The Chosen Ones.

Welcome to another concept-shot from within my vault of stories. I'm a bit nervous about writing this, simply because the universe for both series are so fundamentally different, that I'm not sure how my writing style will even translate over to it. Nothing is set in stone yet, since I have roughly three paths laid out, with no preference over any of them really. So read and find out what new dream my mind has conjured up this time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Harry Potter.

"Normal Speech"

'Thoughts/Inner Speech'

"Kido/Zanpakuto/Spell Attacks"

XXX

Chapter 1 – The Horror of June 17th.

"Argh!" a nine-year old, Ichigo Kurosaki shouted as he was showered in water from a passing car, splattering his face, yellow raincoat and bright orange-hair with muck. Hearing the chuckles of the rest of his family, he turned and pouted at his father, mother and twin sisters.

Isshin Kurosaki, a middle-aged doctor with short black spiky hair and a short black beard, stood there dressed in a pair of black slacks, blue button-up shirt and black sneakers, holding a plain white umbrella overhead to block the torrential downpour. Attached to his one free hand was Yuzu Kurosaki, a brown-haired sweet and innocent little girl, her pink flowery raincoat completely enveloping her body while she buried her face into her father's leg to hide her smile. Her black-haired twin Karin was far less subtle in her amusement as she openly laughed and pointed at her soaked brother, her blue raincoat protecting her from the rain. The person that commanded his attention though, was Masaki Kurosaki, the unofficial centre of the Kurosaki family's universe. She had sincere brown eyes that Ichigo had inherited from her and light wavy brown hair that fell down her back and shoulders. She held a pink umbrella in her left hand and was dressed in a long blue skirt, cream-coloured blouse and pale pink cardigan.

"Aww look what the mean driver did to my little Ichigo," she said with a pout, crouching down and pulling out a white handkerchief, which she used to start clearing the dirt and water from his face.

"Kaa-san," he moaned pitifully, reluctant to have her baby him as such while his sisters were watching. Resigning himself to enduring his father and sisters amusement, they finally got moving again after a few minutes.

"So how did your karate lesson go today Ichigo?" Isshin asked as they walked, keeping a close eye on the twins as they ran ahead slightly, leaping and giggling in joy as they leaped from puddle to puddle.

"It was great tou-san," the boy replied back happily. "I think I might finally beat Tatsuki one of these days."

Smiling down at the boy, Isshin couldn't help but smile at his son's persistence. No matter how many times Tatsuki had put him down, to the point of tears at times, he always got up again, even more determined to improve and finally win at least once. Feeling a sinister presence on the edge of his senses, he frowned and turned towards the river, noting how flooded it was. Scanning the shoreline for the presence, he was jolted out of his reverie by Masaki's high-pitched shout of "Ichigo!" Following her gaze, he felt his heart sink as his son ran towards the malevolent spirit that hid just beneath the water's surface, his attention on the lure teetering on the shoreline.

"No Ichigo!" his father shouted after him, hurtling after Masaki to grab the boy. Despite being a former Captain of the Gotei 13 though, he was helpless as he watched Masaki pull Ichigo back, before her body was impaled by a brown spear of fur.

"KAA-SAN!" Yuzu and Karin yelled, running over to their mother's bleeding body, while Isshin grit his teeth in anger at the hollow that was emerging from the water. Resembling a giant hamster with thick brown fur and red bird-like feet, the sickening white mask stared on with glee at the misery and despair in the air. Wrapping his arms around his daughter's waists, he leapt out of the way as another spear destroyed the ground they had been standing on. 'Curse this gigai,' he thought vehemently, leaping out of the way of another tendril, ignoring the screams of his daughters at the unknown foe.

"You smell…delectable," the hollow hissed, inhaling slowly and deeply, almost swaying on his feet. "Ah yes…you're a soul reaper," he said with a smirk, turning his full attention to him and his daughters. Looking over to Ichigo and Masaki, he could see the hollows yellow eyes widen in surprise. "And these are your children…OH THEY SMELL ABSOLUTELY DIVINE!" Charging at Isshin again, the former Captain cursed and threw his daughters to the side, feeling the hollow rip into him.

