Dear Guest: Lithuania's gloominess is just a stage. When he gets to Hogwarts, then the depressing aura can dissipate. Just not right now.

Last chapter's title (Sin and Punishment) came from a video game. My editor asked about Crime and Punishment, but I just like the sound of it.

In original drafts (just daydreams, really), Spain's splits were a little different. For one, Gunner didn't exist. Instead, there was Dancer, Spain's passion, who was mentioned but not important. Conquistador was the rational one, but once the place was taken over by the stick-to-the-rules Fencer, he became more dry and sarcastic. Fencer was more… like a hot-blooded shonen hero-type; "We can't know until we try," "We've got to do something!" would be lines that I could imagine him saying. Honorable, I guess?

Interesting tidbit. I read about WW1, and apparently, the Treaty of Versailles made it so that all countries were divided based on ethnicity.

Small line in chapter 2 indicates that Snape knew England from a pub.

I apologize for the late update. Also… my email counted all things as spam, so I missed quite a few reviews.

Terrors, Trains, and Tomatoes

Ron and I ran straight up the stairs. "Ron, do you know what's in there?" I asked.

"No, but whatever it is, it sounds bad…" Ron shuddered.

"All the more reason to find Professor Laurinaitis," I said. I found the drawing room door and kicked it down. "Professo-"

Professor Laurinaitis stood at the far right end of the room, his back to the wall. He was holding a long and very definitely razor-sharp sword in both hands, but against whatever he was facing, it didn't seem to help. His hands were shaking and his face was stained with tears; and yet somehow Professor Laurinaitis didn't seem to be just afraid. What was it? Fury? Sadness? Both?

"Professor!" shouted Ron.

"V-viešnagės atgal!" (Stay back!) Professor Laurinaitis tried to yell, but he never took his eyes off of whatever he was facing.

Ron and I whipped out our wands and bolted to Professor Laurinatits's side. "We've got y-"

Only then did we see what exactly what Professor Laurinaitis was facing. It was a man, drenched, soaked, and stained with blood. In his right hand was a faucet pipe, and—I almost threw up when I saw—in his left, the battered bodies of a young man and a child. The dead man was bleeding heavily from the forehead; the lenses of his glasses were shattered and fragments lodged into his skin. The child, if possible, was worse. His wrists were slit and his blank eyes were crying blood. Both he and the young man had expressions of pure terror. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that the man dragging their blood-soaked corpses was smiling.

The man said something in Russian, and Professor Laurinaitis flinched. Ron and I grabbed the Professor by the arm and dragged him out of the room. "Easy there," said Ron.

"H-how did he get in here?" Professor Laurinaitis spoke as if he never heard Ron. His eyes were wide and fearful, and his shaking hands never loosened their grip on the sword.

"Never mind that, let's get you downstairs," I said.

"Now what is going on here?"

Mrs. Weasley stood behind us, her hands on her hips.

"M-mum!" Ron shouted. "Th-there's someone in the drawing-"

"Don't worry, it's just a Boggart," said Mrs. Weasley. "I was coming up anyway here to deal with it."

"A… Boggart?" repeated Professor Laurinaitis dully.

"It takes the form of whatever you fear the most," said Hermione from behind.

Ron jumped. "Merlin's beard, Hermione! How did you do that!?"

"You were too preoccupied to notice," she said simply.

"So… that was what I was most afraid of…" said Professor Laurinaitis.

"Erm… Toris?" said Ron. "Who was that back there…?"

"Ron!" snapped Hermione.

"What? Toris let me use his first name ever since he started beating me at chess!"

Hermione glared at him. "Ron, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"No… it's okay," said Professor Laurinaitis. "That was… my ex-boss."

I blinked. "By ex-boss, do you mean as in, you used to work for a murdering psychopath and that's the best description you can come up with?" asked Ron.

Toris nodded. "I…no, never mind. But what about Mo-"

Mrs. Weasley screamed.

"Mum!" shouted Ron, and he burst into the room—

Charlie Weasley lay on the floor, spread eagled and pale—

"R-Ridikilus!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, and the Boggart turned into dead Ron—

"Ridikilus!" Dead Ginny. "Ridikilus!" Dead Bill. "Ridiki—"

"What's going on?!" Mr. Weasley shouted as he pushed past us. Lupin followed suit, but stopped at the doorway.

"Stop it, Mum! You're only going to make it worse!" Ron shouted, and stepped in front of her—

Bill turned into Aragog and— with great difficulty—Ron flicked his wand. The Boggart vanished.

