CHAPTER 16

The adventure with the first years!

One week had gone by and Dumbledore had decided that the school would be closed the end of the next week. Ichigo still waited for Grimmjows report. What he had found out about Voldemort and his followers. It shouldn't have been so hard to torture a soul in hell and he was really good at it too. Ichigo had one time seen a soul just after it was tortured by Grimmjow. It hadn't been a pretty sight. Ichigo hoped that he never did see it again, the souls often went after that straight to heaven, tt was as if they had received enough punishment for about a hundred years.

Many students were relieved that they could get home. They were all scared since Hogwarts would be the most dangerous place to be in the next weeks, maybe even month or years. They didn't know how long the war, it could already be called one, would end. Every student was scared and tense. They didn't like to image what would happen to them if they stayed. On the other hand, some wanted to stay. They thought of Hogwarts as the most protective place even when attacked. They didn't want things to change and going home in the middle of the year would be a great change. Ichigo had told those that wanted to stay that they couldn't. He told them to remember what they heard one time when Grimmjow fought. It hadn't been pretty and soon they understood why they had too. Ichigo was relieved by that. It would have been hard to protect the students and the school.

Starrk was still somewhere on the school grounds and hiding his presence. It looked like he had started to like the old castle and Ichigo wouldn't force him back to hell. It wasn't like he was missing his duties or anything. He didn't have one to begin with; Ichigo wouldn't give him a dutie if he slept through it anyway. Ichigo let the students search for him (somehow they followed his every order, even thought Ichigo didn't want them to) and at the end almost every student was searching. It was a sight to behold. It almost looked like a game and some of the students seemed to enjoy it greatly. Some of them didn't even really know what to look out for. They just knew that they needed to look for a sleeping man that would be found in unique places. At the end of the search the little first year that liked Ichigo really much found him. He was in a little cupboard and most of them wondered how he did get in there. Theoretical it wasn't possible, but it was Starrk after all. If he thought that something looked comfortable he would sleep on or in it no matter what. She led Ichigo to the cupboard and for that she was petted. She held her head and looked like she was in heaven. Ichigo smiled a little at her and then looked at Starrk.

"Starrk come out of the cupboard!" He didn't answer and Ichigo started to get annoyed after he had said it many times. He pulled Starrk out of the cupboard and screamed at him.

"Starrk I want to make a trade for you and I won't bother you in the next time if you accept my offer."

Starrk open his eyes a bit and looked at Ichigo. Ichigo knew that he wouldn't get anything more from Starrk and said:

"I want you to stay here. You can sleep all you want and do everything you like except destroying the castle. The only thing you need to do is stop any inviders that want to harm this school or take something away from it. In the meantime you can sleep as long as you want and won't be bothered. Do you accept?"

Starrk only nodded and then went into the cupboard again. It was really something to see him position himself so that he would fit. After that Ichigo told the other students that the search was over and the winner was the first year. He said that out of humor, because it looked like it had been a competition. The students looked a bit down at that. It had been fun, but congratulated the first year. Ichigo asked her if she had any whish and she started to blush a quiet bright red. Then she stuttered:

"Cou-Could y-you play wi-with me fo-for the d-da-day? Ichigo smiled at her. He hadn't expected such a answer but it wasn't a problem for him. It just surprised him that the girl would ask for something like that but he was okay with it.

"What do you want to do?" Ichigo asked her. She looked at him and didn't look so scared anymore. She was almost radiating light with her smile and Ichigo had such a feeling there was something he should know about. He had the same feeling with Orihime but he never really figured it out. He dismissed it and pushed the thought away. He looked at the girl again and smiled at her enthusiasm. She really was a bright child.

"What do you want to do?" Ichigo asked her and she looked down at the floor and her feet. She looked nerves and then answered as if she was shy:

"I would really love to go with you and some other from my grade to go to the village near here. We weren't there till now and most of us really wanted to go!"

"I need to ask Dumbledore if I could go with you and your friends to the village. I think he will allow it, ask the other first years if they want to go, but don't get their hopes up. He might not allow it."

Even thought he had said this, she looked hopeful and run away. Ichigo went to Dumbledore. He stood before the office and knocked. One time, three time till someone answered:

"Come in please!"

