Back again, after yet another long break - nearly a year this time - but I'm back and that's the main thing.

I'll keep it short this time, but as usual, I'll say a quick thanks to the people who reviewed last time;

Gerbilfriend – I love the fact that I reviewed as you were reading. I've only experienced that once (reading somone's chapter and seeing a new one when refreshing the page – it was a good feeling) – sorry you had to wait longer this time. I'm glad you liked what I wrote about Draco, in my head cannon, if someone is ignorant of personified nations and loyal to their country, they dislike conflict with their personified nation. Again, that only works if the individual is loyal to the country, so for someone like Bellatrix, it probably wouldn't work.

Unseated4th – Thanks for the review (and for editing). I loved the Crabbe, Goyle and the polkadot underwear scene – it'd be so awkward to see, but I could definitely see it happening.

Cutoutscout – Thank you for the review, I hope you like the new chapter – not a lot in terms of time it takes, we are a step closer.

WhiteWolf100101 – Welcome to my story. I'm glad you liked the Matthew and Arthur scene – I think I mentioned before that final part was not in my initial plans. Usually I have a whole load of dot points outlining where I need the chapter to go, but the Moody/Crouch jr section just came to me like I was watching it unfold. In only 20 minutes or so, I had the entire section written (though later edited). As for the nation's secret and keeping it from Voldemort… let's just say it's lucky Moody/ Crouch jr believed the WI story. As for whether or not their secret remains safe in the future… well, Voldemort didn't find out last time, though Arthur and the other nations weren't associating so much with the wizarding world last time either…

Land of Insanity – Writing Draco's POV was really difficult for me, so I'm glad you liked it. It's the first time I've done a POV from a more antagonistic character, so I really tried to focus on getting into his head. He's not a brainless bully, he has reasons for why he thinks the way he does – his thoughts on Muggleborns being one example – it doesn't justify his beliefs, but it gives a believable explanation as to why he thinks the way he does. Thanks for your feedback on Draco calling England 'Arthur', and as for your interest in seeing more of Kiku, well, let's just begin the chapter…

Hogwarts grounds

30th October - 3:15pm

Harry's POV

Life is sometimes about enjoying the little things, and being released from Potions early and having half an afternoon of freedom before the arrival of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons definitely qualified as one of these moments as far as Harry was concerned.

He, Hermione, and Ron walked a short distance from the castle to a particular oak where they had agreed to meet Alfred. It hadn't been until they'd been back to the Gryffindor dormitories to put away their school supplies, picked up new things for the afternoon, and had made their way back to the entrance hall that Alfred had finally realised he'd left his own belongings in Snape's class and had needed to dash back to retrieve them. Harry hadn't known Alfred very long and already it came as no surprise that Alfred would leave his bag – the only thing he'd be carrying – behind. How Alfred hadn't noticed his mistake up in the dormitories, Harry couldn't explain.

Alfred's absence though, did give Harry the opportunity he'd been looking for since breakfast when Hedwig had finally arrived with a long-anticipated letter in her beak. Harry looked over his shoulder, ensuring that only Ron and Hermione were near enough to hear what he was about to say.

"How long did it take for him to write back this time?" Ron asked, as Harry withdrew the weather-stained letter from his robes.

"Over two months, I sent Hedwig a few days before coming to your place."

"Hedwig must have travelled pretty far to find him – and then had a long trip back," said Hermione.

"Sirius hinted that he hasn't been in the UK," confirmed Harry.

This speculation was further supported by Hedwig's disheveled appearance when she had arrived at breakfast time. It had been with great relief that Harry had unfastened the letter, finally confirming the wellbeing of both Sirius and Hedwig. Harry had then given the owl some toast, watched as she had flown off, opened his letter from Sirius, and promptly realized he'd gained something new to worry about.

"You've been quiet since that letter arrived," noted Hermione. "We're alone now, so tell us. What did Sirius say?"

"Well, you remember the dream I told you about back at Ron's place?"

"The one with You-Know-Who and the old guy?"

"Ron, what other dream would Harry be talking about?"

"Point being," Harry continued quickly. "If that was the only thing to have happened, that probably would have been the end of it. But with the events of the Quidditch World Cup, and my scar hurting on top of that…." he sighed. "Sirius doesn't think it's a coincidence. He thinks something might be happening."

Harry directed his frustration at the overall situation into a nearby rock, kicking it hard enough to leave the footpath and bounce down the nearby embankment. "He said he might be coming back."

"Who's coming back?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione froze. Alfred, closely followed by Kiku had returned.

"No one," all three automatically answered, startled by Alfred's fast return.

Harry inwardly cringed as the pair exchanged a mutual look of doubt.

"Uh huh," Alfred said dubiously.

"We were talking about Donaghan Tremlett," Hermione quickly fabricated. "He left the Weird Sisters nearly two years ago, but it's just been announced that he might be coming back to the group – so he's no one we actually know."

