CHAPTER 7

Game over!

Ichigo hadn't liked Umbridge right from the start. He still remembered her, how could he forget, from the hearing where she had supported Fudge till the end. It was that horrible voice, he really couldn't describe it, which was gritting on his nerve and causing a headache. It hadn't been enough that now she would stay at school, no she also needed to her every day that was torture in itself, if she even tried to give him detention he would blast her into oblivion, with or without rule against that. Still that also hadn't seemed to be enough for her; she didn't just have a horrible voice, she also had no manner, interrupted Dumbledore's speech. It still gave him a headache just thinking about it!

"Hem-Hem… Thank you headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. [...] The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of a vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this…historical school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfected what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be…prohibited!"

Even thought the voice was a torture, he had still listened (he had learned to do that when he needed to deal with things in hell), and had almost made contact with the table with the information he had gotten. She hadn't even tried to hide the meaning of her words, but had clearly said what her goals were and what she wanted to do! She would try to put a halt to everything that could endanger the Minister of Magic or Fudge's position for that matter. Stop the source and it will stop the problem. If no one expect the Ministry of Magic knew how to do magic, than no one would try to challenge them or Fudge personally. What you didn't know, you couldn't question. Don't let people learn how to defend and fight for themselves so that they are easy to manipulate and won't be able to attack or protest. That was clearly written in her sentence: "… perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be... prohibited!"

Soon, it hadn't been quickly enough in Ichigo's opinion, her speech ended and she left, leaving Dumbledore to finish his own that she had so rudely interrupted. It wasn't soon after that the students were allowed to leave too. The bed, at least in Ichigo's opinion was great, very soft and comfortable, so it wasn't a surprise when Ichigo soon fell asleep, at least after he had taken care of Hades.

His wake up call wasn't welcoming but still very efficient. Someone was in a hurry had had not so quietly run around. Ichigo also understood why when he looked at his watch. It was almost time for class. Ichigo, having mastered this skill through the years, took only a few seconds to get dressed and then go to class. Right in time too, because the bell had just rang. He would have almost been too late to his first Potions classes no less and he had heard that the teacher was very stern when it came to matters like that. The teacher regarded him slitted eyes.

"Sit down Mr. Kurosaki. You should be more careful! Even if you managed to be on time I wil not tolerate someone who is late in class."

"I am sorry Mr. …."

"Mr. Snape."

"Mr. Snape, I will be more careful next time."

"Good now sit down; today's lesson is about love Portion. They are difficult to brew and you should be careful with the ingredients. They are highly explosive if you mix them wrongly."

It didn't take long for them to take out their material and start. He had learned from books and chemistry that you need to use the right amount and in the right order to have the right product. He was quite good in his old school with mixing the ingredients and so he had no trouble with this. However, the person next to him looked like he no such talent. Ichigo tried to help him here and there when the teacher wasn't looking and it seemed to work. Mr. Snape almost never left him out of his sight, but as the "king of hell" he had learned to ignore it, even in his human days he had received a lot of attention and successful ignored it. When the time was over Hermione, a Slytherin, even the person next to him and Ichigo himself had managed to do the portion right.

"I see, even Mr. Longbottom can do something right and looks like the transfer student has potential. Everyone else can just chuck their portions away. Mrs. Granger, Mrs. Titrus, Mr. Kurosaki and Mr. Longbottom, please place your portions on my desk."

After Ichigo had done just that he left the room, but he didn't get far and still heard Snape whisper:

"How is that possible that Legilimency didn't work? That boy can't have such a strong protection around his mind that I couldn't even access into it. Who is he?"

It looked like the wizard Snape had tried to do something. Ichigo hadn't even noticed, it had probably been too weak to even feel it. Still a small smile started to cover Ichigo's face. In one point Ichigo had been wrong, he himself admitted. The wizards, who had summoned him, were not all naïve like he had thought. Moody and Snape were already suspicious and maybe they wouldn't take too long to figure out who he really was. That would be great, he would confuse them as good as he could. He looked at his watch only to notice that he was almost late again. He started to run (couldn't use shunpo when there were so many people) to his next class. It was "Defence Against Dark Arts", or short DADA. He really didn't want to go there, because this Umbridge person was teaching it this year (and he would make sure that it would only be this year), but he still needed to go. Ichigo arrived at the classroom. It was still have empty and it would take another five minutes for the bell to ring. Ichigo sat down next to Harry, of course after he had asked and talked to him a bit.

