Author's Note
Haha! I got this done just before the month ended. Yay me. Anyways, don't know if you guys know this or not, but a new Harry potter book came out, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I've heard it's more play script than novel, though I can't confirm since I haven't read it yet. All I know is that we got like twenty copies at the library today and they were all on hold. And someone hold me, Bleach is supposedly ending this week! I still don't quite believe it because there's so many loose ends and almost no fanfare about it in the Jump magazine. I mean, we had Naruto notifications five weeks in advance and we're practically getting blindsided with Bleach! Anyways, I just hope it ends well if that is what's happening.
So I got a couple complaints about Voldie being cray-cray for torturing an arrancar because humans go squish to powerful spiritual entities. The reason I find such actions acceptable is that Voldemort has to have something to prove himself a worthy-of-fear boss, being able to cause extreme pain and other phenomena with a flick of a stick that no amount of reiatsu guarding can block makes him look strong. Besides, unlike Aizen, Voldemort wouldn't stand a chance if his normal followers decided to team up and take him out and he still tortures and kills them, so why do any different with his new servants?
Anywho, on with the chapter!
It took a few days for the fact that there wouldn't be a repeat of Valentine's Day's night to sink in for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They spent those days jumping at the slightest bump in the night and constantly watching for any of the Japanese to go running off, but with nothing happening, things quickly fell back into the daily grind. It wasn't until the Monday of the following week that something out of place happened, namely, Harry's interview was finally published in The Quibbler, inviting people to reconsider their view of Harry and the Ministry. For a few days Harry was able to bask in the elation of people finally realizing he wasn't the loon the Prophet made him out to be, even though Umbridge had given him detention and taken away his right to go to Hogsmeade.
Unfortunately, such happiness couldn't last and things went back to their semi-miserable state. The next break in the monotony was when Umbridge achieved her first sacking, removing Trelawney from her position of Divination teacher. Her victory was short lived as Dumbledore not only allowed Trelawney to continue living at Hogwarts, he also replaced her with the centaur Firenze, spitting in Umbridge's anti-half breed face. Maybe it was the undermining that had occurred that caused it, but Umbridge made her presence all the more felt as she watched over the Care of Magical Creatures lessons, ready for the slightest excuse to sack another teacher she disliked.
As March blurred into April, the only happiness Harry found at Hogwarts were the D.A. meetings and Urahara and Shinji's class. The Innovative Thinking Class was a favorite for anyone who disliked Umbridge because the pair always managed to slip subtle insults at her with the week's challenge, ranging from deciphering codes that poked fun at "toads" to how to improve accuracy with paper airplanes or spit wads using pink targets. But even these joys were to be cut short.
The D.A. meeting was going well, especially considering that today they were working on Patronuses, Harry thought. The bright room was filled with silver vapor, some shaped into various animals, others only producing wisps from their wand tips. The only complaint Harry had about the lesson was that it failed to capture the difficulty of producing a Patronus when you actually needed one, seeing as there were no dementors there to drain away the very thought of happiness. Maybe if he set Ichigo in that other form against them…
Harry is dragged from those thoughts as the door opens and closes without anyone to be seen passing through it, at least until he feels a tug on his robes at about knee height.
"Hi, Dobby!" Harry greets him, smiling down at the elf briefly before realizing that the elf seems rather terrified. "What's wrong?"
"Harry Potter, sir… Harry Potter, sir… Dobby has come to warn you… but the house-elves have been warned not to tell…" Dobby manages to haltingly get out, fighting the rule enforcing magic that binds all house-elves for the one he respects above all others. But the magic is strong and that's as far as he can get before the need for punishment becomes impossible to suppress, leading him to try to smash his head against the wall. The blow is mostly negated by the stack of hats he's taken to wearing and before he can make any more attempts, Harry grabs his wrists and restrains him.
"What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asks as the others gather around to hear the elf's words, many concerned for the little elf's well-being.
"Harry Potter… she… she…"
"Who's 'she,' Dobby?" Harry asks, already fairly certain of who this terrible 'she' is, even as he continues to keep Dobby from harming himself.
After watching Dobby wordlessly move his lips, Harry puts his guess into words, "Umbridge?"
Dobby nods, again trying to harm himself. Realizing that letting Dobby confirm guesses is quicker, Harry continues, "What about her? Dobby… she hasn't found out about us, about the D.A.?" Another attempt at self-harm confirms Harry's guess. There was only one more important question left to ask.
"Is she coming?"
