A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts
By: WhiteFang72
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.
Hello, everyone! I would have updated this story during Spring Break, but in order to write recreationally I needed to get all my Psychology reports done. Then I had to work and then I was sick for a while…oh well. You guys are used to the long intermissions by now I'm sure. Oh, and don't worry. This chapter has some actual action in it; it's not just all talking like the last one. Well, anyway, thank you guys so much for the reviews. They mean a lot.
…
"Of course he's never killed anyone." Hermione spoke, lecture voice up and running, "Usopp is just a couple of years older than us."
Ron broke in, "But he's a pirate-"
"That still doesn't make him a-"
Usopp let loose a grandiose sigh. "You don't think I've ever offed anyone? Why then you can't possibly know what the great Captain Usopp is capable of. I've felled a thousand foes of varying degrees of evilness. I've slain a million Marines and pirates. When I'm really enraged I even tear down large trees and boulders. Truly you do not understand the scope of the power standing before you. I feel pity."
Harry raised a brow, voice flat. "You've never killed anything bigger than an ant have you?"
"Killed…no. Knocked out, yes."
Ron let out a half-disappointed chuckle while Hermione trudged on with what was beginning to feel like an interrogation. Her voice softened though. "You've said you're the captain of your own ship. So, what are your crewmates like? How many do you have?"
Now that was a question Usopp wasn't really prepared to answer. He scratched at his head, gnawed on his lip and tried to think of some way of stalling the questioning. He couldn't. "Ummm… Well, my crewmates…" He trailed off, then shrugged. "I guess before I tell you about them I've gotta confess that I'm not exactly the captain… Yet. I'll have my own ship someday. My captain now is Captain Luffy. You may not believe it but he's actually my age. He's the strongest of the crew though. Luffy can take down Sea Kings and worse in a single hit and a while ago he even defeated a Shichibukai, a War Lord of the Sea. He's the strongest person I know and he's also the only Devil Fruit user who uses the Gomu Gomu no Mi, umm, Rubber Fruit. Next there's Zoro. He's Luffy's First Mate and scarily strong. Not that I'm scared of him of course. He fights using three swords, one of which he holds with his teeth. People call him a demon. I guess… Nami is the one who joined next. She's a thief and navigator, but for a while no one was really sure she was a part of the crew. She doesn't fight a whole lot, but when she does she kicks ass with the Clima-Tact I made for her. I joined the crew next… So, I guess next on the list is Sanji. Sanji is our resident chef. He's as strong as Zoro and fights entirely with his feet. Ummm… Chopper came next. He's a doctor and a reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit-"
Harry interrupted with a "totally not getting it" look on his face. "A what?"
"A reindeer. He ate a Devil Fruit and it turned him human enough to talk. I can't really explain it any better… So, anyway, the last person to join our crew was Robin. She ate a Devil Fruit that allows her to sprout limbs apart from her body. I don't really know a lot about her, but I do know that she can break someone's neck as cleanly as popping open a can. That's it. We have a pretty small crew."
Ron whistled. "Some crew. Wish we could meet 'em mate."
"…Yeah."
Usopp went silent. I'm talking about them as if they're still my crew, but… Are they really? I wonder if they'd want me to be spouting off all these things about them. Hermione stopped his musing. "We should be getting to bed before the prefects start patrolling the halls."
…
The next day Usopp found himself wandering down corridor after corridor. It no longer unnerved him when the people in the paintings moved or when a ghost floated by, but he was beginning to realize that he almost missed the fright. This place is so boring. There's nothing to learn and no adventures within the school grounds. If I had someplace to go it might be more exciting. Of course, exciting could equal dangerous, but I think I might actually be willing to take the chance.
A few minutes later Usopp was still thinking bored thoughts when he met up with Hermione, Harry, Ron and the nervous boy from Mad-Eye Moody's class. Neville something I think. "Hey," he greeted them.
Harry answered his wave. "Hey. You remember Neville right?"
"Sure."
"We're all on our way to Potions, unfortunately. What are you up to?"
