The Muggle with White Hair
NOTE: I am no way copying any other BLEACHHP fics out there. Have fun reading, eating, flaming, criticizing! Also, this story takes place during the Order of the Phoenix arc.
Chapter 21 - In Which Hitsugaya Discovers Diagon Alley
"This is a portkey?"
The disbelief bounced around the room.
"Despite what little your mind can comprehend, yes."
Hitsugaya looked up sharply at the smug little man in the painting.
"You're telling me that this...thing...will somehow magically get me to Ollivanders?"
Phineas Nigellus adopted a look of supreme boredom. "Considering that the rest of the castle functions on 'magically' I suggest that you cast aside your doubts and get on with it. Dumbledore went through a lot of trouble to get you a portkey." He sniffed, clearly showing his conviction that Dumbledore was wasting his time to provide for a child.
Ignoring the obvious tone of arrogance, Hitsugaya went back to concentrating on the small gum wrapper gracing the headmaster's desk. Drooble's was printed on it in a large pink font.
"What am I supposed to do with it?" Hitsugaya asked after some hesitation.
"Eat it." Phineas replied nastily.
"Don't listen to that fool, he's tricking you!" The portrait to the left of Nigellus's cried out. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow.
I figured...
"Just touch it and the portkey will take you there." A rather chubby woman stated as she lifted her cane for emphasis.
Out of the corner of his eye Hitsugaya could see Phineas scowl. Shrugging, (what else could he possibly do with a gum wrapper?), Hitsugaya secured the collar of his cloak more tightly before reaching out and grabbing the small piece of plastic.
His body surged forward, limbs forced to his side because of the curdling speed, eyes watering because of the blur of neon colors attacking his pupils, stomach recoiling in disgust, and then...
A brick wall.
Hitsugaya landed in a dusty heap, knocking a couple of garbage cans over with his arrival.
What the hell was that?
His head throbbed in pain (having been bashed against something huge and solid). He got to his feet slowly, one hand rubbing his forehead futilely.
Somewhere, a little man in a portrait was laughing at him.
Hitsugaya blinked and took in his surroundings. A large brick wall met his eyes. It reminded him of another brick wall that he had encountered before.
Wait, why was he even at a brick wall? Wasn't he supposed to be at some alley? Diagon Alley? Did Dumbledore forget to tell him something?
Hitsugaya doubted that Dumbledore would have withheld information, purposely or not. He glanced around once more, in case he had ignored something important. This time, he saw the door.
Deciding that he would accomplish nothing just standing around in this empty lot, Hitsugaya approached the door and entered into a dimly lit room. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed the rather shabby atmosphere. Several tables and chairs were scattered around the room. Only a few people were occupying the lone chair or so.
At his arrival, a shriveled old man turned around slowly. He was holding a glass in one hand, the other shaking the rag thathe had been using to polish the glass with. A smile spread across his features.
"Hello! What can I get you?" He asked warmly as if people with shockingly white hair were a common occurrence in his bar.
"Actually, I have a question. Do you know how to get to Diagon Alley?" Hitsugaya asked, feeling only a little guilty for robbing the man of a potential customer.
The old man looked at him with an expression of amused confusion. "You just missed it boy, its back there." He replied.
Hitsugaya assumed that he had been looking at the man with disbelief written all over his face because the man quickly backpedaled.
"Ah, you must be new! Diagon Alley is right behind that brick wall. It's three up and two across." The bartender gestured towards the door Hitsugaya had just come in from.
"Three up...?" There were only so much vague instructions Hitsugaya could take.
"Tap the bricks three up and then two across." The old man clarified.
"I...see. Thank you." Brushing aside the man's 'no problem!', Hitsugaya turned and left the bar, back to where he started.
This time, Hitsugaya strode up to the wall, and tapped hesitantly on the corresponding bricks. The brick wriggled in response as if reluctant to comply to Hitsugaya's request then, in unison, the bricks in the center began to fold back to create a sort of archway.
There weren't a lot of things in the world (the real world specifically) that impressed Hitsugaya. The brick wall was an exception.
As Hitsugaya stepped through, a long swerving pathway greeted his eyes. Stores were lined up on either side of the street, cramped together and squished as if to make more space. In contrast to the stores, however, were the few people that were wandering up and down the alley. Hitsugaya guessed that it was because it was late into the school year and no one was interested in purchasing anything.
After this particular piece of information coming to a conclusion, Hitsugaya walked on, allowing he to be distracted only at the Eyelids Owl Emporium, before he spotted his destination.
Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.
That is quite a history...
Glancing around (no nosy passerbyers), Hitsugaya pulled open the door and entered the dimly illuminated room. A fine layer of dust was lying on the counter, the floor, and even the small stool teetering in the corner. The background consisted entirely of cardboard boxes precariously stacked into towers.
While Hitsugaya was wondering what exactly would happen if all those boxes fell to the floor, a man stepped out from the side of the room.
He had a wizened countenance, large bulbous eyes, and the tendency to walk without any noise coming from his footsteps. All in all, he gave out a rather creepy aura. It was nothing Hitsugaya couldn't handle.
"Good morning." The storekeeper, Hitsugaya assumed, greeted smoothly. He stepped further towards the counter and then frowned.
"You don't look familiar...are you a transfer student?" He blinked a couple of times.
Hitsugaya nodded. "Yes, I am. My name is Toushirou Hitsugaya and I came to ask you a few questions."
"Oh, you're a foreigner. Japanese, I presume?" Ollivander turned around and made his way towards a large stack of wands. He then began pulling various boxes from the shelves, piling them up in his arms.
"Since you're attending Hogwarts you'll definitely need a wand. I'm not sure what kind of magic they practice over there in Japan, ninjutsu or some kind of poppycock, but you'll need a wand here."
Depositing the boxes on the counter, Ollivander grabbed one and began shuffling eagerly towards Hitsugaya.
In response, he couldn't help edging back a little. "I'm not here to buy a wand. I just want to ask you something."
Ollivander frowned. "You can ask me something after you buy a wand." He said stubbornly.
"I have a wand." Hitsugaya clarified, showing the said object to the store owner. He was careful not to point it straight at the man; apparently many wizards did not take wand pointing too kindly in the real world. If he was lucky, he would get this over with without having to utter spells and feel like an idiot.
If he was lucky.
"I don't recall seeing you in my shop before and yet you have one of my own manufactured wands." Ollivander said slowly, his tone clearly disbelieving the fact that he couldn't remember one of his past customers.
Hitsugaya raised a single eyebrow. "Someone else bought this wand for me."
Ollivander smiled, and yet it was more of a smirk than a grin. "Beech, 15 inches, unicorn hair. If I remember correctly, Professor Dumbledore ordered this one." He frowned, displeasure crossing his face. "Does this mean that you haven't chosen your own wand?"
"I was preoccupied at that time. Putting that aside, I have a few-"
"Preoccupied?" Ollivander snapped out, looking mortally offended. "One should never dismiss choosing a wand as a trivial chore! A wand is a partner, if faced in a difficult and terrifying situation that promises mainly death, it will be the only factor in guaranteeing your safety!"
Slightly embarrassed on having this decrepit old man yell at him, Hitsugaya waited impatiently for Ollivander to stop his monologue. All he had were a few questions and all he wanted in exchange were some satisfying answers. He was tired of idling his time away in Hogwarts, caught in a standstill where one would be forced to do absolutely nothing...
Ollivander was nearing the end of his scolding lecture when Hitsugaya abruptly interrupted him.
"I apologize." He said, managing to inject the right amount of regret into his voice. "However, I don't have time to stand around and listen to you yell at me. Despite your main concerns right now, I have business here."
The wand maker paused, eyes slowly blinking. "Business?" He questioned.
Relieved that the man had finally stopped, Hitsugaya quickly barreled on, taking advantage of this momentary lull.
"Yes. I have some questions I need to ask you."
Ollivander's large bulbous eyes immediately narrowed, to Hitsugaya's surprise. His eyes lengthened into slits, creating a rather strange impression that something had flown into them therefore creating a rather puckered up version of a squint.
"If you're going to ask about my wand-making process..." Ollivander began, his tone implying heavily that the particular subject was dangerous ground. "Then I suggest you turn around and head straight out of the door." He motioned vigorously towards the front of the store and started slinking away from the counter.
"I wasn't, actually." Hitsugaya said quickly before Ollivander could disappear amid the mounds of boxes. "I want to know if you've had any recent sales in your store. Have you had any suspicious looking customers come in?"
The moment Ollivander turned around, Hitsugaya knew that he had just asked a stupid question. "Suspicious customers?" Ollivander echoed. "I've had more than my fair share of strangers in the past, but not any recently. Unless, young, giggling, Hogwarts students count as reasons to be alarmed." He adjusted his position so that he could stare fully at Hitsugaya. "My most recent sales were from last week. Who they were and what kind of wands they were buying, though, that is privileged information."
