'Hey there, it's your birthday. Gen happy! Happy when you're born, happy when you're young! Happy when you're old and grey. Congratulations, here's to you! Happy birthday from everyone to Dio!'
Dio (Last Exile)
oxo…oxo
Toushiro crept silently along the large corridor, keeping to the side as he followed the small group of first years down the hallway. They were moving quickly and quietly, trying there best not to make a sound as they looked around nervously. When Toushiro had found them he had found himself rather surprised and annoyed to see Neville out with them, his friend sniffing quietly as he followed the two other boys and the bushy haired girl from earlier. Why she was with them he had no idea.
They arrived at the trophy room without incident, all of them still looking around wearily as they entered the room, oblivious of him following him. The room was empty of life but the crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls with Toushiro following silently, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand, ready to face the blonde he came to meet as soon at Malfoy arrived. The minutes crept by with nothing happening.
"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered but the thought was cut off from as a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy.
"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner…"
It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Toushiro watched in vague amusement as Harry began to wave madly at the other three to follow him and they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. Toushiro followed them cautiously, keeping out of sight of both them and the caretaker. He had no express desires to deal with the man today.
"They're in here somewhere," he heard the man mutter, "probably hiding."
Harry mouthed something to the others and they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. Toushiro watched them quietly from his hiding place in the shadows of a curtain, his heart beginning to beat faster as he watched. It's like watching one of those thriller films Matsumoto likes so much he thought ironically, trying to get his body back under control. Filch was getting nearer and the young captain was wondering if he should do something to help when Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run tripping and grabbing Ron around the waist, the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armour.
The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle. Toushiro almost cursed at his friend's stupidity, knowing he would have to intervene now as Filch whipped his head round at the noise, his eyes narrowing as a small smirk came to his face. So long as they got out fast without any noise he would be able to pass the thing off as his own clumsiness and they would be fine. Unfortunately, thinking they were done for anyway, Harry threw that idea out of the window.
"Run!" he cried before sprinting off, the others following closely behind. Thinking quickly he let out an audible sigh before walking out of his hiding place, distracting the caretaker from following the others. Filch stared at him for a moment, a glint in his eyes that told he obviously thought the young captain a student. The look was confirmed by his words.
"Ah…what have we here? A student out of bed? It's my lucky day."
Toushiro didn't reply, only moved closer to the man and into the light of the moon, its silvery gaze making his hair glow and his eyes shine menacingly. Filch's grin faltered slightly as he realised who it really was who stood before him.
"You're that kid Dumbledore hired, aren't you." He said, his narrow eyes colouring with a hint of detest. Toushiro nodded slightly before fixing the harrowed man in front of him with a cool look he usually reserved for unruly squad members.
"Indeed. I would prefer it if you did not go after those students; they are helping me with something I need to look into but they do not know who I am. I would like to keep it that way." He commanded, voicing it as a request but with a voice that would not take no for an answer. For the first time in a long while Filch felt fear. There was something about the boy's eyes that made his senses scream 'run'. It put him on edge as he replied, taking a small step backwards out of impulse. He narrowed his eyes though, his dislike of being bossed around by a 'student' overpowering his fear.
"And why should I do that? They have no right to be out of bed."
Toushiro narrowed his eyes further, causing Filch to rethink his answer, grumbling slightly as he turned to head back the other way down the corridor. Toushiro nodded before turning away from the retreating man, running down the corridor in the direction the others had gone. What he had said had been a half lie, but he knew that if he didn't go after them not only would it seem suspicious but they might get into even more trouble than they had before. He began to flash step, tracking them by the reiatsu he had grown to know so well. He eventually found them outside the charms classroom, all of them puffing slightly as they struggled to get their breaths back.
"I…told…you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I…told…you."
"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, his voice heavy as he spoke, "quickly as possible."
"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."
Harry ignored her, straightening up and looking around. "Let's go." He said, his words spurring the others into motion, Toushiro following cautiously behind. They soon found, however, that it wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. Toushiro almost groaned; Peeves. The poltergeist was nothing but trouble.
