Bewitched & Misdirected

by LethanWolf

Toshiro and Rukia are in their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With the threat of the Dark Lord behind them, a new evil is starting to rise. It will be up to them and their friends to overcome the new threat, while trying to navigate exams, budding romances and of course, the Quidditch cup. {HitsuMatsu & IchiRuki Centric}

1. Return to Hogwarts Toshiro

Authors Notes: First of all, I must say this is dedicated to SO MANY people in the Bleach Fan Fiction Discord server: The Seireitei that I will struggle to mention you all. Geishaaa, Nomi and Nova in particular but also so many more people, thank you! {Links to join us at bottom of fic!}

Extra SPECIAL thank you to Swiftla for being my beta reader on this monster 3

This piece is a Toshiro and Rukia PoV swapping fan fiction. Chapter 1 will follow Toshiro, then chapter 2 Rukia, then chapter 3 Toshiro, chapter 4 Rukia etc (you get the idea).

Romance will be a strong factor in this fic, for a reason. It will be a slower build between Toshiro and Rangiku than it will be for Ichigo and Rukia. I'm not sorry LOL these are two of my favourite ships and they pair beautifully together.

This fic is heavily inspired by Bleach, but features additional characters from Burn the Witch (obviously, cant have a HP set Bleach fic without them!) The previous characters of the Harry Potter world will "not exist" but it's vague enough you can make your own judgements.

I just thought to myself: What happened if the plot of Bleach happened inside Hogwarts? With my favourite characters and ships, and BAM here we go.

HAPPY HITSUMATSU WEEK :D

Chapter 2 will be going up for IchiRuki week on 16th May! :D

---

Chapter 1: Return to Hogwarts

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘ ༓ ∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The morning sun beat down through murky grey curtains. The light brought dawn into the smallest bedroom of the old cottage. Toshiro murmured in his bed and turned away from the light, pulling the covers up over his head to hide from view. Somewhere in his hazy brain he faintly remembered what day it was and he woke with a start.

The old digital alarm flashed the bright red numbers of 7am from his desk where a large stack of books and parchment lay sprawled. To the right was a moving picture, a witch with long silvery white hair and immaculate skin beamed and in her arms she clutched a tiny chubby baby with the same hair. The baby's eyes matched his father's, the wizard in question running a hand sheepishly through his own messy black spikes and smiling like he was the luckiest man alive.

To the left of this picture was another, this time a much larger family. The matriarch was a stern looking woman and as she was the only Muggle in the image, she sat perfectly still for the photograph while the witches and wizards around her moved and grinned. In this picture were Toshiro and his parents again, but a couple of years older now. He was being prodded obnoxiously by his cousin Momo, a girl of similar age, just a couple of months older with long black hair as she giggled and continued to annoy him. The young witch was eventually pulled back by her own parents, both of whom had her same jet black hair.

The picture sat on a letter with messy handwriting. The words etched into the page read:

"Toshiro! You'll never believe what happened? My brother let me go and do shopping in the Muggle world! Can you believe that? I bet you can't! Anyway I'm excited to see you. I'm going to have to seriously narrow down how many Muggle dresses I bring to Hogwarts. Do you think they'll let me pack more if I ask the house elves to wash my robes more often? Is that mean? Maybe that's harsh… I wonder if I can convince my brother to put an undetectable extension charm on my trunk. I can't wait until we're of age! Just five months away for me and I'll be able to use magic outside of school! Anyway I already wrote to Yukio and confirmed, so I'll meet you both in Diagon Alley on the 31st August as planned! Can't wait to see you both again!

- Rukia xx"

Beside this letter was a large roll of parchment featuring much neater slanted writing detailing all the best ways to keep banshee's at bay. Beside that lay an open book on magical creatures. Several other tattered books stood in a pile on the very edge of the desk and on the very top of them perched the most extraordinary looking bird.

The bird gave a tweet, a high pitched chirp as Toshiro sat up and rubbed his eyes, glancing around the room sleepily. It spread large blue tinged wings and fluttered over to his bed, landing on his covers as Toshiro smiled.

'Morning Hyorinmaru,' Toshiro greeted him, stifling a yawn behind his hand as he stroked the bird's tiny head with his other hand. Hyorinmaru had found Toshiro during their trip to Iceland in the summer before his third year. Toshiro had been so confused at first because of the bird's parrot-like appearance; it resembled a turquoise green-cheeked conure. The only thing that made the bird appear more magical was the intelligence with which he acted and his long tail feathers which looked more phoenix-like.

Toshiro had taken Hyorinmaru to school, to their care of magical creatures teacher Professor Isshin Shiba and that's when he'd found out just how rare the bird was. Surely one of the last of his kind, Hyorinmaru was an Ice Phoenix. The birds were said to be some of the most intelligent in the world, being able to read someone's depth of character at a glance and had a knack for finding objects of incredibly rare value. It was also for this reason that his kind had been hunted to near extinction and exploited.

Hyorinmaru was the reason Toshiro had found the marauders map in his third year at school.

Toshiro had tried to get the bird into a breeding programme but for whatever reason Hyorinmaru simply refused to leave Toshiro's side. Isshin Shiba had done his best to reach out to contacts around the world, but not a single other Ice Phoenix had been found. It seemed the only thing alive capable of finding another Ice Phoenix, was an Ice Phoenix itself.

'Do you know what day it is today?' Toshiro felt his stomach squirm as the bird turned its intelligent icy eyes on him. Hyorinmaru nipped his finger in comfort and flew into the air as Toshiro slipped out of bed, only to land on his shoulder a moment later.

Toshiro smiled at the picture of his parents as he got dressed. 'Morning Mum, Dad, I'm getting my O.W.L results today,' he grinned, 'wish me luck.'

He swept from the room and bounded down the stairs, Hyorinmaru flying down ahead of him and landing on a handcrafted perch play area in the cottage's old kitchen.

At first glance, no one would be able to tell this was the home of a wizard and witch. There wasn't much magical-looking in the ancient cottage as one may expect to find in others' homes. Granny looked after Toshiro and Momo since their parents passed away in the war against the Dark Lord over thirteen years ago. Toshiro was going to be turning seventeen in winter and though Momo had already turned seventeen she was still in the same year as him.

'Ah you're awake, good lad,' the voice of his Granny sounded and Toshiro turned around. Granny was a stern woman, with sharp teal eyes but smile lines around her eyes and mouth. She had short mousey brown-grey hair which she usually wore in a tight bun on her head. 'Is Momo up yet?'

Toshiro shook his head, 'not yet, I think she was up late last night.'

'Packing I hope,' his Granny shot him a firm look and Toshiro pursed his lips. He was sure that Momo had been on the phone to Izuru until around one in the morning. He decided it was safer not saying anything and placed the kettle down onto the hob and turned on the heat.

'The Daily Prophet said that results would start to come in around the country before eleven, which is good because you'll need to know what books to buy for your new year,' Granny frowned down at a moving paper that sat open on the old kitchen table. Hyorinmaru chirped and the older woman looked up and smiled brightly at him.

'See, if our results are good, can I get ice cream with Yukio and Rukia in Diagon Alley?' Toshiro asked.

Rukia and Yukio were his best friends. Yukio he'd met during his very first year at the school as they'd been sorted into the same house. Rukia he'd not met properly until their third year.

'Only if you get me five Outstandings,' his Granny smirked at him and then ruffled his hair as she walked past. Toshiro chuckled and tried to undo the damage, turning to the kettle that had begun to issue steam.

Granny worked as a Muggle dental nurse, so Toshiro and Momo were always taught to limit sugary snacks. He had a very nice white smile thanks to her, and even though he was almost an adult, he liked to ask his grandmother's permission.

He'd overdone it on sweets and cakes his first year at Hogwarts and regretted it. Most young wizards and witches ate too much during their first year at school, it was common. He'd felt lethargic and awful and vowed never to let the sight of a feast make him eat so much sugar ever again.

The exception was the Halloween feast. That was different. He allowed himself to let go during Halloween… and Christmas.

'Morning!' a cheerful voice called from the doorway as Toshiro began to make tea just the way Granny liked it. Momo was in her red tartan pajamas, her round face held a beautiful pink colour in her cheeks as she hugged Granny.

'Good morning,' Toshiro greeted pleasantly.

Momo and Toshiro were amicable with each other, but he'd noticed their relationship got more strained as they went to Hogwarts. Momo preferred to spend her time with her friends Renji and Izuru and seemed to have developed an unhealthy obsession for her head of house, Professor Aizen. Momo was in Ravenclaw, so Toshiro rarely saw her except during classes and at meals, since he and Yukio had been sorted into Slytherin.

'Are you packed?' Granny asked Momo as Toshiro picked up his cup of tea and took a sip. He let their bickering fade into the background as he looked outside. The cottage was at the end of an old farm, the fields in front of them towering with beautiful crops of hay. The hay baling season for their local farms was usually around this time. The farmers had already started the harvest but the fields closest to the cottage were some of the last to get touched. Toshiro watched the wind stroke the soft looking blades as it changed direction, and he followed it with his eyes. Then in the distance of the pale lilac sky Toshiro spotted two dark dots.

Hyorinmaru landed on Toshiro's shoulder, a small bit of toast clutched in his beak and began to eat with one claw letting the crumbs fall down over the t-shirt Toshiro had just put on. Toshiro ignored him and squinted into the distance.

'I think that's the owls,' he said, aware his voice sounded as nervous as he felt. His stomach twisted uncomfortably and he tried to remember exactly how well he thought he'd done during his exams.

'Yes it is,' Granny had come bustling over to the window and stood beside him, she lifted her glasses up and peered into the sky where the two black shapes were growing bigger the closer they flew.

She reached over and unlocked the window, throwing it open and the three waited with baited breath until the two handsome tawny owls flew in. One of them landed close to Toshiro's forgotten cup of tea and stuck out its leg. It cast curious glances at Hyorinmaru and Toshiro reached over and picked up a bit of toast his grandmother had made and handed it to the owl before he untied his letter.

With shaking hands he opened the document and read.

"Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades:
Outstanding: O
Exceeds Expectations: E
Acceptable: A

Fail Grades:
Poor: P
Dreadful: D
Troll: T

Toshiro Hitsugaya has achieved:
Transfiguration – O
Charms – O
Defence Against the Dark Arts – O
Herbology – O
History of Magic – O
Potions – O
Care of Magical Creatures – O
Arithmancy – O
Study of Ancient Runes – O
Divination – E"

Toshiro breathed a sigh of relief and grinned down at Hyorinmaru who chirped happily on his shoulder.

