Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a strange longing after he had consumed the unusual hollow. Wailing for someone despite not knowing who, and reiatsu so heavy that most normal Adjuchas failed to approach. Grimmjow had presumed it was just because of his distance from his pack, but even after returning, the longing hadn’t ceased. It had eased somewhat upon returning to them but he still felt an unusual emptiness, different from the regular hunger that plagued him and told him to devour. His unease was noticed by Shawlong, who suggested that perhaps a change in environment may help. Grimmjow reluctantly agreed and opened up a Garganta for them all to travel to the living world, letting chance direct where they ended up., They suppressed their reiatsu once they arrived at the bustling city.  

Grimmjow let them go off on their own, making sure they knew to return by sunset. Di Roy hops away quickly, probably to find whatever prey that had caught his attention. Edrad followed behind, shaking his head, probably to reduce the damage so as to not get any shinigami on them. Nakeem and Yylfordt wandered off on their own. Grimmjow let his instinct guide him, feeling a familiarity at the place they had appeared in, but still unsure about it, Shawlong following close behind. 

Grimmjow eventually found himself in a park in a little town, unsure of what had brought him here other than the feeling that he was in the correct place. He looked around and found a small group of kids kicking something. Upon approaching, he saw that the thing being kicked was another child. Something flared inside of him.

"Humans speak of children as pure and innocent, yet sometimes, they can be the most cruel," Shawlong said.

Grimmjow nodded in agreement. The two watched the children get bored of their prey before walking away. With the larger children gone, he could see the features of the child that had been beaten better. The child’s messy brown hair, short but thick, covered his face as the child tried to get up. Something in him clenched as he crawled closer to the child who looked up and stared with wide green eyes that sparkled as they looked straight at him. Looking at the child, his instincts were mixed between wanting to devour the child (though there was something attached to the child’s soul that smelled rancid now that he was closer to it) and wanting to take and hide the child from the world. 

“Mama?" The child said, reaching out for him. Grimmjow reeled back and growled. 

"The hell did you just call me?" 

The child flinched and began to cry. He heard Shawlong sigh behind him, and gave the other hollow a glare before turning back to the child. He didn’t know what he was feeling, only that something in him ached, something that was different from the usual hunger. That and the child's crying was unusual—it was extremely subdued. He may not remembered much from when he or any of the souls he had devoured were alive but he had a feeling that a human child crying like that was unusual. A quiet sob, one that can be barely heard without great hearing, came from the child. The pang of something grew stronger.

"The child may not be loud, but its parents may come for it. We should leave. Especially since it is clear the child can see us, which means the parents may be spiritually powerful, so shinigami may be near," Shawlong said. Usually, Grimmjow would be inclined to agree with the other's judgment, but watching the child curl in on itself, he couldn’t help but approach and do something about it. 

He grabbed the child with his tail and situated the child on his back. The child made a weird squeak and he could feel it try to grab on to anything to stay balanced. His tail didn’t let go. He looked up at Shawlong, who watched him in confusion. 

"Kid's coming with me." Grimmjow stated. He saw Shawlong drop his hand, and he left the other hollow on the ground before climbing into the air. He heard a shout of his name as he walked towards where his pack had opened the Garganta. 

The child was silent and he was unsure if it was out of fear or anything else. He glanced back at the kid who was looking towards the ground in amazement. The kid looked up and smiled.

"Fly!" 

His mouth twitched in amusement at the child's antics before he turned to Shawlong who had caught up with them.

"Grimmjow, what is the meaning of this?" Shawlong was flailing his arms wildly. "You can't just kidnap a child from the world of the living and bring it with you to, what, live in Hueco Mundo?" 

Grimmjow scoffed, "Well I clearly am doing so." 

Shawlong made a noise of frustration. "The child is alive . How will it eat and survive if it doesn't get eaten first?"

"Are you implying that I would fail to keep it alive?" Grimmjow growled. 

"Yes, because it won't be able to eat what we eat." 

"I will just bring food from the World of the Living to Hueco Mundo then." 

"Then how do you plan to feed yourself if you stay busy traveling between worlds?" Shawlong grumbled.

Grimmjow took a moment to think. It was a good point. After all, he still hadn’t given up on becoming a Vasto Lorde. After a while, he said, "I'll keep reserves with the pack and grab more food from the World of the Living to reduce the travel needed." 

He knew his idea to keep the child would push back his evolution process but he thought it would be worth it as long as the child was with him. Shawlong shook his head signaling his defeat. Grimmjow knew then that even with their disagreement, Shawlong would still assist in this endeavor. 

"Well, at least it will keep Rosie occupied from her moping considering the recent losses," Shawlong said. Rosie, the only hollow to have taken a clear female form in their pack, was Shawlong's mate. To Grimmjow's knowledge, she had been there when Shawlong first became an adjuchas, and when the pack had begun to form. What Shawlong and Rosie had was not love as humans would describe it but an instinctual need to band together to protect each other in their weakened states. Though she had been and still was stronger than Shawlong, she was a passive survivor and preferred to be a look out and defender more than an attacker. It was also due to her that they learned that it was indeed possible for hollows to create offspring, but whether the offspring would survive the creation was another question. From what Shawlong had told him, the last batch they had tried was successful but due to the slight carelessness of leaving Rosie completely undefended, they were attacked, and the cubs had been consumed. Rosie was thankfully able to devour the assailant, so she was avenged, however she was now moping.

Grimmjow could admit that it was most unfortunate as he too was curious about how the naturally born hollow would have turned out. However the past was now past, and they could only look towards the future. He and Shawlong further discussed the logistics of how to keep the human child alive as they walked through the sky. By the time they arrived at their destination, the sun was setting and the others were already there. Di Roy bounced up to them and peered at the child on Grimmjow's back.

"What is that? Can I eat it?" He asked.

Grimmjow gave a warning growl and Di Roy shrank a bit. The others approached as well, curious as to why the hollow they chose as their king would bring a human child with him and not eat it. The child stared bright-eyed at the group, unafraid of their monstrous forms as Shawlong began to explain the child's presence. 

"This child will be a part of our pack. We will be caring for it as it grows and ensuring its survival." 

"Are you sure we aren't dragging it back just so you don't have to carry the cubs that Rosie desperately wants again?" Yylfordt teased. Everyone snickered at Shawlong's annoyance and Yylfordt's yelp as Shawlong took a swipe at the bull-like adjuchas. Even the child giggled along, though more out of a need to belong as opposed to actually understanding what had happened. 

"So what is the name of our new member?" Edrad asked.

Grimmjow looks back at the kid. "Hey kid, what's your name?" 

The child looked at Grimmjow in confusion, its brown hair tilted as its head tilted. "Nom?" 

"Yeah, what do they call you? I'm Grimmjow, that's Shawlong, Edrad, Yylfordt, Di Roy, and Nakeem," Grimmjow said, jerking his head towards each member as he said their names.

Recognition showed in the child's eyes, and he then cheerfully said, "Freak." 

Everyone froze at that and Grimmjow began to shake in anger, but tried to keep his reiatsu in check so as to not accidentally suffocate anyone. He may have been dead for a long time but even he knew that what the kid had said was not a name at all. He was tempted to hand the kid off to one of the others so he could kill whoever was previously taking care of the child, but a claw on his shoulder brought him back. He heard the child giggle as it laid down on his.

"Mama shaky," The child said. He sighed as he heard some of the others hold in laughter. Di Roy made no such reservations as he fell over, losing it. 

"Looks like we're going to give you a new name," Grimmjow said as he opened a Garganta. 

The group traded name ideas as they returned to Hueco Mundo, all of them grabbing ideas from the pasts they barely remembered. Di Roy came up with food related names, Yylfordt came up with names that were apparently related to either bulls or fighting. Edrad came up with fiery names, Shawlong brought long names that he claimed were from human philosophers and artists and Nakeem provided plant-related words as names. Grimmjow rejected all of these. 

Upon reaching the other side, Yylfordt gave a loud groan. "Then what kind of name is the kid gonna get?"

Grimmjow looked at the child on his back who had fallen asleep sometime during their trip. He already had a name in mind, but he wasn’t too certain. Yet for some reason, he felt like it would fit the kid.  

"Harry." He whispered and somehow, the name just felt right.

Chapter Text

"Mama!" 

Grimmjow groaned at the yelling in his ear. He cracked an eye open and used his arms to trap the loud child in-front of him. Harry laughed and squealed as he tried to escape from his prison. It had been a good amount of time since Harry had been brought to Hueco Mundo. Shawlong estimated about two human years had passed. 

When they showed Harry to Rosie, she was ecstatic and very enthusiastic about helping Grimmjow raise him. At that point, even Shawlong seemed thankful, as the pressure to help Rosie make more cubs was gone now that she was busy fawning over Harry. Feeding Harry also wasn't too difficult as Grimmjow tended to bring heaps of food from the World of the Living so as to reduce the time required for traveling. Whether the food was fit for a growing human child was a different question. In addition, thanks to Harry’s presence and status as a living person, more prey came to him, making hunting for his own meals to evolve much easier. It also kept the rest of the pack well-fed. Even without needing to worry about their regression, they still felt the hunger to fill the void in their ruined souls as all hollows do. 

Unfortunately, the thing that stuck that Grimmjow did not enjoy was Harry calling him ‘mama.’ Rosie found it cute but he found it embarrassing. Even after his many attempts to at most get Harry to call him ‘guardian’ or even ‘Grimm,’ his cub refused to the point where he had somewhat given up. He still tried every once in a while but overall, he had had no luck. It almost felt like Harry was using it on purpose.

"Mama, let go." Harry tried to crawl away which led to Grimmjow dragging him closer and licking his face.

"No I dun wanna bath," Harry squealed. 

Grimmjow chuckled as he proceeded to groom Harry, cleaning the child. Trying his best to tame that unruly hair. 

He saw Rosie poke her head into the mouth of his den.

"I heard a scream, is everything alright?" She asked. 

"Help me Auntie Rosie," Harry pleaded, reaching his arms out in hope of freedom. He heard Rosie's light laughter.

"Apologies Harry, but bath time is important. And maybe if you are good, Grimmjow can bring back some new toys today?" She directed the question to Grimmjow, and he hummed. Harry stopped his squirming at the sound of new toys and looked back to Grimmjow as best as he could, eyes pleading. 

Grimmjow stopped his licking and said, "As long as you behave."

Harry nodded with enthusiasm and let Grimmjow finish the cleaning. Just because Hueco Mundo was filled with sand did not mean they couldn't stay clean. 

Once Grimmjow deemed Harry clean enough, he let the child go to run around freely and stretched himself. To be able to rest and sleep in a eat or be eaten world was a blessing that only those with a loyal pack could have. Grimmjow considered himself lucky in that regard. He was still a bit mad at them for giving up on their shared goal, but it was also still useful to have them at his side. He may not need them, but their company kept the boredom he had before meeting them all away. Sparring against them was also enjoyable, even if he had to hold back greatly. 

“Even after all this time, I still do not understand this decision of yours Grimmjow, and I do not think I ever will. However, I am thankful.” He heard Rosie say, and he looked at her. She was watching Harry hop onto Di Roy from the mouth of the den. “His presence has brought new experiences. Perhaps it is a longing from when we were human, but there is a satisfaction from the souls within me for this life we have been granted now. Especially since we no longer have to fear regression, what with the constant food supply.”

Grimmjow grunted and turned away to open a Garganta, ready for another trip to the World of the Living. “Watch over him,” he said before running off. He heard an “Understood,” from Rosie before the portal closed behind him. 

Even now, Grimmjow still did not understand what made him want to search for Harry and then keep the child. Harry was surprisingly, spiritually strong for a living human (although there seemed to be a weird rancid smell attached to his soul) which meant he could’ve been a huge power boost, but Grimmjow wanted to take care of him more than he wanted to eat him. He didn’t even think he could’ve eaten Harry, especially since something heavily urged him to keep the boy safe and protected. 

In the World of the Living, he hid his reiatsu as much as possible. He did not want any shinigami on his tail right now. He took his time to find stuff for Harry, especially with the new toys and new clothing. Harry was quickly growing out of his old ones. As much as he wanted to pre-prepare Harry's clothing long beforehand, it was a difficult process since he had a hard time judging the growth rate of his cub, so he grabbed as needed. 

Overall, his trip was rather peaceful apart from stumbling upon some odd fellows in robe-like clothing scuttling around. He tended to go to the country where he had found Harry, mainly due to the simplicity and familiarity of the place. He didn’t always take from one place, as it was too risky, and always switched up the exact locations. 

Upon arriving back at the cave he had claimed as his den, he was able to put the new acquisitions down before hearing a scream. Grimmjow raced out towards the voice. His pack wasn’t too weak, but they had also stopped evolving a while ago. Even if they kept eating to satiate their hunger and prevent their regression, they could not grow any stronger. 

The first thing he saw was Rosie getting cut down, her head pierced right through by a sword, one that he knew only shinigami could wield. As Rosie's body dissipated and turned into reishi, he saw them, three shinigami, all wearing white haori. A silver-haired man with squinted eyes and a fox-like smile retracted his blade as he stood straight. To his left was a brown-haired man with glasses who stood in front of someone whose reiatsu felt similar to Shawlong's and to his right was a man with braided hair wearing a visor, who was holding a struggling Harry who cried out. 

"It seems we have a newcomer," The brown-haired man said.

Grimmjow growled and his reiatsu flared. Before the brown-haired man could speak again, he rushed forward to attack. The brown-haired man raised his sword but Grimmjow quickly changed direction and jumped to bite at the man holding Harry. He used his tail to catch the boy before jumping back, leaving a large gash on his target. He set Harry down near Edrad, giving him a quick once over before setting his sights on the shinigami once more. 

"It seems the kitty has claws," the silver-haired one said. 

Grimmjow snarled, getting down on all fours, ready to pounce. "What do you want, shinigami?" 

"We are merely here to negotiate." The brown-haired one said.

"Negotiate? You killed two of mine and held one of them hostage. There is nothing to negotiate," Grimmjow barked out before launching forward for another attack. Unfortunately, he was soon pinned down by an unexpected burst of reiatsu from the brown-haired shinigami. He heard the yells of his pack as they too felt the heavy pressure. He forced himself to stand up. He was the king and he could not be weak, especially in front of his pack. 

Grimmjow's breath was heavy as he tried to fight against the pressure. He growled at the brown-haired shinigami who was smiling down at him. He hated that smile, it made him feel like he was nothing but a plaything. 

"We truly did come to speak though. It was not our fault that one of your hollows attacked us after we showed your companions the strength we can provide you all." The brunette's gaze turned to the man who was still on his knees, who wore a shocked expression. "Do you not recognize your own after his power has grown." 

Grimmjow felt the pressure lift somewhat and focused his attention on the scents and reiatsu around him. The human-looking being who was on his knees still smelled like Shawlong, except more powerful, though not by much. "Shawlong?" He asked and the man on his knees turned to look at him, gray eyes wide with shock. Grimmjow recognized that mask despite how fractured it looked.

"Rosie is…" The man stuttered out.

The voice, even if he looked different, was undeniably Shawlong's, and the way he said Rosie's name stabbed Grimmjow with something he couldn’t name. It was then he knew that if he didn’t do something, he would find himself in a position he did not want. So he had to attack, he had to fight because he was the strongest and the king. Grimmjow felt the pressure of reiatsu building up around him and he flew into a rage. He would not be defeated here, not by some shinigami who could only promise lies. 

His fangs and claws met a sword and he jumped back before flying forward once more. Even under the pressure from the heavy reiatsu, he kept fighting and leaping towards his enemy. He ignored the slashes from the sword. He could tell the shinigami was playing with him, not using his full strength. It didn’t matter; the shinigami would regret underestimating him. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he found it hard to stand anymore, not just from the reiatsu pressure but also from his wounds. His enemy stood only with a few scratches and a bloody, scratched up arm. Grimmjow could not give up, he had to attack, to fight, to protect .

The brunette approached him, some item in hand, a sort of jewel from what he could see. 

"I look forward to what you become, hollow,"

Was the last thing he heard before the jewel was placed on his forehead and a hot, white, blinding pain surrounded him. He blacked out.

----

Grimmjow woke up to sore limbs. He groaned as he opened his eyes to a young-looking gray haired man with weird square teeth and a familiar bandage around the bulky helmet head.

"He's awake!" Grimmjow heard the grating voice of Di Roy leave the young man's mouth and groaned as he closed his eyes again and tried to place a clawed hand onto his face. He sat up immediately, ignoring the little 'oof' he heard and looked at his newly formed furless hand in shock. He flexed it and turned it around to evaluate the change to his appendage. 

"Good to see you're still alive, boss," He heard Yylfordt say. 

Grimmjow looked up to see more human-shaped hollows. He recognized each of their reiatsu: Yylfordt, Edrad, Nakeem, Shawlong and Di Roy. 

"You're alive."

They nodded.

"What happened and where's Harry?" He asked, feeling a slow rising panic and Shawlong walked forward to explain. 

After he went down, the brunette shinigami, Aizen Sousuke, turned the rest of them into arrancars: hollows who have gained shinigami powers. They were all weakened, giving the braided one, Tousen Kaname, the chance to take Harry away, kid kicking and screaming all the way (Grimmjow would've patted his cub for fighting if he could). Aizen then told them to get used to their new abilities, and that he would be waiting for them at Las Noches, the palace that was said to be ruled by the Vasto Lorde Barrangan. 

"Bastard," Grimmjow spat, to which Shawlong could only nod in agreement. 

"He also provided us with clothing," Shawlong said, pointing to a white bundle.

"And the swords?" Grimmjow asked, noting that all of them had a sword attached to their waists. Shawlong brought up a blue-sheathed one with a beautiful blue hilt. Grimmjow knew immediately that the sword was his.

"Aizen said that this is a zanpakuto. With a release command and a name, we will be able to access our powers that are sealed inside of it." 

Grimmjow took the zanpakuto; he knew immediately what he had to do. He got up and put on the clothing, immediately hating it.

"Grimmjow?" He heard Edrad ask. 

He looked at the arrancars before him: his companions, his pack. 

"We are going to Las Noches," he started, "we are going to get stronger," he pulled out his sword, "get our revenge, and take back Harry."

Grimmjow raked his hand over the side of the sword.

"Grind, Pantera!"

Chapter Text

Harry was a mix of emotions. He didn't know all of them but he knew that he had to be careful. The weird beings that his mama called ‘shinigami’ had grabbed him and taken him from his pack even though he’d squirmed and struggled the whole way, especially after the shinigami that was covered in dark purple did something weird to his mama and the rest of the pack.

He had even managed to escape the shinigami clutches once but was unfortunately quickly picked up with a chuckle from the lighter purple shinigami. Harry wanted to cry but held it in as best as he could and went back to struggling. He missed his pack. He wanted to crawl back into his mama's hold. He wanted the pack to surround him as he rested. He would even take another bath if it meant being with the pack again.

Harry wasn't sure how long it took, but they eventually came to a weird place with a lot more colours and what Harry eventually came to recognize as danger. He was scared. The shinigami spoke in words he did not recognize to a looming red being that felt similar to his mama but also very different and much, much older.

Soon enough, he was handed over to someone pink that also felt like Yylfordt, which he immediately tried to bite only to be stopped by extremely tough skin. Unable to bite through whomever carried him now, he just continued chewing on the being holding him before drifting off due to exhaustion. 

When Harry came to, he found himself lying on a table and the pink being standing over him. 

“What an interesting existence you are,” Harry heard the pink one say. “A human, living in Hueco Mundo and still very much with your soul attached to your body and not a speck of hollowfication.”

The pink one sighed. “Had Aizen-sama not specifically ordered me not to do anything to you, I would have happily sedated you and went on to learn how you are able to survive here, but alas.”

The pink one closed his eyes and placed his hand over his face like he was swooning in despair. Then he cracked an eye open. “Although, I suppose what he does not know will not hurt anyone as long as you keep quiet.” With a smirk, the pink one grabbed something from beside the table and walked towards Harry. “Remember, just do not say a word to Aizen-sama and everything will be okay.”

Harry immediately hopped off the table and ran. 

“Why do they always try to run?” Harry heard the pink one ask, but he didn’t bother looking back. He just ran around the place looking for somewhere to hide. Considering that he wasn’t caught immediately, he was certain that the pink one was underestimating him. A good thing his ma had said once, explaining why being small compared to others can be an advantage.  

As he ran, he kept wishing that he was somewhere safer, somewhere far from this pink being. He felt a sudden lurch and found himself in a small and closed space. He heard the pink one pass him by without noticing and he sighed in relief. Suddenly, he felt exhausted so he decided to take a nap in the place he found himself hiding in, hoping that his mama and their pack would come get him soon.

Chapter Text

Shawlong, to put it lightly, had not taken the loss of Rosie well. During their travel to Las Noches and training along the way, he would at best, sulk and at worst, mope. He would still do his part and participate but it was rather lackluster in comparison to the usual Shawlong they knew. They were all rather at a loss for what to say and Grimmjow knew that this was somewhat his responsibility. But the issue was, he had never understood the extent of how mated pairs worked, especially not the logistics of it. It was just something he had never felt to be a necessity. Even though Harry was currently with their enemy, he at least had the possibility of his cub still being alive, while it was very clear that Rosie was completely gone, her remnants scattered through the sands of their home and grave.

So he did the only thing he knew to do, which was to kick the crap out of Shawlong and give him a good beating. 

"What was that for?" Shawlong asked, rubbing the bruise on his face. 

"She'd do that too if she was here." Grimmjow replied. "Wouldn't want you moping around and getting yourself killed." 

Shawlong growled, "How would you know! You were barely around." 

"I know enough to know that she'd want you to be stronger, because I'm your king."

"That's because I made you our king. I thought you were strong enough to lead us to becoming Vasto Lorde yet look at where we are now!" 

Grimmjow’s reiatsu flared and he grabbed Shawlong's collar. "That's because all of you gave up. You gave up like cowards and made me walk that path alone." 

Shawlong's eyes began to widen as Grimmjow's spiritual pressure increased but he continued, not letting Shawlong speak a word. 

"Yet I stayed and came back. I came back every few hunts. I came back with leftovers so I didn't have to watch all of you regress like the cowards you all are."

Grimmjow released Shawlong's collar, letting the other arrancar drop to the sand. 

"Besides, why wouldn't I know? Especially since I have a piece of all of you inside me," he said before walking off, back on the track towards Las Noches. 

Shawlong looked down at his hands, something in him still hurting at the loss of his mate. In fact, they were probably all hurting at the loss of a companion. But Grimmjow was right, she wouldn't have wanted him to be like this. He got up to catch up to Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow!" Shawlong shouted, causing the blue haired arrancar glanced back.

Shawlong dropped to one knee and bowed, his clenched hand over where his heart would have been if he were a human. "I pledge my loyalty to you and only you. Our king." 

He heard a thump from the others as they knelt as well. 

"So be it," Grimmjow said and Shawlong looked up to see Grimmjow's wide smirk before the arrancar turned around.

"Now, let's see what this Aizen has in store for us."

Chapter Text

The state of Las Noches was unexpected to say the least. Grimmjow had expected a completed castle that may have been made of the bones of Vasto Lorde Barragan’s enemies. Instead, it was mostly barren with only a few small sections built up to even resemble a structure; there were mostly pillars all in various stages of construction. For a place said to have belonged to a powerful Vasto Lorde, it most certainly did not look that grand. 

Walking inside, Grimmjow and his pack could clearly see a mixture of hollows of varying levels as well as other beings like them–arrancars, though much weaker–working on various structures. There were a lot of structural skeletons though, which most likely meant that most of the structures were still in progress.

As they traversed the territory, they found that they were mostly ignored. This ticked Grimmjow off.

"Hey!" He shouted, "Where the fuck are the shinigami?"

This caused some of the hollows around them to flinch before they shuffled away and continued their business. Grimmjow tsk’d and began building up a Cero in his hand.  Suddenly a small arrancar in clothing like theirs showed up and bows. 

“Our apologies for the lack of hospitality. As you can see, we have been working on the construction for Las Noches. I presume that it was Lord Aizen who requested your presence?”

Grimmjow let the Cero dissipate. “That’s right. Now where is that fucker?” 

The small arrancar flinched, but continued, “Lord Aizen is currently not present, however I can lead you to Lord Barragan.”

“The Vasto Lorde?” Edrad asked. The small arrancar nodded. 

Grimmjow and his pack exchanged glances, all wondering what exactly had happened here.

“Whatever,” Grimmjow said, “Just take us to whoever is leading this place now.”

The small arrancar bowed and beckoned them to follow. 

They traveled quite a distance before finding themselves in a reiatsu-dense room with an aged-looking human man sitting upon a white throne with skulls on the armrest. On his left was a feminine Vasto Lorde, and in front of them were a mixture of hollows and arrancars. 

“Are you the hollows that Aizen said would be arriving?” The aged man asked.

Grimmjow shrugged. “Dunno what Aizen said to you but we’re here to take back what is ours.”

Grimmjow felt a rise in reiatsu from the other arrancar and raised his own to counter it. The surrounding hollows all fell from the pressure but he and the older hollow kept going. He grimaced when he felt the other hollow’s reiatsu keep going beyond his own current capabilities, before his legs buckled and he had to stop, although he stayed standing. The other hollow met his glare as he panted. 

“Tell Grantz to bring the cub.” The older hollow said to the Vasto Lorde at his side, who bowed before running off. 

“Looks like Aizen did not create complete weaklings,” The older hollow grumbled.

“And it looks like Aizen’s got some complete monsters under his thumb.” Grimmjow snarked, a smirk on his face. He was not dumb; he knew the hollow in front of him was stronger right now, but that just meant he would have to get stronger. 

The older hollow glared. “I am Baraggan Louisenbairn, the Primera Espada of Aizen’s army and you should show your proper respect, new born.”

Grimmjow barked out a laugh. “Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, and you better watch your back Baraggan. You never know who might stab it.” 

“How dare a weakling like you try to threaten his majesty.” Yelled a half-naked arrancar with red tattoos covering his body. 

Before Grimmjow could reply, there was a shout, a lot of cursing and a loud, “MAMA!”

Grimmjow looked towards the voice and saw Harry running towards him, a pink-haired arrancar nursing his hand, grumbling right behind him. He ignored the snorts and snickers from Baraggan’s troupe as he hurried towards Harry and picked him up to check for injuries.

Harry was silently crying, and he shook his head when Grimmjow asked if he was hurt. 

“Ran and hid like mama said to do,” Harry mumbled.

Grimmjow brought Harry into a tight hug, letting the child burrow his head into Grimmjow’s neck. Returning to his pack’s side, he gestured to them to exit. 

“Where do you think you are going, new born?” Baraggan asked. 

Grimmjow glanced back. “Away from this place. We got what we came for, no reason to stick around.”

“Well now, that won’t do.” The pink-haired arrancar said, before he turned to Yylfordt with a grimace. “Hello brother.” 

“Szayelapporo,” Yylfordt said in response. 

“You know those hollows, Szayelapporo?” Baraggan asked the pink-haired arrancar.

Szayel gave Baraggan a small bow. “Just the blonde one, he is my brother… unfortunately.”

Grimmjow looked at Yylfordt who had an annoyed expression. 

“Either way,” Szayel said, “We can not have you all leave. Lest Aizen-sama be displeased.”

Grimmjow huffed. “I don’t give a shit about what Aizen feels.”

“Is that so?”

A familiar voice rang throughout the open room. Barragan could be seen standing up from his throne as everyone else turned towards Aizen’s smiling face. Grimmjow held onto Harry tighter. 

Aizen turned to Grimmjow. “It is a pleasure to see you well, Grimmjow.”

Grimmjow growled. “Can’t say I feel the same.” 

Aizen continued smiling. “I had Szayelapporo inform me when your group arrived so I could explain to you my plans.” 

“And why would I want to listen to anything you say?” Grimmjow asked.

“Because, one, do you not feel the power you hold now?” 

Grimmjow stayed silent. 

“This new power you gained is from the power of the Hogyoku. You want to get even stronger do you not? I can get you there Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. All you have to do is make peace with everyone else here and listen to my orders.”

Then Aizen turned his gaze towards Harry. “Two, I can ensure the safety of your… child. Will it not please you to not have to worry for the child’s safety all the time?”

Aizen holds out a hand. “So, what do you say, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques?”

Grimmjow felt the stares of the hollows surrounding him and his pack. With the eyes staring down at him as if they wanted to devour him, he knew then and there that this was not a promise of power or protection of any sort, but a threat. A threat, that should he refuse, even if he took down a hundred hollows, it would only result in the loss of existence for him and his pack, and who knows what happening to Harry. He could feel the glares his pack directed towards Aizen. He had no choice but to accept the chain of servitude Aizen presented. 

“Yeah, sure,” Grimmjow spat out, not taking the hand at all. Aizen lowered his hand but his smile did not drop. Grimmjow shivered. He did not like the smile at all. 

“Welcome to Las Noches Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Séptima Espada .”

Chapter Text

“Ugh, why do I have to babysit the newcomers? I have experiments to do, I can’t waste my time being a tour guide.”

“Oh would you shut up already? As if we want to be here, let alone have you walking us around.”

Grimmjow half-listened to Yylfordt argue with the hollow that had been identified as his brother. He was more focused on trying to get Harry to stop shaking as they were led to what they had been told was to be their temporary accommodations. Despite having been told by Harry that nothing had actually happened, the cub was still shaking terribly and wouldn’t say a word about why. 

Still shaking, Harry looked up and made a quick sweep around before focusing his green eyes on Grimmjow. “Rosie not here?” He asked.

Grimmjow stopped walking just as he heard Shawlong made a choked sound. He gave the taller hollow a quick glance to see Nakeem rubbing Shawlong’s back before turning back to Harry. 

“She’s gone,” Grimmjow said. 

“Where?” Harry asked. 

“The sands and air of Hueco Mundo.” Grimmjow said. 

Harry tilted his head, clearly confused, though luckily, he finally stopped shaking. 

Grimmjow sighed and gave Harry a lick to the forehead. “We’ll talk when we’ve settled down.”

Harry whined before settling his face back into Grimmjow’s neck. Grimmjow looked forward and saw Yylfordt’s so-called brother watching him.

“What?” Grimmjow growled.

“Ah, nothing special,” the pink-haired arrancar said. “Well actually, it’s rather peculiar, that little one’s existence.”

“What of it?” Grimmjow asked, his body tensed as he felt Harry start trembling again. 

The pink-haired arrancar raised his hands as if he wasn’t trying to instigate a fight.“Oh nothing much, just wondering how he’s able to survive here.”

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes and handed Harry to Edrad before he walked forward and grabbed the pink-haired arrancar by the collar and slammed him against the wall. He relished the wince the pink-haired arrancar gave.

“Listen here, I suggest you quit asking questions that have nothing to do with you before I rip your head off your body. All you have to do is quietly lead us to where we need to be, then scram.” 

The pink-haired arrancar seemed to give a quick glance to the side and before he turned his gaze back to Grimmjow.“Now, now, let’s not get violent. I assure you I mean no harm. I am merely a small and weak scientist, not even an Espada.”

Grimmjow growled. He wasn’t stupid. Even if someone seemed small and weak, that didn’t mean anything as long as they were still moving. This was especially true coming from him since he killed prey much larger than him. In addition, the pink-haired arrancar seemed to be hiding something, with how his eyes never met Grimmjow’s. Grimmjow wasn’t sure what, but it was clear to him that underestimating anyone in Las Noches was a bad idea. 

“Besides, would you really harm a relative of your pack member?” The pink-haired arrancar added when it was clear that Grimmjow wasn’t about to release him. 

“I could care less what happens to you,” Yylfordt said. 

“Yylfordt is pack. You however, I don’t even know your name,” Grimmjow said, before he tossed the pink-haired arrancar to the floor. “Now do your job and shut up.”

The pink-haired arrancar grumbled something under his breath that Grimmjow had no interest in hearing. 

After that, it didn't take long for the other arrancar to lead them to a pillar. 

"Well, here we are," Yylfordt's brother said. 

Grimmjow looked up at the pillar, blinking once then again before turning to the pink-haired arrancar. "This entire thing?"

"Yes, well, for now at least. Since Las Noches is still in the works, Aizen-sama has yet to settle on where exactly all the arrancars will stay when they don't have a task given to them. But all the current Espada will have a pillar belonging to them and their fracciones. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have much work to do."

The pink-haired arrancar gave an overly exaggerated bow before running off.

"Fucking hate his guts," Yylfordt grumbled as he watched the retreating back of his brother. This feud was an issue Grimmjow did not want to touch just yet. Besides, if Yylfordt really had a problem with his so-called brother, he'd get rid of the other himself.

The group entered the pillar with Grimmjow in the lead. As soon as he was through the doors, he opened his Pesquisa and searched the tower for any other signs of reiatsu. Appeased at finding nothing besides his pack, Grimmjow ordered everyone to split up and search the tower, each taking a few floors before heading to the top where he would be exploring with Harry.

He gave the pack a moment to all leave before making his own departure to the top pillar after ensuring that Harry was secured against him.

Once at the top, Grimmjow gave Harry a once-over before setting the cub down. "All right, before we head off to look around, tell me why exactly you were acting like prey."

Harry looked away. 

Grimmjow rolled his eyes before putting the palms of his hands against Harry's cheeks and forcing the boy's head to turn to him. "Hey, don't turn away from me."

"Pink is scary," Harry said with a pout. 

"Pink, what?" Grimmjow said in slight confusion. "Yylfordt's so-called brother?"

Harry nodded before looking around as if to check if there was anyone else around them. "Chased me with something pointy." 

"Is that so," Grimmjow said, narrowing his eyes as he planned ways he could slowly tear the pink-haired bastard limb from limb. "Then I guess I'll have to teach him to choose his prey better."

"Mama go hunting?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, we're gonna go hunt a pink bastard," Grimmjow said. "But first, you need to get better at hiding your reiatsu."

Harry giggled, "Mama chase?"

Grimmjow grinned. "No, you'll be chasing."

Harry's face brightened, all previous fears seemingly forgotten, before he closed his eyes and started to count.

"One bone, two bone, three bone…"

Grimmjow let out an amused huff before going down one of the halls. It was the only distraction he could come up with that wouldn't remind Harry of the actual danger of being prey, while allowing him to check how the cub would do as a hunter. In addition, he could explore the place, knowing that unless he deliberately slowed his movement, Harry had no way to actually catch up. 

So Grimmjow took his time, looking around at the various rooms on the floor while making sure that Harry was within a comfortable sensing distance. The floor itself was large and he found many empty rooms, though some had interesting items inside that felt familiar but also not. He chalked it up mostly to memories of the many souls that were a part of him. 

It took a while to lap the whole floor and by the time he got close to where he had begun, he found that his pack had all gathered. 

“Yo,” he greeted. 

“Grimmjow,” Shawlong said. 

“Where’s the cub?” Di Roy asked. 

Grimmjow shrugged.“Somewhere back there.”

“Sure it’s okay to leave him wandering on his own?” Edrad asked. 

“Yeah, there was nothing unusual in the places I checked. This entire floor is pretty clear,” Grimmjow said as he leaned against the wall of the hall he came out of. “What about the lower floors?”

“Eh, pretty empty,” Di Roy said. “Nothing really interesting except white, white and oh right, white. Seriously, I thought the sands were bad but I think this place is worse. 

“Comfortable places to sit. Very soft,” Nakeem said.

“Mostly the same as Di Roy, empty and white. But there was a floor that was just pure empty space. Could be used as a training room of sorts, I think. There was also a set of rooms that had something in them, but I didn't touch anything,” Yylfordt reported.

"I don't think the area I looked at was any different," Edrad said.

Shawlong nodded along. "Indeed. It seems this place is rather devoid of anything. Especially colour."

Di Roy snickered, "Maybe we should cover this whole place in blood."

"Too risky," Grimmjow said. "We don't want anyone thinking there's a free meal here."

"What about this area, boss?" Yylfordt asked.

Grimmjow hummed. "Makes for a decent den, but too many closed walls, and I don't like the idea of everyone being too separated. Makes for easy pickings if anyone is alone."

"Perhaps, we knock some of the walls down then?" Shawlong suggested. 

Grimmjow nodded and when he heard huffing, turned towards the hall. Out popped Harry, clearly out of breath and glaring heavily at him. He gave the cub a smirk and received a poor attempt to chomp down on his legs. 

"I got you mama," Harry said, though his words were muffled by the cloth.

"Sure you did," Grimmjow said. Leaning down, he picked the cub up and began licking at Harry's sweaty face. 

Harry whined, "No bath!" 

"Nah, a bath is exactly what you need. You stink," Di Roy said with a snicker.

Harry turned his glare to Di Roy. " You stink." 

"I concur actually," Shawlong said after sniffing himself. "I suppose it was the rather intense situation we have found ourselves in, but we all do rather stink." 

"Huh, maybe we all need a tongue bath then," Yylfordt said halfheartedly. 

Had Grimmjow not been busy cleaning his cub at the moment, at least one member of his pack would've been tackled then and there. But alas, he could only focus on cleaning one being at a time. 

Edrad's face blanched and he slowly walked backwards when he saw the predatory gaze Grimmjow had. "I think I'll go knock down some walls."

"I believe I shall join you," Shawlong said when he noticed the same thing. 

"I'll get through all of you eventually," Grimmjow said. "This is more tiring than before though."

"Well, we are more human sized, so it only makes sense that our bodies follow suit," Yylfordt said with a twirl, his long, blonde hair flowing gracefully behind him, before glancing at Edrad and Nakeem. "Well, some of us at least." 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Edrad growled. 

