I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter the both belong respectively to Tite Kubo and J.K. Rowling


Everybody got up late on Boxing Day. The Gryffindor common room was quitter than it had been lately, many yawns punctuating the lazy conversations. Hermione's hair was bushy again; she confessed that Ginny had helped her style it with a Hair Potion for the ball, "but it's way too much trouble to do every day" she said matter-of-factly, scratching a purring Crookshanks behind the ears.

"Nothing wrong with how you usually look" said Ron.

Harry wasn't sure what, but there seemed to be something different between Ron and Hermione. Still if it was something important he was sure one of them would tell him. Of course they weren't the only ones; Harry and Ginny had yet to talk about if whether or not they were going to give dating a try, deciding to put it off until after the tournament, lest it become another distraction for him.

"So, are you planning on visiting your parents?" Ginny asked Harry.

"Yeah, I'll be leaving for the Soul Society for the New Year" he replied.

"Well that just means you should finish your homework before you go" said Hermione, prompting Harry to groan in frustration.

So it was Hermione dragged Harry, Ron, and Ginny to the library to power through the mountain of homework assigned to them over the holidays. But it was all worth it once he finished and was free to enjoy visiting his parents.


But all too soon it was back to class and their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the new term. But when they arrived it wasn't Hagrid they found waiting for then, instead it was an elderly witch with closely cropped gray hair and a very prominent chin.

"Hurry up, the bell rang five minutes ago" she barked at them, as they trudged through the still very thick snow.

"Who're you?" asked Ron. "Where's Hagrid?"

"My name is Prof. Grubbly-Plank" she said briskly. "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"What happened to Hagrid?" Harry practically demanded.

"Never you mind" Prof. Grubbly-Plank said as though she thought he was being nosy.

"I do mind though" he said hotly. "What's up with him?"

The professor acted as though she couldn't hear him. Grubbly-Plank led them past the stables where the huge Beauxbatons horses were huddling against the cold, and toward a tree on the edge of the forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.

The unicorn was so brightly white it made the snow all around look gray. It was pawing the ground nervously with its golden hooves and throwing back its horned head. Many of the girls were awed at the sight of it.

"Boys keep back!" barked Prof. Grubbly-Plank, throwing out an arm and catching Harry hard in the chest. "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it."

She and the girls walked slowly forward toward the unicorn, leaving the boys standing near the paddock fence, watching.

"What do think's wrong with him?" Harry asked Ron, once the professor was out of earshot. "You don't think a skrewt…."

"Oh he hasn't been attacked, Potter, if that's what you're thinking" Malfoy said softly, his voice laced with sadistic amusement. "No, he's just too ashamed to show his big, ugly face."

Draco smirked, handing Harry a folded page of newspaper from his robes.

Harry unfolded the page and read it with Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville looking over his shoulder. It was an article with a picture of Hagrid looking extremely shifty.

DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE

Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence.

Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures. Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates.

An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening."

"My friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."

Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire-crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions.

"I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject.

As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not as he has always pretended: a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror.

While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature.

In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought around You-Know-Who's fall from power; thereby driving Hagrid's own mother,like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part giants.

Harry finished reading and looked up at Ron, whose mouth was hanging open.

"How did she find out" he whispered.

But that wasn't what was bothering Harry.

"What's this crap? 'We all hate Hagrid!'" Harry spat at Malfoy. "Oh and let's not forget about him!" he pointed to Crabbe, "'getting a bad bite off a flobberworm? They don't even have teeth!"

Crabbe was sniggering, apparently proud of himself.

"Well I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career" said Malfoy, having obviously forgotten what Harry had done to Snape or believed himself untouchable in the presence of a teacher…he was wrong.

Harry didn't even bother using his powers this time instead laid Malfoy out with a brutal punch to the jaw. For a moment Ron wondered if Harry had switched places with Mick without him realizing as Crabbe in retaliation charged his friend only for Harry to grab the larger boy by the wrist and flip him over his shoulder. Clearly Yoruichi had been improving Harry's abilities at hand-to-hand.

"What is going on here?!" Prof. Grubby-Plank bellowed, having noticed the fight. "Potter to Prof. McGonagall's office now!"


Needless to say McGonagall wasn't happy to hear about how Harry had attacked two students, and ended up assigning him weekend detention: cleaning the trophy cabinets. But as he left his Head-of-House's office, Harry found that he didn't really care.

They got what they deserved he thought hatefully. Harry was soon drawn out of those thoughts as Yoruichi's cat form crossed his path.

"We need to talk" she said, leading him to the Room of Requirements, which had taken the form of their usual training area.

"What is it?" asked Harry, not really in the mood for a lesson at the moment.

