Warning, the following contains specific spoilers for a certain couple of chapters following the Soul Society arc.

Hollow - Part Three
The Itch

The following day, one Rubeus Hagrid did, in fact, return. Much to Toushiro's annoyance, Hagrid had decided to arrive exactly at noon, instead of taking the implied proper time of seven pm. Being in the mortal world was something of a vacation for Toushiro, given that his only directive was to locate and eliminate Voldemort, and therefore did not have to deal with anything really important.

To this end, he believed he had a god given right to sleep in. Preferably until the dinner hour, before he was off to skulk around the more likely areas where a wizard-- or a hollow who'd once been a wizard-- could be found. Obviously, this was another one of those things that slipped right past Hagrid and his ilk.

His irritation, however, was obvious enough that Hagrid segued into talking of his parents within five minutes of their conversation starting, "Yer not much like 'em, Harry. You've not got James' fire or Lily's heart. Tha's not t'say that there's anything wrong wit ya, o'course!"

"It shouldn't be surprising," Hitsugaya spoke dismissively, "I wasn't raised by them, after all."

"That's one o'tha things I've been meaning ter ask ya. Where've y'been? Yer supposed t'have been with yer aunt and uncle."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow, "My uncle is dead, and has been for some years now."

The half-giant's mouth fell open, "Wha...?"

"It's something of a curse, I think. Uncle Vernon keeled over in a parking lot, my parents were killed in a car crash. Bad luck all around."

"Vernon's dea... car crash? Who the bleeding 'ell told y'yer parents died in a car crash?"

It was terribly amusing to see the man go red with rage. Toushiro knew very well that his parents hadn't died in a car crash; it was their killer, after all, that he'd been sent to eliminate. However, it was better not to tip his hand at the moment. Who knew what the wizards would do with a god of death in their midst? Some of the things he knew of that occurred in the twelfth division had a tendency to be drawn from some of the mortals' crazy ideas.

And wizards were crazier than the rest of them.

"My aunt and uncle, of course," Toushiro blinked lazily at the man, "Are you saying that they lied to me?"

"That great bloody prune...!" Hagrid growled, "Figures that he'd be dead and past the point where he could get 'is just desserts. Oh! Tha' reminds me, I've got that cake I meant ter give you last night," and the half-giant began fishing around in his jacket, "It might be a little squished..."

"That really doesn't answer my question," Hitsugaya frowned, "How did my parents die, if not in a car crash?"

"Lily and James, well," Hagrid put the very flat cake box on the table, and Toushiro wondered if he actually expected him to eat that... thing, "They were killed."

"Killed? You're telling me my parents were murdered," it was surprising how much fun acting was, went it wasn't devoted entirely to making everyone in the afterlife believe him to be a prodigy, "Why would my aunt and uncle lie to me?"

"They never did much like magic, Harry. I bet they didn't tell yeh about that, either?"

"Magic?" It was strange to hear 'Harry' after so many years being 'Hitsugaya Toushiro'.

"Yer a wizard, Harry."

"A wizard?" Perplextion wasn't something he'd been allowed to visibly show for so very long, and now that he could-- and given the circumstances, probably should-- show some, all he could muster up was a sense of curiosity. Was this how they always went about telling little witches and wizards about their powers? Outright and blatantly?

You would think more than a few would assume it to be a joke and turn away whomever was stupid enough to try it.

"Aye, a wizard," Hagrid nodded solidly, smiling beneath his bushy mane of facial hair, "Son of a fine young wizard, and a beautiful young witch. They were some of the best out there."

"So, how did they die, then?" there was a possibility that this man knew more than he did, and Hitsugaya Toushiro was not one to let an opportunity pass him by. Especially when captain hood was on the line.

Rubeus spent a great deal of time humming and hawing about what he was going to tell the young boy. Hitsugaya found himself getting more and more irritable as the conversation went on. Hagrid finally managed to get it out that "You-Know-Who" had killed his parents, and when Toushiro had informed him that no, he didn't know who, Hagrid had stuttered over the name of the 'dark lord'.

Hagrid's information on the man, scattered and incomplete as it was, certainly hinted that the wizards knew quite a bit about his enemy. Hagrid certainly had a lot to say about the quality of Hogwart's library, and what they taught there. While he had little use for the mundane information, the possibility of locating something to aid him in located Voldemort was enough to get him to consent to enrollment. So off he went, finding himself raced through Diagon Alley to get his school things--

I am going to be in Slytherin."

