Hello! I've been writing this for a while, in between chapters of HetaEmma. I'm going to label this as finished until I decide whether or not I'm going to continue it. For this story Nation powers just make citizens who feel loyal to their country more comfortable around their personification. As for 'Brittany Kirkland', she's Britannia. I'm going with her not having a human name back when she was still alive, so her children gave her a more modern name to use for covers and for when they're talking about her with humans around. The underlines are supposed to be strikes, since you apparently can't do those in Fanfiction.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Hetalia. Those were made by J.K. Rowling and Hidekaz Himaruya.
"Bloody gits." A man with very large eyebrows muttered into his cup. "The lot of them. Useless bloody gits!" He checked his watch.
"Bugger it's late…" He muttered. "I should be going home about now." He looked wistfully at his empty glass, then sighed. "Might as well get a move on." He stood up, paid the bartender, and made his way outside, wrapping his jacket around himself. He glared at the snow for a moment, then started walking to his house. Not looking where he was going, he ran into someone- no, two someones.
"Oh! Sorry about that. Are you alright?" A young woman asked. The man looked up from his new position on the snowy sidewalk to see a young women with flaming red hair and emerald green eyes offering her hand to him. He took it, and she helped him stand up.
"No no, it's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." The man replied. The woman looked him over.
"You look positively frozen! Poor dear." She looked at her husband? Boyfriend? Fiance? "Can we invite him over?" He chuckled.
"I'm fine with it, but you might want to ask him." The woman turned to him.
"Would you like to come to our house for a cup of tea?" The man with the bushy eyebrows stared, but nodded.
"Thank you. My name is Arthur Kirkland by the way, what's yours?" Arthur asked as they started walking.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I haven't told you our names yet! I'm Lily Potter, and this is my husband, James Potter." Arthur looked at them in astonishment.
"Lily and James Potter? I'm sure I've heard of you…" He said, almost to himself.
"Are you a wizard?" James asked curiously. Arthur straightened up a bit.
"Oh, so that's where I know you from! Yes, I'm a wizard, even though I don't get involved with the wizarding world much nowadays." Arthur said as the Potters lead him to their house. James opened up the gate and they went inside.
"Here, let me take your coat." Lily said, and she hung up his coat. Arthur chuckled.
"I never expected the famous Potters to be so welcoming." He mumbled. Then he blushed. "I didn't mean that I thought that you would be rude or anything but I just thought that-" He was interrupted by Lily's laugh.
"We understand. But it's weird, I feel like I've met you before." Lily said. "Like an old friend that I've forgotten…"
"I feel like that too." James admitted. "We haven't met before, have we?" Arthur shook his head.
"No, but I get that a lot. I suppose I just have one of those faces." He replied. He was lying of course, he knew why the couple felt so at ease with him. All loyal citizens felt some sort of connection with their country.
"I've got it!" James announced suddenly. "I've seen you in the Ministry before, haven't I?" Arthur nodded slowly.
"That's possible." He decided. James continued thinking, trying to place Arthur's face.
"You were- Wait, were you going to the Minister's office?" He asked. Arthur shrugged.
"Probably. I work for the Queen, as an advisor. Since I'm magical, I also get used as a liaison to the magical government." Now they both looked impressed.
"You've met the Queen?" Lily gasped. Perhaps 'impressed' was an understatement.
They had talked well into the night, before Arthur convinced them (and himself) that he really needed to head home. He thanked them for their hospitality and promised to write as he stepped through their fireplace.
He stayed true to that promise, and the Potters soon became his favorite pen pals. Arthur ranted to them about his co-workers, twisting his words slightly as to not reveal their secret. After a while he decided to let the into his home, since they had so graciously allowed Arthur to visit theirs.
"Arthur!" Lily said happily as she exited the fireplace. "It feels like it's been so long!" Arthur chuckled in response.
"It's only been a few months." He replied.
"Only a few months? It's been half a year, mate!" James complained as he stepped through. Arthur sighed. WIth a lifespan like his, time seemed to pass quicker.
"That is quite a while." He admitted. "But how is Sirius?" Arthur had met the Potter's lively friend a while ago, along with the other Marauders. He and Remus had gotten along well, but Sirius had been possessive of his friends at first. It took a while, but he relaxed and they had all become friendly.
