A/N Sorry about the long wait, guys. This was a crazy week for me. I had school things, a job interview, a doctor's appointment, and I started making Christmas presents. That's right, you heard me, making. Not for the weak hearted, let me tell you. And it's getting to crunch time in the semester, so if you here from me a little less often, sorry but school's gotta come first. I'll still try for once a week, but I make no promises.
So this is the chapter where I start taking major liberties with the hp stuffs (Not that I haven't been already; Inquisitorial Squad comes after Umbridge finds out about the DA. Whoops) But this one's on purpose. And I think my Hitsu-chan's a little ooc in here, but I was reading this scene in the book and decided I must have Hitsu intervene.
Oh, and I posted that drabble I mentioned last chapter. It's titled Mama Dragon. Not that you should have any trouble finding it, as it is the only other story I have posted. ^_^ Take a look if you're interested.
Hitsugaya didn't use kidou again during the DA meetings. He'd seen Harry watching him intently. He didn't want to risk the boy trying to perform the kidou on his own. Not that Hitsugaya thought Harry would be able to perform even the simplest spells without the incantation, but it was still better to be safe than sorry.
Still, he was grateful to the boy and the DA. It rather made up for the sub-standard Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and even allowed Hitsugaya to take his learning further. With the DA and the time he spent in the library, Hitsugaya was already well onto a second year's level. His professors nearly died in shock when he asked them once a week, like clockwork, for extra work on increasingly advanced subjects. And as he never asked them for anything outside of their teaching purview, Umbridge could do nothing to prevent his extracurricular learning, even though he could tell she wasn't pleased.
But Hitsugaya knew he had a long way to go before he could even attempt to use wizardry as an effective weapon against Aizen. After all, he could only hope to take Aizen by surprise once; after that, he would have to rely on his own proficiency. He really doubted that a second year student had developed far enough to offer Aizen any sort of challenge.
What he really hoped to do was to learn to use wizardry in concert with Hyorinmaru, but the Hogwarts grounds were much too small for Hitsugaya to unleash his zanpakuto just for training. He didn't wish to damage the school or risk injuring the students. Besides, Unohana had told him no fighting, and he wasn't completely sure she would see that kind of training as safe.
It also didn't help that he'd made enemies of Professors Snape and Umbridge. Both seemed determined to hinder his every movement. Snape found every opportunity possible to criticize Hitsugaya's potion work (though he never said anything more to Yuzu) and refused point-blank to help Hitsugaya learn the more advanced potions. Umbridge, on the other hand, had tried giving Hitsugaya detention, but had given up when her 'special' quill hadn't been able to pierce his skin due to the strength of his reiatsu (he burned with anger at the thought of that foul woman torturing these human children like that; his reiatsu had shattered a few of those awful plates of hers before he'd gotten it under control). So instead, she settled for interfering with his life as often as she could. She sought him out specifically to send him on inane errands delivering messages, getting supplies from another teacher; all thing that could be done more quickly and efficiently using an owl or doing it herself. And she didn't much care if Hitsugaya was heading to a class or doing work when she sent him on these errands. She just smiled slyly and said that would give him an incentive to finish quickly. It wasn't that Hitsugaya was afraid of getting into trouble or falling behind in his studies; it was galling to be treated like an errand boy. But he had promised Dumbledore not to cause trouble, so he kept his temper in check, his insults behind his teeth, and did what he was told like a good little boy. He was very, very glad no one from Seireitei was there to see him.
Umbridge cornered Hitsugaya once again while he was on his way to Charms class. "Will you do me a little favor, Mr. Hitsugaya?" she asked, her high-pitched false politeness grating on his nerves. "I need you to drop this note off at the gamekeeper's cabin. You won't be too scared going that close to the Forbidden Forest will you?" Hitsugaya's fingers itched to strangle that horrible giggle right out of her.
When he didn't answer, she giggled again, setting his teeth on edge. "Well, get it finished quickly, and you won't have to worry about the scary monsters, now will you?"
Hitsugaya snatched the note from her and left before he turned the hall into a freezer. He would like nothing more than to show that woman exactly how little he had to fear, but that would fall into both categories of causing trouble and fighting. He might not be scared of much, but the captain of the fourth squad was more than worthy of his fear.
Still, he didn't worry too much about missing class. He had progressed beyond the current lessons, and Professor Flitwick well knew it. Besides the small teacher seemed to understand intuitively that Hitsugaya was not an eleven-year-old child despite his appearance, and because of this, the tiny teacher seemed to feel a kinship with the Shinigami. Hitsugaya didn't take advantage of that often, but it was a beautiful day out: clear and bright and bitingly cold. Umbridge surely thought this was a punishment, sending him out without giving him time to grab his cloak and other warm weather gear, but Hitsugaya liked the cold. It was clean and crisp, almost purifying, and completely undeniable. You had to respect the cold, or it would kill you slowly and painfully, from the outside in.
