Arthur sat down at the Slytherin table, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He knew he should've gone to sleep when Ivan had. But no, he just had to stay up till five in the morning reading muggle books and practising some newly-discovered curses to use on Alfred and Francis.

"I told you to go to bed when I did, Arthur."

He jumped, and turned to see Ivan staring at him, smiling calmly. Arthur shivered, slowly turning back to his plate and helping himself to a couple of buttered scones. Who knows what's going through Ivan's head right now...

"You're sleepy, right?" Ivan said, and Arthur nodded in response. "I'll help you wake up!"

Arthur jolted as Ivan pat his head repeatedly, hard. His hot tea splashed onto his robes, making him yelp in pain.

"You're awake now, da?" Ivan said, still smiling peacefully.

"There was no need for that, you twit!" Arthur yelled, without thinking. Hesitantly, he turned towards Ivan, immediately noticing the intimidating aura surrounding him.

"Is Arthur being ungrateful for what I did for him?"

"No!" Arthur hastened to reply, taking his robes off reluctantly. "Just don't whack me on the head next time... You bloody twit." He added under his breath, so Ivan wouldn't be able to hear him.

He turned back to his breakfast, reading his timetable as he ate. Defence, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. Most of my lessons are with Alfred today. Lucky me. Saying that though, I could turn his hair pink during Transfiguration; McGonagall should be pleased with me if I did that! Sixth-year stuff, that is! It's a pity none of my lessons are with Francis, though. Seeing Francis with beaver teeth would be amusing...

Smirking to himself as he formulated the plan for Alfred's Bad Hair Day in his head, he took out one of his curse books and became absorbed in it. As a result of this, he didn't notice an owl standing in front of him. That is, until it pecked his finger impatiently.

"Argh!" Arthur yelped, putting his book down and glaring at the owl. "You've made me bleed, you have!"

He sucked his finger in annoyance, then raised his large eyebrows as he realised whose owl it was, and what said owl was holding.

"Freedom, why the hell do you have a rose?" Arthur asked the owl, who hooted impatiently.

"Alright, alright, keep your feathers on." Arthur said, rolling his eyes and taking the rose from Freedom's beak. He watched the eagle owl fly towards the owlery, then brought his attention back to the rose. He looked towards the Gryffindor table, seeking Alfred. He wasn't hard to find (he was the only one with a cowlick). Alfred wasn't looking his way, so he saw no point in trying to catch his attention. Instead, he stared at the rose. What was it? There was no deadly plant that disguised itself as a rose. So that can only mean it's hiding a curse...

He hastened to set the rose back down on the table, and he pulled out his wand from his pocket, preparing to burn the item. Last time he accepted an item from Alfred, it was a portkey, and he was teleported to the Divination classroom.

"Incen-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mon cherie."

"Give me my wand back, frogface!" Arthur yelled, getting up from his seat to try and retrieve his wand from a laughing Francis.

"Non, je ne pense pas. After all, it wouldn't do to burn a sincere gift from your dear Alfie, would it?" Francis teased, grinning as a light pink slowly crept up Arthur's face.

"He's not my Alfie- I mean, Alfred! And what do you mean, sincere? How'd you know if it's sincere or not? I bet it's hiding a curse!" Arthur claimed, folding his arms crossly.

"Mon dieu, Arthur! Can you not see my hand in zis? Ze rose was my idea! A rather beautiful rose, isn't it? A beautiful rose for a beautiful romance!" Francis said, picking the rose up and admiring it. "It has a rather nice sheen, doesn't it?"

"I-Alfr-beau- WHAT?!" Arthur spluttered. "I'm not in love with him!"

"Say what you will." Francis responded, smirking.

"Plus, now I have double the reason to doubt the sincerity of the rose! I mean, Alfred and you? It'd be wiser to trust Feliciano to not eat pasta when confronted with it than trust you two!" Arthur said, smiling slightly when Ludwig's head whipped round at the mention of Feliciano.

"Kiku was a part of zis too, so just say his name to the rose already!" Francis said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Whose, Kiku's? Why the hell would I do that?" Arthur asked, puzzled. Francis groaned, fake-crying into his hands in hopelessness.

"No, Alfred's! Zis is why you weren't put in Ravenclaw. Stupide. Zis was supposed to be so romantic! You were supposed to receive ze rose, immediately know who sent it, and whisper ze name of your one true love into ze petals, and allow ze magic to unfold!" Francis cried, acting out his dream-scene with teary eyes.

