Chapter 1: Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Harry Potter, if I did, Gin wouldn't have died and Dumbles would have a lot sooner than he did.

The Unknown Captain: Beginning

There is a legend, among those dwelling in the Rukongai, about a man with the power of a Captain-level Shinigami, but lives among the commoners. He is unseen by all but yet known by all as well. None have seen his powers in action, but all know him to be real.

Not much is really known about him, beyond his supposed pact to protect those who can't protect themselves, and the many people who have vanished upon attempting to hurt an innocent. Who he is and what he looks like were widely speculated and even the Gotei 13 were hard-pressed to ignore the many reports coming out of that area.

There is currently only one who has seen him and he didn't even know how lucky he was as he was currently searching for a friend who was unjustly imprisoned. And even when seeing him he barely spared the man a second glance. This man was Ichigo Kurosaki and his destiny was greater than any could have realized.

But I am getting ahead of myself. By the time this young man met the mysterious Shinigami, events had already been set in motion that would drive him to heights unseen in centuries.

But let us return to the story, shall we?

It all began on a cool night's eve in the Shinigami Academy 350 years ago when a young Shinigami-in-training was told that he didn't have what it took to become a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Years of frustration and never mastering a single Kido, not even obtaining his Zanpakuto, forced the hand of the instructors and so they had no choice but to release him of his studies and his practice-sword and return him to Rukongai.

Now the reason his Reiatsu wasn't sealed was because it wasn't deemed high enough to be a threat to anyone and because it was agreed that he would never be able to get it any higher anyway. Now, one can imagine the effect this had on the young soul, and so, after being stripped of his rank and weapon, walked quietly through the quiet streets of North Rukon with nothing left to him except his training.

This young man's name was Arius Pelagios, and his story, and the legend he would grow to be, had only just begun.

Arius trained many days and nights, trying to unlock his Zanpakuto, to no success. So, after sneaking back into the Seireitei, he took possession of a practice sword and proceeded to do just that: practice. Without a set curriculum and without instructors breathing down his neck, the former Shinigami-to-be flourished, and his skills with the blade only grew. It was only a mere ten years later that he unlocked his Zanpakuto, and while he didn't know its name, it meant that he didn't need the practice sword anymore, and so he returned it post-haste… or he would have if he didn't think that everyone at the academy were stuck-up bastards and so he gave it to a kid passing by. That kid turned out to be legend in the making, for while short in stature and white of hair, Toshiro Hitsugaya was a genius with skills unparalleled by any of his age.

And, of course, it wasn't long before someone saw Toshiro and noticed his skill with a blade and decided that he was worthy of joining the Academy, of which he later graduated and went on to become the Captain of the Tenth Division.

But this story isn't about him, and our hero has yet to make his mark. For while Toshiro Hitsugaya was a prodigy, he was nothing compared to the man who made it all possible. After unlocking his Zanpakuto, Arius trained day in and day out, sunrise to sunset, never taking a moment's rest except for a quick bite to eat. His own skill with the blade grew in leaps and bounds beyond that of Toshiro. The only reason he wasn't found was because he made sure to repress his Reiatsu, something he had learned very quickly so as to not be caught when sneaking into the Seireitei to get the practice blade all those years ago.

He practiced on the drunk Shinigami and the thugs that lived scattered throughout Rukongai. While drunk Soul Reapers weren't exactly a good test of his skills, they were better than the thugs, so he had to make do. It was only because of a slip-up on his part that Hisana no-name later Kuchiki and her sister Rukia were cornered by a small group of thugs that he had overlooked that Byakuya Kuchiki was able to save the day. But that is two centuries later.

By the time that Toshiro was promoted to Captain, the cast-out had learned the name of his Zanpakuto, and similarly learned what type of blade he was. The one reason that he has never unveiled his powers in public is that he didn't want to draw attention to himself, as his blade was a Water-element Zanpakuto, and thus caused quite a bit of damage. Kaien Shiba's Zanpakuto was quite different from his own, and far less destructive.

