Chapter Two

Breakfast was an uncomfortably silent affair, with the family of redheads, which he had since learned were the Weasleys, Black, Granger and Lupin shooting the shinigami uncertain glances, looking like they wanted to talk but didn't know what to say. After about 5 minutes of this, Hitsugaya had had enough. "What is it?"

Granger jumped and traded a long look with Weasley… Ronald, that is. Ron licked his lips nervously. "Uh… do you know… erm… that is… would you like to play chess?" Granger looked at him incredulously.

Hitsugaya noticed practically the entire table staring at him and nearly responded with a firm 'no' before recalling his conversation with Hyourinmaru the night before. He sighed internally. "Fine."

Ron grinned and ran to get the chess set. Everyone else looked at him curiously, clearly remembering his words the night before and wondering at the sudden change. He ignored them.

Ron came running back into the room. Mrs. Weasley scowled and told him to slow down, but he ignored her and proceeded to set up the board. Hitsugaya stared at its pieces, which were waving their tiny fists in excitement and shouting at each other. Suddenly he recalled another game; Ron was bleeding, a giant stone knight towering over his prone form and letting loose a cry of victory. There was a hoarse shout of panic. He shook his head and the image disappeared.

Less than 30 minutes later saw a stunned Weasley clan gaping at the results of the game. It was like an unspoken rule had been broken: No one beat Ronald Bilius Weasley at chess. Ever.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at their expressions. "Don't feel bad about losing. I lead a division of nearly 200 shinigami every day. I have to know how to coordinate and maneuver; it's half of what I'm paid for."

"Er, yeah," Ron muttered, still staring down at the board. He looked… conflicted, as if he didn't know whether or not to be happy about the match.

Hitsugaya took pity on him. "If it helps, I do have decades more experience than you do at this kind of thing."

That made him look up. "Decades?" he squeaked.

Had no one listened to him at all last night? "Yes. I died over 70 years ago. Including the time I was alive, I'm at least 80. I've been a captain for almost 40 years. I have picked up a bit about strategy during that time."

"Bloody hell," he choked, "you're ancient!"

Hitsugaya wasn't sure what to think about that comment. "Actually, I'm considered fairly young by Soul Society's standards."

Ron's response was cut off by a sudden loud beeping. "What's that?"

Hitsugaya, James, and Lily all pulled out their cell phones. "Hollows," James said, popping a soul candy in his mouth. Suddenly there were two of them there, one in the standard shihakusho, and the other still wearing his wizarding robes.

Black started. "Holy crap, Jamie, you're a ghost!"

James looked at him funny. "I'm not white, you dolt. I'm just in spiritual form," he glanced at his body, standing there with a goofy expression on its face. "You… stay here. Amuse yourself."

The gigai ran off. Lily looked concerned. "Are you sure that was a good thing to say?"

James just shrugged and ran out the door. Lily looked at Hitsugaya. He pointed in the direction James had just gone. "Taicho's already out there," he said, and wasted no time in diving under the table. "I'd suggest you all stay here, though…"

Sirius hopped out of his chair. "Oi, wait up! Come on, Remmy, we can't miss this!"

The Weasleys, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius all followed the (to them) pearly white forms outside.

Hitsugaya cleaved his Zanpakuto through the last hollow just as the group reached them. They had all been weak, and he and James had taken care of them easily without even using Shikai. "Why are they here?"

James shrugged. "I dunno. Guess they wanted to see what we could do… not that these guys were enough of a challenge for them to see anything."

Black looked affronted. "You mean we missed it?"

Hitsugaya started. "You can see us?"

"Yeah… you're like ghosts. It's creepy."

"…wizards can see ghosts?"

"Are we not supposed to be able to?"

James started heading back inside, and the rest of the wizards followed with varying degrees of disappointment. "Wizards could always see ghosts… at least, some ghosts. Lily could tell you more about it."

"Why was I unaware of this?" Hitsugaya asked, annoyed.

"I didn't think it was that important."

"Did it not occur to you that our job greatly depends on secrecy? Now you tell me that every single witch and wizard we come across will be able to see us? You moron."

When he questioned Lily about it later she told him, "Magic allows wizards to see stronger spirits, though for some reason that vision is always in shades of white and black. That's why muggle ghosts can't be seen by wizards; magical ghosts absorb ambient energy over time, and therefore are more powerful than their muggle counterparts. The ghosts at Hogwarts are particularly strong because the level of energy there is so high."

"Then why didn't they know about hollows before?"

