A/N: Hey everyone and welcome to chapter 6! I'm very happy you guys stuck through with me up until now because things will only get more interesting from now on! There will be a point in this chapter where I borrow the Bleach Wikia's definitions in order to let our poor wizard know what he is, properly this time. If you feel you know enough about Hollows, feel free to skip over it.
Enjoy!
Putting that stuff on proved a lot more difficult than he had previously expected.
He did manage to put it on eventually but it still tried to slide off of his skin. It didn't help with the rumours either. The latest news was that harry potter was participating in some obscure magic and that the weird white bulge on his face was a result of that. The fact he was covering it up only made the rumours worse, saying he knew they had figured him out and was trying to hide it now.
That wasn't a good week for Harry Potter. Over the next few days the mask expanded to cover the bridge of his nose as well as his cheek. Finally the base thinned and hooked around Harry's jaw, curling around his ear like some sort of headpiece. He had become used to the feeling of it but hat didn't mean that the rest of the school was fine with it.
Even the professors seemed to look at him oddly when they thought he wasn't watching. The worst was when he caught Dumbledore looking at him with an air of disappointment that hit him so hard he nearly ran from the great hall. He knew everyone had seen it. Even Dumbledore believed the rumours.
Surprisingly the only professor not looking at him like that was Snape. He had a rather convincing argument as well actually.
"There is no way Potter would be capable of such magic."
And the man was right. He hated the Dark Arts for having killed his parents and having brought so much misery. Not the magic, the people; his newfound conscience corrected, earning a roll of his eyes. He didn't need to hear that.
Still, everywhere he went whispers followed him.
'What do you think Potter's been doing?'
'Dark magic, obviously.'
'He even tried to hide it, that proves enough, right?'
'Guess he finally did go Dark. I knew it would happen ever since second year.'
'I'm telling you, he's dangerous. You should stay away from him.'
'Isn't it because of him that Umbridge went crazy? Not that I care about what happens to her but what if he tries to sdo something to us?'
'He's going to get us all killed one day, I'm sure of it.'
'It's his fault the school was in danger every year too.'
And finally, the crown jewel coming from none other than Draco Malfoy himself:
'How low the might have fallen, eh Potter? Welcome to the Dark side.'
It was that evening he ran.
There was no way one person could take this much pressure. He had been hurt and outraged when people believed he had killed Cedric but this was different. It had become a complete vendetta against him, even though he was innocent. Why did no one understand that? Even Ron and Hermione failed to understand, failed to listen…
She went on and on about how she didn't understand what it was Harry had done to make himself like this and Ron just said he should go see Pomphrey about that spell damage. Obviously they didn't think this wasn't his fault so he found himself becoming more and more distant from them and the school as time went on. It had only been a few days truly, but it felt like so much longer.
And so he ran, followed only by Malfoy's laughter as he let his legs carry him through the castle. 'Find me a safe place, find me a safe place…' He pleaded mentally, his eyes becoming slightly blurred against his will. He didn't want to have to deal with this, and still the feeling told him to be proud.
Before he knew it he found himself in front of a large, ornately carved door on the seventh floor. Without hesitation he dashed through them, knowing no one else would be able to enter the Room of Requirement after him. Not if he wanted to be left alone.
When he took in his surroundings he found himself in a large room made out of stone. He was standing on a lush carpet that covered the entire floor and as he followed it he found a set of couches set in a crescent in front of a fireplace. The wall opposite to that was filled with books, completely littered with them, though he wondered why those were there when Harry had never truly been an extremely avid reader. At least, not after he had been forced to score lower than Dudley.
On the only free wall left stood a large oval mirror, it's edges covered in an intricate pattern that on closer inspection proved to be a runic circle. This mirror was obviously meant to do something, though he had no idea what.
Deciding to dwell on that later he moved to the bookcases, wondering if the room could provide him information on what he was. Before he could react, the bookcases began changing; some of them turned into an almost eerie white colour while others remained mahogany. The binding of the texts was much different in the white bookcases as well but when he approached it, he could feel a familiar pressure. It wasn't as heavy as the ones from wards, but it was enough to indicate it had something to do with him.
As he stepped forward, one of the tomes flew out of its place and floated before him. On its cover rested a Hollow's mask, red stripes eerily contrasting with the milky white of the rest. Maybe he'd finally learn something more about his inheritance and the Hollows than he had before. The book he had read before was only from a wizard's vantage point after all. There had to be someone closer to Hollows able to record something… Right?
Hollows by Urahara Kisuke
"Huh, I wonder who that is…?" He mumbled to himself as he curled up in one of the couches and began to read.
The book's beginning covered a lot about how Soul Society (whatever that was) had studied the Hollows to better combat them, something that had been tasked to the 12th division (again, whatever that was). The rest of the book proved a lot more interesting and informative.
Chapter 1 - Menos
The first question to ask is what is, in essence, a Hollow?
As we all know the spirits of the dead are referred to as Pluses.
A Plus transforms into a Hollow through a process called Encroachment, where the Plus' soul chain begins eating away at itself. Once the Encroachment is complete, a hole forms where the Hollow's heart used to be.
