Chapter Nine

James was excited. They were finally getting a break from Hogwarts! Not that he didn't love the school, because he did, but he hated staying with a group of seventeen year olds instead of his wife, friends, and his son.

He grabbed his messily packed trunk and ran toward the train. Lily would kill him if he was late.

The station was less crowded than usual, he noticed sadly. Fewer students were going home this year because of Voldemort. Either they didn't want to go home to empty houses or it was simply safer at Hogwarts.

James shook his head. It wouldn't do to be grumpy all break! Voldemort would fall… he didn't have to be unhappy just because he hadn't yet.

The train ride passed quickly. It was perhaps fortunate because James was bored sitting by himself. He wasn't really friends with the other seventh years and he wasn't supposed to know his own family.

In any case, now that it was over he could see them all he wanted. He smiled cheerfully and apparated to Grimmauld.

The house was surprisingly cheerful, he noticed. The Weasleys were all setting up holiday decorations, with Molly directing a procession of cooking materials to make what appeared to be a feast. Remus was helping out, humming carols to himself as he hung tinsel on the stairs.

Hitsugaya, Lily, Sirius, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all arrived about a minute later from the fireplace. James noted with amusement that Hitsugaya was the only one that fell upon arrival. Really, disregarding the fact that he was his son, watching a shinigami captain fall flat on his face was just too funny.

He stood quickly and dusted himself off. "Matsumoto should be here soon," he said calmly, looking for all the world like he hadn't just smacked the floor with his face.

James snorted. "How soon?" he asked, uselessly because just as he said it a large gateway appeared in the middle of the room.

"Hi, taicho!" The blonde was waving enthusiastically from the gate, though she seemed a little less cheerful than last time. She didn't move to hug Hitsugaya.

"Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya had actually braced himself for it, and looked slightly confused when she didn't move.

Her smile faded a bit. "Uh, taicho… someone else came here for the holidays, too."

He blinked. "Who?" James started. Hitsugaya hadn't felt anyone? Whoever it was must be really good at hiding their reiatsu.

A small figure stepped out from behind Matsumoto. Hitsugaya paled.

"H-Hinamori?"

Hitsugaya couldn't believe it. What was Unohana thinking? Why was Hinamori here and not at the Fourth Division? He resolved to ask Matsumoto about it later.

Hinamori was smiling at him. "Shiro-chan! I heard from Kira and Renji that you invited Matsumoto-san over here for Christmas. Unohana-taicho said that I could come too! Look! I got you a present!" She held out a brightly wrapped parcel. Hitsugaya gently took it and set it aside, painfully aware that all eyes were on them.

"It's just too bad…" Hinamori looked down, "that Aizen-taicho isn't here to celebrate with us." She smiled brightly, "But he might come later! After all, Aizen-taicho never takes long on his missions. I'm sure he'll be home soon!"

Matsumoto's smile seemed frozen on her face, and he saw James and Lily shoot the girl alarmed glances. It was to be expected, he supposed. Neither of them knew anything about Hinamori and, well… they only knew Aizen as a traitor.

"I'm sure he will," he said indulgently. If he didn't she would likely fly into an explosive temper. It happened every time someone told her the truth. That was not something that needed to happen, especially not here. "Come on. Let's go find you a room." He took her hand and led her up the stairs, trying to ignore the surprised stares he was getting from his kind-of parents and would-be friends.

"I'm so happy that I got to come! I haven't seen you in a while, Shiro-chan…"

James gaped openly in the direction the two had gone. "Who was that?"

Sirius, who had just changed back from a dog, gave him a weird look. "You mean you don't know? And what does 'Shiro-chan' mean?"

James shook his head. "No. And the way she was talking about Aizen…"

"Who's Aizen? And are you going to answer my other question?"

Matsumoto was no longer smiling. "He's no one you need to worry about," she said tightly. Her silver gaze flicked over to Lily and James. "If you two want to know I suppose I can tell you. I think you two deserve to know… so you can understand taicho a little better. I know he won't tell you much himself."

