I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.R. Rowling
Growing up Harry had always relied on the local ghosts around Little Whinging to ease his loneliness. But despite having the spirits of children to play with, he always wished he could have parents. He'd heard the ghost children's' stories of time with their parents, seen smiling parents picking up their kids from school, and he's seen his aunt and uncle treat Dudley like a prince. So it comes to no surprise that when he was alone at night, locked away in his cupboard he'd dream of having parents of his own. And for the first time he could remember he hugged his mom, the day only got better when she led him to her living quarters where he got to meet up with his dad, truly for Harry this was the best day ever.
"So if Dad's not a Soul Reaper why is he in the barracks?" Harry asked hesitantly, as they sat down for a family dinner
"Well Jūshirō is apparently really big on family" James answered, smiling at his son showing he took no offense.
"So basically your father's free loading off me" Lily teased, carrying in their meal of mashed potatoes and steak, with treacle tart for dessert.
"Hey I take offense to that Evans" James argued in mock anger "I do plenty helping with squad coordination."
"Oh of course Potter, how could I forget" Lily laughed. "Your dad has experience leading units, from his time in the war against Voldemort" she explained noticing the confused look on her son's face.
"Yep so with your mom being a Soul Reaper, I help Rukia organize the squad members since she's only ever been on the front lines" James finished, smirking at his wife who simply rolls her eyes."
"Yes dear you're very important." As his parents laughed and teased each other, Harry looked on with a smile on his face; with his imaginary parents they were always happy in a two dimensional sense everything was just too perfect, now as he watched his parents interact he could help but laugh as their teasing and pretend bickering just made it more real. The sound of their son's laughter drew Lily and James out of their verbal sparring match, each giving the other a questioning look as they failed to see what was so funny, but as they say laughter is infectious and the quarters are soon filled with the sound of the family's laughter.
"So Mom" a much calmer Harry addresses his mother "how did you become a Substitute Soul Reaper?"
"I was wondering when you'd ask" Lily mused. "It all started the summer before my sixth year, your aunt and I by that point had a very strained relationship, looking back it probably didn't help that I had difficult fifth year." At this point Harry noticed his Dad had adopted a somber look on his face, Harry was starting to worry that perhaps he shouldn't have asked, but his mother just gave a sad smile before carrying on. "I was still emotionally drained from school so after receiving the usual scorn from Petunia…."
Flashback start
"Get out you stupid freak bitch!" Petunia yelled, as Lily once again failed to repair their relationship. The previous year at Hogwarts had taken its toll on the poor girl, the loss of her best friend and the constant scorn from her sister didn't leave her in a very good emotional state.
"Fine, I don't want to talk to you anyway!" Lily screamed, slamming the front door shut as she ran into town hoping talking to the local spirits would help calm her down. She eventually made her way to the river bank where she met up with a good friend of hers, the ghost of Henry the fisherman.
"I don't see why you should even bother, all she does is hurt you" said Henry.
"I know but she's my sister" Lily sighed, this wasn't the first time they've had this conversation and odds are it wouldn't be the last anytime soon. "It's just I already lost my best living friend, I just wish I could at least have my big sister back."
"Well if they're just going to hurt you then forget them. I never liked either of them anyway."
"Do you like anyone besides me?" the young witch teased.
"Well I did see this fine woman in a clothing store the other day…" Henry replied, a lecherous grin on his face; a grin that Lily was quick to slap off his face "Oww."
"Serves you right" she smirked, as Henry rubbed his sore cheek. "It's getting late, I'll see you later Henry." Lily sighed as she prepared to return home to an angry Petunia.
As the dejected redhead walked away, she didn't notice the dark look on Henry's face. Lily, I won't let you suffer anymore, I'll make you happy Lily….I'll make you happy….I'll make you happy!"
That night after another tense family dinner, Lily laid awake in bed her mind filled with thoughts of destruction of her two closest relationships. While she had to agree with Henry about Severus, she still wanted her sister back, she was tired of all the fighting. Petunia's scream broke the night, as one Lily and her parents raced into her room, to find Petunia crying in fear her chain of fate still connecting her to her empty body, as a Hollow loomed over her.
