A/N: It's finally here! Sorry for the delay but I must warn you that the updates will be like this for a while until school time is over. But as I keep saying, I will, in no way, give up on this story until the end. Also, I just want to point out to you all that, as I think I have said at some point in the story's author's notes, that I'm not very good with pairings and romance scenes. So the only pairings, if any, will be between the common ones, like Harry/Ginny or Harry/Cho, Hermione/Ron, Orihime/Ichigo (spoiler anyone?), and Rukia/Renji. The majority of these pairings, if there are any, will be pretty vague, like almost all teenage crushes are.

On a lighter note, as I'm sure many of you remember, Remus uses the boggart in one of his lessons and then again during his final exam. I was hoping you guys could throw some ideas out there for me on what each of the shinigami should have as their boggart. Any suggestions or ideas? I can't seem to think of anything that I could use that would keep them in character. Maybe any ideas that would give the rest of the class a hint as to their real jobs that would get our favorite trio curious about them. Please let me know through a review and if you think of any ideas later, don't hesitate to PM me. Thanks!

Now let's see what happens, shall we? Who will meet who on the train? How will the Soul Reapers react to the Dementors? And what about Lupin? Well, let's read and find out.

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter or any of the characters, magical creatures, or magical items. Nor do I own anything out of the Bleach era. If I do, I will let you know ahead of time if I remember.

Chapter Thirteen: Lupin, Dementors, and Draco Malfoy

The next morning, Toshiro was the first to awaken around eight o'clock and quickly showered, changed and packed up the last of his belongings before going next door to Rangiku and Rukia's room. After knocking three times, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Rangiku sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily, and yawned widely as she adjusted her over-large sleep shirt. "Morning, taicho." She mumbled sleepily.

"Get up and get ready." He said softly from his spot by the door. He nodded towards Rukia, who was still sleeping in her own bed. "We'll shower one at a time, so that we can keep order. I've already showered so once you've finished, wake up Rukia and have her get in if she plans on showering today. I'll go wake up Renji and Ichigo and have one of them use the shower to the other bathroom. Let's try not to wake any of the other inhabitants of this inn, got it?"

Rangiku yawned again. "Sure. When are we leaving?"

"Ukitake will be here at exactly ten fifteen, almost like before." Toshiro answered. "It is just about eight thirty right now. By the time everyone is finished showering and getting ready, it should be about nine fifteen. We need to move quickly because I have a feeling that the Weasleys and Harry and his Granger friend will be getting up and getting ready at least by nine. The train leaves the station for Hogwarts at exactly eleven o'clock. We can't afford to be late."

"Got it." Rangiku said as she got out of bed and began gathering everything she would need for her shower.

Toshiro nodded and left the room, heading towards the room that housed Ichigo and Renji. Without knocking, he opened the door and stepped inside. The room appeared to have had a small tornado pass through it, as there were clothes and textbooks and sheets of parchment scattered over the floor and along several pieces of furniture. Toshiro frowned and walked over to Ichigo's bed. Looking down at his sleeping form with disdain, Toshiro pulled his foot back and was about to kick the bed when Ichigo's voice floated up from his otherwise passive face.

"Don't even think about it." He mumbled into his pillow. He opened an eye and zeroed in on Toshiro's amused face. He sat up and frowned at him. "I've gotten used to staying on my guard while I sleep. My dad always insists on waking me up by beating the hell out of me."

"Good." Toshiro replied. "That habit will help keep you alive and keep people from slaughtering you in your sleep. Especially since we'll be staying in unfamiliar territory for several months to a whole year with a mass amount of people trained in magic. For now, however, we should worry about getting up and ready. Rangiku is using one of the showers and there's one more available on our side of the hallway. Either you or Renji get in and shower, if you plan on showering today, and then once you're finished, let the other person in. Try to be quick so that the Weasleys and everyone else can do what they need to. We all need to go to the same place after all."

"Right." Ichigo flipped off the blankets and lurched out of bed. He grabbed a towel and his toiletries and followed Toshiro out of the room. Toshiro headed back to his room as Ichigo made a beeline for the other bathroom. "What time are we leaving?"

"Ten fifteen sharp." Toshiro answered. "Be ready."

Toshiro entered his room to find Harry awake and moving, searching in his trunk until he found what he was looking for. Carefully he pulled out a large, leather bound book, obviously hand-made, and sat back on the bed with it in his lap. Toshiro walked to his bed and quickly neatened the bed sheets while Harry sifted through the book. Finally he spoke.

"A friend of mine gave me this." Harry said quietly. He pointed to one of the pictures. "These are all pictures of my parents when they were still alive. Some, like this one, were from their wedding and some were from their school days. They're the only things I have of my parents; if I didn't have this, I probably never would have known what they looked like." Besides the Mirror of Eresed. Harry thought bitterly.

"That's good." Toshiro replied. "At least you'll always know what they looked like. Even if you loose that book or something were to happen to it, you've already seen the pictures, so they'll always be in your memories."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But at the same time, now that I know what they look like, when I dream of them getting murdered, I can see their faces this time."

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at Harry. "What do you mean 'dream of them getting murdered'?"

Harry looked up at him and Toshiro saw the tell tale signs of one just out of a nightmare. "I have dreams occasionally. About Voldemort murdering my parents. I didn't know what it was at first. I would just dream about a flash of green light and then it turned into a flash of green light with the sound of an evil laugh. And now, I dream of a flash of green light, with an evil laugh, coming out of Voldemort's face on the back of Professor Quirrel's head, shooting the green light from a wand and killing my parents in their wedding clothes because that's how I've seen them in these pictures. But I've never told anyone about these dreams. I don't know why I'm telling you. Maybe because I know you won't tell anyone."

Toshiro nodded. "I wouldn't. There's no need because, 1) it's not my story to share and 2) it's none of anyone else's business."

Harry smiled. "Thanks." Then he stood up and placed the book back in his trunk before pulling out his clothes for the day and his toiletries. "Is anyone in either of these bathrooms?"

Toshiro nodded. "Rangiku should be finishing up in one of them and Ichigo just got in the other. You might have to wait unless you would like to either use one of the bathrooms further down the hall or you can wait and rush into an available bathroom as soon as one makes itself know."

Harry shrugged. "I'll just use one of the bathrooms down the hall. Everyone else should still be asleep, so the bathrooms should still be open."

Toshiro nodded again. "Then by all means. I don't know when you guys will be leaving, but we'll be gone by ten fifteen."

"Right." Harry said as he headed out of the room. "Knowing Mrs. Weasley, everyone else won't be asleep for much longer."

As Harry had predicted, by the time Rukia had gotten into the shower and Renji was finishing up his, Mrs. Weasley had wakened every single one of her children and Hermione. Toshiro was both amused and annoyed by the chaos that erupted. Ron had taken more than one trip by Mrs. Weasley to get fully out of bed. The Weasley twins both bumped into Rangiku as she tried to make the short distance from her room to Toshiro's and both twins flushed as red as Suna's fur when she was angry as they were nearly suffocated by her massive breasts. Rangiku laughed uproariously as the twins made a mad dash for their room, red-faced and avoiding all eye contact on the way.

