This is dedicated to one of my best schoolmates and neighbors! Thanks for tolerating all my Hetalia stuff and talking to me about countries and such! I'm gonna miss you and your weird obsession with Norse runes! This isn't PruCan btw, but if you want to see it as such, be my guest.

"I can't believe this!" Prussia exclaimed, waving his hands in the air like an inflatable tube man. "Why would West think that I need 'Time away from the nation'? I'm awesome! He should be wanting me to spend MORE time with him!"

Canada looked away in embarrassment. "Pr… Gilbert, can you please calm down? People are staring…"

Prussia didn't hear him. Or, at least, pretended not to.

"It's just so freakin' ridiculous!" he went on, "How's this so-called 'magical school' supposed to help me become more 'responsible'?!"

"Gilbert…"

Prussia whirled on the Canadian. "You're on my side, right, Mattie?"

Canada winced. He wasn't used to being put on the spot. "Well… I… uh…" Thankfully, before he was forced to answer an older woman came out to tell them and the other first years that it was time for the Sorting ceremony. Canada gulped and glanced around. He had heard some red-head talking about how his brothers said that the ceremony was painful. He was hoping that was just a silly rumor, but you can never be too certain. Prussia, on the other hand, wasn't at all nervous. The albino was practically bouncing off the walls in his eleven-year-old form. He boasted about his awesomeness to anyone that would listen - so basically just Canada.

With murmurs of excitement and nerves, the first years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry walked into the Great Hall to be sorted.

It was quite a spectacular sight for the students -new and returning- and for the nation's. But, of course, for different reasons.

Canada admired the Hall. How the candles floated in the air as if held by invisible strings, how the ceiling mirrored the sky outside like it was made of glass, and how the interest in ghosts swooped through the walls and around tables.

Prussia was less than impressed. He felt it could have been more awesome. He made himself busy, however, by announcing that he was the awesome Gilbert and would be seizing all of their vital regions.

The students all had their eyes on the albino shouting strange and probably inappropriate things. They were also watching the floating polar bear next to him. No, wait. There was someone attached to the polar bear too. But their main focus was the albino and the bear. And everyone waited to see what house these two strange people would get.

After a few minutes and a song from an old hat, it was finally time.

"Beilschmidt, Gilbert!" Crowed the same older lady from before whose name was Minerva McGonagall. Prussia confidently strutted up to the stool and sat on it as though it were a throne.

What that hat first said to Prussia to kill his pride so quickly is a mystery, but kill it did. Prussia deflated as soon as the head touched his head. It took a while to decide too. Eventually, with something that sounded like a sigh, the hat yelled, "SLYTHERIN!" And Prussia got up and joined his table (half of them cheering, half of them jeering ).

The sorting went on and on. Quite honestly, Canada hadn't even realized that his name had been bypassed until Potter, Harry was called to the stool, receiving a murmur of curiosity.

'Is it really Harry Potter?' the other children were whispering, but Canada wasn't thinking of the famous Harry Potter right then. He was thinking more along the lines of 'Oh no, they forgot to call me! Now what the maple do I do?'

When the last person was called, and that person was not Canada, McGonagall looked at her list in confusion. Murmurs erupted all around. Canada was now, for once, the center of attention.

"What's your name, young man?" McGonagall asked.

"M-Matthew Williams, ma'am…" Canada replied in his normal small voice, "You… you skipped me."

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

Canada's face flushed and he looked at the ground. A couple of people started laughing.

Before he could repeat himself, Prussia -once again about to make a scene- spoke up.

"His name's Matthew Williams!" He shouted from the Slytherin table, annunciating the name like he thought McGonagall was stupid, "And he's my awesome little birdie, who you totally skipped over!"

Now everyone was laughing. Canada had never felt more embarrassed in his life. He wished Prussia wouldn't call him 'birdie'. 'Pancake-Guy' was fine. Even 'Syrup-Friend' would be better. 'Birdie' just sounded so much like a pet name. Which, Canada quickly realized, it kinda was.

"I see," McGonagall looked at her list again. "I did indeed skip you. Well, come on up."

Canada did so, feeling the whole Hall's eyes on him. He sat on the stool and the hat was placed on his head, though it dropped down, covering his eyes.

He jumped when he heard a voice in his head.

