I intend for this story to be much like my others: consisting mostly of drabbles. Future chapters may include angst, feels and translation humour. Please enjoy and review.
Axis Powers: Hetalia and Harry Potter belong to the almighty Hidekaz Himaruya and J.K. Rowling, respectively. I am simply trying my best to add decoration to the houses they have built.
Chapter 1: Lion Cubs I – Expecto Patronum!
Lyrical Title: These are a Few of my Favourite Things
Date of Writing: 11-12 October 2018 (I think)
Date of Typing and Editing: 13-14 October 2018
Warning: Possible ship tease, if you see it that way. Plus, Cantonese, Portuguese, Singaporean slang (I looked it up, please correct me if I am wrong) and flashbacks. I also apologize for any improper usage of Singlish terms – I do not live there and have little to no experience with the language. I mean no disrespect if I butcher the language, for it is out of ignorance. (I try to keep it mild.) In addition to all that, I apologize in advance for political and historical inaccuracy due to, once again, ignorance and Wikipedia being my main source, so please forgive me.
May 1959
"Class, your NEWTs are coming soon. Remember to study hard for them – they determine your future," the DADA professor, a new-blood known as Evelyn Wilson reminded the class. The two Asian boys (or rather, not-quite boys, for both of them were probably older than everyone else was in the room combined, excluding each other) glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Well, they don't determine my future. Nice of you to say for the children, though. The bell rang. "See you next week, class! Remember to bring your notes, because we'll be going over them!"
Two neutral-expressioned Asians walked out of the classroom. One had dark, almost black hair in an androgynous style and had a book bag slung over his shoulder. The other one had neat, deep brown hair and tan skin, and was carrying his books in a satchel. Both of them sported scars, but they were hidden underneath the black robes with green and blue lining (respectively) called the Hogwarts uniform.
"So…Patronus Charm? Keep away Dementors and Lethifolds?" asked the one with the darker hair. He was the one wearing Slytherin robes. He did understand what was taught during the lesson, but you know, a little confirmation chat like this helps with studying. Just the thing for two academic achievers.
"Just Lethifolds for us. We are tropical. Dementors not big threat." responded the other, in Ravenclaw robes.
"Subtropical," corrected the Slytherin. He appeared to be of Chinese origin.
"Just you ah, Kiasu Harbour. Not me."
"First to cast Patronus, get 10 G from other." The Oriental was showing the slightest hint of a smirk.
"Okay," agreed the not-really-an-Oriental (no matter what half of the world would say. Idiots, the lot of them. Have they ever paid attention to a world map, or even in Geography class?).
That night
Singapore sat on his bed, going through wisps of memories. After a while, he came across this.
It was late January, 1841. He saw a small child, appearing the age of four or so being carried into the house, pounding on the satisfied Englishman carrying him, shouting in mostly Tanka Cantonese and Fujianese/Hokkien. None of the words were profanity, but he could catch many threats, like the one to strangle the man with a fishing net, as well as one of the few in Hakka as opposed to the other two languages – to bludgeon his head in with a cooking pot. It was frankly quite amusing to see a young child yelling death threats at the Personification of an Empire, and…quite adorable too, considering that said young child was but an island or some, much like himself. Wait, had he just called him 'cute'? He didn't even know the kid's name!
The child had grown up to be Hong Kong, the Entrepôt-City whose territory expanded, first in 1860 to the mainland of Asia, and once again (by a lot more) in 1898 up to the south of a river further north into mainland Asia. So very competitive and…hold it, was he thinking about his Slytherin…companion again? What the heck?
"Hey brother
There's an endless road to rediscover"
-Avicii, Hey Brother, 2013
It was early in the year 1888. England was taking him to visit his close friend, Portugal…and his new colony, apparently. Upon their arrival, he was greeted by two faces known to him, one vague and one oh-so-familiar. The first was a man with longish hair. The first foreigner to see him, when he was a mere chibi, who was chased away to his brother by Yao Gor in like, the early 1520s. The other was an older child, perhaps nine or so in human years while he was only six or seven, with neat hair and glasses, also was his brother, his only blood brother. He had not seen his sister in…probably since before he was taken.
He wanted to wrap his brother, his true brother in a big hug, but he could not – blame the blond holding his shoulder, like a restraint…no, it was a restraint.
"Leon, this is Ezequiel – Portugal and his newest Colony, Vicente – Macau. Ezequiel and Vicente, Leon – Hong Kong."