Usopp thought about it. "Absolutely nothing. I think I may go brain-dead from the lack of anything to do."
Ron grinned widely, freckles dark against the white of his face, "You can join us then mate. Snape's class has got somethin' to do with explosions today. Should be a riot if anybody messes up, and if the git doesn't manage to expel us all for following the lesson."
Having nothing better to do, and liking the thought of high explosives in a classroom, Usopp agreed. The group made it to Snape's Potions class just as the professor was closing the door and, consequently, received a furious glare from the teacher and the worst seats in the room. Hermione and Ron ended up sitting at a table together while Harry was left to fend for himself beside a burly looking Slytherin. Usopp managed to get a seat with the Neville kid at least somewhat near the back of the classroom. He personally didn't want to draw too much attention to himself with this professor. Usopp had heard Harry and Ron talk about the man as if he was public enemy number one, or possibly hell spawn. The glare the teacher threw his way when he seated himself didn't help the man's case any.
"I see our guest is taking up space in my classroom. For what reason I wonder?"
Usopp gulped. If bluntness was an art form… "Uh, well, the Headmaster informed me that I could sit in on classes. I don't have a wand so I figured it'd be okay if I just sat and watched."
"Hmph," was the professor's only answer as he turned back to the chalkboard. "Today, class," the word class was said with such a loathing bark that Usopp was almost tempted to flee the classroom in outright terror. He managed to sit still though, "we will be making the Deflagratio Potion. The potion is a rather advanced one so I doubt any of you will come close to mastering it, but if you can, you will find that it has many uses. Look in your texts if you seriously want to know anything more." With that the professor sneered from beneath his hooked nose and turned on his heel, his robes billowing out behind him like a… like a…. Oh my Sea King, I didn't know vampires taught at this school! Why didn't anyone warn me?! Usopp glanced around, surreptitiously looking to see if anyone else seemed half as terrified as he felt. No one but the Neville kid seemed to be at all nervous. Most people actually looked excited. Neville's an anxious kid as it is soooo… Perhaps there's nothing to worry about.
Usopp gave a half relieved sigh, but, even so, couldn't help marking off a mental checklist on the so-called professor. Vampires are usually pale. Okay, the professor's definitely that. Some vamps have long fingernails… Umm. Doesn't look like he does. I wonder if there's a mirror anywhere around here? Vampires aren't supposed to be able to cast shadows…but, oh good. That may be the creepiest shadow I've ever seen, but at least it's there. I'll just have to keep careful observation of the professor to make completely sure. At that moment Neville came back with the ingredients he needed and sat down next to Usopp.
Intrigued about the lesson, Usopp looked over Neville's shoulder at the book and began to read.
Arguably the most important use, to date, for the Deflagratio Potion is that of the controlled burn. Wizards have, for more than fifty years, made use of the potion to set fire to an area of forest and burn the thick undergrowth. This prevents an accidental fire from occurring. The Deflagratio Potion, if made right, will start up with an explosive burst and burn steadily for a few hours before disappearing completely. The ingredients consist of…
Usopp broke off reading when heard a soft sigh. Neville was sitting down, gazing at the text with a confused frown upon his face.
"What's wrong?"
Neville glanced up with a start. "Uh, nothing really. I just can't figure out how to put the extract of incendi… incendium into the potion without well, exploding everything. I usually just put things in and hope everything works out but, well, I haven't had a lot of luck with that in the past. I'm pretty hopeless at this."
Usopp nodded in sympathy. "Don't be embarrassed. You can't be good in every subject. Besides, it looks like all you need to do is add some charcoal before you put in the extract and the potion will turn out fine. You know, I bet if you mix the charcoal in with some wood fragments the explosion'll be bigger. It doesn't seem like it would have any harmful effects on the potion's composition…"
Stopping his thoughts before he became too embroiled in the fascinating subject, Usopp glanced back up at Neville to see if his idea was in any way inspiring. Apparently, however, it was not just Usopp's idea, but Usopp himself who had become suddenly awe-inspiring. The look etched into Neville's face was one of absolute shock and adoration. The nervous boy spoke, keeping his voice down so that the professor couldn't hear. "How did you get so good at potions? I thought Professor Dumbledore said that you were taught different subjects at your old school than what our teachers teach at Hogwarts. Is potions a core class for all schools then?"