Hello, Mr. Williams, or should I say, Canada. … … Of course I know who you are, I can see inside your head! … What do you mean it's rude to look at other people's thoughts? … No matter. Now, Williams, you have the kindness and loyalty of a Hufflepuff, that you do… but I also sense something cunning and ambitious in you. A fit for Slytherin maybe? No, no... You also have a thirst for knowledge, I see it here… aha! I know exactly where you belong. You shall go in-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

There was no cheering this time. Confused murmurs were exchanged throughout all the houses. Several people seemed to have thought for sure that the Canadian would be going into Hufflepuff or maybe even Ravenclaw, but definitely not Gryffindor.

Canada took the first empty seat he saw and sat quietly amongst his housemates. In a moment, they would all forget he was there anyway. He stroked Kumajirou (who was on his lap) and sighed.

"Woah! Hey, is that a real polar bear?"

Canada looked up. Some of the students around him were staring at Kumajirou with wide eyes.

"I didn't think they let polar bears into Hogwarts," a redhead remarked, leaning forward to get a better look.

"...They don't. It doesn't say so in Hogwarts: A History," a girl with brown, bushy hair said. She raised an eyebrow suspiciously, waiting for an explanation. Canada laughed nervously. He couldn't very well tell them that Dumbledore had made the exception because the entirety of Great Britain and Northern Ireland convinced him to. When Canada still hadn't answered, a pair of older twins took matters into their own hands. Sorta.

"So, you snuck it in, did you?" the two said in unison. "That's rather impressive."

"Well, I didn't really-" Canada tried to wave away the accusation but people were talking over him now, asking if they could pet Kumajirou. Canada smiled. People were actually acknowledging him. England had been right. Hogwarts was a great place to finally get noticed.

Food magically appeared on the tables after the headmaster, Dumbledore, gave a… speech and a list of things that were prohibited. Canada took note of all the banned things, knowing that Prussia would definitely try to break the rules.

Speaking of Prussia…

"OH GOTT NO THIS IS ENGLISH FOOD!" a familiar voice screamed from the Slytherin table. The whole hall turned to look at the scene about to be made. Canada slowly shook his head. Of course...

"THERE IS NO WAY I'M EATING THIS. NEIN. I REFUSE!"

At the table of the snakes, Prussia made a tactical retreat to underneath the table. Every single Slytherin was laughing uncontrollably. A couple were ticked off that their new housemate was insane, but they still laughed.

"Gil, come on, get out from under the table, please," Canada tapped on Prussia's shoulder. The Slytherin students in the direct vicinity jumped. They hadn't even noticed the Canadian was there until he spoke.

"No way!" Prussia whined, "If I come out, the English food will eat me! I'm too awesome to die!"

"Please, Gil?"

"Nein!"

"Just try it, the food probably isn't as bad as Arthur's…"

"NEIN!"

Canada glared at the albino, emitting an aura darker than Russia's. "Je vais te faire brûler vif si tu ne mange pas cette nourriture."

Prussia gulped. He slowly moved out from under the table. Canada smiled and watched Prussia cautiously try some of the food.

"Huh. It's actually… REALLY GOOD!" Prussia exclaimed, shoving a bunch of stuff onto a plate and eating like a starving wolf. Canada laughed and started to walk back to his own table when a Slytherin caught him by the sleeve.

"Hey, kid, what did you say to that guy?" the Slytherin asked with a disapproving sneer.

Canada tilted his head innocently. "Oh! I just told him that if he didn't eat the food I'd burn him alive, eh?"

The Slytherin gawked and released Canada in an instant.

"Well, I'll see you later, Gil!" Canada called, waving to his friend and walking away.

Around ten minutes later, Dumbledore called for silence in the hall. He announced that it was time for sleep and for the students to follow their heads of house to their common rooms. Canada tried to spot Prussia in the herds of children but he couldn't, so he let the swarm of Gryffindors carry him to the common room.

It was warm in there and very welcoming. The warmth was due to a lit fireplace against the wall; some comfortable looking chairs were set around it. A window in front of them all showed the dark outside. Canada couldn't see much out of the window, but he figured it'd be easier to see when it was daytime. Oh, and everything was color-coded to match Gryffindor's house colors.

"If you replaced the red and gold with red, white, and blue, this would look just like America's house," Canada murmured to himself. Kumajiro looked up at him.

"Who are you?" the bear asked.

"I'm Matthew," Canada replied.

"Oh,"

"Come on, let's go to sleep," Canada said, gesturing to the boys walking up to the dorm, "It's going to be hard work keeping Prussia from doing… whatever Prussia does tomorrow."

Kumajiro nodded and Canada carried him up to the room. They slept peacefully that night, except for that one time when Kumajiro pushed Canada off the bed, but other than that, it was peaceful.

Until the next morning.