《中国》

Just as the lights were about to go out in the Hufflepuff common room, Hannah Abbott ran over and tapped Yao on the arm.

"Professor Kirkland wants to see you," She said, looking a bit nervous.

Ernie Macmillan frowned. He was reclining comfortably on the sofa next to Justin Finch-Fletchley. "But I heard he was in Slytherin! What if-"

"It's fine," Yao assured him. "Profesor Kirkland is the caretaker of Raj and me... for however long we stay in Hogwarts. Our parents are still talking about it."

The truth was, Yao had no idea if a cure to the spell could be found by the end of the year, and he didn't want to go to a world conference the same age as Latvia and Liechtenstein. He could just come to Hogwarts again next year. God knows Harry Potter would need the help.

"Oh," Justin said, still looking nervous. "But if you're not back in an hour... we'll... umm..."

"Get Dumbledore," Ernie said flatly.

Susan Bones pursed her lips. "But Dumbledore was the one that hired Professor Kirkland! We should go look for Yao ourselves!"

"Absolutely not! That is very much against the school rules. Furthermore, I must start reviewing the material in case a pop quiz should come up..."

Sighing in exasperation, Yao left his fellow Hufflepuffs to debate over the best way to "rescue" him should the need arise. As he was about to leave the Hufflepuff common room, Cedric clapped him on the shoulder.

"I know they're kind of... overeager. But we Badgers protect our own, 'kay?"

Yao smiled. "Like a family."

"Like a family," Cedric agreed.

Outside the cozy Hufflepuff common room, Yao shivered. The hallways were freezing. Another complaint for Dumbledore there.

England was pacing around fuming. The instant he noticed Yao, he opened his mouth, presumably to complain about the lateness, but Yao cut him off.

"My housemates got it into their heads you were going to murder me. I'm not sorry I'm late."

The European nation scowled. "Just hurry up! I want to go talk to Raj to make sure he doesn't try to enter, and I thought things would go smoother if you came."

Yao nodded. They made their way through the winding stairways of Hogwarts, having to backtrack several times, before finally making it to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Ma'am," England said politely, "We need to speak with Raj Ahmadi, so-"

"No!" She shrieked, tearing at her hair. "I do not want to run errands for other people!"

"But isn't that basically your job-"

"Then I quit!"

England groaned. "No! Just let us speak to him, and... umm..."

"No! I refuse! And go shave your eyebrows!"

"Why you bloody-"

The portrait slid open, revealing Fred's grinning face.

Yao breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to spend all evening arguing with a painting. "Thank goodness. Go get Raj for us."

Fred fake-pouted. "No please?"

Raj poked his face over, winking at Yao and England. "Asian parents don't say please."

Fred snickered, before going back in. Seconds later, loud bangs and raucous laughter were heard. It reminded him of the time Hong Kong and Taiwan thought it would be fun to have a fireworks party on Yao's roof. Several arrests and one pair of broken glasses later, the two (Taiwan, at least) were realizing that things didn't work out in reality the way they did in theory.

"Gryffindor is the best house!" Raj proclaimed while England and Yao looked horrified at the sounds. "We have so much fun in here, I bet Slytherin and Hufflepuff aren't a quarter as fun!"

England scowled. "Too much fun is what we're worried about."

Yao grabbed Raj by the ear and dragged him into the hallway while England shut the house door and knocked the Fat Lady out with a quick spell.

"Don't you dare put your name in the Goblet of Fire," Yao growled, twisting Raj's ear. "And make sure Harry and Ron don't try anything!"

"Ow! Let go of me, mum. Jeez, I thought it would be better in a different house."

England glared at Raj. "Yao's right. Things will be even more chaotic this year. You're in the same house as Harry, so you must be responsible, do you understand?"

Raj glared back, freeing himself from Yao. "I know! Now let me go back to my dorm."

Yao sighed. "Fine." He gently brushed some of Raj's attached strands of inky hair out of his face. "Be careful, 好吗?"

Raj nodded, his expression softening as he fondly touched Yao's hand before brushing it away. "Main main tumhen chhod aur kabhee nahin hoga vaada."

Stuffing his hands in his pockets with his back slouched, he turned and disappeared into the portrait hole after reviving the Fat Lady.

After he left, England grimaced. "I knew things would go much smoother with you around. But no surprise, considering the colonization."

"Just apologize to him."

England sighed. "My colonization of him modernized him."

"And it took away his pride. But let's not debate amongst ourselves about that for now. We have a 14-year-old boy to keep alive."

6/26/2017

*Google translates things because I don't know a single word of Hindi*

*Cries*

Also, as of right now, this is my longest story! When I'm done with it, it'll become my longest finished story so far. And then maybe something else will take its spot. This is a constantly changing world, just likes the passing seasons, except I live in California and there aren't really seasons over here.