'How did you do, Sweetie?' Granny's anxious voice asked as Toshiro turned around and handed the letter to her. She took it and broke into a grin, the ancient lines of her face looking lighter and more youthful as she beamed down at his results through her spectacles.

'I bet you got an O on everything,' Momo said, rolling her eyes from the table.

'Everything but Divination,' Toshiro shrugged. Momo's mouth fell open and then she shook her head.

'I did alright,' she handed her results over for Toshiro and Granny to read. Momo had indeed done well. She got six Exceeds Expectations, an Acceptable in Defence Against the Dark Arts an Outstanding in History of Magic and only failed Herbology.

'Well done you two,' Granny smiled at them both. Toshiro took back his results with a large grin on his face and a weight gone from his shoulders. 'Yes you may get ice cream in Diagon Alley then.'

Toshiro was now more excited to see his friends.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning their rooms and packing their trunks, organising everything they'd need and Granny did her best to give them a little extra money to buy something new to congratulate them on their exam results. She didn't make a lot of money so Toshiro was especially thankful and hugged her tightly.

She used to take the trip with them to Diagon Alley during their first few years, but given that her job had become so much more demanding recently, Momo and Toshiro had taken the Knight Bus themselves for the last two years. That same pattern continued and the next morning they made their way to the end of the farm lane, waving goodbye to Granny as she stood silhouetted against the doorframe in the kitchen light.

Momo gave a wide yawn, stifling it behind her hand as Toshiro stuck his wand out into the middle of the road. There was a deafening BANG that shocked the early morning, sending a flock of nearby jackdaws scattering into the sky in fright. Two bright headlights broke the pre-dawn darkness and Toshiro and Momo took synchronised steps backward toward the thicket behind them as a large violently purple bus screeched to a halt right in front of them.

They loaded their trunks onto the vehicle and Toshiro picked up one of the free copies of The Daily Prophet before they took their seats. At this time of the year they weren't the only students to be getting the bus, a few other sleepy figures were huddled on seats, trying to get a last few minutes of sleep. Toshiro knew better than to try it, but let Momo lean on him all the same. The bus moved at such a pace that they were tossed about from time to time and eventually even Momo gave up with a huff.

'We'll be at Diagon Alley soon enough anyway,' Toshiro said, watching the streets of London now flying past them at an alarming rate. The Prophet held no real news, except a wizard who had gone missing in Selfoss and plenty of adverts for new magical cleaning solutions. Toshiro flicked to the sports section, Ireland still dominated the Quidditch World Cup standings but the Holyhead Harpies were doing well in the British League.

'Diagon Alley,' a deep voice called from the front of the bus and Toshiro threw a practiced hand out to catch the bar in front of him as the bus came to a sudden halt. Momo barely caught herself in time and grumbled as they unloaded their trunks and joined a few other families who were piling off in the alley outside the Leaky Cauldron.

'Renji and Izuru said they'd be meeting me at eight, when are you meeting Yukio and Rukia?' she asked as they made their way over to the old wizard who ran the Leaky Cauldron.

'At nine outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour,' Toshiro said, paying the man to hold onto their trunks for them. He tagged Toshiro and Momo's trunks which left them significantly lighter as they entered Diagon Alley. The first stop was Gringotts as it was the only place they could exchange their Muggle money for wizarding currency.

Toshiro pulled out his letters for his next year and it contained the list of everything he needed to buy depending on the classes he was taking.

'Did you decide between Transfiguration and Divination then?' Toshiro asked as they made their way down the old cobbled streets. Momo tilted her chin back, her hair tied up in a ponytail behind her and smiled in the early morning sun.

'I think Divination would suit me better,' she replied. Momo still didn't know what she wanted to do after school, Toshiro had known since his trip to Iceland that he'd wanted to study Wandlore. It had been one of the very first things that Hyorinmaru had brought him, was a beaten and dirty diary of an old wand maker just before they departed Iceland. He'd found the book buried under several layers of ice and it had taken all of Toshiro's strength to extract it from its frozen grave. He'd had to resort to Muggle methods to restore the pages, since he couldn't use magic outside of school, but the information he'd uncovered had converted him.

Ever since then, wands had fascinated him. You could tell a lot about a wizard or witch from their wand.

'We should get our books first,' Toshiro smiled up at the familiar sign of one of his favourite shops. Flourish and Blotts' dark red sign adorned with two feather quills swung in the lazy breeze, and they entered the cramped space happy to see the lack of other people. It was still too early for some souls to be doing their shopping.

Toshiro bought second hand copies of "A Guide to Advance Transfiguration", "Advanced Potion-Making", "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6", "Confronting the Faceless" and "Flesh-Eating Trees of the World". The books were heavy and the merchant gave him a strange look as he pulled a reusable Asda bag from inside the pocket of his robes to carry them in. Despite how heavy his new school books were, it didn't stop him selecting the next volume of "The Best Woods for Wandmaking" as part of his gift using the extra money Granny had given him.

It made him smile to know how proud she'd be that he'd chosen another book as his reward for doing so well on his exams.

'You got a book?' Momo rolled her eyes at him and he scowled at her, feeling the heat creep up his face as he slipped it inside his bag.

'Well what are you going to get?' Toshiro asked sulkily.

'I now officially have enough for an owl,' she grinned and Toshiro brightened. He knew she'd been saving for the last two years to get one, and they were sick of sending Granny letters using one of the old school owls. He was convinced they made detours on the way from how long they took. Hyorinmaru was no owl, and the first time Toshiro had asked him to take a letter to Granny, the bird had been so badly offended he pecked Toshiro's hand and wouldn't speak to him for two whole days. What made it worse, was that Hyorinmaru could apparate in and out the school, given that he was a phoenix, but he still refused.

'Great,' Toshiro followed her back down the street which was starting to get busier with bodies and they made their way inside Eeylops Owl Emporium. It was noisy and despite having many magical cleaning instruments floating through the air, it smelled just like a room full of hot owls should. Toshiro wrinkled his nose and Hyorinmaru, who had been on Toshiro's shoulder fast asleep for most of their journey ruffled his feathers and woke up.

Most of the owls were too expensive, those breeds consisting of the large tawny owls and the snowy owls, however there were a few in Momo's budget. She stood, torn between a scops owl, an elf owl and a burrowing owl before finally settling.

'She's too cute,' Momo said, poking her finger through the cage of the tiny little elf owl a few minutes later as they made their way down the street to buy potions ingredients.

'What are you going to call her?' Toshiro asked.

'I think Tobiume,' Momo smiled, 'just like our favourite character in the stories Granny used to make up.'

Toshiro chuckled, that had been where he'd gotten Hyorinmaru's name from too. The stories of dragons and ice and fire had kept he and Momo sane through the long nights, waiting to hear if their mothers and fathers were still alive or not.

'It's perfect,' Toshiro said, sticking his own finger through the cage and cooing at the way the small owl turned to blink indignantly at his digit. He stopped the moment Hyorinmaru gave him a jealous nip to his earlobe.

They made their way to the North Side, where the ancient Apothecary building sat with stacks of cauldrons glinting in the sun outside its doors. It didn't take them long to stock up on their potion ingredients and by the time they came back outside a familiar voice was shouting for Momo's attention.

'Hi Izuru,' Momo waved in the direction of the tall blond haired fellow sixth year as he jogged toward them.

'Hey,' the boy grinned and then smiled sheepishly at Toshiro, 'I thought we were meeting in the Leaky Cauldron?'

'Oh! I forgot!' Momo cried looking at her watch. Toshiro rolled his eyes, he was pretty sure this was why Hyorinmaru didn't like Momo, the girl was incredibly forgetful at times. 'See you later Shiro!' she called over her shoulder disappearing into the crowd with her friend. Toshiro was a little sad to see her go, knowing he'd have to do the rest of his shopping alone. He made his way into the second hand robe store as they couldn't afford to keep buying new robes each year. The robes, despite being second hand, were really good quality. He'd grown a few inches over the summer which made a nice change, though he was still likely one of the shortest boys in the year.

With everything he needed bought and the sweat starting to gather under the fringe of his white hair, Toshiro finally made his way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The old stone building looked modest in the sunshine and had old wooden tables and chairs sitting just outside its front door. There, sitting on two of the chairs were Toshiro's best friends.

Rukia was easily one of the most popular girls in their year. She was incredibly attractive, with long raven coloured hair which now fell just beyond her shoulders and large violet eyes. Her delicate facial features crinkled as she smirked, clearly teasing the more round faced boy beside her. Yukio's blond hair caught the sun and glinted and Toshiro was convinced his friend hadn't had a single haircut over their summer. His hair had grown down over his left eye leaving only one large green eye visible to the world.

Hyorinmaru gave an excited chirp and took off from Toshiro's shoulder, flying over to Rukia who brightened the moment she caught sight of the bird.

Toshiro had once tried to keep Hyorinmaru secret. This was on the back of the advice of Professor Shiba, but it had felt cruel to deny the bird his freedom. After all, there was a big difference between living and not dying.

'Toshiro!' Rukia called her face breaking into a beaming smile that still made Toshiro's heart skip a beat. Just like every other straight boy in their year, Toshiro had a massive crush on Rukia for most of their time at school. She was one of the best Quidditch players the school had ever seen, holding a record of five goals scored as a Chaser in one minute of a match. She was cool, funny, extroverted and it had become a wonder why she'd adopted both Yukio and Toshiro as her best friends.

Rukia often joked that they were her charity cases.

At least Toshiro hoped it was a joke.

As he approached them, he saw that Rukia was wearing calf high black boots under her black robes and he smiled at them.

'Shopping?' he asked nodding as he approached and Rukia flashed him a grin and a wink. Confirming his suspicions that these must have been part of the Muggle shopping she'd done over the summer that she'd told him about in her letters.

'Yukio was just eating his life away,' Rukia waved a hand at Yukio who was stuffing his face full of ice cream. 'I told him he'd never get on the Quidditch team if he eats like that.'

'I don't want on the Quidditch team,' Yukio scowled at her and brandished his spoon.

