"Orihime-chan, it's almost time to leave, are you ready!?" Sora called out from the kitchen. He had a few overnight bags of clothes, tooth brushes and the like, and was waiting for Dumbledore to arrive. Orihime on the other hand was still in her room, and by the sound of the rapid movements within, was still working on getting ready.
"Yes... no... just give me a minute and I'll be right out!" Orihime shouted from within her room. She was practically tripping over her own feet as each of her spirits tried to call her attention to different things that she needed to pack; books, clothes, the soul phone Urahara had provided her with... unmentionables.
She was so embarrassed that she had over slept, having been too tired to set her alarm before passing out from exhaustion earlier in the day. She hadn't woken up until just two hours previous when it suddenly hit her that she hadn't said goodbye to Tatsuki and she ran out of the house to get one final word with her friend before heading out to Hogwarts.
After she got back she found she had only an hour to shower, get herself presentable and pack. Now she was down to the last five minutes as she tried to dry her hair with one hand while using her butt to push close the suitcase she had slightly over stuffed.
"Calm down Orihime-chan, it isn't like you have to have 'everything' during this run. You can come back on the weekends to grab anything you forgot." Lily giggled as Orihime tripped and fell over.
Orihime pushed herself up off the ground, then laughed as rubbed the back of her head. "Right, I forgot about that." She admitted with her usual smile. "I guess I am just excited is all."
"Be excited, but move with purpose. Otherwise you will make more work for yourself." Hinagiku said sagely. "For example, your shirt is on backwards."
Orihime looked down to see that he was telling the truth and gave a squeak, before quickly turning it around and trying to smooth it out. "Well it seems like your finally ready." Ayame said with an embarrassed giggle.
"Right." Orihime said with a smile and nod. "Nii-san, I'm ready!" She shouted as she ran out of her room, using some of her spiritual energy to enhance her strength, letting her lift the heavy suitcase with ease. But when she arrived at the kitchen, she found not only her older brother standing there waiting, but also Dumbledore and Touma. The three of them were standing around an old grandfather clock in the middle of the room, one that's face only had one hand, and rather than the numbers around the outer edge there were two sets of words; Dumbledore's Office Hogwarts, Inoue's House Japan, the hand was currently pointing at the latter.
Dumbledore smiled upon seeing her. "It is good to see you once again, Ms. Inoue."
"In is good to see you too as well, Dumbledore-sensei, Touma-san." Orihime said putting down her suitcase and bowing to the two guests.
"Orihime-chan, are you ready to go? Are you sure you managed to pack everything?" Sora asked his sister.
Orihime gave him her larges smile. "I sure did, Nii-san. I'm all ready to go!" She said standing at attention, but then her stomach gave a rather unfortunately loud growl and she felt her face heat up. "Um... please ignore that." She said, laughing weakly as she tried to hold her stomach to stop the noise.
"Not to worry. Even though it is after lunch her in Japan, it is still a good time for lunch back at Hogwarts. You can join us in the Great Hall for the evening meal. It will be a good chance for you to meet the men and women who will be your instructors." Dumbledore said friendly.
"Alright, that sounds good." Orihime said with a short nod of agreement.
"Now, if you would all turn your attention to this clock, I will be explaining how you will be traveling to and from Hogwarts during the course of this Summer." Touma said, bringing everyone's attention to the clock. "This grandfather clock is a two way port-key and has been charmed so that when you move the hand from one destination to the next, it will move itself and anyone who is touching it to the set destination. It will also log who and what was transported with both the Japanese and British governments, so don't worry about such things. Whenever you are ready, simply put your hand on the clocks surface and we can begin."
Both Orihime and Sora grabbed their bags and put one hand on either side of the clock. The spirits returned to their objects so as to not risk being left behind by the magic. Dumbledore himself walked to the front of the clock and placed a hand on the glass in front of the pendulum. However, Touma didn't make any move to join them.
"Is Touma-san not coming?" Orihime asked, eyeing the suited man.
"No, I'm afraid he is a very busy man, and this is a long trip." Dumbledore said with a wink. "But it is a trip that we are about to take. So, lets get the hands turning." Dumbledore put his thumb on the end of the hand of the clock and slowly turned it until it pointed towards 'Dumbledore's Office Hogwarts'.
