So sorry I didn't update last month. A case of writer's block turned into a month of R&R. Sometimes even the best authors have to step back and take a break so the brain can recharge and reorganize itself. I thank you all so much for your patience.

Enjoy!

Chapter 14

Hogsmeade

Harry, Fred and George returned to Gryffindor Tower from Quidditch practice to discover the common room was buzzing with excitement.

"What's going on?" Harry asked his friends who were sitting at a table near a fireplace completing their star charts for Astronomy.

"First Hogsmeade visit," Ron answered, pointing towards the bulletin board. "End of October. Halloween."

Rin was practically vibrating at the news. "I'm going to check and make sure I packed my cargo pants!" he exclaimed as he zoomed up the stairs to the boys dormitory.

The plan was for him, Ron, Hermione, and Fred and George to get as many goodies from Hogsmeade as they could carry to give to Harry to cheer him up since he was unable to go. The best way to accomplish that was to have as many pockets as possible. Rin decided it was best if he wore his cargo pants since they were covered in pockets. More pockets, more treats.

"OI! GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!" Ron's voice yelled. Crookshanks must've been trying to eat Scabbers again.

"Ron, don't hurt him!" Hermione's voice squealed. It then suddenly turned into a yell. "NO, KURO! LEAVE CROOKSHANKS ALONE!"

Hissing, spitting, and growling was then heard. That was Rin's cue to head back downstairs. He quickly ran down and saw several students staring at the two cats fighting tooth and claw with each other. Ron was in one corner while Harry and Hermione were in another corner, neither had an idea on how to stop the fighting.

Rin pulled out his wand, ready to step in. He waited until the cats separated long enough for him to intervene.

"Locomotor Mortis!" he said. A purple light with familiar blue sparks shot out of his wand and it hit Crookshanks. All four of his legs were locked together. To Harry, it looked like the orange cat had his legs hogtied together.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione cried as she picked him up. She glared at Rim. "Was that really necessary, Rin?"

"If you can think of a better way to make them stop, I'd like to hear it," Rin answered as he picked up Kuro who was shaking stray hair off of himself. The spectators dissipated since the fight was now over.

Ron managed to pull Scabber out from under a chest of drawers. The rat looked worse than ever. "Look at him!" Ron exclaimed furiously, dangling Scabbers in front of Hermione's face. "He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"

"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong," Hermione argued. "All cats chase rats, Ron!"

"That may be true," said Rin, "but at least keep a better eye on him. It's clear Scabbers isn't going to make it to the end of the year - no offense, Ron."

"None taken," Ron said as he struggled to get a squirming Scabbers into his pocket.

"Just let Scabbers spend his final days in peace and not in fear of getting eaten," Rin finished.

~0~0~0~

Rin and the group, minus Harry, gaped at what Hogsmeade had to offer. There was more than just Zonko's Joke Shop, Honeydukes, and the post office. There was a shop for cauldrons, an apothecary, a quill shop, and so much more.

"I don't know where to start!" Rin exclaimed excitedly.

"If you need us…" said Fred.

"We'll be at Zonko's," George finished. The twins quickly left them.

Rin, Ron, Yukio, and Hermione walked through the streets, looking into the shops' windows to see what was inside.

"Rin? Yuki?"

The quartet turned and saw a third year girl from Hufflepuff walking towards them. Rin's heart skipped a beat. The girl had blonde hair that reached her chin and her eyes reminded Rin of either emeralds or peridots. This was Shiemi Moriyama.

"Hello, Shiemi," Yukio greeted. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, thanks," Shiemi answered.

Hermione hugged Shiemi. "It's good to see you outside of class, Shiemi," she greeted.

Shiemi smiled and hugged her back. "It's good to see you too, Miss Granger."

"I told you, you can call me Hermione. No need to be so formal."

"Sorry. I'm not quite used to that yet."

Yukio stepped in. "It's customary for Japanese to address their peers by their last names unless they're close friends," he explained to the bushy-haired girl.

"My family is also very traditional," Shiemi added. She then noticed someone was missing in their group. "Where's Harry?"

The quartet winced.

