Update! Yay for you all. And an actual update, not those petitions that everyone keeps putting up which, while I agree have a purpose, are deceptive and frustrating for those of us who think a story we like has been updated, is denied by a petition. Just saying, those are some nasty bait-and-switches. I WILL be putting up a petition of my own, but it will be PART of this chapter that I will add at the end. So you will GET your chapter, and I can acknowledge what everyone is saying about the management apparently taking down stories because of lemons or violence, both of which I LOVE. I NEED my lemons and violence is always appreciated if done the right way. I actually have 1 lemony story and will NOT be pleased if it is removed.
But anywho... New chappy. Good for you. Explain a few things. Ichi gets a friend. And goes home. And gets to do the whole explanation with his family, which was awkward to write but I made do. Hope it's not terrible but I never know.
Thank you for everyone who reviewed, I adore you all, especially those who gave ideas or suggestions which help me write when I get stuck. Unfortunately I have been stuck for quite some time but it's annoying me so I will try to fix that.
I do NOT own Bleach or Harry Potter. Seriously people, if I did I wouldn't be a college student limited to driving her family's minivan cuz I don't know how to drive stick. (I'm learning though! Just not there yet). AKA I OWN NOTHING! Only my deranged mind. Which is failing me currently cuz I got no ideas for my other fics.
Dumbledore stared at the unusual transfer student seated in front of him, completely at a loss as to what to think of him now. "You want to what?"
Ichigo Kurosaki stared right back at him, slight annoyance on his otherwise blank face, "I want to study from home next school year. I think I could get a lot more studying done if I do it on my own. Being here is really distracting and I've proven that I can work perfectly well on my own without supervision."
"But how will you receive help if you are halfway across the earth?" Dumbledore knew his argument was rather weak, the boy was too smart for anyone's good, especially his own.
The orange haired transfer scoffed, "I can send my owl if I have questions or I can just apparate to Hogsmeade if I'm really having that much trouble."
Dumbledore regretted allowing the student to learn apparition. He couldn't argue against the teen's point, he was sixteen, the age required to learn apparition. He just knew that was going to come back and cause problems for him. Now he was out of legitimate excuses to keep the boy on Hogwarts grounds so he could keep an eye on him. He still had one thing up his sleeve, "You will need to receive permission from your father of course. I cannot allow you to study at home if your guardian does not approve."
Narrowed eyes was his only response and a sharp nod. "Alright then, I will you see you at dinner Headmaster. Have a good day." With that he stood and left the office while Dumbledore stared after him, slightly worried by how confident he sounded.
Dinner the next night was an uneventful affair, unless you counted the whispers of Sirius Black's sudden disappearance as uneventful. The loud chatters of young voices were suddenly silenced by the high pitched shriek of an owl, just to break out into whispers once the students caught sight of perhaps the largest owl they had ever seen bearing down on the Slytherin table.
The huge bird back-winged once it reached the far end of the table to land on the outstretched hand of the tall hooded figure that was Ichigo Kurosaki. The boy had not looked up when the bird approached him but turned dark brown eyes on the massive creature once it settled on his bare hand. He untied the letter fastened to its taloned feet, ignoring the stares of the entire room fixed on him.
The bird was a huge creature, easily twice the size of most of the owls used by the students and even larger than the largest bird that belonged to Malfoy, an Eagle owl. The bird was easily two feet tall and had a wingspan of over six feet. It was pale brown with many streaks of white and black on its back and a paler underside with a white throat. Its ragged ear tufts swiveled about while its large yellow eyes were fixed on its master who had finished untying the letter. He looked at the owl seated comfortably on his hand for a moment before he threw his arm skyward, launching the massive bird into the air where it then exited the Great Hall.
The hall was silent a moment longer, until Ichigo stood and walked up to the Head Table where he stopped in front of Dumbledore. He placed the opened letter in front of the ancient Headmaster with a smug little smirk and pivoted on his heel, striding out of the Great Hall without a glance to anyone else.
The second he was out of sight the room erupted into whispers while the students glanced between the doorway and Dumbledore. The other professors looked on with barely restrained interest while Dumbledore read over the letter. They were even more curious when the Headmaster's shoulders slumped in a resigned sigh and he set the letter down.
