LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Chapter 10 LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

The following morning Ichigo and Ulquiorra both cornered one of the twins while Harry went off to the owlery to deliver a letter.

"Erm, what's up?"

Fred, or George seemed nervous, perhaps it was due to the deadly glares that both shinigami wore or the fact that they had cornered him in a dark corner of the Gryffindor common room.

Ichigo spoke first, "We need some skiving snackboxes. Just the illness inducing parts."

Her response was a stunned look before a hand was stretched out, "How many? You'll need to pay up. But I guess you can get half price since you don't want the antidotes. Are they to get out of Umbridge's class?"

A dark grin spread across Ichigo's face while Ulquiorra asked, "How much of a discount if we say we are going to put them in that trash's dinner?"

Fred, or George stared at them slack jawed, "Are you crazy? The house elves will never agree to that, trust me, Fred and I have tried."

Ichigo shook her head, "Who said it's going through the house elves? We are going to plop them right into her dinner, right before she eats it. If they can be ground into a powder then that'll be even better."

"How the ruddy hell do you think you're going to manage that?"

Ichigo just shook her head, "We have our ways, and that is all you need to know."

George deflated, "Aww, what if Fred, Lee and I want to prank Umbridge? If you have ways to sneak around like what you say you can we could really use that information."

Ulquiorra latched onto the opportunity, "How about a deal?"

Ichigo caught on immediately to what he was thinking, her grin widened as George took the bait. "Go on…"

Picking up where he had left off Ichigo continued, "We render our services to you, free of charge. If…"

Ulquiorra stared hard at their captive, "You supply us, free of charge."

George stared at them before holding out his hand for them to shake. "You have yourselves a deal! Consider this,"

He held up some strange powder in a bag, "An investment. This is the raw powder we used for puking pastilles, but with a more pranking edge to them, if your skills are as good as you boast then this will be the start of a wonderful partnership."

Ichigo grinned as she snatched the prize from George.

"You won't be disappointed," She chuckled so darkly that George shivered in fear.

The rest of the day went calmly, both Ichigo and Ulquiorra preforming admirably in their classes though sometimes the spells blew up in their face, literally.

"I really have –cough— no –wheeze— idea why –cough— vanishing a mouse –cough— caused such a blowup!"

Ichigo and Ulquiorra both sat with soot streaks covering their faces and their hair blown back. On their desks were equally charred but thankfully unharmed mice. In front of them stood a coughing and hacking Professor McGonagall with a shocked look on her face as she waved away smoke. Both of the shinigami glared at the mice in front of them, as if it were their fault that the spell backfired like a kido.

Ichigo sighed, since she directly channeled the reiatsu to preform magic instead of nothing happening if not done correctly the spell backfired much more violently for both her and Ulquiorra. Looking over she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione staring at them in shock, but Ichigo said nothing since she was frustrated with flashbacks to learning kido, a very painful and annoying experience. Ulquiorra though had never bothered with kido and now seemed to be trying to incinerate his mouse with just his gaze.

Shaking her head Ichigo knew that they would be in for the long haul and judging by McGonagall's expression of stern concern, so did their professor.

"Well, I must say I have never seen such a violent backlash to an incorrectly done spell. You are going to have to practice quite a lot I'm afraid."

Ichigo cringed, "Could you demonstrate one more time please? It helps if we see it done."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I'm not sure how watching will help more than doing but if you think so…"

She then pulled out her wand and both Ichigo and Ulquiorra focused on the way she pulled in and subconsciously molded the ambient reiatsu to perform the spell. When she vanished the mouse and then conjured it back both hybrids nodded to themselves, Ichigo realized that she had used too much reiatsu and had been too forceful.

Concentrating back on their mice both Ichigo and Ulquiorra mimicked what they had sensed from McGonagall and waved their wands while speaking the incantation. For a while all was silent, then both Ichigo and Ulquiorra's mice began to disappear slowly fading out of existence. Looking up to see if they had done the spell correctly they were met with McGonagall's shocked expression,

"How? I've never seen a student improve so drastically by just watching a spell be performed! "

Since neither of the two students in question could answer truthfully they remained silent, but Professor McGonagall's inquisitive and expectant stare never faltered.

Sighing Ichigo decided to give the evasive answer, "Don't know how, but it just helps." She finished with a shrug."

The stern deputy headmistress eyed them shrewdly, "I wish for you two to stay after class, I want to see if I can find out more to help you better get the hang of spells."