"Harry, listen to me for one second!" He said real serious and Harry could tell and so nodded his head.

"Whatever Umbridge will say or claim about anything at all and most of all about Voldemort, you must not let that get to you. She just wants to be able to give you detention and torture you. She won't listen to any of your claims and in the end you will be the only one who will get punished for your actions, not her. Remember what I said about you being hotheaded; now prove me that I am wrong? If the situation does escalate I will take care of it personally!"

Harry slowly nodded his head. Ichigo would have said more if he hadn't seem Umbridge coming in. It became quiet.

"Good morning class"

"Morning Mrs. Umbridge" the class said quietly and unclear.

At that Umbridge said: "Let's try this again, but clear and loud. Now together…"

"Good morning Mrs. Umbridge"

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now open the book at page 23."

Ichigo opened the book and closed it after a few seconds again. It looked like it was designed for three years old. Then Hermione took him out of his thoughts with the question:

"Mrs. Umbridge, there's nothing in here about using defensive spells."

"Using spells? Well, I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom. You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."

Then Harry asked:

"Mrs. Umbridge…" "Hand, Mr. Potter."

Harry lifted his hand.

"But if we don't learn how to use the spells, then what are we going to do when we are attacked?"

"Attacked? Who would attack you?"

Now Harry noticed that Ichigo gave him the look that almost screamed that he should stay quiet and Harry needed to bit his tongue to do so, since he would have miserably failed had he not done so. Ichigo gave him a nod before taking over.

Ichigo gave a quiet chuckle. Still it had been so quiet suddenly that everyone had heard it.

"What is so funny Mr. Kurosaki."

"It is what you say. Let's make this theoretical. Even if the dark mage was dead, what about other people out there? The dark lord was just one of many out there. Let's say it like this, muggles die out there, because there are also other muggles who kill them. Some of these muggles are worse than others. Now we will look at it from this site. If there were no danger, how come the wizard world has Azkaban, a prison that holds dangerous wizards, who could kill us without breaking sweat? And we also have mystical creatures that could rip us apart. Can you guarantee us, that we won't be hurt out there and it is safe? I heard that a prisoner from Azkaban has fled and wasn't caught till now. What is with him? Is he also no danger?"

At Ichigos question Mrs. Umbridge became red and it looked like she would explode any minutes, the others started to nod their heads in understanding.

"Mr. Kurosaki, I will also tell you that the problem with the prisoner will be taken care of soon."

"Yes but you still have problems even finding a trace, a lead toward him or am I wrong? In that time, he could hurt and kill other wizards, can you say that he wouldn't hurt us? What will you say when we are found dead. It was unfortunate accident and it was for a greater good, because you could now catch the criminal. If you can surely say that we won't be hurt and will sign your promise on a paper, than I won't ask anymore about this subject and will participate in this class. If not then I won't come to this class, for fear of my well being!"

Mrs. Umbridge had tried to interrupt him many times, but he just wouldn't let her, now he would hit her with this fact right in the face.

"Also you are the ministry of Magic's representative, right?" Ichigo didn't even leave her time to respond. "Then I am truly saddened to know how far the ministry here in England has fallen. For you to try and rudely interrupt me, I thought the English wizards had more manners, but I was proven wrong jet again. You even interrupted an elder wizard who is well known and respected in these parts. To not only interrupt, but also show no respect towards your elders, I do not know if I can allow myself to be taught by the likes of you. I will now excuse myself, since you don't seem to be able to sign the paper or show any manner at all. I am truly saddened about the circumstances here in England!"

It didn't take long for Ichigo to also stand up and walk out of the room. The last thing he saw was the very pale face of Umbridge and the look everyone was given her and him. They also started to believe Ichigo, there were more dangers than just Voldemort out there and those threats could quickly hurt or kill anyone of them.

He was right outside the door, when suddenly someone screamed:

"Itsugo, I found you."

That was the only warning Ichigo got, before he was almost tackled to the ground by a green blur. Still he managed to stay standing; even thought a stone would have already been pulverized. He looked down, knowing he would see a hyperactive Nel. Only she would mispronounce his name. Ichigo asked Nel in Japanese:

"Hello Nel, didn't I tell you to stay home and take care of it?"

"Yes but Nel was bored. There was nothing to do other than the paperwork and on that I have already scribbled." Ichigo could only think about all the work he now had to do, why she couldn't have done it like he had asked instead of scribbling on it was beyond him.

