The Magic Inquisition

Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm back with the next chapter on our adventure and I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

"Kido/Zanpakuto Attacks/Quincy Techniques"

"Zanpakuto speech/Inner Power"

"Hollow speech"

XXX

Chapter 3:

Confident that the hypnosis was placed on everyone, Ichigo slipped a golden spoon into the Headmaster's outstretched hand, before taking a seat at the Gryffindor table, near a pair of identical twins with flaming orange hair and a dark-skinned boy with dreadlocks. Listening as the Headmaster opened the banquet he was surprised as the table was suddenly laden with a vast assortment of meats, vegetables and other accompaniments. The students around him seemed to have little hesitance though as they dug in with gusto, passing dishes amongst one another in a somewhat cordial manner. Smelling a familiar scent, he spotted a dish of curry about two places away from him.

"Sorry, but could you pass me that bowl please?" he asked the orange-haired twin on his right.

"Hmm? Oh sure, sorry mate," the teenager replied, reaching over and lifting the bowl, before handing it to him. "You look sort of overwhelmed. I take it that you don't have feasts like this back home?"

"Well not at any institution I've ever been to," Ichigo replied with a smile as he accepted the dish. "I don't suppose there's a pot of rice to go with it?"

"Nope, not that I can see," the twin across from him spoke, his eyes scanning up and down the table.

"Ah well, bread it is then," he said with a sigh as he reached for a roll and broke it in half, before dipping it into his plate.

"I don't believe we've introduced ourselves, I'm Fred…" the twin next to him spoke.

"And I'm George…" the twin across from him continued.

"…Weasley," they ended in unison, while Ichigo chuckled at them and turned his attention to their friend.

"Lee-Jordan and a word from the wise, don't accept anything these two offer you in the future. You never know what they might've done to it," the teen with dreadlocks said, while the twins recoiled in mock hurt.

"You wound us Lee. After hearing that he might just think that we're some sort of troublemakers…"

"…Not that he'd be wrong in thinking that, but at least let us cause some mischief first."

"Yeah, let us tarnish our good name!"

"A trio of would-be comedians...great. I'd love to see how they'd deal with what I put you through," Kyoka murmured into his mind, as they listened to the trio banter back and forth.

'I don't need you scarring anymore poor souls,' he replied back, trying to soothe her. "Ichigo Kurosaki, a pleasure," he said as he shook each of their hands.

"So you're going to be with the Fifth Years then? Good luck mate, hope you're ready for the O.W.L's," Lee said, the twins nodding along sagely.

"Ah yes the terrible, horrible punishment known as O.W.L's, thank god they only come once in a lifetime."

"Yes, but let us not forget the terror of N.E.W.T's."

"Too true, too true. And then the perils of real life; what trials and tribulations we must certainly endure."

"Ah ickle Ronniekins will also be writing his O.W.L's this year, if only I could be there to see the look on his face when the Professors start to pile the work onto them."

"Your brother wouldn't happen to have the same colour hair as you and the table manners of a pack of hyenas would he?" Ichigo asked, drawing a sigh from the twins.

"Yes…that would be him," they answered in unison, glancing down the table to where Ron was stuffing his mouth with almost everything on his plate.

"I feel sorry for any girl that he would attempt to date."

"I feel sorry for anyone that simply has to share a table with him."

"Yeah…come to think of it, your hair is a similar shade to ours…"

"…And you wear a pair of glasses," they said in tandem, horrified looks growing on their faces with each passing second.

"It's the second coming of Percy! We're doomed I tell you, doomed!" they yelled, recoiling in mock fear.

"Percy?" Ichigo asked in confusion, looking to Lee for an explanation, even as the teen chuckled.

"One of their older brothers."

"Ah. I'm guessing he was a bit…nerdy?"

"And a stickler for the rules. He was also Head Boy during his final year."

"You wouldn't happen to be a nerd too would you?" one of the twins suddenly asked him, eyes narrowed as they eyed him up and down.

"No can't say I am."

"That's exactly what a nerd would say. Quick how would you say you are academically?"

"Uh well I scored in the top ten back home…"

"It's true he's a nerd! Battle stations George, Battle stations!"

"…And still managed to be one of our better sportsmen. So I can't say that I'm a pure nerd."

"Hmm that is true. Very well then, on to the final test…how did you spend your last weekend?"