Ichigo cringed, this didn't bode well. Looking to Ulquiorra she saw her own uncertainty reflected in his green eyes. As the class bell tolled both hybrids watched the others file out of the room impassively,

"It'll be okay, she only wants to help," Hermione whispered in passing,

Ichigo didn't say anything, 'Ulquiorra and I already know why we have to learn spells the way we do, but we can't just say that it is because we can sense and manipulate the very energies of the dead now can we?'

Zangetsu decided to add some input, 'Perhaps you can call in Severus, he is your confidant and can assure the other teachers that it is natural for you and Ulquiorra to learn that way.'

Thinking over his words Ichigo replied, 'Not a bad idea, thanks Zangetsu I'll use it if she doesn't accept my cover story.'

Armed with a back-up plan Ichigo didn't feel as nervous, but she didn't know how the other professors would take the news. As the door finally shut on a worried looking Harry, McGonagall rounded onto the two left in her room,

"Now, care to explain the real reason?"

Ichigo sighed, "Professor, the reason can't really be put in a nutshell if you want back story. But by watching you perform the spell we can learn from that."

McGonagall's nostrils flared as her eyebrows lowered into a single stern line, she may have presented a terrifying visage to the typical student but neither Ichigo or Ulquiorra were typical students and had seen worse on even the weakest of hollows.

"I have the time to wait for the backstory and would appreciate my students not keeping secrets from me, especially if those secrets are detrimental to their own well-being."

Ichigo and Ulquiorra exchanged glances as she said 'detrimental to their well-being' as if backfiring kido was dangerous to them. Holding up her hands in the universal sign of appeasement Ichigo pulled out Zangetsu's idea,

"Look, if you really are worried for us don't be. The backfiring spells may be flashy but it won't hurt us-" Ichigo cut off McGonagall with a glare, "And if you don't believe us ask Severus, he has seen our past, remember?"

Ichigo was given a reprimanding look, "That is Professor Snape,"

Ichigo just rolled her amber eyes, "Yea, and we do address him as such in a professional environment such as in public, but in private such as now he is still a friend of ours."

"Forgive me for saying as such, but you two are surprisingly mature for fifteen-year old students." McGonagall's voice was thick with suspicion.

Ulquiorra sighed, "Our experiences have made us as such, now may we go to dinner?"

The suspicious gleam did not leave her eyes, but the professor had no reason to keep them, not a concrete one anyway.

"Very well, off you go."

The two got up from their desk and raced down to the Great Hall, catching up with the Golden Trio who were waiting for them just outside the door.

"What did she want you for?"

Ichigo shook her head, "She just wanted to know why the spells blew up when we did them wrong, she was worried for our well-being."

Ron gave a snigger as Ichigo air-quoted 'well-being' but Hermione and Harry seemed unconvinced.

"Can we just get something to eat? I'm starved," Ichigo wasn't really that hungry, but she and Ulquiorra had punishment to dish out, pun intended.

Filing into the Great Hall both shinigami quickly ate their dinner, steak with mashed potatoes and gravy before they saw Umbridge walk in, a smug look on her face. Nudging her Ulquiorra gave an almost imperceptible nod, he was the lookout.

"Wake me if something happens, will ya?" Ichigo yawned.

As soon as her head hit the table Ichigo pressed her pendant to her chest and popped out of her gigai, completely invisible to all but Ulquiorra who made no motion to indicate her presence. Grabbing the bag of modified puking powder from her gigai's pocket Ichigo quickly slipped it between the folds of her soul form's outfit and began briskly walking down to the head table. As she passed the Weasley Twins she caught a snippit of their conversation,

"They say they can do it-"

"But you gave them the prototype!"

"It'll be worth it if they succeed,"

"But-"

Ichigo didn't wait to hear anymore, arriving behind Umbridge she saw that the toad was eating an orange soup that was perfect for blending in the orange powder she had gotten from the twins. Needing a distraction Ichigo saw that she had conveniently placed her teacup near the edge of the table. Grinning fiendishly Ichigo tipped the teacup over with a finger, causing it to fall off the edge almost naturally, frowning at the loss of her tea Umbridge had to get up to get another cup from the opposite end of the table. Never faltering in her grin Ichigo quickly dumped the whole bag into the soup and returning the now empty bag to her pocket with one hand and quickly mixing it with a finger of the other she saw to her satisfaction that the half-eaten soup looked no different. Looking up Ichigo saw Umbridge walking back to her bowl so she sent a quick, small pulse of reiatsu to Ulquiorra to signal that she had succeeded before racing back and re-entering her gigai. Blinking open her eyes to see nothing but the table Ichigo continued to feign sleep, while keeping a careful ear out for anything that might happen.

