Author's Note

Ok next chapter. I think this one turned out all right, though it's kinda filler-ish, maybe. I'm not really sure. So on with the chapter!

The remainder of the afternoon was spent cleaning the dining room, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneaking suspicious glares at Ichigo as he went around helping wherever Mrs. Weasley pointed him. They knew that Ichigo had given a rather vague and shoddy explanation on purpose, but where slightly nervous to try further inquiry and bring up his temper, or worse, he'd resummon Zangetsu. Meeting the blade spirit a second time was something they could do without. Hermione had already whispered plans to check the Hogwarts library for any references to zanpakuto or similar sword enchantments, causing Harry to turn slightly gloomy at the thought that he may not be able to help because he might get expelled at his upcoming hearing. Luckily the cleaning was hard work that required focus, so his hearing was soon pushed to the back of his mind.

Urahara, Orihime, and Uryu returned from their shopping trip about an hour before dinner, having also gotten trunks for their things since that was the standard for Hogwarts students. Shinji returned just before dinner, looking very much worn out and, for once, his grin was gone. He dumps a black cat in Urahara's lap as he passes by the shopkeeper.

"She's your problem now." He groused, being very much done in dealing with the feline. She had been bugging him almost all day to figure out where Urahara had gone with him and had brought someone who needed something from him to his office for every time he didn't tell her. That list was surprisingly long and he had given up after the tenth one. He had paperwork to do, dammit! Couldn't she wait to bother him until after he did the dreaded work? Or better yet, couldn't she use her onmitsukido skills and just follow him back? Needless to say, she had made a simple trip very stressful and he would be happy to never see her in his office again.

"Yoruichi-san!" Urahara giddily cries, holding the cat up high in the air. "High~ High~" he sings, as he spins around with the cat as it purrs in pleasure. The wizards shrug it off, having learned in the past few days that Urahara is an odd man, from the way he dresses to the way he acts, and fathoming what goes on in his head is nigh impossible.

Oddly enough, Ichigo and Uryu were less than thrilled with the appearance of Urahara's cat, and when Ginny asked them why, having found Yoruichi to be plenty friendly, they seemed nervous to answer, no wizard noticing the glare that the cat was giving the two, daring them to talk badly about her.

Orihime seemed happy enough to see Yoruichi, however the sentiment didn't seem to be returned to the same degree as the cat had squirmed and struggled her way out of the tight embrace of Orihime as she was hugged to the girl's chest, leaving most of the male population present to witness it jealous.

It wasn't until after dinner that the trio got some time to themselves to properly discuss the day's terrifying discovery.

"I can't believe you'd ask for something like that." Hermione exasperatedly tells Ron. "He was so violent and–"

"And I bet they could take down Death Eaters and other dangerous things no problem, Hermione. I mean, why else keep something like that around except if it's dead useful?" Ron argues back.

"He does have a point." Harry agrees, thinking about how something like that could probably scare even Voldemort. It certainly seemed like a good way to defend yourself without a wand, just summon something really dangerous and set it on your enemies.

"And the fact that he was antagonistic towards Ichigo when they're partners doesn't seem at all dangerous to you two?" Hermione hisses back. The boys go over the interactions between the two and pale as they realize that Ichigo was indeed not exempt from Zangetsu's violent attitude, but rather that he simply didn't react to it with fear as they did. Seeing their expressions, Hermione takes on an air that says 'I told you so' and says, "See. What I don't understand is why Zangetsu was reading a book. He didn't really come across as the reading type."

"More like the beating type." Ron mutters.

"Dunno. Maybe he was bored or something." Harry responds.

"Maybe," Hermione says, a contemplative expression settling on her face. A frown starts to take hold and she starts, "Maybe if he had more freedoms–"

"Don't you try going all spew with that thing!" Ron commands, fear lacing his tone. "Set that bloody thing free and it'd kill us in our sleep!"

"Well, what if he just needs more freedom to become nicer? Wouldn't you be upset if you couldn't do as you pleased?" Hermione pointedly asks, starting an argument between the two. Harry listens to them go back and forth a bit, hitting some of the topics they argue over when debating Hermione's work with S.P.E.W.