"Petunia, Petunia, wake up!" their parents cried, shacking their daughter's soulless body.
"Mom, Dad get out of there!" Lily cried, seeing that her parents couldn't see the monster, she drew her wand and fired her strongest stunning spell to no avail, as the Hollow brushed it off as a minor irritant. With a mighty roar the monster turned its sights onto the panicking humans that dared to interrupt its meal, before anyone knew what hit them Lilly and her parents were knocked against the wall, their souls removed from their bodies.
"Lily…Lily…Lily…Lily!" the Hollow roared, grabbing the confused witch "Soon, I'll devour her, Petunia then Snape, and anyone who dares make you cry!"
"What… are… you…" Lily gasped in the monster's grasp "Who… are… you?"
"Lily, how could you not recognize me" the Hollow cried sorrowfully. "Me your closest friend, the only one not to hurt you!" the Hollow tightened its hold on Lily, squeezing the life out of her.
"H…He…Henry" she gasped in horror of the harsh realization.
"Yes Lily, and I tried to make you happy" Henry growled. "I see now you're too good for them, so you'll only be happy when you're dead!"
It's not uncommon for a person's senses to enhance in near death experiences, and spirit energy is no different; sensing that it was in danger Lily's soul released the power sleeping within her and awakened her Soul Reaper powers. In a panic Lily stabbed her sword into the Hollow's head, as the mask cracked open for brief moment she could see Henry's look of disbelief, before finally closing his eyes as if at peace as he faded away.
Flashback End
"After the battle the reaper stationed there arrived, your aunt and grandparents' chains of fate weren't broken so he was able to return us all to our bodies. Afterwards he rewrote their memories and later brought me before the captains. It wasn't until after I saved your father and his friends from a Hollow in our seventh year that he found out and I elected to let them keep their memories since we were already dating. I retired from the position when I was pregnant with you for obvious reasons."
"And let me tell you something son, pregnancy plus witch with Soul Reaper powers equal scary" James interrupted, adding shivering in terror of the memory for a finishing touch, getting the desired laugh from Harry.
"I was not that bad" Lily denied.
"Not that bad" James said incredulously. "If you weren't hexing me for something, you were crushing me under your spiritual pressure."
"Well I'm sure you deserved it somehow" said Lily dismissively. "Anyway tell us about what you've been up to sweetheart."
Not wanting to focus on his less than happy experiences with the Dursleys, Harry shared stories of his two years at Hogwarts, though his mom looked like she planned on bringing up Voldemort's roaming spirt to the captains, his parents decided to focus on good instead of letting the old snake ruin their good night.
"Yes my son's a prodigy!" James cheered doing a happy dance around the living room.
"James calm down" Lily scolded, but the smile on her face ruined the effect.
"But Lils didn't you hear, youngest seeker in a century and he's my son!" Harry simply blushed at the praise, he'd never really been one to accept a lot of praise before, but something about hearing it from his dad made him feel warm inside.
"Letting a first year play, what were they thinking?" Lily muttered to herself "I suppose I can't really ask you to give up something you love" the look on her son's face said it all. "You are too much like your father."
"There's never too much of me!"
"And that attitude is why I kept rejecting you." Ignoring his wife's barb James decided to ask Harry about his old friends only to be disappointed to find out he had never met them.
"But after chasing off Voldemort I gave you to your godfather" Lily whispered, her voice slowly growing harsher "he was supposed to look after you. He promised me he'd look after you!" and just like that the Potter men were subjected to the fearsome sight of a pissed off mother.
Dad wasn't kidding Mom is scary when she's mad Harry thought to himself as he and his father struggled under the weight of Lily's spiritual pressure, it only got worse once she remembered a very important detail.
"Harry if Sirius didn't raise you and you've never met Remus, who raised you?" under the piercing look of his mother Harry found that he couldn't even attempt to lie and confessed to living with the Dursleys. By the time Harry was done talking she was seriously considering introducing the Dursley's to her zanpakutō. Not wanting to ruin their first night together, the family spent the rest of the night just laughing and talking about more pleasant subjects.