XXX

Waking to the feeling of rain falling across his face, Ichigo blinked wearily and tried to sit up. Feeling a heavy weight pressed down on him, he turned his head to the side and paled as he took in his mother's prone and bleeding form. "Kaa-san?" he said gently crawling out from under her body and shaking her shoulder with increasing vigour. "Kaa-san?! KAA-SAN?!" he continued to scream, tears pouring from his eyes as he tried in vain to wake her.

"Quiet brat," a venomous voice hissed, sending a shiver of fear down the boy's spine. Turning to face his attacker, his face morphed into an expression of sheer horror as he watched the blood-spattered hollow casually suck in one of the twin's arms as if it was eating noodles. "Such sweet souls…it's been a long time since I've been able to feast like this. Now come along boy, I'm sure you want to join your family in my stomach."

Crawling backwards as he watched the monster approach him, Ichigo looked past it and immediately retched to the side. The twins bodies were mangled beyond belief, their eyes open and lifeless to the sky as their blood spilled out onto the ground. Further back, he spied his father's corpse, the sole remnant being the bottom half of his body from the waist down. Feeling his mind being bombarded by feelings of helplessness, he continued to cry at the sight before him.

'I…I wanted to be stronger to protect my family,' he thought as he sniffled, still crawling way from the beast. 'How though? How can I protect anything when monsters like this exist? I…I don't want to die,' he whimpered, crying out when the monster slammed its talon-like foot down on his ankle. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"he screamed to the heavens, causing his body to be enveloped in a radiant blue aura that lashed out and knocked the creature away.

"What's this? Oh you will make an even more tasty morsel now," the hollow said with glee, hurrying forward once again and launching several spears of fur at little Ichigo.

"Nake, Benihime!" a new voice shouted, heralding a crimson wave of energy to fly between the two and slice of the spears cleanly. Hearing the dull clack of wooden clogs on the ground, both hollow and boy turned to see a lean-built man step through the pouring rain. He wore a dark green shirt and pants, with a greenish-brown jacket thrown over it. On his head he wore a green and white striped bucket hat, tufts of blonde hair poking out of it and shrouding his eyes from view, while in his right hand was a gleaming black and silver blade with a crimson tassel on the end of the hilt.

"And who're you?" the hollow spat out, glaring at the newcomer.

Completely ignoring the hollow, Kisuke Urahara took in the scene before him. His grey eyes hardened at the sight of his friend and his family's mangled bodies, before pain flashed across his eyes at the sight of the distraught child cowering before the hollow, his body covered in blood that was not his own. Tightening his grip on his zanpakuto, he swung it again at the hollow, sending a silent crimson energy wave at the beast.

Leaping back from the wave as it neared him, the hollow's eyes darted around looking for Kisuke, narrowing when they found no trace of him.

"Shibari, Benihime," Kisuke whispered from above the hollow, slashing across it and sending a dense blood-red tinged black net at it, pinning its arms and legs to it and sending it crashing to the ground. Watching it struggle for a moment, he landed and stabbed his blade into a piece of the black net, "Hiasobi, Benihime. Juzutsunagi," he murmured triggering a wave of black bombs to form along the net and charge towards the pinned hollow, engulfing it in a towering inferno as it detonated.

Peering into the dense smoke cloud, he sighed in relief as he watched the corpse of the hollow dissipate into reishi, signalling the complete and utter purification of the hollow and its victims. Seeing Ichigo crawling to what remained of his mother's body, he walked slowly in his direction. Crouching down and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, he was surprised when the boy spun around and wrapped him in tight hug, feeling several tears fall onto his shoulder.

"I'm so, so sorry Ichigo," he murmured, returning the hug and lifting the boy off his feet. 'I'm so, so sorry for everything.'

