This could be a rather lengthy AN... Three things to cover.
First, all my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims of the Newtown shooting. I know the area well - it's right near Danbury, CT, and some of the victims were brought to the hospital there from what I hear - and I used to work in Danbury, in fact, I could stand with one foot in my home town in NY and the other in Danbury, that's how close I was to it. So it really shocked me to hear about this happening right on my old doorstep.
Second, last Bleach chapter - ooookay. Let's not panic before we find out exactly what that all means. King may not have 'fallen' romantically for Ichigo, may not even be male (Twelve Kingdoms has female monarchs, all called Kings...) so before we all go jumping onto the 'yaoi' bandwagon, let's just see what Kubo has in mind. Although we may want to warn Ichigo to start running now...
Third - I'll finish this up, but as for the third part - right now I'm on the verge of not even starting it. Why? Because someone took Bleached Phoenix - without my knowledge or permission - and uploaded it as a PDF file to another site. I found out about it via a random comment from one of you - for which I am grateful - and that site pulled the story and sent a warning to the person who published it (under the name "Eradon"). Now, if you want to copy and save it for yourselves to read whenever you want, or even print it out (waste of paper tho, if you ask me) I have no problems with that; however, since this is a fanfiction work, I would prefer that it remain here - where we all know that it is indeed a derivative work based on the original works of JKR and TK. For it to show up anywhere else could be misleading and get the fanfiction community in trouble. So, to Blue_Sky, if you are reading this: good going. Nice move. Reaaaaal smart. What the )&^&*^*&^%*^( were you thinking? Did you think you wouldn't be found out?
I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter, I have enormous respect for the writers who created them, and I am grateful to all of you who enjoy this story and come back week after week. It's been nearly a year and a half since I started publishing this, I can hardly believe it...
=Hell butterfly message=
==Eavesdropping bug==
||Japanese speaking||
:Zanpakuto speaking:
Ichigo talking to Zangetsu/Hichigo
:Inner hollow talking:
Chapter 36
"This is certainly not how we imagined spending his birthday with him," George said, sitting down next to his sister.
"Yeah – we figured he'd be conscious when we gave him his present," Fred agreed gloomily, putting a gaily wrapped package on a nearby table.
They were in the hospital wing, clustered around Ron's bed. Once Ichigo had summoned Madame Pomfrey, he, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione had spent all day outside waiting, joined periodically by the others. Even Malfoy had wandered by, loudly jeering at Ron's mishap, but when he had walked past Ichigo, he reported in a low voice that no one in Slytherin had fessed up to the deed – as of yet. And Draco did not know Legilimency, the way Ichigo, Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore did, so he couldn't try to find out the truth that way. He did have a few suspicions, however, which he would share with them later. Ichigo had reported this to the others once Malfoy had left, 'chased' off by Harry.
They had finally been allowed in to see him right before eight pm. The twins had arrived just after that. They had been in Hogsmeade, they explained, to investigate buying Zonko's. They had decided to hold off on this purchase for the time being, since their main clientèle – the students – were unable to visit Hogsmeade at the present.
"So how did it happen?" Fred asked, sitting next to Ichigo. Harry ran through what happened, with some input from Ichigo. They had already gone through it – several times – already, for Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore.
"Lucky you thought of the bezoar," George said in a low voice.
"Lucky there was one in the room," Ichigo sighed, "I was yelling ingredients at him, but I don't think he actually heard me -"
"Most of them flew past me," Harry admitted. Maybe, in hindsight, Ichigo should have been the one doing the rummaging through Slughorn's potion box. He stared at his friend, lying unconscious in bed, and who was going to have to stay in the wing for a whole week.
Hermione gave a sniff, which caused Ichigo to look over at her. She had been quiet all day, taking no part in Harry and Ginny's discussion as to how he had been poisoned. She had instead stood there, white faced, next to Ichigo, until they had been allowed in to see him.
"Do mum and dad know?" George asked.
"They were here earlier," Ginny replied, "they're with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall right now."
