Gilbert didn't speak to Elizabeta or Roderich for the rest of the journey.
Mathias hadn't asked why he wanted to sit with him so suddenly, and Gilbert was not about to volunteer that information. There was something comforting about the Dane's energy, always upbeat and laughing about something or other. Mathias could be draining, but Gilbert found it impossible to be upset when around him. Right now, his company was exactly what he needed. So were the shoes, which he offered to lend him when he noticed that Gilbert seemed to have misplaced his. He didn't seem all too surprised, and confessed that the same thing happened to him every once in a while.
"Last time I lost them in a Pyramid in Egypt and had to walk back across the sand in the middle of summer to get to the portkey." He told him grimly.
Once the train pulled into the station he followed Mat and another tall, if slightly intimidating, blonde to the boats which they were instructed to climb into by a man who could be described in a word as 'gigantic'.
As they scuttled around the bend and down a narrow path, Gilbert was certain that he heard his name whispered by one of the students. Then another, then another until a chorus of whispers buzzed around the group between verses of 'oohs' and 'ahhs' as they beheld the castle for the first time. Every time he turned in the direction of one of the voices no one was staring, in fact, no one was looking at him at all. He got the distinct impression that they were deliberately avoiding his stare.
He climbed into the boat with Mathias and the scary blonde and a moment later they were joined by another student. She had glossy, copper hair which bounced on her shoulders and she wore a green headband to keep it back. Her smile was close-lipped but wide and her cheeks were flushed with excitement.
"Hello boys, lovely night," she said cheerfully, crossing her ankles and sitting down next to Gilbert. "I'm Emma Abel."
"Hi!" Mathias answered immediately and far too enthusiastically. "I'm Mat."
"Berwald Oxenstierna." Berwald contributed in an accent that Gilbert struggled to understand.
"That's a mouthful."
"Berwald is fine."
"Okay! And you?"
"The one and only Gilbert Beilschmidt." Gil managed a rather cocky smile and held out a hand to her.
Emma took it without hesitation, green eyes alight suddenly. "Oh! You're the one Vash was talking about. I like your eyes."
The smile fell from his face suddenly and even Mathias looked struck with surprise. Berwald looked between them, eyebrows drawn together in what was probably confusion but looked more like a glare. This was his first time meeting Gilbert, and as far as he could tell the boy was loud and slightly obnoxious, but certainly not worth talking about to other students.
Gilbert dropped his hand from hers, refusing to look over at Mathias who bit the corner of his mouth before grinning from ear to ear. He dropped his hand into the inky black lake and scooped up a handful of the water, splashing Gilbert. Emma giggled, lifting her hands up to shield her face, sacrificing her arm in the process.
"Oi!" Gilbert snapped, but a smile twitched in the corner of his mouth and he leant down, sending a small wave of water in Mathias' direction. The boat rocked as Emma joined in, splashing Berwald who looked anything but amused and was certainly glaring this time, only to dip his own hand down and send water raining down on both Gilbert and Emma who were laughing loudly and earned stares from just about every other boat.
"That's enough you lot!" The humongous man shouted gruffly from behind a bushy, black beard. "All in?" He called out from his own boat, "Right then – Forward!"
With the slightest jerk the boats all moved, cutting across the water like a knife through warm butter. They glided smoothly over towards the sandstone castle with its colourful windows and endless towers.
The water on the bottom of the boat seemed to be absorbed through the wood beneath their feet, making the bottom dry once more while leaving the four of them wet but smiling. Well, all except Berwald, but even he looked less stern than usual.
"What house were you hoping to be in?" Emma asked Gilbert who shrugged with a sigh and let his eyes lift to the castle looming ahead, tall and gleaming like something out of legend.
"Not Slytherin," he admitted, safely out of ear shot of Roderich and Elizabeta.
Emma's eyebrows arched up beneath her bangs, and her eyes grew a little bit wider. "What's wrong with Slytherin?"
"They're in the dungeons." Mathias said simply, and Gilbert snorted a laugh because honestly that would be Mathias' sole problem with that house. The only thing he hated more than the cold was being underground without a clear view of the sky.
"Not a witch or wizard went bad that wasn't in Slytherin," Gilbert quoted the infamous saying and now it was Emma's turn to look confused.
She threaded her fingers through her hair and brushed it back, combing the damp locks. Once it was neatly behind her she adjusted a silver chain around her neck so that the clasp was hidden; from it hung a large, purple stone which was embedded in silver and cut into a circular shape. It picked up the light reflected off the water and threw it back, glittering against the black of her robes.
"Well, my brother is in Slytherin and he isn't bad. I'll be really happy if I'm put there. Lars and I don't get to see each other all that much because I live with my dad and he lives with mum. It'd be nice to at least spend more time with him at school."
"That's really nice. I hope you get put there then," Mathias said, smiling warmly and Berwald nodded twice in agreement, expression unchanging.
Gilbert was not convinced, staring at Emma like she had just grown another head as she continued, "Anyway, it's just a house. If you're going to let a hat tell you who you're going to be then you can't think much of who you are."
"What hat?" Mathias asked.
"The sorting hat, Mathias." Said Berwald with a hint of what was probably exasperation.
"What? A hat tells us what house we're going to be in? I thought the Dumbledore did that!"
"No, it's a hat."
Gilbert looked down at his knees. There was a funny aching inside of him, somewhere between sadness and amusement. It was clear that people expected the worst of him, even Roderich to some extent. He didn't need a hat to tell him that there was darkness inside of him. Everyone was already saying that.
A warm hand suddenly touched his and Gilbert looked at Emma. He hadn't realized just how tightly his fist was curled, but relaxed it under hers. She was smiling up at the castle but her left hand played absently with the shinning pendant around her neck. "You can borrow this if you like." She said, pulling the chain over her head and flipping his hand over.
"Why would I want a girly necklace?" He asked, as she lowered the silver chain which coiled in his palm like a snake.
"Because it's amethyst." Gilbert looked apathetically at her, so Emma continued. "Like the Greek myth about the girl who became amethyst. I like her story, it's about purity and resolve. I think it will help you be yourself."
Gilbert's fingers curled around the pendant, the silver cold against his palm. "Pfft." He snickered, shoulders trembling with supressed laughter at the silliness of the conversation.
"What just happened?" Mathias asked, having been lost in his own conversation with Berwald regarding the hat; whether it talked, how big it was and if it hurt to wear it.
"Nothing," Emma said quickly as Gilbert pocketed the necklace, unseen by the two boys staring quizzically at them. "I was just saying that I think my robes are drying. I don't fancy making my first impression in front of the whole school wet."
And with that declaration Gilbert splashed her again, causing all out watery warfare to break out on their boat.
For the first time Gilbert thought that maybe being in Slytherin wouldn't be so bad. Or, that is to say: being in Slytherin wouldn't make him bad.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! There's just one left! Hopefully we will be filming with our Prussia soon~ I plan to have the next chapter out before that though. If there are any other back stories you're interested in for any Hetalia character we are happy to consider writing out theirs. Let us know!