She didn't have to wait long, Ichigo had dumped far beyond the normal dose into Umbridge's soup and after just one swallow the ministry appointed professor had dropped her spoon and was futile holding her hands over her mouth to stop something, but to no avail. Her mouth was eventually forced open as vibrant; rainbow colored vomit came pouring out of her mouth.

Ichigo 'woke-up' when a thunderous roar of laughter resounded through the hall, "Whuzzgoing'on?"

Harry was in near tears, Hermione was holding her mouth shut to stop the laughter and Ron looked almost ready to fall off his seat. Harry managed to answer amid gasps for air, "Umbridge— gasp –Look at— gasp — Umbridge."

Looking over to the head table Ichigo saw many of the professors trying valiantly to not laugh as they half-heartedly attempted to help Umbridge, who was spewing rainbows all over the floor. Both Ichigo and Ulquiorra had no idea what the powder would do and soon joined in with the rest of the student body, at one point Ichigo made eye contact with Severus whose eyes were glittering with amusement despite having a blank face. The potions master raised an eyebrow to silently ask if this was her doing, Ichigo gave him a small nod that resulted in a smirk stretching across his face. Eventually Umbridge was escorted off to the hospital wing amid the laughing droves of students. As she vanished out of sight Dumbledore stood up, causing the students to at least attempt to stop laughing so they could hear him.

"I must say, this has broken the record for the time it takes for a new teacher to be pranked. I know that I won't be answered, but may I please ask the person, or persons" He looked at the Weasley twins "to step forward."

Noticing the entire Great Hall was looking at them Fred and George both threw up their hands, "Whoa, don't go assuming-"

"That it was us!"

"We swear that this time-"

"We didn't do it-"

"But-" They wore fiendish smirks,

"We did supply the perpetrators,"

"And they were a huge success,"

"And are our new partners,"

"No way are we throwing them-"

"To the wolves, prankster's honor!"

They both finished saying the same line at the same time and with identical grins directed at Dumbledore who, along with the rest of the Great Hall seemed surprised that for once the Twins did not do it.

Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle madly as he smiled, "Well, I'll have to take your word for it. For our mysterious partners out there, I must ask that you not repeat this incident."

As he finished Dumbledore sat down and the gossip began at the news of new pranksters. At the Gryffindor table Hermione was sending a critical glare at Fred and George,

Ichigo decided to help them, "It wasn't them Hermione."

She looked over to Ichigo with confusion, "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"You were glaring at them like Lucy from Bram Stoker's novel glared at Van Helsing and Co."

Hermione blinked, "You read the original Dracula?"

Ichigo grinned, she had managed to throw Hermione's ire away from the twins and by adding the book reference managed to keep suspicion away from her and Ulquiorra.

"Yup, I quite enjoyed it too. Although John Harker was a bit of a baka, I mean how many supernatural warnings can one ignore?"

Hermione grinned, 'hook, line and sinker' thought Ichigo, "I know! I mean first he ignores all of the villagers' warnings and fears about Dracula and he actually counted the old lady who practically threw a rosary at him crazy."

Both Ichigo and Hermione talked about their likes and dislikes concerning the Victorian novel while Harry and Ron stared at them in horror. Harry turned to Ulquiorra, "Don't tell me you read that book too."

Ulquiorra merely looked at Harry, "What is wrong with reading Stoker's Dracula? It was an engaging read, quite interesting although Reinfield was a bit weird."

Ron looked between the still talking girls and Ulquiorra, "Mental, you are all mental."

The week went on without incident; Umbridge began to analyze her food with paranoia unmatched by only Mad-eye Moody. However, that didn't stop Ichigo and Ulquiorra from setting up pranks in her room. It didn't take long for Harry to be found out by Ron regarding his detentions however, which led to some discontent between the Golden Trio. By the time Friday came around it ended with the group settled back into the Common Room as Ichigo and Ulquiorra finished up their homework, they had managed to stay on top of it by finishing it the day it was assigned so as to prevent it from piling up on them. Ron and Harry however were frantically working on a literal mound of papers just waiting to be finished while Hermione was sleeping at a desk. But when Harry woke her she began talking about hats and house elves,

"Sorry Harry, I've just been staying up so late working on hats. They've been disappearing like crazy!"