"Ignoring a group of stalkers as they followed me and a few friends when we went to the movies."

"Movies?" Lee asked, confusion clear on his face.

"They're a form of muggle entertainment. Sort of like our photos but they tell a story instead. So I'm guessing you're a muggle-born then?"

"Muggle-born? Sorry I'm not familiar with the term."

"Ah well you see certain parts of society here care what kind of heritage you have. Purebloods are witches or wizards whose blood-lines only contain other witches and wizards with no non-magical branches. Half-bloods have one magical parent and one non-magical parent, or muggle-born parent. And then there's muggle-borns, they are born from two completely non-magical parents."

'So magic isn't a purely hereditary trait. That alone should be enough to convince them that a purge of their kind is almost impossible,' Ichigo thought as he digested the twin's words.

"It should, but to them committing genocide every now and then to keep a population under control would be feasible," Kyoka interjected, dampening his mood slightly.

"Ah, well then I guess you could say I'm a half-blood then," he answered, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment at having zoned out slightly. "Does it really matter what my parents were though?"

"To us? Nope. But there certainly are a few elements in society that put a lot of stock in blood purity," Fred explained, his tone growing more snobbish as he spoke. "Slytherin is an example where the purebloods thrive more than anyone else," He said with a nod over Ichigo's shoulder.

Following his gaze, Ichigo could sort of see what they meant, with most of the students reminding him of Byakuya or Rurichiyo, but without the heart they possessed.

"They can't all be that bad?" he asked, seeing some that appeared normal at least, but they were the vast minority.

"If there are, then we haven't met them."

"And clearly they're the types to go out and socialise with everyone they meet aren't they?" Kyoka muttered, her own gaze sweeping across everyone in the room.

'They seem friendly enough. Who knows maybe they have tried to befriend some of them before.'

The conversation soon passed to more mundane subjects as they talked about how they'd spent their summer holiday, or questioned what their new Defence Against the Dark Arts (DADA) Professor would be like. As the feast ended, with several sighs of content from the students around him, Ichigo watched as Dumbledore stood and began to address them all.

Seeing how most of the students seemed to listen with half an ear, he guessed that very little changed about his speech from year to year. When the new Professors were announced though, there was an eerie silence as he was interrupted by the woman he'd introduced as Dolores Umbridge.

Tuning out her dull voice, he instead occupied himself with how the other students were reacting, unsurprised that several of them had vacant expressions on their faces. What piqued his curiosity was the frown on Hermione Granger's face. As a spattering of polite applause broke out, Ichigo turned his attention back to the staff table and saw that the toad-like woman had finished her speech and Dumbledore had taken the stage again. In short order they were soon dismissed and the students stood and began to march out in a chaotic pile.

"You know, if Sosuke had delivered that same speech, he would have received a standing ovation."

'He could very well stand there and talk about their execution and he would still draw a glimmer of hope from them. She did at least show who was paying attention though. Granger might be of use to us,' he commented, before standing with the rest of the students as they were dismissed and striding towards where she and the Weasley's younger brother was calling for the First Year students. On his way though, he paused mid-step, his eyes bulging slightly at the sight of a pearly white figure seated at the table, talking animatedly with another student. Double-checking that his eyes were in fact not deceiving him, he managed to school his expression into a blank mask, even as he walked past the ghost at the table.

'That…that can't be right,' he muttered in his head as he stared at the figure out of the corner of his eye. 'I can't sense a hint of reiatsu, or see a chain of fate, but he's quite clearly a ghost.'

"He might not be a spirit as we are used to Ichigo. After all we've already seen that little here is normal by our definition."

Nodding along, he slipped around the timid first years as they tried to make themselves appear as small as possible and stood just off to Hermione's side. He had to suppress a chuckle as she let out a soft squeak and nearly jumped out of her skin when she finally noticed him towering over her.

"My apologies Ms Granger, but being new here I was wondering if I might trouble you for an escort to Gryffindor Tower?" he asked, a gentle smile on his face as she nodded in agreement.

"Wonderful. I understand that you are also a Fifth Year? I hope you don't mind showing me around to the classes we share too," he continued as he fell into step next to her, enjoying the sight of the slight blush she had.

