Chapter 1

A Magical Encounter

It was the evening of July 31st in Karakura Town. A golden glow was just beginning to appear and bathe the town's inhabitants in its gentle warmth, a welcome trade for the preceding day's blazing heat. Shops were closing down for the night, and an auburn-haired girl was heading home after a long day of work. The bag of unsold bread her boss had allowed her to keep for all of her hard work was clutched firmly in her hands. She sang softly to herself as she strolled down the sidewalk, body swaying along with the tune.

A gentle breeze tossed at her vibrant hair as Inoue Orihime lost herself in one of her eccentric daydreams. Her friends always lectured her about this. They worried constantly that she would end up running into a pole or even walking out in the middle of traffic. Past events had only proved such fears to be well founded, seeing as her hollow-fied brother once actually had to pull her out of the way of a speeding car as she crossed the street to buy a drink from the convenience store. Even so, she could take care of herself. Her senses were greatly above average as far as any other human was concerned. When hollows appeared, her head was the first to turn.

And turn it did as a mighty roar suddenly rattled her from her fantasies.

Without a second thought, Orihime began to run in the direction of the dark reiatsu. She soon found herself on the outskirts of town, the crater left by the arrival of the two espada the previous September just visible in the distance. Shaking her head vigorously to prevent herself from stirring up an unnecessary trip down memory lane and fixing her gaze ahead of her, the girl could see the winged hollow looming above an old man, who appeared to be staring right back up at it.

Could he see it?

A fair amount of humans were able to sense an ominous presence whenever hollows were near, but very few could actually see the beasts…

But there was no time to ask questions just yet. The monster was already rearing back, preparing to strike. Plastering a determined look on her face, Orihime tapped the hairpins that kept her bright locks out of her face and shouted, "Santen-kesshun!" At once, a flash of golden light burst from the pins and formed a shield in front of the man, who turned at the sound of her cry and eyed her questioningly over his half-moon spectacles.

Confident now that her barrier was positioned safely between the hollow and its would-be victim, the girl drew in a deep breath to summon Tsubaki and finish the job. Before the first syllable had passed her lips, however, a familiar shock of orange leapt down from over the trees and sliced the beast in two. The remains of the hollow quickly dissipated and Orihime called back her powers as Kurosaki Ichigo touched down between his friend and the stranger.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime greeted as her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Yo, Inoue." The boy replied as he secured Zangetsu to his back with a fluid movement of his arm. He swept his chocolate eyes over the girl before him, checking for injuries. Logic told him that he had arrived mere seconds after she had, that she wasn't even the hollow's target to begin with, but the ever-present need to assure himself of her safety won over any form of reasoning.

All too aware of his inspection, the auburn-haired girl blushed deeper and hurriedly interjected, "You didn't have come all the way out here to do that. I could've taken care of this one for you."

But the shinigami substitute simply waved off her protests with his usual scowl as he turned to face the old man, who was watching their exchange with a fascinated twinkle in his eye. Keeping Orihime slightly behind him, Ichigo called out, "Oi, jii-san! Can you see me?"

The man smiled at the boy's inquiry, and answered in perfect Japanese, "I can. Should I not be able to?" With a small chuckle, he started forward to close a bit of the gap between himself and the teenagers. Now that the hollow no longer demanded their full attention, the two could clearly see that the old man was a foreigner. He wore strange clothing, a long robe of vibrant purple that looked altogether too hot for the season. His long, silver beard rivaled that of the leader of the thirteen court guard squads of the Soul Society, though the expression he wore appeared much friendlier than Yamamoto's ever did. As he approached, Ichigo and Orihime both took notice of the long, thin piece of wood he held in his right hand.

Once the man had come to a stop just a few short yards away from the teenagers, Ichigo ran a hand through his hair in thought and responded, "It's not that you shouldn't… more that not many can, I guess."

At that, Orihime stepped out from behind her friend and asked, "Excuse me sir, but where are you from? Are you friends with Urahara-san?"

Chuckling again, the man answered, "Of course. I do look quite out of place, don't I? I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But no, I don't recall ever meeting anyone of that particular name. Is he, by any chance, a wizard?"

"Wizard? What d'you mean by that?" Cocking an eyebrow, Ichigo exchanged a confused look with his auburn-haired friend.

The old man regarded the boy's reaction for a moment, before replying, "I see. Then am I correct in assuming that both you and the young lady are Muggles?"

"What's a Muggle?"

"A Muggle is a person who has no magical abilities."

Taken-aback, the teenagers pondered this information for a bit. Could their abilities be considered magical? Shinigami could use kido (though Ichigo had never really attempted to learn the art himself). That was a type of magic, wasn't it? What about Orihime's power of rejection? Was that magic? Somehow neither case seemed to fit.

"Well," Orihime said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group, "I'm not sure Kurosaki-kun and I could be considered Muggles, but I wouldn't call us wizards either."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "That shield you summoned certainly didn't appear to be like any spell I've ever seen, and I have encountered a fair share if I do say so myself, miss-?"

