Avalon's Grim Reapers
Disclaimer: J.K Rowling is the owner of the world of Harry Potter and all its official characters. Bloomsbury and Scholastic have ownership in terms of book publishing world-wide, and Warner Bros. on the movie adaptations of all seven Harry Potter books. Tite Kubo is the author of the popular manga/anime series and has complete ownership of all official Bleach characters.
Fleur, Cedric, and Krum heard the doors open and were puzzled to see Harry Potter enter the room with his muggleborn friend, and the two adults they were with. The air was feeling a bit... strange... because Byakuya was a bit angry over this strange twist of events brought before them. SLAM goes the door.
"Do they want us back outside?" Cedric asks the four.
They remained silent, as Harry found the single person couch between Cedric and Fleur and sat down in the plush emerald seat. Hermione slid by them, and she sits down in his lap in a rather adulterous position.
"Harry, Hermione, do remember this is not a bedroom," Gin teased.
The couple gave Gin the middle finger. The man simply laughs off their single digit salutes. Byakuya never does things out of character. But here, he does briefly roll his eyes. The door opened and the man steps out of the path as Dumbledore, Crouch, McGonagall, Moody, Sirius, Remus, Bagman, Maxime, Karkaroff, and Snape walk in. The room thankfully was big so it was able to support all these characters.
"Albus... my charges, specifically Harry, have only been here a day, and somehow... his name was called out." Byakuya draws his zanpakutō from his side, the light in the room glinting off the shiny blade. "So give me one reason why I should not take this slight against the honor of my clan, and gut you where you stand."
Wands were pointed at him because the tip of the zanpakutō was under Dumbledore's throat. Gin places a hand on his arm.
"Calm down, Byakuya. I myself would like to know how this has occurred."
"Vat has occurred?" Krum's thick accent broke the silence.
"Apparently, my name popped out of the flaming cup of destiny and I am now part of the Triwizard Tournament," Harry answered the Quidditch player.
"Yes, Harry Potter is our Fourth Triwizard Champion," Bagman announced.
"What? But 'e iz just ze little boy," Fleur yelled.
"Listen, you French shank, my lover is anything but little. I should know whenever he makes passionate love to me at night," Hermione sneers at the French tart.
"Hermione, enough!" Byakuya's voice cut through the air, commanding and hard.
Hermione closed her mouth and stays quiet, while the Veela girl wanted nothing more than to strike her for the insult. But the tone in the noble man's voice was frightening. It carried a veiled threat. And if the blade he drew was anything to look at, it was not just for decoration.
"Why don't everyone just calm down, and then we can get some things straightened up here," Gin said.
Dumbledore rubbed his throat as Byakuya swiftly sheathed his weapon, and felt relieved he felt no broken skin or even a hint of blood. Since the danger had apparently passed, everyone else lowered their wands although Moody kept glaring at Byakuya.
"Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore questions the green-eyed wizard.
"No," he answered, looking directly into the man's eyes.
"Did you ask someone else to put it in for you?" He asks the next question.
Again, Harry responds with, "No."
"But of course 'e iz lying," said Madam Maxime.
"I suggest you think carefully when you open your mouth again before you insult not only my charge, Madam Maxine, but the honor of the House of Kuchiki," Byakuya warned the half-giant woman, who turns her glare on Byakuya. But our favorite Shinigami did not feel threatened by her glare. He merely increases the intensity of his glare until the woman backs down and looks away from his cold eyes.
"If there is anything about Harry, he is not a liar. Neither is his girlfriend Hermione. For that matter, we have only been here one day, and suddenly we get this garbage thrown at us. Byakuya had told me of what was going on. I'm sure you recall Albus when you wanted to speak with Byakuya in private?" Gin glances at everyone. "All Hogwarts Professors whom have had Harry and Hermione in their class today will be able to fully give honest alibis on his whereabouts, while I can tell you on their free period I continued my previous lessons on intermediate-class Japanese magic and runes. My students have never gone anywhere near your flaming wood cup, nor have they gone to any student in this school, or the other two schools, to put his name in the flaming cup."
Gin reaches into his coat he was wearing and takes out paper, not parchment.
"We do not use parchment. We use muggle paper. We do not use quills; we use muggle pencils and pens. Frankly the use of parchment for us is to be used only for ceremonies or important documents, not every day things. And finally... this is Harry's signature. Harry is left-handed. Albus, do you still have that little strip of parchment that we never used?"
