Summary: When Voldemort's return creates a problem for both worlds, Hitsugaya is sent to deal with the problem. Hitsugaya, now a first year student must follow the fifth year Potter boy, find the dark lord and kill him before things get out of hand.
Time line: Fifth book and sometime after Aizen's betrayal.
Notes: My first crossover, hope you like it .
Taichou means captain
Soutaichou means captain-commander
Shinigami means death reaper
Seireitei is where the shinigami reside
Soul Society consists of Seireitei and the different districts where other souls reside
Reiatsu means spiritual pressure
Reiryoku means spiritual energy
Shihakushō is the whole attire that the Shinigami wear (Garment of dead souls)
Warnings: SPOILER WARNINGS! There will be spoilers on Harry Potter books and some on Bleach. Although I'll try to write so that there won't be anything that'd reveal what has already happened in the manga, that hasn't happened in the anime, since not everyone reads the manga. Other warnings, well, there might be some spelling errors, watch out for those!
I will use OCs in this story, but they will NOT have significant parts. They are there just to support the plot.
I will NOT be pairing Hitsugaya with anyone. But he'll have probably have fans.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bleach. Harry Potter is the creation of J.K. Rowling and Bleach is the creation of Tite Kubo. I am writing this fanfic for entertainment only and am not making any money with this fic.
Chapter 10
It had been two weeks since Hitsugaya started receiving tutoring lessons from Hermione and things had started looking good for Hitsugaya. He had slowly but surely won the trust of his first rather reluctant tutor and because of his new nerd reputation most of his self—proclaimed friends left him alone most of the time. This of course left him with more time to stalk Potter freely and now it wasn't all that bad if he was spotted either, since he could always just act that he had something to ask from Hermione.
The only thing that hadn't gone like Hitsugaya had hoped was meeting Dumbledore. The old man had refused to meet Hitsugaya when he had requested to see him for information. It seemed that Dumbledore was making some trips outside the school and Hitsugaya was curious about those too, but it seemed like his questions had to wait for a while longer. So while he waited for the old wizard to make some time for him, Hitsugaya had used the little spare time he had for training and writing weekly reports to Seireitei. His reports were beginning to be rather lengthy, as he had tried to include just about everything he had learned about the school (he really should have just sent the book "Hogwarts; a History" but he was sure that madam Pince would notice the book missing from the library and Hitsugaya didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath) and of course, info about the ghosts. Or imprints, as they were rather than ghosts or plus souls.
And finally, it seemed that the Research and Development Bureau were earning their pay. Well, with the help of the Kidō Corps. Hitsugaya was willing to bet a whole week's worth of paperwork that Kurotsuchi was livid for not getting all the credit this time.
Hitsugaya smirked as he held the scroll in his hands. He was currently sitting by a large tree near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, having just finished de-frosting the results of his training. Hyorinmaru was leaning against his shoulder, rumbling loudly inside his mind. The dragon did not appreciate the amount of time it got to spent with Hitsugaya and Hitsugaya himself couldn't agree more. So he had taken to sneaking out to the forest during the week as well. The owls that brought him the scroll hooted at him from their perch on the tree.
"I know, I know. I'll bring the bacon after breakfast, okay?" He said to the birds, who ruffled their feathers at him before flying towards the castle. Hitsugaya looked up to the skies. "Still a couple of hours before sunrise… That's plenty." Hitsugaya carefully opened the seal and spread the scroll on the ground. After a moment of studying the scroll Hitsugaya sighed. This was going to be a hard task to accomplish alone. Hitsugaya skimmed over the text, making mental notes of all the things he would have prepare for. First of all, he would have to find a good location. Someplace where the air wasn't full of magic yet possessed enough of it for the imprint to "exist" in its natural, magical form. The location would have to be a clean open area so Hitsugaya would be able to write the incantation on the ground to make the Enforced Soul Burial strong enough alone.
The other requirements were of course that he had to put up a barrier so no one would see him, another one so no one would get affected by the amount of reiatsu he was going to have to release to bury the soul and possibly a third one just to make sure that nobody could get inside the incantation circle and get their soul sucked out accidentally. Hitsugaya scratched his head. This konsō would definitely be easier to execute with four or five Shinigami. But he was a Captain so this much was expected from him. And he would not fail.