There was no one at the gamekeeper's cabin when Hitsugaya arrived, but there was a note on the door saying class was taking place inside the forest. He supposed to follow Umbridge's instructions to the letter, he could put the note under the door, but the thought of going back inside to the dirty, smoky, oppressive heat of the fires was depressing. Besides, the tracks of the class were awfully easy to follow in the snow. Hitsugaya leapt nimbly into one of the trees. They grew closely enough to make travel from limb to limb very easy, and the hollow had come from the forest. Hitsugaya would be harder to spot in the trees, even among the bare branches.
When he arrived at the clearing where Hagrid was currently having class, he paused in the tree to examine the creatures that were apparently the subject of the class. The odd, skeletal winged horses weren't exactly pleasant to look at, but Hitsugaya could feel their reiatsu thrumming through his body. And when one of them turned to look at Hitsugaya, he could feel his breath catch in his throat; their faces were hollow masks.
"Wha' in th' ruddy hell are ye doing up in tha' tree?"
Hitsugaya couldn't believe himself. He'd been so absorbed in studying the creatures that he hadn't realized the massive gamekeeper had spotted him. Was he really so out of practice that he was making such rookie mistakes? First he let the hollow injure him, and now this? He was getting much too soft.
He jumped out of the tree, landing neatly in front of Hagrid. "Note from Professor Umbridge," he said succinctly, handing the note to Hagrid, but never taking his eye off the creatures. They mostly seemed content with the carcass, although a few were looking at Hitsugaya curiously.
"So ye had ter deliver it from th' tree?" Hagrid asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Hitsugaya probably scampered up the tree because he saw a scary bunny," Mafoy jeered. The Slytherin prefect had long since given up on befriending Hitsugaya, and had taken to ridiculing him. Or at least, trying to. When Hitsugaya didn't respond with something bitingly acerbic, it was because Malfoy's schoolboy taunts were ridiculously easy to ignore. Like right now, for instance. Hitsugaya was too busy trying to determine what those horses were and whether or not they were hollow. He couldn't see a hole anywhere in them, nor did they seem particularly hungry for souls.
Hagrid noticed where Hitsugaya was looking. "You c'n see them?" he asked, and there was something sympathetic in his tone. Hitsugaya wondered at that.
"You mean not everyone can?" he asked, feigning ignorance. If they were hollow, that would most certainly fit.
"Ye can on'y see thestrals if ye've seen death."
Ah. So that was the reason for the sympathy. Hagrid thought Hitsugaya was an eleven-year-old child who'd watched someone die. A traumatic event, surely, for one who's sole purpose was not helping the dead cross over. Hitsugaya tried to think of the best way to word his next question when he felt her coming. He melted into the shadows of the forest, leaving Hagrid to look around for a moment at a loss before starting the lesson again. Only to be interrupted once again by a distinct "Hem, hem."
Hitsugaya stood just inside the trees, wanting to learn more about the thestrals, but not wanting to come face-to-face with Umbridge. He noted that the one Hagrid had called his favorite had tracked Hitsugaya's progress into the trees. But the thestral didn't make any move towards him, aggressive or defensive. It just simply watched him.
It became less and less likely that the thing was dangerous- though, as Hagrid put it, it was quite capable of looking after itself- but Hitsugaya couldn't deny the fact that it was somehow related to the hollow. The mask was undeniable. He resolved to search the library for more information on the thestrals, since Hagrid couldn't give a satisfactory lesson with the bull Umbridge was pulling. There was a terrible feeling in the pit of Hitsugaya's stomach; he somehow knew that these creatures were related to Aizen in some way. Leftover research? A failed experiment? Whatever the case, further research was certainly warranted.
But Hitsugaya couldn't just leave Hagrid to Umbridge's bullying. He had only just met the man, but if Umbridge disliked him this much, he couldn't be half bad.
He saw his chance when Umbridge started questioning the students. One Slytherin girl- Pansy Parkinson, Hitsugaya noticed with some distaste- was telling Umbridge between fits of laughter at Hagrid's plight, that she had difficulty understanding him. "Mostly…it just sounds like grunting," she managed, tears of mirth in her eyes.
Hitsugaya stepped out of the trees then. "Perhaps Miss Parkinson is simply hard of hearing," he said coolly. "I certainly have no issues understanding Hagrid. And this is our first meeting." The Gryffindors, who had been looking at Umbridge with hatred for her treatment of Hagrid, for the most part looked pleased that Hitsugaya had stayed. He knew they had to be thinking about the rumors about him circling around the school. And while they had been made all the more fantastic for all the retellings, there was one constant in all of them; Hitsugaya could not be intimidated by a teacher. Of course none of them, save the possible exceptions of Harry, Ron and Hermione, knew the real reason why.