Dumbledore reached into his robes and took out the strip of parchment. It was snatched from his hand and Gin peers closely on the paper, and then hands it to Byakuya.
"The signature is right-handed, and written in different sizes. Byakuya?"
"Gin is correct. This is not Harry's signature. Someone has forced my charge into a binding contract, and I intend to find out whom..."
"This is ridiculous! You could have planted the whole thing," said the greasy-haired man.
"Shut up Snivelious. What are you even doing here, anyway," Sirius questioned Snape.
"Enough!" Dumbledore raised his voice, silencing the two men before their bickering would continue.
"This is an outrage, Dumbledore! I refuse to see reason of this slight against our school! You have two champions for Hogwarts!" Karkaroff yelled.
"Sadly, Harry AND Hermione have not been sorted into Hogwarts, so technically they are NOT with Hogwarts. We are basically outsiders that have enrolled late into the school year," Gin informed Karkaroff calmly. The smile of his turned a bit sinister. "Of course... is there a problem to this? After all, I have read all the books about my best student. Harry James Potter, instantly famous because your country's loser Dark Lord couldn't even kill a defenseless one year old baby, and famous simply on the fact that he had survived the Killing Curse... How pathetic must this fucker be, really, to die by his own Killing Curse?"
There were gasps from our British, French, and Bulgarian magicals at how blasé Gin mocked Voldemort. Yes, Gin mocked the Dark Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard whom the majority of Wizarding Europe are too frightened to say his name (except Dumbledore).
"If anything, none of this wouldn't have happened if we had come early, arrived before school started, or have arrived very late likely after this choosing of the champions fiasco. If so, would we even be here talking about this?" Gin questions them all. "No. But if the Death Eater attack was anything to go by after the ending of the Quidditch World Cup a couple months back, it only means for some reason, SOMEONE in this school has connects to the Death Eaters and decide to manipulate this tournament. I know the asshole's followers are out there. What better way to hijack this tournament than by entering my student against his will to face tasks that would end his life? Avenge the Dark Lord for the slight Harry caused him by simply surviving the Killing Curse."
Byakuya glares at Dumbledore and everyone else. "And if we figure out who in this school has done this against my charge, I guarantee you that the perpetrator or perpetrators will face justice for the attack upon the Kuchiki Clan. After all, in case you forgot: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are adopted members of my clan. The Kuchiki take attacks on our family VERY seriously..."
Byakuya turns his attention to Bagman and Crouch.
"Just tell us what this First Task is so I and my charges can retire for the night."
Gin's smile turns upon the two men. They were freaked out by the smile. It was anything but warm.
Crouch's voice brought everyone to attention. "The first task is designed to test your daring, so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard or witch... very important... The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges."
"I assume that because of what has occurred, you will allow me to be part of this panel of judges, correct?" Byakuya requests, and the look he gave the adults said that it was not a polite way of asking; he was going to join the panel.
"Anyway," Crouch continued, "The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their school teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands and their skills. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Also, due to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests from their fellow schools."
Byakuya casts one last look upon the adults, before opening the door and stepping out. The Great Hall was still filled with the students, and the Goblet of Fire was now missing. Likely it had been put away and locked up.
Gin glances to Harry as the teens follow after him. "Harry, since this mess has unexpectedly been thrown onto our laps, you will do everything in your power to survive this attempted assassination on your life, understand?"
Harry knew what Gin was doing. "Sure thing, sensei."
"You know what a binding contract does and how it works, Harry, Hermione," he says, loud enough so that the silent students can hear this conversation. "If you back out, the contract will take the breech in check and then activate the penalty resulting in your loss of life. And quite frankly, these Death Eaters are pathetic trying to tamper with this tournament and trying to kill you in this manner."
"I know sensei. Wouldn't be the first time we've come across shit like this. I do recall Mallet Island and the crap that happened there."
Gin smiles. No, he doesn't know what happened at this Mallet Island. But the wizards don't know that. Twisting the story, as they make their exit... Makes people come up with what happened. Rumors... Conspiracies... It should be fun to see what crazy things the imagination can come up.
"Good. You will embarrass your world-be assassins by surviving their death trap."