But still, how the hell was he supposed to do this?
Next day after classes Hitsugaya found himself walking around the school grounds, trying to find a place for the Enforced Soul Burial. Potter was doing his homework in the common room last Hitsugaya had seen him. The white haired boy had dared to leave the prophecy boy in the care of Hermione who was looking over Potter and his red haired friend as they worked. Last time Hitsugaya had observed them at it the whole homework process had taken hours until Hermione had deemed the boys' work worthy. So Hitsugaya had decided to use this chance to look around the castle grounds some more.
'The Quidditch field would probably be big enough… But if the konsō does any damage to it people are going to start asking questions…' Hitsugaya sighed as he mentally crossed over any place that was in regular use. Hitsugaya wondered if there even was a secluded place on school grounds. He could ask Hermione of course, the girl seemed to know just about everything about the school and everything else. But if he asked something like that from the girl, she'd want to know why he asked something like that in the first place. That was something Hitsugaya didn't really appreciate in the girl: she was as nosy as Matsumoto. So in the end, Hitsugaya would just have to wait until he could ask Dumbledore or figure out something by himself.
After walking around the school grounds a little more, Hitsugaya gave up for the day and sat down under a tree that was next to the lake. He absentmindedly picked up a rock and threw it into the lake, a little further than your average 11 year-old should be able to throw but he was too frustrated to worry about such things right now. A single tentacle rose above the surface and for a brief moment it looked like the infamous Giant Squid of Hogwarts was shaking a fist at him before it sunk again into the depths of the water.
After the waves created by the Squid had died and the surface was smooth again Hitsugaya laid down, looking at the lake. It was very pretty how the sky was reflected on the glistening water surface. He wondered how it would look in the winter, and if the student's were allowed to skate on the frozen surface. That was if the lake would even freeze over. The Giant Squid seemed like something that liked to pop up every now and then and wouldn't appreciate being trapped underneath the ice. But still… The lake would be very pretty if it froze. 'Like a vast skating rink… Wait a minute.'
With a start Hitsugaya stood up and looked around. The lake! It would be perfect! He could freeze it temperately for the Soul Burial. He looked towards the castle. The distance was just enough that if he used a bit of Hyorinmaru's ability to manipulate the weather and produce some mist no one would be able to see anything that happened at the lake even if they happened to look out the window at the right time. Hitsugaya felt a smirk tugging at his mouth and started towards the castle. Just as he was going to enter the great building he felt something falling on his head and get stuck on his hair. Running a hand through his hair his fingers wrapped around a small letter and as he looked up he saw an owl screech at him before it flew towards the Owlery. Deciding to ignore the rude bird Hitsugaya opened the letter and read it.
The office
at midnight
The neat handwriting was easy to recognize as Dumbledore's. Hitsugaya nodded to himself, feeling his smirk widen to an actual smile. Things were really looking up today. He could only hope that things would continue going the same way.
After Hitsugaya made it to the Gryffindor common room he quickly scanned the room to find Hermione, Potter and Weasley still sitting around the fireplace, just like hours before when he had left the room. Without any thought he made his way to the fireplace and threw the letter from Dumbledore into the flames, looking as the paper first turned black before turning into ashes. Nodding to himself he started to make his way to his bedroom.
"Oh, Toushiro!" Hitsugaya paused and turned around to face Hermione.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering whether we could do the tutoring lesson tomorrow at five?" She asked. Hitsugaya nodded, noticing that Potter and Weasley both glanced at the fire and then at him. Hitsugaya smirked, 'So curious, aren't you?' he thought to himself, enjoying the fact that neither of the two seemed to be willing to brave asking him what it all was about.
"Sure. At the library?" Hermione nodded. "See you there then." He said and turned to leave, but not before he heard Weasley whisper to the other two teens "Wonder what the letter was about…"
When night came Hitsugaya didn't waste a second when he left the Gryffindor common room and headed for the Headmaster's office. His good luck continued and the road was blissfully free of students, professors and Peeves. In a matter of minutes Hitsugaya was already knocking on Dumbledore's door and was invited in.
