Chapter 11. I don't know how I wrote so much with this one. Almost 5000 words and the book is barely used for details. I think this is one of my favourites so far. So, without further a due, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Bleach. I'm just letting you all see inside my crazy mind to see what the two look like fused together.
Image Disclaimer: Image by FrAgMenT from deviantART
11 - Training and Discovery
No sooner had the holidays started had they ended also. Students trickled back into the magical halls once more and the previous routine started back up. The library was once again filled, Quidditch practices resumed like normal, the only difference in anything being the intensity of the activities. Teachers pushed harder in lessons now that the students had adapted to the school, the work load increasing and becoming more difficult. Quidditch quickly become many students' focus as they match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was rapidly approaching. Tatsuki had begged to two to join her to watch the match when it happened, not noticing the grimaces they shot each other. What would Tatsuki be like watching a match live instead of simply telling the story? They weren't sure they wanted to know.
Still, after the short time they had been back at Hogwarts, Ichigo had begun to grow impatient. Kugo had said he would contact him after the holidays but so far, no word had been heard. Was he doing this purposely to watch him struggle or had he literally forgotten.
It didn't help that Kugo had been very allusive. Ichigo couldn't get near him in classes to ask him discretely with all the Slytherin around him and he couldn't find him after the lessons ended. He just kept disappearing just as he found him.
And, just when Ichigo was reaching his limit, an owl arrived at breakfast for him with a small note attached to its leg:
Friday at nine. Meet in the previous room.
"Finally," Ichigo thought in relief before turning his attention to his two friends. The problem was that they didn't know what he had planned. Part of him wanted to tell them but the rational part of his brain reminded him of his dad's warning. The magic he was using wasn't meant to be common knowledge.
"No," he thought. "I'll need to sneak out. It shouldn't be too hard. Chad's a heavy sleeper and Tatsuki won't know. Let's just hope I get back before they notice.
Ichigo looked at his watch again, counting down the seconds. He would have already left but his other dorm mates had been reluctant to fall asleep, instead talking about the upcoming Quidditch match. Ichigo still didn't understand how some people could be so obsessed with the sport. Where was the appeal?
Looking back at his watch, he saw the time showing eight thirty. Just enough time to make it. Ichigo slowly counted to himself as he listened to the sounds of snoring. One, two, three… Where was the fourth? A large snore came from the corner of the room making Ichigo sigh in relief. That was four. It was time to go.
Lifting himself of the bed slightly, he peered out of the curtains. His eyes adjusted to the small light by the door and he slowly pushed himself out through the curtains. Slowly treading, he quickly reached the door and slipped out, moving quickly towards the common room.
He barely managed to duck behind something as he entered when the noise attracted the room's sole occupant. Cedric Diggory sat by the fire, doing what looked like some last minute work. The noise of the door had obviously startled him.
Cedric stared towards the door that Ichigo had come from before speaking a bit loudly than normal.
"I guess I should get to bed. I just need to organise these notes. Hopefully it won't take too long."
Ichigo got the message and snuck to the staircase leading up as Cedric turned. He hadn't interacted with the third year much but he could see that he was alright if he wasn't bothering to catch him. He must have snuck out at some point as well and wasn't going to question him.
That almost caused Ichigo to laugh which would have defeated the purpose of stealth. Cedric was seen as a role model to students. He was diligent in his work, always offering advice to those who needed it, and was the star of the Quidditch team for Hufflepuff. I wonder what they would think if they found out that he was actually a late night explorer as the Weasley twins referred to themselves as.
Finally free of the house, Ichigo snuck through the corridors quickly, wary of any Prefects or Teachers on patrol or even Filch himself or his cat, Mrs Norris. The cat was some kind of demon. How else could anyone explain the telepathic connection between her and Filch. No matter how far away he was, he got to her almost a minute or two after she called him.