It was then that Toshiro spotted the glinting badge on Rukia's chest. The red and gold badge with the decorated "C" in the centre caught the sunlight and stood out stark against the black of her robes. Suddenly he understood why she'd chosen not to come in her Muggle dress.

'You were made team Captain?' Toshiro gushed, pointing to the badge on her chest which was now being closely examined by an upside down Hyorinmaru. The bird was hanging from her shoulder and his black beak pecked the badge curiously. Rukia straightened up, her chest puffing out as she flashed him a proud smile.

'That's right!'

'Does this mean Gryffindor will finally beat Hufflepuff?' Yukio asked absently and it earned him a kick under the table. Hufflepuff had won the Quidditch cup for the last four years in a row and with their seventh year Captain being their Keeper; Ichigo, that didn't look set to change anytime.

'I'm going to kick Hufflepuff's ass,' Rukia snorted. The entire event would be interesting to watch unfold, especially given Rukia's blatant crush on the Hufflepuff Keeper.

'You stand a better chance than me,' Toshiro said, finally sitting down and picking up one of the menus, 'Grimmjow only lets his friends join. I was always the exception.'

'That's because you're one of the best Seekers the school has ever seen,' Rukia rolled her eyes like this was the most obvious thing ever but Toshiro still ducked behind the menu to stop the heat climbing his face.

He'd argue with her, but he couldn't. Last year Gryffindor's seeker had been a seventh year who didn't have a clue what they were doing. He kept going off in random directions and watched the game more than searched for the Snitch. Ravenclaw's Seeker had been a young boy from third year that was replaced halfway through the season by Uryu who proved a bigger challenge for Toshiro, but the best seeker other than himself was Hufflepuff's Hanataro. The boy was built like Toshiro, short, which allowed them to dart around the pitch faster than most of the other Seekers. Hanataro also had a keen eye and had bested Toshiro once before.

In most of the previous year's games Toshiro grabbed the Snitch as early as possible in the match because Slytherin would be vastly worse off if he let the matches play out too long. They'd been bottom of the standings for the last three years and Grimmjow didn't seem like he cared enough to change his tactics.

'Did you see how well the Holyhead Harpies are doing?' Rukia asked and then proceeded to gush about her favourite all female Quidditch team. It was her dream to play for them after Hogwarts, much to her brother's chagrin.

The three friends bought ice cream, with Yukio now eating his second and sat outside in the sun, giving the cherries to Hyorinmaru who preferred to wipe his beak on Toshiro's clothes rather than a napkin and spoke about the Quidditch World Cup standings.

He'd missed his friends so much, Rukia's outgoing and extroverted nature and Yukio's nonchalant indifference for everything. Eventually talk shifted focus from sports to their exam results. Rukia had done well, she'd gotten three Outstandings and an Exceeds Expectations in everything else. Yukio… had tried, with four Exceeds Expectations, three Acceptables and a fail in his other two subjects, he had enough that he could take to NEWTs.

'I suppose,' Yukio huffed putting the spoon down in his empty bowl, 'we should go and get our things.'

'You've not got them already?' Toshiro asked, panicking as he glanced down at his watch. They'd have to leave for Kings Cross in taxis in half an hour if they wanted to make the train on time. Rukia waved his concerns away with a chuckle and kicked her seat back, pulling Yukio to his feet.

'You underestimate my shopping speed,' Rukia smirked and Toshiro chuckled.

How they managed to buy everything they needed in thirty minutes was beyond Toshiro's knowledge. Half the time he was convinced Rukia had managed to apparate herself to the very front of the queues. Whatever sorcery she'd used, they made it to Kings Cross station with time to spare, and leaned casually against the barrier that led to platform 9 ¾. The gleaming red engine was a sight to behold and Toshiro smiled up at it as it emitted puffs of white smoke, sending it cascading up to the rounded brown brickwork above it.

'Do you have to go and sit in the prefect compartment again?' Rukia asked, pushing her trolley alongside his.

'Probably, I shouldn't be too long though,' Toshiro glanced back to see Yukio coming through the barrier and grinning at them. Hyorinmaru was sitting perched on Rukia's shoulder, nestled against her side and getting annoyed looks thrown at him from Shirayuki, Rukia's beautiful snowy owl who sat in her cage.

'Who do you reckon the Head Boy and Girl will be?' Rukia asked with a grin, like they all didn't already know.

Toshiro rolled his eyes.

'I'll be very surprised if it's not Ichigo and Orihime,' he ran a hand through his hair and Rukia hummed absently beside him, her eyes sliding out of focus. It had taken Rukia about two years to admit her feelings for Ichigo. He had been dating Orihime since their third year at school though and the two looked pretty happy together.

'Maybe they're not allowed to have a Head Boy and Head Girl from the same house?' Rukia shrugged and Toshiro snorted. The school would be crazy to deny either of the Hufflepuff prefects the positions, given how utterly perfect they were.

Maybe Toshiro was a little jealous.

Truth was that Toshiro liked Ichigo. He had to do patrols in the corridors and when he wasn't doing them with Ninny, who was the other Slytherin prefect, he'd do them with Ichigo. The two would chat amicably enough about schoolwork and Quidditch. He was also the son of Isshin Shiba and was all-around a caring and attractive person.

Rukia had good taste in crushes.

'Hey Yukio look, it's Rangiku,' Rukia teased pointing over Yukio's shoulder. The boy went bright red in the face and spun around, but there was no one behind him except an old plump witch saying goodbye to her son.

'Very funny,' he hissed tripping over his feet and stumbling as he turned back around to glare at them. Toshiro laughed, but then he did actually spot the girl they'd just mentioned.

Rangiku was a seventh year Ravenclaw student. She was taller than both Yukio and Toshiro and had been dating one of their fellow Slytherin for the last three years.

Yukio always said Gin was one of the luckiest guys in the world.

'There she is,' Toshiro nodded to the tall strawberry blonde woman as she cradled her ginger tabby cat and instructed three of the train staff on how to load her three trunks onto the train.

'Yeah, yeah,' Yukio scowled at the two of them and pushed through while Rukia and Toshiro laughed behind his back. Rangiku was always talked about as being one of the sexiest women at Hogwarts. Even though she wasn't Toshiro's type, that didn't stop him endlessly teasing Yukio who was convinced the girl was part veela.

They loaded their trunks onto the train and got rid of their trolleys. Yukio and Rukia wandered off to find an empty compartment and Toshiro slipped into the first one where the prefects gathered.

'Hey Toshiro, what's up?' Ninny looked up at him, rather bored. She wore her band t-shirt, stamped with their name, "Cecile Die Twice". Ninny was a slim girl with long blonde hair and round green eyes. She was his fellow Slytherin prefect, and also played Keeper for their team. She was an okay player, but she, like many others, only got onto the team because she was friends with their Captain Grimmjow.

'Hey Ninny,' Toshiro said with a smile. There had once been a time when Toshiro would get tongue tied talking to girls, but that was well before Rukia had burst into his life. 'Did you have a good summer?'

'Yeah, we're putting down the tracks for our new album, but had to put it on pause because Macy's dad went missing, it was in the Prophet.'

'Oh no way,' Toshiro felt his jaw go slack before it fell open in shock, 'I'm sorry to hear about that.'

'Hopefully it won't take long for them to find him,' Nanao chimed in. She was a seventh year Ravenclaw with sharp eyes and dark hair, her glasses flashed as she pushed them up her nose, 'the whole Ministry is looking for him.'

'Hopefully, I'm just bummed we won't get our album out on schedule,' Ninny sighed in an exasperated way and Toshiro bit back his retort to her.

'You know, you should be more worried about your friend than your album,' a stern and deep voice said from the door and Toshiro turned to see the tall broad figure of Ichigo in the doorway. He was looking at Ninny with a mixture of disapproval and uncertainty.

'I suppose,' Ninny shrugged and folded her arms behind her head, leaning back in her chair with an air of nonchalant. Toshiro's eyes were already searching the cream jumper that Ichigo wore but all Toshiro could see was the standard prefect badge glinting back at him.

'You weren't made Head Boy?' Toshiro asked, shocked.

Ichigo flashed him a smile and shrugged his shoulders, 'nah they went for someone else.'

Toshiro knew he wore a ridiculous look of shock on his face from the way that Ichigo chuckled at his reaction.

'Who?'

'Settle down,' a familiar voice called and superseding Ichigo into the compartment came the last person that Toshiro ever expected to see adorning the Head Boy badge.

Gin Ichimaru was already dressed in his Slytherin robes, the badge proudly pinned to his chest. Toshiro had very little interaction with the man, all he knew was that he was dating Rangiku and had been amicable to Toshiro when he'd first sat down at the Slytherin table. Toshiro had never seen him quite as invested in his Prefect duties as Ichigo was though.

How on earth did he beat out Hogwarts' golden boy for Head Boy?

Orihime soon joined them and Toshiro was surprised when Ichigo sat down next to him instead of sitting beside his girlfriend. Orihime had at least been made Head Girl and Toshiro felt like not all of his respect had been lost for the Head Master's decisions.

The meeting started off the same as last year had, Orihime taking the lead and Gin mostly following. Toshiro liked Orihime, the girl was unfathomably kind, just like Ichigo was. Yet there was something about Gin that made Toshiro feel uneasy.

It might have had something to do with the smile or the way that Toshiro couldn't really tell where the man's eyes were looking. Whatever the reason, Toshiro was glad when the meeting had come to an end.

'I'll take first patrol with Tatsuki,' Ichigo offered. Tatsuki was in Gryffindor and played the same position that Ichigo played on the Hufflepuff team, both of them were Keepers but were very good friends.

'Fine with me, I can describe the ten new ways I plan on kicking your ass this year on the pitch.'

'You might not even get back on the team,' Ichigo bantered teasingly, 'with Rukia Kuchiki as the new Captain.'

The two of them laughed and joked out into the hallway and Toshiro made his retreat too, filling out of the compartment behind Nell and Nanao.

When he finally found Yukio and Rukia, he'd almost forgotten his shock over Gin as the old woman who pushed the food trolley was stopped at their door. Toshiro bought himself a pumpkin pastry but ignored the rest of the sweets Yukio ordered himself a box of cauldron cakes.

'You're going to get fat,' Rukia reminded him, 'you're already nearly there.'