McGonagall was the first to lose control, trying to sound worried, though the pure curiousity in her voice gave her away, "What is it Albus? Is there a problem? Has Kurosaki done something?"
He waved one hand at her and passed the letter to Snape while he reassured her, "No, nothing is wrong Minerva. Mr. Kurosaki has simply been allowed by his father to study at his own home this next school year."
McGonagall had apparently not heard of the transfer's request because she looked confused, "Why would he wish to study at home? Surely he can do much better at Hogwarts where he has access to professors?"
"He has proven that he can study sufficiently on his own as he did catch up on two years of classes in a few weeks. He believes that he will be able to focus better in the comfort of his own home and has promised to return the year after next."
"But what if he has troubles with his studies? Or is unfamiliar with a concept in the work?" She seemed very concerned about her student's competence despite the fact that he was one of the best students in every one of his classes.
"He has assured me that he will come to school if he ever needs assistance. He does know how to apparate competently, as he was successful on his fourth attempt and surely can manage to travel on his own should the need arise. He will also most likely be visiting school for a few days during the OWLs since he believes he will take them next year."
"OWLs? He thinks he will complete two whole years of work in one year? And take the OWLs?" She was rightly skeptical; OWL year alone was stressful for most students, much less completing a whole other year's work at the same time.
Dumbledore sighed; he was at a loss as to what the teenager was thinking as well. "I know, but the boy seems to think he can do it. We shall just have to wait and see."
Ichigo was in the courtyard with his owl when the airy voice caught his attention, "Oh my, that is a large owl isn't it?"
He turned and was face to face with a girl a few years younger than him with long wavy pale blond hair and light blue eyes. The blue eagle crest on her robes made her a Ravenclaw but Ichigo was pretty sure he hadn't seen her before, he was sure he would have recognized her hair and slightly unfocused eyes.
"Can I pet it?" the airy voice brought his attention back to her last statement.
"Uhh, sure. If she'll let you anyway." He wasn't all that sure as to how his owl would take to being handled by anyone other than him. The huge avid seemed to dislike most students, especially the loud ones, just like her owner.
The blond reached towards the bird a bit before leaving her hand a few inches from the bird's beak, letting it settle before moving closer. Ichigo relaxed his muscles, knowing his bird was sensitive to his body language and tended to react based on them. It worked and the pale girls stroked the bird's head with a small smile.
"She's lovely, does she have a name?" The girl breathed a giggle when the great bird nibbled gently on her finger.
"Tsuki."
"Tsuki…" The girl said it carefully, managing to pronounce the foreign word correctly, which Ichigo secretly appreciated, he hated it when people tried to speak his language and just succeeded in mangling it. "What does it mean?"
"Moon."
The girl giggled and drew her hand back to clasp them behind her back and lean back into them, "Like me, my name's Luna. Luna Lovegood. Though some people call me Looney Lovegood because I'm Looooney." She warbled the last word and then smiled softly, as if it didn't bother her.
Ichigo scowled, "Well that sure is rude. You have a nice name; people should have the good manners to use it. Though since it's these English I'm not that surprised." He snorted and fixed her with a firm look, "Don't let people call you that if you don't like it. Set them straight."
Luna shook her head, "It's alright, it doesn't bother me. I think the nargles are messing with their heads, they can't help it. It's what happens to those who are different."
Ichigo's brows just furrowed deeper, though he was a tad confused about the 'nargle' comment but just ignored it as unimportant, "You don't have to take it though. They shouldn't be able to treat others badly just because they're different. I'll set them straight if you want."
She shook her head, a bright smile on her face, "No but thank you for the offer. You are very kind, very different from what all the others say about you."
"You know who I am?" He wasn't completely surprised but wasn't going to assume he was that well known.
"You're Ichigo Kurosaki, the Slytherin who beat up Malfoy and his guys for having BuckBeak put down. They all say you're very cold and mean and don't care for anyone but yourself. I think that's wrong, would someone who didn't care for others get mad for the sake of an animal? No, you are just quiet, personal. Nothing wrong with that." She gave him another smile where her pale eyes sparkled as she stood and brushed off her robes, "I must be going, I need to find my things. I suspect nargles are behind it but I do need them back. We leave in a few days, see you again Ichigo Kurosaki."