XXX

'And here I was hoping that it would be a quiet evening,' Ichigo mused with a sigh as he stepped into the boy's Fifth Year dorms and was assaulted by the sound of two of the boys bickering back and forth. Remembering the information packets he had from Urahara on everyone in his year, he identified Harry and Seamus as the two arguing, while Dean and Neville were the two standing silently in the background. Feeling someone brush past him none too gently, he frowned and watched the youngest Weasley brother insert himself into their argument.

"They're annoyingly loud."

'I agree. And here I thought they were at least cordial with one another. Guess Urahara isn't as infallible as people think.' As he moved over to the bed his trunk was at the foot of, it seemed to draw their attention to him.

"Hey new guy!" Seamus suddenly called out to him, causing Ichigo to pause and stare around in slight confusion, before meeting his gaze.

"Sorry were you talking to me?" he asked incredulously. "Maybe I'm not quite used to your mannerisms, but back home, people would calmly walk up to a stranger and introduce themselves. To do so otherwise is quite rude wouldn't you agree?" Seeing the look of frustration on the boy's face, Ichigo had to supress a snicker. "Now, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki and you are?"

"Seamus Finnigan," the boy ground out, a scowl on his face.

"Now that's better isn't it? So Mr. Finnigan, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

"What do you think about what Potter said?"

"Um what did he say again? I haven't actually been here long enough to understand what you two are muttering about."

"Do you believe me when I say that Voldemort is back," Harry cut in as Seamus opened his mouth, his expression stormy as he glared at the sandy haired teen.

"Ah…why should I?" he replied calmly, drawing shocked gasps and stares in return. "What? What'd I say?"

"You don't believe Harry?" Ron muttered, getting a sigh from Ichigo.

"Not exactly. I just asked why I should," he shot back with a shrug. Their reactions certainly were the most entertaining he'd gotten in a long time.

"Cause he's Harry Potter?!" Ron sputtered indignantly.

"And that means that I'm supposed to take anything that comes out of his mouth as the truth? That is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard and believe me I have some of the most idiotic friends in existence."

"But he defeated You-Know-Who!"

"Exactly, he's famous for defeating this…Voldemort as a child, which is kind of hard to believe in the first place no offence, and yet now he's saying he's still alive and kicking. No offence but I've never heard of someone coming back from the dead. Or better yet, just think about how that sounds from a neutral perspective."

"But Harry…" Neville began, only to fall silent as Ichigo interrupted him.

"…Is your friend. Of course you'd believe him. But to me, he's just another kid and Voldemort is just a name of a guy that terrorised you. I don't think you've realised this, but I'm from a country several thousand miles away from here. I didn't go through the pain and sadness your parents and grandparents went through. We weren't saved thanks to whatever Harry did. I didn't need to care about what he says or does." Seeing that most of them were trying to process his words, he had to supress another sigh at what came out of Seamus' mouth.

"See! Even he thinks you're off your rocker!"

"Ah, I didn't say that Mr Finnigan and I'd appreciate it if you didn't act like my mouthpiece. I'm quite able to speak for myself." Turning away from the fuming teen, Ichigo addressed the other, potentially explosive individual. "Look as I said, it's hard to believe that someone could die and then come back from the dead isn't it? If you want people to believe you, you should provide some sort of evidence don't you think?"

"And just how am I supposed to prove that to you?!" Harry snapped back irritably.

"Gee, I don't know. I mean if only we somehow possessed the ability to see a person's memories, or force them to tell the honest truth, then maybe we could answer that question," Ichigo retorted with a hint of sarcasm, two techniques that he'd read up jumping to the front of his mind. "Now it's roughly 6am back in Japan and I am dead tired after staying awake for so long. So good night and please try and keep yourselves down to a mild roar." His piece said, he walked over to his trunk, pulled out a pair of sweatpants and drew the curtains around his bed to change.

"I think you might have broken them."

'If that's all it takes to break their minds then who knows what'll happen when I finally get warmed up. I swear I've never met a more naïve group of children in my life.'

"Well it's not like they've been forced to grow up faster than they should. What were you expecting?"

XXX

For Susan Bones, waking up at the crack of dawn and getting ready was almost second nature to her. Seeing as the only family she had left after the First War with Voldemort was her aunt and considering that she was the Head of the Department of Magical Law and Enforcement, it often meant that the only time they could reliably spend together was in the mornings at breakfast.

Thus it was not odd for her to be one of the few people present in the Great Hall at the start of breakfast. After serving a plate of her favourites, she dug in while casually flipping through the pages of a book her aunt had given to her on her birthday.