'Don't fat shame me,' Yukio scowled at her and the two bickered as Hyorinmaru flew over to Toshiro's shoulder to get a bite of his pastry.

'Oh, guess what, Ichigo isn't the Head Boy,' Toshiro remembered once his stomach felt a little fuller. The two friends stopped bickering at once and turned their full attention toward Toshiro who filled them in.

'Why Gin?' Rukia asked, frowning.

'I don't know,' Toshiro shrugged, 'mind you I don't really know much about the guy.'

'He gives me the creeps,' Rukia shuddered, 'he reminds me of all the reasons our house used to hate yours… no offence,' she smiled sheepishly at him.

'None taken,' Toshiro shook his head.

Slytherin had always had a nasty reputation, made worse by the fact that half of the Dark Lord's followers had been from that house, including the Dark Lord himself. Since the war, almost no new students choose Slytherin for fear of being brandished under the same brush.

Slytherin had almost no students for five years except from a select few who didn't care. Until a spell was broken, a piece of magic that locked the house away into only letting purebloods in and eventually the house began to fill with Muggle borns who didn't know anything about the rivalries of the houses.

This had been exactly what the house had needed, and became much more benevolent and kind. Since then the houses mingled, opting to rarely sit together at lunch and dinner and instead spread evenly throughout the halls.

It wasn't uncommon to catch students from other houses in the dormitories of another house now too. Hogwarts had become warm, welcoming and so it only came down to Quidditch to keep any kind of rivalry between them. It meant that the Quidditch matches were a central focus of the school and something everyone looked forward to.

'And you said they weren't sitting together?' Rukia asked, a soft smile playing around the edge of her pretty lips. Toshiro sighed, feeling his heart sink.

'No, Ichigo didn't even look at her much and left pretty quickly with Tatsuki at the end,' he decided to just be honest. Rukia always knew when Toshiro was lying anyway. 'He also knows you're Captain, he was teasing Tatsuki for it, saying you might not let her on the team.'

Rukia sat back in her seat looking a little smug at the information he'd just given her.

'Tatsuki stands a better chance than most at getting back on the team, she's a solid Keeper,' Rukia said with a shake of her head, 'that bloody fourth year Seeker though… that's another thing entirely.'

'Maybe Ichigo and Tatsuki will fall in love on the Quidditch pitch. They'll be jumping through hoops for each other,' Yukio said lazily from the corner where he was playing a small handheld console.

'Shut up,' Rukia scowled at him while Toshiro snorted into his bottle of water.

'You made fun of him for being chubby,' Toshiro said with a shrug, 'you deserved that.'

'You can't deny it,' Rukia glared at him, 'you let your best friend go over the summer.'

'He's not my responsibility, what happened to shared custody?' Toshiro joked and Rukia laughed.

They both ignored the scowl on Yukio's face from where he sat in the corner.

'Well you two were playing on those stupid Muggle video games remember?' she sighed, 'the most my brother would let me get was a phone and it's only so I could listen to music.'

Rukia held up the device. It was universally understood that electronic devices didn't work at Hogwarts because there was too much magic in the air, but the Muggle inventions hadn't gone amiss by the Wizarding world. The internet had been a massive revelation and so the older students had worked out pretty quickly how to put a protective charm around just the devices so they could still use them for generic things like music and games. They'd not quite managed to figure out how to get Bluetooth, wireless and internet working on anything yet.

Toshiro had made a habit to download all his audio books, podcasts and Spotify playlists before leaving for Hogwarts.

'At least you can listen to Sam Smith all you want now,' Yukio fired at Rukia and she glared back at him.

Rukia hated Sam Smith.

'It's going to be a long year,' Toshiro sighed as the two started bickering again.

The weather outside the window changed with the landscape. The flat open grassy terrain and rolling farm lands began to rise as the train steadily chugged along the tracks. The blue skies turned a pale shade of grey and soon the first droplets of rain started to lash against their window.

Yukio and Rukia made up, the two soon sitting side by side, sharing an earphone, the pink cable dangling down into the electronic device in her hands as she played music for them. Toshiro had picked up his new book "The Best Woods for Wandmaking" and started reading while Shirayuki and Hyorinmaru bonded over some treats in the corner.

Kiyone, Hanataro and Tatsuki all came to visit Rukia through the journey. The fellow sixth years spoke mostly about Quidditch and who the new team Captain was for Ravenclaw.

'I think Noel will do a good job,' Kiyone said eagerly, 'she's always been a fantastic Keeper.'

Hanataro kept tossing Toshiro a side glance, which had started to annoy him. He was used to kids staring and pointing at him for his white hair and his teal eyes but he'd rather hoped his classmates would be over the shock of it now they'd known him for five years.

Rukia, ever the reason of utter embarrassment in his existence, obviously noticed too.

'You got a crush on him?' she asked Hanataro boldly.

Toshiro shot her a glare but the timid boy went a rather violent shade of red and quickly excused himself after he tripped out of his seat and nearly ended up in Toshiro's lap.

Rukia was still laughing about it an hour later when they started to pull their school robes on.

'I can't wait for the feast,' Yukio groaned, sinking back down into his chair.

'You've eaten an entire packet of caldron cakes by yourself, how can you still be hungry?' Rukia retorted.

'I'll eat you too if you're not quiet,' Yukio bit back.

Hyorinmaru ruffled his feathers irritably at Yukio. The two of them had never seen eye to eye since Yukio had tripped and nearly hit him with a book when they'd first met. Yukio was a loyal friend, often approaching everything with humour but Toshiro would be lying if he'd said that he was the most astute person he'd ever met.

'Why don't you come out jogging with Toshiro and I at the very least?' Rukia asked. Yukio looked at her like she'd sprouted two heads, reaching into the overhead luggage compartment to pull his trunk down.

'I think he'd rather ask Rangiku Matsumoto out to dinner,' Toshiro chuckled as he pulled the door open and held it open for Rukia and Yukio to walk through.

'Maybe she'd say yes,' Rukia sassed back and Yukio scowled at them both.

'I'm sorry,' Toshiro said grinning. It was very rare he'd actually tease his best friend.

'No you're not, it's fine for you,' Yukio said, narrowing his eyes at Toshiro, 'you have guys just falling into your lap.'

Rukia barked a laugh so loud that some startled looking first years turned and then scampered off in fear, it was Toshiro's turn to scowl at his friend.

They managed to get off the train and onto the platform without a fuss.

'FIRST YEARS!' a loud voice boomed and they turned to see Care of Magical Creatures Professor Shiba beaming at them and waving.

They waved back and made their way to the horse drawn carriages. Almost all of the children at the school were able to see the thestrals, since so many of them had seen death during the war. Toshiro and Momo, who had watched Momo's father pass away in hospital, had been able to see them since their first day at Hogwarts.

The friends climbed into a carriage and were joined by two young third years, one with bright blonde hair and a set of Hufflepuff robes and the other with dark hair and Gryffindor robes.

'Oh, Rukia, you're the new Quidditch Captain?' the young dark haired Gryffindor asked Rukia, 'good, rather you than that idiot with the pink mohawk, when are you hosting trials?'

Rukia looked taken aback by the girl's boldness, her brows furrowing as if she were trying to recall something then her expression smoothed.

'You're Karin aren't you? Ichigo's little sister?' Rukia asked.

Toshiro was a little shocked, he'd heard that Ichigo had twin siblings that were a few years below them, but he looked almost nothing like the two given his very vivid orange hair. The more Toshiro looked though, the more he could see the resemblance between Isshin and Karin.

'That's right, I'm Karin and this is my sister Yuzu,' Karin said pointing to her younger twin. She turned back to Rukia with a shrug, 'I want to try out for Seeker.'

Rukia shook the girl's hand, with a grin on her face, 'you're not going to go easy on Hufflepuff are you?' her eyes slid to the younger twin who looked too terrified to speak in front of the older students.

'Never, my brother needs a good reality check, I'll help you kick his ass,' Karin said.

That gave Rukia a good laugh and the two continued to chat as the carriages trudged their way up towards the castle. The rain had started again, this time coming down much heavier than before. Toshiro wiped the window close to him to peer up through the rain at the impressive sight.

Hogwarts castle rose out of the darkness, its many windows illuminated with lights that flickered through the haze of dark rain. Even in the darkness Toshiro could make out its impressive size. Despite how intimidating the castle looked, it had always been a second home to him and he couldn't help but grin up at it.

'It's good to be back, isn't it?' Yukio said, leaning close to Toshiro to peer out the window.

'It is,' Toshiro sighed, 'hard to believe just one more year before we leave.'

'Yeah…' Yukio muttered, but he didn't sound convinced. Toshiro wondered if that had anything to do with his falling grades.

'You know I can help you study this year?' he offered, turning to the boy, 'it's honestly not too difficult. It's just getting started that's the hard part.'

'Maybe I'll take you up on that,' the blond sighed and sat back in his seat with a soft smile playing around the edge of his lips. 'Do you think Rukia will get any studying done or will she just be training the entire time?'

He whispered the question and Toshiro cast a glance over at Rukia who was still eagerly talking about Quidditch with Ichigo's sister.

It was hard to say, but the first match of the season was always Slytherin vs Gryffindor and Toshiro took a deep breath as he sighed. He wasn't sure he was ready to be beaten by his friend's team for the third year running.

The carriages stopped just short of the castle and they had their heads bowed against the onslaught of rain as it lashed down on them in sheets. Toshiro hid Hyorinmaru in the biggest pocket of his robes as he bounded up the steps toward the castle. The small bird trembled against Toshiro's side and he did everything he could to protect him from the worst of the Scottish weather.

The Entrance Hall of the castle was slippery with rain water and was made worse by the water gun that Wonderweiss the poltergeist was soaking people with. Toshiro and Yukio managed to dodge the water bomb that the ghost sent their way, but it landed right on Rukia's head and she cursed loud enough to be chastised by Professor Yadomaru for using inappropriate language in front of the younger students.

'Should I deduct points from you?' Toshiro laughed as they made their way into the great hall. Rukia gave him a middle finger but slipped off with Tatsuki and Karin to join the Gryffindor table. Toshiro and Yukio moved across the back of the hall to the far right where the Slytherin table sat. All around them friends and family were parting ways, splitting off to their different tables and sitting down according to house.