"As rowdy as ever." Lily laughed. "Just last week he turned my hair purple!" Arthur laughed with her as they moved to sit down.
"I'm surprised that he still has his head." He replied.
"It was a very near miss on Lily's part." James said, before lowering his voice conspiratorially. "I think that the only reason he's still with us today is that Lily's not used to throwing rolling pins."
"James!" Lily scolded, swatting James's arm as Arthur laughed. "Anyways, Arthur, Dumbledore still wants to meet you." Arthur groaned. He had heard of the leader of the light, and had a feeling he would turn any conversation into a not-so-subtle recruit attempt. He was already feeling the effects of Voldemort's reign of terror, he had no wish to join the fight himself. Fighting against an external enemy was one thing, but this was a small civil war!
"You know that my position means that I can't join either side, Lilly." He said sternly. They had engaged in numerous arguments about this before. "Rosemary!" He called. A house elf appeared.
"Yes, Master?" The elf asked. "What can Rosie do for him and his guests?"
"Can you make us some tea, please?" Arthur replied.
"Of course, sir. What kind of tea would you like?" She asked.
"Does Earl Grey sound good?" Arthur asked his guests. They agreed, and Rosemary quickly brought them Tea and biscuits.
"We didn't just come for a social call." Lily said, breaking the comfortable silence they had. Arthur raised one bushy eyebrow.
"Oh?" He asked. Lily smiled.
"I'm pregnant." She announced. Arthur almost dropped his teacup in shock, choking on his tea whilst doing so.
"Pregnant!?" He gasped. James was grinning like a luntic.
"I know!" He gushed. "We'll soon have a mini-me running around!" Arthur shook his head in disbelief.
"Like one of you wasn't enough." He grumbled good naturedly. "But- Congratulations! I'm sure you two will make great parents."
"We've decided on Sirius as the Godfather, and are leaning towards Alice for the Godmother." Lily said.
"Alice?" Arthur asked. "Longbottom?" Lily nodded.
"She's a friend from my Hogwarts days." She explained. "She and her husband are also Aurors." Arthur nodded absently, contemplating the news.
"She sounds like a good choice then."
With that, the discussion ended. The Potters left several hours later.
Arthur was, unfortunately, up late doing paperwork when the fire suddenly blazed to life.
"Arthur!" James's voice called out from the flames.
"Yes? What is it?" Arthur asked.
"Arthur- I'm a father!" James said ecstatically. Arthur relaxed and leaned back into his chair.
"That's wonderful, James! Congratulations!" He said happily, glancing at his paperwork. "I'll be over soon, if that's alright with you?"
"Of course!" James replied, before giving Arthur the floo address. Arthur stepped into the flames and came out to what looked like a small party. Sirius and Remus were there (though Peter was nowhere to be seen), and Lily was glaring at them all through exhausted eyes. James was holding his one-day-old son close to his chest, beaming.
"Arthur!" Sirius greeted, before frowning. "You don't look so good." Arthur waved it off. He knew that Voldemort had taken his toll, but there was nothing that they could do about it.
"I'm fine, just busy." He replied, before going to look at the child in James's arms. "What's his name?" He asked.
"Harry James Potter!" James said proudly. "If he had been a girl, we would have named her Rose Lily Potter, to go with the flower names from Lily's side." Arthur chuckled at James's euphoria.
"I suppose I owe you a galleon, then?" He asked. He and James had bet on the child's gender. Arthur shot a quick glance at Lily, who looked ready to kill. He chuckled nervously.
"How about I take Sirius and Remus out to celebrate?" He suggested. "Leave you some time alone." Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Rumus put a hand on his shoulder and nodded towards Lily. Sirius quickly shut his mouth again and nodded. The trio quickly excused themselves, and Lily shot Arthur a quick, thankful smile.
Everyone stayed at the Potter's ancestral home for the night. Harry woke the up several times, so no one really got any sleep. Arthur offered to cook the next morning, but the Potter's house elf shooed him away with a large knife. Lily was exhausted, so Arthur convinced the Marauders to head out for the night so that she could get some rest.