"Pleasure to meet you," said his brother, as though he were…a mere stranger.
"Hello, menino, we have not seen each other in, what is it again, three centuries?" greeted the other Empire. He said nothing as he ignored most of the fancy small talk, until they…gave the two colonies some inter-colony bonding time, since the Empires were both close friends, it seemed good if their Colonies got along too.
Screw bonding, it was a reunion between two neighbours, no, brothers. Blood brothers. They had known each other far longer than the time the Empires knew them.
"Oi, Lung-Tsai." His brother's embrace was warm, like home…at least he wasn't alone among all the great big Nations.
"Hallo, Ka-Lun."
"Expecto patronum!" He had tried a dozen times, but finally, a blob of silvery white erupted from his new wand (in use for only a little more than thirteen years), hovering over the eiderdown quilt. The lake water splashed against the windows in the late night. Well, freshwater isn't as good as seawater, but it's close enough. For once, a smile adorned the Hongkonger's face.
As for his old wand, which had been in use since before he was subjected to New Imperialism…no. Memories. No. The silvery blob faded into the air like morning mist instantly, vanishing under the glow of the silver lanterns.
A few weeks later
"Do you have anything else to show us, Mister Wong-Kirkland?" asked the examiner.
Ka-Lun. Liên. His blood family. His mother, even though she was…gone before even he was even brought into the Qing.
Night sky. Stars. Tales of forbidden lovers and mythical creatures and gods and goddesses. Tradition. Superstition. Myths and legends, or are they?
Food…the usual, not the ash-like scones that Arthur makes. He's going to need some cooking lessons soon. He almost smiled.
Vitasoy. Tea.
Competition. Honour. Glory.
Justice. Perseverance. Solidarity.
Hope.
Friendship. Ethan.
"Expecto patronum." The silvery white shape erupted, once again, from the tip with the pearl focus gem, unlike the citrine in the first wand. And the creature started materializing…it was a bird. A white swan-like bird, standing upright, but its beak was dark and was shaped like one of those western wooden spoons used to stir batter and dough and stuff…a black-faced spoonbill.
How odd. Not exactly what one would call a cool Patronus, but still a Patronus.
"Ethan, you owe me ten."
Summer, Late 1980s
Seriously.
You'd think that Lethifolds only dwell in tropical regions.
Yep, it did happen in the subtropics too.
Singapore was just visiting his…friend – he got news that the Kiasu Harbour had just got his third SAD (Sorcerer's/Sorceress' Academic Degree) in Spellcrafting. He himself had joined Hong Kong in their first SAD – Worldwide Magical Societies, on the cultures of magical communities around the globe after his independence and things had started to cool down in his then quite-recently-established Republic. Their final year project was based on Rappaport's Law and its effects – they even got themselves an info source with firsthand experience with the Law…from beginning to end. Of all the ten grades, they got an A (90%-100%) for that. For their second SAD, Hong Kong went for Ancient Runes (probably because of ancient Chinese characters) while he studied Magizoology…to find a way to prove to the World that Merlions existed. (Of course, he was planning to take Magizoological Discovery in a few years, perhaps.)
Hong Kong had invited him to meet at Arca Beach on the campus of his University of Sorcery and Enchantment. It was part of the Faculty of Magibiology and housed one of the research labs for Magizoology, which his…companion hadn't studied since his post-Hogwarts local extra studies (while he was off dealing with Malaysia and independence and all that chaos), but it was open to all…except for inside the lab, but they weren't going in there, were they?
"Wei, Sing-Ga-Bor!" His partner-in-crime (or reasonable lack thereof) had somehow got onto the roof of the white-walled lab.
"Kiasu Harbour…how you get up there ah?"
"Tai Hang," came the simple response.
"Oh." Tai Hang was the name of his Fyrserpent Familiar. His own was a Merlion…which no one else believed to exist. Typical World to bury their heads in the sand like ostriches…
They had been talking for a while (read: until like, 10pm, and Hong Kong was barely even tired yet, it seemed) when a dark presence showed up.
"PK lah, kupwuhnyi!" And…yeah, that's a Lethifold in the subtropics. Because weird stuff always happened around Nations.
The tembusu wand was out before the bauhinia one. "Expecto patronum!" From the tip leapt a…lion-headed, fish-tailed creature.