The Gryffindor table was furthest from theirs but they still watched Rukia sit down with her friends. From where they sat at the Slytherin table they got a good view of Gin Ichimaru kissing Rangiku goodbye to come and join them. Yukio gave a little huff of resentment and Hyorinmaru tucked himself in close to Toshiro's arm until the seventh year as out of sight, slipping in to sit beside Nemu.

'Hey Yukio, have a good summer?' Ninny asked as she slipped into the bench opposite them, joined by Riruka and Hiyori.

'Dismal,' Yukio sighed dramatically, 'they completely fucked up the release of CyberPunk 2077.'

The three pureblood girls looked at each other in confusion and even Hyorinmaru moved away from Yukio at the comment.

'Toshiro, there you are,' a gruff voice called and Toshiro tilted his head back while Yukio tried to explain what a playstation was to Riruka.

Behind him stood an exceptionally tall seventh year with sky blue hair and a permanent sneer, Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at him. 'We have our first Quidditch practice tomorrow evening.'

'So soon?' Toshiro asked, 'what about try-outs?'

Grimmjow looked at him like he'd gone mad, 'be down at the pitch early. I don't want us to come in last again this year.'

He walked away and went to sit beside Gin. Toshiro scowled at his back.

'How does he expect us to win with the same old team we've always lost with?' Toshiro sighed, watching Hyorinmaru peck at one of the empty plates in front of him as if demanding food.

'What can I say,' Yukio said with a smirk, 'Grimmjow is as sharp as a deflated condom.'

'Yukio,' Toshiro hissed, his face going red as he hushed his friend in front of the three girls who sat opposite them.

The last of the students sat down at their house table as they parted ways in the door. Then the hall went silent as Professor Shihouin led a long line of timid looking first years down the centre of the tables. They looked like they'd each fallen in the lake and Toshiro winced. He'd had to sit in damp robes a number of times and it was never fun.

Thankfully the hall was warm and welcoming and they'd all feel better after a decent meal. Professor Shihouin had a grin on her face as she instructed them to line up in front of an old wooden stool.

On top of the stool sat an ancient looking black hat, tattered and frayed, and as the students watched the rim of the hat opened wide and the Sorting Hat began to sing.

'Such a long, long time ago

When I was freshly made

There lived the four founders of Hogwarts school

The greatest wizards of their age!

Handsome Gryffindor with his sword aloft,

Cunning Slytherin with dark ring,

Tender Hufflepuff with her drink for all,

Fair Ravenclaw's intellect she bring.

But one of these treasures now poses a threat,

For it is sought again

Within it, a deep magic lies

To bring about great pain.

Now once more we must stand,

As the first four founders did,

United in our magical studies,

And in friendships we must bid.

In me is trusted the founders knowledge,

Of the best house to suit you all,

I shall keep the friendships balanced

Else Hogwarts school shall fall,

Come and sit and don't be shy,

Let me look deep within

I'll tell you where you best belong

So let the sorting now begin!'

Toshiro had heard many Sorting Hat songs before, most of the time the hat gave the usual statements of each house… in fact he was pretty sure that the last three year songs had been the same. Looking around the table now, he could see his fellow Slytherin's muttering to each other, frowning. They'd picked up on the hats warning too.

'What did he mean about one of the founders now posing a threat?' Riruka asked, her eyes trained in on Toshiro.

Toshiro tried to remember the exact words, the hat had mentioned an object now posing a threat? Already he could feel the memory of the song slipping, but he knew one thing, the hat would not have sung it, if it wasn't important.

Professor Shihouin had started to call the students forward one at a time in alphabetical order of their last name and Toshiro tried to focus his attention on that.

Previously a lot of students would avoid Slytherin like the plague for its reputation, but in recent years that reputation had been mended. Toshiro sat a little straighter and clapped loudly when each new first year was put into Slytherin, happy that he'd helped pave the way for the reputation of the house growing into something more positive.

The Sorting Hat had mentioned something about that too, about friendships between each of the houses. He wondered what that had meant and knew that the song would plague him until he understood it.

When the very last first year was sorted into Ravenclaw, Head Master Yamamoto stood up. He was an ancient looking wizard who held an air of great authority and power, and everyone went silent the moment he rose. He gazed down upon the students, his long white beard reflected in the candlelight and inclined his head.

'Before we begin I have a few usual start of term notices. Please note that the forbidden forest is completely off limits to any and all students. Any students who try to go swimming in the lake will have to answer to giant squid, we do not want a repeat of last year. Those students in third year and above who wish to attend Hogsmeade visits, must hand their permission forms into their heads of house by the end of the week.' It was all the same things Toshiro had heard before. 'But for just now,' he said letting his arms spread wide, 'let the feast begin.'

At once all the golden plates and goblets around them filled magically with food and drink. Yukio gave a groan of longing and started to pile one of everything he could reach onto his plate. There was the sound of wood scraping as students stood up, and moved to sit with friends in other houses. Toshiro watched as Gin slipped away to join Rangiku at the Ravenclaw table, how Hiyori and Riruka slipped away to sit with friends at the Hufflepuff table, and their seats were instantly filled with Rukia who grinned across at them and started pulling some grilled chicken onto her plate.

'It's a good thing you told the house elves to start cooking some healthier options,' Rukia smirked at Toshiro, 'how else are we meant to get vegetables?'

Toshiro chuckled into his honey roasted parsnips and watched as Yukio avoided all the plates with anything too green on them. The noise in the Great Hall started to settle as people began to stuff their faces. Even Toshiro took an extra helping of cottage pie and parsnips promising himself he'd work it off as soon as Quidditch training started.

About halfway through their second course, they were joined by the ghosts. The ancient Baraggan Louisenbairn floated up through their table several plates down, startling the new first years so badly one of them spilled pumpkin juice through his transparent head and over the table.

Toshiro sighed while Rukia and Yukio joined in the laughter. Hyorinmaru had moved over to Rukia again and she sat feeding him a small strip of chicken from her plate.

'Grimmjow is having Quidditch practice tomorrow evening,' Toshiro told Rukia. Her eyes flashed up from her plate, the competitive streak alive in them already.

'We're holding try-outs early this weekend,' she said.

'Jesus Rukia, you're worse than a Sargent,' Yukio chuckled and the girl smiled.

'Better watch out, if you don't get a decent Seeker,' Toshiro couldn't help tease her as he lifted his goblet of water to take a drink, 'I might catch the Snitch super early and win.'

'You only did that to us once,' she stressed waving a finger at him and narrowing her eyes, 'and it was before I was Captain.'

'Did you notice they're not sitting together,' Yukio's voice had dropped and he'd leaned over to Rukia who blinked questioningly at him, rather confused by the sudden topic change.

'Who?' she asked.

Yukio nodded his head behind her, 'Ichigo and Orihime.'

Rukia turned around and Toshiro glanced over her shoulder. It was true. They were sitting close, but not together. Orihime was sat opposite Ichigo but two positions down, deep in conversation with Tatsuki who had gone over from the Gryffindor table and Ichigo was talking to Chad, another Gryffindor, Uryu from Ravenclaw and Hanataro.

When Rukia turned back to the table in time for desert, she was practically glowing. Toshiro slowly put his fork and knife down on the table, a hollow empty feeling in his chest.

He'd never really gotten over his crush. He and Rukia had talked about it, when it had become apparent that it was impacting their friendship. She had violently friend zoned him and Toshiro had to respect that, especially since she had been dating Renji at the time. Watching the two of them walk around the school hand in hand together had been really hard for Toshiro, but not as hard as watching her with Kaien.

Renji was a brute at times and Toshiro couldn't really see the two of them staying together for long, they were both too proud and hot headed. He'd been right of course, they'd lasted six months, but her relationship with Kaien had lasted an entire year and Toshiro knew that relationship had been more physical when he'd caught them kissing in a corridor after hours as a prefect the year before.

Toshiro had never wanted to jinx someone so much in all his life.

Yukio helped himself to two slices of chocolate gateau and put one of the berries down for Hyorinmaru who ignored it in favour of nipping at Toshiro's finger. The bird had clearly picked up on his owner's sullen mood.

'Toshiro,' a familiar voice called, breaking him from his reprieve. Toshiro glanced up to see Profession Shihouin walking over to him with a large smile on her face. Her skin looked darker, like she'd been somewhere sunny over the summer and made her vivid purple hair and yellow eyes stand out in stark contrast. Beside him, Yukio just stared up at her with his mouth open.

'Evening, Professor,' Toshiro greeted with a smile, as Hyorinmaru climbed up his robe to bury his little parrot face in his white hair.

'Did you have a good summer?' she asked, 'I was really pleased with your Transfiguration result, you were one of the only Outstandings in the year.'

'Oh,' Toshiro could feel the eyes of a few students around him looking at him and it made his face heat slightly while Hyorinmaru climbed up onto his head and protectively fluttered his wings at them.

'When do you want to start up your lessons?' she asked.

Toshiro had been taking extra lessons from the Transfiguration teacher since his third year. The woman was easily one of the brightest Professors the school had ever seen, next to their head of Slytherin house; Professor Urahara. When Toshiro had decided he wanted to study wandlore, he knew he'd need to be able to conduct advance Transfiguration but also be prepared to spend much of his time searching for valuable woods and animals. Some creatures didn't like wizards approaching them, especially unicorns who were particularly shy around male wizards and yet, provided one of the best sources for wand cores.

Thus his extra lessons with Professor Shihouin.

'I can do Monday evening?' Toshiro said, keen to get back to studying. The woman nodded her head and smiled down at Yukio, who was still staring, before departing back to the staff table. It was around this time that the Head Master excused everyone.

'Are you ever going to tell us what you're studying with her?' Rukia asked, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth, 'or do we get to assume you're studying the inside of her mouth with your tongu-'

Toshiro stood up and left the table, hearing the cackle of his best friends following him as he made his way down toward the first years.

'First years,' he called, waving to them as they turned fearful eyes up at him. He didn't yet know the password to get them into the Slytherin common room but he watched as Ninny made her way down from the staff table, while Gin was busy saying goodbye to his girlfriend in the distance.

'How the fuck did he ever become Head Boy?' Ninny hissed at Toshiro as she passed.

'No clue,' Toshiro muttered back as she ushered the first year's attention to her.