"Edrad, walls," Nakeem said.

"Indeed, if you two are going to fight, do it after we knock the walls down," Shawlong added.

"Fine," Edrad spat. 

Just then, a surge of power erupted from below them. A warning or a notification, no one was sure, but Grimmjow immediately handed Harry off to the closest person, which happened to be Di Roy. 

"Watch him," Grimmjow said, before jumping out a hole in the wall.

Edrad and Nakeem followed suit while Shawlong and Yylfordt jumped down the stairs. Di Roy was left with Harry. After staring between the slightly wet Harry and the empty spaces of where everyone was, he immediately jumped down the stairs after Shawlong and Yylfordt. 

"Hey! Wait up!" Di Roy shouted.

------

On the ground floor stood a lone arrancar. Its head was covered by a long, tube-like mask with holes along the length of it. The outfit was mostly white like all others, though there were some colourful frills along the collar and sleeves. Although the arrancar looked as if it was standing still, if one were to look closer, one could see that it was shuffling slightly from foot to foot.

Not that it really mattered because as soon as Grimmjow landed on the ground of the entrance to the pillar, he pounced and knocked the arrancar flat on its front, sword pressed to where he presumed the neck was. 

"Who are you, who sent you and why are you here?" Grimmjow asked with a snarl. 

"Oh great, first day and already ready to kill," a high-pitched voice said.

"That's a good thing though, not trusting anyone here is a smart thing to do." A deeper-voice this time.

Grimmjow's ear twitched at the two conflicting voices coming from generally the same place. 

"Shut up and answer my questions," Grimmjow growled, as he pressed his blade closer to where he thought its neck was.

"That's a rather difficult task, you know," the lower-voice said.

"You want us to talk yet not talk. A conundrum if I do say so myself," the high-pitched one added.

Ticked off, Grimmjow shouted, "That's it!" And angled his zanpakuto so that the tip of it would stab into the arrancar below him. 

"Aizen-sama sent me and he wouldn't like it if an Espada died," the arrancar said quickly with a single voice.

"Tch." Instead of driving his zanpakuto into the neck, Grimmjow changed the direction so that it would stab into the ground beside the arrancar's head. He got off of the arrancar, slowly pulling his sword out from the ground, making sure the other saw the glint of his blade before resting the back of it on his shoulder. "Then state your business already, and take off that damn mask. I want to at least see who I'm talking to."

"All right, all right," the masked arrancar said. Standing up slowly with one hand holding the mask and one open palm as if to tell Grimmjow to stay still, the mask was slowly removed to reveal... an ordinary man's face. An ordinary man with spiky black hair.

"Ahaha, pleasure to meet you Séptima . I am Aaroniero Arruruerie, the Noveno Espada.

Chapter Text

Once Aaroniero was able to give an explanation as to why he was there, which was to explain the rules of Las Noches and any unfamiliar facilities since Szayelapporo had returned to the Throne Room with a flurry of complaints to Aizen, things calmed down somewhat. Everyone in Grimmjow’s pack with the exception of Di Roy who was carrying Harry, had a hand on their zanpakuto. Most sheathed except for Grimmjow who was still keeping it rested on his shoulder. 

"So you're telling me that Aizen sent you to what? Tell us that there are rules?" Grimmjow asked.

Aaroniero rubbed the back of his neck."Yes, well, that and explain what some of the items in this place are. I'm sure you have already taken a look around, but there are probably a lot of things you aren't familiar with since they aren't naturally from Hueco Mundo." 

Grimmjow seemed to think for a moment, his eyes analyzing every little movement from Aaroniero before spitting out, "Fine, but make it quick."

"Excellent," Aaroniero said with a clap of his hands and a smile. "Then I hope you all have mastered sonido by now if we want to move fast."

"Mastered what?" Di Roy asked quietly by the stairs. 

There was a mischievous glint in Aaroniero's eyes before he vanished. Grimmjow was quick to follow as they both appeared in front of Di Roy and Harry with Grimmjow's blade against Aaroniero's neck. Di Roy flinched for a second before jumping back, holding Harry, who was trying to turn his head to look at the scene, tighter.

"You have good instincts," Aaroniero said. 

"Don't toy with us," Grimmjow growled. 

Aaroniero took a step back with his hands raised. "Ahaha, I couldn't help it. It was such a good opportunity, you see and I have always loved playing around." Lowering his hands, he turned towards the stairs and walked up a few steps before looking back. 

He held a hand out and with a smile, asked, "Now then, shall we get this show on the road?"

Grimmjow's frown deepened before he shouted out, " Tch , come on."

"As you can see, most of the floors are just recreational rooms and living space. They're empty because it is up to you to figure out how you want to fill it." Aaroniero said as they climbed. They took a pause at the room with complete open space. "This here is, I'm sure you have guessed, one of the training rooms. It has better reinforced walls then the other rooms but I wouldn’t recommend anyone firing a cero here anyways or going all out. There is going to be a bigger training area for that in the main building."

"More importantly though," Aaroneiro said, as he headed up another floor, "is what Ichimaru-sama called the ‘spa room.’" 

"Is that something we can eat?" Di Roy asked. 

"You're not serious are you?" Aaroniero asked. Though when he got blinks and a tilt of head in response, he turned to Grimmjow. "Is he serious?"

Grimmjow sneered, "you think we had the time to figure out what things shinigami uses? Besides, eating is what keeps our individuality so food is always most important."

"Right well," Aaroniero said with a slow nod. "The spa room essentially allows you to keep yourself clean thanks to the water that Aizen-sama has brought over.”

“So no more tongue bathes?” Edrad asked.

“Yes, you’ll have the pleasure of not needing to lick yourselves clean,” Aaroniero said. “And it’s a lot faster.”

“YES!” Edrad shouted, throwing a fist-pump into the air. 

“Yay!” Harry shouted along. “No bath!”

“That’s not what he meant,” Grimmjow said. Clearly ignored by the cheerers, he rolled his eyes and focused his attention back to Aaroniero. “Explain quickly how it works.”

“Of course,” Aaroniero said with amusement clear in his voice. After a quick explanation of how the showers and large tub worked, they went further upstairs, ascending more quickly this time due to most of the floors being relatively the same. Finally they arrived on the top floor.

“And that’s it for this pillar.” Aaroniero said. “Not all pillars are going to be the same as this one but I think most of them will have some similarities. So any questions?”

“No, now get-”

“Wait.”

Grimmjow was cut off by Shawlong, who only stared calmly at Grimmjow’s glare. After a while, Grimmjow sighed and leaned against the wall.

Shawlong gave a curt nod and turned to Aaroniero. “Aaroniero correct?”

A nod and a smile.

“I would like to ask, what exactly is the Espada?”

Aaroniero grinned. "Well I'm glad you asked." And this cascaded into a long whirlwind of information. Edrad, Nakeem, Yylfordt and Di Roy along with Harry had disappeared pretty quickly to knock down walls when Aaroniero began to talk about the history of how Aizen had come to Hueco Mundo and his growing army of hollows. 

Grimmjow glared at Shawlong whose face was filled with regret. 

"Should I cut him down?" Grimmjow asked quietly while Aaroniero droned on about something called the aspects of death. 

Shawlong shook his head. "I believe he mentioned that Aizen would not be happy if he died."

"You think a shinigami bastard would care about a random hollow?" 

"No, but right now, I'm sure we're all too exhausted to actually fight. Especially you." 

Grimmjow scoffed and examined his zanpakuto, wondering if he should slice the other Hollow to pieces anyways. Luckily for Aaroniero, he finished his explanation before Grimmjow could make a decision.

"Any questions?" When Aaroniero received nothing but glares, he clapped his hands together excitedly. "Well, that's all I have for now. If any of you have any questions, feel free to find me and ask. I have so missed having company after Barragan's little kingdom destroyed the first generation and I would love to properly meet that little cub of yours."

Grimmjow did not miss the underlying tone of hunger in Aaroniero's voice. He didn’t know which was worse, the morbid curiosity that was displayed in Yylfordt’s brother's eyes or the hunger. Either way, he noted to himself to never leave Harry alone with anyone that was not pack. 

Upon noticing the rumble of a threatening growl, Aaroniero smileed and began his descent down the stairs. "I hope to see you all around and I'm excited to witness the changes your arrival will bring." 

Grimmjow did not relax until he felt that Aaroniero's reiatsu was a long distance away. He finally sheathes his zanpakuto and lets out a sigh. 

"That took far too long," Grimmjow grumbled. 

"My apologies, I had not expected him to speak for so long. There was quite a lot of information to unpack," Shawlong said. 

"That's your job," Grimmjow said. 

"I understand," Shawlong agreed. "Shall we find the others?"

Grimmjow nodded. It wasn't exactly difficult since all they needed to do was follow the broken down walls. By the time they reached the rest of the pack, they found them all in a pile asleep, cuddled around Harry. Grimmjow's lips twitched into a small smile. 

"Rest," He told Shawlong. "I'll take the first watch." 

"Then when will you rest?" Shawlong asked. 

"Later," Grimmjow replied as he sat down by the edge of the large bed while Shawlong joined the pile. As soon as he heard Shawlong's breath even out, Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair. Despite what he said, he had a feeling he wouldn’t truly rest for a long time.

Chapter Text

Grimmjow understood quite quickly what Aaroniero had meant when he said that their arrival was the start of a new generation of Espadas. For one, there was a return of Vasto Lordes who had apparently been on missions for a while. Vasto Lordes who, upon their return, had been changed into Arrancars and showed Grimmjow exactly the difference in power between him and seasoned Vasto Lordes. It irked him to no end that he and his pack were nothing more than a little experiment for Aizen to test the capabilities of the Hogyoku. The current Espadas were nothing compared to what Aizen wanted to create. Even so, Grimmjow was curious and with each new Espada brought in, he became even more determined to get stronger. 

Among the new Espadas were the Picaro, who, upon becoming an Arrancar, broke into the multiple souls that the hollow was made of. All cubs in Grimmjow's eyes. Shawlong had given him a look when he bristled at Aizen giving the Picaro the rank of Segunda. He had to assure Shawlong that he wouldn't let them into their den, but it honestly wasn't his fault when they showed up, crowding around the bed he shared with Harry. How had they gotten under all of the pack's senses? He had no idea. 

Harry was rather ecstatic at the prospect of new playmates though Grimmjow did not trust the Picaros at all at first. It also took all he had not to give them a beating when they suggested turning Harry into a Hollow. Nakeem and Edrad had to hold him back while Shawlong explained exactly why that was a bad idea to the Picaros. In apology, they challenged him to a spar, no Resurrección, and wasn't that just exciting? They essentially offered to let him beat on them a bit.

The fight itself wasn't necessarily unenjoyable. It wasn't as fun as a battle to the death or near-death, but it did quickly devolve into a game of chase with a few Ceros thrown around and it wasn't exactly anyone's fault when a few structures or weaker hollows got obliterated. Aizen could say otherwise and even throw his oppressing reiatsu on him all the bastard wanted, but he had no regrets and he would have done it again had Aizen not given the smile that promised a lot of pain.

Individually the Picaros were not strong, but together, they were a menace. Their strength truly lay in their numbers and their Resurrección would probably reflect that. Afterwards, Grimmjow had not minded too much when they requested to play with Harry, though only under heavy supervision because despite their generally friendly disposition, he did not trust them not to accidentally go too far in their games and forget that Harry was only human. So Harry got some new companions that wouldn’t just try to eat him and wasn’t that an interesting prospect? 

Di Roy also tended to join the games as well despite claiming to be "not a cub." Which helped and gave Grimmjow some time to recover from all the random shit that Aizen told them to do. "Fix this shit, build this crap, steal this from Soul Society." 

Had their power differences not already been established, Grimmjow would've happily tried to strangle Aizen. Until he could safely do so though, he was going to train in the little time he had.

Unfortunately, Di Roy was still the weakest of the pack, aside from Harry who was still far too young a soul. This meant that there are still Arrancars of greater strength who could and would cause trouble. Though even then, Barragan's Fracción should have had the instinct to not mess with another Hollow's pack, let alone the cub, unless they were prepared to wipe out the entire pack. And if Barragan lost a Fracción, well, the old man could only blame himself. Though Grimmjow would admit that he could do without the greater increase in tasks, if it meant a lesson to all the other Hollows in Las Noches, well, he would do it again. 

The next Espadas were two Vasto Lordes and one Adjucha on the brink of evolution. Nelliel Tu Odorskenvik, Ulquiorra Schiffer and Yammy Llargo. Nelliel was the one who had brought the other two in and taken the spot of Tres. Ulquiorra became Quatro and Yammy, well, Yammy had surprisingly confused Aizen of all souls. 

The incident involved another one of Barragan's many Fracciónes (though this one had not been turned into an Arrancar), Yammy, and interestingly enough, Ulquiorra. From what the Picaro said, the Fracción had insulted Ulquiorra and it was Yammy who got angry on Ulquiorra's behalf. This had resulted in Resurreccións being released and more destroyed structures when Yammy's reiatsu spiked through the roof. 

Grimmjow had no issues watching a seething Barragan, though he did find it annoying how Yammy was given both Diez and Cero positions. As if the Espada ranks weren't already confusing and mismatched in power levels, Aizen just had to mess with the numbering system as well. The previous Quatro was very much obliterated when Ulquiorra released his Resurrección and the previous Tres was surprisingly spared by Nelliel. He had thought her to be just as cold as the Hollows she brought in, but she was softer than he expected. 

This softness was very much proven when Harry went missing during a game of ‘Hide and Seek’ that had gone for too long. Although it spoke to how well Harry had improved his ability to hide his reiatsu, it was also a pain and rather worrying when no one could find him. To say that Di Roy got a whooping for losing the cub was an understatement. In the end, it wasn't them who found Harry but rather Harry who found them. Or more specifically, Nelliel had shown up in her released form with Harry sleeping on her back. 

When she showed herself, he had immediately fallen into a poise to attack before Nelliel raised her free hand in a placating manner. 

“Wait, I do not want to fight you,” she had said, then gently poked Harry awake, who upon seeing Grimmjow, grinned and teleported right into Grimmjow’s arms. 

“Hi mama,” he said, nuzzling into Grimmjow’s neck. 

Grimmjow breathed a sigh of relief with Harry once again safe in his arms. 

“I found him hiding under the bed in my room so I thought that you would want him returned to you,” Nelliel said as she resealed her Resurrección into her sword. 

“Nelly gave me a ride! She’s really fast!” Harry said. 

“Is that so?” Grimmjow hummed, noticing that Nelliel’s face was slightly pink. 

“He was curious about my Resurrección so I showed him,” she tried to explain, “and somewhere during the time we went looking for you, he fell asleep.”

Harry pouted. “Not my fault Di Roy is bad at finding me and I was tired.”

“No more of that hide-and-seek game for ya. It’s impossible to find ya nowadays,” Grimmjow said.

Harry looked proud of himself at that statement. “Does that mean I’m getting stronger?”

Grimmjow snorted. “Yeah, at running away.”

Harry hmph’d and pouted. “Meanie.”

Nelliel chuckled. “He’s a cute cub.”

Grimmjow could only agree with that statement. He was honestly somewhat relieved at the existence of another high ranked Espada that did not want to cause Harry harm because he was a bit tired. Between going to the World of the Living, Aizen’s mission, and the pressure that anyone might stab him in the back or worse, it was a relief to see those with high standings that seemed to not want to harm Harry. Sure, she might be putting on an act like many of the other Arrancars in Las Noches, but something about her eyes and posture told Grimmjow’s instincts that she was trustworthy. And if nothing else, Grimmjow trusted his instincts, most times. 

Nelliel and her Fracciónes eventually became one of their pillar’s most common visitors, with Nelliel always happily greeting Harry whenever she saw him. Oddly enough, they also became one of the few Hollows that Grimmjow felt he could trust not to eat Harry if he were to look away for a second, much to the annoyance of Aaroniero. 

"You know you can leave him with me as well to nap right?" Aaroniero said during one of their larger gatherings while he got piled on by a few of the Picaros since he had snacks. Grimmjow had given the task of watching Harry, and by extension the Picaro, to Edrad and Nakeem, who then requested Nelliel to take that task because watching a bunch of child-like Hollows with a hivemind and one actual human child was a lot.

"Tell me that when you stop drooling first thing every time you see him," Grimmjow said as he lazed on the window sill.

"Can you blame me though? He's still a Plus and one with a very high reiatsu density," Aaroniero said. "How you and your Fracciónes control yourselves around him is beyond me."

"That's because he'd rip us apart if we tried anything," Yylfordt said under another pile of Picaro. 

"Damn straight," Grimmjow said.

"And I'm not food!" Harry shouted from the shelves he had gotten himself onto.

Grimmjow immediately stood and ran to the shelf where Harry sat, picking the boy up. "How many times do I have to tell you to stay off of that?" 

Harry stuck his tongue out. "But I like high places." 

"And I like it when you aren't in a place where you can get yourself killed."

"So anywhere that isn't Hueco Mundo?" Nelliel quipped. 

Grimmjow growled even though he knew she was right. A lapse in long-term judgment on his part, but he was committed now. 

Nelliel chuckled, reaching her arms out so Harry could teleport onto them which he promptly did so with a pop. How he learned that ability, Grimmjow wasn't sure. What he did know though was that Harry was trying to learn Sonido and did that instead, but it was useful so the how didn't matter at all. 

"Either way, as long as this little living miracle continues to do well, that's all that matters isn't it?" Nelliel said while nuzzling Harry. 

"Of course," Grimmjow said, giving Yylfordt a kick to the head when he heard the blond mumble ‘Lucky brat.’

The loud playing of the Picaro stopped when an intensive reiatsu was felt from the lowest floor.

"What now?" Grimmjow grumbled as out from the stairs, stepped Ulquiorra. 

"I see that there are a few of you here," Ulquiorra said.

"Hi trash!" Harry shouted with a wave.

Despite the fact that Ulquiorra's face did change, Grimmjow noticed a heavy breath leave the Cuatro. He had to stop himself from laughing. Although that did not stop Aaroniero from letting out a chuckle nor Nelliel from biting her lips. 

"I would like to inform the Arrancars present that Aizen-sama wishes for everyone to gather. We have a newcomer," Ulquiorra said before turning to leave, most likely to find any other Arrancar important enough for the transformation event. 

" Tch , why does he need that many witnesses anyways?" Grimmjow grumbled.

"A display of strength I reckon," Shawlong said as he came down the stairs with a rather beat up Di Roy in tow, and Edrad, who now sported a slightly burnt uniform. Pesche and Dondochakka were not far behind, both much more run down.

"I'm sure Aizen-sama has more reasons than just that," Aaroniero said as he moved the Picaros off of him.

"Perhaps," Nelliel added, "but who knows how Aizen-sama thinks really. His mind is beyond our understanding."

"Shinigami, hard to understand," Nakeem said as he carried a few of the Picaros into the room. 

"Very hard, super hard," some of the Pícaros said.

"Can we go already?" asked the Pícaro with his mask fragment over his ears and head. 

"Yeah, yeah, we're going," Grimmjow said, traversing between the Pícaros to get Harry from Nelliel. Once he had his cub secured, he turned to his Fracciónes. "Let's get moving then. I don't want Aizen on our asses for being late or some shit like that."

"Hopefully the new Arrancar won't be difficult to handle," Aaroniero said.

"As long as they're not another Yammy, I think everything will be fine," Nelliel chirped.

Grimmjow scoffed. "Yeah, hopefully." 

Something in Grimmjow's non-existent gut told him that it wasn't going to be that simple. Alas, he was right.

Chapter Text

There was something about Nnoitra Gilga that Grimmjow couldn't quite put his finger on. Something about the new Octava made his hair stand on ends every time he sensed the other Arrancar nearby. So he told his cub to just teleport away if for some reason he was alone and near the Octava. Luckily, Las Noches was getting bigger and Nnoitra could be found mainly in the training room in the main building, but that didn’t mean the Arrancar didn't wander.

Grimmjow had been trying to figure out how to work the oven that Ichimaru had installed because apparently, with the way he had been feeding Harry, the cub would grow short and small, something that he didn’t want because his cub should grow big and strong enough that he could get lifted instead of doing the lifting.

It was during this time that the Octava showed up.

"What is this shit?" Nnoitra said, walking into the room. 

Grimmjow had barely given the incoming Espada a glance while he tried to figure out what broil did. He could learn how to read so he could use the manual but honestly, what was the point of reading? Trial and error was the way to go. 

Luckily, Aaroniero had been munching on snacks in the room so he greeted the Octava instead. 

"The kitchen, a place where you can cook and make food."  Aaroniero said with a slight bow. 

"Yeah, yeah got that during the walk around," Nnoitra said, walking past Aaroniero. "What I wanna know is,"

Grimmjow noticed a shadow looming over him from behind. His fingers twitched.

"Why an Espada,"

Two hands landed on the handle of the oven, caging him in. He gathered his reiryoku into his hand.

"Is doing this kind of shit,"

He stood up slowly. 

"Like some domestic bi-"

Grimmjow whipped around and released a Cero , but just as he did so, he felt a hand raise his arm up so that instead of hitting Nnoitra in the face, the resulting blast tore a hole in the ceiling. 

"Let go Nelliel," Grimmjow growled. 

"No," Nelliel said, her voice like a cool breeze. "Aizen-sama would not be pleased if another Espada dies." 

"I don't care what fucking Aizen thinks," Grimmjow said, as another Cero began gathering in his hand. 

"But you care about Harry," Nelliel stated. 

Out of the corner of Grimmjow's eye, he noticed his cub, wide-eyed and hiding behind the doorway. With a heavy sigh, the Cero dissipated and he pulled his arm out of Nelliel's tight hold. 

"Get him out of here," he said with a tilt to Nnoitra who was sprawled on the floor with a bit of a shocked expression. 

Nelliel turned to the Octava and reached out a hand, "I highly recommend you don't provoke your superiors."

Nnoitra’s expression quickly morphed into anger as he slapped Nelliel's hand away.

"Don't touch me," Nnoitra shouted, getting up and storming out of the room after grabbing his oversized zanpakuto. 

"I'm going to go check up on him," Nelliel said with a huff, chasing after Nnoitra. 

"She's gonna get in trouble someday doing that," Grimmjow mumbled as he went to the doorway.

"Playing peacemaker or defending the weak?" Aaroniero asked from a far corner of the room away from the light that now shines through the ceiling.

"Both," Grimmjow replied, looking down at his cub's messier than usual hair and dirtied face.

"Mama okay?" Harry asked.

Grimmjow scoffed, giving the fluffed up hair a pat. "I should be asking you that. What did you do to get so dirty?" 

"Spilled dirty bath water and sand in Ulqui's room with Picaro!" 

"Did you get caught?" Grimmjow asked as he led Harry into the room before putting a container into the microwave. 

"Nope," Harry said with a wide grin. 

Grimmjow chuckled, "good job. Though I'm guessing you skipped out on practicing your Cero to do that?"

"No," Harry said, looking at a spot on the wall far away from Grimmjow's line of sight.

"Harry," Grimmjow said.

"It's hard," Harry whined. "Don't know how to let it come together."

"Hmm, then what about the Zanpakuto stuff?" Grimmjow asked, taking the food out of the microwave and setting it in front of Harry.

"Better. Tousen says my form is improving, but no idea how he sees. Though I still can't hear it either," Harry replied through a mouthful of food.

"Maybe he 'sees' the same way you do," Aaroniero piped in, still in the shaded corner. "Through reiatsu."

"But I can actually see things. His eyes are blocked," Harry said. "Also, why are you hiding? I'm not scared anymore."

"Have you ever considered that I like looking handsome like this instead of ugly?" Aaroniero asked.

"Yammy is ugly. You look cool with your tank and two heads!" Harry replied.

Aaroniero ran through the artificial sunlight towards Harry and pulled the child into a hug, nuzzling the top of Harry's hair with his tank. "Ahh, how did something so precious come from Grimmjow of all creatures."

Harry giggled while Grimmjow rolled his eyes. 

"Let him finish eating and don't make it sound like I made him," Grimmjow said.

"Given how long he has been with us, you may as well have." 

Grimmjow turned towards the doorway to see his pack walking in with Shawlong in the lead, though Di Roy ran in quite quickly.

"You brat!" Di Roy shouted. "Don't just disappear in the middle of training! Do you have any idea how far I looked!" 

"Your fault," Harry said, sticking out his tongue. 

"Why you!" 

"Di Roy, quit it," Grimmjow said. Though he sounded calm, his tone indicated that it was a command.

Di Roy shrunk back with a pout. "Yes boss." 

Grrimmjow rolled his eyes before turning to Harry. "Eat." 

Then, he focused his attention back to his pack. "We'll discuss the latest construction and mission duties that were handed out."

"Do we get to eat too?" Yylfordt asked. 

"Hunt for yourself. Idiots who can't find a small cub have no right to be given food," Grimmjow said.

"Di Roy's fault," Nakeem whispered from the far back.

"Yup, definitely," Edrad agreed.

"That means he's hunting," Yylfordt added.

"That's not fair," Di Roy grumbled.

Grimmjow sighed when his pack members got into an argument, except Shawlong who eyed him with concern.

"Did something happen?" Shawlong asked.

"Yeah but it's solved. I just have a bad feeling is all," Grimmjow replied.

"Well that is not very reassuring." 

"It should be fine... I think."

—---------------------------

Things were in fact, not fine, because a few rest cycles later, Yylfordt and Edrad got into a scuffle with Barragan's Fracciónes. Despite the two claiming that they gave as good as they got, they were still very beaten up, with a few chunks of flesh missing, and had collapsed right at their pillar's entryway. A dangerous place even with the doors closed. 

Barragan had come barging in not long after, shouting for Grimmjow's head. 

It was by pure coincidence that Aizen had been present because Ichimaru was curious and swiped Aizen's glasses to put on Harry's face. So when Barragan showed himself, Aizen immediately dispelled any rising conflict then and there. Grimmjow still very much hated Aizen but that didn't mean he didn’t have a begrudging respect for the shinigami for being able to cow a powerful and ancient Vasto Lorde.

Unfortunately, there was no easy way out when Nnoitra attacked Nakeem, Harry and the parts of the Picaro who were with them. Grimmjow had been walking towards the group with one of the Picaro after having excavated a large part of the dunes when the Picaro he had been with gasped and held onto her neck. He had immediately stepped into Sonido when he noticed, believing that she would find somewhere safe to hide herself. 

When he arrived at the scene, he caught the tail end of Harry firing something red at Nnoitra, which instead of becoming a beam that would have burnt the Octava, ended up making the Octava fly a distance away from Harry, Nakeem, and the lifeless bodies of the Picaros that were around.

Approaching the group, Grimmjow immediately knew why the Picaro he had been with had clutched her neck. Even though they were not actually cubs and looked much younger than they were, he still would've been much faster and made sure the execution was painless if he were to do something similar. Though he supposed their regeneration factor would work much faster with a sliced throat compared to being completely obliterated. 

Looking away from the Picaro, he found that Nakeem was sprawled on the ground, his arms and legs twisted and broken in ways they really shouldn't be. Something that would take quite a while to heal but at a quick glance, the damage didn't seem too bad. Then there was Harry. Harry was clearly sobbing but completely focused on glaring at Nnoitra, arms and legs spread as if he was trying to protect those behind him. 

Grimmjow felt his chest clench in the most uncomfortable of ways. He couldn't help but think that he had, in some way, failed. Even though Harry looked completely fine, he felt like he hadn’t made sure Harry was safe enough. But he hadn’t wanted Harry to feel caged. His mind was a mess, so he did what he did best. 

"Good job holding out for so long," Grimmjow said. 

"Mama," Harry choked out from his sobs.

Grimmjow gave Harry's hair a ruffle and just as Nnoitra seemed to be standing up, he pounced. He punched Nnoitra straight in the nose. The crunch was very satisfying and so was the blood that began to drip. He then began a barrage of punches. It had been a while since he last let loose like this. Before, there was the thrill of the hunt, but after becoming an Arrancar, there was nothing but rules and restrictions and it was all so boring. 

Nnoitra was clutching his face and swearing up a storm but Grimmjow wasn't done. No, he was far from done, and after what the Octava had done to his pack and allies? Well, there were far more reparations to be paid. 

Grimmjow grabbed Nnoitra by the hair.

"Did you really think,"

He kneed Nnoitra in the jaw.

"That I would do nothing,"

He grabbed Nnoitra's face.

"If you hurt what's mine?" 

He slammed his face into the ground. 

"That I'm scared of Aizen enough"

He let go of Nnoitra and threw a punch.

"To not retaliate?"

He threw another punch.

"Did you really think,"

And another.

"That you would get away from this,"

And another.

"scot free?"

And another.

Grimmjow readied another punch but his fist was grabbed by a much softer hand than his.

"Let go Nelliel, I'm not done." 

"If you continue, you're going to kill him." 

Grimmjow whipped around, and stepped closer to Nelliel who flinched. "Do you not see what he's done? He deserved it!"

"Grimmjow," Nelliel said quietly, "you're grinning."

Grimmjow blinked before he moved his free hand towards his mouth. So that was why his cheeks hurt. A chuckle escaped him before he fell into full on laughter. Laughter that even to his own ears, sounded a bit unhinged.

"Grimmjow?"

He had missed it, the feeling of being the strongest. He had been holding back for too long and light sparring wasn't cutting it anymore. He wanted to fight. A fight where he got to go all out and not have to worry about accidentally killing his opponent. He wanted to feel like the predator that he was. 

"GRIMMJOW!"

Grimmjow felt a sharp pain through his Hierro on the unmasked side of his face. His attention drew back to Nelliel whose expression was filled with grief and anger, something much more fitting on a Hollow than the smiles she kept putting on.

"What was that for!?" He snarled.

"I thought too highly of you," Nelliel said, lowering her hand. "I thought you to be more than a beast."

Grimmjow scoffed. "We're Hollows. We'll never be anything but beasts."

Nelliel shook her head. "Then is that what you want for Harry?" 

Grimmjow's entire body stiffened. He turned his gaze to Harry. Harry who had been standing over Nakeem the whole time, eyes wide with tears and snot running down his small face.

Harry who, instead of looking at him with fear, just seemed a bit shocked. 

"Mama?" 

Harry's voice was small, choked up and barely a whisper but Grimmjow was still able to hear it clearly. There was no fear in that small voice, just concern. 

"Do you want him to become a Hollow as well then?"

Nelliel's voice rang through him and his head began to ache but his answer was clear. No, he did not want to subject Harry to the fate of becoming a Hollow. Becoming a Hollow would mean a never-ending hunger and drive to fill the emptiness of where a heart once was. Becoming a Hollow would mean that there was always that lingering fear of losing any individuality should a regression occur. Even if the hunger and fear subsided somewhat after turning into an Arrancar, his answer was still ‘no.’ Becoming a Hollow was the last thing he wanted for Harry. 

Grimmjow approached Harry and knelt down, wiping some tears off of Harry's face only to smear blood over it instead.

"You alright cub?" He asked.

Harry nodded before asking, "Is mama angry?"

Grimmjow couldn't help but wonder how Harry developed a sense to worry about others more than himself. He then laid his chin over Harry's hair, tucking the cub into his neck. Something that, had it been another Hollow, he would never risk. He sighed.

"No, I'm not."

His head hurt and honestly, he thought his lack of a good rest was catching up to him. He would be better after he closed his eyes for a bit… right?

----

Grimmjow did not want to open his eyes. He was warm and there was a familiar but comfortable weight on top of him. The surface below him was soft and cushiony, which didn't make sense because last he remembered, everything around him was hard walls and floor.

His eyes opened wide and he looked around to figure out his surroundings. It didn't take long for him to realize that he was in the pillar. Looking down, he saw a sleeping Harry resting on top of him and he reached up to pet the child's hair. To his side sat Shawlong who was reading some book. 

"I see that you are awake now," Shawlong said.

"Do I want to know how I got here?" Grimmjow asked. 

"Nelliel and princess carry. It was quite an amusing sight in hindsight," Shawlong replied.

"I hate her," Grimmjow said.

Shawlong chuckled. "No you don't. If you did, you'd be hissing at her." 

"I don't hiss. I'm not a cat,"

"Sure you aren't,"

Grimmjow huffed, before asking, "How's Nakeem?"

Shawlong closed his book. "Taken to the Medbay. Yyfordt and Edrad are with him so that Szayelapporo doesn't do anything weird. Di Roy and Aaroniero are helping the Picaro hunt to replenish their energy to regenerate their lost members."

Grimmjow nodded, some tension leaving his body.

"The Octava is still alive." 

"Tch, hardy bastard," Grimmjow scowled. 

"It's a fortunate thing. Aizen learned of what happened and he wasn't pleased," Shawlong said. "When the Octava recovers, he'll be sent to the far south towards Death's Sea, while we will be on Gillian feeding duty." 

"Ugh, I hate doing that," Grimmjow whined. 

Shawlong gave a slight smile but it quickly turned into a frown. "Grimmjow, I wish to express my sincerest apologies."

"Hah? For what?" 

"I should have realized you were exhausting yourself,"

"I'm fine," Grimmjow rolled his eyes. He wasn’t so weak that he couldn’t keep his Pesquisa on all the time.

"No, you are not," Shawlong said. "You are strong but our weakness has been holding you back. We have become nothing but a bur-"

"Shut up."

Shawlong clamped his mouth shut while Grimmjow carefully sat up so as not to disturb the sleeping Harry. 

"If I had a problem with you guys, I would've just devoured all of you completely," Grimmjow said, "and if you all hate your own weakness then get stronger."

Shawlong let out a breathy chuckle. "Why am I not surprised you would say that."

"Thought you'd be used to it by now," Grimmjow said with a smirk. 

"You would think," Shawlong said, a small smile forming. "Though I do suggest you rest more and more frequently as well. I much rather you do not pass out like what happened earlier."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do better," Grimmjow said.

"And so will we, so you do not have to worry about us."

"Tch, who's worried." 

Grimmjow focused on petting Harry's head, trying to smooth out the messy locks while Shawlong resumed reading his book. It was an amiable silence and one that he would enjoy while it lasted.

—---------------------------

With Nnoitra busy and far away, Grimmjow found that he was able to relax somewhat. It was unfortunate that Nelliel had tagged along with the Octava though–something about not letting the bastard get himself killed. There were still the other Espadas who he had to worry about, namely: Primera, Quinto, Sexta and Decima. Well, less so Barragan and more so his Fracciónes who apparently hadn’t learned. His pack was getting better but they still needed to be bandaged up and fed more often than not. 

Szayel was also a worry, since he knew that the disappearance of some of the Picaros was due to that pink bastard, but none of them had been able to gather proof and Aizen did nothing even after the Picaros kicked up a storm. Unfortunately, the scientist was not only Las Noches' main healer for major injuries, but also, no thanks to both Ichimaru and Tousen, Harry's educator. For some reason he didn't understand, they (namely Tousen) had decided that Harry needed an education and convinced Aizen of the same. So Szayel, being apparently the most intelligent Arrancar in everything but fighting, was given the duty of educator. No one was particularly thrilled by this prospect except for Tousen. Ichimaru was mostly just amused. Luckily, the others (mostly Shawlong and Aaroniero) were able to pick up the slack in this case because there was no way he was going to pick up a book or pen. Heck, he couldn’t even write his own name. It was a Hollow-eat-Hollow world. Writing was the last thing he needed to care about. 

So, rest cycles passed in relative peace with a few scuffles here and there. Grimmjow had been training whenever he can in between feeding the Gillians and everything else. He had been working on his speed as well as the force behind his attacks because if there was one thing he noticed, it was that Nnoitra's Hierro needed more force than usual to punch through. 

However, neither training, killing Hollows to feed the Gillians, petting Harry's hair, nor licking the scar was able to soothe his growing agitation. Things were too calm and he missed the thrill of punching Nnoitra's face in. He didn't want to fight the Picaro, and Aaroniero didn’t put up a good enough fight, more focused on keeping that Shinigami form than on going all out. Fighting any other Espada meant someone was going to die and the risk wasn't worth it. 

Anyone Quatro and above was too strong loathe as he was to admit it, and if Quinto or Sexta lost, the jump in rank was too small. 

Though the most unsuspecting grace came from someone he least expected. 

He had been chopping vegetables for Harry when he felt a different reiatsu enter the kitchen. It wasn't threatening so he didn't pay much attention to it until Harry called out excitedly.

"Hi trash!"

Grimmjow quickly went into a Sonido and with the knife still in hand, charged his Cero .

"I highly suggest you cease calling me that," Ulquiorra said.

Harry grinned. "Never."

Ulquiorra sighed before addressing Grimmjow. "I am not looking for a fight, not here at least. However, I have been tasked to relieve some of your tension should you require it."

"What?" Grimmjow asked. 

Ulquiorra seemed to frown despite the blank expression on his face. "I have a high regeneration capability, hence I am quite capable of withstanding any attacks dealt at me. Although I highly doubt you even have the capability to make it through my Hierro."

That ticked Grimmjow off and he would've just fired off his Cero , consequences for ruining the kitchen again be damned, had the rest of his pack not interrupted.

"We like good food privileges!" Di Roy shouted, jumping in front of Grimmjow.

"What are you going on about? And move!" 

"The great delicacies of your meals," Edrad said, grabbing Grimmjow's arm.

"Wha–Is that why all the leftovers keep disappearing? The food isn't even for you!"

"We can't help it, a cooked meal tastes much better than raw flesh," Yylfordt said.

"Ichimaru also takes a lot," Nakeem added.

