Chapter 3

Dearest Ichigo,

I am delighted to hear that Harry's trial went well. He is a good wizard, and he will become a good man. Everyone on my end is doing well. I am enjoying the summer with my sister. We went swimming just a few days ago, I wish you could have come with us! It is a shame that you two have not spoken, I'm sure that you would get along well. Perhaps I will ask her to send you her own letters as well? That would be funny.

But enough of me, my sister and Harry, how are you? School is about to start for Hogwarts, isn't it? Are you going to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor like Dumbledore suggested? I know you'll be a great teacher. You are kind and patient, which is really all you need!

How is your... training going? I know you explained it to me before I left to return home, but I still cannot wrap my head around some things. That's how I feel about most things that happened, while at Hogwarts. Like it was all some sort of dream.

Does your mask still hurt when you summon it? Or have you gotten used to it again? That's how it works, right?

If I remember right, you think the reason you were so sick was because the two powers inside of you were switching? It went from light to dark, but your body was used to the light, so the adjustment took its toll. Something like that anyways... I also remember that your not too sure of it all yourself -- why they're shifting and changing at all, and that worries me greatly, that you don't.

I don't want to see you get hurt.

Love,

Fleur Delacour

Ichigo smiled as he finished reading Fleur's letter. After the tournament was over, Fleur left with the rest of her school to return home, but that didn't mean they had lost all contact. Owls, they had found, were a beautiful thing. Ichigo tucked the letter away in his trunk he had begun packing for Hogwarts. He would write back to Fleur once they arrived at the school since he was bound to have more to speak about then.

With the assistance of Winky, he finished packing his own trunk and a smaller one for Winky as well. Inside was a collection of simple outfits and trinkets he had gifted her over the past year they had spent together. Ichigo was happy to note the absence of any butterbeer. Winky may not have been over her pain -- probably never would be -- but at least she had forsaken the comforts of a bottle.

Once finished, Ichigo poked his head out into the hallway. His eyes landed on Ron as he passed through the hallway. "Ron," he called out. The ginger paused to look at the shinigami. "Go and get Harry up if he isn't already. We're going to be late for the train." Ron nodded and returned the way he had come.

Ichigo stepped back into his room and smiled at Winky. "Well, are you excited? Another year at Hogwarts! I'm sure there will be all sorts of new adventures."

Winky nodded. "Any year should be better than last, Winky thinks, yes she does."

His smile widened. "I'll take it! C'mon, let's get our trunks downstairs."

"Yes, sir."

Ichigo took stock of the room one last time to make sure he had everything he needed. He had his case and Winky her's. Zangetsu was strapped around his waist and torso under his jumper. His wand was tucked into the side of his pants, easily within reach.

With this in mind, he pulled it free to cast a quick charm on their trunks to lighten their weight before returning it. Content they had everything they needed, Ichigo went downstairs, Winky in step behind him. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, as well as Fred and George, were already waiting for them downstairs. They had a lot more luggage with them, their pets and books taking up space that Ichigo didn't have a need to fill. They were all ready to go, except for the lack of the golden child.

A few minutes later the boy in question appeared, Sirius in tow. Ichigo frowned as he watched the men practically cling to Harry. It was obvious to anyone who actually spent time with the boy that he was upset. About what specifically, Ichigo had a few ideas. He was sure, though, that the boy's godfather hanging onto him was not helping.

"Sirius," Ichigo called out. The man turned his gaze from Harry to the shinigami.

"Ichigo. Is there something you need?"

Ichigo shook his head as he stepped towards him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, not missing how Harry practically crawled away from them once the opportunity presented itself. If Sirius noticed, he didn't let on.

"I just want to thank you for lending us your family home." Ichigo said as he pulled his hand back and bowed slightly in gratitude. "And don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Harry for you while we're away. I won't let anything happen to him, nothing that's not supposed to, anyways."

"I'll hold you to that." Ichigo did not miss the dangerous glint in Sirius' eyes. The shinigami had no doubt of the underlying threat. Ichigo couldn't decide if he was annoyed or amused by the notion.

