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.

Thank you loyal reviewers! Without you guys, this story probably wouldn't exist. :)

* Also, thank you soooo much Silverchild of the Winds for the heads up on the mistake I made! I fixed it and now Hermione no longer knows about the Room of Requirement that she shouldn't know about yet. ;) Haha, keeping things accurate is exhausting. *

…

"So," Usopp exclaimed, "Where can I buy one?"

Hermione shook her head at him, explanation-tone already in place. "You can't buy one. They are extremely rare. Harry only has one because someone gave it to him."

Usopp fingered the fabric of the invisibility cloak Hermione had thrown over herself. "It's weird not seeing you while you're right next to me."

Ron, about to mash one of Harry's knights to gravel over the wizard's chessboard, chimed in, "Too right mate. That thing's blasted brilliant. It doesn't block out sound though, so don't trip or anythin'."

Usopp saw Harry grimace at the loss of his chess-piece. Then he turned to Usopp and said, "Yeah, Filch'll be walking around looking for people breaking the rules. Oh, and definitely don't do anything stupid in front of his cat, Mrs. Norris. I'm pretty sure she can sense people even under the cloak."

Usopp nodded. "Thanks for letting me use it."

Ron nodded while Harry simply said, "I owe you one."

No, you don't.

Hermione threw the other half of the cloak over Usopp. "There," she said, "Now lets get going."

The trip to the library was nerve-wracking. The corridors were so dark Usopp could barely see the stone floor beneath him and the occasional window hung, glowing, like a gateway to the spirit world. Hermione had to constantly look at a yellowing map with her wand light, but the light itself could be seen beyond the cloak. I hope she's right that that map can see everyone coming towards us. The cat Harry had warned them about cornered the duo when they had made it about halfway. They'd had to stand completely still for a full minute while the skeletal cat walked around the hallway, staring with creepy, yellow, bulging eyes. The animal only left when a faint thud resounded off the walls of some far-off corridor. After that, the trip was punctuated only by snores from sleeping portraits and Usopp's own paranoid thoughts.

The library was as dark as a tomb. Not that Usopp had ever been in one. Suffice it to say that it was really dark. Usopp and Hermione navigated through the corridors of books and, even though Hermione still had her wand light, there were no windows nearby, so it only lit the area a couple of feet around. Even so, Hermione seemed to find her way fairly well. Soon the duo was standing at the entrance to the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library and listening nervously for approaching teachers. Hermione crossed the entrance cautiously and ran her fingers over the spine of an old book. "Alright. Professor Dumbledore said that there would be one diary containing the subject of your world in the library. The only other book is in Professor Binns' collection and none of us have any idea where that is. I asked several of my teachers about the subject, but they said that they weren't allowed to tell us anything. I think that our best bet is to scan the titles and authors and pick up the texts' that look most likely to help."

"Right." Usopp replied, reaching out to take a book himself.

Hermione grabbed his arm. "There are books here that may do some strange things. Just close the book quickly if one starts screaming or something. Alright?"

Usopp raised his eyebrows as he nodded. Screaming books? Nice security system. "Okay."

The time seemed to crawl along at a sea snail's pace while Usopp sat with his back to a sturdy library table, books scattered around him in messy piles. Hermione sat to his right, also leaning her back against a table leg, her books stacked in neat rows at her sides. Text after text had proven a failure and Usopp was frustrated after the first book. He'd picked up Traversing Worlds, How to Exploit New Lands, and even What you Should Do Now that You're Tired of Reality, but none of them had any useful information. The first two had been about different countries on Wizarding Earth, while the last had been some kind of existential philosophy book. One book, however, a book so faded that half the words were illegible, did reference one of the text's they were looking for. Usopp had found it stuck, forgotten, in the corner of the bottom shelf. The lettering seemed to read, "Mo-- -amous Hoax-s of our ----. Paralle- Universes are abundan- -- ---- ---- b- Be--am-n Binns." The title of the book itself, except for the word "Secret," as well as the rest of the article was hidden under what looked like a coffee stain. Usopp sighed. This will only help if we can somehow get a hold of that History of Magic teacher's book collection.

The other books he'd picked up hadn't been nearly so helpful. Many of the books in the section didn't have titles and Usopp had picked up several with stains that looked way too much like blood. When he found something dark red in the pages of a book on dried organs, he shivered. Time for a break. He was just reaching out to poke Hermione in the arm when she froze, her hands stilling on the edges of a yellowing page. Then Usopp heard it. Footsteps! Hermione quietly doused the wand light and waited. In the hall outside a dull clunk-thump repeated itself down the corridor, pausing briefly near the door to the library before continuing down the hall. After three minutes absent of any sound, other than breathing, Hermione whispered, "That was close. I'm not sure if Professor Moody can see through walls, but he can certainly see through a lot of other things. Let's get back to work."

