Disclamer thingie: Harry Potter belongs to J.KRowling !

A/N: OMG! Yay! Erm, if the characters are OOC, then I apologise because I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of the books from the library in ages.

Note: Japanese is in italics.

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"Oh my! So this is Japan!" exclaimed Mrs Weasley as she, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny walked into the airport. Molly sighed, "I wish your father could have come on that flying-contraption with us. He would have loved to have seen it in action."

Ron grunted, "It's a plane, Mum. Remember? Also if Dad had been on it he would have probably taken the whole bloomin' thing apart and made us fall right out of the bloomin' sky."

Ginny gave a small giggle whilst Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry looked around the airport curiously, watching as people ran to and fro to catch planes.

"Ronald! Mind your language!" His mother berated him. She paused to think. "Oh! We have to do something about language too. I almost forgot- Hermione, dear, could you find some pamphlets? I think we'll find what we're looking for there."

'Huh?" asked Ron. "What about language?"

"The Japanese language, Ron," replied Hermione whilst scanning the different signs, "how are we going to learn from Japan if we don't know the language?"

Ron gave a shrug.

Hermione sighed irritably, "Really, Ron... your clueless behaviour makes me wonder how you'll ever pass your exams. And don't think for a second I'll be letting you copy at any point!"

The red-haired boy grumbled and sidled over to Harry. "She says that but she always lets us anyway," he whispered.

Harry cracked a grin.

"I heard that Ron Weasley!" Hermione exclaimed, turning back for a second as she walked over to an information desk full of pamphlets. She plucked one out after giving it a look over and returned. "We need to go to the Japanese Ministry of Magic," she informed them quietly, flapping the strange-looking paper at them, "The address is writing here in runes."

"And they'll be able to use some kind of spell to help us understand?" asked Ginny, grabbing the pamphlet. It seemed like it was full of nonsense, but a reader of ancient runes would have understood right away where to go.

Ginny's mother nodded, "We need to register for the spell first and specify that we're only here til the end of the week. Well, first things first though- luggage..."

-----o-----

Ron scowled as he lugged the bag trolley into the room.

"What is this?" he asked, seeing an empty room, save for a table and cushions. "Where are the beds? Great, first they make us wear these weird shoe-things and now they give us a room with no beds!"

"They're in the cupboard, Ron," Hermione slid open one of the doors and pointed to the soft futons inside. "Don't put anything in those areas, mind. It's bad manners to. As are wearing street shoes inside."

"What is this place anyway?" asked Harry, opening up the back door and stepping out on the small balcony to gaze at the city towering over the place. There was a small public garden just out the back of the inn though.

"A ryokan, a Japanese-styled bed and breakfast," she replied.

Ron complained, "Why didn't we just stay in a normal hotel? I saw plenty of top ones on the way here."

Hermione gasped, "Ron! Staying in a ryokan is an honour! It's very hard to find one in Tokyo! Though this one officially belongs to the Japanese Ministry of Magic, though all the better because witches and wizards of age," she raised an eyebrow at the two, "can use magic inside without worrying about Muggles."

Ron stumbled back as a tea set appeared on the table before them, "Hey! Whoa, just like at Hogwarts-" He opened up a small jar with objects wrapped in tissue paper inside. He unwrapped one and studied it before popping it in his mouth. "Sweets! Wicked!" He threw a couple to Harry.

Hermione slapped them out of Ron's hands. "Don't just eat them straight out like that! You're supposed to eat one and then drink some tea."

"Hey, Hermione, how do you know all this stuff?" asked Harry and the young woman ushered them to sit down.

"You have to know at least a little about the country you're going to visit," replied Hermione before taking a sip of tea.

"I saw her reading travel books on the plane," grinned Ginny as she peeked in the door, "Mum says that once you're finished, we should go down to the garden."

"What's in the garden?" asked Harry, eyeing the tea in the handle-less cup curiously.

Ginny sighed, "The Ministry of course!"

Ron chuckled, "You're starting to sound like Hermione, Ginny." The girl sent him a dark stare, making him feel a little nervous. He quickly downed his tea, pulling a sour face afterwards. "Let's hurry up and get down there then."

-----o-----

The garden was quiet as the Mrs Weasley and the children walked slowly through it. There was a peaceful serenity to the place that seemed to put a smile on a person's face. The air smelt of blooming flowers and the grass was soft and green. It seemed the place existed outside the world of the chaotic city it was in.

"What impressive magic..." Mrs Weasley gasped in quiet awe. "They know how to use their magic here in Japan."

"When we first came in," remarked Hermione with a smile, "all we could see from the outside was a building."

Ginny giggled and ran ahead. "This place is awesome!" she called back to them, waving excitedly. She looked down on the ground. "Hey, there's something over here! Some kind of stone thing!"

Mrs Weasley pulled out her wand as she approached it. "This must be the entryway. Stand clear, please."

Finding a small indent on the stone, a flat, lid-like creation sporting intricate diagrams carved into it, Mrs Weasley tapped her wand on it. The ground shook a little as it rose into the air, pulling up a cylindrical elevator under it.

"Please mind your steps when entering the elevator," chimed a pleasant voice in Japanese, and then English as the group of five piled inside the magically-expanded space, "Please state your names for identifications and wait for further instructions."

