"What were you thinking!?" Pridetooth screamed after they had returned to the main office, papers had been scattered everywhere after the dragon's take off had shaken the building. He was completely livid and had long since forgotten to be respectful. "You revitalized a dragon within a populated area and destroyed a large portion of Gringotts in the process! How did you even do that!? A child your age should not be capable of such magic!"
"Sorry." Orihime mumbled. "I just can't help it whenever I see someone in pain. Sorry..."
"It was a dragon, you idiot!?" The goblin shouted before giving a squeal of pain when Tsubaki kicked the goblin hard in its long nose.
"Back off short stuff. I'm not about to let you to yell at the Princess like that." Tsubaki growled, the other spirits gathering along side him. Small as they were, they seemed intimidating to the goblin.
"I'm sure the Hufflepuff vault has more than enough funds to repair the damage to the bank." Dumbledore said, still a little shocked after hearing of the events that had transpired at the vault; the powers that the young girl had brought forth in order to disregard dragon's fire and the beast's raw strength. The goblin's mouth twitched as he rubbed his nose. He glared at the spirits but only nodded his affirmative to Dumbledore's statement.
"I don't even get what the big deal is. That dragon was pretty wimpy. It shouldn't be that hard to capture it." Lily said as she flouted back into a casual position. "I mean, it couldn't put even a scratch into our shield." Dumbledore looked at the spirit with a curious expression while the goblin just gaped at it.
"I believe that your judgment is being clouded by prior experience." Hinagiku said, crossing his arms in a sage like manner. "Our shield has held up against the strikes of seated members of the Goten Thirteen. And while it is true that such individuals pale in comparison to the power of the Espada and the Captains, it would be safe to assume that your average Soul Reaper would still have a difficult time with a dragon. You can't expect mortal magic users to exceed the abilities of the Kido Corps."
"So that means I really did mess up bad." Orihime said, her shoulders sinking further.
"No Princess, don't threat! I'm sure that there are individual among the wizards that hold power above their peers, just like the Captains!" Hinagiku said quickly, trying to dispel the girl's gilt.
"Maybe, but I still caused this. Dumbledore-sensei, I'll go recapture the dragon for you." Orihime said, getting up out of her seat.
"No! No dear child!" Dumbledore said, breaking into a fit of coughs at his surprise at the girl would offer to go hunt down a full grown dragon. Not to mention how she treated said dragon as just a small thing. Sora paled at the thought of his sister hunting a dragon, though he had not heard the spirits speaking about how unthreatening a dragon was to them. "There is no need for that. Professionals have already been called upon. It is always best to leave these matters to those who have been trained properly to deal with them. They have there job and we have ours."
"Hmm... okay then." Orihime nodded before turning back to the goblin. "I'm really sorry. I hope everything works out." The girl bowed to him in a show of respect and regret, not noticing the goblin holding his nose.
"Yes yes, just get out of here! Next time send someone else as a proxy instead of coming yourself! I don't care who you send, just don't comeback!" The goblin's cries sounded funny with his held nose before he turned and left the room as quickly as possible. "I can't take her smell anymore." He grumbled as he passed Dumbledore who raised an eyebrow yet again. Another puzzle piece that made as little sense as all the others.
Orihime blushed as she raised her arm and sniffed at it. "Do I really smell?"
"Ah, well." Dumbledore stammered for a second before looking away. He wasn't about to answer that question. Long experience with child had taught him not to answer such questions. So he quickly changed the subject. "If we have the money you require, it is probably best if we went back to the task at hand, correct? Please, follow me."
"Orihime-chan, are you sure you are alright?" Sora asked for the sixth time. He couldn't understand how his dear little sister could be so happy with everything that was happening. The way she talked about a dragon, as if it was nothing more than a stray dog that had gotten off the leash. She wasn't afraid at all.
"I alright told you, I'm A-Okay!" Orihime said, making a fist pumping gesture and smiling full force at her brother. "But if you need to sit down for a bit we can. I guess you must have been surprised by the dragon."
