Disclaimer I own nothing but the plot. This will be the only disclaimer for this entire fic.

A/N I could not resist. I love both Bleach and Harry Potter, and plot bunnies have been bouncing around in my head for like two months now.

All chapters are beta-read by my sister, Someone Really Special. She'll leave notes as SRS occasionally.

Warnings Mild language. SPOILIERS for all Harry Potter books and up to whatever the most recent chapter is in Bleach. I keep myself updated on Bleach, and I will not hesitate to add stuff from the latest chapters if I feel it will fit the story.

Pairings There will be none for our main character, but there may be one or two on the side that may or may not be slash, and there is one established het pairing. Romance will only ever be in the background, though, never the main focus of the story!

Prologue

"Sirius."

Sirius ignored the concerned voice, instead focusing intently on his self-appointed task. The Black Family library was old, dark, and dusty, making searching through the crumbling books incredibly difficult. But he was determined. He had to find it, anything. He would not fail.

"Sirius."

Dust obscured his vision as the animagus drew a book from one of the many tall shelves in the library. He carefully balanced on the wheeled ladder, adjusting the thick tome under his arm and reaching for another. It came with thin threads of cobweb and another roiling cloud of dust. He secured it with the first and dropped off the ladder with a dull thud, landing on musty carpet of an indistinct shade that may or may not have once been pale blue.

"Sirius," the voice came sharply this time. Sirius would have continued to ignore it if not for the gentle, but firm grip on his arm. He pursed his lips and turned impatiently toward his best friend. He didn't want to hear the words that he would undoubtedly say, and was fully prepared to say so, but was stopped short by the expression on Remus's face. He took one look at the quiet concern that lined features already hardened by grief and the words caught in his throat.

"Sirius," the werewolf repeated, "it's been nearly a week since he fell… since he fell through the veil. Take a look at what you're doing to yourself. You haven't been eating, you haven't been sleeping, and I don't think you've even showered. You're a mess. Harry wouldn't want you to be wasting away like this, especially not for his sake. Sirius, he's gone. He's not going to come back. He's de…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Remus Lupin," Sirius interrupted sharply. "You can't prove that he's... No one knows what the veil does! He's still alive, I know it! He wouldn't go out on us that easily, and I'm going to prove it. I'm going to find him." He clutched the books in his arms tightly, and sat at the nearest table. He all but tore the cover off the first book in his haste to resume his research.

Remus watched him silently, cursing himself for seeing that raw hope in Sirius's eyes, and being unable to draw his best friend, his pack mate, back to reality. As much as he needed to, he couldn't bring himself to tear that small bit of hope away. It broke his heart to know that, even if for only a little while, he would help to nurture that same hope, only for it to be destroyed later. He cursed himself for being too weak to help his friend. Most of all, he cursed himself for his own, tiny spark of hope that it would work; that Sirius would find a solution, and that Harry would come home. He sighed.

"Alright, Sirius. Where should I start?"

And as Sirius smiled a tiny smile for the first time since the incident at the Department of Mysteries, Remus felt his heart break once more.

Normally any room Sirius entered was loud, vibrant, and full of life. This had not been the case for the past eight days, however. The Black Family library had been all but silent, with only the faint rustling of pages accompanying the pair deep in their research. It was therefore understandable that Remus was considerably startled when a loud shout was all but torn from his partner's mouth.

"I found it!"

Remus froze, eyes wide. "What?"

Sirius ignored him, quill scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. After a moment he stopped, slamming the book he was referencing shut and shoving the parchment in the werewolf's face. Remus eagerly took it…

…and was almost immediately disappointed.

"This doesn't prove anything."

"But it will! You'll see, watch!" The animagus scanned the room briefly before his gaze alighted on a small paperweight. He promptly grabbed it and prepared to cast the spell written on the parchment. His wand was practically quivering with its wielder's anticipation, and Remus feared that he'd blow something up in his excitement. With that in mind, he hastily said, "Calm down or let me perform the casting, Sirius, before you turn that paperweight into shrapnel."

Sirius took a few deep breaths, visibly forcing himself to calm. As soon as he could hold his wand steadily, he said the incantation. "Comperio Substantia!"

To Remus's complete disbelief, the paperweight started to glow. It was faint, almost too faint to see, but it was there. There was only one conclusion in his mind.

"We need to tell the Order."

Murmurs steadily rose in volume as the Order took in the news that there was a way to find their wayward savior, whom they had all previously believed dead, by the pair in front of them. Remus took it upon himself to explain.

"This spell, Comperio Substantia, is a spell that locates a person by their aura, or their basic essence, if you will. When cast properly, the spell will place a replica of the aura of the person you are trying to locate inside of any object you choose, though some will clearly be more practical than others…"

Sirius cleared his throat impatiently.

Remus ignored him. "This object will then glow, and the intensity of the glow will indicate how near or far your lost person is. We have, of course, tested this spell using ourselves, and then various people that frequent the manor, as the people we are trying to locate. Each experiment has met with astounding success. We are positive that this spell works, and we are equally sure that it can help us find Harry."

Snape scoffed, but no one bothered to acknowledge him.

"We have found that, when casting this spell with Harry in mind, the object still emits a faint glow. Logically, this means that he is indeed still alive, as he would have no aura for us to find otherwise." (1)

Dumbledore slowly nodded his head. "This… may work. Remus, Sirius, if you could make more of these for us, we will have each member of the Order carry one. I believe something inconspicuous, such as a necklace or a bracelet, may be prudent choices for the spell to be cast on."

He smiled. Hope for the light was not lost. The prophecy would be fulfilled.

