Soldier

They are using a translation spell, so I'm not going to worry who's speaking what language in this chapter. It's too confusing to even try.

Chapter 24: Draw Your Sword

Severus Snape was many things, but the one thing he wasn't was stupid. The Harry Potter he was used to dealing with was gone. In the Potter spawn's place was a young wizard who no longer allowed anyone to tell him what to do, especially the so called 'Leader of the Light.'

After that very public display of power, when Potter took down Fudge in front of the Wizengamot and the leading wizard publications, Severus backed off on his snarky behavior towards the brat.

He thanked Merlin that he did when he saw what Potter did to Molly Weasley. After that meeting he warned his Slytherins to not antagonize Potter any further. Of course Draco had failed to heed the warning, and now he was paying the price.

Now he, Severus Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin, was kneeling on the cold, wet, disgustingly dirty ground of the Forbidden Forest. Trapped, with six beams of light pinning his arms to his side.

Beside him, his employer and one of his masters, Albus Dumbledore, was thrashing wildly trying to break free of the same light prison that had trapped Severus.

"No! NO! This can't be happening! I must stop them, Harry doesn't know everything!"

"Albus, give it up. They are long gone."

"But Harry. . ."

"Albus, you said it yourself," Snape said, trying to stand, glaring at the shaft of lights radiating out from him. "The brat doesn't know everything, when he realizes that he'll be back."

He hoped.

However, he had a sinking feeling that those who went with the Potter brat actually knew what they were doing.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They landed in a very weedy graveyard that Harry wished he never had to see again – Little Hangleton Cemetery.

"I sense something from that direction," Ichigo said, pointing up the hill at a rundown manor house.

"I also feel something stronger over that way," Shinji said, pointing in a different direction.

Harry frowned. He, too, could feel the pull coming from two different directions. "I think, let's go to the lesser one first. I have a feeling it's a soul anchor."

"How are we going to work this?" Ichigo asked, looking over at Byakuya.

The stoic captain looked in both directions. "I agree with Harry-kun," he commented. "I have the feeling it is the last soul anchor. Let's deal with it first."

"I really don't want to open the Gates of Hell twice tonight," Harry said with a shiver.

"We don't have to, if we do this right," Shinji muttered with his trademark Cheshire-cat grin. "Besides, I have a date later."

Madam Bones said nothing, She was feeling very overwhelmed by the power that radiated off everyone.

They pushed through overgrown hedges and walked down a tangled path to a small, broken-down shack with a dead snake nailed to the door.

Hachigen clapped his hands together and muttered a spell. A lone sweat drop ran down the side of his pudgy cheek. Everyone waited patiently until he was finished. "It is now safe to enter. Do not touch anything."

Harry walked into the dilapidated shack, feeling the lingering, ghostly presence of Tom Riddle in every room. As he stepped closer to the fireplace, he could feel the evil radiating from the floor boards.

"Here." He pointed to a floor board.

"Touch nothing," Byakuya warned. "Harry, use your magic and lift out whatever is there. Hachigen, a barrier."

Harry's magic peeled back the rotten boards and withdrew a small wooden box radiating such cold, evil awareness that everyone shuddered.

Hachigen placed a square of yellow light around the battered box. No one wanted to try opening the container, no matter what protection spells they placed on it. All of them could feel the compulsive need to open it and put whatever was in it on. But they were too strong willed to fall for its lure.

"Let's go," Ichigo scowled. "We still have one more to get before this is over with."

"Wait!" Madam Bones stopped them. "What's in that box? Shouldn't we. . . ?" her trembling voice faded as she tentatively reached out.

"No! It will be taken care of when we captured the abomination," Byakuya ordered, his iron grip on her wrist, and the command in his voice, stopping her cold.

They moved on toward the dilapidated manor on the hill. On the outside, the lawn and shrubbery looked like it had seen better days. Weeds and withered scrub grass fought for a footing among the stones in the walkway. Around them, the drooping trees looked half dead. To Harry's mind it was a very depressing scene.

They didn't bother knocking. Hachigen raised his hand and intoned, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Shakkaho!"

A red ball of energy formed from his palm and shot out. The doors before him exploded open, and into the room behind them. Madam Bones' eyes grew wide at the amount of power that strange incantation wrought. She almost forgot to pull out her wand.

"It won't be necessary for you to get involved," Harry said, standing next to her. "You are only here as a witness. Allow the Soul Reapers to do their jobs. They are trained for this."

"Besides, Ichigo is spoiling for a fight," Shinji chuckled, coming to stand next to Harry.

"We should still follow the law," she argued.

"Riddle," Harry explained patiently to her, "because of his actions, is beyond the laws of man Madam Bones. Ichigo and the Gotei 13 are after him because he used dark rituals that go against everything they stand for. They, after all, do not go by human, or even wizard law. They serve a higher authority. . . The Law of Balance."

"When we are finished with your Dark Lord, then you can have what's left to mop up," Shinji said with his lazy Cheshire grin as several Death Eaters came boiling out the shattered doors.

Harry quickly placed the same type barrier he'd used in his duel with Fudge around both Madam Bones, Flintlock and himself. Stray spells bounced off the shield like tiny pings of light, but she still ducked—out of reflex.

Ichigo's cleaver-like sword made a good shield as he deflected spells back at the casters. "This is too easy!" the teen groused, slapping yet another curse back to its caster.

Harry noted a grey sewer rat with a silver paw making a frantic break for the undergrowth. "Hachigen! Get the rat! Don't let it get away!"

Hachigen quickly formed a small barrier around the fleeing rodent. "Here you go, Harry-kun. What do you want me to do with it?"