"Um, I think Ron's right about not letting Zangetsu roam free." Harry quietly states, getting their attention and a triumphant "Ha!" from Ron while Hermione gives him a death glare. "Look, hear me out, Hermione. Orihime was happy to help you help Kreacher, so don't you think she'd try to do something for Zangetsu too if it was a good idea?" Seeing Hermione's glare lessen, Harry continues, "She's super nice to everyone and I can't imagine that she doesn't know about him, so there's got to be a good reason she hasn't tried anything. It's part of their culture, so they know what's best, right? Besides, they're partners, so it's not like he's a slave or anything. Ichigo said that Zangetsu was going against what he told him to do, so I doubt he's really suffering." The last of the glare drains away and Harry feels relieved. He doesn't mind what Hermione's trying to do for house-elves with S.P.E.W., it's actually not a bad idea, but he seriously doubts doing the same for these 'zanpakuto spirits' is a good idea if the others are even remotely similar in temperament to Zangetsu.

"Oh, I just… I mean… We look down on so many intelligent non-human beings that I guess I'm a bit skeptical about how other cultures are." Hermione apologetically says. "I suppose that'll be another thing to research or maybe ask them about. Hopefully the professors will actually answer questions like that. I've gotten nothing on what they'll be teaching." Hermione seems quite annoyed that they're not saying anything about what they'll teach.

Any further discussion that night is cut off by Mrs. Weasley coming around and declaring it bed time. Hermione returns to the room she's sharing with Ginny and Orihime and it's not long until everyone is asleep.

The following days are spent in much the same pattern as the previous days, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys cleaning the rooms under Mrs. Weasley's guidance, trying to catch snatches of Order conversations any time someone comes to headquarters, while Orihime, Ichigo, and Uryu spend the majority of their time studying, leaving at least once a day to help clean. Urahara and Shinji aren't seen much, but they're supposedly doing Order business, preparing for their classes, and dealing with affairs from home.

Hermione had searched every book she could get her hands on for anything that resembled a zanpakuto, or at least the basic description Ichigo had given them, but found nothing. She didn't have any better luck in finding anything on Japan's magical culture, though Orihime was quite happy to chat about its normal culture, which explained a lot about how the foreign group referred to each other and other people. When Hermione finally managed to corner Shinji, Urahara always managing to disappear whenever she went looking for him, she got an answer on how they treated intelligent non-human beings. He told her that as long as they're not actively trying to kill you without you doing something stupid first, they try to be tolerant, though some of the older folks have trouble with that policy since it's semi-new. That had led to questions on government, which he had answered with war changes things and they were under new management before slipping away. Hermione was, of course, less than satisfied with the answers that she got on government, but fairly pleased that at least some wizards were making the progress of acknowledging other beings as people.

It was two nights before Harry's hearing that Dumbledore visited Grimmauld Place to leave instructions for getting Harry to his hearing and, while he hated to do it, forbid Sirius from going with his godson. He really didn't like having to cage Sirius in the house that he detested, leaving him to feel broken and useless, but it was for the man's own safety, as well as Harry's.

Dumbledore was surprised when Shinji and Urahara came wandering down into the kitchen. Even more so when they said that they'd like to return to the school with him and discuss arrangements for their time at the school. Dumbledore could tell that there was more to it than that, but whatever it was was not something they wanted to discuss in front of the others, so he agreed to take them and help set up their classroom.

After Dumbledore concluded his business with the Order members, he took the two outside so that they could leave in private.

"I don't suppose either of you can Apparate?" he asks the two.

"If you're referring to the teleportation technique that the Weasley twins constantly use instead of walking to their destination, then no, we can't." Urahara says.

"I see. Well, then we'll go Side-Along Apparation. If you two would get a good grip on my arm," Dumbledore says, offering an arm to the two, which they step forward and grab, a gleam of interest lighting Urahara's eyes, " –yes, like that, we'll be off." And with that said, Dumbledore spins on his heel and the three vanish with a loud crack.