They went to a pub, which was admittedly not one of Arthur's best ideas. As much as he denied it outwardly, he knew that he was… somewhat incapable of holding his alcohol.
"A-An' then," Arthur sobbed to the bemused trio. "He killed me!"
"Your own brother!" Sirius exclaimed. Arthur nodded drunkenly.
"An' it hurt too!" He complained. "I woke up on th' battlefield th' next day, all cover'd in mud 'n blood n' gore…"
"That's a horrible story, mate." James said, patting Arthur on the back. "But we should probably get home." Arthur looked like he was about to protest, but Moony gave out a loud (fake) yawn.
"Alright, if y'ur really that tired…" Arthur grudgingly grumbled. He stood up and swayed, but the Marauders managed to get him safely home.
As Remus, Sirius, and James lowered Arthur into his bed, the door banged open downstairs. The trio froze for a moment, before simultaneously dumping Arthur and drawing their wands.
"Moony, cover Arthur. Padfoot and I'll go check it out." James ordered, Auror training kicking in. The other two nodded, and Sirius and James crept downstairs.
"Iggy!" A loud, distinctly American voice called. "Where are you?" Sirius frowned, glancing at James.
"Iggy?" He mouthed. James shrugged, but gestured for them to proceed. They followed the loud footsteps- whoever had broken in wasn't trying to be stealthy- to the sitting room.
"He left his paperwork out…" The American murmured to himself. "He never does that." James poked his head around the corner to see the stranger's back. The stranger was wearing some sort of a brown coat, with fur at the neckline. He was also wearing muggle jeans. He looked like a muggle, but his hand was resting in his pocket. Was he holding a wand?
James glanced back at Sirius. "3...2...1" He mouthed. THe pair jumped out from the corner at the same time that the stranger whipped around, pulling something black and shiny out of his pocket.
"Freeze!" All three parties yelled at the same time. Sirius and James were at the doorway, pointing their wands at the American. The American was pointing a pistol back at them.
"Wizards?" The American asked quietly. "Are you some of those terrorists that's been messing with England?"
"We're members of the Order." James replied. "An organization that fights them." The American still didn't seem convinced.
"Where's Arthur?" He demanded.
"Upstairs." James replied.
"What have you done to him?" The American asked sharply.
"Would you stop that?" Arthur's voice asked from behind James and Sirius. "'M tryin' to sleep." Everyone turned to look at him, not lowering their weapons. Remus smiled sheepishly from behind him.
"Artie? You know them?" The American asked, surprised.
"Yes I do, Alfred." Arthur replied irritably. "They're friend's of mine."
"You don't have friends." Alfred replied dumbly.
"Oi!" Sirius protested.
"I do too!" Arthur bristled. "James, Sirius, Remus, this is my coworker, Alfred Jones. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed." He stomped back up the stairs. After a moment Remus followed after him, muttering about making sure he gets to the bed. James and Remus turned to Alfred to find him sitting on one of the chairs, gun back in his pocket.
"So!" He said cheerfully. "How do you know Arthur?"
They ended up getting along very well, bonding over their separate stories about Arthur. James and Sirius- despite their long pranking career- were impressed by Alfred's pranking ingenuity.
"So what are you doing at Arthur's place in the middle of the night?" James finally asked. Alfred shrugged in response.
"I didn't feel like flying home. Arthur's place was the closest." Sirius looked confused for a moment.
"Fly? How would you fly across the ocean?" He asked. Alfred looked confused for a moment before nodding to himself and muttering 'wizards'.
"I'm going to fly a plane." He explained. The two wizards still looked befuddled. "Y'know, the big metal things us Muggles use? We go to the airport-no, you wouldn't know that that is either. Um… big buildings with lots of foreigners?"
"Oh!" James said in realization. "Lily told me about them. Muggles get into big metal containers with wings to fly around the world!" Alfred flinched at the horrible explanation of his precious aircraft, but nodded.
"Really?" Sirius asked in wonder. "Muggles are so weird!"
"You can do it with magic too." Alfred offered. "At least, on a smaller scale. I know a guy who enchanted his bike to fly. Last I heard he was planning on doing it on a motorcycle."