Grimmjow was ready to give his pack a bit of strangling, and his Cero dissipated because he didn't want to grievously injure any of them. He most definitely would have done so had Shawlong not spoken up.

"Why are you here Quatro?" Shawlong asked.

"I was merely inviting Grimmjow to release some tension if he so wished. But if I am unneeded, then I shall leave," Ulquiorra stated.

"Release some tension?" Shawlong mumbled quietly in confusion, "Do you mean that you were inviting Grimmjow to spar?"

Despite being mostly emotionless, Ulquiorra's face made some of the most interesting but subtle expressions. At this moment, there was a slight squint of his eyes, his nose was a bit scrunched and his lips tightened just a bit more. Had Grimmjow not had the kind of eye sight he did, he would've missed how pinched Ulquiorra looked.

Grimmjow scoffed. "If you wanted to spar, you should've just asked outright."

"I believe my intentions in my words were rather clear," Ulquiorra said. 

"Who even says 'release some tension'?" Grimmjow asked, shaking his pack off of him. "And did Nelliel put you up to this?"

Ulquiorra did not answer, nor did he need to because his silence said everything. 

"Of course she did," Grimmjow grumbled. "Yeah, fine, I'll take you up on that fight, though after I feed him." He pointed to Harry, who had been sitting patiently and writing in a workbook while everything was happening. 

"I understand. I shall wait here then," Ulquiorra said as he sat down on a chair. 

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow before going back to the chopping board. 

"Good food, good food, good food," Di Roy chanted.

Grimmjow was very, very tempted to throw the knife but he held on because the prospect of a good fight without the risk of death, though not as fun, was still exciting. Especially against a difficult opponent like Ulquiorra. He was also looking forward to seeing how much his training paid off.

Come the actual fight though, clearly he hadn't trained enough. Ulquiorra barely budged, blocking most attacks with an arm and Zanpakuto undrawn while he was breathing heavily from the exertion. It was frustrating that their difference in strength was so high. If this was how he fared in his base form, then he wouldn't stand a chance in Resurrección. However, he still had one more trick up his sleeve. 

Grimmjow cut his fingers a bit on Pantera and began charging two Ceros . One normal and one where the energy became distorted and he could feel his reiryoku begin to drain. He fired the regular Cero before stepping into Sonido so that he could release the special Cero point blank at Ulquiorra's face. 

He barely saw the brief look of surprise before Ulquiorra was engulfed in an electric blue energy. By the time his reiryoku almost completely ran out, which went by too quickly even for his own comfort,  he was exhausted. It was a Cero that depleted far too much of his energy. He was barely able to keep himself in the air while the dust settled. 

"Shit," Grimmjow said when the dust cleared out and the only thing that was really destroyed was Ulquiorra's clothes. There were some light burn marks that were quickly healing as well but not enough to make any lasting damage. 

"That is an interesting Cero ," Ulquiorra said. "Do you have a name for it?"

"The stronger Cero ," Grimmjow snarled. "Though clearly, it wasn't strong enough."

"That is a horrible name," Ulquiorra said.

Grimmjow huffed and tried to stand straight only to lose focus on the spirit particles gathered under his feet. He thought he was going to fall but Ulquiorra was quick to catch him. 

"Ugh, just let me fall," Grimmjow complained. 

"I do not believe that would be beneficial to either of us," Ulquiorra said as he lowered both of them down. 

Once they reached the ground, his pack rushed forward to check on him and ask about the Cero . Harry however, had instead ran up to Ulquiorra and began punching the blank-faced Quatro much to the amusement of everyone else. 

"Take that and this and that, you trash!" Harry shouted with each punch.

Ulquiorra gave Harry a quick look before looking at Grimmjow and pointing at Harry. "Remove him."

Grimmjow quickly swiped Harry from off the ground and away from Ulquiorra. Harry struggled against being lifted before settling with a pout. 

"I can take him," Harry said.

"Sure you can, cub," Grimmjow said.

"I can and I will," Harry declared. "Then I'll fight and defeat Aizen!"

There was a brief silence before most of those present began laughing. 

"You? Defeating Aizen?" Di Roy said between each bout of laughter. "Best joke in this century."

Shawlong had looked away, but Grimmjow could see the held back tremors. Though even he admitted that he had to bite his own cheek to keep it in. 

"More like this millenia," Edrad said. 

Harry growled, or at least tried to. Not having the vocal cords and his voice being too high made it less effective.

Of course, Ulquiorra just had to make it worse. 

"Defeating Aizen-sama is impossible for someone who most likely has not even reached one thousand years of age. If you cannot even defeat a regular Hollow, let alone a Gillian, then what hope do you have of defeating a King among kings." 

"Then I'll get stronger," Harry shouted. "I'll get strong to defeat you, Octava and Aizen! Then I'll take mama and the pack back to our cave! I'll even take Aaroniero, Picaro, Nel and her pack!"

A stunned silence rang through the whole room. A powerful declaration, a promise of sorts as unlikely as it is. 

"I see," Ulquiorra said and Grimmjow noticed the ghost of a smile. "Then I look forward to seeing your development." 

Harry huffed proudly and Grimmjow couldn't help the swell of pride that overcame him. Even if he didn’t know how at the moment, he promised himself that he would train Harry as best as he could to reach that impossible goal.

Chapter Text

"He doesn't even look like he's trying," Harry said as he watched the spar progress. 

"Yeah, because he isn't. Neither of them are," Grimmjow grumbled as he chewed on part of a random hollow that had been hunted down. 

"Nelliel is still a pacifist so that is unsurprising," Shawlong said. 

From the sands they were watching a rare occurrence. Somehow, Harry had gotten Ulquiorra and Nelliel to spar. Nelliel, no one was too surprised. Harry had her wrapped around his finger. A sad look with wide eyes and she couldn’t say no, though the only thing she refused to do was kill Nnoitra. Ulquiorra, no one really knew. His eyebrows had furrowed before he agreed. 

"I wonder if I can get strong like them?" Di Roy asked.

Edrad and Yylfordt bursted into laughter.

"No way," Edrad said. "Have you checked your own reiatsu?"

"The day you become as strong as Nel is the day we all enter the reincarnation cycle," Yylfordt said. 

Just then, sand was dumped all over Yylfordt's head.

"What the heck?" Yylfordt asked, sputtering and coughing as he looked at the two arrancar standing over him. 

"Keep your grubby mind and hands away from Nelliel-sama!" Pesche shouted. 

"And call her Nelliel-sama you ingrate!" Dondochakka added. 

"She gave me permission, you idiots!" Yylfordt growled as he drew his zanpakuto and tried to slash at the two. Pesche and Dondochakka squeaked before running off with Yylfordt chasing after them. "Get back here you assholes!"

"Someone make sure he doesn't do anything dumb," Grimmjow said, never taking his eyes off the fight.

When no one responded, Nakeem sighed, "Okay," and chased after Yylfordt. 

The group continued watching until they were interrupted by Szayel. 

"Ugh, why are there so many of you simple-minded fools here?" Szayel asked as he approached the group. However, instead of focusing on anyone, he was whipping his head around as if looking for something while holding some strange device. 

"Have you ever considered not saying anything mean?" Harry asked, also keeping his eyes on the fight. "Or better yet, not talking at all."

"You should feel honored that I am even willing to share an ounce of my knowledge with you, you brat," Szayel scoffed.

"Oh yeah, so honored. Truly, I am oh-so-grateful."

"You are so lucky that Aizen-sama doesn't want me to dissect you."

"You keep up with your threats and you'll be the one dissected," Grimmjow warned. He gave Szayel a quick glance. "Why are you here anyways?"

"I have no obligation to answer you," Szayel said. 

"Then leave," Grimmjow said

"No. I have something to accomplish here. The rest of you should leave."

Grimmjow was about to give a retort, but as he began, a warm red orb appeared before Harry, growing by the second. Grimmjow jumped forward to grab Harry and keep him away from the growing red orb. Meanwhile Szayel brought out a net and tried to capture it. The threads of the net burned quite easily.

"What crazy invention is this!?" Grimmjow asked, his zanpakuto drawn. 

"It's not mine!"  Szayel replied.

Nelleil and Ulquiorra had by then also joined them, their spar long forgotten with the commotion.

"Looks like a miniature sun," Shawlong commented. 

The orb then exploded in a bright light. When the light settled, what was left was a large, bright red, fiery bird.

The bird cooed as it flew in circles, dropping something in front of Harry before landing on the head of Edrad, who froze stiff. The bird cooed again when its eyes met Harry's. 

"Well, it doesn't seem hostile," Nelliel said. 

"Say that when it isn't frying my head," Edrad said.

"So you'll be bald if we take it off your head?" Di Roy asked with a grin. 

Edrad growled, "Don't you dare." 

Meanwhile, Harry had picked the fallen item up from the sands. The item was an envelope and on the flat side had writing that, though he could understand the lettering, he couldn't understand what the words they formed. 

"What does it say?" Grimmjow asked.

"I have no idea," Harry replied. "The letters are familiar but I can't figure out what they are together."

Szayel, who was blocked by Grimmjow's body, peeked over the Séptima's shoulders. "Show me, show me, show me."

Harry handed the letter to Szayel who happily grabbed it.

"Oh, it's in English. That's why you can't actually read it," Szayel said as he began to read the letter within the envelope. "Shinigami use Japanese as their main language, which in terms of written words, is what I focused on teaching."

"Of course, that language is only important when Aizen-sama is around. Our language as hollows is more complicated, yet simple. At our most basic, we use animalistic sounds such as growling, roaring and purring for example. At higher stages, our spoken words are more akin to Spanish mixed with other languages here and there depending on who we eat. So I used the Roman script to develop a way to transfer our spoken words to written. For most hollows though, it is easy for us to switch to the main language of whomever we speak to just by hearing it once, because of the many souls we've eaten. But a human won't have that benefit so I guess I'll have to teach you English properly now."

When Szayel finished, he looked up from the letter to find that everyone was looking at him blankly or in confusion. He frowned.

"Thank you Szayel," Nelliel smiled and clapped her hands together. "But what does the letter say?"

"Don't shorten my name," Szayel huffed. "The letter speaks of a Mr. H. Potter and invites him to a school of ‘witchcraft and wizardry’ called Hogwarts? A strange name though, some hollow's names are weirder. There's also a school supply list and books but honestly, this is the strangest list I have ever seen."

"But who's this Mr. Potter?" Harry asked. 

The bird chirped, then leapt off of Edrad's head and flew around Harry for a few circles before diving down. It grabbed the letter from Szayel's hand and dropped it onto Harry. Landing in front of Harry on the sands, the bird chirped again. 

Harry grabbed the letter from the top of head and looked between it and the bird. "I think you may have mistaken me for someone else."

The bird screeched and for a creature with far fewer facial features, it was more expressive than Ulquiorra. Harry had never seen a bird show as much annoyance as this one. And that was counting Abirama. 

"Perhaps that is the name of your relatives," Shawlong said. "After all, we only picked you up."

"Not that it matters because we aren't going to bother with this," Grimmjow said, taking the letter.

The bird squawked. 

"Ah, shut it," Grimmjow shouted at the bird. "School doesn't teach you how to fight let alone how to survive."

"But instinct can only take you so far." 

Grimmjow drew Pantera as he turned to cut whoever had spoken against his ear, but his wrist was quickly caught and he was met with Aizen's smiling face. Grimmjow could see the bags under the shinigami's eyes, and when the black hood on Aizen’s cloak was pulled down, he could also see how disheveled the hair was. 

"Why are you here?" Grimmjow growled just as a cacophony of "Aizen-sama" erupted around him. 

"A butterfly told me some interesting news so I decided to visit," Aizen said as Grimmjow felt the hand on his wrist tighten. "Do you intend to bar a king from his own castle?"

Grimmjow gritted his teeth and pulled his arm back. Aizen never stopped smiling. 

The voice of Ichimaru cut through the silence. "Hmm, hmm? Is that a little Kikōō?" 

Both Ichimaru and Tousen had arrived in black cloaks identical to Aizen’s. The bird chirped and flew back to Edrad's head, much to Edrad's disgruntlement. Ichimaru immediately went to examine the bird.

Aizen pulled his hand back and plucked the letter from Grimmjow, scanning it.

"Hmm, I have heard of the witches and wizards in the West Branch of Soul Society but I have not heard of Hogwarts," Aizen said, "but this would be a great opportunity to find out more."

Aizen folded the letter back up as he continued to speak, "whether this letter is a case of mistaken identity is no matter. What matters is the information we can gather for the war against Soul Society. I'm sure you understand this Harry."

Harry nodded.

"Excellent, then this shall be your mission. Attend this ‘Hogwarts’ place and provide me with the tools to further strengthen our army," Aizen said, placing the letter back into Harry's hands.

"I'll go grab a pen and paper," Szayel said, running off.

After processing what was said, Grimmjow spoke up, "no."

"What's that?" Aizen asked, his smile never-wavering.

"You can't send him away, he's too young!" 

Grimmjow shouted before gasping when a heavy pressure brought him to his knees. It took a lot of effort for him to look up from Aizen's feet.

"I only have so much patience tonight Grimmjow," Aizen said. "Do not forget that my orders are absolute. Understand?"

Grimmjow paused for a moment then nodded. "Yes Aizen… -sama."

"Good, now since I am here, I may as well take a look around to see how things are doing." Aizen chuckled, then said, "I'm sure our dear Barragan would appreciate a visit. Gin, Kaname, the two of you are free to return to Soul Society."

Ichimaru looked up from avoiding the bird's pecks. "What? Are we leaving already? Did you really drag me from my bed to just come and leave?"

"You are free to join me," Aizen said as he began to leave.

"Fiiiiine. Let's go Tousen-taicho...Tousen-taicho?" Ichimaru waved his hand in front of Tousen. When he received no response, he squinted his already squinty eyes. "Did you really fall asleep on your feet?" 

Sighing, Ichimaru grabbed Tousen's arm and began to drag him away from the group of Arrancar.

"Bye bye," Ichimaru waved. 

When the backs of the three Shinigami disappeared, Ulquiorra walked forward and kicked Grimmjow's head with a low "pathetic."

"What the fuck?!" Grimmjow asked, rubbing the growing bump.

"Must you fight the most menial of battles?" Ulquiorra asked. 

"I don't care how meaningless. I hate him with all my guts and--"

"What guts? You have a hole in them." 

"..."

A snicker was heard and all attention turned to the youngest present.

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "That was just a horrible line with awful delivery."

"And timing," Shawlong added.

Grimmjow groaned. His anger still simmered but he didn't feel like destroying all the walls of Las Noches. For now.

"We're gonna work on a proper Sonido ," Grimmjow told Harry before turning back to Ulquiorra. He grabbed Ulquiorra's shoulder and dragged him further from the group. "And I hope you're ready for another round because I want to punch something again."

"I suppose better me than Las Noches," Ulquiorra sighed.

"It never ceases to surprise me by how you got the Cuatro to agree to this," Shawlong said as he watched Grimmjow and Ulquiorra fight. Well more so just Grimmjow trying to wound Ulquiorra faster than he could regenerate. 

"Well, I am higher-ranked than him," Nelliel said. "But other than that, I was the one who pulled him out of a crystal tree. So that may be why he has some semblance of respect for me."

"Are you saying that if you weren't here, he wouldn't even bother?" Shawlong asked.

"Hmm, before, most definitely not. But now, I don't know. Ulquiorra's rather hard to read after all," Nelliel replied.

When Szayel returned, he was accompanied by pen, paper and a fracción. 

"Ugh, sparring again?" Szayel asked.

"How did you become an adjuchas if this is your reaction to fighting?" Harry asked.

"Yylfordt," Szayel said, without expanding, as he wrote on his fracción's back. 

"Hey, you think we can get them to change the last name to Jaegerjaques?" Harry asked.

"Hmph, I see no reason why you don't want to make your own name for yourself but sure, add Grimmjow's name to yours," Szayel said, writing the question down. Once he finished, he folded the paper and held it up. The bird took off from Edrad's head and grabbed the letter before disappearing in a ball of fire and condensed reiatsu. 

Just then, Nakeem returned with Dondochakka, Pesche and an unconscious Yylfordt on his back. He looked around at the group and asked,

"What did we miss?"

------------

At a location unknown to much of the World of the Living, stood a castle. A large, old castle filled with as many rooms as there were secrets. 

One of the many rooms was an office, an office for those who had been in charge of the castle and her residents for years. The door to this room slammed open and in walked Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, a letter clenched in her hand and a red bird following after her.

"Albus!" Minerva shouted.

"Yes Minerva?" replied Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts and an old man with many achievements and failures under his robes.

"A reply!" Minerva said, holding the letter up. "I can't believe the Dursleys allowed him to reply! Although it's a bit strange." 

"In what way?"

"The writing seems very professional for a ten-year-old, and what's stranger is that he asked to change his last name to something more French? Or German? I can't really tell."

"..."

"Albus, did something happen at the Dursleys?"

"..."

"Albus?"

"Minerva, please hand me the letter. I will take care of this."

Minerva eyebrows furrowed. "I think not. Not until you tell what is on your mind."

Albus sighed. "I believe that sometime during his stay with the Dursleys, Harry Potter was kidnapped."

"What?"

"Arabella said Petunia was quite distraught when Harry didn't return home after three days."

"What!?"

"The Muggle police were even called."

"Albus, what do you mean he was kidnapped!?" Minerva shouted, and threw her hands up. "I should have NEVER agreed to this plan in the first place. I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HIM IN MYSELF!"

"Calm yourself, we must first see if this child is indeed Harry Potter, though I do trust that Fawkes has delivered correctly. After that, we will need to determine if he needs to be kept safe from these people who have him."

Minerva took a deep breath. "Yes, you're right. Since the reply stated that he doesn't know where to get everything, it seems, he is with muggles, so we can have a staff member escort him."

"Is that so? Well, then I'll send Ru-"

"I'm going."

"Minerva, you have other students to attend to."

"Both of us can go. Rubeus can handle Harry while I deal with whomever he's in the custody of."

Albus seemed to hesitate for a moment, but seeing the conviction in Minerva's eyes, he reluctantly agreed. 

As Minerva left the room, ready to draft a reply letter, she also hoped that she would never have to see the Dursleys in this lifetime or the next, otherwise she would have to have a stern talk with them. For now though, she just hoped that the child she meets would be one that was safe, healthy and happy.

Chapter Text

"AHHH, I hate this thing!"

Harry looked back to his ma who had been scratching the right side of his face where instead of a white bone mask, now sported pure skin. Aizen had sent four arrancars as his escorts to visit the staff of Hogwarts so to say. 

His ma was a given of course and so was Shawlong. Nel was another who joined their group and so was Szayel, but well, despite knowing it’s because of Aizen, Harry honestly thinks that Szayel should have just stayed in Las Noches and watched through his glasses or something. But it was Aizen's order so he doesn't really have a say in it.

"I don't think it's too bad," Nelliel said. 

"How? I feel like I'm suffocating in this thing." Grimmjow said.

"I'll make the next one more comfortable so shut up already." Szayel spat as he tried to locate the location they were supposed to meet the staff. "They're supposed to be around here?"

Grimmjow growled and looked ready to tear something apart. 

"Grimmjow, I suggest you keep your temper. The humans can see you," Shawlong said.

Grimmjow huffed, "yeah, yeah, I know. Listen to Szayel, he can read and need to test the gigai. Fucking Aizen."

"You want to try making fake bodies suitable for arrancars in less than a month, be my guest. Oh wait, you can't." Szayel snarled. 

Nelliel quickly stepped between the two, "alright, let's not start a fight immediately. Szayel, focus on finding our guides. Grimmjow, you probably look a bit crazy right now considering Szayel isn't in a gigai like us two."

"It's Szayelapporo," Szayel mumbled before going back to staring at the map that came with the second letter. 

Harry tried his best to hold in his laughter during the whole exchange before something sparkled in the corner of his eye. He looked across the street and saw a large man and an elderly-looking woman looking around. He lowered his glasses a bit and realized that compared to the dim white of most of the souls he encountered so far, the woman and the large man had coloured souls. The woman was a bright emerald green while the man was just as bright orange.

"I think they're over there." Harry pointed out.

Nelliel looked across the street first, "oh well, let's go then." 

She began walking but as she stepped onto the street, there was a loud honk. She looked at where the sound came from but was quickly pulled back by Szayel.

"You do not cross in the middle of the street." 

"Eh? But it's so much faster." Nelliel said.

"No, humans are fragile and the middle of the street is dangerous. Cross by those lights." Szayel pointed a bit further down the road where above sat some yellow boards with three circles, one of which is green. 

Nelliel pouted, "alright."

When they crossed the street, the woman walked up to them rather quickly. 

"Are you quite alright, miss?" The woman asked.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine, just a lapse of judgment," Nelliel said. "Are you perhaps one of the staff from umm, Hogwarts?" 

The old woman nodded, "yes, I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of the Gryffindor House and Professor of Transfiguration. This is my fellow staff member Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys." She gestured to the large man. 

"Hullo there, and please call me Hagrid, everyone who knows me at school does." the large man greeted.

"Can I presume that you are Mrs. Jaegerjaques?"

Both Grimmjow and Nelliel made a face of absolute disgust. 

"Ew," Nelliel said just as Grimmjow said, "as if."

"The only Jaegerjaques here is me," Grimmjow said, stepping forward. "Well, Harry too though only because he wants to."

Grimmjow looked down and Harry tried, even more, to hide behind his legs. "Hey, you agreed to go. Quit hiding."

"I'm not hiding, I'm just reading the room," Harry said as he got dragged out, grateful for the auto-translation Szayel put with his glasses. 

As Harry looked up, he saw the Deputy Headmistress cover her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. He could also see the large man's eyes widen as well. 

"My word, that scar," McGonagall said.

At that moment, Harry suddenly felt the need to cover the scar on his forehead with his hair. He had kept it combed back a bit because of how often his ma would randomly lick at it but for some reason, he suddenly feels a bit self-conscious. 

"He's always had it, no idea where it came from so don't ask me," Grimmjow said. Harry could almost hear how bored his ma was. 

Minerva composed herself, wiping her eyes with her thumb. "Pardon me. Mr. Jaegerjaques, I wish to speak with you privately. Hagrid could show Harry, Ms..."

"Nelliel Tu Odorskenvik, though please just call me Nelliel."

"Ms. Nelliel and your other two friends around Diagon Alley."

"You can see us?" Szayel said, pointing to himself and Shawlong. 

"Yes?" McGonagall said, "although I suppose I may need new glasses, you're a bit blurry."

"No, no, no problems with that. I was just making sure of something." Szayel said, a wide grin showing on his face. 

"I rather not leave him a-" Grimmjow was cut off by Harry who tried to push him forward a bit.

"I'll be fine ma," Harry said, "Nel will keep an eye on Szayel so I'll be safe." 

"That's right," Nelliel added. "I'm much stronger so I can easily keep Szayel under control while keeping an eye on Harry."

"For some reason, that doesn't make me feel reassured," Grimmjow said.

Shawlong placed a hand on Grimmjow's shoulder, "don't worry, I'll make sure they don't get too distracted." 

"Okay, fine, fine." Grimmjow looked to McGonagall, "let's get this talk you want over with."

"Excellent, this way then," McGonagall said, turning towards a door that Harry did not remember was there previously. Above the door was a sign stating the Leaky Cauldron. 

Going through the door leading to a rowdy dining area with a lot of tables and people. Out of curiosity, Harry lowered his glasses and was bombarded by a cacophony of colours. He was quick to put his glasses back on properly.

"Too much?" Grimmjow asked.

Harry nodded, "way too much."

"Don't take them off then."

"How about you ma?"

"Hungry."

"Do you all need something to eat? The Leaky Cauldron has some good meals." Hagrid asked. 

"Oh no, we'll be fine," Nelliel said.

"Indeed, our diet is rather particular so I doubt anything here would be satisfactory," Szayel added.

One of the people on the far side then shouted rather loudly, "ey Hagrid! Professor McGonagall! You wanna join us for a drink?" 

"Sorry Tom, here on Hogwarts business." Hagrid said, "gonna show young Ha-"

McGonagall elbowed Hagrid rather hard, cutting the large man off. "Another time, and I would also like a private room to talk in."

"Room 386 is open!" Tom shouted.

McGonagall nodded, "Come with me then Mr. Jaegerjaques and Harry, I suggest you hide your scar, just for now."

"Huh? Why?" Harry asked. 

"It is for your own sake and I’m sure Hagrid would be able to explain as you shop." With that, McGonagall went towards the stairs. Grimmjow followed right behind after giving Harry's hair a ruffle. 

"Remember to stab Szayel if he tries anything," Grimmjow whispered. 

Harry gave his Zanpakuto a squeeze and grinned, "I know."

---

Harry, Nelliel, Szayel and Shawlong followed Hagrid as they manoeuvred around the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron through a backdoor. Behind the door, they were faced with a wall.

"So this Diagon Alley, what exactly is it and how do we get there?" Szayel asked.

"Oh well, you'll see soon enough," Hagrid said pulling up his umbrella. Shawlong's hand twitched against his Zanpakuto. 

With the tip of his umbrella, Hagrid tapped a few bricks in a specific sequence and what happened amazed Harry. The bricks began moving in and out before beginning to turn sideways into the side walls. He had a feeling that no technology could replicate this, especially with how Szayel was looking at the wall in furious excitement.

"What? How? With what motors?" Szayel said as he tried to touch the wall all over. 

"Motors? Not sure what that is but this is all magic." Hagrid said before gesturing through the hole," now Harry, welcome to Diagon Alley."

---

"Please have a seat Mr. Jaegerjaques," McGonagall said as she entered an empty room with a table and two chairs.

"Just Grimmjow is fine," Grimmjow said and instead of going towards the table, he headed towards the window. 

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, before taking a seat on a chair by the table. "Alright, Grimmjow.… Now tell me, what are you?"

---

Harry was glad he kept his glasses on because if he thought the Leaky Cauldron had a lot of people, then Diagon Alley had even more and he would probably get a headache from all the different colours of reiatsu he would see. 

But Diagon Alley was incredibly vibrant even with his glasses. There were so many different kinds of building all in different shapes and sizes and with questionable structural integrity. From what he remembered of what Szayel taught him about how buildings work, parts of the building leaning out the way it does should not make sense. 

Harry could hear Szayel's mumblings of how things don't make sense behind him as well, affirming his understanding. 

"What do you think, Harry?" Hagrid asked.

"It's a lot," Harry replied.

Hagrid laughed, "that's what a lot of muggleborns say as well."

"Muggleborn?" Harry asked.

"Muggles are people without magic like your family here so muggleborns are wizards and witches who are born from muggle parents," Hagrid explained.

"Magicless huh?" Shawlong said as he looked around and kept a hold of Szayel's sleeve, "I suppose that is a fair evaluation."

"Is family what they call packs here?" Nelliel asked.

"Huh?" Hagrid said.

"Yes, that is how human dynamics work essentially," Szayel said, trying to pull his sleeve out of Shawlong's hold which occurred because he was almost glued to the brick wall they passed through. "Though usually, that is a term used for those with a blood relation, although it is also possible to extend that term to anyone with a close enough connection." 

"Uhh," Hagrid looked visibly confused.

"Don't mind him," Harry said, "so what other kinds of people are there?" 

Hagrid nodded, moving so he was a bit further from Szayel as he walked, "well..."

---

Grimmjow grinned, "so you noticed something?"

"Yes, you look human but something feels off calling you that," McGonagall said. "Not only that but one of the people you were with had a strange covering on his face but he was rather blurry which is a question in and of itself so let me ask again, what exactly are you?"

Grimmjow's eyes lowered to slits. "Why do you want to know?"

"Harry Potter is an important figure to the Wizarding Community and the Harry with you is no doubt the same child. What I want to know is why you have him and if you are -"

"A threat? Dangerous?" Grimmjow smirked. "Oh, I am all of those and more."

Grimmjow took a step towards a table with each word until he was able to slam both hands on the table. McGonagall was quick to draw what seemed to Grimmjow, a mere stick and stood, the chair falling down onto its back.

"But the thing is, none of that really matters now does it?" Grimmjow leaned back. "What's important here is Harry." He pulls out the chair on his side of the table and sits.

"I can't tell you much at the moment but what I can say is that Harry is my main focus right now and I would do many things to ensure his safety and general state of being alive." Grimmjow leaned forward, hands bare and open. “So you better tell me what makes you think you stand even a chance against me or tell me why Harry is so important to this community of yours and why I should even leave him in your hands..”

McGonagall closed her eyes and let out a breath. She needed a break from Grimmjow’s eyes. There was something predatorial about it that she was scared to even touch on. Everything about the man in front of her, no matter the calm demeanour, screamed that he was dangerous. Yet, fascinatingly enough, he wanted to learn more about Harry. So despite every fibre of her being telling her, yelling at her to get away, she had a duty to uphold. After all, she was still a Gryffindor and no matter how terrified she feels, bravery is one of her greatest traits.

"I understand," McGonagall said and with a wave of her wand, the chair righted itself again before she sat down once more. "Then I suppose I shall start with why the name Harry Potter is important to the Wizarding Community."

---

Hagrid wasn’t able to give much information about the different kinds of humans other than the most basic. Muggles were magicless humans, muggleborn were witches and wizards born from muggles, half-bloods were people born from someone with at least one muggle or muggleborn parent and then there were purebloods. But most of that was what Hagrid considered unimportant since all that really matters is if you have magic or not. Szayel did ask if blood mattered at all in regards to magic abilities but Hagrid was quick to call it all “hog water” and that Lily Potter was a muggleborn who was an extremely bright witch. Harry was also inclined to agree. What runs through your veins should not dictate how strong you are.  

By the time they finished that conversation, they reached Gringotts which was a bank from what Hagrid said. Szayel had a good point when the arrancar asked about how they were going to get the money to pay for the school supplies.

"Why the vault of course." Hagrid replied, "did you think his parents wouldn't have left him with anything?"

"Apologies," Shawlong said, his eyes narrowing. "But we were not exactly provided with any details on who the ones that created Harry are."

"Well, that's easy, James and Lily Potter. They were great Gryffindors during their time at Hogwarts and great people." Hagrid said. "They did a lot to help with the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Of course, they had to take a break from that when they had you, Harry."

"James and Lily Potter," Harry whispered. The names flowed smoothly across his tongue but he frowned. He was reminded of a nightmare he had when he was smaller. A woman's voice screaming and a flash of green light. He remembered that for a time before his ma, for there surely was a before even if his memories were fuzzy, he would wake up alone from that nightmare and cry in the darkness. After being picked up though, he would wake to a tongue lapping at his face and a rumbling against his body. It didn't take long for the nightmare to occur less. But Harry couldn't help but wonder now if that nightmare was more than just a nightmare.

"Hagrid, you said 'were'," Harry said.

"Ah, yes," Hagrid said.

"What happened to them?"

---

"They were killed huh?" Grimmjow asked, though less so of a question and more just to clarify.

"Yes, although you don't seem too surprised," McGonagall said.

"Well, you said it first, it was war and I'd be more surprised if no one died in a war." 

"That...that is true," McGonagall said solemnly.

"But what does those two dying have anything to do with Harry other than orphaning him?" Grimmjow asked.

"I was getting to that," McGonagall said. "When Lily and James were killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Harry was in the same house. Hagrid was sent to pick Harry up but all that was left was their bodies and Harry was still alive. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was nowhere to be found and presumed dead." 

"You're kidding right?" Grimmjow leaned into his fist that he propped up for his head. "You're telling me that what was essentially a newborn killed a fully grown and so-called powerful human man."

"Yes."

"That's...kinda dumb."

McGonagall blinked rapidly, "excuse me?"

"You're telling me that my cu- kid, killed a guy when he couldn't even defend himself against other brats," Grimmjow said. "That is really hard to believe."

"Yes, well, we can only assume some form of magic occurred. 

"Right, magic." 

"You seem skeptical. Have you never witnessed Harry do anything strange that wouldn't make sense?"

Grimmjow thought back to Harry's attempts at Sonido and Cero and decided, "nope, nothing strange."

"Oh...usually children of his age would've done at least one bit of accidental magic by now."

Grimmjow shrugged, not really understanding the significance of what was said, "so what happened after that?"

---

Harry had to admit it, watching Szayel throw a fit over things going wrong was always fun. He had cheerfully waved bye when Nelliel and Shawlong had to drag Szayel out of the bank from causing a scene after the goblin prevented their entrance and took his glasses off stating that "they don't like spies for the dead crawling in their vaults". How the Goblins figured out that the three arrancars were not exactly living he wasn't sure but it was always fun seeing things not go Szayel's way. Although that did confirm that the pink-haired arrancar put something on his glasses. Something to report to his ma later.

The cart ride to his vault was great. He always loved the speed and thrill of Sonido so the ride was right up his alley. Although the same couldn't be said for Hagrid who looked very sick when they stopped.

The vault itself was well...a lot. He knew about money and kind of understood it but Las Noches never needed anything like it. So all he knew was that having a room full of coins was important. 

"I didn't want to say this in front of your current family but your parents loved you very much, Harry. So it only makes sense for them to leave their fortune to you." Hagrid said as Harry took in the vault. 

"Love huh?" Harry said, offhandedly. Despite what Hagrid said, it was hard to imagine that for people who didn’t even leave their souls behind. 

After grabbing a sizable amount of coins, they went to another vault. One that only had a singular item that forced Harry to squint because it kept flashing different colours until Hagrid placed the item in his cloak. Though it was still flashing, Hagrid's orange reiatsu mostly covered the item. Harry feels like he's seen an item flash like that before but honestly, he doesn't remember.

When they left Gringotts, Harry got his glasses back and they found Szayel sulking on the steps with Shawlong holding onto Szayel’s sleeve even tighter. 

"Harry! Are you done?" Nelliel asked when they approached.

"Yeah, I got what I needed to get the supplies," Harry replies. 

"Then let's go shopping!" Nelliel shouted excitedly before grabbing Hagrid by the arm. "Show me all the brightest outfits!"

"Huh what? Okay?" Hagrid said.

Harry chuckled, thinking that the large man must've been startled by how easily Nelliel was able to drag him. 

"Oh please, as if this place's poor sense of fashion would have anything worth buying for," Szayel grumbled.

"You're just mad you can't actually catch the cubs who ran through you," Shawlong said. 

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Apparently, the younger the wizard or witch, the less spiritually aware they are so some of them ran clean through Szayel," Shawlong replied.

"You try getting your organs pushed and pulled in all the wrong ways," Szayel growled. 

"We can always slice you in half to see if that was what actually happened," Shawlong said. 

Szayel glared at them before stomping in the direction Nelliel went with a huff. Harry snickered then hurried along after the other arrancars and Hagrid, who had a very confused look on his face, while Shawlong trailed behind.

---

For some reason, Grimmjow felt like he really wanted to punch something. Well, he always wanted to punch something but he really wanted to punch something even more. Instead, though, he took a deep breath. He couldn't make trouble for anyone right now, and especially not for Harry.

"You all just left him with people that may not have wanted to take care of him at all," Grimmjow said.

McGonagall nodded, "Headmaster Dumbledore believed that he would be much safer with his relatives and not have to deal with the fame he gained at a young age."

"You should've made absolutely sure he was going to be cared for!" Grimmjow shouted. "Yet when I found him, he was getting beaten up! People who actually gave a shit about him wouldn't have let that happen and I'm somehow supposed to leave him at the hands of those who left him with people who may have hated him?" 

Grimmjow wasn't sure why he got more heated up than he originally intended. But he did.

"Petunia Dursley is Lily's sister. They were family by blood," McGonagall said, though even Grimmjow could see how tightly she clenched her fist. Perhaps knowing herself that her words were a poor excuse.

"Blood means nothing if there is no care," Grimmjow said.

"I understand that my words may not mean much but I promise you that the safety of the students in Hogwarts is of the utmost importance to the staff," McGonagall declared.

Grimmjow scoffed, "we'll see."

"I suppose we shall," McGonagall said, "now tell me, how did you come across Harry?"

---

Harry had never been shopping before. He read about it but in Las Noches, it just wasn't a concept that existed since hollows didn't need such a system. He admits, he got really caught up in the mood though so did Nelliel and Szayel. 

It took a lot of effort to drag Szayel out of, well, almost every shop they've been to while Shawlong had to keep Nelliel from climbing every single building. By the time they got to Madame Malkin's robe shop, Shawlong had both Szayel and Nelliel held tight by the arm. It made Harry wonder who was supposed to be keeping an eye on who during this trip. 

Hagrid somehow waved it all off with a laugh.

"Oh I've seen worse," Hagrid had said with an expression of what Harry could describe as terrified amusement. "Your father and his little group had done quite some wild stuff back in Hogwarts."

Harry wanted to correct Hagrid but he was much more curious. Very, very curious about what James Potter had done but Hagrid refused to elaborate stating that "he cared for James, truly, but he doesn't want to have a repeat of those years. Especially when they're already dealing with two troublemakers".

Hearing that piqued Harry's interest even more though and it seemed like Hagrid could tell because he quickly pushed Harry into the robes shop.

"While you're getting fitted, I'm going to grab something," Hagrid said, taking the arrancars to the side out of Harry's hearing range. 

Turning back towards the shop, an aged woman leads Harry onto one of the stools beside someone near Harry's size. One with pale hair and skin. It made Harry wonder if the other cub is alright because the only other being he knows that is so pale is Ulquiorra and he's dead. Of course, he had no intention to say anything but he couldn't help but be curious.

"Hogwarts too?" The other cub asked, startling Harry out of his thoughts.

"Uhh yeah, I guess?" Harry replied. 

"Hmph, you guess?"

