The day Harry died no one even knew how it would affect the world in general. Hell, no one realized that the supposed savior of the hidden world among us was dead from hypothermia.

Or that six years after he died he became a captain class Soul Reaper who wielded the very element which killed him. And that he had a new name which everyone called him. His name was no longer Harry James Potter of Little Whinging, Surrey.

He was Toshiro Hitsugaya of Squad Ten, wielder of the Ice dragon Hyorinmaru and youngest of the captains inside the Seireitei. It had taken him less than a year of graduating to obtain the rank most Shinigami never reach in their after lives.

How did he achieve this rank when he had barely been dead for six years? Was it because he was a genius as many people believed? Was it because he had an innate control of his zanpakuto, the other half of every soul reaper? Or was it because he was the best Kido master in the Soul Society?

Toshiro honestly wondered what people would think if they knew how he had achieved Bankai so quickly after graduating.

The only thing he trusted to have his back was his zanpakuto. He didn't even trust his squad, or even his second in command Rangiku. (Though he would adamantly deny that he actually liked it when he got hugs from the hyper woman. He had a reputation to uphold dammit!)

Hyorinmaru originally didn't know what to think when he finally found his partner. He honestly didn't expect to have a boy who had been betrayed so many times in his young life that he only trusted himself. And since he was an extension of the boy, the child reluctantly trusted him. They spent most nights talking, just talking.

Often the subject would be about the academy, people who bothered to talk to him, what they would do in odd situations. Hyorinmaru liked the fact that he was the only person Toshiro opened up to. Everyone else was kept at arm's length, even the girl Hinamori who was the first person who Toshiro had ever met when he died.

The day that Toshiro learned his bankai was different than most.

It had all started when Hyorinmaru commented on an odd area in his soul which was filled with darkness. Toshiro meditated and went into his soul, and when he saw the area he froze. His very demeanor changed completely, as he went from arrogant genius to an abused and timid child. He was shaking.

"What is it?" asked the dragon.

Toshiro continued shaking, and Hyorinmaru caught one phrase which had him stop cold.

"I don't want to remember."

Hyorinmaru did something odd. He held the tiny soul reaper, just held him. Slowly the shaking stopped. Toshiro looked at Hyorinmaru.

"I blocked off that part of my memories because I really don't want to remember who I was before. If I could get rid of it I would."

"How can I trust you if you can't trust me?" asked Hyorinmaru.

Toshiro stiffened.

"If you want to look, go ahead. But I will not go back. I refuse to go back."

Hyorinmaru watched the memories his partner had blocked from himself for all this time.

(Toshiro's past)

A fat boy beat up a much smaller black hair waif, despite the fact that they were roughly the same age. A horse faced woman forced the black haired child to do chores meant for someone twice his age, throwing him in a small cupboard which was almost too small for the child. A large walrus man bellowed as he beat the child for something he had no control of.

The scene shifted...

The black haired child was now an infant sitting up watching as a red haired woman was hit with a sickly green light and her soul chain was completely severed. The man with a stick held it at the child, preparing to use the same light...

Suddenly Hyorinmaru saw himself standing before the child, as the sickly green light hit him and bounced off his reitsu to hit the man instead, who turned into mist and vanished. The woman saw him and bowed before wrapping around the boy creating a shield.

Then a large man with wild hair picked up the child. Hyorinmaru followed him as he took the boy to the house which held the animals that harmed his partner in life. Standing outside was a stern looking woman who could give Soi Fon a run for her money, and a color blind old goat who appeared to be sucking on a lemon drop if the scent was any indication.

Hyorinmaru caught a glimpse of the note the man left, and heard a series of names.

Hagrid, the large man. Minerva McGonagall, the stern woman. Albus Dumbledore, the color blind goat who left his partner in the hands of monsters.

According to the note Dumbledore left, Toshiro was named Harry Potter and he had just saved their hidden world from the Dark Lord Voldemort. He was a wizard who would go to Hogwarts when he turned eleven. He almost missed the little note on the bottom.

"Petunia, under no circumstances are you to adopt Harry. He is to be kept ignorant of our world until we come for him. You will be paid for your assistance."

Then he saw something that made him see red.

Toshiro was being forced to cook for the smaller pig who whined about some asinine thing while the horse face woman yelled at his partner. Toshiro was thin, and he could see ribs under the large bruises on his torso. It was snowing outside, and the walrus walked in furious about something. He spotted something that obviously made him even more irate, and he threw Toshiro outside with no protective gear or even a blanket.

