Sorry for the super long wait guys! But this is how long it normally takes me (Ha ha ha…), so this will more than likely not be the last time that I drop the ball like this. So, I'm apologizing for that as well, in advance.

Someone asked how I'm going to put the couples. I think I've mentioned it several times, but the focal point of the story will not be on any ships. So with that said, mainly any ships you see will be pre-established and mainly fluffy.

One final thing. I think that I've noticed some discrepancies in the timeline of these first few chapters. That is entirely my fault. Let me clarify right now: England first had that feeling right when Cedric died. Then, when the others are there, it's proceeded a couple of months to August. That way it's only a couple of weeks until school starts. I'm so sorry if you've been confused by this.

Chapter Three: Preparing for School and Life as a Teacher

England sighed as he plopped down into a chair by the bar at the Leaky Cauldron. It had been a very long, very exhausting day of helping the others get their school supplies. They had been all over the place, running excitedly from shop to shop, although that was mainly America. And they had garnered a couple of glances from the passerby, but thankfully nothing more than that. They did not need to have anyone's suspicions before they even fully began their mission.

But thankfully it was over now. Everything was bought (England was glad that his vault at Gringotts had contained as large a sum as it did. Otherwise there would have been no way he could've paid for everything they needed), and he had made arrangements with the barkeeper Tom to have the other seven stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the remaining time until the start of term. He had even scheduled three taxis to transport them to Kings Cross Station on the first of September (they would meet them at the bookstore across the street, as the muggles, of course, can't see the Leaky Cauldron). They were all up in their rooms now, either examining their new things, discussing the upcoming times, or asleep. All that remained was going to the school himself.

But he had been delaying the inevitable for a couple of hours now. Even though he was several hundred years old, England felt nervous. Only slightly, but enough to put him on edge. What if something were to backfire? He even felt as if he had overlooked something important, something that needed to be taken care of…

Of course! England jolted back in his chair as he realized what he had forgotten. How could he have been so foolish to not realize it sooner? Rising hurriedly to his feet, he gave a quick nod to Tom and swiftly went up the stairs to his room. Closing the door behind him, he headed to the desk, sat down, and took out one of the few regular pieces of paper that he had brought with him. Picking up a pen, he wrote:

Dear Matthew,

I am sorry for asking you this such short notice, and for not talking to you about it sooner, but I need your help. Myself and several of the others (Your brother, Yao, Ivan, Ludwig, Feliciano, Kiku, and Francis) are going to be...preoccupied for the remainder of the year. We won't be able to attend any meetings. I can't tell you at this moment in time what exactly we are doing, but it is a matter of utmost importance.

I need your help, Matthew. If you could please, tell my brothers Ian, Patrick, and Cadfael that I am trying to halt the things that happened 15 years ago. Tell them that they can reach me in that old way. Also, Matthew, if you have anything you need to tell Alfred, let me know and I will make sure it reaches him.

Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Arthur

Leaning back, England reread the letter over in case he had missed anything. He had referred to Canada and everyone else by their human names just in case anyone managed to get the letter and read it. The odds of that happening weren't likely, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Scotland, Ireland, and Wales would know what he meant by 'the events of 15 years ago' and the 'old way'. That would ensure that England and the others had knowledge into what was going on at the meetings in their absence.

He'd addressed the letter to Canada for several reasons, the first and foremost being that he would be the first to notice their absence. He and America, for all of their differences, were still very close, so England knew that Canada would have been extremely worried for his brother. Of course he would wonder about what they were up to, but Canada wasn't likely to bother and pester him about it. He possessed the ability to sense when to pry and when not to, so he would be able to tell to leave well enough alone until England was able to inform him.

Satisfied, England carefully folded the letter and placed it in an envelope. Laying it down upon the desk, England withdrew his wand and gently tapped it once. "Nunc vade*," he said, and it promptly vanished without a trace. England sighed and leaned back in his chair, running his hand over his face. Nothing left for it, now he absolutely had to go to Hogwarts.

After having made sure to send off his luggage in the same manner that he had the letter, England knocked on the door that led to the room Germany and Italy were sharing. He only had to wait a moment before the door was opened by the (now much shorter) blond.

