Okay, here's the next Chapter - with a bit of a surprise at the end. Sorry for the wait.
As always, neither Arei nor I own either HP or Bleach...
Chapter 20
When Harry's stomach finally calmed enough for him to look around he realized he was lying on his back in what appeared to be a forest clearing... somewhere. Harry didn't want to even contemplate the fact that even Hermione might not know where they had ended up since they had jumped the way they had while fleeing.
A nearby moan caught his attention and pulled his thoughts away from the worry of 'where are we?' He rolled over to look around and saw Ron a few feet from him, covered with blood. He hurriedly crawled over to him, still feeling too unstable to stand, and saw Hermione doing the same from the other side of Ron.
"What's happened to him?" Harry asked worriedly.
"Splinched," she replied tersely, pulling aside Ron's shirt to look him over. "Quickly, in my bag – there's a small bottle labeled 'Essence of Dittany.' Get it!' Now!"
Harry snatched up the beaded bag. It took only a moment for him to realize just how futile it would be to try to find anything in it just by digging around and he grabbed his wand in order to point it directly into the bag.
"Accio Dittany!" he cried out.
The small brown bottle zoomed out of the bag into his waiting hand and he gave it to Hermione quickly. Almost at the same moment a Gate opened nearby and two people stepped out; one was dressed in a large hat and flowered kimono, the other was a slim girl with glasses.
"Her –" Harry started to say in a panic as he pointed his wand at the two people.
"I know," she replied tersely, "Captain Kyoraku –"
Harry lowered his wand with a sigh and gave his friend a slightly exasperated look. Seriously, did she know everyone?
"It seems as if I should have brought Isane or Hanataro with me instead," said the male that Hermione had identified as Captain Kyoraku. He was observing the situation concerning Ron with a frown as the girl treated the wound the boy had gotten.
"I think I know enough healing kido to be of assistance," Nanao said, stepping forward and kneeling next to a grateful Hermione. The two started to work on healing the red-headed boy with brisk efficiency.
"How did you find us?" Harry asked as he backed of the way and watched as the two women tended to Ron.
"We initially went to Number Twelve to help but Gin and Soifon had the situation well in hand, so we followed you here," Kyoraku explained with a shrug.
"Um..." Harry blinked, staring at the Captain and trying to determine if he were joking or not. "There were over a dozen Death Eaters there.."
Kyoraku just shrugged again and tilted his hat down. Harry caught just the hint of the smile the man was trying to hide and he raised a brow at the older man. Was he, or wasn't he?
"Two Captains, my boy," Kyoraku said, amusement in his tone. "And both well-versed in kido. The Death Eaters didn't stand a chance."
Harry had to admit that Kyoraku had a good point.
"I didn't think you could track someone Apparating," Harry said a moment later.
"We tracked Hermione's bracelet," Kyoraku responded and indicated the bushy-haired girl with a wave of his hand.
"I managed to press the red stone when the Death Eaters broke in," she said as she sat back and capped the little bottle. Nanao moved forward then and a glow enveloped Ron. A weird smoke started to poor slowly from the wound. Hermione and Nanao seemed to be alternating treatments as they worked.
Harry blinked. Right, he remembered now, he'd been there when she activated the thing. Hermione had been given the bracelet in case they needed help but he hadn't thought that they could be located so quickly...
Harry suddenly felt a dual flash of grief and relief fill him up to the point where he had to fight of tears. Ichigo's grandfather appeared to be determined to pick up where Professor Dumbledore had left off in trying to keep Harry and the others safe however he could, up to and including using his own Captains as back up for the teens. In a way... it was almost as if the Professor hadn't died. If only he had told Old Yamamoto everything... but Ichigo had said that there were things that Professor Dumbledore hadn't even told his closest ally and friend.
"Will Ron be okay?" Harry asked with a cough, deciding to focus on something else.
"He should recover fully," Nanao nodded.
The greenish smoke had stopped billowing from the wound, which now looked around three days old and Harry wondered if they'd healed it in a way that wouldn't scar. At that point Ron groaned and opened his eyes to blink blearily at the forest canopy.
"How do you feel, young man?" Kyoraku asked, peering down at him.
"Lousy," was the weak reply. "Where are we?"
