Not much to say here; just a few people have brought up a few points/questions about a few things regarding the last story, Bankais, etc. I have a reason for everything I do, and all those questions should be answered and/or made clear by the wedding.

So I won't take up much more of your time here and just get right to it. And of course I don't own HP or Bleach.

Chapter 5

All Hermione could do was to hang on; the Thestral was doing aerial maneuvers that an RAF pilot would envy. In fact, she was sure that poor Ukitake and Kira were having trouble keeping up with them. At one point she thought they were goners – a jet of green light, shot from a Death Eater wand came straight at them, but the Thestral twisted and blocked the shot with his wing…

She had braced herself to go plummeting out of the sky, until she realized they were still flying, the Thestral had only screamed with pain and anger…

"They're spiritual!" she shouted in Kingley's ear, "the Killing Curse can't hurt them!"

Kingsley nodded. "It makes sense if their natural home was Soul Society!" he shouted back at her, his hands gripping the sparse mane as the skeletal creature twisted, dove and maneuvered around more beams of light shot at him.

Three more Death Eaters were coming for them, but Ukitake placed himself in their path; one fired a Killing Curse at him, but Hermione, who knew the power of his zanpakuto, drew her breath in sharply. He calmly raised half of his joined blades, absorbed the curse…and green light blazed along the charms that hung from the rope joining them. A fraction of a second later an identical beam light was spat back out at them, hitting all three Death Eaters, and the four coming up behind them. Hermione turned her head so she wouldn't have to see the seven now-dead Death Eaters falling out of the sky.

The scene at that angle wasn't much better; Kira was flash stepping among their pursuers, smacking their brooms with his oddly shaped zanpakuto. One, two, three, four taps… and the brooms dropped out of the sky as if Hagrid was riding on them. These Death Eaters fared somewhat better, being able to Apparate to safety.

Hermione knew that Yamamoto had authorized the use of deadly force against them, but it didn't make her feel any better; even if she had known that he had also done so for the small battle they'd been in at the end of the last school year, she was not sure she would have been able to kill anyone. She knew that it was probably coming, a great battle, where she would have to – she just wasn't ready for it yet.

The other pair was then suddenly beside them.

"We've got a moment's reprieve to get out of here," Ukitake said, reaching out to take hold of the Thestral's crest. The creature turned its head to look at him, and snorted. Kira quickly grabbed hold also, and a moment later, the world had vanished, Hermione couldn't breathe, it was like she was Apparating and using a port key at the same time…

And then she could breathe again, and when she looked around, she knew where she was: the Sokyoku Hill. A few moments later a second Thestral appeared beside them, this one carrying Bill and Fleur. Bill appeared very somber, and Fleur was crying. Her dose of Polyjuice potion had worn off, and when Hermione reached back to check her hair, she felt her braid was back. Hers had worn off, as well.

"What is it?" Ukitake asked Soifon, who appeared furious.

"Mad Eye's dead," Bill told them.

Hermione gasped, and she felt tears spring to her eyes.

"What happened?" a new voice asked, and she looked to see Gin and Kyoraku standing there.

"Not entirely sure," Uryu said, "But it was him – he went right for Kurosaki –"

"Is Ichigo-kun okay?"

Soifon snorted at Shunsui's question. "That boy's impossible to kill," she muttered.

"When Ichigo just batted away the curses like he was swatting away an annoying insect, Moldy switched to Grimmjow – but he couldn't take him down either. So he went after Mad Eye."

Bill looked at Kingsley. "He must really have thought Rukia was Harry, because he did not leave them alone."

There was silence for a long moment. "We – should try to retrieve his body, first chance we get," Kingsley said. Bill nodded his agreement.

"You should get back," Gin told them, "We'll report to the Head Captain."

"The Thestrals should be able to take you right to the Weasleys front door; despite our protections, you should be able to get through," Kyoraku said.

"Go, we'll be right behind you," Ukitake told them.

Hermione tightened her arms around Kingsley as the Thestral launched itself into the air again, and once again she found herself unable to breathe. It thankfully did not last long, and when it passed, she found herself peering around Kingsley's shoulder at the brightly lit home of the Weasley family.

Byakuya and Nel were waiting for them outside. Hermione tried not to let on that the pair of hollows still made her just a little nervous… especially when Nel rushed at them.

"Did you see anyone else?" she asked when she reached them, stopping next to Hermione's Thestral, which tossed its head.