Umbridge and the rest of the class that had heard the scream of the child came running.

"Who is that?" She screeched and even Nel with her high pitched voice covered her ears.

"That, Mrs. Umbirdge, as you have so lovingly called her, is my adoptive sister" The class needed to hold back their chuckles as Umbridge jet again started to turn red.

"What is she doing here?" She screeched again, probably to hold back her embarrassment.

"She seemed to have followed me!" Ichigo said that in such 'is that not obvious' voice that it was almost as if he had called Umbridge dumb.

"Then send her back!"

"You want me to send her back without an escort and to send her back to a home where no one would take care of her? Do you believe me to be irresponsible? I will take that as an insult!"

"How could you leave her alone without someone to take care of her to begin with?" Some thought that was a good come back and already anticipated Ichigo's response.

"She told me that her caretaker that I had prepared for her has quiet. Since she is no human she can cause quite a bit of trouble after all!"

"Mr. Kurosaki, don't make fun of me. What do you mean she is no human?" It was screeched so it wasn't really a question. "That girl can't be anything but a human, she looks like one!"

"Ichigo what is the toad talking about?" Ichigo looked down to Nel and had a great idea; he wanted to smile with glee but held back.

"She doesn't believe me that you are an arrancar. Do you want to prove her wrong?"

"Can I, but what do I do?"

"I will pick you up and when I pat you on your back you will shot a cero at the boulder that is over there in the gardens all right?" Nel happily nodded her head before she was picked up and quietly she cuddled his shirt, looking awful adorable.

"Mr. Kurosaki can you stop talking to that child and answer my question?" Ichigo wondered what she meant since it hadn't been a question to begin with. He just gave her a smile, before, without letting the others notice, patted Nel's back.

Nel shot her cero, which was relative small because of her sealed state, out of her mouth, but it was still strong enough that when it hit the boulder it pulverized it. Umbridge and the whole class where now staring at the spot where the missing boulder should have stood and then at Nel like she was from outer space or something.

Ichigo sat her down and patted her head, a scowl showed what other thought would mean his displeasure, but Nel knew that normally it was deeper and so could see that he was quiet happy about the pulverized boulder that she had caused, combined with the patting, she gave a big smile showing how proud she was to be able to make Ichigo feel like that.

"You did great Nel, you were truly great!" Now Ichigo stopped looking at Nel and spoke to Umbridge about her unasked question. "She is highly destructive in many points. That's why I left her at home, but she seems to have followed me here after she got bored and the caretaker probably run away. She doesn't bite (most of the times) and is really friendly. You can talk to her but I doubt she will be able to understand you. She doesn't speak English."

It was then that the bell rung, the end of class signaled, that Ichigo took Nel into his arms again and moved away, the rest of his class following him with smiles on their faces.

They didn't get far before the hateful screech came again "Mr. Kurosaki and Mr. Harry Potter, you will stay here."

"Why?" Ichigo asked in a matter of fact voice.

"Harry Potter interrupted my class as did you Mr. Kurosaki!"

"Is asking questions to learn not the purpose of class Mrs. Umbridge? I have done nothing expect ask questions that you could not answer as did Mr. Potter and then I left, since a will not let myself be taught by people that do not know anymore than I and also do not have any manner. If and only if you can answer my question truthfully and start to act civil, only then I will start to listen to you. Also it is rude to scream and screech when the person stands almost next to you. You should not raise your voice, but I do believe that you just do not know better, since all English people are acting that way! Try to learn and then come back with your demands!" Happy with how he had handled the situation and talked himself and Harry out of detention he left, with Harry right behind him, not looking back even ones to the shell shocked Umbridge, who still hadn't moved.

Ichigo could tell that Umbridge would now try everything to get rid of him. She was scared and for good reasons. It probably felt like Ichigo stood between her and the school. She would not truly accomplish something while the students still listened to him. This boy was too clever for his own good. He would be a problem, maybe even more than Harry Potter and Dumbledore. This boy had the ability to draw people toward him and he could change their views with just talking.

Harry laughed out loud, not caring if Umbridge heard or not. It had been so funny to see Umbridge turn red. The other classmates who were still near them and had also watched the second fight were also laughing out loud. Ichigo gave a small smile and Nel, not having understood still laughed with them, since she found Umbridge's face funny.

