Like I promised, Chapter 13 is here. The chapters seem to be slowly getting longer as I progress. Just a few more chapters hopefully and we reach book 2. Anyway, 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

13 - Into the Forest

"You did what!" shouted Tatsuki, her eyes filled with rage. Chad stood beside her, disappointment barely showing on his expressionless face.

Ichigo had been regretting having to explain what he had been doing to Chad and Tatsuki. He knew that he had to keep what he and Kugo were doing a secret but thinking up a reasonable excuse to use was harder than he thought it would be. Would they even believe what he said? Thinking back, it was lucky that he remembered the excuse Uryuu's came up with at the time. It wouldn't be good to tell them one thing and have it brought into question by the teachers. That could end badly.

"Look-" Ichigo tried to explain before he was rudely interrupted.

"You went to duel that stuck up Raven," Tatsuki said with a glare. "Without saying a word. Do you want to know what I think?"

Ichigo wanted to shake his head but he knew that that would make things worse. Tatsuki took his silence as a sign to continue.

"Why didn't you invite us?" she demanded, surprising Ichigo. He had expected her to ask this but not for it to have been her main problem. He thought she would have been more upset by the fact he kept it a secret. It made her feel like he didn't trust her. Turning to Chad, he could see now why he looked so disappointed. He thought that Ichigo didn't trust him enough as well since he didn't let him in on it, despite the faith Chad had in him. If anything, it actually made things worse since Ichigo already felt guilty enough.

"Well?"

Ichigo started to say something but stopped, realising he could say nothing that he could use to explain why, or at least nothing that wouldn't give away what he had been doing. It was times like this that he really hatred the secrecy his dad had made him promise. He doubted he would get a chance to even see Kugo anytime soon and he still had to deal with Uryuu knowing his secret. Someone else to talk to would have helped but he just couldn't say it. He just couldn't.

Unfortunately for him, Tatsuki took his silence the wrong way and stormed off. Ichigo made to go after her but before he could, Chad stepped in front of him. "Leave her."

"But-"

"She needs to cool off," Chad said, cutting him off. "She'll come around."

"I see." Even hearing that, Ichigo could feel the guilt increasing. She shouldn't need to calm down. She had a right to be angry. He was keeping more secrets from her again, just like before with the Wizarding World. "What about you Chad?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Ichigo said, "How are you dealing with this. I can see you don't like it either."

"I wish you had told us," Chad said simply. "I am upset that you didn't but I can't hold it against you either. Even friends keep secrets and, while I would have liked to have helped, sometimes things need to be done alone." Turning round, Chad scanned the room before whispering the next part quietly. "Between you and me, I can see why you wouldn't tell us if you didn't want us involved. You would never have heard the end of it from Tatsuki."

"Thanks Chad," Ichigo said, glad that his friends weren't too mad.

Ichigo was lucky compared to the other six. Things were actually much better for him than the others that were caught. While the rest of Hufflepuff was upset with the loss of points, they didn't blame him too much. This was the house of the loyal and they looked after their own. House points were a second priority for them. Ichigo also thought a few of them had been close to being caught themselves a few times if the looks they had was anything to go by. No one ever suspected the Hufflepuffs of doing anything like that, even the Hufflepuffs themselves.

Uryuu was mostly ignored for the sudden lose but that didn't seem to bother him. He had been a loner from the start so the silent treatment was no difference than normal. He knew that they would forget after the exams anyway. Ravenclaws were expected to have an O in every exam so as long as you meet the standard, you were forgiven for any faults of your making during the year. Knowledge was prided the most to them.

The Slytherin house barely touched Malfoy. His father had so much power that the other students didn't dare make any moves against him, even in his weakened state. They weren't against the odd harsh comment here and there but they knew better than to launch an attack on him. It didn't matter what family they were from or how cunning they were. The Malfoys were stronger.

Harry, Hermione, and Neville got the worst of it though. Harry had gone from the Quidditch superstar seeker to the outcast of the lions. His house barely interacted with him and the others anymore, something Neville had taken much harder than the others. He already had enough problems with making friends. It had gotten so bad that Hermione had even stopped drawing attention to herself in class, something that showed how much the situation had distressed her if she actually stopped showcasing her knowledge to the others.