"Well yeah, orders or not, I don't know if my ma would actually let me go. Acceptance to the letter or not." 

"Pardon? Why wouldn't your mother want you to go to Hogwarts? One of the best schools in all of the wizarding communities? Although I suppose with the amount of that sort they’ve been letting in, the quality has gone down."

"That sort? The whole blood and magic family thing?"

“Don’t tell me you're one of those too,” the other cub was making a face of disgust that made Harry really want to punch. He couldn’t help but wonder if breaking the other cub’s nose would be a bad idea or not. 

“I wouldn’t say that exactly. I’m told that the two who made me were a witch and wizard but they’re long dead.” Harry said with a grin.

The silence in the room suddenly felt very loud. 

The other cub’s expression turned to surprise, “oh, I see.”

The other cub gave Harry a stare, as if trying to figure him out, and Harry wondered about how much he could tell an absolute stranger. As he was about to reply, the door to the shop slammed open.

"Harry!" Nelliel shouted as she came running in, "let's get you an owl!" 

"Huh?" Harry blinked owlishly at the sudden declaration. 

"We can not afford an owl," Shawlong said as he tried to drag Nelliel out of the shop. "And Grimmjow will not approve."

"I'll just order him to approve. I'm the Tres Espada after all," Nelliel pounded a fist against her chest proudly. 

"You can't seriously be pulling rank over something like this!" Shawlong shouted.

Then Hagrid's head poked in through the door, "umm Mr. Shawlong, the other blurry person disappeared."

"Are you kidding me?" Shawlong said. "Ugh, come on Nelliel, you promised to keep an eye on him."

"But owl," Nelliel whined.

"Owl later, crazy 'will kill someone for experiments' person now," Shawlong said and with a few more pulls, Nelliel allowed him to drag her away.

After the two arrancars left, Hagrid gave a huffy Madam Malkin a quick apology before leaving to stand outside once more.

"I'm sorry dear but were those two with you?" Madam Malkin asked Harry. 

"Yeah, sorry, they're pack- uhh friends," Harry said.

"Well please let them know to not barge into shops like that," Madam Malkin said before returning to work on his robe. 

"I'll let them know," Harry said. 

When Harry took a glance to the side, he saw that the other cub was completely slack-jawed. 

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"What was up with the man's head?" It's like a mask you’d find on Samhain." The other cub said. "And that lady, she called you Harry..."

As the gears turned in the other cub's head, he turned to Harry who returned the stare with a smile.

"Are you -"

"All done deary," Madam Malkin said. 

Harry hopped off the stool with a "thanks" as he put money on the counter while another lady folded his new robes up before placing them in a bag. 

"Hey wait," the other cub shouted as Harry was about to leave. "What is your name?"

Harry grinned, "Harry, Harry Jaegerjaques." 

The confused look on the other cub's face was priceless.

---

Grimmjow tried to focus on releasing his Pesquisa though his mind was still on the conversation he just had. It was strange to hear that Harry, his little Harry. A cub he picked up on a whim was supposedly the "saviour" of wizards and witches by killing a "horrible" wizard, but in the process, lost the people who would've provided care for him. This was all the more reason he doesn't want Harry to go to some unknown place. He can't trust these humans - because they are still humans no matter what special abilities they have - at all. But Aizen gave his order and it pisses Grimmjow off to no end to have to listen.

He did agree with McGonagall on at least one thing though, neither of them want the fame nor attention to scare or stress Harry in any way. So at the very least, McGonagall stated that she would see if the name change can be done just so Harry wouldn't have to deal with being "Harry Potter". If it'll actually work though, he wouldn't know because he technically doesn't exist in the World of the Living. 

Well, she can try at least. In the meantime, he'll be looking for the others. Shaking his head, Grimmjow went back to try to focus on sensing the others. The number of dense souls filled with a good amount of reiryoku made him salivate but he was still able to pinpoint the locations of Harry, Shawlong, Nelliel and Szayel. 

With a frustrated groan, he found that Szayel was pretty far from the others. So much for Nelliel keeping an eye on that bastard. He headed for Szayel's reiatsu signature immediately. Whatever the mad Grantz was doing, it probably wasn't good.

---

Harry immediately recognized his ma's reiatsu as soon he felt it and he couldn't stop his little sprint. He was quick to crash into his ma's legs, earning him a chuckle.

"Hi ma," Harry greeted. 

"Yo," Grimmjow replied. 

That was when Harry noticed the body draped over Grimmjow's shoulder.

"Oh, you caught him," Harry said.

"Yeah well, I'd like to know how all of you lost him in the first place." 

"Sorry about that," Hagrid said, "missus Nelliel asked me to but I uhh lost him pretty fast." 

"Nelliel, you let a guy whose spiritual awareness isn't strong enough to keep an eye on him?" Grimmjow said.

"Yeah well, there were more important things," Nelliel said with a pout. "And I order you to let Harry get an owl." 

"No."

"But I order you to," Nelliel said. 

Without looking, Harry just knew that Shawlong was smirking proudly. 

Grimmjow used his free hand to massage the bridge of his nose, "alright, whose idea is this."

Hagrid raised his hand a bit, "I thought that it'd be nice if I could get him a birthday present and an owl would be a very useful one."

"I did confirm the uses of an owl, however, taking care of one where we live would be rather difficult," Shawlong said. 

"Right we'd have to..." Grimmjow trailed off.

"Hey, what's a birthday?" Harry asked.

Hagrid looked aghast, "you don't know what a birthday is?"

"It is the day when you leave your mother's womb to develop and grow as your own individual being," Szayel's voice came from behind Grimmjow. "Of course, being what we are, such an event is unnecessary given the lack of proper measurements of time and quite honestly, the event is in and of itself, a waste of time and resources."

"Oi, how long have you been awake?" Grimmjow asked Szayel.

"Long enough though I did enjoy not needing to walk," Szaye said. 

Grimmjow made a face of disgust before letting Szayel roll off his shoulder and drop to the ground.

Szayel gave an exclamation of pain when his butt hit the ground before standing up and brushing the dirt off of himself. Shawlong was quick to grab onto Szayel’s sleeve again.

"All the more reason to get him an owl!" Nelliel said. "You missed so many days to celebrate Harry's existence that he deserves it!"

"It sounds like you’re the one who wants it more," Grimmjow said. 

Harry watched as his ma and Nelliel looked about ready to fight and it was honestly kind of exciting. Especially with Nelliel trying to pull the rank card. However, before anything could really escalate, Hagrid cut in. 

"How about asking Harry himself?" 

Both Nelliel and Grimmjow gave Hagrid a glare, causing the large man to flinch. Harry tugged on Grimmjow's shirt and opened his eyes as wide as possible while tilting his head.

"Can I ma?" Harry asked.

Grimmjow sighed and closed his eyes, "I told you to only do that to make your opponents underestimate you."

"Aren't you my opponent right now?" Harry said.

"Cheeky," Grimmjow smirked, "alright, let's check these owls out."

There were three cheers, Harry, Nelliel and Hagrid, and one heavily exasperated sigh from Shawlong. Szayel could only grumble at his sleeve being held onto again.

Harry was rather excited to enter the emporium. He had seen many animals in the form of pictures and hollows whose form took inspiration from one but seeing a real living creature was new. 

The emporium itself was rather cramped and dark but there were a lot of owls. All of whom started to make a ruckus when Grimmjow entered. The employee and manager tried their best to calm them down to no avail. They apologized for the noise but that was also when Harry noticed her. 

Out of all the owls present, there was one that stayed calm amidst all the racket. A white, snowy owl. As soon as Harry laid his eyes on her, it felt like her soul had called out to him and he knew she was the right one. While Harry went to get her, Grimmjow stepped out, stating that the noises were too aggravating. As soon as he left though, all the owls quieted down much to the confusion of the workers. But it allowed Harry to successfully obtain the owl, though he didn’t let Hagrid pay. Hagrid could pay for something more simple, like food. 

With the snowy owl in hand, they headed for the last shopping location on their list. The wand shop Ollivander's, which Hagrid claimed to be the best. 

---

From the bustling street of Diagon Alley into Ollivander's wand shop was a rather drastic change. The sudden silence was very stark and despite much of the shopping district being magical, Harry felt that this particular shop had a mystical vibe that he couldn't quite place. 

Of course, it wasn't just him who was finding the place to be rather odd. Looking to the side, all the arrancars seemed to be tenser and on-guard compared to earlier. He could also see that his ma's fingers were twitching, a tell-tale sign that he was itching to obliterate something. 

"Hey, Ollivander! You in here?" Hagrid shouted, startling many of them as hands went to their zanpakuto. 

"Must you shout so loudly?" Szayel snarled. A rare occurrence, given how much he valued intelligence over fighting prowess. 

"Oh, sorry," Hagrid apologized.

A bumbling of sound and many crashes later, an old man drops from the ceiling on a ladder.

"I hear ye, I hear ye, Hagrid. No need to shout." An old man said as he continued to climb down the ladder. 

The old man walked behind the counter, adjusting his glasses in the process, "now what do we have here?"

Harry slowly slid behind his ma, not willing to be the object of scrutiny by the old man. 

"Why, we have some rather curious fellows here. How interesting." The old man, whom Harry guessed by now was Ollivander said. "Well first, let's see, Hagrid. Oak, sixteen inches and rather bendy. It is a shame the ministry broke it."

Hagrid gave a nervous chuckle, "yeah well, I am technically not allowed to use magic."

Ollivander released a breathy laugh, eyeing Hagrid's umbrella, "of course, of course."

"Now then, which one of you is my actual customer." Ollivander's eyes did a sweep of all those present before landing on Harry. "No need to be scared, come, come. People may call me a bit wacky but I don't bite."

Harry tentatively stepped towards the counter. His grip on his own zanpakuto tightened.

"Now which hand will be your wand hand? The dominant hand." Ollivander asked.

Harry lifted his right hand and what looked to be a flat, long string came flying at him. 

"Don't worry, I'm just taking some measurements," Ollivander said as he walked towards the shelves of boxes. 

While the measuring tape went all around Harry, Ollivander was pulling and moving boxes around one after another. 

"Now you may be wondering how a wizard or witch chooses a wand. But the thing is, they don't. The wand chooses the user." 

Ollivander pulled out three boxes and placed each one on the counter.

"Now please try these."

The three wands all did something, like making boxes fall or breaking a few light bulbs but none of them felt right. Ollivander however, didn't seem concerned and just pushed the boxes to the side.

"The wand and the chosen become connected and these connections are rather complex. They learn from each other as they experience the world together."

Had Harry been watching, he would've noticed Hagrid tighten his hold on his umbrella a bit. But he was too busy trying wands. 

Harry must've tried at least twenty wands before Ollivander gave him a strange look.

"Perhaps..." Ollivander disappeared deep into the back.

Harry let out a sigh, "does this usually take this long?"

"Pretty much," Hagrid replied. "I've once heard of a kid who tried about two hundred wands before finding the right one."

"How many combinations are there even?" Szayel asked.

"As many as there are wood, magical creatures and length. Though I do tend to focus on three main cores that are more supreme than others," Ollivander said as he brought out another box. "Now this one I believe will hold promise though it may not be exact either."

When Harry held onto the wand, what Ollivander said held truth. He can feel his bangs and clothes swept up in an invisible wind and he felt something light and bright but as soon as he did, something reared in the back of his head, loud, dark and angry. He winced and dropped the wand. His ma was quick to get to his side.

"Well now, how curious," Ollivander said.

"Oi, this wasn't supposed to hurt him was it?" Grimmjow growled.

"No, never. An unconnected wand would get annoyed in the hands of the wrong user but never hurt someone who still needs their own connection." Ollivander said. "Though I will say, the wood and length are about right but hmm."

"Sounds like a shinigami zanpakuto," Nelliel said from the side.

"Oh, I should've thought of that! Partial sentience!" Szayel shouted.

"Hmm, now what is this 'zanpakuto'?" Ollivander asked. 

"Well, a zanpakuto is -."

"A sword," Grimmjow said before Szayel could get into a long-winded explanation. "One that our souls are connected to."

"Interesting," Ollivander said. "Do you have one of these 'zanpakuto'?" 

"Uhh, yeah," Harry said, putting his zanpakuto on the counter and removing the sheath to reveal the blade. 

"Oh, those were swords?" Hagrid asked from behind. "Isn't it dangerous to be carrying around?"

"From where we're from, it is highly necessary," Shawlong said. 

Ollivander smoothed his hand over the blade. "Oh! How curious." 

He then picked up the wand and hovered it over the zanpakuto. "I wonder if I could make a core out of this."

As Ollivander lined the wand along the blade, he accidentally let the tips of the two items touch. A bright light began to shine from where the two objects touched, forcing everyone to cover their eyes except for Grimmjow who covered Harry's entire body with his own. 

Harry's head felt stuffed and he felt like he was hearing things. Hurt, pain, hungry, lonely, abandoned, alone, hungry, unloved, hated, unneeded, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry.

The words continued to repeat in his head but they didn't feel like his own. It didn't feel like the words came from him; he knew they did. It came from a deep part of his soul. Hungry was the most repeated word so it made him wonder, why doesn't the voice just eat? After all, hollows don't have many qualms about eating so he shouldn’t either. 

By the time the light died down, the tense stances the arrancars lost during the wand testing returned with full force and the entire room was filled with dense, flaring reiatsu. 

"Well that was new," Hagrid said, rubbing his eyes. 

"What was that!?" Grimmjow snarled, holding Harry close to his chest.

"Whatever it was, it seems the wand was absorbed into this zanpakuto thing," Ollivander said, looking between his hand where the wand no longer is and the counter where Harry's zanpakuto sat.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Shawlong asked but no one was really able to tell the answer.

"Hungry," Harry said. 

"Oh, I can go grab some ice cream," Hagrid said leaving the shop.

Grimmjow pulled back to look at Harry, "you alright cub?"

He flinched when he saw Harry's lopsided grin and eyes. The stink within Harry's reiatsu that diminished a bit while Harry stayed in Las Noches returned in full force.

"Mama," Harry said, "I wanna devour something."

Harry felt like his head was woozy and full. There was a lot of buzzing that made no sense to him. 

"Huh, so there was an effect for a human staying in Hueco Mundo for so long," Szayel mumbled but Harry barely heard him. He just felt so, so hungry.

"Do you require snacks?" Ollivander asked.

Without answering, Grimmjow grabbed Harry's zanpakuto and handed it to the cub before shaking him a lot. 

Grimmjow kept shaking Harry until he cried out, "mama, quit it." 

When Grimmjow stopped shaking Harry, he clasped Harry's face between his hands, giving the boy a good look.

"What are you doing ma?" Harry asked through pouted lips.

Once Grimmjow was satisfied with whatever he was looking for, he sighed. "Your eyes looked weird for a second there." He then pinched Harry's cheek. "Don't scare me like that."

"Weird how? I didn't do anything." Harry swatted at the hand.

"Doesn't matter, as long as it doesn't happen again," Grimmjow said with finality to his voice before standing up and turning to Ollivander. "So what are we gonna do about that wand thing?"

"Well he already has it," Ollivander said. "Given how the wand disappeared, I can only guess that the sword combined with the wand."

"Then how exactly am I supposed to use this?" Harry asked.

"Intention," Ollivander leaned on the counter. "A Lot of magic is done through the intention of the caster. I'm sure that if you intend for this sword of yours to act like a wand, it will do so."

Harry looked at the blade of the zanpakuto with a glare, "intention...."

"Although it is quite curious," Ollivander said. "For you see, that wand was rather particular. The core of the wand came from a phoenix that only provided two of his feathers. One in the wand your sword absorbed and the other having belonged to the person who gave you your scar."

Harry was quick to feel for his forehead only to find that his bangs were still covering his scar. "How did..."

"I know many things Mr. Potter," Ollivander said. "Or perhaps you have adopted a different name." 

"Jaegerjaques," Harry replied.

"Alright then, young Mr. Jaegerjaques. There are however still many things I do not know," Ollivander said. "But I do know of all my customers who buy a wand from my shop."

Ollivander began grabbing the boxes that were on the counter. "And He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, though he did great things, it was all terrible. Truly terrible but great."

After stacking the boxes, Ollivander brought out his own wand and waved it with some words spoken. This caused all the boxes to fly to a spot on the shelves, "but I look forward to seeing what you can do young Mr. Jaegerjaques."

---

When the arrancars and Harry left the wand shop, they were met once again with McGonagall and Hagrid, the latter of whom was holding a cone of ice cream in his hands. 

Hagrid offered the cone to Harry but it was instead grabbed by Grimmjow who gave it a sniff

"It's not poisoned is it?" Grimmjow asked.

"Now why would anyone poison ice cream?" Hagrid said.

Grimmjow pointed a thumb towards Szayel who crossed his arms with a huff, "that guy."

"Excuse me but how was I supposed to know that it was Ichimaru-sama's secret stash? Besides I didn't get to really do anything before you caught me so don't think too much of it." Szayel pouted. 

"Mama," Harry whined.

"Oi, what did I teach you?" Grimmjow asked after giving the ice cream a lick before returning it to Harry.

"You won't even be able to watch what I eat for a whole year," Harry said, giving the cold treat a lick.

"Don't remind me," Grimmjow scowled. 

"Perhaps I should request the ministry to give all the stocks a check," McGonagall said uneasily. "Maybe, later. First, let us talk somewhere less noisy."

When everyone got to the Leaky Cauldron once more, instead of going to a room, McGonagall cast a spell and all sounds around their table quieted. Harry's eyes brightened at the sudden change in noise level.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Grimmjow asked.

"I did, you were just too blind to notice," McGonagall said. "And it wouldn't do well for people to see me point a wand at who I had presumed was a muggle at the time."

"You pointed your wand?" Hagrid shouted.

"Hush now, I'm sure even you have noticed that these people are not ordinary muggles," McGonagall said as she pulled out some papers. "Now it was rather difficult for me to get this done seeing as how you don't technically exist in any registry in the world."

She showed them a paper that stated adoption registration. "But I just need your signature in the places marked with a star. Then your family name can be added to Harry's."

"Added? Not changed?" Shawlong asked.

McGonagall shook her head, "without a lot of documents it was hard enough just to add the name."

"Any other questions?" McGonagall asked as all eyes turned to Grimmjow who had been glaring at the papers.

"Sooooo," Harry said. "Who said he didn’t need to learn how to read and write?"

"Don't be cheeky," Grimmjow said, pinching Harry's cheek.

"Ah yes, how could we forget," Shawlong brought the papers closer to himself while Szayel read from over his shoulder. 

"I could write my own name!" Grimmjow said.

"Didn't you put an extra two 'm' the last time Aizen-sama asked for signatures?" Nelliel teased.

"Nelliel!" Grimmjow snarled.

"Anyway," Shawlong returned the papers to McGonagall, "I hope you don't mind my signature, I am Harry's second main guardian after all."

"Second main guardian..." McGonagall whispered. "It seems I may have mistaken your relationships since so many of you came."

"Yes well, it would have been unwise to just let Grimmjow come lest he loses his temper," Szayel said.

"If I recall, you were the one who wandered unnecessarily," Shawlong countered.

"Right, well are we done with this business?" Grimmjow asked as the two unranked arrancars glared at each other. 

"I suppose," McGonagall said, unsure if she should pull out her wand to stop the two blurry people from fighting.

"Great, let's go," Grimmjow said, picking up Harry with one arm while grabbing the cage with the owl. 

"I can walk ma," Harry said.

"Yeah, no, I'm carrying you," Grimmjow said. 

"Oh right!" Hagrid shouted, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to Harry, "here's your ticket to platform nine and three quarters. You’re gonna need it to get on the train to Hogwarts."

"Thanks," Harry smiled before waving goodbye.

Nelliel, Shawlong and Szayel were quick to follow.

---

By the time the group had left, McGonagall slumped forward.

"So that went well!" Hagrid said cheerfully.

"I need a firewhiskey," McGonagall said.

---

As Grimmjow stepped out of the Garganta, he felt a familiar reiatsu and looked forward.

"Oh come on!" Grimmjow blurted out before he could stop himself. 

"Welcome back, how was your trip?" Aizen said, his face in his usual smile.

Harry had a feeling it’ll be a while before they can go rest.

Chapter Text

Platform 9 3/4 was bustling with people. Harry had thought London Station was busy but crowded on the platform were just as many, perhaps even more people given the smaller size of the platform. 

Overall though, he was excited. After a month of gruelling training, because his ma was nervous and worried, he was really going to go somewhere new and by himself no less. Las Noches was fine and all, and so were its residents, but after seeing Diagon Alley, there was only so much more paint and hollow blood he could splatter on those white walls before it got dull again. Or until his efforts dissipated into reishi in the case of hollow blood. 

He understood why so many arrancars and hollows who lived in Las Noches started skirmishes. Everyone was bored, especially when there wasn't much construction work left to do. And as tempting as it was to ask Barragan what Las Noches had been like before Aizen, he still liked his soul attached to his body. 

Harry took a step to the side, avoiding the tackle from Dondochakka and Pesche. 

"We're gonna miss you!" The two cried. 

Harry laughed, louder after his ma whacked the heads of the two fracciónes. 

"Quiet down, you two are causing a scene," Grimmjow snarled. 

"Aren't you as well? Hitting my fracciónes like that when they aren't even in gigai," Nelliel huffed.

Harry's hearing may not be as sharp as the rest of his pack, but even he caught a small cub asking their caretaker why his ma was hitting and shouting at the air.

"Tch," Grimmjow said before turning back to Harry. "I don't like this."

"I know, ma," Harry replied.

"I don't like this. I don't trust these wizards and witches, I don't know why Aizen thinks this would help anything in any way, and I don't trust any of his decisions either," Grimmjow said as he began petting Harry's hair. 

"But you trust me right?" Harry asked. Grimmjow stayed silent, an expression of intense focus on his face.

"Ma?"

"..."

"Wait, who are you sending?"

"..."

"It's not Di Roy is it?"

"Hey, you should feel honoured that I'm even coming along," Di Roy said. 

Harry ignored the arrancar. "Come on ma, Di Roy's useless."

"What? Excuse me, but I'm still the one beating you during our spars!" Di Roy 

shouted.

Harry stuck his tongue out and Di Roy growled. 

"Edrad's going as well but they're just following the train and reporting back once you safely arrive at the place," Grimmjow explained. "I'd like to believe you won't do something dumb–"

"But you are still Grimmjow's cub and no one has any faith in his brains outside of battle," Ulquiorra cut-in.

"You wanna fight?" Grimmjow snarled.

"Learn to take a joke," Ulquiorra said, his face and voice as unchanging as always.

"Learn to actually make a joke!" Grimmjow shouted. Grimmjow looked about ready to attack Ulquiorra but was quickly held back by the rest of his pack.

Harry was enjoying watching the scuffle when he felt a pull on his uniform and looked to the side where the main brain of the Picaro stood. The cub looked pained though he wasn't sure if it was because the rest of the Picaro who was ordered to stay behind were making a racket or if it was because he was leaving for a while. He gave a silent apology to Aaroniero who had stayed behind to watch the rest of the Picaro in case of the former. 

"Our offer is still open," the Picaro said. "At this rate, you're just going to keep growing bigger and leave and not play with us anymore."  

Harry clasped the Picaro's hands. "Don't worry, even if I grow super big, we can still play games together! And maybe we can play even more games because I'll get stronger too!"

The Picaro gave a tentative nod before jumping in to hug Harry. "Don't stay away for too long or we will cause trouble without you, and make sure you send Batalla to write letters often." 

Harry gave his hollowfied snowy owl a quick glance, receiving a hoot in response before grinning. "I promise."

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I cut in?" Nelliel asked. 

The Picaro stepped back so Nelliel could lean down and look Harry in the eye.

"I'm sure you'll do great Harry," Nelliel said. "And I'm sure that had Grimmjow not begun arguing with Ulquiorra, he would agree that you don't have to worry about anything other than enjoying yourself, and staying safe. In fact, your safety, no matter what, should be your top priority."

"I know," Harry said. 

"Good. And don't forget that should you ever find yourself in trouble..."

"Break my glasses in half which will let any of you guys know that I'm in trouble because of some weird stuff Szayel put in," Harry finished.

Nelliel chuckled. "It's just video monitoring stuff and we all checked that there wasn't anything too weird."

"Just make sure you take it off before a bath," Grimmjow added grumpily from where he was trapped in the hold of the rest of his pack, having given up on trying to attack Ulquiorra for now. 

"No really, make sure you take it off," Yylfordt said. "As much as we all tried to ensure he didn't put anything too weird, Szayel is getting better at hiding his shit because he still wants to analyze everything and everyone." 

Yylfordt then grabbed Harry's shoulders, his eyes going a bit frantic. "And if you hear any weird sounds or see anything weird through your glasses, shatter them."

"Umm, have you been sleeping, Yylfordt?" Harry asked. 

"Yep, definitely. I'm most definitely not seeing bugs flying around everywhere," Yylfordt laughed with increasing volume as everyone else watched with slight concern except for Ulquiorra whose expression still hadn’t changed. Grimmjow was quick to knock Yylfordt out before he got too loud, and threw him at Nakeem who caught the blond. 

"Right. Not putting him on watch duty for a while," Grimmjow said.

"And best not to drag him to the med bay either," Shawlong added. "The healer is one of Szayel's Fracciónes now after all."

The whistle of the train then grabbed everyone's attention. 

"I guess that's my cue to go," Harry said. He was suddenly hit by a churning in his gut. Grabbing Batalla's cage, he quickly ran into the train and the compartment that they had claimed and opened the window so that he could have one more farewell. 

"I'll be fine Ma, I promise," Harry said when he noticed the expression on Grimmjow's face. "Besides, you all trained me to the point where I can kill a few lesser hollows so humans with special abilities are nothing."

Grimmjow brushed Harry's bangs out of the way, revealing the scar before letting them fall back. "You're right and that's your advantage against the rest of these humans. So use this knowledge well and use it wisely."

The train whistles again and Grimmjow stepped back, though his hand seemed to want to linger for a bit longer. He tended to not be the type to think about feelings. He was a hollow, he didn’t have much in terms of feelings but he wouldn't lie; he was terrified. The fear of loss was normal, even expected. Once a hollow reached the adjuchas stage, it wasn’t uncommon to fear regressing, the loss of self. But right now, it wasn’t losing his own identity that he feared, but losing someone whom he held close. He had gotten attached, and he feared what would happen should he become alone again.

The whistle sounded off again and the train began to move.

"I'll see you guys later," Harry said. He watched as Pesche and Dondochakka 

burst into more tears. Nelliel waved while Ulquiorra gave him a nod. The rest of his pack were either grinning or smirking. And his ma smiled. A soft smile that didn’t really fit on his ma's face, but it was there and Harry couldn't help but grin in response. 

As the train left and the station and the people on the platform became nothing more than pinpricks, Harry felt nervous. He was still excited but he was also nervous. It didn't take too long before he felt the pinpricks of Edrad and Di Roy's reiatsu though, and somehow, that put him a bit at ease. With the train well on its way to Hogwarts, Harry gave Batalla a treat, a bit of his own reiryoku for her to munch on before pulling out his English workbook. He couldn't rely on Szayel's auto-translation forever after all. 

---

While Harry worked on the book, above the train Edrad and Di Roy were following.

"Ugh, why do we even have to follow him," Di Roy complained.

"Weren't you the one who was curious about the school?" Edrad asked. 

"Yeah but it's not like I really needed to see it or anything. I was curious, that's about it," Di Roy said. "And can we rest on the thing for a bit? I'm getting tired."

Edrad rolled his eyes, speeding up a bit so he could reach a good spot to rest on the train. Di Roy was quick to follow.

"Rest! At last!" Di Roy shouted.

Edrad snorted. "You need to work on your Sonido if you're already that tired."

"Ah, shut up, I'm trying alright? It's not my fault that I'm always the one pitted against Harry, so I can't improve all that much," Di Roy said. 

Edrad was about to say something more, but a malicious pressure drew his attention further down the train. The two arrancars saw an elderly lady with a slightly hunched back, smiling at them. In front of her was a cart of things that smelled sweet.

"Hello dears. The two of you aren't students now, are you?" The elderly lady asked. 

The two arrancars had no response other than readying to draw their zanpakuto. 

"Oh dear, I'm afraid I must inform you two…" the elderly lady said as her body began to grow and shift. Her skin turned orange-brown and her head elongated. Wings, the same colour as her new skin, grew out of her back. " Only students and staff are allowed on the train. "

The two arrancars looked at each other before turning back to the elderly-lady-turned-creature and smirked. 

"Loser does hunting duty for the winner?" Edrad asked. 

"Oh you're on," Di Roy replied.

---

Harry looked at the ceiling and wondered what the heck the two were doing flaring their reiatsu like that. Though there was also a new reiatsu that he couldn't quite figure out as well. He was tempted to climb onto the roof of the train, and stared at the window for a bit before the door to his compartment opened. 

"Excuse me," a red-headed boy said. "I'm trying to escape my current compartment-mates. Do you mind if I sit here?" 

Harry thought for a moment and shrugged. "Sure, why not." 

The red-headed boy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. My brothers were exhausting me."

The boy entered the compartment and sat down on the seat opposite of Harry with a sigh of relief, before holding out his hand. "My name's Ron Weasley by the way.

Harry paused for a moment before shaking Ron's hand with a grin. "Harry Jaegerjaques, nice to meet you."

Suddenly, the train shook and a voice from nowhere announced, " Please don't mind any sudden movements of the train. Everything is safe and fine. There were some pests found on the train and the train staff are doing their utmost to remove them. "

"Pests? I wonder what kind of pests they are for the train to shake while moving," Ron commented. 

Harry face-palmed and pushed down the window before opening Batalla's cage.

"Please yell at those two for me," Harry asked his owl.

Batalla gave him a coo, then flew out the window. 

When he sat back down, he noticed Ron staring at him wide-eyed.

"Umm," Harry said.

"Was there something in the cage?" Ron asked.

"My owl?" Harry said.

"Owl? Your parents must've cast an invisibility spell on it," Ron said.

"Uhh, something like," Harry said with an uneasy chuckle.

"That is so cool, a long-lasting invisibility spell. Can you teach me?" Ron asked.

 Harry raised his hands, "I don't actually know much magic myself."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. My parents wouldn't teach me anything either," Ron said. He then raised his hand with one finger wiggling at Harry and in a high-pitched voice, said, "'Now be patient Ronald, you'll learn all the magic you need when you get to Hogwarts.' Is what my mom always said when I asked."

Harry chuckled. "My ma tried to teach me how to defend myself but I had a hard time learning some things." 

"Your mom tried to teach you defence against the dark arts?" Ron asked.

"Ah, no just physical defences like dodging and counter-attacking," Harry said, doing some air punches to demonstrate. "Everyone in my pa–family knows how to fight."

"Your mom taught you how to fight without magic? That's pretty cool! But why does everyone need to know how to fight?" 

Harry couldn't stop himself from grinning. "Where I live, there are these big creatures that can get really dangerous. So we need to defend ourselves. I can even beat a few weaker ones on my own." Of course, Harry wasn't going to mention how his pack also ate other hollows. The other cub didn’t need to know that detail. 

Just then, Batalla returned.

"Oh sorry, give me a moment, my owl's back," Harry said before turning to his owl.

Batalla's feathers were very puffed up. "Can you smite Di Roy?"

Harry snorted. "What's happening up there?" 

"Oh you know, just fighting some shrieking beast. Kept telling them to get off the train but they stubbornly refused and when I asked them to quiet down, Di Roy called me a useless sack of meat. The nerve of him," Batalla said as she preened her feathers. 

"Right," Harry said before turning to Ron. "Hey, do you know who I can talk to about the shaking problem? I may have a way to fix it."

"Really? We can go to my brother Percy. He's a prefect so he'll know who to talk to," Ron said.

"Sure," Harry said, letting Batalla rest in her cage. She was quick to settle on her perch, and tuck her head under her wing with a huff.

---

Di Roy dodged another swipe of claws before trying to swing up at the beast. She was tougher than he or Edrad had expected. It was getting rather annoying. Neither of them wanted to go into their Resurrección either because what the heck? It was just a creature from the World of the Living. They really shouldn't be having a hard time.

"We should really end this soon," Edrad said, panting all the while.

"No shit," Di Roy said, as he dodged a ball of hardened bread. He stumbled a bit when he landed but was quick to restabilize.

" Get off the train, get off the train, get off the train! " The creature shrieked as she launched another attack, causing lots of explosions on the top of the train. 

"I'm going to release my Resurrección," Edrad said, after barely nicking the creature. 

"Seriously!? On that?" Di Roy shouted.

"Yeah so hold it off for me," Edrad said. 

As Edrad was about to enter Resurrección, a door on the roof of the train opened up between him and the creature, and the head of another old lady popped up.

"Agatha, calm yourself," the old lady ordered. "You are making too much of a racket and scaring the children."

" But intruders ," the creature growled.

"Yes, yes, I know, we'll get rid of them soon enough but they aren't a threat to the children," the old lady said.

The creature growled again but the old lady only raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want me to get the gun?" 

The creature whined before its body shifted once more to looking like an old lady. The cart appeared right in front of her. 'Agatha' huffed and folded her arms, glaring at the other old lady.

"Good, now go sell some pastries, I'm sure the children will feel comforted when they have some." The old lady said.

'Agatha' grumpily nodded before disappearing from the roof of the train. 

"Dragons, I swear. Too much attitude sometimes," the old lady mumbled before turning towards Edrad and Di Roy. "Now the two of you better also get down here, you have someone who wishes to speak with you."

---

Harry had been in the compartment he shared with Ron when the doors opened.

"Great job keeping an eye on me," he said around the long strand of candy which tasted like pure sugar, ignoring Ron's confused look. He had bought a lot of candy from the trolley ladies partially as an apology but also, he wanted to try all the snacks. Ron had explained each one he tried and some of them gave him plans, a lot of plans for when he returned to Las Noches. 

"How were we supposed to know there was going to be a creature up there to attack us," Di Roy huffed. "We just wanted a break from keeping up with this junk."

" You wanted a break," Edrad corrected. "I would've been fine to go the whole way."

Harry snickered at Di Roy's look of betrayal.

"Yeah well, I would've been fine too!" Di Roy shouted.

Before the argument could escalate, Harry cut in. "So what are you two going to do now? Stay here, go home or trail the train?" 

"I’d rather we stay above the train, more spacious," Edrad replied. "Then we'll head back, Grimmjow is probably pacing."

"Or trying to beat up the Trash," Harry added.

"One day, he will surpass the Quatro and we will be there to witness it," Edrad said expectantly.

"As will I," Harry said cheerfully.

"In another hundred years maybe," Di Roy mumbled. 

Harry stuck his tongue out at Di Roy who did the same back.

Edrad grabbed Di Roy by the collar. "Alright, well enjoy yourself and your new companion. We'll be above the train."

Harry waved goodbye as the door to the compartment closed. Focusing a bit he kept track of Edrad and Di Roy's reiatsu as they went towards the roof hatch of the train. Once he felt them on the roof, he looked back to Ron who was chewing on a pastry. 

"Who were you talking to? Also, that did not sound like English at all," Ron said through a mouthful of food. 

"My um … uncles?" Harry wasn't quite sure how to describe his pack but he guessed that was the closest equivalent to their relationship. "And that was something like Spanish."

"Is your whole family invisible?" Ron asked.

Harry chuckled. "Something like that." 

"Wicked," Ron said.

As they continued eating and chatting, Harry found himself learning quite a lot about quidditch, a sport that Ron and apparently, most of the magic community enjoyed. It was pleasant to not feel like he was being lectured. That was until he noticed something scuttling in a bag of sweets.

"What is that?" Harry asked, pointing it out to Ron. 

Ron looked to the side and grabbed the creature, pulling it out of the bag. It was furry, and small with a long tail. 

"This is Scabbers, he was Percy's pet rat before he gave him to me," Ron said, turning the rat around so Harry could see the front.

"Smells like burnt flesh," Batalla said on the side, not that Ron would hear.

Harry looked closer, something seemed off about the rat though he wasn't quite sure what. He then noticed that the rat had a missing finger.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked.

"No idea, apparently Percy found him like this," Ron replied. "Oh yeah, now that I think about it, Fred and George did teach me a spell though I'm not quite sure if it's a real spell though."

“Try it anyways,” Harry said. 

Ron grinned before grabbing his wand and with a cough, he began waving it around and said a phrase that rhymed. Unfortunately, nothing happened. Ron tried two more times with no success when the compartment door opened and in walked a familiar cub followed by two that Harry did not recognize. 

“Oh, so you’re the one who stopped the racket that was happening on the train,” the blonde cub said. 

Harry wondered if his innocent eyes would work against this cub but decided against it. That's a secret skill he'll use at a later date.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said. The glare the blonde gave him was rather tame compared to what Barragan and his fracciónes could do. 

"Don't lie, the whole train knows about the glasses kid carrying a weird cane on his side," the blonde said.

Harry had no idea who spread those words, though hearing Ron mumble about a "Fred and George" gave him an idea of who. He was curious about the people who spread the information but there was something he had to clarify first.

"This isn't a cane, it's my wand," Harry said, raising his zanpakuto slightly from the chair. He wasn't exactly sure why all eyes turned to him in surprise.

"Mate, that's your wand?" Ron asked rather loudly.

“Yes?” Harry said, a bit confused. 

“That’s impossible!” The blonde shouted.“It's impossible for anyone to have a wand longer than the available lengths at any wand shop!”

Harry tilted his head and smiled. “Well maybe I’m just special.”