'First years follow us,' she started marching to the entrance and Toshiro brought up the rear, doing his best to ignore the curious stares he was getting from the miniature first years. Given that they were currently in Scotland, the natural hair colours ranged anywhere from blond to strawberry blond to black, but rarely was hair so vividly white seen anywhere.

'Mr?' a braver looking first year asked, turning to him at the encouragement of his friends, 'why is your hair white?'

'Remember when Baraggan the ghost popped up through the table?' Toshiro asked looking dead ahead and doing his best to keep a straight face as he saw the boy nod in his peripheral vision, 'well there're scarier ghosts than him in the castle. That's all I'll say.'

In Toshiro's defence, he'd kind of deserved it. Who asked why someone was born with a particular defect? Toshiro had always had white hair, he'd been tested for albinism and while the doctors thought he was on the scale the tests had come back inconclusive.

His mother and Granny had always said it was because he had been born during one of the worst winters they'd ever experienced. They called him their own personal Jack Frost. He had very vivid memories of his mother adoring snow because it reminded her of his hair, and in turn, Toshiro had come to love winter because it reminded him of her.

'Mr?' the same young boy asked and Toshiro took a deep breath as they clambered down a staircase in the direction of the dungeons.

'Yes?' Toshiro did his best to smile.

'Why do you have a parrot on your head?'

Toshiro was glad when they arrived at the stretch of wall in the dungeons. Ninny had gotten the password from Professor Urahara and she said it out loud for the first years to hear.

'Monkshood,' she said to the wall. Instantly the wall began to melt and change before their very eyes, into a passage which Ninny led the first years through and into the common room. Toshiro listened to their audible little gasps and 'oohs' and 'aahs' as they moved into the giant chamber. Not as brightly lit as the great hall, the large windows were illuminated green and outside them wasn't sky but the water of the lake. The huge fireplace to their left housed a roaring fire, lighting most of the room in a fiery red glow and diminishing the green of the water outside. Black leather couches and chairs dotted the area. A few of the other Slytherins were already gathered and chatting with friends as they sat around the space.

'This is the common room,' Ninny instructed with a casual nod of her head, 'We're not meant to bring anyone who isn't Slytherin in here… but…' she glanced over her shoulder to where two Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw sat laughing with their two Slytherin friends and then she shrugged.

'As long as you don't bring too many in at once and as long as they're not disruptive,' Toshiro added, folding his arms, trying to look imposing while only being a head taller than the first years and Hyorinmaru hanging upside down from his hair. 'Just remember a lot of people prefer to study in the common rooms than the library.'

'Why?' it was the same boy who had asked Toshiro all the questions before.

'Because that's where the ghost lives,' Toshiro shot him a look and he quickly closed his mouth.

Ninny gave the instructions on sleeping arrangements and Toshiro was glad when he was finally able to climb the staircase to his own dormitory. The long day was finally catching up with him and as soon as he saw his emerald green four poster bed he couldn't help but flop down into the covers. The circular room was the second highest up the staircase, with only the seventh year's room being above them. As such the windows were above the water level of the lake. During bad storms they had to cast a protection charm on the window to stop the spray of the water below from entering but on calmer hot days they got to throw open the window and enjoy the glint of the sunshine off the lake.

The circular chamber appeared bigger than usual, given that two of the Slytherin boys had dropped out after their O. , which meant it was just Yukio, Toshiro and Mo left to share the dormitory.

The door opened and Toshiro glanced up to see the two boys walking in, Yukio mirroring Toshiro and flopping down on his own bed with a groan of longing.

'I ate too much,' he moaned into his pillow and Toshiro chuckled, rolling over and looking up at Hyorinmaru who was now perched on his headboard pruning himself.

They were silent for a while. Toshiro was trying to muster the strength to dress for bed, but was finding it incredibly difficult. The sound of Mo turning on the small room sink to brush his teeth finally stirred Toshiro and he sat up and opened his trunk. Like most boys his age, he usually just slept in his boxers, but would also wear an old t-shirt if he was cold enough. The elves had been into the room to light the fire and under the sheets they'd slipped hot water bottles to heat the quilts up. Toshiro wished the two boys goodnight and pulled the hangings around his bed closed before settling down for the night.

He pondered the Sorting Hat's warning once more until Yukio's distant snores filled the room and Toshiro snuggled into his pillow as he rolled over. Despite the ancient stone walls and the distant sound of lashing rain outside, he felt warm and comfortable. It was hard to imagine any impending doom forecasted by the song of a magical singing hat, and with that comforting thought, Toshiro fell asleep.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘ ༓ ∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

He left for breakfast early the next morning with Yukio. The blond had been annoyed to be woken just after dawn but compensated by helping himself to pancakes and syrup the moment he sat down at the breakfast table. Toshiro was keen to get his timetable and start his classes. He'd missed having the routine that school provided him.

'You're eager,' Rukia smirked as she slipped onto the bench beside him and pulled a plate of tattie scones towards her.

Toshiro smiled into his toast, 'what can I say? I just love to learn.'

'Don't make me vomit into my breakfast,' Yukio chided him, rolling his green emerald eyes to the enchanted ceiling above them, 'it's bad enough I had to be up before the sun.'

'The sun was up,' Toshiro commented.

'When it has not yet risen above tree level, Toshiro, the sun isn't up,' Yukio scowled at him.

'I love how you boys both have different ideas about what constitutes as up,' Rukia chuckled and two nearby fourth years threw her scandalised glances.

'Rukia,' Toshiro hissed, 'keep your voice down.'

Rukia simply winked at him in response, a devilish smirk on her face and put a scoop of haggis on her plate before tucking in. Toshiro sighed in exasperation and glanced up at the staff table to see Professor Urahara finally making his way down toward theirs, tapping blank pieces of parchment and turning them into time tables for the Slytherins.

'Rukia,' Professor Shihouin said with a large smile on her face, 'I knew I'd find you here.' She consulted a long piece of parchment in her hands.

'Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts please,' Rukia said at once.

'You've certainly got the qualifications for them,' the Professor said with a proud smile, 'you've got room for one more?'

'Add Muggle Studies then,' Rukia said, a smirk distorting her pretty features.

'It's going to be another year of winding your brother up isn't it?' Professor Shihouin said with a chuckle, her yellow eyes darting up to the staff table where Professor Kuchiki sat eating toast with a knife and fork like a backstreet rebel. Rukia's brother had only started teaching at the school a few years back, he was the newest staff member and had taken over the post of Potions which had previously been getting covered by three of the other Professors depending on their schedules.

Professor Shihouin tapped a blank piece of parchment and handed it to Rukia with her new schedule on it. Toshiro glanced over her shoulder at the timetable, while Hyorinmaru hopped over to her shoulder and tilted his head as if to inspect the paper.

'Yes! Two free periods,' Rukia smiled happily, 'I'll just arrange Quidditch trials then.'

Rukia started talking with her Professor about who had put their name down while Professor Urahara finally made it to Yukio and Toshiro. He winked in the direction of the Head of Gryffindor house who promptly rolled her yellow eyes at him, but a smile played around the edges of her mouth.

'They're totally having sex,' Yukio whispered under his breath to Toshiro who glared at him. He didn't need the image of one of his favourite teachers banging his head of house.

'Yukio, not much we can go with your grades, you're going to be forced into some classes,' Urahara stated, tapping a piece of parchment and handing it to Yukio who groaned. 'Toshiro, meanwhile, you'll get the pick of the bunch.'

'I want to take Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions and Alchemy,' Toshiro recited his carefully selected courses. He'd done his research into which classes would best help with wand making and these were the best subjects to take.

'Are you planning to sleep at all this year?' Professor Urahara joked, but tapped the piece of parchment and handed it to him anyway.

'I'll see you in Alchemy later today then,' Professor Shihouin said to him, ruffling his hair as she passed with a fond smile on her face as she and Urahara walked off together. Toshiro smiled after them, he had such respect for both of them, but in particular for Professor Shihouin.

'Toshiro, you've got a little something,' Rukia said pointing at his chin, 'just a little bit of drool.'

Toshiro smacked his best friend's hand away and scowled at her while she cackled at him.

'I've got to run, I'm going to get the word out about Quidditch try-outs,' Rukia said slipping out of her place at the table with a final swig of her tea.

'Yeah I gotta go, some very important sleep to catch up on,' Yukio tossed Toshiro a playful glare and rose from the table. Toshiro followed his friends out but planned to head down to the greenhouses early. Although his first period was free he decided to use it as a chance to get a bit of exercise walking around the grounds. The weather from the day before had left the grass squishy with mud, but it didn't bother him as he watched Hyorinmaru flying lazily in the early morning light. The two then made their way toward the Herbology greenhouses.

Inside was an elderly wizard who was sitting down eating toast from a plate that had been brought by one of his colleagues. Professor Ukitake was a sickly man and rarely left the greenhouse side of the castle where he taught Herbology. He was often visited by Professor Kyoraku who taught Charms.

'Toshiro, come on in,' a booming voice called from the back of the room as Toshiro opened the door into the humid heat of the glasshouse. The smell of damp earth hit his nostrils along with the smell of unusual plants and potions. Ukitake smiled up from his plate, his long white hair matching Toshiro's as it glinted in the early morning sunshine.

Kyoraku had been the one to call on Toshiro, his long curly hair fell down the back of baby pink robes patterned with florals, an odd choice that no one had asked him to correct.

'Good morning, Professors,' Toshiro said, coming in and closing the door behind him as he moved over to sit down.

'Were your ears burning over the summer, Toshiro? Jushiro and I were talking about how impressed we were with your O.W.L scores,' Kyoraku said with a chuckle, leaning back and putting his hand in a pot of something behind him.

'That's right, we've not seen scores that good from anyone else this year,' Ukitake shook his head and finished his toast, placing his plate down on an old wooden bench beside him. Toshiro tried not to glow under their praise but ultimately failed. Ukitake was the Head of Hufflepuff house and Toshiro knew he could trust his words, he wouldn't give him praise where it wasn't due. Kyoraku on the other hand…

'But what about the love life?' Kyoraku said on cue, swapping from proud teacher to inappropriate uncle-figure in a matter of seconds.

Toshiro spluttered uncomfortably, while Kyoraku chuckled and Ukitake smiled fondly at him.

'You're always in the presence of young Rukia?' Ukitake asked casually.

'No, no,' Toshiro waved his hands, 'we're just friends.'