When Shinji and Urahara felt Dumbledore's arm start to twist out of their grip, they tightened their grip accordingly. What they hadn't expected was the feeling of being crushed from all directions, much like how it felt to be beside an unrestrained captain back when they had just graduated from the academy. They unconsciously tightened their grip even further in that brief moment before the pressure lets up and they found themselves stumbling weak-kneed away from Dumbledore.

"[Damn. I haven't felt anything like that in over a hundred years.]" Shinji groans, stretching and rolling his shoulders.

Urahara hums in agreement. "[Takes me back to my academy days.]" He looks down at his hand and notices its slight spasming. "[Looks like I'll have to readjust our gigais after this.]"

"Are you all right?" Dumbledore asks, looking at them with an amused twinkle in his eye. "The sensation does take some getting used to."

"Woulda been nice ta have a warnin' before we got crushed like that." Shinji grouses. "Where the hell are we, anyway? This looks more like a town than a school."

"Ah, yes. You see, we can't Apparate directly to Hogwarts as there are shields in place to prevent people from entering that way. Instead, I have brought us to Hogsmeade, which isn't too far a walk from the school. So if you're quite ready, we'll be off." Dumbledore cheerily says, turning to lead the way, Shinji and Urahara falling in step behind him.

After a nice tour of the castle, during which Shinji had to drag Urahara away from the many magical features that caught his interest, otherwise they'd spend weeks on the tour alone, Dumbledore showed them several classrooms he thought could fit their needs. After inspecting the offered classrooms, they picked one on the seventh floor. As they arranged the desks and poked around the room some more, Dumbledore finally felt the time was right to speak up and try to find out what else it was that they wanted.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have the feeling that picking a classroom was not the only reason you two wanted this visit." Dumbledore calmly says.

"Ha! Told ya he'd ask." Shinji smugly says. "You owe me 20 kan!"

Dumbledore just blinks at them. They bet on whether or not he'd ask about their reasons for coming to Hogwarts. It was at this point that he began to question how wise it was to let them near easily influenced children.

"Hai, hai. You'll get your money later." Urahara responds, waving a dismissive hand at Shinji. "As for our other reasons, Dumbledore-san, there are two. Three, I suppose, since we're giving you a chance to ask some of the questions I'm sure you've come up with in private." He says, looking to the aged headmaster as he taps his chin with his fan, produced out of nowhere as usual.

"I see. I thank you for the chance to fish for answers, but I suppose I should let you start." Dumbledore offers.

"We need a trainin' room." Shinji bluntly states.

"A training room?" Dumbledore asks, frowning in slight confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand. What is wrong with a classroom? Or, I suppose, what is the difference between a training room and classroom?"

"In more solid terms, we require a spacious area for our own more personal use." Urahara replies. "Preferably somewhere other students won't poke their noses in and sturdy enough to handle some higher levels of force. I suppose if such a room is unavailable, we could find a nice clearing or something in the forest." Urahara mumbles the last part.

Concerned for the forest inhabitants, Dumbledore asks, "And what exactly do you intend to do in said room?"

"Train, duh." Shinji replies, getting an unamused glare from the headmaster. Shinji sighs. "We can't go slackin' off on our own stuff just 'cause we're here for the year. Me 'n Kisuke figured we could take Ichigo, Uryu, and Orihime-chan for one of the elective class periods an' work on their skills, or at least keep 'em in shape, during the year. When ya consider that most of our skills are designed for destruction, well, ya can see why we'd want a different space, ne?"

Dumbledore nods, now understanding the request a little better. "Hmm, yes I suppose you would." He lapses into silence as he considers the rooms in the castle and what might work for them. Some of the dungeons are reinforced he thinks, but they wouldn't be good because if their destruction got out of hand the structural integrity of the school could be at risk. No, they were no good. Other classrooms weren't built to be especially sturdy and he didn't think it particularly wise to let them go wandering into the forest. He was starting to think he'd have to ask them to simply limit themselves when he remembered a room that just might fit their requirements. "I believe I know a spot. If you two would just follow me…" Dumbledore says, leaving the classroom.