"Shut up, Peeves, please! You'll get us thrown out!" Harry begged as Peeves squealed upon seeing them. The ghost cackled, a large grin on his face. This was not going to be a good night.
"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."
"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."
"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, his eyes glittering wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."
"Get out of the way!" snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves. Toushiro couldn't help the low and exasperated groan that forced itself to the surface at the action. What a complete and utter idiot.
"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" Ducking under Peeves, the four ran for their lives, Toushiro following at a slow flash step behind, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door; it was locked.
"This is it!" Ron moaned dramatically, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. There was no way Toushiro would be able to save them twice in one night.
"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!" The lock clicked, the door swung open and they quickly piled through it, shutting it behind them. Toushiro was locked outside but he knew where the corridors led. His heart beating he waited, not daring to move and not wishing to get caught by filch again.
"Which way did they go, Peeves." The old man asked impatiently. "Quick, tell me."
"Say please." Peeves goaded, his small eyes flashing in wicked amusement.
"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"
"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," the poltergeist replied in his annoying singsong voice.
"All right -please."
"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" Peeves cackled before whooshing away, leaving Filch cursing in rage. The old caretaker fumed for a moment before storming away. Toushiro breathed again before narrowing his eyes at the door. Silence. Then a deep rumbling started on the other side of the door; most of the sound being blocked by the heavy door but the rumbling was still very much there. The growling grew to a roar as the door swung open again and the group fell through, their eyes wide and their faces pale. The door swung shut as they scrambled to their feet, charging their way down the corridor and back up towards the common room.
Toushiro watched them silently before turning his eyes back to the door. Whatever was behind it was not friendly and he now had no doubts that this was indeed the third floor corridor. Behind the door and behind the growling beast was the stone, or the way towards it at least. He briefly debated checking it out but decided against it. Whatever creature was behind that door was alert now and waiting for intruders; it would not be wise to test it further. Besides; he was pretty sure he would get the whole story from Neville tomorrow, if Harry and Ron didn't get there first.
xxx…xxx
"-Hagrid took me to vault seven hundred and thirteen. He got a package from it. I know it has to be what that dog was guarding." Harry was saying as Toushiro walked up to the breakfast table the next morning. He had gone back to the hospital wing that evening, returning to his Gigai. Madame Pomfrey had checked him over that morning and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, discharged him. Grateful for the escape he had walked straight down to the hall for breakfast.
"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," Ron theorized, poking his fork into the piece of bacon on his plate.
"Or both," Harry replied, leaning back from where he had been resting on the table and sharing a look with the red head in front of him. The young captain smirked slightly, looking down the table in an attempt to spot Neville. Unable to see the boy he sat down next to Harry, thanking him with a nod as the boy pushed a large platter of fruit towards him.
"You sound like you were deep in conversation." The white haired boy prompted dryly. Harry looked at him with a frown before smiling slightly, an excited glint in his eyes.
"You will not believe what we found last night." He replied. Toushiro resisted the urge to snort slightly before looking up at the bespectacled boy from his watermelon with his usual bland expression.
"Try me." He replied, a small smirk coming to his face as Harry grinned. He launched into an explanation of what happened and how they found Neville and Hermione, about escaping from Filch and the three headed dog behind the door. Toushiro listened with a blank expression never giving anything away.
"So now we are trying to figure out what it's guarding under the trap door." Harry concluded, beginning to dig in to his now rather cold breakfast. Toushiro nodded slightly before going back to his melon. Maybe it might be worth asking Dumbledore more about this stone; all he really knew about it was that it was important and protected but he knew better than most that just because it was protected, that didn't mean that it wouldn't be taken. The Hogyoku was good evidence for that.
Then again, if the old wizard didn't want to tell him before it wasn't likely he would now, especially given the fact that they hadn't know each other long enough to be completely trusting. If this stone was important enough to be protected by a three headed dog along with others that even included him to an extent, then it wouldn't be information given out to just anyone.
"WAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Harry groaned, very loudly, and Toushiro looked back up, scanning the hall for the little white poltergeist that was somewhere inside. Everyone around them was on edge until water bombs began falling over the Slytherin table and Peeves' cackle became louder, more ecstatic. A smirk grew on the boy's faces as a particularly large bomb split over Malfoy's head, drenching the boy with water. The furious look on his face was like gold to them as he started yelling in the ghost's direction. Peeves just cackled before chucking more bombs at the blonde, hitting his target every time.
"Go Peeves!" came the cry of the twins as they laughed, watching the scene with great excitement. Toushiro's smirk grew. He would bet anything it was those pair who had given the poltergeist the water bombs and got him to attack the Slytherins. Ron whooped slightly, the three starting the laughter and cheering of the Gryffindor's, gaining the table some disapproving looks from the teachers. Looking over Toushiro noticed the amused glint in the headmaster's eyes and disapproved his apparent lack of caring at the chaos being created while at the same time gaining a new respect for him. He had obviously been around children too long.
"Peeves!" Professor McGonagall cried, effectively gaining the attention of the floating poltergeist. He grinned at her cheekily, waiting for her to continue. "What are you doing? You aren't allowed in the school hall!"
Peeves cackled before doing a swift back flip, his eyes alight with glee. "But I was a good little boy and gave the lady the information she wanted. I'm allowed here today and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" he replied, cackling again at the stunned look on the professor's face. Suddenly, the poltergeist looked at the captain and a small, knowing smile came to his face before he zoomed low over the Slytherin's heads; dive bombing a couple of them then racing over to the door and exiting quickly, his laughter being heard long after he had vanished.
Toushiro just sat there a moment. Peeves had given 'the lady' information about him he was sure. That last knowing look the ghost had given him confirmed that fact more than any words could have done. But who was 'the lady'? Was it a teacher? Or a student perhaps? He doubted either of these. Peeves had a certain disrespect for rules and so wouldn't talk straight to a teacher, the role of teacher being a very rule up keeping one. A student wouldn't have been able to get him access to the hall and probably would have only a fraction more luck in being able to get him to talk than a teacher. Only the Weasley twins seemed to have any of the poltergeist's respect.
So who else could it have been? His eyes wandered slightly around the room before he caught the gaze of one of the school ghosts. He didn't know her name but the look she was giving him, the intensity of her eyes, showed him she knew something; something about him. He narrowed his eyes. So this was 'the lady' hu? She was sat the Ravenclaw table, only taking her silvery eyes off of him when she was pulled into a conversation with one of the students. He watched as she smiled politely at them, seemingly giving them advise or information if the looks on the two girls that were talking to her was anything to go by.
"Toushiro?"
The captain almost jumped but stopped himself just in time, shaking himself out of his reverie before looking over at the owner to of the voice. It was Neville, the young boy looking at him with a small amount of worry.
"Are you ok?" he asked, his eyes searching as he attempted to get an answer from his friend. Toushiro smiled slightly at the boy before nodding, picking up his last slice of watermelon and biting smoothly into it.
"I'm fine," he replied after swallowing, "Though it seems whenever I'm not there to watch you, you end up getting yourself into trouble; I heard you had a very eventful night last night."
Neville swallowed, a small tint of fear clouding his eyes as he sat down next to his white haired friend. "You could say that."
Toushiro paused, taking the melon back away from his mouth and closing his lips, focusing the boy next to him with his blank but comforting gaze. Neville shivered slightly as he relived the events of the night before.
"I never want to go anywhere near that monster again…it stank of death." He whispered, his voice filled with a fear that made Toushiro's heart twinge slightly. If that's what the boy felt about a dog from his own world then what would he think of the shinigami? He was, after all, dead. If the smell of death made Neville frightened then how would he see the soul reaper; an incarnation of death itself? The thought made the captain slightly sad but he pushed the feeling way before turning back to his melon without saying anything. Neville remained still for a minute or two before starting to pull bits of food towards him, greeting nearly headless nick with a small smile as the ghost floated past.