Alfred gave them a look for a moment, still looking unconvinced before giving a quick nod. "Ok, then," he said before the group finally started down the path.

Falling into step beside the transfer students, Harry tried to ignore the unwelcome feeling of irritation rising inside him. He knew it was neither Alfred nor Kiku's fault that they'd had to abruptly stop speaking about Sirius, but not even Ron's family knew the true story of Sirius' innocence and as much as Harry liked his new friends, bringing them up to speed on what had actually happened was simply too great a risk to take. Harry resigned himself to the fact he'd have to wait until he was once again alone with Ron and Hermione to finish the conversation.

Pushing aside any negative feelings, Harry instead chose to focus on what they had planned for their free afternoon – the reason he had retrieved his Firebolt from the dormitories and why they were now heading down to the Quidditch grounds.

Harry had known since he met Alfred on the train that the American had not known anything about Quidditch (which made it all the more disappointing that the sport had been cancelled that year). However, a few nights back when Alfred had mentioned that he had never even been on a broom before, Harry and Ron had quickly made plans to give Alfred his first flying lesson.

As they continued down the path, they saw other students enjoying their free afternoon outside. Though now that Harry noticed them, it seemed several groups were looking in their direction.

"Thank you again for allowing me to accompany you," said Kiku after getting blatant glares from a group of third year Slytherins.

"Don't mention it, we're glad you came," said Hermione in a slightly louder than necessary voice as they passed the students.

"Ahh," said Harry, realizing it was Kiku's presence that was drawing their group the attention. It was an uncommon sight to see a Slytherin spending time outside lessons with anyone from a different house – much less with students from Gryffindor. Only earlier that week, Harry himself wouldn't have expected this turn of events, but during Monday afternoon's Transfiguration class, McGonagall had handed back their first main essay of the year. Harry had noticed Kiku's face flush pink after receiving his paper and quickly turned it over before anyone else could see the mark. At the end of the lesson, McGonagall had asked both Kiku and Hermione to stay behind. Hermione had later told them that the professor had asked her, as the highest achieving student to help Kiku improve on his written English so that he'd be able to bring his grades up to a passing level.

Hermione had happily agreed and that night, she and Kiku had had the first of their weekly study sessions in the library.

"It will be nice to have some time without any rude comments," Kiku added.

Harry grimaced at this. It was to no one's surprise that Kiku's tutoring came with consequences from his Slytherin peers. This had been made clear the very next time they had shared a class with the Slytherins as with the exception of an insult or two, the entire house (with the exception of Arthur) had ostracised the Japanese student. While Harry did wish it were under different circumstances, he didn't at all mind Kiku joining them – it was somewhat refreshing to meet a Slytherin he could actually get along with.

The group set down the final slope to the Quidditch field.

Eyeing this Alfred asked, "So Quidditch, it's basically flying around catching and throwing different balls?"

"There's a lot more to it than that," said Harry. "You'll pick up on the rules eventually, but today we'll just focus on getting you comfortable on a broom."

"Dude, if flying's involved, I'm a natural," Alfred said confidently.

"Right, 'cause you've had loads of experience for someone who's never even been on a broom before," scoffed Ron.

"I've been paragliding before. That's kind of similar right? Flying in the elements, through the rain and wind and also watching out for bugs," Alfred paused to consider. "Gotta admit I prefer flying in something with a cockpit."

"Though you can't really count an aeroplane unless you've flown one yourself," Hermione reasoned.

Alfred looked at Kiku. "We've both done plenty of flight simulators."

"Simulators?" questioned Ron.

"It's a program that teaches you how to fly without actually going up in a plane. It's usually run on a computer."

"I see," nodded Ron slowly. "And what's a computer?"

Alfred shot Ron an unimpressed look. "Really?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"It's an electronic device for storing information and playing games," Harry supplied. "I've told you about them before. Dudley kicked a hole through his computer when he couldn't get through a certain level of his game."

"You are kidding," said Kiku incredulously.

"Nope," Harry said simply. "And as with all the things my cousin destroyed over our childhood, he had it replaced within the week."

"Woah," commented Alfred. "What a little shit."

"Well, that's the Dursleys for you," Ron stated.

Harry couldn't help but grin at hearing what he'd always known being stated by his friends.

He then became aware that Alfred was still staring at him. A thoughtful expression on the American's face, as though reading between the lines of what had been said. The moment passed as quickly as Harry had noticed it, with Alfred turning to Ron, and with no further irritation went on to explain computing technology.

"There's actually a ton of other things computers can do beside storing information and playing games. I'd even say they're the way of the future for the Muggle world."

"That's what my dad said a few weeks back," agreed Hermione. "He and my mum spent a few days over the summer upgrading the computer system in their surgery.

"Smart," commented Kiku. "If you continue to keep up with your parents Muggle tech over the next couple of years, you will see that things are really about to explode. In fact, I think it will only be in the next decade or so that Japan will bring out touch screen devices for the average person."

