Chapter One
A girl with short blond hair awoke from a dream. Her emerald eyes, glassy with sleep, vaguely looked up at the ceiling as she tried to recall what she had dreamed about. She only remembered being in a sea of grass, a ribbon in her hair. She had fingered it self-consciously, for as far as she could remember, she had her hair short for her entire life. For a brief moment, she stared at the sky. Light blue without a cloud in the sky. The sun was above her head, shining brightly. Then she thought she saw someone. A man wearing a dark green uniform, walking determinedly ahead as the grass parted from him, his blond hair slightly waving in the wind. The young girl tried to call out to him, but for some reason her voice was silent. Then he started to turn and that was all the girl remembered.
The girl named Alice Kirkland sat up in her bed. She ran her fingers through her hair, thumbing through the knots that had become tangled the night before. Her emerald eyes blinked, now taking in the sights that she saw every morning. A giant bookshelf located itself in the corner of her room. Alice stared at the spines, allowing the familiar sights to wake her up as she did every morning. The Legend of King Arthur…The Battle of Britain…The History of English Royalty… Across the room were multiple other items. Alice smiled at the sight of the stuffed lion sitting loyally across from the castle she had made out of Legos yesterday.
"Hello, Edmund." Alice crooned as she jumped out of bed and caressed the stuffed lion's cheek. She squeezed the stuffed animal, rubbing it against her cheek. Although she would never admit it, Alice still cuddled with her stuffed lion that she had gotten before she was a year old. Though she had stopped seriously talking to Edmund since she was six years old, the stuffed lion was a reassuring presence, especially during a bad day. Alice frowned at the memory of her – former friend telling the entire classroom that she still slept with the stuffed lion despite being ten years old. Which was not true…mostly. Alice had ended up being laughed at by the entire primary school for an entire week before everyone had stopped paying attention to her.
She was often ignored in school. Not that she minded. Although her mother often stated that she was an odd duck for being so interested in the history of England, Alice couldn't understand her reasoning. Did it truly matter that she was the most excited during St. George's Day in her house and wore a United Kingdom shirt, to the mockery to her class? Did it truly matter that Alice's favorite women in the world were Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth I, and Jeanne d'Arc, and not her mother? Apparently her mother minded, and Alice was forced to listen to her father tell her all the reasons why her mother was better "than two old hags and one delusional teen girl," in his words. Alice frowned, looking at the United Kingdom flag tacked on her wall. Am I…really that bad?
She thought about the things she enjoyed. Reading, of course. She also loved roses. Her father had bandaged her hands many times as a younger child for touching the thorns and not the flower. It was her job during the spring and summer to trim the roses, something she was happy to do and proud of. Alice loved it especially when the roses' petals bloomed, their petals such a dark red.
Alice eyed the pocket watch sitting beside her books. According to her father, he had bought it three years ago in an antique store. "You seem to really enjoy old things, Alice, so I bought it for you." The eight year old girl had embraced her father, never seeing the guilt in his eyes as she held the pocket watch, spell bound. It must be very old, Alice had thought to herself that night as she stared at the watch's face. It had Roman numerals with the numbers one through twelve. There was a chain, gold and in very good condition, although Alice never wore it around her neck. She had been shocked to find initials carved into the metal, clean and straight as if done by a master. What was more, the initials were the same as her own name. She had showed her mother and father, who appeared as shocked as she did at that moment when her father suddenly smiled and turned to her.
"Maybe you share the same name as the mate who made this, Alice. If so, that's a good think it was left in your hands."
The pocket watch had never stopped working, despite spending infinite time in the dusty store and on her bookshelf. Sometimes she fell asleep listening to the sound of the watch ticking. It was almost like the lullaby the girl heard in her head.
"Alice!" The girl jumped at the sound of her mum's voice. It sounded like she was calling down from the stairs. "Breakfast is ready!"
"Coming, Mum!" Alice put down Edmund and raced to the bottom of the stairs. Today was a special day.
It was the day that Alice turned eleven years old. Alice walked more slowly into the kitchen. The smell of scones and freshly cooked pancakes and bacon wafted through the air, and Alice sat down in the chair across from her father. At the sound of her sitting down, her father put down the newspaper he was reading and grinned at her.
"Happy birthday, Alice."
Alice gave him a small smile.
"Thanks, Dad." Alice watched fondly as her father started to read his newspaper again. Brain Kirkland was a fourth grade teacher at the elementary school across from town. Many people like the brunette, saying that he was kind and sociable. Wire-rimmed glasses framed his face, and Alice wondered for the first time of how she managed to have two parents who needed glasses and not having them herself. Her mother appeared, her light brown hair slightly wavy as she leaned down to give her daughter and husband a couple pieces of bacon and scones. The pancakes soon followed, complete with tea and milk for Alice.
"So. How was your morning?" Alice's mother, Emma Kirkland, asked as she watched her daughter use her knife to cut her pancakes.
"It was good." Alice stared at her mother's slight blue frames and her hazel eyes. She wondered whether she should mention the dream she had, thinking about the strange man for a moment, and decided not to.
"I can't believe my baby girl is already eleven years old," Alice's father said as Alice started to blush and her mother rolled her eyes. "Soon she'll be graduating from a university with a degree in history –"
"I'm not that old yet, Dad." Alice mumbled to her feet. Sometimes her father had a habit of speaking in such a way that Alice thought he was talking to her past self and not her present one. "Besides, I don't feel eleven. It almost feels like a normal day."
Her father smiled. "I know. You feel as if every day is a normal day unless it's St. George's Day." This time both her father and mother laughed at Alice's unamused expression. The young girl was about to reply with a retort when she suddenly thought she heard the mail being dropped.
"I'll be right back," she said as she exited the kitchen. She continued to hear her parents' whispers and chuckles as she went to the drop box. Alice picked up the mail, scanning the first letter. It was a letter from her grandmother she noted, with her name neatly printed across the heading. Alice smiled, tucking in the letter beneath her arm. The next couple of letters were for her parents. One about an electricity bill and another about taxes. Alice was about to leave when there suddenly was a whoosh and another letter collided onto the floor. Alice stared at the letter strangely. It appeared heavier than the other letters, and it had strange script written on the front. She took it in her hands and peered at it. Her curiosity increased at the sight of her name and her address on the envelope.
Miss Alice Kirkland
The Smallest Bedroom
St. Olive Street
Stonehedge County
She overturned the letter to find a red seal. Below the red seal was an image of a lion with gold and red, a raven with blue and light brown, a badger with yellow and black, and a snake with green and silver. All of the animal were surrounded by the letter H. Alice suck in a shuddering breath. She had no idea who had sent this letter, or why it was addressed to her. How did they know her name, or that she where she lived in the house? Slowly, she eased a thin piece of paper out of the envelope.
Dear Miss Kirkland,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Alice felt the letter slide out of her hands. She felt a strange nervousness course inside her as she stared at letter at her feet. What is going on? Her emerald eyes continued to widen as she hesitantly picked up the letter again. She blinked, but the letter appeared to be the same. It said the same words. Her mind started to turn. School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… She touched the paper again, surprised on how heavy it felt in her palms. Wizard…like the legendary Merlin? She stared at the envelop in her hands, staring at the animals surrounding the one alphabet letter.
It was only later when Alice's mother called her name did the girl realize what situation she was in.
Bloody hell…what do I do?
This is my first time writing a Harry Potter/Hetalia crossover, so please tell me what I need to work on. I also have not read the Harry books or been in the fandom for eight years, so please forgive me if I make some mistakes regarding the spells and whatnot.