Orihime felt like her hand had been glued to the clock and that something pulled her forward off of her feet. The sensation wasn't pleasant, and Orihime felt her eyes water with a strain on her head, but no sooner had the feeling started then it had stopped and she found herself in a very different place.
Dumbledore's office was cluttered, perhaps the most cluttered place Orihime had ever seen, books and scrolls were scattered over every visible surface of the tabletops and dozens of shining instruments who's purposes Orihime could only guess at.
Sora gasped as he stared at a wall full of potrits of old headmasters. "Dumbledore-sensei. The pictures... they are moving." He managed to choke out through his shock.
"Hm... yes, they do that. It is a simple charm we put on our pictures, extremely common in the wizarding world. I am usually more surprised when pictures aren't moving." Dumbledore said as he straightened his beard, mumbling, "Port-key travel always makes such a mess out of it."
"Orihime-chan, can you believe this?" Sora said staring in wonder, but his sister didn't answer. "Orihime-chan?"
Orihime was standing a far distance away staring at a blank patch of wall, her mouth open slightly. "Dumbledore-sensei, the walls, they are... awake." Orihime said, trying to think of the best way to describe it. She could feel steady currents of spiritual energy moving through the walls, and it was observing her back. She reached out and touched the wall, feeling the stones vibrate slightly underneath her touch. Its consciousness was not strong, but it was definitely there.
"You noticed? Very astute of you." Dumbledore said with a smile. He was curious as to how exactly the girl could tell, but decided that the subject could wait. "Hogwarts' Castle was made using the same type of magic you use to give life to your hairpins and wand. As you say, the spirits within these stones are very much awake. But that can be saved for another time, I believe I promised you both a meal, correct? Just leave your bags here, they will be taken to your rooms for you."
Dumbledore guided the siblings out of his office and through the halls. Sora stare in wonder at the moving staircases and paints but Orihime's eyes didn't seem to wonder as much, a look of focus was on her face. She wasn't taking in her surroundings with her eyes, she was feeling them, taking in all the spiritual energies and pressures, trying to decipher what kind of place she was in.
Dumbledore found himself surprised again as she girl seemed to instinctively know where the trick steps were on the stairs, warning her brother about one that Dumbledore had forgotten to mention. He wondered if this was another part of her natural talent with spirits or if it was a developed skill. He could remember all the times both she and her spirits seemed aware of his presence long before he had entered their field of vision, even when he made an effort not to make a sound.
Dumbledore was still wondering how best to get the information of her skills from the girl when they reached the Great Hall. Several of his colleagues were already sitting at the tables eating and conversing as they saw fit.
It was Hagrid who first spotted the new arrivals. "Professor Dumbledore sir, back already!?" Her large man shouted his greeting. The professors all turned to see their headmaster and their eyes all traced over the small girl who was with him, or the small figures that circled about her. Orihime felt a little embarrassed, being the focus of so much attention, but she did her best to stay tall.
"Indeed Hagrid, the trip was short but sweet and fruitful. Now, how about I introduce our new guests and then we can make marry and try to fill ourselves up for what remains of the day." Dumbledore said before gesturing to Orihime. "This Orihime Inoue, she will be studying with us for the remainder of the summer in order to be ready to join the second years come the start of the next semester, and her elder brother, Sora will also be staying with us as long as he sees fit."
"It's... it's nice to meet you all! Please take good care of me!" Orihime said giving a low bow to the gathered professors.
"No need to stand on ceremony right now child, grab a chair and partake in the food and some friendly conversation." A small man with a large forehead and slightly pointed ears said, slapping his hand on an empty chair next to him. He was giving a friendly enough smile so Orihime took him up at his offer. Her brother was a bit slower behind him, his eyes staring up towards the sky above them and the candles that flouted through the air. Seeing the man's expression the small man chuckled. "There is a ceiling. It has just been charmed in order to look like the sky outside. It makes afternoons like this one quite lovely, though I believe we could do without whenever a storm sets in." The man put down is silverwear and held out a hand. "How about we start with some more introductions. I am Filius Flitwick, the professor of Charms. It is a pleasure."
"The pleasure is mine, Flitwick-sensei." Orihime said, gladly shaking the man's hand. His outgoing personality made it much easier for her to relax.