"What did you do?" Toshiro asked exasperatedly as Rangiku entered his room, still laughing.

"I didn't do a single thing." Rangiku smirked. "It's not my fault those innocent little children have never felt a girl before."

"Matsumoto." Toshiro muttered in warning.

"Oh, alright." Rangiku said with a wave of her hand. She put her hands on her hips and surveyed his clothing. "Not bad. I did a good job, don't you think?"

Toshiro shrugged as he finished buttoning up his white shirt and pulled on the black sweater vest with a dragon outlined in an ice blue threading. "Not bad. But where did you get all of the material to make everyone's clothes?"

"Oh, I asked Mrs. Weasley, she makes sweaters for her kids you know, and she and I went to a shop that sold everything we needed." She said. "So I bought a bunch of different cloths and material and thread and stuff like that yesterday, while we were out getting stuff for Renji's party."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "You bought unpoppable bubbles and whistling candles in Diagon Alley?"

"Well, the bubbles Mrs. Weasley made with her wand but the candles we got from a joke shop her sons always go to." Rangiku shrugged. "They have a lot of really neat stuff and I made sure to get a bunch of different things for everyone's birthdays while we're at the school."

Toshiro glared at her. "Don't even think about it." He said menacingly.

"Don't worry, it will be nice and mellow." She said as she left the room. ˚

For some reason, Toshiro was unable to find comfort in her words.

By ten o five, all of the Soul Reapers, the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were packed and ready to go, their trunks lying on the ground under their seats as they finished the last of their breakfasts. Harry was excited to be going back to Hogwarts with Toshiro and the other study abroad students. Hermione had had tons of questions for them the day before, excited about having foreign students at the school and dying to learn as much about them as possible. Harry had noticed that Toshiro had seemed rather distant as she had asked him question after question. Harry could understand anyone becoming flustered after having Hermione on their backs but for some reason, Harry felt that Toshiro himself didn't seem to know the answers to a lot of her questions and some of them were rather simple, he thought. Perhaps he had just imagined it? Or maybe he was just looking too hard into this. That had to be it.

Finally, Toshiro cleared his throat and rose from his seat. Immediately, to the amusement of everyone else at the table who didn't know the shinigami, the other Japanese students followed suit and quickly gathered their trunks, following Toshiro to the door of the Leaky Cauldron. Mrs. Weasley glanced at the clock on the wall and quickly ushered everyone else up, claiming that they had to leave now. Toshiro opened the door and everyone walked outside in time to see a large, shiny black truck jump onto the curb and pull dangerously close to Toshiro, narrowly avoiding running him over, though Toshiro didn't seem to notice one way or another. As soon as the truck pulled to a stop, the shinigami began tossing their trunks into the truck bed as two cars pulled up behind it.

Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys climbed into the cars as the drivers packed their trunks in the back of the cars. The shinigami climbed into the truck and started driving away, magically popping up at the front of traffic, the two ministry cars close behind. Half an hour later, both cars and the truck pulled up to King's Cross Station, where the shinigami went to get trolleys while Ukitake unloaded the trunks and the ministry drivers retrieved trolleys while Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys unloaded their trunks.

Once everyone was settled, the ministry cars pulled away and Ukitake followed the shinigami and the others into the station and passed the other platforms until they stopped in front of the solid brick wall between platforms nine and ten. Mrs. Weasley quickly explained to the shinigami how the platform worked and then began ushering everyone through the barrier, Harry and Mr. Weasley going through first and Ukitake and Toshiro bringing up the rear.

"My, this is quite fancy." Ukitake commented good-naturedly. Then he turned his attention away from the large scarlet colored steam engine being loaded with students and towards his 'students'. "Well, it looks like this will be the last time I see any of you until next summer, then. You guys have a great time, learn as much as you can, and keep in touch with everyone back home."

The shinigami nodded at the subtle hints of their mission and said their goodbyes before pulling their trunks up the steps and into the train. Toshiro stayed behind and glanced over to where Harry seemed to be having a serious conversation with Mr. Weasley. He watched their lips moving and glanced at Ukitake, who had also noticed the pair. "What do you think?" Toshiro asked.

"About the boy or what they're talking about?" Ukitake asked in a low voice.

"Both." Toshiro answered, pretending to survey the whole platform. "They seem to be talking about Sirius Black again."

"Have they been doing it often?" Ukitake asked, following the younger taicho's casual glances around the platform. "Talking about that evil wizard, I mean."

Toshiro shrugged. "As far as I know, everyone seems to want to keep him out of every conversation. They spoke about him once or twice but very subtly. But from what I've gathered from Harry talking in his sleep last night, he seems to believe that Black is after him as well. Though I believe he might have overheard that information from somewhere because he didn't seem to think that way until last night. Something must have happened or someone must have said something between the time he left the room to quiet his friends and come back to his room. And just before he fell asleep, he spoke to himself. I don't think he thought I was awake. He said 'I'm not going to be murdered'."

"Hmm, that is strange." Ukitake conceded thoughtfully. "And I've noticed that not many seem to be talking about that eviler wizard, what's his name, Voldemort."

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I've noticed over time that no one calls him by his name. Out of fear, I believe. Everyone seems to call him You-Know-Who, which, personally, I find rather annoying. I even heard a couple of wizards calling him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. All of these fearful nicknames are making things rather confusing when trying to keep up with who they're talking about. For a group of people who are so keen on believing that he's dead, they have a funny way of showing it."

"I quite agree." Ukitake said with a nod. Then the two of them looked up as a whistle blew from the train, followed by Mrs. Weasley saying goodbye to her kids and Hermione while calling for Harry and Mr. Weasley to hurry before the train leaves. Ukitake looked back to Toshiro. "I guess that's our cue. I better head back. Oh, and did you manage to buy an owl for message delivery?"

Toshiro nodded. "Yes, I bought one that was good for long distances and sent it to Isshin Kurosaki. I believe I was instructed to send updates to him and he, in turn, will get them home?" Toshiro asked, putting a bit of emphasis on the word.

Ukitake nodded. "Yes. With Urahara's new job in this mission, he won't be able to give us the updates. Isshin was the next best thing." He paused when the whistle blew again. Then he ushered Toshiro onto the train after Harry as it began to move. "Have a good trip and don't forget to have fun, son!" He called cheerfully.

Toshiro stood in the car's open doorway and smirked at the word. "I'll talk to you soon, father!" He called back while trying to keep a straight face. Once Ukitake's waving form had disappeared as the train rounded a bend, Toshiro closed the door and dragged his trunk down the isle until he came to the last compartment at the back of the train. It was already full to the seams with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the shinigami, all of whom were trying to find a place to sit within the small space. Toshiro noticed a shabby-looking man sitting in the corner of the compartment next to the window, fast asleep, and was a bit surprised that the ruckus hadn't woken him up yet.