They exit the Great Hall together. Dumbledore couldn't help but frown. What happened at this Mallet Island that Harry Potter mentioned? Have they encountered binding contracts before to know what would happen if one breeches it?
=0=0=0=
"So, we're all in agreement: since my arrival, whoever this mystery man is pretending to be Moody informed Voldemort I have appeared, and they decide to hijack the tournament to try and kill me in any of the tasks, or use it for some bigger unknown plot."
"Yes. It will be tough from here on out regarding our original mission in the destruction of these Horcruxes," said Byakuya.
Suddenly, Byakuya and Gin's Soul Pagers beeped, as did Harry and Hermione's version of the Soul Pager.
The Japanese take theirs out, as Hermione looks at the devices.
"I think Avalon should make our pages thinner. I feel jealous," said Harry.
Gin smiles.
"There's Hollows nearby," Byakuya reported.
"Hm... Hermione and I will take care of the hollows. You two can join if you wish," said Harry, exiting his Gigai along with Hermione. The AIs moved the bodies to their shared bedroom and closed the door.
"I believe I will join you in this hunt," Byakuya tells the green-eyed reaper, as he exits from his Gigai.
"I'll just stay here and... I guess read the papers I took from a kid today," said Gin.
The three reapers leave in bursts of Shunpo. Gin walks over to the coffee table and picks up the wizarding papers he had "borrowed" from a student in Slytherin and opens it up. He is amused by the strange articles the wizards can write.
=0=0=0=
Far from Hogwarts, is the location known as Stonehenge. It is this place where Byakuya, Harry, and Hermione finally arrive just in time to see Hollows exit from holes in the air. They were bipedal in nature and have monster-like features. One looked like Ganon in his monster pig form with spines, tusks, and a hole through its bloated stomach. One was thin and tall, but with enlarged arms, large feet, and a large bird-like bone mask on its elongated neck. And one resembled a humanoid shark that crossbred with a monkey.
"So, quick and easy or lengthen a fight, Hermione?"
"No playing around, Harry. Don't forget what Stonehenge represents to the world of magic," Hermione tells her captain, drawing her Soul Cutter.
Harry also draws his out. "Yeah I know."
The hollows finally noticed their presence. They waste no time firing Ceros at them as they jump at them. All three dodge and retaliate. The blades cut through their defenses before they spread to dodge Cero attacks. A bit away, Hermione cupped her hands as she reappeared, mimicking Ryu's stance before a Hadoken attack. "Way of Destruction #7: Vis Tormento!" And she finishes the Hadoken stance by throwing forward a sphere of electricity that flew like a fast cannon ball, complete with the bang-like sound.
The electrical ball of energy strikes the shark monkey hollow and it collapsed, twitching violently from the electricity tearing through its nerves. Hermione positioned her Soul Cutter in a reverse grip and rears back whilst crouching a bit. The hollow manages to regain movement and channels a Cero. When the build-up was finished, the Cero was fired. Suddenly her eyes snap open and she swung, calling out her attack.
"Speed Star Cutter!" The shape was star-like, spinning and it sliced through the Cero creating the explosion. The attack held steady and struck the hollow.
Byakuya was dancing around the pig hollow's bone-made weapon, easily blocking its claw-like trident with his zanpakutō with little effort. "The Winds that Glide Take Spread your Wings, Swiftness Great Take Heed of Storm! Small Spheres, Four Points, Spiral Shield, Great Force, Undercurrent Tears, Rip Asunder from North to West! Way of Destruction #40: Icircumflex Sauciatio!"
Harry's attack took the form of a powerful wave of spiritual energy that he unleashed from a powerful overhead slash of his Soul Cutter. Byakuya detected the attack and Shunpos away as the energy tore through the air like a radiant wave of greenish light, ripping apart the large pig-like hollow with its trident-like weapon made of bone. That was a powerful Kido spell, indeed, and Harry backed up to avoid a Cero from the lanky hollow that tried to take advantage. It kept flying forward, but Byakuya moved in and blocked the Cero with Dankū. The block was followed by the Byakurai spell which struck down the lanky hollow blowing one of its knees.
"Harry, let's try some of the Japanese Kido Gin taught us," Hermione yelled over to her captain, dashing through the physical attacks by her target.