"They'll be back soon, I'm sure," Ichigo added as he unconsciously rubbed his foot from where someone had inadvertently stomped on it. He wasn't sure who it was; it could have been Rukia, Tatsuki, Karin, Hermione or Ginny - all of them had rushed at him when they had arrived at the medical ward, and Harry had taken the coward's way out by ducking behind him and letting him take the brunt of the 'attack.' The girls had heard that someone had been poisoned in Professor Slughorn's office - and they had heard the three boys names mentioned... so not knowing which of them it was, they had stampeded like a herd of wild Thestrals. Rukia had nearly squeezed Ichigo in half when she had seen him standing outside in the hallway. Toshiro, Uryu, Momo, Orihime and Yuzu had all come hurrying along later, having gotten the news last.
Everyone stopped talking while Ron mumbled in his sleep.
"So it was the drink that was poisoned?" George asked.
Ichigo nodded, and Harry explained, "Slughorn poured the mead…"
"Would he have had time to slip something into the glass?"
"I suppose," Ichigo shrugged. He didn't think that was the case, though.
"Why would he want to?" Harry asked. In his mind, this made no sense.
"No idea, really; could he have mixed up the glasses? Meant to give it to you?" George continued to press.
"Why would he want to poison Harry?" Ginny asked, alarmed.
"Well, I'm sure there are loads of people who would like to – all of Slytherin House, for example…"
"You mean you think he's a Death Eater," Ichigo said it as a statement, not a question.
"Well, anything could be possible; He could be Imperiused…"
"No," Ichigo shook his head, "I think it was in the bottle – most likely meant for Slughorn himself." The bottle had been tightly sealed. Ichigo had noticed that much.
"Who'd want to kill Slughorn? He's fairly harmless –" Ginny objected.
"Well," Ichigo mused, "Professor Dumbledore believes that Moldy wanted Slughorn on his side, and failing that – he wants him dead. Slughorn was his Head of House…"
"But you said he was planning to give that bottle to Professor Dumbledore," Ginny reminded him, "So – it could have been for Professor Dumbledore, too."
"A rather reckless way to go about it," Hermione said, speaking for the first time in hours. "There was no guarantee that the mead would have gotten to Professor Dumbledore."
"Well, that necklace didn't exactly show genius, either," Ichigo drawled. Draco thought it might be Crabbe or Goyle – or both – trying to gain favor with Voldemort. Ichigo believed him: while Draco was not a great thinker, he was proving to be smarter and more resourceful than they had originally believed him to be. Apparently he was in Slytherin for more reasons than just his bloodline.
"Er-my-nee," Ron moaned unexpectedly. Everyone stared at him, waiting to see if he said anything more, but he only started snoring.
"You don't think it's someone with a grudge against the Quidditch team, do you? First Katie, then Ron…" Ginny wondered.
"I can't see that, quite honestly," George shook his head, "Although Wood might have done the Slytherins if he could have."
"I doubt it has anything to do with Quidditch, but I think the attacks are related to each other," Hermione agreed.
"Hm, no arguments," Ichigo nodded.
"How do you figure?" Fred asked them.
"They ought to have been fatal and weren't; but that was just pure luck."
"Plus, the necklace and the poison did not reach the intended victim. That makes the guilty party even more dangerous."
"The guilty party is reckless. He or she does not seem to care who – or how many people – get harmed."
Everyone blinked at Ichigo and Hermione as they rattled off the explanation, and Fred and George looked at each other.
"I thought we were the ones who were supposed to do that?" George asked his twin.
Before Fred could make a snappy reply, the door opened and Arthur and Molly Weasley hurried in. Earlier they had only assured themselves that Ron would be fine when they had arrived; now, Mrs. Weasley caught Harry up in a fierce hug.
"Oh, Harry! Professor Dumbledore's told us what you've done –"
"It appears as if half of our family seems to be in your debt," Arthur sighed, and he turned to Ichigo, "and yours, as well."
"But – I – I didn't…" Harry stammered anxiously.
Ichigo stood clustered with Fred and Arthur; they were the only ones in the room who knew about Soul Reapers. Ichigo was fairly certain that they were both relieved Ichigo did not have to perform konso on Ron.