"Surprised? I think scared out of my wits is a better description." Sora chuckled weakly as he admitted to his fears. "You're a whole lot braver than I am. It's almost like you aren't afraid of anything."
"Poor Sora-san, he doesn't even know." Ayame said softly, shaking her head. The gentle spirit gave the young man a pitying look, one that he couldn't see as she said sad words he couldn't hear. "It isn't that our princess isn't afraid of anything, it is that the things she does fear are so much greater than a mere dragon."
"That's for sure. Dragon? Ha! Something so weak can't even compare to a single Menus, the creatures we need to prepare for make it look like a overgrown lizard." Tsubaki scoffed, crossing his arms. "Are you sure that there is any reason for you to waste our time with these wizards? If that dragon makes them worried, then they can't be too powerful."
"It isn't that simple." Shun'ō said, flying up next to his more aggressive counterpart. "The Soul Reapers' entire society revolved around conflict, so if you looked at any given Soul Reaper, you would know they had some kind of skills that could be used in war. But look around you, there are wizards everywhere. They are performing civilian jobs. So not all of them have learned proper defense. I'm sure that the specialists that Dumbledore-san had mentioned are versed in forms of magic that could be helpful."
"I agree." Baigon nodded. "We shouldn't be so hasty to judge. We might overlook something important if we don't take our time to..."
"But we don't have time to waste!" Tsubaki growled angrily, interrupting the larger spirit.
"I don't believe this will be a waste of time." Hinagiku said throwing in his two cents and taking up a thoughtful pose next to his peers. "You might not remember this Tsubaki-san, but the Soul Reapers' Kido is not all about force. They had all kinds of spells; detection, tracking, sealing, binding, teleportation, hypnosis, illusions. Any number of which could have be infinitely useful while the princess was being held in..." Hinagiku stopped talking and glared towards Dumbledore who had slowed down to get closer to the spirits conversation.
Having been caught in the act of ease-dropping, Dumbledore tried to save face by engaging Orihime in conversation. "So Ms. Inoue, how has your first impression of Diagon Alley been so far?" The elder asked his soon too be student.
The orange haired girl gave a huge smile. "It's amazing! So many interesting things and people, I would have never expected to find something like this all in one place. Its like a giant Urahara Shop." She said then she looked a little sheepish. "Though I am afraid Diagon Alley's first impressions of me might not be as good."
"The Urahara Shop? What manner of store would that be?" Dumbledore asked, believing he had found a connection to start at for finding out who exactly this girl was. Though he was throw for a loop by the girls answer.
"Its a candy store." Orihime said, thinking back to how the underground Soul Reaper always referred to himself as a humble candy store owner.
"Ah, yes, I suppose coming her for the first time would be a similar experience to being in a candy store." Dumbledore said, trying to keep his disappointment out of his voice as the spirits snickered at him. "Though I hope the first store we go to here will be a bit more memorable than a candy store. After all, no witch or wizard ever forgets getting their very first wand."
"So wizards really do need to use wands to do magic?" Orihime asked curiously as they arrived outside of a rather rundown looking store. Not the kind of place that one would expect to find a life changing object to be held in, though the Urahara shop's look didn't give away any of the serious shit that went down in there.
"Well, yes and no. Magic can be called upon and preformed without the need of a wand, though doing so makes the result nearly impossible to control. The wand merely acts as a focus to help us give the magic form." Dumbledore explained. "You'll learn more about it once we get to Hogwarts. I believe it is taught in Charms right now. It used to be a Defense topic, but it has been so hard to find a reliable teacher for that class recently, so we moved some of the basics around so we can still guaranty our students get the fundamentals."
"You're having trouble finding teacher? But I thought you ran a high end school, how come it is difficult to find good instructors?" Sora asked, his brow creasing with confusion.
"Ah, that is a long story. I'm afraid that a few years back, an incredibly dark wizard, one so evil that most fear to even say his name, tried to apply for the job. Naturally I turned him away, throwing him from the castle. In response, he put a jinx on the position. No one has lasted more than a year since then." Dumbledore said with a disappointed sigh. "In the beginning, there were still plenty of determined individuals whose belief in teacher out weighed their fear of the jinx, but after fourteen instructors each suffering from horrible accidents, it is becoming harder and harder to find good help. This year, I'm afraid to say, I really had to scrape the bottom of the figurative barrel. I had a much better man ready for the job, but the government wouldn't grant me permission to hire him. Prejudice against werewolves is a serious issue. It is outdated, but the old families still hold on to it I'm afraid."