The other houses were varied on the Gryffindors. The Slytherins used the chance to applaud Harry, thanking him for taking away their opposition singlehandedly. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were divided on the issue. They had lost points themselves so it wasn't only Gryffindor that had given Slytherin the opportunity to take the lead, but at the same time, they had learned from the odd rumour that it was the actions of the Gryffindors that had led to the increased patrols of Filch. If they had been more subtle then Ichigo and Uryuu may have not been discovered. That was reason enough to turn against them at least but not enough to scorn them. Some people swore that Snape had let slip the rumour and, while he denied it, the smirk on his face said otherwise.

As the exams drew closer, Ichigo, Chad and Tatsuki threw themselves into their studies, the previous tension gone between the three. Tatsuki would still give Ichigo the odd glare here and there but they had been friends too long to let this come between them. Their sessions grew later and later as the days passed, Tatsuki leading the others with Transfiguration while Chad handled the Herbology side. Out of all of them, only Ichigo seemed to be able to teach them History of Magic though even he had his limit with the amount of goblin rebellions they had to learn. They pitted the fools who had stayed to learn from Professor Binns. They had to learn from a voice that put the class to sleep. That wasn't even the end of even. Potions and their ingredients were needed to be remembered along with spells for practical sessions. The knowledge that students could be held back if they failed helped serve as a motivator for their sessions, even though they knew it wouldn't come to that.

It was a week before the exams that Ichigo finally got the note about his detention. For some reason, Professor McGonagall wanted him and the others to meet at the Entrance Hall at eleven o'clock. It made him wonder what detention would take place so late but then again, it was properly a lesson in disguise. If you want to stay up late, then you can. That's what they were saying it seemed.

So that night, Ichigo quickly bid farewell to his friends before heading down to the Entrance Hall. He was the earliest of the six, followed quickly by Uryuu and Malfoy before Filch appeared. A few minutes later, the three Gryffindors appeared. With them all their, Filch led them outside, lighting a lamp as he went.

"I'll bet you'll think twice about breaking a school room again, won't you, eh?" he spoke, leering at them. "Oh yes. Hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me. It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out. You would have been hung by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days. That would stop you lot. I still keep the chains in my office. Well oiled, just in case. You never know…"

He lead them along the grounds, threatening them with worse than they were getting if they dared run. Ichigo had no idea what kind of punishment took place outside except for helping out in the greenhouses. Maybe they were going there.

That idea was crushed as they passed them, heading further into the grounds. They were slowly getting closer and closer to Hagrid's. And the forest. Ichigo could see Neville shaking as they drew nearer.

The grounds were pitch black as they got nearer to Hagrid's. The lights of Hogwarts were too dim now to be seen and the moon in the sky was covered by dark clouds, barely any light managing to slip through. The only light nearby apart from Filch was the small one coming from the open window of Hagrid's tiny hut. As they drew nearer, they heard a familiar voice shout towards them.

"Is that you Filch? Hurry up. I wanna get started."

Relief could be seen on Harry's face till Filch stepped in to crush it.

"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourselves with that oaf. Well think again boy." He waved a hand to the Forbidden Forest before continuing. "You see that? That's where you're going. The Forest, and I wish you luck. You'll need it in there. I doubt you'll come back in one piece."

Neville was shaking a lot more now while Malfoy had frozen. "The Forest?" the pale haired boy asked. The confidence he usually had was gone now, replaced by fear. The creatures in there wouldn't care about who his father was. If anything, it could make things worse. The Malfoys had never been supporters of equal rights for all. "We can't go in there," he continued to protest. "I've heard there are all sorts of vile creatures in there. Werewolves even."

"You should have thought about that before you decided to break the rules," sneered Filch, doing a very good impression of Snape's usual tone. "You brats are all the same. Because you have magic, you think you're all too good to listen to little old Filch. Look where that got you now."

Before he could intimidate the boy more, Hagrid strode up, a crossbow in his arms and his dog, Fang, by his side. A quiver was hung over his shoulder filled with arrows, all of them ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. "About time," the giant man said. "I've been waiting almost half an hour for you lot. Alright Harry, Hermione?