With an exasperated sigh, Toshiro pulled out his wand, mumbled a spell and waved his wand in the air. The entire compartment outlined in a while-gold light before stretching itself until it was able to sit all of them quite comfortably. The others paused in their argument of seating arrangements and took in the change before turning to Toshiro in surprise. Then Hermione gasped and clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Oh, of course." She breathed. "We can use magic to make the compartment bigger like the school does to fit so many beds into one room. Why on earth didn't I think of it sooner?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes, placed his wand back into his pocket and dragged his trunk towards the seat beside the window, directly across from the shabby looking man. He hoisted his trunk up into the empty space above his seat and sat down, pulling Suna out of his pocket and placing her in his lap, where she curled up into a soft-blue ball and slept. Taking this as a hint, the other four shinigami began placing their trunks on the shelves and took their seats; after a moment, Harry, Ron and Hermione followed suit.

"Who do you think he is?" Ron asked in a low voice as Harry slid the compartment door closed. He nodded his head to the young sickly looking man in shabby robes, still sleeping soundly.

"Professor R. J. Lupin." Said Toshiro and Hermione at the same time.

Ron looked from one to the other, puzzled. Hermione looked at Toshiro, who ignored them all as he gazed out of the window. "How do you know that?" Ron asked them.

It was Hermione who spoke. "It says so on his case." She pointed above the man's head, where a small, string-tied tattered case rested in the luggage rack, baring the name Professor R. J. Lupin in one of its corners.

"What do you think he's teaching?" Ron asked, eyeing the man apprehensively.

"Well, there's only one position open, isn't there?" Hermione asked. "He must be here for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."

"So they found another one." Harry surmised. "Hope he's better than the last two."

"Last two?" Ichigo repeated questioningly.

"Didn't you say something like that earlier?" Rangiku asked. "Something about a professor who tried to kill you or something like that? What was his name? Quail, Squirrel, Swirl, something like that."

Ron smirked and Hermione giggled softly at the butchering of the name. "It's Quirrel." Harry said with a small smile, not at all bothered with the mess up of the name of the teacher who had tried to kill him in his first year. "He was our first Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Then we had an idiot named Professor Lockhart, who turned out to be a real fraud and tried to erase mine and Ron's memories because we found out he was a fake. There's a rumor going around that the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is cursed because we can't keep a teacher for more than a year. Hopefully this teacher will stay longer."

"And know what he's doing." Ron added. He eyed the man wearily again. "But do you think he's up to it? He looks like one good hex will finish him off."

"Do you think you put too much emphasis on appearance?" Toshiro asked, turning his head to scrutinize Ron. "Because you really shouldn't judge based on it. To me, you look like a scrawny, easily flustered, childish kid." Ron flushed. "However, I don't know you, so I have no right to judge based on appearance alone. Neither should you or anyone else. Especially since it is extremely immature and can lead to bad judgment and even worse actions, followed closely by severe consequences of the latter. I suggest you remember that for future references." And with that, Toshiro turned and continued gazing out the window as the hills rolled by.

Ron turned his stunned and still flushed gaze on his two friends, who were trying hard not to laugh at his scolding from someone nearly half his size. Hermione smiled. "He does have a point, you know; we shouldn't judge based on appearance." Ron frowned and opened his mouth to argue but Hermione quickly turned her attention back to Harry. "So what did you want to talk about? Or…" she looked in the direction of the foreign students.

Harry shrugged. "It's okay; they pretty much know what's going on anyway." Then he quickly explained to them all everything he had overheard last night between Ron's parents and then what Mr. Weasley had told him before he got on the train. "And that's pretty much it." Toshiro hadn't turned his gaze away from the window, but Harry was sure he was listening too.

"Oh, Harry." Hermione breathed. "That must have been awful for you to hear." Ron looked horrified. Harry was surprised to see that the Japanese kids hardly reacted at all. Hermione continued. "Sirius Black is after you. That's terrible. Oh, but Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are right, you mustn't go looking for trouble."

"I don't." Harry snapped. "I don't go looking for it; it usually finds me."

"Who in their right mind would go looking for someone who wants to kill them?" Ron asked incredulously, looking fearful.

"I would." Ichigo and Renji answered in unison. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at them in shock. Ichigo answered their looks. "Best way to defend yourself against a killer would be to kill him first. In the world we live in today, it's kill or be killed. Sitting around pretending it won't happen won't do squat."

"But he can't." Hermione protested. "None of us are any match for someone like him. He was You-Know-Who's most faithful supporter."

"Who?" Rukia asked in confusion.

"She means Voldemort." Harry said. Hermione and Ron winced. "Most people don't like hearing the name. So we call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Well, that's stupid." Ichigo scoffed.

"Don't offend." Toshiro told the window in a tone that said he had been saying this several times before. "If this is their way of showing how much faith they have in their beliefs that he really is gone, then let them. If they haven't gotten over his demise by now, they probably never will. But we are in their country and therefore must bide by their rules, at least in some sense. While we're here, we should probably work on creating a habit of saying 'You-Know-Who' or whatever to everyone who isn't Harry, because obviously he has no qualms with the name."

"But it makes everything so confusing." Rangiku whined. "Why are these people being such babies over someone who supposedly died thirteen years ago?"

"Rangiku." Toshiro warned.

"Oh, alright." Rangiku mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. In a lower voice she mumbled. "I still think they're being ridiculous."

Ron and Hermione were looking at the Japanese students with something akin to wonder and disbelief. Hermione seemed to be nearly bursting with questions she was dying to ask. Harry sat silently, wondering how long it would take before she exploded. He didn't have to wait long before Hermione asked her first set of questions.

"Are you guys not afraid of You-Know-Who? Don't you know what he's done? Do you guys even know anything about him where you're from? I can't believe you're from Japan. How many other exchange students are there? Are more going to be coming after you? This year? Next year? How-"

"Will some one please shut her up?" Toshiro hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose as the faint telling of a migraine appeared behind his eyes. Hermione flushed and snapped her mouth shut with an audible snap. Toshiro glared at her before turning his gaze to Harry. "She's just like you were. Question after question with no room for an answer." He turned his glaring gaze back to her. "How can you expect an answer if you don't let anyone else get a word in? Do you have any idea how annoying that is? Not to mention a complete waste of time. Questions are good for learning what we don't understand. But you can't learn from questions alone. Answers do help, you know."

"Sorry." Hermione mumbled in a small voice.

"So much for not offending." Ichigo smirked.

Toshiro turned his glare on him before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to be calm before answering Hermione's questions in descending order. "To answer your questions in order: No. Yes. Vaguely. We are. A lot. Probably not. Probably not. Probably not. And that last question wasn't completed enough for an accurate answer. You were the one who asked question after question without pause, so you figure out which answer goes to which question."