Usopp nodded and opened his book again, but then put it down with a thoughtful frown. "I forgot to say something earlier, with all the researching we did for the first task, but when I snuck out to get a look at the task I saw Mad-Eye doing something weird."

"Professor Moody, and Weird how?"

"Well, he was in his office, but he left the door open a bit. I heard sounds in there so I went to go and see and," Usopp noticed Hermione had her nose scrunched up in disapproval, "don't look at me like that, I was seeing if someone was breaking into his office. It was a very brave thing to do. There could have been ninjas."

Hermione just crossed her arms. "Go on."

"Well, when I went to see what was happening I saw Moody messing with something in an old trunk. Whatever it was it had claws. It tried to fight back. Then he turned around, saw me, and attacked me with his wand." Usopp's voice had become a hiss by the end of the sentence as he jabbed a finger in Hermione's face. "He tried to kill me."

Hermione frowned. "I doubt he was trying to kill you, but he has been known to attack people before he asks questions. You're not making that part up about the claws are you?"

Usopp crossed his fingers over his heart. "Swear."

Though she didn't look completely convinced, she didn't argue either. "Well, he could have been practicing some type of spell and just gotten paranoid with you standing there. However, if there is some kind of magical creature in his trunk it should be investigated. No creature should be locked up like that."

Usopp personally thought Hermione had lost the point of the entire conversation. Shaking his head, he pointed out, "We should keep an eye on him."

"Agreed."

Usopp reached out to pull open another book, but then dropped it as a searing blue light hit his eyes. He cursed, rubbed his hands over them, and then looked around himself in awe. Whereas before the library had been pitch black, it was now filled with a grayish-blue, twinkling, light. The light reflected off shelves and chairs and seemed to sparkle on everything it touched. Hermione had stopped reading and was gazing around too. She ran her fingers through the light and gasped at the brilliance with which they glowed. She whispered something Usopp couldn't hear, but he didn't wait to ask what it was. He could hear footsteps echoing off the corridor outside, pounding footsteps.

He shut the book. "Hermione, we have to go!"

Her eyes widened in fright. She pulled the invisibility cloak over them both and skirted to the opposite wall just as the library doors opened. Then the greasy haired Potions teacher entered the library. The man looked incredibly pissed. It took a while, and a few very close calls, before Usopp and Hermione could slink past the prowling teacher and leave the room.

Once outside, and four corridors away from danger, the duo stopped to breathe and assess their surroundings. Hermione shook her head as she adjusted something in her arm. "Let me get the map out."

Usopp nodded. Then he took a closer look at the thing Hermione had in her arms. "You stole the book?"

The girl stilled. In the wand light Usopp could see that her face was turning a bit red. She replied, "Yes."

Usopp studied the girl. She was clutching the book to her chest and refusing to look at him. He grinned. "You're going to show it to Ron aren't you?"

She huffed. "Of course not! I simply wanted to study the magic required to make such a display. I know it can't be a simple Lumos spell, but it must be some kind of variation of it…"

"It's okay. I'd love to show it to Kaya too."

…

Usopp woke up at 3:30 in the morning, lathered in cold sweat, despite the late night in the library. Trying to remember what he'd been dreaming about only gave him a vague sense of fear, and he wasn't really tired, so he decided to get up. He pulled on some of the borrowed clothing Professor McGonagall had given him, pants, a sweatshirt, and shoes, and washed his face in the little bathroom connected to his bedroom. Then he took out his new wand, collapsed onto the large bed, and held the object up to the lamplight. He frowned. This place is starting to become… comfortable. The magic, the classes, the people, they're all rather fun. I'm almost not sure if I want to go back… It'd be different if I knew that my nakama didn't need me. But, I can't be sure what was going on the day that I left. Maybe I just misinterpreted everything? Usopp shifted to sit with his back against the headboard. He let his hands dangle over the edge of the bed while he stared at the sea blue walls. The people here leave me out of things because I'm an outsider, not because I'm weak. I'm not sure which is worse. At least outsiders can become friends if they stick around long enough. Harry, Ron, and Hermione even seem to trust me a little bit now. I'm not sure I can ever become as strong as my nakama though. It may be impossible. Will I always be the weakling to them? A horrible thought struck him. What if more people join the crew, and they're all strong like Luffy? He could probably find better sharpshooters pretty easily on the Grand Line.

The thought of sharp shooting had Usopp rubbing his head at the approach of an oncoming headache. Of course, I can't fulfill my dream if I stay here… I guess I should try my hardest to get back home, and if it turns out that the crew no longer needs me than I'll find my own way to become the best pirate sharpshooter on the Grand Line.

Usopp twirled the blackened wand around his fingers. The first step to becoming stronger is to practice. Once I get the hang of it I can start attending classes other than Transfiguration, which he'd only attended in return for the clothes, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. I can start writing down the pronunciation of spells and practice them where no one else can see me.