XXX

Two years later:

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, walked through the streets of Karakura Town, his mind on the remote sweet shop that he had been told was in the area and not on the reason he was in Japan in the first place.

As Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, he had been called to mediate in the debate between whether or not Japan should re-establish a government funded centre for magical education, or to let it continue as it was now where individual clans took on the task of educating their own children in the ways of magic. Naturally the clans behaved much in the way purebloods do, but more due to the fact that they were refusing to share their knowledge with each other. Despite the fact that they would adopt muggle-born students into their own clans, they were fanatically loyal to their own clan's ideals and secrets and basically severed any and all ties to the child's previous life.

"Blood-purists or isolationists, which is truly worst I wonder," he mused to himself, wandering down a side alley. Hearing the sounds of a scuffle in front of him, he peered up and looked puzzled at the sight of a young orange-haired boy, staring down several taller teenagers. Looking closer at the group, he could see that some of the teenagers sported bruises and cuts to their face, a baseball bat and ball at their feet, while the young boy stood there unharmed. Noting a slight shimmer behind the boy, he could see the ghost of a young girl with light brown hair done up in two pig-tails, one of the many ghosts that inhabited the town. Truly a curious phenomenon as they differed so much from the ghosts of Hogwarts. Hearing one of the teenagers speak, he turned back to the conflict.

"What did you say brat?" the apparent leader said as his fellows crowded around him, glaring down at the kid with freakish orange hair.

"I said take your game and play somewhere else, you're disturbing her," the boy said with a nod over his shoulder at the girl. "There are so many other places nearby, let the dead have their rest."

"To hell with that brat!" the leader shouted, charging at the young boy. Before Albus could intervene though, a sickening crunch echoed through the alley, while the leader's body was thrown back. Eyes widening in surprise at the teen with a broken nose, Albus stood dumbfounded like the others. The only sign that the boy had even done anything was the now outstretched palm he held out in front of him. Seeing a light blue aura appear around the boy's body, he felt astounded yet again.

"Leave now," the boy hissed threateningly, his aura turning to one of dread that sent the teenagers falling backwards over one another in fear, their cries of a demon-child inhabiting the area echoing through the alley. After they had disappeared, he watched the boy crouch down and ruffle the young ghost's hair, whispering something that he couldn't quite catch.

Seeing him leave, he hurried after him calling out, "Excuse me young man," in fluent Japanese. When the boy turned to face him, he was shocked at the cold neutral mask confronting him, a far cry from the warm smile he saw moments ago with the ghost, or the look of loathing given to the teenagers.

"Yes can I help you?" the boy asked politely, his face remaining blank as he took in Albus' eccentric garb. Looking down, the old man chuckled as he had decided to wear his favourite royal purple robes with gold trim and stars emblazoned on them today.

"Ah yes, I was just wondering about your little display back there," he said, motioning back to the alley, while the boy's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Just a few schoolyard bullies," he replied coldly. "They just needed someone to stand up to them."

"Of course, it's more the way you dealt with them," Albus said with a slight smile, seeing the boy's eyes widen almost imperceptibly. Feeling the boy's eyes locked on him, as if analysing and picking apart every detail about him, he noted the boy relax after a few minutes.

"If you saw it, then it's probably best that I let Kisuke explain it to you," the boy explained walking over to Albus. "Ichigo Kurosaki," he said as he held out his hand, waiting for him to shake it.

"Albus Dumbledore," he replied, taking the proffered hand and noting the incredible strength that seemed to be held within the unassuming child. Falling into step with him as Ichigo gestured for him to follow, he found himself back on the open street, drawing several curious or disapproving gazes from others. Strangely enough, it was to the young boy next to him that they gave their disapproving looks, while they merely seemed curious about him. After walking in silence for a few more minutes, he found himself outside the one shop that he had been trying to find.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I was looking for this place before I found you?" he asked Ichigo, seeing the boy unfazed at this revelation.