Dumbledore leads them down the hallways until they came before a blank stretch of wall opposite of a tapestry in which tutu wearing trolls were beating a wizard. "Now all you must do is walk past this section of wall three times, concentrating hard on what you need, and the Room of Requirement will provide to your needs, if it appears." Dumbledore explains with a smile.

Shinji looks skeptical while Urahara's face lights up in excitement as both start pacing before the wall. They both pictured as clearly as they could the secret basement training grounds that Urahara likes to make, Urahara going over all the details he could remember about their construction. After the third pass, a door materialized in the wall and Urahara hurried forward to open it.

The three of them stepped through the door and Dumbledore had to struggle to keep his jaw from dropping. The room hardly looked like a room, instead it looked like a wasteland filled with large boulders and cliffs. His attention returned to the other two when he heard shuffling and he saw Urahara pull several different devices out of his robes and began to wave them around a bit. They beeped and a screen lit up with indecipherable characters that caused Urahara to smile.

"We'll have to pace it out to see how much space we have to work with, but it seems to be just what we needed." Urahara happily states. "You may ask your questions as we pace it." He says as he sets off to the left along the wall, Shinji following him. Ready for some answers, Dumbledore follows them.

"I don't suppose you'd tell me what you two are, as I'm quite certain you and those children are not human." Dumbledore says, hoping to get something out of them.

Urahara fiddles a bit with one of his devices before he answers. "You are correct in that Hirako-san and myself don't particularly fit in the 'human' category, and Kurosaki-san is debatable, seeing as he's a hybrid, however Inoue-san and Ishida-san are both human." Dumbledore stares in surprise at Urahara's back. He could maybe concede Ichigo being a hybrid, but that doesn't explain the oddity of Uryu's mind that Snape reported. Urahara seems to sense his surprise, as he never turns around, and further expounds, "Although I suppose that they are human the same way you wizards are: human, and yet even more. They simply aren't… super-human like you wizards are."

"An' who said we didn' tell ya what we are?" Shinji asks him, a grin filled with mysteries on his face. "Ain't our fault ya can't figure it out."

"I see." Dumbledore replies, trying to remember all the different types of people and things he's heard them mention. "Might I ask the ages of your group? I find myself quite perplexed on the matter seeing as you two don't seem to have aged at all these past thirty-four years, leaving me to believe that your kind don't physically age like humans."

"Eh, we do and don't, kinda depends on the person." Shinji says with a shrug, thinking about how Gin went from kid to adult in about fifty years from what he's heard, but Hitsugaya's been looking like an eleven-year-old for nearly as long. "As for how old I am, well… hmmmm… That's a good question." Shinji says, bringing a hand up to his chin. "I think I'm… around three hundred sixty…seventy. Somewhere around there. Ya kinda quit keepin' track of the exact years after a while."

Dumbledore stares at him in disbelief. He never would have guessed that Shinji was that old. He was over three times Dumbledore's own age and he didn't look like he could be much older than thirty. Shinji certainly didn't act like he'd lived for over three centuries most of the time.

Urahara chuckles. "You don't keep track of how old you are, Hirako-san?"

"Shut up! I could figure it out if I wanted, but I can't calculate that sort of stuff out fast like you can." Shinji gripes.

Urahara just smiles smugly. "As for myself, I'm two hundred fifty-seven years old. Kurosaki-san is nineteen and Inoue-san and Ishida-san are currently eighteen, but will have turned nineteen by the end of the year."

Dumbledore is still rather surprised, based on appearance and the way he conducts himself, he had thought Urahara was the older of the two. Whatever they were were indeed a curious species if there was no way at all to accurately gauge their age. Or at least no way that could be readily observed.

"What's the lifespan of your kind, if you don't mind me asking?" Dumbledore asks, trying to get a more relative age for them. They made it obvious that they were long-lived, but now the question was how long?