"Ah, Hitsugaya-san, I'm glad you could make it with such a short notice." The elderly man said with a smile as Hitsugaya sat down on his usual seat.
"Let's just skip the pleasantries today, Dumbledore-san. We are both far too busy these days for chit-chat. I have some questions I'd like to ask."
"Of course, go ahead."
"First, who is Sirius Black? I heard some rumors that say he is after Potter's life, but if that is the case I fail to see why he is being contacted by Potter." Dumbledore smiled.
"Oh no, Sirius is Harry's Godfather, currently on the run from the law for a crime he did not commit but is still falsely accused for. He definitely isn't after Harry's life. Quite on the contrary, he told me he wishes to find Voldemort quickly so he can finally come out of hiding and then live with Harry. Harry, to my knowledge, shares this wish." Hitsugaya nodded, even though the answer left him with even more questions. Like what kind of crime the man was accused of? Who was actually behind the crimes? But these questions held no relevance to his mission for now, so he decided against asking them in favor of asking about other, more pressing matters.
"That is good to know. For future relevance, if there are other people aside from Voldemort and his followers that aim to kill Potter, I'd like to know." Dumbledore nodded.
"Naturally."
"On to the next question: I heard Potter and his friends mentioning an order?"
"I apologize, I must have forgotten to mention the name of our little resistance group when I discussed about Voldemort with Kentaro. The Order of Phoenix. That is what we call ourselves, we as in the people who know about the return of Voldemort and are taking action against him. All of this in secret of course, the Ministry doesn't acknowledge Voldemort's return yet so they wouldn't let us act freely if they knew of our regrouping."
"Regrouping?"
"Ah, yes. Most of the people in the Order are the same who fought against Voldemort fifteen years ago. We went by the same name then as well."
"I see. Exactly what does the Order do, then?"
"We try to find out Voldemort's plans and stop them, of course. We have men working inside the ministry and one is working undercover with the Death Eaters and other followers of Voldemort."
"Wait. If you have a man working right under Voldemort's nose, how come you don't know where he is?" Hitsugaya straightened in his chair. Had the old man been keeping him in the dark all this time? And if so, what for?
"The situation is a bit delicate. You see, the one working under Voldemort as a spy for us is Severus Snape." Hitsugaya blinked.
"…As in Professor Snape?"
"That is correct."
"…How does that pose a problem, exactly? Can't he just tell me the place where Voldemort is so I can go there and deal with the problem?" Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"I'm afraid that things are far too complicated to do that. This is actually why I wanted to meet you today. I have some new information that I believe will be very vital if you wish to succeed in your mission. But first, let me explain the situation with Severus." Hitsugaya nodded, trusting that Dumbledore wouldn't bother him with useless information.
"Once, Severus was an actual Death Eater, but after Harry's mother Lily was murdered he had a change of heart. You see, Severus loved her dearly. But, once a Death Eater has been marked by the Dark Mark there is no way to get rid of it so he has been branded forever as a follower of Voldemort. The Dark Mark is Voldemort's way to communicate with the Death Eaters. When he wishes to meet them, the Marks send burning sensations to their owners and the Death Eaters are expected to Apparate by Voldemort's side. Oh, Apparating is a way of traveling instantly to one place or another." Dumbledore quickly explained after seeing Hitsugaya's quizzical expression.
"Unfortunately, Lord Voldemort is not a stupid man. He has realized that Severus' position as a teacher is more important than him taking part in all of their meetings. So, to keep up his pretense of being my follower, he is excused from these meetings and thus does not know the exact location of Voldemort. He exchanges information through other methods and rarely reports straight to Voldemort himself. But from what I have learned of Voldemort's meeting places, they are never the same. He is still being cautious, using the Ministry's denial to his advantage by moving in the shadows. "
"I still don't see a real problem here. If Snape knows where and when he is supposed to Apparate, then he could just tell me and send me there and I could just get my mission done and over with." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Hitsugaya just knew that the old man was going to indulge himself to another streak of curiosity over Hitsugaya's life.