"Oh! Inoue Orihime, sir." The girl gave a hurried bow, a little embarrassed at having forgotten her manners. The wizard returned her bow with one of his own, then turned expectantly to the boy next to her.

"Uh- Kurosaki… Ichigo." The shinigami substitute said with a short nod, which was also returned with a bow from the old man.

Eyes twinkling in amusement, Dumbledore took a step forward, spread his arms in a wide, welcoming gesture, and declared, "And now that we are all properly introduced, why don't we find a more comfortable place to chat? There are a couple matters I would like to discuss with the two of you."

To say that Kurosaki Ichigo was perplexed by the situation at hand would be the understatement of the year. He found himself accompanying both Orihime and the old man the two had just saved from a hollow back to the girl's apartment complex. After much deliberation, the healer had finally convinced him to let her provide the site of their talk. Then again, she hadn't so much convinced him as rather melted his steel resolve to deny her request. Just one look at her pleading, puppy-dog eyes was all it had taken for him to crack, too.

He sighed deeply as he watched his friend chatter excitedly with the man. The girl really was too trusting. And all Ichigo could do about it was to keep one eye glued to her at all times. Two would be better.

Finally arriving at their destination, Orihime led the two men up to her unit. She unlocked the door and beckoned them to follow as she skipped inside gracefully. Ichigo let Dumbledore in ahead of him with a slight nod. He watched as the old man set Orihime's bag of bread down where she directed and preceded to take a seat at the low table in the middle of the room. The orange-haired boy would've offered to take the bag instead, but, seeing as he was still in his shinigami form, that would've only caused trouble. An image of the bag floating mid-air behind his companions as they made their way down the street conjured itself into his mind, and he scowled at the thought. Maybe that could qualify for the old man's so-called magic.

Orihime was busy bustling around her kitchen making tea for her guests, so Ichigo took the opportunity to look around her living room. The yellow-orange walls and hard wood floor covered mostly by a large green rug felt warm and inviting. He noticed a familiar face in the form of a bear that sat on a cabinet above a set of drawers. Resting next to the cabinet, the girl's dear brother, Inoue Sora, smiled at him from his memorial photograph. It was cozy, a realization that caught him by surprise. The last time he had been in the apartment, the tiny captain of the tenth division and his vice captain had taken up an entire wall with their outrageous communication device. There had been no light save for the grating glow of the screen, and it seemed to sap all of the life out of the place.

No. The machine wasn't the cause…

"Kurosaki-kun, you can sit down if you'd like."

The healer's soft voice snapped the boy back to the present. He glanced around to find her already seated next to Dumbledore, a concerned look in her eyes, and Ichigo knew she had probably felt his reiatsu darkening as he lost himself to memories he'd tried his hardest to suppress for over half a year. He shot her an apologetic look and quickly sat, taking a sip of the tea she set in front of him and reaching for a piece of bread.

Dumbledore observed the boy carefully over his own steaming cup, before clearing his throat and beginning, "Now then, the first question I have is what that wonderful ability was that Inoue-san displayed."

"Not so fast." Ichigo said before Orihime had a chance to explain. "We still don't know what your ability is. Inoue's not even going to consider explaining her powers to you until we do."

The old man chuckled at the teenager's demand. It had been a long time since he'd dealt with anyone as resolute and protective of his friends as the young man sitting across from him. Even the boy currently residing at 4 Privet Drive whose birthday this particular day happened to be could use a lesson in stubbornness from the orange-headed male. "And she is quite right not to." He smiled at the girl in question, who was attempting to hide the blush that once again graced her delicate features. "It appears a demonstration is at hand. I wonder, could you tell me the name of your stuffed bear over there?"

With a curious glance at her toy, Orihime answered, "It's Enraku."

"And a splendid name it is." Dumbledore said as he pulled out the wooden stick from earlier. Pointing it towards the bear, he called, "Accio, Enraku!" at which the pink toy flew across the room and into the man's free hand. Both teens' eyes grew big as they realized just what the display meant.

"You're a wizard! I mean, a real wizard!" The girl squealed in delight. Ichigo just stared, thoroughly bewildered.

"That I am," the man confirmed with his warm smile.

Orihime's eyes began to sparkle as her questions poured out of her. "So that's a wand? Where did you get it? Did you have to make it yourself? Oni-chan showed me a movie once where the people had to build their own light-swords! I think they were a type of ninja. Do all wizards have long beards like yours? Can you travel to Mars whenever you want? Do you keep robots for pets? What if-"

Having had enough time to regain his bearings, Ichigo decided to speak up before his friend took them all completely off topic. "That's enough, Inoue. One question at a time." The boy's tone was stern, but an eyebrow twitched in amusement as the girl attempted to reign in her enthusiasm with a sheepish smile.

The shinigami substitute was not the only one entertained by the healer's antics. Dumbledore laughed jovially as he handed the bear back to its owner. "My, those are interesting queries! Though, I'm afraid even I do not hold all of the answers you seek. I will, however, try my very best to satisfy you with the knowledge I do possess." He then held out the stick and said, "To answer your first question, you are absolutely correct. This is a wand. All young witches and wizards purchase their wands shortly before starting school at the age of eleven."