Sirius was more than a competent wizard, Ichigo knew that very well. Everyone in the order was, even the children. The fact remained, however, that Ichigo had seen, fought, and bested more than the man before him could even imagine. He had not only a wand, but a zanpakuto and visord's mask by his side. For Sirius to think he could actually cause Ichigo harm, well, it rattled Ichigo's pride more than he cared to admit.

Perhaps some of the 'Lord's and 'Master's had gone to his head a bit.

It was also refreshing, in a way. People always walked on eggshells around him and after the reveal of his mask even more so. Sirius knew that Ichigo was no mere wizard, yet he did not let that stop him from threatening him. Ichigo made a mental note to never piss the man off if he could help it.

"Of course," Ichigo replied to the man's sorta-kinda-threat. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Sirius nodded, but Ichigo doubted he took his words to heart.

"Alright, everyone." Ichigo continued, turning back to the group. "Let's get going before we miss the train. I remember hearing something about a flying car last time that happened...?"

The faint blush on Harry's and Ron's faces was enough to confirm the story. Ichigo laughed as he rushed all eight of them out the front door. Using his height to his advantage, Ichigo hailed several cabbies since there was no way the lot of them could fit into one, and they were too far away from King's Cross to walk. Not with all their luggage, anyway.

Ichigo took care to keep Winky out of view, despite that muggles wouldn't be able to see her anyways. They could never be too careful. Winky did not seem bothered by it, in fact, she seemed uplifted. Ichigo doubted that Winky saw a lot of the muggle world while she worked for the Crouches. Fresh air would be good for her. That's what Ichigo hoped.

Fred, George, and Ginny's cab arrived first at the station, followed by Ron and Hermione, and then finished with Harry, Winky, and Ichigo.Their large group, luggage and all, attracted a lot of attention as they weaved through the station. Ichigo couldn't blame them, really. Especially since owls and the kantana on his hip were involved. He always made a point to check beside him to make Winky didn't get dragged off into the crowd.

By the time they made it 9 ¾, it seemed like everyone had already decided their sitting arrangements. Ron and Hermione where going to sit with the other prefects, leaving Harry with Ichigo and Winky. Fred and George were going to sit with each other, although, Ichigo wasn't sure how stationary they would be. Ginny was going to sit with Harry and Ichigo, but a classmate dragged her off the moment before they stepped onto the train. And if Ichigo noticed a black dog in the crowd, well, he certainly wasn't going to say anything.

Ichigo was the one who lifted their luggage onto the shelves above them as Harry and Winky sat on opposite sides of the compartment. He huffed at the exercise and joined Winky on her side, sitting between her and the window. The three of them sat together in silence. It wasn't until several minutes after the train departed that Ichigo broke that silence.

"So, what's bothering you?" he asked.

Ichigo watched as Harry's shoulders tensed before he answered. "Nothing."

"Harry," Ichigo began, the exasperation in his tone evident. "I may not be your Godfather and I haven't seen you very much for three months, but I'd like to think that I know you very well. Enough to know that you're upset, at least." Ichigo shifted in his seat as he reached into his pocket. He moved his hand to Winky, who held out an outstretched hand without question. He dropped several coins into her waiting palm. "Why don't you go grab us some snacks for the trip?"

Winky nodded and excused herself from the cabin. Ichigo watched her leave, hoping that their privacy would give Harry the room he needed to talk, and also that Winky understood to be gone for a while. "I assume this has to do with Sirius?"

Harry shook his head, his hands fidgeting with the edges of his robes. "No, it's not... well it's not just him. It's everything really. When I finally think one thing is getting better, another problem shows up in its wake. I feel like I'm never getting any peace."

"I see," Ichigo said. He did understand, at least to an extent, what the boy was going through. After all, fighting Aizen was a war all on its own. Literally. "What do you think is bothering you the most?" he asked, switching tactics.

