A/N: So, I now have a beta for this (who is probably going to annoyed that I didn't wait for them to get back to me - sorry Constellations! I'm a little impatient...)

PAIRING NOTICE!

Now, for the pairings. I think I've confused some people, so let me make this clear: I now have a poll regarding wether or not there should even be a chance of Harry being paired with another male. Please go and give me your thoughts. I know I have promised readers that I will not suddenly make this a slash fic without warning. This is your chance to ensure that all pairings are Het. Again, I (quite obviously) have no problems gender bending the characters. However, I have no desire to gender bend the entire universe. This is the final time I've giving the readers input on the pairings for this story because I will be starting on the main plot next chapter and I really don't want to have to deal with pairings too much after that. Thank you.

Unbeta'd at the moment because I'm impatient. The beta'd version will be up later. Again, apologies Constellations!

Warnings: Shiro's mouth

Disclaimer: Why on EARTH (or any other planet) would someone think I own either story? I don't. Now that I think about it, I'd probably be even crazier if I did.

Chapter 9: Masks and Cracks

Fortunately for Shiro, a similar version of the reiatsu-concealing cloak that Ichigo had worn when rescuing Rukia worked on wizards as an invisibility cloak. While he could be fairly stealthy when given the right motivation, it did not change the fact that Shiro wore white, had white hair, and white skin. Against the dark sky, he was incredibly obvious, hence the cloak.

Despite the ease with which Shiro was able to track the group (for which he was…thankful for, if only because this way he was able to stretch a bit. On the other hand, he could have just followed the magic trail of the midget that acted like a soul ribbon…) he continued a mental litany of curses about the general mental capacity of the completely dense, stupid, fuckin' dropped 'n der heads as babes plan that he was being forcibly included in. He appreciated a good frontal assault as much as any Hollow or Arrancar. That didn't mean he approved of NO STEALTH WHATSOEVER. …Most of the time.

The group finally landed, just as Shiro was beginning to worry about the color of the green-eyed midget's face. The cold didn't bother him so much, partially because he wasn't fully on the same plan of existence and he had reiatsu to spare, but he knew that humans did have limits to how cold they could take for a certain length of time. Having one of Queen's little princesses get sick on his watch on one of the days it snowed a few years back had been a good lesson in that (even if they were old enough to know when and when to not stay out. That didn't save him from a pissed Queen).

Standing on the air above the group, Shiro allowed himself to observe the motley crew a bit more carefully. Unfortunately, this meant that he wasn't in a position to see the piece of paper the old lumpy man that was somewhat reminiscent of Kenpachi showed to his charge. Understandably, when the group strode up to the row of town houses and promptly disappeared inside the odd barrier, Shiro was annoyed. Fortunately, he could still faintly make out the midget's energy behind the shield and concluded that he didn't have to rush about the island to find the kid again. Still, he hadn't expected to discover one of the few remaining dimension pockets left in England. He grinned. Mr. Glasses and Fashion was going to regret not being here so he could study it!

~IiI~

Harry, after being welcomed (read: nearly smothered, even if he did enjoy seeing the people), was quickly shuffled off to the upstairs while the Order that this…house hosted was having a meeting in the dinning room.

Upon actually reaching the others, Harry was assaulted by Hermione and her hair.

"Harry!" She cried and squeezed him in a hug, while slipping him a note. He hugged her back in understanding and appreciation.

"Oi, Hermione, let the poor bloke breath!"

"Hey, Harry," Ginny added, "Hope you're summer wasn't too bad."

Recovering his breath, Harry replied, "Well, it could've been better, but my adopted cousin and her friend came for a bit. It was pretty cool to have them around."

Hermione, true to her role, interjected with a heartfelt apology, "Harry, I'm so sorry we weren't allowed to tell you anything! Dumbledore forbid us from saying anything in our letters, just in case they were intercepted."

Ron followed her lead. "Yeah mate, we tried, really."

Harry stared at the trio in front of him for a moment before he let his frustration out. "Really? Did you really try? Because thanks to that I've been stuck trying to listen to the news or the read the paper in the Muggle world just to see if Voldemort (cue winces and shudders) had finally started to mobilize! I even got a letter saying that I shouldn't write anything in my own letters, 'Just in case they're intercepted'!" Do you know how bad it was to be stuck with my relatives for almost the entire summer?! No, of course you don't because YOU WEREN'T THERE for me on Dumbledore's orders! I wasn't even supposed to discuss Cedric's death! I haven't studied much about psychology, but I'm pretty damn sure you aren't supposed to leave a grieving person in a neglectful situation or something to make it WORSE! Are you guys really my friends? Because from here it looks like you're Dumbledore's pawns!"