"Better time as any," Harry replies, dashing off to the side to avoid the arms of the lanky hollow, striking with precise cuts. "Kunrinsha yo! Chiniku no kamen, banshō, habataki, hito no na o kansu mono yo!" The hollow tried to interfere but Harry moved quickly out of its Cero blast, while keeping concentration, "Shinri to sessei, tsumi shirame yume no kabe ni wazuka ni tsume o tate yo! Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
The blue blast of fiery energy was similar to Ignis Rubrum Fluito; of course Sōkatsui was more about force and energy while Ignis Rubrum Fluito was more on speed and expanding the damage in a spread radius. The monster's cries filled the air with its pain.
"Bastard!" the hollow roars, firing another Cero which Harry barely dodged in time. He moved in and his blade clashed with the monster's claws.
Meanwhile, Hermione smiled as her use of the Way of Binding #22 trapped the shark/monkey hollow after she had cut off its tail and left arm with another Speed Star Cutter. She holds her hand out and aims. "Kunrinsha yo! Chiniku no kamen, banshō, habataki, hito no na o kansu mono yo! Shōnetsu to sōran, umihedate sakamaki minami e to ho o susume yo! Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" The sphere of red energy shoots and strikes the hollow, cracking the mask. She finished it off with a powerful speed slash attack of her Soul Cutter.
On the other side of Stonehenge, Byakuya moved out of a cero which destroyed one of the stone blocks. Harry flew in, channeling energy into his next spell. "Way of Destruction #20: Smaragdus-Mico Pallidus Alae!" Lemon-shaped spheres of energy colored emerald surrounded Harry, before all seven energy blasts shoot off like gunshots when he thrusts his hand forward. The attack impacts the hollow as it defends itself with its armored arms. Byakuya emerged through the smoke when the hollow thought the attack ended, and got cleaved through the mask and half the body. It disintegrated.
"Well, all hollows are gone."
"Good. Should we return back to-"
The air turned freezing cold, and on some surfaces, actual frost was forming. Harry and Hermione froze a bit at the dark emotions bring drug out of their souls, and even Byakuya was tense and holding onto his zanpakutō tightly.
"What is this... dark feeling in the air?" Byakuya whispered.
"Dementors," Harry said, as if it was a damning word.
"Dementors... they are dark creatures, Byakuya," Hermione explained, gripping her blade tightly. "No one truly knows how they came into existence. They are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, and they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them."
From the clouding skies, flowing rags can be seen. These were Dementors. Often, it is said that Dementors are the true version of a zombie brought back to life if zombies can float and glide in the air. They wear robes that are torn, ripped, and decaying to the touch, their actual bodies a decaying rotted skeleton with molting flesh.
"Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling and every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself; soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."
"How come these things exist? Soul Society too has heard of these foul creatures but nothing we've done can truly destroy their numbers." Byakuya was glaring at these corpses that were trying to dig up his bad memories, trying to disorient him.
"No one knows. The Association's few goals are the destruction of these things. They perverse life itself with the way they act just like Hollows when they eat the souls of humans."
Byakuya agreed on that. Any creature that would enjoy feeding on the souls of humans or the souls of any living thing was a threat to the balance of life. More and more Dementors were appearing, a rather large horde. They finally stopped swarming the skies with their darkness, and were ready to attack judging by the way they were exhaling rattling moans that chill you to your bones.
"I think we should go into First Awakening to protect ourselves from these demons. Churn the Seas and Heavens, Hurricane Blossom!"
Hermione's Soul Cutter was expertly spun before the weapon changes form bathed under a bright white light. The form expands and extends, forming a golden three-bladed trident that forms the shape of a diamond. From the base of the weapon head, four sharpened hook prongs take shape and blossom out from a silver bracelet ring, each prong releasing sprays of water and generating gusts of sharp wind. The pole was a magnificent cerulean color with gold highlights running down the spear. The bottom of the trident has a small marble-sized red crystal with a black curved dagger with silver edge, and navy horsetail tassel around its end. The silver prongs on the weapon spins slowly like a drill generating the wind, and a ripping force of water surrounding her body.
"Graceful Wind Surge and Holy Phoenix Scream, Heavenly Light Shine and Great Beauty Strike, Blessed Green Princess!"