Hitsugaya stiffened. He didn't take kindly to patronizing airs. "But you admit that there were buyers, correct? Thanks for the information."
Ollivander frowned as he realized that he had just given information to the white-haired boy in front of him. Maybe he wasn't as conniving as he used to be.
"Anything else?" He snapped eager to get this arrogant brat out of his shop. Hitsugaya resisted releasing an exasperated sigh. It was evident that Ollivander would not give him details despite how much Hitsugaya prodded him.
"No thank you." Hitsugaya muttered back coolly, beginning to step away from the counter. "I apologize for wasting your time." He turned, not bothering to see Ollivander's reaction and left the shop.
----
Vivid streaks of light were pouring from the heavens as the sun rose to its highest position in the sky and beamed at the passerbyers. It was late afternoon as Hitsugaya walked down Diagon Alley, annoyance and frustration clouding his mood.
What did he expect from that visit? It wasn't like he would find the source of his problems just by taking a day off from Hogwarts. Why did he get so excited over one stupid lead?
Simple, he countered in his thoughts. Because it was the only lead he had discovered. The espada search had been completely and utterly fruitless. The purpose of the arrancars he had killed a few days ago was just as vague. Maybe I shouldn't have killed them all. Hitsugaya shook his head. Heartless interrogation wasn't his thing. The white-haired boy slowed to a stop, eyes observing the horizon.
I should get back to Hogwarts. Feeling his temper begin to take another dip, Hitsugaya sighed silently to himself before shuffling towards the direction of the Leaky Cauldron.
He stopped.
Where exactly was the Leaky Cauldron again?
---
"This is annoying." Hitsugaya snarled in Japanese as he stomped down the long winding pathway of Diagon Alley. There was no one around to glance pointedly at his usage of a foreign language, and it was just as well, seeing as Hitsugaya's foul mood would've caused him toglare at them.
His eyes scanned for any type of sign or board that could lead him back to the pub, but the only signs he saw were the ones decorating the many shops on either side of him.
I'm lost in some stupid wizard place. Hitsugaya thought. Could this stupid day get any worse?
Suddenly, his eyes spotted a cracked piece of wood tacked messily on the wall. The wall was in between two long pathways, the right continued on as the main avenue, and the left seemed to dip down into some obscure fog.
Frowning, Hitsugaya looked at the sign. Unfortunately, half of it was missing, revealing the words "Alley" and a pointed finger to the left. After a few minutes of debating with himself, Hitsugaya moved arbitrarily towards the left.
What could happen? He reasoned, eyes squinting to adjust to the thick fog. Maybe it's a shortcut to the Leaky Cauldron.
As he walked down the pathway however, Hitsugaya could keenly perceive the change in atmosphere. The heavy mist was oppressive around his form, and the murmur of conversation that he had heard in Diagon alley was absent. Hitsugaya's quick stride had slowed down to a cautious walk. He walked with hardly any sound beneath his shoes, a talent only life-dangering experience had bred.
That's when his instincts kicked themselves awake. Dark shapes rose from the ground with a startling suddenness. Loud cracking pops accompanied their presence. Hitsugaya stared bewilderingly for a split second at the scene before him before ducking behind a large barrel at the side of the road.
An unpleasant odor was coming from the barrel, it smelled strongly of something preserved. Hitsugaya avoided looking into the barrel and instead concentrated on the cluster of shapes in the middle of the path.
The cluster of shapes turned out to be a group of humans wearing long black cloaks. They were all wearing black hoods over their heads, effectively hiding their identities from Hitsugaya. The one nearest to the edge of the group turned around, scanning their surroundings. Hitsugaya huddled closer behind the barrel.
"Are we alone?" A dark, hoarse voice queried. Another, this time a soprano cackled. "Doesn't matter does it? Wecan just kill anyone who's uninvited."
"I thought we agreed not to cause a ruckus." An aristocratic-sounding male muttered.
"Can we just take off our hoods? It's bloody annoying not knowing who you blokes are." Someone growled.
A quick assent rippled through the crowd as hoods were quickly pulled away.
There were a variety of different people. All of them were adults and had the distinct air of escaped convicts.
"So, this is where we're supposed to meet them?" The soprano, a woman with long straggly black hair and a face robbed of her once good looks. She pulled out a long wand, running the tip across her arm in a jerky, mechanical motion.