"Who else is back?" Ukitake asked, gently, rightly guessing why she was concerned and putting a comforting arm around the child-like Espada.

"Lupin, Weasley Senior, the half-giant, and now you two," Byakuya replied, joining them. From inside the house came a flood of people.

"Ron isn't back yet?" Hermione gasped, worried.

"Ichigo isn't, either," Tatsuki told her grimly.

"It's worse than that," Bill said, having helped Fleur down.

"How could it be worse?" Remus asked him, concern on his face when he heard what Bill said.

"Mad Eye's dead."

Silence broken only by Ginny's choked gasp, settled over the group.

"Are you sure?" Toshiro turned to look at the Soul Reapers, who all nodded.

"We were so overwhelmed we escaped to the Seireitei momentarily before coming here," Ukitake said, avoiding saying "Soul Society." "We saw Gin and Shunsui, so they're aware. They'll tell the Head Captain." He looked around. "Where's Yoruichi?"

"She and Momo went back to see if they could help," Rangiku said.

"We should go too," Bill said, "I saw where Mad Eye fell…"

"Wait just a bit," Byakuya cautioned.

"Indeed," Ukitake nodded, "We'll assist you when the area is clear."

Hermione looked over at Harry, who appeared to be both angry and upset. Ginny had her face buried in his shoulder, and was sniffling. Remus appeared to be quite pale; as he should be, since his wife was still missing. She hugged herself, and turned to look back up at the sky, as if she hoped to see the others show up at any second.

Damn you Ron! She thought viciously. You had better be okay! If you're not, I'm going to find you in Soul Society and kill you over and over again!

#

Ron dodged another curse, and fired off a quick concussive spell. This didn't have to hit its target; all it had to do was explode near them to drive them back.

He'd been making a good showing of himself, in fact he'd saved Tonks several times (of course neither Harry nor Hermione were there to see it!) but that was small comfort to him with the number of Death Eaters that were after him. The way he was flying now, he could easily qualify for Chaser – or even Seeker.

The Polyjuice potion had long ago worn off, but that didn't seem to bother the Death Eaters. They appeared to relish the idea of killing Potter's best friend.

Renji's Bankai definitely threw them the way it had been meant to: snakes were the symbol of Slytherin – and he was using a giant, skeletal snake against them. He had not needed his Bankai - he had been hoping that the sight of Zabimaru would put the Death Eaters off their game.

Hisagi was suddenly next to him.

"Group up, now!" he ordered tersely.

"Wha—"

"Do it!"

Hisagi was looking over his shoulder at something; Ron did not question what he was looking at that was making him so nervous, he just flew towards Tonks, who was white faced.

"'e's here," she whispered.

"Oh, bollocks," Ron muttered. As soon as they were together, Zabimaru was coiling around them in a protective, bony cage. The sounds of fighting were muffled, but he wasn't sure that Renji and Hisagi could face down old Moldy without some serious backup – like Ichigo or Byakuya.

There was a loud, angry hissing that sounded like it came from Zabimaru, and he thought he heard a bark of laughter from Renji. The sound of battle continued on for some time before it died down, and the large form surrounding Ron and Tonks vanished. Ron blinked as he looked around, and he saw why the Death Eaters had been driven off: Yoruichi and Momo.

"It's a good thing you two showed up," Ron said to them.

"It wasn't just us," Momo said, looking at them with a worried expression. "Ichigo, Grim, and Rukia dove in at the last second, that's why they all took off. They're chasing Ichigo."

"They can't think Rukia is Harry; the Polyjuice potion has worn off," Ron said puzzled.

Yoruichi laughed. "Hell no. Ichigo came damn close to taking Moldy's head off with Zangetsu. Missed by a hairsbreadth. Right now he probably wants him dead more than Harry."

"Actually, it was so close Ichigo actually drew blood. Moldy isn't going to let that pass," Renji smirked.

"No, he's not," Tonks said, her eyes widening.

"They'll be fine," Renji said, shrugging. "No one is faster than Ichigo in Bankai."

Ron blinked at that statement; he knew the swords had three forms, but this was the first time he had heard that it came with any extra abilities.

"Um – what did he say to your er, snake? He did try to control it, right?"

Renji laughed. "'Try to' being the operative words. Zabimaru laughed at him and told him to go to Hell."

"I bet that shocked him. He's used to being obeyed by snakes - especially ones that look like giant Basilisks." Ron got a silent glee out of that and could not wait to tell Harry and Hermione about it. He was sure his best friends would enjoy the image, as well.