"Ah morning Susan," a familiar voice called out to her, just as the owner of it slipped into the seat across from her. Surprised that anyone else was up this early, she looked up from her book and promptly felt her heart flutter. Sitting across from her was the new student Ichigo Kurosaki, calmly buttering a piece of toast. What set her heart aflutter though, was the fact that he was wearing a sweat soaked grey tank top that revealed more skin on his body than she'd ever seen from any of the other boys at Hogwarts before. As she breathlessly took in his swimmer-like physique, she suddenly shook her head from side to side to get rid of the less than decent thoughts she was having.

"Are you feeling okay Susan?" he asked, staring at her with a hint of worry.

"N-no. I mean yes! W-What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to hide the fact that she'd been staring.

"Eating breakfast of course…" he said slowly, gesturing to the piece of toast in his hand.

"No, I meant, what are you doing at this table?"

"Well…I didn't realise that I couldn't sit here. I mean if you don't want me here I suppose I can go sit somewhere else," a mournful expression on his face that made Susan's heart crack slightly.

"W-Wait," she said meekly reaching out and grabbing his hand gently as he stood. "It's just that…normally people stick solely with their house tables. You just surprised me."

"Is that all," he said a warm smile on his face that made her heart flutter again. "Geez I can understand staying with your house for official events and classes, but that does seem rather strange to expect children to stay apart all the time. I mean the only time you would have to catch up with your friends in other houses would be the weekends then. That doesn't exactly seem fair."

'I think it's more a case that people don't make many friends outside of their houses,' she thought to herself, before turning back to her early morning companion. "So what are you doing up so early?"

"Ah, well I kind of had a routine back home with the sports I did, so I guess you can say it's just ingrained in me now. Then again I kind of just wanted to get out of the dorm before the others woke up."

"Are you having any problems fitting in?" she asked, slightly worried for the teen.

"Well, it's always going to be a bit hard coming into a new school like this, but no, I'm not having a problem like that. I just want to avoid getting into another argument with them."

Seeing that he wasn't going to explain any further and knowing just who he would be sharing a dorm with, she bit her lip and asked. "Was…was it about Harry Potter?"

"Yes, but not in the way you'd think it was," he replied, his eyes shining with an inquisitive light as he met hers. "I simply chose to impart a few words of wisdom on how they're dealing with the attention he's getting. Not everyone was happy to accept them. Now I apologise for leaving so suddenly now, but I really would love a shower before classes start. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast Susan," he said as he stood and wandered off, lazily waving over his shoulder to her in farewell.

XXX

When he woke up the following morning, Harry was no less angry than he was last night, but the words of the new student did at least mean that he wasn't liable to randomly snap at someone. Hearing Seamus storm out of the room, he grimaced and ignored it as he got ready. As he and Ron trudged down the stairs though, he yelped as he walked into what seemed like solid rock and fell back onto his ass.

"Are you alright Mr Potter?" Ichigo asked, a look of concern on his face, as he reached down and yanked Harry back to his feet with ease. "I'm guessing I'm not the only one that can wander around in a daze shortly after walking up."

"What the hell are you made of?" Harry asked, his eyes scrunched slightly as his nose throbbed in agony and he took in the tank top, shorts and trainers the other teen was currently in and wondered what he'd been up to.

"Flesh and bone last I checked," he said with a laugh as he brushed past them. "Now pardon me but I really need a shower right now."

"Did you see that guy?! What kind of nut walks around like that when it's so cold?!" Ron muttered loudly, his expression less than friendly as he glanced up at the staircase.

'His hands weren't cold when he hauled me up though,' Harry thought as they finally reached the bottom of the stairs and found Hermione waiting for them. He was a bit confused at the blush on her face though, but didn't question her about it.

"Are you alright Harry?" she asked, as she watched as he continued to rub at his nose to try and alleviate the pain he still felt.

"It's nothing, I just ran into the new guy that's all."

"Oh," she murmured, turning away from them and biting her lip. When she glanced over her shoulder at the staircase to their dorms though, Ron's agitation seemed to peak.

"Oh great what'd he ask you now?" he snapped as he took in her expression, confusing Harry slightly at what he was going on about.

"He didn't say much…he just asked if he should meet me in the Great Hall before class so I could guide him to our first class," she murmured, looking away uncomfortably.