"Are you sure that's okay? I don't want to get you in trouble with Hitsugaya…" Lily said.

She nodded. "Just don't bother him about it."

"Oi! What about us?" Ron asked, waving his arm in the general direction of everyone. "We're his friends too! Who is she?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't think taicho's relationship with Hinamori has anything to do with you. I'm only telling James-kun and Lily-chan because they're his parents… whether taicho likes it or not." There was the slightest tinge of ice in her voice and Ron backed down without another word.

Matsumoto beckoned the duo into an empty room, and Lily cast a few small wards just in case Hitsugaya's friends decided to eavesdrop.

"Hinamori-san… she, well, she's Hitsugaya-taicho's sister. They grew up in Rukongai together…" she briefly explained everything up to Aizen's attack on Karakura. "She was doing a lot better then. She tried to help us defeat the arrancar… but Aizen said something to her and when he died…" she looked down, "she went mad. She's delusional. She won't listen to a bad word about Aizen and if you even mention his death…" she shrugged. "Taicho and Unohana-taicho have both been working very hard to help her over the past three years, but she hasn't seemed to get any better. I mean, she has her good days and bad days, but… Mostly you can't really tell. It's just anything concerning Aizen…"

"I see," Lily said softly.

"So why'd she get sent here?" James asked.

"Unohana-taicho thought it'd be good for her to get out of Soul Society for a while. Maybe some new scenery will help a bit?" she shrugged again. "Plus, Hinamori really did want to go. No one's seen her act this excited about anything in a long time."

"But at Hitsugaya's expense?" James asked sharply. "This is supposed to be a holiday for us, and now he has to take care of her? Just looking at him once you can tell he's upset."

"Don't let taicho hear you say that, James-kun. He'll do anything for her, even if it's only defending her from a perceived insult. She's family to him. She's more important to him than anything or anyone here. Including you."

Sirius cursed from outside the door. First they ignore him and then they don't let him listen in? What the heck? Hitsugaya was his godson (kind-of, anyway) too! He hated being ignored.

And he really, really wanted to know the answer to his other question.

The next few days were only marginally tense, as no one but the shinigami even knew there was anything wrong with their extra guest. Indeed, Molly Weasley even adored the (in her eyes) child, who was nothing but polite and sweet to everyone. Perhaps she was a bit obsessive about a guy named Aizen, but, to the wizards at least, there was nothing wrong with that.

Hitsugaya and Hinamori stuck to each other like glue. Where one was, the other was never very far away. James and Lily both found it irritating, especially because she made it even harder to talk to their already reclusive son than it normally was.

What was worse was that Molly found it adorable. She seemed bound and determined to misinterpret their relationship as something more than it was, and continually made things uncomfortable with her talk of how 'cute they were together.' In all honesty, Hitsugaya had never even considered any sort of relationship with Hinamori other than their familial brother-sister one.

Hitsugaya, at least, didn't seem to mind Hinamori's clingy and somewhat possessive behavior all that much. As far as he was concerned, the more time she spent concentrating on things other than Aizen the better. If that meant that she spent all of her time with him than who was he to say no?

James was disgusted by it all.

The last few days had put James in a terrible mood. Sirius and Remus tried to help, but neither of them knew much about the situation at all. Eventually they gave up and hoped that he'd be feeling better by the next day, preferring to spend their time with people less prone to snap at them. Why not enjoy the magnificent dinner Molly had prepared instead of spending their night with a grump? They loved James, but when he was in a temper…

How dare she? James held his cup in a white-knuckled grip, ignoring the worried look Lily was shooting him. How dare she? How dare she try to kill his son and have the nerve to cling to him without so much as an apology? How dare she have the gall to still be hung up over a traitor? Every time she mentioned Aizen it felt like she was spitting in their faces and stomping on the graves of all those that had died in the Winter War. She might pretend that all was fine with the world, but James would not.