The following morning Harry woke to find his parents eating a traditional English breakfast.
So it wasn't a dream He thought to himself, with a small smile on his face he took a seat by his dad who was currently reading the local paper, poking at the still pictures as if trying to will the images to move.
"Morning Son" James greeted, still poking at a picture in the paper.
"Morning Dad" Harry returned the greeting. "What are you doing?"
"Just a habit I've developed since coming here."
"Your father apparently thinks The Seireitei Communication should develop moving pictures for their articles." Lily explained.
"What they already have TV, psychic butterflies, their own type of magic, and can fly why not add moving pictures to the paper." James argued, but Harry was only interested in one thing he said.
"Soul Reapers can fly?" he asked excited at the prospect of flying without a broom.
"You Potter boys and flying" the redhead laughed "yes Harry Soul Reapers can fly." With Captain Ukitake giving them the rest of the week off to spend with Harry, the Potter family spent the first few days showing Harry around the Seireitei, visiting a few restaurants, and introducing him to a few Soul Reapers the most energetic being the young lieutenant of Squad 11.
"Hi I'm Yachiru Kusajishi" said the young girl, introducing herself to Harry, who after meeting Rukia was finding it somewhat difficult to believe such a small child could be the same rank. Yachiru was a small pink haired young girl dressed in the standard Soul Reaper robes (Shihakushō) with a lieutenant's badge on her arm indicating her rank.
"Hi I'm Harry" the young substitute returned the greeting, unsure of what to think of the young lieutenant.
"Hello Yachiru" Lily greeted, rescuing her son from an awkward situation.
"Hi Bambi (James), Li-Li (Lily) I was checking to see if the new substitute is as fun as Icchi" said Yachiru in her usual energetic manor. "But Shaggy doesn't look like he's strong enough to play with Kenny yet."
"Um sorry, I'll try to get strong enough to play with Kenny soon" Harry told the young pinkett, not noticing the horrified look on his parents' faces.
"Alright I can't wait for when you and Kenny get to have fun" Yachiru cheered, before disappearing in a burst of speed. With the lieutenant gone Harry looked to his parents with confused at the fearful looks on their faces.
"Harry James Potter, you are not going to fight Captain Zaraki!" Lily yelled, as her husband frantically nodded in agreement.
"What? I thought she was talking about a kid, not a captain."
"No Yachiru has this habit of giving nicknames, Kenny is Captain Kenpachi Zaraki of Squad 11. One of the most powerful Soul Reapers around" his mother explained. "Do not under any circumstances try to fight him!"
"Yes Mom" the substitute squeaked, faced with the piercing stare of his mother.
"Good" Lily smiled, shocking her son with how quickly her demeanor could change. "Now let's go to the training fields, if you're going to be a Substitute Soul Reaper then I'm going to teach you all I can to keep you safe."
"Mom's really scary sometimes Dad" Harry whispered, as they followed behind the redhead.
"You have no idea" James whispered back. "Just be careful when you ask questions she'll go on for hours."
"What're you two whispering about?" Lily asked.
"Nothing Mom/Dear" Harry and James quickly answered, afraid to face the woman's wrath.
"So why did Yachiru call you Bambi, Dad?"
"Oh that's because I'm an animagus" James smirked. "I turn into a stag."
"Wait but I thought souls couldn't use magic" Harry said confusion clear in his voice. This turned out to be the wrong thing to say, as it triggered his mother's need to lecture about the complex relationship between human magic users and spiritual powers, leaving Harry to wonder if she would've become a teacher if not for Voldemort.
"Lils, how about simplifying that a little?" James asked, noticing the confusion on his son's face.
"Right sorry Harry. What I mean is while animagus ability can be considered magic, it doesn't truly require magical power. It has more to do with the witch or wizard's ability to access their spirit energy, something that the channeling of magical energy makes very difficult thus the low number of animagus" an embarrassed Lily clarified.