"Mum, are you all right?" Ron asked Mrs. Weasley as she sat down.

"Are you okay, Molly?"

"Arthur…" Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. "I… I see them every night. I… I'm afraid. I…I know I'm just being silly, b-but—"

"You're not being silly, Molly," said Mr. Weasley.

"You don't have to worry, Molly," said Lupin. "This time, we know what Voldemort is up to."

"B-but if… If I get killed, wh-who's going to look after Ron a-and Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley continued. "Th-they're not of age…"

"Well, what did you think we'd do, let them starve?" said Lupin. "Come on Molly, let's get you a drink."

Later that day, Ron and Hermione were officially declared Prefects. I was jealous at first, but then I remembered the Boggart… nothing so childish could shake me.

X

The next few days were spent packing, and, in Ron's case, getting beaten by Professor Laurinaitis at chess. However, it was clear that Ron was getting better. Professor Laurinaitis's victories became narrower and narrower, until Ron finally beat him after a five-hour game.

Three days before we students were supposed to leave, Professor Laurinaitis had to leave.

"But none of the other teachers have left yet!" I said.

"I've got to set a few things up, and I don't know how long that will take," said Professor Laurinaitis. "Besides, I have to make sure that the other teacher I came with is settled in yet."

"What other teacher, Professor Laurinaitis?" asked Hermione.

"The music teacher, Professor Edelstein," said Professor Laurinaitis. "Er… 'Professor Laurinaitis' is a bit of a mouthful. You can call me Toris if you'd like. Just not in class."

"Hang on," said Ron. "If you're gone… then what about Snape?"

Toris sighed. "You still hate him?"

I didn't say anything. "He's leaving with me. Both of you really do hate him…"

"Well, he hates me!" I shouted.

Toris blinked, and said, "Strange. Whenever he talks about you, he seems to be more bitter than anything else. It's like he's frustrated. And not even frustrated with you as a student. He seems more… sad? As a matter of fact… I think that he's frustrated with most of the other students since they're not good at Potions, and that includes you, Ron. Then again, from what I've heard about you, Hermione, you're an excellent student, but since you are friends with Harry, that may bring you down a notch in his eyes, but otherwise, that's the case. Of course, I don't know everything, but that's what I think so far."

I blinked. "Professor?"

"Eh? Oh! I-I was just thinking out loud…"

"Laurinaitis."

Snape was standing behind Toris. "The train leaves in one hour. I suggest that we leave right away, unless you wish to walk to Hogwarts."

Toris got up. "Hold on, do you have everything you need?"

"I have," said Snape.

"Good," said Toris. "I'll go get my things." He scampered off, leaving us with Snape. Snape gave us a Look, and left.

"Do you think that he heard us?" asked Ron.

"There's no way," I said.

"I'm not so sure," said Hermione. "I mean, he seemed as if he was in a hurry to get out."

None of us spoke. Outside, someone's car ignited and drove away.

"So," said Ron after a long pause. "Anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

X

The days that followed seemed to be hollow. It was…strange without Toris. Ron constantly challenged me and Hermione to Wizard's Chess, and sighed whenever he beat us in the first five moves. Not only that, but the house had turned silent. I didn't know it at the time, but Toris and Sirius's fights had become almost natural in the background of Number Twelve, as ever-present as Mrs. Weasley's cooking or Dung's smell. After a whole day of total quiet, Sirius acknowledged that maybe he wasn't that bad after all.

Even if Sirius seemed to be quiet because of Toris, that wasn't the only reason. He was happy enough after the verdict at my trial came out, but Mrs. Weasley had to bring dinner up to his room that night. After that, we hardly ever saw him. "He's conflicted," Hermione had said. "He's lonely here, and he's going mad just staying here. He loves you, Harry, and part of him wanted you to stay, but the other part of him knows that it's selfish."

Soon enough, summer vacation came to an end. I should have been happy about it, I knew I should have. But this year, I wasn't. I was too worried about Sirius.

"Oh, for goodness's sake, Harry," said Hermione as those of us who were going to Hogwarts walked to King's Cross Station. "He'll be fine."

"Not so sure, though," said Ron. "I mean, he's been cooped up in there for ages. Besides, how would you feel if you were stuck in the Dursley's house?"

Inwardly, I agreed with Ron. But I didn't say anything.