"Yes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at England.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving for the school now," England replied, shifting from foot to foot as he was still nervous about the whole thing.

Germany nodded his head in understanding. "Danke, Arthur." England inclined his head and made to leave, but he stopped when he heard Germany call after him. "And I'm sure you'll do well as a teacher."

Glancing back at the blond, England smiled slightly and inclined his head once more. Then he continued on his way, and he heard the door close behind him. To himself, England thought that it was a good thing Italy had been working with Germany on his people skills lately.

England arrived at Hogsmeade with a crack, as he had apparated there. Rolling his shoulders to work out the kinks that he always got when he traveled in such a fashion (he had long since outgrown nausea), England began working his way to the gates. He had informed Dumbledore that he would be arriving that night, and he had been assured in turn by the Headmaster that he would have no trouble entering the school.

As England walked the streets of Hogsmeade, he reflected on the last time he had been in the village. It had been in 1832, and it had been quite a bit smaller then than it is now. For one thing, the Three Broomsticks had been renovated, as it was nearly as old as the village itself (which in turn was nearly as old as Hogwarts). He could see, off in the distance, quite a few more houses that had been added to the outskirts to accommodate the increase in the town's population. But some things were the same. Like he had thought, the Three Broomsticks was still there, probably still run by the Rosmerta family, and the streets were basically the same. This was something that England supposed he should credit the wizards with. While the 'muggles' were constantly changing and innovating the world around them, the magical population could be counted on to maintain nearly the exact same. While this did cause many problems in their society (their acceptance of muggles, their understanding of technology, etc.) to England and the other nations, it was a source of comfort, as everything else they'd ever know was always changing and shifting.

Finally, England reached the gates. These, too, had stayed the same, and it was with a slightly lighter heart that England reached up and touched the lock as Dumbledore had told him to. Immediately, it swung open, and he was free to enter the grounds. Looking back at the once again shut gates, England deduced that Dumbledore had somehow enchanted them to recognize the touch of the teachers and school administrators. An impressive feat of magic, but from what England knew of Dumbledore, that was hardly out of the ordinary.

The front doors opened up at his touch as well, and at last England was inside of the school. It had been so many years since he had been here, but Hogwarts had changed even less than Hogsmeade. The only difference that had occurred over the centuries is that some new paintings had been added. Everything else- the staircases, the walls, the floors- had been left unaltered. That was good news for England, as that meant that he knew where everything was. For the other nations arriving soon, it would be a different matter, but they would have their fellow students to help them out in that matter. So England started up to the higher levels, on his way to the Headmaster's office.

Also in his letter, Dumbledore had requested that England go to his office as soon as possible once he had arrived at the school. Although normally England would have to put away his luggage, at the moment it was stored in a handy little place in the fourth dimension (courtesy of one of the ancient magical spells that he was well practiced in) and he would be able to easily retrieve it once he was in his chambers. For now, seeing Dumbledore was at the top of his list. He needed to meet his new employer face to face, and England also needed to determine how he would proceed to hide and the others true natures for the entirety of the school year. This would require for him to gain an understanding of the Headmaster as soon as possible. Thankfully, though, he really did still know his way around, so he was able to locate the office with ease.

It was still guarded by gargoyles, although he could tell that they were different from the ones that had originally been placed there. No doubt they had been damaged in some sort of magical accident during their years of service, giving rise to the need to have them replaced with a new pair. This also served England well, as these two would not know how long he had been alive, and thus be able to tell Dumbledore that there was something not quite right about the new professor.

"Password?" The one on the right asked. England racked his mind to find the words Dumbledore had given him.

After at last locating it, England said, "Lemon Sherbert." The gargoyle guardians leaped aside immediately, and striding past them England ascended the staircase to the Headmaster's office. Once at the top, he knocked politely on the door.

"Come in," A voice called, and England opened the door.