"So you don't need to be a very powerful wizard, you just need to be able to reach your inner spirit. Does that mean you can teach me Dad?"
"You got it Harry" James agreed happily, hearing his son wanted to learn from him made his day. Reaching the training grounds Lily turned to face her boys, more specifically her son.
"Harry, before we begin can I have your combat pass? I want someone from Squad 12 to look at it for me." Seeing no reason to refuse Harry surrendered the pass and his mother flash stepped away. With Lily preoccupied James thought it'd be a good use of time to start their animagus training.
"Alright Harry I only know the wizarding approach to this so bear with me" said James. "Now normally a potion is used to help a wizard reach their spirit energy, but you're in Soul Reaper form right now so that shouldn't be necessary. From what I've heard it isn't too different from a reaper entering their inner world."
"Inner world?" Harry asked, not recognizing the term.
"A Soul Reaper could explain it better but you know your zanpakutō is alive right?" getting a nod of confirmation, James continued his explanation "the spirit of your zanpakutō lives in a world contained inside your soul. The difference between reaching your zanpakutō and the animagus transformation is, for the animagus ability you have to look inside the very core of that world. Everything that makes you, you."
Following his father's instructions Harry took a seat and began meditating; he thought about his friends Ron and Hermione, his last two years at Hogwarts, how lonely he felt at the Dursleys, how he felt to find Nakatsukasa, how happy he felt to find his parents. As he focused more and more on these thoughts and feelings, he could see something in the distance. Finally he couldn't hold his focus anymore and woke to his Dad's smiling face.
"Did you see anything?"
"Sort of I couldn't really tell what it was." Harry answered. "It just kept running away from me."
"Don't worry about it" James assured his son. "I had the benefit of a potion helping me, and you still did better than my first try."
"You two didn't waste any time" said Lily, flash stepping behind them. "If you're feeling up to it Harry, I think it's time for me to teach you something." And so for the rest of the week Harry spent his time between learning how to become an animagus with his Dad and learning a few Soul Reaper techniques from his Mom. By the end of the week while he hadn't made any progress in becoming an animagus, he did learn flash step, improved his swordsmanship, and learned some Kidō. With a heavy heart Harry stood with his parents waiting for the Senkaimon to open, when Captain Ukitake and Rukia flash stepped in front of them.
"I'm glad I caught you" said Ukitake "Sorry it took so long to return your combat pass."
"Thank you, Captain Ukitake" said Harry, accepting the pass. "Why did Mom take it anyway?"
"Oh your mother thought it a good idea to add a few features."
"Features?"
"If I remember that pig Vernon right, I doubt he's been treating you well" said Lily, her voice laced with disdain for her brother-in-law. "So I had the full capabilities of the badge reactivated; the standard abilities of Hollow detection, and soul separation, I also had a memory replacement device installed to help with the Dursleys and when you're in magical areas. Magical creatures are naturally spiritually aware so don't worry about them, but wizards and witches might panic if the public became aware of Hollows and Soul Reapers again."
Well that at least explains how Dobby knew what I was, Harry thought to himself and while he was curious about the history between wizards and the Soul Reapers, he decided it could wait. Along with the combat pass Captain Ukitake also gifted Harry a Soul Candy in case he was somewhere he couldn't keep his body safe.
"Harry as much as I love seeing you, you have to remember to live your life in the World of the Living" Lily reminded her son, not wanting him to spend so much time with them he forgot to live his full life on earth. "Do your best in school."
"And give Snivellus hell for me" James added. With nothing more to be said the Potters shared on more hug before Harry made his trip through the Senkaimon.
"So what do you think happened to Sirius?" James asked his wife, as they made their way back home.
"I don't know but if I find out he abandoned Harry, I'll personally give him to Captain Kurotsuchi as a research material. I hear he's always wanted to dissect a wizard." Lily replied vindictively.
Couldn't think of a title for this chapter, oh well.
Thanks for reading. Leave a comment/review they are appreciated.