"Uh, yeah. My school covered it. I'm probably about a year behind everyone though."
"Wow, so why aren't you taking classes with the third years then?"
Usopp paused. What was the cover story the Headmaster took me aside to explain again? I should've paid more attention… Oh, yeah. "Oh, my father works within the Japanese Ministry of Magic, but he was called over here to work on a special assignment. I was taking schooling over in Japan, but my father decided he didn't want to leave me there and so, for the moment, I'm taking some, select, classes at Hogwarts and then I'm being home-schooled over the summer."
"That's a lot of schooling." Neville blinked as he looked back to his cauldron. "Do you think it's supposed to be bubbling like that?"
Nodding again, Usopp took hold of the potions book and began flipping pages. Neville's Deflagratio Potion was almost complete so he figured he could see what other kinds of potions the book contained recipes for. Some of these might come in handy. Lets see, they have a Forgetfulness Potion, nice, an Aging Potion, a Love Potion, a Sleeping Potion (that could be very useful,) a Draught of Living Dea- Whoa, definitely not! Usopp couldn't help but shudder at the illustration provided on the page. It consisted of a gaunt woman lying down in the weeds beside an open grave. She seemed to have a very sunken face and, though her eyes were wide open, they were filmed over with death. Who draws this stuff? He carefully turned to the next page, hoping the picture would be more student-friendly.
It certainly seemed to be. The text at the top of the page read "The Shrinking Potion," and the picture showed an outline of a large house cat. Inside the outline were several more, increasingly detailed drawings, of the same cat. There were about five outlines in all. The middle picture was especially tiny. When Usopp glanced at the ingredients list he sobered a bit. The potion contained extracts of Caterpillar, Daisy Roots, Leech Juice, Rat Spleen and something called a Shrivelfig. While some of the items would be easy to find even in his own world, others, like the Leech Juice and Rat Spleen, would undoubtedly be more difficult. The Shrivelfig could very well be impossible to find outside of the potions class. It would be a great help if I knew what the hell a Shrivelfig actually is. Perhaps he would just have to collect the ingredients at the school. Then he could prepare an emergency supply of the stuff for when he, or if he, got back to his own world. Usopp knew that it would be a smart idea to memorize the ingredients and look for the items on the grounds of Hogwarts. I don't want to go stealing things from these people. Well, not from this professor anyway. I still have to check for fangs.
The end of the lesson came when the professor's oily voice squeaked across the rows of tables. "Put down the ingredients and prepare a vial of your potion to set on my desk. If any of you have done them right, something I highly doubt, then you will only be required to write a three-page report on the material. For everyone else it will be six pages. If any of you dawdle I'll add on to the assignment."
Beside Usopp, Neville shot a frightened look at the professor and proceeded to almost trip over his cauldron. Usopp watched the nervous boy shuffle to the teacher's desk with a bit of apprehension. If he fails it'll be partly my fault… The professor scrutinized Neville's potion with a look of distaste, but Usopp could see the man's eyes slowly get larger as he performed the visual test. Finally the man just snorted, mumbled "three pages" and shooed Neville away. Neville turned to look at Usopp with a countenance full of relief, but Usopp didn't miss the vile glare the professor sent to him when no one else was looking. He can't know, can he?
Both Usopp and the professor were distracted when one of the Slytherin boys accidentally dropped their vile. The resulting explosion put a jagged hole in the stone wall and set the kid's robes on fire. Ron seemed to find the whole thing immensely gratifying.
…
Authors Note: Hey everyone! This story is great fun to write and I'm glad people are enjoying it. I've have lately, however, begun having a bit of a problem keeping the entire story coherent and all of the facts straight. So, if anyone does see any problems with the story, anything I've missed or anything that doesn't make a lot of sense, please leave me a note in a review (I don't check my email often) and I'll fix it. Arigatou gaziamasu everyone! (I hope I wrote that right…)