"I thought that magic wasn't compatible with muggle technology?" James said.
"Only in concentrated amounts, and with highly electricity-based tech." Alfred explained. "But cars-especially old fashioned ones- can be enchanted relatively easily."
"Could we try?" Sirius begged, looking like an overexcited puppy. Alfred simply looked amused.
"I guess, but I'm crap with magic. If you do that, I can do the work on the muggle side of things."
He yawned and the clock struck twelve. "Anyways, I should probably head to bed if I want to be awake for the flight home tomorrow. If you kill me in my sleep, I will find you and return the favor. Good night!" Alfred disappeared up the stairs and Sirius turned to James.
"We're going to make a flying motorcycle!" He said excitedly.
"What is a motorcycle?" James wondered.
"No idea!" Sirius replied.
Arthur regretted letting his wizard friends near Alfred, but he regretted letting them near Francis even more. They would team up to torment (prank) him, but occasionally Francis had his uses.
"Bonjour, mes amis!" Francis greeted as he entered.
"Hello Francis." Sirius called back. "Do you have the goods?" Francis followed his voice to the sitting room and set a box in front of Sirius, James, and Lupin, holding baby Harry.
"But of course." He replied. James opened the box and peeked inside, before sighing in relief.
"You're a lifesaver, mate." Sirius told him earnestly. Francis nodded wisely.
"I assume that Arthur is with Lilly?" He asked. Lupin nodded.
"As he wasn't there at the time of the...incident...we thought he'd be our best bet at calming her down." He explained.
"Faa!" Harry agreed, waving his arms around. Lupin handed him over to Francis.
"What was the argument about?" Francis asked. The marauders glanced around at each other.
"Have you been keeping an eye on the war?" James asked. Francis frowned.
"What wa- oh, you mean those terrorist attacks?" James and Sirius looked like they wanted to say something, but Remus interrupted.
"Yes, that. Dumbledore got a tip that You-Know-Who- the leader of the group- will target Lily and James." Francis gasped.
"How horrible! Do you know why?" He asked. James shook his head.
"No, although Dumbledore might know something. He suggested that we go into hiding." Francis nodded.
"That does seem like the best idea under these circumstances." James looked down.
"By hiding he meant deep hiding. Do you know the Fidelius Charm?" Francis's eyes widened.
"That deep? Mon dieu, I hadn't realised that it had gotten that bad. This 'You-Know-Who', he is only one man, oui?" He said.
"He's extremely powerful, and knows dark magic." Remus told him. "The only one close to matching his power is Dumbledore." Francis frowned.
"If he is powerful enough to defeat You-Know-Who, why hasn't he done it already?" He asked.
"He's working against him. That's why he's set up the Order." James explained. Francis didn't look satisfied.
"The civilian group? Why isn't he working with your- what do you call them? Horrors?" He asked.
"Aurors." Sirius corrected. "And the Ministry is corrupt." Francis nodded. He was familiar with corrupt governments, as he had risen against several of his own.
"And what of the non magical side of Britain?" He continued. "Has Dumbledore contacted them?"
"What could the muggles do to help?" Sirius scoffed. Francis smiled dryly.
"You'd be surprised, mon ami."
"So Harry's in danger." Arthur summed up, sipping his cup of tea. "You want to leave the country, but James wants to stay and fight."
"Yes." Lily agreed miserably. "Voldemort's been focused on Britain so far. Dumbledore says that he can protect us, but we need all of the protection we can get. I'm not putting my son in danger!" Arthur nodded thoughtfully. As much as he appreciated their loyalty to their country, he would rather his friends be safe.
"That does seem to be the logical option." He replied. "Mothers do need to protect their children. There are many rituals to do this, though most are considered illegal." Lily turned hopeful eyes towards him.
"Can you tell me?" She begged. "Please, I'd do anything for Harry." Arthur nodded slowly.
"The bond between a mother and her child is powerful." He agreed. "Unfortunately, the reason so many are illegal is that they require a sacrifice of some kind to protect the child."
"What sort of sacrifice?" Lily asked. Arthur stirred his tea thoughtfully.
"The weaker ones only require blood." He said. "The strongest ones can include sacrificing your life for your child's." He frowned at Lily. "Which I would not recommend. You don't want Harry growing up without a mother." Lily still looked determined.