"Yes, Harry Potter, yes!" Dobby wails.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry roars as the other students just seem to freeze. "RUN!"
And they burst into motion, like runners at the sound of the starting pistol. Most cram in towards the slowly expanding doorway, the Room picking up on their need to exit quickly and simultaneously, though Harry catches a blur of orange briefly head deeper into the room while he orders Dobby to safety.
Once Harry makes it out of the Room of Requirement, he turns right and heads for the bathrooms, hoping that they will offer better sanctuary than trying to run all the way back to the Gryffindor Dormitory. The hope that the other fleeing students will have been so smart bounces around in the back of his mind as he tries to think of ways to justify his own presence in the bathroom once he gets there. Something that would bring me to the seventh –
"AAARGH!"
Something trips him and his momentum carries his fallen body down the hall a good six feet. Laughter echoes around him as he rolls over to spot Malfoy grinning widely as he comes out of a niche concealed by an ugly dragon-shaped vase.
"Trip Jinx, Potter!" Malfoy gloats. "Hey, Professor! PROFESSOMPH!"
Malfoy falls flat on his back, his breath knocked out of him by the impact. Somehow, Ichigo had crept up beside him without either Malfoy or Harry noticing before he swept the pale Slytherin's legs out from under him. As Malfoy gasps and starts pushing himself upright, Ichigo cocks back a fist to knock his lights out.
"Incarcerous!"
Before the blow can land, thick ropes wrap themselves around Ichigo's torso, pinning his arms to his side and chest. He growls in frustration and glares at Umbridge whose wand is extended towards him as she stands panting at the far corner of the hallway.
"Are you alright, Draco?" she calls, getting a shaky nod from the boy while Ichigo glares in a way that leaves no doubt that he's considering continuing to fight with just his legs at his disposal. "There'll be no more of that, Mr. Kurosaki." Umbridge says sternly, trying to out glare him and failing. Then she notices the third boy in the corridor. "It's him! Oh, excellent, Draco, excellent! Fifty, no, sixty points to Slytherin! I'll take them from here. Stand up, Potter, Kurosaki!"
The two did as told, glaring at their captors all the while. Ichigo's was definitely more effective, Harry absently noted, as Malfoy and Umbridge still maintained some distance even though Ichigo was the one who was already restrained. Umbridge's glee as she grabs on to Harry tightly to prevent him from running is sickening and when she tries to lay hand on Ichigo, he growls a warning that she at least has enough brain cells to heed, instead holding him at wand point. Umbridge quickly gives Malfoy instructions to round up the rest of the escaped members before addressing the captured pair again.
"And you two," she whispers softly, sweetly, dangerously, "you two can come with me to the headmaster's office."
The walk is silent and Harry can't help but think of all the horrible ramifications there'll be for those who get caught. The D.A. had been going so well, but now it's crashing down around them. It was turning into their last night here at Hogwarts and Harry regretted doing this to his friends so much, but he knew he wouldn't change forming the D.A. if given a second chance, no, he would be smarter about it, do more to stop the discovery from happening.
Ichigo, meanwhile, is considering whether it'd be worth it to flatten Umbridge with his reiatsu, use blut arterie to snap the ropes so he could punch her out, or just jump up and give her a good round house to the head. All are of course tempting in their own way, but he does have to consider the effects on Harry and the rest of the D.A. if he does something like that. It is an unfortunate conclusion, one the hollow half of Zangetsu has many abusive words for, but it would be safest for those involved if he plays along with Umbridge's game.
Before long they reach Dumbledore's office, which Umbridge marches them into without knocking, and find it full of people. Besides the expected Dumbledore is Professor McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt and another tough looking wizard who stand guard at the doorway, Ron's estranged brother, Percy, and the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge.
"Well, well, well…" Fudges says, a gleeful expression on his face. It would seem he finally has an excuse to expel Harry Potter from Hogwarts, something that would allow him to neatly sweep the boy and his political career ruining stories under the rug. No good, honest wizard would get themselves expelled, even if the clause that got them expelled was designed particularly against them, so no one would believe the boy. Career saved.
Harry returns Fudge's glee with the dirtiest expression he can muster as he pulls free of Umbridge's grip. He knows that today will be his last at Hogwarts, but he's determined to at least tell Fudge what a colossal, incompetent moron he is and let Umbridge know that she is the most god awful woman he has ever had the displeasure of meeting, even more so than Aunt Petunia, and that she should not be allowed within yelling distance of any child.