"Why, are you not enjoying your stay in school?" Dumbledore asked. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes.
"I'd enjoy it far more if there were no other students and I could act my age. Besides, I have a war to prepare for and I doubt a jelly-legs jinx is enough to make my foes fall." Hitsugaya answered dryly. Dumbledore chuckled at his response. "Now I'd like to hear the real reason you are holding me from my work, if you don't mind."
"Of course, of course." Dumbledore took a deep breath and his eyes turned serious. "Do you remember when I told you about the link between Harry's and Voldemort's minds?" Hitsugaya nodded. Dumbledore had mentioned of the possibility of Voldemort being able to insert suggestions to the teen's mind the first night Hitsugaya stayed at the castle. "Well, I was afraid that there was more behind this phenomena and I'm sad to say that my greatest fears have been confirmed." Dumbledore rose from his seat and started pacing slowly while he let a hand run through his long beard.
"I suppose you do not know what Horcruxes are?" Dumbledore asked and Hitsugaya shook his head. The word sounded alien to him. "Horcruxes are considered to be among the most vile and evil of the magical inventions. They aren't even mentioned in most books, not even those with the most dangerous spells. Few wizards even know what they are."
"…So what are these… Horcruxes…?"
"Horcruxes are used to contain a piece of a person's soul." Hitsugaya eyes narrowed.
"A piece of a person's soul…? Splitting a soul in pieces is pure madness! It's inhumane!" He said, shaking his head. He had a bad feeling about this conversation. Soul splitting should be impossible among humans… but then again Wizards couldn't be classified as normal humans now could they? But Yamamoto had his men watching over the area and the wizarding world… did he know of these abilities? Had he just ignored it?
Dumbledore nodded, agreeing with Hitsugaya's words. "Indeed, that is why it is banned among us. However, there will always be those who do not wish to have such abilities and inventions forgotten, and so the knowledge to do such horrific things still exists among us."
"And you believe that Voldemort has used this method."
"Yes, that would explain him surviving the killing curse. Other things have happened that make me believe that I am right. Three years ago Voldemort materialized from a diary; at the time I didn't realize it but now I am almost certain that that diary was one of his Horcruxes."
"What happened to the diary?"
"It has been destroyed by Harry with the help of a Basilisk's venom." Hitsugaya nodded, it didn't matter that he had no idea what a Basilisk was, the important thing was that the Horcrux had been destroyed.
"What happened to the soul fragment?"
"I do not know. I'm not expert in this field of magic and the matters of afterlife are still a mystery to me. I was actually hoping that you could shed some light on this matter." Hitsugaya shook his head.
"I'm still fairly young by Shinigami standards, so I haven't had the time to review all the records in our archive, but so far I haven't read of a case like this. Then again, your society was kept a secret from other than the Captain-Commander's troops, so I wouldn't be surprised if the records were kept secret as well. I'll make some inquiries."
"I'd appreciate that, Hitsugaya-san." Hitsugaya nodded.
"Do you think there is more than one of these Horcruxes?"
"Most definitely. I have known Voldemort before he came the Dark Lord, and he was a complex young man who was scared of his own mortality. He would not settle for one or two Horcrux."
"How many do you think there are?"
"I do not know. I'm still gathering more information on the matter. But what I am sure of is that you cannot kill Lord Voldemort if you do not get rid of the Horcruxes first. I'm close to finding one, but then there is the problem with destroying it." Hitsugaya blinked.
"Can you use the same method as with the diary? The… Basilisk's… venom?"
"No, I'm afraid the basilisk is dead and finding another one would be both difficult and suicidal. But we need something as powerful as the venom. Horcruxes are powerful magical items; they can only be destroyed by the strongest spells and weapons." Dumbledore looked at Hitsugaya and a realization hit him.
"You wish for me to destroy the Horcruxes." Dumbledore nodded, spreading his arms and smiling almost a bittersweet smile.
"What stronger power is there than that of death itself?" Hitsugaya wanted to point out that he was more of a guide than a "death bringer" but didn't mention it for now.
"I understand. It can't be helped anyway; it's what has to be done to finish my mission." Besides, Hyorinmaru could do with a bit of a challenge for a change.