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them Hagrid," said Filch coldly. "They're here to be punished after all."

"Is that why you're late?" asked Hagrid, a frown on his face. "You've been lecturing them? It's not your place to do that Filch. You've done your job and now I'll do mine."

"I'll be back at dawn for their remains Hagrid," the caretaker said, glaring nastily at the six before storming off. They watched him disappear for a moment till he was nothing more than a dot of light in the distance. With him gone, Malfoy turned towards Hagrid.

"I'm not going in there," demanded Malfoy, a touch of panic in his tone.

"You are if you want to stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid said angrily to the boy. "You've done wrong and now it's time to pay for it."

"But this is servant stuff. It's not for students to do. I thought we'd be writing lines or something. If my father knew-"

"If you're father knew, he would have warned you to obey the rules," Hagrid growled. "How does writing lines help you learn? You'll do something useful or you're out. If that's what your father wants, feel free to go back up to the castle and pack. I'm sure he'll be perfectly understanding."

Malfoy dropped his gaze but he was still furious. Seeing the problem was solved for now, Hagrid turned back to the others.

"Right then," he said seriously. "Now I want you all to listen carefully. It's dangerous in there, especially with what we're going to do tonight. I don't want anyone taking any risks so you need to be with me or Fang at all times if possible. Now come over here for a minute."

He led them over to the forest's edge and pointed towards a path. The black trees filled the area around the path but what drew their attention was the glimmer of light on the ground. Hagrid leaned down to the ground and pointed towards the light. The others did the same and, now that they were closer, they could see it was actually some kind of liquid, silvery blue in colour.

"That's unicorn blood," said Hagrid gravely. "There's a unicorn in there somewhere that's been hurt by something. This is the second one this week and it didn't start recently either. Our job is to find the poor creature and, if necessary, put it out of its misery."

"And what if the creature in there finds us?" said Uryuu, speaking for the first time. "Surely a creature that can take down a unicorn is going to be dangerous."

"Like I said. Stick with me and Fang. Keep to the path as well. There isn't anything in this forest that will harm you while you'll with us and we won't be going far enough in to reach the most dangerous creatures. Is that clear."

Six heads nodded.

"Good. Now we're going to split into two teams for now. Better to follow the path from two sides since the blood shows the Unicorn was staggering a lot. We don't want to miss it. If the other team gets in trouble, send up red sparks and I'll be right there."

"I want Fang," said Malfoy, his gaze directed towards the long teeth of the dog.

"Alright then," said Hagrid as he indicated to Fang to follow Malfoy. "But I warn you, he's a coward. Hermione and Neville can go with you while Ichigo and Uryuu can come with me and Harry." Hagrid mouthed sorry to Hermione before turning to the forest. "Be careful now. Let's go."

The forest was blank and silent. The group stuck together to start until they split into their teams as they reached a fork in the path. Hagrid went left with his team while Malfoy went right with the others.

Silence filled the air as they walked, their eyes glancing around to get a glimpse of the silvery blood. They almost lost the trail a few times till they saw a glimmer nearby and got back on track. A few times, Uryuu froze for a second, his gaze aimed deeper into the forest before he snapped out of it. Whatever he was doing though, it was creeping Ichigo out. Uryuu was started to really look worried. "Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns Hagrid?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "One of the reasons I said the creature was dangerous was because it was able to catch a unicorn. Not much can do something like that. Unicorns are powerful magical creatures, so powerful that I've never seen one hurt before. A werewolf could maybe get one or two if they were in a pack but not this close to each other. It's something else, I'm sure of it."

The trail continued to lead them on, the path winding around tree after tree. The bloody trail led them onwards, Hagrid growing concerned with every passing second.

"That's odd," he muttered as he examined the new patch of blood. "There's a lot more than there was at the previous spot. What kind of creature – GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Hagrid pulled the three back and shoved them to the side, loading his crossbow carefully as he looked into the darkness. The four froze, able to hear their own heartbeats in the endless silence. A crack filled the air, and a rustling was heard nearby. It sounded a lot like a cloak trailing along the ground. They waited a few moments longer before Hagrid gave an all clear.