"A jinx... horrible accidents... werewolves?" Sora said in increasing shock.
"Quite." Dumbledore nodded. "But we have stood on the doorstep of the next adventure long enough." He reached over and opened up the door, gesturing with one hand he bowed to Orihime. "Ladies first."
'The wand chooses the wizard.' That was what Ollivander always said. He usually didn't add anything else about wandlore, or tell people that some wand types were more picky than others. Wand making was a complex process, in every way the equal to potion making, if not even more mysterious. And just like in potion making, some things just didn't go well together.
So Ollivander was shocked when he had received Dumbledore's message asking him to make a wand for a child. Well, that actually wasn't that shocking, but the fact that he was providing the core and requesting a type of wood before the child have ever shown up was rather confusing. Surely the elder wizard knew that there would be no guaranty that the wand would even accept the child as its wielder, actually, it was highly unlikely that it would. It was always best to let the wand choose, not try to force a coupling. But long time experience had taught him not to question Dumbledore. At least, not until afterwards. That leeway was being strained however at the requested combination of core and wood; phoenix tail feathers and ivy.
Anyone who spends time in wand making knows that each core type has its preference of holder, and so does each type of wood. The wielder must please both in order to get the best results, or any results. So when Dumbledore asked him to use these two contrasting natures, it made the wand maker puzzled.
Phoenix tail feather cores were proud, stubborn and unchanging, preferring a wealth of history and power as old as their source before they would even grudgingly submit to being used. Thus, holders of these wands were rarer than the less picky dragon heartstrings and unicorn hair cores. Only the best wizards would do, not just with power but they must be almost destined for greatness.
Ivy wood was nearly the complete opposite, it could best be described as desperate and insecure. They are draw to people who have nothing and wish to achieve something more, most often falling into the hands of muggleborns witches and wizards. It caused a joke among the pure bloods, that the muggleborns could not even handle real wood and had to work with a vine instead. Though holders of these wands often did achieve great things through their determination. These wands had a tendency to react to a wizard before they even entered the door of Ollivanders shop, trying to lay claim to what was theirs before any of the others could snatch it away.
The wand itself was a bit of a rush job. He didn't have enough time to polish it properly before Dumbledore and his guests arrived. Though it wasn't the door opening that let him know that they were there. The wand began to hum quietly, a humming that only one who trained themselves to sense the spirits within the wands would be able to detect. A trick that was used to try to match the spirits of the wands with the spirits of the wizards, decreasing the thousands of possible options down to only thirty or so.
Ollivander froze in surprise, not because of the wand's reaction alone, since the wand wasn't alone in its reaction. Dozens upon dozens of wands began to react, each one trying to let itself be known above the others; dragon heartstring and beechwood, unicorn hair and forest pine, kelpie hair and hawthorn; each wanting to be the first to be taken off the shelves. Each and every wand that held some degree of awareness was reacting to something. Some reactions were so powerful that they rattled in their boxes. Ollivander had never seen anything like it before. He was almost starting to panic, fearing some kind of chain reaction of magic would come from the wands and blow his shop out of existences. Then he felt it, a strong spiritual presence outside of his shop.
His eyes drifted to the door as he heard the little bell ring and saw a small girl, he guessed the first year that Dumbledore wanted the wand for, enter his small store. At first he mistook her for another Weasley, because of her brunt orange hair, but her face showed no sign of freckles. Her cheerful expression, completely vacant of any anxiety was a stark contrast to the normal child coming in to receive their very first wand.
But all of this seemed insignificant when he noticed what was flying around the girl. His jaw nearly dropped as his mind tried to figure out what they were, going through dozens of possible little winged creatures, but none matched. It was clear to him what they were, even if he had never seen one in such a state before. They were spirits. Manifested spirits free of physical coils. Six of them in varying outfits flew around the girl speaking in a language that Ollivander didn't understand.