Harry noticed that despite the red tinge in Hermione's cheeks, the wheels were practically visible as they turned in her head before she made out what he had said. Once she did, Harry could just tell that several new questions had popped into her head. She took a deep breath before asking another question, refraining from asking more than one at a time.

"So you don't think there will be more of you coming to Hogwarts?" she asked.

"I doubt it." Toshiro said, glad that she was learning. "We're not really exchange students as much as study abroad students. We stay from country to country, learning as we go along. Since this school was in our path, we decided to come here. If it hadn't been, we would have skipped right over it and continued on."

"How exactly does this whole study abroad thing work where you're from?" Hermione asked. "I mean, how do you become part of it in the first place? You all look to be different ages and aren't exactly common looking third years, as Harry has told us you would be in."

"It's complicated." Toshiro said, starting into the cover story Yamamoto had created with Dumbledore and so the shinigami had to use as well. "The rough version is like this: there are several different groups, going from Group A to Group Z. Each group has a maximum of 5 people. We don't join based on age. We join based on when we first tap into our powers. That's not to say that an infant will join if it taps into its powers at that age. It has to be able to have some kind of control over them or at least the ability to control them. Otherwise, they would be considered special cases and either the parents train them until they are ready to join a group or the parents give their child away and the child becomes 'adopted' so to speak, by someone who can train and protect them until they can join a group.

Right now, there are several groups who either have no one in them, or still have a vacancy or two. There is no limit in how long you're allowed to train. You train until you think you can successfully control your powers without any casualties or accidents. After about six years of training, if you think you are ready, there is a test that you can take. It's an extremely hard test that will drill you on everything you've ever learned and how well you can control yourself. If you pass, you 'graduate', so to speak, and receive a document and personal file claiming that you have the right to use your powers at your own leisure, as long as you continue to follow the laws.

However, if you fail, you receive a black mark on your permanent record and you must go back to training. You must make sure that you are absolutely positive you can control your powers before attempting to take the test again. You get three tries to take the test. If you fail all three times, they kick you out, or 'expel' you and you will not be allowed to use your powers. You will be punished if you do. You basically stick with your group for the entire six years until it is time to start attempting the test. There's usually two or three groups formed each year and they pretty much train by level, starting with the basics and working your way up. Currently, Groups G-Z are full, A has one vacancy left, B is us, C has so far been stuck with just three, and D-F are empty. All of the groups with Learners, as we are called, are scattered across the world. We are the first group to attend this or any school. If it works well enough, others might attend in later years."

"Wow." Hermione breathed, looking at them all with wide eyes. Ron looked shocked and extremely confused.

"Hang on." He said slowly, his brow furrowing as he tried to make sense of all the information that had just been crammed into his head. "So you guys are called Learners and you are all in groups of five or less people of different ages and you learn to control your powers until you reach your sixth year and then you try to take a test and if you fail three times, you get expelled but if you pass, you're allowed to use your powers at any time? And you can continue training for as long as you want?"

Toshiro nodded. "You can continue training as long as you need to, as long as you haven't failed the test for the third time. And if you pass, you can use your powers as long as you follow the laws set forth. Our rules are very strict."

"No kidding." Harry said, impressed. "I'm glad I waited to ask you guys this until Hermione and Ron were with me. There's no way I would have been able to explain all this to them without confusing them and myself."

Toshiro shrugged. "I told you it was complicated. But those are our ways. I believe we are the only ones that do this in our part of Japan. I don't think any other parts of Japan are like this."

"And Dumbledore knows all this?" Hermione asked. Toshiro nodded. "I see. But, so how do you determine what year you'll be in here at Hogwarts? Or did you just pick a year a random?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, the way our headmaster explained it to us after speaking with Dumbledore is that we have learned enough magic to be level with third years at Hogwarts. Like I said, we join based on the age we tapped into our powers. Basically we have been at it for about three years so far, each tapping in and joining at the same time but at different ages. For example: I tapped into my powers half way through age twelve, yet I'm advanced enough to be in the same group as everyone else, all of whom started a year sooner; I'll be fourteen later on during the year. Yes, I know I'm small for my age, but I can kick your ass with no problem, so don't even try me."

He nodded his head to Rangiku sitting on his right, followed by Ichigo and Renji, with Hermione at the end. "These three all tapped into their powers around 13. Ichigo and Renji are now 16 and Rangiku will be turning this month, I believe." He nodded to Rukia seated beside the still sleeping professor. "And Rukia tapped into her powers half way through age eleven; she's fourteen now, literally half a year older than me."

"That's right." Rangiku commented. "Rukia's birthday is in January, the first month of the year, and Toshiro's birthday is in December, the last month of the year. Isn't that ironic?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Anyways, our groups go based on skill, not age."

"I see." Hermione said thoughtfully. Before she could say any more, a loud whistling noise suddenly filled the compartment.

"What's that?" Ron asked as the shinigami suddenly tensed. The compartment went quiet except for the whistling. "It's coming from your trunk, Harry." He said. He stood up and opened Harry's trunk. A strange item that looked like a spinning top fell to the floor and began whistling louder as it began spinning on it's point in front of them.

"Is that a sneakoscope?" Hermione asked wondrously. She looked up to see the shinigami with their hands over their ears and deep frowns on their faces.

Harry noticed too. "Put it back." Harry called over the noise. He nodded to the shabby professor on the other side of Rukia. "It might wake him."

Ron picked up the sneakoscope and stuffed it back into Harry's trunk, burying it under Harry's clothes, and slamming the lid shut, muting the sound. "That's better. I think it might be broken. We should probably see if we can get it fixed in Hogsmeade. They sell stuff like that."

"Oh, really?" Rukia asked. "I hear it is one of the only all-wizarding settlements in Britain."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, it is. I've read all about the history of Hogsmeade. There isn't a single muggle there. And they get all sorts of visitors. Like vampires and goblins."

"And they have loads of cool shops." Ron piped up. "Like the sweet shop Honeydukes. They have the best candy ever."

Hermione and Ron began simultaneously explaining everything they knew about Hogsmeade. Ron explained about Honeydukes and Zonko's, the joke shop, while Hermione told about the different historical sites like the Shrieking Shack and the first shop ever built. Toshiro listened with half of his mind until something caught his attention. He turned his head and noticed that Harry hadn't jumped into the conversation at all. In fact, Harry seemed to become rather depressed by the subject.

"What's your problem?" Toshiro asked him.

"I can't go." Harry mumbled. Hermione and Ron paused and turned to him.

"What do you mean you can't go?" Ron demanded. "Why not?"

"My uncle didn't sign the form." Harry said quietly.

"But that's not fair!" Ron exclaimed in horror. "You have to go! Maybe McGonagall will let you."

Harry snorted. "Yeah right. She'd probably tell me that it would be safer if I stayed at the school."