The blonde pursed his lips. “You infuriate me Jaegerjaques.”

“Oh, you remembered!” Harry said brightly. He thought he understood a bit why Ulquiorra seemed to enjoy pushing the buttons of anyone who was easy to anger. Though he could only guess it was enjoyment judging by the way Ulquiorra’s reiatsu seemed to flicker a bit every time he got an angry reaction. “By the way, I never caught your name.”

“Well if you must know,” the blonde huffed, “it’s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. The two behind me are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.”

Ron let out a snort which caused Malfoy to glare at him.“Do you think my name’s funny?” Malfoy sneered. Harry frowned; he didn’t like where this was going. 

Malfoy seemed to shoot Ron a look of disgust. “Well, it’s clear who you are even without an introduction. Red hair with freckles and hand-me-down clothing. Very obviously a Weasley.”

When Harry noticed Ron’s dejected expression, he decided that was enough of that. “Hey, you’re starting to be mean.”

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. “I am merely speaking the truth. The Weasleys are nothing but a failure of a pureblood family that have more mouths to feed than they do money.”

“Quit it, I don’t like the way you’re speaking to him,” Harry said, standing up so that he was between Ron and Malfoy. 

Malfoy huffed, “I pity you Jaegerjaques, to be raised by muggles who know nothing about the importance of blood and magic.”

Harry had half a mind to punch Malfoy right now. 

“It’s truly a shame that you have chosen to associate yourself with lesser fo--”

“Is everything alright down here?”

Harry turned to Edrad who had opened the door to the back of the train. He gave Edrad a small nod before turning his attention back to Malfoy who seemed to be staring at Edrad with wide eyes. Which was strange since Ron couldn’t see him and apparently, neither could any young cubs of the magic community. Malfoy also seemed to pale considerably when his gaze travelled to Edrad’s hollow hole. 

“Harry, your reiatsu was rising,” Edrad said. 

Harry hummed as he watched Malfoy take a deep breath. 

“I suppose I’ll see you around Jaegerjaques. Good luck on not getting expelled for making friends with the wrong sort,” Malfoy said before walking away. Vincent and Gregory looked at each other with confusion first, before following Malfoy. 

“I’m fine,” Harry said to Edrad. 

“If you say so,” Edrad said, “but let us know if anything isn’t.”

Harry smiled at Edrad. “I know.”

Edrad nodded and returned to the roof, closing the door behind him. 

Harry was indeed curious as to why Malfoy could see Edrad. Maybe if he got another chance to talk to the blonde cub, he may figure it out. After all, it would be a shame to have already made an enemy before this school thing even started even if said blonde is rather mean. Returning to his compartment, he closed the door to see Ron still looking a bit down.

“You alright?” Harry asked. 

Ron seemed to snap out of whatever thought was in his head and gave Harry a sheepish smile. “Yeah.”

“That doesn’t really sound convincing,” Harry said. 

Ron gave him a sad chuckle and looked down. “He’s not exactly wrong.” 

“My family isn’t exactly the most important in the world and well, I have so many brothers that my parents can only give me their leftovers,” he sighed.

“But you’re still family right?” Harry asked.

“Huh? Well yeah, of course.” Ron replied. 

“Then isn’t that what’s most important?”

“Huh?”

“They care about you so even if it’s leftovers, they still give it to you.”

Ron scratched the back of his head. “Well, I guess you can see it that way but sometimes I kind of just want my own stuff you know?”

Harry was reminded about the Picaro and how they all share most things but even then, there are times when a few of them want their own item. Their own way to differentiate each other. Their own identity. He was also reminded of the way he and Di Roy would fight for the last piece of any sweet pastry and if they didn’t keep an eye on it, how someone else might snatch it. 

“Then fight for it,” Harry said confidently.

“Huh?” 

“If you really want stuff for yourself then find a way to grab it for yourself. Fight blood, tooth and nail for it.”

Ron snorted. “I don’t think I want to lose my teeth or nails but I think I get what you mean.”

“Good,” Harry nodded as he sat down again. “Now tell me more about your family.”

“Alright but you have to tell me more about yours too. How many family members do you have exactly?”

Harry laughed. “Well...”

—

Draco was a bit, well, surprised was one way to describe it. Scared, terrified and a bit freaked were more accurate but also unbefitting of a pureblood like himself. He had originally wanted to check if the kid he’d met back at Madame Malkin’s was indeed Jaegerjaques and he had been right. What he didn’t expect was to meet another of those masked people with holes in their bodies. 

He was reminded of a book that he had read when he was a child, depicting monsters with white bone masks and holes in their bodies. A family heirloom, his father had told him when he asked about it, and he would’ve assumed that that was that. A children’s book with monsters. That would’ve been the case had he not met one of those monsters himself. 

It was stupid of him to have wandered off on his own but he had wanted to explore Diagon Alley on his own. Except he had wandered into Knockturn Alley and gone in too deep when he met the monster. Though most of it was blurry, the mask and hole were very clear to him. As young as he was, even he understood that if he hadn’t run, he wouldn’t even be going to Hogwarts right now. 

Except he almost didn’t run fast enough. 

Back in his compartment, Draco rummaged through his carry-on luggage to grab a pain-killing potion. He hated the taste but it numbed the pain his back was in. The four scars left from that encounter. 

“Are you okay Draco?” 

Draco looked at Pansy who had a concerned look on her face. He nodded before sitting beside her and laying his forehead on her shoulder. 

“Just a bit tired,” he said. 

“Wow, you must be getting old then.”

Draco glared at the speaker, Blaise who seemed very smug at creating the insult. Out of a need to be purely childish, he stuck his tongue out in response. 

"Come now Blaise, don't be mean. Draco hasn't been feeling well since the train started moving," Pansy said. 

"Oh, I know. But that doesn't mean I won't poke fun at him," Blaise said. 

Draco tried to kick Blaise but unfortunately, Blaise moved his legs a bit too fast. 

"Hmph," Pansy scoffed before smoothing Draco's hair with her hand. "Rest a bit more, we'll wake you when we get there."

Draco hummed and closed his eyes. His back wasn't flaring up like earlier so he decided to take her advice. 

As he closed his eyes, he remembered the last thing he saw before he woke up in St. Mungos after the monster attack. A nameless stranger who held a bow and arrow that made the monster disappear. Too bad he’d never learned who the stranger was. 

—

Harry was woken from his nap after eating so many sweets by the door to his compartment opening again. In walked two cubs, one who was looking very shy and nervous and the other with fluffy-looking hair. It was like seeing Nakeem with no confidence and Yylfordt if Yylfordt had shorter, curlier and darker hair. 

“Excuse me,” the fluffy cub said after giving their compartment a look of pure disgust. Harry knew it looked like an unclean den but Ma wasn’t here to chew him out on it. “Have either of you seen a toad around?” 

Harry startled Ron awake by nudging him. 

“Huh? Are we there already?” Ron asked.

The fluffy cub rolled her eyes. “In another hour or so, although I guess judging by the state of your … room, I’ll take the answer to be a no.”

“We’ll clean up before we leave,” Harry said. 

“Right,” the fluffy cub said before turning to the now sad-looking cub. “Come on Neville, I’m sure Trevor is somewhere on the train.”

The shy cub, Neville, nodded with a sad sob. “Okay.”

“Umm, good luck?” Harry said.

“Thanks,” the fluffy cub said with a smile before giving Ron another glance. “By the way, you have drool all over your mouth.”

Ron rushed to wipe the drool off his face. “Ugh.”

With the compartment door closed again, Harry looked around the room and frowned. He wasn’t looking forward to cleaning any of this up, especially not after such a nice dream too. 

Running with his pack and chasing down prey across the sands of Hueco Mundo. Actually keeping up and staying by his ma’s side as they ran. Standing up, he stretched a bit to get ready to get to work. Maybe, once he figured out a way to kill Aizen, he and his pack could go and travel across the three worlds however much they wanted. For now, he had to clean up the compartment and get through this school thing. 

Chapter Text

When Harry got off the train, his luggage left behind and Batalla set free from her cage as instructed, Edrad and Di Roy did not show themselves. Instead, he felt the opening and closing of the Garganta. Their task, complete and ready to be reported. It was fine really, he didn't want one last look at his pack members.

He followed Ron towards Hagrid who was calling for the first years. 

"Heard the ride was a bit bumpy this year," Hagrid said once they were close enough.

"Ah yeah, but it wasn't too bad," Harry said with a chuckle. 

Hagrid smiled and with all the students gathered around, he led them to a side building where inside sat many small boats. 

"Four a boat!" Hagrid shouted.

Harry got on a boat with Ron and was later joined by the fluffy cub and Neville who still looked sad.

"No toad?" Harry asked. 

Neville whimpered and looked about ready to burst into tears. Harry wasn't exactly sure what he had said wrong, but he most definitely did not know how to deal with this. Nor did he know what to do with the glare the fluffy cub threw his way. Luckily, Ron helped.

"So we didn't catch your name earlier," Ron said. "I mean, I know Neville, he and I met before Hogwarts. Oh and this is Harry, we met on the train and I'm Ron by the way."

The fluffy cub blinked before giving them a timid smile. "Hermione, a pleasure to meet you."

"Great! I hope we can all be frie–!"

The boats began moving just before Ron finished his sentence and because he had stood up in the middle of it, he almost tumbled out of the boat. Harry was quick to steady him just as Hagrid yelled out for all of them to stay seated. 

"Couldn't he have yelled that before it moved?" Ron asked once he caught his breath. 

"I would've definitely fallen into the lake if I'd been standing," Neville mumbled. 

"I'm sure we would've caught you before you fell," Harry said. 

Neville looked at Harry with surprise. "Oh, uhh thanks."

"Okay, but how are these boats moving on their own?" Hermione asked as she tried to look into the water.

"Magic," both Ron and Neville said. 

Harry was inclined to agree with them though had Szayel been here, he wouldn't be surprised if he actually tried to enter the water to look for any mechanisms. Out of curiosity, he lowered his glasses and saw sparkles of colour under the water surrounding the boats. Before the colours began to hurt, he put the glasses back on, though not without taking a look at the others in the boat. The shimmers of reiatsu were there but small and without colour. 

As the boats rounded a corner, he saw it. A grand castle that, though not as large as the entire palace of Las Noches, could be comparable to the amount of territory Barragan claimed. Despite the darkness, the castle was still very bright, lights shimmering from the windows and causing a lovely reflection on the lake.

Harry could hear the sounds of awe and amazement all around him and he too was slightly in awe. Unlike the uniformity of Las Noches, the castle looked like it would be structurally chaotic and that sounded like it would be fun to explore. There was no way he wouldn’t be exploring the castle. 

"I think I know why mom and dad never had pictures of Hogwarts castle," Ron said. 

"I'm going to be studying in a castle ," Hermione whispered excitedly. 

Harry looked across from him and saw Neville looking down. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Neville said. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

Hermione covered Neville's clenched hands with one of her own. "I'm sure we can ask a professor to help find Trevor once we're actually in the castle."

"Thank you, but that's not what I'm thinking about," Neville said.

"Is it the houses?" Ron asked. "I'm sure you'll be put in Gryffindor."

Harry remembered quickly reading about the houses when he was skimming through Hogwarts: A History . 

"Gryffindor is the house of the brave, right?" Hermione said. "That would be wonderful! Headmaster Dumbledore was from that house, as well as many other great wizards and witches."

"I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff," Neville said dejectedly. "I'm far from brave like my parents."

"Is that really so bad? Hufflepuffs were described as kind and loyal." Hermione said.

"Yeah, but it's also kind of the place for anyone who doesn't belong to the other houses," Ron explained. "You get the smart people in Ravenclaw, the brave and cool people in Gryffindor, the evil people in Slytherin and then the others in Hufflepuff."

"Which is where I'll go," Neville said. 

"As long as it's not Slytherin, you'll be fine," Ron said. 

"Would Slytherin really be all that bad?" Harry asked.

"Would it? Of course it would!" Ron said. "Slytherin is where You-Know-Who went and I bet Malfoy will go there too."

Neville shivered. 

"But isn't it a bit unfair to judge some people for the actions of one man?" Hermione asked. 

"It would be if it weren't for the fact that almost all Slytherins joined him in the last war," Ron said, crossing his arms. "They are just as bad as him and hate anyone who isn't a muggle-hating pureblood."

"Why do they hate muggles?" Hermione asked.

Ron shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever the reason, it's probably dumb."

Harry wondered if it was that simple. Hating someone that was. There were a lot of people both he and his ma hated, Aizen and Nnoitra being the two best examples, but they had good reasons. So he couldn't help but wonder if someone could hate without reason. Then again, Voldemort killed the two who created him so it stood to reason that he should hate the guy right?

"So only those from the Slytherin house joined You-Know-Who," Hermione said.

"Yup, because they are evil and slimy just like Malfoy," Ron affirmed.

"I don't think Malfoy is evil," Harry said, a bit amused by Ron's gasp. "Mean yes, but not evil. I've seen evil and Malfoy is nowhere close."

"Oh right, you live in a place with man-eating monsters," Ron said.

"What?" Hermione shouted. "What country has man-eating monsters?" 

"There's a place on earth with man-eating monsters?" Neville squeaked.

"Ah, well…" 

Harry was cut off by the boats stopping and Hagrid shouting at them to carefully get off. Following instructions, he got off the boat and helped the other three. He did not miss Hermione's probing glare which he shrugged off. Talking about Hueco Mundo would take more time than they have. 

They all followed Hagrid into the castle. The inside of the castle matched the chaotic exterior. There were many halls and many stairs and they were much more crowded compared to Las Noches which was rather empty. He liked it; there were a lot of nooks and crannies he could hide in if need be and probably a lot of hidden passages for him to escape through if danger ever got near. 

As they walked, he felt the sides of his face get warmer as he admired the moving pictures. 

"Hey Harry, your glasses are smoking," Ron whispered. 

Harry paused and took off his glasses. The sparkles of multi-coloured light were painful, causing him to squint, but he was able to make out the smoke. 

"Huh," Harry said as his glasses suddenly sparked and started a small fire, causing him to throw his glasses up. 

" Accio, glasses, "Harry heard, as his glasses flew up and forward. Looking ahead, even through the bright colours, Harry was able to see the telltale emerald green of Professor McGonagall's reiatsu. 

" Aguamenti ," Professor McGonagall said before shaking the glasses off with a drying spell then a repairing spell. With a sigh, she walked towards the owner of said glasses, the other students parting ways for her. "I suppose this shall be a good warning for all of you students. Muggle items will not work in Hogwarts and unexpected things could happen if you try to bring them in."

"Sorry," Harry said. 

Hagrid looked between Professor McGonagall and Harry before deciding that he should just finish his job for the night. He still had to feed Fang after all. "Well, I'll hand them off to you Professor."

"Thank you Hagrid," McGonagall said, giving him a nod.

McGonagall returned the glasses to Harry before returning to the front of the group. "Now come along."

Harry tried his glasses on again. At least the screen still worked, much to his relief. Though he wasn't too sure what had broken, as long as it didn’t send his ma running his way, it should be fine. 

—

In Las Noches…

"Damn it!" Szayelapporo shouted, slamming his fist onto his table. He winced when he realized how much that actually hurt. Most of the functionalities he’d put in Harry’s glasses had suddenly broken, fizzled out and burned to a crisp, and he had no idea why. The only things left were the auto-translator, the protective lenses and the “danger alert” for if the glasses were completely destroyed. All things that were useful for Harry but not useful for gathering data. He had lost so much equipment. Camera, speaker, and reiatsu reader, to name a few, and they were all so expensive and difficult to produce. Not to mention he only had Aizen-sama to rely on to get any good machinery from Soul Society which means quite some time to place the request than actually receiving the parts. 

Szayelapporo began pacing. Something had destroyed his creations, and he had no idea what. They should have been indestructible based on his logical calculations, but then again, from his brief visit to the Diagon Alley place, perhaps logic didn’t necessarily apply here. Magic was strange and it pissed him off to no end that he couldn’t do anything about it now. Not until Harry returned to Las Noches in order to get a hold of the glasses. He also didn’t dare tell Grimmjow that the tracker was broken because he’s pretty sure the Séptima would go haywire and probably wreak havoc upon his lab. 

If Grimmjow ever showed up asking if he knew Harry’s exact location, he’d lie and hope he wouldn’t get his head blasted off. Interestingly enough, the tracker had started to act strange ever since Grimmjow and some of his Fracciónes returned. Either way, he needed to plan his inventions better to circumvent the magic.

Looking at the small amount of data he’d gathered in regard to magic from Diagon Alley, he began to work on designing better technology. He had a lot of work to do after all. 

—

Professor McGonagall led them through a few more halls before stopping in front of two large doors. As soon as she stopped, a croak was heard throughout the hall. 

Neville brightened up and shouted, "Trevor!" He ran towards the source of the sound, a large toad that he quickly picked up. He glanced up, apologizing at the stare Professor McGonagall was giving him before returning to stand behind Harry. 

"Huh, so it didn't die," Hermione mumbled and the three of them all stared at her. "What? It's a toad. There are lots of predators for toads. If we hadn’t found him, he'd most likely be dead or forever lost." 

Neville whimpered and held onto Trevor just a bit tighter. 

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, gathering all of their attention. Then, she let them know of the houses they'd be sorted into, how she hoped those in their house would become like a family and a home away from home. Finally, she told them to wait until she called for them, before disappearing through the doors.  

After that, murmurs broke out, mostly in regard to how the houses are decided upon and which house they may go to. 

"How do you think they decide on the houses?" A cub up front asked. 

"Maybe we have to do some kind of test," another cub suggested. 

"My brothers said that we get sorted by fighting a troll," Ron shouted. 

"A troll? But we barely know any magic," said a cub to Harry’s right. 

"Your brothers were clearly trying to trick you, Ron," Hermione said. "There's no way the school could get us to fight anything when we know nothing. We're only in our first year." 

"What even is a troll?" Harry asked Neville, but he was shaking like a leaf. 

The doors opened once more and Professor McGonagall stepped out. 

"We're ready for you," she said before leading them through. 

The room they entered reminded Harry of the throne room in Las Noches. It was huge and highly spacious but unlike the barren throne room, this room was filled with four tables and many decorations. Candles and draperies. All things he’d read about in books at home.

"I read in Hogwarts: A History that the ceiling is bewitched to look like the night sky," Harry heard Hermione say behind him which caused him to look up. It was hard to believe there even was a ceiling.

All around them sitting at the tables were people, many many people each adorned with different coloured robes that matched the banners above each table. At the very end of the room was a long table that Harry could only presume held the staff of the school. 

Professor McGonagall proceeded to walk up a few small steps while they stopped in front of the steps. She stopped beside a stool that sat a ragged and old-looking hat. After a moment of silence, the hat seemed to move, mouth and eye sockets forming on the front before it started singing. 

Harry winced. He was glad he didn't have as good a hearing as his ma because the singing was just bad. It was rather hard to focus on the words but from what he could glean, the hat seemed to sing about the four houses and their traits and values. So nothing he hadn’t heard. 

When the song was over, many people applauded before it died down and Professor McGonagall brought up a roll of paper. 

"Once I say your name, please come up here and take a seat. I will place the hat on you and you shall be sorted into your house, where you shall then take a seat with your fellow housemates." Professor McGonagall said. "Abbot, Hannah!"

Harry watched as a very nervous cub with long hair up to the hips walked forward. Once the hat had been placed on her head, it took a moment before the hat shouted, 

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table adorned with yellow erupted into applause as the cub joined them. 

The sorting was clearly simple though Harry couldn't help but wonder what was happening with the hat that made it decide on which house someone got into. There was one thing he was worried about and that was which name Professor McGonagall would call out. She had shown him the papers, but that didn’t mean she wouldn't call out the name that he could barely feel a relation to at all. 

After Hermione had gone—Gryffindor, the hat decided—Harry knew his turn was getting closer. 

"Jaegerjaques, Harry!" 

Harry jumped once he heard his name and he'd admit, he did stumble a bit when he walked forward. Looking up, he saw that Professor McGonagall had a very clear look of amusement on her face. 

As soon as the hat was placed on his head he heard it speak. 

"Hmm, interesting. How very interesting."

Are you looking into my head? Harry thought.

"Why yes I am, thank you for asking," The hat said. "I am also speaking directly to your mind."

Creepy," Harry thought. 

"Well, you're not the first to call me that," the hat said. 

There is someone I know who would love to get his hands on you. Actually, probably multiple someones, Harry thought as flashes of Szayel, Aaroniero and Aizen showed up in his head. 

"Sorry, but I would like it if you don't hand me to mad, soul-eating creatures," the hat said. "Now hush and let me do my job."

Harry had absolutely nothing to say to that. He didn’t remember thinking about hollows directly either.

"Hmm, indeed, you are interesting. A child raised by ghosts in the world of suffering souls," The hat said. "I see. So you desire strength not for yourself but for the freedom of your family."

"Though brave, you have been taught to use your brain before acting. Not that you always act like it."

Harry shuffled on the stool uncomfortably. It felt like the hat was revealing his deepest secrets and he didn’t know how to feel about it.

"But in the end, what you want the most is your family or pack. However, you like to put it."

"Can you hurry it up?" Harry thought. 

"Shh, I must think," The hat said. "As tempting as it is to place you in Slytherin, oh you most definitely would thrive there. But no, what you need is something more calming. A safe place to take comfort in and to understand the benefits of living humans without looking down at them. Indeed, the house you belong to is…"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry sighed in relief as the table adorned with yellow applauded. The hat had really taken a bit too long to decide for his liking. Besides, he’d have to disagree. He didn’t look down on humans from the World of the Living. He just thought they were a bit weak compared to what he had to deal with on the regular, special magic abilities or not. 

He took a seat close to another first-year he saw sitting down. 

"Susan Bones, nice to meet you," the first-year student greeted as soon as he took his seat.

"Harry Jaegerjaques, nice to meet you too," Harry said. 

"A-and I'm Hannah Abbott," the blonde-streaked first-year across from them said. 

Harry grinned. Before anyone else could get a word in, the sorting resumed. 

Neville had been placed in Gryffindor. Malfoy, which Harry had realized was actually the cub's family name, was placed in Slytherin. Finally, it was Ron's turn and he looked like death had just come for him and all he cared for. A rather intense reaction in Harry's opinion for waiting to be placed in a group of people.

Of course, it didn't take long for Ron to actually get sorted. Gryffindor it was, and two red-heads who looked very similar began cheering enthusiastically. Ron looked immediately relieved as he sat with Hermione and Neville, and Harry couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. A gesture with a generally good meaning, he was told by Nakeem who always preferred gestures over speaking. Ron returned it with his own thumbs up. 

After Professor McGonagall removed the stool and hat and Headmaster Dumbledore gave his warnings about avoiding the Forbidden Forest and third-floor corridor and the feast began, mixed in with greetings and catching up, there were whispers. 

"Wasn't he supposed to start this year?"

"Maybe he's on an adventure."

"Do you think he 's just late?"

"Lucky him to start school later than everyone else."

"Or maybe he just won't be coming, after all, he's already powerful."

"What is everyone talking about?" Harry asked, mostly to whomever heard him, as he grabbed a chicken leg.

"Apparently some powerful young wizard," Susan said nonchalantly after swallowing some soft-looking pastry. 

"Not just any powerful young wizard," a very excited cub said. "But the Harry Potter, vanquisher of the You-Know-Who and a hero to all of wizard-kind."

Susan rolled her eyes. "Oh please, he was a baby when it happened."

"That's what makes him so powerful. His power was so great that whatever You-Know-Who did, must've hit him back," the excited cub said before getting elbowed on the side by the cub beside him. "Oh, right, sorry. I'm Ernest Macmillan, but call me Ernie."

"I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley," said the cub who had elbowed Ernest, before looking at Harry. "Harry, right? You were on the stool for a while you know?"

"Explains why it felt so long," Harry said.

"You have the same name as Harry Potter, you know?" Ernest asked. "Were your parents such huge fans of him that they changed your name?"

Susan wiped her hands with a nearby napkin before burying her head in them with a loud groan. 

"We're supposed to be the same age, it wouldn't make sense," she said while Hannah gave her some head pats from across the table.

"Ah well, I didn't even know I had magic until I got my letter," Harry said. 

"Oh, you're like me then," Justin said. "My mom still isn't that convinced about me being a wizard thing."

"Ah, mine too. He's probably pacing right now," Harry said before mumbling. "Or blowing something up."

"Your mom blows things up?" Hannah asked with a worried tone.

"Yeah, but he fixes it when he's told to," Harry replied.

—

Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo, explosions could be heard all over Las Noches. Szayel could be seen running from the latest cloud of smoke.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST TRACK OF HIM?" Grimmjow yelled, trailing close behind Szayel. 

"IF YOU STOP BLASTING ME WITH CERO, MAYBE I COULD TELL YOU," Szayel shouted back. 

In the skies, standing on air and watching the wreckage occur, a group of arrancar watched. A few of them were munching on snacks that Aaroniero had brought. 

"So is no one going to stop him?" Aaroniero asked, their mask off, leaving their tank exposed. 

"No way," Yylfordt said, grabbing a handful of popcorn. "Besides, this is great. Maybe Szayel will finally die." 

"I've said this before but you and Szayel are horrible siblings," Aaroniero said.

"We're an accurate representation and you know it," Yylfordt said smugly. 

Both of Aaroniero's mask heads rolled as best as they could, indicating an eye-roll. 

"I'm sure Nelliel or Ulquiorra will stop him eventually," Shawlong said, before glancing at Edrad and Di Roy. "I'm surprised the two of you didn't follow Harry all the way."

"It's not that we didn't but more so we couldn't," Edrad said. 

"Yeah, something was like, blocking us, so we just came back," Di Roy added. 

"Do you two think this ‘something’ would be able to block Grimmjow?" Shawlong asked.

"Nope," Di Roy and Edrad said. 

"Pretty sure he'd just crash in and break open that something," Edrad said.

"Would it be surprising if he did break it?" Aaroniero asked. 

"No, it would be as expected of our king," Shawlong said. 

"Yeah, thought so," Aaroniero said. "I do hope for that school's sake that there’s no reason for Grimmjow to ever break in."

"Wouldn't that depend on how likely Harry is to get into trouble?" Di Roy asked. 

There was a silence amongst the spectators, making the explosions sound even louder.

"Yes, yes it would," Shawlong replied. "So let's just hope he doesn't get himself into any sort of trouble."

—

The food was greasier and not as salty as what Harry was used to. Not that it was bad, in fact, it was all quite delicious. Just a tad too heavy. But all that meant was that he had a lot of time to just talk. He did learn a lot about the famous “Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived and vanquisher of evil wizards.” All Ernest’s words, not his. Of course, most of the stories were bullshit to his understanding, considering the technicalities, or as Susan put it, hogwash.

Then, in the middle of the feast, there was screaming. Looking around, Harry saw the cause, transparent figures floating in from all corners of the hall. 

"Ah, the screams of a first year, always mean something good will happen this year," said someone with short, dark red hair from behind Justin, who flinched. "Hello little firsties, I'm Antonio Bernardo, a sixth-year and a prefect. Now, did you enjoy the appearance of the Hogwarts ghosts?"

"These people are ghosts!?" Hannah shouted, shakily. 

“ So these are actual ghosts and not just images made by magic like the portraits?” Asked a soft-spoken first year with a bob cut who had introduced himself as Oliver Rivers.

"That's right. Souls of witches and wizards who couldn't pass on after they died, stuck here for eternity," Antonio said, wiggling his fingers. "And they love to feast on the screams of children. Especially itty bitty firsties like yourselves."

"Mother and Father did not say anything about them when I asked about Hogwarts," Ernest said, looking a bit nervous.

"They feast on screams? Not each other?" Harry asked.

Antonio blinked a bit before grinning. "Maybe they do. After all, a ghost in the third-floor girl's bathroom is said to enjoy a great feast on healthy young m– ouch!"

Antonio jumped and rubbed his rear, glaring behind him to look at a scowling girl with a side ponytail. 

"Really ‘Tonio, every year you do this. Trying to scare students with the Hogwarts ghosts," she said. 

Antonio shrugged, "someone has to warn them of the dangers in Hogwarts. What kind-hearted soul would I be if I did not prepare them for the worst."

"Ugh, honestly," the girl said as she looked over the group of first-years. "Sorry about him, I'm Maxine O'Flaherty, a fifth-year and a prefect as well."

"Anyways," Maxine said with a clap of her hands. "The Hogwarts ghosts are mostly safe. They can't really touch us so don't worry about them too much and the Hufflepuff ghost, the Fat Friar over there, is the sweetest of them all." 

She points to a ghost floating above the head of their table. 

"But Peeves can and he will play tricks and pranks on you to screw your school life over," Antonio added from the side.

Maxine pushed Antonio's head away. "Peeves is a poltergeist, but just call for Slytherin's ghost, the Bloody Baron, if he bothers you. Other than that, Hogwarts is relatively safe."

"Relatively?" Justin asked with raised eyebrows.

"There's always a few students who get into life-threatening danger but it doesn't really affect the student body most of the time. Just don't become one of them," Maxine said. "You're also all in Hufflepuff so I hope you all are a lot less adventurous than Gryffindors."

"True, we don't need a repeat of 1990," Antonio said which caused Maxine to sigh.

"What happened in 1990?" Hannah asked nervously. 

"Don't worry too much about it," Maxine said. 

Of course, that did not deter the curious first-years who tried to pester Maxine. Not that they were able to pester her for long because the sound of a spoon hitting glass was heard from the staff table, calling the attention of all the students. The school song was sung with a variety of different tunes. 

Harry wasn't that well-versed in music. It just wasn't as important a thing in Hueco Mundo, but sometimes, the pack would have random wordless tunes in their head and they never had issues sharing them with him. Although that became less frequent when they entered Las Noches. But there was one song that he could repeat the tune of. A wordless humming of someone who had long become part of the sands of Hueco Mundo. 

The music ended with two red-heads singing a slow and solemn song that ended long after everyone else. Harry once again felt lucky his hearing wasn't too sensitive. 

With that over, the prefects were instructed to lead the first years to the dorms. 

The Hufflepuffs were led by Gabriel Truman while Maxine took the back. Before leaving the hall, Harry was able to wave goodbye to Ron, Hermione and Neville. 

Gabriel was very cheery as he explained the path to the Hufflepuff dormitory. It was as if he had boundless energy. By the time they got there, and had tapped a barrel in a certain rhythm, Harry was exhausted and clearly, so were the other first years. He quickly learned that he'd be sharing his room with the other boys. Six of them in total. Wayne Hopkins and Roger Malone being the other two written on the list. 

It had been a long day and even though he knew he should send a report to Las Noches, he was just too tired. Besides, he had no idea where Batalla was, so he could just do it tomorrow, right?

Picking a random bed, he removed his robe and fell onto it. The bed was soft, cushiony and very yellow. It was also very different from being surrounded by stiff bodies while sleeping. But for now, it was what he had, as sleep quickly took him.

—

“Pay up,” Minerva said with a smirk. There was a lot of groaning amongst the professor’s table as money was passed toward Minerva.

“You had an unfair advantage,” Filius complained. 

“Very Slytherin of you as well,” Severus said as he drank another spoonful of soup. Grateful that he decided not to participate in the bet on where Harry –would’ve been Potter but got adopted by a random muggle- Jaegerjaques would go for his Hogwarts house. 

“Well, I have my moments,” Minerva said, counting the money. Taking half of it, she gave the rest to Pomona who pocketed it. “Besides, I didn’t hide any information about him. In fact, I told everyone the same information that I knew, it wasn’t my fault that most of you did not believe me.”

“Yes, well, most of the Potter family did end up in Gryffindor so it was almost expected that he would be the same,” Filius said.

“Perhaps, but I did say that he isn’t exactly a Potter. After all, he wasn’t exactly able to grow up with them…” Minerva said, a slight ache in her heart as she remembered the trouble James and his group of boys had gotten themselves into, as well as Lily’s fascination with the composition of spells and potions. 

Chapter Text

Harry found that it was easy to get out of bed. No random torso, arm or leg getting in the way. So he headed out of the dorm. Before he exited, he noticed that in front of the bed he slept on was his luggage. He didn't know when it showed up but it was interesting that it did. First, though, he had to find Batalla.

Entering the Common Room, he was able to spot Antonio who was also awake and watering the plants. 

"Good morning Harry," Antonio said once he spotted Harry. 

"Good morning, you remembered my name," Harry said.

Antonio laughed. "Well how wouldn't I, I'm a prefect and I pay attention to all the students that get sorted into my House at least."

"Not everyone remembers names well," Harry said.

"That is true," Antonio nods. "Now what brings you up this early in the morning?" 

"I'd like to figure out where my owl went," Harry replied.

"Oh well, that'll be in the Owlery. I can bring you there once I'm done alright?" Antonio said.

"Alright," Harry said. He spent some time exploring the Common Room a bit better compared to last night when he was nearly falling asleep by the time they got in. 
The Common Room was filled with plants, a sunroof above all of them directly shining the sun down into the room. The room itself was also heavy on the yellow and wooden design giving off a naturalistic feel. 

Once Antonio was finished, he wasted no time in dragging Harry out of the Common Room towards the Owlery. There were a few students as they walked but not many given how early it still was. It was still a long walk to the Owlery though and Harry decided that he'll resort to his version of Sonido to travel next time. 

Once inside, the smell of feathery beasts and bird poop was strong. Even so, Harry raised his arm and let a bit of reiatsu gather in his hand. Batalla swooped down, grabbing the ball of reiatsu with her beak and flying a circle around Harry before landing on his outstretched arm. 

"Delectable as always," she said as she swallowed the reiryoku. 

"Glad to hear," Harry said with a smile. "Now could you head to the pack and tell them, especially ma that I'm fine? Oh and deliver this to Aizen."

Harry brought out an envelope that Battala gripped with her claw. She nodded and nipped his hair for a moment before flying off. 

With his task done, he looked back to Antonio who was staring at him in shock. 

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

Antonio shook his head before pointing to where Battala had been.

"That was your owl!?" Antonio shouted. His hands flew to the sides of his head. 

"Yes?"

"Why was your owl wearing a mask? Why is there a hole going through your owl? No wait, that's not even the important part. Why can your owl talk?" 

Antonio's questions came in rapid succession, rendering Harry a hard time answering. He waited for a moment before answering.

"It's a family thing. She's special. Does your owl not talk?" Harry said, all with a smile on his face. "If everyone can see ghosts in Hogwarts, why can't there be a talking owl?"

"Ghosts and talking owls are two different things," Antonio said, pointing his finger at Harry. "And I know everything about ghosts."

"Have you ever seen a ghost outside of Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"No but a lot of people have based off of paranormal investigators so I'm sure they exist outside!" 

That answer told Harry many things. It wasn't that Antonio or any other witches and wizards were particularly spiritually aware but that Hogwarts was just special. Diagon Alley was high in magic but it wasn't dense in reishi like Hogwarts was. There was also just so much reishi in the air of Hogwarts that he could almost taste it and that helped explain why everyone was able to see the ghosts here unlike in Diagon Alley where Shawlong and Szayel apparently appeared blurry. It also explained why Battala hadn't devoured all the owls in the Owlery. Not that she would've gotten hungry between this feeding and the last but it was still good to keep an eye on her. 

"But you didn't see them, other people did," Harry said.

"Not yet, but when I graduate Hogwarts, I'm going to explore the world and find all manners of ghosts and supernatural beings and research them to a greater extent than even the great Newt Scamander's research on magical beasts in general," Antonio declared.

"That sounds fun," Harry said. Because it really did. Exploring the World of the Living seems like an interesting experience. 

"Glad you think so but that doesn't explain why your owl can talk."

"Because she's a ghost."

"What?"

"Batalla is a ghost owl, she's been dead for a month."

Antonio seemed confused as if he couldn't comprehend what Harry just said. But Harry felt his stomach grumbling so he walked towards the exit.

"I'm going to go first then, getting a bit hungry," Harry said as he walked past the still-shocked Antonio. "Thanks for showing me the way here."

Harry jumped down the stairs of the Owlery a few steps at a time. When he got to the bottom of the tower, he looked around to make sure no one was watching and tried to set off in his version of Sonido. He jumped forward and instead of appearing many steps in front of him, he found himself falling onto his front. 

"What? Does my Sonido not work here?" Harry asked himself. He tried a second time before realizing with a frown that he needed to walk to the Great Hall instead. 

------

Upon arriving in the Great Hall, there were a decent number of students sitting at the tables. Harry also spotted two familiar faces at the Gryffindor table.

"Neville, Hermione!" Harry said, running up to where the two sat. He took a seat beside Neville, back against the table. "How was your evening?" 

"Oh, you should have seen it!" Hermione launched. "Gryffindor Tower was so red and warm and there were so many stairs to get up there. We also had a fireplace and the dorm was just so cozy."

"How were the Hufflepuff dorms?" Neville asked. 

"Very yellow with a lot of plants," Harry said.

"Plants? What kind? How many? Were they magical or normal?" Neville asked in quick succession.

"I can ask the prefects?" Harry answered after a pause, not knowing the answer because he didn't actually take a close look at them.

"I should've gone to Hufflepuff," Neville said with a sigh. 

"The hat put you in Gryffindor for a good reason I'm sure," Hermione said, patting Neville's back.

“But an indoor garden,” Neville whined.

“How about setting one up in your room?” Hermione suggested which got Neville thinking.

"By the way, I don't see Ron anywhere," Harry said.

"He's still sleeping," Neville said. "I tried to wake him but he kept sleeping."

"Oh dear, he's going to miss the first day of classes," Hermione said. "We should go wake him up."