"No way dude," Alfred countered. "If anywhere brings out that tech first, it'll be America."

And they were off, lightly bantering about the different upcoming Muggle tech and where it would be developed first.

"If it makes any difference," Harry said to a bewildered looking Ron as the transfer students started to bring more and more computer jargon into the conversation, "I'm totally lost now too."

The pair continued talking. While it surprised Harry that Kiku knew so much about Muggle technology (Maybe one of his parents is Muggleborn?), what really surprised Harry was Alfred. His American friend was talking animatedly about increasing computer memory of all things.

Since term had started, Alfred had seemed to be content most of the time, however, there were other times where he had seemed to be reserved or even annoyed over trivial occurrences around the school – Ron's unfamiliarity with computers being one example among many. It was only now, when speaking freely about Muggle technology, that Harry saw Alfred truly comfortable for the first time.

As they got closer to the Quidditch pitch the transfer student's conversation shifted from computers back to the more familiar topic of flight.

"So, what kind of speed does your broom do?" Alfred asked casually as they entered the change rooms.

"The Firebolt can go from 0-150 miles an hour in 10 seconds," Harry responded with proud excitement.

"Impressive – though the X-15 jet is faster."

"America's fastest jet is not exactly used for sport though is it?" said Kiku drily, giving Harry the distinct impression Kiku had expected a 'but mine is faster' kind of response.

"True, but it was pretty great to fly," smiled Alfred. "…From what I've been told that is."

Harry looked around, noting how the familiar room lacked the usual personal belongings players had left behind between training sessions, as well as the empty board in the corner which usually held the dates of upcoming games and the team training schedule. He again felt that twinge of disappointment that they would not be playing for the House Cup.

At least it wasn't last year. Harry didn't think Oliver Wood would have handled the news too well had the Cup been cancelled in his final year.

"Ok," Harry led the way to the broom shed. "I've managed to borrow the keys from Hooch – she didn't mind so long as we put everything back. Most of Hogwarts' brooms are pretty old, but since no one else is using them, we should be able to get you lot something decent."

After seeking out a couple of Cleansweepers, Alfred, Harry, and Ron entered the pitch while Hermione and Kiku decided to watch from the stands to discuss their next study session.

"Woah," said Alfred, taking in the Quidditch pitch for the first time. "So those are the goals you need to get the ball through, right?"

"The Quaffle," corrected Harry before proceeding to explain the basics of the game.

"So, it's a bit like basketball then," concluded Alfred.

"If basketball was played 50 feet in the air and players were allowed to toss bowling balls at each other."

"So, pretty different."

"You can't fly in basketball though," Harry pointed out.

Alfred grinned at this. "Well, let's get started then," he said, jumping on his broom.

"And if you try to fly like that, you're going to fall off," Harry critiqued.

After demonstrating to Alfred the basics of flying, they were ready.

"Ok, when pushing off the ground for the first time, don't put too much force into it. Neville could tell you how that can turn out."

Lifting into the air turned out not to be an issue for Alfred, neither were the next series of simple maneuvers. It turned out that Alfred's boasting had been well founded – he clearly was comfortable in the air.

Watching as Alfred easily pulled off a medium level 180 degree pivot, Harry paused to wonder. Alfred had mentioned previously that both his father and grandfather before him had been pilots.

Who'd have thought that a family history in Muggle flight would transfer to skills on a broom?

"You've got the basics," said Harry after Alfred pulled off a small dive.

"Really quickly too," added Ron.

"Well, naturally," Alfred again boasted.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Alright, well let's ramp it up then – let's see how you go with a few actual drills."

Ron flew down and released the Quaffle and one of the Bludgers. It was decided, given their limited time to play, they would not use the Snitch this time.

"It'd be good to have one more person, then we could have a two vs two game," said Harry after they'd passed the Quaffle around a few times.

"Oi, Kiku!" called Ron to the spectator stands. "You can read some other time, get your ass up here."

Kiku considered this for a moment before giving a thumbs up in response.

"Ok, Ron and Harry vs me and Kiku," said Alfred once Kiku had joined the Gryffindors.

"First to five wins."

"And remember to watch the Bludger – we might not have Beaters, but the ball will still won't go far from its release point."

"Ok, is everyone ready?" Asked Hermione from her new seat in the commentators stand. "Remember we only have half an hour," she flicked her wand, sending the Quaffle flying high.

"Start!"

Once again, Harry felt the wind blow through his hair as he sprang forward after the Quaffle. In some ways this game felt more like the small games he'd played with the Weasleys over Summer – just on the Hogwarts grounds instead. A little weird, but fun regardless.

Harry closed in on the Quaffle, before suddenly spinning out of the way, narrowly avoiding the stray Bludger which would have struck.

"Thank you for that Harry-san," said Kiku, who used the interference to gain the Quaffle. "Alfred-san," he called before lobbing the ball in Alfred's direction.