"Well, it would be safer." Hermione amended. Harry and Ron glared at her. "Sorry. But honestly, Black murdered a whole street full of people; he's not going to be frightened off from attacking Harry at Hogsmeade just because it's crowded with people."

"Well, if you can't go, you can't go." Toshiro said. "I might not be going either. It's not the end of the world you know."

"Why aren't you going?" Harry asked in puzzlement.

Toshiro shrugged. "We've been to several different magical places all over the country. After a while, it's not as impressive as it once was. Why bother? I may go at one point or another but who knows?"

"Same here." Ichigo said. "I probably won't go every time." The others nodded except Rangiku.

"Well, I might stay behind for one time but I would really like to visit that joke shop you were talking about." She said. "I could use as many new prank ideas as possible for back home."

"Matsumoto, you will not use anything you find out here back at the… classroom." Toshiro told her with a tone that said he was dead serious. "I better not find anything built into my desk or in any of the flower pots."

"I wouldn't dream of it, taicho." Rangiku said cheerfully.

Toshiro growled. "And what did I say about calling me that?" he snapped.

"Taichow?" Hermione asked, looking between the two. "I thought you said your name was Toshiro."

Rangiku giggled and spoke before Toshiro could. "It is. 'Tie-cho' is Japanese for captain. It's a nickname we use for him because he acts so much like a leader. And he throws out orders like a captain, don't you think?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. Ron and Harry smirked. Toshiro rolled his eyes and glanced at the wicker basket in Hermione's lap as she began untying the string keeping it closed. Ron noticed as well and leaned away from the basket, clutching a hand around a lump in his breast pocket.

"Don't let that thing out!" Ron shouted. Crookshanks leaped from the open basket and jumped onto Ron's lap. Ron shoved him away roughly. "Get away!"

"Ron!"

Suna lifted her head and growled down at Crookshanks. Crookshanks turned its head to peer up at Suna before sauntering towards her. Suna hissed, her fur standing on end and her nails digging into Toshiro's knees. Toshiro pulled her front paws out of his pant legs and glared at Crookshanks, pulling Suna onto his shoulder. "Back off." He told Crookshanks.

Suna growled deep within her throat, her fur a deep shade of red, making her look like she had her fur soaked in blood. Hermione quickly swooped down and picked Crookshanks up and placed him into her lap. Professor Lupin fidgeted in his sleep, turning his head slightly before falling back asleep.

The compartment slipped into a calming silence as the train continued to roll through the hills, heading further north, the clouds and scenery becoming thicker and darker. Around one o'clock, the food cart appeared outside their compartment door, the little witch asking if they wanted anything. The shinigami stood up and surveyed the spread, surprised with the odd foods. Harry explained to them the different foods while he ordered a large stack of what he said were called Cauldron Cakes and several Chocolate Frogs.

Toshiro wrinkled his nose at the mass amounts of sweets and eventually settled for a couple of pumpkin pasties. The rest of the shinigami ordered at least three of everything, not wanting to miss anything.

"Shouldn't we wake him?" Ron asked.

"He looks like he could use a good meal or two." Renji muttered.

"Um, excuse me, Professor." Hermione said softly. "Professor?"

"That's all right, dear." The witch said as she handed a large handful of chocolate frogs to Rangiku, whose eyes were gleaming at the chocolate. "If he's hungry when he wakes up, tell him I will be with the driver up front."

"Is he even alive?" Ron asked as the witch left the compartment. "You don't think he's died in his sleep since he last moved?"

"No, he's alive." Ichigo said softly, eyeing the sleeping professor. The other shinigami nodded silently.

They lapsed into another comfortable silence, eating their snacks and watching the hills continue to roll by until it started to rain. As the train continued on through the afternoon, they heard footsteps outside and the next moment, the compartment's door slid open to reveal three people in the doorway. One was average height with pale skin and white blond hair. The other two were both bigger and thicker physically and mentally by the way they acted.

"Well, if it isn't Potty and the Weasel." The blond boy sneered. His eyes roamed to the rest of the group. "Who are you? New students? And foreigners, at that. What are you doing with people like them?" he asked, cocking his head to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"And you are?" Toshiro asked in a bored tone.

"Draco Malfoy." Draco said proudly. His eyes narrowed. "But who are you? And what's with the white hair? And your height. Are you a first year?"

"How rude." Rangiku snapped. "Just who do you think you are, you little snot?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at her, though he seemed to take in her facial features and large bosom. Then he turned his gaze to Rukia and then to Ichigo and Renji. "More Weasleys?" he smirked. He turned to Ron. "Just how big is your family, Weasel? Did that money your father won even last long with all of you? Or do you still live in a hovel?"

Ron and Harry jumped up, as did the majority of the shinigami except for Rukia and Toshiro. Professor Lupin gave a snort and shifted in his seat. Draco's eyes zeroed in on him and he took an automatic step back.

"Who's that?" he asked.

""He's our new teacher." Harry said as he kept a hand on Ron's arm. "You were saying?"

Draco took another step back before turning to his two bigger friends. "Come on." He muttered and the three of them left.

Everyone paused for a moment, making sure they weren't going to return before retaking their seats. Ron was breathing rather heavily. "I swear, if he says one more thing about my family, I'll make him sorry. I'm not going to take it this year."

"Who was that?" Ichigo growled, still eyeing the door.

"His name is Draco Malfoy." Harry said. "He's a snobby little jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else. Remember what I said about people who think purebloods are better than anyone else?" The shinigami nodded. "Well, he's one of the snobbiest purebloods. One of those self-righteous kinds."

"How pathetic." Rangiku scoffed as she turned her nose up.

The train continued to speed down the tracks, heading still further north, until night had finally fallen, turning the surrounding area outside into a cloudy darkness. Lanterns shimmered to life all around the train. Professor Lupin continued to sleep.

"Aren't we just about there yet?" Ron asked as he looked past Rukia and Professor Lupin to see out the window. Suddenly the train began to slow down. "Finally." He said as he began rising to his feet.

"Wait." Toshiro said urgently, getting to his feet as well, Suna still on his shoulder. He walked to the window and looked out. The outside of the train was pitch black with darkness and it was difficult to make anything out. "Something's not right."

"We can't be there yet." Hermione said as she checked her watch. "It's too early."

Harry stood up as well and peaked outside the compartment. Heads poked out of the other compartments as other students wondered why the train was stopping so soon. Suddenly the train stopped with a jolt that caused the trunks to fall from the racks to the floor. Then the lanterns went out and they were all plunged into a sudden darkness.

"What's happening?" Came Ron's voice from behind Harry.

"Ouch! Ron, you stepped on my foot!" Called Hermione.

"What the hell's going on?" Ichigo asked the darkness.

"Taicho, what do you see?" Rangiku whispered softly.

"The darkness is too thick." Toshiro's voice floated from the window. "It's unnatural. But I think I see something moving around outside."

"I don't feel right with just my wand, taicho." Renji said.

