章節 49: The Sorting Hat joins the Fun.
All eyes were on Shirou as he walked to the chair and placed the hat on his head.
"Oh this is surprising, I can't access your mind. It's like a wall of blades is blocking me" The hate said outloud.
"You want to look inside my mind?" Shirou asked with surprise.
"That's how the sorting goes…." The hat replied.
Ichigo's group had a bit annoyed expression at this revelation. They assumed Zelretch knew this would happen so they didn't' voice any complaints.
"Alright, I'll let you in" Shirou said.
It was moments later when the hat shouted out in surprise.
"WHAT? AVALON?" It shouted out loud.
Whispers were going around the room. They wondered what caused the hat to shout about Avalon like that. Avalon was a famous word, it represented the sheath of Excalibur and the realm of the Fae.
They didn't understand how it related to this foreigner.
As the hat synced up with Shirou to look into his mind, something else happened. Shirou opened himself up for access by the hat and didn't realize how far the hat could penetrate without any hindrance.
Shirou's eyes went wide and he started to speak like he was stuck in a trance.
"I am the bone of my sword"
"Steel is my body and Fire is my Blood"
"I have Created over a Thousand Blades"
The aura in the hall started to change. Steel permeated the air. Even these inexperienced students could feel the power behind his words….they could feel as if they were about to be cut.
Ichigo's group were looking on, not sure if they should interfere or just let it continue.
"Unaware of loss, No aware of Gain."
"Have withstood the Pain to create many weapons….."
"Waiting for one's Arrival"
The room started to flicker out of existence. The rusty grinding of gears was heard, the feeling of dust floating in the air. Some swords started to materialize around the hall in some desolate sands.
"I have no Regrets. This is the only Path."
"My whole life has been….."
"Unlimited blade Wo…"
Just as reality was to be consumed by his Unlimited blade works, a voice was heard coming from the Japanese group.
"Shō"
A force knocked the hat off Shirou's head.
He gasped for breath for a moment before regaining his composure. The room returned to normal immediately.
"I'm sorry about that…..i've never been inside someone with a reality marble before" The hat said for the room to hear.
The words echoed out. They were stunned at the display that had just happened. It was obvious that the whole thing was unintentional. They have never heard of a 'reality marble' before. IT was apparently a VERY powerful magic as it completely overpowered all the wards in the castle.
"It's alright, I shouldn't have allowed you to access my soul like that…" Shirou responded a bit embarrassed.
His words also caused them even more shock. His 'soul'. The glimpse they caught of that magic….it was his soul. His soul was a barren field full of blades. What could have happened to the boy to cause his soul to take that appearance?
The hat had read enough of the boy's mind to know where to put him.
"Gryffindor" The hat shouted during the awkward silence.
One of the students at the Gryffindor table got up and escorted him to a seat.
Everyone was still reeling over the shock of what just happened. Some of the more 'delicate' children were having trouble coping with what they had just seen. Reality marbles are by definition, alien in nature. Some weaker minds may struggle to comprehend them.
Dumbledore spoke again after giving everyone a moment to calm down.
"Miss Artoria Pendragon" He called out.
Everyone looked over to the young lady with a bit of widened eyes. Pendragon was a very famous name and she had a very regal air about her.
"I saw a few…..mentions of you when I was inside his mind…I am a bit excited. So please excuse my intrusion Miss Pendragon" The hat said as she placed it on her head.
The Hat started to laugh. For the first time in history, the hat was laughing.
"Merlin was a pervert and a prankster, who knew" The hat spoke loudly for everyone to hear.
Normally the hat would never speak such secrets out loud, his first outburst from Shirou was an accident. But then he saw the conversation with that Zelretch and decided to have some fun as well.
Everyone present knew about the hat. It would delve into the minds of whoever wore it. It was a magic construct that could not lie and would generally not reveal secrets. It was not possible to force it to reveal anything it knew with all the thousands of Charms and defenses that went into its creation. Even the kids from the other schoosl knew about the famous sorting hat so his proclamation was...absurd.
Not only did he just call Merlin a pervert and a prankster, but apparently this girl KNEW HIM.
"Gryffindor" the hat called out.
No one stood up at this point, they were too shocked and trying to comprehend what they just heard. She was about to start walking to Shirou's side when she heard the hat speak.
"I would like to be the first to welcome you home…..your Majesty" The hat spoke as he did his best to perform a bow.
All eyes widened at his proclamation once again.
"I appreciate the kind words sir hat, but my kingdom fell long ago. I am no longer a king." Saber spoke without any hesitation. She didn't deny her past anymore, but she didn't consider herself an actual king after her kingdom fell.
"As long as you wield that blade, I doubt anyone can deny you if you claim Kingship" The hat said with a chuckle. He was enjoying this a bit too much. He started to wonder if maybe he could get picked up by a certain troll…they would probably get along very well.