Takeshima Ikuto (2) of the 10th division never thought anything unusual about the little pub in his assigned area, London. His only thought was that its shabby, old-fashioned appearance was the only even remotely familiar looking building in the area. This was understandable, as every building in Soul Society was generally old-fashioned, the only exception being the 12th Division. And Ikuto would be feeling really sorry for himself if he'd been assigned to the 12th Division long enough to be familiar with any sort of technology.

In any case, his mission had been long, he was tired, and the pub's somewhat familiar appearance was inviting. So he decided to take a break. Donning his gigai, he entered the pub known as the Leaky Cauldron.

His first impression was that the establishment was rather nice, if a little dirty. He settled himself down at the bar next to an unkempt looking patron and ordered a drink and some food. He paused when he saw the bartender's unusual clothing. Who wore robes like that these days, if ever? It was around then that he noticed that the bartender was not actually writing his order down, but was instead waiting semi-patiently while a quill was writing on a notepad on its own… in midair. The note then tore itself from the rest of the notebook and flew off to a room in the back. He stared.

"That'll be four sickles," the voice of the bartender made him jump, and he hastily pulled out a few bills. Seeing the man raise his brow he hurried to explain.

"I, uh, haven't had time to exchange these…? Is that alright?" He sincerely hoped it was, because he had absolutely no idea what a sickle was. The bartender just sighed and nodded.

"Just the once, mister…?"

"Takeshima."

"Right."

As he waited for his order, still slightly unnerved by the strange, floating quill and paper, he glanced around the bar. Drinks were filling themselves from pitchers levitating around the room, and one woman was debating loudly with another about which charms were the most useful. He paused as he felt a familiar reiatsu next to him and almost gave himself whiplash checking to make sure that, no, there was not really a captain sitting right next to him. He was relieved to find that instead, an unkempt patron was arguing with the bartender.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Fletcher, that I can't give you another drink until you've paid off the rest of your tab."

"Aw, c'mon, Tom! Jus' a quick pint? I… I'll even give you this for it!"

"I won't accept stolen jewelry Mr. Fletcher. Much less enchanted stolen jewelry."

"But I didn't steal it! And it's just a small locater charm… it can be spelled off real quick."

The bartender, Tom, rolled his eyes. "And I'm sure whoever you're trying to find will appreciate you giving away the means to find him."

"But," and here Fletcher's voice lowered to a whisper, "it's Harry Potter. I don't think…"

Ikuto couldn't help himself. "But that's the captain's reiatsu!"

The man spun around to face Ikuto. "What? You… you know where 'e is?"

Ikuto froze. "I, uh… have to go. Bye!" He nearly tripped over his feet running out of the pub.

Shaking slightly, he decided to return to Soul Society a day or so early. He needed to report to the Head-captain… and, of course, to tell all his friends about the rest of it.

Magic! Who would have thought?

As irresponsible as Mundungus Fletcher was a majority of the time, he knew he couldn't ignore this. Muttering a quick goodbye to Tom, he apparated straight to Grimmauld Place. He needed to tell Dumbledore!

"You are sure about this?"

"Yes! The reiatsu coming from the necklace was Hitsugaya-taicho's."

1 week later

Hitsugaya was only slightly apprehensive as he made his way to the 1st Division. It was unusual to be called in without any of the other captains, but there was really nothing he could do about it, so why worry?

"Soutaicho."

"Hitsugaya-taicho," the soutaicho wasted no time in getting to the point. "One of your subordinates has come to me with an interesting report."

Hitsugaya only raised an eyebrow. He knew nothing about anything one of his division members would have done to gain the attention of the soutaicho. He merely waited for the rest of the explaination.

"Takeshima-san came to me a week ago with reports about the existence of magic, all of which have been confirmed to be true," the soutaicho shot him a sharp look, and the question died in his throat. "After hearing one of Takeshima-san's stories, two recruits came forward, and have provided us with a wealth of information. However, Takeshima-san also mentioned that one of these wizards was carrying a necklace spelled to find a person called Harry Potter. This necklace was emitting your reiatsu."

"That's not possible."

"It is. We have confirmed the match. You and Harry Potter are one and the same. We are not yet sure how, but that is not all. Harry Potter was, apparently, very important to wizarding society. The two recruits have told me of a prophecy regarding him… you. The best interpretation of this prophecy is that you will have to kill someone, Hitsugaya-taicho."

"But…"

"Prophecy is a very powerful thing, Hitsugaya-taicho. Not only that, but this wizard you will have to kill has somehow cheated death. This wizard, Voldemort, was meant to die nearly sixteen years ago, yet his soul is somehow still bound to the real world. As such, you are being given full permission to interfere in the living world for the duration of your mission. You are to head to England and establish contact with a group of wizards known as the Order of the Phoenix. You will work with this group to defeat this wizard, and, at the same time, you will be gathering information on the wizarding world."

Hitsugaya, barely remaining composed, muttered an affirmative.

"You are allowed to disclose what you deem necessary to this Order of the Phoenix."

"Hai…"

"Also, the two recruits that have provided me with information regarding wizards will be going with you to do the same for you, and to provide general aid."

Two shinigami came forward. Hitsugaya was unconcerned, having felt their reiatsu long before. He didn't recognize either of them.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, I would like you to meet Potter James and Lily."

(1) I found this incredibly ironic. The reason that the spell worked should be explained in chapter 1.

(2) He will not have any future role in this story. You don't have to worry about OC's in this fic for anything other than minor roles, and those will be few. There are certainly more than enough characters in Bleach and Harry Potter as it is.