Ichigo, on the other hand, is perfectly calm, only showing a general disdain for having been brought to the headmaster's office. This is a game of power, and he knows it. After all, it's not the first time he's been brought into a disciplinary meeting for breaking rules that he had a perfectly good reason to break. The trick is to play innocent, plead stupid, and never ever admit to doing whatever you are accused of. There's always at least one sympathetic person in the room, all you have to do is hold out until they offer a reduced punishment, complain about how you're innocent and don't deserve any punishment, and then you're home free with a small slap on the wrists punishment instead of a nasty hiding, even when your accuser is out to get you.
"Why do you have one of my students tied up, Dolores?" Dumbledore asks sternly. It chafes him to see a student so clearly treated like a prisoner, walking in tied up and at wand tip.
"He was physically attacking another student, so I retrained him for their safety." Umbridge primly replies.
"And this was after he refused to stop?" Dumbledore questions.
"She didn't even anything to me until after I'd been tied up!" Ichigo exclaims, cashing in on what he figures must be broken conduct.
"I see. Dolores, I must insist you release my student from these unwarranted restraints." Dumbledore says, sternly looking down at her. It is against school policy to simply go straight to wands for restraint unless a life is threatened.
"But he-"
"Will behave himself, I'm sure." Dumbledore cuts her off. "There are plenty of people here capable of restraining him if he does not. Now if you would please unleash him."
Umbridge glares at Dumbledore, then Ichigo before flicking her wand to vanish the ropes. Ichigo returns her glare as he rolls his shoulders and neck to relieve some of the tension from being tied up.
"If that's all settled then," Fudge says testily, not at all pleased with the disruption of what should be a glorious moment in the making, "please tell us what happened, Dolores."
"Of course, Minister." Umbridge simpers, a wicked smile lighting her face. "I caught Potter heading back to Gryffindor Tower. The Malfoy boy corned him and that's when Kurosaki here tried to help Potter escape by assaulting him."
"Hey, I thought it was just Malfoy being the usual ass he is and picking on Harry." Ichigo defends, managing to sound highly insulted. "Besides, I thought students weren't supposed to hex each other in the corridors, I mean, this school's supposed to be a safe environment, right?"
"Draco Malfoy has been nothing but an exemplary student!" Umbridge yells in response, riled up not only by an insult to one of her favorite students, but also the slight, obviously intentional dig at her statements from the first day of classes. "He is such a good, trustworthy student that I asked him, along with some others, to help me round up you trouble making rule breakers!"
"Where's your proof that we caused any trouble, broke any rules? I didn't do anything except have my friend's back when he got sneak attacked. If that's against the rules, then they should really be reconsidered." Ichigo counters.
Harry has to force himself not to stare. Here they are, dragged in by Umbridge before the Minister of Magic after a secret, illegal D.A. meeting, and Ichigo is basically claiming that Umbridge is the guilty party.
"I have a witness-"
"Pasty doesn't count. He'll say whatever to get us in trouble so he can stay clear." Ichigo interrupts, earning pursed lips and a glare.
"I was not talking about Malfoy, Kurosaki. I have an informant. Shall I go fetch her to speed things up, Minister? It would seem Kurosaki is simply trying to stall and distract."
"Yes, yes, do." Fudge agrees, eager to secure that noose around Harry's neck, maybe even fit Dumbledore in one too. "There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?"
"Nothing at all, Cornelius." Dumbledore replies cordially. He cannot think of a worse thing to exist at this moment. Harry needs to be safe from Voldemort and there is no place safer than Hogwarts. His mind races, trying to find a way out, some way to protect this good and innocent boy just a while longer. Maybe the Kurosaki boy knows something? He certainly had a good defense that, under normal circumstances, would have only resulted in a bout of detention for all parties involved. This idea is risky, Snape made that perfectly clear, but they were here to protect Harry…
Decision made, Dumbledore makes eye contact with Ichigo.
Dumbledore finds himself where he expects to be, a sideways city of blue skyscrapers, though he has to admit that Snape's description really doesn't do the oddity of it all justice. As he observes his surroundings, he notices a white figure lazing on the building a little ways away, idly watching the sky as he lays upon his back, hands behind his head and one foot resting on his other knee. His eyes slide to the side taking in the visiting old man.
"Che. Ain't sure why you wizards are so interested in comin' inta Aibou's head. There's not really anythin' ta do around here, 'sides watchin' the weather." Zangetsu says, gesturing towards the sky and the incoming clouds.
"Well aren't you mellow today?" Ichigo says, approaching from the other side of Dumbledore.