"Molly Weasley, accompanied by Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter," spoke Mrs Weasley in a clear tone.

"Identification complete: please accept the badges from the tray and place them on," chimed the voice again after a moment. A small tray slid out bearing badges with names and photos on them.

"My name was spelt wrong..." grumbled Hermione, looking at a tag on that read 'Hermaio-ne'. Immediately a new one popped out with the correct spelling. Satisfied, she placed the new one on.

"Please hold onto the railing when descending," warned the voice as the elevator shook and started to fall slowly. It stopped gently when it reached its destination. "Basement level one- the main foyer. Thank you for visiting. Please mind your steps when exiting the elevator."

As the doors opened to the main foyer, the group from England was stunned. Everything was beige in colour, from the walls, to the floors, to the tables and chairs. Though it was modern-looking, there was something just a little disturbing and cold about it- nothing like the garden above them. It was a little claustrophobic as well with the low ceiling.

"Ah! Welcome Weasley-san and company!" called a woman with long bleached hair from the front desk, bowing at them. She waited until they walked over and gave an apologetic smile at Hermione, "I am sorry about the misspelling of your name. I am still learning how to spell properly and unfortunately, there is no spell for written languages unlike spoken ones."

"No, it's okay," Hermione replied, "it's not your fault."

The woman bowed again. "Thank you for your understanding. Ano, I am Mitsuyama Kimiko. It is a pleasure to meet you all, especially the Great Harry Potter-san." She smiled at the black-haired boy. "Your fame has reached even the shores of this land. You are a quite popular history subject at our schools."

Harry blushed, not sure whether to feel flattered or slightly embarrassed and disturbed. "Er, I'm glad to meet you too, Miss Kimiko."

The woman waved her hands at them. "Ano, please just called me Kimi. It is much more preferable to me. Oh!" She turned as a small clock behind her gave a chime. "Your appointment for the language spell is up. Please, follow me."

"I like her," Ginny whispered to Hermione. The brown-haired girl nodded in agreement.

As they travelled down the hall, trying not to bump into the other employees that scuttled around, the five noticed a strange sight- a small waterway that went down the length of the hallway, however, it was placed in the ceiling. The children stared up at it curiously as goldfish swum along with it.

"We are here," announced Kimiko, opening a beige door that almost blended in with the wall.

Inside, a short man with greying hair and large glasses greeted them. "As, ohayo gozaimasu minasan. O genki desu ka?"

"Oji-chan!" Kimiko gave a short laugh and bent down to whisper something to the older man.

"As, soo desu ka," muttered the man, poking his glasses back up his nose. "Gomen, Kimi-chan, gomen... Sarumokikaraochiru..."

Kimiko looked embarrassed as she turned back to the group. "I am sorry. My uncle is quite forgetful and sometimes thinks he has already cast the spell."

"Reminds me of my Arthur..." Molly sighed in an understanding tone. "The poor man often gets confused like that when he's working on his hobby."

Kimiko's uncle pushed his over-sized glasses back up his nose as he conjured up a collection of chairs. "Sumi masen, chakuseki kudasai." He waved a hand at the chairs.

"He'd like you to take a seat," Kimiko translated for him.

"So desu ne..." The man rubbed a hand over his chin for a moment as he observed the five. He held his wand aloft before waving it over them. "Reddo linguai!"

Harry shut his eyes as swirls of bright blue light fluttered down from the wand top and wrapped around their necks. He opened his eyes again slowly.

"Er, did it work?" he asked. Harry jumped a little as he realised the words he was thinking were completely independent of those coming out of his mouth. "Hey, it works!"

"Hi, my name is Ron Weasley," Ron spoke loud and clearly. "Wicked..."

"Ah, that's better," said Kimiko's uncle, adjusting his once again, "can you all understand me? I once accidentally made someone speak in Spanish once... very confusing situation, yes."

"I think we're fine," Mrs Weasley confirmed after getting a round of 'yes' from the children, "thank you for that."

"Ah, it's no problem." The man nodded. He pulled some pamphlets out of a nearby tray on his desk and handed them to Mrs Weasley. "Here is some information on the sights of Tokyo that I hope you will enjoy."

She handed them around for the children to browse through.

"Ooh, a traditional tea house on a lake! I'd love to go to that!" exclaimed Hermione excitedly.

"I'd rather go check out these arcade-game-things," Ron grumbled, "they sound heaps better than some stinky old tea place." He received a glare from both Hermione and Ginny before they went on to chat over a pamphlet sporting information on the best shopping places in the city.

Harry sighed inwardly. He had a feeling this trip would end up being nothing short of chaotic. Though, at least it would be a welcome chaos, away from the usual misadventures at Hogwarts. And he was here with his best friends- nothing could ruin that... could it?

-----o-----

"Where exactly are the beds? Do they really expect us to sleep on the floor?" asked a blond-haired boy. The tone of his voice was condescending as he talked. His cold, grey eyes scanned across the bare mats on the floor and a scowl made his brows furrow.

"Now, now, Draco... we are strictly here on business," replied a taller man in a stern voice, glancing inside the room. The mild look of shock and disrepute on his face was replaced by a look of indifference. "This is no vacation you do realise- some sacrifices will just have to be made."

Draco frowned. He had a feeling this trip was going to be nothing short of appalling.

-----o-----

A/N: Hehe, I hope you enjoyed it!