"In the woods where they held the Quidditch World Cup," Hermione replied.
Harry blinked in surprise at Hermione and realized that his friend had indeed managed to keep her head during the jump. Really, he couldn't imagine doing a battle Apparition alone without splinching himself and getting to where he was going at the same time let alone making the jump with multiple people. He felt a flash of pride for his friend that she had been able to keep her cool so well. He flashed her a grateful smile and moved to pat her arm lightly.
"Do you think we should move on?" Ron asked as he sat up and looked at Harry.
Harry frowned and then nodded as he moved to help his friend stand. He knew what Ron was thinking; how had they been found so quickly after Apparating away from the wedding? Were they still being tracked even now?
Harry studied Ron closely as he held his friends arm and kept the red-head balanced. Ron was in no shape to travel at the moment, not even by side-along. He looked up at the Captain and saw that Kyoraku was staring out into the distance without really looking at their surroundings.
"There's no one around for kilometers," he said quietly as he answered Harry's silent question. "They would have found you by now if they could track you."
It was handy, Harry thought, that ability to sense a person's reiatsu. He wished he could do it reliably but at the moment he was still lousy at it. He could barely sense Hermione sitting a few feet away from him, let along another person a few kilometers away.
"Then we'll stay here for now," Harry said firmly as he turned his attention back to Ron.
Looking relieved at the thought of rest, Hermione jumped up and raised her wand. She then started to walk around in a large circle, murmuring incantations as she went.
"Salvo Hexia... Protego Totalum... Repello Muggletum... Muffliato..." she paused in her casting. "You could get out the tent, Harry."
"Tent?" Everyone blinked at her in surprise. Where had she hidden a tent of all things?
"In the bag!" she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh – right!" Harry used another summoning charm to locate it, while Kyoraku and Nanao watched them with some bemusement.
"Erecto!" Hermione pointed her wand at the lumpy, misshapen mess and it sprang into form instantly. She then finished her spell casting with a 'Cave Inimicum.' "Well, that's the best I can do. I don't know if it would keep out Vol –"
"Don't!" Ron and Nanao both shouted at the same time. The other three looked at them with a blink of surprise.
"Nanao-chan?" Kyoraku asked with a raised brow. "Why stop her from saying the guys name?"
"Sorry, but I was thinking about the way they were located so quickly," she said, using a finger to adjust her glasses in much the same way that Uryu did.
"The name, when we said it at Number Twelve, felt like a jinx. A cold trickle down my back," Ron added.
"Indeed," Nanao nodded firmly, "It is exactly the kind of thing he would do: curse or jinx his own name, so that anyone who speaks it can be found and found swiftly."
"But we said it plenty of times at Ichigo's and at Number Twelve..." Harry said.
"Both of those houses have wards on them that could not be seen through unless you had the key," Nanao said. "It was the same with the Weasley home, until the Ministry fell. He would have known someone said his name but would not have been able to track your location because of the protections."
"Point," Kyoraku nodded. Then he said, "Get set up, we'll stay for a while – just in case."
And then, to Hermione and Nanao's bemusement, he actually assisted them in setting up the camp. Ron wasn't really able to help out so Harry had him sit and lean against one of the trees to rest. Once everything was set up, Kyoraku then handed Hermione a glowing stone which she took with a raised brow and a questioning look.
"This should help with the protections you were putting up," he said, "It's a portable kido shield that Urahara invented. Tap once with your wand to activate and twice to deactivate."
"Thank you," she said as she looked over the stone.
When they were ready, Kyoraku carried Ron into the tent and put him to bed. The others milled about within the tent making sure everything was in place for their short stay. He then pulled out his phone and called 'Yama-jii' to update the old man concerning their situation. That conversation was all in Japanese so Hermione and Harry were left wondering what the two had been talking about.
"Gin and Soifon reported back; Kreacher made it out, per your orders," he told the curious pair. "I already sent a text to Ichigo to keep an eye out for him once he gets to Hogwarts. They also drove the Death Eaters back and out of Number Twelve. Casualties included Mundungus Fletcher and six Death Eaters. No high ranking bakas though. Pity."
"Too bad," Nanao said. Kyoraku's phone beeped a cheery ditty and he checked it quickly. He blinked in surprise.