When Arius did reveal himself, he only appeared as a mysterious sword wielder wearing a weathered black and brown cloak that hid his face and a dark blue tunic and pants He is commonly referred to as the Hero of Rukongai as he is the only one with Zanpakuto that has deigned to help them. Shinigami only come to Rukongai for recruits and even that is far and few between, and the number chosen is abysmal. And taking care of Hollows was standard, so they expected that, but taking care of thugs and others who hurt for no good reason, well, let's just say they were under their radar.

And so the Legend of the Mysterious Stranger took hold. Yes, I know, the name is entirely unoriginal, but for them, it was enough, especially since they had absolutely no idea about who he was or what he looked like, or even what his Zanpakuto's power was.

By the time the Visored incident occurred, he had long since obtained Bankai and had even mastered a few Kido as well, although the number was very, very small. The man never backed down from a challenge, and while no one was stupid enough, or even knew how to find him in the first place, challenges weren't as rare as one might think. He constantly set new goals for himself- a level to reach, a Kido to learn, a sword technique to master- he was never too prideful to learn something new, for there was always something that you didn't know that someone else did, and that was a disadvantage he couldn't allow to exist

By the time that Aizen's War ended, Arius was the most accomplished swordsman in all the Seireitei, not that anyone besides himself knew that. He wasn't one to seek fame, he had always had a deep dislike for the thing and he had no intent to change that part of himself.

Of course, he played no part in ending Aizen's power play as he wasn't interested in getting involved with another person set on immortality. He didn't want to be dragged into a war that wasn't his own and used and tossed aside when it was over. No, he wasn't going to let that happen.

The war had ended with the aid of a substitute soul reaper by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki. The teen Shinigami had managed to do what no one thought possible by beating Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of Squad 6 and rescuing Rukia Kuchiki from certain death. Even though he was he was thought to be out of his depth, he still managed to defeat the Arrancar that Aizen created and eventually Aizen himself. And when the war was coming to a close, Gin, a man who everyone thought was on Aizen's side, revealed that he was really working to kill his former superior, and nearly died for his efforts.

He would have died if not for the fact that Arius's Zanpakuto had a special ability that allowed it to absorb reiryoku as well as give it to others, thus allowing the traitor-turned-hero to heal himself on top of what Arius himself did, although everyone assumed he had died in Rangiku's arms and so no one searched for him, even though his body was no longer where he 'died'. With Gin at his side, he returned to the Rukon district and they worked together to free it of undesirables, a.k.a. crooks and thugs.

They were quite successful in their quest to make it a better place to live, and though no one knew who they were, everyone now knew that the Hero of Rukongai now had a partner, and neither were slouches when it came to combat.

Gin taught him several Kido, Bakudo, and Healing Kido to supplement his own and they both practiced their sword techniques on each other. Arius, now having a skilled sparring partner, only grew stronger, and that is where our story truly begins.

And so there he was, standing over a couple of thugs who had decided to mug an innocent woman with her child in her arms, his cloak blowing in the breeze. Gin had gone after a second group and so was unable to reach his comrade in time when it happened. It was a mild twitch at first, and then it grew to a tug, and by the time it grew to a yank he realized too late what it was: a soul summoning. Someone was calling the spirit of a dead human back to life, and he was the spirit.

His green eyes narrowed as he was pulled through the gateway that appeared behind him, dragging him back to the world of the living.

It was pitch-black for a moment and then as he drew steadily closer to the end, a light appeared, growing brighter and brighter until eventually he burst through and arrived at wherever he was being called.

His cloak, having flown off somewhere in the corridor, no longer hid his face, revealing the white scarf that he wore underneath the cloak that fluttered behind him in an unseen breeze. His Avada Kedavra- green eyes narrowed at the sight before him, and ran a hand through his now straight coal-black hair, revealing an old scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead.

"Hello Harry, it's been a while."

Tell me what you think! This story is inspired by When his world turns over by Juud. I highly recommend you read it. This story is similar but quite different as to where it goes. Thanks for reading! ^_^