"Not at all." Urahara says, waving it off. "Our life spans are, in a sense, endless, mostly because we only end up dying when something kills us. I think I've heard of a couple of us dying from old age, but I doubt those stories seeing as the oldest was alive for over two thousand years before he was killed two months ago. No, our lifespans are based on our power, I suppose. The more powerful we are, the tougher we get, the harder we become to kill. When one's powerful enough, it usually takes an instant kill to assure death, otherwise they can keep going as long as they've got power left."

Dumbledore can feel dread pooling in his gut. They sound like almost immortal beings. How can they be expected to fight against such things if Urahara and Shinji were to turn on them? To bring in their allies and attack? He supposed they could bind and seal such beings, but that was just sweeping the problem under the rug for another day. The fear was slowly tightening its grip on the old headmaster.

"Don't worry, Dumbledore." Shinji assures him, a gentle smile on his face. "The folks back home ain't interested in over here and most of us are only a little harder ta kill than a well- trained human when it comes ta death by injury. An' age don't necessarily mean power for us, just means ya know how to stay alive, whether that's sittin' back durin' serious fights or bein' real strong."

Dumbledore can feel himself calming down some. For all the information they withhold, the pair is, at the least, honest. He can see it reflected in their eyes. Still, the fear lingers. The 'what ifs' will likely haunt him for a long while, but there are many 'what ifs' that already haunt him when he looks to the past. And more than the fear, there is a steady hope that with their centuries of experience they can truly help him outmaneuver Tom Riddle.

"Any more questions, Dumbledore-san?" Urahara asks, turning to the head master.

"I– not at the moment, no. I think I'll take some time to think over what I've learned today and request that you allow me another session, maybe more." Dumbledore replies. There's too much information, too many questions, floating in his head right now. He needs time to sort his thoughts and figure out which questions are more pressing before he starts asking again.

"Of course. It's not a problem." Urahara says.

"Now for our last reason fer getting you in a private meeting." Shinji says, a serious expression on his face. "We'd like ya ta explain this." Shinji reaches into his pocket and pulls out a heavy, golden locket, letting it dangle from his fingers.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Dumbledore says, carefully taking the locket into his hand and examining it. He takes a quick breath when he notices the crest of Slytherin on it. "Where did you find this?" he urgently asks. If this is what he thinks it is, he might have further proof for his theory.

"So ya know what it is, ne?" Urahara asks, a keen gleam in his eye.

"Yes and no. It is a locket that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, and, in more recent times, Merope Gaunt, Voldemort's mother, before she sold it. I have a theory on what purpose it may now serve, but no proof."

"An' what might this purpose be?" Shinji asks, tone laced with danger. He doesn't like a game of riddles when the last time they ran across soul fragments they lost a lot of people.

Dumbledore can feel the slight shiver run down his spine at Shinji's tone, remembering what Snape had warned him of and what he's just learned about how hard it could be to take him down. "I believe that Voldemort may have turned the locket into a Horcrux." Receiving rather blank stares for his answer, he asks, "I don't suppose you know what a Horcrux is? No? Then I guess I should explain. A Horcrux is a receptacle prepared with dark magic that a Dark Wizard hides a fragment of their soul in, thus trying to gain immortality. When the body of a person who has a Horcrux is destroyed, they will not truly die as the Horcrux acts as an anchor, keeping the soul tied to the earth." Dumbledore explains, surprised once more that night when Shinji and Urahara calm at his explanation. "I must say, I feel the need to ask why that seems to relieve you. So if you don't mind…?"

Shinji and Urahara share a look before Urahara answers. "The last time we dealt with soul fragments they were used to empower the person they came from. Kill someone in his army and he learns everything the deceased knew since he put a fragment in all his men. It made it very hard to defeat and kill him once we got to that point. So considering that these Horcruxes are just a means to extend one's life, we find it much less concerning."

Dumbledore nods. That is certainly more concerning than someone who is simply trying to outlive their body. To face an enemy that learns all that you can do without ever seeing you, they must have been extremely brave, probably desperate, to fight, much less win, a battle like that.

He opens his mouth to ask more about this enemy when Shinji cuts him off. "Look, he was a unique bastard who is very dead and we ain't gonna go into further detail than that."