"I told you, he's not my one true love! But fine, I'll do it. Give me my wand back first, though." Arthur said, rolling his eyes. He stuffed his wand back into his pocket and took the rose. He stared at it, apprehensive. What was this magic that Francis so badly wanted to see?

"...Alfred?"

The rose began to glow; its red petals glittered magnificently, illuminating Arthur's face. He wanted to glance up to spot Alfred at the Gryffindor table, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the rose.

All of a sudden, the petals began breaking off, leaving a trail of red sparkles as they joined together, like pieces of a jigsaw. Arthur spotted words written in white ink; he immediately recognised Alfred's scruffy print.

The stalk began to wriggle in Arthur's hand; he released it, and it unfurled to create a poster of an umbrella. Two words began writing themselves underneath the umbrella: Alfred and Arthur.

He blinked, taking the finished product in. The rose petals had joined together to form a heart, the words 'Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?' Written inside, with a poster that Arthur now recognised as the 'Umbrella of Togetherness', a popular thing in Japan to signify love, with his and Alfred's names on it underneath.

Arthur turned bright red, staring at the elaborate invitation before him. He would have never, never, expected something like this. Arthur didn't know how to respond. Yes? No? Should he even respond now, or should he wait until Defence, where he could properly talk to Alfred about it? He turned round to Francis, who signalled for him to turn back round.

The display suddenly burst into a million red sparkles, making the table and food all glittery. Arthur suddenly realised that the whole of Hogwarts was now staring at him, and he felt very self-conscious. He contemplated gathering up his books and robes and walking out of the Great Hall right there and then to mull over what had just happened, but then he caught sight of Alfred's face.

Alfred was staring at him intently, his own face bright red. He suddenly realised how uncomfortable it must've been for Alfred too, to sit there, knowing it was him who sent the utterly embarrassing (albeit pretty) invitation. Arthur mulled over his choices. If he said no, he wouldn't have to go to the dance. However, Alfred would be very embarrassed and disappointed, not to mention upset. Plus, the poor guy wouldn't have a date for the event he'd been quite excited for (he'd been chattering non-stop during lessons about it; it drove Arthur mad). If he said yes, he'd have to go to the stupid ball and dance. Alfred would be happy though, and as much as Arthur enjoyed tormenting Alfred, he hated seeing him upset. He hated seeing Alfred upset more than he hated balls.

Arthur locked eyes with Alfred. He stared into those large blue eyes, and was certain of his answer. Still keeping eye contact, Arthur nodded his head, smiling. Alfred's face broke into a humongous smile, and he make a heart with his hands, causing Arthur to roll his eyes. This isn't love or anything. I just hate to see him upset. That, and he's Alfred.

Francis started clapping from behind him, smiling. Over at the Ravenclaw table, Kiku stood up and clapped too. Matthew, Ludwig, Feliciano, and Ivan followed, then Professor Dumbledore, and soon the whole school was giving Arthur and Alfred a standing ovation. The two looked at each other, and started grinning uncontrollably. Arthur found the whole scene very funny, and he presumed Alfred did too, for he was laughing with him.

"And you say you're not in love with him." Francis said, smirking. "Look at you. You were positively glowing when you and Alfred were staring at each other. Trust me, Arthur. I'm a master when it comes to zese kind of zings."

"I'm not in love with him, Francis! I'm laughing with him because he's Alfred." Arthur insisted, stil not able to completely wipe the smile off his face. Francis laughed, his purple eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Keep saying that, Arthur. I dare you to say it on your wedding with him." Francis said, his laughter turning into cries of disgust as Arthur turned his shoes bright green with a simple incantation. He laughed at Francis' pure horror, then glanced at Alfred, who was laughing raucously, frequently taking sips of his milkshake, and always smiling.

Maybe Arthur did love Alfred.

Only a tiny bit.

A teeny tiny bit.

Only about an atom's size.

Right?


A/N- Hi! Thanks for reading this! :D I got this idea after seeing so much UsUk Pottertalia pictures, and I couldn't help but think that it's the most adorable thing ever, so I decided to write one XD I hope you like it! I tried to keep them all in character (Ivan was the hardest ^^"), so tell me how I did! :D

Also, if you're a diehard Potterhead like me, you'll probably know that Hogwarts students would not be able to do any of these things this easily at all, especially if they're in fourth year (which these guys are). I just wanted to makethe story as Hetalia-like as possible, and I imagined France making the invitation very pretty and romantic, so that's what happened XD I doubt even Hermione would've been able to do the kind of things Arthur, Francis, Kiku , and Alfred did XD

So, once again, thanks for reading, and I hope another update comes quickly! 'Cause I have a tendency to be sporadic with those ^^"