Hell, Ichigo was relieved himself. Ron might be frequently frustrating and often irritating… but he was also a friend and fiercely loyal to Harry. He hadn't deserved this.
"Well, it was a very lucky day for our family when Ron decided to sit in your compartment, Harry," Arthur said fervently.
"And an equally fortuitous one when Professor Dumbledore decided to name Hermione your liaison at Hogwarts," George added. "I don't think our family could have done without Harry, and we are all – Harry included – indebted to all of you."
"Well," Ichigo looked uncomfortable, "Only six are allowed in here, so uh, I'll get lost before M. Pomfrey comes in here and gives me the boot. Fred, if you or George want to stop at the Tower, I've got some more stuff for you."
"Sure thing Ichigo, thanks," Fred nodded.
Harry also absented himself, as did Hermione, so that Ron's family could be alone with him. "Who could be doing this?" Harry vented, frustrated as they walked back to Gryffindor tower.
Ichigo looked around before he spoke. "It's not Draco," he said, "he thinks someone is trying to, uh, steal his thunder? I think that's the saying, anyway."
"So – we know the victim – or the intended victim?" Hermione queried, even though she already knew the answer.
"Yes – Professor Dumbledore," Ichigo nodded, "he already is aware of it, remember?"
"Right – so, the question now is: who is trying to get to Professor Dumbledore first, and derail the plan that Draco has?" Harry asked.
"Draco thinks it's Crabbe or Goyle – because there hasn't been any thought to it, either in the planning or the consequences."
"That actually makes sense. I don't think their combined IQs even reaches double digits," Hermione nodded.
They had to wake the Fat Lady to get back into the Tower, which irritated her, but then Harry had to deal with another irritation…
"Ah, finally Potter!"
They all jumped when a hulking figure loomed up out of a chair near the fire. It was McLaggen.
"I've been waiting for you for hours," he said, "I saw them taking Weasley up to the hospital wing earlier; it didn't look like he'll be ready for next week's match."
They had to stare at him before Harry finally realized he was talking about Quidditch. There was a Quidditch match on Saturday against Hufflepuff.
"Right – Quidditch…" Harry sighed, "Well, since you're his alternate, you'll be playing Keeper."
"Right! Listen, we should talk before hand; I have some ideas about strategy…"
Ichigo coughed as Harry stifled a groan and said, "Uh, I'll hear them tomorrow; I'm a little tired right now…" he vanished so quickly that Ichigo could have sworn he had used flash step.
The next few days, he mused as he limped behind at a more sedate pace, were going to be interesting…
While news of Ron's poisoning had created a bit of a stir, it did not cause the uproar that Katie's attack had. He was, after all, in the Potion Master's office, and it was quite possible it had been an accident (as if any professional would allow such an accident to happen, Ichigo had scoffed). There was more interest in the upcoming Quidditch match, since it was against Hufflepuff; Smith was a Chaser on the team, and Gryffindor House wanted to soundly thrash him – Ichigo included – for his commentary at that last match. It was the first time that Ichigo felt strongly about a game, and Hermione agreed with him. Smith needed to go down, and go down badly.
Harry on the other hand, was alternately being dogged by Cormac and Lavender. Between tutoring Draco, homework, trying to come up with a way to talk to Slughorn, and deal with those two – Harry would almost welcome being killed by Voldemort. Almost. When they couldn't get to Harry, they hounded Ichigo, who was nowhere near as polite in trying to get rid of them. And while Harry could not use brute force on McLaggen – as Ron often said, he was the size of a troll – Ichigo could if he needed to, and he had proven in the past that he was more than able to manhandle him. In fact – he was actually looking forward to doing so again, and found himself unconsciously cracking his knuckles when the idiot was around.