"Do we actually have lessons today?" Harry asked.

Before anyone could answer, the doors of the Great Hall opened wide and loud. 

"HARRY JAEGERJAQUES."

Harry looked to the doors to see a fuming Antonio racing towards him.

"Did you get into trouble on the first day already?" Hermione asked. "How can you risk getting expelled already!"

"Whoops?" Harry said, getting up and ready to bolt.

"How dare you just run out like that!" Antonio shouted. 

Harry took a step back as Antonio tried to grab Harry. Antonio pouted as he looked at his empty hands.

"I'm dragging you to the Hufflepuff table and you are going to tell me all about your ghost owl," Antonio stated before making another grab at Harry. This time Harry didn't move given he now knows Antonio's intention.

"Ghost owl?" Both Neville and Hermione asked.

Harry could only give them a shrug as he got dragged away.

"I can't believe you tried to sit with Gryffindors either on the first day," Antonio said as he placed Harry onto a seat. "I know they may be your friends you met on the train but show some House loyalty, then you can sit wherever you like, floor included."

"Okay?" Harry said with confusion while Antonio took a seat beside him. 

As plates appeared before them, Antonio gave Harry a beaming smile.

"Now tell me all about your ghost owl."

------

Harry realized that by the time breakfast was over and the schedules were starting to be handed out, he had explained as much as he can about Batalla, hollows (in as vague a sense as he can) and how strange it was that everyone was able to see the ghosts of Hogwarts. Others had also trickled in as he talked and there were a lot of questions. Many of which, he didn't know how to answer but he tried his best to give a good guess. Antonio of course asked the most questions and was even taking notes. He thinks that if Szayel ever wants a good assistant, he'd introduce Antonio if it weren't for the fact that Antonio would probably need to die first as well as hope he won’t get experimented on.

Actually, it was a bad idea overall. Szayel doesn't need assistance and can suffer doing things on his own.

With the schedule obtained, Harry followed the other students to grab the items needed for class before walking with the other first years. They still had more questions about his knowledge of ghosts and he honestly doesn't know where they were getting the questions from. Were ghosts really that interesting?

Either way, it was the first day of classes and Harry felt rather excited to explore the new information. It'll also be easier to not have to slowly translate the words himself and let the auto-translate do it for him because he'll be able to hear the lectures. 

It was going to be quite a busy day let alone a week and he was honestly rather ready to learn.

------

Classes themselves were mostly exciting though currently heavy on the theoretical which was fine although he could do without listening to Professor Binns talk about history. Something he'd much rather read on his own time than listen to a Plus speaks blandly. He had dealt with lessons from Szayel who did a surprisingly good job of sharing information though he went on tangents most of the time and would sometimes speak much too quickly. Professor Binns, however, just spoke too slowly and with too much information. All of which he is sure he could read up on his own.

Transfigurations were fascinating. Witnessing Professor McGonagall transform from a cat (he had a feeling his ma would appreciate that) to a human was amazing. Although she did warn that such a skill is very high levelled and they would be starting with much smaller non-living things first. She did a few demonstrations by transforming other objects into living beings and vice-versa before having them start on their readings. 

Charms did begin with theoretical but they began practicing common wand movements to get them started on the precision. Professor Flitwick though had to pull him aside to figure out how he could wave his zanpakuto-wand during the class without harming anyone. Interestingly enough, Professor Flitwick called this a fun puzzle to tackle. Although Harry was a bit more focused on how he could mess with the residents of Las Noches. Though he had to first figure out how to actually use his zanpakuto-wand safely. Maybe he could treat it like he was practicing his Kata.

Defence Against the Dark Arts, or DADA as everyone else called it was uncomfortable. Not just because Professor Quirrell spoke like a shaking mess and the room itself was rather crowded but the reiatsu that the Professor was releasing felt suffocating. Not the same way that Aizen does, but Harry kept feeling as if something or someone was trying to get him and his mind was hazy during that class. Luckily the other Hufflepuffs helped by handing him their notes and keeping an eye on him. 

Astronomy was exhausting given that he had to stay up late at night to look at the stars. They're pretty to look at but he doesn't understand their usefulness in their day-to-day lives. In addition, there were no stars in Hueco Mundo so he didn't understand the necessity.

The reishi in the greenhouses for Herbology was somehow even denser than the rest of Hogwarts for some reason. He would guess is due to not just the building but the plants as well but he wouldn't actually know. At least he could still focus.

Finally, there were Potions. Professor Snape glared at him as if he killed the man's most beloved person. A feat which he was sure he couldn't do to anyone yet. Intelligent people are much more difficult to fight than feral hollows after all. Then, questions that seemed to belong to the end of the textbook were asked which the Ravenclaw students all seemed eager to answer even though he hadn't gotten even that far into the book himself. But hey, one out of three wasn't too bad, right?

By the end of the week, Harry believed he had gotten a good enough handle on his classes and professors. Except for DADA. He still can't handle DADA. What made it worse was that what Professor Quirrell talked about wasn't fully in the textbook he had them use and he also went on tangents. When Harry told his Gryffindor friends about his plight, Hermione asked if he wanted her notes as well. Harry told her he was fine for now. He had the Hufflepuff notes after all.

Which led to Hermione wanting to see the Hufflepuff notes that resulted in her looking over all of Ernest's notes because apparently, he had the best ones to figure out what she missed and what information is different between the classes they don't share. Classes just started and somehow Hermione already had parchments of notes. Not that Ernest was any better. He just had fewer parchments. 

Friday morning came quickly bringing in some interesting news and a letter. 

"A love letter already?" Antonio asked as he petted Batalla who was thriving under the attention. 

"No, just an invitation to visit from Hagrid," Harry said. Amused by how Batalla ordered Antonio around to scratch at her favourite places. There were a few older students who seemed disturbed by her but most of the first years in his house seemed rather relaxed once he told them that she wasn't going to bite anyone without warrant. Munching on their reiatsu though was a different matter. It was also interesting to see how different a Plus was from hollows given that the ghosts of Hogwarts can just phase through the wall and furniture easily while it took more effort from Batalla. 

"Ohh, the gamekeeper," Antonio said. "Nice guy, a bit intimidating looking but a nice guy."

Harry hummed before a gasp from Ernest grabbed his attention.

"They actually wrote it," Ernest said.

"Wrote what?" Hannah asked.

Ernest turned the paper for the rest of them to see and Harry had to choke down a laugh.

On the front page of the paper called the Daily Prophet, in huge letters stated Harry Potter Not In Hogwarts? The Boy-Who-Lived Is Missing?

"I was right," Ernest said. "Harry Potter was supposed to be in our year."

"Who wrote the article?" Susan asked.

"Rita Skeeter," Ernest said.

Susan made a face of disgust before giving a nod. 

"It says here that 'after some intense investigations and interviews', she had found that the rumoured Boy-Who-Lived did not attend Hogwarts as was expected from the Wizarding World. Then asked if Headmaster Dumbledore was hiding him somewhere." Ernest read.

"Can the Headmaster do that?" Hannah asked.

"Would it be surprising if he did though?" Ernest said. "Makes sense I think. After all, a lot of bad people would be after him."

Harry took a sip of juice. 

"And maybe the Headmaster is also secretly training him to defeat even more dark wizards," Ernest whispered.

Harry choked on his juice. "Sorry, went down the wrong pipe." 

Harry felt a hand and a wing patting his back. One of which clearly belonged to Batalla.

"It will be a truly pathetic way to die if you choked on juice," Batalla said, causing Harry to glare at her. 

"Your owl is terrifying as always," Justin said. 

"Anyways," Susan said. "I'm sure the news is pure hogwash." 

Ernest gasped. "What do you mean?"

"There is no way Headmaster Dumbledore would go out of his way to train a single child outside of school when it would be much easier for him to be in school," Susan said. 

"That may be true but it would also be easier to hide him outside of school," Ernest countered.

"What if he's already in school?" Hannah suggested.

Harry took a bite from a cookie that Batalla brought back from Las Noches. Apparently, his ma had been 'stress baking' was what the letter from Shawlong that came with the cookies said.

Ernest and Susan both looked at Hannah who tried to sink into her seat.

"I mean, what if he already got sorted and is just hiding among the students but in like a disguise?" Hannah said.

"But who and most importantly what house?" Ernest asked.

"Slytherin?" Hannah suggested. 

Harry ate another cookie and offered one to Justin who was just enjoying his breakfast. He got a good reception based on the happy gasp from Justin after watching the cub take a bite. 

"Impossible," Ernest said. "Most of the Slytherin are pure-bloods this year since I know most of them."

"The important thing here is 'most'," Susan said. "There could be a muggleborn or halfblood student in that house and you wouldn't even know it." 

"Okay, aside from that though," Ernest said, glaring at Susan. "I highly doubt the Harry Potter would be put in Slytherin even if he was in disguise. Gryffindor would be more likely."

Susan huffed. "But that would make it too obvious for his supposed enemies."

As Susan and Ernest argued, Harry felt a poke to his side.

"Where did you get these?" Justin asked, raising the half-eaten cookie.

"My ma baked these," Harry said. "I think he's just very worried about me."

"Can you ask for more? These are good," Justin said as he grabbed another cookie.

"Sure," Harry said. "Batalla!"

Batalla squawked and flew over from Antonio to land on Harry's arm. 

"What?" She asked, her bony feathers all puffed up. 

"Can you ask ma for more of these?" Harry requested. 

Batalla huffed. "What am I? Your errand bird?" 

Despite her complaint, she still flew off much to Antonio's dejection. 

"You know you shouldn't hang around her too long right?" Harry asked Antonio.

"Huh why?" Antonio asked.

"She could eat at your soul," Harry replied before turning back to his own meal. He wasn't sure how it affected Antonio's magic but he was pretty sure he saw Batalla taking small bites off of Antonio's reiatsu. He supposes that may be why there hadn't been any news of dead or dying owls in the Owlery. She's been stuffing herself with both his and Antonio's reiryoku.

"Have I mentioned that your owl's terrifying?" Justin asked.

"As she should be," Harry said as he ate another cookie

Chapter 14.5: Not a Holiday Special

A few years before Harry started his first year in Hogwarts.

"Ah, it's so nice to be back in the sanctity of this wasteland," Gin said with a stretch.

Sousuke chuckled. "Are you judging me by my choice of where I put my palace?" 

"Haha, of course not Aizen-sama, after all, I quite love this wasteland," Gin said. 

"If you love it so much, perhaps you should stop insulting it," Kaname said with annoyance.

"But how else am I supposed to enjoy this bland and boring place without insulting it?" Gin made a pouty face. "While I'm glad we get the same rotation for time off since it's a week before the holiday seasons in the World of the Living, why do we have to spend it in Hueco Mundo?"

"If you hate it all that much, maybe you should just go back to your leftover paperwork instead of leaving it to your lieutenant," Kaname said.

"Oh, I'm sure Izuru can handle it," Gin said with a jingle to his tone.

"How are you a captain -"

"Gin, Kaname," Sosuke said, interrupting the two. "Remember, we came here to relax and -"

An explosion occurred not too far from the trio, causing all of them to look at the crumbling wall. 

"Yammy you asshole!"

Shouted the tell-tale voice of by now, a very familiar blue-haired menace of an Espada. In the very rubble on the far side of the hole was the victim of the attack, a large and very much, now unconscious Diez Espada.

"How many times do I have to shoot a cero at you before you learn that neither Harry nor the Picaro are snacks for you to eat!" Grimmjow shouted as he stepped through the hole he made. Not surprising was the small child that was being carried in the arrancar's arm.

Sosuke added a mental note that it had been the fifty-eighth time of Grimmjow not using a door since creating the arrancar. It made him honestly wonder if he should even bother getting the walls repaired for places that the Séptima frequents. Although in this case, the arrancar did just create a hole not for travel but for a different reason. Still, a hole in the wall is very much an unneeded accessory to the main palace of Las Noches.

Another cero was charging up in Grimmjow's free hand one that, if fired close enough, would prove fatal for Yammy given his unconscious state. Sousuke decided that he had no desire to witness a death so close to the holidays, especially with a member of his slow-growing army so he cleared his throat to catch Grimmjow's attention.

Grimmjow looked towards them with angry eyes that quickly turned into shock before settling on annoyance. The cero dissipated and he tsk'd as if disappointed in losing a kill. 

"Aizen...sama," Grimmjow said with a frown and clear reluctance. 

"It seems something quite exciting was happening here," Sousuke said. 

Grimmjow's frown only seemed to deepen. 

"Something that seemed to once again, apparently warrant the destruction of the palace?"

"It's Yammy's fault for trying to eat me!" Harry shouted from his seat in Grimmjow's arms. 

Sousuke found the flinch and panicked look Grimmjow donned as he tried to shoosh Harry to be amusing. In fact, all of Grimmjow's parenting attempts were amusing. It was like watching the plays that he would sometimes catch for free in Rukongai. 

Walking so he was close to the two with a smile, he raised his hand, not missing the way Grimmjow's stance changed to one made for fleeing. Grimmjow may not be the smartest arrancar in his arsenal, but he was still clever. Instead of doing anything that was probably going on in Grimmjow's imagination, he merely patted Harry's messy hair. 

"Is that so?" Sousuke said. "Even so, I believe some restraint should still be shown when a superior wishes to instruct his subordinate."

"But Yammy keeps trying to! He deserves to be blasted!" Harry said before Grimmjow even tried to get a word in. 

"Hmm, I suppose he deserves some reprimanding however, not to the point where your home is destroyed isn't that right Grimmjow?" Sousuke asked. 

Grimmjow looked straight into Sousuke's eyes, shifting around to move Harry's head out of Sousuke's range. 

"I'll keep that in mind next time," Grimmjow said before walking backwards through the hole, never keeping his gaze away from the trio of shinigami until he returned to the halls he came through. 

Sousuke chuckled at Grimmjow's retreating reiatsu, glad that even if the holiday break was for a short time, he could still spend some of it in the palace of his own making and with his own special entertainment. 

"Gin," Sousuke said.

"Yes, Aizen-sama?" Gin said cheerfully, clearly also amused by what just happened.

"How about we bring some holiday festivities to Las Noches?" Sousuke said.

Gin's grin became even wider. "Open a Garganta and I will happily grab as many festive things from the World of the Living as possible~!"

------
Cue a few days later, Las Noches was surrounded by red, green and gold. There was a giant tree in the middle of the throne room and Grimmjow found that a lot more toys and snacks had been scattered inside his tower. Most of it courtesy of having a human cub and about a hundred or so hollows (albeit, still technically one hollow) with the mindset of a cub. 

Grimmjow was kind of glad that there were no actual hollow cubs because he did not want his tower to become any more of a nursery than it already is. Admittedly, he would like to never have a repeat of the last few days because the cleanup had been horrible. He also honestly hope their oh-so-gracious shinigami leaders would leave this event as a one-and-done thing or so help him, the next time Ichimaru tries to shove some weird plant in his face, consequences be damned, he will scratch the shinigami's face off.

On the bright side though, Harry and the Picaro seemed cheery so there was some use to the random event that the shinigami brought. Seeing his cub healthy and excited was good, but it did make him realize something. He really needed to control Harry’s sugar intake or so help him, whoever gives too many sweets to Harry next time is going to be the one to clean up the puke. Also chicken, fried chicken from the World of the Living was surprisingly really good. Although how Ichimaru converted it into food edible for hollows is a good question not that he will ever want to find out.

Chapter Text

The second week was the start of practical flying lessons.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were the first to have the lesson while the Gryffindors and Slytherins were to have it the next day. 

Harry was with Justin in not understanding the excitement about flying. Especially since he could stand in the air briefly himself. Although he was interested in Quidditch, he couldn't really see the appeal of sitting on something to fly in the air. 

Commanding the broom to rise to his hand was easy enough but it was clear that many of the other students had difficulty. He actually had no idea how the broom came up so easily even when Justin pestered him for advice. 

Madam Hooch's explanation wasn't all that great either. 

You have to feel the broom's magic, was what she said, which didn't help much. 

Ernest was also quick to call the broom into his hand so they spent the majority of the class trying to help the others succeed. It was with great struggle but there ended up being enough time for everyone to mount their broom and get into the air at least once. 

Harry found that getting into the air was easy. However, feeling comfortable without a reishi platform underneath his feet was not. He was very tempted to make one as he floated above the ground but kept himself from doing so.

All in all, his first flying lesson seemed to have gone well. 

That however wasn't the case for the Gryffindor and Slytherin class, as he was to learn during dinner. 

Ron grabbed Harry on their way to the Great Hall and they sat at the Hufflepuff table. 

"Everything all right?" Harry asked as Ron began filling his plate. 

"Yeah, great," Ron said with a pout. 

"Hmm, how was flying class?" Harry then asked.

Ron groaned. "Ugh, I got detention with Malfoy."

"Detention?" 

"Yeah, Malfoy was being horrible so I fought back but now I have detention," Ron said, grumbling all the while. "At least he got detention too."

"What did he do?" Hannah asked, jumping into the conversation.

"He took Neville's remembrall during class then tried to fly off with it," Ron said, his hands illustrating his words as best as they could. "So I chased after him with the school's broom but then he threw it and I tried to catch it but it fell and broke."

"Where was Madam Hooch in all this?" Susan asked. 

"Hospital Wing with Neville. It was Professor McGonagall who saw us on the brooms, took points, and gave us both detention," Ron replied. 

"You flew without a teacher watching?" Susan asked, as Hannah paled.

"So did Malfoy," Ron countered. "I was only trying to get Neville's remembrall back. And you should've heard the things Malfoy said about Neville."

"So he wanted to hurt Neville?" Harry asked. 

"Right, and he'll probably do it again in front of Neville's face next time," Ron said.

"Then I'll have to make sure he doesn't," Harry said. 

Ron tilted his head. "Umm, how do you plan on that?"

"Don't worry," Harry smiled. "I'll take care of it so Draco doesn't bother Neville again." 

—---

There were many shadows lining the walls of Hogwarts' halls making it much easier for Harry to sneak around the prefects as well as any other students still roaming the halls. However, none of the other students were his priority right now. No, in fact, he had his eyes set on only one, and had been stalking his prey for a while now. He paused in his movements and released his Pesquisa. It was always a good idea to sense if there was anyone nearby even if there wasn't anyone visible. Other than his prey, there was no one who was notable or had the ability to stop him. 

Harry took a deliberately loud step and watched as Draco spun around.

"Who's there?" Draco asked loudly. "Whoever you are, come out here or I'll tell my father about this!"

Harry smiled as he stepped out of the shadows. 

"Surprising to see you here Draco," Harry said. "How was detention?"

"You ... that is none of your business Jaegerjaques," Draco scowled. 

"Oh but that's where you're wrong," Harry said, fiddling with the hilt of his zanpakuto. "You see, I don't hate you."

Draco blinked with clear confusion. 

"However, I don't like that you hurt the people I'm getting fond of."

Draco huffed, crossed his arms and smirked. "If you're talking about Longbottom and Weasley, they both deserved what came to them, being blood traitors and all. Not that someone like you would understand."

"Then this means that what happens now is entirely deserved too," Harry said as he gripped his zanpakuto tighter. 

Draco flinched, eying the weapon but otherwise didn’t move. "If you hurt me in any way, my father will hear about this and you'll be expelled."

Harry took a step forward as Draco stepped back. 

"Use of magic for fights is also forbidden in the halls as w–"

In a leap, Harry was in front of Draco, his fist drawing back before propelling forward. He watched as Draco's eyes squeezed shut to brace for impact. 

After a moment of silence, Draco's eyes reopened to find Harry's fist almost brushing his nose. He fell as his legs gave out from under him. 

"Believe me when I say that I'm much kinder than my ma," Harry said as he lowered his arm. "Had he been the one here, your head would've been blown clean off before you even got a word in."

"But," Harry stabbed the sheath of his zanpakuto into the ground right in front of Draco's face. "One more chance. You annoy me one more time and you can kiss your nose goodbye."

"Although really, this just shows how the humans here are nothing but weak," Harry said with a grin before turning away. Had Draco really been a threat, he wouldn't have dared turn his back but what transpired here made it clear. Wizards and witches really were nothing but mere humans.

"What are you?" Draco asked shakily.

Harry paused and glanced back. There really wasn’t anything he needed to say to Draco but he did so anyway and with a smile. 

“I’m a human.”

Harry continued walking. He stopped again when he came across an intersection. He smiled at the two hiding behind the corner of the halls.

"See if Draco needs to go to the Hospital Wing," Harry said quietly before continuing his return to his dorm.

Passing by the painting of fruits, he wondered if the kitchen would give him any snacks to eat. For some reason, he felt really, really hungry at the moment despite finishing dinner not so long ago. Then again, he still had some snacks from his ma so he could always munch on those. 

—---

Susan wasn't sure what she had seen but whatever it was, she just knew it wasn't normal. Harry had moved at a speed she had never seen before. A speed that could only be achieved through riding a broomstick, an impossible speed, just to fake out a punch against Draco Malfoy. 

She looked towards Hermione who seemed just as shocked as she was, which told her clearly that what she had seen wasn't a dream. It was real and it was terrifying. She had followed Harry because of the look on his face after he had heard about what happened to Neville's remembrall. It had terrified her and now she knew why. She’d already thought it was weird how his wand took the shape of a sword but seeing how fast he could move?

Whoever Harry Jaegerjaques was, he wasn't a normal wizard. 

After Harry left, she followed Hermione to check if Malfoy was alright. He wasn't. He was shaking and he looked as if he were in great pain despite not having gotten hit. Even so, he glared at Hermione when she tried to help.

"Don't touch me," Malfoy shouted, which caused Hermione to flinch and step back.

Susan sighed.

"Can you find Madame Pomfrey?" She asked Hermione, who nodded before running off. 

"Why are you still here Bones?" Malfoy sneered. 

"Because you don't even look like you can move," Susan replied. 

Malfoy huffed. "Hufflepuffs."

"And yet it was a Hufflepuff who made you like this," Susan countered. 

"I am most certain the Sorting Hat made a mistake there," Malfoy grumbled.

Susan hummed in response. As much as she wanted to agree, for some reason, she couldn't. Her aunt had told her before coming to Hogwarts that the house she ended up in meant less about who she was at the moment than who she could become. And despite wanting to be in the same house as her dad, a Ravenclaw, she was sorted into Hufflepuff. There must've been a good reason for the Sorting Hat to place Harry into Hufflepuff … right?

Luckily, she didn't have to sit in Malfoy's miserable company for long as Hermione returned with Professor Snape in tow. It wasn't Madam Pomfrey, but Malfoy's Head of House was just as good. 

Susan stood to the side as Professor Snape knelt down in front of Malfoy. With a flick and a mumbled spell, Professor Snape seemed to do a quick check of Malfoy's condition, before looking at her and Hermione. 

"Five points from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor for staying out past curfew," Professor Snape said. 

Susan was shocked and so was Hermione.

"What? But we were just trying to–"

"Ms. Granger, it was past nine when you passed by me. Do you wish to lose twenty points instead?" Professor Snape said.

Hermione looked ready to argue but Susan grabbed her hand. 

"No, thank you Professor. We'll be on our way," Susan quickly said before dragging Hermione away. She was ready to give Harry a nice little chat for making them lose points and dealing with the aftermath of his actions. 

She then noticed that Hermione was mumbling quite quickly.

"Are you alright?" Susan asked, finally slowing down the brisk pace she had settled into. 

Hermione looked up and her face made it seem like she was about to cry. 

"I lost points!" Hermione cried.

Susan was a bit startled by the sudden exclamation. 

"I can't believe I lost points! What if everyone hates me now?" 

"Hermione, no one is going to hate you for losing a mere five points," Susan said. 

"But -"

"No buts. From what Neville said and what I've seen in class, you’ve earned more points for Gryffindor than you’ve lost so it's fine. Five points is nothing compared to the amount you’ve gotten them," Susan said before linking her arm with Hermione’s. "Now come on, let's wipe those tears from your face and I'll walk you back to your dorm alright?"

Hermione nodded.

"Besides, if anyone bothers you because of losing points, you can just sit at our table for every meal," Susan said.

"Thank you," Hermione said.

Susan grinned in response.

—---

Draco kept his gaze away from Professor Snape's eyes. He didn't dare look at his professor at the moment. 

"What happened?" Professor Snape asked.

"My back began to hurt," Draco replied. It was the only thing he could say because he had no other suitable answers. Not when Jaegerjaques hadn’t even laid a hand on him.

"Ah yes, the back pain your father requested some of the most expensive potions ingredients to relieve you of," Professor Snape said.

"You’re getting paid for making it though," Draco said.

"That is the least your father could do. Not that it matters much since you seem to have been going through your potion stash much faster ever since you started school."

"It is not my fault my back has begun to hurt a lot more," Draco sneered. Though he quickly looked down when he saw the glare Snape gave him. 

"Can you stand?" Professor Snape asked after a sigh. 

Draco, after a moment and a deep breath, tried to get up. It was shaky but he was able to stand.

Professor Snape nodded in approval. "Good. We'll first head to my office as it's closer and I'll give you a fresh batch of the painkilling potion. Then you'll return to your dorm and rest. Is that understood?"

Draco nodded, struggling to walk even with Professor Snape's assistance. Once he was all better, he planned to write to his father to find out all he could about who Jaegerjaques was because half-blood, mudblood or something else, the boy had caused his back to hurt and that was a concern in and of itself. 

Chapter Text

The day after Harry had nearly punched Draco, he had to hear an earful from Susan. She was really mad because he’d just left while she and Hermione had to deal with the consequences of being out of the dorm. Harry admitted he hadn’t even realized he’d broken curfew and apologized. 

"I'll forgive you," Susan said. "But only if you show Hermione and I what you did later."

"Sure!" Harry said brightly. 

"Harry punched Malfoy?" Ernest asked as he sat down on the dining table. 

"Not exactly," Harry said. "But I can show you guys as well."

Just then, Ron sat down beside Harry, dropping his head onto the table with a groan.

"You look miserable," Justin stated. "Trouble in Gryffindor Tower?"

"I had to listen to Neville's sniffling all of last night as he tried to write a letter to his gram," Ron said. 

"It's just a glass ball. Why does he need to tell his grandma?" Harry asked. 

"Because he feels bad for breaking something that was given to him as a gift," Susan replied. 

Harry felt even more confused. "But if it was given to him, doesn't that make the thing his? Besides, it wasn't even him who broke it."

"Well yes, but it was a gift someone gave him under the impression that he'd take good care of it, so wouldn't it make you feel bad to know that you failed at taking care of the gift?" Susan said. 

Harry still felt a bit confused. 

"Harry, what is most important to you?" Hannah asked, making the attempt to explain this time. 

"My pack," Harry said quickly and without thinking.

There was a mix of confused noises from the rest of the group. 

"Oh, uhh my family," Harry tried to clarify.

"Who calls their family that?" Justin asked, just as Hannah asked if he was a werewolf.

"A what?" Was Harry's response to the second question. 

Just then, Oliver Rivers walked by. 

"Ghosts are like beasts," he said cryptically as he headed for the other group of first-year Hufflepuffs. 

"He is so weird," Ernest said to collective agreements.

Harry was pretty sure Oliver knew about hollows but he had never managed to find the other student when he wanted to in order to ask. The other student always seems to elude him. It didn’t help that his reiatsu mixed with that of  most of the other students in the school, making it hard to distinguish. 

"Anyways," Hannah said in an attempt to get the topic back at hand. "So your family gives you something important that’s meant to help you, right?"

Harry nodded, rubbing his thumb along the hilt of his zanpakuto. 

"Then what would you do if someone took it, then broke it?" Hannah asked.

"I would beat them up," Harry replied.

"That should not have been your immediate answer," Susan said.

"Okay well, after that," Hannah said, side-stepping the pit of that answer. "Would you tell your family? What would you say and how would you feel?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. 

"I would tell them, and, hmm … I would tell them that I'll do better and not let anyone steal from me again," Harry eventually said. 

"But how would you feel when you try to tell them?" Hannah tried, changing the wording of the question. 

"Angry?" Harry said, uncertainly. Hannah motioned for him to continue. "Disappointed?"

"In?" Hannah urged.

"Myself?" Harry said before realization hit. "Oh."

"And he gets it," Ernest said loudly with a clap. "Ten points to Hufflepuff."

"Huh," Harry said. 

"Where did you live before Hogwarts exactly?" Justin asked.

"A place with man-eating monsters," Harry replied.

"And he could fight them," Ron added for Harry. 

"A few of the weaker ones, not all of them," Harry clarified when he noticed the looks of shock.

"Well, that explains some things," Susan stated. 

"Okay but where in the world is this place?" Justin asked.

There was only one place that Harry had been told to say if he was ever asked, and was mysterious enough that most people would not have much information about.

"Bermuda Triangle."

"Where?" Ernest asked to clarify.

"You know, the Bermuda Triangle," Harry said with as much cheer as possible. 

Susan sighed. "I'm going to go find a map after classes."

The rest of the day passed by peacefully until the beginning of lunch. Upon arriving at the doors of the Great Hall, there was a group of students in green robes standing right outside. Harry noted Draco's presence as well as the two who had been  with Draco on the train. There were also two new people, one with very short curly hair and another with shoulder length straight hair and a rather sunken face.

"Why are the Slytherins out here?" Ernest asked. 

The sunken-faced cub turned as the Hufflepuffs approached. 

"You with the glasses," the sunken-faced cub said, pointing to Harry. "You're the one who bested Draco here, right?"

Harry watched as Draco scowled. Susan gripped his arm.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said, wondering if Draco had spilled.

The sunken-faced cub looked shocked for a moment. 

"That's, well–everyone in Slytherin knows that the only time Draco drinks his potion is when he is near you so you must've done something," sunken-face said. 

Draco glare towards the sunken-faced cub seemed to intensify, but Harry was more focused on something else.

"You're in pain?" Harry asked as he reached out towards Draco. 

The two big cubs immediately stood in front of Draco, blocking him, though Susan's tightening grip also kept him from moving too far.

"Don't touch me," Draco scowled. "Actually, it would be even better if you and your stupid owl never come near me."

A gasp came from behind Harry, causing him to look back at a pouting Hannah. 

"You leave Batallla out of this," Hannah said, her expression a mix of anger and alarm. 

"Ugh, the dumb beast has a name," Draco said. 

"She–she's smarter than you'll ever be," Hannah defended. 

"An owl smarter than a wizard?" Draco said. "We're barely into the school year and I already think you lot should start over from the beginning."

"I'm pretty sure I have higher marks than you in three classes, Malfoy," Ernest said. 

As the others descended into an argument about marks, Harry felt a light squeeze on his arm from Susan. Her gaze was on the sunken-faced cub who was looking more angry by the minute. 

"I THEODORE NOTT CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL HARRY JAEGERJAQUES," the sunken-faced cub, Theodore , shouted. 

"Are you daft?" Draco blurted out. 

"Since you bested Draco, if I defeat you in a duel, that means I'll be the top Slytherin of our year," Theodore said. 

Harry wasn't exactly sure who to focus on: Theodore's angry  proposition, Susan's surprising vice grip, or Draco's face which seemed to be getting more sickly by the second. But the prospect of a duel did sound interesting. 

Draco, however, clearly had different thoughts as he grabbed Theodore by both shoulders and started shaking him. 

"Are you crazy? Where is your sense of self-preservation?" Draco asked. 

As amusing as it was to watch Draco shake Theodore, Harry was still interested in the duel. So despite Susan's grip and her glare which he could feel against the back of his head, he still took a step forward. 

"Do you swear on it? The duel that is," Harry asked, which caused the shaking to stop. 

Theodore gulped before nodding. "Yes. But you can't use that sword of yours."

"Fine by me," Harry said with a smile. "But know that if you skip out on me, I will hunt you down."

"Fine," Theodore spat. "And Blaise here will be my second."

"Hi," said the cub with very short and curly hair. 

Draco gave Blaise what seemed to be a look of betrayal, getting a shrug in response before throwing his hands in the air. 

"Ugh, go get yourselves hurt, why don't you," Draco said as he started stalking towards the open doors of the Great Hall, before quickly looking back. "I am NOT going to tell my father about this if anything does happen."

He turned back towards the entrance and nearly bumped into Ron who was eating sticks of bread from a bowl. Draco gave Ron a look of disgust as he headed into the Great Hall, presumably towards the Slytherin table. 

"What time?" Harry asked Theodore. 

"Tonight at 8:30 by the trophy room," Theodore replied as he headed towards the Great Hall entrance himself. "Oh, and bring yourself a second if you want."

"Alright," Harry said. 

With the Slytherins gone, most of the attention returned to Harry with Susan looking the most annoyed.

"You realize that you won't be able to use any magic without that wand of yours, right?" She asked. 

"I'll be fine," Harry said with a shrug. He was pretty sure it was true. After all, from what he had seen, he could move at a faster speed than a spell could be cast. Besides, if he tried to use magic, it'd just be a lot slower for him given that he couldn't hold his zanpakuto like a wand. It would be so much easier to cast a spell if his zanpakuto could shrink but not even the shrinking spells that Professor Flitwick or Professor McGonagall had tried worked. So for now, he was stuck swinging his zanpakuto around if he wanted to cast spells. 

Harry suddenly felt Ron's arm around his shoulders. 

"And a Slytherin is nothing compared to a huge monster, right?" Ron asked.

Harry grinned. "Exactly."

Susan throws her hands in the air. "Ugh, I give up on you."

She entered the Great Hall with Hannah following behind. 

"I thought we weren't allowed to use magic in the halls?" Justin asked. 

"Duels are allowed because they're considered supervised and planned use of magic in the school," Ernest replied. 

"But there aren't going to be any teachers," Justin said.

"No but the seconds are going to be there to act as the witnesses," Ernest explained. "By the way Harry, who is going to be your second?"

"Oh, I wasn't really thinking of getting one," Harry replied, not really knowing what a second was in the first place.

"But you have to have a second!" Ernest said. "At least for your own safety!"

"I could be your second," Ron suggested.

Harry blinked a few times before smiling. "Alright." 

"I'll come along too," Ernest said. "Cause it seems like you don't know anything about dueling."

"Thank you for your help then," Harry said. 

"How about you Justin?" Ernest asked, turning to the other boy.

Justin who had looked like he was thinking about something was suddenly startled out of his musings. "Ah, no, it's okay. I'll just wait for you guys in the dorms with the girls." 

"Well now that’s settled," Ron said. "Let's go eat! I'm starving."

----------

The slide of stone was easily distinguishable, but Draco made no effort to look up from his homework. Good old Professor Snape, favoritism or not towards his own house, was still quite harsh when it came to Potions homework. Of course, this late at night, it was clear who had returned. 

"I am going to assume you got yourself beaten," Draco said as he jotted down the difference in effects between crushing and chopping an ingredient. 

"Oh, so you knew of this event as well Mr. Malfoy?" 

Snape’s tell-tale drawl made Draco look up immediately. By the entrance to the dorms stood Professor Snape with Blaise and Theodore right behind. 

"And you decided not to inform me?" Professor Snape asked. 

"Professor," Draco replied. "This was agreed upon as an official duel by the participants."

Professor Snape sighed. "You do realize that for a duel to be sanctioned as official, at least one professor should be notified?"

"I had thought that all the professors would've heard, given how loudly Nott declared the duel at the Great Hall's entrance." Draco said. 

"You would think," Professor Snape scoffed. "Now off to bed with all of you and I will be seeing you, Mr. Nott and Mr. Zabini in detention tomorrow."

"Yes Professor," both Theodore and Blaise said. 

Once Professor Snape was gone, Theodore immediately fell on to the closest couch with a groan. 

"Did you know Harry could make someone fall without uttering a single spell?" Blaised asked Draco.

"Why do you think I questioned Theodore's sanity?" Draco replied. "No witch or wizard could move the way he can without a spell."

"Maybe he cast the spell before the duel," Blaise suggested. 

"He wasn't raised with magic so I highly doubt he could cast a high level spell like that," Draco said. Raising a hand to his shoulder, Draco thought about it for a moment. "Maybe he's not even alive."

Theodore's head raised off the couch. "What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind," Draco sighed and packed up his homework before his mouth morphed into a smirk. "Now, what was that about besting me again?"

--------------

Hannah and Justin both jumped up from the couch and Susan ceased her pacing when the door to the Hufflepuff dorms slid open. 

Harry and Ernest walked in sheepishly behind Professor Sprout who, though smiling, wasn't smiling a cheerful kind of smile. In fact, it was downright terrifying. 

"Oh my, looks like your friends waited for you two, how sweet," Professor Sprout said. "Now we have a lot to do tomorrow so make sure you two get some good rest."

"Yes Professor," Harry and Ernest said.

Professor Sprout nodded before departing. Once she was gone, Justin hopped over the couch while Susan and Hannah walked around. 

"So what happened?" Justin asked.

"And are either of you injured?" Hannah added.

Harry gave a twirl. "No injuries at all."

"Amazing," Susan said with the most emotionless voice she could muster while she gave a slow clap.

"Harry was super fast though," Ernest said excitedly. "Like you had to see it to believe it! He just moved from one end of the room to the next in a second! Completely scared the wits off of Nott."

"Fear is a powerful tool, whether it be towards friend or foe," Oliver said as he walked past everyone else towards the dorm entrance, causing some to jump or flinch while Harry went for his zanpakuto. 

"Umm, it's past curfew," Ernest said.

"Hmm, the sands are restless," Oliver hummed before walking out of the dorms. 

"That was weird," Justin stated when the entrance closed. 

"I don't think I'll ever be used to that," Hannah admitted shakily.