The classroom took most a while to get to in the end. He almost ran into a Gryffindor Prefect with red hair on the route, barely dodging behind a suit of armour nearby. Luckily the ghosts nearby distracted the red haired boy and allowed him to escape. They even pointed out a few shortcuts that would get him there more easily. Ichigo could swear that the ghosts weren't supposed to encourage this behaviour.
The door swung open as Ichigo reached it, Kugo standing there waiting. "Five minutes left cousin. I thought you would have been here quicker with how you've been looking the past few weeks."
"I was delayed," Ichigo shot back, a scowl on his face. "It wasn't easy to sneak out while other people are discussing Quidditch loudly for over an hour."
"Regardless," said Kugo smiling. "We should get going."
"Wait," Ichigo said in confusion. "Aren't we practicing here?"
"Here?" said Kugo, raising an eyebrow at the question. "Sure, if you want to alert everyone in the castle to what we are doing. Fullbring training isn't exactly quiet or calm. The teachers would sense the energy given off as well, regardless if they can actually identify it."
"But you already used your Fullbring here. Won't they have caught on to that?"
"Don't worry," said Kugo as he started walking, motioning for Ichigo to follow. "I kept it under control. They might have caught a blip or something but not enough to locate it. All I did was release it. It's much more noticeable when you fight or don't show restraint with your power. I get the feeling you will find the latter harder than most."
Before Ichigo could protest the claims, Kugo put a finger to his lips for silence. They heard soft footsteps, slowly getting closer before Kugo dragged Ichigo off in a different direction. Half the passageways they went down were completely new to Ichigo. "Kugo must have had snuck out a lot to know these routes," Ichigo thought. "How else would he be so confident with these paths."
After a while of sneaking through the corridors, Ichigo found them going upwards towards one of the towers. The snaking staircases stretched upwards towards the top and they didn't stop at any floors until they reached it.
The door in front of them was quite ancient. The hinges, the handle, the wood. It was older than all the doors in the castle from what it seemed.
"No one ever bothered with this door's upkeep," explained Kugo, watching his cousin from the corner of his eye. "It's the same door as from when this castle was built and it hasn't even been worn away by the passing of time."
"The founders must have put a lot of care in this doors construction," muttered Ichigo. Kugo nodded in response before placing his hand on the door. Nothing happened for a moment until Ichigo saw a faint flicker of green light from Kugo's hand.
In response, marking on the door glowed green, as if identifying them. With a sudden click, they faded and the door swung open.
Kugo led Ichigo into the room before glancing behind them and shutting the door. Lights lit up the room from torches on the walls, responding to the need for light. The room was completely bare. Nothing was there in the small room except for an archway in the centre of the room.
The archway seemed to be made of something different than the stone of the walls. It seemed almost metal like in its colour and appearance, like a pure silver doorway. Runes were etched into the metal in elaborate patterns, forming complex arrays and scattered together in clusters, yet somehow all linking together.
"Let's give it a try. Try summoning some of the Magic your Fullbring uses."
Ichigo turned to Kugo puzzled. "How? I haven't been able to get my Fullbring working since Halloween."
Kugo sighed before pointing at the cross around Ichigo's right wrist. "What did you feel when you summoned your Fullbring for the first time? What did you feel? No, don't tell me. Just think it and use the energy on the archway."
Ichigo took a breath as he thought back. What had he thought? He had wanted to protect his friends, he knew that. But that wasn't all was it. What triggered it? What else did he think about desperately at that time? The only other thoughts he had was on his mother-
Ichigo stopped his thoughts as he felt the familiar energy. Not letting it escape, he pressed his hand against the archway and watched as the runes glowed brightly. The lights danced along each other until all the runes were shining brightly when energy began gathering in the archway. It expanded out slowly until it filled the archway, showing a space through the newly formed portal.
"So that's it," thought Ichigo as he watched in amazement. "The reason I want to protect people originated from mum's death. It was that memory that I needed."