"Hyorinmaru?" Hitsugaya blinked, had he just said that out loud?
"My Zanpaktō."
"Zanpaktō?" Hitsugaya sighed. The man was just too curious. However, the said man was also working hard to help maintaining the balance in the Wizarding world while also assisting Soul Society on a matter that they totally lacked experience on. So Hitsugaya decided to be patient and answer the questions he felt that were safe to answer.
"A Zanpaktō is a Shinigami's trademark weapon. There are no two Zanpaktō exactly the same, because a Zanpaktō reflects the soul and the strength of the Shinigami, while still being their own sentient beings. It's… rather hard to explain clearly without going into details. And before you ask, no, I can't go into details." Dumbledore smiled widely when Hitsugaya predicted his question.
"Such a shame that you can't reveal anything about the afterlife, I've always been fascinated by life after death and here you are, a death god standing before me and I'm not allowed to know any crucial information!" Hitsugaya shook his head.
"Just remember it is for your own good. Nothing good comes from trying to cheat death or from breaking the rules of nature itself. Curiosity is allowed, just in healthy proportions. After all, without the curiosity of human kind the evolution of it would have long since come to a stop." Of course then it would be easier to blend in with the crowd, not having to figure out how a juice box works… Hitsugaya thought, remembering some of the "challenges" the Shinigami had come to meet during missions in the real world.
"Wise words, Hitsugaya-san, truly wise words. From what I heard from Harry it seems that splitting his soul has left Lord Voldemort looking less like a human as well."
"I'd expect it to. A soul is even more important than the heart, since it is the only thing that crosses to the other side, there is no way there wouldn't be consequences after splitting it. "But how does this all connect to Potter?" Dumbledore looked older and more tired than Hitsugaya had ever seen him as he sighed heavily.
"I'm afraid that Harry is a Horcrux." A stunned silence followed this statement. Hitsugaya mentally cursed, realizing just how hard killing Voldemort became. If he had to destroy all Horcruxes before dealing a killing blow to Voldemort, it meant killing Harry Potter. And that of course, was out of the question.
"…Do you know of a way to do this without me having to kill Potter?" He asked Dumbledore who slowly shook his head.
"I'm afraid I know nothing for certain. If I am correct and if there are now in fact two souls, or rather a soul and a fragment inhibiting Harry's body, I would guess that killing him once could possibly still leave him with a soul so that he wouldn't actually die."
"That's a lot of guessing."
"I agree. That is why this is taking so long. I'd rather be sure before doing anything drastic that could end a child's life." Hitsugaya nodded. Now that he had all this new information, he wasn't too keen to use unnecessary haste either.
"I should let you know that our laws forbid us from killing mortals. If Harry is truly is a Horcrux and needs to be murdered in order for Voldemort to die, I cannot do it." Hitsugaya said.
"So you do not consider Voldemort a mortal then?"
"His case has been trialed separately. He has disturbed the ultimate balance of the world and is to be punished accordingly." Hitsugaya said.
"But others have used the killing curse, why single out Voldemort?"
"It is rather a stupid reason really. From what I've been informed, Voldemort has exceeded his limit of allowed murders by the killing curse." Hitsugaya's statement was followed by a long silence. Dumbledore's face darkened ever so slightly when he finally responded.
"…Allowed murders?" Hitsugaya nodded.
"It sounds rather bad, doesn't it? I have to clear something for you; even though we are called Death Gods, we do not distribute death. We let the world flow at its own pace and then guide the souls of the dead to Soul Society, so they can be reborn when it is their time. I assure you that if we were allowed to snatch the souls that we think are rotten at will, the world would be a better place. However that isn't the case and we must maintain the balance of the living world and Soul Society." He looked up to see if Dumbledore was still following and the old man hummed and motioned for Hitsugaya to continue with his explanation.
"You already know that the killing curse gives us a hard time. The reason for this is that the souls aren't quite complete after the killing curse has been used. It takes a lot of work to complete an incomplete soul so that it can be inserted back to the natural flow of life and let it be reborn. It can take up to months, actually. We don't really appreciate the extra work, but because we have a small group specializing in this, the Soul Society's top decision makers decided that we can overlook this crime against nature. As long as it stays within reasonable boundaries."