"Hm," he murmured thoughtfully.
"Trouble?" Hermione asked.
"It's from Jushiro. They recently left King's Cross Station."
Everyone waited breathlessly.
"Interesting," he said under his breath. Instead of telling them anything else though, he dialed a number.
"Ju? It's me –" then he went silent as he apparently listened to whatever his best friend was saying.
"I see," he said with a thoughtful frown.
Harry and Hermione shared a look.
"And then?" a dark look flashed in the older man's eyes for a moment and the pair leaned forward. Even Nanao looked curious.
"Uh-huh," this was followed by another long silence from Kyoraku.
"She was?" shock now on his face and the three listening had to fight back an equal urge to yank away the phone to set it to 'speaker mode' so they could hear the other part of the conversation. "That was brazen."
"Yea," he was smiling now, a dark satisfied smile. "A triple glower from Unohana, Byakuya and Ichigo would send any soul running for the hills. Was anyone left standing after that?"
Harry and Hermione shared another look. Harry made a gesture at his friend, trying to ask without words if she knew who Kyoraku might be talking about. She shrugged and shook her head. They turned their attention back to what they could hear of the conversation. Harry glanced at Nanao and she too shrugged. A bit of movement to the right and Harry realized that Ron had sat up and was also trying to focus on the conversation at hand. Hermione rushed over to push him back so he was laying down again with a softly hissed 'don't strain yourself!'
"No, the old man said to wait two days before returning to make sure they weren't followed. Right, you too."
He hung up, then turned to find four anxious, intensely curious faces staring at him. He blinked at them for a moment before he grinned gently.
"Right, you all want to know what happened," he gave them a quick rundown, basically what had happened up until the students had boarded the trains.
"I can't believe she was that bold!" Hermione exclaimed. "Imagine, Bellatrix just waltzing onto the platform like she owned the place!"
"She's a real piece of work, she is," Ron agreed weakly as he tried to raise back up on his elbows.
"You need your rest," Nanao said firmly as she pushed him back down. He let out a groan, partly of pain, partly of annoyance, but relented.
"You all do," Kyoraku said firmly. "You've had a long day. Nanao and I can keep watch while you get some sleep."
Grateful for the offer, Harry and Hermione managed to trudge their way to their own cots to lay down and left the two Soul Reapers to keep watch over them while they caught up on their much needed rest.
#
The remainder of the trip to Hogwarts had thankfully gone without further incident. Once Ichigo had asserted his place 'at the top of the Food Chain' as Tatsuki put it, the Gryffindors felt comfortable enough to chat quietly among themselves and more or less ignore the Death Eaters throughout the ride.
By the time they pulled into the Hogsmeade station, though, everyone was ready to get off and stretch their legs, having had enough of the cramped car.
"One car at a time, you lot aren't going first so sit down," one of the Death Eaters said coldly as everyone started for the exit.
"Gee, I wonder who could be going first then," Neville said snidely as the Death Eater walked past, "Guess that means we're almost last."
"We can get organized, make disembarking go more quickly," Parvati suggested.
Everyone was agreeable to this, and once the Gryffindors were lined up and waiting their turn (which made the Death Eaters seethe as they were left with no excuse they could use to attack anyone) Ichigo went back to check on the newbies in their isolated little car. He quickly wrangled the youngsters into order, confident that Parvati and Ginny could handle the Gryffindors, since all of the new students would be taking the boats over. Someone would need to get them safely over to Hagrid and that someone was him. He issued deadly glares at the Death Eaters that tried to move forward to scare the Firsties or the transfers.
As he was getting the group organized, he studied them closely, especially the small clique he needed to check with his mother about.
The two girls would be going into Gryffindor; at least that's what the voice in the back of his head, the remnants of being able to speak with Hichigo and Zangetsu, told him. It was something he still hadn't quite gotten used to, the quiet in his head that was punctuated by a strange echo of noise. When he reached into his now empty inner world, it was like yelling into a canyon to hear your voice echo, only you got ghostly whispers that tingled up your spine along with your own voice echoing in the distance. He shook his head and focused on the group again. The youngest boy would be in Ravenclaw... the middle boy, he was probably going into Slytherin... the older two boys... they might have a choice to make...