"How many of you are there?" Orihime asked.

"Oh, quite a few. Almost every major country has its own school of wizardry, if that is any indication."

"So there's one here in Japan?"

"Yes. I've heard it's one of the finest there is."

"Earlier, you said that you're the headmaster of a wizard school, right?"

"I am. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Orihime paused in her questioning then, thoroughly impressed.

Noting her satisfaction in his answers, Dumbledore asked, "Now that you understand what I am, would you mind explaining to me a little bit about yourselves?"

The auburn-haired girl stole a glance at Ichigo, who nodded his consent, before beginning, "I suppose our powers also look a bit magical, to those who can see them at least. We're humans, but we both possess very high levels of spiritual pressure, or reiatsu. That monster you saw before is called a hollow, which is a being made completely of this energy. Hollows are malevolent spirits that eat other spiritual entities and human souls, though they tend to be drawn to people who have higher levels of reiatsu than normal. Since you could see the hollow, you must also possess a fair amount of reiatsu."

The wizard nodded in understanding and pressed, "Kurosaki-san is a spiritual entity as well, is he not?"

"I am for the time being." Ichigo said, running a hand through his orange locks in slight frustration. "Kon wasn't around, so I had to leave my body at home when I sensed the hollow."

"Kurosaki-kun is a shinigami substitute," Orihime clarified. "Shinigami are spirits who protect other spirits and humans from hollows. They also help the souls of people who die to pass on to the next world, the Soul Society."

"So shinigami are what people in the West may call grim reapers?" Dumbledore asked.

"I guess," was the only reply the substitute offered.

"And what of your abilities, Inoue-san?"

Ichigo couldn't care less about discussing his own powers with the man. Heck, it hardly even upset him if his enemies knew them inside and out. Orihime's shun shun rikka, on the other hand, were a different matter entirely. She'd been targeted for them, used, because Aizen had discovered just how powerful they were. He tensed visibly, and waited for the girl to reply.

"My power… it's kind of difficult to explain." Orihime hesitated, noticing Ichigo's apprehensive state and searching for a way to censor her response without being disrespectful to the man who had already held up his end of the exchange. "It's reiatsu-based, but unlike that of a shinigami. I have offensive and defensive abilities, as well as the power to heal both humans and spiritual beings." She left out the fact that she could probably 'heal' more than just injuries. That would be delving a little too deep into the concept behind the rikka, and, truth be told, she'd never actually put the theory to the test before.

Fascinated, Dumbledore asked, "And how does your healing ability work? Even the most skilled wizards have difficulty in that field."

"I suppose I just focus my reiatsu on the wound and help it heal that way." She responded, thinking quickly. "It's easier to do with shinigami or hollows, since they're made of reiatsu."

Ichigo mentally applauded his friend for her clever explanation. He'd always know the girl was sharp. Third in the class was certainly nothing to scoff at. The old man seemed pleased with her story as well, as he thanked the healer with a slight bow from his seated position at the table. The orange-haired substitute relaxed a bit and sipped his tea, having all but forgotten about it in his stress.

"I wonder," the wizard began, "would the two of you like to attend my school?"

The tea in Ichigo's mouth nearly found its way to Dumbledore's face at the man's words.

"Attend a school for wizards?" Orihime said in astonishment. "But don't we have to be, you know, wizards?"

"I wouldn't be at all surprised if you could be." Dumbledore replied. "In fact I'm down-right intrigued by the thought. We'd have to start you in an earlier year, of course. No sense setting you up to fail by keeping you with your age group. I trust you're both about the age of seventeen?"

"Kurosaki-kun is, and I will be in September."

Watching Orihime quickly becoming more and more excited over the notion that she could actually train to be a witch, Ichigo drained the last of his tea and set the cup back on the table.

Shit.

He was all ready to refuse the offer. There was no point in learning how to summon objects or pull rabbits out of hats or whatever it was they taught people to do at the old man's school. Not for him anyway. Ichigo needed nothing more than to graduate from high school, make a living, and keep his friends and family safe. He wasn't about to leave them alone for a year while he attempted to master a skill he had never had any luck with in the past (assuming magic and kido were similar to one another). He'd probably end up blowing himself up like Renji. No thanks.

But if she wanted to go... what would he do?

Inoue Orihime was one of the people he had sworn to protect. Was in fact the only person he'd sworn it right to her face. If she went to Europe or wherever this school was, Tatsuki wouldn't be there to keep her company (and the boys off of her). Uryuu and Yasutora wouldn't be there to look out for her. He wouldn't be there to protect her. Could he actually let her go by herself?

No. Of course not. Tatsuki would kill him. Uryuu would help.

So when the girl finally turned to him, eyes large and full of expectation, Ichigo sighed and nodded his consent. If it was possible, Orihime's eyes seemed to grow even larger with pure joy. Her auburn locks bouncing as she whipped her head back around to accept the headmaster's invitation.

It's gonna be one hell of a year…