Notes: WHAT IS THIS? IT'S DONE! *THROWS CONFETTI* Thank you all for putting up with me for twenty more chapters of this... what is this I don't even... XD;; Anyways, thank you so much! Your reviews are absolutely wonderful and they make my day.

Always feel free to request a drabble for The Little Things! I'll be finishing up my final thoughts on this... thing... in my memoir Behind the Scenes of Blurring House Lines on Fictionpress. The link's in my profile. So if you were wondering why I put Arthur in Slytherin, why I ended it Asakiku, and why I named Arthur's owl Driscoll (amid other things), then you can go take a peep at that. Warning in advance: lots of rambling and random tangents - not to mention that the first chapter is stuffed with stuff from my life.

With that being said, on with the epilogue!

Part XX

2 May 2003

"The first meeting of the new International Confederation of Wizards shall now be called to order."

Arthur Kirkland, Supreme Mugwump and representative of England, stood up at the podium and looked out at his colleagues. They were all familiar: Alfred, Francis, Nataliya, Kiku, Madeline, and so many others were sitting in their respective seats. Even Ivan Braginski was there, looking rather sulky in the seat labelled 'Russia' with a light-coloured scarf wound around his neck.

"Today is the fifth anniversary of the fall of Lord Voldemort," Arthur continued, and there were still some flinches in the room as he said the name. It seemed dreams ago when the name and its adverse reactions actually meant anything. "Today is the day when all of you saved my life, and for that I am in your debt."

He smiled; they smiled back.

"There is a reason why we were all selected to be on this Confederation. I hope you have already figured out why." He paused. "We are all Nations. We are the world, and working together, we bring peace to all.

"Peace is everyone in the world working together to make life brighter. Peace is accepting people for who they are. Peace is blurring lines between Nations, between factions, between parties. Today marks the fifth anniversary since war fell and peace began. Today is a day of acceptance and friendship. Today, I extend to you, my fellow Nations, my hand in friendship. I hope you will take it."

He held out his hand, smiling nervously, expectantly.

Kiku Honda, representative of Japan, got out of his seat, walked up to him, and shook his hand. Arthur beamed at his husband, mouthing 'I love you' to him. The Japanese man blushed and walked back.

United States representative Alfred F. Jones was next, bouncing over and enthusiastically shaking his hand.

Francis Bonnefois, Madeline Desmarais, and Nataliya Arlovskaya followed suit. Ludwig Beilschmidt, Feliciano Vargas, Antonio Carriedo, and Elisabeta Héderváry were next. All around the assembly room, people applauded.

"We are the world!" Alfred yelled, and everyone took up the chant until all anyone could hear was those four words together – a chant of hope and unity.

Arthur had never felt happier.

"The election results are in, and Kingsley Shacklebolt returns as our Minister of Magic," Hermione Granger reported as Arthur left the General Assembly room. "Have there been new additions to the Security Council?"

The new Security Council of the International Confederation of Wizards comprised of the three permanent members – England, France, and Belarus. Three other members joined barely a year into the reformation of the Confederation – Japan, the United States, and Seychelles. These six nations were widely known to have contributed the most to the fight against Voldemort.

"Austria, China, and Turkey," Arthur reported. He looked down at Hermione's hand. "Did Ron propose?" he asked suddenly. The girl blushed.

"Y-yeah, he did. Just this morning!" she smiled at him. "It was surprising, actually… I thought he wouldn't have the guts."

"Well, Ron's a surprising person," Arthur reasoned. "What about Harry and Ginny?"

"They've moved in together, but I don't know if they're going to get married. Harry never talks about his personal life anymore, but then again he's been busy revamping the Auror Office!"

They set off down the hall towards her office. "How has your work been?" Arthur asked Hermione.

"Transferring all my work up from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is pretty exhausting," she replied as they paused outside the Auror Office. Ron Weasley was waving at her from inside. "Should we drop by?"

Her question was answered as Ron and Harry appeared at the door. "Hey, Arthur! Just ended your meeting?" Ron asked as Harry Potter grinned sheepishly at them and tried to flatten his hair probably out of force of habit. Arthur smiled.

"Yeah. Not much to say, seeing that it's the fifth anniversary of Voldemort's downfall," he replied.