"I think it's that the people I've come to rely on, that I've trusted, are starting to turn on me. It feels like that anyways." Ichigo didn't respond. Harry took the silence as a cue to keep going. "I've never drawn attention to the fact that I'm the 'chosen one,' and I've never wanted to, but I'm a good wizard. I've proven time and time again that I'm a capable wizard, but yet..."

Ichigo watched as Harry's hands clenched into fists.

"But yet...?"

"Yet Dumbledore chooses Ron and Hermione to be prefects and not me." The watery shine to the boy's eyes is undeniable. "And I know it's selfish to think like that, I should be proud of them, I know, but... they keep talking about it and they don't even act like it's strange I wasn't chosen! Like, they always knew I wouldn't be on the same level as them, and Dumbledore... perhaps he's upset with me? He was there at the trial, but once it was over he vanished, and now he does this? Maybe they're starting to believe everything in the papers, about how I faked what happened in the maze."

Ichigo reached his hand over to cover Harry's clenched one to keep the boy from continuing. "Dumbledore is a wise man, he wouldn't do anything without reason. You must know how much he cares for you, how much everyone cares for you -- including Ron and Hermione. You must have faith, Harry, in the people you've put trust into. I would be very surprised if it turns out to be misguided."

Winky took that opportunity to return back to the compartment. Her arms were full of snacks that Ichigo doubted they were going to eat before they arrived at the school. Regardless, he thanked Winky as she sat back down next to him. Harry opened a chocolate frog while Ichigo split a bag of lemon crisps with Winky. "So," Harry began as he popped a leg into his mouth. "How's your, uh, training going?"

Ichigo smiled, happy to talk about anything other than the repressive thoughts that coulded their lives at the moment. "Pretty well, actually. I can hold my mask for several minutes now."

Harry's form shuddered. "I hate that bloody thing. It's so... creepy. And it's even more freaky because only a handful of people can actually see you while you're using it."

"Well, I don't really plan on ever using it." Ichigo admitted as he swallowed another crisp. "It's more of a self-preservation thing, really. I suspect -- I don't know for sure -- that the reason my body was in such pandemonium during the year had something to do with the Dark Lord. There's something about him, some darkness, that is similar to what my old world was like. It called out to my own darker nature -- something that has been done in millenia. My body, not used to the abrupt change, was thrown into chaos."

"But like I said, I can't be certain about anything. I figured, though, that if I was able to get my body used to my hollow side, that it would be able to balance itself back out again."

"Hollow?" Harry asked.

Ichigo tapped the side of his face. "My mask. It's a manifestation the hollow powers I possess. Like I said before, I haven't been able to summon it since I got to this world. The fact that I can now is... unsettling, to say the least."

Harry nodded in understanding, but if the look on his face was anything to go by, Ichigo doubted he understood it at all. Ichigo was going to say more when the door to their cabin opened abruptly.

Draco stood there, a dark look on his face. When his eyes landed on Ichigo, they softened just a fraction. "Mr. Malfoy, to what do we owe this pleasure?"

Ichigo was not a stupid man, or even an oblivious one. He knew that Draco and Harry were at odds with one another. It was to be expected from their heritage, after all. Ichigo had hoped, though, that after the discussion last year, things would've calmed down.

"Oh, it's um... nothing, never mind." Draco said as he shut the door just as suddenly as he had opened it.

Perhaps things were looking better, after all.

A couple of notes here. First one, I'm looking for a new beta reader/editor for this story since the one who worked with me on the first one is no longer able to do so. Private message me if interested.

Second note, which I'm significantly more excited about. If you follow me on here, then you already know about it. I've created a discord for my readers to join. If you don't know what that is, it's a social platform where you all can talk about my work (and even other fan fiction that you enjoy) as well as just talk casually with one another (myself included). I feel that if you like my story enough to keep reading it, then surely you already have a lot in common! You can either use it as an app on your devices, or through the website. The invitation to join is here;

https://discord.gg/qPMZ7Ud

I'll see you on the other side :D