A/N: So sorry this took so long! I've had to re-write quite a lot because it wasn't sitting right with me. This still may seem a bit stilted anyways, and I apologize beforehand. I also realize this is a bit filler-ish, which might have been part of my problem with it, but I felt that it was necessary for our shinigami friends' introduction to the wizarding world. Hope you all enjoy nonetheless!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bleach.

"English"

"Japanese"

Thoughts

Zanpakuto

Chapter 8: Nothing Burrowed Nothing Gained

Back at the Burrow after a hectic car ride: Rukia, Toshiro, Yoruichi, and Raven finally got some time to themselves on the rooftop. The two Felis were relaxing in cat-form, unable to do much else with the Weasleys so close at hand, while their more human companions sat beside each other near the edge of the sloped roof.

"That was... interesting." Raven offered finally from his place in Rukia's lap. Yoruichi laughed, tail flicking happily.

"Wasn't it? I think I like the two twins... Fred and George?"

"They're bothersome." Toshiro huffed, arms crossed behind his head.

"You're only saying that because they managed to catch you off-guard."

"They set off fireworks in a fountain."

"A fine idea, if I do say so myself." Yoruichi curled her tail over her paws and purred, "You should have seen your faces!"

"I think I can do without."

"They are kind of funny." Raven ventured, much to Toshiro's dismay. The white-haired youth then turned to Rukia, who thankfully looked at least slightly peeved at the memory. She met his gaze and shrugged, frown still in place.

"I'd like them more if I wasn't one of the victims." She admitted.

"... Well I guess that's something." He muttered. "But that aside, we still have about a month until we end up at Hogwarts. Given our host family's obvious penchant for magic and Yoruichi's newfound store of information, we should be able to get some useful information before the mission really begins."

Raven's small head popped up from its resting place, ears perked. "Mission? What mission?"

The roof fell into silence as the shinigami shared alarmed looks.

"... Forget I said anything." Raven slumped down, looking vaguely put out.

"No. If you're going to stay with us, you might as well be in the loop." Yoruichi said. "But you can't tell anyone unless it's absolutely necessary. Not even our kin."

"I promise." Raven's eyes were wide, and with a quick look between the three, they launched into their story.

"So you're... dead?" Raven asked after their quick explanation, and he received serious nods in reply. "And you're all part of an afterlife police force and are after a really dangerous, and also dead, guy who may or may not be trying to take over your world." More nods, "And possibly the real world too?" At the third round of nodding heads, Raven frowned.

"This sounds a little - wow. Don't get me wrong, I believe you, but - I think I need a bit longer for it to set in." The little Felis covered his face with his paws, "And you mentioned that this - whoever he is - is getting help from a dark wizard from around here, which is why you're at Hogwarts specifically?"

"Yes. We have sources saying that Aizen has been meeting with a wizard known here as Voldemort and-" Toshiro paused his explanation when he saw the black kitten flinch. "You know of him?"

"We don't say his name." Raven muttered solemnly. "But everyone in Britain knows who he is. He's long dead though, for more than a decade now."

"Not quite as dead as you'd like, I'm afraid." Rukia muttered, "We're souls too, remember? Death is far from the end."

Raven frowned, absorbing the information, when his eyes widened abruptly and his fur began to raise, "So he could have come back any time? He's just- just toying with us?"

"It doesn't work like that." Rukia quickly reassured, "If he's as bad as you say he is, his soul would have been sent to Hell, normally. There's something about you wizards - and possibly about Voldemort himself - that has kept him tethered to this world. But he wouldn't have been able to... manifest like we have. As soul reapers, we have resources normal souls wouldn't have access to."

"... So he isn't able to come back?"

"Not yet. If this stone we're trying to get is as powerful as we think, though - that would be reason enough for him to have allied with Aizen."

"Our mission is to stop that from happening." Toshiro finished, arms crossed, "Which is why we need as much information about magic and the culture around it as possible."

Raven went quiet as he absorbed the information, and the soul reapers shared another look. They dearly hoped this wasn't a mistake.

"Rukia! Toshiro! Where are you two?"

