Notes: Once again, that may have been very tactless of me to kill Prussia off on his birthday. But I don't regret the actual act, because this was written months ago. I just probably shouldn't have put it up yesterday.

Epilogue (Chapter 20) coming tomorrow. And for those who want closure on Gilbo's death, kindly skip over to my collection of BHL-verse drabbles to read about the awesome things he did as a ghost.

Part XIX

Piano music echoed mournfully through the little German church as Ludwig Beilschmidt walked up to a podium. At the front of the church was an urn bedecked with flowers. Elisabeta, Feliciano, Antonio, Lovino, Madeline, and Francis sat in the front nearest to the urn, Francis crying on Madeline's shoulder and Elisabeta with her face obscured by a black veil.

"Gilbert, my brother, was a noble man," Ludwig said quietly, and even from his seat, Arthur could see the shine of silent tears trickling down the German's cheeks. "He could be inconsiderate at times, but his heart was always in the right place."

Next to Arthur sat Kiku, whose face appeared calm but Arthur could tell by his uneven breathing that he was holding in tears. Nataliya dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief as she leaned on Alfred's shoulder.

"Although he was arrogant and narcissistic, he also loved his family and friends and would do anything for them. He saved my life when I was little, and for that I will be forever grateful."

Arthur heard Kiku sniffle. He put an arm around the Japanese man, silently trying to comfort him.

"I was only six when Gilbert and I were in a car accident. Vater and Mutter were killed instantly and I was in critical condition." Ludwig paused, wiping some tears from his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Gilbert was the only one I lived for, the only one I had left when the doctors came in and told me... told me that Vater and Mutter were dead." There he paused again, and Arthur could see him struggling to pull himself together. He understood.

If he had been the only one in his family left, he would have felt the same.

"We stayed strong for each other afterwards, because our guardian did not care for us as much as we cared for each other. Gilbert was never a family-oriented individual, but he was the best brother and friend I've ever had."

The others made speeches as well, each one more heartbreaking than the one before. Roderich's piano music grew more and more melancholy as Elisabeta broke down in the middle of her speech about her friendship and relationship with Gilbert. Kiku rested his head on Arthur's shoulder; Arthur felt his shirt growing damp. He patted Kiku's shoulder, struggling against the urge to cry.

They buried Gilbert's ashes in the eastern side of Berlin, in a quiet little cemetery where the wind blew mournfully through the trees. It was raining when they carried the urn out to the gravesite; the ground was slick with mud but the sky represented the mood in the small funeral procession that brought Gilbert to his last resting spot.

The urn was lowered into the ground; Elisabeta looked ready to throw herself into the grave. Roderich grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

Francis took a rose from the floral arrangement and tossed it into the grave. "Adieu, Gilbert," he said as he and Antonio raised their wands and filled in the hole with a flick.

The rest of the flowers they placed on the simple headstone. Arthur took Kiku's hand as the mourners all disbanded. As they walked, they looked back to see Francis, Antonio, and Ludwig still standing there gazing at the grave.

"Shall we go back to Hogwarts?" Arthur asked after a moment. "Harry wants us to attend the victory feast there tonight."

Kiku looked at him, taking his hand and resting his head on Arthur's shoulder. "The others ought to go," he said after a moment. "They deserve the honour more than we."

Arthur nodded. "They do, and they know about it," he said. "I'm sure they'll be there."

Hogwarts, home sweet home. In the afternoon sunlight, it gleamed like a fairytale palace. It was hard to imagine that just a week ago a bloody battle had been fought on the very lawn that Arthur and Kiku were walking on as they approached the heavy oaken doors.

"Bonjour!" Fleur Delacour cried from her spot on the school steps; she had been sitting there enjoying the sunshine with a turquoise-haired baby. "Arthur, c'est good to see you!"

"And you, too, Fleur!" Arthur replied with a grin, looking at the baby. "Is that Teddy Lupin?"

"Oui!" Fleur's face glowed with happiness. "Eesn't 'e adorable?"

"Quite." Arthur watched Teddy grab Kiku's finger. "Francis will be along in time for the feast, I'm sure," he added.

He and Kiku walked into the castle. All around, Hogwarts still sported signs of damage from the battle, but for the most part it had been repaired during their tenure in Germany. Students lined the corridors – some were studying, others were chatting, and a few were watching him and Kiku walk past.