"It's time I told you what's been going on…" Yoruichi explained that some point after his battle with Lorene, the Soul Society had detected Harry's spiritual pressure had been randomly and slowly changing to the point it now resembled a Hollow's whenever he got too angry. She had been sent in order to investigate to see if she could confirm and if necessary find the cause for these transformations.

I'm a Hollow Harry couldn't believe it. Not only had Yoruichi been lying to him but his mother hadn't even mentioned it during his last trip to the Soul Society.

"Your mom didn't know the specifics" said Yoruichi, as if reading her mind. "And the honest truth is your situation isn't like the previous cases of an inner Hollow, so those of us that do know the details didn't want to worry you over nothing."

"Well I still should've been told!" Harry snapped. "I'm turning into a Hollow; someone should've said something!"

"You're not turning into a Hollow" she insisted. "The incidents are too short for us to come to that conclusion. And the reason I'm telling you know is because it's been determined that other than perhaps some poor impulse control whatever this is isn't effecting you."

It took a while but eventually Harry was forced to begrudgingly admit that Yoruichi and whoever else knew about what was going on with him had a point: there really wasn't any sense in telling him about something that had no clue about and had so far proven to be relatively harmless. Still he'd feel better once they had something more concrete.

After all of this, Harry had opted to go a few rounds with Yoruichi; partially to blow off some left over steam from Malfoy and partially to prove to himself that he really was still himself. As expected Yoruichi had beaten him easily though she did say she was pleased with his progress.

After training, Harry decided to head to the common room. As he made the trip he decided to turn his focus inward wanting to discuss things with his zanpakutō spirit.

"Nakatsukasa, did you know about the changes in my spiritual pressure?"

"No and that's what concerns me" said Nakatsukasa. "For now it's probably best to trust Yoruichi to monitor the situation."

"Yeah I guess that's all we can do."


Harry's concerns over his shifting spirit energy were soon forgotten in favor those over Hagrid, entering the Gryffindor common room just in time to hear his housemates discussing Prof. Grubbly-Plank's performance.

"I hope she stays, that woman!" said Parvai Patil. "That's what I thought Care of Magical Creatures would be like, proper creatures like unicorns, not monsters."

"What about Hagrid?" Ginny spoke up.

"What about him" she said dismissively. "He can still be gamekeeper. Let's face it he just isn't a good teacher. I mean ever lesson's something's nearly killed someone."

"That's not true" Harry argued, making his presence known. "What about Buckbeak? He never hurt anyone."

"Only because Hagrid stepped in" said Lavender Brown, backing up her best friend. "That Hippogriff was still trying to go for Malfoy."

"Didn't know you had a thing for the ferret" said Ron.

"Oh please, you lot are only mad because your chummy with Hagrid" another Gryffindor accused. "Bet you knew all about him being half-giant too!"

"So what if we did!" Hermione snapped. "This is Hagrid, he's one of the nicest people you'll find anywhere, and you're letting that horrible Skeeter woman tell you, how you should feel about him!"

In the end there was a divide in Gryffindor House with some saying they didn't want Hagrid as a teacher anymore while the other (mostly S.O.M.E members) argued that the half-giant at least truly knew his subject matter, stating the numerous creatures (minus the skrewts) that Hagrid had successfully taught on the previous year.

Apparently Harry wasn't the only one the students' opinions were fickle over. Still Hagrid was a friend and they were worried about him, so after dinner Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny decided to head down to Hagrid's hut to check on him.

But to no avail, Harry could sense him inside the cabin but Hagrid refused to respond to their calls. So it was over the next week Harry and his friends would visit Hagrid's hut but each time their large friend refused to come to the door.

"I just don't get why he'd hide from us" said Harry, as he, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron sat around a table at the Three Broomsticks that Saturday. "You know, I really thought he'd at least come to Hogsmeade."

"He's hurting" said Hermione. "He probably thinks everyone will turn on him because everyone knows about him now."

"I just don't get what's the big deal" at this Harry turned to Ron and Ginny, relying on the two wizard raised members of their group to explain.

"It's not a problem if you actually know Hagrid" said Ron. "But the thing is Skeeter didn't make up that bit about giants during the war with You-Know-Who. So there really wasn't any love lost when they went into hiding."

Harry could appreciate that; he wasn't about to go around trusting Death Eaters just because they claimed to reform themselves (Snape) but he didn't think it fair to pass the crime down onto the innocent. Hagrid fought against Voldemort, he didn't deserve all the grief Skeeter's article was bringing him.

"Looks like Fred and George finally caught up to Bagman" said Ginny, breaking the table's somber mood. "Look"

It was true over at the bar they could see the Weasley Twins talking to Ludo Bagman about something. From the look on his face though it was obvious Bagman wasn't enjoying the conversation. While it was strange to see him at the Three Broomsticks on a weekend when there was no Triwizard event; what was even stranger was the party of goblins there watching him like a hawk.

