England sat, staring at his food the following morning. For whatever reason, he just couldn't find his appetite. Actually, he knew why. He was never very hungry after a coughing fit. And who could blame him when he had the lingering taste of blood in his mouth? He sighed. This was the second time within two weeks. At the very least, Voldemort seemed to be relatively discrete, something England was grateful for. But how long would that last? And what would happen when Voldemort started killing large masses of people? England's reactions were already extreme for the few people the Dark Lord was killing at a time.

"Are you alright Arthur?" McGonagall asked from beside him.

England startled some. "Oh, yes. I just have a lot on my mind this morning."

"Well, don't forget to eat. You should be teaching your classes on a full stomach," McGonagall said.

England smiled appreciatively. He was about to reply when he saw that Dumbledore was watching him closely. He shivered. "If you'll excuse me Minerva, I," He paused looking for an excuse to leave. For some reason Dumbledore's look made him feel trapped. "I need to talk to a student about their behaviour in class."

He got up from the head table and scanned the hall. His eyes settled on the Gryffindor table where mallina was talking to Potter and his friends. She really was taking this assignment seriously. England began heading their way when he paused, seeing Potter snap at Mallina and storm away. Mallina shot England a look that said, "This is not going well." It seemed England would have to intervene. He switched directions and followed Potter out of the hall. He called out to him in the corridor.

"Mr. Potter!"

Potter looked over to England. He appeared none-to-thrilled that he was being called out.

"Yes Professor?" he asked as England caught up to him.

"Could I talk with you for a moment?"

Potter hesitated. "Alright."

England smiled tiredly. "Walk with me."

Potter complied.

"So, how has everything been going your first week of school?" England asked as he wandered down the hallway.

"I guess it's been alright, sir," Potter replied.

"You don't have to lie, Mr. Potter. Unless it's just my class you've so far looked so miserable in?"

Potter stuttered. "O-Oh, no - I like your class. It's good, really."

England raised one of his bushy eyebrows.

"It's just, my whole summer was terrible, honestly. And then I get back to school and people are saying I'm crazy and that Dumbledore's senile and people don't trust me!" Potter was getting worked up now.

"And then there's that - that Umbridge! She gave me detention because I refused to admit that I've been lying about Voldemort's return!" Potter seemed to realise what he was saying and calmed considerably. "Sorry, I didn't mean to -"

England held up a hand. "It's quite alright. I was the one who asked. I can tell you needed to get that out."

Potter gave him a wary look. "You don't think I'm crazy too, do you?"

England shook his head. Poor lad. He truly was having a rough go of it. "I don't believe you're crazy at all Mr. Potter. Between you and me, the Dark Lord has most certainly returned. I think I of all people should know that," England said.

Potter stared at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

England paused, wondering how he should put this. He knew Voldemort was back the moment he regained a physical form because he could feel Voldemort's presence on his land. England couldn't tell Potter that, though. Well, he had seen visions...

"I've seen him," England said finally.

Potter's eyes widened. "How? What was it like?"

England sighed. "It was like a nightmare." And it was a nightmare. Anything Voldemort did that somehow affected England was nothing short of horrifying.

"But Harry, don't let those other people get to you too much, alright?" England said before Potter could question him more.

"I don't know about that," Potter said.

"Really. There are more important things than worrying about what people like that have to say, and there are plenty of people who care about you and do believe you."

Potter stood in thought a moment.

"On that note, I noticed my goddaughter seems to have taken a liking to you," England said.

Potter looked even more surprised. "Your goddaughter? Who - You mean Mallina?"

"Yes. I hope she hasn't bothered you too much."

"Oh. Well… Maybe just a little. She's in all of my classes."

This bit of information was not news to England. He made sure himself that Mallina ended up in the boy's classes. "Is that so?" he said in amusement. Potter nodded.

"Well, I hope she doesn't become too much of a bother. She's never had many friends, and I hoped that bringing her to Hogwarts with me would be a breath of fresh air after everything that has been happening at home…"

"With her parents getting a divorce?"

England was about to reply when he paused. While it was true that he and Greenland agreed on telling everyone that her parents were in the middle of a divorce, he wondered if it was better for her to have a story that was more relatable to Potter.

"Oh...She told you that?"

Potter frowned. "Yes? Isn't that true?"

England shook his head, faking a mournful tone.

"No. Mallina's parents died when she was eight. She's been in her brother's care until recently. Her brother has been going through some problems, so we agreed that it would be best for her to stay with me while he sorted things out."

Potter seemed offended. "Why would she lie about that?"

"She likely didn't want everyone to pity her. Surely you of all people would understand."

"I guess it does make sense," Potter said, nodding slowly.

England smiled to himself. This should help tremendously.

/


Greenland walked with Harry from lunch one afternoon to a class they shared together, Harry was much more talkative than usual. Greenland had to wonder what England could have said to him.

"And anyway, Mallina,, I wanted to apologise for being such a prat to you so far, I didn't realise you were going through a lot," Harry said. Greenland gave him a blank look. What was he talking about?

"I talked to Professor Kirkland, too. Why didn't you tell me he was your godfather, by the way? And he told me about your parents. I'm sorry."

"My parents…?" Greenland questioned.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I was wondering, if you don't mind, how did they die?"

Greenland stopped walking. Damn it, England.

"Oh, um. I, well you see, they…" Greenland tried, flustered. "I'm not...I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh. Sorry. What about your brother? Professor Kirkland said you were raised by him."

Greenland bit her lip. Just how was she supposed to deal with this?


After classes that day, Greenland stalked right up to England's office, slamming the door shut as she entered.

England looked from his desk and the papers he was grading.

"Hello Mallina. Is...everything alright?"

Greenland glared at him. "What the hell Arthur? My parents died?! That is NOT what we agreed on!"

England held up his hands. "I know, I know, but hear me out. The Potter boy needed to relate to you more. How are you supposed to play the role of his friend if he continues to push you away? I was only giving you a helping hand."

Greenland huffed. This is why everyone always left England. "It would have been nice to know that before Harry asked about it. What am I supposed to tell him? Amd what's this about me staying with a brother who has some kind of problem? Who the hell is that supposed to be?"

England continued to sit at his desk, looking up at her. "Mallina, please, calm down. Just tell them your parents drown or something. That isn't too far fetched coming from a place like Greenland. As for your brother, just say it's Matthias since he's a heavy drinker anyway. That's easy enough, don't you think?" England was giving her a kind, reasoning look.

Greenland sighed. "Fine. Whatever. But from now on, we have to communicate, okay? I came here to help you, so don't keep making decisions without me."

She left England's office after that. In the hall, she passed a certain potions professor who was heading up to the Headmaster's office.

/


Canada waited patiently on the phone for Scotland to pick up. He finally had the chance to call, and was hoping that his time wasn't going to be wasted. On the third ring, Scotland finally answered.

"Hey, Scot here," he said.

"Hi, it's Canada," Canada sad, "I need to talk to you about England."

Scotland sighed. "What about him?"

Canada relayed to him everything that happened at the world meeting almost three weeks prior, from England coughing up blood to the owl that arrived with a letter."

"So, I was wondering if England was back in contact with him magical government or something? And is he doing okay?" Canada asked.

"I wouldn't know about his magical government, but I hope he's not in contact with them because he's not supposed to be. As for the fit you mentioned… You do know that Voldemort is back, right?"

Canada went silent on the line. How was that possible? Voldemort was dead.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I can feel the slimy creature crawling around my land as we speak."

Canada said goodbye to Scotland and hung up. He covered his mouth, sinking down into his chair. He-who-must-not-be-named was back. What were they going to do? What was England going to do?