Susan sighed. "It's also late so we'll talk about what happened at breakfast tomorrow."

Everyone agreed before heading towards their respective rooms. 

By the time Harry fell into his bed, he found himself a bit disappointed at the lack of challenge. Although he realized that he should've expected it. After all, the World of the Living had a lot fewer threatening beings compared to Hueco Mundo. There was almost no way for the other students to have experienced something similar to what he had, he was sure. 

It did make him wonder. If this was the strength of first years, then how strong were the professors really? He'd ask Professor McGonagall the next time he saw her. If anyone would know, it would be the Deputy Headmistress.  

Chapter Text

Never underestimate your opponents.  

Harry was quick to be reminded of the phrase his ma liked to use when teaching him how to hunt. Professor McGonagall was kind enough to direct him to Professor Flitwick in regard to dueling, and he quickly learned that a well-versed wizard was much stronger and faster than first-year students. Even if he were able to get in close with his own speed, Professor Flitwick was capable of non-verbal magic as well as fast and efficient wand work. Harry had found his zanpakuto thrown back across the room more times than he could count. 

By the end of it, Professor Flitwick had complimented his quick thinking and speed but also said that forcing short-distance battles into a long-distance fight wasn't the smartest of moves. Harry was inclined to agree, but as of the moment, he still had trouble with casting spells in the first place so there wasn't much he could do yet. He’d work on it. First, he had to figure out how to control his spellcasting movements so that he wouldn’t run the risk of taking someone’s head off. 

Eventually, as days passed and with extra help from Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall, Harry was able to cast a simple spell. He still had to keep his distance from the rest of the class because his zanpakuto's reach was much farther than a wand’s but hey, progress. 

Soon enough, the holiday called Halloween fell upon them. Although he wasn't exactly sure what was special about the day, the talk about the dinner feast filled with sweets of all kinds appealed. It was honestly the main thing he focused on even as classes passed by.

When dinner finally did roll in, Susan and Hannah arrived late, both looking rather angry. 

"Can you believe him," Susan grumbled as she picked some food for her plate while Hannah shook her head. 

"What happened?" Justin asked. 

"Weasley is what," Susan said. "I can't believe that twit made Hermione cry."

Harry made an inquisitive noise.

"Hermione shooed us away before we could ask for more details and told us she’d be at the feast soon but that's about all she said before she ran off," Hannah said. 

"Maybe we can ask Ron?" Harry suggested. 

"I have no interest in hearing a word out of his mouth, not unless it's an apology," Susan said. 

"Hey now, it's not a bad idea to get all sides of the story," Ernest said. "Maybe their fight wasn't that bad?"

Susan glared at Ernest. "She was crying ."

Ernest raised his hands in surrender. 

"Hmm, we should get them to talk, if not to each other then to us. Maybe when Hermione gets here, she can join our table," Hannah suggested. 

"That's a good idea, she can avoid the Gryffindor table for a while," Susan said. 

Harry pondered about what had happened between the two. They didn't exactly seem to get along, given how Ron would hang out with him when Hermione wasn't around, or how Ron was nowhere to be found when he studied in the library with Hermione and his Hufflepuff friends. The two both seemed to get along with Neville, although separately. It was honestly a rather confusing situation, but it would be nice if the two got along. 

Just then, the main doors of the Great Hall were slammed open and in ran Professor Quirrell who looked completely breathless. 

"Troll, in the dungeons. Just wanted to let you know," he said, before fainting. 

Mass chaos erupted in the Great Hall as many of the students began to panic. Harry continued eating while Justin started piling food into a napkin. 

The chaos was quelled when Headmaster Dumbledore ordered in a booming voice for the prefects to guide the students to their dorms while the professors searched for the troll. 

As Harry was exiting with the other Hufflepuffs, he noticed Ron sneaking off, dragging a terrified-looking Neville with him. Since the Hufflepuffs were going downstairs with the Slytherins, Harry made a comment about how the troll had been seen in the dungeons. He was loud enough that the Slytherins heard, and someone's screech about going directly to the troll caused mad panic. 

Using this opportunity, Harry slipped away to find Ron and Neville. Susan was barely able to follow him. 

Finding Ron and Neville wasn't hard and the two caught up fairly quickly. Susan glared at Ron who quickly admitted that it was his fault Hermione wasn't at the banquet and wouldn't know about the troll. Temporarily appeased, Susan led the group to where she had seen Hermione last. However, as they neared the hallway, a stench began to permeate the air around them. Harry sensed the danger ahead and quickly pulled the other three behind a nearby statue.

They all stayed quiet as they watched the troll walk past them, but due to bad timing or perhaps just pure bad luck, this was when Hermione exited the washroom. 

The troll roared and rushed towards her, making her scream and forcing her to run back into the washroom. 

"We need a plan," Harry said.

"No time for that!" Ron shouted, chasing the troll into the washroom. 

Harry was shocked for a moment, and then he growled. 

"Neville, Susan, can you two go find the professors?" Harry asked.

"Yes, of course," Neville said, despite looking like he was about to faint. 

"You can't think you can keep that thing distracted long enough," Susan said, grabbing Harry's arm tightly.

Harry grinned. "Don't worry, I've fought things much larger and tougher than that thing."

"That isn't reassuring!" Susan shouted as Harry raced forward.

He drew his zanpakuto as he kicked the washroom door open. Inside, he saw Hermione hunched in the corner under the sinks as Ron threw rocks at the troll, which didn’t seem to do much  beyond angering the troll more.

Harry raised his zanpakuto and focused. He began trying to gather his reiatsu towards the tip of the blade.

"Come on, give me that Cero ," Harry whispered. 

Once the ball of red energy grew large enough, he shouted. 

"RON, DUCK."

Once Ron got out of the way, Harry fired the ball at the troll. As always, since nothing really ever went as he planned, instead of blasting a hole through the troll, the ball of energy only sent it flying towards the wall. This attack only aggravated the troll.

"Whoops," Harry said as the troll roared and charged at him, its club shattering the mirrors on the side of the washroom.

"Ron! Get Hermione out of here! I'll distract it!" Harry shouted, bringing his zanpakuto up to defend him from the troll's sideways swing. 

"Are you crazy!?" Ron shouted back. Still, he crawled towards Hermione. 

The troll's attack was heavy. That much Harry was certain of, and he could feel his arms strain as he tried to keep the troll's club from smashing his face in. It wasn't as bad as trying to block Edrad's punches without flying back but it was still difficult. He was given a bit of a breather when the troll lifted its club up only to bring it down once more, forcing Harry to block. 

The next time the troll lifted its club, Harry dove in and slashed at its leg. He nicked it but it wasn't deep enough and only further angered the troll. Harry didn't see the troll's hand coming down at him and it smacked him into the wall. He groaned in pain, pretty sure that his rib was broken. So much for not getting into trouble. 

He tried opening his eyes, forcing himself to keep them open despite the bright lights of magic dancing in his sightline. His glasses had fallen off but he was still able to see the troll's silhouette. 

The troll raised its arm and he raised his own to block another swing of the club only to hear a shout.

"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!"

As the troll swung down, despite how blind he was, Harry could still tell that the club was no longer in the troll's hand judging by the condensed form of magic above the troll. Harry saw the troll look up, and the magic disappeared, causing what was probably the troll's club to fall on its head. The troll wobbled for a second before it fell. 

"Harry! Are you alright?" Harry heard Ron ask. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, good job you two," Harry said.

"What is wrong with you?" Hermione screeched. 

"This is normal," Harry chuckled before wincing from the pain. "Can someone find my–"

"What happened here!?" Harry heard Professor McGonagall ask, as quite a number of footsteps approached them. 

"Ah you know, just fighting a troll, no big deal," Harry said through gritted teeth. 

"Mr. Jaegerjaques! You need to head to the Hospital Wing right now," Professor McGonagall said. "I will be getting the story from you two, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "This is my fault, I shouldn't have tried to look for the troll." 

Harry wasn't exactly sure what Hermione was getting at, but he needed to find his glasses fast so he could actually get to the Hospital Wing. He took a step back and heard a large crack. His eyes, despite the burn, opened wide.

"Oh no," Harry said. 

Then he felt it, an immense reiatsu which caused his knees to buckle and that he was pretty sure broke something surrounding Hogwarts. He winced, not just from the pain but also from the fact that he knew.

His ma had come and he was in big trouble.

Side Story: Yylfordt's one-sided affection

Set during Ch: The Letter

"Get back here you ignoramus weeds!" Yylfordt shouted as he chased Pesche and Dondochakka.

"Your insults are terrible," Nakeem said when he caught up to the blonde.

"Shut up!" Yylfordt growled. "I'm gonna kill those two."

"... do you actually have intentions towards Nelliel?" Nakeem asked.

Yylfordt stumbled out of his Sonido and tripped onto the sand, "I … uhhh."

Nakeem facepalmed. "Really?"

"Shut up!" Yylfordt got up, dusting some of the sand off his hakama. "She's just really strong, alright?" 

"Grimmjow is strong too."

"I know that. We follow him because he's strong but Nelliel is ..."

Yylfordt played with his bone mask, something that Nakeem had come to recognize as an indication of  nervousness or embarrassment in the blonde. Nakeem suddenly felt a bout of exhaustion. 

"Yylfordt."

"Iwanthertosteponme."

"What?" 

"Nothing, just nothing. It's dumb." Yylfordt said.

"You're dumb." Nakeem said.

"Yeah! Nelliel-sama is way out of your league!" Peshce’s voice came from a distance.

"Way, way out of your league!!" Dondochakka added.

Yylfordt growled before stepping into Sonido to chase after the other two fracciónes. Nakeem sighed and wondered how long he should wait before dragging Yylfordt back to the group.

Chapter Text

Grimmjow looked down at the barrier that surrounded the school. He could feel it trying to deter and direct him away but he wasn't having any of it. He now understood why Edrad and Di Roy were pushed away though. The barrier was strong enough that anyone weak could be pushed away but he was stronger. Putting his hand on the face of the barrier, he punched it hard, making it crack until there was a sizeable hole for him to enter from. Cero would've been a faster option but he didn't want to kill everyone in the school accidentally at the moment. Especially since he didn't know where Harry was inside. 

As soon as he landed on the grass, he searched for Harry's reiatsu signature. He raced forward once he felt it. When he got stopped by the sides of a wall, he kicked it down and stepped inside the castle. Screw doors, they're too much work to deal with. 

"Ma!" 

Grimmjow turned to see Harry wobbling towards him. In a few steps, he was right in front of Harry, grabbing the face as gently as he could. 

"What the fuck did you do?" He asked as he felt around for what was broken. The nose was the most obvious which was luckily not shattered and just needed to be set back. 

"Fought a troll," Harry said through his winces. 

"A what?"

"A troll, big and dumb like Yammy but also stupidly tough." Harry flinched when he felt something get plucked out of his face. "We kind of won by the way."

"Did you kill it?" Grimmjow asked as he removed more debris from Harry's face before leaning down to lick at them.

"No, didn't have time to cause you showed up and ugh, I know you have healing spit but stoooooop," Harry whined. 

Grimmjow had no plans to stop and only did as he pleased before placing the side of his hand into Harry's mouth, hierro lowered so he doesn't break Harry's teeth.

"Bite," he ordered. 

Once he felt Harry's teeth, he grabbed a hold of Harry's nose and with a side push, set it back into place. Blood spurted out of Harry's nose which was easily wiped away by his jacket. It came as no surprise when more people showed up though, coming up from both in front and behind them. Glancing up, he recognized one of the people.

"Mr. Jaegerjaques? How did you get in here?" McGonagall said. 

"Does it matter?" Grimmjow said, standing up and keeping Harry close to his side. If he needed to, he would take Harry and leave. "My cub got hurt and what? Did you think I wouldn't have learned about it?"

"Had young Mr. Jaegerjaques been seriously injured, we would have notified you."

Grimmjow looked over his shoulder at the new speaker. An old man with a long grey beard who was wearing a long pointed blue hat with stars on it. 

"I had hoped to meet you under better circumstances Mr. Jaegerjaques but it seems that was not meant to be," the old man said. "I am Headmaster Dumbledore, a pleasure to meet you."

Grimmjow scowled. He didn't really care who this old man was. "You think a broken rib isn't a serious injury? What if something got punctured?"

"Nothing got stabbed ma, except for the troll...maybe," Harry said but got a glare instead. 

"Well, nothing but a quick healing spell can't fix," Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore waved his wand and with two words, a light formed on the tip of his wand before directing it at Harry. 

"Oh, my chest doesn't hurt much anymore," Harry said, feeling up his ribcage. 

Grimmjow eyed him even as Harry turned a whole circle. 

"It really doesn't hurt!" Harry shouted with his arms raised cheerily before wobbling a bit.

Grimmjow reached out to catch him. 

"The spell won't exactly help with physical exhaustion or blood loss so I recommend he still goes to the Hospital Wing," Dumbledore said. "Professor McGonagall, could you please head to my office? I have two students waiting there and I'm sure it would benefit for them to be checked by Madam Pomfrey as well. Especially after today's event."

"Of course Headmaster," McGonagall said before heading off in the direction Dumbledore came from.

"Now Mr. Jaegerjaques, please, allow me to show you where the wing is," Dumbledore said. 

Grimmjow stayed silent as he picked Harry up despite Harry's complaint. He was careful to not aggravate anything despite Harry's claims of any broken bones being fixed. As tempted as he was to raise some havoc, even he knew now was not a good time, especially not with Harry exhausted. Not only that, he was in uncharted territory. Weak as humans as these wizards and witches may be, he did not want to risk it especially without anyone watching Harry in his place. There was slight regret that he didn't drag any one of the others with him but he also did just ditch one of Aizen's meetings to rush here so he didn't have the time for that. 

"Now Mr. Jaegerjaques, I understand you may have many questions," Dumbledore said. 

"No shit," Grimmjow growled. 

"And I assure you, I will answer them as best as I can, " Dumbledore said. "But I must ask, how did you get in here?"

Grimmjow knew the old man was referring to the strange barrier but honestly, he didn't know why that was important. 

"I punched it," was his simple answer.

Dumbledore's head turned immediately to Grimmjow, his expression filled with confusion. 

"You punched it?"

"Yeah," Grimmjow shrugged. "It wasn't that hard. Kind of flimsy if you ask me."

"Flimsy..." Dumbledore muttered as he continued walking. 

"Yeah, you're lucky stronger hollows don't leave Hueco Mundo much otherwise this place would be a bloodbath given all these easy pickings," Grimmjow complained. "I can't believe I left my cub here in the first place without even checking the place out." 

Grimmjow felt an attempt to pinch his cheek from Harry and looked down at the offending fingers. He gave Harry a look before attempting to nip at those fingers. Harry quickly withdrew his fingers and pouted. 

"Don't be mean ma," Harry said. "Besides, Batalla needs to get in and out of here too."

"Hmm, true," Grimmjow reluctantly agreed. 

"I apologize Mr. Jaegerjaques but can you please explain to me why you presume that Hogwarts would not be able to protect itself from intruders? This school is one of the safest and most secure magical schools in the world," Dumbledore asked. 

"I broke in, didn't I?" Grimmjow replied. "Or what? You don't believe I just punched my way in?" 

"It is rather hard to believe," Dumbledore said. 

"Harder to believe than all this magic stuff you got going on?" Grimmjow felt like he was pushing buttons despite the rather peaceful-looking face Dumbledore had. Well, that didn't mean even the most peaceful-looking didn't have buttons to push. Take Aizen for example. He's almost sure he's getting closer to the limits of how much shenanigans Aizen can handle. At his own expense of course, not that he could really help it. He also didn't miss the way Dumbledore's eyes glanced back to flicker between his hollow hole and mask. 

"Besides, didn't that thing which hurt my cub break in as well?" Grimmjow had a hard time containing the growl in his voice. He was still very much annoyed. 

"Troll, and that it did," Dumbledore said. "However, under normal circumstances, such a thing would not happen."

"So you're saying this wasn't a normal occurrence?" 

Dumbledore shook his head. "Of course not, we at Hogwarts would not endanger students' lives in such a way that we would not be able to handle it."

Grimmjow snarled and held Harry just a bit tighter. The unsaid words were obvious to him. If the staff thought they could handle it, then it didn't matter if something dangerous was already running amok.

"Although clearly, a breach must've occurred somewhere in the defences of the school so we will quickly look into it," Dumbledore added. Not that it did much because it only told Grimmjow that the Headmaster still did not believe he just punched his way in. 

It wasn't soon enough that they entered through a doorway and two shouts of "Harry" was heard. 

At Harry's squirming behest, Grimmjow let his cub down and watched as he ran, with a small stumble, towards the two other cubs. One with long bushy brown hair and another with red hair. 

"Are you crazy!" The bushy-haired one said, dragging Harry towards a bed. "You were injured! Why did you think it was a good idea to run off while injured!?"

"Mate, the way you kept the troll from hitting you was awesome!" The red-haired one said once Harry sat down. "Well, until you got hit."

"Ronald!" Bushy shouted.

"Oh come on Hermione, he must be fine if he could run the way he did earlier," Red said. 

"That doesn't mean he's not hurt though," Bushy said.

As the two argued, an aged woman gave Harry something to drink in a bottle that Grimmjow would usually see in Szayel's lab. 

"A blood-replenishing potion," Dumbledore commented. 

It didn't take long for the door to the room to open again though and two more cubs as well as McGonagall entered the room as well. The cubs were quick to run to Harry's side also worrying about him. One cub was rather large like Nakeem though much shorter and Grimmjow was almost tempted to call the cub Nakeem Junior in his head but realized that even cubs from Nakeem wouldn't seem as weak as this one does. The other cub looked rather dumpy, which is the best he could describe her, realizing the flaw in calling the red-haired cub Red. 

As he watched the cubs interact though, he knew exactly what Dumbledore wanted to show him. It was annoying but it worked. Harry was smiling, surrounded by these other cubs. 

"Now Mr. Jaegerjaques," Dumbledore said. "I understand that it's quite late but I would like to have a conversation with you before you leave."

"Tch, fine," Grimmjow attested, following Dumbledore out of the room. McGonagall was quick to follow. 

***

"Umm, I know we're glad that everyone is alright but..." Neville said looking nervously at the entrance of the Hospital Wing. "Someone standing beside Headmaster Dumbledore, right? Like when we came in?" 

"Now that you mention it, I think I did see something or someone but it wasn't that clear," Susan said. 

"Oh, it was just my ma," Harry said. 

"Your mum?" Ron asked. 

"Yeah, he was just being too worried even though I told him I'll be fine," Harry explained. 

The small group all looked at Harry in confusion. 

"Yes?" Harry asked, tilting his head.

***

Grimmjow found himself walking quite a distance to Dumbledore's office. Scratch that, it was just a lot of stairs. Not to mention the stairs move which was weird. The paintings on the walls were also moving which was even weirder. 

The walk would have been a lot quieter though had McGonagall not filled the silence with the history of the castle stating that it was "rare for muggle parents to come here and learn about the school firsthand". Grimmjow only paid half-attention though, using the other half on his Pequisa to keep a sense of where Harry is. Harry was easy enough to find of course but what was interesting was the strange but strong blips of highly concentrated reiatsu all over the school. Some he could tell were just multiple people gathered in one area but there was one that was strange. It reminded him of the jewel Aizen used to turn them into Arrancar, not that he could do much about it at the moment but…

"Now then Mr. Jaegerjaques, please, have a seat and would you like some lemon drops?" Dumbledore asked as he walked behind a desk and sat down on a chair. McGonagall stood beside him towards the side of the desk. 

Grimmjow looked at the two, no matter the expressions on their faces, they posed a rather intimidating picture and had he been someone normal, he most likely would have been a bit affected. However, he unfortunately worked under Aizen and nothing is worse than Aizen with Ichimaru and Tousen on the sides looking down at you from that unnecessarily high throne. Instead of sitting on the chair, he sat on the armrest and crossed his arms. 

"Now, how about you explain why a so-called well-defended school could have a breach in its defences?"

Side Story: Aizen's Throne

"Ma," Harry called from his shelf.

"Hmm?" Grimmjow paused in cleaning one of the Picaro, which allowed the poor victim to get away. He could pin her down with his reiatsu but honestly, she was clean enough and he still had twenty or so left to go. How they got as dirty and cut up as they did and still had the gall to waltz into his tower was a mystery though. 

"Why is Aizen's throne so high?"

"Probably from a height complex," Grimmjow said as he tried to wrangle another Picaro into his lap to lick clean and heal any small injuries.

Shawlong was heard choking on his own spit whilst in the midst of dragging some of the Picaro into the bath. 

"But he doesn't seem that short unlike Di Roy," Harry said. 

"You wanna say that to my face!" Di Roy shouted from his spot in the bath. 

"You're tiny!" Harry shouted back. 

"Says the midget!" Di Roy yelled. Splashes were heard before a very loud yelp. 

Grimmjow has no desire to figure out what his idiots were doing. 

"Well, when you have hollows like Nnoitra and Poww around, it's not hard to feel short in comparison," Grimmjow said.

"Heeeeeh, what about you ma? Did you feel short?" Harry asked. 

Grimmjow scoffed. "Height and size don't mean anything in a fight if you can't use it well. There are advantages to both being large and small, it's just about how you use it."

"And if you remember," Shawlong added. "Grimmjow wasn't exactly the largest of Adjuchas and yet he could have taken us down easily." 

Grimmjow grunted, neither in affirmation nor disagreement, working hard at getting the grime and blood off of the Picaro's face. There wasn't much to say about an event long passed and even if he were to consider what might have happened had Shawlong not kneeled before him it wouldn't matter. They made their decision and he made his. Besides, travelling in a group was a lot less boring than travelling alone. 

He's fine with the choices he made though and there was no point in dwelling on things that can no longer be changed. Besides, he's still biding his time until he can usurp Aizen from that throne. But until Harry can fend for himself, he'll wait and train until then. For now, though, there are still a lot of Picaros to clean. 

Chapter Text

"Mr. Jaegerjaques, as I have indicated earlier, I hope you can understand that accidents occur even in the most secure of places. However, before we get into the intricacies of what constitutes as secure and safe, I have a pressing question." Dumbledore looked at Grimmjow calmly, folding his hands under his chin. "What are you?"

Grimmjow looked at McGonagall. "Didn't tell your boss much, huh?"

"Beyond confirming that Harry was in safe hands, there was no need to further delve into theoreticals," McGonagall said with a shrug. 

Grimmjow snorted. "What I am doesn't matter."

"On the contrary Mr. Jaegerjaques, I think it matters greatly," Dumbledore said. 

Grimmjow felt a shift in the room. He wasn't sure what it was but it felt like he had been closed in. He suddenly felt trapped and that raised all his hackles. 

"I don't know what it is you just did but quit it," he snarled. 

"You believe that us Hogwarts staff do not take precautions; however, as you can see, I am taking many precautions right now," Dumbledore said, never leaving his seat.

"Hah, so you see me as a threat yet you couldn't even deal with what was an actual threat," Grimmjow grinned, flexing his fingers. If it was a fight this old bastard wanted, he'd be glad to give him one. 

"You broke into the school and left a rather large hole in the defences," Dumbledore said.

"What? You think I'm just going to patiently wait outside while my cub is getting attacked?"

"Yes, in fact. You are merely his guardian and although you are not a muggle, you are no wizard. As such, what happens inside Hogwarts has no relation to you, and is under the purview of the staff."

(McGonagall wished she had tea at the moment as she contemplated the best method to cut in because goodness gracious, Dumbledore wasn’t helping the man calm down at all.)

"Oh, so just because I don't have that magic stuff, I don’t get to know what happened? Is that how it works?" Grimmjow felt his reiatsu rising, his hand charging up a Cero . 

"That is generally how it goes. Muggle parents sometimes have a hard time understanding that magical children are hardier than muggle children, and that most injuries can be fixed or cured with magic. Hence, unless something truly grievous occurs." Dumbledore kept his eye on Grimmjow's hand. "Mr. Jaegerjaques, I understand that you may be a little perturbed due to recent events but please, calm yourself."

"BULLSHIT!" 

Grimmjow didn’t think that actually hurting anyone here would have done any good. Hence why he aimed away from both Dumbledore and McGonagall. 

"You're telling me," he looked at where he fired the Cero which, save for a burnt-out portrait with the name card ‘Phineas Nigellus Black’ under it, most of the reiatsu had been somehow absorbed. "That the only way I would've been told something happened is if he’d died?"

"Which is unlikely to—"

"I didn't work my ass off for the past who knows how long keeping him alive just to…” Grimmjow growled. "He was being hurt when I found him, he could've been long dead if I hadn't picked him up."

"That would not have happened. Harry was sent to people who would have cared for him," Dumbledore said. 

Grimmjow gave McGonagall a glare but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. "Those people you sent him to barely cared for him. They didn't even deem it necessary to give him a proper name, that's how little they thought of him."

"You're saying that you gave him the name Harry?" Dumbledore asked, his thumb giving a small twitch.

"Yeah because he thought his name was freak ," Grimmjow said.

"I see," Dumbledore looked contemplative although Grimmjow wasn't sure why. 

Not that it mattered because he had already decided on what he's going to do. He knew that Harry would be mad at him if he were to just drag him back to Las Noches, but Batalla wouldn't be great at keeping Harry out of trouble. So there was only one solution.

"I'm bringing someone here to keep an eye on him," Grimmjow said. 

"Pardon?"

"I don't trust you lot but I don't want to hurt Harry by taking him away from here when he’s already grown attached to the people here so I'm going to have one of my own watch him," Grimmjow said, putting his hands in the holes of his hakama. "You lot can treat him as invisible or something, I don't care but I'm not negotiating on this."

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a brief moment. 

"Such a thing would be unprecedented," Dumbledore said as he reopened his eyes.

"Just like that troll thing breaking in," Grimmjow countered. 

"Indeed," Dumbledore sighed. "I can't say I agree with this, however, I do not think it would benefit either of us to fight."

Dumbledore gave the ruined portrait a glance. "Well, I can't say I'll miss him enough to repair him that quickly."

Grimmjow snorts. "If you hate that painting then just leave it as is."

"Hate is such a strong word," Dumbledore said, turning his gaze back to Grimmjow. "If you can ensure that the babysitter you send won't disrupt classes or Harry's school life, then we can try it. However…"

"Yeah yeah, make sure he won't be disruptive. They listen well enough to my orders, the one I send won't be a problem," Grimmjow said. "Like I said, treat him as invisible or something."

"I would rather we don't do that," Dumbledore said. 

"Fine, we'll put him in a gigai then you can figure it out, I don't care, but I'm going back to Harry," Grimmjow said, turning to leave the room. 

"Mr. Jaegerjaques, you never answered my question," Dumbledore said. 

Grimmjow scowled. "You know what, just call me Grimmjow, if I hear 'Mr. Jaegerjaques' one more time, I think I'll blow up another of those paintings." 

"Ah, aim for Fytherley Undercliffe please, he has a tendency to ramble when I'm working and can be quite the distraction."

A gasp was heard from one of the portraits and when Grimmjow looked in that direction, there were two portraits. One that was empty and another one which had one bearded old man trying to push another bearded old man out of the frame. Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow before shooting a Bala at the empty portrait. One of the old men screeched in fear before he started sobbing.

"But why?" McGonagall asked. 

Grimmjow shrugged, staring at the door. He was no longer feeling trapped which meant that Dumbledore had removed whatever had caused the feeling. Instead of opening the door normally, he kicked it open, breaking the door off its hinges. 

"Grimmjow, my question?" Dumbledore asked. 

"Figure it out yourself," Grimmjow said with a wave.

***

"Well, that was enlightening," Albus said as he fixed the door.

Minerva sighed. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't make any more holes in the walls."

With Minerva gone, Albus stroked his beard as he looked at the ruined portraits. The cries of Undercliffe were ignored. In all his years, he had never met anyone or anything quite like Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. In fact, he wasn’t sure if the man could be classified as a magical creature or not either given that what had been done here was definitely not magic. However, he still made a mistake in using wordless and wandless spells, one he shall most definitely not make should he have to deal with the man again. He considers it a lapse in judgment due to his old age. 

Despite the rather violent reactions, some of Grimmjow’s actions could be considered relatively good and yet, he couldn’t help but view the man as—not evil per se—but most definitely dangerous. It was rather hard to tell, which was new. Usually, he didn’t have a hard time figuring people out but something was confusing him. It truly made him curious about Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. Part of the benefits of being the headmaster, of course, was the ability to enter the restricted section of the library easily. 

A humanoid being with a strange mask and a hole in their body. If that didn’t spell restricted knowledge, he wouldn’t know what did. It had been a while since his curiosity was piqued this intensely though, he had to chuckle to himself. 

“Headmaster!” 

Albus looked at the floating body of the castle’s resident poltergeist. “Ah Peeves, what brings you here?”

“You have to get rid of that thing!” The spirit shouted. 

“What thing?” Dumbledore asked. 

“That thing! That ghastly owl was bad enough but that thing has to go! It’s dangerous to Hogwarts!”

“Do you mean Harry’s guardian?”

“Ye- wait what? That thing is a student’s parent!? Oh, we’re doomed!” Peeves screeched dramatically before he went into a thinking pose. “Although if it eats the Bloody Baron beforehand, that’ll be great. But what if it eats me? I’m too beautiful to be eaten.”

“Now why would he eat any of the ghosts? Let alone you?” Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling with interest. 

“It’s a feeling. Like we’re a fish near a shark,” Peeves said. 

“How interesting, although don’t worry, Grimmjow will leave soon enough although I suppose we’ll have to figure out how to deal with the person he’s sending.” 

“Oh great, it has a name,” Peeves said, throwing his hands into the air. 

“As do you,” Albus said with a smile. 

“How rude,” Peeves gasped before floating off with a huff.

Albus continued smiling. How interesting it was to hear that their resident poltergeist was afraid of someone else now. Popping a sherbet lemon into his mouth, he left his office for the library. 

***

Harry, after getting approved for release by Madam Pomfrey, joined his friends for breakfast. It was nice to not be in pain after a fight where he didn't exactly lose but didn't win either. Unfortunately, he had to have someone lead him around as he was quite blind at the moment. Reparo didn't do much in recovering the reiatsu-removing technology that Szayel had put in. 

The moment he entered the Great Hall with his friends, the entire hall fell into a brief silence before it suddenly erupted into a lot of noise. Thanks to years of experience and squinted eyes, he was able to side-step two bright yellow souls tackling Ron. The cries of "Ronnikins" were very loud. 

Since he was distracted though, he failed to escape getting pulled into a tight hug. 

"Susan! Harry! You crazy kids!" Antonio cried. "Do you have any idea how worried I was when I heard the headcount failed?" 

"Sorry," Susan mumbled. 

"I'm guessing that everyone knows?"  Harry asked as they got dragged to the Hufflepuff table. 

"Define everyone, but the Gryffindor prefects weren't exactly quiet when they realized that three of their first years went missing and one of them a Weasley," Antonio said. "Also Percy talked my ear off for not keeping an eye on you all. As if my goal to become Head Boy meant I have to take care of all you first years now. Actually, that kind of is the point but I digress."

Harry looked up to more shouts of his and Susan's names as Antonio released them. Hannah immediately pulled Susan into a hug while Ernest started asking a lot of questions. 

"How are you alive? Did you see the troll? How ugly was it?"

"Slow down and why are you already guessing that I saw the troll?" Harry asked before answering the questions.

"Did you feel the earthquake?" Justin asked. 

"Earthquake?" 

"Oh yeah, after you guys were gone for a while, there was something that seemed to shake the core of the school," Ernest explained. "Fat Friar was also acting weirdly. He floated over us and just watched the door with a weird expression on his face."

"Don't forget the weird ghost that floated by screaming that 'we're all going to die'," Justin added. "Which is kind of weird since ghosts were already implied to be well, dead."

"Huh," Harry said. He hadn’t realized his ma showing up would cause such a reaction amongst the ghost population at Hogwarts. It shouldn't be surprising though because compared to Batalla, his ma was a lot stronger. Although he doubted the ghosts at Hogwarts would provide any sustenance for hollows of Adjuchas class or higher. 

Speaking of Batalla.

Harry felt a heavy weight land on top of his head as a wrapped-up package fell in front of him. Opening the package, he found a new pair of glasses and immediately put them on. 

"Were you the one who let ma know what I was doing?" Harry asked, giving her a gentle scritch. 

"How could I not when you deemed it was a good idea to run towards something with a larger pool of reiatsu," Batalla said. "Not that I had to go far since he was already on his way here."

Harry chuckled even when he felt a slight drain from his reiatsu.

"Also, do kindly remind him that my main job is to make deliveries, not traverse this maze of a school to help you fight," Batalla added. "Honestly, you expect too much from this poor little owl." 

Harry rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, now stop eating at me."

"So you do know the cause of the earthquake?" Justin asked. 

"Oh, it was just my ma," Harry replied.

Ernest's spoon dropped. "I'm sorry, what?" 

"Apparently, Harry's mum visited," Susan said as she spread some butter on a piece of bread. 

"And that was the cause of the earthquake?" Justin asked.

"I guess?" Harry said, not really sure what the earthquake was about, though perhaps he was too busy or in pain at the time to really notice. 

"How could your mum have caused an earthquake?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, I thought your family was all muggles?" Ernest added. 

"He's super strong," Harry replied cheerily. 

"That doesn't explain anything!" Ernest said. 

Harry smiled as he ate his breakfast.

***

Harry was glad he waited until after classes and dinner to talk despite Ernest and Justin's constant prodding since everything could be easily addressed during their weekly joint-study session.

"So, let's talk about the erumpent in the room," Ernest said, calmly.

Hermione looked at Ernest with confusion. "Do you mean 'the elephant in the room'?" 

Ernest looked at Hermione with dead-set eyes. "No, the erumpent."

"What's an erumpent, Ernie?" Hermione asked with gritted teeth. 

"Oh excuse me, did I hear Ms. 'I read the entire Hogwarts, A History ' Granger ask what an erumpent is?" Ernest teased. 

"Ernie, stop wasting everyone's time with your weird wizard trivia fights with  Hermione," Susan said, pulling out her charms book. "Hermione, stop playing into it."

"Yeah Mr. 'Eight hours per day,' you're making me look bad too for not knowing," Justin said, poking at Ernest's pouting cheek which made his eyes widen. 

"What no, I didn't mean to!" Ernest cried. 

"How the two of you can even study that long is beyond me," Ron stated.

"Anyway," Hannah said cheerfully. "We're glad all of you are alright and safe but really, what happened?"

"We defeated a troll is what," Ron looked proud.

"Okay but how?" Hannah asked. 

"Actually, I would like to know too," Susan added. "Since I went with Neville to find the professors."

While Ron spent the time retelling the battle, Harry took the opportunity to go through Hermione and Ernest's D.A.D.A notes. By the time he finished, Harry found himself only halfway through the notes despite Hermione's help. 

"You know, I'm surprised we don't actually try any of the spells Professor Quirrell talks about, let alone their counterspells," Harry told Hermione. 

"I'm sure it's because the professor just wants us to be completely confident in the theory before the practice," Hermione said. 

"Or," Ron sat down, finally done with his tale. "Professor Quirrell is just bad at teaching which is what my brothers said. By the way, it's your turn, Harry."

Harry tilted his head. "My turn for what?"

"The earthquake and how it's your mum who caused it!" Ernest said excitedly. 

"Well, he's strong so I guess when he broke in, it just happened?" Harry said.

"But your family's all muggle right?" Susan asked. 

"Yeah, I guess? It's complicated?" Harry replied. 

"Where did you say you were from again?" Justin asked. 

"Bermuda Triangle," Harry answered as if he was reciting from a memorized speech. 

"That's across the world," Hermione commented. "And there’s no land there. Justin, did you not question this at all?"

“No? Should I have?” Justin asked. 

“Yes! The Bermuda Triangle is just an area of sea where a few ships and planes disappear! There’s nothing there that indicates people can live there!” Hermione explained.

"I've only been around Europe," Justin said in self-defence. 

"Also, couldn't it be because of magic that things disappear?" Ron asked.

"There is no proof that it was magic. Besides, Harry just said his family are all muggles," Hermione looked at Harry with an intense stare, as if daring him to prove her wrong.

Harry regretted the lie he told just because Szayel said no one would understand what he meant by Hueco Mundo or Las Noches so he may as well use someplace that technically existed but was off enough to not raise too many questions. 

Harry gave her a double thumbs up. 

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked. 

"Well, does it matter where he's from or who his family is?" Neville asked. "I think I'm just glad he's here."

"Yeah, we beat a troll with his help and we're first years!" Ron said excitedly. 

"Excuse me but I did most of the distracting," Harry said. 

"Which you did a great job of," Ron said. 

"And it's something none of you are going to do again right?" Susan asked, looking at Harry who looked away. "... Harry?"

"Please don't go looking for a troll to fight, actually please don't fight at all," Hannah requested, staring at Harry with a smile. 

"No guarantees," Harry responded. 

Susan groaned as Ernest laughed.  

"If you do find another troll, take me with you, I want to watch," Ernest said, causing Hannah to make a noise of distress. "By the way, next week is the first Quidditch match of the year. What are the chances of Gryffindor winning?"

"Better than Hufflepuff," Ron said. 

"Ahaha, you wanna bet? The seeker for our team is actually good," Ernest said. 

"Yeah well, my brothers are the beaters," Ron said. 

"We're not going to get much studying done today are we?" Neville asked while Ernest and Ron argued. At the same time, Hermione was still pressing Harry for answers.

Hannah gave Neville a smile. "Probably not."

