Sloth: Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I had rehearsals for a play last week and I just couldn't get the energy to upload. I had to focus on getting my lines right and stuff. Anyways, here's what should have been last Sunday's chapter. It's a thrilling chapter with a long overdue action. It also has some interesting, mystery answering details and a very shocking plot twist! Remember folks, this is an AU story. That meanst Alternate Universe. That means it won't follow canon and this chapter will really send this story into the AU realm.

Also, another cameo appearance from everyone's favorite blond shimigami from Bleach! We also learn why Bleach, Autumn, and Red were scared of McGonagall when they met her at Hogwarts. I hope you'll enjoy it. Also, there is a small appearance by a minor character from Charmed.

Therefore I must say, I do not own Harry Potter, Bleach, or Charmed.

Enjoy!

The Midnight Madness

"GET DOWN!"

The wall behind them exploded as the Hallow crashed into it. Raven quickly stood up from where he had just shoved Nicholas to the ground. He gritted his teeth in frustration, still confused on what had just transpired. Hollows were Japanese native creatures. Having one all the way here in Britain was highly impossible. They weren't known for their migration patterns or anything. They mostly stayed around places that were heavy with spirits. Graveyards, haunted locations, the country side, those kinds of places. Hollows were sometimes known for being in populated towns, but due to the fact that they too were just violent spirits, normal humans and weak magical beings couldn't see them.

"So how the hell did a Hollow get to Scotland?" Raven asked himself as he prepared for the Hollow. The angry spirit wailed in fury as it crawled out from the rubble. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Nicholas pull out his wand, preparing to fight off the creature. Raven frowned at the other boy's idiocy.

"Don't even try. This isn't a normal monster that you can fight off with that little stick."

Nicholas gave him a look.

"How would you know that?"

"Because I do. Now on my cue, get ready to run."

"What? I'm not going to-"

"Just do it alright!"

Raven demanded. There was a pause in their conversation as the hollow jumped forward again. The twins narrowly dodged by jumping in opposite directions, allowing the creature to fly past them and skid down the hall. It dug its feet into the ground as it went across the hallways, digging deep into the stone floor. A pair of claw like markings ten feet long on the stone floor showed just how deadly the Hollow's claws could be.

Raven quickly back-flipped into a standing position as he glared at the Hollow. Not wasting time, he took his shrunken sword from his pocket and pulled it out. It grew quickly as he willed his magic into it. Taking the full sized sword with both hands, he got into a fighting stance, the point of the blade directed at the skull-like mask. Monster and wizard stood at a standstill, staring each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move. Out of the corner of his eye, Raven could see Nicholas slowly stand up, wand at the ready.

'Damn him. I can't let the idiot die. It'll ruin everything. I cannot have a dead body on my hands. Not now. And this Hollow…where could it have come from? Doesn't matter. I've faced bigger in Japan.'

The hall was silent. No one made a move. All three of them stood still, staring down the other, waiting. Outside, the face of the clock ticked the seconds away.

Tick.

Tick

Tick.

The second the hands read 11:50, a instantaneous effect seemed to affect the three combatants and they all attacked at once.

The Hollow jumped forward, its mouth open wide and an open claw reaching forward. Nicholas fired a stunner at the Hollow, but to his horror, the spell passed right through it as if it were made of air. The boy was frozen with surprise as the monster seemed to make a mid-air turn straight for the shell shocked boy. Nicholas stared into the eyes of the beast.

"You idiot!"

Raven appeared in front of the boy, his sword cutting the palm of the Hollow's blade. The dark haired, glasses wearing boy quickly landed on his feet before jumping forward with great speed. He brought his sword down, but the Hollow dodged the blade by jumping backwards. Raven landed on his feet, and turned to Nicholas.

"Now would be a good time to start running. You aren't going to be able to do jack shit against this thing."

"Oh and like you can?"

