Isolde Meier wandered the train, a sleek German Rex (a breed of cat) curled on her shoulders. He was chubby, weighing down her shoulders, but she didn't mind his company. With her long blond hair and piercing ice-blue eyes, she perfectly resembled an Aryan; the race popularized by Hitler during the Second World War. She shuddered, remembering the bloodshed and terror that pierced through her soul, the cries of her soldiers dying.

She remembered Gilbert, her sister Wyn Meier-Beilschmidt's husband, being torn away from her at gunpoint. He had been handed over to Russia, or Ivan Braginsky, toyed with, beaten bloody. His pride and his country were gone, and so was Wyn's. Though they still were under Germany, or Ludwig Beilschmidt's control, their pride and all they had fought for since their primeval beginnings was gone.

Their family, the proud Germanic family, had been embarrassed and humbled before the world's stage; and when the assassins came, whether human or country, the World Meeting convened. Countries would remain silent, blend in with the humans, in an attempt to preserve their lives.

And now Isolde Meier, or the former duchy and country of Saxe Gotha, was wandering the magical train as they made their way through the countryside to a universe her brother deemed safer than the world.

Hogwarts.

Countries, immortal, couldn't die in combat. By their special status, Hogwarts had gladly welcomed them, finding that magic was a trait they all shared with the humans. Because the countries did not age any more than they wanted to, the family and other countries all blended in to the school

Isolde was twelve, already one year older than most of the wizards and witches entering the prestigious school. Though her sister and brother-in-law had been sorted into Slytherin, her brother was part of Hufflepuff. Other members of her family, including Switzerland (Vash Zwingli), Liechtenstein (Lili Zwingli), Austria (Roderich Edelstein), and Sweden (Berwald Oxenstierna), had been scattered among the four houses of Hogwarts. Vash was Slytherin, Lili sorted into Hufflepuff with Christoph. Roderich was Ravenclaw and so was Berwald. Ludwig rounded out the family in Slytherin as well; in essence, the family represented the entire spectrum of the houses, all except Gryffindor.

There was a reason for that.

Though the family was shunned and scorned not only for their past but for their primary house, Slytherin, they stood by each other, a bulwark against the angry taunts of Gryffindors like America and England. Gryffindor had swelled in population since the Second Wizarding War, when Slytherins escaped to be with the new, popular house, ashamed to be a member of the faction that Voldemort had controlled. "Cowards!" Wyn would snarl when they were mentioned.

Isolde patted Old Fritz on the head, and he purred in response. The doors to the compartment next to her opened suddenly, and she jumped back in surprise. A boy with messy, slept-on brown hair and a dreamy expression looked at her curiously. His skin was olive, framing his sparkling hazel eyes well. "That's a nice cat. What's his name?" he wondered, rubbing Old Fritz's forehead slowly.

"He's Old Fritz, and I'm Isolde," she murmured as the cat snuggled into her sleek blond hair.

The boy gave her a curious look, glancing at her appearance and plain black robes. She studied him in response, seeing his Ravenclaw emblem stitched onto his robes. His own cat was snuggled up to another one next to a short Asian boy in the compartment.

"Old Fritz, eh?" he raised an eyebrow. He pulled her into the compartment, closing the door and casting a spell to make sure no one would listen in on their conversation.

"Pleased to meet you," the Asian boy murmured as Isolde stumbled into a seat.

"That's Kiku Honda," the boy said slowly. He looked flustered and annoyed for a split second before looking Isolde straight in the eye. "Are you related to Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt and Wyn and Christoph Meier?"

"Yes, they're my brother and sister and-" Isolde stopped herself. I almost revealed that they were my brother-in-laws! Stupid me.

"Oh, good. Then you know our secret, right?"

"No…" Isolde began to say, but then she knew what he was hinting at. "You're countries?!"

Isolde and her twin brother, Viktor, were raised separately and in secret, not knowing their parents. She was rather sheltered for many years as Christoph taught them as much as he could, and had only seen Gilbert and Ludwig and the rest of the family several times at reunions and on holidays.

"Yes, we are," Kiku said, not once looking up from his potions textbook. "We pose as sixth-years."

"I'm Greece, I don't think I remembered to tell you my name," the boy said sheepishly, scratching a cat that yawned. "I'm Heracles Karpusi. Kiku is Japan."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Saxe Gotha, and mein twin bruder (1)is Saxe Coburg," Isolde chirped. "We're supposed to be second years, but-"

"Christoph and the Germanic countries are very protective, I only knew that Christoph had a younger sister, but he hinted that he was doing something important," Kiku said in a clipped tone. "I deduced from the evidence that-"

"Kiku's very intellectual, but also spiritual," Heracles explained. "He can sometimes get a feel for what's going on. We'll take you under our wing, because your siblings aren't the best people to be around. You seem nice."

"That's not true!" Isolde burst out. "They're awesome!"

"You sound just like Gilbert and Wyn," Heracles face palmed. "But if you stay with us, you'll find that you can be accepted more."

"What house are you going to be sorted into? Do you have a preference?" Kiku looked up at her finally. His glossy black hair was evenly cut around his head.

Isolde shook her head. "I guess I'd want to be put in Slytherin, because most of my family is there, but I don't know myself very well."

"You should join Ravenclaw. That way we can protect you," Kiku reasoned. "I was an Axis Power in my day as well, and I know your family well. Greece-kun was always by my side and we're good friends now."

"I'll see when I arrive," Isolde said uncertainly. But what would you protect me from?

(1) My brother

Hi everyone! Welcome to my new fanfic :) I hope you enjoy this concept! I tried to put as much background information as needed in this chapter. Please READ AND REVIEW and I will try to keep this up alongside the Wyn Trilogy!

In Essence takes place after the Second Wizarding War and after the Wyn Trilogy. Saxe Coburg and Gotha are younger siblings of Hesse and Silesia, and were not mentioned in the Wyn Trilogy because they weren't born yet. Parentage will not be mentioned, but they were NOT adopted. Thanks and please enjoy!

REMEMBER TO READ AND REVIEW :D

~Lauren