There was a bark from behind. A gigantic black dog bounded towards us, its tail wagging.

"Oh no," said Hermione.

"Come off it," said George.

"Yeah, it's been too long for him," said Fred.

Sirius was clearly enjoying himself. He barked and chased pigeons around, tail wagging the whole way.

We reached King's Cross eventually, and slid through the barrier with no Muggles noticing. Sirius wasn't too big of a problem at first, but then a little girl plucked up the courage to pet the 'big doggie'. We had to drag her off of him.

At last, we came to the Hogwarts Express. Sirius put one paw on my shoulder, just for a moment, and then loped off.

"Er…" Ron said. "Harry… we…er…"

"Prefects have to ride in the Prefect's cabin," Hermione finished.

"Yeah. What she said. I-it's not like I'm enjoying it or anything," Ron said, his ears bright red. "I'm not Percy or anythi-"

"It's fine," I said.

"—ng, and I-"

"It's fine."

"—don't actually—Oh."

The train whistle blew, and we boarded. Ron and Hermione went to the cabin in the front, while Fred and George found the room where Lee Jordan was doing something strange with a glass of water, two lengths of wire, a spoonful of acid and a ping pong ball, leaving me and Ginny to find a room that wasn't completely packed.

After a few minutes of searching, we finally came to a room with only two people. One was a nervous-looking first year boy who looked oddly familiar, and the other was a fourth year girl who was busy reading her magazine. "Hello Ginny," she said without even looking up.

"Hello Luna," said Ginny. "Good summer?"

"The pūķis is acting oddly," Luna said in response. "And you?" [1]

"Good," said Ginny. "Harry, this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Harry Potter."

Luna looked up from her magazine and said, "Nice to meet you."

Ginny and I sat down.

"Er…" The first year looked at Luna and said, "What's wrong with the pūķis?"

"He won't eat," said Luna.

"Are you giving him the first pieces of food you prepare?" asked the boy. "That's what they are supposed to eat."

"Hm. I think I can owl that home," said Luna. "Do you have a pūķis at home?"

The boy shook his head. "I used to. But there wasn't enough food for her in the end…"

I blinked. Something about this kid seemed… familiar. Ginny seemed to think so, too. "So, what's your name?" she asked.

"Raivis. Raivis Galante," he said.

Hm. I never knew anyone by either of those names. But still, something about him triggered some memory.

Suddenly, with a gigantic BOOM, an explosion rocked the train. "Don't worry," said Ginny. "It's just Fred and George."

About an hour of silence later, the one person who I never expected came through the door: Natalya Arlovskaya. "The others were too noisy," she grumbled as she sat down. "I heard about your trial from Gilbert."

"Er…"

"Harry, who's this?" Ginny asked me sharply.

"Natalya Arlovskaya, if case you were asking me," Natalya replied with an equal edge.

"She's my neighbor," I explained.

Natalya dug through her bag and pulled out a sandwich. "The lunch trolley's going to come soon," she said.

"So…er… why did you move?" I asked.

Natalya made an irritated noise. "I told you, the others were being too noisy. They'll shut up once they finish eating, but for now I'm staying here." She began to attack her sandwich with vigor.

As Natalya predicted, the trolley came by moments after she finished her sandwich. "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

"Two Pumpkin Pasties," said Ginny. "And an egg-and-cress sandwich."

"I'll take a Liquorice Wand and a ham sandwich," I said.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Cauldron Cake, and marmite sandwich," said Luna.

"I already ate," said Natalya.

I turned around to ask what Raivis wanted—but he was gone.

"A Pumpkin Pasty and a Bertie Bott's, pleasethankyou!"

I spun around. Raivis was standing right behind the trolley witch, as flighty as a rabbit. He grabbed the candies, slammed down the money, and practically screamed, "Keepthechangethankyousorry!" He sprinted down the hallway and out of sight.

Ginny blinked. "What was that about?"

"Never mind that, where was he hiding?" I said.

"Up there," said Luna, pointing to the luggage loft.

"He fit up there? Wow," said Ginny.

Natalya shrugged. "Can't believe the kid's managed to get away from me for once."

I spun around. "You know him!?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then why didn't you—oh."

"I didn't know that you knew him, and I didn't see him."

"So… are you going to go after him?" asked Ginny.

Natalya shrugged. "There's no point. Besides, it can wait After all, there's no escape… he's a first year, after all, and he can't even get to Hogsmeade…" She got up. "It's going to get noisy here, anyway. I'm heading back." She left.