And Harry followed Hermione in First Awakening. The couple gathered their spiritual pressure and channeling it into a powerful aura to scare off the flying demons, generating actual wind before the buffeting forces extinguish with a flash. But in that flash, the two Grim Reapers charge forward, cutting through the horde of Dementors with brutal swiftness. The cuts of a scythe tear through the demons, water crushes the flying corpses and sharp wind cutters take off rotted body parts. Frankly, Harry and Hermione were not going to allow the demons any upper hand on them.
His zanpakutō is drawn once again, and he opens his eyes, also generating spiritual pressure. "Chire, Senbonzakura." Byakuya joins the fray, shredding through the soul-devouring demons with his thousands of sharp blossom petals.
In no time, the Dementors were torn apart because they were unable to block the spiritual attacks released by the reapers in their First Awakening/Shikai. All the devoured souls the Dementors have "kissed" over the years were released. The demons were a dangerous creature that shouldn't even exist in the human world, and yet the British wizards have (limited) control on these abominations.
It was one of Avalon's main life missions: the destruction of the Demi-Hollows known as Dementors. Byakuya seals his Zanpakutō and steps back, allowing Captain Potter and Lieutenant Granger to perform Soul Burials on the freed souls. Only a few handfuls of the souls found themselves taken into Hell because of weighted sins. The rest of the souls were innocents finally given an afterlife.
"Damn... those things are a god damn bother all the time," Harry mutters, as the last soul, a child no less, was sent off to heaven. He really hates Dementors. "We need to leave and fast. The wizards keep track of these creatures and will investigate as to how a number of them would leave their hellish Nazi-like prison Azkaban for no reason."
The three disappear. Just in time because trained Hit-Wizards appeared with a number of senior Aurors. All they are greeted to is light destruction of the ground around and inside the area that is Stonehenge.
Now here are some things to think of: It is said that Dementors can't be destroyed. There are some spells that can deter them away, and one actual spell to repel them with the use of high positive emotions.
Of course, Shinigami, Death Gods, Grim Reapers, whatever you call the warriors of the afterlife, can destroy a Dementor when you can overcome their blackening auras threatening to crush your spiritual energy.
But no matter what, Dementors seem to breed and slowly replenish their numbers...
=0=0=0=
Gin looks up from reading the wizarding papers, smiling that foxy smile of his.
"Well, you've returned. How was it?"
"We got attacked by Dementors, Gin," Harry tells the silver-haired man.
Gin's smile went away.
"Oh dear... that must be an unpleasant experience, Captain Potter."
"The hollow was purified, but they arrived in ice-forming flocks. We destroyed them all and freed all the souls those demons have devoured over the years. Only a few got invited into hell for heavy sins."
"Well, another day's work done. No one was hurt, right?"
He attempts to smile, as the three enter their Gigai again. Byakuya immediately retreats to his personal quarters for something.
"So, what have you been doing, Gin?" Hermione questions the silver-haired man.
"Just reading the wizard papers. I found an article on you Harry... this Rita Skeeter person really is vicious with that pen of hers."
"Quill. They use quills here." Gin's smile doesn't go away. "Doesn't matter, Gin. From what I have heard those papers is just the public mouth of the corrupt Ministry of Magic. They practically control what the Daily Prophet writes and don't write. Just a shitty gossip rag for their prejudicial views..."
Harry silently asks for the papers, and Gin hands them over to the teen. Harry briefly looks through, before he finds the article from this Rita Skeeter person.
The Boy-Who-Lived Returns!
By Rita Skeeter
Missing for eight years, the Boy-Who-Lived finally returned at the pinnacle moment Hogwarts is visited by our international guests from Bulgaria and France. He did not arrive alone. Rumors say Mr. Potter has been picked up by a noble Japanese clan along with a muggleborn witch, and all this time have been living in Japan, miles away from Europe's shores.
Some say this Kuchiki Clan has simply kidnapped Mr. Potter, others theorize that accidental magic had an act in this. No one is sure. All that we know readers is that legally (under Japanese muggle and wizarding law) Harry Potter and the muggleborn witch, a Miss Hermione Granger, are under protection of the Kuchiki Clan, with a Mister Byakuya Kuchiki as their parental guardian. When I questioned our Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore, he simply stated Mister Byakuya Kuchiki is legally Harry Potter's guardian in both worlds.
What I wish to know is how has Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, been living this entire time? Who is he really? Is he anything like the famous Harry Potter stories of his adventures across the world? I hope to one day get an exclusive interview with Mister Potter and his companions and discover the truth!