"No at all. Now for some more names if you think you can handle them." Flitwick said before looking around the table. "We have Professor Mcgonagall of Transfiguration, Ms. Aurora Sinistra is head of Astronomy, Professor Burbage of Muggle Studies, Pomona Sprout is our Herbology Professor, and Rubious Hagrid is the ground keeper of our not so humble institution." Flitwick said, pointing to the instructors one after another. Each one nodding in a varyingly friendly manner as they were named. "That is all that is with us at the moment. The others have either gone home for the summer or else take their midday meals in their private chambers."
"Not quite Filius, old Kettleburn hasn't made it back from feeding the creatures yet." Professor Sinistra said with a sly smile as she spooned herself a portion of potatoes.
"Ah! How could I forget, well you will meet our Care of Magical Creatures instructor soon enough. But first, eat, we can hardly expect you to seeming go without while we all talk. If you wait for us to stop, my goodness years will have gone by before that happens!" Flitwick laugh in an uncontrolled manner. Orihime took him up on his advice and started to eat herself.
Orihime did her best to remember her manners while eating, forcing herself to eat slowly despite her hunger. It wasn't until she looked up from hear meal to find several pairs of eyes on her, or on the spirits around her, that she sank a bit into her chair.
"Sorry Ms. Inoue, but what exactly are those." Professor Burbage asked, pointing to Ayame who gave a short squeak before hiding behind Orihime's chair. Orihime started to try to think how to explain them, it was something that was coming up more and more often. She didn't understand why people made such a big deal out of it, the Soul Reapers hardly cared, other than some of the Captains. But before Orihime could gather hear thoughts, Dumbledore spoke up.
"They are the Shun Shun Rikka, spirits of objects who have been released from their physical form by Orihime's Spirit Actualization ability." Dumbledore said, hardly breaking in his hurried pace of eating to say it. But his lips were pulled up in a smile as some of the professors who were drinking did a spit-take and started to pound on their chests to stop their coughing fits.
"Spirit Actualization, well I'll be." Flitwick said with a slow whistle. The following questions involving magic quickly overwhelmed Orihime and confused her. Something about the bonding ratio of the transfigure objects and the need for integrated magical circuits. Orihime was half convinced he was just making up words as he went along.
"Filius, I am afraid that Ms. Inoue has had no formal education in magic, and even if she had your questions are rather numerous." Dumbledore interjected around the time steam started to escape through Orihime's ears. "Though you seem to be very excited, how about you take the first tutoring shift for today."
"Certainly! I would be glad to have a student during these dull times. The Summers are so painfully slow around here." Flitwick said with a laugh.
"I will try to live up to your expectations." Orihime said politely as she tried to get her head back on straight and feared what the next few hours with the tiny man would entail. Her mind was already spinning from all the activity and the dozens of spiritual threads moving freely through the air, and this was supposed to be slow when compared to the school year?
Orihime was pulled out of the thought as she noticed another spiritual thread moving closer to the hall. She turned her head to the door just in time to see an elderly man in a patchwork brown coat striding confidently through the door. His hair was shoulder length and tied back into a ponytail so that his rough facial features were in clear view. He sported several burns and scratch marks on his wrinkled face but he still grinned like he was the king of the world. But the thing that was most shocking was that he was missing his left arm. The sleeve dangled empty as he moved into the room.
"Ow! We have some guests!? Well I'm sure everyone else has already said it, but welcome to Hogwarts!" The man said cheerfully as he took up a seat next to Hagrid and started to pull what food he could towards him with his singular arm, his loud voice giving the impression that the man was a little hard of hearing.
Though he was clearly one of the oldest men in the room, he seemed unnaturally energetic. Orihime was going to introduce herself to them man, but Flitwick jumped into conversation with him before she had the chance too.
"Kettleburn! How goes it down with the creatures!?" Flitwick said, raising his voice to the older gentlemen.
"Oh, it goes well! The Fire Crabs are starting to reach their three cycle so we will be having a fresh batch of youngling for the students to handle by this coming November!" Kettleburn shouted happily before turning towards Pomona Sprout. "On an unrelated note, I saw evidence of Dugbogs in the area so you best be watching out for your Mandrakes Pomona."
"Heavens forbid! I won't let a single one of those oversized newts near my green houses!" The pump woman huffed loudly so the man could hear but understand her displeasure at the news. "Luckily the mandrakes are still potted at the moment! Thank you for the warning!"
"Do not mention it Pomona! I'll be sure to get some repellent for yous to set up. Hagrid, you help me collect the..."