"Dammit stop being stubborn and just-"

At some points in his life, Raven just had to ask himself, why he even bothered. He knew some people were just stubborn and the only way to get through to them was to whack them upside the head. If you tried too hard to try and convince these types of people otherwise, you only hurt yourself. As Raven felt the side of his body explode in pain, followed by the sharp beating he got from hitting the wall, he remembered what Severus had always told him.

"Never turn your back to the enemy. Even when trying to help another."

"Bastard," Raven muttered to himself. He could feel blood slowly drip from the side of his head. He hadn't expected the Hollow to move so quickly. He heard a loud cry and saw Nicholas get thrown into the opposite wall. He gritted his teeth as he realized that the Hollow was playing with its food. He felt around for his sword and as soon as he felt the handle of the weapon, he held it up and point it directly at the Hollow, which had turned its attention to the fallen Boy-Who-Lived.

"Blast, Winchester!"

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.

The silence of the 4th floor was perfect for her to sneak around. Growing up with three rowdy boys, one learned to enjoy the silence as much as possible. It was a gift rarely treasured by many. She also learned to work with and in the silent nights. Her soft footsteps were as gentle as feathers fluttering from flying birds. Blending in with the quiet also allowed Autumn to tell when someone was near. Other people, especially arrogant wizards, tended to be unnecessarily loud whenever they walked around. She honestly didn't know why wizards liked big entrances so much.

Having just avoided being caught by the grumpy grounds keeper and his cat, Autumn eased out of the shadows and continued moving down the hallway when she felt it. It was a small, gentle presence close by. She paused, looking around carefully.

"Old castles like these always have secret passages. Whatever I'm feeling must be nearby." She whispered to herself. She looked around, carefully examining the wall. Placing a hand against the smooth stone surface, she felt a magical presence emanating from it. It wasn't like the aura that the walls of the school usually emanated. She had felt that the school had some sort of protective aura when she and the others stepped through the doors. However, what she was feeling now, this was different.

"There's something here. It's faint, as if something's muffling it. I wonder if-"

She was cut off when she felt a very different aura. It was distant, evil aura that was frightening familiar. She looked around her, her fingers inching towards her belt, where he shrunken sword resided. When nothing exploded around her, she concluded that the Hollow was already inside the castle, but on another floor. When she felt a wave of energy rush through the castle, she gasped.

"Raven."

Autumn started to run, but paused, looking back at the castle wall.

'There's something there. I've a feeling that its important…but I-I can't let a Hollow run around the building. Raven released his Shikai, which means it's powerful.'

She sighed before she made her decision.

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Teachers were not supposed to leave the school, however McGonagall was making an exception tonight. She had left just after dinner, heading to her private room to use the floo network that was installed there. Because the network was her own private networking, she didn't need to worry about anyone discovering her late night escapade. She feared that if anyone, especially Dumbledore, discovered she had left the building, then questions would arise. Questions that she could not answer.

After flooing out of Hogwarts and into the Hog's Head, she looked around. There was lit candle on, its flame flickering against a draft. She walked towards the candle and leaned in, shifting her eyes to make sure, just in case, that no one was around. Pleased that she was alone, she began muttering a spell.

"Flame recognize my inner core,

And open the secret door."

In an instant the flame on the candle grew, rising high above her head. The line of fire turned midair to the left. It continued in that direction before bending downward. When the flame touched the wooden floor, there was a flash of light and a door appeared in front of her.

She would never understand wiccan magic or how it could create a doorway to another part of the world without some sort of deadly consequences, but it came in handy. Granted, she was no wiccan and thus could not do anything very powerful, but she could do some things. She quickly passed through the doorway, letting it flame out of existence behind her.

On the other side of the magic door was a small room. Sitting on the floor behind her was another candle. In the middle of the room was a round, wooden table, which contained four cups of tea and a lamp. Around the table were four wooden chairs, three of which were occupied.