"I don't know who this Skeeter person is, but this bitch just reported that people believe your clan kidnapped me."
Byakuya, who had returned with what he was looking for, grabbed the papers. His glare increased..
"Well, we knew we'd get attention but damn... sometimes I wish I was a normal person." Harry grunted as he sat down.
"You're not normal, captain... you're a powerful Grim Reaper that can kick arse," Hermione stated.
Byakuya tosses the papers on the table. "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do really about this. So long as our cover isn't blown... We'll just let them think whatever they want. Although... I will have to keep up these charades in their view."
"Right... You have the Memory Configuration Device, Hermione?"
"Yup, safely stored away," she reported.
"We have a similar device of our own," said Gin.
"Good. So, Byakuya, about that energy signature on Riddle...?"
Hermione gave the thumbs up, as the runes were settled in, preventing anybody outside from spying in.
"This is the signature that we have analyzed those years ago when the spike was registered," Byakuya informs the group as he takes out a soul computer, and opens it up. The monitor displays various windows and Japanese script. One window is enlarged, revealing the energy signature. It gave a detailed highlight of what and how Tom Riddle's spirit energy was like.
"Hm... this looks like the faint echo."
"Echo?"
"Yeah, Gin. I noticed two of the men inside that side chamber place, emanated from the arms. The Karkaroff guy, and the man with the greasy hair, Snape," Harry said.
He secretly analyzed the energy he felt off the men using a small device that was a hidden feature of his watch that he was wearing. He takes out something from the watch on his wrist and inserts a chip into a slot he found on the computer. New data pops up and displayed the spirit signature of the two men. There, below the main lines, was a faint one. Typing away on the keyboard, yet another window popped up and that faint signature has key points which match perfectly.
"See? Four of these points match these points on Riddle's actual signature. Is it possible he's imparting a bit of his spirit energy into his followers?"
Hermione looks up to the others. "Wait... I recall that the Death Eaters show their loyalty to Voldemort by taking something called the Dark Mark. Wizards and witches who support the Dark Lord and his views of blood purity are branded with them. No one knows what a Death Eater does to be accepted into the ranks... and as far as I know through research, no one has ever done any research or investigations into Riddle's Dark Marks."
"If anything, I imagine getting a Dark Mark means you have to do something that would likely stain your soul with enough sin to go to hell when you die," Gin theorized.
Byakuya crosses his arms over his chest. "You may be right on that theory. Something tells me that these Dark Marks are likely a representation of sin..."
Hermione closed her eyes, leaning back into the seat. "Alright, so about Riddle's signature; how do we work with this, Byakuya?"
"Right now, I need your soul pagers and install a small program the Research Institute in our Jūnibantai has created," Byakuya makes the request. The bulky cellphones were handed over and after awhile, cords were disconnected from the devices and handed back. "Much like how the scanners detect Hollows within the vicinity, it will also pick up on all other spectrum waves and infrareds. From what I remember, basically his signature will register much like sonar, a ping. We just narrow our search, and pinpoint the signature's direct location."
Harry checked through the "hidden options" on the pager, and blinks as it makes a ping.
"Hey, I got one!"
The others look up as Harry presses the pound button on the phone, and a small slot on the back of the device slides open revealing a small black crystal sphere. A 3D display appears on a holographic projection. The scanner makes another sweep, picturing half of the castle and converting it all into memory. A scrawl of text runs on an opening bar reporting that the scan was insufficient due to unknown dimensional projections detected. In other words, Hogwarts as a magical castle has corridors and passageways that seem to expand past normal boundary of the universe's laws of physics.
"Huh... the scan is a bit jumbled. Likely because this castle has so many twists and turns that seem to bypass through or overlap other passages. But that signature IS within the vicinity of this castle."
"Well, I have explored the castle while you were in classes, kids," Gin informed Harry and Hermione, "I've found a couple of secret passages here and there. I also can feel this strange feeling in the air."
"Well, there are rumors that when this castle was created, the magic that has been absorbed within the walls and in the very ground surrounding the building, it has a form of sentience. Not to mention the history is very rich when it comes to this facility, the many wizards and witches that have gone through this school, and the four founders that originally created the place."
"Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowlena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin," Harry lists the names, "All were great magic users in their time, and all four had their own ideals and beliefs. And then they had died, they became Grim Reapers. Like in the Living World, they served well until Slytherin left Avalon and became a traitor to the Association. Like in his time alive, Slytherin had views that were vastly different from his other three companions of Hogwarts."