"Mooncalf dung; the none harmful repellent! Yessir! I'll get it tonight if the sky stay clear!" Hagrid finished quickly, earning a laugh from the kindly old man.
"Thats a good boy!" He said, patting the large man on the back. It seemed like such an odd gesture to see, since Hagrid was ruffly the same size as Zaraki-taichou and looked to be around fifty something years of age himself. But soon the laugh turned into a gagging sound and several of the members of the staff moved to assist the man only to be quickly waved down. He covered his mouth and coughed hard and when he brought his hand away, there was some blood dripping down from the corner of his cheek. "Damn." He mumbled as he grabbed a napkin and started to wipe it up.
"I see your condition isn't improving, no matter how much you insist that it is." Mcgonogall said, her voice both stern and concerned. "Kettleburn, you need to retire. All this moving about isn't good for your health."
"Hogpash!" Kettleburn shouted angrily. "Dumbledore is older than me and you don't see him retiring! I didn't throw in the towel when I lost me arm, and I'm not calling it quits for this either!" He said, crossing his one arm over his chest in a stubborn gesture. "You couldn't find anyone to replace me anyways! The only one who could would be Hagrid, since the boy has been dogging my heels for the last fifty years, but those blood suckers in London wouldn't let you give him a teaching position! I've seen Gnomes with more sense!"
"Your arm." Orihime said loud enough for everyone to hear her but not the same half shouting as everyone else. "Would you let me take a look at it?"
"What's that!?" Kettleburn said holding a hand to his ear. "You want to look at my arm?"
"Yes, I want to see if I can heal it!" Orihime said more loudly. Some of the people at the table looked around, not sure what to think.
"I'm sorry girl, but the best healers in Britain have already..!" Kettleburn started, but this time it was Dumbledore whose voice moved through the hall.
"Let her try." The headmaster said, his instructor's voice having no trouble being heard by all. "Ms. Inoue has a very unique healing ability. So I say, let her try." He looked towards the girl, his bright blue eyes shining. "Do you think you can do it?"
Orihime nodded. "I've done severed limbs before. I should be able to." She said surprising everyone. She got up out of her seat and moved over to Kettleburn and started to roll up his sleeve. She stared at the stump feeling the energy inside of it and the skin was discolored. "There is a foreign Reishi in the tissue of your arm. What was it that attacked you?"
Kettleburn's mouth twitched. "A Manticore, around five years back. They had to amputate the arm to stop the venom from spreading." He grumbled. "Sorry, but I'm not expecting much."
"Hm... there isn't much of it, so it should be too much of a problem. Ayame, Shun'ō." The two named spirits came and moved to either side of the injury. "Sōten Kisshun, I reject!"
The orange orb formed around where the old professors arm must once have been as Orihime concentrated. To the observers the event was hard to describe. It looked as if invisible bandages were being peeled away to show Kettleburn's undamaged arm underneath them, as if it had been there all along. The process only took a matter of seconds and once Orihime was done, a normal human arm sat were there had once just been a stump.
"There, good as new." Orihime said with a smile. "It is a lot easier when here isn't a strong Reishi in the wound. If it had been a Hollow attack, then it could have taken hours to fix. Depending on the strength of the Hollow."
The room was silent as they stared at Kettleburn's arm, the fingers twitching as the old man tried to remember how to move them, a dumb expression on his face, as if he couldn't believe his own senses. Then they all looked at Orihime and asked the exact same question. 'Who is this girl?'
"Don't suppose you could do my legs too? These ones are fake."
Since I am doing a challenge I am putting out one of my own.
After losing to Ichigo, Aizen has nothing, not the Hogyoku, not his army of Arrancar, or even his zanpakuto. But the evil master would still not give up. He seeks out the three pieces of the Spirit King that were left in the moral world centuries ago in an attempt to create a new Hogyoku, one for each of the Spirit King's incarnations;
The Right Hand of the Soul King - Mimihagi - God of Stagnation, the True Cloak of Invisibility
The Left Hand of the Soul King - Pernida Parnkgjas - God of Evolution, The Elder Wand
The Heart of the Soul King - Gerard Valkyrie - God of Existence, The Resurrection Stone
So Aizen pulls together what resources he has left and forms an alliance with Voldemort in order to get the pieces that he needs to reclaim the role of god.