The cup shattered, spilling juice and shards of glass all over the table. James cursed in the sudden silence that ensued, hissing at the tiny cuts that now covered his hand.

Hinamori broke the silence with her soft, sweet voice. "Are you okay, Potter-kun?" She watched him with concerned brown eyes and he hated it.

James glowered at her. "No," he bit out through clenched teeth.

"Watch your tone," Hitsugaya snapped.

James narrowed his eyes. "I will not."

Matsumoto stiffened in her seat, eyes wide. "James…" she said warningly.

"No! I don't care if I'm being rude! She deserves it!"

The wizards, who had no idea what was going on, were stunned by James's attitude. Anyone who knew him knew that he could be hot-tempered at times, but acting this way to their guest, who had been nothing but kind to them?

"Potter," Hitsugaya growled, ignoring how strange that must have sounded to everyone else. "Get out. We will discuss your behavior later."

"Why don't we discuss her behavior right now?"

Hitsugaya rose to his full height, which, while admittedly rather unimpressive, seemed to make him far more intimidating than just a second ago. He let his reiatsu leak a bit and the temperature plummeted. "If you have a problem with Hinamori," he said coldly, words coming out a puff of white, seeming almost like smoke curling out of a dragon's mouth, "take it up with me in a more appropriate setting. I refuse to speak more on this matter here."

James opened his mouth to respond but Lily yanked him down, holding his arm in a vice grip. "James," she said harshly, "you are out of line."

"But she…"

"None of us need this conversation to be public. Sit down and finish eating or leave the room until you've calmed down. We can talk about this later. And for Merlin's sake, James, use a little tact!"

James glowered again and stomped out of the room. Hitsugaya slowly sat down. "Don't worry about it," he muttered to Hinamori, who looked confused and upset. "James is just upset. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

She nodded nervously and poked at her food.

The meal concluded in tense silence.

After dinner was over Hitsugaya sent Hinamori to bed, and she left with hardly a protest. She knew he was going to confront James, and she resolved to leave the matter with him. Hitsugaya could solve the problem. He was good at that. Perhaps not as strong and outwardly kind as Aizen-taicho, but he always protected her.

Hinamori smiled as she drifted off to sleep. As long as Shiro-chan was with her, she could stand to wait for Aizen-taicho a little longer.

James watched as Hitsugaya paced in front of him, looking almost like an angry feline. He crossed his arms and waited impatiently as Hitsugaya stopped and looked at him. There was no expression on the taicho's face. Lily stood off to the side, lips pursed and frowning. She was definitely upset with someone; and James was pretty sure he knew who.

"I will not," Hitsugaya finally spoke, "tolerate this kind of behavior. I don't know how Komamura-taicho runs his division, but I doubt he does either. You will apologize to Hinamori first thing in the morning."

James scowled. Did he really think that this would be resolved so easily? He was not going to apologize. He said as much. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I'm not going to apologize to her… sir." The last word was said mockingly and Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes.

"Are you disrespecting my authority? Think carefully about what you're doing, Potter. There are consequences for disobeying a superior officer within the Gotei 13."

"Even if that officer is too stupid to know when someone is hurting him?" James spat in frustration.

"Hinamori is ill."

"Oh so you do know who I'm talking about! What is she to you that she can get away with hurting you so damn much all the time? That's not what a 'sister' is. Sisters don't get away with nearly murdering their brothers for a traitor. Sisters don't care so much about traitors that they're willing to believe in them even after they've almost murdered so many people."

"You know nothing. You will apologize to Hinamori tomorrow and I will speak with Komamura-taicho about your behavior when we return to Soul Society. Now get out of my sight before I do something we both regret."

"I'm not done yet!"

"But I am. Get. Out."

James snarled and left, Lily following after him. She looked at him. "You handled that spectacularly."

He glowered.

By the time Christmas Eve rolled around the issue still hadn't been resolved. James refused to apologize and that, in turn, put Hitsugaya in a terrible mood. With the two arguing, none of the rest of the household was having very much fun either. Sirius and Remus in particular were irritable, having their best friend and godson back for the holidays but neither really wanted anything to do with them while they were having their, as Sirius put it, 'prolonged temper tantrum.'