"Thanks man," was the reply. Holding the ball, Alfred managed to dodge Ron and –

"That's 1 – 0 to Alfred and Kiku," came Hermione's voice.

"That's beginner's luck," complained Ron.

"You say beginner's luck," laughed Alfred, high fiving Kiku. "I say it's the Hero's natural talent."

"Right – it's on," Harry declared before lowering his voice. "Ron, you remember that tactic we used at your place?"

"Let's do it," nodded Ron as Hermione once again flicked the ball into play.

They were off again. This time it was Ron who managed to get the ball, spinning quickly, Ron passed it to Harry, just before he could be intercepted.

The ball fell short. Harry and Kiku both dove to catch it. It hit the ground, bouncing high. Harry continued forward, using one hand to quickly slow his descent, while the other hand scooped the Quaffle out of the air.

Glancing back, Harry saw that the dive had forced Kiku to land, therefore losing the momentum the dive had given. A look to his left showed Alfred doing his best to intercept Harry at the goals. He lent forward, willing his Firebolt on, nearing the middle goal, Harry waited until the last moment before pivoting and-

"Goal – One all!" called Hermione as the Quaffle sailed through the right side post.

"Dude – not fair!"

"Maybe the 'Hero' needs to learn to read a bluff."

Alfred laughed in good nature. "Come on Kiku, let's win this thing."

Twenty minutes later, the score sat at four-all, and as Hermione once again released the Quaffle, she reminded the boys there were only 5 minutes until they had to finish up.

Hermione flicked the Quaffle into play once more, Alfred quick to dive after it. Though annoying at times, it seemed Alfred's constant boasting was well placed. Despite it being his first time on a broom, his comfort in the air was clear.

If the game wasn't cancelled this year, Alfred would have had a pretty good shot at getting Oliver's old posit-

"Alfred, watch it!"

A Bludger came hurtling out of Harry's peripheral vision – straight towards Alfred.

Whether Alfred didn't hear, or chose to ignore, Harry didn't have time to consider before –

CRACK!

The Bludger slammed with full speed into Alfred's left side. Startled, Alfred gave a shout of pain as he was flipped from his broom.

Harry bent forward, in an attempt to catch his friend. He cursed himself for letting Alfred's over-confidence lead him to forget that despite Alfred's initial skill, he was still a beginner, with no experience on how to properly take a hit from a Bludger.

Fortunately, Alfred was only about two meters off the ground when he was hit. Unfortunately, this did not give Harry enough time to aid his friend. Harry could only watch as Alfred extended an arm to brace for impact.

SNAP!

A moment later, Harry landed next to Alfred, who was kneeling in the wet grass.

"Are you ok!?" Harry asked, noting the way Alfred seemed to be trembling slightly. The blonde was clutching his right arm, the purple necklace he usually wore tucked behind his shirt dangling while his forehead broke into a thin layer of sweat. Kneeling directly in front of Alfred, Harry winced as he spotted the way the skin on Alfred's shoulder bulged unnaturally in what was clearly a dislocated joint.

Alfred took in a sharp breath. "I'm fine," he answered, breathing out sharply.

"Ouch – man, that shoulder isn't right," Ron said as he touched down on the grass.

"Come on," Harry said, offering his hand. "We'll take you up to the Hospital Wing."

If anything, Alfred seemed to pale further. Ignoring Harry's hand, he repeated, "I'm fine." Keeping a firm grip on his lower arm, Alfred winced as he glanced at his shoulder. "It's just dislocated. I'll just go back to the dorms and pop it back in place. Muggles do that kind of thing all the time."

"Maybe a doctor might do that, but it's hardly normal for everyone else," Hermione said, still slightly out of breath having run down to join them. "You can actually cause a lot of damage if you don't know what you're doing – especially if you try doing it yourself. Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix it easily."

Alfred groaned, muttering something incompressible and remained kneeling.

"I will take him up," stated Kiku, placing a supportive hand on Alfred's uninjured shoulder. Alfred shot his friend a look of gratitude through his otherwise pained expression. "I know the way and it will give you enough time to pack up the equipment so you will not be late for the foreign school's arrivals."

"I'm good with that," Alfred said quickly.

Harry opened his mouth to object before another, admittedly selfish idea occurred to him. Packing away the brooms would allow him to finish his earlier conversation with Ron and Hermione.

Hermione of course seemed to have reached the same conclusion as with a little hesitation, she said, "Well, I guess if you really are ok with that."

"I'm fine," Alfred insisted, he and Kiku already moving off the field. Though it wasn't any more believable than the first time Alfred had insisted he was ok, Harry allowed himself to accept it. If Alfred and Kiku were so insistent on going alone, it made it easier for Harry to justify staying behind to talk about Sirius.

"Really?" said Ron, taking a step after them. "I'll go up with you if you want – it'll be easier with a third person."