"Blame that silver mist stuff you an' the brats were doin' earlier. 'S like happy gas or somethin'. Jus' give it awhile and I'll be back ta normal." Zangetsu replies, waving it off.
"Yeah, let's not do something like that again. This is just weird." Ichigo says, giving his hollow blade a strange look. "Anyways, what did you want, Dumbledore-sensei?"
"I thought I might pick your mind for a way to keep Harry here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore sheepishly answers. Older he may be, but wisdom dictates that help should never be unwelcome. "I noticed that you seem to have some experience worming your way out of trouble."
"Ah, yeah. Well, with my looks and attitude, I wasn't exactly a stranger to getting in trouble back in high school and middle school. Especially since some of the faculty had it out for me. Anyways, best I can think of is to try and shift or spread the blame. I think we could pass it off as something Urahara-san and Shinji set up, making Harry the club president and thus generally in charge of it. They're not gonna care about taking the heat for it and we could spin it so that Harry was practically forced to do it. Problem is, I don't know if they'd buy it or that they wouldn't expel Harry anyway. They seem pretty serious about making Harry take the fall." Ichigo reasons aloud.
Dumbledore looks down at his feet, considering Ichigo's words. He's not wrong. Cornelius would like nothing better than to silence or fully discredit Harry, which is exactly what expulsion could do.
"I think you are forgetting something, Ichigo."
"What's that, ossan?" Ichigo asks his elder blade who had just joined them.
"There is one other that this Minister would like to be rid of and you carry the evidence that could push things that way." Zangetsu stoically replies.
"Huh? What are you- Oh! Yeah, yeah, that might work." Ichigo says, looking at Dumbledore contemplatively. "Sensei, I might have a way out for Harry, but the cost…"
"I will have to take the fall instead of Harry, yes?" Dumbledore says, a benign smile spreading across his face at the young man's concern. He had quickly understood the first half of the cryptic message, figuring out that Fudge wanted him gone as much as Harry, so it might be possible for him to take Harry's place. "It's not ideal, but it's more important that Harry remains at Hogwarts than I. I'm more confident in maintaining my own safety than leaving Harry out in the world."
"Ya chat much longer 'nd yer gonna attract attention out there." Zangetsu says breezily. He doesn't really care since he's still kind of high on happiness.
"Okay. Just play along, Dumbledore-sensei and hopefully we'll get Harry through this."
With a curt nod Dumbledore retreats from the inverted world, ready to save his student.
Dumbledore's consciousness returns to the real world in time to see Marietta reveal her face, causing Fudge to jump at the sight of SNEAK written across it in ugly purple pustules. He watches as the poor mortified student quickly hides her face in the collar of her robes. He applauds the thought to mark out any traitors to the group so there'd be no doubt about who did it, while also feeling sympathy for such a severe punishment to image conscious teenagers.
Umbridge and Fudge do their best to get Marietta to speak, but she is too insistent on hiding her newfound disfiguration, eyes wide with fear.
Fed up with her silence, Fudge asks, "Haven't we got a counterjinx for this?"
"I have not yet managed to find one." Umbridge grudgingly admits.
"What kind of Defense teacher are you if you can't fix some ugly zits?" Ichigo asks, the barest of smirks on his lips.
"Be quiet, Kurosaki!" Umbridge snaps at him, but he just sticks his tongue out in response. She glares at him before clearing her throat and continuing, "Well, it doesn't matter if she won't speak, I can take up the story from here. You will remember, Minister, that I sent you a report back in October that Potter had met with a number of students out in the forest near Hogsmeade-"
"And what evidence do you have of that?" McGonagall cuts in.
"I have testimony from Willy Windershins, Minerva, who happened to see them go into those woods from the Hog's Head and overheard some of their conversations when they departed. He heard what it was all about and hastened straight to the school to report to me-"
McGonagall interrupts again, commenting on how it was an insight to the British wizarding justice system that criminals could get off free for snitching on children, to which one of the portraits cried blasphemy by the government to do so.
As Umbridge explains the goal of the meeting to be the formation of an illegal club, Dumbledore steps in to point out that at the time the club wouldn't have been illegal and furthermore, they had no proof of any more meetings than the first one in Hogsmeade and the one of this night.
So the question is posed to Marietta: where there more meetings than the confirmed two? To Harry's and Ichigo's amazement, she answers in the negative with her head shaking. Umbridge is so desperate for the evidence she wants, for an affirmative answer, that she loses her temper and grabs Marietta to give her a few shakes.
