Disclaimer: All rights for Harry Potter and Bleach go to their respective owners.

The next few months passed by in a blur, his time divided between schoolwork, Sigruna, and reading. Toshiro was determined to keep his distance from the trio, especially since he was now sure that his reiatsu was affecting Harry. The boy was becoming more attune to his fluctuations in reiatsu, and Toshiro worried that prolonged exposure to a Captain-class Shinigami would have lasting effects. He didn't want to do any more damage than was already done.

This was, of course, the excuse that he told himself whenever he felt guilt or loneliness or even regret. This was the lie that kept him going. He could not afford to become attached to these humans; once he killed Voldemort he was to go home and never come back.

But even as he rejoiced this, his stomach twisted. Somehow during his time here, the humans had managed to worm their way under his skin and get him to care about them. Damn them.

He was in contact with Captain Unohana almost every day, both of them working to find a way to separate Riddle from Ginny, who was still unaware of his presence. She had not shown any signs of the seal breaking, which Toshiro was very grateful for. They had managed to come up with a couple ways that they might preform a soul rejection without damaging Ginny's soul, but were still working out the specifics. In the meantime Toshiro was still looking for Voldemort.

From what he'd gathered, the 'Dark Lord' had vanished the night Harry had somehow defeated him. Toshiro was hopeful that he had died but doubted it. Someone that powerful did not die because a baby had defeated him. Truthfully, the more he heard the tale the more he doubted the power of the wizard. If a baby - wizarding child or not - could defeat you, you seriously needed to work on your training.

Sigruna had stopped venturing out of the Chamber since Riddle had stopped controlling her, and Toshiro was able to continue to bring her food. They had had a long talk about Riddle, and while he was able to clarify many things, he still had many questions. Whether or not they would be answered was still in the air.

The people she had Petrified were still like statues. The mandrakes needed to unfreeze them would be ready in a couple weeks, but until then they would stay in the hospital wing.

Classes continued like nothing had happened - no one told the students of the drama over winter break, and he was in no hurry to do so. He didn't need the publicity. In lieu of spending time with people - Socializing, he had scoffed to Hyourinmaru on one of his daily denials - he had turned to books. In very little time he had leapt ahead in his wizarding education, a fact that the teachers were quick to notice. He had already had Professor McGonagall approach him about moving ahead a year, which he had vehemently declined. He did not want this to turn out like the Academy. It was bad enough that he was being forced to attend school again, but he would not stand for the ridicule and stares that would inevitably come if he moved ahead.

His decision had nothing to do with the trio. Absolutely not.

Toshiro was first to their Transfiguration class after breakfast. He brought along a thermos of tea and sat in the front left, as usual. He pulled out a book to read while waiting for the rest of the class to come. He was a more than a little surprised when Hermione sat next to him. He shifted in his seat and attempted to ignore her, but she made no attempt to talk to him. That was strange. She usually never shut up. Even during the lesson, while they were attempting to transform quills into leather bookmarks, she was unusually quiet. It concerned him, to be quite honest.

After the lesson he attempted to leave but Hermione stuck with him. He kept glancing back at her as they walked to History, but she just kept walking. She again sat next to him during History but did not try to talk with him. To be fair, he might have been dozing off. Might.

Toshiro was headed to the Great Hall during lunch when she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the main flow. He gave her a questioning look, but she was determined to drag him somewhere.

That somewhere was apparently Myrtle's bathroom, where Ron and Harry were waiting. And resting on the floor between them was Riddle's diary.

Toshiro stared at it. "That was in my trunk," he said, pointing to the thing. Even from several feet away he could feel Riddle's awful reiatsu in it. It had soaked into the book, into every fibre woven through it, into the bindings and the paper and the ink name in the back. "What is it doing here?"

"I think the better question is what is it?"

Toshiro looked up at Ron, who was, for once, completely serious. "What do you mean?" Instead of answering, Hermione sat next to the book, flipped it open to a random page, and dripped a dot of ink onto it. The ink sunk into the page, disappearing completely. "It's a magic school," Toshiro said, intrigued. "Magic things are bound to happen."

"Not when there's someone in the book," Hermione said quietly. Toshiro did a double-take.

"Sorry - what?"

"Riddle drew us in and showed us what is Petrifying the students." Hermione set down her quill. "He was a student here at Hogwarts fifty years ago when the Chamber was first opened. He said that-"

Toshiro put up his hand and she stopped. He scoffed, feigning nonchalance. "A book cannot talk. What are you trying to pull?"

Hermione looked offended, but it was Ron who answered. "We aren't pulling anything. We're serious. What we want to know is why it was in your trunk."