"And Lord Voldemort has gone beyond these boundaries now?"
"Actually, his quota was full long ago, but then we got the word of his passing. The first division naturally looked for his spirit but could not find it. So they deduced that he either go eaten by a hollow or became one." Hitsugaya concluded.
"You had no way to know for sure?" Dumbledore asked. Hitsugaya shook his head.
"No. It would be nice if there was some book in which all the dead had their name in and the name would appear there automatically when people pass but unfortunately those names go into files thanks to the hard work some shinigami put into it."
"I see." Dumbledore took a deep breath and released the air shortly after. Hitsugaya noticed the bags under the old man's eyes and figured that he had enough information to go with for now. He didn't want to help an elderly man to an early grave by keeping him up unnecessarily long.
"I suppose this is enough for today. We both have things we need to look into before planning our moves further." Hitsugaya said and stood up. "I'll write to the Soul Society tomorrow and ask them to look into the Horcrux business and see if they can come up with something. I'd like you to find out how many Horcruxes there are in total as soon as possible." Dumbledore nodded and also stood up.
"I shall do just that Hitsugaya-san."
"Good night, Dumbledore-san."
"Good night."
Hitsugaya sat in the library, waiting for Hermione to come and start today's tutoring lesson. Titus was sitting next to him, working on his History of Magic homework while Hitsugaya helped him as the other boy had yet to master keeping his eyelids open during those particular classes. Titus growled in frustration.
"Seriously, I don't know how you can manage! This is just mind bogglingly boring!" The boy whined. Hitsugaya shrugged.
"I find these things interesting."
"Good thing too, otherwise I'd probably fail…" Hitsugaya nodded. Titus was right, he probably would. Hitsugaya raised his head when he heard hasty steps coming their way. He was just in time to see Hermione walk from behind a bookshelf and making a beeline at their table. She seemed a bit out of breath.
"Oh, Toshiro! Will your friend join us today?" Hermione asked, smiling pleasantly as she took her usual place on Hitsugaya's right side. Titus shut his book and shoved it along with his noted into his bag.
"Nah, I'm going to watch the team practice with the other guys. C'ya later Toshiro!" Titus said and waved at Hitsugaya before he left the library. Hitsugaya nodded at his roommate before turning to Hermione.
"Sorry I'm a little late" She said.
"It's okay."
"So today I thought that we could study some new first year level spells that you haven't learned yet. We'll go over the theory and I thought that next time I see Professor Flitwick I'll ask him if we could use his classroom sometime." Hermione dug into her bag and pulled out several neatly written notes.
"Sounds good." Hitsugaya agreed. Hermione looked at him and then turned to fully face him.
"You know, I really want to ask you something." Hitsugaya blinked. He hesitated only for a second before giving his aswer.
"Go ahead."
"Are you being bullied?" Hitsugaya blinked again. Where the hell had that come from?
"…Excuse me?"
"Are you being bullied?"
"What gives you that idea?" The fact that Hitsugaya didn't outright deny the possibility of being bullied seemed to fuel Hermione's obvious worry over his well being.
"It's just that last night when you tossed that letter to the fire… We, that is Harry, Ron and I, sort of wondered what it all was about. We talked about it a bit and came to the conclusion that that is the most likely option. I mean, this isn't the first time we've seen you do that…" Hitsugaya had to fight his rising amusement so it wouldn't show on his face; he wouldn't want to offend the girl by laughing at her concern over him. Hitsugaya shook his head and smiled a little, hoping to ease the girl's mind.
"That's not it. The letter just contained personal things and I simply didn't wish anyone to see it." He explained. "But thank you for your concern. All of you." Hermione seemed to think a little before believing him but finally she broke to a relieved smile.
"Well I'm glad to hear it wasn't as bad as we thought." She said and Hitsugaya nodded. "Well, if you're ready, we should start now. Today I thought we could look into the charms work a bit more…"
And so they spent the next hour and a half going through some of the first year level charms, practicing the wand movements and incantations without ever applying them both at the same time in case Hitsugaya would accidentally blow up something.