It wasn't exactly like what he had been anticipating. England didn't really know what he had expected, but he was certain there had been fairly less magical devices whirring around or whistling on all available surfaces. Of course, in hindsight, it was rather obvious that a wizard of Dumbledore's age and prowess would have collected certain instruments over the years that would aid him in running the school. But there were many books, and as usual the portraits of the past Headmasters and Headmistresses lined the walls. Currently they were either talking quietly among themselves or gazing curiously at England. He could detect no source for their curiosity, however, so he determined that they were simply wondering what he would be like as a teacher.

And there, behind a desk near the rear of the room, sat Dumbledore himself. His beard was long and white, as was his hair. His eyes were hidden behind his glasses, although England knew that they would probably contain some secret, hidden knowledge known only to him. He had his hands laid out plainly in front of him, folded over each other in a way that gave him an air of polite interest. As England made his way over, he stood up (he was taller than England, many people were), and extended his hand out.

"Hello Professor Kirkland, it is very nice to meet you," Said Dumbledore, smiling warmly.

Taking the hand in his, England shook it while replying, "Likewise Headmaster." As Dumbledore sat down and gestured for England to do the same, he continued, "I am so sorry for not being able to see you sooner. I know it is a bit last minute."

Dumbledore waved away England's words. "Oh, no matter. You did make the date for the teacher's arrival, so I thank you for that. Lemon drop?" He extended a tin of the yellow sweet out to England.

"Ah, yes, thank you," England said, gently taking one. Dumbledore helped himself as well, and popped one into his mouth as he continued to gaze at England. After a moment of this, England found himself asking, "Is there something I could do for you Headmaster?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You see, I am curious about you Professor Kirkland. How come one so young has such skill or experience?" Dumbledore asked frankly, inspecting England closely.

Relaxing slightly now that he knew what Dumbledore was curious about, England started to tell the cover story he had concocted. "Well, I do a lot of traveling, you see. All over the world, to many different countries. In my travels I have encountered a variety of...misadventures, I suppose you'd say, so I've learned rather quickly to pick up as many things as I can in a new place." He was thankful that he had limited the amount of information he had supplied Dumbledore with about his abilities. It wouldn't be good for him to know that England was well versed in the old pure Latin magic.

Nodding slightly, Dumbledore remarked, "I suppose that explains your inquiry for a foreign exchange program."

"Yes, and for several other reasons as well. It will be a valuable learning experience for all of the students, experiencing something different from their own culture but still fundamentally the same," Responded England, his face showing his firm belief in the matter. Perhaps it was simply a nation thing, for them to heavily respect the importance of culture. In any case, he knew he would always have a certain affinity for people, places, history.

Dumbledore hummed and leaned back slightly in his chair, looking up at the ceiling and smiling slightly. "Well, then it's certainly a good thing that you knew some schools that would be willing to send us their students at such short notice. A result of your travels, I presume?"

Nodding, England replied, "Yes, I took every opportunity I could to visit foreign schools. It was crucial to understanding how their different wizarding communities acted, you see, and I've always had a rather insatiable thirst for knowledge."

"That, I think, is something we have in common, Professor Kirkland," Dumbledore said, this time giving a full smile to England. Then he stood up, England following suit. "We will be having a staff meeting tomorrow, to ascertain that we know and understand one another. In the mean time, do you know where your office and chambers are?"

"No sir, I don't," England responded, following Dumbledore out of the office and down the staircase.

"An easy fix then," Dumbledore said and, with a slight twinkle in his eye, he moved down the corridor to the nearest suit of armor. Tapping it twice with his wand, he instructed, "Take Professor Kirkland to his room, please. You know where it is."

Immediately the suit armor came to life, clanging down from atop its pedestal and promptly marching off down the corridor. England followed it, not surprised as he already knew that basically everything at Hogwarts was under heavy enchantments. "Have a good evening Headmaster."

"You as well, Professor Kirkland," He heard calling after him, and when he glanced behind, back at the two gargoyles guarding the entrance, the wall was just sliding closed.

Cadfael- Wales, it means "battle prince" Weird yeah, but I just needed to find a name.

Ian- Scotland

Patrick- Ireland, and I put it because I couldn't think of anything else.

*Latin- means "Now go".