Toshiro whimpered and climbed into a small doghouse, huddling against the cold wood for warmth. He stayed outside for hours as the family ate the meal Toshiro had cooked, the small pig eating most of it. Not once did they check on him or even look in his direction.

Toshiro closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep which he would never wake up from. Then he saw something that made him blink.

From under the raven black bangs where his scar was located, something shrieked in agony and disappeared. The scar healed over and Toshiro vanished, body and all.

When Toshiro woke up, he was in the soul society with his sword, and he had changed physically. His raven hair had turned completely white, his emerald eyes became a teal color, and he gained at least a foot in height. His stomach and torso no longer showed bones, though it did growl from hunger.

But the most prominent change was that his eyes no longer held an innocent look. Now they were as cold as ice.

(Back to Toshiro POV)

He honestly never wanted to go back to the world of the living again. He preferred the day to day lives of those who died to that hell.

Hyorinmaru came back and looked at him.

"We will never speak of this again if that is what you wish."

"Thank you. I never want to go back there."

Suddenly Toshiro was awakened to an alert. Apparently a Menos had appeared very close by and he was the only Soul Reaper in the area. He grabbed Hyorinmaru and went to face the creature without anyone there to back him up.

He heard Hyorinmaru telling him to run, but Toshiro refused, since there were younger souls around and they would get hurt. Letting his stubbornness show through, Toshiro leapt into danger. His natural leadership abilities came into play as he directed souls away from the area, though one caught his eye.

A man with hazel eyes and untameable raven black hair was leading some of the smaller children away. Something about the man clicked, and Hyorinmaru silently marked him so Toshiro could find him later.

The Menos appeared, it's feet causing minor craters in the ground. Toshiro took a stance, and prepared to attack.

'If you insist on fighting that damn thing, then you should at least listen to me.'

Toshiro felt his reitsu spike as he held his sword in front of him.

"Ban...Kai."

Ice formed along his body and he took complete control of the element. He could feel glacial wings surround him and he accepted it with his very being. He sensed the tail and odd flowers above him, marking his power. Ice crept along his arm holding the sword, forming a dragon's mouth.

The wings opened revealing him, and he said clearly "Diaguren Hyorinmaru!"

Toshiro made quick work of the Menos once he found his Bankai, and then went looking for the man and the children.

He found them among Squad Four who was being led by a timid boy named Hanataro Yamada. He went up to the man and said "Is everyone alright?"

The man gave him a relieved smile.

"We're all fine. What about the beast behind us?"

"I took care of it. It won't bother you anymore."

"Thank goodness. I thought the regular ones were a hassle, but that one was a nightmare. I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm James Potter."

"Toshiro Hitsugaya," he said out of reflex, then squinted at the man. Why did he look so damn familiar?

Hanataro came over and saw the two standing together and said something that really struck home something that was bothering the small soul reaper.

"You know if your hair was black and your eyes brown you could pass for brothers...or even father and son!"

That was when he realized who the man was and why he looked so damn familiar.

It was his father. He wondered how the man would react if he knew his son was killed by his in laws?

"Yeah... I was thinking the same thing! Maybe you could help me play a few pranks on some of those uptight soul reapers who come around, Toshiro-kun!"

Toshiro noticed something else about James Potter. He had a enough reitsu to easily gain a seat in one of the squads.

"Why aren't you a soul reaper yourself? I can tell you have enough spiritual energy to get in."

"Because if I did that, I'd have to answer to some stick in the mud."

Toshiro couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. It was a pretty apt description of most of the captains.

A week later four captains recommended Toshiro for taking over Squad ten. Unohana of squad four, Ukitake of squad thirteen, Soi Fon of squad two and Kyoraku of squad eight. Since he had achieved Bankai during the battle of the Menos, even if it was a bit unstable, he got the position. The only complaint he made was about his vice captain, who insisted on glomping him on sight.

While most of the shinigami in his division were a bit miffed at having so young a captain, they quit griping once summer hit. Toshiro hated the heat, so he used Hyorinmaru to cool off the barracks.

After that their attitude did a one eighty and they openly approved of their captain.

A month later James Potter entered the academy. It took him less than two years for him to graduate, and he already had a position in Squad ten. What most people were not aware of however, was that Toshiro took to visiting the man whenever he had a day off.

Squad two was up to it's neck in reports of pranks played on every division, particularly squad ten. Squad four was hit the least. Soi Fon became so irate she personally looked for the culprit.