The first person McGonagall recognized was the grumpy old man in dull, grey wool clothes. They almost looked like rags. His white bread wasn't as long as Albus', but it was definitely a Dumbledore family trait if there ever was one. As she sat down, McGonagall greeted Aberforth Dumbledore with a curt nod. To her left was an old woman whose short grey hair was done neatly in a bun. She wore a slimming red dress that looked very Victorian. She had a pearl necklace and a very knowing smirk on her face. Most notably was her near transparent and glowing form. McGonagall stared a little surprised.

"Penny? Don't tell me…"

"I'm afraid so. Don't look too shocked, my heart was going to give out anyways. At least now my girls have their powers. I just wish I had more time to train them in the craft."

"Well, now is a good a time as any. At least I didn't send mine to you. That wouldn't have gone well," the fourth person in the room chuckled. McGonagall turned to glare across the table.

"You should have done that instead. Honestly Severus, agreeing to let them come to Hogwarts? I thought we agreed they would never be a part of this war," she scolded.

Severus Snape sighed.

"I know what we agreed upon. However, unlike you, I'm allowing them to be adults."

"I beg your pardon? I can't believe-"

"Will you two be quiet?" Aberforth demanded in a grumpy manner. "I want to go to bed as soon as possible."

"Now Aberforth, don't be so grumpy." Penny said calmly. "We all agreed that this meeting was very important. Now, Minerva, you told us in your note that your nephew had information on these Horcruxes that Voldemort made. Would you please explain?"

McGonagall recalled the note she had sent out earlier that day. She had first discovered the urgency of calling a meeting when she got a visit from her mischievous nephew.

FLASHBACK

Her as the last student trickled out of her classroom, Minerva McGonagall let out a sigh before turning to the steaming pot of tea on her desk. Today's lesson had been rough. She was anxious about the arrival of the four foreign students that Dumbledore had invited. She had felt odd that her good friend did not tell her who these students were or where he had met them. Was he withholding information from her again? Ever since the war started, he had been acting secretive and somewhat manipulative.

She sighed before taking a sip of her tea, enjoying the sweet and smooth flavor of jasmine. Most English people didn't drink foreign tea, but McGonagall loved making exception for gifts. Especially when it tasted this good.

"I see you're enjoying the tea I sent you Auntie!"

She almost dropped the cup from the loud, enthusiastic voice. She looked up to see a young man dressed in green oriental robes and blue pants. He wore wooden sandals and a green striped, white fisherman hat. His blond hair sprouted out from underneath the hat. The young man leaned on a cane as he waved to the older woman.

"Kisuke, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

The man, Kisuke, pouted.

"Wha? You don't want a visit from your dear old nephew. I'm hurt." He turned away from her, his hand over his head as he feint crying. "Oh what has the world come to when a man can even visit the woman who helped raise me? Especially when I come baring gifts?"

Rolling her eyes, McGonagall stood up and walked over to the overly dramatic man.

"Oh enough Kisuke. Please stop that."

Kisuke stopped crying and turned, grinning at his aunt. She knew him all too well. That or he was being too dramatic to make it look real. Pulling his hat down over his eye, he smirked before starting on a more serious conversation.

"Very well. I knew I couldn't fool you, but it was worth a try. Anyways, I came by with some information I thought you might like."

Instantly she became intrigued. She knew her nephew very well and she knew he rarely gave away anything he or his vast underground network of spies had gathered. After all as the former head of the research department in the Gotei 13, Japan's wizard police system, Kisuke was always searching for info. If he was willing to give information without being asked to, then this was important. He pushed a seat towards her desk.

"Have a seat."

"Don't mind if I do."

Kisuke practically jumped into the chair with a bright smile on his partially covered face. He gently pushed the tip of the hat up, staring at his aunt with one, bright blue eye.

"Now, have you hear of the Deathly Hallow?"

END FLASHBACK

"We spent the free period discussing the Deathly Hallow and the Horcruxes," McGonagall explained. "He believes that Dumbledore is after the Hallows."