Turns out Bagman wasn't blind to the goblins' presence as he quickly broke off from Fred and George and hurried out the door, with the goblins following closely after him.

"Any idea what's that about?" Harry asked.

"Fred and George made a bet with Bagman at the Cup" said Ginny. "I think they're still trying to collect their winnings."

"How come you know this?" asked Ron, getting a smirk from his sister in response. "Right never mind, forgot how nosy you were for a minute."

"It's not my fault you don't know how to ask the right questions."

"Thought the air smelt foul" Hermione suddenly said coldly, staring at the door.

Rita Skeeter had just entered. Purchasing their drinks, she and her photographer made their way through the crowds to a table nearby, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione glared at her as she approached. She was talking fast and looking very satisfied about something.

". . . didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo? Now, why would that be, do you think? And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in tow anyway? Showing them the sights . . . what nonsense . . . he was always a bad liar. Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? 'Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman . . .' Snappy start to a sentence, Bozo, we just need to find a story to fit it."

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" Harry said loudly.

A few people looked around. Rita Skeeter's eyes widened behind her jeweled spectacles as she saw who had spoken.

"Harry!" she said, beaming. "How lovely! Why don't you come join…?"

"I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick" he said furiously. "What right did you have to do that to Hagrid?!"

Skeeter raised her heavily penciled eyebrows.

"Our readers have a right to the truth, Harry. I'm merely doing my…."

"What truth?!" Ginny spoked up, adding her support to Harry. "You're an over glorified gossip monger. You get more facts from a chocolate frog card!"

The whole pub had now gone quiet. Madam Rosmerta was staring over from behind the bar, apparently oblivious to the fact that the flagon she was filling with mead was overflowing.

Rita Skeeter's smile flickered very slightly, but she hitched it back almost at once; she snapped open her crocodile-skin handbag, pulled out the acid green quill she had at the wand ceremony, and said, "Well then why don't we get to the truth? How about it Harry? Give me an interview about the Hagrid you know. The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it. Would you call him a father substitute?"

Hermione stood up abruptly, her butter beer clutched in her hand, hard enough it looked like the bottle would shatter.

"You horrible woman" she said through gritted teeth. "You went after Hagrid just because he was friends with Harry. You couldn't get at him before so you go after his friends."

It seemed Skeeter had finally run out of patience when it came to Harry and his friends, as she dropped the faked pleasant tone and adopted a more natural and cold voice.

"Sit down you, silly little girl. Do you have any idea who I am? I am the voice of the Daily Prophet and I won't be spoken too like this from two little trollops like…"

"Hey!" Harry and Ron snapped, accompanied by a powerful burst of power from the former. Harry was sorely tempted to crush the human stain before him but he remembered what Yoruichi had told him about poor impulse control from whatever was effecting him.

"Let's get out of here" said Harry, taking a calming breath.

The people cleared a path as they left; all staring as they went but too overwhelmed by an instinctive fear to say anything.

"She'll be after you next" Ron said to Hermione and Ginny, in a low and worried voice as they walked back up the street.

"Let her try!" Ginny said defiantly, her body shaking with rage. "We won't be bullied by that cow!"

"Exactly!" Hermione agreed. "And Hagrid isn't hiding anymore! He should've never let that poor excuse of a human being upset him! Come on!"

Breaking into a run, she led them all the way back up the road, through the gates flanked by winged boars, and up through the grounds to Hagrid's cabin. The curtains were drawn, and they could hear Fang barking as they approached.

"Hagrid!" Hermione shouted, pounding on his front door. "Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mom was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being…."

The door opened. Hermione said, "About t….!" and then stopped, very suddenly, because she had found herself face-to-face, not with Hagrid, but with Albus Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon" he said pleasantly, smiling down at them.

Mindful of his grudge against the headmaster, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione took cautious glances at Harry wondering if he'd be able to tolerate Dumbledore while they were there.

"We came to see Hagrid" Harry said coolly, trying to keep from exploding at just the sight of the Oldman.

"Yes I surmised as much" said Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eyes dimming at the Harry's chilly attitude. "Why don't you come in?"

"Oh . . . um . . . ok," said Hermione, still worried Dumbledore would set Harry's temper off.


Fang launched himself at Harry the moment he entered, barking madly and trying to lick his ears. Fending off Fang, he found Hagrid sitting at his table, with two large mugs of tea. He was a mess. His face was blotchy, his eyes swollen, and he had gone to the other extreme where his hair was concerned; far from trying to make it behave, it now looked like a wig of tangled wire.

"Hi Hagrid" said Harry, as he, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione joined him at the table.

Hagrid looked up.

"Hello" he said hoarsely.

Dumbledore spelled a tea tray onto the table along with a plate of cakes for the kids, before retaking his seat. "Did you by chance hear what Ms. Granger was shouting, Hagrid?"