Six years had passed since Toshiro died, and things began to happen in the world of the living that drew the Soutaicho's attention. Particularly England, which had gone into an uproar over something...and the Hollows had begun to multiply in the country. It was highly unusual, since Japan had the more spiritually rich lands. England was the third rich, with America at second.

So he sent Toshiro and six others to the nation to discover the cause.

Toshiro picked Rangiku, Ikkaku, Hanataro, James, Yumichika and Renji for the advance team. James originally mentioned there would be trouble if he went, but Toshiro gave him a look and he caved. For some reason he was closer to the tiny taicho (TM) than anyone else in the barracks, including his own vice captain.

Though Rangiku liked him just fine even though he was one rank below her. James had filled the post of third seat after the original guy died fighting a hollow.

So here they were, in England. James lead them a small pub, after forcing them to put on something that he said wouldn't attract attention. When questioned how he knew this, he said with an embarrassed look that this was where he used to live.

Apparently he lived there recently, since the entire pub was in an uproar over his appearance.

After which they left and got the supplies James knew they would need. He even found his old wand and made sure to settle some accounts, particularly once he found out that his old headmaster had been stealing from them.

Though he was in shock once he heard from the goblins that his only son was not only missing, but considered dead, since the blood test showed that almost the entire Potter line was now gone. To make matters worse, he found out through the goblins that his best friend and blood brother was considered a murderer and was now in Azkaban.

Toshiro was decidedly unimpressed with the place, even though James did in fact know where the source of the problem had originated. Ever since they did a bit of research and discovered that this Voldemort character had split his soul (which is why the hollow count in England had suddenly spiked) they were stuck there until they could locate and cleanse this man's soul.

Since James knew all about this world, he was the unofficial leader. Though why they needed sticks was beyond them. Toshiro refused to get a stick (James called them wands) as did Ikkaku, Rangiku and Yumichika. So they made a slight detour to Japan and contacted Urahara.

He turned their zanpakuto into the required sticks, including Hanataro who had finally located his sword. (He was rumored to have a bad habit of losing it for some reason.)

Back in England, a certain old man was wondering why rumors that James Potter had survived had cropped up. He had personally seen the dead body of the man, so he honestly had no idea why the rumors had started.

His main concern was that his golden boy was dead, according to his blood aunt. And according to the memories he caught a glimpse of, Harry had been dead for the past six years from the cold. Since anything he did to the family would undoubtedly be traced back to him, he erased the memory that he had been there at all.

Since he could not find Harry as he left him, he decided to have one last attempt at locating his pawn. He sent the letter through Fawkes.

Toshiro looked up when he heard the odd bird song. A bird with the colors of the sunset flew up to him, and he heard James gasp in surprise.

"What is Fawkes doing here?"

"Fawkes?"

"Fawkes is the phoenix familiar of my old headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. But why is he here?" said James.

The bird landed on Toshiro's shoulder, and dropped a letter. Toshiro couldn't makes heads or tails of the letters, since his romanji was very rusty.

He handed it to James...and once he read the name on the letter his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Mr. H. Potter?"

Toshiro stiffened. He had dropped that name years ago and with good reason.

"What's wrong Captain?" asked Rangiku. She had never seen her captain show actual fear before. Why did the name frighten him?

Toshiro immediately took a quill and parchment and wrote something down in romanji. It was a bit sloppy, since he hadn't used the language in so long, but it was passable.

He gave it to the phoenix who promptly flew away in a ball of flame.

"To Albus Dumbledore...

I am writing to inform you that the person you sent the letter to is dead. He is never coming back and any attempts to locate him will be met with retaliation. Do not send any letters addressed to him again or you will suffer the consequences.

T. H."

He was stunned. Why had someone with the initials T. H. get a letter for Harry? And why was Fawkes giving him the evil eye now?

Minerva came in with an irate look on her face...one she usually reserved when she was complaining about Severus Snape.

"Albus, are you aware that we have four new students which popped out of nowhere?"

He looked at her in question.

"Rangiku Matsumoto, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Hanataro Yamada and Jamie Potter."

Jamie? Could Harry have changed his name to Jamie?

"We can easily accommodate four new students. Send the letters Minerva. I will handle the paperwork."

James pulled Toshiro aside, and asked him the one thing that bothered him.

"Why did you get a letter addressed to Harry Potter? Fawkes wouldn't have delivered it to you unless something was up."

Toshiro once again stiffened at the name, "I don't want to remember..."

James wouldn't let up, until finally Toshiro's eyes flashed emerald. He gasped.

"Toshiro, how did you die?"

He gently touched the boy's tiny frame, and was suddenly pulled into a memory.