'Rukia is dating Renji anyway,' Kyoraku said turning to Ukitake.

'Is she?' Ukitake asked.

'No, actually they broke up a while ago,' Toshiro wasn't sure why he felt the need to correct them. He supposed this is what happened when teachers stayed at school over the summer without any TV to give them entertainment.

'Maybe this year you'll meet someone, right Kid?' Kyoraku winked at him and Toshiro frowned. He very much doubted that.

'Toshiro has N.E. to study for now,' Ukitake said, coming to his rescue, 'he hasn't got time.'

'Right,' Toshiro chuckled, pulling his book out of his bag and opening it on his table. He was saved from any further interrogation by the arrival of a few of his classmates. Renji, Nell, Hanataro and Kiyone all arrived at the same time, shortly followed by Noel, Hiyori, Rikichi and Ulquiorra.

The lesson started exactly as Toshiro assumed it would, with a long lecture on N.E. and how difficult they'd be to obtain. Ukitake didn't hold anything back, waving his wand and putting the information on a giant blackboard that hung over the cluttered teacher's desk at the front. He specified what they'd be studying and how complicated the plants would be, and how dangerous.

It was succeeded by the same discussion in Potions, which was only made worse by the blunt and factual way in which Byakuya gave them the information. Rukia sat beside Toshiro playing with her quill and not listening as her brother walked between the tables in the dark and suffocating Potion class. It put a downer on the first lessons of the year, but Toshiro perked up a bit when Byakuya started explaining that the potions they'd be covering included the illustrious Felix Felicis, as well as Veritaserum, Amortentia and Polyjuice Potion.

The final class of the day saw the group parting ways, with Yukio and Rukia heading to Muggle Studies as Toshiro made his way down the hall from the Potions classroom and around a bend, trying to locate the room he needed. He knew he must have been heading in the right direction when saw Isane, a seventh year Hufflepuff make her way down a distant staircase.

'Excuse me?' Toshiro asked, watching as the tall girl gave a start then turned to him smiling, 'is this the way to Alchemy?' he asked.

'Yeah it is,' she nodded her head and the two walked together in the direction of the classroom. The Alchemy room was different to the Potions room, it was a lot wider with large arching stone ceilings that made it feel just as enclosed. The space was so eerily dark, it was hard to picture Professor Shihouin teaching in a location like this. Normally she taught in the Transfiguration classroom, a room so large it was practically a hall and with large arching windows that flooded the space with natural light.

'Take a seat.'

She looked out of place. Her contrasting orange robes making her stand out against the blackness that surrounded her. A wide Cheshire grin on her face was the only indication that told Toshiro she was still very much at home in the familiar space.

Toshiro sat at an empty table at the back of the classroom. This was the one class that sixth and seventh years shared, for they only ran the class when there was enough interest and it seemed between the two year groups, there was.

As Toshiro looked around he saw Kiyone and Hanataro sitting at a table together chatting in low voices and Noel sitting at a table alone as was Uryu. Isane, Rangiku and Nanao all sat together too, at a table very close to the sixth year Hufflepuff's. Isane leaned over to speak to her younger sister Kiyone and the two of them chuckled about something before Professor Shihouin called them to attention.

'First of all congratulations, for achieving the necessary number of O. to take this subject,' Professor Shihouin started, waving her wand at the board. 'This is a very complex branch of magic and we don't always teach it at the school. It involves a study of ancient magic that blurs the lines between Transfiguration and Potions. We'll learn the four basic elements and how we can combine and manipulate them.'

Toshiro frantically took down notes. He needed to excel in this class, it would be one of his most important that year. A decent wand maker had to know the fundamentals of Alchemy.

Even though it had only been their first day of lessons, Toshiro somehow had more homework than he'd ever received in his life. There would be no time for him to start that evening either, given that Grimmjow had demanded that they do their first Quidditch practice that night.

'When are you heading down?' Rukia asked, piling carrots and roast potatoes onto her plate and then helping herself to gammon.

'Right after dinner,' Toshiro sighed, he hated flying after a meal. It always made him feel sick.

'I'll take some stuff up to the room for you, for later, Mate,' Yukio said and no sooner had he spoken the words than a tiny plastic tub appeared on the table.

'Got to love the house elves,' Rukia smiled as they watched Yukio open the box then look at Toshiro sceptically.

'Do you want anything other than fucking vegetables? Or will I just pile the rabbit food in?'

Toshiro scowled at his friend, but appreciated the sentiment all the same. He managed to eat a small amount of grilled chicken, giving the rest to Yukio to take away for him for later and then he and Rukia were heading down toward the Quidditch pitch. The sunny afternoon had broken and the sky was now shrouded in thick grey clouds. Hyorinmaru was perched on Rukia's shoulder and hid under her ebony hair as they walked out into the drizzling rain. They went off to sit in the stands and Toshiro walked into the changing rooms to change into his Quidditch robes.

No sooner had he and the team put fresh dry robes on, than they were out in the rain again. The grass and mud squelched under foot as they walked into the centre of the pitch. Grimmjow and Mo carried the case of balls between them and Toshiro mounted his broom the moment the golden Snitch was released.

It wasn't a good practice. Grimmjow spent more of the game barking orders. He ignored the ten goals scored by Nemu and Riruka in favour of arguing with Hiyori. Meanwhile Toshiro was smacked harshly in the head by a Bludger from Mo and Ninny only saved about five of the goals because she kept drifting to the left side hoop.

When Ninny had her head in the game she was one of their better players, but she'd clearly let her game slip over the summer. Toshiro allowed himself to become distracted by the growing conflict between Grimmjow and Hiyori that he almost missed the second Bludger that Mo sent his way.

'What's the deal?' Toshiro growled, turning his own broom around and glaring at the boy who only grinned at him.

'Target practice, I want to take down the Seekers of the opposite teams as early as possible,' he shrugged.

Toshiro narrowed his eyes, but said no more, choosing to flatten himself to his broom and speed as far away from the maniac with a bat as he could. His eyes scanned the pitch for the Golden Snitch, just willing the horrible practice session to be over. Thankfully since a lot of parents had raged at the school in the unfairness of richer families having better brooms, they all rode the same broomstick that they borrowed from the school. The model was the original Firebolt, unlike the shiny new Firebolt 3.0, but Toshiro was glad because no way would he have been able to afford a broom this nice on his own. The Firebolt was still an outstanding broom, even the original model, so when Toshiro spotted the tiny spec of gold hovering over by the opposite goal posts, he wasted no time in shooting after it.

Grimmjow didn't notice that Toshiro had caught the Snitch, he didn't seem to care and eventually both Toshiro and Mo had enough and went back to the changing rooms without being dismissed. They were both soaked through, the light drizzle of rain having turned harsher with the passing hour. Toshiro didn't see the point in changing back into his other damp robes so he merely gathered everything up and stomped outside to where Rukia was waiting for him. Her lips were pursed but the twinkle in her eye told him everything he needed to know.

'Don't say it,' Toshiro warned her, holding up a hand and glaring.

'Thanks for volunteering fourth place, not many teams want it,' she burst, clearly unable to help herself as she giggled furiously. Toshiro scowled and stalked back up the castle, only pausing so glare at Hyorinmaru until the bird flew faithfully to his head. It earned Toshiro a nip to the top of his ear for forcing the bird to pick sides, but he didn't care, he was just so annoyed that once again their team would be the laughing stock of the school.

'So quit,' Yukio said. Toshiro had gone for a shower, bumping into Gin in the prefect's bathroom before returning to his dormitory for the food that Yukio had preserved for him.

'I can't,' Toshiro sighed, 'it's the only thing that keeps me in any level of fitness.'

Yukio rolled his eyes at the comment, 'you just want to impress Rukia.'

Toshiro sighed and put the empty tub at the side of his bed, his heart sinking. It was true that Toshiro had only joined the Quidditch team in the off chance it might impress Rukia, but the girl was so far out his league it wasn't even funny. Rukia still held that school record and was renowned as one of the best Chasers of the century.

'Mate you know that ship ain't ever gonna sail right?' Yukio was lying on his stomach, flipping through a magazine that Toshiro considered inappropriate for their age.

'I know,' Toshiro sighed, 'I don't… maybe that was the reason why I joined but I still enjoy it. I just don't enjoy my team.'

That much was true. During their summer holidays, he and Momo would practice together, given that she was a Chaser on the Ravenclaw team. They'd take turns passing an old football to each other and trying to score through the branches of an old oak tree in Granny's back yard. He enjoyed the feeling of the fresh air, and the speed of the wind as it rushed by him.

'Fair,' Yukio nodded his head, 'You know the best way to get over a girl is to get under another.'

'There will be none of that,' Toshiro said, feeling his ears getting hot, 'what about you? Why don't you have a girlfriend yet?'

'Because clearly none of the girls here have taste, I'm quite a catch,' Yukio winked at Toshiro from across the room and Toshiro laughed heartily as a result. No matter how bad his day had been he could always count on Yukio to cheer him up.

The weekend brought a similar weather pattern, a sunny morning and afternoon fading into a dark grey drizzle in the evenings. Toshiro went for his morning jogs around the castle followed by his showers in the prefect's bathroom and decided not to go to the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs. Partly because he knew they were being held at 5am and partly because he knew that whatever team Rukia put together would be flawless and he was still miserable from his own practice.

By the time Monday came around Toshiro had braced himself for the onslaught of more N.E.W.T lectures and the excessive homework it came with. Professor Shihouin set them two essays in Transfiguration and Professor Urahara also set them an essay for their Defence Against the Dark Arts.

'If Professor Shiba gives us another piece of homework I'm going to cry,' Yukio sulked as they made their way down to the hut on the school grounds where the Professor lived during the evenings he spent at the school.

Professor Shiba was another outstanding Professor. Toshiro had dropped all the subjects with teachers he didn't like, and though Professor Urahara's style could be… eccentric at times, the rest of his Professors were pretty sound.

'Toshiro, Rukia, Yukio, Hanataro, Bruno,' Professor Shiba said, nodding to them all as they made a semi-circle around his cabin. He was a tall man with very broad shoulders, a thick tuft of pitch black hair and a large generous smile. He wore his robes loose around his chest, showing off a fine amount of chest hair too. Toshiro could hear Yumichika whispering this fact to Izuru behind him.