"Let's get you two out of here," Yoruichi said suddenly, nodding at Shuhei, who immediately opened the gate for them. Ron was more than relieved to enter and hear the doors close behind them.

"Is anyone keeping the gate open on the other end?" he asked Momo.

"Oh, we've improved the gates since last summer," she explained to him. "We used the stakes in the Dursley House because of the smaller area, but we've gotten much better at controlling them." She smiled faintly. "We don't need someone to hold them open anymore."

"That's good, right?"

"Very good."

"Less talk, more speed!" Yoruichi called back to them, causing them to realize they were lagging behind. With a quick contrite glance at each other, they hurried after the others.

#

"Ron and Tonks should have been back by now," Ginny whispered to Harry as they stood in the kitchen. "Auntie Muriel's is not far from here."

Harry didn't reply. He was watching Kingsley striding back and forth, continuously looking up at the sky. Hagrid, Hermione and Lupin stood clustered nearby, also staring up, as if they could will their missing friends into their presence.

And then the familiar light of the gate appeared, and Yoruichi leaped out, followed by Renji, Shuhei, Momo, Tonks and Ron.

"It's them!" screamed Hermione.

"Remus!" Tonks landed awkwardly in a long skid, sending dirt and debris everywhere, as she staggered off her broom and into Lupin's arms.

Ron tripped as he headed for Harry and Hermione. "You're okay," he mumbled as she threw her arms around him and hugged him.

"Ron! We were – I thought –"

"M' all right," he patted her on the back, "M' fine."

"Ron was great," Tonks said warmly, finally letting go of Lupin. "Wonderful even. Stunned a Death Eater right in the head. A moving target, on a broom – do you know how hard that is?"

"You did?" Hermione gazed at him, wide-eyed.

"Why do you always sound so surprised?" he shrugged, a bit grumpily as he looked around at everyone. "Are we the last ones back?"

"No," Ginny said, "Ichigo's not back yet." She turned from them and started to leave. "I'm going to tell Mom and Dad you're back."

"So what happened? What kept you?" Lupin asked Tonks.

"At first – it was Bellatrix. She wants me dead almost as much as she wants Harry. She tried very, very hard to kill me. I just wish I had been able to get her, because I definitely owe her. We did injure Rodolphus, though." She took a deep breath. "And then he showed up. You Know Who."

Lupin's eyes widened. "What?"

Tonks nodded. "It's a good thing that Renji has a Bankai that was able to shield us completely from him…"

"It was nothing," Renji replied without a bit of modesty. Momo rolled her eyes, while Yoruichi just shook her head.

"Where are Kurosaki and my sister?"

"Leading Moldy and the remaining Death Eaters on a nice goose chase," Yoruichi said to Byakuya with a smirk. "He really wants Ichigo dead now, and Grimmjow was coming up with some nice, original taunts…a couple of Death Eaters crashed into each other trying to catch him."

"What did Ichigo do now?" Remus asked, his eyes widening. The four Soul Reapers all looked at each other.

"He almost ended this whole thing tonight. He came this close," Renji held his thumb and forefinger about a quarter of an inch apart, "from slicing Moldy's head from his shoulders. The SOB never saw him coming."

Harry's eyes widened. "That close?"

"Oh yes!" Momo nodded, "he and the others showed up just after Yoruichi and I did. He drew blood, too."

"We'll need to wait for Snape to get word to us, to know what his actual mood is," Kingsley cautioned.

"How's George?" Yoruichi asked.

"Much better," Remus said, "Orihime says it should take just a little while longer."

"What happened to George?" Ron asked, looking around.

"It was an accident," Toshiro told them, "Snape was aiming at a Death Eater who was targeting Remus, but George flew into his path."

"Are you sure it was an accident?" Ron asked doubtfully, echoing Harry's doubts from earlier.

Toshiro nodded. "We saw the whole thing."

"So all we're missing is Itsygo, Grimm and Rukia?" Nel asked the others. Ukitake reached out to pat her comfortingly on the shoulder. Whenever Nel got upset or excited, her lisp came back and she mis-pronounced Ichigo's name. It was cute to everyone else – except Ichigo.

"It'll be all right," he reassured her. "This is Ichigo and Grimmjow we're talking about. They're both survivors."

"And they excel at kicking ass and taking names," Rangiku added with a nod. "They'll be fine."

"I hope so," Harry said softly, drawing a look from his friends. They knew what he was thinking: if Ichigo was hurt again, it would all be his fault – again.