He recognized his wife's horse faced sister and her husband immediately. The pig boy was obviously their son Dudley. But the smallest child...that couldn't be Harry! Why the hell was his son with Lily's magic hating sister when they stated in the will that he was never to know about them or go to them?

He watched in disgust as his own son died from frost, and be reborn as Toshiro.

He didn't realize he was hugging Toshiro for a good five minutes, or that the boy was sobbing.

The next morning James came to a decision, and acted like he was going over something with the captain. Boring stuff which had the others turn back to breakfast.

"Toshiro, I know now you're my son Harry. But if you don't want me to call you that, I won't...though I hope you don't mind me calling you Prongslet every now and again."

"I dropped my birth name to forget my past. As long as I'm never called Harry again, I don't mind being called Prongslet."

James smiled.

Since they were pretending to be first years, James gave them gigai's of what they would look like as eleven year old children. Only four of them would infiltrate the school, while the other three would report back to the soul society. James even changed his name slightly so he could go in undetected. He also put in contacts which would turn his eyes green. That way everyone would think he was his own son and not wonder why Toshiro looked so much like Harry Potter.

The first day of school, and he made sure that they got onto the platform without a fuss, missing a large group of red heads. They immediately claimed a compartment and waited for the train to leave.

An hour into the ride, the door slid open to reveal a gangly red head with freckles.

"Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."

"That's odd. The train is spelled to add compartments so there should be another one. I'm afraid we don't have room here," said James.

The red head looked closer at him and said "You're Harry Potter!"

Toshiro hid his wince, as James said "No, I'm Jamie Potter."

"But you've got the scar..."

"Which one?"

Eventually they heard the wizard's tale of how Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord and had a distinct lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Once James lifted his bangs (thereby proving he wasn't Harry) Ron left.

Toshiro scowled, "Who the hell came up with that load of bull? And who was the idiot who singled out this kid by telling everyone about an odd scar on his head?"

The door opened again, revealing a bushy haired brunette who was looking for a toad.

"You wouldn't happen to know the name would you?" asked James.

A nervous boy behind her squeaked, "Trevor."

"Accio Trevor the toad!"

He caught the missing toad and handed it to the boy. Apparently this set off the girl, since she started spouting off all the spells she knew. James bore this with good humor before she finally left.

Toshiro saw the grin and asked patiently, "What is so funny?"

"She reminds me a lot of Lily."

The door opened a third time, revealing a pale blond with a set of goons.

"They've been saying all down the train that Harry Potter is on."

"Wrong name. My name is Jamie Potter, not Harry. Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

Draco pulled something out, and handed it to him. James growled and showed the others...it was a card.

"You mean to tell me everyone is going to call me Harry because of some frog card? Where did they find a picture of me to put on a Frog Card anyway?"

"Don't know. All I know is that is the accepted picture of Harry Potter."

James handed the card back.

"Anyway, I'm James, this is Toshiro, Hanataro and Rangiku."

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle."

"What were your parents on when they named you?" quipped James.

Draco sensed that this boy wasn't mocking his name or trying to be hurtful so he replied, "I have no idea but I want some."

James grinned and invited him to join them.

Aside from the cold lake and ghosts (all of whom panicked when they saw the disguised soul reapers) they were pretty impressed with the school.

Then the sorting came and it all went to hell.

"Matsumoto, Rangiku!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Longbottom, Neville!"

"Hufflepuff!

"Hitsugaya, Toshiro!"

Here the hat paused for a good ten minutes before yelling "Ravenclaw!"

"Potter, Jamie!"

Whispers broke out when she said Potter, and loud cheering could be heard when it yelled "Gryffindor" within five seconds of the hat touching his head.

"Yamada, Hanataro!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Malfoy, Draco!"

The hat was silent for five minutes before proclaiming "Ravenclaw!"

Draco sat next to Toshiro, who was glaring at the headmaster for some odd reason.

"You know many pure-bloods are openly hoping that man would at least gain some form of appropriate fashion sense...or at least a decent taste in color combinations."

Toshiro's eye twitched as he took in the colors of the headmaster's robes.

"I can see why. I take it everyone hopes he's color blind?"

Draco snickered, "Actually yes."

Toshiro could honestly say he liked the Ravenclaw dorms. He even swiped the window seats along with Draco. The next morning they went to breakfast, chatting idly about the school. James came up, a little miffed that Toshiro went into a different house than him.

Toshiro's eyes twitched a bit...was James actually whining about that?

Eventually he told his father "Shut up unless you want to become an icicle."