Luna chewed her marmite. "I didn't think that he was a first year," she said.

Ginny blinked. "But look at him! He's tiny!"

Luna shrugged. "He is tiny."

A little while later, Ron and Hermione came back. "Guess who's Slytherin prefect," said Ron.

"Malfoy," I said.

Ron nodded. "That slimy g-"

"Excuse me." Raivis squeezed in between Ron and Hermione. "I need to get to my seat."

Ron gaped. "What, are you going to take our seats, just like that?"

Raivis shook his head. "I just need to get my luggage."

I blinked. "But…"

"You're trying to get away from Natalya, aren't you," said Ginny.

Raivis shrugged and said, "Something like that." He hefted his trunk off of the rack, and dragged it out into the hallway.

"He's not telling the truth," said Hermione. When Ron turned to face her she clarified, "He's not lying though, either. He just took the first convenient excuse to get away."

Ron shrugged. "Wonder where he's going to go. I mean, it's all crowded from here. By the way, Harry, have you got any more Pumpkin Pasties?"

We nibbled at our lunches for about thirty seconds. And then Malfoy showed up. "Hello, Potter," he said. "Have a nice summer? Jealous of Weasley?"

"Get out, Malfoy," I said.

"Are you sure that you should be speaking that way to a prefect? Because, I, unlike you, am I prefect."

"Yes, but you, unlike me, are a git."

Malfoy's cheeks turned pink. "You better clean up your act, Potter. I'm going to be dogging your footsteps from now o-"

Someone lifted Malfoy up by the scruff of his neck, with only one arm. "Hallo, Harry," said the ridiculously strong person.

I blinked. "Gilbert!?" I almost shouted. "Gilbert Beilschmidt!?"

Gilbert moved into view, grinning. "Who else?"

"L-let go of me!" shouted Malfoy.

"Eh? Oh, right." Gilbert dropped Malfoy on the ground.

Malfoy scrambled to his feet and glared at Gilbert. "My father will hear of this."

Gilbert shrugged. "Ja, ja, votever."

Turning pink, Malfoy said, "You really don't know who my father is, do you?"

Gilbert stared Malfoy straight in the face and said, "No. And he von't know about vot happens here…"

I never would have expected what happened next—ever. Malfoy kneed Gilbert in the crotch.

Gilbert staggered, but got back up.

Hermione blinked. "Er… you are all right, right?"

"Ja, I'm fine," said Gilbert.

"If you say so…"

Malfoy noticed Gilbert's fist, but instead of running, he said, "I can do that again, you know," albeit shakily.

Grinning, Gilbert slapped Malfoy on the back, so hard that Malfoy choked. "Look, I sought zat you didn't haf ze guts to do zat. I vas wrong! You-"

CRASH! Gilbert spun around. "Not again…" he groaned. He sprinted down the hallway and out of sight.

Malfoy stared after him, still coughing. "W-water…" He lurched off, presumably to his cabin.

Ron blinked. "What was that all about?"

"He choked on his own spit," said Luna.

"How?"

"Very painfully."

After we finished eating, one of the last people I expected to see turned up. Lovino Vargas crept along the hallway, and then sidled into our compartment. "I'm crashing here until things settled down," he said as he sat down next to me.

Ron blinked. "Hang on, who are you?"

"Lovino," said Lovino. "Harry's neighbor. Tomato Jerk's gone, and Vital Regions Jerk has to take care of him. Tomato?" He held out a small basket full of the red fruits. Luna took one and ate it.

I turned to face him. "Lovino, what happened?"

Lovino sighed. "Remember the night those two broke in? Tomato Jerk got hit with some weird spell."

"I was there," I said indignantly. "That was my house."

"It was? Oh, right… that spell somehow gave him multiple personalities, and we don't know why. And some of them can be violent, so watch out."

Ron and Ginny blinked. Luna nodded and accepted this with no trouble. Hermione gave him a skeptical look and said, "Are you sure? I can't recall any spell that-"

"I asked a friend, and he said that there wasn't one," said Lovino. "Until… what was her name? That girl… the one who hit him with that spell."

I shrugged. Lovino sighed. "It doesn't matter."

"Who's this friend of yours?" Hermione persisted. "And how would he know?"

Lovino shrugged. "His name is Arthur."

Ron blinked. "You know Dad?"

Something clicked in my head. "Kirkland," I said. Lovino gaped. "Gilbert mentioned that he was Arthur Kirkland. Peter's brother."