"I do think that it was funny, but let me give you an advice. You should be careful of her, now that I am not attending her classes anymore, she will most likely try to get you all in detention and most likely you Harry. You should try to ignore her comments as best as you could and not argue with her. You don't have the skill of speech like I have or the experience."

It wasn't long before McGonagall wished to speak with them; Ichigo was almost giddy to know what Umbridge had told her.

When Ichigo arrived and McGonagall did tell him what Umbrige had told her, he almost couldn't control himself. He gave McGonagall an amused smile, what would have probably been much more had he not suppressed it. He told McGonagall his version of the story, ending with him refusing to attend any of her classes, if she didn't learn any manners. He also told McGonagall that he knew the consequences of his actions and that he knew how to handle them, but he also told her that he wouldn't change his mind and if Umbridge wanted to take points from his house or give him detention, then she would need to talk to him herself to do so. He found it unacceptable that Umbridge would try to get McGonagall to tell him about detention with Umbridge and that he wouldn't accept those until she tried to tell him herself, which would end up with him getting none and her hating him even more. He had his ways with words and he knew how to use his tongue quite well, thank you very much.

McGonagall gave him a short nod, but behind her expressionless mask he could see a shimmer of mirth that showed how she detested Umbridge just as much as the rest of them and maybe even a shimmer of longing, waiting and hoping for the battle to be near her and soon.

The nod indicated that Ichigo was allowed to leave, or at least he interpreted the nod as such and McGonagall also didn't try to stop him. He left the room with thoughts about all the ways he could torture Umbridge without really hurting or insulting her, something legal, giving her no change to even think about giving him detention. He could already thing of a few, Umbridge had gotten one hell of an enemy and she would find out soon enough that Potter may not be her biggest problem.

Ichigo's train of thought stopped when he arrived right outside the forbidden forest. His next class would occur here soon. He believed the subject to be called 'Care of Magical Creatures'. The other students had already arrived. To Ichigo's great surprise the teacher for this particular subject was none other than Hagrid. If Hagrid was teaching this subject than Ichigo didn't have anything against it, however bad Hagrid could be as a teacher, he had the heart at the right spot and that, at least for Ichigo, was all that mattered. Finely a subject with a teacher that Ichigo could stand to be around and work with, he hadn't been so lucky until now. It didn't take Hagrid long to lead the student to a special clearing, they would soon find out why it was so special and get them to quiet down. Hagrid whistled and they didn't have to wait long to understand why he had done so. The beings that had started to move toward them looked like black horses, a bit skeletal with big bad like wings that reminded him of Ulquiorra's. They gave of a familiar aura but Ichigo just couldn't put his finger on it. Hagrid started to talk.

"This, my friends are thestrals. They can only be seen by people who have seen death!" Now Ichigo also understood why they had felt so familiar. They were connected to death and so had almost the same feeling to them as shinigamis, who are dead souls, thus also connected to death. What surprised the whole class (those that could see them), excluding him, was that the thestrals where starting to move toward them. The students quickly jumped out of their way or were pulled out of the way by other students. They stopped when they stood right before him and Ichigo could only guess why, which wasn't truly that hard. They could probably also feel that he was connected to death and were curious about what he was.

One brave thestral looked at him before it moved his head and smelled Ichigo's hand. Ichigo allowed it before he too carefully started to stroke the muzzle. He didn't get far however, when his hand suddenly started to glow at first touch and even those that couldn't see the thestrals could at least see the light. They gasped, at least those that weren't already staring at his hand open mouths, and closed their eyes when the glow strengthened in its intensity before stopping just as abruptly as it had appeared. Only Ichigo could feel the pull on his reiatsu and so only he understood why his hand had glowed. The thestrals horses had formed a contract with him. They would take and use or store a little of his reiatsu everyday and would in return work for him. He never really found out what these beings that made a contract with him used his reiatsu for, but he believed them to consume his reiatsu and convert it into power to use, just like hollows that ate other souls to get stronger.

Still only Ichigo could come to this conclusion, since only he had enough information and in the end only Ichigo knew why his hand had suddenly glowed. The rest of his classmates started to question Hagrid about it, but he told them that such an accident had never ever happened before, at least not that he knew of any and he couldn't give them any theory or explanation. They also questioned Ichigo if he felt any change or something else but he also told them there was nothing, a truthful answer would have only given them to much information and his game would have probably ended much too soon for his likening.