The aristocrat, with long silvery blonde hair, turned to her with an exasperated look. "Obviously, Bellatrix."
"Why are we meeting them again?" A tall, stocky male with a pale face asked.
Bellatrix rolled her eyes before impatiently flicking her wand towards the male. The male visibly flinched away, raising his own wand as if prepared to defend himself.
She laughed scornfully. "Because, Dolohov you idiot, the Dark lord has ordered it." The words Dark lord rolled of her tongue as if she was gently caressing them. "Do we need any other reason?"
Hitsugaya blinked. Dark lord?
Dolohov snarled, not appreciating the fact that he was called an idiot in front of everyone. "I'm aware of that. I just want to know why the Dark lord ordered-"
"Are you questioning him?" Bellatrix interrupted, her eyes showing the manic glint of a woman whose self-control had vanished years ago.
A hunched male growled in amusement over the proceedings. "You better back down Dolohov. Lestrange could kill you easily." He said nastily.
Dolohov threw him a look. "Quiet Greyback. I don't want to hear it from a man that couldn't ascend to our ranks."
Greyback smirked, but it was apparent that he was angry, before slowly advancing towards Dolohov. "I wouldn't mind a bite to eat before we meet these so-called people..." He trailed off.
"Stop, both of you. The Dark lord will not be pleased to hear that we disgraced his great name in front of these people." The blonde-haired man sounded irate.
"Of course, Malfoy. Anything you say." Lestrange groveled exaggeratedly.
The group morphed into a tense silence.
Hitsugaya did not move from his position behind the barrel. He had a strong feeling that showing his presence to these people would invite trouble especially since their very manner of speaking seemed to show their brutish qualities. I wonder who they are. The captain could not recognize any of the names they said. That is, except one. The man with the arrogant facade, the one they called Malfoy, not only looked familiar but had a familiar sounding name. Hitsugaya frowned in puzzlement. Where had he heard the name before?
His thoughts were interrupted by a strange sound. The sound was much like a rip in fabric except it was much louder and sharper than any rip could sound like.
It was a sound that Hitsugaya recognized.
As if to confirm his suspicions, the shinigami captain peered over the barrel when a large wave of reiatsu seemed to flood over him. At the same time, a figure, dressed in a white uniform, stepped out of the dimensional rip.
The group of individuals stared gaping, as the figure descending slowly down to the cobblestoned pathway.
Arrancar?! Hitsugaya thought in shocked tones. What is an arrancar doing here?
The arrancar was male, this fact apparent by his long pointed beard and bulky build. He was clad in only white pants, the absence of a shirt showing his stomach muscles. A long sword dangled from his hip. A large white mask obscured his face, only leaving his lower jaw open to reveal sharp canines. Dark blue eyes looked around at his surroundings before concentrating at the shocked group of humans before him.
The others quickly recovered from their surprise and confusion, slowly backing away from the figure.
"What in the bloody hell is that?" Dolohov hissed none too quietly, staring at the grotesque mask. Both Greyback and Bellatrix did not reply, eyes staring at the strange person that had just stepped out of the sky. Out of a rip, no less.
Malfoy had gone into a rigid state, fingers clenching his wand. "Who are you?" He demanded, tensing for a confrontation.
Hitsugaya could only stare at the events happening before him. An arrancar had suddenly appeared before a group of wizards, was this somehow connected to the three arrancar he had battled before? The fact that the arrancar hadn't feasted on their souls or attacked Hitsugaya himself yet meant that he wasn't here for a battle. What then? I doubt that he's here for a friendly meeting!
The arrancar regarded the stuttering wizards coolly for a moment. The corners of his mouth curled in visible disdain.
"My name is Flavio Arroyo Ramirez. I am a loyal retainer to Aizen-sama, ruler of Hueco Mundo."
Here he paused, eyes boring into Malfoy's as Hitsugaya watched, stunned from behind the barrel.
"I am here to forge the alliance between Aizen-sama and your Dark lord."
---
Oh shitake mushrooms. This took way too long for me to write and update. To be honest, I've been losing interest in Bleach. The movie starring Hitsugaya did nothing to revive my interest, seeing as it had a plot staler than month-old breath. It was hard, incredibly hard, to continue writing. But, I will definitely keep on writing, as tribute to all the readers and reviewers that have patiently waited for my update. I'm really sorry for how long this chapter took. It's just that many things have happened to divert my attention from fan fiction and this story. I wonder if that's a good excuse. FireyFlames.