James dropped his whining...then he dragged the irritated chibi all the way to the Gryffindor table to meet a pair of twins.

Said twins began bowing to James for some inexplicable reason, calling him Lord Prongs. Toshiro raised an eyebrow at the sight.

James leaned conspiratorially saying, "My old nickname is Prongs, and I left quite a reputation behind. Apparently the terror twins have taken up my old mantle of pranking...and I accidentally let it slip I was one of the Marauders."

Toshiro glared at him, "Will this interfere with the mission?"

"Other than me sneaking off to prank a few teachers, not really. And they promise to give me and Rangiku an alibi should we have to sneak off to dispatch hollows."

"Fine."

James said in English, "And this is my pranking apprentice Prongslet. He is brilliant when it comes to muggle pranks, so watch out."

The twins began bowing to him and he snorted.

"Just don't annoy me too much and I won't freeze your dorm room."

Seeing their disbelieving eyes James snickered, "He can do that actually. He's been known to freeze a large field with ice when someone vexes him."

Aside from the grumpy potions master, the boring history ghost and the irritating stalker that was the headmaster, Toshiro reluctantly admitted to himself that he was enjoying this mission.

James however, was NOT. He had a good idea why Snape hated him, but there was nothing he could do or his cover would be blown.

That is, until Snape finally pushed him too far by illegally using Legilmency on him. The only reason he didn't figure out then and there that it was James Potter and not Harry standing before him is because his zanpakuto threw him out.

After the incident, James warned the others about Snape and Dumbledore. Then the disaster of a flying lesson...which resulted in James somehow ended up on the Gryffindor team. Toshiro found flying fun, but not very practical.

Interestingly enough, Hanataro soon found himself as Madam Pomphrey's favorite student after the accident Neville had while flying. After which, Hanataro found himself learning how to heal using wizarding methods.

Toshiro honestly didn't care about that, since he knew Unohana-taicho would approve.

Then something odd happened during the Quidditch match. Someone attempted to throw James off his broom, and would have succeeded had he not had his wand or known the 'Finite Incantum' spell.

Afterwords Ron and Hermione both thought Snape was trying to kill him. Their reasoning would have gotten to James had he not known something they didn't.

Snape still owed him for saving his life after Sirius tricked him one year. Which is why James knew Snape would never try to kill him before he repaid that debt...it would have eaten away at him if he had.

It was also how he accidentally uncovered that Dumbledore had the Philosopher's stone in the castle. Since he knew full well what it was and what it could do, he alerted Toshiro to the problem.

That's why Toshiro could have been found during the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff match on the third floor. It took him less than fifteen minutes to locate, take and leave with the stone in his possession. He didn't even bother putting in a replacement.

Halloween, the one holiday that Toshiro loathed above all else. He could stand Christmas, even Valentines day, but Halloween always held bad memories for him.

Hence why Toshiro hid in the kitchens with James, Hermione, Rangiku and Draco. Hermione was upset because of something that Ron had said and Rangiku was trying to calm her down. The boys were plotting to get back at the guy who insulted their friend.

By the time they headed to the Common rooms, they had no idea that someone had let a troll in. Toshiro, Draco and Hermione only found out when they made it to the dorms. The prefects were really hysterical because no one had any idea where the three were.

"We were in the kitchens trying to calm 'Mione down. Ron Weasly of Gryffindor insulted her by saying she had no friends when she was trying to help him with the assignment," said Draco.

"It's true, that and I hate Halloween with a passion."

Cho took a good look at Hermione and realized they were telling the truth since she looked like she had been crying a lot. Which is the only reason they didn't get any points deducted for being out of bounds with a troll on the loose.

James and Rangiku almost got chewed out as well, until they expertly shifted the blame on Ron.

"Where were you two? There's a full grown troll on the loose!" screeched Percy.

James looked right at a certain redhead and glared.

"Blame your younger brother for insulting Hermione Granger for trying to help during an assignment. I had to show Rangiku where Toshiro and Draco took Hermione after Ron insulted her. We stayed in the kitchens the entire time."

Percy turned to Ron.

"Did you insult someone Ronald?"

Ron winced, "I was only telling the truth. Everyone knows she hasn't got any friends because she's a know it all!"

That was when the twins let James know that Ron was terrified of spiders. The next morning everyone could hear Ron screaming like a girl as he woke up to find his bed full of baby acromantulas.

Christmas, and things appeared to have settled down. Toshiro loved the castle now, since the temperature had dropped so much that he was able to breath easier. Though he kept hearing Poppy's harping because he never bothered to wear any warm clothes outside.