Dumbledore almost questions them anyways, but one look in their eyes and he realizes that at the very least it's much too soon to try dredging up those memories without falling to the trauma that goes with them. He is not so heartless as to put them through that pain. Instead he goes back to his unanswered question. "You know, you never did tell me where you found this. And, if you don't mind, I'd like to know how you knew it contained a soul fragment."

"Actually, we didn't find it. The kids did when they were helping Weasley-san and the others clean out the drawing room at Grimmauld Place." Urahara says. "As for how we knew it contained a soul fragment… well, we can sense a person's soul, like a sixth sense, if you will. Although, that Horcrux is rather curious as we can only sense it when we come in direct contact with it."

"Sense a person's soul?" Dumbledore asks in disbelief. "What– How–?"

"As I said, it is an ability much like a sixth sense, operating along the same lines as sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. What we can learn from that sense is the approximate location of others, what they are, or at least are not, and any powerful emotions they're feeling. And much like scent for animals, we can use it to differentiate between individuals. However, it's not infallible, it's possible for a person to hide their presence from our senses. The protections on the headquarters are a good example of this, we couldn't sense the house's occupants until we were inside the barrier. So, in all honesty, it' not much more special than having enhanced senses." Urahara explains.

"I have the feeling you're downplaying that skill a good deal, Mr. Urahara." Dumbledore says, a small smile on his face. "I'm sure there are many who would pay to have such a skill. It certainly sounds quite useful to me."

"Mmm, it is." Shinji says. "Oh, look we're back at the door. Guess this place is smaller than the ones ya like ta build, Kisuke."

"Yes, but I think it's big enough." Urahara says, tucking his devices back into his unseen pockets. "Thank you for your help, Dumbledore-san." He says, giving a polite bow to the headmaster. "We'll let you keep the locket as you seem to know what to do with it. If we find others like it, we'll give those to you as well. Seeing as it is rather late, we can stay here at Hogwarts for the night and you can bring us back to Grimmauld Place in the morning."

"I appreciate the chance to get some sleep. It will probably be a late morning, but we old folk need our rest." Dumbledore says with a chuckle, Urahara and Shinji joining him.

Okay on ages, they're rough estimates. Shinji and Urahara aren't given ages in cannon(besides being over 110), so I'm using semi-dated things as a figuring method. Hitsugaya is a prodigy and the youngest captain. He is somewhere over fifty years old because he was alive when Momo, Renji, Rukia, and Izuru were in the academy. Within thirty years he graduated the academy, made third seat, and started bankai training. Within the last twenty years, he achieved bankai and became captain. 110 years ago, Gin was at third seat level, became a lieutenant in the next sixty years(by the time Renji & Co. were in academy), and captain in the next thirty years(Byakuya is the second youngest captain and was promoted shortly after Gin, so before Hitsugaya). Using these two prodigies that can be semi-tracked through the Bleach timeline, I figured somewhere around one hundred years was needed to get to captain levels, at least for the average person. Shinji was a captain for less than one hundred years before Urahara(only ones at Urahara's promotion with 100+ years captaincy were Unohana, Ukitake, Kyoraku, and Yamamoto) but still for quite a while as he comments on worry over the series of turnovers at the time, implying at least a decade or two as a captain, possibly more. So I picked ages above the two hundred mark with Shinji as the elder because he was a captain first. Please don't hate my age choices.

With the long explanation out of the way, I need a little help. I've been debating between two wand woods for Orihime and Ichigo and I'd like to hear your opinions on it. For Ichigo, I'm stuck between cedar, whose owners are fiercely loyal, don't want mess with their friends, and ebony, whose owners are determined and hard to sway from their chosen path. For Orihime, I'm stuck between willow, which has healing properties and owners ten to have unfounded insecurities, and hazel, whose owners deal with their own emotions(jealousy speech with Rangiku inspired, Riruka stuff too). You've got like two weeks to try and sway me since I'm gonna try and do a chapter for my other story and go to Salt Lake Comic Con! So excited for that. I'm gonna be a newest shikai(dual blades) Ichigo!

Please comment/review to tell me how I did.