Rukia shot up, looking around dazedly to find the source of the voice as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes.

When did I fall asleep?

"It's the Weasley girl." Toshiro spoke from the edge of the rooftop. "We should probably go meet her."

"R-right." Looking around the rooftop, Rukia found they were the only two there. "Where are Yoruichi and Raven?"

"They went to explore the house a while ago."

Rukia felt her face flush and looked down at her hands, "You could have gone with them, Captain. You didn't have to wait for me."

Toshiro looked at her oddly before he stood and stretched, wiping the dust from his clothes. "Don't worry about it, Kuchiki." Grabbing the edge of the roof, the captain swung down into the still open window of his room.

Rukia heard Ginny call for them again and hastily followed her captain's lead, landing skillfully on the windowsill in her own room. Making her way into the hallway, she followed Ginny's voice downstairs and looked for the red-headed girl.

"There you are!" Ginny's head was sticking out of the kitchen walkway, grinning widely. "Where's Toshiro?"

"Here." Toshiro yawned out as he descended the stairs.

"Good. Mom's making us de-gnome the yard. Mind lending a hand?" The two shinigami shared a brief, wary look, and Ginny quickly realized her mistake, "Right, you two probably don't know what that is! Don't worry, it's nothing you need magic for."

Rukia felt a bit of relief at that, she hadn't had time to read any of the multitude of books they had bought, and she had no interest in making a fool of herself. "I'll give it a try." She assented, watching the girl in front of her light up and feeling her own lips lift in response. Expectantly, she turned to Toshiro. He looked decidedly disinterested.

"I think I'll just watch." He said to her questioning look, and Rukia had to force down her scowl.

"I thought we wanted to learn more about the wizarding world." She argued, "And what better way to learn than do?"

Toshiro narrowed his eyes in a cutting glare. In a normal situation, she probably would have backed down. He was a captain after all, and she didn't know him nearly well enough to be almost giving him an order. As it was, she had probably stepped her bounds a bit too much over the past day. She felt her point was valid, however, and though she wouldn't throw herself into any and every wizarding activity - she knew better than to think that would help their goal better than searching for what they needed in specific - she felt that they at least owed it to their hosts to be engaged.

And so she held his gaze, daring him to disagree. He mulled over her statement for a moment. His eyes looked her up and down in cold analysis, and then he gave in, turning slightly away.

"You have a point, Kuchiki." He grumbled darkly. "I'll join in this once..."

"Then come on!" Ginny grabbed their hands and pulled them towards the back of the house, avoiding the occasional animated cleaning tool. Rukia barely managed to avoid treading on the bristles of a busy broom, which turned to swipe at her indignantly before it returned to work. Then they were outside in the warm summer air. "I've got them!"

"Come help us then!" One of the twins shouted, pulling a wrinkled... something from a hole in the ground. It writhed and kicked, turning and twisting to try and bite the hand holding it above its safe haven of earthen tunnels. Rukia watched in curious awe as it was pulled back and thrown clear out of the garden before it could gain purchase.

The twin wiped his hands, satisfied with the distance the creature had flown, and turned to the three younger children. "Well don't just stand there! Grab a gnome and start throwing!" He grinned before spotting another one of the creatures, a gnome, Rukia assumed, and grabbing it by the ankle, reeling back and launching it in the same direction the first one had flown. He turned back, "Be careful of their mouths though, the little blighters have gnasty grips."

Ginny spotted another one of the wrinkled creatures and dove for it, making an admirable show of grappling the creature before she too threw it over the fence of the Weasley household with a strong arm. Rukia didn't move from her spot, still trying to completely understand the situation as she observed the five Weasley children rushing around the yard after small humanoid creatures that barely reached their knees.

"Regretting your decision, Kuchiki?"

Rukia glanced sidelong at Toshiro, eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Hitsugaya-san." A gnome ran past her leg, and she snatched it up. Pulling the creature to eye level, she was about to observe it more closely when it lunged for her with needlepoint teeth. She managed to avoid a nip to her nose, and then scowled at the creature before unceremoniously tossing it over the fence.