Harry grinned evilly as Hachigen placed the contained rat beside their barrier. "You are not going any where, Wormtail. I'm sure Sirius will be glad to see you. Thank you Hachigen, I'll just make sure nothing happens to him until we get back to Hogwarts."

"Alright Harry-kun."

Two Death Eaters went down under their own killing curses.

The large, hairy figure of Fenrir Greyback erupted out of the ruined doors heading for Harry and Madam Bones. Harry called Muramasa to him. He wasn't quite sure if the barrier surrounding the trio would hold against the feral Death Eater.

Before the untransformed werewolf could get to them Byakuya stepped in front of Harry, brought his zanpakuto up in a salute and said calmly. "Scatter Senbonzakura."

Byakuya's zanpakuto disintegrated into thousands of pinkish blossom petals engulfing the werewolf.

The huge beast-man roared angrily. "Flowers! No frickin' Flowers' gonna stop me . . . OW! WHAT! HEY! OW!"

Suddenly, tiny cuts littered Greyback's body as the swarm of petals, which were actually tiny blades, shredded the hide and flesh of the were, bringing him to his knees.

"Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku: Locking Bondage Strips!" Byukuya said, pointing a finger at Greyback. A blinding white chain wrapped around the downed werewolf.

"Che! Figures he'd get the more interesting fight," Ichigo complained, shaking his head. Those that heard him chuckled.

The Death Eaters really didn't know what they were dealing with. Several killing curses tried to take down the Soul Reapers but to the shock of all, the soul reapers only deflected them with their zanpakutos. What none of them knew was, except for Harry and Ichigo, the Soul Reapers were already dead and the killing curse would not affect them.

Suddenly, a very large snake came out of the undergrowth and lunged at Ichigo.

"Bukudo #81: Danku," Hachigen said as Ichigo swung Zangetsu down at the same time. The snake was sliced into two pieces as a black mist erupted from it. A barrier spell formed at the same time, effectively capturing the mist.

"That was one frickin' big snake!" Ichigo shouted, shaking the snake blood off his zanpakuto.

"That should be the last of the soul anchors," Hachigen said as he took charge of the second cube of light. He stepped beside the barrier that contained both Harry and Madam Bones and with a wave of his hand, dissolved it.

"Harry," Shinji called attention to his student. "You know what to do."

"Good luck, runt," Ichigo encouraged. Harry glanced back to his cousin and his mentors and with a curt nod entered the manor house.

"Wait! You can't. . ." Madam Bones shouted only to be stopped by Byakuya. "This is his fight."

The manor house was in a deplorable state with paint peeling off the walls. Some of the windows had torn curtains half-covering them, some didn't even have that much. The place had a dank, foul smell to it. Harry proceeded with firm steps and soon found himself in the crumbling ballroom.

His quick look around found Riddle sitting on a

throne-like chair, shouting out orders that no one was responding to. It looked to Harry as though the Dark Lord was getting sick pleasure from all the violence. Typical.

"Hello Tom," Your time has come," Harry taunted.

"Potter! How nice of you to come to me to die!" The hairless, nose-less wizard stood and pointed his wand at Harry.

Harry raised his zanpakuto and said calmly, "Whisper Muramasa," just as Lord Voldemort shouted, bringing his wand up. "Ava. . . Wha. . .!?"

Suddenly the most feared dark lord found himself frozen as invisible thread-like hands wrapped themselves around him.

Harry raised his other hand and called out, "Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku: Locking Bondage Stripe." Chains made of blinding white light lept forth, wrapping around the Dark Lord as Harry whispered, "Expelliarmus."

Riddle's wand came flying to him and he caught it easily. "Release him, Muramasa. My Kido will hold him until the Konso."

Riddle's eyes widened as a tall, messy-haired person dressed in strange white clothing appeared beside Potter. With a wave of his very long-nailed hand, Muramasa removed his bindings. "He is all yours Harry. You have done well."

"Thank you Muramasa." Harry raised his hand and floated the Dark Lord out of the manor house.

He turned to see that the Death Eaters were all subdued and wrapped tightly in the same Kido chain spell that he had used.

"Madam Bones," Harry said. "Why don't you go get Dumbledore and Snape. I'm sure they would love to see the end of this as well as all of us here. It won't be pretty but it will be necessary. They will never believe me without proof, especially Dumbledore."

"I shall go with her," Hachigen said. "We will need, what did you call them? A port key?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape stumbled out of the Forbidden Forest. Their arms were still pinned to their sides by six beams of light radiating out from their body.

Severus cursed Potter under his breath each time he stumbled and fell to his knees. He couldn't wait to have the brat in his classroom. He was so going to make Potter miserable!

They'd almost made it to Hagrid's hut when they heard a pop.

"Albus, Potter did it!" came Madam Bones' excited voice behind them.

As they turned, the light bars that were imprisoning them disappeared. Standing by her was the large green clad man. "We need to get back."

"Go where?" Albus asked.

Madam Bones looked at him sternly. "Potter has captured He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"WHAT?!" Both wizards shouted as Madam Bones shoved a port-key at them while Hachigen grabbed it as well.

"Judgment." They were whisked away.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Again sorry for the cliffie. The next chapter is already written and awaiting Frau's TLC.

For those that wanted Bellatrix in this fight: I did a little research. As much as we wanted her out and for Ichigo to mock her for talking baby talk in a fight, she was still in Azkaban. The jail break happened in canon, according to HP Wiki, Jan 1996 – way after these events.

This is a call out for a beta. Frau and I have a fight scene coming up. We need someone to go over it for us. We need someone very familiar with Bleach and not too canon nazi for what we have in mind. Just PM us.