Even Dumbledore was slack-jawed at this exchange…..it was being heavily implied that this girl was King Arthur. "That blade" He thought….did she posses Excalibur!? His thoughts were racing, the ministry of magic had ears present and the reporters were writing everything down. This was going to cause quite a few problems.
All eyes were staring at the girl as she walked and sat next to Shirou who was currently face palming.
No one was speaking, they just kept staring at the girl who now had her arm linked with the boy next to her.
"Mr. Dumbledore, if you would please continue" Jaina said in amusement.
He looked at the newcomers, they seemed to already know all this information.....
"Ah yes, my apologies. Ms. Rukia Kuchiki, I apologize if I mispronounced your name" He said.
Rukia stepped up and placed the hat on her head.
"Please don't freeze me" The hat said loudly.
Eyes were drawn to the new girl who sat on the chair.
Rukia's Zanpakutō was about to freeze the poor hat as it reached into her mind. She finally calmed down after a bit of explaining from Rukia and the hat.
"I don't know what's more surprising, meeting King Arthur or a Shinigami." The hat spoke. It was clear to Ichigo's group that he was doing this on purpose.
The hat just went and declared the previous girl outright as King Arthur, no one knew how to respond and not just that, the hat equated it to meeting this other girl. Not many people knew what a Shinigami was. Most Wizards had no interaction with mundane culture so they had absolutely no idea of what Japan was like.
But the few who recognized the term….they started to shake. Some noticed the 'mudbloods' reactions to the name and didn't know what to think. Mudbloods were the derogative term given to Wizard who didn't have two wizard parents. This meant they had a more intimate knowledge of mundane culture, though it was surprising that even a couple people in the room recognized the term out of the hundreds present.
Dumbledore made a mental note and would follow up with them later.
"Gryffindor" The hat said. And as the girl walked away he also spoke to her.
"I'm sorry for your losses, war is a terrible thing" The hat spoke with sympathy.
Rukia gave a smile at his remark and sat opposite of Shirou and Saber.
This didn't arouse as much noise as the previous one, but it was heartbreaking. As the hat said, war is a terrible thing and to have experienced it at such a young age, they all looked at her in sympathy.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, Formerly Harry Potter" Dumbledore said. The hall went silent. The missing boy had finally reappeared and he looked nothing like what he was supposed to be.
As he approached the hat, it spoke.
"Before you put me on, please tell your Zanpakutō not to kill me when I enter your mind. Miss Rukia was kind enough to warn me about your...partner." The hat said hesitantly.
Ichigo had a chuckle as he heard what the hat said.
"Don't worry, he'll behave himself." Ichigo said.
Many were wondering what this 'Zanpakutō" was.
He sat down and put the hat on his head.
As Ichigo said, Zangetsu did not get aggressive with the act, though he had some unkind words to say to the 'invader'.
"Oh my..." The hat spoke out loud.
Dumbledore was especially perked up.
"I heard about what happened through Miss Kuchiki, but to see it through your eyes…..i'm terribly sorry for what you had to go through" The hat spoke.
"I'm also inclined to believe her when she called you "an idiot who would rush in without a second thought". The hat mused.
"You're a lucky many to have her as your fiancé" The hat said with a chuckle.
Rukia started to blush as all eyes turned to her briefly. One of the things they discussed was that Rukia and Ichigo would be engaged to avoid any unwanted advances. Shirou and Saber were already engaged so that was a moot point.
Dumbledore adopted an odd expression. He recalled the contract between mister Potter and Ginny Weasley, it should have come into effect now that Ichigo was outside of the barrier, he could use this to control the boy.
"Go be with your fiancé in Gryffindor" The hat said with a chuckle.
Ichigo took the hat off and sat down next to his lover who wrapped her arm around his like Saber was doing. She wanted to make it clear that he was off limits to those prying eyes that were currently watching him.
Jaina had joined the other teachers up at the head table, they were very quick to start asking her questions.
"Miss Proudmoore, if you don't mind me asking…..you seem very young" Dumbledore asked a bit hesitantly, he knew it was rude to ask a lady her age.
Jaina just chuckled at his question. She knew he was wondering why she was the teacher accompanying the kids and not someone more experienced "My school of thought values ability over most other attributes" She declared.
"Your school of thought?" Professor Flitwick responded.
"In japan, there are several schools of thought, mine focuses on the Arcane. We manipulate the Arcane energy in the universe and mold it into spells. If I were to cast a fireball, I would mold the arcane energy into the shape of a ball of fire and give it the properties of flames. It mimics fire but is in fact not fire." She explained.
"That's preposterous" Snape Interjected.
"You're saying that you manipulate magic at its most primal state" He finished.
Jaina held up her hand, a purple glow started to form. It was dragging in the surrounding Arcane power. Slowly it started to transform into a ball of fire, and then it turned into a shard of ice. It danced between these three forms before jaina finally decided to kick it up a notch.
"Ice Nova" She called out. The arcane energy in her hand exploded out in a ring of ice that froze everyone in the room to the floor.