A glance was all she needed to see the bemused expression on the captain's face, and she quickly looked away before he could see the growing agitation on hers.

He's a captain. She reminded herself, It's not like Ichigo and Renji - You can't just snap at him whenever he gets on your nerves.

Needing some way to vent her wrath, lest the growing wave of emotion began leaking into the air around her again, Rukia snatched up another gnome and threw it hard. A huff of satisfaction followed the faint sound of the creature landing far, far away. Still preoccupied, she didn't realize that one of the twins had appeared behind her until a low whistle made her jolt and turn.

"That was a good throw." He commented, peering over her shoulder and trying to see where the small creature had landed, "Have you de-gnomed before?"

"They were living with muggles, Fred," Ginny said, moving to stand next to the two as she threw another gnome over the fence, "Of course they haven't."

"I know that," Fred said, smile unfaltering, "Doesn't mean gnomes can't get into the muggles' yard though, right?"

"There weren't any where I stayed at least." Rukia supplied, already feeling her agitation waning, "I would have remembered something so... odd." She deftly tripped a gnome that darted in front of her, grabbing it before it had a chance to regain its footing and lobbing it over the yard's boundaries.

She turned back to see Fred and Ginny both eyeing her with curious looks, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

Did I do something wrong?

"Hey, George!" Fred called, eyes pulling away from Rukia, "I think we found ourselves a new competitor!"

"Is that so?" His counterpart asked, sauntering over and eyeing Rukia curiously, "How far?"

"At least as far as Ginny's go." Fred returned, and both teens grinned. Rukia looked from one boy to the other with mounting confusion. Luckily, Ginny noticed and supplied an explanation.

"Sometimes we have gnome throwing competitions."

That gave the conversation a bit more sense, Rukia admitted. Not much, albeit, but enough to sate her curiosity and to follow along loosely as the twins called the other two Weasleys and Toshiro over. Percy and Ron came willingly enough, though the younger of the two shot Rukia a wary look that she pretended not to notice for the temperature's sake, and Toshiro followed shortly after. The white haired youth looked vaguely disinterested as his eyes trailed a particularly small gnome.

Once everyone had gathered, Fred spoke, "Now that everyone's here, why don't we start a competition? Whoever tosses their gnomes farthest, wins!"

"But what will the winner get, Fred?" George put in, a look of fake concern on his face, "We can't just let the winner go empty handed now, can we? "

"A magnificent point you make, George. But what to do?" Fred fell into dramatic thought, stroking non-existent facial hair and squinting into the sky. His eyes lit and he turned to his twin with a grin, "I've got just the thing!"

"Do you?"

"I do!"

Fred dug into his pockets and pulled out a couple of boxes, "Whoever wins gets Fizzing Whizbees and a Chocolate Frog!"

Rukia frowned and shot Ginny a questioning look.

"They're wizarding candies." The red head whispered. Rukia made a small sound of acknowledgment and turned back to the twins.

"I refuse to get pulled into another one of your games." Percy huffed. George and Fred shrugged. They had expected that, it seemed.

"You'll be the referee then." George announced, "Anyone else not joining in?"

The shinigami shared looks, and Rukia could see Toshiro's lack of interest in the game. A short moment of deliberation - to challenge a captain or to play this unknown game on her own - and she came to a decision.

Toshiro wondered how he had let the petite shinigami convince him to participate in this ridiculous event.

His last gnome sailed over the fence, likely cursing him in its odd little language until it landed with an audible squeak. It looked like it had gone close to the winning throw, but hadn't quite made it.

"And Rukia wins the prize!" One of the twins crowed, holding one of the girl's arms in the air. A slight blush warmed her cheeks atop a small, self-satisfied grin, and Toshiro found himself smirking. Their gigais hindered their normal strength somewhat, but they still had enough power to easily beat out others their 'age' when it came to strength, it seemed. He allowed Rukia her moment of triumph and moved away from the group to continue de-gnoming the yard. There were only a handful of the creatures left, unless more were still hiding underground. Toshiro quickly assumed that the latter was unlikely. The creatures were dull, and seemed to have no sense of self-preservation.