"Hey!" Ron shouted back, as Harry panted to catch his breath from his rant, "Don't talk about Dumbledore like that!"

"Fine, you – !"

Twine cracks interrupted the argument.

"Harry," said one twin, who'd appeared on Harry's left.

"We thought," said the twin on the right.

"We heard,"

"You're dulcet tones!" The twins finished in unison.

"Oi," Ron complained, "Quit landing on top of me!" For the twins had Apparated onto Ron's legs (because he had sat upon his bed during Harry's rant, even as he'd shouted in Dumbledore's defense) before sliding over to Harry.

"But Ronnikins"

"You're so special"

"It's impossible"

"To not visualize you!"

The twin's comment caused Ron to try and smack them, though they dodged, while Ginny and Hermione rolled their eyes at Harry, who was left trying not to laugh at Ron and the twin's antics.

Although Harry had realized that there were some highly suspicious goings on at Hogwarts during his schooling, he'd also realized, while stuck in his room and on the flight over to London, that he needed more information about the situations before he made his final decision about all those involved. So, he tried to put on a mask and act like he would've had he not had Orihime and Ichigo visit and learn so much about Dudley.

Unfortunately, Harry had only cultivated this ability in his early life and hadn't had to rely on it for the past few years as he was away at Hogwarts, where he'd foolishly left his guard down in his wonder and awe. Thus, he'd accidentally led up to a point in his rant that might come to bite him in the arse – his mistrust of Dumbledore. Fortunately, he knew that Hermione was definitely on his side and highly suspected that Ginny was as well. Ron, quite obviously, was not quite with him. He hoped to change that, but only this year would be able to tell.

Further chaos was thankfully diverted by the timely appearance of Mrs. Weasley, informing the group that dinner was ready to be served. She received varying degrees of enthusiasm in reply to this declaration, but all the teens removed themselves from the room. They missed the flash of white teeth in the window.

~IiI~

While Harry appreciated being able to eat his fill once more, the atmosphere at dinner was tense, especially when the blueprints and notes (it seemed to have a lot of long corridors) were noticed to have been accidentally left out for all the curious teens to see. Tonks attempted to lighten the mood by making Hermione and Ginny laugh at the various animal features she manifested upon her own face. Fred, George, and Sirius were enjoying Mundungus's presence immensely, but that didn't prevent Mrs. Weasley and Sirius from engaging in a silent war for unknown reasons. Well, beyond the fact that the war was centered on Harry – that was a given.

Fortunately someone (bless Hermione!) asked how his summer had been to help distract people, even if their attention was now fully focused upon him and he'd already touched on that topic before with her present.

"Well, it was pretty standard, though my adopted aunt's daughter and her friend came to visit."

"Really?" Mr. Weasley asked. "Did they fly in an ae-rope-plane?"

"Er, yeah, they must have. They're both Muggles after all, as far as I know."

"Fascinating…"

"So, why were they visiting?" Hermione asked before Mr. Weasley could inquire as to how an airplane actually worked to maintain flight and all the other things associated with them. Like jet engines.

"Well, apparently my cousin's friend came over for work and my cousin decided to tag along, since I hadn't seen her since her brother died awhile back."

"Oh the poor dear. How did her parents take it?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Er," Harry grew slight uncomfortable here, "well, her mom was already dead – she'd died a few years before my cousin's brother died – and her dad just disappeared one day. My cousin gets money every so often, so she's pretty sure that he's still alive."

"Well, why isn't he taking care of her?!"

"Um, Mrs. Weasley, it's really not my place to tell you anything more and the time for her father to really care for her has long since passed – she doesn't really want to see him (well, that was a lie, but he was pretty sure that Ichigo would be having …words with Orihime's dad if she ever saw him). She's in her early twenties now."

"So Harry," Hermione once again tried to steer the conversation, "what does you're cousin's friend do?"

"Oh, she's a diplomat."

"Wow, she must know a lot – they have to pass a special exam in the Muggle world that's supposed to be quite difficult…"

And that was all Harry had to say on the matter as Hermione educated the gathering of magical folk about certain aspects of the Muggle government for the rest of the dinner.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review? (Because the first person to review on this chapter puts the review number at 100 and I would be more than willing to write them a oneshot of their choice~! Just, leave contact info so I can get a sense of what type of fic you'd like)!

~Illusion~