Aberforth huffed. "Not surprised. He's been obsessed with cheating death ever since the death of our mother. If these Hallow can cheat death, no wonder the Shinigami sent Severus here to investigate."

"Yes, it was quite a shock when Yamamoto told me about the Hallows and Horcruxes. No one should have the power to cheat death. It is a balance that must be upheld, that much I've learned from being a part of the Gotei 13." He said as he sipped his tea. He looked up and saw McGonagall's glare. "Oh come now McGonagall, you know I don't want those four a part of this as much as you do."

"Oh really? Well, imagine my surprise then when Kisuke told me his favorite student and his friends would be coming to Hogwarts. Besides Ichigo Kurosaki, Kisuke has had only one personal student. Raven and the others should not be involved in this. They're not trained in handling wizards."

"Now Minerva, I'm sure that they can handle a few arrogant wizards," Penny said casually. "I mean look at mean. I was raised a wiccan witch and I taught tons of wizards a thing or two. And look at Aberforth. He's a bar keep and can still kick butt with his fragile old bones."

"Oh, this coming from the ghost." Aberforth grumbled.

"That's different," she turned to Severus, a look of displeasure on her face. "You promised me all those years ago, when you made me swear that Unbreakable Oath, that you would protect them from both the Order and the Death Eaters."

"And I will. Those four are grown enough to make their own decisions. They decided to go to Hogwarts on their own. They decided to help find the Horccruxes and end the war. They just want it to end so they can return to living without constant parental control. Wasn't it you who promised them that you'd stop looking over their shoulders?"

McGonagall took a small intake of breath as she was reminded of the promise she made a year ago when she and Severus had both agreed to let them live on their own in Diagon Alley. However, that never met she never worried. Every other day until school began she had watched them in her cat form. She monitored their activities to ensure they were safe. Ever since she had met them, having stumbled upon Severus and the four of them five years ago, she had become very close to them, treating them as if they were her own grandchildren. She would have actually told their parents years ago if she had not sworn never to reveal the children's identity to anyone who did not know.

When they were discovered, she had such a hard time pretending she knew nothing about them. She acted shock when the Weasleys revealed that Red and the others were still alive. She pretended to be curious about the Shikai technique, even though she was there when Autumn achieved it. She had to hide all the letters she got from her surrogate grandchildren while they traveled the world with Severus and trained in Japan. She was just lucky that Raven used a spell on her earlier that evening to prevent her from saying his real name in public. If he hadn't, she was sure the enchanted name list would've forced her to say the name written on its parchment.

"I don't know how you can do it Severus," McGonagall said as she calmed down and sat in the seat. She started taking sips from her cup of tea, letting the warm liquid slide down her throat and warmed her body. "I've only grown attached to them and treat them as my grandchildren, but you…how can you go on knowing your own daughter and her friends out fighting monsters and stealing from wizards?"

At this, Penny and Aberforth turned to look at the younger man, his hair shadowing his face.

"With great pride and worry Minerva. There's nothing I hate more than watching her grow and having her think I died with the rest of the family that night Bellatrix attacked us. However, there's no sense in dwelling on the past. Now, let's drop the subject and find out where these Hallows are."

The other three members watched as Severus stared at his tea before rambling on about possible ways to find them Hallow. McGonagall stared at her tea, thinking of the horrible turn of events. She prayed things would change soon.

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.

It had just hit midnight when Raven's super charged spell slammed into the Hollow, sending it crashing into the wall and away from Nicholas. He would've been happy if he hadn't seen Nicholas pass out on the floor. He cursed his poor luck. Now he had to carry his lazy ass of a brother back to the Gryffindor tower.

"Maybe I can leave him in front of the stairs." Raven muttered to himself.