Harry could not decide what annoyed him the most – McLaggen's hints that he would be a better permanent Keeper, his criticisms of the other players (Tatsuki was threatening to break more than a few bones) or his hair-brained training schemes. Harry, with Ichigo and Tatsuki backing him up, was constantly reminding him that he, Harry, was the team captain, not McLaggen. Even Rukia had once aimed a Bludger directly at him – after he had criticized her aim. Not a smart thing to do with a vindictive midget who was still angry at him over his pass at her…
As for Lavender…she kept trying to discuss Ron, with anyone who would listen. At first no one said anything to her, which highly annoyed her. But after getting over this perceived insult, she tried to corner them to discuss Ron's feelings – in-depth. More in-depth than either Harry or Ichigo were comfortable with.
"Just go talk to Ron about it!" Ichigo finally exploded, frustrated with her.
"He's always asleep!" she shot back, equally as frustrated.
"Huh?" both boys were surprised as Ron was always highly alert when they went up to visit him. After they had escaped her, Ichigo looked at Harry and said in a low growl, "I'm going to kill him."
"Get in line."
It got to the point that they used either classes or the boy's loo to escape them. Rukia and Tatsuki were also ready to do bodily damage to the pair of them as well… Ichigo could just imagine how much complaining Karin was doing to Yuzu and Toshiro – since Toshiro was beginning to give McLaggen some rather fierce glares as well, and ice had started to form on the walls whenever he was around, a sure-fire indication that something was irritating the Tenth Squad Captain.
It was starting to become a tossup as to whether he would become a furry critter, end up with every bone in his body broken, or become an ice sculpture.
On the day of the Quidditch match, Ichigo left early to join Hermione (a much happier Hermione to be around, actually), Neville, Dean, and Seamus in the stands while Harry paid a last minute visit to Ron.
"Is it just me," he said to the group, "or do you also have this vague feeling of – dread?"
The others looked at each other, and nodded. "Yeah, dunno why, though…" Seamus answered him.
"I do," Peakes, in front of them with Cootes, turned around. "It's McLaggen. He thinks he's the Captain – and that he can play every position better than you can."
"Which Harry has been reminding him all week that he isn't, and he can't," Ichigo sighed.
"You'll just need to add him to your list of people that you need to turn into rabbits," Dean teased him.
"At this rate, it's going to be the whole school," Ichigo said dryly, which caused them all to laugh.
They watched as the two teams streaked onto the pitch, and then their mouths dropped open as a dreamy voice floated over the stadium.
"And that's Smith with the Quaffle," Luna was doing the commentary? Really? They were allowing her to – "He did the commentary last time, and really managed to upset all of Gryffindor. Ginny Weasley flew into him, probably on purpose, and Ichigo has sworn to turn him into something very small and furry for insulting Rukia… I understand that there are loads of bets floating around as to when he's actually going to do it…I have a Sickle in the pot myself…"
"Oh my God," Ichigo choked out. He looked at the others. "Bets?"
Everyone nodded, and Neville piped up with, "I have five Knuts down, too!"
Ichigo gaped at him, as Hermione chortled quietly next to him.
"Oh, and now Ginny's taken the Quaffle from him, I like her, she's very nice…"
Ichigo struggled to keep from laughing, but it was going to be hard. This should be an interesting match…
"But now that really big Hufflepuff has the Quaffle from her, oh, that was sneaky, I can't remember his name, Bibble – Buggins –"
"Cadwallader!" Professor McGonagall's voice boomed over the loudspeaker from next to Luna. Ichigo did lose it then – but so did everyone else. However…
McLaggen was so busy chewing Ginny out for letting Cadwallader steal the Quaffle, that he allowed that same player to score behind his back. This caused Harry, red-faced, to shout something at him – something, Ichigo guessed, that was probably not very nice. For one, McLaggen was chewing out Harry's girlfriend; and two – he had yet to notice that Hufflepuff had scored.
"And now Harry Potter is having an argument with his Keeper," Luna said serenely, "I don't think that this will help him find the Snitch, but it could just be a ruse…"
"This is going to be bad…" Hermione said ominously, shaking her head.
"You think?" Seamus replied, "You should see him practice."
"No thanks, I've been dodging him enough all week," Ichigo said dryly, "He thinks I can convince Harry to make him permanent Keeper in place of Ron." Several sets of eyes turned to stare at him incredulously.