"Oh? What happened?" asks Gin.
"Well, the current history about Slytherin was that he did not wish for magic to be used by muggleborns in the Middle Ages during his time alive. The other three founders tried to make the man see reason overtime, creating a rift between them all. But soon after he got tired, and begun some sort of propaganda that exists today in British magical society; the views about purebloods being better than all other magicals, which as time went on only got twisted by the next generation of pureblood families. He was also the creator of his personal chambers somewhere underneath the castle.
"When all four died, they all became Grim Reapers. However that rift between them was still there. Somewhere along the way, Slytherin had abandoned the Association. This reason was that the Grim Reapers should only be filled with members of high quality families of the dead. Nobles... his version of nobles... He nearly led a war in Avalon that almost fractured the Association."
Hermione picks up the tale.
"The war almost broke out, but Merlin managed to quell those who were brainwashed by Slytherin, and punishing the very few who still took arms against the Association of that time. When Gryffindor encountered him, they fought and destroyed their battlefield, creating Spirit's Chasm. The chasm created a channel filled with mist, and the waters from within Avalon would feed out into the heaven's waters that surround our heaven. The fog, the mist, is thick with spiritual energy and no matter what the weather, it never fades.
"Some say it's the souls of the two men having left an imprint of their fearsome god-like battle, something beyond that of a Second Awakening, or Bankai to you Gin and Byakuya. But everyone who likes history takes that battle into lesson: prejudice destroys views. It only strives out chaos and sows destruction. Slytherin wasn't really that bad a guy. However, the way he thought, the views he believed, how he executed his beliefs, would have harmed more than done any good if he had succeeded."
Harry glances to the two Japanese men. "His pureblood views exist through the current generations of today, but in heaven, it's a lingering memory. There are still some purebloods who are Grim Reapers that still hang onto their views from when they died. All of us just continue to live on and do what we do: protect the World of the Living from Hollows, and help the departed souls off to heaven if clean, or hell if dirty."
"Interesting tale," comments Byakuya.
"And of course, history repeats itself. It is proven time and again. And Tom Riddle has firm beliefs in the way Slytherin thought on how to run the world of magic. Only his views are more destructive. Another way to end him before it's too late."
Gin interlaced his fingers as he leans forward.
"So, what are we going to do about the ping we had detected earlier?"
"I'll go and search for it," said Byakuya, standing up. "Harry, you need your rest because tomorrow, I imagine you will be faced with a lot of opposition from your peers."
Harry sighs. "Yeah."
Byakuya slips out of their room, and Gin closes the computer and stores it away. Hermione disables the runes before the couple head off to bed. Gin when he was absolutely sure he was alone, takes out his soul pager and dials in. After a few rings...
"Gin. How are you?"
"Oh, I am fine, Aizen. Captain Potter and Lieutenant Granger are interesting reapers. It's very interesting here in Europe."
"Good. Do continue gathering information about that magic force that exists in the World of the Living. It could have some... advantages..."
"Of course, Aizen."
And he snaps his soul pager shut.
Well... that could have gone much better. But now Dumbledore and everyone else know that Harry Potter really is not what everyone expected him to be, and will soon learn how different he really is regarding magical prowess.
I almost forgot about the European version of Kido and translations so, here they are.
Way of Destruction #7: Vis Tormento (Zap Cannon)
Way of Destruction #20: Smaragdus-Mico Pallidus Alae (Emerald Flash Pale Wing)
Way of Destruction #36: Ignis Rubrum Fluito (Red Fire Drift)
Way of Destruction #40: Icircumflex Sauciatio (Slash Wounding) – Incantation: The Winds that Glide Take Spread your Wings, Swiftness Great Take Heed of Storm! Small Spheres, Four Points, Spiral Shield, Great Force, Undercurrent Tears, Rip Asunder the Strings of Spirit!
Way of Binding #22: Exagoni-Virgam Levibusque Carcer (Hexagon Rod Light Shaft Prison) – Incantation: Respecting Hands Cleanse the Water, Graceful Beauty Dance the Twilight, Chains Bind the Chaos Burn, Let Forth the Rage, and Bottle the Paths!
OMAKE TIME!