"I'll do whatever it takes." She said again. Arthur sighed.
"I'm not-" He was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. He and Lily glanced at each other.
"Wands out." Arthur mouthed. She nodded and they both drew their wands, creeping towards the door. The person behind it knocked twice. Lily peered through the peephole, then relaxed.
"Albus!" She said, opening up the door. "Come in, come in."
"Thank you, my dear." Dumbledore replied. He smiled in a grandfatherly way at Arthur, who was scowling. "And this must be Arthur!"
"Dumbledore." Arthur greeted shortly. Dumbledore chuckled.
"No need to be so harsh my boy. I only called upon the Potters to ensure their safety." He said. Arthur's scowl didn't lessen.
"Why don't we move into the kitchen?" Lily intervened. "I've got a fresh pot of tea. Do you want some, Albus?"
"Don't mind if I do!" Dumbledore replied. They moved into the kitchen, Arthur trailing behind. "And how is young Harry?"
"Fine, fine- oh, do stop sulking, Arthur!" Lily scolded, pushing Arthur's tea back at him. Arthur made a slight effort to not frown as much. Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"I don't believe that I've seen you before, my boy. Did you go to Hogwarts?" He asked. Arthur eyed him from behind his tea.
"I was homeschooled." He replied shortly. "My mother didn't want me far from home." Dumbledore accepted this with a nod.
"And who was you mother? I don't think I've heard the name Kirkland before." He continued. If Arthur was Alfred, he would've rolled his eyes. He could see Dumbledore trying to find out if he was dark or light oriented, as well as the status of his blood.
"Brittany Kirkland." Arthur replied. "She was a muggleborn." Dumbledore frowned.
"I am sorry for your loss. Did she fall to the Death Eaters?" Arthur had expected this, but was still taken aback at how quickly talk had turned to the war.
"No." He replied shortly. Dumbledore took the opportunity to change the topic.
"And I've heard that you work with the muggle government?" He inquired. Arthur nodded.
"I advise Her Majesty on several matters." He said. Dumbledore knew this.
"What are their opinions on the war?" He pressed.
"As far as they're concerned the Death Eaters are a terrorist extremist group. They're nervous, but the Ministry of Magic has kept them out of it." Arthur felt a twinge of annoyance at this. The wizards were so sure of their superiority that they believed the muggles to be practically useless, never mind that the muggles actually had an organized military.
"The ministry isn't the only group opposing the Death Eaters." Dumbledore said serenely.
"Yes, I've heard of your Order of the Phoenix." Arthur replied stiffly. Dumbledore nodded.
"If you wish to make a difference, you are free to join. We would be able to provide you with information-" Arthur interrupted him by coughing. Loudly. Dumbledore frowned at Arthur as he suddenly broke into a coughing fit.
"Arthur!" Lily panicked. "Are you alright?" The coughing subsided for a minute.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine." Arthur said. He stood up, grabbing his coat. "I think I will take my leave. Thank you for the tea, Lily." He turned to leave.
"The offer still stands, Arthur." Dumbledore called after him. Arthur ignored it.
Arthur was greatly annoyed with the situation he'd been put into. Her Majesty had ordered him to visit the Order of the Phoenix in order to get information on the war. He had already been introduced to everyone, and he was not impressed.
"So then, what do you think of the Order?" Sirius asked. Arthur was scowling.
"You idiots are going to get yourselves killed." He replied grumpily. "You have little to no training, your strategies are laughable, and almost all of you are civilians!" Everyone looked shocked to hear this. Arthur didn't know why, he was simply stating the facts.
"We have aurors on our side!" Gideon Prewett pointed out. Arthur huffed.
"Then they should be working with the Ministry!" Arthur shot back. He sighed heavily. "I appreciate what you're all trying to do, but at this rate you're going to get yourselves pointlessly killed."
"Why don't you join then?" Dumbledore asked. "You can help bring this organization up to your standards, and work as an intermediary between ourselves and the muggles." Arthur leveled a glare at him.
"I have a report to write." He said. "If Her Majesty wishes me to come back, I shall. Thank you for your time." Arthur turned and left the headquarters. A few minutes later Lily came after him.