Though she was mystified as to why he never seemed to get sick despite the fact he kept going outside in nothing but a thin robe and pants.

In fact, Toshiro appeared to be the only student in the castle who actually enjoyed the Potions room. Snape was startled to realize that not only did Toshiro never bother with the gloves or warming charms, he was also the best potions maker of the lot during this season.

Which drove him to find out why Toshiro was the only one not affected by the almost sub freezing temperatures of the dungeons. If only so he could tell his Slytherins so they would quit whining about the cold common rooms.

As he used his legilmency on the odd white haired student, he found himself in a large plane full of ice. He heard a woosh behind him and turned...and was confronted with a dragon made entirely of ice!

Snape withdrew so quickly he got a very nasty headache which almost felt like a hangover.

What the hell was that dragon, and why was it in Toshiro's mind?

Toshiro stayed behind class to confront him.

"Why did you try to infiltrate my mind?" he asked coldly.

"What the hell are you?"

Seeing an opportunity in the question, he decided that they could use someone like Snape on their side. Especially if it meant him staying out of their heads!

"I am a Shinigami, one charged with the balance of life and death."

Snape looked at him shrewdly.

"That is impossible."

"You live in a world of magic, so what makes you think that it's impossible."

"You would have to be dead."

"I am. This body I happen to be using is a fake."

"What was that plane of ice I saw?"

"That was my soul. And the dragon is apart of it. His name is Hyorinmaru."

"How do I know that you're telling the truth?"

Toshiro sighed, then took out a strange pill. He popped it in his mouth and felt his soul being pushed out of the fake body.

Snape stared, as Toshiro somehow doubled himself using a pill of some sort. One Toshiro was wearing the student's robes...but the other...was wearing an outfit he had never seen before with black being the main color. He had a white cloak with diamonds on the bottom and an odd symbol on the back. On his back was a long thin sword with sky blue cloth criss-crossing on the hilt, and a chain with a crescent moon hanging from the guard.

But what really got to him was the pressure. The air felt cloying, almost like the sheer force was too great for him.

"So you do have some spiritual energy. I take it you can see me as well?"

Snape nodded.

"Look, just leave me and the others alone and we won't come after you."

"What others?"

"Rangiku Matsumoto, Hanataro Yamada, Jamie Potter, Hermione Granger."

"Granger is one of you?"

"Actually no. She's still among the living. But I'm tired of calming her down after you berate her so much that she cries."

After that Snape toned down his insults, much to the relief of the soul reapers. He even looked the other way when he caught them in spirit form after hours, killing hollows. For some reason he was the only one who could see them like that.

So far they had no luck finding any of the pieces Voldemort left behind. Strangely enough, they were the only ones in the school aside from Dumbledore who even bothered to say the name out loud.

Then they had a breakthrough when James took them to the Room of Requirement for a break and to study.

Toshiro was fed up with the false leads, as were the three who had to run them down while they were stuck in the school.

Finally he said out loud, "I wish we had even one of the Horcruxes here right now!"

Suddenly the comfortable study room fell away to show a lone table with an old circlet. Toshiro picked it up and James looked it over.

"I think that's Ravenclaw's diadem. But why would the room...?"

Toshiro felt something was off about the diadem, and reached out slightly with his soul.

And promptly pulled back.

"I think that Voldemort turned this into a horcrux. It's giving off a major vibe that reminds me way too much like a hollow."

Toshiro took out his communicator and called the Twelfth division.

"Captain Kurotsuchi is busy. May I help you Captain Hitsugaya?" asked his vice captain Nemu.

"We've found what appears to be a horcrux made by Voldemort. Ask your captain if he can construct something that can track the rest using the reitsu it's giving off."

A dour voice answered, "Send the blasted thing with the others when they make their rounds!"

Renji arrived around midnight the next day, and Toshiro handed over the diadem.

Afterwords James took them to one of the many Potter mansions to celebrate Christmas. He even invited the twins and Ron, though he had an ulterior motive for the red head.

Ron had brought along his pet rat, Scabbers.

James obviously recognized the rat, since he pulled an elaborate prank which made Ron believe Scabbers died of natural causes. Ron while heartbroken, did accept the replacement pet James got for him.

He loved his new tawny owl Windy.

*PETER PETTIGREW ALIVE! CONFIRMED DEATH EATER! SIRIUS BLACK FOUND INNOCENT AND RELEASED AFTER FALSE IMPRISONMENT!*

Toshiro looked at James, irritated. James had forced the rat to return back to human form, used a full body bind on him then made an illegal portkey that took Pettigrew directly to the Auror's office during the night.