"His uncle didn't sign the permission form," Ron explained. "We're planning on getting a lot of sweets and souvenirs for him."

Shiemi frowned. "Poor Harry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Got any spare pockets?" asked Ron.

"Huh?"

"We're planning on buying as many treats as possible to cheer him up," Rin explained. "I'm wearing my cargo pants for the occasion but we can always use some more pockets."

Shiemi then noticed Rin's attire. "Oh! So that's why you're wearing those. Plenty of pockets."

"Just be careful which pocket you keep your pets," Ron remarked, intentionally irritating Hermione.

A tick mark appeared on Hermione's forehead. She then grabbed Shiemi's wrist and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Come on, Shiemi," she said coldly. "We can decide what to get Harry without any of those boys telling us what they think."

Hermione dragged Shiemi away, ignoring her "huhs" and "waits."

Rin could only stare at them with his jaw on the ground. This was not how he wanted to spend his Saturday. Yukio must have had the same thought because he glared at Ron.

"Was that really necessary? Crookshanks could be doing you a favor by eating Scabbers," he said to the redhead. "You're always complaining that he's useless."

Ron's ears turned bright red. Rin decided to step in before another fight broke out.

"Yukio, I've lived with Ron long enough to know that his complaining about Scabbers is a form of endearment," he explained.

Yukio stared at his brother in astonishment. "I'm surprised that you know what the word 'endearment' means," he said. A tick mark appeared on Rin's head.

Yukio then turned his attention to Ron. "Let's start with Honeydukes and go from there. Let's leave Hermione alone and let her cool off," he suggested. "You can apologize for what you said to her when we get back to school."

The redness spread from Ron's ears to his face. "Fine," he grumbled.

~0~0~0~

"Arrrghh! Who does Ron think he is?" Hermione asked as they marched down the street.

"Uh… what do you mean, Miss Hermione?" Shiemi asked nervously.

Hermione stopped in her tracks, remembering that she was not alone. She sighed and the two entered the apothecary to escape the crisp, cold air. She then explained to Shiemi why she and Ron were arguing.

Shiemi selected a bundle of fresh mint. "Well, by the sound of it, it seems like you're not considering Weasley's feelings," she said.

Hermione stared at Shiemi in shock and disbelief. "Shiemi!" she started.

Shiemi got nervous. "I…I mean, I think complaining about his rat's health is Weasley's way of saying that he cares about it. I know that cats naturally eat rats and other rodents, but in this case, Weasley's rat is his pet. I… I think you should be more proactive about your cat's behavior. If you… if you can at least try to keep your cat away from Weasley's rat, then maybe you two won't fight as much," she tried to explain.

Hermione wanted to get mad at what Shiemi said but she also knew the Japanese girl had a point.

"I suppose you're right," she said in defeat.

They left the apothecary and headed towards the Three Broomsticks, a pub where students could go in for a quick bite and something to drink (for minors, of course). Shiemi was suddenly distracted by a black dog digging through the trash cans next to the pub.

"Oh, poor thing," she said sadly. She walked toward it.

"Shiemi, leave it alone," Hermione said. "We don't know if it's friendly."

The Japanese girl wasn't listening. She crouched down to the dog's level, smiling at it the entire time. The dog immediately approached her and started sniffing her handbag.

"Do you smell the potato chips in my bag?" Shiemi asked. She started digging through it. "I saved these from lunch today to snack on while I explored Hogsmeade today. You can have them instead."

She pulled out a small bundle wrapped in a napkin. She unwrapped it and a small pile of potato chips was inside.

"Would you like some?" Shiemi asked the dog.

"Borf!" the dog answered.

Shiemi giggled and laid the chips on the ground in front of the dog who quickly devoured them. He then approached Shiemi and started sniffing her and her handbag, looking for more food.

"Sorry, that's all I have," Shiemi apologized. The dog let out a high-pitched whine. Shiemi scratched him behind the ear to make him feel better. Hermione noticed that his tail started wagging back and forth.

"Miss Hermione, it's okay. He's friendly," Shiemi said to her friend. Hermione hesitated, but slowly approached the dog and started petting him.