Ichigo and Ulquiorra walked over to sit next to Hermione when Harry just shook his head and left.

"What's this about house elves and hats?" Ichigo asked,

Hermione beamed at them, "It is a part of S.P.E.W or the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, did you know that Hogwarts is enslaving over hundreds of house elves that are forced to clean up after you and cook your meals?"

Ichigo could see that Hermione was passionate about this, but she had chosen the wrong topic. House elves were like hollows in a way, they could not ignore their natures.

"Hermione," Ichigo started in a low tone, "Look, I understand that you want to support equal rights for all magical beings, but house elves are different."

Hermione sent her a glare, "So what about Dobby? Should he have stayed enslaved?"

Ichigo raised a hand "No Hermione, what I am saying is that you should look at the race as a whole rather than a few individuals."

Hermione opened her mouth but Ichigo cut her off, "Have you ever heard of the story about the shoemakers and the elves? That is a muggle story based on house elves. What happened when the house elves were found?"

Hermione closed her mouth, gazing sullenly at Ichigo,

"Look, what I'm saying is that there are pacts, people and races older than yourself which have been at play for far longer than you know."

As she said this Ichigo couldn't help but think about how she felt when she gazed out upon Hueco Mundo, the vast never ending desert made one feel insignificant.

"But Dobby didn't like working for the Malfoys, he was happy to be free! The other house elves are just brainwashed into thinking otherwise."

Ichigo had to admit, Hermione sure was determined, "And what if Dobby were an outlier? Are you sure the others are brainwashed?"

Hermione bit her lip, "No-"

Ulquiorra's voice then carried over, "Sometimes, natures cannot be ignored."

Ichigo knew he was talking about when he was a full hollow, the ever present hunger drove every hollow to become monsters in the eyes of many.

Hermione however was curious, "What do you mean?"

At this point Harry came over and reminded Ichigo that they had to go to detention and with a quick look to Ulquiorra promising she'd be back soon the two left for their daily torture. As soon as they left Ron grabbed his broom and also ran out the door.

Seeing the broom Hermione sighed, "We can continue this conversation at the quidditch pitch, you coming?"

Seeing that he had no choice since Ichigo was gone Ulquiorra complied. The two quickly caught up with Ron, who immediately turned red with embarrassment at being caught wanting to try out for the now open keeper position. Ulquiorra said nothing as he followed the two out to the vast stadium and sat down next to Hermione in the stands.

"So what were you saying about natures?"

Ulquiorra sighed, her curiosity was annoying. "I'm sure Harry has already told you and Ron about our friends Grimmjow and Nel being, hybrids."

The bookworm next to him shifted uneasily,

"It is alright, Ichigo wouldn't have told him had she not known that your three share everything."

Hermione's brown eyes almost shined with relief as Ulquiorra continued,

"Now, with Grimmjow and Nel, they are the Dobbys so to speak. They are the two out of the thousands of the full versions of what they are that are…human."

Hermione cocked her head to one side, "What do you mean? What are the full versions?"

Now Ulquiorra looked slightly uncomfortable, 'Where is Ichigo when you need her?'

"The wizarding world is currently unaware of the existence of the type of beings that Nel and Grimmjow are. The full versions are, I guess we can call them Minuses."

Inwardly Ulquiorra could hear feel his zanpakuto rolling her eyes as she criticized the name, 'Sure, go for the opposite of pluses. Real original there.'

Hermione meanwhile frowned, "They aren't really called that, are they."

Ulquiorra shook his head, "No, but I don't want to give them away."

His answer was accepted, "Then what are the natures of these Minuses?"

Ulquiorra's eyes gained a distant look, "They have no true sanity or reason, they can interact with people but most merely have succumbed to their instincts."

Hermione seemed shocked, "That's horrible!"

Closing his eyes Ulquiorra shut away the dark memories, "It is much worse, but it is not just my secret to tell."

With his eyes closed Ulquiorra missed the look of worry Hermione sent him, she finally broke her gaze when Ron went up for keeper but she felt like she needed to keep a closer eye on both Ulquiorra and Ichigo. Hermione now felt like she agreed with Harry and his fears of losing the enigmatic duo.