"No, Kisuke's always attracted a strange crowd," Ichigo explained as he walked into the shop. "It's the only reason I led you here in the first place." Walking past the displays of sweets and other items, Ichigo led Albus into the dining room and got him settled, before disappearing to find Kisuke. Hearing a door slide open to his side, Albus watched as what appeared to be two six year old children peered at him through the crack at the door. Smiling and waving at them, he heard one of them squeak and shut the door quickly. Puzzled at the reaction, he turned back to the door Ichigo disappeared through, watching it slide open and reveal Kisuke, with Ichigo at his side.

"Kisuke Urahara," the blonde shopkeeper said jovially, as he held out his hand to Albus, taking in his strange garb, "proud owner of a small candy shop."

"Albus Dumbledore," the headmaster repeated again, standing briefly for the introduction.

"Can I interest you in some tea before we start?" Kisuke asked and watching him, nod his head in agreement. "Tessai-san, could you make us a pot of tea please," he called out to the back, hearing a faint affirmative back. "Now then, Ichigo-kun tells me that you noticed something…strange about him?"

Looking over at the boy in question, Albus cleared his throat and began, "Yes, while I must admit that his physical prowess is indeed amazing, it was the aura that he radiated," he explained, while the shopkeeper nodded in understanding.

"And what do you have to say about what happened?" Kisuke asked as he turned to Ichigo, seeing the boy's face remain blank.

"She asked for my help and those…idiots didn't know when to take a hint. So I made them leave, I have no regrets about how I dealt with them," Ichigo replied, his voice unwavering the entire time.

"Very well, do you mind going and helping Tessai-san with the tea please? And perhaps prepare a sample bag for Dumbledore-san?" Kisuke asked, while Ichigo nodded and left the room. Once the boy had left the room, all traces of humour disappeared from Kisuke and was replaced with a steely grim glare. Despite the fact that he was one of the most powerful wizards of the time, Albus couldn't help but gulp at the change of demeanour. "I know that you're a wizard Dumbledore-san," Kisuke began in a deadly tone, "and I'll say this, I will not let you turn Ichigo into some blind puppet for you to control."

Wincing as he understood the man's reasoning now, Albus adopted his face into a calm expression. "Believe me that, that was not my intention Urahara-san," he said slowly, aware that the blonde's eyes had narrowed at his words. "I am merely here mediating the negotiations to reopen the national institute for magic and happened to stumble on Ichigo's display."

"I see, but that is not your only intent," Kisuke replied, his eyes possessing that same keen calculating glint that Ichigo had hinted at earlier.

Memories of a younger Tom Riddle and the similar way he had used force to deal with his enemies appeared in Albus' mind, before he banished the thought after remembering how tender Ichigo was with the young ghost.

"That is correct, Urahara-san. I am the Headmaster for one of Europe's most prestigious magical schools and hearing how vehemently you oppose the current…education system here, I would be quite happy to offer Ichigo a scholarship at Hogwarts so that he might learn to control such powers," he explained. As the minutes dragged on in silence, Kisuke finally let out a breath that he had been holding in.

"You know that what he did was not magic correct?" he began, seeing Albus nod his head. "What makes you think that he can learn to use magic then?"

"From a simple handshake," he replied as he held up his hand. "I felt a rush of something flow into me. Whatever that energy was, it is possible that it is similar enough to our own that we could teach him to use it in ways that he was never truly believed. It seems to be the same energy that courses through you, which begs the question…what can you do?"

Ignoring the last part, Kisuke looked up with a smile as a huge man with tanned skin, a black handlebar style moustache and black cornrow styled hair, walked in with a tray of teacups and various little snacks. Behind him, Ichigo trailed in with a brown paper bag, filled with a decent sized sample of the various sweets sold at the shop.