"That reminds me!" Harry exclaimed suddenly, and the others froze, eyes darting up to his scar. "No, it's not about my scar; it's about the celebratory party that Ginny's going to hold tonight at our place."

"Oh, yeah, she wouldn't shut up about it last time I had her over for dinner," Ron groaned. Hermione lightly cuffed him.

"Hey, we have perfect reason to celebrate," Harry replied defensively, but Ron chuckled.

"Naw, mate, we'll come to your party. Arthur, you going?"

"Yeah, but you should tell the other Nations," Arthur said, directing the last bit at Harry.

It was nothing short of magic and a miracle that Harry and Ginny's London town home was somehow able to accommodate all of their friends plus the Nations.

"I hope you didn't invite the rest of the family," Arthur muttered to Ginny as he and Kiku walked into the living room where Francis was opening a bottle of firewhisky.

"I didn't," Ginny replied, as Madeline walked into the room with trays of some sort of seafood appetiser. "Maddy, did you say that you have a restaurant now?"

Madeline beamed. "Yes, in Paris," she replied. "I'm thinking of opening up a branch in Diagon Alley, though."

"We'd love to have that!" Ron added, his plate piled high with seafood already. "Man, this stuff is delicious!"

"Thanks," Madeline replied, leaving the room to get more.

"Hey, Artie!" Alfred exclaimed, bouncing in from the kitchen. Nataliya followed close behind. "I just proposed to Nat!"

The Belarusian girl blushed furiously, but Hermione perked up slightly. "Really? Congratulations!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, congratulations," Arthur echoed, smiling at Nataliya. "How is writing for the Thunderbird?" he asked. Nataliya had moved to the States with Alfred a year after Voldemort's downfall, becoming a writer for a popular Wizarding magazine there.

"Not bad," she reasoned. "The workload is always strenuous around deadline, but I can manage. It's amazing that Alfred managed to take some leave off from Salem to come over here, though. They run their professors through the mill over there."

"Well, when you personally know Headmaster Ludsworth things tend to be easier," Alfred replied, shrugging. "What about you and Kiku, huh, Artie? Celebrating your fourth-year anniversary today, right?" Arthur and Kiku had married a year after the Battle of Hogwarts; their reception had been interrupted by Fleur Delacour suddenly going into labour.

Kiku blushed and nodded. "We're thinking about adopting a child from Japan," he added. "A Muggle girl who has a big imagination and bright green eyes."

"She's a doll," agreed Arthur, fumbling in his robes and taking out a picture. The little girl smiled up at them from the Muggle photograph. "Her mother was English; her father was Japanese. They both died recently, because she's one of the newer orphans."

"Poor child," Nataliya whispered. "Well, I wish you all the luck with that! Oh, hello, Kat!"

Yekaterina Williams, née Braginskaya, came walking over with a little boy sitting in her arms and sucking his thumb. She smiled at Nataliya. "How have you been, sister?" she asked. "Matthew's gone to get something for Hugh." She gestured slightly to the boy. "Hugh, say hello!"

The boy looked at them and waved shyly. "Can he talk?" Arthur asked hesitantly.

"Yes, but he doesn't talk much," Yekaterina replied, as Hugh went back to sucking his thumb. "When he does, though, it's quite a treat to hear."

Alfred took Hugh from her and bounced him up and down slightly. "What kind of name is Hugh, honestly?" he wondered aloud, a joking grin on his face. "I prefer the name 'Allen' myself."

The little boy made a face at him and smacked his cheek. "Hugh!" Yekaterina exclaimed, taking him back. "No slapping Uncle Alfred!"

Arthur snickered as Alfred rubbed his cheek.

When the party ended, Arthur and Kiku returned home to their flat in Manchester. "Someday we'll move out of this place," Arthur said with a grin as he looked up at the stars, one finger crossed as he silently wished for a beautiful tomorrow.

Kiku put an arm around him. "Hai," he agreed. "Where will we go?"

"Somewhere nice and quiet, I think," Arthur said, smiling at Kiku. "Somewhere beautiful... somewhere where I can spend my holidays with nature's magic..."

In the morning, he would go back to Hogwarts because his vacation leave was ending. In the morning, his Kiku would Disapparate to St. Mungo's and save some more lives. In the morning their lives would begin again, lives in which they were anything but Nations.

But for that moment, neither cared.

All was well.