LLLLLLLLLLLLL

Later in the evening the group could be found in the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry had been found out regarding the detentions by Ron and had been scolded by his friends for not telling them while Ichigo and Ulquiorra looked on and plotted the next prank on Umbridge. Around midnight they were the only ones left in the Common Room, and it was then that Sirius's head popped into the fireplace much to the Golden Trio's shock.

"Well, it is certainly good to see you five. Although Ichigo and Ulquiorra don't look surprised to see me."

Ichigo grinned, "Nope, Hat n' Clog's methods are much more, memorable."

Sirius blinked, while Ron seemed incredulous, "What could be more memorable than a floating head in the fireplace?" He seemed to want to defend the wizarding way of communication,

Ichigo just laughed, "You'd have to see to believe."

Sirius seemed unsure, "Anyway, right to business. Harry, about your scar…"

Ichigo and Ulquiorra watched as they discussed Harry's scar and its link with Voldemort. It was when Sirius mentioned visiting them at Hogsmeade in dog form that Ichigo joined into the conversation.

"Sirius, listen to me. I understand that you want to be close to Harry, and that you are also in a place that holds nothing but bad memories. But you have to see that by staying there you are helping Harry more than being here."

The former convict seemed unconvinced, "And how does that work?"

Ulquiorra sighed, "Harry already is worried about his hand being cut open by Umbridge in detention, the whole wizarding world too afraid to admit Voldemort's return, the knowledge that his mind is connected to a man who wants him dead, and school work on top. By not putting yourself in danger it is less for him to worry about, that and you are the only parental figure he has. He doesn't want to lose you."

Sirius stared wide-eyed at Ulquiorra, "Since when did you start talking so much?"

Ulquiorra's eye twitched and Ichigo defended him with a slight frown at Sirius's attempt to change the subject, "It doesn't matter who said it, Ulquiorra's words ring true."

Sirius frowned, "Alright, I'll stay. I have to go though, I hear Kreacher creeping through the halls."

Ichigo and Ulquiorra didn't bother calling him out on his obvious lie. They watched as his head disappeared with a small –pop— and Harry collapsed into a chair with a heaving sigh.

"I just don't want him getting caught."

Ichigo patted her cousin on the back, "We know Harry, we know."

It was then that there was a slight tapping on the window, looking over Ichigo saw Ulquiorra let in an owl that Ron identified to be from his brother Percy.

Ichigo was about to ignore the others when they began reading over the letter but paused as she caught a few words. When they finished Ron was about to rip the letter to shreds when Ichigo snatched it from him with a massive grin.

"I can't believe it! Finally someone who understands the enemy!"

The Golden Trio just stared at her as if she were insane. "Huh?"

Ichigo smacked the parchment with the back of her hand, "Come on! You mean to tell me you didn't see it?"

Hermione's face scrunched up in confusion, "See what?"

Ichigo smacked her face with her hand as Ulquiorra hung his head. "Seriously? Look, 'Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post.' He then continues by telling you to keep it from prying eyes."

Ichigo was met with blank stares, Ulquiorra had understood what she was getting at though, "It means that he is trying to tell you something without others finding out."

Ron seemed shocked, "But Percy is just a git who practically left the family!"

Ichigo deadpanned, "Has he taken any legal action? Or was it just words?"

The others looked at each other, none of them having realized that fact.

Ichigo plowed on through their thick skulls, "He then says, 'but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts for much longer and the people who count have a very different…view of Harry Potter' He is telling you that Fudge plans to move against Dumbledore soon and try to kick him out of his position."

Ichigo ignored the looks of horror and read on, "He continues with mentioning an article in the Daily Prophet tomorrow that will make things easier for Umbrige, directly implying that it would become harder for us."

Looking up from the paper Ichigo grinned at Ron, "Ron, your brother is a damn genius!"

Ron stared blankly, "I still don't get it."

Ichigo rolled her eyes as Ulquiorra thwacked Ron in the back of the head,

"Your brother is a spy."

Harry's eyes bugged out of his head. "What?"

Ichigo couldn't believe how thick they were. 'Remind me again how we are related?'

"Look" she began irritably, "The Ministry is run by Fudge. Fudge is primarily against Dumbledore and Harry is being used as the scapegoat for Fudge's plans."

Harry opened his mouth, "Don't interrupt!" Ichigo snapped.

"Now, with the minister of magic against Dumbledore our current adversary has access to records and can find out any of Dumbledore's possible allies. Meaning that it is incredibly hard for Dumbledore to get a plant in Fudge's personal office. "

Ichigo grinned as Hermione gave an "OH!" of understanding, someone was getting it.

