Here's chapter 5! I'm really sorry for it taking this long, but unfortunately school work doesn't do itself :( …

I'll try to be more prompt from now on :)

But enjoy this now!

Chapter 5

Harry, Ron and Hermione paced down to the dungeons, gearing up for potions with Snape as they went. They were still in wonder about what their new lessons would involve. Hermione had already popped to the library before the bell rang to check out any facts on Zanpakutōs. She had sadly failed. There was not a single sign of any such word.

"It's quite odd you know how the word isn't even Latin sounding, as most magical things are. It's more oriental, if you catch my drift." Hermione drabbed on and on. Harry was barely aware of her, while Ron was hanging on to every word, offering the occasional "yeah, you're right" or "you're so smart!"

"Do you reckon it's really true?" Harry cut in.

Hermione looked at him, confused.

"Is what really true?" Ron and Hermione said together.

"Whether these 'guests' are really from some secret location called the 'Soul Society'. I mean… it all sounds kind of fishy to me. Why would they even want to be here?"

This was the same thing that had got Harry puzzled from the very start. Had they these "elite" fighters really put down everything they were doing and come over to Hogwarts to fill in for Defence Against the Dark Arts?

"Well I believe it" said Hermione.

"Me to!" said Ron immediately afterwards.

Sighing, she continued, "Professor McGonagall made it quite clear. And, she did say that we'd find it hard to accept… and you are. Plus, they're mentioned in 'Magic from the Past'"

Ron looked flabbergasted.

"That's the only reason that you believe all of this? Cos the teacher said so and they're briefly referred to in a book about old legends."

"Ugh! Ron, you said you believed it too!"

They had now arrived in Snape's classroom. They took seats at the back, near a cauldron full of a viscous, slimy, green potion.

"Alright then, I guess I am with Harry on this one." Ron frown, defeated.

"But then again, Ron" murmured Harry, "That giant guy from yesterday with the bells in his insane hair – he looked like the real thing!"

"Argh! Stop changing your mind and making me look stupid!" Ron complained.

"Yeah, exactly Harry," Hermione smiled, ignoring Ron, "especially because of all that pressure he put on everyone. It was nothing like I'd ever felt before. Umm…well nothing happened to you did it, Harry?" She whispered the last part.

"Oh yeah, thanks for making it clear that I was the freak in that hall." Harry had become worried about this. Every time something strange happened, he was always the one that stood out. Just when he thought it was all over. He didn't have any answers as usual and now they were dealing with something that was different even in the wizarding world.

They sat quietly now, as the other students who were taking potions this year filed in. The classroom had once gained back its cold, drab atmosphere since Professor Slughorn had retired again. Snape's gloomy personality had painted itself across the walls with skulls, gruesome paintings and substances with foul smells.

Amongst the students continuing with potions were Malfoy, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. There were also some others from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, though Harry did not know them very well as Gryffindors usually shared lessons with the Slytherins.

"Sit down" was Snape's first comment as he swept into the classroom.

"A point from Gryffindor, Potter for entering a classroom before the teacher has arrived."

Oh great! Now he was being punished for being early to a lesson. He clenched his fist but didn't bother arguing as he knew that was exactly the excuse Snape need to take more points off.

"We have a guest in class today. This is the Captain of the sixth division, Kuchiki Byakuya." He said, coldly gesturing to the back of the class.

Everyone suddenly turned, shocked to see the extremely handsome man from breakfast standing behind Harry and his friends' table. They had not seen him walk in, and he was definitely not there when he came in.

"Good morning." His voice was deep and grave. All the females in the class let out slow breaths.

"Turn to the front!" Snape commanded and they quickly turned. "Today we will be preparing a concoction of polyjuice potion, at least the start of it. On September 14th you will all come down here to add lacewing flies at precisely 1.47 am and not a minute earlier or later. Make a note." He gave dirty looks to Harry and Ron as he said this.

"Captain Kuchiki will write the instructions for today on the board, and you will begin."

Eyes turned to the back, but Captain Kuchiki was nowhere in sight.

"I said eyes to the front!"

The class jumped. They found Captain Kuchiki already at the front at the blackboard, almost finished with the instructions. His handwriting was in calligraphy, absolutely beautiful.

"The one who completes the task first will receive something from me. Please try your best." Captain Kuchiki said sternly.

Eyes lingered on him.

"Begin." hissed Snape.

An abrupt rustle for cauldrons and ingredients began. Soon the room was filled with a dirty brown mist. Hermione had of course made the furthest progress. Her potion resembled a batch of rotting blood, an ideal 'stage two' as shown in the textbook. Harry knew it was totally unfair as Hermione had already successfully concocted the polyjuice potion in their second year at Hogwarts. He didn't dare mention it in case Snape or the captain overheard. I would probably cost him suspension or worse… not that it mattered anymore.

Captain Kuchiki was wandering around the class, a copy of 'One thousand magical herbs and fungi' in hand, examining the potions. Harry wondered if their kind used potions of any sort. He came over to their table. He looked at Ron's potion of dirty orange glop with a raised eyebrow. Ron glared at him as he flattened, or rather crushed his beetle's eyes with a silver knife.

Ha! Harry thought. Ron was so jealous. Captain Kuchiki inspected Hermione's potion and nodded approvingly before stepping to the side to look at Malfoy's.

Hermione was heartened. The other girls shot Hermione looks of distaste. They were not let her win without a fight.

In fact, Lavender Brown tried so hard that she almost accidentally tipped a flask of liquid seaweed over Kuchiki Byakuya's robes. It looked like she had, though he had in fact evaded it. Ron was unhappy about this. The captain kept his serious look, and simply walked away. Snape took five points from Gryffindor.

"Damn! Sooo close" Ron said.

"Oh no! Do you think he saw that, Parvati?" Lavender said, now all in a commotion.

By the end of the lesson Hermione's potion was still flawless, and Snape had no choice but to sourly declare her the winner. Captain Kuchiki indicated for her to come to the front of the class, where he stood. From inside his robes he produced a small paper box and handed it to Hermione. He then said something inaudible to her and left the room just as the bell rang.

Hermione was standing motionless, and then she actually spun on the spot.

"Five rolls of parchment on why the polyjuice potion takes one month to brew hand in on Thursday class dismissed." Snape said all this very quickly and in the same breath.

The class shoved and pushed past Hermione, but she seemed to pay them no heed.

"Hey! Hermione! Don't you have Arithmancy next?" Harry shook her from her trance while Ron stood back looking even more annoyed than before.

"Oh yes!" she said, now back in reality, "excuse me." She rushed away.

"Free now, Ron?" Hey!"

"Hmm, yeah" Ron breathed, "What's with that guy? He's a teacher, right?"

"Well, I guess. But, he's more of a kind of –" but Harry could not finish his sentence as his head was thumped by a fat book.

"Ow!" He and Ron shouted together. Snape was standing behind them clasping two copies of 'one thousand herbs and fungi', their own copies in fact.

"Get out of my classroom, Potter and Weasley." he threw the books into their arms, gave them a final filthy look and stalked away.

They returned to the Gryffindor common room and dropped their books on to the floor. They were in no mood to do Snape's stupid homework. They tried to collapse into a squashy sofa by the fire, only it was already occupied.