"I knew it," he murmured. "There's something in here that shouldn't be."

"Then what was it?" asked Ichigo.

"I don't know," said Hagrid grimly. "It wasn't a unicorn, that's for such. I'm not even sure what it is. I shouldn't have allowed you lot of accompany me tonight. It's much too dangerous."

"We're not abandoning you Hagrid," said Harry confidently.

"I know. We can't leave either till we done what we came to do. Still, we need to be much more careful from now on. Let's just hope the others are doing fine without me."

Their pace slowed for a while, all of them listening for the slightest movement. Then, in the clearing ahead of them, something moved.

"Who's there," Hagrid shouted over to the movement. "Come out now. I'm armed."

What approached them was neither a man nor a beast. Instead, it seemed to be a mixture of both. While the top half of the creature was a man, the bottom half was a horse. He had short red hair and a short red beard. He even had a red tail. The three students' jaws dropped from the sight of the creature. This was a first for them to see something like this.

"Oh, it's just you Ronan," said Hagrid in relief as he walked towards the new arrival. "How are you?"

"Good evening to you Hagrid," Ronan responded, shaking the man's hand as he did so. His voice was deep yet had a sorrowful undertone to it. "Were you going to shot me?"

"Sorry about that," said Hagrid sheepishly. "You can't be too careful at the moment, especially with what's happening in the Forest. This is Harry Potter by the way. The others are Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryuu Ishida. And you three, this guy here is Ronan. He's a centaur."

"We noticed," replied Uryuu.

"Good evening," said Ronan as he observed the three kids in front of him. "Students are you? Do you learn much at that school of yours?"

"Enough," stated Uryuu as he stared up at the centaur. He wasn't the only one since Ronan seemed extremely interested in him and Ichigo.

"I see," said Ronan, his eyes not leaving the two boys. Finally breaking eye contact, he looked up to the sky with a sigh. "Mars is bright tonight."

"Yeah," said Hagrid, looking up as well. "Listen, it's a good thing we ran into you Ronan. There's a unicorn that's been hurt out here somewhere. You seen it?"

Ronan didn't answer for a moment, still staring up at the sky. "It is always the innocent that are the first to suffer," he said finally, sighing as he looked down from the stars. "So it has been for ages past, and so it is now. The cycle will continue forever onwards until someone finally ends it."

"Yeah," said Hagrid puzzled. "But have you seen anything? Anything usual?"

"Mars is bright tonight," came the response. "Unusually bright."

"Anything nearer to home," said Hagrid impatiently. "Have you seen anything in the Forest? Anything that shouldn't be here?"

"The Forest hides many secrets," said Ronan, looking back up to the stars again. "Even you do not know them all Hagrid."

"Hagrid." A second centaur appeared from the forest, this one black haired and bodied, with a much wilder look than Ronan. A bow was attached to its back with arrows along with it.

"Ah," said Hagrid as he greeted the other centaur. "Good to see you Bane."

"And you too Hagrid," said Bane. "I hope you are keeping well."

"Well enough. Look, we're looking for a unicorn in here. Have you seen anything odd recently?"

Bane joined Ronan and looked to the sky. "Mars is bright tonight." From that point, Ichigo could swear they were just being extremely difficult. There was even a glint in their eyes when Hagrid wasn't looking, showing that they were enjoying confusing him.

"We've heard," muttered Hagrid. "Well, if you hear something, let me know." Hagrid departed from the two centaurs, leading the three students back along the path.

"Never try and get a straight answer from a centaur," said Hagrid irritably. "Ruddy stargazers. Aren't interesting in anything closer than the moon."

"How many of them live here?" Ichigo asked.

"A fair few," responded Hagrid. "Ministry once tried to get rid of them but they just couldn't find them. They're awfully hard to find. Keep to themselves mostly but they turn up when they know I want a word. Still, they're strange creatures. Very wise, there's no doubt about that. They actually seemed to see things in those stars. How else would they know so much? They just don't translate what they see much. Still, I never heard them talk about a cycle before. That's unusual, even for them."

