Chapter 10: Busy, Oh So Busy

Ron liked to believe that he was a sensible teenaged wizard. Sure, his best friend was Harry Potter, and they were nearly killed every of his stay at Hogwarts just because of that one reason, but other than that, pretty sensible. Therefore, the youngest male Weasley could help but question just a bit why it was necessary for him to bloody carry these sacks of grain — Where the bloody hell did Hitsugaya manage to get those anyway? — on his back on his god-forsaken broom — that he swore that was ready to split in half because of the weight — and avoid his twin brothers going after him?

How the white-haired transfer had been able to string his brothers, the twins at that, to chase after him was beyond the younger red-head as the shortest captain had merely shown a wooden chest with an enlarged 'W' on it to the two and the troublesome two became scarily cooperative.

"Weasley, your objective is to avoid being 'captured' by your older siblings." Hitsugaya explained to Ron, as he revealed small case that contained small red beads. "These are red paint balls, that the twins can summon one at a time and aim for you. If you are hit more than ten times, the same rules apply as they did yesterday and the previous day."

"And you two," The transfer turned to the now grinning brothers, eyes glimmering with promised mischief. "If you manage to 'capture' your brother in the first trial, I will withhold in informing the concerned parties of your circumstances, as long as you abide by my rules."

Ron saw the same look that he saw in his brother's eyes when they first laid them on Zonko's Joke Shop in a simultaneous action.

"This is not as bad as we 'nitially thought, 'uh, Georgie?"

God help us all. Ron thought as he quickly revised that, his blue orbs registering that his half an hour had started and his brothers were in the Forbidden Forest, awaiting for his timely arrival. God, help me.

"Matsumoto, I am not going to Hogsmeade to buy you the latest trend in the West." Toshiro deadpanned in his tan bluetooth, a hint of a growl in it as he eyed the near empty case of paintballs. "The first week has barely come to a close, and it would idiotic for me to go to Hogsmeade already."

"But, Captain~!" The lieutenant drawled the last syllable as the ice captain resisted his urge to scold her, even though he knew he would probably be doing that anyway.

"Focus, Matsumoto." He ordered her sternly in night air, still clad in his school robes, having not bothered to don Quidditch garb for this training session. "How has the clean up for the misunderstanding going?"

"Sir." The strawberry blonde saluted before giving her report, her voice clear and to the point. "The repairs began this morning, and the subordinates that were responsible for the small conflict were punished as you have ordered, taicho. They shall be released from the Detention Center in several week's time."

"And Zaraki's subordinates?"

"Er… They were encouraged… for their 'impulsive' and 'reckless' fighting?" The beauty tried, as she could hear the implied sigh in her captain's silence.

"You know what to do, Matsumoto." Toshiro sighed as she chirped an affirmative, as he ended the call with a click; resisting an urge to ran a hand through his hair in aggravation.

She should ease their punishment a bit by visiting them and making sure they are not mistreated. Toshiro sighed as he sensed the three Weasley brothers near from the woods, finished with the exercise for now if the empty case of paintballs was any indication. But in the other hand, it seems Weasley was unable to get away from his brothers' wrath.

The ice dragons nodded, following the sight of the paint-covered Ron and a laughing pair of twins in front of him. "Weasley, as in the one covered in paint, you shall change your clothing and come back to continue. You have ten minutes."

Ron knew better than to feign ignorance at the transfer's words as he bit back a frustrated sigh and heeded the orders, leaving his twin brothers who grinned at the captain, who looked at them with an even glare. Cutting them off before they could remark about his insistence to say their last name and not their given ones, the captain rolled his eyes at the mock-hurt looks he was given.

"You two are predictable."

"Georgie and I take offense to that!" Fred cried, his tone oozing with sarcasm. "You're just too smart and observant, 'Gaya."

"That's right!" George added, wiping a fake tear once Ron was out of ear shot. "Do you know how hard we have to work to get our joke shop ready? And then, you pull out hardworking bums into this?!"

"You two were stealing things from Filch's office when I asked you." Toshiro deadpanned, unamused as the look that twins shot him in retaliation to say, 'Exactly!'

Ron arrived then, having done as he was told, ready to mount his brooms once more as the twins did the same when to the three red-heads' surprise, the transfer did so on his broom, yew wand gripped in lithe fingers as he spoke. "In this round, your older brothers will be excused. I will be the one chasing after you."

Pallor colored the youngest Weasley as the twins let out a large whoop, finally free to finish their preparations for their shop; shooting the captain a flirty wink before they went, receiving a glare for their trouble as he turned back to Ron. Judging from the barely veiled panic on the living boy's face, he was not expecting the captain to partake in his training, only watch closely as he had been for the past two days. And being the captain, he was right on the money.