A deafening roar brought his attention as the Hollow burst out of the rubble jumped at him. Raven barrel rolled out of the way, clutching Winchester in his hand. He point the gun at the Hollow and pulled the trigger. A ball of red light shot out of the barrel of the gun, followed by a loud, explosive bang. The spell bullet pierced the side of the Hollow and exploded on contact. The Hollow roared louder and held up a fist. Raven growled as he dodged the fist. He fired another spell bullet, but it only grazed the beast.

'Damn it. I've already used three Bombarda spells. What the hell is it going take to kill this thing?' He looked over to the side and saw Nicholas laying their, his chest rising steadily. 'He's not going to be any help what so ever.'

The Hollow jumped at him, tackling Raven into the wall. He felt two of his ribs crack from the sheer force of the attack. He hit the wall with a loud crack. Raven fell to the floor, clutching his chest in pain. He was completely dumbfounded at how fast this Hollow was. Looking up, he saw it turn towards Nicholas.

"Damn it."

Flicking his wrist, Raven flipped open the bullet case. There were three empty holes while two of them were occupied with glowing orbs and the last held an actual bullet. With another flick of his wrist, he closed the compartment and it spun quickly. There was a audible snap as the empty holes were refilled. He quickly aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

There was a bright flash, followed by a loud bang. A large ball of light shot out of the barrel and incredible speed. It crashed into the back of the Hollow. The explosion was as massive as C4. The hall filled with smoke and debris. Raven covered himself from the blast of air that followed. He felt something silky brush past him. When the dust settled, Raven slowly looked up. There was still a small cloud of dust around the area he had just attacked. He slowly rose from the ground, panting heavily. He coughed and found splatters of blood in the palm of his hand.

"That was pleasant."

He looked over to see Nicholas was still passed out on the floor. He still wondered why his brother would fall asleep so well, but he didn't care. He needed some rest.

"Might as well get the idiot back to the tower."

Limping over to Nicholas, Raven clutched his sore chest. The dust cloud settled and Raven found the barely living Hollow crumbled on the floor, its mask cracked. He sealed his Zanpaktou, gripping the handle of the sword. At that moment, he heard a pair of footsteps coming from behind him.

"You look like hell Raven," Bleach honestly said. The black haired boy gave his blond friend the finger.

"Shut up." He said before stabbing the Hollow in the face. It gave a weak moan before turning to ashes that floated into the air and evaporated. "You guys sure took your time."

"But that looked like a normal Hollow." Red pointed out.

"It looked normal, but it sure as hell wasn't," Raven countered. "It was fast. Too fast. Plus, since when do Hollows travel all the way to Europe?"

Red frowned and turned to Bleach, who shared the same expression. They would agree that that was odd. There was no plausible reason for a Hollow to be in Europe. The Gotei 13 had a division to ensure that. He turned to the dark haired boy, who walked over to his brother's sleeping form. Raven had a look of displeasure on his face.

"Someone sent that Hollow. Either to kill the students or cause havoc, I'm not sure."

"You really think someone could control them?" Bleach asked.

"Why not?" the other boy started, "Aizen could control an army of them. Plus, Hollows are close cousins to Dementors and dark wizards can control those things. I'm not worried about that though. I'm worried that something worse might be on the way."

The three boys stood in silence. Raven had made quick work of the Hollow using a bigger blast. However, if someone could control Hollows and they decided to send more powerful ones, then they might be in trouble.

A hoot brought Raven's attention to the ceiling. Hedwig flew down to her master and landed on his arm. There was a note attached to her leg. Gently, and painfully for him, Raven pulled out the note. He looked it over carefully before smiling a little.

"Well. At least we have some good news. Autumn wants us to meet her on the fourth floor tomorrow."

"Really? Do you know why?"

"No. I just know I need some sleep after dealing with that Hollow." Raven turned and limped toward the grant hall. Bleach hurried over to help his friend. Red started over, but Raven had other ideas.

"Don't forget to take Nicholas back with you to the tower."

Red blinked as he saw the big grin on his friend's retreating form.

"HEY! NO FAIR DAMN IT!"