The class itself, at least after that little accident, was uneventful, but still quite interesting in Ichigo's opinion. Through the rest of the class everyone gave him weird looks, like they believed that he would suddenly just drop dead, which he considered doing just to scare them but in the end decided against it, since he still had a mission and for that he needed to pretend he was alive and just another of the students, well at least he needed the cover for his game to continue. So he ignored the stares, what he however didn't ignore or more like couldn't was Nel, who had started to play with the thestrals and even tried to climb one, which to some stundents looked like she was hanging in the air. Ichigo had almost forgotten that she had trailed him to McGonagall's office and even to his next class. Ichigo was somehow thankful that she was now around since was a distraction and destroyed the quiet at any given time, since she was anything but. Still the thestrals didn't seem to mind and so Ichigo decided to let Nel have her fun. It was at the end of the class when Hagrid questioned Ichigo himself.

"Do you know what has happened back then when you touched the thestral?"

Ichigo was thinking about telling Hagrid the truth, since he liked Hagrid and didn't want to lie to him. He gave a sigh, which indicated his decision had been made before he started to talk.

"One could say that I have formed a contract with the thestrals! Or one could say that they formed one with me, well no matter, the contract gives me the power to call the thestrals should I need them and in exchange they get to take a bit of my magical power every day."

"You can form a contract with thestrals?" Hagrid said a bit stunned, probably never ever hearing about having contracts with magical beings. "Isn't it dangerous to let them take, even thought it's only a bit, magical power from you?" Hagrid asked concerned and Ichigo was again reminded why he liked Hagrid. He had a good heart!

"Yes it is, but only if you don't know how to control it probably. I do know how much I can allow myself to give them and so am in no danger to strain myself in any way. One also needs to be careful not to give too much or too little, which can also be quiet dangerous. One needs to know the rules before he plays the game, the same applies to contracts. Without control it can even lead to death so we both can breathe a sigh of relieve that I do know how to play don't we!" Ichigo gave Hagrid a small cheerful smile, which he didn't truly return; a bit shocked that he would react like that toward something that may cost his life. Still he was interested and questioned Ichigo further, thought without truly thinking about making a contract. He knew that he didn't know the rules.

"I wish I could do that to. It's like communication, is it not?" It almost sounded like a joke, but something told Ichigo that Hagrid truly wanted to communicate with other beings and creatures and be able to understand them.

"Yes you could say it is, but to be real Hagrid, you don't need it. These animals or mystical creatures as you like to call them, can feel that you love them. You already have a connection. A different one, but it still exists and I believe that it is even stronger than a contract, since a contract is more about beings helping each other out with much less feelings conveyed then in your connections were the thestrals truly know that you love them and for that, they love you back!"

"Really?" Ichigo smiling softly nodded and almost laughed at the following reaction that Hagrid showed. Another thing he liked about Hagrid, his reations were amusing and entertaining. Hagrid looked like a little child (a big one) in a candy store that had just been told that it could get whatever it wanted. It almost looked like he would jump up and down if Ichigo just waited long enough. Then they suddenly heard a scream. It was high pitched, probably a girl's. She had probably moved deeper into the forest even thought all students had been forbidden from doing such for a good reason. Quickly moving toward it he stopped when he had arrived at the source to stare at the being before him in astonishment. In the middle of the forest, Ichigo really couldn't believe it, stood a hollow. He gritted his teeth. He had been careless. He needed the others to get away so he could fight without being seen so he wouldn't be bothered by anyone. There was only one way to be able to successful get them both safely away.

"Hagrid, grab the girl and get out of here. It's too dangerous to remain here." Quickly knowing that Hagrid would probably protest with only this sentences about leaving a student alone he added:

"Don't worry about me. I know these monsters. I can take care of myself, but that girl can't. Take her and leave!"

"Alright, but I will come back. Be careful!"

After that Hagrid took the girl itno his arms and run. Ichigo knew that if he fought the hollow his summoners would probably know who he was, but he couldn't change that now. He had a mission that was more important than his boredom and the game and he would damn well succeed. He would probably have been able to succeed without others finding out if he hadn't already known that others were soon to follow. The forming of the contract had let all those hollows feel his reiatsu and they were probably all on their way here to try and consume him. It didn't take long for his theory to be confirmed. The sky tore up and hundreds of hollows started to flow out of the black hole that he knew was named garganta. Ichigo couldn't fight all of them in his human disguise needed; he would never stand a change, since he was very limited in this form. With a sad sigh he changed forms, he needed to since one part of the contract stated that he needed to protect Hogwarts and its students and he wouldn't be able to do that if he was consumed now could he? Without much of a choice, since Nel in her child form wouldn't be much help and he would probably also need to protect her, he started to attack and destroy every hollow even trying to get near the school.