"As you do the exact same thing in all the houses, what does it matter?"

-- then onto the train, headed to the castle--

"Are you really Harry Potter?"

"No. My name is Toushiro Hitsugaya. I just look like Potter."

--and into the castle itself. Medieval western architecture wasn't something he was used to, and he'd found it fascinating. It had captured his attention quite readily, that first night, and many more afterwards.

The sorting had certainly been amusing. Hitsugaya Toushiro had been called alphabetically, so when they got down to Potter, Harry, there was no one to come and be sorted. The school's headmaster had then requested a meeting with him, and Toushiro had complied. He refused to comply with Albus Dumbledore's asinine notion that he allow himself to be called "Harry Potter", however. Not only was that not the name he'd grown up with, but he preferred the anonymity. It was necessary for him in order to research and locate Voldemort without having to worry about some well meaning person to try and 'protect' him from his target.

Defense Against the Dark Arts had come with a nasty surprise-- Professor Quirrel had not been at the table during the sorting and so Hitsugaya hadn't expected to find out that the professor was Voldemort's host. To the confusion of the rest of the student body, the jittery, stuttering professor and the easily irritable eleven year old spent a great deal of time glaring at one another.

The year was, for the most part, uneventful. Hitsugaya and a Gryffindor girl, one Hermione Granger, completed for top marks in many subjects. Without needing to be the "prodigy" shinigami, Hitsugaya had no problems with letting her take first place, though his pride refused to allow him to fall past second.

At Halloween, Quirrel had managed to scare the school, bolting into the Great Hall screeching about a troll before he collapsed in apparent fright. Like every other student, he'd been herded back into his house dorm, but unlike them he'd had no intention of remaining there. He'd simply slipped free of his gigai and gone hunting.

He'd also performed konso for a number of ghosts that night. Apparently, they'd been trapped by Hogwarts' magic, unable to move on or even to become Hollows. It was a tortuous existence after a few centuries, and Toushiro was only all too happy to do his duty and send them off.

Though it was against Soul Society law to remove a spirit from it's body before it could die in the mortal world, Hitsugaya was more concerned with the fact that his rival had been trapped in the bathroom with the troll. She'd been crumpled to the ground, unconscious and bleeding from a shattered jaw, and Toushiro had no intention of letting his other duty down. A troll might not be a Hollow, but it was still a monster and still inhuman.

Shortly after he'd dispatched the troll's soul, a variety of professors arrived in the door of the bathroom, and he'd returned to his gigai. None of his dormmates had noticed that his gigai had technically been dead, for which he was rather glad for. Even if he did think it was pathetic that they hadn't.

Granger had been in the hospital wing for about a week, but when she returned things continued on as they had earlier in the year. He'd been absolutely fruitless in getting Voldemort alone, the professor taking great pains to always be in the presence of other teachers. Toushiro had roamed the halls many a time while he was supposed to be sleeping, but wherever Quirrel slept, it was so well hidden that he couldn't even track Voldemort's reiatsu.

When Yule finally came about, Hitsugaya was hard pressed to find an appropriate adjective for it. Charles had sent him various "helpful" instruments, all off which were designed to help him either track down wayward Hollows or to make him more approachable to the female gender. There had been quite a few fights with other Ravenclaws when he refused to let them near certain shinigami items for study. There had been more when the older Ravenclaws wanted at the other things Charles had sent him.

It had died down, soon enough. Hitsugaya gave the less suspect items to the seventh years, and made sure to hide the rest. He frequently found himself exasperated with his classmates, and held tightly to the belief that anything was worth it to be a captain class Shinigami. The problem was simple-- they were children, and therefore they acted like children.

Hitsugaya, on the other hand, was a vice-captain, and had to act like one. It would certainly not do to have a lazy vice-captain; it would have been an embarrassment to his division.

So when the end of the year came about, Hitsugaya was glad. He was happier still to receive a message from the elusive Voldemort/Quirrel duo.

Vice Captain,
Third floor corridor.
If you can get through, we'll settle the score. Don't disappoint me.