"Thank you Tessai-san, Ichigo-kun," Kisuke said with a nod of his head while the two served everyone at the table. "You know Ichigo-kun, Dumbledore-san has explained something really interesting to me, something that I believe that you would like to hear." Looking at the shopkeeper curiously, Ichigo quickly switched his gaze to Albus and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes well, I was just saying that I might be able to offer you a spot at a special school for children like you," he began. "A school of…magic as it were." Seeing the boy look into his teacup for several long minutes, they were all relieved when he finally spoke.

"And what if I said that I don't believe in magic?" Ichigo asked slowly, his eyes boring into Albus' own.

As if expecting this, Albus withdrew his wand from the folds of his robes and flicked it at the cabinet behind them, turning it into a giant dragon statute, before returning it to its original form. Despite the display though, Ichigo's face remained blank as he stared at the cabinet again.

"What else can you do?" he asked, surprising Albus at his lack of surprise.

"Well…what I just showed you, is called Transfiguration, the art of turning an object into something else," he explained in a sincere tone. "There are other subjects such as Charms, Herbology, Potions and Defence against the Dark Arts."

At the mention of Defence, Ichigo's eyes finally lit up and his head snapped to Kisuke, before snapping back to Albus.

"Can you give us some time to think about this Dumbledore-san?" Kisuke asked, cutting off Ichigo's next question. "I would like to talk to Ichigo about this in private."

"Of course, I am staying in Tokyo for a few more days and it should be no trouble to pop in here, say tomorrow afternoon?" he asked, seeing Kisuke nod in agreement. Picking up his bag of samples, he bowed his head to them and was led to the door by Tessai.

"He mentioned defence Kisuke," Ichigo began softly, staring at the man that had taken him in just over two years ago. "That must mean that they can teach people to protect others with their…magic," he continued, his tongue rolling around the new phenomenon.

"I heard him Ichigo and I do not doubt that he could teach you many things," Kisuke said with a grave smile. "But his school is in Europe, a completely different continent to our own and you would be alone on the other side of the world. Do you really want to go that far to learn?"

As Ichigo's shoulders slumped, he pondered the blonde shopkeeper's words. On the one hand, he could broaden his talents even further than before. Yes Kisuke had taught him in hand-to-hand combat or hakuda as he preferred to call it, and how to control the energy within his body, but what this stranger was offering him was a way to use that energy even further. Looking up at the smiling shopkeeper again, Ichigo's decision was made.

"If I go Kisuke, I can learn how to protect what I want," he said slowly. "You've explained to me that I can't learn to do what you can until I'm a lot older, but if I learn this now, I can at least protect people to the best of my abilities till then."

"If that is your choice Ichigo, then I will respect it and help you to the best of my ability," the man said, standing up and ruffling Ichigo's hair as he walked past. "Now go and get ready for supper, I'm sure that you're famished after the day you've had today."

Watching Ichigo leave at a sedate pace, Kisuke sighed and sunk back down again, not even looking up as Tessai walked back into the room.

"He doesn't have to go. You could teach him so much more boss, so why don't you?" he began quietly, seeing the blonde's head tilt up at him.

"That world...tore everything that he loved away from him," he said softly, a pained expression on his face. "I felt that to throw him into it so soon would be too much for him."

XXX

And that's the introduction. Like I said this is a concept-shot and well, I know I'm not going to be developing it for a while, so use the base idea if you're interested.

The basic idea is that Ichigo was introduced to the world of magic before the world of Soul Reapers.

Personally I'm debating placing him as either

1 – First year like Harry, except he is 12 and not eleven like everyone else.

2 – He's in his third year when Harry starts his first year.

3 – He's in his fifth year when Harry starts his first year.

Each of these has so many different options open and really it's anyone's guess to where we will end up.

So here's my question for my story, which of the three above would you like to see written? I'll put a poll up or leave a review with your choice. Also who would you like to see Ichigo paired with from the HP-verse? Or none if you prefer that. No yaoi, yuri or harems though please.

Anyway this was a fun little idea that floated around in my mind. What will it spit out next time?