"Come again?" Cootes said, blinking at him, "Is he insane?"
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah –" Somehow, McLaggen had managed to conveniently forget that Ichigo had sent him to the medical wing because he had made a pass at Rukia. He was on the verge of being sent there again… for merely being annoying.
Their attention was brought back to the game. Ginny and Demelza had both scored, but so had Cadwallader; Luna however, did not appear to be interested in the score. She pointed out things such as oddly shaped clouds, spoke about the trip to Japan over the summer, and was especially eloquent about the fact that Smith had not been able to keep the Quaffle for more than a minute (Karin in particular had it in for him, and was a particular bane whenever he had the Quaffle), and was theorizing that he was suffering from 'Loser's Lurgy.'
I wonder what Uryu's expression looks like right now, Ichigo wondered, as he choked back a laugh. He was fairly certain that Toshiro would tell him later; he adored Luna like a sister, she was a truly wonderful person, but sometimes he wondered what went on in that head of hers…
"Seventy-Forty Hufflepuff!" Professor McGonagall's voice interrupted the dreamy soliloquy.
"Oh, is it really?" Luna said vaguely. "I hadn't noticed. Oh look, the Gryffindor Keeper has got hold of one of the Beater's bats – oh dear, it's Rukia's – that isn't going to go over very well…"
Ichigo's eyes widened, and he felt a red haze start to color his vision.
:That rotten little – he's messing with the Queen! Are we going to let him get away with that?:
Oh, no…
Ichigo didn't even bother to shut up Hichigo's growl of irritation; he was pushing back an irritated growl himself. He sensed, rather than saw, the others look at him with apprehension; McLaggen had indeed left the goal posts; and for reasons unknown, he had taken Rukia's bat from her and appeared to be demonstrating to her the correct way to hit a Bludger at the oncoming Cadwallader. Ichigo could see the fury snapping in her violet eyes even from the distance.
She was going to kill him – if Harry didn't do it for her.
"Will you give her back her bat and get back to the goal posts!" the entire crowd heard Harry roar at the substitute Keeper as he flew towards him – what he planned on doing, even Ichigo didn't know. At the same moment, McLaggen took a huge, emphatic swipe at the Bludger and hit it wrong –
"No!" Hermione screamed, along with quite a few other people; Ichigo held his hand out, but the kido spell never made it past his lips. Momo was much faster than any of them, or even Ginny, who raced frantically towards her plummeting boyfriend, her hand outstretched, or even Professor Dumbledore. A huge, star shaped cushion of reishi appeared, anchored to several towers, and caught the unconscious Gryffindor Team Captain before he could crash to the ground. Ginny fairly leaped off her broom after him, desperate to see how he was, calling his name over and over again.
Ichigo was seeing red by that point. Hichigo was howling gleefully in his inner world, egging him on… and even Zangetsu was not trying to calm him down. In fact – he was suspiciously quiet about the whole thing. The howling laughter of the Slytherins over the comedy of errors that the game had become due to McLaggen's arrogance – suddenly silenced when they heard Luna's next cheerful words.
"Oh, I wonder what tiny little animal he's about to become…"
Every eye in the stadium swiveled to where Ichigo had leaped up to balance lightly on the edge of the wall, his wand pointed directly at his unsuspecting victim, and for the next few seconds, no one dared breathe, or even blink, for fear of missing anything.
All of the players, even Tatsuki, who had been heading in McLaggen's direction to assist Rukia by smacking him in the head with her own bat, got quickly out of the line of fire.
"Ichigo –" Hermione whispered, but she made no move to stop him.
But then again, neither did any of the Professors.
#
Harry raised his head warily, to find Ron grinning at him. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Ron put his finger to his lips and shook his head. Ginny was on his right, and she helped him sit up, giving him a quick but fierce hug. He put a hand on his head, feeling a thick turban of bandages.
"Cracked skull," Ginny breathed in his ear.
The curtains were drawn closed around his bed, and Hermione was manning them. She was, however, showing an inordinate amount of interest in something going on outside their perimeter.