Had he been mortal at the time, then it may have been difficult to make his way through the obstacle course that comprised the professors' attempt to hide... well, Hitsugaya didn't quite know what it was they were trying to hide. It honestly had been none of his concern, as there did not appear to be any involvement from Voldemort. Apparently, he had been incorrect. Whatever it was that the staff had decided was important enough to warrant lethal traps seemed to be something of interest to the Hollow.

That would teach him not to dismiss odd coincidences; he would keep his eyes open from now on.

Still, it had to be something important or powerful. Perhaps even both; Toushiro did not know, and he certainly did not have the time to research it. As it was he had "gone to sleep", leaving the unmoving, unbreathing gigai in his dorm bed. He knew that no one would notice during the night, however should he die in this endeavor they would most definitely find the "dead" student.

That would make extracting and destroying the gigai all that much harder. Soul Society would not be pleased.

In any case, the young death god took the shortest route possible-- he passed through the walls. Apparently, Dumbledore's preparations had not been made with the dead in mind, despite the number of ghosts that haunted the castle. A good thing; Hitsugaya would have hated being forced to go the mortal way, when the end to this whole thing was so damn near.

"Shinigami," Quirrel, for once, did not stutter as he spoke. Hitsugaya's fingers tightened briefly on Hyourinmaru's hilt.

"Hollow," the vice-captain tipped his head, never allowing his eyes to waver from the possessed instructor.

"Do you know why my master and I chose this place?" the man appeared to be in full control of his facilities, and that made Hitsugaya sick. Willful possession was far worse than forced; the only way to remove the possessing spirit was to destroy the host. That a man would allow a Hollow to occupy his soul...!

"No. Nor do I particularly care," Toushiro smiled tightly, "I am here for one reason, and one reason alone."

Voldemort's raspy chuckle was muffled, "An innocent vice-captain. This is amusing."

Hitsugaya blinked. Innocent...?

"You would throw yourself to the dogs, without learning first what the dogs want," while the Hollow laughed, Quirrel motioned to the mirror standing just off to the side, "Hidden in that bit of glass and silver is a most precious object. It can prolong life eternally, it can revive the dead, little Potter. Surprised?" Quirrel laughed as Toushiro's eyes widened, "Don't be. Professor Dumbledore told the staff exactly who you were. All it took was a little research."

Hitsugaya snorted, closing his eyes and shaking his head, "As I used Hogwarts to research you, so you researched me."

"Indeed," Voldemort interjected, "Consider, boy, having your own body again. No more temporary shells, but your own flesh and blood. No more battle, no more expectations, young Vice-Captain. Retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from the mirror... pledge yourself to me... and I will see to it that the mortals worship us as gods."

Hitsugaya hesitated. His body? The one his aunt had burnt to ashes almost seven years ago? He could have it back... no longer suffer the pressures that had plagued him from the moment Madarame had brought him before Yamamoto.

His gaze flickered to the mirror for a second. A second, however, was all that it took, and Hitsugaya found himself entranced. The reflection showed him as he was-- dressed in the dark robes of the shinigami, Zanpakutou resting easily in one hand. His silvery white hair was swept back as always, his green eyes bright.

There were differences, ones that Toushiro didn't really notice at first. Then a breeze ruffled the mirror-Toushiro's robes, and his eyes were drawn to the white cloak he wore.

"Taichou..." Hitsugaya whispered, fingers reaching out to brush the glass. Hitsugaya-taichou mimicked the action, shifting his grip on Hyourinmaru. Bankai Hyourinmaru.

He glanced down at the blade in his hand, breaking the mirror's spell. Hyourinmaru was still only in her second form. He had not raised her to the third form since he had shown the division captains that he was capable of that. That he was worthy of the dream of becoming one of them.

He firmed his grip on Hyourinmaru's grip for a second, and in the following instant, so many things fell into place. Hitsugaya-taichou's grip shifted, and he swung Hyourinmaru without thought. The blade struck the mirror-- it cut through the mirror-- shattering it into so many tiny little fragments.

"What have you done!" Voldemort shrieked through Quirrel. The shinigami spun to face him, blade out.

"Realized my dream," Toushiro smirked at the Hollow-possessed one, "This battle is the last obstacle between me and division Captain. I will not give that up, even for the return of my mortal form. To have what the mirror showed... I will kill you."

"You can try!" the Hollow shrieked again, flinging his host's body forwards. The Hollow had taken full control now, no longer allowing the professor even enough freedom to speak.