Ichigo went inside and said:

"Dumbledore-san, could I and some of the first years go to the village? She has done something for me and as a reward she wanted to go with me and some others to the village."

"Off course you can. You just need to careful and look out for them, but that shouldn't be a problem for you, should it?"

"No I will take care of them. I will be careful!"

Dumbledore nodded to him and Ichigo left. That had been easier than expected, but Dumbledore was an easy going man, it shouldn't have surprised him. Ichigo had expected about five to seven first years, but before him where more, much more. They whole first years off all houses stood before him with hopeful eyes looking up to him. It looked like some were missing but he could see them running toward him and the other first years.

"A few friends, I see!" The first year blushed and smiled up to him.

"I only asked a few, but the rumor spread and everyone wanted to at least see the village ones. Is it alright to let them all come?" She looked at him with puppy eyes. The others took the clue and did the same. Ichigo could handle one or two puppy eyes at the same time, but why did the little ones always do it like there was a signal. He didn't hear it, if there really existed one. Maybe it was like the dog whistle just for little children. Ichigo let out a sigh and then nodded.

"It's all right if all of you come. If there is still someone missing I want them here, it's not good to leave someone out so get them if there is."

The children nodded and one girl started to run away. It looked like there was still someone missing. That girl ran as if she was scared to be left behind and soon was dragging someone behind her. It looked like the child didn't really want to and tried to rip his hand away from the girl but without success. Soon both the girl and the now indentified boy stood before Ichigo. Ichigo smiled a bit at them and they started to leave. Before they reached the entrance however Ichigo was attacked be a flying something. The children started to scream but soon stopped when they noticed what it was. It was the baby dragon from Ichigo, that wasn't so baby anymore. It had grown quite in size and was about the size of a pretty big dog. It tried to entwine itself around Ichigos neck but without success. He was simple to big and so Ryuu sat down at Ichigos site and started to wave it's tale like a dog. Ichigo tried to let Ryuu understand that he couldn't come with them but soon he did the puppy eyes and the children got the clue again. They hugged Ryuu and did the puppy eyes too. Ichigo swore that there was a damn signal or whistle somewhere that gave the kids the clue to do it. He let out a defeated sigh and nodded. He had the distant wish to hit his head against a wall.

They had arrived in the village and the children were about to run off when Ichigo said:

"First I want you to stay in the village. If you want to go somewhere else you need to ask me and we will all go together. Don't even think about running away alone. Second stay nearby so I can notice when something happened and third have fun!"

The kids nodded and smiled at him. Then they run off to the candy store. Ichigo sat down and scowled at now one in particular. He got weird looks from the people around him, because of his dragon. The first year came to him and smiled.

"Hey, I still haven't asked your name have I? What is it?"

They girl started to glow like a bulb and then stuttered: "M-My na-name is S-S-Sa-Sandy, Sandy Flower!"

"It is nice to meet you Sandy Flower, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki!" He smiled at her and she became bright red, again!"

A girl from the first year of Hufflepuff suddenly came to him and almost yelled: "A Gryffindor and a Slytherin are fighting in the outside of the candy shop."

Ichigo stood up abruptly, scaring the two first years a bit and made his way toward the two fighting children. He took them by the collar and pulled them up. They still tried to hit each other but without success. They were being held to far apart to really do anything else but hit the air. They stopped when they noticed it was in vain and looked up to Ichigo with an angry look. They were about to yell at him, when they saw his look. They shut up immediately and started to slightly shiver. He looked extremely annoyed and that was an understatement.

"Why did you to fight? If there was a good reason too I wish to know it also."

"He started the fight" yelled the Slytherin. The Gryffindor looked angry at him and yelled:

"No, it was him who started the fight!" That went on a little longer till Ichigos patience had ended. They weren't even acting their age and some could say it was like they were acting seven years old. He didn't want to wait anymore and he yelled at both off them:

"I don't care who started the fight, I want to know the reason it started and I want it now!"

Both shocked into silence soon found their voices again and quietly and still a bit fearful said:

"Tom (the Slytherin boy) said that his dad was rich and he could even buy Hogwarts if he wanted to! I called him liar and said that every Slytherin is a crook and then he attacked me without me expecting it!"