"Well done Ichigo," Kugo said as he patted Ichigo on the back. "Lesson one is complete. Let's head in and continue onto lesson two."
The two stepped through the portal to find themselves leaving a similar archway. It closed behind them as the two exited it and, like before, lights lit around the room, welcoming their presence.
The room was different than the previous room. They seemed to be in what looked like a grand hall type room where the archway was the only thing that rested. Elegant designs could be seen on the walls, as if runes had been individually crafted into the very essence of them. Around the large room, large doors stood around the room, each leading to somewhere else. Ichigo couldn't resist taking a look through them.
The first one was a simple corridor which led to many other rooms. From peaking into one of them, it seemed likely that they were all bedrooms, far grander than the ones back in the dorms. One of these rooms was filled with red and gold while another favoured silver and green. The second door led to a small library with a few desks. The rest of the room contained either bookcases or boards. Near the boards was the largest of the tables with plenty of chairs surrounding it. The other rooms were similar to what Hogwarts had. There was a small kitchen, a greenhouse, a lab, even a classroom.
There also seemed to be a meeting room in the place, filled with many chairs of different designs. One was made with ornate snakes attached to it why another had eagles on the head. Some were more basic and there was even one that seemed to be made of bones. At the side of the room was a large glass window, exposing the area they seemed to be under. From the looks of things, they seemed to be under the black lake if the Merpeople they could see passing every so often was anything to go by. The Giant Squid was also a big giveaway.
The final room was much bigger than all the previous ones. The walls looked stronger than the others and it was almost three times the size of the others. A few extra doors in the room revealed things like showers and armouries along with storage cupboards for those training in the room.
When Ichigo finally turned back towards Kugo, he saw him leaning against one of the walls of the training hall, waiting patiently. "Done?" he joked.
"Sorry," said Ichigo embarrassed. "What is this place?"
"To be honest? I haven't the faintest. I never heard of it in any stories about Hogwarts. The books don't cover this place either."
"I see. Shall we get started?"
Kugo didn't answer and instead walking into the centre of the room. Drawing his badge from his pocket, he held it out and activated his Fullbring. A second later and the first stage of Cross of Scaffold had formed. The only difference than before was that it felt different. Stronger.
"Ichigo," Kugo called out to him. "The lesson is beginning. Try and survive."
"Wait, what…" Ichigo didn't get any further as he barely dodged the slash from the large broadsword. Kugo hit out with his foot and knocked Ichigo back before swing back round with his sword.
Dodging backwards, Ichigo shouted towards Kugo. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Summon your Fullbring or you'll die," responded Kugo, swiping out at Ichigo.
Ichigo ducked under the strike and felt the energy he had drawn on before. Grabbing it, he channelled it down in his cross allowing the familiar tsuba to appear. He barely brought it up in time to collide with Kugo's blade.
"Fullbrings," Kugo said as he stabbed again towards Ichigo, "Start off with a focus on one thing. Your situation at the time along with your will gave it the focus it has. To protect." Kugo let the edge of Ichigo's Fullbring to hit him only for no damage to appear. "You see. It can't cut and it can't slash. If you want to even get a chance at beating me, work out what it can do quickly."
"He's right," thought Ichigo as he retreated back. "But how did I defeat the troll? I thought the attack damaged it. How did I do so?"
His thoughts wondered too much as he felt pain appear as the sword slashed by his cheek. Blood trickled down the wound as Ichigo jumped over the slash at his legs that followed.
"Don't get distracted," Kugo shouted at him. "Let your mind lose focus on what's in front of you and you won't survive."
"He's right," Ichigo thought as he put some distance between himself and Kugo. "But what can I do? I can't cut him and I can't get enough force in this to hit him with my Fullbring. So what do I do? Think. How did I beat the troll?"
Thinking back to the fight, Ichigo suddenly realised what he needed to do.
"I threw it," thought Ichigo. "I threw it and let the energy harm the troll."