"He's pretty tame for a stray," she noted. She saw that his fur coat was matted and dirty, not to mention he was rather skinny.

"What should we do? We can't leave him here," said Shiemi.

Hermione sighed. "There's not much we can do. Some students have cats, including me and the last thing I want is more pet drama."

Shiemi frowned and looked at the dog who was putting on his best puppy-dog look. "I'm sorry, boy, but Miss Hermione is right. We can't take you with us," she said to the dog. He lowered his head with another high-pitched whine. The two girls then walked away towards the Three Broomsticks.

~0~0~0~

The black dog slowly walked away from town, feeling rejected and annoyed that he couldn't go with the two girls back to Hogwarts. He felt his stomach growl; the chips were not enough to satisfy his hunger.

"Hungry, are we?"

The dog looked up and saw what looked like a white Scottish terrier with a large pink ribbon around his neck with a True Cross pin attached.

The black dog lowered his ears and made a noise that was between a growl and a whine, like he couldn't decide if he was happy to see the terrier or not.

POOF!

Mephisto Pheles changed back to his normal form and adjusted his polkadot tie.

"That's what happens when you decide to bail on the one who was aiding and abetting you when you haven't fully recovered," he reprimanded. "Swain felt rather slighted that you left without advanced notice. You never told him that you were planning on leaving so soon."

The dog growled in annoyance. He left a note! Why was Swain so upset about that?

Mephisto tsked. "Better change that attitude or you won't get anything to eat," he scolded. The dog's ears perked up. The demon pointed his umbrella at the dog. "Ein, zwei, drei!"

In a pink poof of smoke, the dog was sitting at a picnic table with a bib wrapped around his neck. Several dishes sat on the table; a salad, a stack of hamburgers, several ears of corn, a rotisserie chicken, and a potato salad. A glass of iced tea sat next to the dog's plate. A large pink tent covered the entire picnic area.

Mephisto poofed a plate into existence in his hand and he started to help himself. When he noticed that the dog hadn't moved from his spot, he frowned.

"I can assure you no one will bother us," Mephisto assured the dog. "Amaimon is nearby and will let us know if anyone is coming."

The dog sighed and changed into a man who looked like he had seen better days. After spending twelve years in prison, the man aged prematurely, had a gaunt, sunken face, and long matted hair. The man stood up, grabbed a plate and served himself a little bit of everything. He sat back down and started gorging.

"Better slow down or you'll get a stomachache," Mephisto warned.

The man stopped and looked up from his meal. "This is the most food I've eaten in weeks. Much better than living off scraps," he said through his mouth full of food.

Mephisto took a sip of his own glass of iced tea. It might have been Halloween, but he couldn't resist picnic food. "You know that Swain was trying to nurse you back to health as best he could." He took out a bottle of vitamins from his top hat and tossed it to the man. "Take two of those everyday until it runs out. It should give you the proper amount of nutrients you need to live healthily."

The man looked at the bottle and nodded, pocketing it in his ragged pants. "Any word about Harry?" he inquired.

"Besides the fact that he's convinced you're a mass murderer, he seems to be doing well," Mephisto answered.

The man cringed. He didn't know how he was going to prove his innocence at this rate. "What about…what about Shiro Fujimoto? Where does he stand on this whole thing?" he asked.

Mephisto smirked. "Still insists you're innocent and that you didn't receive a fair trial or any trial at all. Not even Dumbledore can change his mind," he replied. He took another sip of his iced tea. "What you told him about what happened after the Potters' murders is only a theory according to public opinion."

The man pounded his fist on the table in frustration. "And no one believes him because he's a Muggle!" he growled in frustration.

"Prejudice is everywhere even in the Wizarding World," Mephisto sighed.

The man stabbed his salad with a fork. "I will get into Hogwarts, find Harry, and get my revenge," he vowed.

Hehehe! Did you guys see the hidden Easter Egg I put in there? I've been dying to put that in for awhile.

Note: Yes, I know potato chips are called something different in the UK (it's crisps, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong).

I hope you guys aren't too disappointed about the outcome of this chapter. I'll try to get Rin and Shiemi alone sometime during this story, no promises!

Keep reviewing! I really appreciate your opinions.