All the students and all the teachers were shocked at her display of power. This was far beyond what a normal spell could accomplish. And she had cast the spell in English, WITHOUT a wand. She wasn't even holding her staff at the time, it was leaning against the table.
The ice began to fade and yet there was no melting, nor puddles. It wasn't even cold when their feet were wrapped in ice.
"Mimics the properties, it did not become ice." She said when everyone was inspecting the aftermath.
"I've never seen a wizard cast a spell that powerful without a wand before" Flitwick said in amazement.
"I am not a Wizard nor the Female Equivalent." Jaina stated.
This caught quite a bit of attention.
"In fact, none of my students are either. While your school of thought exists in Japan, it is not the primary focus" She explained.
"I am a mage, more specifically my rank is Arch Mage" She finished.
There was a lot of information to be taken in with her comments. There was apparently more to magic than just their "wizardry".
"Are your students also mages?" Professor Mcgonagall asked.
"No, I am the only mage present." She stated.
"Are they from different 'schools of thought' " ? Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, both Ichigo and Rukia originate from the Gotei 13. And Artoria and Shirou are from the Clock Tower" She answered.
"Speaking of your students….." Dumbledore was about to ask some questions before he was cut off.
"My student's abilities and histories are theirs to talk about. If they do not wish to reveal their information then I will not give it freely" She said bluntly.
The atmosphere got a bit awkward, she didn't leave any room to dig deeper into the Students Origins.
"Miss Proudmoore, you said your rank was 'Arch Mage', could you elaborate on that?" Flitwick asked.
"Very well, the starting point is Apprentice, this is the title given to new practitioners of the art. The next is Journeyman, this is an old term for back in the day when an apprentice would need to journey by themselves into the world and develop their magic after learning the basics. The next would be Master, this means that you have the knowledge and ability to go into battle with your magic and not be unprepared. The next one is GrandMaster, at this stage you are considered a war asset, which means the battlefield will warp with your arrival. And finally there is Arch Mage. " She ended the explanation abruptly at that point.
It was clear to them that she would not explain what an Arch Mage was.
"You mentioned battle, is that the purpose of Mages?" Dumbledore asked with a solemn expression.
"Not entirely, many mages enjoy locking themselves in their towers and just exploring the arcane.
But it's a requirement that you can defend yourself if the need arises" She explained.
"Does the need arise often?" Mcgonagall asked this time.
"Yes" Jaina Answered bluntly.
"You've been through war" Professor moody spoke for the first time.
"We all have" She said, indicating that it wasn't just her but her students as well.
They recalled what the hat said. She was imply they were active participants in a war.
"Does it have anything to do with the barrier around Japan?" Moody asked with curiosity.
"Partly, its probably the reason your cup was able to bind Ichigo." She said.
"The barrier is up….to protect the world" She said ominously.
The students had been listening to their discussion between hounding Ichigo's group with questions. Her words perked up a lot of ears and many Reporters will still present, ready to write.
"Japan is the spiritual capital of the world, this means that a certain type of creature is attracted to it. A type of creature that if left to roam the world would cause havoc. They evolve through certain mechanism and before they reach a certain stage they are nothing more than instinct, they seek out the highest amount of spiritual pressure they can find which happens to be from japan. So the barrier allows them to enter but does not allow them to leave. This means that once they develop past a mindless beast and have some kind of intelligence, they are stuck in the country were we can deal with them. The side effects of the barrier are obvious" She explained. She basically just lied about hollows and explained away why the barrier is there.
"There was an incident….a civil war" She said.
"A certain object was created…..it had the ability to grant your hearts desire. This caused a civil war to break out in the Gotei 13, the ruling body in what you would consider Magical Japan. A rebel got his hands on this object and was close to ascending to godhood. The barrier suffered as a result" She explained some more. She was bullshitting pretty hard at this point, just weaving in Ichigo's past.
"The rebel was eventually defeated and sealed, he had achieved immortality at this point and was impossible to kill. The object in question was destroyed as well" She said.
"Immortality?" Snape asked in astonishment.
"Unkillable, never aging." She said.
"What do you mean unkillable?" Snape asked again.
"As in, we cut his head from his body, ripped his heart out, and tried to destroy his soul. Nothing Worked" She explained.
At this point everyone was a bit overwhelmed. Half truths were the best lies, nobody could tell that she was lying through her teeth because these events technically did happen…..in another world.
Dumbledore noticed the expressions that everyone in the hall had, this was.....alot to take in. He didn't want to mentally break his students.
"I believe this should be enough for the night" Dumbledore said to the hall.
"I forgot to ask, where shall we be staying?" Jaina asked the headmaster.
"I prepared rooms in each house just in case, your group will be staying in Gryffindor tower if that is okay with you?" He asked the Mage.
"That will be acceptable" She replied.
He watched as all the students and the newcomers trotted off to their rooms.
創作者的想法 
Coraulten
Coraulten whew, chaos will be sure to ensue. I'll probably do another chapter before i head to bed. I have some plans to let the wizards experience true "magic" :p. The competition should be interesting as well.
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