"None of the ghosts at Hogwarts have soul chains. The magic at Hogwarts protects them from turning into hollows. Many of the ghosts there have been around for centuries. Only ghosts that stay in places with high amounts of ambient energy like Hogwarts are protected though. That's why you don't see them everywhere. Most of the ghosts that wizards can see that turn into hollows manage to slip off their radar. Any damage they cause is usually chalked up to some kind of magical accident. For all that wizards talk about muggle ignorance, the can be pretty unobservant themselves."

Hitsugaya sighed, relaxing into the stuffed armchair he was sitting in. The front room was peaceful; most of the household had disappeared somewhere, leaving only Black and the three shinigami alone at the manor. James was upstairs cleaning up the damage his gigai had done when he had told it to 'amuse itself,' and Black had wandered off some time ago. That had left the rest of the house to Lily and himself, which meant that it would be nice and quiet. At least, it had been, until Black himself came storming into the room, a wrinkly, ugly creature trailing angrily behind him.

"I know we threw this out, Kreacher! I order you not to steal anything from us again, especially if we're getting rid of it!"

The thing cried out in a high-pitched wail. "No! You cannot take it! No, no, no, no, no! Filthy traitor wishes…"

Black clenched his fist more tightly around the object he was carrying. "Stop right there, Kreacher! Go back to your cupboard!"

The thing left, shrieking obscenities the entire way.

Hitsugaya stared at the glint of silver in Black's fist. "What is that?"

Black scowled. "Family heirloom," he said flatly. "The Blacks had a lot of dark objects around the house, so we've been trying to clear them all out. Apparently we've got a little thief making it that much more difficult."

"May I see it?"

Black grimaced. "I dunno if that's a good idea. A lot of the things here attack without warning. Ron almost got strangled by clothes last summer," he said, but he reluctantly handed it over anyway.

Hitsugaya took it. It was a locket, with a serpentine 'S' curving decoratively on the front. He wasn't concerned with any of that, however. He was more worried about the malevolent reiatsu emanating from within it.

"Lily, do you know what this is?" he asked, passing the locket to her. She took it gingerly.

"No…"

"It should not have reiatsu," he murmured softly, brows furrowed.

Black frowned. "That's probably just dark magic you're sensing. Like I said, there are a lot of dark objects around…"

"No," Lily interrupted. "That's definitely reiatsu. I cannot fathom why a locket, of all things, would have reiatsu, however," she turned toward Hitsugaya. "We should let Albus take a look at this. Maybe he'll know what it is."

He nodded slowly. "Alright. Do you know if he's back yet? Didn't he go on a mission last night?"

"Yeah… Let's floo to his office after dinner. If he's not back by then we'll have to try tomorrow."

Sirius Black couldn't remember ever being this happy in well over a decade. He had his friends back, he had his godson back, and even if it was only temporary, they were all here together. Still, he couldn't help but feel out of place, like he was no longer a part of their world, which, in a way, he wasn't. So when Lily and Harr… Hitsugaya had started discussing things he had no idea about, he quietly left the room and sought out James. He found him upstairs, cleaning up what looked like feathers and paint from the bathroom. He snorted.

"Ah, Jamie, they got you on clean-up duty up here? I thought detentions ended when you graduated."

"Shut it, Siri. Lily made me do it. Said that it was my own fault for letting my temporary soul go crazy."

"Oh, so you're just whipped?"

James shot him a dirty look, before turning away. "Sirius?"

He knew that his friend was serious. Now was not the time for jokes. "Yeah?"

"Would you… would you tell me what Harry was like before…?" he paused, a faraway look in his eyes.

Sirius hesitated. "I'm not so sure that I should, James. I mean… he's here now, isn't he? And… and he's different, now. What good will telling you about the old Harry do?"

"I… I just want to know. I mean… he's my son. I want to know this Harry, but I want to know who he used to be, too. I lost that chance the first time around. Please, Siri?"

The animagus sighed. "Okay, Jamie." He grinned, "Ah, guess what? Your son was the youngest seeker in a century; a Gryffindor, of course…"

It was just a little before dinner that the Weasleys returned, with shopping bags and secretive smiles. Granger and Lupin were still with them, looking pleased with themselves. Hitsugaya watched them suspiciously. They were definitely up to something, and he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to know what it was. In any case, he really had more important things to worry about. Like that locket… that he couldn't do anything with at the moment anyway.

Lily was in the kitchen, humming softly to herself as she cooked. Normally this was Mrs. Weasley's arena, but, as she had been out all day with the rest of her clan, Lily had taken over the preparation of dinner. It was a good thing, too. All of the Weasley's had come back starving from their day-long expedition to who-knows-where. If they had to wait any longer than absolutely necessary, Hitsugaya was sure that the boys would start gnawing on the tables.