Ron looked at Hermione for an answer. Hermione shrugged. "Honestly, Ron. I don't know every single wizard out there."

"He works at the Ministry," said Ginny. "Dad mentioned him once or twice."

Lovino gave a noncommittal shrug. "I think Natalya's calmed down now. I'm going back."

"Wait!" I cried. Lovino stopped. "What were you doing in my trial the other day?"

Lovino looked me in the eye and said bluntly, "Helping you." He slammed the compartment door shut and ran off.

"He seems scared," said Luna. Hermione gave her a confused look, but Luna never elaborated.

A little while later, someone else turned up. "'Ello," said Peter as her passed by.

"Peter," I said, getting up. Ron and Hermione turned. "Listen, I need to talk to you."

Peter looked nervous. "Can't this wait? I really have to go right now…"

"I think it can wait," said Ron.

Peter reluctantly sat down. "So," he said. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

All of us but Luna spoke at the same time.

"Who exactly is your brother?" asked Hermione.

"Did you know about me being a wizard the whole time?" I asked.

"How did Lovino know about the trial?" asked Ron.

"Where do you have to go?" asked Ginny.

Peter raised his hands. "Hold on, I can't answer all that. Yes, Harry, I knew about you being a wizard. But I thought that you had caught on already, and I was waiting for you to ask. I didn't want you to think I was just being friendly because of your scar."

I gaped. That's what you wanted when you found out, a small voice said in my head. Being famous for something you can't remember doing.

"My brother is also a wizard, and his intuition is spot-on," Peter continued. "He called Lovino the morning of the trial. As for who he is, well, he's my brother and he's good with magic. If you want more, you'll have to meet him."

Peter closed the compartment door and ran down the corridor. "That'sitbye!"

"Wait!" I shouted at his retreating back. "What about everyone else?! Did they know?!"

"NO! THEY DIDN'T! OCCUPIED?! D-"

Luna stared. "So that's where he had to go."

Ron shuddered. "Now I feel bad for the poor bloke…"

"What did he mean?" I asked.

"He had to use the bathroom," said Ginny.

"No, why didn't the others know about me being a wizard?"

"You can ask him on his way out," said Hermione.

As it happened, we couldn't. By the time Peter came around again, we were called to get into our robes. Peter left for his compartment and never came back.

"You can ask him later," said Hermione.

"One castle, and you can't get off school property without permission," said Luna.

A few hours later, the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station. All of us got out and waited for the carriages to arrive.

This year, they were being pulled by some sort of skeletal horse. I turned around to ask Hermione about them, but she didn't seem to notice. Great… I'm hallucinating now?

Luna seemed to notice, and she gave me a faint smile. "It's all right," she said. "I can see them too. You're just as sane as I am."

That did not particularly reassure me, but it helped at least a little bit.

X

The Great Hall was packed, as usual. I sat with my fellow Gryffindors, where I could just barely hear people whispering about me. Idly, I stared at the Ravenclaw table, scanning the table for Cho. A seventh year boy with glasses whose name I did not know was staring at me. Something struck me as odd about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I shot him an angry look, but he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Good luck, he mouthed. I gave him a thumbs up back, unable to shake the feeling that I knew him from somewhere.

I turned away, and scanned the teacher's table for Toris. I looked back and forth several times, but he didn't seem to be there. "Toris isn't here," I said to Ron and Hermione.

Hermione blinked. "Didn't he say that he had to set something up?"

Ron lowered his voice. "Maybe he's guarding the—YEAOUCH!" Hermione had stepped on his foot.

"Ron! Shh!" she hissed.

While I waited for everyone to settle in, I entertained myself by looking at some sort of golden yellow furball on the teacher's table.

At last, Dumbledore stood up. "My friends, this year we have the fortune to have a few transfer students. They will be Sorted before the first years, to give our new students some room."

Professor MacGonagall read from a scroll of parchment, "Arlovskaya, Natalya!"

TO BE CONTINUED!

[1] Pukis- in Latvian lore, a Pukis is a kind of dragon that would steal stuff for its master, but it has to be treated exceptionally well. Sourced from Wikipedia.

Apparently, you really can blow something up with two lengths of wire, a spoonful of acid, a glass of water, and a ping-pong ball, but I don't know how. Came from Discworld.

Which Houses will the nations be Sorted into? Who was that Ravenclaw boy? And when will Prussia finally get a break?