It was hard to breathe. The reiatsu pressure and the hand on his throat were both crushing. 

"It seems I have been too lenient," his assailant said.

His eyes were getting unfocused and everything was blurry. 

"I hope you haven't forgotten who you belong to, whose commands you're supposed to follow."

His fingers scratched at the hand against his throat. It was useless. The hand didn't budge.

"Now what did you report again? An injury to the ribs?"

He felt a hand against his side, a thumb stroking against his ribcage.

"Maybe I should break one and remind you how dangerous a broken rib really is. Surely, not enough for you to have left in the middle of a very important meeting."

If he could talk, he would scream bullshit. Or maybe not. It was getting hard to think. 

"However, I suppose I shall approve of your request to send one of my valuable soldiers elsewhere."

The sudden rush of air was jarring but he was glad for it nonetheless even as he choked on his own spit. 

“This is the last time I will be so kind. Remember, I am your king so the next time you disobey my order, I will give you a suitable punishment. You are dismissed.”

Through gritted teeth, he spat out, “Thank you Aizen-sama.”

He left immediately after. He couldn’t stand staying in the same room as that bastard and he never would. As soon as the doors of the throne room closed, he screamed at his own weakness and tried to punch a wall. However, right before hitting it, he stopped himself. He knew it would do him no good and just get him into more trouble. He took a breath. His desire to kill and maim was strong so he decided on the next best thing. Go on a hunt. 

He hoped that it would be satisfying enough that he calmed down a bit. He could only hope. 

Chapter Text

For the last few days, Ron and Ernest had been arguing about Quidditch non-stop. They started with the Hogwarts teams.

"Hufflepuff at least has a good seeker, does Gryffindor even have a seeker in the first place?" Ernest asked with a wide grin on his face. 

"Of course we do!" Ron shouted. "You just wouldn't know who it is because the team is keeping it a secret."

"Oh suuuuure," Ernest said. 

"We do!" 

Then the argument moved to the British and Irish league teams. 

"The Chudley Cannons haven't won in years ," Ernest said. 

"They're just waiting for the best time for them to make their comeback is all!" Ron said. "They actually have a good keeper this year."

"Just because they have a good keeper doesn't mean the rest of the team is good. Now the Ballycastle Bats are a good all-rounder team," Ernest said.

"They're just lucky," Ron spat.

"You're just bitter," Ernest smirked. 

"I think the Montrose Magpies are guaranteed a win next year," Hannah said with a smile. "But none of us are going to finish our potions essays if you two keep arguing."

Ron and Ernest quickly quieted themselves after that to return to their schoolwork. Although Ernest did mumble about how he was mostly done.

Finally their argument moved to international teams and players, most of which went over Harry's head. 

"I think some of the teams might look for even younger players in the future," Hannah commented during Ron and Ernest's argument. 

"Yeah, sure, with the youngest being nineteen right?" Ernest said. 

"Hmm, I don't know," Hannah said. "I think if someone has the skills, then they could be selected no matter how old."

Ron and Ernest seemed to think for a moment before they both settled on variations of disbelief. 

Hannah pouted at the two of them. 

By Friday, the excitement of the quidditch match had also been getting to Harry. He was glad Hermione managed to borrow a copy of Quidditch: Through the Ages which they and Justin had been sharing to keep up with the quidditch fans. He was the last to have it though since he took the longest to read, especially without a translator. 

The group, instead of finding an empty classroom after the Friday classes, decided to lounge on the grass by the lake since the weather was surprisingly nice.

Harry had been focused on the book when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Keeping a finger on his current page, he leaned forward, placing both hands on the ground and swept his leg back in a low swinging kick. He heard a loud thud, and looking behind him, he saw that the person he had knocked down was Professor Snape who was clutching his ankle. 

"Oh, whoops," Harry said.

"Ten points from Hufflepuff for assaulting a professor," Snape gritted out.

"Sorry Professor, but you were the one who snuck up behind me," Harry said. 

Snape glared at Harry, standing up with a struggle before snatching the book. 

"Make that twenty points and I will be confiscating this. Library books are meant to be read in the library, not outdoors," Snape sneered before limping away.

"Hmm, I don't think I kicked him that hard?" Harry mused as he watched Snape's retreating back with a curious gaze. 

"I'm surprised you didn't get detention," Susan said. 

"It was his fault anyways," Harry said.

"I think he just wanted to leave quicker," Hannah said while patting Neville's back. Neville had curled into a ball, trying to make himself look smaller. 

"You're probably right," Ron said with a grin. "I mean, did you see how quickly he fell?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Hannah said. 

"Or weak ankles," Ernest added. 

Hermione looked up from her book. "Okay but Harry, are you going to get my library book back? I have to return it on Sunday."

Harry lay down on the grass. "I'll get it in a few minutes. I don't think he wants to see my face so soon."

"I'll come with you then," Justin said. 

***

As they headed towards the staffroom the two chatted about their progress with magic. 

"It's rather hard honestly," Justin said. "I don't know how Hermione adjusted to everything so quickly. I still have a hard time getting some of the spells to work."

"At least you can get them to work," Harry said. 

Justin looked at Harry's zanpakuto as it hung on his waist. "True, a wand is much easier to use than a longsword."

"This isn't even that long," Harry said with a slight pout. 

"You have to hold it up to keep the end from dragging on the floor," Justin said, smiling when Harry huffed. "By the way, you're having extra lessons with Professor Flitwick right?"

"Kind of, we're just trying to find a way to make it faster for me to perform a spell now and not have to swing my zanpakuto fully."

"Yeah, that would be nice. We won't have to worry about getting cut when you practice anymore."

"I've been careful!" 

"Tell that to the cut up tables, chairs and portraits," Justin chuckled. 

"I may have misjudged my distance a bit," Harry looked aside. "But it got rid of the screaming portrait."

"Ah yes, The Flying Banshee screamed her last scream, she did. You sure you didn't cut that one up on purpose? Especially since she really liked to scream whenever you walked by?"

Harry grinned and shrugged. "Who knows?"

Justin shook his head despite the clear amusement written on his face. 

When they got to the room, Harry knocked on the door. Unfortunately, there was no response so he tried to open it. Finding the door unlocked, he pushed it slightly open. 

Inside sat Snape with his robe slightly lifted to reveal a bloody and rather mangled leg, while Filch tended to the wound. 

"Didn't Madam Pomfrey say not to overexert your injury?" Filch grumbled.

"How was I supposed to know I'd get kicked for walking up behind a kid?" Snape winced. "Although if that blasted thing hadn't gotten to me first it would not be this bad."

"Oh, can't magic this away, huh?" Filch said with a lot of spite in his voice.

"If I could, I would've done so already. A cerberus' saliva has anti-magical properties making it difficult to–careful!" 

"I'm not here for a lecture professor , I'm here to treat your injury the muggle way," Filch spat, pulling at the bandage he was wrapping around Snape in a way that caused the man's face to contort in pain. 

Harry, having heard enough, decided to open the door fully. "Hey Professor, I'd like my book back."

It took a moment for both men, but Snape was the first to recover from the shock. His face twisted with fury. 

"Jaegerjaques," said Snape, his voice a low warning.

"The book needs to be returned to–" 

"GET OUT!"

Harry found himself pulled back as the door almost slammed into his face. He huffed, thinking about how rude that was. 

"I think someone else should get the book," Justin said, looking a bit startled. 

Harry reluctantly agreed. 

When they got back to the group, Hermione stared at Harry, asking, “My book?”

Harry smiled sheepishly.

Hermione groaned. "I should have just gone myself."

"Sorry, but at least we now know why Snape was in more pain then he should've been," Harry said dejectedly. 

"Harry, why do you sound sad about that?" Hannah asked. 

"Well it just means my light kick was far too weak to be effective against anyone," Harry replied.

Hannah placed both of her hands on Harry's shoulder and shook him a bit before smiling. "Please stop kicking people randomly."

"But–"

"Even if they sneak up on you."

"What if–"

"There are no good reasons for you to kick or punch someone most of the time. Besides, you have magic."

Harry paused to think for a moment. 

"Hmm, what about that Voldemort guy?"

Hannah almost choked on her own spit at that response. Some of the others shivered at the name and Neville whimpered.

"I am never going to get used to hearing that," Ron commented. 

"If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named somehow came back," Susan said, "then please, kick him, punch him or stab him hard. Just make sure he's gone again."

"Susan!" Hannah admonished.

"Just because I don't really approve of fighting in general? doesn't mean I won't approve it if it comes.to You-Know-Who," Susan said. 

"Gladly," Harry said happily.

Hannah took her hands off of Harry to scream into them. 

"Wait so, what hurt him then?" Ron asked.

"I think he called it a cerberus?" Harry replied. "Anyone know what that is?"

Everyone shook their heads before all turning to look at Hermione who blinked. Hemione meanwhile looked at Ernest.

"Well? Aren't you the one with the vast amount of knowledge on magical creatures?" Hermione asked with a small smile. 

Ernest's eye twitched before he stood up. He reached out to pull Hermione up,which she gladly accepted. 

"After the match tomorrow, whoever fails to figure out what a cerberus is has to help Ron with studying ahead for lumos and nox ," Ernest challenged.

"After? I'm sure we can start earlier than that," Hermione said, giving Ernest's hand a shake. 

There was a brief silence then, as if an in audible horn had gone off, the two raced back towards the school. 

"We'll see you all at dinner!" Hermiome called back, disappearing into the school. 

"But I don't want to study ahead," Ron said with a pout. 

Neville patted his back with pity.

***

When dinner rolled around, the tables were rather noisy. Partially due to the excitement for the upcoming quidditch match but also the late dinner because the food hadn’t arrived yet. 

"What's taking them so long?" Ron complained. He stared at the table as if that would make the food appear.

"Maybe we're getting a new student?" Hannah suggested. "Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore aren't here yet."

"Does Hogwarts accept students this time of year?" Justin asked. 

"Not usually," answered Ron's brother Percy as he stared down at the group. "But you Hufflepuffs do have to return to your table."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Request from the professors, now hurry off," Percy said. 

"Does this mean we actually are getting a new student?" Hannah asked. 

Percy gave Hannah a quick head pat before pushing her towards the Hufflepuff table. 

Harry begrudgingly got up. As he followed behind Susan, he felt bloodlust outside the main doors. In the span of a few seconds, he pushed Susan out of the way before unsheathing his zanpakuto. The clang of steel against steel reverberated throughout the entire hall.

"Hey brat."

Harry glared at his attacker, his hands shaking a bit from the force. "What are you doing here, Di Roy?" 

Di Roy jumped back before following up with a kick which Harry dodged. 

"I heard you got a bit beaten up recently, taking it a bit too easy without me around?" 

Harry crouched before launching himself forward with a piercing attack. 

"I was just caught a bit off guard is all," Harry said. He frowned when his zanpakuto got caught instead of piercing through Di Roy's stomach. 

"Mr. Rinker!" McGonagall shouted as she walked briskly through the doors of the Great Hall. Despite her hair looking a bit frazzled, still looked rather pristine. "Why are you attacking a fellow student?"

Both Harry and Di Roy disengaged, and looked at McGonagall with a slight tilt to their heads. 

"This is normal though," they both said at the same time before glaring at each other. 

"That's enough of that then. Mr. Rinker, please come over here and Mr. Jaegerjaques, please return to your seat," McGonagall said as she straightened up a bit. 

Before sitting down at the table, Harry stuck his tongue out at Di Roy who did the same.

"Who is he?" Justin asked as Harry sat down. 

"An uncle or something I guess?" Harry replied. "Wait, you can see him?"

"Am I not supposed to?" Justin asked. 

The question made Harry take a closer look at Di Roy. He realized that the arrancar was missing his mask. 

"Oh, he's in a gigai," Harry said. 

"A what?" Justin asked. 

"Ah, nothing," Harry replied. 

The clanging of glass was heard from the professor's table and Harry turned to see Dumbledore standing. He noticed that the stool with the Sorting Hat was back.

"You have got to be kidding me," Harry whispered, mostly to himself although it was clear that both Justin and Susan who were sitting beside him heard. 

Dumbledore cleared his voice and began to speak. 

"Apologies for the delay with dinner as there were a few matters of etiquette to attend to. However, as you all may have noticed, we have a new student who will be joining the first-year students for the rest of this year. Mr. Rinker, please come up here."

Harry watched as Di Roy walked up to the stool before sitting down after Professor McGonagall lifted the hat. After the hat was placed on Di Roy, it took a while before the hat shouted ‘Slytherin!’ Di Roy seemed to be scowling even as he walked over to the table in green whose members clapped cautiously.

"He's your uncle?" Susan asked. 

"Something like that," Harry replied, reaching for the food that finally appeared on the table. 

"But he looks … older than eleven," Hannah said. 

"He is most definitely a lot older than eleven," Harry said.

"So why is he in first year?" Ernest asked.

Harry shrugged. He really wasn't sure why Di Roy had come. Other than the troll incident, everything was fine. 

"A better question is," Justin said, "why did the headmaster announce this so publicly? If he's just joining late, then shouldn't the sorting have been private?"

There was no good answer that anyone could think of although Harry did harbor a theory. So did Hannah.

"Since the first thing he did was attack Harry, maybe it's to scare someone?" 

"Well one way to find out," Harry said. 

After dinner, Harry tried to follow Di Roy but he was shooed away by the Slytherin prefect. So instead, he waited in the Hufflepuff common room, focusing on tracking Di Roy. The others were playing exploding snap. By the time he sensed Di Roy outside the door, Ernest had shouted in victory. 

Hopping over the seat, Harry was about to wave goodbye, but Ernest stopped him.

"Wait, I'm coming with you!" Ernest said, scrambling over to the door. 

"Did we really have to play a game to figure out who's following Harry?" Justin asked. 

Susan shrugged before shouting, "I'd like to say don't get into a fight but I think this may be a family matter?" 

Harry grinned. "Yup!"

"Don't get caught!" Anthony shouted from his plants. 

Stepping out of the painting, Harry found Di Roy leaning against the wall, still in the gigai that now donned the school robes just with a green tie.

"What's with the tag-along?" Di Roy asked, looking at Ernest who stared at Di Roy with interest. 

"Here to watch Harry look cool," Ernest said. 

Di Roy snorted before full out laughing. "The last thing that brat is, is cool." 

Harry huffed. "I can be cool."

"Say that when you can actually beat me," Di Roy said. "Come on, let's find an empty room."

Given that most students were in their common rooms, it wasn't hard to find an empty classroom. With some work, they pushed the chairs and tables to the side and left Ernest to sit in the corner. 

As soon as they could, they got into their stances. Hands on the helms of their zanpakuto. Harry took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on Di Roy. Unlike the troll, he was familiar with Di Roy's methods of attack. Always aiming for a weak point or for the dirtiest of shots, Di Roy fought dirty but against an opponent who outclassed him, well, he fell short. Greatly. Unfortunately for Harry, he's still below Di Roy's level. 

They were watching each other, carefully assessing who would make the first move. 

Then Di Roy smirked. "Can't believe you got so weak after such a short time out of Las Noches. I bet you can't even hit a regular hollow."

"You are the worst!" Harry shouted, charging forward with his zanpakuto drawn. He released a series of swings against Di Roy all of which were blocked. "Why are you even here?" 

"Because the boss worries way too much for you, you brat," Di Roy said, dodging a swing which he turned into a side kick. 

Harry managed to jump onto Di Roy's outstretched leg and used it to spring higher to help him gain momentum for the next down-swing. 

"But I'm doing fine," Harry said, jumping out of range after getting blocked again. 

"That's not what I heard," Di Roy said cheerily. "The boss complained to Shawlong for a very long time after he came back. Also, the tower has smelled like baked goods and only baked goods since."

"He's still stress-baking? Why haven't I gotten anything?" Harry whined, ducking to prepare an upward strike, attempting to stab Di Roy through the chin. Unfortunately, the attack didn't even graze him.

"Ichimaru took most of it, and the rest got taken by the Picaro," Di Roy replied. He tried to knee Harry who barely managed to dodge.

"Ernest!" Harry shouted. "Is there a potion to create boils?" 

"Probably," Ernest shouted back. 

Harry turned his attention back to Di Roy, who tried to hit him with the hilt of his zanpakuto. He raised his own in hopes of cutting a finger off. But the attack stopped before it hit him and he suddenly lost his breath as he was punched in the stomach. The blade of Di Roy's zanpakuto rested on his shoulder against his neck.

"Give?" Di Roy asked.

"I thought putting you in a gigai was supposed to make you weaker?" Harry grumbled. 

Di Roy chuckled, removing his zanpakuto. 

"Szayel adjusted it so that we can access most of our regular strength as well as our zanpakuto. Gotta hand it to him, creepy as he is, he does have his use–!"

Harry took the moment that Di Roy was distracted talking to try to stab him again.  He was somewhat successful, grazing  Di Roy's shoulder before he found himself in a headlock. 

"I give, I give!" Harry shouted as he struggled to push Di Roy's arms away. 

"You little brat," Di Roy said. "Next time, I'm making sure you give up before letting go."

Di Roy gave one last squeeze before releasing Harry. 

"I hate you so much," Harry coughed out. 

"That's what you get for trying to sneak attack me," Di Roy said. 

"You deserved it for talking too much during a fight," Harry said, rubbing his neck. 

"Brat," Di Roy spat out. 

"Midget," Harry responded. 

"Are you done?" Ernest asked from the corner. 

When Harry gave him a nod, he walked over. 

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Ernest asked.

Harry shook his head. "Nothing serious. I've had worse; Di Roy was going easy on me."

"Can't spar too hard outside of the boss's watch, he gets anxious," Di Roy added. "Were things cool enough for you?"

"Yeah!" Ernest shouted. "It was like woosh and swoosh . I didn't know you could jump that high, Harry."

"I probably could've gone higher but there wouldn't have been any point," Harry said. 

"You could've done a lot of things, none of which would have worked," Di Roy said, dodging Harry's attempt to step on his feet. "See what I mean?"

Ernest snickered. "We should probably head back before–"

The door to the classroom opened and the creaking echoed throughout the entire room. At the doorway stood Professor Sprout with her arms crossed. 

"The two of you didn't even finish your current set of detentions," Sprout said, "and you even dragged the new student into this, ten points from all of you."

"Yes professor," Harry and Ernest said. 

"That's the house points thing right? Eh, whatever," Di Roy said with a shrug. 

Sprout sighed. "Right, come along you three, I'll escort you all to your dorms and I'll ask Professor Snape to handle your detention, Mr. Rinker."

She gave the classroom another look before with a wave of her wand, she set all the tables back into order. 

"What's a detention?" Di Roy whispered. 

"Punishment for not following the rules," Harry said. 

"Like the way Aizen does?" 

"Nah, much easier."

"Oh so my detentions are too easy are they?" Sprout said with a smile. Harry gulped. "Then I hope you don't mind carrying mounds of dirt and fertilizer early in the morning."

Ernest patted Harry's back with a look of pity. Harry pouted. While he was fine with physical work, he had learned that he didn’t exactly enjoy waking up so early when he tended to stay up late. And when Professor Sprout said early in the morning, she meant really early in the morning. 

Harry sighed. He really needed to find a way to not get caught even when he had other people with him. 

—

The excitement from Di Roy's arrival was quickly overcome by the quidditch match. Even Harry was swept up in the excitement and he could see why. Quidditch was rather fast-paced with players zooming to and from across the field. 

The game itself also went pretty quickly with Slytherin's seeker catching the snitch after almost flying into the Gryffindor's seeker, causing the other seeker to nearly fall. 

After the match, they had all reconvened in their usual classroom. Harry did try to find Di Roy and get him to join but apparently, he had detention with Snape and part of the conditions to stay at Hogwarts was to act like a student. So because of the previous night, Di Roy was going to be busy every weekend until the winter holidays. 

"The Slytherins cheated," Ron said, crossing his arms as he sat heavily onto a bench. 

"Technically, they didn't," Hannah said. 

"Yes they did, you saw the way Higgs flew towards our seeker, if that wasn't blatching then I don't what is," Ron said. 

"But a bunch of the other Slytherin players claimed that they noticed the snitch around where Slytherin's seeker was flying," Hermione said.

"And they're lying because that's what Slytherins do, they lie," Ron said, still pouting. 

Ernest patted Ron on the back. "Don't worry, Hufflepuff will win in your stead. After all, we actually have a seasoned seeker."

Ron responded with a glare. "A third year is not seasoned." 

"By the way," Susan said. "Was it just me or did the bludgers look like they were flying toward the stands no matter how the beaters hit them?"

"Are they not supposed to do that? I read that bludgers tend to move randomly and can fly anywhere," Hermione asked to which Susan shook her head. 

"Not like the way they did today."

"They did call a timeout and check the bludgers didn't they?" Neville said. "I know there are spells to keep it away but I thought the bludger was going to hit me honestly."

"I bet you it was because they did something to the bludgers," Ron said. 

"I don't think getting the bludgers to always fly towards the same stands helps anyone," Ernest said. "Besides, it was still a good game, stray bludgers aside."

"The beaters did a good job redirecting the bludgers, that's for sure," Hannah said. 

"True, and did you see Gryffindor's keeper? He was pretty skilled," Ernest added. "You know, we should all try out next year. It'll be fun."

"Absolutely not," Justin said while Hermione gave a fervent, "No." Neville was also shaking his head intensely. 

"Oh come on," Ernest whined. 

"I can barely lift off the ground, what makes you think I'd be able to play a game involving flying?" Justin said.

"Also, there is nothing under your feet, it's so hard to stay balanced," Hermione added.

"Don't forget that I fell pretty hard the first time I flew," Neville said.

"You'll all be better by next year, don't worry," Ernest reassured confidently. 

"I think playing beater would be fun," Hannah said whimsically. 

"See, Hannah gets it!" Ernest shouted. 

"You know what, I'm going to try for seeker," Ron said. "I bet I can fly better than the current seeker."

"Well, he is a second year, so I don't think it'll be too hard," Ernest said.

"I'm going to pass on that, I'm not much of a flyer," Susan said.

"Aww. What about you Harry?" Ernest asked.

"I think seeker or chaser would be fun, although I think I would need a lot of training before I could even play in a try out," Harry replied. 

"Actuallly, I think you're a natural at flying," Justin said. "Compared to me and a some others, you already knew how to float up on our class’ first day."

"Ah, well," Harry smiled nervously. He had cheated a bit on the first day. Not that he planned on telling anyone that he had gathered reishi under his feet. 

"You know what," Ernest jumped up. "We should borrow the school brooms and all just practice getting better at flying. It's a useful way to travel anyways."

"I wouldn't mind getting better so I don't fail flying class," Neville admitted. 

Ron patted Neville's back. "I agree with Ernie on this, we'll make sure you not only pass but become the top flyers in our class then you can laugh in Malfoy's face when you best him in marks."

"I don't think I would laugh in his face but thanks, I'll do my best," Neville said. 

Harry smiled as he chatted with his friends. He was, all in all, having a good time and could only hope things stayed that way. Later that night, Harry dreamed of flying over the skies of Hueco Mundo. 

—

Elsewhere, Di Roy stretched as he dumped his gigai on the bed he was given. Being a student seemed dumb and made his job to follow and keep an eye on Harry much harder but he could deal. The detention thing though was so annoying. It was easy work, counting every single item in a jar but so very boring. It also took so long. 

He cracked his neck and headed out of the Slytherin dorms, doing a quick reiatsu check to make sure Harry was still in his own dorm before smirking. 

"Time for my other mission then," Di Roy said before heading off. 

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, despite being in different houses as well as having detention, Di Roy managed to meet up with Harry fairly regularly. Upon comparing schedules, they searched for a time where they could meet and spar. Sometimes they had an audience, and Harry would have an opportunity to show his friends some basic moves. After a while Di Roy usually made a strange face before leaving. 

Harry had noticed though that Di Roy never really returned to the dorms. At least not for long, which piqued his curiosity. So he decided to try to follow Di Roy. After they finished sparring, he'd pretend to return to his dorm before suppressing his reiatsu and heading in Di Roy's direction. 

However, in all his attempts so far, he would lose track of Di Roy as if Di Roy had figured out he was being followed and was forced to return to his dorm, dejected that he had probably been discovered. It was like a game of predator vs. prey. Neither of them had confronted each other about it yet though. 

His friends, namely Justin, Ernest or Ron would join him and he'd just practice keeping them all hidden. It was a fun exercise. 

For this round, he had Justin and Ernest follow him and they were doing surprisingly well. He was able to keep Di Roy in view and keep good track of the arrancar's reiatsu. Although that could possibly be attributed to the fact that Di Roy seemed to be moving slower today for some reason. Harry was also able to keep them away from any wandering professors and prefects. 

After they turned a corner though, Harry suddenly lost sight and sense of Di Roy.

"Another fail?" Ernest asked. 

Harry nodded with a frustrated sigh. 

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out eventually," Justin patted Harry's shoulder. 

"No he won't."

The three kids jumped and Harry quickly turned to face Di Roy who had his arms crossed. 

"All of you are too loud and Harry, your reiatsu isn’t covering them well enough. Your cover’s weak and flimsy,” Di Roy said. "Now go back to your room, I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble, not help you get into it."

Harry pouted. "Well if you weren't acting suspicious, then I wouldn't be following you in the first place."

"I'm not acting suspicious, you're just too curious for your own good," Di Roy said, darting forward and grabbing the back of Harry's robe by the collar. He glanced at Justin and Ernest. "Come on you two, I'm dragging you all back to your dorm."

"By the way, now that I think about it, where exactly are we?" Justin asked. 

"Doesn't matter," Di Roy scowled. "All you three need to do is–"

Meow

They all froze in their tracks. 

"Oh, kitty," Harry said. 

"Isn't that Mr. Filch's cat? Ms. Norris I think it was?" Ernest asked. 

"Yes," Justin replied. 

"Oh well, now what do we have here?"

They all turn to a familiar speaker, a ghostly face wearing a jester hat with an ugly smirk upon his face. 

"Don't you dare Peeves or we'll bring the Bloody Baron over," Ernest warned. 

This however did not deter Peeves. Before Di Roy could make his move, Peeves shouted, 

"STUDENTS ON THE THIRD FLOOR CORRIDOR, STUDENTS ON THE THIRD FLOOR CORRIDOR." 

Justin, Ernest and Harry who managed to dislodge himself from Di Roy's hold all scrambled away from the shouting poltergeist and Ms. Norris. 

"Hey! Wait!" Di Roy shouted after them as he followed. 

"Why are you on the third floor corridor?" Harry asked as they ran. 

"Why not," Di Roy replied. 

"It's forbidden," Harry said.

"A terrible reason," Di Roy said. 

"Can the two of you focus on running and not talking?" Ernest asked before he was forced to stop due to bumping into something or specifically, someone. 

"Ow bloody, watch where you're going… Ernie?" Said the familiar voice of Ron. 

"Ron? What are you doing here?" Ernest asked as Justin helped him up while Neville helped Ron up. 

"We should be asking you guys that," Hermione said, stepping from behind the corner. "It's past curfew."

Ernest, Justin and Harry all glanced at Di Roy before looking back at Hermione with sheepish grins. 

"Oh come on, you guys are still doing the following thing?" Hermione asked. 

"Okay but we're at least doing something, what about you guys?" Ernest asked. 

Hermione sighed. "Neville got himself locked out and I was helping Ron with his homework at the library. So now Mr. Filch is after us."

"Wait, Filch is after you guys? Where is he now?" Justin asked. 

There was a brief silence before they all heard slow incoming footsteps.

"We need to find a room," Ron whispered. 

"I don't get why all of you are freaking out so much," Di Roy said as he jogged along.

"Do you want your detention to get longer?" Harry asked. 

Di Roy grimaced. He had to admit, being in Snape's presence constantly wasn't fun. The man was quite doom and gloom on most days and very picky on how to handle the potions ingredients. At least counting was easy, though very boring. 

"Over there," Justin pointed to a door. 

Ron was first to get to the door but when he tried to push or pull, he found it impossible. "It's locked!"

Meow

The first years flinched at Ms. Norris's call. 

"What do we do, what do we do?" Neville panicked. 

"We can break the door down," Harry suggested. 

"That'll just leave a trace behind," Ernest said before rubbing at the sides of his forehead. "Ugh, there has to be a spell we can try."

"FIRST YEARS HERE, FIRST YEARS HERE!" Peeves' shout carried down the hall. 

"I got one, move," Hermione said, pushing Ron out of the way. " Alohomora ."

Cranking and clicks could be heard from the lock on the door before one more loud final click resounded. This time, Ron was able to push the door open and everyone hurried in. However, Di Roy pulled his gigai off and just threw the body in. 

"Why?" Harry asked. 

"Someone needs to keep watch," Di Roy said as the door closed. 

Everyone held their breath as they stared at the door. 

"Where are they? Where are the first years?" Came Filch's voice, though muffled and filtered through the door. 

"Welllllll," Peeves said. 

"You say a word and I'll make sure to rip you slowly into pieces bit by bit, starting with your skin." Harry heard Di Roy say. 

"Uhhh, they ran," Peeves said. Harry could hear the nervous fear in his voice. 

"Yes but where!" Filch shouted.

Harry felt tapping on his shoulder.

"Ohh, I don't know," Peeves said, returning to his teasing self. "Could be here, could be there, could be anywhere and and nowhere~"

"Argh, you're frustrating. Come on Ms. Norris," Filch said. 

"Oh but you're getting cold or maybe hot. Maybe that way, maybe not."

After some shaking, Harry looked back to ask why his friends but found himself following their gaze up towards a very large three-headed beast. 

"I think…" Hermione said, "that's a cerberus."

The three-headed beast, the cerberus, shook each of its heads as it stood up. 

"I think I agree with you," Ernest said. 

"We're going to die," Neville mumbled. 

The cerberus stared at them and they stared back. 

"Hey Harry," Ron said, nudging Harry's side. "Do you think you could fight that?" 

"I think I would get mauled first," Harry replied, gripping Di Roy's gigai tightly. 

The cerberus growled. All three heads growled and Harry could see very clearly the teeth which if he had the time to count, would probably be a lot. 

"RUN!" Justin shouted.

While the others focused on getting the door open, Harry stepped to the side and with all his strength, threw Di Roy's gigai at the cerberus. This gave them all enough time to scramble out of the room as the cerberus got very distracted by the random body. 

As soon as Harry got out, they closed the door, getting it locked before almost collapsing onto the ground. Luckily, the hall was free of trouble-making poltergeists, teachers and staff as well as the resident cat. 

"Well, now we know why the third floor is off-limits," Ernest said. 

"A monster!" Ron shouted while both Hermione and Ernest said "cerberus" automatically. "Why is there a monster in the school!?"

"To keep something out clearly," Justin said once he caught his breath. 

"Did you leave my gigai with Growly?" 

Harry snapped his head to Di Roy who was watching all of them with a raised-eyebrow. "What?"

"My gigai, Harry, where is it?" Di Roy asked.

"You gave that creature a name?" Harry stared at Di Roy. 

Di Roy tilted his head. "Yes? After I found this room, I've been visiting him often." 

"You let us in there knowing there was a cerberus there?" Harry asked. 

"Growly is harmless," Di Roy replied with a wave of his hand. "He's just a bit bored and lonely. Though leaving my gigai alone with him too long isn't good for me cause the teeth and scratch marks don't heal well and putting the gigai on afterwards kinda hurts. Now get your friend to unlock this door again, I can't phase through this door at all for some reason."

"Harry, Are you okay? What did Di Roy say?" Neville asked.

Harry shook his shock out of his face. "I'll tell you guys later. First, Hermione, can you unlock that door again"

"What? Why?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, right, we don't have Di Roy's body now that I think about it," Ron said after taking a look around. 

"Thank you for your sacrifice," Justin said, clasping his hands together as if to make a prayer.

"I'm not dead dead," Di Roy grumbled as he slipped in through the door once Hermione had unlocked it. He returned after a few minutes, rolling his shoulders, his robe rather tattered. "Ugh, he got way too rough this time."

"Welcome back to life," Justin said. 

"I'm a ghost in a fake body, that isn't exactly coming back to life," Di Roy said. 

"We can touch, hear and see you, that's good enough for me," Justin said. 

Di Roy rolled his eyes as he continued to stretch. 

"We should go before Peeves or Filch show up again," Ernest suggested to which they all agreed.

After returning to the entrance of their dorm, Harry gave one last glare at Di Roy as the Hufflepuff dorm closed. He would figure out what Di Roy was up to if it was the last thing he did. 

Susan stared down at Hermione who was shuffling in her seat, looking this way and that. If one were to look closely, it would seem as if this was an interrogation and Hermione was confirmed guilty. 

"I," Susan started. "Expected better from you, Hermione."

"But," Hermione tried to argue but Susan brought her hand up like a stop sign. 

"The boys, I'm not surprised since they always seem to be going out on nightly adventures but you, you are better at keeping track of yourself," Susan said. 

"Yes, usually, but Ron was the one at fault," Hermione said. 

"Hey!" Ron shouted from the side. 

"I have never seen someone fail to rewrite the effects of dittany so badly and all of it is in the textbook!" Hermione explained. "Not to mention all the spelling mistakes! He spelled dittany with an 'e'!"

"Why does this feel like I'm watching a badly filmed crime show?" Justin whispered to Hannah who shook her head with a smile. 

"Because they're both trying too hard,' Hannah whispered back. 

"I didn't spell dittany with an 'e'," Ron mumbled while flipping through his potions homework. He dropped his head onto the desk when he did in fact find a 'dittany' with an 'e'. 

Just then, the door slammed open and in walked Ernest with Harry and Neville behind him carrying quite a few stacks of books. 

"Here are all the books I could find on the cerberus," Ernest announced. 

"Why?" Susan asked.

"Well shouldn't we know why there's a cerberus here?" 

Susan glared at Ernest. "Do you want to get in trouble?" 

"No… but aren't you curious?" Ernest's eyes seemed to sparkle in excitement. 

Susan shook her head then paused when she noticed Hannah sneaking to the books. "Really Hannah?" 

"It's a magical creature that was brought into Hogwarts for a reason," Hannah said with a bit of excitement as well. "A magical creature that is properly contained and not loose in the school."

"Not to mention it is a creature from the Greek myths," Justin added as he picked up his own book. 

Susan threw her hands up. "Why not just ask Di Roy since he is apparently friends with it."

Di Roy stopped his fake struggling from Harry's chokehold and flipped them so that Harry was in a chokehold instead. 

"My job is to keep this one," he said, nodding down to Harry who was trying to escape, "out of trouble so no, I'm not giving you any information."

"But it'll answer a lot of curiosities and speed our research up," Hermione said. 

Di Roy stared at Hermione blankly. "And I should care why?"

"Because it means no one will go looking for trouble," Susan replied. 

Di Roy took a moment to think about it before ultimately smirking. "Nah. But good luck to you all."

Susan looked at Harry. "He's not very helpful is he?" 

"Nope," Harry choked out. 

"Come on, we need him breathing to help us look through the books," Susan said as she walked over to the pile of books. 

Di Roy snorted before letting Harry go. Harry elbowed Di Roy in the process before jogging to the pile of books. 

"So what exactly are we looking for?" He asked. 

"Anything that can lead us to the reason why a cerberus could be in the school," Ernest replied. 

"Couldn't it be because it was protecting something?" Hermione said. "It was standing over a trap door after all."

"What!?" Ernest shouted before throwing his hands in the air. "Why did I grab all these books then?"

"You couldn't have said that earlier?" Justin asked. 

"Well excuse me for being too busy getting stared down by Susan while you just watched," Hermione said. 

"It was kind of funny," Justin said. 

Hermione huffed.

"Soooooo," Ron said, scooting towards the table of books. "We know that the dog is protecting something through a trapdoor and Harry and Justin said that Snape was attacked by a dog."

"I highly doubt Professor Snape was attacked by that specific dog," Hermione said. 

"I don't know Hermione, it seems pretty suspicious to me," Ron said. 

"He did mention cerberus specifically," Justin added.

"So are you all thinking what I'm thinking?" Ron asked, looking around. 

"Ron, I highly doubt Professor Snape would want whatever's under that trapdoor," Hermione said. 

"I'll have to agree," Hannah said. "As mean as Professor Snape can be,I don't think Headmaster Dumbledore would hire someone and employ them for years if he didn't trust them.”

"But it's Snape and maybe he just hasn’t had a chance to act," Ron said. "Besides, he is a Slytherin so maybe he was just waiting for the right opportunity."

"But he's a professor," Hermione said. 

"A really bad and mean one," Neville mumbled. 

Harry looked at Di Roy who had a book open for himself as well. 

"Hey Di Roy," he called. "You’ve spent the longest with Professor Snape so do you think he's the kind of person who would steal from here?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know, it's not like we really talk," Di Roy replied. 

"Well aren't you helpful," Harry said. 

"Of course I am, I'm helping you guys by letting you figure it all out yourselves,' Di Roy said. 

Harry pouted. "Why are you here again?" 

"To keep an eye on you and explore the school cause the boss wanted me to," Di Roy replied. 

Harry glared at Di Roy and thought back to what could've happened when his ma had visited. There wasn't exactly anything greatly memorable though. At most, his ma may have sensed something and that was when a light bulb seemed to turn on in Harry's mind. Closing his eyes, he focused. 

At first, he concentrated on his immediate surroundings. He could sense his friends, the light feeling of a Plus soul with a strange distorted feeling. He could sense Di Roy, the eerie feeling that surrounded a Hollow’s soul and the sucking emptiness it brought. He then broadened his senses and moved beyond the room. 

"What is he doing?" Hermione whispered.