"Was that a centaur earlier?" asked Harry.

"It can't have been," said Uryuu, interrupting Hagrid before he could speak. "Those weren't hooves that we heard."

"Uryuu's right," continued Hagrid. "Whatever that was, it was probably the thing that's been killing the unicorns. I've never heard of anything like it in the Forest before.

They continued along their path into the Forest, slowly getting deeper and deeper. It felt like something was watching them and Ichigo had to restrain himself from grapping his cross. He didn't feel like a crossbow would be enough. Just as they reached a bend, he noticed a light in the sky nearby.

"Hagrid," he said, pointing towards it. "Red sparks."

"I see it," shouted Hagrid, already running. "You three stay here. Don't move. I'll be back for you."

Seconds turned to minutes as they waited, the only sounds they could hear were the rustling of leaves nearby. Harry looked worried for the others while Uryuu kept glancing around, as if looking for something. At one point, Ichigo thought he saw a pair of eyes watching them from the bushes but it vanished the moment he looked towards it. Eventually, a loud crunching noise was heard as Hagrid reappeared with the others. He looked absolutely furious.

"This idiot here," he said, pointing at Malfoy, "Thought it would be funny to scare Neville. Thanks to him, we'll be lucky to find anything now. We're changing groups. Neville with me and Harry with Malfoy."

Hagrid was about to say more when a rustling could be heard nearby. He brought his crossbow back up in preparation but lowered it when he saw who had reappeared. "Bane?"

"Hagrid," greeted the centaur. "The stars have warned me that you may need an extra pair of hands tonight."

"I see," said Hagrid happily. "That should let us finish faster. Can you take -"

"I'll take the orange haired boy and the one with glasses that spoke to Ronan."

"You're sure? Okay then. Ichigo and Uryuu, you're with Bane. Hermione and Neville can come with me, and Malfoy and Harry can go with Fang. Is that okay with everyone?" Malfoy seemed to want to be with the centaur but didn't try and overstep his boundaries. He was already on thin ice with Hagrid as it was.

"Good them," said Hagrid as he led his group away. "Remember. Red sparks if you're in trouble."

The groups separated and Ichigo and Uryuu found themselves following Bane closely. The centaur seemed to be following the tracks much easier than they had been and even found some trails that they would have missed.

"So," Bane said, after a few minutes of silence. "You are them."

Ichigo and Uryuu both froze, looking up at the centaur ahead of them.

"You are smaller than I thought but then, you are still younglings. It is hard to judge how much you will grow as the time draws nearer."

"What are you talking about," asked Ichigo hesitantly.

"You don't know yet," said Bane cryptically. "But you will. I wish you all the luck, I really do. I just don't hold out much faith at the moment. You aren't the first."

The two had no response to his words. They returned to silence until they finally seemed to be drawing near to the trail's end. Bane led the two over to a large clearing where a small pool of blood was resting. In the centre laid a unicorn, already dead.

"Is that…"

Bane slowly approached the fallen creature, bending down to examine the body.

"No," said Bane, turning towards Ichigo. "The blood around it is too dry compared to the previous signs we have seen. This must have been an older kill of whatever creature is down here. I would say this poor creature has been dead for a while now."

"What about the blood leading here?" asked Uryuu. "That looked new."

"It is…" Bane froze as he looked back along where they had come from. "That blood was fresh, newly added. The path you were following came from further away. So if the unicorn didn't come from this clearing but the trail leads here, then it can only mean –"

A loud roar filled the sky. Bane spun round and pulled his bow from his back, loading an arrow as he turned. It barely took a second but it was one second too long. The moment he had finished turning to face the noise, a palm flung at him and threw him across the clearing. He landed on his side and didn't get back up, his bow discarded by his body.

"Bane," Ichigo called over to the fallen centaur.

"Snap out of it Kurosaki," shouted Uryuu, keeping his eye on the attacker that had appeared out of nowhere. "He's alright. He's just out for the count for now."