"I want to kill –" Harry ground out, only to have Ginny press her fingers to his lips. She and Ron helped him to the curtains, and the four of them peered out.
Professors Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall were clustered around an angrily scowling Ichigo, who had an obstinate expression on his face – at least, that's what Harry thought it was. It was even fiercer than his normal scowl, at any rate.
"Mr. Kurosaki –" Professor McGonagall said tiredly.
"No."
"You can't just –"
"No."
She threw her hands up in the air and turned to Snape. "You reason with him!"
"No."
"Severus!"
"I am not his Head of House," Snape was actually smirking with pleasure; Harry must have hit his head harder than he'd thought if he was seeing things. The professor actually appeared to be enjoying himself.
"Albus –"
"I'm afraid, Minerva, that until someone can get through that kido shield, we're stuck. Even Mr. Hitsugaya, Miss Hinamori, and Miss Kuchiki together could not take it down."
Harry thought he heard the Professor mutter something about them not trying very hard; then she asked, "His grandfather?"
Professor Dumbledore sighed. "I'm afraid Yama has no one to spare at the moment," Professor Dumbledore sounded disgruntled with that, "At least, no one who is strong enough to take that shield down. Only three people actually qualify, and they are rather busy at the moment."
"Detention –"
"Fine," Ichigo cut in, "I'll take detention. For the rest of the year if you want to give it to me. But I'm not changing that arrogant ass back until I think he's learned his lesson." He turned to look at Professor Dumbledore with narrowed eyes. "And you know as well as I do that Gramps isn't going to send anyone. He knows me too well – and he figures that if I'm being a mule about this and digging in my heels, then I have a damned good reason for it. I'd be willing to bet he even told you that himself – after he laughed. And the only one who can take that shield down is Hachigen, because it's one of his – Tessai and that other guy – crap, I can't remember his name – wouldn't know where to begin. Well, Tessai might. The other guy wouldn't."
Professor Dumbledore frowned. "As a matter of fact, he did. And after I explained what happened… he said the boy was better off living as a rat for a few days than having Miss Arisawa and Miss Kuchiki beat him within an inch of his life."
"Rukia still might kill him," Ichigo pointed out with a satisfied expression, "That's probably the only reason she tried to get through my shield – so she could have at him."
Professor Snape coughed, which to Harry sounded suspiciously like a laugh (Snape – laughing? How hard had he hit his head?) and Professor McGonagall pursed her lips with displeasure.
"Mr. Kurosaki, you simply cannot turn other students into animals because they upset you."
"Of course not," he retorted, "I turned him into a rat for several reasons. First, I really never forgave him for making a pass at Rukia earlier in the year; second, I never had a chance to do anything after Professor Slughorn's Christmas party when he was an absolute cad with Hermione; third, he's been a pest about Quidditch all week and has nearly driven both Harry and myself insane; and finally, he really could have killed Harry with that Bludger. A half inch more to the left, and we'd be holding his funeral," he shot back angrily, "You forget my father is a doctor – I have picked up a few things helping out over the years. We're also rather lucky that Momo is so quick with kido that she got that Tsuriboshi up before he'd fallen very far. A fall on top of a cracked skull would have been very, very bad – in fact it most likely would have been fatal." He stared down the three Professors. "So what punishment would you give McLaggen? Anything? No?" he glared as McGonagall and Dumbledore fidgeted slightly, but Snape was appearing to enjoy the entire scene and was exempt – probably because he was in agreement with what Ichigo had done. "Let me guess – maybe detention? That wasn't going to teach him anything. I bet he learns something this way, though." Ichigo strode past them, and then out of the wing, giving Harry a glimpse of what had been behind him – a glowing square with a frantically racing – naked, very ugly rat.
Naked?
Harry had to clamp his hand over his mouth to keep from bursting out with laughter. This was better than anything he could have done to McLaggen. He would need to think of a way to thank his friend for this…
"You'd better get back into bed," Hermione said to him after the three Professors had left. Snape had been last, after giving McLaggen a long, rather satisfied look. Apparently he didn't like the arrogant troll any more than the rest of them. Or maybe it was the satisfaction of seeing a Gryffindor turned into a rat.