Lily refused to speak to either of them while they were behaving the way they were, and that, unfortunately, put James in an even worse mood.

The Weasleys and Hermione, as the only other main occupants of the manor, were also upset. They still set up decorations, wrapped presents, and sung carols, but there wasn't as much heart in it as before. The bad mood was infectious. Even Mrs. Weasley seemed more irritable than usual.

Matsumoto was as cheerful as always, if only to try to cheer everyone else up. She was constantly and enthusiastically having her fun and dragging others into it. It worked, to a certain extent, on everyone save her taicho and his father. In the end, out of sheer desperation, she turned to an age-old trick.

She locked the two in a room and refused to let them out, praying that they'd resolve things instead of killing each other.

"Matsumoto! Open the door or I'll break it down!"

"No you won't, taicho! You two are going to stay in there and figure things out! You don't want Hinamori-san upset on Christmas, do you?"

That was a low blow, but Hitsugaya recognized the point. Hinamori had been somewhat confused and upset since James had so unfairly yelled at her. She didn't know why either of them were mad. She was supposed to be here for her recovery, dammit! He glared at James.

James glared back. "I will not apologize," he said flatly.

Hitsugaya hissed in frustration. "Whether or not you actually apologize is no longer relevant. I don't care what your personal feelings toward Hinamori are; I do not want you to compromise her recovery more than you already have."

"Compromise her recovery? It's not like she's been doing any better all! She," he spat, clearly wanting to say something less complimentary, "is still fawning over that traitor!"

"You already know that her emotional status is unstable. What you are doing, what you did, is not helping. I know you want to talk to her about Aizen."

"Yeah, so? She needs to hear it."

"And she has. Multiple times. It won't work. She does not need to have another episode. All it does is make her emotional tumult even worse."

James paused. "Episode?"

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed. "Yes. If you mention anything bad about Aizen she can become either wildly violent or depressed. We even had to put her on suicide watch for a time after one of these episodes."

"That doesn't excuse her."

"No it doesn't. But she's not even aware that anything is wrong. I doubt she is aware of herself at all when she has these reactions. She's sick, James. She doesn't try to intentionally hurt anyone; least of all myself."

James sighed, feeling the anger over the past week drain away. He was tired of arguing. "I understand," he said quietly.

But that didn't mean that he'd forgive her. Or apologize.

"Good," Hitsugaya nodded at him, and rapped sharply on the door. "Matsumoto!"

There was no reply. "…Matsumoto?"

Again there was no reply. "Matsumoto, you can open the door now!"

There was silence for a few minutes before James spoke up. "You don't think she forgot about us do you?"

"MATSUMOTO!"

A/N I personally don't mind Hinamori. She was mislead by Aizen and wasn't strong enough to handle the stress of his betrayal, but I don't think she's really a bad person. She loved her captain more than anything, and perhaps she didn't realize how wrong her depth of devotion was, but she's not terrible. Misguided, mislead, but not evil or anything.

Uh, don't take James's attitude too harshly either. If I were in his position, I'd be pretty pissed too…

So, this concludes the first major confrontation between Hitsugaya and his family. I mean, they've mostly been staying out of each others' way so far, haven't they? …Oops. This chapter was actually supposed to be lighter for the most part but I think I screwed that up a bit… -_-; In any case, break supposedly starts a week before Christmas, if that helps you timeline this chapter a bit. I decided to bump the actual Christmas chapter to Chapter Ten because it wouldn't have fit here. That means that some more serious stuff might happen afterwards (I dunno. I haven't outlined the next chapter yet.), but at least the holiday itself will be happy, because that's not the way it was initially turning out.

SRS Just so you know, I wasn't happy when I read this chapter the first time. (It wasn't finished and I was promised a Happy Christmas.) Now I'm better!