Ichigo stared after her as she made her way towards the castle, seeming to drift through the crowds of students. She was interesting, the first person he had met who was actually sufferable to be around. He thought he could actually talk to her and get an unbiased opinion back. Yes, he would talk to this Luna Lovegood again. He smirked a bit to himself before carefully wiping his face of emotion and standing to take a walk in the Forbidden Forest, his loyal Tsuki flying above him.
"Tadaima," was the low murmur as Ichigo opened the door to his family home, his luggage behind him with Tsuki's cage sitting on top of the trunk.
"WELCOME HOME IIIIIICHIGOOOOO!"
He ducked instinctively and locked the door behind him, ignoring his father's pleas for his son to let him in. "I'm home, Karin, Yuzu." He greeted his sisters as he made his way upstairs to his room to unpack.
The twins exchanged looks when their older brother disappeared upstairs. He was even quieter than before he left last summer. Before he left he would at least attempt to make conversation, however small, but now he clearly didn't care to do even that much. They were worried about their brother, worried that going to that magic school is changing him.
They didn't see him until dinner, his door firmly locked and even Isshin couldn't hear what he was doing when he used a glass up against the door. No noise escaped the eldest Kurosaki sibling's room and his family was starting to worry as it had been several hours since he had come home.
Yuzu knocked hesitantly before loudly saying, "Dinner is ready Ichi-nii!" to make sure he could hear her. It was almost a full minute before the door swung open, giving Yuzu her first look inside.
There were thick books scattered across the wooden floor and piles of thick paper on his desk along with bottles of ink and a few large feathers with pointed ends. There were odd looking instruments sitting by his desk such as a metal pot, scales with weights, and many jars of creepy looking things. His room had been repainted to be a dark green color and even the furniture looked like it had been stained since all of the wood was now a dark brown. His bed had been shifted to line most of the wall the headboard had previously touched, leaving a few feet of space around the window instead of his bed lying in front of it. A small table sat next to the wall on the opposite side of his bed and a metal cage sat on it, a huge vicious looking owl inside, looking perfectly comfortable.
Yuzu withdrew a bit at the sight of the owl, especially when it swiveled its head around to look at her with huge yellow eyes. It screeched at her before Ichigo turned to it and made a tsk sound at it, then guided Yuzu away from his doorway and closed the door behind him.
She stared at him with wide eyes, not sure what to make of what she had seen. Ichigo rarely changed his room at all, much less had such strange things and a bird. Ichigo had never had a pet, had never shown any interest in caring for animals, but here he is, home from a year at some foreign boarding school, and he brings back an owl of all things. No one had pet owls, it just wasn't normal. She knew full well her brother wasn't normal, even before she knew he had been a shinigami he hadn't been normal, but this was taking it to a whole new level. She still wasn't sure why her brother went to a different school, and had only been told that he decided to go because he had some special power that came from their mother, but only he had it. Her father had not elaborated on the matter at all, just saying that it was some power that was hereditary that Ichigo had from their mother's parent's side, but only he of the three of them had it. Their father told them the day Ichigo left for this school that it was so he could learn about this power and be able to use it and that he would be going to school for it for several years.
"You said it was dinner time Yuzu, what are you doing?" Her brother's deep voice interrupted her inner musings and she looked up at him. His eyes were guarded, cold, and his face was blank as what she had come to consider normal for him. The only way to read any sort of emotion on him was by looking at his eyes, and even that didn't always work.
"H-hai…" she remembered what she was up here for and turned to return to the dining room so that they could eat, she barely heard her brother following her down the stairs.
Dinner was a tense affair, with the only noise being the sounds of utensils hitting the plates and of eating. No one was sure how to deal with Ichigo, since he seemed even more withdrawn than before, and Yuzu was especially uncomfortable since she had seen his room.
"Did you want to ask something Yuzu?" Ichigo's deep voice startled her, interrupting the silence, and she took a few seconds before she processed his question.
"A-ah. Um…. S-so you got a pet at school? Do they allow pets in your dorms?" She could feel her brother's hard eyes on her and she knew her father and Karin were looking at them confused.