The trio, that had already moved toward their next class, but had still heard the scream and had made a 180 degree turn and run back toward the forest and also arrived. They hadn't expected much, at least not something they hadn't seen before, probably a spider that had scared the girl they had thought. Now the scenery they beheld was anything but what they had expected. It shocked them to their very core. Hundreds of monsters, disgustingly in appearance, where coming out from what looked like a crack in the sky, but they all seemed to almost disintegrate before they even managed to touch the ground. Something that looked like a blur seemed to break their mask which stopped them in their tracks and disintegrate them at the same time.

It looked like an orange flash and reminded the trio of Ichigo's hair color. They didn't move, not knowing what to do and not prepared for such a situation at all. Someone could have mistaken them for statues were it not for their chests moving, showing that they were at the very least breathing. Then the teachers arrived and even Dumbledore stopped in his tracks when he beheld the scenery before him. It didn't take long for the orange blur to crack even the last of those monsters, since they couldn't be anything else, and start to slow down till it came to a stop before them. Now they all could see the profile of this creature, but before they could react or do anything the crack, that they had hoped would now disappear since no more monsters were coming through it, was starting to widen even further. The monster that passed through the black hole was gigantic in size but still possessed the same mask like the smaller monsters before it. The orange blur's attention was drawn toward it, before the orange blur moved in speed beyond any human and killed it with a single move of its arm, the hand holding a pure black sword, cutting the mask in half, which caused the monster to as well disintegrate. Ichigo, who had let lose a small part of his powers, had caused the others to fall on their knees, but as soon as the pressure had started it had also disappeared. It waited for a second; standing in the air like it was nothing, till the black hole had closed before moving toward them and the ground. Standing now before them, let them all get a good look at his face and one had to be dumb not to guess who stood before them even thought he did look quite different.

"Ichigo, what are you?" came out of Harrys mouth before he could stop himself from asking.

Ichigo gave a sad sigh, knowing that he had lost the game even before it really started, one day at school, and gave the answer they were all waiting for.

"Too much to really tell you all, but the important stuff is that I was summoned and made a contract with the summoner to protect the school and its students, isn't that right Dumbledore-san. I will fulfill the contract, even thought the fun was just taken from it!" The last part came out as a whisper but knew the others had heard as well. At least Umbridge wasn't present and so didn't know about him. Maybe he could scare her a bit now and then to get rid of a bit boredom. It was Snape that first started to ask questions, knowing what Ichigo said was true, but still wanting an affirmation.

"So you are the creature that we summoned?" asked Snape.

"Yes, but let me ask you a question. What did you want to summon, because I am curious if you truly know what I am?"

"I can probably tell you that" McGonagall said, looking him up and down, trying to decide what to make of him. "We found a rune that told us a way to summon a creature that would, if it wanted to, assist the summoner in the way he had stated the contact. We could get its cooperation to help us in the war against Voldemort, as long as the contract didn't involve killing other humans, since it wasn't allowed to do so directly. We hoped the creature wasn't ill willed and the spell would work, but we never thought that we would summon a creature like you! We don't really know what you are thought."

At that Ichigo started to laugh. He, the "king of hell" was summoned by people that didn't even know who or what he was. He needed to lean on a trunk of a tree to not fall over and he just couldn't stop laughing. It was finally Nel who helped him regain his control.

"Laughing really helps, still that was amusing if that understatement is allowed." Ichigo said, wiping away the tears that had started to run down his cheeks. The others didn't know what he had been laughing about, but didn't brother to ask, since there were more important questions.

"Let me asked you, what creature are you or what are you called since you really can't be human?" Ichigo wanted to start laughing again, but held back with will power alone, knowing that it wasn't the right time to do so.

"You want to know? Okay, I am what you would call the "king of hell", the hell where human souls go to when they have sinned." Most caws hid the ground with a loud thud. Still Ichigo only gave them an amused look and continued. "…and Nel is a monster like you have seen just now. These monsters are called hollows and the stronger they get, the more human like they become, even their intelligence grows with their powers and at some point they can even feel emotions. Like little Nel next to me! She even thought she is one of the strongest among her kind, was sealed into a child form and with that can't use her full power." They all looked at Ichigo and Nel with wide eyes before Ron stuttered:

"You are really the 'king of hell' and she really is like one of those monsters?"