"Patronuses can't be nonexistent creatures! Everyone knows that!" Singapore laughed after about five minutes of complete silence (excluding the waves crashing against the sand and the stereotypical crickets chirping their iconic sound whenever there's dead air). "That should teach them all! Merlions do exist, asshats!"
Kiasu is a Singlish term stemming from Hokkien for 驚輸, or fearing to lose (literal translation). It usually refers to someone who thinks of themselves first and is always trying to get ahead in one way or another (quote Wikipedia), or is overcompetitive. This here refers to Hong Kong's overall competitive (even cutthroat) nature I mentioned in like, Chapter 5 of DiverCity.
That small Not-Really-an-Oriental rant is due to the common stereotype that Singapore is located in China. On the contrary, Singapore is in Southeast Asia, and not exactly anywhere near China, despite having a majority of their population being Chinese.
As for what HK was doing in England's hands in January 1841 as opposed to late August the year after, here's the thing: in late January 1841, some British sailors or whatever landed on Hong Kong Island and planted the Union Jack there the next day. So, I kind of see it as a kidnapping.
HK speaking in Hakka when pretty much all of the Hakka population was living in the New Territories is foreshadowing that he would get the NT.
In 1860, the Convention of Peking (or Beijing) was signed, which ceded the Kowloon Peninsula to the British Empire, making it an expansion in territory for HK. In 1898, with the Convention Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory, the New Territories (the areas north of what is now Boundary Street, yet south of the Sham Chun/Shenzhen River, as well as the surrounded 200-something islands) was leased to the British Empire for 99 years, making it another extension in territory.
The thing about Portugal and HK in the early 1520s goes somewhat like this: they tried to trade in this place called Tamão Island or something, which is now Tuen Mun, a part of the New Territories now. They were chased away by the Ming in 1521, and so they went to Macau.
In 1887, Macau officially became a Portuguese colony. I gave Portugal the name Ezequiel, with Costa being one of his surnames (I think he has more than one, with help from certain sources). I have given Macau the name Vicente since The Hetalia Games – Season Two, but only decided on his Chinese name – WONG Ka-Lun, or 王家麟. 麟 is a reference to the Qilin, a Chinese mythical creature, like how 龍 for HK is 'dragon' in Chinese – another Chinese mythical creature.
The seawater comment is because HK is a coastal city with limited access to freshwater.
Menino apparently means (young) boy in Portuguese. Oi is apparently an informal way of saying hi in Portuguese. This is all according to Collins Dictionary (English-Portuguese variation) and Wikidictionary.
The thing about stars and forbidden lovers...maybe in a less magical future chapter.
Perseverance and solidarity are part of the Lion Rock Spirit, or HK's core values (since the 1970s, but who cares). The 'justice' part is alluding to the modern Lion Rock Spirit, with true democracy and stuff.
The Fyrserpent and the Arca are magical creatures created by Featherhooves and me. I will explain them later on. I will also explain the predicament with Hong Kong's old and new wands in a future chapter.
I might also explain the HK magical education system and the university thing later on.
Meanwhile, Tai Hang is the location where the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance takes place, which is a Mid-Autumn Festival event exclusive to Hong Kong.
For that stuff about Singaporean history, apparently, it was during the 1980s when the country settled down from post-independence pandemonium.
PK is one of the most versatile Cantonese swear phrases. Telling someone to do so means to tell them to "fall on the street", or drop dead. This is just one way of using this phrase.
Kupwuhnyi is the unofficial Romanization of Cantonese for 吸魂衣, or officially, Kap Wan Yi. It literally translates to Suck Soul Clothing. It is, apparently, Chinese for Lethifold.
The Tembusu is one of Singapore's most distinctive trees, according to my research. That's why it's his wand wood.
The Merlion, if you don't know already, is one of the symbols of Singapore.
And there it is for the Patronuses, wand woods and Hogwarts Houses (I think) of Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as their international relations (in magical terms) between the 1950s and the 1980s. I hope you enjoyed this, and please vote on what ships you want in this further exploration of international magic, from what I think. Reviews are always welcome.
Thanks for reading, and if you don't mind, note that pretty much all my other stories are on hiatus for now (as of my time of writing this).
-Talons, member of Houses Hufflepuff and Thunderbird as of three to four hours before posting this, according to Pottermore
[20-11-2018] Edit: I just edited some grammatical issues that I found when rereading my fic so far. Thank you for your understanding. I will also be holding my next chapter hostage until at least one reviews are submitted. THANK YOU~