As if to prove Toshiro's thoughts, a particularly bold gnome came muttering up to the disguised shinigami and shook a fist at him. Bemused, a single white brow arched before Toshiro disposed of the offending creature, cracking a smile at the slowly fading gibberish.

Before long, the rest of the yard was cleared, and Rukia approached the captain, her smile subdued but apparent and the boxes of unfamiliar candies tucked under her arm. He straightened to greet her, eyes looking past her to see that the Weasley children were on their way inside.

"You kept yourself busy, I see." She greeted, looking around the lot.

"I didn't feel like chatting with everyone." Toshiro shrugged, beginning to move towards the house. "Congratulations, by the way."

There was a long enough pause that he felt the need to look back, mildly surprised to see her in the same place. "Is something the matter, Kuchiki?"

Rukia shook herself, as if casting off rainwater, and began following him. "It's nothing, captain, I was just thinking is all."

"Careful, Kuchiki." Toshiro warned after checking that the Weasleys were out of earshot. "We don't want to let things slip any more than they have before we've even gotten to the school."

There was a brief moment of confusion before Rukia caught her mistake, then she blushed fiercely, "S-So sorry, I didn't-"

"Mistakes happen, I'm just saying to be careful." He said, cutting her off before she could continue.

Averting her eyes, Rukia nodded, and the two walked towards the house in silence as Toshiro drifted into thought.

Kuchiki wasn't this out of it on our other missions, was she? He found himself wondering, trying to pull up the memories of his previous missions with her.

Perhaps it's because she is out of her element. Hyourinmaru provided, In Karakura Town, she was familiar with the land and people. Here, everything is unfamiliar.

Toshiro considered it, That… makes sense. But this isn't the sort of mission we can afford that sort of reaction on.

She's recovering quickly. He pointed out, If you recall, on your first trip to the Soul Assembly-

Hastily, the abashed captain cut off that train of thought, I see your point, no need to bring that up.

If you insist. Hyourinmaru rumbled, But if you still wish to speed Kuchiki's acclimation, then perhaps you can provide her with someone familiar.

I can't call in any Reapers she knows, if that's what you mean.

Nothing of the sort. I mean you, master. You must admit that you two are practically strangers-

We've gone on plenty of missions together.

And how frequently did you two speak on those missions?

...

Exactly. But even so, you are the closest thing to familiar that she has here. If you were to strengthen those ties, she may find her footing to be a little less unsteady.

Toshiro looked at Rukia consideringly. A mission like this needed trust if they were to go anywhere with it, both on the battlefield and off. While he was sure they had the former in spades, they had seen each other fight too many times not to, the latter... was lacking, to say the least.

Fine, I can see your point.

I knew you would.

Rukia's post-victory cheer was entirely forgotten in the wake of her almost mistake. To think she would do something so stupid - and in front of a captain no less! She was just lucky no one had been nearby to hear, or there would have been more than a reprimand and embarrassment to worry about. Blowing out an aggravated puff of air, the soul reaper attempted to gather her composure before they ran into one of their hosts.

The sound of someone clearing their throat sent a jolt of awareness through Rukia. She turned her head to meet teal eyes and abruptly felt her cheeks drain of colour. "C- Hitsugaya-san, I forgot you were there!"

"I'm hurt, Kuchiki." He drawled, raising an eyebrow and smiling slightly. Before she could respond to the unexpected reply, he continued. "We should start reading through those books we bought. We don't want to be caught off guard by anything at Hogwarts."

Still trying to discard her confusion, Rukia agreed with a slow nod and wide eyes. Toshiro either didn't notice her trouble or - more likely, ignored it entirely as he quickly took the lead. Shaking off her stupor, Rukia followed him up the long staircase. When they arrived at their floor, the captain gestured to her room as he turned to his own.

"Start setting out your books, I'll be over with mine in a moment."

Nodding quickly, Rukia ducked into her room and found her newly acquired trunk, clicking it open to search for the admittedly overlarge stack of books she had bought. Pulling the lot of them out and placing them on her bed, Rukia separated the school books from the pile and began sorting the remaining books by general subject.