"Well?" Ginjo asked him softly from his right where he and Tsukishima had come up. Ichigo winced. He'd been caught probing.
"I'm pretty good at figuring out the Sorting, I can usually do it at a glance..." it was all based on reiatsu more than mentality, he mused.
Energetic or fiery reiatsu normally attached to brash or courageous individuals: Gryffindor. Calm yet flowing reiatsu that seemed to be reaching and searching normally signaled people who enjoyed amassing knowledge: Ravenclaw. Motherly or friendly reiatsu that felt like it wanted to wrap around you and hold you safe, heal your hurts, that normally signaled healers or people who would make good and loyal friends: Hufflepuff. Soft yet paradoxically strong reiatsu that reached out and poked quickly before pulling back, cautious and quiet normally signaled people who were stealthy and cunning: Slytherin. Ichigo suddenly blinked and realized that this was also probably how the Captains judged who would do well in a particular Division, reading the person's reiatsu just like he was doing right now. He turned his focus back to Ginjo.
"You and Tsukishima are going to have a choice to make: Gryffindor or Slytherin," he said to them softly.
The two in question looked at him with surprise, then each other, before Tsukishima turned back to him and asked, "Which would be of more assistance to you?"
The question surprised Ichigo, who just blinked at the two for several minutes as he pondered their willingness to let him maneuver them tactically. They waited patiently for his answer.
He finally replied, "Whatever is the best fit for you will do just fine."
The pair then set to whispering quietly among themselves, while Ichigo mused about their question. Why, he continued to wonder, would they base their choice on what he wanted? It should be what they themselves wanted.
"Confused?" a voice asked him softly. He glanced back to see the younger boy next to him. "Don't be. We told you our families have all served yours for centuries. We still do. We're bonded."
Ichigo grimaced at the term. "Please don't tell me it's something like a house elf..."
The boy smirked. "No, nothing like that. It's a good deal more complicated. We'll explain when we have more time." Then he sighed and looked down sadly at the device he'd been holding and was now as dead as a dodo. "I guess this is useless for the next year, huh? "
Ichigo looked at what he was holding; it was a handheld game system. Ichigo owned several himself, as did Karin. He smiled faintly at the boy.
"Not necessarily..." he drew his wand, tapped the game console once and said [power] in Japanese.
The boy – Ichigo could not remember his name – looked at the portable with surprise as it powered on and beeped at him with a merry little tune.
"You have to teach me that one!" he exclaimed happily.
"Not a problem. I give a silent thanks to my mother every time I power on my laptop and my iPhone," Ichigo chuckled at his expression.
"If I had known that, I'd have tucked mine away," one of the older girls said, having watched the interaction quietly. They did not get a chance to continue as it was suddenly their turn to disembark, and Ichigo was only half-surprised to find Hannah coming to assist him with keeping the lot in order as the newbies were herded toward the boats.
"We all thought you could use a hand," she said easily. Ichigo gave her a grateful look, as he'd never been all the way down to the boats before – she had.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here –" Hagrid seemed to pause with some surprise when he saw the orderly line of students being led straight to him by Ichigo and Hannah.
"Hello, Hagrid," they both cheerfully greeted the half giant, who was holding a lamp aloft. He looked down at them somberly.
"'ello Ichi, 'annah," he nodded at them and looked up at the students lined up – in size order. A glimmer of amusement crossed his face and he glanced at Ichigo, as if he knew who had done the organizing. Ichigo winked at him, confirming the large man's suspicions.
"Everyone, this is Hagrid – he will also be your Professor for Care of Magical Creatures so make sure to listen carefully during class. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to magical creatures," Ichigo announced, "Don't worry, he'll take good care of you."
He turned back to look at Hagrid with a small frown. "Hey, how are my horses doing?"
"Oh, they're doing fine, just fine!" Hagrid said as he grinned widely for the first time. "They'll be so 'appy to see ye!"
"Thanks for taking care of them for me," Ichigo said with a small bow of his head. "I'll be down to see them first chance I get."
"I'll 'ave the tea ready fer ye then," Hagrid responded. The big half-giant enjoyed Ichigo's visits to see the two winged horses he'd left in his care, the two that had once belonged to Masaki.