"Percy realized this, and since he was already in the Ministry he was in a prime position. Especially since he was new to the office and lacked any previous political affiliations. So he tried to solidify his position in Fudge's good graces, but to do so he had to distance himself from your family because they were so close to Dumbledore."

Ron seemed to be slightly convinced, but he still doubted Ichigo's claim. "If that is the case then why didn't he tell us? We would have understood!"

Ichigo shook her head, "Would you? Face it Ron your family is slightly prejudiced against Slytherins and espionage is a very Slytherin trait. That and seriously Ron, your family with the apparent exception of Percy sucks at acting."

Ron opened his mouth to defend his family before closing it with a sullen expression when he had no comeback.

Harry and Hermione just stared hard at Ichigo, "And you found all of that out from just a letter?"

Ichigo rolled her eyes, something she noticed she was doing a lot of lately. "Yes, your point?"

Hermione just shook her head, "You should think about working for the ministry or be an auror after Hogwarts, you two are very perceptive."

Ichigo just shook her head as Ulquiorra replied, "We already have plans back in Japan."

'Yea,' Ichigo mused, 'We are a part of the Goeti 14, we can't just abandon them to work for a ministry of a foreign country and risk exposure of the afterlife when people notice that we aren't aging.'

The Golden Trio looked slightly sheepish, Harry especially, "Sorry, we kinda forgot you live in Japan."

Ichigo smiled, "No worries, though you should probably throw this letter into the fire anyway Ron. No need to have others finding out."

With that Ichigo yawned and said she was heading off to bed, Ulquiorra following her example as they turned in for the night leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione alone by the fireplace.

Ron followed Ichigo's advice with Percy's letter, a new respect for his brother whom he would previously throw off a cliff without a care.

"I can't believe it you know?"

The others looked up from the flames, "About Percy?"

Ron nodded, "Yea, it's just, my whole life he's been just a pompous git but now…"

"It's like he is a whole other person," Finished Hermione quietly.

"Yea," Ron nodded.

Harry though was adding his cousin's perceptiveness into what he already knew about her, and looking over everything he realized that there were huge gaps in his knowledge, alarming gaps.

"Harry, Harry— HARRY!" Hermione's shout shocked him out of his daze,

"Whah?"

Hermione looked worried, "We just wanted to know what you thought about Percy."

Ron joined in, "But you kinda just zoned out there mate."

Harry shook his head, "It's Ichigo and Ulquiorra, have either of you noticed how weird they are?"

Both of his friends sent him curious looks, "What do you mean?"

Hermione seemed thoughtful though, "I think he means how they act, when I talked to Ichigo today she was telling me about what she thought of S.P.E.W. and she brought up an interesting point."

Ron sniggered, "What, that she thinks the elves disagree with being associated with 'spew-ing' anything?"

Hermione sent him a withering glare, "No, what I was going to say is that she reminded me of an old muggle story about the elves and the shoemaker and then told me that maybe house elves take care of wizards because it is a part of what they are."

Ron and Harry looked at Hermione as though she had just grown two more heads, "Are you saying you want to give up Spew?"

"No! I will never give up S.P.E.W!" She snapped, "But Ichigo opened me up to trying alternate ways, perhaps raising wizard awareness of the excessive cruelty of house elves in situations like Dobby rather than freeing them."

Ron looked over to Harry, "Mate, your cousin has struck again. She defies nature! First she beats up Fred and George, then being friends with Snape, showing up Umbridge, now changing Hermione's mind about Spew! What next?"

Hermione bit her lip to hold back a laugh, "It wasn't just that though, when Ichigo mentioned natures Ulquiorra joined in. It was at that point you had detention," she nodded to Harry, "And you ran off to the Quidditch Pitch." She turned to look at Ron.

"When we were in the stands Ulquiorra told me that he and Ichigo knew that Harry had told us what he knew about their friends being hybrids of some species that is unknown to wizards."

Ron made a choking sound, "What? But, how can anything exist and wizards not know? There's got to be a book on them somewhere."

Hermione shook her head, "I wouldn't know, I would assume they have already looked but I can't since I don't have anything to go on besides the fact that they look human. But…" She paused, "What Ulquiorra told me about Minuses, the cover name for the full versions of what Nel and Grimmjow are."