"Nor do I." said the other shinigami in unison.

Harry made his way back to his seat, mentally wondering what else they could need besides a wand. "Who would be coming onto the train this late? And at random like this?"

Suddenly the compartment door slid open and someone fell heavily and painfully on Harry's legs. "Ouch, sorry. Do you guys know what's going on?"

"Neville?" Came Toshiro's surprised voice.

"Huh? Toshiro? Is that you?" Toshiro pulled out his wand and muttered Lumos. The compartment lit up for a moment but Neville, who had been trying to make his way toward where he heard Toshiro's voice, had been blinded by the sudden light and fell into Toshiro, causing him to drop his wand and making the light go out. "Ouch, sorry." Came Neville's voice from the floor at Toshiro's feet.

Toshiro sighed audibly and reached down to pull Neville up and into his previous seat. "What are you doing over here?"

"I was looking for you. I remember you said you were going to Hogwarts and I wanted to see if I could find you. Then the lights went out and I know Harry and them are usually down this way so I came over here. I was trying to see if anyone knew what was going on."

"I'll go ask the driver." Hermione's voice said from the compartment door.

Harry heard her open the compartment door again and then there was a thud and two yelps of pain from two female voices.

"Who's there?"

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Is that you, Hermione?"

"Yes, come in. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Ron. What's going on?"

"I don't know. Sit down."

"Not here. I'm here." Harry whispered hurriedly.

"Ouch! Ginny!" Ron hissed.

"Quiet!" a rough voice hissed.

Toshiro turned his head at the new voice. Since it was unfamiliar and no one else had entered the compartment and the voice seemed to be coming from next to him, Toshiro figured it must be the new professor, who had finally risen from his slumber.

The compartment fell into an apprehensive silence. There was a crackling and the compartment was suddenly filled with light as what looked like a ball of fire illuminated from Lupin's hand. Toshiro looked down, finally found his dropped wand and straightened back up to stare at the professor. "No one move." He said and stood up, carefully making his way to the door. Before he could reach it, the door slid open and a cloaked and hooded figure stood towering in the doorway, illuminated by Lupin's hand held fire.

Harry looked down to see a slimy, grey, scabby looking hand protruding from the cloak. As if feeling eyes on it, the hand pulled back into the folds of its cloak and the figure took in a rattling breath, sounding like it had something metal rolling around in it's throat. A sudden cold washed over all of them.

The shinigami suddenly felt weak, cold, and exhausted. There was a heavy feeling of being drained of more than just energy and Toshiro remembered the reports he had studied all morning the day before they arrived in London. The reports had said that there were creatures called Dementors, which was something they were supposed to be protecting the school from, that were going to be roaming around the school on the ministry's orders in order to find Sirius Black. The reports claimed that these creatures could suck out a person's soul through their mouths, an attack that earned the name Dementor's Kiss. Since all the shinigami were basically souls in a costume, the Dementor's soul sucking ability seemed to be having a greater effect.

Toshiro slowly sank to the ground, suddenly feeling as though a heavy weight were pressing down on him, heavier than he had ever felt in his entire existence. He could see the others sliding off of their seats and knew they were feeling the same way. But Ichigo! He didn't seem to be effected the same way. Then Toshiro remembered that Ichigo wasn't a pure Soul Reaper. He was alive! Toshiro reached up and wrenched the ring off his finger.

Ichigo felt like his whole body had been plunged into a frozen lake, his body involuntarily shivering as he watched the creature. If he had to make a wild guess, he would have to bet that this creature was one of the Dementors they had been sent to protect the school from. After feeling the effects of these Dementors, his loath for these creatures escalated.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo looked up and turned his head to Toshiro, whom he was surprised to see looked like he was being drained.

"Ichigo!" Toshiro said again in Japanese. His voice sounded weak and slow. "Souls! It eats souls! We are souls!"

"Shit!" Ichigo said weakly as he suddenly understood what was happening. He looked around at the others. The humans seemed to be feeling much the same as him but the other Soul Reapers were just as affected as Toshiro. The Dementor seemed to realize it too. It suddenly turned its head towards Rukia, who was the closest, and began lurching towards her. Ichigo could see that the closer it got to her, the weaker Rukia became until he could almost see through her, as if her Gigai was fading.

"No!" Ichigo shouted weakly as he pushed himself off his seat and flopped his body over Rukia's. The Dementor lurched towards him and suddenly an image flashed in Ichigo's mind. He could see a woman with light brown hair, running towards him with a look of horror. He could hear her calling out to him over and over. Next thing he knew, she was lying in the grass, rain pouring down on both of them, mixing with her blood as it seeped out of her lifeless body. Then Grand Fisher's face appeared, leering at him with the woman in its grasp, holding her out to him, taunting him. Behind Grand Fisher, barely visible at first but growing clearer and clearer every second was a figure that looked so much like him, except it wasn't. Not really. It's face was grey, it's eyes black and hollow, its teeth as white as the clothes it wore.

"You're dying, King."It said to him with a scornful grin. "It's only a matter of time before I finally get control. You're getting weaker. As soon as you are weak enough, I'll be able to take control and fight off this creature on my own."

'No!' Ichigo thought fiercely.

"Just a bit more."

'No!' Ichigo mentally shouted. 'I won't let you!' His body felt weaker and weaker.

"Yes!" His hollow self suddenly cried. "I'm free! I'm free!"

Ichigo suddenly felt a pain in the back of his head and a boiling behind his eyes and in his nose and mouth. He felt a slight prickling as something started oozing from his nostrils and out of his mouth, growing from the back of his head and slowly creeping several tendrils around one side of his head. 'No. I can't. Not here.' He pushed with all his might, forcing back the tendrils that would form his hollow mask, determined to keep his hollow self at bay. 'You won't win! You're not getting out!'

Toshiro glanced up as something seemed to catch his attention. His sight zeroed in on Ichigo, slumped over Rukia. Something was wrong. He looked off somehow. His face was turned away but Toshiro could just make out something white slithering along half of the back of his head. Toshiro's eyes bleared with exhaustion and fatigue but something about the white on Ichigo's head seemed vaguely familiar. Ichigo's body shivered slightly as the white substance began diminishing. Was he imagining it? No, he didn't think so. But the white substance seemed so familiar. He knew he had seen it somewhere before. But where? His mind was too fuzzy to think properly. He was weakening. Dying.

Ichigo gave a small groan as he struggled to mentally push his hollow self back into the depths of his mind. He could just make out the slithering feelings of the tendrils, moving in the opposite direction, receding and crumbling. "You won't get rid of me that easily, King! I won't give in without a fight!" Ichigo pushed harder, driving himself to the brink. A sudden flash erupted from somewhere above him and his strength slowly started coming back to him. "No! No! No! You can't do this to me!" Ichigo gave an almighty shove and suddenly the remnants of his hollow mask shattered, the pieces dissolving into nothing.