Shit. Bloody hell flippin' shit. Ron cursed mentally as he felt a small shiver run through his spine. Hitsugaya sent a bloody Dementor after Harry to learn a spell, what the hell was Hitsugaya going to do to him now that he was asking for help in Quidditch? I knew it. I bloody knew it. It was too good to be true when Hitsugaya was training him. Harsh but not as much as sending a bloody Dementor after him and now here was his.

"Weasley."

The sharp tone of which his name was called made the young wizard to turn to his apparent cohort who regarded him with an even glare.

"I am not going to use the same exercise with you as you have with your brothers. Instead, you are going to chase me."

"…What?" Ron asked dumbly.

"You will pursue me through the Forbidden Forest, use whatever you want to catch me as per Quidditch requirements. If you manage to as much as brush your fingers on my broom, you are finished with your training for the night and with my regimen." Toshiro continued as if the boy had not spoken. "Any questions?"

"…How will you know that I touched your broom?"

"Magic." Toshiro answer evasively as he flew in a speed that the boy did not think was possible. "Now, then. Catch me if you can, Weasley."

Harry subconsciously rubbed his slightly ashen hand, remnant of his time in Umbridge's detention as the voices of concern from Hermione and Ron echoed in his head, despite the exhausted forms of the two. Hermione from her pursuit of rights for House-Elves and Ron with what he had finally informed him of, training with Hitsugaya for the position of a Keeper; the two were still able to scold and reprimand him to go inform Dumbledore or McGonagall.

But the Boy Who Lived vehemently refused.

"Dumbledore's got enough on his mind right now." Harry chanted softly as he opened his textbook to a random page, trying to read as he entered the dimly lit Common Room, empty. "Don't give Umbridge the satisfaction. They don't understand."

"And what is it that you understand that they don't?"

Jumping at the unexpected appearance, Harry looked up, startled as he relaxed at the sight of a freshly showered Hitsugaya, dressed in an ebony tee with a white dragon on the back, and comfortable navy blue shorts, a warm towel around his small shoulders.

"Hitsugaya." Harry breathed as the white-haired boy dried his wet locks quietly. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I can ask you the same question." Toshiro retorted evenly, as he looked at the living boy with an expectant glare. "So, I presume that Weasley and Granger have picked up what Umbridge has been doing to you in detention?"

"How the hell do you know—?" Harry started as the captain sent him a look that said that 'you should be used to me knowing these things by now' but nonetheless obliged the boy.

"Magic leaves residual indications of it's work, no matter how subtle; Potter." Toshiro explained as he gestured to the greyed patch of skin on the boy's hand. "And Umbridge was not exactly trying to be quiet with her punishments in detention. She is trying to demoralize you, and the effects of her actions are foolhardy."

"How is making me write standards in my blood not demoralizing?"

"Try this." Hitsugaya offered as he lowered the towel to reveal his damp yet still gravity-defying snowy locks. "What did you feel in there? As you were writing the standards?"

"I…" Harry hesitated. "I don't know. Anger?"

"And rightly so, as you would probably feel wronged and that what you had to say was not being heard, correct?"

Harry supplied a nod.

"That is exactly it, Potter." Hitsugaya nodded as he pointed to the fireplace in front of him. "The fire of your anger festers and grows if someone is treated with misconduct, and once pushed enough to an edge, they have created a seed with reason to oppose them and shortly, with enough resources, even be a threat. If you wish to cut aside and demoralize your enemy, torture is never the method to do so."

"Then, what is it that Umbridge is doing?"

"She's but a mere pawn to what the Ministry of Magic wishes, Potter." Hitsugaya corrected. "By severely cutting off our education and torturing you, she is stripping Dumbledore of his army."

"Army?" Harry repeated with complete bewilderment. "But that's complete hogwash!"

"Is it?" Toshiro challenged. "Fudge believes that Dumbledore is taking his place, and when you face an enemy, you use any and everything you can to not allow them to be victorious against you. And as a Headmaster and with his reputation, Dumbledore has all the resources to oppose him if he wished. He has a group of impressionable children in an isolated place, who will support him before the Ministry of Magic and that is what scares Fudge."

Having no words to retort, the Boy Who Lived fumed for a moment as the captain allowed the boy his moment of frustration, before throwing aside his towel over a shoulder, locks nearly dried.

"But what is it that you understand that they do not?" Toshiro repeated, his teal gaze unchallenging but stern all the same.

Sighing, the boy contemplated his words for a moment.

"…I can't allow others to help me anymore. They have their own burdens and problems that I can't be dependent on them all time." Harry said finally, shame and uncertainty coloring his voice as a small upturn of a normally frowning lip caught the boy's attention, turning to the transfer to find to his shock, a smile on the captain's usual smirk before it was replaced just as quickly.