Usopp decided to work on the "Wingardium Leviosa" spell he'd been trying to master ever since he'd obtained the wand. Then he took out his wand, spoke the words, and pointed the stick at the small blue pillow sitting on the dresser. It flew halfway across the room before dropping to the floor. The second try yielded better results and the pillow landed on the edge of the bed. Though the third and fourth tries didn't produce any different outcome, Usopp kept practicing for two hours. Within the last half-hour, he performed the charm nearly perfectly. Nevertheless, he was breathing hard by the end of it. A migraine was making its way into consciousness and he was becoming exhausted. I could never use a wand each class like the students here do. I don't know how they hide the weariness. Oh well. It's better than my first days of trying. I could only practice twenty minutes before I became too tired to continue.

Well, I'll try something else I think… He reached under his mattress and pulled out a book of spells another student had dropped in the corridor a while back. It wasn't a classroom book, it had a library sticker in it, and so Usopp had felt safe borrowing it. He flipped through the book for another useful spell. He came across one in the middle of the text. "Expulso: Pronounced 'eks-POOL-soh'. Causes an object to explode. This could definitely come in handy."

Usopp searched the room for something to practice on without making a huge mess, but couldn't find anything he wouldn't miss if he made it explode. Glancing out the window, he could see faint daylight peeking through the panes. No one else should be up yet. I can try it out near the forest.

By the time he slid the massive front doors open and headed down the gravel path to the forest the sky was hosting a corona of brilliant yellows and oranges that could just barely be seen over the tops of the trees. Usopp didn't stop to admire the sight long. He walked into the very edge of the forest, where he could still see the stone castle in between the rough white bark of the trees. Then he picked a spot with an abundance of targets such as rocks, leaves, and sticks, and set to work. He practiced flourishing the wand for a while, apparently it had to be done in a certain way, but then let loose slinging the spell for all he was worth. His first attempts, however, proved ineffective. Leaves smoldered a bit, rocks shook a little, and sticks snapped in half, but no explosions occurred. Even so, he felt drained after his first couple of tries. Leaning against a tree gave him respite for a few minutes. However, once he got up he felt about as rested as someone on lookout duty. He plucked his wand from the ground beside him, spoke the word, "Expulso," and prepared for another failure when he heard a crunch from behind him.

"You're not supposed to have a wand! Where'd you get it? And why are you practicing an exploding spell?"

Usopp turned around to find Ron pointing his own wand at him. His head began to pound. The boy was standing in front of Hermione and Harry as if to protect them from harm and his freckles were standing out starkly against his skin. He spoke again, anger coating his tone, his knuckles red and white against his weapon. "I should've known you weren't trustworthy! You only pretended to help Harry so that you could get closer to him and use dark magic to kill him off, right? Or distract him from the tasks? Well, we're not going to let ya, mate."

Hermione stepped out from behind Ron, her face a complete blank. "Ronald, that's enough. We don't know what's going on here. What we do know, however, is that Usopp is deliberately breaking his decree with the Headmaster, who should be informed of such things as soon as possible." She turned to face Usopp, but her voice stayed dull, as if she was reciting the properties of a correctly made potion. "We also know that you've been toting weapons since you arrived here. I'm sure your motives are benign-"

Usopp interrupted her. "Of course they are! I found the wand. I didn't think anyone would miss it."

Harry shot him a slightly incredulous look, but seemed, along with Hermione, to be reserving judgment until later. Ron, however, seemed livid. "Bollocks! You can't just find a wand lying 'round."

"Ronald, language!"

Shaking his head in slight disbelief, Usopp replied, "So what if I found one? What's wrong with that? I was going to tell you sooner or later."

Harry chimed in, looking distinctly unhappy about the situation. "It's not just the wand. The spell you were just practicing is used by a lot of bad people, Death Eaters mostly. It's not Unforgivable or anything but…"

Harry didn't seem to know how to continue so the bushy-haired girl picked up the pace, suddenly looking rather interested. "Well, it doesn't matter right now. I'd like to know where you found the wand."

Usopp told her, but noticed how the girl's interested look became rather inscrutable. "A room that just appeared out of nowhere?"

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?" All of the arguing he was doing was worsening the migraine he'd had for the past hour. No one else seemed to notice how much his hands and knees were shaking from fatigue, though. He tried to make sure they didn't.

Usopp was just beginning to realize how much of a mistake he'd just made. Of course, no one will believe me. Wands are weapons. Powerful ones at that. I suppose it's kind of like acquiring a gun, not knowing how to use one, and then pointing it near your classmates with the safety off. Damn. I didn't think I could lose their trust so fast.

…

Author's Note: So things are back to square one for poor Usopp. Oh well, he'll get through it. On another note: I've finally finished the complete outline for this story! I had most of an outline but decided to leave the ending open until I knew where the story was truly going. (And until I could come up with a good enough ending…) It could still change, but I think this story will have some pretty cool twists and turns. :) Well, please feel free to leave a review or critique if you want!