Kugo watched Ichigo cautiously from a distance, noticing the determined look in his eyes. "He's got it."
Pulling his right hand back, Ichigo swung the Fullbring at Kugo and released his hold on the tsuba, letting it fly at Kugo, the chain of energy connecting the tsuba back to Ichigo's wrist. The attack collided straight into Kugo's hastily raised guard and caught him unaware. The attack broke past the guard and smashed into his arm.
Grimacing slightly, Kugo rubbed his arm to dull the pain. It hadn't been on the level that had beaten the troll but it had been enough to at least hurt him. Kugo couldn't resist smiling as Ichigo caught the Tsuba on its return trip. If Ichigo was going to learn this quickly, this would be fun.
They continued fighting for what seemed forever for Ichigo, blow after blow being exchanged. Despite the damage he had managed to inflict, Kugo hadn't even slowed down, actually fighting tougher as time passed. It was just as Ichigo was ready to collapse when Kugo finally called a halt to their spar.
"Not bad Ichigo," Kugo spoke as he let Cross of Scaffold return to its badge form. Ichigo did the same with his Fullbring as Kugo continued speaking. "If this keeps up, I'll need to speed up my plans for your lessons. Did anyone tell you that you are a quick learner?"
"The teachers may have mentioned it," muttered Ichigo quietly. He could never tell what they were thinking when they talked about his learning ability. He was sworn that he had heard unnatural at one point during one of his lessons.
"Well then. We better end it here. You can't fight for more than an hour max against me at your current ability and I wasn't even pushing you much yet. I'll let you know when the next meeting is so in the meantime, build up your stamina and strength more. Fullbring involves a lot of physical fighting as you have seen, regardless whether or not the Fullbring is a ranged type or not."
"When will the next session be?" asked Ichigo impatiently. "Tomorrow?"
"Like I have said before. Calm down." Kugo paused before continuing. "We need to make sure this doesn't appear regular just in case anyone notices us leaving our dorms. We don't want anyone snooping into something they have no business dealing with. They don't have that right. I'll let you know soon when we can continue."
"Fine," accepted Ichigo. "Let's get out of here then. I just hope the teachers won't catch us on the way back."
"Don't say that," Kugo said seriously. "You just jinked us. If we get caught, I'm pinning the whole thing on you."
The two boys swiftly went back to the archway and, after Ichigo had reopened it for them, they travelled back through the portal and headed back to their respective dorms. Ichigo snuck back down to his room and crept into his bed. Not five seconds into lying on the sheets did Ichigo find himself falling asleep, exhaustion completely taking over. All the adrenaline from the night's events had finally worn off and he felt himself falling into a deep sleep, hoping no one would disturb him for a few hours. After that fight and the day's work, he needed the rest desperately.
"I hate this," muttered Tatsuki as her eyes glanced over the book in front of her. "Why is History of Magic so boring?"
"It can't be helped," said Chad, looking up from his Herbology essay. "The Headmaster said himself that he doesn't know how to get rid of him so they can't just hire a new teacher. Believe it or not, Professor Binns is still getting paid."
The three remembered it well when the Headmaster had explained it. It had all started when they hadn't been able to take the boring lessons anymore and started a boycott. They still had to learn for their exams and have the work in between marked but they just couldn't stand having him as a teacher for the rest of the year. They had been learning independently in the first place.
Naturally, others had quickly followed their example which eventually caused the Headmaster to have to intervene before it got out of hand. The main problem was that Professor Binns was just too oblivious to his status. Nothing could make him think that he wasn't still alive and, because of this, the Headmaster could not sack him since he didn't have it in him to sack the teacher who had given up the chance to pass on to teacher, even if it had been a decision he made unknowingly. Exorcists had even tried to get rid of him but they had been unsuccessful. Magic was used with intent and belief so they had no way to get rid of a ghost who was protected by magic since he truly believed himself to still be alive.