"W-What?" Harry challenged weakly.

"You are doing the same thing I did, Potter." Hitsugaya revealed as his teal orbs turned wistful. "I had thought that if I pushed everyone aside, they wouldn't get hurt and that they wouldn't be burdened with me. But I was wrong as you are, Potter. It is not weak to acknowledge help from others, it is strong to ask for help when you need it. And if you wish to help and not burden others, then train yourself and ask others to teach you."

"Do not make the same mistakes as I have and push others aside." The white-haired captain smirked as he made his way to the dormitory, green orbs trailing after him. "Because in the end, you end up being the weakest one, with no one by your side."

And with that the ice captain turned in for the night. Well, as far as the living knew.

They decide to come now. Toshiro thought flatly, unamused as his clone shot a kido spell at the hollow outside the barrier of Hogwarts on Friday afternoon. When I have Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes to attend at the same time, they come and decide to invade Hogwarts now.

Translating the last rune on his scroll, the ice captain ignored the glances of confusion from his professor and cohorts alike as they failed to veil looks of awe at his bluetooth curiously, never hearing of such a device before as they were wizards. The Twelfth Division grunt on the other side whispered the number and the level of the hollows that appeared, which relayed the same to the clone, as he was informed of the circumstance of the captain being a bit preoccupied to answer.

Way of Destruction: No. 32: Yellow Fire Flash. The clone incanted as the captain pulled out his Time-Turner, ridding of all the hollows in the vicinity with the Kido spell, the original receiving confirmation before he flipped the gold hourglass once as he dispelled the clone.

Shunpoing to the main hall of the floor before anyone could see him, the captain ignored the chatter and miscellaneous conversations below him from the previous hour, appearing at the Muggle Studies classroom, as he pulled out the bluetooth with a sigh, returning it to his robe pocket.

If this week is an indication of how the rest of the year is going to be like, I am leaving. Toshiro growled internally as he felt a migraine grow within the constraints of his mind. Voldemort and this world, be damned.

Master. Perhaps you should speak to the Headmaster of canceling several of your classes? Hyorinmaru suggested, his voice not too overly concerned. This is rather much, even for a workaholic like you.

I am not a workaholic. The white-haired child sniffed.

We beg to differ. Sephiroth added blandly. Records of doing paperwork and running the division greatly weigh to about fifty percent of your time, training for keeping reiatsu in check and to be ready at all times is forty percent, and now that Hogwarts has been added, that takes up the remaining ten; and leaving the nonexistent time that you give yourself to rest being nearly next to none.

So, basically, all you do is work yourself to death. The elder dragon summed up as the captain held back a groan, defeated. Which is ironic, since you are already dead.

Then what do you two think I should be doing? Toshiro retorted grumpily. Putting all of this aside with a flick of the wrist?

Not at all. Hyorinmaru answered evenly as his master wrote several other reports, another ear listening to the professor's lecture. Just merely reminding you that the weekend is near, Master.

I was planning on training in the morning and then take the rest of the day off for myself to relax a bit, Hyorinmaru. Toshiro assured as he paused for a moment in his reports. I won't work myself too much. Thank you for your concern both of you.

Just reminding you who else is in your head, other than your own voice. Sephiroth replied cheekily as Toshiro felt a small smirk color his lips at the remark.

It's not like I can ever forget. The young captain hummed, his expression indifferent once more as he mercilessly corrected his subordinates' reports, remarking on the grammar and neatness when he heard his name called.

"Mr. Hitsugaya?"

Looking up, the transfer met the dark green orbs of Professor Charity Burbage, a slender witch of long blonde locks framing her face, her deposition kind yet firm as she often played Muggle music in the background as she lectured. Dressed often in plain dresses of floral patterns, the professor held a text open in hand, chalkboard glaring with an introduction of Muggle inventions.

"Yes, Professor Burbage?" The captain replied, unfazed.

"Can you answer me as to what electricity is?"

"It is an energy source that Muggles use for everyday uses, and through the use of technological advancements and inventions courtesy of Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin, it is a common sight among Muggles."

"Correct, Mr. Hitsugaya. Ten points for your house." Burbage rewarded with a small smile as the captain merely nodded, resuming his paperwork as she did the same with her lecture. . "Now as Mr. Hitsugaya has supplied for us, electricity is…"

Teacher's pet. Sephiroth teased as the captain merely rose an eyebrow in response, Hyorinmaru amused as they continued through the day.

To which eventually ended much to the captain's relief as he pulled the drapes of his bed for privacy as he changed out of the school robes. Exchanging the robes for a heavy brown shirt and ebony cargo shorts with dulled silver suspenders clipped as they dangled at the knees, the captain added a teal ribbon for color at his collar. Tying a short ebony cloak over his shoulders, the white-haired transfer decided to forgo the ebony top hat that Matsumoto generously given — shoved into his suitcase despite his protests — along with the rest of his wardrobe. Shoes tied with a snap of his fingers, the captain appeared in the cavern, screen and speakers on as the meeting came to a silence at his arrival.