"It's odd, being back here but not as a student," Kiku said as they passed by a couple having tea in an alcove. Arthur smiled at them.

They glimpsed several other Order members and even the Trio as they walked through the castle once more, remembering their happy school days.

"Feli-kun, Ludwig-san, and I met here," Kiku said, pointing to a suit of armour next to a tapestry on the third floor. "In first year, we hid behind the tapestry and surprised people walking by – or at least Feli-kun did that." Arthur smiled, watching three students duck behind the tapestry.

They passed by the entrance to the Charms corridor. "Look, the forbidden corridor in second year," Arthur noted. "Alfred and I met Fluffy there. He was a three-headed dog that belonged to Hagrid. Wonder what happened to him."

"I heard Heracles Karpusi adopted him," Kiku replied with a smile. Arthur chuckled.

"Good, that dog needed fresh air." At that, Kiku laughed.

They headed down a flight of stairs and passed by Moaning Myrtle's bathroom entrance. "Look, the writing on the wall..." Kiku said, pointing. The blood had been largely removed, but there were still brown splotches in places. "Everyone believed that Harry was the Heir."

"And Ivan accused Francis of the same," Arthur added. Back up a flight of stairs all the way to the fourth floor. "Fourth year, the library. I was caught kissing Francis against that window."

Kiku stiffened, but when Arthur squeezed his hand reassuringly, he relaxed and gave a happy-sounding sigh. "Fifth year... w-we studied for OWLs t-together..." They walked up to the seventh floor.

"Sixth year, Room of Requirement," Arthur said as they passed by the tapestry of trolls in tutus. "We were in Dumbledore's Army, resisting Umbridge's reign of terror."

"Y-you gave me my first k-k-kiss under the m-mistletoe," Kiku added, blushing. Down another corridor, towards the door that would lead up to...

"Seventh year," Arthur and Kiku said simultaneously. Hand-in-hand, they ran up the staircase leading up to the Astronomy Tower, where it all began for them.

"You told me you loved me here," Arthur whispered, looking out at the rest of Hogwarts from the ramparts.

"B-but the D-Death Eaters came," Kiku added, looking away. Arthur took out the ring from the folds of his robes, hiding it in his hand.

"I dreamed of you," he said, trying to appear calm and hoping he succeeded. Kiku looked up at him, eyes wide.

"R-really?" A smile broke out on his face, and Arthur swore nothing looked more beautiful than Kiku at that moment. Speechlessly nodding, Arthur tried to find his voice and his thoughts again.

"I d-dreamed of us and a little girl," he said after a moment, his voice hoarse. "She was beautiful. And in the forest, when I met with Erised, I saw that girl in the mirror."

Kiku looked at him intently, and Arthur took the attentiveness as a good sign. "The... the faeries fought that day because they were fighting for the one thing they truly believe in – love. Erised knew my parents, knew that when my mum was reborn after the Viking attacks she had to regain knowledge of her Nation persona... she had to fall in love with my dad all over again..." Great, now he felt like he was going off on a random tangent. "Aah, I'm rambling...sorry."

"I-It's all right," Kiku replied, smiling slightly. "W-what do you want to say?"

"You and me and a little family," Arthur said after a moment of thought. "That's all I want now. Now that we're in peace, I want to make up for those years you spent pining over me while I chased others, thinking that I was in love with them." Well, in a way, he still loved Alfred and Francis, but it wasn't the same. It was more like friendship, the ties of loyalty and camaraderie and a sense of family... Alfred was like his little brother and Francis was like a friendly half-rival.

It was now that he would make the distinction between Kiku and the rest of his friends. Arthur took a deep breath. All or nothing.

He dropped to one knee.

"Kiku Honda, will you marry me?" he asked, choosing not to beat around the bush anymore. Kiku had waited long enough.

Kiku's blush was almost lost as the setting sun, as if on cue, dyed the sky crimson. "A-Arthur-san," he gasped as Arthur held up his mother's ring, looking hopefully at him. "H-hai... I will be by your side forever..."

"Come what may?" Arthur asked as he slipped the ring onto Kiku's finger.

"Come what may," the Japanese confirmed, and they embraced. Arthur spun Kiku around a little, smiling against his shoulder. They broke apart and looked at each other, and Arthur was sure that Kiku's smile mirrored his perfectly.

And then he kissed him.

END NIL DESPERANDUM