Her brother actually scoffed, "It was one of the requirements. I had to get a cat, a toad, or an owl. Picked the owl because they can actually be used to send mail and are a lot more efficient than post, since they will find the receiver no matter where they are. Tsuki's pretty fast too, she can travel farther than smaller breeds, she's real smart too."
They stared at him for a moment, not sure whether to believe him or not, but his expression didn't change. He didn't look like he was lying; he seemed completely at ease with the idea of people having owls for pets.
"What kind of school needs kids to have frogs and birds as pets? And using birds for sending mail? What the heck?" Karin mumbled with disbelief heavy in her voice.
Ichigo just looked at her for a moment before going back to eating, only pausing to answer, "A magic one. And it's toads, not frogs. There is a difference, though I don't know why any kid would want a cold blooded animal over a cat or an owl, they at least are somewhat affectionate. Don't see any appeal in a toad, but who knows…"
Yuzu stopped listening after his first sentence, her mind stuck on the comment about what sort of school he now attended, "What kind of school Ichi-nii?"
He glanced at her but didn't look bothered by her question, "A magic one. They teach students the information and skills needed to become wizards and witches if they have the gift."
"For real?" Karin still didn't buy any of what her brother was saying but she was curious about how quiet their father was being.
"Yes Karin. I am a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I studied over the summer and joined the third year class."
Karin startled when she saw their father nodding his head silently, looking serious for once. "You knew about this?" She demanded of him.
Ichigo answered for him, "Yes, he's the one who contacted the school's Headmaster. Apparently Mom's parents were from an established Wizarding family but she didn't have the talent for it, she's what the Wizarding community would call a squib, which is a nonmagical person born to magical parents. She told Dad about the Wizarding world in case the gift skipped a generation. There's supposedly some sort of system to send out acceptance letters to children with the magic gift when they're eleven but for some reason they couldn't find me, so I didn't attend until Dad got in contact with Dumbledore. He knows about me now so if you guys were to get your letters it would have happened the summer I left, but you didn't so you're most likely muggles, nonmagic folk." He finished, answering the unasked questions about the unfamiliar terms.
The girls just stared at him, still not believing their brother was part of some sort of weird secret community now. First the shinigami, and now this, was the thought that ran through both of their heads, and their father didn't seem to care!
"So what.." Karin sneered, still not sure this was some sort of joke, though it would explain the even more withdrawn personality of her brother, "You can do magic tricks now? Pull rabbits out of hats?"
Ichigo didn't even look at her, he just let out a small sigh, "No, I don't do magic tricks. I do magic. I can't pull a rabbit out of a hat, but I will be able to turn a hat into a rabbit once I learn more. I can make potions that do certain things, like heal ailments or knock people unconscious, or make people tell only the truth. I know magic used for fighting and for everyday things. For example," he pulled out a slender stick colored black and red, and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa," while pointing at a vase sitting in the center of the table. He gestured upwards with the stick and the vase rose into the air several feet off the tabletop, until he gestured back down and it lowered to sit in the same spot it had rested before.
Ichigo set the slender stick on the table in front of him silently and his sisters stared at it in shock. They were still skeptical about this whole 'magic' business but they couldn't deny that their brother had just made a vase move without touching it, and without any apparent effort. "W-what is it?" Yuzu stuttered, not sure what to think of the innocent looking piece of wood, other than think that is was pretty, if slightly dark looking.
"It's my wand. All wizards and witches have them. Eventually I will be able to cast spells without using it, but for now I need it since it focuses my power and makes it easier to cast spells and such. Wands are made using certain types of wood with magical properties and have a core that comes from part of a magical animal, like unicorns or phoenixes or dragons."
All three other members of his family gulped at the last creature, "You mean they exist?" Ichigo looked at Karin with a blank look, "Unicorns and phoenixes and… dragons."
He just nodded, "Yeah, though phoenixes are rare and all three animals are dangerous to get ingredients from. They actually have to kill a dragon to get the core ingredient, cores from unicorns and phoenixes are taken from live animals."
"They have to kill it?" Yuzu was saddened at the thought that people would kill an animal for a wand.