He stood in the shadows, watching the newcomers with wide eyes until he noticed that the girl was staring straight at him, and so were the spirits. "Ohayō gozaimasu, I'm Orihime Inoue. You are Ollivander-san, right? It's nice to meet you. Though it is nice to meet you, even if you aren't." The girl was bubbly in her speech and gave a short but showy bow to the wandmaker who was surprised. He believed himself to be completely concealed at the moment, but she knew exactly where he was.
Two others walked in behind the girl, a young man, in his mid to late twenties and Dumbledore himself. The elder wizard had a pleased with himself smile on that made him wander just what was going on.
"Yes, I am Ollivander, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Inoue." Ollivander said, stepping forward and tucking the ordered wand into its box. "And Mr. Dumbledore, I assume you are taking good care of that wand of yours." Ollivander said, successfully hiding the longing in his voice.
Dumbledore chuckled and nodded. "Do not worry. I have been keeping it safe and taking good care of it."
"Ah, yes. Then I suppose you won't be needing me to take a look at it." He said, his shoulders giving a small shrug of disappointment. "But you have still come here today with business, so how about we get down to it. Which is the girl's wand arm?"
"My right!" Orihime said, grinning as she held up her right arm. Ollivander gave a silent sigh of relief. He hadn't been told which was the girl's dominant hand, so he took a guess. Luckily, it seemed his guess was correct.
Normally, at this point, the wand maker would start taking measurements of the girl's arm, as well as some of the head and legs, in order to predict how she will be when she is full grown and better match a wand to her eventual height. Wands tended to consider their possible owners based on how big they would be when they were full grown. But Ollivander didn't see the point in doing that now.
"Well then, how about we try you out with this wand first. Though I will tell you now, it isn't the wizard or witch who chooses the wand. The wand itself must choose." Ollivander said, holding out the box the girl.
Orihime took the box, but hesitated before opening it. "I'm afraid I don't know any magic spells. Yoruichi-sama only ever taught me to draw out my powers. I have never used a wand before." She said looking over to Ollivander with a hopeful expression, waiting for instruction.
The wandmaker was about to tell her that it was alright and that she simply needed to give the wand a flick of the wrist and they would now if it was a fit. But before he could, Dumbledore cut him off.
"I'm sure if you just repeat the process you used then, it shall work just fine." Dumbledore said to the girl, giving her an assuring smile. Ollivander frowned but didn't comment, just watched the girl's movements.
"Hm... I'll give it a try." Orihime said with a nod, taking a large breath and closing her eyes. Ollivander swallowed hard as the presence he had been feeling grew stronger and stronger. A sort of glow started to come from the girl, deep oranges and bright yellows swirling together in a bright golden mist. It's was breath taking to see and held the wandmaker's attention like a vise. "Just remember what Yoruichi-sama said... power is a weapon. To use it, you just need a reason to pick it up, a purpose." She whispered as she removed the lid and took the wand in hand. The world seemed to be spinning as all of the wands in the room were reacting to the waves of energy coming from the girl. Sora looked around in dumb shock, able to hear the wands rattling, but unable to see the light show that was happening around his sister. "Please, help me save everyone."
She raised the wand up and everyone else in the room gasped and moved back as the wand glowed bright, its surface turning from a wooden brown to a polished amber color as small coils of flames came from its tip. The fire grew bigger and bigger, pushing outwards until it completely covered the girl.
"Orihime!" Sora shouted in panic, moving forward to help his little sister only to have the fire press over him as well. He was about to scream, but then noticed that the fire was not hot to the touch, it merely passed over him, blanketing him and a gentle warmth. The flames were the shade and pattern of the most beautiful sunrise, not so bright as to hurt the eyes, but bright enough to obscure ones vision.
Ollivander had never seen such a large magical reaction before. But if he found that shocking, it was nothing compared to what was to come. As the flames started to disappear he saw that Orihime stood there in front of him, her hands empty, and a new spirit flouting at eye level in front of her.
