CHAPTER NINE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF BURNING
It was only the second day of classes, and already Canada was so worried he was starting to get a stomach ache. America had told him all about Hagrid's disastrous first lesson at dinner the previous night, and though he'd mostly just talked about his own little adventure with Buckbeak, Canada was able to infer that Hagrid would most likely be completely demoralized. On the bright side, so long as Malfoy was playing up his injuries and staying in the hospital wing, he wasn't in class bothering everyone else.
Another cause for worry was America. He was still wearing his contacts in spite of how obviously uncomfortable they were, and every time someone noted the absence of his glasses he got a strange facial twitch. His eyes were a bit bloodshot, though judging by the equally faint dark circles under his eyes he could just not be sleeping well, which was another bad thing. He seemed to be back to his old cheerful self for the most part, but the way he'd sometimes stare off into the distance with a miserable expression spoke volumes. Canada had spoken with him at breakfast with the intent of asking what was wrong, but his expression when Canada tried to steer the conversation towards the Dementor made him back off immediately.
And then there was Canada himself. He was trying his best to put the feelings the Dementor had stirred up behind him, but he was struggling. It had been centuries ago, after all. If someone had asked him just last week what it was like to be handed over to England he would have said it was difficult, but he had adapted and almost never thought about it nowadays. If someone were to ask him that question today, however, he probably would have gone a bit pale and tried to change the subject. It was as if the Dementor had ripped open a wound that had long since scabbed over, and now it was bleeding as much as when it was first inflicted.
All these things were whirling around Canada's head as he and his fellow Hufflepuffs headed to their first History of Magic class of the term. He really didn't want to have to face England at the moment, partly due to his failure to find out what was troubling America and partly due to the pang of fear in his heart every time he laid eyes on the older nation. The logical, adult part of his mind knew that it was ridiculous, and he could trust England, but the emotional, child-like part couldn't forget all the scary stories France had told about him and how intimidating and unapproachable he had seemed when Canada was a child. To make matters worse, the Hufflepuffs in his year shared History of Magic with the Slytherins. At least Malfoy wasn't around to ruin yet another new teacher's first lesson.
Upon entering the classroom, Canada made a beeline for a seat at the very back. He opened his copy of A History of Magic and propped it up so that it was blocking his view of England, who was sitting at his desk going through some papers. He hugged Kumacaius to his chest and tried his very best to be invisible, and must have succeeded because a Slytherin whose name escaped him tried to sit on him. Hannah Abbott, a very nice girl and probably the closest thing Canada had to a friend in Hufflepuff, ended up sitting next to him, though apparently this was an accident because she smashed her ink bottle when he said hello.
Once everyone was settled, England cleared his throat loudly for attention. The class went quiet, even the Slytherins. Canada closed his book and laid it back down on the desk, but kept his eyes fixed on Kumayuki's head. The first thing England did was take attendance. Canada still refused to make eye contact as he raised his hand and said "Here, eh" when his name was called, and though England said nothing Canada got the feeling he was making a mental note of it. The only time Canada looked up was when England called out, "Malfoy, Draco."
Pansy Parkinson, a very unpleasant Slytherin girl, put up her hand. "He's in the hospital wing, Professor Kirkland," she said. "He was mauled by a rogue Hippogriff yesterday."
England sighed, monstrous eyebrows drawing together in a frown. "Yes, I've received a note from Madam Pomfrey excusing him from class." He clearly wasn't happy about this fact. "Though from what I've heard from both her and Professor Hagrid, his injuries – oh, wait, I'm sorry, injury, singular, was not all that severe and easily healed. Until he chooses to grace us with his presence, I expect his fellow Slytherins to make sure he keeps up, or else I'll have to deduct house points." The Slytherins all exchanged surprised and mutinous looks. That clearly wasn't the response they'd been hoping for. Canada couldn't help but smile even as he lowered his gaze once again when England continued down the list.
Once he had ascertained that Malfoy was the only one missing, England put down his quill, got to his feet and walked to the podium where Binns used to give his lectures. "Now, I believe you have all written essays on witch burnings in the fourteenth century over the course of the summer, yes?" There was a general murmur of affirmation and rustling as people reached to pull them out of their bags. "Excellent. Mr. Macmillan, would you please collect them and bring them up here?" Ernie Macmillan, who was something of a teacher's pet, jumped to his feet and eagerly began collecting essays. Canada barely had time to place his own on the pile before it was dashed away.