Trusting Uryuu for now, Ichigo turned back towards the creature that had attacked Bane. He was a tall creature with a distinct humanoid shape. A dorsal fin was attacked to its back and dark grey stripes covered the body, almost resembling fish scales. On its face was a white fish like mask, large teeth showing.

"What is it?" said Ichigo, keeping an eye on the creature.
"It's a Hollow," answer Uryuu. "Did your dad not tell you anything about them?"

"No," Ichigo muttered. "I'm guessing it's dangerous."

Uryuu watched the Hollow for a moment before responding. "Possibly. It may be weaker than it looks but nothing a first year knows would be able to harm it. At least, not a normal first year."

"I got it," said Ichigo as he gathered energy around his cross. It expanded outwards and turned into its usual tsuba shape. "Leave it to me."

The Hollow didn't want to wait for Ichigo to make the first move and instead charged them, letting out a loud roar as it approached. It swiped at Ichigo and Uryuu causing the two to dodge, Ichigo responding as he moved with a flick of his wrist. Following his command, the tsuba flew upwards towards the Hollow, who barely managed to avoid the strike. It didn't expect it when Ichigo brought the tsuba straight back down, wrapping around the Hollow before it could escape.

"How do we get rid of it?" asked Ichigo, turning to Uryuu while the Hollow struggled against its bonds.

"The mask," explained Uryuu. "Destroy the mask and the Hollow is destroyed."

Their talk was interrupted as the Hollow growled angrily. It smashed apart the energy surrounding it and lunged towards them. Luckily, Ichigo had already regained the tsuba and didn't have to wait to restore it. He threw himself back into the fight and jumped up to the Hollow as he reached it.

Before it could respond to his actions, he threw the tsuba with as much strength as he could summon. The tsuba flew straight into the mask and pushed the Hollow back. The attack itself detonated on impact and the energy hit the Hollow, leaving a smoky haze behind around where it had struck. Ichigo allowed his Fullbring to reform, looking for movement carefully.

He was right to do so as he would have been caught off guard by the Hollow as it used the smoke as cover. Ichigo struck up as he dodged, the attack smacking the mask once again.

The Hollow backed off slightly, more cautious than before. A large crack was visible down the left side of the mask and it seemed to have widened from that latest blow. Ichigo realised this and so did the Hollow. It couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

As if caught by a burst of inspiration, the Hollow changed targets and lunged towards Uryuu, surprising them both. Before either could do anything, the Hollow had grabbed Uryuu and pinned him to the ground. It opened its large mouth and bent down towards the boy, preparing to devour him.

A soft sound was heard by Uryuu as a blue light flew through the air. The energy hit the Hollow dead on the mask's crack and shattered it, the Hollow disintegrating as its mask disappeared. Uryuu looked up to the returning object to see it was the tsuba Ichigo had been throwing.

"You okay?"

Uryuu nodded his head as he pulled himself up. 'How disgraceful,' he thought as he looked at where the Hollow had been. 'Caught and captured by a surprise attack. What would they others think if they heard such a thing?'

He looked towards Ichigo, noticing the Fullbring had disappeared. The boy in question was checking up on the fallen centaur and trying to move him to a more comfortable position. He didn't show it but he was impressed. Ichigo had acted calmly and dispatched the Hollow without too much problem. Maybe he had always been underestimating him.

A droplet of water hit him as he turned his gaze upwards, rain starting to fall heavily around them.

"Great," he muttered. "Can things get any worse?"

"So I see Fishbone D failed," came a loud voice. Uryuu and Ichigo froze as they turned to the sound, seeing a larger Hollow appearing.

It reminded them of a hamster slightly with all the fur around his body. Its hands and feet were more bird like though and a small tentacle like limb hung above its head. The tentacle extended down to a lure of some kind, quiet a lot like an anglerfish. A large mask covered its face like the previous Hollow. The mask was larger though and the teeth more prominent. It gave them a large smile as it spoke, not taking its eyes off them.

"Well then," it said, licking its lips hungrily. "How about I have a shot."

And there we have it. Chapter 13. They're in the forest now and it seems Voldemort isn't the only thing in there. With the appearance of this new Hollow, how will things play out. And will they be able to deal with it before the others find them?

Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.