Then again, Toushiro supposed, he seems to be fine with ghosts.
xxx…xxx
Dumbledore was back in his office when the grey lady floated through the door, her silvery form swaying slightly in the small breeze that flitted in from the window. The old wizard looked up at her with a confused but pleasant smile; it was unusual for a ghost to visit him in his office.
"Hello Miss Helena. How can I help you?" he asked politely, placing the quill he had been holding on the desk and resting his arms gently onto the parchment he had been writing on. The ghost smiled back at him, before floating closer to the desk, knowing now she was welcome.
"Sorry for barging in on you Dumbledore but I have some information that you might wish to hear." She informed him, turning her head to meet his eyes, her beautiful silver hair following her movement in the floaty way she was so used to. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, leaning forwards across the desk in interest.
"Oh? And what might that be my dear lady?"
Helena took her time to answer, searching for the right words. She was a vivid believer of the expression 'think before you speak' and made sure she knew what she was saying before she started a sentence.
"I wish to inform you that there is a reaper masquerading themselves as a student," she told the old wizard, watching as his eyes widened slightly.
"A reaper? But I thought they were all gone?"
Helena nodded. "As did I and yet the aura is unmistakable; there is nothing else it could be."
Dumbledore felt himself frowning. So history told it, as very little known history as it was, the reapers had died out several hundred years ago due to lack of hollows to fight. There had been no need for them, no need to exist as the hollows were beginning to decrease due to magical increase. The growing magical community was causing the hollowing process to dull, the particles of magic in the air causing ghosts to stay permanently in the air or move on to the afterlife. So the reapers seized to exist, the afterlife able to run itself and no hollows being created.
"Do you know who it is?" he asked, looking for more information from the female ghost in front of him.
"The first year with the white hair; or so Peeves tells us."
"Peeves?"
"Yes. I must admit that it was the poltergeist and not me whom figured out it was a reaper we were dealing with. Believe it or not he has more spiritual power than us normal ghosts. It is the reason he can pick things up and move things around." Helena explained, her thoughtful eyes trailed on Dumbledore, waiting for his reaction to the news of the reaper.
Dumbledore himself was in shock. Toushiro Hitsugaya, the person he had 'hired', was a reaper? It explained allot he supposed, and also explained how there was still a reaper around. Japan wasn't as magically orientated as England and so would still have hollows. The reapers would still be there, helping the souls of the dearly departed pass on to a better life. The news wasn't too worrying, after all; if he had wanted to do anything to harm either the students or the ghosts then he probably would have done by now. The only thing of any substance he had heard the boy doing was saving Neville in the flying lesson and that certainly couldn't be seen as bad. The old man looked back, thinking about the white haired boy's words when he had asked why he was at Hogwarts.
"I'm here on a mission." He replied simply before continuing as Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in question. "Someone changed time in a way that has destroyed my timeline so I have come fix it. I traced the disturbance to this place but a year from now."
In under a year's time now something was going to happen that shouldn't and Toushiro was here to make sure it didn't. But if he was a reaper then what could happen to the school that changes time so bad they would send someone back to change it? And in England? He was obviously Japanese through his name and manner but he was in England and alone. A wash of sympathy went through the man and he decided he needed to know more. He would talk to Toushiro and get the full story. There was no way the reaper couldn't tell now that Dumbledore knew his secret.
oxo…oxo
Dear reader,
Ok, so this is chapter 12 of the power of a letter and I hope you are all enjoying it. First, I would like to say for all the mothers out there; happy mothers day! Next I would like to say "happy birthday!" to Hitsugayataichoda who asked me to get this done by their birthday. This is my birthday present for you. I hope you enjoyed it and that you have a good day. Thank you for reading and reviewing this story continuously and honouring me by requesting its update on/before your birthday ^_^
Animeloveramy
Happy Mothers day to any of you who happen to me mothers if any of you happen to read this and Happy Birthday to Hitsugayataichoda hopefully you enjoy this and continue reviewing ^_^
AnimeAiedail