She was debating whether to put Magical Home Remedies into the medical pile or the household magic pile when someone knocked on the door. "It's unlocked!" She said without looking up, still eyeing the two piles and the book in her hand.

"That's fine and all, but I don't necessarily have the hands to open it." Came the reply in muffled japanese.

Absently, Rukia walked towards the door and pulled it open, analyzing the book for any clues on her dilemma. She felt Toshiro brush past her and closed the door, "Hey, Ca-" she turned and looked up, stopping short at the sight. "Do you - need help?"

Precariously balancing his stack of books, the white-haired captain was moving slowly, nudging in front of him with his foot to make sure the way was clear before continuing. At Rukia's question, he stilled, and there was a moment of silence as he deliberated his answer.

"... It would be appreciated." He muttered finally, and Rukia darted forward to take the top half of the books from him. After placing them next to the bed and putting her own book somewhere between the two piles it might belong to, she turned to the captain with a raised eyebrow.

"You could have made another trip if there were too many books."

"It was faster this way." He replied, refusing to look at her.

"... Right." She said finally, deciding she didn't want to get into an argument over this. "So what should we read first?"

Looking grateful for the change of topic, Toshiro thought for a moment, walking towards the bed and looking at her piles. Eyes going from book to book, Rukia could see the gears turning in his mind.

"We should probably start off with the basic how tos on magic and its history for now. They should give us a good indicator of what fields we should read into next."

"Makes sense." She muttered, approaching the pile of school books. If she remembered correctly, one had been written on magical theory. Sorting through them, another book caught her eye. Grabbing both books, Rukia turned and held them up for Toshiro to inspect. He glanced up from his own search and hummed in approval, "Good idea, we'll need all the self-protection we can get." He held out his hand for the books and she handed them over happily. He turned over the book that had caught Rukia's attention: The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection and skimmed the back cover. "Not that it'll be much use against a full-powered dark wizard, but it's a good place as any to start."

Returning the books, Toshiro walked over and found his own copies, picking them up. "We'll start with these then." He pulled up a chair and propped it near the window to best catch the light, sitting down and immediately cracking open Magical Theory. Rukia followed suit shortly after and cleared a spot on her bed. Opening The Dark Forces, purple eyes scanned the first page:

"As abundant as the wonders of magic are, there is an equal amount of darkness lurking. From the creatures lying in wait to a spell cast by human hands, there is much to be wary of in a world full of magic. In the pages of this book you will find the beasts of darkness you must stay clear of and how to fight back if there is no other option."

Rukia scoffed, this book seemed a little dramatic, considering it was a textbook for eleven year olds.

After the third chapter, Rukia decided to take a break. Rising with a stretch, she cast a glance at her companion, who was still immersed in his book with his eyebrows pulled together. Deciding to leave him be, Rukia cast her eyes around the room until she caught sight of her discarded prizes.

Right, I still haven't tried one yet.

Curiosity piqued, Rukia went and picked up the smaller box, the gilded label proclaiming a "Chocolate Frog." Figuring that they would be like the chocolate rabbits from Karakura town, she opened the box without much caution and nearly dropped it when she saw the frog breathing.

The smooth brown creature looked up at her blankly, chest expanding and contracting in a decidedly too realistic manner. Before Rukia could decide what she was going to do with the disconcerting confection, it leapt off its platform to the floor.

Startled, Rukia stumbled back and the box fell out of her hands, falling with a soft noise beside the frog. Unconcerned about the human before it, the frog began jumping towards the bed. Rukia dove for the creature after regaining her senses and managed to catch it in her hands before it made it too far.

"Gotcha!" Holding the now squirming creature, it took Rukia a moment to realize the silence in the room. Her eyes darted to the forgotten second occupant in the room (Or maybe he was the third? Rukia didn't know whether or not the frog counted at that point).

Toshiro looked decidedly unimpressed, "How did you get a frog in here?"

Keeping a firm grip on said frog, Rukia held it up for the captain to see, "It was one of the wizarding candies the twins gave me. I didn't expect it to move."

