Edited again: 05/18/2015 - Just some grammar fixes. Barely anything really.

Disclaimer - I own neither the Harry Potter nor the Bleach franchise.

Chapter 2: Into England

Toshiro stepped out of the Senkaimon first and looked around with a critical gaze, noting that the portal had opened at the base of a large castle. Off to the left, he spotted the edge of what seemed to be a forest. Much closer was a large tree that swayed back and forth, creaking in an oddly breath-like manner. A light crunch of grass behind him told Toshiro that Rukia had just stepped out of the Senkaimon.

Yamamoto said the Headmaster would be waiting for us in the school. Toshiro recalled, having returned to the Head Captain's office after preparing so as to figure out the details of the trip. Without turning, he began briefing his partner. "Kuchiki, we need to find the Headmaster. He has been put in charge of our monetary and residential situation, as well as our cover story."

"Y-yes sir." Rukia replied, sounding the slightest bit distracted. Toshiro turned to her with an eyebrow raised.

"Something wrong?"

Rukia's eyes widened as she looked at Toshiro before she looked to the side, shaking her head quickly and folding her hands behind her back, "Not at all, I just got lost in thought. Sorry." She looked up at the castle again, eyes unfocusing slightly before they snapped back to clarity and she looked back at him. "Uh- I guess we should go find an entrance."

With that, she darted away, leaving Toshiro behind. The white-haired captain stared for a moment before letting out a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair. She's keeping something from me already, and we haven't been here for more than a minute. He quickly followed the retreating soul reaper, more by her spiritual pressure than anything. This had better not affect the mission.

It was then that he realized that there were many odd spiritual pressures scattered around the castle. He caught up to Rukia, who had stopped in front of the castle doors with a contemplative look.

As he stopped, she looked his way, "Captain, do you feel that?" She turned back to the castle, "I've never felt spiritual pressures like this, or so many souls in one place without a hollow nearby…"

Toshiro shook his head, "Neither have I, but we can't bother with them now. If the Soul Assembly's local Reaper decided to leave them, they're likely harmless."

Rukia looked troubled for a moment, but she soon nodded and pushed the doors open wide. She shut her eyes for a moment, unmoving, then opened them again, "I've pinpointed the Head Master. Follow me." She started moving forward again and Toshiro raised an eyebrow before following suit.

Eventually, the two arrived in front of a gargoyle statue. They stared at it for a moment before Rukia spoke, "The headmaster should be past this statue. But I can't see how we'll get to him…"

Toshiro hummed an affirmation as he thought, "I doubt he'd appreciate us breaking school property." After a moment, he shrugged, "I suppose there's no alternative. Ready to leave your gigai?"

Rukia sighed and nodded, pulling out her gikongan. Before either of them could separate themselves, the gargoyle moved, stretching languidly and jumping out of the way to reveal a friendly looking aged man. His face was engraved with deep laugh lines and his eyes were a gentle blue behind half-moon spectacles. His long white beard fell over the front of his robes, which were a vibrant green with ornate blue designs.

He seemed unfazed by the sight of the two visitors, smiling warmly and opening his arms in a motion of welcome. "Ah, you must be Hitsugaya and Kuchiki. My name is Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore. I am the headmaster here at Hogwarts."

Toshiro stepped forward and held out his hand for the wizard to shake as he spoke easily in barely accented English, "I am Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of Squad ten. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Dumbledore shook his hand, looking bemused, "And I, you." He looked over Toshiro's head- not altogether a difficult feat- to Rukia, "You must be miss Kuchiki, then?"

Rukia nodded and bowed slightly, her English more accented than Hitsugaya's from lack of use. "Y-yes sir. I hope we can be of some help here…"

Dumbledore laughed, "I'm sure we could make great use of your talents, Miss Kuchiki." He walked past Toshiro and leaned towards her conspiratorially, "And just so you know, it is not our custom to bow here. Unless, of course, you are asking me to dance." His straightened up, eyes shining merrily as Rukia turned beet red. "A handshake when first meeting someone or a simple nod will suffice here."

"I'll make sure to k-keep that in mind." She murmured, embarrassed at her blunder.