"Ron," said Harry in an attempt to convey the message in his expression. "Alfred and Kiku say they will be alright, plus it'll give us a nice bit of time to pack away the equipment…"

Ron looked at Harry for a moment. "Oh right," he said, Harry's meaning suddenly clicking into place. "Yeah, you're right – It'd be much faster if I stay and help." Turning back to Alfred and Kiku, who had again continued walking off the pitch he called, "If you do get lost, just ask – someone will help."

"Will do," was the masked-pained response.

"We'll see you both at the feast later," Harry called as Alfred disappeared back into the change rooms.

Kiku gave a thumbs up in response.

It only took another five minutes for Harry to detail his worry about Sirius potentially returning and resolving to write back as soon as possible to dissuade the return, but it was enough. The middle of the Quidditch pitch was probably the safest place at Hogwarts to have this conversation and being able to do so while packing up removed any suspicion as to what the three might be doing in the middle of the field. Despite the reason behind it, Harry couldn't help but feel a little grateful that he, Ron and Hermione had had this chance as they finished the conversation and left the pitch.

"Is that blood?" Hermione asked when they entered the change rooms. Harry pulled himself from his thoughts as Hermione pointed out the small line of red droplets leading from the field side to regular grounds side of the room.

Harry squatted down, taking a closer look. "It is."

"And it's still fresh," observed Ron.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. It didn't make sense. "But Alfred only mentioned his shoulder – it wasn't bleeding."

The three hurried to the door where in the distance, they could just make out Alfred and Kiku disappearing into the courtyard.

"Did he just lie to us about having a more serious injury?" said Ron slowly.

"Why would Alfred do something like that?" asked Hermione.

Harry looked back towards castle, unable to come up with an answer.

Alfred's POV

"Alfred, watch it!" was the only warning from somewhere behind before something smashed into his shoulder. Alfred yelled out as he felt his shoulder painfully pop out of place. Then, a dropping sensation in his stomach and Alfred realised he'd come off his broom. Instinctively, he raised his uninjured arm to brace for impact.

SNAP!

Alfred bit down on his tongue in an effort to hold back a cry from his now broken arm. Breathing out harshly, he reluctantly looked down at the damage. The skin unnaturally bulged to a point where it parted, revealing a small section of sharp broken bone.

Not just a break, it's a fucking compound fracture.

"Are you ok!?" Harry had just landed, concern etched on his face.

Shit. Wincing, Alfred moved his dislocated arm, placing his hand over the protruding bone of his non-dislocated shoulder in an effort to hide the extent of his injuries just as Harry kneeled down in front of him.

"I'm fine," Alfred said, well aware his sharp breathing probably gave him away.

Damn it – how the hell did I manage to screw up both arms? He thought. If it hadn't been for the simultaneous pain of his dislocated joints rubbing against each other in his shoulder combined with bone piercing through his skin on his other arm, Alfred would have felt pretty embarrassed at taking such a fall – especially after how much I talked up my flying skills.

"Ouch – man that shoulder isn't right."

Great, now Ron's here too.

Alfred focused on steading his breath. Right now, his best option was to play it down and get himself somewhere private before the injuries began healing.

"Come on," said Harry offering his hand. "We'll take you up to the Hospital Wing."

Uhh, Alfred blanked at the extended hand, trying to think of a believable excuse to avoid the trip to the nurse.

Many years of painful injuries – whether on the battlefield, or due to careless accidents had taught Alfred what to expect as he healed. While the throbbing pain was hard to ignore right now, Alfred knew it wouldn't last long. Usually he'd be able to realign a dislocated limb without assistance – but usually this wasn't accompanied with a separate break. This time, he'd need someone to help with it – that or wait for the other arm to heal. Broken bones usually took anywhere between a few minutes and a few hours to properly heal, depending on the severity – from the quick look he'd had, Alfred guessed it'd be about an hour before it was back to normal.

But it could start healing at any time.

And that was something that Harry, Ron, and Hermione could not witness.

"I'm fine," And please just accept that, he thought, feeling the spot under his hand begin to dampen. Though Alfred doubted they would. He couldn't even accept Harry's outstretched hand without revealing the break. While he knew Harry probably thought this was due to his injured shoulder, Alfred also knew that if he slipped up and revealed the broken arm, there would be no way for him talking his way out of an escort directly to the school nurse. "It's just a dislocated," he tried to reason. "I'll just go back to the dorms and pop it back in place. Muggles do it all the time."

"Maybe a doctor might do that, but it's hardly normal for everyone else."

Alfred tried not to curse out loud as Hermione joined the group - if there was ever the wrong time for good friends, it was now.

"Madam Pomfrey will be able to able to fix it easily."