The cheery, casual conversation seemed to ease whatever fears the younger students had from seeing Hagrid's size and bulk. Ichigo and Hannah waved goodbye and then raced to catch up with the others. Rukia, Neville and Tatsuki had held back a carriage – arguing with a Death Eater over doing it without the Death Eater's 'approval'.
"Thanks, guys," Ichigo said when they got there.
"No problem," Neville said, helping Hannah in. "You two shouldn't be penalized for doing your job."
They rode in silence down to the castle and what should have been happy pandemonium as students greeted each other after a summer holiday was a silent, somber affair as people exited their carriages. Even Slytherin House was quiet, not knowing quite what to expect.
Ichigo's eyes searched through the crowd, looking for Chad. His friend was very easy to spot standing like a silent sentry on one side of the entryway into the Great Hall. Ichigo glanced at him and their eyes met just briefly before they both looked away from each other.
"Ichigo..." Neville started to say, but the Fifth Squad Captain shook his head and shot him a warning look. They had forgotten to tell Neville that Chad would be there using his Abuelo's name. Neville just nodded, knowing they would fill him in when and where they could regarding the situation.
Once everyone was seated and quiet, Professor Snape stepped forward. His dark eyes swept slowly over the room, pausing momentarily here and there as he took mental head count of those who had come to the school.
"Announcements can wait until all students are present," he said calmly, "Let us proceed with the Sorting."
Professor McGonagall entered as he finished speaking, followed by the assorted newcomers to the school, and without any preamble – or the usual introduction by the Sorting Hat – they proceeded to Sort the First Years.
There was a the barest smattering of polite applause as each new student was sorted into their respective houses. Once she was done with the First Years, she continued on to the formerly Home Schooled students, which Ichigo watched with more interest. As he had guessed, the two girls were Sorted into Gryffindor, one into Ginny's year, the other a Seventh, and the younger boy into Toshiro's year in Ravenclaw. He would have to speak with Toshiro about keeping an eye on him. The middle student was sorted into Slytherin; he would talk to Draco when he had a chance. Even though the Home Schooled students said they were allies, he knew better than to trust such a statement at face value. As for the other two Seventh Years...
Ichigo raised a brow curiously when both were sorted promptly into Slytherin. As he was getting off of the stool, though, Ginjo glanced at him and Ichigo saw his eye – twitch – as if he was winking at him.
Oh, Lord, Ichigo thought, mentally face palming, they're going to play I, Spy...
To everyone's surprise, Professor McGonagall did not dismiss the stool and hat once she was finished sorting the last of the students. Instead she stood there and waited for Professor Snape to step up beside her.
"New students," he said, "on behalf of the Ministry and Faculty I welcome you to Hogwarts. Your houses will be your home and family for the duration of your stay here. Should you have any questions or problems, your most immediate source of assistance will be your House Prefects. House Prefects; if you would all please stand so the student body will be able to recognize you?"
Twenty four prefects, six from each House, all stood.
"The Prefects also have the authority to discipline you, deduct points and hand out detentions," Snape paused as if thinking, "I do, however, draw the line at Transfiguring misbehaving students into rabbits – or naked mole rats."
That caused a few titters, coughs and outright laughs amongst the older students. The laughter subsided quickly but Ichigo heard promised whispers to the youngsters that the older students would explain the Headmaster's comment later.
Ichigo cocked his head as he looked over at the new Headmaster, managing an icy look when he really wanted to smile at the man.
"Hey, just to let ya know, I've been practicing," Ichigo called out in a tone that was somehow equally respectful and scathing. "If any students go missing, you'll need to search in mouse holes – or the rafters. You do like bats, right?"
Professor Snape closed his eyes for a moment, Ichigo recognized the tic he was trying to control as laughter, not anger like others might assume, before he implored, "Please try to refrain from practicing your formidable transfiguration skills on your fellow students, Mr. Kurosaki."
"I'll – try," he hedged.
Snape looked at Professor McGonagall with a sigh.
"You had to make him a Prefect?" he asked, to the amusement of most of the students.
"Yes, I did," she retorted as she smirked with satisfaction. She then glared at the students subtly to quiet the snickers at what Ichigo knew was a staged confrontation.
"Very well," Snape decided to move on. "As you no doubt have noticed, we have yet to name a Head Boy or Girl."