With the heavy, almost sorrowful tone Hermione spoke both Ron and Harry grew worried, the news couldn't be good. "The Minuses are completely run by instinct; Ulquiorra said that their instincts are so strong that most lose their sanity."

Ron's face had paled to a sickly parlor, as did Harry's, "Bloody hell! What about their friends?"

Harry spoke up, "Their friends are only half Minus, their human half must keep the instincts at bay. Or maybe they are like werewolves, normal people most of the time, except for certain times of the year."

Hermione nodded, "That seems to be the most plausible situation, but to exist like that." She shivered, "It must be horrible."

Hermione's words reminded Harry of his theory about his cousin and her boyfriend, his mouth going dry he then decided to bounce his theory off his friends, "What, what if Ichigo and Ulquiorra are also hybrids? I mean, the Bowtruckles were afraid of them and they said other animals are, and they were pissed at Umbridge after she talked about the so called 'dangerous half-breeds' rant."

Their eyes widened beyond normal proportions and Harry would have laughed had he not been so serious.

"That would explain how Ulquiorra acted when he told me about Minuses," Hermione whispered, "He seemed so blank, like he was lost in memories, what if… what if the instincts he was talking about weren't those of other Minuses, but his own."

None of the three spoke, each lost in their fears and each worried about the two foreigners who had managed to become such a part of their lives despite all their secrets.

After ten minutes had passed Hermione finally spoke up, an iron hard determination in her voice, "Ichigo and Ulquiorra are our friends and Harry's family. We can't confront them about this."

Ron seemed shocked, "Why not? Maybe we can help."

Harry shook his head, "I'll have to go with Hermione on this, and it is obviously secret for a reason. I don't think even Dumbledore knows. But think about it, whenever we ask them a question they are honest, they have yet to tell us a lie and if they don't want to answer they tell us, or say we will find out later."

Ron blinked,

"I think they are planning to tell us eventually but like Ichigo told me about her friends, it was better to know the who before the what and I think the same applies with her and Ulquiorra."

Harry heaved a sigh, "They obviously trust us, and we should probably return that trust and not mention what we know." He then continued in a quiet voice, "And I don't want to lose her trust."

The three all nodded at each other.

The following morning found the Golden Trio coming downstairs to see both Ichigo and Ulquiorra waiting impatiently for them near the portrait door.

"Would you three hurry it up? We want to read that article Percy mentioned."

The trio grinned at her, despite what they thought they knew she was still the Ichigo that was Harry's strange cousin. By the time the group of five made it down to breakfast and both Ichigo and Ulquiorra ate a quick meal of eggs and toast.

"Eating faster won't make the post come sooner." Harry laughed,

Ichigo glared at him but couldn't do much else with some egg sticking out of her mouth. Ulquiorra saw the glare and his lips curved up slightly with a smile. As Ichigo finished swallowing a dark haired girl of Asian descent walked up to Harry.

"Hey Harry, how are you?"

Harry almost choked on his pumpkin juice, "F-fine, how are you Cho?"

Ichigo had a fiendish smirk plastered onto her face that made the twins who were about to approach her with a prank idea backing away slowly before rushing back to their seats. With amber eyes almost glowing in mischief she recognized the girl as the one Harry had a crush on.

'Oh, time to pay my cousin back for keeping those detentions secret! And some good o'l family teasing.' Ichigo crowed in her head,

Leaning onto Harry's shoulder she reached an arm over and pinched his cheek gently before cooing in a voice reserved only for taunting, "Aww, does my wittle Harry have a cwush."

At that Ron bust out laughing, desperately holding a hand over his mouth to stop but failing while Ulquiorra choked on his milk at the voice Ichigo was using. Quickly turning her head to face him Ichigo sent him a look promising punishment if word of that voice ever reached anyone back home. Seeing the look Ulquiorra threw his hands up appeasement and made a zipping motion over his lips.

"Who are you?"

Ichigo looked back to Cho who was staring at Ichigo with slight accusation in her eyes, removing her arm from Harry; who was now so red one could fry an egg on his face Ichigo responded airily, "Put the claws away, you couldn't scratch me."

Cho's eye gave a slight twitch before relaxing as Ichigo held out a hand and introduced herself, "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, one of the Japanese transfers and Harry's previously lost cousin."

Cho seemed curious now, "I didn't know Harry had family in Japan."