Toshiro adopted his best glare and said, with as much cold fury as he could muster: "If you must know, I found it. How did you find it?" They didn't say anything, but Toshiro didn't miss the slight glance Ron and Hermione sent towards Harry. Toshiro turned to him. "How did you find it, Potter? Why were you going through my things?"

Harry hesitated, and Toshiro took a step forward. He was beyond furious. If they had also found his soul phone and candy...this was serious. He needed to make sure they never messed with his things again. "How. Did. You. Find. It?"

"I was drawn to your trunk," Harry said quietly, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I-I don't know why."

Toshiro closed his eyes and cursed softly. So his separation from them hadn't halted the boy's progressing reiatsu. It seems it was taking root. "And so you just decided to go through my things?" He said this as calmly as he could manage. It would not do to hit the boy over the head with the very book they were talking about.

"No!" Toshiro raised an eyebrow. Harry wilted. "Yes. I mean, it was...it was dark."

"Dark," Toshiro repeated. Harry nodded.

"Dark. Kinda like...like opposite of the things around your wrists. Yours is...it's kinda like winter."

Crap, Toshiro thought. He's progressed more than I thought. Also - he can see reiatsu?! Right. I need to take action.

Toshiro drew breath to speak, but Hermione beat him to the punch. "Hitsugaya, I don't know why you've been avoiding us, but we've decided it stops now." Toshiro blinked, startled. "We're going out to Hagrid's, and you're coming with us."

"Why?"

"Because you're our friend."

"No, why are you going to Hagrid?"

Hermione tapped the diary. "He said that Hagrid raised the creature. Who else would we get answers from?"

For once Toushiro couldn't fault their logic. Hagrid did have a documented propensity towards rearing odd and often dangerous creatures. It also gave him a chance to find out how much Harry knew, how much he had told Ron and Hermione, and find enough time to come up with a perfectly good excuse for what Harry was seeing.

"Fine."

They left for Hagrid's hut just before dinner. The walk down was awkward, with silence reigning. Toshiro walked behind the three, using the time to study Harry's reiatsu. Just like the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, it felt charged with electricity.

Wonderful, Toshiro thought. Just how am I going to explain this?

Hagrid's windows were still lit, and Toshiro was relieved that they didn't have to come back after dinner. Curfew wasn't long after, and he didn't fancy being under an invisibility cloak with three children, much less those three.

Harry knocked on the door, and Hagrid opened it, beaming when he saw who it was. "You four, eh? Come in, come in. I'll get some tea goin'."

"None for me, Hagrid, thank you," Toshiro said, closing the door behind him and leaning against it with crossed arms. Fang came up to him and sat on his feet, then smiled up at Toshiro when he tried to move.

"So, how are yeh doin'?" Hagrid asked once the kettle had been set on the stove and the trio had found spots to sit around the cabin. Hermione sat on the very edge of the giant bed, looking like she was going to get swallowed up by it. Ron was sitting on the counter next to the stove, his hand moving dangerously close to the fire. Harry was on one of the chairs, and Hagrid sat on the other, the wood creaking under his bulk.

"Good," Hermione replied. "We were just wondering...Other than Fluffy, did you - did you ever raise anything else?"

"'Course," Hagrid frowned. "I'm gamekeeper. I've raised lot's o' things."

"I mean, anything...bad?"

"Nothing is bad." Hagrid leaned forward in his chair. "It's the creature's upbringin' tha' matters."

"Sure, but-"

"Fifty years ago," Toshiro interrupted. His feet were starting to go numb, and Fang was showing no signs of moving. He bent down to try and shove Fang away, and missed Hagrid's face paling.

"How did yeh-"

"Those three," Toshiro said, waving a dismissive hand at the trio and giving up on moving Fang. "They meddle in everything."

Harry frowned over at him. "You know, we're trying to be nice to you. The least you could do is not insult us."

Toshiro didn't respond. Hagrid stood.

"Wha' do yeh want? Fifty years ago - why do yeh care abou' tha' time?"

"That's when the Chamber was first opened," Hermione said. "Professor Binns told us about it. Then we found a - a book talking about that time. It said you were expelled for raising the creature that killed the student that died. Is it true? What was the creature?"

Hagrid's face was steadily getting redder. "I don' want teh talk abou' this," he said. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be goin' teh dinner now."

"Ah, but Hagrid-"

Ron was interrupted by a knocking on the door. Hagrid looked up with relief. "Come in," he called.

Toshiro was frantically trying to shove the boarhound off his feet when the door behind him was pulled open and his support disappeared, sending him crashing down backwards. Luckily he managed to latch onto the door frame and catch himself before completely falling, but when he looked up, he saw an old face looking down at him with mixed expressions of worry, amusement, and puzzlement.

"Hello Headmaster," Toshiro said. Dumbledore blinked.