That didn't stop Mrs. Weasley from huffing irritably. "Oh, Lily dear, you don't have to do that! Here, let me help."

Lily just smiled indulgently, knowing how Mrs. Weasley loved to mother people. "Why don't you take over the stove? I'll finish up over here."

Granger walked over to him while everyone else was busy putting away their things. "What have you been up to today?" she asked.

He almost sighed. He knew that she was honestly trying to strike up a conversation with him, but, dammit, talking to these people was hard. "Research, mostly," he replied before adding, with some effort, "the Black library is certainly impressive."

"Oh, it has nothing on Hogwart's library," she said enthusiastically. "Hogwart's library is said to be the most comprehensive in all of Britain! You can find almost anything in there. Of course, you need access to the Restricted Section for the more dangerous magics, but it really…"

Well, now he was interested. This could be useful, but Hogwarts was a school, he knew. He'd have to talk to Dumbledore about gaining access to the library, he supposed. Tonight, when he was asking about the locket, perhaps.

He managed to have a civil conversation with Granger for the better part of a quarter of an hour before they were called in to dinner. Lily and Mrs. Weasley had certainly outdone themselves; they were magnificent cooks. For all that it tasted good, though, he couldn't wait for it to end.

When it finally did he called James and Lily over to the fireplace, where Lily hurriedly explained to James what they had discovered earlier. He glanced apprehensively at the flames before grabbing a pinch of the sparkling powder on the mantelpiece. Not many people knew this about him but he really, really hated fire. It wasn't the same kind of dislike he had for heat in general; that was different, and had more to do with his love of all things cold. No, this stemmed from something else.

He wasn't afraid of fire, exactly, though at one point he had been. Something must have shown on his face though, because Lily was looking at him worriedly. "Are you alright Har… Hitsugaya-kun?" She hesitated before offering, "I'll go first."

He scowled slightly but let her do it anyway. He stepped up to the fireplace. "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts!" The flames flared an intense emerald and he stepped inside.

Hitsugaya cursed and fell headlong into a desk as he tumbled out of the fireplace. Behind him, James stepped out neatly. At least he had the courtesy to laugh quietly as he saw the position the proud captain was in. Lily was biting her lip, clearly trying not to laugh.

"You wizards," he said, dusting himself off as he rose from the floor, "have the most ridiculous forms of transportation."

Dumbledore, who was indeed there, chuckled. "You'll find that many of our transportation methods are rather difficult to get used to, though they are certainly convenient. However, I do not believe I've seen someone make so spectacular an entrance in quite some time. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence here in my humble office tonight?"

Hitsugaya studied the aging headmaster. He was pale and ashen-faced, though somehow still managing to smile genially at his guests. Hitsugaya decided that he would hurry this along. The professor looked like he needed to rest. "We've found something that we believe you need to take a look at, Dumbledore-san," he said, carefully removing the silver locket from his robes. "It was brought to my attention earlier today when I felt reiatsu coming from it. Black believes it to be dark magic, however, no reiatsu should be able to come from something without a soul, or some kind of kido cast on it. I have no recollection of any sort of spell that would give off this sort of presence though. We were hoping that you could tell us what it is."

Dumbledore sat up, suddenly looking a lot more serious. He looked closely at the locket, though he never actually touched it. "Yes, I do believe I know what this is. Tell me, what do you know of Horcruxes?"

"Horcruxes?"

Dumbledore nodded. "In a way, young Sirius was right in that this is a piece of very dark magic. Only the most depraved of wizards would ever even think to cast such a thing," he trailed off, looking hesitant to speak any more on the subject.

"But what is it?" Lily asked curiously.

"Horcruxes," he said, "are objects that contain a piece of a person's very soul. Killing in cold-blood tears at a person's very essence, though this tear only lasts for a short amount of time. When a witch or a wizard creates a Horcrux, he or she takes that torn piece of their soul and rips it off completely, before placing it into an object. It grants them a kind of immortality, as their soul cannot completely die without first being completely whole."

Hitsugaya paled at the implications of that statement. If someone like Aizen had ever learned to make something like this… he ended that line of thought. Aizen was dead. Kurosaki had killed him. There was no need to worry about Aizen any more.

Dumbledore continued. "This, unfortunately, confirms my theory. Lord Voldemort has indeed created multiple Horcruxes."

"Multiple," James asked in disbelief, "as in more than one? H…how would you know?"