"Why did you do that?"

"Peter was the secret keeper. If we had stayed with Sirius, both of us would be alive. Besides, he made everyone believe that old hound was as black as his name."

Toshiro let it drop, he could see a lost cause when he saw one.

Christmas music, Toshiro thought bitterly, should be gagged, drawn, quartered, boiled in acid, then forced fed to those damn carolers...slowly.

It wouldn't have annoyed him so much if the carolers outside the door could sing properly...or better yet learn some new songs! There is only so much 'Santa Claus is coming to town', 'Rudolph the red nose reindeer', 'Frosty the snowman', 'Jingle bells', 'Noel', and 'Jingle Bell Rock' one person could take.

Which is probably why several of the off key caroling idiots outside were currently taking a break from singing to curse quite eloquently at him.

He had been using Hyorinmaru to nail them with snowballs. Personally the dragon found the whole thing amusing, since Toshiro was finally acting his age for once. James was too busy laughing because Toshiro hit Yumichika with a large ball of snow.

Meanwhile, Toshiro was not looking forward to their soon to arrive guests. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

Though he definitely couldn't wait to see how they reacted to finding out that not only was their dead best friend back, he was a Soul Reaper!

Suddenly the carolers started yelping because a large black hound dove into them. They quickly went home, deciding it was a bad job all around.

The black hound went up to Toshiro, who by this point was in a mood to throw snowballs (he always won), so he ducked behind his little fort, then whipped out so fast with a large ball about as big as the hound and threw it.

It hit dead on. James walked up to Toshiro, saw the large paw sticking out and began howling with laughter. Then he turned into his animagus form (which for some odd reason was also his zanpakuto's name) and threw even more snow on top of the buried hound.

"Damn it all! Enough snow! I'm freezing my tail off here!" growled an unfamiliar voice.

A man with tawny hair walked up absolutely amused.

"Lose a fight with a snow ladened tree, Padfoot?"

"That brat threw this on me!" whined Padfoot.

Then they saw James and their jaws dropped.

James was on the ground laughing his ass off.

"You're not going to make a proper snow angel like that," commented Toshiro. Which only made James laugh harder.

"James?" said Sirius in complete shock. Remus was stunned silent.

James finally got up, took one look at Sirius and said "You got old Pads."

Which is when the former convict tackled him.

Remus shook his head in disbelief, then turned to Toshiro. Then paused, and took a good look at the boy. James got out from under Sirius and said, "His name is Toshiro. Toshiro Potter."

Toshiro looked at James, and he grinned.

"It's not like I wouldn't have adopted you. Besides, I doubt they would be able to pronounce your last name properly anyway."

Christmas day was interesting to say the least. Once Sirius and Remus got over the fact that their dead friend was back...and in the body of an eleven year old, things really livened up. Sirius began pranking James every morning, and Remus tried to keep Toshiro from killing the former convict.

All the while Remus tried to figure out why Toshiro looked so much like James with Lily's intelligence and eyes. Then he asked James, and he grew quiet. His hazel eyes glowed with rage about something, and he said quietly to both of them, "Toshiro is Harry."

Stunned, Sirius said "But isn't Toshiro dead?"

"Yes. And it's all Dumbledore's fault. He gave Harry to Lily's sister, and they killed him by leaving him out in the cold until he died from it. That's how I found him. He saved me and some children from the fallen souls that inhabit the after life, and we hit it off. It wasn't until recently that I found out that he was Harry."

"I'm so sorry James, if I had known what Peter was going to do when I caught up to him..."

"It wasn't your fault Padfoot. Peter couldn't have fooled the old goat, he wasn't an Occulmens like you. And Dumbledore was the one who insisted that we switch the Secret Keeper."

"What do you plan to do to him, now that you're back?" asked Remus.

"Once we get rid of the soul pieces, I fully intend to show Dumbledore what I think of his scheming. This whole mess is his fault, it always was."

Toshiro entered then.

"I think the entire war you lived through was his doing. Think about it. Dumbledore could have taken out Voldemort when he was still new at being a Dark Lord and prevented the whole thing. Instead he waits for a prophecy to be made and then makes everyone dance to his tune while he sets up two families for a fall."

Surprised, they realized he made sense. Dumbledore could have taken out Tom Riddle when he was still small time, but he let the man grow out of control.

Much to his shock, everyone opened presents.