Ichigo rolled off of Rukia and lay on his back, panting and sweating, feeling as though he had just jogged for miles. After a few moments, he opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them, and looked around. The room was still dark but the creature was nowhere to be found. After a few moments, he turned his head to the side to see Rukia lying face down, her arms held protectively over her head. Ichigo reached out and tapped her on the head with a knuckle. "You alright, midget?"

Rukia shifted and slowly lifted her head, her eyes showing that she was still weakened. She nodded wearily, too tired to do anything more for the moment, and lay her head back on the floor. The lights suddenly came on and Ichigo turned his head in the other direction, noting Renji and Rangiku slumped on the floor, shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the seats. Both looked just as bad as Rukia and didn't seem to be stirring. Then he turned his head and glanced up towards Toshiro. His stomach gave a sudden lurch as he took in the creepy look in his eyes. The ice captain was staring at him with tired yet hardened eyes, a weary and tense stiffness in his weakened body. He was looking at Ichigo with wide eyes filled with such suspicious intensity that Ichigo had to look away, a sudden panic creeping into his mind. Did he know? Did he realize that Ichigo almost turned hollow right before their eyes? In a room full of humans? And what if he did know? What would he do? Would he arrest Ichigo? Kill him? Send him to Soul Society?

"Are you alright?"

Ichigo looked up to see Lupin standing over him, a concerned expression etched across his tired face. Ichigo nodded weakly and accepted the hand Lupin offered, helping him into a sitting position. Well, at least he didn't seem to have noticed anything different about Ichigo during that time. Ichigo helped Rukia into a sitting position and leaned her back against her seat. Then he crawled over to Renji and gently shook him until his eyes seemed to come back into focus. Ichigo could still feel Toshiro's icy gaze on him as the young captain lurched over to Rangiku and pushed her up into her seat beside Neville, who was trembling slightly, hunched in on himself, and looking as white as…the substance that had been on the back of Ichigo's head.

Toshiro gave the back of Ichigo's head a fierce glare, only faintly aware of the train lurching into motion again, or that Lupin was speaking to Harry, who had slumped off of his seat and onto the floor, where he lay twitching terribly. Toshiro eyed Ichigo as he softly asked Renji if he was alright. He seemed to be as drained as the rest of them but not as bad as he would have been had he been only a soul, as they were. Now that he could think clearly again, Toshiro felt that he knew just what that white substance had been. But it couldn't have been. Ichigo wasn't a hollow. Soul Society would have known. They never would have let him come along on this mission if they knew. But there was no mistaking that bone-made mask that had been forming. Except that it didn't. It had obviously started to but it stopped. Why? Could Ichigo have attempted, as some point, hollowfication? But how? That was illegal and just as dangerous. For him and those around him. He could easily lose control, as he must have during that episode, and allow his hollow self to be freed. It was much too risky. Much too dangerous.

A sudden snap brought him out of his thoughts and caused the majority of the room to jump, though the shinigami were much too weary to muster enough strength to do that. Everyone turned to see Lupin breaking a large piece of chocolate into smaller pieces and began handing them out to everyone. Toshiro's nose scrunched up disdainfully at the rather large piece of a toothache the professor handed him.

"Eat." Lupin told them all as he crumpled up the empty wrapper and stuffed it into his pocket. "It'll help."

"What was that?" Harry asked weakly.

"A Dementor." Lupin answered. "An Azkaban guard. Now, excuse me. I must speak to the driver." And he swept past them and out into the corridor.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he pulled himself back into his seat, whipping sweat off his face at the same time.

"Th-the Dementor – it came in and – and looked around – at least I think it did." Hermione shuddered. "I couldn't see its face or anything. But – but it stood there. In the doorway. And – and you – you just – "

"I thought you were dying or something!" Ron said fearfully. "You fell out of your seat – though you weren't the only one; they did too – " he nodded his head to the shinigami, who slowly seemed to be returning to normal. " – but you fell out of your seat and started twitching really bad, like you were having a seizure or something."

"And then Toshiro said something to Ichigo in Japanese, I'm assuming, and then Ichigo threw himself on Rukia, whom the Dementor seemed to be heading towards. She looked really pale." Hermione looked down at said girl in concern. "And then Professor Lupin stepped over you, Ichigo and Rukia and stood in front of the Dementor. He told it that none of us were hiding Black under our clocks and to leave. But it didn't go. So then he said something and a silvery light flashed out of his wand towards it and it left."

"It was terrible." Neville whispered softly, his eyes wide and shining as he clutched his knees tighter to his chest. He shuddered. "Did you feel how cold it got?"

"I felt like I'd never be happy again." Ron said mournfully.

Ginny, who was pressed against the wall beside the door, suddenly burst into hysterical sobs and Hermione sat beside her, draping a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"But no one else fell off their seats?" Harry asked.

"None besides the Japanese students." Hermione answered.

Harry turned to see Rukia still on the floor, her energy seeming to take longer to return. "What happened to you guys?" he asked.

"We're more spiritually aware than most in all our groups." Ichigo answered quickly. He stood up and pulled Rukia to her feet and then sat her down beside Ron before sitting down beside her in Lupin's previous seat, a bit too close to Toshiro for his current liking. At least he wasn't looking at him suspiciously anymore. "Things like this are a bit harder on us than normal. I've heard that those things, Dementors you called them; we've heard that they can suck out a persons soul. Well, let's just say that ours are more sensitive. It's not that common but a bit more common in Japan than anywhere else in the world." Ichigo took a chance and looked down before looking at Toshiro, who still sat under the window. Toshiro stared at him for a moment before giving him a slight nod, showing that he approved of the cover story.

Harry nodded, glancing down at the floor. At least he wasn't the only one who had collapsed, but perhaps he was like the exchange students and the reason for it was because he was more spiritually aware than the others. That could be it but he seriously hoped not. He didn't need even more things wrong with him than there already were. For some reason, it seemed to be okay for the Japanese students to collapse like that since they all had done it. But for Harry, it didn't seem right. It seemed almost shameful.

Toshiro glanced around the room, glad that his team was pulling themselves together for the sake of the humans. Though he still wasn't entirely sure about Ichigo. He would have to watch him more closely for a while, for the safety of both him and the students. And speaking of humans, there was something off about that professor as well. He didn't give off the same sort of feeling as the others. There was something almost canine about him, especially his eyes. They just seemed a bit off. And the weary, haggard look about someone so young. It just wasn't right. Perhaps he should keep an eye on him too, just to be safe. After all, Harry himself had claimed that his two previous teachers of the Defense Against the Dark Arts had tried to kill or harm him in some way. Hopefully this teacher won't give a repeat of either one.

Suddenly, Lupin returned, glanced around the group and grinned. "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know. It's safe to eat and I assure you it will help."