Hermione went slightly pink, but Dumbledore smiled at her and continued, "Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny have known about you for some time now. And judging by the way they were attempting to break down your door, I think it's safe to say they don't think less of you for it."

"Of course we don't Hagrid" said Harry, putting aside his issues with Dumbledore in favor of helping his friend.

"Yeah come back and teach" said Ginny.

"We really miss you" Hermione added, while Ron nodded in agreement.

Tears fell from Hagrid's eyes and fell into his tangled beard.

""Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore. "I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it."

"Not all of them" Hagrid said roughly. "Not all of them want me to stay."

"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," said Dumbledore, now peering sternly over his half-moon spectacles. "Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"

"You-You're not half giant."

"Hagrid, I'm not fully human either" Harry said furiously. "Think about it, I'm a Substitute Soul Reaper not the real thing. I'm basically a half-breed too. Do you think I should lock myself away?"

Ok so there wasn't anything genetically different about him from an ordinary human wizard, but Harry still thought he'd made his point.

Dumbledore stood up. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid. I expect you back at work on Monday" he said. "You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all."

Dumbledore left the cabin, pausing only to scratch Fang's ears. When the door shut behind him, Hagrid began to sob into hands, with Hermione and Ginny patting is arms for comfort. At last he looked up, his eyes very red, and said "Great man, Dumbledore…great man…"

What so we didn't do anything? Harry thought miserably, but kept his peace especially after receiving a subtle look from Hermione and Ginny.

"He's right of course, you're all right" said Hagrid, wiping away his tears. "I've been stupid…my old dad would've been ashamed of the way I've been behaving." More tears leaked out, but he wiped them away more forcefully, and said "Never shown you a picture of my dad, have I?"

Hagrid got up, went over to his dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a picture of a short wizard with Hagrid's crinkled black eyes, beaming as he sat on top of Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was a good seven or eight feet tall, judging by the apple tree beside him, but his face was beardless, young, round, and smooth, he looked hardly older than eleven.

"This was taken just after I got into Hogwarts. Dad was thrilled…wasn't sure I'd be a wizard, cause of my mom…well anyway. I never was that great at magic really…but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see in my second year… "Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job . . . trusts people, he does. Gives them second chances . . . that's what sets him apart from other heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, so long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out okay even if their families weren't . . . well . . . all that respectable. But some don't understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against you . . . there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up and say: I am what I am, and I'm not ashamed. 'Never be ashamed,' my old dad used to say, 'there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth bothering with.' And he was right. I've been an idiot. I'm not bothering with her no more, I promise you that. Big bones . . . I'll give her big bones."

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all traded looks having absolutely no idea what Hagrid was talking about. Their best guess would be that Hagrid was talking about Madame Maxime but Harry would rather take fifty Blast-Ended Skrewts for a walk than open that can of worms.

"You know what, Harry?" Hagrid said, looking up from the photo of his father, eyes bright. "When I first met you, you reminded me of myself a bit. Mom and Dad gone, and you were feeling like you wouldn't fit in at Hogwarts remember? Not sure you were really up to it…and now look at you, Harry! School champion!

He looked at Harry for a moment and then said, very seriously, "You know what I'd love Harry? I'd love you to win, I really would. It'd show them all, you'd have to be pureblooded to do it. You show them, Harry, you show them. Beat them all."


Later that afternoon Harry and the others made their way back up to the castle leaving behind a much happier Hagrid but halfway up the main staircase Harry heard someone calling him.

"Hey Harry!" It was Cedric Diggory. Harry could see Cho waiting for him in the entrance hall below.

Telling his friends, he'd catch up, Harry waited as Cedric ran up the stairs toward him.

"Listen . . ." Cedric lowered his voice as Ron and the others disappeared. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does yours wail when you open it?" "Yeah," said Harry.

"Well . . . take a bath, okay?" "What?" "Take a bath, and…err…take the egg with you, and just mull things over in the hot water. It'll help you think, trust me."

Before Harry could question him, Cedric ran back to Cho and the couple walked off.

Water…water…that's it!

Harry ran back to the common room excited to report what he'd learned.

"Of course" said Hermione. "The egg said 'we cannot sing above the ground'. Water makes perfect sense."

"Ok so Harry has to find something he'd miss from underwater" said Ron. "But where underwater?"

"Well the only place I can think of is the lake" said Ginny.

"Just what I was thinking" Hermione agreed. "Most likely Harry will have to recover whatever he'll miss most from the merpeople in the lake."

"There are merpeople in the lake?" said Harry, surprised by the information.

"Yes the lake is home an assortment of creatures including the largest merpeople colony in England. I read about it in…"

"Hogwarts: A History" Ron, Harry, and Ginny said together.

Hermione rolled her eyes "Now the only question is how's Harry going to breath underwater for an entire hour?"