"Arthur!" She called.
"Lily." Arthur sighed. "I'm not going back."
"I'm not asking you to." Lily replied. "I was hoping we could look into some of the protection rituals you were talking about." Arthur raised his bushy eyebrows in surprise, but accepted that with a nod.
"I should have some books in my personal library." He said. Lily nodded, and they both apparated.
Arthur placed a stack of books in front of Lily. "Here you are. These are in English. I'll look over the other texts. Let me know if you find anything." Lily was surprised at the age and abundance of these volumes.
"You seem to have a lot on the subject." She noticed. Arthur shrugged.
"My mother was interested in the subject. And I have been collecting for a very long time." He opened one of the older texts gingerly. Lily looked at him over her book, wondering for the umpteenth time just how old her friend was. He had never told them, and wizards often looked younger than their muggle counterparts. Arthur glanced up and caught her staring.
"Need something?" He asked. Lily shook her head and went back to her book. It was indeed in English, but the terminology was very hard to understand. This ritual was for protection against malevolent spirits. Not what she was looking for. She turned the page to see an old picture tucked in between the pages. The ritual for that page was some sort of summoning ritual. In the corner of the page someone, possibly Arthur, had scribbled something into the margins.
Note: Does not work. Summons Russia somehow. Lily frowned. Summoned Russia? How could it summon a country? She looked at the picture. It showed Arthur standing next to a tall light-haired man, who was wearing a scarf. She flipped the picture around to read the back. 1941- England (Representing Great Britain) and Russia (Representing Soviet Union) ally against Germany. This confused her. Arthur didn't look older than 25, and that was pushing it. Even if you took wizarding aging in as a factor, Athur should look much older than he did.
She put the picture aside and continued reading, deciding to go over it with James later.
"Arthur, can I borrow some of these books?"
"That can't be right." James said, staring at the photo. Lily pulled out another one.
"I thought it might be a fluke of some sort, but look at this." She showed him a picture of Arthur, Francis, and 'Russia' from the earlier picture, along with a sleepy looking man labeled 'Greece'. This one was dated 1821, War of Greek Independence. James frowned, looking up at his wife.
"Are they… immortal?" He asked. Lily shook her head.
"I don't know. But there's more." She pulled out a book she had borrowed from Arthur and flipped open to the bookmark. "There, see?" There were notes written in the margins.
England, you need to replace the salamander blood with honeywater. -Norway
No, I think rose oil would work better here. -Romania
The rose oil would counteract the bloodroot. -Norway
Would you two stop writing in my books! -England
He writes in the book. -Romania
James snickered at the comments as Lily reached for another book. She pulled a scrap of paper out of this one.
"This is a letter written to Arthur from a child that signed as 'the colonies'." She handed it to James.
Dear Engalnd. It read. I miss you. I know you had to go away in the big ship, but can you pleese com back reely soon. I promis to pra prak practice my letters every day like you told me too. My peeple have been having tru trouble with the natives.
I reely liked the present you sent me from afrika.
New England Colonies
PS. Can I call myself America? That's the name of the continent, right?
"So they call themselves by country names?" James asked. Lily nodded.
"If that were the case, Arthur would be England, Francis would be France, and Alfred would be America." She explained. James snickered.
"Alfred wrote this?" He asked. Lily whacked him lightly on the shoulder.
"James!' She scolded. "That was hundreds of years ago!" James stifled his laughter.
"So should we confront him?" He asked. Lily frowned.
"I don't know. What if he get's mad that we know? Will he have to erase our memories?" James placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Don't worry Lily Flower. Arthur is still Arthur." He replied.
Arthur glanced at the Potters, confused about why they had come. He and Lily still researched together, but he was under the impression that James wasn't involved.
"Is there… something I can help you with?" He asked. Scotland had paid a visit earlier, so he wasn't in the best of moods.
"We were just wondering if you had something to tell us, England?" Arthur tried to remember what he hadn't told them. There were plenty of things, actually. That he had given Harry the annoying toy dog, that he was a- oh.