Once Toshiro righted himself, Dumbledore sent them back to the castle with orders to stay in the tower. They found out from the other Gryffindors that another student had been attacked - a girl from Hufflepuff.

They stood by the window where Toshiro was sitting. "You know," Hermione said slowly. "No one from Slytherin's been attacked. That has to mean something."

"Yeah, the creature doesn't like green blood," Ron scoffed.

Harry shook his head. "Just because we've ruled out Malfoy doesn't mean someone else in Slytherin isn't guilty."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. They didn't have nearly enough clues to figure this out. Well, they didn't. He knew that it was Sigruna, of course, but he wasn't about to - his eyes went wide, and the blood drained from his already pale face.

Sigruna.

But...but...

Toshiro bolted from the windowsill and sprinted up the stairs, gulping down a soul candy and ordering it to stay where it was before leaping out the window.

She had promised not to leave the Chamber!

Ginny watched the white-haired boy leave the common room and disappear up the stairs. A flash of black and white flew by the window a minute later, and she released a soft breath, a plan forming in her mind. She was sitting in a chair by the fire, surrounded by some of her friends. One noticed her interest with the window.

"Hey, Ginny, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, waiting a moment before standing. "I just don't feel well; I'm gonna go up and lay down, all right? I'll see you in the morning." With that, she walked up the stairs. But instead of turning right into the girls' dorms, she headed left, up to the boys' side. She opened a door and walked in, relieved that everyone was occupied by the news of another attack.

Wait - why was she relieved by that?

Ginny shook her head to clear it and looked around. What was she doing in the boys' dorms? She was just sitting downstairs; why'd she come up here? She walked back towards the door, but stopped when a strange buzzing entered her head. It was irritating at first, and she rubbed her ears, but then it changed, morphing into a voice that was calm and soothing, and all she wanted to do was listen to it...

Right. She was up here for the invisibility cloak.

Potter didn't have it well hidden, and she easily found it stuffed under the mattress of his bed. She smirked as she threw it around herself and strode down the stairs, weaving amongst the people crowded in the common room. When she reached the trio, who were standing near the open window, she tapped Weasley's shoulder. "Wha - oh, hey Ginny," he said, looking around. Ginny forced her lips into a smile.

"I just saw Hitsugaya leave the common room. Is everything all right?"

Weasley exchanged glanced with his friends then turned to face her. "I don't know. We were just talking and he left. Well, ran, really. Looked like he was panicking."

"Panicking?" Ginny modified her features into concern. "Should we go after him, then? I mean, it's almost curfew, and if he doesn't get back soon..."

Weasley looked uncomfortable. "Well, yeah, but he can take care of himself, and I don't want to get caught out after hours-"

"That's all right." She pulled her hands from behind her back, revealing the invisibility cloak. "We can go under this. I've seen you use it; it works well, apparently."

Ron looked back at his friends again, who shrugged. The decision was up to him. The Granger girl was staring at Ginny, however, looking thoughtful. Ginny sincerely hoped she didn't question how she knew about the invisibility cloak. This was such a perfect opportunity, and she didn't want anything to go wrong.

"Are you feeling all right?" the bushy-haired girl asked. Ginny nodded. Luck was on her side tonight.

"Yeah, fine. Come on; I really think we should go."

Weasley put a hand out to take the cloak, but Granger stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Wait. Ginny, are you sure? You don't normally break rules like this. Are you sure you're prepared for what'll happen if we're caught?"

Ginny couldn't keep the annoyance from her face or tone. "Yeah, 'course I'm sure. Now come on; let's go see if Hitsugaya's all right."

Granger released Weasley, and the four went to the door, going through when they were sure no one was looking. The fat lady yelled at them that it was almost curfew, but they ignored her. Once they were out of her sight they huddled together and slipped on the invisibility cloak, then made their way down the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Potter whispered in her ear, no more than an exhalation of breath. In the back of her mind, Ginny knew that she was supposed to feel an attraction towards him, that she used to, but there was just no way she would think like that. Not now.

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," she breathed back. "He told me that he likes to go there to spend time alone."

That was a lie, of course. She would never spend time with whatever the boy was. There was something weird about him, and he wasn't human, that was for sure. Not after everything that'd happened, not after everything that she'd seen.

"He's never told us that," Granger said, sounding offended. Ginny rolled her eyes. Couldn't the girl just shut up?

They reached the bathroom in a few minutes, but it seemed like hours to her. She couldn't stand being so close to another person - let alone three - for so long. It was an immense relief when they entered the room and took off the cloak, separating.

"Back again?"

Ginny groaned softly at the voice and turned to see Myrtle's ghost sitting in her toilet, only her upper body visible. She had her elbows on the seat and was resting her chin on her hands. She'd really hoped the girl wasn't here. "Go away," she hissed at the ghost, and missed the puzzled frown that Weasley gave her.