"All right – tell me what happened," he said, obeying her command. Sometimes it was better to do what Hermione told him to do than it was to argue with her.
"Well, I could hear the match from in here – and I say we keep Luna as commentator from this point on – 'Loser's Lurgy'," Ron chortled at the memory, "we could start a petition…"
"The Bludger hit you right here," Ginny gently put her finger on his forehead, "and you dropped like a rock. I thought you were dead – I tried to catch you, but then this big, bouncy kido net appeared and you landed on it. Rukia said it was Momo, and I guess she must know, somehow –"
"She could tell from her reiatsu," Hermione said matter of factly, "because everyone has different reiatsu, it's like a fingerprint…" Ron and Ginny stared blankly at her, but Harry nodded, Momo had explained it to him in one of their lessons. "At first, I thought Rukia and Tatsuki were going to kill McLaggen – but then Ichigo got up on the wall: I'm not sure how he managed it, the wall is so thin. I think you could truly have heard a pin drop, not even Slytherin was making a whisper of a sound, and they had been laughing hysterically when you got hit."
"Oh, I wonder what tiny little animal he's about to become…" Ron mimicked Luna's dreamy voice perfectly, and fell back on his bed, laughing hysterically. Ginny actually looked upset for a moment.
"I missed the whole thing – I was with you," Ginny sighed, "I really wish I had seen it, it serves him right," she glanced over and gave the McLaggen rat a venomous look.
"And then it sounded like everyone was laughing, even Luna," Ron wiped his eyes and continued, "They brought you and him in shortly afterward."
"What was the score?"
The three of them looked at each other, as if they did not want to tell him.
"You might as well tell me, I'm going to find out anyway."
"It was – 320-60."
"Brilliant," Harry said savagely, giving the transformed McLaggen a furious look. "I'm going to kill him."
"Better do it before he gets turned back, he's the size of a troll," Ron advised, "Only Ichigo can take him down when he's human. Or is he human? Maybe he's a half-breed? Half-troll? It would account for him being so thick-headed."
"Don't insult the trolls, Ron," Hermione chided. Then they all giggled, and turned to look at the rat.
"That really is one ugly rat."
"Naked mole rat," Hermione said idly, "Ichigo told me."
"Ah." Harry would have to look it up later to try to figure out why Ichigo had chosen it – other than the fact that it was just plain butt-ugly.
M. Pomfrey hurried over to him and pushed him down. "Sleep, rest. You'll be here overnight, and you shouldn't exert yourself for a bit."
"Is killing that," Harry pointed at the rat, "considered exerting myself?"
"Yes, it is. Now sleep."
Harry sighed. "Fine."
Ginny quickly kissed Harry before leaving with Hermione, which left Ron with Harry. This gave him the opportunity to bring him up-to-date on everything; he was understandably upset that he had been left out.
"What was I supposed to do, Won-Won?" Harry shot back, a bit savagely, causing Ron to wince. "I needed Hermione for this, and you two weren't talking. Heck, you were spending so much time with Lav-Lav that I barely saw you; and I can tell you, Ichigo was getting just as frustrated with the pair of you." Harry glared at his friend. "We seriously were tempted to feed you to the squid, since you were acting like a pair of them."
Ron winced. "Was I that bad?"
"Yes, you were that bad."
"Sorry, mate." To give him credit, Ron really did appear to be sorry about the way he had been acting.
"Just do me a favor and stop pretending to be asleep – either break up with her, or not. Just – before she drives me mad, or McLaggen has a cage mate."
"Now that's an idea! Do you think Ichigo can be bribed?" Ron asked brightly.
"Go to sleep, Ron," Harry said tiredly, rolling over. He couldn't believe he was having this discussion.
Or that McLaggen was twenty feet away, locked up in a kido shield – and doing a perfect imitation of a very naked, butt-ugly rodent.
#
Ichigo entered a Tower that was, to his surprise, full of people – and dead quiet. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard Gryffindor so quiet he could hear the Ravenclaws over in their Tower. It was eerie.
