As a young boy, Arthur always believed that one day he would finally meet his long-lost brothers. Despite the unfortunate circumstances of his birth, they would love him and care for him as though they were all fully blood-related. Past prejudices would be cast aside for the partaking of a celebratory family reunion. As a family, they would travel the country, or just the expanse of London, as Arthur simply wanted to spend time with his brothers. The adventures Arthur imagined accompanying his siblings were nothing short of extravagant, and their endings always came out happy.
On his eleventh birthday, a strange letter arrived on his doorstep, and for the first time in his life those fantasies had a chance of becoming reality.
Reading the calligraphy inscribing the parchment filled the boy with as much excitement as opening presents on Christmas day. His mother, a fair lady named Guinevere Smith, was happy about her son's joyful rambling, but inside a feeling of trepidation curled and writhed in her stomach. She had been dreading this day.
Years ago, Arthur had inquired as to why, if she was his mother, they had different last names. Taken aback, she floundered for a moment before giving in and telling him; his last name was Kirkland, not Smith, because Guinevere wanted him to have his father's surname. That led to more questions, and somehow the fact that Arthur had brothers slipped out and ruined the peace she had tried so hard to keep. He barraged her with even more inquiries about them, and managed to trick her into revealing that some were, at that very moment, attending a school called Hogwarts.
That's why Arthur was so excited now. He had been accepted to the very place his brothers resided.
Gently, the woman sat her son down and did her best to explain.
Explain that his brothers might not be as anxious to meet him as he was to meet them.
Explain that the Kirkland family held tradition to the very highest regard.
Explain that his very presence might insure some... disagreements within the school.
Arthur listened, of course, but believed it all to be poppycock. All he wanted was to meet his brothers, and he was certain that they wanted to meet him, too.
Later, the duo set out to gather Arthur's school supplies. They had never been to Diagon Alley, so most of the trip was conducted in confusion. The young boy, now knowing he was a wizard, asked his mother what the school was like. She told him she'd never been and left it at that. Still, Arthur wondered.
After a grueling day of buying books, receiving his very own wand, and picking out his fluffy companion, the two finally arrived back home. Arthur ran up to his room, his new kitten prancing along behind him. A feeling of apprehension had stayed with him ever since, in awe, he had accidentally ran into a man at Diagon Alley. The man had stared at him, eyes blown wide and mouth hanging open, until Arthur stuttered out an apology and dashed to his mother, who had just come out of a strange looking shop with cauldrons lining the windows.
Arthur couldn't help but notice how the man's eyes had almost exactly matched his own.
The train ride to Hogwarts was fun until a boy, no older that Arthur, opened his compartment door and called him a bastard. It wasn't until much later that he realized he wasn't being cursed at, but was being laughed at. Somehow, everyone knew that his mother never married, and that he was without a father.
Arriving at Hogwarts was one of the most magical things to ever happen to Arthur. A hulk of a man, Hagrid was his name, led the first years to the castle and didn't leave the group until they were inside and at the top of the steps, where an old woman, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, debriefed them on the basic rules of the school before leading the new students into the large dining hall. Hundreds of students were already inside and seated at four incredibly large tables.
The first years were told that, one by one, their names were going to be called and they would be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff.
The Sorting began, and one by one the eleven-year-olds put on the Sorting Hat that would decide their fate. When Arthur's name was called, an unnerving hush fell over the crowd. A group of Gryffindor boys, all sporting fiery red hair, gaped at him before nasty sneers appeared on their faces. At the time, Arthur hadn't know that these boys were his brothers.
He sat on the stool and placed the Hat on his head. After five minutes, it bellowed out a single word: Slytherin!
Arthur hadn't known it then, but he had inadvertently broken the family line, becoming the only Slytherin in the Kirkland family since the clan even began.
He hadn't known it then, but all hopes of his brothers loving him shattered and turned to ash in those short, few seconds.
Hello there! I just recently started reading Harry Potter (I'm just about to start the fouth book) and a plot bunny appeared with a Hetalia/Harry Potter crossover. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this one... I haven't been the best with maintaining chapter fics...
With the Explaining bit, Arthur is the result of an affair between his wizard father and muggle mother. It was a huge scandal in the wizarding world when they were found out, since his father was a married man with four kids, and it became even bigger when they found out she was pregnant with Arthur. The Kirkland family, being all traditional, automatically hated Arthur and his brothers were brought up around all that hate for him. The Kirkland family is also one of the leading families in the wizarding world, kind of like how the Malfoy family is, so they are very influential.
I hope that helps. My friend who helped edit this didn't understand that part, so I decided to explain it now to avoid unnecessary confusion. It was going to be explained later anyway, so I thought I would go ahead.
Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!