The soul's body is scattered into spirit particles, which reform nearby to create the body of a Hollow. Once this process is complete, the Hollow's mask appears and is said to be the Hollow's former heart. The only way to destroy Hollows is by cutting their mask in half with a Zanpakuto.
Classifications:
Hollows are created when such a Plus is allowed to wallow in despair and regret, or remains in the human world for too long. Any spirit who is not guided to Soul Society by a Shinigami or Soul Reaper via Konsō (Soul Burial) may eventually turn into a Hollow.
Menos are a sub-group of Hollows that form through a conglomeration of hundreds of normal Hollows. This results in a single composed entity of far greater strength than any normal Hollow.
Menos are created when the void within an ordinary Hollow's heart becomes so substantial that human souls are incapable of sustaining it, at which point it begins devouring fellow Hollows.
Gillians, also referred to as Menos Grande, are the result of a mass inter-devouring of cannibal Hollows. There are many Gillian, and they all look alike. In Soul Society, they are the 'Menos' who are generally referred to in textbooks. Gillians are huge, but they are slow and have beast-like intellect. Any captain-level Shinigami can destroy them with ease.
Gillians commonly attack in a group, and one is powerful enough to be a challenge for a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13. Gillians typically arrive in the Human World through the use of spatial distortions called Kūmon (Air Gate).
Appearance: Gillians are huge monster Hollows at least 2-6 stories tall, easily dwarfing even the largest standard Hollow. They all have a white mask with an elongated nose. Their bodies are covered from head to toe with a black covering reminiscent of a cloak. Around their neck is a row of thin white spikes.
They have large, pointed feet wrapped in white bandages. They have large white hands with long, sharp, white nails, but they are commonly hidden within their cloak, rarely revealed even during combat. They have long tongues capable of breaking a fellow Hollow's mask.
Adjuchas are the second classification of Menos. They are smaller than Gillians and far fewer in number. They are much smarter and stronger than Gillians, and are often the ones who lead Gillians into battle. Adjuchas are commonly solitary creatures, rarely joining into groups. They are powerful enough to challenge a captain of the Gotei 13.
Appearance: Adjuchas can vary radically in appearance, anywhere from bulky humanoids to animal-like forms.
Abilities:
Soul-Body Separation: This technique allows a Hollow to forcibly extract a living spirit from his/her body. It is usually not used because Hollows tend to go after Pluses, who have no physical or living body to speak of. The soul is still attached by the Chain of Fate and can still be saved. If it is broken, the soul can prevent the Encroachment so long as he/she is placed inside a soulless body or animal.
Acidic Touch: Many Hollows have displayed this ability and it is theorised they all possess this power. When a Hollow grabs a human with their hands, the spot where the person was grabbed is burned as if acid were poured onto it.
Cero: Is a highly powerful and relatively swift energy blast which can be fired from various body parts, such as the mouth, tongue, hand or fingers. Only Menos, Arrancar and Visored have used Cero attacks, and it appears stronger entities can use it more efficiently and forcefully. With the exception of a few Cero techniques and users, Cero requires some time to be used effectively.
Garganta: This is how Hollows and Arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy which must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway.
Negación: These are fields used to rescue fellow Hollows. Only the Gillian-class Menos have used it. Espada have a special cube-shaped device called Caja Negación, meant to simulate Negación fields, which are used to trap and punish their subordinates if necessary.
High-Speed Regeneration: This is an ability which allows a Hollow to heal most injuries very quickly, with the exception of the destruction of the head or vital organs.
Hueco Mundo is the dimension in which Hollows and Arrancar usually reside. It lies between the Human World and Soul Society.
Like in Soul Society, the atmosphere is filled with a high concentration of Reishi, thus allowing smaller Hollows to gain nourishment despite the lack of Human souls.
Similar to the case of Human World deserts, active life in Hueco Mundo appears to be few and far between. Hollows generally dwell below the surface or in other areas until something provokes them to leave their shelter, like the intrusion of a foreign entity.
Harry let the book rest on his lap, absently looking into the fire. How was it that wizards knew nothing of all of this?
Perhaps it was because these 'Shinigami' were the only ones to actively battle the Hollows? If that was the case, he definitely didn't want to meet one… But now what?
If what he had read was true then he would burn the people he touched and he would soon crave souls to eat… He didn't want to do that! Not to mention he was an oddity. Not only was he a humanoid Hollow, but he had magic. He was fairly certain something like that had not happened before… Then again, how the bloody hell does someone gain Hollow powers through a magical inheritance anyway?
He shook his head; there was no point in dwelling on all of this. He couldn't handle dealing with these changes right now. Setting the book aside, he made himself comfortable on the couch. Surely a nap would at least help soothe his worries? He wasn't going to be able to face the rest of the school anyway.
A/N: Well, here it is then. Harry is left in a spiral of worry about injuring his friends and the people around him as well as the possible threat of the Shinigami coming after him. I wonder what that mirror does though… Stay tuned to find out!
As always, thank you for leaving reviews favs and follows and if you have anything you wish to say or comment about this chapter, the review box below is there for you! ^^
Until next time!
Love,
~Lumina