Myrtle laughed, a high, squeaky note that made Ginny want to rip out her vocal cords. It had been bad enough when she was alive, but now...now she was insufferable.

"Fine, I won't give you any help then, if that's what you want. Though you don't need it." She glared at Ginny before disappearing down into her toilet. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps now she could-

"Are you sure you're all right?" Granger asked. Ginny clenched her hands and shoved them into her pockets to keep from punching the girl right in the mouth.

"Fine," she replied as sweetly as she could. Merlin, this was exhausting. "Maybe we should split up and search. He might be hiding in a corner somewhere."

Granger looked uncertain but moved away, as did Potter and Weasley. Luckily, they all went away from where she needed to go. Ginny took a deep breath to calm herself and surreptitiously moved towards the ring of sinks, towards the tiny snake engraved on one of the copper taps. She lightly ran a finger over it; it really was a beautiful system Salazar Slytherin had set up here. Then, after a quick glance behind her to make sure the three were still occupied, she hissed out a word in Parseltongue, and the tap spun, the sinks moving away from each other, creating a large hole in the middle.

Ginny backed away and adopted a surprised look as she cried out, and her startled exclamation drew the trio. They stood next to her, staring as the sinks lowered into the ground and at the giant black hole that dropped away into black nothingness.

"W-wha-what did you do?" Weasley sounded astonished, and a quick look up confirmed this fact. Ginny grimaced. He really did have a long nose, didn't he?

"There was a snake carved on the tap," she said, pitching her voice up an octave. "I-I'm not sure, but it twisted and it just did this!"

"Wow, good job in finding that," Potter said, patting her back. Ginny suppressed a shiver. "Come on, let's go."

"We can't go down there!"

They turned to face Granger, who grabbed the back of Potter's shirt. "You don't know what's down there! The creature - I mean, literally anything!"

"Granger, if Hitsugaya is down there, it can't be anything too bad, right?" Ginny gave her what she hoped was a convincing smile. She had always been good at getting people to do what she wanted, so it was not a surprise when Granger wilted, releasing Potter's shirt.

"We don't even know if he's down there...You said he liked to come here, not that he is here."

"Sure, but this is the most interesting thing that's happened all year!" Weasley exclaimed. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Potter frown and look away. She needed to investigate that, then. "Come on, Hermione; if a small kid like him's fine down there, then so should we."

Ginny could see Granger was hesitating on the brink of caving in. She needed only a little shove. Or a huge shove, Ginny thought, repressing a grin. "What if he's hurt?" she asked, and all eyes snapped to her. She lifted her chin, determined to play on Granger's feelings. Even if she failed, it would be immensely entertaining. "What if he's in pain and he needs help? He might need us. We can't leave and take that chance. We can't let him die because of us!"

Granger's eyes widened, and she looked towards the hole. "But...we can't even get down there. There's no rungs or anything to hold onto."

This time Ginny couldn't help but smirk. She'd bought it, hook, line, and sinker. "Levitation charm," she said, turning to Weasley. "I heard you can do it. You knocked a troll out with his own club, didn't you?"

Weasley grinned and puffed out his chest. "Yes, I did. We'll do that, then. Hermione, why don't I lower you down first? You're the best at defensive spells."

Trust a man to fall to hubris.

"I'm better than you at everything," Granger joked, but stepped forward. Weasley pulled out his wand and flicked it. Granger's feet lifted from the ground, and she hovered above the pipe for a moment before lowering down. Potter was next, then it was Ginny's turn, and she lit up the tip of her wand so that she could see while in the pipe. Once she was on the ground, Granger performed the charm on Weasley and slowly brought him down. Then they were all standing in a large room lit with a blue light and a floor littered with little bones.

Rats, Ginny thought, kicking out and sending a narrow bone skittering away to bounce off the stone wall. The four gingerly picked their way across the room towards a tunnel, wands out and ready. The only sounds apart from their footsteps were the cracking of bones.

It took a few minutes, but eventually they reached the wall with the twin snakes carved into the stone, eyes set with glinting emeralds. The stones flashed in the moss' light, seeming as if the snakes were blinking.

But they weren't, of course. They were carved snakes.

"What now?" Potter asked, going up to the wall and running a hand over the head of one of the snakes. "How do we get through? Is there a handle or some-"

Before he could even complete his sentence, the snakes parted as the door cracked open, sliding smoothly out of sight. And on the other side, staring at them with wide eyes and a startled, astonished look, was a certain white-haired boy that couldn't be human.

Toshiro Hitsugaya was frozen, unable to look away or even speak.

Behind the trio, Ginny grinned. This had gone even better than she had hoped.