"Wait, why are you acting as his guide?" Harry asked, his curiosity overpowering the slight anger he felt towards the teen.

"You should have seen it last night mate, he practically swept her off her feet, asking her to please help him find his way around," Ron said with a glare, as he waved his arms about.

"He didn't sweep me off my feet Ron! He just politely asked if I would be kind enough to show him around the castle since we were in the same year. He probably saw us calling the First Years over and thought we'd be the best people to ask."

"Yeah but he asked you and not me."

"Well, you have to admit that you're not the most approachable person at times mate," Harry commented, as people gave them a wide berth to avoid Ron's flailing.

"Oh come on, not you too Harry! Even after all those things he said about you last night."

"What things? What did he say to you?" Hermione suddenly asked, her eyes narrowing as she snapped her gaze to him.

"Relax Hermione, he didn't say much. He…he just said that he didn't see a reason to believe me…about Voldemort."

"Oh. Did he say why?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah. He said that Voldemort was our problem and he didn't really know Harry enough to take his word for it," Ron muttered, clearly feeling enough indignation for both himself and Harry.

"Well…he does have a point," she murmured, getting a hurt look from Harry. "Harry I believe you, no matter what anyone else says, but you have to admit, that to him, there is no reason to believe you."

"But he was spouting all this crap about changing his mind if there was evidence and that it was Harry's job to provide it!" Ron shouted, his arms flying about again.

"And he's right. Harry I know you don't want to speak about what happened, but you have to understand that to the magical community at large, the only thing that proves Voldemort is back is Dumbledore's word, which is what he has from you. No one is going to want to believe he's back unless we give them a reason to believe."

"But they don't want to believe it, you said so yourself! What's to stop them from twisting my words, even if I do try and talk about it?!" he snapped at her, his frustration at the situation returning with a vengeance.

"I know Harry, that's why I haven't suggested you speaking out yourself. We'll just need to wait for the right time."

"Fat chance of that happening," Ron muttered, noticing how the whispers seemed to follow the trio as they entered the Great Hall for breakfast.

XXX

Away from the squabbles of his classmates, Ichigo stood under alone under the heated spray of a showerhead, clenching his right hand repeatedly, a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" Kyoka whispered, appearing behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist, as she rested her head against his back.

'Since we've come here, I've ignored the ambient reishi in the air, assuming that the taint I feel is a by-product of having so much energy clashing in a confined space.'

"That sounds logical. The practice ranges at the Shino Academy were suitably warded to prevent the excess energy from seeping out into the rest of the Soul Society after all."

'Maybe…but when I touched Potter just now, I felt something different.'

"Oh? Different how exactly?"

'He feels…slightly foul,' he answered back, feeling her grip on him tighten slightly.

"Do you suspect his Chain of Fate is damaged?"

'No. Actually I can't rule that out without ejecting his soul and potentially killing him. No it feels like when Inoue was touched by her brother after he hollowfied. Like an obsessed soul clings to him.'

"We could knock him out and get a closer look if you want. It'd be easy for us."

'No, I don't want to do something like that just yet, if at all. I'll check with Kisuke if he knows a way to confirm it. If he doesn't…I might have to see if Aizen had something that could help us.' Feeling her let go of him, he turned around and caught her pained expression. 'I know I promised to never force you to show me his memories again…' he whispered to her, running his thumb over her cheek as she leaned into his hand.

"But it's necessary," she murmured back. "If we have no other choice, I'll endure it for you."

'That is all I ask,' he whispered, before capturing her lips in a tender kiss, even as the water continued to cascade down on the two of them.

XXX

Wow that took long on my part to get out. Couple of points;

Harry never telling his side of the story. This is something that always bothered me and I always hated that it took so long for him to finally tell his side of the story. Does that mean it will happen earlier? Who knows, but I want the seed planted in your minds now.

Hermione being slightly OOC. She's always been portrayed as intelligent enough to figure out things on her own, when given a few hints. I've always wanted to see what a more logical Hermione would do, a Hermione that has been planning for certain eventualities from the time of Voldemort's return.

The girls being more shy and flustered. Now this is something that I believe is quite possible for a group of teenagers going through puberty, especially if we consider that the weather doesn't normally encourage wearing so little and certain Bleach Character's physique could send many a mind into the gutter.