Toushiro danced around the wild lunge, Hyourinmaru tearing through Quirrel's body. The man gurgled as he fell in two, but it was Voldemort's bellow of fury that had the shinigami leaping backwards.

Back-to-Back, Voldemort emerged from his host's dying body. He appeared as though he were 'bubbling' out, assuming his natural state-- something almost four times Hitsugaya's height and width. Intending to take him out before he was fully reformed, the Captain whirled into action, blade sheering through the beast's arm as it lurched to one side with surprising speed.

He didn't even spend any time to marvel at his opponent's speed. That could be done once the battle was over. Instead, he twisted around, following the Hollow's movements. Voldemort, now lacking one arm, snarled and leapt to meet him, his single clawed hand glowing with eldritch power.

Lightning crackled as Voldemort caught Hyourinmaru's strike, and Hitsugaya gave a short scream was he was unexpectedly electrocuted, but he refused to let go of his zanpakutou. He would not give the Hollow the upper hand. He refused to let the minus soul get the better of him, and gritting his teeth, he did the only thing he could think of to free the blade from his opponent's grasp.

He leapt up, planting both feet into the Hollow's gut and yanked.

The Hollow let out a gasp of air as he was kicked, reflexively letting go of the weapon, and sending Hitsugaya tumbling backwards. The shinigami quickly rebalanced and threw himself back at the recovering Hollow. They clashed for several minutes, blade versus claw, and neither gaining the upper hand, but both certainly gaining injuries.

Hitsugaya rolled out of the way of another blast of eldritch energy and found himself rolling through the glass shards. The material world was not necessarily one that could injure either himself or a normal Hollow. But Voldemort wasn't a normal Hollow. He was one that still had enough of a connection to the living world to draw on the energies of his surroundings to use magic.

It was a chancy plan, one that had no basis in reality, but it was the first thing to come to mind. One of the curious things about being a shinigami was choosing which laws of physics applied to them. Hitsugaya snatched up a handful of glass and rejoined the fight. It was a few more minutes before he had enough of an opening.

He leapt into the air, one arm swinging Hyourinmaru, the other throwing the glass shards directly into the Hollow's face. His intended effect-- using the glass shards much like a street fighter might use dirt to blind an opponent-- didn't work. However, it was enough of a change of style that for a moment Voldemort was stunned. It was enough for the shinigami.

Hitsugaya completed the swing, blade sheering straight through Voldemort's mask. He shuddered, briefly, as the Gates to Hell swung open. It mattered not how many time that he witnessed the sight, it always disturbed him. He supposed it was because he believed, intrinsically, that all men were good and deserving of a second chance.

The Shinigami turned away, sheathing Hyourinmaru across his back and shoving his hands into his pockets. The mission was over. It had taken ten long and painful months, but it was over. Finally.

The year had been long and tiring, and he'd be damned if he stuck around much longer. He was Captain in all but responsibilities-- ones that he really needed to get back to, he mused. He had done the minimum required to maintain his vice-captain status over the past year. The highest ranked seats had been forced to pick up his slack, and he had a feeling that they would not be pleased with him.

His first step would be the dorm-room. He needed to reacquire his gigai. Then a visit to Albus to inform the man that he was withdrawing from the school, and not to expect him to return the following year. He would refrain from the particulars as to why he felt comfortable enough to imply that he found the school... dangerous.

Hitsugaya chuckled to himself-- Madarame would be horrified to learn that young Toushiro was backing down due to "danger".

As expected, the gigai had remained untouched on his bed, and it was easy enough to reintegrate himself. Easier still; was slipping past the unconscious forms of his dormmates, who were so deep into slumber that he figured a herd of elephants could pass them by. Or a herd of Hagrids-- the half-giant was certainly loud enough.

Getting in to Dumbledore's office was a bit more difficult; he wasn't quite sure what the password was. He assumed, from previous experience, that it was a sweet of some sort. after half an hour of listing every sweet he could think of-- muggle, magical and spiritual alike-- he finally hit upon it. "Green gummi frogs" was one of the oddest passwords he had ever heard of, but he wasn't going to start complaining now.

Albus was in his office, wearing a tiny smile. Toushiro scowled; the man apparently found the problem of getting in to be very amusing.

Not in the mood to be polite, Hitsugaya cut the old man off as he opened his mouth, "I'm leaving."