"Oi! Leave her alone!" Ichigo says, stepping forward and moving the unfazed Marietta behind him. As he does, a slip of paper falls from where it was hastily crammed into his pocket, causing a look of mild shock and horror to cross his face.
Or rather, Ichigo knocks the paper from his pocket, using the motion to defend Marietta as cover for his actions and pretends to be surprised.
"What's this?" Umbridge says reaching down to pick it up. As she unfolds it, Harry recognizes it for what it is: the D.A. member list. "Well," Umbridge purrs, smiling at what's revealed, "it would appear we have our evidence against everyone involved in this illegal club. Take a look, Minister. There's Potter's name, right at the top."
"Excellent." Fudge says, taking the list from Umbridge, smiling himself. "Excellent. And… by thunder…" He looks to Dumbledore, who had stood up to defend Marietta from Umbridge. "See what they've named themselves? Dumbledore's Army."
Dumbledore blinks and then he remembers. He had discussed with Shinji and Kisuke on that night when the Ministry decree banned unapproved clubs that the Ministry would only like getting him more than they would Harry and that the pair offered to help nudge the club in a good direction. It would seem that they had laid out this contingency where he could take credit for it all, protecting Harry by taking his place. And here was Ichigo, providing a way out for Harry at cost to the headmaster himself, just as he said he would.
Dumbledore smiles and simply says, "Well, the game is up. Would you like a confession from me, Cornelius, or will a statement before these witnesses suffice?"
He must play along and not waste the opportunity provided. It is all too easy, Dumbledore sadly thinks, to string Cornelius along like this. He truly believes I would want innocent children to fight for me so that I can usurp him. The only snag as Dumbledore works to convince Fudge that it was all his plan is that Harry, bless his kind little heart, is not entirely willing to remain quiet and let Dumbledore make this sacrifice. Luckily a quick admonishment and Fudge's enthusiasm see to it that nothing comes of it.
"You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged and then sent to Azkaban to await trail!" Fudge triumphantly exclaims, having sent Percy off to get Dumbledore's confession to the Daily Prophet.
"Ah, yes. I thought we might his that little snag." Dumbledore says, catching Ichigo's eye and giving the boy a slight nod.
"Snag? I see no snag, Dumbledore!" Fudge says, sounding almost hysterical from his glee mixing with the disbelief of Dumbledore's claim.
Dumbledore simply smiles and explains how he has no intention of being incarcerated, watching as Ichigo subtly moves himself into a better position to defend Harry and Marietta.
At Fudge's order, Kingsley and Dawlish try to take Dumbledore, not that it works. After all, Dumbledore is indeed the owner of the invincible dueling wand, the elder wand. He is relieved to see Ichigo crouching between Marietta and Harry where he pushed them down out of harm's way and that the young warrior doesn't try to join him in battle, though he notices how Ichigo's eyes track the fight, looking for a reason to join the fray.
After gaining assurances that the students and McGonagall are okay, giving brief instructions to help hide his tracks, and a vague assurance that he'll be all right leaving, Dumbledore turns to Harry.
"Listen to me, Harry, you must study Occlumency as hard as you can, do you understand me?" Dumbledore urgently instructs Harry. "Do everything Professor Snape tells you and practice it particularly every night before sleeping so that you can close your mind to bad dreams – you will understand why soon enough, but you must promise me! Remember, close your mind."
Dumbledore grabs Harry's wrist and the boy can feel that odd, hateful, snake-like feeling well up in him again. A desire to harm the old headmaster as his scar tingles with pain.
" – you will understand. If there's any trouble, I'm sure Mr. Kurosaki and the rest will be more than willing to help." Dumbledore says, getting a quick nod from Ichigo. Then he departs with Fawkes in a burst of fire.
The Minister and his lackeys come around just after Dumbledore departs, quickly setting to work trying to find him. A hopeless endeavor, they know, but they try anyway. And with the excitement concluded, the students are released to return to their dorms.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault, Harry." Ichigo says once they've departed and separated from Marietta, having noticed Harry's guilt ridden look. "It's what Dumbledore-sensei wanted: You safe here and him out there doing… stuff." Ichigo finishes lamely, realizing he can't really say what exactly Dumbledore will accomplish with his flight.
"That doesn't really make me feel better." Harry glumly replies. "And it is my fault. If I hadn't been caught –"
Ichigo places a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "You can't change the past, Harry, only the future."
Harry just nods, watching his feet and the floor.
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