This new spirit had medium length yellow blond hair tied up with a golden feather ornament being used as a clasping pin. Her round eyes were amber orbs free of black pupils and a slightly puzzled expression was spread across the sun kissed skin of her face.
Orihime looked as surprised by the appearance of the new spirit as Ollivander was. But her face quickly turned to a gentle smile. "Hello there, I'm Orihime Inoue, thank you for answering me."
The spirit smiled back and gave a midair curtsy, sweeping out an shimmering orange and gold gown that nearly hide her feet underneath it. The long sleeves on the blouse she wore flapped open from cuts that reached up to her armpits looking a little like wings draped over her shoulders. "It is wonderful to meet you, Lady Orihime. I will do my best to answer your prayers. I am Alba, your Ignem Aeternum, my power is yours to command."
"It is nice to meet you, Alba. Welcome to the group." Orihime said cheerful.
"Wahoo!" Lily shouted, flying over to the new spirit. The energetic female spirit pulled Alba into a one armed hug. "Yes! Now the numbers are even between the boys and girls at three and a half each!"
"Hey! What do you mean a half? I keep telling you Lily-chan, I'm a guy!" Shun'ō said, flushing indignantly though he still gave a kind smile to the newcomer, unfortunately showing off his girlish features.
"It is nice to meet you, Alba-chan." "Welcome to the group." "Nice to meet you." The other spirits came in, giving their only greetings, save for Tsubaki who hung back and watched.
"The wand, where did it go?" Sora said, dumbfounded as the wand seemed to disappear for his sister's hands.
"Your sister turned it into a spirit. Quiet remarkable." Dumbledore said, running a hand over his beard. "I'm afraid that you are not able to see them, but they are around your sister right now."
"You... don't say." Sora said gazing uncomfortably around his sister.
"Spirit Actualization. I never thought I would see it. Dumbledore... did you know this was going to happen?" Ollivander asked in a hushed voice, his eyes never leaving the spirit which had been a wand. To the wandmaker, it was as if he was witnessing the birth of Christ. It was the living spirit of a wand given form.
"No, but I have suspected." Dumbledore admitted. Ollivander frowned at that response. He had known Dumbledore long enough to know that his 'suspicions' rarely were good for the people involved.
"Dumbledore, sir, my I speak to you alone for a minute, there are a few issues I would like to talk to you about." Ollivander said, keeping his voice light though his usually dazed eyes were staring sharply at the Headmaster.
"Of course. Mr. Inoue, would you mind taking your sister across the street to the tailoring shop. Just tell the woman behind the desk that Orihime is to be a new Hogwarts students. They will know what to do." Dumbledore said giving Sora a pat on the shoulder.
"Wait, don't I need to pay Ollivander-san?" Orihime said quickly, she pulled out a purse full of the wizarding corns. "How much is it?"
"Ah, ten galleons." Ollivander said. Orihime gave the man the money before leaving with her elder brother, six of the seven spirits in tow behind her. None of the humans noticed as Tsubaki slid out of the group. The darker spirit pressed himself into the shadows, watching Dumbledore and the wandmaker. After the door closed behind the Japanese girl and her brother, Ollivander spoke again. "Dumbledore, why did you have me make that wand? With that girl, any wand would have done the job."
"Hm, I'm sure it would have. The girl is quite remarkable and is very accepting." Dumbledore nodded in agreement, though he didn't offer the wandmaker any other explanations.
"Dumbledore, you know perfectly well that Fawkes had only ever given two other feathers to be used in wands, and you know how fate twists around those two; the boy-who-lived and you-know-who." He sounded angry with Dumbledore. "Do you want her to be caught up in that mess as well? Do you really understand how dangerous that could be?" Tsubaki had to hold back a growl as he heard those words. Not that it really mattered, fate could not touch Orihime. She defied fate; rejected it. But for the elder wizard to do something that could eventually put his Princess in danger was unforgivable. "Who is that girl? I have never seen anyone like her in all my years. Her magic is so powerful that it can be seen even without being focused by a wand."
"To be honest, I'm not sure." Dumbledore admitted.