"Man, I've screwed up," Alfred muttered, still not accepting Harry's hand. His mind was coming up blank on how to fix the situation. This was bad. Assuming he didn't blow his cover to Harry, Ron, and Hermione by beginning to heal on the way up, he'd definitely blow it when the nurse saw him. Meeting her now, in his current state, Alfred knew he wouldn't be able to pull off the Wizard Intelligence story Arthur and Matthew had managed a few weeks back. If the nurse witnessed his healing capabilities, she wouldn't only figure out that he wasn't a student, she'd likely conclude he – and by extension the others – weren't even human.

Alfred tried to ignore the small wave of panic threatening to enter his mind. It's not just our cover – it's what we are that's at stake.

"I will take him up."

Alfred felt a mix of gratitude and relief as he felt Kiku's hand on his uninjured shoulder.

"I'm good with that," Alfred said, praying his friends would just accept it. Catching Kiku's eye, Alfred used his legs to stand up fully, and with Kiku supporting him by his uninjured shoulder began leaving the pitch. He groaned quietly as Ron offered to go with them regardless, but thankfully Harry convinced Ron to stay.

"If you do get lost, just ask – someone will help," called Ron.

"Will do," Alfred called back, attempting to ignore the throbbing in both limbs.

As Kiku stayed behind for a moment longer, Alfred ducked into the change room.

Leaning against the wall, he took the chance to have a proper look at his broken arm. A trickle of blood was now seeping from under the hand he'd been using to conceal the break.

A compound fracture on one arm and a dislocated shoulder on the other side.

"Ahh!" he yelled cursing the ridiculous situation and how close it had made him come to blowing their cover. Frustrated, he threw his head back.

"Damn it!" he cursed again, now with a headache that he couldn't even raise an arm to rub.

"Were two injuries not enough?" asked Kiku, who despite the situation had the hint of a smile.

"Shut up dude."

"Come on," Kiku said supportively. "Matthew's office isn't far from the entrance hall. Let's get there before it starts to heal."

Upon leaving the change rooms, Kiku took off his scarf, and using a spell Alfred wasn't familiar with turned the Slytherin scarf into the Gryffindor red.

"Here, you should wrap up that arm a little – we do not need people noticing on our way up."

"Thanks," said Alfred, taking the scarf and gently concealing the worst of the injury from any passersby.

Fortunately, it seemed most students had already headed back to the castle to prepare for the arrival of the European schools, the only people Alfred and Kiku passed were a group of seventh year Hufflepuffs, who gave them no notice.

This became a different story though upon entering the castle's front courtyard, with many students having already arrived. Alfred and Kiku agreed to try to move along the edge of the yard in an attempt to gain as little attention as possible.

"Not going to say 'hi', a little rude, would you not think?"

Alfred started a little, turning to spot both Francis and George approaching.

"Sorry Francis-san, we were just heading inside," Kiku's eyes quickly darted from Francis, to George and back again.

"Inside?" George questioned. "You might not want to be late for this," he looked at Alfred, frowning a little. "You doing ok there mate?"

"I'm fine," said Alfred for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Francis too now looked to Alfred, arched eyebrows travelling from the bulging shoulder to the suspiciously placed scarf. "So, I see you've been having a fun afternoon then," he said, a hint of disapproval in his tone.

Alfred scowled, not liking being admonished by Francis. "It was just a little accident. We're heading up to get it fixed now – it won't take long," he said, heading towards the southern staircase.

"Well, that's the wrong direction if you're trying to see Pomfrey," said George. "I can take you up there if you want."

"I'll take them," Franics stepped in. "I'll be back shortly – just tell Fred and Lee I'll be a little late."

Alfred let loose a small breath of relief as George agreed with the plan and parted with them as they ascended the north stairs.

"So, keeping under ze radar as always I see," Francis jabbed once they got to the second floor. "I'm assuming we're not actually heading to ze nurse."

"Matthew's office is close – it is our best option right now," said Kiku as they turned away from the direction of the Hospital Wing.

They passed a few students on the stairs and entered the now empty corridor on the third floor. Glad that he would not have to make any more excuses, Alfred followed Francis into the office.

Calling the place an office though, was being generous, thought Alfred. The term 'studio' would be a more fitting description of the room. The small room could be split in two, with Matthew's office space taking up one side of the room and living quarters, including a bed, small couch and table taking up the other side. Being located right on the corner of the south wing of the castle gave Matthew different views from his two different windows, with the view from his desk offering a pretty decent view of the forest and lake. Matthew had explained his living quarters were usually reserved for special guests in favour of staying in the Hogsmead, but it had been given to him for his time as the assistant professor. Strictly speaking, he was not meant to have students visit his office, given the connected living quarters and his status as an assistant professor, but if no one saw them enter or leave, Alfred didn't really see an issue.

"Oh, hey guys," Matthew said, looking up from his desk. "I didn't know you were coming up. Isn't this cutting it a bit short? We're meant to be down at the courtyard in…," he looked down at his watch. "Pretty much now actually."

"Well, coming here wasn't exactly the plan," Alfred admitted, spotting Arthur he braced himself for the inevitable lecture.