"Bollocks." Arthur sighed. "What gave it away?" Lily held out a book, with papers stuck inside. Arthur glanced through them, smiling a little at the memories. After a moment he looked up, his face becoming serious once more. Standing up, he retrieved his wand. Lily and James automatically moved their hands to their wands as well.
"What are you going to do now?" Arthur asked quietly. His face was hidden in shadow.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"Are you going to tell anyone? Have you told anyone? Will you attempt to use it as blackmail? Will you attempt to control the nation through me?" Arthur listed.
"We'd never do that!" Lily protested, scandalised. Arthur shrugged.
"It's happened before." He replied dully. "So?"
"We won't tell anyone if you don't want us to." James told him.
"Even Sirius? Remus? Peter? Alice? Frank?" Arthur pressed.
"I…" James tried, his voice failing him. "Why can't we tell the Marauders? They wouldn't do anything." Arthur's shoulders tensed.
"After them who else would you tell? The more people who know the secret, the more chance it has getting out." He sighed.
"We won't tell anyone else. We can pretend like it never happened." Lily said firmly. Arthur turned to face them, twirling his wand in between his fingers.
"I could make you forget, if you wanted." He said quietly. James stepped forward protectively.
"We don't want that." He said fiercely. Arthur raised his eyes from his twirling wand to truly look at the Potters. A moment passed. Then another. Then another.
Arthur's face softened and he went back to sit in his chair.
"All right then. As long as you promise not to abuse or tell anyone, I'm fine with you knowing. I just had to make sure…" He sighed. "Nevermind all that. Come sit down, I'm sure you'll have plenty of questions for me." Lily and James exchanged a look before sitting down together. Arthur leaned on his desk, resting his head on his intertwined fingers.
"So what do you want to know?"
At the end of their conversation the Potters had trouble finding words for what they'd just been told. Arthur chuckled at their expressions.
"I'll let it sink in. Do you want some tea?" He offered. Lily nodded and he left.
"Lils…" James said. Lily nodded.
"I know James. This is…" She couldn't find the words.
"No wonder he doesn't want to get involved in the war." James observed. "Despite being Death Eaters, they're still technically his people." Lily saddened at the thought of the war.
"James, Arthur will last until the end of the war." She said slowly.
"Yes…?" James replied, failing to see where this was going.
"We might not. You-know-who's after us, after Harry. He could kill us, James." Lily continued. "He could kill Sirius, Remus, Peter- everyone!"
"He won't." James said, trying to comfort her.
"But he can't kill Arthur." Lily finished, trying to make her husband see her point. James still looked confused. "Even if the rest of us die, Arthur will still be around. So we could put Harry with him-"
"I wouldn't suggest it." Arthur said quietly from behind them. He was holding a silver tea tray, which he sat on the desk.
"Why not?" James asked. Arthur chuckled dryly.
"Don't you know your history? I'm notoriously bad with kids." He gazed at the world map hanging over his desk. "America, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, India, South Africa, just to name a few."
"You raised them?" Lily asked, her eyes fixed on the map as well.
"Not very well." Arthur replied. "And, as a Nation, I can't get too obviously involved. People will start asking questions that I don't have the answers to." He paused for a moment. "However, I can pass on a message? I know it's not much, but…"
"It's close enough." Lily assured him. "Can we write a letter and have you deliver it?" Arthur nodded.
"Of course. Do you want some time to write it?" He asked. James nodded.
"We'll go home and work on it now. Can we use your floo?"
"Of course. Contact me when it's finished."
The meeting was going as usual- that is to say, not very well. It had started when Yao had come in twenty minutes late, and Ludwig had begun yelling at him. Antonio arrived a few minutes later and Ludwig yelled at him as well, which made Lovino defend him (rudely) and Ludwig shouted at Lovino, so Feliciano defended him and Ludwig tried not to yell at Feliciano. Ludwig failed and Feliciano started crying, so Elizabeta got involved and pulled Roderich with her. Then Alfred took the opportunity to go online and got into a fight with Ivan over an unflattering image of Ivan's boss.
Francis had begun to make his way over to Arthur- no doubt to annoy him- when Arthur started coughing. It wasn't a regular cough, it felt almost… liberating. Francis was soon standing by his side.