'And Hyorinmaru,' the Professor boomed, his eyes lighting up when the bird took flight from Toshiro's shoulder to fly to him. He held a finger out for the bird, which Hyorinmaru ignored in favour of perching on his shoulder and attempting to nibble at the older man's facial hair.

Inside his robes he pulled out some owl treats and gave one to the bird with a thoughtful hum, 'my favourite student of all.'

'Great,' Toshiro sighed.

'How does it feel, when your bird is more popular than you are, Shiro?' Bruno sneered behind them.

'Go suck a dick, Bruno!' Rukia snapped at him.

The rest of the class laughed heartily at this but Professor Shiba fixed Rukia with a levelling look and deducted five points from Gryffindor for the cause. Toshiro was sure if it had come from anybody else, they'd have been deducted at least twenty for that comment, but Professor Shiba held Rukia in as much high regard as he did Hyorinmaru.

'This year we've got a lot to learn, we're going to be covering Doxys, Knarls, Mokes, Jackalopes, Imps to name a few,' the Professor said walking around them while they held their books and awkwardly tried to make notes. Hanataro gave up and kneeled down on the grass so he could use his own leg to lean against. Rukia was using Yukio's back, much to the boy's distaste.

'We're going to be starting off easy though,' he stopped beside his vegetable garden and pointed to a large wooden beehive. 'Who can guess what's in here?'

Toshiro's hand slowly raised and the older man beamed at him.

'Glumbumbles, Sir?' Toshiro asked.

'Indeed, five points to Slytherin. Now can you tell me what they are?'

'They're effectively,' Toshiro inclined his head with a smile, 'depressed bees, they take over colonies and stop honey production. They live off nettles and instead of producing honey themselves they make a kind of treacle that's common to Europe'

'Excellent! Take another five points for Slytherin!' he boomed happily.

'Show off,' Rukia snorted at him, but Toshiro just ignored her. No matter how much better she was at Quidditch, he could still beat her when it came to the academic side of their magical education. They were instructed to turn their books to the appropriate pages, chapters Toshiro had already read. When they left the class, they'd been given additional homework that included a fully labelled diagram and at least one foot of parchment on the extraction process of separating Glumbumbles from a bee hive.

Toshiro was moderately panicking by the time he'd eaten dinner and bolted to the Transfiguration classroom for his extra lessons with Professor Shihouin.

'Sorry I'm late Professor,' Toshiro panted, Hyorinmaru flying from his shoulder to land softly on her desk where it looked like she was marking papers.

'Remember you can call me Yoruichi when we're doing these classes,' she said with a soft smile, 'I hate the term Professor.'

She rolled her eyes and Toshiro smiled. He liked to be reminded at the beginning of each year so he didn't come across disrespectful. Toshiro was sure that a lot of the Professors would refuse to be called by their title if they could, but Head Master Yamamoto was too old fashioned to allow it.

'Now, how much practice have you gotten?' she asked, putting her quill back into the ink pot and standing up from the table. She'd cast her robes aside in favour of a black and orange jumpsuit that clung to her figure, her yellow eyes piercing Toshiro.

'Not a lot,' Toshiro let his shoulders deflate, 'it's been harder to hide this than it was hiding that leaf in my mouth for a month.'

'Until you can do it properly and we get you registered you can't tell anyone,' Yoruichi reminded him with a shake of her head. 'If the Ministry of Magic knew we were training an Animagus they'd probably come for my licence.'

According to Yoruichi it was better to seek forgiveness than ask permission. The Ministry of Magic would just outright refuse, citing that it was too difficult a branch of magic for a student to accomplish despite students having achieved it before. Once he could successfully complete the transformation and utilise it in a way that wouldn't draw the attention of Muggles, then they could get him registered.

'I really appreciate this Prof- Yoruichi,' he corrected himself, 'it's going to make getting closer to unicorns and other weary animals much easier.'

She smiled at him and then nodded at his robes, 'did you bring the change of clothes? We can try something different this year.'

Toshiro had two issues with his transformation. Like a lot of starting Animagus, Toshiro struggled to retain his clothing when he popped in and out of existence and that was compulsory to get his licence else he randomly expose himself to someone. The other was acting like his chosen animal.

He reached down into his bag and pulled out the tight leggings and black t-shirt that she'd instructed him to buy. He'd gone for the smallest size he could, and he used her side office to change into them before coming back out into the main classroom.

'Good, these clothes are tight enough,' she gave a nod of approval and Toshiro felt horrifically exposed. Yoruichi didn't seem to bat an eyelid at it though, wearing clothes that were equally as clingy on herself.

'So if they're tight,' Toshiro said, resisting the urge to pinch the back of the leggings where they were unceremoniously riding up his ass, 'they'll feel more like skin when I transform?'

'That's the hope, yes, since you can do the transformation with your underwear, I hope the skin tight of these might better replicate that material,' she nodded at him.

Toshiro's face grew hot. He'd never forget the first time he'd transformed under her supervision and transformed back. He'd been a hard-core boxer guy until he'd landed on the tiled stone floor with nothing but his hands covering his modesty. Thankfully Yoruichi was incredibly forgiving and Hyorinmaru had been close by to save him by bringing him his robes the moment he changed back. Since then, he'd swapped to boxer briefs which were more snug and they'd worked, he could transform into his Animagus form and back again while still retaining them at the very least.

'Are you ready?' she asked, glancing back at him before leaping gracefully onto one of the desks as her cat self. Toshiro watched the way her body changed shape, how quickly and fluidly she was able to go from being human to being a cat sitting on the table. From the moment her transformation happened she was already acting like the animal she'd selected. While almost any other Animagus that he had ever studied had been unable to communicate verbally in their Animagus form, Yoruichi was the exception. While the black cat sat on the desk studying him with its bright yellow eyes, she opened her mouth and a rather masculine voice spoke.

'Let's give this a try, shall we?' it said.

Toshiro nodded, feeling the usual flutter of his heart. The transformation wasn't painful like it was to turn into a werewolf, but it wasn't comfortable either. If he had to describe it, he'd say it felt very similar to using a Portkey.

Toshiro took a deep breath to ground himself and then he did a little run before leaping off the ground. He felt the familiar squeeze, like his body was being compressed through a tube and when he emerged at the other side it was in a mess of black and darkness that had his little heart sinking. Toshiro extracted himself from the failed clothing, stumbling out of them and falling before righting himself. His claws tapped the stone floor, his white wings folded behind himself and he blinked owlishly up at the cat who sat gazing down at him from the desk.

'It was worth a try,' Yoruichi said, 'I must say it's lovely watching someone else do the transformation. I keep forgetting how incredible it is to see from the outside looking in until I see you transform into your barn owl.'

The Animagus form couldn't be selected by the wizard or witch, instead it was an animal that most reflected their personality in some way. They'd come to the conclusion that because Toshiro was wiser than his years and had a fondness for anything with wings, that was why he could transform into the barn owl. Yoruichi also mentioned something about his size, but Toshiro pretended not to hear that part.

'How is your flight?' she asked.

Toshiro spread his wings, his beak clicking as he adjusted to the new eyesight and the new senses. His hearing was much more acute, he could hear the distant footsteps of students on the floor below them and the steady pounding of Yoruichi's heartbeat. He took a moment to steady himself, his far sighted vision keeping the distant walls in focus while the closest desk remained slightly unfocused, the darkening skies outside cast great shadows along the pillars on the walls. Toshiro took it all in, then he did a little take off, running along the floor and fluttering his feathers until he felt them catch the air and he began to rise. This was the part where he usually overthought and like many things that humans did, the moment they overthought was the moment they failed.

He'd muscled his way past the reflex, clearing his mind and letting his wings find the right rhythm. Hyorinmaru flew out in front of him, tilting his little head back to glance at Toshiro but helping to guide him around the giant oval office. Toshiro followed the smaller bird, watching the way his wings moved, curling to compensate for the lack of wind in the space where they practiced.

'That's good,' Yoruichi called up to him from where she sat on one of the desks. Toshiro saw her hop from one desk to another in his peripheral vision. She made it look so easy, her movements were second nature to her as a cat. She'd informed him that it had only become second nature to her when she'd spent an entire year as a cat doing some undercover work for the Auror office. 'Try and land down beside me.'

Toshiro's heart gave a little jolt at the instruction. Once he was in the air and flying, he was fine. He was awkward with the take-off but landing was the thing he was worst at. Hyorinmaru clicked his beak and tilted his body so his wings took him down toward the desk where the black cat sat. Toshiro followed, copying his movements and feeling a small thrill run through him when he begun descending. This was another reason why he loved Quidditch, why he didn't want to give it up, every extra moment he could spend in the air taught him not to fear it. Hyorinmaru fluttered his wings, his claws out and landed gracefully on a book perched at the corner of the desk. Yoruichi backed up to give Toshiro room and a beat before he was due to land, he panicked, overthought it and ended up in a heap of feathers on the desk.

'Well,' Yoruichi said, amusement clearly lacing her voice, 'I've seen better, but I've also seen worse.'

Toshiro hooted indignantly at her. He would glare if he could but owls didn't have eyebrows. The black cat chuckled and nodded her head.

'Let's try again.'

By the time Toshiro turned back into a human, which he did so in her office to save embarrassment, he was exhausted. It was well past ten in the evening and even though he was a prefect he should have been in bed and setting a better example for the younger students.

Toshiro bid Yoruichi a good night and left the office, his mind was racing with flight and how he'd started to get better at his take-off but only slightly better at his landing when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

'Toshiro!' he turned to see Rukia running along the hallway toward him, her brows furrowed.

'Shouldn't you be in bed?' he asked, blinking at her. She was a long way away from the Gryffindor common room.

'I went to spy on the Hufflepuff Quidditch try-outs,' she said, because of course she did, 'and I was heading back when I saw something weird so came looking for you.'

He could tell by the frown on her face, the way her brows were pulled together in the centre that something was off. Hyorinmaru sensed it too, ruffling his body where he sat perched against Toshiro's neck.

'What did you see?' he asked.

---

I know... that ending, sorry not sorry. Bleach was always known for its annoying cliff-hangers. Next chapter we will SEE what happened to Rukia through her eyes :D so hang tight!

Please follow, fav and review :D

If you want to join us in the server you can find us via the link at the bottom of my profile, you can also find the link to my Trello there too and see how much I've written and when I am planning on posting!