Toshiro opened eleven boxes, some of them from James and the others. James gave him a book about dragons, Sirius gave him a knife set, Remus a wolf plushie, Rangiku a set of books on hexes and jinxes, Hanataro a Healer's helpmate, Yumichika a mirror, Ukitake a box of sweets, Hermione a book on ice spells, Draco a book about magical creatures, the Weasly twins sent him some pranks while their mother sent a jumper she obviously made herself with a dragon on the front and Hinamori sent him a new soul pager.

James opened several prank gifts between Sirius and Remus, and at the bottom of those was one which got his attention pretty quick. It was roughly wrapped, and had no note as to who it was from. Opening it, he held back a curse. It was a silvery cloak.

"James, what's wrong?" asked Sirius.

"Did you know Dumbledore had my Invisibility cloak?"

"What cloak?" said Toshiro. James took the cloak and draped it around Toshiro. It overlapped, covering everything below the neck perfectly.

Rangiku and the others gasped.

Toshiro was missing everything under his neck!

Aside from finding out that Dumbledore had stolen his cloak, everyone rather enjoyed the day.

After the gifts were opened, the wrapping disposed of, and everyone was in a mood for fun, Toshiro had a rather devious idea.

"Who's in the mood for a snowball fight?"

James, catching on to his idea, said "I choose Rangiku, Hanataro and Toshiro."

"Fine, I get Yumichika, Ikkaku and Remus!" declared Sirius.

Everyone went outside, and Toshiro laid down the rules.

"Alright, here are the main rules. No spells other than charms, you have thirty minutes to create a base made of snow, and no one is allowed to hit anyone when we go inside to warm up for a bit."

Sirius and James immediately began hitting everyone with warming charms, while the others began making a base.

Soon the forts were up, and everyone was preparing their ammo. Fifteen minutes later the war was on.

They went inside three hours later, and the official winner was James' team. Toshiro had utterly slaughtered Sirius and Yumichika. Hanataro had nailed Remus more often than not, while Rangiku destroyed Ikkaku.

Sirius was grumbling the entire time they headed in.

"Damn you Prongs! How did you manage to throw such large snow bombs on us?"

Toshiro had a full smirk on his face while James laughed at his best friend.

"Did I forget to mention that Toshiro happens to be in control of an ice-type dragon? And can manipulate the weather with it?"

Remus glared at him, "So that's how you manage to avoid that odd blizzard."

Toshiro was cackling when he went in.

When they returned to Hogwarts, Sirius and Remus stayed at the Potter mansion. Both planned to help them locate the horcruxes.

By that time Renji had shown up with two odd devices. Both needed to be field tested. One went to the two wizards, the other to Ikkaku and Yumichika.

A week later they found another horcrux...in Sirius' family home. And a third one in the Gringotts vault belonging to Sirius' cousin Bellatrix Lestrange.

They had the goblins destroy those. The rest of the year was spent between pranks with the twins, learning more advanced spells from the books, avoiding Dumbledore who seemed to have increased his more annoying stalker tendencies, and looking for any more soul fragments. Fortunately with the diadem gone the Hollow activity had dropped off.

Soon the finals came around, and to his immense amusement, Rangiku tied with James for top scores among the first year Gryffindors. Hanataro and Neville tied for Hufflepuff, while Hermione and Draco tied for second place in Ravenclaw. Toshiro had the best marks among any of the first years. A line of O's went down his score sheet, which according to James meant he had scored beyond perfect.

It was the end of term feast, and everyone was talking about one thing, and one thing only. And it wasn't Quidditch related for once.

Earlier that morning Dumbledore had found out his office had become sub-freezing overnight. To make matters worse, the icicles which had hung from the ceiling almost ruined his books, and completely destroyed his stash of lemon drop candies. Fawkes was still trying to recover from his near hypothermia experience in Hagrid's hut. Rumor had it that the headmaster fully planned to expel whoever had attacked his office.

He had no idea that the culprit was the same child that he wanted to force into dying to kill off a madman with dreams of grandeur. Or that the child in question could do much, much worse than completely destroy his office.

Needless to say James and the twins were sending Toshiro thumbs up on a prank well done. They had no clue that the only reason he even did it was to send Dumbledore a message of 'back off or else!'.

So ended another year at Hogwarts...and the castle is still standing, which James thought was rather good since Dumbledore insisted on annoying Toshiro to the point of pranking. James immediately gave Toshiro the book Hagrid had given him. While they were heading back to the Potter Manor...and from there the Seireitei for a full month...James described the many people in the album.

They were met by Sirius and Remus on the platform, and soon the twins had to be dragged (literally) from Padfoot and Moony.

Just another year of oddness.