The hiatus of lessons didn't last long for most though as they found that they couldn't cope with catching up outside of lessons after using them for sleep for so long. At least before, they could get the rough history from the parts they heard while awake and research the rest later. Ichigo and his friends were the only ones still continuing the boycott. With the exception of Uryuu, everyone else ended up returning and leaving them to study independently. Even Hermione had gone back to the lessons. The idea of skiving was simply atrocious to her, despite the fact that they could learn much more without the Professor teaching.
"What can we do," Ichigo said, taking his attention away from his transfiguration notes. "Unless any of you guys know how to exorcise a ghost, we're stuck."
"You two said you could see ghosts back home," said Chad "Did any ever disappear?"
"A few, sure."
"Did you talk to them before they disappeared? If so, it might be that some of them need closure."
"That isn't the case," Tatsuki said in response. "We tried that before when we encountered a few of the more annoying ones. They just disappeared, no trace left behind except for the occasional damage from where they were."
Chad looked down dejectedly, going back to his essay. Tatsuki would have done the same with her book when she spotted Hermione entering the library with Harry and Ron. They looked like they were in a hurry to find something.
"I'll be right back," she said quickly to the boys before following after the three towards where they were talking to Madam Pince. She could just about hear snippets of their conversation. They seemed to be asking about a book that Hermione had returned a few days ago, Madam Pince being extremely unhelpful for them. But why would they be so desperate for a book. It can't be school related since otherwise, Hermione wouldn't be rushing so much. She had seen her do her work early. So why is she so desperate?
It suddenly clicked. Of course it couldn't be school work. What if it was about Nicolas Flamel. Chad had said that he had seen the three quite often in the library recently. Did this book hold the key?
Listening carefully to what the book was called, she sped further into the library, hoping to get to the book first. She sped past the bookcases one by one, scanning the labels for where she was looking. Finally, she found it. Right in the middle of the books in front of her was the book she was looking for. Taking it out, she examined it carefully.
It was an extremely old book, and large as well. It could take forever to look through it. Even the pages look old, despite the spells Madam Pince obviously used to preserve the books.
"Why do we need the book again Hermione?" came a voice round the corner sounding awfully like a certain red head.
"I told you Ron," Hermione's voice said as it got closer. "We might have missed something. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Tatsuki looked down at the book in her arms. If they found her now, they would get suspicious. Heck, they could even start suspecting herself and the others of trying to pull something, whatever that something is. But where could she run? She wouldn't be able to get away easily without them noticing and following when they saw the book. There was no doubt that Hermione would be able to identify it. Why would someone like herself even have such an old book in the first place?
Preparing herself to be found, she was caught off guard when the book was snatched out of her hands. Turning to the thief, she found herself facing Uryuu Ishida, looking awfully smug. Yet at the same time, he turned to the voices and quickly shoved Tatsuki away to another bookcase.
Hermione and the boys arrived just as she was about complain to him, causing her to pretend to search through the nearby books as if she was busy. Uryuu meanwhile, was examining the book he had taken before looking up to the arrivals.
"Hey," said Ron rudely as he saw the book that Uryuu was holding. "We need that book."
"So," said Uryuu coldly, staring at the trio with an icy glare.
"So…" Hermione stuttered out, her voice breaking slightly from the harsh look. "Can you please let us borrow that before you?"
"That's all you want?"
"Yeah," answered Harry.
Uryuu smiled triumphantly. "No thanks. You guys can wait. It's a first come, first serve type system after all."
"We just need it for a few minutes," said Harry angrily. "Don't be prat."
"Language," Uryuu said smugly. "You have an image to keep up after all, Boy Who Lived." He watched a vein pulse on Harry's head, the annoyance of being called that showing on his face. "Hit a nerve did I? I have an idea. Why don't you three run along like obedient little lions. Run along."
Grumbling in protest, the three left before Madam Pince came over to the cause of disruption. The moment they were out of sight, Uryuu took another look at the book in his hands before handing it back towards Tatsuki. Before she could ask what he was doing, he raised his hand to stop her.