"What's wrong? What happened?" He said, patting Arthur's back. The room quieted as all eyes were drawn to the coughing man. The coughs abated and a weight was lifted off of Arthur's shoulders.
"I- nothing bad." Arthur replied, trying to identify the feeling. The room relaxed as conversation started up again. Francis was still standing next to Arthur.
"But?" He asked.
"But there was a cost. Something was hurt." Arthur replied quietly. He glanced at his phone. There were no calls from his boss, so nothing too bad must have happened, right?
Arthur stood in the wreckage of his friends' house. It was early, just before sunrise.
"Lilly…" Arthur murmured, eyes fixed on the remains of a crib. "James...Harry…"
"Arthur." A voice said from behind him. "I...I'm sorry. They were my friends too and…"
"Alfred." Another voice said. Francis came to stand beside Arthur. "I'm sorry, Angleterre." Arthur bowed his head.
"Sirius was arrested. They say that he betrayed them, because he was their secret keeper. They say he laughed…"
"Arthur." France said more firmly. "Do not dwell on it." Arthur kneeled and picked up a stuffed owl. It was a British Barn, native to Britain. A gift from Arthur to Harry.
"He used to keep it in his crib." Arthur told the others. "I asked Dumbledore where he was, but he wouldn't tell me. The Ministry doesn't know either. They trust him blindly." The letter in his pocket felt heavier, far too heavy. "I can wait. Dumbledore said that he would go to Hogwarts when he comes of age."
Arthur was used to waiting. Francis knew this, as he shared the trait.
They could wait.
"It is September 11, Arthur." Francis mentioned. "Won't Harry be boarding the Hogwarts Express today?"
"He just entered a world of magic." Arthur replied, glancing at the stuffed owl with a letter on the book shelf. "I don't want to overwhelm him."
"Could you not send him a letter?" Francis prodded.
"This is the sort of thing you should do in person." Arthur replied, turning back to his book. France studied him for a moment before doing the same.
"Excuse me, are you Harry Potter?" Harry sighed mentally and turned to face the (somewhat rude) man who asked. He had unusually large eyebrows.
"Yes, I am." Harry told the man. Surprisingly his eyes didn't do the customary flick to Harry's scar, but instead settled on his eyes.
"I have a letter for you. I would have sent it sooner, but I wanted to deliver it directly to your hands." The man said, offering Harry a thick letter. "I added my number and address in case you want to contact me after reading it." The man frowned. "I do hope that they mentioned me."
"Erm… Thank you?" Harry replied, accepting the letter and inspecting it.
To Harry Potter
From Lily and James Potter
In case of our deaths
(To be delivered by Arthur Kirkland)
There was an address and telephone number written neatly under that. Harry gaped at it as his hands started to shake.
"Harry!" A familiar voice called. Harry's friend Hermione was dragging her parents towards him. "Who was that?"
"I…" Harry was too stunned to speak, the letter clutched in his hands.
"What've you got, mate?" Ron, another of Harry's friends asked, also coming up to him after reuniting with his family.
"Is that a letter? Who's it from?" Hermione pressed.
"My parents." Harry told them, displaying the writing on the front of the envelope.
"Bloody hell." Ron said as he read the writing. "Who's this Kirkland bloke?"
"He's the man who gave it to me. He said that the address and telephone number is his." Harry replied.
"I've never heard of an Arthur Kirkland." Hermione mused. "Do you think he's trustworthy?"
"Well I won't know until I read it." Harry replied, finger on the seal.
"Boy!" Came a voice. "Come on, I want to go home!" Harry winced.
"Is that your uncle?" Hermione asked, a faint look of disgust showing on her face. Harry tucked the letter away.
"Yeah it is. Look, I've got to go or he'll make more of a racket than he's doing now. I'll write to you later, I promise." He told them, grabbing his trunk.
"You sure you'll be alright?" Ron asked, looking at the huge man with almost a sense of awe. Harry grinned at the pair of them.
"I'll be fine. After all, I can use magic." He reassured them.
"But you can't use magic outside of school!" Hermione pointed out.
"We know that," Harry agreed, "But they don't. See you next year!" And with that Harry dragged his trunk over to his uncle, mind still on the envelope tucked away in his jacket.