Retracting her hand once it had been shaken Ichigo explained, "Well, our mothers were half-sisters and we only found out about each other when geta-boshi; my godfather." Ichigo amended at Cho's confused look, "Told Dumbledore about me and then the two old men kinda threw us together. Apparently they go way back, knew each other from the war with Grindenwald."

"Oh," Cho seemed to accept Ichigo's explanation before looking over to Ulquiorra, who took that as a cue to introduce himself, "I am Ulquiorra Ciffer, nice to meet you."

Ichigo rolled her eyes at Ulquiorra's emotionless introduction, "He's my boyfriend, and before you start asking for info to gossip with we have been going steady for quite a while and I shall tell nothing else."

Cho seemed amused, "Why do you think I would gossip?"

Ichigo had her usual scowl on as she pointed to the eagerly listening gaggle of girls who Cho had previously been sitting with.

Cho looked slightly sheepish, "Oh, yea. Well, it was nice meeting you. See you around Harry."

Harry barely managed to strangle out a "Good-bye," and "You too." Before he rounded onto Ichigo once Cho was out of sight.

"What the hell was that for?"

Ichigo grinned, "What? Can't handle a tease? Just breaking the ice."

Harry continued to grill his cousin, "But did you have to say it like that? I didn't even know you could say it like that."

Ichigo gave a slight chuckle, "Trust me, I have a reputation to keep so I won't be talking like that at all anymore. But I think you two would make a cute couple."

Harry just groaned and slammed his head onto the table. Ichigo and Ulquiorra looked up as the morning post came in, as an owl dropped off Hermione's copy of the morning news Ichigo quickly snatched it off the owl and began scanning it for anything relating to Umbridge or Hogwarts.

"Kuso!"

Everyone began to try and look over Ichigo's shoulder before she slammed down the paper, her amber eyes burning with restrained anger. Wondering what could get her so worked up Harry began reading the article Ichigo had pointed out. When he finished Harry was appalled,

"How can they call that hag a success? Everyone hates her!"

Ichigo just sat there glowering at the paper, eventually she looked up to Ulquiorra and nodded to her, "Time for plan self-destruct."

Ulquiorra nodded, "It shall be completed."

Harry forgot his anger as he asked Ichigo what the plan was.

"You'll find out, I need you to keep a straight face in class so we'll tell you details later."

The day continued on as normal, except for the occasional spell blow-up for Ichigo and Ulquiorra. When they finally filed into Umbridge's room all was silent as their pink professor began with the usual opening of "Good afternoon class, put away your wands and take out your textbooks."

As the class chorused back a "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge." Ulquiorra stood out with a "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge-temae."

The professor stood still and stared at Ulquiorra,

"May I ask why you added something to my name Mr. Ciffer?"

Ulquiorra nodded his head in a respectful manner, his face entirely devoid of emotion, "Yes Professor Umbridge-temae, it is a term denoting the level of respect I have for one such as yourself."

Umbridge smiled sickeningly at Ulquiorra, who was fighting the urge to cero her point blank.

"Why, thank you Mr. Ciffer, I am glad to see some students showing me the proper respect."

In the back of the class Ichigo smirked, 'Desperate, absolutely desperate. I think Ulquiorra deserves a kiss for this though.'

The class passed as usual and Ichigo ignored the curious looks the Golden Trio kept giving her and the betrayed looks they sent Ulquiorra. When they left class the two were cornered.

"What the bloody hell was that? 'that is the term which denotes the level of respect I have for you' really?"

"We thought you hated her!"

"Why did you tell her that? Now she will expect others to start calling her Umbridge-temae."

Ichigo couldn't take it anymore, with a laugh she leaned over to Ulquiorra who's lips were slightly curled up into a smile. Holding the back of his head Ichigo quickly brushed her lips gently against Ulquiorra's, making him pause in surprise before the two began to get involved in their kiss only to be interrupted by Ron, who rudely shouted at them to get a room.

Breaking apart Ichigo turned away from a slightly dazed Ulquiorra. "the –temae ending is an insult guys."

The three blinked, "But he said it showed the level of respect he had for her."

Ulquiorra rejoined reality, "And it is true, the amount of respect I have for that trash is of the insult level."

Harry shook his head, "Sometimes I think you two would be better in Ravenclaw or Slytherin, with minds like those."

Hermione just gave a hollow laugh, "I wouldn't want to get on your bad sides."

Ichigo's grin gained a slightly predatory edge to it, "Nope, you wouldn't at all, for more reasons than one."