"But you have your suspicions? You always do." Ollivander quickly countered. Dumbledore nodded, but didn't answer directly. "You have plans for her, don't you?"
"No. Not yet anyways. I know too little to have plans, merely hopes and expectations." Dumbledore said. "I expect wondrous things, but I have no idea what role she may play in the future. But her potential for good is to much for me to turn a blind eye on." Dumbledore paused for a second, considering his words. "But I believe that she knows herself. She constantly says that she has three years to prepare for something. That she needs to get stronger for an event that is to come. And if the events of last year are any clue, I am guessing that dark times are ahead. She vary well could be the key to adverting the worst of the misfortune. To heal the wounds that time has created." There was a moment of silence, one that made Tsubaki want to rush out and cleave the old fart in two.
"Dumbledore, I know that you are just trying to do what is right, but I don't like it. I just don't." Ollivander said, shaking his head. "Just go, and if you don't mind, keep me informed... about how her wand, Alba, performs. After all, I doubt there has ever been a wand like her."
"I see, just professional curiosity?" Dumbledore said, giving a knowing smile. He nodded and started to leave the shop, Tsubaki slipping out of the shadows to tail behind him. The offensive spirit glared daggers into Dumbledore's back.
"If you think you are going to use our Princess like a pawn, you got another thing coming you bastard." Tsubaki growled to himself before rejoining the rest of the spirits to discuss what he had over heard.
"Viewing students as tools. How undignified." Hinagiku said angrily, agreeing with Tsubaki's view of the matter; kill the old man.
"I don't understand, he wants to do good? That's a good thing, right?" Baigon said, scratching his head.
"He wants to use our Princess! I don't care what his intentions are! I won't allow it! No, no!" Lily shouted, angrily shaking her head back and forth.
"We have seen in the past that one man's good is not always true good. I don't want to see Orihime-sama getting hurt again." Ayame added her own two cents.
"We need to know more about Dumbledore's methods in order to make a fair assessment of the situation." Shun'ō said, crossing his arms, trying to be the pragmatic one.
"I know a little of them." The other spirits looked surprised when Alba spoke up. "A part of me came from his Phoenix, which has watched him for many years. I can't remember much, but I can remember a little from that time."
"Really? So what can you tell us?" Hinagiku asked as they all turned towards the newest member.
"Well... he does have the best of intentions, but he isn't above using people, and the people he uses often get placed in harms way." Alba said, closing her eyes and thinking back. "Last year, three students nearly died when Dumbledore tried to lure out a dark wizard who had been hiding away. He wanted the world to accept the fact that Voldemort still lived. But he didn't stop the children from getting involved. So I am in agreement with Sir Tsubaki, regardless of intentions, it would be unwise for us to allow the Headmaster to gain sway over Lady Orihime. For her own protection, we cannot allow it."
Tsubaki scoffed. "If Dumbledore was hoping that you would help his cause, he was mistaken. For us, the Princess's safety and happiness always come first and to hell with any higher causes."
"I'm glad to have your approval." Alba smiled, seeming to relax a little. The fact that they were discussing events involved in her existence had been uncomfortable, but none of the other spirits seemed to begrudge her anything.
"Unfortunately, Orihime-sama hardly has a suspicious bone in her body. It will be difficult to make her understand the danger." Shun'ō said with a sigh.
"Then we will simply have to guard her from the old man ourselves! We won't let anyone else try to use her! Not ever!" Lily shouted energetically. Some of the others echoing the sentiment. They had decided, Dumbledore was their enemy, and they were the shield which guarded the Princess.
Alba is a name meaning Dawn, and is also a subspecies of a type of plant known as the Bird of Paradise. Thus keeping with the flower theme of Orihime's powers.
Ignem Aeternum is Latin for everlasting fire.
Dumbledore isn't evil, he's like Urahara, but Urahara isn't the most trust worthy guy either.
Hey kids, who wants to go on a suicide mission and raid a heavily guarded castle from another dimension that is full of guys who are a lot stronger than you because I fucked up about fifty years back!?
Gods bless you Urahara and your weird dress sense. Only you could make that look stylish.