Chapter 8

"Finally!" groaned Ron, as he stumbled out of the sunlit, humid greenhouse.

"I thought today would never end!"

The three friends had finally been released from their torment, otherwise known as the first day of seventh year at Hogwarts. Harry was very tired and bored; he couldn't wait to sit down to a nice dinner in the Great Hall and then simply collapse in his four-poster bed. However his pleasant daydreams about baked potatoes and soft pillows were crushed when Hermione said:

"Well of course it's not over yet, you've both got a massive pile of homework"

"Argh!" Harry growled.

"What?" she demanded.

"You ruined my hope, Hermione! I'd totally forgotten about Snape's essay and that captain's reading thing!"

"Not to mention Professor Flitwick's 'practice the transformation charm' thing." Ron added.

"Well, if you'd started the reading assignment at break and lunchtime like me you would have been half done already!" she said, irritated. Harry could have thrown a book at her… if he could be bothered.

With nothing but distress on their minds now they crossed the pumpkin patch and made for the tall steps that lead to the castle. They hadn't climbed very high when they found an obstruction in their path. Harry had thought it was a boulder from further away but now he could see that it was in fact a very large person who was now getting up. It was the captain with the immense aura that they had seen last night. He really was massive, it seemed that he had been crouching down on the steps so they couldn't see his head before. Now he was standing over them his scarred face grinning, his drawn sword in hand. His long spiked hair and the fact that he was standing a few steps above them made him look enormous. Then he spoke, pointing his sword right at Harry.

"You!" he said, gruffly.

Harry simply nodded, very confused and intimidated.

"You're the one that didn't even flinch when I came in the room yesterday."

Harry remained silent.

"You must be strong! Even Ichigo was crushed to the ground when we first met!" he let out a great, thunderous laugh that shook them.

Harry had absolutely no idea what an Ichigo was. He felt Hermione trembling beside him and Ron seemed to have turned to stone.

"Let's go." Said Captain Kenpachi.

Harry finally found his voice and answered:

"I'm sorry? Go where, sir?"

The captain guffawed loudly again.

"A showdown of course. You and me, right here, right now." He grinned widely once more.

Still utterly bewildered Harry asked the captain again politely what he meant. The captain started to get angry. He had made himself perfectly clear. He took a step forward, knocking Hermione and Ron out the way, and forced Harry back down the steps.

"I'm talking about a fight, you little runt! I want to see how strong you are. Now I refuse to take 'no' as an answer. We're fighting now, wand versus steel. I want to slice you to ribbons – you're so not backing down. They told me that you defeated the strongest wizard that ever lived. I want to see of you're worth anything in the Shinigami realm."

"Yeah! Go Kenny! Go!" cheered the little pink haired girl they saw yesterday, who had suddenly appeared on Captain Kenpachi's shoulder.

"Yeah! You'll see Yachiru, I'm going to go all out and cut him into little pieces! HAHAHA!"

Harry took a few steps back, reaching for his wand, he could sense that this captain was not just playing around and intended to do exactly what he said. He didn't even look at his friends for help, but he could see them at the corners of his eyes scrambling up from the ground. All thoughts about the rules against attacking teachers suddenly fled from his mind. Removing his wand from his robes, he took up a duelling stance.

"That's more like it, kid. Let's do this!"

The captain took another pace forward, leering and raising his sword. Harry had no idea what spell to use, he'd never fought against someone with a sword before. Going quickly through the duelling jinxes he'd used recently in his mind, he selected one and tried it.

"Impedimenta!" he said chanted, though hesitantly. The spell worked; nevertheless it certainly wasn't the strongest spell he had ever cast. The jet of light shot straight into the centre Kenpachi's chest but he neither stumbled nor swayed. Like a fly hitting an elephant. The captain raised an eyebrow and scratched an ear.

"That's it? That's all you so called wizards can do?" the captain snorted, thoroughly disappointed.

"You're not even worth looking at. But, somehow I've got an impression that you didn't give that your all." He continued, "Come on, now! Do it like you mean it! I'm giving you one more chance!"

Harry was infuriated; none of his opponents had ever stood on the spot and said 'do it again' as though what he'd done was utterly useless. Well, not never. Harry remembered that time at the graveyard in his fourth year when Voldemort had done exactly that in front of all the Death Eaters, humiliating him. That wound him up even more. Though a weak spell, normally someone would have been at least dazed by Impedimenta. These people could not have been normal. He tried something else, louder and more confidently:

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" he shouted.

A dark curse so deadly it caused the opponent to spew blood from the point of penetration as if tens of swords suddenly and invisibly started slashing the enemy from all directions. This was the closest Harry could get to an equal attack. The effects seemed fruitful, and Harry regretted it the instant after he'd done it. He would be in so much trouble for this! The captain coughed as the blood escaped and cut worsened.

"Huh!" he said, "NOW WE'RE TALKING!" he was absolutely delighted! "Now it's my turn to do some damage, kid! Get ready!" He bellowed, laughing louder than ever.

Oh no! He was about to be slaughtered for what he'd just done! The captain should have collapsed, but no, he was more riled up than ever! Harry wanted to run, but he just couldn't. If what had happened next, hadn't, Harry probably wouldn't have survived.

Three swooping figures, suddenly and out of nowhere, were on Kenpachi and he was down. It was Renji, Ikkaku and the man with bob haircut, Yumichika.

"You guys! What the hell do you think you're doing? Get the bloody hell off!" The captain hollered.

"Captain, you're not supposed to attack the students here. The captain commander told you specifically." Said Ikkaku.

"We've been sent by Captain Kuchiki to subdue you." Said Renji.

"That pretty boy bitch! What the hell does he think he's doing, messing with me?" Kenpachi shouted again.

Harry had accidentally been knocked to the ground when Renji pounced down from the sky and was frantically picking himself up, he had missed the first part of the Shinigamis' conversation. All he caught was Kenpachi screaming:

"Let me go! I'm gonna kick that bitch's ass straight to hell! I'll pluck out every strand of that pretty hair!"

"Run, Harry, run!" yelled Renji over the hustle while trying to keep Kenpachi down (which was of course a mammoth of a task).

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He picked up his bag and fled. He sprinted up the steps in a minute and looked back briefly at the top to see that Yumichika had been flung off Kenpachi's back and he also saw Yachiru biting the top of Ikkaku's head. He didn't wait much longer so that Kenpachi could chase after him again. He turned and bounded to the castle.