"This was the theory that I was confirming last night," he murmured. "I have collected one of his Horcruxes already. That locket means that there are at least two." He slowly placed his hand on the table. They started at the sight of the twisted, blackened appendage. "I believe I know how many he may have made, or wanted to make, but I unfortunately have no way to tell for certain at this point in time." He gingerly pulled a ring off of the blackened hand and held it out to Hitsugaya. He examined it carefully; it was a simple silver band with a black stone set in it. The stone had once had a design carved in it, but a crack through the middle made it impossible to tell what it was.

Dumbledore placed the ring on the desk. He seemed to be considering something for a minute before he spoke again. "Horcruxes are difficult to destroy. I managed to remove the piece of Voldemort's soul from this one on my own; however, I would not suggest using that method again." He rose from his seat and made his way to a glass case on the wall. A beautiful sword rested in the case, with rubies the size of eggs glinting in the firelight. He carefully removed the sword from the case and collected a box from the table underneath it. He handed them to Hitsugaya.

"I believe these are yours."

Hitsugaya blinked, taking the items. Dumbledore smiled. "The only sure way to destroy a Horcrux is to use an extremely powerful object. Goblin-made weaponry is one way to do it," he said, gesturing to the sword.

Lily looked confused. "But… goblins would never be willing to part with one of their own weapons… they don't sell anything permanently, much less something like this!"

"You are correct, though I urge you to take a closer look at this particular blade. I'm sure you'll be able to see why it has stayed within Hogwarts all these years."

They did. Engraved on the blade was the name 'Godric Gryffindor.' James whistled in appreciation. Hitsugaya froze as another image superimposed itself over his vision.

The sword felt heavy in his hands as he stabbed upwards. The blade dug itself deep into the maw of the giant snake before him, even as he felt a fang almost as big as Gryffindor's sword itself bury in his arm. The serpent fell. His vision spun even as he pulled the fang from his body. Venom? Eerie music played in the background. Hot liquid dripped onto the open wound…

"Hitsugaya-kun?" Lily asked worriedly.

He shook himself. "I'm fine."

Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "Yes. This is the sword that you yourself used to defeat the basilisk in your second year." James choked and Lily paled. Dumbledore continued before either of them could say anything. "And this," he opened the box, "is your cloak."

A silvery, almost liquid fabric pooled in his hand as he removed it from the box. James stared at it. "That's my old invisibility cloak!"

"Yes. You passed it on to Harry when you died," Dumbledore said, looking amused. He hesitated slightly before continuing. "The Horcruxes are not all you need to know about."

Hitsugaya looked away from the cloak. "Oh?"

"There are another few objects that Voldemort must never know of," he murmured. "These objects are known as the Deathly Hallows."

Lily sucked in a breath. "But those are only legends; children's stories! They don't actually exist."

"They do," Dumbledore said. "And they are all in this room."

James started. "What?"

Hitsugaya's eyes flitted between the three. "Explain."

Dumbledore did. "The Deathly Hallows, it is said, are three objects created by Death itself." Hitsugaya snorted. Dumbledore continued. "And while I know that explanation is certainly unlikely, these are extremely powerful items. The first is the very cloak you are holding."

James stared again. "But that's not possible. That thing's been in my family for generations."

"Yes, and did you never wonder how it was that such a cloak existed? How is it possible for its powers never to fade? For it to never be summoned by any but its owner? That cloak is the very cloak that legend tells of."

There was silence for a moment before Dumbledore continued. "The next is the Resurrection Stone," he pointed at the ring sitting innocently on the desk. "This ring has the power to bring back the dead."

Hitsugaya had to visibly restrain himself from interrupting. It comforted him slightly that Lily was also obviously having the same problem.

"Of course, no magic can truly bring back the dead in their entirety. They don't belong here, and it becomes worse and worse for the revived person the longer they stay… but it is a real power, and it does work. I was hoping that, being shinigami, you would know more about the legend, but I can see that this is not the case." He sighed before continuing. "The final Hallow," he said, "is the Elder Wand." Slowly he pulled his wand from his robes and laid it on the table. Lily gasped. "It is said to be unbeatable; the most powerful wand ever made."

"These three objects together are said to make their wielder the 'Master of Death.' While I do not exactly believe this to be true, these are very real, and very powerful. Voldemort must never get his hands on these." He looked carefully at Hitsugaya. "Can I trust you to take these back with you when you return to Soul Society?"

Hitsugaya nodded, reaching for the ring and the wand. Dumbledore sighed again. "I'm afraid that I cannot let you take the Elder Wand just yet. The current wielder must be defeated for a new one to be chosen." He closed his eyes. "Hitsugaya-taicho, I am very deeply sorry to have to ask this of you." Their eyes met.

"I'm going to have to ask you to kill me."