Toshiro scoffed and rolled his eyes, "You're fine, Kuchiki. It's not as if you've had a lot of interaction with the Soul Assembly before. In fact, if I didn't know your brother, I'd have been surprised that you speak English as well as you do."

Rukia relaxed and gave a hint of a smug smile, "My brother was, too."

Both males looked to her, intrigued, but neither pressed for an answer when Rukia did not continue. Instead, they returned to the matter at hand. Toshiro turned to Dumbledore with a serious look, "I was informed that you have both our monetary and living arrangements covered?"

"I do." Dumbledore replied, pulling out an ornate copper key. "This will open vault 965 in Gringotts, where you should have enough money to last your stay here." He held the key out, and Toshiro tucked it into his pocket. "We'll get to where you'll be staying in a moment. Follow me, if you will."

Both shinigami fell into step behind the wizard, and they made their way out of the castle. "I would show you around, but you will be attending class here soon enough." He said as they walked into the courtyard, "However, I will give you one warning." He turned to the large gnarled tree Toshiro had noticed when they first arrived, "That large tree over there is a Whomping Willow, an ancient fixture on these grounds, and would best be avoided."

At their confused looks, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and lifted a rock with a quiet spell. A flick of his wrist sent the rock flying toward the tree, and the branches swung wildly, hitting the rock and sending it deep into the forest. Rukia and Toshiro stood for a moment in shock, then slowly nodded in understanding.

The three moved on and approached the edge of a large lake, where Dumbledore stopped. Before either of his guests could raise a question, a soft sputtering sound started, and what looked like a flying car blinked into existence a few kilometers away. Quickly, the car approached and the sound grew louder until it landed clumsily a ways to their left, bumping and skidding across the shore and sending up a shower of pebbles and mud. As it passed, the three found themselves thoroughly coated in muck.

As they brushed themselves off, a tall man with bright red hair stepped out of the car, grinning widely. "Albus! How are you?!" He waved jovially and jogged over. "You said you needed somewhere for a couple of kids to stay?"

Dumbledore nodded, "Indeed. They were sent by a dear friend of mine currently in Japan, and are to be enrolling in Hogwarts this coming year."

"Oh are they now? Let's take a look at them, then!" The man turned his attention to the younger looking two. "Hello you lot, I'm Arthur Weasley, and you'll be coming to live with me and my family for a while."

Rukia smiled, keeping Dumbledore's advice in mind and holding out her hand, "I am Rukia Kuchiki. It's a pleasure, Mr. Weasley."

Arthur shook her hand with a grin and then turned to Toshiro, who nodded curtly, "My name's Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Arthur seemed a bit put off by the cold greeting, his smile dimming for a fraction of a second, but he shrugged it off and turned to Dumbledore without a second thought, "I guess I'll be taking these two off your hands now. Is there anything specific I need to know about them? Allergies or special accommodations or some such?"

"Not that I am aware of." Dumbledore replied, and with a quick look at the two added with a chuckle, "They should prove rather self-reliant, in fact."

Arthur nodded, "Then we'd best be off. Musn't keep the missus waiting." With a wink, he turned back to Rukia and Toshiro, gesturing grandly to the car. "Shall we?"

Rukia reacted first, reaching for the back door before recoiling when it swung open of its own accord. With a suspicious look, she climbed in, followed closely by Toshiro. With a final wave to Dumbledore, Arthur made his way to the driver's door, and the car coughed to life. It lurched forward for a moment before rising from the shore and turning back the way it came, sputtering away into the distance.

There we go!

Sorry for how long this took, guys. It took me a while to decide whether or not I should cut down the chapter sizes. As this chapter originally was, I'm barely halfway through editing, and I was losing a lot of motivation, because I felt like I'd re-written so much already without uploading … Sorry about that.

So I've taken down the previous run-through's chapters and will edit the lengths and such as it seems fit both for your sake and my own.

On another note: This means more chapters at once for today! I should probably have # 3, #4, and possibly #5 up by the time you finish reading this. For those of you who have some how started reading my story again after I didn't post for years, they're all technically still in what would have been chapter 2 from the old version. Although I did add in and alter things a bit, and it'll change even more from chapter 6 onwards, most likely.

Anyways, Hope you enjoy!