"Yes I am and no she isn't like them. She already posses emotions and can think rationally!"

"Wicked!"

Hermione then said: "Did you lie your abilities?" Hermione asked a bit disappointed

"No I didn't. Those abilities just truly aren't used by wizards, but shinigamis, which you would translate as soul reapers or grim reapers. So technically, they are dead souls that learn fancy tricks to kill these monsters called hollows and help souls pass on, since hollows are dead souls turned bad."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You know death gods and know how heaven is looks like even thought you are the 'king of hell'?"

"Yes, I even have some friends there, but don't think too much about it since they will probably come to visit soon, like those hollows they probably already felt my powers and are on their way here or preparing to come. We can sense each other after all. Quiet a good ability to have right?" He asked Hermione with a smile that she, even thought a bit hesitant, returned.

"You mean death gods are coming to this school?" asked Ron.

"Yes they are and don't let their looks confuse you. They are all over a hundreds. How old do I look to you?" Ichigo was already anticipating the answer, wanting to know what they thought and what their response was going to be when he revealed the truth.

"I would say sixteen or seventeen."

"I think so too."

"I am one-hundred and sixty-seven and you could say, to them I am just a child. I think Nel is over a thousand, but she will never answer when I ask and with her character you can't really tell."

Now everyone looked with wide eyes at Nel, who was just chasing a butterfly. They all thought almost the same: 'WHAT THE FUCK' Ichigo found it funny how they all had already forgotten what Nel was and hadn't even asked questions. It was probably because there had been too much information at ones and they needed time to digest.

Even the teachers had forgotten and were surprised, but the managed to pull themselves together and it was Hagrid who figured out one small fact that couldn't really be true.

"Hey Ichigo, if you are the "king of hell", wouldn't you need be as old as hell itself, which should be pretty old, how come you are so young then?"

"That's a really long story to it that I don't really want to get into, but to give you the gist, I went in to rescue my sister who had been kidnapped and killed the old one. Hell accepting me as the new 'king' after I had helped it with another problem, which was the cause of me being stuck in hell for over a hundred years now and further years to come. The only interesting thing there is Nel and her idiotic acts as well as the contracts that I make now and then, since those allow me to get out. There is much more to it, but I don't have the will or strength to start telling my life story so let's leave it at that."

"What were you before you became the 'king of hell'?" Dumbledore asked with interest.

"A human with special powers!" Ichigo answered as if it wasn't a big deal. Now everyone was really staring at him before Ron finally said:

"You have the worse luck ever." It was a statement, not a question. Ron directed his next sentences to Harry. "His luck is even worse than yours and if his entire life story is like that, then at least I don't really want to know the rest."

"Yeah."

The conservation came to a stop and Ichigo took the opportunity to change back into his human form. It didn't take them long to start heading back to school as well as for Hermione to start one of many questions that Ichigo knew were still to come.

"What is it like to be the king of hell?"

"Can you teach me those magic spells of the grim reapers?"

"Do you need to eat at all or have you other ways to collect energy?"

One of the last question was something that interested everyone so they focused and tried to listen to Ichigo's response.

"What does hell look like and which souls go to hell?"

"What…" Hermione was stopped in her rapid speaking when Ichigo interrupted her. This time manners didn't matter, because he felt like he wouldn't posses ears if she continued without letting him have time to answer.

"Hemione if you want an answer please let me at least speak out. Hell has many layers. So the souls there get the right punishment. They are divided into the seven sins like greed and lust. Souls that have done wrong in their life will be sentenced to hell. You saw the monsters right? Those are souls of people that have lost their hearts and change to search for it. Souls start to change when they are too long on earth and haven't moved on or because they had a grudge. When shinigami kill them, they purify them and sent them to the next world. Btu not all are sent to, you could say heaven. Some have done sins in their human life and so are sent to hell. Oh and don't worry. Killing Voldemort is like self-defense and so is allowed. Also I don't think he is human anymore."

At that everyone let out a breath of relieve that they had been holding without noticing at all and started to smile a little. They rest of the way was quiet expect for Nel who couldn't stop her mouth even to save her own life, but still Ichigo didn't care. His only thoughts were about his old friends that were now probably coming to visit. He had truly missed them.

Please tell me what you think! I changed a bit and tried to correct as much as possible, so I hope it is better now.