"It seems as though little Alfred here needs somewhere to rest for a while," Francis said in a slightly condescending tone.

Alfred shot a glare in Francis' direction as Arthur questioned, "Rest? Why? Alfred, what have you done this time?"

"It's nothing," said Alfred, making a quick dash to the window in an effort to somehow avoid Arthur's prying eye.

"Sure – I can see from here that something's wrong with your shoulder. Haven't I told you before to be more careful? I hope no one noticed it happen," he followed after Alfred, reaching out to take Alfred's other arm. "Come here, it'll be faster if I help you put it back in place."

"Ouch!" cried Alfred as Arthur grabbed his broken arm.

"Ouch?" Arthur pulled Kiku's scarf away to see the still unhealed arm. "And your other arm is broken?! You stupid git! Are you trying to blow your secret?!"

"Of course not – that's why I came here before it could heal," shot back Alfred pulling his arm from Arthur's grip.

"Only Harry, Ron and Hermione know it happened – and they are only aware of the shoulder," said Kiku before going on to explain just what had happened.

Arthur seemed to contemplate this for a few moments, before walking to the window where the Quidditch pitch could be seen in the distance. "So, you actually gave flying a broom a go," he said finally.

Alfred shrugged his good shoulder, trying not to think about the multiple times in the past he'd told Arthur he had no interest in tying the wizarding transportation. In all honesty, he hadn't actually thought about his past objections earlier in the day – but then he had been surrounded by magical items so much over the past two months that he hadn't actually thought about his past aversions to broom flight.

Arthur let out a frustrated sigh. "Try to be more careful next time you fly."

Alfred opened his mouth, ready to tell Arthur there would be no next time. However, the words caught in his throat. With the exception of what really had been a stupid, chance mistake, he actually had enjoyed himself on the broom – so could he really say there'd be no next time just because this form of flying relied on magic? After another moment of hesitation, Alfred nodded his response.

"Thank you," Arthur said sincerely. "Now, I can't help you with the break, but I can get that shoulder back in place."

Alfred let Arthur lead him to a seat and grimaced as the older nation began painfully maneuvering the limb back into place. Thankfully, Arthur had had plenty of experience over his years treating similar injuries, so it was only a moment later that Alfred let out a sigh of relief as the shoulder finally popped back in.

"Ahh, Dude – that's so much better," Alfred rested back, knocking his other arm in the process. "Well, almost," he flinched. "Come on," he said, addressing his broken arm. "There's no humans around now. Hurry up and heal!"

"While that's happening, we should take the time to quickly discuss where we are at, since we're all here." Arthur said, now walking to the other side of the room and taking a seat near Matthew's desk.

"A meeting?" Francis turned to Alfred. "You're to blame for this."

"You didn't have to follow us up here."

"And you shouldn't have-"

"Look, I'll be quick – plus it's an important evening, we really should have organised to have a quick chat anyway," said Arthur.

"So, on Monday it'll be two months since we arrived and as of yet I have not observed any suspicious activity from the enemy. Given the importance of transparity between this group, I take it that this is the same for the rest of you?"

"I've seen nothing suspicious," said Alfred as the others shook their heads. "Aside from the fact our Gryffindor friends decided to lie to us earlier today."

"Oh?"

"I'm not sure what they had been talking about, but when Kiku and I arrived, they pretended they had been talking about some singer."

"It did not seem too important though, so we let it slide," added Kiku.

"It's still a bit annoying though," Alfred said to Kiku.

Kiku shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Hmm, interesting," said Arthur thoughtfully. "It seems as though they may have a few secrets of their own. More importantly though, it seems that nothing bad has happened, so that's a positive."

"You mean aside from the fact that Moody, McGonigal and Snape know we're not students?" said Francis.

"I already explained why that had to happen," Arthur said in mild frustration. "Plus, they only know we're not students, so it's not like they found out what we actually are. On that note though-"

"Oph!" interrupted Alfred. A burning sensation accompanied by uncomfortable twitching came from his arm, signaling that the healing process had begun. Alfred looked down to where the bone penetrated the skin.

To speed up the healing process, Alfred began poking and prodding the bone, trying to encourage the two pieces back under the skin and back together – not unlike two pieces of a puzzle – albeit far more painful.

"Not that watching Alfred poke around in his arm isn't interesting," said Francis drily, "or disgusting for that matter, but I think Hogwarts' visitors are arriving."

Alfred turned back to the window. On the grass below, the entirety of the school had gathered in view of both the Forbidden Forest and Great Lake. There on the lawn near the forest was a carriage roughly the size of a small hotel. At the front of the carriage were about a dozen large horses – stretching and folding their golden wings having finally arrived at their destination. Even as Alfred watched, the door opened, with blue uniformed students emerging followed by a very large, short-haired woman. Alfred continued to watch for a few moments as the large woman walked over to greet Dumbledore.