Ichigo ignored his sister's sad tone, knowing it was a fact of life, "Yeah, that's the kind of core my wand has, a dragon heartstring. Dragons are incredibly dangerous, there would be no way to get any sort of ingredient from a dragon without killing it before hand, otherwise it would kill you. They're very vicious and don't care if you're trying to help it or hurt it, they think of all humans as the enemy." He picked up his wand and stood once he finished his explanation, having finished his dinner, and left to return to his room to continue his studies, leaving his family to stare after him.
Yuzu turned to their father, "is that right? Do they really have to kill it?"
He sighed, "Masaki told me about dragons, they have to be kept in reservations so they don't come into contact with muggles, because some breeds like to eat humans. They can't be domesticated and their numbers have to be controlled so muggles don't notice them, the dragons killed to control the populations are usually where the dragon products come from." He summed up what he remembered from the rare conversations he had had with his wife about the topic, which had only happened because he had been curious about the fact that dragons were real and had wanted to know more about them. Masaki had complied, if a bit hesitant to explain, and he knew why after she was done, it was a sad topic.
"S-so is Ichi-nii going to be studying until next school year? Does he have that much homework over the summer?" Yuzu changed the topic, not wanting the mood to get any more tense than it already was.
"No, Ichigo got permission to study from home this next school year, though he'll be going back the year after that."
"What? Why would Ichi-nii study at home for only a year? Isn't his school a boarding school?" Karin didn't understand why her brother would spend the next year at home right after he had studied abroad, just to go back after this year.
"He wants to study and skip grades. He's set up to enter the fourth year this fall, but all those in his year are much younger than him, he's already as old as the sixth years. He wants to enter the sixth year after a year of studying at home, so he'll skip two years by studying for one year on his own. By the time he's in his final year, year seven, he'll be two years older than his classmates." Isshin ate quietly, still not sure if it was wise to allow his son to isolate himself from his classmates, but it was what Ichigo wanted, and if Ichigo thought he'd be more comfortable skipping grades to be in classes with others closer to his age, Isshin wasn't going to stop him.
"Oh…"
"So Ichi-nii will be home all year? And next summer too?" Yuzu seemed more positive about their brother being home, liking that he would actually be around for once.
"Yes, but he's most likely going to spend a lot of time studying. He's very serious about his new education and will have exams towards the end of the school year if he succeeds in catching up, where he will have to go to school for a few days for testing. Ichigo seems confident that he will catch up so we will just have to do our best to help him when he needs it." Isshin informed, not sure if they'd be any help if Ichigo did need any help.
"Ichi-nii is smart, if he sets his mind to it, he'll surely catch up. He'll probably cause problems for his teachers though," Karin snickered, "just like always."
Isshin sighed but knew his rougher daughter had a point, but then he remembered, "In the letter from the Headmaster, he said Ichigo is one of the top students in every one of his classes, and he rarely talks at all, much less cause problems. Though he did apparently beat up a few of the students in his class…"
"Like I said," Karin smirked with a glance at the stairs, "Just like always. Ichi-nii hasn't changed that much. Even with a new power, he's still his strong self."
Soooo... Like? No like? Hope you liked it, I was really just trying to get through this part. It was difficult, though the part with Luna was fun. Someone suggested making her friends with Ichi and I agree, but she's kind of hard to write, she's such a different character. Oh well, I got through it.
Those of you who are sad by the fact that Ichigo will not be at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament, he still has to take his OWLs remember? He will be popping in every now and then. I think I'm gonna make Dumbledore force him to attend the welcoming of the new students but if any of you guys want any particular interactions to happen between him and the visitors, just speak up. I am always open to suggestions. I love them, I really do. I will tolerate flames, if they are justified, but they sometimes hurt my feelings and make me depressed, and put me off writing for a period of time, which means no updates, so I'd rather not get them, but if there is a serious problem I will attempt to fix it, or at least explain why I wrote something a certain way. I do have a method to my madness, I do. I have a reason for doing things the way I do.
Anywho... Oh yeah, I was gonna put up that petition wasn't I? OK. Here ya go. Hope you are all in agreement with it, cuz I sure as hell am.
Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.
Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.
For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.
It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.
If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.
While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.
For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.
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