"Good evening, Miss Granger, Mister Hitsugaya." Hitsugaya looked up to see the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington or Nearly Headless Nick like most called him.
"Good evening Nick." Hermione said and Hitsugaya nodded in greeting to the see-through being..
"I hope I am not interrupting anything?"
"Oh no, I think we're just about done for today, right Toushiro?"
"Right."
"Oh good! I was hoping to speak with you, Mister Hitsugaya." Hitsugaya looked at the ghost. Maybe he wanted to be sent to Soul Society?
"Sure."
"In private, if you'd be so kind." Hitsugaya gathered his things before he stood up and turned to a rather suspicious looking Hermione.
"Thank you for today, Hermione-san. Will you inform me when we'll meet next?" Hermione quickly tried to cover her suspicion with a smile but it didn't fool Hitsugaya who could practically feel the girl's curiosity from where he stood.
"Of course! Well I don't know for sure yet, but sometime next week I think. I'll let you know when after I've figured it out myself. I'll be seeing you in the common room!" Hitsugaya nodded and left the library with Sir Nicholas in tow.
"Excuse me?" Hitsugaya looked at the ghost before him disbelievingly. He had been led to an empty classroom by the ghost after they had left the library. Hitsugaya had hoped that the dead man had some message from Dumbledore or something of such importance, since all the ghosts had been pretty much avoiding him so far. But the words Sir Nicholas had uttered had taken Hitsugaya completely by surprise.
"I would like to ask you to behead me completely." Hitsugaya stared at the ghost. It seemed that he was being serious with his request. Hitsugaya shook his head.
"I refuse."
"But… But Sir, please! You do not understand!" Hitsugaya looked at the dead man. He seemed devastated at Hitsugaya's refusal. And it totally confused Hitsugaya that someone would like to have their head cut off clean their shoulders.
"No, I don't and I'm quite sure I don't even want to know…"
"But you are my only hope! You have no idea of the suffering being in this state brings to me!"
"It causes you pain?" Hitsugaya blinked. Sir Nicholas fidgeted a little before shaking his head.
"No, not physical pain but the humiliation! It is… It is unbearable! And I can't get accepted to the Headless Hunt if my head is still attached to my body!" Sir Nicholas laid his hands on Hitsugaya's shoulders at the end of his little tirade as the white haired boy looked at the man with something akin to pity.
"I'm sorry, I wish I could help but there is a policy against butchering the dead in Seireitei. And those rules apply no matter where in the world a Shinigami goes." He said dryly and removed the rather heavy hands.
"But… But, no one needs to know! I swear on my honor, Sir! You are my last hope, you who can see and touch us who are dead! I cannot ask mere mortals to finish what they have done so poorly, as their blades and hands go right through me! So I beg of you! Just this once-"
"No."
"But-"
"No. Sir Nicholas, I can't. Do not ask me again. And do not bother me with such petty inquiries again. I'm not here for your convenience. The most I can do for you and any other ghost in here is to help you move on to the afterlife. That is all I am allowed to do to you. And that is all I'm willing to do. Nothing more, nothing less. So if that was all you had to say, I'll be taking my leave now." When Sir Nicholas said nothing, Hitsugaya moved towards the door. As he got nearer he could hear someone running in the corridor. Hitsugaya threw open the door and looked at the end of the corridor just in time to see the end of a black robe disappear behind the corner. Hitsugaya cursed out loud.
Someone had been listening.
End of Chapter 10
Phew…. Finally! Right?
Ahh, I'm sorry for the seriously long wait! I just couldn't really get my thoughts on the paper. Or computer. Then I started randomly writing little bits and pieces and started sewing them together and then deleted it all and started over and repeated that like a million times and I'm still unhappy with this chapter! And I felt like it's kinda short too.
But I thought it'd be better to give you guys something after people started asking when if I was abandoning the fic. So no worries there people!
Soooo… Who do you think saw and heard Hitsugaya and Nick? And how much trouble do you think it's going to cause to our dear little shinigami?
I love making life a little harder for Toushiro! :D
-Pureya