Harry glanced down at the chocolate piece that was beginning to melt between his fingers and took a hesitant nibble. A sudden warmth spread throughout his body and he took a bigger bite. All around the compartment, people began eating their pieces as well, glad for the effects the chocolate produced. Toshiro seemed to be the only one who refused to eat more than half.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked him as he stuffed the rest of his own into his mouth. "Not your flavor or something?"

Toshiro shook his head. "No, I'm just not fond of sweets."

Ron's head snapped up and turned to Toshiro, eyes widened incredulously. "You don't like sweets? What's wrong with you?"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "That was rude."

"What kid doesn't like sweets?" Ron demanded defensively. "And especially chocolate."

"All sugar leads to are toothaches, sugar rushes, sugar highs, sugar crashes, headaches, and migraines, and no, those last two are not the same thing, trust me." Toshiro snapped, his energy replenished enough for his annoyed demeanor to return. "Not to mention something breaking, accidents, casualties, hospital bills, and mass amounts of paperwork. All of which could have been avoided if sugar wasn't handed out like vitamins."

Ron gaped at him with his mouth hanging open. Hermione looked thoughtful. "But if you eat sugary sweets responsibly…" she started.

Toshiro scoffed. "Have you ever met a responsible child with a pocketful of candy? Even sugarless, children still stuff their faces like there's no tomorrow. It's irresponsible and disgusting. Not to mention bad for your health. A little bit is fine but that's all you need. I'm not saying you can't buy large quantities all at once but consuming the entire thing all at once is ridiculous and utterly repulsive."

"Who says that?" Ron asked weakly, looking around the room. "Who talks like that? 'Utterly repulsive'? 'Bad for your health'? Come on! You're a kid too, you know."

"A prime example." Toshiro said. "Note that I did not shove the small piece of chocolate into my mouth like it was a life preserver. Unlike someone else I could mention." He looked pointedly at Ron, who flushed. Harry snickered, suddenly feeling a lot better. He almost forgot how easy it was to suddenly see the brighter end of a dark tunnel when he was around the Japanese students.

Ron turned to him with a glare but then looked up, startled, when Professor Lupin, still standing in the doorway, chuckled as well. Professor Lupin looked down at Toshiro. "That sort of logic could have helped greatly when I was at school. Large amounts of sugar consumptions followed by even larger stomach aches." His eyes suddenly clouded over and then he was suddenly back to his normal, weary self. "Anyways, I just checked with the driver and we should be there soon. And who cast the enlargement charm on the compartment?" Toshiro raised a hand briefly. "That was smart thinking. I don't think any of the other students ever thought of that."

"Um, if you're not going to finish that, can I have it?" Neville asked as he eyed the candy in Toshiro's limp hand. Toshiro rolled his eyes and handed him the remainder of his chocolate piece.

The remainder of the train ride passed in relative silence, with the only talking being from the Japanese students, who had taken off a silvery little ring and started speaking to each other in rapid Japanese. The others shrugged to each other, none of them understanding anything they were saying, and politely left them alone. Neville eventually left, claiming that he needed to return to his trunk in a different compartment but asked if Toshiro would like to ride in a carriage with him and a friend, to which Rangiku agreed for both of them.

Finally the train pulled to a stop and everyone rose to their feet, all of them leaving their trunks on board except for the Japanese students, who all shrank their trunks and placed them into their pockets. "We never leave our possessions unattended for any length of time." Toshiro answered their curious looks. Especially our Zanpaktou. He thought.

Once they exited the train, Toshiro and Rangiku clambered into a carriage with Neville and, Toshiro was amused to see, Luna Lovegood, who smiled pleasantly at them, though she looked a bit dazed as she did. Ichigo, Renji and Rukia shared a carriage with Lupin and the trio got a carriage with Ginny. Toshiro looked out of the window of the carriage and gazed curiously at the strange skeletal horses that seemed to be pulling the carriages.

"Who knew the people who were so suspicious of a dead guy would let horses like these be around students?" Rangiku commented to him.

Neville looked up in surprise. "You can see them?" He asked surprised. "The Thestrals, I mean?"

"Is that what they're called?" Toshiro asked, turning to Neville.

Neville nodded vigorously. "Yes. But only people who've seen death can see them. Luna and I can see them. I saw my granddad and Luna…"

"I've seen my mother die when I was young." She said simply.

Neville nodded and then paused before asking in a small voice. "H-have you?"

Toshiro and Rangiku nodded. "More than we've ever wanted." Rangiku said sadly.

Neville nodded back and quickly changed the subject, deciding that the Dementors were a better topic than the Thestrals. He was still talking about them when the carriages stopped. The first thing they heard when they stepped out of their carriages was Draco Malfoy's sneering voice from the next carriage down. "You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? Did you and those foreigners really faint?"

Toshiro rolled his eyes as Neville stepped down from the carriage beside him, looking sheepish. "Sorry." He mumbled. "I didn't mean for him to overhear."

Toshiro glanced at a flustered Harry and turned his attention to Malfoy as Ichigo called out from another carriage. "Judging by that spot on the front of your pants, I would think fainting would be much better than pissing myself, Drip-o… I mean Draco!"

Ichigo, Renji, Rangiku, Harry, Ron and Hermione roared with laughter as Draco hastily looked down at himself before looking back up with a growl. "What's the matter, Potter? Need foreigners to defend you now?"

"Is there a problem?" said a voice behind them. Everyone turned to see Lupin, who had just emerged from the carriage Ichigo, Renji and Rukia had stepped out of. Draco took in his shabby clothes, the patches, and string-tied case in Lupin's hand and smirked.

"Uh, no, Professor." He said scornfully. Then he turned and headed towards the castle with his two large friends behind him.

"That boy is going to be trouble, eh taicho?" Rangiku asked as the rest of their group, plus the golden trio and Neville, got back together and headed towards the stairs leading into the castle.

Toshiro nodded absently, the same thought running through his mind. Hopefully this boy would be the only one causing problems for them but somehow Toshiro doubted that. Especially if there were more self-righteous purebloods running around.

'Great.'

A/N: How was that? Interesting enough? Let me know. However, one thing I would like to say is that I DO NOT appreciate the few PMs and reviews I've received threatening or telling me what I should or shouldn't put in my story. I DO appreciate the suggestions and comments of how I should make the story better, but as this is my story, I will use your suggestions if I can find some way to fit it in with my ideas for this. But threats or rude demands will not be tolerated and will, therefore, be ignored so don't waste your time. Helpful comments always welcomed.

Like I said before, I know some things, like Luna and the Thestrals (spelling?), weren't introduced until after book four but I'm hoping that you've all read enough of the Potter series so that there aren't any spoilers. And if there are, then… SPOILER ALERT! There, happy? And there may be more to come. But at least I'm keeping the subject of Luna and the thestrals away from Harry, Ron and Hermione. I just thought Neville would like someone to tell his secret to. He's always left behind in the books, you know?

The next chapter should be up some time either next Friday or the Friday after. And I'll try to fit one more chapter in before Halloween, so wait for it. Thanks for reading!