"See that wasn't so hard was it? So now to you" he looked to Tom "what you said about your father being rich is true right," the boy nodded "but I do not believe he really has enough money to buy Hogwarts. You exaggerated a bit didn't you" the boy looked down at the ground and nodded again. "You shouldn't do that. It is not always got to boast around others. Think about it, if you were really poor and another would always brag about how rich he was you would get jealous wouldn't you?" The boy looked like he understood and the other boy looked somehow smug till Ichigo looked at him. "Now to you, you can't just judge people without knowing them? Did he ever do something else to you then brag a bit about his money? You can't just judge a book by it's cover!" The boy looked confused and Ichigo sighed. "You can't say that everyone is like that just because of rumors. If that was true then I would be a demon! Because one is bad the other needs to be too? Not everything is black and white there are sometimes different tones of gray too. If everything was black and white, than you are would have never done anything that has angered another. You would have also never brag about something and that isn't so is it?" The boy shocked his head. Even he had made people angry at him and had sometimes bragged about other things. "Let's look at it the other way, what different do you have other than being in a different house?" When Ichigo asked that question all the first years (that had gathered around him at that time and later on) looked thoughtful. If the really looked from it in that light they weren't really different at all. Ichigo felt if all the first years were around him. One presence was missing. He had remembered all presence and the one from the boy that was dragged with them by the girl was missing. He searched for it and soon found it outside the village. He cursed quietly so the children wouldn't hear and then said:

"It looks like one of you didn't follow the rules I gave you! He went outside the village. We are going to him, so that nothing happens. Take the hand of the person next to you and don't search for your friends. We need to hurry!"

They did so and trough that also took the hand of one of the enemy houses (Gryffindor + Slytherin). They didn't really have a problem with it anymore. There were a few that did but the most weren't even caring. It was like a line had formed and the first years were all walking behind each other and holding hands. They almost reached their destination when they heard a scream. The children let go of each other's hand and run toward it. Ichigo was stunt into silence for a few seconds. Most children would run into the other direction when hearing a scream. He was ripped out of his thoughts when the second scream came. He quickly shunpoed into the direction of the scream out of worry. He saw the boy (who hadn't come willingly) sitting shocked and shivering on the ground with a book next to him. The other children stood before him with spread out arms and looked like they were trying to protect him. There were dementors that were getting dangerously close to them.

The children were scared but when they had seen the boy, one of their group sitting on the ground shivering and screaming like that they had thrown themselves between him and the dementors. When the dementors came closer they thought that it was there end when they heard:

"Patronus" with that one word they were somehow feeling protected and without worry. Even the Retch on the ground wasn't shivering and screaming anymore. They all looked to the man that had said it and it was Ichigo. Before him stood a gigantic tiger that gave of a blue light. It was scaring them but when it looked at them and gave a short purr they relaxed without a second thought. The dementors looked scared because they backed up when the tiger started to look at them. Then the tiger moved and attacked the dementors. A few seconds later the dementors where beaten and had fled. The children had surrounded Ichigo and were smiling at him.

Ichigo looked at the children. They had been pretty brave for their age. He was somehow proud of them but still said:

"You do know that it was dangerous to do that don't you? I want you to never do that again when you know that you can't defend yourself. Altogether," the children winced together because they were scared of more scolding but they still looked somehow offended. They knew what they had done was right. "I am still proud of you. You did the right thing and protected one of your own. Even if it was extremely dangerous you protected him and that is something not many can do!" The children looked at him and then started to smile. They then noticed that the tiger was standing at Ichigos site and he was petting it. They looked with begging glances at Ichigo and he nodded. They run toward the tiger. It was really soft and it even purred.

When it was slowly getting dark the first years and Ichigo went back to the school. They said goodbye to Ichigo and left. Sandy was the last one that stood next to him. On the way back she had taken his hand and had not let it go. She looked up to him and smiled. Then she asked him to kneel down and he did so. With one quick move she had given him a kiss and smiled brightly at him. "

"Thank you Ichigo, I had a great day!" with that she left.

Ichigo was to stunned to really do anything. He didn't move till two hours later when the trio found him still in the same position. The only think he said was:

"I really don't understand woman, regardless if they are young or old!"

It was really fun to write. Tell me what you think! - :)