Once that was finished, England quickly rifled through them. "Hmm… I'll have to wait 'til later to mark them correctly, but I can already see some rather major mistakes. For instance, Mr. Goyle, the witch burnings were Muggles attempting to burn witches and wizards, not witches and wizards attempting to burn Muggles." He paused. "Well, for the most part, but that is a discussion for later. And this was supposed to be about the fourteenth century, Mr. Crabbe, not the fourth. Christianity was only just becoming legal back then." He put the essays down. "Also, though it wasn't in the grading outline, I should point out that only one of you noted that most of the people accused of witchcraft were actually Muggles, and that their deaths should not be disregarded." Canada looked up, surprised. Really? Did nobody else think of that? The Hufflepuffs seemed to look rather guilty, but the Slytherins were completely unashamed. If anything, they seemed confused by the notion that they should care about Muggles dying. Blaise Zabini raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Zabini?"
"Are you pureblood?" the Slytherin asked suspiciously. The rest of his housemates went quiet, obviously wanting to hear the answer.
England narrowed his eyes at him. "That question is completely irrelevant to the topic, Mr. Zabini, so I don't feel the need to answer it. Now, as I was saying-" Susan Bones, who had been doing nothing but stare dreamily at England since sitting down, raised her hand. England sighed. "Yes, Miss Bones?"
"Are you married, sir?"
That question certainly had a larger effect. Most of the girls suddenly started giggling, while the boys, Canada included, rolled their eyes. England stared at her blankly, mouth opening and closing a few times. He looked as if his brain had short-circuited. After a few moments he seemed to recover, coughed, and said in a rather high-pitched voice, "P-please ask only questions relating to the current subject. Now, as I was saying…"
For the first time in Canada's Hogwarts experience, nobody fell asleep during the History of Magic class. England followed the same general format as Binns, a.k.a. lecturing, but he did stop to answer questions and his lecture was much more engaging. Canada supposed that raising as many colonies as he had meant England had a lot of experience in teaching young people. Managing to drill some sort of education into the likes of America and Australia stood as a testament to his educational prowess. The lesson itself was mostly a review of things they had probably already learned in writing their essay, but there were still a few facts that Canada hadn't found or had forgotten. And, just to cement the good impression, they weren't given any homework, apart from a suggestion to study up on anything they'd missed out on. The rest of the class was obviously relieved, thinking England would be a laid-back teacher. Canada got the feeling he was just going easy on them for their first lesson, and once they got further into the term they'd be receiving a mountain of homework after every class.
Still, despite all this, Canada was glad when the bell rang and he could pack up his things and leave. Having England as a teacher had reminded him too much of his early days in the British Empire, when he was struggling to learn English and couldn't understand most of what was going on around him. If he had to face him now, he'd probably say something he'd regret. He'd almost made it to the door when England called out, "Matthew, wait a moment."
Maple leaf. Heaving a huge sigh, Canada stepped to the side and waited for everyone to leave. A few of his classmates gave him curious looks, and he was suddenly reminded of the fact that he hadn't told his housemates about his connection with their new teacher. It was little wonder they were curious about why a stranger would want to talk to him. Hannah was the last one out, and shot him a worried look. Canada gave her his most reassuring smile and closed the door behind her. He looked down at Kumahero, who gave him a reaffirming nod, took a deep breath, and turned to look at England.
The island nation was leaning against a desk, eyeing him critically. Canada struggled to suppress a shiver. "Still no luck on the Alfred front?" he asked.
Canada shook his head. "No. Sorry, eh. He seems to be doing better, though."
England ran a hand down his face. "That's good, I suppose…" He tapped a finger against the desk and stared at the floor. "Matthew, I…" He sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. I just wanted to… I mean…" He rubbed his forehead. "Forget it. Go catch up with the others. You don't want to be late for lunch."
Canada nodded, picked up Kumakiwi, and headed out into the hallway. He knew that there was no way England would have held him back just to ask a single question, but he also knew that England could be an emotionally stunted idiot with no idea how to say what he was feeling, so really that interaction wasn't all that strange.
A/N: Sorry this is late! Writer's block is awful. HAVE A HUG, EVERYONE! \(^-^)/ Okay, time for Q&A! To SilentMoonLace13: OMNOMNOMNOM! Oh, that's too bad, I hope you get a new one soon! As for the question... oh, God, I can't decide! I want them all to get out of there! Um... uh... Russia and China! (chosen completely at random) To A Random Duck: I'll try my best! Maybe putting Canada in Hufflepuff wasn't such a good idea... ah, well, c'est la vie. Um... I guess I'd kill Prussia (sorry, but you're already not technically a nation, so...), kiss France (he strikes me as being an excellent kisser), and marry Spain (he's just so nice and cheerful!). Sorry I didn't answer everything, I'm feeling kinda bleeaaurggh. NEXT CHAPTER: America has his first hero class with a competent teacher. See you all next time!