"A candy?" He put down his book and went to inspect the still struggling creature. "But how do you eat it?"

"Maybe you bite its head off?" Rukia offered.

"That's a little... morbid."

The two stared at the frog with concerned expressions as it continued to attempt escape. The feeling in their stomachs reminded them oddly of Orihime's cooking.

"... I think I'll pass on eating this."

"Agreed."

Walking to the window, Rukia unceremoniously tossed the frog out. She turned back and stared at the remaining box with some trepidation. She didn't feel like chasing anything else around the room, but she was still curious…

Throwing caution to the wind, Rukia picked up the box and opened it. Relieved when nothing started moving, she took the time to inspect the contents of the box. Hot pink balls of candy were stacked together in the cardboard box, looking like nothing more than the jaw breakers Ichigo had showed her once.

Reassured, Rukia poured a couple out into her palm and closed the box. Popping one into her mouth, she waited for something to happen. The candy began to fizzle and crack, giving her a bit of a buzzy feeling, and it tasted tart, but there didn't seem to be anything spectacular. It tasted a lot like Pop Rocks, now that she thought of it, but a lot less sweet.

She looked over to find Toshiro giving her an odd look. Not sure what it was for, she offered him the other Whizbee. "Want one?"

The captain shook his head and took a step back, "I like my feet where they are, thank you."

"My ... feet?" Looking down, Rukia only now realized she was hovering inches from the ground. She pushed her weight down on one foot and managed to touch down for a second, then she bobbed back into the air again. She repeated the action a couple times before a grin broke out on her face. It was better than the food being alive, at least. "You sure you don't want to try one, captain?"

"Certain, though I appreciate the offer."

"If you say so." Maneuvering herself just so, Rukia launched herself back to the bed and picked up her book, hovering above the covers as she started where she left off.

Toshiro read through the last page of the fourth chapter, then shut the book quietly as his eyes traveled the room again. Rukia was still floating in her spot, though she seemed to be doing so much lower than previously. She looked peacefully engrossed in her textbook, eyes crossing line after line of words.

The candy didn't seem to be affecting her badly, it seemed. He had worried that there might have been more effects than her original tasting had led on, and so had rejected her offer outright. Now that he was certain the only effect was the odd floating, though, he begrudgingly admitted that his curiosity was piqued. Slowly setting down his book and rising from his seat, he stretched his back as a pretense should Rukia have looked up. When she continued to read, not even glancing his way, the captain relaxed and smoothly crossed the room.

He thought his mission in stealth successful, having grabbed a handful of the round candies and returned to his chair without Rukia saying a thing, and so he tossed a single Whizbee into his mouth before grabbing his book. The candy fizzled in his mouth oddly, but the feeling was more interesting than uncomfortable, and the flavor was pleasant. He felt himself rise off the admittedly uncomfortable chair and shifted his weight to keep himself upright, pleased to find that it was actually a more comfortable position than he had been in previously.

Noting to keep the candies in mind, Toshiro turned his full attention to the book once again.

"You could have just asked, captain." An amused voice spoke, startling the short male enough that he almost turned over. He looked up to find Rukia staring at him with thinly veiled amusement. Heat rose to his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He countered, turning back to his book with a scowl. Rukia, thank the heavens, had the good graces to let the obvious lie slide without another jab.

"Of course, my mistake."

Too bad she couldn't hide her amusement better. Toshiro hunched closer to his book to hide his embarrassment.

A/N: Again! So sorry about the delay! This chapter was actually going to be longer (this is only maybe half-way through some of the stuff I had planned for it), but the word count was already going quite a bit above the norm and I didn't want a 9000 word chapter when none of the others are nearly that size. So expect some more daily life at the Weasleys next chapter, and then they'll finally be off to Hogwarts!

Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and tell me what you think of the chapter!

(Also, if someone has an idea on how to better format their switches from English to Japanese, that would be great. I contemplated just noting it each time they switched, but as you can see, there are large chunks in both languages, and I felt it would be a little awkward to constantly write out reminders about which language is being spoken. If this italics thing is really confusing though, then I'll try to find something else.)