A bubbling and gurgling from the usually still lake suddenly stole Alfred's attention. From where he stood, Alfred could see a large whirlpool form, with the mast of a ship already beginning to ascend from the depths.

"Wait," said Alfred, watching as a skeletal-looking ship emerged from the watery depths. "Isn't that a lake? I thought it was landlocked, how have they come from there?!"

"Magic Alfred-san," said Kiku.

"Oh, yeah," he said feeling somewhat dumb for missing the obvious answer.

"We need to wrap this up," Arthur said as students with bulky brown uniforms began emerging on the ship's deck. "Ideally we should have been down there with everyone else. Hopefully if we can rejoin the crowd before they enter the Great Hall, no one will notice our absence."

"Just remember, even though nothing has happened as of yet, it doesn't mean this can't change," he indicated to the window where the students on the ship were preparing to disembark. "There are lots of new people who've just arrived and there will be plenty of officials, judges, and other visitors coming to the school for the tournament, some of whom are known to have checkered backgrounds. While I do believe in second chances – it would be foolish not to at least consider the past actions of certain people, I've already told you about my misgivings with some visitors – Durmstrangs's Kakrovf is one individual in particular I want you to be careful around."

The others nodded their agreements.

"Please use Alfred's accident today as a reminder. Starting from now we cannot afford to let our guards down. Now, I think it'd be best if we leave in small groups rather than as one. Alfred, how's that arm going?"

Alfred looked down. The bone was still visible, but had fused back together. "Uh…. I reckon it needs another 10 minutes," he responded, watching while the muscles and veins slowly knitted themselves together.

"Well in that case, Kiku and I will head off first."

"You sure you're still ok being seen with him?" asked Alfred, a hint of reproach in his tone.

Arthur paused, hand on the door handle.

"The Slytherin children are still my citizens – I'm not going to turn my back on them for their actions... that being said, the fact that Kiku and I are still friends is something they will just have to get over – it's not like they're going to turn on me after all – they're brats, but they're loyal brats," Arthur turned to Kiku. "I am sorry that it turned out this way for you though."

"I've already told you it is fine Arthur-san. It is only for a few months after all."

Kiku closed the office door behind them, leaving the room surprisingly quiet.

Alfred sat back, silently watching as the last of the skin came back together while Francis started up about how much nicer the French uniform looked than either of the other schools.

Five minutes later the last of the skin fused together leaving a dark bluish-purple bruise in its place.

"Finally," Alfred said flexing his near pain-free hand. The bruise would continue to fade over the next couple of hours, and as Alfred pulled his sleeve over the arm, he felt glad that it'd give him no more trouble.

"Good," said Matthew. "I think we can still make it in time if we hurry."

The three nations hurried down the two flights of stairs, nodded a greeting to Moody, who also seemed to be running late, before slipping into the Great Hall with the last of the first years.

Parting from Matthew, Alfred and Francis quickly found the seats at the Gryffindor table that their friends had saved for them. Alfred took his seat between Neville and Hermione just as the doors reopened to officially welcome the competing schools.

And that's chapter 13 done - a nice long one for you seeing as it was such a long wait.

As a fanfiction author, I'm trying to expand what I can write about. Last time was writing from Draco's POV (as I've already mentioned), this time I wrote an injury scene for the first time (and the Quidditch scene prior – that was new for me too).

I'd love some feedback on how I handled this scene (I rewatched the scene in the first episode of Outlander to see how it looks when Claire pops Jamie's shoulder back in to get an idea of how it looks and how to write it… well that was the excuse anyway - it's a good show). It was a bit difficult, but I'm fairly happy with how I wrote it – I do imagine Alfred has a pretty high tolerance for pain, which is why he managed to hide the break – though it was still pretty painful for him. (You may remember that Arthur got a broken hand on the way to Hogwarts, but as it was a small fracture, it healed much faster than Alfred's injury in this chapter.)

I also thought it'd be interesting writing the same scene from the two differnet points of view. I took care editing these two sections - particuarly with the dialogue, making sure they'd match up properly.

Next time: Two feasts in two nights – sounds good. So does the chance to meet foreign wizarding students. The Hogwarts students also learn about the four Triwizard tasks as well as role of champion and possible companions.

Harry also faces a shocking revelation that Absolutely None of you will be able to predict ;) (seriously though, I think most people know what to expect, though I will tweak it and give you some none cannon content.)

Hope you're all doing well – especially given how terrible 2020 turned out.

Please remember to drop a review. I'd love to know what you thought about the chapter.

Ok, that's it for now – I'll make sure I update again this year (or I'll never get this thing finished).

Bye-bye.

Ps – I don't know if you've heard, but there's a new season of Hetalia coming out! I went to check a few days ago and to my pleasant surprise, a new season will be coming out in Spring 2021. Assuming that's Northern Hemisphere Spring, the new season is only a few months away :D