"Why, Mr. Hitsugaya, whatever are you doing here?" Umbridge hid her surprise with false pleasantries. "Shouldn't you be in class? I'd have thought you would want to get out of the forest as quickly as possible."
"But Umbridge-sensei," Hitsugaya's voice was soft and almost dangerous, "I'm here on your orders."
The woman's mouth hung open for half a second before she covered it with a fake laugh. "Well I'm certainly honored you conquered your fear for the sake of my little errand, but all you had to do was drop off the note-"
"You've made it clear, Umbridge-sensei, that the rest of my classes are not as important as your little errands," Hitsugaya mimicked her tone, the high-pitched, girlish voice sounding ridiculous, "so I thought I should wait for a reply." Before Umbridge could speak again, Hitsugaya took another step forward. He was still quite a distance from the Ministry woman, but it was clear she thought it was a threatening move and took a step back. "I must thank you, Umbridge-sensei. Thestrals are quite fascinating, aren't they?"
He took another step forward, but this time Umbridge stood her ground, as though refusing to believe herself intimidated by a first year. "Well, isn't that nice for you, Mr. Hitsugaya? But you really should be going along to your own class."
Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "But sensei, if you believed I should be in class, why did you send me here?"
"I just sent you to drop off a note, you daft child!" Umbridge was quickly loosing her composure, but tried to cover it with a laugh. "You can see the thestrals, can you, Mr. Hitsugaya?" she changed the subject abruptly. "Who did you see that died?"
Hitsugaya knew her tactic now. She was trying to through him off-balance by bringing up painfully memories. But she didn't know that the more apt question would be, when have you not seen death? He was Shinigami, for crying out loud. "That's the question, isn't it?" Hitsugaya replied off-handedly. "Who did I watch die? Did I know them? Did I help them? Did I hasten their departure to the other side?" He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Who can say?" And with that, he walked sedately out of the clearing, leaving Umbridge at a loss for words and hopefully giving Hagrid time to regain his composure. And to think, he hadn't let his reiatsu slip, not even for a moment.
Review Responses:
Rmfd: There will be fighting, I promise you. Hitsu won't have to pretend to be eleven for the entire fic. I dunno if it'll be against Aizen per se, but there will be fighting (don't tell Unohana). And lemme know how that zantaco turns out. ^_^ I was really hungry when I wrote that, lol, so I was like "mmm, tacos...." Hence, the food reference.
jazflower: Always a pleasure to meet another stargate fangirl. It's not just for the boys! As for Malfoy, he really hasn't leant himself to much to the storyline so far, even though Hitsu's in his House, but that's always something to keep in mind. And if I don't do it, another author always could... ^_~
kuaispeed: I like your thoughts on my chapters. And your random thoughts, too. They make me smile. And I didn't survive H1N1, just the vaccination. Which, since I hate needles, is major in and of itself. My bff and I sound like valley girls when we talk about Bleach. Seriously. Every other word is OMG or totally. And then we decided we should stop saying both, one of us would slip, and the other would say "OMG, you totally just said it" and it went on like that. At a friend's party. And people wonder why we don't drink...
Xandre: I can see what you're saying. But I just wanted Harry to witness the kidou and go OMG WTF.
Halie Myers: Well I adore crossovers. So I'm glad to have broadened your horizons. ^_^ And the perfect 10 makes me very happy.
AbsolutelyInsaneRomantic: Sorry I couldn't give you another update the next day. ^_^ And I hate needles, too, but I have a crap immune system. Not to mention I'm a total hypochondriac. So better the needle than wondering if I have swine flu next time I have the sniffles. And I squee when I get new reviews, so we're even.
sarahlilly95: Yup, Stargate Atlantis. I was thinking the nanites, like how they infected Dr. Weir. Me, I love both SG-1 and SGA, but I'm reserving judgement for SGU. But I'd love to see a good Bleach/any-Stargate crossover. *fangirly sigh*
reader238: That's definitely a thought. And the military metaphor is especially apt, since the Shinigami are essentially Soul Society's armed forces. It still makes me giggle, though.
DxmaryoOD, Ilovebleach102012, sleepdeprivedpsychoanimegirl, Chillis, missyJuliette, MissOrange8587, XxFallingxxAngelxX, kuroyukihime2: I can't believe how many reviewers I have! You guys are my inspiration. Once again, there would be no story without you guys, and I squeak with glee everytime I get a new review, so thanks for making my day/week/month...
Just in case I don't post again before Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving!~Dii