"Uh…" he stopped short, staring around at everyone – and it was everyone, from First Years up to Seventh. And they were all staring at him expectantly.
"How's Harry?" Demelza finally asked him, breaking the silence. Colin Creevey had his camera pointed at him, at the ready… but for what?
"He'll be fine, M. Pomfrey healed him up, no problem. It was a cracked skull; he was lucky… she's keeping him overnight, just as a precaution," he replied, his eyes wandering over everyone staring at him.
"And McLaggen?" Dean asked, "What about him?" the dislike in his voice was apparent. Ichigo raised an eyebrow as the distaste was mirrored on the faces of many of his Housemates.
"What about him?" Ichigo parroted, confused about what he was being asked.
"Is he still a rat?" Seamus pressed. Oh, him too…
"Of course," Ichigo responded. Did they really think he would bow to any kind of pressure to turn him back to normal so quickly?
The room erupted into a loud cheer as Colin, grinning, snapped his picture and Ichigo found himself being pounded on the back, and someone shoved a butterbeer in his hand. He shook his head, and finally managed to make his way over to the couch where Rukia waited for him.
"Did you get detention?" She asked him.
"Threatened, but so far, no."
"So – when are you going to let him out?" There was a gleam of bloodthirstiness in her eyes; so he'd been right, she did want a shot at him.
"When I feel like it," he retorted, "And I think maybe he's learned a little humility."
"You don't really think that will happen, do you?" she asked, incredulously.
"Never know…" he stared at her for a long moment, before they both shook their heads, and in unison, said, "Nah, never happen."
She reached out and curled a lock of hair around her finger. It was getting longer, she noticed, wondering when he had last gotten a haircut. It was starting to look like it had when he had come out of the Dangai, right before he had faced Aizen…
"Winky," he said suddenly. The house elf popped in almost immediately.
"Yes, Master Ichigo?" She looked up at him brightly.
"Would you please go deliver a few messages for me?" he asked, smiling down at her.
"Of course, Master Ichigo!"
"Tell Momo – good work and quick thinking," he really needed to acknowledge the excellent reflexes of his Vice Captain; Harry could possibly have died had it not been for the quickness of her actions. Winky nodded, "And tell Luna –" he thought a moment, "Tell her that it was the best and most interesting Quidditch commentary that I've ever heard."
"Yes, Master Ichigo!"
Rukia sighed. "I barely heard her commentary," she said, still playing with his hair.
"It was certainly – unique."
She leaned over. "I don't suppose…"
"What?"
"Want to go to the Room of Requirement?"
Ichigo grinned at her. "I thought you'd never ask."
Author's Notes:
The guy Ichigo can't remember the name of? The current Kido Corps Commander. I never named him, and I don't know if Kubo has a name planned for the current captain, or even if there is one, so…
Bakudo 37 Tsuriboshi (Suspending Star) - Creates a star-shaped cushion of Spiritual Energy, which anchors it to nearby objects with "ropes" of spirit particles. It can stop falling objects, acting like a safety net. The incantation is unknown. Momo used it to save Matsumoto during the battle at the Fake Karakura Town, and Kira used it to save Momo a few moments later.
The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) also known as the sand puppy or desert mole rat, is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa. It has a highly unusual set of physical traits that enables it to thrive in an otherwise harsh, underground environment, including a lack of pain sensation in its skin and a very low metabolism. Typical individuals are 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) long and weigh 30 to 35 grams (1.1 to 1.2 oz). Queens are larger and may weigh well over 50 grams (1.8 oz), the largest reaching 80 grams (2.8 oz). They are well-adapted to their underground existence. Their eyes are quite small, and their visual acuity is poor. Their legs are thin and short; however, they are highly adept at moving underground and can move backward as fast as they can move forward. Their large, protruding teeth are used to dig, and their lips are sealed just behind the teeth to prevent soil from filling their mouths while digging. They have little hair (hence the common name) and wrinkled pink or yellowish skin. http colon /en dot Wikipedia dot org/wiki/Naked_mole_rat