He paused, waiting for the small uproar to die down; it was unheard of for there not to be a Head Boy or Head Girl at this stage already.
"In the beginning, the Founders took turns selecting them, until the creation of the Sorting Hat. At that point on, and for several centuries after, the Hat made the choice based on ability – not popularity or favoritism," he paused again, derision in his tone. People leaned forward now, curious as to where he was going with his little speech. "That trend started four Head Masters ago. Tonight we are returning to the Old Ways."
He paused once more, his gaze flowing over the assembled students.
"Professor McGonagall will call your name and you will once more be Sorted. No – you will not be changing Houses, get that thought out of your heads," more then a few people jumped and Ichigo knew that Snape was trying to cultivate the whole 'he's a mind reader!' rumor amongst the masses. "The Hat will merely be assessing you to select the Head Boy and Head Girl."
"Hannah Abbott," Professor McGonagall called out
They all watched as once again, everyone went up and had the Sorting Hat put on their heads. Tatsuki followed Hannah and when she returned, she just shrugged, indicating that she had no clue what the hat was looking for in it's decision making.
Ichigo wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, or if the hat was taking longer with his group than it was with the other students... and Rukia couldn't do more than squeeze his hand when she returned as he was immediately called next.
His eyes met Professor McGonagall's briefly before she carefully put the hat on his head.
"Well, you have grown haven't you?" it said immediately, sounding slightly awed. "And it's much – quieter – in here, too."
"It is that," Ichigo sighed. "Maybe too quiet. I kind of miss it. Is this going to take long?"
"No, I believe I have seen everything I need to – Captain. There will be no Hatstalls in this particular Sorting."
Ichigo grimaced. Someone had mentioned the term to him, once, and he'd looked it up – and it had described him to a T. He rolled his eyes at the Professor as he stepped down, causing her lips to twitch briefly before she called Neville's name.
The hat did not take long with each student, and Ichigo wasn't sure but he thought he saw a smug look cross Draco's face as he left the stool and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully on the blonde.
"Very well," the Hat said finally,
"The choice is clear.
So gather 'round my words to hear.
From the Serpent's nest but not to fear,
Brave and smart, and cunning she
The Head Girl I select shall be
Daphne Greengrass."
Daphne looked startled at being selected and went to stand in front of Professor Snape.
"Her counterpart, He must be strong,
Strong like an oak, know right from wrong
For Head Boy there is only one choice
Look to him, the rational voice;
Ichigo Kurosaki."
Author's Notes:
Salvo Hexia: standard protective enchantment.
Protego Totalum: Protego is the incantation used to cast the Shield Charm, which creates a mid-level shield that appears in front of the caster and blocks many small hexes and curses. Protego Totalum is the spell used by Hermione to protect the camps where she, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter stayed in when on the run in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Repello Muggletum: Most likely a Muggle repelling charm. This charm, if it is a Muggle-Repelling Charm, has then been used on numerous occasions, such as to repel the Muggles at Quidditch World Cup gatherings throughout history.
Muffliato: is the incantation of a spell which fills the ears of nearby people with a loud buzzing, allowing for the conversations of the caster to go unheard.
Cave Inimicum: enlarges the insides of tents to make them "house" sized, with normal house rooms. Bigger on the inside…Hm, sounds a bit like the TARDIS, doesn't it?
Hatstall - An archaic Hogwarts term for any new student whose Sorting takes longer than five minutes. This is an exceptionally long time for the Sorting Hat to deliberate, and occurs rarely, perhaps once every fifty years. Of Harry Potter's contemporaries, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom came closest to being Hatstalls. The Sorting Hat spent nearly four minutes trying to decide whether it should place Hermione in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. In Neville's case, the Hat was determined to place him in Gryffindor; Neville, intimidated by that house's reputation for bravery, requested a placing in Hufflepuff. Their silent wrangling resulted in triumph for the Hat (Pottermore)
'Fullbringers' and their Houses: Yukio – Ravenclaw; Moe – Slytherin; Riruka – Gryffindor; Jackie – Gryffindor; Ginjo – Slytherin; Tsukishima – Slytherin. And no – the Fullbringers won't actually have their fullbring powers, I'm just using the characters in order to avoid having to create a whole bunch of new ones!