"Hitsugaya-taicho." The Head Captain greeted as the ice captain nodded. "Good of you to join us."

"My apologies." Toshiro replied icily. "Overuse of the Time-Turner is not recommended over the course of a single hour."

"Your update, Hitsugaya-taicho." The leader of the Gotei 13 nodded, accepting his only captain's absence.

"The Ministry of Magic is under our control, as I have informed the mod-soul to allow Umbridge's requests and growth in power to continue as of now, while recording her crimes with evidence to supply." Toshiro began as he recounted several events of importance as to what was discovered between the Horcrux that was Harry Potter and a method to remove it, preferably without killing the boy.

"Just kill the shrimp." Zaraki grinned as he shrugged. "If his soul is sent to Soul Society too, then tough luck."

"What part of last resort plan, do you not understand, you oaf?" Kurotsuchi cut in as he snorted at the violent captain's suggestion. "Allow me to run several tests and come to Hogwarts, I will have a cure for the boy in no time. Even give him a few improvements to his inferior form as Hitsugaya-taicho as informed us of."

"As slow as he is, Kurotsuchi, I don't think a lobotomy on their savior is going help Hitsugaya with the British." Kyoraku chuckled as the ice captain sent a look at the pink-clad shinigami.

"That is true." Soifon nodded before she glared, her grey orbs narrow. "But the boy is not our priority. The soul fragment is."

"In any case." The Head Captain cut in, silencing any more commentary with a slam of his cane. "The issue of severing the soul fragment from Harry Potter is an unfortunate consequence. However, Hitsugaya-taicho, by the time the other soul fragments have been located and destroyed, if the soul fragment is not separated from the boy, you are to eliminate him by any means necessary along with Voldemort to ensure the safety of Soul Society."

Head bowed and teal orbs cold, the ice captain accepted the order when another topic was addressed, surprising the other twelve captains present.

"According to Urahara Kisuke's reports, Hitsugaya-taicho, Dolores Umbridge has requested a device to seal your 'Eastern' magic." The Head Captain announced as all of the captains blinked at the news before their reactions broke their composure. From the Head Captain with an amused twitch of his beard and with the echoing of Zaraki's laughter barking in the background, the ice captain sported a small twitch himself at the edge of his lips, similar to Soifon and Byakuya as all of their orbs seemed to glow with a twinkle of mischief.

"And I believe that it would be rude for us to not conform to our 'Western' counterparts, Hitsugaya-taicho."

"Yes, sir."

"Pardon me, Professor, but what exactly are you insinuating?"

The sound of Umbridge's voice sounded into the Grand Staircase as the ice captain perked up at the honeyed voice, perched on the stone railings, dressed thinly in his school robes despite the wintery weather. Lowering his version of The Tale of Genji, the ice captain narrowed his teal orbs, as more reiatsus swarmed over below, sporting a new gold bracelet similar in appearance to the one given to reigai, that the ice captain assured to the pink eyesore with a letter from Yama-jii. That was obviously forged, 'withholding all of his Eastern magic abilities.'

"I am merely requesting that when it comes to my students, you conform to the prescribed disciplinary practices." McGonagall's no-nonsense voice snapped back as spectators neared to watch the argument, well aware of the topic.

Walking together toward the captain's location, the two professors stood their ground as glares that threatened to kill were fired.

"So silly of me…" Umbridge began as she sounded almost in disbelief. "…but it sounds as if you're questioning my authority in my own classroom, Minerva."

"Not at all, Dolores." McGonagall shot back, just as sharp. "Merely your medieval methods."

"I am sorry, dear." Umbridge replied, not lining up to her words at all as she breathed deeply as if to steel herself. "But to question my practices is to question the Ministry, and by extension, the minister himself."

"I am a tolerant woman…" The pink eyesore continued as the ice captain rose an eyebrow at the sentence. As fond as I am of fire, is about as tolerant you are; Umbridge. "…but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty."

Taken back by the reason, the Transfiguration professor did not know whether to scoff or sneer at the statement, but otherwise allowed herself a moment to collect. "Disloyalty…"

But before the professor could, the eyesore took to the initiative.

"Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared. Cornelius will want to take immediate action."

If he were still of this world, Umbridge. Toshiro thought as he bookmarked his book. But I will allow you to do as you wish for now, you eyesore. Grow and feed your pinkish existence with as much power as you want, and then, watch as I take it all away from you before your very eyes, Umbridge. Have your fun. For now.