It's 2001, and Hermione was in the World of the Living. Ever since Voldemort was killed early, his Death Eaters could not terrorize the Wizarding World and the Muggle World. When all Death Eaters felt their Dark Marks vanish, everyone knew that somehow, the Dark Lord was defeated and this time permanently. And he was burning in hell, his soul dragged down by chains and buried in the very under depths of the depths of hell, reserved for only the greatest of sinners. Right now, Hermione is in her gigai, and she wasn't alone.
"Big sis, are you sure about this?"
"Yes, Miranda," Hermione told her little sister.
Of course, she can't really be called little sister since Miranda is sixteen years old. She was not only a muggleborn witch attending Hogwarts, but she is also a Substitute Grim Reaper.
"Urahara is someone from Japan who can help us involving the hollow power that you apparently have."
"But aren't hollows generally a bad thing... I mean... what if I lose control again?"
She was scared. When she first became a Grim Reaper, she was borrowing all of her sister's boyfriend's power and even his Soul Cutter for a time. But then overtime a friend of her sister had helped her discover her inner powers, her true powers, that's when her Hollow side had exploded and nearly destroyed her had Hermione's friend not stop the corruption. But in the process, she unlocked her real power.
And now, since Harry was taken back to Avalon because he had illegally given his powers to a human, he was to face a criminal trial for his actions while Hermione was under investigation. Only a few friends she had was helping her from being discovered seeing her sister who has Grim Reaper powers. Someone within the Association was trying to usurp Avalon and destroy it from within. And she and Harry are in the thick of this mess.
"We're here."
It was an old building, one that most muggles would see the Leaky Cauldron as. Hermione led Miranda inside, where inside was a clean work area. Behind a desk was a man with a bucket-striped hat.
"Hello Kisuke, thanks for coming out here to England."
"Hello, Hermione. I was surprised when you sent me that message, but now I see why... so, this is your sister Miranda?"
"Yeah. Miranda, this is Kisuke Urahara. Technically, he is a wanted criminal in Soul Society for things beyond his control. Harry and I learned about what really happened and we have a partnership with him, and his associates."
"Hi," she waves shyly.
"And she's the one with hollow powers, huh? I must say the way you described it, I was interested."
"Her Chain of Fate was gone and she was hollowfying and we tried to stop it. She successfully hollowfied but then after a few minutes of a rampage, her hollow powers completely shattered away and she was yielding her own true inner powers and Soul Cutter."
Urahara nods. "I see... Well, I can help you with training. To make sure her hollow powers do not come forth and take control of her completely. In fact, it can be used as a sort of trump card while we deal with unlocking more of her inner powers and limits as time goes by."
"What do you mean, Mister Urahara?"
"Oh please, call me Kisuke. You see Miranda, I have some friends who are just like you, whom all have Soul Reaper powers, but also hollowfied and retained those hollow-like powers. You are what is known as a Visored, a Grim Reaper with Hollow powers. Now, I warn you, the training will be rough. If you even once believe yourself weak or lose your focus, you could very well die..."
He gave her a serious look.
"But, if successful, with your Grim Reaper powers, the power of your Hollow powers by summoning it in mask form can increase your power. So, are you ready?"
"Yes. Big sis said she will help me no matter what. I have to do this. Big sis's boyfriend is in danger of whoever this evil creep is that's trying to destroy Avalon. I want to help her and her friends!"
Urahara smiles fondly. "Very well then!"
Hermione smiled. "Thank you, Kisuke." Then her smile turns a bit more "friendly". "Now, about the other business..."
Urahara grins and he tosses a package he takes out from a box next to him. Hermione rips the packaging quick and she was giggling.
"Finally! I got a much better Soul Pager! Thanks Kisuke!" she fangirls.
Miranda blinked. "Wha...?"
Urahara just smiles and pops his favorite fan open. Miranda stares at her sister who was playing with all the options on the slimmer and more advanced Soul Pager. Hermione blinked, before reaching into her pockets for something... "Here sis, you can have this." And Miranda hesitantly accepts the old Soul Pager her sister once used in the 90s, the fat bulky Motorola Modar Pulsar DynaTAC.
"Uh... thanks?"
"Okay! Miranda, time for your training," said Urahara, snapping his fan shut, obviously ignoring what was unfolding before him. The black cat on the table with the yellow eyes swats its tail twice.