"Don't," he said, not looking at her. "I don't want any favours and I didn't do this to be nice. I was here at the time so I lent a hand. Don't get any ideas on how I think of you lot."
Tatsuki was speechless. Uryuu was helping them, admittedly because he was nearby, but still. Her mind still processing this, she said the first thing that popped into her head. "Thank you."
Uryuu turned away and strode off, hiding the embarrassment he was feeling. He couldn't understand how a single thank you from one of them made him feel so good. The mirror couldn't be right. It couldn't.
Tatsuki watched the retreating figure before heading back to the group. The book hit the table with enough noise to make the two boys jump from shock. They looked up to see her smug face. "This should help."
They three completely ignored their work from that point, pouring themselves into the pages. It cost them a good thirty minutes to find Nicolas Flamel as they kept getting distracted by some of the people they were reading about. When they finally reached the page, it finally gave them the answers they were looking for:
The ancient study of Alchemy is concerned with
making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary
substance with astonishing powers. The stone
will transform any metal into pure gold. It also
produces the Elixir of Life, which will make
the drinker immortal.
There have been many reports of the Philosopher's
stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently
in existence belongs to Mr Nicolas Flamel, the noted
Alchemist and opera lover. Mr Flamel, who
celebrated his six hundred and sixty fifth birthday
last year, enjoys a quiet life with his wife,
Perenelle (six hundred and fifty eight).
Ichigo leaned back on his chair as he thought about what he had just read. Nicolas Flamel was old. Very old. From what this book said though, it was the Philosopher's stone that made him unique. He had lived for what must have been an age to him, time slowly losing meaning. It would of course when you had all the time in the world. A lot of men would kill for something like that.
Ichigo's eyes grew wide in realisation as he turned to Tatsuki and Chad, each having similar expressions. "The Philosopher's Stone," they all said together. They had figured out what was in the third floor corridor. The big question was why? Why did the stone leave its creator's possession? It had been with the Flamels for hundreds of years since its creation and they must have been powerful to have kept an object like that for so long. Knowing this, why did Nicolas feel the need to give up the Stone? What could be so dangerous that he abandoned the one thing that kept him alive? And if it was being kept safe at Hogwarts, who was the one hunting it?
A cloaked figure leaned down to the fallen unicorn, drinking the blood greedily as he felt his strength returning. The figure knew it wasn't a permanent solution but all he needed was a little more time. The Stone would be in his possession soon enough.
The sound of a tree falling sounded nearby. The figure looked up from his meal towards the noise, the forest seeming more eerie than normal. The silence was killing him. What kind of creature could knock down one of the forest's trees? They were far stronger and taller than most.
A large growl appeared closer and the figure felt a shiver go down his spin. He could feel the beast's presence now. It was faint, but it was approaching. And it was powerful. It was almost like it was made from magic.
He looked down to his meal before deciding to abandon the rest. He could always find another unicorn but he wouldn't survive in his weaken state against whatever this creature is. Better to retreat and return later.
Turning, the figure fled away from the noise, running as fast as he dared. From the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw something as he left. Something watching him. He fled away regardless though. He would be fine as long as it didn't follow. What he wondered the most was what the creature had been. What made it so powerful that it radiated that kind of presence? And what was that white he had seen? It looked just like a mask.
And that was chapter 11. I had a lot of fun creating the training area. It's my own invention of a room since I didn't want to use the room of requirement. Everyone does and I wanted something new for my story.
How did people find the small battle? I hope it is better than the first. I had more to work with than that one so it came more naturally.
Uryuu also seems to be conflicted about Ichigo and his friends. And it seems our mysterious forest figure has stumbled upon something dangerous. I wonder what it is.
Review and let me know how I did with the fight. I want to try and get a good grip now so that I can make the future fights brilliant.
Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.