book of Timothy from the bible," she explained.

"Well, what does it mean?"

Yukio stepped in. "It means don't do anything stupid just to earn some money. You'll only make us worry," he explained.

Ron lowered his head in embarrassment, his ears as red as his hair. Shiro patted the boy on the back.

"Your heart's in the right place, but don't go doing something that'll get you hurt or killed," he told him.

~0~0~0~

After a chaotic dinner with the rest of the Weasley clan, everyone clamored to make sure everything was packed for the following day. Harry had retrieved Ron's rat tonic from the bar when he heard angry voices coming from the parlor. It took a moment for him to realize it was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Shiro's voices. Harry hesitated, not wanting to eavesdrop on their argument, but he heard his name and stopped.

"...makes no sense not to tell him," Arthur was saying heatedly. "Harry's got the right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Harry like a child. He's thirteen years old and -"

"Arthur, the truth would terrify him!" said Molly shrilly. "Do you really want to send Harry back to Hogwarts with that hanging over him? For heaven's sake, he's happy not knowing!"

"Shiro, help me!" Arthur pleaded. "Don't you think Harry should know?"

Harry leaned in closely to hear the priest's answer. There was a long pause before he answered.

"He should know," Shiro answered.

"Shiro!" Molly reprimanded.

"When he's ready," Shiro continued. "He's thirteen. Let him enjoy being a kid."

"Shiro, Harry is not like other children," Arthur argued. "You know how Harry, Ron, and your twins are like, wandering off by themselves - they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice!"

"Okay, one, you're making it sound like they're toddlers. And two, the first time they went into the Forbidden Forest was because they were in detention, so that doesn't count," Shiro deadpanned.

"Shiro, they say Sirius Black's mad -" Arthur started.

"Arthur, you know where I stand about the whole Sirius Black thing," Shiro interrupted.

"And besides, Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts," said Molly.

"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black could break out of there, he can break into Hogwarts," said Arthur.

"Arthur, you know and I know that Azkaban is anything but safe," said Shiro. "I wouldn't be surprised if the leading cause of death there is suicide. One visit was enough for me."

Harry was taken aback that Shiro, a Muggle, had been to Azkaban prison. He leaned in closer, desperate to learn more.

Molly sighed. "Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right, but you're both forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's headmaster. I suppose he knows all of this?"

"Of course he does," said Arthur. "We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed."

"Not happy? Why wouldn't he be happy if they're there to catch Black?"

"Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards," Arthur said heavily, "nor I for that matter."

"I don't have to see them to hate them," said Shiro. "The only time I went there, I could feel them sucking the happiness out of me. It took me a lot of effort just to crack a joke there. Now, if you two don't mind, I'm gonna go hit the sack. We've got a big day ahead of us."

Harry scrambled away and hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight. When the adults left and went upstairs Harry slipped into the parlor. The rat tonic was under the table everyone sat at during dinner.

After returning the rat tonic to Ron and getting a laugh at Fred and George's tampering of Percy's Head Boy badge, Harry went towards his room to turn in.

"Ready for Hogwarts?"

Harry stopped in his tracks and saw Shiro Fujimoto sitting on his bed in his room opposite the Okumura twins' room. He was already in his pajamas.

"I've been ready for awhile now," Harry answered as he stood in the doorway.

Shiro chuckled humorlessly. "Funny, this is almost like when we talked last year," he remarked, "except it wasn't the night before you guys left for school."

Harry noticed that something seemed to be on the priest's mind. "Everything alright, Father Fujimoto?" he inquired.

Shiro let out a melancholy sigh. "This whole Sirius Black thing is really driving people up the wall."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I heard what he did. I know he was one of Voldemort's followers."

Shiro tensed up before relaxing. "That's what people are saying, aren't they?" he said carefully. "And now that he's escaped prison, he'll probably try to finish what his boss started by going after you."

Harry sat down in a desk chair. This felt like it was going to be a long talk.

"I'm aware that Black is dangerous, but I wish people would stop treating me like I'm fragile," Harry said. "I've taken on Voldemort three times and killed a basilisk. I think I can handle myself."

"Don't get cocky!" Shiro scolded, startling Harry. "Just because you've done those things, doesn't mean that you're invincible. If you keep up with that attitude, it'll be your downfall."

Harry lowered his head, knowing the priest had a point. "Right, sorry."

Shiro released another sigh. "Look, it's not like we think you're fragile. These past two years are proof that you can handle yourself when you're in a bind. What we want is for you to enjoy what's left of your childhood. Three brushes with death before puberty isn't something a kid like you should experience. What you should do this year is focus on your studies, hang out with your friends, and play that flying broomstick game I've heard Arthur's kids talk about," he advised, "not look for a mass murderer."

Harry chuckled at Shiro's description of Quidditch. "If it's any consolation, Father, trouble usually looks for me, not the other way around."

Shiro smirked. "Even so, stay out of trouble this year," he said. "Now before you head to bed, mind if I give you some advice?"

Harry blinked. "Is it a verse from the bible?" he half-joked.

Now it was Shiro's turn to chuckle. "No, just advice from my days with the wizarding world."

"Sure."

Shiro straightened up and stared directly into Harry's green eyes. "If he looks like a rat and can turn into a rat, then he's a rat."

Harry blinked. "What does that mean?"

Shiro smirked again. "I'll let you figure it out. Think of it as a little brain teaser, so to speak."

Hehe! I think we know what Shiro is talking about. While we know that he believes in Black's innocence, he won't tell Harry because he knows it'll crush the kid and we won't have much of a story. Shiro has proof that he knew Black back in the day, but he won't be showing Harry until the end of the story.

Please review! I need more if you want me to continue this!