Albus' smile vanished, "What?"

"I'm leaving," he repeated, slowly as though he were talking to a particularly dense child, "Your school is exceedingly dangerous, and I feel no more urge to risk life and limb."

"Harry--"

"I have told you time and time again, Professor. Harry Potter is dead. He died alongside Vernon Dursley, and if you thought to look up the legal documents of the muggle world, you would have discovered this before you insisted on embarrassing yourself."

"My boy, if you are thinking of the troll, that was a once in a lifetime event."

To hell with his plan, "I was more concerned with the professor that, quite literally, attempted to tear my throat out," Hitsugaya smiled not-so-pleasantly, "I believe he is still in the room with that odd mirror."

"You looked into the Mirror Erised?" Albus looked surprised, then calculating, before the friendly grandfather reappeared, "I assume you saw your family?"

"Not at all," Hitsugaya ignored Albus' motion to continue, "I am only here to inform you that I am leaving Hogwarts, and not to expect my return."

Albus shook his head, a sad expression on his face, "I'm sorry, my boy, but the law states that once you have begun to learn the ways of magic, then you must finish learning the ways of magic. Otherwise you will be a danger to yourself and others."

Hitsugaya nodded; it was a reasonable law, and likely the reason one's wand was snapped should one be expelled. However, he already understood his latent abilities, and how to use them to aid his duties. Learning the odd, extraneous things that wizards felt to be important would merely tax on reserves that he needed for said duties.

The problem was that Dumbledore would certainly not believe that. So, with a negligent shrug, he drew his wand from his sleeve, and proceeded to snap it.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. The broken remnants fell onto Albus' desk, the old man having gone white at the first little crack of the wood, "I have duties to attend to. Duties that I have neglected for too long. I hope not to see you or any of your kind any time soon, Professor."

He stood and walked out, the man behind him staring down at a tattered feather and the splinters of wood.

Upon his return to Soul Society, Hitsugaya found himself buried under a pile of paperwork and long neglected responsibilities. Apparently, the third and fourth seats hadn't picked up the slack, and thus he had to go through and over everything from the past year. It was a stressful couple of weeks as he caught up, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. This was what he loved to do; not even his extended stay on Earth could change that.

Though it had certainly changed his opinions on other things. Like his hair. It lent him an air of dignity and authority that his mortal black hair just could not seem to give him.

Soon enough, he found himself standing with the other Captain hopefuls, awaiting assignment. Most would be returned to their standings as Vice-Captains, though his time around two would make Captain. It was unusual to have more than one at a time, but there had been a death and an abandonment in the ranks.

Isshin-senpai had abandoned his post five years earlier, and his successor had seen fit to do the same only a few months earlier. Another Captain had fallen to a pair of Hollows that had been working in tandem. He had killed one, but the other had gotten him in return.

Hitsugaya shook himself out of his thoughts, and listened for his name. His defeat of Voldemort had been the final condition to becoming Captain, so he knew that he would get one of the posts. It was just a matter of which one.

"Hitsugaya Toushiro. Ichimaru Gin. Step forwards," they did as commanded, and Toushiro could feel the dark stares on his back, "You have been granted the rank of division Captain. Hitsugaya-taichou you are in command of division ten. Ichimaru-taichou you are in command of division three. Congratulations.

Hitsugaya smiled. It looked like life was looking up.

End Part Three
End "Hollow"

If you're wondering what Hermione is like/looks like following the events with the troll, go read For Your Dreams. She won't be a ninja in this universe, but the version of her that you're first introduced to would be the version of her that this one becomes.

You can consider Hollow and For Your Dream two sides of the same coin; as noted back in part one, if the Dursleys had chosen the option of going to the park, the world created would be that of For Your Dream. Since they went to the zoo, the world of Hollow was created.

Hollow is complete. I may to a one-off sequel, perhaps to deal with the remaining Marauders, and I may not.

Next project: work on Route Unknown ((located under the pen name "Priest Li Xiang")), a Kingdom Hearts AU set during the first game. Other current projects consist of the rewrite of False Identity and the continuation of For Your Dream. I may even do a second drabble in some of the universes present in Alternate Potterverse. Stay tooned!

Remember! If you want a response, leave your email or get logged in. I love responding to my reviewers. I've turned anonymous reviewing back on.